imjustthemechanic

[imjustthemechanic]

While Tony went to check for the phone number to the shelter, Pepper smiled down at Morgan when she heard her daughter. Chuckling to herself when she heard Morgan's question, Pepper was reminded of the birthday parties that she used to plan for Tony and the disastrous party he had thrown shortly after he became Iron Man. Shaking her head, she offered Morgan a smile. "Well, Daddy and I have had plenty of birthday parties in the past, now we just love spending time with each other," she explained. "Why do you ask?"

"I thought maybe it was because you were grownups," said Morgan, "but grownups on TV have them. Sometimes they have really big ones."

While Morgan and Pepper discussed birthday parties, Tony called the shelter and asked for their records. The results were a bit disappointing but better than nothing, and he was able to come back with some news.

"According to the shelter, Comet was rescued from a puppy farm along with her mom and siblings," he said. "They think her birthday is in late April or early May, but they don't know the exact date. Late April is a good time for birthdays around here, though."

Standing on her tiptoes, Morgan gently tugs at her dad’s sleeve. “Daddy, the bunnies got into Mommy’s flowers again,” she sighed. “Can you help me clean up before Mommy comes home… please?” Pepper had made a quick trip into town to pick up some things for dinner, as well as a few packages that she had sent to the PO Box - but Morgan didn’t want the bunnies to get in trouble like Gerald always got in trouble when he ate from the garden.

"Oh, did they?" asked Tony. He pulled up one of the outside cameras at his work bench and sure enough... there were pots knocked over and soil on deck. "Right. We don't want Mommy to find a mess." He saved what he was working on and got up. "Maybe we need to make the bunnies a special space to play in... like how people have catios for their cats."

[imjustthemechanic]

As she listened to Morgan explain what she wanted to do for her birthday, Pepper couldn't help but smile. It all sounded so normal - and she loved it. It seemed like eons ago when the birthday parties she would plan for Tony were A-List events with shiny cars and glittery dresses and when she would buy her own birthday presents with his card... but now, their daughter was asking to go to the zoo with her friends. Looking at Morgan, she offered her daughter a smile. "That sounds like a wonderful idea and I'm certain we can make it happen," she told her. Though, she wondered if Morgan would be excited for the other surprise she had planned for her birthday as well. Turning to her husband, she nodded. "I'm sure they'll be able to help. Do you remember how old Comet was when we adopted her?" Comet wasn't a tiny puppy when they adopted her, maybe they could try to at least figure out the month the dog was born.

"I'm not sure... she must have been at least eight to ten weeks... the adoption agency wouldn't have let me have her before that. But she'd already belonged to somebody else and they'd given her up because they hadn't realized how big she was going to grow. Like I said, I'll make a couple of phone calls." He grabbed his phone off the counter to look up the number.

Morgan thought of something else she wanted to ask while she waited. "How come you and Daddy don't have birthday parties?" she asked her mother.

Standing on her tiptoes, Morgan gently tugs at her dad’s sleeve. “Daddy, the bunnies got into Mommy’s flowers again,” she sighed. “Can you help me clean up before Mommy comes home… please?” Pepper had made a quick trip into town to pick up some things for dinner, as well as a few packages that she had sent to the PO Box - but Morgan didn’t want the bunnies to get in trouble like Gerald always got in trouble when he ate from the garden.

"Oh, did they?" asked Tony. He pulled up one of the outside cameras at his work bench and sure enough... there were pots knocked over and soil on deck. "Right. We don't want Mommy to find a mess." He saved what he was working on and got up. "Maybe we need to make the bunnies a special space to play in... like how people have catios for their cats."

[imjustthemechanic]

"Oh no, Comet has to have a birthday!" Morgan said, shocked that they didn't know when Comet's birthday was. When they adopted her, Comet was already quite a few months old. "We never asked when her birthday was. We have to find out!" After finding a much better place to hide Morgan's birthday present, Pepper went to rejoin her family. Coming downstairs, she could hear Morgan's concern over Comet's birthday and chuckled quietly. Their daughter had so much love for all their animals. "Don't worry, Morgan... I'm sure there's a way for us to find out," she reassured her daughter, while offering Comet her squeaky duck. "You're so sweet to be concerned with Comet's birthday... you haven't even told us what you want to do for yours." She said, glancing at Tony. Pepper already had a few things planned for them to do, but she was curious what their daughter was thinking.

