//------------------------------// // Chapter 120 – I Love You 3,000 // Story: Infinity Era // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// 120 Stark Residence Earlier That Night Dinner didn’t have any guests that night. It went mildly as expected. Delicious pot roast prepared by the exquisitely talented duo of Mr. and Mrs. Stark, and with a bottle of temperately cooled and aged fine wine to top it off. Or maybe two. Morgan didn’t get any and enjoyed the splendor of a tall sippy cup of milk. She complained about it, but Tony and Pepper wouldn’t hear a thing. Not until she was of age or when Pepper wasn’t looking. It was his turn for the dishes that night, Tony Stark left by the cruel fates to tend to every plate and cup exposed to their meal. In a way, Tony was grateful they didn’t have guests for that evening. Less plates to handle and more time for him to spend with Pepper on the couch. Perhaps more time for a little… something else. Stark pondered that, wondered if Morgan was still asleep so he and Pepper could actually have that much-needed alone time. That was what Tony wanted to think about. But he couldn’t. His mind kept drifting off back to earlier that day, when they received a few unexpected guests… and one very unexpected ghost coming back from the grave. It had been five long years since Tony left the Avengers, but by God it felt even longer than that. In a way, it didn’t feel long enough, what with a few years spent with his wife and daughter and now in comes the Avengers, the Princess of Equestria, and Scott Lang saying they could go back in time and reverse everything that ever happened. That was not a topic for discussion during dinner, but it lingered still. In the air and in the back of Tony’s cursed mind. The simple possibility, though… was greater. It continued to eat away at Stark’s mind and tried to overcome the doubt, the fear, the life that he had built with his family. Within that possibility came the overwhelming weight, the guilt of everything he was turning his back on. He turned his back on the Avengers five years ago, the world when he married Pepper, and now it would be the universe itself to top it all off if he ignored it a third time. It was slightly less painful the past two times. With his hands a shivering mess, Tony set down the plate and towel in the sink. He breathed in softly through his mouth and sighed a great deal when it finally released. He gazed out to the window, the fragments of the moons illuminated bright and beautiful across the starry night. Equus hung on the horizon, the lights across the planet’s surface almost as gorgeous. He could wake up the next day and see that planet gone, those moons mended, and everything turned back to normal like it was a flip of the switch. It was never that easy, though. It never could’ve been. Then his eyes had the audacity to fall to the rack of fine china, pictures, and other useless utensils of the past that Pepper just loved. He strode past the picture of his father and shakily gripped the one next to it, gazing softly to the framed image of him and a young, ecstatic Peter Parker. Both with their hands behind each other’s heads, bunny ears tall and obnoxious, and Peter having accidentally turned the Stark Internship certificate upside down. Tony smiled a closed grin, shaking his head at that. It was a smile that painfully shuddered, fell harshly when his eyes fell back to Peter. It never could’ve been. It was never that easy. He could turn his back on that, just like he did before. Maybe he would. Maybe he would fall asleep that night with another wretched nightmare haunting him in the back of his mind. Maybe it could be another gamble and Pepper’s warm embrace would shield him from the harshness of the reality he turned away from. Maybe was just a simple calculation, and maybe was something Tony Stark never took for an absolute. He was either all in or never turning back. Just that once, just that night… he ignored his own rules. Tony entered the living room and considered that maybe for the longest time, readjusting the dining table and clearing it of any unwanted decorations or scraps left over from dinner. He tapped twice in the heart of the table, stating quietly, “Homer, can you run a couple diagnostics for me?” The entire dining table lit up a gorgeous blue, the bright iris in the center blinking to life and meeting Tony’s disturbed and wondrous face. “Yes, sir. About what?” Homer asked just as quietly. “Run… time travel test numero uno.” “Time travel, sir?” Homer pondered, already setting up the hologram and test run. It formed a mighty and tall linear oval, breaking apart to create that road-like path that represented their current timeline. While it continued to morph and change, Homer continued to speak. “You’re actually considering what Captain Rogers and Mr. Lang—?” “Just… considering,” Tony interrupted, walking around the table cautiously, eyeing the hologram even more so. Save for the blue warmth of the hologram, not a single light was present in the dining area. Pepper was in the living room waiting for him and Morgan was fast asleep upstairs. He just needed a little more time to himself. A little more time to consider. “That’s