Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In 2008, Rhodey was frantically looking for Tony.

Just a few minutes earlier, Tony had won that year’s Apogee Award, but he hadn’t shown up. No surprise there— the genius almost never attended important events.

Because of that, Rhodey was left with the task of delivering the award to him, but that wasn’t so easy when you didn’t know where the man was.

After some time looking for him, the Colonel found Tony in a casino, surrounded by women. No surprise there either.

Rhodey handed him the award, which Tony immediately passed to a random woman beside him. Rhodey just watched his friend gamble a bit more before they left.

·.·.·

In 2023, Peter was working on a machine in Tony’s lab.

Peter had moved into the Starks’ cabin after Aunt May married Happy. May hadn’t been “blipped,” and Happy was the one who broke the sad news about her nephew. After a while, Happy and May started talking. Talking became dating, and three years later, they got engaged. So when Peter came back, May and Happy got married.

Peter didn’t approve at first, but when he saw how much Happy loved May, how well he treated her and how happy he made her, Peter eventually accepted it. May couldn’t be happier. Happy was still a bit afraid of the boy, but that faded over time. Surprisingly, he grew very fond of his new nephew. He was much better with kids now after Morgan.

Tony had survived the snap against Thanos, though he lost an arm and was in a coma for a few months. As for the arm, he built a prosthetic. It looked just like the Iron Man suit, and he always said it didn’t even feel like he was missing a real arm—though Peter had his doubts. Happy and May’s wedding happened a few weeks after Tony woke up and recovered at home. Peter met Morgan at his aunt’s wedding, and, as everyone predicted, the two bonded quickly. Morgan called him “brother” even though Peter kept saying he wasn’t—though he didn’t mind the title. Not in a negative way.

When May and Happy went on their honeymoon, Peter stayed at the Stark house. He told them not to worry, that he’d be fine alone at home, but Tony obviously disagreed and brought him to stay with them. Surprisingly, Peter already had a room in Tony’s house—but he tried not to think too much about that. Peter spent most of his time locked in his room. At first, Pepper told Tony that he probably just needed time to adjust—it’s not every day you wake up five years in the future. But on the fourth day, Tony went to talk to him.

It took a lot of insistence, but Peter eventually told Tony the truth. And when he did, Tony’s heart shattered. Peter said he was staying in his room because he didn’t want to interfere with Tony’s family. Tony’s family. Didn’t the boy understand he was part of that family? After a long talk, Peter finally seemed to understand just how much Pepper and Tony loved him and that he was part of their family.

Then, May and Happy returned. Tony talked to May and proposed adopting Peter. May was married to Happy, who was constantly at the Stark house, so she wouldn’t lose contact with Peter. They would both gain a new family, and it would be good for everyone. May agreed, knowing how much the Starks had done for her boy, and she wanted him to have parental love again. He’d even have a little sister! She wouldn’t deny him that. But it was his choice. Peter hesitated a bit but ended up accepting. Not long after, everything was made official. Tony and Pepper had custody, and they were officially his parents, and Morgan was his little sister. He had a family again, and he couldn’t be happier.

It was a Saturday, and Tony and Pepper had gone out for lunch, so Peter and Morgan stayed home. Morgan was playing outside while Peter was working on a machine in Tony’s lab. The machine was meant to enable time travel, but something kept going wrong. He had tried to adjust the formula countless times, but something always failed. He had found a formula he was almost sure would work, but after so many failures, he didn’t have much hope left.

Then, as he inserted the new formula, a white light filled the room. Peter squeezed his eyes shut due to the brightness. It lasted only a few seconds before it vanished. And once again, nothing happened. Or at least that’s what Peter thought.

He dropped his head onto the table with a loud thud, frustrated. He had tried everything, and nothing had worked.

He stayed there for a few minutes until Morgan ran into the lab, yelling his name.

·.·.·

Tony opened his eyes with a splitting headache.

It felt like he was hungover, and honestly, he didn’t doubt that. He stood up and realized he was in a forest. Confused, he tried to remember how he got there. The last thing he remembered was leaving with some woman—but he didn’t remember who. No surprise there either.

If he was in a forest now, who brought him here? He began to worry until he heard a voice he knew very well.

“Tony?” Tony turned around and saw that he wasn’t the only one who had apparently ended up in the forest. Rhodey was standing, alternating his gaze between Tony and two unconscious people leaning against a tree. Tony approached and saw that the two people were Pepper and Happy. Suddenly, they began to wake up. Pepper was the first to fully regain consciousness.

“Where are we?” she asked, starting to panic.

“No idea,” Rhodey replied. Then Happy and Pepper stood up, and Happy began walking around, probably trying to figure out where they were. The others followed.

“I don’t get it, did we spend the night in the woods? The last thing I remember was nighttime, but it’s clearly daytime now,” Rhodey said after a while. Tony just shrugged.

“I’d really like to know why they brought all of us. Usually, the problem is just me,” Tony added.

They walked a bit further until they found a cabin. They passed by a small playhouse and what looked like a leisure area, probably belonging to whoever lived in the cabin. It was all very charming, but not Tony’s style at all. He preferred modern, high-tech things, not something as rustic as this. Still, he couldn’t deny the place was beautiful and cozy.

“Maybe we could ask whoever lives there for some information,” Happy suggested, and they began walking toward the cabin’s entrance—until a child’s voice spoke behind them.

“What are you doing?” she asked, and they all turned around. Standing there was a little girl wearing... a helmet? What was that? It didn’t exactly look like a helmet, but it resembled one. She also had a glove with a round LED light in the center of her palm.

“Sweetie, do you live here?” Pepper asked, crouching to the girl’s level. The girl nodded, and Pepper continued, “Could you call your parents?” The girl shook her head no.

“Why not?”

“Mommy and Daddy went out to eat at a restaurant. They’ll be back at three-thirty.”

Tony scoffed. He didn’t like kids. The chance of this girl giving accurate information was low. She probably just made up a number. If she was right and her parents weren’t home, they wouldn’t be leaving as quickly as he hoped.

“Are you alone?” Rhodey asked, and the girl shook her head.

“I’m with my brother. He’s inside. I can call him if you want.”

“Please,” Pepper asked. The little girl ran into the cabin and went to her father’s lab.

“Petey, Petey! You need to come outside,” she said excitedly.

“What happened, Morg?” Peter asked, picking her up.

“Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Rhodey, and Uncle Happy are outside, but they look really young,” she said, giggling. “I almost didn’t recognize Uncle Happy. He doesn’t have a beard, Petey.”

Peter frowned, wondering who was outside their house. Should he grab his suit?

“Morgs, you know you’re not supposed to touch Mommy’s suit. It’s dangerous and might get damaged,” Peter said, taking off Morgan’s helmet with his free hand. He stepped outside and came face to face with the younger versions of his parents and uncles.

“What is this?” he asked, and the others turned toward him.

“You must be her brother. Could you give us some information?” Happy asked.

“What kind of information?”

“Where are we?” young Tony asked.

“Georgia. 2023,” Peter replied. His spider-sense wasn’t going off. In fact, he felt calm, which could only mean these people in front of him really were his family from the past. He just had no idea how it happened.

“How?” Tony asked.

“You’re in 2023. How did you get here?”

“2023?!” Pepper asked, shocked. How was that possible?

“Kid, there must be some mistake,” Rhodes said, stunned.

“Of course there is,” Tony snapped. “The brat is clearly messing with us.”

Peter didn’t like how the nickname his father used for him sounded coming from this Tony. When his dad called him “brat,” it was full of affection. This Tony said it coldly and with irritation. It gave him chills. He didn’t want to hear that tone again.

Peter set the helmet down on the little table and put Morgan on the ground.

“Piccola, why don’t you go play in your house while I handle this?” he said, crouching to her level. The girl nodded and waved to her young family before running to her playhouse.

Peter pulled something from his pocket none of the visitors could identify.

“It’s a phone,” he said, likely noticing their confusion. “This should be enough to prove it. Look.” He showed Tony the phone screen, which clearly displayed the year: 2023. Tony had no reaction. It was a lot to process.

“This tech doesn’t exist in your time. It’s far too advanced. Am I lying, Tony?” Peter asked flatly. He didn’t like this version of Tony and had no interest in being polite to him.

“He’s telling the truth. The kid’s right. We’re in 2023,” Tony said, stunned.

Chapter Text

Tony was still in shock. How was it possible? How had they ended up there? How was time travel possible?

"Do you know how you got here?" Peter asked.

"We have no idea," Tony replied. He still didn't know why he was being nice to the kid—probably because he was in an unfamiliar place, and the boy was the only one who seemed to understand what was going on.

"I might have an idea of how it happened," Peter said, a little worried. How could he forget? He had been working on a time machine. If they were here, then it probably had worked—but not the way he'd intended. He was supposed to travel through time, not bring people from the past into the future.

"Are you the one who brought us here?" Tony asked, getting closer to Peter, starting to get irritated again.

"I don't know. Maybe," Peter answered hesitantly. He knew that the present-day Tony would never hurt him or Morgan, but he also knew that the old Tony didn't exactly like kids or teenagers. He couldn't help stepping back a bit. "But I'll try to fix it."

"Try? You'll try ? Trying isn't enough. How can I be sure this is going to work?" Tony said, angry. Peter stepped back again but quickly straightened up. He was Spider-Man. He had no reason to be afraid of a Tony Stark who didn't even have his suit yet.

"If I was able to bring you here, I can probably send you back," Peter said coldly, slowly stepping toward Tony. Tony flinched just slightly—but it was noticeable. He wasn't used to people confronting him like that. Everyone always feared him because of his influence, but apparently this kid didn't. Tony would never admit it out loud, but the boy slightly bruised his ego. Who even was this kid?

"You can sit down if you want," Peter added, calming his tone a bit. Time travel was exhausting.

Morgan walked up to the group and climbed onto Peter's lap.

"Are you going to tell Mom and Dad?" she asked.

"I don't have a choice, Maguna. Oh my God, Dad's going to kill me," Peter said, eyes widening. Morgan let out a small giggle.

They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes before Morgan suddenly started laughing uncontrollably. Everyone turned to her, startled.

"Why is she laughing?" Tony asked.

"You guys are funny. Especially you," Morgan answered, pointing at Happy.

"What do you mean?" Happy asked, clearly offended. His expression was actually funny.

"You're all so young. And you don't even have a beard, Happy!" Morgan replied simply.

"Morgan!" Peter scolded. He knew that eventually, they would find out they were family—and yeah, it would be funny, and he was looking forward to it—but he still didn't know how to explain it. He was hoping to leave that hard part to Tony. Morgan casually calling Happy by name wasn't helping.

"How does she know my name?" Happy asked, more confused than before.

"She saw you on TV," Peter replied. He was getting better at making up quick answers. He didn't think lying was a good thing, but sometimes, keeping details hidden was necessary. And technically, he wasn't lying, Morgan had seen her uncle on TV.

They didn't have to sit in silence much longer, though—Peter heard the sound of the back door unlocking. His parents were finally home.

"My parents are back. I'll go get them to help. They'll probably figure out somewhere for you to stay in the meantime. I'll be right back. Come on, Maguna," Peter said, heading toward the back door, expecting to see Tony and Pepper, but only Pepper came in.

"Hey, sweetheart. Everything okay? You look worried," she said as she walked over to Peter and kissed the top of his head. She also gave Morgan a hug and a kiss.

"Hi, Mom. Where's Dad?"

"He dropped me off and went back out. He went to pick up a few things. He should be back soon. Why?"

"Let's just say... we've got some guests."

"Guests, Pete? What do you mean?"

"See for yourself," he said, pulling the curtain aside and revealing the younger versions of Pepper, Tony, Happy, and Rhodey. Pepper's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"What is this, Peter?"

"Maybe I built a time machine... and maybe something went a little wrong... and maybe I don't know how to send them back yet," Peter said, lowering his head, bracing himself for the scolding.

What he didn't expect was laughter. Not forced, not angry, but genuine laughter.

"Pete, this is going to be hilarious," Pepper said. Peter looked up, surprised.

"You're not mad?"

"A little. I'm upset you didn't tell us what you were working on. Tony could've helped you. But this? This is hilarious. I remember that time so well—Tony was still a total jerk. And look at Happy! Just wait until I tell May," she said, clearly amused.

