Thanks to everyone who is reading this story, and a big thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites. I still don't own Marvel or any of it's characters, but I like to take them out and play with them occasionally. We are beginning to get to the main story now. Yep, everything up to this point was primarily to just deal with the ramifications of the snap. The real story is just getting started.
7 Days Post Snap, 8 a.m.
Steve sighed as he tied his tie for the third time. This was going to be a hard day. He'd read over the words he'd written a dozen times. They just didn't seem adequate. A few words to describe each of Earth's lost heroes seemed hollow, but if this memorial service could give the others a little closure, he had to try.
It wasn't just his fellow Avengers depending on this service today. The president agreed with Pepper. The world needed to see a healthy response to loss. Things were still utterly chaotic beyond the doors of the Avengers' Compound. Steve still thought it would be better if the team was out on the streets trying to maintain order, but public opinion and those soon to be annulled Accords required a more diplomatic approach.
It was almost easier to do his job while he, Natasha, Sam, and Wanda had been on the run. They were covert, thanks to Natasha. They just did what was right then slipped into the night. This stuff, the PR business, well, it was more Tony's game. Too bad Tony couldn't be here to handle it today.
There was a slight knock on the bathroom door before Natasha let herself inside. "You know, Rogers, as the woman in this relationship, I'm the one who gets to monopolize the bathroom," she smirked before reaching up and straightening his tie. "There, that's better."
"Not sure I'll ever get the hang of these things," Steve mumbled. "Thank you."
"Anytime, soldier," Natasha replied as she kissed his cheek. "You can do this, Steve. The rest of us will be right there with you."
"Yeah, just wish it wasn't necessary," Steve sighed. "Is it wrong that I'm grateful? We lost so many people, and the first feeling to wash over me every morning since the snap has been gratitude that I still have you. I miss them all so much, Nat, but I don't think I could live without you. And, that's exactly what Clint and Pepper and countless others have to do. They lost their other halves just as we were finding ours."
"You do realize we were each other's other half long before the snap, right? The feelings were there, Steve. We would have gotten here eventually. It's okay to be grateful. I know I am."
"I'm definitely the luckiest man in the universe to have you beside me."
"We're both pretty lucky. Now, out of here soldier. My turn to get ready. Can you check on the others? We need to leave early."
"Absolutely," Steve replied as he leaned in for one last kiss. "You know you've always been the one in charge right?"
"I was hoping you wouldn't figure that out," she teased before pushing him out the door.
7 Days post Snap 10:25am
Nebula's craft touched down on the compound's helipad, and Tony jumped out as quickly as he could, leaving Nebula to catch up. Tony rushed into the building. "Friday, I need a status report on Pepper now."
"Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts and the remaining Avengers are at St. Mark's Cathedral for your memorial service. You were presumed dead, sir."
"She's alive! Thank God!" Tony let out the breath he'd been holding. Pepper was alive. He could get through anything as long he had her.
Nebula finally managed to catch up with Tony. "She's alive. Follow me. My turn to drive. We'll take the Porsche."
"Porsche?" Nebula asked, but Tony was already headed for the car.
"You'll see. Come on," he commanded.
It didn't take long to get to the church, and Tony quickly noted that it was packed. He saw a side door and headed for it. He didn't want to be stopped by the press before he even got to lay eyes on Pepper. The door was unlocked. It actually led to a small room right off of the pulpit area. Tony stopped in his track as soon as he heard the familiar voice speaking from the podium.
"-and, to Cassie, Scott Lange will be remembered as much more than a reformed criminal, much more than Antman. He will be remembered as the trophy she gave him stated. Scott will forever be remembered as the World's Best Grandma," Steve paused as a few chuckled, "a father who put his daughter first even as he did his part to protect others. He will be missed.
"Finally, we come to the Avenger who I personally find the hardest to say goodbye to today. Anthony Stark," Steve paused and shook his head, "Tony was Earth's mightiest defender. His greatest super power didn't come from his arc-reactor. It came from deep inside. Before Tony became Ironman, he was a philanthropist and a playboy. He didn't think much about anyone but himself, but when fate intervened, Tony Stark stepped up to the challenge.
"Tony became the hero Earth needed. He used his resources to keep the planet safe. He used his intelligence to constantly look for a better way. He was a good man, one of the best I ever knew. His father would have been so proud of the hero his son became, and I once had the privilege of calling him friend.
"Our last words to each other were heated. Our friendship was strained by my inability to trust him with a truth he needed to hear. I don't get a second chance to say the things I should have said, just like many of you don't have the chance to repair relationships with those taken by the snap. But, we all have the chance to be better people moving forward. Just as Tony let adversity turn a playboy into an Avenger, we can and must let the horror we have just experienced turn us into better people-into everyday heroes.
"I ask all of you, everyone still breathing, to evaluate yourself now. Be better. Tell the people you care about how you really feel about them now before the opportunity passes you by. Do it for the ones you've lost. Do it for Tony Stark-the man who cared so much for the people of this planet he was willing to jump onto an enemy spacecraft to defend it. Thank you."
