Work Text:
Tony Stark made a lot of mistakes. These mistakes weren’t publicized a lot. His lawyers and his marketing team did a great job of making sure things stayed on the downlow. He was the great Tony Stark after all, he had an image to hold up.
But even then, there were people who knew. Obadiah knew he was an absolute mess, but Tony was also a genius so he let the man invent what he wanted and the company got paydays whenever it happened. Pepper knew he was a disaster, but stayed with him throughout it all. Sometimes he wondered how she could handle such a person. Happy was probably sick and tired of chasing after Tony, as the guy didn’t make it easy for security to stay with him. He hired all of these people and yet he always seemed to be doing everything in his power to piss them off.
And yet they stayed, they stayed because they were better than him.
Rhodey was proud to be Tony’s friend, but even the military man had to be at the end of his rope. They’ve known each other for a long time and got to work together, in a sense, once Tony started selling his own designs to the military. He was a genius, nobody could deny that.
But Tony was also very, very stupid.
He partied at night. When he remembered how his family life was, or got the sense that he was lonely, he partied. He slept with any beautiful woman that caught his eye and he’d forget their name by morning. Rinse and repeat and that was his legacy.
Pepper never said anything when he woke up in the morning. She got rid of the woman like they were a trashbag and nothing else. In his eyes, they kind of were.
Forget Tony being stupid, he was also a huge jerk.
Tony was a lot of things. People would say he was a genius, a futurist, a go-getter, and that was true, but Tony was also stupid and rude.
One night, he had gotten so drunk he could hardly remember his name. A party sang his praises and he allowed all the words to flow over him as he drank and drank into the early morning.
When he woke up, he could tell he had a woman in his room, as there was a faint smell of perfume, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember who it was, or anything about the woman really. He pondered asking Pepper about the girl as he got lunch, but his assistant was already hounding him with things he needed to do for the day and things that needed to be done months in the future. She had an expression, one he’d learn from studying her, an expression that told him she wasn’t in the mood. She probably had enough of his shenanigans from last night and the thing was, Tony couldn’t even remember what he had done.
He figured the girl’s name wasn’t that important and went back to work.
That was his life for the next while, but between all of that, weird things started to happen. Well, they happened to Pepper and when they affected her, they affected him.
It was near Christmas time and Pepper had asked for a big chunk of work off. It was just the week before the holidays and yet it caught Tony completely off guard.
“I don’t see why you’re making this such a big deal.”
“It’s a big deal because I don’t like it when you have plans.”
The look Pepper gave him was clearly showing her distaste for that entire sentence. It was true though because Tony knew how much he relied on Pepper, despite the fact that he mostly complained whenever she brought something up to him. They both knew he would fall apart without her holding him together.
“I think you can manage one extra week that I’m gone. It’s the holidays after all.”
Tony Stark didn’t do holidays. Sure, sometimes he showed up to the Stark Industries Christmas party and drank until he was blacked out, but he never really had a reason to put up a Christmas tree, to bake cookies, to buy people gifts. Pepper took care of buying people gifts from him and he hoped she got something sweet for herself as well. Besides, the tree that rested in his living room upstairs was one Rhodey and Pepper put up because they were tired of how bland his house looked during December.
Tony continued to stare at Pepper and she shot him back her signature glare and Tony realized that he was the great Tony Stark, his father was Howard Stark, he was the CEO and owner of Stark Industries, he was one of the smartest people on the planet, he was awesome.
And yet he could not win against Pepper Pots.
“I’m not gonna win this, am I?”
“Absolutely not.”
On that note, he allowed her the time off and tried to think about ways to avoid the boring tasks of his job.
---
After the holidays, Pepper came back and though things were the same, they were different. Tony wasn’t the best with people and all his friends knew that, but something about Pepper seemed… not solemn, but maybe worried? He hadn’t done anything to warrant that reaction from her so, this time, it actually wasn’t his fault. But that meant someone else had done something to her and he didn’t really like that.
“What’s wrong?”
Pepper jumped back in shock from her Stark Pad and turned to Tony with a surprised face. Whatever was on her screen was quickly wiped off and Tony had half a thought to ask JARVIS what her search history was. “Why are you sneaking around like that?”
Tony gave her a deadpan look. Usually Pepper was more alert than this. “I’ve been up here for five minutes talking to JARVIS about ordering food. You’ve just been too absorbed into your screen to notice.”
Pepper glanced back at the Stark Pad with a deep sigh. She realized she was caught.
Still, Tony was expecting Pepper to get up, go back to her business self and work like no other. Sometimes she would pull late nights to fix something going on with the company, or something Tony had done, but recently, she’s been going home on time, ignoring all drinks Tony passed her way, and was distracted. Tony knew Pepper. She wasn’t one to back down from something. If she failed, it only made her want to tackle the situation more. He was expecting some stress with the company, something big she was just handling.
But, to his utter surprise, she blurted out, “I’m pregnant.”
And Tony’s world froze.
He stared at her for a good minute and he was suddenly glad he didn’t leave and ask JARVIS what Pepper was looking at because he probably would’ve fainted at the sight. He knew about pregnancy and how it happened, but Pepper? She was so controlled, so uptight it just seemed…
“Who’s the father?”
That was apparently the wrong thing to ask because she huffed and turned her head away. “Nobody.”
“Nobody? Pepper, you’re having a kid.” The least she could do was ask the man to help. He did this after all and he’s half responsible. If she lost the father, Tony could stick his lawyers on the situation until he was found. Nobody would escape him if Pepper needed it.
“I don’t need child support,” she shook her head. There was the firm Pepper Potts Tony knew and loved. The one who hardly took charity from other people, the one who was determined to figure things out herself. It’s what made her so great and so beautiful and so capable of dealing with Tony.
