"Why can't we just shatter the bottle normally?" Grey asked, holding a bottle of champagne so expensive it made her molars hurt.
"Because this is more fun?" Tony said, adjusting the gauntlet on his arm. "And besides, let's make it exciting!"
"Ready?" Grey asked, adjusting her grip on the bottle so she could throw it.
Tony nodded, and Grey threw the bottle straight in the air before diving to the side, rolling so she could take a knee to watch the bottle. It flew up, turning in the air. Tony took aim and hit the bottle with a Repulsor blast. The bottle shattered, sending champagne everywhere. Jim and Pepper stared the cheer, clapping while Bucky held his left arm over Grey in case any glass shards came down. Happy had already produced plastic champagne flutes and opened another bottle of the champagne. The cooler also had a small bottle of sparkling apple juice, Tony's current preference. He said grape juice just reminded him of what he didn't want to drink anymore. Grey pointed out that grape juice was just gross and said he didn't need to make excuses for not liking it.
"To new beginnings and a big family," Tony said, holding up his glass. Celebrating three holidays in a row, each with at least a dozen people in attendance only reinforced his belief that he wanted a big family.
"To protecting the world," Jim said, toasting Tony.
"To freedom, deserved and earned," Bucky said, feeling light as he stood in the circle of some of the best people he'd ever met.
"To a new perspective," Pepper said with a touch of melancholy as she looked at Tony. Love was the only emotion in her eyes.
"To the future, may it contain as much love as our family does," Grey said, a wide smile on her face and tears in her eyes. Bucky wrapped his free arm around her waist. They tapped their glasses together, laughing at the plastic, and everyone threw back their drinks. Grey made a face at the bubbles, sparking more laughter. Her hatred of bubbles only rivaled her hatred of licorice.
"It's snowing!" Pepper cheered, looking up as a few silvery flakes started landing on her hair and eyelashes. Bucky immediately tipped his head back to look up, a soft smile on his face.
"I love the snow," he said softly. Grey took his hand, twisting their fingers together, happy to watch him be happy. A glance out of the corner of her eye saw Pepper staring up, with Tony watching her. Father and daughter exchanged a brief look, each happy with their partner.
"The tower is going to have a big landing pad, technically for helicopters or quinjets, but we can use it for cookouts, sunbathing, snowball fights, whatever we want," Tony said. He patted his pockets with his free hand, searching for something. He finally pulled out a small device, twisting uncomfortably to get it out of his opposite pocket. "Jarvis and the ever-lovely Miss Potts already gave us a markup, want to see?"
They all stepped onto the sidewalk and Tony pressed a button. A giant tower sprang up, a hologram of what they were going to build. With Stark emblazed on the side with the iconic Avengers "A" that would eventually be the marker for Avengers Tower. People walking on the far side of the street stopped and stared. They knew Jayne would have a photo of their hologram for her article, explaining why Stark Industries was moving, and why people should be excited about it.
"Grey, the bottom five floors are all yours to design," Pepper said, shaking some snow off her bangs. "Reception and Security will obviously be down there for Stark Industries, but they can double for Marvel as well."
"Oh, I wasn't actually bringing Marvel to New York with me," Grey said, waving her free hand through the air. Snow trailed after her fingers, starting to stick on the ground around their feet. "The bottom floors are going to have press rooms, interview rooms, I want to set up a free space for people to exist in, and a science museum with an Avengers exhibit."
"Science museum?" Tony asked, surprised.
"Stark Industries wants people to come into the STEM field, right?" Grey asked. Everyone nodded. "So why not get them interested sooner? Interactive science museums are designed to target small kids. I want something that interesting to everyone, and from as many fields as we can get. I want rockets, and space and how touch screen phones work. I want an exhibit on the brain and how it works. I want a quarterly rotating exhibit that spans everything from Agroecology to Pharmacology to Neurology to Physics for dummies."
Grey's eyes were practically glowing with excitement as she stood in the snow, surrounded by her family. She could see Tony and Jim running the ideas through their minds and liking what they were coming up with.
"How would you do the free space?" Happy asked, a second before Tony could blurt out his question. As the head of security, he wasn't thrilled with the idea of a space that was always open to the public, but he wasn't the boss. And he trusted Grey not to do anything too terrible, she had an interesting moral compass, but would never lead them wrong.
"I'd put it on the first floor, near the Starbucks, directly across from the security desk. I want it to be like a library, but with more open space. During an emergency we can use it for triage or a gathering point if there's a shelter in place order in affect." Grey said easily. "I want it staffed, so parents feel safe letting their children be there, twenty-four seven. Hell, we could even put in a daycare for Stark Employees."
"We trialed that," Pepper interrupted. "At the Seattle office, there's a daycare in the building, employee satisfaction went up thirty percent, and productivity jumped too."
"If it works, we should implement it everywhere," Happy said, nodding. "We make more than enough in profits every year."
"Bambi, add that to the list of ideas on the fridge," Grey said, tilting her head a bit, as she usually did when talking with her AI. "And go ahead and put together a list of the various things we would need to make it a reality. Codes, licensing, and what qualifications are needed by daycare and nursery centers worldwide. We want only the best."
"How would you do the rotating exhibits?" Tony asked, finally cutting into the conversation. As he did, he powered down the projection, slipping it back into his pocket. The family piled into Happy's SUV and started passing winter coats back to Grey and Bucky, who were sitting in the third row. They got piled in the trunk, and Happy turned into New York traffic.
"We'd partner with companies or associations to talk about their field. The FBI could talk about profiling, NASA could put up an exhibit on the moon, or space travel in general. Or we could showcase famous scientists, Marie Curie, Tesla, Einstein, whoever. We'll have a permanent exhibit for Stark Industries and what they do, expanding as the company does. We can partner with hospitals and put up an exhibit on medicine or laparoscopic surgery or the spine and nervous system."
"You're saying we could do anything," Tony asked, dubiously. "And people would still be interested?"
