FIC EXCERPT IM WRITING IM SO EXCITED in which tony and pepper both die in the final battle leaving Peter to be Morgan’s sole guardian and pick up the broken pieces.
Peter shakes his head. “You know I love you, bug, right? A lot.”
“More than three thousand?”
“More than infinity,” he says. Morgan gasps, eyes going big. “I love you more than anything ever.”
Morgan wrinkles her nose. “Not as much as I love you!”
“Not possible, bug. You’re not going to win this one.” He leans in closer, drops his voice a little, “You know your mom and dad loved you a lot too, yeah?”
Her little face goes serious, lifting an even littler hand to grab his shirt. “I know, Petey.”
“Good. Now go get washed up for breakfast.” He sets her down on the floor and watches her race off for the bathroom.
He turns off the stove and is waiting for Morgan’s return when he hears a knock on the front door. Unusual, sure, but he assumes maybe it’s May or maybe MJ finally came round to try and knock some sense into him. It’s not that crazy.
He hears Morgan’s feet racing across the floor. “Morgan, wait a sec,” he tries, but he hears the door open anyways.
He rounds the corner and stops short.
Harley Keener is standing there in the doorway to the cabin with his stupid grin. Morgan’s propped on his hip, flannel bunching around her. His hair is fluffier than Peter remembers and his are bluer than they were in the dark fading light by the lake at the funeral. His jeans are ripped wide in the knees. He’s tan after spending the summer, Peter assumes, out in the Tennessee sun. At the funeral, he’d been pale and drained of all color from the rough day, but now he’s bronzed and grinning and eyes bright and in Peter’s doorway.
“Harley.”
“Harley!” Morgan agrees enthusiastically.
Harley’s grin widens and he bounces Morgan on his hip a few times before setting her down. “Hope this isn’t a bad time, figured it was about time for me to check in on my favourite kid.”