Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Everything hurt.

That was the first thing Rhodey registered when he opened his eyes, squinting against the sun as it cut though the trees. He raised up a hand to shield his face, sucking in a breath of cool air as a breeze blew over him. He took stock of his body - his back ached something fierce, his head was throbbing, and his thoughts were slow.

The last thing he remembered was walking toward the building where he was supposed to present Tony his Apogee award - if he showed up. It was always up in the air if Tony remembered without Pepper chasing him down.

So why was he laying in grass?

He pulled himself up to sit, blinking until his eyes adjusted to the sun. Immediately, he scanned the area - thick trees with leaves beginning to turn orange, lush grass, and what sounded like running water nearby. The position of the sun said it was around four o'clock.

A groan from behind had him twisting. A man clothed in black sat up, rubbing at his eyes with a palm. He immediately recognized Happy Hogan, Tony's personal bodyguard, the lead of a security detail that could rival the secret service. "Happy," Rhodey called, voice surprisingly strong, "are you alright?"

"Yeah," he croaked, blinking at him. His mind seemed to snap to focus right then, looking around with surprise. "Where are we? How... how'd we get here?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." He rubbed his temple. The pain was gradually fading and he managed to pull himself up to stand. He held out a hand and pulled Happy to his feet. "What do you remember last?"

"I was with Tony, in Vegas. He was gambling."

Rhodey couldn't hold back a sigh. "So he was planning to miss his awards ceremony. Figures." He rubbed the bridge of his nose, only to jerk up. "Wait, if we're here, where's Tony?" No matter his feelings toward his best friend right now, he did not like the idea of him being without his main security man, even if the rest were capable. He was the main arms dealer for the US military, a billionaire, and a Stark. He had been a target his whole life.

A sound, like the crack of a tree limb, came from his right. Both of them turned, falling into defensive positions. "Tony?" Happy asked hesitantly.

"No, definitely not," a female voice responded. A few seconds later, Pepper Potts appeared, picking her way around the trees with her high heels in her hand. She swiped a twig from her hair, grimacing. "How did we get in the woods, exactly?"

Rhodey shrugged, biting down the panic that was steadily beginning to build inside. "No clue. You were at home, weren't you?"

"Mr. Stark's house." She replied, falling back on formality. The woman tended to flip flop between that and informality, depending on the situation. Times of stress brought back the 'Mr. Stark.' "There was some last minute paperwork to get set up for him tomorrow morning before he gets on the plane."

"This has to be connected to Tony, somehow. He's the only reason we're all connected." Rhodey pondered, kicking at a stray twig. "Some invention of his gone wrong sent us somewhere else. It's the only way we could all get here."

"I don't know if even Tony is advanced enough for teleportation. That's comic book science." Happy stated. "If he had, he would have rambled about it at some point."

"As he told me in college, nothing is impossible for him. This could be time travel, for all we know."

"He better not have sent us to the past." Pepper said, a tinge of hysteria bleeding into her voice.

"There's a chance he could be around." Rhodey turned, doing a full circle to analyze what he could beyond the immediate trees. He took a few minutes to look around the area, asking Pepper if she heard anything when walking over, and searched a few yards around their section with Happy, calling their friend's name. When he didn't catch sight of the genius, he and the bodyguard returned to where Pepper was trying to get phone signal with no luck. "Let's walk. We'll either find him or someone else who can tell us where in the world we are."

"Which way?"

"Best to follow the sun rather than get turned around." He said, already walking ahead. "Pepper, behind me. Happy, take up the rear." When he glanced over his shoulder, he saw they followed his orders without question. Pepper seemed to calm down a little with them watching her back. It made Rhodey feel a little better, too. Even if this was his fault, Tony would kill them if something happened to Pepper.

'And then he would die from not knowing how to do anything without her,' he thought, suppressing a laugh despite the admittedly dire situation. Pepper was the only person who managed to keep Tony somewhat in line. It was a feat he thought impossible before she came along.

Without a watch, Rhodey kept an eye on the sun's position to keep track of time. Pepper probably had one, considering she had to keep up with Tony's hectic schedule and Tony himself, but doing this kept him focused. Almost an hour passed of walking, occasionally calling Tony's name, when he heard something. He held up a hand, stopping their human train, and listened.

"Good hit, Morgan!" A young, male voice called, followed by a whoop.

"I got it, I got it-" Another boy yelled. Mere seconds later came the dejected, "I don't got it."

"Home run! Home run!"

"Hey, no fair! You can't carry her!" Despite his words, the boy was laughing.

"All's fair in love and baseball, Harley!" The first boy said, an obvious smile in his voice, and Rhodey was reminded distinctly of Tony. Among the banter was the joyous laughter of a little girl, who must have been Morgan. "Your turn. Morg, do you want to throw it?"

"Yes!"

Rhodey didn't exactly want to intrude on what sounded like siblings having a great time, but they needed a working phone and directions. He walked the last few yards to the edge of the woods cautiously, a gap in the trees soon becoming big enough for him to see a large cabin, the edge of a lake, and three kids - two teenagers and a little girl, maybe five years old - in the yard. The blonde kid had a blue plastic bat, practicing his swing as the girl, Morgan, seemed to weigh the ball in her hand, ready to pitch. The tallest boy, a lanky brunette, watched with a smile - but then he tensed. His smile dropped. His eyes narrowed.

And he looked straight back at Rhodey.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, Pepper and Happy stepping up on either side of him. Rhodey raised his hand higher in an awkward wave and that seemed to snap him out of it. He lurched forward, scooping up the girl in a blur, tucking her against his chest without ever taking his eyes off of them. The laughter stopped as the blonde boy questioned the taller, who pointed, and then they were all looking at the trio.

Rhodey understood. They had a cabin in the woods, probably isolated from everyone else, and three adults dressed in obviously not hiking gear - his military dress, Happy's security suit, Pepper's pencil skirt - appeared in their yard. It would freak out anyone, kid or not, and he raised his other hand to create the universal gesture of surrender.

"Hey," he called, trying to sound non-threatening which probably made him sound more threatening, "sorry, we're lost. Are your parents around? We could really use a phone, or directions?"

The boys stared. The taller one took a step forward, freeing one arm to put it out in front of the shorter boy. The blonde pushed it down, shooting a brief glare at the brunette as annoyance took over fear, and it was such a Tony move that Rhodey had to reboot his brain.

Morgan was peering at them, confused yet curious. Her head tilted to the side, hands fisted in Peter's shirt, and her brown hair and equally brown eyes were so familiar. It didn't take him but a half second to place why.

She was an echo of Tony.

He mentally shook himself out of it. His worry for his friend was bleeding into his perception and that wasn't good. 'Focus, Rhodes.' The sooner they got back, the sooner he could check on Tony - and if this was his fault, kick his butt all the way to Florida.

The boys were still staring. The blonde boy - his gut said he was Harley - had the baseball bat hefted over his shoulder, and his eyes said he was ready to swing at something other than a ball. The girl said something, too quiet for Rhodey to pick up on, and the older kids shared a look. In sync, without breaking eye contact, they yelled:

"Dad!"

It didn't take ten seconds. The front door to the cabin flew open and a man ran out, vaulting over the porch railing and sprinting toward them. His right hand was covered in what looked like red armor, the center glowing blue - and it was leveled at Rhodey. When he was close enough to pick out facial details, Rhodey had to grab onto Happy's frozen form to stop himself from fainting. Pepper gasped beside him, hands flying to her mouth.

The man - it couldn't be, it couldn't be, oh Lord it was - skid to a stop in front of his kids, the blue pulsing in his palm and promising death if Rhodey moved an inch. Rhodey barely paid it any mind, too focused on the man's face. His hair was lighter with age, face lined with stresses that Rhodey couldn't imagine plaguing him, eyes full of determination, confusion, anger, and calculation in a way he'd never seen.

His mind refused to process, but his eyes were seeing it. There was no mistaking him.

"Tony?" He breathed.

The man - his best friend, his brother, over a decade older and a father - didn't respond to him. Instead, he spoke, voice directed at the kids: "Peter, take Harley and Morgan inside. Call Dr. Stange. Tell him to get his butt over here. Now."

The eldest - Peter, he'd been right on who was who - looked like he wanted to protest, but held his tongue. He hoisted Morgan higher on his hip and started to walk back to the house, grabbing Harley by the shirt collar when he tried to remain and dragging him with them until he cooperated. Only when they were in the house, door shut firmly behind them, did Tony respond.

"Who are you and how do I know you?"

"What?" Rhodey choked. "Tony-"

"Look," he cut him off, "you've either time traveled or are poorly made clones. Things will go a lot smoother if you answer my questions. If not..." He wiggled the red fingers of what appeared to be some sort of robot glove, "...I'm not afraid to use this. I'll feel really guilty later if you're time travelers, so save us all the hassle, and let's get this figured out, alright?" His mouth quirked up in a smile that was anything but friendly. Rhodey could recognize it. It was the smile he gave when a reporter got too close to a sore spot, or when someone made a bad comment about Pepper, or when a teacher at MIT mocked Rhodey.

"James Rhodes." He answered, somehow keeping his voice even. "My mom calls me Jim. You call me Rhodey, and a lot of other things. I'm a colonel, Stark Industries liaison, and your best friend since you were a scrawny, smart mouthed fourteen year old at MIT. We shared a dorm. Random assignment. Room 310. Best assignment I ever got."

Tony regarded him silently, then shifted the gauntlet to Happy. "You now."

Happy gulped audibly. "Harold Hogan. You call me Happy. Anyone else would call me Harry, but you've always been unconventional." Something in Tony's face eased for a half second before steeling. "I'm your bodyguard. I'm supposed to be your chauffeur, but usually you drive, or we race, and you always win."

He shifted the gauntlet again, though he aimed a bit down rather than at Pepper. "You last." He said. For the first time since he came running out, he seemed to hesitate. The gauntlet was still on, but he didn't dare aim it at Pepper Potts.

"Virginia-" Pepper broke off to drag in a breath. "Virginia Potts, but everyone calls me Pepper because of you, even on the news. I threatened Happy with pepper spray to see you and you heard. Hired me to be your PA because I had the guts to come tell you that there was an error in the numbers. You said you needed someone like me to keep you in check."

The genius swept his eyes over them all, then lowered his hand to point at the ground at an angle. He didn't trust them, but he wasn't about to blow them to kingdom come either. (A distant thought flew across Rhodey's mind, wondering if everyone had gloves like that these days, if Tony had revolutionized daily weapons, but he waved it away. This wasn't the time to wonder about that.)

"I'm not completely convinced," he said, "but that's better than nothing. We'll wait for the magician to confirm it." He tilted his head and Rhodey was reminded of that little girl. Tony was a dad. A dad. He never thought he'd see the day. "Let me guess, 2008? January?"

"Close." It was Pepper who replied. "February 18th."

Tony flinched. Not just a little, either. It was a full body flinch, his jaw tightening as the date appeared to hit him like the kids' baseball.

Rhodey immediately reached for him, but Tony held up the gauntlet. "Nope, nope, you stay over there until Harry Potter gets here. I am not getting killed by clones. That would be a new level of stupid for me." With his free hand, he adjusted his jacket, pushing the sleeve further up his right arm when it tried to slip. "I could never live it down."

"I find it hard to believe that. You level up every year."

Tony snorted out a laugh. It was hollow. Old. "You don't know how true that is, sourpatch."

Rhodey's heart twisted. "Tony-"

He wasn't able to get out more than that because a golden circle swirled to life a few feet away. A man stepped through, red cape waving unnaturally, and immediately asked, "Stark, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. I'm retired from this junk." He threw his hands up in the air as the circle disappeared in a swirl of sparkles. "Why can't this kind of stuff happen to Steve?"

"Because you can't stay out of trouble for more than three days."

"This was not my fault!"

"Says the man who invented time travel in the first place."

"Sounds like your fault, Tones." Rhodey quipped automatically, his mouth somehow working even as his brain was short circuiting. Was this man magic? Tony shot him a familiar glare before turning back to the guy - Warlock? Sorcerer? Space alien? Tony called him a magician, but that seemed like too small a word for him. And what did he mean by Tony inventing time travel?

This had to be entirely his fault.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to warn me about messing with the past? You can't tell them that."

The man - Dr. Strange, it had to be - took the yelling with a blank face. "I've already analyzed the spell used on them. I will talk to you more later, in private, but it will not alter the timeline. They should forget anything consequential as soon as they return." He raised a brow. "And who are you to talk about creating separate timelines?"

Tony huffed. "Whatever. When will they go back?" He gestured toward them. Rhodey felt hurt for a moment, then remembered all the trashy time travel movies they'd watched and the theories he and Tony had thrown around about it. Them being here couldn't be good.

"One week."

"A week?!" Rhodey exclaimed, along with Pepper and Happy. Tony groaned.

Dr. Strange's attention shifted to them. "Yes, one week. You will reappear in the same second you were taken from. Upon your return, you may briefly keep impressions of what you felt here for a time, but no matter what you learn, you will not be able to change what will happen. If you do somehow manage to remember anything concrete for any amount of time, I hope you all understand how dangerous it would be to say or do anything to try and change the course of events. It would be catastrophic."

With that rather ominous message, he waved a hand, forming a new golden circle that seemed to lead into a living room. "Good luck, Tony. We'll be in touch later." He waved and stepped through, shutting what could only be a portal behind him.

"Jerk." Tony muttered. He wiggled his fingers again and his armor started folding back from his hand. He quickly stuffed that hand in his pocket before they could see it, which Rhodey found odd. "Well, I guess you're welcome in. You probably have questions, but I'm starving, and the kids are probably spying on us. We've got lasagna."

With that, he turned on his heel and walked back to the house. Rhodey was first to follow, Pepper and Happy quickly catching up. His head was spinning with questions that he was afraid to ask. How far in the future were they? Why create time travel in the first place? What was Tony retired from? How did Tony know how to cook?

What had changed Tony Stark?

Chapter Text

"Make yourselves at home." Tony said, holding the door open for Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy - who also weren't exactly his Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy. His Pepper was at Stark Industries in Virginia, attending a marketing meeting. His Rhodey was on the other side of the state with his mother, Mama Rhodes. His Happy was on a date with May Parker. How was he going to explain this to them? Either set? He was already getting a headache at the thought. "Mi casa es su casa and all that."

He was minorly surprised at how steady his voice came out, considering he was an inch away from losing his mind, but he was not about to freak out his kids or the 2008 Trio, as he was dubbing them in his mind. He was Tony Stark. He had faced time travel a few times. He could handle this.

Except just seeing them was dragging up memories he didn't want to think about. And they're from the day before Afghanistan? There was so much to explain, so much he didn't want to think about.

There was no getting around it either. They would want to know. Strange said in front of them that they would forget everything when they returned, so Tony couldn't just lie about information screwing with the timeline. Stupid Strange. He was uninvited to the Christmas party. (Except he wasn't, because he brought those absolutely amazing chocolate chip cookies last year that he refused to give out the recipe for, and Tony might have to commit burglary of his magic building if he didn't get them.)

As he shut the door behind them, carefully keeping his scarred right hand out of view, he heard Pepper say, "You have lovely furniture." She sounded surprised and Tony couldn't blame her. The cabin was far more homey looking than anything else he'd ever lived in, without the designer couches and sleek, modern look. It was clearly lived in rather than meticulously organized by cleaning services - Peter's hoodie draped over the back of the couch, Harley's half-finished science project in the corner, Morgan's toys set about in various places, a video game console with the controllers left on the coffee table, school books open mid-homework and pictures on most flat surfaces.

They must have been too overwhelmed to recognize who all were in the photos.

"My wife picked it all out. She has great tastes." He said, getting three heads snapping toward him at the word 'wife.' He ignored them, heading for the stairwell with his right hand in his jacket pocket. "You'll meet her soon. She's kicking butt at SI right now. You guys probably have half a million questions, I know, but my kids are probably eaves dropping. I'm going to go talk to them, then I'll be back. Take a look around. Might find some answers for yourselves." He was talking fast, not looking at them as he took the stairs two at a time to get away.

As soon as he was out of their sight line, he took a few seconds to lean against the wall, breathing deeply with his fingers pressed to his temples. He didn't want to go back down there. He had fifteen years of explaining to do and he didn't want to relive a lot of them. The memories were already knocking against the walls of his mind, reminding him of the pain, confusion, and fear he experienced for years. It wasn't helping that the anniversary of the Final Battle was Saturday, two days from now, and he was still debating if he would accept the call to give a speech for it. To think he had started believing he was being given a break from this kind of crap after the final battle - peace could never last forever, could it?

He dropped his hands, staring at his right one, which trembled. It was scarred visibly, all the way up to his shoulder and partway up his neck, which was covered by his jacket now. Apparently, from how Strange explained it afterward, the Stones had... talked, between Banner's snap and his, and made a few decisions after reading his soul. The six magical stones - which still sounded like they came straight out of a comic book, but whatever - decided to let him, a human, live through the impossible. They mitigated the effects of the snap on his body as much as possible while still granting his wish of obliterating Thanos and his army, allowing him to keep his arm and for his injuries to heal - to an extent. Some days, his arm couldn't handle the weight of a full coffee cup. Some days, he got headaches and/or overwhelming exhaustion that left him unable to move. Some days, he got trapped in the memory - the fear, the determination, the power that was far too much for him to handle - and was left shaky for hours, unable to focus on anything.

Still, it was all better than being dead. He couldn't imagine what that would do to his family, especially his kids. Just a few months ago he had to don the Ironman suit, contact the police, and take down his former employee, Quinton Beck, after hearing about him from Peter and Fury. He'd been targeting Peter, and Tony had seen red. He knew the guy, knew he was unstable, and Tony would be dead before he let someone with a stupid grudge against him hurt one of his kids.

Beck would be rotting in prison for the rest of his life, only alive because Tony wanted to show mercy to be a good example for Peter.

Shaking his head to keep his thoughts from spiraling down that abyss, he focused on the hallway, bringing himself down to Earth by remembering what each door was for. Many bedrooms adorned it, reserved for his children as well as other members of his family who wanted to visit. (He'd had to build on more to the first floor to accommodate the sheer number of family he now had.)

Nebula's room was only a few feet away from him, on his right, currently unoccupied but ready for when his alien child returned in two weeks. The Guardians made a point to come by Earth as much as possible. Nebula sometimes visited on her own. After watching how Vision could go between android and human appearance, she had hesitantly requested Tony do the same for her so she could walk around with her siblings without being stared at on the streets or mobbed by those who knew of her as an Avenger and alien. He had utilized SHIELD's disguising tech to create a synthetic skin for her arms and a mask for her face and neck, accompanied by an appearance that she liked - long, straight red hair to relate to Pepper, complexion the same as Tony's, a small smattering of freckles like Pepper, and brown eyes like Tony. She had been happy enough to show her joy when she could walk freely around a festival with Morgan on her shoulders, Peter and Harley babbling at her sides. (He had a picture of the moment by his bed.)

The next room was for Vision, along with his wife, Wanda, who Tony had made amends with when she visited his hospital room. (As soon as he'd been cleared to go to the lab, he brought Vision back - the mind stone apparently decided it liked being part of Vision and made a replica of itself, appearing in Tony's lab with a flash that alerted FRIDAY hours after he'd awoken from a short coma. It was a decoy that worked as it had for years in the head of the android. Tony had made sure Wanda was the first face his son saw.) Directly across from them was a door with two crooked signs: 'Tommy' and 'Billy.' His grandsons. They'd grown unnaturally fast before he and Vision put a stop to it, and now the boys were four, healthy, and happy - with a dash of superpowers thrown in. Tony and Pepper watched them overnight at least twice a month and they attended the same school as Morgan.

There was a bathroom at the end of the corridor, then his and Pepper's room after the twins' room.The next room was Morgan's, her door covered in colorful stickers and her own name sign that she'd drawn. Ever since she'd been able to have her own room and not a crib by Tony and Pepper's bed, her room had stayed exactly where it was, waiting to be surrounded completely by her siblings.

Next was Peter's door - decorated in Star Wars stickers with his name in the middle of it all. His third eldest (he counted Vision as the oldest since he accessed his age to be twenty-seven, and Nebula, by her own estimation, was twenty-six) moved between him and May, creating a schedule to spend time with them both. May sometimes just came over to the cabin so they could all spend time together, or they all went out to eat if Peter started worrying he was spending more time with one piece of his family over another.

Harley's room was across from Peter, door rivaling his brother with Star Trek stickers around his name. His third son had been accepted into Midtown, two grades below Peter, and Tony and Harley's mom had arranged for him to live with Tony, but visit whenever possible. She got him in Tennessee during the summer and other school breaks except for Christmas, when Tony would fly her and Harley's sister, Abigail, out to stay in the cabin for those three weeks. Visiting went both ways. All Harley's mom had to do was call and Tony would have a jet waiting for her.

Abigail's own room followed, directly left of Tony's current position, splattered with paint and her name written in calligraphy. When Harley started spending more time with Tony after the Mandrian incident, she had wanted to do the same, six years old and chasing after her brother. Harley had been annoyed, as older brothers could be, but Tony just laughed and asked their mother, Rosa, if he and Pepper could take her, Abby, and Harley out for a day of fun. Slowly, Tony took the place of 'Dad' for both kids, and Pepper became their 'Bonus Mom.' (Rosa was called 'Mama' while Pepper was 'Mom.') Abby, now thirteen, was primarily living with her mother, but visited at least twice a month, spending most of it playing with her siblings.

There were six other bedrooms, split between the first floor and the spacious basement. Four of them were technically guest rooms, but were really Rhodey, Happy, May, and Rosa's rooms, since it never changed which guest was staying in them, though he suspected Happy and May's rooms would be combined soon enough. Tony had taken his family into account before building the place, outlining the floor plan with them in mind. The other guest rooms were for Avengers, retired or not, to stay. There had been another one in the basement, but it had been converted into a kid's play space away from his lab, full of bing bags, video games, board games, and all the other things his kids liked. They could disappear down there for hours, Tony or Pepper only heading down if there was an argument or got too quiet (too quiet was never a good sign for the adults).

"Dad?" His head snapped up, finding Peter's door partially open with the boy peeking around the threshold. Tony was willing to bet he was the one who herded his younger siblings up the stairs into his room rather than loitering in the livingroom. "Are you okay?"

"I'm alright, bambino." He replied, offering a small smile. "Just thinking." He headed over, slipping into the room when Peter stepped aside, and shut the door to keep the time travelers from overhearing or sneaking up on them. They had to have found the photos by now and Tony needed to mentally prepare himself.

He looked over the room. Harley was sitting on Peter's space-themed bed, looking far too innocent to not have been getting Peter to relay the earlier conversation through super hearing. Morgan was beside him, looking adorable and confused, holding their family cat, a completely black one named Salt, who looked entirely unimpressed, as always. Peter himself hovered at his side, obviously anxious, and he spotted their golden retriever, who Morgan had named Cap (much to Tony's utter delight whenever Steve visited), had settled himself on Peter's personal bing bag to chew on a dog bone. Tony nudged the cat away and scooped up Morgan, ruffled Harley's hair, and threw an arm around Peter, reminding himself they were all there, all safe. He'd been cleaning the kitchen from the mess he made creating lasagna when he'd heard that heart-stopping yell for him. It might have shaved a year off his life.

(Pepper was wrong. It was a good idea to keep wearing his repulsor watch.)

"Time travel sucks." He stated, currently ignoring the fact that he created it in the first place. He was grateful for it as it had been the only way to bring everyone back, including Peter, Harley, and Abigail, but he hated when other people tried to use it. Stupid magicians, sorcerers, whatever they were. Why couldn't people learn that if you mess with time, time always messes back?

Harley shrugged. "It depends on perspective."

Tony rolled his eyes, a smile tugging at its lips. "Not like this."

"Why do they look like Mommy, Uncle Rhodey, and Uncle Happy?" Morgan asked, looking at him with wide eyes. "Petey and Harley won't tell me!"

He rolled the words around on his tongue. Obviously, Peter and Harley had communicated what was happening to each other while keeping Morgan out of the loop - his boys were fluent in Italian (Peter because of his aunt and Harley from hanging around Tony for six years) and while Morgan was picking it up quickly, she wouldn't have understood this, especially if the boys were using the Code (a mix of Italian, French, and Spanish that started as a joke). He was glad they did not tell her until he got there, but it also meant he now had to find the right words to explain to Morgan who the time travelers were and why they might act weird around who her father was now.

"Well, Morg," he began slowly. She was smart, he just had to say it right, "that's who they are, but they're from a different time. Do you remember when Daddy was down in the basement last year and said that bad word-"

Morgan clearly did because she repeated it. Peter choked on a laugh, muffling it with his hand. Harley had no such qualms and fell off the bed because he was laughing so hard. It alerted Cap, who ran over to check on him by licking his face. Tony shot them both half-hearted glares before shifting his attention to Morgan, speaking calmly, "Yes, that time. Remember, Mommy coined that word, not Daddy, got it?" Morgan nodded enthusiastically. "Well, Daddy said that bad word after he figured out how to travel through time, and then he left for a few days to go beat the mean purple raisin."

He tightened his hold around Peter when the kid stilled. If they had to speak of Thanos, they either said 'him' or 'mean purple raisin.' Never did they use his name, but it didn't take away the weight of what happened. It would be years before he would fully explain to Morgan who the titan was. All she knew was that her daddy, brother, mother, and the rest of the Avengers were heroes who beat the mean, sentient raisin, and that was how his arm got all messed up by dealing the final blow. Morgan liked to say he punched the raisin so hard he flew into space and Tony was content with that.

"It's kind of like that, except this time, Daddy didn't make them time travel. Some spell did. Uncle Strange has already said so, though he continues to blame me." Yes, he was sour about that. Was he going to risk the cookies? No. Morgan giggled, as did her brothers, the mood shifting into something more joyful as they moved on from Thanos. "They're from 2008, sixteen years ago, before Mommy and Daddy got together."

Her nose scrunched up. "You're old, Daddy."

This time, Peter was laughing hysterically with Harley. Tony pressed him into his side, ruffled his hair, and let him go to flop on the bed face-first as he tried to get control of himself. Salt climbed on his back and started kneading it, apparently deciding he earned her constantly-changing affections for a few minutes. People might think she was named Salt to contrast Pepper despite not being a white cat, but really, it was because she was the saltiest cat Tony had ever met, that brat. (And go figure, the cat near-always loved Pepper and rarely ever Tony. He was fine with it. Really. Not jealous at all.)

"Haha," he bopped her on the nose. "You spend too much time with Harley."

"She's just saying the truth, Dad!"

"And I bet you taught it to her."

All he received for an answer was a smirk.

"Strange showed up, said they'll be here for a week." He said, mostly for Morgan's benefit. One look at the two boys told him they'd been listening - a complete lack of surprise. "This is going to get confusing, and we're going to need to explain a lot of things. They knew your dad when he was a different guy, a not so good guy," he looked at Morgan, knowing his boys didn't completely agree, but it was the truth, "so they're going to be a bit shocked by my life now. Since the timeline won't be messed up, we're going to need to do a lot of explaining. Think you can do that, Morg?"

"Yep!"

Harley raised a hand. "Dad, I have an idea."

"That sentence scares me more often than you know. What is it?"

"Instead of sitting down and explaining everything, let them just... experience it? Dive head first? We kids act natural and let them figure it out?"

"I think you'll leave them with more questions than answers, bud."

"But wouldn't it be more fun?"

He raised a brow. "Harley, are you asking me permission to potentially terrify the accidental time travelers just because they won't remember it later?"

"No, I'm asking permission to educate them on the future through first-hand experience. Not having Mom ground me for it is just a bonus."

Tony somehow kept himself from smiling. Pepper was right - Harley would be the perfect next CEO of Stark Industries, if he chose to take the position. Even at fifteen, he could talk his way into anything, good or bad. "Fine, permission granted, just don't make me regret it."

The smile Harley and Peter shared made him instantly regret his choice, but he was not one to go back on his word.

"I'm going to go talk to them. I'll call you all down for dinner in a few minutes." He went to put Morgan down but she clung on tighter. "Little Miss, don't you want to play for a few more minutes?"

"I want to go with you, Daddy." She said, giving him those adorable eyes that once had him buying a failing candy brand that she loved and revolutionizing it into a million-dollar product to make her happy. "Mommy says I need to protect you. I'm protecting you."

He wanted to argue that he didn't need protecting from the 2008 Trio, that they wouldn't hurt him, that he wasn't hurting, but then he remembered the panic of earlier, of memories of the past trying to take over the present, and hiked her up higher on his right hip. His arm was doing well in holding up today, at least. "Alright." He agreed. He pointed two fingers at the boys. "Do not do anything I would do at your age."

Peter rolled over, Salt having hopped off of him and into the floor, and gave him a thumbs up and innocent smile that Tony believed. Tony did not believe Harley's innocent smile, but resigned himself to the chaos that would undoubtedly come forth. With a stern look at Harley, he left the room with Cap right behind him, tail wagging as dinner time approached. He let the dog go ahead first, partly to keep from potentially tripping over him but also to give himself an extra few moments. From the landing, he could see them, standing in front of a long picture that adorned the far wall of his livingroom.

With a deep breath and Morgan by his side, he descended the stairs, Cap's bark alerting the 2008 Trio of his presence. They whirled around, looking at the dog before locating him, faces full of questions he would undoubtedly have to answer.

It was time to face the music.

Chapter Text

"He's different," Rhodey said as soon as he heard the door upstairs shut, breaking the long silence that had settled among them. None of them had moved from their spots near the door, watching Tony retreat - because that was exactly what he was doing, retreating, but Rhodey really couldn't blame him - upstairs to speak to his children.

Children. Tony had kids. He was married, living in a cabin in the woods, actually surviving for at least a decade after their time. Rhodey had to admit he was relieved - sometimes, he'd wondered if Tony would make it to his forties with the way he lived. Although, he'd never imagined Tony voluntarily moving to a remote area. His cliffside mansion in Malibu was one thing. The woods a whole other story. The one time he tried to take Tony camping during their college days, he'd been so restless and stir-crazy without tech at his fingertips and no one else around. He needed the hustle and bustle of urban living. Rhodey had never imagined him building a cabin.

"Very different." Happy agreed quietly. "But the same, too."

Rhodey nodded. "Yeah, I get what you're saying." Under the lighter hair and older eyes, he could still see their Tony - the way he moved, the way he talked, how his presence still dominated. He was their Tony, just... matured. Stable. Well beyond his partying days.

(There was something under the age in his face. Something beyond the brown in his eyes. A look he'd only ever seen in the faces of people who experienced something that forever changed them. A look he'd seen in the eyes of combat veterans.)

Rhodey forced his heavy legs to move, curiosity driving him into the living room to 'find some answers,' as Tony had put it. He'd noticed what could only be the kids' belongings, marking the space and making it impossibly more warm, but the pictures had drawn his attention. From the foyer, he hadn't been able to pick out details, only noticing that photos adorned near every flat surface and filled the walls. For all the time Rhodey had known Tony, he knew the genius rarely kept photos in his houses. If he did, they were stored away somewhere, outside of view. When he'd asked, Tony would give two separate answers: "since when have I ever been nostalgic?" and "pictures keep you from living in the moment, honeybear."

Partying hadn't been the only thing that changed about Tony.

The first picture to pop out at him was about three feet long on the far wall, adjacent to the television. There were plenty others, but the sheer amount of people in it had him gravitating to it, somewhat in shock. Outside of his AIs, his Tony was close with four people: Rhodey, Happy, Obadiah, and Pepper. That was it. In the photo, Tony was at the center of what could only be described as a crowd, all standing or sitting together. Tony's arm was around Pepper's waist, her head leaning on his left shoulder, and Rhodey grinned.

Of course Tony Stark married Pepper Potts, the only woman who could handle him.

Depending on the year they got together, he either owed Happy fifty bucks, or he owed the bodyguard.

To Tony's right, Rhodey found himself - Tony's right arm across his upper back, hand squeezing Rhodey's shoulder. He could see the fingertips of the elusive hand - he hadn't missed how Tony hadn't let them see it yet and there was a sinking feeling in his stomach about it - but that was it as he was wearing a thin jacket. Future him was smiling ear to ear, bunny ears thrown up behind his brother's head, and all Rhodey could feel was relief. He and Tony were still friends, even all these years and changes later. He hadn't doubted their friendship would last. They had been through heck and back, after all. What was another decade on twenty years of brotherhood?

Happy was beside Rhodey, arms crossed but picture taken in the middle of laughing. A brown haired woman with glasses was on his other side, hand hooked in his elbow, and smiling at him. Rhodey couldn't find a wedding band on either of their hands, but it was clear she adored him, and by the way Happy leaned toward her, he felt the same.

