She found him sleeping, his forehead pressed into the table with a data pad and a piece of what appeared to be a dissected, robotic eggplant just a foot away from his hand. A teenager slept soundly under the table, sprawled like a starfish and garbed in what she could only describe as robotic spandex. Jane shook her head at the two, but she was grinning. She didn't know why Peter Parker was in Wakanda, but she wasn't surprised he was with Tony.

She had left Loki sleeping peacefully, their connection allowing his consciousness to stir just enough to make sure she was safe.

I have to see Tony before tomorrow.

He heard her thoughts, felt her reasons, her intentions, and he drifted back. They were wholly revealed to each other when the connection was open. No secrets. No misunderstandings. No words or lack of words mucking up their feelings. Simply unmasked.

She pushed aside thoughts of her lover, blushing slightly at the memories that word brought to her mind, and focused back to Tony.

"Tony," she whispered close to his ear.

He startled awake, eyes shot through with fine red lines. She wondered just how long it had been since he truly was able to rest. She raised a finger to her lips, then pointed at the sleeping Spiderman. He followed her point, then looked back to her, wincing at a kink in his lower back. She smiled and straightened, cocking her head toward the exit.

They didn't speak as they made their way through the complex's maze of gray hallways, steel doors, and stairwells. As they both breathed heavily at the top of the final set of stairs, she threw open a door.

A black sky and a million stars greeted them as they stepped onto the roof, thick and humid air brushing through their hair and bringing them the fresh scent of grasses and waters and boundless nature.

Tony whistled, turning away from her and stepping to the edge of the roof. He craned his neck to take in the galaxy above.

"Makes everything else seem pretty small, huh?"

Tears prickled her eyes immediately. She had expected a fight. A one-sided screaming match. More of the same arguments about Loki, the Aether, the stones, magic. Maybe heightened sarcasm and cruel nicknames. Or the rare silent treatment. But no…

"Oh, Tony."

He turned his head, jaw clenched, eyes shining.

"Come 'ere, kid."

She stepped into his arms, releasing her sobs into his chest as he rocked her. She heard him shushing her, felt his throat bobbing against her forehead, relaxed as his hands rubbed her back up and down, up and down.

"You're really gonna do this?"

She nodded, not trusting her voice.

He squeezed her a little tighter and looked back to the stars. "You know," he said, forcing arrogance into his words, "Cap will have to make you an honorary Avenger."

She sniffled. "I don't need that."

"Yeah, I know," he said, "but I'm doing that thing where I distract myself from what's really going on, because I'm crap at goodbyes."

He pulled away and put his hands on her shoulders. She looked at him. Really looked at him. The moonlight threw shadows across his face that accented the fine lines across his forehead and around his mouth. But the stars gifted his eyes an energy she hadn't seen since before Loki's scream woke her at Stark HQ. That energy held some phantom reminder that this was Tony Stark, a man with the pulse of the Earth at his fingertips and the rest of the universe just over the horizon from his brilliant mind. If he only wanted it.

"Tony," she whispered, "after Thanos is gone and the stones are destroyed…when there's no big threat and no crisis about to explode…what's the first thing you're going to do?"

He tilted his head, confused at first and then contemplative. His eyes drifted into the blackness just above her shoulder and unfocused. Slowly, a small smile tugged at his lips.

"There's this cabin upstate I've been remodeling. Well, hiring people to remodel based on my specs. Middle of nowhere, lots of land. I think there are even horses or llamas on the property. I don't know. Something with four legs. I figure me and Pep will eventually, finally, do the marriage thing and," he took a deep breath, "I don't know. Just get away. Maybe have a munchkin or three." His eyes came back to Jane, and he huffed a laugh, shrugging. "I could learn to like llamas."

She nodded, not caring about the tears streaming down her cheeks as she grinned. "You can learn anything. You're Tony Stark."

He answered her grin, looking down briefly and pulling her back in for another hug. "Yeah, I am. Tony Stark. Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Right?"

She actually laughed, surprising both of them. "Maybe just…genius, billionaire, Avenger." She swallowed. "Hero." Her tears soaked into his shirt. "Friend." She held his biceps with shaking hands. "Family," she whispered.

"I don't want you to do this, Jane," he interrupted quickly, voice cracking, holding her tighter. "I don't want it, and I know it's the right thing to do, because that's what heroes do. We're brave, and we're compassionate, and we're self-sacrificing. But you know what else we are? We're dummies. Complete and utter idiots, and I don't want you to do this, because I'm selfish, and even if you are in love with Prince What's-His-Face in there, I'll get over it and I'll even sing at your wedding if you can just not do this. Please. Jane. Really. Please."

They cried. Holding onto each other. Smelling the sweet breeze. Soaking the moon and starlight into their skin.

Minutes or hours later, Jane pulled away and swiped her sleeve against her nose.

"So, Peter Parker's here?"

Tony nodded, blinking rapidly and when that didn't dry his eyes, smashing his palms into them. "Crazy kid. Ditched a school fieldtrip to sneak onto an alien spaceship in Manhattan. Nicked some kind of teleportation tech. We think, anyway." He sighed. "He's smart, that one. And reckless. Reminds me of someone else."

He smiled, and she wondered if he meant her or himself. Maybe both.

"Did you get anywhere with the tech?"