Morgan knew exactly what she wanted to do for her birthday. "I want to go to the zoo and watch them feed the animals," she said. "And we can invite some of the kids from the park, and we can have cake and ice cream after."

"I think we can do that," said Tony. He was pleased it was such a 'normal' birthday party idea... it meant they were succeeding in not spoiling her. Hopefully it would also mean that the kids she invited were there because they wanted to have fun, not because they were hoping for favours from the 'rich kid'. "Why don't you make a list of who you want to come, and I'll call the dog adoption centre and see if they've got a record of Comet's birthday?"

Standing on her tiptoes, Morgan gently tugs at her dad’s sleeve. “Daddy, the bunnies got into Mommy’s flowers again,” she sighed. “Can you help me clean up before Mommy comes home… please?” Pepper had made a quick trip into town to pick up some things for dinner, as well as a few packages that she had sent to the PO Box - but Morgan didn’t want the bunnies to get in trouble like Gerald always got in trouble when he ate from the garden.

"Oh, did they?" asked Tony. He pulled up one of the outside cameras at his work bench and sure enough... there were pots knocked over and soil on deck. "Right. We don't want Mommy to find a mess." He saved what he was working on and got up. "Maybe we need to make the bunnies a special space to play in... like how people have catios for their cats."

[imjustthemechanic]

While Tony distracted Morgan with the frozen foods, Pepper was able to get the bag which contained her books and their daughter's birthday gift so she could bring it upstairs. Smiling when she heard Morgan's excitement about the ice cream, she chuckled. "You'll have to eat all of your dinner tonight if you want some ice cream," she teased, placing a kiss on each of their cheeks. "I'll be right back." Heading upstairs, Pepper laughed when Comet followed her. "Oh, you're nosy too," she shook her head, offering Comet a few gentle pats. "I'll be right back, okay? Go see Morgan," she told the dog.

Comet was happy to obey, and went and tried to stick her nose in the bag Morgan was carrying. Morgan giggled and tried to hold it away, but Comet was quite large now and more than able to reach, especially when she stood on her hind legs.

"Okay, girl, calm down." Tony grabbed the dog's collar so Morgan could take the bag to the freezer. "We'll distract you. Where's your squeaky duck?"

"Daddy?" asked Morgan, "when is Comet's birthday?"

"Uh... we don't know," Tony admitted. "She's probably about a year old."

Standing on her tiptoes, Morgan gently tugs at her dad’s sleeve. “Daddy, the bunnies got into Mommy’s flowers again,” she sighed. “Can you help me clean up before Mommy comes home… please?” Pepper had made a quick trip into town to pick up some things for dinner, as well as a few packages that she had sent to the PO Box - but Morgan didn’t want the bunnies to get in trouble like Gerald always got in trouble when he ate from the garden.

"Oh, did they?" asked Tony. He pulled up one of the outside cameras at his work bench and sure enough... there were pots knocked over and soil on deck. "Right. We don't want Mommy to find a mess." He saved what he was working on and got up. "Maybe we need to make the bunnies a special space to play in... like how people have catios for their cats."

[imjustthemechanic]

"The emu is perfectly happy at the actual zoo, thank you," Pepper teased back. She loved her husband very much... but they had plenty of animals at home. Unpacking the bags to get the groceries in the fridge, she smiled just imagining what Tony and Morgan were already planning for this bunny space. Closing the door, she turned around to look at her family and smiled. Pepper felt so lucky. Morgan was peeking at some of the other things her mom had picked up in town. "What else did you get?" She asked, looking at her mom. Pepper laughed, going back to her bag to show Morgan the books she picked out, but also did her best to cover up the small package in her purse. "Oh little miss nosy over here," she teased. "I needed to get some groceries and picked up some mail from the PO Box." What she didn't share was that some of that mail was part of Morgan's birthday present.

