#left the party when you took over why on gods green earth would comms think this is a good idea wannabe 2008 obama ass

[mediapen]

email from keir starmer subject line Change. lose my email kys

[nothisis-ridiculous]

Take Me Home Now: Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve: In Your Head, In Your Head, They are Dyin'

Set after the events of ME3.

A rewrite. Ao3.

FemShepxKaidan

Geez, open my big fucking mouth much? Oh Jane, could you go to the Citadel? But why shouldn't you? You said you had spent time there; you're the one person who knows how to get around. She half-assedly kicked at the locker at the foot of her cot, besides, Rogers is too green. We need someone with experience leading the team. It would be best if you kept busy; civilian life doesn't agree with you.

They couldn't order her around.

Jane craned her head, taking in the entirety of the beam that would catapult her into the Citadel. A frown was the sole betrayal of her panicked nervous system, she would never be ready to go back there. But this was not the time for fear, not when Biotic's Division looked to her guidance. At least she could hide the apprehension- they looked like they could piss themselves at any moment. Jane knew the beam wouldn't lead to death but they were not so confident. It seemed insane, she got it.

Roy and Helen talked amongst the students, leaving Jane some time to collect herself. The last time she had approached the beam the entirety of Hammer had died to get her here, it seemed too easy now that it was a simple jaunt down a hill.

"You sure this thing won't vaporize us?" Roger's question interrupted her solitude.

"I'm not saying it's going to be pleasant, or you'll like what we're going to find-" distress crossed the 2nd lieutenant's face, this was the wrong approach, "if Anderson's team could make it to activate the Crucible, I think we will be fine. Besides, think of the bragging rights- being the one to restore communications with the Citadel, and eventually with the rest of the galaxy. It's not a small thing."

"But I'm not leading the operation," Rogers's hadn't taken the forced deference to the Recruit well.

"Believe me, kid, you'll be glad for all the calls you didn't have to make." She had refused to lead on principle, even after several others had tried to guilt her for refusing the mission. Jane wouldn't have stepped up if not for a series of harsh conversations from Mr. Alenko, most of them implying he would take the mantle if she would not, "get the team into place, we leave in two."

Roy and Helen naturally separated from the group, not away from the mass of students but toward her. Roy led a step ahead and Helen fixing her with the usual judgmental stare from behind her husband.

"I'll be fine," the woman snapped the M-77 into a ready form, "it should be easy."

"Be careful."

How many times had she heard that? To boot, in the same somber tone. The last time, so physically close to where they stood now. It was an odd irony that his father stood closer to the beam than Kaidan had managed to get.

"Thank you," regret was a hell of a thing, so unprompted she grasped his hand unflinching under that whiskey-hued gaze. For a blip of a moment, she looked forward to coming back. Hope returned in a microdose.

The students lined up as ordered, each reaction as individual as the person who stood before the blue light while they wouldn't argue with the mission: it didn't mean they had to trust it. Jane would question flinging herself blindly into the beam, she had at a couple of points. On Illos, she at least had the Mako to give her the illusion of safety, here for the second time only experience made her undaunted besides the emotional toll.

"Alright, the mission is simple. Meet with Bailey or whoever is left in charge. After that, we worry about setting up the long-range commlink," it was better to put this off as a simple run, when things got complicated, they would deal with it then, "on arrival, where exactly we'll end up is a mystery. This functions much like a Mass Relay, so small groups and make sure your ass is out of the way."

Jane nodded to Rogers and the female that stood beside him, "anyone else want to go first?"

She didn't wait for a reaction before sauntering brazenly into the beam.

The Spectre had thought she was used to running into the unexpected. She had made a career of dealing with the strange, but awe of circumstance truly never went away. This time it was far more physical than expected. Pulling herself over the lip and onto the metal path, water violently expelling from her nose and mouth. If she were a little more with it, she would have pulled a gun on the Keeper scuttling by- but she was a little more focused on breathing. The next concern was the two in line behind her; one was lucky and ended up straddled over the railing the next erupted from the water much in the way she had.

Once it was clear all was fine, Jane rolled onto her back. Dark laughter barking from her diaphragm. It was a far cry from the body-lined hallways and corridors she had dreamed up, the relay monument looked down on her. God, she felt nauseous. Her sides didn't stop seizing until all breath left her body, eyes stinging with tears. Rolling to all fours, then finally upright the world swirled into sudden clarity.

This was the Presidium. Behind her, the partially broken statue that honored the krogan. A white spire jutting into the sky, a brave blue flower standing tall, heat speckled metal walkways, and the white-walled building. Her fingers raked through a tangle of wet hair, shook out her pistol, pulled Rogers from the railing, and tightly squeezed her fist until the twang of her muscles bid for release. The relay fired again, splashing followed, and the approach of footsteps came from her right side. The tepid water running down her face made pinpointing smells impossible, but she could sure taste the strange flavor of the unfiltered liquid.

"Holy shit."

"See, you should have never doubted me."

The Lieutenant did not find it quite so humourous.

"Lighten up, Kid," she remarked blithely, turning her attention to the squad that corralled them into the center of the walkway, "it's nice to see C-Sec arrive promptly."

The turian officer scoffed but lowered his weapon, "Bailey will want to see you."

"Good, we're looking for him."

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

"How is it always you?" Bailey hardly looked up at her, "but I've got to admit, nobody else is crazy enough to walk through a beam on foot."

The man was one of the few who could recognize her immediately, even with grown-out and natural hair. He had seen the scarring left behind after the Lazarus Project before they had faded for the first time. It took only a little imagination to see past the more extensive facial scars.

"The first or second time?"

Bailey's head craned up, concern crossing his face, "Com-"

Jane waved a hand, "please, Bailey, that person is gone. Let her die with her crew."

The concern grew behind the glow of his omnitool "if anyone ever asks, you waved your Spectre status in my face. But I don't think you are here to catch up."

"No, I am not."

The team back on Earth had tried to reconnect with the Citadel, but all attempts to reach them had failed. So a mission to the station became necessary. Bailey attempted to skirt the subject, but life on the Citadel was not easy. Slowly some peace was restored but at a snail's pace. Whatever jammed the comms slowed any hope of a unified force on the station. It also explained their failure to find a tech expert who might fix the issue and perhaps the lack of a Spectre or someone of a higher rank to authorize it—security measures as usual were great until they hindered progress.

"I'll need you before you try and disappear again," Bailey warned, swirling the scotch in his lowball glass. He figured this was special occasion enough, even if the hero returned as little more than a ghost.

"I'll consider it my retirement party," she mused, finishing off the bitter liquid, "seems easy compared to a Reaper invasion."

"Nothing with you is ever simple."

"Hell, this could all be a dream... for both of us." It felt a little cold for a dream, but it was all surreal. For now, she put it off as walking old hallways and the memories of the companions that haunted the place.

"The scotch must be hitting you hard."

"I haven't hit the hard stuff since-" the statement crossed into territory painful for both of them, "but I say there is no time like the present. Must be driving my squad nuts waiting."

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

"Shepard before-"

Jane flinched, and Bailey retracted for a moment. Equal parts confusion and frustration with the jumpy woman. Perhaps it was time, untold horrors of war, or the alcohol that made her weird, if not mentioning the other multitude of reasons the Spectre seemed off her game. She went by a different name to the men she led, and it was becoming apparent the problem was far out of his wheelhouse.

"I have to give it to you plain, we found Anderson's body in here. It looked like he was shot."

"I know."

She had shot him after all. For a long time, she had tried reasoning that it was not her fault; after all, the Illusive Man had made her do it. Those strange cybernetic eyes had stared at her in her dreams, one of the thousands of voices taunting her. Those blue eyes had found her again as she walked the hallways to the Council Chambers.

"He must have activated the Crucible before he died, it's funny because we all assumed you had done it."

Jane hadn't activated the Crucible. That was true. Maybe Mary had; it was all a little foggy.

"We gave him the best funeral we could, I can take you there later if you like," Bailey offered, trying to rouse her with a touch.

Jane shook her head, "another time, this is enough."

Too much.

Bailey nodded, falling behind a few paces so she could absorb the room. Mentally, she remarked on little other than it had become a bit overgrown in disuse and that she liked it better without the constant trickle of running water.

"Nothing unusual up here, Ma'am," buzzed the comm.

"Roger, roger."

"It wasn't funny, even when the Major did it."

Fine, "hold position, I want eyes on anything that could go wrong. I'll place the shunt."

Jane moved slowly across the catwalk, the face staring at her accusingly grew clearer as she approached. The simple frame wreathed in upkept foilage, plants, and candles of all sorts making up an altar. She tried to move through littered petals and papers with reverence, but some wound up disturbed fluttering into the pit below. Jane crouched to cradle the picture gently, "Admiral."

Her blue eyes scanned upwards, resting on the bloody handprint covering the virtual interface sensor.

The total weight of another being crashed onto her, attempting to wrestle her from the catwalk. Even after weeks without combat, Jane dislodged the man with ease throwing him over the unprotected edge. The unnatural steel blue eyes, shocked with bright blue patterns, brimming with fury. Quickly as they had entered her vision, the figure went still and dark.