Peter had to admit—it was a funny situation. But he had been so stressed about getting them back to their time that he hadn't let himself laugh about it.

"Are they going to stay outside, Mommy?" Morgan asked.

"You're right, sweetheart. We need to figure out where they'll stay. Can you check if the guest rooms are empty? I'll come up and help you in a bit."

Morgan nodded excitedly. She felt important having such a big task, and she ran off toward the guest rooms.

Peter looked out the window. They were talking among themselves, probably wondering how to get back home.

"How do we tell them, Mom?"

"We'll just say I'm your mom—and that alone will be enough to send their heads spinning. We're not going to say who your dad is—we'll just say he's not home right now and will help when he gets back. This is going to be amazing."
Peter could see her eyes gleaming with amusement. It had been a while since something exciting happened. And let's be honest—peace was never really an option when your husband is Tony Stark and your son is Spider-Man. She was loving every minute of it. Peter had to admit—it would make a great movie.
"I'm going to check on Morgan, then I'll go talk to them."

With that, Peter stepped outside to speak to the group.

"So... my dad's not home yet—just my mom. Without him, there's not much we can do to send you back. But she's going to help you get settled in. She's just wrapping up a few things and will be here soon."

"She's okay with all of this? I mean... technically, we're strangers in her house," young Pepper said, looking a little worried about intruding.
If only she knew...

"You don't have to worry. Actually... she found the whole thing pretty funny," Peter said with a small smile. It was clear that Pepper had always been amazing. He admired his mom a lot.

"She thought it was funny?" Tony snapped.

"Come on, Tones. You can't say this isn't a little funny," Rhodey added with a grin. Tony just rolled his eyes. The whole situation was giving him a splitting headache—and it just kept getting worse.

"So you're the guests Pete was talking about," said older Pepper as she stepped outside with a warm smile.

And in that moment, everyone froze.

Chapter Text

"Pepper?" all the men shout at once.

"How is this possible?" younger Pepper asks.

"We traveled through time, anything is possible," Rhodey says, trying to mask his shock.

"Is he my son?" Pepper asks, still stunned. Peter would say she even seemed a little emotional.

"Yes, the best one," older Pepper says, wrapping an arm around her son. Peter felt a warmth he usually only felt after being adopted by the Starks. It was the warmth a child feels when praised by their parents. The kind of warmth you feel when your mom or dad is proud of you. Peter hadn’t known he missed having parents—until he had the Starks.

It’s like they say: you don’t miss what you never had.

Not that he’d never had proud parents. He was very young when his parents died, so he didn’t have much time to make them proud—or even remember them. Ben and May had always been proud of him, but it was a kind of pride that came from an uncle and aunt. It wasn’t the same. But that wasn’t the point.

"I’ve set up a few rooms for you. I can take you there if you’d like."

"I think it’s better to wait for Dad. He’ll probably help with the machine and give an estimate of how long it’ll take," Peter says, and Pepper nods.

"Can I ask a few questions?" young Pepper asks. The older Pepper nods, already bracing herself for the flood of questions the others would have too. "Are you married?"

Pepper nods with a wide smile.

"And do I already know him?"

"You do," the older one replies with a smile.

"Can’t you say who it is?" she asks, seemingly anxious. The others just watch silently.

"You’ll see him soon enough."

"Do we know him too?" Happy asks.

"Better than you think," Peter answers.

Before anyone else can say anything, Morgan comes running and jumps into her mom’s arms.

"I finished! Everything’s in order, Mommy. When is Daddy getting home? I miss him," Morgan mumbles the last part.

"He’ll be here soon, sweetheart. Peter, can you call your dad? I think it’s best if he knows ahead of time. That way, he can start thinking of a solution on the way."

"I’ll go with you, Petey. I wanna talk to Daddy too," Morgan says, hopping down from her mother’s lap and running to grab her older brother’s hand.

"Alright," Peter says, standing up and pulling his Starkphone from his pocket.

"Can I take a look at your phone?" Tony asks, frowning. Peter hands it to him. "Wow, this is incredible. Who made this?" Then Peter turns the phone, revealing the Stark Industries logo. "I made this?" Peter nods, and Tony looks surprised. Apparently, he’d gotten a lot smarter. "I bet I’m the cool uncle—the one who gives you all the best presents!" With that statement, Morgan bursts out laughing.

"You’re not the cool uncle, but you do give me lots of presents. I’m going to get the best one!" Morgan says, still laughing as she runs off. Tony is momentarily stunned, then regains his composure.

"Your kids are adorable," Rhodey says with a small smile.

"They are—but sometimes they annoy me with how much they’re like their father," Pepper says, looking toward the door they had just come through.

For some reason, Tony was unsettled by all of this. Not by the time travel itself, but by the fact that Pepper was married. He shouldn’t feel weird about her kids calling some guy he didn’t even know “dad.” He really shouldn’t. But he did. And to top it off, he wasn’t even the cool uncle. To them, he was probably just the guy who was their mom’s boss and sometimes gave them things—probably out of obligation. And he didn’t like that idea one bit. He thought about what Pepper had said earlier. He went over every man he, Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy knew who had brown eyes and hair—since her kids had those traits. He couldn’t think of anyone who could be their father. And he definitely didn’t like that.

He tried to distract himself by asking a question he was almost afraid to know the answer to. "So… do you still work at Stark Industries?"

"Yes, but not as much as before. I dedicate more time to my kids, especially Morgan, since she’s still little." Tony doesn’t know if he liked that answer, but he nods anyway. He was stressed. He needed a drink. He wished it were alcohol, but he doubted there was anything alcoholic in Pepper’s house.

"I think we should go inside. It’s starting to get chilly," she says, and everyone starts to get up and follow her inside.

"Your house is beautiful. And, with all due respect, you’re still stunning," Rhodey comments. Pepper smiles at him gratefully. Tony couldn’t deny it. Pepper had always been beautiful—and even after all these years, she still was. He also couldn’t deny that he felt something strange in his chest at his best friend’s compliment. What was that feeling?

"Thank you. You can sit wherever you’d like. Would anyone like something to drink? Coffee? Juice? Tea? Water? Milk? I think we have just about everything—except alcohol," she says, looking toward Tony. Right. She definitely remembered his drinking problem.

"Can I get a coffee?" Tony asks, a little awkwardly. What was happening? Tony Stark wasn’t like this. He was confident. He scared people—he wasn’t afraid of them. Stark men weren’t afraid of anything. His father had taught him that when he was younger.

·.·.·

Peter and Morgan went inside and headed straight for Peter’s room to call Tony. After one ring, Tony answered.

"Hey, kid! You alright?" Tony asks, a bit of concern in his voice.

"Depends on what 'alright' means to you."

"What do you mean, Underoos?"

"Daddy, Petey brought you, Mommy, Uncle Happy, and Uncle Rhodey from the past to the house!" Morgan shouts happily.

"Is that true, Pete?"

"Yeah…"

And then, Tony starts laughing.

"I can’t believe you did that. How?" he asks, catching his breath after so much laughing.

"I built a time machine, but it didn’t work quite the way I wanted. Can you help me take them back?"

"Of course, kiddo, of course. What year are they from?"

"Mom thinks it’s 2008."

"Perfect. I remember that year. This is gonna be good. Do they know anything?"

"They only know that Pepper is our mom. You should’ve seen it—past-you told Morgan that you were the cool uncle, and she straight-up laughed in your face. It was hilarious, Dad."

Tony bursts out laughing again.

"That must’ve been amazing. I need to think of a way to reveal that I’m married to Pepper."

"You could just show up and, I don’t know, kiss her?"

"Hmm, not a bad idea, but I think I can come up with something better. Something Tony Stark level."

"Okay... Are you almost here?"

"Almost, son. I’ll be there in about 35 minutes. Call Happy and May and tell them to come too."

"Alright. Love you, Dad."

"Love you tons, kiddo."

Then Peter calls Happy.

"Hey Happy. How are you? Can you and Aunt May come over—like, now?"

"Now? I think so. I’ll tell May to get ready." There's a moment of silence before Happy speaks again. "May’s getting ready. We’ll be there in about 40 minutes. Why the urgency, kid?"

"Petey brought you, Dad, Mom, and Uncle Rhodey from the past using a time machine, and now he can’t get them back to their time," Morgan reports again.

"I can’t believe this, Peter."

Peter wasn’t sure how to interpret his tone, but he assumed Happy found it funny. Why was everyone finding this funny? Peter couldn’t see the humor. Maybe a few parts. But hilarious? Not really.

"Uncle Happy, you look so funny. You don’t have a beard!" Morgan says, bursting into laughter again.

"What year are they from?"

"Mom thinks 2008," Peter explains.

"2008? Had Tony become Iron Man yet?"

"No, not yet. I think he came here just a few days before going to Afghanistan."

"So he’s still a womanizer. Has he figured out his future?"

"Not yet. Dad wants to make a big entrance before showing that he’s married to Mom."

"I definitely want to see that. I’ll go speed May up, kid."

"Bye, Uncle—" Peter freezes. The other end of the line goes silent. Even Morgan drops the Legos she was playing with and looks at Peter with wide eyes and a big smile.

"Bye, kid," Happy says softly, his voice full of emotion.

Peter had never called Happy "uncle" before. He used to purposely not call him that just to annoy him—and Happy would always get mad about it. What Peter didn’t know was that the anger was a cover for the sadness he felt. Peter even called Rhodey "uncle," and yet the man who was married to his aunt hadn’t earned the title until now. Hearing that from the boy was deeply moving for Happy. And a little embarrassing for Peter. He hadn’t meant to say it on a call—it had just slipped out. Peter took a deep breath and called Morgan to go back with him. She dashed ahead of him.

When Peter arrived, everyone was in the living room, holding drinks.

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" Morgan shouted, running toward her mom. Everyone’s attention turned to them.

"We called Daddy! He’s coming, and Aunt May too! Petey called Aunt May’s husband Uncle!" Morgan kept chattering excitedly as Peter turned beet red. He noticed that Morgan didn’t say Happy’s name. She was really smart.

Tony looked a bit uncomfortable hearing the child call some stranger "Dad" again. Who was this guy?

"You called him uncle, Pete?" Pepper asked with a wide smile, and Peter blushed even harder—if that was possible.

"It slipped out, Mom," Peter mumbled.

"Oh, honey, I bet it made him so happy," Pepper said, hugging him. Peter returned the hug, but quickly pulled back, embarrassed to remember they had an audience.

"Fratello, can you get me some juice?" Morgan asked Peter. He went to the cabinets, grabbed a glass, and poured some juice from the counter before handing it to Morgan.

"You speak Italian?" Tony asked the future Pepper. He knew perfectly well that Fratello meant brother in Italian. For her kids to know it, she must have taught them. And he didn’t remember that being on her resume. Maybe she would learn later on.

"I speak a little, but their father taught them. He always loved sharing what he knew with his children," Pepper said with a dreamy smile—and Tony felt even more uncomfortable with that answer. What was happening to him?

They chatted for a while. The group from the past was becoming more and more comfortable in the new setting—probably thanks to Pepper’s excellent hospitality. After a while, during conversations that thankfully didn’t compromise anything major, they heard a door open. A normal person wouldn’t have heard it, but when you’re in a strange house, expecting a strange man to show up, you can hear everything.

Seconds later, they heard the door close.

"Pepper?" a voice called out.

Chapter Text

"May? Oh, you came!" Pepper stood up and went to greet her guests, who were already like family. Peter also got up to greet them, but was brutally shoved back by a five-year-old child.

"Uncle!" Normally, Morgan would say his name too, but given the recent events, she wouldn’t say anyone’s name unless she was told to.

"Hey, little one," Happy said, bending down to her level to give her a tight hug. Morgan hugged him back, and Happy picked her up in his arms. But that only lasted until she saw May.

"Aunt May!" Morgan said, stretching out her little arms toward her. May didn’t hesitate to pick her up and immediately wrapped her in a hug.

"Hi, Morg! I heard you guys have visitors. Where’s Peter?"

"Yeah, where is Peter?" Happy asked. He wanted to give the boy a big hug after today’s events.

"I’m here. I got a little stuck in the room. They bombarded me with questions about who had arrived and—" Peter was interrupted by a hug from Happy. At first, Peter was surprised, but then he hugged him back.

