IT WAS NEW YEAR'S EVE AND PEPPER CAME TO VISIT.

It wasn't as if she was out of his life, she was the CEO of his company and still had to drag him to press conferences and things of the sort, but it wasn't as if they were having brunch and talking about how great it was that they were taking a break from each other.

It couldn't be said that Tony didn't understand why Remy cried every time he thought someone was going to leave.

But he hadn't expected her to be there, what with her being out of town for the holidays, but there she was, dressed as impeccably as always, just smiling at him in the doorway of his room.

He hadn't visibly startled—he had taught himself to generally hide his reactions so people wouldn't use it to their advantage—but, inwardly, he had shrieked and jumped out of his skin, because she was there, right in front of him.

"I just flew here to talk to you, then I'm back out," she explained, reading his mind, as always, stepping into the room, keeping a respectable space between them, and he wished she didn't look so easy doing so.

"Good Christmas?" he asked, walking around his room and fiddling with some things, trying to avoid having to look at her for very long.

She shrugged, watching him walk around with a bemused expression. "It was nice. How was yours?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Why do I have a feeling that you already have an answer to that?"

"Facial recognition on Facebook, which is already eyebrow raising in itself, and the number of results were too high to just be you taking pictures, and there weren't enough to be pictures taken of you just out in the world," she explained, smiling and pulling out a tablet which she had no doubt prepared for this very interaction, opening up screenshots and handing them towards him.

He couldn't help but smile as he looked at all the selfies he had taken with the family members, pictures of him eating with others, giving out presents, and hugging a few of the people who had become emotional after they realized he had given them money.

He paused at the picture of him, Birdie, and Remy in front of the Christmas tree, grinning brightly with BUDDY standing off to the side, waving at the camera.

He raised his eyes and found Pepper looking at him with an unreadable expression. Clearing his throat, he handed it back and went back to walking around the room, looking away from her.

"Happy told me the kid was here for a few days," Pepper said, eyes following him, "How did you meet him?"

"He ran into me in front of his school," he replied, keeping his voice light and casual, and unsure as to why he was so on edge.

Maybe it was because, deep down, he was afraid Pepper was going to tell him that it would be better that he distance himself from them, because staying too close would put them in danger, would bring them more pain than they deserved, and deep down he knew that she was right, but the thought of losing people he had grown so attached to was just not an option for him at this point, it couldn't be; he had been left by so many, and he shouldn't have to be left again, not if he could help it.

But Pepper didn't say anything like that. She didn't do anything except reach out and touch his arm, stopping him so he would look at her.

"Are you happy?" she asked softly, and he didn't know what was happening, but he gave her a short nod, because there was no use trying to think too deeply, she always knew what he meant.

She smiled then, and his heart ached, because he missed that smile, but another smile was just in the back of his mind, and he realized that he could still have this smile, just not in the way he used to want it.

"I miss you," he said, because he did. He missed her a lot. He missed so many people.

She smiled and reached out to stroke his cheek, a touch so tender and caring that he just dropped forward, his head on her shoulder, and it was all so familiar, and he just sighed, because no matter what he said or what he convinced himself, he just wanted people to stay with him, even if he didn't say it out loud.

"You have a good New Year's, okay?" she said, stroking his hair, "I'll see you when I get back." And there was just something about her words that let him know that things were going to get better.

They weren't going to be the same. But they were going to get better.

"I want to meet her," Pepper said, after a few minutes when Tony finally pulled away, shoulders slumping slightly. She pointed towards the picture of Birdie, sliding to a picture of Birdie and Tony with Jayne, "And her friend. They look fun."

Tony frowned. "No, Pepper."

She scoffed. "Why not, I think it would be fun—"

"For you, maybe!" he exclaimed, "But not for me. You'll go out to the spa and the next thing I know, you'll be back and Birdie's telling me to do my own paperwork and stop drinking so much coffee, let me having something, Pepper, please!"

Pepper laughed at that, and Tony just smiled, because he had missed her. When she finally stopped, she sighed, though it wasn't out of anything except a need to just breathe.