Tony opened his mouth to retort once more, but Pepper beat him to it.
“And I don’t think he would want to be a part of his child’s life.”
Well, that sounded harsh. Even if the guy wanted the child or not, he still helped make the thing. Pepper made it sound like she slept with a real piece of work and Tony was curious as to how something like that could happen. Again, this was Pepper Potts he was talking to.
Pepper noticed his expression once again and answered his question before any words could leave his mouth. “Tony, would you go help if one of the women you slept with actually had a child of yours?”
He shut his mouth and thought about it.
He had a lot of situations where women had claimed they were pregnant and that he was the father. Either his lawyers got involved and absolved that issue before it became a big fuss, or they took a DNA test and found out that it was an absolute lie. Tony Stark knew he wasn’t a father because all of those claims were false, but… he thought about what he would do if it was true.
In all honesty, he might just throw money at the problem until it went away, but that was just showcasing what a glorious mess Tony Stark was, huh? He couldn’t exactly have a child in this environment. He made weapons for war and his workshop was a mess. His house was built for pleasure and to show how much money he had, not for some child to live in. Tony didn’t know how to be a father and it wasn’t like he had a good role model in his life to base how to act off. If anything, Howard Stark made Tony more afraid to be a father.
Any claims that showed up, Tony brushed them off because he knew that he wasn’t the father and that he couldn’t be a father. If any child did exist, he wouldn’t be taking an active role in parenting and that was just cruel now that he thought about it.
But the thing was, he continued to think about it and that didn’t exactly change. But then he thought about Pepper having a child and the implications that would have. Like he mentioned earlier, she was a determined individual and he didn’t think she would stop working for him just because she had a child. Maybe step back a bit to have more hours for both of them, but… he could imagine her bringing the child into his house and showing the kid off to Tony. He could see the child roaming around and being amazed by all the cool things Tony had.
He didn’t know why he envisioned it, but he realized he was probably going to mean something to this kid. In his mind’s eye, the child was identical to Pepper. Her eyes with beautiful hair and… it made his heart squeeze.
He would be a fool if he didn’t notice it. Pepper was beautiful and any man who had a shot with her should count themselves lucky. Tony never did because, well why would she go for a guy like him? She knew him inside and out and he wasn’t the star the television made him out to be.
Tony had never given children a second thought, but all of the sudden, Pepper’s situation had the earth tilting axis and he was actually pondering the idea. Obadiah would’ve said he’d gone insane and he probably had, but…
“Probably not,” he admitted, his voice soft and defeated. Pepper noticed the change in tone, because her eyes squinted at him as she studied the man, trying to figure out why he sounded so weird. He couldn’t believe it either. “But, if you’re having a child, I still want to help you, as your boss, as your friend.” He owed Pepper everything for putting up with his BS he spouted over the years, for the things he made her do, for everything really. Pepper did whatever he desired and that could take a toll on anyone.
Her eyes grew wide and she was caught silent. Tony didn’t think he had ever said something that had made her silent before. They yelled at each other a lot, like an old married couple, her arguing over Tony being stupid and Tony trying to dodge the situation. He made her life more difficult than it deserved to be. He had to pay her back somehow and if helping this child was the way to go, he would take it.
Pepper’s face went soft and Tony’s not sure he had ever seen that expression on her directed at him. It was strange and heart warming all the same. “I’ve never heard you say something like that.”
“Well, it’s no surprise that I’m an a**hole.”
Pepper smirked. “At least you’re aware.”
How could he not be? He played into it most of the time, but Tony Stark did have a heart, contrary to popular belief.
They dove into silence once more, Pepper now directing her attention to the floor. “Did you mean that? That you would help?”
“Of course, Pepper. I know we’ve declared I’m an a**hole, but I’m not going to leave you or your child to fend for yourselves. You probably need more time off. I probably need to baby proof the house if you plan on bringing the kid over. I can probably upgrade JARVIS with a baby proofing protocol so he can keep an eye on the child as well when you’re busy and-”
He was thinking outloud, but was interrupted as Pepper reached up and hugged him. This was completely abnormal for her. She practically stayed away from any physical touch with him, but… this felt really nice. He always wondered what her arms would feel like around him and this was so much better than he imagined. Just being nice welcomed this and Tony was ready to do it again and again if it meant Pepper would hug him more. So, he grew a crush on his assistant? Wasn’t that a romance movie just waiting to be written?
He would move the Earth for Pepper if it got him more moments like this.
He was slow, but he wrapped his arms around her and welcomed the hug.
“I didn’t think it was possible.”
“That I could be nice?”
She tilted her head onto his shoulder and he leaned back to look at her face. Her eyes, her nose, her lips.
They were so close.
“That you could care so much.”
“I feel like I should be offended, but I don’t want to ruin this moment.”
Pepper laughed and it was like honey falling down, so sweet and harmonic. Tony was half tempted to ask JARVIS to record it so he could listen to it when she wasn’t there. It was uplifting and welcoming and Tony was surprised he hardly heard it before. How hard on Pepper was he?
One surprise from Pepper and all of the sudden Tony Stark was bending over backwards, acting differently and allowing doors that were previously locked down to open. The kid wasn’t even his own and yet… this was important to Pepper and that meant it should be important to him too. She was all he really had after all and he didn’t want to do something that would push her away. He would do anything to make her stay, to show her he appreciated her, even if that meant he had to be a little less of a jerk.
“It’s you,” Pepper finally said and Tony was jerked out of his thoughts.
“What?”
“You,” she said again. “You’re the father.”
