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It had been a normal day in the Stark household when it happened.
Tony was home for a couple weeks the summer before his last year at MIT. He was late for dinner, having only arrived once his parents were more than halfway through with their meals, and was subsequently teetering on the edge of a full-blown argument with his father.
Howard opened his mouth to bite back at Tony when he was interrupted by the sound of alarmed yelps on the other side of the room.
When Tony whipped his head in the direction of the noise, he was shocked to find some sort of hole in the air that could only be described (though it annoyed him greatly) as a portal that disappeared mere moments after he saw it. Lying just beneath where the portal had been were three people letting out various noises of discomfort.
A boy who looked about Tony’s age with short brown hair sat up with a groan, holding a hand to his head where it had presumably hit the ground. He slowly opened his eyes before they shot open in shock as the boy stared at them.
A little girl, maybe 5 or 6 sat up next. She had brown hair that extended just beyond her shoulders and was surprisingly cute. As soon as she saw them, she stared at him in surprise.
“Um, Dad? Y-you might wanna see this.” The boy said nervously, nudging the man behind him.
“Yeah, I’m getting up. What is-” Tony stared in complete shock at the man sitting on the floor just a few feet away. His hair was the same color as Tony's, as were his eyes. They had the same jaw, nose, and mouth. The only differences between them apart from style were that this man was older and had a large scar encompassing part of the right side of his face. It was uncanny.
“Who are you?” Howard demanded, taking a step toward the mysterious trio.
“You aren’t going to like the answer.” The man who looked entirely too much like him stated.
“Answer the question.”
“Tony Stark.”
The whole family looked at the man calming to be Tony in various levels of shock.
Howard snorted. “You can’t really expect us to believe that.”
“It’s the truth; take it or leave it.”
Tony squinted at... the other Tony? If he wasn’t lying this was going to get real confusing. Anyway, that did sound like something he would say. If this was a lie it was an extremely well-crafted one.
Howard simply glared at the other Tony. “And who are they?” He asked, gesturing to the two unfamiliar faces in the room.
“They’re Morgan and Peter.” Other Tony wrapped his arms around the two, Morgan wrapping her arms around his leg and Peter putting a hand on his shoulder, but none looking away from Howard. “My kids.”
Tony stared at the trio in even further shock. Him? With kids? There was no way on Earth that was even close to true. Though, now that he was looking both kids did look quite a bit like him, and Peter was wearing what appeared to be a worn-out version of his MIT hoodie.
Howard glared even harder and scoffed.
“I can prove it.” Other Tony said, turning to look at Tony. “You love it when mom plays the piano for you even if you can play it yourself, Jarvis got you that toy car for your sixth birthday that Howard wouldn’t let you have, you think of Rhodey like the older brother you never had, and if you look you’ll see that Peter is wearing your MIT hoodie. I can go on.”
Tony blinked, there was no way someone could know those things without the insider knowledge of being Tony Stark, and the more he looked the more he was certain that was his hoodie.
“That all checks out.” Tony said weakly, the first words out of his mouth since these people arrived.
Howard somehow managed to look further displeased. “Let’s say we believe you; how did you get here?”
Other Tony let out an annoyed huff, though it didn’t seem to be directed at Howard. “This wizard we know was having some dumb wizard problems and somehow managed to mess up so bad we got sent back in time.”
This answer did not satisfy Howard in the slightest, but the hard look Other Tony communicated to the man that was the only answer he was getting. “How are you planning on getting back?” Howard asked with a huff.
“Probably best to just wait for the wizard to come get us. He cares too much about the timeline to just leave us here.”
There was a long silence after that as everyone absorbed the event of the last five minutes. The silence was, however, broken by a loud yet cute yawn from Morgan.
“I’m sure our... guests are quite tired right now. How about we get them settled in the guest rooms for the night.” Mom suggested with a small, sympathetic smile.
Howard agreed after a long moment and sent Jarvis to set up the time-traveling trio for the night.
The two remaining adults left shortly after, presumably wanting to speak about what had just happened in private, leaving Tony to slowly eat his dinner while he processed the day's events before turning in for the night.
-
As Edwin Jarvis lead the time-traveling family to the guest rooms, he couldn’t help but listen with fondness to the conversation behind him.
“Daddy, why aren’t we going home?” Morgan asked curiously, though there was a hint of concern in her voice.
“We’re just on a little vacation, honey.” Tony assured with open warmth and love in his voice that made Edwin so proud. He couldn’t remember hearing Howard speak to Tony like that, yet here he was doing it for his own kids.
“But why isn’t Mommy here then?” The same concern in the little girl’s now confused voice.
