CAEB Part V - The Battle for Earth.
Chapter 13 - Blinded by the Light
"Morning Tony."
"Morning Nat." Tony yawned with a grunt, stretching out his tired limbs. "Is it morning?" He questioned, looking out over the inky black water of the North Pacific beyond the Malibu coastline. They'd been here nearly six months now. A year on from the battle and New York still looked a little like a building site. The tower had been repaired within a month and they'd stayed there for a while once they'd left hospital. But after everything, it wasn't right. Looking out over the destroyed city every day was a cruel reminder of what they'd been through and also served to put them right in the public eye. Even Tony hadn't liked it.
The press had, had so many questions. Despite their safeguards to keep civilians away, some footage of the battle had leaked, including clips of Tony using his powers. Covering that up had not been easy; somehow the genius had managed to throw off the scent by drowning them in enough baffling scientific terminology to convince the world what they had seen was nothing more than some highly advanced weaponry. It was better that way, they all agreed, but even so it saddened the others. No one but them would ever truly understand what Tony had given, what he had been through, nor what he had sacrificed. He would never get the credit he deserved. And that's just how he wanted it.
It had been time for a change and as far as Tony was concerned there was only one place he'd felt they should all go. He'd had his favorite place at Malibu adapted to accommodate the six members of his team in a matter of weeks. So much of the house had been changed that Tony wasn't sure he liked it at first, but it didn't take him long to realize that the decor hardly mattered. The Avengers were his home. No bricks and mortar could ever change that. Home could be a cardboard box if they were there too - well, a very, very expensive, high tech, state of the art carboard box, of course; he was still Tony Stark after all.
"It's 4 AM, so yeah I think that counts as morning." Natasha scoffed. The sun would be up soon, and they hadn't seen Tony since the previous dawn as it happened. It seemed, despite everything that had changed of late, one thing they could rely on was the erratic and highly unhealthy nature of Tony's lab schedule. "What you been working on?" She asked curiously.
"What haven't I been working on?" Tony chuckled, heading for the coffee machine as if on auto pilot.
"I'd forgo that coffee and get some sleep Tony. You've got that lunch with Pepper tomorrow, well… today technically." She corrected herself.
"Yeah you're right." Tony sounded nervous.
To be fair to him, Natasha mused, he had been more sensible about his lab hours since the battle. He hadn't tried to stay awake this long for a while, she realized, which made her curious as to why that had changed today. And now, looking at him, Natasha could tell he was worried about something and the way he tensed up when she'd mentioned lunch with Pepper told her all she needed to know.
She smiled warmly. "Get some sleep Tony. It'll be fine."
Tony narrowed his eyes at her, but then nodded with a thankful smile. It had always hard to hide stuff from Nat, but the difference was that now, he didn't even try to. "Jarvis can you ask Steve to walk Ajax?" He said with a yawn as he headed back to his quarters.
"Tony Ajax isn't a dog." Steve grunted as he appeared in the kitchen. "And you can't just keep asking me to walk him all the time because I'm the fastest. He's going to give me a damn heart attack if I try to keep up any longer." Steve grumbled.
"He'll wait for you!" Tony protested.
"He'll wait for you." Steve corrected. "When he's with me he just runs off and I'm worried he's going to break into a school and eat everyone."
"He doesn't like humans, thinks they're chewy." Tony grunted. "Besides I told him not to eat humans or pets, or approach strangers. He's happy with deer."
"And that's another thing!" The Captain scolded. "You just let him wander round wherever he likes!"
"He's not dangerous Steve!" Tony protested.
"I know that, I do, but to a human Ajax is pretty terrifying I don't want him to get hurt." Steve sighed.
"Aww Steve, I didn't know you cared." Tony cooed, only half mockingly.
"Well he grows on you." Steve smiled. "But that doesn't mean I'm walking him anymore." He said firmly, finger pointed in Tony's direction to demonstrate his sincerity.
"You could always ride him." Tony shrugged, sipping a glass of water in heed of Natasha's advice on avoiding the coffee.
"No way!" Steve scoffed. "I still can't believe you do that. It's damn terrifying."
Natasha screamed and had them spinning on their heels. "Uhh that's disgusting!" She winced, covering her mouth, and turning away from the window as she pointed outside. On the lawn, Ajax - the only surviving Makluhk from the battle and the former alpha Tony had convinced to follow him - was prancing around, with a half rotten, torn up deer in his mouth.
Steve gagged, quickly covering his mouth, and closing his eyes with a grimace. "That is horrible." Steve groaned
"Sorry Bambi, but he's a predator, that's life." Tony shrugged, but winced a little himself as he took in the gore on the lawn. "Ajax, we talked about playing with your food!" He yelled through the glass and Ajax immediately set down the deer, head bowed, looking a little dejected.
"Tony, I think he wants to come inside." Steve groaned, noting how Ajax was prancing around near the glass. "It took a week to get the blood out of the couch last time, he really needs a wash station before he comes in."
"I could have bought a new couch, it's no big deal." Tony shrugged.
"Tony, that's not the point, we love that couch." Nat huffed.
"I know." Tony sighed. He'd had it brought from Avengers tower on request after his own furniture failed to live up to the team's demanding standards, and he had to admit, this couch was just better. "Besides, he wants me to go outside and play, not to come in. He's not difficult to understand Steve, he's very expressive you know?"
"Are you arguing about who's going to walk Ajax again?" Clint groaned as he was followed in closely by Bruce.
"Why is everyone awake at this godforsaken hour?" Tony shook his head in disbelief.
"Because you've not sound proofed our rooms yet." Clint whined.
"Sorry I'll do that, very soon." Tony tutted at himself.
"You said that three weeks ago." Clint huffed.
"I know, I know I'm sorry, but I got carried away with the EDP. There's a meeting at Caltech next week."
"EDP?" Clint asked.
"Earth defense program. Be nice to have something like the Asgardian shield protecting the whole planet and Asgard have been more than helpful in developing the tech." Tony explained.
"So, you've dropped the whole all-powerful AI thing finally." Steve sighed joyfully.
"Not dropped, postponed. I still think it would be a good idea." Tony shrugged.
"Tony have you not paid attention to any movies? The robots always turn on us!" Clint exclaimed.
"Jarvis hasn't turned on us and I made him!" Tony protested.
"Yeah, yet." Clint scoffed.
"I very much resent that comment Agent Barton." Jarvis said evenly. "I am very fond of you all, but should that change, and I feel the need to go 'dark side', be aware that your comment has just rendered you atop my list of targets." He finished, his voice eerily monotone.
Clint's face paled dramatically, and he gaped at the ceiling open mouthed.
"Funny J, I don't remember programming you for humor." Tony smirked.
"You didn't, Sir. I am continuously evolving," Jarvis replied. "And who said I was joking."
