Avengers Imagines

Cost of a Debt

A/N: The plot largely revolves around endgame. Also, this imagine is going to be dark. Of those two things, I have warned you beforehand.

(Tony x Reader)

"NO!"

Wanda did not hear the scream. No, she must have been too far away, but she felt it. She felt it loud and clear, vibrating in her bones and jarring her soul. It was grief - raw and unadulterated - which almost made her eyes roll back into her head.

The scene around her was awe inspiring. Thanos' army had turned to dust, as had Thanos himself, which only meant one thing - someone had worn the gauntlet and did the snap. But who? Whose mortal body possessed enough strength to behold the unbound power of the six infinity stones?

With dread coursing within her and no visible path to follow, Wanda followed the pain. The foreign pain, which became more fervent by the second. Soon enough, she could hear it - crying, and words which barely made sense between sobs.

"Tony, come back. You did it, you saved us all. Don't leave me, please.... please." It was you, knelt against Tony's unresponsive form, utterly in hysterics. It was your scream she had felt. Wanda staggered back at the sight. Indeterminately, she reached for his mind. Nothing.

Peter gently grabbed you by the arms. "Mrs. Stark, he's gone. Please get a hold of yourself." He whispered ever so lightly. You ripped away from his grip with a roar and a force so fervent, Peter was thrown back. Reaching for Tony's cheek, you patted it fruitlessly. "Wake up, Tony. Everyone is here. Wake up, look. We won."

A teary eyed team stood with their heads hanging; none with enough nerve remaining to so much as call your name. Ultimately, the Hulk stepped up. He picked you up by the waist and placed you on his palm. Your screaming had reduced to silent weeping but it was there. He stroked your head with his forefinger. It was all he could do.

At the funeral, you appeared to be as alive as Tony himself. The team was gathered inside the house (team? What team? There was no team only a bunch of strangers who would go on to take after the Avengers), wanly chewing their food, doing what social convention dictated them to do. You stood there hugging yourself, leaning against the counter, eyes trained on the door. If one did not know any better, they would say you were waiting.

Stephen was the first to break. "I am deeply sorry for your loss, (Y/N). But he is gone. You are not. You have to stop living like you're dead. You cannot let yourself-"

"And why is he dead, Strange?" You snapped, quickly. For a panicked moment, Stephen feared the accusation would come upon him. That he saved a man from dying only to let him live as a sacrificial lamb, to have him die when the time was right. However, you were not looking at him anymore.

You were addressing, yelling at, to be more precise, the original recruits. At least whoever was left."Tony knew Thanos was coming years before he even stepped foot on this planet. He tried to tell you all, didn't he? And what did you do? You fought him until he was bruised and bloody. Eight years he worked with this...this team and none of you showed him as much as an ounce of appreciation. The only thing I regret is not saying this while he was still alive."

Positively fuming, you felt tears stinging your eyes. But you would not cry, not in front of them. Turning at your heel, you swiftly made it for the stairs. "You can show yourselves out."