“You know Mommy’s got a lot of work to do as CEO; she just couldn’t be here this time.” Tony assured. “So, let's make sure to give her an extra big hug when we get back, ok?”
“Yeah! We’ll give the best hugs ever!” Morgan announced, causing Tony to chuckle lightly.
“That we will.”
“We have reached the guest rooms.” Edwin informed, a little guilty about interrupting such a cute conversation.
Once the family was relatively settled and getting ready for bed Edwin went off to search for appropriately sized clothing. Tony and Peter’s accommodation had been easy to find, though Morgans had been more difficult. Luckily, some of Tony’s old clothes were still in storage and he’d been able to find clothes that would fit the little girl.
Though Edwin would have loved to stay and talk to the future Tony and his family he decided to leave them be for now, instead going to continue his work around the house.
Once his work time officially ended, he peaked in the room. His heart warmed at the sight before him; all three were laying on the bed together, both children resting their heads on his chest as he held them close.
Edwin left the room with a smile on his face and the knowledge that despite everything he had been right about Tony.
-
Sometimes Tony would get restless in the night. His brain refused to shut down and his fingers itched for something to do. On nights like these, he would sneak down to the basement lab and tinker. He rarely got any sleep when that happened, instead staying down there until Jarvis inevitably found him tinkering in the morning and sent him to his room.
This night was, predictably, one of those nights. Tony laid in bed for a while thinking about all the implications of what he had seen from his future self. There was no way he was going to get to sleep tonight and finding something to tinker with in the lab would help take his mind off the whole time-traveling thing.
So, Tony made his way through the long hallways of the mansion into the lab and quickly got to work.
“Oh.” Tony whipped around at the unfamiliar voice interrupting him after about two hours of work to find Peter standing in the doorway with a surprised expression that quickly flooded with nervousness.
"What are you doing down here?” Tony asked, half curious, half nervous.
“I, um, I usually tinker when I can’t sleep a-and I couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d find a lab c-cuz there was bound to be one but, um, you’re here so.” Peter shifted awkwardly and Tony wondered how on Earth a boy this shy and nervous was his son.
“That’s why I’m here too.” Tony said after a long moment. “I don’t mind if you want to work on something too.”
Peter looked surprised for a moment, but it quickly melted into a shy smile as he quickly made his way to a workbench near Tony.
The two worked in silence for a while before Tony decided to bite the bullet and ask the one question his brain kept circling back to.
“So, Peter, I was wondering why there’s such a big age gap between you and Morgan?”
Peter looked up. “What?”
“Well, I guess what I’m asking is...” Tony briefly trailed off. His question was a bit awkward but if he wanted answers he just had to ask. “Do you guys have the same mom or...?”
Peter stared at him for a moment before something seemed to click and his confusion washed away. “Oh, I’m adopted.” The other boy said as if that wasn’t completely unfathomable to Tony.
Him? Adopting a child? How on Earth did that even happen?
“I- Wha- How?” Tony sputtered in surprise.
Peter blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s, um, it’s a long story and I don’t really want to get into it too much.” Peter was quiet for a while and it seemed to Tony that he was done, but before he could go back to work the boy started again. “I-I’ll just say that you make a great dad, and you helped me a lot and were there for me even when no one else was.”
Tony still wasn’t sure he’d be as good a parent as Peter seemed to think he was, but he didn’t really have the heart to push that any further.
“What about Morgan?” He asked instead, hoping this topic would be less tense.
“She’s yours with your wife Pepper.”
Tony honestly shouldn’t be surprised at this point, though it still managed to catch him off guard. He didn’t think he’d ever find himself in a stable enough relationship to get married, let alone to have a kid.
“Huh. What's she like?”
“Pepper? She’s great! She’s really cool: she’s smart, and put together, and confident, and sassy, and she’s really good at dealing with all the shenanigans we get up to.” Tony nodded along; this woman did seem pretty cool.
After that, the conversation quickly changed to the teens’ tinkering. Though Peter had to adjust a bit to the different time period’s materials the conversation was interesting, and Tony was pleasantly surprised to have found someone his own age who could keep up with him.
“Young sirs.” Jarvis’ voice called from the doorway, interrupting the boys. “I suggest you go to your rooms before anyone discovers you were down here.”
Tony nodded and quickly started cleaning up. When he looked at Peter the other boy seemed confused.
“What?” Tony asked.
“Why do we have to keep anyone from finding out we were down here?” Peter wondered.
“Whenever Howard finds me down here instead of in bed, I get a lecture about sleep and sneaking around, and dishonesty, and I sometimes even get into trouble. Jarvis understands why I’m down here, so he helps me avoid all that.”
