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blackcoffeeandteardrops · 5 years ago

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Brave Face (2/2)

That’s right, nerds. I elected to follow my heart (and also peer pressure) and write a follow up to a recent post Endgame fic. Essentially, Tony is alive via a workaround and they begin to cope with that. Below the cut & on AO3:

A day passes, and then another. For the most part, everyone leaves them alone, as if an invisible layer stands between them and the outside world. Pepper's not stupid, she knows there's an army of reporters, salivating for that first shot of them in this new world, this new reality they've been thrust into. Happy visits, telling her there's been a billboard put up in Times Square, some sort of thank you, not that Tony's alive anymore to see it. She smiles politely, tossing away the remnants of their dinner, & shuffles him out the door. They'll be fine, she and Morgan. They have to be.

Truthfully, it's Morgan that's keeping her going. It's Morgan that wakes her up with pleas for waffles for breakfast or pizza for dinner, asking to eat on the couch and watch movies, even though they have rules about eating at the table. Pepper almost thinks her little girl is milking it, seeing how much she can get away with, but then she watches as Morgan's gaze drifts over to the corner where they've carefully tucked Tony's helmet away, and her heart lurches in her chest. Milking it or not, there's no way she's letting Morgan go without. Eventually, their routine will have to return to some semblance of normal, whatever that might look like. When Pepper goes to bed that night, watching as Morgan sleeps soundly at her side, she's not even sure what normal means anymore.

They're in the front yard the next morning when it happens. A feeling of cabin fever had settled over them both, and so Pepper suggests they play outside. Morgan's content for a while, first kicking a ball back and forth and then trying to jump and catch bubbles as Pepper blows them, but then something behind Pepper catches Morgan’s eye. She stops, mid step with eyes widened, and her mouth drops open like a fish.

Fear claws its way up Pepper's throat and she spins, afraid to see what's behind her, wholly unprepared for what she sees. "Tony? I…" she pauses, and this time she's the one whose mouth hangs agape. He smiles, eyes watery, and it's the most beautiful thing she's ever seen, but when Morgan starts to run towards him, she holds an arm out, forcing her to stop. "Morgan, honey, remember what I said about being safe?"

"Yeah, but that was about strangers. Daddy's not a stranger," Morgan replies, as if it couldn't be anymore obvious. Still, she clings tightly to Pepper's side, like she can't quite believe it herself.

"I probably should've called. Maybe warned you. But it's important for you to know that I came as soon as I could," Tony says, intending it as an explanation, though he knows full well she'll want more than that.

Pepper shifts her focus between Tony and Morgan, pretending she can't feel her pulse hammering in her throat. Before she lets Morgan anywhere near him, she needs to be sure. She leans down, eyes at her daughter's level, and points in the direction of her makeshift tent. "Can you give me and your father just a minute? I need--" she stops, blinking back hot tears as she glances back at him, still not certain he's real. "We need to make sure he's okay first. Alright?"

Morgan nods, lip pulled between her teeth, before running off and doing as asked.

"Pepper--" Tony says, cautiously taking a step closer, stopping when he sees her launch an arm out and watching in awe as the armor he'd crafted for her what feels like a lifetime before latches itself onto her outstretched limb. "It takes a titan threatening to destroy life on this planet as we know it for you to like a present I make you, hmm?"

Pepper shakes her head, her chest growing tight as she slowly takes a step back from him. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"I suppose I should've expected that," Tony replies with a sigh. "It turns out Rogers is good for something. He found me, an older version of himself anyhow, about two weeks ago. At least that's when I think it was. Time, it's a little--" he holds his hand out, wobbling it for effect. "He had something he called a Pym particle. He gave me a suit, and he told me what to do. And he told me what would happen if I didn't. Look, I know it sounds crazy," he continues, stepping so close her outstretched hand nearly brushes his chest, risking potentially getting blasted by her to make his point clear. "It's me. I swear."

