"That was what happened. I came back to life..."
Amid the crowd, Tony recounted what he had experienced after snapping his fingers. His usual flippant tone could not conceal the bitterness and loneliness beneath it. Once he finished, everyone stepped forward to hug him.
"I don't want hugs. Or maybe save them for later. Does anyone have a cheeseburger? I can't remember how many years it's been since I last ate anything."
"Poor Tony..."
Pepper, wearing a blue Iron Man Suit, covered her mouth as tears streamed down her face. She stepped forward to give him a hug.
She was stopped!
Tony Stark of the current timeline looked thoroughly displeased as he reminded his wife to calm down. "Look carefully. I'm Tony. Even if he is me, he isn't the real me, understand?"
Tony did not like hearing that either. He snorted through his nose. "Pepper, that old guy is right. We really are different."
"Old guy?"
"What else would I call you?"
Seeing that the two Tonys were about to start hurling insults at each other, everyone looked worried—but happily moved aside to give them room to throw down.
"Listen, judging by the timeline, you're the real antique here."
"Heh, sorry about that. My hair may be a little gray, but this body of mine..."
Tony brushed a hand through his hair, looking immensely pleased with himself. "It's got the specs of an eighteen-year-old, in the prime of youth like the wind."
"Pah! You're just scum—a playboy, that's all!"
Tony Stark was green with envy, jealousy, and resentment, but he said nothing. He was already a mature, steady man. His wife and daughter were the loves of his life, and pretty young girls were...
Fine. He was still incredibly jealous.
Pepper looked back and forth between the two Tonys,