"This isn't our apartment!" Sam exclaimed after he nearly walked into a coat rack. He turned to leave only to be stopped by Hannah.

"Yes, it is," Hannah replied with a nervous laugh. "I just did some redecorating."

"What happened to our furniture?" Sam asked as he stared at the new living room furniture.

A leak in the roof had led to the living room ceiling collapsing. While Hannah was sad to see her eccentric collection of hand me downs and thrift store finds go, there was nothing that could be done. What little furniture hadn't been smashed suffered serious water damage. A day that started in tears ended in laughed when Ian helped her raid Ikea for replacements. They had the time of their lives racing carts and managed to find a complete living room set in Ian's favorite color.

The lights flicker a few times then turned off. Ian counted to five and sighed in relief when he heard the hum of the generator turning on. While there would be no TV or internet access, the generator supplied enough power to keep the lights and refrigerator on. When the lights came back on Sam was standing by the mantel.

Where are our wedding pictures?" he asked while examining a picture from a Halloween party at Thor's Hammer. Unlike the furniture, that change hadn't come all at once. Over the years Hannah and Ian had attended parties, made friends, and taken a few vacations. As new pictures were taken the old ones were removed from the frames and tucked away in the closet.

Sam wandered into the kitchen and stared at the new oven.

"What happened here?" Sam asked with wide eyes. "This thing has more buttons than a rocket ship!"

Faulty wiring resulted in a small fire in the kitchen. Thankfully no one was hurt, but the entire kitchen had to be gutted. Hannah and Ian learned how to lay pipes, paint, and patch drywall. The result was state of the art kitchen that would have made Gordan Ramsy jealous. On nights they didn't work, the couple enjoyed trying out new recipes and sharing the leftovers with their neighbors.

"What happened here?" Sam repeated.

"I think you should sit down." Hannah said as she led him to the kitchen table.

"Is there a construction hiding somewhere?" Sam laughed. "You couldn't have done this alone in one day."

Hannah took a deep breath. "You've been gone for a lot longer than a day."

"I know, I'm sorry." Sam looked down at the table. "I've been prioritizing work over our relationship and for that I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you, we'll go someplace special for your birthday next week. "

"I'm afraid it's too late for that." Hannah placed her hand over Sam's. "My 18th birthday was over five years ago."

Sam looked at Hannah and laughed. "Okay, the camera crew can come out now, you got me." He tussled Hannah's hair. "This is a wig, right?"

Ian set three steaming mugs of coffee down on the table. "She's telling the truth." He took a sip out of his Dr. Who mug. "Today's date is April 23, 2024."

Sam stood up and started pacing back and forth "If that's true then where have I been the last few years? In a coma or something?"

Hannah sighed. "To make a long story short, an alien named Thanos snapped his fingers and wiped out half of all life. "

A smile spread across Sam's face. "Is that the plot to that movie we were supposed to see last week?" he snapped his fingers. "I get it now, you're mad that I missed date night and now you're trying to mess with my mind."

"This isn't a prank," Hannah insisted. "I'm telling the truth."

Sam stopped pacing and stared at his wife who had surely lost her mind.

"If I died then how is it possible that I'm here?" he asked.

"The Avengers must have figured out how to reverse the snap and brought everyone who disappeared to the present," Ian replied.

"Please tell me that she's joking." Sam scuffed, searching for a wink or smile that would let him know that it was all just an elaborate joke.

"It's true, half of humanity disappeared and the rest of us were left to continue on as best as we could,'' said Ian. "As you saw, that hasn't been going terribly well for those of us in the Windy City." I

"Come on Sam, wake up." Sam slapped himself twice on the forehead. "This is all just a bad dream." Hannah grabbed Sam's arm before he could slap himself a second time.

"Stop!" she commanded. "You'll make your cut start bleeding again!"

"The cut explains everything," Sam said with a smile. "Whoever stole my car must have hit me on the head hard enough to give me a concussion. That's why I'm seeing things that can't possibly be real!"

Hannah took Sam by the shoulders and looked him directly in the eyes.

"Sam, listen to me. This isn't a nightmare, prank, or nervous breakdown. I can show you proof, but I suspect you knew that something was wrong the second you opened your eyes."

"It's really been five years?" Sam whispered.

"Yes," Hannah replied relieved that he was finally accepting the truth.

"Can I borrow your phone?" Sam asked with his hand out. Mine isn't working and I'd like to call my parents."

"Sam, Honey, sit down," Hannah said, choking back tears.

Ian, suddenly feeling like he was intruding on a private moment, scurried off to the guest bedroom leaving Hannah to deliver the tragic news alone.

On the day of the snap, Julias and Samantha Park were picking up Julia, Sam's younger sister, from school. While none of them disappeared, they were definitely victims of the snap. Their car was t-boned by a driverless truck killing both Julias and Samantha. Eight-year-old Julia survived and became one of 100 million orphaned children.

Ian collapsed into the guest room bed without bothering to take off his shoes. His feet hung off the edge and the Minions sheets were dusty, but he didn't care. There were far more pressing things to worry about. Were those noises gunshots or fireworks? Was his aunt standing outside wondering where her nephew had gone? Would Hannah kick him out in the morning? Life was about to change for Ian and he wasn't entirely convinced it would be for the best.

Ian was nearly asleep when his phone started ringing. He didn't need caller ID to know who it was. Who else could spam him with texts and calls when the phone lines were down? Six years ago Ian waited by the phone, hoping that Happy would call. Now Happy was lucky if Ian answered once a month. Figuring it was best to get over with quickly, Ian hit accept.

"Hello, Happy," Ian said gruffly. "What is it this time?"

"He's gone, Peter." Happy cleared his throat. "I thought you should hear it from me."

Ian sat straight up in bed with his heart racing

"Who's gone?"

"Tony."

Ian hung up the phone and curled into a ball. Mr. Stark couldn't be gone, they'd talked less than a week ago. He was teaching Morgan how to ride a bike. She fell off, but that wasn't anything that couldn't be remedied by a hug and a bowl of ice cream. Ian knew the pain of losing a parent. It wasn't something a hello kitty bandaid could fix. There would always be an empty chair at the table and a voice missing from the cheering at graduation. Why did being a hero have to mean losing everything?