Authors note: Oh hey look an update. I just wanted to throw this out there before we press on, I've decided to break up the epilogue into pieces, to push the story along but not too many though. So expect at least mmm two more chapters to follow this, maybe three. Since its taking me longer than I'd like and there's so much exposition that I need to wade through without weighing you down or boring you to tears. Still don't know who did the erasing and just kind of making the rest up as I go along. Thanks for reading! Loves.

Disclaimer: I don't own it, don't sue me.

Tony's brain still felt like scrambled eggs.

Sitting on the floor of his living room back in his penthouse after forgetting why he came into the room in the first place. Trying to decide what to do next.

After going in and out of the living room for the fourth time, Tony finally gave up stopping in the center of the room and just simply sitting down on the floor. He didn't mean to feel sorry for himself, at least out in the open. Usually he would take his pity parties in solitude, either hiding away in his lab or room, or waiting until no one was around.

But right now he didn't really mind if someone happened to see him, even though he was alone today. Maybe he'd go out tonight, that could be good. But it was cold outside, and Tony hated the cold, that much he knew. But he also knew he was bored out of his fried little mind.

Part of him wanted to be left alone but another part of him wished someone would come up and bother him. Almost half expecting it actually. Someone to walk up to him and shake him out of his funk. Maybe thats what this feeling was today, missing someone.

"Maybe I should get a dog." He thought out loud to himself. he thought about pulling up some diagrams again just to skim over. He rejected the idea of pouring himself a drink since his brain was already fried enough for the time being.

"Sir, may I suggest, if you are considering a pet, to start with a fish. So that it's eventual premature demise isn't as upsetting."

"Hey I resemble that remark!" But JARVIS was right he'd probably forget to feed the poor thing or Barton or Thor would knock it over. Besides he hated animals and Pepper would most likely end up taking car of it.

"Maybe a house plant."

"Were you always this harsh to me? When I give you nothing but love?" Tony retorted into the ether with mock hurt.

"Forgive me Sir, I'm sure a fish would be more your speed." JARVIS apologized with but the sarcasm in his voice amused him to no end. Tony was glad that memories of JARVIS hadn't been effected it would be a crime against humanity.

Once he'd come back to the tower he was warmly welcomed by his alleged friends and fellow Avengers. Banner stuck close, but not too close, and for a guy who could lose his cool and turn into a big green rage monster, he was pretty chill. Which Tony thought was extremely impressive.

Barton seemed glad to see him up and about. Almost as much as that Thor guy had been and that was saying a lot. He remembered Barton and Thor to a small degree. And all three were surprisingly helpful while they were around. They did live there with him after all.

Each one took turns covertly hovering behind him, except for Thor because well he's Thor, while he reacquainted himself with his own house. Which didn't take much effort, bits he remembered but sometimes he would round a corner forgetting where he was going. Or he would go into a room expecting to find something that wasn't there, even if he didn't know what that was by the time he got there.

He still had that weird disconnected feeling, that he had during the first couple days after he'd woken up in the SHIELD medic bay, which were a blur. His motor functions had been shot for the first couple days, he spoke slowly sometimes an odd stutter on some words, but that slowly got better after a matter of hours.

Tony's brain eventually found the right connections to his limbs and mouth. Though he still had trouble with dialing numbers on a key pad, or doing anything intricate with his fingers like tying something or doing up buttons. His fingers ending up fumbling over each other and moving too slowly for his taste.

Now it was just blank spots in his mind that were the problem. Tony's entire memory bank had holes burned into it, creating a timeline with major gaps. Where he remembered some present things, other past things didn't make sense. He remembered being held up in that cave building the reactor and suit. But how he had escaped was a blank.

Obviously he was Tony Stark, and he knew he was Ironman but didn't know that so did the rest of the world. And apparently, according to Pepper and a confirmation from JARVIS, there was video of that coming out and was promised to be shown once he got released. He had a hankering to see it sounds like something he would do.

Once he got back Tony tried to keep himself busy brushing up on things he'd missed, by getting JARVIS bringing up and sifting through files and schematics. Of the suits, and the reactor, goings on from the company. Googling himself and most of the shenanigans that had come up he knew about to his relief.

Tony didn't really keep many pictures around but did have archives JARVIS had been keeping the past year. Things like, how Thor's crazy brother tried to take over the world, ok remembered parts of that. A year and a half had passed since then, ok he didn't know that. Coulson wasn't around because he was dead. At least for about five minutes then SURPRISE no he wasn't.

Thor would go into great dramatic story sessions recollecting each battle they had fought in. Emphasizing each action with phrases like "with a mighty bellow" and "with courage and might" that he made it sound like he was telling him a big ancient epic than something he had actually done. Especially with the names he called them. Tony had to admit he did like being referred to as 'The Man of Iron'. And liked how JARVIS was 'etherial voice'.

