Aight guys, this thing has a sprinkle of everything in it~

Tony, Pepper, Pepperony, Morgan (kind of), Black Widow cameo, Rhodey/friendship stoof, fluff, some angst . . . yeah, it's a lot. But, i hope you enjoy this and that you think i was able to capture the characters and their personalities well enough. 

Enjoy.

~~~~~

"You have to tell him," the blonde was whispering to her husband as they lay curled up near the fireplace in their new, cozy, lakeside cabin. Tony was tracing lazy circles on Pepper's shoulder as she nuzzled against his frame, her own arms wrapped around his midsection in an affectionate manner. Her voice buzzed through Tony's chest, causing him to tense unwittingly and sigh in exasperation.

"I don't have to tell him shit," he responded lowly, allowing his tense muscles to relax as he drew in a sharp breath.

"It's not worth your friendship, Tony. This whole charade between the two of you has gotten way out of hand. Both you and I know you two care for each other, too much so to argue at the expanse of your friendship," she responded, her voice remaining soft and tender, knowing full well that the situation was more delicate than it appeared; certain things had been triggering Tony as of late, and mentioning his tensions with Rhodey was definitely one of them.

Tony, on the one hand, knew that fighting with Rhodey over matters he wasn't even involved in wasn't worth his time; on the other, though, Stark couldn't help but hold somewhat of a grudge after what the colonel had said to him a few months back. Maybe he was being selfish; and stubborn, or possibly even arrogant....and maybe Natasha had been right – he really couldn't let go of his ego for too long.

After all, Rhodey was full aware of the line he'd crossed the second he'd brought Barnes into the conversation, as the subject was still like a freshly opened wound to Tony, and by blatantly talking about it Rhodes was only adding the salt.

Yet, Tony didn't hate his friend for sticking up for Barnes and defending Rogers' actions - frankly, he couldn't care less what 'side' Rhodey was on. What hurt him the most, was the fact that he had stooped so low to the point of hitting Tony where he knew it hurt the most, and that was what really stung.

A surprise to no one, sentiment didn't sit well with Tony Stark, and he sure as hell never openly admitted everything that was on his mind to anyone except for Pepper. Perhaps Stark had really thought Rhodey would recognize the sensitivity of the matter, and steer clear of anything even remotely related to the twisted truth of his parents' demise. Clearly, he had been wrong.

Ever since then, Rhodes offered no sign of redemption, and Tony wasn't about to kiss up to his old pal and forgive him for what he had said (again, part of this was due to his stubborn refusal to be the bigger person and apologize). Presently, they weren't on good speaking terms.

They didn't hate each other, of course – their friendship was simply in a difficult place right now, and both were much too headstrong to own up to their mistakes. That stubbornness in itself was enough to shun him into keeping Pepper's pregnancy a secret.

With a controlled sigh, Tony pecked his lover on her hair, before pulling her closer to his suddenly chilled frame; she hummed in response. "Pep, you being pregnant has nothing to do with Rhodey and I. Besides, he'll find out eventually. It's bound to be all over the media the second you and little Morgan turn up in public."

"That's not the point, Tony," she was quick to answer, fidgeting from her current position so she could lock eyes with her husband. His gaze quickly diverted from hers, brain in total disarray - as much as he wanted to remain mad at Rhodey, he knew deep down that he wouldn't be able to block out his old friend forever, especially after Morgan came into the world. Still, though, an overdose of emotion clouded his current judgement and thus kept his lips sealed, whether he agreed with it or not. If he were honest, Stark was already stressed plenty with the sole idea of becoming a dad; most of his time right now was spent helping Pepper a whole lot more around the house (since she was already four months in). On top of that, the pair had spoken of announcing the pregnancy to the public very soon, seeing as Pepper couldn't stay cooped up in the house until the due date, and they'd much rather explain the pregnancy themselves than have to worry about rumors and paparazzi gossip. Which of course, brought on a whole new level of anxiety and stress, over something that Stark was still questioning whether or not to even announce to the world.

To sum it up, he didn't feel like he was in good enough of a mental state to break the news to Rhodes. And he knew for a fact, that once word reached one of them, it would reach all of them. Basically, telling even one person meant the entire damn team would hear about it. For some reason, Pepper's pregnancy felt like a deeply personal thing to Tony - it was something he couldn't explain, something so special to his heart that he wasn't sure he would be okay with the Avengers (and the entire world, for that matter) knowing about it. Maybe that in itself was selfish. He couldn't be certain.

Stark had wanted to start a family with Pepper much earlier than she probably realized, dating all the way back to before he had the Arc reactor surgery. Of course, he knew it wouldn't have been the right time, and thus kept quiet about it until they were engaged.

Now that it was finally happening, though, the personal attachment was on an entire new level. Which, again, was why he didn't want to tell anyone else (outside of Happy Hogan, naturally, who'd been sworn to secrecy).

"Tony," Pepper was speaking again, lifting his chin so he was forced to meet her eyes. "Please tell him. You'll only make it worse if he has to find out through the public. Don't you think he'll be even more upset if he found out that his best friend was expecting a baby, and didn't think to tell him?"

Tony remained silent, glancing briefly down at the moderately-sized bump that swelled from underneath Pep's baby-blue sweater, before his brown eyes were back on hers. He knew she was right; she absolutely was – and yet, there was still great hesitance in his voice. "I dunno, Pep . . ."

"Please?" she whispered, her entire physique sparkling in the fire light. Perhaps it was true that pregnant women glowed. "If you can't do it for yourself, then do it for me."

How was he expected to say no to that? He managed a small smile, before he placed a chaste kiss on her lips, feeling her exhale into the kiss, wrapping her arms sweetly around his neck. When they pulled away, Tony gently pushed Pepper against the couch, causing her to giggle at his actions. Hovering over her, he lightly kissed his way down to her semi-swollen belly, lifting her blouse over her stomach before placing a loving kiss right on her navel, her hands combing through his brown hair as he did so.

When he lifted his head and caught her gaze once again, he was genuinely smiling. He was sure he would regret this, but if it made Pepper happy, that was what mattered. "Okay," he spoke, just above a whisper. "I'll talk to him tomorrow."

