𝕟𝕠 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕒 𝕘𝕚𝕣𝕝,

𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕗𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣.

❝ LET'S GO HOME, MARGO. ❞

∞

EPILOGUE

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍

𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐁𝐔, 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐀

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

'Mrs Stark, a word please?'

Even six months after their impromptu roundtrip to Vegas, Elle couldn't get over the little alias Tony referred to her as. She had not switched her maiden name yet, despite the thirty-thousand dollar rock that perched over her left hand. She could remember that festive evening as clear as crystal behind her lids - the cheap, off-white sundress they had snatched from a pushcart and a standard suit for Tony. The chapel was empty that night, leaving the space for Tony, Rhodey, Elle and the minister. 

Let's make our cores one gigantic, eight-chambered heart, Tony had said during his vows and eluting a little laugh from everyone present. Do you take me to be your hunka-hunka burnin' love? 

I love your wild, stupid and superior self and vow to not keep the score even though I am on the lead, Elle had taken the same tone in all recreation. Rhodey has not amused anymore. I can not wait to take your last name - I'm stealing your identity. And then, Rhodey had hissed at them to be serious for once. 

They had danced to all her favourite songs all night, snapping the goofiest pictures and being a normal couple. Making memories on their wedding day. Elle was designated driver so she had to handle the drunken glories of both the groom and his best man. It was a wild night yet, one she would never forget. The day she had become—Mrs Tony Stark?

How much ever Elle had dreamed of getting married in the city chapel or a wide marquee with a hundred eyes watching her as she walked down the aisle and a lavish buffet to feed the crowd, she could've never asked for anything better. They had one of the best nights she could've asked for as a married woman and thought of what she would give to relive it all over again.

Elle laughed, tossing Tony a playful glare. 'Don't call me that.'

Tony had been hovering ever since the last month of her pregnancy had started to come into effect. Fawning over her dietary restrictions and a little careless about safety. She had experienced a multitude of false alarms which had put him on the edge. Sometimes her nausea got so bad, Tony was afraid she would pop the baby out of her mouth. Which was ridiculous to think about, given his title as a genius.

Since Elle had started showing, Tony had been extra cautious about caching his functioning armours around the house. She didn't want to be treated like glass, proving him wrong by returning to her old job and continuing to work part-time. The rumours spread like wildfire by the fifth month, they were pounding on so bad that Elle had taken a few days of unpaid leave to let it cool.

'Oh, would the moniker professor delight you more?'

Elle was currently indulging in a glass of appletini (mocktail, sadly), prodding a finger into her leafy salad with a gag. She felt like a herbivore, grazing on everything green and that grew on trees. Tony and his stupid regime couldn't get any more overbearing. He was holed up in his workshop for two days now, only coming up to check on her in the midnight, and his eyes sunken in despite the thick frames of glasses that laid upon his nose.

She waved her fork to his bedraggled form. 'Funny you should say that.'

'Got the migraine,' he tapped the bridge of the specs, 'I had to.'

'It's...' she hummed, searching for a word while scrutinizing him. He shifted his weights on his legs, taking a seat beside her and glancing down at the bump on habit. 

'It's charming.'

'I thought you'd like it, nerd.' 

'Hey!'

'Anyways, I was thinking of retrofitting liquid oxygen at the back panels of the Maiden,' he mused, 'and furnishing a micro-nuclear supply pack so if we were to, hypothetically,' he scratched the back of his head as he laid out an electronic version of his scrawls, 'survive in space, this could be a life support. I could power up the unibeam on the chest and modify the concussion-burst cannons—'

'—you can accelerate faster through the atmosphere?' she tried, hoping it was right and she wouldn't seem all dumb in the end. She spoke from her brain, the tick she had ever since the arc-reactor modding. Her IQ had shot through the roof and somehow, her body adapting to the repulsor-induced advancements in her. Blindly wanting a cure, Tony had subtly started to worry about the progress affecting the child. Again, it seemed like fools play.

