A/N: Hey everyone! This fic will conclude Pepperony Week. I'm very grateful for all the reviews and support everyone's given me, and I'm hoping to write a lot more in the future!

Thank you everyone for reading my fanfiction and celebrating Pepperony Week with me!


"Da-da!"

Tony was working on a new Iron Man suit in his workshop when he heard his two-year-old daughter's very familiar voice. He turned around and looked every which way, but his daughter was nowhere to be seen.

Maybe he was hearing things.

Tony got back to work and rummaged through his tools to find his wrench. He wiped his hands on the dirty cloth that hung over his shoulder, and grabbed his wrench. He tilted his body a bit to the right and stuck his head underneath the cavity of the chest plate. He stuck his hand inside the casing and stuck out his tongue, trying to get the right angle.

"C'mon." He whispered to himself as he extended his arm a bit further.

"Da-da! Da-da!"

Tony immediately duck his head out of the chest cavity and whipped his head around. He furrowed his eyebrows, left his wrench on the metal table next to him, and got up from his seat. He began to walk around his workshop in search for his daughter. He walked over to his desk and found nothing. He walked over to the glass case that held his Mark 42, and, again, found nothing.

"Hm…" He hummed to himself, still puzzled.

He walked to the back of his workshop and found his daughter, Maria, playing with DUM-E and Butterfingers.

Tony grinned warmly at the sight. DUM-E and Butterfingers were tilting their claws to the side, as she tried to grab onto them. She laughed and smiled at the robots, and then she saw her father. She turned to face Tony, and lifted her arms up to him.

"Da-da!" She screeched excitedly.

Tony picked up Maria and carried her in his arms. "Hey, Sweetheart. How on earth did you get down here?"

Maria touched Tony's goatee and rubbed it. She giggled and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck, holding on tightly. "Da-da…" She hummed in content. He could tell she missed him.

He held onto her and smiled into her shoulder. Having a child with Pepper was the best thing that's ever happened to him. It was scary, at first, but Pepper helped him through it.

He carried her towards the glass door and heard it pop open. He carried her through the threshold and began to climb the stairs. "What did you and mommy do today?"

Maria leaned back in his arms, and started to pat her dress. "Dress!" She said excitedly.

"Oh, did mommy buy you a new dress?" Tony asked with delight.

Maria nodded with enthusiasm. "Toy!"

"And new toys?" He asked in shock. "Mommy sure is spoiling you, huh?"

"Nuh-uh!" She said with a wide grin.

"What's mommy doing right now?" He asked her as they climbed the final steps.

"Din-din." Maria said, looking in front of them. She saw the area of toys to their left, and then saw her mother cooking dinner to the right. Tony smiled widely as he saw Pepper's back facing him.

"Why don't you go play with your toys while I talk with your mommy?" Tony told Maria, as he bought her down to the blanketed area. She had dinosaur toys, Barbie dolls, and building blocks strewn throughout the blanket. Pepper and Tony didn't question her any further when she asked for certain toys. They didn't care if they were made for boys or girls. They vowed to love their daughter no matter what.

Tony smiled widely as he quietly walked up to Pepper. He could smell the delicious oxtail stew that was brewing in front of her. Pepper was a great cook, which was a huge relief, since Tony's cooking often resulted in fire. He wrapped his arms around her middle and hugged her from behind. Pepper squeaked in surprise as her body jolted. He chuckled loudly behind her ear, rest his chin on her shoulder, and kissed her neck.

The tickling sensation of his lips and goatee on her neck made her squirm a bit. She laughed and forgot about the stew; she turned around in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling widely and lovingly at him.

"Hey," He greeted with a toothy grin.

"Hey." She smirked. He soon dipped his head down to nuzzle her neck with his nose.

"Missed you." He said, pressing a kiss to her collarbone.

"I missed you, too." She replied, hugging him tighter.

He lifted his head back up. "Our daughter snuck into the workshop again."

"Again?" Pepper asked worriedly.

"Yup." He nodded, smiling lightly. "I found her playing with DUM-E and Butterfingers this time."

"How does she do it?" She asked, glancing over at Maria, whom was happily playing with her toys.

"No idea." Tony shrugged, glancing behind him to look at her.

They were both very protective of Maria, but over the course of two weeks, she had wondered down to Tony's workshop. Neither one of them could figure out how she managed to do it. When they told Rhodey, he just laughed and laughed. He joked about Maria having teleporting superpowers.

"Maybe she does have superpowers," Tony joked, flashing a small grin.

Pepper shook her head. "Don't. The last thing I want is another Stark risking their life for the greater good, or whatever Director Fury says to you guys." She sighed heavily, and watched Maria smash a dinosaur's head into a wall of building blocks.

Tony frowned and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "Hey, remember what I told you. If you want me to stop being Iron Man, all you have to do is say so. I care about our family as much as you do."

"But, I don't want to take that away from you…" Pepper frowned, feeling his hands rest on her waist. She brought her hands up behind his head and mindlessly played with his hair. He sighed against her hands and pressed another kiss to her cheek.

"Baby, you said yourself that you didn't want our daughter to grow up without a father." He watched her nod. Just the thought of leaving Pepper and Maria alone for a second made his stomach churn. Various 'what if's ran through his head. What if a bad guy kidnapped them while he was away? What if Stark Tower collapsed while he wasn't there? What if—What if—What if—they never ended.

But, Pepper knew how much Iron Man meant to Tony, and she convinced him to continue being Iron Man. She also knew how antsy he got when the other Avengers left on a mission without him.

"I know…" Pepper whispered.

"And I don't want to grow old without my family." Tony tilted his head to the side to look into her eyes. They both stared at each other; they could both feel the warmth and endearing love they had for each other, and their family. No matter what happened, they wouldn't leave each other.

"Ma-ma! Da-da!" They heard.

They looked own by their feet and saw Maria, smiling widely, in her beautiful new dress. Pepper and Tony both unraveled themselves from each other and let their attention fall on their daughter. Pepper picked up Maria, and held her between her and Tony.

Tony tickled Maria, and she giggled cutely, trying to avoid his arms by burying her face into Pepper's neck, but Tony kept tickling her and threatening to 'take' her nose. Pepper and Tony both laughed as they played with Maria, ensuring that she was as happy as they were. Tony couldn't have ask for anything better; he loved his wife, his daughter, and everything they had together—and one more bun in the oven couldn't hurt, right?