Chapter Text
“Hello?”
“Hey, Tony,” said Natasha, and Tony immediately sighed.
“Let me guess,” he said, rolling his eyes slightly. “You’ve lost another Infinity Stone.”
“The Mind Stone,” said Natasha, and from her tone of voice alone Tony knew she was laughing at him. “At this point you should just keep them there.”
“I can’t,” he complained, making a gesture for FRIDAY to find out where the damn stone was currently hiding. “What if Morgan accidentally touches it or tries to use it? She’s too smart for her own good.”
Ever since they had returned to the world of the living, the Infinity Stones had been very reluctant about separating themselves from him.
According to Stephen Strange - who Tony could not deny was nice company when he wasn’t being an arrogant ass or sending him off to die - the Infinity Stones they had acquired during the Time Heist had ‘gone back where they came from’, and the branches he and the Avengers had created by stealing them had also been erased and repaired. Tony had questions, but so long as a sudden tear in the space time continuum did not suddenly materialise, he was ready to leave the magic bullshittery to the magic bullshitters.
However, the stones of this Universe - the ones that Thanos had supposedly destroyed back in 2018 - had followed him from the Soul World into this world, bringing back balance (at least magically) to their Universe. But while the Time Stone had agreed to go back to the Order of Kamar Taj and Stephen, the other Stones seemed to take exception to being sent away.
The first time Tony had walked into his house and found the other five stones he had given away waiting for him on his kitchen table he had nearly had a stroke.
And since then, no matter how far he sent them, some of them - Soul and Mind in particular - tended to just show back up in his house, ready to bother him with their smug energy. Something about liking him best because he could talk back to them and understand them.
It was annoying, and while usually they went back by themselves, Tony sometimes ended up having to have someone come and take them back away.
“I’m sure the Infinity Stones would stay away from your daughter if you asked them to,” pointed out Nat and while she was not, technically, incorrect, Tony did not acknowledge it.
“How are things there, anyway? No, I am not asking in a ‘can I help’ sort of way, I am asking in a ‘morbid curiosity’ kinda way,” he quickly added, before she could even try it.
It was still so shocking to hear her voice over the phone again. To have her, once more alive.
Tony had not really had time to fully mourn her before he too had died, but he had felt the grief of her death even as he fought on the battlefield.
Hell, it was still shocking that Tony himself was alive (he had, thankfully, managed to erase the video he had left behind before anyone but FRI could see it, and then profusely apologized to his other baby girl. FRIDAY had been too happy about having him standing before her alive to actually be mad)(god he was so glad Pepper and Morgan and the rest of his family had never gotten the chance to see it before he had destroyed it).
Things were not normal, of course. Bruce had done his best when he had snapped everyone back, but there was a bunch of stuff he had not considered.
After all, it was in humanity’s nature to move on, and in the world’s nature to change.
Families had broken after the snap, some new ones had been created. Houses gone, borders restored, children adopted... it was a mess.
That was what the Avengers were dealing with, right now. Rogers and others had tried to pull him in again about a week after his return, but Tony had politely refused to join onto that venture again. When they had insisted and tried to guilt him, Pepper, Rhodey, Natasha, Thor, Stephen and Gamora had declined for him, this time far less politely than before.
It had been hilarious, Tony watched the footage whenever he felt sad, and the sight of Rogers face going paler than it was humanly possible remained the funniest thing ever.
SI was helping as much as they could, but Tony was quite content living as he had these past five years, thank you very much.
With some improvements.
Now the Avengers were being led by Natasha and Rhodey, and Tony felt no need to put on his suit unless he wanted to give Morgan a little show or he wanted to fly around with JARVIS a little.
“Things are good, Tony,” said Natasha. “Don’t worry about us. I’m running a tight ship around here, and everyone is too happy about having me back to ever try and contradict me.”
“You’re so lucky,” he grumbled. “My grace period was three hours before Pepper informed me that ‘I died!’ was not a funny nor understandable excuse anymore.” He saw Peter’s hand waving at him from the doorway and smiled. “Gotta go now. I’ll have Pete or Stephen bring you back the stone when they leave. You coming for the Fourth of July?”
“Gonna be spending it with Laura,” said Natasha, sighing slightly. “Things between her and Clint are... yeah. I think she might actually end up going through with the divorce, this time around.”
“Oh,” said Tony. Because really, what else could he say? ‘Ronin’ might have thought his family was gone forever and thus that his actions were excused but now they were back and his actions were on the channel four news. Because of his costume choice and his involvement in the final fight, people knew who he was, and well. It was just all very yikes.
And banding together again or not, Tony was not inclined to forgive that comment on Rhodey anytime soon. Like with Rogers, Barnes and Maximoff, he did not hate him. He just did not want to spend any amount of time with him ever again, if he could help it.
“Yeah. I’ll text you when I’m free next, and I can swing by or something.”
“Great,” agreed, Tony, making a face as Harley joined Peter in the doorway. “See you around, Nat.”
“See you, Tony.”
He ended the call and then rolled his eyes, opening the glass door. “You two are annoying together.”
“Your fault, you made us meet,” informed him Harley, expertly evading his hand when Tony reached to ruffle his hair.
