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Pepper moves in when he's nine years old and nearly out of his first year of real school. He's not sure what it means, not even after Tony explains it to him.
"You know how we love each other? Well, there's a lot of different types of love. Like, the way you love me is different to how you love your friend Ned. And the way I love Pepper is different from how I love you. It's not more or less, just different."
"Like boyfriend and girlfriend? A girl in class told me about that."
Tony chuckles because he's an adult and it feels weird to consider Pepper his girlfriend, but for his nine-year-old son, it'll suffice, "Exactly. So I wanted to ask her to come live here with us. What do you think, bud?"
He's also the kind of father who doesn't want to make any big decisions without some input from his child.
"I think that'd be cool," Peter says, still hooked on the word 'cool' (thanks Clint), "Pepper's really nice. Where is she going to sleep? She can have my bed."
"If she says yes, then she'd be sharing my room. Your room is all yours."
"Oh, okay."
She does agree and moves in a couple of weeks later. It's not much of a change, in all honesty. She'd already been spending some nights over and would often be by for dinner, and she spends all of her days in the building for work. The main difference is the permanency of it.
Peter isn't effected until he goes to his dad's room after a nightmare in search of comfort. He opens the bedroom door and Tony is slowly waking from Jarvis' prompting, and Pepper is sleeping on the other side of the bed. Peter hesitates in the doorway.
"Sorry, dad," he doesn't want to disturb Pepper, "I'll, um, I can..." It doesn't seem like there's room for him anymore, this isn't his place. It's Pepper's now.
Tony waves him over and scootches back until he's pressed up against her, leaving empty space between him and the edge of the bed. He pats the spot, "Come here, kiddo."
He closes the door and climbs into the bed. He presses his face in his dad's chest and an arm is thrown around him. Old nightmares fade away. Whispers of an old name fade. In the morning Pepper is out of the bed, but she's in the kitchen making coffee and she pours him a bowl of cereal. He wants to apologize, but he's scared of bringing up the subject.
She smiles kindly and doesn't mention the previous night.
She's around much more often and that's okay. He likes her loads. She's smart and funny and is always nice to him. Sometimes when he's not sure how to say something or ask for something, he'll go to her instead of Tony. His reaction is always to provide an instant solution, but she'll let him talk. (The other Avengers, of course, are no better.)
When he wants to get advice for a rude classmate, calling him a 'charity case', he knows Tony will try to get that kid kicked out of school. He goes to Pepper who honestly tells him that sometimes people are cruel, but that kindness is the best retaliation. But reminds him that if ever the kid lays a hand on him, to tell her right away.
No one does, of course. Being a Stark gives him some immunity, but people being passive-aggressive isn't exactly fun to deal with.
He's almost eleven when they get married.
They don't treat it like a huge thing. Tony tells him it won't change anything and Peter believes him. Pepper already lives with them, and now she has a special ring. It doesn't feel like a big milestone.
He's one of Tony's groomsmen, Rhodey being the best man, and he follows the Colonel's lead through it all. He wears the suit and bowtie and smiles for all the pictures. The one that sits framed in Tony's lab is one with Pepper, in a beautiful white gown, leaning against Tony who's holding Peter in his arms.
It's a relatively small wedding, filled with only those they care for most. It's nothing like a celebrity wedding. Peter knows everyone there and he takes time to talk to all of them. He has a great time chatting with unofficial Aunt's and Uncle's and then playing with his cousins. Even Thor has made it down, and it's a very Avengers-filled wedding.
They keep the ceremony short and the reception is held at the Avengers Tower for an easy commute. Peter doesn't really understand the concept of dancing, but he tries his best. At one point Tony pulls him onto the dance floor for a 'father-son' dance. Then Pepper intervenes and twirls him away from his dad.
It's a beautiful event and then life moves on.
There are a few extra throw pillows around their home and towels he's not allowed to use, but his dad still sometimes reads him to bed and cuddles him after a nightmare and takes him down for lab time to teach him all sorts of things. Ultimately, nothing feels very different except now when he walks down the halls people address Pepper as 'Mrs. Stark' instead of 'Miss Potts'.
