It was almost hard to imagine that Spencer had been gone for five years. It was almost laughable to think that she was gone for so long, that Pietro had been on his own for that long, that her friends had mourned her for that long. In spite of that, her friends held onto hope for five long years, even when their hopes were crushed into stardust, they still had the bravery to hope.
In the following days after Tony gave his life to defeat Thanos, everything seemed surreal and painful, and when Clint had finally told her what happened to Nat, she felt as if she were suffocating. It was one blow after the other, struggling to comprehend that these things had happened, that they people she loved dearly had made these sacrifices to bring them back.
And it left nothing but heartache in its place.
Pietro had accompanied her back to the farm with Clint, and it was to her understanding that Clint had lost his entire family to the snap. While Spencer had been happy to be reunited with her adopted family and back to her childhood home, it only brought memories of Nat, and how she was gone from this world.
Laura was there to offer comfort, the comfort only a mother could give.
There would always be a hole in Spencer's heart, a hole that Nat left when she gave up her life for the Soul Stone, a hole void of Nat's icy sarcasm, her subtle raised eyebrow, her annoying smirk, and the sting of her Window's Bite whenever Spencer was being too annoying.
Spencer spent the few days before Tony's funeral in her childhood room with Pietro, sobbing, and trying to come to terms with everything that had transpired in the last decade, because it had been a long, tiring journey to reach this point, and Spencer could only beg and wish that this was the end of any more hero tribulations. She had no idea that signing up to be a part of the Avengers would lead her down such a road full of grief, and often she found herself sometimes wondering what would have happened had she not accepted being a part of the heroic team.
But those dark thoughts didn't linger long.
Not with Nathaniel curled up against her chest, not with Lila and Cooper cuddled up on both of her sides as they watched Disney movies. Spencer just felt happy to be alive again, and it was such a weird thing to say. She had been dead, wiped from this existence, and she was brought back. They were all brought back to life. She couldn't let Tony or Nat's sacrifice be in vain, and despite how much it hurt her heart to think of the rest of her life without Tony or Nat, she would live her life to the fullest in their honor.
Tomorrow marked a difficult day.
Once, the kiddos were put to sleep, it was just the adults in the kitchen. Spencer was nursing a cup of hot chocolate, and Pietro was seated beside her, enjoying leftovers from dinner. Clint and Laura were talking softly about what the kids would wear tomorrow to the funeral. Spencer hadn't seen her father or Godfather, but those two were busy playing catch-up to come visit her, and that was fine with her. They called often, but even they knew that Spencer needed her time to grieve her loses.
Tomorrow, everyone would gather for Tony's funeral.
After that, Spencer wanted to go visit Nat's grave in Ohio, to give her proper respects, and to also break down hysterically in front of her grave. Though, Spencer wouldn't be opposed to hanging back and seeing the newly built Avengers Facility, oh, and seeing her beloved canine, Cooper, and her horse, Arwen.
Tony had kept both of them after the Snap, and it made Spencer want to cry all over again.
"So," Laura spoke quietly, watching her adopted daughter stare blankly into her mug, "Any plans for you lovebirds?" The older woman gave a soft, warm smile when Spencer snapped her attention onto her adopted mother.
Spencer blinked sheepishly, glancing at Pietro with wide eyes, giving him the hint to answer for her. Pietro looked amused, "I'm thinking of a very long vacation," Pietro's voice always sounded different to her ears now, deeper and graver now, and even though there were hints of his playful mischief, his voice didn't sound as it once used to. Spencer figured that five years of severe depression did that.
Pietro hadn't shied away from telling her the hard reality that he was faced after she was gone, and Wanda, too. Pietro suffered severe depression for almost two years, and it only got better after Steve dragged him to a support group.
"I think that's a given," Clint joked quietly with a chuckle.
Spencer felt herself smile as Laura rolled her eyes, "Where are you thinking of taking Spencer then, Pietro? I hope not too far away from us." Laura teased, even though her tone indicated that Pietro better not take Spencer far away from the Farm.
