Work Text:
2026
Tony knows for sure he's never loved anyone so deeply and unconditionally before.
He loves Pepper, of course. He's loved his wife for a good bunch of years now. But nothing could have prepared him for this. He can't stop staring at her, so pure, so innocent, so beautiful. The perfect genetic combination of Pepper and himself.
She's only six years old and is sitting happily leaning against him on the big white coach in the living room. She has half her body drapped all around him, that little hand resting where the ark reactor used to be. They had been watching some Disney movie about a blue fish, but Tony hasn't been paying a lot of attention to it. By this hour in the day he's exhausted. Being a father is the hardest work he's ever done. Beats saving the world. Yeah, that hard. He smiles to himself again. He wouldn't change it for nothing.
It's a bit late and the little one is starting to feel heavy against him, struggling in keeping her little brown eyes open. Tony gently fondles her back.
"Hey, peanut I think it's time for you to hit the bed"
Those gorgeous brown eyes open at once and look at him defiantly.
"The movie is still on, Daddy. I want to see how it ends" Then she yawns.
"But you have been sleepy for nearly half an hour Maria. I'm sure you don't even know what's happened to that fish since it ended in the big aquarium. Tomorrow's Saturday, we can see it again and maybe if she's feeling a lot better, Mommy will join us." He tries to convince her.
"The name's Doryyyyyy Dad. You promise?" the child asks hopeful.
"Of course, princess"
Her little hands go to her eyes and pries them open. Cheeks flushed, freckles all across her little button of a nose.
"Okay. But I'm not too tired to hear my bed time story"
Tony laughs and tousles the reddish brown hair of his daughter with delight.
"You are the best negotiator, baby. Just like your mum. Okay. But come on, let's go"
Tony asks Friday to switch off the TV and all the lights in the living room as he carries Maria in his arms. She laughs happily at him and a little strand of reddish brown hair in a braid brushes against his shirt. He looks at her again, all big eyes, sweet toothless smile…
She's so beautiful and special that Tony's sure she's a miracle.
Once in her room he helps her put on her Iron Man pajamas. He's never seen so much pink glitter and gold stars decorating an Iron Man suit before but he's so proud that she loves them so much that he doesn't even care about the aesthetics of little girl pajamas nowadays. They brush their teeth together in the main bathroom and once she's ready he pulls back the sheets of the bed for her and she crawls in, shifting until she finds herself comfortable.
"Now, don't go Daddy, tell me an Iron Man story! Please?" Maria looks at him pleadingly showing him the spot where she wants him to sit near her.
Tony melts a little more inside. Maria loves the sugar coated tales he makes up about his exploits as a superhero. He tries to make them fun and exciting but leaves out all the dangerous and scary parts. She's too young to know the truth.
"Okay, princess. Your wish is my command. So listen to that time that Iron Man saved an entire city… This was way before you were born…"
When he ends the bed time story some minutes later, his daughter has taken his right hand between her chubby little ones, she's gotten up and is smiling brightly, looking at him like he is a wonder out of earth.
"You are the best Dad in the entire world!" she says vehemently.
Tony's heart melts in the spot. He's unable to contain his feelings and maintain his cool. Two pairs of big brown eyes are staring at each other full of the purest kind of love. He doesn't even notice, but two single tears are rolling down his cheeks as he swallows hard, unable to breathe for a few seconds.
Maria sees the tears in his father eyes and tries to get one of them with her hand.
"Are you okay Daddy, are you in pain?" She suddenly asks worried.
The voice of his princess brings him back to reality. His little girl is confused, her nose wrinkled and the freckles in her face all the more visible because of her furrowed brows.
"No my princess. Daddy's just so happy" He tries to reassure her but his voice trembles. "I'm the happiest I've ever been in all my life because I have you at my side Maria"
She smiles broadley at him, eyes full of wonder.
"I love you so much, Daddy"
"I love you too, sweetheart"
He gets up and helps her lay down and put her blankets on again, kissing her goodbye in the forehead. Then switches off the lights and leaves the room.
He's still in shock and hardly breathing when he reaches his and Pepper's bedroom. Oh God, he thinks, nobody told him about this neverending river of unconditional love for his little girl. It's owerhelming. She has him wrapped around her little finger.