"You’ve lost the right to call me Happy, got it? It’s Uncle for you now!" Happy said, pulling back from the hug.

Peter nodded, laughing, and went to greet May.

"Hi, Aunt May," he said, giving her a side hug, careful not to bump into Morgan in her arms.

"Hi, honey. How are you?"

"Worried about all of this."

"I already told you everything’s going to be fine, sweetie," Pepper said, calming Peter down a bit.

Morgan asked to get down and took both Happy and May’s hands, running to the living room.

"These are Happy, Tony, Pepper, and Rhodes," Morgan said, pointing to each of them. "They’re from… um… What year are you guys from?" she asked.

"2008," Rhodey answered with a slight smile. He really liked that kid.

"This is my uncle and aunt," Morgan said, pointing to Happy and May.

"What are your names?" Rhodey asked. Tony still had his head down, while Pepper and Happy were observing them with curiosity. May and Happy looked toward Pepper and Peter, who had just entered the room, and they both nodded. The travelers found the man’s face somewhat familiar.

"I’m Happy, and this is my wife, May," Happy said, putting an arm around May, who waved lightly. With that, Tony lifted his head for a quick glance but quickly lowered it again. Happy was the uncle, not him. Young Happy blushed a little and felt lucky to be married to such an amazing woman. To be honest, Happy never expected to get married. After the introductions, May went to the kitchen with Pepper. They needed to talk about everything that was going on.

"I have a beard and wear glasses?" younger Happy said after a long silence. He wanted to ask about the wife part but didn’t have the courage.

"Yeah, age catches up with everyone," older Happy said, and everyone laughed.

"Are you still a security guard?" Tony asked, lifting his head.

"Sort of. Sometimes. But I’m also a babysitter for these two."

"Hey! I don’t need a babysitter, Uncle!" Peter said, blushing.

"Sure, kid, sure," Happy said with a small smile. It was the second time Peter had called him “uncle” that day. He was over the moon.

"So, seems like you’re very present in the family, huh?" Tony asked, and Happy noticed the jealousy in his voice. So he teased him.

"Oh yeah. I come here all the time. We celebrate almost every holiday together. And I’m the kids’ favorite uncle," Happy said, and everyone from the future understood what he was doing, even Morgan.

"One of the favorites, Uncle," Morgan said, stretching out her little arms for Happy to pick her up. He didn’t hesitate. Tony lowered his head, and that didn’t go unnoticed.

"You know Pepper’s husband, right?" Rhodey asked.

"Yes, I don’t like him," May said, entering the room with Pepper, who gave her a playful slap on the arm. May laughed lightly. "He’s arrogant and spoiled."

"And has a huge ego," Happy added. Peter and Pepper noticed they were enjoying talking badly about Tony in front of him without him realizing it. Peter had to admit it was kind of funny.

"If he’s so bad, why did you marry him?" young Pepper asked future Pepper. She laughed.

"They’re exaggerating," she replied.

"Exaggerating? Dad is spoiled and arrogant and has a massive ego. But he’s not bad. Not even a little," Morgan said, looking at young Pepper. She nodded and let the subject go.

"Shouldn’t he have arrived by now?" future Happy asked. "The kid spoke to him before speaking to me," he concluded, and Peter looked curiously at Pepper, also wanting to understand what had happened.

"He stopped by your uncle’s house. But he said he wouldn’t be long. He seemed very anxious to see what’s going on for himself," Pepper said, first addressing the kids, then turning to Happy.

"Why don’t you tell us about your dad?" Rhodey asked Peter and Morgan. Knowing him as they did, he was dying of curiosity, and the only way to get clues was by asking his kids.

"Daddy is amazing! He plays with me every day. He’s terrible at telling bedtime stories. He makes delicious pasta. He also bought Gerald for me," Morgan said excitedly. It was clear she loved her dad very much.

"Oh, you have a dog?" young Pepper asked. Everyone from the future laughed.

"No, Daddy doesn’t like dogs," Morgan replied with a big smile.

"Then who’s Gerald? A little fish?" young Pepper asked.

"He’s our alpaca! Do you want to see him? Mom, can we show them Gerald? Please!" Morgan begged.

"You should ask them if they want to meet Gerald while your dad isn’t here," her mom replied.

"Do you want to meet him?" Morgan asked with puppy-dog eyes. Everyone nodded, and soon they were all standing in front of a wooden shed that looked like a stable. Morgan opened the door and revealed an alpaca.

"This is Gerald, our alpaca," she said proudly.

"Your dad gave you an alpaca?" Tony asked, surprised. Morgan nodded with a huge smile, and Tony once again felt that strange thing he was beginning to recognize: jealousy. He was very jealous of those kids’ father. Tony never imagined himself as a dad, but during this short time at Pepper’s house, he realized he wanted to raise a family. He realized he’d give anything to be these kids’ father—or at least part of their lives. They were enchanting. And he never even liked kids.

Part of Tony was afraid of being a father. A big part. He’d even say his biggest fear was being like or worse than Howard had been to him. But now that he was in the future, he could see he wasn’t cut out to be a dad. Morgan saying he wasn’t even the “cool uncle” was the proof he needed. He’d never manage to have a family. He probably was still the same womanizing guy who didn’t care about anything. Not that he was proud of it. Believe me, he wasn’t. But let’s face it, changing your habits overnight isn’t exactly easy.

"I think we should go back inside. We’ve shown Gerald, and I don’t want you catching a cold," Pepper said, picking up Morgan and ruffling Peter’s hair. It was windy.

Back in the living room, Tony looked at Peter curiously.

"You didn’t say anything about your dad," Tony observed.

"That’s true. Don’t you like him?" Rhodey asked, and all eyes turned to Peter.

"He’s great. I just don’t want to reveal too much about him. I know if I say anything, I’ll end up spoiling the surprise. Once he reveals himself, you can ask again."

·.·.·

After a while, Peter heard his dad and his uncle Rhodey arriving at the house.

"I’ll be right back," he said and quickly went to the entrance to talk to his dad and uncle before they joined the others in the main living room. Pepper had gone out with May to buy some things for their guests. They already suspected the group would stay longer than expected, so they were getting hygiene products and other essentials. According to them, it was going to be a "girls’ moment"—the perfect time to gossip. Peter didn’t quite get it but didn’t question it either.

"Hey, kid," Tony greeted Peter with a smile. "I can’t leave for two hours without you causing trouble?"

"It wasn’t supposed to happen. And I was bored," Peter replied with a pout.

"Hey, Pete," Rhodey greeted him, bumping fists with a grin. Peter smiled back.

"Have you thought about how you're going to do the reveal?" Peter asked Tony.

"Your mom's out?" Peter nodded. "Perfect. While she’s gone, I’ll act like an annoying uncle, without saying I’m your uncle. If I’m right, they’ll think your dad hasn’t arrived yet," Tony explained.

"I don’t think I understand how that’s going to work," Rhodey said, sounding unsure.

"My past dad thought he was the ‘cool uncle,’ but Morgan crushed his dreams by saying he wasn’t. Now he’s sure he’s our uncle—but that we don’t like him much," Peter said. Rhodey nodded quickly, smiling as he pieced it together.

"Oh, now I get it! If Tony acts like an annoying uncle, they'll be even more sure that you two don’t like him—and they’ll never guess he’s actually your dad! That’s brilliant!" Rhodey exclaimed. "But… do you know how to act like an annoying uncle?"

Tony thought for a second.
"No. But I’ll try."

"And what then?" Peter asked, giving Tony space to finish the plan.

"When your mom and aunt get back, they’ll probably be convinced I’m not part of the family. Then Pepper will come in, and I’ll use your idea, bambino."

"Alright, this is going to be fun. We need to talk to Morgan first. I’ll go talk to her. Be right back," Peter said, heading toward the living room.

"This is crazy! And the fact you tried to steal my ‘cool uncle’ title? Outrageous!" Rhodey said, playfully punching Tony’s arm.

"That guy isn’t even me," Tony replied, and Rhodey raised an eyebrow. "I’m a man now, not a punk."

"Yeah, you’re right. I like you a lot more now. I wonder how he’s surviving without booze and women?"

"No idea. Can’t be easy," Tony replied, and they both laughed. Tony definitely didn’t like that version of himself.

·.·.·

Peter called Morgan to his room.

"Listen, piccola," Peter said, kneeling to her level, "Dad is going to pretend to be our uncle. So don’t call him ‘daddy’ for now, okay?"

"Yes!" Morgan said, bouncing excitedly. She was having a blast that day.

"But don’t call him ‘uncle’ either. We want to fool them, not lie. Got it?"

"Got it. I want to see Daddy."

"We’ll go downstairs in a minute. I just have to tell you one more thing. Uncle Rhodey is here too—but don’t call him ‘uncle’ either." When Morgan nodded, Peter took her hand, and they headed for the entrance. As soon as they arrived, Morgan ran and gave Tony a big hug.

"You took forever!" she said dramatically as Tony lifted her into his arms.

"But I’m here now, Maguna. Did your brother tell you what to do?"

"Yes! He told me, and I understood everything!" she said proudly. "Hi, Uncle Rhodey," Morgan said, waving at him.

"Hey, princess. What did you think of young Uncle?"

"He’s okay, I guess. Uncle Happy is funnier."

"I know," Rhodey said, laughing.

"Shall we go to the living room?" Peter asked, already walking as the other two followed, Rhodey now carrying Morgan.

As soon as Peter entered the living room, everyone turned their attention to him, expecting him to say something. But he didn’t say a word. He simply sat in the same spot he had been in before. Everyone in the room looked a little confused—until two unfamiliar people entered.

It didn’t take long for the people from the past to recognize them.

They were Tony and Rhodey from the future.

"Look who finally showed up," Tony said, arms spread wide. He was wearing glasses and a denim jacket—something he hadn’t worn in years, probably to help fool the people from the past. Classic Tony. "I bet you were all dying to see me."

"No one even remembered you," Morgan said playfully. Past Tony felt a pang in his heart.

"Morgan! That’s not a nice thing to say to people," Peter scolded her, and she hid her face in the crook of Rhodey’s neck.

"How are you all handling this time travel thing?" Rhodey asked.

And that’s when past Tony stopped to think.

Of course.
Now it all made sense.

Rhodey was Pepper’s kids’ father.

Chapter Text

How had he not thought of this before? It was obvious. They all knew Rhodes from the past. He should’ve suspected something when Rhodey complimented Pepper. He said Pepper was still very beautiful. Still. That meant he already thought she was very beautiful. Even in the past.

Tony didn’t know why he was so bothered by this. He should’ve been happy for his friend. Pepper was an incredible woman, and he wanted his friend to be happy. Probably, Tony only knew the kids because he was an old friend of Rhodey’s. Pepper’s children probably didn’t even have much contact with him because he was a bad influence. Pepper must’ve only let them interact with him out of obligation.

The kids. They were the perfect mix of Rhodey and Pepper. Dark hair and eyes and light skin. It was so obvious—how had he not realized? He thought he was a genius.

He felt terrible. Really terrible.

"—Tony?" Future Rhodey pulled him out of his thoughts. Tony looked around and realized everyone was staring at him. Rhodes must’ve been calling him for a while, but he was too caught up in his mind to hear him.

"I'm listening now. Can you repeat that?" Tony replied, looking at him.

"Are you okay? I asked what you thought of the future."

"I’m fine, I think," he answered, whispering the last part, which only Peter could hear. Peter had to admit he felt a bit of compassion for the younger version of his father. Before continuing, Tony let out a long sigh. "I think it’s... interesting? Yeah, interesting. That’s what I think. And different. Very different," he concluded, and Rhodey nodded.

"I'm gonna grab some water," Older Tony said, heading to the kitchen and opening the cabinets. "Brat, where are the glasses?"

"You could’ve just asked instead of going into the kitchen and rummaging around when you don’t even know where the glasses are," Peter said, rolling his eyes and grabbing a glass for Tony as he walked into the living room. " Slacker," Peter added, handing the glass over with a long, exaggerated sigh.

"You should be hospitable to people in your house, brat," Tony said, taking a sip of the water, but immediately made an exaggerated face of disgust.

"Tap water? I thought this house had standards," he said, wrinkling his nose.

"Next time I’ll hire someone to chill and infuse your water with Sicilian lemon to please you, darling," Peter said in a falsely sweet voice. Tony smirked.

