The plane was on the verge of landing, but his heart was on the verge of plummeting as if it planned to send him into cardiac arrest that very moment. It more than likely would not, seeing that presently the portal between him and the noisy airport was closed, but only for a few moments. Rhodey had gotten up from his seat and helped him into the wheelchair despite being perfectly capable of walking.
"You know, when you found me, despite being on my knees, I was still very capable of walking. Still am and I'm not an invalid, Rhodes."
"Well, Stark, out of damn politeness and doctor's recommendations, sit your ass down in that wheelchair before I whoop you."
"There's the Rhodey I know from MIT. I knew you still had it in you, despite the old age."
"Old age? Speak for yourself, man. You aren't exactly as young as you were ten years ago. I think I may have spotted the beginning of a few grey hairs in your roots."
Rhodey jokingly began inspecting Tony's hair and even trailed his fingers lightly through his friend's hair but Tony swatted his hand away, saying, "Hey, I did not have this hair done for you to play with. I had it done so the world can get a load of me after three months of not having me in the spotlight. Do you know how dull it must have been for them to have no new footage, like, at all? This glow up will do me and them some justice."
As he was talking, his friend had pushed the wheelchair so that they were directly in front of the metal ramps that were part of the plane's door from its belly. Rhodey had only laughed softly in response, relieved slightly that at the minimum Tony's humor still served him well. At least that's one part of him that didn't change. But he otherwise knew that something changed in the man he called his best friend and that may or may not have been a good thing. To what extent, he didn't know, not yet, but all he knew was that it felt easier to breathe, knowing that Tony was finally where he belonged, especially since there were others that were awaiting his arrival.
"Are you ready to see them?" Rhodey asked Tony as he stood beside him, a hand on his friend's shoulder. Tony knew what the underlying meaning of his question meant. Yes. I waited for so long.
"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Tony looked up at Rhodey, revealing the hidden excitement twined with pain in his dark brown eyes. Rhodey looked down, nodding and tightened his hold on Tony's shoulder; it was his silent way of comforting his friend. It's always been his thing while Tony's was a side hug with a squeeze to the bicep, since their college days.
The plane had finally stilled, meaning that the time had come. The ramps were lowering, letting in sunlight from the long sought American skies that meant they were home. Tony felt relief of breathing the fresh air, smiling slightly at the expanse of his surroundings and as he looked down again to steady himself, he knew it was time for him to stand. There would be no more need for that stupid wheelchair in the end, anyways. Rhodey bent down to help him stand, taking ahold of Tony's hand as they started to walk down the ramps, slow step by slow step. The whole time Tony looked straight ahead as Rhodey looked down, guiding him so that they would not end up tripping over one another.
"Watch it, coming up here," the lieutenant colonel said, pointing to the bend in the ramp as they got to the middle causing the Stark Industries' CEO to finally take a look at where he was stepping. A small breeze passed by, moving bits of hair back and forth as he continued down.
When they finally reached the bottom, Tony let go of Rhodey's hand and fiddled with his blazer as they waved away paramedics that were standing nearby in case of need for medical assistance. "Are you kidding me with this? Get rid of them," Tony grumbled. Rhodey trailed behind as Tony walked forward, making his way towards his initial target, Pepper Potts, his ever faithful and loyal personal assistant. She grinned at him as he approached her, taking him in for the first time after three agonizing months.
As he stopped in front of her, he quipped, "Hmm. Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long lost boss?"
I missed you. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there when you needed me most.
"Tears of joy. I hate job hunting," she replied.
I know, I missed you, too. You're here now, alive, and I forgive you. That's all that matters now.
Tony looked at Pepper, taking in her appearance; she was in a pantsuit, thin and fit, with her signature heels and red hair in a low bun, compared to what she wore a few months earlier. She did have the remains of tears on her face, her relief very evident to him while he somehow managed to hold back his own. For him, she was definitely a sight for sore eyes as she looked beautiful and breathtaking like the day he left for Afghanistan. He stepped closer to her, searching for something as he lowered his gaze to her hands. There. His lip twitched up in a half-hidden smile just for her to see as he responded to her, "Yeah, vacation's over."