Tony, who did know that there was a gift involved, came and scooped Morgan up. "Let's get the cold stuff into the freezer before it melts," he said. "And then we can talk about a bunny patio. Here. Carry this." He gave Morgan the bag with the frozen foods in it.

She peeked in and her face lit up. "Unicorn ice cream!" This was mixed fruit flavours with edible glitter in it, and was Morgan's favourite. "Is that for my birthday?"

Tony laughed. "Yes," he said, "but I bet if we ask really nice Mom will let us have some for dessert tonight instead of having to wait."

Standing on her tiptoes, Morgan gently tugs at her dad’s sleeve. “Daddy, the bunnies got into Mommy’s flowers again,” she sighed. “Can you help me clean up before Mommy comes home… please?” Pepper had made a quick trip into town to pick up some things for dinner, as well as a few packages that she had sent to the PO Box - but Morgan didn’t want the bunnies to get in trouble like Gerald always got in trouble when he ate from the garden.

"Oh, did they?" asked Tony. He pulled up one of the outside cameras at his work bench and sure enough... there were pots knocked over and soil on deck. "Right. We don't want Mommy to find a mess." He saved what he was working on and got up. "Maybe we need to make the bunnies a special space to play in... like how people have catios for their cats."

[imjustthemechanic]

“I did. The newer elves get assigned to welcoming duty usually. It’s a semi-official role. That’s why I was there for you. As far as I know the person that welcomed me wasn’t anyone I knew before.”

"Did you ask? I guess you didn't have any reason to." Tony scowled at his reflection - he was gonna have to find a razor, or at least some scissors. The Snow White's Room-Mate look had to go. "What is the semi-official role for dwarves, then?"

D&D style alter-life || Nat || Closed

@imjustthemechanic

Nat had been there for weeks at that point. Learning to adapt to what was apparently her new life. Or afterlife. Or alter-life.

She still didn’t have it all figured out.

What she did know what where people who ended up in this world spawned, for lack of a better word.

The sunken stone circle in the old elven ruins.

A flash of blue light told her, and anyone else looking that way, that a new person had arrived.

As a newcomer, it was her duty to greet them and ease them into this world.

She went down to the circle, approaching cautiously. People all had very different reactions to waking up there.

(Random Pinterest pic for Elf!Nat)

[imjustthemechanic]

"Oh, I bet that was really neat to see," Pepper said as they headed inside. "Though, I hope he finds his way, wouldn't want him to stay lost for too long. Reminds me of the one time those cool ducks landed in the lake." Heading inside, Pepper set down her bags on the counter, then leaned over to give Tony a quick kiss. "Sounds like a productive afternoon... aside from the mess..." she said, then looked at Morgan. "We'll have to look up some ideas for this "catio" you told me about."

"We will. Little Miss has already said she wants to help build it. Our zoo continues to expand, both at home and at the actual zoo. Which really means there's no reason not to get an emu," he teased. Pepper had been very firm about her opinions on the emu.

Standing on her tiptoes, Morgan gently tugs at her dad’s sleeve. “Daddy, the bunnies got into Mommy’s flowers again,” she sighed. “Can you help me clean up before Mommy comes home… please?” Pepper had made a quick trip into town to pick up some things for dinner, as well as a few packages that she had sent to the PO Box - but Morgan didn’t want the bunnies to get in trouble like Gerald always got in trouble when he ate from the garden.

"Oh, did they?" asked Tony. He pulled up one of the outside cameras at his work bench and sure enough... there were pots knocked over and soil on deck. "Right. We don't want Mommy to find a mess." He saved what he was working on and got up. "Maybe we need to make the bunnies a special space to play in... like how people have catios for their cats."

[imjustthemechanic]

“There’s plenty to read and a lot to learn,” she agreed. “Yeah, there’s one in the bathroom, I’ll show you where it is. The tub is amazing.” She led him back down to the main level and to the only bathroom in the cottage. “It’s in there. Don’t worry too much, I freaked out too.”