"Someone will always be interested," Grey pointed out. "And schools could do field trips to the museum, we could have guest lecturers bring college classes in to learn things, make the interns lead the tours."
"Doesn't the Smithsonian have an exhibit up about Captain America?" Happy asked from the driver's seat. "Won't we be stealing their thing?"
"Technically we own Captain America," Grey pointed out. "So, no. Besides, they're doing it from a historical perspective. I'd focus on the physics of his shield, the biological differences between pre and post serum Steve, and what advancements could come about because of the serum. I'd bet my retirement fund that the cure for cancer is in his damn blood."
"You really think so?" Bucky asked, amusement in his eyes.
"Could be in yours too, I've thought about it," Grey said, watching the amusement flee. "But needles and blood draws freak you out, so I've never asked. And no, I won't let you volunteer unless Lilian signs off on it."
"I told you not to play chess with her," Pepper said from the passenger seat. She turned around to see the slightly surprised look on Bucky's face. "She's scary when she wants to be."
"I'm getting better," Bucky said, pretending to pout.
"Yes, you are," Grey agreed, patting his cheek. Tony tried to hide his snort of laughter but failed. "We don't have to worry about that for a while yet, we don't have the lab space for a new project."
"Yet," Tony added, practically vibrating in his seat. "Once the tower is built, we'll have practically unlimited lab space. We could do anything, in any field!"
"Alright, nerd," Grey said, grinning when her dad turned around, an offended look on his face. Happy hit the horn and slammed the brakes so to not hit a pedestrian. The pedestrian slammed his hands on the hood of the car. Pepper opened her door and stepped out of the car, one hand resting idly on the door, the other reaching behind her to grip her gun. Bucky also pulled a gun out, and was aiming through the windshield, waiting for a signal from Happy or Pepper that the guy was a threat.
"Have your driver watch where he's going, bitch," he grumbled, glaring at Pepper. She raised an unimpressed eyebrow and stared at the man until he was uncomfortable.
"Move out of the way, or I'll have my driver run you over, bitch," Pepper said back, pointing with her free hand to the sidewalk. The man grumbled, but slunk off, not wanting to mess with her. Pepper slipped back into her seat and shut the door. Happy cleared the block before she had her seatbelt back on. "Men are stupid."
"Agreed," Grey piped up from the backseat, causing four offended noises from the men in the family. Pepper and Grey couldn't help but laugh at Tony's dramatized offense. "Are you clutching your non-existent pearls?"
"Of course, I am, that's offensive," Tony said, fluttering his lashes. Jim caught the full effect and started laughing, which caused everyone else to join in. "I am not stupid."
"No, you're just a nerd that managed to get the hot girl to date him," Jim pointed out. Pepper blushed, and Tony gaped at his best friend. "You're Leonard from the Big Bang Theory."
"They asked permission to have Sheldon wear an Iron Man shirt. I gave it," Grey said with an excited wiggle.
Line Break
Natalie took a deep breath before she swiped her badge and typed in her passcode and entered the legal department for the first time. Sam was waiting for her, scrolling on her phone, and her intern, Jennifer Walters stood at her elbow, swiping on the newest Stark Tablet.
"Hey, you made it!" Jennifer said once she noticed Natalie standing nervously in front of the door. "Come on in! Security didn't hassle you, did they? Happy just kickstarted the entire department, so we'd love the feedback."
"No trouble, just a bit of paperwork, they copied my driver's license?" Natalie asked, shaking hands with Sam first, then Jennifer.
"Yeah, first timers to the building get documented. It'll be added to your employee profile and from now on when you scan your badge, that photo will show. It's one of a dozen new measures they put in," Sam said, sliding her phone into her waistband rather than her pocket. Natalie pretended not to notice. "So, you're going to follow us around for the first day, learn the company, the culture, and the community. Tomorrow we'll start the official training."
"I'm not diving right in?" Natalie asked, suspicious.
"Oh gosh no," Jennifer said, practically beaming. "Day one is all about getting used to the company. We have a few guidelines, a few security things, you'll have a brief with Mister Hogan when he's on site later this afternoon."
If Natalie was nervous about sitting down with the head of security, she didn't show it beyond a tight nod. Samantha started walking, and Jennifer encouraged Natalie to follow her.
"Stark Industries legal department handles domestic and international law as we are a multi-national company, and the Iron Suits work internationally with the UN to clean up the mess Stane made," Sam said, talking as she gave a quick tour. Katie waved at the new girl from her desk, before rolling her eyes at an email. She printed it and handed it to Jennifer, who tucked it into a folder. "Your job is mostly going to be assisting those in the department that need it until we figure out your best skill set. I will warn you, you might end up taking on the responsibilities of different departments. We work with finance frequently, tell me why?"
"Trade import and export, international tariffs on goods, wage equality?" Natalie said, the last one coming as more of a question than anything.
"Oh, good catch, yes, Grey and Pepper spend a lot of time making sure that our wages and benefits are as good as if not better than the best in the EU." Sam took a sharp turn and paused outside an opaque window. It opened and two hands shoved out a stack of folders. Jennifer took those and the window slammed shut again.
"That's Hannah. She works exclusively with our east Asian offices, so she has terribly weird hours, and is usually cranky. If you have to work with her, always have a cup of coffee for her. Always caramel flavored." Jennifer reached into her pocket and pulled out a stack of index cards. They were bound by a single binder ring. She passed it to Natalie, who looked it over with interest. "This is my cheat list. It has everyone's coffee orders, lunch preferences, hours they work, what they do, and their extension. You can use it for now, I'll make a second one."
"It's a gold mine. I use it when Pepper lets me treat the department," Sam said, reorganizing the folders by importance. Once they were secure in her arms, they continued walking.
Sam's name and credentials were printed on her door in a lovely blue calligraphy, along with a piece of paper taped underneath it with Jennifer's name written in crayon. Natalie laughed when she saw it.
