Always Been You | Tony Stark

Captiolo (43) Quarantatre ~ Secretary Ross

"Hey, honey. Hey kids." Tony greeted, walking into the living room where I was working on my laptop and the kids were watching whatever was on the tv.

"Hey, Tones. How did the presentation go?" I asked, taking a moment to look up at him as he walked up behind me.

"It was fine. Pepper was a no-show, though I'm sure she has lots to do now that she doesn't have to worry about taking care of Morgan."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. How did the memory thing go?"

"It went well." He nodded, starting to rub my shoulders. "Yeah, all was good."

"Tony." I placed my hand on his and getting him to look down at me.

"I won't lie to you, it was kinda hard." He quietly admitted, making sure the kids weren't listening.

"I'm sorry, hun. I told you to pick something else, especially being in front of all those kids." I slowly rubbed his arm.

"I know, I know. But it was either that or when I saw you before that mission or when I saw Morgan before leaving for Afghanistan to get the point across. Not a lot of great options to choose from."

"Yeah, I know. I still dislike it, though." I sighed, looking back down at my laptop.

"Um, Avery. Tony?"

"Yeah, Harley?" I asked.

"Is that the Avengers on tv?"

I looked up to the large screen on the wall, seeing a new station playing live footage of the wreckage in Lagos, where the Avengers were supposed to be working on a mission to recover some vial.

"-we do not know the extent of the damage quite yet, but we will know as soon as we have more information. The Avengers, who are the cause of the explosion of a building, are helping fire and rescue get any civilians out to safety.

"Witness reports say that Wanda Maximoff, one of the newest recruits of the Avengers, used her powers to confine a bomb thrown by a member of a mercenary group, but ended up losing control, throwing said bomb into the building beside her."

We all watched the clips of the building on fire, scared, injured, or dead civilians being carefully led out by an officer or an Avenger.

"Tony..."

"Mr. Stark, Secretary Thadious Ross is on the line asking for you."

"Yeah, send it to my office line. I'll be there in a minute."

"You need anything? Help, support?" I quietly asked.

"No, no I can handle Ross." He shook his head, leaning down to kiss my head before walking away.

"Are the Avengers in trouble?" Morgan asked, looking up from her spot beside me.

"I don't know, honey. I don't know."

~~

It's been about a month since Wanda's incident. Tony and I have been putting out as many fires as we could publicity and news-wise, Tony pushing away Steve whenever he tried to help. I've been trying my best to balance my time between work and the kids, Friday helping me out more often than not when one would need something when I was busy.

I honestly could not be more grateful for an A.I.

"Hey, you two." I smiled, walking into the living room to see Harley and Morgan squished together on one of the couches, the two of them staring at the iPad in Harley's hand.