"How's the psychologist, I looked him up, isn't he a little young?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, but it was clear that she was pleased to be able to say that he was getting help.

"Oh definitely," Tony agreed, "But he's smart for an infant, and he seems to know what he's doing. There is a lot to him that you couldn't find your Yelp reviews."

Pepper raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

Tony paused. He couldn't very well say that his psychologist was also a tech designer and creator for the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, as well as the roommate of the man who was somehow dating and sleeping with Steve Rogers, war criminal and man whom he was still trying to make amends with.

"He's about one kiss away from being my sugar baby," and that was how Pepper ended up walking out of the room.

"Don't even try to explain," she called out, high heels clicking against the floor as she walked ahead of him, ignoring his shouts for her to come back.

"Listen, it's not like I've kissed him, he's too professional for that, and also way too young for me," he called out, but even he had to snort at his last statement, "Okay, so that was a lie, but everything else is true."

"I'm going to pretend that our conversation ended after me asking you to meet Birdie, and I'm going to change it so that you said yes," she said, turning on her heel and giving him a pointed look, "Have a good New Year's."

He held out his arms, making grabby hands towards her. "You too."

She smiled and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a short, but sweet hug. Pulling away, she nodded to him. "Tell Steve I say hi."

He watched her leave, frozen in shock, scoffing lightly before turning back towards his room. Of course she knew. Pepper always knew.

As he went back to getting ready, his mind drifted back towards Steve. After things died down, he had helped him relocate back to Brooklyn and was still in contact with him, much more frequent now, as well as Sam. But Steve didn't know Sam was in Harlem, he had decided it was better that they lay low for a while, but he knew that it ate at Steve that he was so far away from both of his closest friends. Nicky liked to think he was included in that mix, but that was a stretch.

He sighed as he glanced towards his wallet, which held the addresses of the various apartments he was helping pay rent for, worrying on his bottom lip.

He wanted to have a good New Year's. It'd be better if everyone did, too.

º º º

He sighed as he pulled out the keys and unlocked the door to the apartment, peering in. He had knocked a few times, but no one had answered, and he didn't really want to draw attention to himself by waiting, so he decided to just pop in and wait. Sam was probably at work anyways.

The apartment wasn't the compound or the Tower, but Sam seemed to like it enough, so he didn't press much; he couldn't, really, the man was still on the run. Though he seemed to still be on the radar, a decorated veteran, people were noticing him gone. He should talk to Sam about that, help him sort it all out.

Walking to the pantry, he looked around, humming in interest at the sight of a bag of chips. Grabbing them, he headed towards Sam's room, opening the door and peering in, trying not to think about how bare it was, save for a few items and a noticeable MP3 player on one of the nightstands.

Sitting at the foot of the bed, he pulled out his phone and hummed for a moment, catching sight of a text from Birdie.

It was a picture of Remy grinning brightly covered in a mess of frosting and flour, BUDDY standing next to him with a washcloth, his blue body also covered with the baking ingredients, followed by the caption:

'HE'S DECORATING CUPCAKES BUT IT GOT A LITTLE MESSY'

Tony smiled at the phone, a warm feeling rising in his chest, and it scared him a little, but he couldn't help but accept it, because it was a good feeling, it was a nice feeling, and no matter how terrified he was, he liked having it around.

Texting back a request to have first dibs on the cupcakes, he opened up YouTube and decided to do a little bit of research.

As time had wore on, he had forgotten that the reason why Remy had run into him was because the boy thought he might be his father. No one knew for sure and, because Birdie didn't want to think about it, he didn't pay it much attention.

He still wasn't going to pay it much mind—that wasn't the point of him doing this—but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try and read up on how to be a good father figure to Remy; letting him sit in the front seat and lie to his mom about gorging on junk food didn't seem like the responsible parent thing to do, and those were just the things he picked up on.

