She was surprised but pleased to see Rhodey answer the door when she got back to Tony's house and she hugged him eagerly.
"How are you doing?" He asked gently.
"Glad to be back," she said with a light smile. "Where's Tony?"
Rhodey gestured downstairs. "Nat, you should know that he hasn't slept much over the last five days. He's a little grumpy," he warned.
"I won't take anything personal," she promised as she headed down the short staircase to Stark's workshop.
"I hope you're planning on making yourself useful while you're down here," he said when he heard her approach.
She smiled wistfully when he looked up from the car he was working on long enough to hand her a wrench.
"This is your dad's old hot rod, isn't it?" She asked conversationally. "I saw a picture in your office back when I was working at Stark Industries."
"Ah, you mean the days of deception and lies?" He pulled off his safety glasses and reached to a nearby table for a pair of designer frames.
She brushed off the sarcasm. "Look, I'm trying here."
"To do what?" He asked, gazing at her from behind newly replaced lenses.
She bit her lip. "Can you take those off a second?"
"Can you take off your bra?"
"How do you know I'm wearing one?" She asked wryly.
His head lowered as if he was looking at her chest to check, but she couldn't see his eyes behind the dark lenses so she couldn't be sure.
"Touche," he said, pulling the frames off of his face and folding them up before tucking them into the collar of his shirt.
"You wanted to see me?" She asked.
"Yeah. I just wanted to check on you, make sure you're okay."
"I'm fine."
He nodded, but she could tell from the way he chewed on his lower lip for a second that he was unsatisfied with that answer. "So no one…. hurt you, or anything while you were gone?"
Her eyes narrowed as she tried to decipher the sudden change in his tone of voice. "Um…. no. Actually, I barely even left this area," she said. "And everyone was there. Even Clint. And Rhodey, and Wanda and Steve… and you. You actually….. you took good care of me."
"I did?" He asked, surprise evident in his tone before he coughed to clear it. "Of course I did."
"Yeah. It was mostly the same as being here, except everything was different," she said softly. "Same time, same place. Different circumstances."
"Hmmmm…." He said in reply, and she could see his scientist's mind take over as he began to ponder her words.
"Tony… " She started. "What would've happened to the me in that reality? Would she just… go back to living her life?"
"I would say so, yeah."
"How do you know? Why wasn't she there when I was there?"
He frowned as he considered. "Well, it's not like two of you could occupy the same space at once. There's only one Nat. Thank God."
"But what happened to her when I left? Did she just… get it all back? Are they all living their lives in that reality, same as here?"
"I'm sure they are."
"But you don't know. You're just guessing?"
He crossed his arms over his chest as he regarded her. "I guessed right about everything else, didn't I?"
She looked back at him, her eyes wide. "Thank you."
"Ah, it was nothing. I'm just glad you're safe."
"It's not nothing, Tony," she said softly. "You literally pulled me back from being lost in a parallel reality."
"Like I said, I'm just glad you're safe." He thought for a moment. "So what was different?"
"Hmmmm?"
"You said everything was different. Like what?" He asked, genuine curiosity taking over the tired look in his eyes.
"Um… a couple of things. The new compound, for one. It was a little more established. And Clint was there the whole time, he never retired."
He nodded slowly as he processed what she was telling him.
"You and Steve actually got along. It was kind of interesting to see the ways you co-led the team."
"Ha! You must've been in another reality."
"You… actually got along better with almost everyone," she said carefully.
He didn't say anything at that, so she continued.
"Wanda was definitely more comfortable in her powers than she is. But there were some things that were the same too. Seems Ultron happened in a similar fashion there, and everything after… Bruce…"
His eyes lowered for a split second at the mention of Bruce's name.
"And the fight with the nanobots seemed to have happened at the same time it did here." She shrugged. "I don't know. Some things were the same, but a lot was different. I can't really explain it any other way." She bit her lip.
"What else?"
"What?"
"What else was different than here? You said I was different. That I took care of you. How was I different?"
"I don't know, Tony…"
"Yeah, you do. Come on, you're the one that brought it up. How else was I different? Other than the fact that I'm a good team player where you were?"
She swallowed thickly at his choice of words. "I don't know…. you were just…. calmer, I guess. Less angry at the world, maybe. You let your guard down a little."
"I see." His eyes were wide and focused as he gazed at her intensely, his thick eyelashes unblinking and mouth set in a straight line and for a second she almost wished that she hadn't made him remove his glasses.
"And you and I… " She couldn't help it. She looked away first. "We were together. Married."
"Us?"
She nodded.
He gave a low whistle, then was quiet for awhile. "Must've been weird for you," he said when he did speak.
"Maybe at first. But after awhile, I don't know. I just started to remember."
"Did we… " He clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth with a smirk.
"No! I mean, I guess, but not while I was there." She looked up at him, almost pleadingly. "So, what do you think? Do you think they got their life back when you brought me back here? Are we back together in that world? Are they all living their lives the way they should be?"
All traces of his prior smugness left his face and his expression softened as he grew serious. "Yeah," he said gently. "Yeah, I think they are."
She nodded. "Okay. Good."
"You said you started to remember," he said quietly, his eyes studying her closely again. "What, like her memories?"
"I don't know," she said, trying to keep her voice from cracking.
"It was more like… a feeling. I remember the trust, the tenderness and closeness, the… passion. Tony…. I….I remember what it's like to be in love with you," she whispered.
"Wow," he said softly. "I don't- I don't know what to do with that."
She stood up straight, her shoulders squared. "I should go."
"You don't have to," he said, holding out his hand. "You could… hang out here for a bit. Help me work on the hot rod, or whatever."
She shook her head. "No. You need to get some rest and I need to… get out of here…"
"Nat…"
She turned and jogged up the stairs, walking swiftly past the living room and into the kitchen.
"Wait." His voice was firm and she whirled around, not even realizing how closely he'd caught up with her.
She looked up at him wordlessly, waiting for him to continue.
"Consider this," he said carefully. "You and me. Doing the whole get dressed up and eat dinner thing. Tomorrow night."
"Are you… asking me out on a date?" She asked, her eyes wide.
"Give me a break," he said defensively. "It's not like I've had much practice."
Her eyes narrowed doubtfully. "You've been on tons of dates."
"Yeah, but I've never really had to do the asking thing before. Girls usually just-"
"Girls usually come to you because you're you," she said accusingly. "Right. Got it."
"What?" He said, holding up his hands. "I can't control what's happened in the past, and I certainly can't control what happens in alternate realities, okay? Now will you please have dinner with me tomorrow night, or what?"
"Here's a tip," she said. "If you want a woman to go out with you, maybe try not bringing up all the ones you've hooked up with before."
Her face softened into a smile. "But, yeah. I'll have dinner with you."
"Okay, great. The limo will pick you up at seven."
"It's a date," she said before turning on her heels and heading out the door.
Tony turned when he heard a snicker, his eyebrows knitting together as he glared at Rhodey, who was sitting at the counter. "How long have you been sitting there?"
"That was real smooth," Rhodey said. He patted his shoulder, unable to keep the amusement out of his face.
"Whatever." Tony rolled his eyes. "She said yes, didn't she?"