In the few months after the dour incident, Pepper had introduced a new branch of Stark industries called 'Stark Resilient'. It was a do-over, a corporate subsidiary, a rebuild after the partial dissolution of Stark International. What was lost, was lost. He couldn't get it back but he could start new. Hence, Stark Resilient.

Tony blinked, nodding. 'Yeah. Uh-huh, just that.'

She grinned, tapping her fork to her temple. 'Still got it.'

'And every time you articulate farsighted answers, you turn me on,' he shook his head, 'every time.'

She was in a comical mood when she leaned in to place a soft kiss over his lips, taunting him softly and pulling back with her plate in hand. She grunted as she tried to slip off her chair, Tony's hand coming like a pather's grace to support her arm. She had almost had a fall.

'Might want to tone down the horniness until after the baby,' he teased her as she grumbled, waddling to the sink to discard her plate. She had barely touched her food and it irked Tony. 'Does the princess not like today's menu?'

She tossed him a glare. 'Tony, if you proffer me another plate of lettuce and leaves I swear to god, I might start mooing.'

He laughed. 'It's wholesome. And you gotta suck it for the next few days and eat the damn leaves.'

'I miss fondue,' she said, sighing dreamily, 'and chips. Doughnuts. Cocoa Puffs.'

'I'm not—'

'Grilled cheese. Whipped cream. Juice pops.'

'You're ordering an all-you-can-eat buffet,' he deadpanned, folding his arms. 'I'll take up that grilled cheese offer, though.'

'Excellent,' she breathed out in victory, already tottering to the pantry to grab the necessary ingredients. Just when she tiptoed to reach the bread that sat on the first counter, a sharp pang went past her abdomen and contracted her entire being. She dropped everything she had in her hand, grappling the counter to let the pain pass and biting her lip to hold back a cry. Something wet coated the inside of her things under the dress, a sharp hiss leaving her.

Oh hell, my water broke, she thought. But it wouldn't be a while until the contractions, right?

'Elle?' He heard the noise. 'You okay in there?'

'Y—yeah,' she called out shakily, treading a hand past the bump. 'I'm alright.'

Grilled cheese first, then.

The contractions had started. But, she wasn't due until next week. She looked longingly at the grilled cheese, knowing it could wait. It would last for hours and they wouldn't grant her any food until the baby was out. She sucked in a dreary breath, stooping to grab the bread and cheese. Grabbing the pan, she fixed herself a plate of the mouthwatering goodness with a smile. 

'You okay?' Tony asked anyway. 'You look a little flushed.'

'I will be fine after,' she bit into the sandwich. 'This.'

'Stinkerbell,' he snapped his fingers at her. 'Where's my share?'

Elle took a huge bite out of the gooey sandwich. Until she finished it halfway through, she passed it to him with a grating grin. He scowled at the half-eaten wich. Swallowing down nervousness and chugging the drink from earlier, she pointed to the stairway 

'I'm going to get dressed. Meet me outside in ten?'

He took a dreary bite of the sandwich nevertheless, concealing a dreamy moan. 'Where to?'

'Hospital.'

He blinked. 'Wha—'

'My water broke a few minutes ago,' she filled in, biting her lip. 'Don't get angry but I needed some food.'

'You're kidding,' he smiled, fighting off anxiety in all evidence. His smile dropped a fraction. 'Are you—are you kidding?'

'No,' she said, sadly and then arranging her face to her glare. 'It's happening. So, we can pull a pew and chat about it or have this baby.'

 In a flash, he was bustling down to the basement to grab the kit Elle had prepared a while ago. 'I can't believe you. Insane, Elle, insane. What were you—' he hissed, stuffing the rest of the sandwich into his mouth.

 'JARVIS, you got that?'

'I have emergency services on the line, sir.'

