Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last section. You are all wonderful. We are still in the "Tony and Steve made bad choices" timeline. I was tempted to go back to the other timeline, but I felt like you would be furious with me if I didn't cut back to Laura and Steve.

Also, the last few text messages of the chapter before are happening concurrently with the first part of this chapter.

In-person conversation 1: Take me to the wizard- I mean Stark

"We weren't really speaking to each other at the time of the invasion." Laura looked up to see Steve walk into the room, holding a Stark pad.

"You should probably know that Melinda put me in charge of looking through your cell phone. She didn't want Simmons to come across any more pictures of Fitz and Hunter making out." Steve tells her, and she's not surprised.

That's when she types out a text for Tony to delete their conversation. She doesn't want them to know she's talking to Tony because the team might put a stop to that, and she feels like he might tell her the truth of how they lost to Thanos eventually.

"I really thought I was doing good at keeping that a secret." She said with a groan as she hit the send button.

"Would it make her feel better to know that she's married to the other Fitz, and they're expecting their first baby soon. There are some pictures of the makeup reception in there." They had one about a month after the wedding once Leo was healed from his gunshot wounds. She still can't believe Alastair tried to kill his son at the Fitzsimmons wedding with the help of the Watchdogs. It was beyond disturbing.

"I don't think it would help," Steve said darkly.

"I've noticed that," Laura said as she typed out a response to Tony.

"You know, you didn't have to go through my phone. You could've just asked more questions like Bruce did. I prefer that you don't do that."

"You were unconscious, and we were trying to figure out why when we started looking through it. That is how we figured out you were from another timeline." Steve told her which was the reason why she deleted her original message and told Stark not to block their access just yet.

"Okay, I can understand in those circumstances, although why did Ana… Friday let you into my phone? I think only the head of Shield can get in. Although maybe the head of the Avengers could too. I'm not sure how Fitz set the permissions." Laura explained.

"I'm not the head of the Avengers, Natasha is. Melinda is the director of Shield, though. This might be why she was able to get into the phone, and she gave me permission to keep looking. I assume things are different where you are?"

At that question, Laura realized that Bruce never asked her about that. Bruce never asked her any questions about her being a Shield agent. This made Laura think that Melinda deliberately kept that information from the man.

"You're right, it is different. Tony is the director of the new Shield replacement agency, the advanced threat containment unit, or rather the acting director because he can't get confirmed. Technically, it's the ATCU but there's still a Shield division A.k.a. the Superhuman, Inhuman, Enhanced Persons Liaison division and I'm part of that. Although I mostly work with children and teenagers with superpowers." Laura explains.

"Is that Tony unable to be confirmed because of Ultron?" Steve asked. She was sure that Steve already knows that her timeline branched off from the year after the incident.

"They are more upset about the engagement to an American icon who happens to be a fugitive due to the Accords fiasco." She knows that he saw the pictures of Dr. and Mr. Leopold together, but she doesn't know if Mr. May-Rogers knows about Dr. and Mr. Stark-Rogers.

"I know the Steve of your time is with Tony. I saw a picture of them kissing at Christmas on your phone." Steve tells her, and she can see a hint of sadness in his eyes. She knows that look because she sees it every time Steve Stark Rogers is forced to part from Tony Stark Rogers.

"I was trying to be polite."

"I don't need politeness right now." Laura was trying to remember if Steve was this much of a dick before the therapy and getting laid constantly.

"Then I can be honest and tell you that the future Dr. Stark-Rogers can't get confirmed because he's fucking a guy, although up until yesterday that man was a wanted fugitive. I hope the Mumbai agreement was still signed yesterday in light of my disappearance." Steve responded with a sigh. Thankfully he didn't ask about the Mumbai agreement.

"I wish I could say that I am surprised about that. How did that Stark end up in charge of Shield?" Steve asked her.

"He made a deal with President Ellis to get you or rather other Steve a pardon and the accords renegotiated in exchange for taking over the agency. They just came to an agreement, and the signing was happening when I was brought over to this weird place. At least this is better than that time I got kidnapped by Ross."

"That's the Mumbai agreement that you mentioned earlier? Ellis got a second term in your timeline?" Steve asked.

"Yes, and yes. Leo prevented the Watchdog backer from interfering with the elections, and Ellis was open to renegotiating once he was reelected. Your counterpart helped with the negotiations. Several countries including Malta, South Korea, and Wakanda backed him up." Laura explained.

"I knew something like that happened. I'm sure whatever agreement we came up with was better than the Accords."

"It is. The new agreement is significantly less draconian and contains protection for individuals with powers who happens to be underage. Also, no registry that can be used by terrorist groups."

"That's good."

"So, are you going to ask me how your other self ended up engaged to Tony Stark?" Because honestly, Laura has been waiting for that question since she got here and realized she was trapped in this "Tony and Steve are morons" timeline. She's expecting it since the guy came across a picture of him making out with Tony. There's a lot of pictures of Tony and Steve kissing on her phone. Lila tended to borrow it to take photos of her uncles whenever they got to see them. Usually in Malta. The family spent a lot of time in Malta over the last year.

