Title: From the Ashes
Author: Shannon – shannyfish
Disclaimer: Iron Man and Avengers do not belong to me, but Marvel Entertainment and Disney. This is for entertainment purposes only.
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Summary: Tony and Pepper start anew in New York. Starting over isn't always so easy… Post "Iron Man 3". Tony/Pepper
Warning: none that I can think of right now!
Author's Note: I think that given what happened in "Iron Man 3" that the characters can seem to be a little rocky! I promise, if they seem bipolar, they will straighten out! :D
Constructive criticism is appreciated!
. . .
"From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king."
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
. . .
The house was magnificent. The landscaping had been completed and the exterior had a new coat of paint. And as they pulled up to the house, she could see all of the house staff that had been on lined up and waiting. "What's this?" Pepper asked.
"Happy's been watching too much Downton Abbey," Tony retorted.
"Something…"
"Is it really horrible to be treated like royalty?"
"You know we're not, though, right?"
Tony shrugged. "Depends on who you ask."
Pepper noticed that she wasn't the only one rolling her eyes at Tony's response. "You know you can stay as long as you like, Bruce."
"Or until Tony throws another fit?" Bruce asked as he looked at Tony.
"What? It's totally justified!" Tony argued. "You've seen and touched, Pepper! Any man would feel the same way!"
"You know that that sounded really wrong, right?" Pepper asked. "And it wasn't like that…"
"Yes…and I know."
"If Bruce hadn't been there—"
"I know… I know…"
And then the car came to a stop. Happy was standing out there looking so pleased with himself. He opened the door of the car and waited until it was her turn to get out. He took her hand to help her out and then she was pulled into a hug. It was unexpected, but she hugged him back after a moment. She could see Tony getting more jealous. He did that so well sometimes.
"You okay?" Happy asked in a whisper.
Pepper pulled back and looked at Happy. "I'm good," she told him honestly. She ran a hand down his arm. "Really… I am…"
"I heard—"
"Let's go inside," Pepper told him.
"By the way, the wiring in the house is complete… JARVIS is up and running," Happy said as they all walked back inside.
"Go play," Pepper told Tony and Bruce.
"What…no…" Tony said quickly. "I was going to—"
"Go… Work on the workshop… Make a list… Check the armor… Do something that doesn't involve you hovering over me," Pepper told him. She knew that everyone was concerned, but she was okay. She really was. She just wanted some space and she wanted to look around the house. Tony would be bored with that and she knew it.
"But—"
"Go."
Pepper didn't miss that it was Bruce who grabbed Tony's arm and hauled him off in the opposite direction. Maybe it would give them some time to get over their issues anyways. She was sure that they'd find something to work on… If it wasn't the suits, then it would be something else.
"Welcome home, Ms. Potts," JARVIS' voice echoed suddenly.
Pepper stopped and looked up towards the ceiling as if that was where it had come from. She smiled. "It's good to hear your voice, JARVIS."
"As it is yours."
Happy beamed at Pepper. "It's good, right?"
"You did great!" Pepper told him and put an arm around him. It really was good to be home. For them to be back with the people that they called family.
"I'm not sure if I put everything where it needed to go," Happy told her and they walked the house a bit. "The glass for all the windows is only half installed. Tony's specifications made it harder. It wasn't like I could go to Home Depot."
Pepper smiled. "It is sort of nice to have JARVIS being able to control them…"
"I'm not complaining… Just stating why it isn't all done," Happy told her. "I really wanted it done... So you could just come home and—"
"You did great," Pepper insisted.
"Is it horrible for me to ask about what the papers are saying?" Happy asked as they came upon the master bedroom.
Pepper inspected everything. The furniture was fine and she really didn't have complaints. The bedding had been washed and fluffed and the bed had been made. She noticed that all of her clothes and shoes were put away and everything looked perfect. It was going to make relaxing so much easier. "It's perfect, Happy…"
"I'm glad," he said and she could hear the relief in his voice.
"As for the papers," Pepper said as she turned to him. "Do I want to know what they've printed?"
"Probably not…" Happy admitted. "But they said you died… That you're pregnant. That you both should be dead… There's some miracle stories going around."
"Well," Pepper said. "I am pregnant…though I wish that it hadn't been leaked… About eight or ten weeks… I have to make an appointment with my doctor here and hopefully they can get a better answer."
Happy grinned. "That's the best news! Right? Are you excited? Is Tony?"
"Yes… To all," she said with a grin. "So, one of the rooms in the house will need to be converted to a nursery."
"You can count on me to do anything you need," Happy told her.
"I appreciate it," Pepper told him. "I'll make sure I let you know if I need anything."
"You didn't die, did you?"
"Tony said I did… They had to give the baby something to help it…and my body just basically stopped… Tony knows the time I stopped breathing down to the second… But I'm fine…" Pepper told him. "But they couldn't find the baby's heartbeat until I woke up and showed them where she was."