Peter stared at him for an uncomfortably long moment before nodding and cleaning up his stuff.
Huh, Tony thought, I wonder what that was about.
-
Howard was out of bed and ready for breakfast at the same time he always was, Maria only a few minutes behind him. Everything seemed perfectly normal, and he was already wondering if his supposed son and grandchildren from the future were just a dream.
The illusion of normalcy was shattered in a single moment when his supposed grandson, Peter, walked nervously into the room.
“Um, hello Mr. And Mrs. Stark” The boy said, his anxious energy a little off-putting to Howard. How on Earth had his cocky, disrespectful son manage to raise such a shy yet respectful boy.
“Oh, please, we’re your grandparents. There is no need to be that formal.” Maria said sweetly. “And come sit over here, we didn’t have time to talk much yesterday, but I’d love to get to know you.”
“Ok.” Peter said. He still radiated nervous energy but seemed to relax a bit at Maria’s welcoming demeanor. The boy sat down at the table across from them.
“So, Peter, how old are you?” Maria asked after Jarvis had come in to get Peter’s breakfast order.
“I’m sixteen but I’ll be seventeen in a few months”
“Where do you go to school?” Maria asked curiously, the question piquing Howard’s interest and causing him to look up at Peter.
“Midtown School of Science and Technology.”
Howard frowned. “That’s a high school, is it not?”
“Y-yeah, it is.”
“Why aren’t you in college yet? Tony is, and he’s younger than you.”
Peter shrunk in on himself a bit under Howard's glare. It seemed Tony was being too soft on the boy.
“Howard.” Maria scolded with a hard look.
“N-no, it’s fine.” Peter said to Maria before looking back at Howard. “I could go to college if I wanted, Dad even said he’d help me get in. But two of the most important people to me are at Midtown and I don’t want to leave them.”
Howard scoffed, that was a dumb reason to stay below your level, how were his friends more important than preparing his mind?
Maria, however, seemed eager for the chance to change the topic. “Who are these people Peter?”
“Oh, my best friend Ned and my girlfriend MJ.” The boy answered, also eager for the new course of conversation.
“Girlfriend?” Maria echoed with a cheeky smile. “What’s she like?”
“She’s great!" Peter enthused. ”She’s really cool and funny and she’s also super smart! She’s the captain of the Academic Decathlon and she’s a really good leader. She always speaks her mind and she’s great at fighting with her words!"
Maria’s smile brightened and she gave Howard a look. ‘Better than Tony in that aspect, good’ it said, and Howard had to agree.
“You really like her, don’t you?”
Peter blushed slightly but nodded. “She’s amazing, it’s hard not to.”
After a moment the present Tony walked in with a plate and sat down at the table, giving those presents a quick greeting before starting to eat his breakfast.
There was a long silence as everyone ate and Howard decided it was time to get some answers to the questions he’d been thinking about since last night.
“How’s Stark Industries doing in your time, Peter?” Howard asked, trying to seem disinterested.
“Oh, um, it’s good.” Peter replied, a little confused. Howard nodded and prompted him to continue. “Well, I guess the biggest change since this time period is that we don’t sell weapons anymore.”
“What!?” All three present Starks exclaimed with various amounts of surprise and concern.
Peter winced at the noise but continued. “Yeah, it’s a long story and not mine to tell but Stark Industries sells tech now.” He explained, then smiled proudly before adding. “Best in the industry.”
Howard glanced briefly at Tony, who looked just as shocked as him. “And Tony did this?” Howard inquired incredulously.
“Yep.” Peter said with pride. “Dad made Stark Industries the biggest tech company in the world, we sell tech to places all around the world! All with Mom’s help of course, he wouldn’t survive without her as his CEO.”
Howard blinked, before angry surprise filled him. “He made a woman the CEO ?”
Peter looked surprised before his gaze hardened in a way his previous interactions with the boy led him to believe was impossible. “He did. And I will have you know Mom is an amazing CEO and had just as much a part in make Stark Industries the tech giant it is in my time as Dad.”
Howard huffed but let it go at his wife’s stern look.
The room was left in silent tension for a long moment before tiny footsteps running into the room broke it.
“Hi Peter!” Morgan said, happily sitting next to her older brother. “Hi!” She said to the present Starks with a smile when she remembered they were there.
“Hello Morgan.” Maria greeted with a smile. “How are you this morning?”
“Good!” The little girl replied before shoving a piece of toast into her mouth.
“Do you know how soon your father will be here?"
“Daddy said he’ll come down right after me. He has to get ready ‘cuz he got me ready first.” Morgan explained through the toast in her mouth.
They ate in silence for a little while before Maria started asking Morgan more questions.
