Shine Again (An Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame Story)

Chapter 43: Strange Times

The cool spring breeze coming off the water was refreshing as Tony walked with Pepper, Bruce, and Spencer through the park. They had only been back in New York for about twelve hours now, and Tony was doing his best to enjoy every moment he had with Pepper before it inevitably came to an end. He had spent most of the morning explaining what had happened on their space misadventure and once they had returned to Earth, and, of course, all of the changes in their friends' personal lives as well. Needless to say, Pepper was less than enthused by most of the developments, but she was much more understanding than what Tony thought she'd be, given the circumstances. She knew before long, he was going to have to hunt down Stephen Strange, and that was if Thanos' forces didn't descend on them first.

So there he was, getting some light exercise with Pepper by his side, while Bruce and Spencer walked several paces behind them, talking quietly to each other. It was a good day for a brisk walk, and it was proving to be a good distraction from the looming threat. Even if Pepper wasn't listening to him.

"Slow down, slow down," he called after her. "I'm totally not kidding."

His fiancée laughed and talked over him. "You're totally rambling."

Tony spoke over her in return. "No, I'm not."
   
Pepper laughed again. "Lost me."
  
Tony sighed, deciding to try a different approach. "Look, you know how you're having a dream, and in the dream you gotta pee?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, and then you're like, 'Oh, my God, there's no bathroom, what am I gonna do? Oh! Someone's watching, I'm gonna go in my pants,'" he went on.

"Right, and then you wake up, and in real life you actually have to pee," Pepper replied. Tony could tell by the tone in her voice she didn't know where he was going with this ramble. He was getting to the point.

"Yes."

Pepper huffed. "Yeah. Everybody has that."

"Right! That's the point I'm trying to make," Tony replied as he stopped walking and stepped in front of her to continue his explanation. "Apropos of that, last night, I dreamt we had a kid. So real. We named him after your eccentric uncle. Uh, what was his name?"

Pepper nodded, seemingly understanding now what he was getting at. "Right."
   
Tony snapped a couple times as he thought about what her uncle's name was. And then it hit him. "Morgan!" he shouted, gesturing with his hand at the realization. "Morgan."
   
Pepper raised an eyebrow at him. "So you woke up, and thought we were-"
   
"-expecting," Tony finished her sentence.

"Yeah," Pepper muttered.

Really? He didn't believe it. "Yes?" Tony asked excitedly.

Pepper shook her head and replied quietly, "No."

Tony frowned, disappointed to say the least. "I had a dream about it; it was so real."
   
"Maybe it is real, but for someone else," Pepper countered before sighing. "You've been gone for months; if we were expecting, it would be pretty obvious. Plus, if you wanted to have a kid, you wouldn't have done that." She untied the sleeves of the jacket he had draped around his shoulders, revealing his chest piece before tapping it gently. "And you wouldn't have gotten involved in this... this Thanos thing."
   
Tony was still caught up on her first comment for a moment before he snapped out of it. "I'm glad you brought that up, because it's nothing. It's just a housing unit for nano particles," he explained. "And after we finish this ordeal with Thanos, there will be no more surprises. Ever. I promise you."
   
Pepper nodded, a little solemnly, but Tony hoped she understood what he was saying. "Yes."
   
"I will," Tony promised. After a beat, he leaned forward to kiss her in reassurance.
   
As Pepper kissed him back, Tony heard what he swore were sparks flying behind him. His fiancée gasped and pulled away from him abruptly, causing him to turn to look at whatever had startled her. Whatever it was had caught Bruce and Spencer off guard as well, as they were staring with wide-eyes past him and Pepper. Tony looked in the same direction as the rest of them, just in time to see a tall, slender man wearing a fancy cloak stepping out of an orange, sparking portal.
   
"Tony Stark. Bruce Banner. Spencer Grey. I'm Doctor Stephen Strange. I need you to come with me," the man introduced. There was an awkward pause as everyone continued staring at him. He turned to Tony and Pepper. "Oh, and congratulations on the wedding, by the way."
   
Tony sighed. Looks like he didn't need to hunt down the man after all. He knew why he had been sought out, but he couldn't resist making a snarky comment anyway. "I'm sorry; you giving out tickets or something?"
   
"We need your help. Look, it's not overselling to say the fate of the universe is at stake," Strange continued.
   
"And who's we?" Tony asked, playing dumb.
   
Spencer cleared her throat. "I called him earlier. You know why our help is needed, Tony."
   
"You know we came back here to get in touch with him," Bruce added. "It wasn't hard to look his number up."
   
Tony bit his tongue and nodded. Of course. Back to business as usual. He glanced at Pepper, unable to hide a frown. He was hoping he would've had more time with her before things went sideways, but of course that wasn't going to happen. He'd be sure to make it up to her later.