Peter, Harley, Morgan, and another girl were settled at their feet. Peter sat cross legged, Morgan in his lap. The little girl was making a heart shape at the camera, smiling her father's smile. She really was Tony's mini, though Rhodey could see Pepper in her - the straight hair, the nose, the kindness that shined in her eyes. Peter rested his chin on her head while Harley was sitting to his right, holding up a peace sign, both grinning. Apparently, all of Tony's kids had his smile. A happy golden retriever and a black cat that looked like it would rather be anywhere else sat with them.

The unknown girl was beside Harley. If Rhodey had to wager a guess, she was about twelve or thirteen, with curly blonde hair and blue eyes. She was leaned toward the boy, hand out as if she was about to poke him in the side while smiling mischievously at the camera. The two gave off intense sibling energy, even looked similar. Did Tony have four kids? More? How many were around in 2008? When did Tony find them?

Deciding to leave those thoughts for now, he kept looking at the faces in the picture. Obadiah was nowhere to be found. He didn't recognize anyone else instantly except - holy crap, was that Captain America? It couldn't be, but the blonde haired, blue eyed man in a button down perfectly resembled the poster he'd caught a glimpse of in Howard Stark's lab once, when Tony needed to talk to his father while Rhodey was visiting. Rhodey had been a Captain America fan, too, but that had been the only full-color poster he'd seen without the famous cowl. Pictures of Steve Rogers were seered into his memory from learning about him from first grade through senior year of high school. That man looked exactly like him.

Choosing to believe it was coincidence to stave off his rising confusion, he refocused on the new faces, some of which weren't human. His brain had glossed over it until he was forced to recognize that there was a woman with blue skin standing on Pepper's other side. She had her arms at her sides, shoulders tense, but her mouth was tilted up in a tentative smile. Beside her was another not quite human figure, a blue and red android-like person in a sweater with his arm around a brown haired woman. The possible-android and woman each had a child in their free arm - twin boys, by Rhodey's guess, about four years old.

There were so many more people, filling up the photo on either side of Tony. To the left, there was a man with cropped hair, his arm around a woman that could only be his wife. A girl, early teens, stood beside him, a bow across her back. An older boy stood beside the wife, a smaller boy held in a piggy back carry. There was a red haired woman beside them, not looking at the camera as she smiled at the others. (Something told Rhodey that she could cut him down in a second. He wasn't sure why.) Beside her was a vaguely familiar man in a long-sleeved shirt and curly brown hair, a shy smile on his face. He reminded Rhodey of a scientist Tony raved about a few times. Dr. Boone? Bane? Banner? That last one sounded right. The magic guy from earlier, Dr. Strange, was beside him, followed by another, shorter man in similar garb. Lastly, a woman with blonde hair and a face that reminded him of Harley stood, joy obvious in her eyes.

To the right, there was the Captain America look alike. Beside him, a taller, stronger looking blonde grinned at the camera, arm around the shoulders of the first blonde. Next up was another guy that Rhodey somewhat recognized but refused to believe - the features were only a bit older than in the 1940s, but he looked a lot like James Buchanan Barnes, except for the metal arm. His shoulder was clasped by a dark skinned man who was smiling like he was in the middle of telling a joke. Again, the features were recognizable to Rhodey, but more like it was someone he had seen or talked to in passing than actually knew. Following them was a dark haired man, hand on the shoulder of a teen girl with equally dark hair, undoubtedly his daughter. After them was an older man in a black trench coat, an eye patch, and a small, barely there smile. His remaining eye was guarded, yet soft, and he stood ramrod straight, hands clasped behind his back as he faced the camera. Lastly was a blonde woman in a leather jacket who looked to be about to nudge the man, a smile on her face. Rhodey squinted at her. He had seen her. Not in person, no, but he had seen her.

The name clicked. Carol Danvers. Air Force pilot who went missing under mysterious circumstances decades ago.

Rhodey felt like his head was spinning. A blue skinned lady, an android, a military woman coming back from the dead, possibly Captain America in the flesh? Just what all had happened since 2008?

He was drawn away by Pepper's gasp. He wasn't sure how long he'd been standing there - apparently long enough for Happy and Pepper to get up their own courage to look at the photos. Pepper was by the corner shelves to his left, hand halfway to one of the several photos that decorated them. "I'm... Tony and I..."

Rhodey came to her side and immediately saw why she was so shocked. On the shelf were pictures of Tony and Pepper. There was one close-up, Tony grinning while Pepper kissed his cheek. Another had them on the beach, walking hand-in-hand with the sunset behind them. A third had them both sitting in an armchair, Pepper curled up on Tony, both sound asleep. In the center of it all were wedding photos: Tony and Pepper kissing at the alter, another where they held Morgan with the girl holding a basket of flowers, a group photo where the couple stood in the middle with many of the people from the other photo around them as well as several more (there had to be at least a hundred people fitting into the frame, a few individuals not looking entirely human, goodness gracious was that a raccoon-), and finally one with Pepper holding Morgan, Tony holding the shoulders of Peter and Harley, the curly haired girl from earlier in the middle, the android by Tony, and the blue lady on the other side of Pepper, all wearing wedding attire and smiling at the camera. They looked like one big happy family.

(Six kids? Did Tony have six kids? Two non-human kids? How the heck did that happen? Alien adoption agency? Or did he build them? But then how did the android have kids? Adoption? This was so confusing.)

"I'm married." Pepper stated, finally getting out the words. "I'm married to Tony Stark."

"It's not a surprise." He said. Pepper's head snapped to look at him, expression caught between shock and confusion. "He adores you, Pepper. In our time and here." He gestured to the photos. "Obviously here. You're the only one who has ever kept him even marginally in line."

"That doesn't mean...this is..." Her cheeks were turning red, eyes falling on the photos again.

"You two have danced around each other for ten years. It looks like you've finally started dancing together." He looked over his shoulder, meeting eyes with Happy, who also did not look at all surprised that Pepper and Tony got together. Rhodey narrowed his eyes and raised a brow. 'The bet.' He mouthed. 'Wallet ready?'

Happy rolled his eyes. "Look at this," he said, bringing Rhodey's attention to a bookshelf full of pictures and awards. The pictures consisted mainly of Peter, Harley, the unknown girl, and Morgan - photos of them receiving awards, certificates, and medals that adorned the shelves. Morgan had a 'Most Creative Student' certificate and a first place trophy for a spelling bee. Peter had numerous certificates, trophies, and medals for a Decathalon Team as well as chemistry competitions. Harley apparently ruled robotics and ran track at school. The girl, who's name was apparently Abigail, won art and dance competitions.

While he was proud of his apparent nieces and nephews (nieces and nephews!), he did notice something peculiar about the certificates. While most were addressed to Abigail Stark, Harley Stark, Morgan Stark, and Peter Parker-Stark, there were a few different ones. There was Harley and Abigail Keener as well as Peter Parker. While he had guessed from their ages and Tony's possible age that they were born before 2008, some part of him had hoped they were even further in the future and that Tony knew his kids from birth, or that they were Tony and Pepper's biological kids. That was not the case, judging by the name changes and the fact that, so far, there hadn't been photos of Peter, Harley, and Abigail from when they were really young. The earliest he found, Harley looked about nine or ten, holding what looked like a T-shirt gun while smiling with Tony, who was carrying an Abigail who looked about six years old.

There were pictures of baby Morgan, they found. There were pictures of Pepper holding her in the hospital, on the shelf below the wedding photos, along with ones of her growing up to her current age. There was a picture of her blowing out the candles on a 5th birthday cake, Tony and Pepper behind her while her siblings, including the android and blue lady, lined the table on either side, wearing party hats.

There were other pictures on the walls, mainly surrounding the large picture he'd been looking at earlier, and Rhodey took the time to actually take them in. There was one with Peter, Tony, and Harley leaned over a work table, completely engrossed in a project while holograms hung over their heads. A different picture had them all in Disney World, wearing various Mickey Mouse ears, except the blue lady and android looked different. He could recognize their face shapes and clothing styles, and yet they looked... human. The blue lady had long, straight red hair and brown eyes, as if she had designed herself with some of Pepper and Tony's features. The android now had shaggy blonde hair, glasses, and Tony's signature brown eyes, holding both his twins who were sleeping on his shoulders. In that same photo, the now-red head was carrying Morgan on her back and Peter was somehow carrying both Abigail and Harley on his own back. Tony, Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, the woman Happy was with, and the blonde woman who shared features with Harley and Abigail were in the center, grinning at the others more than the camera.

There were dozens more photos, and not just of the kids. There was one with Tony and the Captain America look-alike, standing together, and Rhodey felt power emanating from it despite their relaxed postures. There was one with Tony and five others, all of whom he'd seen in the earlier pictures. The photo was definitely older as Tony's hair was still mostly dark. They were all in a kitchen he didn't recognize, looking tired and a bit injured but happy. There were ones of Tony with a combination of those other five, as well as others. There was one of him, the guy who was usually carrying a bow, the android, and the dark haired guy with a teenage daughter standing together in front of what looked to be a freshly built play set, if the opened toolbox at their feet was any indication, and blurry forms of the kids from the earlier photo running around in the background. The frame had two words written in sharpie across the bottom: Avenger Dads!

There was another photo with sharpie, one that said 'Uncle Tony.' In it, Tony was sitting on the couch with the kids from the earlier photo along with another girl who looked like she was dressed for royalty if not for her Nike shoes.

The next photo confirmed who the twins were to Tony. He was sitting in an armchair, holding them both in the crook of each elbow as babies. He wasn't looking at the camera - he was looking at the two boys, eyes bright with absolute love. He was wearing a red shirt with one word in gold: IronGrandpa. The android was nearby, as was Morgan, looking in on her nephews and-

That couldn't be right.

The boys were at least three, maybe four, now and there was Morgan, looking as she had fifteen minutes ago, peering down at them as babies over the arm of her father.

"How... How did they age?" He muttered, looking to Pepper and Happy as if they would have some kind of explanation. Pepper looked as dumbfounded as he felt, analyzing the picture, and Happy had narrowed his eyes, looking between it and back at the shelf with the certificates.

"That's not the only weird thing," the bodyguard said. "There are no pictures of Harley, Peter, or Abigail with Morgan while she's growing from baby to however old she is now. One day they're there with Tony, then they disappear until recently, unchanged."

"What do you mean?" Pepper asked.

"The certificates..." Rhodey realized. "The dates." He rushed to the shelf, quickly finding the inconsistencies that he hadn't noticed earlier. "Peter was in eleventh grade for both 2018 and 2023. He has two different awards for it. Harley and Abigail are the same way. There's a five year gap of nothing, when Morgan was growing up, and then they appear, the same age they are now." The only one of Tony's apparent kids that appeared with a younger Morgan was the blue lady. Not even the android could be found, though there weren't any pictures of him before her birth either.

Happy rubbed his temples. "And how the heck can that happen?"

"I have no clue, but I know a lot has happened." It wasn't just Tony changing. That was definitely Captain America in those photos. There was an alien lady and an android. There was a raccoon with a bazooka in the wedding photo. There were life forms that definitely didn't exist on Earth. The latest date he could find among the certificates was 2024. That meant sixteen years had gone by. Sixteen years of crazy things that had changed Tony Stark to a better man. Sixteen years of the Earth changing. Sixteen years where any number of good or bad things happen.

And something awful had definitely happened.

He moved back over to the long picture, the footsteps of Happy and Pepper following him. "The world changed." He found his future self, smiling at the camera, adjusted to this world, and envied him. "Tony changed. Things happened." He clenched his jaw. Tony had to create time travel for a reason. "I'm not sure I want to know what."

A bark caught his attention. Whirling around, he found the dog in the photo bounding toward him. A glance up the stairs found Tony, holding Morgan in his right arm - concealing his hand - as he descended the stairs with a level of forced casual that made Rhodey inwardly wince. The dog jumped up on Happy, who awkwardly patted his head, and then the animal raced around them.

"Calm down, Cap." Tony called, reaching the bottom step. "I know, they're new people but not new people. It's weird." He looked directly at Rhodey as he said it.

"It's weird seeing you with grey hair." He shot back automatically.

Tony's lip quirked up, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. "Sign of wisdom, Rhodes."

"You, wise?"

He shrugged. "Live and learn." He moved Morgan higher on his hip, guesturing to her. "This is Morgan, my youngest, which you've probably figured out by now." His gaze flicked over to the shelf of certificates, then to Pepper, and back to Rhodey. "And possibly a few other things."

"We've found the dots. The lines are a little fuzzy." It was the understatement of the century.

"I imagine so." He chuckled, but it was that forced kind of laugh when you want out of a conversation. Rhodey had rarely heard that sound out of Tony. He liked to insert himself in everything, good or bad. "I'll help clear it up, but dinner is in the oven, and I really don't want to burn it again. Let's move this party to the kitchen and I'll answer some questions as long as they don't need big explanations."

Without waiting for their answer, Tony headed into the next room, Morgan peering at them over his shoulder. With no other choice, Rhodey took up the lead to the kitchen, where Tony was settling Morgan on a stool by the island. "Sit anywhere," he said, guesturing vaguely around with his left hand before turning his back to them.

They ended up sitting on stools at the bar. Rhodey didn't want to crowd Tony or get too close to Morgan, considering they were time travelers and how Tony had reacted earlier when he felt his kids were under threat, and Happy and Pepper must have had the same thoughts. Even if Tony did know they weren't dangerous clones, they had shown up by some strange spell and wrecked his apparent retirement.

When Tony turned around, he had oven mitts on his hands. "So, what questions do you have? Something easy, please." He opened the oven and the heavenly aroma from it hit Rhodey immediately. That was something he hadn't smelled in a long time. It was-

"Is that your mom's lasagna?" He asked, watching Tony retrieve the pan and settle it atop the stove. Frankly, the food looked amazing and not the hot mess it always was when Tony got the bright idea of trying to cook in their time.

The genius used his foot to close the oven door before answering. "It is." He tilted his head toward the corner of the room, where Rhodey spotted the ancient Italian cook book that Tony treated like sacred treasure - because it was - sitting open on a little book stand. "I figured when I basically became a stay at home dad I should know how to feed my kids something other than take-out. Isn't that right, Morg?"

The girl nodded enthusiastically, looking at them. "Daddy makes the best lasagna!" She exclaimed. "Everything from Grandma's book is great. He does burn food sometimes though."

"Omelettes are the bane of my existence." Tony deadpanned. "It seems the only things I can make right are from Mom's book. I'm decent with breakfast. I haven't burned the pancakes in two weeks."

"He made Mickey Mouse ones last Saturday!"

"That I did, and they did not burn. Thank God for YouTube and FRIDAY."

"FRIDAY?" Pepper asked. Rhodey had the same question. Surely he wasn't talking about a day of the week. YouTube he did know about, he just hadn't expected it to still be popular.

Tony paused, got an 'oh crap' look on his face, then sighed. "FRI, you can talk, babygirl."

"I was unsure if I was supposed to, Boss." A female voice said, making Rhodey jump. He was used to JARVIS being the only disembodied voice in Tony's houses.

"You did good, hon. Time travelers, meet FRIDAY. FRIDAY, meet 2008."

"It is nice to meet you." She said. "I am aware of your present counterparts, but it is interesting to see you from the past, especially from before my creation."

"Nice to meet you too, FRIDAY." Rhodey said, glancing at the ceiling. It was a habit he had broken with JARVIS, but the instinct was back with a new voice. Pepper and Happy gave their own awkward greetings. "What..." He hesitated, eyes finding Tony. "What happened to JARVIS?" Tony would never replace JARVIS unless he had to, and the look on his best friend's face had Rhodey's stomach sinking.

"Gone. He, uh... passed on. I'll explain more. Later." He replied. His voice came out even. It didn't change the deep sadness in his eyes at the mention of his old AI. "Other questions? Lighter ones."

"How long have we been together?" Pepper blurted out.

"That depends. Married or dating?"

"Both?"

"We've been married six years. Married October 1st. We got together in June of 2010, after you became Stark Industries CEO."

Rhodey lurched up in his seat, laughing. "Pay up, Happy!"

The other man groaned and pulled out his wallet, passing over fifty dollars while Pepper uttered a shocked, distant, "CEO?"

"You two were betting on us back in 2008?" Tony asked, looking more amused than shocked. "I hadn't even given Happy the ring in February."

"Ring?" Happy asked. Tony waved the question off as another thing he would explain later.

"Daddy, you need to turn off the oven." Morgan said from where she'd been watching them.

Tony jumped. "Oh, right, right. FRIDAY? I know I said to let me do things by myself in the kitchen, but-"

"Got it, bossman." The oven turned off.

"Thank you." He opened the fridge, still wearing the mitts, and pulled out a large, clear bowl, full of salad. He set it on the counter near the lasagna. "Morguna, do you want to ask any questions?" He asked his daughter as he pulled the lid off the bowl and grabbed salad tongs.

"Hm," the girl mused, looking at them with eyes far too intelligent for her apparent five years old. "Did you have TV in 2008?" She asked, obvious mischief in her voice. She knew the answer.

Yep, that was Tony's kid.

Rhodey laughed. "We have flat screens, kiddo."

What followed was the three time travelers answering Morgan's questions about 2008 while Tony tossed the salad and made drinks, his left hand free of the mitt but his right one still hidden. Morgan was clearly intelligent, understanding they were from a different time, and was curious about everything. The questions went on until the table was set and Tony was standing at the bottom of the stairs, yelling, "Boys, dinner!" It was such a dad move, and Rhodey was getting used to it. Fatherhood suited Tony.

He helped his daughter off the stool. "Go wash up, your brothers should be down in a minute. If not, you have permission to get them, however the method."

The girl laughed and ran off for the nearest bathroom, probably since she wasn't tall enough for the kitchen sink.

"You've got an angel there, Tones." Rhodey said. "Are they all that adorable?"

"Morgan's got us all wrapped around her finger," he said, smiling softly. "Abby is sweet, but she's got a mischief streak too, like most of them. If she's trying to act innocent, don't trust her. Same goes for Harley. He's the most spirited. Acts like the Devil's spawn sometimes."

"So did you."

Tony snorted. "Yeah, I'm paying for my raising with him. He isn't near as bad as me though. I think it's spread between him and Peter."

"Peter didn't strike me as the rebellious type." Pepper said, seeming to have found her voice again.

"It depends on the situation. Basic teenager stuff, like curfews? Acts like the typical teen about it but usually listens. He's snuck out a few times, but not to party. Kid can't stand too much noise. Sensitive hearing. He's got a heart of gold, helping old ladies across the street and finding stray cats. He's got himself into danger before because he didn't listen, which probably comes from me." As he talked, Tony's eyes got further away. He fell into silence, almost long enough for Rhodey to prod him, ask what was wrong, before he was talking again. "Since he and Harley met, they're two trouble magnets. It follows them as much as they get into it. Part of why my hair has done this." He pointed to the
aforementioned lightened hair. "So yeah, I'm paying for my raising."

"You sure it's just them going to make you pay? Abigail and Morgan haven't reached the moody teen years yet." Happy joked.

Tony made a sound like a half groan, half laugh, leaning against the counter. "Don't remind me." He despaired, making them all laugh.

The laughter was cut short when Tony finally pulled off the mitt.

Rhodey felt like the floor got taken out from under him, looking at the deeply scarred skin of Tony's right hand. It was discolored in places, the scars winding around from his fingers, to his wrist, to under the jacket. It looked like he had been badly burnt, or electrocuted, or both. While he knew Tony worked with dangerous equipment, nothing in his lab could have caused the injury that created such a lasting impression.

"Tony..." Pepper breathed, reaching out for him before stopping herself. Tony held out his hand anyway, a silent offering, and she carefully traced the scarring. "How did this happen?" She asked quietly, pulling away.

"It's a very long story. A culmination of events, really. Fifteen years of them." He rambled, going to hide his hand in his pocket before stopping and resting it on the counter. "The explanation will have to wait until later. I just didn't want it to be a shock at the dinner table. Kinda needed my hand for the fork."

Rhodey's throat worked. He didn't know what to say - didn't even know if he could get the words out through the ball of rage in his chest. He wanted to hit something. He wanted to destroy whatever did that to his best friend. He wanted answers. He wanted to change the timeline, consequences be forgotten, to keep the scars out of Tony's skin, to prevent that permanent shadow from getting into Tony's eyes, to keep him from suffering because hadn't he gone through enough? He wanted to demand answers, to get a direction for his anger, but then Morgan was skipping in, humming a tune to a song only she could hear, and raised up her arms for her father.

Tony scooped her up immediately, pressing a kiss to her temple. She laughed, then seemed to notice the silence and her dad's exposed arm.

"Daddy punched a big mean raisin into space." She explained, taking her father's scarred hand in both of hers. "He hurt his arm, but he helped bring Petey, Abby, and Harley back."

Back from where? It had to be the reason they were missing from the photos, though it didn't explain the absence of the yet named android. Rhodey wanted to ask, but Tony's eyes said the same thing he'd been saying: He would explain later.

"Big mean raisin, huh?" Happy asked, voice hoarse. "Sounds like your daddy is a hero."

"He is! He's Ironman."

Tony chuckled. "That I am, Morguna. Where are your brothers?"

"They're coming." She grinned. It was that same mischief grin of earlier. Tony narrowed his eyes, but before he could say anything, there was a loud 'whoop!' of joy. Peter came flying down the stairs - almost literally. He was hanging from some sort of white rope, his right wrist connected to it. Harley was on his back, laughing as they swung forward, then back, before Peter extended his other wrist and another white rope hit the kitchen ceiling.

"Boys, I've told you a half million times, no using web shooters in the house!" Tony lectured.

Peter dropped down to the ground by their father, the ropes drawing back into some machine on his wrists with two flicks. Harley released his brother, feet hitting the floor as he answered. "I don't think it's possible to have said that a half million times, Dad."

"Feels like it." He huffed, the faintest smile on his face. "Go wash up. It's time to eat. That goes for time travelers, too." Tony grabbed his salad tongs, pointing at the three adults on bar stools, and the tension between them was broken.

There would be time for questions - a lot of questions, with more added on every five minutes (why in the world did Peter have 'web shooters') - later. Now was time to eat and get to know Rhodey's future niece and nephews, as well as who his best friend would become.

Still, he couldn't stop looking at Tony's right hand and wonder how it happened, why it happened, and if he had the power to stop it from happening.

Chapter Text

Tony was incredibly grateful for his kids. He always was, but especially now, as they handled dinner conversation with the time travelers for him. Morgan kept asking questions about 2008 while Peter and Harley figured out how they were different from their current counterparts, outside of the obvious, though asking almost as many questions as their sister. The boys even settled on what to call them when said present-time counterparts arrived, because of course they would cross paths. Happy would be picking the kids up for school in the morning, Rhodey would be here as soon as he heard about what was going on, and Pepper would not be kept away from her children and husband long.

"So, you three will be Pepper, Rhodes, and Happy." Harley concluded, a chunk of lasagna on his fork. "And any other nicknames or names will be toward present era."

"Makes sense." Rhodey agreed. "Less confusion."

"Past-Mommy," Morgan said, as she had taken to calling Pepper, ignoring the newly set rules (understandable, considering her age), "what was Daddy like in 2008?"

"Um, well..." Pepper hesitated, giving her a nervous smile. He had known Pepper a long time and she could handle a lot, but she was clearly getting overwhelmed. Tony could understand. She just found out she married him, had a kid with him, and was CEO of Stark Industries. Anyone's brain would be friend with the first thing, especially considering how he was in 2008, before Afghanistan.

"Morgan," he intervened gently, "how about a different question?"

She tilted her head, eyebrows coming together in that adorable way when she was confused. "But Daddy," she said, "you said you weren't a good man then. What were you like?"

"That's something we can talk about later. It's not really dinner conversation, Little Miss."

"Your father was a good man in 2008." Pepper said, gaining their attention. Morgan brightened at that answer, and Tony's eyes flicked to Pepper, surprised, and he found that Happy and Rhodey were staring at him, unimpressed at what he'd told his daughter about himself. "He made a lot of mistakes, but he wasn't the bad guy he says he was. He cared about us, about me, and did what he could to help people."

Morgan grinned at him. "I knew you weren't ever a bad man, Daddy!"

He managed a smile for his daughter, a knot in his throat, and Peter jumped in to redirect the conversation to what video games and television were like in 2008. Tony's eyes found Pepper. She was giving him a small smile. He mouthed a 'thank you.' She nodded, then asked Morgan what her favorite color was. (Blue and red, she couldn't decide.)

As dinner wound to a close, Harley asked, "Dad, I was thinking, considering how weird this all is-"

"You are not skipping school because of time travelers."

"Ugh."

His kids gathered their empty plates and used silverware, taking it all to the sink. He watched Harley take Morg's from her since she couldn't quite reach yet. "Pete," he called, standing and gathering the time traveler's finished plates - he may or may not have reveled in their surprised looks at the fact he wasn't only cleaning up after himself, but also other people.

"Yeah?"

"Could you get Morgan ready for bed, please? I know it's not time yet, but-"

"I got her, Dad." He said, scooping up the little girl who immediately curled into her brother's arms. "Morg, you wanna play video games with me and Harls?"

"Yes!"

As the kids headed upstairs at his silent request, taking a freshly fed Cap with them, Tony brought the stack of plates to the sink. He'd gotten into the habit of doing the dishes at the end of the day, but they could wait until the morning this one time. "You guys go on ahead to the living room. I'll be there in a minute." He didn't dare look at them. He ran the water, halfheartedly rinsing the plates. There was no lasagna left to put away, between so many people and Peter's enhanced metabolism, and he desperately needed something to do for a minute while gathering his thoughts. (His right hand was trying to tremble where he held the sprayer.)

He heard their chairs gently scrape against the floor and then their footsteps. When he glanced over, he found Rhodey was still there, watching him.

"Tony," he said, coming up to the other side of the bar, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

He drummed his fingers against the counter. "I know you said you'd explain to us, but if it's too much-"

"I'm okay, Rhodey. Really." He gave him a smile that was caught between paparazzi and genuine. "If I don't explain, you'll just spend the week questioning everything, and I don't want that. Trust me, it's better I explain than you see things on the news." And there would be news. With the one year anniversary coming up, he knew about the documentaries that would be played - had a hand in one of them, actually. He knew they would be made, so he took it by the reigns. Rather than allowing false information to be spread, he got a reputable company, got a few Avengers to interview, and had Stark Industries PR and lawyers go over everything. He had even interviewed, though it had been hard to talk about the experience. He'd been just over two months out of the hospital - three months out from his coma - and hadn't fully healed. He survived the interview, even if the nightmares followed him full force for a few weeks afterward.

Sure, he could have FRIDAY stop them from seeing the news or any channel that would be playing the documentaries, but he knew the anxiety of knowing something while at the same time not knowing something. The uncertainty nearly drove him insane at times between the Battle for New York and Thanos making his move on Earth. He couldn't do that to them, even if they would forget in a week.

Rhodey studied him. "Okay," he answered quietly. "Just... go at your own pace, alright?"

"Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk." He joked, desperate to break the moment. Rhodey didn't laugh. "I'll be in there in a minute, alright? Just need to rinse the dishes so they'll be easier to clean in the morning." Nevermind they were mostly rinsed by then.

Rhodey didn't call him out on it, only nodding and heading off to join Happy and Pepper in the other room. When out of sight, Tony let his shoulders slump, pulling in a few deep breaths as his mind whirled. He really didn't want to do this, but he had to. With his luck, them being left in the dark would end terribly later.

He let the cool water run over his right hand, tracing down the rivulets of scars from the Infinity Gauntlet, and focused on staying in the moment as he prepared to go sixteen years into the past.

'I got a happy ending,' he thought. 'I wasn't supposed to, but I did.'

He had to remember that.

Finally shutting off the water and wiping off his hands with a dish towel, he gathered his courage. This was just a story. The story of his life, his redemption. He wasn't going through it all again, no matter what it felt like. He had survived it. If he could live through it, he could tell about it.

Tony entered the living room to find Happy and Rhodey on the couch, but Pepper by the corner shelves, looking at the wedding photos. "If our wedding was six years ago," she asked when he stepped up beside her, "then how is Morgan in the pictures?"

"Oh, this was our re-do wedding."

"Was the first one bad?"

"No, no," he shook his head, hating how she looked at him with sadness and guilt, as if she had been the reason for it. "No, Pepper. It wasn't bad. It just... didn't have everyone we wanted in it. There were a lot of empty chairs for reasons we couldn't control." He could still remember standing by the alter before Pepper came up the aisle, looking at all the open chairs with name tags on them. He had refused not to include them. The chairs for his four missing, thought forever gone, children were right up front. They'd only done the wedding because neither of them wanted to leave the world without having married. The pictures of it, of the empty spaces and smiles tinged with sadness, were locked away somewhere in the basement. "The new one was so we could have everyone."

"It looks like it was beautiful."

"It was." It had been infinitely better than the first wedding. Morgan had been the flower girl, Harley and Peter were groomsmen along with Rhodey (his best man), Steve, Bruce, and Thor. Happy was the ring bearer. Natasha, Nebula, Wanda, and Abby had been bridesmaids. He'd had everyone he'd come to call friend or family in the seats, even the raccoon. It was so amazing that he'd shed tears that weren't anywhere near sad.

When Pepper had taken a seat by Rhodey, Tony found himself standing across from them. He couldn't sit in the recliner. He had too much nervous energy. He stuffed his hands in his pockets to keep from fidgeting. "Okay," he breathed. "This is... I never imagined doing something like this. Laying out my story for the people who know me best. 2008... that feels like so long ago."

"It's 2024, isn't it?" Happy asked.

He nodded. "Sixteen years, yeah. Feels like it's been at least thirty, maybe forty. Things have changed a lot since flip phones and BlackBerries. I've changed. We've all changed." He said. "My change started on February 19th, 2008." He let the date sink in, mentally prepping himself to talk about the catalyst to who he was now. It was their tomorrow. His forever ago. "I gave the weapons demonstration in Afghanistan. Said it was better to have fear and respect. Watched the Jericho explode against the mountainside." He paused, meeting Rhodey's eyes. "We went to leave. I told you to get in a different humvee, and then I was riding in the back with this young soldier, Jimmy. He asked for a picture." He shut his eyes briefly. "Then the world exploded."

Tony forced his lungs to work as the three gasped. It was like they'd stolen all the oxygen from him, and his lungs were fighting for the remaining scraps. Pepper's hands were back over her mouth, Rhodey looked terror-stricken, and Happy was gripping the arm of the couch so hard Tony thought he might tear the fabric.

"I watched them all fall. Jimmy never got his picture." The guilt of his death had ripped him apart for a long time. Still did, when he couldn't sleep, and his terrified face filled his nightmares. He'd found the boy's family, gave them his condolences and apologies, and paid for his siblings' schooling and his parents' home. He did the same for the two others, Amber and Jack, who had been with him, and everyone else who had died or been injured in that ambush. He paid for medical care for those that made it, made sure flowers were on the graves every year of those who didn't, and spent years finding his weapons until they were all gone. "I ran out. It was all I could do. I couldn't find a gun and the bullets were able to go through the doors. I slid down the nearest dune, tried to find cover, call JARVIS. Then I heard something, looked to my right, and there was a bomb with my name on it."

Pepper made a sound, like a strangled scream, and Rhodey was cursing, gripping the side of his head as if he were in physical pain. Happy looked deeply troubled, frozen in place where he gripped the chair, and Tony hated it. He hated seeing them like this. There had been a point, during the dark, lonely nights in those Afghan caves when Yinsen was asleep that he wondered how the three had dealt with his disappearance, how they reacted, if they had thought he was dead without a body to bury. When he'd returned, he hadn't asked JARVIS, hadn't wanted to know. Here, he was seeing it first hand, and he hated it.

"Hey, hey, hey," he waved his hands in front of their faces, forcing the attention back on him. "I'm alive, remember? Everything I'm telling you, I lived through." Even the times his heart had technically stopped, he came back. A little more battered and bruised, but alive. "This isn't... This won't be the only moment I almost died. I need you to remember that I'm here. I made it. We all made it."

He had never expected the happy ending he got. The happy ending they all were slowly getting to. Even as threats rose up, none of them compared to the horror Thanos had inflicted.

"Take a breath. Remember, you're in 2024. Everything I'm telling you, it has happened. The fact that I'm able to tell you means I made it." He said, watching them slowly calm down. Happy released his death grip on the chair, leaving indents behind. Pepper ran her hands through her hair, met his eyes, and took a breath. Rhodey released his head, bringing his hands to claspe in front of him. "Rhodey," Tony said, "I will be forever thankful to God that you weren't with me."

His friend gave a quick nod. "I searched, didn't I? I didn't..."