what these tests are for.” “Right. Setting up test now.” The hologram began to react to what Stark tapped in, a timeline test set five years in the past. Hypothetically, if they were to enter the Quantum Realm in that moment, traverse to the time when Thanos had all six Stones and just before he snapped his fingers… they could get the drop on him. With a full arsenal and maybe with another hint of luck… they could pull it off. Only, things didn’t turn out the way they did in Stark’s head. The test failed, the various streams of lights breaking off from the road and diverging to other timelines separate to theirs. Completely and forever lost in time. Tony crossed his arms and shook his head. “Yeah, ya see, time flow is all jumbled up. There’s no telling where we could end up if we obey the laws of quantum physics.” “I didn’t take you for someone who knew his quantum physics, sir.” “Yeah, it’s a fun little read. You should give it a try,” Tony mumbled, jabbing his fingers into the hologram and setting new points for them to jump from and towards. Five years in the past didn’t work, but how about longer? Before Thanos found the Stones. Before any of them found the Stones. Tony tapped in a few years prior to the Snap, waving in the coordinates and stepping back. Homer chuckled at Tony’s comment. “I’ll keep that in mind. Beginning test two.” Another failure. No matter what, no matter what time he wanted to go towards, they would always branch off elsewhere entirely. Tony didn’t know much about the Quantum Realm, but from what Lang told him and the schematics Pym conjured up a lifetime ago that Stark… borrowed… there was still that chance that they could end up in that singular moment they desired. He just couldn’t find it. It was lost, like a needle in a haystack. If only he had a magnet. Maybe he did. Tony held out his hand after several minutes of scratching his goatee, pointing towards the hologram and asking, “What if… we didn’t obey the laws of quantum physics?” “Sir?” “What if Lang wasn’t just spouting hot air?” Stark continued, a fresh pulse of adrenaline flushing into his veins and filling his mind with renewed life. Tony jabbed and dragged furiously on the hologram, bringing up energy pulses Pym recorded years ago from the Quantum Realm and adding them directly to their paths. “What if we could control the chaos, use that energy to direct us specifically where we want to go? We’ll need… we’ll need a GPS or something; something to keep track of our locations in case one of us gets lost. Something to… turn us in the right path.” “Sir…” Tony stepped away and observed his work. “Something to bring us back.” “Sir!” Homer shouted, taking Tony out of his pipe dream and back to the reality of the real world. “This is sounding more than a consideration at this point. Even if we can manage to craft such a device, there’s still that possibility of undoing our present time… of losing what you’ve built.” And with the reality of the real world, it hurt. It hurt hard enough for Tony to feel it, taking a step back as if he was physically struck in the heart. He breathed rather harshly, gulping and muttering, “Yeah, there’s always that.” “I’m sorry, sir. It’s impossible to know. We can only theorize.” “Boy, you know me so well,” Tony murmured, leaning forward to rest his palms on the dining table. No matter what, he could only see that lone image of the hologram reflecting off the table’s surface. A theorization was more than he had been doing for years, and that was enough to lift Tony’s head and gaze back into it. “You just love it when I break my own rules.” “You’re meaning to follow that possibility, sir? All of it for a chance?” Tony gazed straight into their current timeline, eyes staring even further than that. “Yeah, I usually tended to make chances in the past, before you. Most of ‘em ended in mistakes… but let’s just see if this one will, too.” “Yes, sir. Beginning test three.” Tony didn’t expect much. By all means, it should have ended the same exact way as the others, if not make it slightly further back to the points in time Stark laid out. They weren’t exact points, but just any moment before Thanos acquired any of the six Infinity Stones. The hologram went on longer than the others, crafting a single path that didn’t end in failure. It returned. It completed a single, unbreakable loop back to the present time with all six Stones safe in their possession. Tony fell back into his chair. He lost his breath. He could only stare up to the hologram, didn’t even hear Homer’s words declare the test a success. From it, he could only see that path to undo the events of five years prior. A single journey, one that just might lead to his life remaining intact in the present. It proved to be a success in the test run. It worked. Tony Stark figured out time travel. Hands over his mouth, practically breathless, Tony shot out his arms and declared with a hefty and successful voice, “Shit!” “Shit.” Tony furrowed his brow at that, spinning about in his chair to see the little girl in her onesie sitting on the stairstep. Morgan stared up at her father innocently, that naïve smile plastered over her face. “What are you doing up?” Tony asked. “I thought I told