Coldly, empty, she returned the broken frame to its spot. Her complete attention turning to the console that lit up at her presence. The only break from her attention was the dramatic slam of her fists on the sides of the railing behind the console- it wasn't working.

Before she could release her temper upon the undeserving railing again, a keeper nudged her aside. Compiling the necessary commands with ease, the sudden noise of a system erupting in a blastwave. As quickly as the creature arrived, it scuttled back away. Leaving Jane to complete her task.

Bailey looked over the ledge, approaching the woman slowly once he was satisfied.

"Commander Bailey, you should have access to all Citadel systems," her bright blue eyes turned to him with a terrifying hollowness, "don't make me regret it."

"You- but, he," Bailey swallowed, running a hand over his cropped hair, "it's never simple with you."

He grabbed her arm before she slipped by him, "take this."

"I should go."

"Don't worry, you weren't here," he called after the stumbling figure.

Jane didn't recall stumbling back through the relay, or for that matter, picking her way back to the mall. Or the time she had left, or if she had bothered to warn anyone in the meantime. Reality was a persnickety thing at the moment, failing to anchor her securely to the present.

It was dark, the mechs hadn't stopped her, and not even her body was warning her of exhaustion. It was all instinct.

The room she stole into, that was not so much a call of instinct but of desperation. Her world grew colder, and it was beginning to tumble at a speed that she could barely withstand.

"Rahna."

Nothing.

"Rahna."

"Jane?"

[rogue-barnes-16]

1950

Summary: Natasha Romanoff is not the easiest person to read, which causes Y/n to second guess if what they have is a taunting back and forth, or just unrequited love.

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x fem!Reader

Genre: fluff

Tags:

Natasha Romanoff: @5aftermidnight

Permanent taglist: @notexactlythatgirl @thisismysecrethappyplace @sofreakinmanyfandoms @pizzarollpatrol @bubblycypress87 @1a-girl-has-no-name1 @loislp @lovenaturefirst @dyanna-corona @2ptonpt @goodnightmode @disneyprincessbuffyannesummers @mannls @cutie1365 @catch22inareddress @mybooradley @sebastianisasnack @butifulsoul125 @unlikelygalaxygiver

Warnings: pinning, language, a pinch of angst.

A/N: you could call it a song fic, but I don't think it's accurate so let's just say it's super inspired in some of the lyrics of King Princess' song, 1950. Hope y'all enjoy this wlw content! ALSO I'm gonna do another version for a Peggy Carter x Reader fic <3

Rogue-barnes-16 masterlist

I hate it when dudes try to chase me, but I love it when you try to save me,'Cause I'm just a lady.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck--" I miraculously dodged another bullet, running breathless through the large corridors of the skyscraper. "can't find the way out!" I yelled through the comms.

"On my way" Natasha's voice was calm and calculating.

"You don't know where I am!"

In that exact moment, a gloved hand tug my forearm, guiding me into a dark hall and closing a gate behind us.

"My knight in shining armor." I could steal a peek at Natasha's subtle grin while she blocked the door she had just closed. "How...?"

I wasn't even able to formule the proper question before Natasha replied. "we're not done yet, m'lady." she took my hand once more, prompting me to run out of there with her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

So tell me why my gods look like you, and tell me why it's wrong.

I was lost on her, I couldn't help it, sometimes it would just happen when she was looking particularly stunning, when she shun so much in a crowded room.

"Earth to Y/n?"

I jolted slightly and turned around to Clint. "Yeah sorry... What were you telling me about?"

"Screw that." he retorted, quite annoyed, yet curious. "What's up with you and Nat?"

"what?"

He snorted. "don't play the dumb card with me, Y/n." a subtle motion from Clint to the redhead, was enough for me to instinctively take a peek at her form, standing across the room, chit-chating with Sam and Bucky in a beautiful red dress. "you keep gazing at her like she's a goddess."

"what-- no! I mean-" I shrugged, taking a generous sip from my martini. "I don't do that, and even if I did, what's wrong with that?"

"first of all, you are." I rolled my eyes at him, avoiding his knowing look. "and I don't think it's healthy to worship the woman you fancy."

"the fuck?" I got up from the stool, and, after grabbing my purse and my glass, I walked away.

So I'll wait for you, I'll pray; I will keep on waiting for your love.

I stole on last glance at Natasha, who seemed to be actually enjoying Tony's party, before exiting the crowded area in order to breath some fresh air provided by the balcony.

Clint was right, I shouldn't be longing like this for a fucking co-worker, a friend, a woman like Natasha. It wouldn't end well.

But what else could I do, apart from longing for her love?

Sometimes it would appear to me as if Natasha reciprocated my feelings, but other times she was indifferent, maybe even a little too much, and that made me think that probably, the thought of her reciprocating my feelings was just a poor excuse to avoid the heartache that would cause the truth.

"fuck it." I laid my glass over the metal rail, my eyes on the beautiful Manhattan skyline while I lighted up a cigarette that I hoped, would calm my thoughts.

Did you mean it when you said I was pretty?

"Thought you quit." I looked over my shoulder to find the redhead with a hand resting against the crystal gates' frame.

"I'm trying to quit" I corrected her, giving it a puff before turning to my side when she moved to stand besides me. "but sometimes I just can't help it."

"this is not trying." she stated, grabbing the cigarette and taking it away from my lips. "try harder" she put it off against the rail. "Or I'll have to punch your pretty face and I really don't want to."

"pretty?" I couldn't hold back that confused inquiry that had actually been meant to stay in my mind.

"That's what I said." I averted my eyes from hers, fearing that the deadly spy turned into an Avenger could see through them what I so desperately wanted to ask.

Do you really mean it?

"C'mon Y/n." She tilted her head in a vain attempt to make eye contact with me again. "You're very pretty, it's a fact." there was a moment of silence before she added something else. "I mean it."

I love it when we play 1950. It's so cold that your stare's 'bout to kill me, I'm surprised when you kiss me.

"You seemed to be having a real good time." I randomly commented after a few seconds of peaceful silence.

"Were you observing me, Y/l/n?" she teased, drinking a sip of her beer. She wasn't looking at me, but I did look at her, just to find a cocky grin tugging the corners of her plump lips. "You didn't seem to be having the greatest time."

"Were you observing me, Romanoff?" I taunted, fixing my eyes on her form with the same smug smirk that had been on her face a second ago, except that mine had a tinge of melancholy.

I allowed myself to stare into her green eyes for an instant before looking down, afraid she could see through me. "You don't have to babysit me, Nat, I'm alright."

She didn't say a single word, so I looked back up, confused at the sudden silence. "I'm not babysitting you." She stated, almost coldly. "I came out here to chat with you."

"Why? You were really interested in whatever Sam and Bucky were telling you." Was it jealousy what came out in that question? Or maybe my insecurities somehow showing up? Neither were good.

I rested my forearms over the rail, shamelessly ignoring the cold glare that those green eyes were digging into my skin.

"Fuck... Sorry. I'm alright Natasha, go back inside." I muttered, fidgeting nervously with my rings. "I'll get back in in a moment, I need some fresh air."

No reply.

"Natasha, really, I'm fine." I insisted, bit again, I got no response in exchange. "Listen" I spun around to face her, overwhelmed by the anxiety building up inside me. "I just need a min-"

Natasha's lips, to my surprise, were against mine in a split second, causing my legs to turn into jelly and my stomach to be filled with butterflies.

I barely felt her fingertips ghosting over my cheeks before she pulled away, leaving me there.

I had unconsciously moved forward in an attempt to capture her lips once more, but she was soon gone, walking back into the party.

I like it when we play 1950. So bold, make them know that you're with me.

It took me a moment to process what had just happened, and when I finally did, when my heart started to slow down again and my legs stopped shaking, I realized she had left due to the same reason I had refused to speak up about my feelings, because she was scared of being rejected.

I stepped back in the room, rapidly looking for the redhead in the red dress.

I spotted her back where she had been when I left the party, standing near a corner, chit-chating with Sam and Bucky once again.

My legs carried me as fast as they could without running, until I was right behind Natasha.

"Hey, kiddo" Bucky greeted me before I could tap Natasha's shoulder. "feelin' better? We saw you leaving a couple of minutes ago."

I completely ignored his question. I could answer him after doing what I was about to do.

I would have to thank him later, because thanks to his words, Natasha turned around to face me, and that gave me the chance to kiss her without being too awkward.

This time it was my fingertips ghosting over her cheeks while one of her hands carefully rested on my waist.

"Woah okay" Sam said, tugging Bucky’s arm. "we're out of here ladies."

I pulled away and saw Natasha doing the same exact movement that my body had done just a few seconds ago when she left me standing outside.

And since this time I saw it, I was able to kiss her back.

[writing-appreciation]

SYNOPSIS: You and Peter were dating before the snap, but after Harley helped you through five years of pain. Five years later, you Harley finally makes his move, and Peter doesn't know what to do.

PARING: Stark!Reader X Peter Parker

WARNINGS: ☡ ENDGAME SPOILERS ☡ LIKE MASSIVE ENDGAME SPOILERS. DETAILED ENDGAME SPOILERS. NOT SUBLE ONES. IF YOU READ THIS AND HAVE NOT SEEN ENDGAME YOU WILL HAVE THE WHOLE PLOT SPOILED FOR YOU.