Peter likes that a lot. He likes that she's a Stark now too, that she's family. He likes having so much family when he'd once had none at all.
Then things get a little confusing.
It's Saturday and his dad is making lasagna, one of Peter's favourites, and he's humming under his breath as he's layering pasta and stirring his homemade sauce. He lets him help with chopping veggies and holds him up a few times to let him stir, which he always does, but there's something extra happy about him today and Peter's not sure why.
Pepper pops in throughout the day, giving both of them a kiss and that's also normal, but she's so happy she's practically glowing. She seems well, although he knows she's thrown up a few times in the past couple of weeks and when he asks about it she just smiles and tells him she's okay.
They chat throughout dinner and the food is delicious and then they sit him down between them in the living room and it feels a little like he's in trouble though Tony's never been hard on him no matter what he's done wrong. Ned's told him about being 'grounded', but Tony will always just sit him down and talk about it and he likes that better, he thinks.
"Hey, baby, we have some good news to share with you," Tony says.
The pressure falls off his shoulders.
"What is it?"
The two adults share a look and a smile.
"Pepper's pregnant, you're going to be a big brother!"
Oh. He knows what pregnancy is - he's read about them in a lot of his books (the African savanna elephant's pregnancy lasts up to 22 months). Also, Laura Barton was pregnant when he first met her, and now he has a new cousin called Nathan.
He points to her stomach, "There's a baby?"
She nods, her smile contagious, "Yes, going to be thirteen weeks tomorrow."
Tony puts an arm around his shoulders and tucks him into his side, "That means we have a good few months to get ready for this new baby. And that means I'm going to be using you as a shield against her wrath once the hormones hit. Because no one can get mad at this face." Tony kisses his cheek, and Peter giggles as his goatee tickles against his skin.
Pepper rolls her eyes.
Not that he doesn't already do that.
(When she pops into the lab with a frown and her hands on her hips, Tony wraps his arms around Peter and says, "my son insisted I show him how to power a clock with a potato, blame him not me!"
She sighs and says, "do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Come on, Pep, it's only like seven o'clock."
"It's ten, Tony!")
"The baby comes out at how many weeks?" Peter asks.
"It's about fourty weeks," Pepper answers. "Then you're going to have a little sister or brother."
"Wow!"
The thing is, he's not not excited. He's genuinely confused.
Because they call him a big brother, but he's not really sure what that means. And especially what that means for him.
He has a big sister, but he's here and she's at the Raft and it feels different.
He asks Ned what it means to be a big brother, and he shrugs because he's an only child and that's fine by him.
"All I know is that babies cry a lot. They're not a lot of fun."
His cousins live far away and he can't ask them. He decides to send a letter to his sister, hoping for some guidance.
Dear 8-5,
Dad told me that Pepper is pregnant. He says I'm going to be a big brother, but I'm not sure what it means. Do I have to go away? Lila, Cooper, and Nate all live together, but I'm not dad's real son, what if he only wants the real baby? What if Pepper only wants her baby here?
He thinks that's what's hurting, deep in his heart. If they have their own baby, by blood and name, what's the point of Peter?
It doesn't feel like jealousy. He finds that word while searching online. His dad lets him use a tablet in his room or in the living room, but he knows that Jarvis is always monitoring him. He searches things about siblings and they often refer to jealousy and that doesn't feel accurate. It's not about having Tony's attention, necessarily, or about disliking babies. He loves his cousin Nathan and he's a year and a half now.
Back when he'd been held captive by Fénix, he'd learned a lot about fear.
He'd been a prisoner without knowing it; made into a weapon he refused to become, tortured and manipulated. It had taken a long while for him to distinguish a malicious hand to a comforting one. Tony had been there every step of the way. Now he thinks he might be something close to 'normal'. Amongst his classmates he's eccentric, but that's mostly the Stark name. Amongst his family, he's a part of the pack.
He thinks this might be fear.
Queen Cobra, his sister, responds to most of his letters. He sends two a month, on the fifteenth and the last day. After the first few months of enthusiastic letter sending, he'd realized it was best to take his time and have actual things to say each time he brought pen down to paper.