"You know Jarvis… you know I was just joking right?" Clint said nervously.
"I'll be watching you Agent Barton, always watching."
Natasha snorted and Tony tried not to choke on his own laughter.
"Not creepy at all J." Tony chuckled.
"And while we are on the topic of honesty," Jarvis continued, "the frustration you cause me on a daily basis, would render you number two in my list of targets." Jarvis said, almost cheerfully. "Sir." He added, dropping an octave for effect.
"Love you too Jarvis." Tony shook his head, utterly unperturbed.
"That's it, I'm out of here." Clint huffed, throwing a suspicious look at the ceiling on his way out of the building, while Natasha and Bruce just chuckled, and Steve looked mildly concerned.
"Isn't the EDP the project you were using as a cover for your meetings back in the day?" Bruce asked, meandering through looking equally tired with his empty coffee mug.
"Yeah, thought I could actually follow through on it now, and man Bruce, it's amazing! You should come down and see what toys I've made to play with." The Engineer said excitedly.
"I'd love that Tony." Bruce smiled. "And I'll take Ajax down to deer creek while you're seeing Pepper if no one needs the Quinjet for a few hours."
"You want to walk that thing." Natasha asked amazed.
"Hey!" Tony protested. "Ajax is not a thing. He's an Avenger." It was true. There had been several missions where Ajax had proven himself to be a valuable member of the team, though Fury wasn't keen on him being present in any missions that were in the public eye for obvious reasons.
"Ajax and I get along quite nicely actually. We understand each other on some level." Bruce said sincerely.
"Thor's fond of him too." Tony added.
"Thor just wants to ride him like you do." Natasha huffed. "He's trying to make Ajax like him."
"Yeah, but Ajax won't let him. He definitely had his favorites." Bruce chuckled.
"What we're trying to say Tony, he's your pet, you walk him." Steve chuckled.
"He doesn't even really like being walked, he prefers just being let out in the forest to hunt deer, or cougars."
"Then why in hell do you keep asking people to walk him for you?" Natasha asked incredulously.
"He gets lonely. He is kind of the only one of his species left and I can't talk to him the way I used to." Tony shrugged, sadly.
"Now I feel like an asshole." Natasha sighed.
"Don't worry he knows you're an asshole." Tony yawned.
"What did you just say?" Nat growled.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Tony immediately cowered. "Blame it on sleep deprivation. Ajax loves you, really."
"Really?" Natasha asked, arms folded in skepticism.
"No honestly!" Tony protested. "Besides me you're his favorite. He keeps bringing you gifts because he wants you to like him more."
"Huh." Natasha mused. "Well maybe let him know that I prefer shells and beach rocks to dead animals."
"So, Ajax is crushing on Tash?" Clint popped his head back in, wiggling his eyebrows. "Might have finally found you a boyfriend that can survive your wrath."
"Let's test that theory on you, shall we." Natasha growled, charging at the Archer as he yelped, and the pair disappeared off into the bowels of the house.
…
"So…" Natasha nudged Tony with her hip as he arrived back that evening. "How did it go with Pepper?"
Tony had no idea how she'd figured out what he was meeting Pepper about, but he knew better than to question it. 'It's Natasha' was about the only explanation that made any sense in most cases.
"I chickened." He admitted, red faced. "Go on laugh it up." He offered.
Natasha looked at him with a sad, comforting smile. "I would never Tony, not about this. I know it's tough and I know you're scared, but believe me when I tell you, you don't have anything to be worried about. Take your time котенок1, but not too much."
"Thanks Nat." Tony smiled. "You know, you should think about that yourself."
"Think about what?"
"иногда женщина должна играть роль мужчины." 2 Tony reeled off.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Natasha said adamantly. "And your Russian is a little rusty котенок."
"That may be true, but you understand me perfectly well." Tony countered. "And you're not fooling me little spider."
"How did you know?" Natasha narrowed her eyes.
"I spend fourteen hours a day with the man, subtlety is not his strong suit, and no one makes as many visits to the lab as you." Tony called as he turned and made for the stairs for the workshop. "And stop calling me kitten. I'm a lion. A tiger at worst."
"Whatever you say, котенок."
…
Natasha Romanov was going to kill Bruce Banner. She didn't care that the Hulk was supposedly indestructible, she was going to kill him. How could someone with seven PhDs be so dense!
She'd taken Tony's advice and tried to make the first moves and Tony, bless his heart, had been helping any way he could. If she came to the lab, he'd find an excuse to leave them alone, or if it was upstairs, he'd find something to distract the others long enough for them to have a moment to themselves. But Bruce was seemingly utterly oblivious to any form of flirting, flattery or advance that Natasha was trying to make and Natasha Romanov did not usually struggle to seduce men.
"Don't you dare laugh!" She warned Tony as he rounded the corner with a shit eating grin. She was really not in a good enough mood.
"Brucie bear making you want to tear your hair out?"
"Tear his face off more like." She huffed.
"Not that I'm usually the one for giving advice, but…"
"I tried making the first move Stark, but your big dumb friend is completely oblivious." Nat cut him off.
"That's because he's a dumbass."
"He's a genius Tony!"
"Yeah, so am I and I'm the biggest dumbass you know aside from Clint."
"True." She conceded with a slight smile.
"You want my advice…"
"I feel like I'm going to get it anyway." She huffed.
"Damn straight." He chuckled. "You've tried subtle, Bruce isn't so good at subtle. Sometimes, and don't tell Thor I said this, but sometimes if shit ain't working, the best tool is a hammer."
"Yes, Stark but that tactic results in fix it or break it." Natasha frowned.
"You're scared." Tony said in shock. "Natasha Romanov is scared of being rejected."
"Shut up." Natasha growled.
"I'm not teasing." Tony reassured. "I'm just realizing. My brain's so big sometimes it takes a while to catch up."
"Dumbass." Natasha huffed.
"I know, but I'm right and you know it. Sometimes you've just got to have faith and Natasha, if it's any consolation what you're feeling, it's not one sided."
"You think?" She asked genuinely.
"I know." He said with certainty. "I know Bruce Banner and he's spent more time staring into space recently than he has working and three guesses on what, or, more accurately, who has got him so distracted."
"Thank you, Tony." Natasha smiled, pulling him into a soft hug.
"And hell, if being blunt doesn't work I'll demote myself to wingman kick him up the ass till he sees sense." Tony offered.
"Pretty sure you've already demoted yourself to wingman Stark." She smirked.
"Yeah, I guess I have." He said, with a wink.
"For what it's worth Stark, you're a really good wingman."
"Why thank you Natashalie." He beamed. "Tell you what let's make this interesting. I bet you that I'll talk to Pepper before you can bag Bruce."
"What are the stakes?" She asked, intrigued.