"Hers looked so professional; I couldn't help myself to make mine childish. Grey's promised to get maintenance out here and add my name officially once I finish my master's and pass the bar," Jennifer said as she opened the door. Sam's office had two desks, one clearly hers the other belonging to Jennifer. There was a table with four chairs, and a small couch in the corner.
"This is home for us. As you're with us until you're settled, you'll work at the table," Sam said, crossing to her desk to drop off the folders. Jennifer was doing similar, sorting them and muttering under her breath.
"I have the Madrid file," Jennifer said absently, moving to hand it to Samantha. Sam put her hand up to hold her off.
"Why don't you run through Madrid with Natalie," Samantha suggested. "Madrid rarely gives us problems; it'll be a decent starting place. But you only have forty minutes before she has a sit down with Happy."
"That's smart," Jennifer said, keeping the file, and moving to sit across from Natalie at the table. "How about this, I'll take you down to the coffee cart in the main lobby, we'll get you added to the Industry Index – the cards – and I can give you the grand tour before Mister Hogan tries to terrify you into quitting."
"Is he really that bad?"
"Heavens no," Jennifer said brightly. "But he does take company security very seriously. His right hand? We think he's some super classified old spook."
"For a weapon's company?" Natalie asked incredulously. Jennifer and Samantha exchanged loaded looks. Natalie felt suspicion crawl up her spine. Had she already blown her cover? How – Stark Industries was a weapons company, they always had been. Even in the Red Room they used Stark weapons.
"Have you not been paying attention?" Jennifer asked, full of blatant disregard. "Doctor Stark and his daughter have already put an end to the weapons program. Legally, we have to finish out our contracts, but our last weapons shipment is already slated for December second of this year, by December fourth we'll have the weapons factories converted into producing whatever technology makes the final cut."
"That wasn't just a publicity stunt for the Iron suits?" Natalie asked, pretending to play dumb. She was going to have to make up ground if she wanted to keep this spot. The last three SHIELD agents to try and get in never made it past their interviews. Agent Simmons had even been sent back with a gift basket and a letter for her commanding officer.
"You've been reading that Marsha Smith reporter, haven't you?" Jennifer asked, trying not to laugh. "That woman hates the family. If you see her name in the byline, immediately assume she's wrong. Doctor Stark and Grey are very committed to making the world a better place, not only through their suits, but also through the company. If we have time, I'll take you upstairs to HR, and Sally can walk you through all the changes Grey forced through before they disbanded the board."
"She disbanded the board?" She knew most of the original board members had been arrested, but she didn't know they never reformed.
"No, Tony did that," Samantha said absently, reading a file. She squinted, then pulled out a pair of glasses. She frowned at the paperwork in front of her and aggressively scratched something out.
"They re-privatized the company. Howard briefly did it back in the day but undid it. Grey suggested it so they could move the direction of the company without people trying to force them to operate per their agendas. Any sign someone is trying to emulate Stane, they're done," Jennifer explained, already leading Natalie down the hall to the elevator. "Doctor Stark said he had the rudest wakeup call of his life, and he never wants to go back to the person he used to be."
"Good for him," Natalie said supportively. "Reinvention of the self is very important. It's why I went back to school after modelling straight out of high school. Modelling was empty, and vapid. Here I might actually get to do real work."
"You'll definitely be put to work here," Jennifer laughed. "We have a dozen projects already in process, and that's only if the family doesn't add anything to our plates."
"Do they do that often?" Natalie asked.
"Less for us, since we're in the legal department," Jennifer explained, leading the way to the coffee cart. "But engineering? Marketing? They're constantly being thrown new projects that the family thought up. I have a friend in the green energy labs, they're stoked because someone had a breakthrough with hexagonal solar panels. I didn't understand it, but I'm stupid."
"You are not," the coffee girl said adamantly. "Take it back, or I won't give you your latte."
"I am not stupid," Jennifer said dutifully. "I just don't understand the math that goes into engineering."
"One lavender latte for you, a shaken brown sugar espresso on ice for Samantha, and for you, miss new girl?"
"Natalie, nice to meet you, can I get a dirty chai?"
"Graham, start me up a dirty chai for the lovely new lady, as well as an order for Samantha and Jennifer," she said, tapping the order into her computer. "Go ahead and swipe your badge for me?"
"Do you memorize everyone's order?" Natalie asked, impressed. Jennifer swiped her badge.
"Only if they order from us twice a day every day, like those two," the coffee girl said brightly. "Jennifer and Samantha will drink only coffee if you let them, so I encourage you to pressure them into drinking water."
"Sam will fire her," Jennifer pointed out. "Thanks Emily."
"See you at two!" Emily said. Jennifer and Natalie slid to the other end of the bar while Graham made their drinks.
"Swiping your badge at the coffee cart is always best practice," Jennifer explained. "Because Doctor Stark pays for us to have one free coffee here per day. Any additional will come out of your paycheck, but the prices here are kept reasonable because otherwise Grey will yell again."
"She yelled at someone?"
"There used to be a local coffee company here, and they would charge four bucks for a cappuccino. Grey shouted at the manager on duty, apologized, called their corporate office, shouted at the manager there, then the CEO and fired them. Eight hours later, Seattle's Best Coffee showed up and moved in."
"She yelled, then apologized?"
"She felt bad for yelling at minimum wage employees that were just doing their jobs."
Natalie just shook her head. She'd worry about figuring out Grey Stark later. Fortunately, that wasn't her assignment. Director Fury wanted Tony Stark. His daughter would just have to get in line.
Line Break
"It's ten fucking degrees out here, was this really necessary?" Grey bitched, stamping her feet against the frozen ground to regain feeling in her toes. It didn't do anything beyond irritating her left ankle.
"This is where we're putting the Avengers Compound, as well as your academy that you want," Tony said, his arms crossed over his chest. "They're breaking ground tomorrow so this is the last day to do it. Are you saying you don't want to?"
Grey could barely see the original Stark warehouse, all the way at the opposite end of the grounds, by the river. This side was going to be the dorms. Grey spent two hundred hours with the architect's team, making sure everything was perfect.
