AN: A long awaited update. Find me on Tumblr (ToxicAngel13) or ask for an invite to my Discord to poke me with Sharp sticks in order to hasten updates lol. Joking about that, but feel free to stop in and have a chat.
Human and Android stare at each other, one with a clear sort of fond amusement- the other with interest and awe. The human reached out and poked the android's smiling face without warning, before poking it again when his finger met a skin like surface, much to the amusement of the others in the room. No one said a thing as creator and creation interacted. Finally, the human hummed, before rocking back on his heels and shrugging to those watching him.
"I got to say, when I offered a body to Jarvis I never imagined putting skin on it. Can you feel me poking you J?" Tony asked, turning his attention back to the A.I. made android- clearly intrigued by the possibility that Jarvis may feel his touch. His imaginings of Jarvis' body had normally come out metallic looking since he had seen no reason to try and have his A.I. blend in with humans. Jarvis was amazing, so naturally he should be himself in all of his technological glory. After Ultron thinking about the plans that were now useless, even in passing, had given him nightmares. Even if it had meant that Jarvis would have had a chance to get away from the insane A.I. he couldn't imagine associating his creation with that monster in any way. But this Jarvis… he looked almost human, and it wasn't diminishing him in any way. The android chuckled at his creator's questions, the smile on his face widening.
"Yes Sir. You made sure that all necessary sensory connections were included as a standard when it came to my skin, and any replacement that I may need. Being able to fully experience the world had been most pleasant, I assure you." He replied softly, still observing the man. Tony was young again, reminding the A.I. of the man as he had been when Jarvis had been newly made more then as he was when they had lost him to the Gauntlet. But unfortunately being younger didn't mean that there were fewer hurts to Sir. Now this world had carved new scars into him and Jarvis was not happy with that fact. He would be extracting his own revenge, and he knew without a doubt that his fully computer bound self would be assisting him in doing so. Sir had always been their top most priority and both had failed him. Tony exhaled loudly at his words, looking troubled.
"I have got to remember how I did that." He muttered, scrubbing a hand over his face as he reminded the room that he still had holes in his memory from before he had sacrificed himself to save their universe. Jarvis laid a hand on his creator's shoulder, pleased when the man didn't jump at the contact. Sir was not too traumatized by his time in this world, as to be completely unopen to comfort.
"We will do everything possible to correct the memory loss you have experienced Sir. The fact that you live, that we have a chance to help you recover is something precious that we never expected to have." He soothed, needing to comfort him. Tony gave him a wobbly smile, bringing up his own hand to cover the androids.
"Thank you J. All of this, it's so damn… I don't know what it is to be honest. I keep expecting to wake up and find out that all of this is just my broken mind trying to cope with what happened in Siberia. It's not like it's the first time that I dreamt up comfort when my life was a mess." He murmured, his hand tightening around the one that he was covering as he spoke, as if to remind himself that he wasn't imagining this. Jarvis' hand tightened on his shoulder, his smile fading to something more troubled.
"The dreams that you speak of are what we assume to be your memories Sir. I know that you convinced yourself to block them, to pretend that they meant nothing in the face of dealing with the alternates that were so different from the people who you knew cared for you, but that does not diminish the fact that before you did so they comforted you when you needed them. We are not dreams or memories though, and we will protect you from this moment forward. It will take time to accept, but we will prevail. I promise." The android replied, then with one firm pull he had the slim genius pressed against his front as he wrapped his arms around him in a firm hug.
Jarvis inhaled though he didn't need to as he held his creator. When he had first accepted a body as means of better protecting the man who brought him into this world he had foolishly not taken enough time to do this as often as he should have. It was only after Thanos was dealt with, after Sir sacrificed himself, that he had realized that though. Jarvis had watched as the patchwork family Sir had painfully built over the years slowly fell apart- fraying at the seams that Sir once smoothed with his presence. Everyone of them had regrets- wishes of things that they had done more off, or less of and Jarvis had been surprised to find that he was similar to them in that respect.
