Welcome back :) Sorry for the wait!

Please, enjoy

Dear Mr Fantasy

8 of ?

The Sad Song

I'll see you after.

Tony honestly didn't know what was going to happen, but he was somebody that would have to be killed in order to stay down. However, in his philosophy, even dead, he was the hero. A nurturing sentiment of warmth caressed him though and the temperature did feel much better compared to the agonizing cold of dying. Then light gradually flooded his pupils as he opened his vision to the blur. With it though, it dawned on him that his body didn't feel any better than it did before, in fact, the pain might've been much worse. He felt weak, and getting air into his lungs even with the aid of an oxygen mask still felt like he was breathing with a moon crushing his chest; actually, a combination of extreme pressure and the sensation of drowning. Whatever he was put through, it didn't matter, all Tony knew was the unpleasant harrowing pain he was becoming aware of. At first, it was the only thing he could focus on, but he thought he heard his name in muffled audacity. Tony was hardly able to gaze over to his right, but Pepper came into view when he made the effort to tilt his head in her direction. "Tony?" Pepper gently voiced while sitting in a chair and resting her arms on the bed's railing

"..h..ey...ba..be," Tony mumbled with exquisite exhaustion, having a difficult time keeping his eyes open. He was sure he was on pain medicine, but that didn't stop him from languidly panting with long, deep breaths.

"Hey, hon," Pepper replied, laying the back of her hand against the billionaire's cheek in comfort. She stroked the side of his face briefly before brushing his greasy hairline with her fingers. Tony sniffled, feeling slightly more relaxed just by Pepper's affection, but it still didn't tame the invasive, sharp pains and it only continued to build. "You're in pain," she said as he winced.

Laboriously, Tony responded, "...yeah...i..s...pre..tty..bad..." He tried clenching the bed sheets, but he could barely move his body due to the drugs and the exertion to do so wasn't worth it.

Pepper watched the genius for a moment. "They have you on pain medication, already," she explained, looking phased at having to see Tony like this. Perhaps no medicine was strong enough to diminish the broken bones and sliced muscles of Tony's being. It was a chance the doctors took to bring Tony out of an induced coma, but it still might've been too early, all things considered. "Do you want them to put you back under?" Pepper suggested. The doctors had wanted Tony back on his feet as soon as possible to push the healing process, but if he couldn't, then he couldn't. Tony had already been through so much, and it wasn't settling with Pepper that he should endure this torture.

"..jus...a..lil..." The Avenger answered before his eyes partially rolled back and shut.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y will get the doctors," Pepper whispered as she watched Tony's chest rise and fall in a frail manner. Folding her hand over Tony's limp hand, Pepper lifted the dead weight of it and kissed the back of it.

Tony cracked open his eyes, trying to stay awake. "...how are you..?" He asked meekly, trying to swallow his anguish as they waited for the doctors.

"Better now that you're awake," Pepper gingerly smiled, but the smile faded when Tony grimaced and the look on his face was excruciating as he squinted his eyes shut. "You're going to be okay, Tony. Okay?" Pepper squeezed his hand, shushing him in hopes he'd lessen his talking, hence the energy it took. "Just get as much rest as you need."

Looking her way, Tony was deeply apologetic. "...sorr..y...if i scared you..." Tony said, appreciating how much Pepper had to go through with being the partner of an Avenger...for all the times he ended up in the hospital, she was always there...

"You said you'd see us after, and you are," Pepper reassured, but then she sighed in remembrance of all those hours of waiting. "It was a rough surgery, Tony. You were in there for almost eight hours."

It took a while for Tony to process this, still struggling to focus. "..complications...?" Tony guessed while losing his strength to keep his eyes on Pepper, so he allowed his gaze to drift.

"Yeah," she said.

"...bad..ones...?" Tony tried to continue, but he gritted his teeth from the severe pain. "..god, Pep..." He forced out in complaint, resorting to heavy inhales and exhales.

Not letting Tony's hand go, Pepper tried getting him to stay calm, "Tony...Hey." She glanced at Dr. Marron who walked in. The surgeon looked like he wanted to talk to Tony, but he could see the rude awakening the engineer was reacting to. "You're going to be okay," Pepper asserted as Marron put a sedative into Tony's IV, "It's going to be okay."

