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The glow around Drax should have been discomforting. He should have been scared, or angry, or sad. But when he looked down, he found his daughter in his arms. Such a small thing, just a few years old. “I've missed you Papa,” she said.
“I've missed you too,” he whispered, holding her tighter. A pair of hands rested on their heads. His wife. He reached a hand up to take and hold hers. “I've failed you.”
“No,” she told him. “You haven't.” She knelt down, resting her cheek on his shoulder as she stroked their daughter's head. “Drax, my love. My strong, brave husband...You must go now.”
“What? No. Go where? Not without you. I'm not leaving you again.”
“You aren't finished yet, Drax.” She kissed him gently, then pulled their little girl from his arms.
“I love you Papa.”
“I love you too.”
“We'll see you soon,” his wife said. They raised their hands to wave goodbye. He didn't have time to return the motion before-before...
The glowing world ebbed, and the red planet of Titan re-emerged in his vision. “A dream,” he said with disappointment.
“No, that was real,” Nebula informed him. “You died.”
“And you brought me back?!”
“You aren't grateful?”
“I had my daughter!” Nebula paused, her eyes turning downward. She hadn't known a loving father, but she knew that other children out in the universe had them. “She was exactly as I remember her.”
“I can kill you again if it would make you happy,” she offered as she lifted her blaster to his chest.
“Does Thanos live?”
“Yes.”
“Then no. I cannot rest yet.” Nebula let her blaster fall to her side. At their side, Mantis was attempting to comfort their most human companion, though her idea of comfort was making him sleep until they could address the matter.
“M-Mr. Stark?” the younger of the Peters stammered as he pushed himself up from the ground. Why was he on the ground? He had just been-His eyes darted to their new space friends. They were safe and on the ground. Tony grabbed him by the hand and yanked him to the feet.
“Now we’re up to hugging,” Tony tried to joke as he pulled the boy into his arms. Peter stumbled into the motion as the Ironman suit receded just in time for two strong arms to encase him. He barely understood what was happening. The last thing he remembered was fighting – no, everyone had been falling? No, he’d caught them. Then…well, now he was here, tightly held in Tony Stark’s arms.
“Did...did we win?”
“Not yet, but we're halfway there. Getting you back was step one.”
“Back?” Back. That did sound right. He could feel the hairs on his arms pressing up, despite the suit holding them down. The after-sense of something bad. And all of his other senses were haywire, as though he'd just been bitten for the first time all over again. That was when he noticed it. Mr. Stark was still holding onto his hand. “So uh, what's step two then?”
Tony stayed silent for just a moment, frozen between logic, all his fears, and all the memories that didn't matter now. “Now...” He leaned back and held the kid at arm's length. “Well, you, and I, and...those guys. We're going to finish this. You up for it?”
Suddenly, it didn’t really matter all that much where Peter was back from or what he was missing. That could all be sorted out later. “Yes!” For now, he was an Avenger, and they had work to do.
-----
Steve Rogers wasn’t a particularly huggy person. He was a soldier, through and through. A good, firm handshake and maybe a playful shove here and there was his preferred method of affection. After all he had seen, after all that had happened, that was plenty enough for him.
Still, the moment Bucky appeared in front of him, he was like a child again. Even without the super soldier serum he would’ve been able to leap any obstacle in his way as he leapt at his friend, grabbing him and holding him tight. “How many times do I have to lose you?” he gasped.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Bucky replied, patting him on the back. “I’m with you to the end.”
“And this has been, what, you’re third end?” Cap pulled back. “Let’s let it be my turn next time.”
“That’s not going to happen. I promised your parents I’d look out for you.”
“I am Groot!” they heard cry out.
“That’s right!” Rocket replied, leaping at the teenaged sap. “I’m here, I’ve got you.” He didn’t even look as the god of thunder knelt down beside them. He had his kid back, that was what mattered the most.
“Good to see you’re well,” Thor told Groot.
“I am Groot.”
“Thank you.”
Behind them, a dark flash bounded across the land, pouncing through the trees before slamming into her brother. “What is this!” he laughed as he caught Shuri in his arms.
“Someone had to take care of things while you were gone,” she laughed as her helmet receded.
“I’m sure you did a better job than I ever could.”
“Of course!” Her arms squeezed tighter as she forced back her tears. This was a happy moment. Her brother was back. There would be no more looking into the past that no longer existed. She peeked out of the corner of her eye, then reached her hand out for their friend. “Okoye-“
“I’ll pass,” the warrior said. “We still have work to do.”
-----
The spaceship honed in on Rocket’s location, and though he didn’t need to, he waved his arms to flag them down. “I am Groot,” Groot informed him.
“Yeah they are!” Those on the ship barely waited for it to be properly situated on the Wakandan plains before dropping open the door and spilling out to their companions. Tony kept a hand on Peter’s shoulder, leading the kid out to the rest of the waiting Avenger’s.
“How’d you like space?” Bruce laughed from across the clearing, reaching out to grab Tony’s hand.
“I like Earth more,” Tony informed him.
“Welcome home.”
