Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Word Count - 733

Fic Detail - Tony&Morgan / Canon Character Death

Written for Sam, since she was cruel and made me write this in the first place.

To Keep A Promise (To Break A Promise)

For you, I'll be a better man.

Tony rocked the little girl in his arms and he made her a promise.

He'd give anything to keep that promise.

Even his own life.

…

Pepper heard the cry and groaned, leaning over towards the baby monitor on the bedside table. Before she could even reach it, she heard the cries soften and Tony's voice murmuring softly.

"Hey princess, what's all this noise for?"

Pepper heard a crinkle and then Morgan stopped crying.

"That's better, isn't it?" Tony asked. "See those stars sweetheart? Daddy's been up to those stars, and I've still never seen anything as beautiful as you."

Pepper smiled to herself as she listened to Tony talk. She knew how worried he'd been about becoming a father, particularly after losing Peter so harshly. She'd never been worried about it.

She'd always known he could succeed at anything he put his mind to, especially for those he loved.

And she'd never known Tony love anyone or anything more than he loved Morgan.

…

"Daddy, look!"

Tony bent over the desk to look down at the painting Morgan had made.

"That, is the best painting I've ever seen," he told her honestly. "And I think it needs to go on the fridge immediately."

Morgan giggled. "It needs to dry, silly."

"Of course it does! What was I thinking?" Tony crossed his eyes and tickled her, making her giggle harder. "Well, while that's drying, why don't you come down to the workshop with me? DUM-E is missing you."

She nodded eagerly and shot up from her seat, running ahead of him. He followed at a more leisurely pace, knowing that FRIDAY wouldn't let her near anything dangerous.

…

"Where's the troublemaker?" Pepper asked, as Tony wrapped his arms around her.

"Uncle Rhodey just picked her up," Tony replied, pressing a kiss to Pepper's neck. "He's taking her for ice cream."

"Which means he's gonna fill her up with candy and then bring her home to run us ragged?"

Tony nodded, smiling. "Pretty much."

"So what I'm hearing is that we've got the house to ourselves?"

"You're hearing correctly."

Pepper smirked. "Lead on then, Mr Stark."

…

"Daddy?"

"What's up, little monster?"

"Why does Mr Steve make you sad?"

"What?"

Morgan clambered up onto his knee and looked up at him. "Mommy said you needed saving from Mr Steve and his friends, and you looked sad."

"It's nothing, Morgan, just yucky grown up stuff. Certainly nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about."

"You're happy now, right?"

"With you here? How could I possibly be anything else, hmm?"

...

"Where are you going, Daddy?"

Tony froze, swallowing hard. He turned to see Morgan leaning against the staircase, her intelligent eyes seeing far more than he'd ever wanted her to see.

"Daddy has to go take care of a few things, sweetheart," he replied, holding his arms out for her. She approached him immediately and he picked her up, holding her tightly. "I need you to look after Mommy, okay?"

"But why do you have to go?" She asked, her bottom lip trembling. "Can't you stay here and look after Mommy instead?"

"I'm sorry, Princess, this is really important."

"Is this because Mr Steve visited?"

Tony considered lying to her but dismissed the idea almost immediately. He'd never lied to her before and he wouldn't start now.

"It is, kiddo. Sometimes, we've got to do things we don't really want to do, because it's the right thing to do."

"When will you be home?"

"As soon as I can," he promised, hoping with all that was in him that it wouldn't be the first promise he'd break to his little girl. "Love you."

She frowned up at him. "How much?"

"I love you tons," he replied.

"I love you 3000," she replied, looking smug.

Tony gasped. "Okay, you win, that's so much love. You ready to head back to bed?"

Morgan nodded and Tony squeezed her one more time before he set her down. "Sleep tight, sweetheart, and remember what I said."

"Look after mom?"

"That's right."

…

For his little girl, he snapped his fingers.

For his little girl, he made the world a better place.

For his little girl, he kept that promise. It was just a shame that he had to break another promise to do it.

For you I'll be a better man.

Written for:

365. 307. Candy