Here's What You Need To Know

Let's just say everybody survived Endgame. Yup, this is a little story where everyone survived Endgame. One where no one died or turned old, just another Avengers story. And that's all you need to know.

As for the story, I've always had this idea/prompt in my head of Natasha somehow getting turned into a golden retriever. This idea stemmed at least as far back as 2015 maybe even before. I know that sounds silly, but I wanted to make a very heartwarming and also serious story out of it and what's more ironic is I always pictured it to center mostly around Natasha and Tony. After Endgame, I thought it'd be a good time to write this.

Not A Fix-It Story, Just A 'What If' Story

Please, enjoy.

warning for some angst, some intense, maybe some graphic descriptions, and hopefully some heartwarming stuff.

Even After All These Years

1 of ?

After 5 Seconds

UPSTATE NEW YORK

It was Monday, July 3rd of 2023, and for a New York summer morning there was a gentle breeze that brushed through the cracked windows and circulated the room by the ceiling fan. Tony laid under a thin cover in the bed and when he took a deep breath, it felt like his first breath, and when he opened his eyes, it felt like he was opening his eyes for the first time, but in a sense where he felt like he was back from the dead. Every morning it felt like that and it scraped at his mind, wondering why and how he was still on this Earth. A little over two months had passed since the battle at the Compound...since Tony took up those stones. He remembered slipping away after he snapped his fingers, and yet somehow he was still here. The Avengers, his friends, his family...they frantically tried saving him after the burns covered the majority of his upper right side; his arm, shoulder, neck, chest, back, the side of his face...

Weeks he spent in a hospital, but even as he began to heal, the progress was slow. Tony had been offered some Wakandan medicine by Ta'Challa as gratitude for defeating Thanos and resorting life to the universe, but the gauntlet's power was beyond anything anybody could ever imagine and the medicine hardly worked. Five seconds as the most powerful person in the universe and it brought Tony the closest he'd ever been to death and nearly crippled him in the process. It physically and mentally still haunted Tony, and the only person that came close to understanding was Bruce, but the quantity of Bruce's burns looked like child's play compared to Tony's. The final Snap took its toll on Tony with long term effects like nerve and mild hearing damage, sometimes he could feel the ache and pain that still rattled his body after snapping his fingers. It left him fatigued and now the daily routine just felt exhausting.

Pepper was very supportive though, and Tony's friends and teammates were helpful to the Stark family, knowing the engineer was having a hard time recovering and the effects the unearthly gems had on him were still an unknown and a concern for Tony's sake. Once the get well cards stopped coming, people mostly brought over meals which were considerate since they were a young family with a five-year-old who was too innocent to realize the gravity of the situation.

Morgan was a wonder, though, and Tony felt so blessed to have her, but it was still difficult for Tony to drag himself out of bed every day. He knew Pepper and Morgan were probably out in the living room or in the kitchen as Tony laid on his side alone in the quiet. Feeling the warmth and coolness of the sheets felt comforting and part of him wanted to stay there and rest, but there was another part of him that wanted to make something of the day, but the Avenger's tiredness snuffed it out. At least he obtained some contentment, but then his phone buzzed. Tony narrowed his eyes and sighed as the phone buzzed again and again.

The constant income of messages finally forced Tony out of bed, just so he could get the vibration out of his head and get as far away as he could from the Avengers' group chat. He went through the normal actions of getting dressed, shaving around his goatee, and looking presentable, which left him sore. At one point the billionaire faced himself in a mirror, running his hand over his worn and tattered scars, whether old from Afghanistan or new from Thanos and the gauntlet...there was always something. The burn scars did look far better than they did before, but his skin was still discolored in some areas as it continued to heal.

"Good morning," Pepper greeted, wiping down the counters as Tony entered the kitchen.

"Hey, Pep," he gingerly replied as she came over to affectionately hug him and he kissed the side of her head.

"How are you feeling, today?" She asked after they pulled apart and Tony poured himself a cup of coffee.

"...uh...mediocre, I guess," Tony sighed. Every day usually was a hit or miss, some days he did great, but other days the aftermath really laid on him. It was hard to deal with, but at least everybody understood it was because of the stones and due to that there wasn't anything that could be done except to be there and support Tony when he needed it. So, he gave his wife a shallow smile, not wanting her to worry, "But I'll be okay...it's a beautiful day."

Pepper looked into his eyes with an honest and trusting manner, and the most she could do was accept what Tony had said and merely grinned back at her husband. Before she could say anything else, Morgan came in from outside, hurrying passed the kitchen. "Hey, squirt, whatcha doing?" Tony lighthearted chimed, watching his daughter.

"I think I left something in my bedroom," she said, quickly disappearing out of sight and up the stairs.

After Morgan had vanished, Pepper quipped, "So, have you thought about the fourth?"

With an uncanny breath, Tony leaned with his back against the sink, facing Pepper. There was an uncertain look capturing his frame as he found the words to use. "It sounds nice...and I'd like to go, but I just don't know..how I'll feel," Tony informed, regarding the Barton's Fourth of July bonfire invite at their farm. "Man, but they've been blowing up my phone."

Pepper mused, referring to the Avengers' group chat, "And now they're blowing up mine because you're.."

"Ignoring them," the billionaire finished her sentence and they were briefly interrupted as Morgan scurried back outside.

"They miss you," Pepper said, shifting her eyes back to Tony, "And I'm sure you miss them, you haven't gotten together since..." If everyone had thrown a celebration of their victory, Tony wasn't there for it since he was practically dying in the hospital. So, it had been some time since those that survived the Snap had been together and even longer since the entire group was together before the Accords, which became discontinued after both Thanos and after Tony literally told off Ross.

"Yeah..." Tony reluctantly agreed.

"Just think about it, okay?" Pepper suggested, adding, "I'll let Laura know we'll know by tomorrow." Tony nodded in accord with Pepper. As he shifted his weight and meant to go on with his morning, Pepper offered, "Would you like me to make you breakfast?"

"It's alright, you already cleaned up, I'll just make something real quick," Tony acknowledged thankfully, setting down the coffee mug and taking Pepper's hand. "I'm going to check on Morgan first, though," he murmured, having his hand slide away from Pepper's as he walked towards the door.

The peaceful morning really grew on Tony, hearing the birds chirping, loons singing, the lake water lapping onto the shore. The air was clean but held the scent of humidity through the forest aromas. Morgan sat cross-legged on the grass in the sun with a few stuffed animals around her, her hair lightly blowing in the wind. "Hey, Morgan," Tony muttered and as he got closer, he realized she was holding a certain something. "...uh...is that my phone?"

She smiled up at him. "Yeah, it was making noises, so I texted them," Morgan said, holding onto his phone.

"Texted who?" Tony asked calmly, feeling the cringe coming.

"Your friends," Morgan responded politely, adoring her dad. "They asked if I was you because I was sending emojis and I said no, it's Morgan. Then they said if I was coming to the party and I texted yeah, I think so."

Tony stared blankly at Morgan. "You did what?"

to be continued...

The first draft of this story was thrown together pretty fast, despite the plan I had in my head. So, I scrapped the first draft and wrote what I originally wanted and I really loved writing this scene. Let me know what you think :)

-Learlorde