This is one letter she responds to.
Dear Itsy Bitsy,
You are the Stark baby. Another is just another. No true King would abandon his firstborn for blood. Trust me, Itsy Bitsy.
He does trust her and it eases some of his nerves. She's always been a woman of little words and he understands what she's saying. It's just a little hard to believe.
Pepper isn't family, necessarily, and that's the most confusing part for him. They're all 'Stark's; but what does that make Pepper to him? If he's the brother to her unborn child, what does that make them? He knows it, theoretically. She would be his mother, half-mother? Step-mom? Something like that. But that's not a conversation that's been had and he's not sure what to do with a mom. He's still not sure what it means to have a dad.
It's a lot, at eleven years old, to try and figure out what family truly is.
Traditional... what is traditional?
He has a single father who's adopted him, an Aunt known as the Black Widow that scares the world but that wants the best for him, superpowered Aunts and Uncles, and the person his father loves that also cares for him deeply. It's like a spider's web of weirdness that no one can understand but them.
He can hear her throw up every day; his hearing is very good.
After learning of the pregnancy and knowing what it means, he gets out of bed and follows the sound. His dad's room has an ensuite bathroom, and he slips into it quietly. His dad stays in bed sleeping soundly.
"Pepper? Are you okay?"
She's sitting next to the toilet, back against the bathtub. Her face is pale and she wipes a hand across her mouth. "I'm alright, sweetheart. What are you doing awake at this hour?"
"I heard you being sick." He carefully closes the door behind him, hoping not to wake up his dad. "Is this the morning sickness?"
She nods, "Unfortunately it's not just during the mornings. You should get back to bed. I'll be fine."
He slowly approaches and sits down beside her, watching her face carefully, "Do you need anything? Water or medicine?"
Her face is wet from tears, effects of throwing up the contents of her stomach. She shakes her head, "I'm okay, Peter. You shouldn't lose sleep for this, I'm really okay. Please go back to bed."
"It's okay, Pepper." He draws his knees up to his chest and wraps his arms around them, "I can stay awake with you. School's boring and always makes me sleepy anyway. Is this normal for pregnancies?"
Pepper nods, "From what I've read it's normal. I have a feeling they downplay the negatives to convince woman having kids is a good thing."
"If the baby's like you, it'll be perfect," he says, not realizing what the words truly mean.
She leans against him, head resting on his, and she laughs softly, "You're a sweet boy."
He doesn't think so. He's jealous, he thinks, or afraid. Both are bad. This baby is going to take his place and it scares him but it's okay. The baby deserves the world. Tony and Pepper are wonderful, they deserve their own baby. He's just temporary; that's what it means to be the Defect.
He stays still and eventually she falls asleep against him. He doesn't move and lets her rest. She needs it more than he does.
In a couple of hours, Tony steps into the bathroom, startled to find them sitting on the floor. He points to Pepper, sleeping soundly on his shoulder. Tony sighs and kneels in front of her, gently waking her and guiding her back to their bed. Peter stands on his own and leaves the room quietly and slips back into his own bedroom for an hour of sleep before he has to head off to school.
He wonders if he's going to be sent to the mutant school. What happens to kids when they're not wanted anymore? The internet talks about boarding schools a lot.
Weeks pass and they don't send him away.
Pepper's getting rounder and he can hear the soft patter of a heartbeat from somewhere inside her stomach.
Tony lets him help paint the nursery a soft purple and green. It's the room right next to Peter's, and it's only more confusing because he'd thought the baby would be taking his room. He also spends a lot of time with Tony and Pepper as they're browsing the internet for everything they need for a baby; a stroller, a crib, diapers, clothes, dozens and what feels like hundreds of odds and ends. They let him point out things he likes and they add it to their cart.
Things come in boxes and he helps his dad build them and it's probably his favourite part of all of this.
They also start 'baby-proofing', which means adding weird locks to all the cupboards around the loft. Peter's not sure how they're meant to deter a baby, but dad says they'll work. He hears him laughing with Pepper one morning as he struggles to open the fridge.
