When he woke up, Tony Stark knew where he was immediately. The stone walls featured in so many of his nightmares closed him in, but yet, felt so different from so many years ago. The small workroom in a cave, in Afghanistan, felt cold, and devoid of life in comparison to the fueled hatred and fear, heated by the active forge in the corner. He eyed the table, the plans for Mark I and the Arc Reactor still laid out on the surface, when a voice sounded behind him.

"So this is where it all began, huh?"

Tony turned, and tensed, taking in the sight of Natasha Romanoff, who was casually leant against the door frame. Still wearing her quantum suit, she looked like nothing had happened to her at all on Vormir, and yet, he knew the story. He had heard the pain and desperation in Clint's voice when the archer told them what happened, how she fell, but now, it was like a bad dream, and there she stood, absolutely fine.

"It's okay you know. When I woke up, I was back in the Red Room, staring at a blood stain on the floor. I don't know why death brings us here, but somehow, it makes sense in a way. We come back to the places where we become who we were meant to be, the origin of our own journeys, and then we are meant to move on, onto what's next."

Tony barely heard what she said, still trying to process what was in front of him. Finally, he stuttered out a faint "Natasha?", as his brain tried to catch up with what he was seeing. The Black Widow smiled at the engineer, and wrapped the man up in a hug. Finally Tony realized that he was not imagining things, and she was really there, and he hugged her back, clinging to her like a lifeline.

A few moments passed and then the two pulled away. Both of them had tears streaming down their faces, which they tried to wipe away without the other noticing, but failed. Seeing each other's tear streaked faces, they laughed, and climbed up off the floor, only then realizing at some point they had collapsed onto the hard surface.

Taking his hand, Natasha led Tony out of the cave. Outside was not the system of corridors that he remembered, but rather a garden, full of strange looking flora and fauna. She led him down a pathway and said "Come on, there are some people waiting to see you." Tony was confused for a moment, before he recognized a crowd of people standing in the middle of the garden. At the front of the crowd stood Maria Stark, her husband (his father) standing immediately beside her. His steps faltered for a moment, but Natasha dragged him closer, and Tony had to shuffle to prevent himself from falling.

When they finally reached the crowd, Maria leapt towards her son, wrapping him in an embrace. She wept into his shoulder, and he curled his arms around her, taking in her scent, her touch and her feel, exactly as he had remembered it. He began to cry again, and her grip tightened around him. A hand slowly settled on his shoulder, and Tony looked up to see the face of his father, the man he had had a love-hate relationship with for most of his life. But meeting Stark Sr.'s gaze just now, the resentment, the hatred, the anger, it all melted away, and the two men, perhaps for the first time, finally understood each other. This was the Howard Tony had met in 1970, the one who was excited for a child, and hadn't yet had the chance to become bitter at the world. Tony peeled one arm away from his mother, and dragged Howard into the fold, and for the first time, perhaps in a long time, they felt like a family again.

After what seemed like an eternity, a sharp voice resounded, saying "I know he's your son and all, but stop hogging him. Otherwise we'll be here all day." Howard chuckled, and drew back, and slowly Maria did too. Looking out at the other faces, Tony recognized his aunt Peggy, and Edwin Jarvis standing not too far away from where he stood. Behind them was Phil Coulson, and...Ho Yinsen. Seeing all of these faces again brought more tears to Tony's face, and Jarvis stepped forward, wrapping his former charge in the third hug since he got here. Jarvis whispered how proud he was of Tony, and how much he had missed him. Hearing it made something in Tony's chest swell up, and he tucked his head under the English man's chin, allowing himself to feel more like the vulnerable child that had done the same thing almost thirty years ago.

Tearing himself away from the parental figures in his life, Tony sniffled, and turned to Peggy Carter, whom he had not seen since three months into her dementia diagnosis. "Hi Aunt Peg." Tony choked out, his throat already worn from the crying. The woman he was addressing smiled, and her eyes began to water, but they both knew tears would not fall. Peggy Carter was by any means, a sentimental woman, but she was strong enough that people would not necessarily see it. But she didn't need to cry in order to show her godson how much she had missed him, and as she swept him into another hug, they both allowed an unspoken communication to pass between them. "Anthony Stark…" She states, with a stern tone. "You weren't at my funeral." Tony laughed, still on the verge of sobbing. "Sorry Aunt Peg. I don't think some of your guests would've been too welcoming at that moment."

She nodded, and said "Hmm, yes, remind me to smack Steve when he gets here. We will be having words." Instinctively, both of the Stark men and Jarvis scratched the back of their heads, clearly remembering when they had had to have words with Peggy Carter. "Yes, ma'am." Tony nodded, a small smile gracing his lips.

Finally he pulled away from his family, and shook the hands of both Phillip Coulson, and Ho Yinsen, both of them sending him smiles that told Tony that even though they were not family, they were both proud of him. Coulson made a short comment on how "You did good Stark," and Yinsen nodded, whispering "You didn't waste it. You are now the man with everything." That comment almost made Tony stop short, but then he noticed someone else, someone he didn't recognize.

He approached the man, who only appeared to be a few years younger than Tony. His blue eyes twinkled with a sense of both wonder and mischief, and Tony realized who this man was. Tony cleared his throat, and extended his hand. "You must be Ben Parker. I've heard a lot about you."

Ben smiled, and said "I know. Thank you for taking care of Peter for me."

