Iron Man: It's A Wonderful Life

Chapter Eighteen

December 24 - the following year

Both agreed it could be nothing other than a Christmas wedding.

The significant turns in their relationship over the last few years had all occurred on Christmas, so it only seemed right that they continue that tradition, and if they had a few extra guests drop in from the other side, at least they wouldn't have to worry about an extra place setting.

Though Pepper would have liked to have handle all the details herself, it would have been impossible while also preparing for the baby. Fittings for the dress needed to be put off until last, but it was all worth it when, one night in late July, an almost casual call to Happy resulted in an utterly frantic drive to the hospital, and a call to Tony via J.A.R.V.I.S., letting him know that his daughter was about to make her debut.

Battling a terrorist cell alongside the Avengers, Tony's only warning that he was leaving was the unintelligibly bleated, "Deal me out!" This was punctuated by the thump of a sonic boom that had their opponents ducking for cover, and as only one thing could provoked this reaction in their friend, by the time Victoria Howard Stark entered the world, after hours of yelling, crying, agitation, and love, all five of them had joined the group in the waiting room, ready to receive her.

When Tony came out to announce her safe arrival, they found him still wearing the distinctive red and gold armor - he'd never taken it off.

At seven pounds, six ounces, she had been the smallest human being Tony had ever seen and, he confessed to Pepper the moment he saw her, the most incredible thing he'd ever had a part in creating. Having laid hands on countless women, he'd been terrified to hold his daughter; now, Tori was practically a permanent fixture in his arms.

On the day of the wedding, Tony's arrival had been cut precariously close by a battle somewhere in the Middle East that had been raging for nearly a week. The press had milked the story of whether or not Tony would make it to the altar on time, but Pepper had never worried. Tony had promised he would be there - taped to his dressing room mirror, she'd left the note 'see you soon'.

The deafening fanfare outside her window, and the familiar sound of the repulsors, announced his arrival. From her swing suspended from Dummy's arm, Tori looked up and laughed. Pepper just smiled, and sent someone to take her to her father.

Pepper's wedding gown was sleeveless, disdaining the frigid New York winter, the golden color of champagne, and beaded with iridescent spheres and rods that threw rainbows in the light.

Tori wore a tiny gold dress that mirrored her mother's, along with a simple ruby necklace. Regally, she surveyed the proceedings from her father's hip, looking at five months old, as though she were the host.

Much to the disappointment of the media, Tony did not wear the armor, but almost as sensational, he wore red to his wedding. The jewel tones inspired by the bride, groom, and daughter, were echoed throughout Gotham Hall in an explosion of riches, like a Sultan's palace.

The ceremony - illuminated by the glow of more than two thousand candles, held by guests, participants, and strategically stationed around the altar - was heavily attended, even for Christmas day. Pepper would have been satisfied with a small service, but Tony wouldn't hear of it. Besides their friends, employees, business associates and other acquaintances, the press came in droves. Although assigned seating only in the rear of the mammoth hall, they were as thrilled as any child allowed to stay up late enough to see Santa Claus.

Two receptions followed, not one. At Gotham Hall, guests of the Stark-Potts wedding ate, drank, and danced, long into the night.

Back at Stark Manor - newly opened for the first time in twenty-three years - the Starks welcomed a much smaller number of guests home for Christmas dinner. These were only friends, family really: Rhodey; the Avengers; Happy; some old school friends of Tony's from M.I.T., with whom he'd re-cultivated intimacies over the past three years; people Pepper had met and found mutual support in during the months of her pregnancy.

In a day full of unparallelled moments, in years to come, it would be the memory of sitting at a table in his parents home beside his wife and daughter, looking at everyone who mattered to him most, that helped him get through the difficult nights when oppressive dreams of sand and heat came crawling from his past to find him, dark fingers clutching at his throat.

This was his community, Pepper thought, the word filling her with inspiration and hope, coming from somewhere deep within her. By now, the story of three Christmas' past was as familiar to her as if she had experienced it herself. His community. Tony's community; his mother would be proud. She watched her new husband, as from as distance, as he entertained Steve Rogers and his date - a lovely blonde woman named Sharon - with tales of their daughter's achievements, such as how she had began to roll onto her stomach two months earlier than other infants.

Pepper could see on their faces, and on the faces of others he spoke to, that they were amused by his enthusiasm for child-rearing. Tony had finished reading all of the baby books weeks before she had. Then again, he took to nothing without devotion, and Tori was more than a project, she was a piece of himself.

