AN: Epilogue and grand finale of this fic.
Sorry, guest, I could not change my plans!
November 29, 2021
The seaplane took graceful flight into the sky, as the Starks and Banners looked on. All their hands were raised, waving in farewell to the plane's occupants until it disappeared from sight.
"Well, I guess you guys are next, unless you two have changed your minds about staying on the island a little longer?" Tony teased the newlyweds.
Bruce turned his head to look at the billionaire but didn't get a response out before Pepper did.
"Tony, don't-"
"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Can we go swimming?" Eva's little voice broke in, and she felt tugs on the skirt of her sundress.
Smiling at the other adults she looked down at her daughter, "Eva sweetie, Mommy is having a conversation with Daddy, and Uncle Bruce, and Aunt Betty..." Neither her or Tony failed to notice how much Betty seems to glow whenever they refer to her as Aunt Betty in front of their kids, "and you interrupted Mommy, which isn't polite to do."
The little girl seemed only slightly deterred by her mother's gentle reminder of manners, immediately issuing a "Sowwy, Mommy." before she repeated her question.
"Thank you for apologizing," Pepper told her, then shaking her head, "No, baby, I am sorry but you and brother can't go swimming right now."
Eva's hopeful smile disappeared, replaced by a pouty scowl, "Mommy!"
"Ah ah ah! None of that, little miss!" Tony intervened, "Mommy said no, and that's what she meant. Now, what don't you and brother go find some pretty seashells for Daddy, hmm?"
Ethan who had been watching the exchange between his parents and sister motioned for her to come over to him, "Come on, Evie! Let's get some good shells!"
Eva's pout lasted for a few seconds more, and then she took off in her big brother's direction.
Tony threw a thumbs up in his son's direction, smiling proudly at the boy before returning his attention back to their previously interrupted conversation.
"Stay close where we can see you!" Pepper called out before they got too far down the beach.
"So, there is absolutely no way for us to talk you two into staying here for a few days?" Tony repeated his earlier question.
Bruce and Betty exchanged a glance before she sighed, telling them, "I'd really like to be able to stay for a little while longer, but I really need to get back for work."
Tony opened his mouth to try again but didn't get out one word before his wife's hand was covering his mouth. A few mumbling sounds could be heard from underneath her palm before Pepper looked over at their friends, telling them, "I won't say I wasn't hoping you'd take us up on this offer because we'd both really like to give you the gift of total privacy for these first few days of you guys being newlyweds. But I understand why you can't and we respect you both doing whatever it is you need to do. Isn't that right, Tony?"
But she didn't remove her hand so he could answer, he just nodded his agreement instead.
"Thank you, Pepper," Bruce muttered.
"So," the billionaire began carefully once his wife's hand finally dropped, "I guess you'll be on the next flight out of here then." He knew he didn't sound all that happy about it but he also knew Pepper was right and he had to let it go.
"Yeah, I guess we are... unless..." the mild-mannered scientist drew out, looking at his wife, "Betty, maybe we could stay just another couple of days?"
"Bruce..." She started, stopped, and sighed, "I really need to get back soon."
"I know, I know you do but maybe a couple more days wouldn't hurt?"
Sensing the newlyweds needed to talk about this, Tony reached out for Pepper's hand, and together they drifted towards the direction where their kids were still looking for seashells.
"Hey, squirts, find any seashells yet?" Tony asked when they reached them.
Eva turned around, and held up a big seashell, "Look at what I found, Daddy!"
Her brother huffed, "You didn't find it, Evie! I found it!"
"No, you didn't!"
"Yes, I did!"
"No, you didn't!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did-"
"Kids!" Pepper interjected when she couldn't take their bickering anymore, "It doesn't matter which one of you found the seashell! What matters is it's a very pretty seashell, and I'm sure your Daddy's going to love finding a place of honor for it when we get back home. Right, honey?"
"Right, honey! Absolutely!" he agreed, turning the seashell over and over in his hands. It was a sizable, spiral, multi-colored seashell with pink, blue, and purple over its three sections, and making sure both of the kids knew he was talking to them said, "It's a really great seashell!"
Both of them beamed at his praise.
Casting a glance at his wife, he asked, "I've got a great seashell to put on my desk, so why don't you both look for one for Mommy too? We don't want her to be left out now do we?"
"No, Daddy!" they replied in unison before they started searching the shore again.
"Nicely handled there, Mrs. Stark."
"Not so bad yourself, Mr. Stark."
