I've had this idea since last year, where I planned to do a one-shot set in an amusement park. This is loosely based on Bl4ckHunter's fic "Two peas in a pod" as well as taken from my own experiences at the theme park, whether I was a kid in my hometown or when I go there with my mother. My outing with mother at the Fairgrounds amusement park a couple of days ago had also inspired this fic.
As for the timeframe, this is set after three years after "Avengers: Endgame" and Morgan would a preteen. During this timeframe, Bruce Banner would no longer be be Smart Hulk and he would have been reunited with Betty Ross, becoming engaged with her. I also had him stay in contact with Happy Hogan and be the godfather to Morgan Stark, since he and Tony were good friends, I'm sure Tony would have considered him to be one.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It belongs to Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige.
Stark Eco-Compound, New York
Happy Hogan had planned to spend the weekend with Morgan Stark at the amusement park, as she always wished to go there with her parents. Unfortunately, the death of her father during the Battle of Earth had delayed these plans and her mother was busy trying to keep Stark Industries afloat after Tony's death. Pepper had advised Happy to take Morgan to the amusement park, as she was still busy with the company and Happy contacted Bruce Banner to go with them, as Bruce used to be friends with Tony during his lifetime and had occasionally visited Morgan to check on her alongside his lover, Betty Ross, whom he had managed to rekindle his relationship with. During these visits, Morgan would form a bond with Betty and occasionally spend time with her when her mother was occupied with the company.
Happy was sitting on the living room of the house when he heard the door knock and got out of his couch to answer it. Locking the doorknob, Happy opened the door and saw Bruce and Betty waiting for him.
"Hey Bruce." Happy greeted Bruce as he pulled him into a hug.
"Hey, Happy. How's it going?" Bruce greeted Happy.
"I'm good." Happy told Bruce after pulling away from him. "How've you been?"
"Great. I've been keeping better control of myself lately." Bruce told Happy, referencing to his transformations as the Hulk now that he was back to his normal form and having coming to terms with the big guy.
"I see." Happy nodded before turning around and seeing Betty besides Bruce. "Betty! Long time no see."
"Hey, Happy." Betty greeted Happy as she embraced him. "How've you been?"
"Been doing pretty well." Happy told Betty.
"So, we're all set?" Bruce asked Happy, referencing their outing to the amusement park.
"Not yet." Happy told the couple.
Suddenly, Morgan Stark appeared behind Happy and saw him talking with Bruce and Betty. "Hey, Happy."
"Hey there, kiddo." Happy greeted Morgan. "Look who showed up. It's uncle Bruce and aunt Betty."
"Hi, Morgan." Bruce greeted.
"Is Pepper going to come with us?" Betty asked.
"Not really. Pepper's been busy with the company right now, so I had call you two to join us." Happy told Morgan.
"Well, that's not gonna be a problem, because the four of us are gonna have so much fun today, right?" Bruce said as Morgan nodded.
"Right. I guess we should be going right now." Happy said.
Happy then accompanied Bruce, Betty and Morgan outside of the house and led them to his car, where it was placed on the road alongside the trees. As Happy opened the car, he sat on the front seat alongside Bruce while Betty and Morgan sat on the back. The four of them then fastened their seatbelts as Happy revved the engine and began driving.
Luna Park Amusement Park, Coney Island, New York
A few hours later, Happy, Bruce, Betty and Morgan had arrived at the amusement park located in Coney Island and got of the car. This site had been recognized as the center of New York's seaside amusement and was called one of the city's largest areas, often serving as an attracting point for tourist during the summer. However, during the catastrophic event known as the "Decimation", half of the New York's population were turned to dust and the attraction had been shut down for five years due to lack of attendants and financial struggle. With Thanos' defeat and the restoration of half of the world's population, Coney Island had reopened its doors and the business' had been thriving since then.
It was a pleasant summer evening in Coney Island, as the citizens were out and about in the attraction park, whether they were buying some food, talking with their family members or playing with one of the games the park had offered. Happy, Bruce, Betty and Morgan were walking through the park, seeing whatever game had attracted them the most, when Morgan gasped and pointed her finger at the bumper car game site.
"I wanna ride on this one!" Morgan exclaimed.
"Really?" Happy said. "How about we book a place and then I teach you how to drive?"
"Ok." Morgan nodded.
"How about you guys?" Happy asked Bruce and Betty. "Would you like to join us? I'll a book a place for you two."