So he watched a few how-to videos, quickly finding himself on a channel where a single mother talks about her experiences caring for her children, discussing how it affects her emotionally and how she doesn't appreciate people calling her family "broken" just because her children don't have a mother and a father, giving tips and tricks on how to discipline children in a healthy way that involves nurturing and understanding, while still being firm, as well as fun ideas to help cultivate a loving relationship.

Needless to say, he wished this woman was his mother.

He was so engrossed in her video about being vigilant while out with a child in the city that he didn't hear the door open, or the shuffling in the kitchen, or the footsteps, until Sam was already inside of the room.

"What the shit, man?" Sam sighed, setting down the spatula he had been wielding, "What are you doing?"

Closing out of his YouTube video and setting his bag of chips to the side, Tony licked his fingers clean and wiped them on his pants before clasping his hands together, standing in front of Sam.

"Sam Wilson," he began, giving him a small smile, "You're free to go."

Sam blinked, unamused. "I'm on the run, Tony, you can't just say I'm free to go, I escaped."

"Yeah, I know," he replied, walking past him and patting him on the shoulder—just because he was doing this from a part of his heart he was afraid to show did not mean he wasn't going to play it up as much as possible. "But now you can go visit Steve, tell him you're not actually in D.C. like we've both been saying, but have actually been in Harlem this entire time."

"Why now?" Sam asked, turning as Tony continued down the hall, "Why—what?"

"Trust me," he replied, opening the door of the apartment, looking at him from down the hall, "He has a lot of explaining to do. Besides, who wants to spend New Year's alone?"

He didn't want to, so he was going to make sure that no one else was either.

º º º

Jayne's New Year's Eve party took place in a very high end penthouse and consisted of most of the people from the law firm, as well as most of the old connections and friends she still had back when she was part of the elites, as was the time when Birdie spent New Year's Eve in a penthouse full of uber rich high society figures.

It was a full circle, now that she thought about it, in a penthouse full of people she didn't quite fit in with, catching sight of Tony walking in, dressed in a suit, and she in her nicest dress.

"Hey," she greeted, walking towards him, "You might want to say hello to him now, he's off with all the other kids in the children area and you might not be allowed after most of them are drunk." She motioned down the hall towards a fenced off area, then towards all the adults holding glasses of various alcoholic beverages.

"Some people pitched in to hire someone to make sure the kids stay safe in case the parents decide to do something stupid," she explained at his raised eyebrow, walking with him down the hall, "It's smart. Anyways, sorry for skipping the small talk, how are you?"

"I'm good, how are you?" he asked, smiling as they neared the gated off area.

She hummed. "I'm a little worn out, but it's New Year's Eve and Jayne has been so excited about this party, she invited my whole family, though my parents are with my dad's side."

"I was given an almost illegal dose of this drugstore sleeping medication that knocked me out for most of the day, so I'm all ready to go," he joked, thinking back to how Nicky had forced him to take a nap in his apartment, shoving some green liquid into his mouth, recommending him the brand before he fell asleep within the first ten minutes.

Birdie raised an eyebrow. "Should I be concerned?"

Before Tony answered, Remy had appeared at his side of the gate, looking at the two of them with a look that didn't seem to be upset, but not particularly amused either.

"Anyone under the age of fifteen and over the age of eleven is a complete annoyance, and I don't understand why they're not shipped off to their own island to annoy each other, then return to civilization where hopefully most of them have grown out their various phases of being special snowflakes who think that their little quotes from the internet are clever and amusing," the boy said, looking up at the two adults with too much exhaustion for a boy who did nothing but sit on the floor next to a group of pre-teens.

Tony blinked. "You're turning twelve this year, bud."

Remy positively groaned. "If I end up acting like I'm somehow more special than anyone else because of the music I listen to or the fact that I don't play sports, or talk like I'm so mature and so funny because I can quote something from the internet, kill me. Seriously, I don't care how you do it, just do it, or slap me. Do something to get me to stop, because I can't live with myself knowing I turned into something like that."

Birdie blinked, staring at her son in abject horror. "Remy, don't talk like that."

