Just Like the Sting of a Bee (джен)

After Tony 'steps back' from the Avengers at the end of Age of Ultron, he talks about the team with Friday and realizes he had nothing to 'step back' from. He never was part of the team.
This story is a what if where Tony makes one change, which opens up new opportunities. One among them is an earlier proposal of marriage to Pepper than canonical. That is one among many many many facets of the story, it is not the main point of the story. Tony gains a support system, while other people lose theirs. Tony explores possibilities to defend the Earth. Tony gains allies.