Screw the Earth shifting axis, his entire world just fell upside down.
---
He believed her.
Pepper was a lot of things and liar wasn’t even on the list. She wasn’t like one of those women who claimed to be having his child for the sake of it. No, she fully admitted to Tony that she didn’t want help with child support before he even knew. She didn’t even plan to tell him until Tony opened up his heart and admitted that he would help her just because she deserved it.
Then suddenly, things got that much more real.
Pepper was pregnant with his child.
No wonder he felt like he recognized the smell of her perfume. It was the same smell from that morning he woke up alone in his bed. He knew there was a woman, but there was no sign that she had been there besides that faint smell. Tony didn’t bother digging into it because it was normal for his life and well… if he had just asked JARVIS for the logs, he would’ve realized that the woman he slept with never left the house. Pepper had gotten up before Tony was conscious and got to work. When Tony finally joined the land of the living, Pepper was her normal business self and that was the end of that.
But then, as she told him, her period was late and she started to worry a little. She wasn’t a partier like Tony Stark, she didn’t sleep with the first guy who made his way up to her. If anything, she was more reserved than not. She got out and she did things, but she was far from someone like Tony.
So… when her period was late for a while, she scheduled an appointment with her gynecologist and asked Tony for the week off. Her wish was granted and she went to her appointment. She had told him she wasn’t hoping for one end or the other, but one end was especially trickier to deal with than the other.
And what would she know? Turned out she was pregnant and the last person she had slept with was Tony Stark.
Quite lucky that the one woman he actually managed to get pregnant was his assistant that spent every waking moment with him. He had slept with dozens of women and this was when it finally happened.
Tony counted himself extremely lucky and thanked God above that it was Pepper of all women.
He was shocked to hear he was going to be a father and a whole lot of emotions went crowding through his head. Instead of imagining the child looking just like Pepper, suddenly there were features from him on the child: his hair, his nose, but he still hoped the child had Pepper’s eyes because those were beautiful to look into. He also started to put all the thoughts he had of babyproofing the home into fruition. Then he got worried about how he could actually take care of a child and could he handle it and…
He had passed out.
Tony Stark passed out from the sheer shock of the news.
Pepper still laughed about it and Tony couldn’t help but smile at the thought as well. A week ago, he would’ve ordered her to keep that secret and demanded JARVIS delete the footage but now, he found himself in the workshop sometimes, glancing at the video of Pepper telling him he was the father and it made him smile, even if he passed out at the end.
Who knew such a thing could change Tony Stark’s life?
Tony was different in meetings and just life in general. Happy noticed it first when Tony started to pay attention to his survival. He had a child that was coming that he had to look after. He wasn’t going to be a deadbeat that just threw all the childcare work onto Pepper. She deserved some respite and if him picking up some of the slack was it, then so be it. He tried to do some more things with the company. He was the CEO after all and it was technically his job, but he was still a bit lost on things and when he tried to look at Pepper’s workload, she got so offended, she yelled at him until he backed off.
Note to self, pregnant Pepper still denied getting help when it came to work.
So, Tony helped where he could. He upgraded JARVIS with a babyproofing protocol and uploaded thousands of terabytes of data about childcare. If Tony faltered with something, hopefully the AI could push him in the right direction. JARVIS could also keep an eye on the child like a baby monitor. Tony wasn’t going to buy that baby stuff from the store when he could just make it himself and make it better.
He stopped drinking so much, openly trying to not get drunk. He was sad to say he couldn’t step away from the drinks entirely, but the amount of alcohol in the house was significantly lower than it was before. Pepper avoided the drinks with determination and it helped Tony stay off of them as well.
When Tony left the house, he drove a bit more on the safe side, sometimes even asking Happy to take him someplace because he knew security would be safer. Happy didn’t bat an eye the first time, but the second time in a week, he did. Then a third time in two weeks and security knew something was up.
He finally brought it up when Tony asked if they could get a security detail for Pepper.
“What’s going on, boss?”
Tony held his head in his hand as he stared out the window. He knew he was being safer for Pepper’s and their child’s sake, but Happy drove really slow. Tony had cars that were made to break the speed barrier and yet here Happy was, going the speed limit and stopping at yellow lights.
Still, Tony kept his mouth shut.
He glanced up at Happy’s words and debated. Pepper said she wanted to keep this thing on the downlow for now. If the press caught wind of this, it would be a mess for them to deal with, so Tony could understand that. They kept it tightlipped with the company and kept everything between the two of them. Tony knew some people were getting suspicious, but it wasn’t new for Tony to hole himself in his house and just disappear into his work for weeks at a time.
That being said, Tony knew Happy wouldn’t say anything on the matter. This guy was his security, so he knew how to handle a situation, keep his mouth shut, and better yet, protect his pergnant… girlfriend? (Tony would need to go over what exactly they were. If he could, he would propose to her right then and there to seal the deal, but he didn’t know if Pepper would go for that. Well, he might as well ask and see.) If there was anyone he could trust, Happy was on that list.
“Would you believe me when I say that Pepper’s pregnant with my kid and I’m trying to be better for the both of them?”
Happy met his eyes in the rearview mirror. “Normally, I would say no, but seeing as you are acting strangely, I would say yes.”
Tony laughed at that. “Yeah, it’s weird for me too.”
Happy continued to drive, a smile on his face. “I’m happy for you, boss.”
“Was that a pun?”
Happy didn’t respond.
