Chapter Text
"Last night's Met Gala was sponsored and hosted by Stark Industries and The Stark family. The theme this year is American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity, currently running at the Metropolitan Art Museum here in New York City starting today till August 15! The outfits, as always, were beautiful and creative, but no more so than the Starks and Pepper Potts! Tony Stark wore a custom Tom Ford suit in navy with gold pinstripes that matched Pepper Potts' gold satin Zac Posen gown and Margaret Stark's midnight blue, gold-embroidered Guo Pei gown. I must say the crowning jewel of the night was Ms. Stark's dress! "
"Oh, wow!" The other female host exclaimed as a picture came on the screen.
"I agree Sarah! They said that it two weeks to embroider the dress to match the antique bracelet Ms. Stark is wearing and that the design was based on the Travis Banton evening dress in the exhibit."
"It's gorgeous Sandra! I see gold flowers and are those snakes...?"
"It's like all three of them are out of the Al Capone era-!"
The channel flipped.
A well-dressed, female newscaster behind a glossy black desk glanced up at the camera and a string of short video clips appeared on the split-screen. Several short videos of a blurry, man-shaped flying object, followed by massive explosions were shone in rapid succession.
"In other news, there’s been several enemy insurgent camps destroyed by a single unidentifiable flying object in Afghanistan yesterday. When asked, representatives from the United States Airforce and the Pentagon stated that it was a joint venture between the armed forces and a private organization and refused to comment further.”
She turned to the camera to her right and genuine excitement lit up her face.
“The Stark Technology and Green Energy Expo in Queens is due to start this month after their opening ceremony featuring Tony Stark and his son Peter! Let’s go to Laura in Queens for the latest updates….. Laura? How’s it going?”
“It’s amazing! The expo isn’t at full set up and I’ve already seen so many new and innovative inventions!”
“That’s great! What are you most excited to get a closer look at?”
“Well, Candice, I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to see Peter Stark! But if I had to choose an exhibit, it would be the ‘Flying Cars through the Ages’ that Peter and Tony Stark collaborated on. Rumor has it, that there are three functioning flying cars created by the last three generations of Starks!”
“That does sound pretty amazing, Laura! Thanks for your update!” The camera went back to the studio and Candice shuffled her papers. “In other news, Stark Industries held a press conference yesterday interviewing Margaret Stark. She announced that she would start taking control of several of the Stark Industries funded charities along with The Maria Stark Foundation that Tony Stark started in the memory of their mother. She stated that she was looking forward to all the good that they could do and that she and Tony already had plans for an adult assistance program in New York City and Los Angeles. More information will be released soon..."
Don't trip, don't trip, don't trip, Maggie prayed furiously as the limo pulled up to the drop-off area and a bodyguard in a black suit stepped forward to open the door. Pepper had drilled her for hours to get this right and she refused to shame herself by doing something easily preventable the first time she hosted a major event.
"You'll be fine," Pepper whispered from her left before jabbing Maggie in the side. "Now get out."
With a huff and an eye roll, Maggie swung her towering platform wedges to the pavement, scooted forward, and allowed the guard to help her out of the car. Immediately every person that was lined up behind the barriers started shouting her name as she carefully stepped forward and did a pose for the paparazzi and media. Pepper gave her a minute before she stepped out of the car, enough that Maggie could slowly start forward towards the stairs where they would pause together with Tony and Oprah once they had all arrived. (Anna Wintour could do her own thing). As the hosts of the Met Gala this year, they were the first celebrities to arrive and were obligated to greet everyone as they arrived before opening the banquet and the exhibit. As Maggie lingered at the halfway point up the stairs, she silently thanked Pepper for forcing suggesting that she wear her Met Gala heels around the house to practice walking in them. The dress was probably about twenty pounds with all the fabric, embroidery, and boning structure that supported her ample assets, and being in unfamiliar shoes would have thrown off her whole balance. Looking down at Pepper, Maggie admired the simple lines of the Zac Posen gown that she wore. The antique gold satin dress trailed after Pepper as she expertly made her way up the stairs in her custom Christian Louboutin heels. Maggie was equally jealous of Pepper's heel walking abilities and relieved that she had managed to talk Pepper into allowing her to wear wedges instead of the ice picks that Pepper preferred.
As the noise level increased, Maggie smiled gently towards the screaming paparazzi (because it amused her to rile them up without talking to them) before looking past Pepper and waving at Tony in his 1930's inspired suit that matched both her and Pepper's dresses. The dark blue and gold pinstripes complemented his olive skin, the gold of his watch and vintage sunglasses pulling the whole outfit together into a very Tonyesqe outfit with a hint of 1930's Italian mobster. If he hadn't been so worried about his hair, the fedora that had appeared as an early birthday gift from Rhodey would have been the ultimate piece de resistance. Seeing her wave, he waved back at her with a genuine grin on his face and started to slowly make his way up the stairs towards her.
