#before that tony was just kind of hanging around tony's house anyways because ''morgan is here''

[worstloki]

Part 1

--[official naming and legal rights ceremony for Morgan]--

Tony: you know what would be really funny? Pepper: Tony... Tony: THINK about it Pep- how can you say no to this once in a lifetime opportunity? Pepper: Rhodey and Steve. We already decided. Tony: ok fine. FINE! I'll just give up the chance for our daughter to have two literal powerhouses watching over her Pepper: one of them isn't even alive! Tony, signing the paperwork: he was the dodgy one anyways! Pepper: oh g*d tell me you didn't Tony: too late. our daughter's got 1 thunderer and 1 deceased trickster listed as her ~*godparents*~ and no punishment you come up with will ruin this moment for me Pepper: its fine, this is fine, it wont even be legally binding since you can't have two male godparents listed so its invalid anyways, haha this is fine, everything is fine,,, Tony: i actually heard from Thor that Loki could be female if they wanted... Pepper: ... Pepper: TONY!! -- [later] -- Rhodey: dude did you seriously put LOKI down as a legal guardian for your kid instead of me Tony: well I wanted Thor but he insisted that I put Loki down too... something about honouring Asgardian tradition...? Rhodey: tradition is fine but isn't he DEAD? Tony: sure Thor thought he was dead 5 years ago, then again 4 years ago, and then again 2 years ago... but if he was alive he would have already, statistically speaking, shown up by now Rhodey shaking his head fondly: okay i forgive you for replacing me with Thor and his deceased brother, but the next kid has my name on it. I've already called dibs with no takebacks, okay? Tony: one kid is already keeping me busy enough, honeybear... 

---[3 years later]---

Tony: And. I. Am. Iron Man... *snaps* Thanos' army: *disintegrates* Tony: *taking his last breathes* Pepper: you can rest now... Loki: *shoves Pepper aside and pulls the gauntlet off Tony* Pepper and Rhodey and Peter who were standing around tony: LOKI ?!? Dr Strange: no SToP you cant juST do THAT- Loki, taking out the time stone: why not Dr Strange: if you change anything now it'll ruin the timelines!!! Loki, reversing time on Tony and bringing him back to life: that's not how time works, Dr. Supreme Dr Strange: It’s Strange, and- Loki: Yes, I agree, it is strange that you decided to let Earth's best hero die when literally every infinity stone is rigHT HERE Dr Strange: but its wrong to misuse their pow- Loki: Then it’s a good thing I'm evil and don't care Dr Strange: buT- Loki: no need to worry, I'm only helping you heroes out this one time because apparently while I was stardust Tony chose to give me partial ownership over his child so now i am bound to care for it  Pepper, remembering that Loki is legally Morgan’s godparent: oh my g*d   Rhodey: well, I bet Tony didn't expect this Tony, speaking in his sleep: frickity frackity Loki, looking at Tony disapprovingly: I agree.  --[a week later]-- Tony: okay, so like, i don't want to seem ungrateful for you saving my life, but i only wrote your name down to get Thor - Loki, annoyed: Yes I figured as much Tony: -yes but if you've saved my life I was wondering exactly how bound you are to help and how far you're willing to go to watch over her Loki: does this have anything to do with the 18+ end-of-the-world-celebration party at the end of the week? Tony: maybe Loki: *stares at him* Tony: ...okay, yES… do you think you could make sure Morgan is alive and well and safe while I go? It’s clear you don't appreciate being forced to be her godparent so if you do it I'll even get your name off the legal documentation by the end of the week and you can leave after Loki: If you so much as try to remove my name when it is THOR that has been neglectful of his duty and has been ignoring the implications of having a child under their name then I will have no choice but to hit you over the head with stormbreaker Tony: oh. okay. no name removing then that's cool i guess just please don't smite me or i'll dob to thor that you're going to try touching his shiny axe and have are regressing on your journey to goodness  Loki, pulling stormbreaker out of his pocket dimension: I’m afraid you’re too late to warn him about the potential theft of his favourite beer opener. I will, however, watch Morgan over both days of the party, IF I also get put in charge of the spider child and Wakanda's princess Tony, doing his best to ignore the huge axe: how do you even know about them, weren't you snapped for the past 5 years?? Loki: I understand that they're not allowed to attend the party either and will not have any parents or guardians available to care for them at the time... Tony: you're not going to try any funny business right...? even if you wont hurt Morgan how do i know you wont lay a hand on the others?? I cant just trust you to watch over a bunch of kids no matter how much bruce and thor vouch for your sanity Loki: you can trust I wouldn't risk scarring Morgan like that if you don't trust i wouldn't intentionally attack a bunch of literal children Tony: hmm okay I guess I’ll just cross my fingers and hope you don't relapse into villainy  Loki: wonderful. inform the children that I will pick them up 2 hours before the time of the party. Tony: need me to get you a ride? Peter lives close but Shuri lives just a tad bit out of walking range Loki: no thanks I'll be fine

---[at the party]---

Pepper: YOU LEFT HIM ALONE TO CARE FOR MORGAN?! Tony: he’s been doing a fine job of it while we’re around, and besides, it’s not like I left her with him alone or anything! Pepper: No, of course not Tony, that would be too simple, no, you left LOKI in charge of not JUST our child but also Peter, and the PRINCESS of Wakanda too Pepper: do you have any idea how badly this could work out?! putting aside the political disaster that would occur if something happened to Shuri the ethical considerations alone make strangling you very tempting right now Rhodey: Pepper, Tony would never do anything to put Morgan or Peter or even Shuri in danger... he knows they're kids, right Tony? Tony: Peter can benchpress a mag-lev and Shuri can design one in 60 seconds flat. I’m not concerned because they'll be fine even if he does try to pull off anything even 2% evil! Pepper: *not impressed* Tony: some sort of Asgardian binding magic was involved so he literally cant try to inflict any harm on Morgan, and that includes emotional distress just for the record, believe me, i checked Rhodey: what do you mean 'i checked', what did you do man Tony: Morgan wanted ice pops the other day so i told her to ask Loki Pepper: TONY he's a WAR CRIMINAL Tony: so anyways Morgan went up to the ally we’re kindly hosting - who literally takes residence on whichever couch is closest to Morgan by the way and it’s super funny to watch him move between couches every time she leaves the room - and he's reading when she asks if he'll get an ice pop with her Tony: and I've tried talking to him when he's reading and it does NOT end well Pepper: and you sent MORGAN to do it anyways?? Tony: and he said no at first, which was predictable, right? but then Morgan got sad and a bit teary-eyed and she asked again and when he saw she was sad he literally jolted in pain and he put the book aside and got up so fast to immediately lead her to the freezer to get some  Rhodey: so, what? he physically cant say no to Morgan or some wacky voodoo thing compels him? Tony: That is the conclusion I have come to with my findings, yes. It seems he can’t intentionally do anything to hurt her in any way. So Morgan and her new friends are completely safe, sweetie. Pepper: I'm leaving to make sure she's doing okay... Tony: I also installed cameras just to make sure no one gets murdered without thorough evidence to convict him, if that helps? Pepper: If you can get the live feed to go to my phone I'll consider staying Tony: deal.

--meanwhile, in Tony's house--

[Peter Shuri Morgan and Loki are wrapped up in blankets and watching The Hobbit. Loki is doing some paperwork and Morgan is drinking orange juice while Peter and Shuri share some popcorn] Peter: so are we going to talk about how we're watching a movie with the person who attacked New York with an alien army a few years ago or not Shuri: he was not acting of his own volition so i thought we were excusing that Loki, looking up: you are literally the first person to have mentioned that Peter: but Mr. Stark said that-- Shuri: footage of the 2012 attack conclusively showed that his eye colour changed before and after he had been subdued the final time, which was a phenomenon associated only with being under the influence of the sceptre containing the mind stone  Peter: he does magic though! it could be a trick or the cameras could've been too grainy to tell Shuri: They weren't. But the changes in his behaviour and speech patterns also indicate that he was being controlled or at least coerced to some extent. He's also sitting next to us doing paperwork and watching Bilbo sneak around a dragon. Loki: Congratulations, you are officially the only person from this planet for whom I can confidently vouch is not a- *covers Morgan’s ears* -complete imbecile. Shuri: Thank you. Peter: well, she is a genius Shuri: Yes I am, in fact I'm a genius that has the approval of Loki, which is even better, because I'm assuming he'll have some neat ideas on how to make a fool of T'Challa in my lab on camera more often Loki: I may have some experience in the making-a-fool-out-of-my-brother department Shuri: wonderful! we can brainstorm after the movie :) Peter: I don't have a brother to prank :( Loki: I can fix that Peter: ...what Shuri: yeah, what?? Loki: oh I meant that if you wanted I could legally become your godparent and then you'd have Harley and Morgan as prankable siblings Peter: you know what? I'm actually considering it Shuri: how angry do you think T'challa would be if I made Loki an official Wakandan by saying he's my godfather because I think that would get a hilarious reaction out of him Loki, nodding: According to Asgardian tradition claiming a godchild forms an irrevocable bond and he would have to accept that his sister has someone who pulls off legendary pranks keeping her safe from any attempts at his retaliation Peter: that’s so cool and i'm definitely accepting your offer Shuri: and I'm joining in because i have a folder filled with evidence that Loki was mostly innocent of the New York attack but some videos of us together pulling off harmless pranks would make fine contributions to it Loki: wonderful! Loki, holding out documents and a pen: just sign here, there, and there, Peter: wait you've been sitting next to us filling out godchild adoption forms this whole time??? Loki: well actually I started out filling out the godparent-removal forms because Thor is an irresponsible buffoon and i refuse to share custody with him Peter: do you think i could get ~*Thor*~ to adopt me- Loki: Nopity nope. Too late. You've already signed the forms so you're stuck with me, and I refuse to share any of my friends with him Peter: aww you called us your friends Loki: you have no proof i said that Shuri, pointing to the camera in the corner of the room: but that hackable camera does >:) [peter jumps over the sofa and is going to retrieve the camera for shuri to get the blackmail material when he gets hit by a pillow. shuri says 'hey that was not nice' as she hits loki with her pillow. peter throws the pillow he has at loki. morgan yells 'PILLOW FIGHT!!' before joining in, and by the time they settle down again all of them have missed the ending of the film and have to rewatch the last 20 minutes before drifting off to sleep together on the floor in a patchwork of all their blankets]

---[later at the party]---

Tony: sorry pal, I'm a certified genius and even I don't know how she managed to carry around and slip Morgan’s papers to you when that dress has no pockets and her purse is barely large enough to fit a small-to-medium-sized wrench Rhodey: it was probably the same way she switched your drink for Thor's godchild renouncement forms when you weren't looking Tony, whispering: I think she has CEO paperwork powers Rhodey whispering back: you're only noticing now?

[pepper and tony get home the next day]

Pepper: i still cant believe you left Loki near the kids Tony: and i still cant believe you didn't know how to check the live feed and decided to ignore me the entire night instead of bothering to ask. clearly deep down you trusted my judgement and the decision to leave the kids in Loki's capable, mischiefy, slightly-insane but apparently reformed hands.

[yelling is heard from the living room and Tony and Pepper run in to find Loki Peter Shuri and Morgan sitting around wrapped in blankets and playing Mario Kart and exclaiming their thoughts very vocally. when they are noticed all the kids freeze and stare at Tony. Loki mumbles something about telling Tony he lost the bet since he did in fact manage to keep everyone alive and at that point even Pepper is staring (glaring) at Tony.]

Tony, realising the kids have bonded™: oh no. what have i done.

#part 1 of my modern AU where tony has to deal with his batch of kinda-kids being monopolised by loki #the same loki who refuses to say he's ''reformed'' or ''better than he used to be'' because he's ''always been like this'' #the thing is that he's not TELLING anyone about the mind control so everyone assumes the worst #he goes around doing harmless pranks and flambouyantly messing with people and is listed as their Number 1 enemy #despite never harming anyone in the avengers get called in to deal with him all the time but he's not even close to evil? #good luck to tony who has to explain that to people when they see him having a regular conversation with loki #he's not evil he just likes causing mischief and if you're not running away and screaming like crazy the things he does are actually funny #no one gets hurt or anything they're all harmless and he's only a criminal because it counts as 'terrorising civilians' to make trees dance #shuri peter and morgan end up bonding with loki 2 weeks after thanos is gone #before that tony was just kind of hanging around tony's house anyways because ''morgan is here'' #spoiler alert: there is no magic binding him to the kids he just values the fact that someone would honour him with responsibility #why did thor ask for loki's name to also be put down? because he DIDNT WANT to be morgan's godfather #he was depressed and knew he was in no mental state to take on that role and didnt think he deserved it anyways #he asked for loki to be written down too because he thought tony would never do that and he would get out of it but that obvsly didnt work #i'm tagging this under: LokiAdoptsAU #LokiAdoptsAU #this is part 1 and I'll post part 2 tomorrow but there isnt going to be a storyline or anything its just everyone existing

[star-spangled-steve]

His New Partner

Chapter 42: The Depression

Series Masterlist

Previous Chapter

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Words: 2128

Warnings: Light angst, some sad!Steve, some fluff, mentions of pregnancy, one cuss word.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoy this!

“Hey, guys, look at this.” Y/N spoke in between giggles, gently holding up the raw cookie that she had just finished decorating. On the top was a smiley face made out of chocolate chips, and three, almost four years old Morgan seemed to like it just as much as she did.

“Smiley!” The little girl cheered, and Y/N nodded with a smile.

“Looks like we’re hanging with two children today, Pepper.” Natasha quipped as she lined one of the baking sheets with cookies.

Pepper chuckled as she put some of the dirty bowls and spoons in the dishwasher. “You say that, Nat, but I’ve watched you steal chocolate chips out of that bag for the past half hour.”

The redhead just rolled her eyes playfully, popping another chocolate chip into her mouth.

The women were having a ‘Girls’ Day’ at Tony and Pepper’s lakeside house, filled with hugs, laughs, minor gossip, and alas, baking. It was originally just going to be Y/N, Natasha, and Pepper, but Tony, the man who was supposed to watch Morgan, ended up having a few other things to do. So the child had joined them, not that the women had minded. Morgan was always a treat.

“Fine,” Y/N spoke playfully, “if you don’t like my cookie, Nat, then that’s okay. It’s coming home with me. You don’t even get to try my delicious smiley goodness.”

“Oh I’m heartbroken.” The assassin quipped, making all of the ladies laugh. Well, besides Morgan who was too busy playing with the raw cookie dough, and quite frankly not advanced enough to really understand what they were saying half the time. If their own husbands and male friends couldn’t keep up with them, how could one expect a three-year-old to?

Though, looking at sweet little, adorable Morgan, Y/N couldn’t help but feel a little pang in her chest. She wanted that; a child. She missed being a mother more than anyone could ever know. She’s thought about trying to have more kids in the future, but it always just brings back the terrible memories. The memories of being alone during her pregnancy, of having to raise her son on her own, and most awfully, her son dying right in front of her.

Steve had mentioned it a couple of times. But he could quickly see how uncomfortable the conversation had made her, and made sure to change the topic as fast as he could. He didn’t want to pressure her if she wasn’t ready, especially because of how last time went.

He had hope, though. They both did. Y/N hoped that she could get over her own fears, and Steve hoped that he could one day prove to her that there was nothing to be afraid of. He hoped that he could prove himself worthy of a second chance. That’s all he wanted.

Until then though, they would wait. No matter how badly both of them wanted to be parents. No matter how badly they wanted to fill that little hole in their lives.

“I see nothing but females and I feel outnumbered.”

The voice of one of the people she respected most in the word brought Y/N out of her thoughts. “Tony.” She breathed out, going in for a hug from her billionaire friend.

“Hey, sweet pea.” He greeted her in return, hugging her lovingly before pulling away. “How are ya’ doing?”

The woman gave him a small smile and a couple tiny nods. “Good. You?”

“Good.” The man replied, slightly ruffling her hair before going over to greet Natasha and give Pepper a peck on the lips.

“Daddy!” Morgan cheered, and Tony picked her up, placing her on his hip.

“Exactly who I came in to see.” He chuckled, bouncing her a bit. “You ladies mind if I steal her? Daddy has a couple cool things he wants to show her.”

Pepper smiles. “Go ahead. Just make sure that your ‘cool things’ aren’t too cool.”

“She means no weaponry, Stark.” Natasha stated, knowing that he would never show his daughter that anyways. Tony was a different person now. A family person who did normal, family things.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Y/N watched as he and Morgan walked outside, wishing every bit of that for herself one day.

*****

“So, how’s Steve?”

Pepper’s question threw Y/N a bit off guard. Not because it was intrusive or unexpected; it was actually a very regular, polite thing to ask. No, it had just thrown her off guard because she knew that in fact, her husband was not doing too well.

Steve had been more sad lately. For the last few weeks, he’d seemed a bit more blue than he usually was in these times. Y/N guessed that it might have been A.J.’s birthday that threw him off, as it had just passed, but Thanos’ snap had taken place four years ago now. It couldn’t still be that, could it?

“He’s uh...” the young woman sighed, deciding to just be honest with them, “I don’t think he’s doing too great.” She watched as her friends frowned. “He’s just been a bit more sad lately, that’s all.”

“Well that’s unfortunate.” Pepper said sympathetically as Natasha nodded in agreement.

The three ladies were now sitting down in the living room, having some wine and catching up on life without having to be worried if a little child would hear.

Tony was still outside with Morgan even though it had been well over an hour now, but Pepper didn’t mind. She loved knowing that they were bonding as father and daughter.

“Yeah, well... I’m sure everything will be okay.” Y/N stated, honestly just trying to reassure herself. She hated it when her husband was upset.

“Yeah.” Natasha gave her a little smile, knowing how worried her friend could get sometimes.

It was about an hour or so later when Y/N and Natasha left the lakeside cabin, both going their own separate ways. Everyone gave each other a kiss on the cheek goodbye, including Tony and Morgan who were also going to miss the two women.

Y/N’s drive home was pretty smooth, relatively quiet. She was just looking forward to a nice, relaxing evening at home with her favourite man. Though, when she arrived, she very quickly realized that that was not going to happen.

“Steve?” She called out. “Stevie?” Again and again she shouted his name, never getting an answer in return. It was when she spotted a little note on her kitchen counter that she put it all together.

‘Just needed to clear my head. I should be home in a couple hours. Love you, doll.’

Somehow, Y/N knew exactly where he had gone and knew exactly what she needed to do.

The woman got right back in her car, hightailing it to the place that she knew Steve always went to be alone.

She knew that her going after him was kind of defeating the purpose of him even going to said place, but she had to talk to her husband. She had to figure out why he was so upset.

As soon as she had arrived, she hopped out of her car, and the shutting of her door alerted her husband of her presence.

“How’d you know where I was?” His deep voice questioned.

Y/N shrugged. “Just a hunch.” She walked up to where Steve was leaning on the railing of the old wooden bridge, the same one that he’d taken her to many years ago when he had proposed. She knew that it was still his special place and she could certainly see why. The spot was just as beautiful as the last time she had seen it.

The sky was dark, and they had a beautiful view of the stars this far away from all the city lights. Though even with all this beautiful nature in front of her, the only thing that Y/N could focus on was Steve.

“What’s going on?” She questioned, placing a gentle hand on his arm and stroking up and down. “Why have you been so sad lately?”

“You want the honest answer?” The man questioned, staring intently at the water in the lake. “Or the answer that won’t bring you down with me?”

Y/N gulped. “The honest one. Tell me everything. I want to cheer you up.” She leaned her head against his bicep, wrapping her other hand around his arm too and practically curled herself into his side. “You’ve been so distant these last few weeks. Since...”

“Since A.J.’s birthday.” Her husband finished for her. “Yeah, I know. It really... uh, it really hit me hard this year.”

She looked up at him caringly. “Any particular reason?”

“I want a kid.” Steve blurted out, deciding to just be completely honest with her about everything. He watched as her face looked almost spooked and decided to continue. “And I know, darling. I know that I have no right to ask for that again from you because of how it went last time. Believe me, I’m aware of how awful it was for you to go through that alone.” He turned so that he was fully facing her, taking both of her hands in his own. “And I know that with the trauma, you probably don’t even want to consider this again. It’s just... hearing you tell me last night that you were going to visit Tony and Pepper and... and Morgan today, it really hit me. I just want what they have so damn badly.”

Y/N nodded, small tears beginning to form in her eyes. “I want that too.”

Steve’s face instantly lightened up a bit. “Y-You do?”

“Yes.” The woman spoke, trying to blink back her tears. “I was thinking about it today too, and I really, really want a kid.”

“That-That’s great! That-”

“But I don’t think I’m ready.” She cut him off before his hopes got too high. “Not yet. Maybe soon, but... but not right now.”

“Oh.” Steve swallowed, trying not to show how disappointed he was. “Do you know when?”

Y/N puffed out a little breath. “No. But eventually.” She stepped a bit closer to him, leaning her chin right on his chest and looking up at him. “So many things didn’t go right last time. And I loved Anthony James, still love Anthony James so much, but... it was very, very hard on me emotionally. I just think that I need to completely heal from the first time before we get started on the second time.”

The man nodded, truly agreeing with every word she just said. “You’re right. I’m sorry for trying to rush you.”

She gave him a loving grin. “It’s okay. It’s nice to know that you want this. I just wish that there was a way to actually cheer you up.

Steve lightly chuckled. “Baby, just you being here was enough to cheer me up.”

Y/N gave him a small laugh, sheepishly biting her hip. “Yeah but... hmm... Oh! I have an idea!” She instantly lit up, bouncing on her toes a little. “Wait here.”

The woman ran back to her car as fast as she could before opening up the passenger side door, grabbing what she needed and jogging right back to him.

“Here.” She held out the item for him, watched as he raised his eyebrows with a smirk.

“A cookie?”

Y/N shook her head with a giggle. “No, silly. Not just any cookie, a smiley cookie!” In her hands was the special cookie that she had decorated that afternoon, chocolate chips on the top in the shape of a smiley face.

The man began to laugh at how adorable she was.

“We made cookies today at Pepper’s and I thought that it was a cute idea. I was going to eat it myself but, I think you need a smile more than I do right now.”

Steve’s heart was absolutely warmed. “You’re the sweetest, babydoll. Absolutely the sweetest.”

“I mean, maybe.” Y/N playfully shrugged, placing the cookie in his hands.

“How about we split it?” He asked, not wanting to eat it right in front of her while she had nothing.

“If you insist.”

Steve broke the cookie in half, letting her choose which side she wanted before they clinked the halves together as a form of cheers.

They ate in content silence until they were finished, and the man gave his wife a cookie crumbly kiss, wiping her mouth with his thumb afterwards.

“Thank you, Y/N. I love you.”

The woman smiled at him before leaning into his side and staring at the gorgeous stars above them, feeling a nice sense of peace wash over her. “I love you too. And there’s no need for you to thank me; I’ll always be happy to cheer you up.”

Next Chapter

Feedback is always welcome!❤️

#steve rogers x reader #captain america x reader #chris evans x reader #steve rogers x you #steve rogers x y/n

[lyssismagical]

nothing can keep me from loving you

Day 1: “2029, that’s not a real year” / time travel / future au

Mostly just soft fluff 

Waking up to Peter will never get old. He’ll never take it for granted to have Peter in his arms, no matter how many years pass. It’s his favourite thing to wake up, Peter against his chest, curls tickling his chin, warm breaths puffing out against his stomach, cold feet pressed against his calf.

He loves his wonderful fiancé more than he ever thought possible, even if he has to put up with Peter drooling on his chest and stealing his blankets. He’s okay with all of it as long as he gets to wake up with Peter every morning.

One of their phones are ringing on Harley’s nightstand and Peter stirs against his chest, so he answers it as quickly as possible, softly shushing Peter.

“Hi, honey, sorry for the early call, but I was wondering if you were still coming by next weekend?”

“May?” Harley says, voice rough and quiet, not wanting to wake up his fiancé.

He can practically hear May’s smile in her voice. “Harley! Sorry if I woke you, sweetie. How are you?”

“I’m really good, thanks. We’ve got a day off together for the first time in months so we’re probably just spending the day in. And we’re heading out for Queens on Friday afternoon, after Peter’s classes.”

“Good. Tony and Pepper are flying in on Saturday, so Morgan will be here with me when you get here.”

Harley smiles, pressing a kiss to the crown of Peter’s head when he snuffles, one hand curling around Harley’s bicep. “Tell her we miss her a lot, will you? It’s been a while since we’ve made the trip up and I feel a little guilty. She’s doing well, right?”

“She’s doing great, Harley. Don’t worry so much,” May says with a huff of laughter. “For a high schooler, she’s surprisingly happy and well-mannered.”

Peter murmurs something under his breath, shifting again, one foot sliding up to press against the back of Harley’s knee making him shiver at his cold toes. Harley smooths a hand down Peter’s back, trying to soothe him back to sleep.

“How’s it been babysitting a teenager?”

Laughing softly, May’s voice goes nostalgic. “Reminds me of when I was raising a teenager. At least this one doesn’t crawl on ceilings or fight crime.”

Harley barely manages to stifle his laughter fast enough to not startle Peter. “Yeah, I suppose your bar’s pretty low.”

May laughs again. “Yeah, the bar’s all the way on the ground, it’s so low. But don’t think I haven’t talked to your mother about the kind of things you did as a teenager, though… Anyways, I need to get Morgan to school, so I’ll let you go back to your lazy morning plans. It was nice to hear from you.”

“Yeah, you too. I’ll make sure Peter calls you later, yeah? He’ll probably be up soon.” Just as he says that, Peter’s lips smack and his hand tightens around Harley’s bicep, eyes starting to flutter open. “I think he’s waking up if you want to talk to him.”

“No, it’s okay. Just let him know I called? And that I love him?”

Harley smiles softly, rubbing his hand down Peter’s back again. “You got it, May. We’ll see you next week.”

“Bye, Harley. Love you, honey.”

“Love you too. Bye.”

He hangs up the phone and puts it back on the nightstand beside his before turning his attention on his fiancé who’s doe-eyes are blinking up at him.

“Morning, sweetheart,” Harley says, leaning down to kiss his forehead. “May called confirming next week. She says she loves and misses you.”

“Mm,” Peter replies intelligently, freezing toes finding more warm skin at Harley’s ankles.

Harley grins, grabbing Peter’s hand and lifting it to his mouth to kiss the engagement ring that sits around his finger. If he doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to waking up next to Peter, he’ll really never get used to knowing Peter’s his fiancé. It’s such a huge difference to the nervous fumbling and hidden relationship from when they were sophomores.

When they first met, the summer after freshman year, when Harley had just moved in with Tony, they weren’t ready to put labels on the kisses they shared when nobody was looking or the late nights they spent in the other’s room, curled close together and hoping FRIDAY wouldn’t tattle.

Harley had grown up in Rose Hill, a blatantly homophobic part of the south, and Peter had grown up being bullied for everything he did, including being bisexual.

They’d learned how to keep their heads down, which battles were worth fighting, how to be the person everybody wanted them to be.

But then in sophomore year, together but without labels and keeping everything a secret, they realized that suddenly they weren’t fighting on their own. They had each other’s back and that made everything different, that made it worth it.

Now, they’re out and proud, and Harley never thinks twice before kissing his boyfriend in public.

Being able to call Peter his fiancé is a dream come true when there was a time he wasn’t even allowed to call him a friend.

“You’re thinkin’ too much,” Peter mumbles, eyes slipping shut again.

“I’m only thinking about how much I love you.” It’s cheesy but the smile on Peter’s face makes every cheesy line worth it. “It’s been almost seven years since we got together.”

Peter smiles sleepily, kissing Harley’s sternum. “Ten years is 2029.”

“2029? That’s not a real year.”

His fiancé lets out a laugh at that, settling just a little bit closer to Harley. “Mm, love you.”

Harley grins, tightening his arm around Peter’s waist. “Love you too, darlin’.”

* They only make it out of bed near noon, letting Peter drift back to sleep a few times, and spending some time murmuring words of affection.

Peter slips on one of Harley’s old hoodies, Rose Hill High printed across the front and Keener on the back, and a pair of sweatpants that have been traded back and forth so many times Harley can’t remember who it first belonged to. He looks so comfy and sweet, hair fluffy and eyes bright, well rested for the first time in a long time.

The apartment’s a bit of a mess.

It’s almost always a mess, despite Peter’s cleanliness. Peter hates it being messy but when they’re only really in the house to sleep most days, in their last year of university, balancing jobs and extra-curriculars, and Spider-Man, they don’t really have the time for cleaning.

But instead of going straight to cleaning, Peter kisses Harley sweetly, corners of his eyes crinkling with how big his smile gets, and sits down at the dining room table.

Their table’s covered in magazines, booklets, and a thick scrapbook. Wedding planning.

“I know we’ve still got five months, but we’ve barely made any progress,” he explains, flipping open their scrapbook.

Harley slips his arms around the back of Peter’s chair, leaning over his shoulder to look at their choices of flowers. “This is our first day off and you want to spend it wedding planning?”

His fiancé pouts, kissing Harley’s bicep where it rests on the hero’s shoulder. “If we don’t do it now, it’s never going to happen.”

And if there’s anything Harley hates in this world, it’s upsetting Peter, even if the pout is mostly a joke. So he kisses Peter’s head, and then makes his way to the kitchen.

He makes coffee for both of them, smiling fondly at his Spider-Man mug and Peter’s World’s Best Brother mug from Morgan. He makes sure to put extra sugar in Peter’s before he takes it back to his fiancé.

“I love you,” Peter says as soon as he’s got the warm mug in his hands. His engagement ring clinks against the side of the mug which makes Harley grin at the little reminder.

Harley lets out a breath, looking over their mess of magazines. But he’s beyond excited to be marrying Peter, no matter how hard wedding planning gets, no matter how much they argue about where everyone will sit or which flowers to use, nothing will make his excitement falter.

“I love you too.”

A soft blush creeps up from Peter’s neck like it does every time Harley says those three words, like every time is a surprise. “I still think Morgan and Abbie should be beside each other.”

Harley rolls his eyes, like he does every single time Peter tries to argue the seating arrangement. “Abbie’s three years older and doesn’t know her that well. We should give her a plus one and put her by Mom.”

Somehow, Peter smiles, reaching under the table to link their pinkies together, rings clinking. “I really love you.”

“My heart will seriously explode if you say that one more time.”

Smile widening, Peter points at the picture of a bouquet of pink lilies and white daisies, amid their three other potential choices. “I think we should do these. A bit more expensive, but fits the theme nicer.”

“Okay,” Harley says because he’d say yes to anything Peter wants.

“I think we did some good work, time for a break?”