An extremely tired Pepper is waiting for him sitting in her part of the bed with a red nose, watering eyes and a tissue in her hand.
"Did you just send Maria to bed? It's a bit late for her" She asks him, voice still raspy. She even coughs a little.
Tony's still lost in his own thoughts as he enters the room and sits beside her ocupying his own part of the bed.
"Tony? Don't get too close or you'll catch the cold too. And one of us needs to look after Maria we can't be both sick at the same time…" She stops when his proximity allows her to see his face. "Honey, are you okay?"
Finally her husband snaps out of his thoughts.
"Pep, yeah I'm okay… I… I just kissed Maria goodnight. It's just… She's awesome you know?"
"Yeah, that I know… Thanks for taking such good care of her while I'm here in bed tired as fuck. I'm much better than yesterday, by the way."
"Good honey. Maria missed you tonight. She misses your cooking the most. Let's say I did two omelettes for dinner and you know how bad that can go…"
They both laughed.
"But you know I love taking care of our little peanut. Weird coming from me uh?"
"No Tony, it's not weird. You love her so much. You are a great father. Give yourself the credit. All your worrries about being capable of raising a child had no reason whatsoever. You are not your dad…You've never been..."
He looked at her intently and locked a strand of red hair around her ear.
"You know what's funny? Our daughter just said to me… She she said…" He choked. There was that overwhelming sensation in the pit of his stomach again.
"What?" Pepper asked, a little worry in her voice. "It must have been something big for you to be like this... You're nearly shaking, honey. Come here…"
His wife engulfed him in a big hug, cold be damned and all that. He needed a hug and she would give it to him. She calmly comforted him, stroking his back soothingly. After a few minutes he finally felt better dealing with his emotions and let go of her.
"Our daughter is incredible, Pepper. Wonderful. But somehow that's natural, because she's ours and she couldn't be any other way. Specially because she knows…"
"Can you stop rambling and tell me right away what has you in this states of euphoria?"
"She told me I'm the best dad in the entire world. She said it like that. Right away: You are the best dad in the entire world"
He was so happy and puzzled. It was funny. Pepper looked amazed and then smiled broadley at him.
"And you were shaking like a leaf because you couldn't believe her, right? You're on the verge of tears, conflicted because you haven't allowed yourself to believe her words. Am I right?"
He nodded affirmatively ashamed of his own trust issues. She caressed his cheek tenderly.
"Drunks and children always speak the truth, Tony. You think you would know better than anyone…"
He smiled at the pun, remembering the last time he was that drunk around her as to say something he later would regret: the birthday party and the palladium poisoning. He'll have to ask Pepper what did he say that's so amusing to her.
"So… Do you think is true?" He asked instead. "I mean, she's so little. Barely six years old… So innocent yet… She can't really know…"
"Precisely, if she said it is because she feels it from her heart. It's your daughter, Tony and she adores you. It can't be possible you didn't notice how much she loves you. You can't be a more of a Daddy's girl than Maria is."
"Yeah, of course I noticed… I adore her too. But hearing her say it with that look of adoration on her little face... It was so amazing, Pepper. You should have been there… I…"
Pepper leaned into him and kissed him in the lips.
"I'm so glad we have such a smart and honest daughter. And I hope this serves as a lesson Mr. Stark. I Hope you remember once and for all that you deserve to be happy. And that you are capable of the best. And no, I don't wanna hear you contradict me. I'm right in this. Do you hear me?"
"Yeah Pep. I…"
"Good night, Tony" She said kissing him again. "I'm exhausted, honey. Let's get some sleep"
Then she rested her head on the pillow and got comfortable in her preferred sleeping position.
Tony was about to open his mouth again but in the last second, he decided against it and instead, moved lying closer to Pepper, wrapping her into his arms in search of sleep. Both intertwined in the center of the bed. His wife smiled slightly, eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of his embrace. She fell asleep thinking about how funny it was that the loving words of their daughter had had such an effect on Tony. She thought that life was strangely perfect for them in that quiet moment of happiness and wished for their good luck to never change.