"She?"
"I told Tony that I think it's a girl…so now he's certain it must be a girl," Pepper said as she shook her head. "We won't know for a few more months still…"
Happy smiled. "You're going to be a great mom."
"I've had practice," she teased.
"I hope you're going to take it easy, at least a little," Happy said with some concern.
Pepper smiled. "I'm going to stay here…for at least a week… Work from home… Have Tony go into the office… I'm going to have Bruce go with him to keep him in line… They'll probably need a helicopter because I'm sure Tony will insist on coming home every night, but won't want me home alone."
"I'm good company," Happy told her.
"I know."
"But I'll make arrangements for the helicopter…" Happy told her.
And with Happy gone, Pepper took the chance to look around a little more. She found her office beautifully finished. It wasn't like her office at Stark International. Here, it was extremely homey. The room was a bright pale yellow and the furniture was all white wood. It was something that reminded her of the world she grew up in, not just Tony Stark's modern world. This was her place…
"You okay?"
She turned around to see Tony's head popped into her office. It was odd because Bruce wasn't there…and she'd expected them to be gone a lot longer… "I'm okay."
"You know we're going to have to turn this into the nursery now."
"No—"
"Yep, it's that or we have to kick one of the kids out…"
"Bunk beds," Pepper told him.
"You're good," Tony told her and smiled. "Though…I knew that already."
"Good answer."
"I have those sometimes." Tony just smiled at her. She wasn't wearing anything new… Pepper stared at him oddly. She knew that he wasn't drinking and as far as she knew Tony didn't take recreational drugs. But he was acting so weird. It was like he'd never seen her before…or like he was memorizing her. "This isn't so scary," Tony said after a few moments.
"Scary? What?" Pepper asked him. Confusion was evident in her voice. It wasn't like they hadn't lived together. In reality, even before she moved into the Malibu house…given the number of hours she worked for him as his assistant…she might as well have lived with him.
"Domestic life."
Pepper rolled her eyes, but smiled just the same. "Tony Stark, are you saying we're domestic?"
"Think about it. We're engaged…I think," Tony said.
Pepper grinned and just nodded.
"Two and a half kids…"
"Are you counting Bruce and Happy?" Pepper asked. She wasn't sure if he was just counting those under the roof or if he meant Rhodey somehow in there…
"Bruce, Happy," Tony said. He motioned to her abdomen. "And the little peanut."
Pepper shook her head again and couldn't keep the grin off of her face. "Okay… I think you using that term for the baby just about takes you over the top for being domestic…"
"No squabbling though…"
"No," Pepper said quickly. "We don't squabble… I tell you what to do, you argue, and then try to take credit for it later…"
"I don't think that's exactly what happens."
"Trust me on this."
. . .
Things seemed to normalize faster than Pepper had originally thought it would take. With JARVIS running the house again, things felt closer to how they were all used to. There was still staff, though. Pepper had ensured everyone that they absolutely knew wouldn't be necessary that she'd write them letters of recommendation and if possible, place them before their time was completed at the Long Island house. They were keeping on two staff members part time besides the groundskeeper. It was basically to ensure cleaning and cooking was completed.
Tony went into Stark Tower with Bruce for the week and did as she requested. She'd gotten e-mails from her staff there asking if Bruce would be with Stark Industries permanently while others asked if Tony would be working at home from now on. There hadn't been any incidents, so Pepper knew that it hadn't been all that bad. Tony was good…he was just better at the inventing rather than the paperwork and running of the company as a whole.
The house was starting to really feel like home. She almost didn't want to stay in the city during the week, but she knew that it would make their lives so much easier…at least for now. Tony had talked about her taking more time off, but she didn't want to and didn't feel like it was necessary. Working made her feel good…it made her feel accomplished…and if she wasn't there, things just didn't get done like they should. Stark Industries needed her.
"Whatcha looking at?" Tony asked.
She turned to see that he'd snuck up on her. Pepper had given him the okay to start full construction on his workshop. She knew that he'd go crazy without his space…and she didn't need that. He needed to have his space too. She didn't know how the hormones were going to affect her…them… All she knew was that she had her little office and he needed his workshop. It would help to keep them sane in the months to come…
"I was thinking that we should put a bench out there," she said. She was sitting out behind the house in the grass. She was in shorts and a blouse. Pepper pointed out to where the small tree was. They'd planted it when they'd landscaped. It was a beautiful tree with blue-purple flowers on it. "When it gets a little bigger and fuller…it'll be nice…"
"We could do that," he said and sat down next to her.
"I thought you were working on the workshop?" Pepper asked as she turned her attention to him. "Or did you bury Bruce and you're waiting for him to dig himself out?"
"The Hulk would dig him out," Tony clarified.
"They're technically the same person."
"One's green…and very angry…and likes to smash things."
Pepper smiled and shook her head. "Did you?"