Harley rolls his eyes in amusement, purposefully clinking their rings together again under the table. Their apartment, their wedding, their future. He can barely handle how much love grows in his chest, warm and fuzzy and strong. He can’t believe this is all real. He still feels like the lovesick teenager who pushed down all his feelings and quietly crushed from a distance, not believing it was possible. And yet, here they are.

“What do you want to do with our day off?”

Peter opens his mouth to answer, but one of their phones ring from their bedroom. He sighs, offering a wary smile like he knew something like this would happen, an interruption to their peaceful day. They don’t even know what the text is and somehow Peter assumes it’ll hurt their day.

He slips his hand out from Harley’s and disappears back into their bedroom.

Harley starts on finding something for breakfast, even though it’s past noon, and he tries not to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“-off. I thought-” Peter sounds aggravated, and his footfalls sounds like he’s pacing. “Don’t- It’s not like that.”

Harley pauses his pancake making, turning his attention towards the phone call with the distress in his fiancé’s voice. He already knows who it is.

Peter got a job at a tech corporation in Boston while finishing his last year at MIT, and it pays really well, it’s the only way they’ll be able to afford their wedding and honeymoon on top of the bills and rent and expenses. But his boss is awful.

No matter how many times Harley tries to convince him to quit and get his old minimum wage job that he enjoyed back, Peter insists that he’d prefer to be treated poorly for another six months if it means being able to have their dream wedding.

“I’m sorry,” Peter murmurs, sounding miserable. “I can’t- I’ve been working unpaid overtime for weeks, Sir. And you’re threatening to fire me because I can’t come in on a random Saturday?”

Harley walks into their room, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist from behind. From so close he can hear Peter’s boss’s voice lifting angrily.

“-matter! I’m your boss and I’m already doing plenty by letting you work here despite your ties to people like Stark.”

“I know, I’m sorry, sir. I just- I wanted to spend the day with my fiancé. I’ve been working nonstop for you and I was told I’d get today off.”

Anger sparks in Harley’s chest, protectively tightening his grip around Peter’s waist like it would be enough, when Peter’s voice trembles like he might cry, apologizing for wanting a day to relax.

“Your fiancé?” his boss repeats, letting out a cold, humorless laugh. “You mean-”

“Please don’t go there. Not today,” Peter pleads. He leans his head back on Harley’s shoulder, eyes closing in exasperation.

Harley presses a kiss to his temple, trying to provide any comfort he can.

“I need you in for work today, Parker. Plain and simple.”

Peter’s face falls, knowing he can’t get out of this, he can’t lose the job, can’t say no, can’t beg for at least one day. Instead he falls quiet, pliant. “Yes, sir. I can be there in an hour.”

He says his goodbyes and turns to Harley, slipping his phone into his pocket, eyes wet and lips pouting.

“I’m sorry.”

It reminds Harley plainly of the fights they used to have, the days when they first moved out to Boston together, first had jobs and university and homework and what felt like the world balanced on their shoulders, the days when their relationship was pushed to the backburner and there wasn’t enough care for the days they’d go endlessly without talking to each other.

The fights they used to have where Peter would cry and Harley would shout, equally upset about the nights going to bed alone or unanswered texts or dates stood up. The fights where one of them would leave, find a place to stay for the night instead of home, before they’d makeup in anyway they knew how to, making promises of easier days and solutions.

These were supposed to be the easier days, but it’s not always as simple. Peter has a boss that hates him, who demands him to come into work whenever he pleases, who dismisses their relationship as pretend, as wrong, who calls Peter out and humiliates him in front of coworkers just because he can. But Peter’s always been strong. Always has been resilient to whatever the world throws at him.

“Don’t apologize, honey,” Harley murmurs reassuringly, despite the ache that makes it’s way into his chest, cutting a hole in the warmth that had settled throughout the morning. “I know it’s not your fault. I’m sorry that your boss is the way he is.”

Peter’s bottom lip trembles, shifting on his feet. “I just really wanted to spend the day with you.”

In high school, Harley would’ve immediately jumped at whoever made his boyfriend cry, he got suspended more times than he can count from getting into fights over Peter, but he’s learned that he can’t fight everybody. He can’t keep Peter safe from everything. The most he can do is be here for him.

“We took all of next weekend off, darlin’. And you’ll be home for dinner. It’s not all wasted,” he offers, stepping back into Peter’s space and gently slinging his arms around his hips. “And I’ll say it again, you can quit that job, get another. I don’t mind picking up a few shifts if you want to take a break.”

He shakes his head, like he always does whenever it’s offered. “It’s just another six months until we’ll be moving back to New York and taking over Stark Industries. I can survive another six months.”

“If you’re sure.” Harley kisses his forehead, wishing with everything he has that one day Peter will be able to thrive without things like rude bosses or people glaring or having to apologize for being who he is. “You should get changed and go. No point making him any angrier than he already is.”

“I love you,” Peter says again like he has to make sure Harley knows.

“I love you too, honey. Let me know when you’ll be home and I’ll have dinner ready for you.”

Peter smiles softly, blinking away the film over his eyes, and kissing Harley once more before he steps out of Harley’s arms and prepares himself to leave the house.

* Harley’s nearly asleep when he hears the front door open.

It’s late, he knew it would be when the only time he heard from Peter was a text near four in the afternoon which only contained a sad face.

“Babe?” he calls out, voice hoarse. He blinks blearily, pushing himself up on the couch, and frowning when his stomach rumbles. He wanted to wait to eat until Peter was home.

Peter falls onto the couch with him, immediately hiding his face in the crook of Harley’s neck with a distressed sigh.

“You ‘kay?”

“No,” Peter says, tone joking but obviously not lying. His nose presses against Harley’s pulse point. “My boss sucks, work sucks, Boston sucks.”

Harley wraps an arm around Peter’s waist, pressing a kiss to his temple. “I know, honey. I’m sorry. I know it sucks but six months, remember?”

The hero finally relaxes against Harley, smiling softly against his neck. His eyes sweep over the apartment and his mouth falls open, eyes glassy. “You cleaned?”

“I had the day to myself,” Harley says as an explanation. “Figured I should.”

“Thank you.” The poor boy sounds close to tears like it’s impossible to believe Harley would’ve done this for him.

Harley smiles softly and presses his lips to his boyfriend’s temple, mouth moving against his skin when he says, “Yeah, anything for you.”

Six months.

Harley can see it. The bright, glossy future they’ve imagined together.

He can see the two of them, wedding bands, instead of their engagement ones, touching when they lace their fingers together. He can see them in a New York apartment, in Manhattan probably, all huge windows overlooking the city and a balcony with their plants, close enough that they can have dinner with the Starks and May and Happy every Sunday night, chaperoning on Morgan’s field trips to embarrass her, quiet nights together without the worries of bosses or school or responsibilities beyond each other.

He can see their future, exactly how they’ve always dreamed it would be. Running Stark Industries, maybe adopting children in the future, probably a dog, living in New York again, married and happy. And most importantly together.

“I love you.” He knows it’s cheesy and silly just how many times they say it to each other, how much they bask in the words every time they’re uttered, how much they love each other in actions just as much as words. He knows but they both know, all too well, what it feels like to be alone, how much those three words cement the truth in their relationship.

“I love you too.”

Taglist: @littlemissagrafina @spideygirl2003 @romeoandjulietyouwish @c-artara @shadedrose01 @likeaphoenix13 @pj-hermes-tonystark-obsessed  @you-get-killed-walk-it-off @kitkatwinchester  @emo-girl10 @justme--emily  @hold-our-destiny @imalivebecauseirondad @spiderman-peterman @dykeragee @maryserrao @heeeyitskay {Let me know if you wanna be added or removed}

#lyss writes #parkner week 2020 #parkner #peter parker #harley keener #may parker #this is late oopsies but hopefully i can catch up and it'll be okay #(I say despite taking like triple the amount of time to do the month challenges) #Also this is totally unedited like I didn't even reread it oops #so please just ignore the stupid mistakes lmao #i've been writing a lot of Fiance Parkner lately but I'm kinda okay with it

[drunk-onsunlight]

Day #3 of Promptmas

Chapter 3: Mind if move in closer?

Summary:

Movie night between Ned, Betty, MJ and Peter and a little of Spidey patrolling NYC

Chapter 1: Beautiful what’s your hurry?

Chapter 2: I’ll hold your hands (they’re just like ice) 

Chapter 3

Concept: Caroling & Watching Christmas movies together

Dialogue: “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!” & “I love you but your taste on Christmas music is horrible”

“Peter? Are you listening to me?” Ned told him over the earpiece. Peter was distracted. Thank God he wasn’t swinging, the cold air was hitting his face while he was sitting on a rooftop.

“sorry Ned. I’m just thinking about something”

“and that’s clearly bothering you. What is it? Is Morgan ok?” Peter loved the way his friends bounded with his little sister, they weren’t actually related but the feeling was just the same. And having Ned, Betty and MJ get along with her was pure magic, he felt like he could trust them with big things like the Stark relationship he held with not just Tony but Pepper, Morgan and Happy, even when MJ and Betty didn’t know he is Spider-Man.

“something Pepper said today.  I don’t know what she was talking, well, not what a who”

“a who? Ok, you need to speak clearly, you don’t make any sense, Peter”

"you know Morgan was visiting the apartment, right?" "yeap. What about that?" "well, at some point we were chatting and drinking some hot chocolate and Pepper called, I had the call on speaker and she said something a about "my girlfriend" that she wanted to meet her and should take her to their house for a coffee or a lunch or whatever. But I don't have a girlfriend" "yes, that's a little weird. Did Morgan know about that?" "no! She totally freak out and threat me for keeping secrets from her, then Em told her I was too weird to date someone and that was it" why he was friking out so much about a stupid conversation? He didn't have a girlfriend and he just needed to call Pepper and correct her. That was it "Peter, are you scared that MJ may think you actually have a girlfriend?" Peter sensed the smile on Ned's face without seeing him "what? Of course no. She doesn't have to do anything with this" nop, she wasn't the problem, he was just to anxious to call Pepper and correct her "hum. You sure? I remember you having a massive crush on her back in senior year at high school. Maybe living with her made those feelings show up again" now he was regretting telling Ned about that all those years ago "Ned, that was a long time ago and then, well, you know, Gwen and all of that happened and I don't think I have feelings for MJ or that I want to have a relationship with someone" Gwen was everything he ever dreamed in a girl and his Spider-Man duties messed everything up leaving him with another death on his shoulders alongside Ben's. That's exactly why he tried to protect MJ, she didn't need to be in danger just because she knew his secret identity. Ned never had problems with him being a target for being a FOS, but with Betty, that was other story and the same reason she didn't know either. "I'm just saying Peter. This doesn't have to be about Gwen or even MJ, it's about you totally friking out about something that can be fixed with a call. You need to sleep, all this patrol and the cold are messing with your head. Go get some rest Pete" Ned was right, he needed to sleep and call Pepper to clarify the wrong information. "I'm calling it quits for tonight. It was a slow night after all. Thanks for listening Ned, say hi to Betty for me please" after a short goodbye and a promise for a movie date with Peter and MJ, Ned finished the call and Peter got up from the rooftop. He arrived home at 2am, he was glad they could pay a small apartment with windows on both their rooms and not just one, like others he had visited while looking for a place to move. That made everything easier, MJ never knew when he went out or came back from patrol, and if something was too bad he texted her that he was out early when he probably was recovering in the Avengers facilities. The next day he woke up to MJ humming a pop song, she was in a good mood so probably she already took a tea or a coffee. Peter got 4 full hours of sleep since he arrived from patrol and he considered that a win.

“Mornin’” Peter knew he looked totally wrecked but he felt good, like the Christmas spirit was taking over him.

“Hey, loser. Want some coffee?” Her hair was on a messy bun. All her curls were framing her face, she looked beautiful.

“Yeah. Thanks”

“I was thinking, maybe we could decorate today. Do you have something to do?”

“Aammm, no. I’m free. Jameson haven’t called and I am not offering myself until next Monday, I’m really tired” Ned was right, he needed to rest. Rhino, college, The Bugle… J. J. Jameson and his idea that Spider-Man was a threat but anyway having photos of him on every front page he could, everything was too much right now.

“Have you talked to Ned? He said something about a movie night with Betty the other day when we talked” Yes! The movie night they have agreed last night.

“Yeah. He mentioned something last night. We can decorate the apartment and then invite them for some fun. I think we need it” He knew MJ was stressed too and having Betty and Ned around was a good distraction for everyone.

He took his coffee and then helped MJ doing some scrambled eggs for they breakfast and he went to take a shower. After his shower he changed clothes to some Christmas sweeter that he knew MJ was going to make fun of it. While he was deciding in using his Spider-Man socks or his Christmas tree socks he started playing some carols on his phone. He created a full playlist on his Spotify for this moment.

He went out of his room and found Michelle carrying the boxes with the Christmas decorations. How she managed to hold three boxes at the same time was a mystery. If he didn’t knew he was Spider-Man he could swear that she was Spider-Man, but that was a stupid idea. MJ was strong enough to lift the boxes by herself without superpowers, maybe they weren’t that heavy and he was just making things up.

“Oh, God! Seriously? That one?” Peter knew MJ didn’t like that sweeter. It was a Rudolf one with a big red nose that you pressed and it started playing Christmas carols, May bought it for him two years ago and he loved it.

“I know you secretly love it. Press the nose”

“No!”

“Press the nose. I know you want to” He crossed the living room and got close to her

“No! Stop it” She started to run away from him, sorting boxes while crossing the room

“Press the nose, come on MJ!” he was trying to get to her and they ended up running around the sofa, avoiding the boxes and the coffee table. MJ started laughing when Peter got close to her and tried to grab her arm but she managed to get loose and he ended holding her hand for a few seconds until she kept running away.

“We need to start decorating or Ned and Betty are going to arrive and we haven’t done anything” She was still laughing. Peter loved to make her laugh, it wasn’t an easy task but he loved the challenge.

They spend the morning and past midday decorating a Christmas tree that was basically some fake branches placed like a real Christmas tree, MJ said it reflected her soul. Every Christmas, Peter decorated the branches with bright colors, he hang some toys or pushies and tried to add many colors to it. He said to MJ that it was the perfect representation of the two of them, the black, perfectly placed branches for her and the colorful decorations for him.

MJ placed the stockings on their small fake fireplace along with some holly, then moved to the window and decorated it with led lights and tinsel, she finished the decorations placing the wreath on their front door. Everything looked perfect, now they needed to set their cushions and blankets for their movie night.

Two hours later the apartment looked totally different from the day before. Ned and Betty arrived after MJ and Peter took their lunch. They opened the door and found a very smiley Betty using a pink dress and a huge fluffy coat accompanied with Ned using a Christmas sweeter and jeans.

“Hey Betty!” MJ and Betty always found lots of things to talk about. Betty had managed to make MJ open more about her feelings, her college and even family, Peter was very impressed by Betty and her ability to make MJ talk like her life depended on it. But Ned and Peter were never included in those kinds of conversations.

“Hey Dork” in high school MJ called them losers or dorks, now Peter was the loser and Ned was the dork. MJ and Ned did a little hand shake they made up in high school and she moved back a little so Peter could say hi to their friends while everybody entered the apartment. Ned and Peter did their usual handshake and then Peter kissed Betty’s cheek.

“MJ, the apartment looks amazing” Betty was looking around the living room like she was in the White House and surrounded of the most beautiful Christmas decorations

“It was mostly me so, thank you”

“Hey!! I helped!”

“The tree, right Peter?” Betty knew them too well

“Of course. That masterpiece is my doing” He was very proud of this year results with the decoration of the tree and Ned was looking at it like it was the most beautiful Christmas tree ever

“I love it, Peter” Ned said, always being the supporting friend

“MJ we can make some pizza for the movie night while the boys look for the movies we can watch. Would you like that?” Peter knew that was a key word for “we need to talk without loser and dork listening”

“Yes! I would love to” They moved quickly to the kitchen and started talking right away in whispers.

“That was fast” Ned was looking at Betty with adoring eyes while Peter was looking at MJ moving around the kitchen, totally owning the small space

“Well, we can make the best of our time without them”

“Christmas carols?” they looked at each other on a silent talk they have grown to develop along the years they have meet

Peter showed Ned his playlist full of Christmas carols and they connected a small speaker so they could hear the music through the whole apartment.

“ Jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way Oh, what fun it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh”

The speaker started to sing and soon both of them started to sing along.

“Hey, jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way Oh, what fun it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh”

Ned turned the volume up and stared to sing louder with Peter, making both girls to turn around and look at them. They were singing louder and louder each time the same lines were sung by the speakers on the living room.

“Ned!!!” Peter heard Betty over the loud music and pocked Ned for him to just sing louder

“Ned, Betty is calling you” Peter told Ned close to his ear so he made sure Ned was listening to him. He stopped singing and ran to the kitchen to hug Betty

“I’m here. Do you need anything?” Peter could see how soft Ned was around Betty all the time, it was really nice to see them so happy and comfortable with each other

“Yes. Can you do me a favor? Stop singing, please. I love you but your taste on Christmas music is horrible” Betty was looking at Ned with all the love in the planet but serious enough for Ned to know that she mean it

“Not just that the song is totally awful and the lyric doesn’t make sense but also that you both are terrible singers”

“Aw MJ! But the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!”

“Then can you take some singing lessons for next year?” MJ was teasing him, he wasn’t that bad at singing. He knew it

“Just if you sing with me” He had heard MJ singing and she was really good at it, but she never let anyone hear her singing too loudly, just soft whispers. With that comment MJ turned around and kept doing the base for the pizza. Ned said something to Betty’s ear and then gave her a little peck on the cheek and moved away from her.

Peter could see MJ and Betty chatting while Betty was putting some toppings for the pizza, at the same time she was telling Michelle something and they both looked excited over what they were speaking. Well, as excited as MJ could look over Betty’s news. Her face was mostly expressionless but her eyes were shinning, that was all he needed to know she was interested in whatever they were talking.

“Peter?”

“Mmm?”

“Can you stop looking at MJ with those puppy eyes and pay attention to me?” Ned had a mocking tone

“I’m not making “puppy eyes” at MJ”

“Then I’m getting worried if those eyes are for Betty” Ned was having too much fun mocking him “But seriously, I need to tell you something” Peter turned his head to see Ned’s face and found mixed emotions there

“What is it?”

“I need your help for buying Betty’s Christmas present”

“Yeah, of course. Do you know what to buy or you want me to ask her casually what she wants?”

“I know what I’m buying but I need you to go with me and pick it with me”

“Okaaaay… Can I know what is it? It’s like a big thing? Do we need to hire someone to help us take it to your house?” Peter was confused to say the least

“I’m buying an engagement ring” Ned spoke so fast and so quiet that if it wasn’t for Peter superpowers he had totally missed the phrase

“Ned, that’s amazing!” Peter was really happy for them and totally available to help them to be happy together

“It’s not a surprise, but it is a surprise. We have talked about getting married eventually and we have been dating for a long time and living together is just feels right, so I want to make it official” Peter had a small flashback to a few hours ago, how living with someone felt right. Him trying to catch MJ, making breakfast and shopping with Morgan. Some things felt right, so he totally got what Ned was talking about. Not that he was getting married to MJ but they were close enough to understand the feeling

“Tell me when and where and I will be there. I will be happy to help”

“Thanks! I really want to pick the perfect ring for her” now Ned was making puppy eyes at Betty. It was really cute to see them so in love after such a long time.

“Guys! Pizza is almost done so that movies better be ready” Betty was pointing at them with a spatula as a threat

“They will be ready when you both finish that delicious pizza, honey” Ned moved quickly to the bag were he had brought the movies for them to watch. They picked Love Actually, they all loved the movie and it was perfect for the season.

They girls took the two pizzas they made to the coffee table and some plates. Ned ran to the kitchen and grabbed some mugs and the soda from the fridge. Their sofa wasn’t big enough for the four of them so Peter sat on the floor and helped pouring the soda on the four mugs. MJ closed the curtains and turned off the light. When everything was ready Ned sat with Betty lying on the couch with her head on Ned’s lap. Peter knew MJ wasn’t going to make Betty move to a sitting position for her to sit on the sofa with them, so she sat next to Peter on the floor.

Ned took the remote and stared the movie. Soon enough they finished the homemade pizzas and drank the soda. MJ covered herself with a blanket after half the movie and rested her head on the couch, close to Betty’s knees. Peter could see her trying not to fall asleep, he moved to place his empty mug on the coffee table and placed himself closer to MJ than he was before.

Their arms were pressed against each other and he felt MJ laughing softly to something happening on the movie. He wasn’t paying attention anymore, too focused on the heat radiating from MJ while she was tightly wrapped on her blanket. Was she actually cold? While Peter was divagating, MJ placed her head on Peter shoulder and he froze.

He thanked every God, Lord and Supreme master he was taller than MJ now, just for a few centimeters but that small difference made easier for them to keep the posture without hurting MJ’s neck. He tried not to breath too hard to not bother her or make her move, he also pretended not to hear her heart racing while placing his head over hers  and then slowing down as she felt asleep. The movie was coming to an end and he tried to look at Ned.

Betty was asleep on Ned’s lap and he was playing with her hair. They shared a look and decided to wake the girls up so they could all go to sleep. After they woke up, Betty and Ned decided to go home, it wasn’t late after all. MJ and Peter organized the room and lifted everything from the coffee table and took the plates and mugs to the kitchen. Peter was definitely skipping patrol, he wanted to rest a little now that Rhino had disappeared several days ago. He knew he was coming back any minute and he needed to be ready for that.

#spideychelle #spideychelle twelve days of promptmas #baby it's cold outside #ned leeds #betty brant #michelle jones mcu #peter parker mcu

[tonystarkbingo]

Presenting, for your entertainment and amusement, a Titles Game from the TSB Discord!

Aim of the game: a title is suggested, and everyone pitches in their idea of what kind of fic they would write for that title.

“Hot Chocolate Kisses” - suggested by @rebelmeg

@lbibliophile-mcu - Tony and Bruce are undertaking a very serious series of experiments to determine the optimal ratio of hershey kisses to milk in hot chocolate. And taste-testing the results. (actually, that would be fun to do as Tony and Morgan)

@summerpipedream - Natasha/Pepper - Natasha hates hot chocolate. It's always been too sweet, too sticky and if she could drink any other winter holiday drink, she would. Figuring out how to tell her girlfriend Pepper that, the biggest chocoholic in the world (Tony literally bought her a chocolate fountain for her birthday one year), well...it was a problem.

@rebelmeg - Iron Family winter tradition that comes about the first day they get a big snow. everyone wears their coziest sweaters, fuzziest socks, and wooliest winter hats, and they all drink hot chocolate out on the porch swing as they watch snow fall

@somesortofitalianroast - Hot chocolate kisses: Bucky teaches Russian History at Appalachian State University. Steve Rogers is the new World War II teacher. It always amuses Bucky that the UNC System decided that they needed an entire 3-credit hour class on World War II, and why AppState was chosen as the university, since Fayetteville is, like, right next to Fort Bragg. Or something. At least Steve’s easy on the eyes. Even if he’s not into guys. Except he is. Into guys that is. They’ve just started dating, Steve’s coming over to Bucky’s house for the first time, and a snowstorm hits. Featuring hot chocolate, declarations of love, only one bed, and enough pining to repopulate the pine barrens.

@darthbloodorange - Captain America is meant to be the paragon of virtue, the pinnacle of perfection. Or so Tony thought until catches Steve stuffing his face full of chocolate in the middle of the night. He demands Steve share the chocolate, but he's eaten it all ready. The only way Tony's get some, it seems it, is to kiss it from Steve's hot, chocolate covered lips.

(Keep reading for more amazing ideas!)

“to love and only love” - suggested by @somesortofitalianroast

@rebelmeg - giving me tony and maria vibes for some reason. can't decide if it's angsty, about how maria loves her son more from a distance, or if it's fluffy, and she loves him more than enough to make up for the ways howard doesn't.

@summerpipedream - Tony/Bucky - "To love and only love" is what the world always said about soulmates. His mother always said that when he'd meet his soulmate, he'd know. But what did that say about him when his soulmate kept running away?

@somesortofitalianroast - To love and only love: Cap!Steve/oblivious mechanic, Tony. Snarky identity porn. (changed it because, now that i think about it, it's tony/steve, that fic. lol)

@jamesbuckystark - to love and only love - Angst - Tony falls in love way too easily and quickly. Even when the ones he loves hurt him time and time again, he cannot find it in his heart to hate them

@jacarandabanyan - To love and only love: Tony hates soulmates and destiny deciding who he’s supposed to love and all the cultural adoration around the whole concept of soulmate marks. But nothing beats how much he hates that he loves his soulmate, despite himself. Steve clearly hasn’t seen their matching marks, and even more clearly doesn’t like, let alone love Tony. Tony can’t stop himself from living Steve- another thing to add to the list of things he hates, his stupid, insuppressible love for Steve- but he can avoid letting Steve know about their matching marks. He can love Steve and do nothing about it.

@lbibliophile-mcu - The vibe I'm getting from this title is subverted love triangle. The set-up is all there for angst and jealousy, but the characters all decide to focus on the positives instead. Whether this is one character deciding that (close) friendship is enough, or some degree of poly. Just everyone deciding that the important thing is that everyone is happy and together.

@trashcanakin - I get arranged marriage, enemies to real lovers vibes from it. Winteriron of course if I wrote it xD

To love and only love: Why does Tony have to marry him of all people. It's bad enough he's being forced into marriage because it's what the "kingdom" needs, what about what he needs? Or wants for that matter. And Bucky doesn't even like him, always silently glaring at him. It will never work, they just can't pretend to love each other when it takes all their strength just to like each other. But things change with the seasons. Could one terrible accident move the tide and show the true feelings hidden below?

@darthbloodorange - To love and only love (Stony): It's been years since anyone one has come by Tony's lair, leaving the dragon alone to tinker and work with his tech hoard. That's how he likes it: no knights, no paladins, no trouble. Just him and his bots. One day a werewolf (Steve) makes his way into his lair. He does everything he can to get rid of him, but the werewolf always returns. Before long Tony realises he likes having Steve around, likes how happy Steve is when he returns to Tony. Before long any frustration Tony feels for the werewolf is worn away, and all there is left is for him to love him. But would it ever work out between a dragon and a werewolf?

“Falling off the edge of the world with you” - @summerpipedream

@rebelmeg - pepperony, tony is teaching pepper how to work the rescue armor. they've been at it long enough that she's got the hang of it, and they celebrate by taking a thrilling flight together, far enough up that there's nothing but them, the edge of the world, and the stars

@summerpipedream - Tony & Rhodey - Whenever he got angry or tired at the world, Rhodey always used to drive him to their favourite lookout. Told him to yell and scream when things got too much and the world would fade away. Through the years, this never changed.

@jamesbuckystark - falling off the edge of the world with you - Rhodey knows it's unhealthy, following Tony to the ends of the earth. He also knows that Tony would understand if he said no. But there's something about the rush he gets when he's with Tony

@lronhusbands - falling off the edge of the world with you - ironhusbands. Idk like soft and fluffy boys who are just flying in their suits just to fly and playing games with each other and like total au where Rhodey doesn’t fall like he does so like they’re total idiots who cut their jets and plummet to earth and laugh bc they think they're invincible

@somesortofitalianroast - Falling off the edge of the world with you: 70 years ago, Steve Fell. Capital “F” Fell. There’s only one term for it, anyway. He might have survived, barely, yes, but he survived. But the thing about a Fall is that you never fly again. Even if you recover. Steve had resigned himself to never see the world from the air again. Until Tony.

@lbibliophile-mcu - Something different: Extremis!Tony (technopath version). Jarvis has been helping him get used to his new skills and senses. Because as much as Tony prefers to run rather than walk, he can also feel the very real risk of losing himself in this world of information and connections. The climax has Jarvis 'standing' beside him (acting as his guide and tether) as he takes his first dive into the internet.

@darthbloodorange - Falling off the edge of the world with you (Stony): Tony thought he would be the last person Steve would turn to for flying lessons. He didn't even have real wings anymore, not since Afghanistan. He doesn't fly like he used to. He didn't even think that Steve wouldn't know how to fly. With the broad, strong wings the serum had given him, Steve should be the best flier out. But as Steve stands before him, shyly stammering out his request for help, Tony could only find in him to say "yes" Tony schedules in time every week to help teach Steve how to fly. It soon becomes their thing.

@jacarandabanyan - Falling off the edge of the world with you: Space AU- Tony has always dreamed of exploring out beyond the edge of the known universe, and Rhodey has always known that he would follow Tony anywhere, no matter where. Even if current mathematical models of the edges of the known universe indicate that the two of them are more likely to end up falling into the void of nothingness than discover another universe or whatever it is Tony thinks he’s going to find.

“My heart beets for you (Mint to be)” - @darthbloodorange

@rebelmeg - the avengers have transformed the roof of the tower into a garden. and it's going pretty well. they've all got their own spots for their own stuff, and a section they do together, it's a good team bonding activity. at least... it is until tony's mint ("it's peppermint, get it?!") starts taking over clint's beets ("they're purple!"). then it's all-out war, and the one with the greenest thumb wins (pun not intended, hulk.)

@trashcanakin - My Heart Beets For You (Mint to Be): (No powers AU) Bucky runs a little cafe in a nice quiet town. They specialize in pastries, some say that their mint pies are the best around. Then some loud, rowdy, asshole buys the lot across the street and puts in a music store. Oh, it is on! This Tony guy wants a war, he's got one. And toss in soulmate AU on top because it would be funny xD

@jamesbuckystark - My heart beets for you (Mint to be) - Bucky is a garden sprite. No one sees him, and he bestows his loving touch to those who deserve it. Tony tries to be a plant dad... but fails miserably, due to the lack of sun and his forgetting to tend to his plants. Bucky takes one look at the man and falls in love. Imagine Tony's surprise when his dead plants are now alive and blooming!

(addition by @trashcanakin ) Tony's apartment is full of plants, flowers, and greenery because every time Bucky looks at him and blushes it makes more plants grow xD

And he's like "IDK WHAT'S HAPPENING!"

@summerpipedream - My heart beets for you (Mint to be) - Tony/Sam - Maria's last instructions in her will to Tony, along with the keys to her old family manor, were "Be Happy". It didn't take long for Tony to decide to quit his job, pack up his things and move out in the middle of nowhere to turn his mother's old home into a bed and breakfast. Of course, he never expected to run into Farmer Sam, who insists on sharing his extra fresh produce with him, dropping by 'just to see him smile'.