~~~~~

When it came time for Tony to roll out of bed, shrug on a loose sweater over a t-shirt, and amble down to breakfast the next morning, he was all but excited for the day that lie ahead of him. Anxiety swelled within his chest, his heart beating ten times faster than it should be. Without a doubt, today was going to be an emotionally exhausting; but it was a feeling he was long used to, so what was there to fear?  

Pepper had attempted to deaden the situation by offering to accompany Tony on his trip to the facility, to which Stark had instantly declined. Despite the heaping mess that inevitably lie ahead of him, the billionaire was stubborn and determined; if he was going to tell Rhodey, he was going to man up and do it on his own.

Even though he knew having Pepper there would most likely decrease the chance of Tony spontaneously combusting in front of his friend, he didn't particularly favor the idea of Pepper being present while the two exchanged venomous glances and some nasty words. Not that Tony would encourage further conflict, of course; but at this point in time, he wasn't really sure what to expect.

Currently, the frantic father-to-be was devouring his egg and ham omelette that Pepper had prepared for him this morning. Pepper strolled into the kitchen, fiddling with her hair as she yawned. Tony forced himself to relax, hiding his apprehension behind what Pepper called his shit-eating grin as she looped her arms loosely around his neck from behind, nuzzling sweetly into the crook of his neck.

Tony shoveled the last bite of his omelette into his mouth before he placed his fork down, his now free hand running the length of Pepper's back. No words were exchanged as the two cuddled together for a moment, Tony taking the time to slow his reeling brain. "Might I say, it's a rare occasion that I'm up before you," he mumbled, his eyes still lightly closed as Pepper chuckled lowly against his neck.