"No," Tony said with a grin. "He's taking a break… I think the break's from me."
"Probably."
"Hey!"
"What? I can understand and sympathize," Pepper told him completely evenly like it was common knowledge…because really, it was.
"Comments like that make me feel unloved, you know," Tony said with a pout.
Pepper grinned wider. She wrapped an arm around his and rested her head on his shoulder. For a moment, she thought about when Maya Hansen had showed up at their home in Malibu and had Pepper had let her know that she had basically dodged a bullet with Tony. It really was good for him… "Do you think I'd really be living with you? Carrying our child? Or marrying you…if I didn't love you? Absolutely and unconditionally love you?"
"That…or you've lost your mind."
"Also possible," Pepper told him. "But let's go with the fact that I love you."
"I love you."
"I'm so glad that I've taught you how to use that word correctly."
"Hey! I never used that word…that I can remember…for anyone else!" Tony told her. "Okay…maybe my mother when I was little…"
"Mmmhmmm… I think of all the women you used to run around with, you probably only really remember half of them."
"Why do you make it sound like I had a harem?"
"You did!"
"I did not!"
"Ask Happy!" Pepper told him.
"Let's not bring the children into this."
Pepper just smiled as she stared out at the tree. As much as she missed Malibu. This felt so much more like home right now. She liked that the media couldn't just drive up to their front door…and that there'd be grass for their daughter to play in. There was something so normal about having grass in your backyard.
"You're thinking about Peanut, aren't you?"
She laughed. "Are you really going to call her that until we find out for sure it's a girl?"
"I'm going to continue to call her that even then."
"What about when we have a name?" Pepper asked.
"Even then."
"She's going to be one of the luckiest little girls," Pepper said. She allowed herself to daydream a bit. It was nice to have a quiet moment with Tony. It gave them time where they could feel like normal human beings. They weren't Stark Industries or famous there.
They were just Pepper and Tony.
"
. . .
Five years later…
Giggles filled his ears as he remained sitting there with his eyes covered. "Three! Four!" he counted. "Five! Six!" The giggles and squeals continued and it just made him smile wider. "Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten!" he yelled. "Ready or not! Here I come!" Tony shouted. He moved his hands from covering his eyes. He looked around and pretended to not know where his daughter was hiding.
He knew.
He always knew.
So, he pretended to look for her. Tony got up from where he sat in the grass. He looked to the left and started to look in that direction. "Is she…over here?" he asked as he looked behind a bush that was too small for her to hide behind. He turned in the other direction and headed that way and looked behind another bush. "I don't know if I'm ever going to find her!"
Giggles filled the air again.
The sound of her was what made him prolong finding her for so long. He loved that sound. So he looked around in places he knew where too ridiculous for her to hide in, trying his best to sound shocked that she wasn't there.
This was their game.
He followed the giggling towards the tree. It stood tall and strong. It wasn't the small tree it had been when he and Pepper had moved in. It had filled out and provided shade below with enough shade for the bench and even a picnic if needed. He looked under the bench that he and Pepper had put there years ago. "Not under here either! Where could she be?"
Muffled giggling was so close now. He slowly started to move around the tree, his hands on the trunk. "Is she behind the tree?" He knew she was moving around the tree in the opposite direction, but he kept playing. He knew that she thought she was so stealthy. He finally jumped out. "Ha! There you are!"
She screamed and then took off towards the house. "Mommy! Mommy! Save me!"
"Not fair!" Tony whined as he followed. "That's cheating!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
Pepper was out the backdoor just as their daughter made it there and flung her arms around her mother. She looked up at Pepper, a grin on her freckled face. She really was just like Pepper. The red hair and bright blue eyes. She was absolutely beautiful and scary smart.
"Safe!" she yelled as she turned back to see him slowing until he stopped just short of them. She giggled again and hugged Pepper's legs.
"You two… I can never get any work done when you come out here to play hide and go seek," Pepper told them.
"You banned the lab," Tony pointed out.
"That's because Mommy thinks we're going to blow things up," their little one said quite matter of factly. "And blowing up stuff is bad."
"Sometimes."
Pepper glared at Tony for a moment.
"Sometimes," their little one whispered to him.
He grinned and he scooped her up and pulled her away from Pepper. He held her on his hip and spun her for a second. She giggled and he kissed her cheek. "Let's go inside and distract Mommy in other ways!"
"Tony!" Pepper scolded.
"What does it say?"
Tony looked up above the back door. This was a daily event. There was the phrase "I am who I am because of the choices I made yesterday" above their front door and then another over the back door. She asked what they said every time they went through the door. He was wondering if she really didn't remember or if she just liked him telling her every time. "I'll make better mistakes tomorrow."
"Will you?" she asked.
"Ask your mom, Peanut," Tony said as he carried her in.
"Mom?" she asked as she turned in Tony's arms.
"Oh, he definitely will," Pepper confirmed.
And she giggled.
. . .
The End.