"You never quit searching." He assured. "But... it was a long three months." He sighed, leaning his head back to look at the ceiling. "I woke up in an Afghan cave with a hole in my chest, a car battery keeping me alive, and terrorists who wanted me to build the Jericho for them." He forced himself to make eye contact again. "They had my weapons. That was when I found out someone in Stark Industries was dealing under the table. For as many weapons as we sold the military, there was a portion of it going to terrorists." He could see the gears whirling in Pepper's head through the horror. Even before becoming CEO, she dealt with most of Stark Industries, in every area, and it would have been as much a shock to her as it was to him about the under-hand dealing.

"There was only one friendly face there. Ho Yinsen. I had met him before, at a conference in 99', but couldn't really remember him. I was drunk then, of course." After Afghanistan, he had pushed the partying out of his life, until he found out he was dying and wanted one last birthday bash. After that, alcohol slowly faded from his life. He hadn't allowed himself to drink after Thanos's Snap, not wanting to head down that road when what was left of his family needed him. They'd all been made of broken shards, desperate to hold on to what was left, and if he went into the bottle, he knew he would shatter them. Since then, he hadn't drank. It became easier when he and Pepper found out they were going to have Morgan. He didn't want his little girl to see her father cling to alcohol, as he had seen his own do several times. "He was the doctor who kept me alive. My weapons had caused similar injuries to what I had. It was called the walking dead. The battery slowed down the shrapnel in my chest, but it wasn't a cure. I needed something stronger.

"Yinsen translated for me. The terrorists were called the Ten Rings, my 'loyal customers,' and they wanted my newest weapon of mass destruction so they could rule the Middle East. I told them no. It didn't turn out too well." He was not about to dive into details there. "I eventually said I would do it." He paused.

"But you weren't." Rhodey guessed. "You never would."

"Right. I needed the materials, the tools. First, I needed to save myself." He went over to the wall, the one that held the lengthy family photo from a month ago. The Guardians hadn't been able to be there, as well as other people he considered family, and it would need to be updated when they were all in the same spot again. He pressed his hand flat against the open wall below it. An invisible scan took place, a quiet ding, and then he was moving his hand as a portion of the wall opened. In its glass casing, the first miniaturized Arc Reactor was slid out into his hands. He brought it over to them, settling it on the coffee table. "This kept me alive."

"The inscription..." Pepper breathed, fingers hovering over the glass.

"That's your work." He smiled. "I'll get to that." He finally managed to settle himself into the armchair. "I built this with Yinsen's help. It was more than enough to power my heart - enough to power something far bigger. And so, the first Ironman suit was born." He tapped the center of the coffee table. FRIDAY, intuitive as she was, brought up the blueprints for Mark I. "Think you can follow along with me, FRI?" He asked. The further he got into the story, the more they would need visual aides. Especially when they got to the first alien invasion.

"Yes, Boss."

"Tony," Rhodey interrupted. He had picked up the glass case, holding it sideways, "this is... it goes so deep. This was in your body?"

"For a long time, yeah. I needed it."

"And when you were in the cave..."

He knew what Rhodey was getting at and he hated it. He hated the horror slowly dawning on them. He hated talking about it. "Yinsen did surgery there, yes. They didn't have the best equipment." He hit the middle of his chest. "It's not there anymore. Don't worry about it, okay?"

They did look like they were worrying about it. Happy looked like he might throw up. Pepper didn't look much better. Rhodey gently put the case back on the table.

"Back to the first Ironman suit," he began, "Yinsen and I spent most of our time building it. We were lucky the guards were too stupid to realize anything if we kept the limbs separate and worked on the torso out of sight of the camera. When it was time to escape, we rigged a bomb to the door to buy time, and Yinsen put in the sequence." He could still remember his face. Tony had put so much pressure on him, determined to get them both out, when Yinsen was preparing to save his life another time. He told them how the suit had taken too long to load, how Yinsen had grabbed a gun and ran to buy Tony more time. He told how he was a saint of a man, and how despite being captured for who knew how long, he hadn't shot any of them. "When the suit activated, I found him. He was nearly gone. Yinsen hadn't planned on saving his own life because he had no one to go home to, no family on Earth. His last words to me were to not waste my life." He then finished quietly. "I took those words to heart."

He forced himself to continue on as the memory of Yinsen's last words, last breath, last everything played in the back of his mind. If he stopped too long, they would try and comfort him, and then he wouldn't be able to stop himself from crying. "After destroying all my weapons they had in that base, I flew out of there. Or maybe it was a giant hop." He chuckled hollowly. "I shouldn't have survived that, but I did. Trekked the desert until I saw the helicopters." He smiled at Rhodey. "You were the first one off of it."

Rhodey gave him a smile, small and strained from the horror Tony was telling him about, but there.

Tony tapped the table again and FRIDAY pulled up footage of him getting off the military plane. There had been no paparazzi, but he had private footage. It clearly showed Pepper and Happy waiting for him as he descended the ramp with Rhodey by his side, and Tony saw all of them slump a little in relief that the Tony who looked as they knew was alive. "I did two things when I got back. I ate three cheeseburgers and then called for a press conference, where I shut down the weapons division of Stark Industries."

"What?" Rhodey choked. "I'm your liaison!"

"Tony, that's basically all of the company. The stock will drop-"

"Guys!" Tony cut in. "Future, remember? I know all of this. The stock did drop - fifty-six and a half points. I was told I might be locked out of my own company for not being mentally stable. I have lived through this. I do not need to be reminded." He couldn't help but he a little stern. This was not what they needed to be focusing on. "I moved on from weapons, alright? Stark Industries does not manufacture them. My Pep's kicking butt over there right now, probably wondering why I haven't called her yet. It's still a multi-billion dollar company. I made some rash moves, but we came out fine, okay?"

"I just... didn't really see it coming." Rhodey admitted, calming down. "I guess I didn't when it happened, did I?"

"I know. I should have given you a heads up before I did it. You basically reacted the same way, told me I needed to get my head on straight. But," he paused, collecting himself as the memories tried to get a foothold, "how was I supposed to continue making weapons when I knew they were getting in the hands of terrorists? I couldn't do it. Even if I found the snake and cut off the head, there was a chance of it happening again. I wasn't about to let it. I started thinking of clean energy. I miniaturized the giant Arc Reactor into this." He gestured to the case. "What else could we do with it?"

He saw the possibilities spinning in Pepper's eyes and felt his shoulders relax. Rhodey still looked a little out of sorts, but calm. Happy was rolling with the punches, a bit bewildered. He had never been involved on the business side, his priority only being to protect Tony, and didn't have much stake in this area.

"While Obadiah," he somehow didn't choke on the name, "told me to lay low, I started building the second version of the Ironman suit." FRIDAY brought up the model. Compared to the nanites currently down in the lab, it was ancient. "First, I had Pepper help me replace that Arc Reactor with a new one, meant to power a suit of armor. Once the suit itself was finished, I took it out for a joyride. Nearly crashed it trying to break a flight record. Ice and tech don't mix." He waved off the concern before they could voice them. "It helped me later. Don't worry."

Again, they did not look reassured.

"I returned from the test ride to find Pepper left me a gift." He tapped the case. "Got it engraved." He smiled softly at it, nearly losing himself in the memory of his first time reading it before getting back to the story. "And then I went to this charity function Stark Industries was hosting, but I wasn't invited. Crashed it anyway. Ended up talking to this reporter who... showed me pictures of my weapons in Gulmira, Yinsen's hometown." He knew he was skipping his dance with Pepper, how he had left her at that party. Bringing up every detail was unnecessary. Something like that would make her feel awkward. "I went back home. Watched the news. Flew to Gulmira. Kicked terrorist out. Blew up my weapons." He counted off the events on his fingers. "Then almost got shot out of the sky by the military. Rhodey called and asked if I had a piece of tech in the area. I told him no, at first... then one almost sent me to see God. Eventually got out of there."

He pushed himself out of the chair, too anxious to sit as memories played like a reel in his head, his heart thumping too fast. "Back at the charity function, Obadiah told me he was the one to file an injunction against me. He was the one who wanted me locked out." The silence was deafening. He made his way over to a window, looking out at the lake. He wasn't in Malibu. He wasn't even in the city. He was in his own little oasis. No one could get to him here. "I sent Pepper to find information with a USB, where she found out that it was Stane who ordered the hit in Afghanistan." He turned back to them. "Right after that, he tried to kill me a second time. Used a paralyzing device that wasn't approved for the military." Thank God it wasn't. "Took my Arc Reactor from me to power his own suit since none of my engineers could recreate it. Pepper not destroying that when I told her to," he pointed at the casing, "saved my life. Even then, I almost wasn't able to grab it. Dum-E had to hand it to me."

He leaned against the wall by the window, turning his eyes to the ceiling. "Rhodey came to check on me after Pepper called him, but I didn't have a suit for you then. I went out to face Stane's suit. It was close for a while, almost ran out of power. I had Pepper blow up the Arc Reactor." Her hands went over her mouth again. She may not have known the exact schematics, but she knew the giant reactor had power behind it. "Stane died in the explosion. I was given a cover story by a SHIELD Agent - we'll get to that organization later - named Phil Coulson." His lips quirked up. "I did not follow it. FRIDAY?"

The video of him getting off the plane was replaced by his press conference after the whole debacle, pushing aside the two models of the suit as it gew in size. He could clearly hear himself, rambling in response to Everhart's question, and it gave him a minute to breathe as their attention was shifted to the screen. When video-him finally stopped rambling and said his famous "I am Ironman" phrase, a tingle shot through his right arm. He couldn't hear those three words or say them without it happening. He could still see Thanos's face, determined to wipe them all out. He could see the confusion as his "inevitable" met "Ironman."

He could remember the pain of snapping his fingers.

"Tony?" Pepper asked, bringing him back to the present, and he hastened to force a smile and throw his arms out wide.

"So, that's how Ironman was born."

"Morgan was being serious." Happy said, awed. "You are Ironman. Called that by the public and everything."

"Yep." He went back to the chair, dropping into it to hide his suddenly shaking legs. "And that's just the beginning of the story." He tapped the table, prompting FRIDAY to bring up a few separate videos of his escapades over the next year, before he found out he was dying. "I tracked down every weapon I could that wasn't in use by the US military. I did what I could to fix my mistakes. I was changing the direction of my life - only to learn I was about to lose it." He leaned back a bit. "I was risking my life every day being Ironman, trying to bring world peace, only to forget that Palladium doesn't belong in the human body. The Arc Reactor ran on it." Again, he ticked events off his fingers, not willing to linger too long on this part. FRIDAY brought up corresponding video and pictures. "I found out, revived the Stark Expo, made Pepper CEO, crashed a race car in Monaco while being attacked by the son of a guy my dad had a fued with, blew up my reputation all over again with a birthday bash, damaged my friendships, got put on house arrest by SHIELD, who gave me all these tapes on my dad, re-discovered a new element, made said element, went and kicked butt with Rhodey-"

"Hang on, hang on," Rhodes stopped him, "you were dying?"

"I was, yes." He did not want to focus on that. "Then I cured it with a rediscovery."

"But there was a period you didn't know you were going to live." He said. "Tony, did you tell any of us? You said you damaged your friendships."

Dang it, his mouth moved too fast for his brain sometimes. Or maybe it was the other way around. He had said that. Shoot. Uncomfortable, he shifted in his seat. "No, I didn't tell anyone. I tried, but, y'know. Not good with words." He had tried. He had shown Rhodey the way the core was degrading. He had tried to tell Pepper with an omelette. "I'm better at it now though. Not great, but better."

"We could have helped." Happy said. "Made things easier, at least. We wouldn't have got mad about any crazy stunts you pulled, anyway."

He shrugged, eyes finding the family pictures above their heads rather than looking into sad faces. "I thought it would be better for you all to be upset with me. That way, it wouldn't have hurt so much when I..." He didn't need to finish. He waved a hand. "It doesn't matter. It all turned out alright anyway. Gave me the perfect opportunity to let Rhodey get a suit." He was not going to mention how he let his friend steal it after fighting with him at the party. Nope.

"It would have hurt." Pepper said quietly. "It would have hurt even worse when you were... gone and we hadn't bothered to look closer at why you were doing what you were doing."

His heart squeezed. His Pepper had told him the same thing, shortly after that whole fiasco, and it had changed his perspective on his life. "I didn't know it then, but I know it now, and I would never pull something like that again. Trust me."

The words seemed to put them a little more at ease, and Tony uneasily continued, going into a little more detail about that era of his life before moving on. He explained to them what SHIELD was in basic terms, including how someone desperately wanted to spell SHIELD (likely his father or godmother, but he wasn't going to mention that can of worms). He told them how Bruce Banner became the Hulk, how Thor came to Earth, and how Steve Rogers - yes, Rhodey, that Steve Rogers - was defrosted from his popsicle state. "Then, this artifact from space - the Tesseract - started acting up, Thor's brother arrived and started mind controlling people, the Avengers Initiative was called together." He didn't mention how Tony Stark had only been a consultant. He and Natasha had healed that rift. There was no need to bring up old grudges unless necessary.

"It sounds like a superhero movie." Rhodey said, leaning forward in his seat. "Surreal."

"Straight out of a comic book." Happy added.

Tony chuckled. "Maybe to 2008. The world has changed a lot. Superheroes are a known thing now." He still needed to explain Peter, before the kid snuck out in the middle of the night or stuck to the ceiling barefoot or something like that because the kid couldn't keep a secret for anything. "There were six of us: myself, Thor, Steve, Bruce, and two assassins - Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton. Natasha, the Black Widow, was undercover at Stark Industries at one point. She helped with defeating Hammer's stupid drones at the Expo." He hadn't wanted to go into too much detail on the whole undercover PA thing. "So I knew her. Director Nick Fury - the guy in the trench coat in that picture - was basically the top dog at SHIELD."

Tony's mind quickly outlined what he should and shouldn't go over. Talking about everything was out of the question. It would take too long, be too complicated, and he really wanted to go check on his kids. "Clint was one of the agents who had been mind controlled. Sharpshooter, never misses with a bow, callsign Hawkeye. Having him working for Loki put us at a disadvantage already, but then we couldn't get along." He gave a brief overview of the events leading up the actual battle: how they couldn't agree, how they couldn't work as a unit, how they were fighting each other until they had a common enemy in sight. "Steve and I were the worst." He said, regret squeezing him. "I've been told that we use different equations to get to the same solution. We can agree on the end goal, not the process."

"Did you tell him about all the Captain America stuff you had as a kid?" Rhodey teased.

Tony pointed a stern finger at him. "No, absolutely not. My Rhodey has already tried. I had to drag him out of the room four times."

His best friend only laughed at him.

"Eventually, I figured out where Loki was going to be: my newly built tower. The Arc Reactor inside was completely clean energy and the tower created a base where we could expand. We had rebuilt the one in California, but the real test was handling New York." He said. "Loki and Selvig rigged up the Tesseract and opened up a portal to space, allowing an alien army in." FRIDAY brought up the footage without being asked: aliens descending upon New York, him in the Ironman suit flying up, trying to destroy as many as possible even as he was clearly outnumbered. The disbelief on their faces was enough to draw a laugh out of him despite the way his chest was beginning to squeeze. "It took me a minute to believe it, too, and I was fighting them."

More screens appeared, showing separate Avengers fighting, until the Hulk was on the scene. They watched Tony fly through one of the flying whale-like ones. They watched Captain America direct police and save a crowd. They watched Natasha destroy aliens until she was the one flying their space bike, all the way up to the tower. They watched Clint - "Natasha hit him in the head and broke the mind control, don't worry." - never miss a shot, even when he wasn't looking. They saw the footage of Steve and Thor, working together, and the Hulk throwing Loki around like a rag doll.

"We fought for three hours. The aliens kept coming. Emergency crews were attempting to evacuate New York, but too many roads were shut down and too few people available to organize." He clenched his hands against his knees to keep them from shaking. "The World Security Council made the decision to nuke New York."

"What?!" Happy yelped.

"That's - are they really that stupid?" Rhodey exclaimed.

"What happened?" Pepper asked, leaned forward. She was shaken, that much was obvious. "You're still here, so that means..."

He pulled in a short breath - he could feel himself coming apart at the seams. He could hear Fury's voice in his head, telling him that a missile was inbound. "The missile did get deployed." He answered. "I intercepted it." The three froze. Tony could feel the weight of the nuke at his back. He could feel the power pouring into the thrusters. He could hear the scrape of his legs against his tower as he aimed upward.

His throat refused to work and he waved a hand toward the ceiling. FRIDAY understood and played the video - the very news feed Pepper had watched from her private jet, too wrapped up in watching him sacrifice himself to realize her phone was ringing. He saw himself, the missile on his back, carrying it up up up -

He disappeared into the portal.

Stars covered his eyes. His living room disappeared. He was weightless. He let go of the missile, watched as it barreled into the alien ship, and burst into a supernova of light.

There wasn't any air in space.

The suit wasn't designed for it.

He felt himself die.

'No, I'm alive,' he remembered. 'I'm here. I'm alive. My heart is beating. I can hear it. My heart. It's there. I'm alive.'

With a breath, the world slammed back into clarity. He was in his living room. Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey were watching as his lifeless form fell out of the portal. The kids were upstairs. The Avengers were alive and well. Shaky camera footage caught the Hulk catching him. His alpaca was in the backyard. His father had owned a flamingo. Tony could breathe. He could talk. He had woken up. He hadn't died in space. New York was safe.

(Please tell me nobody kissed me.)

"Again, not dead." He said, more for himself than them. His voice came out weaker than he intended. "Hulk's roar woke me up. Then we arrested Loki, ate Shwarma, and went our separate ways for a while."

His head was spinning. His lungs weren't pulling in enough air. His limbs were weak. He had wanted to finish this, to tell the whole story in one go, rip it off like a bandaid. Except he couldn't think. His heart was too loud. His thoughts were broken and jumbled and he didn't know how to keep going-

"Boss," FRIDAY interrupted, shutting down the holograms, "it might be time to retire for the night. It is 8:37 PM. You still need to call Mrs. Stark. She is worrying over your wellbeing, though I have assured her that you are not in any danger and will explain the delay." Tony could catch the concern in her tone. Undoubtedly, she was keeping track of his vitals, especially his hammering heart. "The mini Starks are requesting your presence. I can lead our guests to their rooms."

"Thank you, FRI." He breathed out. "That hallway," he pointed, "holds the guest bedrooms. Rhodey and Happy, you'll be in the rooms of your future versions. Pepper, I think you would like May's room. She's Peter's aunt, you two have similar tastes." He wanted to stand, to assuage the worry over him that he could see in their faces, but he didn't trust his legs to hold him. "I'll finish the story tomorrow. I've left you guys on edge a little, I know, aliens and all." He managed a smile. "There's a happy ending to it all eventually."

FRIDAY lit the hall, prompting them silently, and the questions he could see buzzing on their tongues were shut down.

"Get some rest, Tony," Rhodey said, smiling faintly. "Seeing as you're so old."

"Hey, you're older than me!"

"Not right now I'm not."

Tony rolled his eyes. "I aged better."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

They all bid him goodnight, shuffling through the living room and down the hall. Pepper stopped at the edge, looking back at him like she wanted to say something, and then disappeared. He listened as FRIDAY told them which rooms, their quiet voices filling the air. When three doors had shut, he slumped back into his armchair. "Do the kids actually need me or were you thinking I was about to have a heart attack?"

"I thought you were going to have a panic attack, Boss." FRIDAY answered honestly. "I don't think you telling the story is the best for your health."

"I don't do many things that are good for my health." He huffed, closing his eyes. "Status updates. Everyone. Please."

"Peter and Harley are playing bowling on the Wii. They have cycled through many games since dinner, including a heated Mario Kart match that Peter won and subsequently stuck to the ceiling in excitement. They are tied up, and the bowling final will declare the winner. They are trying to play quietly, as Morgan is asleep. She fell asleep approximately seventeen minutes ago. Cap is sleeping on her feet. Salt is under the bed. All heart rates normal." She recited. "Mrs. Stark is in the Stark Tower penthouse. She has finished eating take-out from your favorite Italian restaurant and is anxiously awaiting your call. Mr. Rhodes is still with his mother. His phone is picking up a resting heart rate. Mr. Hogan and Ms. Parker are coming back from their date. It went well, judging by my brain scans."

She kept going, giving him updates on every member of his family and all of the Avengers. Vision and Wanda were safe at home with his grandsons. Nebula checked in over text with her intergalactic phone to tell him about a new species of alien that she thought he would like. Abigail had texted him thirty minutes ago about an A on her math test. Steve was on a date with his girlfriend (who made absolutely killer coffee). Sam and Bucky were safe, only minor abrasions after stopping a bank robbery. Clint had sent him a picture of Cooper's robotics project an hour ago. Natasha and Bruce were at a new library, according to security footage.

When breathing came easier and he knew that everyone was safe, he told her she could stop. "I'm going to get Morg to bed. Text Abby that I knew she could do it and text Clint that I said his kid is smarter than him." He said, pushing himself up. "I'll text Nebbie. I need to see these aliens for myself."

"Got it, Boss."

With that, he headed upstairs.

Chapter Text

Tony stopped outside of Peter's door. It was closed, yet he could hear the faint sound of a bowling strike on the Wii and Harley's whispered trash talk to his older brother. It brought a shaky smile to his face, finally easing his heart into a normal rhythm, and he took a moment to revel in the normalcy of it. He'd bought them the best consoles over the years, yet they still kept the Wii in rotation - timeless, the kids called it. Harley had been the one to ask for it, ten years ago, and Tony had shrugged and got three good ones, different types, delivered the next day with the best rated games. He left Peter and Harley with the box for ten minutes, came back, and found them playing badminton on it and smack talking each other. Abigail came to visit the next weekend and destroyed them both in tennis.

He'd been content to watch them from the couch, only to be yanked into a game he'd never played. He knew of the Wii, but Pepper hadn't let him get one during their heyday, saying he would waste too much time. She was right. He would have back then.

Playing with his kids was never a waste of time.

(And he got quite good at baseball, so that was a plus.)

To not interrupt what was likely a heated final competition, he eased the door open and slipped inside. He found Peter and Harley, intently focused on the TV as Peter practiced his swing. Tony could tell he was intentionally dropping the ball early, sending it backward into the crowd (it was hilarious when they jumped) several times just to irritate his little brother, who was currently winning based on the scores up in the corner.

"Hey, Dad," Peter said without looking. Harley echoed it, sparing him a brief glance before egging Peter to "throw the dang ball already."

Tony found Morgan on Peter's bed, curled up on top of the comforter but under a throw blanket that one of the boys clearly put over her. He gathered her up in his arms and sat down, Cap curling up against him when he lost his headrest on Morgan's feet. He settled her against his chest, placed a kiss on her forehead, and watched Peter finally throw the ball. He ended up getting a spare to end the match. The final scores came up on screen - Harley won. The blonde boy bumped a fist in the air while Peter rolled his eyes, cutting the TV off and putting the controllers back on the shelf.

"How'd it go?" Peter asked him quietly, coming to sit on his free side. Harley sat beside Cap, scratching him between the ears.

"Fine," Tony replied, glad he hadn't been listening in. "Well, fine as things can go when explaining the future to time travelers."

"How'd they take it?" Harley asked.

"As best can be expected. We didn't talk about all of it. Got through the Battle of New York." He said evenly, brushing a hand over Morgan's hair as the stares of his sons bored into the sides of his head, concern obvious. Harley had been there when he started having panic attacks. Peter had seen him get trapped in a few flashbacks before.

"Dad-" The elder began.

"I'm alright." He assured, giving them both a smile that he knew didn't reach his eyes. Inwardly, he was frustrated with himself. Before he'd started telling the 2008 Trio about the past, he'd thought he could make it through the Chitauri Invasion. They had beat Thanos. Him and his army were no more. Tony had banished them from existence, turned them to dust just as Thanos had snapped away half of existence. He'd hoped that would keep him from spiraling. It hadn't. "I'm going to put Morgan to bed. You two know the rules - school night, be in bed by 10:30."

"We know," the two groaned.

He chuckled and stood, shifting Morgan into his left arm where he could hold out the right to give his boys each a goodnight hug and hair ruffles. He never went to bed without hugging his kids - the routine let him know they were safe. "If FRIDAY says you're both up past bedtime, I'm selling all your stuff."

"If you do, one of the suits will be on Ebay." Harley snarked.

"I'll list your potato gun for a dollar."

He huffed. "It's worth at least four hundred."

Tony grinned and ruffled his hair again. "It's priceless, buddy." He said. "Goodnight you two. I love you."

"Love you, Dad." Peter dropped back on the bed, waving at him.

"Love ya, Pops." Harley grinned, giving him a two finger salute before challenging Peter to a checkers match. Tony huffed a laugh as they bickered about time and homework, stepping out into the hallway.

He took Morgan to her room, tucking her in. He sat beside her for a few minutes, just watching his youngest child breathe. He could remember when she was born - born to a world that was struggling to recover, to come to terms with what had happened. She was hope, wrapped in a little pink blanket. He could recall Pepper, sleeping in that hospital bed while Tony held their little bundle, Morgan Howard Stark, as she was introduced to world. He talked to her. He told her about her blipped brothers and sister. It was the first time he had been able to speak of them without sobbing.

That night, years later, when she was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, repeating his swear after figuring out time travel - she had been what he'd gained after decimation. She had been his brightest light. She had been his greatest joy.

And she'd deserved to know all her siblings.

"Daddy?" A sleepy voice asked, breaking him from his reverie. He found her looking up at him through half-lidded eyes. "Are you okay? Do I need to protect you?"

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "You have protected me, Little Miss. Now it's time for bed."

She yawned. "I love you."

"I love you 3,000."

She smiled as her eyes drifted shut. He carded a hand through her hair for a few minutes, making sure she was asleep and not going to sneak away for juice pops as soon as he left. Eventually, he forced himself up. As much as he wanted to stay a little longer, the day wasn't over for him.

When he made if to his and Pepper's bedroom, all he wanted to do was collapse onto bed. He gathered enough willpower to change into sweatpants and a loose long sleeve shirt before sprawling out on his back. He let his eyes shut, breathing deeply until FRIDAY spoke: "Boss, Mrs. Stark wants to know if you're okay. She is no longer assured by me."

"Don't take offense, FRI." He said, pulling himself up to sit against the headboard. He was well aware of how protective his wife was over him. "Call her please. Video chat." A hologram appeared in front of him. It didn't take two seconds for her face to appear in front of him. "Hey Pepper," he greeted tiredly.

"Tony," she breathed, relief and confusion evident on her beautiful face, "are you okay?"

He sighed, letting his head fall back to touch the headboard. "I don't even know where to start, honey, but I'm okay. The kids are okay. Dog, alpaca, and cat all accounted for." He said. "Though we do have a few extra guests..."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Did some of the others come early?"

"Not exactly, no." He ran a hand through his hair, sitting up more. "I want to preface this with the fact that it was not my fault no matter what Dr. Strange says. He's a jerk, y'know-"

"Tony," she said levelly, "what happened?"

"The past has come back to haunt us, honey." He said. "Well, I guess not really haunt. More like remind-"

"There are time travelers in our house."

"Yep."

She sighed. "I'm almost afraid to ask who."

"No confused supervillains or random civillians." He assured. "Just, uh... Happy, Rhodey, and you from 2008. February, a day before..." He couldn't finish the sentence. The memories of Afghanistan were still there, lurking in the dark corners of his mind, waiting to strike. He was sure that when he closed his eyes for the night, it would all rush back to him. He was not looking forward to it. By Pepper's expression, she understood. "They're taking the future rather well, I guess. Pretty shocked about the kids. Past you is having a bit of trouble with us being a couple. Hey, did you know Rhodey and Happy had a bet on us?" He knew he was rambling, but he couldn't stop. He would have kept going if Pepper didn't interrupt:

"I'm coming home." She started moving, the hologram following her. "FRIDAY, get me the-"

"Pep," he stopped her, "it's alright. Everything's handled. You need to finish there. Leaving would raise questions. There's like a million meetings tomorrow, aren't there?"

"I don't care."

"I thought that was my line."

She rolled her eyes, a quick smile flickering onto her face before her stern determination was back. "I don't want you handling this alone."

"I'm okay."

"Your hand is shaking, Tony." She said softly. "Something happened."

His hands were trembling, he realized, and he couldn't pass it off as overstraining his right - he had ran his left hand through his hair. "Just a little... overwhelmed, I guess." He admitted. "I just, uh, tried to give a recap. Went into too much detail. Talked about Afghanistan, the Palladium, New York-" He took in a calming breath, not wanting to worry his wife, "-but I'm okay. Everything is okay. Happy will be here in the morning, and I'm going to notify the others, which means Rhodey will be hot on his heels."

"I should be there."

"You will be here." He assured. "Tomorrow. Stark Industries needs its queen, Pepper, and rescheduling these meetings will be a headache I don't want you to have to deal with. I also don't want to overwhelm the 2008 Trio - that's what I'm calling them - with all their future counterparts here suddenly. I'm thinking of everyone and everything I can when dealing with this, I swear."

"Except for yourself."

"I may have gone a little too far past my limits." It was hard to admit to himself - but not to Pepper. She was his other half. She knew him better than he knew himself. "I thought I could handle talking about it all at once. FRIDAY helped me wrap up the conversation after the Battle of New York. Everything's fine, Pep."

"Tony, I need to be there."

"I want you here, Pepper." He said, reaching out to the screen with a hand, cupping her face as if he could reach her so many miles away. "But I'll be okay. The kids are okay." She looked ready to keep arguing, so he did something he rarely ever did - went the rational route. "Honey, if the meetings are rescheduled, it's going to raise questions, we'll need cover stories for some clients if we don't want to upset them, and it'll just be more stress over the next few weeks. It'll be easier to focus if everything is handled. I swear I'm alright, and I'll call you if I'm not."

She studied him for a long minute before nodding. "Okay," she said quietly, sitting back down on their bed in Stark Tower, "but you better call me if you need me. I have the suit here."

"I know, and you would look smoking hot flying in."

"Tony!" She swatted at him despite the screen and he laughed.

"Seriously, Pep, I will call you, or FRIDAY will. She's a tattletale anyway."

"That I am, Boss." The AI answered.

He rolled his eyes. "See?"

She chuckled. "Alright," she answered, giving him a small smile before turning serious. "What did Dr. Strange say? Whatever or whoever brought them here - is it dangerous?"

"He didn't say too much, just that it was a spell, they'd be here for a week, and that they won't remember anything when they return to their time. He said that we would talk more about it later without them." As if on cue, a mini portal of shimmering gold sparks opened up above his bedside table. "Speak of the Devil," he quipped, watching a folded paper fall out before the portal disappeared. He snatched it up, unfurled it, and read it off to her: "It says: 'Stark, some sorcerrors are messing with things they don't understand and accidentally sent those three forward in time. They aren't a threat, just idiots, and I'm tracking them across the multiverse. Don't be stupid. Regards, Strange.'" He waved the paper in the air angrily. "See! He knows it was someone else, but he still thinks I'm the dumb one!"

Pepper laughed as he crumpled up the note and threw it across the room, missing the trash can by inches. "I'm just relieved that this doesn't mean danger. We only have to deal with time travelers for a little bit."

"I thought I left the superhero business behind." He groaned, dropping his head back against the headboard to look at the ceiling. "Why does it still have to follow me?"

"Honey, it's always going to follow you. You're Tony Stark." She answered, voice gentle. "You're a hero to the world, to our kids, to me - everyone. That won't change even if you're not flying around in the suit everyday, but you have changed since 2008. You've got people behind you. You aren't dealing with this alone."

A knot formed in his throat. He shut his eyes, pushing back the tears from all the emotion balled up in his chest. The suit and him were one. He had said that, stood by it to this day, and yet there were times he wished it weren't true. Times he could hang it up like a real suit, leave it in a closet for a little bit so he could breathe.

Except he had been right. Tony Stark and Ironman were one in the same, and no matter how many times he wanted to live normally, he wouldn't change that. This was another hurdle he had to climb, another situation he had to deal with - but he wasn't by himself. He had a family, a huge family, filled with people who were in his corner.

When he was sure he wasn't going to cry and make Pepper come flying full speed back home, he straightened up. "I know." He managed a smile. "It's just hard to remember that sometimes."

"I'll keep reminding you, don't worry."

"You complete me."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

They talked for a while - they discussed the 2008 Trio, trying to figure out the best way to help them adjust during the week and about how they had acted for the last few hours. The conversation quickly shifted to their children and how they were doing. FRIDAY gave Pepper hourly updates on them when she was away, but it was different to hear it out of him, apparently. They talked about Peter's web fluid upgrades and his relationship with MJ, Harley's birthday gifts for the end of the month, and Morgan's new obsession with Care Bears. He took the time to open up his phone to the texts Nebula sent him, showing Pepper the pictures of the new alien species (they looked like they were made of waffles to Tony) before texting his eldest daughter questions and comments about how cool they were. His messages didn't go through right then, so she must have been in a spot where signal was scrambled, even for his tech. They talked about Vision and their grandchildren, with Pepper showing him a few pictures Wanda sent that could have made Tony's heart melt with how adorable they were. "Did Abby text you about her math test?"