'Right, hi,' he said in a rush into the comms, as he climbed up the stairs again to spot Elle already out the door. He rolled his eyes when she poked around with the radio, forgetting about the more important matter at hand.

'Hello Mr Stark, how may we help?'

He tossed the emergency bag into the backseats and worked on accelerating the car. He watched as Elle's face screwed up with the pain of the next contraction, fisting her hands over the dash. 

'Uh, my girlfriend—no, wife. Yeah, my wife is going into labour and—holy shit, honey, breathe.'

Elle followed slowly, forming a puff with her cheeks and exhaling loudly. She observed the red tip on the accelerator touch one-hundred, her heart thumping soundly at the speed. 

'Please do not weave an Audi pretzel around a tree trunk,' Elle gasped at him, as he breathed out in soft huffs and mimicking Tony's deep breathing motions. He looked so comical; flailing his hands as he bloated his cheeks.

'Sir, relax,' the woman said calmly. 'Is this her first child?'

'No, this is her husband.'

Heh, dad joke. Elle frowned. Bad joke.  

'Force of habit, sorry. Yes, our first,' he chuckled into the speaker, skipping diligently on the red light. 

Fast forward to about twenty minutes, the familiar aluminium premises started to come into view. The woman had directed him to the nearest hospital that was about a mile and two contractions away. She had also been a dear and informed the infirmary to book a private holding suite for the couple.

'Okay,' he clicked off his seatbelt, holding the side of her face to get her to look at him. 'Ready?'

'I don't know,' she breathed out, sweat matting the sides of her face. Behind her, a porter had rushed forward with a wheelchair and he saw her eyes widen at the scene.

'Honey, a building collapsed on you and you survived,' he placed forward with a sarcastic smile. 'I think you got this.'

She nodded with another inhale, looking down at her bloated abdomen. A hand brushed the top gently as she looked to the boy who silently waited with the chair. In less than four hours, she was going to be in unconsiderable pain and see what the chances of life are. 

At times like that, she was going to recall the love she had for this baby, the one born out of perfect passion, to forget the agony she was being put through. Even when the seconds would extend into a continuum, she was going to tell herself that in the end, it was the merit for her future. A little pain to invite this being into this world, she told herself. 

'I think we do.'

∞

The first wails of the newborn commenced when the sun started to rise. It had been a gruelling seven hours of dilating and spasms of shrieks, the sheer conscious brutality of the situation managing to evoke unrest in the expectant genius. He was concerned nevertheless, pacing and thinking about everything and everything. Running on caffeine and the solemn words of an equally anxious colonel, he had established a solid three hours of monotony before sleep wore off. Thank god the wards were sound-proofed, he couldn't endure hearing the disturbing yells that emanated from Elle.

The duo watched multiple women being wheeled in, casting Tony surprised glances despite the pain. He had shot them a thumbs-up for good luck as the nurses escorted bewildered expecting women into wards. Rhodey phoned Madeline, Elle's mother, informing her about her due who had instantly caught the next plane to LAX airport. 

'Mr Stark,' an anxious doctor came out with a worried grimace. 'I think you might need to come in.'

That moment Tony thought of every screwed-up circumstance in the pregnancy situation and apparently, Elle not knowing how to push was one of it. He gulped. 

'Is she—'

'She's asking for you, sir.'

Tony looked at Rhodey, borderline crazed. 'I don't know if I should.'

'Shut the fuck up, dude,' Rhodey growled, dragging him by the shoulder to shove him behind the door. He tried to protest but Rhodey fought against his grabbing hands, closing the door shut. 

A nurse gave him a surgical cap, a pair of gloves and a vest to protect him. Under the mechatronic lights and a plundering amount of machines strapped into a wheezing, sweaty Elle. Her legs had been resting over something and Jesus, he did not want to go anywhere near the nether areas.

'Get ready for another push, Mrs Stark, you can do it!' Someone consoled her with loud clarity. 

