#this is revolting to me because i hate ai full stop no excuses

[titsthedamnseason]

i’m truly making the most out of my one last day with ai fortnight before we get the real thing and i never think about it again

[iamartemisday]

Pepperony Week Day Six- Endgame Fix-It

A/N: This story is loosely based on the NGE fic, The Second Try by Jimmy Wolk.

**

It all came down to this.

Which was such a damn cliche, he wanted to smack himself for even thinking it. The truth was the truth, though, and Tony Stark was nothing if not honest.

Ever since New York, the chitauri, Ultron, those damn Accords, everything had led him to this moment. Right here, with infinite power at his disposal and one purple son of a bitch to kill.

"I am inevitable," Thanos said. Yeah, sure. Inevitably ugly.

Oh, he was good.

The worst part was knowing Pepper was watching. Pepper and Rhodey and Peter. At least Morgan would never have to see this, even if she would grow up in a world without him.

It had to be this way. Just one chance to save the universe. One out of fourteen million.

'It's hard being number one,' he thought, almost with a laugh.

"And I… am…" Talking hurt, moving hurt, everything hurt, but he had to say it. "Ironman."

The world stood still. Another cliche. The time between the snap and the impact felt like years. He saw it all, Morgan's birth, Pepper's face at their wedding, Rhodey carrying him, half-starved, to bed, Peter's body dissolving in his arms, space, the donut ship, so many battles, so many wars, so much chaos and loss, so much pain.

'I wish it never happened,' he thought, filling his thoughts with only Morgan, her sweet little face. He'd never see her again. 'I wish I could've watched you grow up.'

Light and energy exploded, tearing his body to pieces, and then it was over.

Tony Stark closed his eyes.

**

"Tony?"

He opened his eyes. He was on a jet carrier, banking left as they picked up altitude. Rhodey was next to him. At least, it looked like Rhodey. Tony had to blink a few times to be sure. This Rhodey was at least a decade younger than the one he knew. His leg braces were gone. Instead, he wore a standard military uniform.

"Hey, wake up," he said. "We're almost there."

Tony blinked. He tried to move his right arm but it was caught in a sling. "Almost… where?"

Rhodey furrowed his brow, studying Tony like a doctor. He should've known how much Tony hated that. "Home. Should only be another ten minutes."

Tony's pocket beeped. He jumped like he'd been hit with a cattle prod. Steadying himself, he reached into his pants and pulled out the clunky flip phone he used ten years ago.

It was Obadiah.

Obadiah Stane was calling him.

At the corner of the screen was the date.

"Oh my God." The phone clattered to the floor, landing on just the right button to reject the call. Tony shot to his feet, but Rhodey was faster.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"This isn't right." Tony's had snapped in every direction, seeking something, anything. He didn't even know what. There was no fire anywhere. No debris. No Thanos. "This… this can't be happening…"

"Tony, calm down." Rhodey forced him back in his seat, keeping a firm hold on his shoulders. "Look at me. You're out, okay? You're safe. We're not going back to Afghanistan ever again."

"Afghan…" Tony inhaled until his lungs ached. His heart pounded so hard, his ears hurt. The phone rang again. It was a number he didn't know, but the date was still the same.

May 3rd, 2008.

The plane landed in an airport. He couldn't remember which. The ramp descended and Rhodey supported him on the way back to solid ground. Pepper was waiting for him. Her hair up, her outfit clean, her eyes red and shiny. She looked exactly like she had the day he came home from captivity.

'Today is the day you came home from captivity,' he told himself, though he could hardly believe it.

This had to be a dying dream, one last trick from the stones to lull him off to eternal sleep. Any second now, his vision would go dark. He'd be back in the burning rubble of what should've been his second home, surrounded by the people he still, after everything, considered his friends. He'd be right back to dying for the good of the universe and hoping only to hear a certain voice one more time.

A voice which belonged to the woman standing before him, solid and real. Everything around him was real. From the tarmac to Rhodey's hand to Pepper's wet smile.

"Hey Pep," he choked, remembering his old line but unable to speak it. "I… hey…"

"Hey," she said. "Glad you're back. I hate job-hunting."

A sob tore from his throat as his knees finally gave. His body was far too light, and Pepper's knees barely buckled as he fell against her. Tony would apologize later, or maybe never. He wasn't as sorry as he should've been.

He just needed to feel her.

"This is real," he muttered, his whole body trembling. "This is real. How is this real? I didn't-"

"Maybe we should get him to the hospital." Rhodey tried to speak softly, but Tony heard every word.

"No! No hospitals." He found the strength to let Pepper go. "Please… I just want…"

'I want an American cheeseburger... and the other-'

'That's enough of that.'

'It's not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference.'

The words were in his head like a movie script. He knew how to say them, what inflictions to use. He had everything but the gumption to speak. His stomach revolted at the thought of a rice cracker, let alone greasy fast food. His bold new direction had to happen one way or another, but did he have to announce it today?

Tony looked at Pepper, all subtle signs of aging gone from her face. Her crinkle-less eyes were as wide as they'd been before Extremis. They were full of concern for him and he could barely take it.

"I just want to go home."

**

The Malibu house was smaller than he remembered. The roof didn't slope like he thought it did and he spent twenty minutes searching for the east wing before remembering it wouldn't be built for another two years.