"She did. She was so worried about it before and she got a perfect score."

"She's got to learn to trust herself eventually." He said. His second daughter was full of overflowing confidence and determination most of the time. She mirrored his mannerisms for easy confidence, stealing his sunglasses from the time she was six and even after he bought her pairs of her own, and people said she smiled like him. She could command an entire room if she wanted, yet when it came to school she could have a hard time feeling that confidence. She was a perfectionist, like Pepper, and demanded a lot from herself - too much, if you asked Tony. She struggled with math and science the most. "She's doing so great. I'll call her tomorrow." While he knew that their co-parenting arrangements with Rosa were what was best for the kids, it was still hard to not see Abby most days.

"We could video chat when I get home."

"That's a great idea." He said. "Are she and Rosa able to come on Saturday? Or Sunday?" With the one year anniversary event, he wanted his entire family around, including his kids. He'd been devastated by Nebula not being able to come.

Pepper's smile fell. "I talked to Rosa today. It doesn't look like they'll be able to."

Tony tried not to be completely heartbroken. "That's too bad. Did she say why?"

"She had to go before she could."

He nodded, more to himself than her. If they couldn't come, there had to be a good reason. Rosa was awesome and loved that her kids had a father figure and an extra mother. She and Abigail would be here in a heartbeat if they could. "Alright."

"We'll see her soon, Tony."

"I miss my munchkin."

"I do, too."

"My sunglasses haven't gone missing in three months."

"She was there two weeks ago and had your favorite pair on her head."

"Same thing!"

She huffed a laugh. "Buy her another pair if that makes you feel better." She said. "Have you decided if you're going to do a speech yet?"

He'd nearly forgotten about that. Dang it. "I don't know. Do you know if Natasha is doing one?"

"She gave me the same answer." She replied. "I know you don't like thinking about it, but they need an answer tomorrow. We're already up against the date."

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. He hated thinking about it. As much as the one year anniversary was supposed to be about their healing world, thinking about that fight...

It always led to thinking about how he died.

Because he did die. He was dead for thirty seconds. Half a minute of everyone thinking he was gone. Half a minute of his wife crying over his body. Half a minute of being separated from his kids by the veil of life. Half a minute where he had run out of borrowed time.

And then the Stones had jolted his heart into beating.

"See if she wants to do a joint speech." He found himself saying. The two Avengers who died trying to bring back what was lost - giving a speech together. Neither of them would have to stand alone at the podium. "If she does, I'll do it. If she doesn't, then we'll let Steve do his Captain America thing with the crowd. Problem solved."

"That sounds like a plan."

"Don't take that from Steve. I am not the man with a plan. I am perfectly spontaneous."

"That you are." She agreed. "Have you decided anything for the party? I assume you're not going to postpone over time travelers."

Right, they were hosting their own private get together to start on Sunday, if everyone didn't go ahead and crash at their house Saturday night. He was forgetting everything today, wasn't he? "Of course not. The Avengers have handled worse than a few out of date time travelers. I was thinking hotdogs, pizza, chicken nuggets, ice cream, I ordered a cake the size of the picnic table-"

"All the details can't be about food, Tony."

"That's the most important part! The kids would agree with me!"

"What else do you got? Besides food."

"I think we should keep it close to what we've been doing." Every month, they hosted a gathering for their giant family, inviting everyone they could reach. It became a tradition without anyone realizing it, beginning when Tony was a few weeks out of the hospital and wanted everyone close for a bit. It became a backyard barbecue sort of thing, just bigger, with Steve at the grill like the standard American Dad, the kids running around on sugar highs, and everyone just... living. For the Anniversary, he had to go a little bigger. "Can we get a bounce house? I think the kids would love it. Or maybe we could add a trampoline to the yard." They had a few different play structures already. What was one more?

"I'll see what I can do. Sleeping arrangements? We'll have three extra people."

"Our Happy and May will probably be okay with sharing a room. I'll ask them. Past Rhodey and Happy can bunk together. We'll get the extra beds out of storage like normal. The kids like crashing together on the living room floor and I don't see a reason to interfere with that." It allowed for them to have enough rooms for their guests and frankly, it was adorable to see a giant 'cousin pile.' "We should be okay."

"Sounds good," she replied around a yawn and Tony realized it was nearing eleven.

"Go to bed, sweetheart." He said. "I have everything handled here. If something lights on fire, literal or otherwise, you'll get a call."

She raised an eyebrow. "Like that time you lit the omelette on fire? I didn't get a call for that."

"It was one time! Omelettes hate me."

Pepper chuckled. "Whatever you say. Goodnight, Tony. I love you."

"Love you, Pep."

"Get some sleep yourself."

"I will." He said. Inwardly, he amended it to, 'I'll try.' He didn't have to say it out loud. Pepper knew.

The call ended and Tony stayed still for a minute, letting himself take in the silence even as his brain moved a million miles an hour once she was gone. Pepper was his brakes where his mind constantly pressed the gas. She helped him stay grounded. When she was away, their nightly conversations could be his lifeline at the end of a hectic day when his brain didn't want to shut up. Part of him was sure she'd specifically asked about the Sunday gathering to get him thinking about something other than the current situation or the big event in New York City. Knowing her, she'd already taken the liberty of ordering near everything he'd thought of to be delivered tomorrow. She was never one to plan last minute. They had just been so busy lately. Impromptu time travelers hadn't helped his time management.

"Okay," he said to himself, grabbing his phone. He pulled up the Avengers group chat only to pause with his fingers hovering over the keys, unsure how to explain. Slowly, he typed out: 'Hey guys. Sunday is still on, but there's been a development. It's easier if I send videos. I am not at fault no matter what Strange says.' His thumb hovered over the send button. "FRIDAY, I'm going to send this. Can you get a video of the time travelers showing up and one of them eating with us? Make em short."

"Sure, Boss."

He sent the message. FRIDAY added the videos. He sat back and waited for the chaos.

It started exactly two minutes later, texts coming in rapid-fire.

Birdbrain: Did not expect time travelers to be a thing again

Star Spangled: Are you okay, Tony?

Red: Who do I need to kill

Science Bro: No killing. As long as they aren't clones. Strange did check for cloning, right?

Ant Dude: I thought time travel wasn't like in the movies. This isn't going to make our timeline implode or something, right?

King of Poptarts: Man of Iron do you require assistance

Mischief Man: This would be the perfect prank if it was me

King of Poptarts: Nothing is better than Get Help, brother

Mischief Man: I beg to differ

Eye Patch: Stark, you're a trouble magnet. Do I need to get over there and straighten out your mess?

Viz: Dad, are you alright?

Wands: Do we need to come over?

Birdbrain: I can be there in an hour

Captain Carol: What did Strange say?

Platypus: I'm coming over

Bucky: Sam's packing already. Stark you good?

Red: Tony you better answer or I'm breaking in

Science Bro: Nat, we have a key.

Red: Don't take the fun out of it, Bruce.

Star Spangled: Tony, answer.

The genius couldn't help but be temporarily paralyzed by the wave of support he was getting. He expected questions about how it happened, why, and if there was danger. He did not think so many of them would ask about his wellbeing or start rushing to get over to his house to help. He probably should have expected it - after he woke up from his coma, they were all there, lending helping hands, constantly asking what he needed, and volunteering to babysit his kids (no matter how much Peter and Harley insisted they didn't need a babysitter). Even Fury had been there, in his own way, lingering in the shadows and refilling his ice chips whenever they started to run low - without Tony even noticing. He had expected it to fade eventually. He had expected the Avengers to go back to being distant, working together when necessary with the occasional meet-ups. It hadn't happened. Instead, they had a group chat full of memes, old jokes, and friendship.

(He had done the same thing they were doing. When Clint said something about having a cold, Tony was at his house in an hour with a pot of Edwin Jarvis's famous chicken soup, Bruce and Natasha hot on his heels. When Steve's motorcycle started acting up, Tony, Sam, and Bucky had arrived at the same time to help fix it. When Scott kept burning dinner right before a date with his girlfriend, Tony sent him one of his mother's sacred recipies and walked him through how to cook it over the phone.)

Steve called him, startling Tony, and he accepted it. "Hey Cap, how's it going? How's Beth and her son?" He asked with forced casualness.

"Tony, are you okay?"

"I asked you first."

A fondly exasperated sigh came through the speaker. "I'm good. Beth and Alex are good. Alex got an A on his spelling test. Now, how are you?"

"Good for the kid!" He praised, ignoring the question. "He'll be smarter than you before you know it. Cooper has already left Clint in the dust. Hey, have you gone ring shopping yet-"

"Tony!"

Tony sighed. More texts were still coming in on the group chat. "I'm fine, Steve. It's been a long few hours, but everything is okay now. Just needed a second. I'm updating everyone now." He started typing, ignoring the sea of texts above (mainly concerned about him, but Loki and Clint were debating the merits of time travel's use as a prank on midgardian medieval times). He sent a short 'Alright, calm down, I'm fine' text to stop Natasha from breaking into his house (it wouldn't matter what security he had, she could get in) and continued: 'Strange said it was some spell done by some idiots. I'm not a magician, so not my fault. He sent me a letter that there's no danger as he's chasing the other sorcerrors across the multiverse or whatever. The time travelers will be here for a week, so some extra guests for Sunday. They won't remember anything when they go back.'

"Are you happy now?" He asked Steve.

"Are you really okay?"

"I'm fine, you mother hen."

Clint's message followed first: When are they from

His fingers shook when typing the date: 'February 18th, 2008. They have a lot to catch up on. I already briefed them on 2008 - 2012. Next act tomorrow.'

There was a pause as Steve read the message. "Tony, that's...the day before..."

"I can't believe you remember that specific date, Capsicle. You were under the ice then."

"I'm heading over."

"Nope. Past Rhodey about had a heart attack when he learned you were alive." And the man was far too willing to tell all about Tony's Captain America merchandise. "I don't want to overwhelm them too much, and there's nothing I can say to keep our Rhodey away for long. I'll be fine." He hung up, trusting Steve to switch over to the chat and not be upset with him.

Speaking of him, Rhodey was texting: Gosh, Tony. Why didn't you call me? I'm about to head your way

Tony intervened, texting: 'Nope, honeybear. It's the middle of the night. You're not waking my kids or the time travelers, and Mama Rhodes would not be happy if you left now. Come by in the morning if you insist. There's nothing you can do now.'

Platypus: Fine. Call me if anything happens.

Red: Call any of us

Star Spangled: Can FRIDAY text if something goes wrong?

FRIDAY: I certainly can, Captain. I have been dubbed a tattletale very recently.

IronDad: Everyone uses my AIs against me

Birdbrain: Ha. Even your kids?

IronDad: Especially my kids

Science Bro: How are they handling the situation?

IronDad: Better than I am, to be honest

He went on to explain what they would call the time travelers when in the presence of their future counterparts. He stayed as vague as possible about what it was like to tell them about the future, not wanting anyone breaking into his house in a few hours to check on him, and made sure everyone knew that the gathering officially started at noon on Sunday (though they would likely be coming in earlier, based on how they kept asking if he was sure he was okay).

Birdbrain: Guys, it's after eleven and I'm too old for this crap. I've got to take the kids to school in the morning

Star Spangled: We should all get some sleep

IronDad: Says the grandpa

Wanda: Says the only person who is a Grandpa

Birdbrain: Ha take that Tony

IronDad: I can't believe it

IronDad: Betrayed by my own daughter-in-law

IronDad: Fine Steve is promoted to great grandpa

Bucky: What am I then

IronDad: Great uncle? Great great uncle?

Birdbrain: He can be another Grunkle from that mystery show

Ant Dude: Oh that show is awesome

Bucky: Grunkle Bucky

IronDad: That's perfect. I'm going to get my kids to call you that

Red: No one spoil me on season two

Birdbrain: Would a spoiler be that thing in the basement

Red: Yes, Clint, it would.

Birdbrain: Shutting up now

Science Bro: Wise move

Wands: As a tired mother of twins, I vote we all go to sleep.

Platypus: Tony, go to bed or I'm changing all your coffee to decaf when I get there

IronDad: You wouldn't dare

Platypus: Try me

Mischief Man: I'll help

Birdbrain: Count me in

IronDad: Ugh fine. Goodnight. No one break into my house please

Red: No promises

Tony chuckled, shutting off his phone even as it vibrated with the round of goodnight texts from everyone. He plugged it up in the charger before relaxing against the pillows. "Are the kids asleep?" He asked as FRIDAY shut the lights off.

"Yes, Boss. The boys went to bed on time after finishing their homework and fell asleep not long ago. No indications of nightmares."

"2008 Trio?"

"Awake, but that is to be expected. Health scans indicate stress. What should I do?"

"I don't think there's anything you or I can do, FRIDAY. Keep an eye on them and let me know if someone starts freaking out, alright? Then I'll do what I can."

"Understood."

"Goodnight, FRI."

"Goodnight, Boss."

Tony shifted himself to lay down fully, pulling the blankets up to his shoulders. He shut his eyes, breathed out, and tried not to think.

Somehow, he did fall asleep, but his dreams were filled with the hot sand of Afghanistan, the dark lines of Palladium on his chest, and the stars everywhere he turned. He awoke with a gasp, hand reflexively covering the middle of his chest where the Arc Reactor had once been. His right arm ached and he was drenched in sweat, his heart running a million miles an hour. When he registered that he was alone in his bedroom, he slumped against the pillows, pulling in deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself.

The door hinges creaked. His eyes snapped toward it, finding the door now open half a foot rather than an inch ajar as he had left it, and he immediately thought Natasha had broken in. Before he could ask FRIDAY, a black blur jumped onto his bed. Dark green eyes locked with his as the creature of darkness moved to stand on his chest, tail swishing in the dim light of the moon.

"Salt?" He croaked.

The cat's ear twitched. She meowed and settled herself down on Tony's chest. Her steady, comfortable weight slowed down his racing heart. The sound of her purrs replaced the ringing of that bomb exploding. Hesitantly, Tony moved his left hand to stroke the cat's back.

"I guess you don't hate me, huh?" Tony asked groggily. The cat only blinked slowly at him. "Good cat."

His eyes shut on their own accord and he slipped into comfortable oblivion.

Chapter Text

"-has entered the house."

"What?" Tony asked groggily, blinking open his eyes. The room was still mostly dark, the sky a pale grey. It couldn't have been later than five in the morning. Salt was curled beside him, head under his hand, sleeping. Was Natasha breaking in? If she was, then he was going back to sleep. It was too early to deal with that. She could find her own way around his home.

"Nebula is home, Boss, and she appears injured."

As soon as the words registered, Tony threw off the blankets and shot off the bed, getting a disgruntled 'meow' in the process. "Sorry, Salty," he apologized over his shoulder, rushing out the door and down the hall. He took the stairs two at a time, his heart thudding wildly in his chest when he didn't see her in the living room. "Nebula?" He called. "Where are you?"

"Kitchen," she called just as he turned the corner. His eldest daughter stood at the open fridge in the space attire she was wearing when he first met her, the only difference being the Arc Reactor choker around her neck. Her right arm hung awkwardly, the wires the only reason it was still connected to her shoulder. "Do we have blueberries? I'm hungry."

"In the drawer," he replied, walking briskly over to her. His heart slowed at seeing her safe, but she was not okay, and he needed to fix that. "What happened?"

She grabbed the box from the drawer, then kicked the fridge shut. She struggled to get it open with one hand, so he did it for her before beginning to inspect the damage to her shoulder. "I went on a solo mission. It was supposed to be only gathering information, but I got caught in the outbreak of the planet's civil war. My phone got destroyed."

"I'll get you a new one." It wasn't the first phone of hers that he'd had to replace and it wouldn't be the last. He was more concerned with the injury. He cradled her arm at the elbow joint, noting how she seemed to have no control of anything beyond her broken shoulder. "How did this happen? Where were the other Guardians?"

"It got twisted by a beast." She had the container on the counter, eating blueberries by then handful. "I'm not sure of the species. You would have liked to see it."

"I don't like anything that hurts my kids." He answered. Up close, the damage wasn't too bad. It was mostly the outside material, twisted from her socket. The wires had remained connected, but he imagined they cut off power so she wouldn't feel the pain. "The Guardians?"

"They were nearby, but I decided to come home instead. I stole one of the planet's solo spacecrafts. I figured it would be repayment for my arm."

He cracked a smile. "I would have done the same thing."

"I know." Her lips twitched up in a smile.

"Why didn't you have Rocket fix your arm beforehand? Did you two have a fight?"

She shook her head. "No, I just..." She paused, holding a handful of berries. "I wanted to come home. You fix me up better than he does anyway."

His smile turned soft. "You are always welcome home." He said. "Here, let's get you settled on the couch and I'll go get my toolbox from the lab." He continued to hold her arm, not wanting the limb to hang from her as it had been, and walked with her to the living room. She brought the berries with her, putting them on the coffee table while he settled her arm where it was propped on two of the many throw pillows. "That okay?"

"Yes."

"You're not hiding any other injuries from me, are you? Does anything feel wrong? Does your head hurt?"

"No, no, and no. I'm fine, Dad. Besides the arm." She snatched up another handful of berries and Tony made a note to add a few cartons of them to the shopping list.

"I'll have you fixed up soon." He went back to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of chocolate milk. All his kids loved the drink (even Vision), but Nebula might have loved it the most. When she first started living with them, he learned that she wasn't familiar with most foods - and not because she wasn't from Earth. She was unfamiliar with any sweet or good meal from any planet. She had been denied anything except for the bare minimum of food, mostly consisting of fruits and vegetables that weren't always in their prime. It was part of her punishment for losing to Gamora. Her sister got the better food. Nebula got the scraps. When he learned that, Tony and Pepper made it their mission that she would never go hungry, never have to choke down something that barely passed for food, and they gradually introduced her to the best of Earth food. Chocolate milk had become her absolute favorite thing to drink and she loved any other kind of chocolate. Except for mint chocolate. She hated that one. He shook up the bottle as he talked. "Where'd you put the hijacked space vehicle?"

"In the garage. It looks like a Terran motorcycle."

"That's cool. I'll have to take a look at it." He brought her the drink, putting it down beside her fruit. "Be back in a sec. Sit tight, Blueberry."

"Okay."

Tony headed downstairs, distantly catching Nebula's request for FRIDAY to update her on what her siblings had been up to. He smiled to himself, warmth filling his chest. Nebula had come such a long way since he met her six years ago. From a closed off, lonely woman who feared the love she craved, to his eldest daughter who loved her family, even if she had a difficult time saying it. She and Tony were similar in how they dealt with emotions. He saw himself in her. Where he had used sarcasm and joking for years to keep from focusing on emotions, she closed herself off. They both had tried to rely on no one but themselves. Tony had learned to wear more of his real feelings on his sleeve before meeting her, someone who echoed him in the most dangerous ways, and they had grown further together.

He got down to his lab and headed for his array of toolboxes and nanite holders. He would need to check the wiring as best he could - he clenched his right fist, finding his hand thankfully steady - and then he could send the nanites in to put her arm back together under his careful guidance. He'd need a soldering tool, too-

There was a light poke to his back. Turning, he found Dum-E. He beeped happily when Tony patted him on the claw. "Hey buddy," he said to his oldest robot child, "holding down the fort here?"

Dum-E beeped three times, high pitched and happy, before rushing off to join his younger brothers, U and Butterfingers. They beeped at each other, twisting appendages as they communicated in their own language. Tony watched for a few seconds before returning to the task at hand, picking out a blue toolbox with a nanite housing already inside and his most precise soldering tool.

"Boss," FRIDAY said, "Rhodes has awoken."

"Does he need anything?" It wasn't unusual for Rhodey to be up right now, even in his time. He was sure his Rhodey was up and packing. Military inner clocks and all that.

She paused and when she spoke again, she was nervous. "He is leaving his room."

It didn't take half a second for him to realize how bad of a situation that was about to be. He ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time even as his toolbox hit his left leg with every step. He hit the top of the stairs and raced to the living room, Nebula's angry voice filtering in over Rhodes's desperate protests.

"You are not my uncle." She sneered. "Who sent you? You are a clone. A poorly made clone."

"I'm not, I swear, I'm-"

"You have invaded the home of my father, my family. What were your plans for them? To hurt them?"

He emerged into the living room to find Nebula aiming a charged blaster at Rhodes's head. Despite her bad right arm, she didn't look any less dangerous than when she fought Thanos's army. In fact, she may have looked more intimidating. Rhodey had his hands up in the questure for surrender, trying to get a word in between her threats. He was nearly backed into the wall, Nebula steadily advancing on him.

"I time traveled-"

"My father is the only man who could create time travel. You lie." The weapon hummed louder, about to fire, and he had little hope that it was set to stun.

"Nebula, stop!" He dropped his toolbox, sprinting the last few yards toward them. His daughter's head turned his way, but it was too late to stop the weapon. Tony got his hands on it, pushing it off course just as it fired. The surge of power slammed into the wall of the hallway and any hope Tony had of it being set to stun was gone.

"Okay," he breathed, releasing the weapon. He didn't dare try to take it from her - it was like her security blanket, especially in moments like these. He kept himself between her and Rhodes. "I forgot to tell you before." He said to her, guesturing behind him. "Some crazy wizards-"

"What's going on?" Happy's voice came from the hall and he glanced over, finding him and Pepper at the edge of the room, the woman nearly concealed behind the bodyguard. He was looking at Tony, periodically glancing at the giant scorch mark left on the wall. The impact of the blast must have shook the walls enough to wake them up beyond his sound proofing.

"I'm explaining." He said, refocusing himself back on his daughter, who looked ready to put Tony behind her and start shooting. Her shoulders were drawn up, the blaster held tight in her grip, and he had to wave his hand in front of her face a little to get her attention on him again. "Some crazy wizards casted a spell that brought these guys to the future. They're from 2008, uh - sixteen Earth years ago. Please don't kill them. Strange might not make those Christmas cookies if you do." They both loved those freaking cookies. "They have to go back to their time in one piece. They won't remember anything when they do."

Slowly, the grip on her gun loosened. She put it back in the holster and Tony felt it was safe enough for him to step aside. "Time travelers," he said, "meet my eldest daughter, Nebula, back from her most recent space mission."

"Hello," Rhodey said, his arms now down at his sides. "Please don't try to shoot me again."

Nebula tilted her head. "I was under the impression you were a threat to my family. I will not apologize."

"Understood."

Pepper stepped out from behind Happy. The bodyguard didn't look happy about it, but a small smile from Tony loosened his shoulders, even if he glanced at Nebula's gun. "Hello Nebula," she said, caught between professional and awkward, "it's nice to meet you."

Nebula scrutinized her for an extra second. "Nice... to meet you as well. I have known your future self for six Earth years. She is my mother."

"I hope I'm a good mother."

"You are." She said. Her shoulders relaxed marginally - something only Tony could notice. "You taught me to bake."

"That sounds fun." The professionalism was gone, turning into a tentative softness that echoed the Pepper he knew. "You're hurt, aren't you?"

Nebula shifted uncomfortably, turning her stance where her right arm was near concealed by her body. "Dad will fix my arm. It does not hurt." She glanced at the two men. "I am no less dangerous with one working arm."

Happy and Rhodey tensed, and Tony decided to intervene. "Blueberry, I've got everything to fix you up. Where do you want to go? Lab, kitchen, your room?" He needed to give her an out or the tension might explode in the form of another blast.

She finally turned her gaze from them to meet his. "Kitchen."

"Okay." He agreed, walking over to where he dropped his toolbox. He scooped it up and looked back over his shoulder to see that Nebula had not yet moved, looking at the three time travelers again. Before he could prompt her, she spoke:

"I understand that you are welcomed by my family in this house. I understand that you will return to your time." Her voice was low, threatening. "But if you lay one finger on even a hair of my father's, or any of my family, with an intent to harm, I will ensure that you will return with scars that will never heal." With that, she turned on her heels and marched passed him into the kitchen, leaving three shocked (and fearful) time travelers in her wake. She hopped onto a stool, took off her jacket, put her forearm on the table, and looked to him expectantly. Tony's throat worked for something to say, a joke to crack that would diffuse the newfound tension, but there was a burning in the back of his eyes that he couldn't deny. In the end, he made his way over to his daughter, put the toolbox on the counter, and got to work.

He understood why she picked the kitchen after a minute. She didn't bother to watch him work, a show of trust that squeezed his heart. Instead, she kept her watchful eyes on the trio in his living room. When he glanced over, he found that they had sat on his couch rather than going back to bed (considering they just got threatened, he wasn't surprised). FRIDAY had put on some sitcom for them, something that was before their time, judging by the camera quality. Since everything had calmed down, he recognized that they were wearing the pajamas left in the guest rooms rather than their attire of yesterday. He was silently relieved. Seeing them in those clothes... it kept that last night before Afghanistan in the back of his mind.

"You didn't have to threaten them," he said quietly, carefully sifting through the wires and metal plates that kept most of her together. "They're harmless."

"Any one person can bring tremendous harm." She replied. "I want them to think twice before they try anything with my family." Her eyes flicked to his, the intensity fading to something vulnerable. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Oh, honey, no." He paused his work. "You're protecting your family. That's the best thing you can do. Let's just... try not to traumatize the time travelers for the week they're here, alright?"

She gave him a small nod before shifting her vigil back to the living room. Her stare was a little less piercing and he counted it as a win.

It took half an hour to fix her arm. "That feel okay?" He asked, putting his tools away.

She rolled her shoulder, turned her arm both ways, and answered, "Good. Thank you."

"No thanks required." He put his toolbox on the other counter, then opened his cabinets. It was nearing six o'clock, almost time to get the rest of the kids up for school. Normally, he saved big breakfasts for the weekend, serving cereal or muffins on weekdays, but with the events of yesterday and the fact that he was awake so early, he figured they all deserved bacon, eggs, and toast. As he gathered everything he needed, Nebula went to the living room. He kept an eye on her as he got what he needed from the fridge.

She grabbed her abandoned chocolate milk, opening it for the first time. She downed half of it before attempting conversation: "What was 2008 like?"

"Uh... what do you expect from 2008?" Rhodey asked.

She took another sip of her drink. "Dinosaurs." Her face didn't change, the answer seemingly delivered in complete seriousness. Tony recognized her attempt at a joke, but the other three didn't, judging by the confused looks they shared.

"Nebula," he called, pressing a hand to his heart, "do you really believe I would be alive in an era so outdated?"

"From what Harley tells me, you are the equivalent of a fossil."

Rhodey busted out laughing. Happy cracked a smile. Pepper giggled behind her hand.

Tony gasped. "Betrayal! Betrayed by my children! Harley's influence has corrupted all of you." He pointed at his longest friend. "Rhodey, remember you're older than me!"

"He isn't currently, Dad." Nebula said, moving to lean against the wall, where the livingroom and kitchen met. "You are twelve Earth years older, which is very significant."

"Listen to your kid, Tony." Rhodey grinned. "You're old."

Tony rolled his eyes. "This old man could kick your butt any day."

"Wanna make a bet?"

"No more bets." Pepper groaned. "It never ends well with you two."

"I got twenty on Tony." Happy said, and Rhodey's head snapped toward him. The bodyguard shrugged. "He's Ironman, Rhodey, no matter how old he is."

The two started bickering, Pepper pinching her nose in exasperation while Nebula hid a smile behind her drink, and the last of the tension was gone. He started cooking, keeping one ear out for their conversation in case it went south. Rhodey somehow ended up telling her a story from their college days - they pulled more pranks than he could count. When Pepper enquired about her different appearance in other photos, Tony had to keep himself from laughing when she pressed the Arc Reactor pendant on her choker. In seconds, she had a human appearance that perfectly combined his and Pepper's features in her own way, just as she'd wanted. It had taken him months to create the nanites and holographic technology to make such a seamless transformation that didn't involve putting on synthetic skin and contacts.

"I wanted this to be able to go with my siblings in this world, but it has aided me on other planets." She said, pressing the pendant again. The transformation receded. "Dad let me choose every aspect of it. I like it."

"You look beautiful both ways." Pepper commented. It was what she'd said the day Nebula changed her appearance the first time - an adoring mother to her eldest daughter.

"The red hair and freckles were for you." Nebula admitted.

"I'm honored."

Tony finished cooking the bacon just as the bread popped out of the toaster. "Oh, Neb," he called, sliding the bacon off his spatula and onto a plate, "when your mother, Uncle Rhodey, and Uncle Happy are here, the time travelers are Pepper, Rhodes, and Happy to avoid confusion. Anything else applies to present time versions, got it?"

"Yes, Dad. Do you need help with the eggs?"

"It would be great if you could scramble them while I get your siblings up. I'll make the chocolate milk when I get back." He cut off the skillet and wiped his hands on his pants. "Double up on the number of eggs, okay?"

"I will." He and Nebula basically switched places, her going to the stove where he'd already set up the pan, and he walked into the living room to get to the stairs.

"That bacon won't kill us, will it?" Rhodes joked.

"I am a fairly good cook, I'll have you know." He paused. "Well, decent cook."

"Last I knew, you could burn water trying to make juice."

"Ha ha." He rolled his eyes. "I've learned a lot since then." He headed up the stairs. "I'll be back in a few."

As always, he went to the room of the hardest to get up in the morning - Harley. He found his youngest son sprawled out on his bed, snoring quietly with the covers kicked off of him. Tony opened the blinds first, letting the early morning light stream in, and Harley groaned, turning over to bury his face in his pillow. "Five more minutes."

Tony laughed, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I've heard that lie before." He remarked, ruffling his bedhead hair to wake him up a little more. "You gotta get up, kiddo. You've got that test today, and plus, it's Friday. Literally the easiest day of the week to get through." When Harley didn't move, he pulled out the trump card. "There's bacon downstairs when you're ready."

He turned to look at him, eyes alert. "Bacon?" When Tony nodded, the kid launched himself out of bed for his closet.

The man laughed and headed for the door, listening to Harley scramble around for clothes. "And comb that hair!" He called over his shoulder, shutting the door behind him.

Next, he went to Peter's room. The older teenager was wrapped up in his mountain of blankets, laying on his side. Tony sat down on the bed, carding a hand through his curls. "Bambino," he said, "time to get up."

Peter blinked his eyes open. "Okay Dad," he yawned, rubbing his eyes.

Tony ruffled his hair as he had Harley. "Nebula is downstairs, and there's bacon waiting for you if Harley doesn't eat it all before we get there."

The teen perked up. "Nebula's here?"

"Yep. Almost shot Rhodes, too."

Peter's eyebrows drew together in confusion before he remembered. "Is he okay?"

"Just fine. He's already telling her stories from our college days." Tony got up and headed for the door. "If you get down there fast enough, he might tell another." Before he shut the door, he heard the kid hop out of bed and rush for his closet, just as his brother had done.

Finally, he went to Morgan's room. When he opened the door, he found his little girl awake, rubbing her eyes and yawning. He had hoped she wouldn't inherit his sleepless tendencies as most of his other children had, but considering how often she got up at night, the hope was futile. Cap laid at the end of her bed, wagging his tail when Tony entered. "Good morning, Little Miss."

"Daddy!" She held out her arms and he scooped her up, spinning them both around until she giggled.

He kissed her forehead, brushing back her messy hair. "There's a surprise downstairs."

"What is it?"

"Take a guess."

"We're having juice pops for breakfast!"

He laughed. "It's better than that."

"Nothing is better than juice pops." She replied seriously.

"Not even Nebula?"

Her eyes lit up. "Nebula's here?!" She squealed. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

"Hold on, sweetheart. You have to get ready for school first. Do you want me to help or do you got it?"

"I got it, Daddy."

He put her down and she ran to her dresser, pulling out clothes and messing up the organization Pepper had done mere days ago. "Okay, call me if you need anything."

"Okay!"

"C'mon Cap," he patted his leg, getting the dog to follow him out of the room. Tony went back downstairs, Cap following him obediently. When he reached the bottom, he found Salt waiting by her bowl expectantly, Rhodey making more toast (and burning it), Happy trying to figure out the TV remote without FRIDAY's help, and Nebula sitting on the couch with Pepper, watching the controlled chaos.

"I thought I was a bad cook," he chuckled as Rhodey threw away blackened toast.

"Your toaster is the Devil in disguise, Tony."

"Don't blame my toaster when it's the fault of the operator." The table was set and ready, except for the drinks. "How about you get some solo cups? Can't burn those."

Rhodey grumbled something about stupid futuristic toasters while getting the cups. Tony chose to ignore it, going to the isolated cabinet that held the dog and cat stuff. He fed the pets, washed his hands, and started making several cups of chocolate milk. It took a whole gallon. "Take these to the table, will you? I need to fix the kids' lunches."

