"Future"
Send “Future” for a drabble in which our muses have a family
Tony legitimately hadn’t known what to do when things went to hell on that mission six years before. Yes, he’d always considered kids, who wouldn’t at least at some point? But he’d never thought he’d have to raise one.
Then things happened.
A lot of things, in fact, and one of them was the eight-year-old sleeping in the next room. She’d only been a toddler, and a barely talking one at that, when Stacey had brought her to Tony in the aftermath of a brutal, drawn out battle that had destroyed no small portion of the city that they’d been trying to clear out ahead of the fighting as enemy forces came down to Earth. It had been an ugly day. No, it had been an ugly year, but they’d done all they could, and somehow, on the other end of it, Tony was a dad.
He was sure that hadn’t been the plan of course, but he’d honestly never seen Stacey as freaked out as she’d been that day, attempting to explain that she couldn’t find the toddler’s parents and the girl just wouldn’t stop crying. Which, given the situation, Tony had thought was fair. So, of course, he’d tried to help, taking the crying child from her and doing his best to settle her, which had worked shockingly well if he was honest.
Given he’d still been in his armor at the time, he really hadn’t expected it too. He still suspected it was the lure of the shiny, not that he’d ever actually said this. He was fond of Stacey thinking he was a magical being who could calm children just by holding them, after all.
It wasn’t often that he got to pull one over on her like that, and he could readily admit to enjoying it.
That day led into the drawn out search to find someone to take the kid and Tony. Well. Tony had gotten attached. Instead of giving her off to the authorities like a reasonable human when that was even an option again... he just kept her, and Stacey was just as enthralled, if a bit more liable to linger back a step from the whole parenting thing. Pepper did it too if he was honest with himself, which amused him no end.
Two strong, capable women, and neither one knew what to make of a toddler.
Ultimately, the battles had ended, the invading force driven off as well as the people of Earth could manage, and Tony had settled into rebuilding the world, taking care of his team, and taking care of his family.
Stacey was part of that. She was one of his best friends, after all, a co-parent to a beautiful, feisty little girl, and co-leader of the team that had gone through some serious trials and tribulations in the last couple decades.
And now, she lived here, with them in their admittedly large place of residence, and there was no hardship in that. It was easy, calling her family, and he was glad he could. Not everyone was as fortunate as he was on that score.
That didn’t mean that he wouldn't tease her about falling asleep in the middle of the afternoon because she’d been outpaced by a kid though. In fact, it was no hardship at all to grin at her as he slipped a blanket over both woman and child, seeing the sleepy blue eyes peering at him in confusion where she was being used as a pillow. When she closed her eyes again, it was with the kind of huff that told him she’d do her best to remember what that look meant for later, but didn’t care enough to really wake up and do anything about it now.
Yeah, that day six years ago had changed a lot, but he wouldn’t say he regretted any of it. His family was awesome.
