Promise and Food

A much longer chapter than usual to conclude this part. This chapter may not be as enjoyable. The next chapter should be more fun.

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Half an hour later, we saw Pepper arrive and look confused at the four talking animals gazing at the sky.

She then glanced through the window and saw me and the girls hugging, giving us a bewildered and strange look.

She entered the house and sat on the couch quietly, observing the four outside.

"Should I ask?" She looked at me helplessly.

"Ugh! If you don't mind me adopting a raccoon as our child, then maybe?" I asked, not so subtly probing.

Okay, I'm nervous about the response. I'm technically the head of this family. But the girls are the bosses of the boss.

Now it was Pepper and Carol's turn to be surprised.

"Do you want to adopt a raccoon as our child, Tony?" Carol and Pepper asked in unison, surprised.

Yao just looked at us amused, then turned her gaze and looked affectionately at Rocket.

"Don't judge him by his appearance. He's more special than you can imagine." Yao spoke in a wise tone without taking her eyes off Rocket.

I then used my Extremis to quickly tell them the whole story, through memory sending, from my arrival on Counter-Earth to the stories I told Rocket and the other three.

"Tony, how do you know these things? Did Yao tell you?" Pepper asked, looking seriously at me. Just like Carol, she has her doubts about some of my actions.

"No, I didn't say anything." Yao shook her head and looked at me with a smile.

Tattletale.

"Tony, since when have you known the future?" Pepper asked, bewildered.

"Well... since I was 7 years old. One day, out of nowhere, I received a flood of memories about a future in which I'm a part of." I admitted.

There's no real need to talk about my past life. Now I am Tony Stark, and I am happy with who I have become. But I still have to give some information, even if it's altered.

The girls didn't doubt it. This is the first and last time I tell a lie to them, even though it's not a complete lie.

"So you knew about me all along. No wonder you found me so suddenly." Pepper looked shocked.

"Well, if I knew there was a perfect woman out there for me, why wouldn't I go after her?" I looked seriously at Pepper.

And I saw that just that sentence relieved many insecurities that were beginning to sprout in Pepper's heart.

I know her. Pepper often overthinks things, but she's also strong and as stubborn as I am sometimes, so she won't give up on such a little thing. But it's better to assure her that I love her anyway.

"Do you know who gave you this knowledge?" It was Carol's turn to ask, shifting the focus back to the point.

Carol is different. She doesn't pay as much attention to details, often going straight to the heart of the matter.

"No, and, honestly, I don't want to know. Whatever the reason I received these memories, I can only be thankful. With these memories, I can prevent the tragic future of many people, including my own." I said with a serious tone.

I meant every word.

Whether it's my Tony Stark self or my pre-reincarnation self, We can only be grateful for the opportunity we had.

If the original Tony had the chance to change his life from a young age and do everything he couldn't, he wouldn't hesitate for a second.

I may be different from him, but he is also part of what gave rise to my current self, and I know we are both happy with our new path.

"A tragic future? What are you talking about, Tony?" Pepper asked in shock. I had only passed on to her my memories of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

"Well... it's better if you see it." I said and passed my memories of the events up to Endgame to them through the Extremis.

"NO!" Pepper and Carol shouted when they saw the scene of the finger snap and my death.

Yao already knew since she saw the future, but even so, I saw her clenching her fists.

Well, as tragic as their reactions are, it still warms my heart to see them so worried about me.

Then they jumped on me and hugged me tightly.

"You will never, under any circumstances, make such a sacrifice." Pepper practically growled at me and made me promise.

Carol was also nodding vigorously.

Yao was by my side, staring at me with dagger eyes.

I smiled wryly and asked, "Even if the universe is destroyed?"

"""Yes!""" all three of them said together.

Hey, Yao, you got your role wrong!

Ah, love! It changes people's focus.

"I'm willing to trade half of the universe's life for yours. Your value is greater to the universe." Yao replied, shattering my illusions.

I looked at her and saw her smiling mischievously.

I could only smile wryly at her.

After that, the girls made me promise.

"Okay, I promise that as long as you are not in danger, I will never make such a sacrifice." I promised with a serious tone.