“Are you in school yet, honey?” His wife asked sweetly.
“Yeah! I went to Preschool last year and I made some really cool friends! I am going to kindergarten in the fall!”
“What do you learn about there?”
“Not a lot. The other kids all gotta learn about the ABCs and reading and counting stuff, it’s really boring ‘cuz I already know it.” The girl said sadly before her smile rapidly returned. “But Daddy teaches me lots at home so it’s ok! He says I’m smart enough to be in Elementary, but he and Mommy want me to have friends my age, so I have to just learn cool stuff at home. Daddy’s a really good teacher though!”
Howard frowned slightly at that, where did his son get it in his head that friends were more important than learning?
“Do you build anything with him?” He asked, hoping he was at least giving the little girl’s advanced mind a bit of a challenge.
“No, Mommy and Daddy say it’s too dangerous for me.” Morgan said with a pout. “Daddy gave me Snap Circuits for Christmas and we build cool stuff with those ‘cuz they’re safe!”
Morgan was going into kindergarten; she was at least a year older than Tony was when he made his first circuit. Why was he holding her back like this?
-
Tony was thinking about everything Morgan had said. Everything that Peter had said. And to his utter disbelief it seemed that, somehow, his future self was managing to be a better father than Howard was. He had taken all of the things he hated about his own upbringing and made sure not to do it for his own children.
Tony had apparently zoned out for a moment as he was snapped out of his thoughts by a happy cry of “Daddy!” from Morgan, causing him to turn and see his older self walking in.
Tony froze instantly when his eyes reached Other Tony’s right arm. It had a light shine to it and was red with gold accents and looked quite cool. But more importantly: it was a metal arm. Why did his future self have a metal arm ?! And how did Tony fail to notice it yesterday?
He paused. Now that he thought about it his older self had been wearing a jacket the previous evening. It seemed that in the shock of meeting his future self he hadn’t really paid much attention to anything but his face and thus missed the fact that he had a metal arm.
“What?” Older Tony asked when he realized the past Stark family was staring at him. The man followed their gaze to his arm. “Oh, I guess that’s something you’d like an explanation for.”
Tony nodded; of course, he wanted to know why his future self had a metal arm. He noticed Mom and Howard nodding slowly out of the corner of his eyes.
Older Tony sat down next to Morgan with a heavy sigh. "Well, it’s quite a long story so I’ll spare you the details, but I had to use a weapon far too powerful for any normal human to simply use. It hurt my arm so bad they had to remove it and I’m honestly lucky to have survived."
Morgan, who had been so happy only a moment before, was now staring sadly down at her lap. It must have been hard for someone so young to have to watch one of their parents go through something like that.
Peter scoffed, and for a moment Tony was worried until the other boy spoke. “Dad is being modest for once in his life. What he’s trying to say is that he saved the universe, almost died to doing it, and managed to get away with only an amputated limb.”
Tony blinked, looking rapidly between his future self and Peter, only becoming more shocked when Older Tony simply shrugged. He, Tony Stark, saved the universe? Nuh-uh, nada, no way. There was no freaking way he of all people saved the universe .
The rest of breakfast passed in awkward silence as Tony and his parents processed the most recent bombshell to be dropped on them in the past twelve hours.
-
After breakfast was finally over Tony went out to spend the rest of his day with Rhodey. He contemplated telling his friend about the current time-traveling family back at the mansion but decided against it. There was no way he’d believe him and Rhodey couldn’t come over that day so he couldn’t exactly prove it.
The two had a good time. He was glad Rhodey had picked up on him being a little out of it (he probably assumed it was Howard’s fault, which wasn’t entirely untrue) and made an effort to distract him, which, thankfully, worked.
He returned home in time for dinner and ready to once again face the chaos that came with his future self and his family.
As he walked down the hallway, he heard voices coming from the sitting room. Curious, he moved to peek into the room and found Peter and Older Tony sitting on one of the couches. They were talking about something that didn’t make much sense to Tony when Peter glanced at the clock with a worried look.
Other Tony took note of this, a worried look forming on his own face. “What is it, Pete?”
“It’s nothing, I’m fine.” Peter said, his expression shifting to a small smile in a tactic Tony often used himself to avoid discussing his feelings.
“Kid, I can tell something’s up.” His future self said, then brought an arm around Peter’s shoulders. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I can’t help if I don’t know what’s wrong.”
“It’s just-” Peter’s voice broke a bit as he let his face fall. Other Tony started rubbing slow circles on his arm. “We’ve been here longer than I thought and I’m starting to get a little scared. What if Strange can’t find us? I don’t want us to be stuck in the past forever!”