"Sure."

Tony grabbed three lunch boxes from where they were stored. He laid them out on the free counter and quickly started building lunches - sandwiches, chips, fruit, extra snacks. All were different, catered to each kid's liking - for how much they were alike, they didn't enjoy the same lunches. Harley liked PB&Js. Morgan would only eat apples with her school lunch. Peter was the only one who liked fritos and Morgan wouldn't eat any chip outside of Cheetos. Peter thought his sandwiches cut into triangles were superior whereas Harley thought rectangles were best. Morgan couldn't stand bread crust.

Tony had learned it all through observation, building lunches each day and seeing what was left over when the kids' got back, and seeing how they made their own lunches on weekends. He'd always made Morgan's lunch, but then Peter fainted one day at school when his metabolism had nothing to consume due to serving something he couldn't stomach, and Harley would only eat pizza because he hated everything else. Making lunches in the morning became a part of his routine. He wouldn't be a good father if he let his kids go hungry because school lunch was terrible.

While Peter did need the most due to his fast metabolism, he put extra snacks in Harley's and Morgan's boxes, allowing them to share with friends if they wanted. He zipped each box up, satisfied, and turned to find Rhodey watching him.

"You are such a dad." His friend said.

"I am a dad." He smiled proudly.

Rhodey went to say something else, only to be interrupted by footsteps thundering downstairs. Harley jumped the last few steps and rushed for the kitchen. He skidded to a stop halfway there, having caught sight of Nebula. "My favorite space sister!" He shouted, changing course. "You're back!"

"I am your only space sister." Nebula said after the boy had crashed into her arms for a hug. She didn't hesitate but for a second before returning it. "Have you finished your new weapon?"

"Yep! My upgraded potato gun is finished. I even added the taser you suggested." Harley released her, looking over his shoulder at Tony. "Non-lethal!"

Tony sighed. "Just don't use it on your brother when you're trying to get the last slice of pizza. Pepper, Rosa, and May would kill me."

Harley saluted, mischief alight in his eyes, and Tony had the distinct feeling that while he would listen about the taser, Tony had accidentally given him an idea for that exact situation.

"Nebula!" Peter appeared at the top of the stairs, stumbling to put on his sneakers without stopping. He nearly tripped, catching himself on the banister before rushing down to give his older sister a hug just as Harley had. "How was space?"

Nebula shrugged, letting him go. "Uneventful." She lied. "Nothing out of the ordinary. I've got pictures of aliens to show you two later."

"Cool!" The boys cheered.

"Kids, breakfast is getting cold." Tony reminded. The teenagers immediately zeroed in on the table. With a single shared look, they were racing over, playfully fighting over who would get the first slice of bacon. (It was Harley. It was always Harley.)

Morgan came skipping down a minute later, holding her hair brush and dressed in clothes that didn't exactly match but were worn correctly, unlike the first few times she dressed herself. Even her shoes were on the right feet and were the same pair. "Bee!" She held up her arms and Nebula was there, grabbing her off the stairs to spin her around, a move so reminiscent of what he'd done earlier that she had to have picked it up from him over the years.

"Hello little sister," Nebula said, briefly touching her forehead to hers, "how are you?"

"I'm good! How are you?"

A small smile was on Nebula's face. "I'm good, too. Go eat." She put the girl on the ground, only for Morgan to run off in the opposite direction.

"Wait, my hair has to be brushed! Past Mommy, will you do it?" She stopped in front of 2008 Pepper, brush extended, and Tony held his breath, ready to intervene. Pepper looked startled, but took the brush from her hand.

"I may not be the best at it." The woman said as Morgan turned around, putting her back to her.

"That's okay."

Pepper carefully brushed through her brown hair, clearly doing her best not to pull too hard on the tangles. Morgan didn't flinch, standing patiently, and Tony relaxed. He followed Nebula to the table, guesturing for Happy and Rhodey to head over. He kept his youngest daughter in his peripheral vision, just in case something went wrong. A few minutes later, Pepper was putting the brush aside. "How's that?" She asked.

"Perfect! Thank you!" She bounded over to the table, Pepper following after a moment. Finally, they were all sitting down and eating, easy conversation flowing - it was mainly the kids talking to each other, roping in the 2008 Trio wherever they could (mostly to drop some random advanced technology reference and comment on their faces).

Tony was wiping some jam off of Morgan's face when the front door opened. His Rhodey entered, much to the delight of Morgan who yelled, "Uncle Rhodey's here!" She hopped out of her chair and ran to him, unaware of the looks Peter and Harley were sharing or the way those from the past tensed up, especially Rhodes, who had practically turned his seat around to see his future self.

Rhodey scooped up Morgan, kicking the door shut behind him. "Hey trouble maker!" He settled her on his hip and walked to the table, barely sparing the time travelers a glance. "Caused any trouble for your daddy? He needs to pay for his raising, y'know, especially for everything he did at college."

Morgan giggled and Tony glared. "I already am." He pointed his thumb in the general direction of his boys.

Harley put a hand to his heart. "What are you talking about, Dad? We're angels."

"Uh-huh, right, like I didn't catch you trying to test the Ironlad suit and Peter messing with new web fluid unsupervised at three in the morning two weeks ago."

"FRIDAY is supervision, and Dum-E has a fire extinguisher!"

"Not enough of a reassurance."

Peter decided to interrupt. "Dad, didn't you test the Ironman suit in the lab with only Dum-E for safety?"

Tony's mouth fell open while Rhodey laughed. "Who showed you those videos? FRIDAY?"

"I didn't, Boss." The AI answered, and Tony knew who did.

"It was Vision, wasn't it?" When neither boy answered, he knew he was right. "Of course he did. You're all conspiring against me, I swear." Rhodey patted his shoulder in consolation, still grinning, and Tony sighed. He shifted back to the earlier conversation, taking on a more serious tone. "Those videos are exactly why I don't want either of you testing new, potentially dangerous things alone. I could have given myself a concussion, or a lot worse could have happened. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Dad." The two replied. When Tony looked at Nebula, because he was absolutely including her in this, she gave a slight nod.

"Good."

Rhodey put Morgan on the ground and she went back to her seat to finish her eggs. The man snatched a piece of Tony's bacon, hand resting on his shoulder as he finally addressed the time travelers. "What's up?" He asked, eating half the bacon in one bite.

"Really? That's how you introduce yourself to time travelers?"

"You almost blew them to kingdom come. You can't say a word."

"How did you- FRIDAY!"

"He asked for details, Boss."

"I'm renaming you Tattletale."

Rhodey chuckled, snatching another piece of bacon. "Good luck turning that into an abbreviation, Tones."

"I don't need luck." He replied. "And stop stealing my bacon! Get your own."

"Boss," FRIDAY interrupted, "I find it important to let you know that Mr. Hogan has just pulled up."

Tony's brow furrowed in confusion. Why did she tell him about Happy, but not Rhodey? Of course his friend could have told her not to but still-

Then he realized. "Oh crap, I forgot to tell him." He scrambled out of his seat and sprinted for the door, Rhodey's laughter trailing behind him.

Chapter Text

"I'm not even surprised anymore."

That was the first thing Happy said when he entered, speaking over Tony's rambled explanation as he looked through his sunglasses at the 2008 Trio. The genius laughed, relieved at the lack of complete freak out, and patted his shoulder. "There's enough breakfast for you to get a plate, Hap."

"Hey Uncle Happy!" Peter and Harley called. Morgan waved with a piece of toast, and Nebula gave a little flick of her fork in greeting.

The bodyguard took off his glasses, smiling. "Hey kids." He glanced at his watch. "We need to get going if we're going to beat the traffic," he said while stealing a piece of bacon off of Tony's plate.

"Why do both of you want to steal off my plate?" Tony whined, glaring playfully at Rhodey and Hap, deeply aware of how the time travelers were observing them.

"Your food tastes a lot better than it did before you had kids, Tones. It used to be inedible." Rhodey said, going to steal another piece. Tony swatted his hand away.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean it has to come off of my plate," he grumbled, getting laughs out of near everyone. He spared a glance at the 2008 Trio - Happy was visibly rebooting his brain at seeing his future self and Rhodes wasn't much better. He shifted his attention to his children and their near-empty plates. "Finish up your food, kiddos, then go with Uncle Happy. Maybe he'll get you guys McDonald's after school if you're good." Happy had a credit card from Tony for any and all expenses on the kids as well as anything he wanted for taking care of them.

Morgan squealed in delight, sliding out of her chair to run to her Uncle Happy with her arms up. The other man scooped her up into his arms and Tony knew that he'd be getting McDonalds no matter what. He was a giant teddy bear with muscles when it came to Morgan. "If we go, can I have a Happy Meal, Uncle Happy?"

"Sure, kid."

"Uncle Happy should get one, since he's Happy," Harley commented, smirking.

"Ha ha." He rolled his eyes, a hint of a smile on his face. "For that, Peter gets the shotgun seat."

Peter pumped a fist in the air while Harley groaned, slumping in his chair. Hap put Morgan down where she could run to get her backpack from her room while Peter and Harley got up, putting their plates and hers in the sink. They gave Nebula hugs - they'd made it their mission to give her as much family love as possible since meeting her - before their arms were wrapping around Tony. He gave them both a squeeze, ruffled their hair, and then pushed them toward Hap. "Don't cause an international incident at school."

"So, national?" The blonde asked, giving him a grin over his shoulder.

"If you cause an incident, we'll both be facing your mama and Pep. Save us both the trouble."

"I'll try."

Tony's eyes narrowed. Harley undoubtedly had the ability to cause an international incident. Heck, he could probably cause a universal incident if he wanted. "Peter, keep an eye on him."

"Will do!"

"You underestimate my ability to pull him to the dark side, Dad."

"And you underestimate his ability to reign you in." He countered. He pointed his thumb at Rhodey. "That one is the only reason I didn't cause an international incident in college. Peter is your Rhodey."

Both Rhodeys raised a brow. His Rhodey asked, "Are you forgetting about the national one?"

"Not helping, Platypus."

Morgan ran back downstairs, her Ironman backpack with the Spider-man keychain bouncing with her leaps. She ran into Tony's waiting arms, hugging him tight, and he couldn't help but kiss her temple. "Be good at school, Morguna."

"I will!"

He put her on the floor and she ran around the table, giving Nebula a hug first - outside of Tony himself, Nebula was most receptive to her. The woman gave her sister a small squeeze and patted her on the head before Morgan let go to make her way around to the rest of the table. Pepper seemed surprised to get hugged from the side, but recovered quickly to give her a small squeeze. The girl moved on to do the same thing to Happy and Rhodes, yet Tony's eyes stayed on Pepper - her eyes were glassy, as if she was holding back tears behind her smile, and she was looking at her food as if she were afraid to lock eyes with anyone else. A pit of worry opened up in stomach, anxieties bubbling up - did she not like the life she'd built? That she'd built her future with him rather than a more suitable man?

(A part of him was screaming that the thoughts were stupid. His Pepper loved him. Tony loved her. They were perfect.)

(It didn't stop the thoughts.)

Tony followed Hap and the three of his kids outside and to the car. He forced himself to grin as the kids clambered in, the boys having grabbed their backpacks and lunchboxes at some point. Peter held Morgan's lunchbox with his while Harley helped Morgan into her booster seat. He sat on her left while Peter claimed his shotgun seat. Happy got in and rolled his window down so Tony could look in at all his kids, leaned against the door.

"Be careful, make good choices, and don't cause any incidents of any kind."

"Love you 3,000!" Morgan waved, the boys echoing her, and Tony's eyes watered. He wasn't sure when, but the kids had all adopted Morgan's way of saying 'I love you.'

"And I love you all infinitely more."

"Impossible, Daddy," Morgan said, crossing her arms, and Tony laughed.

As Peter messed with the radio, Happy met his eyes. "You gonna be okay, Boss?" He asked, so quiet that Tony had to strain to hear.

He nodded. "Just worry about the kids, Hap. I've got this handled."

Happy gave him a look like he didn't quite believe him, but didn't fight him on it. "Call me if you need something."

"Will do." He patted the top of the car, straightening himself to stand as Happy rolled the window up. He drove away, Tony waving until he couldn't see them anymore. His smile dropped and he dragged in a deep breath, hating how his heart sprinted and jumped at the idea of going back inside. He had promised them the rest of the story. He had said he wouldn't keep it from them.

He was somewhat regretting it now.

'I can do this,' he thought, walking back to the front door. 'I'm Ironman. I'm an Avenger. I'm Tony Stark. I can do this.'

(And if he couldn't, if he started to break at the seams, Rhodey and Nebula were there to hold him together with their presence.)

When he entered his home, he found that they had moved the party to the living room, Rhodey standing by the couch where the 2008 Trio sat. Nebula was back in her spot where the livingroom and kitchen met, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. "Tony," Rhodey said as soon as the door shut, looking at him. His face was calm, and yet there was a look in his eyes Tony wasn't sure how to feel about.

"Yeah?"

"You did not have to start telling them the future without someone else here."

He blinked, looking between the group and his best friend. "Why not?"

Rhodey pinched the bridge of his nose. "You just didn't."

"It's my story, Rhodey. I can tell them what I want." He passed him to sit in the recliner.

He sighed, one of his 'Tony you are a stupid genius' sighs. "Fine. What point have you reached?"

"The first alien invasion." He tried to shrug it off even as he felt Rhodey's eyes bore a hole into the side of his head. The words stuck to his tongue like sand paper, that familiar cold fear seeping into his chest. Pepper gave a little, terrified gasp, whispering "first?" Tony had to pretend not to hear her. It was too much to think about right out the gate. "Shwarma. Avengers separating."

Rhodey leaned against the side of his chair, not quite touching him but making sure Tony knew he was there, and he was grateful. It eased some of the fear, having Rhodey beside him. Maybe he should have waited. (He wouldn't have.) "What else are you going to tell them?"

"Full rundown, most important bits." He gestured to them. "Don't tell me you wouldn't want to know, Rhodey? I'm not just going to let them sit here for a week denying them knowledge - you know that wouldn't work in anyone's favor."

"Fine. The Mandarin?"

"Yep." He looked over at Nebula, knowing she was listening in. He didn't exactly want her to hear, but he knew there was no way she would leave him alone. "Neb, I need you to remember that every bad guy in the stories we tell - they're already dead, and anything else has been amended, got it? There's no going back in time and killing them for me."

She didn't look too happy about it. "Understood."

Tony gave her one of his patented Dad Looks - as his friends called them - before facing the group again. "Alright, the Mandarin incident happened at Christmas, 2012. There were incidents of explosions without sources and the government was going nuts trying to figure it out." He tapped his fingers against the arm of his chair, meeting Happy's eyes. "Eventually, one of these explosions hurt you, and I was so angry about it that I gave him my exact address in Malibu on live TV and told him to fight me."

Happy's face went white. Pepper looked torn between concerned and angry. Rhodes didn't hesitate: "Tony, you're an idiot."

"Yep," his Rhodey agreed, and Tony could feel his disapproving stare. FRIDAY didn't help by bringing up the video of him challenging the Mandarin. Even Tony could see and hear how angry and tired he was - now he understood why Rhodey had been so worried about him.

"Not my finest moment," he agreed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I should have listened to Pep about leaving. He ended up bombing the house."

Again, FRIDAY was no help in bringing up video of the wreckage, along with the breaking news banner at the bottom declaring him dead, and it took a minute for him to calm the 2008 Trio down.

"You guys have got to remember I'm alive. I'm sitting right in front of you."

"It's hard to do that when you keep doing stupid crap," Rhodes argued, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Where did you go?"

"I ended up crashing landing in my suit in Rose Hill, Tennessee. It was a small town, nice people, full of snow." He wanted to shiver at the memory. "I contacted Pepper to let her know I was alive but had to stay dead to the public to figure out the Mandarin. All I had was a busted suit and a stolen poncho, so I broke into someone's garage." He couldn't help but grin. "That's how I met Harley."

Happy snorted out a laugh, some if his color having returned. "Only you would accidentally break into the house of your own kid."

"Well, that is how he became my kid."

Rhodes looked visibly confused. "What do you mean by that?"

"Harley had a lot of small town gossip information on the explosions. He went around town with me for a little bit before I dropped him off at the garage to take care of my suit. Kid wanted to go with me, but I wasn't about to drag him into that mess no matter how much he pouted. After everything was done, I realized I couldn't just leave him with a bunch of upgraded tech as a goodbye and came back to visit. I met his mom and sister, got rightfully chewed out by said mother, and then got to spend time with the kids. They hit it off with Pep immediately, and she and I got added on as guardians to Harley and Abby a few months later."

"Wait a minute," Rhodes said, leaning forward. "Harley and Abby aren't biologically yours? Harley acts just like you! If his hair and eyes were brown, he'd look just like you at that age."

"We don't share blood, but he and Abby are my kids."

"He's not saying they're not," Pepper placated, putting a hand on Rhodes's arm to stop him from speaking. "We're just surprised they aren't biologically yours due to the similarities."

"What about Peter?" Happy asked.

"Also adopted." He was getting a little annoyed. What did it matter? They were his kids. Blood or not.

Rhodes threw up his hands. "Seriously? That kid is your carbon copy without the additude."

"Honestly, I'm not convinced either," Rhodey joked, nudging Tony in the shoulder with his elbow. "The kids are all so much like him. Rosa - Harley and Abby's mom - even cracked a joke about short genes once without remembering Tony wasn't the biological dad."

"What's it like having such a big family?" Rhodes asked. "You seem to have a method to the chaos."

"My kids get along most of the time. There's arguments here and there - all of them are stubborn - but mostly there's peace. It helps that I'm always here."

"He's Mr. Mom," Rhodey said. Tony rolled his eyes, not denying it.

"Back to the Mandarin," Tony reluctantly shifted the conversation, "Like I said, Harley had the scoop. Smart kid. The bombs weren't bombs. They were people." Three sets of eyes went wide at that. "And to understand that, we have to go back to 99'..." He explained that New Year's Eve, skipping over Yinsen to keep himself from breaking down. He told of Maya Hansen and Aldrich Killian, of Extremis, of how nothing had truly been as it seemed. He jumped forward to meeting up with Rhodey, confronting the Mandarin only to find he was a decoy by Killian (Rhodey had a lot of commentary on that), the kidnapping of the President, and Tony's own kidnapping. He paused, Pepper's kidnapping replaying in his head. That footage would haunt him forever, his only consolation being that he had saved her.

He and Rhodey shared a brief look before the other man took over. "There was a confrontation with Killian, who took Extremis himself-"

"You skipped over something," Pepper interrupted. "Something important."

"I don't think you'll want to know," Tony said. "It might be better if you didn't."

"So it involves me."

He hesitated. "Yes, which is why-"

"I'd like to know."

"Pepper-"

"I know it's bad if you're trying to skip it," she said. "You don't have to tell me, but I would like to know rather than wonder."

He looked to Rhodey, who frowned but gave him a look that said 'your choice.' Finally, he met Pepper's eyes. "I confronted Killian because he had kidnapped you and gave you Extremis."

Pepper paled, but nodded. "Thank you for telling me. I assume you fixed it?"

"I did. I reversed the effects after you destroyed Killian for me." At her wide eyes, he gave her a small smile. "Swooped in like my queen in shining armor and saved my life."

She said a quiet little "oh," seemingly shocked at herself.

"In the end, I blew up my suits and tamed Extremis. I used it and got a team of doctors to remove my reactor, which is why I don't have it anymore." Sometimes he missed it, in a weird way. He'd been used to that weight on his chest, the pale light of the reactor in the night proving he was alive. He was glad not to have it - it'd been a weakness, Obadiah proved that - but it was proof he had a heart for so long.

"How many suits did you have?" Happy asked. The question was curious, innocent in itself, spoken from the point of view of someone fascinated with the idea of Tony having suits of armor.

It just reminded Tony of how he had become so paranoid, so out of control and terrified out of his mind. He'd been so focused on what he couldn't fight that he didn't see himself falling.

"Uh, a lot. Don't really remember." It was a complete lie and he knew it.

"You were on model forty two, Boss. You had forty suits, excluding Mark I and Mark II, which became the War Machine armor. You were on Mark VII for the battle against the Chitauri."

He resisted the urge to glare at the ceiling as he received shocked looks as well as a disapproving stare from Rhodey. "I went a little overboard."

"A little?" Pepper asked, voice strangled.

"Okay, very much overboard." He sighed. "It was... what happened at the Battle of New York made me realize I was outmatched. I needed to fix that." He shrugged, trying to make it out as no big deal even as the memories bubbled up in his mind, fighting to be acknowledged. Every suit. Every time he waited for Pepper to go to sleep so he could sneak away to the lab. Every upgrade that wasn't good enough. "Those suits are gone now."

"But you have more," Happy pointed out.

"Had to. The Avengers would be needed before long."

"How did you all come back together?" Pepper asked.

Rhodes interjected with his own question. "And what's the War Machine armor?"

"Oh shoot," Tony glanced at Rhodey, "I kind of skimmed over that, didn't I? Whoops." He cleared his throat, facing Rhodes. "You think you've been helping me that whole time without your own armor? I'm not that bad of a friend."

His mouth fell open. "I have my own armor?"

"War Machine-"

"Iron Patriot."

"We are not having this debate! You can say it all you want, your password says otherwise."

"We've been over this, it sounds better-"

"Don't give me that crap. Shush." Tony waved a hand to silence him. "Continuing without interruptions - yes, you have armor. During my 40th birthday party disaster, I let you steal a suit. There was a final battle with Hammer Tech where my tech was proven superior. From then on, the War Machine armor was Rhodey's and only Rhodeys to carry out mission for the military."

"Why wasn't I at New York?" Rhodes asked.

Rhodey answered. "I was deployed on the other side of the world. By the time I got told, the battle was halfway over, though we didn't know it yet. I got there not long after they had eaten Shwarma."

"As for the Avengers getting back together," Tony said, drawing them back to the timeline, "it took until the next year. It was necessary. HYDRA wasn't as dead as everyone thought-"

"What?" Rhodes asked. All three time travelers looked shaken. It was taught in history classes until the big info dump that HYDRA had died with the war's end.

"Apparently the legend is true. If you cut off one head, two grow back. They had been festering inside of SHIELD after its formation. They had people in high places, included the Senator that tried to make me give up my suit in 2010. They had their claws in everything and more secrets than could be counted. They were doing things behind the scenes. They had bases, they ran experiments, they had power - enough power to target everyone they saw as a potential threat." He remembered looking at the files. He'd been at the top of that target list. Every Avenger had been.

Rhodey had been on the list.

Pepper had been on the list.

(He'd thrown up after reading it.)

Seeing that he'd shocked them into silence, he continued. "Steve and Natasha went after HYDRA." Why they didn't tell him - Steve had explained to him later. They hadn't known if communication could be tracked. He hadn't wanted to put Tony in danger. If he could have, he would have contacted him immediately. "Sam Wilson, aka Falcon, got involved, and soon, Steve found out another of HYDRA's secrets - his best friend, James Buchanan Barnes, hadn't died. He'd been turned into the Winter Soldier, a weapon for HYDRA. Brain washed." It was hard for him to talk about, but he forced himself to. He didn't hold any resentment toward Bucky. He was just a man who got used.

(Sometimes, he still woke up with that video in the front of his mind, tears streaming down his face, and had to remind himself that the Winter Soldier and Bucky Barnes were two different people. He could blame the Winter Soldier. He could blame HYDRA. He couldn't blame Bucky.)

(The man had, on more than one occasion, proved to be his friend.)

"Brain washed," Happy repeated, bewildered.

"Very horrifically, with code words to trigger it. He's got an altered version of the super soldier serum in him."

"How is he now?" Pepper asked, glancing toward the long photo on the wall. "He seems happy there."

"He's okay," he replied. It had taken a lot of therapy, but Bucky was running around with Sam, stopping bank robberies and other attacks on the people. He was like Natasha in some ways - he wanted to wipe the red from his ledger. "As for HYDRA, Natasha chose to put them at a disadvantage by dumping all SHIELD data on to the internet, including HYDRA stuff. The helicarriers targeting HYDRA threats were brought down. It was a whole mess." He really wished Steve would have called, no matter the potential encryption. JARVIS had been better than anything HYDRA could come up with.

He hadn't been better than what Tony came up with.

"Thor had a whole thing happen on his side that would be a whole can of worms that we don't need to open, but he came back to Earth and needed a place to stay to regroup himself. Clint wasn't being too welcomed by SHIELD after his brainwashing, and when SHIELD was reduced to background work trying to rebuild themselves, I started finding him in my kitchen at one in the morning, usually sitting on anything that wasn't a chair." Almost gave him a heart attack several times. "Steve and Natasha took up my offer to live in the Tower. Bruce had been living there on and off working in the labs, and I eventually convinced him to stay permanently. So, the Avengers reformed, Stark Tower officially became Avengers Tower, and we started doing missions tracking down every HYDRA base we could. It was pretty great for a while."

It had been. Those months between them all officially moving in and Ultron had been some of the best of his life. He'd planned out their own floors since the Battle for New York and had been so happy they took him up on the offer rather than let good work go to waste - and maybe he liked having them there, not just as friends but as people he could call family. People who, just by his knowledge of them being on the floors below him, could calm his nightmares. He'd thought having them together would mean security. They would beat what was coming.

He'd been right, it just hadn't happened the first time around.

Rhodey's hand on his shoulder broke him out of his thoughts. "How about we take a break?" Before he could protest, he asked, "Have you actually shown them the armor yet? Or what the company is making?" Tony shook his head. "You have the opportunity to blow their minds with the future and you're not doing it? Wow. That should be your top priority. Best way to learn is to experience it, dive head first, sink or swim."

"You sound like Harley."

"His name is Harley James Anthony Stark, what do you expect? He took after his favorite uncle."

"Don't let Happy hear you say that," he said, chuckling lightly. The thought of Ultron, of everything that was set into motion after Sokovia, had brought a tightness to his chest. "Alright, let's go to the lab." He stood, clapping his hands twice. He spared a glance at Nebula - her arms were crossed, shoulders tensed, and she wasn't looking at him. The tightness in his chest changed from rising panic to concern. "Rhodey, lead them down. I'm going to talk to my daughter, then we'll be down."

While Rhodey did as he asked, he went over to his eldest child. "Are you alright?" He asked, trying to catch her eyes.

She stayed quiet for a minute. "So much happened to you that you did not deserve, and there is so much more I don't know."

"Everything is in the past, Blueberry. Nothing to worry about now."

"What if something else happens?"

"We'll deal with it then."

"I won't let anything else hurt you."

"I'm your dad. It's my job to keep things from hurting you." She looked at him then, angry, and he knew it wasn't directed at him.

"You're human. More things can hurt you than hurt me."

"And I don't want to see you getting hurt. That would hurt me more than anything else could." She still didn't look happy, so he continued. "Look, how about this? If something does happen, then I want you to protect your siblings." She gave him a Look that matched Pepper's. "And if you have a clear shot to help me without getting hurt yourself, take it."

She stared at him for a long few seconds before nodding. "Okay."

"Good." He gave her a hug that she reciprocated. "Now, let's go see how our time travelers are fairing in the new technological age, shall we?"

They headed down to the lab to find that the bots had surrounded the 2008 Trio, spinning claws curiously while Rhodey tried to get them to back off.

"What's going on?" Tony asked. "FRI?"

"The bots are confused, Boss. There are two Colonel Rhodes and they recognize them from 2008. I have tried explaining to them."

He could handle that. "Alright guys, shoo. Away from the time travelers. You're overwhelming them. Dum-E, go make a smoothie. U, go find your camera in your pile of mess. Butterfingers, go help U. I'll play with you later."

The bots beeped and whirred at him, protesting, before slowly making their ways to do the tasks Tony set out for them.

"It's good to see they're still around and you haven't donated them to city colleges yet," Rhodes joked.

Tony smiled fondly. "Those three aren't going anywhere."

Without the chaos of three bots surrounding them, he saw the moment the three were able to take in his lab. FRIDAY turned the holograms on as soon as the chaos ended, lighting up the place in blue. He had three suits against the far wall - the most recent versions that couldn't be compressed - and shelves upon shelves full of tools. Tables filled the area, spaced out enough that it became a little like a maze. During the Blip, his lab had been sparse. He'd made an Ironman suit - even retired, he wasn't going to sit back if the world needed help again - that he compressed and filed away into a safe box. He made Pepper a suit, beginning when Morgan was three, and worked on it in little increments until his little girl found the helmet that fateful day everything changed. He did Stark Industries projects at Stark Industries, keeping only holograms and a few prototypes in his house. He couldn't find joy in inventing and designing when his boys weren't going to come home from school any minute and run down the stairs, talking about some new idea or what happened at school that day.

After his Snap, the lab changed. Peter and Harley had their own spaces again and Tony rediscovered the fun in tinkering and inventing alongside them as soon as he healed enough to do more than listen. Harley started building his own IronLad suit - he was not allowed to operate it outside of the property until he was eighteen unless there was an emergency - and Peter advanced his Spider-man suit. They put together the most simple to the most insane inventions together, and Tony loved listening to them bickering while they worked.

Tony gestured around them, stepping into the middle of the room. "Those are the suits, obviously. Older models," he pointed to them, watching their heads turn. "You know about my holograms and whatnot."

"What's going on over there?" Happy asked, pointing to Harley's table where he'd left the gold and red parts of the IronLad suit modifications laid out.

"Harley is taking after me and his older brothers, which scares me half to death. He's working on upgrades for his own suit - the IronLad."

"His brothers?" Pepper asked, and Tony remembered he hadn't exactly gotten to Spider-man or who exactly Vision was yet.

"Well, Peter is Spider-man." He waved a hologram forward and FRIDAY brought up a video of Peter swinging around New York. "He was being a hero before I met him, ever since he was fifteen. Helps old ladies across the street and gives directions to lost pizza guys, as well as a few more dangerous things he's gotten himself into." Just the thought of what happened (and what had almost happened with Quinton Beck) to his kid had his heart racing. "Anything big, his AI that I made for him, KAREN, will let me know." Not that Peter would wait until he showed up. He had too much Tony in him for that.

He just had to do his best to keep him safe.

"As for Vision," he changed the hologram, splitting it into two. FRIDAY understood and brought up images of android Vision as well as his human appearance, "he's an android, made after the Avengers re-formed. HYDRA had one of these things called Infinity Stones-" A tremble swept up his right arm, "-his being the mind stone, and it was used to bring him to life. JARVIS is a part of him. Viz proved himself worthy, joined the Avengers, officially became one of my kids, married Wanda Maximoff who also has powers via the mind stone, and they had my grandsons, Tommy and Billy." He swiped away the holograms. "Any questions?"

"I think I'm too shocked for questions," Rhodes deadpanned.

"Agreed," Happy said, rubbing his face.

"I'll show you more stuff then," he grinned.

That sentence kicked off three hours of him showing the 2008 Trio everything he could about the modern era. He showed them his StarkPhone - leagues ahead of anything Apple or Android was making, at a more affordable price - as well as other things Stark Industries made, including being pioneers of affordable clean energy and creating tech that helped rather than held the potential to harm. He even showed them his nanite suit - he hadn't been able to get himself to recreate the model he used to Snap, the empty, broken gauntlet of it was stored away in the lab where he couldn't see it - that had left them speechless.

(He kept noticing how Rhodey stayed close, kept getting between him and Rhodes. He was never more than a yard away, eyes always watching. Tony would have to ask him about his overprotectiveness later.)

Eventually, they went back upstairs to shower and change. Tony had just sat down with Rhodey in the living room, wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt, when his phone went off. He pulled it from his pocket and saw the name of Morgan's and his grandson's elementary school. His heart jumped to his throat as he answered and put it to his ear, Rhodey looking on with concern. "Hello?"

"Hello Mr. Stark," he recognized the voice of the twins' teacher, Mrs. Johnson. Tony had done a thorough background check on her before allowing the boys to be in her preschool class, just as he'd done to every single one of his kids' teachers after Abigail's stupid math teacher many years earlier. She sounded a bit overwhelmed, "there's been a bit of an... incident."

He straightened up in his seat. "What kind of incident? Are the boys okay?"

"They're fine right now, a bit upset but okay. From what I understand, an argument started over a toy Billy was using. Another classmate forcibly took it from him and Tommy defended his brother. It hadn't been a great day for them before that - I think it would be best for someone to come get them. Mr. and Mrs. Maximoff-Stark aren't answering their phones. Could you come get them?"

They must have been called on a mission. He'd have to check with FRIDAY. "Of course. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Thank you, Mr. Stark."

He hung up and rushed to get his shoes on, talking over Rhodey's question of what was going on. "I have to go get Tommy and Billy. Something happened at school. Can you and Nebula keep an eye on them?" He didn't have to say who they were.