"Not really," he said, stretching his neck to the left until it cracked. "Shuri was working on one, so I'm hoping one of us breaks the code in a couple days before Thanos shows up."

She closed her eyes. "Tony, I don't think we have a couple days."

He watched her, silent. She reached her arms around his middle and pressed her cheek to his chest. He pulled her close.

"I have to ask you a favor," she said, eyes closed.

He sighed. "I think I know."

"There really is good in him."

"It'll take a lot to prove it."

"Let him try." She held him tight, hoping to transfer all of her faith in Loki into Tony's heart just by sheer determination.

"For you," he said, resigned. "Only for you."

She nodded. "I think you have the greatest heart in the universe."

His quiet laugh shook her. "Can you tell Pepper that sometime?"

She smiled and looked at the stars, allowing herself to once again forget what lay ahead.

"First chance I get."

.

.

.

The night sky over Wakanda mesmerized James Barnes.

"Thought I might find you here," Steve said, plopping in the tall grass beside Bucky.

"Every night."

"Okoye hates it, you know. She can't find you on surveillance."

"She knows I'm right here," Bucky said.

Steve huffed a laugh. "I think you do it to annoy her."

"She shouldn't be so easy to annoy," Bucky stage whispered.

They exchanged a grin. The stars watched them as silence settled, two men pulled out of time sitting on a rolling hill a hundred yards from the main complex.

"Jane said it'll be soon," Steve broke the silence after a few minutes.

Bucky nodded. "What's the plan?"

Steve shrugged. "Get the stones, use the stones, destroy the stones." He laid back in the grass and stretched his arms above his head, but he couldn't draw a full breath. "Simple."

Bucky watched the brightest star, then one with a red tint, then another that seemed to grow weak and then bounce back. He focused on anything that helped him ignore the anxiety pouring off his best friend.

"You know," he said, "I'll watch your back. Like always. We're winning this, Steve."

"Yeah," Steve said, his jaw clenching.

Bucky looked over. "Yeah."

"Buck…" Steve started. "If anything happens, win or lose…" He didn't know how to say it.

"Hey," Bucky said, and Steve glanced over. "Wanna tell me what's going on?"

Steve searched the heavens for the words. "You know, the day before that fight? The train?" Steve held Bucky's eye. "Did you have a feeling about it? That something was about to happen? Something that would change everything?"

Bucky nodded. "Mhm. But not just that fight. Every fight," he said, lying back to mirror Steve, cushioning his head on his flesh arm. "I always felt like each fight, each morning before we headed out, was it. We'd win, sure, but I never thought I'd actually see the end of the day." He was silent for a few minutes. "I was okay with that back then."

Steve turned his head. "And now?"

"Now?" Bucky said, looking over and shrugging. "I don't know. I just want us all to get a break. To have the luxury of taking things on our own terms. I figure I just want to win."

Silence again, stretching into the night as both men allowed themselves to get lost in their thoughts, too afraid to voice them.

Steve finally nudged Bucky. "You'll make a great Avenger. You know that?"

Bucky elbowed him in return, starting a brief scuffle and winning a smile from Steve. "Oh, great. Taking more orders from the likes of you."

Steve laughed once before sobering and allowing the silence to settle again, now more bearable. As he watched the stars shine above them, he thought of the Soul Stone and the man next to him, his brother in all but blood. If paying the stone's price meant Bucky could finally have a life, a family maybe, a choice in something for the first time in decades, maybe it would be worth it.

He swallowed twice and blinked several times, the stars blurring and then clearing, sharpening.

It would all be worth it.

.

.

.

"You understand your role?"

Sam threw his fists on his hips after lugging the final crate into the jet. "I think we've been over this enough times for you to stop asking."

Heimdall looked at him with golden eyes twinkling.

"Fine. One more time," Sam said. "We rendezvous with some aliens, swap ships, and then head into space with one of them to find your dead ass guardians. But they'll all be alive. You know, if this plan of Steve's actually works. If it doesn't, the two black guys and a random white dude in space are the last hope for the universe." He shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut to block out the complete nonsense coming out of his own mouth. "I don't even know what planet I'm on anymore," he mumbled.

"In every future I've seen, this is your path," Heimdall said.

"I'd rather be here, helping fight the bad guys. Nice that what I want doesn't matter."

Heimdall approached the jet, Sam following with a constant stream of mumbles. "If we win, you will be a hero to your people and mine. My king will be in your debt."

"Another dead guy we're hoping becomes alive. That's great."

Heimdall rested a huge paw on Sam's shoulder as they boarded the jet, taking their places and looking at the empty seats. "This vehicle should be large enough for Prince Loki's allies."

"You're sure they'll be where you think they'll be?"

Heimdall nodded. "The beginning of the battle is never in question across the possible futures. It is the result that changes."

Sam stared at him, really studied the giant in all his golden armor. He cleared his throat. "Do you think we'll win?"

"I have hope. And often, that is enough."

Sam nodded, shrugging off the seriousness of the situation. "Then I guess I'll have hope too." He checked the storage locker with his three sets of wings and the food and medical supplies King T'Challa insisted they bring. He noticed a small envelope stuffed in the pocket of a gray duffle that looked a lot like Steve's, but Heimdall was calling his name, and he left it where it was and headed to the cockpit.