"Open bet. Winner picks the forfeit."
"Oh, you're on Stark. You're going to regret making that bet." Natasha said, gleefully. It was on.
…
"Brucie Bear I need a word." Tony said, marching into the lab one morning bright and early after a goodnight's sleep.
"What about?" His fellow scientist, yawned. Clearly someone had not had such a good night.
"About you, you big dumb shit head." Tony barked, bluntly.
"Excuse me?" Bruce scoffed, nearly spitting out his coffee.
"Do you seriously think Natasha Romanov keeps dropping by the lab for shits and giggles?" Tony asked him bluntly.
"She drops by to make sure you are eating properly and sleeping once every blue moon." Bruce rolled his eyes.
"Nope, that's Stevie-boy's job this month."
"This month?" Bruce scoffed.
"Yeah, there's a Rota, but that's irrelevant - Natasha turns up here, several times a day to flirt with you and you're too dumb to notice."
"That wasn't flirting." Bruce shook his head. "That's just Nat."
"Hello!" Tony cried in exasperation. "Genius, billionaire, ex-Playboy, philanthropist talking! I'm the go to guy for advice on flirting and I'm telling you, that was definitely flirting!"
Bruce looked up a little dumbfounded. "Really?"
"Yes really!" Tony said, infuriated. "And don't tell me that the time you've been spending staring off into space with lovey-dovey eyes after her visits is you thinking about physics."
"I do not stare off into space with lovey-dovey eyes." Bruce contested.
"Yes, you do. You can't see you, definitely lovey-dovey. The question is… what are you going to do about it?"
"I…I - I, erm, hmm?" Bruce stuttered, taken aback
"Shall I put it in simple terms? You like girl, girl like you, stop dancing around and make a goddamn move."
"I… Natasha, how would I even…"
"Repeat after me," Tony said slowly, and Bruce leaned forward to listen intently on the words Tony was to speak. "Natasha will you go out with me? Hardly takes seven PhDs now does it!" He blurted out.
"Tony…" Bruce grunted and put his head in his hands.
"Bruce this isn't middle school, talk to the woman." Tony said, turning away to leave the room.
"Tony you're a rubbish friggin' wingman." Bruce called after him, slightly irately.
"Who says I'm your wingman?" The genius threw back, not turning around.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Bruce asked, now utterly perplexed, but he received no further response from the Engineer.
…
Operation: Brutasha was go.
They'd all had to show their faces at a charity ball that evening, a thoroughly awkward occasion for the whole team, Tony knew. Charity Galas really weren't really their thing and to be truthful, they weren't really his thing either; not anymore. So, to make up for the evening of probing by wealthy fat cats Tony had promised a late movie night and open bar - not that there wasn't always an open bar in the tower, but it had been well received regardless.
"So, I was talking to Laura last night…" Clint started.
"Oh yeah?" Tony perked up and allowed his eyes to flick to the Archer. Truth was, he'd been watching Bruce and Natasha all night, trying to find the right moment to give the scientist the cue to make his move. Bruce was a bundle of nerves, so much so that his fidgeting, sat next to Tony on the sofa, was driving him up the wall. "How is she and of course, the little munchkins?" He asked with a smile.
"Well, hopefully you'll see for yourself next week, that's if its ok that they come?" Clint asked hopefully.
"Course it is Birdbrain you know you never need to ask."
Clint had finally revealed and introduced his family to the Avengers a little after Tony had fully recovered. It had been a big move of trust for the Archer, and other than Nat, the team had been surprised and ecstatic to learn about his wife and two children whom until then had been a mystery to them.
Clint had a feeling that Tony had known all along, but that hardly mattered now. Truth was he'd have introduced them all ages ago had it not been for the ongoing CAEB antics and the oncoming battle. They were family, each and every one of them.
"Gosh, how long's it been? Three months? Bet they've grown so much." Steve said, face lighting up.
"God, they have!" Clint beamed. "Like little bean sprouts they are! Especially Lila, think she's grown a foot this year."
"Ha-ha, she'll outgrow Cooper soon." Steve chuckled.
"That'll piss him off." Tony chuckled back.
"No kidding." Clint laughed; his poor Son wouldn't stand for being outgrown by his little Sister of all people. The shame! "You ok Bruce?" Clint asked, brow furrowed in concern, noticing the man's obvious discomfort.
"Yeah sorry, just thinking about… science stuff." Bruce said quietly and Clint frowned at Tony, who was now looking around the room. What was going on there? He wondered.
"Go get a drink Brucie, relax a bit." Tony nudged him.
"I don't need a drink Tony." Bruce huffed.
Tony elbowed him hard and not so subtly flicked his head in the direction of the bar.
"Ow Tony…" Bruce whined then followed Tony's gaze, spotting Natasha alone at the bar mixing herself a cocktail, glancing over at Bruce periodically. "Oh!" He exclaimed, a little too loudly and Tony shook his head with a chuckle. "Right yes. I'll just go… and get a drink." Bruce nodded and got up hastily.
The others watched the back of the retreating scientist with mild curiosity.
"Ok Stark, what the hell was all that about?" Steve asked as Thor slumped down into Bruce's vacated spot, beer in hand.
"You'll see." Tony smirked taking a sip of his drink and leaning back into the couch. "You'll see."
Bruce took a deep breath as he approached the bar. He could do this, he could do this, it was just asking a girl out, a bit of flirting… He'd helped save the world for crying out loud, how hard could this be? "How'd a nice girl like you wind up working in a dump like this?" He said, trying to sound like he wasn't shaking with nerves.
Natasha looked up from pouring her own drink, a glimmer of surprise in her eye and gave him a wry smile. "Fella done me wrong." She drawled.
"You got lousy taste in men, kid."
Natasha shrugged and smiled again. "He's not so bad. He has a temper... deep down he's all fluff. Fact is, he's not like anybody I've ever known. All my friends are fighters. And here comes this guy, spends his life avoiding the fight because he knows he'll win."
Bruce didn't know what to say to that and he cringed internally at the words that followed out of his mouth. "Sounds amazing."
Natasha smiled and tried to conceal a snort. "He's also a huge dork. Chicks dig that! So, what do you think - should I fight this? Or run with it?"
"Run with it, right? Or, did he... was he... what did he do that was so... wrong to you?" Bruce stuttered, but Natasha carried on unphased.
"Not a damn thing. But never say never."
"For God's sake Bruce, kiss the girl!" Tony yelled across the room to the confused faces of all the other Avengers. Bruce turned around confused and half mortified, before turning back to Natasha, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. But before he could say anything her mouth was on his and she was tugging him forward by his tie.
At the other side of the room, jaws dropped.
"What the...!" Clint exclaimed, wide eyed. "Have I had too much, or is this really happening?"
