𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗔𝗘𝗧𝗛 | 𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗞 𝗫 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗩𝗘𝗟

𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗨𝗘

𝗧𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗛𝘂𝗱𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 were a mystery to the other Avengers. They'd met the woman when they moved into the newly rebuilt Avenger's Tower. She seemed to spent most her time with Tony and vise versa. Natasha, who had apparently met her before confirmed that it was common for them to disappear together for hours at a time although no one knew exactly what they were doing.

The aspect of their relationship was another question. No one was entirely sure whether they were together or not. Natasha had confirmed she'd seen them come out of the same room one morning but other times they'd come to breakfast from different floors entirely. Clint had suggested friends with benefits which was plausible but they'd all seen the love in Tony's eyes when he looked at her or spoke about her. 

Irina however was as good as Natasha at masking her feelings and it was safe to say that some of the Avenger's who had admittedly become fond of the genius over the time they'd known him were slightly worried. Steve in particular was worried that Irina was manipulating Tony and would break his heart but Natasha had stopped him from saying anything, after all, Tony was an adult and he and Irina had known each other much longer than they'd known them.

Surprisingly, Natasha and Irina got along quite well. Maybe it was being two women among a group of men but whatever the case they seemed to enjoy each others company.

~

They had just finished breakfast one morning when it happened. Tony and Irina were getting ready to leave and had just reached the elevator when there was a flash accompanied by smoke over the table. When the smoke cleared it left a small stack of DVD's with a note. Natasha wearily picked it up.

'Dear Avengers (and Irina),

You've been a team for almost a year now and would probably like to think you know each other quite well. But this isn't the case. Two of the people you've been living with have one of the biggest secrets yet. If you don't believe me, look at the DVD's.

Yours sincerely, Unknown.'

The team was still for a moment before Bruce reached for the case. When he looked at it, however, he froze, blinking at it in disbelief. 

'Bruce?' Natasha prompted. He looked at Tony and Irina weirdly before turning the case for the others to see. The five avengers looked at the image in surprise, because there, under the bold words of 'Sherlock Holmes' a man who looked exactly like Tony stood in old fashioned clothing next to another man dress similarly.

Their heads snapped up to look at Tony who stood frozen in front of them with Irina holding his hand tightly, looking tense herself.

Steve broke the silence. 'Tony, why is there a picture of you on a DVD called Sherlock Holmes?'

Tony glanced at Irina who shrugged. He sighed, looking back at the case. 'Because I am - I was, Sherlock Holmes.'

Clint gave a forced laugh. 'Don't be ridiculous. Sherlock Holmes was around in the 1800's. He's dead.' 

Tony sighed. This was going to take a while. 'I've lived through a lot of lives. Don't ask how, because I don't know, but that is me. After I died as Sherlock I woke up in a different time period with a different name and family, but still the same body. And the same thing has happened ever since.

They stared at Tony, seemingly waiting for him to laugh and tell them it's all a joke but his seriousness seemed to register with them. Bruce looked at his friend. 'You're telling the truth, aren't you? You've really lived these other lives, haven't you?'

Tony nodded, glad they seemed to be believing him. 'Yes.'

Natasha swallowed. 'Okay, if this is true, which it seems to be, why isn't Irina surprised?' Their silence seemed to be answer enough. 'She already knew, didn't she?' The couple just nodded. 'Right. Then how about we watch these movies then?'

The couple nodded again, following the others to the living room where they all settled down ready for a day of finding out who Tony Stark really is. They all watched in anticipation as the screen lit up.