"For fuck's sake. I have doctorates, I should be able to open my own fridge."
Pepper laughs but doesn't say anything in response.
"Remind me to thank Peter for being the easiest kid in the world. I didn't have to baby-proof anything for him."
"I think he's the exception to the rule. Speaking of Peter," he stops on his way to the kitchen to hear the rest of what she'd have to say, feeling his stomach clench in fear, "have you talked to him about all this recently?"
"Not sure what you mean." The fridge finally opens and he cheers for himself.
"Just... I don't know. Call it a soon-to-be mother's instincts, but sometimes I get the feeling he's a little bit sad. I don't know if this is reminding him of that woman, or something like that."
"Eight-five? Maybe. I'll talk to him later tonight, see if he has anything to share."
"Thanks. I don't want to overwhelm him, I know this is a lot. Everything I've been reading says to make sure to show the first child a lot of affection to make sure they don't feel like they're being replaced, and I know he can be quite sensitive and I'd hate for this to be making him unhappy."
"I'll take care of it," Tony promises, appeasing his concerned wife. "Now let me chug my coffee and figure out what to feed him this morning."
"We both know you're going to end up giving him Lucky Charms since you can't say no to that face."
Peter decides it's safe to make his entrance and settles on a stool next to the kitchen island and munches on the aforementioned Lucky Charms. He's never put up a fuss about eating his veggies and various other healthy things to maintain his metabolism, so breakfast tends to be his meal of choice.
He spends the hours at school anxious about whatever his conversation with Tony is going to entail.
It hadn't sounded bad, but that doesn't guarantee anything.
Happy drives him home from school and doesn't point out how quiet he's being, although he can see him looking at him through the rearview mirror.
"See you tomorrow, squirt."
"Bye, Happy."
He's not sure where Pepper is, but she works strange hours sometimes and it's not unusual for her not to be around when he gets home from school. And other times when his dad's sick from all the bad dreams and needs some alone time, Pepper or Happy will be there to look after him. He's never minded that, since he has his own bad dreams and his dad will let him stay home from school if he needs to.
Today his dad's making his absolute favourite; homemade pizza. There's bacon and spinach on his half while his dad prefers mushroom with his bacon. He's delegated to homework duty while Tony cooks and they chat with comfortable familiarity. After placing the pizza in the oven, Tony sits next to him and watches him fill out his homework for a short while.
Then he sighs and reaches out to tug the pencil out of his hand. He doesn't set it down, only taps the eraser end against the counter.
"Pepper brought up a concern to me this morning, and I had Jarvis do some digging. You know I value your privacy, especially with whatever you search up online, so long as you come to me with anything important, but he found a couple of things that were worth discussing."
Peter doesn't say anything, only waits for him to continue.
"We thought at first you were confused about the baby meaning you'd have another sibling, but Jarvis told me some of the things you were looking up and it seems you're just confused about all of it, is that fair of me to say?"
His lips are dry and he tentatively nods.
He knows what his searches have been; where do kids go when they aren't wanted anymore? Can you be adopted twice?
"Is there a reason you think I'm going to send you away? Did someone say something to you to make you think that?"
He shrugs, not intending to answer but his dad stays quiet and it forces him to speak.
"No one said anything," he says, "I... I know you'd rather keep the real baby. I'm okay with that."
Tony takes in a slow, steady breath.
"And what would make you think you aren't my real baby?"
"I mean... I'm not?"
"You think so?" Tony says, moreso to himself. He stands, "Give me a minute, I'll be right back."
Peter watches him leave the kitchen and then picks up his discarded pencil to keep working on his homework. Tony comes back about three minutes later with a paper in his hands that he lays on the table on top of his math sheet forcing him to refocus on him. He takes back his seat.
"Do you see this line right here?" He points to the bottom of the page, "That's my name. And that's me saying that I'm officially your dad, which means you're officially my baby. No if's, and's, or but's about it. You're as much mine as this baby is going to be. Listen, I love you, Peter, and I don't need a paper to tell me that you're my son. There hasn't been a single minute where I've wanted anything different. This baby is only going to make our family bigger, not different."