It was true, though - in all the time Tony had known Pepper, he could count on one hand the amount of times that Tony had actually woken up before the work-obsessed CEO . . . and of those few times, most of them had been because Stark had convinced his lover to drink the night before, and things usually winded up getting a little out of hand. Because of Pep's significantly lower tolerance, her head-splitting hangover would have her bedridden for the time being. Other than that, though, she was up and about at the crack of dawn almost every day of the year, and Tony never understood how she did it. Even on her days off, she was still wide awake the second the sun peaked over the horizon. Rain or shine, she was always up at sunrise.

That was, of course, until the pregnancy.

"Don't hold your breath," she responded, pecking her husband up and down his neck. He hummed happily. Well, it was certainly no myth that pregnancy triggered a....hormonal imbalance, if you will....in women. Not that Tony was complaining, obviously. "In my defense," she continued. "I wasn't up that much later than you. I still rolled out of bed to make you breakfast, partially because the idea of you using a stove petrifies me. Besides, I'd like to see you carry a kicking, moving, energetic baby around for nine months and still try to wake up at six in the morning."

"It hasn't been nine months yet, dear," Tony replied, smirking as Pepper pulled away from his neck and cast him a playful glare.

"Right. And it won't be nine months if I'm not getting my beauty sleep."

"I would hardly count last night as getting beauty sleep, Pepper," he spoke with a smirk, earning a light smack on the shoulder. Despite the annoyance in her eyes, the blonde placed a teasing kiss on Tony's lips, emitting a frustrated groan from him as she pulled away and walked around the other side of the kitchen table, grabbing Tony's plate and placing it in the sink.

They fell into a comfortable silence after FRIDAY switched on the morning news, the background noise temporarily allowing Tony to escape his worrisome thoughts. He pulled his attention from the TV as Pepper started speaking again, her voice quieter and more reserved. "So, when are you heading out?"

Tony turned his head to face her, sighing with a frown as his shoulders rose in a shrug. He knew what she was on about, and having the thought suddenly thrown back into his head caused him to tense. "Not sure. I'm not even certain that any of them will be there, let alone Rhodey. Last I heard, they were off with Danvers at Titan for some recon mission or something."

Pep's brows knitted together as she leaned over the table, a quizzical expression stretched across her features. "You didn't call them ahead of time?"

Another sigh. "No, didn't feel the need to."

Pepper tilted her head at Stark. It was evident that the lack of communication had dimmed her faith in the friends' promised interaction. "So . . . you're going to show up unannounced?"

Growing a little agitated, Tony toyed with his wedding band, twisting it back and forth around his finger. "I guess. Then again, that is the point of a 'surprise.'"

The blonde frowned in doubt as she stood up straight again, crossing her arms over her chest. "I guess so," she eventually replied, before coming around the table and placing a quick kiss to Tony's cheek. She rubbed slow circles on his back with her hand, glancing down at his tensed frame. "Just make sure that you tell him, preferably before I go into labor, alright?"

Tony managed a weak smile, silently hoping that the facility would be completely vacant today so he could put off telling Rhodey. "Yeah, I know."

Her response was a mirroring grin as she padded back down the hallway, telling Stark that she'd jump in the shower before heading back to bed for a bit. She explained that she had been feeling a bit nauseous lately, and was hoping some more rest would ease the disgusting feeling.