She shook her head in exasperation but bit her lip as she allowed her smile to grow. He took that as a cue to come closer and wrapped his one good arm around her back as she wrapped hers around his shoulders, closing her eyes when she rested her chin in the crook of his neck. Pepper let out a sigh of relief and whispered to him, "Well, even without you, I wasn't exactly having a vacation. You know what I had to endure these past few months? You don't, but you will now."
He merely pulled back and pressed a tender kiss to her cheek as she put her hand on his cheek, caressing it. He clasped her hand with his and wrapped a finger around her ring finger, right where her wedding ring sat. It was comforting to feel, knowing she did not let herself believe what everyone else was saying, not giving up on their love. The unspoken words in his eyes were enough to tell her everything she needed to know, all that they would talk about in the evening to come, in the privacy of their own home. For a moment, they lingered, allowing themselves to let the rest of the world fall away until she pulled away, signaling it was time to go.
Pepper was already on the other side of the car before Tony could recover and say anything more, but his lip trembled in nervousness. Happy, meanwhile, moved from his position by the car and got into driver's seat. The only exchange between Tony and Happy was the solemn nod of acknowledgement, one in thanks and the other in acceptance. Then, Tony looked at his wife only to see her looking back, nodding at him, answering the other question he had in mind before he came off the plane.
"She's waiting for you," was her response as she opened the door of the car. Tony suddenly turned jelly in the arms and felt weak in the knees, holding onto the car for support.
"She?" His eyes moistened but before the tears could get the better of him, he finally got enough strength back to open the door. As he slowly lowered himself into the backseat, he turned his head to see a baby carrier in the middle. Pepper was handling the fussy infant who was making puffy noises and waving her tiny fists in the air. The baby wore a onesie with zebras and elephants, her hair a dark brown and most shocking and delightful to Tony, she had his chocolate soulful eyes. Before buckling himself in, he couldn't help but reach out and caress her rosy cheek and smiled fondly down at her. In turn, his daughter looked at him and smiled back, eyes shining with the awe and wonder of an innocent child seeing the world for the first time.
"I named her Morgan, just the way you wanted. But considering that at the time you were gone and all seemed lost, I still had hope that you were alive despite the odds. She was my little light in the darkness so I gave her Hope as her middle name. She has your eyes; i-it was easier thinking that there was a part of you still there." Pepper said, looking at her child and her husband interacting for the first time. He looked at Pepper with sad eyes, thinking again for the millionth time of how it must have been to raise their child alone, having the responsibilities of a mother, a PA, and an especially worried wife. The uncertainty of him never returning and the fear that he might be dead was something she had to endure for three months. It killed him to think of her arriving at work, hoping that she would see a cup of coffee with a signed stack of papers on the living room table and hearing the terribly loud music blaring from the workshop where she knew he would be working on something new. Instead, the terrifically clean table would be the first sight to greet her in the morning as JARVIS said his morning hello with dread and the odd silence from the workshop filled the empty house. Even the robots would no longer do their usual funny antics.
In offering her consolation, Tony took her hand in his and squeezed tightly, reminding her that she would no longer have to keep herself together for everyone around her. She was strong, that he knew, but the stress must have been eating her alive in the late hours of the night. He was trying to tell her that he was sorry for not being there when she needed him the most, when she needed him to be the person to comfort her after she comforted everyone else but instead she was her own shoulder to cry on. None of that mattered anymore, though. He was home. As he looked down once more at his little girl, he smiled as she reached up to grab his finger. Tony leaned down, pressing a kiss to her forehead, brushing back some of her hair, whispering softly, "Daddy's home, sweetheart."