Though Pepper and Rhodey both argued Tony had stood firm. He didn't need a doctor. At least, not that kind. Tony checked every database in the country for Stephen Strange and found his man in a Manhattan hospital. He was an up and coming star in the surgery world. His operations were pure artistry. People came from miles away just to have a meeting with him. He'd been interviewed on the five o'clock news last month, and it was clear he knew exactly how brilliant and important he was.

But he wasn't magic. Not yet.

Now Tony had nothing to do but stare at the upside-down door to his basement lab. The blood was rushing to his head and he should probably sit up, but every time he thought about it, all the energy he'd built up evaporated. In the corner of his eye was the piano. His mother used to play it for him, now Obie did.

He was going to have to get that evidence against Obadiah. Put him in jail for a few thousand years and maybe make it a clean process. Lying, murderous prick that he was, Tony didn't really want to kill him again.

He'd have to deal with Ivan Vanko, though. And Aldrich Killian. And HYDRA. Had to keep the Maximoffs away from those assholes. Had to find Bruce before Ross did. Had to get Steve out of the ice. Had to get Barnes out of the ice. Had to keep an eye on Peter. He'd be seven years old now, give or take.

He'd have to be Pepper's boss again. Nothing but a boss...

Tony pressed the base of his hands into his eyes, but the dull throbbing wouldn't stop. "Friday, dim the lights."

"Excuse me, sir?"

Tony sat up, searching for an intruder before the voice registered. "Uh, right. JARVIS, I… I'm sorry, I don't know what I'm saying."

"As you didn't the other three times, I'm sure."

"Watch it," Tony pointed at the control panel. "I gave you sarcasm, I can take it away."

"Of course, sir. My apologies."

Tony's smile broke. How he'd managed it at all was a mystery he'd never solve. "No, don't apologize, buddy. I uh… I wanted to tell you how much I… I mean, you do so much. You're one hell of an AI."

"I should be, sir. You designed me."

"No, not that. I mean, yes, I did, but… I just appreciate everything you've done for me, JARVIS. I wanted you to know that. I… I appreciate you and I…"

'I love you 3000.'

He'd been hearing that voice since he woke up. Seeing her face in his mind's eye. When he entered the house, he half expected her to rush out of her room and run into his arms. He would've held her and rocked her until the end of the world.

But he didn't, because Morgan Stark didn't have a room in the Malibu house.

Morgan Stark didn't exist.

He avoided that realization for so long as it chipped away at him. Her absence was a hole in his heart that would never be filled. Not until she was conceived again. If she was conceived again. The odds of getting the exact timing twice, with a ten-year window in between, were astronomical. No calculator in the world could figure that number out.

And this was real.

Tony curled into a ball and cried. He hadn't really cried in so long. The last time, Pepper held him all night and talked him through it. This time, he was alone. Pepper didn't know him as her husband and the father of her child. He was a philandering asshole who just so happened to sign her paychecks. She wouldn't be there in the morning for him to kiss awake. She wouldn't go to bed with him at night and tell him she loved him. They wouldn't eat breakfast in the morning with their little girl and talk about the day ahead.

To think, his biggest concern used to be finding the right size muffler for whatever car he was restoring.

What a piece of shit he'd been.

"Why would you do this to me?" He stared at the ceiling. Most of the stones were in space right now, so it would have to do. "You couldn't just blow Thanos and his boy band to kingdom come and kill me? That's all I asked for."

Except it wasn't.

'I wish it never happened.' He said that to himself while the power of the universe coursed through his veins. Hearing his thoughts and concluding exactly what he meant by 'it' wouldn't be difficult for an ancient force that could destroy entire universes in the blink of an eye.

"That's great," Tony mumbled, laughing even as fresh tears welled up. "Really great, guys. Remember how I also wished I could watch her grow up? Can't do that if she's never born, now can I? Did you think of that?"

"Sir, I don't mean to interrupt your… internal discussion." Tony snorted. JARVIS continued. "I've just received a message from the caretaker of your summer home in Georgia. There is a slight situation."

Tony sighed, staring at nothing. "What kind of situation?"

"Well sir, he was doing a routine inspection of the property and he found a young girl sleeping in one of the guest rooms. She's claiming it's her room and that she's your daughter."

The bottom dropped out of the world. All sounds and sights fell away. If there was ever a moment for Tony to wake up in a battlefield ready to die, it was now.

"What does she look like?" Tony waved but no holoscreens appeared. Because he hadn't put them in yet. "Did he send photos?"

"I only have the report, sir. She calls herself Morgan and reportedly will not stop asking for you. The caretaker wanted to inform you of the matter before contacting child services."

"NO!" Tony grabbed his coat. "Tell him not to call anyone, just keep her there and wait for me. And get the jet ready for takeoff. We're leaving in ten minutes."

"Sir, I-"

"Just do it, JARVIS!"

Tony broke every speed limit imaginable and possibly the laws of physics to get to the airport in under five minutes. The radio was off. His phone was under a pillow somewhere at home. He'd stopped asking questions. 'Because Infinity Stones' would just have to do.

As he boarded the plane, he took one more look at the sky. "We're not done yet."

Somewhere deep inside himself, he almost felt that buzz of heat and power.

Time for round two.