50 Shades of Tony
By Rey

Chapter 19
Tony stark and Lessons in Being a Family Man

Warnin for: None

San Jose, Costa Rica, 5th April 2015

456. Overflow
Fié takes Hammond's declaration as a sign for the family to skedaddle. They borrow Hammond's boat, though, for the ride back to mainland Costa Rica, because Týo – the healer and milaða expert on living on Earth – says that the overflow of senses and power may overwhelm the milaðen, especially Fié.

457. If
"Would… any effect… if… we out early?" Tony grits his teeth as wave after wave of something bombard him, scald him, drown him, about half-way down their boat-trip. Fié, again clasped in his arms and legs, just whimper, whine, moan, cry in response, as their heavily pregnant body spasms uncontrollably.

458. Steady
Tony'd never think that a steady flow of magic would be a comfort to his body, mind and soul. `Well, maybe, I'm not that human anymore.` But it's hard to rue that, when he's pressed right up against his sleeping, thankfully still heavily pregnant… beau? Spouse? Inherited spouse? `Well, whatever.`

San Jose, Costa Rica, 6th April 2015

459. Suggestion
The twins Lasla-Lafta – otherwise Lala – are the grumpiest of all, when the family meet up for breakfast after spending the night in separate hotel rooms. "It'd make road trips hard, aside from the specs of the transport," Bruce notes, amused. And then he makes a reasonable-sounding suggestion….

460. Approximate
Tony asks his personal finance manager for an approximate value of his personal liquid cash, then begins planning, following Bruce's half-joking, half-sympathetic suggestion of starting a milaða-friendly hotel chain. It's another charity work, he thinks, because it must be a family-oriented hotel, given the milaðen's values, but, well, why not?

461. Tight
Money'll be tight until the hotel and farm-tech companies are completely off the ground, the financial manager warns. Tony flickers his gaze away from the vid-conference-displaying screen for a moment, spying Lex and Tim Murphy yet again listening to the babies in Fié's belly, nods, and shrugs off the warning.

San Jose, Costa Rica, 7th April 2015

462. Orbit
"Can we go to the beach, Mister Stark?" "Can we go to the game centre, Mister Stark?" "Would you help me choose some things to give our parents, Mister Stark?" Lex and Tim, who usually orbit Fié, switch to tagging after Tony, somehow, when Fié must return to Ýmirheim. `Weird.`

463. Way
`I've come a long way, and not just physically,` Tony reflects while herding all the younglings entrusted to his care, with just the help of Happy, Pepper, Rústla and Ovrekka (Týo's mate that he knows the least), to the game centre after lunch. `Never thought I'd be a duckling herder….`

464. Strong
Twin names are complementary to each other, Tony learns during a family' downtime, after spying the 4 pairs of twins clumped together on a corner of the lounge and asking Rústla about it. E.g. one of the iterations of Vovo's names is Strong Enough, with Voðen getting the "Enough" part.

465. Normal
Some fellow guests who are also occupying the lounge look curious or even mesmerised by the sight of four pairs of twins lolling about, complementing each other subconsciously. The scene's just normal, for Tony, so he doesn't pay them any attention… until they're about to photograph it. "No pics, please."

San Jose, Costa Rica, 8th-20th April 2015

466. Every
Tony flies to the island park everyday to check on things, mostly alone. He's with the whole family – and family friends – every evening, and with Fié nightly. And, ruefully, he's beginning to catch on to the fact that Fié's slowly but surely domesticating him since first they met forever ago.

Malibu, California, United States, 21st April-31st May 2015

467. Idol
Alien or not, Fié's a huge idol to the new midgets. Lex and Tim Murphy, also Jessie Harding their older friend, even go as far as moving in with Tony for school and socialisation times, to get better access to them. "Huh, how did I get to running a homeschooling?"

468. Amazed
"You've got a cool dad, Pete," Tony overhears Tim, amazed, exclaiming over the complicated jungle gym and obstacle combo sprawling on one part of the beach. He stumbles on his own feet when he hears Peter answer, half-seriously, "According to Abý, Tony's my amma, my mom. Well, s'okay, I guess."

469. Symptom
`Can you hero-worship a family member?` Tony thinks dazedly when Tim outright approaches him and asks him to be his and Lex's second set of parents alongside Fié. All the symptoms of hero-worship are there – glittering eyes, beaming smile, excited tone – but… parents…? "Well, ask your parents first, buddy."

470. Cover
The Sokovia Accord's heavily modified, after the crime rates in the world's big cities have climbed too far to be handled even by the local and international military. Hearing the news, Tony shakes his head. "They're just ordering us more softly to be their attack dogs. It's just a cover."

471. Effect
"For one who advertises peace, you seem to be intent on fighting, Cap," Tony drawls when Cap's harping about his non-contribution in the Avengers again, when the good effects of the lightened restrictions slowly manifest. The other smiles… kind of cutely… and barks, "What about your weapons dealing history, Stark?"

472. Wary
Tim's so very wary when approaching Tony for a review on the boy's drawing assignment for school, after almost literally stumbling into the sniping exchange between… well, the adults who should've known better, as Pepper pointed out when she broke up the argument. And Tony doesn't like it. "Sorry, Tim."

473. Blanket
"You should make blankets for your children, Afa. It is tradition," Fié suddenly says, faux-casually, one evening as they're yet again sewing and adding to a pair of such: huge enough for a full-grown milaða but foldable for easy carriage and use by a much smaller one, durable and comfy.

474. Fruit
Under Fié's guidance, somewhat reluctantly and dubiously, Tony creates the requested blankets with his own hands, as per tradition. He learns sewing for that, but has no patience for more. He finds a new passion for decorating, still, as he adds various fruits that each "child" likes on each blanket.

475. Quake
Tony adds an exciting feature to the athletic playground set on the beach in the expansion, requested by the midgets: a quake-pad set beneath the whole thing. He laughs when he activates it and the said midgets, playing as usual, unaware of the addition, shriek in mixed alarm and glee.

476. Crash
It's not amusing anymore, though, when the bots join the fray, trying to imitate the more versatile fleshies. Tony's forced to deactivate the quake-pad, because the bots keep crashing and damaging themselves, unable to hold on to the shaking bars. "Come away!" he calls. "Will sort you out later! Promise!"

477. New
"N'I thought I'd seen everything that's new on earth when I saw the dinos," Rhodey remarks, with a heavy tinge of awe that Tony's wary of, when he suddenly drops by while Tony's testing the bots' new, athletic-playground-related modifications. `Damn, J, you should've warned us! Now he'll tell the military!`

Áyshkashla, Northern Alaska, United States, Beginning-Middle of June 2015

478. Just
Tony skedaddles to Áyshkashla with his family after Rhodey said that a military guy will come visit. Sadly, with the pregnancy entering its last month, Fié can't risk visiting him even there. It sucks, all in all, despite the venue. `Damn you, Rhodes. Why can't you just let things be?`