Ezekiel stood on top of a building as he watched a rocket with a space shuttle attached launch into the sky. It was the Baxter Foundation sponsored project that was going up to study the incoming cosmic storm. Even though Ezekiel decided not to interfere, he debated about interfering more than a few times. He just couldn't help himself, he didn't want a good man like Ben to suffer needlessly…
In the end Ezekiel decided against it. While it might seem cruel at first, letting Ben suffer from his future condition. It was that same condition that led him to his soul mate. And while Ezekiel could probably play match maker, Ben was already in a relationship with another woman he planned to marry. Unfortunately her love is only skin deep and would leave Ben soon enough.
Ezekiel let out a sigh as he murmured, "Sorry buddy."
Once the rocket disappeared from view, Ezekiel created a portal and stepped out into Tony's living room. As soon as he appeared, a little girl's excited voice said, "Ezekiel!"
Ezekiel smiled as he scooped up the girl who was trying to tackle-hug him. Once in his arms he pulled her into a hug and spun around with her which made her giggle. Afterwards he placed her back down and gently patted her head as he asked, "How are you doing munchkin?"
"Great! Come help us with a puzzle." Morgan said as she took Ezekiel's hand and pulled him towards the coffee table.
"She doesn't even greet me like that… I'm starting to get jealous." Tony said from the couch as he looked up from a puzzle that was barely started.
Pepper, who was seated next to Tony, elbowed his side as she asked, "How are you doing?"
"I'm good. How've you been?"
Pepper placed a piece down and connected it to the outer edge as she said, "Taking time to finally relax a bit. The expo has been running me ragged making sure everything is on schedule."
"Have JARVIS help out more, he should be able to handle it." Ezekiel said as he sat on the floor where Morgan led him to.
"He already handles everything that doesn't require a person to physically be in charge of."
"Hire an assistant or two."
Pepper frowned slightly as she looked over the pieces and said, "I'm already Tony's assistant…"
"And you basically do all the work he's supposed to do, plus your normal work. Honestly you should just take his job over and hire an assistant or two to help you."
Tony placed an arm over Pepper's shoulder as he said, "I agree, you take over my job and I'll become a stay at home dad."
"You're practically a stay at home dad already!" Pepper said in an exacerbated tone as she smacked his chest once.
"Great, then let's just make it official then. JARVIS, take care of all the paperwork and prepare a press release."
"Would you like for the press release to explain you are now Miss. Potts kept man?"
Ezekiel almost burst into laughter and Pepper could barely suppress the giggle that wanted to escape from her mouth as Tony stared up at one of the cameras. Tony's mouth twitched slightly before Morgan asked, "Daddy what is a kept man?"
Laughter rang out from Ezekiel and Pepper as Tony turned towards Morgan trying to figure out what to say. Tony's mouth opened a couple times as he tried to find the right words before he finally said, "It means I get to stay home and play with you everyday."
Morgan scrunched up her nose slightly as she said, "No, daddy doesn't need to do that. I want Ezekiel to be a kept man, he's more fun!"
Ezekiel laughed harder as Tony's face fell and Pepper tried to comfort him while she attempted to stop laughing herself. Tony finally turned towards Ezekiel as he said, "I hate you."
Ezekiel clutched his hands over his heart as he said in a sad tone, "Did you hear that munchkin? Your daddy hates me…"
Morgan's head whipped up and went from the puzzle to Ezekiel before it settled on Tony and she said, "Bad daddy! Bad stinky daddy!"
"Stinky?"
Morgan nodded her head as she said, "Daddy always smells."
Tony lifted his arm up and sniffed himself before he said, "I don't smell anything."
"Stinky daddy." Morgan said as she pinched her nose and looked away.
Pepper sniffed Tony a couple times before she frowned a little and said, "I only smell that expensive cologne you like to use."
Tony nodded in agreement as JARVIS asked in a teasing tone, "Ezekiel, would you like me to update Mr. Stark's contact on your phone to Stinky Daddy?"
"No!" Tony said in an annoyed tone.
Ezekiel chuckled as he nodded in agreement while he glanced towards Tony and said, "While I find it funny, I'm not going to have anyone saved in my phone under daddy… But you can change it from Ironman to Stinkman."
"I hate both of you." Tony said as he stood up from the couch and moved towards the stairs.
"Where are you going?"
"To take a shower!" Tony snapped at Ezekiel.
Ezekiel shared a glance with Pepper before they both burst into laughter as Tony stomped up the stairs. After a few moments Ezekiel gestured towards the stairs as he said, "You should go cheer him up or he'll sulk for the rest of the day. I'll take care of Morgan."
Pepper nodded as she stood up before she patted Morgan on the head who was focused back on the puzzle. Morgan glanced up at her as she asked, "Mommy?"
"I'm gonna go help your stinky daddy." Pepper said with a snort before she quickly added, "Be a good girl and don't cause trouble for Ezekiel."
