Another new chapter. Lot's of heart to hearts in this chapter.
As always, please review :)
Izzy quietly opened the door to the apartment she and Johnny shared. It was quiet except for the normal city noises that drifted up to them and the lights were all out. Originally, she had been planning to stay at the cabin, but after their discovery, she knew that she had to come back and talk with her fiancée.
Walking into the bedroom, she saw Johnny asleep already. She crept into the bathroom and changed into pajama pants and a tank top. Loosely braiding her hair, she brushed her teeth and washed her face. Looking up, she stared at herself in the mirror for a moment, almost unable to recognize herself as her thoughts raced over the impending task.
Finally, she gathered her composure enough to walk out of the bathroom and went to the bed. She crawled under the blankets and lay down quietly, eyes on Johnny who was facing away from her.
The movement coming easily Johnny turned over, his eyes still closed and pulled her close in his arms. She quickly melted into his warmth and scooted closer, stretching her neck so she could place a chaste kiss to his lips.
"I thought you were staying at the cabin for the weekend?" Johnny said quietly, arms pulling her as close as he could. "Not that I'm complaining."
Izzy smiled faintly as she looked at her best friend and hopefully still soon-to-be husband. "I needed to talk to you." She said softly, afraid to disturb the peacefulness of the moment.
Johnny opened his eyes, meeting her gaze seeming in no way surprised by her words. "You figured it out." He said simply, matching her soft tone.
"Well, technically, dad figured out that it's an inverted mobius strip that would—"
"Zee." Johnny interrupted, raising an eyebrow.
Izzy paused for a moment. "We have a chance." She said. "A real chance to bring everyone back."
Johnny was silent, his face impassive as he looked back at her.
She stared up at him with wide eyes, her heart racing the longer the silence continued. "Please say something." She said, voice trembling a little.
Johnny hesitated for another minute as he looked at her. "Zee, I've seen you do this before." He said pained. "You chase these things and I've seen it rip you apart."
"This is different." She said. "I told you before, I wouldn't even try it without there being some form of certainty that we could do it safely. Dad and I found that certainty." She could read the reservation on his face even in the dark. "I know how I've been the last five years, longer even, but Johnny…we have a chance to bring everyone back. Sue, Peter, Sam, Laura…everyone. I owe it to them to try."
He continued to watch her for a moment before finally, she saw the resolve in his eyes as he reached up to trace his fingers along her cheek, brushing a strand of hair back behind her ear. "Tell me what you need from me." He said quietly.
Izzy felt like her heart could burst as she leaned up to kiss him deeply. "Thank you." She said as they broke for air.
Johnny pressed his forehead against hers, their eyes closed for a long moment. Despite the silence, she knew Johnny well enough to know that there was something that he still wanted to ask. Pulling back, she looked up at him.
"What is it?" She whispered.
Johnny smiled faintly. "Everyone coming back will come first always. It's our job" He said. "I suppose I am just curious…everyone coming back means everyone. What does that mean for us?"
Izzy frowned in confusion for a moment before it hit her, and her eyes widened. "It doesn't change anything. I thought, and I emphasize thought, that I was in love back then. I was sixteen, what the hell did I know, and though I would call him my friend I cannot begin to describe how wrong I realized he was for me." She said but watched Johnny's eyes move to look beyond her. She smiled faintly and reached up to place her hand against his cheek so he would meet her gaze. "You know, I grew up watching my dad do the seemingly impossible. Always trying to one up himself but with what would be a deadly obsession in anyone else." She said.
"That sounds familiar." Johnny teased lightly.
Izzy grinned but continued. "Fatherhood grounded him in a sense, but the one thing that I saw early on was what Pepper did. She anchored him back to reality. She protected him from himself more often than I could begin to describe without limiting who he was." She said. "You have always been that for me. When everything was going down with the Accords and I saw you and Sue at the Tower. You took one look at the bruises that I had, and you were in my corner, no questions asked. Whatever I needed." She felt his hand tighten on her hip at the mention of her injuries but still continued. "Even when we fought about you opening a wormhole on Earth or working for Ross, I knew you would be there for me if I asked. From the time we were children to this moment now you have been my anchor, and nothing will ever change that. I need you; I love you with all of my heart. Please don't ever doubt that."
Johnny kissed her fiercely, leaving her breathless.
Izzy giggled after a second, still out of breath. "I'll take that as an 'I'm sorry I doubted you'—" Johnny cut her off with another fiery kiss. As he pulled back, her pulse leapt at the fire in his eyes.
"I love you." He said. "And this is going to work."
"I know it will." She nodded. "And I love you too."
…
Izzy sat in the passenger seat of Tony's Audi as they drove to the Compound. It had been so long, but she had memories of being fifteen again after they defeated Ultron and they assembled the new team. As they got closer, her glasses picked up a figure standing outside of the building. It didn't take long to see it was Steve, and he looked frustrated. She gripped their time GPS device a little tighter.
As they reached the front of the building, Tony overshot Steve and had to put the car in reverse while Izzy tried really hard not to snicker. Tony rolled the window down. "Why the long face?" He asked. "Let me guess. He turned into a baby."
Steve sighed. "Among other things, yeah. What are you doing here?" He asked seriously.
"That's the EPR paradox. Instead of pushing Lang through time, you might've wound up pushing time through Lang." Tony explained, ignoring the immediate question. "It's tricky. Dangerous. Somebody coulda cautioned you against it."
"You did." Steve replied.
"Oh, did I? Thank God, I'm here." Tony said. "Regardless, I fixed it." Izzy cleared her throat. "We fixed it." He amended holding up his wrist. "A fully functioning time-space GPS." They got out of the car and Izzy watched with bated breath over how the next few seconds would turn out. "I just want peace. Turns out, resentment is corrosive, and I hate it."
Steve's eyes softened. "Me, too."
Tony met his gaze. "We got a shot at getting these stones, but I gotta tell you my priority is to bring back what we lost? I hope, yes. Keep what I found? I have to, at all costs." He said honestly. "And, maybe not die trying will be nice."
"Sounds like a deal." Steve said with a faint smile.
Izzy smiled in relief as she moved towards the trunk of the car, Tony and Steve moving to join her. Opening the trunk, Tony pulled out the Shield.
Steve froze, taking half a step back. "Tony, I don't know..." He said.
"Why? He made it for you." Tony said. "Plus, honestly I have to get it out the garage before Morgan takes it sledding."
Izzy just decided to omit that it was too late for that.
"Thank you, Tony." Steve said sincerely.
"Will you keep that a little quiet?" Tony said. "Didn't bring one for the whole team. We are getting, the whole team, yeah?"
Steve nodded. "We're working on that right now."