Chapter Text
"Morgan?"
"Hmm?" Morgan responded dreamily.
The teen was half asleep as she laid with her head on her mother's lap. Her mother was playing with her her, which is why the girl was currently in the half awake state she was in right now. The two women were having a little bit of girl time together, the two younger Starks having gone to bed for hours now. Once her younger siblings were gone, they'd then kicked Tony out of the bedroom, giggling at his scolded puppy act as he left the room.
"Cold ladies, cold! We're talking Siberia COLD temps here!" he'd called out over his shoulder. "I'm shivering here!"
At that point, Morgan was concerned they had actually hurt her Dad's feelings, and so she had faltered just a little. But Tony had been quick to reassure her that he was okay with them getting some girl time together. He was especially okay with it after Pepper mentioned they'd be talking about hair styles, makeup, fashion, and as he knew, more than probably guys too.
"Can I ask you something?"
"I think you just did."
Pepper smirked, and lightly smack her daughter's shoulder, "Oh stop pulling your Dad's nonsense on me, Mo!"
Morgan laughed, opened her eyes, "Sorry, Mama, but you kinda walked into that one when you think about it!"
"Yeah, I guess I did, didn't I?"
"Mmhmm. You did. So what did you want to ask me?"
"Well, I've noticed you staring at me a lot. When I say staring, I mean like really staring, like you would when you haven't seen someone for a long time. You know kinda the same way you look at your Dad. I'm just curious abut why you do that, Mo?
"I mean I completely get why with your Dad you do, but what I can't figure it out why you would do it so much with me." Pepper finished asking her question, then watched her daughter's face as the words found their way into the teen's brain. The silly smile on her face disappeared, and she thought she could see tears forming in the girl's eyes, "You know what, honey? Forget I asked that question. I don't mind you staring at me. I was just--"
Morgan sat up, and looked at her, "It's okay, Mama. It's just I guess I didn't expect you to ask a question like that. If you just let me think about it a second and I'll try to give you an answer, okay?"
"Morgan, sweetie, it's okay. You know you don't have to answer it."
"I know, Mama, but I think that I do want to answer it. So I guess why I stare so much at you is..." Morgan started, then stopped and scratched the back of her neck as she thought, "Oh, I know! I guess the reason why I stare so much is because of uh your eyes."
"My eyes?"
"Yeah, your eyes."
Pepper was puzzled, as this was not the answer she was expecting, like at all. "I don't understand, honey. You are talking about my eyes in comparison to your Mom's. Right?"
Morgan nodded.
"So mine are different in some way that hers?" Again the teen nodded. "But I thought you said your Mom was an exact copy of a version of me in appearance?"
"And she is too. You have that same color of hair... well almost. Mom's started going a little grey in a few spots, and she's not dyeing it. She doesn't need to really because I think it looks pretty on her too." The girl eyed the hair of the woman in front of her, "Say you're not dyeing your hair are you?" Morgan immediately had her answer as her mother's visibly dropped, and she giggled as the older woman began to verbally protest.
"I do not dye my hair, young lady! How in the world could you even ask such a-
The teen touched her arm, "It's okay, Mama. Wow! It was just a question! Sorry I asked it!"
"Oh no you're not, you little brat!" the older woman exclaimed, glaring at her before joining her daughter in her laughter.
Morgan watched her mother for a little while, loving how her face looked so peaceful and relaxed in happiness when she laughed. It was a wonderful change to see laugh lines on the face of Pepper Potts Stark instead of worry lines. But most of all it was her eyes that Morgan loved looking at, and she couldn't help but be caught staring for the millioneth time by the older woman again.
"It's the sparkle in your eyes," the girl blurted out, once their laughter had started to die out.
"What?"
"You wanted to know why I stare at you so much, right?"
Pepper nodded.
"Well, it's because of... because of the sparkle in your eyes. My Mom's... eyes don't have that same sparkle anymore. You know wanna know something that's sad? Until I came here, I... I can't remember seeing my Mom's eyes sparkle like yours do. So... so when they'd talk about it, I never understood what Uncle Happy or Uncle Rhodey meant when they would talk about how Mom's eyes used to sparkle."
"It must be because of your Dad."
"Yeah, it must be," Morgan agreed, "It's hard for me to remember how things were before my Dad... you know. I don't really actually remember what I'd call real memories. I was too young I guess when he... But what I do have are the... impressions I guess you'd call it... impressions that things were so different before Dad died."
"I would imagine they would have been. I imagibe they would have been a whole lot different. Sweetheart, you know while I can't say I can know exactly what you and your mother have gone through since your Dad died, I think I have had a small taste of it over the years."
The girl nodded, "You mean all the times Daddy almost got killed while he was still Iron Man, right?"
"Yes, in a way. But that is only partially what I meant."
"Only partially? What do you mean by only partially? Do I even want to know?"
Pepper sighed, and took a moment to think about what she was going to say. Although she was older than Ethan and Eva, since she had come here from her universe, they'd made the decision to keep her under a news blackout about what had almost happened to Tony. It wasn't because they thought she was too young to understand what had happened because she wasn't since she was a teenager after all! No more it was the fact in her universe, she had already lost her father at an early age (probably no older than Eva had been when Tony had been sentenced to death), and they hadn't wanted her to hear how close she came to losing her father again here.
