Pepper arrived home early one day; with most of the work done for that week, she was in pretty good mood. Tony turned around on the couch when he heard the elevator doors ding open and instantly smiled when he saw her.
"Hey, Honey." Tony greeted her with a wide grin.
She smiled warmly. "Hello. I'm surprised you're not in the lab."
"Oh, I'm just going through some old stuff." He replied, glancing down at the cardboard box in front of his feet. "Want to come here for a sec?"
Pepper raised an eyebrow and walked over; she was curious to see what he was reminiscing over. She dropped her purse at the side of the couch and came over to sit beside him, but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her on top of his lap.
Her legs dangled off the side of his, and her hand went behind his head to play with the hair on the back of his head. He mindlessly stroked her lower back while he reached inside the cardboard box.
"Oh my god," Pepper gasped, retracting her hand from the back of his head (this made him frown). She held up a dark red little onesie. "Is this…?"
"Yeah…" Tony smiled and blushed.
Pepper took a good look at the article of clothing, looking at its front and its back, and admiring the buttons that held the bottom up. She looked absolutely mesmerized by it; maybe because it was Tony's.
"Oh!" Pepper squealed, reaching inside the box. She held up matching little dark red booties. "Oh my god, Tony." She was in complete awe. "These are so cute—Where in the world did this box come from?"
Tony played with the fabric of her skirt and smiled lovingly. "Remember when Rhodey and I messed up the house?—Well, of course you remember that. Anyways, I had to put a few things in storage while the workers remodeled the house, and I forgot I put them in storage until just recently when the people called, saying I had a late payment." He reached back inside the box and pulled out an album. "There were more boxes, but it was just junk." He sat the album on top of Pepper's lap and watched her open it. He prepared his ears.
"Aww!" Pepper squealed, looking at the first picture of the album. "Look at you!"
Little Anthony Edward Stark was butt naked and couldn't be more than half a year old. It wasn't a professional photograph, which made it that much more special. He was laying down on the floor, crying and reaching for something beyond the lens of the camera. He looked absolutely adorable.
Tony winced at Pepper's cries. "I've made a terrible mistake." He joked, smiling up at her and then down at the album.
"We're keeping this." She laughed, and then she turned the page. She grew quiet, making Tony very curious as to which picture she was looking at. It was a picture of him, a little over a year old, his mother, and his father. He was surprised to see that his father was actually smiling. She gently ran her fingers over everyone's faces, admiring his parents' smiles and little Anthony's toothless grin.
Tony smiled warmly at the picture and pressed his lips to her arm. "They would've loved you."
Pepper returned the warm smile and leaned into his chest, affectionately playing with the hair on the back of his head. Tony never really talked about his parents to her, unless it was in the middle of his drunken state on a late Thursday evening in the middle of his living room while he was puking in a wastebasket. Oh, those were great moments.
"They would've asked me to bring you over for dinner and then proceed to berate you for choosing an idiot like me." He chuckled, leaning into her hand. "And then my mom would've asked, more than twice in a span of five minutes, when her grandchildren would be arriving."
Pepper laughed and rest her forehead against the side of his head, loving this cute moment between them. It was always heartwarming to have a conversation with him that didn't involve the company, Iron Man, and anything related to other work.
"Do you want children?" Pepper asked blatantly, not sure if it was the right time to. They never really talked about having children or the possibility of wanting children. She always figured the word was taboo to him.
Tony tilted his head to the side for a moment and thought about the word. Up until Afghanistan, children were the farthest from his mind; it was always sex, partying, drinking, and more sex, and sometimes in that order. He never thought he'd be in a relationship with Pepper, or even think about having children with her, much less having sex with her. After Afghanistan, everything fell into place, one after another, and he's never been happier. Has he ever wondered if he and Pepper would ever have kids? Of course, but he never wondered far enough to ask her.
"Maybe. I don't know." He shrugged, turning his gaze to her. "I mean, I'd like to have some, down the road." He watched her lips form a small curled smile, and he melted against her, loving how good she made him feel. "But, I kind of wonder sometimes if my girlfriend does."
"Really?" She asked, smiling widely and sweetly.
He nodded. "Yeah."
"And does she?"
"I haven't asked her yet." Tony glanced down at the album shyly, and then looked back up at her with big, soft, and wandering brown eyes.
Pepper chuckled and turned the page of the album. The next page was similar to the last, except this time, it looked like an outtake. Howard was holding a crying little Anthony at arms lengths away with both hands underneath the boy's armpits; his face was a mixture of fear and worry, as if he wondered if there was a way to turn his son off. Maria was laughing next to them, waving at the camera man to keep taking pictures.
Tony watched her turn the page again, and this time JARVIS, their butler, was in the photo with them. Maria, Howard, and JARVIS were all smiling and posing professionally, while little Anthony had one hand up, reaching for JARVIS' tie with glowing fascination.
"A couple." She replied, making Tony elicit a questioning hum. She turned her head to smile lovingly at him. "I'd like a couple."
Tony grinned widely. "Just a couple?"
"It's not like I want an army."
He laughed at the mental image. "An army of little tiny Pepper and Tony's. I'm sure Fury would be the perfect candidate as a nanny." Pepper laughed alongside him. "So, when do you think you want to start?"
"Why?" She narrowed her eyes at him and smiled. "Do you want them right now?"
"Not right now. They take nine months to pop out." He replied with an adorable smile.
"Pop out." She repeated, shaking her head. "And what about work and Iron Man?"
"I can take some days off and take care of him."
"Or her." She replied without skipping a beat.
"Or her." He agreed with a wide grin. "Kind of hoping it'll be a girl."
"Why, so you can spoil her silly?"
"No," He leaned in to press his lips to her stomach. "So I can spoil both my girls silly."
Pepper laughed and hugged his head to her stomach, loving every single kiss he was giving her.