Pepper started to lean in, intending to kiss him when the small voice belonging to their daughter called out to them.
"Mommy! Daddy!"
"Honey, your daughter always has the best timing," Tony groused.
"The same can be said about your son, dear."
"Mommy!"
With a mutual sigh, they broke apart, and went to see what their daughter wanted.
They hunted for seashells as a family for a few more minutes before they were joined by Bruce and Betty.
It was Bruce who spoke, "Tony? Pepper? Can we talk to you both a moment?"
They both gave a nod, while Pepper told the kids they'd be right back and to keep close by.
Tony waited for his wife to join them to ask, "So what's up, Brucie boy?"
"Well we uh... we've decided that we want to stay here. It'd just be for a few days, but we want to stay."
"Yes!" The cheer, of course, came from Tony, who gave an fist pump, "I knew you guys would change your minds! I just knew it!"
The other three adults rolled their eyes, and shook their heads in amusement.
"Well, if you're both staying, that means we're up next to leave," mused Pepper.
"Yep," her husband replied, glancing at his watch, "We've got twelve minutes left before the next plane comes in. I'd say it's time we start getting the kiddos to wrap it up!"
"Yes," his wife agreed before turning back to the newlyweds, "As we said before, you're both free to stay here for as long as you want."
"Thank you, Pepper." Betty said softly.
"Oh, Betty, there's no need to thank us! Neither of you ever have to thank us because you are a part of our family!"
The other woman blushed, and nodded.
"Okay, let us go wrangle the rugrats down, and we'll say our byes to you on the dock."
The other couple gave a nod, and hand in hand, walked back towards the dock where the seaplane would come to pick up its next passengers. A few minutes went by as they waited, but eventually the Starks joined them. The kids took a seat on the dock, with their legs hanging off and swinging them as they watched the horizon for the seaplane.
"We don't know how long you're planning to stay, we'll totally leave that up to you guys. But please know we mean what we've said. You can stay only a few days if you like or you can stay until the start of the new hurricane season if that's what you want too."
Their eyebrows went up into the air.
"Yeah, what Pepper said."
"Okay, we don't think we'll stay for that long, but we're definitely going to stay for a few days for sure."
Tony pulled something out of his pocket, "I know you're both familiar with BRUTUS but you can only currently talk to him when you're inside. But, with this," he paused, holding up the object in his hand, "you'll be able to talk to him from anywhere on the island." He gave Bruce the watch.
After staring at the expensive accessory in his hand, the scientist took off his normal watch, and replaced it with the new one, "Thanks, Tony."
The billionaire nodded.
"Now, the next thing we wanted to let you know is that, you can stay in the same bungalow that you've already been staying in. Or, if you want to, you guys can use the big house."
"You mean the one where you, Tony, and the kids stayed in?"
Pepper nodded, "That's exactly the one I mean."
"Thanks, but uh I think the one we've been staying in will be fine."
"Okay, that's fine. We just wanted you to know you have the option to stay in the big house if you want to."
"Thanks."
Before another word could be said, they all heard Ethan call out, "Look the plane's coming! The plane's coming, Daddy, Mommy!"
Tony looked over his shoulder, and saw it approaching on the horizon, "Well, I guess that's our cue then."
They moved to the end of the dock to watch and wait for the incoming seaplane. It took the plane several more minutes to arrive which was perfect since there was one more point they wanted to go over with the Banners before they left.
"Before we go, there is more thing we should tell you before we leave," Pepper began, and waited a few seconds before going on, "And that's what you should do whenever you're ready to leave."
"It's really easy and you might have already figured it out," her husband added.
"But in case you haven't, all you need to do whenever you're ready to leave is tell BRUTUS to make travel arrangements for you. He'll arrange for a plane to come pick you up and take you to the airport."
"Okay, that sounds easy enough."
"Should be easy peasy. Right, BRUTUS?"
"Right, Boss!"
Any further conversation was cut off by the landing of the seaplane. They remained silent as the seaplane circled around in the water and then approached the dock.
"Come over here, kiddos!" Tony called out to get them to move so the plane could dock.
The kids got up and went to stand by their Dad, who in turn put arm around his son's shoulders while his little girl grasped his hand. Once the plane was close enough, the co-pilot hopped out onto the deck and tethered the plane to it then greeted them, "Hey there, Mr. Stark, Mrs. Stark."
"Hi John."
"Hi, everything ready to go for one more flight?"