"They're awful, mom, don't make me stay here!" he whined, throwing his arms over the gate, drawing attention to himself.

"God, I hate kids, they're so annoying," one of the teenagers scoffed.

"Wow, we get it, Tara, you're special because you hate everyone and listen to 70's music, get over yourself," he called out, and Tony had never heard such abhorrence in the tone of someone so young for something as petty as what Remy was complaining about.

"Yikes," Ethan whistled, and Remy made a face at him.

"You know what," the boy said, looking back up at his parents, "I'm gonna stay here to make a point. Have fun, eat my cupcakes, I worked hard."

And with that, he left. He just turned and walked back to where he was coloring on the floor, completely ignoring the teenagers who were glaring at him, clearly ready to pick a fight and win.

"We should go," Birdie whispered, tugging at his sleeve.

"No, I wanna see this," Tony said, eyes glued to the scene, "Or at least put up a camera, it'll be funny."

"Tony," she chastised, trying to hide her smile, "You shouldn't encourage this."

"But he has a point," he countered, allowing himself to be pulled away, back towards the party, the two pausing right before they fully stepped out of the hallway.

"Hey," he said softly, nudging her arm.

"Hm?" She looked up at him, his touch shocking her out of her staring; there were a lot of people at this party.

He held out his arm. "Care to be my date for the night? You'll be stuck with me the whole night, but at least we'll be able to avoid most of the petty small talk."

She smiled and took his arm. "That sounds wonderful."

º º º

It was a few minutes to midnight and the two were seated on a couch and chatting with a newly engaged couple who were telling them about their wedding plans and things of the sort, and it was one of the less difficult conversations the two had to sit through.

"How long have you two been together?" the woman, a pretty thing called Amy, asked, still pressed up next to her fiancé, smiling sweetly at the two of them.

Birdie and Tony instantly looked at each other, then back to her, shaking their heads. "We're not together," Birdie quickly said, not really shifting away from Tony but trying to show that they weren't, in fact, together.

"Well, you look good together," the man, Connor, commented, and they were such a lovely, young couple that it felt almost strange for them to say it to the older of the four.

"Thanks, I tend to have affect," Tony mumbled, checking the time on the watch Birdie got for him, smiling slightly when she lightly smacked his chest.

"I'm going to get us more drinks," Connor said, after he and Amy laughed at Tony's quip, standing up and walking away, Amy excusing herself and going with him, saying that it will probably hit midnight while he's there.

Tony glanced back down at his watch and hummed, looking around for a quiet place to stay. "I'm going to call Steve for a second when it hits."

"Captain America?" she asked, raising her eyebrows, "I thought—"

"It's a long story," he said, shaking his head, finding that the noise was getting to be too much, everyone drunk and growing louder as the clock drew closer to midnight, "I'll tell you another time."

Catching his shift in demeanor, she carefully reached out and touched his arm, convincing him to relax when he jolted at her touch. Pulling him away, they walked down the hall, entering one of the open and empty rooms, closing the door and muffling the noise.

"Thank you," he sighed, pressing his palms against his eyes.

"You're okay," she said softly and he nodded, dropping his head on her shoulder and sighing.

He had been very touchy the entire night, not invasive, but much more physical, standing right by her and often doing something like bumping his nose against her neck or even biting at the sleeve of her dress to get her attention if she had gone too long focused on someone else, causing everyone to laugh.

"Can I kiss you when the clock hits?" he asked, and he noticed her stiffen, and he pulled out his phone, listening to the noise of the people growing louder.

"I-I can't," she whispered, glancing back towards the door, "Tony, I-I can't do that to Remy, I—"

"It's not like I'm proposing, it's just a New Year's kiss, it doesn't even count," he said, but he pulled back to give her space, glancing at his watch.

Birdie bit her lip. "It doesn't have to count?"

He nodded. "Once it's over, it's like it never happened. It's that special place between this year and the next, it never counts for anything, trust me."

