Rhodey, Steve, Bucky, Bruce, and Sam all stayed overnight at the house. In the morning, Bruce would launch Steve into the past to return the stones to their own time and place. Until then, most of them were still in some form of funeral attire, and still mourning.

After all except a few Avengers had left and Morgan was in bed, Pepper and Tony busted out the good stuff. Wine, beer, finely aged things with an alcohol percentage high enough to put Thor on his ass for at least a little while. The Avengers talked, first just swapping stories about Natasha, then talking about anything. The more alcohol was ingested, and the later it got, the less somber the conversation. A few card games were played, and sometime in the night, Tony got out Morgan's baby album. He went around and plopped down beside members of his long-lost team, showing off pictures of his little girl. It was like old times, with the band back together and the dead walking again. It was a dream.

But all dreams end, eventually.

Tony got up early the next morning and cooked a huge spread of bacon and eggs. Cooking one-armed was much easier than he'd thought it would be, at least when it was something simple like bacon and eggs. He still fumbled with some things of course. As he tried to scramble eggs in a bowl, it went all over and splattered without another hand to stabilize the bowl.

It didn't really get to him. He was running on a baseline of irritation with the missing appendage, so he had to encounter something new and infuriating to really get him mad. Such as his complete inability to drive any of his manual cars. When he did get that mad, he reminded himself that Morgan didn't care if Daddy was missing an arm, so long as she had Daddy. He reminded himself that even if he'd ended up a brain in a jar, at least he wouldn't be breaking his promise to her, leaving her alone like his parents had left him. He told himself over and over that his little family was the only thing that mattered. As long as he had Pepper and Morgan, he could lose all four appendages and still live a full life.

Everyone took their time getting around. The Avengers gathered knew that at the very least, Tony would no longer be a part of their team. They were missing Natasha, and Clint was, again, in "retirement". Everyone was a little on edge, and certainly in no hurry to send Walking PTSD back in time with six infinity stones.

All said and done, it was almost dinner time before everything was prepared. Tony walked down the hill behind the house to where the platform had been assembled. Steve, Bucky, and Sam were standing off to the side while Bruce was making the final preparations.

As soon as Steve spotted Tony coming down the hill, he broke off from his friends and met him halfway well out of earshot of the others.

"Cap, what's up?"

He glanced over his shoulder at Bucky and crossed his arms over his chest. His brow was creased in the center.

Tony had to repeat himself. "What's wrong?"

"I'm--I'm so tired, Tony." He looked down at the leaves beneath his feet. "I talked to Buck last night, and, well, I think I'm not coming back."

Tony blinked a few times. "What? What do you mean, not coming back? Pym hooked us up, we got Pym Particles for life."

"No, I mean on purpose."

Both men were silent for a moment, staring each other down intently as they had so many times before.

Tony felt his nostrils flare as a ball of anger grew in his chest. "Are you insane, Steve? Are you trying to create another timeline?"

"I don't know, I guess I am. I want my second chance. I want what you have, what Barton has. I can't have that here."

"Horseshit. You can have anything you want, you're Captain Fucking America. If you want a hundred acres in any of the fifty states of the US, I will make it happen. I'll make you a contestant on the Bachelor, I'll--I'll--"

"No! I thought you would understand," he said beneath his breath. He sighed. "I don't want to be here. I have never wanted to be here. I put myself out in the ice a hundred years ago, thinking that was it. I never asked to be dug up, I certainly never asked to be a hero. I just wanted to punch some nazis to do my part."

"And look how much more you've done!" Tony gestured out with his one arm at nothing in particular. "You've gotta think about this. You're going to create a timeline where there's two of you, and maybe SHIELD never exists the way we know it. For all you know, maybe I never exist!"

"I know," he said, eerily calm. "I've thought it out. I'll secure the tesseract, the technology they used to revive me won't exist back then, and Buck told me all I need to know to save him. He won't have to suffer in the Solider program."

"What about SHIELD?"

"I'm counting on SHIELD not existing as we know it. They were all Hydra. I didn't get a chance to finish my mission, I didn't get a chance to know Peggy. I--I don't belong here, and now I have a chance to go home! If I'd had this chance back when I first met you, I would have jumped on it."

Tony took a step back. "I thought you'd changed since then."

Steve could only shrug.

Tony took his tinted glasses off, hung them on his T-shirt, and rubbed at his eyes. His mouth was drawn in a thin, tight line. "Who else have you told?"

"Just Bucky."

"And he's okay with this?"

"He likes being here. He wasn't out solid for ninety years like me, he got to grow with the times a bit. Besides, back in the day, your dad was his idol. He was always about innovation, the future."

Tony knew right then that he wouldn't be able to talk him out of it. If Bucky had given this his blessing, nobody could talk Steve out of it except him. "So you're going to create a new timeline, wife your girl, and settle down in a time without microwaves or WiFi?"

Steve smiled a little. "I know it sounds like torture to you."

"Hey, we're ready over here," Bruce called.

They both looked toward him. Steve gave a thumbs-up.

"When I was a kid, I had this fire inside me," Steve said. "I was sick, I was an orphan, I was angry. I wanted to fight for my country and make a difference. Now I've fought for the fate of the entire universe, and without you, Tony, I would have failed. This isn't my time, and I have to stop trying to pretend it is."

Tony looked down at his feet, sniffed, looked back up. "What if I'm not okay with it?"

Steve gave him a sad smile. "I'll miss you. Come visit sometime."

The anger in Tony's chest was still there, still fighting to get out. His throat ached with the effort of holding it in. But instead of unleashing it, he leaned in and gave Steve a hug. His bones rattled when Steve gave him a hearty pat on the back.

"Take care of yourself," Steve said.

Tony put his glasses back on. "I hate long goodbyes." He motioned to the platform. "Go get your girl."

Steve lingered for just a second, smiling at him. He nodded once, then turned and started for the platform.

Tony stuck his hand in his pocket and turned away, too, starting back up the hill toward the house. As he walked, he heard the sound of the time machine. Sam started yelling.

Tony wiped a hot, angry tear off his cheek.