Chapter Text
When Morgan saw the walkie talkies in the cop drama her mother was watching, she knew she had to get some of those for her family. But being a 5 year old child dependent on her parents for food, shelter, and general welfare, she couldn’t buy a set of walkie talkies by herself.
Morgan sat back with a sigh on her bedroom floor. Her piggy bank was toppled over in front of her, coins and bills scattered on the floor next to it. She had just finished counting her money and had come to a total of $5.27. It wasn’t enough for even one walkie talkie. Morgan pouted and glared at the pig, cursing her financial hardships.
Luckily, her dad was a billionaire.
Morgan got up and trotted downstairs. After a bit of wandering around, Morgan spotted her father through one of the cabin’s windows. Tony was outside, hammering away at something in the front yard. Morgan beamed and quickly made her way out the front door, the screen door slamming shut behind her as she raced down the steps toward her dad.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
Tony stopped hammering and turned, wiping away the sweat from his forehead. Her father grinned at her, crouching down and spreading his arms wide as she rushed toward him. With a grunt, Tony quickly picked her up and swung her in a circle. Morgan giggled as she twirled in the air, loud and bright.
“How’s my little munchkin?” Tony gushed, smirking as he swung Morgan round and round.
“Daddy, stop it!” Morgan managed to squeal out in between giggles. Tony grinned. Gently, he slowed to a stop and plopped her on the ground once again. Morgan let go of her father, stumbling a little as the world around her swayed back and forth. Tony kept a firm hand on her shoulders as Morgan slowly regained her sense of balance.
“So what’s got you so excited, Morguna?” Tony asked as he sat down on his wooden stool. Morgan turned to look at what he was working on. It was her soon-to-be-playhouse. Tony had undertaken the challenge to build Morgan a little wooden playhouse a few weeks ago. After snapping his fingers to disintegrate Thanos’ army, Tony finally allowed himself to rest, retiring as Iron Man once and for all to become a stay-at-home dad for the most part and a consultant for the Avengers when needed. As an actual consultant this time, Tony was charged with some of the basic operations for the Avengers.
However, after the Avengers sorted through the new blood, assisted the world with the sudden return of the Vanished, and finally returned to their individual duties, there wasn’t much to be done at the Compound. With Stark Industries only needing his help once in a while and Morgan spending half of her day at kindergarten, Tony found himself with loads of free time. So he went on a building binge, creating all sorts of things to keep himself busy, whether it be a playhouse for Morgan or design concepts for Peter’s Spider-Man suits.
Morgan turned away from where she was admiring her father’s handiwork (there was a built in kitchenette inside!) and looked up at her father with the saddest, most pitiful puppy eyes she could muster. Tony only raised an eyebrow at her, lips turning up in an amused smirk.
“You putting on the sad puppy in a box act, M?”
“Daddy,” Morgan whined, sweetness coating her young voice. “Can you buy me some walkie talkies?”
“Walkie talkies?”
“Like the ones in the shows Mommy watches.”
“Why are you watching Mommy’s cop dramas?”
“Because it’s fun.”
“And past your bedtime?”
“No.”
Tony’s other eyebrow rose.
“Yes.”
“Thought so. You’re a little rule breaker, aren’t you?”
“Please, daddy?”
Tony knelt down so that he was at the same eye level with Morgan. There was a gentle smile on his face as he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
“How about we make a deal? No more watching Mommy’s cop dramas, and I’ll make you some custom Stark brand walkie talkies. That sound okay?”
Morgan beamed.
“Yeah!”
“Alright, pumpkin. I’ll work on them over the week, then give them to you next Monday. Sound good?”
“Yes, daddy.”
“Alright. You want two?”
Morgan frowned and shook her head. Tony blinked at her.
“No? How many do you want then?”
Morgan smirked at him.
Pepper slowly turned the walkie talkie in her hands, taking in Tony’s handiwork quietly as her husband did the dishes. It was a blocky device, far from Tony’s usual sleek design concepts for his craft. She set her walkie talkie down on the dinner table.
“So, Morgan wanted how many?” Pepper asked, a trace of amusement in her voice. Tony sighed as he set a plate in the drying rack.
“She wanted one for everyone. And I mean everyone. You, me, Happy, Rhodey, Peter, May, and all the heroes we’ve ever come across.” Tony shook his head in bewilderment, not seeing Pepper’s shaking shoulders as she tried to contain her laughter. “I had to set a hard limit of a 10 mile radius with those things. Next thing you know, she’d try starting a conversation with Valkyrie halfway across the world when it’s nighttime in Norway.”
“I see.”
“The kid’s too damn smart. Literally sprung terms & conditions on me. She insisted on them being waterproof, fireproof, lightning-proof, everything! The second she got her hands on one of them, she started testing their quality by chucking it into the lake.”
“Sounds like she’d be a good product tester.”
“Definitely. Threw it in the fireplace, against a tree, under the car, and attempted the garbage disposal. Luckily, half of her mind comes from me, so I already made them as durable as possible to stand the little rascal.”