So, Tony was left to his own thoughts as he readied to go, snatching his glasses from the counter and sorting out a few things with FRIDAY before he swept through the door, clambered into one of his cars, and set course for the facility. His heart was in his throat the entire way there, and he gripped the steering wheel so tight that he feared it would leave a bruise. He was going to regret this.

~~~~~

The first steps Tony took in the facility were shaky ones – he was unsure, and nervous, dare it be said. Although he would never admit it out loud, losing Peter (along with half the universe) had taken more of a toll on the genius than even he had anticipated. Of course, Tony knew going in that their odds of victory were slim to none, but some secret part of him had hoped that they'd somehow pull through without having anyone kick the bucket. After all, they were the Avengers, right? Surely, they would win again, wouldn't they?

Well, as it turned out, Stark's imagination had gotten the better of him, as it usually did; the 'mighty' Avengers had lost their touch, and in turn lost half of known life because of it. Not to mention that the team was less than half of what it used to be, especially after their fallout a few years back, which certainly didn't help their cause.

Having been said, standing here, right now, in this exact moment . . . Tony was a tad bit apprehensive. He remembered the last time he was here – it was just after he'd been rescued by Danvers from the Benatar, that had been drifting in space for nearly a month. It was nostalgia, but the worst kind.

While he was more than glad that she'd saved his sorry ass, part of him couldn't help but wonder what he really would've lost, had he died right then and there. No. Don't think like that. You had way too much to lose.

A shiver danced across his spine as he recalled his argument with Cap; that too, had happened here just a few months back. God, I hope he's not here. I'm honestly not sure how I'd face the man.

He cleared his head (or at least tried to) as he swiped his identification card and swept through the main entrance. Tony sighed at the silence that surrounded him, rubbing his hands across his face before he stuffed his hands in his sweater's pockets. If felt weird being back here – even though it technically hadn't even been a year, things were a lot different than he remembered. It was a lot quieter than before; it seemed unpleasantly and eerily . . . awkward.

Tony was surprised to find that no one had greeted him yet, not even any sort of agent or security guard, which was what he had been expecting. Perhaps things really had changed in the several months Tony was gone. Not surprising, they're probably clueless without me.

What Tony wasn't expecting, however, was to hear a suddenly familiar voice ring out from his left, where one of the main lounges was positioned. "Well, well, well, look who it is."

Tony grinned as he pivoted on his feet, tossing his glance over to a set of sparkling green eyes that were accompanied with a soft, pale complexion and shoulder-length blonde hair that was starting to redden at the roots.

Natasha walked herself around the sofas and was quick to envelope Tony in a friendly hug, before pulling away and tilting her head curiously at him. Her eyes flashed in confusion, but what caught Tony's attention was the way she was dressed – a loose long-sleeved shirt, some slide-on slippers, and a pair of sweats. "I never pegged you for a sweatpants kind of gal," he quipped with a small smile as Romanoff returned the gesture.

"I could say the same of you," she responded, eyeing his rather disheveled figure – he himself was sporting a pair of sweatpants, only his were even more baggy than hers, and his AC/DC shirt was partially covered with an open gray sweater. It was different than Stark's usual attire, and nothing compared to what Natasha had seen him in previously.

"What can I say, quite a lot has changed," he chuckled, probably sounding sadder than he wanted to.

With a curious smile, she responded. "It has, yeah." There was an unnecessarily awkward pause that followed, as each waited for the other to speak – Stark knew that Romanoff probably wasn't used to Tony's silence; from what he could tell, she understood his unusual quietness as a sign that something was up.

Out of everyone on the team, Natasha currently held Stark's highest trust; In fact, now that he thought about it, he was rather shocked that he hadn't broken the news to her yet – perhaps it was because it involved coming here, of all places in the world he could find her. After all, having a baby wasn't exactly the type of news you should break over the phone.

After the silence carried on for a good thirty seconds, Tony cleared his throat and readied to talk, but the assassin had beaten him to it. "What're you doing here?" she asked. "It's been months, and while I'm not exactly surprised that you'd show up unannounced, it's odd, given the circumstances."

