Chapter 1
Tired.
That's all he seems to be since he woke up. Tired.
It's so ironic it's almost funny how tired he is. No more gear to upgrade, no more fighting big bads, no more flying around in beautiful suits, but he's more tired than ever. It's almost so funny he could laugh. For all that he dedicated to being a hero, it was easily wiped away by a shield his father made.
It’s just…
Its so ironic its almost funny.
It's been three months since he went to that bunker. Three months since he saw Steve. Three months since he learned that even Captain America could lie.
Three months since he's been in a suit.
Three months since seeing his poor mamma have the life choked out of her.
The whole Avengers Team split, not even down the middle. But Tony is used to receiving the short end of things. Making it work was something he learned how to do early on.
Want Howard to pay attention to you? Endure his rants of the great Captain America.
Want the college kids to be your friend? Drink to show you're mature, and have sex to show your appeal.
Want the media's support? Use your Stark charm.
He may have been left with a kid risking his life swinging through cities, a disabled best friend, and a bruised ego the size of his tower. But that kid has more protection than the president, and Rhodey Bear has the best braces a Stark can make. Moving Stark Industries into prosthetics has fixed the dip in stock caused by the "Civil War," and it almost feels like nothing ever happened.
Except…
Except he's not Ironman anymore. A shield to the already fragile chest of one Tony Stark isn't something he can fly away from so easily. But he did crawl away, and he'll take that over dying in some cold, abandoned Hydra base any day.
It's almost poetic; he became Ironman in Afghanistan's smoldering heat and retired in Siberia's biting cold.
He rose from the fire a savior of others.
But he was born in the cold to save himself.
"You need to get out the tower Tony, find a hobby, go feed the birds, do something," exasperated Pepper, "But you can't keep moping around here and bothering R&D. You submitted enough new designs for them to go over and start production on. You are hovering, and it's just making them nervous."
"Pep, the light of my life, CEO of my company…. I am bored," whined Tony.
They were in Peppers office, having just finished a meeting with the R&D team earlier. Since Tony's forced retirement, he's been pushing designs out at a pace the company wasn't used to. With all the extra time he's had these past few months, Pepper was starting to realize just how much energy Tony reserved for the Avengers gear, the Mother Henning over the interns was also a giveaway.
"Tony, you have so much time on your hands. Don't you want to discover a new passion?" sighed Pepper. She kicked off her shoes as she leaned back in her chair. Tony could see just how stressed Pep was with her eyes shut like that. It seems he may have miscalculated how much exposure to himself Pep could take. When she opened her eyes back, she gazed at him softly. "Tony… I love you. I really do, and I may not fully understand what's going on in your head, but I know you. You're using the company as a distraction… and I let you these past few months. But you're hovering… over me and everyone else here."
Tony sputters as his face turns beat red. "I'm just trynna make myself useful." He strides over the lean at the side of Pepper's desk. "I know I'm here all the time now, but it can't be that ba-"
"My secretary complained that you got my coffee and took my calls… after you made her scoot over so you could sit with her behind HER desk Tony."
“…Okay. Maybe I shouldn't have done that. But I did get you your favorite blend! No one knows coffee like me!"
She smiles as she softly touches Tony's elbow. He can tell whatever she's about to say she means. "Tony I'm banning you from the building for the next month."
“Wait Wh-”
"You need to find something else to do with your days Tony. Work and Sleep aren't the only things out there. Go take walks. Adopt a pet. Go on a date" Pepper sighs as she grips his elbow tighter, "Don't stop living. Ironman was not the best part of you."
But it was my most important, He thinks solemnly
"Nor was it the most important." She states as she narrows her eyes dangerously.
"You really gotta teach me how you do that Pep. Are you sure you don't have a mutant gene?" Tony quips.
"You don't pay me enough to tell you if I did Tony" She smiles, "Now go home and talk to Vision, he has something important to share."
“Welcome home, Bossman. Ms. Potts informed me and Vision you'd be coming home early. Vision is in the Common area waiting for you."
"Thanks, Baby girl. He's not trying to make cupcakes, again is he?" Tony shudders as he remembers that last match Vision gifted him.
“No sir. He's moved onto muffins, something about working his way back up to cupcakes. It's pretty impressive for someone created from Jarvis programming he's a pretty bad baker." Friday quips.
Tony huffs out a laugh as he enters the elevator. "He's being too technical. Baking is as much science as it is fun Friday." He exits the elevator and sees Vision staring intently at a Stark Pad sitting at the Island. "Intimidating the recipe won't help you bake it."
"Mr. Stark you have arrived." Vision floats gracefully towards Tony, "Please let us sit on the couch, you've left to go to Stark Industries early this morning."
Tony follows Vision to sit down; it finally registers how much his feet hurt now that he's sitting. "What is it you got to share with me, Vis. Pepper made it seem important? Did you finally master that brownie recipe?"
"No, though I am quite hopeful that this muffin recipe will turn out wonderfully. This has to do with my … creation." He pauses as he looks up, uncertain, "I've been going over my code, and I've realized that it wasn't just pieces of Jarvis coding that were transferred into my being."
Tony freezes as he stares intently at Vision.
With my luck, he'll say the only coding transferred over from Jarvis is the voice component, Tony thinks bitterly.
Sensing his mood souring, Vision quickly adds, "Maybe it'll be best if we all just show him Friday?" Tony quirks an eyebrow as Vision turns away to speak to Friday. "Would that be best?"
"I don't see why not; his heart isn't that weak," Friday quips in a lighthearted voice, "But he is old, so let's not excite him too much"
“Community College! I will send you both to community college! I don't know how I'll get them to keep you Vis, but I'll find a way!" Tony cries out, offended. "My kid and my pseudo grandchild just disregarding my feelings I've-"
"Sir I do believe it is time to think of a new threat."