“Do you want me to tell you how he died?” Clutching her neck in a vice like grip he leaned towards her ear, smiling wickedly. Squeezing her eyes shut, Y/N tried to ignore his sour breath. “He died like a dog. Neck snapped like a twig. Body flung aside unceremoniously.” Her eyes snapped open.
“That’s where you got it wrong.” The strength of her voice shocked even herself. “He died trying to save someone else.” Looking up, she leveled a confident stare at the monster before her. “His death will be mourned.” Pity filled her eyes. “But will yours?” A sickened crunching sound pierced the air. A pair of arms wrapped themselves around her, shielding her face. A loud thud. The arms tightened around her instinctively. Peaking over her bodyguard, she caught a glimpse of the left-over husk of her adversary. “Thor.” She whispered tapping his arm. “You can let me go.” Reluctantly, he acquiesced to her request.
Staggering away, she took in the carnage sweeping across the landscape. Not one inch of earth had been left untouched by blood, destruction, or fallen bodies. The smoke of battle hung in the atmosphere. Plunging her dagger into the earth, Michael fell to her knees. Finally, she could let the tears fall. It was over. Her head grew heavy. Everything went black.
“Y/N?” She struggled to open her eyes under the harsh white lights. Her throat felt like it was on fire. Lurching forward, her body was wracked with violent coughs. Squinting her eyes, she reached for the proffered glass of water. A gentle hand patted her back soothingly. “Y/N?” came the soft call again. It sounded like Pepper Potts. The hands guided her to lie back against the pillows again. Her nose was assaulted by the scents of bleach and assorted cleaning chemicals.
“Pepper?” She rasped, slowly opening her eyes.
“Thank God you’re awake!” her friend breathed.
“Pepper, where are we?” Silence.
“Don’t you remember?” She shook her head, feeling confused and woozy. Closing her eyes, she felt her friend gently squeeze her hand. “We won.” With that the knot of tension in her heart burst. Freely the tears fell. “You blacked out, so Thor had to carry you off the field. Do you really remember nothing?”
“He’s dead.” Y/N stated simply. Looking up she took in her friends exhausted expression. “Pepper, he’s really gone this time.” She tapped her chest. “I felt it.” Pepper nodded her head. “Where is Thor?”
“He was so worried and would not stop pacing so I sent him home.” Pepper chuckled. Y/N smiled.
“Sounds like Thor.” Reaching out she gripped her friend’s hand and squeezed. “Where’s Tony?” Pepper furrowed her brows in concern. “Y/N, he’s dead.” Y/N shut her eyes and covered her ears. “No! No!” She shouted, turning away from her friends attempts to grab her. “No!” She screamed again.
“Y/N! Y/N, honey!” She felt herself being shaken but found it impossible to fight the darkness. A strong pair of arms cradled her body. “You’ve got to wake up, sugar.” Tony? He sounded concerned. Shaking her head, she opened her eyes to see Tony’s own dark eyes filled with concern.
“Tony?” She breathed, reaching to touch his face. He closed his eyes and relaxed into her touch. “Oh, Tony!” Y/N flung her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest, sobs of relief shaking her body. He tightened his arms around her and buried his face in her neck leaving kisses on her hair.
“I’m here, Duchess.” He whispered. Pulling her head back, she dug her fingers deeper into his neck and looked at him frantically.
“Don’t let me go, Tony.” Her voice cracked. He scrunched his brows and shook his head.
“Never, sweetheart. You’re stuck with me for a long time.” She ran a shaky hand through his hair and released a choked snort. When he moved to pull her back down, Y/N placed a hand on his face to stop him. His eyes darted over her face in concern. “What’s wrong, Y/N?” Tony whispered, placing a hand on her growing stomach. She merely drank in his features with a sob. Reaching for his face with both hands she focused on his lips and kissed him like he was her oxygen, and she was suffocating. He made a surprised sound but wrapped both arms around her to support her back. Gently he lowered her, so she was laying back with her head on her pillow and supported his weight over her with one arm. “What was that for?” He attempted to chuckle through ragged breaths when she pulled away.
“I love you, Tony.” She threaded the fingers of one hand through his hair and ran the other up and down his arm. “I love you so much.” She squeezed her eyes shut and pulled his forehead down to rest on her own. Quietly she began sobbing again.
“Sugar?” He brushed her cheek with his fingers. She opened her eyes to search his warm dark ones. In their depths she could see a little of her panic reflecting to her. He moved his hand to span it over her stomach once more. Both stared down at where his hand was resting. Y/N could feel the warmth of his hand and the light fluttering of the product of their love.
“I can’t lose you.” She whispered without even realizing it. His eyes shot up to her face, and she looked from his hand back to his eyes.
“Never, Y/N.” He said soberly, before pulling her into a fierce embrace. “Never.”