Tony swayed casually on his feet, looking briefly to the ground before meeting her tired looking eyes, that no doubt mirrored his own. "I have news," he stated plainly, no current interest in being witty or snarky, which was unusual for him. He just wanted to get to the point. At least he was more relaxed, though, happy that he wouldn't be faced with Steve or Rhodey just yet. However, given that Natasha was at the compound, it was likely the others were too.

"Right, that," she responded, smiling slightly.

Tony shot her a confused look. What did she mean by "that?" Puzzled, he was about to speak when Romanoff picked up again with a shrug. "Pepper called earlier; told me you'd be here."

Tony's brows lifted in surprise as he let out a breath of air. He wasn't surprised, exactly – part of him knew that Pepper was going to call ahead of time, since he'd told her that he most certainly hadn't. Still, it slightly bothered him that she'd call Natasha on her own. "Of course she did," he mumbled to himself, although he was sure Natasha had heard. "So I take it you already know?" he questioned with a blank expression, unsure of how to go about the situation.

She nodded, looking down to her slippers before her hazel-green eyes locked on his as her face drew up into a smile. "Yeah. I figured I'd wait out here till you arrived. Congratulations, by the way. I'm happy for you, we all are."

Tony's heart skipped a beat. Boy, did he hate being right. "Wait . . . what? What did you just say?"

The assassin bit her lower lip, adding another shrug before her eyes found the ground again. "Pepper knew you'd be skeptical about telling the team yourself, so she asked me to tell everyone except Rhodes. That's a lot more personal to you, so we figured you'd want to tell him yourself."

Stark scoffed loudly, narrowing his eyes. "Not to be an ass, but it's not who you're telling that makes this personal, it's what you're telling." Natasha's brows raised at his abrupt retaliation. He continued, "yeah, I'm stoked that I'm going to be a dad, but I've somehow discovered that I'm not one to shout it from the rooftops; it's more of a private matter after all; and I certainly don't need anyone else doing it for me."

The current blonde stared at him crossly, clearly agitated. "Boy, that's a shocker," she quipped.

He tensed and stood up straight, opening his mouth to speak when she cut him off. "Keep your shirt on Stark, Pepper wanted me to do it, and if anything I agree with her; you should be ecstatic."

"Who are you kidding?" he chuckles sarcastically. "I'm over the moon. But that doesn't mean that the entire team needs to know."

"Tony, we're your family."

Stark swallowed the lump in the back of his throat with an uncomfortable shudder. She wasn't wrong, and he knew she wasn't; still, the obstinate, egotistical part of him refused to make amends with the Avengers. Having this baby was Tony's own way of moving on, from not only Thanos, but from everything; his bad blood with Steve, his pathetic dispute with Rhodes, losing Parker, even coming to peace with the New York invasion years ago – he was finally starting to accept defeat, and he was too proud to admit that to the people who cared about him.

While he knew deep down that the Avengers would keep their secret for as long as the couple needed, he still wasn't sure that this was what he wanted. Was he really ready for them to hear about the pregnancy? Or was it something more than that? Maybe, maybe he wasn't ready for them to know that he was at long last coming to terms with his failure.

"So I take it they're all here, then?" he decided on saying instead, biting back some smart-ass remark that would most definitely worsen the situation.

Natasha sighed, her shoulders falling as she mimicked Stark's body language and shoved her hands into her sweatpants pockets. "Not all of them, no. Nebula and Rocket are off planet, and Carol took a trip back to Titan. The rest of them are here, though."

"What's the latest with Barton?"

Natasha visibly tensed, before she took a step back and paced over to an elevator, Tony in pursuit. "We're not sure, exactly."

"Right," he responded lowly, smart enough to know not to persist. He changed the subject, watching as Natasha paused just by the elevator's doors. "Mind directing me to Rhodes? Might as well tell em' before someone else does it for me."

"Here's your chance," she exhaled. As if on cue, the elevator doors slid open, revealing a very tired-looking Rhodey, his shoulders slumped and his dark eyes were heavy and almost all the way closed. He had on an Air Force t-shirt, despite the frigid weather, and his entire face appeared to be as drooping. He looked as if he were on the verge of collapse, which took Stark by sudden surprise. He was concerned for his pal.