@darthbloodorange - My heart beets for you (Mint to be) (Stony) Steve and Tony retire from saving the world after the defeat of Thanos. Steve takes up gardening, wanting somewhere calming to do his art, somewhere he can relax. He needed something sedate, something peaceful that he could manage. He starts small, only a handful of flower beds, and learns as he goes. Slowly he starts expanding his garden, growing new sorts of flowers, and food. Herbs for Bruce. Flowers for Nat. A mediation/sensory garden for Sam. Pumpkins for Clint and his kids. A coffee tree for Tony. Soon he has a huge garden at the Compound with something for all of the Avengers. With a little work he manages to convince Tony to help him out in his garden (even if it is mainly to ogle Steve).

“If You Only Knew” - @jamesbuckystark

@rebelmeg - welp. okay. angst. tony ruminating about all the ways the people he loves don't understand the way he loves them. the way he shows them, tells them with different words. all he wants is to be loved back, and he can't understand why he's so unlovable.

@trashcanakin - Bucky would do anything for Tony, anything. Tony's the reason he's free, has a roof over his head, food, has his life back... Tony and Shuri even gave him his mind back, too. But Tony thinks Bucky hates him... Of course, why wouldn't he. Bucky keeps tryin' to show Tony how much he actually cares, but things keep gettin' in the damn way! A story full of misunderstandings, hurt/comfort, and eventual romance. Ayye. Could easily turn that into humor and crack as well, 'cause it's my brand xD

@summerpipedream - If You Only Knew - Steve/Tony "Do you know how long it took me to get home?" scowled Tony, "Every werewolf I ran into on the street told me congratulations, or took him long enough. Did you have something to tell me Steve?" Werewolf Steve is a little too enthusiastic with scenting his human mate. Whoops.

@jamesbuckystark - If You Only Knew - Tony talks in his sleep... a lot. Rhodey has experienced hearing some weird-ass stuff that he's said ever since college. Now Bucky gets woken up by Tony shaking him then saying something like "I farted by a hairy man yesterday" or "who grabbed my cheese in the ocean?" before zonking back out. Tony knows he talks in his sleep and often asks what he said when he wakes up. Bucky can't tell him due to laughing so hard so he ends up wheezing out "oh if you only knew what you said."

@jacarandabanyan - If only you knew: Tony loses his memories after a magical head injury. Nothing should be more important than getting his memories back so he can get back into the field and fight the good fight with these hero-types that claim to be his teammates. But one teammate in particular keeps distracting him from this vital work. For some reason, Bucky Barnes is both eager to help him in any way he can and totally unwilling to be alone with him. If only Tony knew why.

@celtic7irish - It would be a story of one-upmanship of the craziest stunts the Avengers have ever pulled. "If Only You Knew" the TRUE story behind some of those missions. If Only You Knew what really happened in Budapest. If Only You Knew what really happened during that one summer at MIT. Lol.

@jamesbuckystark - Also, angst version. If You Only Knew: Tony Stark, the control freak. Tony Stark, who thinks he knows best and screws stuff up. Tony Stark, the creator of Ultron. All these things, Tony has heard and will agree with. Rhodey does not. The others don't know what he does to keep shady government agencies off their backs. They don't realize what Tony sees at night. He wants to tell them, but Tony won't let him

@darthbloodorange - If You Only Knew: (Stony) Steve locks himself away in his room as Tony brings back another Omega to the tower, not wanting the Alpha to see the tears it brings to his eyes. It wasn't fair, he had no right to be hurt or jealous, Tony wasn't his Alpha. Tony would never be interested in him. Tony was only interested in soft, pretty Omegas. As far as the world cared he was an Alpha. But he wasn't. He was an Omega. If only Tony knew... maybe he would pick him. ...Maybe he would love him.

#tonystarkbingomarkiv #tsbmiv #tsb discord party #title prompt game #party game

[tempestaurora]

Hi I just need to share this idea before I fall asleep: AU where Beck targeted Harley instead because Tony left Harley EDITH instead of Peter

read on ao3

They showed up in the hand of a suited man who looked uncomfortably hot in the Tennessee sun. E.D.I.T.H., the card in the glasses case read, Even In Death I’m The Hero – T.S.

Harley had been to his funeral the month before, had stood outside the lake house with a collection of plain-clothed superheroes. He’d recognised some, but not all. Captain America, Falcon, Hawkeye, Bruce Banner. They were all red-eyed and sombre, donned in black suits and congregating in small groups after the ceremony. Harley had come alone, without his mother or sister, and had spoken to barely anyone, bar Colonel Rhodes who recognised him, Pepper and Morgan, who’d invited him, and the kid called Peter Parker, who looked about his age - though, post-snap, it was hard to tell anymore.

He hadn’t touched the glasses for two days before finally working up the nerve to try them on, then he’d played with them in complete awe for three days before finally putting them away again. He’d read the texts of strangers on the street, peered inside the Mustang’s engine and dissected every part, stared at the maths problems on his homework sheet and watched the numbers float off the page and solve themselves. It was a lot of power, Harley figured. Too much for a kid in fuck-all nowhere Rose Hill.

He made a small hole in the floorboards of the garage, and hid the glasses away.

He’d vanished in the snap, like half the universe, but his sister and mother had lived on for five years, continued to grow and change. He’d been in his senior year when he’d died, and now his sister was too. They shared the same classes, and though she’d desperately tried to get into science and engineering; to make use of the tools in the garage that Tony had provided Harley with, she just wasn’t interested, and leant heavily towards history, with dreams of archaeology and excavation.

They looked like twins now, and started to tell people that they were.

His little sister was five years younger than him, but they were both eighteen now anyway.

In all, despite having E.D.I.T.H. under the floorboards of the half-gutted garage (the equipment inside was both too sentimental to sell, and too expensive not to), nothing much changed with Harley as the world tried to right itself after the second snap. Time continued on, the world slowly rebuilt itself and struggled to house all the new homeless folk, and superheroes re-emerged from the cracks, fighting the everyday bank robbers and crazy scientists, rather than colonising aliens.

Harley and Ariel graduated side by side, her name read out first, then his, and they wore matching robes and smiled matching smiles for their mother’s photos. They packed up their things and both headed for New York, both of them studying at Columbia, and both of them scoring rooms in the same dorm. On the day they left; Harley’s Mustang idling out front with his sister’s music blaring from the stereo, Harley wandered around the garage, decked out by a dead man, and pulled back the floorboard. E.D.I.T.H. still sat there in the case, just as it had when Harley had first received it a year before, and he removed it, replaced the floorboard, and started the long drive north.

His classes were the good kind of difficult, and he threw himself into electrical and mechanical engineering, scoring high grades and making new friends. Parties were a rare thing in Rose Hill, as everyone lived so far apart and kids his age were rare, so now he and Ariel had new experiences to make; dorm parties and frat houses, night clubs and bars. Despite the new laws about post-snap identification, his I.D. from before still worked in some places; technically twenty-three rather than the lived eighteen.

“We’re twins,” he and Ariel would say to whoever asked; the two Keeners living on the same floor and going to the same parties. They shared a lot of friends, though drew themselves to different areas; Harley falling easily into the D&D Society, and Ariel finding herself in three separate book clubs.

“Family has become more important than ever,” the post-snap counsellor would say in their mandatory session in their first semester. Every student had to meet with them, only a year since the world came back, but Harley and Ariel attended theirs together, more joined at the hip than they had ever been when they were five years apart in age.

They went home for Christmas and returned in January, starting classes anew. It was then that Harley met his new teacher, Quentin Beck, an M.I.T. graduate who’d once been a successful head developer in R&D at Stark Industries. Harley took every reference to Tony like a stab in the side; Tony’s face was everywhere, painted in every mural. All his classmates were obsessed with the arc reactor and the Stark tech, they all held Starkphones like once everyone had held Apples. Beck’s entire first class was essentially a spiel about what he learned at S.I., and Harley felt sick by the end of it.

Just as he was rushing out of the class, Quentin – all the tutors insisted being called by their first names – called him back. “I hear you’re the student to look out for,” he said easily, resting against the edge of his desk. “Tell me, where did your interest start?”

Harley had never been asked this question, but he had always thought he’d lie if he were. Instead, facing a man who’d also known and cared about Tony Stark, he said, “I’ve always liked building things, but I don’t think it was until I met Tony Stark myself that I really got invested.”

Quentin raised an eyebrow, surprised. “You’ve met Tony Stark?”

“It’s a little hard to believe,” he admitted, rubbing at the back of his neck, “but back in 2013—the Mandarin incident? With the President?—when Tony vanished after his house got bombed, he ended up in my hometown. Broke into my garage to hide out from the snow, and well—I dunno. I got to hang out with him for a few days.”

He thought he’d be scoffed at, honestly – it wasn’t a particularly believable story, though Harley had realised that was the case with a lot of truths – but instead, Quentin smiled, like he’d found someone similar to himself, a friend. They talked for a bit about Tony, and then after the next class, they talked again. They went to Quentin’s office and told stories about working with Tony and their experiences with Iron Man. Harley showed him the photos from when he was fifteen and visiting New York mere weeks before Ultron, when he and Tony worked on the code for his own helper bot and later went to a museum together.

It was—strange, honestly. Having someone to relate to about this stuff. Having someone who cared—about Harley, about Tony, about his legacy. Quentin was the only person who got it. Ariel had never met Tony, had been too young to really remember the events anyway, and Harley hadn’t wanted to bother anyone he’d met at the funeral; their connections to Tony far stronger than his could ever be. He hadn’t known the man like Colonel Rhodes had, like Pepper had – but he still grieved, still mourned, still wanted him back.

Talking to Quentin, then working with him on his project, was a little like that; like finding Tony in the world again.

So, one day, as they worked in the shop he said, “Tony left me a gift actually.”

Quentin paused and leant back on his stool, saying, “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. When he died. Some lawyer showed up at my door with it; said he’d left it in his will for me.”

“What was it, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Glasses,” Harley replied. “They’re—it’s an A.I., called E.D.I.T.H..” He shrugged. “I don’t know why he left them to me, honestly. He already gave me a whole workshop and a vintage Mustang. And we weren’t—we didn’t talk a whole lot, even before the snap. Couple times a year, I guess. I came up to New York like, twice, and he would email out of the blue to see if I wanted to test the new Starkphone…”

“What does the A.I. do?”

“What doesn’t it do?” Harley sighed. “I’m pretty sure it’s a borderline surveillance state A.I., I mean, if the government had it. It can see everything, I think. In the wrong hands… it could be catastrophic.”

“Are your hands the wrong hands?” Quentin asked.

Harley hesitated. “I hope not. Tony trusted me with it, so he must think… must think they’re right.”

“Well,” Quentin said, “I’d love to see them sometime. They sound incredible.”

That afternoon he returned to his room, where he knelt by the drawer he’d fixed a false bottom into, pulling out the E.D.I.T.H. glasses for the first time since he hid them away in September. He tried them on, and E.D.I.T.H. greeted him in the warm tone, information pouring out before him. He peered around his room slowly, and as the sight caught on his roommate’s laptop, their tablet, E.D.I.T.H. captured the data and sent it scrolling before his eyes.

“E.D.I.T.H.,” Harley said quietly.

“Yes, Harley?”

“Why did Tony leave you to me?”

“Tony Stark left gifts for all loved ones in case of his demise. He did not tell me the significance or reasoning behind his actions.”

Harley sighed and flopped backwards onto his bed. “What did other people get?”

“Virginia “Pepper” Potts and Morgan Stark received the majority of the wealth, assets and properties under the name Anthony Edward Stark. Virginia Potts was also left controlling ownership of Stark Industries. Colonel James Rhodes was bequeathed several vintage cars, a large sum of money, and several sentimental items. Harold Hogan was bequeathed the same. Should I go on?”

“Sure.”

“Mr. Stark left various moneys, cars, sentimental items and properties to individuals he worked with under the Avengers Initiative: Robert “Bruce” Banner, Natasha Romanoff, Steven Rogers, Clinton Barton and Thor Odinson. Other moneys were left to various organisations, foundations and charities supported by Mr Stark. He bequeathed myself and a college fund to you, Harley Keener, and a matching college fund and equipped workshop space in Queens, New York, New York, to Peter Parker. He left—”

“Stop,” Harley said.

Peter Parker had been the other kid at the funeral. The one with the internship with Tony. The one at the front of the dock, who’d cried beside his Aunt, who’d been introduced to Morgan for the first time mere minutes after Harley had.

“E.D.I.T.H.,” Harley said, “do you have the contact information for Peter Parker?”

“Of course, Harley.”

Peter’s phone number, email and address appeared before his eyes. His personal information scrolled beside it; seventeen, in his senior year, Midtown Tech High School. Harley thought about calling him; about saying Hi, we met at the funeral, want to be friends? About the bond he had with Quentin, the only person who understood what Harley was going through, even a little, and how he could have it again, with someone else. Someone who had worked beside Tony and looked up to him, just like Harley.

He was about to ask E.D.I.T.H. to call the number when his phone started ringing.

QUENTIN BECK CALLING his glasses read. He and Quentin had shared numbers because Harley’s college email was glitchy and Quentin had needed a way to contact him about class schedules and extra shop time.

“Hi, Quentin,” Harley said as he picked up.

“Harley! I’m glad I caught you. I was just thinking about those glasses Tony left you…”

It didn’t take much, really, for Quentin to persuade Harley to let him take a look at them. He was a friend, he was trusted – he, too, might be the right hands. Quentin and Harley talked for hours about them, trying them out and asking E.D.I.T.H. about her various functions. Harley had been right about how incredible they were, but he’d also been right about how much power they held for trouble. How far the wrong hands could take them; they were connected to satellites across the globe, had an enabled drone strike, and could send missiles to any given place on the planet. And Tony Stark had made this?

“They’re… truly something,” Quentin had said when the sky grew dark. Ariel was texting about dinner and Harley was packing up to leave. “Don’t… please don’t take this the wrong way, Harley—but do you think they’re too much responsibility for you to have?”

“Quentin, I—”

“I know you’re not a child, I know. You’re eighteen, you’re an adult – but these glasses,” he gestured to them on the table, shaking his head. “You could destroy the world with this, Harley. You could literally take it over. And that’s—that’s terrifying. It’s terrifying that Tony would’ve made something like this in the first place, and frankly, more so that he would leave them to someone else upon his death, rather than destroying them.”

“You think they should be destroyed?”

“I think these are simply another foray into weapon building,” Quentin sighed. “Though rather than selling it to the U.S. military, he’s privatised it and kept it for himself.”

“Then why did he give them to me?” Harley asked, nervous hands picking up the glasses. Quentin was right, of course, they were too much responsibility for him. He’d stuck them under the floorboards where they couldn’t be touched because of it. Left them in the drawer and pretended they didn’t exist. Practically ignored the one thing Tony had left for him.

He bet, bitterly, that Peter Parker wasn’t ignoring the gift Tony had left for him.

“I’m not sure, Harley. And this isn’t something I’m saying about you—rather, about him—but I don’t think it was the right decision.”

Harley swallowed, turning over the glasses in his hands. “You think I should get rid of them entirely?”

Quentin sighed, passing a hand over his forehead. “I’m not sure, Harley. I’m not. Perhaps they’ll save the world someday—but only in the hands of the right person.”

Harley bit hard into the inside of his lower lip. He wasn’t the right person. His hands weren’t the right hands. What had Tony been thinking, leaving a weapon this powerful to him? He was a kid from fuck-all nowhere Rose Hill, not a superhero. He was no Captain America, no Thor, no Iron Man.

“Quentin,” Harley said, his mind made up. “If I gave them to you, would you hide them somewhere?”

“What?”

“Hide them. Like you said, they might save the world someday—but that day’s not today, and they need to be somewhere where they can’t cause trouble until then. And if I’m not the right hands—then I shouldn’t know where they are.”

Quentin took the glasses in careful hands. “Are you sure, Harley?”

He nodded, resolute. “I’m sure.”

Quentin hesitated, turning the glasses over in his hands. “Perhaps you should—you should pass over the control to me, too. They only work for you, and if you don’t know where they are…”

Harley swallowed then shook his head. “No,” he said. “I’ll keep the control.”

“But, Harley—”

“No,” he repeated. “Maybe I’m not the right hands, but maybe you’re not either.”

“Harley—”

“If you were, Tony would’ve given them to you in the first place. I just need… I just need them hidden. Until I am the right hands, or until the world needs them. Whichever comes first, I guess.”

On the way home, he called Peter Parker and arranged to get coffee in some Queens café the next weekend. After dinner, he shot off an email to Pepper Potts, too, to see how she was doing and apologise for not reaching out for so long. Her response was prompt, and the weekend after, he was to meet her at her Manhattan apartment for dinner with her and Morgan.

He felt strange, that night, and the nights after it, going to bed without the glasses in the drawer beside his head, but it was for the best, he thought, not knowing where they were.

During class on Friday, Quentin seemed busy, side-tracked, and on Saturday, Harley met Peter, who was happier than the last time he’d seen him, and more than willing to share stories about Tony all afternoon, until it grew dark and the two of them went next door for a bite of pizza.

Classes all the next week were cancelled due to Quentin being sick, and he responded to Harley’s get well soon text positively, saying he was already on the mend. At dinner with Pepper and Morgan, Harley told her about college, about meeting Peter even. He didn’t mention Quentin or the glasses, and neither did she. Instead, they laughed at Morgan’s bad jokes and afterwards played a board game and let her win.

And then Quentin didn’t show for class the week after. Didn’t cancel it either, so Harley and his classmates sat around, confused and waiting, until they got bored and went home. Harley tried Quentin’s number and he didn’t pick up. The next day he did the same and the number was cancelled.

“This number no longer exists,” the voice at the end of the line said, and Harley shuddered to a halt in the middle of the packed corridor. People bumped into him from all sides and he squeezed his way over to the wall, the truth playing in front of his eyes on loud, flashing repeat.

Quentin Beck had hidden E.D.I.T.H. and then vanished. He’d taken E.D.I.T.H. He was in possession of the most powerful and dangerous A.I. since Ultron. And Harley had given it to him.

Harley called Pepper as he from campus, searching for a cab.

“Hi, Harley,” Pepper said, “I’m actually about to head into a meeting, so could I call you back—”

“No!” Harley cried, skidding to a stop on the pavement. “It’s important!”

“Is everything alright?”

“No, everything’s not alright! It’s E.D.I.T.H.!”

“Edith? Who’s Edith?”

“E.D.I.T.H.!” Harley repeated. “The A.I. Tony left me! I was kind of overwhelmed by the responsibility of it, and my teacher Quentin convinced me that I shouldn’t have it at all, so I asked him to put it somewhere until I could use it, and now he’s gone! He’s gone and he’s the only one who knows where E.D.I.T.H. is!”

Harley was panting out on the street, but Pepper’s voice was even, hard, “Harley,” she said, “did you hand over control of E.D.I.T.H. when you gave it to your teacher?”

“No,” Harley said. “I didn’t think I should, so it’s still under my control—”

“Alright. That’s very good of you, Harley. E.D.I.T.H. can only be used by the person who has control. Tony gave that control to you, and so long as you don’t ask E.D.I.T.H. to obey anyone else, control will remain with you. Now, can you tell me the name of your teacher?”

“Quentin. Quentin Beck.”

“Oh, fuck,” Pepper said, eloquently. “Amy, would you mind rescheduling my meetings? Harley, come to the apartment. We’ll call in some help and get this sorted.”

Harley grabbed his sister on the way, relaying the events and watching as she chose between a scoff that he could be so dumb, and a pitying smile. She chose the latter and the two of them climbed in a taxi, taking it to the Upper West Side, where Pepper lived when she was in the city. The elevator opened not on the penthouse floor like last time, though, but on the floor beneath, where Pepper stood by an array of computers and Happy paced around behind her.

On one of the screens was Quentin’s face, though a good few years younger, and a long list of information.

Pepper greeted them and then told them all about Quentin Beck, the man who became his college teacher. He had worked for Stark Industries, that much was true, and he had led the development of what eventually became B.A.R.F., an incredibly complex piece of technology that extracted memories and could replay them in 3D, just like Tony had displayed at M.I.T. in 2016. But Quentin hadn’t designed it for use as a billion dollar therapy tool; he’d seen it as a weapon, as a way to manufacture events, hallucinations. With B.A.R.F., the user could extract memories exactly as they were remembered, or exactly as they decided to remember them. It could be used for interrogation, for criminal cases – or it could be used for exonerations. And in other events, it could just as easily be taken advantage of; a guilty person misremembering a murder; a victim being forced to replay a traumatic memory again and again.

He was infuriated what Tony wanted to do with his technology, and had eventually been fired for it too. He was off the deep end, Pepper said, a little crazed and dangerous. His reference had been anything but glowing, and yet he’d still managed to doctor the facts and land himself a role at Columbia during the five years between snaps. He still managed to end up as Harley’s teacher – though, it seemed, by coincidence. One Quentin took advantage of as soon as he discovered how close Tony and Harley had been, and who owned the large fund that was paying Harley’s tuition.

After Pepper told her story, Harley told his – about how dangerous E.D.I.T.H. truly is, about the responsibility of a world killer that he could wear like a pair of smart glasses. Quentin had been right, as awful as it was; Harley wasn’t ready for them, wasn’t prepared to own something like that, and in the wrong hands…

“Why do you think Tony gave them to you?” Pepper asked softly, hers hands on his arms.

“I don’t know!” Harley complained. “I don’t know why he gave them to me—”

“He gave them to you because you are the right hands,” she said. “Because you are responsible. And yes, they’re a weight to carry, and they can be scary—hell knows I feel that pressure with F.R.I.D.A.Y. standing over me at all times, knowing what she can do if I asked—but he wouldn’t have handed them down to you if he thought you couldn’t handle it. And maybe… maybe you can’t yet. Maybe you do need to grow into them, but E.D.I.T.H. is yours, and will be for as long as you want it.”

“But it can do so many bad things.”

“And it can do so many good ones, too,” she replied. “Tony was a futurist. He saw the way forward and brought it to the present. He could see the value of A.I.; of a being that learned and grew and changed, but wasn’t human. They can do a lot of bad, if you ask it to – and they’re installed with safeguards for that exact reason – but they can do a lot of good. F.R.I.D.A.Y. is a personal assistant and security system as much as she can be used as a weapon. She can keep an eye on Morgan, can deploy security measures if someone breaks in, can keep an eye on body temperatures, on health and how hydrated we are. She’s a friend as much as she’s technology. If she sees dips in mood, she can work to relieve it; when Tony was struggling after the first snap, she was also the one that alerted me, so I could help. And maybe—maybe they’re small things, compared with missiles in the sky and drone strikes, but they’re also good things.”

She sighed, smiling. “It’s like being a good person or a bad person, Harley. Just because you think bad thoughts, doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. It’s what you do that counts. We all have the potential for chaos, for hurt and harm – we have to choose not to act on it. In the same way, with A.I.s in our hands, we have to continuously choose to use them for good, not evil.”

Harley felt his chest loosen a little, where it had tightened and knotted up. Maybe Pepper was right.

“But E.D.I.T.H. isn’t in my hands,” he said. “I lost her!”

“Anything lost can also be found,” she said easily, turning to the monitors. “I have F.R.I.D.A.Y.,” she said, “and I am using her for good by locating Quentin Beck using New York’s CCTV cameras and S.I.’s advanced facial recognition software—not for sale, distribution or government use,” she added, with a smile. “I could go out there myself, too, but I figured there was someone closer by.” Pepper pressed a button on the dash. “How’s it going Spidey?”

“Hey, Pepper!�� a voice responded; the cheery, upbeat tone of Spiderman. “I’m actually just watching him through the window of his buddy’s apartment. They’ve been trying to hack into the glasses since way before I got here and its fun seeing them stressed. They haven’t even noticed I’m here.”

“Spidey,” Pepper sighed, “would you mind getting the glasses back sooner rather than later? And finding out who the buddy is?”

“Oh, KAREN’s already figured that out. Ex-S.I. employee. Guess they all have it out for Mr. Stark, huh?”

The image of a balding man appeared on one screen, clearly taken through the bedroom window. His name popped up next to it, with his details.

“Guess so,” Pepper replied.

It was less than an hour later that Spiderman vaulted through the window of the lab, glasses in hand.

“Oh, pizza?” he said, looking at the boxes Happy had ordered to keep himself busy. “Save any for me?”

Pepper tapped her hand on a closed box. “Pepperoni. Just for you.”

“Oh, you’re the best,” he said, passing Harley on the way to the box and handing back the glasses as he went. “For you,” he added along the way.

Harley eyed the glasses in his hands; they were very Tony, just like the ones he used to wear. He wasn’t ready for them, really. Not yet. But someday, he might be – someday, he might be able to use E.D.I.T.H.’s reach and power for good. Might be able to use her to build good things that help people, to change the world just as Tony had done.

Harley said, “Thanks, Peter,” and grinned as Spiderman, Pepper and Happy froze.

Then Spiderman whined, “How did you know? I didn’t even tell you! I swear, Pepper, I said nothing,” and Harley laughed, waving the glasses around.

“E.D.I.T.H. knows everything,” he said, remembering all the details that appeared when he asked the glasses for Peter’s phone number, “from your class schedule to your secret identity.”

Peter pulled off the mask and Ariel sniggered into her pizza as he did so. He looked so put out. “No telling,” he said, slumping onto a free chair. “I can’t believe everyone I come into contact with figures out my secret identity.”

“It’s probably because you take off the mask every time you want to talk to someone or look dramatically into the middle distance,” Happy replied, with his mouth full.

They all laughed, and Harley grinned, placing the glasses carefully on the table.

Not yet, he thought, but maybe someday.

#marvel #mcu #harley keener #quentin beck #peter parker #bethany talks #bethany writes #could've responded like a normal person and YET i didn't #i wrote this in like 3 hours and then did a quick read through #let me live #jim-hopper-superhero

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Stark Spangled Banner Ch59:We Only Part To Meet Again.

Intro The Time Heist worked, but at a cost. Natasha gave her life for the Soul Stone. Following a promise to make her sacrifice worth something, the Avengers continued their plan and succeeded in reversing the Snap. But along with everyone else, the biggest threat the Avengers have ever faced re-appeared. 

Thanos.

Now Steve and Katie, along with the rest of their team are locked in a fearsome battle, between light and dark, life and death. Simply put, it’s a battle which they cannot afford to lose because they’re in the Endgame now…

Warnings: “Language!” 

SMUT (NSFW)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist

Ok so I hope you all like this one. I’m STILL a little pissed that Nat didn’t get a proper send off in Endgame so I hope I’ve done her justice in this one. We’re so near the end now… *cries*

They decided not to tell anyone about their news until both Natasha’s remembrance ceremony and Tony’s funerals were done. For no reason other than they didn’t want any of the attention being placed on them to detract from what the days were about- their friends and family taking time to remember together.  In all fairness, it wasn’t a long time to have to wait. Natasha’s memorial was the day after with Tony’s funeral taking place 2 days post that.  

The only problem was, however, it was kind of hard to keep it secret when the next morning, Katie pushed Bucky and Sam out of the way as she ran from the kitchen and emptied her stomach into the downstairs toilet.

“She ok?” Bucky asked looking at Steve as he grabbed a bottle of water for her from the fridge.

“Just nerves.” Steve said, “About today.” and before they quizzed him more he headed out into the hallway just as Katie was emerging from the bathroom. Wordlessly he handed her the bottle and gently cupped her cheek in his hand, and she smiled softly leaning into his touch.

“You were puking the last time we were on a jet together you know…” Sam quipped as she walked back into the kitchen  “Maybe that says something about your flying.” Katie shot back at him, sitting down at the table.

“Nah ah, you’d eaten that dodgy chicken remember?”

Katie nodded and then Bucky gave a scoff.

“You know, you’re almost convincing.” he pointed at her, “You on the other hand…” his point moved to Steve who had reached to open the fridge, pausing as he was caught in his friend’s stare. “Still can’t lie for shit. It’s written all over your face.” Katie and Steve exchanged a glance before they looked back to the two men who were both leaning against the counter, mugs of coffee in their hands.

“What’s he lying about?” Sam frowned, looking at Bucky. Bucky simply gave him an exasperated glance.

“It’s more likely to be dodgy sausage than chicken.” he deadpanned

“Buck!” Steve said, frowning as Katie glared at his best friend. Whilst all this was going on, Sam’s face rearranged itself into a look of comprehension and he turned to look at Katie.

“Really?” his eyes flickered from her to Steve. Before they could deny it, Jamie walked into the kitchen with Lucky, the pair of them having been in the garden with Emmy.

“When do we go see Auntie Nat-Nat’s tree?” he asked.

“Soon” Steve said, turning to his son noticing instantly the kid was filthy “Do not move from that doormat…”

Jamie stood and saluted at his father, the way Tony had taught him to do whenever he was given an order and Katie snorted a laugh. With a roll of his eyes Steve bent down and undid the laces on his sneakers. Jamie kicked them off and ran over to his momma.

“Can I wear my Captain ‘Merica top Auntie Nat-Nat got me?” he asked.

“You can wear what you want today baby.” Katie said, kissing his head “Clint’s orders. No black.”

“Kinda ironic really seeing as she spent half her life being called Black Widow.” Sam mused.

“I think that’s why Clint suggested it.” Katie said “No black widow, only Natasha Romanoff.”

At that point Emmy stepped inside holding ceramic pot which now contained a tulip plant she had dug up from her patch near the shed. “Will this be ok, you know, to plant under her tree?” “I think it’s perfect.” Katie smiled, standing up with Jamie in her arms “And so would she. She liked tulips. Right young man…” she blew a raspberry on her son’s cheek and he grinned “Shower time…” “Want me to do it?” Steve asked.

“No, I’ll take him. You can deal with these two idiots.” she said, nodding towards Sam and Bucky. She glanced back at Steve and gave him a soft smile. “Emmy, you need to get ready too honey…”

Steve watched as his family left the kitchen before he turned to look at Bucky “You are a pain in my ass, you know that?” “Tell me I’m wrong.” Bucky raised an eyebrow as Steve ran his hands over his face. He looked at his friend and then couldn’t help the small smile that spread across his face.

“Yeah, she’s…we’re pregnant.”

“Fucking hell Punk!” Bucky moved to give the man a hug “That’s…that’s great news.”

“Thanks Buck.” he said, pulling back.

“Yeah nice one Cap.” Sam grinned, shaking his hand.

“Thanks, but we’re keeping it on the low for the time being.” Steve said, “We don’t wanna tell anyone till after Tony’s funeral, it just doesn’t feel right you know.”

Both men made affirmative nods and hand gestures, before Sam looked at Steve.

“How far along?”

Steve hesitated. “Well, we don’t know. It’s kinda complicated.”

“Complicated?” Bucky frowned “What’s complicated about it?”

