All of our forces charged forth, crying out and ready to defeat the most dangerous enemy we had ever encountered. As the opposing forces clashed, I worked my way as close to (Y/N) as I could, slowly making my way towards her.
Clint's voice echoed over the comms, his heavy breathing evidence of the speed he was running at. "Cap, what do you want me to do with this damn thing?"
"Get those stones as far away as possible!" Cap answered, the sounds of battle dimly in the background.
"No!" Bruce shouted, "We need to get them back where they came from!"
"There's no way to get them back." Tony said, "Thanos destroyed the Quantum Tunnel."
"That wasn't our only time machine." Scott countered, shrinking back to a normal person's size.
"Anyone see an ugly brown van?" Steve called out.
"Yes!" Val's voice responded, as I saw her soaring overhead on her pegasus, "But you're not going to like where it's parked."
"Scott, how long do you need to get that thing working?" Steve asked.
"Maybe ten minutes?" Scott surmised.
"Get it started." Steve ordered, "We'll get the stones to you."
"We're on it, Cap." A feminine voice confirmed.
The din of battle hadn't slowed, and Thanos' forces seemed unending and impossible. Wanda was closeby, her ability to clear large areas useful in my pursuit of reaching (Y/N).
"Loki!" Thanos called out, pointing his blade to me. "All that I had given you, and you still choose to remain on the losing side?"
"You have given me nothing but blood and pain." I spat back, "And I plan on returning the favor."
Using doubles and teleportation, I was able to combat Thanos as Wanda approached slowly. I heard (Y/N) cry out, and I was distracted for a moment. That moment was all it took for Thanos to throw me down, blade ready to strike the final blow.
Wanda dropped from the sky in front of Thanos, her eyes glowing and face awash with unbridled fury.
"You.. took… everything from me." she breathed, her anger cutting and unfiltered.
"I don't even know who you are." Thanos said, moving to attack her instead.
"You will." She replied calmly, beginning to float and lifting large pieces of debris with her.
I used the opportunity to scramble out of the way, running to find (Y/N) and help her. I heard her call out again, this time quieter. I turned around a corner, and found her there with one of Thanos' goons attempting to choke her out. My knife met its mark faster than I could even think of it, dropping the assailant to the ground.
Confused, she looked around her for a moment before her eyes locked onto mine. Her eyes softened, her lips parted slightly, and she ran to me as I ran to her. The second we embraced, I felt at home. All of the pain, stress, anger, bitterness, and struggle of the past five years melted away, leaving nothing but security and wholeness. Even through the grime of battle, I could smell her lightly floral scent, her hair's length still just as silky between my fingers as it had been years ago. She sighed in contentment, her warmth reaching me even through my armor.
The moment of bliss was quickly interrupted, as Thanos' ship fired down. We were surrounded by explosions, chunks of debris flying in every direction. I threw up a protective shield around (Y/N) and myself, crouching by a large slab of concrete and shielding her with my body as best I could.
Just as suddenly as it had started, the ship stopped firing down on us, choosing instead to fire up at the heavens at something I couldn't quite yet see.
A brilliant golden streak tore through Thanos' ship, destroying it in a fiery explosion as it crashed to the ground. The shockwave from its impact knocked us to the ground, and raised dust into the air.
"Danvers, we need an assist here." Steve called out through the coms, and Danvers flew over to one portion of the battlefield.
"Time to end this once and for all." (Y/N) said, brandishing her sword.
We ran across the battlefield, cutting down enemies as we went, attempting to reach the van in time to help Danvers bring the gauntlet to Scott.
When we could see the van in the distance, Danvers was holding off Thanos alone. She was fighting trying to prevent Thanos from snapping his fingers, the Iron Infinity Gauntlet now on his hand.
It seemed as if she had an easy victory ahead of her, until Thanos yanked the power stone from the gauntlet, using its sole full power to catch her off guard and throw her into a massive pile of concrete, incapacitating her. Placing the stone back in the gauntlet, the stone's power began arcing up his arm, just as it had with Banner.
Stark flew in, pulling on the gauntlet in an attempt to remove it. His attempt proved futile, as Thanos batted him away, preparing to snap his fingers.
"I am… inevitable." Thanos said pridefully, raising his hand and snapping his fingers.
The snap was nothing but a dull clicking noise, and Thanos turned the gauntlet in confusion. The stones were nowhere to be seen.
We all turned to Stark, who now knelt, the stones falling into place within the glove of his armor.
"And I… am… Iron Man."
Tony snapped his fingers, a blinding flash of white ripping through the battlefield. After our eyes adjusted, we looked around to see all of Thanos' forces crumbling to ash, as half of all life had done five years prior. Steve stumbled nearby, sighing in exhaustion as he took in our victory.
Thanos staggered, mouth agape as his entire army disintegrated around him. He sat down, his face sorrowful and defeated as he slowly was erased from existence himself.
Tony let out a breathy smile, and I ran to him to help him sit down. His entire right side had been completely destroyed by the power of the stones, and he was fighting a losing battle with life. Rhodey approached, placing a calming hand on Tony's face. A young man swung up to Stark, tears already forming in his eyes.
"Hey.. Mr Stark? Can you hear me? It's Peter." the boy breathed, trying to get the rapidly fading Tony to look and acknowledge him. "We won, Mr. Stark… We won. Mr. Stark, we won, and you did it, sir. You did it."
Tony remained unresponsive, and Peter began to break down, hugging him.
"I'm sorry… Tony…" Peter sobbed, and Rhodey pulled him aside to grieve, allowing Pepper to sit in front of Tony.
"Hey." She whispered.
Tony looked to his wife, "Hey, Pep…" he breathed.
"Friday?" Pepper asked, her face briefly awash with pain afterwards.
"Tony, look at me." She said, making sure that Tony was looking at her, smiling through her budding tears. "We're gonna be okay. You can rest now."
With her words, Tony's body relaxed as he released his final breath. (Y/N) tucked herself into my chest, and I held her tightly as my own tears fell. Pepper began to openly sob, knowing that Tony did not need her to be strong any longer.
When we had retreated from the battlefield, (Y/N) and I attended to one another's wounds. Though they were all minor, there were numerous cuts and scrapes, and it took time to finish.
"I can't believe I was gone for five years." (Y/N) mumbled as she cleaned the last of my wounds. "It only felt like I passed out for a moment. Then, all the sudden Dr. Strange had opened a portal, and it was time for us to march on Thanos' armies, and you weren't there anymore. It didn't even seem real until I saw everything that he had destroyed on the other side of the portal."
"It was the longest five years of my life." I mumbled, wrapping her up in my arms. "There's so much that I want to tell you, but I don't even know where to begin."
"Here is fine." she replied, pressing her lips to mine. She pulled me towards our bed, throwing me down to the mattress gently. Time seemed to slow as I took in her beautiful smile, her gentle curves that pressed up against me. A mischievous smirk crossed her face, and I heard the room's door lock. "You'll have plenty of time to tell me later." She said, the smirk growing into a grin. "You're going to have me first."
Just like that, I was whole once more.