"Now we’re talking. Thanks," Tony said, placing his glass on the cabinet next to the armchair he was sitting in.

Young Tony was deeply uncomfortable with that small interaction between his future self and Pepper's son. He knew he wasn’t someone important in the kids’ lives, but he hadn’t imagined it was that bad. Morgan hadn’t even spoken to him, and Peter—well, that was obvious. The boy clearly couldn’t stand him. He felt awful.

"Pepper?" Young Tony whispered to the woman beside him, who was watching the interaction with an expression he couldn’t quite read—but it seemed like sadness. She quickly turned her attention to Tony.

"I’m sorry for being a jerk. I know technically that’s not me, but still. I’m sorry."

"You don’t need to worry about that. Really," Pepper reassured him with a slight smile. That eased him a bit—but not enough.

Morgan got up from where she’d been building Legos with Happy and climbed onto Rhodey’s lap. Tony had to admit—he felt jealous.

"I was really handsome when I was younger, wasn’t I, little princess?" Rhodey commented, and Morgan studied his younger self carefully. Then she nodded.

"Mommy was also very pretty," Morgan concluded, resting her head on the crook of Rhodey’s neck.

"Was? She’s not anymore?" Peter teased, and Morgan immediately sat up with a shocked expression. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth hung open.

"Of course she is! She always was!" Morgan said. And when she saw Peter nod in understanding, she laid her head back on Rhodey's shoulder.

Yeah, Tony was sure now. His best friend was the kids' father. And he still couldn’t believe it. It had to be, and yet, it didn’t feel real. He wasn’t even sure if it really didn’t seem real—or if he just didn’t want it to be real, no matter how absurd that sounded.

Why was he thinking like this? Pepper was just his assistant. He shouldn’t be bothered that she was married to his best friend and had children with him. He should be happy for them. But for some reason, he just couldn’t.

"You know, when I was your age, I hacked into MIT’s system just to change my grades. Have you ever been that rebellious, or do you just complain about homework?" Tony teased. On the outside, he was relaxed—the perfect example of that uncle no one liked, who only said unnecessary things. But inside, Tony hated all the pretending. Peter calling him just Tony. Morgan not calling him anything or even talking to him. It was necessary. But it hurt.

"You’re a great example of what not to do."

"You’re such a pain, brat," Tony said, rolling his eyes.

"Leave Peter alone, Tony," Pepper said, appearing behind Tony and smacking his arm.

"Finally, Pep. No one could stand Tony anymore," Rhodey said, getting up with Morgan still in his arms.

"She’s been out for about twenty minutes. Must’ve been a long day for her," he said, brushing a strand of hair from her face and kissing her forehead. He was a doting uncle. "Should I take her to her room?"

"You can. Need help?"

"No, I got it."

Everyone in the room wondered if they were a couple. None of them even considered for a moment that the real father might be Tony. They never imagined that, in reality, Pepper and Rhodey had a sibling-like relationship. That they were just close friends.

Young Pepper didn’t know how to feel about it. Rhodey was a great man, but she couldn’t imagine being married to him, let alone having kids together. It just didn’t feel right.

Young Tony had his suspicions even more confirmed—if that was even possible. He was overwhelmed. He wasn’t happy at all. He just wanted this to be a dream. That he’d wake up and everything would be back to normal. No Pepper married to Rhodey. No kids. Just Pepper and Tony. A professional relationship, of course.

Young Happy didn’t understand anything anymore. He was too tired to think. At this point, he had accepted he had nephews, that he was married to an amazing woman, that Pepper was with Rhodey and had two kids with him, and that Tony was the uncle no one liked. He just wanted to rest. After today, nothing would surprise him.

And young Rhodey? Well, he was just as confused. He never imagined being with Pepper. He always admired her as a great professional and a wonderful person, but it was only admiration. He never thought of anything beyond friendship. He was totally confused and needed answers fast.

As soon as Rhodey went upstairs with Morgan, May walked in carrying some bags and placed them on the table. Then, she looked around and noticed the tension in the air—but didn’t comment on it.

"You really need to stop picking on Peter, Tony," Pepper said, walking toward the table where May had put the bags.

"This time it wasn’t just me," Tony replied, raising his hands in mock surrender as he looked at her.

"Sure," Pepper said in a tone that clearly meant “yeah, right.” "Have you and Peter figured out how to send them back to their own time?" she asked, turning toward them, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. The others watched attentively. They still hadn’t gotten confirmation on who the kids’ father was. Any clue was appreciated.

Tony and Peter exchanged worried glances, then looked back at Pepper.

"Pep, I don’t think you’re thinking straight," Tony said, and Pepper raised her eyebrows even higher in mock offense. "No, no, no. That’s not what I meant. Wrong words. What I meant to say was—" He cleared his throat before continuing, "I’m a very hospitable host. It would be extremely rude to leave our guests waiting in the living room," he said with a dramatic expression. Classic Tony.

"I didn’t say to leave them—I said to find a way to get them back home," Pepper replied, putting extra emphasis on "them."

"Sorry, Mom. Tony was too busy being annoying to come up with a solution," Peter teased—and it worked.

"Excuse me, brat?!" Tony said, faking outrage. "Oh, kid, I’m disinheriting you!" he shouted, and Peter burst out laughing. If the visitors hadn’t been so exhausted, they probably would’ve picked up on Tony’s slip.

At that moment, they were interrupted by Rhodey coming back down the stairs.

"You wouldn’t do that, Tony," Rhodey said, teasing Tony. Where had Tony found this family? It seemed like all of them had made it their hobby to mess with him.

"You don’t know that," Tony said, looking at Peter, who just rolled his eyes affectionately.

"The kid called you arrogant, spoiled, and said your ego’s sky-high earlier today, Tony," Happy ratted out Peter.

"Funny how you didn’t mention that you were the one who said it first. But when it’s about snitching on someone else, you don’t even hesitate," Peter replied.

"But I said it first, Pete," May chimed in, ruffling her nephew’s hair. Yeah, everyone was accidentally revealing who the real father was. But the visitors were so exhausted, they could only process something super obvious. Their brains just couldn’t function in this state. Nobody’s could.

"I can’t believe I’ve been stabbed in the back by all of you," Tony said dramatically, placing a hand over his chest.

Suddenly, everyone from the future burst into laughter. The ones from the past didn’t understand what was so funny. They just figured it was some inside joke they hadn’t been let in on yet.

Tony thought it was strange. One minute, no one seemed to stand him. The next, they were all laughing like a happy family. He knew something was wrong—he just didn’t know what.

He was anxious. When would it be revealed that Rhodey was the father? Why keep dragging out the obvious? Wouldn’t it be easier to just say it and get it over with? And for the first time in his life, Tony just wanted to sleep. Sleep to forget everything. Normally, in a situation like this, he’d drink himself into oblivion. But there was no alcohol. And honestly, he didn’t feel like drinking in Pepper’s house. That would be incredibly disrespectful. She didn’t deserve that—neither did her kids.

After the laughter died down, everyone sat in the available spots in the living room. No one quite knew what to say. Young Rhodey was the first to speak, asking what all of them had been dying to ask but didn’t have the courage to.

"So... who’s the father?" he asked, hopeful and extremely curious.

"I thought you guys would’ve figured it out by now," Pepper said, confused.

Tony, Peter, and Rhodey exchanged glances. They only didn’t know because the others had done everything possible to mess with the travelers’ heads—and it had probably worked. They must’ve fried all their brain cells. Not out of malice. They just took advantage of the situation—after all, it’s not every day your past self drops by for a visit.

"It’s Rhodes, isn’t it?" Tony asked, expressionless—but his future self could hear the anguish and discomfort in his voice. With that, everyone from the future widened their eyes.

"What?!" they all shouted. And suddenly, they burst out laughing. The idea that the past versions thought Rhodey was the father was hilarious to them. It had never even crossed their minds that the others would suspect Rhodes. Hearing it now was just too funny.

They were all having fun messing with their younger selves’ heads. Well... almost all. One person wasn’t having fun at all.

Apparently, the outburst of laughter brutally woke Morgan. She woke up and, realizing she was alone, ran downstairs crying. She didn’t like the joke at all, because thanks to it, she couldn’t talk to her father. She was still just a five-year-old girl, and she was very attached to her dad, after all.

Tony heard a noise upstairs and paid attention to every sound, since the others didn’t seem to notice. As soon as he heard something on the stairs, he quickly moved toward it and found Morgan crying as she hurried down. He rushed to her before she could fall. As soon as he picked her up, her little arms wrapped tightly around his neck while she sobbed.

Everyone in the room was stunned. No one expected the girl to wake up—much less come running down the stairs crying. For those from the future, it was no surprise to see Morgan seeking comfort in her father’s arms—but for the past versions, it was confusing. Why would the girl feel safe in the arms of someone she clearly didn’t like? She was probably still half-asleep and hadn’t realized it was Tony who picked her up. Tony would hand her off to her mom anyway. Young Tony was waiting for the moment when Morgan would freak out and run to Rhodey for comfort.

But that didn’t happen. And the girl didn’t show any sign of wanting to let go of Tony anytime soon. He didn’t understand anything. Not that he had before, but now he was even more confused.

"What happened, Maguna?" Tony whispered, brushing her hair to soothe her. It always worked.

"I had a really bad dream," Morgan whispered back to Tony. The only one who could hear them was Peter, thanks to his super hearing. The others just watched, the future ones with clear affection on their faces, the past ones with visible confusion.

The ones from the past didn’t understand why Pepper hadn’t gone over to her daughter. She seemed relaxed, even while clearly worried about the child. It was strange.

Peter still couldn’t believe he hadn’t heard Morgan wake up. He had super hearing—he should’ve been the only one to hear it. But apparently, he’d been so wrapped up in everything that he didn’t hear his little sister’s distress. He felt awful. He should’ve helped her. What kind of brother was he if he couldn’t even do that? Maybe he was being a little dramatic, but he really didn’t feel worthy of being called a big brother—or “best brother in the world.”

"Do you want to tell me what the dream was about?" Tony whispered again to Morgan. "They say talking about it helps you see that it was just a story your little head made up, and that it’s not real."

"Okay," Morgan said, sniffling. "I was in a room with everyone who’s here now. And I still couldn’t talk to you, Daddy. Then, a lot of time passed. I was all grown up and I still couldn’t talk to you. I didn’t want to never be able to talk to you again, or hug you, or play with you, or hear your terrible stories," she said, her eyes welling up with tears again.

"Hey, hey, hey! My stories aren’t terrible! You love them!" Tony said a little louder, pretending to be offended. At that, all the travelers from the past furrowed their brows. They were completely lost and unaware of everything that was going on. They had so many unanswered questions. Why was Morgan so calm with Tony when she could’ve gone to Pepper or Rhodey? She could’ve found comfort with literally anyone else in the room—and of all people, Tony was the last one they would’ve guessed.

Pepper walked over to them and placed her hand on her daughter’s back. Tony gave her a warm smile and continued.

"Bambina, no one ever said you couldn’t talk to me. We just asked you not to call me what you usually call me and not to treat me too nicely. But you could always talk to me. If you wanted, you could’ve told Peter you didn’t want to go along with all of this, or that it was too much, and asked to stop. You didn’t have to suffer in silence, amore mio," Tony finished, gently moving the hair out of her face while still holding her close. For a moment, they forgot they had an audience. Peter walked over and took Morgan’s little hand.

"I’m so sorry for all of this, Morgan. I never meant to make you think you couldn’t talk to Dad. I really am sorry," Peter said, and Pepper placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, letting him know it wasn’t his fault—but nothing could change how he felt about it.

"It’s not your fault, fratello. I understood when you explained the plan. I knew I could talk to him, but I also knew that if I did, I’d end up saying the forbidden word. And I thought it was really funny tricking everyone, and I didn’t think it bothered me… or at least that’s what I thought. But then I had that nightmare, and it wasn’t fun anymore. Can we stop all this, please?" Morgan asked, giving them puppy-dog eyes—and Tony felt guilty.

"Of course we can, piccola. Of course," Tony said, placing a soft kiss on her temple before setting her gently on the floor.