-Author rambling. You'll see if you read it. I'd figure I'd warn you about it because this is a LONG puppy.

-I also cried while writing this. So be warned.

-jerk!Harley?

-LANGUAGE 

WORD COUNT: 7,475. Yeah, it's a long one.

GIF NOT MINE: @parkerpunology

I felt a sudden shift from Peter's arm which I was leaning on.

"Babe, do me a favor and stop it. I'm trying to rest." I complained, still with my eyes closed.

"(Y/n), look." He said. I could detect the fear in his tone. I looked at him and noticed he was staring outside the bus window. I followed his gaze and saw some giant spaceship?

"I gotta get over there." He grabbed his bag from under the seat and shuffled with it.

"Peter, are you sure?" I asked him with my fingers laced in his.

"(Y/n), this calls for Spiderman." He said while gesturing to the giant flying doughnut.

"No, this is an Avengers thing. This is over your paygrade." I argued.

"Just stay here, be careful. Protect May for me." He replied and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek.

I knew there wasn't any use in trying to convince him otherwise. I got up and tapped on Ned who sat behind us.

"Ned, cause a distraction." I told him. It didn't take long for him to look up from his phone to see the arising problem.

"Holy shit, we're all gonna die!" He said while rushing to the back of the bus.

"Peter, should I go? This looks like an all hands on deck situation." I suggested while examining the scene. I could tell my dad was flying around there from his blasters.

"(Y/n)." He warned, now locking eyes with me.

He didn't have time to tell me no because I grabbed a webshooter and opened the emergency window.

"See ya there sweetie." I smiled as I tapped on the edge of my glasses to make my mask surround my face.

I used my powers to manipulate the air around me. Doing so basically allowed me to fly.

I began to make my way to the problem. I heard Peter thwipping behind me.

By the time we arrived at the park I saw my dad fighting with some Mortal Kombat reject character.

"Peter, help the old man." I said. Although he was quite a distance away, I knew he heard me because of our comms.

"On it!" He said and went his way.

I continued on, surveying the scene for any other enemies. I did see a man in old timey clothes waving his hands around, making orange images fly around him. He looked like one of the good guys. So I began to help target the squidward looking creature. I bent the metal shrapnel around us to throw at him. This apparently only made him angier. He reversed my action and threw the metal back at me.

The strange man in strange clothes managed to stop the shrapnel from getting to me by turning them into butterflies. Weird.

"I don't have time for this." The creature snarked and telepathically pushed us against the side of a nearby building. Bricks from the wall caged us in. The pressure was like falling off the rope in PE class. It hurt.

While I was still being compressed, the two were having some kind of banter about some necklace the, for lack of better words, wizard had on. The Wizard managed to get off the wall and was now back on the ground. The alien made the wizard pass out and went on his way.

When he was a distance away I began to fall from my position.

"Okay, now I'm pissed." I muttered and flew towards them.

I didn't know why this Wizard was so important, but if the dickwad squidward wanted him, it probably wasn't for good reasons.

"(Y/n), (M/n) Stark, what in hell do you think you're doing?"

I mentally cursed at the sound of my father's voice coming from my comm.

"Helping save New York apparently." I quipped.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Peter swinging to the wizard as well.

Out of nowhere a blue beam lit up the sky. The Wizard began to he sucked into it. I saw Peter grab onto a lampole and pulled on his webbing. But it wasn't enough.

"Uh, Mr. Stark, I'm being beamed up!" He said.

"Dad!" I cried out to him while following the beam up, but staying out of its path.

"Yes, I see it. FRIDAY, deploy 17A and 24S."

17A? 17A was Peter's IronSpider suit. I didn't know he finished it. 24S on the other hand was a mystery.  

I looked up and saw Peter rip his mask off. He looked like he was having trouble breathing. Makes sense, we were high up.

I was still quite a distance off of him, but when he was falling, I was prepared to catch him. FRIDAY beat me to the punch. His suit appeared around him and he was back to kicking.

I smiled in relief, but it was short lived. I saw another flying thing coming straight to me. 24S was probably a suit for me. Once the package hit my foot, the nanotech immediately began to form around me.

"Alright, FRIDAY, send them home." He said as he blasted past me.

"Oh come on!" I heard Peter say through the comms.

I felt a parachute deploy from the back of the suit. I was instantly drawn downward. I tried to use my powers, but they weren't working in this suit.

"Dammit Dad." I whined, knowing he could still hear me.

"Love you sweetheart. Be back in a jiffy." He said with uncertainty in his voice.

"Just be careful." I said again.

"Al..ways a-..a...m." His voice began to give out. He was too far away for me to contact him..

"FRIDAY, can you get me to Bruce?" I asked.

"Sure thing Miss. Stark." The AI replied.

Once I landed, I saw Bruce and Wong talking.

"Hey, you good, Doc?" I asked.

He was holding a phone and looked apprehensive.

"The Avengers broke up?" He asked.

"Yeah, it was pretty bad." I replied.

Wong took this opportunity to make his exit.

"This is worse." He gestured the scene around us.

I nodded, now knowing what the phone was.

"Call him." I said simply.

I watched as Bruce held the phone to his ear.

This was clearly worse.

Earth just lost its best defender.

And I just lost my boyfriend.

---WAKANDA BATTLE---

While I did appreciate my father's suit for me, I figured it would be more beneficial if I had my powers rather than my suit. I was tasked with helping protect Vision and Shuri.

I liked Shuri. I was certain Peter would like her too, but the introduction would have to wait as Peter is in space.

When everything went down, it went down hard and fast.

One moment Shuri was working on Vision, and the next we're being thrown out of the window. She was knocked unconscious, but the kingsguard were with her, so I felt fine going to help Vision.

I ran off, following to where he fell. It was in a forested area.

By the time I got there, Steve was fighting a monster and telling Vision to run.

I, being the self sacrificing Stark that I am, ran into the fight. Bending his own sphere against the creature.

Steve gave me a look of disappointment, but I just shrugged it off.

We were okay. For now.

The air suddenly became tense.

I heard Bruce through the comms say, "Cap, that's him."

I looked around and saw a giant purple guy towering over everything. I couldn't help but notice gauntlet on his left hand. I realized the green infinity stone that the Wizard had was part of it. I pushed the anxieties of what happened to the side. This was the fight of our lives.

But I froze. I saw as Natasha, Rhodes, Bucky, Sam, even Banner go for him. All efforts failed.

I heard Wanda and Vision behind me. They were saying goodbye.

Thanos was coming straight in our direction.

Steve jumped into the line of fire and grabbed the gauntlet. He screamed as he struggled to hold it back.

I gasped as Thanos' right fist met Steve's face.

He looked right at me.

"The formidable Stark child. I hope people remember your father." He said as he began to pass me.

'I hope people remember your father.' Replayed in my head. I let out a scream as I began to shoot fire out of my hands straight to the side of his face. It was ineffective.

I bended all the metal around me to create a sphere and pushed it to his direction. He turned, simply closed his fist and the sphere became a crumpled hunk of metal. He turned to Vision again.

Relief instantly set in when I saw the bright yellow flash. I was saddened by Vision's death, but relieved that Thanos' plan had been cut short.

I crawled my way to Wanda. She was crying, I was crying. We were both a mess, but for different reasons.

Thanos said something about understanding Wanda's pain and suddenly the flash was being reversed.

"No!" Wanda and I said in unison as the stone on Vision's head reappeared. Thanos pushed us away before we could do anything.

I hear a shattering and looked up to see Vision colorless on the ground.

Thanos had all six infinity stones. He looked elated.

Then Thor decided to join the party.

With stormbreaker in his hands he lined up his shot. There was hope after all.

The axe landed dead centre in his chest. Thor pressed it further.

I know Thanos said something, but the light ringing in my ears enabled me to hear it properly.

But he snapped.

Nothing happened at first.

Then it all came crashing down.

"Steve?" Bucky called out.

Then he was gone. Turned into dust before our eyes.

Everything happened so fast. Wakandan soldiers began disintegrating, our friends. Wanda, who was leaning over Vision, accepted her fate. She fell into it.

I looked down at my hands, expecting me to go to, but nothing. I was still here.

"Oh God." I faintly heard Steve from a few feet away.

I stayed on the ground. Not knowing what to do or where to go.

----22 days later----

I stayed at the Compound for a while. Dad, Peter, or Stephen (as I learned was the Wizard's name) hadn't returned yet. Pepper was on a last minute trip in Hong Kong when the actual snap happen, but they cancelled all flights; so I couldn't stay with her until she got back. When she did, we went home and just went through Dad's stuff. We refused to believe he was gone.

Natasha, Steve, and Rhodes set up shop at the compound. They wanted to fix this, whatever it took.

One day Pepper got up at 3:00 a.m and pulled me awake too.

"(Y/n), come on. Tony's back." She said through sniffles.

I shot up. If dad's back, that means Peter's back too!

Happy drove us to the compound with excited energy.

