"Right! Shift to the right!" Tony yelled, his hands clenching the arm rest and the door handle of the Toyota, which belonged to Peter's Aunt May.
"Don't worry Mr. Stark, I got this" Peter said confidently, as he gripped the steering wheel. In all honestly he didn't think his driving was that bad.
"Sure you do," Tony said, he hated Manhattan traffic. Absolutely despised it. Why he had let Peter convince him to take him driving, he had no idea.
"Ok, pull over kid" Stark said, and Peter signaled to the right before coming to a stop. Peter grinned, because he had driven them safely.
"I have survived being tortured in captivity for months in a foreign country, and nearly died flying into a wormhole to outer space, just to name a few. This was somehow more terrifying than both those times" Stark said, letting himself breathe deeply.
"Oh come on, I wasn't that bad. I went the speed limit and everything" Peter argued as he tried not to break out in a fit of laugher over Tony's fear.
"Sure you did, how about I drive home?" Stark asked. He noticed Peter's laughter. "And this isn't funny".
"It is" Peter said with a smile as he shifted gears and turned to look over his shoulder.
"Hey, no-" Stark said realizing what Peter was doing and that the kid was immensely enjoying himself. "You're not driving again"
"Only way I going to get better" Peter said, but as he turned to move back onto the main rode he looked to Tony, eyes wide and terrified.
"Mr Stark, I don't feel so good" Peter said and Tony knew what would come next. He tried to reach out and grab the kid's hand but Peter was gone. And Tony now sat in an otherwise empty car, with nothing but silence washing over Manhattan.
Tony's eyes snapped open to the blinding morning light. The curtains were open, which meant Pepper was awake. He would've loved to tell her that he actually slept well, that his dreams were finally peaceful but she wouldn't have believed him.
"FRIDAY?" He asked. "Time?"
"It is 9:47 AM"
"Yeah I figured that part" Tony muttered, almost too exhausted to get out of bed, which he hadn't done yesterday, but today felt different. He knew he had a purpose of what to get done. But first he had to get dressed.
Tony threw Pepper her coat. She had been silently reading on the sofa when she was then smothered with the light material of her jacket, even in May the weather in New York could be unpredictable. She pulled it off, placing down her book and looked up to see Tony standing there, keys in hand.
"Come on" he said, sunglasses on and looking ready to get in the car, as if they had been planning on taking an outing that day. Except they hadn't.
"Come where?" Pepper asked calmly, her eyebrows raised. Tony's ever changing mood had led her to be weary of his decisions. Some days he outright refused to need sleep and spent the entire night tinkering with mechanics and other things. But other days like yesterday, Tony wouldn't even have the strength to get out of bed, no matter how much she pestered him to even step outside. His exhaustion and the depression that had crept inside took the better of him most of the time. Now the fact that Tony was dressed and even took the liberty to shower worried Pepper.
"House shopping" he said while holding up the keys. "Come on, lets go".
Tony turned toward door waiting to hear footsteps behind him, but Pepper didn't move.
"What's this about?" She asked, arms folded although she didn't look angry.
Tony turned to face her. "I want a house" he said. Pepper tried to read his facial expression, but it was difficult.
"I'm thinking something out in the open, away from the city, maybe in the countryside. White picket fence?" Tony shrugged.
"You hate the country" Pepper said, not believing a word he was saying.
"No I don't. And besides I know you love it" Tony said. "I think we could build a life together there".
Pepper nodded, though she didn't quite understand where he was leading. Sure there had been passing comments before Thanos about buying a different penthouse, maybe even moving to a different state but none of these conversations ever led to somewhere.
"And by building a life you mean-?"
"I think we'd be great parents" Tony said.
Pepper stared, not sure of what to make of Tony's new found dream for the two of them, though she knew where he was getting the idea.
"You want to have a child?" She asked.
"Well first he or she would be a baby, then grow into a child. But you get what I mean" Tony said. "You want to have kids, right?"
"Tony, of course I do but this is a little bit sudden" Pepper said. She didn't want to agree to anything before she knew where Tony's head was at the moment.
"It's not sudden. I want to be a father, and I want our kid to have a safe place to live in and New York City doesn't exactly have the best track record. I just want...I need another chance". Tony paused. He had been rambling and he knew it. Pepper did too. Rambling meant he was nervous, but was too afraid to admit it.
"Another chance?" Pepper asked softly, but she knew what Tony was referring too.
"He knew you cared about him" She said, not even having to mention the kid's name for Tony to know she understood.
"Did he? Because I've been going over this in my head" Tony said. "And I think most of the time I was too busy telling him off than showing him that he mattered to me".
Pepper walked close to him, wrapping her arms around Tony.
"He knew" she repeated. "And you're right" Pepper said with a smile. "Manhattan is out of the question" she knew how many times that city had to be rebuilt, every time there was an attack. It was no place Tony or Pepper would consider safe.
Tony let himself collapse on the couch. Then he looked up, staring straight into her eyes. "You want to have a kid,right?" He asked.
She nodded, as she lowered herself next to him, "Of course I do. But do you- do we even know how to take care of a baby?" Pepper asked and now she couldn't help imagining being a parent. There was so much darkness in the air since everyone disappeared, it'd be nice to have something happy to focus on, for both her and Tony.
"No, but I know how to deal with a teenager. And I know I'm going to be the best father" Tony promised. "The very best Iron Dad ever. And I will love that kid with my every being, one thousand percent".
"One thousand percent?" Pepper asked.
"Hell maybe even to three thousand" Tony said, then he leaned in slowly until his lips met her for only a few sort seconds. "But i swear if we get a house with a white picket fence I might actually burn it down" He told her.
"I will willingly hand you that torch" Pepper told him. "But don't worry, it'll never come to that".
"You're too good for me" Tony said.
"Remember that" Pepper replied.