“Luckily,” Pepper drawled. She fingered the stubby antennae on the device. “Panic button?”
“Nah.”
Pepper paused.
“...Really? Anything else that comes only with the Stark brand?”
“Uh, encrypted channels that scramble the radio signals so only these specific walkie talkies can decipher the messages. Other than that, nothing.”
Pepper blinked.
“Really? What about a GPS tracker?”
“Morgan included that in her terms & conditions. I think she’s still angry about the tracking chip in Mr. Cuddles.”
“Huh.” Pepper picked up the walkie talkie again, looking at it with a touch of astonishment. “So it’s basically a normal walkie talkie?”
“Pretty much.”
“Really? Why didn’t you add anything extra?”
Tony plopped the last of the dishes on the rack and shut off the water. Grabbing a towel, he turned to face Pepper while leaning against the counter. His own walkie talkie was clipped to the waistband of his sweatpants, standing out ridiculously against his comfort clothes. He had a resigned expression on his face.
“She made it very clear that she wanted old-school retro tech,” Tony explained, drying his hands. “You should’ve seen her, Pep. She was like a mini-you.”
Pepper snorted, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand. Tony pointed at her accusingly.
“Are you laughing at me, Mrs. Potts?” Tony demanded faux-sternly. Pepper shook her head.
“No,” she replied, fighting her smile. Tony grinned.
“That’s what I thought.” Tony tucked the hand towel back into its hook. “Seeing as the little boss wanted them as old school as possible, I roped Pete into helping me make them.”
“Oh? Peter helped?”
“Yeah. I told you he used to go dumpster diving for salvagable parts, right? He helped me keep them as ‘low-key’ as possible.”
“And you listened?”
Tony tilted his head side to side, reluctant.
“More like he webbed my hands and built all the walkie talkies himself.”
“What?”
“I might’ve tried to add in a taser?”
Pepper closed her eyes.
“Tony.”
“What?! Whatever, the kid stopped me. What was he saying while he took over my personal commission? Oh yeah.” Tony pitched his voice to the highest tone he could muster. “‘Mr. Stark, you can’t give a taser to a 5 year old! What if she electrocutes her classmates?! You’ll get sued, and Morgan’ll get kicked out!’ I swear, it’s like the kid forgot I’m loaded with assets while he was napping with the dogs in the afterlife.”
Suddenly, a noise from both their walkie talkies interrupted them.
Tssh.
“Walkie Check, one, two. Mommy, daddy? Can you hear me? Over.”
Tony and Pepper glanced at each other. Tony unclipped his walkie talkie and pressed the transmission button, pausing for a second as the device crackled to life.
“Good check,” Tony responded into the speaker, one eyebrow raised. “We can hear you, sweetheart. Where did you learn walkie talkie lingo?”
The fizzles stopped once Tony let go of the button. Tony took a seat at the dinner table next to Pepper as they stared at the walkie talkie in his hands. Almost immediately, the channel crackled to life again.
Tssh.
“Petey taught me when he was here.”
Tony huffed out a small laugh.
“Of course he did. That nerd,” Tony fondly muttered to Pepper. Pepper smiled at the swell of adoration in her husband’s eyes. Tony brought up the walkie talkie again and spoke into it.
Click. “Whatcha doing now, buttercup?”
Tssh. “I’m brushing my teeth.”
“I hope you’re not testing to see if the thing is toilet-proof.”
“You’re funny, daddy.”
Pepper picked up her walkie talkie. Tony raised an eyebrow at her as she pressed the button and spoke into it.
“Morgan, sweetie. You’re brushing your teeth?”
“Yes.”
“Good job. But why are you brushing them?”
“Because it’s almost bedtime.”
Tony and Pepper looked at the clock. It was 7:57pm.
“Nice going, munchkin,” Tony praised, surprise lacing his voice. He looked at Pepper, asking a silent question with his eyes. Pepper only shrugged. “You’re on your best behavior today. Want me to come and read you a book?”
“No, it’s okay. I can go to sleep by myself.”
“Really, now? Our little night owl?”
Morgan didn’t respond for a while. The married couple heard Morgan’s toddling footsteps in her bedroom upstairs as she walked to her bed. It fell silent for a second.
Suddenly, the channel crackled to life again.
“I’m just really happy about the walkie talkies.”
Tony felt his heart clench. Pepper placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling lovingly at him.
“Daddy’s glad you like them, sweetheart,” she said into the mic. Tony couldn’t stop the pleased grin on his face as he clicked on his talker.
“Is this your way of honoring our bargain, young missy?”
“Uh-huh.”
“That’s great, Mor. But you can always wait for one of us to tuck you in, too, you know? Just no more watching scary police chases at night, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Alright, then.”
Tssh.
“Morgan to daddy?”
Tony grinned. He held down the transmission button again.
“This is daddy. Go ahead, sunshine.”
“Goodnight, daddy. I love you. Over.”
Tony chuckled.
“10-4. I love you, too, buttercup. Sleep tight.”