"Did you have somebody here to say hi to you?" Tony asked. "Anybody we know?" Had everybody who'd been snapped ended up here? If so... so many questions.

He went into the bathroom and grabbed the edge of the sink to take a look. What he saw... did not look like him. At least, not what he thought of as him. It looked like... like a goddamn fantasy dwarf in red and gold armor, all beard and bushy eyebrows and big nose. Tony used several words that Pepper would have scolded him for.

D&D style alter-life || Nat || Closed

@imjustthemechanic

Nat had been there for weeks at that point. Learning to adapt to what was apparently her new life. Or afterlife. Or alter-life.

She still didn’t have it all figured out.

What she did know what where people who ended up in this world spawned, for lack of a better word.

The sunken stone circle in the old elven ruins.

A flash of blue light told her, and anyone else looking that way, that a new person had arrived.

As a newcomer, it was her duty to greet them and ease them into this world.

She went down to the circle, approaching cautiously. People all had very different reactions to waking up there.

(Random Pinterest pic for Elf!Nat)

[imjustthemechanic]

Pepper couldn't help but laugh when she heard them both insisting whatever happened wasn't the alpaca's fault. It wasn't until she and Morgan went up to the porch when she saw the scene of the crime and the cleanup. "Ah... I see," she said, looking at her daughter. Now she understood why they were protecting the alpaca. Though, she offered Morgan a smile and shook her head. "Whatever will we do with the bunnies!" "We can build them a catio... but for bunnies!" Morgan said, wrapping her arms around her mom again. "Ohh... okay, we'll have to look at that," Pepper smiled. "Other than cleaning up a crime scene, how was your afternoon?"

"Pretty quiet, honestly," said Tony. "We took Comet for her walk, and since then I've been looking at Rocket's nanites and Morgan watched some Bluey until she realized the bunnies were out causing chaos. Maguna," he added, "do you wanna tell Mom what kind of bird we saw on Comet's walk?"

Morgan beamed. "The bird app says it's a Steller's Jay! But it's lost, because they're not supposed to live here."

Standing on her tiptoes, Morgan gently tugs at her dad’s sleeve. “Daddy, the bunnies got into Mommy’s flowers again,” she sighed. “Can you help me clean up before Mommy comes home… please?” Pepper had made a quick trip into town to pick up some things for dinner, as well as a few packages that she had sent to the PO Box - but Morgan didn’t want the bunnies to get in trouble like Gerald always got in trouble when he ate from the garden.

"Oh, did they?" asked Tony. He pulled up one of the outside cameras at his work bench and sure enough... there were pots knocked over and soil on deck. "Right. We don't want Mommy to find a mess." He saved what he was working on and got up. "Maybe we need to make the bunnies a special space to play in... like how people have catios for their cats."

[imjustthemechanic]

Mrs. Kaplan was rather astonished by her visitor. "Uh... Mr. Stark?" she said. "This is a surprise. What can I do for you?"

"I'm actually here to see William," said Tony. "I gave a talk at the science fair at his school and he asked a couple of questions. They were more about the superhero-y stuff than the science-y stuff so I couldn't really answer them at the time, but I thought we could chat."

"Mrs. Kaplan, good to meet you," said Tony. He wondered... did Billy consider himself lucky or unlucky to technically have two sets of parents?

Oh. My. Gosh. Billy grimaced as he hid behind the wall, and crossed his fingers. All he could do was hope that Mr. Stark didn't embarrass him, or at the very least, didn't out him as a supposed Maximoff. Please, please, please?

[imjustthemechanic]

“No idea,” she admitted as she closed the door behind them. “Make yourself at home, there’s plenty of room. Actually, I’ll show you the spare rooms and you can have your pick.” She led him to the two spare rooms so he could pick his out.

"I guess I can handle every bed being a king-sized bed," said Tony... though it was gonna be lonely sleeping by himself. He wasn't used to it anymore. "I'll take the one with the bookshelves. Something tells me I'll be collecting books." He needed to learn how this world worked. "You got... uh... I'm gonna be sorry I asked, but you got a mirror in here anywhere?"

