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Tony walked into the dark room and looked down at his phone, wondering why Peter had sent him here.
Suddenly, the lights flicked on and Tony was greeted with the smiles of everyone he loved.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY ---!” Through the cacophony of voices, he could distinctly hear Pepper and Happy and most of the Avengers yelling “Tony”, Rhodey yelling “Tones”, Clint yelling “Tin Man” (asshole) and best of all, Peter and Morgan yelling “Dad” as loud as they could.
Yes, this is why they did it all. For these moments, light and carefree, when no one was worrying…
He had been absolutely smothered with gifts – both serious and prankful. Clint had given him Captain America boxers coated in red, blue, and silver glitter. Cake had been had, movies were being watched, and everyone was laughing.
Tony needed a quick break, outside. He loved them all but for a moment he just wanted to be quiet and look out over the Compound’s lawn, lit only by moonlight and stars.
So, he slipped out of his own birthday party, leaned against the railing of the balcony and just breathed. He could feel the breeze ruffle his hair and he could smell the grass and the trees. He closed his eyes and just stood there, feeling, if only for a moment, at peace with the world.
“Nice night.”
Tony slowly half-opened an eye to see a hand on the railing to his right. The diamond on her finger glittered softly between two pale yellow citrines.
Tony looked up at MJ. It was hard to believe that she and Peter had been married for over a year now… or that either of them was even remotely old enough to be married at all. It seemed only yesterday that Pete was just an excited fourteen-year-old.
She cleared her throat. “I got you a gift.”
“Gift giving time’s over. Wait till next year,” he said, while simultaneously grinning and reaching for it.
She flipped him off, but still handed him the gift, a large, flat rectangle wrapped in red paper and tied with a gold ribbon bow.
Tony tore the paper off, revealing a large frame holding… a family tree.
MJ had always had a research kick. It didn’t surprise him that she had gotten into genealogy. It seemed right up her alley. He moved closer to the window to see the names written neatly in her tight, tidy print.
He smiled when he saw his and Pepper’s name, connected by a dotted line. He looked up at her parent’s names, and then at his.
Only Maria’s was there.
His eyes watered and his heart burned a bit with a fierce, fatherly love for the girl – no, woman – beside him, and deep, long-deserved feeling of justice.
He looked up at her and saw that the ghost of a smile. While he was looking at the tree, Peter had wandered out to join them, standing behind his wife and putting his chin on her shoulder.
Peter broke the silence. “Howard was too shit a dad to be on this family tree.”
Tony nodded, once, not trusting himself to speak. God, he loved these kids. He ducked his head back down to look at the tree again. Neatly written next to his name, linked as his siblings, were Rhodey - Damn straight - and most of the Avengers.
Steve and Bucky were linked by that ever so prevalent married-couple line. So were Carol and Maria, with their daughter, Monica just below them.
Morgan’s name was straight down from his and Pepper’s. Peter’s and Harley’s and Nebula’s were there too, linked just as they should be – as his kids. Tony loved this, seeing his family laid out just as he felt it in his heart. It warmed his heart and he grinned and kept looking – Peter’s parents, Uncle Ben, and Aunt May were marked down as Peter’s parents too. Aunt May had two dotted marriage lines – one for Uncle Ben and one for Happy, and was also marked as Pepper’s sister. The pair had grown close over bottles of rosé and complaining about the messes “their boys” got into.
Right on the dotted line next to Peter’s name was MJ’s… and…
A tiny black line.
Pointing down.
Edward Anthony Parker
He looked up at the pair, who were now smiling broadly. “You… you… you two? Are having a kid?”
Peter, somehow, grinned even wider. “It’s gonna be a boy!” he whispered loudly.
Tony could feel the tears well in his eyes. He looked down at the tree again.
Edward Anthony Parker
“Edward for Ned, and Anthony for you.” Peter explained.
“My middle name’s Edward.”
MJ snorted. “Double whammy then!”
“You named your kid after me?”
Peter grinned. “Damn straight!”
“Oh my god. I’m going to be a grandfather???”
If he spent the rest of his party showing everyone the beautiful family tree his daughter-in-law had made for him and watching their priceless expressions of realization, well, he deserves it.