Groggy and bored is what Clint felt, sitting in a large conference room and pretending to listen to whatever nonsense the leftover U.N. and World Security Council members had to say to the Avengers. Clint slouched in his chair, chin resting on his propped palm with closed eyes. Occasionally, he'd open an eye to keep tabs on what was going on, but he didn't really care. If he paid attention to anybody, it was his teammates who had to deal with this aggravating meeting while Clint dazed off. Eventually, Clint huffed and rubbed his forehead before checking his watch. Briefly, he heard a phone buzz and looked to his left, passed Steve, who sat next to him; Bruce was on Steve's other side and the scientist glanced down at his phone that laid face down on the table, where the blue light glowed underneath it. Restlessly, the archer shifted his weight in his chair, hoping this would all be over soon. Luckily, it didn't last much longer, another fifteen minutes when the Avengers finally rose to their feet and exited the conference room.

Clint yawned while stretching his arms, "So what were they talking about?"

Steve, Natasha, Rhodey, Bruce, and Thor looked beat up as well. They had flown all the way to Europe for this and now they were supposed to fly all the way back to New York. "How much of it did you miss?" Rhodey asked as the six of them walked through the facility. The facility at least had enough people, not that that took away from the lack of people gone from the Snap, but whoever was there was the best anybody could do to keep governments stable.

"Well..." Clint shrugged.

Natasha smirked, "Clint slept through the whole thing."

"You slept through the whole thing?!" Bruce mused, and a few chuckles got passed around before the group headed down the stairs to the lobby of the building.

"It was a great time to catch up on my sleep," Clint retorted, referring to the numerous days in which he became sleep-deprived. He hardly slept anymore. He didn't think anybody did. "Plus, those guys and chicks are dicks." Glancing at the Captain, the Avenger added, "What, Steve? No language this time?" The Hawkeye smiled at Steve's undeniable look, "You agree with me, don't you?" Steve reluctantly confirmed that statement by returning his friend's gaze.

They advanced through the doors and stopped out front by the fountain momentarily. "I'm surprised Thor stayed awake," Natasha commented, friendly tapping the Thunder God on the bicep with the back of her hand.

"Well, now I got property on Earth." Thor raised a fist in victory, before proceeding dryly, "Just hope my people are still alive and I can utilize it."

"You bought property? Where?" Clint pondered curiously, realizing that there may have been a discussion about the Asgardians given leeway to reside on Earth if they were ever found. Despite there being no word from the Asgardians, the Avengers were happy for Thor; they just hoped for good news.

"Norway," Thor answered as they continued on across the property towards the Quinjet. Typically, the protocol was flying into an airport and being driven to the meeting. There was none of that now, considering the Snap. They simply parked the Quinjet on the lawn.

"Why Norway?" Clint glanced at Thor.

"Before my father died, he said he really liked it there," Thor explained sentimentally while squinting his eyes from the radiant setting sun. Pulling out a pair of sunglasses he had found on the jet, Thor gawked down as he played with the hinges of the glasses. "Just thought it'd be a good way to honor my family," he sighed.

Clint asked, "Did you use the Avengers' funds?"

"Wow, you really did sleep through it all," Steve remarked, rather impressed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Eh, meetings aren't my thing," the Archer replied as the wind rustled. The evening was sunny, but April did bring showers and there was the aroma of rain on the breeze.

"For once, I actually did use the Avengers' funds," Thor spoke proudly, having never used that money for anything aside from maybe a Shwarma that Tony had bought him. Or...Thor scowled for a moment, thinking. "Wait, I might've bought some clothing too...and a shwarma...maybe some of those Pop Squares."

"Pop-Tarts?" Clint assumed, but let himself be amused, "You used Tony's money to buy Pop-Tarts? So, technically Stark owns the property."

"Is that how that works?" Thor incited, knowing nothing of Earth currency.

"Ninety-nine point nine percent of the funds is Tony's money," Clint informed.

Thor grinned, "Then, I guess so."

A moment of silence brewed between all of them, stewing in the normal conversation after missing these friendly chats for all those years. "Do you guys want to get a bite to eat? I'm starving," Clint breathed, placing his arms behind his head. The old notion of being civil was coming back to them after the mess they had thrown themselves into during the Accords.

