Hey there guys! Welcome to the last main chapter of the story. Get ready for some surprises and lots of love. Don't forget to read my endnote. I'll see you at the end. Ps. Italics = flashback.
2023
Tony watched as Morgan and Nicola ran around outside by the lake. They were such lively kids. Tony wouldn't trade them for the world. Tony watched them run around with Clint's kids and Peter who was home from MIT for the summer. Tony was sitting there on the porch of the new Avengers lake compound holding his two-month-old daughter, Ivy Maria, in his arms as she slept.
The new compound was very much needed. With the Avengers growing and their families as well, they really needed the new space. The compound was great. All the kids had their own space, the labs were insane, and they actually had outdoor space now. So with that new space, Steve was finally able to get the dog he wanted. Tony had surprised him with a rescue dog named Dogger last year for his birthday. That dog quickly became Steve's best buddy along with the kids. It was always fun to watch them all play together.
Tony was ripped from his thoughts as Steve walked over and sat down behind Tony and pulled his husband and daughter into his arms. Tony smiled and melted into the embrace. Steve sure knew how to give great hugs.
"How are you feeling Darlin'? asked Steve as he gave Tony a little kiss on the neck.
"Tired and sore. I just wish I would heal faster. I miss being able to do stuff with the kids." Sighed Tony.
"I know sweetheart. I know you do. Just 9 more months till the surgery and then 3 months after that to recover if Dr. Cho's use of the cradle is successful. You can hold out. Until then I'll pick up the slack and shower you with love. Our kids will understand." Soothed Steve and Tony sighed once again.
Because here's the thing. Tony was still recovering from Ivy's birth. And well, so was Ivy.
Ivy was born two months premature by c-section. She was born two months premature and it was one of the most traumatic experiences of Steve and Tony's lives. She was born two months premature and Steve felt like it was his fault.
Ivy had been planned. She was their only baby that had been. Tony and Steve wanted one more kid to round out their family. The night she was conceived, Steve made a big deal out of it. He took Tony out to dinner and they danced. Rhodey watched over the kids and that night Tony and Steve took their time just being together and so desperately in love. They told their kids and family and everyone was excited about the new baby. It was great.
It was when Tony was 3 months along when the problems started.
Tony started having chest pain and numbness. Because of the arc reactor, Steve brought him in to see the doctor who checked things over and gave Tony a different heart medication to try. They thought nothing else of it and continued on with life. They raised their other two precious children and prepared for their third.
During Tony's fourth month there was a dramatic change. During one of Tony's ultrasounds, they noticed that the baby's heart wasn't beating normally. That was cause for concern and Tony started having loads of appointments to keep an eye on things.
And then things quickly got worse. Tony started having chest pain again and the new medication stopped working. Tony was almost always in pain and he was getting dizzy just sitting up. The day Tony blacked out and collapsed had been their end of normalcy. Luckily Tony had been in their room with Steve and had fallen on the bed, but it was still scary.
From there Tony was admitted to medical and placed on bed rest. The doctors ran test after test and came to the conclusion that the arc reactor needed to go. They had the technology now so they could remove the shrapnel without too much worry. But they couldn't do anything while Tony was pregnant.
So Tony remained in medical. He slept most of the time and when he was awake he tried to hide how much pain he was in. It was rough explaining everything to the kids. Morgan was only three and for as smart as she was with things like numbers and science, She didn't understand why Mamma and the baby were hurting. She didn't like that and cried and held Tony for a long time.
Telling Nicola was a different story. He was already 8 years old and understood most of what the doctors were saying. He nodded along and tried to be brave but Tony and Steve knew that he was scared of losing his Mamma and the baby.
So, Tony remained and medical and Rhodey and Bucky helped out as much as they could with the kids so that Steve could be with Tony when he needed him. Tony slept a whole lot. Really, he slept most of the time because he wasn't in as much pain while he was sleeping. Steve barely left his side. And well, neither did the kids. When not at school, Nicola could be found at Tony's side talking about his day and telling Tony about all the new things he'd learned. Morgan was there too, often with drawings and math books that they'd work on together.
But unfortunately, not only was Tony getting worse was the baby got bigger, but so was the baby. At six months along, the heart murmur the doctors had detected had become worrisome and not that the baby was kicking Tony's chest had become inflamed. It was bad.
They were told that Tony would need to deliver early by c-section to help save the baby and Tony. Tony had a panic attack at the news. The last time he'd had any kind of surgery awake he was in a cave. He really didn't want this but he knew he had to save his baby. Steve held him and they cried together.