They tried to make me promise that even if they were in danger, I wouldn't do it. But they could never make me promise that.

After calling me stubborn, they gave up.

After we calmed down, we went back to normal conversation.

"That Tony is quite different from you." Pepper said, looking at me curiously. She was referring to Tony from memory.

"Yes, it seems he took all your sympathy, sold it, and bought ten times your stubbornness." Carol said playfully as she laid her head on my lap.

"Well, he's not that bad. And you have to admit he has style." I said with a smile as I started to stroke Carol's head.

"You say that because you resemble him when you talk to people you couldn't care less about." Yao said playfully as she conjured tea out of thin air.

Well, I tend to be more 'Howard Stark' when talking to people I 'couldn't care less about.' But with family and people I care about, I'm more 'Maria Stark.'

We talked for a while longer and then returned to discussing the guys outside.

"Well, can I adopt Rocket?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Ugh! Okay, he's pitiful and cute. If you can convince him, we'll adopt him. But what about the others?" Pepper agreed.

Carol didn't object, and Yao just smiled at us.

"Well, that's up to them. I want to adopt Rocket as my son, but they can live with us even if I don't adopt them." I said seriously.

But my eye twitched when I saw Yao looking at me mischievously.

Okay, I have some 'nefarious' plans for them. But since I want to adopt Rocket, I'll do everything to ensure my son has a happy ending.

...

Just an hour after our conversation, Rocket and the others entered the house with uncertainty and discomfort.

I could hear their stomachs growling from a distance.

Rocket entered first, with the rest following behind. It seems Rocket is their spiritual leader.

"Come on, don't be afraid. I want to introduce you to some people." I said and called them to come closer.

They slowly entered and looked at me uncomfortably. I had invited them to live with me, but it's impossible for them to feel comfortable so quickly in such a strange environment after everything they've been through.

I knelt to them and gave them a disarming smile.

"These are my wives. That one is Pepper, that's Yao, and that's Carol." I said, pointing to each of the girls.

"Wives? What's a wive?" Rocket looked at me confused.

"Yes, wives. You don't need to understand right now. Someday you will." I said with a slightly sweaty forehead. I'm not even a father yet, and I'm already receiving such difficult questions.

If I tell him it's people who want to spend their lives together forever, he might start calling Teefs his wife. Not that I have a problem with it, but it would be strange confusion.

And I certainly won't talk about sex to a child, even if it's a raccoon.

Fortunately, someone saved me because Rocket still had that 'I want to learn more' look on his face.

"Come on, you must be starving." And to my surprise, it was Yao who said that.

They looked at me, and I nodded.

That's when the four of them found something they liked as much as the sky... good food.

...

"So good! What is this?" Rocket looked at me with innocent eyes.

"These are Cheeseburgers." I smiled. He's just like his father, me!

"Ah! Delicious! And these?" He ate something else and looked at me with sparkling eyes again.

"These are Nachos." I replied, with my chin resting on my hand, looking happily at him. So cute!

Rocket then picked up something orange and ate it; then he froze. He looked at me with a strange and pitiful expression.

"Pfff! These are carrots. You don't have to eat them if you don't want to." I couldn't help but laugh at his lamentable face.

I looked at the girls, and they were also looking at us amused.

"Carrot! Floor loves carrots now!" Floor also ate and said cheerfully. Then she started stuffing her mouth with carrots.

Well, I had to restore her body so she could enjoy the meal. Otherwise, she wouldn't even be able to eat with that metal mask on.

"Huh?! Floor, you don't—" I was going to say that as she is a rabbit, she shouldn't eat carrots as they would be bad for her.

But looking at her pitiful look, I couldn't do it. Fortunately, she is a modified rabbit and also has Extremis in her body now that I've fixed it, so there won't be any problem.

She looked at me cutely with her head tilted, confused.

"It's nothing. I was just going to say that you should try other things too. Maybe you'll find something you like more than carrots," I smiled wryly at her and said.

"Impossible. Floor doesn't believe there's anything better than carrots!" She said incredulously but still did as I said.

That's how the four of them ate until their stomachs were almost bursting.