A/N: Thank you all for sticking around for the end of this fic. If you haven't already, make sure to check it out on either AO3 or Tumblr to see the amazing artwork SgtGraves and araydre contributed to the fic. I go by crematosis on all three platforms.
Tony couldn't believe Strange had just given up.
For all his big talk about doing whatever it took to keep the stone safe, he had handed it over the moment Thanos had been about to kill him. And now Thanos was one step closer to wiping out the galaxy.
"Why did you do that?"
"We're in the end game now."
"End game?" Tony demanded. "What's that supposed to mean? Game over, Thanos wins, we all lose?"
"We'll see in just a minute," Strange said.
"Er, what are we looking for?" Peter asked hesitantly.
"Nothing. If nothing happens, we'll have survived the apocalypse. If it all goes wrong, most of us will perish."
For a long, tense few minutes, everyone waited, eying each other for signs that something was going to happen.
At last, Strange sighed with relief and leaned back against his rock. "It's all over. I knew Mr. Barnes would come through eventually," he said with a smile.
"Barnes? How do you know him?"
"I don't," Strange said. "But considering how he just saved the entire universe, I'd like to make his acquaintance."
"There is no way Bucky Barnes saved the entire universe," Tony said indignantly.
"It took him a couple deaths, but he got there in the end. I think he's suffered enough to atone for Siberia, don't you?" Strange said with an enigmatic smile. "Now, I don't know what plans the rest of you might have, but I need to retrieve my stone. Thanos might be dead, but there's no shortage of threats in the universe. Someone will always want to take his place."
Tony watched him leave. Barnes, really? He didn't seem like the savior of the universe type. But if Strange was right, Tony really owed him an apology for Siberia.
Ugh, he hated apologizing.