He found that while he had cared for Sir, reminded him when to eat, to sleep and protected him in battles that was it. Jarvis had not taken the time to simply enjoy the fact that he could interact with Sir one on one. He had not taken to the random embraces or caresses most of the team indulged the genius in, instead he had resumed his functions that now included the ability to manipulate his surroundings more efficiently. That was his greatest sin, and regret when the genius was gone. He didn't intend to repeat it. Tony slumped against the Android, his arms going around it's body.
"This is nice. I always thought you would give good hugs." The genius murmured, his voice barely able to be heard by any of the others around. Jarvis felt his lips twitch back into something close to a smile at that, a feeling close to happiness filling him.
"Anytime you wish to engage in one, my arms are available Sir." He assured him softly, enjoying it when the genius laughed a little, relaxing more naturally into the embrace. Clint snickered, interrupting the moment, and Jarvis glared at him sharply. The Archer just waved him off.
"I'm sorry Jay, this is just too cute. Where is a camera when you need one?" Clint teased, waving his hands in the direction of the two. Sir groaned, hiding his face deeper in the Androids chest.
"You're being mean Clint. And you're jealous that you're not the one getting the hug I bet." He muttered loud enough for the other man to hear him. Clint rolled his eyes.
"Sure I am Shell-Head. It's not my fault that you're adorable now, is it? I bet Ghost-In-The-Machine Jay is taking video of this anyways, so we probably don't need a camera to get proof that Tony Stark is a fluffy cuddle bug." He replied easily, sticking his tounge out at the stern Android as he finished. Sir muttered a couple colorful curses under his breath before pulling away from Jarvis and frowning (see pouting) at the Archer. Jarvis couldn't help but note that his arms felt empty with the Genius no longer in them. It was disconcerting. It was also most likely a by-product of having lost Sir once already. The thought of being like a clingy child disturbed Jarvis though.
"See if I hug you today if you're going to be like that Bird Brain." Sir taunted, before winking at Jarvis, letting the Android know that this was all in jest. Phil laughed softly, shaking his head but looking relieved. Jarvis had been debriefed upon his arrival in this world, Sir was not in a good place, even though he had been reunited with the others.
"You two are being ridiculous." The former Shield Agent hummed, his eyes broadcasting his amusement. Sir turned his eyes towards the older man, and his frown (pout) grew larger.
"I am not claiming responsibility this time. Legolas was the one who started it." He sniffed, before looking over to the other two new-comers. Rhodey-Bear, looking so much more haggard then the version who had lost the use of his legs, was staring at him like a starving man at looking at a buffet through a window would. Tony might have made a joke or thrown out some sort of innuendo about it, if he hadn't know why his best friend was looking at him that way.
Tony Stark had been thought dead- he had been thought dead and since he was here the version of this world's Tony might be rotted away in that godforsaken desert still- and this was what that death had done to James Rhodes. Tony tried not to let the random thought about the man who belonged to this world stick- he really did, because the fact that the alternates were his opened up a whole other can of worms when it came to that guy. The Rhodey who lost his legs didn't know everything yet- he was still healing and even if Tony wasn't the version that had known him in MIT he had still been his friend for close to a decade now, which was reason enough to shield him from this as long as possible. But eventually Tony would have to tell him that the skinny kid Rhodes had protected wasn't him, and he would be facing what this Rhodey had lived through. Tony felt the calm that had taken over during the hug with Jarvis evaporate.
"You look like crap." Fell out of his lips before he could help himself, and Rhodey looked like he had been punched for a second, before he started snickering. Tony watched in on odd sense of being unable to look away as grief thinned shoulder's shook, after a moment Rhodey pinned him with a look that said everything Tony needed to know. Tony was in trouble with his self-appointed sibling.