"Yes, ma'am. We're all set and ready to go whenever you are. Just come on board the plane whenever you're ready, and in the meantime, I'll see to your bags."
"Thanks, John."
"No problem, Mr. Stark." the man said with a tired smile before he went about seeing to their few bags.
I think I need to give them a nice bonus for all the flights they've made back and forth today.
"Yes, you do." Were the words he could practically hear Pepper thinking when she looked at him with a knowing smile.
Still smiling they both turned to their friends, "Well I guess this is it . We're heading back to civilization and the quote unquote real world."
Bruce nodded, as did his wife, before he asked, "You heading back to New York?"
"Yeah, we are."
"Well, we wish you guys a safe trip back home."
"Thanks, Bruce," Pepper said, reaching out to hug him, "You two have a safe trip home whenever you decide to leave too."
"Thanks, Pepper," he replied and watched as she moved on to hug his wife.
Looking at Tony, he hesitated then decided to just got for it, and hugged the billionaire too, "I'm so glad you're okay, Tony, coz it'd be hard to imagine a world without you around in it."
"Yeah, it would, wouldn't it?" Tony retorted in a conceited tone as they parted. "I mean I'm one of a kind the whole universe over."
Bruce however knew the truth when he looked in his friend's eyes, and just shook his head. Once Betty had said her goodbyes to Tony, they told the kids to say their goodbyes to their Aunt and Uncle, and then they all boarded the seaplane.
Of course the Banners stayed long enough to wave goodbye to Tony, Pepper, Ethan, and Eva as the plane took off before they went for a late day walk on the beach.
December 31, 2021
"Come on, Eta!" Franky said in an emphatic voice while tugging on his older cousin's arm, "I got something t'show ya!"
Pepper watched with a smile as her son took off running after the other little boy, calling out a last second, "Be good for your Aunt Natasha and Uncle Clint!"
"I will! Byyyyyyyyyyye, Mommy!"
Since Eva had already disappeared down the hallway with Nadia, Pepper looked back at Natasha, "Thank you, Nat, for you and Clint for letting them spend the night tonight."
"You're welcome, of course, but you know there's really no need to thank us because we love having them," Natasha replied, and lowering her voice she added, "Especially Clint. I mean by the time we get them all to bed he'll be just as tired as they are." For someone who was such a serious SHIELD agent, Clint was equally a kid at heart when it came to free time with his kids, and it was no secret he loved playing just as hard with his kids as they did.
"Well, thank you anyway. I'll talk to Tony about us returning the favor for you and Clint soon," Pepper replied, glancing at her watch, "Ooh, look at the time. I need to be going. I've got an appointment to keep if I want to be ready for tonight." She turned, stepped into the waiting elevator, and said, "Tell the kids that either their Daddy or I will be down to get them in the morning."
"Okay, I will. Enjoy your night, and happy New Year to you and Tony."
"And a very Happy New Year to you, and Clint, and the kids too!"
"Oh, and happy anniversary!"
"Thank you!"
Pepper waited for the elevator's doors to close behind her before she asked, "JARVIS, is Tony still in the workshop?"
"No, Ma'am. Sir has relocated to the penthouse and is currently preparing for your evening together."
Smiling, she said, "In that case, JARVIS, would you please take me to my floor instead then?"
The doors opened, "I had anticipated your request, and therefore had taken the liberty of rerouting the elevator to your personal floor instead of the penthouse."
"Thank you, JARVIS."
"My pleasure, Ma'am."
She had spent a couple of hours out shopping after dropping the kids off on the Bartons' floor, buying a few things that she knew her husband would love and would make their celebratory night together even more special.
Pepper stepped out onto the floor located just below the floor with Tony's workshop, and set down her shopping bags, then continued towards the bathroom where she could hear her shower water already running.
"Is the water's temperature to your satisfaction, Ma'am?" JARVIS asked when she stuck her hand under the stream a minute later.
"Yes, it is. Thank you, JARVIS."
She could hear the smile in his voice when the electronic butler replied, "You are most welcome, Ma'am."
Pepper enjoyed her shower, and then got dressed at a leisurely but not too slow of a pace so that their meal together would be dinner and not a midnight snack. She paused in putting on her lipstick, the last thing she needed to apply so she could a ask, "Is Tony ready, JARVIS?"
"Sir is indeed ready and awaiting your presence, Ma'am."