"Yeah, I could eat," Thor second.

"If there's somewhere to get food," Steve murmured, glancing around at the thought that they should ask somebody other than themselves.

"I don't know, I kinda want to start heading home," Rhodey spoke his opinion, already homesick.

The others didn't seem very keen on taking an immediate flight back to the United States. "We can at least sit down, right?" Natasha complied, looking at Rhodey with lingering jet-leg.

"Yeah, that's fine. I guess I'm just tired." Rhodey rubbed his forehead, feeling the effects of traveling and attending a meeting right afterwards.

"It can be quick," Bruce said, adding, "I think we should get a good night sleep before heading back, though."

Once it was settled and the only obstacle was finding somewhere to eat, Steve moderately glanced at Bruce. "Did Pepper message you during the meeting?" He low-key asked, almost whispered to Bruce, but the others heard.

"Yeah, he did," Bruce said, relieved. "Tony woke up. He was talking a bit with Pepper, but he was also in a lot of pain, so they gave him a sedative." That was still good news. At least he had woken up, despite the pain management. However, looking out at the group, an unusual feeling was present. Maybe sadness, even though they had been put at ease from the news about Tony. Tony had mentioned a bad break up, which had left a corrosive feeling. On one hand there is the cherishing of friendship and in the other hand the dreading of the fallout that occurred. It was a bittersweet taste, smell, touch, sight, and sound of that nostalgia of when things were right. "What happened between all of you?" Bruce could no longer stay out of the loop, Tony was one of his best friends. The Avengers were his friends. "Tony told me the Avengers broke up. I mean, Steve, he didn't even want to call you until I convinced him, but that's when the ship showed up."

An unwanted enforcement of facing demons came to light and sunk in the group as they dropped their gazes. "It got really out of hand, Bruce," Steve was honest, looking at Bruce after temporarily directing his glare elsewhere, "But, I'll tell you at dinner."

"I'm really sorry that you lost Bucky, but that is really messed up, Steve," Bruce signified after listening to the heart-wrenching story of the Avenger's divorce. Finding a place to eat took a while, but eventually, they found a small hole-in-the-wall Italian place that was packed full of people. It was one of the only restaurants in the area serving food. However, with a withering supply of food, the six of them ended up having to do family-style and shared a few dishes that were no longer full. Although, by now, the restaurant was mostly empty aside from a few people and whatever makeshift wait staff there was. "I hate to have to bring this up after everything that's happened, but Tony had to watch his parents get murdered next to the guy that did it. Then you both got in a nasty fight over it..." A firm look set on Bruce's face as he gave his friends his two cents, but he kept his temper, "That is fucked up."

Steve, Natasha, and Clint already looked torn up over it, but Bruce didn't care; they were going to hear it from him. "I know and I did it anyway," Steve admitted, gesturing with his hands as his forearms rested on the tabletop. "I didn't want to have to do that, but...I was just trying to save Bucky," he rationalized with a sigh, becoming a little frustrated with the then and now. All he had thrown in to save Bucky and now he was gone...The entire team was there, gathered around the table, but they had never known skipping out on seventy years and waking up in a new time. "You don't understand," the soldier somberly exasperated.

"I get it, Steve, he's your childhood friend, your best friend, and the last connection you have to your old life," the scientist sympathized, meaning to see from Steve's point of view as well. Across from Steve, Bruce sat, both of them invested in their talk while Rhodey, Natasha, Clint, and Thor mostly listened. To be honest, Clint and Thor were essentially drinking the restaurant's alcohol stock. "I understand that Tony hit a breaking point and snapped, which was a very natural reaction."

"I sought out vengeance when my family got killed, but look at where we are because of that," Thor cut in, already standing up and coming around the Captain's side of the table. In a self-doubting, drunkenly way, he enlightened, "I chose Thanos' pain over just immediately killing him."

"You axed him in the chest, Thor. We all assumed he was going to die," Rhodey input, trying to reassure the Asgardian in the fault of the battle.

"Go for the fucking head..." Thor mocked before getting pissed, looking into his empty beer bottle and saying, "I need another drink."