Peter stayed at his side in stunned silence as the other Avengers approached. Thor provided a clap on the back and Black Widow gave Tony a hug, but they barely paid mind to the boy that Tony had folded into their midst. Peter noticed the one that hung back, though. He ducked from Tony’s grip and went over to greet the Captain. “Hey, ah, sorry about, you know, last time.”
“You’re alright, kid,” Cap replied. At his side was that infamous Winter Soldier, calm, quiet, and holding a gun that was longer than Peter’s arm. “Don’t worry about Bucky. He’s on our side.” The two soldiers shared a smile. “I never caught your name.”
“Oh! I’m Peter. Peter Parker.”
“Steve Rogers.” Peter took the hand that was offered to him.
“I-I know. I’ve been to the museum. Five times, actually. After you came back everyone was really excited so the school had us go on field trips every year for a while, especially because they kept adding new stuff.”
“…How old are you?”
“Fifteen. But I’ll be sixteen next month.” He almost blushed when the soldier called Bucky let out a laugh. There may have been more to that conversation, but in the next moment, Steve stepped around Peter. The teen turned to see Mr. Stark standing, crossed arms, surveying his old companion, and his old companion’s new companion.
“Tony, I-“ The man barely got a word out before he got a sucker punch to the jaw. Being unprepared, he also immediately found himself on the ground. Bucky immediately jumped to his defense, but Tony held his hands up in surrender.
“Now I feel better,” he announced, reaching his hand out to help the Captain back to his feet. Steve waved Bucky down and accepted the peace offering, letting Tony pull him back up. Their hands held firm as they assessed what had become of their relationship. “Nice beard. Not as good as mine, of course.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, me too.” He gripped Steve’s hand tighter for a moment before letting it go entirely. “Good job getting the band back together. And we’ve got a few new recruits. Everyone, this is Peter, goes by Spiderman so his family doesn’t find out.” Now that the worst of the reunion has passed, the whole team reached out to welcome their newest, youngest member to the fold.
Meanwhile, across the field, Rocket scrambled out of Mantis’ embrace, shoving Groot into her arms in his place. “You are happy!” she informed him as he scurried away.
“You’re damn right I’m happy. Quill! You never told me Earth had such great guns!”
“They didn’t used to,” his friend whispered.
“Hey, what’s got you so down?”
“My sister,” Nebula told him. For the first time since the ship had arrived, Rocket looked around them. She wasn’t there.
“Oh. Where…where is she?”
“Dead,” Drax stated. “Thanos killed her.”
“You’re sad now,” Mantis whispered to the teenager bundled up in her arms.
“I am Groot,” the sapling mumbled.
“Hey,” Rocket interjected. “All you dust people may be back from the dead, but we still haven’t finished Thanos off.” He reached up to pat Quill’s leg. “I’m sure I can get them to upgrade our weapons so you can get the best final shot ever.” The faintest of angry smiles curled at Star Lord’s lips. “You’d like that, yeah?”
“Yeah. I would.”
-----
Time was a funny thing to play with. Thor couldn't wrap his mind around it, no matter how well Tony seemed to be keeping up. He didn't care, either, because Tony's plan had caught something so dreadfully wonderful that even Thor, after all that had transpired, couldn't contain himself. With a bone-crushing grip, he lifted his younger brother from the ground. “I knew you weren't really dead! You're Loki! You always-”
“No, no this time I was,” the smaller god gasped. Just as suddenly as the floor had vacated him, his feet found the ground again and, just a moment later, he found his brother peering deep into his eyes. He could feel the chill on his own skin as he pushed down the memories. It was not something he wanted to relive. “I'm not lying. Whatever you and your companions did, you saved me.”
“...I believe you. You're trembling. The Loki I've known does not tremble.” And so he pulled his brother into another hug, this one more subdued. At the least, Loki's feet were allowed to remain on the ground.
When Thor was absolutely certain that the form in his arms was real, and alive, and was absolutely his brother, he loosened his grip. Loki only had a moment's reprise, however, before two large hands wrapped around the sides of his head. “Loki,” he found his voice commanding.
“Yes?” the smaller god replied, eyes turning up to his own.
“Never. Never do that again.” The words gave Loki pause. He let them sink into his very soul. Then, with a gulp to push down any feelings that he wasn't ready to share, he chose his own words carefully.
“Does it really upset you that I died?”
“Of course it does! You are frustrating and infuriating and you are my brother and I love you.”
“Y-you, you?” The words stunned the smaller god, but he bottled the words up inside himself. Everyone was watching after all. Thor, for his part, was making no effort to bury his own emotions. At least, not the joyous ones. Loki could feel his fat Thor fingers digging into the sides of his head. “I am sure that you will waste no time betraying me again. That's fine. I am glad that you're alive.”
Slowly, Loki reached up to pry Thor's hands away. “...I'm not going to betray you, brother.” He squinted slightly, to gauge just how much belief Thor had left in him. The larger brother's eyes didn't brighten, his smile didn't falter, and his demeanor didn't change in the slightest. Loki realized that he had entirely worn out his good graces. “I promise you, this time, for now, I'm not lying.”
“And I know better than to believe your promises.” Thor clapped his hand down on Loki's shoulder. Loki was here. Loki was real. Loki was alive.
The smaller of the gods allowed his mouth to pull back into a smile. And though he knew Thor didn't trust it, it was a real smile.