Seriously, Endgame gave me emotions. I think it's the best ensemble movie and it was exactly what I wanted in a lot of ways, but I'm Not Okay™ with the end.

don't stop me now (i'm having such a good time)

It's Rhodey who first discovers him. The soft but nevertheless painful "oh no" that escapes him is enough to alert Pepper that something is wrong. She locks his coordinates into the Rescue armor and rushes to his side.

And indeed, the sight she is greeted by is exactly what she had feared.

Rhodey is standing in front of a piece of debris, his facial plate removed, and tears flowing down his cheeks.

Pepper can understand why this out of all things is what he is doing now that they have won. In fact, she's doing the very same herself.

How could she not, when faced with Tony lying there, dying because of the fact he had used the Infinity Stones to save them all.

"Mr. Stark? No, Mr. Stark, please," the newly undusted Spiderman begs as he holds Tony — her husband, the father of her child — in his arms. "You can't die. Please, Mr. Stark?"

"FRIDAY?" She asks, because it's easier than thinking about the fact that she had encouraged him, that he probably wouldn't be here — that none of them would be here — were it not for the fact that she had told him to do this whole time travel thing after all.

(Does that make his death her fault?)

"Vital signs critical," FRIDAY responds and the grief is undeniable in her voice.

He's done the very thing that Pepper had always been afraid he would do, and she can't even be mad about it, she thinks as she moves forward to kneel in front of him.

Tony has given so many people their families back. Has reunited so many siblings, parents and children, aunts and uncles with their nieces and nephews, grandparents with their grandchildren, and every other combination possible billions, if not trillions of times over. Not to forget about families of choice.

How can she be mad about that? She knows that she certainly could not forgive someone else if Thanos had taken Morgan from her and anyone else had been in Tony's place, even if it had been Bruce who really returned the dusted if his wounds are any indication.

She had heard how Thanos had wanted to kill this entire planet and she's pretty sure that it had been way too close, close enough that it would have happened, had it not been for Tony.

He had dusted Thanos's forces, he had saved them all, and it's at the cost of not getting to see Morgan grow up.

Just as Pepper is about to convince Tony that he doesn't have to stay, that she and Morgan can handle it, that he doesn't have to endure the pain, that he can finally rest for the first time in over a decade, something changes.

FRIDAY speaks again and she does the unthinkable.

She gives her renewed hope.

"Vital signs stabilizing," FRIDAY announces, her voice filled with the very same relief Pepper is feeling herself.

Pepper sees light returning to Tony's eyes, she sees the skin on his face begin to heal at an exponentially increasing speed.

"FRIDAY, what's happening?" Rhodey asks behind her.

"It seems that some of the nanobots have entered Boss's bloodstream and have decided that it is not his time to die."

"I'm not leaving you alone, Pep," Tony croaks. "I know you could have handled it, but you shouldn't have to."

Pepper smiles through her tears — tears that no longer originate in deep sorrow but from the sheer relief that is washing over her right now — and gives Tony a kiss.

They both know that Tony would have died right here and now to save everyone if it had been necessary, which makes it so much better that he is still alive.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter whispers from behind her. Pepper hadn't even noticed that he had moved from where he had been kneeling earlier.

"Hey Spiderling," Tony speaks, "When this is all over, you need to ask your aunt to come and visit me. I've got this daughter, Morgan, you see — she's amazing, but she's Pepper's child so that's a given. She's a huge fan of you, you'd make her entire month, isn't that right Pep?"

He grows stronger with every word and by the end, he outwardly looks to be completely fine. Pepper is pretty sure the last time she had been this happy had been right after Morgan had been born.

"It's true," Pepper confirms, "Tony hasn't managed to stop complimenting you for a single day since Morgan's birth. Or before that."

"I don't know what to say, Mr. Stark, I, I'm, I'd be honored."

Pepper understands completely why Tony likes the kid so much. He seems to genuinely excited and full of a desire to do his best, not unlike someone else she knows.

A brief exchanged glance with Rhodey confirms that she is not the only one to think so.

This brings Tony's attention towards Rhodey, too. "You're invited as well, as soon as you've returned from your mom's place."

Tony's face is still pale, but he looks better than he had five years ago when he had returned from Titan already, which can only be a good sign.

"If you think my mother won't be there to visit her grandchild the very second that she learns of Morgan's existence, you're wrong. Hell, I haven't spoiled my niece in way too long. I'll be picking Mom up and we'll be there asap." Rhodey's voice turns serious and vulnerable after these words. "Don't give me a fright like that ever again, you hear me?"

Pepper seconds that wholeheartedly, and so does FRIDAY.

"The only thing I want to do for the rest of my life is to watch Morgan grow and live her own. See what else Shuri and Harley come up with and how much better of a hero than me you'll be."

The last words are addressed at Peter.

"Mr. Stark, I don't think you take enough credit for what you've done," the kid responds.

"The kid's smart, listen to him," Rhodey comments because just like Pepper he is well aware that for all of Tony's bravado, he's still insecure at his core.

Pepper is absently aware of Harley — who had fought with them in the old Iron Patriot armor — landing behind her. Mostly because Tony's smile turns from Rhodey to somewhere to Pepper's left.

"Don't you dare die on me, Mechanic," he whispers.

"There's no need to worry," Tony responds, moving himself more upright, his face morphing into his signature smirk. "I wouldn't do that to you. I know that we're connected."

"Exactly," Harley responds and moves forward to hug both Pepper and Tony. This, in turn, inspires Rhodey and Peter to do the same.

And so they half sit and half stand there in the ruins of the Compound, crying tears that moved from grief to happiness in an instant.

Slowly, but surely more and more people wander towards them. Bruce, permanently big and green and apparently at peace with it, Nebula, her hand burnt to the bones and her sister by her side, Thor, who seems to have moved past his low and found a will to live again, Steve, flanked by both Sam and Bucky and finally having learned to trust Tony, Shuri, with a smile on her face and the promise of technological exchange on her lips, and so many more that Pepper soon stops recognizing them.

So many families have been reunited this day.

And Pepper's is one of them.