"But..."
"What is it, kiddo?"
"But if the baby is yours and Pepper's, isn't that confusing?"
It seems to startle Tony, who's silent for a long moment. He reaches out to turn Peter on his chair so they can better face each other. He runs his fingers through his hair and leans forward to kiss his forehead.
"Is this about Pepper?" He asks.
He shrugs.
"You've been good with her moving in and the wedding; I thought you liked her. Sometimes I think you like her more than me."
"I do like her!" He protests, "I just..."
Tony clicks his tongue, catching on, "Do you want her to be your mom too?"
He looks away and shrugs again. It's not untrue, but it feels like asking a lot. He already has his dad, he doesn't need a mom. But he thinks if the baby is both of their's, maybe he can be too. If they aren't sending him away, then it would be odd for him and the baby to share a dad but not a mom. He knows there are all sorts of families out there, but his has never been normal and he's still uncertain where he fits at times.
"Hm," Tony hums softly, "You know, there's no harm in asking her." When his response is a frown, he continues, "She loves you so much, I think she'd be happy if you wanted her to be your mom. If you talk to her about it, maybe we can make it happen."
"I don't want her to think she has to because of the baby," he says. He shifts in his seat but Tony is holding him still.
It's uncomfortable, airing out all these issues he's been holding deep in his chest for so many weeks. It seems obvious that this unborn child is so much more important, but the way his dad looks at him always makes him feel important and it's hard to wrap his mind around it all.
"Pepper has never done anything she didn't want to, kiddo."
"I suppose," he hesitantly agrees.
"She'll be in late tonight, but tomorrow after school we can talk to her. What do you say?"
"Okay."
He doesn't sleep well that night.
His bed is warm and his pillow is the perfect mix of firm and squishy. The city sounds he's grown to appreciate for the simple fact they meant freedom suddenly feel too loud. He tosses and turns, tosses and turns...
He loves Eight-five, dearly, considers her a sister, yet when he thinks of her his mind reminds him that she was his replacement. When Fénix wanted nothing to do with the weapon that wouldn't fight, they had cast him aside like the failed experiment that he was and found something better to take his place. He was only kept alive to be a test subject for their whims. That hadn't been her fault, she had done nothing wrong.
This baby hasn't done anything wrong, but he fears it.
Halfway through the night, he gives up on trying to get some sleep and heads out to the living room. As he's making his way down the hall, he can see a bit of light from where it opens into the living room and carefully walks further, wondering who'd turned on the lamp. He peers around the corner and spots a familiar head of blonde hair and exhales with relief. It's not some stranger or burglar.
He shuffles further into the room and tries not to startle her, in case she's asleep. The TV is on the news but muted. When he's almost next to the couch she turns her head to him, eyes wide with surprise. Her smile quickly turns sheepish, and she sets the half-eaten pickle back into the jar on her lap.
"Hey, sweetie. What are you doing out of bed?"
"I couldn't sleep," he admits.
Her expression softens. "I see." She puts the jar of pickles on the coffee table and wipes her sticky fingers on her sweatpants to somewhat clean them. She pats the spot beside her, "want to come sit with me?"
His response is his obedience. He sits next to her and buries his hands in his shirt, an old nervous habit he hasn't kicked yet. She moves enough so that their sides are pressed together. She leans back and puts her feet up on the table right next to her midnight snack. Her hands fall on her round stomach, nearly seven months pregnant now.
"Why are you eating pickles so late?" Peter asks.
"Why aren't you?" she fires back with a smile. His nose scrunches at the mere thought of it and she chuckles, "just another craving. Not much sense behind it."
"Like when you were eating ice last week?"
"Yes, just like that."
"Being pregnant must be really weird."
"Tell me about it," she agrees. She reaches out and takes his hand in her's, "And do you want to tell me about why you couldn't sleep?"
He shrugs.
"You know that I love you, don't you Peter? And that you can tell me anything?"
He nods because he does know that. He doesn't say anything right away.
"Can I take a guess?" she asks, "Is this about the baby?"
"Sort of..."
"I won't be mad, no matter what's on your mind. I promise."
