Thanos exited his cabin, sat down on a bench, and allowed himself to rest. The twenty-four hours by the measure of time on Earth since he had snapped his fingers had almost elapsed. All he had to do now was watch the sun rise on a grateful universe.

He sighed contentedly. Only a few seconds left, now. Every atom in his being had told him that this was coming. Every single major moment that had changed his life was considered. In particular, what had had to be sacrificed in order to obtain the Infinity Stones that he now held on his palm.

The Power Stone. The massacre of so many innocent Xandarians, razed by Thanos' forces. This one had taken the longest to procure, for he had almost had the Power Stone in his grasp before that petulant Kree had refused to give it to him. With the first of six added to his gauntlet, Thanos knew with absolute certainty that his ambition was feasible.

The Space Stone. Even more genocide, visited upon the already war-weary Asgardians. He hadn't even known the Tesseract contained within it an infinity stone when he had gifted it and a similarly imbued scepter to Loki. But like everything that belonged to Thanos, its ultimate reunion with its rightful owner was inevitable.

The Reality Stone. Despite its crimson hue, this stone had caused the least amount of blood to stain Thanos' hands. The Collector had fled the moment Thanos had entered his fortress. He sensed the Collector had already died hours ago. No one who had opposed him could run away unmarked forever.

The Soul Stone. The most elusive and mysterious of these objects, and the one that as far as Thanos was concerned had cost him the most. It was the most valuable of the stones upon his gauntlet for that very reason. Thanos only could hope that as his time ran out, that Gamora's soul, wherever it lay now, could find it in her heart to forgive him.

The Time Stone. The Guardians of the Galaxy and their allies had nearly done it. They had almost brought him low unlike everyone else who had opposed him during his quest. If not for Gamora's suitor and Doctor Strange's mercy, his sacred mission could have been foiled. But it was only a matter of time before he would defeat such a bizarre ensemble.

And finally, the Mind Stone. The first of the Infinity Stones he had ever obtained, although he hadn't known it at the time. It was just a weapon found in a lost Eternal ship by The Other and the rest of the Black Order. Fueled by his ignorance and with his success just within reach, The Avengers of Earth really didn't stand any chance at all by that point. Only the Scarlet Witch and Thor had given him pause, but they were as always done in by their own weakness. The Scarlet Witch had focused all her energies into killing the man she loved instead of killing her enemy, and Thor had been too prideful, too boastful to simply be content with letting his enemy enjoy a quick death. One enemy too focused on the one she loved, another enemy too focused on the one that he hated. Perfectly balanced. As all things should be.

When the moment of Thanos' last breath left his lungs in a peaceful exhale, he was unafraid of what awaited him. He had always planned on leaving his own fate after snapping his fingers to chance, and if he were to renege now the purity of his vision would have been compromised.

Besides, every single person Thanos knew to be dead at his hand or long before he had begun his quest would be waiting on the other side for him. He might finally be given the hero's welcome that he had always felt had been denied to him in life. His long-lost people. His father, A'Lars. His mother, Sui-San. His brother, Eros. Any soldier that had followed him into battle and laid their lives down on his behalf. His adopted children, the Black Order. Corvus Glaive. Cull Obsidian. Ebony Maw. Gamora Zen Whoberei Ben Titan. Loki Laufeyson. Nebula. The Other. Proxima Midnight. Ronan the Accuser. It was one thing to lose any of his little ones, but to lose six in one day, particularly his favorite child Gamora, was the straw that had broken the beast of burden's back.

And so, when Mistress Death reached out to take Thanos hand for one last dance, he reached out the hand that bore the Infinity Gauntlet and accepted her hand. He had courted her in life, now embraced her in his death, and passionately kissed her as one would kiss a lover when they were finally reunited.

Thanos.

With its final life taken, the Infinity Gauntlet fell to the wooden porch out of its master's grasp and rolled down the stairs, until it came to rest on a patch of grass. The sunrise of a grateful universe shone over it, illuminating the six infinity stones upon them.

…

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