“We lost one in the snap.” he said rubbing the back of his neck “So we’re not sure if this baby is that one come back or another one that’s…” he took a deep breath “We didn’t even think about it being a possibility, ya know? Anyway we’ve got a dating scan tomorrow so we’ll know for sure then.”

“So that time…when we were on the low…” Sam frowned “She was pregnant?”

Steve nodded.

“Not bad chicken?”

Steve shook his head.              

“Dude you knocked up your Mrs whilst we were running from the Feds?”  

“It wasn’t exactly planned Sam.” Steve rolled his eyes.

**** Steve watched his wife for a moment as she sat on the seat opposite him on the private Stark Jet, scribbling on a piece of paper. She was jotting down notes for Tony’s Eulogy and her brow was furrowed as she wrote her ideas down, stopping every so often to wipe a stray tear away from her eyes. He leaned over to tuck her hair behind her ear whilst asking if she needed anything and she shook her head, tapping the pen lightly against her teeth. He dropped his hand to her neck, gently squeezed in a sign of affection and stood up to go and check if Bucky need rescuing from Jamie’s incessant chattering.

“You know it doesn’t seem right, any of this.” Katie said quietly, as she looked out of the window, her pen tapping against her teeth. Steve watched her for a second before he sat back down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the small table between them. She turned to him and she sighed “The world is mourning for Tony, yet the same people who are leaving candles and wreathes and flowers outside the tower, don’t seem to give a shit about Natasha. She’s not been mentioned once in the media since the President’s address…” “Sadly, I’m not surprised.” Steve sighed “After we took down SHIELD and all her past secrets were thrown into the spotlight and, well, you know her history. It wasn’t well received. People made assumptions about her, questioned her loyalties, wrongly yes, but they did.” “It’s not fair.” Katie sniffed.

“You’re right, it’s not. It’s unfair and it’s cruel.” Steve nodded, gently reaching out for Katie’s hand. “She gave her life because she believed so firmly that we could succeed and she’s being given no recognition at all. But that’s what today is about. Those of us that did know her, and did care about her getting the chance to say goodbye properly.”

Katie smiled sadly, her fingers tangling in Steve’s as their hands lay entwined on the table

“And I think she would prefer it this way.” he continued “She was a very private person, unless she was around her friends, her family after all.”

“Yeah…” Katie said, smiling gently “Maybe you’re right.”

There was a loud yell from the other side of the jet and they both looked over to see Bucky giving Jamie a hi-five as Sam and Emmy leant back in their chairs, throwing their Uno cards onto the table in defeat.  Bucky looked up and caught Steve’s eye, flashing him a small wink.

It wasn’t long before they were landing. Katie felt ridiculously queasy as the jet began to descend and no sooner was she on the concrete of the runway than she threw up to the side of the steps. Emmy gave her a suspicious look, but didn’t say anything as she made her way, her hand around Jamie’s as they followed Sam and Bucky to the waiting cars, Steve patiently hanging back for his wife to compose herself before they set off on the 30 minute or so drive to Clint’s farm.

There were hugs, hand-shakes, a few tears as the group greeted each other. Banner and Wanda had already arrived before the Rogers-Barnes-Wilson clan did and it wasn’t long until Fury and Hill walked into the large farmhouse. And then Okoye and T’Challa landed. And then Carol Danvers, Rocket, Nebula and Thor. And finally Lang, Rhodey, Pepper, Happy and Morgan.  As Katie looked round as her niece shot over to hug her ‘Uncle Spangles’ she suddenly felt a warmth in her chest that where was still so much love in and amongst the grief.

They had an hour or so at the house, Jamie and Nathaniel instantly hitting it off and retreating to Nate’s room, emerging 30 minutes later each with a picture for their Auntie Nat. Katie had crouched down next to her son as he had showed her the picture of the woman with the shock of red hair holding a cookie because “she always gave me cookies Momma”

“Yeah, yeah she did.” Katie smiled, kissing his cheek.

In the mid-afternoon sun, Clint and Laura, with their 3 kids, led the way down a worn path which led to a small pond not far from the line of trees that surrounded the farm. Clint explained that Natasha liked it here, she often came to visit and stay if there was a little too much going on in her life to cope with and this was her place which was why the tree was planted here. The tree was roughly 6 ft high at the moment but was already sporting the deep red leaves they had picked it for, and they all knew that over time it would grow and expand. There was a small wooden bench underneath it, with a brass plaque which sported Natasha’s Black Widow symbol, and they had also ordered a small head stone, but that would not be available for a while.

“It’s beautiful Clint.” Katie had nodded, her hand falling to the place just underneath her throat and above her chest. “It really is.” “So…” Clint rubbed his neck “I thought, those of us that wanted to could just say a few words and…” he looked around and gave a watery smile as he took in the crowd of people “You know, seeing you all here reminds me of how Nat came into my life. No friends, no family, no connections…and absolutely no desire to change any of that.” “You go that right…” Fury muttered, drawing a few smiles and soft laughs, including a chuckle from Clint.

“Yet here she is, being celebrated and remembered by all of you, all of us, the people whose lives she’s touched and impacted and I guess, well, she did change it after all.”

Steve gave the archer a smile as he turned to look at the tree, his head bowing slightly “Nat, your last name might have been Romanoff but you’ve been part of the Barton family for as long as we can remember. I watched you break free from the horrors of your youth and learn that life didn’t have to always be painful and cruel. You worked tirelessly to build yourself up and always strived to be a better person. I hope you know that…” he paused and looked upwards, taking a deep shaky breath “you were worthy of being loved. And we did, we loved you so much, still do. Me, Laura, Coops, Lila and Nate.  If it wasn’t for you my family wouldn’t be here, but whilst my heart may have pieced itself back together thanks to them coming home…there’s still a huge hole there where you used to be. And I know that Nate only met you briefly, but he’s gonna know…gonna know all about the woman he’s named after, the bravest woman I have ever known.” He reached out and wiped at his face before his hand gently touched the bark of the tree trunk. “Goodbye Nat.” At that point Laura stepped forward, her own tears trickling down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms round her husband, their kids all following suite before Nathanial turned and placed the piece of paper he was holding on the bench, Clint helping him tack it to the back part with a small pin before the stepped back into the crowd.

Almost everyone spoke. Fury and Hill went next, explaining how they had been there from the beginning and watched her as she had transformed from this lethal, master assassin into an Avenger, a leader. And whilst he may not have been so warm to her in the beginning, Fury had come to look at her as a protégée, the person who after Hill and Coulson he trusted the most. And Hill who had become a friend, one of the first people to join Natasha’s slowly expanding group of confidents in the beginning. Natasha had exceeded any expectations they had of her as a colleague and had been a fiercely loyal friend until the end.

Okoye, Nebula, Rocket and Danvers, who had only known post the world being ripped apart respected the woman who was broken and shattered but never gave up wanting to make the world a better place and continually strived to find a way to fix what Thanos had done. They had all forged a friendship with Natasha as they picked up the pieces of a shattered world and strived to keep people safe through the chaos that ensured post snap.

T’Challa, who had seen the fierce loyalty and drive that Natasha possessed first hand. “Even if that did mean she knocked me out with a hell of a sting.” he quipped, drawing chuckles from the group. Her tenacity on the battle field in Wakanda, her strive to protect not only her friends, but billions of strangers, at all costs. “An honourable trait.”

Lang who again hadn’t known her wrong but had found an ally instantly willing to work on his ludicrous Time Heist idea, without whom, “I doubt anyone would have taken me seriously, including Steve” who gave him a small smile and a shrug because it was true.  

Bucky, who had tried to kill Natasha on more than one occasion, but could empathise with what she had been through more than most, simply placed his metal hand on the bark of the tree and said something in Russian, which he later explained to Steve and Katie had been a simple thank you and goodbye, not being able to think of anything else to say.

Rhodey, who had known her as long as Katie had. He had watched as she stepped up post the snap, helping Steve lead what was left of their group as they tried to help who was left and “bring peace to a world that was in turmoil”.

Pepper who had also known her as long as Katie had, thanks to her infiltration of Stark Industries. She’d become a good friend over the years, sharing a “mutual annoyance at Tony’s ridiculous antics” and with Katie and later Wanda the women had joined forces in an otherwise male and testosterone swamped Avengers Tower or Compound.

Wanda and Sam, who had both spent years on the run alongside her. She had helped train them both, fought alongside them both, and saved both their lives more times than they cared to remember. They respected her, and counted her amongst their closest friends.

Thor, he trusted her, infinitely, watching her hold her own against opponents both bigger and stronger on many an occasion. She had never once judged him for the sins of his brother, and with a large clap of lightning he had declared her the “a most noble and worthy warrior, one of the greatest I have ever seen”

Bruce, who had trusted her more than he had ever trusted anyone- “There’s a reason that lullaby never worked for anyone else, Nat” and whilst they had never gotten the chance to explore their feelings for one another, he had loved her. More than as a friend, and wanted her to know that his time away for the 2 years he had been stuck as the hulk post his forced transformation in Sokovia wasn’t her fault, despite what she had always said and thought.

Steve cleared his throat, his hand firmly grasped around Katie’s as they both stepped forward, their kids at their side. His chest was horribly tight as he took a deep breath and began to speak. “Clint’s right Nat, you were a pain in the ass. Specifically my ass for years.” he began, “Constantly laughing at me for being old, and old fashioned, trying to fix me up on dates until you realised that the person I wanted to be with just happened to be one of your best friends, which then opened up a whole world of opportunity for your sarcasm and wind ups. You were one of the bravest, kindest people I have ever fought alongside, and we both knew that when we made you godmother to Jamie you’d guide him in the best way you could, even if you did take him for the day and fill him with enough e-numbers to make him bounce of the walls when you returned him.”

He sniffed slightly and Katie lay her head against his shoulder, fighting her own tears “People often pointed to me as the leader of the Avengers, but I wasn’t. Not really. You were the one that held us all together on more than one occasion, especially when me and Tony were ready to rip each other’s heads off. Your ability to see the best in people is something I can only hope to emulate, and we’re going to miss you. We all are. More than you will ever know.” Katie could see he was close to breaking, just as Clint had done.

“Emmy, Jamie why don’t you put your picture and your plant on the bench?” she said gently, “Clint…”

Clint nodded and stepped forward with them both as she took the opportunity to wrap her arms around Steve, pulling him in close.

“I drawed this for you.” She heard Jamie say as Clint helped him tack his photo next to Nathaniel’s before he promised Emmy he would plant the tulips in the ground once her headstone was there.

A silence fell before Katie stepped back and looked up at Steve who gave her a not to assure her he was ok. Then, realising it was her turn she turned to the tree and looked at the shock of red leaves, smiling softly.

“There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said.” Katie smiled gently “You were an amazing person, inside and out. I’ll never forget how you helped me pick an outfit for my first date with Steve and calmed me down despite the nerves that were flooding my entire system.”

“You never told me that.” Steve said, causing the crowd around them to laugh.

“Oh it’s true.” Katie nodded with a smile before she turned back to the tree “All the ribbings and joking you would do, trying to get the ‘inside details’ as you called them on Captain America…but that’s what friends do right? And we were friends, best friends. I knew I wanted to be your friend the first time I met you when you were undercover in Stark Industries and your floored Happy after Tony insisted you ‘go a few rounds’”

“Thanks Kiddo…” Happy grumbled, drawing more chuckles.

“You helped us so much when Jamie was a baby, taking him when you could see things were getting too much for me as a new mum, telling me that it was normal to feel a little overwhelmed when I simply thought I was doing a bad job…we couldn’t have done it without you and there’s no better friend I could have had by my side through everything we’ve been through together and done over the past 13 years.”

Katie looked up at the sky, her tears falling now “You know, on the jet on the way over me and Steve talked about how cruel it was that you’re not getting the recognition for your part in bringing everyone back that you deserve, but then I see everyone here and…” she choked a little on her words and felt Steve’s arm slide around her waist “You know, it might not be a public mourning but this, this is the evidence that you were loved, and the people that mattered care and will always care and be thankful that you gave your life so that everyone who’s here could live theirs.  You were so loved Nat, you always will be…and I can only hope you knew and felt that.”

With that her tears began to fall thickly and she turned to Steve, his arms wrapping around her, his large, strong but ever so gently hands held her close to him, one on the base of her back, the other on her head.

There was a soft breeze which ruffled the leaves of the trees in the otherwise completely calm clearing they were in and no one spoke for a moment, until Clint stated that there were drinks and food waiting at the house. With a last glance over her shoulder at Nat’s tree, Katie allowed Steve to guide her down the path, every so often pressing a soft kiss to her temple.

With drinks and full plates, the guests spilled out into grounds of the Barton farm as animated chat began on and around the porch. Katie stuck to apple juice topped up with lemonade in a wine glass, and when Steve had subtly arched an eyebrow in question at the fact she was drinking she’d flicked him off and shook her head gently causing him to snigger a little.

“So…” Pepper sidled up to her, looking at her “When are you due?”

“What?” Katie asked, “I don’t know what you’re-.”

“I know that’s not wine.” Pepper said gently, cutting her off “And I know that you lost a baby in the snap…maybe I’m putting 2 and 2 together here…”

Katie sighed and looked at her sister-in-law. “We only found out last night, we didn’t wanna say anything…not until the memorials and funerals are over. It doesn’t feel right, to be happy about it all…even though I can’t help it…” “Are you kidding me?” Pepper smiled “Katie, its great news. Something positive to look forward to…”

“Literally” Katie mumbled causing Pepper to grin.

“I knew it!” Emmy’s voice said and Katie groaned and turned to face her “Your baby…it came back?”

“Shhhh” Katie said “Look, we haven’t told anyone yet…”

“Why not?” She demanded

“Because we don’t know how far along we are or…” Katie pinched the bridge of her nose “just not yet Emmy ok? And this isn’t how we wanted you to find out. We were gonna tell you tomorrow after the scan.”

Emmy cocked her head to one side and shrugged, draining the glass of ice tea she was holding before she smiled and wrapped her arms round her mother, the 15 year old now being almost as tall as she was. “I think it’s great.” Katie smiled and lay her head against her daughters, squeezing her back “Yeah, yeah it is.”

***** Katie was exhausted after the day’s events and so, once the kids were settled she had left the men drinking in the kitchen and headed for a bath.  Steve and Bucky had been drinking the Asgardian stuff all afternoon thanks to Thor bringing a load with him to Clint’s and both the soldiers had been feeling the effects before they headed home, and still were thanks to the stash Steve had in the cabinet and beer fridge.

“You know…” Sam said, leaning back in his chair “When you find out how far gone Katie is tomorrow, we’re gonna be able to figure out a point of conception.” “Yeah that’s generally how it works.” Steve rolled his eyes.

“Well you better not have made that baby on my plane.”

“We never had sex on the jet.” Steve sighed.

“No, just dirty old warehouses in the middle of a mission.” Sam shot back.

“Did you have to bring that up?” Steve said exasperatedly.

“Oh now this I gotta hear…” Bucky grinned and turned to look at Sam.

“They left their comms on.” Sam mumbled “Trust me you don’t gotta…”

Bucky gave a loud bark of a laugh as Steve groaned.

“We just got caught up and…” he suddenly stopped, deciding he didn’t have to explain himself. Why the fuck should he? “You know what, I don’t care, have you seen her? I’d bang her every second of the day if I could, she’s fucking gorgeous…”

“Aww thanks baby, but 5 times in one night was quite enough thanks.” Katie said and all 3 men whipped round to face her as she quirked an eyebrow smirking, leaning in the doorway dressed as usual in a pair of shorts and one of his shirts “It was one hell of a wedding night.”

“5 times?” Sam looked at Steve who flushed bright red, but couldn’t help but feel slightly smug.

“And that’s how many times we did it…” she headed to the fridge to pull out a bottle of water, before she turned and winked at Steve “Not how many times he made me see stars.”

Sam gave a loud laugh as Bucky grinned, a dirty snigger escaping from his mouth.

“I think I liked it better when you hated each other.” Steve said, glaring at them.

“Aww they picking on you baby?” Katie asked, sliding her arms round his neck from behind. He nodded, his hands rubbing over her forearms as they locked at the front of his chest.

“Big time.” he pouted.

“Come to bed and I’ll make it better.” she whispered into his ear and he turned as she straightened up and headed back out of the room. “Night boys.”

There was a pause as Steve looked at Bucky who was chuckling to himself, clearly having overheard.

“I’m gonna…” he said, and with that he drained his beer, stood up and headed after her.

Bucky eyed the bottle of alcohol in his hand before he turned to Sam. “Wanna go for a walk, find a bar? I’m in the mood for exploring my old neighbourhood a little.”

“Damned straight.” Sam nodded, standing up “The night is young Frosty…unlike you.”

“Fuck off.” Bucky said, grabbing his jacket and smiling as he felt the leather in his flesh hand.

“Buck, you got a sec?” Katie asked, just before they were about to leave for the airfield.

Bucky paused and looked at Steve who simply gave him a smile “She’s got something for you.” he said, ushering the kids down the hall with easy commands and large hands.

Bucky made his way into the living room and his mouth turned into a smile as Katie held out his leather jacket, the one he had wrapped her in when he pulled her from the Hydra base in La Ronde what felt like a life time ago.

“I believe this is yours.” she smiled at him.

“You kept it?” he said gently.

“Of course I did. I just never had chance to give it you back until now.”

He took it from her, gently running his hand over the collar.

“I also never got chance to thank you for that day, what you did.”

“Anyone would have done the same…” he shrugged, rubbing at the back of his neck in an action that reminded her very much of Steve.

“You sure they would?” she asked “You headed deep into a base full of people who had once hurt you.” she looked at him “Because someone was screaming for help. Someone…and you had no idea it was me. And even if you did, you didn’t know me. Not really.”

“No but I knew what those bastards were capable of.” he said, eyeing her gently “I wouldn’t ever leave anyone to suffer at their hands. I just wish I’d gotten there sooner…”

“Did Steve tell you what they did?” She asked gently.

“He doesn’t need to.” Bucky looked down “Like I said, I know what they’re, what they were capable of.” “You’re a good man James Barnes.” She gave him a soft smile and then stepped forward to give him a hug. “You saved my life. And for that I’ll always be grateful, and so will Steve.”

Bucky smiled slightly as she slipped on the jacket and headed after Sam as they gently left the house, the door closing behind them.

Upstairs, Steve’s hands were already all over his wife, gentle, strong, loving as he softly caressed her stomach, the place his baby was growing. He nuzzled into her neck as she preened at his touch, arching her back. She moved slightly so he could pull the shirt over her head before he gently took her face in his hands, thumbs skating over her cheekbones.

“I hope it’s a girl.” he said gently, dropping a kiss to her lips “And she looks just like her momma.”

“Charmer.” she grinned as he kissed her again, the kiss growing urgent, Steve flicking his tongue over his wife’s lips before he moved to gently trail his mouth down her neck to the spot in between her collar bone, giving it a gentle nip and a suck. It was a well-practiced dance between the pair of them. After 10 years of being with one another they both knew the spots to hit, the places to touch, the parts to tease that would undo the other. It was a familiarity, but one that would never get old. Steve would never tire of the way her finger tips trailed down his back, nails gently biting his skin as she made those delectable noises by his ear. Katie would never tire of the way he would softly trail every curve of her body, his hands and strong arms cradling her as he lavished affection on her that drove into her very soul, his mouth gently nipping at her neck, his gentle praises that made her keen with affection.

“I love you baby girl, you’re so good to me, so good…” The soft sheets of the bed rustled around them as Steve gently rocked into his wife, causing her to sigh and lay her head back, gazing up at him with a love and lust so deep it almost hurt him to see. He had never been worthy of this love, and never would be. But all he could do was love her back, the way he did, with every single breath he had.

His movements were slow, his hand gently moved to hook her leg around him, finding a deeper seat as he rocked forwards and back again and again, driving deep against her spot as her hands hooked around his neck, pulling him down to kiss her, deeply, softly as she moaned into his mouth.

“Come on baby…” he said gently, his lips moving to her neck “Atta girl…come on…”

Her back arched and her nails dug into the skin of his biceps as she leaned forward slightly, burying her head into the crook of his shoulder to muffle her cries as she came, tightening around him. He upped his pace, ever so slightly, chasing his own release and he came, his lips pressed to hers, a deep, satisfied moan bubbling from his throat into her mouth as his hips stuttered and he rest his forehead against hers, gathering his breath.  He suddenly realised he was led on top of her, his baby in her stomach and he went to move but she caught him softly, her hands straying to his shoulders as she smiled at him, her hands gently moving to rake up through his hair as she pressed a soft kiss to his mouth before she nipped his lip and he practically growled at her.

“Keep doing that…” he muttered “And I’ll be hard again in about 5 seconds flat.” “I’m counting on it…”she smirked, kissing him again.

*****

“I’m sorry, say that again?” Katie looked at Dr Kellet. The woman smiled and glanced back at her.

“10 weeks.” she nodded “Give or take. Which makes your due date…the 1st June”

Katie glanced at Steve who was frowning and she knew instantly what was bothering him. He was concerned about the fact she had been pregnant in the fight, and was worried that the snap would have done some lasting damage. Katie wasn’t as concerned, for some inexplicable reason she knew everything was ok ans had instead diverted his attention to researching second pregnancies… which he had done with gusto.

The kids were in bed, Bucky and Sam were…actually, Katie had no idea where they were, not that it mattered, they were grown up men. They were led on the couch, Katie down one side of the L shape, Steve on the other with his head in his wife’s lap as he glanced at the screen on his phone

“It says here that you should feel them move sooner than the first time because you know what they feel like…” he said, grinning up at her “Wonder if that means I’ll feel them sooner too?” Katie shrugged, smiling as she ran her hand through Steve’s hair. “No idea.”

“And you’ll carry it lower.” he said, ignoring her completely. “Which according to this is a good thing as you’ll breathe easier and eat much more comfortably than you did last time. Although you might be doing the whole constant needing to pee thing sooner…but on the plus side labour is faster.” “Oh joy.” Katie sighed, her nails scratching his scalp slightly.

“And it says here you’re likely to start showing sooner.” he said, a huge grin spreading across his face “I can’t wait!”

“Sooner?” Katie scoffed “Baby, I was only 14 weeks last time when I started showing.” “Yeah but like you said it was only us that noticed really.” he said, shifting slightly so that he was led on his stomach. His head crept under her T-shirt and his nose gently skimmed her lower belly. “To everyone else it just looked like you’d eaten too many cheeseburgers…” Katie nipped his arm causing him to yelp out a laugh.

“Are you sure everything is ok?” Steve asked, “Because well, the snap and…”

Dr Kellet smiled and nodded “Your baby is perfectly healthy and normal, everything is perfect.”

Steve nodded, the worry he had instantly felt ebbing from his system. Katie gently laced her fingers between his and glanced back at the screen.

“10 weeks…” she sighed “How on Earth did I not notice I was that far gone?”

Steve gently kissed the back of her hand. “Honey it doesn’t matter, don’t think on it. Don’t think on any of it.”

“I’ll get you a few copies of the photo.” Dr Kellet nodded.

“Have you had many others in, like this I mean?” Katie asked as the Doctor wiped the cold gel off her stomach “I mean, that have had babies back or…” “You’re the 6th one I’ve seen since everyone came back.” she smiled “Who knew?”

“Could be problematic…” Katie mused “I mean like, what if they are already pregnant again, or like, I dunno, dead against having kids now or…” “Katie…” Steve chuckled “Shut up.”

Armed with the two scan photos they headed home and were greeted by an excited Jamie who dragged the pair of them into the living room where he had been building a rocket out of lego with Bucky’s help.

“Everything ok?” Sam looked up from where he as prodding at Katie’s tablet, reading the news.

“Yeah…” Katie smiled, and she looked at Steve “10 weeks.”

“10 weeks…” Sam mumbled, and then he did the same math they had done in the car and a huge shit eating grin crossed his face “So it was that time on the mission?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Steve grumbled “We worked it out.”

“Funny really.” Katie smirked “Both of them were made up against a wall. Turns out Captain America is better at it than Steve Rogers.” Steve let out a sigh and he shot his wife a filthy look as both Bucky and Sam roared with laughed.

“Better at what?” Jamie asked, looking up at her.

“We’ll give you a minute…” Bucky said, standing up as he headed into the kitchen, followed by Sam, both passing Emmy who was returning with a drink for her and Jamie.

“Come here…” Katie said, settling on the couch and patting the seat next to her. Jamie scrambled up and ran over, jumping up besides her. Steve sat on the other side of him, and Emmy perched on the corner cushion. Katie looked over at Steve who smiled and turned so he was facing his son slightly.

“We have some news buddy.” he said, gently running his hand over Jamie’s head “You’re mom’s gonna have another baby.” “You’re gonna be a big brother.” Katie said and he turned to look up at her, his eyes wide.

“A baby?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

He frowned slightly before he looked back at his dad “But why?”

Steve hesitated for a moment, there was not real way to explain that one to their youngest. Not yet anyway. “Well, I…” “Because we’re a family.” Emmy said, smiling “It’s what you do.”

“Oh.” Jamie said, and Steve shot his daughter a smile.

“When is it gonna be here?”

“Not till early next year.” Katie smiled.

“Is it a boy or a girl?”

“We dunno yet pal.” Steve said.

“I hope it’s a boy.” Jamie said decisively “But I suppose it won’t matter.”

Katie smiled at Steve before Jamie quipped up again “But I’m not sharing my room.”

 @the-omni-princess  @momobaby227 @geekofmanythings16 @angelofhell-666 @thewackywriter @marvelfansworld   @cobalt-gear   @asgardlover75​ @jennmurawski13   @jtargaryen18  @saiyanprincessswanie   @navispalace @patzammit   @joannaliceevans-fanficblog   @icanfeelastormbrewing @djeniiscorner   @ayamenimthiriel   @coldmuffinbanditshoe   @disneylovingal @madzmilllz   @sgtjaamesbaarnes

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers x oc #steve rogers #captain america #natasha romanoff #black widow #clint barton #hawkeye #bruce banner #hulk #bucky barnes #the winter soldier #falcon #sam wilson #mcu #mcu fanfiction #marvel #marvel fanfiction #avengers #avengers fanfiction

[eatsockss]

Irondad and SteveTony Fic Recs!!

I decided to do a fic rec list bc i always see them and am So Grateful for them, esp rn bc everybody’s quarantined so what else is there to do but read fanfic. these are some of my favorite fics/some of the fics I read recently and just have open in safari rn. they’re mostly angst or whump ngl bc that’s my favorite but,,,, enjoy!

Irondad

ever in your favor by @iron--spider

Summary: Peter startles awake when someone shakes him. “Sorry, honey,” May says. Peter blinks a couple times and she comes into focus, her hair pulled back from her face. She’s trying not to look a certain way, but he can see it in her eyes anyway. She clears her throat, keeps talking. “But it’s…” She glances away, wets her lips. “You gotta get ready.” He remembers what day it is, and his heart beats like a drum at someone’s execution. But he tries to put on a mask, make it all seem normal. It’s everything but, despite the fact that he’s been dealing with reaping day since he was born, between himself, Ben and May. That fear that one of them could be taken away. Sent to surefire slaughter. But now Ben is gone, taken despite never having his name drawn from a bowl, and May’s finally safe. Now Peter’s name is in there alone. The last Parker sitting on the chopping block. He doesn’t know how to be. He doesn’t know what normal is, when the Hunger Games are looming on the horizon.

Note: this is probably my favorite ever irondad fic so like ,,, ummm ,,, Please read this

lay your weary head to rest by @the-great-escapism

Summary: “Please.” He means to say it loudly, with confidence, but it comes out as nothing more than a raspy whisper. His ears are ringing painfully, and his head feels like it’s going to explode. It hurts and hurts and hurts. “M-May,” Peter cries out to no one, feeling like a child. “Tony. Please, ‘m so tired.” He inhales and chokes on his tears. He can’t tell if it’s his imagination or not, but he’s pretty sure he hears a laugh. In which Peter gets kidnapped, and that's not even the worst part. The worst part is he's not allowed to sleep.

Priorities by JLMonroe1234

Summary: Tony had been in the cave for a month. Waiting. Planning. Healing. Biding his time until his creation would be ready and durable enough to get him home. With Yinsen's help and Tony's expertise, he would save them both. But when an injured teenager is brought into the mix, Tony must reevaluate his priorities and decide what's more important; a speedy escape, or rescuing the boy with the spider tattoo?

Return to Normal by Singing_Sirens

Summary: On his first day back, he didn’t expect the stares. Well, he expected some stares, but he didn’t think the entire hallway would just… stop. But that’s what they did. They froze, jaws hanging open, eyes wide, as he lowered his head and curled in on himself. He pushed through the attention. He set his jaw and marched forward, because he had been through worse in the last year.

Patient by alifetime

Summary: Just because Tony has retired as an Avenger, does not mean he still doesn’t have a business to run with Pepper. Since both his oldest children cannot always babysit for Morgan, he hires a babysitter. Harley didn’t really know what to think of the babysitter, and always kept a protective eye on Morgan. But she had told him that Skip was nice. She always seems to be smiling and happy whenever Skip comes to stay. It didn’t filter his concern. So when he goes college, he demands that Peter keeps an eye on him. Peter liked Skip. Until he didn’t. However, he will do anything to keep his brother and sister safe.

Identity Theft by KitCat992

Summary: It's been months since the events of Civil War, and the Avengers are doing their best to remain a team, having promised to forgive and forget. Unfortunately for them, Tony Stark's latest invention has been stolen and recovering it causes tension to reappear. Meanwhile, in Queens, Peter Parker has two main priorities on his plate — complete his midterm finals, and track down a fishbowl wearing criminal that may or may not lead him right into the hands of the Avengers. Somehow between all of this, Spider-man's identity is revealed to the Avengers, Steve and Tony's friendship may permanently be damaged due to continued hidden secrets, and Happy struggles to buy a youth-sized casket for Peter's funeral. Things were a lot easier when they were fighting over Bucky Barnes. (Or: The Avengers welcome Peter into their crazy superhero family and will do anything to protect him.) Shameless Peter whump and Protective Tony Stark.

the second law of thermodynamics by fourleafchloe

Summary: It happens the same way it always does. (It's just discipline. It's not that bad. It's fine, Peter is fine, he'll be fine--) Except he really isn't fine, and Tony knows something's up, and Peter's house of cards is falling apart, and so the story goes. — separate from other fics in the series. a recovery story full of soft irondad, found families, and (eventually) tons of fluff.

