chinaroses | FE 2024 Prompt Table 2 Fill #39

Morgan and Jiya walked with fingers intertwined as they made their way through the Avengers Museum, their daughters Zara and Meera were skipping ahead with excitement. The museum was truly a treasure trove of information about Earth's Mightiest Heroes who had saved the world countless times in the last sixty years. Morgan could not help the pride he felt as he watched his daughters soak it all in like sponges.

They wandered from exhibit to exhibit, Zara's eyes lighting up as she spotted the section that was dedicated to Iron Man. "Daddy, Daddy, look! It's Grandpa! It's Grandpa!" she squealed in excitement, causing other people who were nearby to look in her direction.

Morgan smiled at them as Jiya wrangled their oldest daughter in, and he said, "She just really loves Iron Man. You know, kids?" The entire time he is saying this, he was hoping that no one would recognize him — for being either the son of Tony Stark or Dr. Stark, the doctor whose research team whose research would eventually wipe cancer off the face of the planet.

The nearby parents smiled, nodded, and went back to their own families.

"Daddy!" Zara called out again.

Smiling Morgan walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders, "I see, sweetie. I see it's Grandpa."

He smiled as she went back to looking at the glass encased suit of armor. He smiled on the outside but on the inside he couldn't help but feel a tiny ache of sadness. His life had been a good one, even an amazing full of people he loved and that loved him. But among all of those people, the one who had always been missing was the man whose face he was now staring at.

Oh, his Mom and Dad had made it a point to tell Morgan everything they could also his father, about the kind of man he had been beyond the public persona and what history would record about Tony Stark. While Morgan was grateful to have those stories about his father, in the end, they were still just stories without any personally lived context for, and because if that, Morgan knew he'd always have an ache in his heart that could never be filled.

His inner turmoil didn't go unnoticed by Jiya, and she put a hand on his arm murmuring, "It's okay, Morgan. We're here so you and the girls can see your father and celebrate his legacy."

Morgan blinked away tears, and nodded, so grateful for his beautiful wife's love and support. Zara slipped away to run over to where her sister was looking enraptured at another glass enclosed piece of armor. Taking Jiya's hand again, they walked over to where their girls were.

"Daddy, did Grandpa really make all of this?" Meera asked, her beautiful dark eyes wide with wonder.

Morgan ran a hand over her hair, a bittersweet smile on his face, "Yes, baby, he did. Your grandfather was one of the most brilliant men to ever live. He loved to invite and build things, like these suits of armor."

Zara pulled on her mother's sleeve, her eyes excited as she asked, "Mommy, did Grandpa fly in that suit? The signs says that he did! Did he?"

Like Morgan, Jiya had only heard the stories about Tony's exploits as Iron Man, but nevertheless, she nodded, "Yes, Zara, he did fly in that suit. He was the one and only Iron Man."

As they continued to explore the museum, Morgan felt a sense of gratitude for the man who had been the father he had known, James Rhodes, or Rhodey as he had learned his father had called him. His Dad had raised him, loved him, and had long with Morgan's mother, and had guided him throughout his life. He had done so with his father's blessings as Morgan had heard the message his father left behind in the days before his death. Thanks to his father, Morgan did not spend his childhood wanting a father to love him. He had everything he had needed and so much more.

***

After having lunch in the Museum's cafe in which they all feasted on Iron Man themed Arc Reactor veggie burgers with fries and Tiny Treats by none other than Ant-Man himself, they decided to go to explore the second exhibit that they were all excited to see, which was the War Machine exhibit.

Morgan and Jiya stopped just short of entering the exhibit, having let the girls go ahead of them some Morgan could take a moment to prepare.

Jiya squeezed his hand, "Are you certain that you want to go in? I can go through the exhibit with the girls if it's too much?"

His Dad had been gone twenty years, and Morgan still missed him beyond words.

Morgan took a deep breath, and shook his head, "No, I'm okay. I want to see the exhibit. I want to see how the world remembers the man who was my Dad."

"If you're sure?"

"I am... but thanks for being concerned, honey. Come on, we'd better get in there before the girls wander too far ahead of us," Morgan replied, kissing her hand before leading the way inside.

Meera spotted them first, and she excitedly pointed to the larger than life portrait of Morgan's Dad, "Look, Daddy! It's Granddad!"

Morgan smiled, looking at his Dad in his military uniform that proudly displayed every medal he'd ever been awarded, and he nodded, "Yep, sweetie, that's your Granddad all right."

In the meantime, Zara was entranced with the War Machine armor his Dad had worn as part of his Air Force and Avengers careers.

While he stood there gazing at the portrait of his Dad, so many memories came flooding back to his mind — memories like how his Dad taught him to ride a bike, playing catch in then backyard, and helping him put together the most intricate LEGO sets he could find.

He cherished the memories of the late-night conversations they'd had when he'd gotten a little older talking about life, love, and how doing what was right echoed in his heart. He could still hear his Dad cheering him on from the sidelines during the years he played baseball and the wonderful laugh his Dad had when they'd laugh together until tears of mirth ran down their faces.

Once more Jiya must have sensed how he was feeling as she wrapped her arm around his waist offering him her love and support. Morgan wrapped his arm around her in return, leaning into her embrace, so grateful for her presence and for her love.

"Daddy, Daddy, come see!" Zara's excited call broke through to him. "Come see the tanks Granddad picked up!" She was jumping up and down in excitement, along with her sister.

Morgan looked at his wife, gave her a kiss, and then he walked over to where his girls were chattering away about their Granddad.