D&D style alter-life || Nat || Closed

@imjustthemechanic

Nat had been there for weeks at that point. Learning to adapt to what was apparently her new life. Or afterlife. Or alter-life.

She still didn’t have it all figured out.

What she did know what where people who ended up in this world spawned, for lack of a better word.

The sunken stone circle in the old elven ruins.

A flash of blue light told her, and anyone else looking that way, that a new person had arrived.

As a newcomer, it was her duty to greet them and ease them into this world.

She went down to the circle, approaching cautiously. People all had very different reactions to waking up there.

(Random Pinterest pic for Elf!Nat)

[imjustthemechanic]

“Some things are probably out of reach, but I think you’ll be okay for the most part. I can always help too.” She led him from the stone circle and up a grassy path into the woods. “I’m not sure about powers. Maybe I haven’t been here long enough to learn. They are seriously into gardening and herbalism though.” They came to her cottage a short while later and she let him in. “Home sweet home.”

"Dang," said Tony, looking at the house. "I hate to think what the rent on this place would be on Long Island." He climbed the steps, which were probably considered shallow for tall people - he had no trouble with them. A place with multiple sizes of human-shaped things probably had to take this into account. "I guess you have no idea why we ended up here, huh?" If he could figure that out, a way back might be on offer...

D&D style alter-life || Nat || Closed

@imjustthemechanic

Nat had been there for weeks at that point. Learning to adapt to what was apparently her new life. Or afterlife. Or alter-life.

She still didn’t have it all figured out.

What she did know what where people who ended up in this world spawned, for lack of a better word.

The sunken stone circle in the old elven ruins.

A flash of blue light told her, and anyone else looking that way, that a new person had arrived.

As a newcomer, it was her duty to greet them and ease them into this world.

She went down to the circle, approaching cautiously. People all had very different reactions to waking up there.

(Random Pinterest pic for Elf!Nat)

[imjustthemechanic]

Woke up in the middle of the night to make Thomas the Hank Engine

[imjustthemechanic]

She was relived he accepted their current reality without a fight. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I’ve just been living here and learning the ropes of being an elf. It’s pretty chill, really”, she shrugged. Nat knew his mind was already working on how to get home. She’d thought about it too, truth be told. “Do you want to see my place? Make it home base, so to speak?”

Now Tony kind of wished he'd played that stupid game... maybe he'd have some idea what to expect here. Maybe that's what this was? Some kind of dumb game played by any of the ridiculous god-like beings that apparently inhabited the fringes of the universe. If so, Tony was gonna find the guy and punch him in the face.

Maybe not the face. Apparently he was too short for that. But balls might be nicely within range.

"Your place, sure," he said. He presumably didn't have one of his own, so hers would do. "I'm guessing everything there is gonna be way over my head. Do elves got any cool magic powers or anything? I never saw those movies."

D&D style alter-life || Nat || Closed

@imjustthemechanic

Nat had been there for weeks at that point. Learning to adapt to what was apparently her new life. Or afterlife. Or alter-life.

She still didn’t have it all figured out.

What she did know what where people who ended up in this world spawned, for lack of a better word.

The sunken stone circle in the old elven ruins.

A flash of blue light told her, and anyone else looking that way, that a new person had arrived.

As a newcomer, it was her duty to greet them and ease them into this world.

She went down to the circle, approaching cautiously. People all had very different reactions to waking up there.

(Random Pinterest pic for Elf!Nat)

[imjustthemechanic]

Parking the car, Pepper could see Tony and Morgan from the deck and wondered what was going on. Getting out of the car, she grabbed her bags and made sure one of the packages she picked up was hidden - it contained part of Morgan's birthday present. Noticing Gerald, Morgan sighed. "Gerald... Mommy's going to yell at you and it's not even your fault!" The little girl sighed before running over to her mom. "Hi Mommy!" Pepper chuckled, letting Morgan wrap her arms around her. "Hello Madame Secretary," she gave her a little squeeze. "What happened out here?"