"No, thanks." Betty assured Happy. "I just don't like these types of games."
"Same here." Bruce told Happy.
"Alright then." Happy nodded as he and Morgan went to the bumper car site to book a place for the two.
Upon heading to the site, Happy gave 8 dollars for the ride and accompanied Morgan to their car. After getting to the car, Morgan and Happy fastened their seatbelts and Happy placed his hands to the wheel, before turning his head towards Morgan. Bruce and Betty were standing outside the arena, watching Morgan and Happy taking a ride alongside the other attendants.
"Alright, I'm gonna show you to ride this thing." Happy advised Morgan. "All you gotta do is push the breaks, move the wheel and try not to get hit by any of the cars here, alright?"
"I've never played this game before. What if I got accidently hit?" Morgan asked.
"There's nothing to worry about, Morgan. I don't think there's..." Happy tried to comfort Morgan before he was interrupted by the horns, signaling the beginning of the game. "Too late for that now!"
Happy moved the car's wheel as the car slid to the left, with Morgan helping him steer the wheel. Meanwhile, Bruce and Betty were observing Happy and Morgan driving their bumper car as they were trying to avoid getting hit by someone else's car as the rest of the cars bumping into one another.
"Be careful, guys!" Bruce yelled.
"Watch out, Morgan!" Betty called out.
As they were calling out Morgan and Happy for their safety, they saw Morgan helping Happy steering the wheel and evading getting hit by the other cars. To say that they impressed might be understatement.
"She sure got the hang of it, doesn't she?" Bruce asked.
"Yeah, I didn't expect that." Betty told Bruce. "I'm going to need to take a picture."
Betty pulled out her smartphone and began taking pictures as she observed the game alongside Bruce. Then, the two heard Happy's car bumping into another one as they turned around and saw the arena.
"Watch it, pal!" One of the attendants yelled.
"Sorry!" Happy apologized.
Later, Bruce, Betty, Happy and Morgan were at the Hot Shot site, where the vendor had placed three balls for Bruce and Morgan, as Bruce had given him enough credits for one round with three balls. If either of them had made three balls at the basket, they would win a prize.
"Alright, you need to focus on the basket and move your arms to shoot the ball." Bruce said, showing Morgan how to shoot a basketball.
"Just like that?" Morgan asked.
"Yeah." Bruce nodded.
Both Bruce and Morgan began shooting their balls at the basket. Whereas Bruce was able to shoot at least one ball, Morgan was able to shoot two ball, only missing the last ball. Her skills were impressive enough at the vendor decided to give a fluffy bear a reward.
"Here you go." The vendor told Morgan as he gave her the bear.
"Thank you." Morgan said.
Morgan and Bruce walked towards Betty and Happy, with Morgan holding the bear in her arms.
"Awww, that bear is so cute!" Betty complimented.
"Thanks." Morgan told Betty.
"Alright, where do you wanna go next?" Happy asked.
Morgan and Betty were sitting on the Lynn's Trapeze swing ride as the seats were moving around like a circle, eliciting laughs and giggles from the crowd, including Morgan and Betty. Happy and Bruce were observing from the site as Bruce was taking pictures with his phone and Happy was watching the two playing. Bruce hasn't seen Betty this happy since the two of them were on the run from the military, before disappearing from her life for many years.
Morgan, Bruce, Betty and Happy were now riding on the rollercoaster ride, the Coney Island Cyclone, with Morgan and Happy sitting in the middle alongside the attendants, while Bruce and Betty were sitting next to them. Morgan began fearing for her life as she looked down on the rollercoaster.
"Um, I think I changed my mind." Morgan said nervously. "I don't like it here. I'm scared."
"Too late to back down." Bruce told her.
"It's okay, Morgan." Betty assured Morgan. "There's nothing to be scared of."
"Hang on tiiiiiggghhtttt!" Happy shouted as the train went down and the attendants started to scream in excitement with their hands up.
"Here are your ice creams." The ice cream owner said as he handed the ice creams to Bruce and Betty.
"Thanks." Bruce told the owner as he grabbed his ice cream, while Betty grabbed hers.
Bruce had chosen chocolate and vanilla for his ice cream, while Betty chose Strawberry and milk for hers, as she recalled loving Strawberry ice cream during her childhood. As the two walked together and licked their ice creams, Bruce let out a sigh of relief.
"You know, it's a good thing to let relax every once in a while, right?" Bruce talked with Betty.