Tony just stood there as he listened to the applause from Steve's speech. He was momentarily frozen until Nebula nudged him.
"For someone in such a hurry, you are not moving very fast, Stark. Go," Nebula commanded as she gave him a gentle push.
The crowd gasped as Tony stepped up behind Steve. He hadn't realized how filthy he must have looked until Pepper was suddenly running towards him. Steve turned his head to see Tony standing there just as Pepper threw herself into his arms.
"You came back," Pepper cried into his chest. "I thought-"
"I know. I'm not. I'm here. I love you," he whispered into his ear, ending each short sentence with another kiss into her hair.
"I love you so much, Tony. I love you so much," Pepper cried.
Soon the others were gathered around them. Rhodey hugged Tony as soon as Pepper let go. Natasha followed with Bruce, Thor, Clint, and Coulson on his heels.
"Phil?" Tony asked, a puzzled look on his face.
"Good to see you among the living," Phil replied.
"I could say the same about you," Tony replied.
Tony was soon talking to several others who had attended the memorial service, but he kept looking over at Steve. Steve had yet to get very close, and Tony knew exactly why. But, he'd also heard the speech, and he knew Steve was being sincere. As soon as he finally caught the opportunity to excuse himself from a conversation with a man he'd met but didn't particularly remember, he walked the few steps to where Steve was standing.
"Tony, I'm so sor-"
"You know what, Cap, I think we are way past the 'I'm sorry' phase," Tony replied. Steve nodded then looked at his feet. "I heard what you said up there. It was a good. I'm kind of glad I didn't have to really die to get it. The world's a mess. We both made some big mistakes, but I think half the universe gone in an instant is punishment enough for our mistakes. I want to fix this if it's possible. What do you say, Cap? Are we in this together?"
"Until the end, Tony, until the end," Steve replied and the two men hugged.
Pepper walked up behind them and interlaced her fingers with Tony's. "Steve, any chance you and Rhodey could handle the press conference so I can get Tony home?"
"Absolutely," Steve agreed. "We'll take care of things here."
"Never thought I'd see the day Capsycle would willingly handle the press," Tony smirked. "There was a girl with me. Her name is Nebula. She fought at our side on Titan then brought me home."
"Is that her?" Steve asked, pointing to Nebula.
"Uh, yes, that's her talking to the giant raccoon," Tony acknowledged. "There's a sentence I never thought I'd speak. Can you make sure she gets back to the compound?"
"I'll take care of her, Tony. Go home with Pepper. She's missed you."
Tony got a shower as soon as they got home, and soon he was holding Pepper in his arms. "I want you to know that I'm done being Ironman as soon as we settle this thing with Thanos, and, if you say the word, I'll even stay out of that one. Steve and the others can do the fighting. I will just stay in the lab and help from there. I just want to be with you."
"No," Pepper said shaking her head, "the world needs Ironman. I understand that now."
"But I need you," Tony replied.
"And, you have me, Tony. You will always have me, but I want the world to be a safe place for our child. And, if I have to share you with Ironman to do it, I will."
"Our child? You mean you're willing to try and have a baby with me?"
"Not exactly," Pepper paused, "I'm pregnant, Tony. We are having a baby."
Tony kissed her then he shouted to the empty compound, "We're having a baby! I love you! Where's Happy? I need to send him out for cigars?" Pepper gave him a pained look and shook her head. "No Happy?" Tony paused a moment. "For a little while there, I was so relieved you were alive, I didn't think about who might not be around. Peter's gone. He went in the snap. Strange is gone, too."
"I'm sorry, Tony. The others and I talked about what to say about Peter today. We decided not to mention his name. Steve just called him Spiderman. We decided it might be easier for his aunt to think he was just lost like so many others."
"You did the right thing. As much as I'd like for the world to know what a hero Peter Parker was, his aunt has lost a lot. It might cause her even more pain to know where he was when the snap happened."
"So, now what?" Pepper asked.
"Strange had the time stone. He searched through millions of different possible outcomes to see if we could win against Thanos. He only found one. When Thanos and I were fighting, Strange gave him the time stone in exchange for my life. I asked why. I'd have rather died than lose at that moment. The stakes were so high. But, Strange said it had to be that way. He said we were in the endgame now. I think there's a way to fix this, the one way Strange found. I think he gave up the stone so I could live long enough to figure it out."
"Time isn't set," Pepper replied, repeating Bruce's words from a few nights before. "Coulson's team was stuck in a time loop. Eventually, they got out changing the outcome in the process. Bruce has already started working on it. He's been in contact with T'challa's sister Shuri. The three of you working together can find a way."
"I need to pick Coulson's brain, but it can wait a few days. Right now, I just want to be with you."
"I just want to be with you, too, but Phil is dying, Tony. He shouldn't have really even attended the memorial service. When he gets home from the church, we need to have a meeting and compare the facts. We can't afford to get this wrong."
"We?"
"It's the way we do things now. Even a racoon and a little girl have their seats at the table. Every opinion counts. Separately, none of us can fix this, but together-"
"We have a chance," Tony finished.