Almost a decade after that fateful day, the world had moved on.

And slowly, so had the team.

Tony was the last to move on. It took him five years to let go of the guilt he held. He blamed himself for their deaths. If he had done something, maybe they would have lived.

But he had done nothing, and it took him years to come to terms with it.

After those five years, Tony was back to the billionaire, play-boy, philanthropist that the team knew and somewhat loved.

Pepper was more than ecstatic to have him back. The CEO and Tony quickly rekindled their budding romance and a few years later, finally tied the knot. Then seven years after that august night, Pepper and Tony had their first child, a beautiful daughter, which they named Maria Natalia Stark.

Little Maria was a small spitfire. She had darker red hair than her mother and inherited Tony's sarcasm and snark. Her favorite superhero, other than Iron Man, was the Black Widow. Young Maria would constantly cartwheel and flip around Tony's office saying, "Look Daddy, I'm the Black Widow. The Most Deadliest woman on earth!"

Tony would then reply, saying," That's nice honey." But every time, his heart panged with sorrow.

It was a breezy late December night when Tony decided to test his new suit. He was up to Mark 67 and he was hoping to work out a few bugs before the New Year.

Little Maria and Pepper were visiting some family in D.C., so it was the perfect time to work on the suit. So Tony put it on and headed out for a few test runs. The Mark 67 was still in the works and JARVIS wasn't fully functional in the suit, but it was just a short run. He'd be fine.

Unfortunately, Tony hadn't checked the weather first.

Tony hit a freak snowstorm about 50 miles out from the Tower. The wind and the sleet caused the joints in Tony's suit to freeze up, while also pushing him farther from home. Tony couldn't control the suit for much longer and he plummeted towards the ground below.

All Tony saw was white as he fell. The sky, the ground, all were the same shade of bright white. As he tumbled, he could make out some black, which he assumed were trees. Then, he broke through the ice at high velocity, shattering the once smooth, white surface.

He could barely see as he sank, the water was murky, except for the bright white sheet of ice that was slowly fading from him. As he was losing consciousness, he saw a dark figure dive in after him, then a hand, then black.

Tony regained consciousness as he was flung on top of the ice. His rescuer had managed to remove his helmet, allowing Tony air. After a few moments, Tony gasped back to life, looking around frantically. His vision was blurry and he could only make out a large, man-shaped shape in front of him.

"Easy there," the figure said.

Tony froze.

It had been ten years since he had last heard that voice. That very voice which belonged to a person who was supposed to be dead.

"Am I dead?" he asked.

"Afraid not. But you gave it your best try," the figure replied. Tony almost sobbed.

"S-steve?" Tony sputtered out, attempting to sit up in his frozen metal suit.

"Shh," the figure said almost silently before tapping his ears. "Not here."

Tony nodded slowly as his vision cleared. Steve seemed older, but a good type of older. Tony was about to ask him why he supposedly "aged" when a voice interrupted him.

"Dad!?" a child's voice called out. "Is everything okay?"

Tony's eyes went wide as he turned towards the voice. There on the shore stood a small boy, no more than four years older than his Maria. The child had beautiful dark red hair that reminded him of a certain spy from not so long ago.

"Should I get mom?" the boy asked.

Steve smiled at the boy before replying, "Yeah bud. Tell her I need a little help."

"Ok Dad. I think she's feeding Stella though."

"Tell her this takes precedence."

The boy nodded and ran up to a white Greek revival style home, which was located a little further up the hill from the bank of the frozen lake.

"Come on. Let's get you inside," Steve suggested, placing a sleeved arm under Tony's.

Slowly, Steve managed to get Tony to the bank without any issue. Then the young boy came running out of the house, a woman with fiery red hair in tow.

Natasha had never looked more beautiful.

A/N: Hey there! So yes this is a very short chapter, but it's all leading up to the bigger picture I swear. Hopefully I'll be able to write some more and make these chapters longer. Till next time!

Flashette