As Thor disappeared to find more alcohol, Bruce continued, "Yes, Tony could have handled it better, but so could have you. All of you." With his hand, Bruce indicated to Steve, "You knew about Tony's parents since 2014, but you didn't tell him." He then scowled and politely pointed at Natasha, "And you knew too." Next was Clint, "And you have a family." Bruce didn't scold Rhodey, but he mentioned him, "And Rhodey got paralyzed." Putting his hands in the air, leaning back in his chair, and folding his arms across his chest, Bruce said eloquently, "I leave and then you all fall apart. Friends don't go gladiator on each other!"

Suddenly, Bruce froze at the ironic mention when he heard a laugh. "Like when we were forced to fight each other, Banner?!" Everybody looked like they had ice water dumped on their heads when Thor laughed the sentence, re-emerging from the restaurants' kitchen with a bottle of wine.

"What?" Natasha blinked, overly curious now, as was everybody else.

"Nevermind, it's not important." Bruce sheepishly waved, trying to abandon the subject.

Sarcastically, Thor used his wine bottle to gesture to Bruce as he continued to open his mouth. At least Thor was a happy drunk and had meant no harm, "Oh, we were on this nasty planet called Sakaar. Well, technically, I got kidnapped and thrown into an arena with Hulk where he almost killed me." Bruce bit down on his lip, staring at the table wide-eyed, embarrassed and wishing Thor would pass out already. "Actually, they cheated! I was about to win, but then they zapped me because I got these new lightning powers," Thor demonstrated by twiddling his fingers where the lightning sparks charged at his fingertips. His friends just watched him as entertainment, awed at how wasted he was. Thor then sauntered up behind Bruce and gave him a playful hug, "Ah, Brucey, that was so fun! Those were the normal days before all this bullshit happened! Wasn't it?!" Thor patted the top of Bruce's head.

Grimacing, Bruce hesitantly pried one of Thor's hands off, but then the Asgardian let go and paced around the table. "Have you had enough to drink, Thor?" Rhodey asked, getting a little worried at Thor's restlessness.

"Of course not," Thor replied before pivoting away from the table and facing the restaurant space, dumbstruck at all the empty liquor, wine, and beer bottles. "Wait, who drank the restaurant?" Thor gaped, having forgotten he drank it all.

"I could've sworn those bottles were just full," Clint egged on, messing with Thor, although the Archer had drank a few bottles himself...bottles of beer, that is, not the crazy amount Thor was drowning himself in.

"Holy shit," Natasha said, glancing over her shoulder for the first time to see the number of bottles laying around, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Anyway," Bruce cleared his throat, pretty sure that Thor would be fine.

In a slightly patronizing tone due to Bruce's lecture, Steve reminded, "You were talking about how friends don't go gladiator on each other."

"What happened between Thor and I was an accident," Bruce commented, not happy that he wouldn't have been able to control the Hulk if he killed Thor in that arena. They were forced to fight, though, which was completely different. "You had choices with what you went through," Bruce told, knowing that even in the conflict, Tony and Steve had their options. "I'm not saying I agree with the Accords because I don't, but Tony is a very powerful individual. He carries a huge influence. Given time, if you went with the Accords, Tony probably could have persuaded the U.N. and the Council to either alter or cancel the Accords."

"Exactly," Rhodey agreed.

"Tell me he doesn't have the power to do that." Bruce stated sturdily and waited a moment for a response, but nobody denied what Bruce had said. Shaking his head in disappointment, Bruce sighed, "I can't believe you guys let this happen between all of you."

Steve took a deep breath with a hung head. "It was a mistake," he said, meaning to let Bruce know that he did feel awful about the events at the airport and in Siberia. "I have remorse for what happened between us, but I don't regret what I did for Bucky," he made clear. It wasn't in Steve to ever leave Bucky behind, ever again.

"That's fine because he's your friend, Steve," Bruce contradicted, hoping to make Steve remember that Tony was just as much of a friend as Bucky was. "But Tony is your friend too, though. Right?" He insisted strongly after Steve was silent for an uncomfortable moment, "Right?!" The Captain's silence caught the other's attention as well, especially Natasha, who had known Tony for a long time and still thought of him as a friend.

"I don't know," Steve blurted out, conflicted, but then there was actually concern in the soldier's eye. "I want to be, but I don't know if he'll ever forgive me."

