Who: Pepper and Bruce What: Discussing Morgan wisdom When: Now Where: Pepper's living room Warning: Nah Status: Closed/Completed GDoc
It was normal for Bruce to cook dinner for Pepper and Morgan at their house and then, after putting Morgan to bed, spending quality time with Pepper. Sometimes they would watch a documentary or a movie, sometimes they would both read quietly, and, more often than not, Bruce would end up spending the night. They were probably at the point where moving in together would make sense, though he was hesitant to suggest taking that step. At least not without a serious conversation.
Tonight, they’d opened a bottle of wine and were settling on the sofa, when Bruce had a moment of bravery and decided to bring up the topic. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you about,” he began. “When Morgan and I were at the art festival a few weeks ago, she said something that… caught me off guard.”
*
Regardless of how they spent their time, Pepper was always snuggled up against Bruce. She’d commented that he made an excellent pillow. There had been more than a few times when she’d fallen asleep on him and had to be carried to bed.
She was being very critical of the wine they were drinking. It was the newest batch to be bottled this year, and Pepper was planning a number of events during the warm seasons. So she was a bit distracted when Bruce started in on his topic. “Did she ask for a pony again? Because I told her no seven times already.”
*
Bruce chuckled. “Well, she did,” he admitted. “But that wasn’t terribly surprising.” It hadn’t been the first time he heard that request either. One of these days, he would probably cave and get her a pony because he felt like she deserved to be spoiled and knew that it’s what Tony would do.
Clearing his throat, his expression became awkward, making it clear he wasn’t exactly comfortable bringing up this topic. “Uh, she said that you told her she couldn’t call me ‘dad’ yet.” His cheeks were warm and he knew that they were probably very red.
*
Pepper knew either of them would give in sooner or later. She just wanted Morgan to have some lessons before that happened. Otherwise whatever poor pony they got would be terrorized. Maybe they should start with a puppy first.
Then he dropped that bomb. Pepper froze. She could throttle her daughter! Worse, now they were going to talk about it.
“Yes,” she said. “I did tell her that.”
Pepper sat up so she could look at Bruce while they had this conversation. “I told her you probably weren’t ready for that, yet.”
*
No, he most definitely was not ready for that. To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t something he ever even considered happening. Bruce managed a sheepish smile. “No, I don’t think I am,” he admitted. “I can’t say it’s something I expected in any capacity.” And while things with he and Pepper were serious, he didn’t think they were quite that serious yet. Though in hindsight, maybe they were. Bruce tended to be a little slow when it came to these things.
“She was happy to educate me about how it’s possible to have more than one daddy though,” he added, the corners of his mouth turning up in faint amusement.
*
Pepper gave Bruce a soft, apologetic smile as she reached out to twitch a lock of his hair back from his forehead. Leave it to her daughter to give him an anxiety attack.
“Sorry she jumped the gun on that.” Meaning it was definitely something that would have been brought up sooner or later. Morgan had her own mind about things, and there was no stopping that.
The last bit made her laugh, though. “Well, it’s not as uncommon as it was when we were her age.” Nothing like being slapped in the face with logic from a six year old.
*
“You don’t have to apologize,” Bruce assured her. “Just… I guess we’ve never really talked about where we see this going.” He had no idea if she wanted to get married again or even if that was something he wanted. The whole relationship had blindsided him and he never really let himself think too far ahead with it. Some part of him was still concerned that Tony would show up here someday.
He set his wine glass down and took her hand in his. “You know how much I care about you and Morgan,” he said.
*
“To be honest, I didn’t think we had to.” They were happy with what they had. Did she want more? She certainly wouldn’t say no, but she also wasn’t going to push for more than what Bruce was comfortable with.
Pepper followed his lead and put her own glass down as he took her hand. “I know,” she said with another warm smile for him. “Morgan adores you. The only reason Happy was above you in her eyes was he brought her Burger King. You only made them from scratch and they didn’t come with a toy.”
She giggled for that, but followed it up quickly. “You were there for us in a way no one else could have been. She saw you taking care of her mommy. I saw you caring for my daughter.” Hint Bruce: That stuff creates strong feelings.
*
Bruce nodded and leaned in to brush a quick kiss across her lips. “Maybe I should buy her that pony,” he joked. “Then I’d be number one.”
Was it pathetic to think about bribing a six year old to like him? Probably. This was the closest he would ever get to having kids though and Bruce wanted to enjoy it for however long it lasted. “And I’m fine with things the way they are. You may have to nudge me if you ever want that to change though.” Since he was generally clueless.
*
The kiss was sweet. All of the affection Bruce showed her was adorable, and she loved every bit of it. These things meant so much more after having lost someone.
Pepper lifted the hand she held so she could kiss his fingers. “As long as you’re here with us I’m good. Morgan might change her mind, especially after Steve and Darcy’s wedding.” That could cause a bit of wedding fever in some little minds. “So she might be the one nudging us both.”
*
Somehow, Bruce managed not to panic at the mere thought of marriage. Maybe he’d consider the pony as a distraction if Morgan did try nudging them in that direction. “I still don’t understand that pairing,” he admitted. “Darcy is… a lot.”
Maybe there was something to be said for opposites attracting, though he didn’t think that applied to him and Pepper.
*
“Opposites attract,” Pepper answered as if she’d read his mind. “She balances Steve out. Keeps him from getting too serious. And she’s different from back home. Having a child sobers you up fast. No doubt, Stephanie keeps her on her toes.”
She chuckled at the thought of what was known as The Mother’s Revenge. May you have a child that acts the same way you do. It worked.
*
“I think I heard something about her consulting with SWORD at home,” Bruce said. He wasn’t exactly in the loop about everything that was going on, but he still occasionally heard things. It didn’t really matter that much and he shrugged. “Her daughter is cute.” And loud. When Morgan, Steph, and Judith were together, you’d swear there were a dozen kids and not only three.
He finished his wine and set the glass down. “Want me to stay tonight?”
*
Pepper was definitely out of the loop since she spent most of her time hiding from the world at the cabin after Tony died. She wasn’t even certain what SWORD was.
“Stephanie is adorable.” Pepper laughed since yes. The Children of the Avengers, as she was calling them, all had very large personalities. She honestly didn’t know how Steve did it with the daycare. She was just grateful for it.
She smiled up at Bruce for the question. “Pretty sure it’s safe to assume that the answer to that question will always be yes.”
*
Bruce leaned down and kissed her again. “Maybe we should think about getting a place together,” he said. “It would probably make things a little easier.” He kept having to either bring items from his kitchen or buying duplicates to cook when he was here. Plus it would give Pepper more help with Morgan.
*
You could almost hear the record scratch go off in Pepper’s head. Fortunately she didn’t let her surprise show. Much. She did, at least, let a big smile show on her face.
“I think that is a fantastic idea.” And Bruce, whether he knew it or not, just opened a can of shopping worms the size of Tony’s ego.
*
In all honesty, Bruce surprised himself when he made the suggestion, so he picked up on hers as well, though he didn’t comment, simply smiled in return. “Great,” he said. “Should we head to bed now?”
*
“Absolutely.” Pepper wriggled up, grabbed Bruce by the hand to yank him to his feet then started for the bedroom. Tomorrow she would reach out to a real estate agent.