Growing Up

Chapter Twenty Two

Five years later.

Wind blew through the trees surrounding the lake. There was the twittering of a bird, desperately calling out for another of it's kind to answer back. It rarely did. Tony watched it fly away to search elsewhere for a mate. He laid eyes on the little blue and green tent set up in the backyard and smiled softly when the flaps rustled.

"I hope someone is getting hungry." He sat on the little chair outside of the tent and waited for its inhabitant to come out. "Your mom is cooking up something yummy for her little adventurer." A small boy emerged wearing a (f/c) colored metal helmet and a safari outfit.

"I'm in the middle of a jungle, gramps!" The boy removed the prototype helmet and beamed up at his granddad.

"I see you got into the garage again." Tony chuckled. "Come on, kiddo. Let's go in and wash up." He offered a hand to his grandson and together they walked back to the cabin. Dani was shutting the fridge, holding an armful of ingredients.

"There's my boys. Hope grilled cheeses are okay."

"Mommy, after lunch can we look at the picture book?" Theodore's question hit the two hard. Father and daughter met each other with pained glances.

"Of course sweetie." She kissed his head and patted his back. "Now go get washed up and sit at the table while I finish cooking." Her son ran off down the hall.

"I'll be on the porch." Tony grabbed the fresh glass of blueberry lemonade and headed outside to sit in the fresh afternoon air. He pretended not to see the car pulling up the long driveway, stopping and shutting off just feet away from the cabin steps. He hadn't seen or spoken to anyone in five years and they just show up? "How can I help you?" He didn't look at them, just looked intently at his glass.

"Good to see you too." Steve smiled softly.

Dani looked out of the kitchen window when she heard the car door slam, heart racing when she saw the remains of her super family. She set down the plate of fresh grilled cheeses before her shaky hands dropped them on the ground. Theodore came running into the kitchen and skidded to a stop at his mother's side.

"Who's here?" He tried jumping up to see out of the window. Dani didn't know what to say to him. Her son grew frustrated with not knowing and darted out to greet whoever had come. She followed him and stood in the doorway, smiling at her child jumping on Tony. "Who are these guys, gramps?"

"Just some old work colleagues." Tony stood, holding his grandson in one arm and drink in the other. "You're welcome to stay for lunch as long as you don't talk shop at the table."

"Unfortunately we have work to do." Steve sighed somberly. He shot a small smile to Dani before turning to leave, the others following him to their car. The three Starks watched the car fade from view.

"Do I want to know?" Dani held the door open for her father and son. She handed both of the boys plates and sat down. Tony just shook his head and dug in to his lunch. Theodore filled the silence with stories of his make believe trip in the jungle that morning, claiming to have found and befriended a native tribe.

When night came and little Theodore was bathed and sent to bed, Tony wandered out to his workshop with his mind racing from the earlier visit from Steve. Time travel? Were they insane? There was no way in hell that their hairbrained scheme would bring back his (Y/n) and the rest of their family. He ran a hand down his face as he sat at his holo-table.

"This is stupid." He mumbled, pulling up a Möbius strip. He asked Friday to run some scenarios.

"Scenarios complete with 99% success." The AI informed him. He sat up, eyes wide. Could he bring back everyone? He glanced up at the (f/c) colored metal suit he had been building on slowly since before the snap.

"Son of a bitch."

"What's a bitch?" A young voice startled the genius from his discovery. Tony turned in his chair and saw a sleepy Theodore standing there.

"What are you doing up?"

"I wanted a snack. What's a bitch?" Theodore stared Tony down.

"It's a term for a female dog that's had puppies. Don't let your mom know you learned that word." It wasn't the first time he had taught his grandson a new colorful word. "Will you go back to bed if we get some popsicles from the freezer?"

"Only if you go through the photo album with me. Mom forgot to when she tucked me in earlier."

"Deal." Tony took his grandson by the hand and together they got some popsicles and went to Theodores room. He grabbed the album from the book shelf and sat in the floor, pulling the boy into his lap. "Now be careful not to drip juice on the pictures, kiddo." He started flipping through the pages of pictures that (Y/n) had put together for Dani in her youth. His fingers lingered on the pictures from their youth and those from their wedding.

Theodore was always sad when they got to the pictures from the day he and his brother was born. He tried really hard to understand why his brother wasn't there growing up with him and why the two adults in the house would sometimes fall apart into tears at odd times. They always tried to hide their grief but he could always tell. He wanted nothing more in the world than to meet his brother and father and the grandmother Tony and Dani told him stories about them when going through the pictures.

"Alright little man, time to go back to sleep." Tony picked him up and laid him on the bed, pulling his blanket up over his head. Theodore giggled and pulled the fabric from his face. Tony kissed his forehead and stood, holding the popsicle sticks in one hand and the photo album under his arm. "I love you Theo."

"I love you 3,000, grandpa." The boy yawned and closed his eyes.

"Wow." Tony smiled, standing in the doorway. "3,000? That's a lot." He flicked the light off and shut the door. Even with his heart heavy with the events of 2018 he was grateful to have had this time with his grandson and his wonderful daughter. The light was still on in the living room so he went to investigate. Dani was curled up on the couch with a book.

"Did you give him a snack again?" She didn't look up at him, turning the page.

"No." He stood behind the couch and peered at what she was reading. "Just so you know he loves me 3,000. You were in the low 600 range last time I recall."

"Yeah, yeah, brag all you want. Just remember who he gives his best drawings to." Dani smirked, closing her book and looking up at her father. "What's wrong?"

"I figured it out."

"Figured what out?"

"Time travel."

"Where is this coming from?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"That's why Steve came to visit, the ant guy was suggesting using time travel to undo what Thanos has done." He walked around the couch and sat down next to her. "What if it doesn't work? What if I've just given us false hope?" Dani pulled her dad into a tight hug.

"If there was even a sliver of a chance to bring them back, you have to try." He returned her embrace. "You have to get them back."