"I'm saying we should've checked the fucking weather before we left California," Grey shot back.
"Oh, come on, it's not that bad," Bucky said.
"It's literally ten fucking degrees," Grey said, glaring at him.
"Dibbs on shooting the bottle this time," Pepper said brightly, ending the fight before Grey could. "Grey, you wanna throw it again?"
"I do like throwing things," Grey said thoughtfully. Tony handed her the bottle and took a large step backward. Jim and Happy were already pouring the glasses they would drink. Pepper clicked her gauntlet into place and smiled as it whirred to life. Grey threw the bottle skyward and watched as Pepper shot with perfect accuracy, sending champagne and glass shards scattering across the marked off land.
"Beautifully done, dear," Tony said, handing Pepper a glass. "What should we toast to this time?"
"To the lives we're going to save," Pepper said with determination. Pepper could already see the difference they were making in people's everyday lives, and couldn't wait to see it branch out of Stark Industries.
"To the lives we're going to make better," Bucky said, nodding. He was proof that they could definitely change the world. And he wanted to be part of it. He would be part of it, part of the Iron Family, part of the Avengers, part of Stark Industries.
"To the kids who will be safe here," Grey said, an indecipherable look on her face. One day, this land would be a sanctuary to anyone who needed it. Whether they were human or not, American or not, she wanted to be the protector, and she would be.
"To the biggest family the world will ever see," Tony said finally. If Stark Industries was family, so would be the Avengers. And Tony knew that if given the chance, once Hydra got shaken out, SHIELD in whatever form it existed, would be family too.
"To saving everyone, no matter what," Jim said. He was sick of death, of dying soldiers, of killing insurgents. If he had to go to one more funeral, he'd lose his mind.
"Cheers!" The family toasted and tapped their plastic cups against everyone else's. Tony, again, pulled out a device and pushed the button. A hologram of the future compound sprang up. There were three main buildings.
"Dorms over there?" Happy asked, pointing to the tallest building of the three. It was five stories tall, in a wide V shape. Each arm of the building held fifty studio apartments, ten on each floor. They could house a hundred people just in the dorm building.
"Yes. We're going to put a pool and tennis courts in the open space, make sure we have plenty of lawn games, all that," Grey said. "Over there is the gymnasium."
It was a two-story building that would house most of their training. The bottom floor was a pool for laps, and the top floor held a football sized field and track. There was a small locker room, and an actual gym on the first floor as well.
"And that's the main school," Tony pointed out. "Four floors above ground, three below, seven lecture halls, six labs, seven classrooms, and four common areas."
"What about food?" Happy asked.
"Dorms have a communal kitchen on each floor, the main house has a cafeteria, and an industrial kitchen that we can staff. And yes, we'll have all the amenities at the main house," Tony assured. While the tower was definitely the brainchild of the women in his life, Tony and Bucky had perfected the main house. It was designed to take over as Avenger's base once they expanded to include SHIELD after they fell.
"We're going to have a track put around the buildings for outdoor running, the woods back there has a good trail that I think I want to turn into a ropes course," Bucky said, gesturing broadly to the trees in the back. "If we put a good tower over there, we can have a platform for fliers to practice."
"I think you two are having too much fun with this," Pepper said good-naturedly, watching Bucky and Tony bat ideas back and forth. They had already planned out all the security they thought they would need to protect the people that would live on the compound. "Although, to be fair, Grey went completely crazy with her part of the tower."
"Talk smack all you want, Potts, my museum is going to be a hit," Grey teased, smiling. "Now can we please get in the car where it's warm? I can't feel my fingers."
"Yes, fine, come on," Tony said, turning off the hologram. "Whiney brat."
"Just because you put a dozen hot hands in your pants doesn't mean you get to make fun of the rest of us for freezing," Pepper said, reaching her hand into Tony's pocket and pulling out two packets of heat. She tossed one underhand to Grey, who took it gleefully. Happy was quick to start the car, turning the heat on blast to chase away the chill of January in New York.
"Come along, children, let's go home," Happy said, opening the back door for everyone. Pepper settled in the passenger seat, while Grey and Bucky climbed in for the very back.
"Once our family expands, we're gonna need a bigger car," Tony said as he adjusted his seat belt, so it wasn't resting directly over the reactor. "Or another driver."
"Once we're in two cars, I'll drive the second one," Bucky offered. "It'll be nice to have more to offer."
"Bucky…"
"I know, I am not what I can do. I am more than that. But I want to contribute. You all are doing so much, I just want to do more," Bucky said, taking Grey's hand.
"I would like to help more as well," Bambi said, startling Grey.
"Pepper, you want a virtual assistant?"
"God yes," Pepper said, turning in her seat. Happy turned the car around and headed up toward the manor. "Bambi wants more to do?"
"Yeah, when we get home, I'll have them download onto your phone and what not. Bambi helps me so much; you're going to love working with them." Grey paused; her head tilted. "Jarvis has a question. Once the Avengers Initiative is up and running, who will be running it? Jarvis is already pulling double duty, home, and work, I know he can handle it, but do we want to wake someone else up to cover the compound?"
"We can wake Friday up, once the compound has people in it," Tony agreed easily. "Put her in charge of everything here so there's less for us to do. I'll authorize Jarvis to run an upgrade through her code, so she knows what's going on around her."
"Family keeps growing every day," Bucky whispered in Grey's ear, an undeniable smile on his face. "I think you might be the best thing that's ever happened to me."
Line Break
"Grey, we should take a walk on the beach," Bambi said insistently in her ear.
"Not right now, Bambi, remind me in an hour," Grey said, chewing on the end of her weed pen as she thought to herself about the best way to advertise for the Avenger's Museum. She moved to take a hit when Bambi chirped in her ear.
"Grey, we should take a walk on the beach," Bambi said again. "There's something we need to discuss. Away from listening ears."
That piqued Grey's curiosity, so with only a little grumbling, she packed up her marketing materials, and left the house, shouting where she was going for Jarvis and her dad.
