Suiting Up For Fatherhood

Promises

A promise is something that should never be broken. Everyone knows that, even Mr. genius, billionaire, Tony Stark.

It could be said that Tony had been through a lot in the past fifty-two years of his life. Being Iron Man was not that easy. Sure, to any average person, it seemed fun flying around and fighting bad guys, but to Tony, it was a massive weight on his shoulders, both figuratively and literally.

The origin of Iron Man is a well-known story that defines who Tony Stark is, what he stands for, and how devoted he is to doing what's right, no matter what the cost. There he was, trapped as a prisoner inside a cave with the entire world losing hope of his chance of survival with each day that passed. There was no way to let anyone know back home that he wasn't dead, not Happy, nor Pepper. Many restless nights he spent thinking of countless "what if" scenarios. What if he had stayed with Rhodey? Would he still have been taken hostage? What if he was at home in the comfort of his Malibu mansion? Would he have had the courage to finally ask Pepper out? What would he have given just to have one phone call to let her know that he was alright and was doing everything he could to get home in one piece?

Tony Stark found himself asking these same questions at a later time in his life; during his time spent in another prison. The solitude of him alone in a spaceship, soaring through the cosmos, running out of oxygen each day, was something he did not think he would return home from. At least he had the capability to send Pepper messages via his helmet, but who knew if she was even receiving them? The only thing that Tony had on that ship, besides Nebula, was hope, and that was what got him through it all and back home safe and sound into Pepper's arms.

These painful memories from his past made him promise, not only his family, but himself that he would always do everything in his power to return to them. Now that he had a wife and daughter, people who truly depended on him, he made sure to always make it back home to them. Every mission, no matter what, he would call to check in with them each day that he was gone. And that was his promise. Being an Avenger not only put a huge target on his back, but unfortunately for him, it also put a target on his family's back. He always protected them, but when he was away on missions, he had to put that trust into Happy to make sure they remained safe. Not that he didn't trust Happy, but he would still worry in the back of his mind when he was away, as that's just the protective husband/father nature programmed in him.

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It was a surprisingly rainy Monday evening in Malibu, and six-year-old Morgan Stark was found playing with a plethora of Legos scattered around the sea of beige carpet in the family room. Pepper was watching her young daughter from the comfort of the couch as she simultaneously flipped through the pages of a fashion magazine. The sound of raindrops colliding with the large glass windows next to them was calming to the girls, as they enjoyed their time relaxing after a long day at school for Morgan, and a quite hectic day at Stark Industries for Pepper.

Suddenly, both of their heads turned to the direction of the stairwell when Tony came stomping down with a large leather duffle bag in tow.

"Where are you going now!" Pepper exclaimed, as she got up from her seat on the couch and approached him, meeting him at the bottom of the stairs.

Morgan was forced to halt in her tracks, right in the middle of assembling her new Death Star Lego set, looking up at the scene that was about to unfold with her parents.

Tony responded as he dodged his wife and continued towards the family room, "I have to pack quickly. Fury called, something about a situation in Bolivia."

"Um, what? Tony, you just got home from a mission two weeks ago. And in those two weeks you've barely been home." She huffed, tapping her heels in stubbornness on the hardwood floor.