"Ms. Stark! Ms. Stark! Everyone wants to know if you're dating anyone!" Of course, they want to know that, Maggie thought grumpily as she forced herself to keep smiling, it's not like they could imagine that I have yet to find any person attractive in memory. Maggie gritted her teeth and forced a smile at that last question since she didn't even want to think about it. Thankfully Tony came up to her where she had stood to pose for the cameras to take pictures of her dress.
"I think she'll have to get over her love affair with coffee before that happens," Tony joked as he hooked his arm through hers.
"Oh, what about Leonardo?" Maggie asked Tony. "He does make the most perfect espresso." Tony laughed at her and pulled her towards the group of reporters.
"Ms. Stark, who is Leonardo?" One of them asked as they all shoved their recorders toward her and Tony's faces.
"Maggie, you know that our espresso machine can't love you back," Tony teased her before turning towards the group. "Leonardo DeEspresso is our espresso machine that I made for my sister a few years ago. She's trying to convince me to mass-produce a smaller, portable version of him but she has yet to convince me it would be profitable."
Maggie rolled her eyes before poking Tony in the chest. "You made him for both of us. How about instead we talk about the charities we're starting up in the next few months," Maggie suggested, making the reporters over-excited again.
After several minutes of answering questions, Tony smoothly pulled the two of them away from the reporters and led her up the rest of the stairs to wait for Pepper to go through her poising for photos. After a few minutes, Tony and Maggie observed Pepper deftly berating a paparazzi for whatever sexist question he must have asked her to have that reaction and laughed as the man was dragged away by security.
"How are you feeling?" Maggie asked Tony softly as they waited. Tony had been steadily feeling worse since he had been going on more missions the last few months, all the while dealing with the SI transition from weapons to technology and green initiatives, researching for a new element, and assisting Pepper with setting up the Expo. Maggie had been helping where she could but she also had to take care of Peter, learn about her new responsibilities, and plan for their move to New York City in the fall. She also had to plan in time for Peter's school registration at Ned's STEM school along with the testing he would have to finish in order to get admitted. And then on top of all that, she had to attend meetings with the board of directors of SI, charity trustee committees, and whatever Pepper and her assistants scheduled her for.
"I'm good. I think this is the best I've felt since Strange put me on that smoothie routine and the occasional visit to the cleaners," Tony replied vaguely since they were in public. Stephen had Tony do dialysis once a week along with putting Tony on a regimented diet that included fruit smoothies with added nutrient powders.
"I wish you would sleep more," Maggie muttered as she shifted her balance and straightened her posture as Pepper gave her one of the looks she normally reserved for Tony, while she made her way up the stairs to stand with them.
"I agree with Maggie, Tony," Pepper murmured softly as she reached them and took his other arm. Maggie looked over at the two of them, marveling that she and Pepper towered over Tony and he seemed delighted by it.
"I like this," Maggie stated with conviction as Tony and Pepper gave her inquiring glances. "Us doing things together and taking some time to just enjoy ourselves," she replied to their glances, "this is going to be fun!" Tony and Pepper rolled their eyes at Maggie before dragging her along to talk to more media people while they waited for Oprah and Anna Wintour to join them.
The evening turned out to be as relaxing as an A-Lister could be and all three of them had a great time despite Pepper giving chilled looks toward Anna Wintour all night (Anna had made an uncomplimentary comment about Maggie and Tony so Pepper was on the Warpath™), Tony pretending to be an Italian Gangster (with all the gestures and a fake Italian accent), and Maggie attempting (and giving up) on wearing towering wedges all night (she had brought flats to change into) while pretending to be a rich socialite (keyword pretending)... Overall, 7/10 would do again but 9/10 if Tony would do the Italian Mafia Boss schtick again because that had been hilariously entertaining.
“Thank you and welcome to Stark Expo!” Tony shouted to the crowd, dressed in a tuxedo reminiscent of the one he had worn at the Met Gala two weeks ago but in black with gold pinstripes and a red bow tie. As the trapdoor settled and he completed his round of waves, several people in the crowd screamed, “I love you, Tony!” as the rest screamed in excitement.
“Please, It’s not about me, it’s not about you, it’s not even about us! It’s about legacy and what we chose to leave behind for future generations. Right, Pete?”
