Chapter Text
Somehow, moving away from the Avengers and back out to the Midwest was the best and worst decision Miranda had ever made. She came to this conclusion after living there for about four months.
It was great because she had a big yard, a house with plenty of guest rooms, and nobody was shoving a camera in her face or Ben’s. They could lead a normal life, and they were. Miranda signed up for Parent & Toddler classes so she could meet other parents and Ben could make friends. She went jogging every morning. She had video sessions with Dr. Arzt every Thursday, and live sessions every other month. A piece of SHIELD tech hid her branding scar, and she no longer always wore long sleeves.
It was the worst decision she ever made because everyone here knew her as Andrea Grayson, and she had to fly back to New York every other month to see Dr. Arzt since there was no one out here qualified to treat her. She flew into DC a couple of times for Polaris, though most of her efforts were remote (online) activism. And she flew back a couple more times for different parties and events that she “had to attend as an associate of the Avengers” according to Tony. She didn’t mind seeing everyone, even with Bruce still being AWOL and Thor off in Asgard, since they were all good friends, (and she and Wanda had a surprisingly deep understanding of each other) but it was tiring to fly back and forth so much. It had only been four months and she was starting to feel like she spent more time away from her house than she spent in it. She was trying to build a normal life after all.
So, so far it wasn’t working. Not really. And then Tony showed up in her driveway with an excuse to move back East...
“I hope you haven’t been out here long,” Miranda said, taking off her gloves to fish to house key out of her pocket.
“How do you run in this weather? I can see my breath,” Tony complained, leaning against his car. It was surprisingly nondescript.
“Running keeps me warm,” she said, tossing the key to him as she unbuckled Ben from the running stroller. As soon as he was free he waddled over to Tony.
“Uncle Towny!”
“Hey, sport,” Tony said, picking him up. “You tell no one,” he told Miranda when he saw her smirk.
“Scouts honor,” she said, crossing her heart. “Take him inside, I’ll be in after I put the stroller in the garage.”
Miranda left her shoes by the door and padded stocking foot to the kitchen, where she heard Tony and Ben having as much of a conversation as one can have with a toddler. Smiling to herself, she started a pot of coffee. Ben’s coat and whatnot remained a pile on the counter for the time being.
“What’s the surprise visit for?” she asked. “Need to get away from Washington already?”
“So you heard about that.”
“Well, Mr. Secretary, it’s almost like they put it on the news or something.” Tony chuckled. “Secretary of Defense. That’s a big job.”
“I’m not sure I was the best choice.”
“President Ellis seems to think differently. But Sokovia is still weighing on your mind, isn’t it.” Tony stared at his hands, her expression was too soft.
“It was my fault. Like you said, I created Ultron.”
“I shouldn’t have said that,” Miranda sighed.
“Pepper agreed with you.”
“Doesn’t mean I was right. Look. Tony, if anything, I think it makes you… more qualified, I guess.”
“How on earth does it do that?”
“Same way I’m a great ambassador for Polaris. Our experiences teach us things. And yeah, you screwed up, but I’ve been watching the news. The charity you made —”
“Was Pepper’s idea.”
“— is helping Sokovia rebuild. And it brought the social and political unrest there to the forefront of the world’s mind. The Maximoffs are practically national heroes there now.”
“They’re good kids. But my weapons killed their parents.”
“Obadiah Stane pulled dirty tricks on the black market, that wasn’t your fault.”
“But —”
“No.” She glared at him until he relented.
“I knew I was coming to the right person.” Miranda’s brow furrowed. “What would you think about moving back East?”
“Why?” she asked warily.
“I miss your cooking.” Miranda laughed. “I came out here to ask you something.”
“There’s these magical do-dads called phones that let you call people from anywhere in the world.”
“I wanted to ask you in person. I want to recommend you for the U.S. ambassador for a new United Nations committee,” Tony said all at once. Miranda blinked owlishly.
“What is the committee for?”
“Just, would you consider it?” Miranda chewed her lip, her head tilting to the side. She looked at Ben for a moment before responding. He had wandered off and started playing with his toy tool kit on the living room floor.
“How soon would we have to move?” she asked.
“The committee won’t meet ‘till next summer, so before then.” She nodded, taking a moment to pour a mug of coffee for Tony. She grabbed her water bottle. She’d have coffee later. “Thanks. So?”
“Sure. Put my name in. I… I think it’s best I move back anyway. It’s been four months and no one has said anything about Steve and I breaking up and I can’t keep flying back and forth, it’s driving me nuts. Plus one of my neighbors already thinks I’m not who I say I am, I mean, I don’t think she knows I’m me but... “ She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have left.”
“You did what you thought was best.”
“I never expected to get paternal wisdom from you.”
“What can I say, I’m full of surprises.”