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Sometimes Tony needed to stop rambling and self-deprecating. Sometimes he needed to keep his foot out of his mouth. Sometimes – just sometimes – he had bouts of mild inspiration that ended up being genuinely incredible. And when FRIDAY showed him the results of his rendering, he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.
Tony’s knees gave out and he staggered into his seat, exhaling sharply in surprise. The words were right there in front of his own eyes: Model Successful. He covered his mouth before spreading out his arms, eyes wide in something more than just amazement. “Shit!”
“Shit.”
Tony jumped slightly at the quiet voice, brows knitting together as he turned to the side. He found his daughter sitting at the bottom steps of the staircase, most definitely not in bed like she should have been at this hour.
Giving her a look, he pressed a finger to his lips. He whispered, “What are you doing up, little miss?”
“Shit,” Morgan repeated heartily. She grinned slightly, looking pretty proud of herself.
“Nope. We don’t say that. Only Mommy says that word.” Tony leaned back, suppressing a smile in order to look stern. He continued, “She coined it. It belongs to her.”
“Why are you up?” Morgan questioned, eyes shining with intrigue. Her little hands gripped at her pajamas as her knees knocked together.
“’Cause I’ve got some important shit going on here!” Tony quipped, throwing a thumb back to the tabletop hologram of the last rendered simulation. “Why do you think?”
Morgan’s brows pushed together, eyes narrowing, as her mouth pressed into a thin line. Tony blinked a couple of times. Huh. He knew that look all too well. When his little girl got like this, it reminded him so much of Pepper’s own mannerisms.
“No, I got something on my mind,” he sighed instead. Something by the likes no one’s ever seen before, Tony wanted to say but didn’t. “I got something on my mind.”
“Was it juice pops?” she pushed, voice tilting higher.
Tony turned to her, the corners of his mouth quirking up. “Sure was.”
He huffed a soft laugh. There was an almost pleading look in her expectant expression, and the brunet wondered briefly if she was aware of how tight she’d gotten him wrapped around her fingers.
“That’s extortion. That’s a word.” He got to his feet, reaching his palm down to his daughter. Morgan’s little hand fit so small in his; it still filled his heart with a gentle warmth. “What kind do you want?” he asked her.
Morgan started tugging him towards the kitchen and away from his project. “The orange ones, Daddy, like always.”
“Great minds think alike.” His words came out distractedly as he said, “Juice pops exactly was on… my mind.” Holy shit, he really did it. Tony stole another glance over his shoulder, the blue-lit digital Mobius Strip hovering calmly in the air.
“Come on,” Morgan groaned with one hard pull to his arm. He couldn’t help but laugh.
~*~*~*~
No matter how many times the thought had crossed his mind, Tony always felt lucky to have been able to have this – a family, a good one that he never had before. Not really. Pepper was his rock, and Morgan was just perfect, and Tony tried to do good by them. Five years in, all things considered, he felt like he hadn’t done a shoddy job so far.
Tony tucked Morgan into bed, finishing off her orange popsicle. He pulled the sleeve of his sweater over his palm, wiping at his daughter’s mouth before brushing her hair from her chubby cheeks. “Alright. That face – goes there.” His palm was as big as her head, and he chuckled a bit as he pressed her back against the pillows.
She reluctantly settled into bed, demanding just as sweetly, “Tell me a story.”
“A story.” Okay. He can do one quick story. “Once upon a time, Maguna went to bed. The end.”
“That is a horrible story,” Morgan grumbled.
“Come on, that’s your favorite story.” Tony snorted a laugh; Pepper always was better at the bedtime stories, but she was having some well-earned quiet time and he wasn’t about to disturb her. He pushed himself from the edge of the bed, leaning forward to press a firm kiss to his daughter’s forehead. “Love you tons,” he crooned, eyes softening.
“I love you three thousand,” she responded, smiling up at him. Her eyes shone, and warmth spread into his chest again. Did she just…?
“Wow.” Tony’s face split into a grin, and he pursed his lips slightly to rein it in. Smartest five-year-old out there. God, he loved her to bits. He bit the popsicle stick between his teeth as he got up from his kneeling position on the carpet, turning off her bedside lamp. “Three thousand. That’s crazy.”
She blinked at him again, and Tony could see that she was close to falling asleep.
As he stepped out and started to shut the door behind him, he teased, “Go to bed or I’ll sell all your toys.”
Morgan giggled, smile wide and joyful. “Night-night.”
~*~*~*~
Tony grabbed the last suitcase from the house and made a beeline to his car the next morning. He was coming around the back when he noticed a little bundle of kid peeking into the trunk, a soft frown fixed on her face. In singsong, he said, “Hey, Maguna.”
“Why are you taking my sled?”
He had to pause. What? His eyes slid to the interior of the trunk, catching on the red-white-and-blue shield that sat on top of his other bags and gadgets. Tony was kicking himself now; he knew he shouldn’t have let her use it when they went to see the mountains last Christmas.
Ruefully, he explained, “I have to return it to its rightful owner, baby. I promise I’ll get you a new one.”
After a moment, Morgan seemed to be happy enough with that answer. Her face lit up again as she made grabby hands in his direction. Tony gleefully grabbed her under the arms and hoisted her onto his hip, blowing raspberries against her cheek and reveling in the squeals that it pulled from her.
Morgan’s hands wound around the back of his neck, and he felt her nails scratching at his nape absentmindedly. “How long will you be gone?” she sniffed.
“Just a few days,” he answered, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Tony looked her in the eyes, brown meeting brown, and a soft smile formed on his lips. “I’ll make sure to tell Uncle Rhodey you said ‘hi’.”
“Tell him Gerald says ‘hi’ too!” Morgan pointed off into the distance, in the general direction where their alpaca usually roamed near the house (and around Pepper’s sacred goji berries).
Tony chuckled, pressing another loud kiss to her cheek before putting her down. “I’ll tell him Gerald says ‘hi’ too,” he said softly, watching the bright look on his daughter’s eyes.
He cupped her face between his hands, squishing her cheeks. She’d crinkled her nose up at him in the way she always did, and it made Tony hesitate.
But he was coming home. He’ll always come home to his little Maguna.
“Now, you be good for Mommy until I get back, alright?” Tony bent down to press a kiss to the top of her hair.
“Always,” she teased, hugging his hips one last time.