Pietro grinned devilishly before glancing at her, "What do you want to do, princezná?" He asked her, leaning back into his chair and draping his arm around the back of her chair, his gaze set and focused on her.
She pursued her lips, "Well, now that we're getting the vacation we deserve, I think it's time to find a place to settle down, no?" She tilted her head to the side curiously, "I heard New Asgard is nice."
Clint barked out a laugh and Pietro looked very amused.
But Laura's gaze was understanding, "Thor would be thrilled." She commented lightly.
"Thor's not staying on Earth," Pietro reminded Spencer patiently, "He's going to journey through space with the Guardians of the Galaxy." That made Spencer pout, because she had missed Thor so much, and it wasn't a surprise when their relationship was so close. Thor had suffered a lot in his life, and had lost a lot, and Spencer wanted to make sure her friend was fairing okay now. It was obvious, through his weight gain, that he hadn't fared very well after finding out that Thanos destroyed their timeline's original stones.
"Such a cool team name," Spencer muttered, "You know in Sakaar, Thor called us the 'Revengers'," She gave a light laugh and shook her head.
"I honestly cannot believe my little girl was on another planet, let alone two!" Laura awes, her brown eyes wide, "I mean, I can't stop staring at your paintings, you know the ones that Pietro brought? It's mind-blowing!"
Clint was nodding, "Definitely very cool, especially that blue alien guy with the creepy eyes," Clint adds, "He looks like he could fight."
"He had a gambling problem," Spencer snorted lightly, but had a fond smile on his face, "But yeah, I can't wait to have some time to paint again…" Spencer's eyes became distant as she murmured, "I have too many people I want to immortalize."
The farmhouse was a flurry of activity the following morning, and even though Spencer wanted nothing more than to bury her face into Pietro's chest, and ignore the constant chaos outside her bedroom, she knew Laura would appreciate her help immensely. So, Spencer got out of bed, with Pietro grumbling in his sleep, and set out to help her mother get her chaotic children ready for a funeral.
Nathaniel was the easiest, of course he was, Nate was the quietest and most obedient of the Barton children. Laura was doing Lila's hair, much to the young girl's complaints, and Cooper was being a stubborn butt with his outfit that was picked out. Clint was giving him a stern talking to, while Nate and Spencer got ready in Nate's room.
"Where are we going?" Nate mumbled sleepily as Spencer began to undress the little, tired dude.
"Tony's funeral, remember?" She murmured softly to the boy, "We have to pay our respects."
Nate blinked his adorable eyes at her, "Okay, can we go to Chucky Cheese afterwards?" He was devious, despite that extremely cute and shy demeanor, was a mastermind. Nate always knew he had everyone wrapped around his chubby little finger, especially her.
She laughed as she tugged his shirt over his head, "Don't think I forgot that you asked dad last night," At least the little cute devil had the nerve to act sheepish as she called him out, "But I'm sure I can convince dad to let us go," Spencer winked and Nate grinned widely at her.
"You're the best, Spence," Nate gave a wide grin, with one of his teeth missing, and went to hug her.
And as Nate hugged her, she was hit with a wave of heavy emotions. The tears sprung in her eyes as she embraced Nate tightly, and her chest trembled with the force of keeping her breathing steady so that the kid wouldn't notice her inner turmoil, but as she sniffled, that was when Nate pulled away with a confused expression on his face.
But when he saw her tears, the young child grasped her hand with his small one, "I love you, Spence," Nate tells her quietly, and Spencer just laughs softly.
"I love you, too, you dork," Spencer ruffles his hair, unaware of her boyfriend watching from the doorway.
Once Spencer was done dressing Nate, and helping Laura pick out her dress, it was time for Spencer to get ready in her room, but as she entered, she saw a black box tied with a velvet bow on her bed. "Uh, what," She muttered confused, as she walked up to the black box, and looked at the gift tag.
