2
"So, let me get this straight," you said. "We're going to go visit a man who doesn't want to see us and talk to him about something he doesn't want to hear about?" You crossed your arms over your chest, quirking a brow as you glanced between Steve and Natasha.
With your best Tony Stark impression, you spoke again, "'Hey, Stark, we think we can bring everyone back with a plan from Back to the Future. Care to join us? Oh, and don't worry. If this doesn't work, it will only bring back the emotional and mental torment you've probably been trying to push away for half a decade.'"
Natasha rolled her eyes, "It's more than that. Behave, we're almost there."
You shrugged, "I'm just saying. It doesn't sound like that would end very well."
"She has a point," Pietro commented.
"Why doesn't Stark want to see us?" Ethan asked from the backseat with Nova.
"Oh, he'll want to see you, I think," Pietro told him. You nodded and added, "I just don't think he'll want to see us because we're annoying."
He snorted, "You're not annoying."
"Glad you think so, honey," you told him, reaching back and ruffling his dark hair as he continued to glance down at the tablet in his hands. Nova was in his lap napping, waiting for the car ride to end so she could stretch her limbs.
"We're almost there," Steve said.
"Good, Nova's going to go feral," you mumbled. Pietro laughed a little, "I think Nova is too busy chasing little kittens in her dreams." He looked back at her and watched her foot kick. "Lazy bones," he commented.
It was not long before they did, indeed, pull up into the driveway of Tony and Pepper's home. There was a beat of silence as your eyes scanned the house from inside the car. It was as you would expect a cabin made by Tony Stark to look like. It was grand and modern enough to hold the idea of a getaway in the woods, while also keeping the sense of being a cabin in the woods.
Your eyes glancing between everyone in the car. Pietro's eyes darted around as he took in the home, his arm being thrown over the seat as his hand inched over to Ethan, as if to check on him. Ethan was more focused on the dog in his lap, a hand tangled in her fur as her leg kicked again. She stiffened as she woke again, her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she looked at Ethan again.
Natasha was looking around the house, as well. She was almost evaluating it, taking in her surroundings as if to get familiar with them. Scott was almost jumpy, his leg bouncing erratically as his almost frenzied eyes searched for any movement. Steve's eyes stayed trained through the windshield as he waited for Tony to show up.
When Tony came into view, carrying a child on his hip, Steve stepped out of the car. Natasha opened her door and got out of the car, leaning on the side of it. Pietro got out on your side, letting down the seat to allow Ethan and the dog out.
Tony stood on the porch, looking out over the hoard of Avengers that had just come out of the car like a bunch of clowns would come out of one. Nova hopped out of the car after the boy, immediately going to stretch before rolling around in the dirt. The little girl smiled at the sight of the dog.
Natasha nodded in Tony's direction, which he returned subtly before turning around and carrying the girl into the house. She then gestured for the rest of you to follow as you walked up to the porch.
~
"I just want to thank you folks for dropping by. It's not every day one gets to contemplate biting it on an inter-dimensional timescape," Tony quipped.
You stood on the porch, leaning on the wooden railing next to Pietro. Ethan was inside playing with Nova and Morgan. Rolling your eyes, you glanced over at Pietro, who merely sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
You all had just explained Scott's time travel plan to Tony, and Tony's response was just about exactly what you thought it would be. "You've got some objections to the plan," Natasha assumed.
Tony held a bottle of Chai tea in his hand, raising it to point in your general direction. "So you're calling it a plan?" he said, "To me, it sounds like an exotic suicide method. Not to mention, it's impossible."
Scott raised a hand as he spoke up, "We know what it sounds like."
You shrugged, "I've heard it twice now and it's batshit, but it's an idea... No one's had an idea in a long time, Tony."
"Tony, after what you've seen, is anything really impossible?" Steve asked.
Tony began pouring a few cups of tea as he spoke, "Quantum fluctuation kinda messes with the Planck Scale, which then triggers the Deutsch Proposition, can we agree on that?"
"I don't know what that is," you said before thanking him as he handed you a cup.
Tony hummed, "In layman's terms, it means you can cancel your Netflix subscription because you're not coming home."
You hummed in response, glancing down at the tea after taking a sip. You hummed again, your brows furrowing as you passed it to Pietro. He brought it to his nose to sniff before taking a sip and passing it back to you. He hummed and you did the same before setting the cup down. No one had noticed the exchange as the two of you shrugged at each other.
"I did," Scott said, bringing you back to the current conversation.
"No," Tony looked at him, "you accidentally survived. It's a billion-to-one cosmic fluke. Now you want to pull a- What do you call it?"
Scott smiled almost proudly, "A time heist."
"Yeah, a time heist, of course. Why didn't we think of this before?" He turned to Steve, "Right, because it's laughable, because it's a pipe dream."
Steve shook his head, "Tony, the Stones exist in the past. We could get them and bring them here."
Natasha nodded as she agreed, "We can snap our own fingers. We can bring everybody back."
Tony's half-hearted grin came to his face, "Or screw it up worse than he already has, right?"
Steve shook his head, "I don't believe we would."
Tony looked over at him, a silent tension between them as the past lingered in his eyes. "Gotta say it. Sometimes I've missed that giddy optimism." He shrugged and sighed, "Sadly, all your high hopes won't help me if there's no logical, tangible way for me to safely execute said 'time heist'. I believe the most likely outcome would be our collective demise." He sat in the chair on the porch, looking between each of you.