---
Rhodey was next and the man thought Tony was joking at first. Seeing as the news went well with Happy, Tony decided to tell his best friend about it. His friend was visiting his house, not for work or business and he took note of how… controlled everything looked. The baby proofing protocol was going into effect. Tony and Pepper had yet to sort out the baby’s room, but Tony knew that was coming up next week on the planner Pepper had made. And, by God himself, she was going to make sure he followed that planner. She had ordered JARVIS to tell Tony every morning what the plans were for the day and he could not forget. She would not let him.
He was starting to regret letting her have that much control over JARVIS.
“Your house is different,” his friend pointed out. “What, are you allowing Pepper to redecorate?”
“I’ll have you know,” Tony said as he poured them both a drink, “Pepper already decorated my house prior. But… yes, she is kind of redecorating.”
“What’s the occasion?” He took the drink from Tony’s hand and pulled it back to drink it all in one gulp. Tony at least took his time with nursing it and taking small sips. Rhodey kept glancing around the house with a raised eyebrow and Tony smirked at the thought.
“We’re expecting.”
Rhodey’s head whipped back to Tony so fast, the billionaire had to bite his lip to keep a chuckle from escaping his mouth.
“What kind of expecting?”
Tony glanced up. “Is there a different kind?”
“With you, there can be a whole lot of kinds. But it’s definitely not the one I’m thinking of.”
Wouldn’t be too sure about that. Tony smirked and tilted his head to the side as he took a sip of his drink. He watched as Rhodey eyed how little he took. “And why’s that?”
“Because it’s you,” Rhodey answered as a matter of fact and, a couple of months ago, he wouldn’t be wrong, but now, Tony was really trying to change and it must be working if Happy and Rhodey were taking notice of how different Tony was acting. Rhodey kept glaring at Tony’s glass and then his own in confusion.
“Should I be offended by that?” Tony said nonchalantly.
Rhodey took a minute to think over the situation. He turned around and glanced at the house that had definitely been touched up by Pepper. Instead of looking like the normal billionaire house it was originally, it started to actually feel like a home. Tony had asked Pepper to stay, if for his sake of mind than anything, and, to his ultimate surprise, she agreed. They still have yet to figure out what their relationship was, but they were sleeping in the same bed and being professional about it and Pepper was decorating his place in preparation for their child so Tony had high hopes for their relationship.
Rhodey shot back to Tony with a look of utter disbelief. “There’s no way.”
“That I’m offended by.”
Rhodey’s jaw dropped open and he stared at Tony with wide eyes. “You got Pepper Potts pregnant?” Honestly, that sentence sounded fake even to Tony and yet he somehow managed to do it. He and Pepper were both drunk off their minds but that didn’t mean they weren’t excited for this opportunity. If the way Tony had been changing wasn’t evidence enough, he didn’t know what was.
“Still don’t know how I managed that,” Tony admitted.
Rhodey’s mouth tilted up in a smile and the man leaned against the counter with a slight chuckle. “No wonder you’ve been so weird lately.”
“Listen, Pepper’s hormones are starting to act up. I’ve been walking on eggshells.” He knew she wasn’t in the house at this moment, instead taking care of work at SI and so Tony knew he could say that without any repercussions. That was, unless Pepper came home and asked JARVIS what happened today with Rhodey. She knew he was telling him. He may have to delete that line from JARVIS’ memory.
Rhodey laughed at that, raising his empty cup. “I’m proud of you, Tony. That takes a lot of effort.”
“Don’t I know it.” He finished off the rest of his drink and ignored the urge to pour himself some more.
“How far along is she?”
Tony tilted his head. “If my math is correct, and it is, nearly three months.”
Rhodey sputtered at that. “You got a long haul ahead of you.”
“Don’t tell me. I still need to finalize things with Pepper and we have a trip for baby stuff next week. Just basics for now, but once we find out the gender, we’ll be going all out.” Tony wasn’t sure who would be buying more stuff. He knew Pepper was excited for the kid, but Tony was half tempted to buy half the stores for this child and they weren’t even born yet. He wasn’t sure what kids liked, so maybe he should listen to Pepper at this juncture.
“Can I… be the favorite uncle?”
Tony laughed at his friend’s serious tone and slapped a hand on Rhodey’s shoulders. “I would say yes, but I think Happy’s gunning for that spot as well.”
“Happy?” Rhodey shot up in surprise. “Happy Hogan knew before I did?”
“In my defense, he spends more time around us and it’s hard to keep the fact that I’m going to be a father from him when I’m asking him to take me to more places. He figured it out fairly quickly.”
Rhodey stepped back and stared at Tony with a look of betrayal. Tony bit his lip once again and just shrugged.
“And he wants to be the favorite uncle?”
“Kid isn’t even born yet and he already loves them.”
The feeling was mutual for everyone else as well.
---
“Hey, beautiful,” Tony recited to himself in the car. He was sitting at a red light, taking this time to practice what he was going to say to Pepper on their date. They had been going out for a while ever since their child’s existence was announced and, suffice to say, it was actually going pretty good. It helped that Tony and Pepper already spent years with one another. Pepper had seen far too much of Tony’s personal life and Tony was taking this opportunity to learn more about Pepper’s.
They still yelled at each other, they still argued, they still fought, but throughout it all, Tony felt closer to her than before and he was so happy.
But, he had to approach the subject with her and he wasn’t sure how to do that. Don’t mind, he was happy with Pepper, but they were having a kid and he wanted to make the family a bit more official by the time the kid was here. He already knew he would do anything for Pepper and this may be jumping the gun a bit but…
He felt good about this.
The light turned green and Tony continued on his way.
“Just thought that maybe we could make it official and-” Tony scoffed. “I sound like a beggar. Come on. Hey Pep, I’m really excited for this, but I want to be more. For us, for our child for…” He paused. “Oh screw it, I’m just winging it.” He was never good at sticking to the script anyway.