When we arrived there was still no sign of dad, so I asked Happy if he could drive me to the nearest Burger King. We both knew that Dad would be craving a cheeseburger, so Happy happily obliged.  I also figured it wouldn't hurt to get Peter some fries. He's never turned down fries in the time I've known him.

When we got back, there was a huge spaceship on the lawn.

Tears threatened to spill out of my eyes right then and there. I didn’t even wait for Happy to open the door for me, I rushed it open with the food in my hand and ran inside.

"Dad! Peter!" I called out to them.

I walked into the conference room to see Steve, Rhodey, and Natasha looking at me with sadness.

"(Y/n)..." Steve trailed off.

"What? They're okay aren't they? I brought them food, if they want it, but I know for a fact Peter will eat these fries. Oh, damn I didn't' get anything for Stephen. Anyway, are they sleeping or something?" I asked, now noticing they weren't in the room.

"Tony's resting in the…" Natasha began to say and move at an angle so I could see the room ahead of us.

I gasped and dropped the food. I ran past the three and fell to my knees at the base of his bed.

He looked terrible. His cheekbones were prominent, so was every other bone in his body. Knowing dad he would've given any food to Peter. Speaking of, it was weird to not see him around. He probably went to check on May. God, she'd be so happy to see him!

Even though I was happy at the thought of Peter and May's reunion, it didn't make me feel any better about how dad was.

I felt Pepper rub soothing circles into my back.

Apparently this was enough to help me fall asleep because the next thing I knew I was wrapped in a blanket in my room at the compound.

"Good you're awake. I was starting to think passing out was a Stark curse."

I surveyed the room to see who's voice that sentence belonged to.

"Dad." I choked out. I reached my hand up to my eyes to wipe the tears of joy that began to fall.

"Hey, we have to talk." His voice began to waver.

I sat up and gave him my attention.

"There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to say it. The kid- Parker- Peter. H-He didn't make it." He said quickly and avoided my gaze.

That there. That was when my world shattered around me. I got my dad, but at the cost of my boyfriend. But I can't deny that part of me had thought about this. The prospect of Peter dying in battle. It hurt like hell, but it didn't seem to phase me. My dad caught on to that.

"(Y/n), talk to me. Say something." He looked up to see my stoic expression.

I took a deep breath. "How?"

"Don't do that. Don't play tough here. It's okay to feel…"

"How did he die, dad?" I asked again, looking up to see his tear stained face.

"The snap." He replied simply.

I looked to my nightstand. There was a photo of us together at a dinner with Dad and Pepper.

"This is the worst breakup ever." I said without emotion.

I could tell my dad didn't know how to react to that. He decided to wheel over to my bed and gesture for me to hug him. That's all I needed to see to bury my face into his shoulder and sob.

---1 year later---

"Keener, I swear to God, you're impossible." I rubbed my temples while he pranced around my room.

Well, my in the process of being built room.

After dad got better, he decided to build up his family. The wedding him and Pepper had was nice and small. The antithesis of anything Stark related. He then decided that expanding the family would be a good thing. Which is where Morgan came into the picture. Or at least, the embryo of Morgan. Before she was born though, dad insisted that his favourite girls design the new Stark home. Seeing as Pepper was eight months pregnant, she couldn't exactly drive out here and be around all this paint; so it was decided that I would get the final say.

I decided to bring Harley along because he basically became my best friend this past year. He lost his mom in the snap and eventually found his way out to New York with his uncle.

And oh boy did Harley get into everything.

"Why is there such a large open space here?" He asked as we entered what would be the dining room.

"Clearly because it's not furnished, idiot." I whispered.

I continued walking around the place and saw the makings of a home. The family room was the only room fully furnished at the moment and it looked beautiful.

A worker came up to me shortly after.

"Miss. Stark, we hope everything is to your liking?" He asked nervously.

"Yes, my parents will love it too. You're all going excellent work. Keep it up and my dad will undoubtedly tip very well." I smiled at the group of workers who had now huddled around to hear what I had to say.

"I still think it's a little roomy!" Harley called from the couch he was sitting on.

"Harley, shut up!" I yelled at the boy.

This caused the workers to laugh.

----PRESENT----

5 Years. It's been 5 years since the world's been normal. Two years since I graduated High School.

Five years since I last saw Peter.

It was that emotion that made me want to take on Scott's Time Heist. Then again, we were happy. Morgan happened in these five years and she made all of us extremely happy. Dad retired his gold titanium alloy suit, and I was on my way to co-running Stark Industries.

But then I think about the trillions that died, and it feels irresponsible to sit back and live happily.

Eventually dad and I did solve the missing variable in the time travel equation. But whether or not we should act on it was the tough part.

The next day we were driving ridiculously fast to the compound.

The days after that came the planning.

After that the heist was underway.

Harley and I stayed behind to watch the shop.

"Going subatomic in 5…"

I adjusted a few levers.

"4...3…2… brace yourselves and be careful." I warned as the countdown came to an end.

"See you in a minute." Natasha with joy evident on her face.

"1." I said and pulled the final lever.

Then they were gone.

"So…" Harley trailed off, "how long will they be gone?"

"About a minute for us. Natasha wasn't too far off, actually." I smiled, looking at the data we were collecting.

"Okay, so I have a minute to do this." Harley breathed out.

"Huh?" I said, now looking at him.

"Listen, I don't know how else to say this, but I like you. Not in the jokey, friend kind of way. More of a hey, I wanna take you out to a restaurant and treat you like a lady kind of like you." He scratched the back of his head.

"Har…" I breathed out, ready to explain the millions of reasons why anything between us couldn't happen.

He quickly rushed a finger up to my lips.

"Shhh, I just had to say it. Whether you reciprocate or not will take time, I get it; but I will wait." He said, now pressing his forehead against mine.

I heard frantic beeps from the monitors. They were all synced to come back. Mostly. I noticed Natasha's sync wasn't shown.

I shrugged it off as a glitch and brought them back.

Once they all reappeared I heard Bruce say, "Did we get them all?"

Followed by Rhodey asking if it really worked.  

I wasn't the only one to realize Natasha was gone.

"Clint, where's Nat?" Bruce asked first.

Clint looked broken. Like he had just witnessed the painful death of a loved one. He didn't say anything, which is all he needed to say.

Bruce fell to the ground of the time heist rig and slammed the ground.

"No." I whispered out.

We all took off in different ways, but somehow all ended up at the lake.

"Do we know if she had any family?" Dad broke the silence.

"Yeah, us." Steve replied, looking off into nothing.

Thor went on into hysterics. He was denying that she was gone. This angered Clint and he processed to challenge Thor to go and try to save her. I saw tears roll down Steve's cheeks as they fought.

I simply walked away. I couldn't be in that environment anymore. I heard a crash of water and a Hulk-eske grunt. That told me enough of what happened.

I reentered the compound to see Scott, Rhodey, Harley, and Nebula still standing around.

"How are they?" Scott asked.

"Her sacrifice won't be in vain. Thanos is going to suffer." I simply said as I walked past them.

But I couldn't help but notice Nebula slightly reacted to that.

"(Y/n), wait!" I heard Harley call after me.

"No, Harley. I don't wanna talk. Go away." I slammed the door behind me and crashed on my bed.

This plan was supposed to bring everybody back, but we already lost one team member. Who says we wouldn't lose another?

The day after we began to construct our own gauntlet. Rocket, Bruce, Dad and I all collectively worked on it. We all watched in awe as the stones seamlessly worked into the gauntlet.

Then followed a huge argument of who had the burden of wearing it. Thor volunteered himself immediately. His logic being that he was the strongest. I watched as dad told Thor he wasn't in the condition to wield it. So that's when Bruce nominated himself. His reasoning being that he was "made for this."

Dad had me stand behind him and Clint. We were behind dad's shield.

"Hey FRIDAY, do me a favor and activate Iron door protocol, will ya?"

I watched as the compound began to lock itself down. Even the very room was being locked down. This was it.

And so Bruce did it. He placed the gauntlet at his fingertips. We all watched as the nanotech began to fit around him. After a few screams, pleas, and a snap, Bruce collapsed to the ground. Everybody went to inspect him. I noticed though, that Scott went off to look outside. Clint also went in a different direction. He went to the table. I could hear a slight vibrating. Almost like it was coming from a phone.

"Guys, I think it worked." Scott called out.

Still examining Bruce, I noticed his expression change to fear as a shadow crawled up his face. I turned to look at he window above us. It was a massive ship. Something was coming right for us.

Suddenly we were attacked.

"(Y/n)!" I heard my dad yell. I couldn't tell where I was, but I just kept falling.

…

"Come on kid, get up."

I looked up and shook my head.

"Clint?" I asked, unsure if I was actually seeing him, or if my subconscious was making him up.

"Yep, that's me. We gotta get out of here." He held out his hand. I noticed he held the gauntlet with his other arm.

"Thanks." I said while grabbing his hand and pulling myself up.

I tapped the edges of my glasses and hoped FRIDAY would still be functional.

"FRI, where are we?"

"According to the blueprints, you are located approximately underneath the 4th conference room."

"Get us a path out of here, please."

Suddenly an animalistic sound caused the both of us to turn towards the source. Clint shot a light arrow in the direction.

Chitauri.

