Without you (Tony Stark - Pepperony)

Chapter 10 - A visit to reality

Life was pretty damn great. Those were five words Tony thought he would never use when describing his life. But right now?  Being married for the last six months to the most amazing woman he ever met and to be a father to an incredible eleventh month old daughter was something that made his life perfect. He had no idea this was what was missing in his life until it happened. Tony was no longer alone, he had a wife who loved him,  a family. A family he never had since his parents died. And Tony could not have been more thankful.

The honeymoon had been wonderful, it was also elaborate which was hardly surprising since Tony was the one who planned it. He started the trip by taking Pepper and their daughter, Tori, to spend the first week of the honeymoon in Rome before whisking them off to France for a week and a half. The couple had agreed to be active parents when it came to raising their child and be there for her without the need of having a nanny help out for the most part. Tony didn't want Tori to have the same sort of childhood he experienced, and like Pepper, Tony wanted Tori to be sure that her parents loved her with all their hearts and for her to have her best chance in life. If Tori turned out like her mother in the smallest way, Tony knew that he and Pepper would have succeeded in raising their daughter. 

"Hey that's not fair I was in first place Pep, you can't do that!" Tony exclaimed in a playful yet childish tone. They had put Tori down for nap that afternoon and to bide their time, to unwind on that peaceful Saturday, Tony and Pepper decided to challenge each other to a game of Mario Kart. He had been in the lead for the first lap and a half but Pepper had just used a Thunderbolt on his avatar and took first place in the virtual race. "Princess Peach would never throw a bolt at Mario," he pouted while trying to catch up to Pepper again in order to win the game. 

"Oh please, I was given a thunderbolt and you think I wouldn't use it to try and win?" Pepper scoffed, unable to stop herself laughing at her husband's childish nature. She found him adorable when he acted like that but was also amused by how competitive Tony was about a video game. "You beat me in the last race, I suppose you could call it payback Teddybear," Pepper teased.

Tony gasped jokingly, pretending to be shocked by Pepper's remark and nudged her to try and catch his wife off guard so he could get the lead again in the game. "Payback? I won that game fair and square," he laughed and cheered triumphantly when his efforts succeeded in him returning back to first place, what he saw as his rightful place in the game.

"Hey! Tony stop!" Pepper laughed and playfully tried to stop her husband from distracting as they played against each other. This was the sort of normal life she wanted for her, her husband and daughter. Where they had a chance to enjoy a weekend afternoon by playing video games without Tony having to go off on a solo mission as Iron Man or join in and help the Avengers. " I wouldn't call this winning fairly!"

It was a relief for Tony too. He couldn't explain how wonderful it was to not need to save the world or fight crime or worry about any threats. He had a woman who loved him as much as he loved her. Instead of tinkering in his workshop, Tony was having fun for a change, spending a leisurely Saturday with his wife. "What are you talking about? I haven't done anything wrong!" he shrugged, faking innocence before cheering triumphantly when he had won again.

"Seriously? I would have won if you didn't push me!" Pepper rolled her eyes and folded her arms, loving how they were joking around with one another over a video games of all things. "You cheated! No fair!" she exclaimed and stuck out her tongue at her husband. Back when Tony and Pepper only shared a professional relationship, she never once imagined she would be acting this way with Tony, let alone be married to him or mother to his child. She had never been happier, and neither had Tony.