Tony Stark's Toy

Part 75 - The Decision

~6 years later~

"Tony, where are you?" I ask loudly since he's nowhere in my sight.

"I'm outside, alone, there's definitely no one hiding from me out here" he replies playfully.

I go outside and stand on the wooden porch of the cabin. We moved in here full time approximately 4 years ago, around the time Tony needed rest the most and the time our lives completely changed. I stand on the end of the porch and smile to myself while watching him being goofy and smiling warmly.

"AAAAAAGHHHH" the familiar little voice appears suddenly and we hear small fast footsteps going towards Tony.

"Oh no, she found me!" Tony sounds dramatic and acts even more like it when Morgan attacks his leg.

Morgan, our 3.5 year old daughter, manages to throw Tony on the ground and climb on top of his body. They're both laughing and play fighting and I'm also laughing to myself looking at them. It's such a beautiful sight and I'm never getting tired of it.

"Surrender!" she says and threatens Tony by pointing her palm at him, just like the Iron Man pose.

"Please, Miss Stark, I promise to get you all the ice cream you want. Just don't defeat me" Tony shows off his acting skills by acting remorseful and throwing his arms in the air.

She looks like she's thinking of his proposal for a few seconds and then she nods and giggles loudly to show her approval. Tony smiles widely and hugs her tightly against his lying body.

During that happy moment we heard another familiar sound. Well, not as familiar as our daughter's voice, but still the sound of a magic portal opening around us could be described as familiar. The last few years Doctor Strange showed up a lot of times, most of them ending with Tony finding himself in a fight that otherwise he wouldn't have given.

"Tony, Zoe....Morgan" Stephen speaks when he steps out of the portal.

Tony immediately gets on his feet with Morgan around him. He covers her as much as he possibly can with his arms and looks around carefully to make sure we're not in some kind of danger.

"Hey, Stephen" we reply, definitely both feeling our stomachs tightening.

"I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't something important" even from his first words it's clear this is something we should be worrying about.

"Let's have a seat first" Tony says, probably feeling himself weaker and wanting to sit down.

They both join me on the porch and we take our seats on the benches we have. Morgan is sitting on Tony's lap quietly, sensing the mood that's building up around us.

"I should make us some coffee" I suggest and make a move to stand up.

"No need, I will take care of that" Stephen replies quickly and moves his fingers only for some cups of coffee to appear suddenly in front of our eyes.

"Thank you..?" I say quietly and he just nods.

"I haven't seen her since she was a baby" he says after looking at Morgan carefully.

"You could've gotten to know her if you visited more as a friend instead of an Avenger" Tony replies and hugs Morgan tighter.

"I'm sorry, Tony. I just have so many things to deal with and me showing up for coffee every couple of weeks might eventually put you in danger" Stephen explains.

"Why do I have a feeling that you're here to put him in danger either way?" I ask with a worried tone.

"I'm only here to ask for help, I'm not demanding and I will definitely accept any answer" he says and both me and Tony look at each other.