Chapter 51- A sunny day in May
In the morning of May 29, the Avengers facility was buzzing with life. The birthday boy was still asleep, while the others were busy decorating one of the hangars. Tony didn't know there was going to be a party, it was supposed to be a surprise and therefore it was Emily's mission to keep him occupied and far enough from the facility.
Friday alerted the crew that Tony was waking up. This was a sign for Emily to get to the mansion ASAP. When she got there, Tony was still in bed. He was lying on his side facing the door and pretending to be asleep. Emily looked around. The bedroom was a complete mess after their pillow fight last night. Tony had started it, as he wanted to tease her. Em smiled at the memory and spotted her weapon on the ground. She picked the pillow up and threw it right into Tony's face.
"Ouch! What was that for?"
"Good morning to you, too, darling."
"Yes, I love to be woken up by a pillow landing in my face, thank you very much."
"Oh, come on. You weren't asleep."
"You got me." He said raising his hands in surrender with a sweet smile forming on his face.
"Now, get up and dressed. We've got a long day ahead of us." Em said as she walked out of the room.
"Wait what…?"
An hour later, Emily was behind the steering wheel of their SUV waiting for Tony to come out of the mansion. When he finally emerged, he still had a confused look on his face.
"So, where are we going?"
"I won't tell."
"Not even a hint."
"Nope."
After a 2-hour drive they finally stopped on a cliff, far away from NYC. Tony looked around. There was no building in sight, no noise, no stress, nothing besides them. It was so calm, peaceful.
"So, what is this place?"
"A cliff."
"Well, no shit Sherlock. I noticed that. Why are we here?"
"To forget about everything for a while… Everyone is so stressed out lately, I just thought…"
"Nice idea. The view is really great here." Tony looked around, staring at the ocean. It reminded him of Malibu. He then turned to Emily and said: "You asked me last week what I wanted for my birthday. I wish we weren't preparing for a war we cannot win. I wish we had more time for just us, have a family, kids on our own. I'd make them their own suits. Imagine that."
"The kids in suits is a bit much, dear, but the rest is nice to imagine."
"It is. That's all I want. For once everything would be ok."
"Yeah, that would be great."
"We should be heading back, I'm sure everyone is ready by now. It's party time, darling."
"Wait! How do you know about that? Who talked?"
"Let's say Bruce and Peter are not as quiet as they think and if my head in on the table it doesn't necessary mean I'm asleep."
Back at the compound, Loki was not being helpful. He was bored and a bored God of Mischief meant everybody else had to deal with his tricks and pranks. Which is how Clint ended up with a bucket on his head, Bucky had fridge magnets all over his arm, Natasha had flour in her face and Cap was dressed like the Statue of Liberty (Loki's magic)… The only person safe was Bruce, merely because the memory of Hulk still scared the crap out of Loki.
On their way back, Tony and Emily stopped by at the GNC compound, because Em needed to sign the executive rights over to Jack. The duo arrived and Tony got captured by one of the teams in order to congratulate him. Emily made her way up to the office.
Emily's POV
I opened the door to my office as I've done a million times before. This time, it just seemed so different. Perhaps it was those boxes on the floor, filled with pictures I used to keep on the bookshelf, or that this was my last day. I walked over to the window to take in the view one last time. In the park, kids were playing, running around, while their parents watched over them. Watch over them… over all of humanity, keep them safe and yet everything is slowly coming to an inevitable ending. Did we fail? We tried so hard and yet it seems it was useless. I sat down on the floor, still facing the window.
People say that at some point of life, everyone looks back to see what they had done so far, what they'd been through and how they got to this point. So here I am sitting in my office, staring out into the world, knowing it will never be the same again, no matter if we win or lose. In my life, I've fought many fights thinking it would once be over. But it never was and now I know it was never supposed to be. It's funny how all of our choices, no matter how stupid or meaningless they seem at the time can define our future. Had my mother not shielded me that day, she'd be still alive and I'd be the one dead. Had Odin told Loki from the beginning he was adopted he wouldn't have gone nuts, encountered Thanos and attacked NY. If Loki hadn't attacked, the scepter would have never gotten into the hands of Hydra and there would have been no Ultron. If Tony and I hadn't broken up, we could have had a kid in college by now… All I've lived through defined what I am today – the wife of Iron Man, a friend of the Avengers, the soon-to-be-former CEO of GNC, the leader of the IPA and a princess that kicks ass and will do anything in her power to keep the world safe.
Jack finally opening the door broke my contemplating.
"Hi, there! You ok?"
"Yeah, I was just thinking. Where do I sign this?"
"Right here…"
Third Persons POV
Em met up with Tony in front of the building. She was carrying the box with her stuff and he had a bottle of whiskey in each hand, courtesy of the guys.
"Well, there will be no shortage of drinks tonight."
"How much did they pour into you?"
"Just 2 shots."
"Alright, get in. It's time to go home. Do me a favor and pretend you have no idea about anything."
"I'm confused, what am I supposed to have no idea about?"
"That's my boy."
They arrived at the mansion and got their stuff out of the car. As Em passed him carrying the box, Tony spotted a picture that caught his attention. "You had this in your office the whole time?"
"Yeah, in the drawer. I used to look at it, just to remember the times life was simpler."
"They were. I did the same. Pepper better not see this, I don't want to die on my birthday."
"Then go ahead and hide it." Tony gladly snatched the wedding picture away and ran to their bedroom.
Some minutes later, they walked down to the hangar. Everything looked normal on the outside. They opened the big doors and everyone yelled "Surprise!" as the light filled the area.
Em and Tony burst out laughing at the view of the pranked Avengers, now adding Fury dressed as a pirate, Falcon as a chicken and many others (just imagine whatever crazy thing you can come up with, for fun). Loki appeared out of nowhere and handed Tony a drink: "Well, Stark. Happy Birthday! You lived another year."
Everyone, but Em and Tony, glared at Loki. "You did that?" asked Tony looking between Loki and the victims.
"What can I say, I'm the trickster. Now, I believe we wanted to celebrate…"
.
.
"Humans, half of them must fall to bring balance to the universe…"
Who else is excited for Infinity war? The trailers look scary as hell…
So, my intention is to finish the story before Infinity was hits theaters. This chapter was a bit lighter before the fight begins. It also refers to the prologue of the story (Emily in the office scene), so the circle closed. I will leave the Avengers party open to your imagination; just imagine whatever makes you happy. Have a nice day and thanks for reading!