Note: this is part of a series of separate irondad fics, each one of them is incredible, so go check out this entire series.

how can the body die? (you tell me, everything) by @madasthesea

Summary: Tony felt panic creep up his spine. Something was occurring to him, slowly percolating in the back of his mind. “You said the stinger got you. Is Scorpion’s stinger venomous?” “I don’t—” Peter cut off as he groaned, the muscles in his jaw tight. “I don’t know. He upgraded—he was faster. Bigger. I—I thought I could beat him.”

oh, darling. by luna_e_stelle

Summary: "Peter?" Tony’s voice wavered with an urgency that cut through the thick haze in Peter’s mind. There was so much emotion in that one word that Peter wondered how he had ever doubted that Tony loved him. They had never said it out loud, just showed it in a way that spoke louder than words ever could. — Peter is taken, and he tries to find his way back home.

whumptober series by @iron--spider

Summary: 10 fics that fulfill whumptober prompts (i could many choose one so just go read the whole series)

Pieces of Echoes by @geekymoviemom

Summary: this is like a rewrite of the MCU integrating most of the storylines So Seamlessly with SuperFamily. Amazing series.

uneasy lies the head by @tnyystark

Summary: Two thoughts come to Peter, both at a breakneck speed he can barely handle. One: the world now thinks he is responsible for the attack in London. And Prague. And Venice. And the murder - murder; as if the man is really dead; as if the universe is kind enough to let that happen - of Mysterio. And two: the world now knows who he is.

Long Shadows by Black_Briar

Summary: Peter comes into contact with a foreign substance on a mission, and things only get worse from there.

I’ll Be Your Home (Forever and Always) by ScarletPotter

Summary: Peter didn't plan on being kidnapped, it all just sorta, maybe, happened? Peter was on his way to meet Ned when suddenly everything goes dark. When he wakes up he's restrained to a table and a man introduces himself to be Quentin Beck, and that he's going to kill him.

god did not craft us as alters, but as dying gods by helloitisafellowgay

Summary: Peter Parker is not immune to trauma. Far from it, in fact. (With great power comes great responsibility, Peter.) So when the building collapses, when the dilapidated remains of metal and concrete, and later searing scraps of plane, fall around him? Well, this is practically nothing. Practically. He’s fine, really. It just gets a little hard to breathe sometimes. Like, when he follows Happy into Stark Tower through the parking garage. Or when he turns on the news while doing homework and sees reports of a plane crash. And sure, the small fire that broke out in the chemistry lab had sent his heart racing and caused sweat to bead on the back of his neck until even Ned asked if he was okay, but it’s nothing to worry about. Regardless, he knows where those come from. But this? In which Skip Westcott is a repressed memory, until he returns.

Note: favorite fic title!

Stony

my heart is driftwood, floating down your coast by @kapteniron

Summary: Tonight, there’s a stranger in his backseat. That’s not unusual. He’s also sad. That’s not unusual either. What is unusual is that the stranger is silent. (One night, a stranger enters Steve's taxi. Nothing is the same again.)

Forever Linked by ashes0909 and athletiger

Summary: Before the door even clicked shut, he opened his mouth to let the pink petals flutter to the ground. In the center of all this mess was a single rose, not yet bloomed, but Tony knew, deep down, what this meant. But they were only teammates for sure; nothing else will go further. — “You have Hanahaki?” she asked, barely more than a whisper. He fisted out the petal from his pocket and held it out to her. “If that’s what would cause this to come out of my throat.”

Steve Rogers’ Guide to Wooing Tony Stark by Tonks22

Summary: Steve tries to woo Tony. Steve is not very good at it. Tony is oblivious.

Blue Lips, Blue Veins by @romanoff

Summary: Tony Stark is Iron Man. Before that, he was an man with bigger heart than brain. Before that, he was an asshole with a bigger mouth than sense. And before that, he was was a scared little boy. Not that it matters. Stark's always have had iron in their backbone.

Note: this is more of a character study of Tony Stark but it’s Incredible. Cannot recommend this enough.

The Butterfly Effect by @itsallavengers

Summary: While fighting with Loki, Steve Rogers from 2012 hears the two simple words: "Bucky's alive." And the whole universe ripples with the aftershocks.

Going Steady by @itsallavengers

Summary: Steve has a soft spot for the sound of Tony's heart

Hide A Heart Of War by RayShippouUchiha

Summary: “You’ve got war in your heart boy,” Howard sneers, “don’t ever try and pretend to be anything but what you are.” Tony feels the familiar burn of a flower mark being etched into his skin but he doesn’t look, doesn’t try and check to see what it is. Instead he keeps his eyes on Howard and his hands cupped around his bleeding mouth and nose.

Note: this is technically Stuckony but,,, it’s rly good so it’s going on the list.

Assorted

a primer for the small weird loves by babyloveparkner

Summary: “What are you—?” “Hold on,” Peter says, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration as the pen moves across the page. He rips out another page, then seems to grow frustrated and just opens up his notebook to start writing in it rather than stealing pages out of it. Harley feels stuck, flabbergasted and frozen, and he doesn’t know how long he sits there and watches before Peter lets out a huff and finally leans back, satisfaction in his eyes as he hands it all to Harley, all the scribbled writing and torn pages. “Read these.” Harley blinks once, slow, as he takes the offered notebook with the ripped out papers on top. “What…?” And Peter just smiles and shrugs. “They’re poems,” he says. “I looked some up, wrote down the good parts. Maybe those’ll give you that hopeful feeling that you were looking for.” or: harley runs from a homophobic town and finds solace in poetry and peter parker

the spider-man conspiracy by @tempestaurora

Summary: WHO IS SPIDER-MAN? The screen showed Peter Parker, sixteen years old and determined to prove the identity of Spider-Man over the course of the three-part documentary he was making, unknowing that it would become viral within days of the first part being released. Behind the camera, way off screen, was Harley Keener, Tony Stark’s other prodigy child, grinning like crazy as Peter started the documentary. Only a few people knew what was to come, and those few people were about to have a great few weeks. “My name is Peter Parker, and with the help of my friends, Ned Leeds, Harley Keener, and my Aunt, May Parker, who provided me with a lot of red yarn for this project, we’re going to uncover the identity of Spider-Man.” OR "what if peter just decided to fuck with everyone who didn’t know he was spider man and make a documentary about him trying to uncover the Truth."

5 times Tony kissed Rhodey and the one time Rhodey kissed back by lomku

Summary: Exactly what it says in the title.

Note: I wish I had more Ironhusband fics to rec bc i love them but they aren’t as abundant as Stony fics and the ones i’ve read most recently are Stony.

#fic rec #fic rec list #irondad fics #spiderman fics #stevetony fic #spiderman #spiderman whump #peter parker #iron dad angst #tony stark #iron man #iron husbands #stuckony #stony #stony fic #marvel #mcu fic #mcu

[thewritingcaptain]

The Pieces (Part 3)

He can’t help feeling a sense of accomplishment, but also deep sorrow at the sight. Tony should have been the one to do this. Peter should have been the one to be dusted. The whole world would be better off, he’s sure of it.

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. Just had a lot happening, and needed a little break. It was a definite choice to post now, but I decided trying to bring everyone a little joy is the best I can do at the moment, so I may as well do it. Love you all 3000. <3

The house is quiet.

It’s always quiet for long hours during the week. Peter doesn’t mind, honestly. It freaked him out, at first — the dead, still silence, after growing up in the ever-restless and noisy city — but now he’d grown used to it, and kind of relished it, honestly. It was heaven on his always overstimulated senses. He hadn’t realized just how bad that was all the time until he’d moved out here with Pepper.

Pepper, who took him in when the world went to shit, who moved them out of the city and away from everything, to the peace and quiet of the woods, after she had seen how Peter was working himself half to death as Spider-Man trying to help as much of the world as he could to rebuild, and with the stated reason of “the chaos that is the city right now is no place to birth or raise a baby.”

Right. He didn’t entirely believe her, even though he wouldn’t want to raise any child in that mess right now, either. Especially as a first time parent.

Because Pepper is pregnant. With a dusted Tony Stark’s baby.

And she is still being full Pepper Potts, despite it, running Stark Industries and doing everything she normally does and more, and still managing to find time to take care of herself and the baby.

It’d been a long, emotional day in the house when she first told him. She knew, not long after the snap, before she’d came to the compound to find out what happened and get Peter. She told him how Tony had tried to tell her, ask her about it right before he went to space, but she’d denied it without a second thought. She hadn’t noticed the signs yet.

That changed not long after when she started puking, which was an abnormal reaction to her anxiety, after all these years. From there, it wasn’t a huge leap.

She had been right when she told Peter she would need his help. She still had to work, and there were so many preparations to make to prepare for a baby. She couldn’t be everywhere at once, no matter how hard she tried to be.

So Peter had become a sort of house maid. Not that he had to, or that he was overworked or mistreated in any way. The only thing Pepper had really asked him to work on was the nursery, because while she could plan it all out, the time and the physical ability to put it together was just not there for her.

But she was a busy woman, and Peter, at this point, was not. School for the majority of the world had been put online or on hold, depending on the place, while physical rebuilding could be done and governments could reorganize in the chaos that ensued when half the world had disappeared. And really, he has no intention of going back, even when doors do reopen. He’ll finish out online, and go from there, depending on the state that the world is in at the time. And that leaves him with plenty of time to make sure their little house is neat and tidy, to prepare meals for the both of them, and make sure Pepper is eating and sleeping and relaxing like she was supposed to be when she was home. She’d fought him on it, at first, but he’s stubborn enough to win.

Today he’s working in the nursery again. It’s long time to get the furniture moved in and put together in here, so that’s what he does. He sits on the floor and puts the crib together, phone playing music quietly in the corner to dispel the never-ending quiet.

Friday pipes up from above him, occasionally, correcting him on little mistakes before he can put the whole crib together wrong, and making casual conversation. Tony had had this lake house built for him and Pepper, as a sort of retirement plan, something he’d always had waiting in the wings -- or had for the last several years, anyway, as they found out after the snap. So of course Friday was installed out here, too. There was also a lab downstairs that was locked, last he’d tried to get into it. It only happened once. He’d never felt he had the strength to try to face it again.

Once he’s finished, he moves around the last of the miscellaneous furniture to its places and looks around. Aside from the various wall decor he has yet to put up, it’s finally finished.

He can’t help feeling a sense of accomplishment, but also deep sorrow at the sight. Tony should have been the one to do this. Peter should have been the one to be dusted. The whole world would be better off, he’s sure of it.

But there’s nothing he can do to change it, so he takes a deep breath and tells himself to shake it off. There’s still more to do before he calls it quits for the day.

“Oh, Peter .”

Pepper has appeared behind him. He turns, seeing her standing in the doorway with a hand over her mouth and eyes bright with tears. “Oh, uh, Miss Potts- it’s not done yet, but-“

“It’s perfect,” Pepper interrupts gently, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Everything is perfect. What more could you possibly do?”

“There’s some wall decals and miscellaneous decorating stuff to come in. Small stuff. So it is mostly done, I guess, but…”

“It just doesn’t feel done?” Pepper finishes, her tone still maddeningly gentle. “Any thoughts on why?”

“I just…” He hesitates. “I wish he was here to see it. Or that there was at least something we could do to make it feel like he had more of a part in this.”

Pepper sighs a little. “I know, kiddo. Me, too.” She pauses. “Maybe there’s something in the lab or something… I’m sure if you looked you could find something usable.”

Peter chews his lip. “But… I can’t get into the lab here. He locked it, remember?”

Pepper looks confused. “Yeah, but you’re authorized to go in. You have as much access to Friday as I do, Peter. More than anyone except Tony.”

Peter blinks, stunned. “I do?”

“Of course you do. You didn’t realize?”

“No…”

“Well, you always have. And you could honestly probably increase your access, if you wanted to. You have a backdoor into Friday from Karen. Haven’t you ever thought to ask her?”

Peter just shakes his head dumbly. He never imagined he’d have been given access to Friday. Why would he? He had never got to go to the tower or the compound very much, and he had Karen. He’d never even considered it.

“Well, maybe ask one of them about it,” Pepper tells him gently. “And if you find something you like, go ahead and incorporate it. I trust your judgment.”

I trust your judgement. Why do those words weigh so heavily on him now?

“Thanks, Miss Potts,” is all he says in return. “I’ll see what I can find, then.”

But it’s days before he works up the courage, again, to actually try.

The motivation to comes when Pepper calls him from work to tell him she’s having contractions, and going to the hospital to get checked out, so not to wait up for her or make anything for dinner. He hangs up the call with a renewed sense of determination.

What he finds could be painful, sure. But he just can’t fathom the thought of Pepper bringing a little baby Stark home without some piece of her father in that room.

So he steels himself and marches down to the garage, determined not to leave until he’s found or built something suitable to go in baby Morgan’s room.

And, well, if he stays down there the rest of the day and all night, and doesn’t really emerge at all until Pepper is supposed to be on her way home with a baby… that’s no one’s business but his.

Taglist: @lovinmarvel3000

#irondad #iron dad #irondad fanfiction #iron dad fanfiction #irondad and spiderson #infinity war au #avengers infinity war #peter parker #tony stark #pepper potts #morgan stark #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #mcu fanfiction #mcu au #iron man #spiderman #mcu alternate universe #peter parker whump #the pieces #marvel #marvel fanfiction

[steves-on-a-plane]

Wish You Were Here

Words: 1928 Pairing: None Cast of Characters:  Peter Parker and Reader Timeline: Post Endgame Summary: Reader is Tony Stark’s older daughter who was twenty five when she was snapped away along with Peter Parker and the others. After her father’s death she decides to “hack” into archived security footage just to hear her father’s voice again.  *This isn’t really a song fic, but some of the mood for this fic was inspired by Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd.

The room was somehow too hot and too cold at the same time. You were wearing a pullover hoodie, but you were also sitting under an air conditioner. The mix of temperatures gave you a nauseous feeling down to your stomach. That was the beauty, you supposed, of the not quite climate-controlled server room in the back of your family cabin. Though the term family was being used loosely here as your entire family had never all been at the cabin together.

You were sat on the floor with your laptop in front of you. It had taken you weeks to manage, but you’d finally figured out a way to access the archived security footage from the old Avengers’ Tower in New York and the old Avengers’ Compound in D.C. It had been a lot of work, even if your dad had never been good a coming up with secure passwords. But it was all worth it just to hear his voice again. You scrolled through the archive files looking for the oldest.

A crack of light flooded the room as someone opened the door to the server room. You had the sudden urge to hiss at the newcomer like a cartoon villain but decided against it in the last second. Everyone was already worried enough about you. Instead, you posed one hand on your laptop screen ready to slam the cover shut. You didn’t want anyone to know what you were doing. You looked up at the door to see Peter Parker standing there with a beanbag, a pillow and a blanket.

“[Y/N]?” He was justifiably surprised to see you there. “What are you doing?” He squinted into the dimly lit server room.

“I could ask you the same question, Parker.” You quipped.

“Right I, ahhh…” He stopped talking and looked around worriedly. “If I tell you will you promise not to tell anyone?”

“Yeah, I guess.” You sighed.

“Okay.” Peter stepped inside the server room and shut the door. “Sometimes when I have a hard time sleeping, I like to come in here. Something about the dim lighting, the hum of the servers, and the weird too hot-too cold…” He shrugged.

“I get it.” You nodded, closing your laptop. “Let me pack up and get out of your way.”

“Wait a minute, [Y/N]. What were you doing in here?” He asked.

“Nothing.” You lied trying to walk past him.

“[Y/N], C’mon. I thought we were friends.” Peter frowned.

“It’s not about you, Peter.” You sighed. “It’s…” You stepped closer to him so that you were glaring eye to eye with Peter. “If you tell anyone what I’m doing in here, I’ll kill you.”

“Oh. Uh…Okay.” Peter nodded. He’d never admit it but he was a little afraid of you.

“Okay. Put your beanbag down, Parker.” You pointed to the floor and Peter dropped it immediately. You sat back on the floor and invited him to join you. Peter flopped down onto the beanbag and waited. You took a calming breath to ease your nerves and opened your laptop. You then explained to Peter exactly why you’d been hiding in the server room.

“Oh, I should just leave you alone.” He scrabbled to his feet and frantically grabbed his pillow and beanbag.

“Sit down, Parker.” You groaned. You didn’t want to share your secret with anyone, but if you had to share you supposed you could with him. “He was yours too.”

Peter tossed his beanbag bag on the floor and sat down. You joined him, wrapping the blanket he’d brought around the two of you. You settled your laptop between you and made sure the computer was still plugged. Scrolling through the footage archive, you found the oldest dated folder. You opened the folder and selected a file labeled living room.

“There was no furniture brought in yet, but we sat on the floor and ate pizza together the night they installed the security cameras.” You explained. After a little fast forwarding you found the moment you were talking about.

You and your dad sat on the floor with a moving box in the middle of you. A soggy cardboard pizza box was balanced on top of the box. Your dad held out a slice of pizza to you. You pressed play and his voice was the first thing you heard.

“[Y/N], you have to eat some of this. I can’t eat three whole pizzas by myself.” Your father continued to push the slice towards you.

“How can you expect me to eat?” You sighed. “This place is huge! And kind of creepy.” Still you took the slice out of his hand, knowing he wasn’t going to stop shoving it in your face until you did.

“Creepy?” He feigned offense. “How could you find our new home creepy?” Tony stopped and looked around. The penthouse apartment of the Avengers Tower had eleven-foot ceilings. The living room’s east wall was largely made of glass, which gave a great view during the day, but at night he had to admit the city lights down below cast an eerie glow and for a new building the tower seemed to creek and hiss a lot. “Alright,” He conceded. “The place is a little creepy. But your Aunt Pep designed it, so, blame her.”

“Aunt Pep?” The real-life Peter Parker repeated with surprise. You’d been so drawn into the memory and of hearing your father’s voice again, you’d almost forgotten that he was seated beside you. Tears were already welling in your eyes, but you laughed at Peter.

“He’s talking about Pepper. This was before he was ready to admit that he was in love with her, but she’d been around my whole life. So she was always Aunt Pep to me.” You explained. “I had forgotten that I used to be creeped out by the old tower. Then again, I was seventeen. I was change in general back then creeped me out. Hey, you want to see if I can find the first time he told me about you? He was so excited…”

“You know, [Y/N],” Peter tried to choose his next words carefully as he watched you skim through years of security footage. “I really appreciate you sharing this with me, but I bet Morgan and Pepper would like to hear Mr. Stark’s voice again too.” You stopped scrolling and looked over at him.

“You promised not to tell anyone.” You reminded him very seriously.

“I-I know.” He stammered under your very Tony Stark-like gaze. “A-and I won’t I promise! I just think, when you’re ready, maybe we could put together some clips or something to show them?”

“Maybe.” You replied, not sounding sure. “Listen, I know that in the end he married Pepper and I know Morgan’s technically my sister, but I wasn’t here for any of that. I didn’t get to go to his wedding. I didn’t watch her grow up. I didn’t get to spend the last five years living here in this cabin away from everything else. Away from the Avengers and the Stark legacy and his high expectations. I wasn’t part of his perfect little family. Before the snap, our family was just me and him. And when he was still alive, I could handle sharing him with you or with Aunt Pep because I always knew that at the end of the day, I was his number one. It’s selfish to say aloud I know, but now that he’s not here, where do I stand in all of this?” The tears you’d been holding back finally came pouring out as you confessed your inner most thoughts to him.“You know? It’s like the last five years he had everything he wanted. The love of his life and this perfect little genius kid, who’s way smarter than I was at her age. And-and-I was gone and they, he, just moved on without me.”  

“Oh, [Y/N], no!” Peter pulled you into a hug. “You know Mr. Stark never forgot about us. I’ll prove it.” Peter let go of you to fumble for something in his pockets. “I’ve kind of been carrying this around ever since Morgan gave it to me, but maybe you should have it.” Peter pulled out a piece of yellow construction paper and handed it to you.

You unfolded the piece of paper and saw a serious of stick figures lined up together. On one side of the paper were three stick figures. The first was colored in the crayon equivalents of hot rod red and gold, it was labeled Daddy. The second had an orange ponytail and she was labeled Mommy. The third was drawn slightly smaller and had a crown on her head, she was labeled Princess Morgan (Me). There were a series of blue squiggly lines cutting vertically through the page separating the left and the right. On the right side of the paper there were only two stick figures. One had been colored in blue and red with spikey brown hair, it had been marked Petey. The other had been colored with your hair color, also in a ponytail. Your stick figure had a crown just like Morgan’s and she’d been marked Princess [Y/N].

“Turn it over.” Peter suggested. You did and found a note written by your father on the back.

“I knew it was only a matter of time, but Morgan finally asked about the photos around the house. She pointed to [Y/N]’s High School graduation photo and asked who it was. (By the way, [Y/N] I know if you were here right now, you’d be furious about that picture hanging right in the kitchen for anyone to see. I remember how much you hated having braces at that age, but I had to put it up because it reminds me of how right before Pepper took that photo you squeezed me so tight I almost couldn’t breathe.)

Anyway, I had to tell Morgan everything. I’m not sure she understood it all. Hell, I don’t understand it all myself. But the hardest part wasn’t talking about Peter and [Y/N], because I know that neither of them would ever want me to stop talking about them. They’d never want to feel like I’d forgotten them, even just for a second. No, the hardest part was when Morgan asked, “Daddy, where are Petey and [Y/N] now?” and I had to tell her “I don’t know, Baby.” Because I don’t. For all I know the two of you could be standing over my shoulder right now reading this letter. There’s no science to support it, but hey, who’s to say that snap didn’t just turn all of you invisible?

Morgan got real quiet after that and told me she was going to color. I was worried I’d traumatized her at three years old. (That’d be a new record for me.) She came back a little while later with this. She said, “I don’t know where [Y/N] and Petey are either and when we find them, we can take a new picture of us all together. But for now, we’ll have this to hang up instead.”

“Thank you, Peter.” You put the drawing down so that your tears wouldn’t smudge it. “I really needed that.” You blinked hard trying to stop your tears. “Ah, there’s a lot of footage here. Will you help me look through it and see what we can find to show Morgan and Pepper?”

“Are you sure?” Peter asked.

“He never let them forget about us.” You told him. “We need to do the same for him.”

#Tony Stark FF #Tony Stark Fan Fic #Tony Stark Fan Fiction #Peter Parker FF #Peter Parker Fan Fic #Peter Parker Fan Fiction #Avengers Endgame #Post Endgame #Avengers Endgame Spoilers

[deadpooly]

we live on through stories 2/6

The five times Tony told Morgan a story, and the one time Morgan told a story.

Chapter 1

Morgan ran around the trees by her house with a big circular object. She saw it in her dads workshop and thought it looked really cool. She recognised the design on the front but didn't care about that. It was probably just a prop, because why would her dad have Captain America’s shield? It didn't matter because now she had it and was going to beat up imaginary Nazis with it.

The metal was very light in her hands and even though the shield was basically as big as her, it didn't feel like it. She found her favourite tree, as it sat in the middle of the other spread out trees. This tree was quite tall as well and really easy to climb. Morgan knew her Mom didn't like it when she climbed the tall tree but she did it anyways.

She brought the shield over her head and tightened the two straps around her waist and chest. It was loose but that wasn't going to stop her, even if it happened to slide off of her small body. Morgan grabbed onto the first branch and pulled herself up and continued until she was about halfway.

“Uh oh.” She said to herself when she heard a nearby twig crunch on the ground. Someone found me. Morgan quietly continued climbing the tree and soon she was at the very top. When she looked over the trees she saw her house and the very beautiful lake right beside it. Then she looked down and saw her dad walking closer to her tree. She climbed down one branch and just sat there giggling as she watched her dad look for her.

“Hey Morguna!” her dad called.

Morgan stayed still, she hooked her legs around a branch and moved her body until she was hanging upside down from the tree. She swayed back and forth watching her dad walk away from the tree. The young girl just laughed. Then she felt something sliding off of her and she looked upwards and saw one of the straps from the shield start to fall off.

Morgan squeaked and swiftly pulled herself up so she was sitting upright, she grabbed the strap and tried to tighten it only to lose grip and the shield was now hanging horizontal off from her, she rustled to grab and once it was in her hands she sighed in relief. She unbuckled it from her body so she could just hold it and make sure it wouldn't fall. So there Morgan sat looking at a fake Captain America shield.

“Hey Monkey!” A voice startled her, causing her to drop the shield. She looked down and watched the shield tumble down ricocheting off of the branches until it landed at the feet of her dad. “Found you.” Her dad smiled.

“Hi daddy!” Morgan said innocently.

“What did Mom say about you climbing this tree?” Tony raised an eyebrow at the young girl. “And what are you doing with this?” Tony said picking up the shield that sat at his feet.

“I was playing with it.” She said slowly climbing down the tree. She sat at a branch that made her eye level with her dad.

“Mhm, and do you know what this is?” Tony smiled sweetly at his daughter. Morgan smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, that's a toy Captain America shield”

“No bunny, it's the real thing.” Tony said picking Morgan up off of the branch and carrying her to the house. The shield sat on his arm. Morgan just hugged her arms around her dad.

“Really?” Morgan asked leaning back to look at her dad.

“Yeah, it's the one he used to fight bad guys.” Tony said, he walked up the steps to his house and opened the door. Pepper sat on the couch watching tv and she smiled at the two when they came in.

“Does it have alwien blood on it?”Morgan asked and cute smile spreading across her face. Pepper gave Tony a questioning glance.

“No, Morgo.” Tony laughed, he sat on the couch beside Pepper and Morgan climbed over to her Mom and cuddled into her arms. “Did you know that Captain America was born in 1918? That’s like over a hundred years ago.”

“Um yea, everybody knows that.” Morgan let a smirk cross her small face. “I even know his real name!”

“Oh really? What is it?”Tony asked. He actually didn't know that Morgan knew half of the things she does. She always surprises him with information, but considering she is the daughter of Tony Stark there isn't anything that she can't do.

“It’s Steve! Isn't he the guy who comes here sometimes too? You guys used to be friends right?” Morgan asked, she was thinking, trying to piece together whatever information she already has. “That's Captain America right?”

“Yeah, it is. How do you know all of this stuff?” Tony tickled Morgan’s stomach and the young girl giggled and pushed his hand away so she could breathe.

“I use google.” Morgan stated. ‘ Of course she does ’ Tony thought to himself.

“Of course, I should have known. Your five, of course your going to know everything.”

“Can you tell me more about Captain America though please?” Morgan looked at her dad with wide eyes, obviously thirsting for more knowledge. She was young but she already had a curiosity that will help her break mountains someday. Tony could see a bit of another young brunette in her but he refused to acknowledge that.

“He is strong and stubborn. He fought bad guys and kicked their butts, then he was frozen and woke up in the 20th century. The end.” Tony rushed out, he wasn't even sure if Morgan could understand what he was saying since it seems like something that you would necessarily tell someone at the age of five.

“You are so bad at telling stories.” Morgan said with her lisp coming through. “What kind of food does he like?”

“His favourite colour is freedom and he loves the smell of human rights. His favourite food is butter pecan ice cream and-”

“What is butter pecan ice cream?” Morgan asked. Out of all things she didn't know what butter pecan ice cream was. Tony honestly thought that was for the better.

“You don't want to know. It tastes like chalk on dirty pavement.” Tony joked before Morgan just crushed him with a hug, she was small but she was really strong for a five year old.

“Your stories are horrible but I still love you.” Morgan giggled and her small head was buried in her dad’s chest and her hair in her face. “But can I meet the real Captain America?”

“Maybe later Monkey.” Tony said before he picked her up just to carry her around the house.

Tag List: @pepperony3000 @whatareyouhidingpeter @matorirok @suvikamahes98blr @thefightingdragon @theunknown259 @logical-princey @girlnic

If any of you want to be tagged, leave a relpy or send in an ask because i would love to add you!! Third chapter is coming really soon!

#tony stark #morgan stark #steve rogers #post avengers infinity war #infinity war #endgame #tony stark and morgan stark #tony stark and steve rogers #marvel #avengers #avengers endgame #avengers infinity war #Also im still kinda expirimenting with morgans character ya know? #because she is only five #but five year olds can know A LOT of stiff #stuff* #so im not quite sure if i wrote her too young and naive #or a little to much of someone who is well educated #im just going off what i was kind of like when i was five #and what the average child know #anyways #hope you all liked it!!! #jadewrites

[inawickedlittletown]

We Can Meet Again Somewhere (somewhere far away from here) - One shot

A/N: This contains Endgame Spoilers. Title from Sign of The Times (Harry Styles) 

Words: 6,728

Summary: Morgan is 17 years old and she wants one thing more than anything: to meet her dad. Lucky she has a time machine. Lucky she also has the best big brother.

Just stop your crying

Have the time of your life

Breaking through the atmosphere

And things are pretty good from here

Remember everything will be alright

We can meet again somewhere

Somewhere far away from here

Morgan Stark grew up knowing that her dad was loved. That he was mourned. That everyone always had something good to say about him. She grew up hearing stories from all of his friends -- aliens, gods, superpowered and baseline humans. Mostly, she heard them from Peter.

At four years old -- almost five -- she’d known that he was gone. Forever. To another place.

“Somewhere where he can rest,” mom said on occasion.

It wasn’t until much later that she knew why he was gone in the first place. That he sacrificed himself for everyone -- for the whole world...no, for the whole universe. Her daddy was a hero. He saved them all.

Growing up she just didn’t have a dad. She had a bunch of uncles and a few aunts and a big brother and a Hulk. Her family was huge and sometimes when she told her friends at school that her family was having a reunion no one quite understood that it meant family even from outer space.

Along with talking about her dad, a lot of her family talked about Steve Rogers. Captain America. Because just a few days after the funeral, he disappeared into the past. Uncle Sam said that he stayed in the 1940s to be with the love of his life.

“He deserved it,” Uncle Bucky would say, but he always looked sad when he said it.

Morgan hadn’t really known Steve, so she didn’t think much of him being missing from her life -- although she did realize that he was a big deal. It was years before what he did registered to her...the idea that by staying in the past Steve had created a different timeline -- an alternate reality where it was entirely possible that her dad was still alive.

She went to the only person that might listen. Peter.

“All I’ve seen are videos of him and that stupid goodbye message he left. Peter, I just want to see him with my own eyes. I want to see my dad just once.”

Peter shook his head. “Nope. Nope. No, your mom would kill me.”

“But you want to see him too. I know you do.”

“Morgan, I don’t know about this. It can go wrong. We’re talking about time travel and if we make a mistake a screw something up then it will create another timeline and…”

Morgan crossed her arms. “And it doesn’t matter. Peter, please.”

Peter had been thinking about it for what felt like forever. The first time that the idea had crossed his mind had been just a few minutes after Sam Wilson told them that Steve was gone. Sam had returned to the house with Bucky at his side and the shield on his arm. The Hulk -- Professor Hulk -- followed behind them but no Captain America.