"Happy dropped it off while you were dressing Nate," Pietro said as he leaned against the open doorway as she read that it was a gift from Pepper, "Said Pepper knew you wouldn't like wearing a dress."
She closed her eyes to stop the tears from streaming down her face, gosh, she felt like such a crybaby these last few days. She heard Pietro close the door, and walk up from behind her, to gently pull her into a hug, "It's okay, princezná, you're allowed to cry as much as you need," He tells her softly, without any judgement in his voice.
And for the hundredth time in the last few days, Spencer broke down in Pietro's arm.
It was a few minutes later, when Laura was hollering that they had thirty minutes before they had to leave, that Spencer opened the black box to find a beautifully tailored black suit surrounded by velvet, and she couldn't help but to smirk softly. Pepper knew how much Spencer detested wearing dresses, and remembered a conversation back in California with Pepper asking if Spencer was open to wearing a feminine suit.
A part of her wondered if she should be concerned that Pepper knew her exact measurements, but would ask when it was appropriate. She tried not to cry at the sight of Iron Man and Black Widow's symbols embroidered onto the sleeves of the suit jacket. Spencer and Pietro got dressed, and it took a wee bit longer considering Pietro couldn't keep his hands to himself, but eventually after a sharp glare, Pietro let her get dressed, and even then, Pietro was muttering under his breath about not letting her leave the room until he got his full of her.
And of course, having sex right before Tony's funeral didn't sound appropriate either, though Tony would probably laugh and wiggle his eyebrows in response had he learned this.
Spencer pulled her hair up into a classy up do, spritzed some perfume, and adorned her neck with a pretty diamond necklace that Nat had given her for her birthday a few years back. She had to admit, Pietro looked extremely sexy in his suit, and he knew by that dreamy look in her eye.
After heated whispers and promises of sex later, it was time to fly to Fairburn, Georgia where Tony and Pepper had been living the last few years away from the spotlight, and away from the hustle and bustle of New York. Clint piled the whole family into the Quinjet, and the trip was very short, considering Missouri and Georgia weren't very far apart.
Tony's little cabin was beautiful, and a part of Spencer was surprised that Tony had opted to live here in such a small home. Considering his house in Malibu, California and that horrid wall of glass, this was a much better upgrade, and she was proud with his choice of home.
But the humidity was going to kill her, as soon as she stepped out of the Quinjet, she was hit full force with humidity, and humidity made Spencer very grumpy. It also frizzed out her hair.
Familiar faces greeted her, as they waited for the very small and private funeral to start, and Spencer was practically tackled by her real father, Phil. She promised herself to keep the tears to a minimal considering she's spent the last few days sobbing her pour heart out, but it was hard considering everything that's happened. Pietro was never far, only leaving her for a few minutes to have a private moment with her father and godfather to go check up on Wanda and Vision.
Apparently, Maria, Phil, and Nick had been snapped away, too.
But it gave her so much comfort to know that she had her most important people supporting her through such weird, and difficult times. "Danvers," Nick waved over a familiar blonde woman, "I don't believe I've introduced you to my godchild," Nick smiled, "Spencer, this is Carol Danvers."
The name rang a familiar, but distant name in her mind as Carol offered her a warm smile and offered her hand, "Last time I saw you, you were only a baby," Carol explained as both women shook hands, and Spencer felt the powerful hum of a stone's energy ripple through her body, "You grew up to be a badass," Carol grinned at her impressed.
Spencer blushed, "Thanks, and I'm sorry I didn't recognize you sooner," She threw a dirty look over at Nick.
Carol gave a small laugh, "I'm not surprised he didn't tell you much about me, I rarely came by anyway."
Eventually, Spencer moved through the small groups of the heroes and familiar faces gathered at Tony's funeral, and Spencer was checking up with Peter (and meeting his Aunt May) when a familiar bark zapped her focus immediately.
After five years, there was her infamous Wolf-Dog rushing down the porch out of Tony's cabin, with graying hairs on the bottom of his muzzle, was Cooper. Spencer tried and failed to keep her composure as Cooper launched all his weight into Spencer, effectively knocking her over onto the ground with a loud oof!
