Things Will Get Better
When Tony came to, he was expecting another blank void like the one he’d just awoken in, but to his surprise he was in Avengers Tower, although a version of it he hadn’t seen in more than a decade. It looked as it had prior to the Battle of New York, and more importantly, Pepper was there. She looked happier than he’d seen for some time, and less careworn. Tony hadn’t realized how much everything from the past ten years had weighed her down until he was literally face to face with a younger version.
“Twelve percent? For my baby?” A playful smirk quirked her lips up, and Tony remembered this conversation. He would make a joke about him having done the heavy lifting, and then… it was one of the last times they would see Phil alive. He still wasn’t exactly sure what was happening, but Death had said something about soul transference and going back, so maybe this is what she had meant? Was this permanent? Or would he be here just long enough to fix things before going back? And fix what? Why now? Tony knew that this had been Thanos’s first attack on Earth, but they’d defeated Thanos, and brought everyone back. Sure, things hadn’t been great, Bruce’s arm was permanently disabled last he’d heard, and everyone who died prior to the Snap was still dead, he could remember Thor being upset that Loki was still dead, but other than that, only he and Natasha had died. Right? He really wished Death had taken a little bit more time to explain what was happening, all he knew is he would be fixing all his mistakes before he could make them, and that he wouldn’t be alone again… Which meant… Holy shit he could save Phil.
Just as soon as that thought had occurred, he felt a hand on his arm. He refocused on the present, and on Pepper’s face, which was more concerned than it had been a few moments before.
“Tony, are you okay? You spaced out on me.” Tony just pulled her close and rested his cheek on her head. Her hair smelled like a shampoo that had been suddenly discontinued in 2013, leaving Pepper frustrated and trying to find a new brand in the middle of a sales kick off. That hadn’t been fun for anyone, and it also hadn’t happened yet. Tony could do this. He could fix everything, and he would.
“Tony?” Pepper whispered into his shoulder.
“I’m okay, I just…” how was he supposed to explain this? Well Pepper, in a little over a decade, I died after fighting a giant purple guy because said purple guy wiped out half of all life, but don’t worry we fixed it and we kept Morgan alive. Which, oh. He’d never get to see Morgan again. Tony wasn’t sure how to feel about that, because on one hand, he knew when he died that he wouldn’t get to, but now he wasn’t dead. And he still got to hold Pepper, and he would be able to save Phil, but there was no guarantee that even if he was still around when she was conceived, that it would still be Morgan. And even if it was, this Morgan wouldn’t be the same Morgan he remembered, wouldn’t have grown up in a world with no Phil and no Peter, and half the world gone. That was something he was going to need to process, he had a feeling that he wouldn’t be able to before he needed to be Iron Man again.
“Sir, the telephone. I’m afraid my protocols are being overwritten.” Oh shit, Jarvis. Right, after he made sure Phil stayed alive, and defeated the Chituari, he was going to take a nice long shower and try to come to terms with everything. Could he still take showers? He hadn’t been able to for a few more years, so maybe not? Mind over body? That was going to just be something he would have to test out. Right well, dealing with the important things first. He picked up the phone on the desk, not letting go of Pepper, and brought the phone up, accepting the call.
“I know you’re already on your way up, and honestly did you need to overwrite J’s protocols? You have your own codes.” Tony snorted at the surprised look on Phil’s face, and quickly pressed end. Pepper pulled away, enough to look at his face, but didn’t leave the circle of his arms.
“When did you give Phil his own codes?” And that was a fair question, because she hadn’t known about that until well after his death. They’d wanted to ask Phil to move in with them, and Tony had been the hold out on that, only deciding the day before Stark Tower went online that he wanted to give Phil that chance.
“Well, he technically doesn’t have them yet, but if he was rewriting J’s protocols, then he was using them. Jarvis is a little bit harder to overwrite than that.” Pepper nodded.
“And you were planning on telling me you’d made your decision, when?” Oh, that was her ‘I’m not mad, but I don’t like not knowing things’ voice. Whoops.
“Uhhh…”
“Sir authorized the codes yesterday, Miss Potts.” Before Pepper could say anything more, the elevator door opened and Phil stepped out. He paused for a moment when he saw the position that Tony and Pepper were in, but continued on, as professional as ever when he played his ‘Agent’ role.
“Mr. Stark, we need you to look this over.” He held up a file like Tony didn’t already have it downloaded.
“Phil! Excellent! We’re celebrating, by the way have you considered going to D.C. with Pepper tomorrow? Who knows she might need back up or something!” Good job Tony, smooth, they’ll never suspect –
“What is going on with you tonight Tony?” Pepper looked worried, Phil looked taken aback, and Jarvis was no help, just adding-
“I’ve sensed an unusual power surge on the balcony Sir, it appears to be a child.”
Okay, well that one was new.