Chapter Five: The Past is Supposed to Be Behind Us

Tony and Nat sat on the sidelines as Steve danced with Peggy.

"If it weren't so horrifying that we're stuck here, it's super sweet they finally got that dance," Nat commented.

Tony didn't comment. Morgan would wonder where he is. Even though in her time he wouldn't be gone long, five minutes to a child seemed like a long time. How was he supposed to do anything without her to communicate for him?! He looked around at the other dancers. No one seemed to notice them. This was not good.

"I don't think he's going back," Nat said after a while. She could just tell. Steve looked so freaking happy.

"I hate to agree," Tony nodded.

"So what do we do?"

"I don't know."

"You said Morgan could see and talk to you. Will she freak out if you're gone?"

"Probably."

"Oh, Tony," Nat said sympathetically. "I'm so sorry."

"She should have been getting used to being without me after I died," Tony said. "She shouldn't have had to lose me all over again. I don't get this at all." A presence entering the dancehall caught his attention then. Could it be...?

"Steve!" Howard Stark cried. The young man interrupted their dance to shake Steve's hand vigorously. "You made it!"

"I sure did," Steve nodded.

"Wait, isn't that...?" Nat started.

"Yup," Tony cut her off. His old man. His not so old, young looking father...with a bimbo on his arm. It certainly wasn't his mother.

"It's so good to see you," Howard said. The woman clutched at his arm, eager for the conversation to end so they could carry on with their date.

"And you," Steve smiled.

"We'll have to catch up sometime," Howard said, being led away at this point.

"Is that...?" Nat began.

"No. Not my mother," Tony answered, knowing that was her question.

"I really would like a drink," Nat said ruefully.

"Hear, hear," Tony agreed. They watched Howard and his date talk and laugh. Then they came over to where Tony and Nat were sitting. Howard's date spotted someone she knew, so she ran off to talk to them, gleefully pointing at Howard. Tony just knew she was bragging.

"You folks don't dance?" Howard asked. Tony spun his head to see Howard looking at both him and Natasha expectantly.

"Excuse me?" Tony said.

"You're just sitting there like a pair of sad saps. Did someone die?" Howard joked.

"This is real, right?" Nat asked Tony. "Cos if it isn't..."

"Wait, you can see us?" Tony asked Howard. He looked perplexed.

"What do you mean? Of course I can see you," he spluttered. He gripped his drink tightly. "Why...why wouldn't I be able to?"

"Because we're dead," Tony said matter-of-factly. Howard's face went white.

"Y-You're messing with me," he laughed nervously after a moment.

"Why would I make up that I'm dead?" Tony asked, crossing his arms.

"Oh, shit," Howard said, feeling nauseous suddenly. "But...but...I can see you and talk to you. You can't be dead."

"Wanna bet?" Nat asked. She reached over to the person beside her and stuck her arm right through the person's head. They sneezed violently.

"Oh my God," Howard said, freaking out and clutching at his chest.

"Hey, hey, deep breaths now," Tony instructed. "Don't faint on us."

"Don't let on you see us either," Nat said. "They lock you up for that sort of thing."

"This can't be happening," Howard said, hyperventilating.

"Let's take a walk," Tony said, gesturing. Howard obliged. Nat stayed to watch Steve in case he decided to transport back home. Tony walked beside his father and wondered what kind of insanity this was. It kind of made sense, though, because Morgan could see him too. Perhaps it was a genetic thing, a family gift. He was wracking his brain to think if he himself had seen any ghosts without realizing it.

"Do I know you?" Howard asked once they were outside. "You just...you look so familiar."

"It's not important who I am," Tony dismissed. The last thing he wanted to do was freak out his father that much more. "What's important is you can communicate with me. I need you to let Steve Rogers know we are here."

"Why, do you know him?" Howard asked.

"Yes. It's imperative you tell him about me. And Nat."

"He's gonna think I'm nuts!"

"No, he won't. He's more believing of things than you realize. I really need you to do this for me, Howard," Tony said.

"How do you know my name?" Howard asked, panicking.

"Your girlfriend said it," Tony lied. "Look, she's not the girl for you, by the way. Trust me."

"Are you from the future or something?" Howard asked, examining him now. "Your clothes are really weird..."

"Just talk to Steve," Tony ordered.

"Okay, okay," Howard caved. He still looked scared, though. Tony hoped he wouldn't bail. He rejoined Nat on the bench.

"I think Steve's getting lucky tonight," she noted.

"I convinced Howard to tell him we're here," Tony interrupted.

"Really?"

"Yea."

"Think he'll do it?"

"We'll find out."

They watched Howard hover around where Steve was. He didn't move any closer.

"He's wussing out," Tony said. "Damn it."

"What if we get stuck here?" Nat asked.

"You know, the past is supposed to be behind us," Tony said irritably. "We're not supposed to go back and relive it, especially when we weren't even born yet!"

Steve and Peggy were heading for the door, holding hands.

"There they go," Nat pointed.

"Howard!" Tony yelled. He looked, but Howard was gone.

"Come on!" Nat urged rushing through the crowd and causing a sneeze storm as she did so. Tony barreled after her. They caught sight of Steve getting into Peggy's car and driving away.

"We'll never catch them," Nat lamented. They watched the tail lights disappear over the hill. Tony caught sight of Howard then, rushing to his truck.

"Come on," Tony said, running towards it. Howard had ditched his date by the looks of it. He was hurrying to start the engine. Tony and Nat climbed into the box of the truck and hid themselves.