It was Pepper who first excused herself from the party, announcing a certain young lady's dinner and bedtime. Tony was urged to remain with their guests, as unnecessary to the immediate endeavor, and although he opened his mouth to argue all the ways in which he might be of service, Pepper's uplifted eyebrow made him think better of voicing them in mixed company.

It was a poorly kept secret that bets had been taken on which of her parents Tori would most take after as she aged. Between themselves, Tony and Pepper teased over details. Physically, she was all Pepper, excepting Tony's chocolate brown eyes, and the impish laugh that transformed her utterly into her father in miniature.

They had to agree that Tori's stubbornness came from both mother and father. As for her intelligence, it was obvious to anyone who spent an hour with her that she was her father's daughter. Tori focused much more intently on everything around her than the other babies they interacted with, and Tony proudly had J.A.R.V.I.S. display a chart of all the average learning curves she was breaking day by day. The graph, Pepper noted, extended on through college.

Fortunately for them both, Tori did not yet seem to have inherited her father's rebellious streak. Pepper had no trouble with their nightly ritual, and by the light coming through the window of Tony's old nursery, she rocked her daughter to sleep in his mother's rocking chair. This was the first night they had spent in this house, and they would discuss the possibility of making the arrangements permanent after Tony had the opportunity to judge how he felt about returning to the place again. He had voiced the idea to Pepper that the Manor would be a better place to raise Tori than the Penthouse, and she had left the decision to him.

Deep, breathy snores, signaled the baby's sleep, and Pepper gingerly transferred her to the crib Tony had once occupied himself. Pepper had a stronger appreciation for nostalgia than Tony, however his effort to restore the nursery of his youth instead of bringing their own furniture from home was something Pepper could find nothing but endearing.

She prepared for bed, knowing that it would not be long before her new husband joined her. It was, after all, their wedding night, and Tony had seduced her for weeks with tantalizing words, whispered in her ear while already driving her to exquisite agony, only hinting at what he had in store for her on that night.

Pepper's skin prickled; smiling to herself, she allowed one last peek at their daughter.

At first, she thought the voices must belong to Tony. He often spoke to Tori as though she could answer him back, and Pepper felt a quiver of annoyance that he might have awoken her. Then she realized she was hearing the sounds of two people, and paused defensively, wondering who among their guests would have dared come upstairs and into the baby's room.

"She has your eyes."

"Mm. Ah, look - she looks just like you when she laughs. Isn't that something?"

"A beautiful girl."

"Of course she is, she's a Stark."

A furrow in her brow, Pepper pushed open the door, clutching her robe closed in one hand but freeing the other in case she needed to find a weapon. It was precaution, only. Judging by what she'd heard, she sensed she wouldn't need one.

The four of them stared at one another: Pepper, Tori - and Howard and Maria Stark. Even if the brief words she'd heard hadn't made her suspicious, seeing them could have left her with no doubt as to who was now holding her daughter.

They were here. It was Christmas, after all.

Pepper stepped inside and closed the door. "I'm… pleased to meet you." She was, but what else did you say to the ghosts of your husbands parents? Truthfully, there were hundreds of things she wanted to say to these two people, who had become so very important to her. Who were her family, even though she'd never met them.

She stared at Tony's face on a man older than he; in the twinkling, mischievous eyes of a woman who looked on her with such affection that Pepper wanted to throw her arms around her.

Maria seemed to understand and passed Tori to her husband before coming forward to take Pepper's hands in her own. "It is our pleasure to meet you, figlia dolce. You, who have saved our son countless times. We owe you so much." Maria kissed her cheeks, and Pepper lowered her eyes. The woman was beautiful. Pepper knew from photographs that Howard had been an attractive man, but she could see in Maria the almost feminine, delicate contours in Tony's face that made him so alluring.

Before she could protest the credit for Tony's redemption, Maria pulled her to the window seat, "Tell me about my son. What kind of father is he? He has so troubled himself over that." She looked to Howard for confirmation, and the man had the decency to look abashed for his role in Tony's self-doubt. Pepper couldn't help respecting the spirit for that.

"He's wonderful," she told them. "He's completely dedicated to her. Sometimes I think he's a better parent than I am. He was nervous at first, but as soon as he held her for the first time and she nuzzled her face into his bare skin, he was hers." Pepper smiled softly, remembering the shattered look of wonder on his face.

"Thank you." The words rolled off her tongue from deep within her. "For all you've done for him. And for me. Neither of us understand why, but the best part of my life, our lives, I owe to you." The first time Howard and Maria had appeared, they'd saved Tony and Pepper from a reality in which she'd died, married to someone else, but carrying Tony's child. Shortly thereafter, Tony had fallen to his death while intoxicated. The second time, the alternative, that he had never been born, seemed just as bad.