Tony and Steve didn't want the baby's gender to be a surprise this time. They needed to know so they could name their baby and possibly prepare for the worst. They were going to have another baby girl! Morgan was excited to have a little sister.
It was actually Nicola who thought up their new baby's first name. He'd been learning about plants at school and suggested the name Ivy. Tony and Steve absolutely fell in love with the name and they just knew that Ivy and Nico would have a special bond as they grew.
So, they had a first name that was all settled. But when it came to Ivy's middle name, Tony was very adamant about one in particular.
"I want her middle name to be Maria. She needs to be strong and my mom was the strongest person I knew."
"I think it's perfect Tony. Ivy Maria. Our little fighter."
The day of Tony's c-section was terrible. It was two months before his due date and the only reason it was that early was because Tony was getting worse and they were worried about the baby. So, they didn't have much of a choice if they wanted Tony and Ivy to have a fighting chance.
Steve stayed by Tony's side the entire time. He held Tony's hand and tried to quell his fears as he received the epidural even though he was just as scared. He got to remain at Tony's side as the doctors got him situated in the operating room and prepared to deliver the baby. Steve knelt down at Tony's head, held his hands, and gave him small kisses and reassurances as the doctors got to work. All the sound and people bustling around had both of them stressed out. Tony was clinging onto Steve's words and presence like a lifeline. He was scared of having flashbacks about Afghanistan.
Ivy Maria Stark-Roger was born April 4th and was the tiniest baby they had ever seen. She was tiny and helpless and hurting and crying and neither Tony nor Steve were allowed to hold her once she was born like they did their other babies. They barely even got to see her before their baby girl was ushered away with a team of doctors.
Tony cried at that. He was scared and in pain and he couldn't even see his new baby to make sure she was alive. What if something went wrong and he never even got to hold his baby? It was horrible. Tony and Steve just cried and held each other as Tony was stitched up and taken to recover. And, for as tired as Tony was, he remained awake with Steve until they got news about Ivy.
It took a few hours before they had any answers. In that time Steve tried to get Tony to rest a little but he refused. He just wanted to know hos his baby was doing. He just wanted to see her. And finally, after hours of waiting, they got some much-needed news.
It wasn't as horrible as they originally thought. The heart murmur wasn't life-threatening but would require surgery down the line to correct things once Ivy had grown a bit. But that wasn't all of her problems. Ivy also had a hearing defect. The tiny bones in her entire middle ear hadn't formed correctly and she would most likely need hearing aids to help correct for that. But not only that. Unfortunately, Ivy also had Steve's extreme pre-serum asthma. She'd need help and medication her whole life, but Ivy was already a fighter. She'd be alright.
Steve remembered what he said to Bucky the day they got Ivy's test results back. Tony was finally sleeping and recovering and Steve had been trying not to cry when Bucky came in to help where he could.
"This is all my fault, Buck. All my fault. My baby girl's got all my problems but worse. I did this to her." Cried Steve as Bucky held him out in the hall.
Steve, it's not your fault. From what I've learned since going back to school it's that genetics is a crapshoot. If your kid is anything like you and Tony that kid's gonna be too stubborn to let any of this stand in her way. Plus medicine is way better then it was when we were kids. You'll all pull through. You're a family of fighters."
The next few days had been rough. Tony was having a rough time healing so he wasn't allowed any visitors other than Steve. And to make things worse, neither of them had seen their baby. The longer they stayed apart worried them. It made Tony incredibly anxious. His heart ached for his daughter. He wanted nothing more than to holder her and make sure she was doing alright. It broke Steve's heart to see his Tony falling apart because of this.
Finally, a full week after her birth, Tony and Steve were able to see and hold their daughter. Steve had helped Tony into a wheelchair and soon enough they were lead to their baby. Both of them cried when they saw how small Ivy was. All the wires she was connected to weren't helping very much either. But, even with Ivy so delicate, Tony was finally able to hold and feed her fort he first time.
From there they got to spend more and more time with Ivy. Tony healed a bit more and soon their friends and family were able to visit. Nicola and Morgan loved Ivy. She was just so small and cute it was impossible not to. Tony was just happy to have his family together again.
Tony and Ivy continued to have doctors visits to see how they were doing. Ivy was growing and getting stronger every day and Tony was improving now that there wasn't as much pressure on his heart. They agreed to remove the reactor with the help of Dr. Cho and her cradle once Tony had stopped breastfeeding Ivy.