"Okay, Bambi, what was so secretive you couldn't say it alone in my office?" Grey asked, walking the cliffs.
"You haven't had a period since before Thanksgiving," Bambi said bluntly. Grey dropped her water bottle. It bounced and fell off the cliff. Grey watched it and waited for her heart to start beating again. "I believe you should take a pregnancy test."
"No, I have the Nexplanon insert those are good for five years," Grey said, still staring at her water bottle at the bottom of the cliff. She couldn't be pregnant. She couldn't be pregnant. She couldn't be pregnant. She couldn't be pregnant. She couldn't be pregnant.
"The Nexplanon implant is effective for usage for three years," Bambi corrected, pulling the information from the web. Grey covered her face with her hands. She was pregnant. She was pregnant. She was pregnant. She was pregnant.
Line Break
Grey was surprised to discover that the only person upset with her surprise pregnancy was Cynthia, because pregnancies were hard to hide on live TV, and people were well-wise to the ways of hiding them. The public would know in moments. So the answer became to keep Grey out of the public eye as often as possible once she started showing.
Grey woke up, and immediately sneezed. Before she even opened her eyes, she was reaching for the box of tissues she kept by the bed. Her hand thunked against something that wasn't there when she fell asleep. She sneezed again, and finally moved the sleep mask off her face. There was a beautiful bouquet of roses and sunflowers in a crystal vase on her bedside table.
"Awh," Grey said softly, looking at the flowers. "He got me flowers?"
Grey curled in on herself and did a happy wiggle under the blankets before stretching to stand up. When she did, she noticed the rose petals scattered on the ground. Hot coffee was sitting on the bathroom sink, ready for her to drink. The towel warmer was already loaded with a towel and her bathrobe. There was fresh eucalyptus draped over the showerhead. Grey cooed softly at the gesture and started her shower.
The rose petals trailed from her room to the kitchen, where breakfast was waiting for her. Grey hid her blushing face in her hands when she spotted yet another bouquet of roses and sunflowers. There was also a bouquet of blush-colored roses with white daisies in it, likely from Tony to Pepper.
Chenin walked past and took the time to bite Grey's ankle, before continuing on to his wet food. Alpine was sitting on the counter trying to steal a sip of Grey's coffee. Pepper nudged him to the floor as she came in, hair damp from her own shower.
"You got the rose petal treatment too?" Pepper asked, sitting in front of her own breakfast. "Hot coffee and a warmed-up towel? Think we can convince the boys to do this every Monday?"
"I think this is only for Valentine's Day," Grey pointed out, gesturing to the calendar on the wall with her fork. "Although, I have to say, this omelet is so much better than the protein pancakes we usually have for breakfast."
"Tony actually remembered Valentine's Day?" Pepper asked, surprised. "Wait, where are the boys?"
"In the lab working on an upgrade for your suits," Jarvis said from the ceiling. "They have also made individual reservations for you for dinner, I've been instructed to clear your schedules for the day."
"The day? Absolutely not," Grey said, laughing. "I've got a writer's room meeting that I can't miss today. We're knocking out the final script for the Wolverine movie."
"I've got three international offices banging down my door over the HR policy changes, and they want us to take today off?" Pepper giggled, starting on her omelet. "I love that man, but I don't think he's looked at a calendar a day in his life."
"Actually, I've already spoken with our Singaporean office this morning, they have agreed to…"
"Sit the fuck down and listen to their boss?" Bucky offered as the men came up from the labs. Pepper and Grey exchanged bemused looks, before turning back to the boys. "I wouldn't have believed it if the translation service hadn't managed to pick up that guy's comment. Was he?"
"Stane's hire? Oh yes. Miss Potts, I have good news, the head of the Singaporean office has been fired!" Tony pressed a kiss to Pepper's cheek before pulling out the chair next to her. Bucky did the same with Grey on the other side. "He's already been replaced with someone who isn't, Bucky, what was that phrase?"
"A backwards thinking wanna-be commie that should've never left his mother's skirt, I think," Bucky said. Grey snorted and started laughing. "What, you don't get the monopoly on one liners, Grey."
"Sure, I do, don't you remember when Fury called after I sent him the I told you so?"
"I do," Tony said. "They were still in New York, remember?"
"What did you do?" Pepper demanded, a smile hiding in her eyes. "Or rather, what did you say?"
"The only advantage he had that I don't, is that he can kiss my ass and I can't," Grey said, her cheeks turning pink. Bucky guffawed, leaning back in his chair to laugh. Pepper hid her laughter behind her hands, bright peals of laughter filling the air. Hearing the loud noise, Chenin let out a yell before leaping up to sit on Grey's lap. She reached down to pet him, only for him to latch onto her wrist. She winced and tugged the sleeve of her robe down. He bit again, but this time on the sleeve. "Feral beast."
"Where do you get all these perfect one liners?" Tony asked, wiping away imaginary tears as he stopped laughing.
"The future," Grey said baldly. She finished her mug of coffee and leaned back in her seat, occasionally petting Chenin in her lap. "TV shows that haven't come out yet, the odd TikTok, occasionally a vine. There was that girl with the notebook."
"We will pretend we understood what those things are," Bucky said, nodding along as if it was the most serious conversation he'd had in his life. Then he cracked up laughing, startling Chenin into tearing off of Grey's lap and zooming into the living room. They all heard the thunk of him running full-tilt into a window. Grey hissed and looked down at her lap. Chenin's claws left three perfectly straight scratches where he launched himself from her leg. "You okay?"
"Damn cat beats me up more than you do, Barnes," Grey whined, accepting the paper towel from Pepper. "Jesus."
"Don't say that in front of the press, there's already a conspiracy about the mark on your shoulder the last time the camera caught you," Tony said, shaking his head.
"The bruise from the shrapnel? Don't they understand that I'm going to get beat up in that armor? I'm lucky it only blew a hole in the shoulder and didn't try to take my head clean off," Grey complained. She caught a stray missile on her shoulder the last time they flew with the birds and walked away with several bruises and two burns where her armor had been blown off. Thankfully it had been before everyone found out she was pregnant. Happy had told her in no uncertain terms that unless it was a world ending event, she was grounded. She could run backend, but she couldn't suit up while pregnant. "Stupid journalists."