He made his way to the diner, one of the fanciest in the city, and was not surprised in the slightest to see Pepper already sitting at their table. That woman had a knack for being early to everything and Tony was still getting used to being on time.
“Hey, handsome,” she greeted as he sat down across from her and Tony’s heart melted. If somebody told him six months ago that he would be soft and welcoming to a woman who was having his child, he would’ve laughed in their face, but he would have never imagined that that woman would be Pepper Potts.
“Hello, beautiful.”
They ordered their food and went about a normal date. Well, as normal as billionaire Tony Stark could get. People around them were whispering and Tony saw from the corner of his vision the pointed looks. He couldn’t really go anywhere without being noticed, but it made what he was planning to do a whole lot harder. He wasn’t going to make a spectacle out of it, especially with the situation of their unborn child still hiding under the radar, but Tony still wanted to make their relationship official. Pepper wasn’t in the park for grand schemes, so Tony kept it normal.
They had finished their meals, got dessert and were eating it when Tony broached the subject.
“Pepper, I’ve been thinking about us.”
She stopped from where she was eating her cake and raised an eyebrow at Tony. “You know I don’t like when you get like this.”
The man sighed at her and couldn’t help his own smile when one lit up her face. “I’m trying to be serious here.”
“That’s new for you.”
“Pepper.”
“Okay.” She put her fork down and gave him her undivided attention. “What is it?”
“I know I haven’t been the best and you have seen me at my absolute worst and yet, you’re still here and I wanted to thank you for it.”
“Well, I do hate job hunting.”
Tony rolled his eyes, but continued anyway. “Having a kid is bringing perspective into my life and giving me something I thought I’d never have. You, a family, a good life outside of just being rich.” He faced her. “I really like this and I don’t want it to end.”
“Are you trying to propose to me right now?”
Tony froze in his spot. “You couldn’t let me get it out?”
Pepper laughed at that. She didn’t answer his question and instead went on her own spiel. “This is new for me as well. When I found out I was pregnant, I didn’t think you would be ready to change everything for me, for this child, but you did, before you even knew it was yours and… it showed me who the real Tony Stark is. Not who you are for the company, not who you are for the press.” She paused. “I like this Tony Stark better.”
“I hope you know that I’m still an a**hole.”
Pepper laughed. “Believe me, I know.”
“As long as that’s clear.”
Pepper tapped her fork with her finger. “I can’t say I didn’t think about this as well, so I’m not surprised you’re bringing it up but… I do want our child to have a family. A mother and father who are together in title… in everything. I want this kid to have everything they deserve.”
Tony knew it. He wanted this kid to have everything they deserved and anything the kid wanted. He was rich, he could buy the world if he wanted. If it didn’t exist, he would invent it for his child. He was willing to go the whole way for this kid that wasn’t even born yet.
Tony Stark was a lot of things and apparently sentimental was one of them.
---
The marriage was put together hastily, but they spared no expense. Tony hired the best wedding planning committee on the planet and they made it possible in less than a month. It was a real shotgun wedding, but it wasn’t just because Pepper was pregnant, but because they didn’t want to wait a moment longer. Pepper wasn’t so sure about having it so suddenly, but Tony had leveled her with a look and said, “Look, Pep, we’re going to get married anyway, let’s just do it.”
Pepper didn’t really have a family to invite, as she admitted Tony was the only person she had, much like Pepper was his, but those she did have were invited and shocked to learn that she was marrying Tony Stark of all people. They were doubly shocked when Tony greeted them and talked to them throughout the reception.
Rhodey, Happy, and Obadiah were invited as well. The second in command was surprised to learn that Tony and Pepper were sealing the deal, especially since Pepper was usually so stoic in her position, but Pepper quickly waved him off. It made a lot more sense when he learned that Pepper was expecting. The old man congratulated them and got them a generic wedding gift. Tony laughed when he saw it.
Happy and Rhodey were indeed fighting for the rank of favorite uncle and Tony was just going to give it to both of them. They probably knew the kid would love everything they do, but both were still trying to one up the other to please the kid that still rested in Pepper’s stomach.
“I bought some legos for the kid.”
“Happy,” Tony ran a hand down his face. “The kid isn’t even born yet.”
“But I need to be ready.”
Rohdey wasn’t any better. He had brought a bunch of model airplanes and movies, ready to educate Tony’s kid on the correct culture of the world. Pepper had stepped in and pushed both men away after that.
The wedding was beautiful and though it was put together fast, it felt like it was months in the making. Tony took a lot of the lead in planning it, but he knew better than to make any decisions without including Pepper. She was, after all, his assistant for a reason and she made all the correct decisions, so everything had to be run by her. There were a lot of times when Tony showed her what he had narrowed down on one aspect of the wedding and Pepper stared at him, went back to all the options given, and chose something completely different.
It turned out to be a wedding fit for a Princess. Tony had booked the most expensive venue and it did look like a castle, especially with Pepper Potts walking down the aisle in the most beautiful dress known to man.
She never let Tony see it and the man was practically foaming at the mouth trying to sneak glances at it before the wedding, but it was like Pepper had a sixth sense for whenever he did so and would catch him before he could.
However, it was probably worth it, as seeing her in it coming towards him was better than seeing it hanging in a closet.
It was so beautiful. She was so beautiful.
He put the ring on her finger. A giant diamond ring, but nothing too gaudy as Pepper denied any extravagant option he offered. They were sealed together and Tony wasn’t sure if he was there for the rest of the reception. It felt surreal to have Pepper holding onto his arm, for this to be real. For a baby bump to be noticeable on Pepper’s stomach and for this to be Tony’s new normal.