When his darkened eyes caught sight of Tony, his posture was quick to change. "Tony, what the hell are you doing here?"

"I have an announcement," he replied quickly, nodding slightly in the most monotone voice he could muster.

Rhodey scoffed. "Really? What kind of 'special announcement' would drag you all the way out here? I mean, let's be real, you'd rather kiss Cap's ass than come back to base, as you've put it previously," he mockingly tossed back.

"Happy to see you too," Tony retorted in slight amusement.

"Well forgive me if I'm wrong, but the last time you spoke to me, you told myself, along with the entire team, to go to hell. That sure says a lot about how overjoyed I am to be seeing you right now," Rhodes fired. His tone was angry, that was for sure, but Stark could easily tell that the colonel was purely exhausted.

A slight tremor of guilt shook through him. Perhaps Pepper was right, again. He'd been way too harsh on Rhodey, for reasons he wasn't sure even he understood, other than for sparing himself his ego.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch," he quipped back nonetheless, watching as Natasha silently excused herself from the pair, pacing away and out of view. "I'm not here for anything Avengers related. In fact, if it were up to me, I wouldn't be here at all," he insisted. He was telling the truth, after all. He folded his arms over his chest before he continued. "But Pepper convinced me to tell you, so here I am."

"Tell us what?"

With a deep breath in, Tony allowed the words to spill from his lips, closing his eyes as he did so, hoping he didn't sound half as irritated – or nervous – as he felt. Here goes nothing. "We're expecting."

When he opened his eyes, Rhodey was staring on at him in confusion, his mouth slightly hung open. "You're what?" Rhodey repeated, his brows lifted in evident confusion.

Tony let his irritation shine through just a little bit as he made a face at the War Machine, exhaling deeply. "As in, we've got a bun in the oven . . . there's a bat in the cave . . . you know, the rabbit died . . ."

Confusion was instantly replaced with absolute shock as Rhodey's jaw hit the floor at the revelation. For a moment, Tony could've sworn he saw a look of complete joy cross his face, before he began to stutter over his words, laughing in between incoherent jumbles. Stark was startled (in a good way) when he recognized the sound of joy in Rhodey's voice, which momentarily made him forget every time they'd argued in the past few months. Sure, it was mostly hidden with shock, but it was still there. "Y- you're . . . Pep is . . . you mean . . ."

Rhodey tossed a glance over to Natasha, who had her arms crossed over her chest as she quietly observed the situation. "Did you know about this?" he asked urgently, clearly elated.

"I did. The entire team, actually." With a faint smile, she nodded at the War Machine.

"Well nice of you to think of me!" Rhodes exclaimed, in a joking manner though, as he suddenly took his friend by the shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. "Dude, that's f*cking amazing! Like damn, Tony, you're going to be a dad. Damn, never thought I'd ever say that," he spoke over his friend's shoulder. For the time being, Tony enjoyed his buddy's over-the-top enthusiasm at the discovery, and couldn't help the feeling of relief that washed over him.

Tony spoke as they pulled away from one another. "Speak for yourself. It's been four months and I'm already prepared to throw the towel in. I can't count the number of times I've been jolted awake to the request of a pint of peanut butter ice cream at two in the morning."

Rhodey's hands went to the back of his neck, a huge smile plastered across his face. He looked on at Stark in total disbelief, mumbling things like, "no way" and "wow" to himself. "Tony . . . wow, that's just . . . that's amazing. She's already four months along?"

Stark (who was more than a little surprised at how chill Rhodey was being with the fact that his best friend had ignored him for the past three months and was just coming to him now with huge news) couldn't help but crack a smile at his ecstatic friend. It had seemed that the colonel had momentarily forgotten their previous disputes and relished in the apparently exciting announcement. "Yeah."

"Wow," Rhodey spoke after a pause, finally calming enough to actually stand still and speak clearly. "Boy or girl?"

"We don't know. Want it to be a surprise and all."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm so happy for you guys," he repeats. A pause ensues, and Tony takes in a breath. He normally isn't one for apologies, especially when he's the one to initiate one, but he knows it's the right thing to do. It wasn't right to hold Rhodes accountable for a lot of the things he said purely out of frustration and anger, mainly towards the entire conflict in the aftermath of Thanos' victory.