"I'm not sure that you do but I think this is something that I need to tell you about anyway, Morgan."
"Okay, that sounds ominous. Like very omincous, Mama."
"That's because it is. It's something we... we haven't told you about before now, but I think the time has come that you should know about this."
Morgan could hear the seriousness of her tone, and the look on her face told her whatever she had to tell her, it was going to big. She shifted her position on the bed, and taking a rein on her anxiousness over the sudden shift in the tone of their conversation. "What is it, Mama?"
"It was a year and a half before you came that this happened, and before I tell you anything else about this, Mo, I need you to make a promise to me."
"What promise?"
"I need you to promise me that you will NOT tell either your brother or sister a word of this. This is something your Dad and I plan on telling them someday, but the time won't be for a while to come, like when they're much older. So do I have your promise that you won't tell any of what I'm about to tell you to either Ethan or Eva?"
Giving her a nod, Morgan added in words, "Of course. I promise I won't tell them whatever it is you tell me."
After taking another moment to consider where to begin her story, Pepper asked, "Did your Dad ever tell you why he reacted the way he did when you told him that your name is Morgan?"
Morgan shook her head, "No, not really. I knew he didn't seem all too happy to hear my name is Morgan." The girl shrugged. "I don't know. I guess maybe I just thought he doesn't like the name Morgan for some reason?"
"Oh boy, that's putting it mildly," Pepper muttered.
"What? What was that you said?"
"Oh, nothing. Mo, there is a good reason why your Dad had the reaction he had to your name. You see, in our um universe, there's another Morgan Stark."
"Yeah, I uh kinda suspected as much. I tried asking JARVIS if there was someone named Morgan here but he never would give me an answer."
"That's good that he wouldn't answer you. It means he was following his programming and your Dad's instructions to filter out the information related to what happened."
Morgan absorbed the information, and replayed what was said in her head. A light went off in her head, "Oh my gosh, Mama! Who exactly is Morgan Stark in this universe? Is she someone who is a horrible person or something?"
Pepper grimaced, and then she nodded, "Yes, he is a horrible person. He's a very horrible person in fact."
"He? The Morgan Stark here is a he?"
If what they were talking about wasn't so serious, Pepper probably would have laughed at the startled expression on her other daughter's face. Instead she nodded, "Yes, Morgan Stark here is a he and he is your Dad's older cousin."
"Okay, that's different. Back in the verse I'm from, Dad doesn't... or didn't have any older cousins, like at all. In my verse, I was actually named after my Mom's favorite Uncle Morgan Potts."
"Well, Morgan is your Dad's only cousin he has... well Morgan and his son Connor, and Connor's son who is about Ethan's age. But it's hard to count Connor now because he longer claims the Stark family name as his own. I'm not sure he even claims his father any more."
"He changed his last name?"
"Yes, he did."
"To what?"
"His mother's last name before she married Morgan."
"Wow, whatever his Dad did must have been really bad, like epic bad, and I wish you'd just go ahead and tell what it is, Mama! I don't think I can handle the not knowing much longer!"
Pepper nodded, took a deep breath, then told her daughter from another universe everything about what had happened with Morgan Douglas Stark. She gave her the awful highlights of Tony's so called trial, including recounting the moment the judge sentenced him to die by lethal injection. She told her how her Dad has asked, no had begged the judge not to set his execution date for four days just after her brother's birthday, and how the judge had had no mercy for either father or son.
"They were going to... kill Daddy just four days after Ethan's birthday?!"
Fighting back tears at the memories, Pepper nodded, "Yes, they were and almost did. We got to October 6th, and we still hadn't proven your father didn't murder all those people. The warden... he agreed to allow us to be in the same room that day so we could say goodbye to each other. He even agreed to let us hold hands and..."
She stopped there, unable to tell Morgan about how Tony trembled when he got to feel her touch again after months of being denied. She also didn't have the heart to tell her about her memory of Tony breaking down at the thought his baby girl would never be able to remember him. She would have been just like Morgan who couldn't really remember her actual father all that much beyond a few blurred memories.
"You mean you got to the day they were going... going to..." Morgan couldn't say the word again.
Pepper nodded, "Yes, we got to that day. And... we got to the time for the... the... you know."
"Oh, Mama, I... how could you... how did you..." the girl stopped there, trying not to cry herself.
"Oh sweetheart, come here," Pepper said, pulling her closer as the teen lost her battle with her tears, "It's okay, sweetheart. Your Dad's okay and here with us. He's just in another room... or is that on another floor? JARVIS, is Tony in his workshop right now?"
"Yes, Ma'am. Sir is indeed in his workshop."
"See? Your Dad's totally fi..."
Morgan didn't say a word. She just got up, and started walking out of her bedroom. She didn't stop for anything, not even when her mother called out to her. She just kept going because there was something she needed to do, and do it now.
