Another piece of my writing assignment. I'm not exactly happy with the last part after the promise but I had to use a particular word... Anyway, have some Stark Family!
No one said having a child would be easy. No one said parenting would be the most pleasant thing right away. One child was easy to handle, two made it complicated. Tony had been worried throughout both pregnancies. Constantly worried that he wouldn't be a good father, given his own childhood experiences, Pepper constantly had to calm him down whenever he was close to having an anxiety attack. Most of the time she sent him off to tinker on some gadget and talk about it later.
Privacy was something Pepper Potts valued about everything else. She had never been one to be in the public eye even though being the wife of Tony Stark didn't make the task of staying in the shadows exactly easy. Their daughters shouldn't have to worry about constant surveillance – neither because of the press nor because of bodyguards to keep them safe. Maria and Margaret should have normal lives, as far as that was possible.
Whenever Tony was on a mission, much like it had been the case this time, Pepper would stay at home and spend her whole time with Maria and Margaret. It wasn't easy, two little gremlins running around the house and wanting to play with whatever they could find. It was exactly why Pepper liked to go out with the girls let them play at the beach or take them to the zoo.
The press didn't seem to spot them this easily, her being dresses in casual clothes, little make-up, they didn't seem to recognize her. However, there was one reporter who always seemed to keep an eye on the Starks: Christine Everhart.
Tony's one-night-stand seemed to be obsessed with them, thought everything unusual to be newsworthy even though it rarely got it into the news. The first time she had spotted Pepper alone with Maria, she had thought the marriage to be obscure. 'Marriage for the Money?' had been the title of her story, stating the strawberry blonde had only married the billionaire genius for the money and had a child to keep him around.
Their lawyer had taken care of it.
No-one ever dared to doubt the marriage again after that incident. It was irrefutable to the press, that Tony Stark was utterly in love with Pepper Potts and vice versa. Fortunately, they even deemed their children to be some lucky girls to have parents like them.
The day outside had been uneventful, the girls were so exhausted, Pepper carried them to bed as soon as they arrived at home. This was her favorite time of the day. Not because the girls couldn't cause any trouble but because they looked so innocent, so fragile, when they were asleep.
Getting them to sleep, however, wasn't usually this easy. "You know the drill," she would say but the girls had something different in mind.
It was past eleven o'clock when Pepper decided it was time to call it a night. She had the habit of staying up long whenever Tony was gone on a mission. Her days were long, her nights were short. But not once had she complained or begged him to stop. No, she knew exactly how much being Iron Man meant to him and she couldn't take it from him.
Just as she was about to turn of the light in the living room, she heard the sounds coming from the workshop. Tony. Worry being the strongest emotion, she made her way down to the workshop, bare feet running over the cold floor and down the stairs.
Once she entered the code and walked in, Tony was already halfway out of the suit and seemed to be in one piece. A relieved sigh escaped her.
"Honey, I'm home," he tried to comfort his wife and gave her his trademark smile. Waiting patiently, Pepper had him in a welcoming embrace as soon as the whole suit was gone.
"We missed you. Is everything okay now?"
"Seems to be. At least for now. You know, I would die for a cheeseburger right now."
That had her laughing. "You've been gone for three days and the first thing you ask for is a cheeseburger?"
"I have my needs, Pepper."
"Oh, you got some special needs."
He was quite afterwards and she just took his hands to lead him upstairs only to fix him a sandwich once they reached the kitchen.
Leaning against the counter, she watched her husband eat for a moment before she couldn't bear the silence anymore. "You know, I think we should go on a vacation. Just the four of us, no work, no Iron Man." Not that it was this easy, though some family time would have been really needed.
A sigh was his reply. "You are right, but need to plan it first. There are certain requirements–"
"Like what?" Pepper looked at him with a brow risen.
"I have a feeling I shouldn't talk about this now." They were both tired, it would only end in a fight. Eating the last bit of his sandwich, he got himself a glass of water before taking his wife's hand.
"It's late, we should get some sleep."
Minutes later, the two of them had changed and laid down in bed. Though usually the other way round, Tony was spooning her and held her close to him while her delicate fingers drew lazy patterns on his forearm.
"You know, you and the girls, you are my greatest achievement. Everything I do, my performance as Iron Man, it's to keep you safe."
Blue eyes already closed, Pepper only leant into him some more. "I know. If it helps your self-esteem, I couldn't be prouder of you. I just think it would be good if we could spend some time away from all the stress. Take the girls to Italy, or visit my parents again…" Some normal vacation.
"And we will do that. I promise." He kissed her cheek, held her a bit tighter.
When Tony got no reply, he thought Pepper had fallen asleep already and was about to do the same. As if she had sensed it, her voice reached his ears once again.
"You know, Maria might be a real prodigy of learning. She certainly got your genius brain."
"You think there might be a new genius in town?"
"I was thinking that should she ever show interesting in taking over the company, it would be a real blessing." The three year old definitely got something to look forward to – if only she would know it already.