"If you refer to Natasha and Dr. Banner kissing, you are not alone my friend." Thor said, equally bemused.
"And Mission: Brutasha is a resounding success." Tony sighed triumphantly.
"Brutasha?" Steve asked, eyebrow raised in skepticism.
"Best I could come up with on short notice, what can I say, their names don't ship easily." Tony shrugged.
"You knew about this?" Clint asked, astounded. "How did you know about this and I didn't? This is Nat we're talking about!"
"What can I say Clint, I'm a good wingman." Tony shrugged. "And come on, I think we should go see where Rhodey ended up and give these two lovebirds some privacy."
…
"So Stark, it seems I won the bet." Natasha said, startling Tony in his mission to get down to the lab uninterrupted. Seemed the black widow could still sneak up on him whenever she deemed fit and nearly give him a heart attack.
"Ah shit, yeah." Tony said with a sigh. "So little spider, what's the forfeit? Streak around the city naked?"
"Well considering as the only reason I won the bet is because you talked to Bruce and set this whole thing up… yes Bruce told me about your pep-talk, I think that maybe I should return the favor." Natasha smirked.
"How so?" Tony frowned suspiciously.
"You proved to be an excellent wingman, so it's my turn to be yours. You're forfeit Stark, is to propose to your goddamn girlfriend and stop being a chicken."
…
"Oh my God, you've gotten so big!" Natasha squealed as the elevator doors slid open to reveal the three visiting Barton's. She slid to her knees as the two children came running at her full gallop.
"Aunt Nat!" Lila and Cooper cried simultaneously as they smothered the spider who fell backwards onto the floor and was wrapped in a tight hug. Steve and Bruce got to their feet; huge grins spread across their faces at the sight.
Everyone always looked forward to the Barton's visit, though no one more than Clint. Of course, the Archer wanted nothing more than to spend all his time with his wife and children, and Tony had offered to give them a permanent home in the tower, but he had to keep them safe and that meant keeping them away from this world. But every now and again he could break that; Tony had gone above and beyond to make sure they could visit discretely and safely, and it had made everyone's lives better in the process.
Stark had taken Barton's family under his wing and made them his own. Every person in that tower would give their lives to keep them safe, Clint knew that, and that's why could entrust them with the most precious thing in his life.
"Are you and my Aunt Nat boyfriend and girlfriend?"
Bruce nearly jumped out of his skin. He'd been watching Clint and Laura reuniting happily when Lila seemed to have materialized by his side. He flicked his eyes to Natasha who was watching in intrigue, a wry smile on her face.
"Yes." he smiled down at the scowling eight-year-old. "Yes we are.
"And do you love her?" Lila asked sternly.
"Yes," Bruce smiled again, but starting to sweat under Lila's scrutinizing gaze. "Yes, I love her very much."
"Good." Lila huffed and folded her arms. "Because if you hurt my Aunt Nat and I'll stab your eyes out with a fork and them stomp them into the ground."
Clint snorted loudly and covered his mouth as Bruce's eyes widened in shock.
"Ermm, OK…" Bruce stuttered, looking up at Natasha and Laura, a little horrified. "I promise I won't hurt your Aunt Nat."
"Ok!" Lila smiled cheerfully and then scampered off to join Cooper who was play wrestling with Thor in the corner of the room.
"Natasha, what have you been teaching them?" Laura tutted, but then allowed herself to chuckle once more.
"What can I say, she takes after her favorite Aunt," Nat shrugged.
"So, you're saying you didn't teach her to sneak up on me like she just did, because I'm pretty sure that's not a trait kids learn naturally." Bruce scoffed.
"Well I might be able to take credit for that." Natasha smiled. "It's a useful life skill."
"For a spy Natasha, not a child." Laura rolled her eyes.
There was a triumphant roar from the other side of the room where Thor was holding Lila and Cooper aloft, each in a single arm and Steve was laughing fondly.
"The victors!" Thor boomed. "You will both make great warriors." He declared, setting down the giggling children, who then ran back to their Mother, who had just been joined by Colonel Rhodes.
"Rhodey, where's Uncle Tony?" Cooper asked, bouncing up and down.
"Not sure kiddo." Rhodes frowned, looking round the room.
"Uncle Tony's working." Clint informed them with a tut of disapproval.
"Already?" Lila huffed. "It's early!" And it was. It had only just gone 7 AM, but fortunately the tower on the whole were early risers.
"Actually, its late." Bruce scoffed, knowing that Tony had been in there since the middle of the previous afternoon, when he practically ran out of movie night declaring he was a genius and this breakthrough was going to change the world, again. "We should drag him out of there."
"Wouldn't recommend that right now, he's in his weird trance thing." Clint said through gritted teeth.
"Ah… Ok." Bruce nodded knowingly. Tony could get, well, weird at times when he really let himself get lost in his work. The first time Bruce had borne witness to it, it had scared him half to death. Thinking the Engineer had gone catatonic or was having a mental breakdown he'd run upstairs to Rhodes in a panic, only to learn later that this was a fairly normal, albeit it rare occurrence.
"Don't worry I'll grab him." Rhodes said with a wink.
"I doubt you'll snap him out of this Rhodey," Nat warned, "I yelled at him three times when I brought him dinner, but it was like I wasn't there." She huffed. "Oh, and he's gone 'beautiful minds' all over the walls."
"Right…" Rhodes sighed. "Then we definitely need to get him out of there." He chuckled.
"And how do you think you're going to manage that?" Clint asked skeptically.
"Don't worry I have my methods." Rhodes said, in a sing-song voice. "You forget I've been dealing with Tony Stark for twenty-five years."
"This I've got to see." Clint chuckled, quickly following suit.
"Fricking Hell!" Clint gasped as he followed Rhodes into the lab. It was a mess, an utter mess. Equipment everywhere, every wall and whiteboard covered with mathematical scrawl and even some of the desk surfaces were too. There were papers and tools, half-finished bits of electronics strewn on the floor and holograms spinning wildly in every corner of the room. "This can't be normal," he huffed at Rhodes, "surely?"
"Ermm… it's certainly not been this bad for a while." Rhodes admitted.
Unusually there was no music in the workshop, in fact it was eerily silent, bar the sound of a pen, squeaking as it was scrawled along a free-standing glass screen in the center of the room. The pen, of course, was being wielded by Tony Stark, who for all intents and purposes was lost to the world. Clint doubted any noise or interaction would snap him out of whatever this was.
He glanced over the mathematical equations scrawled all over the room as he made his way towards the genius, and no surprises, he had no idea what he was looking at. The sheer volume of work though made him feel like this was something very complex and important.