All the past travelers were still staring at them in total confusion. It was kind of funny. None of them had ever seen Tony so soft before—especially not with a child. Tony had always imagined he’d hurt kids somehow, after all. Starks weren’t meant to be parents. His own father had proved that. But seeing himself like this—so gentle—left him shaken. Could he really have been wrong about everything? And why was he acting so different now? Just a few minutes ago, he’d been insufferable, and the kids didn’t even smile at him. The little girl didn’t even look at him. And that had hurt. But now, seeing her clinging to him like a little koala—he didn’t know what to think anymore. And apparently, neither did anyone else from the past. The confusion was written all over their faces.

"Mind if I ask what happened?" Rhodes was the only one brave enough to speak what everyone else wanted to know.

"Maguna here had a nightmare. But it was just a bad dream, right?" Tony said, looking at Morgan, who was now hugging his leg.

"Kind of," Morgan replied.

"You shouldn’t have done this," Pepper scolded Tony and Peter, who looked at each other and gulped. "Especially you, Tony," she said, giving him a firm slap on the arm. "You’re the adult—you’re supposed to set an example!"

"But, Pep—" Tony tried to protest, but was cut off by a very angry Pepper. Both Tony and Peter had slightly wide eyes and mildly scared expressions, while Morgan just smiled, happy to see her mom defending her.

"And you too—don’t think I forgot that you were part of this," Pepper turned to Rhodey. "I won’t deny it was funny, but you all need to respect Morgan’s boundaries!"

"But Mom—" Peter tried, only to be cut off too. Everyone else was just watching. May and Happy were both clearly trying not to laugh. They didn’t like seeing their niece upset, but watching their nephew get scolded was kind of hilarious. Especially when the one scolding him was Pepper Potts-Stark.

"No excuse you give now will fix this. Who even came up with the idea? The least you could’ve done was pay attention to the kid!" What absolutely no one knew was that Pepper had joined in the fun and all this scolding was part of the revelation.

"Mommy, I was fine. I didn’t care at first until the dream. Don’t be mad at them, please. I don’t want Daddy to be sad," Morgan said, looking up at Pepper, who immediately softened. When Pepper’s expression relaxed, Tony, Peter, and Rhodey all sighed in relief.

"Thank you, munchkin. I don’t know what I’d do without you. Your mom never listens to me."

"Don’t play the victim now, Stark," Pepper said, placing a hand on her forehead in exasperation.

"No need to be like that, dear. Everything’s fine now. It was funny, and Morgan’s okay now, right, piccola?" Tony asked as he brushed her hair and she nodded with a smile. He picked her up again. "See? All good. The only thing left to do is figure out how to send the intruders back," he said, finally remembering the time travelers. Now seemed like a good time to put the final part of the plan into motion. "I’m sorry, Pep," he added, giving her a soft, quick kiss on the lips while Morgan giggled. It was good to have her parents back to normal.

"You still owe your daughter an apology, Tony," Pepper said with a gentle smile. "And you too, mister," she added, pulling Peter into a hug. "You’re in so much trouble," she finished, and Peter sighed in defeat but returned the hug.

"Okay. Sorry, bambina. Daddy promises he’ll never do anything you don’t like again. But you have to promise me you’ll always tell me when something bothers you, capiche?"

"Capiche!" Morgan said with a bright smile, and Tony smiled back.

"You kissed Pepper," said Rhodes.

"She’s your daughter?" asked Pepper.

"Daddy" said Happy.

"I’M THE FATHER?!" young Tony stood up and shouted.

Chapter Text

This couldn't be right. There was no way it could be true. It had to be a mistake—definitely.

Tony was in shock. In shock? Was that even the right word to use? This was insane. He was Tony Stark—Tony Stark doesn't do serious relationships or anything remotely close to that.

Pepper was frozen. How on earth could she ever have a child with Tony?

They were both thinking the same thing. They had a professional relationship. It was entirely platonic—they had never imagined themselves together. Or at least, that’s what they told themselves. If they said they never felt any attraction to one another, it would be a lie. Pepper was very beautiful and had many admirable qualities, and Tony, well… he was Tony. But even so, the idea of ever being together had never really crossed their minds.

It wasn't meant in a bad way, but the last person Pepper would ever want as the father of her children was Tony. He wasn’t exactly a good role model. Almost every night he slept with a different woman, drank too much, was arrogant and sarcastic, and often labeled a narcissist. He definitely wasn’t the kind of father Pepper wanted for her kids. All she could imagine was Tony getting her pregnant and then abandoning her and the child—maybe sending some money to help. He’d probably even fire her and they’d never see each other again. Her children would have an absent father. Maybe she was being cruel for thinking like that, but it was inevitable. After all, this was Tony.

Tony, on the other hand, was panicking. A whirlwind of emotions spun inside him. He couldn’t be a father. He wasn’t made for that. He’d end up just like his own dad. He didn’t know how to deal with kids. He’d ruin them. He ruined everything he touched. Why would this be any different? A small part of Tony’s heart warmed at the thought of being a father, but it quickly turned cold again with the idea that he might end up worse than Howard had been to him. Pepper’s children didn’t deserve a father like him. They deserved better.

Happy was shocked. Moments earlier, he thought nothing could surprise him anymore—but this? This was beyond belief. Tony becoming a dad? Tony being the father of Pepper’s child? Tony and Pepper together? That was crazy. Unimaginable. To him, they had always been boss and assistant. Nothing more than that. Maybe a friendship, but nothing beyond. Pepper didn’t seem like the type of woman who would get involved with someone who didn’t want commitment. It wasn’t her style. So, seeing her with Tony was a massive plot twist. It would make a great movie script. A very cliché one, actually.

Rhodey was surprised too—but happy. Very happy. He was practically Tony’s brother, so if these really were Tony’s kids, that made them his nieces or nephews. Rhodes had always wanted to be an uncle, and them being Tony’s kids made it even more special. Truth be told, the Colonel had never imagined his friend would ever settle down. He was the last person he’d picture starting a family, let alone having kids. Tony had always been a womanizer. No woman ever seemed good enough for him—but apparently, Pepper was more than enough. Rhodey didn’t know how they ended up together, but he knew Tony was a much better man with her. And he was really happy for his friend.

"I think they short-circuited. I also think they’ll have a lot of questions in a few moments, once the initial shock passes. And I don’t think we’re going to have time to figure out a way to send them back today," Peter commented, looking at the travelers, all wearing the same expressions of complete confusion, shock, and surprise. Rhodey was the first to recover.

"How did this happen?" Rhodey asked, snapping all the other travelers out of their trance as they started to pay attention to the family in front of them.

"How did what happen?" Tony asked, adjusting Morgan in his lap and sitting back in the armchair next to him.

"How did you two end up together? I guess, thinking about it now, it doesn’t surprise me. But it still feels unreal. I never saw it coming."

"It’s actually a pretty long story, but I guess that’s not a problem, considering you’re stuck here in the future for an indefinite period of time," Tony joked, and all the travelers sat up straight and focused all their attention on him—he was the only one who could explain everything that had happened over the years they hadn’t lived yet. "But before I start telling that story, why don’t we eat? I picked up some pizzas before coming here. They’re probably cold now, but we can reheat them. Pep, darling, can you help me with that? You too, kid."

Tony said, heading toward the kitchen with Pepper right behind him. Peter protested dramatically, but followed them into the kitchen. A few minutes later, the table was set, and everyone sat around the large table, eating pizza. When Tony finished eating and noticed that everyone else had either finished or was finishing, he began to tell the story of his life up to that point.

"Well, what’s the last event you guys remember from your year?"

"We were leaving the Apogee Award ceremony," Rhodey replied, and future Tony flinched slightly. The event that changed his life was about to happen.

"Alright. I’m going to tell you what happened back then—not as if it’s going to happen in the future, even though I know it will."

"That was really confusing, Dad. I thought you were a genius who could explain things properly," Peter teased Tony with a smirk. Tony gave him a light slap on the arm and rolled his eyes with a fond smile on his face.

"You’ll get it. You know about the Afghanistan trip, right? Pep definitely does, don’t you, darling?" Tony asked past-Pepper, who was startled by the softness in his voice. She wasn’t used to this version of Tony—but she already loved him. Without a doubt, she preferred this Tony.

"Yes, I was the one who scheduled the trip," she replied.

"So, I went to Afghanistan to present my new weapon—the Jericho missile. But after the demo, I was attacked by foreign militants, and one of my own bombs exploded right next to me, sending shrapnel into my chest. After that, they kidnapped me to force me to build a Jericho missile for them. It was one of the worst moments of my life, but at the same time, I’m only here today because of it. In a way, I’m thankful it happened."

Everyone stared at Tony with concern. A few years ago, he wouldn’t have been able to talk about this so openly, but now he was in a better place and could.

"During the time I was held captive, I made a friend who became very special to me. In order to survive, I built a kind of iron armor. I managed to escape, but that friend—Yinsen—didn’t make it. He told me not to waste my life. I got out and made it back to New York. When I returned, I changed the entire focus of Stark Industries. I stopped selling weapons—because while my bank account gained millions, millions of lives were being lost. That made me part of the villains, so I stopped the manufacturing and sales of weapons. Sometime later, I found out that the one who planned the kidnapping... was Obadiah."

Tony paused, giving past-Tony and the others time to process—and freak out.

"Obie?" Tony asked in shock as everyone else from the past stared at him, mouths open and eyes wide. "Why would he do that?"

"He wanted control over Stark Industries. He wanted to own it. If I died, he would be next in line, since I didn’t have any children."

"That makes sense," Rhodey said quietly and slowly.

"Well, from that day on, I became a superhero. Iron Man. At first, no one knew it was me, but you know how I am. The secret identity thing didn’t last fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen minutes? If it lasted ten, that was already a lot," Peter said with a grin.

"Shut up, kid," Tony replied fondly, a goofy smile on his face as Morgan laughed. He clearly loved his kids very much, and for the travelers, that was at the very least... unsettling. They had never seen Tony so... domestic. He was calm. He had never been like that with anyone.

"Superhero?" Happy asked.

"Yeah. I built suits like this one," he said, pulling up his sleeve to reveal his arm—or rather, the red and gold prosthetic. Everyone stared in amazement.

"What happened to your arm?" Pepper asked, and Tony made a face.

"I’ll get to that part soon. When I became a superhero, Nick Fury, an agent with an eyepatch, approached me to join a little group of superheroes called the 'Avengers'. At first I declined, but I ended up accepting. The Avengers were a team of six superheroes, including me. We handled the biggest threats—like alien invasions or rogue killer machines."

"Machines you created," Peter teased.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. That’s not the point. My life went on like that for a long time, until some of us Avengers had a little disagreement. We split up and started gathering help to ‘fight’. It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. Just a scare. And that’s when I met the kid," Tony said, getting up and throwing an arm around Peter.

"Actually, no," Peter said, looking at Tony with a mischievous smile.

"What?" Everyone looked at him confused—including the people from the future. Only May seemed to understand what her nephew was thinking—and now saying.

"I met you when I was about six years old. That’s right, right, Aunt May?" Peter asked, turning to her. She nodded, and everyone looked even more confused.

"What are you talking about? I didn’t meet you when you were six," Tony said confidently. The travelers didn’t understand anything. How could Tony’s son not know him? Did Tony not know he had a son? Had Pepper hidden him from his own father? But they seemed so fine now—how was that possible?

"Not that you know. At least not until now."

"Shit, kid, just say it already! I hate when you do those cryptic things," Tony said, losing patience. He wanted to know what his son was talking about. At that moment, Morgan looked at him, eyes wide.

"Daddy! You said Mommy’s word!" she said, exasperated.

"Oh, shit, you're right. I’m sorry, bambina." With that, Morgan gave him a look of disbelief but sat back down, visibly more relaxed after the apology. Pepper gave him a reproachful stare. Tony just shrugged dramatically, but quickly recovered. "So, kid, are you going to talk or are we supposed to guess?"

"I met you at the Stark Expo. In 2010. I was wearing an Iron Man mask and a toy repulsor glove. I was about to be attacked by a rogue robot. I raised my toy hand toward it, thinking I could do something," Peter rolled his eyes. "Then, when it was about to shoot me, you showed up behind me and blasted it. You said, 'Nice work, kid'," Peter said, deepening his voice in a funny imitation of Tony. Morgan burst into laughter. "I spent weeks thinking I was the one who shot it," Peter covered his face with his hands, but quickly moved them away—just in time to see everyone from the future, except May, staring at him, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

"That was you?!" Tony shouted. He had never been so startled in his life. He couldn’t stop picturing the child being attacked by a Hammer Industries robot. It had haunted him for nights. But thinking back, of course it was Peter. His son had been throwing himself into danger for others since he was little. Tony gave a small smile. "Always getting yourself into trouble, huh, kid?" Tony said, ruffling his son’s hair. Pepper just shook her head, still stunned by the recent revelation.