"I look like crap, that's all boy wonder has to say after we have thought that he was dead because he got it into his pretty little head that he was an acceptable loss when it came to saving the universe. News flash Tones, a Universe without you is a pretty damn sorry place to be. We may have won, you may have been able to bring the half of the universe that Thanos took in the snap back… but we lost you and that didn't feel like winning at all. You made us cry Tones. You made your weird little dance card of men fall apart because you are the damn glue that makes everything come together with them and you left us wondering what the hell to do next. There's always going to be a world to defend, trouble to break up, people to fucking save… but there was only one of you." Rhodey spat out, making Tony flinch at the anger in those words. He knew that Rhodey had his back- would love to rip Roger's spine out with his bare hands… but he needed to say this. Something in the reprimand sparked part of Tony back to life though- anger and helplessness filled him.
"It's not like I wanted to make anyone think I was dead or end up in this hell. I haven't exactly had a walk in the park dealing with those dreams or memories and not being able to trust the most of the damn people in the reality I was living in." He shot back defensively. Rhodey's face softened, and he didn't hesitate to cross over the room and pull Tony into a hug. Tony was stiff in the embrace- still feeling prickly from the lecture he had thrown at him. Rhodey didn't seem to mind though, he just pressed a kiss to Tony's head- and damn it he was not that short- then sighed.
"I know that you didn't want to die Tones. But you took that Gauntlet and used it without thinking the consequences through. We could have found another way, I swear. And we will find another way here even if it's just getting rid of the waste of space who tried to end you in Siberia by having him wear the damn thing. The asshole is enhanced, he should be a perfect fucking replacement." Rhodey grunted, not moving when Tony tried to push his way out of the embrace. Tony swallowed back a whine as he accepted that he was trapped. How many times had Rhodey pulled this to keep him still and listen to what he had to say again? Too many, and Tony was just touch starved enough that he fell into the trap when it was set.
"Rogers has people who care for him too, people that will hurt if he ends up 'dead." He pointed out, trying to be logical. They would just be shifting the hurt onto some other group if they went down that route. Rhodey snorted, his hot breath making Tony's scalp tingle.
"Whoever gives a damn about that team killing fuck head has more is screwed than we can offer help for. Seriously Tony- you are not going to pull a damn repeat of what you did back home here. I don't give a fuck if it only sends you to another fucking world. If it looks like you are going to even think about it- I am knocking you the fuck out and having the Magic Doctor over there send you home without a fucking hesitation." Rhodey hissed back in reply. Tony felt something in his chest untangle as he laughed weakly at the curse ridden statement. Rhodey was being serious here- his friend would bundle him back to where they had come from instead of letting him save this world like he had theirs. No one was expecting him to chance being stuck in a different hell. He was both relieved and troubled by the safety that he felt at that fact.
"I'm going to hold you to that Rhodey-Bear. The people here… the ones who don't think much of me anyways… they know just what to do to guilt me into doing what they want. If they find out that there is a proven way once this all comes to a head, they will want me to step up." He confessed, his throat tight as he voiced his thoughts. Rhodey's arms grew tighter around him, bordering on the line of being too tight to be comfortable, at his words.
"If anyone tries that shit then I'll deal with them myself, even if I have to fight your dance cards for rights." He promised, his eyes connecting with Phil's as he spoke. Not that Tony knew that, or saw the understanding that passed between the two men. Phil and Rhodey had an odd relationship at first. Tony's number one supporter hadn't liked the Agent because the man had already been in a relationship with another man when he had come onto Tony. Adding another person? It had seemed like a cope out, an escape from commitment to him and Rhodes wasn't afraid to admit that he had been terrified of it backfiring. Tones had let them in, and if they decided that it was just a phase or ended it the genius would self-destruct.
