Chapter 8
Thor could only sigh as he looked at himself in the mirror. Yes, he had let himself go but he felt as if he failed the world five years ago. He should’ve went for the head the first time. Now he was here, alone, with none of his family in this New Asgard, sharing the downfall of Thanos. It wouldn’t have made a difference though; his family was gone long before Thanos snapped his fingers. His hand snapped Loki’s neck, he killed the Asgardians long before he stepped onto his ship, he killed Heimdall.
“May, have you left yourself go brother.” A voice said. Thor was doing that a lot, imaging that Loki was back, making jokes with him, sharing long over due hugs.
“Are you not going to turn around?”
“You’re not real. You’re just something that lives in my head.” The blonde said as he tightly closed his eyes and took a few breaths to calm down.
“Actually, he’s real. He’s been standing here for minutes hopping you would turn around. I need you to hurry though; I have a shipment coming in and you’re holding me up.” A female voice said. Thor quickly turned around and saw Loki and Brunnhilde standing there.
“Loki?”
“Yes, I am a live I assure you.” Thor quickly crossed the room and pulled Loki into a bone crushing hug, in which he returned. Thor wasn’t ashamed to admit that he shed a few tears, but Loki may be in denial just a little bit about the tears he shed. Brunnhilde left the room so the two brothers can have their moment and so she could tend to her shipment that was coming in. No one knew how long the hug lasted but no one seemed to make a move to pull away.
“You died right in front of me. He snapped your neck. How are you alive right now?” Thor asked.
“The stones were pleasant enough to grant me life again.” Loki answered as he pulled away from the hug.
“The stones?” The blonde asked in confusion before it dawned on him, “The stones give you your life back?”
“Yes, they did. I did not have time to ask why, I merely give them my thanks and I was transported here.”
“It matters not now; I am more than grateful to have you back brother.”
“Did we win? Where is your teammates?”
“Yes, but with some cost.”
“Cost?”
“We lost Tony and Natasha. In 2018 Thanos snapped everyone we loved away but half. We made a plan to use the stone again to get everyone back, when we went to get the stones Thanos has destroyed them and out of rage I cut off his head. Five years late e made a plan to retrieve the stones again but this time using time travel. Natasha sacrificed herself for the soul stone and Tony sacrificed himself when he used all of the stones to snap Thanos and his army. He left behind Pepper, his wife and his daughter Morgan.” Thor explained as he took a seat at the edge of the bed, Loki following suit.
“I’m sorry for your lost brother, I know how much they meant to you.” Loki felt an emotion creep up on him, maybe this was sadness? He will admit that he didn’t care for them at first, but he respected Natasha for being the only person to beat him at his own game, and he respected Tony for flying through the wormhole and from what he heard recently challenging Thanos on Titan and making him bleed.
“Thank you. Now what about you? How are you feeling?”
“Different, but not like we were children; just different because I have missed five years of life and I’m suddenly back. It’s a hard adjustment I guess.”
“It will get better don’t worry!”
“Of course, because I have you too help me; although-“
“Yes, yes, I know I have put on weight. Mother even told me to eat a salad.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything about your weight. You spoke with mother?” Loki asked with hope in his voice and both eyebrows raised.
“Yes, when we time traveled to get the Reality Stone from Jane, I spoke with her. She misses us dearly and she said that she loves us.”
“I wish I could’ve spoken with her.”
“Don’t worry, she always right here in your-“
“Say in your heart and I will slap you. When was the last time you shaved? You look like what the humans call a “Big Foot.””
“Oh, shut up. I’m going to get there.”
“Sure, you were.” They shared a smile; no words were needed to express how grateful he was to have his brother back.
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Natasha woke up the next morning with a heavy arm around her waist and the sun in her face. There was no point of trying to go back to sleep and plus she was hungry. She sighed softly and wiggled her way out of Steve’s hold, smiling when he tried to tighten his hold on her. She quickly went into the joint bathroom and brushed her teeth, washed her face, and jumped into the shower.
After a short shower she wrapped the towel around her body, a small one for her hair, and smiled when she saw Steve still sleeping, but now holding onto the pillow that she once used. The red head quickly dried off, put on lotion, deodorant, and changed into the t-shirt, fuzzy socks and leggings that Pepper let her borrow, toweled dried her hair before throwing the used towel in the hamper and leaving the room.
She decided to start breakfast for everyone; after all Pepper and Laura have been cooking the last few days. She chose to make bacon, pancakes, and eggs with coffee, tea, juice and whatever fruit that was left. Just as she started to take out all of her needed pans, seasonings, and bowls, Bruce walked in from the guest house that Tony let him stay in.
“Good morning.” He said as walked into the kitchen.
“Morning.” She said with a smile and grabbed a few mugs down from the shelf. She turned him towards the stools at the island, her way of letting him know she’ll get the tea.
“How are you feeling? Are you hurting anywhere?”
“No, you know I heal fast cause of what the Red Room put in me.”