"Any day now FRIDAY!" I yelled as we began to run away from the creatures.

"Continue down this corridor. It will lead to a tunnel close to the surface."

"Yeah, very helpful thanks." I heard an out of breath Clint say.

We continued running. Clint now had his sword out and was slicing Chitauri as they got too close. Once we approached a water pipeline, I saw my opportunity.

I began bending the water around us, and shot it forcefully at the herd chasing us. It effectively knocked them back several feet.

"Couldn't do that any earlier?"

"Shut up Clint." I replied as we continued running.

Before we got to the upwards tunnel, Clint turned around and shot a grenade arrow towards the heard. He then sent a grappling hook to the top of the tunnel.

I couldn't help myself, "What? Couldn't do that earlier?" I asked as we both grabbed on the wire.

"Shut up." He said with a small smile.

Once we got to the top Clint exasperatedly said, "Okay, take five."

He rolled on the ground, but still had a hold of the gauntlet.

I rolled over too. In the past five years, cardio hasn't exactly been my main focus.

"Oh hey, I know you." I looked up to see Clint handing the gauntlet to Nebula.

"Father, I have the stones."

"What?" Clint and I said simultaneously.

As Clint was closer, he went to get the gauntlet back. Except Nebula turned a gun on him before he could do anything.

"Move and your friend gets blasted through his heart." She said, clearly directed to me.

Suddenly another Nebula and a green lady showed up. There was some back and forth between the two that ended up with Clint being able to get over to me quickly.

Then Nebula shot Nebula.

"FRI, how about that way out of here?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Through here." Nebula said and began to walk away with the green lady.

"FRI?" I whispered as soon as they were out of earshot.

"I'd advise following them."

"Still such a big help." Clint mumbled as he picked up the gauntlet.

When we got out it was chaos. I saw Steve with a half broken shield facing off with Thanos. Thanos had thousands of his soldiers lined up a prepared to fight.

I saw my dad laying down, but still moving. Thor was facedown in a pile of rubble. Rhodey, Scott, Rocket and Banner were nowhere to be seen.

Did we just lose again?

"Steve. Can you hear me? On your left."

I could've sworn I heard Sam's voice in the comm.

Suddenly a familiar orange glow appeared on Steve's left side.

Out walked T'challa, Shuri, and Okoye.

It worked. They were coming back!

Hundreds of other portals opened and more of our allies flooded out of them.

Out of the sheer number of people I couldn't make out Peter,  but I was relieved that he was okay.

"Avengers!" I heard Steve yell.

"Assemble." He finished with an overwhelming amount of determination.

Then everybody took off.

This was truly the fight of our lives.

I began flying up and made my way into the fray too.

"Gotta say, when I imagined us fighting a massive army of space aliens, this is not what I had in mind." I heard Harley say.

I chuckled.

"Now's not the time for unsubtle flirting with my daughter, Keener." Dad snapped.

Harley took off in a different direction. I took the moment to observe his suit. Green. Interesting choice.

The fight was brutal, but suddenly it got a whole lot worse.  

After a fight with Wanda. Thanos commanded an aerial attack. Some sort of bombs began falling into the battlefield. They were mostly metal so I tried to bend as much of them as I could, but there were too many.

"I got this. I got this. I got this. Okay, I don't got this. Help, somebody help!" I heard a familiar voice call.

"Hey Queens, heads up." I looked up to see Steve throw Mjolnir in the direction of the cry for help.

I watched as Peter shot webbing at the hammer and trailed behind it. He was holding the gauntlet in one of his ironspider arms. Then he was being held in the sky by Pepper. Then he was on the back of a flying horse. This is a lot.

He fell nevertheless and I began to make my way to him. But of course I was cut off by Chitauri trying to you know, kill me.

Abruptly though, they stopped firing at us, and began firing upwards.

"FRIDAY, what are they shooting at?" I heard my dad ask.

"Something just entered the upper atmosphere."

We all looked up to see a bright yellow streak flying through Thanos' ship.

Steve was the first to notice who exactly it was,

"Danvers, we could use an assist down here."

It looked like we could win this afterall.

When I finally made it to Peter's side, he was a mess. He held the gauntlet with both arms and kept looking wildly around. Before he could see me though, Carol got to him first.

"Hey, I'm Peter Parker." He said shakily.

"Hey Peter Parker. You got something for me?" She smirked.

He pulled himself up. "I don't know how you're going to get it past them."

"Don't worry." Wanda said, now landing near him.

"She's got help." Okoye finished.

By this time I noticed a whole legion of women were surrounding Peter. Myself included. They began taking off, but I stayed behind.

I jumped over a rock that separated us. I looked at him. He looked terrible. His nose was bleeding. He looked terrified.

"(Y/n)?" He asked while taking a step closer to me.

Suddenly a violent shake drew our attention away from one another. Good thing it did, because we then noticed a huge rock coming straight for us.

Without thinking, I pushed Peter down into the ditch we were standing in and used my powers to redirect the rock towards some line of aliens.

I didn't look away until I felt him grab my hand.

He was crying.

"No, no. Don't you do that Peter. Because if you start crying, I'm gonna start crying and we need to win right now." I said instinctively wiping his tears.

"I missed you." He said, now pulling me into a tight hug.

I sighed. "I missed you too, but let's win this before we talk." I reluctantly pulled away.

Trust me, I would've given anything to continue hugging him, but right now I knew I had to be objective.

We looked around to see if there was anywhere we were needed. Carol and Thanos were fighting. And Thanos had the gauntlet on.

My breathing hitched. I began flying to them until I saw Strange holding back water from flooding the field.

I redirected myself towards him and began to move the water back. Carol could handle her own.

"No, go to your father, he's going to need you." He said, "I got this handled."

My father? I looked around and saw him face down near Thanos.

In a blind rage, I flew to him quickly.

"Dad?" I asked, shaking him awake.

We both looked up and saw Carol holding the gauntlet open.

"Get back." My dad said after looking at Strange.

I didn't argue. I flew several feet away from them.

I saw Thanos rip the power stone from the gauntlet and punch Carol with it. She went crashing into some debris.

My dad quickly got up and tried to remove the gauntlet. It was unsuccessful.

Thanos threw him a fair distance.

"I am inevitable." Thanos said while snapping his fingers…

But nothing happened. I waited for everything to be gone. He said he would destroy Earth and take great pleasure in doing so, but he didn't. He looked at the back of the gauntlet in shock. He then locked eyes with my father.

I looked to him and saw the stones move their way up his arm.

"No." I said under my breath.

Once the stones were in position, they all glowed. He looked like he was in pain.

"And I… am…" He paused and looked back to me for a second. He mouthed 'I love you' with tears beginning to fall.

"Ironman." He completed just before he snapped his fingers.

"Dad!" I screamed as a blinding white flash temporarily blinded me.

I hid my face as the light took over, but once it was gone, I felt different.

When I could see properly, I saw dad tiredly prop himself against a pile of rubble.

I quickly pulled myself up and stumbled my way to him.

"Dad?" I asked as I fell to my knees beside him. His eyes looked empty, but he still looked at me. Half of his face was burnt. He looked like should be in pain, but he somehow managed to look at peace.

"Hey brat." He said in a faint whisper.

"Hey, save your energy." I said to him. "Help!" I shouted to nobody in particular.

He lightly shook his head.

I heard Rhodey land, but kept looking at my dad.

He looked at Rhodey and gave him a faint smile.

Then came Peter.

"Mr. Stark?" He called. Once he saw him, his voice began to break.

"Hey, Mr. Stark, it-it's Peter. We won' Mr. Stark. I'm sorry Tony."

Dad look at Peter and then back to me. Peter nodded before being pulled back by Pepper.

"Pep." Was all dad could make out.

"FRIDAY?" Pepper said, hand on his arc reactor.

The AI said something about his vitals being low.

"We'll be okay. You can rest now." Pepper said, locking eyes with him.

He looked at me one last time. He pulled out one final smile and kept looking at me. I saw a single tear fall down from his eye.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the arc reactor turn from its shiny blue to black.

My father just died.

Pepper leaned in a kissed his cheek. After she placed her forehead on his chest and began crying.

I felt a hand being placed on my shoulder.

I heard Peter drop to his knees beside me. Then he was wrapping me in his arms and we were crying.

…

I held Morgan in my lap as we watched Tony's final message.

"I don't know if I'll have time to do personalized messages for everyone, but I'll be damned if I don't try. They'll be somewhere stored on FRIDAY. I trust you guys can find them…"

I zoned out. I didn't want to be here. I wanted to be laughing at a family dinner again, but instead here we are: mourning our dad.

Soon enough we were all at the lake. I sat with my feet in the lake. Morgan was standing, leaning against Pepper who had just released a bunch of flowers and dad's old arc reactor into the lake.

I was crying again.

I stayed there for a while. Just watching the flowers float around the lake.

Until somebody cleared their throat behind me.

I reluctantly turned around to see Harley.

"(Y/n), I am so…"

"Keener, I swear if you say you're sorry for my loss, I'm going to throw you in this lake."

"Well, what do you want to talk about?"

"Literally anything else."

"Well, I think I'm going back to Tennessee."