There was laughter around her, as Cooper licked at her face and wiggled into her chest, as if he were some small lapdog, but Spencer hugged her canine friend with tears dripping down her face. She didn't care about getting her suit dirty, or getting dog fur on her suit, she was just happy to see her dog again, and he was thrilled to see her.
She was laughing and rubbing Cooper all over when a child's voice broke through the air, "Cooper!" Spencer paused, unfamiliar with the little girl's voice, and when she looked up, she saw a little girl in a black dress, brown hair, and wide-brown eyes running down the steps towards Cooper.
Pepper was right behind, calling after the little girl, "Morgan, wait!"
Now, Spencer wasn't the brightest crayon in the crayon box, but those brown eyes were identical to a recently deceased billionaire playboy. It clicked in her mind as the little girl, Morgan, stopped a few feet away from Cooper and Spencer, all eyes trained on them. Cooper wiggled out of her hands and jumped happily back to Morgan, before tugging on the little girl's dress closer to Spencer.
She felt her hands tremble, as she screamed at herself not to cry in front of Tony's fucking kid.
And it all made sudden sense in her mind, the little weird conversations that she had heard from everyone, as if they were purposefully avoiding mentioning that Tony had a frickin daughter in front of Spencer, all to lead to this one, earth-shattering moment.
Tony had a daughter in the five years that she was gone, that all their loved ones were gone.
And he willingly made the ultimate sacrifice knowing what he was leaving behind, and it was hard for her not to break down in front of Morgan Stark, as the young girl gazed at her with open curiosity.
Pepper, in her designer black dress, crouched down beside Morgan, "Morgan," Pepper's voice was warm, but it was easy to tell that Pepper had been crying, and who could blame her? "Do you know who this is?"
Morgan stared at Spencer and nodded shyly, and it left the older hero stunned, "Pikachu," Morgan said in such a cute, timid voice that it melted Spencer's heart.
Pepper smiled a little more with a nod, "Your Godmother."
A noise of shock rose from Spencer before she had a chance to suppress it, and when Pepper looked at her, there was a watery but knowing smile on her face, "Surprise."
Spencer struggled not to cry as she smiled brightly at her Goddaughter, "Hey, Morgan," She was proud that her voice managed to stay steady, "It's so nice to finally meet you,"
Morgan looked down at Cooper, "Daddy said that one day you would come back for Cooper," Spencer tried to not melt into a puddle with how crisp and clean Morgan's way of speaking was at only four years old, "I took care of him while you were away," She mumbled shyly, angling her little body to curl into Pepper's side.
Spencer gave her another bright smile, "Thank you so much, Morgan," How was it possible for her heart to be breaking and melting at the same time? "I hope he wasn't too much trouble for you,"
Morgan gave a toothy grin, "He likes to sit on me."
Spencer laughed, the surrounding crowd laughed, too, "Yeah, he thinks he's a lapdog," Spencer laughed, smiling warmly.
Morgan shuffled closer, glanced back at Pepper, and when Pepper gave a warm nod of her head, Morgan threw her arms around Spencer and hugged her.
Spencer was so taken back, that the shock made her friends laugh.
But she hugged her goddaughter, Morgan, fiercely and sworn in that moment that there would be nothing on this Earth that she wouldn't do for this little girl.
It was a tender, heart-wrenching moment that almost made her forget that Tony was gone, but eventually, the ceremony started with Tony's closed ones gathering inside the cabin for some final words given by the billionaire playboy, and Spencer was chosen to go in.
And it made her feel Tony's lose even more, knowing that even after five years, he still considered her an important part of his life. Even after siding with Steve in their little Civil War moment, he forgave her and still loved her. Even after everything, Tony always loved her.
And it was hard for her to grasp that.
