Gentle

[innitmarvelous_og]

Pepper paused as she entered Tony's workshop, and for the moment, she was unnoticed. The scene in front of her made her heart swell just as it *always* did whenever she caught Tony when he was being soft and he didn't realize it.

Eva was seated atop of his workbench, her little legs in motion as she swung them, and her hair looked like a halo of curls under the warm glow of the lights overhead of them. Tony was bent close beside her, adjusting ever so carefully the strap of the giant safety goggles he always insisted that she wear.

"There we go," he said, his voice soft, "Now we have a perfect fit. Remember, always safety first, princess."

Eva giggled, he little hands going to the eye wear, "They're too big, Daddy!"

He grinned, "Oh, they're just Stark-sized!" he quipped, giving her nose a light tap, "It just means you'll need to grow into them a little but and you will."

As Pepper continued to watch, Tony handed her her own tiny screwdriver, his movements slow with deliberate patience, and gentle. He then guided her little hands as she started to tighten a screw on one of his harmless bots. She moved her ear closer to try to hear the whispers of encouragement to their daughter.

"That's it, princess. Go nice and steady. There's no rush.... we engineers take our time you know."

When she finished, Eva was smiling wide, "I did it, Daddy!"

Tony beamed too one of those smiles that erased all the lines that years of trials had etched on his face, "Yes, you did, baby girl. And guess what? You didn't even need my old Iron Man suit to do it!"

Tears filled Pepper's eyes as she leaned against the doorway. The man the world always saw: the genius, the billionaire, and the fighter, he was nowhere to be found right in this stolen moment.

He was simply a man who was utterly in love with his little girl.

And this is the version of him that the world won't ever be able to see or understand.

But for her, this is the version of him that matters the most.