Satisfied with her appearance, she slipped on her shoes, then entered the elevator. She didn't have to press a button or speak to tell JARVIS which floor she wanted to go to because the AI already knew,. The journey upstairs only took a moment before the doors opened again, and Pepper the sight that took Her breath was taken away with the sight of her husband standing in the middle of the room dressed in a black tux with his hand held out towards her, his eyes shining with his love for her.
She glided over to him, noting that he too was having difficulty breathing as his eyes roamed, caressing her form as they moved up and down. For this occasion she had chosen a floor length dress that was the exact same color as the one she was wearing the first time they danced with each other at the firemen's ball, all those years ago, only this time the dress had an illusion neckline instead of the V-neck she'd chosen the first time.
Their hands intertwined as he marveled, "You look... I wish I had a new word to describe how you look instead of using one of the old, tired ones."
Pepper stepped into his personal space, and resting her free hand on his chest smirked, "Oh, I think one of the old, tired ones will do very nicely, Mr. Stark."
"In that case, you look beautiful, gorgeous, stunning, breathtaking, heart stopping ravageable!"
"I think you meant ravishing."
"No, I meant exactly what I said, honey. You are completely, totally, and utterly are looking ravageable right now."
Running her fingers along the lapel of her husband's tux, she simply stated, "You're not so bad yourself."
He sputtered, his jaw falling to the floor before he said, "I give you all of that, and all you can say is 'You're not so bad yourself'?"
She allowed it to go on for another second, and then looking him in the eye said, "You're looking quite ravageable yourself as well." She then kissed him, her hand going up to his hair where they curled around his locks, quietening any further comments he may have had.
For the next couple of minutes they were lost in each other until Tony pulled back to breathlessly, his eyes dark as he asked, "Want to skip dinner for some early fireworks?"
"I'd be all up for skipping dinner, except I am actually hungry." She could tell he was a bit disappointed so she added, "Hey, I promise we'll celebrate later, but for right now, could we have dinner?"
He nodded, "Hit it, J."
"Very good, Sir."
Pepper raised a curious eyebrow at him, wondering what him and the AI were talking about when her husband took her hand then tucked it into the crook of his arm.
"Our table is awaiting us below," he explained, walking them towards the elevator.
"I see. So what was the 'hit it' thing with JARVIS about?"
"You'll see in three, two, one."
His timing had been perfect as the elevator doors opened to reveal a table had been set in the middle of the floor open space. A white silk pathway lit with soft lanterns lined the way to the table set for two, with candles contributing to the warm , intimate glow of the room. On either side of the table were stationed were two young men and a third one standing a little off to the side of them. She couldn't help but immediately think of scenes from Downton Abbey because of how they were dressed. Tony escorted his wife to her chair, and made sure she was comfortably seated before settling in across from her.
Their servers went into almost immediate motion, setting the first course in front of each of them. When Pepper arched an eyebrow at her husband, he shrugged, and explained, "I may or may not have taken the liberty of ordering both of our favorite meals from Le Lion Privé."
"Good choice," she replied, picking up her fork, and taking a bite of her salad.
"It's been a wonderful night… the perfect evening really," Pepper murmured, her head laying on her husband's shoulder as she watched the flames dance.
After they'd finished dessert, they'd relocated to the living room where they'd had spent a few hours talking, dancing, and laughing. Now it was a little past midnight, the New Year properly rang, and the fireworks were beautiful.
"I sense a but in there somewhere I think."
She nodded, and yawned before saying, "But I think I'm about ready to go to bed now. It's getting late, and as wonderful as our celebration's been, I'm starting to get sleepy."
"Okay, we'll go to bed."
After kissing the side of her head, Tony stood up, and immediately turned to help her up. Pepper took the hand he offered her and let him help her to her feet. Intertwined in each other's arms, they leisurely made their way towards their bedroom.
As they neared the door, Pepper noted a faint glow was spilling out of their room and into the hallway but she thought nothing of it. After all, it wasn't unusual for JARVIS to have already turned on the lamps in the room for them. So she kept walking, not really thinking too much of the soft light spilling into the hallway until she realized it was flickering. However the thought to stop and ask why it was flickering came too late, and they stepped into their bedroom.
"Oh my…"
"Do you like it?"
She continued to look around the room, "Do I like it? Oh Tony, it's beautiful!" She turned to give him a long, soft kiss, her hands making their way up to running their way through his hair, and finally they broke apart breathless. She then turned back to look at the room again while she caught her breath, laying her head on his shoulder as she looked.