"Okay mommy."
As Pepper moved towards the stairs Ezekiel teased, "Take your time with him, he probably needs an extra good rub down."
Pepper shot Ezekiel a glare but said nothing else as she disappeared upstairs. Ezekiel chuckled softly before he turned towards Morgan and found her focused back on the puzzle with a piece in her hand. Ezekiel glanced over the puzzle himself and after a moment picked up a piece and locked it into place. Over the next hour Ezekiel and Morgan quietly worked on the puzzle until Tony and Pepper both came back downstairs freshly showered.
Tony headed directly for Morgan and picked her up as he asked, "I didn't put on anything this time, do you still think I smell?"
Morgan frowned at Tony for being picked up but still leaned closer and took a sniff, then another. After a moment she nodded slightly as she said, "Stinky daddy no longer stinks."
Ezekiel and Pepper both laughed again as Tony put on a pained expression and asked, "Can you just call me daddy sweetie?"
"Maybe… Can I have an otter pop if I do?"
"Of course you can!"
"I want two."
"Sure."
"Then daddy is daddy as long as he doesn't stink." Morgan said as she nodded her head.
Ezekiel chuckled slightly as he turned back to the puzzle and started to work on it again while Tony carried Morgan to the kitchen. When they came back Morgan had an otter pop in each of her hands and a smug look on her face. Ezekiel glanced over when Morgan sat next to him and said, "This is for you, Ezekiel."
"Thanks, munchkin."
Tony's eyes narrowed as he shot a slight glare towards Ezekiel who happily took the offered frozen treat and ate it as he worked on the puzzle with Morgan. The group all settled down afterwards and worked on the puzzle for a while before Tony finally asked, "What brought you by today anyway?"
"I completed the design blueprint for the car you owe me."
"But you cheated! The bet isn't valid… If anything, you owe me a car."
Ezekiel raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Tony and asked, "And how exactly did I cheat?"
"You used those red eyes of yours, those things are basically cheating!"
"They're a part of me and there are currently no rules that say I can't use them. Besides I didn't actually use them, you were beaten on pure skill."
"Bulls-"
Tony was cut off as Pepper elbowed him hard in the side and he let out a soft groan of pain. She shot him a glare as she looked at him before she flicked her eyes towards Morgan who was still engrossed in working on the puzzle. Tony's eyes widened slightly before he slowly nodded as he slowly said, "Even if you didn't use your eyes, you still cheated…"
"You say that every time I win at something."
"That's because you always win!"
Ezekiel shrugged as he said in a smug tone, "It's not my fault I'm better than you. If anything you should thank me."
"Why the… Heck should I thank you?"
"Because I keep you humble and it keeps your ego in check."
Pepper giggled as she covered her mouth while Tony shot Ezekiel a glare. Ezekiel ignored him as he said, "JARVIS send him the file please."
"I already placed it on his private server."
Tony stared at Ezekiel who continued to ignore him as he worked on the puzzle before he let out a sigh and said, "Show me the file."
A holographic projector on the ceiling shot down a display in front of Tony and on it was modified nineteen-seventy Plymouth Barracuda. While it looked mostly standard with only a few outside design changes to make it look more aggressive. The inside was a completely different beast with a heavily modified chassis which gave it a wider wheel base and made it lower to the ground. The interior while keeping a mostly classic look was still updated with modern features.
As Tony glanced over the design his eyes lit up and he actually got excited before he saw the engine and frowned. He looked it over for a little while before he said, "You should change the engine."
"You are building it for me so don't worry about what's inside of it."
"But that's basically a racing engine… That thing will need constant maintenance and it's not meant for daily driving, it would ruin the engine." Tony said as he looked over the car and noticed the hidden roll cage before he added, "Unless it's meant for racing."
"Just build it, I'll worry about everything else."
Tony glanced over the rest of the design before he finally asked, "What did you use to make this model with?"
"It's a program one of my employees made for his family's business. They make custom cars and use it as their in house software."
Tony nodded before his head snapped up and he asked, "Wait, you hired other programmers?"
"Of course, did you think I could program everything myself and take care of the maintenance upkeep of my servers? I have a couple hundred programmers on payroll."
Tony relaxed slightly and let out a laugh before he said, "It's good to know you're human."
Ezekiel rolled his eyes before he turned back towards the puzzle. They shared a bit of small talk for a while until JARVIS interrupted them as he said, "Ezekiel, I need to inform you that Ms. Hela is about to be attacked."
"Attacked? Where is she at?" Ezekiel asked as he stood up from his spot and moved towards the open area of the living room with the otter pop not even half finished in his left hand.
"Need a hand?"
"She is in a warehouse area slightly North of Akihabara. A group of heavily armed men are currently moving in to surround her position." JARVIS said and a moment later Ezekiel opened a portal as he said, "No, but thanks. I'll talk to you later."