Elle wept out loud, shaking her head at the woman. 'I can't. I can't, please—'

'Hey, hey, baby,' Tony's instincts stirred in first, arriving by her side with a forced smile. 'I'm right here.'

'It hurts, Tony,' she sniffled, grasping his hand like her life source. 'It hurts so much.'

Tony swallowed down a thickness that had plagued his throat as when he saw the tough plopping of tears on the pillow under her head. He palmed the top of her head to stroke it softly, holding back tears himself.

'Just a bit longer,' he rasped. 'You can do it, Elle.'

Mustering a large inhale, she let out a guttural grunt and her mandibles gritting against each other. Her skin stretched around her face in a painful contortion and crying out louder for him to bearer.  

'Mr Stark, she's crowning,' a midwife informed him; it was hard to tell if she was smiling. 'Would you like to see?'

'Uh, no thanks,' he blurted with a shiver spiralling down to his toes. 'I mean, I would but, I've got a weak stomach for gore. Especially for a little human that will split my wife's vag—'

Elle screamed again, squeezing down on Tony's wrist. He heard the squeamish crack of his bones, grunting out in pain. 

'That's fine, we get a lot of cases like that,' she laughed. 'Okay, Mrs Stark, one last push. Are you ready?'

She cried out. 'No.'

'Honey,' Tony tried to say. 'Look at me, hey. Breathe. In and out.'

She followed his motions, blowing out breaths through rounded lips and sucking in with pained cries. 

'You can take all my Pop-tarts, Elle,' he told her when her exhausted gaze laid on him. 'Just one more push.'

Somehow, his magic words had done the trick. One last push it was and then, nascent, little wailing and sniffles from under the partitioned blanket. Tony could not believe his eyes. 

As soon as the caretakers and doctor exited the maternity ward, he had burst into a laugh with stifling satisfaction. 'Elle. Hang on—let me.'

'Ssh,' she breathed out, wincing. Holding his hand, she lifted herslf up higher on the pillow. 'I'm fine.'

His glossed-over eyes laid on an exhausted Elle, who smiled through the fatigue. She held the warm, bundled blanket close and rocking it in her arms. Her eyes left the baby to take in Tony, who stood paralyzed and absorbing the moment unfurled for him. 

'She's beautiful,' she said to him, her voice breaking with effort. 

Not able to wait any longer, Tony felt a slow wave of shock as he placed his gaze on the snuffling, minutes-old girl. Her nascent, blue eyes were barely held open and her cry was muffled in a way that rendered his heart. Already born with a head full of a wet, crazy mass of brown curls, he felt his vision blur and swallowing down a soft sob. He never felt elation like such, even when he had first finished constructing the first archetype of his armour. A ticket back home and now, he had found his home in the arms of the lady he loved. He pressed a kiss to Elle's sweat-matted forehead, the strong, fearless woman he was honoured to call his.

Out of no self-control, he skimmed his index into her open palm and watched her curl her tiny fingers around it. He was in no mind to heed the fact that it was all babies' innate intuition. He was on cloud nine, knowing that the smart newborn already recognised her father. She pulled the finger closer.

'Hey, Margo,' he said, quiet enough to not wake her. 'One of the golden ones, aren't you?'

'Your carbon copy,' Elle murmured, stroking a finger over her eyebrows. He heard Elle laugh lowly when she snuffled lowly. 'She got my eyes.'

'And my hair,' he said, said finding it hard not to touch her. He brushed a finger over a matted curl. When her eyes opened to a little sliver, he leapt to grin widely. 'Hi, there. Hi, baby. I'm your dad. This here—this is your mom.'

A weak half-laugh left Elle. 'Tony.'

'She should know the basics,' he mused, his finger nuzzling the skin on her cheek. She let out more snuffles and which started sound like new laughter. Her blue eyes were starting to glow as her cherubic lips parted with a weak whine, staring up at Tony.

