2008, Stark Residence

Tony grinned as his car rolled into the driveway and he saw who was waiting for him. Steve helped him out of the car, looking him up and down for injuries besides the arm in a sling. Peggy was waiting, arms crossly folded over her chest and a glare frozen onto her face. Jamie just looked slightly exasperated and mostly amused.

"You got yourself blown up." Jamie remarked.

"I did." Tony confirmed, pulling his shirt open enough to show the arc reactor in his chest. That helped to lessen the glare on Peggy's face somewhat.

"Are you alright?" She wearily asked.

"I'll be fine." He replied, brushing it off.

"Let's get inside." Steve suggested, leading the way. He never strayed too far from Tony's side, though, always ready to catch him if he should stumble. Looking back on his life, Tony realized that it had always been that way. Steve had always been his uncle, but sometimes he also became a best friend, an older brother, or even a father figure.

Of course, that had all made sense when he'd finally been deemed old enough to know the truth. It had been quite the shock when Steve had sat down with him and explained that he was from an alternate future. Of course Tony had tried to wheedle information out of him - like whether he became more famous and successful than his father - but Steve had refused.

"Why didn't you warn me?" Tony asked; there was no judgement in his tone, only curiosity. They settled onto the couches in the living room, Jamie, sprawled on the couch opposite from them, perked up to hear the answer as Peggy went into the kitchen to procure refreshments. Steve seemed to consider before making his response.

"This is the start of something big. Something that has to happen, whether we like the details of how it happened or not." He seemed to be weighing each word very carefully. He was always like that when discussing the future. Tony understood, it couldn't be easy, knowing that one slip up might bring about a far darker future than what he'd come from. It was a lot of pressure for one person, and, (though he'd never admit it to anyone except maybe Sarah) Tony was glad that it was Steve here. He couldn't think of anyone else who would be able to handle it.

Wanting to derail this train of thought before he got a headache, Tony asked the first question that came to mind. "Where's Sarah? Another super secret S.H.I.E.L.D. mission?" Steve's face fell and Jamie quickly replied.

"No, she's on a personal mission." Tony understood that immediately. For the Rogers' family, a personal mission meant trying to find Bucky Barnes. Tony had been told about Steve's best friend who had been brainwashed and turned into an assassin by Hydra. However, every time one of the Roger's seemed to be closing in on either Hydra or the Winter Soldier, they disappeared again and it could be several years before another lead appeared.

"We'll find him." Tony reassured his friends as Peggy reemerged with snacks and drinks.

"I know." Steve sighed. "I just worry what they'll have done to him by then."

"At least he didn't kill my parents this time." Tony tried to cheer him up. It had been very difficult for Steve to tell him that part as they'd apparently had some sort of fight about it in the future. Tony didn't really understand it, he just felt sorry for this Bucky. Of course, that was easy to say since Bucky had been prevented from killing his parents and the two had died of perfectly natural causes. Steve actually laughed a little at Tony's response: it had evidently been long enough that he'd mostly healed from that.

"True." He admitted.

"So what happens next?" Peggy asked. "Besides me finally getting a chance to give Tony a proper chewing out for his carelessness."

"I was not careless!" Tony indignantly exclaimed. "I'd like to have seen you do better."

"In any case." Steve quickly intervened as Peggy bristled. "That's all in the past. What happens next is we enjoy the time we have together..."

"Since we never know when one of us might get themselves blown up." Jamie cheerfully interrupted. Steve sighed and put his head in his hands.

Sarah was sitting on the steps of Tony's home when he arrived after the press conference.

"Sure took you long enough." He told her as he got out of the car. "Everyone else has already been to see me and chew me out."

"I'm sure that was mostly Mom." Sarah replied, standing and accepting his hug.

"Of course. How was your mission?" He added in a serious tone. She sighed.

"Same as always. Trail ran cold and it'll be ages before we find another lead. Even Dad's knowledge of a possible future isn't helping that much."

"What he shares, that is." Tony remarked, pulling open his shirt enough for her to see his arc reactor.

"You're not really upset about that." Sarah pointed out, tapping his arc reactor. He chuckled - she'd always been way too perceptive.

"No, I'm not. And I made sure he knew that."

"Good, he's still comparing your relationship to the one he had with the Tony Stark of his future."

"I'm glad ours seems to be better." Tony admitted.

"I am to." Sarah's smile suddenly turned mischievous. "Otherwise I might not be able to know you well enough to have predicted ahead of time that you'd tell the world that you're Iron Man." Tony laughed.

"Well, what would you have done?" He asked. Sarah quirked an eyebrow.

"I guess we'll never know, will we?" This prompted Tony to try to guess.

"I bet you wouldn't have even gone to the press conference. You hate attention." He suggested, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"You're probably right." Sarah reluctantly admitted. "Seriously though, what are you going to do next?"

"Everyone keeps asking that." Tony huffed. But he stopped to give it serious consideration at the look on her face. "I'm not sure. I'll just take whatever comes and roll with it."

"Like what's waiting in your living room?" She asked, opening the front door and walking in before he could question her. Sighing and quietly cursing, he followed. She was standing by the windows, next to a man who seemed vaguely familiar, but Tony was tired and the stranger had his back turned.

"And you are?" He asked.

"Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.; I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative.