Sleepy Cuddles

Pepper didn't know what had woken her, but it was unlikely to be Tony's snores as they were white noise to her by now.

She rolled over and looked at him. His face was smooshed in his pillow and he had one hand under his chin, just like Morgan did when she slept. His eyes were still beneath their lids, not lost in dream or nightmare now. He was peaceful.

Pepper touched a finger to the corner of his lips and drew it up,

stroking his cheek, under his eyes to the bridge then tip of his nose, which made him scrunch it and her laugh softly.

"I love you, Tony," she whispered.

Though there was no way he should have heard her, deep in slumber as he seemed, his lips tugged up with a smile and his snores ceased with a deep and contented sigh.

Pepper felt a rush of love rise within her. Tony had given her the world and more, and she would never be able to find the words to thank him.

She pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek and climbed out of bed. She thought she would check on Morgan, and Peter, who was there for the weekend. She padded barefoot across the room and pulled on a robe over her nightdress.

Morgan's room was beside theirs, whereas Peter's was on the other side of the hall to give him some privacy. She went to Morgan's first, slowly easing the room open and peering in, fully expecting to see her daughter fast asleep, cradling whichever stuffy was the flavor of the week. However, Morgan's bed was empty.

Though it was very unlikely, as Morgan was only a few months past being fully potty trained and still woke them if she needed to go in the night, Pepper checked the attached bathroom and found it empty.

A flutter of panic started to curl in her chest, and then she remembered what Tony said about how Morgan would go to Peter's room in the night in the future. Now Morgan was in a toddler bed, an advancement that came with her second birthday, she could easily have gotten out and gone to see her brother.

Pepper left the room and crossed the hall to Peter's room. The door was open, which reinforced the idea Morgan was in there as Peter usually kept it closed. She pushed it open them stopped, her breath leaving her with a long sigh of contentment and her lips curved with a smile.

Morgan was cuddled against Peter's chest, her head under his chin and her elephant stuffy trapped between them. Peter had an arm around her, holding her protectively, and they were both fast asleep.

Pepper's heart swelled with love at the sight of her children curled together. Morgan looked so perfectly loved and protected in Peter's arms, and Peter looked so young. With his rainbow eyes hidden beneath their lids he could have been the Peter she last said goodnight to the day before the world ended.

Pepper moved deeper into the room and perched on the end of the bed, just watching them. Morgan was disturbed by the bed dipping, and she mumbled inarticulately, but Peter pulled her closer and soothed her without waking. Even in his sleep, he was taking care of his sister.

Pepper loved her husband and children more than anything in the world. They were her world. It had happened slowly with Peter, developing over time until he was her son in all ways but blood. With Morgan, it was instant. From the moment she saw the blue line on a pregnancy test, she had known more love was coming. Then Morgan became a presence, movements that started as a light fluttering and then became nudges of a hand or foot. Those touches were her daughter moving inside her, and she had loved her. The crowning moment of adoration came when Morgan was placed, bloody and squirming, on her chest seconds after being born.

They had both made her a mother in different ways, and she would move mountains for them if they needed her to.

She just stared at them, her daughter and son, and felt the love wash over her. She was so happy Peter had agreed to be part of these years. The idea of being without him all that time was torture to her and Tony.

And Morgan loved her brother. When Tony and Pepper failed to make her do something she needed, like eat her vegetables at dinner, it took only a smile and word from Peter to change her mind. He was her hero and she would do anything for him, just as he would for her. Pepper didn't think Peter had ever denied her anything that it wasn't necessary to deny.

She reached out and stroked Morgan's back, and then squeezed Peter's hand where it was cradling her and said, "I love you, honey. Both of you, I love you so much."

Peter's breathing changed, becoming shallow, and his eyes opened. He looked at Morgan cradled in his arms, seeming a little surprised to see her there, and then a wide and blissful smile spread over his face as, Pepper assumed, a piece of his life in the future clicked into place in his present.

Then his eyes moved to her and he smiled again, "Hey," he said. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, honey. I just came looking for Morgan and found her here. I was just drinking the pair of you in. Go back to sleep. It's still early."

Peter nodded and pressed a kiss to Morgan's hair. "Love you, Mo," he said softly. "So much."

Morgan sighed and cuddled closer to him, his arms tightening around her.

Peter looked Pepper and said, "I love you, Mom."

Pepper sucked in a breath. He had never called her Mom before. She had always been Pepper or Pep to him, in the months before The Snap when she was his mother in all terms including, almost, legally. It meant more to her that she could say to hear it.

Her voice a little shaky, she kissed her fingers and pressed to his cheek and whispered, "Thank you, honey."

Peter smiled and tucked his face into Morgan's hair, drifting off to sleep at once. Pepper thought she would just stay and watch them both for a while, the children she'd never imagined she'd have, the children that had changed her life in all the best ways.

Tony felt across the bed, searching for Pepper, but her side of the bed was empty and cool. He opened his eyes and listened for the sounds of the shower, but it was silent.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He wondered if Morgan had a problem in the night and Pepper had gone into her bed.

He swung his legs around, pulled on a t-shirt, and then climbed out of bed and padded barefoot down the hall.

Morgan's bedroom door was open, and the bed was empty. A small smile curled his lips as he crossed the hall and peered into Peter's room.

As he'd thought, Morgan had crept into Peter's bedroom in the night. She was cuddled to his chest, head tucked under her chin, and his arms wrapped around her. This was a familiar sight, though Morgan was much younger than he'd ever seen before, but Pepper curled on Peter's side, her arms around them both, was new. He was struck, not for the first time, by how different things were. Pepper had never had this kind of relationship with Peter before. As she once said, she loved him for who he was to Tony and Morgan, but she'd never had a chance to love him for himself.

But now… Peter was the first person to make her a mother, and she loved him as much as she loved Morgan. It made Tony so happy, and he knew it meant the world to Peter, too. They were a real family now, the four of them, and Tony couldn't imagine going back to how things had been for them before.

So… She's finally Mom. I've been tempted to do this earlier but I wanted Tony's Dad to standalone and have the respect it was due after so long. Now felt like the right time for Pepper.

Until next time…

Jadey xxx