Clint winced as he saw the man himself; Tony looked terrible. Tony smelt terrible. The man had clearly been down here far too long without participating in any form of self-care. There were deep bags under his eyes, his hair was disheveled and greasy and his skin a near ghostly pallor, but it was his eyes that were the most disconcerting. Clint wasn't sure how the man pulled off looking completely dazed yet utterly focused at the same time. The Archer raised a hand and waved it front of the Engineer's face; it gained no response. "Are you sure we should break him off?" Clint asked, in a whisper, "I mean, this kind of looks important." He shrugged at the Colonel, who seemed to also be considering their options.
Gone or not, the CAEB, and what Tony had experienced because of it, seemed to have completely altered the genius' perception of the world, which was hardly surprising. Spending a year able to see things no human had seen before, perceiving things most beings are too dull to comprehend - needless to say it had led Tony into some great work. The things he had been coming up with of late were so mind-bendingly incredible that the genius hadn't yet decided if they were ready to be unleashed on the world. String theory – proven and improved upon, general relativity - just another tick in the box, time travel… now that's where Clint had got really excited. And it was only the start.
"It probably is, but this isn't healthy." Rhodes scoffed. "Last time this happened he didn't come up for air for a week, Jarvis?"
Clint and Rhodey looked up, but there was no reply from the AI.
"Don't tell me he's shut it down again." Clint growled, but was cut off by a bleeping from Rhodes' phone. The airman whisked it out of his pocket and then rolled his eyes. "What is it?" Clint asked, questioning the perplexed look on the Colonel's face.
"It's Jarvis," Rhodey chuckled, "he's texting me because Tony's requested absolute silence." The airman tilted the phone so Clint could see the screen. There was a full status update, hours since last sleep, duration of last sleep, calories consumed in the last twenty-four hours, caffeine intake… all were very poor.
"So, how you going to snap him out of it?" Clint asked, intrigued.
"It's a three-part plan…" Rhodes said, wandering towards a desk and routing through the drawer until he found what he desired. "Usually the first one works, but in extreme cases we have to go to stage three"
"So, what's stage one?" Clint asked, but then jumped violently as the blare of an airhorn sounded out in the room. Tony flinched a little, face twisting in annoyance, but didn't break stride.
"Airhorn is a failure." Rhodes sighed. "This could get entertaining." The airman now made his way the small kitchenette and pulled a glass from the cupboard. Swiftly filling it from the tap, Rhodes walked over to the Billionaire and flung its contents into his face.
"What the…" Clint scoffed, when again, the Engineer did nothing more than twitch and shake himself unconsciously. "Is he seriously in that deep?" He scoffed in disbelief.
"Seems like," Rhodes frowned, and then smiled as he remembered what was coming in stage three. "Ok Dum-E take it away!" Rhodes an announced and the little bot beeped excitedly whirring around in circles before making a beeline for his creator.
"What exactly is he going to…" Clint started but never got to finish. In a loud whoosh of air and white foam, Dum-E deployed the fire extinguisher right in Tony's face. Clint nearly choked in surprise as the Engineer gave a delayed yelp and dived backwards onto the floor to try and escape the onslaught, but even with the Engineer down the little bot refused to relent.
"For God's sake stop!" The Engineer spluttered, trying desperately to shield his face. Dum-E whined dejectedly and backed away, lowering the nozzle. "Jesus Christ!" Tony growled over the sound of Clint's howling laughter. He glared at the Archer who was doubled over in the corner and wiped the foam away from his face, spitting on the floor. As he attempted to rise to his feet Dum-E raised the nozzle excitedly. "Ah, Ah, Ah!" Tony yelped, holding up his hand before the bot could deploy again, sighing in relief when it returned to his corner with a whir and a whine.
Clint was laughing so hard his stomach hurt and tears where streaming down his face. Tony looked a sight. He was covered head to toe in white powder; it clung into his hair in clumps and stained his usual black attire making him look like a badly constructed snowman.
"Rhodey, I thought we discussed that you couldn't just go to straight to stage three because you find it funny," Tony barked, eyes dark with anger and hackles raised.
"As I've said before Tony, just because you don't remember me trying the first two steps, doesn't mean I didn't try them." Rhodes chuckled, ignoring the foul mood of his friend.
"Are you seriously telling me that I didn't snap out of it when you dumped water in my face?" The genius barked dubiously.
"Yes, I am!" Rhodes insisted with a scoff.
"Honestly Tones," Clint choked through his laughter, "we did all three stages, but you were well gone."
"Fine." Tony gruffly conceded. "Now what the hell did you interrupt me for? Couldn't you tell I was in the middle of something!" He snarled.
"The munchkins are here," Clint smiled, and Tony's anger instantly drained away.
"Really? Already?" He asked excitedly.
"It's Friday… 7:30AM Tony, you've been down here a long time."
"Well I can't control when inspiration strikes." Tony shrugged. "Jarvis, wrap this up, save everything, the kids will be missing their favorite Uncle!"
"What the hell happened?" Pepper asked, aghast, as Tony emerged into the penthouse to a snort of laughter from Nat and raucous giggling from Lila and Cooper. Apart from wiping the first of the powder from his face and hair, Tony had decided that it was not worth the effort of trying to get clean. The only thing that was going to remedy this disaster was a shower and a change of clothes, neither of which he could be bothered with; not when Lila and Cooper were already here.
"Operation: Snap out of it." Rhodes offered as explanation.
"Ah." Pepper nodded. She'd only just returned from a meeting, having been absent the past few days and unaware of Tony's 'beautiful minds' incident. "Discover anything interesting?" She asked, planting a kiss of a clean area of his cheek.
"I would have given a few more hours," he sighed, "but I heard my favorite two people had come to visit and I couldn't miss that."
"Uncle Tony!" Came the excited chorus, though they stopped short of hugging him.
"Why are you covered in white stuff?" Cooper asked, his nose wrinkling in amusement.
"Uncle Tony got excited in the lab." Tony smirked with a wink at the Archer, who groaned in disgust. Pepper rolled her eyes and covered her face in exasperation. "You deserved that," he threw at Clint and the Archer conceded with a shrug.
"What are you working on?" Lila asked, thankfully still innocent enough to be oblivious to the inuendo.
"Well…" Tony started and that's when Clint lost the trail. If he was really that interested, he supposed he could have kept up with what Stark was telling his children. The billionaire's ability to reconstruct his language and thought processes to allow the little ones to understand and keep pace with some incredibly complex physics, was astounding. But more evident than that was his passion. The way Tony spoke about his work and the excitement he exuded made it impossible to get bored listening. The kids latched onto his every word, their eyes blazing brightly in interest and in awe. You couldn't help but get excited about science when Tony explained it like this… Clint secretly wondered if Tony had missed his calling as a teacher. He really would be the perfect person to inspire young minds, he was great at it. Then again, he supposed, it wasn't as if Tony's was running out of time; maybe he could pick up lecturing in his later life. It would certainly be a shame to see such passion wasted and kept from the world.