“We think he stayed in the past. Probably with Peggy Carter,” Sam said.

“Selfish bastard,” Rhodes said.

Peter had thought about it then -- the idea that maybe he could go back in time and see Mr. Stark before he snapped his fingers. Maybe even before the battle had begun at all. Would it be horrible to maybe even just steal Mr. Stark and bring him with him instead of letting him die?

The thoughts had gone over and over in his head, but Peter had known deep down that Mr. Stark wanted him to move past it -- wanted all of them to accept it and move on despite how much it hurt and despite the giant hole he’d left behind in all of them. Eventually, he’d put the whole idea behind him.

Morgan pleading with him with her big sad eyes that were the exact shade of her father’s made him want to cave and do it. Morgan kind of always got what she wanted from him -- Peter just never knew how to say no when it came to her. Morgan was the little sister he never knew he wanted -- she was amazing and strong and she had grown up without really knowing her father. Peter knew something about that -- all his father figures were dead. Mr. Stark included.

“--Peter, please,” Morgan said. Her eyes were wet.

Pepper would kill him if anything went wrong. Happy would bring him back to life and kill him again. And then May would probably take a turn too if it got back to her.

“I -- I don’t know if that machine even works anymore and we would need at least four things of Pym Particles. This won’t be easy, Morg.”

“Petey, it’s not about easy. It’s about it being worth it.”

Peter gulped. She was too smart for her own good.

“And, Peter, this is worth it, isn’t it? Isn’t seeing him again worth it?”

It was probably going to hurt too.

Two weeks later, they were ready. It turned out that Bruce had left some Pym Particles behind in Mr. Stark’s garage. Everyone called it a garage but it was a very sophisticated lab that these days only Peter tended to use. It was nice to get away from the city from time to time and hang up the suit. There were plenty of heroes these days, anyway, and Peter didn’t feel as responsible for anything that went down in New York City. Not to mention that, he loved spending time with Morgan. Pepper too, but mostly Morgan.

The machine was still in working condition, but Peter did some maintenance on it anyway just to be sure. The last thing they needed was anything to happen to him or Morgan. It was bad enough that they were sneaking around.

Peter had had the foresight to record a message with Karen. It was only to be delivered to Pepper if they didn’t make it back after a few minutes had passed. He hoped that when they returned, he could just delete it and no one would know what they had done.

“I’m doing this for Morgan,” he told himself. Not at all because he wanted this desperately too.

They waited until Pepper had to go on a business trip, after Peter had agreed to stick around the house with Morgan. It wasn’t that Morgan needed looking after seeing as she was almost eighteen, but Pepper hated to leave her on her own. She was a mom. She worried.

Usually that meant him and Morgan ordering take out and pigging out in the living room and Peter introducing her to movies from back when he was younger. Quality time with his little sister. This time, they were going to be a bit more adventurous.

Peter had thought a lot about when they should go back to. It needed to be sometime after Morgan was born which meant that it would be while Peter was still gone. They couldn’t do it on the day of the big battle because there were too many variables to consider and because Peter knew that if he saw Mr. Stark then, he might just steal him away and bring him to the future with them before he died. So, he had to pick sometime during the five years -- maybe when Morgan was still too young to remember much just in case.

He ended up picking 2020. Morgan had been born in 2019. Peter and everyone else had been gone for close to two years.

Peter had never used the time machine before. They just hadn’t had reason for it because nothing as bad as Thanos had come up. There were still bad guys, but none that had required time travel to beat them. Still, turning it on and getting it working wasn’t difficult.

He found a couple of the old suits and put Morgan in the smallest one he could find and then got into another one.

“Ready?” Peter asked.

Morgan looked nervous, worrying her bottom lip and not managing to stay still for very long.

“I -- what if he doesn’t like me? What if he just doesn’t believe us or--”

“Morg, he’s Tony Stark and stranger things have happened to him. I think this will change things for him -- I think him seeing us will change things enough to create a new timeline, but that isn’t all a bad thing. We just can’t--”

“Tell him he’s dead in ours,” Morgan said. “But, Petey, what are we going to say?”

“Uh...we can -- we can tell him we arrived there on accident.”

Morgan nodded. “Okay. Okay. We can do this.”

Drinking coffee on the porch of his cabin had become one of Tony’s favorite things. Well, favorite things that didn’t include holding Morgan or watching Morgan sleep or really anything to do with Morgan.

But being outside on the porch with the fresh air was nice. In the two years since the snap, Tony had started moving on. He’d made an effort to move on because choosing to live and choosing to have as much as he wanted for himself and for his life felt like the only way to honor Peter and everyone else that they lost. Taking a step back from The Avengers and all of that had made the most sense too, especially once Pepper told him she was pregnant. He didn’t regret that at all. Well, maybe some days he did, when Natasha reached out to see how everything was, and he let himself wonder if he might be able to help.

One of her calls had led to him starting to work on time travel -- to try and figure out if it was possible. He didn’t think it was and yet Tony knew deep down that it was the only way. The stones were gone everywhere but in the past and the only way to fix what Thanos had done was to get the stones. All of it felt impossible.

He nursed his cup of coffee, looking out at the clear sky and the trees whose leaves had only just recently started to come back. Spring was fast upon them but there was still a chill in the air and Tony didn’t mind it, it kept him awake.

It took him another ten minutes to finish up his coffee, but he stayed where he was. Morgan had been put down for a nap before he came out and Pepper was getting some sleep. Tony was a little too keyed up to join her and either way, he had a few projects to get back to.

A bird flew past him, landing on a tree and chirping away. Maybe Tony needed to get some bird feeders outside. He was so focused on the bird, that he almost didn’t see the two figures approaching--

The bird flew off, and Tony almost dropped his mug in his haste to stand up.

“It can’t be--”

He didn’t recognize the girl although there was something familiar about her, but the boy was unmistakably Peter. Older and less boy-ish but still Peter. Peter who was gone -- whose very dust had fallen through Tony’s fingers out on an alien planet...the boy he dreamed about almost every night. His Peter. The kid that had burrowed himself so deeply in Tony’s heart that nothing would ever take him out and who was standing just there.

“Hi, Mr. Stark.”

“Who -- you’re not--”

He thought he was going to pass out. He must have fallen asleep -- this was all some sort of dream and Tony would wake up out on the porch to Pepper poking him with Morgan in her arms. It had happened before. Tony didn’t really sleep well without nightmares and this was--

“Mr. Stark, we’re kind of from the future.”

He looked like the Tony Stark he’d known when he was a teenager and just starting out as Spider-Man -- like the Tony Stark that had shown up at his and May’s apartment and recruited him to help him out in Germany. He wasn’t as grey as he’d looked the last time Peter got to see him right before he--

“From the future,” Mr. Stark said. “That’s impossible. You’re -- this is some sort of joke. Is it April 1st? It’s not funny -- not funny at all.”

Peter sighed. “Mr. Stark, we’re from the future. A ways into the future. Kind of messed up a little bit, though, and ended up here. Not for long, mind, just until we can travel back to our time. This is -- this is Morgan.”

Morgan was quiet, and shaking a little.

“Morgan as in--”

“Your daughter,” Peter said.

Morgan stepped forward. “Hi, daddy.”

Mr. Stark gapped at both of them, but then he tightened his jaw. “If you’re from the future then you time traveled which is impossible. No one can time travel.”

“We can,” Peter said and then, “you used it to bring everyone that was dusted back.”

“I -- what?”

Peter motioned Morgan to walk forward and he followed after her. Mr. Stark waited for them at the top of the stairs. He was clutching a mug in one hand and his other was in a fist.

“Wait. Wait, no. You shouldn’t tell me anything. It might not happen if you tell me and I have to -- I have to bring you back.”

Peter nodded. They climbed up the stairs and Mr. Stark looked between them before settling on Morgan. He seemed to take in everything about her with awe and surprise, but then his eyes were on Peter and it didn’t take long for Mr. Stark to pull him into a hug and Peter melted into it. He held Mr. Stark back just as hard. Peter hadn’t gotten many hugs from Mr. Stark, but they were all ingrained in his memory and it was the best thing in the world to be able to have one more.

When Peter was let go, Mr. Stark hugged Morgan, pulling back to look at her for a long moment before he let her go. He looked stunned and Peter could tell that she was nervous

“Wow, you two have really grown up. I mean, you’re literally a baby sleeping in your crib right now. This is...it’s unbelievable.”

Morgan smiled a little.

“You look like your mom,” Mr. Stark said.  

“Most people say I look like you,” Morgan said.

Tony was still in a state of shock, but he invited them to sit and offered them water. Both declined.

“I was losing hope of ever getting you back,” Tony said eventually. He really couldn’t stop looking at them -- at either of them.

“You did it, though. You and the Avengers.”

Tony had only kept contact with Natasha. He hadn’t gone near the compound since returning from space. But maybe -- maybe they had to work on it together. He’d accused Steve of abandoning him when he needed him the most only to then take himself out of the equation. Granted they all had.

“Well, I don’t want to change anything so we can talk about something else. How is -- how’s the future?”

Morgan and Peter shared a look. “It’s good. I’m still Spider-Man. Morgan just won first prize at a science fair. I helped her out a bit.”

“Not your old man?” Tony asked.

Morgan shook her head.

“You were busy,” Peter said, his voice going a little low.

He was lying.

Tony crossed his legs and he leaned back, watching them both.

“How’s your Aunt May?”

“She’s happy. She and Happy got married.”

Tony couldn’t help but laugh. He couldn’t even begin to picture it. Happy Hogan and Peter’s Aunt May. No, that was -- it was weird.

“I know, I thought it was weird too but she’s happy so--” Peter trailed off with a shrug.

Tony still couldn’t imagine how all of that had all gone down. As far as Tony knew, Happy had never gone on more than a few dates from time to time. Never anything serious. He couldn’t remember if Happy or May had even met yet. It was possible that they hadn’t.

“And you, kiddo, what are you up to these days?” Tony said, looking at Morgan.

She looked unsure and nervous.

“I--”

Peter reached over and grabbed her hand. She smiled in his direction.

“I’m doing really well in school. I read a lot and when Peter comes over we have movie days. I -- I’m happy, daddy. I’m really happy.”

There was something in her voice, something that told Tony that there was something she wasn’t saying.

“And I guess I’m starting to look at colleges now. Mom doesn’t want me to go too far away so that’s--”

Peter cut in. “It’s been a fun argument. Pepper wants her to stay in New York like I did, but--”

“You didn’t go to MIT? But I have pull there and you’re--”

“I didn’t want to go to MIT,” Peter said, but Tony thought he heard regret there.

“Okay. Okay. And I guess you don’t either, little miss?”

Morgan worried her bottom lip. “I -- I do actually. That’s--”

“Then you should,” Tony said. “I want you to -- I would want you to…”

“You do,” Peter jumped in. “You really do. Like I said, it’s been a fun argument.”

Peter was still just such a bad liar. He could see it all over his face. Morgan turned away. Her hold on Peter’s hand was so tight that it was lucky Peter was Spider-Man and not someone else otherwise she might have broken his fingers. Then there was how nervous Morgan seemed and yet whenever he did catch her looking at him there was something like awe in her gaze. And Peter was acting a little weird too. There was only one reason for that...

“I’m not around, am I?”

“Yes. No. You are. You really are, Mr. Stark,” Peter said quickly. Too quickly.

“No, I’m not. And because I know that nothing could ever make me leave either of you then that means I -- I’m dead, then? I guess I always knew it would happen someday.”

He was numb. His whole body had gone cold and the words leaving his lips were half thought out and half considered. He was -- in the future he was dead. He died. His daughter barely knew him. Peter lost another person.

“I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. We weren’t supposed to tell you but now we did and it’s -- well…” Peter trailed off.

Morgan next to him looked like she was close to tears and she clutched at his hand like a lifeline. In front of them Tony Stark was pale white and he seemed to be staring right past them. The moment passed slowly and then Mr. Stark looked at him again.

“How?”

“I -- is that a good idea to tell you? I--”

“I know already so that’s already going to have some ripple effect. So tell me how. Tell me and I can -- I can try and…”

It didn’t take Peter long to decide. So, he told him. He told him about the time travel and about the Thanos from 2014 that managed to figure out their plan and how he came back to the future with them.

“He was going to destroy not just half of the population anymore but all of it,” Peter said. “But you took the stones from him before he could. The Iron Man armor formed a gauntlet for them and that kind of power -- I mean Bruce Banner still has nerve damage from when he used it and he’s the Hulk. So--”

“So it killed me. Using the stones killed me.” It was almost ironic. The Avengers had started out when he decided that sacrificing himself was the only way and he’d survived that...it shouldn’t have been surprising that he would be the one to put his life on the line again.

“Daddy, you saved the world. The Universe. I’ve always understood that even if it meant you had to go.” Morgan was crying, then. Tears rolling down her cheeks that she didn’t even try to wipe away.

Peter took a deep breath. “I talked to Dr. Strange after and he said it was the only way he saw us winning.”

“His one in whatever chance,” Mr. Stark said and Peter could hear bitterness in his voice. Then, his eyes were on Morgan and his face crumpled. “No, oh, Morgan.”

Peter saw him get up and then he was at Morgan’s feet, taking her free hand and reaching up to wipe the tears on her face with his fingers. Mr. Stark took his attention off Morgan for a second to look at Peter and he was so clearly in pain and Peter hated it. He hated that they had done this to him.

Everyone spoke about how Tony Stark had been given five years of happiness. How he managed to get married and start a family and now for this Tony Stark, the shadow of what was to come would hang over him. Peter knew him well enough to know that he would try his best to stop his own death, but that in the end he would face death sooner than letting everyone else perish. He would still continue working on the time travel and he wouldn’t hesitate to go after the stones even knowing that he would die.

“Come here,” Mr. Stark said and Peter had to let go of Morgan’s hand as Mr. Stark pulled her into his arms.

Every once in awhile when Morgan was little, all she’d wanted was her dad. She’d wanted him to eat popsicles with and for him to tuck her into bed. She wanted him to tell her stories. She wanted him to be the one to pick out her clothes with her.

Of what she could remember of him, she knew he was warm and loving and that he always had time for shenanigans. Shenanigans was what he always called anything that wasn’t entirely approved of by mom. Sometimes that meant them sneaking out to sit by the water even when it was past her bedtime. Or it was having candy before dinner. There were so many little things that were half remembered that Morgan cherished and yet she knew she had spent more time wishing for him to be around than anything else. She had lived longer than she’d known him -- thinking about it that way hurt.

Having him in front of her was everything and yet it was so bittersweet. He was her dad. He was -- there was a little Morgan inside that house and it was weird and strange to think about. It still kind of felt nice when he hugged her. His fingers had been wiping her tears, but they turned to running through her hair.

“Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry.”

“It’s okay. Not your fault,” Morgan said. She meant it. She had come to terms with that a long time ago and yet--

Her tears stopped after a while and she pulled away slowly, but he kept an arm around her back.

“I just wanted to meet you. Just once,” Morgan said. “That’s -- that’s why we came. Peter didn’t think it was a good idea, but I convinced him to.”

“Wasn’t hard to convince me, Morg,” Peter said.

Peter had always been good to her.

“I’m glad,” dad said. “I’m glad you get to see me. I’m glad I get to see you. Both of you. I love you, Morgan. You know that, I hope. Love you more than anything.”

Her eyes were full of tears again and her sinuses were acting up and it felt like she was about to start crying again. Dad rubbed her arm and he hugged her to his side and Morgan wished more than anything that she’d had this when she needed him because her mom was great and so was everyone else, but her dad was different. Tony Stark was different.

For the whole world he was their hero -- the savior of the universe. To Morgan he was just her dad and she never got to have him.

“How long can you stay?”

Peter knew logically that they shouldn’t stay long. He also knew that they would be back a minute after they left no matter how much time had passed.

“A little longer,” Peter said.

“Okay. Okay,” Mr. Stark said and then he looked to Morgan. “So, Morgan, what is the one thing that you want to do with your old man? Anything at all. If we only get this sliver of time then we’re going to make the best of it.”

Peter grinned wide.

Morgan seemed a little overwhelmed and Peter knew that there were probably a million and one things that Morgan would want to have a chance to do with her dad and making a choice would be difficult. She took a few more minutes.

“I don’t know,” she said eventually. “I -- I didn’t think of it before…I kind of, I wish I’d gotten to work on something with you. Peter told me all the time about how you spent time in the workshop and I--”

They went to Mr. Stark’s garage and Peter didn’t know how long they were there, but Mr, Stark started showing Morgan a few things and Peter was distracted by seeing the garage with Mr. Stark’s touch on it instead of how it looked in the future. Morgan followed her dad around and Peter could tell that she was loving it -- seeing the way that Tony Stark worked and thought. It made Peter a little bit sad, though, because Morgan could have had him at her side...should have had him.

“This is amazing,” Morgan was saying.

Peter didn’t even know what they’d been working on. He’d gotten distracted looking at the research that Mr. Stark had already compiled on time travel. Pepper had always told everyone that Tony had been working on it for years -- that it was a myth that he’d figured it out overnight.

“He was a genius but even Tony Stark couldn’t have done that in one night,” she would say.

But every year on the anniversary of his death, the news mentioned it like it was a fact -- said it in reverence because no one would ever talk badly about the savior of Earth...well, of the universe. Everyone knew Tony Stark’s name -- they knew it everywhere.

It had hurt for a long time to see Iron Man everywhere he went. Painted on murals, on so much merchandise, on the cover of books, on the news, in movies -- because of course someone had gone and made Iron Man movies that were not accurate at all. Worse were the ones that focused on Tony Stark instead of the superhero persona. Peter tried to avoid all of it. But back in the immediate aftermath it had been hard. Everyone was mourning and trying to pay some sort of homage to him.

They only realized that they had overstayed when the door to the garage opened and Pepper was the one standing there. She wasn’t alone -- she was holding a baby Morgan.

“Tony what is -- Peter…” Pepper stopped short, eyes wide. “Tony what is going on? Is he--”

Peter had never known Morgan this young. He’d seen pictures, but they didn’t do justice to how adorable she was.

“Hey, hon,” Mr. Stark said and then looked to Peter before facing Pepper again. “So, it turns out I figured out time travel in the future.”

Pepper gasped. “You came back. The snap -- you came back.”

Peter nodded. “Everyone did. Three years from now. Although, now that we came here the future won’t be the same in this timeline.”

“We?” Pepper asked and only then seemed to notice Morgan.

Unlike Mr. Stark, Pepper knew it was Morgan at once. “Morgan?” She asked. It was probably a mom thing.

“Hi, mom.”

“Oh my god.”

Her mom was so young. She was beautiful and young with bright strawberry blond hair -- the hair that Morgan had always wanted to have. She had convinced mom to let her dye it once and the results had been disastrous and so Morgan had never dyed her hair again. These days in the future, mom had more grey in her hair than ever and the wrinkles that in 2020 were only just forming were deeper.

Stranger than seeing a younger version of her mom, was seeing herself. She was a year old and calm in her mother’s arms.

“She’s everything and more, Pep,” her dad said. “We did good with her.”

Oh. They weren’t going to tell her. It was probably for the best.

“And since we’re in here, I’m guessing she takes after you?”

Dad grinned. There was a glint in his eyes. “She’s going to go to MIT.”

“I don’t--”

He grasped her hand, holding it tightly. Their eyes met and Morgan loved that she could finally definitely say that she had gotten his eyes.

“You are,” her dad said. “You are, Morgan.”

It was hard to keep her emotions at bay. Being in the garage and looking at his things and getting to work with him had been a bit of a distraction -- enough to keep her from remembering that this was absolutely temporary -- but she remembered then.

“Okay.”

His lips quirked up into a smile. “That’s my girl.”

Tony reached over with her free hand and touched her cheek. Morgan wanted to start crying all over again. Maybe convincing Peter to go back in time had been a mistake. How was she supposed to leave while knowing that he was just there within her reach.

“Hey, Pep, how about we get some lunch with the kids before they have to get going,” Tony said.

He hated thinking about them leaving, but he was aware that it was probably a bad idea to keep them. Morgan -- his grown up almost an adult Morgan who would go to a future that he wasn’t a part of -- and Peter who looked like he’d seen more loss in his life than he’d ever needed to.

“I -- yeah, sure,” Pepper said.

Tony could see how unsure Pepper was and Tony didn’t want to make her suspicious because Tony knew that he was going to die. If it meant that his kids were okay in the future then his death was inevitable.

Pepper turned and left and Tony deflated a little. He hated lying to her.

“You’re not going to tell her?” Peter asked.

Tony shook his head. “She’ll obsess over it -- and if it has to go that way again I don’t want the next few years to be marred by that. I want to be able to have this as it is until I can’t.”

Peter nodded and then he was there next to Tony, wrapping an arm around Tony’s shoulders.

“Whatever you do,” Peter said, “it won’t affect me and her -- not this version of us. But that baby -- that Morgan...try to find a way to stay for her. For the other me.” Peter’s words were shaky and full of emotion. “We kind of need you, you know, Mr. Stark?”

“I’ll try, Pete. I’ll try. And stop calling me that. It’s Tony, kid. Okay?”

Peter was crying. His tears fell on his shoulder and Tony wrapped an arm around him, pulling him in tight.

“Okay,” Peter said.

He wished they had more time. It was so unfair that both Peter and Morgan had had him for such a tiny amount of time.

Morgan still held his hand and she moved closer to his other side and Tony could tell that she was crying too. It broke his heart. He pulled her in and then they stood there in the middle of the garage and he held them both as tight as possible. His kids. The ones he would never get to see grow up.

They had lunch -- sandwiches and some sort of baby food for Morgan. Peter ate slowly, not sure that he was tasting any of it and from the looks of it Morgan wasn’t doing much better. Pepper was distracted by the younger Morgan and Peter hoped it was enough for her to not notice that his eyes were completely puffy and red and that Morgan wasn’t looking much better. Even Mr. Stark looked a bit emotionally drained.

They made conversation. Pepper asked about Aunt May in the future and about herself. Peter told her what he could. Eventually, she started talking to Morgan, curious but cautious even as baby Morgan threw some of the mushed baby food on the table.

Mr. Stark helped clean her up and he kissed baby Morgan’s head.

“You know, I still don’t really like peas,” Morgan said.

Pepper laughed. Mr. Stark smiled.

When lunch was over, Peter knew it was time. He would have loved to stay as long as possible, and yet he knew that they couldn’t. The longer they stayed, the less and less that he would want to leave. It wasn’t that he didn’t have a life back home. He had Ned and MJ. He had Spider-Man duties and Avengers duties. It was just that Tony Stark had always been his idol -- his hero. His sort of dad-figure and he was just there in front of him alive and well and Peter didn’t want to not have him in his life anymore.

Pepper hugged Morgan. “I’m glad to know you’ll become this wonderful young woman. And if I know anything, your parents are probably missing you in the future. But it was so nice to get a glimpse at the future. At you.”

Then, Pepper turned to him.

Before coming back from the snap, Peter hadn’t spent a lot of time with Pepper. But he’d been fond of her and she had always been warm with him -- never discouraging him from coming around to spend time with Mr. Stark.

“It’s been a little while for us, kid,” Pepper said. “You don’t really look like a kid anymore. So grown up.” Her eyes were teary and she cupped his face before her arms enveloped him into a hug and he hugged her back. “I’m glad my baby has the best big brother,” she whispered.

“Me too,” Peter said before she let him go. They shared a smile.

Baby Morgan chose that moment to let out a cry and Pepper turned to pick her up. “You want all the attention on you, don’t you?”

“She’s a Stark,” Morgan said. “Of course she wants all the attention.”

Pepper laughed and she bounced baby Morgan.

“Come on, kiddos,” Mr. Stark said, “I’ll walk you out.”

Tony didn’t know how he was going to just let them go. He didn’t know if it was actually possible for him to do so. Peter seemed to be trying to be strong. Probably for Morgan.

“Do you have to be anywhere in particular for you to travel back?”

Peter shook his head. “The -- the GPS will get us back no matter where we go.”

Tony nodded. “Good. Good. I -- I’m really glad you came.”

Morgan hugged him tightly again, and he held her for a long while, trying to memorize the moment forever. His little Morgan was inside with Pepper, but he would never get to have this version of Morgan. He wasn’t going to see his little girl grow up and it stung. It hurt deeply.

“I love you, dad,” Morgan said. “So much. I -- I’m so glad I got to meet you even if it was just this. I -- I’ll never forget this.”

“Me either, kiddo. I love you so much. So much. And I know I would have done anything to stay with you. I will try my best.” Not that it would matter for this Morgan. But Tony still had to try.

“I know,” she whispered and then she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Peter had stood back, letting them have their moment, so Tony walked to him. “Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” Peter returned.

“You know, before I met you, I didn’t think I’d ever want kids. I didn’t think I’d ever make a good father. Never had a good example of one so -- anyway, you changed my life, Peter Parker and I’m glad I got to see you again. It’s been two years and I’ve missed you like crazy and I hate that we only get these stolen moments -- small as they are. But, Pete, you’ve grown into a wonderful person. I can just tell. You’re doing good, kid.” His eyes were blurry with tears and he was trying to shake them off and not let them fall.

Peter looked just as bad and Tony pulled him into a hug and Peter fell right into his arms, holding on tight. Tony didn’t want to let go. He didn’t want to see him go. With Morgan it was different -- he still had baby Morgan just inside the house. From what Peter had told him -- they would see each other for just a few minutes in the middle of the battle before Tony was making the hard choice. He wasn’t going to have another moment with Peter again. Never.

“I’m so proud of you, Peter. I love you, kid. So much. And I know you’ll take care of my girl. Both of my girls.”

Peter nodded and he let out a sob and it broke Tony’s heart all over again. It brought him right back to Titan and Peter’s scared voice -- he still heard it in his dreams.

“I love you, Mr. Stark.”

“It’s Tony, kid,” Tony said, laughing a little.

“It’s dad, Petey. He’s your dad too,” Morgan said.

She was wiping away tears, but smiling a little.

Peter sort of froze, but then he gave a nod. “I guess he sort of is.”

He hugged them both one more time, pressed kisses to their cheeks and wiped away their tears. Then, eventually, he watched them grasp hands. White and grey suits -- nanotech ones -- came on them, and then they both looked back at him one more time. He smiled and nodded. Then, they were gone.

Tony gasped and sobbed all at once. It hit him as he stared at the spot where they had been standing and it took everything to not fall to his knees and cry like he’d done on Titan two years earlier. Instead, he stood in that spot and steeled himself. He was going to change things. He was going to make sure that he lived to see his kids grow up. Both of them.

When he went back inside the house, Pepper was in the living room. Morgan was on the ground with some of her baby toys.

“They left?” Pepper asked.

Tony nodded.

“And why were they here?” Pepper asked.

“Because we’re going to do things a little differently this time around,” Tony said.

Pepper could probably tell that he’d been crying, but she didn’t say anything as he sat down next to her and she let him pull her close.

Morgan knew logically that nothing would be different in the future and yet a tiny part of her had let herself hope that maybe it wouldn’t be and that maybe -- somehow -- they wouldn’t be arriving back in the garage and that her dad wasn’t still gone. But of course he was.

Peter helped her take off the GPS device. He didn’t say anything as he turned everything off, but then he extended his hand out to her. It kind of reminded her of when she was a little girl and Peter had held out his hand and she’d taken it gladly, never to let it go again.

“Come on, Morg, this calls for ice cream and brownies and all kinds of junk.”

“Okay,” Morgan said, but as soon as they were out of the garage she stopped him. “Peter?”

“Yeah?”

“It was...it was good we did that right? I’m glad I got to see him. Meet him.”

“Of course, Morgan. Of course. It was good. It hurt a little to say goodbye but it was good.”

“Good. We really...we had the best dad, didn’t we?”

Peter inhaled deeply, but he nodded. “Yeah, kiddo, we did. We sure did.”

#endgame fic #endgame #mcu fic #marvel fic #morgan stark #peter parker #tony stark #morgan stark and peter parker

[fatandnerdy30]

The Itsy Bitsy Spider 8

Peter really felt invisible in his hiding spot. He was currently hiding under the couch in the living room, holding on to the leg, hanging above the floor. The last hiding place Morgan had chosen wasn't very good, he had found her in minutes hiding in the hall closet. When she started sniffling, Peter did the only thing he could do. He said that if he hid really good and she could find him, he would allow her to play dress up with him for a week. But, there was no way he was allowing a little girl near him with a dress.

