Chapter Text
The universe had stood on the brink of silence, but maybe that was for the best, after everything it had been through.
At one point in history, half of all life vanished with a simple snap of fingers, the Avengers fought against Thanos in Wakanda and Titan, but they weren´t able to stop the snap of fingers and the cathastrophe that came after that: Empty cities, broken families, and an entire planet learning to survive with a wound that seemed impossible to heal.
Until the heroes managed to bring back all those who had disappeared, but then Thanos reappeared, and a war for the survival of the universe was waged.
The final battle against Thanos ended with the Avengers' victory, but also with sacrifices the world would never forget. Tony Stark originally died when he used the six infinity stones to destroy Thanos and his army, but then Dr Strange used the time stone and with the help of the other infinity stones, Tony came back to life and after the battle Steve Rogers decided to return the infinity stones to their original timeline and when he returned the soul Stone, Natasha came back to life because the interchange was reverted and returned with Steve to the original timeline.
Monuments were erected, museums were filled with memories, the battle inspirated another people with and without superpowers to fight for make a better world and for the first time in a long time, Earth could breathe again in peace.
The years came and went. Cities were rebuilt, the people brought back by the Blip learned how to live in a world that had moved on without them, and the Avengers did what they always had—kept going and helping the world piece itself back together.
Avengers Compound.
Inside, things were surprisingly quiet. For the first time in what felt like forever, everyone at the Compound was grateful for the calm.
In one of the labs, Tony was inspecting one of his suits while bouncing ideas off Bruce about new upgrades he could work into the design. Every now and then, Bruce found himself marveling at Tony's relentless drive to improve things—even when the changes were so small most people would never notice.
"I'm telling you," Tony said, barely looking up from the armor, "if we can boost its energy efficiency by another twenty percent, we could probably generate enough power to keep three entire cities running."
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "Tony, it's a suit, not a power plant."
A grin spread across Tony's face as he glanced at a small monitor on the workbench. "Not yet. But maybe I could build a compact power station based on this design—something that could supply electricity to whole communities." His smile widened. "Just think about the possibilities."
Bruce let out a quiet laugh. Of course Tony had already found himself another project.
Elsewhere in the training room, Steve was leading a training session for a small group of soldiers who had volunteered for the chance to learn from him firsthand.
They practiced new combat techniques under Captain America's watchful eye, while Natasha occasionally joined the drills before stepping back to observe and offer pointers of her own.
Steve's shield sliced through the air, struck a training dummy dead center, and ricocheted neatly back into his waiting hand.
"Listen up," he said, his voice calm but carrying effortlessly across the room. Every pair of eyes stayed fixed on him. "Strength isn't what matters most. What matters is knowing why you fight. That's what keeps you moving when every part of you wants to quit."
Natasha smirked from the sidelines. "Pay attention, boys. You don't get life lessons from Grandpa Steve every day."
A few of the soldiers chuckled under their breath.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny, Romanoff," Steve shot back, his sarcasm dry enough to earn another round of laughter.
When he finished speaking, the recruits applauded before returning to their drills, eager to put his lessons into practice alongside the veteran of countless battles.
Once the session wrapped up, Natasha walked over, a small stack of reports tucked under one arm.
"I'll admit," she said, "that was actually pretty fun to watch."
"Thanks." Steve wiped the sweat from the back of his neck before glancing at her. "Out of curiosity... is it true the sign-up list filled almost immediately?"
Natasha laughed softly.
"Faster than that. Last I checked, every slot was gone in under thirty seconds." She shrugged with an amused smile. "Guess people were pretty excited about the chance to train with you."
Steve couldn't help smiling, Natasha gave him a quick wave before heading off to find Clint.
Up on the Compound's rooftop, the wind whipped through Thor's hair as he stared out at the horizon. Beside him, Sam stood with his arms folded, enjoying the rare moment of peace.
"Still waiting for another alien invasion?" Sam asked.
Thor chuckled. "Something interesting always seems to happen here. If I'm being honest, that's one of the reasons I've grown so fond of this place. There's always another battle waiting just around the corner."
Sam laughed. "Hopefully not this time. For once, I'd like us to have some peace and quiet—maybe even live something that passes for a normal life. After everything we've been through... I think we've earned that."
"We have," Thor agreed, tossing a peanut into his mouth from the bag in his hand. "But if life were easy, we wouldn't be Avengers."
"I guess you've got a point." Sam shrugged before glancing over at him. "So... how's Jane doing?"
The smile on Thor's face faded, replaced by quiet sadness. "She's well... but she's fighting an illness your people call cancer."
Sam's expression fell. "Damn."
He was quiet for a moment before speaking again. "Maybe you should talk to Tony and Bruce. They've still got the Regeneration Cradle. They used it to rebuild Vision, didn't they? If surgery's an option, maybe it could help repair whatever tissue has to be removed."
Thor nodded thoughtfully. "You may be right. But first, I'm going to spend a few days with Jane. Being with her brings me peace."
A knowing grin spread across Sam's face. "I think I finally figured out the real reason you decided to stick around on Earth."
Thor laughed, the weight on his shoulders easing ever so slightly. For the first time in days, the thought that Jane could be saved gave him something he'd almost forgotten how to feel, the hope.
In another room of the Compound, Natasha and Clint were working their way through the latest intelligence reports. There was always something to keep an eye on, but this time nothing stood out.
It was almost unsettling.
"How'd training with Steve go?" Clint asked without looking up from the tablet in his hands.
Natasha smirked. "Better than expected. The old fossil managed to attract quite the crowd."
A quiet chuckle escaped Clint.
"Good for him." He scrolled through another report before letting out a sigh. "You know I almost miss the days when our biggest problems looked like this."