"Remember the entire article on your arms?" Pepper asked, trying not to laugh. Bucky had no such compunctions and laughed loudly, while Grey flushed.
"I do not," Tony asked, immediately interested.
"Someone published an article on the difference in her arms from the Firefighter fundraiser to the Veteran's Day gala," Pepper said. "They want to know what workout routine she has, and what she benches."
"Can't wait to tell muscle magazine that my workout routine is the same used by assassins and terrible people all across the world," Grey said, rolling her eyes, her cheeks still pink. "I'm sure they'll love that."
"Might get you demoted from America's sweetheart," Pepper teased.
"Well, that'll just be the end of the world, won't it," Grey said dryly. Tony lost his battle, keeping his laughter quiet and nearly tipped his chair, he was laughing so hard. "I miss being a nobody."
"You're Tony Stark's daughter, Grey, you could never be a nobody," Bucky pointed out.
"He's right, kiddo," Tony said, finally starting to reign in his laughter. "You're kinda screwed if you want a quiet life."
"Darn, guess I'll have to settle for spending all your money," Grey teased. "And with two new areas for me and Pepper to decorate and design, we might actually succeed."
"We have to succeed, we have no choice," Tony said, briefly killing the mood. "But, let's not focus on that, let's focus on today. Miss Potts, you are with me, Grey, you're stuck with Barnes."
"We're going to the zoo," Bucky said brightly, holding up the tickets.
"I love the zoo!" Grey said, practically dancing in her seat. "Let me go get my comfy sneakers."
"And what are we up to today, mister Stark?" Pepper asked. Grey had already fled the room, sliding on one socked foot down the hall.
"I figured you'd like the art museum for today, the four of us are meeting for lunch, then you and I are off to an auction."
"No more rose petals?" Pepper asked, looking at the floor, where pink and red petals were strewn about.
"No more rose petals," Tony assured.
Line Break
Bucky believed the shower was his favorite part of the future. He loved the waterfall shower head, and the ability to control the exact temperature of the water. The fact that the water would stay hot the entire time he was under the spray; the shampoo and half-dozen other hair products Grey and Pepper had gotten for him left his hair smelling good, soft, and shiny. The smell of the eucalyptus that Grey always kept over the shower head on the wall.
As he washed, he thought. Bucky was always thinking, remembering what he had done for Hydra, remembering names, faces, or missions. Locations of bases, anything he could think of to give to Jarvis to pass along to Grey to aid the family in their crusade. But this time, he wasn't thinking about Hydra. He was thinking about the people in his life. His family. His daughter.
The song changed on Grey's shower playlist and Bucky sighed. Therapy was helping, but he still felt lost. Being out of Hydra was fantastic, and helping the family was the best feeling in the world, but he still felt disconnected from the wider part of the future. Jim and Happy had set him up with a docuseries on everything he could need to know, and Grey was the perfect person to learn pop culture from. Pepper and Tony took the time to help him with all the political questions he could have; but Bucky often felt like he had nothing to offer them.
Grey would tell him that he's ridiculous, that he doesn't have to contribute anything to be considered part of the family, and Pepper would agree. Happy would say that Bucky's already done so much for them, just in the security department, and Tony would say that his arm inspired the newest line of prosthetics that they were starting to work on in R . Even Helen would say that his unique perspective would make treating patients with PTSD easier. But he wanted something more.
Bucky sighed again, a bad habit he picked up from Grey, and finally stepped out of the water. Jarvis shut it off behind him and lowered the volume of the music. Bucky pulled his towel out of the heater and smiled softly as he dried off. He was slowly getting used to the sheer luxury of the future. Machines that washed your dishes, machines that kept your towel warm, Pepper even had a machine in her room that melted wax over a lightbulb, so you didn't need an open flame. Bucky shook his head, sending his wet hair flying around him. That was when he noticed the confetti.
Bucky quickly dressed and followed the trail of paper scraps, right into the kitchen, where his family was waiting with cinnamon rolls and coffee. Grey was wearing a cone-shaped hat, as were Tony and Pepper. Jim and Happy greeted him with noisemakers as Pepper and Grey shouted out.
"Happy Birthday!" Grey threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Bucky caught her, after taking a step back to regain his balance, surprised as he was. The family echoed the sentiment, and Bucky felt himself melt.
There was a cake, and with careful writing it said Happy 94th30th Birthday! There were cinnamon rolls, spelling out 30, hash browns, bacon, and Bucky's favorite super-cheesy scrambled eggs. There were presents and banners and decorations everywhere throughout the living room and dining room.
Happy and Jim shook his hand, reaching around Grey, who was still hanging off of Bucky, and he couldn't help but beam. Grey finally let herself drop down, so Bucky was able to hug Pepper and Tony in turn.
"Happy birthday, sugar," Grey said again, striking a match to light the cake. The thirty candles felt more like a bonfire than a cake, but Bucky's smile never faded. It took three breaths, but Bucky kept smiling.
"This is amazing," Bucky said when he finally found his voice. Jim was playing host, serving everyone up their breakfast favorites, and the cinnamon rolls. Tony was pouring everyone a cup of coffee and passing them out. "Thank you, everyone."
"Don't thank us yet, day's not over," Grey said. Bucky couldn't tell if that was a promise or a threat. The smile on Grey's face didn't help him decide one way or the other. Then he registered the sounds of other people in the house.
"Who else is here?" Bucky asked, wary.
"Mama Rhodes," Jim said, not even sorry. Mama Rhodes had adopted every member of the Stark family. If they argued with her, they got smacked with the wooden spoon. The first time she met Bucky, she promptly decided he wasn't eating enough and handed him another full plate. She'd promised him his own turkey once Thanksgiving rolled around.