Bruce didn't really know what to say after that. There was already enough pain going around as it was and on top of it was resolving the Accords. Well...not the Accords, but the rift between Tony and Steve. "Well, time will tell," Bruce murmured just before there was a loud crash and a rough thud. Alarmed, the five of them glared in the direction of the sound and saw Thor on the floor.

It was the afternoon the next day as the Quinjet pulled into the Hanger and squealed to a stop. Pepper was waiting to greet the Avengers as they exited down the ramp. With his luggage in tow, Steve approached Pepper first. "How'd it go?" Pepper asked Steve as he set his bag down. Meanwhile, everybody else was either retrieving their bags or making sure an extremely hungover Thor got off the jet okay.

"Well, we've been pardoned," Steve answered the woman, "The U.N. and Council pointed fingers a bit, but they're willing to follow our lead with whatever our plan is...if we have one."

"At least you're not being hunted down anymore," Pepper said thoughtfully. "You all look tired, flights from Europe are always long." After the incident in Siberia, it was difficult for Steve to even make eye-contact with Pepper. She tried being as diplomatic as possible, but she still stood by Tony's side. Steve wanted to try making amends, though, as best he could. He did care about Tony, and he never second-guessed that. In fact, he had told Ross after Tony went missing that Iron Man was Earth's best defender. Steve didn't say that just to say that. He meant it.

"How's Tony?" Steve quipped, gathering the welcoming yet dull and worn look on Pepper's face.

"Unconscious," she sadly replied, painstakingly waiting for her fiancé to heal from the crestfallen place he was currently in. "He talked for a little bit, but he was in a lot of pain as to be expected, so they..." Timidly, Pepper glanced down at her entwined hands.

"I heard...I'm sorry," the Captain swallowed, taking the opportunity to indirectly apologize for not being with Tony on Titan.

With compassion, Pepper accepted, "Thanos is the one to blame for all of this."

Appreciating this, Steve realized the lack of compensation for Pepper. "How are you doing?" Steve wondered, hoping to help Pepper and support her with whatever she needed while she waited for days at Tony's bedside.

"As well as any of us can be," Pepper conveyed with a wading sigh. Past Steve, Pepper saw the others gradually gaining ground while escorting Thor, who swayed a bit as he walked. But then, abruptly, they halted and Thor grabbed Clint's shoulder for support as the structure of the facility began to rattle. After a startling moment, they glanced out the Hanger windows where they saw the Benatar lowering onto the grass beside another, slightly larger and blue spaceship. "Oh, wow," Pepper commented as she stared at it with the other Avengers.

Immediately, when Thor saw the familiar spacecraft, he knew it was one of the escaped vessels from the refugee ship. As best he could, Thor left the group and rushed out the Hanger doors with a serious demeanor. The Avengers watched him, realizing that this was an Asgardian ship tagged along with Rocket. They had known Thor's fear of being the last Asgardian, but hopefully, the sight of the ship demoted that label. Outside, they could see the ramps of both ships open. Out came Rocket and Nebula who went over to the blue ship where a woman walked out and Thor quickly approached her. Bruce knew it was Valkryie as the two Asgardians stopped for a minute, talking to each other before heading back into the spaceship to help the rest of their people.

"There aren't many of them," Clint noticed empathetically, observing the few Asgardians that came off the ship. There were men, women, and children and some seemed to be injured.

"We should help them," Steve said, and Rhodey, Natasha, Bruce, and Clint dropped their bags in order to follow the supersoldier.

"Bring them into the hanger, I'll get the doctors," Pepper fleetly inserted as the heroes bolted off to help.

When they made it across the lawn, both Valkryie and Thor glanced their way and the looks on their faces delivered the grim news. Aside from Valkyrie's powerful and intimidating stance; a woman who had stood against Hela, who had seen the raw brutishness of the universe, was shook. "Hey, angry girl," Bruce said, breaking his tread into a walk and stopping to greet his friend.

"Hey, angry boy," Valkryie returned with an avenging and determined fire in her eyes, "Ready to get this son of a bitch?"

to be continued...

Thanks for reading! Also, I hope you all had a safe and healthy holiday and New Year :)

-Learlorde