Work Text:
“Have you two ever considered getting Peggy a therapist?”
Holy hell, when did Pepper video call him?
Tony turned the lab stool around to face the music, “Pepper! To what do I owe this call? I reviewed and signed all the stuff you sent over yesterday.”
Pep just laughed, “You know, Tony, we are friends. And friends can call each other without needing to talk about work.”
The scientist just turned back around to the other bank of holo-screens, “Yes, I suppose. But usually with you, there’s work attached to the call. So c’mon, Pep. Spill!”
It turned out that Pepper did have work to talk about. There was a company in Estonia (of all places!) that had something to offer to SI. They wanted both Pepper and Tony to fly out and meet with them next week. They were both on the fence about it. On top of that, SHIELD was trying to get some tech updated but they didn’t necessarily want to pay fees. Tony promised to sic Steve on Fury.
Despite everything else they had talked about that afternoon, Tony still couldn’t get Pepper’s initial question off his mind. Steve noticed that night.
Tony gave both of the kids green beans, knowing that Peggy preferred the carrots. And then, Tony proceeded to eat his salad and turn down ice cream. During the movie (The Incredibles, because why not), his eyes just kind of glazed over. Peter was trying to get his attention to ask about the science side of the movie and all his husband responded with were ‘yeah’ and ‘sure, squirt.’
They were getting ready for bed when Steve had finally had enough.
“I’m pregnant, Tony.”
Boy, did that ever get his attention.
Tony whirled around to face his husband, “Steve, I am almost positive that that is physically impossible considering that you almost never bott- okay, okay. What is it really?”
“You’ve been ignoring everything I’ve been saying all night, sweetheart. I feel like I should be asking you that question.” Steve came around the bed and wrapped Tony in a hug.
Tony sighed but knew he’d have to fess up at some point. Might as well make it now instead of later. “Pepper called me today. She had the normal business stuff to talk about. But she also mentioned Peggy.
“Actually, that’s how she got my attention. She asked me if we had ever considered finding Peggy a therapist. She started the conversation with it and we never came back to the subject.
“But she got me thinking. I know we initially ruled out a therapist because Peggy wouldn’t talk, but I think now that she’s talking more and more, reconsidering might be a good idea. We’re kind of out of other options here, Steve.”
Steve lifted his head, “ Honey, did you hit your head down in the shop today or something?”
“What the hell? No!” Tony jerked his head up and shot an affronted look at his husband, “It was something that we had considered a long time ago and I thought it might be worth looking at again. I only brought it up because Pepper got me thinking about it. If anyone is to blame for the subject, it’s her.”
Steve gave a fond smile and a small chuckle.
Fighting his way out of the embrace to face the super-soldier, Tony huffed. “I’m being serious here, Steve! I think Pepper might have been on to something. Peggy talked after HYDRA, but we know there’s still issues there, right? Well, I’m just saying that now might be a good time to start looking for a therapist.”
“Okay, okay!” Steve held his hands up in a surrender motion. “If you think Peggy would be willing to talk, I say we go for it. If it doesn’t work, no harm no foul, right?”
Flopping down on the bed, Tony grinned at Steve as he sighed. “Finally, soldier. Now, it’s been a long day. Get down here with me!”
Grinning, Steve obediently got into bed. “Sir, yes sir!”
.
.
3 Months Later
It had taken them awhile to find Peggy a therapist who was willing to work with her and that she felt comfortable with. After three, they almost gave up. But Peggy’s nightmares were still happening on a fairly frequent basis. Steve and Tony both knew they couldn’t just let life continue this way; their little girl was suffering and they were gonna find a way to solve this. Finding a therapist that was a good fit was tough, but everyone knew it was going to be totally worth it.
The fourth therapist was a perfect match. Peggy walked into the office, clinging to Steve, practically on the verge of tears. They started talking to the doctor and it was like her first day of preschool all over again. She didn’t even notice her parents had snuck out the door.
Dr. Turner was fantastic. She didn’t specialize in children so when Bruce had recommended her, the couple had been skeptical. However, after the first session, everyone knew they had to look no further.
Peggy was sleeping without nightmares and talking more and more. She usually wouldn’t tell Steve or Tony but if they told Dr. Turner, she’d wheedle it out by the end of the session. Most of Peggy’s fears seemed to stem from her life before she’d been adopted. There was the problem of her mother just leaving her at the firestation, but until now, no one had realized how far back the issue went.
From what everyone could piece together, Peggy had been raped, multiple times, by her mother’s boyfriend. When it got hard to keep her quiet, her mom dumped her on the steps of the firestation. From there, Peggy’s main concern seemed to be about Steve and Tony abandoning her or getting sick of her. They did their best to assuage these fears but everyone knew that time would be their best friend going forward. The family lived by the motto “actions speak louder than words.”
In the years that followed, nothing was ever perfect. Not that their lives had ever been close to perfect in the first place, everyone made it perfectly clear to Peggy that none of this was her fault. Nothing was perfect but they were getting there. The nightmares were less and less frequent, only really showing up if something had triggering had happened that day.
Tony was hoping that by the time Peggy went to college things would have settled down at least a little bit. He’d probably turn Iron Man over to Riri by that point (she was already building her own version of the suit) [he’d wanted to give the suit to Peter, but Petey had Spider-Man], although getting Steve to retire from the Avengers would be a totally different story.