"What's your plan?" Nat asked as they started to drive off.

"I'm a ghost," Tony said simply. "I will do what ghosts do best. I'm gonna haunt my Dad."

….

Morgan sat on the porch swing and waited. Daddy had to come home soon. She didn't know how long he had been gone, but she missed him already. There was no sound aside from the birds and the wind, though. Then there were footsteps.

"Whatcha doing out here all alone?" Happy asked, sitting down beside her. Morgan sighed.

"Waiting," she answered.

"For who?"

"Daddy," she told him. Happy tensed beside her. She had forgotten to keep the secret. She realized it too late.

"Um," Happy said, not knowing how to go about this. "So...so you're waiting for your Dad. Does he...does he talk to you?"

"No."

"Do you see him?"

"Sometimes."

"Oh."

"Are you mad at me?" Morgan asked him. She worried about this. She knew lying was bad, but she wasn't lying. She just didn't tell him she could talk to Daddy. She wasn't making it up either.

"Why would I be mad, sweetheart?" Happy asked.

"Because you think I'm lying."

"I don't think you're lying," Happy told her. He patted her little hand with his. "If you see him, then you see him."

"Really?"

"Yea," Happy nodded. If it made her happy to think she was seeing Tony, then why ruin it for her?

"You're my best friend," Morgan said, tucking her head onto his arm. She wasn't tall enough to rest it on his shoulder.

"And you're mine too," Happy replied. They sat in silence on the swing, waiting together.

….

They waited until Howard had done his circle check around the house and closed the drapes before going inside.

"Oh my God!" Howard yelped when Tony and Nat went through the door without opening it.

"Why didn't you tell him?" Tony demanded.

"I can't go to the crazy house, man. I have work to do. I'm needed out here," Howard said desperately. "If I go running around saying I'm seeing ghosts, then they'll ship me off and that's it!"

"I told you, Steve will believe you, okay? Where we came from, he believed it there too," Tony said.

"Wait...where are you from?" Howard asked. "And...and how was Steve there?"

"Oh boy," Nat sighed, crossing her arms and going to sit down.

"I can't tell you," Tony said. "It would cause too much trouble."

"So you are from the future," Howard surmised. He sat down with a thud on the kitchen chair, staring at Tony. "Who are you?"

"I'm Tony," Tony replied. "That's Natasha."

"Hey," Nat waved.

"How did you die?" Howard asked. Nat and Tony both looked at each other.

"Saving the world," they answered at the same time.

"Oh," Howard said, rubbing his face. "What happened?"

"What did I just tell you about talking about where I'm from?" Tony asked.

"That you couldn't tell me," Howard chanted. "Look, if I'm going to help you, I want to at least know that you're not villains trying to fool me."

"Villains? Please," Tony scoffed. "Would I have told you to tell Steve Rogers about us? Huh? Some villains we are to alert Captain freaking America to our existence."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Howard said, waving his hand. "So what is Steve going to do for you that I can't?"

"He can take us back," Tony answered, folding his hands in front of him.

"How?"

"I'm not going to tell you that," Tony replied.

"You're really infuriating, you know?" Howard asked.

"I know. I get that from my father," Tony told him.

"I hope I never meet him," Howard muttered. Tony withheld his laugh at the irony of this.

"Do you know where Peggy lives?" Nat asked, interrupting.

"I do."

"Can you take us there?"

"Not right now," Howard answered. "Did you not see those two? I'm not going over there to run into that."

"Right," Tony nodded. Let Steve have his night with Peggy. They'd start first thing tomorrow. He hoped Morgan wasn't too upset and hurt by his disappearance. He conjured her face in his mind. He missed her and Pepper so much he almost couldn't breathe.

"Good night," Howard said, going to his room.

Tony and Nat watched him go, hearing him mutter "this is so weird" under his breath.

"This must be so strange for you," Nat commented. "Talking to your father in the past."

"It's not my first time," Tony admitted. She cocked her head at him.

"It's not?"

"Steve and I had to go back to 1970 to get more Pym particles. I ran into him there."

"So, tell me what else happened with Thanos," Nat said to him. "Fill me in."

"It'll take a while," Tony pointed out.

"As you well know, I have nothing but time," she smirked. "Go ahead."

"All right," Tony agreed. Then he started to tell her the rest of the events of their time travel heist and what happened after. He talked for what felt like hours. It brought back all the emotions and thoughts he had experienced during it, and he became emotional at times, as did Nat. At the time, he knew he had to die, but now, he regretted it to some degree because now he had to live with his family without really living with them. It was torture.

"You were so brave," Nat said when he was done. He was exhausted at this point.

"So were you," he pointed out.

"What are you going to do when you get back?" Nat asked.

"I don't know," he answered. "Coulson said something about unfinished business."

"I guess I should start thinking about what mine is," she sighed.

"One thing at a time," Tony suggested. They sat back, waiting for morning. Tony anticipated what Steve was going to do. Would he take them back? Or would he decide to stay here? Tony tried not to feel worried, but a small part of him was. He pushed it aside because he couldn't bear to think about living through the past again and being away from Morgan and Pepper for so long.

Yes, Guest, to Morgan no time would pass at all aside from the time it took Tony to get to where Steve was time traveling from. Time to children can seem long, though, so even though it's not a long time since Tony has been gone, she could still miss him. I appreciate you taking the time to point it out, but I already mentioned it here and in the next chapter :)