He didn’t regret it one bit.
---
He felt out of place here. The doctors were getting Pepper ready and Tony was standing in the corner like an idiot. He just stared as they put something on Pepper’s stomach and were prepping the ultrasound. He didn’t know what he could do to help, so he just sat off to the side while they did everything. He didn’t want to get in the way.
Finally, a majority of the doctors left and Tony was allowed to stand next to his wife’s side as the main doctor got the actual machine that would be used to look at their child.
This would be the first time they got a look. They were busy with other things, the wedding, still running the company, prepping the house for the child, but now they got the chance to book an appointment to learn if they were having a baby boy or a baby girl.
Tony didn’t know which one he would prefer. A girl would be his Princess, right underneath his Queen Pepper. He would care for her, protect her from the dangers of the world, and be the best father she deserved. He would buy her an actual pony if she wanted, maybe an actual castle to make the title real. He never liked the color pink, but he would paint the walls if she wanted it.
If it was a boy, he would show him how to build, but do it in a way his father never did with Tony. He would protect him, guide him, teach him to not make the same stupid mistakes that Tony made and, when the time was right, help him find a girl that was right for him, like Pepper was for Tony. He would show him his favorite bands, teach the kid how to be a nerd in his own right and fall in love with these types of things.
He hoped, either way, that the kid would love to invent and work on things like Tony did, so that he could have that connection between them.
Either way, he was excited.
The ultrasound went swimmingly and they were pleased to hear that everything was going well with the baby. Pepper was stressed a lot of the time with her daily chores at work and Tony tried his best to mitigate that, but Pepper was Pepper and she was as stubborn as they came. Still, she knew when she had to take a moment and Tony was glad he was at least given that.
Finally, the picture was wide on the screen and Tony felt his breath leave him as the doctor showed them their child.
It was fuzzy and hard to see and Tony imagined inventing a better ultrasound just so he could get a better picture, but it was swept away in a mere moment as Tony realized that was his child. His and Pepper’s child right there, alive and kicking and moving and… there.
His focus was wholly on that image of the human form curled up in Pepper’s stomach. He knew the child was real and Pepper had cursed at the thing that kept kicking her all too many times, saying the child was definitely Tony’s if it was causing her that much pain already. But to see it, it made it that more possible, that more realistic, like he finally had all the confirmation he needed to say… yeah, he was going to be a father.
“It looks like it’s a boy,” the doctor announced and another breath left Tony’s lungs and left him without air. A boy. He was having a son. Pepper probably wasn’t lying when she joked about having a mini Tony in her uterus.
He was going to have a son and the thought both overjoyed him and terrified him.
Pepper’s hand gripped his own and he turned to stare down at his wife. “It’s alright, Tony,” she said. “You’re going to do great.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re going to do fantastic.”
---
Tony wasn’t sure how either he or Pepper were still afloat. Well, Pepper made more sense. She was more controlled than he was, more organized and more prepped to take on anything. Tony had trouble rolling out of bed because the thought that he was going to have a son kept ringing around in his head.
They both managed to get SI work done. Tony had invented another weapon for the military and he wasn’t even sure what the weapon did. Most of the time, that would be because he was drunk, but he had been sober for months now and it was more attuned to the fact that Tony still hadn’t gotten over the moon yet.
Pepper was overjoyed as well, but she did a good job at masking it and keeping it professional when she needed to.
Pepper was so amazing and Tony was still surprised he managed to marry her and have a child with her. He was counting his blessings.
Now that they knew the gender of the child, they could get more personal with the things for his room. The nursery was decorated with generic toys for a child, and then more personalized things for their son. Pepper was in charge of clothing shopping because Tony barely knew how to get dressed himself. He would wear the first shirt in his dresser which was usually merch of some band he listened to. Pepper even bought the suits he wears, so he made no argument when she said he was not to be put in charge of clothes shopping.
He did some work to buy some toys for the kid. He was stuck in the kid’s aisle for hours trying to figure out what a newborn boy would like before he realized, it probably didn’t matter. But then he stopped himself again because he wanted something personal for his son to have, not some generic toy he bought.
Were superheroes too soon? Tony had no idea what to get a child. Pepper then had to come help him because he was at a giant wall and could not get over it.
Happy continued to buy lego sets and had started getting personalized ones now that he knew it was a boy.
“Happy, once again, he can’t even play with these yet.”
Happy glanced down at all the boxes he had brought over. There were some sets of zoo animals, the SI building (which Tony was wondering when they worked with Lego to get that), and something called Lego City?
“Then give them to him when he can.”
Tony glanced at the bountiful amount of lego boxes they already had which were set up in the closest. “Have you bought out the entire lego store?”
“Not yet, but I’m debating it.”
---
Rhodey brought blankets over and it was hard to see the hard, stoic, Air Force Officer, as someone who was explaining every square on a quilt to Tony and Pepper. The guy had personalized the quilt with ultrasound pics of the kid, pictures from Tony and Pepper’s wedding, some pictures of Rhodey, a one off pic of Happy that Rhodey glossed over, SI, and a lot of things that surrounded the Starks and their life. He started pointing to each one and explaining why he added it and how it was important to the kid’s life. Again, he glossed over Happy, but spent five minutes talking about each square with himself in it.
When he finished, he handed the quilt to Pepper and the woman stared at it for a moment before laughing at how absurd it was, or how adorable it was. Tony wasn’t certain.
“I also got him more model airplanes.”
Tony put his head in his hands. At this point, they would need to buy their son a house of his own just to fit all the stuff Rhodey and Happy were buying him.
---
“Tony Jr.”
“Absoultely not.”