"What?" I asked, crossing my arms in annoyance, but also in coldness. The temperature suddenly dropped.

He sighed as he took of his jacket and placed it around my shoulders, "My mom called me. She wants me back there. But you're not there, so I don't particularly want to go back."

I mentally cursed. Really? He thought this was the time to discuss his confession?

He sat next to me.

"(Y/n), I get that it's tough right now. I'm not telling you to make a decision now, but I will wait for you." He said while placing a chaste kiss on my cheek. I also felt him squeeze my hand.

With that he got up and walked away.

----PETER'S POV----

I spent half of the service watching (Y/n). She and Mr. Stark were close. Anybody could see that. His passing hurt her. I didn't know if I could help here through this.

Shortly after Mr. Stark died, I was tasked with having to pull her away from her father's lifeless body. Her and Pepper asked for a moment alone. But in that moment, she attached herself to his hand. I tried to be as gentle as I could with her. But she wouldn't budge.

I didn't blame her. I was the same when my Uncle Ben died. I refused to leave his side.

Cap urged the importance of moving them though. Apparently the stones had to be returned to their times. This meant we'd have to pry the stones off of Mr. Stark. Cap and Dr. Banner said they didn't deserve to witness that.

So I did have to beg her to leave her father's side. When that didn't work, I had to drag her away from him. She cried as I began to pull her away.

"Peter, please a few more minutes." She begged through tears.

I placed my hands on either side of her face, "(N/n), I'm sorry this isn't healthy, trust me. I know."

My plea did virtually nothing to help her.

Suddenly rain began pouring from the sky. It didn't take long for me to realize it was her that was causing this. Not intentionally, it just happened. It got worse as we had more distance between us and Mr. Stark.

Suddenly another boy in a green suit landed near us.

"(Y/n), hey." He began to reach his arms out to her.

I quickly blocked this advance and kept walking her away.

"Peter, let me take her. I can get her somewhere dry quicker." He negotiated.

I thought about what was best for her. She didn't need to get somewhere dry.

I nodded and allowed him to pick her up bridal style.

And off they flew.

I felt helpless. It felt inappropriate for me to cry because she was the one who lost somebody, not me.

When we arrived though, I couldn’t help but notice the same man who flew (Y/n) out of the storm a few days back. Who even is he? I have never seen him around.

After Mrs. Stark placed the memorial to Mr. Stark in the lake, we all stood in a moment of silence.

She held Morgan's hand and began to walk back to the house. (Y/n) stayed at the edge of the lake.

I knew she needed time, so I walked into the house with May.

About 15 minutes later, I noticed it was colder outside. I ran up to her room and grabbed her a jacket. I stopped by her nightstand. I knew I shouldn't be snooping, but I smiled at the photo of us still sitting on it. But behind it, I saw a photo of her and the other boy smiling with ice cream. Surely they're just friends. Why else would my photo still be here, but then why did she also have a photo of him there too?

I shrugged it off and made my way outside to give her her jacket. Before I even made it outside I saw her wearing his jacket.

Once I was outside I began to hear their conversation. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it was a Spiderman perk.

"My mom called me, she wants me back there. But you're not there, so I don't want to particularly go back." He said with a smile in her direction.

(Y/n) didn't respond. She just continued staring into the lake. He sat next to her. His leg was touching hers.

"(Y/n), I get that it's tough right now. I'm not telling you to make a decision now, but I will wait for you." He said while placing a kiss on her cheek. He also gave her hand a squeeze. He got up and turned around. When he saw me he smiled.

I stood still.

As he approached me, he smirked, "You were gone for five years, Parker. I wasn't. She moved on."

I clenched my fists. It took everything to not punch him in his smug looking face right then and there.

I ignored his comment and made my way to my girl.

"(N/n)?" I called to her.

"Peter, hey." She said, still stoically staring into the water.

"Stupid question, but are you okay?" I immediately regretted asking. Who asks that in a tim like this?

She actually looked up at me. She smiled sadly.

"I'll be fine. Actually I wanted to ask you something."

I sat down by her and nodded my head.

"Dad left me a video. I'm scared to watch it alone, can you…"

I already knew what she was going to ask.

"Yes. (Y/n), obviously." I said, looking into her eyes.

"Come on then, dad hates to be kept waiting." She said while pulling her feet out of the water.

I immediately jumped up at offered her my hand. She accepted as she pulled her shoes on.

She led me back to her room and sat on her bed. After a moment she patted a spot next to her.

"FRI, can you play my video from dad?" She asked, hesitation in her voice.

FRIDAY projected the video on her wall.

It was Mr. Stark sitting there with with a pensive expression.

"You know, I feel it. I can feel like I'll end up with the gauntlet. I can guarantee you, sweetheart, I will do everything I can to give you your five years back. From ages 14-19 you grew up too quickly. So when I inevitably get the gauntlet, I'm going to fix that. So I hope you're ready to go through high school for the second time."

"Oh God." She breathed out.

"FRIDAY, pause please." I asked.

"Peter, when he snapped, I felt different. He actually made me a 14 year old again." She choked out.

FRIDAY resumed the video.

"Also, I'm confident you'll do amazing things. You and your little boyfriend."

I smiled at Mr. Stark calling me her little boyfriend.

"Harley actually just asked me if he could ask you out after everything was back to normal…"

What? Wait, was Mr. Stark referencing Harley as (Y/n)'s boyfriend?

"Also when you inevitably walk down the aisle with him, just know I'll be there, watching you."

Crap. I zoned out. I didn't catch what he said. Who he meant.

"You already are the best big sister to Morgan, and I know you'll only continue that trend." He smiled into the camera.

She was crying her eyes out. I didn't know what to do.

"God, I wish I could make this video go on forever, but time is running out isn't it? Major things:

Your trust fund is frozen until you turn 18, obviously. I already wrote a letter of recommendation for you for University. By the way, don't feel pressured to go to MIT. Go to your topic pick. I'm trusting you with everything. Morgan is too young to understand, but you can carry on my legacy. I know you can. And I know you will. Morgan will eventually join you in that, but right now it's you. And I know you'll hurt. I didn't even like my dad that much when he died, but it it still hurt like hell; now, I'm assuming you love me, which only logically means losing me will hurt even more. A typical week or two of grieving is obviously encouraged, but there is a point when it'll become too much. Move on, grow. I'm not saying forget me, but just don't let my hypothetical death destroy you. You are too talented to let my death hinder your future."

She was still crying, but now she was clutching a pillow.

"I love you, (Y/n) (M/n) Stark. Don't you forget that. In fact, I love you 3000."

With that final comet, the video ended.

She took a deep breath in and smiled.

I awkwardly sat on her bed, looking at her smiling at the frozen image of her father.

"So, I guess I'll be going back to MidTown Tech afterall." She said, now wiping her eyes.

"Yeah." I awkwardly shifted.

A gentle knock was heard on her door.

"(Y/n), sweetie, is Peter in there?"

May.

I jumped off her bed and waved a quick goodbye. She didn't even process it. She was still looking at the wall.

I opened the door and silently shut it behind me.

"Hey, how is she?" May asked me in a hushed voice.

"Well, she just lost her only living parent, May." I said bitterly. Mostly because I saw Harley in the other room.

"Well, come on, Happy offered to drive us back." She suggested, following my gaze to Harley.

I followed her out. But I couldn't help but think about (Y/n) and Harley. Were they serious? At the very least I know Harley likes (Y/n) enough to have asked Mr. Stark if they could go out. I couldn't tell how (Y/n) felt though. Part of me obviously wanted her to still like me. Five years in the soul stone and all I could think about was getting back to her, but it didn't even hit me that other people could have already gotten to her. I was lost. I didn't know what to do about this.

…………………..

A/N: Wowie this ended up being WAY longer than what I thought it would be. I was originally aiming for circa 2000 words, but here we are.

Fun Fact: my original draft for this had the reader on the spaceship with Tony, Peter, and Strange; but I changed it.

Question: should I do a part two to this because it was left on a rather mysterious note.

[star-trekkin-across-theuniverse]

Floating (pt3)

Word Count: 4062 Author’s Note: tagging @from-kitten-to-kitsune because she’s the only one who’s asked so far. :)

I hailed Kara as soon as I had a chance to flop across my bed.

“So?” She asked.

“My quarters are huge. About the same size as our dorm, except I’m not sharing with anyone. And my bed is twice as big,” I started. She laughed.

“That’s because ships are gone for long periods, and you might want to entertain company when you aren’t on shore leave,” Kara teased.

“Oh my god, stop,” I laughed. “Just because I had a fling last night doesn’t mean I’m going to suddenly become a wild woman.”

“Anyone hot on board, or have you had a chance to look yet?” She countered. I laughed again.

“I haven’t really had a chance to look, but Uhura said it’s the youngest crew in the fleet,” I answered.

“That would suggest a target-rich environment.” I could hear the leer in Kara’s voice.

“Okay, we did not just spend the last eight years of our lives slaving away in med school to be worried about whether or not I’ll be getting laid on the regular now that we’re done. So let’s focus on something else, shall we?” I refocused the conversation. Kara had been far too interested in my love life in the last few months, worried that I was going to become some kind of spinster. The last year of med school had very nearly destroyed me though, and all my focus had needed to be on my studies.