"The legacies," Tony added, checking them off on his fingers. None of them had been invited, they just showed up. Occasionally it made the family regret their open-door policy. "Morita is here, the twins, Sharon, and Trip, as well as Katherine."
"Samantha, Jennifer, Helen and Hali, Jayne, Allie and Kat, as well as Luna and Zora," Pepper put in, staring at the ceiling as if it was written up there. Bucky glanced up to see if it was. When Grey had her virtual meetings, she put sticky notes with names on them on the ceiling so she could remember.
"Sam flew out, too," Grey said, smiling. "Him and Riley finally got engaged, I thought Riley would never pop the question."
Bucky held up his hands, shocked and slightly horrified that absolutely everyone he knew was coming over today. Grey was quick to take his hands in her own, smiling up at him as if she knew something he didn't. In that moment, he really hated her ability to know everything. So, he shifted course.
"When did you have the time to make all those lasagnas?" Bucky asked, raising an eyebrow. He knew he got it right when Grey broke into a broad smile.
"Oh she definitely cheated," Tony said, beaming as if it was the best day of his life. "She's made it a pool-party. Trip and Katherine are planning to run two grills a piece."
"We've got burgers, brats, ribs, and there's half a pig in a smoker for pulled pork," Grey said. "We've got sides galore, desserts to spare, enough drinks to flood Death Valley, s'mores, and a sundae bar."
"We didn't do half this for Jim," Bucky pointed out. "And he got a promotion."
"Yeah, but this is your first birthday since the forties," Grey said. Bucky frowned before he realized she was right. "The fact that you forgot means that you're healing."
Bucky looked at her and wished he had the words. To thank her, to tell her that he loves her, how important she is, not just to him but to everyone they've ever met.
"Grey…"
"I know," she said, cupping his cheek. Bucky felt like the luckiest man on earth. He kissed her palm before pulling away. "Let's eat, shall we? I'm starving."
Most of the party was on the beach. Samantha and Jennifer were entertaining the other women with wine in a sunny spot, while they all kept an eye on the girls. Luna was having fun making noises from a shaded towel, while Zora tried to build a castle with Sharon and Allie. If that castle was in the best strategic place for Zora to stand guard over her sister, all the better.
"Do you like having a little sister?" Sharon asked. Zora's eyes flicked to Luna, who was babbling at the underside of her umbrella.
"She is defenseless." Zora's English was fluent, if accented. "I am not."
Sharon and Allie looked at each other and shrugged. It wasn't an answer, but it wasn't a threat, so it was probably okay. Allie was starting to understand that the widow training involved seeing what was and wasn't a threat. It pained her that a five year old already saw the world like that.
"Zora will read to Luna," Allie shared, smiling proudly at her oldest, shaking off the melancholy. "Before bed. And she's very diligent about checking to make sure the window is locked."
"The balcony is a security issue," Zora said adamantly. Allie nodded, well aware of Zora's penchant for pointing out how an assassin could gain entry to any given room. It used to freak her out, but she took it in stride after five months.
"We live in a gated community, remember? There's a guard at the front of the street," Allie said.
"Luna could take him down," Zora said, very rudely for such a small child. Sharon tried not to laugh, but failed, causing victory to flash across Zora's face. Sharon ended up laughing brightly.
"I'm sure once Luna starts to believe there are monsters under her bed, you'll be the best protector," Sharon said.
"Monsters don't live under the bed, they live in the Red Room," Zora said softly. Allie and Sharon pretended they couldn't hear her. Zora used a knife and her hair tie as a flag for the castle. Louder she said, "Luna's castle is finished."
"And what a wonderful castle it is. Shall we have snacks?" Allie asked.
"Juice box please," Zora said, sounding like any other kid her age.
Bucky was thrilled with what he was given for his birthday. Tony had designed and fabricated a new top of the line sniper rifle. It was designed to lock onto a harness on the new armor Pepper and Grey designed, giving him a Persian blue, one-sleeved jacket that reminded him of the coat he wore in the Howling Commandos. This one held more weapons though, which made him smile.
"I've been thinking about doing something for my birthday," Bucky said hesitantly, and mostly to Pepper. "Can we cut my hair?"
Grey's face went carefully blank behind her coffee mug. When Pepper glanced her way for confirmation, she avoided eye-contact. She didn't want to influence his decision, even though she really liked his long hair.
"I've got a set of clippers in the bathroom," Tony offered. When Bucky nodded, he ran out of the room, down hall, where it sounded like he crashed into the wall before he could stop. "I'm okay!"
"Jarvis, did you get footage of that?" Jim asked, glancing up. The holoscreen on the kitchen wall sprang to life, showing Tony trying to stop before he bounced off the wall. Grey snorted and started laughing. Jim was right behind her, and they were still laughing when Tony ran back into the room, this time carrying the clippers.
"Who knows how to cut hair?" Pepper asked, shaking her head when Tony offered her the case.
"How about I do that," Mama Rhodes offered as she came into the kitchen, carrying a basket with empty water bottles. Bucky perked up and nodded his agreement. They settled at the dining room table, with Bucky sitting sideways on a chair. Grey refilled the water bottles, glad for something to do. "I've cut hair for Jim and his cousins and did the girls hair for nearly forty years."
"Thank you so much for this," Bucky said, smiling up at her while she set up. He glanced around to make sure the family was far enough away. "I think I'm going to have Jayne bring me back to life, legally, this year."
"Good for you, James," Mama Rhodes said. "Now hold still while I get the back of your neck first. I'm going to put my hand on the back of your head, okay?"
Bucky held still and tilted his head, when necessary, Mama Rhodes always warning him before she changed direction or moved her hand. Fifteen minutes later, he had a new, shorter hair style and a wide smile on his face.
Tony wolf-whistled when Bucky came back into the room, looking good with his new cut. Pepper was nodding her agreement, but it was Grey he was looking for. When he finally met her eyes, she looked at him so proudly that he felt like nothing could ever bother him again.
"Well?"
"You look so handsome," Grey said, holding out a small box. "One last present."