"It wasn't Gerald!" Morgan said immediately. "He didn't do anything!" On the deck, Tony had taken the alpaca by his harness and was leading him back to the pen with Dandy and Daffodoodle.

"It's true!" said Tony. "As this alpaca's attorney I wish to state that he was in no way responsible for any damage to your plants or their receptacles. He has an alibi!"

Standing on her tiptoes, Morgan gently tugs at her dad’s sleeve. “Daddy, the bunnies got into Mommy’s flowers again,” she sighed. “Can you help me clean up before Mommy comes home… please?” Pepper had made a quick trip into town to pick up some things for dinner, as well as a few packages that she had sent to the PO Box - but Morgan didn’t want the bunnies to get in trouble like Gerald always got in trouble when he ate from the garden.

"Oh, did they?" asked Tony. He pulled up one of the outside cameras at his work bench and sure enough... there were pots knocked over and soil on deck. "Right. We don't want Mommy to find a mess." He saved what he was working on and got up. "Maybe we need to make the bunnies a special space to play in... like how people have catios for their cats."

[imjustthemechanic]

Tony. As in Stark? Surely not. But then, how many Tonys did she know that could also end up here AND still recognize her? “I’m not ten feet tall, you’re short. I think you’re a Dwarf here. Suspend your disbelief and just try and accept that we’re not actually dead, okay? It makes everything else easier to deal with. I’ve been here for weeks, close to two months. In this world’s time. I have no idea about back home.”

Tony's first reaction to the word 'dwarf' was to want to go wow, rude. Yes, he was kinda short, but... now he looked around at the other people who were watching from the edges of the stone circle. Some of them were tall and just unfairly pretty, with pointed ears, like Nat now was. Others looked normal until you saw things like ears and horns... and there were a couple of short, hairy ones. He remembered some nerd at MIT trying to get him into D&D and telling him that dwarves were engineers...

"Okay, yeah," he decided. "We can't be dead, because this is way too dumb to be the afterlife. What... what happens now?" He was already wondering if there were a way to get back to reality.

D&D style alter-life || Nat || Closed

@imjustthemechanic

Nat had been there for weeks at that point. Learning to adapt to what was apparently her new life. Or afterlife. Or alter-life.

She still didn’t have it all figured out.

What she did know what where people who ended up in this world spawned, for lack of a better word.

The sunken stone circle in the old elven ruins.

A flash of blue light told her, and anyone else looking that way, that a new person had arrived.

As a newcomer, it was her duty to greet them and ease them into this world.

She went down to the circle, approaching cautiously. People all had very different reactions to waking up there.

(Random Pinterest pic for Elf!Nat)

[imjustthemechanic]

Billy stumbled with that, tripping over himself as the hamper collided with him. It wasn't much, but it was enough for a petulant and teenage ow as he grumbled to pick himself back up. Magic began sparking, his hoodie bleeding into Wanda's shade of red. "Come on, buddy... don't you want to go home? Home?"

"Home! Nice place! No big primates trying to catch you!" Tony said. He grabbed a rather beat-up sweater out of the clothes that had spilled from the hamper, and managed to throw it over the pterodactyl. "I got him! I got him!"

"Probably for the best, Mr. Stark," Billy chuckled a bit. He wanted to comment a bit more, maybe offer a way to look less fishy, maybe to comment on how Tony looked like he was about to say, toro, toro! But there were more important things, and he focused on making soothing noises, trying to lure it towards the rift he had accidentally, read that, totally an accident, made. When it dove at him, he yelped, crossing his arms in front of his face with a dash of bright blue, spherical light erupting from his hands. It kept the not-a-real-dinosaur from launching at his face, but holy crap did it scare him. "Calm down, little guy! We're trying to help!"

The pterodactyl - Billy had used another name for it but as far as Tony was concerned it was just a pterodactyl - darted away from the flash of light, and Tony realized it was going for the window. The window was closed, but what if it broke or something? He dived on it, trying to grab the animal with his bare hands. Things fell off shelves in the tussle, making a mess. Tony grabbed the animal by one wing, then tripped over the clothes hamper and fell against Billy.