Tony stormed into Pepper's office, the same way he did one to three times every week, and twice as often during holidays. Her assistant trailed a half-step behind him, attempting as always to keep him in the lobby until the current conference call was over. Pepper glanced up for half a moment, confirming that it was just Tony being his usual self, full of mischief and frantic energy at some made-up slight. However, that wasn't what she saw. The franticness was there, but underlying it was more frustration, with a hint of anger. He held his body tightly, hands clenched into fists instead of swinging loosely at his sides. Something was actually wrong this time.
"Gentlemen, it seems we've come to an impasse for the time being," she said into the phone. It was true enough, as they'd been arguing the same two points for fifteen minutes and nothing new was being said. "We'll reschedule this for the same time next week and hopefully we can try again." The voices on the line thankfully agreed with her and she hung up.
Waving her assistant out the door, she approached Tony. "What happened?"
"They turned us into cards."
The sentence made absolutely no sense to Pepper, and she told him so.
Tony fumbled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up a website. It was a greeting card company, small and online only from the look of it. Sure enough, there was a minimalistic design of the Iron Man helmet, alongside a depiction of Captain America's shield and silhouettes of Thor and the Hulk. Black Widow and Hawkeye were, as per usual, noticeably absent from the lineup. She didn't particularly see the problem, until she noticed the category header.
Father's Day
"They put us on Father's Day cards," Tony said. "Us, the trifecta of daddy issues on greeting cards all about the man himself. And the only reason it's not a quadfecta is because Cap never met his dad, although I'm sure that's a whole different kind of daddy issues right there."
"Tony," Pepper said, placing a hand on his arm. "How did you find out about these?"
"Darcy."
Pepper nodded. Of course it was Darcy. The intern always had an eye out for Avengers merchandise, and tended to report the more questionable items to Pepper herself. "And she told you?"
"No, she told Bruce." At Pepper's sharp intake of breath, he hastened to tell her, "He's fine, no code green any time soon. He's just a little more bitter right now, but he told me that that's normal for him on this particular holiday and not to worry. My question is, what can we do about this?"
Looking down at the website again, Pepper shook her head. "Tony, they're artistic renderings of public figures," she said. "They don't seem to be defamatory in any way. I hate to say it, but there's not much we can do."
Tony sighed dejectedly. "I thought you'd say that. I didn't want to hear it, but I thought you'd say it. It's like putting Batman on a Father's Day card, except for the part where he's a fictional character and we're human beings with feelings."
She squeezed his arm before wrapping him in a hug. "I know you hate Father's Day. I remember the June Drinking Binge of 2006." She felt him wince at that. "But you do remember that you are a dad, right?"
"I know," he said firmly. "And you know I would do anything and everything for that girl. But, everything about this day just…"
"I know," Pepper assured him. They stood like that for a few more moments, Tony wrapped in her arms, before he pulled himself away.
"I'm going back to the lab. I think Bruce and I are going to blow some stuff up, but don't worry," he assured her, "nothing that will cause structural damage, even though it's my tower and I should be able to break it however I like."
"Just don't damage my twelve percent," she said as he kissed her cheek.
Two weeks and an alien attack later, he had mostly forgotten about his small, greeting card-induced breakdown. He wandered down to his lab, eager to work on the repulsor modifications he'd come up with during a late night brainstorming session with Clint. He turned on the lights, only to find Anna sitting on the couch. She had two cups of coffee, a small wrapped present, and an envelope next to her.
"Happy father's day."
He froze for a split second, then a smile spread across his face. "Thanks, pumpkin."
She held up one of the mugs, steam still curling from the rim. "I had JARVIS tell me when you woke up so it's fresh. Thought you might like some java before you start on your projects today."
"Always," he said, taking the drink. It was brewed to perfection, and smelled fantastic. "What's in the box?"
"Present," she said, tossing him the box. He arched an eyebrow at her and proceeded to tear the paper off.
Folded up inside was a tie, printed with wrenches, hammers and other tools. "Think I could get away with wearing it to the next charity gala?"
She smiled into her mug. "Maybe if you ask Mom really nicely. There's a card too, you know."
"Yeah, but everyone knows the present is the best part," he said. Tony picked up the envelope and slid a finger under the seal, tearing it open. The first thing he saw was a metallic red, which quickly gave way to the gold of his helmet as he pulled it out. Sure enough, it was the same card he'd seen online a few weeks before.
Tony grimaced, but opened the card and read the interior.
Strong.
Brave.
Amazing.
And you don't even need the suit.
Happy Father's Day to an INCREDIBLE DAD.
"Thought you might like that," Anna said. "Feed your ego a little bit. Plus, you know, I actually mean it."
He reread the sentiment again, and then a third time. Swallowing all his hurt feelings of the past, he grinned, a real smile for his daughter. "Thanks, pumpkin. You're not half-bad yourself."
She rolled her eyes. "You love me and you can't imagine life without me."
Dropping down on the couch, he wrapped an arm around her. "And don't you ever forget it."