"No problem," Rhodey replied as Tony shrugged on his jacket, "but Tony..."

"Yeah?" He prompted, grabbing his keys. He didn't have time to stop.

"I think it would be a better idea if I tell them what happens next, and everything after."

"Rhodey-"

"I can do it, Tones. You don't need to. Please, let me do it."

Tony hesitated, then sighed. "Fine. Tell them all you think they need to know. I'll be back in a bit. Don't do anything stupid."

"That's my line!" Rhodey called as Tony ran out the door to his car. FRIDAY started it for him and he slid into the driver's seat, buckling up as she maneuvered the car down the driveway. As soon as his hands were free, he took the wheel and hit the gas, driving as fast as he could without getting pulled over.

His grandsons needed their IronGrandpa.

Chapter Text

"You three know you can't tell anyone about what's going on, right?" Happy asked. "People can not know."

"We know." Peter replied. Honestly, he was still trying to come to terms with it himself - his mom, Uncle Rhodey, and Uncle Happy coming out of the woods had unnerved him. They had looked the same, but not, and definitely weren't the family members he knew - his spider sense had went off. He'd grabbed Morgan immediately and when Harley asked what was wrong, all he'd been able to do was point.

He'd been doing his best to not freak out, and honestly, he thought he was doing a pretty good job of it. After everything that had happened in his life, having three people he knew time travel from 2008 didn't rank first in the top craziest things he'd experienced. Harley felt similarly, he knew. Being kids of Tony Stark made it hard to be surprised by anything.

When they stopped at a red light, his uncle glanced at him. "This is bigger than Spider-man, Peter. You cannot tell Ned or MJ about this."

His stomach dropped. Not tell MJ? She could read him like a book! And he couldn't even keep Spider-man a secret from Ned, though he understood keeping it from him. His best friend was not that great at being quiet about secrets - but he kept Spider-man a secret, despite all the close calls. That had to count for something.

"I'm great at keeping secrets, Uncle Happy!" His little sister called. She was handling the whole time travel thing well - Peter really shouldn't be surprised.

"That you are, mini Boss," the man replied, a brief, soft smile on his face that he got when talking to the youngest - she had everyone wrapped around her little finger. And Morgan actually was a great secret keeper, though Peter theorized that if she did tell, it would be passed off as a story among her five year old classmates. "Harley?"

"Lips are sealed." He promised, and Peter knew he was miming zipping his lips right then. "But I did tell Abby."

"Abby's clear to tell, just no one else. Boss will decide the rest."

"Is she coming this weekend?" Peter asked, trying to change the subject. By the side eye Happy gave him, he wasn't falling for it.

"She said she's not sure and that something came up with mama. I don't buy it, but we'll see."

"You think she's lying?"

"I think she's planning something. Big difference."

"Abby promised to play dolls again," Morgan said. "We have to befriend the dragon in the next episode, but first, they try to-"

"Don't spoil it, Morgan!" The blonde exclaimed, laughing. "What was the dragon's name again? Bartholomew?"

"No, it's Timmy!"

"I thought it was Cooper," Peter joked, knowing full well it wasn't one of the many names she'd picked for that dragon stuffed animal.

"No, that's our cousin! Silly Petey."

"Alright Morg, this is your stop," Happy said. Peter only then realized they'd stopped in front of Morgan's school - a private elementary school with teachers their dad had vetted and debriefed, along with read the entire curriculum. Tommy and Billy went there, too, and the kindergarten and preschool classes got to eat together. Happy got out of the car with Morgan, and picked her up to take her through the front doors.

"Dude, how are you not going to tell MJ and Ned? You can't keep a secret to save your life."

Peter swiveled around innhis seat to face him. "Hey, the world doesn't know I'm Spider-man!"

Harley ticked off the points on his fingers. "Due to a series of coincidences, bad cover stories, your reputation, and probably Dad's intervention at some point." He dropped his hands. "Plus, MJ can read you like a book. How are you going to do this?"

He groaned, dropping back into his seat. "You are of no help."

"I'm your little brother. It's my job to annoy you." He patted Peter on the shoulder. "Just... don't say anything out of the ordinary. They ask about what we did yesterday, talk about baseball, lasagna, and video games - including the Wii tournament I won."

"Because you cheated."

"I plead the fifth."

Peter rolled his eyes - but he did feel a little better. Tell everything as it was, leave out time travel. He could do that.

Right?

Happy came back and soon they were coming up on Midtown. He brought the car to a stop a bit of a distance from the front doors, keeping away from the main line of cars with people dropping their kids off. Peter was grateful for it. While the buzz had died down over becoming an official Stark in the public eye several months ago, Peter didn't like the prying eyes in crowds. Before he could get out, Happy gave him one last stern look.

"Do not tell."

"Why am I getting this lecture and Harley isn't?"

"Because Harley can lie about anything."

His brother got out and through the tinted glass, Peter saw him stick out his tongue before racing up to the school, backpack bouncing behind him.

"Peter," Happy got his attention back, "you cannot tell."

"I won't, Uncle Happy, I swear."

The man gave him an accessing look, eyes boring into his soul, before nodding. "If you don't, I'll get you a Happy Meal, too."

Peter grinned, the tension in his shoulders loosening a little. "I'll take that deal."

He huffed a laugh, clapping him on the shoulder. "Have a good day at school, kid."

"I'll try!" He climbed out of the car and waved as Happy drove off. Once he was out of sight, he clenched his hand around his backpack strap.

'I can do this,' he thought, marching up the steps. 'I have to do this.'

.....

He thought he was doing pretty well until lunch - he'd only tripped over his words three times and only once made a fast getaway from Ned with the excuse of going to the bathroom. He hadn't been able to quite meet the eyes of his girlfriend all day, but he'd acted normal. He thought.

"Alright, why are you acting weird?" MJ asked, sliding into the seat beside him and interrupting his and Ned's conversation about the newest Star Wars Lego set.

"I'm not-"

"I'm sorry dude, but you've been acting weird," Ned said, holding his sandwich in two hands. "You're acting like before I found out about Spi-"

"Ned," MJ's firm warning made him stop. Peter was incredibly grateful that the cafeteria was loud, and that they sat in their own secluded area by themselves. People had tried to get close to him after he became an official Stark by name, but he had his circle of true friends and that was enough for him.

"Oops, sorry."

"It's okay," he managed a small smile. "But really, I'm not-"

"You are acting weird, don't deny it."

"Oh," Ned's voice dropped to a whisper, "is it an-"

"Ned," Again, MJ's firm tone made him go quiet. "Hang on." She pulled out her sketchbook and flipped to a clean page. She wrote down 'Avengers thing?' before passing him the pencil. He finally met her eyes and in them, he saw care and understanding that made him write: 'Somewhat. Classified.' He paused. 'I really can't talk about it.'

Ned looked about ready to explode in excitement, and yet all he said was, "That's okay, Peter."

"Really?"

"Yeah," MJ said, packing away her stuff, "you don't have to be nervous. We understand." She gave his hand a brief squeeze. "Don't worry."

"We're not upset, man. How could we be?"

His shoulders relaxed fully for the first time since he entered the school. "Thank you. That... that's a relief."

Ned grinned. "Now, how do you feel about the next Star Wars movie?"

"Oh, I have some feelings..."

MJ rolled her eyes. "You boys and Star Wars."

They laughed, and everything was back to normal - as normal as could be in his insane life.

Chapter Text

The second the front door shut, Rhodey sighed heavily, slumping into the couch.

Part of him was glad Tony had to leave - though he wished it wasn't because of something happening with his great nephews - because he could see how badly telling the story of his life, of their lives, of the world that he had helped save was affecting him. How badly having time travelers around was affecting him. It wasn't obvious, just little things he had picked up over the last few years, but they were things his past self wouldn't have noticed. Things he wouldn't have known to look out for. He would never have noticed the slight shake in Tony's hand before he curled it into a fist. Rhodes wouldn't see that faraway look in his eyes his best friend - their best friend - kept getting. He wouldn't see every time Tony had to drag himself back to the present to keep from slipping back in time.

Rhodes had forgotten that Tony had a million masks - had stopped trying to look years after college, when they both got so busy and the party version of Tony was almost all he ever saw. He would let Obadiah manipulate situations and events to keep them separated without batting an eye because that was Tony's godfather, his guardian, his uncle, who he thought would never dare hurt him.

He didn't know what it was like to feel like a failure of a brother, to know that he had missed when Tony was hurting for so long, to know that he had not been the older brother he had been back in MIT, when he swore to himself to protect that scrawny, ambitious, bull headed teenager with his life.

That past version of him didn't know the pain of losing Tony over and over again.

Footsteps caught his attention and Rhodey sat up, turning to see the younger version of himself standing at the edge of the hall, dressed in borrowed jeans and a t-shirt from Rhodey's guest room closet. "Where's Tony?" He asked, glancing around.

Rhodey so badly wanted to punch him. There had been so many times where he laid awake at night, wishing he could go back in time and smack some sense into himself.

Except he couldn't do that. No one would approve except for Rhodey himself - just like with the baby Thanos plan - and the time traveling version of him wouldn't remember it anyway.

"He had to go get his grandsons from school," he said, somehow keeping his voice even, if flat. "He'll be back later. I'll finish telling you all what happened between now and after the Avengers reformed once Pepper and Happy are here."

"Oh." He cleared his throat, rounding the couch cautiously to sit furthest from him. "Alright."

Silence fell. Rhodey could feel he was being watched by his younger self. He didn't pay him any mind, instead pulling out his phone to ask Tony if Billy and Tommy were okay. He'd just sent the text when Rhodes broke the silence: "What's going on with the blue light coming from your legs?"

He glanced at him, then at his legs. Wearing black jeans, the light of his braces was hard to see, but there. "They're leg braces," he answered. "I can't walk without them."

"What?" He sounded a mix of shocked and terrified. As much as he didn't like his past self, he didn't want him to be scared.

"I'm fine now." He reassured, meeting his eyes. "Tony made them."

"How... How did it happen?" He was looking at him with wide eyes.

"Avengers business." He decided to say. "I'll get into more details with the story. I really don't want to tell it twice." He really didn't want to tell it at all, but he wanted Tony to tell it less. "Any other questions unrelated to the past?"

"Why are you mad at me?"

Of course he would ask the one thing Rhodey didn't want him to. What had he expected? He put his phone to the side, forcing himself to breathe evenly. "I'm mad at this whole situation."

"Cut the bull crap." He said, speaking quieter than Rhodey expected. "Don't think I didn't notice you staying near me whenever I got close to Tony. Why?"

He had done that, slipped into the same space Rhodes was in if he got near Tony. It had been instinct. Protectiveness. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do, and I don't get it. I'm his friend as much as you are."

No, you're not, he thought. Somehow, he kept from saying that. His nails dug into the couch. "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at what's happening."

"It isn't my fault we got sent forward in time!" He argued. "And we both know that's not true. Not completely. I can tell you're mad at me. We're the same person."

That was it. It was all he could take. Rhodey snapped. "We are not the same!" He shot to his feet, whirling on him. "We are far from the same."

Rhodes got up, meeting him eye to eye. "Yes, we are. At least toward Tony. We're his friend."

"I'm trying to protect him from you!"

His younger self stopped, staring at him in bewilderment. "What?" He asked faintly.

"I'm trying to protect Tony from you." He repeated. "I have to protect him from you. It's what my job is as his brother. I protect him from those that could hurt him." He'd failed way too many times at that.

"How did I ever hurt Tony? How could I ever hurt him?"

He laughed, so hollow and angry he didn't recognize himself in it. "It's hard to believe, but you did. Tony didn't tell you because he thought it was reasonable." There was no stopping the anger in him - it bubbled and burned, rising in his throat and pouring out with his words. "You spend three months looking for him in an Afghan desert. Then you find him, bring him home, and then when he shuts down the weapons division of his company, you tell him that he needs to get his head on straight. When he was dying, he showed you what was wrong without saying it, and you didn't bother to ask more questions because he's Tony, he's always okay. It was only when he went through a wormhole with a nuke on his back to save New York that you fully started seeing him for who he'd become, and even then you didn't take his fear of what was out there seriously."

He finally stepped back, squeezing the bridge of his nose as his younger self looked at him with quiet horror, stunned into silence.

"All I want to do," he whispered when he dropped his hand, "is protect him. I don't want him getting hurt again. He's been through too much as it is."

"I won't hurt him." Rhodes promised. "I swear I won't. I don't want him hurting."

"Yeah," he replied, "that's what I would have thought then, too, not realizing I was doing it."

Rhodes went to respond, but FRIDAY cut him off. "Colonel Rhodes, Miss Potts and Mr. Hogan are approaching."

Rhodey nodded, more to himself than the AI as he tried to get a handle on his emotions. "Thanks, FRI." He replied before meeting the eyes of his younger self. "I want you to know that if you do hurt him, there won't be a power in this universe except for God that'll stop me from punching you."

"And I would let you." There was truth in his eyes, an honesty Rhodey could believe, and he allowed himself to relax. Barely.

"I'll hold you to that."

Soon, the other two time travelers arrived, and Rhodey had them sit on the couch. He took a minute to gather his thoughts, pacing while they watched. "I will admit," he finally said, pausing in the middle of the room where he faced them, "that this is surreal."

"You said it," Happy muttered, and Rhodey cracked a brief smile. His friend's dry humor was one thing that had never changed.

Rhodey finally settled into Tony's favorite chair. "Yeah, and it's about to get way more insane." When they all looked at him, expressions a mix of dread and curiosity, he jumped into the story before he could back out. He started where Tony left off with the re-formation of the Avengers and how they started fighting off HYDRA together. Most of what he knew was second hand, and FRIDAY co-oberated and added details to the story, bringing up news footage and video from the suit to match his words. "Eventually, they found the HYDRA base that hid a scepter with the Mind Stone in it. Loki had used it to open the portal during the Battle of New York." While he wanted to graze over as many details as he could, Rhodey knew he had to stall here, as painful as it was. "Tony came into contact with it. He had a vision, a horrible vision," he clenched his hands against his knees, forcing himself to calm down, "and the idea of a suit of armor around the world was born."

"What kind of vision?" Pepper asked quietly.

Rhodey shook his head. "Tony never told me fully what it was. I didn't find out until well later that it even happened." He hesitated. "He told me... that it was his worst fear come to life, and that he had to do something." He could only imagine what Wanda showed him, back when she thought he was enemy, but he had a hunch. She had brought up his deepest fears, afterall. "When they got back from the mission, he convinced Bruce to help him with a new program called Ultron. He was AI, like JARVIS, and meant to defend the world from outside threats."

"Like the alien invasion," Rhodes concluded.

"Exactly that." He ran his hand over his head. "He and Bruce started working, and then there was an Avengers party. They left Ultron alone and with the scepter nearby... and he came online. He was nowhere near ready, but he woke up. He saw too much too fast. JARVIS tried to calm him down, but Ultron... turned." He shut his eyes for a breath. It was still painful to think about. Painful to remember. "He destroyed JARVIS."

Pepper gasped. Happy bowed his head. Rhodes's face was grim.

Rhodey continued. "It was chaos after that. Ultron was bent on destroying humankind. Wanda and her brother, Pietro, were part of HYDRA, and teamed up with him." He explained the next few events quickly, not wanting to linger too long. He explained about the Barton family, building Vision, the twins joining the side of the Avengers, and the Battle of Sokovia. "Ultron was destroyed by Wanda after Pietro was killed saving Clint and a little boy." He said, voice solemn. "From there, Wanda and Vision officially joined the Avengers, the Avengers Compound was created, and Tony tried to settle down. It didn't work."

He leaned back in the chair. "What happened with Sokovia, with the Battle of New York, and other Avengers missions led to the creation of the Sokovia Accords, which were meant to put the Avengers in check. Tony signed them. Steve didn't. From there, the Avengers split down the middle." He explained the bombing, the killing of the Wakandan king, Bucky Barnes's brainwashing, the building of two sides, and the airport fight. "Tony recruited Peter as an outlier. Someone to work on the edge with his super strength and agility. The kid's way too much like Tony and got into the thick of it until Tony forced him to stay out. He regrets pulling him into it to this day."

"During the fight, I got shot down. It wasn't anyone's fault." Vision had been trying to hit Sam, he dodged, and it got him. He pulled up his right pant leg, showing the brace. "I was paralyzed and in the hospital for the rest of the fight, but I know what happened."

"Rhodey, I am so sorry," Pepper said, hand hovering at her mouth and eyes on his braces. Rhodey let his pant leg fall, concealing Tony's invention from view.

"It's in the past. I'm okay now." He cleared his throat. "In short, Clint, Sam, Scott, and Wanda were put in the Raft, a heinous super max prison. Tony figured out from Sam where Steve and Bucky went. He wanted to help them, with whatever they were doing, and followed them to Siberia despite his dislocated arm." He took in a steadying breath before speaking again. "It was a trap. Not by Steve or Bucky, but Zemo, who lured them there to break them from the inside. I'm not going to say what exactly happened, what was revealed, just know it was bad and that Steve hid it from Tony. They fought, hurt each other, and that was the end of the Avengers as the world had known them." He paused. "And yet when Ross called about a break in at the Raft, Tony ignored him, because he knew what was happening. Steve and Bucky broke the others out and retreated to Wakanda."

He let all of that sink in before forging ahead. "The next year or so was okay. Not perfect, but okay. Good things happened even with the Avengers separated. I got to walk again. Pepper and Tony got engaged. Peter and Vision officially became Tony's kids and met their siblings. I thought Tony might actually call Steve with this ancient phone he sent him." He stopped and met each set of eyes. "Then the aliens came back."

He flicked his hands and FRIDAY brought up the videos. Tony, Peter, and Stephen Strange in New York, ending with the report that Tony was gone, out in space. The attack on Wakanda. Clips from the suit as Tony, Peter, and the Guardians fought Thanos. "Thanos was the threat Tony saw in the wormhole. The threat we didn't believe him on. He was collecting the Infinity Stones, and all six had unimaginable power individually, and more when wielded together in his gauntlet. We did everything we could stop him from getting his hands on them, but it wasn't enough. He took the last one from Vision's head, killing him, and Thor's last effort didn't work. He snapped his fingers - and wished away half of all life in the universe."

"No-"

"What-"

"Why?" Pepper asked, almost demanded. There were tears in her eyes. "Why would he do that?"

"He wanted to stop overpopulation. He thought everything needed to be perfectly balanced and was freaking crazy. Really crazy. In his twisted way, he thought he was helping by taking away half of life." He curled his hands into fists. "What he did was hurt. He hurt everyone, those who were dusted, or Blipped as it became to be called, and those who survived. Society nearly collapsed. He took friends, family - he took Peter, Harley, Abigail, Bucky, Sam, Wanda, Clint's entire family... and so many more." He had to keep blinking to stop himself from crying. His mother, Mama Rhodes, had been Blipped. His niece and nephews were gone in an instant. He'd lost friends. He hadn't been there when Sam went. He'd been so close.

He hadn't known if Tony or Peter were alive for a month. He'd hoped they were both out there, still alive - and then his best friend came back without him and an empty look in his eyes.

"But they all came back," Rhodes said, and Rhodey could see his own tears - all of their tears. "They're here, they're alive, the... the dates on the certificates, the pictures." He breathed, realization filling his face. "That's why five years are gone."

Rhodey nodded. "Five years. Nebula became Tony's daughter. Pepper and Tony married. Morgan was born. The Avengers rebuilt what they could and tried to help the world move on even when we couldn't..." He swallowed. It was so hard to talk about that time. No matter what they did, no matter what good they tried to do, it all felt wrong. The Earth still turned despite losing half its population. Despite the devastation. Despite the loss that everyone felt so deeply across the universe. United in grief. That was the only way they made it through.

He knew he had to keep pushing through, had to tell the rest of the story, yet it felt impossible. Even if it had a happy ending, it was hard to talk about how they got there. What they nearly lost. Who they nearly lost.

"Uncle Rhodey," Nebula said, startling him. She was calling him that more and more, something he was happy about. She had slipped in at some point, leaned against the wall by the stairs, "I think it would be better to let the documentary tell the story. FRIDAY?"

The AI's reply was to turn on the TV, the other videos falling away as Tony's voice filled the room.

"Dr. Strange told me there were 14,000,605 futures. Out of all of them, all the possibilities, there was only one where we won..."

Chapter Text

Tony got to the elementary school in record time.

The assistant secretary led him to the pre-school classroom - he knew the layout of the building by heart, but it was protocol - and Mrs. Johnson greeted him at the door, calm and professional. She was a blonde lady with CPR certification, medical training, and twenty years of untarnished reputation in teaching Pre-K. She had taught Morgan and been her favorite of the two Pre-K teachers, and since Morgan had good intuition (and because the woman passed an extensive interview and background check), she was entrusted with the secret of the twins' powers. There hadn't been an incident yet - the boys understood they couldn't go using their powers to stun their classmates - but if there was, Tony knew she'd be able to handle it.

(There'd been the idea floated around of bracelets that would nullify their powers, but Tony wasn't about to do that. He couldn't imagine separating them from their abilities, and they were so young that if other kids saw what they could do, their parents wouldn't believe them.)

For right now though, all he wanted was to see his grandsons. Mrs. Johnson apparently understood as she didn't stand in his way, guesturing toward the play area. "They're in the bing bags," she said as he quickly made his way over, barely registering what she said. He found Billy and Tommy sharing one bing bag, Tommy's arm wrapped around his brother who had dried tear tracks on his face. Neither of them looked up when he approached.

"Hey boys," he greeted as he dropped to a crouch in front of them, getting their attention. Identical brown eyes, much like his own, snapped to meet his.

"Grandpa!" They launched into his waiting arms and he brought them both in for a tight hug. He held them there for a minute, kissing the tops of their heads.

"I heard today hasn't been too good of a day, huh?" He asked. It was Tommy who looked at him, Billy's face still buried in his shoulder and little arms wrapped around his neck. Tony rubbed his back as the older of the twins explained, a fire alight in his eyes.

"John took Billy's toy, G-pa! His car!" He balled his fists at his sides. Tony could see the tears of frustration there. It worried him. Tommy never cried. "He wouldn't give it back, so I tried to take it, and he punched me! I know I'm not supposed to, but I punched him back, and- and-" He stopped, ducking his head. "Am I in trouble?"

"No, not at all, T. The exact opposite." He drew him back in for a hug.

The boy sniffed, looking up at him. "Really?"

"Really." He promised. "You did a good job, defending your brother. You didn't even throw the first punch." Tommy could punch. He'd learned from his Great Aunt Nat and Great Uncle Clint. "That was self defense, buddy. Defense of yourself and your brother. I am so proud of you." Tommy smiled and Tony ruffled his hair. "Anything else happen?" Mrs. Johnson had said they were having a bad day beforehand. Tony needed to know every detail, but he also couldn't push.

"I didn't like lunch." Billy mumbled, moving his head enough for Tony to see his face. "I'm hungry."

"It wasn't good." Tommy agreed. "No fish sticks. Ever."

"That we can fix." He had a feeling it was a little more than that. Hungry, definitely, but his dad and grandpa instincts were telling him both boys needed a nap, too. "I think we should get out of this joint. What do ya say? I think it's time for a Grandpa and Grandsons day."

That put smiles on their little faces. He scooped them up, one on each arm, and turned to a waiting Mrs. Johnson. It was only then he noticed that there were no other kids - they must have all been outside with the other teacher. "That John kid?"

"In the office. Sitting out for recess." She gave him a small smile. "All you need to do is sign the forms in the front office and you can take them."

"Already done." He'd done it as soon as he walked in. There was no way he was leaving the twins here on an absolutely awful day. (And maybe he wanted to spend time with them because he was the absolute best grandpa - their words, not his.)

"Then you're free to go." As he walked by, she gave the twins a little wave. "Bye, boys. Have a good time with your grandpa."

"Bye, Mrs. Johnson," the two tired boys chorused. He carried them out to the car, then strapped them into the two car seats. He always had one for Morgan, with two spares in the back for his grandsons. Billy didn't mind taking Morgan's seat after it was adjusted to his height and weight.

"Where do you want to go, guys?" He asked as he slid into the driver's seat, cranking up the car. There was no question what the answer was - they were related to him, afterall.

"Burger King!"

"As the princes command!" He answered, his typical reply. Tommy and Billy giggled, as always, and Tony was thrilled to see their moods lifted. He drove, FRIDAY flipping the radio station to the Disney playlist of songs they loved most, and Tony's anxiety over the last few hours eased with hearing their adorable voices singing along to Hakuna Matata. He knew that, rationally, he should probably get back to his home as quick as possible to keep an eye on the time travelers.

Except he knew that, right now, his story was being told. The deepest and darkest parts. He could feel it. He didn't know how to face them when he got back and he honestly didn't want to go back until he had to. He hated that Rhodey had to finish it for him, that Tony was too scared of what he'd already gone through, but he just couldn't do it-

"G-pa," Billy called for his attention, breaking him out of his downward spiral.

"Yes, B?" He glanced in the rearview, seeing the four year old swinging his little feet, definitely in higher spirits than Tony found him. Those heartbreaking tears were gone.

"D'ya wanna hear a joke?"

"Always."

"Why was the math book sad?"

"Hmm..." He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "Did his girlfriend break up with him?"

"No!" He chuckled. "Because it had so many problems!"

Tony laughed. "That's funny!" And it's a math joke. Math jokes are superior.

"I've got one!" Tommy raised his hand.

"Hit me with it."

"What do you call a sleeping bull?"

"I don't know. What do you call it?"

"A bulldozer!"

The rest of the drive went like that - the boys alternated telling jokes with Tony genuinely laughing, able to forget the last twenty or so hours of heck. (Had it really not been a full day since they showed up? Getting through a week was going to be hard.) It wasn't long before he pulled into the drive through of Burger King and ordered their meals along with three of those golden crowns. (He had a stack of them at the house, carefully pressed into a binder, collected from outings similar to this one.)

They stopped at the park to eat. With all other kids in school, there was no one to bother them. They wore their crowns and ate their food in peace. Though the world knew Tony had grandkids, that Vision and Nebula were his kids (and that identity reveal from their fake identites as Anthony Stark Jr and Nora Stark was an insane story), that he had six kids in total, the paparazzi generally left him and his family (including the rest of the Avengers) alone. Not just because of the Stark Legal Team, but also because, well, he guessed he saved the world enough times to warrant peace and respect for his family.

"This is a lot better than fish sticks," Tommy said around a mouthful of chicken nugget.

"Don't talk with your mouthful." He reminded. "I'd hope it is. School fish sticks don't sound great."

"They're not." Billy stuck his tongue out. "Yuck."

"What is good at school? Food-wise."

"Crispitos," both answered.

"Never had one." He'd gone to private school, a very expensive private school where the food was top tier and he never knew the horrors of cafeteria food until Rhodey dragged him there in college during a late night when all the good stuff was gone. The boys and Morgan were going to a private school, but it was smaller than the one he'd attended, prioritizing smaller classes and better education. He doubted the fish sticks were bad - the twins just hated seafood.

Tommy gasped. "That's a crime."

"But it wasn't my fault?"

The boy just shook his head, disappointed, and Tony had to laugh before taking a bite of his cheeseburger.

"What happened with Mommy and Daddy? Do they have a mission?" Billy asked.

"Yep, they're on a mission. They'll be back in a few hours." FRIDAY had informed him on his way to the school. Wanda and Vision were sent out right after dropping the boys off at school. It was supposed to have been done before they got out, but it looked like it would be taking longer. He'd gotten ahold of Wanda via the secured mission channel to let her know that he had the boys and everything was fine so she didn't freak out when she saw all the missed calls from the school. "You're going to be hanging out with Grandpa for a while."

"Yes!" They cheered, each holding up a hand for a high five that he returned. "What about G-ma?"

"G-ma is at work."

"Aww."

"But," he tapped his phone on the picnic table, "FRIDAY, is Pepper doing anything of importance right now?"

"From my understanding, nothing more important than talking to her grandsons, Boss. Calling her."

Again, the boys cheered. It didn't take long for the line to click. "Tony, hey, something happen?"

He knew what she was referring to, why there was so much worry in her voice. He brushed it off. "I just picked up a few gremlins off the side of the road."

"Really?" She asked, tone turning to one of exasperated amusement. "You know you can't just take the kids out of school anytime you want. We've talked about that."

"Not the right kids." He grinned at the snickering four year olds. "Isn't that right, boys?"

"Hi, G-ma!" Tommy yelled, waving despite there being no camera. He had been the one to start shortening their names first, in response to Tony's nicknames.

"We got Burger King!" Billy added. "And hats!"

"Hi boys!" She greeted, voice taking on that sweet sound it got when talking to their grandsons. She had a different voice for every kid sometimes. "Oh, that's so awesome! You're having fun with grandpa?"

"Yep!" Tommy replied, leaning over the table to get closer to the phone. "He came and got us."

"Really?" She asked, and Tony could tell it was pointed more at him than the boy.

"Yeah, I got in a fight."

"Oh no, what happened?"

"John took Billy's toy, G-ma, and when I tried to take it back, he hit me! So, I hit back..." His voice got quieter toward the end. "G-pa said I'm not in trouble. Am I in trouble?"

"Absolutely not, baby. It sounds like you were really brave. Good job!"

"When will you be home?" Billy asked, holding a handful of fries he was clearly about to shove in his mouth.

"In a few hours. I'm back at the New York Tower, but I have to pick up a package for Stark Industries first, then I'll head that way."

"Package?" Tony asked. Since when was there a package?

"Yes, Tony, there's a package to be picked up. I told you two days ago. Special delivery." He could tell she was rolling her eyes at his forgetfulness. "Then I'll head straight home to see all of you. Everything going okay, honey?"

"Everything's fine," he answered. It didn't take a genius to catch the subtle question there. "All under control."

"That's good." She replied. There was another voice nearby, muffled and indecipherable, and she answered it with a "just a minute" before coming back to the phone. "I've got to go now. Be good for Grandpa."

"We will!" Billy and Tommy answered. "Bye G-ma, love you!"

"Love you, too! Love you, Tony!"

"Love ya, Pep."

When the call ended, Billy tilted his head at him, eyebrows drawing together. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, bud, there's not."

"Then why did G-ma ask?"

Tony's quick brain contemplated what he should do. They were going to meet the time travelers, so he'd need to explain them, but in a way they'd understand. "Okay, I'm gonna level with you two," he leaned forward conspiratorily. "I've explained time travel, haven't I?"

"Going to the past-"

"-or to the future!" Tommy finished.

"Right," he chuckled. "Well, some wizards or warlocks or whatever they are have used a time travel spell, and have brought some people from the past-"

Tommy gasped. "Dinosaurs?!"

"I wish, buddy." Maybe not wished - but they might have been easier to deal with. Less emotionally draining, anyhow. "It's a little confusing. What year is it right now?"

"2024." Billy answered.

"That's right. And these time travelers came from 2008. Sixteen years ago. It's confusing because it's Great Uncle Rhodey, Great Uncle Happy, and G'ma from the past."

The two shared a look, eyes wide. "...Cool!"

Tony wished he had their same excitement as they bounced on the bench, asking him a million questions about 2008. "You can ask them when we get back. Finish your meals. I think it's time for a trip to the store." Maybe he was stalling a little bit, but the kids earned presents after their awful day. And he liked to spoil them. He was their grandpa. It was his right.

Pepper couldn't say anything. She spoiled them, too.

Honestly, they spoiled all their kids, grandkids, family, friends - why not, when they finally had peace?

They finished their meals and Tony drove them all the way to a small store on the outskirts of New York, about forty minutes from his home. He didn't like the idea of going to a bigger store like Walmart or Target - he had kept his grandsons' faces as hidden from the public as he could, and would like to keep it that way. The store was owned by a friendly couple who were past seventy years old, with regular customers who all knew each other. He'd been going there since Morgan was a baby and the couple doted on her like grandparents. After all the kids came back and Nebula had her human appearance, they went routinely. When the boys were born and turned three in a matter of a couple months, they didn't bat an eye.

Before going inside, Tony put a leash backpack on each kid - though they hadn't had an incident with Tommy speeding off in a public space, the backpack was a reminder and a precaution. Tommy got the Flash one and Billy had a Hogwarts themed one that he fell in love with. The ends of the leashes in hand, they headed inside.

Jolene was at the counter, like always, her faded red hair tied up in a bun and eyes alight with happiness. "Tony, good to see you! And you brought the boys!" She turned, calling over her shoulder. "David! Tony, Tommy, and Billy are here!"

"Hi Miss Joy," Tony greeted, the boys echoing it, "how's it going?" He asked, keeping his eyes on her even as he let the boys guide him toward the closest aisles.

"It's been good." She rounded the counter to give him one of her peppermint smelling hugs. "Isn't it a school day or have I got my days mixed up?"