"Honestly, I'm more interested in knowing how they moved past Siberia at all. How did that Tony forgive me?" That part was whispered, but Laura still heard Steve.

'Apparently, the self-flagellation is a universal constant.' Laura thought to herself. She's not even surprised Steve asked this question because Tony asked the same thing. God, they are so stupid.

"You understand mistakes were made on both sides? There were no good choices during the Accords' fiasco or as my Tony refers to it as the Avengers' uncivil toddler squabble." Steve half chuckled at that.

"I'm starting to realize that now."

"My Tony and Steve realized that too eventually, although it took a lot of text messaging and open and honest communication to get there." Also, therapy and antidepressants, but Laura felt like that would violate doctor-patient confidentiality or, in this case, AA sponsor confidentiality.

She had told Tony more, but that might be because she's closer to Tony, even if the Tony she spoke to was not her Tony. The sponsorship bond is strong. Tony has been her rock during the separation. So, of course, she's going to be comfortable telling this timeline's Tony about the drunk text messages.

But maybe there's this part of her that is still annoyed with Steve for punching Clint. Yes, Steve and Clint are friends again. Perhaps even best friends, but she can still be annoyed.

"They didn't go from fighting to making out on the couch. The future Stark-Rogers had a lot of shit to get through, and they did it together because maybe they realized the world needed them on speaking terms. At some point, my Tony and Steve realized that a lot of the choices they made were because they were in love with one another, and both were too stubborn to acknowledge it." Steve's blush told her she hit the nail right on the head.

"OK," Steve mumbled as he took the seat next to her bed.

"Before Friday was banned from telling me anything, she told me that you and Tony never really recovered from Siberia even though it's been seven years. She said your relationship with Tony is, and I quote complicated. Is that true?" Laura asked even though her conversation with Tony earlier confirmed that.

"He's watching my daughter right now. Robin, not Kamala. She's a junior at Brooklyn Vision Academy. She only gets to come home on the weekends. However, Robin is homeschooled, and we thought it was safer for her not to be here." Steve explained.

"I'm not surprised at all that you have a place in Brooklyn. Also, I know both girls in my timeline." For some reason, Laura decides not to tell him that Robin will soon be the stepdaughter of Steve's childhood best friend. They're planning a September wedding if the end of the world doesn't happen first. Well, the end of half the world, her included.

"I trust Tony with my daughter. There's not a lot of people around that I would, but he's top of the list." Steve tells her.

"That's because despite what the state of New York believes, Tony is really good with children. I'm so glad somebody decided to let him adopt. I've already heard about Morgan." And she could tell this Tony was in love.

"Actually, Morgan is Tony and Pepper's biological child. Tony called her his miracle baby." A miracle would be right, considering her Tony was extremely sterile. Although this Steve probably doesn't know that because his relationship with Tony probably never included talking about his fertility issues.

"I'm glad you trust Tony with your kids, but that doesn't tell me about your relationship with him. You're not really friends anymore, are you?" Laura asked.

"I'm not 100% sure if we ever were, not really. Tony never forgave me for losing to Thanos. Losing Peter destroyed a part of him." Considering her Tony saw Peter as his son, this was bad. "My stubbornness was why we were fighting and why the Avengers were in pieces when we really needed to be together. We lost everything because we stopped being a team. Now it feels like the only thing we have in common is our children. It is the only thing we really can talk about."

"That sounds like a lot of my adult friendships." Her old friendships back at the farmhouse before she became an agent herself that is. It wasn't exactly like she could tell them what her husband did for a living. Also, most of her friendships now are with people who are Avengers, Shield agents, or the parents of kids with superpowers.

"Last week, I went to him to ask for his help with our attempt to create time travel using the Pym Particles to undo what happened. The only thing he was willing to do was to watch Robin. I think he doesn't want to help because deep down, he still hates me." Steve tells her. Laura was personally fighting off the desire to shake Steve. Really, she thought she was so done with Tony and Steve pining after one another. There's also Steve being too self-absorbed to realize not everything is about him. Here we go again. Maybe she should've let Steve come across Tony's ramblings to her earlier. Perhaps that would help him get a clue.

"I don't think Tony will ever hate you. You assume that, but have you actually asked him how he feels?" Because I'm pretty sure most of his feelings are warm and fuzzy. It was also at that moment that Laura remembered that DILF stood for dad I like to fuck.

"I think Friday can show you security footage of Tony yelling at me because I wasn't there when he needed me and ripping his armor off of his chest." She wondered if this was the same incident that Tony talked about briefly.

"Friday, show me the video?" She asked the AI, not expecting a reply.

"Of course, Agent Barton," Friday said before the video popped up on the screen. She almost wondered if Dr. Potts override May's earlier orders.

"Do you really think it was the best time to ask Tony those questions? He was in a wheelchair and hooked up to an IV at the time, looking very emaciated. I know you just went through a crisis, and half the world population was gone, but time and place." Laura asked after watching the first part of the video.

"May said I was too focused on the mission that I was obsessed with it, and I didn't see the big picture."

