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Tony was engineering, not a car seat because he and Stephen didn’t drive between the suit and the sling ring, but a baby bubble that he could use to carry the kid around.
Heels click across the floor behind him then Pepper was standing as his shoulder peering at the schematics. “What’s this?”
“A baby bubble.”
“Oh.” Pepper looked at it again. “Should I let Stark Home know that you’ll be sending them this for development?”
“No, this is more personal.”
“Personal?” She asked, looking at him.
“Yep.” Tony blew out a breath. He needed to get used to saying it. “I’m going to be a father.”
Pepper gasped then her eyebrows went down. “Tony, how could you?”
“Hey, that’s very judgy. I’ve been told I’m a responsible adult now. A role model and everything.”
Pepper sighed. “Does Stephen know? Because if we’re going to have a jilted sorcerer coming after you we need to …” She paused. “Get other sorcerers to talk him down. I should call Wong, and see what the situation is.”
Tony blinked at her. “Stephen is pregnant, full on baby mama.”
Pepper blinked rapidly for five seconds then said “...congratulation? On getting your boyfriend pregnant?”
“Thanks.” Tony smiled “We weren’t trying. But Master Brando tells me that things like this just happen sometimes.”
“They really don’t.”
“They do to me. They do to Stephen.”
She smiled and shook her head. “Both of you are outliers and should not be counted.”
They stood in silence for a minute looking at the slowly revolving baby bubble. Pepper shifted. Tony knew that shift. “You’re thinking about paperwork aren’t you. I tell you I’m going to be a father and you start thinking about paperwork.”
“I’ll schedule an appointment for you with your personal lawyers. Do you think Stephen would object to a paternity test?”
It was Tony’s turn to frown. “I trust Stephen.”
“So do I. But having it verified and documented as soon as possible will make the legal parts easier.”
“I’ll ask Stephen how he feels about it.”
She nodded. “How does Stephen feel about the whole, pregnant, thing?”
“He’s adjusting.”
Pepper looked at him. “How do you feel about it?”
Tony ran a hand through his hair. He thought about his own shitty childhood. He thought about his playboy days. He thought about the times he knew he was going to die and take the Stark name with him. He thought about having Peter in the lab with him. He thought about watching Stephen coaching the new initiates at Kamar-Taj.
“Like the future is here.”