AN: woahh its been a hot minute. this has literally sat unfinished since 2023 which is insane bc it took me all of 5 minutes to wrap up lol inspired by all the homecoming videos that make me cry <3
Summary: Tony has been overseas and his two girls get a surprise.
WC: 1,321
Itâs been 406 days, 32 hours, 28 minutes, and 49 seconds since she had last seen him. Hating the fact that she knew the exact time it had been didnât stop her from keeping track.Â
50 seconds.Â
It kept her sane. It kept her grounded.Â
51 seconds.Â
Letting out a groan, she glanced at the alarm on their bedside table. It was only a few minutes past midnight. He was supposed to call tonight. All the different scenarios played out in her head, but she needed to be strong, especially for Avery. It wasnât often he missed a phone call, but he always let her know and she still hadnât heard from him yet.
All the six year old had been talking about for weeks was being able to talk to her daddy. So thatâs why she was curled up in her motherâs lap, tears staining her cheeks. Michelle gently ran her fingers through her hair, nothing she could say would comfort her. She had tried for the last four hours.Â
They had to be up early for a doctor's appointment and to get her to school on time. She thought about canceling the appointment, keeping her home from school. Life was so much easier when he was home. Every day, every hour, every minute, every second only served as a reminder that he wasnât here. Hell, she didnât even know where he was most of the time.Â
âMommy?â Avery spoke softly.Â
She felt her own tears spring to her eyes at how small her voice sounded. âYeah baby?âÂ
âI miss daddy,â she said before she broke into tears again.Â
Michelle pulled her little body closer, Averyâs head lying against her chest.Â
âI miss him too, sweetheart.âÂ
âDo you think heâll be able to see me get my award tomorrow?â
Shit. She totally forgot about the awards ceremony her school was having tomorrow. There was almost no way sheâd be able to take the day off. âYeah, Iâll take a video for him, honey,â she smiled softly.Â
After pulling some strings at Division and getting her shift covered, she was on the way to the school after picking up a bouquet of flowers. She thought about how much she hated how much Tony had to miss with Avery, how much he hated it. She knew it was hard on him.Â
âThe next student weâre celebrating is Ms. Avery Almeida. Avery has earned Aâs in all of her classes and is one of our best students. We wanted to give her a little surprise for how well sheâs been doing and have a special guest with us today.â The principal announced. Michelleâs ears perked up, this was news to her.Â
âAveryâs father is currently deployed overseas. He serves in the United States Marine Corps and he reached out to us wanting to give Avery a message so if you could, please turn your attention to the screen.â
The screen came to life and there he was. He was dressed in uniform with a huge smile on his face. Her breath hitched.Â
âHey sweetheart, I just wanted to tell you that I am so so so proud of you. I wish I could be here with you and your mom but I know sheâs taking great care of you. I hope youâre not starving,â he chuckled. âI love you so much and I canât wait to see you.â The video ended.Â
Michelle was already crying and she turned to look at Avery who had her own tears streaming down.Â
âWeâd like to thank your dad for your service personally,â the principal continued, gesturing to someone to come out on stage.Â
No, no, no. No. This couldnât be happening.
Not even thirty seconds later, he walked out onto the stage. He was really there. If this was a dream, she didnât want to wake up. Her hands covered her mouth. This had to be some sort of cruel, sick joke the universe was playing on her.Â
A squeal escaped Averyâs mouth before she was sprinting into his open arms. He picked her up easily, her legs wrapping around his waist. Scanning the crowd for Michelle, he caught the back of her head slipping out the exit.Â
After a couple minutes, he managed to set Avery down. âI have to check on mommy real quick, honey.â
âAre you coming back?â she asked, looking down at the floor.Â
âIâm always gonna come back, I promise,â he smiled, lifting her face up.Â
He ran out the same way she did, searching for her everywhere. When he spotted her curls, he slowed down to not startle her further. She had her back pressed up against the building, knees pushed up against her chest.Â
âHey,â he said softly, kneeling down to her level.Â
She turned to him, locking eyes with him. âThis canât be real.â
âItâs very much real, I promise,â he reached out slowly, laying his hand on top of hers.Â
It hadnât even been a second until her arms were wrapped around him, the force almost knocking both of them to the ground. âI missed you so much,â she cried.
âI missed you more than anything,â he whispered against her ear.Â
They stayed like that for several minutes, wrapped up in each other. It wasnât until they felt a little hand tugging on their legs when they broke apart to find Avery.Â
âSorry,â her teacher apologized, âshe wanted to see you guys.â
âThank you, Nicole,â Michelle said.
âLetâs go home,â Tony said. Michelle smiled in return.Â
After a quick dinner at McDonaldâs, they were heading home. Together. Avery caught him up on everything that happened while he and Michelle held hands the entire time. Tony listened intently, especially when she was talking about all the first grade drama.Â
She still felt like she was in a dream, any moment she would wake up and he wouldnât be there.Â
It took an extra hour for Avery to settle down for bedtime, not wanting to have her daddy out of sight. âI promise Iâll be here in the morning, honey,â he told her after reading an extra book to her and with one last kiss to her forehead, he walked out to find Michelle lying down on the couch, a faraway look in her eyes.Â
âWhatcha thinking about?â he asked, sitting down beside her as she wordlessly crawled over to him, her head on his lap.
âI just missed you is all.â It wasnât a complete lie, he didnât need to know how sick to her stomach she felt whenever he was gone, how sheâd drive herself crazy thinking about how he was doing or if he was still alive. He worried about it too, never wanting to leave his little family behind.Â
Taking a deep breath, he ran his hands through her hair. âI missed you so much, baby. You know Iâll always come back to you.â
She offered him a small smile in return.Â
They laid there, enjoying each other's presence, the occasional kiss here and there âI was offered a job at CTU.â he said, after a few moments of silence.Â
Her mouth fell open slightly. âAre you taking it?â She hated the selfish part of her that wanted him to take the job.Â
âI wanted to talk to you about it first,â he paused. âThey have a job for you too.â
âDoing what?â
âInternet protocol manager.â
âWe get to work together?â She giggled, running her fingers over his cheek.
âMhm, lots of new places to christen and weâll be the bosses,â he smirked, wiggling his eyebrows.Â
âDirty, dirty man,â she laughed.
âLots of time to make up for,â he kissed her again. âSo what do you think?â
âHmm, I think Iâll go anywhere with you⊠as long as I donât have to cook.â
âThatâs exactly what I was hoping youâd say, weâre gonna have to keep that coffee pot far, far, far away from you.â
Do not write fanfiction. One second you're normal and the next you're downloading a calendar from 2004 and tearing your hair out over what specific date every event in your fic happens