Bruce scratched the back of his neck and give her a shy smile, “I tend to forget sometimes.”
Natasha give him another smile before going on with breakfast, she made sure to put the kettle on for both of their teas, and began to crack the eggs into a bowl.
“How’s the arm?”
“It’s fine, just healing slower than I thought it would.”
“Maybe gamma radiation isn’t the same as stone radiation.”
“Ha! Maybe. I don’t regret it though,” he paused when the kettle whistled and she poured hot water into a mug, before handing it to him with some boxes of teas. “I really did try to bring you back.”
Natasha stopped mixing her only tea to look at Bruce, but his eyes were trained to the box in front of him. She walked around to the stool that he was sitting on and gently cupped his face in her hands; he looked at her with sadness and honesty in his eyes.
“Bruce, I don’t want you to beat yourself up over this. I made the decision to sacrifice myself for the stone. It’s not ever going to be your fault.”
“I know, but Nat-
“No Bruce. Don’t even try to talk your way around it. It was my decision.”
“Okay, I’ll try to not beat myself up over it, but I still feel bad.”
“Well don’t,” she said with a smile, “I’m sorry for pushing you over the cliff in 2015.”
“No,” he said shaking his head, gently taking her hands off of his face and holding them in his own.
“I shouldn’t have-“
“The same way I can’t hold on to the fact that you sacrifice yourself. You have to let go of the fact that I ran from you.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure Nat. You’re not at fault for Hulk and I not getting along back then. I think that I should’ve stayed and fought, not run away like a coward.”
“You’re not a coward.” Natasha give him another smile and squeezed his hands before giving him a kiss on his cheek. They parted ways and Bruce went back making his tea.
“Do you need help?”
The red head huffed out a laugh and whisked the eggs together with the salt and pepper, “No. I don’t even think you flip bacon with your fingers, let alone fit in here.”
“Hey! My fingers aren’t that big.”
“Sure, and I’m the queen of Russia.”
“You do have a royal last name-“
“Hush.”
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Wanda sighed as she slid out of bed and walked to the bathroom. It was nice to be back at the Tower, her first home, but something was wrong. She’s been having this thump in her chest ever since Natasha and Tony came back. It was familiar as she only had it when Pietro was alive. Could he be? No that’s impossible, he died years ago, there was no way he could be alive, the battle couldn’t have affected him.
Silently she washed her face and brushed her teeth. She felt as if someone was watching her, but the only other people that were here was Sam, Bucky, Rhodey, and Carol. She could ignore it, but Natasha always told her that if something felt wrong then something was probably wrong.
The young woman kept her guard up as she traveled down the kitchen. No T.V. was on, no radio was blasting, and there was no smell of food; either the others weren’t up yet, or they left.
Sure enough when she reached the kitchen there were a few notes on the counter, each directed to her.
“Wanda, Bucky and I are heading back to Wakanda to see Shuri and T’Challa. We should be back in a few days, if I don’t kill him first. If you get lonely or just don’t want to be in the Tower anymore call Nat, Clint, or Steve and head over to the Barton farm; that’s where they’re staying for a few weeks. Or if you want to come hang out with us in Wakanda let me know so I can send a jet to come get you, your choice. Love Sam. P.S. this is Bucky writing. He can’t kill me if I kill him first.”
“Wanda, I’m heading out to check on some of my family members. Call me if you need anything. Love Rhodey.”
“Dear Wanda, I’m leaving for a few days with Fury and Hill. Don’t hesitate to call me if you want to talk. Talk to you later, Carol.”
Wanda laughed at the noted her friends wrote, left them on the surface and decided on a cup of tea, using the microwave because it was faster than the kettle, when a flash of light caught her eye. She stopped the microwave so she can listen out for any sounds, the only thing she picked up was the sound of someone breathing.
“Whoever you are, come out or I will force you.” She said, powers ready for attack. The person let out a chuckle, and slowly came out from the dark corner.
“I am twelve minutes older than you and you still tell me what to do.”
Wanda gasped and let her magic disappear, “Pietro?”
“In the flesh.”
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By the time Natasha was done making breakfast everyone was downstairs ready to eat. They laughed, told storied, and cracked a few jokes. It was normal, even Tony and Steve cracked jokes with each other, laughing with each other. Natasha’s phone began to ring and she excused herself and went to the living room to answer.
“Hello?”
“Nat, it’s Wanda.”
“Wanda. Is everything okay?” she asked, although she was in the living everyone could still hear her and Pepper told the children to quiet down so she could hear what was going on.
“Yeah, well, something happened.”
“What happened? Do we need to come over there?”
“Pietro is alive.” Natasha was frozen; she didn’t move or say anything until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Tony looking at her with concern eyes, and looked even further to see everyone at the table looking at her as well.
How the hell is he alive? Were the stones just granting everyone life back?
The red head took a deep breath and looked Clint dead in his eyes when she asked, “What do you mean Pietro is alive?”