Scott shook his head, sitting next to him as he began to explain something, "Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel. No talking to our past selves. No betting on sporting events."
"I'm gonna stop you right there, Scott," Tony interrupted. "Are you seriously telling me that your plan to save the universe is more than loosely based on Back to the Future? Is it?"
You lightly smacked Pietro's chest, turning to him as you nodded. "I told you," you whisper-yelled to him. He rolled his eyes and playfully shoved you away.
Scott seemed to have to think about it for a moment, ignoring you and slowly shaking his head with a smile as it took him a little too long to answer. "No..."
Tony smiled and nodded. "Good, you had me worried there because that would be horseshit. That's not how quantum physics works."
"Tony, we have to take a stand," Natasha said. Her eyes gave him a certain look that made him sigh.
Tony nodded, "We did. And yet, here we are."
Scott leaned forward a little, "Look, Stark- Can I call you Tony?"
"Please don't."
"Tony."
"Fine."
"I know you got a lot on the line. You got a wife, a daughter. But I lost someone very important to me-a lot of us did-and now we have a chance to save her, and everyone else, and you won't even-"
"That's right, Scott," Tony interrupted his impassioned speech. He shook his head, his jaw clenching, "I won't even. I can't."
Just as the words left his mouth, Morgan came out of the house with Ethan and Nova in tow. Ethan came over to you and Pietro, his hand securely wrapped in Nova's fur like he needed her to walk.
You sat down in front of him, taking one of his hands before Pietro pulled him in almost protectively. Morgan's voice made you look up again, "Mommy told me to come and save you." Tony took Morgan into his arms, holding her tightly with a sigh. "Good job. I'm saved."
He stood, still holding Morgan as he turned to Steve, "I wish you were coming here to ask me something else. I'm honestly happy to see you." Before he left, he turned back and spoke again, "Oh, look, the table's set for nine-"
Steve cut him off as he attempted to persuade him again. "Tony, I get it, and I'm happy for you. I really am. But this is a second chance."
Tony stopped him, nodding his head, "Yeah, well, I got my second chance right here, Cap. Can't roll the dice on it."
There was a moment of hesitance before he began to leave again, turning as he spoke, "The table is set for nine. If you don't talk shop, you're welcome to stay for lunch."
Ethan looked up, "Can we stay for lunch? Morgan said she has an alpaca."
You nodded with a smile, tapping his cheek with your hand. "Yeah, of course. Go on, hug first." He gave you a hug before he was swept up by Pietro.
Ethan laughed a little bit, being set back on his feet as he ran away with Nova. You watched him go with a sigh and crossed your arms over your chest. You all began walking, your eyes staring down at the ground under your feet. You sighed again, your hands coming to your side as you felt how empty it was.
"Well, he's scared. There's too much on the line for him," Natasha said.
Steve shrugged, "He's not wrong."
Scott walked with as he started stuttering out words, "Yeah, but I mean, what are we gonna do? We need him. What, are we gonna stop?"
Steve sighed, "No, I wanna do it right." He lingered, looking around as he thought about something. Finally, he gave a gentle nod, "We're gonna need a really big brain."
Scott gave a very confused look, turning around and pointing toward the house, "Bigger than his?"
Steve nodded, his eyes falling on you and Pietro. Your brows knitted together in confusion before morphing into annoyance. "Not him."
"We don't have much of a choice," Natasha shrugged. You groaned and sighed heavily before sucking it up, nodding as you muttered something about anger issues.
Scott pointed to you, motioning to the direction Ethan had disappeared in. "Wait, there's one thing I don't understand... You have the same thing on the line, a kid, your- your brother? You're willing..."
You shook your head and turned to Scott, letting out a slow sigh. You shrugged, "I want my family back." You lingered there a moment in silence before you turned away and left Scott standing there. He seemed to understand, a sigh as he watched you leave.
Pietro quickly caught up with you in no time, his speed naturally giving him that advantage. You both walked out into the woods around the house, steps slow as you stared at the ground. You sat down, unable to take another step as you propped up against a tree. Pietro came to sit next to you, although on the other side of the tree.
There was silence between you before Pietro muttered under his breath, "It isn't fair."
You glanced over your shoulder before nodding, "I know."
"It should have been me," he shook his head and you could hear the waver in his voice.
You shook your own head, "No, it should have been me. We lost so much, it isn't fair." You pulled down the sleeve of your shirt, revealing the faded mark on your arm as tears came to your eyes. "Five years and I still can't believe she's gone." Your body shuddered, "We have to get her back. She can't just be gone."
He shifted over, wrapping an arm around you to set your head on his shoulder. He carded his fingers through your hair and sighed gently, holding back his own tears, which were caught in his throat. "We'll get them back. We'll get all of them back."
You nodded and tried to steady your breath again. He rubbed your arm, "And, hey, if they don't come back, we can repopulate together."
You choked out a laugh at his joke, shaking your head and wiping at your eyes as you sat up. You gave him a watery smile, patting his chest, "Sorry but... you're sister's hotter."
He set a hand over his heart with a dramatic gasp, looking away as he feigned offense. "I cannot believe you choose my sister over me."
Your body shook with another laugh and already you were feeling your sadness wisp away. "How dare I?" You both sat there for a few more moments, enjoying the quiet before you stood and went back to find Ethan. You would be leaving soon.