With a slowly stretch and wide yawn, Pepper put her out towards her husband's side of the bed. Her eyes opened when she found his side of the bed not only empty but relatively cool. Well as cool as the sheets could be when they were currently staying on their private island in the Caribbean.
She sat up in bed, took a few deep breaths while willing her heartbeat to stay at the rate it was before she discovered Tony wasn't there. She opened her mouth to ask BRUTUS where Tony was when the A.I. beat her to the punch.
"Boss is currently taking a walk on the beach, Missus Stark."
She still wasn't used to the heavy Bronx accent the A.I. had even after all these years. She threw the sheet back, and got out of bed, "Thanks, BRUTUS. What time did Tony get up?"
"About an hour ago."
Pepper glanced at the clock, and her eyes widened when she saw it was only going on seven a.m. If he'd been up almost an hour then that meant it was only after five when he had gotten up.
"Is anyone else up, BRUTUS?" she asked as she pulled on a sundress.
"No, Missus Stark. It's just you and the Boss up right now."
The sun was just peeking over the horizon when Tony stopped walking, and allowed the waves to just hit his feet. He turned and stared out at the pristine sea, letting the memories of being with his kids here on this very beach in times past replay themselves in his head.
"I want to go swimming, Daddy!"
"Can we collect sea bells today, Daddy?"
"Okay, okay, Daddy will build sandcastles with you today!"
"Can we bury you, Daddy?"
"Bury me?"
"Yeah, can we bury you in the sand?"
"Well..."
"Pwease, Daddy?"
"Oh, alright. You and Ethan can bury me at some point today, Princess."
"Yay! Tank you, Daddy!"
"You're welcome, Princess!"
"What are you laughing at?"
"You."
"Me?"
"Yes, you."
"Why?"
"Because our little girl has you so wrapped around her little finger, all she has to do is give you the Stark patented sad puppy eyes look and you give in every time!"
"I don't not!"
"Oh you do too!"
"Do not!"
"I'm afraid you do, Tones!"
"Oh, who asked you, platypus?!
Tony jumped a little when he felt his wife's arms wrap themselves around him from behind, and he heard her voice in his ear.
"Good morning," Pepper murmured, putting her chin on his shoulder, "Did I scare you?"
He nodded, lifting one of her hands from around his waist to kiss it, "Yeah, just a little."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Boy you must have been really lost in thought there, hmm?"
"Yeah, I guess I was."
She looked out at the horizon, and was quiet for a few minutes, just enjoying the feel of the ocean hitting both of their feet. Finally after she felt him take a deep breath she asked, "So what were you thinking about? Eva?"
"Yeah."
"Thinking about the fact that our sweet baby girl is getting married today?"
"Yeah I guess... in a roundabout way."
"Roundabout way?"
"Yeah roundabout. I was actually just standing here thinking about all the times we came here when they were kids, and how they always were asking me to hunt for sea shells-"
"I think you mean, sea bells as our daughter always use to call them when she was little."
"Yeah, sea bells. Anyway, I was thinking about hunting for sea bells with her, and the times I made sandcastles with her and Ethan and all the times they wanted to bury me in the sand."
Pepper laughed, remembering all the times she saw only Tony's head sticking out of the sand. Burying their Daddy really had been one of their children's favorite things to do whenever they came to the island. She didn't know if it was because they liked the idea of putting their father in a position where he couldn't move for awhile or if they loved it because he was always a good sport about it. Whatever the reason, they always had to bury him in the sand at least one time per visit.
Then she heard him sigh.
"I've also been thinking about them this morning."
Although she didn't have to ask, she did anyway, "Your parents?"
"Yeah," he confirmed, "Especially my Mom. I actually had a dream about her right before I woke up. Actually that's what woke me up."
"Why? Was it a bad dream?" She hoped that it wasn't because she knew Tony infrequently had any dreams about his parents, and she knew he wished he could have more because it was the only way he could see them.
"No, it was actually a good dream. I must have been a little kid in the dream because I was sitting on her lap while she was playing the piano. I can't remember what song she was playing, but I think I can remember her humming while she was playing."
He sighed, "I miss her, Pep. It's been fifty years since I last saw or spoke to her."
Pepper noticed that he didn't include his father in there. But then she knew the man was a touchy, difficult subject for her husband to deal with, even after fifty years. She also knows by now that along with those difficulties comes some genuine regrets. She knows this because she's loved this man for more than thirty years now, and she's seen enough to know the thing that gnaws at him the most was what might have been had his father not been murdered that night fifty years ago today.
She tightened her arms around him, and said, "It's okay to still be missing them after all this time. There's no time limit for that. I know I still miss my Dad, and I'm sure if you asked Jim or his sisters, they'd tell you they still miss their parents after all these years."
"Yeah, I'm sure they-" Tony's voice trailed off there as a pink light started to blink on his watch. "Hmm, looks like someone is awake or is waking up."
Years ago while visiting the island, Tony and Pepper realized that they needed a way for BRUTUS to alert them when their kids were awake while they were out of the house. He had installed a pink light for Eva, a blue light for Ethan, and many more colors had been added over the years as the number of guests they'd invited to visit here had grown.
"Well, I better get back to the house then. My little girl's getting married today, so I'd say that calls for some special mother daughter time before the day gets into full swing."
At hearing this, Tony turned around to face her so he could kiss his wife before she left him to go back inside. The kiss lasted a few seconds before Pepper pulled away.
"I'll see you inside," she said.
He nodded, "I'll be in in a few."
"Love you."
"I love you too."