"How does he do it?" Clint asked Laura incredulously. "I try get them to do their Math homework and they tell me I suck, then this guy starts teaching them college physics and they get it like that," he said, snapping his fingers, "and they enjoy it!"
Laura chuckled. "You should have seen Copper's last science test," she smirked. "There was a question of atomic structure and started talking about muons and tauons whatever they are."
"A what-on?"
"Exactly, the teacher didn't know what they were either. They had to google it. He's making our kids smarter than us."
"As it should be." Clint smiled.
"Dad! Uncle Tony's going to show us how to build a particle accelerator!" Copper announced excitedly.
"Oh no he isn't!" Pepper loudly forbade.
"Aw, come on Pepp." Tony whined. "It's perfectly safe."
"Tony, last time you blew up the lab." She scolded.
"That was Dum-E's fault." He protested.
"No!" The red head said firmly.
"Fine." Tony rolled his eyes and walked away with the kids in tow. "Let me look at you." He said to Cooper once they were out of ear shot of the adults, "Yep, think you're tall enough." The small boy was nearly up to the bottom of his ribs and still a few inches clear of his little sister's height.
"For what Uncle Tony?" Cooper asked excitedly.
"I reckon you could reach the pedals on the Audi now," he smiled.
"You'll let me drive the Audi!" Cooper gasped excitedly.
"Yep, just don't tell your parents, least of all your Mother, she'll hang me."
"I promise!"
"What about me?" Lila asked hopefully.
"Might need to grow a bit kiddo, but at the very least you can sit on my knee and do the steering and the gear stick."
"That would be awesome!" She grinned ear to ear and Tony's heart melted. He let his mind wander to thoughts of someday having kids of his own, but quickly pulled himself back. He glanced over at Pepper quickly before he made a bid for the garage. If he wanted a family, then there was something he had to man up and do first.
…
Take two. Tony took a breath. Tony loved his drama, but Pepper didn't. With a super busy work period coming to the end involving securing a trade deal with a major energy corporation, a quiet night in was just what they both needed. Tony had outdone himself this time. He'd got in all Pepper's favorite foods, from all her favorite places in the city and he'd got them himself instead of having someone fetch them for him. It was a small gesture, but she'd always appreciated small gestures… even if it meant the carbonara was a bit on the cold side. They'd been tucked into each other on the sofa in watching a selection of their favorite films, but as relaxed as Pepper was, Tony was wound like a coil. He wanted to relax he really did, but he was just so damn nervous. He had to do this, everything was perfect, he couldn't chicken out again.
He took a deep breath and steadied himself. It was just a few words, surely, he could spit them out. He could do this…
"Pepper…" He started, but then the door burst open and Rhodes marched his way in, a wide-eyed Natasha hot on his heels, mouthing the word 'sorry'. Tony deflated instantly. So much for the perfect moment.
"Tony you'll never guess what…" Rhodes started, but Tony had his head in his hands.
"ё-мое!"3 Stark yelled in frustration and he saw Natasha start sniggering sympathetically by the door.
"Language." Steve protested as he too entered the room, Clint and Bruce hot on his heels. Seriously the whole team? The whole damn team! "There are still children in the house!" The Captain reminded him.
"You don't even speak Russian!" Tony exclaimed. "And neither do they!" He scoffed.
"I'm going to head to bed." Pepper yawned, standing up, shaking her head tiredly. "Thank you for tonight," she smiled, leaving him with a kiss on the cheek. He nearly screamed again.
"Actually, I do." Steve replied and it took Tony a second to process what he was talking about. "Picked up a fair bit back in the war… and if there's one thing Russian soldiers do its cuss." Steve scoffed.
"What's going on? Why is Tony swearing in Russian?" Bruce asked.
"Because Rhodey is the чертовски худший ведомый в истории!"4 The Engineer yelled.
Clint spat his drink out in muffled laughter.
"What?" Rhodes asked in confusion, staring at Tony who was glaring at his best friend ferociously.
"I didn't understand all of that one, but I am certain there was more profanity in it, so I'll say again language Tony!" Steve contributed. "What's all this anger in aid of?"
"I don't understand, what did I do?" Rhodes asked incredulously.
"Oh man! This is gold." Clint was practically crying with laughter. Natasha's laughter only intensified.
"Can someone tell me what's going on? I feel decidedly out of the loop." Bruce asked, completely baffled.
"You're telling me!" Rhodes protested.
"Your Earth has too many languages." Thor shook his head.
"You're all idiots!" Tony grunted in frustration. "I'm going to the lab." He growled, mumbling angrily as he walked away.
"What did we do?" Bruce asked, confused.
"Not my story to tell." Natasha held up her hands and walked away.
"Clint?" Rhodes asked hopefully.
"Hell, don't look at me." Clint spat, grabbing his sandwich, and making a hasty retreat.
…
"Tony."
"Not now Tasha, I've not finished licking my wounds." Tony groaned, burying his head in his hands, and clumping further into his desk chair. He'd been hiding in the lab for the last twenty minutes, utterly mortified. He'd been ready, he was literally about to do it and then, Bam! Not just one-person interrupting, but his best friend who had dragged the whole damn house into the room with him. He was really had to improve Jarvis to update privacy protocols.
"I'm sorry for laughing. I know how much this means to you." She sighed.
"No laugh all you want. I'm a walking joke after all." Tony scoffed.
"Tony that's not true." She hushed him, putting a hand on his shoulder in support.
"It kinda is." Tony sighed. "I'm supposed to be Tony Stark; Tony Stark doesn't freeze when it comes to…this!" He grunted and pulled his head back into his hands.
"Yes, you're Tony Stark, but you're not the same Tony Stark that you were two years ago and that's not a bad thing, quite the opposite." She soothed.
"I just don't understand why it's so hard!" He growled. "How did you do it?"
"Asking someone out, isn't quite the same as proposing Tony." She chuckled. "And Bruce and I only managed it because of you. You're afraid Tony, terrified that you won't get the response you're after, but also, I think you're maybe even more scared of getting what you want."
"How does that make perfect sense, but make no sense at the same time?" Tony huffed.
"Because that's life." Natasha shrugged. "But if you want my opinion, just like you told me, you have nothing to worry about."
There was a knock on the door.
"Tones?" Rhodes started. "Is it safe to come in, or are you still mad at me?"
"I'll leave you two to it." Natasha smiled.
"Yeah Rhodey, come in." Tony sighed. "And Nat… Thank you."
Natasha just gave a nod and a wink, before making her way to the stairs.
"Tony I… I don't know what I did earlier but…"
"Rhodey, I'm sorry. You didn't do anything, not really… let's just say your timing was lousy." Tony chuckled.