Howard and Maria exchanged a glance, and Pepper regarded them with apprehension. "What is it?" She began to imagine any number of things that could be wrong, prompting some form of divine intervention. Maybe even their reason for being here tonight.

Tony's father chuckled. "Wrong? Nothing. You said you don't understand why we've been after our son to make the right choices. There is a reason, a very important one." He placed Tori in Pepper's lap.

She smoothed her daughter's fine red hair and leaned into the small hand that reached for her chin, waiting for the explanation, until she realized she'd just been given it. Pepper looked up sharply. "Tori?" Two pair of eyes looked back at her, full of secrets.

A smaller pair of eyes, far more innocent, suddenly held their share of secrets, as well.

"Take care of her, figlia dolce," Maria told her, giving a finger for the child to wrap her fist around. "And him. They are nothing without you."

Pepper nodded, mutely. She pressed her lips to Tori's fiery head and closed her eyes. It was a long moment before she found her voice and was able to tell them, "I will."

But when she looked up, the room was empty, and she had the distinct impression that she'd been kissed again. In her lap, Tori was laughing and holding onto a bag. Pepper pulled the drawstrings from her grasp, before they made their way into a curious mouth, just as Tony stuck his head in. Curiosity brought a frown to his face.

"She giving you trouble?" he joined her, pulling up the rocking chair to the window.

"No…" Pepper didn't know how to explain what had just happened, though if anyone would believe her, it would be him.

Tony's frown deepened to worry, but Tori's fussing drew his attention to the bag Pepper had just relieved her of. "What's that?"

In answer, Pepper spread the mouth and withdrew a black velvet jewelry box and a folded card. She knew who had left what she held in her hand. No one should open it but their son, so she passed him the card and held onto the box until he was ready for it.

"Pepper?" Eyes full of questions, even concern, Tony took the card and turned over the multiple folds, glancing at the cover of what appeared to be an ordinary, congratulatory card. They'd received thousands of them prior to the wedding. Tony opened it, read it, seemed to read it again... and then all the color drained from his face.

When he looked up and saw Pepper watching him silently, knowingly, Tony immediately guessed at what had happened. "They were here?" he rasped, and she heard the longing there.

Pepper nodded. "Both of them. What does it say?"

Trading the card for the box, Pepper looked at the two different sets of handwriting she recognized from Tony's documents. The first, Maria's hand, said:

'We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.' ~ Luciano De Crescenzo

-M

The second, in Howard's broader, more distracted script, read:

'You save the world one man at a time; anything else is grandiose romanticism or politics.' ~ Charles Bukowski

-H

At the bottom, in tight, unknown, handwriting, were the words:

'There's a ripple effect in all that we do; what you do touches me, what I do touches you.' ~ Unknown

~Y

A sharp intake of breath drew her attention and Pepper looked to the open box, seeing there a trio of rings. A wedding set, including a bride and groom's gold wedding bands, and a woman's engagement ring, set with a single pear-shaped diamond, surrounded by a circle of smaller diamonds. It was simple and lovely.

"Your parents'?" she asked.

Tony nodded. "What did they say?"

Pepper looked at Tori, now fast asleep, her face curled into the soft folds of Pepper's robe. Standing, she returned their daughter to the crib and turned to face her husband. Arms sliding around his neck, she kissed him. "Let's go to bed," she whispered. "I'll tell you everything."

His hand found the natural curve of her hip and cupped it, wondering, needing to understand why, time and again, his parents had given him extraordinary gifts such as the two women in this room. Pressing his mouth to hers, Tony lingered there, enjoying the feel of her against him, the taste of her mouth, the scent of her.

"Okay." He took her hand.

They were in the hallway when it dawned. "You met my parents."

Pepper laughed softly. "I did."

It was like finding a Christmas gift under the tree two days late. Laughter bubbled up inside Tony, warm and happy. He had lost something twenty-three years ago, but somehow, tonight, for a few brief minutes, it had come full circle. A family, where he'd had none for so long.

With a whoop, Tony swept Pepper into his arms and carried her into their room. She squeaked a protestation, then grabbed for his shoulders, attempting to look disapproving, but settling into something nearer to giddy.

"Tell me everything," he grinned. "But first, I believe I have plans for you."

Pepper flushed. Tony liked that.

"You're sure you don't want to hear about it now?" she teased, scooting away from him after being unceremoniously tossed onto the bed.

"Pep," Tony put one knee onto the bed, stalking her in her retreat. "This is our honeymoon. We have the rest of our lives to talk about it."

And what a wonderful life it would be.