Growing Up

Chapter Twenty

(Y/n) blinked the sleep from her eyes, glancing around the room until her gaze found the man beside her. His face was relaxed with slumber, hair messy, bare skin glistening in the moonlight. She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled as close to him as physically possible. A deep breath filled her senses with his intoxicating smell, whiskey and the faintest hint of that expensive cologne he knew she loved. (Y/n) placed a soft kiss on his chest, closing her eyes to go back to sleep.

"Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time"

She bolted up, this time wide awake. She scrambled to grab her phone from the side table.

"Hello? Dani? Are you alright?" Panic seeped into her voice as she answered.

"Mum, I think it's t-time." Dani panted from the other end of the call. "We're going to the h-hospital now, Jonas is in a tizzy." She tried to laugh through the pain.

"I'm getting your dad up now." (Y/n) smacked Tony on the arm, startling him awake. "We're on our way, sweetheart. Stay calm and be careful." She hung up, turning to face the irritated man beside her.

"What the hel-"

"Dani's in labor, we need to go." She explained as she rushed to the closet to find some clothes. Tony was on his feet in record time, trying to find his underwear. "Are you going to tell the others or should I? I imagine they could figure it out if the find us both missing in the morning but some heads up couldn't hurt."

"I'll send them a text when we get on the road." He buttoned his jeans and pulled on the first shirt he could find, looking up to see (Y/n) already dressed and ready, watching him with a big grin. He returned it ten fold. "We're going to be grandparents!" He wrapped her in a quick but tight hug before pulling her out to the elevator to hit the road.

It had been just under two years since (Y/n) came back into his life and now on top of a new son-in-law, he was now going to be the proud grandfather to two twin boys. He couldn't wait to spoil them rotten with toys and clothes. He held her hand in his as he drove like crazy to get to their daughter who had decided that city life wasn't for her and Jonas. They lived three hours outside of New York and hopefully the twins would hold on until their grandparents could arrive before doing so themselves.

"Hi, how can I help you?" An exhausted looking nurse looked up as they ran into the maternity ward.

"Danielle Palladio?" (Y/n) asked through heavy breaths.

"Room 626, just down the hall." The nurse pointed them to the right and the two shot off again. Tony knocked gently but urgently on the door and another tired nurse opened it and looked them up and down.

"We're her parents." (Y/n) explained. The nurse let them in, Tony going to stand out of the way, and (Y/n) crossing to her daughter and taking her hand.

"Mum, dad!" Dani smiled a strained smile. "Looks like it'll be another hour or two." She squeezed her mother's hand tight as a contraction hit. (Y/n) lovingly wiped the sweat from Dani's forehead.

"You took a few hours to get here yourself, I thought your aunt was going to pace a whole in the floor." She laughed.

"How was your drive?" Jonas asked Tony, joining him in the corner of the room to allow the two women their space.

And this is how the next two and a half hours, Jonas, Tony, and (Y/n) trading spots beside Dani as she breathed and pushed and cried. The doctor came in moments before the first twin arrived. One of the nurses cleaned him up and wrapped him in a green blanket. It took the second boy another twenty minutes to find his way into the world, cleaned and wrapped in yellow, placed beside his brother in their mothers arms. Everyone was in tears, save for the staff, and Tony pulled (Y/n) in for a hug.

"Look at them, Tony!" She said quietly, giddy as anything. They walked over, careful not to crowd the new parents. "Well, sweetheart, do you have their names already picked out?" Dani nodded.

"I do. Edwin Theodore," She placed a kiss on the chubby little baby wrapped in yellow. "And James Howard." She repeated the action with the baby in green. She looked up with tears in her eyes to meet her parents similarly watery gazes.

"We knew that you would have named Dani after Howard Stark and Edwin Jarvis, so we combined them with my grandfather's name and divided them between the two boys." Jonas explained, picking up little Edwin.

"Thank you." Tony wiped at his eyes, looking down at his new grandsons. A nurse came in looking exasperated and looked at the older couple and then at the younger one.

"The...the Avengers are in the waiting room." She stuttered, eyes wide. The four burst into laughter but quickly silenced it as to not disturb the babies. Tony and (Y/n) decided to give their kids some alone time and walked slowly down the hallway towards the waiting room that apparently was filled with famous superheroes. Tony stopped suddenly and brushed some stray hairs behind (Y/n)'s ear. He kissed her long and slow, ignoring the stares of the hospital staff.

"I love you, sexy grandma." He smirked, pecking her lips between each word.

"I love you too, foxy grandpa."