"I don't understand…"
"Come over here, and I'll show you." Tony beckoned. He still had it in his pocket, the ring; one glance told Rhodey all he needed to know.
…
"Hey Tony, you busy?" Rhodes asked, barging into the lab as usual.
"Not especially, why?" Tony said, trying to pretend he'd not been spinning on his chair in circle for the past hour as he had no idea how to fix his latest technical problem.
"I… well I felt bad about last week, so I set something up."
"Rhodey, it wasn't your fault." Tony chuckled.
"Well regardless, here you go." Rhodes said, handing him over a sheet of paper.
"What's this?"
"Let's just say, it's a chance for you not to be interrupted." He smiled.
"Huh. Maybe you're not such a bad wingman after all."
"Don't you know it." The airman smiled.
"Thank you, buddy." Tony smiled and pulled his best friend into a hug.
"And Tony…" Rhodey started, having turned to leave.
"What?"
"Don't chicken out this time, I've got a hundred dollar bet with Clint on this."
"Fuck you very much." Tony scoffed.
"Love you too man."
"Whatever. Get out of here, I'm busy." The Engineer huffed.
"Oh yes, so very busy that you'll have to replace the bearings in that chair of you spend any more time spinning on it."
"You're a dick, you know that?" Tony called after him, but the Colonel had already left.
…
"I never asked what it was like, how you were doing?" Pepper said as she and Tony lounged around outside a quiet restaurant in Long Beach.
Rhodes' booking had been a Godsend; Pepper and Tony were having a quiet weekend away from the Malibu house and that was the good thing about LA - there were more famous people here than you could shake a stick at so nobody was bothered by it. Famous was normal round here, although the Avengers seemed to be the exception to that. It seemed there was normal famous, there was super famous and then there was Avengers famous. Everyone wanted to thank them for what they'd done, Tony especially. It was public knowledge that Tony had sacrificed himself to win the battle by detonating some form of explosive device and it was a miracle he had survived, but apparently it was a big deal to them. They didn't know the half of it, of course. Regardless, it was all behind them and they were glad. There were a few days left before Clint's family had to head back to the farm and to school, which was a little sad, but all in all everything was great. Most of the team had taken a little time to get over the shock of the Brutasha announcement, but things had quickly settled into normalcy.
Seeing Bruce and Nat happy, was more amazing than words could express. Bruce was always easy to read, he smiled more now than Tony had ever seen him, but Natasha was the real triumph. The whole team seemed to finally have realized the extent to which Natasha kept her emotions hidden; she was almost a new person these days, so openly happy that nobody around her could be possibly be miserable. It was infectious. Malibu mansion was a great place to be right now… for everyone except for Tony.
"What do you mean Pep?" He asked, flicking through the menu for the umpteenth time. He couldn't focus on the words on the page at all. He must have read the options fifteen times, but nothing was registering. Why was he so nervous? He'd faced death on how many times, how hard could one conversation be?
"I never asked what it is like without your powers." She explained. "Now that the CAEB is gone, do you miss it?"
"Oh Hell no." Tony scoffed, dismissively. It was a topic no one approached him with often, it wasn't that it was a sore subject - well actually he wasn't sure how he felt about it, but there seemed to be some unwritten rule that they just didn't talk about it. I mean it was in the past, why should they?
"Tony, be honest with me." Pepper asked gently and Tony looked her in the eye. She couldn't help but notice he'd been weird all morning, jumpy even. It wasn't like him unless there was something on his mind. She was glad he didn't hide behind a mask anymore, their relationship had been stronger than ever because of it, but it didn't mean she stopped worrying about him. There had been so much healing to do, physically and mentally, for all of them in the past twelve months, and although Tony still woke up screaming every now and again things were better than they'd ever been while she'd known him. But she had no idea what was bothering him so much today. Well actually she told a lie, she had a small idea which sent butterflies twirling through her stomach in hope.
After taking some time to contemplate his answer Tony replied, "it's like a weight has been lifted in a way, but equally it's like a part of me is missing." He sighed.
Pepper nodded thoughtfully. "I get that." She said tentatively. "Well, I suppose I don't actually, how could I? I can't really imagine what it felt like..." She trailed off.
Tony chuckled. "It's ok Pepp." He sighed. "It's weird, I mean I still have the secondary nervous system but there are no impulses running through it. While I had the CAEB, even when I wasn't using it, it was always there; I could feel and sense things that no human could ever sense. It was as amazing as it was terrifying and now it's like…" He paused to consider the analogy he would use and smiled when he settled on one. "The best way to describe it is that I've lived with the radio on that whole year and now somebody's turned it off. While it was on the noise annoyed the hell out of me, but now…"
"You're not sure if you like the quiet." She smiled, understanding dawning.
Tony smiled back. "Exactly."
"Well, if you're struggling please promise me…"
"I'll talk to you Pep. I promise. You all know everything now and it's going to stay that way."
Now Tony, he urged himself. You're not going to get a better moment, grow a pair and do it now! He opened his mouth to speak but Pepper beat him to it.
"I love you Tony." She smiled warmly. Tony's heart thundered in his chest.
"I love you more." He teased.
Don't be a chicken, you can do this!
She chuckled happily. "Not possible." She whispered.
"Want a bet?" He smirked with a flick of his eyebrows.
"How could you ever possibly prove that?" She rolled her eyes.
This is it. This is happening. He was definitely going to do it this time.
"I don't know." Tony sat up and then got to his feet whilst Pepper frowned in curiosity. "But I want to spend the rest of my life trying."
"Tony…" Pepper gasped in shocked elation. The billionaire was down on one knee, pulling something out of his jacket pocket.
"Pepper Potts…"
"Yes!" She blurted out. Pepper's lips were pressed hard into Tony's before he could even get the words out.
"You could have let me finish first!" Tony protested and Pepper just laughed in response, joyful tears rolling down her cheeks "I mean seriously that was a bit rude. I've been waiting weeks for the right moment and rehearsing every…" Pepper pressed a finger to his lips with a warm smile.
"Shut up and put a ring on it." She ordered.
"Ok." Tony smirked. "That I can do." He slid the ring onto her finger, and she looked down on it with a gasp. It was silver, understated, and elegant just like the woman it now belonged to. It glistened with dazzling blue sapphires that matched her eyes. It was perfect. Everything was perfect. As their lips met and the sun warmed their backs the world seemed to fade blissfully into the background
"You made me wait a year." She breathed when they finally pulled apart, tears of pure joy pricking at her eyes and threatening to spill down her cheeks. She couldn't be having that.
"Sorry." Tony said sincerely, but the smile would not be moved from his face, probably for a long time.
"It doesn't matter now. It was worth the wait. You are worth the wait." She smiled, pressing her lips back against his.
"Eww, so gross. Get a room."