In the box was a silver chain, with two thin pieces of metal. His Army dog tags. Bucky's breath caught in his throat as he looked at them. Memories he hadn't thought about in years flooded his mind. Getting the tags, his bunkmate, Basset from basic training, the 107 with Dugan and Gabe Jones, the Howling Commandos with Steve, still too big to be real, and Morita with his terrible jokes. Bucky looked at Grey, completely lost for words.
"If we honor the past, we might just make the future a better place."
"Well then, let's save the world," Bucky said back.
"How about we party first?" Tony suggested. "We have a perfectly good beach, and no plans tomorrow, so we can party straight through the night."
"Ocean front bonfire?" Jim suggested.
"Ocean front bonfire," Tony agreed. Grey raised her eyebrow, wondering what they were about to do.
"You know it's only noon, right?" Pepper said, watching the boys warily. "What are you going to do, party for twelve hours?"
"That was exactly what we did," Katherine said, holding a beer in one hand, a marshmallow on a stick in the other. "SWAT was going to breach, and with the size of the bomb the perp had in the building, there wouldn't have been anything left of the entire unit. So we shot him in the arm, severing the tendon so he couldn't press the button."
"How the hell did you make a shot like that from five hundred feet?" Bucky demanded. "The forearm is such a small target."
Mama Rhodes, Allie and Jim Morita had taken Luna and Zora up to the house for bed at seven, leaving the adults sitting in a wide circle near a bonfire that stood taller than Grey sitting on Bucky's shoulders. Trip and Brian were exchanging stories, while Lizzie walked along the shore with Kat and Sam's sister Sarah, talking amongst themselves with red solo cups of wine in their hands.
Grey was sandwiched between Bucky and Pepper, who was watching Tony and Jim talk science with Hali and Helen. She smothered a yawn before checking her phone. It was already past eleven at night, and she was wondering if she could slip upstairs for a nap, or another cup of coffee.
"I don't think I've voluntarily stayed up this late in months," Pepper whispered to Grey, tilting her head so they weren't overheard. "I didn't think Tony was serious when he said we were going to party all night."
"I already had Bambi cancel our morning meetings, we can sleep in a bit," Grey said, flashing the confirmation text from Bambi on her phone.
"Oh thank God," Pepper breathed, her hand on her chest. "I doubt I'll make it up for weapons training if we stay up much longer."
"Cancelled that too," Grey said. "I don't wanna work on my aim after being up all night. Cause Bucky's mean, he'll make us do pullups if we miss."
"Damn right I will," Bucky said, tapping his beer bottle against Grey's water. "Katherine, you and I will be having a shoot-off."
"Compare my skills to the mighty Winter Soldier? You're on, Barnes," Katherine said, blowing out her flaming marshmallow and popping it in her mouth. "And you're going down."
On the other side of the circle, Tony stood up and accepted a phone call. Grey watched as he walked away, a frown on his face. He paced one direction, clearly listening to someone, then changed direction. Grey stood, intent on checking in and seeing what was happening, when her comms connection with Bambi chirped.
"At two forty-six, local time, Japan's eastern coastline experienced a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, which triggered a tsunami." Bambi said. Grey sat back down, shocked, and horrified. "Since the original quake, there have been three 7.4 or higher magnitude earthquakes. The Japanese government has declared a state of emergency for the area and has requested the assistance of the Iron Family for search and rescue. I've already got flight clearance for the suits and the jet."
Grey stood up.
"Listen up," Grey's tone was severe, and everyone immediately looked at her. "Japan has just been rocked by a massive earthquake and a tsunami. They need help with search and rescue. Anybody who wants to come, is welcome. Jim, Happy, we have flight clearance for the suits and the jet, will you take anyone who wants to come? Happy, I'm not sitting this one out."
"We're in," Lizzie said, gesturing to herself and her brother. Katherine stepped forward too.
"Bambi, bring out Rescue and Peacemaker," Pepper said softly while people were still volunteering. "And have Jarvis bring out Iron Man for Tony."
"Us too," Trip said, speaking for himself and Sharon.
"Sam and I will stay behind, keep an eye on things here for you," Kat offered.
"I'll come," Riley offered. "I might not have the wings, but I have medic training."
"Jim, you and Barnes fly, I'll stay here and coordinate," Happy said, already starting to pack up the various chairs and coolers. The three suits flew down to the beach. When Peacemaker opened for Grey to step inside, their flight suits and sneakers fell out.
"Thanks Bambi," Grey and Pepper said, already moving to change, no care that they were on the beach, surrounded by friends and family. Rescue contained changes of clothes for everyone that was going. "You guys are the best."
"Suited and booted, everyone we've got work to do," Jim said, nodding to Bucky, who sprinted up the stairs back to the house, heading for the garage to drive the non-flyers to the airfield where the jet was waiting. Jim pulled Helen into a fiery kiss before she started gathering things to carry up to the house. Any other time and Grey would've teased him for their PDA, but they got a free pass in the wake of an emergency. "Tony, Pepper, Grey, in the suits you'll make it in three hours, those of us on the jet will make it in seven."
"While you're in the air, reach out to the Maria Stark foundation and have supplies shipped," Tony said. "If the damage is as bad as they're saying, they'll need all the help they can get. And the Margaret Stark foundation – they can help here too."
"See you on the flip," Sharon said, tightening the laces on her boots.
The three suits took off, heading west over the ocean. Once they were far enough away, Tony activated their comms.
"Grey, any insight?"
"I think this is Fukushima," Grey said. "Fukushima Daiichi plant was the worst meltdown since Chernobyl."
"Jarvis, tell Jim to make it six hours, we're going to need his help with the plant," Pepper ordered. "We'll need brain power on this one too. Grey, do you remember any numbers?"
"Almost twenty thousand dead," Grey said, a grim expression on her face.
"Let's see if we can make it in three hours," Tony said, putting on a burst of speed. Grey and Pepper followed his lead, increasing thruster power until they broke the sound barrier. "It's gonna be one long day."