IronDad & Just Dumb Stuff

endgame spoilers kinda not really maybe

"Peter! Peter no!" Tony couldn't help but fall to his knees with the young Avenger as he turned to dust in his arms for a second time.

A mumbled "It's your fault," sounding clearer than a bird's call in the early morning to Tony's ears. He chocked on tears.

"Stark.." caused Tony to harshly throw his head around to see Thor, a man he hasn't seen since Ultron, disintegrating just as Peter had. "How could you let this happen?" He said, eyes pleading Tony to answer, just before he was completely gone.

Tony tried to answer, scream, cry, whatever, but they were all just wet, broken sounds that got stuck in his throat. Why was this happening? Why was this happening again? Hadn't the first time been enough? Has the universe not punished Tony Stark enough?

As if to prove his suspicions correct, a firm hand grasped his shoulder for balance, a rough voice speaking "I trusted you," Tony looked up to see Steve, face dirty with dust and blood, teary eyes blinking clear as his weight disappeared along with his presence.

Staring at the spot where his friend-turned-enemy-turned-friend once stood he saw Rhodey, faceplate up, revving up a hand cannon, pointed at Tony. Betrayal the most prominent feature of his face. Tony braced himself for the blast with flinching eyes, but it never hit. He opened them and Rhodey was gone.

He saw Peter Quill, a new friend and ally, look at him with the same pain in his eyes as he had on Titan simply flip him off as he disintegrated once more.

Everyone was dying again and it was his fault. He didn't do enough to protect them. He wasn't strong enough to help them. He wasn't good enough to save them. Why wasn't he disappearing too? Why wasn't-

Pepper.

He saw Pepper clutching Morgan, clutching her until there was nothing left to hold onto. She stood from the mess on the ground that was their daughter and turned to face Tony. He tried to say her name, no sound escaped his dry mouth. He tried to stand, but his legs wouldn't move. She started marching her way towards Tony, furious.

"Pepper I-" he finally managed, his tone pure fear, but he was cut off by a sharp pain as her hand collided with his face, throwing him to his back.

"Liar." Was whispered on her last breath.

"No!" Tony screamed, jerking awake and throwing himself out of bed. His breathing was coming fast and heavy, desperate gasps giving him nothing but a quickening heart beat. Pepper was at his side in an instant, no doubt trying to wake him up since his nightmare started, she looked tired.

He did this to her, he made her tired. Ever since he told the world he was Iron Man she's been losing sleep. It seems like he inevitably hurts anyone within a five foot radius of him.

"I don't hate you, y'know." She said, gently massaging his damaged hand as she pressed it over her heart. She knew he calmed down faster having solid evidence she was alive, also knowing he trusts his sense of touch more than his sense of sight.

"I didn't say anything." He panted, still trying to grasp reality and trying his best to look put together and like he didn't just throw himself out of bed.

She sighed a soft sigh that was paired with a soft, but sad smile. "You suck at hiding your emotions, you're too easy to read." She said gently. When Tony didn't say anything she moved his hand to press her lips against it in a gentle kiss. "It's your greatest weakness, but it's what makes you human." She pressed another soft kiss to his injured hand.

Her lips left a tingling sting on his skin, but he knew it was just in his head, his arm has healed a lot with the nanotech swimming through his veins and patching up the non-fixable areas. It was truly a patch job but Tony didn't want to attach an exoskeleton to his arm permanently or replace it entirely. If he did that he would be living Pepper's nightmare: Iron Man taking over Tony Stark.

He just couldn't do that to her. Not to the woman who has stood by him since the beginning, since before Iron Man was even an idea, since he was just 21 being thrown into a position of power as CEO of Stark Industries. Even when he gave his home address to a terrorist. When he threw himself into the beautiful distraction of making suits. And she's still here after he jumped on a spaceship, that could have exploded for all he knew, and took him to fight a Mad Titan. She waited for him. Him. The guy who hurts her because he can't seem to do anything else. The guy who has a daughter with her but still went and used the stones knowing full and well that his chances of surviving them was literally less than one percent. The guy who-

Pepper's warm caress wiping his tears away startles him into flinching before locking sienna brown with platinum blue. He stared deep into her soul, looking for any sign of her wanting to leave, to start over with someone else, to break free of him.

But he found nothing but love and want and hope.

So he cried and she cuddled him and there they sat on the floor of their room. And that's how they stayed. Together.

--

At some point before the sun came up, Pepper and Tony had moved back into bed but never left each others embrace. Well, until hours later Morgan decided that she was going to spend the morning with them and squished herself between them.

This was Tony's favorite thing. The warmness from shared body heat, the calmness of a group nap after just waking up (or pulling an all nighter in Tony and Pepper's case). He couldn't believe he had this. A family. All to himself. It didn't belong to anyone but them, it was their love. Their special thing to keep close and hold onto. He never thought he'd get to have this. Call him greedy, call him selfish. This was his and no one could take it from him.

Tony leaned over to kiss the top of Morgan's head and matched her smile when she looked up at him. "I love you, princess." He nearly whispered.

"I love you too." She whispered back.

Tony smiled again and turned to Pepper, who was already smiling at him. He leaned forward and she met him halfway where they shared a soft kiss, one that didn't need follow-up words. He knew that she knew he loved her and when they broke apart, she kissed their daughter's cheek as her and Tony's hands rested entangled on Morgan's lap.

This was beautiful.

This was perfect.

This was real.

This was all he wanted.