"Yeah, it helps forgetting about all the troubles that's happening in life, especially after the last few years." Betty told Bruce before letting out a sigh, reminiscing about being one of the victims of the Decimation.
"You okay?" Bruce asked.
"Yeah, I mean..." Betty said. "It's been a while since I've relaxed and enjoyed my life. I remember going to the amusement park with my mom and dad, where we rode on the rollercoaster and ate some ice cream, before my mom died and work began occupying his life. Sometimes I wished I could take back these moments."
"It's alright, Betty. You don't need to dwell on what's happened in the past. Just focus on your life now." Bruce comforted Betty.
"Maybe you're right." Betty said.
"On the plus side, at least the theme park didn't get destroyed." Bruce quipped, hoping to lighten Betty up.
Betty giggled. "That would've gotten us into trouble."
The couple laughed before they stared at each other, feeling this inexplicable attraction neither of them were able to describe as they began lean towards each other for a kiss. Suddenly, the two were caught off-guard by Morgan, who had grabbed Betty from behind.
"Booo!" Morgan shouted.
Bruce and Betty yelped, causing Betty to accidently drop her to the ground and the cone broke, leaving the traces of the ice cream placed on the floor. Betty then turned around and saw Morgan behind her.
"Why you..." Betty began making mocking angry growl before grabbing Morgan and beginning to tickle her. "Come here... I'm gonna..."
Morgan giggled as Betty was tickling her, while Bruce was standing in his place, watching the two laughing and having fun. Happy ran slowly towards Bruce and approached him.
"I'm sorry. I was trying to catch her, but she..." Happy said as he took some deep breaths.
"It's alright, Happy." Bruce told Happy.
Happy then turned around and saw Betty and Morgan laughing together, before Betty grabbed Morgan in her thighs and holding her like if she was holding her daughter.
"Wow." Happy was amazed at he was seeing in front of him.
"Yeah. They get along pretty well." Bruce noticed
"I know this isn't the perfect time to ask this, but..." Happy was about to ask Bruce before swallowing his throat. "Do you and Betty ever think of having kids?"
"What do you mean?" Bruce asked.
"I mean, Betty looks so happy. She's treating Morgan as if she were her daughter." Happy told Bruce. "I think you and Betty would make great parents."
The thought of starting a family together never crossed Bruce's mind, even though he and Betty had been together for the last three years. Still, he was happy to see Betty bonding with Morgan, since the two of them had been very close since back they started visiting Happy and Pepper following Tony's death.
"I just wish Tony was here." Happy admitted, still lamenting the loss of his friend.
"Me too." Bruce shared the sentiment.
"Alright, guys, just one more picture before we leave." Betty exclaimed as they were about to exit the park.
"Sounds good to me." Happy said.
"Ok, just let me pull my phone." Betty said.
Betty pulled out her smartphone and walked towards Bruce, Happy and Morgan. She then placed her right arms around Happy's neck, with Bruce and Morgan standing alongside them.
"Say cheers." Betty told everyone.
"Cheers!" Bruce, Happy and Morgan exclaimed.
Betty then clicked on the button of her phone and took the picture. It was the four of them positioned together for a selfie and smiling together. It was clear that the four had a lot of fun together. While the world was still recovering from the Decimation after three years, it was nice to relax for a bit and forget about the troubles that was going on in the world.
And that's the end of the story. While there are some bits of dialogue I'm not really proud of, as I ended up struggling with most of them, I think I did a good job. Plus, we've never seen Happy and Bruce hang out together as friends or interact with Morgan in the MCU, considering that Bruce and Tony were best friends and fans always referred to them as the science bros. I also had Betty form a bond with Morgan, as she's Bruce's girlfriend and we've never seen Morgan interact with other characters that are not her parents.
The Snap is still referenced in this story, as given the five year gap between "Infinity War" and "Endgame" would have affected areas around the world, and I made up an explanation as to why Coney Island's theme park was shut down that I hope it made sense. I had a scene where Bruce and Happy still miss Tony, as it had been three years since his death in this AU.
During her conversation with Bruce, Betty is talking about her parents, Thaddeus and Karen Ross, whom had a close bond with during her childhood before Karen passed away and her relationship with her father ended being strained since then. Happy asking Bruce about being a parent is a reference to the comics, where Bruce fathered a child with Caiera named Skaar during the events of Planet Hulk.
Let me know your thoughts on this story and I hope you enjoyed it. Stay safe everyone and take care.