"Dad!" Peter protested, fixing his hair.

"Well, getting back to the point, it was during that conflict that I really met the kid. I needed help, and he was a vigilante from Queens. I did a lot of research on him and invited him to come with me to Germany to fight by my side. He was fourteen at the time. Two thousand and sixteen, if I’m not mistaken. Kinda reckless on my part, I know, but the kid was strong—I needed him on my side, you know?" Tony explained, raising an eyebrow as if that explained everything.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a second," Rhodey interrupted. "Fourteen years old? Kid, are you twenty-two?!" he asked, exasperated.

"What do you mean, twenty-two? Are you crazy? He clearly doesn't even look thirteen," Happy chimed in.

"Excuse me? I’m sixteen, not thirteen!" Peter said, as if he had just heard the most absurd thing in his life.

"How is that possible?!" Pepper and past-Tony said at the same time. They looked at each other, blushed, and quickly looked away.

"I... I don’t think I’m keeping up with your line of reasoning. What’s not possible?" Happy asked, more confused than a blind man in a shootout. Peter shook his head sympathetically. Poor Happy—his brain couldn’t handle all the events of the past few hours anymore. It was too much. He just wanted to go home and get some rest. He was exhausted.

"If in 2016 the kid was fourteen, then he should be twenty-two now—but no. He’s actually sixteen," Rhodey explained to Happy, and he nodded as he processed it. Then his eyes widened.

"How is that possible?!"

"If you guys had let me keep going, you’d already be at that part of the story!" future Tony exclaimed, impatient.

"Tony!" Pepper scolded, slapping his fully intact arm.

"Ow, Pep! Can I go on?" he asked, looking at the group of travelers. Once they all nodded, Tony continued, "We fought, and after the fight—and a few hiccups—we all went our separate ways. Pete got himself into some trouble a little while later, and we ended up getting closer and closer. I was the mentor, he was the protégé, and then—" Tony was interrupted. Again.

"Wait. We skipped a very important detail that you," Rhodey said, pointing at Tony with an accusing look, "didn’t tell us. What do you mean you 'met the kid'? Isn’t he your son?"

"Of course he is," Tony said, clearly irritated. Why were they even doubting that?

"Then you didn’t know he existed? Did Pepper hide him from you?!" Rhodey asked, eyes wide. The others, who had just been watching quietly until now, also widened their eyes and turned to Tony, expecting an explanation. Future Pepper looked at Rhodey with an offended expression.

"Excuse me? Why would I do that?"

"Why wouldn’t you?" Tony huffed in frustration. He didn’t remember his friend being this immature. He was about to reply when he saw a giant teddy bear—Morgan’s—fly straight at past-Rhodey’s face, hitting him square on.

Tony turned to see who had thrown it.

"Shut up, man," future Rhodey said, clearly annoyed.

"Nice aim," Peter commented, surprised.

"Thanks, kid," his uncle replied with a proud smile and a victorious expression.

"That hurt!"

"That's what you get for saying what you shouldn't," May said now, drawing her attention away from the toys she had been playing with alongside Morgan and Happy, quickly responding to the younger Rhodey.

"Have you never heard of adoption, you uninformed idiot?" Tony commented arrogantly. He wouldn’t tolerate anyone speaking badly about his family, least of all his children or his wife. Rhodey had crossed the line.

This little argument may have been unnecessary, but everyone was already extremely stressed and tired from the day’s events. Nobody in that room had any patience left—including Morgan, who had her nap disturbed by the noise in the living room and a nightmare. It had been a long day.

"Oh…" everyone murmured in understanding. Now it made sense. Tony and Pepper had adopted the kid. That explained a lot—except for the fact that the boy looked exactly like Tony and Pepper in terms of appearance, personality, and intellect. Also, they never imagined Tony adopting a child. It just didn’t seem like him.

"Can I continue without being interrupted this time?" Tony asked sharply. Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Alright, where was I? Oh yeah. I got closer to the kid, we became mentor and protégé and eventually—one day, after resolving things with the rest of the Avengers, we had to fight a purple villain who looked like a raisin." Morgan giggled at the comparison, while Peter shuddered at the mention of the worst villain he’d ever faced.

"This villain co—" And… Tony was interrupted again.

"I hate to interrupt, Tony," Happy said, though his face showed he was enjoying Tony’s frustration far more than he let on. Tony glared at him.
"But May and I have to leave. It’s getting late. We’ll come back tomorrow just before lunch," Happy said as they began saying their goodbyes.

A quick head pat for Peter and a brief hug from Happy (he was still emotional about what had happened earlier that day); a hug and a kiss on Morgan’s forehead from both of them; a handshake and hug for the hosts; and a quick wave to the travelers.

"Daddy, I’m sleepy," Morgan complained, walking over to Tony and laying her head on his chest.

"Pete will put you to bed, okay? Mommy and I will come by your room soon to say goodnight, alright?" Morgan nodded, getting off Tony’s lap and heading toward Peter, raising her little arms for him to pick her up. He didn’t even hesitate. They headed upstairs, singing an unrecognizable tune. It was still a little scary to see Tony Stark acting like a dad.

"Alright, I’ll try to wrap this up quickly so we can all go to bed. This villain managed to get his hands on some powerful stones, and with just a snap, half the people on Earth would die. At first, we tried to stop him before the snap, but our efforts weren’t enough. Millions of people turned to dust and… Pete was one of them. He died in my arms and I couldn’t do anything," Tony said, lowering his head. Everyone in the room could see the pain in Tony’s eyes. Pepper comforted him by gently placing her hand on his arm. He gave her a grateful smile before continuing.

"A year after that battle, Morgan was born. She helped ease the pain of not having Peter around, but, obviously, one child doesn’t replace another. Morgan earned her own special place in my heart. The hole Peter left was never filled. I suffered for five years, until some of the Avengers came here with an idea that could bring everyone back. At first, I refused. I couldn’t risk losing Morgan too. My life was good, and I couldn’t risk losing everything. But I had to do it—for the kid," Tony sighed. It was clearly a delicate subject for him.
"Anyway, I discovered time travel and we managed to bring everyone back. After that, we had the final battle. We won—but it cost me an arm. Now I have this prosthetic, and you can barely tell it’s not a real arm. Well, after Peter came back, he and Pepper grew close, and Peter moved in here because, according to him, Happy snores too much." Everyone laughed and Happy frowned.

"I don’t get what that has to do with me," he said, directing the comment at Tony.

"May has always been Peter’s aunt. The kid lost his parents a long time ago, when he was about Morgan’s age. He was left in the care of his aunt and uncle, Ben and May. Ben died a few years later, and May became a widow. Ben was Peter’s dad’s brother, so May isn’t blood-related, but since she was married to Peter’s blood uncle, she got custody. When Pete turned to dust, Happy was the one who broke the news to her. She was devastated, and the one who comforted her… was you," Tony said, pointing at Happy.
"You guys exchanged numbers, and a few months later, you started dating—and then got engaged. After we brought everyone back, I fell into a coma for a while. But once I woke up and recovered, the wedding happened. That’s when Morgan met Peter, and they became inseparable. Peter stayed at our place while you guys went on your honeymoon, and we really liked having him here. Apparently, he liked it too. When you two returned, Peter went back to your apartment, but only stayed for a week before I suggested he move in with us—after he mentioned your snoring and how annoying and impatient you were."

"He doesn’t like me?" Happy asked indifferently, but deep down, everyone knew he was afraid of the answer.

"It’s more like you don’t like him."

"Actually, you just pretend not to like him," Pepper corrected. "The kid adores you, and you love him."

"Hmm. Doubt it. I don’t like kids," he said, still faking indifference. He was a terrible actor. Everyone knew he cared.

"Oh yeah? You don’t like kids? That’s funny, ‘cause your future self practically begged the kid to call you uncle—and when he finally did it today, you literally cried," Tony added, teasing. Everyone stared at him in shock—but none more than Happy himself.

"Happy cried?!" young Tony said loudly.

"Look, I hate to interrupt the conversation, but it’s really late. Morgan needs to sleep, and with all this yelling, it’s kind of hard," Peter said, coming down the stairs and heading into the living room. Everyone looked at him.
"By the way, Morgs is waiting for you two. She said she won’t sleep until you go say goodnight to her."

"Alright, let’s go put the mini-chaos to bed," Tony said, hugging his son sideways. Everyone watched in admiration as they headed up the stairs, chatting about something no one else understood.

"You can come too. I’ll show you to the rooms," Pepper said, heading upstairs, with everyone following behind.
"Would you mind pairing up in twos? We only have two guest rooms," Pepper asked, stopping in front of two doors, one on each side of the hallway.

"No problem. I’ll stay with Happy in this one," Rhodey said quickly, already stepping into one of the rooms—knowing full well Tony wouldn’t let anyone share a room with Pepper. Future Pepper just shook her head with a quiet laugh.

"Well, if everything’s good with you all, I have to go. I’ve got kids to take care of now," she said with a warm smile. The love she felt for her children was obvious. It was beautiful to witness.
"If you need anything, you can talk to Friday. She’s our AI. You can ask her or tell her anything, and she’ll answer. You can also ask her to call us, but only if it’s really necessary. I think that’s it. All good?" Everyone nodded.
"Great. Good night," she said with a smile. Everyone replied and went into their rooms.

Chapter Text

Pepper was uncomfortable with the idea of having to sleep in the same room as her boss.

Sure, she’d be married to him in the future—but that was in the future. The Tony she’d be sleeping beside now was still the womanizer Tony. Still the arrogant, egocentric Tony who only cared about himself. The Tony who didn’t believe in love. The Tony who didn’t do serious relationships and didn’t miss having one. It was intimidating. He was still her boss, and assistants don’t sleep with their bosses.
Well, she didn’t have a choice.

Tony felt the same way.

There was no way he’d let Pepper sleep in the same room as another guy. Never. Even knowing his friends were trustworthy, and everything that would happen in the future, the idea of Pepper sharing a room with anyone but him made his skin crawl. It would’ve been too much.
But Rhodey must’ve noticed. He’d have to thank his friend later.

As soon as they entered the room and closed the door, Tony couldn’t help but notice how uncomfortable Pepper looked. It probably wasn’t easy to sleep beside your boss. She was so proper—he wouldn’t be surprised if she had never even slept next to someone before. Tony wasn’t sure exactly how she was feeling, but oddly enough, he was a bit embarrassed about the whole thing too.
That surprised him.
He wasn’t like that. Tony Stark didn’t get embarrassed.
Must’ve been the exhaustion.

Future Pepper had left some clothes on the bed in the room. Tony thanked her mentally. He was tired of wearing a suit. Pepper was probably thinking the same thing—especially still being in heels.

"You can go ahead and shower. I’ll grab some water," Tony offered, trying to make her feel more at ease. He had never felt awkward around her before, and this was a… different experience, to say the least.
Pepper gave him a hesitant look, but picked up the clothes from the bed and headed toward the en-suite bathroom. Tony left the room and walked to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

He had to admit, they had good taste. The house managed to feel rustic, yet sophisticated and elegant at the same time. Stark never imagined himself living in a house that was relatively simple—and especially one in the middle of nowhere. That wasn’t his style. Not at all.
He figured Pepper had chosen it. From what he had observed, she ran everything in the house. Including him.
And again, that realization startled him.
He was startled to realize… he didn’t mind someone else being in charge—as long as it was Pepper Potts.

As Tony got his glass of water and took a sip, he allowed himself to reflect on everything for a moment.
Starting with the fact that he was married.
Stark never imagined himself married. In fact, he used to think marriage was a waste of time, money, and freedom. Why stay with one when you could have a different woman every day?
But thinking about it now, he didn’t really see the point of “having” lots of women and loving none of them.
And more importantly—not being loved by anyone.
Looking back, Pepper had always been by his side. She had always been a great friend. Always took care of him. And now… he couldn’t imagine being without her.
What was this?
Was this what falling in love felt like?
Well, he already knew how the future turned out.
Could he speed things up?
Maybe a conversation with Pepper would help build that connection, right?
Either way, he’d talk to her after his shower.
He reeked.