Pepper exited into their floor's main area just in time to see the elevator doors close, "JARVIS, I think you need to alert Tony that Morgan is about to show up."
"I have already taken the liberty of doing so the moment she stepped into the elevator, Ma'am."
"Thank you," she said, sitting down on the couch to wait a few minutes before she made her next move.
"Sir, Miss Morgan is on her way down."
Tony was in the middle of going over some new designs when he heard the AI's voice, "Huh? What? What did you say, J?" JARVIS did not have time to repeat the statement before the doors of the elevator opened. He heard them, and turned around, surprised to see his oldest daughter emerge from the compartment.
"What's wrong, Mo?" he asked immediately upon noticing she was either crying or about to cry.
Morgan didn't say anything to answer him. Instead, she hurried across the room, around his desk, wrapped her arms tightly around him, and buried her face in the crook of his neck.
"What the..." Tony muttered, wrapping his own arms around her, puzzled as to what had happened to upset her so much since he saw her just an hour ago.
He was especially puzzled, and concerned when Morgan actually did start crying. But there was nothing he could do to answer any questions he had right now, because providing comfort to the distraught child who was currently in his arms always came first over his own curious concern.
The next several minutes the only sounds in the room were that of Morgan practically sobbing in his arms, the occasional whirring of DUM-E or U's gears, and Tony murmuring in his daughter's ear. He really wanted to know what had gotten her so upset that she would come to him, and sob like this. But her comfort was still his priority so getting an answer would have to wait awhile until she was calm again. However he would not have to wait as long as he thought he would. The elevator's doors opened once more, and Pepper emerged from the car.
Tony's eyes met his wife's as she silently crossed the room but did not alert Morgan of her presence. She raised a finger to her lips when he started to ask her what was going on.
"I'll explain later," she mouthed slowly, repeating when he didn't seem to understand.
He nodded, finally understanding what she had said to him. He watched, she turned around, slipped back into the elevator. She gave him a sad smile as the doors closed, and once again he was left alone with their daughter.
"Sorry," Morgan said, pulling back and wiping her eyes several minutes later, "Kinda embarrassing huh? Me blubbering like a baby like that?"
Tony took her face between his hands, "Don't be. Don't you ever be sorry or embarrassed for how you're feeling. Do you hear me, Morgano?"
Morgan nodded, "Okay, Daddy."
He kissed her forehead, and pulled her to him again, "So, you want to tell me what's going on? What's got you so upset?"
"Would you be upset with me if I said, um no I don't want to tell you, Daddy?"
"No, I won't be upset if you don't want to tell me. I'll be concerned, yes, but upset with you, no. So are you okay now?"
The girl nodded, "I th-think so."
"Do you want to stay down here with me for awhile or are you going to go back upstairs to your Mom?"
"I uh think I am going back to Mama. If that's okay?"
"It's fine, Mo. Whatever you want to do."
She pulled back, and looked at the computer monitors, "Sorry I interrupted whatever it is you're doing."
"Oh, this?" Tony said, pointing at the screens, "Is nothing. I was just fudging around with some new ideas to help your aunts and uncles fight the next bad guy who comes calling." Thankfully the world was calm right now, and no supervillains had presented themselves lately. The Avengers were actually getting a lengthy and welcomed break.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Okay, well I'm going to go back upstairs now. Okay?"
"Sure."
Morgan smiled at him, and untangled herself before slowly walking over to the elevator, "Daddy?"
"Yeah, Mo-Mo?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, Morgan."
Pepper wasn't sure if Morgan would want to talk after she returned from the workshop, but she decided to wait for her anyway. When she heard the elevator about thirty minutes after she had returned from downstairs, she stood up, and went over to it. The moment Morgan exited the compartment, she was there waiting with open arms, and the girl went to them the moment she saw them.
"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Pepper asked her while they were still hugging.
Morgan nodded, "Yeah... yeah I'm okay. Seeing Daddy helped, like a lot."
"Good, good. I hoped it would."
Morgan looked at her, "Will you tell me the rest of what happened?"
"Are you sure, Mo? We can talk about this some other time if--"
"No, Mama, I want to hear about the rest of what happened. Please?"
Pepper sighed, and nodded, giving in to her request. She held out her hand, "Come on, let's get comfortable before I tell you the rest of it. Do you want to go back to your room?"
"Uh, can we go to yours and Daddy's room instead please?"
"Sure we can if you really want to. Come on," Pepper said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
They walked down the hallway, and were delayed a few minutes as Pepper checked to make sure the younger two Starks were comfortably asleep. Morgan waited patiently for her, even peeking into the rooms of her siblings while her mother pulled up their blankets to cover them, and lightly kissed their heads. She smiled, remembering the nights her own mother did that, believing she was asleep.
Those kinds of nights had come most often after her Dad died, and she supposed, her mother just needed to be sure she was okay during the long nights.
Pepper emerged from Eva's room, and quietly closed the door before she wrapped her arm around her oldest's shoulders again, "Come on, let's go finish with our talk." She was only too happy to wrap her arms around the girl as they laid down on the bed because she knew Morgan would need the physical comfort and assurance to hear the rest of this story.