"Listen, Rhodey, about everything that's been going on, ya know, with....everything-"

"Don't worry about it, Tony," Rhodey interjected almost instantly, sighing before he continued. "It's water under the bridge, man. I'm sorry for a lot of the things you said, I imagine you are too, I'm hoping-"

"Yeah," Stark agrees hurriedly. Of course, he's sorry; it's actually saying it that's the difficult part for Tony. He's not good at admitting things, even when he knows deep down that he positively needs to; he's too selfish for his own good, and he knows it's a nasty habit.

"Besides," Rhodey picks up. "Pepper's pregnant, dude, this is about her – you – guys." Still, though, there's an evident sadness in his voice, and Stark is smart enough to know why.

"Rhodey, I should've told you sooner, I just wasn't sure if you'd be willing to listen after everything that happened." It was a lie. He didn't tell Rhodey because he was god awful stubborn, and maybe a wee bit uncertain; of course, though, he would never admit that aloud. Jesus, why was he so self-centered? Tony knew Rhodey would forgive him no matter the circumstance, but he couldn't decide if that's a good or a bad thing. Perhaps if people stopped accepting his pitiful attempts at apologies so easily, his eyes would finally open and he'd realize just how much of an asshole he was.

The exhausted War Machine offered his friend a tired smile, shaking his head back and forth a few times until he spoke, "Tony, it's fine, really. Am I a little upset that Nat knew before me? Mm, maybe." He chuckles. "But I get it, man. You don't have to apologize."

"Good, because I'm not good at that type of thing," Tony's lips lift in a small grin, feeling somewhat better about the situation; although somewhere in his bruised heart he wasn't completely at ease...with anything, really. "I was only interested in clearing the air," he says.

Both men chuckle before Rhodey blurts the words that belonged to one conversation Tony never wanted to have again. "You know, you're always welcome back here, Tony. We could really use your help."

Tony can't help the fake smile that forms on his face. After all, they've had this conversation many times before; he isn't at all interested in anything the team has to offer, even if that offer is coming from his best friend. "Right," he scoffs.  

Rhodey quickly starts talking again, probably because he knows that it's a sensitive topic for Tony; still though, he keeps talking, which is what irritates the billionaire. "I know you have a lot to think about now, especially with a baby on the way, but Tony, even if you're just a consultant-"

"A consultant?" he chuckles in disbelief. "Boy, does that sound familiar. I thought this was supposed to be about Pepper and I?"

To his surprise, Rhodes backs down, nodding in agreement. "You know? You're right, I'm sorry. Just consider it? That's all I'll ask." 

Tony mumbles a "sure" in affirmation, when what he really wants to say is "eff off, I'm done being a part of a team that isn't really a team anymore and sucks at their job anyways."

Rhodey smiles broadly, despite his heavy eyes and droopy shoulders. Tony claps his pal on the shoulder and jokes around with him to lighten the mood; talking about the Avengers and Tony's involvement, or lack thereof, is a conversation he'll do anything to continue dancing around. "Alright Pops, let's get you to bed."

"Hilarious," Rhodes deadpans as they turn to walk through the open-concept hallways of the facility. "You do know I'm assuming my role as the "cool," Uncle, right? Just so we're clear?" he jokes as they continue their leisurely stroll. 

"Pft, against who? Happy? Please, the man can barely tolerate grown adults; pretty sure he hates kids."

"Well, in his defense, being around you twenty-four-seven does not equate to interacting with a grown, mature adult, so I can't blame him."

Tony chuckles to himself. He's happy that, for now at least, he's able to forget about his conflict with Rhodey; it's one less thing he has to worry about, one thing he can cross off his endless list of regrets. He's changed that worry, that guilt on his chest into an anticipation of the future; he's interested to see what relationship Rhodey will have with his future son or daughter; he's sure it'll be a unique one, that's for sure. 

He looks forward to the next few months, which is something he never usually does; it's an unfamiliar yet very welcomed feeling; maybe settling and having a baby surrounded by those he loved could finally be Tony's one consistency in a life formerly filled with nothing but inconsistencies. 

Wouldn't that be amazing, he thought.

~~~

tsksksksks i know i got really lazy with the ending but it's like 3 am here so cut me some slack

okay imma sleep now bye