He said it as a joke, but it still caught him off guard when Pepper turned down his option so quickly. He knew he wasn’t the best at this, but give him some credit. It was harder to name a child than it seemed.
Pepper was half tempted not to include Tony in the process, especially when she pointed out that his two robots were named Dum-E and U. Tony was lucky to be here at all and he was not helping his case with names like “Tony Jr.”
Sue him, he was trying.
“Okay then, what do you got?”
Pepper slipped a piece of paper across the counter to him. Once she let go, she rested her hand on her stomach, the bump now prominent and obvious. It wouldn’t be long before they had to tell the press. The fact that they kept it under ropes for this long was a miracle in it of itself. There were already leaks of their wedding, so Tony had gone to a press conference to say that, yes, he and Pepper were married and no, they didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.
The media was all over the fact that the Tony Stark had settled down with someone and actually married. It was no secret how he tended to act and yet people noticed that he had changed. Still, the entirety of the world flipped out at the news and there was a lot to deal with because of it. Just imagine what they would do when they learned Pepper was pregnant.
Tony found himself staring at the bump for a while before Pepper cleared her throat and gestured to the paper. Right, he was supposed to be doing something.
He glanced over the list and, to no one’s utter surprise, they were good names. Thought out, meaningful, and a whole lot better than Tony Jr.
Tony laughed at one name that looked to have a story behind it. In the middle of the list, “James” was written down in a handwriting that clearly was not Pepper’s. It was then scratched out, rewritten to the side, then the entire line had been crossed out furiously. Below it, by a couple of names, was the name “Harold” that was scratched out and had Pepper’s handwriting next to it that said “No.” There was no fighting with that name unlike the one earlier.
Tony glanced through the rest of the list and found himself relieved to notice there wasn’t anything like “Howard” on here. His father was something of a spectacle, but Tony couldn’t handle naming his kid after him.
There were some good ones on here: Thomas, Benjamin, Peter…
The man paused on that last name. He liked it a lot. He imagined himself in the future, calling out to his kid… Peter.
“That one.” Tony placed the paper back down on the counter and scooted it towards Pepper, all while his finger stayed on the one name. Pepper glanced at it with a soft smile on her face.
“Peter it is.”
---
The weeks leading up to Pepper’s due date had Tony becoming a personal maid. Anyone who knew him knew that he was completely unlike himself. He was following his wife around like a lost puppy, carrying a bucket, a towel, and had emergency services on speed dial every time she would groan or keel over.
Pepper was getting more sick of Tony than she was of the baby in her stomach.
Peter had been an active baby. Pepper had whined about how the child was doing gymnastics in her stomach. She then immediately blamed Tony and his active personality. Tony just argued that it was part of his charm.
Still, despite the chaos that was the child, there were still moments of calm. Tony loved the nights where he could rest on his wife’s stomach and listen for the little kicks that Peter made. He had seen the test, he had Pepper’s testimony, he had seen the ultrasound for heaven’s sake, yet all of this was so much more real. There was his child, alive, real, and making Pepper’s life difficult, just like his father. There was no doubt in his mind that this child was his.
Peter Stark. He couldn’t wait to meet his son.
A part of him still worried about it all, how he would actually do when his son was in this world. He knew he had changed for Pepper, but he still wasn’t the best man, nor a clean man. He made weapons for wars, joked at too many press conferences. Tony was still Tony, despite the fact that he was going to be a father now.
He once told Obadiah he was afraid and the man had laughed at Tony. He wasn’t sure Obie was the correct person to talk to, seeing as the man didn’t have a family himself, but the man still gave Tony somewhat of a pep talk.
“Listen, Tony. If you’ve learned anything from your father, it’s what not to do. I’ve seen you create technology that top scientists claim wouldn’t exist for decades. Even the Arc Reactor was something you invented just to shut people up. I don’t doubt you’ll stumble through this. Besides, we don’t know what the future will bring. I’ll be right beside you.”
Pepper had done the best at calming him.
“Tony, I can hear your thoughts from here.”
From here was across the house in the living room. Tony was currently in the kitchen, something he hardly had used until Pepper officially moved in. He usually had Dum-E make him smoothies when he was working but even that was a risk. That machine had a tendency to drop the smoothie, not put the lid on the blender, or sometimes mix… inedible things into the concoction. Despite how much he threatened the machine, he never could depart with it.
Tony had been prepping a sandwich for Pepper. It was late in the night and apparently Peter was nocturnal because he woke Pepper up just a bit after midnight with all his insistent kicking. The woman couldn’t go back to sleep so she just left the bedroom to sit in the living room. Tony, feeling lonely and like he should be doing something, got up and went after her. They talked for a bit until Pepper interrupted their conversation by just blurting out that she was hungry. Hence Tony in the kitchen while his thoughts started to run rampant.
“Oh really,” he put the piece of bread on top of his masterpiece that was just a mix of stuff they had in the fridge. (He was thankful Pepper didn’t ask him for anything insane. He was still scarred from the pickled yogurt incident.) “And what am I thinking?”
He brought the plate over to his wife and she mouthed a “thank you” before biting into half the sandwich immediately. Who knew the composed Pepper Potts could act so ravenous when pregnant?
“About how to be a father.”
Tony was joking when he asked her to answer. He wasn’t expecting her to be so on point. It’s actually quite terrifying how good she could be. Was that a woman power or a Pepper power?
“How do you do that?”
Pepper laughed at Tony’s expression, continuing to eat her sandwich with smaller bites this time. “I know you.”
“Apparently.” He sat down beside her and Pepper quickly scooted over to be right beside her husband.