Peter just grumbled under his breath as Tony pulled him under his arm, but he did not protest or try to get away. Tony was hoping Peter would return to behaving more like Harley soon enough but, unlike Harley, he knew Peter had heard the sound of his heart stopping on that battlefield.
If Tony had nightmares about the dusting five years later, he really did not want to think about what Peter’s current nightmares were like.
Might have taken him the boy dying and having a biological daughter, but he had finally accepted the role he had been taking in the young boy's life.
The kitchen was completely full as they walked in, and Tony’s smile grew slightly.
“Daddy!” shouted Morgan, seeing him appear and shooting like a bullet towards him. Tony caught her - there would never be a time he wouldn’t catch her - and his smile grew even bigger as he held his daughter in his arms.
He had really thought that he might never get to do this again.
“Hey, Morguna mine, what’s up?” he asked her, pressing a kiss on her cheek.
“Me, Nebula and Jarvis made matching scooby doos,” she informed him, showing him a pink rubber... something. “I made one for you.”
“For me?” he asked, eyes wide in shock. “Woah. Thank you. I think this is going to look fantastic with my Versace suit. Or the Iron Man armour.”
"It goes with everything," she informed him, smiling smugly. “I’m gonna make one for mom next, and then uncle Rhodey and then uncle Happy. Should I make one for the doctor wizard as well?”
Stephen shot him a glare from where he was sat beside Rhodey, and Tony just smirked right back at him. He was very glad that the nickname was catching on.
“Ask him first, so you know what colour he likes,” he offered. Stephen seemed to be a little afraid of little kids in general, which Tony found very funny for a guy who used to work in hospitals.
“And I’ll make one for Loki too,” she said decidedly, as Tony put her down.
The Trickster was currently explaining something to an intrigued Nebula that had Tony's well trained father sense tingle in suspicion. The blue stabby siblings were totally planning something.
Loki too was an interesting addition to Tony’s ragtag circle of friends and family. He randomly turned up, sometimes, and Morgan had been completely taken by him at first sight. Pepper had been wary at first, but he never caused any harm, and unlike Stephen he seemed to enjoy spending time with her. And Harley and Peter seemed to like him too, which did not say much for Peter, but did say a lot from Harley.
Both him and Tony were attempting to help Thor work through his alcoholism and depression, but it was hard with Thor refusing to speak to an Earth specialist and Tony living so far away from New Asgard. And sometimes Loki needed some time to himself too, which was of course valid.
Tony had tried to pull the Valkyrie in his circle as well, but she was very socially awkward - even more so than Nebula. She was nice to have a drink with, but social interactions and normal overturns of friendship were not her forte.
He had half expected Nebula to go with her sister when Gamora had left Earth, but the woman hadn't. He had not seen their reunion after she had come back to life, trying to deal with everyone in his vicinity bawling like someone had just died (eh), but according to Nebula, they had patched things up. Gamora had stayed on Earth for about two weeks, and then Nebula had returned to cabin, a little uncertain. Tony had just showed her to her room, and the rest was history.
“Are you happy?” came Pepper’s voice from behind him.
He turned around, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him. She huffed but did not resist, instead smiling up at him.
He loved her smile.
“I’m grateful,” corrected Tony, looking over at the rest of the room once more. May and Happy were talking to each other, still sitting at the table together, blushing at whatever they were saying. Peter and Harley were alive and undusted, and clearly plotting something in a corner of the room. Jarvis, who had seemed to find a common ground with Nebula ever since his return and was the best older brother FRIDAY could have asked for, was now talking to Nebula about something, excitedly gesturing - his mannerism was so similar to Tony's own, it was sort of uncanny - at her metal arm. Rhodey, Stephen and Harley’s mom seemed locked in an argument, but they were smiling too, which meant it was nothing serious. And Loki was sitting on the floor with Harley’s sister and Morgan, earlier conversation with Nebula shelved as he listened carefully to whatever the two of them were talking to him about.
Perhaps not exactly a family in the conventional sense, and perhaps missing some people (Vision had once more decided to take off with Maximoff - who’s tearful and heartfelt gratitude after Tony had 'brought him back to life' had been a very awkward event to suffer through - and while Tony missed him, he also felt somewhat... freed), and with some people he wasn’t quite sure he trusted that much yet, but still... a family, of sorts.
“We’ve all been through a lot.”
“Especially my family,” played from one of FRIDAY's speakers above, confusing more than one person. “We’ve all been through a lot.”
“Was I quoting Frozen?” questioned Tony, both amused and appalled, and Pepper only laughed at his expression, while Morgan immediately joined in with FRIDAY and, surprisingly, Nebula.
“I know how fragile things could be... If I lost them, I’d lose me! They’re my ocean, they’re my shore... I wanna give them more. They’re my home...”
“My home...” joined Tony, taking Pepper’s hand in his. She accepted it easily, giggling slightly, and Tony’s heart soared.
Especially when she joined in with him, as they ‘danced’ around the room, Morgan and Nebula (less excitedly than the first, but still doing it) dancing around too, to the bemusement and amusement of everyone else, “Bless this happiness we found! Bless this good and solid ground! Our home! Our home!”
(Our home, our home, our home, our home, our home, our home, our home...)
Yeah, thought Tony, watching the bright smiles of his wife and his daughter, ignoring the rest of his Iron Kids cheering them on and the rest of his friends and family laughing or mocking and filming them.
I’m home.