“Right, Dad!” Peter shouted as he stepped out from behind Tony, dressed in a miniature version of his dad's outfit, drawing awes from the crowd as Peter mimicked his father and waved at them before grabbing Tony's hand.
“And that’s why, for the next year and for the first time since 1974, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations the world over will pool their resources, and share their collective visions, to leave behind a brighter future. It’s not about us. It’s for our future and our children,” Tony paused and looked down at his son, “therefore, what I’m saying, if I’m saying anything, is welcome back to the Stark Expo!”
The crowd cheered and screamed at them as Peter waved and smiled up at his dad before stepping in front of Tony and gesturing towards the screen. “And now, making a special guest appearance from the great beyond to tell you what it’s all about, please welcome my grandpa, Howard Stark!” A video of Howard Stark started playing on the mega screen as Peter and Tony moved offstage.
“Awesome job, buddy, I’m so proud of you!” Tony praised as they made their way back to their dressing room to change and meet up with Maggie and Happy who had been sitting up in a private box for the performance.
“Thanks, Dad!” Peter gushed as he pushed open the door of their dressing room and then flung himself onto the couch, “It was sooo scary, but awesome too.”
Tony laughed at his son and pulled off his bowtie before unbuttoning his jacket. “Come on Pete, we need to get changed so we can meet May and Ben for dinner.”
“Maggie's coming too, right?” Peter’s muffled voice came from under a pillow.
“Yeah, she’s coming and then you and she are off to New Mexico for some site seeing and visiting her crazy friend and Doctor Jane Foster.”
“You're letting me to too!?” Peter jumped up from the couch in excitement. Maggie and Tony had discussed it and Tony hadn't made the decision until earlier that day. He still worried about Peter being out of his sight, but Maggie was better at self-defense than most FBI agents and as long as they laid low in backwater New Mexico, they shouldn't have to worry about the press finding them... or something worse, Tony thought darkly.
“Yeah. JARVIS and I need to do some major and dangerous science experiments so I need you to be safely out of the house for it.”
“I don’t believe you’ve informed Miss Maggie about this, Sir,” JARVIS’ voice came from Tony’s phone on the counter.
“It's not like she didn't figure it out already,” Tony muttered as he unbuttoned his jacket and tossed it over the chair. "I bet that Maggie knew that I would let Peter go with her before we left Malibu and had his bag packed to accommodate it."
“What about your birthday party Dad?” Peter looked sadly at his shoes, “Don’t you want me there?”
“I want you all there but we're having it after you guys get back. Uncle Rhodey can't make it until after next week anyway. He's busy in meetings for the next several days,” Tony explained as he maneuvered Peter to the couch and they both sat down. Tony cleared his throat before pulling Peter into his side. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“What?” Peter looked worried and grabbed Tony’s hand before burrowing himself into his dad.
“The reactor is making me sick and unless I replace the Palladium, I could become sicker,” Tony said softly, softening the truth. He had been delaying telling Peter and everyone important in his life about the heavy metal poisoning, hoping that he and Strange would have figured out something by now. The dialysis was a stop-gap and it was something he could not rely on long-term. Howard's research was proving informative but they had yet to find exactly what they needed to crack a solution. Strange had some ideas about removing the reactor from Tony's body but they needed to track down a few people first before that could happen. Last they had talked about it, Strange was muttering something about think tanks and Korean doctors.
“Are you dying?”
Tony bundled his crying son into his arms and swallowed hard as he fought the urge to cry himself as he pulled Peter in tighter and kissed his forehead. “Yes."
After a few minutes, a knock pattern sounded on their door before a familiar face peeked around it.
“Happy is texting me asking where we are..." Maggie trailed off as she took in the scene and sat on the other side of Peter. “You told him,” she whispered and Tony nodded. “Good,” she replied and rubbed Peter’s back. “Peter, honey, JARVIS said that there is an 80% chance of this working and you know how safe JARVIS is with his percentages, if JARVIS says 80%, it’s a sure thing.”
Peter pulled away from his dad and looked at Tony's phone on the counter. “JARVIS? Is Maggie right?”
“Yes, Master Peter, your grandfather’s research has everything your father and I need to be able to synthesize this new element. There are several calculations that I need to do and a particle collider to build to facilitate it, but I believe very soon we shall have a new element.”
“Oh! That's good news!” Maggie said as she stood, and went over to Peter’s bag and pulled out a pair of jeans and a blue Henley. “How about you both get changed before Happy becomes even more frustrated and comes after us.” She handed the clothes to Tony and went to the door. “JARVIS told me that I’ll have a travel buddy,” she grinned at Tony, "good thing I already planned on one."