"I watched you die, Tony. I watched as the life faded from your eyes and as the arc reactor light went out, so do not toy with me. I swear to you, if this isn't real? If this is some kind of...game, or…" Pepper stops, her voice trembling. In the periphery, she sees Morgan poking her head out from the tent.

Tony notices, too. He points, waving a little when Morgan looks at him. He pretends it doesn't hurt when she quickly ducks back inside the tent, apparently spooked. "We were in the park jogging. I told you I had a dream that we had a kid, that it seemed so real. Not long after, Stephen Strange appeared and said he needed my help. It was the last time I saw you until after I came back from space. A few weeks later, you'd told me my dream was right. Only, as it turns out, it wasn't a boy. It was a girl. Our little girl," he says, eyes welling with tears. He gestured to the tent, tightening his jaw, desperate to reassure her. "Ask me anything. I'm serious. We named her after your uncle, even though you thought maybe it was weird. You're allergic to strawberries, but somehow she's not, and so you risk anaphylactic shock to give her the birthday cake that happens to be her favorite. I...I once have you a giant bunny, and--"

Pepper lowers her arm, the armor clanking to the ground below them as she rushes to him, enveloping him in a hug, clinging as tight as she possibly can. "Tell me this is real, Tony," she whispers, tears soaking through to his skin.

"It's real," he replies, hands running down her back, touching as much of her as he can. “Hey, Pep,” he continues, his voice hoarse. His legs are like jello, but he makes himself wrap his arms around her, tethering her to him like a vice grip. “I’m sorry…”

“Don’t. Not now,” Pepper replies, pulling back just enough to get a look at his face. She traces a thumb across his face, trying to make sense of being able to touch him at all. “You’re okay?”

He winces, the adrenaline rolling off of him in waves. “Debatable,” he replies with a shrug. “But the rumors of my death have once again been greatly exaggerated. In a manner of speaking.”

“That’s not funny,” she warns him, though she can’t help the smile that quickly spreads on her lips. “I’m still not sure I understand. But you’re here, and that’s what matters.”

“I’ll explain as best I can. But, uh, can I--” he clears his throat, cocking his head in the direction of Morgan’s tent. As much as he wants to spend his time back--it still sounds strange to him to say that, his mind hasn’t entirely wrapped around the idea--with Pepper, he’s also eager to see his little girl. He kneels in front of the tent, waiting patiently. “Morguna,” he calls, waiting patiently. To him, it’s been a matter of hours since he’s seen her, but for her it’s been days. Days no doubt filled with a sadness and confusion no child her age should ever have to experience. He knew she’d be confused, but he wanted to try his best and do things at the pace she was comfortable. “Well, it’s a shame...I guess I’ll have to eat the juice pops that I’m sure are in the freezer all by myself.”

“You can’t do that,” Morgan replies, rushing out. “You’ll get a tummy ache.”

Tony tries not to laugh at the serious expression on her face. “How about a hug and then we can go share some then, hmm?”

They go inside, sharing the juice pops and talking about what it’s been like, the world’s population being returned to what it was before the snap. Pepper freezes, gripping the back of the couch for support. “Will you...will it affect--” she stops, shaking her head. Having him back is everything she’s ever wanted, but she hasn’t had the chance to consider if there might be some kind of ripple effect as a result of their playing with fate.

“No, it won’t,” he replies. They settle into their day, tip toeing around more serious conversation, not because it doesn’t need to happen, but because Morgan is there and there’s only so much of it that she can understand. Once she’s safely tucked in and has been read at least half a dozen stories, she dozes off, and Tony returns to the living room watching as Pepper pretends to read. He nudges the book, waiting until she sets it aside to speak. “You really are okay, right?”

“I mean, it’s not every day that my husband comes back from the dead or time travels from a time when he wasn’t to rectify his death, but that’s kind of par for the course with you, isn’t it?” she says, cocking her head to the side. She laces her fingers through his and pulls his hand into her lap, afraid to ask the question that’s been on her mind from the moment she saw him. “Tony, how long is this going to last? The particle that Steve gave you, it allowed you to travel here, but for how long?”