'Aw,' Elle tiredly cooed, 'she loves you already.'

'Of course, she does,' he replied, not taking his eyes off Margo. 'Well, I love you, too.'

A short shuffle of steps alerted the couple in a sudden rush of emotions. Rhodey, in all his curiousness, had bounded in with a clear of his throat and a widespread grin was blown out on his face. Within seconds he was by Tony's side peering in and placing a soft hand over the smooth towel that swaddled the baby's head.

'Oh my god,' Rhodey whispered, caught in awe. 'You are so worth the wait, baby girl.'

'Want to hold her, godfather?' Tony nudged an arm into his best friend's side.

'Did you?'

'I will positively drop her,' he shook his head fervently. 

Rhodey scoffed, pushing Tony aside to carefully seize Margo into his arms as a sign of bravery. Elle felt a wave of relief wash over her when her baby was out of her tired arms, Rhodey's making faces at the baby and cautiously swathing her close. Using a large finger, he brushed her head warmly. 

'You're so tiny, pipsqueak,' Rhodey let out a soft chuckle of delight. 'Yes, you are.' 

'She is tiny,' Elle fretted aloud. Her wide eyes fell on Tony. 'Is that okay — '

'It's okay, honey,' Tony assured. 'Tiny, but mighty. You know how it is.'

'If she starts talking, I'm gonna flip,' Rhodey murmured, rocking Margo gently in his arms. 

Elle laugh-wheezed. 'Tony, it's okay. Try and hold her.'

He blew out a tough, decisive breath. Piece of cake. 'Fine. Rhodey, turn her over.'

'She's not one of your outlaws, Tony. Jesus.'

He started to make grabby hands. 'Shut up. Let me hold my baby girl.'

Tony willed his trembling hands strong for his daughter, holding her close. It's true what Elle said, Margo was too small. Like a little bird, nestled between her covers. A little magpie. 

Margo managed a quiet snuffle, her hands barely cocked forward as if fighting off a punch. Her head rolled in his head, stark blue eyes barely holding themselves open, and caught in a trance. She looked perfect, nevertheless, felt perfect. 

'Oh no,' Tony mumbled, never taking his eyes off her, 'now I can't let you go.'

Margo let out another soft cry. 

'Yeah, me too,' he agreed with her babble. 'Hey, do you want a suit with me? I'll build you a tiny, little suit.'

She made a little hum, cuddling deeper. Tony swore his heart grew three times in size — just like the Grinch. Except it wasn't Christmas but hell, it felt like it. 

'Yeah, I think so, too,' Tony murmured. 'Gosh, you are a magpie. Hi — hey. Are you smiling? You like that, Magpie?'

Elle looked at Tony, laying her head over his shoulder. He rubbed a hand over her icky head, fitting her head beneath his chin. He couldn't help but think back to the time he made a different decision and how he wouldn't be here now. 

He had always thought that flying high, above the seas itself in the suit was the one thing that would provide him with a sense of comfort but it wasn't until today he was judged a fool. He was flying right now, without the armour, his heart soaring so high as if he was the last of his kind. 

Now, he had a way home in spite of the spinning compass in him. Looking past every flaw, how imperfectly perfect they were together in this hospital room and how despite the imperfections, they had this perfect product. 

Elle softly said, 'Let's go home.'

∞

[ NOTIF!

wow. what a ride this has been. I feel so good to have ended this on good terms and that this will not be the end for Elle and Tony. the last and final book will be out later next year and expect only awesome!

thank you all for the support you have given me, the sweetest of comments, the starry votes and encouraging words that have kept me progressing. I am so grateful to have started the journey with you and I wish you all the best. you deserve all the love. I cherished writing this part, introducing a product of Elle and Tony's love and of course, despite indifferences, a happy ending. 

thank you for taking time out to read this piece I have a part of me hooked to. see you in the next book! until then, my loves.

- deidra.

]