"See Pete? I told you," Tony teased as he helped Peter out of the suit.
"Maggie always knows," Peter mumbled from under the shirt Tony was tugging down over Peter's head.
"Exactly."
They drove straight from the Expo grounds, which were conveniently located in Queens, to a local Italian restaurant near Ben and May's home that Tony knew the owner of. Angelica had been childhood friends with Tony's mother, both of their fathers had been higher up in the Sicilian Mafia and both girls had been sent to New York for safety when The First Mafia War had broken out in the early '60s. Long story short, Angelica had met her husband Salvatore at Maria's wedding and they had married soon after, had two daughters, and took over Salvatore's family's restaurant in Queens when his father retired. It was the Stark's last night in New York, so Tony had made reservations for a private back room so they could have a nice meal and say goodbye to the Parkers before they left early the next day for New Mexico and home. They also had the added benefit of being personally waited on by Tony's other godmother and Peter's honorary grandmother.
“Ah, baby Peter is growing up so fast,” Angelica crooned as she led them to the private room and placed a pitcher of water on the table, “and you too, Antonio.” She said in Italian as she smiled at the two Stark boys with a flash of gold from her teeth. “I see you brought Margaret and the Parkers, Antonio. It’s always a joy to see family, especially Margaret...” Angelica trailed off and dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief as they all sat around the table. She had met Maggie last year after the announcement and was still emotional over Maria's long-lost baby daughter.
“I’m not a baby,” Peter muttered under his breath in Italian causing Tony, May, and Angelica to laugh.
“You will always be our baby, Peter,” May proclaimed as she leaned over to kiss her nephew, “no matter how old you get.”
“Antonio will always be my baby... I remember when your Nonna Maria had me over for coffee just a week after his birth...You look just like him, my little treasure,” Angelica reminisced as she stroked Peter’s hair. “Now, you must all be famished after all that Expo nonsense! Let me bring you some wine and some food,” She exclaimed in English as she stood and clapped her hands prompting a few servers to come in with drinks and appetizers. Angelica treated them like family, they didn't order off the menu, they ate what she cooked them and were grateful for it. After making sure they were comfortable, Angelica made sure that they were comfortable and served before she made her excuses and went back to the kitchens.
“So I heard you were going to go visit your crazy taser friend, Maggie,” May stated bluntly as she took a sip of her wine and grinned around the glass at Maggie's flinch.
“Ugh, she’s not crazy,” Maggie huffed as she rolled her eyes, “we just happen to use tasers for self-defense.” Darcy admittedly was a little crazy but compared to other people that Maggie had known, Darcy had been more normal than half the people they had gone to high school with. A high school that had taxidermy as a popular elective in the early 2000s, had spent more money on gym equipment than building maintenance and textbooks and collectively worn more flannel than necessary in an era, not the '90s.
“She’s a Political Science major who carries a taser, she’s crazy, Mags,” Tony threw in. “You're a talented batonist that can kill with your pinky, which is completely different, and she should take a page from Pepper and use pepper spray and stilettos. There probably would be fewer lawsuits and accidental deaths in her future if she did.”
Maggie shook her head and sighed before taking a heavy swallow of her wine. “Well, she will be meeting your son...” She trailed off dramatically.
“Oh, shit! I didn’t think this through!" Tony moaned dramatically as he flopped over Peter and stroked his hair, "JARVIS, can we put Pete in a safety bubble while we do dangerous science? I think it would be less dangerous than meeting The Taserist.”
“I’m sorry, Sir, I believe Master Peter is safer with Miss Maggie and her friend. Doctor Foster will be there to keep order in the chaos that is due to occur," JARVIS replied from Tony's phone on the table.
Tony pulled away from an indignant Peter with a pout before grabbing a breadstick from the basket. “Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. Brilliant Astrophysicists, amazing at making her own equipment,” Tony muttered as he fiddled with the breadstick before taking a bite. "Need to get a look at some of her tech...” he trailed off as he got lost in his little science bubble.
“And we lost him,” May quipped as she threw her napkin towards Tony who somehow managed to dodge and drink his water at the same time all the while not paying attention. “How’s school going, Peter?”
“Good! They have me working on freshman algebra and Dad said he could help me on some harder things if I get bored. I also got an A on my art project that Maggie helped me build," Peter replied excitedly as he bounced in his chair and grinned in excitement.
“Oh? What art project?” Ben asked as he leaned forward and poured May more wine before topping off his and Maggie's glasses.