"Oh, there was just an incident at school. I went to get them. Nothing bad - they're just not having a good day."

She lowered her voice. "Do you think they'd like some ice cream to cheer them up?"

"I think they'd love that." Miss Joy's homemade Butterfinger ice cream was to die for.

"I'm not going to forget about you either."

"Thank you."

As she went to get them bowls, David finally came in from the back. He was a man from down south, moved up to New York for Miss Joy, and did a lot with woodwork. He was great at carving. Tony had a few of his designs at home. "Hey, Tony! Boys!"

"Hey Mr. Davey," Tony waved even as he was pulled down the aisle by some sudden excitement on Tommy's part. The boys were pursuing the toy section - small but with a large variety of toys. They talked over the top of the short shelves for a little bit until the twins picked out what they wanted - Billy got a penguin stuffed animal and Tommy got a large pack of miscellaneous fictional heroes as action figures. Tony paid for both things - and tried to pay for the ice cream, but that was refused.

The kids hugged the older couple, saying their thank yous, and they left, Tony carrying the toys on one arm, the leashes in that same hand, and his ice cream in the other. Joy thankfully liked to use styrofoam bowls, so Tony wouldn't have to worry about a cone breaking in the car. Not that it would have been a big deal, the boys just had better dexterity using spoons and bowls. He put the toys in the front seat and his ice cream on the hood of the car before getting the backpacks off and helping them into their seats. "I'll keep the stuff up front for now so it doesn't get covered in ice cream."

They agreed, neither throwing fits, and Tony got them settled in with their treats. Tony finished his quickly in the driver's seat before leaving, periodically checking on the two in the rearview mirror.

By the time he pulled up to the house, the ice cream was gone, Billy was asleep, and Tommy wasn't far behind him, judging by his droopy eyes and nodding head. It was freaking adorable.

He took a minute to just sit there, living in the moment before he had to go inside and face the time travelers with his grandsons in tow.

"G-pa?" Tommy asked sleepily.

"Yeah, T?"

He was looking out the window, at his Great Uncle's car. "Do you think Grunkle Rhodey would play with me and my toys?"

"He might." He definitely would. It wouldn't be the first time Rhodey laid on the ground to play some game with either or both of them. "You'll have to ask him."

"M'kay." He fumbled to undo the clasps of his car seat and Tony took that as his cue to finally get out and face the future.

No matter how hard it would be.

Chapter Text

"Dr. Strange told me there were 14,000,605 futures. Out of all of them, of all the possibilities, there was only one where we won..."

Pepper couldn't hold back her gasp as the screen gained color. Tony sat in a chair, his right arm in a sling and visibly bandaged. He was clearly exhausted, brown eyes dim and shoulders slumped as if he had just been relieved of holding up the weight of the entire world. His eyes bore into hers through the screen, his soul laid out for the audience in a way he never was with the press. Gone was the easy grin and exaggerated movements that defined Tony Stark as the world saw him - this was Tony. Exhausted, hurting, but alive Tony, who had been through so much that she hadn't fully yet wrapped her head around.

"I remember when he told me that, right before Thanos came to Titan - the planet I was on after getting on that ship that day. There wasn't time to discuss it. No time to figure out what he meant or what to do. We were too busy trying to stop him. He threw a moon at me. That wasn't... fun." He cleared his throat, his eyes caught in the memory. "I was supposed to die up there. He was about to kill me when Strange gave up the Time Stone for my life. I didn't understand him then, why he would choose to do it. I wouldn't understand for a long time."

The footage switched to Steve Rogers - Captain America, alive and well after having supposedly died way back in 1945. She'd only ever seen the black and white photos before yesterday. Coinciding that man with the colored video of the present day - it was a shock to her brain. "When we saw the news, heard that Tony had gone to space, we knew we had to fortify the ground. We did our best, but it wasn't enough. It never would have been enough. Thanos got the Stones and snapped."

Again, the screen changed. Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow. "Everyone knows what happened when he snapped his fingers. Half of life was gone. His mission was completed." She paused, eyes faraway. "And we were all left to pick up the pieces."

Another change. Bruce Banner, the Hulk. On the surface, he looked like a demure scientist who couldn't wield a drop of rage. "It lacks rationality, how the world survived without half the population, with all the chaos and sadness and devastation that came with that, and yet it did. I suppose it shouldn't be too surprising. Humans have always been resilient." He looked down, fiddling with the hem of his sweater. "But I don't think many wanted to have survived that. I think we were going through the motions, trying to make things alright even if it never would be."

The screen switched to Clint Barton, Hawkeye. There was a look to his eyes as he spoke, a man obviously haunted by his memories. "I wasn't on the battlefield." He said. "I was at home, with my family, about to have a picnic. I turned around for one second, and then they were gone. I had no clue what happened. I couldn't believe what happened. I couldn't believe that my family, that so many families, had died. So many good people lost..." He glanced away, then looked back. The darkness there sent a shudder down Pepper's spine, "...while bad people got to live."

Thor appeared on screen. He was the guy with long blonde hair and eyes older than his physique suggested - that was not what Pepper thought an off-world alien would look like, though there had to be different types of aliens. She'd seen the footage of them with the Chitauri Invasion. She should have listened to Tony more when he rambled about alien possibilities. "I lost myself." He said quietly. "Just as many did. I was haunted that I was inches from stopping him - that if I had gone for the head instead of the chest, Thanos would not have snapped. That it was my fault, and I am still deeply sorry that I didn't. I believe that many of my friends carried similar guilt that we could not do more. I did not want to face the world." His eyes were glassy. When he blinked, a tear rolled down his cheek. "I didn't understand how I could live when I lost my entire family, how I could be breathing when my heart was so heavy, how I could continue to survive when I had been inches from stopping him."

Steve re-appeared. "In those five years, we put our efforts into trying to help the world heal, to help everyone move on. As Avengers fighting Thanos, we knew the stakes, knew what we were trying to stop. When we failed, we knew what happened. The people... the people around the world didn't. Clint didn't. I can't imagine how terrifying and confusing that was." He took in a shaky breath. "We did what we could, knowing it would never be enough to fix it. I tried to move forward." He shook his head. "But I couldn't. I don't think any of us really could, no matter what we told ourselves."

"What made you realize that you could fix it?" An off screen interviewer asked.

Steve's lip twitched up in the barest smile. "Ant-man showed up."

Another screen change. This was surveillance video, showing Ant-man - Scott Lang, as Rhodey filled in for them - asking to be let into what looked to be an Avengers facility. Natasha's voice soon overlaid it: "He was supposed to have been Blipped. He later explained to us about the Quantum realm, how five years had been five minutes for him, and then the idea - time travel."

"It was insane." Steve added.

"But we had enough hope to try." Bruce said.

A sound, like thunder rumbling, happened as Thor spoke. "I had nothing left to lose."

The screen returned to Tony. "They came to me first - Natasha, Steve, Scott. It hadn't been the first time I had seen Nat or Steve in five years, despite what people thought. She was my daughter's aunt, and Steve... we were civil enough to have dinner sometimes. What was the point of fighting each other?" He sighed. "Scott, he was a surprise. I didn't know the guy that well, but I knew he wasn't supposed to be around. Then they lay out the idea of time travel?" He shook his head. "I'll admit, I didn't want to try it at first. I didn't think it would work. It was straight out of science fiction, some Back to the Future craziness, and I didn't want to mess up what had been gained. I didn't want to lose my daughter."

He looked off to the side, taking a deep breath, and Pepper's heart twisted at the teary sheen over his eyes. "But then a few certain someones changed my mind, and I had to try." He gave the camera a tiny smile. "And I figured it out. I couldn't believe it." He wiped at his eyes, vulnerability showing. "For the first time in five years, I had hope that the world didn't need to keep limping along like it was."

"The Avengers reformed." The video returned to Steve. "One by one, and we built a time machine. Scott was the test subject. We, uh..." He scratched the back of his neck, sheepish. "We didn't get it right the first time."

Bruce coughed into his fist. "We were... struggling a little bit."

Natasha came back, arms crossed. It was hard to tell if she was smiling under her deadpan expression or not. "Scott got turned into a baby. And an old man. And a teenager."

Tony cracked a grin. "They wouldn't get anywhere without me." He joked. It was fond, his eyes lighting up briefly.

"When did you get there?" The interviewer asked.

"At the right time."

Steve snorted, a small smile on his face. "He squealed tires up to the Compound right when I thought everything would fall apart. Brought the solution and gave me my shield. It was... healing, for both of us, I think. We left our fighting behind and worked together as we were supposed to. It was... really good to have him back as my friend."

"Steve's probably in my... top one hundred list of favorite people." Tony chuckled. "I'm kidding. He's... He's family. I guess we've always been family. All of us."

The screen split in two, showing both Tony and Steve as the interviewer asked another, heavier question that made the smiles disappear: "Do you think that if the Avengers had been together when Thanos and his army arrived in 2018, you would have won?"

Together, they answered: "Yes."

"It's a hard pill to swallow," Steve continued. "We can't change the past, but we can make sure nothing like that ever happens again in the future."

Tony nodded, as if he could hear Steve and was agreeing with him. Maybe he could hear him. The background behind them all looked similar. "A lesson to everyone watching: resentment is corrosive. Don't hold onto it."

It was a wise statement, one she knew her Tony - 2008 Tony, not 'her' Tony, what was she thinking? - wouldn't say. If he had resentment, he didn't voice it. He went through life acting as carefree as possible, doing whatever he wanted because he had the money, means, and mind to do so. No, he wouldn't say something like that. His serious moments were few and far between, his wisdom barely a seed compared to this Tony's bloom of it.

'But it won't be long before he's put on that path,' her mind whispered. 'When we return to 2008, it'll be tomorrow. Tomorrow, things will never be the same again.'

She desperately wished that she would remember this experience - at least some of it. Enough to keep Tony from getting on that plane. Enough to keep him safe. There had to be another way for him to grow into the Tony he'd become. There just had to be. He shouldn't have to go through all that pain.

She tuned back into the documentary when Natasha spoke: "We finalized the time machine. Clint went on a test run. It worked. Then we brainstormed. We needed the Stones, figured out the best times to get them, and got ready for our most important mission. We had one shot."

More footage showed up - of several of them, walking in red and white suits toward what Pepper assumed was the time machine. One of the figures was very large and tinted green - she had to assume it was Bruce in Hulk form, though he was far different from other footage she had seen. "We had a motto." Steve's voice said as they climbed onto the platform, and a zoomed in overhead shot showed them putting their fists in, creating a circle. She couldn't help but think that the middle of it looked like Tony's arc reactor. "Whatever it takes."

"It would take a while to go through everything that happened, but essentially-"

"We blew it," Tony finished for Bruce, tone flat. "Mostly. Things went wrong. A lot of things. Steve and I had to take a trip further back in time to fix it. We did gather all the Stones, but..." His voice seized up, coming out haunted and hollow. "It came at a cost."

Natasha came back on screen. She looked uncomfortable. Pepper had the feeling that she rarely looked like that. "The cost of the Soul Stone was a death. Clint and I fought for it - I won."

Pepper was floored. She hadn't expected that. At all. Despite not knowing the woman, tears welled up in her eyes. It was clear she would know her one day, and to think that she died-

'She's alive,' she reminded herself. 'She's alive. She's sitting right there. She's in the pictures. Everything will turn out okay.' Her nerves somewhat settled, Pepper took in a deep breath, never taking her eyes off the screen.

"We built our own gauntlet." Tony said. "We were a single snap away from bringing everyone back, but not anyone can wield the Stones. Not without dying. It was impossible for a regular human to survive." He didn't meet the eyes of the camera then, and she could read him enough to know there were a million thoughts swirling in his head. Why? Why did talking about the snap-

A gauntlet.

The scars up his arm.

She might throw up. It couldn't be true. She had to be wrong.

Except it would be him.

It was always Tony who could survive the impossible.

Who could make something out of nothing.

Who defied the odds like no one else could.

Who did things just because he was told he couldn't.

She held her breath, waiting for the moment he said it, admitted it - but it was Bruce who appeared. "The Hulk was made from gamma radiation. The radiation off of the Stones was mostly gamma. I was Professor Hulk then - a mix of myself and Hulk." He tapped the fingers of his right hand against his knee and Pepper finally noticed the scarring there. "Tony told me back in 2012 that the Hulk saved me for something. I never imagined it would be that but... it was like I was made for it. What I was meant to do. I snapped, brought everyone I could back." He squeezed his hand into a fist. "I tried to bring Natasha back. I couldn't. Her sacrifice... it was necessary for one of the Stones."

"Lady Natasha is a fearless warrior in every aspect." Thor's voice rumbled as he came back on screen. "We cannot thank her enough for what she did."

"I didn't need thanks." Natasha said, a very small smile on her face. "I just needed them to bring everyone back."

"And we did." Clint returned to the screen. He sounded choked. "Bruce did. I got a call from my wife. It was... It was the most beautiful sound I had heard in five years."

"Then everything went to heck." Tony broke in. "Absolutely everything. I'm not going to go into every specific. Essentially, when you mess with time, time tends to mess back." He paused, seemingly gathering himself. "Thanos from 2014 showed up with his army and understood what we had done - what we had reversed. He destroyed the Compound, almost killed us all, and was gunning for the gauntlet. We held him off until Dr. Strange got there and, with a bunch of other wizards or whatever they call themselves, brought in everyone who could help. Wakandan soldiers, every hero who had been Blipped, an army to rival Thanos's."

"The Avengers assembled," Steve finished, "and it was the fight of our lives." Footage rolled, quick clips of the fighting, of the devastation raging as two sides battled for control.

"But it was not enough." Thor said, gripping the armrests of his chair so tightly that Pepper thought they might break. "We were beaten down. Thanos got the gauntlet. He planned to snap away the entirety of the universe's population, to start from scratch."

The entire population? Pepper couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.

"He was about to snap." Steve said, eyes not on the camera. He was looking at something off screen. At someone. "Then Tony was there."

"I looked across the battlefield at Dr. Strange. He raised one finger." Tony's eyes were full of so much determination, so much fire. "And I knew what I had to do. I went for Thanos. I took the Stones. When he snapped, the gauntlet was empty." His lips tilted up in the barest smile. "I snapped him and his army away."

Rhodes gasped beside her. Happy was still, his fists clenched into his knees. All Pepper could do was listen and force her lungs to move even as her mind flashed back to the scarring on Tony's arm.

"He lost. We won. Our one future - we did it."

"We thought we lost Tony, too." Clint said quietly. "A human couldn't survive the snap. And he was gone."

Was she breathing? She couldn't be breathing.

Tony had died.

Died.

"For thirty seconds." Steve was back on-screen. "For thirty seconds, Tony was gone."

"But the Stones saw what we all did in Tony Stark," Thor said, voice low with a level of awe. "They decided to allow his wish while protecting him from what damage they could. They restarted his heart."

"They gave us a chance to save him," Bruce said, "and the Hulk saw it, too. He retreated into my mind, left my body so I could shrink to the size of a human again, where my fingers would be small enough to work on Tony with Dr. Strange, who transported him to the hospital where Dr. Cho was. Together, we worked. It wasn't enough to keep him from slipping into a coma for a week."

"I don't remember any of it." Tony said honestly. "I remember thinking I was about to die - and then I woke up. Honestly, I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it."

"Once Tony was awake and stable," Steve continued, "I went back in time to return the Stones. If we didn't, it would have done something to the timeline. I still don't understand what, just that it would have been bad." He paused, eyes conflicted as if he were debating with himself. "I thought about saying in the past, after everything. I was the man out of time for so long, never belonging." His eyes swept over the room beyond the camera. "But I couldn't abandon my family. I may have come from the past, but I belong here, in this time, and I finally understood that."

"How did you come back?" The interviewer asked Natasha.

She smiled. "Steve asked for a refund."

"I returned the Stone that we received for her sacrifice." The blonde clarified. "And that was deemed worthy enough a deal, thank God."

"Good thing, too. You boys wouldn't get anywhere without me."

"Completely agree." Clint grinned. "You're most of the Avengers' brain cells."

"Uh, genius over here." Tony joked.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "You certainly don't act like it."

"She's right."

"Hey! You're supposed to be on my side, Brucie! Science bros!"

"Sorry." He most definitely wasn't sorry, judging by his cheeky smile. The easy banter eased Pepper - Tony was alive. Natasha was alive. Thanos hadn't succeeded forever.

"What else happened?" The interviewer asked, bringing them back on track.

"A lot." Steve replied. "We did our best to help with everything we could with half the population coming back - military, world governments, civilian efforts, organizing. It was chaotic."

"Tony brought back Vision." Bruce said. "It's a complicated story, but he did." He shot a half-hearted glare off-screen. "And bought himself another week of enforced bed rest because he decided to walk by himself."

"I'm not going to apologize. I have no regrets there."

"How is Loki alive?" The interviewer asked.

"The ways my brother cheats death are not ways I wish to discuss." Thor answered, eyes protective. "He is a hero. He was mind controlled by Thanos during the first invasion of Midgard. That has been proven."

"No one is denying that, Pointbreak." Tony placated. "Earth court cleared him, too. He's good."

Thor nodded, some of the tension leaving his shoulders.

"What do you plan to do now?" The interviewer asked. "What will the Avengers do?"

Steve answered for them. "As Avengers, we plan to protect the world. There are so many more than us now, all around the globe, the universe, and we'll be ready if anything else comes. We'll always be here, always ready. We're stronger than we ever were before."

The camera panned out, revealing that the six Avengers - the original Avengers, Pepper realized - were sitting in a half-circle in a large room. They stood, gathering together in the middle: Tony in front of Steve and Thor, Natasha and Clint on the genius's left, Bruce on his right. There was so much power in the image that it took what remained of Pepper's breath away.

They had done exactly as their name said.

They had avenged the Earth.

They had avenged the universe.

The screen faded to black and Rhodey got up from his seat, coming to stand in front of the television. It was only then that Pepper noticed how Nebula had disappeared, retreated from the room at some point during the documentary. The woman couldn't blame her. It must have been hard to hear, and she had lived through it. "Usually this much isn't told to the public," he said, referring to the documentary, "but after everything, they deserved the truth. As much truth as could be given without chaos anyway."

Happy found his voice first. "You're not worried about someone trying time travel? What you guys did, I mean. Not..." He waved a hand, grimacing. "Not what's happened with us."

The man shook his head. "To do what we did, you'd need Pym Particles, the brains of two geniuses, and to get passed some sort of time travel authority. Highly unlikely anyone could do that."

Pym Particles? Time travel authority? Pepper decided to not question any of that. Instead, she focused on a moment that had struck her deeply near the beginning. "Tony hadn't wanted to do it," she said. She didn't blame him, not one bit. She wasn't sure she would have been able to do it if she had been in his position, "but he said some people convinced him. Who were they?"

Rhodey smiled, though his eyes were sad. "Tony told me... he was washing dishes that night, the sprayer went wild, and the water hit a photo of his kids. That changed his mind."

"Oh," she whispered, heart twisting.

"He hadn't wanted to risk destroying the fragile stability Earth had created," he said. "He definitely didn't want to risk Morgan, but he knew he had to try." He wiped a stray tear from his eye. "And he was willing to pay the ultimate price as long as they all lived."

Rhodes put his head in his hands, breathing deeply. "Gosh, Tony."

A look passed over Rhodey's face, an expression Pepper couldn't understand, and then he was moving over to Rhodes and resting a hand on his shoulder. Her friend raised his head to meet his counterpart's eyes, clearly shocked at the action, and Pepper had to wonder what happened earlier while she and Happy were gone. "He's okay. He made it out. Everything has been pretty much improving so far." He moved his hand and addressed them all. "To catch you guys up on the rest - Tony came home in late November, there are Avengers reunions every month, Steve's had a girlfriend since February, Bruce and Natasha are a thing, the world found out about Tony's kids in the spring, and there haven't been too many major threats. None that hold a candle to Thanos, at least. The anniversary of bringing everyone back is tomorrow, and the Avengers will all be here on Sunday, so you'll get to meet a lot of people."

Pepper's head spun at the influx of information, but she was good at digesting it quickly. It was what made her a good accountant before, and now Tony Stark's personal assistant. (She was sure it assisted when in a relationship with him, too - except she wasn't going down that rabbit hole right now.) "Okay." She breathed. "When will Tony be back?"

"Boss just pulled in," FRIDAY announced. "He has Tommy and Billy."

"What happened with them at school?" Rhodey asked.

"I believe that is a story Boss or the boys would like to tell."

"Huh, now I'm very interested."

It wasn't long before the front door opened. It wasn't Tony who stepped in first - it was a little boy, one of the twins from the photos. He had long hair and sleepy eyes, his free hand holding a bag of what looked to be some sort of action heroes. When his gaze fell on them, he blinked twice before he seemed to remember something. Overall, he didn't look too surprised. His other hand was in Tony's, and the man stepped inside behind him, his other arm holding the other boy against his chest. He was asleep, his little arms wrapped around Tony's neck, and Tony himself had a penguin stuffed animal grasped by the fin in his hand.

Tony's eyes swept over them before landing on Rhodey as he gently kicked the door shut. "Sorry I didn't see your text, honeybear."

"That's fine, you clearly have your hands full." Rhodey replied, amused. "What happened?"

"I'll let Tommy tell you, if he's awake enough to."

"I am awake!" The boy - Tommy - protested even as he rubbed his eyes with a fist. It was extremely adorable. "I got in a fight, Grunkle Rhodey, but G-pa and G-ma said it's okay because I was protecting my brother."

"That certainly makes it okay." The man nodded seriously. "When did you talk to G-ma?"

"On the phone while we ate Burger King."

"Pep will be home in a few hours. She has to grab a package first," Tony added, and Pepper's heart jumped. It wouldn't be long before she'd meet her future self.

She had so many questions.

(Would she be brave enough to ask them?)

Tommy let go of Tony's hand, moving over to Rhodey with his bag of toys held up. "Look what G-pa got me."

Rhodey crouched to inspect the bag as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. "Very cool."

"Will you play with me?"

"I don't see why not. You set it all up and tell me what to do."

With newfound energy, the kid sat on the floor and started pulling out his new toys. Rhodey got down beside him as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "You got them toys and Burger King?" He asked, a brow raised.

"And ice cream," Tommy added. “Miss Joy gave it to us.”

Tony shrugged one shoulder, unfazed by Rhodey's look "They deserve it."

"You spoil them rotten." Rhodey shook his head, chuckling.

"That's my right as a grandpa." He grinned. "I'm going to get this one to bed and then I'll be back down." He headed upstairs just as Tommy finished setting out all his toys. He grabbed up three of them and walked over to the couch where Pepper, Happy, and Rhodes were sitting.

"Do you guys want to play, too?" He held out the action figures, lip poked out, and Pepper didn't think she would ever be able to say no to that face. Apparently, neither could her time traveling companions. Soon, they were all on the floor, directing their toys to battle as Tommy wanted.

"Can my character do a flip?" Rhodey asked, making his little action figure go backwards. It landed atop Happy's toy. The bodyguard frowned as Rhodey grinned.

"Yeah!" Tommy laughed, and Pepper found herself smiling at the sound.

Despite everything that Tony would go through - that they would all go through - there had been a light at the end of the tunnel, a life of peace in the aftermath of war.

She just hoped that their presence hadn't screwed everything up.

Chapter Text

Tony allowed himself to fist bump the air when he successfully got Billy settled into his bed without waking him. He was getting better at it - when Pepper put one to bed, they were out like a light. When Tony put one to bed, there was a 50/50 chance of them waking up midway through the process of tucking them in and asking with those adorable eyes if they could have a story or some chocolate milk. That would devolve into another half hour awake because he couldn't say no, and if one twin woke, the other would, too.

He ran his hand through the kid's hair, kissed his forehead, then stepped away to the door. FRIDAY had shut the blinds already, allowing minimal light in, and he casted his gaze over the room: the two beds that they would turn into a bunk bed when they were old enough, the overflowing chest of toys, the twin desks, the bookshelf full of Diary of a Whimpy Kid and Harry Potter, the art supplies that sometimes ended up on the walls instead of paper - he and Pepper had put so much thought into this room, evolving it from a nursery to a room for two kids in a short period of time. The room had once been Pepper's office, but she happily gave that up for their grandkids to have a bedroom in their house once they found out Wanda was pregnant.

"FRIDAY," he said when he entered the hall, door shut softly behind him, "remind me in an hour to get him up if he's not already. If he sleeps too long, Wanda will kill me for the fight during tonight's bedtime."

"Of course, Boss." She replied. "I also must inform you that Nebula is in her room, and she seems a little... unsettled."

His eyebrows drew together in concern, his feet moving without his command. They carried him to the door of his eldest daughter's room where he knocked lightly. "Blue?" He called. "Can I come in?" While the walls were soundproof, the doors were not.

"Yes."

He opened the door to find her sitting on her bed, knees drawn to her chest and holding the stuffed bear he'd given her the night she agreed to move in, her first time staying overnight. She'd changed from her space clothes into a hoodie and jeans, the hood pulled up over her head and strings drawn. Tony sat down beside her. "What's going on, Blueberry? Something happen?"

She ran her fingers over the top of the bear's head. "We watched the documentary."

His stomach dropped. "Yeah?" He could remember doing it. He'd been exhausted, unable to sleep much for days before it and well after it, and his arm had flared up at the mental toll of recalling what happened, keeping him on edge. While he knew it was best for the people to get answers before they could come up with more crazy theories, that didn't mean it didn't hurt him physically and mentally.

"It just reminded me of... everything. Getting everyone back. Almost losing you. Your coma. All of it." She rubbed the bear's ear. "It made me..." She shifted, nervous and tense. "Scared."

"First of all, let me do this." He nudged back the hood until it fell, revealing eyes that were glassy and expressing emotion the way his eldest daughter was still getting used to doing. "There's my girl." The words got a tiny smile out of her. He gave her one back. "Second of all, I'm not going anywhere, Neb. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, okay? Not if I can help it. I'm here. You don't need to be scared. All of that is in the past. We survived."

She nodded slightly. "Okay."

"Do you want a hug?" He opened his arms. She nodded again and he hugged her. She returned it, squeezing carefully where she wouldn't crush him, and they stayed like that for a minute before she let go. "Do you want to stay up here for a little bit?" Again, a nod. "Okay. Billy is sleeping in his bed. Keep an eye on him for me, will you?" It helped to give her a task sometimes.

"I will."

He kissed the top of her head before getting up. He gave her one last grin before slipping out the door, shutting it gently behind him. He then eyed the stairs, listening to the distant sound of conversation. They all knew. They knew everything. They knew he'd died. He couldn't hide from them. "Showtime," he murmured, rolling his shoulders. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before heading to the stairs. He held the railing with his left hand, descending a little slower than normal as he looked out over the living room to see his Rhodey as well as the 2008 Trio in the floor with Tommy, playing some elaborate game with his new toys.

"Is there a space for me?" He asked, getting several heads turning toward him. He put on a smile that he hoped passed for real - and then became real when Tommy yelled: "Yeah, G-pa! C'mon!"

Tony sat on the floor between his Rhodey and 2008 Happy. When his best friend shot him a look, eyebrow raised, he raised his back. Tommy handed him a red and gold action figure that looked a bit like a mix of his Ironman suit and that Flash comic book character.

"It's the closest one to your suit." The boy said.

"Cool."

They played for a while - five adults being directed by one four year old, doing whatever he wanted. Tony was the only one who got to fly, and he smirked at Rhodes when the kid denied his request to. He dodged concerned looks from the time travelers, keeping a smile up and a running commentary that made Tommy laugh. Eventually, he heard footsteps on the stairs and glanced up to see Nebula carrying a half asleep Billy down them. "Something happen?" He asked, putting the toy on the floor. Tommy was busy having his action figure fight Pepper's.

She reached him before he could stand up. "No, he just wants you." She passed the kid to him and Billy immediately curled into his arms, little arms around his neck and head resting on his chest.

"Aunt Neb!" Tommy jumped up, only then noticing her. He hugged her legs and she patted the top of his head, "Do you want to play?" He asked, hopping backward. "I have the perfect toy for you."

"Alright." She replied, settling in beside Pepper. Tommy handed her a toy that looked like a female knight dressed in the blue armor and playtime resumed. Tony observed, carding a hand through Billy's hair as he watched his grandson interact with his aunt, great uncle, and time travelers. He had dubbed his duplicate uncle as 'Rho' for some reason, while calling Pepper and Happy by their names. He wondered if that would change when his Pepper and Happy got there.

It wasn't long before Billy realized what was happening around him. His eyes landed on the time travelers, curious and analyzing. "Do you want to say hi?" Tony asked quietly. Billy looked unsure, little fist grasping his jacket. "I promise they don't bite. You know them, they're just... younger."

He considered that for an extra few moments, then shifted out of Tony's grasp. When Tommy saw him awake, he threw him one of the toys - it looked like an off-brand Chewbacca from Star Wars - and said that they were at war, pick their teammates. Just like that, Billy's nerves were gone, and he and his brother took turns getting the adults on their sides. Tony, Rhodes, and Pepper were on Tommy's team, while Happy, Rhodey, and Nebula were on Billy's.

It ten minutes of 'intense fighting' later with both sides winning at the same time because of kid logic when the front door opened. Morgan ran through first, dropping off her backpack at the door, then followed by Harley and Peter, who were bickering over something. All of them carried either a McDonald's bag or Happy Meal container, which they took to the kitchen after greeting everyone in the living room. A tired Hap came through last, holding a steaming cup of coffee.

Tony couldn't help but smirk. "I knew you'd get it for them."

Hap glared at him, taking a sip before answering. "You have diabolical children with eyes I can not say no to."

"Amen." Rhodey agreed. "I feel your pain, Hap."

"What's going on in here?" Harley asked around a mouthful of fries, leaning over the back of the couch with the box in his hand.

"Don't talk with your mouthful." Tony reminded. Rhodey snickered and the genius shot him a quick glare. "And we're just playing with Tommy and Billy."

"Why are they here? Not that I don't want them here, just didn't think they were coming today."

"I got in a fight." Tommy announced.

"Defending Billy," Tony made sure to emphasize. "I picked them up from school."

Harley raised a brow at his nephew. "Did you win?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

"Homework?" The genius asked his middle son. He had them do their weekend homework on Fridays to avoid a Sunday freak out (mainly from Peter).

"Did it during free period. So did Peter. We're good for the weekend." He jumped over the couch, somehow rolling to lay down on it without spilling his fries. "When's Mom getting home?"

"She'll be here soon."

"I finished my happy meal!" Morgan announced, running in from the kitchen. She kept running until she was in his waiting arms. "Hi, Daddy!"

"Hi Little Miss, that was fast." He kissed her forehead.

"I ate half of it in the car." She grinned.

"Like father, like daughter." Happy laughed. He sat down on the couch by Harley's head and ruffled the kid's hair.

"Don't expect me to wait to eat cheeseburgers, Hap."
He switched his attention back to his youngest. "Do you want to play, Morgan?" When she nodded, he handed her the red and gold toy. "Here, you take my place." He got up, dropping her off in his spot, and headed for the kitchen. He didn't fail to notice Rhodey hand Harley his own action figure and follow.

Peter was in the kitchen, sitting at the counter with a half-eaten hamburger in his hand and a pen in the other, writing down something in a notebook. "Hey Dad, hey Uncle Rhodey," he waved with the pen.

Tony ruffled his hair as he passed, rounding the bar to be across from him. "Hey kid, I thought Harley told me you were finished with your homework?"

"I am, I just had an idea for the Spider-man suit." He paused, glancing toward the living room. "They know about Spider-man, right?"

How does this kid keep his superhero identity a secret? "They do. There aren't any secrets for you to spill to them." He leaned over the counter, looking at the page. Peter pushed the notebook toward him. "Invisible web?" He asked after reading it.

Rhodey came up beside him to look. "What're you thinking about using it for?"

"Lots of stuff. It'd be fun to catch criminals by just webbing the exit and have them run straight into it." His eyes lit up with an idea. "Imagine if I could turn the Spider-man suit invisible."

"Work on the invisibility compound for the web fluid first, then we'll look into all of that when the time travelers are gone. Talk to Harley about it, too." He pushed the notebook back to him, smiling. "Good work, Pete. You can go work on it in the lab after dinner if you want."

"Thanks, Dad!" He closed the notebook properly, putting it away in his backpack and eating the rest of his food at the same time. "What are we having for dinner, by the way?" Unlike Harley, he didn't chew with his mouthful.

"That's what your Uncle Rhodey and I are going to figure out."

"I didn't volunteer for that." His friend interjected.

"You followed me to the kitchen. You volunteered." He opened the fridge, eyes scanning the full drawers and shelves with no real intent to grab anything specific. He could feel Rhodey's eyes on him, that he was hovering and waiting. "Peter, could you go make sure an actual war doesn't start in the living room? They're picking sides with action figures."