Natasha looked over the rim of her mug. "When exactly were things ever that simple?"
"Fair point." He set the tablet aside and leaned back into the couch.
"I've actually been thinking about retiring."
That got Natasha´s attention. "Seriously?"
Clint nodded, his expression softening.
"Cooper's almost taller than I am. Nathan doesn't need me to carry him upstairs anymore. And Lila..." A proud smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "She's already a better shot than she has any right to be." His smile lingered, but there was melancholy behind it. "I've missed too much. Birthdays. Baseball games. School plays. Family dinners. Every time there was another mission, I convinced myself it was more important."
Natasha didn't interrupt.
"You can't spend your whole life saving the world if you're never home to enjoy it," Clint continued quietly. "After everything that happened in New York a few months ago, that finally made it sink in."
She raised an eyebrow. "I thought you only gave me the short version."
"I did." He rubbed the back of his neck. "It was after dealing with the Tracksuit Mafia that I made up my mind."
Natasha let out an amused snort. "The Tracksuit Mafia?"
"I know." Clint groaned dramatically. "Never thought I'd end up fighting a criminal organization whose official dress code was cheap tracksuits and saying 'bro' every five seconds."
That earned a genuine laugh from Natasha. "Believe me, I've seen weirder things."
"I met someone during all that: Kate." His tone changed immediately. "She's very talented. Fast, smart, stubborn as hell and she actually learns from her mistakes."
Natasha's smile turned sly. "Wonder where she picked up the stubborn part."
Clint sighed. "I'm not walking into that one."
They shared a brief laugh before his expression grew thoughtful again.
"She never backed down. She screwed up plenty of times, sure, but she always got back on her feet." He paused. "Watching her made me realize something; I'm not indispensable anymore."
"That doesn't make you any less important." Natasha said
"I know." He smiled faintly. "It just means there's someone who can carry the torch when I can't."
A silence settled between them for a moment before Clint spoke again. "There was something else."
Natasha straightened in her chair.
"Kate's mother hired someone to kill us." Clint said remembering his last adventure
"Both of you?" she asked
He nodded. "I only got a good look at her once. Blonde. Fought like an absolute demon. I've never seen anyone throw that many kicks in a single fight."
Natasha froze and then she remembered something. "I think I know who you're talking about."
"You do?" Clint frowned.
She hesitated before answering. "Yelena, she is my sister."
"Wait your sister?" Clint's eyes widened like a window.
"Not by blood." A wistful smile crossed Natasha's face. "But we grew up together when we were girls, in Ohio."
She stared absently at the reports on the table.
"When Steve and I came back, Strange asked us to stay out of the public eye for a while while we readjusted." She sighed. "Yelena still thinks I died and someone must've convinced her you were responsible."
Clint closed his eyes for a second. "That explains a lot."
"Yelena doesn't take contracts she isn't willing to finish." she said
"No kidding." He grimaced. "There were a couple of moments where I was convinced she was about to kill me."
Natasha's lips curled into the faintest smile. "If she'd really wanted to—"
Clint immediately raised a hand. "Please don't finish that sentence."
"Fair enough. Maybe part of her still wasn't convinced."She laughed quietly.
Another comfortable silence settled over the room and finally, Clint rested his elbows on his knees.
"I'm done living like this, I only want to wake up next to Laura every morning. I want to be there when my kids need me. I want my biggest problem to be whether Nathan forgot his homework or Lila's getting frustrated because she missed the bullseye." He smiled to himself. "I'm going to talk to Steve about that."
Natasha looked at her oldest friend, and for once the warmth in her smile outweighed the sarcasm.
"Then you've got my support." She paused, unable to resist one last jab. "Though I'm going to miss giving you a hard time."
Clint laughed. "Yeah... I'll miss that too."
Meanwhile, out in the Compound's gardens, Bucky and Peter strolled along at an easy pace, the sky stretching overhead.
"Do you think things will ever settle down?" Peter asked. "You know... not having to fight a new enemy every few months."
"Maybe." Bucky smiled faintly, slipping his hands into his pockets. "But as long as there are people who need help, there'll always be Avengers willing to answer the call."
"Yeah, you're probably right." Peter smiled to himself. "Still... sometimes I just want to live like a normal person. You know, worry about forgetting to turn in an assignment, stressing over an exam, or getting caught chewing gum in class."
Bucky fell silent for a moment, giving Peter's words some thought.
"I get it," he said at last. "I'd like a quieter life too. I'd like to do simpler things and spend the rest of my life making up for what I've done."
He stopped walking and turned to face Peter. "But that doesn't mean evil stops existing. The least we can do is never forget what we're fighting for."
Peter grimaced slightly before nodding.
"You're right." A small smile returned to his face. "I think I want to focus more on my relationship with MJ. I was actually planning on asking her to the movies this weekend."
"Now that's something I wouldn't miss if I were you." Bucky chuckled. "Here's a piece of advice: always listen when she tells you things. Trust me, the little details matter."
"Thanks, Buck." Peter pulled a pack of gum from his pocket. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Oh, and if you're going to the movies..." Bucky added as he picked up his pace, "...try to get seats all the way in the back. It's a pretty good spot for... other things."
Peter nearly choked on his gum, his face turning bright red as Bucky walked away with a grin.
During all that time, the world experienced relative peace; things finally seemed to be healing.
The conflicts against HYDRA had ceased, as various agencies had hunted down its remnants and seemingly managed to stop them—or so it appeared.
The cosmic threats had been halted, and the heroes had found something that seemed almost impossible: normalcy.
But even in moments of calm, shadows begin to stir.
And sometimes, just when the heroes believe the war is over, a new one is about to begin.