you nighty-night?” Morgan smiled wider, repeating softly, “Shit…” “Nope,” Tony declared with a finger jammed in her direction. “You didn’t hear that from me; that’s your mother’s favorite word. She taught me it.” Playing with her toes, Morgan asked, “What are you doing up? Why didn't you wanna sleep?” “Because I got important shit going on here!” Stark said, thumb pointed to the hovering, glowing hologram. Morgan stared quizzically at him, Stark instantly regretting his actions and beginning his work on the damage control. “Scratch that, you didn’t hear it,” he told her, rising out of his chair and scooping the giggling, writhing child in his arms. “I’m taking you back to bed, missy.” It was a hard-fought battle up the stairs and back into Morgan’s room, Tony’s daughter refusing to stay still in his arms. It especially didn’t help that Tony offered his own plethora of tickles to her stomach and armpits, the bundle of cuteness laughing uncontrollably even as Tony laid her in bed. “Tucked in. Little… ghost light here. Who am I kidding? You’re braver than me. No night-light. Huh, is that a fair compromise?” Stark asked. After she managed to compose herself, Morgan settled in her cushions and blanket, staring up at her father with wide, hopeful eyes. “A story would be better.” “I’ve already told you the best ones,” Tony argued. After seeing the look of disappointment fill her features, Tony felt a pang of guilt cloud his heart. Not his mind, as something else entirely consumed that. Still, he offered his daughter a sweet smile, bending forward and kissing her forehead. “I’ll wake you up if I got a better one. Goodnight, kiddo.” He rose up to full height, opening her door to make his exit. “Love you tons.” But he stopped. When she said, “I love you 3,000.” It wasn’t everyday someone could have a heart attack from an overwhelming wave of warmth. However, the words that escaped Morgan’s lips caught Tony to a standstill, the man seemingly frozen, unable to process it. Sure, she told him that she loved him before, but it was that simple statement… that ridiculous assumption of how love could be counted by a number that held him. It was childish, foolish… and everything he could have ever wanted to hear. “3,000? Wow…” Tony breathed, blinking to come back to the real world and the life he built within it. He stared down to Morgan with that warm smile on his lips, pushing past the door and shutting it behind him. “All right, go to sleep, or I’ll sell all your toys.” Morgan grew that devilish and playful smile as the darkness filled her room. But she slept well that night. Nothing to disturb her as the realm of dreams took Morgan Stark on an adventure beyond imagination. With that taken care of, Tony made his way down the steps and weaving through the halls of his home, eventually making his way to the living room. There, waiting for him by the fireplace and the blazing orange and yellow flames was his wife. Pepper Stark sat with a book in her hands, her legs splayed on the couch cushions and showing her long, slender calves all the way up to her thighs, her short shorts a soft teal in the fire light. She also wore a white T-shirt, the straps of her black bra high on her shoulders while her shirt fell to the edges. Her golden blonde hair fell down to her back, swaying softly as she turned around to see her husband make his approach. Standing on the opposite end of the couch, Tony’s face held a strong smirk within the light of the fireplace, Pepper already worried on what it held. She smiled all the same, even as he told her, “Not to brag or anything, but Morgan loves me… 3,000. You were in the low… 600 category.” Laughing, Pepper closed her book and laid it on the coffee table. “Is that right?” she asked, rising up and meeting her husband halfway. She pushed him down to the couch, straddling him and throwing strands of her golden hair to her backside. They both met each other with smiles, Pepper’s wide as her arms fell on his shoulders and behind his head. “Well, guess who loves you more than 3,000?” Tony held that same, shit-eating grin. “Oh, let me have a wild guess.” She didn’t even let him try, sealing his mouth and his unceasing banter with her own lips. Soon, not only did the sounds of the popping fire fill the living room, but the soft smacks of Tony and Pepper’s lips meeting and breaking again and again did, as well. The warmth from the fireplace wasn’t alone, the rising heat building between the two lovers unceasing and unquenchable. Pepper could feel as Tony’s hands rose up to explore her body, resting on her hips as she slowly began to gyrate her lower body over him. Before anything could escalate out of control, Pepper forced herself to break away. She was breathless as she asked, “Morgan’s asleep, right?” “God, wouldn’t that be hilarious if she walked in on this?” Tony said, smiling up to her expression. “I’d blame it on you, temptress.” Pepper giggled, shaking her head. “Oh, shut up.” She kissed him again for several seconds on end. Under the cautious moonlight with the warm fire to soothe them into the comforting embrace both had formed, Pepper fully expected the night to be filled with passion. Instead, it was filled with growing angst, Tony