“Its sooooo cool! She helped me make a free-standing board that’s as tall as I am and Dad helped with the math and spacing. So we put tons of nails in it and then we had a bag of rubber bands and we could make all these cool shapes. We also did a few string art pieces to hang in my room,” Peter pulled out his phone and started showing May and Ben pictures.
“He loves geoboards now, I think he might love them more than Legos,” Maggie said as she elbowed Tony to get his attention, who was now typing furiously on his phone. Pepper had stayed behind at the Expo to make some final walk-throughs before the event opened officially tomorrow to the general public. “He’s definitely your son.”
“Huh? Oh-? I know he’s my son. What are you talking about Mags?” Tony frowned as he looked up from his phone.
“Tony, are you done on your science tangent? Peter is showing off his art project,” May asked from across the table where Peter stood between her and Ben, showing them pictures.
“I’m never done with my science tangents,” Tony retorted sullenly, as he put his phone back on the table. “I’m a walking science tangent.”
“Oh, so freaking true,” Maggie said before grabbing the last breadstick, “I think it's terminal.”
After they had eaten dinner, had dessert and coffee, and had a long chat with Angelica, they finally said their goodbyes to May and Ben. Happy picked them up at the curb and they started their drive home. After Peter and Maggie's kidnapping a few years ago, Pepper had found and purchased a nice brownstone in Manhatten near the Tower. It had originally been a 9-bedroom townhome, built in 1910, that had been converted into two separate apartments, thankfully keeping the historical woodwork and stained glass intact. Pepper then had contracted for it to be converted back into a one-family home and renovated and restored to its former grandeur (with modern amenities) for them to live in when they were in New York until The Tower was finished. It was a short walking distance to the subway, a nice kid-friendly park, and on the Queen's side of Manhatten so they could avoid some of the heavier traffic when they went to visit May and Ben.
“You’re planning for the worst, aren’t you?” Maggie stated as she watched as Tony adjusted a sleeping Peter.
“Yes," Tony replied softly, a frown marring his face as he stared out the tinted window of their town car. " I owe it to Peter, SI, and the rest of you to not leave you with the mess that was my life. JARVIS has everything organized on my private server so if something happens there should be no long legal battles or hiccups, and the lawyers have all their instructions..." Tony paused for a moment before turning back to her and looking her in the eyes. "I’m making Pep CEO when I get back.”
There was silence for a moment as Maggie's mind flitted through the information. “What... what about CFO? Do you have someone set up to take over that?” Maggie was not ready nor qualified to be a member of the board and she really really hoped that Tony wasn't going to even joke about making her one.
“Not yet, but I’m sure Pep has someone in mind.”
Oh, thank god! She thought furiously as Tony must have sensed her relief because he gave her a sad, knowing smile. “How long, Tony?”
"We're not sure. With the missions and the Palladium poisoning, it could be at any time... I'd rather be prepared for the worst and not need it than leave you all unprepared. I'm hoping this element works because then we can focus on getting the reactor out of me."
"What about the missions? Could Rhodey take over?"
Tony chuckled softly. "That was the plan. JARVIS has been working on Operation Platypus for the last six months and it should be almost done by the time I get home to Malibu. I will hopefully only have to worry about some testing and painting for it before it's good to go."
"That's good news, Tony," Maggie whispered as she squeezed his hand that rested on Peter's back.
Tony squeezed back, "I hope so, Mags, because I really want to be around for a while yet."
"You better be, because Peter needs every parent and parental figure he can find and I can't do this alone."
Tony laughed softly before trailing off, his fingers combing through Peter's hair and silence fell over the car, Peter’s soft snores the only sound other than Happy's soft jazz coming from the front. After a few minutes, they pulled into the garage of the townhouse and Maggie put a hand on Tony’s arm. “The new element will work and you'll come up with some silly name like ‘Okily Dokilyium’ or something. I believe in you and JARVIS but if I have to go beat the shit out of that Pirate for some help, I will,” Maggie muttered darkly. “He knows where Bruce Banner is, JARVIS confirmed it for me last week.”
Tony smiled and pulled her into a hug, squeezing and waking Peter at the same time. A muffled, “Oh, this is nice,” came from the squished kid.
“We know how much you love your hugs, underoos. Let’s get you to bed so you can get up early to go play space science in New Mexico with Maggie and Doctor Foster.”
“‘K,” came the sleepy reply as Maggie got out of the car and picked Peter up.
“Night bambino, I’ll see you in the morning," Tony murmured into Peter's hair as he kissed him goodnight. "Night, Mags," Tony said as he kissed her cheek and hugged her briefly before nudging her into the small elevator.
"Night, Tony."