As for Barton too would add to Thor's stories his own annotations and side stories, emphasizing how stupid some of the stuff they had to deal with but ended up kicking ass in the end.

In a weird deja vu kind of way he did feel like he remembered them. At least the residual feelings and phantom pains from described injuries and arguments that had happened. Waves of familiarity would come and go when he was confronted with certain things, thats what bothered him the most. Remembering or recognizing something for a brief millisecond then having it go. And his sense of time was all wonky too.

Sleeping was no help, and when he did managed to fall asleep he'd have the same weird dream of wandering through the tower or his house back in California looking for something he couldn't find but didn't know the name of. Keeping to himself most of the time after, his little predicament was kept out of the media and covered up as a head injury, just as his stint in Afghanistan had been covered as PTSD recovery , which was surprisingly fine with him.

Tony was over thinking everything and his poor brain couldn't keep up for once. He decided he needed to get out, even if it meant sucking it up and going out in the cold.

Ok changed, check. Coat, acquired. Now all he needed was a scarf and a pair of gloves and he was set to go. If only he could find them.

"JARVIS wheres my winter crap. I can skip the scarf but its freezing balls outside and I need gloves." Tony called out tearing through his drawers and main closet for his winter garb, he knew contained his gloves and other winter accessories he'd packed away for the summer.

"The the closet top shelf sir."

Following JARIVS's advice, he found himself on his toes reaching over the shelf in his closet looking said winter accessories. Seconds before Tony was about to give up when his hand came across a shoebox tucked away in the left corner of the closet under a stack of blankets.

Interesting.

Tony went back and sat on his bed while thumbing through the box, A red knit scarf, a small box wrapped in red paper, and couple ticket stubs from some random movies he'd apparently seen. A pair of cheap looking aviators and a bunch of other small things.

Tony wasn't too sentimental with trinkets, he didn't like to keep stuff from the past, it distracted him from the future. Though he did keep a few things, like his sad little robots, so when he did keep something they had to be really special. And a vague inklings in his gut told him that they were important but thats as far as he could go.

Tony singled out the notepad thing next, it was about the size of a small book, with the spiral spine. It had spotty stains and stiff and wavy, seemed to look like water damage. Flipping open to a random page, Tony skimmed over a few sketches, nothing special looking, buildings, trees, a few pairs of disembodies hands doing various things. Some had little notes under it and dates.

On the first few pages, some of the sketches were smeared, probably having gotten wet. Curiosity pushed him forwards, it wasn't his. Tony didn't keep doodle pads, and these didn't seem to be in his drawing style.

Some drawings were hard to see, looking angrily scratched out, erased or smeared from getting wet. Some seemed almost sad.

Three pages in Tony stopped, one page in particular catching his attention. It was a picture of one of the recent Stark phones with a couple question marks doodled next to it. Off to the side a small inscription read; "Still cant figure out these new types of telephones, no buttons or a cord. How? Ask Tony later."

OK this was defiantly not his. But he was in it. The next page had Clint and Thor on them but it mentioned him too. The words "New home." scribbled in the corner next to a picture of the tower.

The next page had more of everyone else, Thor's hammer, Barton's quiver, His helmet, Captain America's shield. Next to Thor's hammer was a helmet with long horns and the words "Gods? Don't buy it."

An eerie coldness seeped through him as he went on. The further he went into it the more he showed up, pictures of him, with little notes underneath or around them.

"Big man in a suit."

"Looks so much like Howard, weird."

"Impossible."

"Reckless."

Some entries seemed angry, some seemed sad. Each in fragments but he knew they were about him. One big picture of him stood out, Tony was sure it was of him. His hair ruffled face dirty smiling big and almost apologetically. "Says he hates me but I know he's lying."

Flipping through it more quickly now to see if the entry continued, but throughout the entire book, the little bits of torn paper attached to the spine suggested pages had been torn out.

Tony set the pad aside onto the bed and let out a long shaky breath, without even realizing that he'd been holding it that long. Who's was this? And why did he have it?

"Sir is something wrong?" JARVIS suddenly asked startling him causing him to jump a little.

"I really don't know."

"You sound unwell, shall I phone Miss Potts or Dr. Banner?"

"Um, no. I think..." Tony trailed off his voice sounding winded. He turned his attention back to the box on his other side, pulling it onto his lap, he cleared his throat. "You know what, yeah just call Pepper."

Maybe he would have that drink after all.

Ok now that we've come full circle, or the most part now we can move ahead. Cant tell if imagining a gaping plot hole in my logic or not working on it