Tony and Sue looked at each other as footsteps sounded from the hallway and into the dining room. Booker ran to his seat at the table, before Steve Rogers stopped at the entrance from the hallway. His expression changed to a surprised one, seeing the full bowls of spaghetti in front of the family.
'Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your dinner,' Steve bowed his head slightly. Morgan licked at the last of the sauce on her face and ogled the man, recognising him from the few times she had seen him before the blip. Booker started eating again, dangling strings of pasta into his mouth. Tony eyed Steve, cautious of what his arrival at the house meant, but Sue smiled, making up for the slight scowl on the Stark's face.
'It's okay, Steve. There's some more if you wanted to join,' Sue said and Steve met her gaze, easing at her kindness.
'Yeah. That would be nice actually,' Steve smiled back and went to grab himself a bowl, putting aside the reasoning for his arrival for the time being.
After the dinner that was full of Booker's random facts, Sue made sure Morgan and Booker were taken care of by FRIDAY upstairs. The AI put on a sensory cartoon for Morgan in her cot, her room being left untouched ever since she was blipped. Sue and Tony never had the heart to change it, and now that she was back, the room was used to its full potential again.
Booker was watched over as he read one of his many thick books. He had found a new interest besides his comic books and had gotten into Tony's old papers and research content from university. Neither him nor Sue knew why the books were still in Tony's possession, but Booker had immersed himself in them as of late.
Steve sat on one of the sofas, his stomach full and content. Tony had placed himself on the opposite furniture, Sue coming in once the dishwasher was loaded. Tony and Steve had exchanged polite conversation, the questions about Tony's current state being the dominating topic.
Tony's skin was blackened and the place where his ear once sat was bare. The effects of the Infinity Stones left a decaying cell effect, the charred burns appearing to creep to the corner of his eye. But it never stretched any further across his face. The effect was stable, but his right side struggled to function as it once did. The machine with the arc reactor filled in the blanks and allowed Tony to be nearly completely mobile, but it would take time to get used to.
'Once again, I'm sorry for bursting in you guys,' Steve looked to Sue when she sat down next to Tony.
'It's alright. What brings you, Cap?'
'I came for some advice...'
'Well, I think the new diet's working great.'
Steve rolled his eyes at Tony's sarcasm and Sue lightly jabbed her elbow into his arm. Tony's head rolled to look at Sue, his expression pretending to be confused as to what he did wrong. Her eyes lingered on him before moving back to Steve. The Rogers was sat with his elbows leant on his knees and his back hunched, looking thoughtfully down to the rug under his feet. He didn't know who else to turn to, especially with the world recovering after having half of its population return all at once. Everyone was in a state of shock with the changes and although there were celebrations, there was also calls for order and compensation. But who would be held responsible was debated. The Avengers always took the hit and with Thanos gone, maybe it was time to finally retire.
The Avengers had dispersed since the battle with Thanos. The Guardians of the Galaxy returned to their ship and bid Earth goodbye, thanking the team for all their efforts. Rocket was tearful to leave those he spent the last five years with but hid his tears amongst the fur of his face.
Carol also left the planet with immense gratitude. She was especially warm towards Tony and Sue, their sacrifice for the replenishment of the universe undoubtably a selfless act. With a quick brief from Director Fury, Carol left the atmosphere in a rainbow of light that remained minutes after her departure.
As for the remainder of the team, each of them separated to their desired parts of the world. Peter returned to New York, where Aunt May welcomed him sobbing in the doorway. Thor relocated to his new home in Norway in the town named New Asgard with a workout routine in mind. T'Challa and the Wakandians took their places back in Wakanda, Bucky leaving with them as he found the advanced city theraputic. Doctor Stephen Strange and Wong went through a portal to their sanctum saying that they were always avaliable if needed. Rhodey headed to Washington, where the president was in dire need of military-grade advice on how to run a country after the recent events. Clint reunited with his family at the house he hadn't returned to in years, all that he ever cared for back in his life like it should be. Well, all except for Natasha.
Bruce was in limbo. There was a discussion of returning the Infinity Stones to their correct timelines and alternate universes. And considering Bruce had been the one with the most knowledge about the topic, he would need to be present for the operation. The situation was similar with Scott, his experience with jumping through the Quantum Realm outweighing anyone else. Tony made it clear that he wouldn't be involved in anymore time travel, and no one expected him to be with his condition. The Stones had left a stain on Tony both physically and emotionally. No one blamed him for stepping away this time, and the same went for Sue.
With Sue and Tony out of the running, there was then the decision of who would be the one to return the Stones. Johnny had put his hand up at first, but one glare from Pepper altered his eagerness. She only just got Johnny back and he needed to spend some crucial time with Ruby, who was already showing signs of having the same abilities as him. Her temperature spiked randomly and the bottom of Pepper's curtains in their living room were charred from a firey accident. Ruby had been distraught at what she did, but her parents insisted it was okay and Johnny had held a large grin on his face ever since. He had tried hard to be a good father despite his five years of absence, but Ruby was very open-minded for her age. She let him tuck her into bed and show her his candle-wicked fingers, flames occupying the tips and easing Ruby into the thought of having the same powers. It would take time for Johnny to slip into fatherhood with Ruby already being four, but their small family was progressing, and they were also located in Maine to be close to the Stark family.