All around them, on every surface, elegant white candles had been set up and burning with their soft light. Surrounding the candles' base, were the multicolored petals of likely every rose known to man. The petals weren't just spread on the flat surfaces of their room, but also across the floor, leading up to their bed where the covers were already turned back, and even more petals, red only this time, had been sprinkled all over the sheets.
"I'll take that as a yes," Tony quipped after a minute.
"Yes, I love it so much," Pepper said, tearing her eyes away briefly to kiss him again, and then looking back, "But when… how did you do all this with me knowing it?"
"Well, you were gone for a long time after dropping the kids off on the BlackHawk floor."
Pepper rolled her eyes at the BlackHawk reference, then said, "But I thought you said you had some things to do before tonight got here."
"That's because I did, which was all of this, along with making sure the finishing touches on our private, romantic were put on, and then getting myself ready."
"Which took all of twenty minutes."
"Which took all of twenty minutes yeah, but I'm a guy, and I didn't hear any complaints from you about the results of my twenty minute efforts. I heard that eye roll by the way."
"And I felt you puffing up like a peacock," his wife countered, "So you can look ravishingly handsome in only twenty minutes. I have to take a little longer-"
"And have you ever heard any complaints from me about how long it takes for you to make yourself this heart attack inducing gorgeous?"
"No… no I haven't actually. I always thought you liked the results as the reason why I never heard any grumbling."
"Yeah that would be exactly why, and if you keep looking like this, honey, you are never going to hear any grumbling from me."
"I'll keep that in mind for future reference."
"Seriously, Pep, every time I have looked at you tonight, I've had some breathing problems."
"Are you saying I'm breathtaking?"
"More like breath stealing."
"Thanks, you aren't so bad yourself."
Silence fell over the room as Pepper looked around them again, and ended when a realization hit her, "How long have the candles been burning? Have they been lit since earlier this evening ?"
"Uh…"
Raising her head she looked at him, "They haven't, have they? I mean there's hardly any melted wax. So that means-"
"That they're magic candles from Asgard. Yeah, that's it. They're magic Asgardian candles."
"Tony."
The tone of her voice said she knew he was trying to feed her some bull.
Tony sighed, "Okay, okay. They're not magic candles from Asgard."
"Then what… someone's been in here since we got back?"
A nod from him answered her question.
"Who?"
"Does it matter?"
Pepper was silent a moment, then shook her head, "No, I suppose it doesn't."
"So are you still sleepy?"
"Actually, I think I'm a little more awake than I was a little while ago. Why? Have something else in mind?"
Tony nodded, and taking her hand, walked them to the center of their room. He moved to stand in front of her, and just at the moment Pepper had been about to ask what he was doing, he said, "Dance with me?"
Even as she wondered what he was up to, Pepper murmured a soft, "Okay."
After re-positioning the hand holding hers so it was better for dancing, and placing the other one on her waist, Tony said a familiar phrase from earlier in the night, "Hit it, J." Music filled the room before she could say anything else, watching as his wife's eyes lit up, and she smiled, "I take it you recognize it?"
Pepper could only nod in response as a voice began to sing.
Livin' with me, it ain't easy
But I do it every day
And sometimes even now
I wanna run away.
"Wait, that's not the same singer who…" Her eyes were as big as any supermoon in the cloudless sky, "It's you! You're the one singing, aren't you?"
Tony smiled, and confirmed her suspicions with a nod.
At his confirmation, a million questions flashed through Pepper's head, and for a second she considered firing off some of them. But then she stopped herself, deciding any questions she had could wait until the song finished playing. Right now, she decided, it was more important to savor being touched by her husband, and listen to his voice… his voice singing the song she remembered dancing to on their wedding day.
When the song ended a few minutes later, she looked into his eyes with gleaming eyes of her own, "That was so…"
"Awful? Horrible? Traumatizing?"
"Try amazing, wonderful, captivating!"
"Really, Pep, you won't hurt my feelings if you're honest. I know I don't have the best voice in the world but-" He only stopped talking because his wife's hand was suddenly covering his mouth.
"What I said, is my honest opinion or I wouldn't have said it. You actually have a great singing voice, and now that I know you have one, I'd love to hear it more often from here on out. Okay?"
Tony nodded, and said something underneath her hand that sounded like an okay.
Satisfied that he finally understood that she loved it, Pepper laid her head on his shoulder, and said, "JARVIS, play the song again please?"
If JARVIS had an actual physical body he would have had a huge smile on his face to accompany the smile in his voice when he replied, "Certainly, Ma'am."