“I’m just concerned about your mental health, Bee,” Kara protested. Damn her psychology minor. “You threw yourself into your studies when -”

“We’re not talking about him,” I interrupted. “I threw myself into my studies because he’d been a distraction and I’d fallen behind. Did you know I got this post because the captain had specifically asked for the top student from the class? I was the top student in the class, Kara. I wouldn’t have been had Michael continued to distract me. And then what?”

“You would have come to Yorktown with me,” Kara interjected. “Would that have been so terrible?”

“No, not at all. But Michael knew about Katie and I could have been expelled for falsifying my records. And instead I’m going on a five year mission in space! Five years, Kara! Think of what I’m going to see and do in that time,” I explained. “And Michael’s continued presence in my life would have prevented that.”

“If it was such a good thing that he left, why did it take you two years to climb back in the saddle?” Kara countered. “And when you did, it was a one-nighter.”

“So I’m on this five-year mission, and my CMO seems cool. I think I’ve made friends with the communications officer already. And my captain wears a leather jacket when he’s off-duty,” I changed the subject. “I haven’t seen the medbay yet, but I’m on Alpha in the morning, so I’ll have more to say about the facilities then. In the meantime, my room is huge and I’ll go for a wander through the halls and see the rest of the ship in a while. I think I need a nap because I had too much to drink last night, which is not an invitation for you to go back to what I got up to last night, it’s just a statement of fact. Hangover.”

“Run down to medbay and get a hypo,” Kara laughed. “There are advantages of being a doctor. Take them.”

“If I’m not throwing up, it’s not really a bad hangover. I just think lack of sleep and coffee are grinding on me too,” I admitted. “A nap, and then we’ll see how the replicator manages with caffeine.”

“Probably a shower in there too because you probably reek of stale whiskey and that handsome stranger,” Kara laughed. “And that’s the last I’m saying about last night. I love you, best roomie ever.”

“I love you too, Kara. Let me know when you get to Yorktown.” I closed the communicator and did as she recommended, hitting the shower first before laying down to take a nap. Before I fell asleep, I sent a quick message and a couple of photos to Katie. She was suitably impressed. I wakened to my communicator chirping a few hours later. It was a message from Uhura, inviting me down to the cantina. It wasn’t more than twenty minutes since she’d sent it, so I figured I’d try to figure out where I was headed and meet up with her.

It was pretty quiet in the cantina. For whatever reason, I had a picture of last night in my head when I saw her message, but the noise level was minimal and there weren’t many people sitting at the tables. I saw Uhura at the same time she saw me, and she waved me over to her table, where she was sitting with a few other women.

She introduced me around and pointed to a seat. “We’re all on Alpha shift in the morning, so it’s pretty low-key tonight.” It looked, and smelled like she was drinking herbal tea.

“If I ever see scotch again, it may be too soon,” I laughed and ordered my own tea.

“We all say that at some point,” a pretty Andorian named Tarin smiled and sipped her drink.

“And yet I bet we’re all repeat offenders,” Uhura laughed, and just as quickly, changed the subject. “Bryn, I overheard the captain say you were the top of your class?”

“Yeah, there’s a reason commencement was the first time I’d partied in a couple years,” I laughed. “Nose in a textbook in all my spare time.”

“There’s more to that story,” she observed.

“Probably. I had a bad case in my second year and nearly dropped out. World falling out under you, that kind of thing. I decided that I could either walk away and ask myself if I was a coward for the rest of my life, or face the music and clean up my practice,” I was as brief as possible about it. I didn’t like dwelling on the past. Not when I’d come so far.

“Fortune favours the bold,” Tarin nodded.

“I think luck is generally comprised of hard work and discipline,” I clarified. Tarin’s blue skin paled a little.

“Oh, I didn’t mean you hadn’t worked hard, I mean that people who work for it are usually successful,” she offered. I flinched.

“I’m sorry,” I offered. “I misunderstood you.” Tarin shook her head and smiled.

“Sometimes those Earth sayings are confusing,” she agreed, letting out a yawn. “I’m going to have to excuse myself. I can hardly stay awake. It was lovely meeting you, Bryn. I hope to see you around.”

“Hopefully not in medbay for anything other than routine check-ups,” I laughed.

“I’ll be careful,” she replied and rose. The other women excused themselves soon after, leaving just Uhura and I together. I looked at the time on my communicator and finished my tea.

“Thanks for inviting me, Nyota,” I offered.

“It’s nice to meet people who aren’t from your division when you’re first assigned. Most of the officer corps on the Enterprise has been together since she was launched, so we can be a little insular and that can be isolating and unfriendly to new personnel. I know it’s not my job, but it feels little bit like it’s appropriate to introduce myself. After all, I am the communications officer,” she nodded.

“I really appreciate it. I’ve basically hid out under a med school rock for the past few years. I know my cohort really well, but didn’t really mingle outside of the med corps. I think it’s probably wise to make friends in all the divisions. I mean, if I want people to trust me with their health, it would help if I’m friendly,” I offered. Uhura laughed.

“Well, Doctor McCoy might disagree with you on that front. He can be prickly, but the crew trusts him implicitly,” she countered.

“Well, maybe I’ll become good enough that we can do the good cop, bad cop thing,” I laughed.

“You know, when it comes to getting Captain Kirk to his annual physical, it may come down to that. He’s a bit medically phobic,” she admitted. “But I didn’t tell you that.”

“No spot inspections of medbay then?” I recalled the dread of inspections from the academy, and wasn’t looking forward to them one bit.

“For the most part he leaves them to McCoy and Spock. You probably won’t see much of the captain at all,” Uhura explained. “Anyhow, you looked exhausted on the transport today. And I’m sure you’d appreciate a good night’s sleep before Alpha shift starts. I’ll let you get going. Comm me if you need anything, Bryn.”

Despite a catastrophic malfunction with my in-suite replicator that made me miss my coffee maker back at the dorms, required me to change my uniform completely, and put my glasses on instead of my contacts, my morning was fairly uneventful. I arrived at medbay early, eager to familiarize myself with the layout of the department. The Gamma shift staff were all as bleary-eyed as I remembered being when I did nights as a resident, but they were friendly, and as soon as they heard I hadn’t manage to replicate a coffee, the head nurse stepped me through how to use the medbay replicator. I had just pulled my coffee out of the machine when Doctor McCoy walked in and took it from my hand. He seemed taller in his Science Blues than he had in jeans and a t-shirt, and definitely looked the part of the dashing Starfleet doctor. He was just as impossibly handsome as the rest of the crew.

“If you’re going to make a habit of making me a coffee every morning, kid, I’ll be happy to keep you,” he teased, his voice gruff. He took a sip and made a face. “But you’ll have to learn to make it how I like it.”

“I like my first cup to be sweet in the morning,” I offered, stealing my cup back.

“Learn to like it hot, bitter and dark,” McCoy barked. “The replicators don’t tend to mess that up as much.” He turned to the replicator and made his own coffee. I drank from mine, not the least bit bothered by him sampling it. I wasn’t about to waste a cup of coffee. He quirked an eyebrow but said nothing. His eyes betrayed him though. They danced with amusement, and I found myself drawn in when he stared at me, trying to figure out exactly what colour they were - I settled on hazel because it encompassed the varying shades of grey, green and brown that they flickered through.

I followed him through his morning procedure, shadowing him like a little puppy. “There’s not a lot for me to teach you this morning, but the assistant has been scheduling physicals. Everyone needs one before we clear the quadrant. We’ll be pretty busy for the next week. You should be able to do a physical in about ten minutes once you’re comfortable. But have your appointments blocked in twenty minute intervals for the first few days until you get the hang of it. You’re comfortable with hypos?”

“Of course.” I couldn’t keep the confusion out of my voice.

“You’d be surprised how many new docs get queasy after giving a few. There’s a whole raft of new vaccines the crew will need for this mission and if you’re going to be a soft touch about it, it’ll slow you down,” he explained. I nodded. Hypos were probably the easiest part of being a doctor. “I’ll need your help with the captain. That won’t be a problem, will it?”

“Should it be?” I asked, confusion furrowing my brow. I could hear Kara chastising me in the back of my head - ‘that look will give you age wrinkles’.

“You’re a professional. Good,” he nodded, leaving me confused. “I’ll be keeping you on Alpha until I’m satisfied with your ability. I know Jim asked for the best but I’ve seen some lousy doctors that managed distinctions.”  I wasn’t worried about treating the captain. He was any other crew member when he entered medbay. McCoy’s assessment superceded his, if necessary. The only people who ran the risk of intimidating me inside the medbay were McCoy and the head nurse. Well, most of the nurses if I were truthful. Outside the medbay was another story. Everyone was young, fit, attractive. I definitely wasn’t on the ugly end of the spectrum, but I still felt a little less spectacular than the crew I’d met thus far.

After showing me around the department, he decided to test my competency by having me run a routine assessment on an ensign. He was right, I needed twenty minutes, but after the assessment was over, I thought about where I could be more efficient, and was looking forward to testing my theory on the next assessment. I was charting on it when he sat down across from me, putting down two coffee cups.