As she sat with Happy on her right, Morgan on her left, with Pepper on Morgan's other side, it was hard not to cry at the sight of Tony as he recorded his last and final words to his loved ones. Rhodey was seated nearby, with a solemn, but heartbroken expression on his face, trying his best not to cry, but failing.
Cooper was lying underneath Morgan's little feet, quiet and moody.
Spencer stared at the hologram of Tony Stark, seeing his graying hair, and his face beginning to have some wrinkles of age, and she couldn't believe that he was gone. The last interactions with him during the final battle were flashing through her mind, and her heart ached even more.
Even though Morgan was curled into Pepper's side for comfort, her goddaughter was clutching onto her hand tightly, and Spencer gave Morgan's little hand a gentle squeeze. A part of her wondered what stories Tony had told Morgan about her to have the little girl so...open and affectionate towards her.
Not that she wasn't complaining, because after all these years, and especially having such a serious relationship with Pietro, Spencer found herself wanting children.
As Spencer stood behind Pepper and Morgan at the end of the dock, watching the wreath with Tony's Arc Reactor float away, it all felt so surreal and unthinkable that his journey would end here, that he would be leaving behind a wife and a daughter for the greater good of their reality. She glanced up at the cloudy weather and humid heat, and wiped that away. Tony had always loved the weather climate of California, so with that in mind, Spencer allowed bright and sunny skies, gentler warm temperatures without that damned humidity, and a cool, gentle breeze to float through the crowd.
Morgan watched with wide, awed eyes.
And just because it was Tony's style, Spencer created water fairies and bloomed beautiful, native flowers around the large pond, and was pleased when Morgan let out a gasp of awe, before throwing a suspicious look at Spencer.
Spencer grinned and winked at her goddaughter, and Morgan gave a small grin back-the same mischievous twinkle that Tony would get, was showing in Morgan's pretty brown eyes.
When everything was over, Morgan, Nate, and Spencer were on the dock, their legs in the water, and watching the water fairies that Spencer created flittering about. Morgan and Nate were gasping and giggling whenever the fairies played with their hair. Cooper was snoozing behind them, protectively.
Most of her friends and the heroic gang were beginning to head home, it was starting to get dark, and the spread that Pepper had was mainly gone. The leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Quill aka Star lord, had been from Earth but was apparently kidnapped by aliens, and hadn't set foot back on Earth since.
So, safe to say he was a little shocked by the food, and had a healthy helping of everything.
It was hard to think what would become of her life now; five years had gone by without her, and that was a lot of time to be missing. She had to catch up with everybody else, steady her relationships with her loved ones, and figure out what was the best for her now. For the moment, everything and everyone was safe, and she was finally granted some time to build and settle herself down.
At least the five years she was gone, didn't count to her age, right?
But most women her age were almost figuring out what they wanted to do with their lives, and Spencer really had no idea what she wanted. This journey had caused her so much grief and joy, caused her mental and psychical scars, that it was it hard to feel completely free from her heroic duties.
"What's your favorite color?" Morgan asked cutely, as two water fairies danced across the water.
"Hmm," Spencer thought with a small smile.
"Blue!" Nate blurted out with a grin.
"Pikachu?" Morgan asked, waiting.
"I think I like purple a lot," Spencer admitted sheepishly.
"I like red," Morgan giggled.
"Because of your dad!" Nate giggled just as cutely.
And Spencer smiled at the two goofy kids, and was happy to be alive in that moment.
This chapter was kinda hard for me to write, not sure why? I'm sorry if it seemed all over the place, and or choppy. I was very scatter-brained throughout this chapter, lmao. Endgame isn't over yet! We have the next few scenes to go through with Steve returning the stones, I bet ya'll are curious to see what I do in regards of that, hehe. After that, Endgame should be over it, and we get into Spencer's life after the final battle! I'm supa excited about all that, so much so that I feel overwhelmed with all the possiblites XD I might write some smutty smut between Pietro and Spencer *eyebrow wiggle* but only if you guys are interested in a smutty scene. I haven't written a smutty scene in forever, so, I might be rusty XD