Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are the property of their creators, nor am I seeking to make a profit from this.
Tsukiau requested "I would like to see more Tony puppy love Pepper but that's probably just me" and I had all my Pepperony feels at once. I hope y'all like this little chapter! As always, please tell me what you want to see! I'll do my best.
Pepper woke to a sharp jab in her cheek. Her eyes flew open and she sat up quickly, not entirely sure as to what it was that woke her up. She looked around and nothing seemed amiss, and when she looked to her left and down she saw Tony kneeling next to her, still in his Iron Man pajamas with his hair disheveled. She let out her breath and looked down at him, a smile blooming across her face. She looked at her clock and saw that it was four thirty in the morning. The room was still dark, save for the soft moonlight that streamed in through the window.
"Hi Tony," she said, brushing his dark hair off his forehead – it was getting long; she would probably have to cut it soon. He won't like that. He still looked sleepy, but he kept jerking his eyes back open when they drooped, like his mind was ready to be awake before his body was.
"Hi Pepper!" he said, flopping down onto her lap.
"Why are you up so early?" she asked softly, stroking his head. He was usually one of the last ones up – Pepper guessed that it was his child's body making up for the lack of sleep his adult body always got. Adult-Tony stayed up all night and then slept all day, it's a wonder he could ever function. Thankfully, she thought, four year olds cannot stay up all night long, and at eight or nine every night he would fall asleep, regardless of whether he wanted to or not. They all were like that. She laid back down and Tony wriggled until he was laying alongside her, his head resting right next to her chest, under her arm.
"I had a bad dream," he said quietly. Pepper felt a jolt of sadness go through her. They had been this way for a month now, and he had had at least four other nightmares. They were all, he said, of him being tied down and in pain. That's as much as his horrible experiences in the Middle East could get through the barrier of Loki's spell, but it was still enough to scare little Tony out of his mind. She strained to see his face and saw that his eyes were red, and she wondered how long he had lain in his bed trying to stop crying before he came to Pepper. Even as a child he has to protect his ego... she thought. It brought a smile to her face, nonetheless. At least some things would never change.
"Don't worry sweetie, you're safe. I promise." She rolled onto her side so that they were facing each other. She stroked one hand down Tony's cheeks, and leaned forward to kiss his forehead. "Go back to sleep, I'll make sure that the bad dreams can't get to you." Tony gave a tiny nod and closed his eyes.
"Good night, Pepper, I love you. . ." he mumbled.
"I love you too, Tony." A few minutes later his breathing evened out and he started snoring lightly. Pepper smiled, and then closed her own eyes.
When she woke up again the sun was streaming through her window. Tony was still asleep, curled into her chest. She decided that he needed this peaceful rest and stayed put – if she tried to move at all he would wake up without a doubt. She gazed down at the top of his head and thought about how bizarre this all was. A month ago it was she who was curled into his chest, his strong arms around her – oh how much can change when a deranged maniac from legend is involved.
But she stopped herself there, and thought about Loki. Sure, he was crazy as an adult, but thinking about him as a child, and factoring in what she knew about his whole situation. . . she found that she felt sorry for him.
She pursed her lips slightly. Maybe this is just a much-needed vacation for all of them. In fact, if she were honest with herself she wished that Clint and Natasha had been aged down as well. They needed a break too, they all had very stressful lives, and while this "mission" was a kind of break, they still had to effectively raise five boys for the foreseeable future. We all need a break, she thought as she sighed softly.
About ten minutes later Tony opened his eyes, and upon seeing that Pepper was also awake he promptly jumped out of bed and all but dragged Pepper to the kitchen – "I'm hungry Pepper!"
"Okay, okay, yes I'll make you some breakfast," she said as she stooped to pick Tony up and carry him into the kitchen. She liked this power, this being able to pick him up and make him go where she wanted him to go. It's always such a hassle to get Adult-Tony to do anything, let alone go or do what or where you want. She would be lying if she said that she wouldn't miss it when he was returned to normal. Though, she would also be lying if she said there weren't other aspects of Adult-Tony that she missed. Very... adult aspects of Adult-Tony.
They got into the living room and found Steve sitting quietly sitting on the couch. He had one of the iPads in his hands and a very focused look on his face. Even as a child he had trouble with technology sometimes, unlike Tony who still had an innate sense of his electronics. They had to tell JARVIS to stop listening to Tony on some days because he would use the AI's loyalty to him to his advantage, doing things like locking the television on channels that he wanted when the boys argued over what they wanted to watch, or making the lights flicker when Steve and Bruce were playing in their room once, just to scare them. He had programmed JARVIS to put his commands above anyone else's when he designed him, and this annoyed Pepper to no end – even when he was still Adult-Tony.
"Good morning, Steve. Want some breakfast?" she asked right as Tony ran to the couch and stole the iPad from Steve's hands.
"Hey!" he said, loudly, but immediately became conscious of the fact that everyone was still asleep and hushed himself. "That's mine!" he said in a very loud whisper.
"No, it's mine!" Tony said, which was technically true, Pepper had to admit, but Steve did have it first.
"Actually, it's mine," she said. She walked over and took the iPad from Tony and handed it back to Steve. She picked Tony up, much to his chagrin. "So, breakfast?" she reiterated. Steve looked up from the doodle app he was playing with and smiled at her, nodding vigorously. "Yes please!"
"Can we have chocolate chip pancakes?" Tony asked, seemingly forgetting the iPad as he fiddled with her hair.
"Sure." It was then that Natasha emerged from hers and Clint's room, rubbing her eye and straightening the t-shirt she had slept in. Pepper had to admit that she was a little jealous of how good Natasha could still look in a t-shirt and sweatpants right after she woke up. Pepper was sure she looked a disheveled mess in her own t-shirt and shorts.
"Good morning, I'm going to make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast," she said, and Natasha looked over at her, smiled and nodded. Pepper went into the kitchen and started making breakfast, Tony hovering. He had a bad habit of standing on the stool on the opposite of the island from where she was working on the pancake batter, and stealing finger-fuls when she wasn't looking, especially when they were chocolate chip pancakes.
By the time she was finished everyone else was awake. Tony helped her set the table, and everyone gathered around for Saturday morning breakfast.
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