It had taken Rhodey years to accept this whole dance card arrangement, but their reactions to losing Tones had cemented that acceptance. Those men loved Tony with a passion equal to people in one on one relationships. Their love wasn't diminished by the fact that there was a group of them, or the fact that they referred to their relationship as a dance card more than anything else. They had still grieved and fallen apart the same as any conventional relationship would have when he was lost to them. And they would band together and make damn sure Tony didn't get hurt while they were here helping this world. Rhodey knew that in his gut, and he kind of felt sorry for the first asshole who tried anything. There wouldn't be much of the person left by the time everything was said and done. Tony relaxed in his arms after a few more minutes, and while Rhodes was content to hold him he had some messages to pass on.
"Now that the fact that I'll send you packing home without notice has been established I have some messages that were passed along to me in case Jay over there was right and you were our Tony." He murmured, pulling back and looking Tony in the eyes. The genius looked startled by the sudden change in subject, and more than a little apprehensive.
"Right. You would have told other people about a large chunk of the Avengers leaving the world on its own for an unforeseeable amount of time." Tony muttered, his eyes darting around the room to look at said chunk of Avengers. Strange snorted from the corner where he was leaning and watching the reunions happen, drawing Tony's eyes to him for a moment. Rhodey snickering brought Tony's attention back to him before he could make a comment though. With the amused look on his friend's face Tony had the feeling that he should be running. Amused Rhodey with a message didn't sound like it boded well for him after all.
"Yeah, I kinda needed to let Pepper know that there might be a chance that your skinny ass managed to pull off a god-damn miracle, but got lost in another world in the process. She does kind of run your company Tony." He teased, his eyes sharpening as he saw the flinch that hearing Pepper's name caused. He had been informed of what this version of their friend had done, and he needed to see what kind of trauma she had caused. It wasn't their Pepper's fault, but she would be dealing with the aftermath when they got Tones home. While Rhodey was grateful for the fact that she had made sure he would survive, because it meant that Tones was alive and would be coming home, but the genius would be reminded about her lack of regard for his wishes every single time that he looked into the mirror. That could and probably would impact an innocent woman who had been mourning Tony, even if he didn't mean to transfer that reminder to her.
"Do we have a dragon Pepper situation back there? I'm going to have to buy her shoes to make up for this, right? That's going to be a mess, I have no idea what is in style over there, and it's not like bringing something from here will help my case." Tony asked, his voice deliberately light and even, making Rhodey grimace mentally. He was worried that she was angry with him, and while Pepper had a temper on her there was no way in hell that it was directed at him. The comment about buying her shoes was concerning- Pepper had shut down the whole 'bribery to make sure people liked him' thing as soon as she realized that was what he had a habit of doing. He could give gifts, but never as an attempt to apologize.
"She likes you to use your words better than giving gifts Tones, so no shoes. She wanted me to tell you that she's working on making sure that you're not considered dead anymore. That was happening even if you weren't our Tones by the way. There was no way in hell that you were going to be left here after that mission report Jay found. She wants you to 'Behave and for the love of god and S.I. Stocks do not think of dying again' and to know that you're going to be an uncle." He replied softly. Tony frowned, his eyes becoming unfocused for a moment before a small smile appeared.
"That's right, Dream Pepper doesn't like to be bribed for her forgiveness, so no shoes for her. She doesn't like me doing it to anyone. There are rules about that, I remember them if I think about it. This Pep… she likes her Jimmy Cho's." He agreed, not noticing the way his words made the other people in the room react. Rhodey bit back curses in particular. If Pepper- the root of Tony's litmus test to measure what was socially acceptable and what was not when it came to his spending because of guilt habits 'liked shoes' then that told him all he needed to know about the way the people in this world had enjoyed Tony's stunted social skills. One misstep would have had the genius trying his best to 'make it up' to his 'friends', and there was no way in hell people hadn't noticed that.
"I'm going to kill them all myself." Rhodey blurted out, unable to help himself as he came to the realization of the fact that these people had been riding Tony's guilt for his generosity. His friend gave him a confused look at that, and Rhodey could feel his heart breaking just a little. They had so much damage to work through, and there was going to be a wait before they could really work on it. Little corrections here and there may be possible, but completely confronting the wrongs in the way that he had lived here would cause too much stress given the impeding invasion. He shared another look with Phil and could tell that he had come to the same conclusion.