So, he had chosen the best place in the house, that she could reach, because she would cry foul if he was up on the ceiling or something. As he waited, he felt the floor trembling so much, he could have sworn there was an earthquake, his skin and the back of his head crawling as if twenty thousand ants were on him. The trembling got worse when he saw Morgan's feet go running by. "Uncle Rhodey!" she jumped into the man's arms, giggling. "Oof! Hello to you too, sweetheart. Where's your dad?" He put the girl down so she could greet the rest of the team. "He's still sleeping. He stayed up late with Peter." Rhodey gave her a confused look."Who's Peter?" he asked while walking to the couch. The teen was able to keep hold of the leg of the couch, his fingers gripping the wood to make sure he could stay. That was until someone literally crashed onto the couch, and he lost his grip, falling with a yelp as he hit the floor. Peter groaned as he got up, shaking his head. He didn't know why he didn't sense someone coming. Probably due to so many giant people in the room at the same time, and he wasn't used to his new senses. Peter slowly made his way from under the couch, patting some of the dust from out of his hair then stopped at the smell of Italian leather and turned to see a polished dress shoe right next to him. The boy looked up to see the shoe's mate high in the air above him, resting on someone's knee. What was going on? Who were these people? Suddenly he heard a voice that he recognized as Captain America and froze. Peter was in the same room as the Avengers team. The actual Avengers! Sure he had already met half of them, but the entire team was just steps away from him!? It drove his little nerdy heart into overdrive. He had to see them! The boy bit his lip and jumped up, gripping the edge of the low bearing couch. Using the threading, the boy climbed as quick as he could, glad right now for his sticky ability. Just as Peter was reaching the cushion, the leg that was resting on the man's knee moved directly over him. Peter gasped and waited for the impact, but luckily leg didn't crush him. However, it did knock the boy down. Peter reached out and grabbed onto the gray dress pants-who wears dress clothes casually?- and felt himself slam into the man's leg, the muscles stiffening at the feeling. Rhodey felt something on the back of his leg and reached down to scratch. He felt a lump and paled, sitting up. What was it?! Was it a spider? Please don't let it be a spider! He felt it crawling. "You alright, Rhodey?" Steve asked, coming over. "I think there's a spider on my pant leg!" the man squeaked, knowing he was acting out of character, but he HATED spiders! "Let me see," Wanda came over and crouched down, spotting a flash of red fabric. The last time she checked, spider's did not wear clothing. With a curious look, she made Rhodey turn and was met face to face with small boy wearing a Thor outfit. Peter squeezed his eyes shut when he felt his skin crawling so much he felt sick, plus the man's movements didn't help. When nothing happened, slowly he opened one eye and found himself staring at a woman's shocked face, a woman he knew very well from seeing her on his poster every morning when he woke up in is room. The Scarlet Witch had was staring at him in shock. He couldn't move, too scared to do anything but stare. Suddenly he was wrapped in red light and he let out a shout and held onto the man's pants, feeling the material rip a bit in his grasp, until finally he let go and just let it happen. "Peter?" Steve's voice sounded angry, but also worried. "What were you doing on Rhodey's pants?" Said man turned. "Who's Peter? He better not be the team fricking tarantula, or I swear I will....oh my god." "Aunt Wanda!" Morgan giggled. "You found Peter fair and square. Now I guess you're hers for a week!" Peter turned white at that, still hanging in the air. "Pl-please don't drop me," he stuttered. "What are you all talking so loud about?" Mr. Stark's annoyed voice came from the hallway. "Anyone seen Morgan? I need to ask her about something." Then his daughter came racing around the corner of the counter, jumping at him. "Daddy! Peter and I were playing hide and seek, but he keeps winning, until Aunt Wanda found him!" "Oof! Morgan, Peter was...wait, hide and seek.... Nobody move!" Tony didn't register what the girl had said right away, flying into panic mode. "Check the bottom of your shoes. You're in big trouble, young lady. Everyone check the bottoms of your shoes." "It's okay, Tony," Steve said, holding his hand out for Wanda to drop the boy into. He was heavier than he thought he would be. "Apparently he was hiding near the floor and got caught on Rhodey's pants." Peter watched from his position on Mr. Roger's palm. "I..I was hiding under the couch," the boy said. "What the hell is that!?" Bucky asked, pointing at him with a metal finger, eyes wide. It had been a few days since he was rescued and this was the first time he was surrounded by hundred foot tall adults, and it was kind of intimidating, even from waist high. "What is he?" Wanda asked as she bent down, smiling, her Russian accent heavy this early in the morning. She wiggled her fingers at the boy in a form of hello. Peter could only wave before Mr. Roger's took a step, causing him to fall back against his wall-like stomach. "Where do you want him?" the man asked Mr. Stark, who pointed at the counter. Seconds later, Peter tumbled out of the man's grip onto the cold marble. "You are in big trouble, too," Mr. Stark's stern voice came from above Peter. "Tony?" Bucky asked as he came closer to look at the small boy, wanting to pick up each limb to see if they were real. Tony waved his hand over Peter while he sipped his coffee. "Introduce yourself. And then explain what you're wearing." Peter blushed. "Hi..I'm Peter Parker. This is the only thing that came in one piece with no Velcro. I had to change into it after I had a bath, Mr. Stark!" "Who bathed you? Pepper and I were sleeping..." "I'm fifteen, Mr. Stark, I can bathe myself. But, Morgan brought out the water for me." He looked up at the man. "I'm not a baby, no matter how small I am." Tony stared down at the small teen who had crossed his arms and was actually pouting. He sighed. He wasn't good at this teenager stuff. He hoped Morgan wouldn't grow up. "Hey, short stack," Clint greeted as walked over to the pouting boy by jabbing a finger into his back, or at least trying to, because somehow he dodged it. "Hey! Hold still," the man teased, trying again, but failed when Peter actually flipped over his hand, sticking to his arm. "What's this? Am I getting old now?" "Oh, you're old, but that's not the case," Tony teased as he sipped his coffee. "I'll explain after you all explain what you're doing here so early." "SHIELD says Hydra is on the move...and looking for him," Steve pointed to Peter, who paled. "And they're desperate to get him back." "Why?" Sam asked, standing. "He's just a kid, from the looks of him." "I'm not a kid. Again, I'm fifteen." He frowned at the falcon. "Anyway," Tony said, completely ignoring the boy. "First things first. Both of you," Tony pointed to Peter on the counter then to Morgan. "Are in trouble. Morgan, wait for your mother. Peter, you're coming to the meeting room. If I have to sit through one of Steve's boring talks, so do you. But, breakfast first. Anyone wanna help?" "What!? Come on Mr. Stark!" Peter's eyes widened while Morgan pouted. "Don't give me that look, young lady. Try it on your mother, and yes Peter, I mean it." He got a bowl out of the cabinet and was busy whisking his second batch of eggs when Pepper came out. "Oh, already put the rest to work, huh?" she asked, kissing Tony on the cheek. "He's a regular slave driver," Clint griped as he worked on the waffle batter. "Only kids are safe from his tyrant ways." "Mm, yeah I can see that." She watched as everyone was doing something and spotted Peter, smiling as he waved at her. "So, I think Morgan has something she wants to tell you," Tony said, looking up for a second giving his daughter 'the look'. "Oh really? And what is that?" she put her best 'mom' face on as she sipped her coffee. "I...I might have taken Peter out of the room this morning..but I did help him get a bath!" The little girl's eyes went moist as she stared at her mother, lower lip sticking out. "Peter was hiding on the floor!" she whined, pointing to the boy. "Yeah, that look doesn't work on me. Time out corner." The woman then turned her attention to the boy who looked like he'd swallowed a lemon. What did we tell you Peter? You could have gotten hurt, even though you're being careful." "But mommy-" Morgan whined. "No but's young lady. Keep it up, and after breakfast your punishment will be no computer for three days." A tear trailed down the girl's face as she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest in a mood, but got up and walked to the chair in the corner, flopping down onto it.. "Peter, are you alright?" She bent down see the boy on the counter, seeing him wince in her sights. "I'm okay," He said sadly. He started walking over to Miss Scarlet, when he felt his skin crawl and he dodged just as a salt shaker roll past him. "Hey!" he cried and looked towards the guilty looking Steve. "Did you just try to....a-SALT- me?" The table  was silent before everyone snorted all around him, but Tony turned to stare at him in shock. "No, nope, the only one allowed to do dad jokes is me...or Clint." the billionaire stated. "You have to admit, it was kind of cheesy," Sam said, voice laden with amusement as he held up the cheddar he was slicing. "Did you not hear a word I just said?" Tony whined while Morgan giggled from the corner. "Yeah, we heard you, but nobody listens to you, so no big dill," Natasha said with a sly grin, Wanda laughing at that. "Look what you started, kid," Tony glared at Peter, though his eyes held a glimmer of amusement. "Now everybody's starting." He flipped the pan with the scrambled eggs. "Not my fault everybody here's a copy cat," Peter said and winced when everyone made a commotion over that, holding a hand over an ear. "Hey, hey, let's not forget who could fit under my boot, kid," Rhodey said kiddingly. "Yeah, but you'd have to catch me first." the boy cheekily replied. "He's got you there," Steve ribbed. "Who knew Thor would have such a good sense of humor." He laughed when the teen groaned. But, Peter swore that if this was a dream, he didn't want to wake up. But he still had a 'punishment' to deal with, right? Could Mr. Stark have maybe revoked his phone privileges if he got any as a punishment? No, because that would mean he was a prisoner here. The Avengers wouldn't keep a kid as a prisoner....would they? A large plate was placed by him, breaking him from his foreboding thoughts as the heat from it warmed him, but the smell of the waffles was better than anything. "I never thought any of you would be able to cook," Peter said idly. They acted like a family in the mornings, actually. He liked it. "Are you doubting my mad skills?" Clint asked as he lifted another waffle from the machine. "Never try to speak slang, Clint," Sam said shaking his head. "Mm. Never again." "Okay, eggs are done, how we looking on everything else?" Mr. Stark asked. "Waffles are done," Clint responded as he flipped the last item out of the machines, waving his burnt hands a little. "Everything's done. Let's eat!" Rhodey rubbed his hands together, sitting at the table, eagerly piling his plate up. Pepper passed a small plate to Peter. "Here sweetie. Help yourself, okay?" She smiled at him. Peter nodded and turned towards the plates of food, more food than he could think to eat, but he was hungry, so he was going to try. He reached toward the eggs, pausing when he saw the steam rising from them. He felt the hair stand up on his arm and ducked when a hand sailed over him and Doctor Banner pushed some eggs off his fork. "There you go, Peter. Let's call that a truce." He smiled and continued eating, leaving Peter to eat. The boy smiled and nodded as the avengers teased one another, even laughing with them. All in all, it was a great morning. And then the meeting happened.....the day had started so great for Tony. True he'd gone crazy looking for Peter when he woke, but he had calmed since finding him. He glanced at the boy sitting on Clint's shoulder, talking to Wanda and blushing when the woman smiled. It seemed the boy had a good bond with the archer, which he wasn't jealous of...much. It wasn't like Clint had rescued the kid. But, the sniper did have teenager experience so he knew how to act with them.   Tony liked the kid. He was amazingly smart, funny and had a good heart from what he'd seen since Peter had been there. He was still nervous around Tony though, so to see him laughing so easily with Clint and the others made him feel...well, he didn't know what. Jealous? Yes, but there was something more. The thing with Tony, he wasn't good with the emotions. He was very bad at them, actually. But, he wanted Peter to laugh with him like he did with Clint. He was a selfish man after all. So, when they reached the meeting room, he surged forward and snatched Peter off Clint's shoulder with a little "mine", and walked to his seat, letting Peter go onto the table. "Mr. Stark? Why-" "Shh, meeting's about to start," the man said with a grin. The boy simply shook his head and turned to sit, leaning back against Mr. Stark's arm for warmth. "SHIELD has gotten some news on activity within Hydra, all based around him," Steve started, pointed to Peter, who turned a shade of green and white Tony hadn't seen before. "They're looking for him, and they're desperate. There's been no activity on their plans, but I know there's bound to be something in the works as we speak." A noise made them all turn to the door as Bruce walked through with a large cup of coffee, sleep still in his eyes."Sorry, sorry. Friday just told me about the meeting. What's wrong?" The doctor sat next to Tony, and smiled down at Peter, who waved shyly at him. "Peter, actually," Rhodey informed him. "Peter? Are you alright? Did any more powers or symptoms pop up?" The doctor was leaning in to look the boy over, trying to ignore when he pressed into Tony's arm. "Powers?" Natashe was interested as she leaned forward to study the boy. "What kind of powers?" "It seems that Hydra gave him a cocktail of Spider DNA mixed with Gamma radiation," Tony said angrily as he felt the boy shaking against his arm. "Could that be why Hydra is already looking for him?" Bucky stood and walked over to Tony "Tony, please let the kid answer." He pleaded the billionaire, staring him down until the man gave up, leaning back, but keeping his arms on the table. The Winter soldier nodded and leaned over Peter, not missing the way he was shaking, staring up at the soldier in terror. "Who are you, where did you come from, and why are you like that?" Bucky tried to keep his voice light, but his eyes were harsh. A hand touched his shoulder and he looked to see his best friend shaking his head slightly. "We'll get to that later," Steve told Bucky firmly, removing his hand from the man's shoulder. "First things first. We need a protective detail on the kid." Tony scoffed. "He can fit in any of our pockets, I think that's as protected as you can get with the damn Avengers." "That may be, but I will feel much better if Peter is watched every second of the day, no matter where he is." Steve argued, giving the man a look. "Oh come on, you don't think he's a spy, do you? Look at him!" Sam reached over and plucked the boy off the table by his Thor cape, the boy struggling and kicking, trying to get loose before giving up and panting. "Who can he hurt? He's literally smaller than my finger." For an example, the man held up his hand next to the boy. "See?" "Sam," Wanda said dangerously, her hands glowing red. Clint stood and had an arrow in his hand, steely gaze fixed on the Falcon. "Let Peter go." Slowly the man did what he said. "Sorry, kid...I wasn't thinking," he apologized. Tony cupped his hand around the kid moving it towards him, scooping the boy up to look him over, much to Peter's chagrin. "I'm okay," Peter said. "It was just a shock, that's all. I'm okay, promise." He put his hands on the fingertip, trying to stop it from touching his chin to lift his head. "Tony, he said he's okay," Rhodey said quietly. "Trust the kid's word." Stark gave Peter another once over before letting him go, forcing his hands away from the small teen, leaning back. Instantly the teen felt the lack of warmth, but didn't say anything about it, just glad to be out of the man's examining gaze. "Be that as it may," Steve continued after getting a nod from the billionaire, "I would still feel better making sure Peter doesn't wind up in Hydra's hands again. They've obviously gotten this far with their experimentation, and I don't want them to get any further. We've dealt a big blow to them by destroying their lab and taking Peter away from them. Which, even though I am still a little nervous about him, I am glad that he's not under their thumb at the moment." He gave the teen a soft look, which made Peter blush slightly at but thanked the man. "And let's not forget who actually saved him," Tony said light heartedly. "You're welcome." The boy turned toward him with a smile. "Of course, Mr. Stark. There's no way I could ever thank you for what you did for me." The man smiled quickly, then his face fell serious again. "So, we've had a little update on him," the billionaire said, leaning forward again, seeing Peter shiver a little. "Apparently, he's developed some...new abilities." he looked down at the boy who nodded. "As we stated before, the scientists gave him gamma radiated spider DNA the morning we found him." There was silence in the room, but every pair of eyes were on Peter, all of them full of anger. "What did they do to him in that lab?" Sam asked seriously. "It seemed," Steve said, "as though they really wanted him dead by the looks of that cage I saw on the floor." The captain moved forward in his seat. " What did that, son?" Peter shivered at the memory. "The soldiers...they came in with guns...they killed everyone, then tried to..." he took a shuddering breath, then Mr. Stark's hand was around him. "Well, looks like it's story time for the kiddies," Tony said, taking over for a grateful Peter. "Okay, so you all remember the mission the ones lucky enough to be here went on, right?" Everyone nodded. "Well, that happened to be an experimental lab run by Hydra....what we saw was...it was..." Tony took a deep breath. This was the first time he was thinking of it now that he had to. Blood splattered on the glass planes revealing lifeless eyes staring through him..."All the experiments had been killed moments before we got there," he continued. "Most of them were just kids. That's where we found Peter. He apparently was hiding after they tried to kill him, too, if the bullet ridden cage on the floor was the proof." Peter nodded, hugging himself. Not aware of it, he shuffled over to Tony's arm, leaning against it, shivering. "Wait, what destroyed that cage? Kid, how were you able to dodge bullets?" Natasha asked, an incredulous look on her face. "Are you like Scott, where the smaller you are, the slower things move and sound?" Peter shook his head. "N-no...." the teen began, nervously wringing his hands together as he began his tale, glancing up to see shocked and angry faces as he spoke. "You all move normally to me, which I think is kind of weird and scary...but it was super scary when the soldiers came in. They had their guns drawn...and...and they shot everyone...." he sniffled, eyes burning. "A few of those people...even though we couldn't speak...they were my friends." The boy took a deep breath. "Samantha was the girl with the red feathers...She was the nicest, always with a soft smile after the scientists threw me in my cage after a day of testing and shots. Jeremy, he was the boy with the tentacle like fingers. They tried to make him a sea-spy, but they couldn't make him able to breathe underwater, though that didn't stop them from trying. I just....I just can't believe they're gone." In just one second, their lives were snuffed out. Then he thought of himself, and how he was almost killed. The barrel staring him down like a gaping maw, the sound of the bullets being released from the chamber deafening to his ears. The heat and the smell of singed hair as he dodged the overly large bullets, mixed with the sound of bending metal...His breath came in pants, body shivering. Lights started dancing in his vision and the room around him spun. "Pete?" a voice called. "Pete, come on, you need to calm down. Take a deep breath." The hand around him suddenly was laid on his back, making the boy jump and spin, about to grab the fingers, when he saw Mr. Stark looking at him and his hands lowered. "Come on, Peter. Breathe." Tony placed his thumb against the boy's back so he could feel his pulse. The kid was having a bonafied panic attack, he would know the signs of it anywhere. "That's it, kid, good job." Peter took a deep, shuddering breath, the feel of Mr. Stark's heartbeat calming to him. The room stopped spinning slowly, his vision coming back to normal. "I-I'm okay...I'm okay..." Peter suddenly sat, his knees giving out. "Whoa...." "I think that's enough from the kid," Tony said, blocking Peter with his hands. "Hold on with the talk, let me call Pepper in to take Pete somewhere quiet, then we'll talk." Everyone nodded, but Clint stood. "Let me take him to Pepper, get him outta here faster." He came to stand next to Tony. "You okay with that, kid?" Blue eyes pierced Peter's and the boy nodded."Yeah, thank you." He climbed on to the offered hand.

@letsbeinspiredby @sparrowrider @6inchicon @carttorchdeatth

#Iron Man Tony Stark #iron dad #spider son #shrunkpeterparker #MamaPepperPotts #morgan stark #protectiveavengers #theitsybitsyspider

[windfighter]

For the @winteriron-week

Day 5: Celebration / “Bad timing?” / Prosthetic Arms

Summary:

Following the defeat of Thanos and the return of everyone who was snapped Tony shut himself away from the world as he poured all his energy into building himself a new arm. So okay, maybe isolating himself and causing his mental health to plummet wasn't the most productive way to go about it, but luckily his family was not going to leave it like that.

—

Tony emerged from his workshop after another 30-hour binge. He was dressed only in a T-shirt and boxers and the latest vesion of his arm had just been installed. He had to go to the gym to do some testing of it. He could already tell it would need some tweaking – it hurt where it connected to his shoulder and the sensations he recieved from it were slightly off – but he wanted to check how it operated before restarting work on it.

The house was dark, but he knew it by heart, had designed it himself and didn't need lights to navigate it. The quiet in it got to him though, he missed hearing Morgan and Pepper playing, working, watching movies, but he understood their reasons for leaving. He was broken beyond repair, too busy trying to get back what he had lost when he snapped. Some days he wished it had taken him because even though he had gotten his whole world back he had been unable to hold on to it. Peter still called him every day, but he could never answer, still felt guilty for letting Peter disappear for five years.

No, I didn't let him. There was nothing I could do.

Tony closed his eyes, forced his body to take deep breaths as memories of Titan threatened to overwhelm him. Robotic fingers brushed against his thight and he flinched, was pulled back to the present. He stared at the red and gold arm hanging by his side, shook his head and continued towards the gym.

”SURPRISE!” several voices shouted as he entered the living room.

Tony jumped, his arm fired a repulsor blast at the floor, splintered it and he yelped in pain as a piece of wood buried into his right calf. He should have worn pants. He cursed, slid down to the floor and glared at everyone.

”I have a heart condition, you know.”

It really was everyone. Pepper handed Morgan to Peter, sank down next to him and looked at his newest injury.

”Oh, Tony”, she kissed his cheek. ”We didn't mean to scare you.”

”What are you doing here anyway?”

”It's your birthday, doll”, Bucky nodded towards the table which had a huge cake and a couple of presents. ”Bad timing?”

”Sneaking up on an old man is always bad timing”, Tony muttered but accepted Pepper's and Steve's help as they picked him up from the floor and led him to the couch. Professor Hulk found one of the many first aid-kits Pepper had left around the house and sat down next to him, pulled the piece of wood out and examined the cut for any left-over splinters before stitching it up and putting a bandage over. Tony stared in fascination at the gentle way Hulk's hands moved. He yawned and leaned against the back of the couch.

”Fri, why didn't you warn me about the visitors?”

”You muted me ten hours ago, boss.”

”We're going over your protocols after the party.” He nodded towards his prosthetic arm. ”Anyone wanna help me get it off?”

”You sure, doll?”

”Yeah, don't want to blast anyone by mistake. Plus it kind of hurts.”

He thought Peter would be the one to help him, but Peter hid behind others and instead Bucky sat down. Tony gave him instructions on the pieces he couldn't reach, released whatever he could reach himself and then Bucky took the arm off his shoulder. Tony let out a sigh of relief and Bucky stared in awe at the arm.

”It's beautiful.”

”It will be more beautiful when I get it to work. Sorry about destroying your surprise party. Didn't think I left the trigger that sensitive.”

He was so tired, but a cup of coffee showed up in front of him, Natasha's hand offering it. He smiled at her and gulped the black gold down before anyone could blink. His eyes fell on Bucky who, if he didn't know better, almost looked lovesick. Red magic lifted the cake from the table and held it infront of him. Wanda smiled at him.

”Blow out the candles.”

”For the record, that's way too many candles”, Tony noted before attempting to blow them out.

He managed five, then he was out of breath. The others laughed and he did a new attempt, managed the rest of the candles only becaue Peter had let Morgan down and she helped him. She climbed into his lap.

”What did you wish for?”

”You can only make a wish if you get all candles at once. But I wished to have my whole family here for my birthday.”

Morgan giggled.

”That's a stupid wish, we're all here already!”

He looked around, at Morgan, Pepper, Peter, Rhodey, the Avengers, and nodded.

”Yeah, you are.”

”Mr Stark...”

Mr Stark, I don't feel so good. Tony closed his eyes, opened them. Peter looked nervous.

”Kid, please call me Tony.”

”T... Tony. Are you mad at me?”

”What? Peter, no.”

He pulled Peter down, gave him a hug.

”Don't you ever, ever dare think I'm angry at you. You could blow up the moon and I wouldn't fault you.”

”Why won't you talk with me then?”

Peter's hands gripped at his shirt as if Tony was his life-line and Tony took a shaky breath, held on to Peter equally hard.

”It's not on you kid, never on you. I can't...” He swallowed down whatever tears threatened him. ”I'm angry at myself.”

”Why? You saved us, saved the world, the whole universe.”

”It was Bruce.”

”No”, Peter let go of him, pulled away and forced him to look into Peter's eyes. ”They told me everything. It was all thanks to you. You solved the timetravel-issue, you built the gauntlet, and you was the one who defeated Thanos. I saw the last one myself so don't even try to argue.”

”We defeated him together. And if Regular-sized Man over there”, he gestured at Scott, ”hadn't told us about the quantum realm we wouldn't have been able to travel through time. It's... it's all thanks to him.”

”No”, Peter flicked his forehead and he blinked. ”You don't get to belittle what you did.”

Tony looked away.

”I let you down.”

”You could never let me me down”, Peter hugged him again. ”You could blow up the moon and I would still follow you.”

Tony laughed, hugged the kid back.

”Believing in someone blindly like that isn't good you know.”

But somewhere inside he could feel himself starting to heal.

The party was quieting down. Morgan, Peter and Rhodey had fallen asleep while watching Toy Story, Strange, Carol and T'challa had left for their regular duties, Wanda had left together with Strange and Tony wasn't sure what to think about that. Scott, Hope and Clint had left to go home to their families, Sam, Steve and Pepper were talking in the kitchen and Natasha and Bruce had disappeared to somewhere. Thor had also left, together with the guardians since there was always something to do in the Universe, someone who needed rescuing. Tony was almost falling asleep himself.

”The arm really was amazing”, Bucky said and sat down on his right side.

Part of Tony's brain, the more basic one where all the monkey-instincts still lived, told him that he should be afraid being next to the assassin that had killed his parents and he hadn't had enough time to get to know, but he felt relaxed, leaned his head against the back of the couch.

”Only part of me that is”, he let out a sigh.

”What?”

Tony held his left hand out for Bucky to shake.

”Winter Soldier, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am The Merchant of Death.”

Bucky rolled his eyes and flicked Tony's forehead and Tony blinked. This was the second time someone did that.

”All of you is amazing.”

”Did you miss the part where I'm a murderer?”

”So am I.”

”No, shit, that's different. You were under control. I murdered on my own violation.”

”And then you saved the people of Gulmira. Saved the world by stopping the massproduction of iron monger-suits. Saved the people in Monaco. In New York. Several times by the way. Saved the world again by taking care of HYDRA-assholes.”

”Group effort”, Tony protested. ”Steve, Natasha and Sam did most of the work.”

Bucky ignored his protests.

”You saved the people of Johannesburg. Saved most of the people of Sokovia. And the world.”

”They wouldn't have needed saving if it wasn't for me.”

”Being able to create an AI like that is honestly also amazing. Everything you create is amazing. I've seen the team's gear, also amazing. But that doesn't matter, it's not because the things you've created that you'e amazing, it's how you keep coming back, keep trying to fix it, make it right. How you keep helping everyone even after everything they've done to you.”

”Shane would disagree with you.”

”The Avengers wouldn't. And anyway it's not just that.”

”Holy shit, there's more?”

”It's the soft sounds you make when you get your coffee, and the way your eyes lit up when you study something and take it apart with your mind, and the way your hair falls when the hairproducts you use have been removed, and your cute nose, and the way your fingers can't stop twitching at the thought of building, and the way you smile when you think no one is watching, and....”

”Shit Robocop, take a man to dinner first.”

”Sure, when are you free?”

Tony twisted, pressed his left hand to Bucky's face and laughed. Bucky grabbed his hand and licked it.

”Oh ew. You are disgusting.”

He dried his hand off on Bucky's shirt. Bucky just laughed, wrapped an arm around Tony and pulled him close, somehow turning him around so Tony was sitting with his back leaned against Bucky's chest.

”I'm serious though, I'd love to take you on a date. If you'd let me.”

”I'm not very good for relationships, just ask Pepper.”

”I prefer to reach my own conclusions. It's just a date, promise. If it leads to a relationship we'll tackle that when we get to it. And I mean, the Winter Soldier and the Merchant of Death?” Bucky nibbled on Tony's ear. ”Perfect combination.”

Tony couldn't stop the moan from escaping his lips.

”Fine, you win, one date. But only if you let me take a look at your arm as well.”

”Whatever you need, doll. But no upgrading it until the third date.”

”What if I decide on no more dates?”

Bucky shrugged.

”I'll have to settle for letting Shuri do it.”

”Don't let her hear that.”

Steve and Sam got back from the kitchen and Steve raised an eyebrown at the two people in the couch. Bucky grinned towards him.

”Jealous?”

”Not really. You ready to head home?”

”Yeah, sure”, Bucky got up from the couch, winked at Tony. ”Pick you up at friday?”

”Friday's good. See you then.”

Bucky left together with Sam and Steve and Tony put his hand over his face.

”Fri, what the fuck just happened?”

”Do you wish me to replay the conversation, boss?”

”No, just... set a reminder for Friday and make sure I listen to it.”

He let his hand fall down. Pepper stood in the doorway between the dining room and the living room and smiled at him. He gave a weak smile back and she sat down next to him, pulled him into a hug.

”We miss you, you know.”

He grabbed her shirt, held on to it as if his life hung on it.

”I miss you too.”

He curled in on her and she kissed the top of his head.

”I'm sorry we only work when the world has ended, but Tony... don't let our failure keep you away from happines.”

”I love you so much, Pep. So, so much.”

”I know. And I love you. I always will.”

She dried his tears, gently coerced him to let go of her. She put her hand on his cheek, caressed it with her thumb.

”You haven't been sleeping.” She kissed his cheek. ”I'll set up the couch and then the two of us will lay down in it together with the rest of our family.”

She nodded towards Rhodey, Morgan and Peter and Tony grabbed her hand, pressed his cheek into it, pressed his lips against it.

”What would I do without you?”

”Work on your arm”, Pepper smiled, pulled him up and sat him down in the armchair before turning the huge couch into an even larger bed. She filled it with blankets and pillows before waking Rhodey up. He yawned, stretched, and Peter and Morgan woke up as well. Natasha and Bruce came back, noticed them setting up for sleep and wished them goodnight.

”Come by the compound sometime”, Natasha hugged Tony and kissed his cheek. ”We miss you.”

”Yeah... maybe.”

”I have some experiments I'd like you to look at”, Bruce offered and Tony laughed.

”How could I refuse after that? I'll come when...” he glanced at his missing arm. ”I'll stop by later.”

They left the cabin and Tony hobbled back to the couch, fell down in it and buried himself in the pillows. Morgan crawled up to him and he rolled over to his back.

”Hey pumpkin.”

”Mommy says you have a date.”

”Now why would she tell you that?”

”She also told me to go over and hug you.”

Morgan threw herself down next to him, cuddled up on his left side and he wrapped his arm around her and gave her a hug.

”I'm happy you're happy again, dad.”

Tony kissed the top of her head and smiled.

”I'm getting there at least. Go to sleep now.”

He noticed Peter standing awkwardly at the edge of the bed and gestured for him to join in as well. He curled up behind Morgan, rested his head on Tony's arm and Tony smiled at the kid. Rhodey also flopped down, Pepper helped him out of the braces and then he laid down on Tony's right side and flicked Tony's forehead just like Peter and Bucky.

”Don't close us out like this again, you hear me?”

”Yeah, loud and clear. Sorry, honeybear. I love you?”

”Love you too, but man are you hard to get through to. Heard a certain someone managed to though.”

”...where you all just listening in on our conversation?”

”Word travel fast. Go to sleep now, God knows you need it.”

Pepper crawled into the bed as well, wrapped her family in blankets before placing herself at the head end of the bed, her fingers buried in Tony's hair. He closed his eyes, made himself relax and fell asleep surrounded by his family.

They were still there when he woke up. Peter and Morgan were talking quietly, Rhodey snoring loudly and Pepper in the kitchen making breakfast. He stretched, sat up and saw his arm on the table. He still needed to work on that.

”Hey, Pete, wanna help me with the arm?”

”Can I?”

”Yeah, of course.”

”It's just, you haven't let me before.”

Peter carefully grabbed the arm, helped Tony put it back on. Tony groaned as the pain returned. He really needed to fix that. He rubbed his eyes with his non-metal hand.

”Feeling a bit more human now so you're welcome to join me. If you want to. You too, pumpkin.”

He got out of the bed, picked Morgan up and left for the gym. Peter put an arm around him as they walked, helped him take a bit of weight off the injured leg. He sat down with Morgan on a bench when they reached the gym and went back to whatever conversation Tony had interrupted while Tony went to work on testing the arm. He made notes with Friday about everything he noticed, everything he could improve. He had a deadline now. He smiled, even though the punch he gave the sandbag send a jolt of pain through his whole body. On Friday, when it was time for his date with Bucky, he had to have the arm functioning.

#winterironweek #tony stark #winteriron #pepperony #my writing #fanfic #I probably forgot some avengers #there are too many characters #and they weren't that important for this story anyway

[the-batgirl]

An Avenger’s Christmas Party?

Pairing: Hope x Scott

Wordcount: 2,697

Warnings: Horrible christmas pick up lines.

Summery: (Set in a ‘best possible scenario’ version of post endgame. A year after everyone is brought back and Thanos is defeated. Everyone is alive, and the Avengers are reunited.)

