The Seventh Stone (Stony Marvel Story)

(Chapter 7)

My hands pressed firmly on the surrounding glass.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Bruce yelled through the intercom. I locked eyes with Nat, giving her a firm nod before confirming, "Ready as I'll ever be." Tighting on the helmet and securing the armor, I really wondered if this was actually good or actually insane.

"So, you know the drill," Bruce explained. "Five milliseconds here, five minutes there. Find Steve and once you're in a secure location, right after those five minutes are up, you will be transferred back here. If there is an error, or a delay of any kind, a signal just like this will be broadcasted." He reached over to the machine and pressed a button. A screeching, staticky noise came out.

I cringed at the foulness. "Alright... ALRIGHT I THINK I GET IT." I commanded him to turn the horrid sound off, catching Scott snickering at my discomfort.  Bruce turned off the sound, and my muscles relaxed.

"It's going to feel tight, and dizzy-warrying, and a mess down there," he continued, "but once you get to 2018 you HAVE TO act as fast as humanly possible. Try to stay away from everyone as much as you can, especially yourself. 2018 Tony is going to have a difficult time registering he had a downgrade in looks."

"I e-excuse me?" I was about to go off but Bruce shut down the lights and started to power the system. That man is going to get a visit from the wrath of Tony Stark when he returns, I thought to myself maleficently when all pieces of matter rattled and broke.

Suddenly I was falling.

Atoms were being spilt as neutrons faltered on their own plateau. It was a mechanical nightmare. I would scream, but no sound would register. They were dancing, arm and arm, but no connection, rather broken, stolen charm.

I was screaming when he spoke. "Stay," he whispered, gripping onto my hand.

But I couldn't, and I was being pulled away from all that mattered and space and time, the things that shaped us all as a kind.

I was screaming when he whimpered, "Please."

And art of all beautiful forms rang. Church bells and flashes of red and blue, I kept all these things but I wouldn't to you.

"Please."

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I landed on my feet. My head rang with broken promises and pitiful flashes of light. I blinked hard, trying to grip on my location. Looking up, I knew exactly where I was.

T'challa was wrapping Bucky's metal arm in the window behind me. Wanda was seated next to Vision, who was getting work done on the infinity stone implemented in his head. Nat was pacing on the bottom floor, flicking away something from her hands.

It was inevitable. Thanos was coming.

As I started to walk toward the building, a loud, unearthly noise came from the sky. I looked up and watched the flying donut touch ground. "Lovely, this stupid thing is back," I grumbled to myself, dusting off my blasters and starting to run towards it.

"Tony? What are you doing here?" I spun around, grimacing when I saw Wanda. "I thought you were with Strange and them holding Thanos off... How did you get here?"

The past's answer bubbled up to the surface.

"I-..." I started to say, getting cut off by a large crack of thunder. We both looked up at Thor, who was obviously very angry at flying donut. To keep it fair, we were all pretty pissed at that thing.

"No time, explain later," Wanda said, waving her arms to release her red sparkles. I looked down at my watch, groaning when I realized I had already wasted a minute. Running away, past the buildings, I came to the edge of Wakanda (where I was originally supposed to land). The Avengers were lined up at defense, talking to Thanos and his lovely crew.

I looked around for the tree. Jogging around, nudging past Wakandan soldiers, I prayed to anything that the stupid tree would just appear.

Just out of a nightmare, it appeared.

With Steve right next to it.

Steve.

He was alive .

My breath hitched, and I stumbled back a bit. The fears, the nightmares, the post-drawns, they were... gone. He was there, standing in his stupid spangle uniform with his stupid beard and his stupid hair and his stupidly god good looking body frame. I forgot how it felt to be around someone so fantastic.

Shaking off the thought, I ran up to the tree, dodging anyone who would ask any questions, and climbed up. My arms grabbed the tightest branches, and I avoided the broken ones. Scrambling for time, fighting my crazily-beating heart and flooded postulations, I perched myself above Steve. He was gripping onto his shield tightly, jaw locked angrily toward the direction of Thanos and his loser squad.

The man seriously looked legendary.

"Pstttt," I shook the branch underneath the one I was rested on, murmuring quietly, "Steve... Steve hellooo can you hear me." The man had his cold blue eyes drawn onto one subject, ignoring the dancing tree behind him.

I might have been nicer if I was not in such a crutch for time. I picked up a pinecone and threw it at his head. He spun around instantly. "OW, I... Tony?" He rubbed his neck, looking up at me.

I smiled so hard I almost fell out of the entire tree. Oh, how I have missed you.

"Give me your hands," I ordered, shoving away all of the excitement pounding through my body. "Why?" He asked, slowly putting his hands up. I extended my arms down (something new I was working on with my suits) and hoisted him up on the tree. He freed himself from their grasp and looked at me dumbfoundly.

"You look like you aged five years since I last saw you," Steve laughed, gasping slightly when I reached over and pulled him into a tight hug. I breathed in his essence, his strong figure, and his whole fraction of significance.

It really was him. No tricks of imagination, no broken dreams. It really, truly, in all of his form was him.

"I have no time to explain." I broke from the hug quickly, fixing my antenna. If I was blushing, the shade from the leaves was blocking my face. "You better do it soon," Steve murmured, still in awe from our interaction.

I muttered some codes to myself, handing Steve a red bottle for portal entry.

"Don't do it, Steve!" An angry voice yelled from the ground, traveling toward the tree.

I froze in my movement.

Oh shit.

"Is that..." Steve began to ask, but I acted quickly and threw his shield on the other side of the tree. It fell onto the ground with a thud.

"I- Oh no, oh gosh your SHIELD Cap, we better go pick it up." I spun Steve around before he noticed 2018 me storming up to the tree trying to find him so I could bite his head off.

"My shield?" He looked down at the branches that were pulled from the movement of the vibranium mass. He laughed, "How did it..."

"No questions," I put a finger to his lips. He gave me a dazzling confused smile in return. I grabbed his hand and lead him around the tree, down larger branches that touched the ground. I looked back every once in awhile at my past form, who had eventually stormed away.

Once our feet grazed the tips of the grass, my watch beeped. Steve looked at the watch, up at me, and then back at the watch. "I think you have the wrong year," he pointed to the date imprinted on the handle.

I, however, was much more concerned on the blazing screeching coming from my headset.

Something has faltered.

We weren't going back.