“It’s for good. I’m here for the long haul, Potts,” he says, knocking on his head, as if she needed more proof he was physically there. “I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”

“That’s definitely fine by me,” Pepper replies, kissing him like it’s one of the most important things she’s ever done. When their lips part, she rests her forehead against his, desperate to keep touching him for as long as possible. She sniffs, blinking back tears, wanting so badly to get used to it after the days she’d spent without his warmth next to her.

“I can feel you thinking,” Tony says, pulling back from her enough to catch her gaze. “What is it?”

“I was just thinking that as nice as this is, we’re probably going to have to tell people eventually. Or risk Morgan accidentally doing that for us,” Pepper replies with a shrug.

Tony nods, knowing she’s right. “Not everybody, not yet,” he says, eager to keep the world at bay. “Peter, Rhodey, and Happy. We’ll call them here in the morning. Everyone else can wait.”

“You’re sure you don’t want them to find out tonight? You know they’d love to see you. You’d have to explain, but--”

He lightly presses a finger to her lips, resolutely shaking his head. “They’ll have a million questions, I’ll have to explain everything. And I will. But tonight is just for us.”

“I can live with that,” Pepper replies, tugging on his hand and urging him to stand up.

Tony obliges, following her lead to their room. Walking through their home shouldn’t feel strange, and it doesn’t, not entirely. Still, he can only imagine the hell she’s gone through, thinking him dead. There’s a part of him that is sad he doesn’t have the memory of seeing her fly into fight Thanos in her armor, but he wouldn’t trade laying next to her in their bed with Morgan sleeping soundly down the hall for anything else in the world. He loops an arm around her waist, pulling her close, watching as she closes her eyes in contentment, only to open them a moment later. “I told you, Pep. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know,” Pepper replies, reaching a fingertip out and ghosting it across his brow. She bites back tears and breathes in deep, trying not to think of the version of him she watched die after defeating Thanos. This is her Tony, living and breathing and warm. She’s not sure her brain has fully wrapped around the fact time travel is real in the first place, let alone how it played a role in bringing the love of her life back to her, but she’s not going to second guess the gift they’ve been given. She presses her lips to his, slowly at first and then increasingly more desperate, hungry to remain in contact with him as long as she can. “I’m not going to wake up tomorrow and discover this has all been a dream, right?”

“Not a chance,” Tony replies, shaking his head. He shifts, sensing a lump against the mattress, and reaches underneath the blanket to retrieve a stuffed bear. He laughs, but it’s with a tightness in his chest. Of course Morgan had been there to keep Pepper company. “Shall we take bets as to whether or not she’ll worm her way into our bed tonight?”

“I’m almost surprised she’s not in here yet,” Pepper replies, burrowing further into her pillow. As much as she wants to keep looking at him, sleep threatens to overpower her. The faces of their friends filter through her mind, the ones who’d helped shoulder her grief when she’d believed Tony was lost to them, and she knows they deserve to know that he’s found his way back to them, safe and sound. Still, a selfish need begs her to keep everyone else, even those friends they hold dear, away, keeping him to herself for as long as she can. Surely, she thinks, she’s owed at least that. “We’ll tell them tomorrow?” she asks, her hand snaking out to find his, intent on linking them together, even during sleep.

Tony nods, resolute. He’d watched as Peter disintegrated into ash right before his eyes, so he was ready to wrap his arms around the kid again. He was. Still, he gave Pepper’s hand a squeeze, watching as sleep began to claim her, waiting for it to take him as well. Before long, he was sure Morgan would insist on joining them, eager for more time with him. He missed the kid, missed the others, but he knew that for now they could wait. “Yeah,” he says, pushing the hair from Pepper’s face. “Tomorrow.”

#pepperony #tony stark #pepper potts #fanfic #post endgame #au i guess #BUT IT'S REAL IN MY HEART

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