Rust

“Tony, I need you to focus.”

“I got nothing for you, Cap! I got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust. Liar.”

“You like going to the garage, huh? So does daddy. It’s fine, actually. Your mom never wears anything I buy her.”

“Tony, after everything you’ve seen, is anything really impossible?”

“Yeah, a time heist. Of course, why didn’t we think of this before? Oh, because it’s laughable? Because it’s a pipe dream?”

“We can snap our own fingers. We can bring everyone back.”

“I love you 3000.”

“But would you be able to rest?”

“Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives. And we’re gonna win. Whatever it takes. Good luck.”

“See you in a minute.”

“Do you trust me?”

“Guys— I think it worked!”

“Oh, this is nice.”

“I am— inevitable.”

“And I— am— Iron Man.”

“We won, Mr. Stark. We won. You did it, Sir. You did it. I’m sorry— Tony—”

“Tony. Look at me. We’re gonna be okay. You can rest now.”

Pain. Then nothing. Darkness. But then… 

Tony winced slightly as he blinked open his eyes and saw light. At first he thought that this must be the afterlife. Whatever afterlife there was. Once upon a time he believed in Heaven and Hell, but it was hard to know what to believe after all he’s seen in his lifetime. But this… there were no pearly white gates. No eternally burning fire. It was… 

“Good morning, Sir. It’s currently seven o’clock a.m. The weather in Malibu…”

Tony felt his heart skip a beat when he opened his eyes and realized where he was. His eyes were wide as he shoved the covers off a bed that shouldn’t exist. That didn’t exist. It had been nearly twelve years since Extremis destroyed the shoreside penthouse. It simply wasn’t possible that the past twelve years or so had all been a dream. It was so real. Too real to have been anything less than that. Yet… there he was, over a decade in the past.

“FR— JARVIS?”

“Hello, Sir,” the AI replied. “I am picking up signs of distress. Are you in need of assistance?”

“No. No, just, what’s the date?” 

“Today’s date is Wednesday, February 3rd 2010,” JARVIS rattled off in a beat. “Would you like me to give you an overview of today’s agenda?”

“No, J, that… that won’t be necessary.” Tony stood and started to pace around the bedroom that he had once been so familiar with. He had missed the home many times since its destruction, but it felt so wrong now. It was so grand compared to the cottage he and Pepper had bought after the Snap. “God, Pep…”

“Miss Potts is just downstairs if—”

“Mute.” JARVIS went silent at the order, leaving Tony alone with his thoughts as he tried to process what was happening to him. He didn’t know how he was here. He didn’t know why. He didn’t even know if any of this was real or if it was a figment of his imagination. Maybe this was Hell. Maybe the universe was forcing him to relive his life as a punishment. To remind him that it didn’t matter that he sacrificed his own life. He would always be the Merchant of Death.

“Sh*t,” Tony muttered, rubbing his hands down his face. It shocked him, feeling how smooth his skin was, but then he realized something. He found himself feeling his chest, searching for the dip that had been left behind, but there were no scars. It was as if the arc reactor had never been there in the first place. “Sh*t, what the h*ll is happening to me?”

Tony wasn’t sure how long he spent pacing before he finally slid down the wall, head in his hands. He knew that he was bordering on panic, but he frankly didn’t care. The life he knew was gone. His home. His family. Everything. It was as if, when he died, he was sent back in time. 

When he died.

“JARVIS.” Tony stood then, taking his old phone from the nightstand and flipping it open. “I need you to find a phone number for Natasha Romanoff, Agent of SHIELD. You might find her under the alias Natalie Rushman. If you have to break laws to find her, great.”

“Sir, might I advise contacting a consultant if you wish to speak with the organization?” JARVIS replied, though he did start his search without hesitation. “Perhaps I could recommend Phillip Coulson. Records indicate he is currently working as a recruiter for SHIELD.”

Tony paused for a moment, considering the option, but shook his head. He trusted Phil, he did, but he wouldn’t understand. Tony wasn’t even sure that his theory was right, and he definitely wasn’t going to get SHIELD involved right away if Natasha was experiencing the same thing as he was. Especially considering many SHIELD agents were actually HYDRA. If this information fell into the wrong hands… Tony didn’t even want to think about what might happen. “No. I need to talk to Agent Romanoff.”

“Very well, Sir,” JARVIS replied. “Miss Potts is coming upstairs.”

Tony quickly muted the AI again just before he heard a knock on his bedroom door. “Come in,” he called, looking up from his now-closed flip phone as a younger Pepper Potts stepped into the room. Her auburn hair was tied up in a neat bun, showing off a pair of sparkling silver earrings. The suit she wore reminded him of a time when they watched each other from a distance, either too oblivious to their attraction to one another or too scared to make a move. “Pep…” 

“Mr. Stark,” Pepper greeted him in that business professional tone that he still heard her use from time to time. She didn’t seem to notice his slip, at least, but she didn’t look too pleased with him at the moment. Likely because of something stupid he said or did the day before, but he couldn’t remember. “I was just coming to remind you about tonight.”

It took everything in Tony to not rush forward and wrap Pepper in a hug. He wanted to let her know that he loved her with all his heart. He wanted her to know that she meant everything to him. But he couldn’t. Because this… this was before. So instead, he swallowed, put on an easy smile, and pulled up a hologram to swipe at as he spoke. “What’s tonight?”

Pepper sighed deeply, shaking her head. She prompted. “The award ceremony?”

Tony frowned, his eyebrows knitting together in concentration as he tried to pinpoint exactly what ceremony Pepper might be talking about. It only took a few seconds before the foggy memory clicked into place. He had been a bit drunk that night, but he did remember gambling and a one-night stand with a news reporter. “Ah,” he hummed. “Yeah, about that—”

“Tony—”

“I can’t go—”

“You can’t just not go—”

“Pepper!”

Pepper looked a bit startled by Tony’s desperate tone, but it only took her a moment to recover before she narrowed her eyes, seemingly analyzing him. “Are you feeling alright?” She asked finally, a hint of concern in her too-professional tone. 

Tony sighed and shook his head. “Look, it’s… it’s nothing,” he told her. “Don’t worry about it. I can go, I just— we need to talk about the Afghanistan trip. The JERICHO Missile launch.”

Pepper frowned then. “That is something you need to take up with Obadiah,” she told him. She continued, but Tony didn’t hear her. Images flashed through his mind of the man he had considered family turning against him. Of fighting a man in a suit more than twice his size. The night that made him Iron Man. “Tony? Hey.”

Tony snapped out of the flashbacks as Pepper moved forward, a hand hovering over his shoulder. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted her to touch him or not, half-afraid that he might break down then and there if she did anything that reminded him of the future. Yet he still longed for the familiar touch of his wife, even if she didn’t remember what they had. Even if that wasn’t what they were yet. He needed her.

“I’ll talk to Rhodey.” Pepper’s voice was a bit softer as she spoke. “I’ll tell him you’re not feeling well. I don’t think we can cancel on such short notice, but we can work something out.”

“You don’t have to do that, Pep, really, I—”

“Tony.” Pepper’s voice was firm when she spoke, but it was laced with empathy and care. It was so much like her that it hurt. God, it hurt. “Try to get some rest. If you’re feeling better this evening, great, you can still go. If not, no one will blame you for deciding to stay home.”

Tony sighed, lowering his head. “Okay,” he replied. “Thank you, Miss Potts.”

Pepper smiled softly then. “Always happy to help.”