Separate Universe (HP/MCU)

Chapter Seventy Four

Twenty plus days had passed since Thanos had taken out have the world. Nanala could barely hold herself together, but after a stern discussion with Pepper—more Pepper talking than Nanala—Nanala had agreed to eat and drink enough for her body not to tear itself apart. Pepper had told her that Henry and Bucky wouldn't want her letting herself suffer and slowly fade away into nothing. She claimed that they'd be mad at her for letting herself starve and not sleep because of them.

Nanala was still unable to sleep. If she did sleep, it was only for a couple of hours at a time. The girl was too distraught and traumatized to get efficient sleep. Pepper had tried to help her, even offering her medication to help her sleep, but Nanala knew it wouldn't be enough. She needed sleep, she knew that, but she just couldn't do it. The nightmares were too frequent and scary for her to sleep.

She tried to use a sleeping drought, but it didn't work well. She did sleep, but the sleep was full of nightmares that she couldn't wake up from because of the drought. She needed to make a dream-less sleep potion, but with her lack of sleep, the magic she needed for the ingredients wasn't very efficient. If she didn't make the potion right, it could have very bad side effects, so it was pretty much impossible for her to make it.

"Nala," She heard,"there's something entering the atmosphere. We're going outside to check it out. Are you going to come out with us?" Natasha asked, but the girl shook her head.

"No, I'm staying inside," She answered, causing Natasha to frown,"Nat, if it's something bad, you need at least one Avenger left to avenge you." She tried to joke, causing Natasha to smirk slightly.

The girls were sharing a lot of the same pain, mostly when it came to the Barton family. The Bartons were the only family Natasha really had, other than the other Avengers. Clint was Natasha's best friend, practically her brother. Losing his wife and kids hurt Natasha greatly. Laura was a good friend of Natasha's, and the kids were three of the most important people in her life. She became close to Nanala and Henry as well though, and they became her family—just as the Bartons had.

Natasha understood Nanala's pain, for the most part, so she didn't try to force the girl into getting better or moving on. Steve may have wanted the girl to try and move on fast, but Natasha knew he wouldn't, and she wasn't going to be a contribution to Steve's bothersome ways. Natasha and Nanala both knew Steve was only trying to help, but grief was felt differently by many people, so no one knew exactly how someone else would handle a situation.

Anyhow, Nanala stayed in her room, reading yet another book that was placed next to her bed. She had acquired quite a few books over the last few days; especially once everyone realized the books were keeping Nanala's mind a little occupied. As she read her book, she began to hear talking further down the hall. Standing up, she closed her book and walked out of her room. Her eyes widened when she seen Tony Stark stumbling down the hall with the others.

"Tony?" She murmured, but he had heard her voice.

Tony looked up a bit, and he quickly spotted the young witch. Before the man could say anything, Pepper lead him into the medical room. Tony was checked over a bit, before he was placed in a wheelchair and an iv was put in his arm. Nanala stood outside, as her mind wandered a bit. She began to wonder if maybe any others had come back. She had heard from Bruce that Peter had been with Tony, and so was a sorcerer named Dr Stephen Strange, and another named Wong.

Nanala somewhat wanted to meet the sorcerer, to see if his magic was much different from her own. When she didn't see anyone else being brought to the medical room though, she realized that Tony was the only one who had made it back to Earth. He was the only one who survived Thanos out of his group. She could see it in his eyes when he was being wheeled out of the medical room, that he was hurting from all that he had seen and lost when he was away.

"Glad to see you're here, Nala." Tony murmured, as Pepper stopped him in front of Nanala.

"You too, Tony." She answered, feeling tears try to make their way to her eyes once more.

She and Tony may not have gotten along well after the Accords, but seeing him after Thanos did make her heart swell. She was happy to see him, thrilled even, and she almost wanted to cry with happiness at the idea that he had survived.

"I'm sorry, Nala, I really am. I just--" He began, unsure of his own words.

"It's fine," She cut him off,"I'm...dealing." She said, and he nodded stiffly.

"Are you coming to the meeting?" Pepper asked, making Nanala sigh.

"I'm tired of getting nothing, Pep. I can't handle anymore false hope or seeing anymore faces of people that we've lost. I just—I'm going to sit this one out. If it's good news, or anything I really need to know, I trust you, Steve, or Nat will tell me." She replied, and Pepper nodded.

"I'll let you know." Pepper murmured, as Tony watched Nanala with concern.

The poor girl was falling apart. He could see it clear as day. He could see that she hadn't been sleeping. He could see that she wasn't eating or drinking much, but he knew she was getting enough to barely survive. One way or another he wanted to try and help the girl. He knew how it felt to lose a kid, since he lost Peter, and he knew the pain wasn't going to end. He wanted to help her, and maybe it would lessen the pain in his heart...