Peter frowned, obviously sensing the tension but knowing it wasn't his place. "Okay." He hopped off the stool and walked to the living room, where the chaos of several voices and three small children would hopefully keep anyone from hearing the mushy conversation Rhodey was about to try and have.

"What do you think, honeybear? Enough food for this many people?" Maybe he should have picked up more than just toys and ice cream at the store.

"You always have food, Tones."

"Except for when you raid my kitchen." He joked. He'd woken up to find Rhodey chilling in his kitchen a few times over the years, even before the lake house

"That's my right as your best friend." He leaned against the counter, arms crossed, as Tony opened drawers that he didn't need to open when he had no clue what he actually wanted to make. Keeping a door between him and Rhodey's concerned face was better.

"Don't touch Pepper's goji berries."

"I learned my lesson last time. Now, shut the door and let's talk."

"I thought we were already talking."

"Tony," he stressed.

The inventor sighed, kicking the bottom drawer shut and closing the fridge door. Morgan and Abigail's drawings stared back at him, held up by alphabet and souvenir magnets that he would have never owned before he had essentially acquired children. "What is there to talk about? They know everything."

"And they might want to ask more questions." He said, thankfully keeping his voice low with Tony's. "Questions you do not need to feel like you have to answer."

"It's not like they're going to remember-"

"But you will." He reminded. "You won't forget. You don't need to put yourself through that."

"The anniversary is tomorrow, so no matter what I'm going to have to talk about it."

"But you don't have to talk here, and if you wanted, you wouldn't have to do the speech either." Rhodey said. "Just - you don't have to give answers for anything. You don't have to talk about what happened with them. They'll be gone in a few days and this will all be behind us."

He huffed. "With our luck, we'll be dealing with more time travel in the future."

"Hope not."

"It sucks."

"Says the person who created time travel."

"Now you sound like Harley again."

He grinned, throwing an arm across Tony's shoulders and giving him a squeeze. "He learned from the best how to be a smart-aleck."

"The best would be me." He cracked a smile. "Alright, enough with the emotional talk. Let's actually figure out what to do for dinner. I think there's enough meat and noodles for spaghetti-"

He was interrupted by the twins' yelling: "Mommy! Daddy!"

Tony looked into the living room to see Vision and Wanda coming through the front door, Wanda levitating several boxes of pizza and drinks. "Boys!" Vision scooped up their two kids when they ran toward them, keeping them from breaking Wanda's concentration. He had his human appearance on, likely for the time travelers.

"FRI," Tony said through an amused grin as Wanda settled the stuff on the table and everyone greeted the new arrivals, including the awkward time travelers' greetings that Vision and Wanda thankfully took in stride, "you're supposed to tell me when people show up, y'know?" It hadn't been the first time today she hadn't told him, come to think of it.

"Sorry Boss, I thought this would be more fun."

He laughed. "It is." He moved toward Wanda, arms open. "How's my favorite daughter-in-law?"

"I'm your only daughter-in-law." She grinned, hugging him briefly.

"Which makes you the default favorite. You'll have to fight MJ when she and Peter get married."

She rolled her eyes, still smiling. "Thank you for picking the boys up. I did not think we'd still be gone for the mission that long. I was going to text you if it went passed one."

"It's no problem. We had fun."

"I listened to the messages the teacher left. A fight?"

"Tommy defended his brother. Did everything he was taught to do and stopped the other kid. Everything's fine."

Vision walked over, carrying a boy in each arm. He settled them down where they could run and hug their mom. "Thank you, Dad." He went in for a hug that Tony happily returned.

"As I was telling your wife, it's no problem. Thanks for bringing pizza."

"We figured you would need something, having this many people in the house." His gaze jumped to the time travelers, who were either being distracted by the kids or his current time friends. "Would you like for us to stay? I know it would be a bit more of a full house, but maybe we could help out?"

He asked the questions quietly, yet the twins still heard. They were incredible eavesdroppers when they wanted to be. They gave him two sets of giant puppy dog eyes. "Please, G-pa?" They asked in sync.

Tony grinned. "You have rooms here for a reason. The more the merrier." Even without the adorable eyes, he would have said yes. The idea of having them here eased some of the tightness in his chest.

His grandsons cheered and he picked them both up, swinging them around as they laughed.

"Dad!" Harley called, getting his attention. "Can we go play soccer?"

"I don't see why not."

And that was how everyone ended up outside, teams forming from the people who weren't munching on pizza because they had either McDonald's or Buger King earlier. Tony ended up on a team with Peter, Rhodey, and Nebula against Rhodes, Vision, Wanda, and Harley. The rest of the adults were on the porch, settled in chairs to eat their pizza (the two Happys were talking, he wasn't sure how he felt about that, considering that his Happy was probably telling 2008 Happy about all the things Tony got up to or about May, the latter of which would be the better option), and Morgan, Billy, and Tommy were running around with their own soccer ball.

"Coming your way, Pete!" He kicked the ball hard to avoid getting it taken by Rhodes, sending it flying over to Peter. They didn't really have goals outside of marking each with two little cones respectively. Maybe he should get some actual nets.

With the game moving away from him, he took a brief second to breathe and guard their goal. It was then he caught sight of Pepper's car turning into the driveway. He waved, smiling ear to ear unashamedly. "Pep's home!"

Immediately, most stopped to wave, though Harley took the opportunity to steal the ball from his brother.

"Hey no fair!"

"All's fair in love and soccer!"

His success was short-lived as Nebula swooped in and stole the ball back. Tony felt comfortable enough to step over to the 'sidelines' as Pepper parked, jogging up to her car. She stepped out with a smile, looking as radiant as ever in her blue sweater, black pants, and the heeled boots he bought her for Christmas.

"Hey honey." He kissed her as soon as he reached her. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too. How's everything going here?"

"Pretty good now, I think."

She glanced out at the yard. Tony followed her gaze - the three smaller children had gotten involved in the larger scale game of soccer, laughing and running, and Tony knew for certain no one was keeping score. "It looks like it."

"How did picking up that package go?"

"Just fine. I need your help getting it out of the trunk though." They headed around to the back of her car. She popped the trunk with a button press, and the door raised to reveal a suitcase. A very familiar, pink suitcase with stickers all over it.

Abigail's suitcase.

Before he could say a word, the back door to the car opened and his blonde haired thirteen year old daughter popped out. "Hi Daddy!"

"Munchkin!" He sweeped her up into his arms in a hug. "I thought you weren't coming." He pulled back, grasping her by the shoulders, and saw that familiar spark of mischief in an otherwise innocent face. When he looked at Pepper, he found her smirking. He pressed a hand to his heart, stepping back dramatically. "Betrayed by my child and wife! Tricked!"

Pepper laughed, resting her hand against his back. The commotion had gotten everyone's attention and Abigail was called over with loud greetings and Harley's yell of "I knew you were lying!"

"Sorry hon," his wife consoled, kissing his cheek, "but it was too good of a surprise. We've had it arranged for weeks. Rosa is in charge of all the catering for tomorrow."

He shook his head, smiling. "Tricksters, all of you." He wrapped his arm around her. Morgan ran up to them then, arms up for her mom, and Pepper picked her up.

"Hi, Mommy!" She hugged her. Pepper put a kiss to the crown of her head. "We have pizza! Viz and Wanda brought it."

"Oh, that sounds delicious."

She nodded. "I want a piece."

"I'm actually pretty hungry myself." The woman replied, moving toward the house. Tony kept in stride with her, looking ahead to see the eyes of 2008's Pepper Potts on them, curious and nervous all at once.

"Do you see other you, Mommy?" Morgan stage-whispered. "And Uncle Happy?"

"I do." Pep smiled at her counterpart, shifting her hold on Morgan to extend her hand. "Hello, I know this must be a bit of a shock."

Pepper shook it, a small smile on her face. "I'm handling it."

"Crazier things have happened, believe it or not." She shook Happy's hand next, asking him how he was. She was definitely more composed than Tony had been about the whole thing, but she also had a heads up. She went into the house, Tony following. "What kind of pizza do you want, honey?" Pepper asked their daughter despite it being a foregone conclusion. She only ate one type since learning it was the combined names of her parents.

"Pepperoni!"

Tony put her a piece on a place and handed it to her when Pepper put her on the ground. When she'd ran outside, Pepper wrapped her arms around him. He embraced her back, resting his forehead against hers. With her here, it felt like was breathing easy for the first time since this whole thing started.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm okay." When she looked doubtful, he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "All my kids are here. Rhodey's been watching me like a hawk. I'm fine, Pep, really."

"Let me know if you're not."

"I will."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

...

It was hours later before everyone was settled for the night. He'd checked in on the kids and his grandsons, checked with FRIDAY, texted Avengers that yes he was still fine, and now he was settled in bed, pencil in hand with his phone on speaker with Natasha. Pepper was beside him, leaned on his left arm, as the two talked over their joint speech.

"We'll be going last, I know that much." Tony said, tapping the eraser against the notebook settled against his knees.

"Best for last?" Natasha asked, an audible smile in her voice.

"Exactly." There would be a lot of Avengers giving their own speeches throughout the event. Steve could have given the final speech, delivered some incredible line that would undoubtedly cover the headlines come Sunday morning. He was great at that.

And he was still going to give a speech, it just wouldn't be the last one. Bruce would go ahead of him to say a few words (Tony was incredibly proud of him for that), then step aside for the Captain. Natasha and Tony would follow after. Neither Clint or Thor wanted to say anything, but would be there on stage to support them - the Original Six, together in front of a crowd both physical as well as broadcasted to every home on the planet.

"You're a better closer than me." Natasha said, bringing his thoughts back to the present. "I don't want to talk about what happened too much, though I think we'll have to, if just a little bit, but the speech should be hopeful, healing-"

"About moving on."

"Yeah." She cleared her throat.

Though he hadn't written anything outside of a few doodles on his paper, he said, "I think I have something." Pepper gave him a questioning look. He just smiled.

"So do I."

"Do we need to talk about it?"

"I don't think so."

"I agree. It'll be a surprise."

Bruce spoke up. "Those words are scary coming from you."

"I'm offended, Brucie. Utterly betrayed."

"Uh-huh. Goodnight, Tony."

"Night Bruce, night Nat." He replied. Pepper bid her own goodbye before he hung up.

"What do you have in mind?" She asked him as they laid down fully for the night, his notebook and pencil discarded on the night stand.

"Something I thought of a while ago." He curled around her, holding her against his chest. She rested her head against his heart. "I think it'll be good."

"I'll trust your instincts."

"Have I ever been wrong?"

"Plenty of times." He could hear her smile. "But I don't think you'd be wrong about this."

"Neither do I." He pressed one last kiss to her hair. "Love you."

"Love you, Tony. Goodnight."

"Night, Pep."

With the sound of her breathing and her warmth in his arms, he slipped into sleep easily.

Chapter Text

A raised finger.

A future confirmed.

Pain in his arm.

"And I am Ironman."

Pain. Pain. Pain.

(Make it stop.)

Rhodey. Peter. Pepper.

"We're going to be okay, Tony." His wife's face, a broken smile that held back tears.

His heart slowing down.

"You can rest now."

Darkness.

His heart stopped.

He died-

Tony gasped, eyes flying open. It took a terrifying few seconds for him to register that the darkness wasn't that of his dying breath but the natural darkness of being awake far too early in the morning, a setting he knew well. The weight of Pepper rested on his chest, her arm across his stomach and face buried in his neck. The fact that she hadn't woken when he did was a testament to how exhausted she was.

He let his head drop back onto the pillow, pulling in deep breaths as his heart slowed - slowed in a calming way, not like he was about to die. He ran his hand through Pepper's hair, feeling each individual strand between his scarred fingers, understanding that this was real, that he'd lived.

It was fitting, he supposed when he had enough air in his lungs to truly think, that he'd have that dream on the day of the Anniversary. It had been months since he last woke up from the dead - from dying all over again in his nightmare.

Was it really a nightmare if it was a memory? No exaggeration, no bent details, just - going through that experience all over again.

"Tony?" Pepper mumbled, and he turned his head to look down at her. FRIDAY raised the lights just a little, enough for him to make out her sleepily concerned blue eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Mhm." He kissed her forehead. "Go back to sleep. Everything's okay."

"You?"

"I'm okay." He promised, and it was the truth. He was okay. He was alive. His wife was alive. His kids were alive. That made him okay.

"Love you." She settled back down against his chest, his arms wrapped securely around her.

"Love you, too." He pressed his nose into her hair, breathing in the smell of her shampoo and feeling her breathe against him. He copied it subconciously - in, out, in, out. His heartbeat normalized. His thoughts straightened out. He hadn't died. No, he was more alive than he'd ever been.

Tony laid there a while, listening to her breathe and mumble. He might have slipped off into a doze at one point, but he never truly fell asleep. He hadn't expected to. Going to sleep after that nightmare was never possible.

It was only when the sky began to brighten on the horizon did he finally resign himself to starting the day horrendously early. He gently shifted Pepper off of him, rubbing her back when her eyebrows furrowed. Her face smoothed out after a minute and he kissed her forehead one more time. He fixed the blankets over her and slid a pillow into his place before getting up. Stretching his arms over his head (and ignoring the twinge of pain in his right arm), he caught a look at the clock. 6:20 in the morning. The sun would be coming up soon.

He slipped out of the room, closing the door silently behind him, and then went and peeked into the rooms of most of his kids - how did Harley manage to get upside down? - as well as his grandsons before going downstairs and to the kitchen.

"Good morning, FRI." He prompted as he brewed a very strong cup of coffee. He would need it to get through this day. "How's everything looking today?"

"Morning, Boss. Early morning prep for the Anniversary event is underway. The high for today is sixty-two degrees Fahrenheit, with the current temperature at forty-five degrees. If you would like to see the sunrise, I suggest heading out now."

He poured himself coffee in the mug Abby got him - she'd customized white ceramic by painting his Ironman helmet and original Arc Reactor on it. "I think I'll do that." Tony grabbed his jacket and slipped on his house shoes, then went out onto his front porch and settled into the swing, coffee held in two hands. He sipped on it, watching how the sky changed colors as the sun rose beyond the trees.

Tony much preferred the chaos of his house full of children - he'd go crazy within hours if it was only him there - but he also enjoyed watching the sunrise like this. He only ever did it if he had a nightmare or his insomnia was being particularly awful. Otherwise, he wouldn't be awake for these rare hours when the house was quiet.

Sometimes, if one of his kids had a nightmare and couldn't go back to sleep, he would forgo his coffee for two mugs of hot chocolate and they would sit out here, in the peace of nature where it was so much easier to breathe.

He was halfway through his coffee when the front door opened. When he looked, he found Rhodes, still in his borrowed pajamas and looking unsure of himself. "Hey, FRIDAY said you were out here."

"She doesn't lie." His lips twitched into a brief smirk. "It's one of the few things she didn't get from me. Do you want coffee? There's some on the counter. Get yourself a mug and come back out here."

"Uh, alright." He disappeared back into the house. Tony tapped his fingers against his mug, trying not to overthink the whole situation. He failed. He hadn't been alone with any of the time travelers since the day they arrived, well before they learned the entirety of the story of how his life turned out like this.

And he did not want to talk about it. Not right now, not when he'd had a nightmare mere hours ago, not when his right hand wanted to shake at the mere thought of having that conversation-

'Breathe, Tony.' A voice that sounded like Pepper filled his head. 'Breathe.' He took a deep breath, then another sip of coffee for good measure. He could do this. Compared to some of the other things he'd faced, time travelers didn't come close to the worst situation, especially when it came to 2008 Rhodey.

Rhodes finally came back, stepping out into the cool air with a blue mug filled with coffee. When he looked unsure, Tony patted the seat beside him, and the other man sat. For a few minutes, that was what they did - sat, drank coffee, and watched the woods.

A squirrel was scurrying across the yard when Rhodes spoke: "I never took you for someone who would sit outside and watch the sunrise."

"It's nice, isn't it?"

"Yeah." He took a drink of coffee. "You've changed a lot."

"Yeah?" He echoed, curiosity and anxiety churning in his chest.

"Yeah." His lips curved into a smile. "But your coffee hasn't. Still way too strong."

Tony laughed. "It's not for the weak."

"Maybe." He chuckled. It faded out too fast, the smile disappearing. Tony expected him to ask questions. He didn't. He just sat there, staring at the coffee, and Tony felt the concern building inside him.

"Okay, what's eating you?" He asked when the silence went too long, putting the coffee on the table beside him. "I know you've got questions, and I won't promise I'll answer them all, but-"

"I'm sorry."

Tony's brain stuttered to a halt. The last thing he expected was for Rhodes to say that. "What? What are you sorry for? It isn't your fault you're here."

Rhodes didn't look at him. "I'm sorry for how I reacted when you shut down the weapons division. I'm sorry for not recognizing when you were dying. I'm sorry-"

"Hold on." He held up both hands, stopping him. "Who told you this?" Brown eyes flicked his way, nervous and guilty, and Tony somehow just knew the answer. "Rhodey. It was Rhodey. My time Rhodey. Goodness gracious." He ran a hand down his face. "First things first, you have nothing to apologize for. You haven't done anything yet."

"But I will." He said, gripping the mug so tight that Tony thought it might break. "I will do all of that. I won't remember this, and I'll repeat all my mistakes. And yeah, I have screwed up already. I haven't seen you for who you are in a long time, Tones, and I think I forgot how to see you and not Tony Stark." He blinked, pulling in a quick breath, and Tony realized that Rhodes wasn't looking at him because he was trying not to cry. "I'm really sorry, Tony, for everything I have done and will do."

Tony shifted over to be closer to him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Rhodey," he said softly, "look at me."

It took a few seconds, but he did. His eyes were glassy with unshed tears, his face so much younger, and Tony's heart shattered. "I forgive you. I forgave you a long time ago. Don't worry about it."

"Why didn't you tell me how I reacted to the Palladium?"

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He said that I saw it, saw what was happening, but didn't say anything. That it was because I wanted to think you were okay."

Tony mulled on that before tentatively answering. "I can't tell you exactly what Rhodey - you - were thinking. Maybe that was it, and I'd believe it. I was doing my best not to let you or anyone else know I was dying. If you'd asked, I would have shoved you away earlier. I didn't want anyone to know and would have done anything to keep it that way."

He sniffed. "You know that was stupid, right?"

"I have been told." He cracked a small smile. "But I'm better now. I'm better in so many ways. It's a rough road to get here, but we made it. We all made it. There's a lot of life left to live, Rhodey, and I'm taking you on the journey with me. We're okay. We're good. We're best friends, brothers, and we forgive each other, alright? Everything is behind us now."

That got Rhodes to smile. "I'm glad."

"Me too. Now, get that sad look off your face and give me a hug."

Rhodes wiped his eyes with a small laugh, and then Tony threw his arms around him, squeezing as he tried to pour everything he'd just said into the action.

With how tightly he was hugged back, the message was received.

When they finally let go, the sun was fully over the horizon, and Tony knew it had to be after seven. "C'mon," he stood, grabbing his mug, "you're going to help me make breakfast. Don't burn my house down. Pepper would kill us both. Probably both Peppers."

Rhodes laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. "I'll try. I make no promises."

With that, they headed inside.

...

Tony didn't bother to try and calculate how much food would be needed for how many people were in his house. He just made everything he could in abundance, needing something to keep his hands busy as the minutes ticked by on the clock, bringing him closer and closer to that speech.

If Rhodes noticed that he had zero plan outside of 'make a ton of food and don't burn it or the house down' he didn't say anything. He participated in the controlled chaos, assisting where Tony needed and cracking jokes that helped diffuse some of the tension in his chest.

It wasn't too long after food started to fill the table that people began to drift in. 2008 Pepper came in within half an hour after they started cooking, dressed in jeans and a shirt from May's guest room clothes. She hovered on the edge of the kitchen until Tony offered that she could set the table and bar seats for however many people would fit in order to give her something to do.

His Pepper came down next, still in her pajamas with her hair pulled back into that messy ponytail he loved. He grinned at her. "Morning Pep!"

"Good morning honey," she came over and kissed his cheek, leaning against him as he flipped the sausage in the pan. (He did not miss the look Rhodes sent them, half smug about winning the bet on his love life, half happy for them.) "How much are you making?"

"I really don't know."

She raised a brow. "Really?"

"Hey, there's a lot of people. They'll eat it. You can't argue with my math."

"You didn't even do any math, so how can I argue with it?"

"Exactly."

She laughed. "I'll chop up some fruit."

"Don't forget the apples." Billy and Tommy loved apples.

"Never would."

As Pepper cut up enough fruit for a huge bowl, Peter came downstairs in his Star Wars pajamas and a bedhead that probably matched Tony's. "Hey Dad, hey Mom, hey Rhodes, hey Pepper," he greeted everyone individually, visibly fighting back a yawn before dropping onto the couch.

"Morning Pete," Tony called over shoulder, everyone else echoing some version of it. "Turn on the TV to something good, would you? Family friendly."

"Okay, Dad."

As Peter talked with FRIDAY to figure out what to watch, both Happys made their way in, talking with each other. It was both weird and cool to see, and a little mind boggling since they still looked basically the same. Next came Vision and Wanda, then Nebula, then Harley, half awake as he carried a very awake Morgan down the stairs on his back, both in pajamas. The twins trailed down after them, rubbing their adorable eyes sleepily with Abby skipping down the stairs behind the two, reminding them to be careful. Rhodey came down last, already dressed for the day, and Tony made sure to make very deliberate eye contact in a silent message of 'we're talking later' along with a quick glance at Rhodes. Rhodey held up his hands in surrender, then made his way to the living room where everyone had gathered to talk and watch some nature documentary. The dog and cat had arrived at some point, the former moving from person to person and the other disinterestedly licking her paws on the back of the arm of the couch.

"G-pa, come watch the pandas with us!" Tommy called. His long hair was an absolute mess as he looked over the back of the couch. If his parents weren't a few feet away, Tony knew he'd be standing on his seat to give better puppy dog eyes.

Pep slid into the space beside him, taking the spatula from his hand. "I'll finish here."

"Thank you, hon." He touched her back briefly, giving her a grateful smile before heading into the living room. He was more thankful than ever for the huge couch, loveseat, and recliner with how everyone was squishing into it where they could, with Harley, Morgan, and Abby sitting on the floor with a makeshift couch of pillows. His recliner was left open, so he went to it, the twins following him. As soon as he sat down, they climbed onto his legs to sit, opening up a spot for 2008 Pepper to sit on the couch.

"Look at the panda! G-pa, he's huge!"

"I see him, T. Weird how big they are when they only eat a plant."

"Can we go to the zoo one day?" Billy asked.

"That's not a bad idea." He grinned, ruffling his hair. "Family zoo day - we'll get it planned. FRIDAY, get me a list of the best zoos in New York."

"On it, Boss."

"Can it have penguins?" Abby asked.

Harley raised his hand. "I want to hold a snake!"

"Daddy, did you get Gerald from a zoo?"

"No Morg, Gerald is not from a zoo." He chuckled. "What else do you guys want to see?"

More animals were thrown out for FRIDAY to take into consideration. Tony was already mentally planning the day in his head - after this whole time travel situation was figured out, he was taking his entire family, both immediate and Avengers, to the zoo. It would be funny if they had matching shirts, but they would need to be undercover, somehow, though that might not be possible with so many people. Maybe he'd need to rent out the entire thing for a day, or maybe a VIP tour would work, like he did with the aquarium...

"Breakfast is ready!" Pep called. The kids shot up first, running for the kitchen like hungry animals who escaped from the very zoo they were wanting to go to, and Tony couldn't help the wide grin on his face as he helped the squirming twins down to the floor.

It wasn't long before everyone had a plate. The dining room table and bar stools filled up with adults while the kids settled in the living room, the TV changing to Team Umizoomi, one of the cartoons that Morgan, Billy, and Tommy could agree on.

Tony settled into the last free seat at the table, with Pep on his left and Nebula on his right. Under the table, Pepper grasped his hand and he squeezed back, giving her a soft smile that she returned. He looked out over the table, at his family from the present and the past, talking easily if a little awkwardly at times. He could hear the kids bickering in the living room, play fighting and laughing over the show. Warmth bloomed in his chest, contrasted by the dread in his stomach. It wouldn't be long before he had to leave his paradise for the Anniversary event.

But Pep would be with him, and the kids would be watching him on TV, and he would be home again before the clock struck midnight.

He'd just have to hold onto this image, this memory, until he got back. It would have to be enough to keep him steady - to keep his head above water, to push away the memories of Thanos, to push away the random aches in his arm that were more than physical.

It had to be enough.

...

The one thing time never did for Tony was stop. The closest he got was when he wielded the Stones, but even then, that was just the pain making the seconds longer.

Tony was distinctly aware of the passage of time as the hours both dragged and flew by. With so many people, the showers were occupied for a while, but he didn't mind. He played in the floor with the kids, intent to be last on the shower list as if he could somehow extend the morning by staying in his night clothes. He tried to play-wrestle with the twins like they wanted, as he normally would, but his arm proved that it couldn't handle it today. Instead, they got the action figures back out, with Morgan's stuffed animals joining in the fun.

"Are you okay, Dad?" Peter asked when his siblings and nephews were distracted by some diplomatic issue between 'kingdoms' that involved where the block border went.

"I'm fine, bambino, I promise." He held out his left arm, pulling his second eldest boy into a side hug that he melted into.

"How is today both a hard day and a good day?" He asked. "It's the day half the universe got brought back but... we almost lost you, Dad, and Aunt Nat was gone."

"It's life, kid. Some days don't make sense." He kissed the top of his head. "But we're all alive. Everything's okay. We've just got to remember that, right?"

"Right." He smiled shakily. "I'm really happy you're still here, Dad. That we're all here."

"So am I, Pete. So am I."

Eventually, it became Tony's turn to shower after Pep finished in their bathroom. He let the water run over him way too long, breathing in the steam with his eyes shut as if that would freeze time, before finally getting out and dressing in the suit his wife laid out: black dress shoes, pants, and jacket, with a red shirt and his gold watch. He smiled at the subtle match with the Ironman suit, knowing that Pep was matching her own Rescue suit with black jeans, heeled boots, and a long-sleved blue layered blouse with golden accents.

He was brushing out his hair when his wife slipped into the room. "You look very handsome," she smiled, picking a piece of imaginary fuzz from the shoulder of his suit jacket.

"Don't I always?" He asked cheekily, wrapping his arms around her. She put her arms around his neck.

"You do." She kissed him and he kissed her back. When their lips pulled apart, he rested his forehead against hers with a soft sigh.

"I'm nervous about this."

"I know, honey, but you'll do great. I'll be there with you, and you'll have your entire family behind you." Her fingers brushed the hair at the nape of his neck. "You can cancel, if you want. There's always that option."

It was tempting, it really was. He let his eyes close briefly. "No," he answered, steeling himself as his eyes met hers again. "I'm going to do this."

"And I'll be right there with you." She stepped back, hands going down his arms until they found his own, and held on. "Will you help me put on my necklace?"

"Of course."

She released him and rather than go to her jewlery box, she went to her night stand, where, hanging over a framed picture of their wedding day, the necklace he'd made out of shrapnel resided, its red heart bright against the sunlight streaming in from the windows. A loving smile formed on his face as she handed it over and moved her hair, allowing him to put it around her neck. Not many understood its significance - only his family did, those who knew of the shrapnel that had surrounded his heart. Once a weapon against him, they became a symbol of his love for Pepper Potts.

"Beautiful." He kissed her cheek.

"Me or the necklace?"

"Both." His hand found hers again, their fingers interlocking naturally. "But you more."

She laughed. "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"That will be all, Mrs. Stark."

Together, they left their room. Before they even made it to the stairs, Tony noted something weird. "What's with the quiet?" He asked.

"It was getting a bit rambunctious in the house, so the kids went outside to play. I think they got Rhodes and both Happys into it. Vision is supervising. Everyone else is in the living room or making lunch."

"It's already noon?"

"Close to it."

"It's 11:47 AM, Boss." FRIDAY interjected.

"Thanks, FRI."

They headed downstairs. True to her word, Rhodey and Wanda were putting together sandwiches in the kitchen while Peppper tidied up the living room with FRI's help in directing organization. Tony thought about telling her that she didn't need to, but he also knew Pepper - she needed something to occupy her hands and mind in this abnormal situation.

"I'm going to go check on the kids." Pep gave his hand one last squeeze before separating. He saw her give Pepper a smile before she headed out the door, and then Tony went and joined Wanda and Rhodey, who were making at least three different kinds of sandwiches.

The next grocery order was going to be a long one.

"Tony, do you have more juice?" Wanda asked after opening his fridge.

"I think we used the last of it yesterday from that fridge. There should be some apple juice in the one downstairs, in the lab."

"Got it. Be back in a minute." She headed toward the basement stairs just as Pepper made her way upstairs with a bin full of toys under FRIDAY's directions. Tony leaned against the island counter, raising a brow at Rhodey with his arms crossed.

His friend raised one back as he made another tuna sandwich. "What?"

"I heard about a conversation you had with your past self. I'd like to know where that all came from. Don't think I haven't noticed you getting between me and him since you arrived."

Rhodey looked down at the sandwich, slowly putting the slice of bread on top. "I just..." He paused. "There were a lot of things I'd want to tell my past self off for. I tried not to, but he kept pushing, and... I had to set him straight."

Tony frowned. "Rhodey, you know you have nothing to feel guilty about, right?"

The pained look that crossed his friend's face said otherwise. "Tones, the way I treated you sometimes... there wasn't an excuse."

"That goes both ways. You know that." He dropped his arms to his sides, resting his hands on the countertop. "I treated you horribly at times before Afghanistan, and I had my bad moments afterwards." He sighed. "Look, there are things we've done that neither of us are proud of, but there's no reason for you to be hanging onto it. I'm going to tell you the same thing I told him, so it should work: We're okay. We're good. We're best friends, brothers, and we forgive each other, alright? Everything is behind us now." He pushed off the counter, turning to put an arm across Rhodey's shoulders. "It's stupid to be hanging onto stuff I've already forgiven you for. You're being stupid, which is my job, and I demand it back."

Rhodey cracked a smile at that. "It's your full time job." Before Tony could respond, he was pulled into a tight hug that he returned. "Thanks, Tones."

Tony patted his back. "Anytime." He pulled away, snatching up the sandwich as he went. "Mine!"

"It's not time for lunch yet!" Rhodey playfully tried to grab the sandwich back, not really trying, and Tony darted out of the kitchen, narrowly avoiding colliding with Wanda on the way. He made his way outside with his prize, immediately spotting most people out in the yard playing badminton with invisible boundary lines and the smaller kids with the kickball. He found Pepper sitting in the swing and found his place beside her.

"You stole a sandwich," she concluded as he handed her part of it.

"Yep."

"Do not get it on your clothes."

"Wouldn't dream of it." He grinned, biting into his half, and she shook her head with a fond smile.

After Harley spotted him with the infamous tuna sandwich, it was a free for all back to the house for hungry children. Tony was content to witness the controlled chaos as everyone got their plates and came back out, finding seats on the porch and in the yard. (He pretended not to notice when Morgan sneakily fed pieces of her crust to Cap, the dog's tail wagging happily.)

Time after that was a bit of a blur - a mix of trying to focus on the present while being worried about the future. At some point, after a game of soccer where he kept score, they all went back inside. The TV changed from cartoons to Tennessee college football and the toys returned to the living room. Tony tried not to keep an eye on the clock as he played on the floor once again, building towers out of blocks for the twins to knock down while also playing dolls with Morgan. He listened to Harley and Abby cheer and groan over football, with Peter rooting for the other team just to annoy them, as an older brother would, and Nebula asking questions about the game that she hadn't fully grasped. He spotted the Rhodeys talking together with the Happys at one point, and the Peppers seemed to be bonding over pictures Pep was showing her on her phone. Wanda made Sokovian snacks, and he noted Vision taking pictures occassionally from his spot in the loveseat.

Five o'clock came way too early. With his speech at eight and a desire to be there for his fellow Avengers (and family), he and Pepper bid everyone goodbye outside with hugs and promises to be back for bedtime.

"Traffic is going to be brutal," Rhodey said, a grin on his face that said he knew that was absolutely not going to be a factor.

Tony grinned back. "Good thing we're not driving."

The confused looks on the faces of the time travelers was enough to push away some of his nerves. In sync, he and Pep pulled out nanite casings from their jacket pockets and put them to their chests. With a tap, Ironman and Rescue formed.

"Love you!" Tony called to his family with a wave, desperately trying not to laugh at the shock on the faces of the 2008 Trio. Pepper echoed him, linked her hand in his, and then they took off, soaring up into the dimming sky.