Chapter Text
Pepper was cleaning Tony’s lab. Nothing serious or intrusive, just some dusting and vacuuming. It had become a habit of hers ever since Tony saved the whole universe. Him being in a coma was hard for her, Morgan, Happy, and all Tony’s robot friends. So, Pepper made a point to try and visit Dum-E as often as she could. That, in turn, led to monthly cleans or just when she felt particularly stressed out or far away from Tony. Sometimes, Morgan helped out. Sometimes, it was just Pepper and whatever song she decided to hum to herself.
With her regular visits, Pepper had come to realize that Tony had left them a special gift in Dum-E’s coding. On each of their birthdays, the robot was programmed to play the little 8-bit happy birthday song. At first, Pepper had cried and couldn’t stop until the next day, but now it was a welcomed addition.
Keeping all this in mind, Pepper was highly confused when, during one random cleaning spree, the robot began its song. Pepper remained silent the whole way through and kept on dusting as she listened. She decided to brush it off as a fluke. After all, the robot had its many unique characteristics, like making coffee with motor oil. When the song finished completely, Tony’s mini hologram version appeared.
“Happy birthday, Pete. I am proud of you, Underoos,” Hologram Tony finished with the utmost adoration.
Pepper gaped silently at Dum-E, her mind working as fast as it could. That voice... Pepper knew that specific tone and how it was almost always just reserved for Morgan. Who is Pete? And why did Tony sound as if he loved the boy with all his heart? A silent voice whispered in the back of her mind: Because he does.
“Friday?” Pepper whispered, her voice so soft she could barely hear it over the pounding of her heart.
“Yes, Mrs. Stark, how can I assist?”
“Who is Pete?”
“I have located over a thousand files that could answer your question, but other than names, they are inaccessible,” the AI answered, sounding as sorry as an artificial intelligence could manage. Pepper frowned in confusion. Over a thousand files about a boy she never met but Tony seemed to adore? How could not even one be viewable?
“Friday, which names can you read? Could you name a few?”
“Certainly, Mrs. Stark. Cute spiderbaby, best father and son duo, Protocol Protect, Gift ideas...” Pepper pressed a hand against her forehead as the different names were listed, but none of them registered. One of the titles stuck with her: father and son.
A week later, Pepper was settled in next to Tony. He was on the same hospital bed, and she was on the couch next to it. Even after so many days, Pepper still had no new leads on ‘Pete,’ although she was pretty sure, and hurt by the fact, that he had to be Tony’s secret son. Being married to Tony for as long as she had, it hurt to think Tony would never mention another kid. Either way, she still visited. This wouldn’t come between them, especially not while Tony was, according to the medical team, on the brink of being responsive and waking up.
“Hey Tony, how is it going with you today? One of the nurses said it would help if I could talk to you, so yay. Me and Mo miss you so much. When are you coming back, mmmm?” Pepper gave Tony’s hand a hard squeeze. “It’s been hard without you. Mo asks for you every day, and I don’t know how to say this, but I found out about Pete?”
Pepper couldn’t believe it, but as she said the boy’s name, Tony moved. He moved, not a lot for a normal person, but for someone who was catatonic, a slight twitch was... just wow.
“Tony, can you hear me?” Nothing. “Pete?” Pepper questioned, and again Tony moved, a bigger twitch this time. On the heart monitor, his heartbeat picked up speed, getting more jumpy.
“Tony,” Pepper breathed as the man’s eyes opened ever so slowly.
“Hey, Pep, missed me?” Tony croaked out, his voice rough from not using it. Pepper stifled a sob. Some of the doctors came bursting in, all of them running to check on the man who saved the world. Pepper backed away to the corner to give them space to work and to call Happy. He had just taken Morgan to the food court, probably not even 10 minutes before Tony woke up.
“Hey, Pepper. Me and Morgan are just finishing up, then we’ll head back to you,” Happy greeted, probably thinking Pepper was wondering where they were. She took a deep breath, her voice watery, “Tony’s awake.”
“What?” Happy choked out. “We’re coming.” And so the call ended. Pepper had a similar conversation with Rhodey as she waited for the nurses to clear completely. “Okay, bye. I have to go; one of the nurses is walking over to me.”
“Mrs. Stark?” a young nurse questioned. Pepper only nodded her head. “Mr. Stark seems to be doing well, and given a few days, he should be able to go home and walk around a bit.”
“That sounds great, thank you,” Pepper finished, going over to Tony’s bedside again. The man smiled at her.