Tony's smile faltered. "But, I didn't. He...he died because of me."

Ben shook his head. "Peter didn't die because of you. He would have passed like everyone else, whether on Earth or Titan. But he was SAVED because of you, and I could never thank you enough for that. None of us can."

Although Tony didn't necessarily believe Ben, something eased within the engineer's mind. That's right. He saved them. He saved all of them. He saved Peter. He saved Pepper, and Morgan, and Bruce, and Steve. Thor, Clint, Strange, Quill, Nebula, all of them. They're all okay now. A look of shock slowly emerged, and was succeeded by a grin. Howard stepped forward, and took his son's hand.

"Your fight is over, my boy. And now, I think we all agree, it's time you get some rest." And so Tony allowed himself to be led once more through this garden, and an establishment of homes came into view. Tony looked around, and asked "What is this place?" He tried to take in the purple sky, and the flat landscape around him. Animals of all sizes wandered around, and people milled about like it was a regular Sunday afternoon.

Maria answered the question. "It has a few names, under many faiths and customs. Some call it heaven, others Valhalla, a few call it Elysium. But I think we have all come to agree, it is home."

Trying to process the existence of an afterlife was a headache that Tony's brain refused to endure right at that moment, and so, for now, it just accepted the peaceful existence that surrounded him. Finally they stopped at a house that closely resembled the lakehouse that Tony had lived in for the last five years. His face split into a grin as he walked through the front door, his home almost exactly as it was when he left it. Morgan's toys weren't scattered around the place haphazardly, but the pictures of his wife and daughter all adorned the walls. He smiled upon spotting his wedding photo, Rhodey and Happy both behind Tony, and Natasha standing next to Pepper, as her maid of honor. Pepper was wearing a beautiful cream dress, with threads of gold shooting through the fabric into an intricate pattern of flowers and beads. It had been the first time since the snap that Tony had remembered to smile for the whole day, even when he saw all of the empty chairs dedicated to those he lost. He brushed the frame of the photo with his finger, and moved on to look at the picture of himself holding Morgan for the first time. Pepper looked beautiful, despite having just given birth, and Tony sat sideways on the bed next to her, cradling his daughter in the softest hot-rod red blanket he could find. Her little hand was wrapped around his finger, and briefly, Tony could feel the sensation of her holding onto him again. That's when he noticed a live video feed playing on the smart table in the living room. All of the remaining Avengers stood in smart, black clothing, on a small pier, and Pepper and Morgan stood at the front.

"What is this?" Tony asked. Natasha stepped forward and began to explain. "There's something like this in all of our homes. It allows us to watch our loved ones from the afterlife. They can't see or hear us, but it's a comfort to know how they're doing, even when it hurts to not do more."

"Yeah, no, I get that, but what is this? What are they doing?" Tony pointed to the feed, and Jarvis shook his head, able to understand, despite the confused faces of everyone else. "Did you think they wouldn't mourn?"

Tony turned back to the feed. Jarvis wrapped his arm around the man. "Anthony, you have had such an influence on the lives of everyone on Earth, whether they know it or not. These people you see, they are the ones you impacted the most. Pepper and Morgan, Peter, Harley, they will constantly acknowledge the hole you leave behind because the patriarch of the family is gone. The Avengers, they will see an empty chair, an empty workshop, and a voice in their earpieces will be absent forever because their friend is gone. They will feel that loss too. Rhodey will look at his armor, and will need to make repairs as the years go on, knowing his best friend is gone, and he couldn't say goodbye. Billions of people all over the galaxy will owe you their lives, and they will mourn you."

Tony looks at Jarvis, tears streaming down his face now. Jarvis takes his hands, and cups Tony's cheeks, guiding the billionaire to meet his eyes. "You were so loved when you were alive Tony, and you will continue to be loved even though you are gone. Never forget that, and never doubt that." With that, Jarvis wiped his thumb over Tony's cheekbones, sweeping away the tears on his face. Tony choked on a loud sob, and once more, found himself smothered in the arms of his family. They stayed like that until Tony fell asleep in Jarvis' arms, and Howard picked up his son, and carried him to the bed, and there Howard, Maria, Jarvis, and Peggy stayed for the rest of the night.

Natasha stayed out in the living room that night. She watched Clint and Wanda reminisce on the bank of the lake, as Pepper tucked her daughter into bed with a tiny Iron Man, and she eyed Steve as he stared a tad too long at the Infinity Stones, knowing that might not end well.

The next day, Tony and Natasha watched as Steve returned the Infinity Stones to their proper places in the timeline. The two of them sat on the couch, grasping each other's hands as he travelled to Morag, New Jersey, New York, Asgard, and then finally, Vormir. Natasha shuddered, watching Steve take in her corpse, still lying broken on the harsh rock at the bottom of the cliff. She watched as he released the stone, dropping it over the edge, refusing to acknowledge the keeper floating behind him.

And then they watched as he didn't go back. At first, they were both confused. And then Tony realized what he was doing. As Steve Rodgers put on his uniform and walked into the Stork Club, asking Peggy Carter in her prime for a dance, the man out of time finally got to go home.

They watched Steve's life over the next 70 years, watching as he got married, as he had children with Peggy, the day they celebrated her becoming Director of SHIELD, the day Peggy was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and the day she was buried. And at the end, they watched as Captain America passed on the mantle to Sam Wilson, knowing that his legacy was in safe hands.