slowly falling away from her lips and refusing to return her kiss. Pepper took a second to gaze onto Tony’s expression, seeing his eyes gaze elsewhere and that haunted, almost broken face turn away from her. “Tony? Is something wrong?” Pepper asked. He didn’t even say anything. She fell back on the couch cushion beside him, sighing sadly. “Not in the mood, are you?” “No, it’s not that, it’s just…” Tony tried to argue, failed, and tried again. “I can’t get it out of my head. Could’ve ignored it like I did for dinner, but now… Pep, I figured out time travel.” Her reaction was just as he imagined, perhaps even worse. Pepper’s shoulders deflated, that look of utter confusion filling her and refusing to let go. “I thought you said…?” “It was impossible,” Tony clarified, holding up his finger. “Was is the keyword here. After a few diagnostics… we might be able to change a couple things in the past if we take the right path. It’s a one-shot deal. But if we pull it off, things might stay the same for us.” He met her eyes and tried to find that same hope he had. Only, things never really turned out that way for him in the end. Pepper gazed onto her husband with that same look, a look added with the confusion, a look he had known for many, many years. Whenever he flew off to do something he wasn’t supposed to, possibly dragging her along with him, there was that look. The hopelessness. “Might is the keyword now,” Pepper added. Tony turned away, shaking his head and biting his lips. “I didn’t expect you to be on board. Hell, I’m still trying to paddle towards it. But I can’t lock this away, Pep. I can’t… throw it in the lake and keep it trapped there. There’s too much we can bring back.” Pepper scrunched her face into a look of pain, already seeming to know what was coming next. “And how much are you willing to sacrifice for that?” she asked, needing to know. “When I can bring myself to it…” Tony paused, slowly shifting his gaze away from the fire and onto her. The two stared deeply into one another, seeing all the years and conflict and turmoil that had ravaged their lives and their relationship worst of all. Neither one of them could turn away from it. They just couldn’t look away from the world they turned their backs on again. Especially him. Especially Tony. “… Whatever it takes.” Pepper was afraid of that. Afraid… but relentless nonetheless. Her life was torn asunder ever since the Decimation, leaving but a semblance of happiness with what she and Tony had crafted together. A home, a life, a daughter. They were so lucky but billions of others weren’t. So many others weren’t given that second chance that they got. Pepper knew that was for a purpose, and only now did she finally breathe in that revelation. Tony met her eyes, telling her soundly, “But if you want me to stop... I’ll stop.” To see her husband so willingly able to simply drop what he had discovered was admirable. It was courageous. It made her love him even more, if that was possible. Yet even given that opportunity to turn away again... Pepper couldn’t find herself doing that. So many lives unjustly taken and there they were living the rest of theirs in luxury. In rest. In solitude from the world and the horrors that filled it still. Pepper shook her head to that, shocking Tony for a second. Then she said it. “What if I didn’t want you to?” she asked quietly, burning eyes rising to meet his and see that same pain cloud it. To emphasize her new stance, where her heart fully lead her to, she leaned forward and fought harder. “This is our decision, Tony. Can’t say I’ve been particularly innocent with keeping my back turned on the world. You bring me this opportunity... God, do you think either of us can rest now?” Her eyes reflected the fires to their side, showing the withering tears and the pain flooding out. “Will you be able to rest?” she asked him, sincerity laid heavily in every syllable. Tony was caught on that. Thinking it over, tasting it, absorbing and breathing it again and again. “Maybe if I was by your side,” he offered quietly. “Do this for both of us,” Pepper assured him, the tone of her voice stronger and much more confident in her decision, finally feeling her heart fall in the right place in a long time. There was always that unfathomable darkness that clouded her, the guilt she felt for five years. For the first time, it was finally being lifted. Maybe it was the right path. Her hands fell into his, holding her husband tight as she asked, “One path?” “One path,” Tony assured her, kissing her palm and holding her even tighter. “Then I’m coming back home… to both of you.” She was on board. It took some convincing—more so for himself—but there she stood, with him until the end of the line, knowing full well that whatever plan he had in mind wasn’t guaranteed. Nothing was ever guaranteed for them. It was always a gamble. There was always the risk when in love with the Iron Man, and Stark finally realized maybe there was more than just an absolute to his life. Everything he had ever done, ever known, ever wished for… was a maybe. It was time to take that next step. There was just one more thing to take care of. One more maybe. He made sure no one was present when he did it.