Work Text:
Pepper cracked her eyes open slightly when she felt a feather light touch against her stomach.
“Hey, baby,” she heard Tony whisper, but she knew it wasn’t directed at her. It was directed at her stomach, at their child. She smiled slightly, closing her eyes again so Tony didn’t know she was awake. “I’ll make everything okay, baby,” he promises. “I don’t know how, yet. I don’t know how I’ll be your dad. But I’ll make everything okay.” Tony runs his hand lightly down Pepper’s baby bump again, then lays down to sleep.
That night, Pepper gets the best night of sleep she’s had since the Snap. A warm feeling remains in her heart, and she knows her husband will be a fantastic dad.
The night before Pepper is supposed to give birth, she feels another touch to her stomach. She doesn’t even bother opening her eyes this time, too full of exhaustion. “I’m not ready,” Tony whispers softly beside her. “I gotta be honest, I have no clue what I’m doing here. I don’t wanna screw up. I-I have to make this perfect for you. I have to be better than my dad. I promise I will be.”
Tony pauses then, kissing Pepper’s stomach. He smiles to himself. “I’ll be here for you, baby. I’ll support you and stay with you. Always.” There’s another gentle rub of her stomach, and then once again Tony climbs under the covers and lays down.
Pepper doesn’t sleep that night. She lays awake worrying about what will happen with the baby, if the world will be good enough to raise a child—but she knows, deep in her heart, that the one thing she doesn’t need to worry about is how good of a father Tony will be.
After Morgan is born, Tony spends most nights in her room until she falls asleep. He holds her when she cries, tells her stories about his life and the way the world used to be.
Morgan is two months old when Pepper hears it happen. Pepper had woken up to an empty bed, so she wandered down the hall of their small cabin, determined to bring her stubborn husband back to their room. She’s not sure where she expected Tony to be—probably off coming up with some big idea that would change the world—but she didn’t expect him to be in Morgan’s room, rocking their child as he whispered to her.
Pepper stopped right outside Morgan’s bedroom, smiling at the two of them. Tony pressed a quick kiss to Morgan’s forehead, then began talking. “This world better watch out,” he mutters, “because you, little Morgan Stark, are going to be fantastic. You take after your mother in that way, you know. You two are both beautiful, intelligent women. You’ll fix the world, Morgan. I know it.”
Pepper can feel tears pricking at her eyes, but she doesn’t make a sound. She doesn’t want to break the beautiful moment between Tony and his daughter.
“Once you meet your brothers, you’ll be unstoppable. Once I can bring Peter back… then everyone will have to watch out. And Harley, too. They’ll take care of you. They’ll love you as much as I do. And you three—you three will change the world. I know it.”
Tony doesn’t say anything else, so Pepper wipes her eyes and walks slowly back to the bedroom, careful to stay silent. And she knows that she was right—Tony will be the best dad ever.
The next time Pepper overhears Tony, it’s the night that Steve and Natasha and everyone else visited the cabin. She could tell that Tony was stressed, torn between living a quiet life and helping his former team. He loved his family, but Pepper knew that the Avengers were his family, too. She knew that if he could help them, could bring everyone back—could bring Peter back—that he would do it. He’d have to.
Pepper noticed that Tony had yet to come to bed, and it didn’t take her long to figure out he was in their daughter’s bedroom, as he was most nights. He was sitting beside her bed, lightly stroking Morgan’s hair as she slept. Pepper didn’t go inside the room, just stood outside it and watched.
“I promised I would be here for you,” Tony says, and his voice sounds pained. Pepper wonders if he’s been crying. “I want to watch you grow up. I want to be here for you, more than anything. But I think I might be onto something here, Mor. I think I can really help a lot of people. If I can bring them back…” Tony stops and shakes his head, taking a deep breath. Pepper can’t see his face, but she wouldn’t be surprised if there are tears in his eyes. “I could bring my son back, Morgan. I could bring back Pete. And I don’t want to leave you behind, but… I think I have to help them.”
Even though Pepper knew it was coming, she could still feel her heart break just a tiny bit. Tony was the best dad anyone could have asked for, but he was an Avenger before it. He was Iron Man. He was a hero. But he did all of it for Pepper and Morgan and Peter and Harley. He did all of it for the people he loved.
“I love you three thousand, Morgan,” Tony whispers quietly, his voice breaking.
When Tony later told Pepper that he had figured it out, had figured out time travel, she knew her husband had to do it. She knew Tony would do anything to protect his family, and that meant going with the Avengers. Pepper knew that.
Two days after the big battle, after Tony died, Pepper woke up to an empty bed again. She was sure that it had all been a dream, that Tony would be telling Morgan stories in her room. So she got out of bed, walked down the cabin hall, but she heard nothing. She looked inside Morgan’s bedroom and Tony wasn’t there.
Immediately, Pepper broke into tears. Tony was supposed to be beside that bed, he was supposed to be holding their daughter and telling her how much he loved her—
“Mr. Stark was a great man, Morgan.”
Pepper takes a shaky breath, wipes her eyes, and looks inside Morgan’s room again. She suddenly notices that Harley is laying in the bed, hugging Morgan tight against his chest, and Peter is sitting at her feet, talking to her sleeping body.
“He—He was a great dad. And he loved you so much.” Peter chuckles to himself, wiping the tears from his eyes. “God, if he were still here…”
Harley presses a kiss to Morgan’s temple. “We’ll protect you,” he promises. “We’ll take care of you and make sure you stay safe. Just like Tony would’ve wanted us to.”
Pepper can’t help the small cry that escapes her mouth, overwhelmed with love for these two boys.
“Oh, Mrs. Potts,” Peter says, turning to see her. “I hope we didn’t wake you. Morgan said she was having trouble sleeping, so we came in here. We tried to be quiet.”
Pepper wipes the tears from her eyes and walked into the room. She stroked Morgan’s hair behind her ear, kissing her forehead. She then did the same with both Harley and Peter. She didn’t say anything, though. She couldn’t have if she tried. So she settled with the gestures she could and smiled.
She was right. Tony was a fantastic father.