Tony Stark throws a christmas party for the Avengers, and Invites Scott, Hope and Cassie. Classic Christmas party things happen, mingling, eating, other stuff-ing

Author’s note: I never post my fics to Tumblr, they all go on my ao3, but this is a special occasion. @blackberrywidow  reached 500 recently and set up a writing challenge! So first of all GO FOLLOW HER! ABI IS THE SWEETEST!

The prompt I picked for the fic was “I think that’s the least romantic thing you have ever said to me” which just radiated Hopescott to me. I’d been dying to write for them anyway, and Biiitch i love christmas tropes. 

Am I confident? No, never. 

Hope you enjoy!

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to bring Cassie with us? I mean, this is a party...being thrown by Tony Stark...that all the avengers are attending.”

“Hope, you’re asking me about my opinion on whether an idea is smart or not?” Scott smiled as he watched Hope roll her eyes. “Relax,” he chuckled “You know Stark has a kid now too, this isn’t gonna be a rager or anything. Everyone’s bringing their kids.” Scott buttons his dress shirt, “It is a christmas party after all.”

“An Avengers christmas party.” She shook her head.

“Now that’s a Primetime Christmas special!”

“And Stark invited us? Even after what you did in Germany a couple years back?”

“Are we still on that?”

“He must be very forgiving is all I’m saying.” Hope slipped on her black heels, and Scott smiled at her dumbly. She wore a black formal jumpsuit, with a slit going down the collar. Her dark hair was held up in  loose updo, her face framed by the strands falling from it. “I mean, you fought against him...”

“Well, I’d wager that helping bring you unlucky half back from the soul stone probably squashed any bad blood between us. I’m surprised he even remembered me honestly.” Scott pulled on the grey suit jacket he had rented the day before.

“Who could forget Ant Man?” She quipped.

“And the Wasp.” Hope’s nose scrunches as she smiles, and Scott couldn't resist the quick kiss he pressed to the corner of her red lips.

“You’re going to get lipstick marks before we even get there at this rate.”

“Then stop being so kissable? Honestly Hope get it together we have to look presentable in front of these guys. How can I impress cap with lipstick on my face?”

Hope laughs, pushing his face away, “You are so unbearable.”

“Oh Yeah, that’s why you live with me right?”

“Who else would babysit you?”

“Ouch, that stung!”

“Hilarious.” Hope picks up the tie Scott had set aside for the evening, “You’re really wearing this to the party?”

“Why not? It’s a Christmas tie! Look,” Scott presses a button on the fabric, and it flashes in red and green lights, “It lights up!”

“Did Cassie get this for you?”

“Nah, It’s from Luis. We had a secret santa thing at the office.”

“Of course it is.” She wraps the tie around his neck, and ties it. “Perfect.”

“How do you know how to do that so well?” He asks.

“I used to help my dad tie them. I’ve learned to do it in record time.”

“Cool....y’know, I think you'd look pretty hot in a tie.”

“Not in this one.” Hope scoffs, with a smirk.  

“What? How can you feel nothing for this happy snowman tie?”

“Oh I feel something for it alright.”

Their bedroom door opens, and a smiling Cassie does a twirl, revealing the red christmas dress Maggie had picked out for her.

“How do I look?” She asks.

Scott’s heart clenches, he moves, and lifts her into his arms, “Peanut, you look beautiful!” he spun her around, and Cassie giggled in his embrace.

“Oh my gosh! Cassie you look amazing!” Hope exclaimed. Scott set his daughter down, and kissed her forehead.

The younger girl grinned, “Not as amazing as you! You look beautiful!”

“Aww sweetheart, trust me, you’re gonna be the prettiest girl in the room at the party tonight.” Hope tapped Cassie’s nose lovingly.

“She’s right peanut.”   Scott said, kissing Cassie’s cheek.

“Am I gonna get to meet the Avengers?”

Scott shrugged, “You’ve already met two.” He said, glancing at Hope who rose a brow.

“Since when am I an Avenger?”

“Since you earned it.” He winked, “I know you haven’t actually accepted the offer yet, but you so deserve it.” Hope doesn't respond, but it doesn't matter, it’s not what today is about.

“I’m so lucky,” Scott says, “I get to walk into an Avengers party with the two best looking girls in the world.”

“We’re a team!” Cassie exclaims.

Scott hugs both the girls into him, and laughs, “We are! Ant-man, the Wasp, and…”

“Ant-girl?” Hope tries.

“Yeah! Ant-Girl!” Cassie gushed.

“And Ant-Girl! The muscle of the team!” Not that Scott had any intention of allowing Cassie to ‘suit up’ anytime soon. No, no, Maggie would murder him. But Cassie was his hero, always, in every way. As was Hope. He adored his girls to the moon and back.

“Alright, everyone ready?” He asks.

“Unless you want to mess with your hair for another ten minutes.” Hope snickers playfully, “We’re ready.”

“let’s go!”

~

“Wow, this place is….”

“Beautiful!” Cassie smiles, finishing Hope’s thought as the three entered the large open room.

There was a huge christmas tree in the middle of the room, covered in ornament bulbs and beads. Long tables with red and green tablecloths on them were lined with food of all kinds. Scott knew he’d be in big trouble if he let Cassie get a hold of all that sugar.

For all the fancy trimmings, it felt...oddly casual. Welcoming. Everyone was just...talking and laughing, sitting around being normal, and alive.  

Some of the Avengers- and family of Avengers, gave them friendly nods and smiles as the three of them entered. There was no pretentious air of superiority, or looks of ‘pfft it’s the ant guy’.

Scott thinks maybe everyone stopped caring after Thanos. Now, they were all avengers...and, just people. People who had all lost something when that purple asshole snapped his fingers.

He squeezed the hand he had rested on Hope’s waist.

“It’s amazing.”

“Not too much?”  Scott jumped at the voice, and turned. Tony Stark himself, and his wife- what was her name again? It was a spice wasn’t it? Oh God, this was going to be embarrassing…

He noticed the baby in Mrs. Stark’s arms, their new daughter that the media was in love with.

“Mr. Stark! And um Mrs. Stark! H-hi!” Oh, he could practically feel Hope cringing beside him. She smoothly swooped in to save the interaction, offering her hand out.

“Mr and Mrs Stark, I haven’t had the pleasure yet, my name is Hope Van Dyne.”

“The Wasp!” Tony finishes, shaking her hand, “I think you’re a total badass. And please, call me Tony.”

Hope smiles, and Woman-who’s-name-is-a spice used the arm not holding her baby to shake Hope’s hand.

“Pepper Stark.” The woman informed with a smile. Pepper! That’s it!

Cassie released Scott’s hand, and approached Pepper and Tony shyly, “I’m Cassie.” she stated, “Your house is very pretty.”

Tony chuckled, “Why thank you, I’m glad you like it Cassie.”

Her bright eyes turned to the little bunde in Pepper’s arms “Your baby is so cute! What’s her name?”

“Morgan,” She answered, leaning down so Cassie could see her better. “We named her after my uncle.”

Cassie timidly stepped nearer, slowly reaching a hand towards Morgan, hesitating fo a moment.

“It’s okay sweetie, she won’t bite.” Pepper assured her.

“She actually doesn't even have teeth yet.” Tony laughed.

Cassie touched her hand to Morgan’s, and the baby wrapped her small fist aroungd Cassie’s pointer finger. Scott’s heart danced at how adorable the sight was.

“Oh, that’s precious..” He heard Hope whisper.

“She’s so small…” Cassie marveled.

“You used to be that small too, peanut.”

Cassie grins, “My daddy can shrink down to smaller than her fingers!”

“He can?” Pepper exclaimed in dramatic awe, “How cool!”

“There's a couple other kids here,” Tony said, “They're over in the entertainment area with our babysitter, his names Peter. You can go hang out with them if you want. We have a hockey machine, lots of snacks too.”

“Air hockey? I love air hockey!” Cassie beamed at Scott, “Can I go do air hockey?”

“Go wild peanut- well, don’t actually go wild because we don’t want to be replacing any broken things but- have fun!”

“I’ll show her where it is, Peter probably wants to hold Morgan again anyway.” The blonde decided, “It was nice to meet you two!”

Hope  smiled, “Same to you Pepper. Cassie was right, this whole place is gorgeous.”

“Well, I’ve learned over the years that the Starks cut no corners when it comes to dramatics.” She winks to her husband. “He even had tiny realistic versions of the Avengers made into ornaments.”

“Wh-That’s awesome!” Scott gushed.

“Right? Pep said it was ‘too much’” The billionaire says with mocking air quotes.

Pepper rolls her eyes, “What was really too much was you wanting to make the ice cubes look like christmas trees and dreidels.”

“Go big or go home.”

“For once, I wish you’d just go home.” She jeers with a grin. Pepper turns her attention back to the guests, “Follow me sweetie, I’m excited to see you destroy the other kids at air hockey. Some of them just deserve it.”

Cassie happily complied, bounding after the woman excitedly.

“It was great to officially meet you Ms. Van Dyne, and good to see you again Scott. And If you two need anything, just let me know.” He gives Scott a look, “Nice tie.”

“Oh! Um, thanks! Uh it actually lig-”

“Thank you Mr. Stark” Hope interjects, “And happy holidays.”

“Happy Holidays.” Stark nods.

“Hey um, do you think I can have the ant man ornament after you’re done with it?”

Hope laughs, “Why? So you can shrink down and talk to it?”

“Hope!”

~

“Hey.” Scott quips leaning over to hand Hope the glass of wine he’d fetched for her. Scott had never drank something so expensive in his life.

“Hm?”

“You’re the most beautiful person in this room. And like- the most badass.”

“Shut up!” Scott grinned as he noticed the slight blush on her face. “You’re so dumb, I can’t take you anywhere.”

“Oh poor you, being complimented by your hot boyfriend.”

“You sound 12.”

“You look 22, maybe younger- like honestly, where are your flaws?”

“Idiot.”

“Genius. God, you’re so smart” Hope tries to hold back the smile tugging at her lips and Scott brushes a strand of her dark hair out of her face. “Shouldn't you be on top of the tree angel?”

“Pfft.” She scoffs, “That’s so stupid.”

“What? I thought that one was pretty good!”

“You’re regular pickup lines are bad enough, now i’m dealing with Vol 2: Christmas version. ”

“Y’know, Cassie appreciates my dad jokes.”

“Yes, because you’re her dad. You’re giving me pick-up lines that are amusing exclusively to middle schoolers, and you.”

“Can I take a picture of you, so I can show santa what I want for Christmas?”

“I hate you.”

Scott laughed, he always knows he’s won when she has to resort to the classic ‘I hate you’. He holds her waist, and they navigated the room. Scott recognized most of the people. He’d met some of them before Thanos, in Germany...not all of them in the best of circumstances.

The woman with the long red hair, Black Widow, Natasha, she had kicked his ass in Germany, and now she was sipping at red wine and smiling as she chatted with Cap.

Sam was there too, The Falcon, hanging out with the long haired metal arm guy at one of the tables near the far corner of the room. Sam was the first Avenger he’d met, the one who had recruited him for Germany in the first place. Scott had been floored when Steve told him that Sam was a victim of Thanos.

The blonde space warrior lady, Captain Marvel, the one who had saved them all, was holding Colonel Rhodes’s hands as the two moved to the soft christmas music. Scott noticed how she steadied him, his legs in those braces couldn't move like hers could, but she seemed to be content, smiling at him as they swayed side to side.

Scott felt a kind of guilt claw at him, he’d almost forgotten what that crazy day in Germany had cost the colonel who was shot out of the sky. And yet, the man was smiling at a Christmas party. Like nothing had happened. 

“Scott?”

“Hm?” He said, snapping out of his thoughts.

Hope rose a brow at him, “You’re being uncharacteristically quiet. Where are you?”

“I’m...right here?”  

“Doesn't seem like it.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I have you to bring me back.” He smiled.

“Har har.” She nudges him.

Scott set his drink down, and offered a hand out to Hope, “Would you like to move your body with my body to the beat of this Sinatra song?”

“Wow, I think that’s the least romantic thing you have ever said to me.”

“What? I thought it sounded…smooth?”

“That was you asking me to dance, yes?”

“Well, yeah. I thought that was pretty clear.”

“It wasn’t.” Still, Hope set her drink down next to his, Scott was already grinning, “Sure, show me your moves.”

He took her hand, and led her to where people were dancing. He rested one hand on her waist, and the other held her hand. She steps closer, pressing herself almost into him. And slowly he began to move with her.

“Good so far?”

“I suppose.” She shrugs.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I haven’t exactly danced with a lot of people.”

“Me either. But I think you’re probably the best dance partner I could ask for.”

Side to side, they swayed and stepped to one of Sinatra’s christmas classics, The Christmas Waltz.

‘It's that time of year’

A step,

‘When the world falls in love…’

A spin,

‘May you new years dreams come true…’

“This is so much better than prom.” Hope whispers, “You aren’t awkwardly looking away from me out of fear of eye contact.” She giggles

“I never went to prom.” He admitted.

“I only went once...my date couldn't dance, he just held my hips and shuffled his feet.”

Scott chuckled, “See? It’s all about the right partner.”

She smiled, and it was very hard to pay attention to anything else.

Another step, another spin.

“Do you realize how loud you’re humming?” She asked.

“No, actually. That’s one of the things I love about you y’know? You notice everything.”

“No I don’t.”

“More than I do.”

“That isn’t exactly a great feat Scott.”

“Fair.” He laughed.

“Oh, don’t look now, but I think Cassie's’ organized a revolution.”

Scott turned them, and he saw Cassie and a gang of about four other children raiding the dessert table. “Oh God…”

Hope chuckled, “We’ll be peeling her off the walls tonight.”

“Great.” He sighs in defeat.

“Maggie's gonna be pissed we let her have so much sugar.”

A disheveled teenaged boy rushed up to the gaggle of younger kids, and looked like he was going to try to usher them away from the table, but ended up grabbing a slice of cake instead.

Hope shrugged, “Not that she would have easily gone to bed anyway, Christmas being so close…just two more days.”

“Good thing we wrapped all the presents early.”

“We? You did like two presents! Maggie and I deserve the credit.”

“But I made you guys coco!” He reminded her.

She sighed, shaking her head in amusement, “That was pretty good coco.”

“Luis and Cassie said the same thing! It’s a talent.”

“You're adorable.”

He twirls her around, and Hope laughs, “Well, you can actually dance.” she muses, “I’m impressed.”

“Yeah, I took waltzing lessons before Maggie and I got married. I wanted to impress her during the whole ‘first dance’ thing.”

“Did it work?”

“No. Her dress was too long, we did the sway.”

“Aww…” Hope chuckles, “It’s sweet that you tried at least. My mom taught me.”

“Y’know, somehow I can’t imagine Hank and Janet tearing up the dance floor together.” The song slows to an end, Scott takes the opportunity to dip Hope.

She lets out a surprised breath. “You...really know how to dance!” 

“I’m a man of many talents.”

“Mm, no kidding?” He pulled her back up, and she pressed herself against him, “The coco, the waltzing...I wonder what else you can do.” Hope whispers with a mischievous smile. 

“Let’s just say that good tidings aren’t the only thing I can give you.”

“And here we go again.” She shook her head, “That was almost romantic.”

“What? You weren’t swept off your feet?”

Hope laughed, and then- “Oh God…” She cringed

“What- oh.” Somehow, because Scott’s life really is a romantic comedy, he and Hope were standing perfectly aligned under mistletoe.

He had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing, “Well...how bout that.” A snicker slips from his lips. “See? you do notice everything!”

“Yeah, pretty convenient.” She quirked a brow.

“What, are you accusing me of planning that?” Scott gasped in a faux offended tone.

“This is exactly the type of cheesy romcom bs you would pull, it isn’t an outrageous accusation.”

“Gosh Hope, if you wanted a kiss so bad all you had to do was ask.”

“Aaand, I’m leaving.”

“Not without a kiss you aren’t!”

“I will sting you Scott Lang.” She warned, but still wound her arms around him.

He brushes her hair out of her face, and smiles. “You've already stung me Hope Van Dyne.”

#I hc Scott as just constantly flirting with Hope #like just being very playful with her #I have been editing this for like #three days #because of finals #Someone will get the tony stark: iron man issue 4 refrence #bbwidow's500wc #hopescott #hopescott fic #scotthope #scotthope fic #langdyne #langdyne fic #scott lang #hope van dyne #hope x scott #scott x hope #the wasp #antman #ant man #ant man and the wasp #amatw #amatw fic #mcu #marvel #my fic #My writing #my post #my stuff

[l-o-g-l-a-d-y]

The Short List

Summary: 

“Kid, you know that I have a very short list of people who I would move heaven and Earth for.” With his flesh hand, he began to tick off names. “Pepper. Morgan. Rhodey. Happy...and you. You made the cut, Pete. And honestly? I don’t know what else I have to do to prove to you that you made the list." Iron Man is retired but Tony Stark will never stop playing superhero for his kids. Or Peter Parker has a high school diploma and not a lick of common sense. Set three years post- Endgame. Featuring retired Tony and walking disaster Peter Parker.  

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18970351

Tony did not know what he did in a past life to deserve the sort of hell Peter Parker was putting him through.

It had been a normal Friday night when, for the first time in a long time, he was awoken by his AI with an urgent message.

“Boss, I am receiving an incoming message from Karen. Peter Parker is experiencing a medical emergency.”

Well, that woke him up. Beside him, Pepper stirred awake, brow furrowed in concern.

He threw the blankets off himself and scrambled to get out of bed “FRI, what happened?”

“He appears to be suffering from a severe cranial injury. Karen’s scans are reading a 7mm epidural hematoma. The bleed has stopped but the pressure against his frontal lobe and optical nerve is increasing.”

Tony felt the blood drain from his face, slapping the long unused nanite arc reactor on his chest.

“Where?”

“The midtown safe house.”

Tony whirled back around to share a confused look with Pepper. The safe house had been a byproduct of his post Battle of New York paranoia, a place to regroup nearby should the tower be overrun again. He had never dismantled it, but he had forgotten it among newer, safer, alternatives. He knew for certain he had never told the Spider-Kid about it.

“The midtown safe house?” he pressed a kiss to Pepper’s head.

“Correct, Boss.”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., get me a flight plan. Don’t wait up for me, Honey!” He called over his shoulder while rushing out the door.

Tony had hung up the suit following the final Snap, all but forced into early retirement by the loss of his arm and the desire to settle down with his family. In doing so he never bothered to re-establish himself in New York City. Instead, Peter and Harley came out to the lake house on a semi-regular basis. Peter had recently graduated high school and was still adjusting to college life at NYU, so he saw his arach-kid a lot less than he would like. It was all a part of growing up, he knew, so despite the distance, Tony had eliminated some of the training wheels protocols to give the boy some space to grow. Something he was deeply regretting right then.

“How far out am I now?”

“10 minutes 42 seconds.”

“Call Peter.”

Tense seconds past before F.R.I.D.A.Y could respond “No response.”

“Fine, have Karen do another scan and get me there in five minutes.”

***

It was 12 hours later and a clusterfuck later that he found himself helping his beloved idiot walk out of the ER where they had met Dr. Cho. When Tony had first arrived on the scene, Peter had been in no shape to make the trip to the compound medbay. Tony had directed F.R.I.D.A.Y. to get him to the nearest hospital and do whatever it took to have Dr. Cho meet them there as soon as possible. It had been touch and go for the first hour. The hospital was ill-prepared to treat an enhanced patient that metabolized medications as fast as they could be administered. They didn’t exactly have protocols for letting an unfamiliar doctor commandeer the operating room or for letting a patient walk out the door eight hours after having their skull cracked open.  It had taken a lot of bluffing and abuse of his privilege as that guy who saved the universe to get it done. He was getting a headache thinking of all the paperwork he would have to fudge to keep the kid’s secret identity intact.

He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Peter was still behind him and rolled his eyes at the sad picture he made. Peter was trudging up the hallway to the safehouse, now sporting a six-inch-long bald spot behind his left ear and approximately 20 staples.

Shouldering the door open Tony allowed himself to take in the safe house in greater detail than he had that morning. All in all, it looked like any large, empty, upper-class apartment, except for the Spidey suit on the floor of the bathroom, a backpack with a duct-taped strap, and Peter’s laptop perched at the kitchen bar.

Tony gestured to one of the barstools by the counter and let Peter sit while he proceeded to the hall closet. It was stocked with mostly expired medical supplies and a few emergency odds and ends. He popped an instant icepack, wrapped it in a washcloth and handed both to Peter to place over his swollen cheek with a wince.

“Do you want to tell me what you were doing here?” Tony started. His tone was sharper than he had intended. He saw Peter tense but he left the floor open for him to speak.

“I told you, I had heard about some messed up drug being distributed to clubs across the city. When I looked into it I realized they weren’t just peddling drugs, but weapons,-“ Peter looked away guilty “and people.” That should have been the first clue that he was in over his head.

“So, I’m just supposed to be thrilled you decided to take down a drug cartel and human trafficking ring all by your lonesome?” Tony interjected.

Peter bit his lip the way he always did before spilling his guts. “Uh, well no, technically not. Uhm…It turns out that Deadpool had been tracking the leader of this group too, so we teamed up to-“

Tony held up his hand.

“I’m sorry did you say Deadpool?” he said in mock disbelief “Am I going deaf in my old age? I know I couldn’t possibly have heard you say Deadpool, because I know you have been explicitly warned about that guy by S.H.I.E.L.D., by every hero operating in New York, and me.”

Peter frowned the way he always did before giving a heartfelt and utterly stupid argument.

“Look, I know he has a bad past but he’s really trying to turn over a new leaf! And I’ve been helping! He hasn’t killed anyone in months and Ms. Nat did it so- ”

“Hey, tt tt tt! Let me stop you right there. Natasha’s mental health and loyalty were carefully vetted over a period of years by a massive intelligence agency. You have been kadoodling about with a contract killer on the basis of a pinky promise to do better. There’s a difference.”

Peter gritted his teeth at the word kadoodle but figured he ought to pick his battles if he was going to get through the story.

“We teamed up. Apparently, someone from Sister Margret’s, which it turns out is NOT a school but a really gross bar that Deadpool hangs out at, had leaked that Deadpool and Spider-Man were onto them. It was basically an ambush, except we didn’t know it was an ambush, and Karen couldn’t tell that it was an ambush, but my spidey senses warned me at the last second. But by then, Deadpool had just charged right in! Before I could stop him! I couldn’t just leave him in there!”

Tony’s snort of derision made his opinion on that matter perfectly clear.

“So, I had to get him out.  They had way too many guns, and this ridiculously big dude in there. He was some kind of ‘enhanced’ situation though, ‘cause when he hit me it was like being punched by a rhino or something. He got a lucky shot to the back of my head when I was trying to yank Deadpool out of the line of fire. I think I greyed out because the next thing I know, Deadpool had me over one shoulder and he was shooting over the other. He managed to get us out onto a neighboring roof but I couldn’t swing us anywhere” He gave a weak attempt at a self-deprecating grin “it was kind of embarrassing.”

“Embarrassing?” Tony scoffed. Peter watched the knuckles of Tony’s right hand whiten and heard the minute whir of his mechanical hand tighten and quickly forged ahead.

“Anyway! I knew something was wrong but I hadn’t wanted him to know where I lived or make him try to get me to  the compound, so I had him help me get here and I figured I should probably have a friend around to keep an eye on the situation so-“ Ohhh that was the wrong thing to say. A fire seemed to flare in Tony’s eyes.

“EXCUSE ME? I think you mean a MERCENARY! A very dangerous mercenary who you should not even know!”

“Mr. Stark, I know Wade is sorta-“

“Oh, Wade is it? You had your good buddy, Wade, drop you off at a safe house I haven’t even used in a half dozen years to do what exactly? Sleep off a brain hemorrhage!?”

Peter had not seen this level of ire out of Tony since the Ferry Incident of 2017. It seemed a little unfair since he had called Tony once he realized he was out of his depth.

“Mr. Stark, I swear, I didn’t know how bad it was! And I called you, didn’t I?” Well, Karen called. And not so much once he saw that he was out of his depth so much as he when he started losing time and puking.

“I’m technically 23! I thought it was time to try- “ Tony cut him off.

“No! Functionally, you are 18, you’ve said yourself you don’t remember the Snap so none of that counts! 18 means you get to go to big boy prison and vote.  It does not mean you know jack crap about head injuries!”

Pick your battles, Peter… “Besides, Wade stayed until Karen said you were coming. He wanted to make sure I didn’t die, but I had told him not to stick around for you to get here.”

“You should have called me! First! Thing! Or Dr. Cho! Hell, call Dr. Strange!”

“I’ve been hit in the head loads of times! I thought it was not so bad!”

Tony threw his hands up and turned around in exasperation then rounded on Peter again.

“Not so bad? I’d ask if you were brain damaged, but oh wait “Tony held his finger to his chin in a pantomime of thought “ that’s right YOU ARE!”

“Mr. Stark! C’mon-“

“You didn’t know your ass from your elbow when I got here.” Tony seethed. “You couldn’t form a sentence. Didn’t know who I was! Where we were! By the time we got to the hospital, you were completely non-responsive. It took sawing off part of your skull and scooping the blood out like jello for your healing to get enough of a head start to matter.”

Peter gulped but Tony wasn’t done. “What about May? What about me? Don’t we matter, kid?”

“You’re retired! I thought I could handle it! By the time I knew it was this bad it was too late. I’m sorry!”

“Retired!? Are you kidding? UGH!” Tony wanted to punch a wall but instead, he walked a few paces away and rubbed at this face exhaustedly. When he turned around, he took stock of what he saw. Peter looked a mess with a swollen face, pilfered MIT sweatpants, a worn out 2011 Stark Expo shirt, hospital socks, and a line of staples down his scalp like a Frankenstein monster.

Who let this idiot out into the world unsupervised? Uh-he did, apparently.

“Kid.” Peter looked up from the tile grout he’d been inspecting. “You know that I have a very short list of people who I would move heaven and Earth for.” His voice had dropped to something more like his normal timbre.

With his flesh hand, he began to tick off names.

“Pepper. Morgan. Rhodey. Happy.”

He emphasized each name with another finger leaving his thumb tucked against his palm. His eyes met Peter’s desperate to get him to understand “and you.” His voice dropped to a whisper, wagging the thumb of his now open palm.

He rubbed his hand over his face again in an attempt to force a semblance of calm.

“You made the cut, Pete. And honestly? I don’t know what else I have to do to prove to you that you made the list. You’re right, I am retired. Iron Man is the Earth’s absolute last line of defense, but no matter how old I am or how old you are I am always going to be the first line of defense for Peter Parker. Capisce?”

Peter felt his eyes start to burn. He didn’t know what to say. He was sorry?  He had felt like he was handling it responsibly at the time?

He didn’t trust his voice but swallowed against the ache in his throat to say “Maybe some of the people they were hurting are on someone’s short list too.”

Despite his best efforts, Tony saw right through the rapid blinking and Peter saw his shoulders drop as the last of the fight poured out of him.

Tony was way past the point in his life where he could hold this kid at arm’s length. He crossed the room in three steps to wrap his arms around Peter’s shoulders. Immediately he felt the kid shift to lean his weight against him, trusting him to hold him up while he clutched the back of his mentor’s jacket. He briskly kissed the top of Peter’s head and rested his chin atop the matted curls. Under all the bravado, the kid had scared himself too.

Silence passed between them except for the occasional sniff as Peter tried very hard to not cry. Tony held in a sigh. Pete still didn’t get it, he had nothing to prove to Tony.

“You know I invented time travel. Not to save the universe, mind you, but for your scrawny ass.” He paused “I couldn’t live in a world without you in it. I tried. For five years, I tried, and I couldn’t do it. Not when there was still a chance.”

“That’s a low blow, Mr. Stark” Peter’s voice sounded scratchy and wet but amused.

Tony huffed a laugh. “And I’m never gonna let you forget it.” He smiled and let Peter pull back a bit. He brushed sweaty hair from the kid’s face and winced at the swollen edges of Peter’s normally handsome face. He felt his smile turn sad.

“There are lots of ways for me to lose you faster than you can heal, Underoos.”

“I know ...I’m sorry.”

Tony blew out a frustrated breath. He knew what it was like now. From both sides. Peter was a hero. He was never going to stop trying to save lives. There was never going to be a day where Peter Parker could just sit idly by while the world went to shit.  He also now understood how a woman May’s age could have so many grey hairs and why Pepper blamed Tony for her Xanax prescription.

“You know, every day you remind me that I owe Pepper about a billion apologies.” He shook his head. “The things I put her through.” Peter smiled up at him bashfully.

“Speaking of Pepper,” Tony continued handing Peter the hoodie he’d left on the counter. “I gotta go back upstate. I have a lakeside dinner date with two lovely ladies.”

Peter stood as well “Tell them I say hi, will you?” Tony watched the kid pull a denim jacket on over the hoodie. He was pretty sure it belonged to Harley but Peter probably nicked it the last time he’d been to the lake house. The kid started triple layering as soon as the air turned the slightest bit brisk.

“I can do you one better. What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Gee, I don’t know if I can go up there tonight. I have work tomorrow and-“

“Looking like Frankenstein? I don’t think so. How are you going to explain to triple-J how that mess is gone by Wednesday?”

“Frankenstein’s monster.” Peter corrected shoving his laptop into the ratty backpack. “Besides, I don’t want to upset Morgan showing up looking like this.”

Tony shrugged. “She’s a tough cookie. She’ll probably want to play doctor. I should warn you her medical case is fully stocked with holographic Iron Man band-aids.”

Peter laughed “I should be so lucky as to receive such quality medical care.” He shook his head “Sure why not? But I gotta be back to pick May up from the airport Tuesday night.”

“Deal.” He glanced down at Peter’s socks “Ya still need shoes, bud.”

Peter trotted off to the bathroom to grab his shoes and spidey suit. Everything back to normal. As normal as they got anyway.

Tony called after him “Doesn’t Hot May know I owe her a thousand favors for encouraging her nephew to pursue a career in vigilante justice? She literally has access to a private jet.”

Peter shrugged as he did a once over of the apartment to make sure he wasn’t leaving anything behind.

“I don’t think that’s her style.”

“She could have Happy be her chauffeur,” Tony replied in a sing-song.

“Ughh! Mr. Stark, don’t encourage them! It’s bad enough they like to do date night at our apartment. Where does Happy even live?”

Tony held the door for Peter, laughing, and basked in the light-hearted glare Peter threw over his shoulder.

Once inside the elevator Peter gently brushed his shoulder against his mentor’s. “Thanks for bailing me out, Tony.”

The elder wrapped his arm around his kid’s shoulder. “Any time, Underoos.”

#irondad #irondad fic #Retired Tony Stark #Hello I just started writing again. #My Fic #Peter Parker #Tony Stark