He brings his knees up to his chest and wraps his arms around his legs, trying to feel smaller. "When Dr. Ortiz brought in Eight-five, she... she was smart and brave. She did everything they wanted her to do. Everything I was too scared to do, she did better. The medicine made her stronger and she was their phoenix. That's what they called her, their rising phoenix. And I... and I was left in my room alone a lot. They'd forget I was there. It was nice, sometimes, because they weren't hurting me, but it made me sad too."
Her thumb brushes across his knuckles, "Do you think that we're going to forget about you when we have the baby?"
"Dad said no, but... you and dad are going to have your own real baby, and I know dad said I'm his real baby but I'm not yours, so this one will be obviously better."
"Let's get one thing clear right off the bat; we're never going to forget you, Peter. You're going to be as loved after this baby is born as you were before, except you'll be loved even more because you're going to be an amazing big brother and this baby is going to love you." She lets go of his hand and brushes his hair back, resting her arm around his shoulders, "And I don't know how you've been looking at our relationship, but I know that ever since I moved in here I've been seeing you as my baby. I don't have a paper to prove it, but I like to consider you my son."
He looks up at her, bewildered, "You do?"
"I do. Does that bother you? It's how I've been thinking about this, but I don't have to if you don't want me to."
"No, I... I want you to," he admits. "I didn't know that you... um. Can I, if you, if it's okay... I think it'll be confusing for the baby if dad is dad and your their mom but I call you Pepper."
She blinks several times in quick succession, trying to follow his words. "Oh?"
"Would it be okay if I called you mom, too? Like the baby will?" He asks shyly, glancing down at his lap.
"Oh! Oh, sweetheart, of course it's okay!" She pulls him into her arms, pressing a kiss against his hair, "I would love that, so, so much."
She sniffs, and he pulls back to look at her teary face, "I'm sorry. Are you okay? Why are you crying?"
"I'm just happy, sweetie." She draws him back against her, rocking them together, "I love you so much."
"I love you, too."
He can't help but tear up too, in the warmth of her embrace. He can hear two heartbeats; Pepper's quick and strong, and the unborn child's gentle and echoing through her stomach. He and the baby are going to share both a dad and a mom, and that's almost too much to take in at once. A part of him is still frightened, of course, that this baby is going to be better. Stronger. Braver. Smarter. But what will matter most is whether he's still loved afterward as she promised.
She kisses him a few times and wipes away both of their tears. She pulls back and smiles warmly, "We should head to bed, you have school in a few hours. Do you want to sleep with me and Tony?" She wants him to say yes.
He also wants to say yes. And he does.
"If it's okay."
"Sounds good. Let me get washed up and we'll get bundled up." She reaches out for the jar of pickles, reseals it, and holds out her hand to help Peter off the couch.
She puts away her midnight snack, washes her hands, and guides them to the master bedroom. Tony's snoring away, one hand thrown over the side of the bed, and they head to her side. She pulls back the blanket and gestures for Peter to go in first.
She's never had any issues with him climbing into their bed, no matter the time of day, but he's always stuck to Tony's side, putting his dad in the middle. He's never wanted to make her uncomfortable. He can see her expression through the darkness of the room and she's earnest. Maybe she's as excited as he is for their relationship to grow more familial than it already has.
He crawls into the bed, laying on his back close enough to his dad to feel his warmth. Pepper climbs in beside him and brings the covers up to their shoulders.
Tony's snoring stills and he mumbles sleepily, "babe?" An arm reaches back to feel for her. Pepper hums in response, and his hand trails over her side and then lands on Peter's stomach. He giggles at the touch, and Tony wiggles his fingers to make him laugh. "Oh, it's my babies."
He pulls his arm back and turns over, eyes half-closed from fatigue. He leans forward to kiss his cheek and asks softly, "You good, kiddo?"
"Yes, dad," he answers.
He curls into the blankets and sleeps well for the last few hours of night time.
In the morning, when Pepper hands him his bowl of Lucky Charms, he trips on his words and smiles shyly at the very first time he's gotten to use the word.
"Thanks, Pep-... I mean, thanks, mom."