"You have to be kidding me!" Tony grunted hearing Clint's voice. "Again? Get lost Feathers." Tony growled.
"At least it wasn't Rhodey this time." Pepper chuckled and Tony joined him. She waited for it to click in her fiancées' head and when it did he jerked a little.
"Wait…Rhodey? You… you knew?" Tony asked surprised.
"Tony, honey, you were wound as tight as a coil that entire night. You'd made it perfect and were about to say something when everyone burst in - it didn't take a genius." She smiled warmly.
"Well, I suppose I'm not known for being subtle." He rolled his eyes. "Why the hell are you here birdbrain? I thought Natasha would have told you all to steer clear." Tony grumbled.
"She did." Clint smiled. "Congrats you guys, but it's about damn time Tony. Thought Pepper was going to have to be the man. Looks like I'm down a hundred dollars…"
"Shut up feathers." Tony growled; cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.
"Anyway, I'm really, really sorry but we got a call." Clint winced.
"You have to be joking." Tony whined.
"Sorry buddy. But hey, Bruce and Nat wouldn't let us pick you up till you'd had your moment so there's that."
"Yeah thanks a bunch." Tony huffed then leant in to whisper in Pepper's ear. "Please tell them you're banning me from going." He pleaded.
"Since when do you ever listen to me?" Pepper rolled her eyes.
"Then tell me to go and I'll have to ignore you." He smirked.
She huffed and shook her head, stealing one last kiss and stroking the ring on her finger. "Go on. The world needs saving."
"It always does. It's such a needy bitch, maybe we should be less hands-on parents and let it save itself for a change." Tony grumbled.
Pepper chuckled. "Just stay safe will you. Nothing reckless, listen to Steve."
"Fine, yeah I'll listen to Captain Bossy Pants I promise." The Iron Avenger huffed.
"Jet's around the corner. We'll brief you on route if you can be bothered to listen this time." Clint called, already making a retreat.
Tony got to his feet reluctantly and gave Pepper another peck on the lips. Damn World! Always getting into trouble. He was getting to old for this.
…
Tony groaned as he leant back into the soft, cool leather of the couch in his workshop. He pressed the ice into his throbbing head and hissed against the cold and the pain.
Distract the monster they'd said. It'll be fun they'd said. It turned out their idea of fun had resulted in $100,000 worth of property damage and another ruined suit, which weren't cheap to repair by the way! Still, it had been fun he supposed… until he'd got thrown into the power substation and given himself a very nasty concussion and a little bit of an electric shock. Ok, if it wasn't for Jarvis re-routing the power through the suit so it would act like a faraday cage, the team would have been eating fried billionaire tonight and not ordering in from KFC.
This was the first bit of peace he'd had all day. Of course, once he'd been scooped off the floor by an overly handsy Thor, the whole team had been in overprotective overdrive. He'd had to sit through a four-hour medical and then Pepper had arrived, and boy had she been mad. Apparently nearly getting killed hours after proposing was not appreciated and he did feel bad about that; he hated making her worried.
And there was that; he was getting married. Tony Stark was tying the knot. He'd already hired the best wedding planners on the East coast and put ten-million dollars into the wedding budget which Pepper thought was completely ridiculous and demanded that they had something small and intimate, and not something rivalling the royal wedding. Of course, he'd give her anything she wanted. Anything at all.
He chuckled to himself blissfully thinking about what dress she would end up wearing, what music she would pick, what ridiculous suits he could get Rhodey and Clint to wear.
He hissed as another jolt of pain ran through his head. He glanced at the clock, Jarvis on mute to prevent near the inevitable migraine he knew he'd be facing once the concussion subsided. It had been long enough for him to have another couple of painkillers. Now where did he put them? He glanced around eyes hooded, stifling a yawn, spotting them on the workbench a few feet away. Damn he wished they were within reach. He really didn't want to get up right now. He sighed and rubbed his face tiredly. He should probably head to bed. Not much he could do in the lab anyway since he's been banned from looking at screens for the next twenty-four hours. As his eyes moved around the room to check everything was in order before he left, something flickered. He frowned, then started as he looked down at the desk in front of him to see the packet of painkillers, inches away from where his hand was resting. He sat stunned for a moment. He could have sworn… he laughed at himself. Head injury and seeing things was a common combo. He didn't have powers anymore and he wouldn't want it any other way.
He heaved himself out of the chair, his bruised body protesting every movement. Ok, he conceded to himself, maybe times like this powers would be useful. He so missed the super healing and man was he jealous of Steve right now. He huffed a satisfied sigh as he finally had the painkillers in hand.
He didn't know how he'd made it here, he'd never expected to, but despite everything life had thrown at him, everything really was ok. In fact, it was better than ok. Tony Stark was the happiest man alive.
"Hey Stark… Movie night!" Clint called from the other side of the door and Tony winced at the loudness.
Tony smiled. "On my way." They did have an announcement to make after all, even though everyone pretty much knew by now he couldn't resist a speech.
"Your choice tonight." Clint smiled.
"Hot Fuzz." He said without pause.
"Child friendly," Clint scolded, "the munchkins are still here."
"Ughhh, fine let them choose." Tony rolled his eyes.
"You know they'll pick Frozen right? And there'll be singing, so how's the head?" Clint warned.
"It's good." Tony smiled and sighed. Frozen it was. He could live pain in his skull for a few more hours if it meant a bit of good old-fashioned sing along and seeing Lila and Cooper enjoy themselves. "Everything's good." He breathed. And it was, truly. And that's when Tony realized, he'd been wrong before. He knew exactly how he'd made it here and they were called the Avengers; they were his family.
As he made his way upstairs the box Pepper had left for him caught his eye. He'd have to open that later, give her a phone call to thank her after her meeting tomorrow. He always loved Pepper's little gifts, and the way she left them without saying anything. He'd have to do better on the romantic side if he was going to be the Husband she deserved, she was seriously outclassing him on that front.
What Tony didn't know was that in that box was a little white stick with two pink lines and a book written by Rob Kemp; The Expectant Dad's survival guide.
What Pepper didn't know was that she was going to have her very important board meeting gate crashed by a hysterically happy fiancée, who didn't actually get around to opening said box until the next morning and flew half way across the country in the Iron Man suit to see her the moment it had sunk in.
What fate knew, however, that no one else did, was that although Tony, Pepper and the Avengers would still have some challenges to face in the long, happy lives they had in front of them, everything from now on in was going to be just fine.
…
"Happiness is a journey not a destination. For a long time, it seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid.
At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.
There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one."
Alfred D. Souza.
1 Kitten – term of affection (pet name)
2 Sometimes the woman has to play the role of the man (Tony telling her to make the first move)
3 Along the lines of Mother Fucker/ holy shit (versatile Russian cuss)
4 Worst fucking wingman ever