As she pondered over his proposal—of a different sort—he got his phone ready. He didn't know why he felt the need to call Steve to wish him Happy New Year—Nicky had already filmed a video of him during Thanksgiving, and that had already been a fairly heart opening experience—but he just wanted to do something by himself. New year, new beginnings, after all, and he wanted to start with hope that he could fix everything he had lost.

While Tony fiddled with his phone, Birdie thought over his words, her mind echoing the conversation she had had with Jayne all those years ago, also at a New Year's Eve party, also having to do with Tony.

She deserved to do something for herself. It didn't have to count.

She sighed, running a hand through her hair. That was a different time and a very different Birdie, she couldn't afford to do something like this, and she wasn't even sure if she fully wanted to. All she knew was he was a man that, for her son's sake, she couldn't drive away. But she wasn't going to kiss him just so he could stay. That wasn't fair to her.

"Fifteen...fourteen..."

She took a deep breath, glancing over to the man and meeting his eye for a moment, his voice, so much younger than his own now, echoing in her ears.

"Can I get a kiss from Elizabeth?"

She couldn't help but smile, remembering how much that question had affected her, her heart fluttering the way it had before, stomach turning in nervous excitement.

"Nine...eight..."

She watched as he pressed his phone up against his ear, waiting for someone to pick up, looking like the picture of calm, save for the hand that was tapping tightly against his leg, trying to be hidden from her view.

It would be just like before. For just that moment, that one, insignificant moment, nothing would matter. There would be no consequences, they would just go about their lives pretending that it didn't happen because it didn't.

This was less about wanting to kiss him and more about the fact that she deserved to just let herself do something without needing to control every aspect about it. She needed control, but the idea of letting go was just as liberating.

"Three...two..."

Tony spoke, casual and cool as always, but quiet, as if the words were only for a select few to hear, and nothing else. "Happy New Year, Cap."

"One!"

Barely breathing, Birdie walked forward, surging forward, pressing her lips against Tony's, pulling him into a deep, languid kiss, gripping his suit tightly and sighing softly as he pulled her closer, only pulling away after all the cheering had died down.

She sighed and pressed their foreheads together for a moment. "What happened?"

Tony shook his head minutely, still holding her close. "Nothing at all."

She smiled and laughed softly, letting their lips brush softly one last time before pulling away, glancing back towards the door. "Do you want to go back out?"

He took a deep breath, the noise still filling his ears, his heart pounding. "Let's just stay here for a while longer, yeah, it might get a little intense out there."

He tried to play it off like he was worried about her, but Birdie saw right through him, but wasn't about to say anything. Instead, she just walked over towards the bed and took off her shoes, hissing softly as she realized just how much they were hurting.

Tony leaned back onto his arms, shifting so he was facing her, taking her hand in his own, playing with it idly. "Happy New Year, Birdie Walsh."

She smiled, using the hand he was fiddling with to stroke the callouses of his palm and the roughness of his fingers. "Happy New Year, Tony Stark."

He glanced up through is lashes, his eyes glinting with mirth. "You ready to put up with me for another year?"

She hummed, reaching out and stroking his cheek. "Eh, we'll see. But until then, I'll keep you around."

A new year with new beginnings, and they could only hope that the rest would be good.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Damn, this was long, but I'm pretty proud of it overall, though I have to ask, did I write Pepper okay, I was so afraid to write her, honestly, I am so so sorry because I feel like I wrote her terribly, as well as their interaction, and I'm sorry, but I hope I wrote her decently enough.

Sorry for the lack of Remy in this chapter, I really just wanted to show the parallels, as well as Tony's shift, he's starting to actively try now to be a good parental figure, this is progress!

Also, for those who don't know, Sam Wilson and his schtick connects to the end credit scene/last deleted scene in my fic Past Lives, which corresponded to the entirety of this first part of the story, as you know when Birdie and Remy ran into Steve, so check that out if you want, it's part of the series. Sam also has his own story with another OC of mine, so if you wanna see more Sam, check out Almost Happy!

That's all I have to say so...thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!