Returning the Infinity Stones eventually fell onto Steve's shoulders. It felt right for the leader of the team to be responsible for the delicate mission. They had set a time and date and the Quantum pad would be made to send Steve back in one trip. It would last five seconds before Steve would be back with the Stones in their right places, as if they never left their designated timelines. Scott, Bruce, Bucky and Sam would be there, the latter mostly present for support reasons. Sam was a good friend of Steve's, and since Johnny had a lot of catching up to do with his family, the Wilson would be there for when Steve got back. Bucky would be there for similiar reasons, but he would then return to Wakanda. It was now his new home.
Everyone was allocated for, except for Wanda. Sue had last seen her after the battle, but she wasn't in much of a state to discuss with the Maximoff about her next endeavour in life. Sue saw Wanda leave the site as the only person who was still left with no one. There was no Pietro and no Vision, the people that Wanda yearned for more than anything. But Sue had watched her grow throughout the years, and she was sure that Wanda would find her place in the world where she could be happy.
As for Susan and Tony, retirement was the only thing they saw in their future. They reunited with Morgan after the battle and Sue clutched her daughter tighter than ever before. At the sight of the veins on her mother's face that were yet to disappear, Morgan wailed from what she didn't understand. But Sue didn't care and sobbed in joy while she buried her face into Morgan's small shoulder. Tony held it together better than his other half, but he still cried at the sight of his daughter's small face that hadn't aged since the blip. They had lost five years with her, but they would be making up for them for the rest of their lives. They would devote their time to their children and hang up what was left of their half-destroyed suits. Their fighting days were well and truly over.
'I've been thinking about taking back the Stones,' Steve begun, his stare flickering up from the floor to the two on the opposite sofa. 'And maybe... not coming back.'
'What do you mean?' Sue asked in confusion. Steve looked uncomfortable to elaborate and his chewed on his top lip to busy his jitters. He had thought about his time in the twenty-first century and all that had been thrown at him. Steve fought aliens, robots and even his own friends, but he never felt accomplished. He never really believed he fit in. It was always like there was something missing in his life, and when he saw couples like Sue and Tony, he knew that he had missed out on something great.
'I've never felt right after coming out of the ice. Like I've missed so much. Being with the team has kept me distracted, but now that there's the opportunity, I want to... go back.'
'You mean you wanna have that one dance?' Tony said, his eyebrows raised, and Steve gaped at him.
'Do I have to ask how you know about that?'
'Do I need to remind you how you were my dad's first love? He talked about you like you were his high school prom date that he never got over,' Tony's tone hinted resentment but Steve knew he was joking.
'Wait, Steve,' Susan interrupted with her eyes pinched shut, her brain trying to understand the proposition. 'Let me get this right. You want to go back to the war? To the forties?'
'I missed a lot, Sue. I have another chance to go back. Be where I was meant to be.'
Sue could see that Steve was sincere. His blue eyes were troubled but a glint of what could be kept them alight. There was a smile that Sue thought she had seen Steve wear a few times in knowing him, but it never stretched to its full potential. She remembered when Tony dug through the background of SHIELD before they committed to joining the Avengers and remembered the few founders from the file. Tony had pointed out that Margaret Carter, or Peggy, was one of the founders and the woman that his father mentioned along with Steve from the wartime. The rest was history, but Sue always assumed that there was a woman Steve left behind.
'Tony?' Sue said after a moment. 'Is it possible?'
'Of course, it's possible. We've proved that,' Tony took Sue's hand that rested on her knee, before turning to back to Steve. 'But remember, Cap, you're still messing with time. We still don't know if there's consequences yet. And I'm assuming you don't plan on coming back.'
Sue stayed tight lipped about what she knew about their supposed time travel. She had been able to grasp the concept of the Quantum Realm reaching alternative universes, while remaining in your own timeline required another form of time travel, one that the surfer could achieve. But she hadn't spilt this information as she wasn't sure if it would change anything about returning the Stones, or about their effect on the alternate timelines. Johnny was still unaware about Sue's intervention in his past, and she chose to keep it that way.
'I know what the consequences are. But at this point, I don't think the world needs the old stars and stripes anymore,' the edge of Steve's lip hitched up in a half smile. Sue thought it was a sad smile, but when she looked closer, she saw that it was one of relief. The world would always need someone to protect it, but just like her and Tony, Steve felt like he had done his duty. It was time to hang up the shield and start living.
'We'll miss you, Steve,' Sue stated quietly. 'You deserve a good life. More than anyone.'
Steve let out a huff of a laugh through his nose. Sue always had a place in his life, and he admired her. She was able to settle into a normal life and he wanted the same smooth transition. Peggy waited for him for years, and he never returned. But now he could fulfil his heart's desire and have the slow dance, the one where he would try and not step on her toes.
'Good luck, Cap,' Tony smiled genuinely and even leaned forward, ignoring the pinch in his right side at the movement. 'Sue's right. You do deserve it.'
'Thanks Tony...'