“You’re too hard on yourself,” she said. “Peter isn’t even here yet and you’re already doing so much.” She gestured around the mansion. “Remember how this place used to be? Now, JARVIS has a baby monitoring protocol, a baby proofing protocol, and a baby camera protocol so you can record any moment Peter does because you know he’ll be cute. You even babyproofed the kitchen cabinets! You got rid of a majority of your alcohol and have cleaned up your act. You argued with Rhodey about how to put a cradle together and you build missiles in your spare time!” Pepper laughed at that. “You’re so excited to show the kid how to invent something, you want to teach him how to do it.”
“My dad wanted me to be a genius as well.”
“It runs in the family.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “But that doesn’t mean everything runs in the family. You’ve already proven that you can be different, that you can change and be better.” She leaned backwards on the couch and finished her sandwich. “I wouldn’t have married you otherwise.”
“That’s both insulting and encouraging.”
Pepper shrugged. “I couldn’t inflate your ego too much, you’re still a hot mess.”
Tony laughed at that, leaning in to place his head on her stomach. The baby had gone silent and Tony was wondering if Peter was just hungry. Pepper sure ate enough for two, maybe even more. The baby was ravenous.
“I can’t wait until he’s out.”
“So he can stop sitting on your bladder?”
Pepper scoffed. “No, so I can see you hold him.”
Tony sat back up, looking towards Pepper with a surprised expression. She never mentioned anything like that and he frankly hadn’t thought about it either. True, he had imagined teaching Peter how to fix a car engine or how to do math, or pointing out how beautiful his mother was but… he guessed Pepper had her own imagination for what the future would be like and apparently Tony holding their child was in it. It seemed so simple and yet… it meant everything.
Pepper knew the effect her words had on him. She reached forward and brushed some hair from his face. “You’re going to be a great dad. I know you’ll move heaven and Earth for this kid.”
“Anything.”
She pulled him in for a kiss and Tony wasn’t going to say no, even if her breath smelled a bit thanks to the sandwich. Still, it was heavenly and Tony found himself chasing after another, but Pepper was quick to halt that. “We’re in this together, Tony.”
He nodded because that was all he could do in her presence.
Together.
---
Pepper was screaming, Tony’s hand was dying, and he’s pretty sure his heart had stopped five times in just as many minutes. The doctors were urging Pepper to push and get the child out and her screams echoed out and swallowed everything else up.
This was not unplanned. Tony knew what childbirth brought and pain for the woman was unfortunately something they had to go through. But nothing could have prepared him for the sheer feeling of dread and uselessness he felt as his wife did all the hard work and gave birth to their baby.
Pepper grew the child, she fed the child, she would birth and then nurture the child afterwards. Men were useless for practically everything! All he could do was stand by and give his hand for her to squeeze as she worked on pushing the child out, all while her face grew red and her screams haunted Tony’s thoughts.
Such a beautiful moment was dreadfully terrifying.
After hours which were the worst in Tony’s life, Pepper’s screams quieted and she threw her head back into the pillow. Still, after all the pain she just went through, it didn’t tire her out enough to keep her from glancing over and watching their baby.
There he was. Peter Stark.
Covered in blood and fluids, screaming, but it was beautiful. Tony’s heart was immediately Peter’s and he knew that Pepper was right. He would move heaven and Earth for this kid, protect him from anything that dared try to hurt him. All the kid had done was scream and he had Tony wrapped around his finger already.
The doctors wiped the baby off gently before handing him to Pepper. Tony leaned in close to his wife’s side and eyed their baby like he was staring at a priceless artifact. People would know that Tony was not sentimental with a lot of his things. He would buy something expensive and store it just because he could. He would toss a painting off the wall just to hang something up that screamed him. He built things and then just handed them off to the military for a payday.
But here, glancing at his child, his eyes were opened and he wanted to hold him so delicately, like this was the first thing Tony made that he truly cared about.
After Pepper had cooed at the child for a good while and rocked him side to side, she lifted him up and Tony’s arms were wrapping around Peter before he even realized what he was doing. It was like his body already knew what to do, how to move to hold Peter correctly, and when none of the doctors argued with him on it, he figured he was doing something right.
Tony sighed and glanced down at his child.
“Hey, Pete,” he whispered and though the child couldn’t hear him and was too busy wailing, Tony continued. Even if he couldn’t hear, he still needed to say it. “I’m Tony, your dad. I may not be the best one and I’ll probably piss you off multiple times in your life, but… I want you to know that no matter what, I have your back and I will be with you for every step of your life. Nothing could stop me from being there for you. You’re a Stark which comes with a lot of power and responsibility and that can be terrifying and get to your head. I know I lost my way, but,” he glanced at his wife, “you can always find your way back. I believe in you and I want to help you whenever you’re lost. I want you to rely on me. So, forgive me in advance for when I mess up. Remember that I love you and I care for you and will always show up when it matters.”
Tony Stark was not sentimental, he did not care about others. That’s what the media would say. But as he closed his eyes, tears formed on the rims and he found it hard to take a full breath.
“You’re my son and nothing can prepare me for that.” Nothing could ever prepare him for fatherhood, but here he was and this was happening. It was already hard to think about when Pepper was pregnant but now it seemed impossible. Still, Tony was here and he was going to try.
He loved Peter. Just after knowing him for less than an hour, he loved Peter. The baby had done nothing but be born and he loved Peter.
He loved Pepper for sharing this with him, he loved that his life could turn out like this, he loved his newborn son.
He stared teary eyed at his child. “I love you.” He glanced over at his wife and knelt down to place a kiss on her head. “I love you.”
Pepper smiled, tears starting to pool down her face as well. She reached her hand up and pulled Tony into a hug, all while Peter wailed between them.