"You're welcome, sweetheart."
He doesn't see her move behind him and lock eyes with Tony. He doesn't see her mouth the words 'he called me mom!' with the biggest smile and excited jazz hands. He doesn't see them share a smile and a kiss, because this is a step they've wanted to take but hadn't been sure how to do so.
Tony's never thought of himself as the type for the so-called normal type of family, and he doesn't have that. He has something better.
Two months later, Pepper undergoes a cesarean delivery and gives birth to a healthy baby girl. Blue eyes that will likely turn brown based off their genetics, not a speck of hair on her soft head, and coming at seven pounds and three ounces. Tony sits outside of the room with Peter, waiting anxiously for the okay to go into the room.
A nurse ushers them in once she's ready for company, and the baby is sleeping quietly on her chest. She's in a hospital gown, a blanket up to her waist, and her robe is low enough for some skin-to-skin contact with the newborn. There's an IV in one arm, and a hospital bracelet on the other, but she smiles when she sees them.
"How you feeling?" Tony asks, walking up to the side of her that's free of wires.
"Hi, mom!" Peter greets. He moves up next to Tony and moves to his tiptoes to look at the baby.
"Hi, sweetie," she says to Peter, and then meets Tony's concerned gaze, "I'm good. Sleepy. Look at what we made." She points to the baby.
Tony picks her up carefully. He stares down at her sleeping face with pure love. This is baby number two, and he loves her just as much as the first. He hadn't known a heart could grow so big.
"Do you want to hold your baby sister?" Tony asks Peter, who's watching with wide eyes.
He nods.
"Take a seat."
Peter sits on the chair next to Pepper's bed, and Tony gently hands him the infant, showing him how to hold her properly. He steps back once he's supporting her. The two adults watch him stare down at his sister.
"Hi, baby," he whispers. "I'm Peter, I'm your big brother. I promise to love you always."
"So, Peter, we finally decided on a name," Pepper says, getting his attention.
"What is it?" He asks.
"Well, we had a lot of different ideas, but we've settled on Morgan Mary Stark. What do you think?"
"Oh, that's nice! Is it Morgan like your uncle Morgan?"
"Exactly."
Peter looks down at the newborn again, "Hello, Morgan Mary Stark. It's nice to meet you. My birth mom's name was Mary," he tells her.
Tony chuckles, "That's kind of the point kiddo."
When he tears his eyes away from his sister, both Tony and Pepper are smiling at him. "What do you mean?"
"We wanted to name her after people who did a lot for us. Pepper's uncle Morgan did a lot for her growing up, and Mary Fitzpatrick gave us you." Tony kneels next to his chair, one hand moving to cradle the baby's head, and the other falling into his son's hair. "It wasn't by choice, but we think she'd be happy that you ended up with people who love you. And it's the least we can do to thank her for sharing you with the world."
Tony leans up to kiss his cheek and holds him close.
"Can I hold my babies?" Pepper asks, tone watery.
She lifts the arm that isn't weighed down with wires and Peter crawls under it, holding the baby close to his chest. With the super strength and sticky powers, there's hardly any reason to worry about him moving around with her in his arms. He settles with his head on her shoulder and the baby nestled between them. Tony sits at the edge of the bed and leans forward to kiss all of them, one at a time. He's not sure who started crying first, but by now they're all teary-eyed.
His family isn't normal, not one bit.
He's Ironman and the frontman of Stark Industries; a superhero and an engineer and futurist with enough negative media under his belt to supply Hollywood for the next three decades. His wife is Pepper Potts, the world's best CEO (she's actually won awards, he isn't biased), and the assistant he's been in love with since his playboy days and before he'd learned how to show his love in the right ways. Then there's their son, rescued from a group of scientists who'd given him superpowers but couldn't break his soul, and later adopted into the Stark family. He wonders how long he has until Peter decides to use those powers for something (he hopes he waits, but that boy is too selfless and he wouldn't change that.) Now they have a daughter. Beautiful and perfect already although she's been alive less than an hour.
It's not normal or traditional, but it isn't one bit defective either.
It's all Stark.