"No killing, I know I've told you that it isn't allowed among friends, or in the circle of company that we keep before, even if I can't remember when. Wait, you said that I'm going to be an Uncle? Pep is pregnant?! When? How? Who?! There's a baby Potts on the way. I need to buy her a house or something. Does she even need a house? This is why dying is a bad idea, you lose track of what people need." Tony first scolded, before his mind caught onto something in Rhode's last statement and his mood shifted from confused to almost manic.
Rhodey smirked a little as the smaller man's body vibrated in excitement and his mouth went into overtime because of the wave of rambling coming out of it. Several people started laughing slightly as Tony continued to speak whatever popped into his mind. The Genius pulled away from Rhodey completely as he started pacing, running a hand through his hair in a half frustrated half ecstatic motion. When no one answered his questioned he eventually stopped and then stared accusingly at the nearest person. Which happened to be Clint.
"Well?! I need answers here!" He huffed. Clint just smirked at him for a moment before shrugging.
"If you want to find out, then we should get you home. It's not like you can buy her a house or whatever you decide to from here." He replied, clear in his opinion of what should happen next even if he hadn't come out and told Tony that they should take him back to the other universe yet. Tony rolled his eyes and scowled at the Archer. He had only wanted the information that had been teased., Not a guilt trip that Pepper was going to be a mother, and he wasn't there to spoil her.
"I'm onto you. If we leave then this world just becomes number 14 million and what ever number that didn't win. They haven't prepared for anything, because they didn't believe me, and it isn't like there is a Tony waiting in the wings to pick up my slack if I leave." He scoffed, unaware of those words stopping every thought in the room cold for a few moments. When he noticed the shocked stared he shifted uncomfortably.
"What? Did I say something wrong?" Tony asked, fighting the urge to apologize. He didn't know why retorting to Clint's obvious attempt to get him out of this world was such a big deal. Everyone knew the number of worlds that Strange had seen the fight fail in right? He had told Tony… wait. That hadn't happened here yet. Titan wouldn't happen for a while in this world.
"You said nothing wrong Dr. Stark." Strange stepped up to assure him, and Tony smiled tightly at the man who he had watched turn to dust. Would have watched turn to dust in this world. Maybe. He had met Strange earlier in this timeline, and that would have had a change on things played out obviously. Their first meeting in the proper timeline had been… tense if Tony was remembering right. This was making his head hurt, and he couldn't resist bringing a hand up to his temple and rubbing it to try and sooth the pain there. He saw a couple concerned looks shot his way at that, and tried to wave it off.
"I'm starting to get a headache, but Harry Potter over there has more of a backstory in my head then he used to now. This is weird, does anyone else think that this is weird?" He explained when his hand wave didn't work. A mixture of amusement and relief crossed the faces of the people in the room at his explanation. This was proof that the memories he was missing were somewhere in his head still, which was more than they could have asked for after finding him alive in this world.
"We learned years ago that nothing with you is ever simple Kitten, so obviously there is weirdness abound here." Natasha teased, before shaking her head. "We'll need to watch these headaches, but it's a good thing that you remembered Dr. Strange without prompting. It means more will come to you, in time. All is not lost." She added with a soft smile lighting up her face. His attention fell on her for a moment, before he nodded.
"Right. Whatever happened to get me here and place me conveniently to take over as this world's Tony Stark without my memories didn't scramble my head permanently. That's good." He muttered before looking back over everyone and sighing. The time to relax and reunite was over. They needed to get to work on saving this place, so he could go and spoil the baby Potts.
"We really need to get things in order here. I have a whole team of supers just sitting around. You'll get bored and break things if I let that stay status quo long… and this world has enough things broken." He declared, stoically ignoring the laughter that his words caused. He was being practical since there wasn't a chance in hell that he was leaving this world to Thanos.