"Your wife was right. That's something you need to work on." She tells him as she continues watching the video. Everyone she can see in the frame is a mess. Of course, they would be after losing so much. She also wonders if this Steve ever received treatment for his adjustment disorder. She will ask later, just focus on one problem at a time.

"You realize that Tony said those things to you because he was scared and worried about you? He didn't want to lose you too after losing everyone else. It's pretty obvious to me that none of you were thinking very clearly after what happened." Laura tells him after watching the grainy security footage. Note to self ask Tony about the build a bear thing. She should probably text him again. It's not like anyone else is going to talk to her. Clint was still avoiding her, and Natasha was with him.

"You're giving up too easily. I still think you and Tony can fix things."

"Some things can't be fixed," Steve tells her.

"Some things still need to be. You and Tony need to fix things to at least the point he will come to help us because I need to go back home to prevent this from happening. It won't undo things here, but at least you'll prevent one universe from going through the pain you're going through now." Laura tells Steve.

"We don't need Tony. Bruce and Simmons are already working on the way to bring you home." Steve argued.

"Simmons is a mess and do not deny it because the one time she came to see me, she burst into tears," Laura tells him.

"You may be right about that," Steve conceded reluctantly.

"Although he has seven doctorates, I don't think any of them were in this field. You need Tony. You need the Princess and Leo, and unfortunately, I know for a fact at least he is stuck in my timeline. I'm also 99% sure the Princess was a casualty of the decimation. Which means Tony is the best available option." She argued.

"You're right, she was one of the victims of the decimation along with Leo Fitz. Tony might be one of the few that understands what's going on, especially because Deke is missing." Steve explained as he sighed again.

"Okay, I'm confused. Please explain to me how Leo is also a victim of the decimation since I thought this timeline's Leopold Fitz was presumed dead even though I'm now 99% sure he created my timeline. Here is an important lesson about time travel because I know you're trying it; you don't change your timeline by going to the past, you just make a new one." Laura tells Steve.

"I'm aware. My wife has traveled to the future."

"Of course." She vaguely remembers reading something about that in Leo's medical file.

"To rescue my wife and others from a timeline where Thanos lost, but Earth was cracked apart, Leo Fitz cryogenically froze himself to wake up 70+ years in the future. After saving everybody and defeating the Kree, they came back through the portal. Then that Fitz ended up in your timeline after the monoliths exploded. However, the version of Leopold Fitz that froze himself still exists in this timeline." Steve explained.

"That makes sense. There are currently two different Fitzs running around in my timeline. We call the one which originated from this timeline James "Leo" Leopold." They also occasionally call him Fitz Hunter, but she does not want Simmons to know about that. She knew Steve would keep quiet about that, but Laura was concerned Friday would do something stupid like show Simmons video of this conversation. She knows Friday's cameras are everywhere because Tony is extra paranoid.

"After we lost, truly lost, Simmons joined the remaining Guardians with Deke to find the ship that Fitz was cryogenically frozen on. You at least heard Rocket's voice on that video. Tony referred to him as a build a bear."

"The one that kind of sounds like Bradley Cooper? Why would Tony refer to him as a build a bear?"

"Anyway, they did find the ship that Fitz was on. Being nonorganic, Enoch survived the decimation, but Fitz's cryogenically frozen body was reduced to dust. Simmons actually asked Enoch to help us with the time travel thing, but he cannot interfere because apparently, this doesn't meet the threshold for 'extinction-level event.'" Steve explained. Laura should probably ask who Enoch is, but she's afraid to.

"So, this other Leo was another victim of the snap?" Laura asked.

"We call it the decimation. But yes, we believe that's what happened."

"I prefer snap." It feels less horrible. She doesn't want to keep calling it the decimation.

"Regardless of what you call, we are trying to undo it by getting the stones back," Steve explained

"Which means she gets Fitz back, and Clint gets his children back." She doesn't mention herself. Were her and Clint also on a break when the snap happened? Was he even in the country? For all she knows he could've been on the run and that's why he obviously feels so guilty.

"Exactly."

"I don't know if you're actually going to be able to find the six stones throughout time. Although maybe Robin made us not destroy the reality stone for a reason once we removed it from Vision last year." Steve stared at her for a moment. "But at a minimum, I can go back to prevent Thanos from winning. However, to do that, I need you to swallow your pride or maybe your fear and call, text, or send a carrier pigeon to Tony and get him to come to help us. I need to save my children." She was practically yelling at him at this point. Because even if Tony texted her back, he knew Steve would have to be the one to ask. Tony would do a lot of things for Steve.

"Text Stark." Laura heard a voice say from the doorway.

"Melinda, really?" Steve asked his wife.

"I've been essentially functioning as an intermediary between the two of you for the last five years and I need you to work through your problems. We need him to have a chance. Simmons is not well, and Bruce doesn't completely understand what he's doing. Deke almost knew what he was doing, but he's missing now. I don't like saying this, but Morgan's dad is our only hope right now."

"One conversation isn't going to solve anything."

"But it's a place to start," Laura tells him.

To be continued…

I also want to say I'm ridiculously excited for the final season of AOS to begin on May 27.