“Answer a question for me, kid,” he started. I looked up, pushing my glasses up the bridge of my nose. “What’s with the glasses?”

“I’m nearsighted?” I answered. I took a sip from my coffee and pulled a face. He was apparently planning on training me to drink black coffee whether I wanted to or not.

“Yeah, I figured that. But why wear them at all? There’s surgery to correct that,” he pressed. I shrugged.

“I never really had the time. I usually wear contact lenses, but I had a bit of an altercation with my replicator this morning, and so glasses it will be for the next little while,” I shrugged. McCoy narrowed his eyes.

“Did you hurt yourself? Take your glasses off, let me check you.” He had his tricorder out before I could protest and when I didn’t take my glasses off fast enough, he pulled them off for me. He held the tricorder up to my face and I resisted rolling my eyes. I was lucky that’d I’d had my contacts on when the coffee splashed up my face, they were all that protected my eyes. But they were my only pair until I could figure out how to requisition new ones. He huffed a little and shook his head.

“You have a burn on your sclera.” He turned away and rummaged through a medication drawer behind him.

“It isn’t bothering me,” I protested. I was a little horrified that he was making such a big deal about such a tiny injury.

“I’m not having a second Jim Kirk on this ship, Doctor Erikssen. You will not run around with untreated illness and wounds, setting a terrible example, if you intend to work in my medbay. Tilt your head back, or I’ll do it for you,” he ordered. I complied. He gently opened my eye and dropped three medicated drops into it. I blinked and the relief was immediate. I had summed up the continuing headache as a remnant of my hangover, but it made much more sense that it was caused by the burn in my eye. “Hold still while I check the periorbital skin.”

I didn’t move a muscle as he poked and prodded at me. I’m not sure I’d been as thoroughly assessed since anatomy and physiology labs. “I want you to apply this ointment tonight when you go to bed.” He handed me a tiny tube of burn treatment. “And try not to pour coffee straight from the replicator into your eye tomorrow.”

“Sure, Doctor McCoy.” I reached for my glasses and smiled as I slid them back on my face. He narrowed his eyes and leaned back.

“Take those off again?” He asked. I pulled them back off my face and looked at him, flushing under the scrutiny. “Huh. You certainly look different without your glasses on.”

“You think?” I asked, pushing them back up my nose again. He nodded.

“I wouldn’t even know you were the same woman,” he confirmed. “It’s uncanny.”

“I guess that could come in handy if I wanted to be a superhero, Doctor McCoy, but I’m not sure what other benefit I’ll get from that,” I laughed.

“I’m sure it will work to your advantage eventually,” he said. “And you can call me Leonard.”

“Well then, call me Bryn,” I offered.

“That’s a lot easier than Brynhilda,” he teased. I flushed again.

“My family is Icelandic, and Dad’s a bit of a traditionalist,” I admitted.

“She’s the lead valkyrie, isn’t she?” He asked. I nodded. “Are you as feisty as your namesake then?”

I laughed. “I couldn’t tell you. I’ve been so focussed on finishing medical school that I think I’ve forgotten who I am.”

“Starfleet has a way of rebuilding you that way,” Leonard nodded. “Don’t forget that they only provided the means. You provided the brain and the determination.”

“That’s a nice way of looking at things. You’re a bit of a soft touch,” I smiled. He scowled at me.

“I’m not, and you won’t be telling anyone that I am,” he grouched. “I’m responsible for your consolidation and mentorship, so it serves me well to ensure you have some confidence, is all.”

“Okay.” I didn’t really believe him. He’d been far too attentive to my injury and kind in his expectations. He was a softy. He just put on the prickles. He leaned forward and before I realized what he was doing, gave me a hypo.

“That’s for your hangover,” he scowled. “Get out of here, kid. Your shift is over.”

“I’ll see you in the morning then, Leonard.” I could feel my face turning read. I shouldn’t have been surprised, the man was likely used to assessing people on the fly. But it still embarrassed me that he’d figured out that I had a two-day hangover. As I headed into the turbolift, I nearly took out the captain in the process.

“Jim!” Leonard jumped to his feet. “Are you well? What are you doing here?”

“My apologies, Lieutenant, I didn’t see you there,” Captain Kirk addressed me, putting a hand on my arm to steady me. I shook my head.

“No, sir, it was my fault, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” I flushed, averting my gaze. There was something so unsettling about his eyes.

“For God’s sake, man, what are you doing here?” Leonard rushed forward. Captain Kirk gave him a bemused smile.

“I’ve turned over a new leaf, Bones,” he started. “It’s important that this mission get off on the right foot. It’s the first first five year cruise Starfleet has commissioned. So as an example to my crew, I am offering to be the first physical.”

“Well, Ensign O’Herlihy beat you to it, Captain,” I offered. “He came through this morning for his.”

“Is that so?” Captain Kirk pursed his lips and looked at Leonard. “Bones?”

“I let the kid run his physical. She acquitted herself like a seasoned pro. A little slow, but caught all the important parts,” Leonard nodded. Kirk looked me over and smirked, meeting Leonard’s gaze over my shoulder.

“Perhaps she can take care of me, then as well,” he said. “Since she’s so capable.”

“Doctor Erikssen is off-duty, Jim,” Leonard started. He turned to me. “Unless you would like to stay?”

“Of course she will,” Kirk commanded. I looked at Leonard for direction and he shrugged, handing the choice back to me.

“Right this way then, Captain,” I gestured to an exam table. Using my experience from earlier, I was able to improve my assessment time, and the captain was in excellent health, so nothing special stood out. He was unsettling though, the way he stared at me during the assessment, like he was trying to place me in some memory or scenario. For myself, once his shirt was off, I had the weirdest sense of deja-vu. Like I’d already assessed him in a different life. I supposed he could have been a volunteer in the clinic when I was a new med student.

“This is your first assignment, Lieutenant?” He asked as he pulled his shirt back on. My gaze snapped back to his, and I tried to control the blushing, but he’d caught me admiring his pectoral muscles. Anatomy always had been a weakness of mine. I liked when I could see the muscle groups on a man.

“Uh, yes, sir,” I nodded. “I did a training cruise on the Pasteur, but that was a special focus clinical.”

“No other assignments? You seem familiar,” He pressed. McCoy coughed and we both looked at him. He covered his face and turned away, coughing again. “Perhaps you need one of those damned hypos you’re so fond of, Bones?”

“I assure you sir, this is my first assignment,” I reassured him. Leonard stepped back to us, coughing fit quelled.

“Good improvement on your organization.” He clapped me on the back. “Now run along, supergirl, before I change my mind and assign you to Beta as well.”

“Oh, my residency days are over, Dr. McCoy,” I retorted with a laugh. “I’d have you up on mistreatment of personnel charges in a heartbeat.” I collected my PADD and winked at him on my way out of the medbay.

“She’s a little firecracker, that one,” he muttered, probably thinking I wouldn’t hear him.

“She’s got passion,” Kirk agreed. I felt myself flushing again. Despite telling him I wasn’t interested, my body was certainly letting me know I was. It was too bad he was the captain. Him and the CMO were really the only two off-limits on the entire ship.

“Come here often?” It had to be the oldest line in the book, and I couldn’t help but smile as I turned and faced the captain.

“You just can’t take no for an answer, can you?” I smiled. He held his hand up at the bartender and gestured at us. “None for me, thanks. Alpha shift comes early, Captain.” I waved the bartender off again.

“I feel like you don’t like me, Lieutenant. And since we’ve only been on this mission for two days, and that means you’ve only been under me for two days, that seems a little unfair,” he explained. He sat in the seat beside me and looked me over. “Have I done something offensive?”

“Not at all, Captain,” I shook my head. “I’m flattered by the attention, but I feel a little like I’m only getting it because I’ve said no.”

“I’m not going to deny that most women don’t say no,” he laughed. “But I read your personnel jacket, which piqued my interest. I think we have more in common than you realize.”

“So unrelenting flirtation until I succumb to your charm is your course of action?” I countered. He laughed again and looked down at his drink before looking back at me. “A full assault might work against the Klingons, but I’m just a girl from Earth.”

“Maybe let’s not call it an assault,” he smiled. “Should I instead send a peaceful delegation?”

I couldn’t help it, I laughed. He was charming, and the hangdog slump to his shoulders, coupled with the saddest, most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen got me. I wanted to surrender. Except for the part where he was my captain and this was the second day of a five year long expedition into space. There were bad ideas, and I liked to make them. Bad ideas like covering up the fact that I had a child in order to get into Starfleet’s med school. Bad ideas like dating Michael and allowing my grades to slide so his ego wouldn’t be bruised. Bad ideas like shutting myself away like a hermit after the eventual implosion of that relationship. Bad ideas like celebrating my med school graduation in the hotel bed of an abject stranger. And then there were bad ideas like falling for the charm of your handsome captain, which seemed just infinitely worse on a level of stupidity that intersected with foolhardy.

“I should turn in, Captain,” I sighed, rising to excuse myself. He nodded and went back to his drink.

“Until next time, then, Lieutenant,” he winked. I rolled my eyes and continued out of the cantina and to my quarters.