Tony was on his way back to the guest room when he heard laughter coming from another room.
He decided it wouldn’t hurt to snoop a little—after all, it was his family.

When he peeked through the doorway, he was surprised.
There they were—himself, his wife, and his kids.
Morgan was sitting on her bed, Peter and future Tony were kneeling beside it, and Pepper was sitting at the edge of the mattress.
He figured it wouldn’t hurt to eavesdrop a little.

"Did you see Uncle Happy? He didn’t even have a beard!" Peter said in disbelief.
Pepper laughed.

"He looked so funny," Morgan said, giggling.

"That’s true, munchkin. I was way more handsome than your uncles. Did you see that man?" future Tony said, clearly bragging.

"You were super weird, daddy," Morgan replied with a big smile.

"Hey! I’ve always been very handsome," Tony protested, pretending to be offended.

“Well, it’s getting late. Way past the kids’ bedtime,” Tony said, standing up. Pepper stood too and walked over to Peter, giving him a side hug. He had also stood and moved away a little from his sister’s bed, but didn’t hesitate to return the hug.

Tony suddenly growled like a monster, grabbing Morgan’s feet and pulling her down onto the bed. The girl burst out laughing.

“Good night, little princess,” Pepper said, letting go of Peter and walking over to Morgan’s bed. She pulled the blanket over her and kissed her gently on the head. “Mommy loves you.”

“Love you too, Mommy.”

“Good night, Maguna,” Tony added, kissing her softly and affectionately on the top of her head. “Love you tons.”

“I love you three thousand,” she replied with a bright smile. Tony smiled back and walked to the door, waiting for Peter to say goodnight to his sister.

“Good night, sorellina,” Peter said, messing up her hair. “Think of plans for us to do tomorrow, capiche?”

“Capiche! I love you. Good night, fratello.”

“Love you too. Sleep well,” he said, heading toward the door where Tony and Pepper stood watching them fondly. Peter turned off the light and gently closed the door.

Past Tony had hidden when he heard his future self mention bedtime, so when they left the room, he wasn’t seen.

He watched the rest of the family walk into another room. That was probably the boy’s room. It wouldn’t hurt to eavesdrop a little more, right?

“I still can’t believe what you did,” Tony said, tucking Peter in as he lay down. Peter thought he was too old to be tucked in, but his parents insisted there was nothing wrong with it at his age. He just accepted it—and couldn’t deny he actually liked it.

“That was the plan. Stir things up just a little. But it didn’t work out that well,” Peter said with a sheepish expression.

“You’re still grounded. No lab for a week,” Pepper said with a smile. Peter’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“A week?! Mom, that’s way too long!” Peter whined.

“If it wasn’t hard, it wouldn’t be a punishment, love. Now go to sleep—you’ve had a long day, and tomorrow will be just as full. Good night, sweetheart,” Pepper said, kissing his forehead and gently running her fingers through his hair.

“Good night, bambino,” Tony said, placing a gentle kiss on the boy’s temple and running his fingers through his hair. He hugged Pepper, and the two of them looked at Peter with warm, glowing smiles.

“We love you very much. Don’t ever forget that, Pete,” Pepper said, resting her head on Tony’s shoulder.

“I love you both so much too. Good night,” Peter replied, snuggling under his covers and closing his eyes. With that, the past Tony ducked out of sight again.

“What did we ever do to deserve this?” future Tony said, his voice full of affection.

“I ask myself that every day,” past Tony heard, followed by the sound of a kiss and then more distant conversation. A door closed, and he found himself lost in thought about everything he had just witnessed.

It was official. He had a family. Playboy Tony Stark had a family. How was that even possible? He didn’t know, but he couldn’t deny the strange feeling growing in his chest as he watched them interact like a real, happy family.

He walked back to the guest room where he was supposed to sleep.

·*·

Pepper stepped into the bathroom to take a shower after Tony suggested it. She really needed one to relax. She hadn’t had time yet to gather all her thoughts, and now was the perfect opportunity.

First, she thought about her children. She had one biological and one who was adopted. She had always wanted to be a mother, but for that, she needed a partner. To her, she had to know the guy really well and for a long time to truly understand who he was before getting married and having kids. But it was hard to find someone who met her standards, especially since she was so focused on work. And Tony was never a candidate in her mind. She had never thought of Tony as a partner. To her, he had always just been her boss, maybe at most a good friend. Nothing more than that.

Pepper had also always wanted to adopt, ever since she was a little girl, but she was always afraid she wouldn’t be able to give enough love and that the child would end up feeling forgotten. But looking at her kids now, she realized all those fears had been unnecessary.

She had nearly squirmed with curiosity trying to figure out who the children’s father was, back when she still didn’t know. And when she saw Rhodey interacting with the kids, she got a little worried. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Rhodey, or that she didn’t think he’d make a good father — she just couldn’t picture him as the father of her children. She couldn’t see herself with him. It didn’t make sense. It didn’t fit, not even a little.

·*·

When he walked in, he found Pepper coming out of the bathroom. He stared at her for a moment. Her hair was down, and she looked beautiful.

"Are you okay? You’ve got a weird look on your face. Did something happen?" Pepper asked, concerned.
He gave a soft smile — one he didn’t even know he was capable of. Pepper was taken aback for a second; she never imagined seeing her boss with such a tender expression.

"A lot happened. How are you handling all of this?" he asked, sitting on the bed and patting the other side of the mattress, inviting her to sit with him.

"With all due respect, I think you should take a shower before we have this conversation, Tony," she said boldly.

He rolled his eyes and stood up, letting out an exaggerated groan of discontent. He headed into the bathroom and took the quickest shower he could, eager to talk with Pepper.
When he came back out, she was already settled on one side of the bed.

"Do you mind answering my question now?" he asked, settling on the other side. His body was grateful. God, he was getting old!

"I think… I’m not really sure what to think. With all due respect, I never imagined myself with you," Pepper admitted, and Tony gave a little smirk.

"Oh, come on, darling. You’re telling me you never imagined being with me? We both know that’s not true," he said, confident.
What Pepper didn’t know was that his heart had skipped a beat when she said she never saw herself with him.
But he didn’t let it show — after all, he had a reputation to uphold.

"Tony, I’m extremely professional. Even if I did feel something for you — which I’m not saying I do — I would never let it show. It’s unethical."

Tony made a face.

"You shouldn’t have to hide your feelings just for some silly job."

"Silly job, huh? The same one that allows me to survive. Since when did you get so emotional? This whole time travel thing really messed with your head."

"It’s the future, Pep. You can’t run from it," Tony said, taking a deep breath and letting it out dramatically as he closed his eyes for a few seconds.

"Are you okay?" she asked, watching him with concern.

"I was never close to my father. Honestly, I barely ever saw him. We were always so close, yet so far, and..." he sighed.
"If there was one thing I was absolutely sure of, it was that I’d never be a father. I was convinced I’d be just like him — if not worse. I couldn’t do that to a child. I’d ruin their life. I’d just traumatize them. But when I was coming back from the kitchen to get some water, I heard laughter coming from one of the rooms. And there we were, all of us — me, you, and our kids. And we looked happy. Happier than I’ve ever been. It made me realize I always wanted to be a father... I was just scared. And now I keep thinking... what if I mess it all up? What if I ruin everything for you, Pep?"

Tony looked at her with a defeated expression, pure pain in his eyes.
God, Pepper had never imagined her boss could feel things like this.

"Oh, Tony..."
Somehow, Pepper managed to completely soften her gaze, calming Tony just a bit.

"Look at me," she said, gently placing her hand on the side of his face. His heart skipped a beat.
He instinctively leaned into her touch. There was a strange comfort in it — one he hadn’t felt in so long. He couldn’t even remember the last time someone had touched him like that… or shown him that kind of affection.

"I’m not going to lie to you. You definitely weren’t the person I pictured as the father of my children," she admitted, making him tense slightly.
"But looking at you now, I honestly can’t imagine anyone better for such an important role in the lives of the two most important people in my life."

His eyes filled with tears.

"Tony, look at how those kids look at you. It doesn’t take much to see how much they love you — how you’re their hero."

The tears in his eyes threatened to spill.

"Listen… you’re not perfect. Not even close. But no one is. And you try to be better — that’s obvious. Not just for your kids, but for me too."

Her hand gently wiped away the tears now spilling down his cheeks with soft, tender strokes.

"Thank you. Really. For being you. I don’t know if it’s too soon to say this, but... I love you." Tony said.

She gave him a soft smile. Tony slowly leaned forward until their lips met in a tender kiss.
It was soft, warm, and full of love — exactly what they both needed after such a chaotic, exhausting day.

For Tony, it was something he hadn’t felt since his mother’s death. He felt... loved.

When they finally pulled away from the kiss, Tony wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. And just like that, they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

·*·

The next morning, Pepper woke up relatively early. She got ready and decided to head downstairs after hearing voices coming from below. But nothing could’ve prepared her for the sight she saw when she walked into the kitchen.

There was Tony — wearing an apron that said something like “This Dad is Priceless” — standing at the stove making pancakes, holding Morgan at his side with his metal arm while humming a children’s song. Peter was sitting at the table doing homework, occasionally making a comment or joke. Sometimes Tony would mess something up on purpose, and the kids would burst into laughter while he responded with some sarcastic remark.

It was definitely Tony — not her Tony, not the one from the present — but a family man Tony. The Tony of the future.

And she had to admit... fatherhood suited him well.

Then, she saw her future self walk into the kitchen, first stopping behind Peter to give him a gentle kiss on the forehead and ruffle his curls. Peter smiled warmly at her. She then walked over to her husband and youngest daughter, pressing a quick kiss to her husband's lips and a sweet one on Morgan's forehead.

In that moment, Pepper knew for certain: she had made the right choice.

Not wanting to intrude on the family moment, she quietly went back up to the guest room and decided to wait there until Tony woke up.

As she entered, he stirred a little and slowly opened his eyes. When he saw her, he gave her the most beautiful smile she had ever seen him give — the one she now realized was reserved only for family. And she was more than happy to be a part of that family.

She smiled back and sat down beside him.

"I thought you'd never wake up," she teased, reaching out to run her fingers through his hair — but she hesitated for a second, unsure if she was being too emotional.

Tony looked at her and pulled her into a warm hug, silently giving her permission to touch his hair. He melted under her soft touch.

"Missed me, Pepper?" he said playfully.

"As far as I remember, you were the one who clung to me first," she said, raising an eyebrow. He looked at her, pretending to be offended, and she let out a light laugh.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Are you lovebirds awake yet?" came Rhodey’s voice from outside.

"Go bother your grandma, Platypus!" Tony yelled back, breaking the hug with Pepper and getting up. She followed shortly after.

Tony opened the door to find a grinning Rhodey, wearing a very knowing look.

"Breakfast time? I’m starving," said Happy, frowning grumpily.

They all headed downstairs together, and were met by the future version of the family carrying food out to the outdoor patio.

"Good morning, sleepyheads. We’re having breakfast outside today," Future Tony said with a bright smile.

"Easy for you to say — you didn’t just travel through time," Happy muttered, clearly still not a morning person.

“Daddy! Daddy!”
Morgan ran forward and accidentally bumped into Happy, who jumped at the sudden collision.
“I’m sorry, younger Uncle Happy. Papà, can I help you with something?” she asked, and Past Tony looked at her with curiosity. Future Tony crouched down to meet her at eye level.

“Of course, piccola. You can bring this to Mommy,” he said, handing the little girl a packet of napkins.

“Daddy, this is too easy,” she said, stamping her foot in frustration. “I want something harder!”

“Okay then. You can carry this napkin holder, open the packet, and place the napkins in it. That’s a much trickier task—I bet you can’t do it,” he said, challenging her. The girl lit up with a radiant smile and ran off to help set things on the outdoor table.

“Did you teach them Italian?” Young Tony asked Future Tony, who smiled warmly in response.

“It was my duty to teach them. Mom taught me, and now I taught them. Especially Morgan; Pete had already picked up some from his aunt.”

Past Tony nodded slowly. Suddenly, the silence turned a bit awkward.

“Well, shall we go outside for breakfast? It’s going to be a long day.”