Older Tony pulled Peter into a hug which the teen quickly returned and started rubbing his back. “Pete, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Even if Strange never finds us – and he will, there’s no way he’d let us mess up the timeline like that – I'll just build a time machine to get us back, I’ve done it before.”
“Ok Dad, I trust you.” Peter said, and the two sat in each other's embrace.
Despite how much he had heard about his future self’s parenting this was the first time he had really seen it. It was strange, seeing himself being the father he always wished he had. The trust and care Peter and Future Tony had for each other was so clear even he could feel it as he watched the pair engage in the sort of physical affection he always longed for.
After a couple minutes Peter whispered something in Older Tony’s ear that Tony couldn’t make out from so far away. Older Tony nodded and whispered something back before letting go.
“Alright kid, so put some food in that never-ending pit in your stomach. I’ll be with you in a bit.”
Peter nodded and left the room, thankfully through the entryway on the opposite side of the room.
Tony was about to leave, seeing no reason to remain, before his future said, “Mini-me, I know you’re there.”
Tony froze but didn’t move.
“Come on kid, I promise I don’t bite.”
After a moment Tony peaked into the room to see his older self staring right at him. As soon as the man noticed he was there he smiled and pat the spot on the couch next to him. Reluctantly, he walked over and plopped down a good foot away from his future self.
He assessed the older Tony’s expression and was surprised the man seemed to be pleased despite the distance Tony had put between them with some fondness in his eyes and that hint of longing adults always got when they saw old pictures of themselves.
“So, what did you want?” Tony asked, crossing his arms in an attempt to hide his nervousness.
“Well, we haven’t really gotten a chance to talk one-on-one yet, and the opportunity seemed to come up. So, here we are.” Tony nodded at his future self’s words, that did make sense, though he suspected the man had something to say.
Older Tony didn’t say anything, seemingly waiting for him to speak. He wasn’t sure what to say though, he had a lot of questions he wanted to ask but unlike with most people there was something about talking to his future self that was really intimidating and made him wish to be anywhere but here.
“Kid, I can tell you have something to say, so you might as well just spit it out.” Older Tony’s words themselves were harsh in the way his own usually were, but there was a tender softness that made them feel less like a sharp blade and more like a comforting hug.
“I guess I’m just... surprised.”
Tony expected to have to elaborate but his future self just nodded. “I am too, even just a few years ago I couldn’t imagine the man I am today.”
“And... and you’re a dad.”
Older Tony smiled. “That I am.”
“I just- wow, that’s a lot to take in”
His older self chuckled. “It was a lot to get used to for me as well, but it was so worth it.”
There was a long silence after that, despite his awkwardness before Tony felt a bit more comfortable.
“I’ve heard a lot about your wife from Peter and Morgan, but I don’t think I’ve heard you mention her yet, what’s she like?” Tony asked, hoping his future self would hear the question within the question.
Future Tony gave him a knowing look but answered the question without hesitation. “Oh, Pepper’s amazing, I honestly don’t know where I’d be without her. She’s one of the few people who can put up with me, for one. Even when I’m being annoying or reckless, she still supports me through it all. I haven’t ever been truly scared that she’d leave me, even in the times we had to take breaks from our relationship. I can’t say we haven’t had our fair share of bumps along the way, but I wouldn’t give her up for anything.”
While Tony was trying to decide how best to reply to that, Jarvis came to inform them that dinner was ready. The two Tonys looked at each other, an understanding reaching between them. Future Tony had answered his question.
-
The Starks, both present and future, sat around the dinner table. Their food was nearly finished, and it would soon be time to go to bed.
Not much of substance was discussed that evening; the conversation mostly focused on Peter and Morgan discussing their interests. Tony didn’t mind that as much as he thought he would.
Just then, a new portal showed up in the dining room. A tall man with navy robes and a read cloak stepped through and let out a noise that was somewhere between a groan and a sigh of relief.
“Finally,” The man said. “Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?”
“Much longer than you wish you had?” Older Tony suggested with a smirk as he stood up. “Well, that’s our way out. As you can see I do, in fact, know a wizard so if you doubted me you can stop that now.”
“Sorcerer.” The wizard corrected.
“Whatever.”
Peter and Morgan stood up, the teen leading his sister over to the portal.
“Goodbye everyone!” The little girl said with a wave, her brother waving as well.
The present Starks waved back before the duo stepped through the portal.
“Goodbye.” Future Tony said, walking up to the portal before turning and looking Tony in the eyes. “And don’t worry kid, it’ll work out for you in the end.” Then he stepped through, the wizard following suit.
And with that, the time-traveling Starks, and all evidence they were ever there, was gone.