And finally, after a month and a half, Tony and Steve were allowed to bring Ivy home. It was a great feeling to be somewhere safe and familiar where Tony and Steve could watch over all their kids. There was a small welcome home party that the kids had fun at. Although that did end with Bucky stuffing them full of sugar so there's that. But it was good. It was really good. They were home now and could finally breathe.
And that brought them to right now. This fleeting moment in time where things were going alright and everyone was generally happy.
The team was doing great and they were stronger than ever in their own personal relationships. Bruce and Thor were still going steady. In fact, they had recently gotten engaged but were holding off on the wedding until Tony and Ivy were cleared to travel to Asgard. The two were just as sickeningly cute together as Tony and Steve were.
Bucky and Natasha had taken the time to sort things out and their on again off again thing turned into an actual relationship. The two were scary together but Steve was just happy that his brother had found someone of his own.
After much teasing from Tony, Rhodey had finally gotten his head out of his ass and had asked Carol to marry him. He'd actually fumbled the ring when he'd proposed and Tony didn't stop teasing him for weeks. But it was good-natured teasing. Tony loved Rhodey and was happy that he was happy. They were brothers after all.
Scott and Hope and tied the knot back in 2020 and were expecting their first child together. Cassie was excited to be a big sister. The ceremony had been beautiful. It had been held on a private beach in California and all the Avengers and their kids had been invited. Everyone had had fun and it was nice to see Scott and Hope so happy together.
With everything that had happened with Tony and Ivy, Steve had decided that it was time to start thinking about taking a step back from active duty. He'd been fighting for almost his entire adult life. That didn't mean he was leaving the Avengers. No, he'd stay on as a trainer and tactician. He was just done with fighting.
So recently, Steve had been training Sam to fill his shoes. He'd originally asked Rhodey if he wanted to take over the leadership role, but Rhodey had declined. He knew his days of working fulltime as War Machine was coming to an end as he continued to age. It was time for the younger folks to take up arms. So, Sam, it was. And you know what? He was doing an amazing job. Plus it was really funny to see the resist fuckwads get mad over a black man leading the Avengers. Those people could all die in a ditch. Their opinions didn't matter. Not one bit.
One of the more strange things that had happened in the last week was Clint getting a new haircut. And boy was it a haircut. To put it lightly, it was bad. It looked like someone had taken a lawnmower to his head but only left the top intact. Laura had actually yelled at him over it. Nobody knew what possessed Clint to get that haircut and they likely never would.
The compound was actually pretty busy at the moment. The Guardians were coming to visit for the first time in a few months and they needed to make sure that had everything ready to accommodate the extra people. Everyone was excited to see their friends again.
So, while all the other adults busied around in the compound getting things ready, Tony and Steve sat outside together and watched over the kids with the help of Peter. Although, Peter was essentially just a big kid himself and wasn't much help. Although he did keep the kids entertained so there was that.
"Tony, if you could go back would you change anything?" asked Steve as he rested his head on Tony's hair.
"No. No, I wouldn't. I think everything turned out exactly as it was supposed to. From everything with Loki to fighting Thanos, I think it all happened for a reason. And even though a whole lot of shit sucked, I still got out of it with you and the kids. And you know what? I wouldn't trade any of you for the world."
"You're a good man Tony. You're the best man I know. I don't know where I'd be without you. And I agree. I wouldn't change a thing. Loki being Loki allowed me to pull my head out of my ass so I could see the amazing man you really are. You gave me three beautiful children and a life worth living. You are my world, Tony. I wouldn't change any of it."
Tony smiled and leant up to kiss Steve. In the background they could hear the kids playing and laughing. In Tony's arms, Ivy slept on content to be with her parents. And Steve and Tony, they were happy. They'd both been through so much hardship in their lives and they'd come out stronger and so impossibly in love.
It was worth it. Every last moment had been worth it. And life was perfect. Somehow, everyone had gotten their happy ending. And you know what sometimes you need a happy ending. Not everything has to end in tragedy. A happy ending is just as good.
So, this is the end. Well, not really. There's still two more chapters left. But this is the end of all the main stuff. I hope you all enjoyed this one. Sorry for all the angst. But hey, everyone got a happy ending and Clint still got that horrible haircut. I don't have much else to say except to keep your eyes open for the next couple of chapters. I've sort of written all three in one go over the holidays so it should only be a few days before the next one's edited and out. Thanks for reading and I'll see you soon. -Shadows