Everyone followed Future Tony toward the beginning of the patio area, where a huge table was set, laden with food. They all sat down and soon started eating.

As they were finishing, Peter broke the silence.

“Dad, do you know how we’re going to send them back?”

“How could I not?” Tony replied. “But the real question is—who.”

Chapter Text

"I doubt he'll help," Peter muttered.

"He won't want to deal with a messed-up timeline. He doesn’t have much of a choice," Tony said with a shrug.

"He’ll probably just want to get rid of you," Pepper added, pouring more juice into Morgan’s glass, who was watching her parents and their past uncles attentively.

"Who are you talking about?" Rhodey asked, confused.

"One of our teammates. The Avengers, remember? He’s the one who deals with time travel and timelines. So he’s one of the only people who can send you back without too much trouble or too many problems," Tony explained.

At that moment, the sound of many people talking could be heard from inside the house. Who could it be? The Stark family had no neighbors — which could only mean one thing: visitors.

Tony frowned and glanced at Peter, who let his head fall with a groan of frustration.

"FAMILY!" Thor suddenly shouted, making everyone at the table jump — except Peter. The Avengers had arrived. Or at least part of them.

"Didn’t know you were having guests," Nat said with a mischievous smile.

"Is there anything left for us?" Clint asked as he pulled up a chair and sat at the large table.

"What are you guys doing here?" Peter asked Bruce, who sat next to Natasha.

"May called us," he replied with a shrug.

"May? She came too?" Pepper asked. The time travelers were still looking around a bit stunned.

"She’s inside. She brought something and went to put it away," Rhodey commented, grabbing a bunch of food. Peter nodded and looked back at his plate.

"Tony, I swear I tried to hold them back," Steve apologized as he also pulled up a chair to sit.

"At least you tried, Capsicle," Tony said, patting him on the shoulder.

"That’s Steve?" Past Rhodey asked in confusion.

"Remember when I told you guys about the Avengers? This is them," Tony said.

May and Happy made their way to the table and sat down. Everyone talked for a long time, sharing laughs and teasing one another, until Peter remembered something important.

"Dad, weren’t you going to talk to Strange?"

Tony jerked upright and grabbed his phone. “Totally forgot. Thanks for the reminder, bambino.” Peter smiled in response.

"I’m surprised he hasn’t shown up already," Pepper commented, and Tony nodded.

"If you’ll excuse me, I’ll call him now," Tony said, glancing around the table. Before heading inside, he ruffled Peter’s curls, pinched Morgan’s cheek, and gave Pepper a quick kiss.

He considered calling Strange from the living room, but decided on the lab instead—less chance of being interrupted.

After two rings, the sorcerer answered.

"What have you been doing, Stark?"

"Good morning to you too, wizard."

"What do you want?"

"Let's say my son ended up bringing my past self into the future, along with some of my family, and now we need to get them back."

"What did your son do?!"

"What did you just hear."

"And now?... And now?" He whispers as he seemed to be walking and thinking. "This could end the timeline, Stark!"

"I know that, that's why I called you."

"I'm going to finish Peter off!"

"Breathe, magician. Can you solve this?"

"Of course I can."

"Did you see that? You didn't even need to be stressed. Too much stress can be harmful to your health, did you know that?"

"Shut up, Stark. I'll be there in two hours."

"Two hours?! You can't, I don't know, teleport here?"

"I arrive in two hours" He says, emphasizing 'two hours' and hanging up.

Tony lets out a soft laugh and walks back into the living room, finding Morgan chatting with their past selves on the couch, while Pepper and Peter finish tidying up the coffee table. Tony walks past the couch and heads to the kitchen, giving Peter a side hug.

"Strange will be here in two hours."

"Two hours? Can’t he just teleport? That would be way faster," Peter says, clearly frustrated. Tony bursts out laughing.

"I asked him the same thing, but he hung up on me. Looks like he wants to do things the hard way." Peter shrugs. Tony and Peter return to the backyard where everyone else is.

"Strange will be here in two hours. He's the one I told you about—he can take you back," Tony tells the travelers.

"Two hours?" Happy asks, frowning.

"Yeah." Tony replies. Morgan walks up to Peter and gently tugs on the hem of his shirt.

"Petey, can you get my teddy bear? I was playing with Uncle Steve and it ended up way up there," she points to a Spider-Man dressed teddy bear stuck in a tree.

"How did you even get it up there? That’s way too high to have just fallen," he asks, frowning. The tree had to be about five meters tall—pretty high for a five-year-old.

"I kinda aimed for it," Steve says, lowering his voice and head, clearly embarrassed but not exactly sorry—he loved playing with his niece and nephew.

Morgan also lowers her head, but quickly recovers, lifting it again and shouting, "But that’s not a problem, since you can get it easily!"

"Girl, there’s no way the kid’s getting that bear. It’s way too high—" Happy is cut off by gasps from their time-traveling companions. He looks up and also gasps dramatically. The boy was climbing the tree like a spider! A spider!

"How is that possible?" Past-Pepper asks just after Peter jumps down from the tree, landing perfectly on his feet, as if he’d done it a hundred times.

"Peter, I told you not to do that," Future Pepper scolds him. Every time her son jumped from somewhere high, she nearly had a heart attack. Everyone chuckles softly.

"I have enhancements. I’m actually a superhero. Spider-Man," he says, a bit awkwardly, especially with such a big audience.

"Are all of you superheroes?" Past-Tony asks the family, eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm not yet," Morgan says cheerfully, happy to have her teddy bear back in her hands.

"Is Pepper a superhero too?" Young Tony asks.

"No. I have a suit, but it’s only for emergencies," Pepper answers, and Past-Pepper looks fascinated.

"And I’m retired. The only superhero here now is the kid," Tony says, throwing an arm around Peter like a proud father. Peter blushes furiously.

"You have superpowers?" Past-Rhodey asks the boy.

"A few. I have super strength, enhanced senses, I can stick to things, fast metabolism, quick healing, and the spider-sense."

"Spider-sense?" Happy asks.

"Yeah. It’s kind of like a sixth sense. I can tell when there’s danger nearby or when something’s about to happen. For example, if you tried to punch me, my spider-sense would tell me which way to move."

"How did you get your powers?" Rhodey asks.

"A radioactive spider bit me. Ever since then, I’ve had these powers."

"So you’re like a super soldier, like Captain America?" Tony asks. Steve frowns slightly at the comment.

"Something like that."

"Cool," Rhodey says with a smile.

"Up for a video game match, kid? Just don’t cry when you lose," Clint teases, and Peter rolls his eyes with a smug smile.

"Same goes for you. Winner plays against Uncle Bucky."

"Going to cheat, kid? You know I’ll beat you both in a blink," Bucky says with a grin, and the trio starts running toward the living room.

"Can we play Monopoly, Aunt Nat?" Morgan asks, looking up at Natasha, who nods cheerfully.

"Of course we can, Милый." Morgan gives a wide smile and runs inside too.

"We could watch a movie until Stephen gets here, if you all want," Pepper suggests, and everyone nods.

Then, they head to a room the travelers hadn’t seen yet. It was a massive room, with a large table in one corner, a giant cinema screen on the wall, and many cinema-style seats facing the screen. In another corner, there were three TVs, each hooked up to a different gaming console, where Sam, Clint, Bucky, and Peter were already playing, while Happy, Tony, Steve, and Bruce watched the match, occasionally commenting or cheering.

There was a shelf full of board games, puzzles, cards, and just about anything you could imagine in that category. There was also a huge couch, probably for sitting and chatting with guests. In another part of the room, there was a small concession-style area, with a cooler—probably filled with juices—and lots of candy, plus a popcorn cart where Thor was eating several Pop-Tarts.

It was amazing.

"Wow. You guys have an entertainment room in your house?" Happy asked, clearly stunned.

"This is Tony’s house. Of course it had to have something over the top," Natasha comments, and Pepper laughs.

"Can we play now? I already set everything up!" Morgan says, running over and dragging her mother toward the big table.

·*·

After playing for a long time, everyone got tired and went to sit on the couch.

A few minutes later, Peter heard the sound of something approaching. Someone actually. It was Stephen.

Peter opened the door, finding an extremely angry wizard.

"I'm going to kill you, you brat!" He screams and grabs Peter's neck and Peter's eyes widen.

"It wasn't on purpose, I swear!"

"Strange, release my son!" Tony shouts, running to the door, taking Stephen's hands off the boy's neck, moving him away and getting in front of him, protecting him.

"I wasn't going to really hurt him. It was just a scare" The wizard says, glaring at Peter. Peter swallows hard and slowly walks away until he stands next to his mother, who had just arrived at his side. The scene was comical and for that reason, the avengers were dying laughing.

"Oh yes, of course" Tony comments sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Can we finally leave?" Happy asks impatiently. He was super grumpy when he was outside his house.

Stephen doesn't respond, only look at May.

"Has this boy always been this naughty?" Strange directs the question to May. He wasn't really mad. He could pretend not to, but he liked the boy. Not that he would admit it.

"Always. He was a very difficult child" May jokes, provoking Peter who looks at her indignantly and even offended.

"It hasn't changed at all" Pepper joins in the fun.

"Excuse me? Is this a competition to see who can say the most bad things about me?" Peter asks, dramatically, making a drama, making everyone laugh.

"I hope your little cousin doesn’t turn out like this too," May said, looking at Happy, who gave her a smile in return.

Everyone in the room took a moment to process what had just been said. May let out a laugh.

And then the room exploded. Everyone started asking a thousand questions all at once, voices overlapping in complete chaos. After a good while of that confusion, Tony stood up.

"SILENCE! She won’t be able to answer any of our questions if you all keep yelling like that!" Tony shouted, and everyone immediately went quiet, turning their attention to May. "May," Tony said, pausing for a moment. "Are you pregnant?" he asked, his expression a mix of curiosity and confusion. Past-Happy looked like he was about to die on the spot, while the other time travelers found the whole situation absolutely hilarious.

"What? No!" May pulled a face. "We adopted a little girl. Her name is April, and she’s five years old—just like Morgs," May said with a gentle smile.

"What?!" Peter shouted, and once again, the room erupted into loud chatter, everyone excited and in disbelief. Pepper and Tony stood wide-eyed and open-mouthed, Morgan was running and jumping around yelling that she was going to have a cousin her age, Peter was talking to himself trying to process it, Clint, Sam, Rhodey, Bucky, and Steve were all freaking out together, asking Happy and May a flood of questions while also talking over one another, Thor was shouting with glowing eyes, and Natasha just stood back, watching everything with a huge smile on her face. Stephen just watched from afar with a small smile

"I'm going to be a dad?!" Past-Happy yelled in panic. It was hilarious.

"Okay, that’s enough," Stephen said, opening a portal. A gust of wind pushed them all through it, and the portal closed immediately behind them. Everyone went quiet, watching.

"Don’t worry, their memories were erased the moment they passed through the portal. I’ll be going now. Congratulations to the couple and the family. I’ll still kill you," he added, making Peter swallow hard. Then Strange stepped through the portal, which closed right after him.

"He's just kidding. He wouldn’t actually do it. And even if he tried, I’d save you, kid," Tony said, ruffling Peter’s hair.

"When is she arriving, Uncle Happy?" Peter asked Happy, who glanced at his watch.

"We’re going to pick her up now. We’ll be right back," he said, brushing his hand over Peter’s curls as he passed by, with May following close behind. She gave a quick, glowing goodbye, clearly excited to go get her daughter.

As soon as they left, Sam asked, "What just happened?"

"A lot," Peter replied, still dazed, and everyone gave small nods of agreement.

"Your mom’s gonna kill me, but that was amazing," Tony said to Peter, laughing.

"That was insane!" Clint shouted, exasperated.

Pepper just shook her head with a little chuckle.

"I can't deny it, it was really good—but also exhausting," she said, collapsing onto the couch, worn out.

"I’m glad you guys liked it. Next time," Peter said, turning to face his dad, "I'll bring your parents, Jarvis, and maybe Peggy too." He ended with a mischievous grin as he watched Tony and Uncle Steve’s eyes go wide.

"Don’t even think about it, you little menace."

"We’ve had enough chaos in the last forty-eight hours. Don’t try anything like that again, son," Pepper said with her eyes closed.

"I won’t... at least not for now," he whispered the last part with a cheeky look.