𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐒𝐈𝐗 — a pointy hat? a broomstick?

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 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐍 that stood upon a rolling field of luscious green grass had to be Emilia's favourite place to practise her spells. Tony had, rather dramatically, unveiled the Stark's new home just mere days after little Morgan stark had been born.

 It had been a long-time coming surprise for Pepper, one in which Emilia had been clued in with. There had been countless days in which Emilia had found herself covered in paint and sawdust as she, Tony, Bruce, and Rhodey stripped the place of old wood and refurbished the insides; all while Happy Hogan did his best to keep Pepper in the dark as she waddled around Avengers Tower.

 The cabin might have looked serene from the outside, what with delicate white daisies sprouting from the flower boxes beneath the windows, a collection of tilled squares filled with vegetables and fruits of the season... Even the llama that paraded around the land and munched on the homegrown vegetables Pepper worked so very hard on.

 The inside, however, certainly held the usual Tony Stark spark; whilst the living room was cosy and filled with pillows and blankets, and while the kitchen was muted and simple; the basement was lined with glowing technology that blinked whenever Tony snapped his fingers.

 There were three bedrooms; the master in which Tony and Pepper occupied was filled with gardening books and stacks of ACDC CDs that Tony would never toss away, even if F.R.I.D.A.Y could belt the songs through her own tech. 

 The top floor held two smaller rooms; one that was painted a delightful pastel yellow. It was shrouded with plush toys and children's stories that Tony would often toss aside as he made up his own. There were paintings on the wall; a small elephant, a fluffy bunny... and the one that stuck out like a sore thumb; Iron Man.

 For once, that hadn't been Tony's decision; little Morgan had cried and cried when Pepper had attempted to pull the garish print from her chubby little hands and so it had stayed.

 The final room was Emilia's. She had argued against having a place within their family home at all and so, Pepper graciously deemed the room a 'guest room' despite having never let another person occupy it.

 Emilia had fought tooth and nail with Pepper, claiming that she'd be just fine with the couch whenever she stayed the night to babysit Morgan or watch their home whenever they'd take the time away. Tony had stifled a chortle, for he knew that Pepper could never be bested in an argument.

 Emilia's permanent place of residence was the Avengers Tower. She pottered about the place with Bruce and the two had very swiftly made Tony's lab their own; morning, noon and night they'd lean over stacks of papers dotted with equations that slowly became intelligible.

 This, however, didn't mean that Emilia hadn't stepped foot within the Sanctum filled with ghosts and lost memories.

 Each of the Three Sanctums — Hong Kong, London, and New York — had its Masters; London was lucky enough to have a master remaining when the snap had taken fifty percent of life; Hong Kong and New York had not been so fortunate.

 There had been votes from those who remained in Kathmandu and trained within Kamar-Taj; Emilia didn't want to be the Sanctum's Master. She didn't want to stroll through the empty halls alone, and she certainly didn't want to live there, but those within the Kamar-Taj had deemed her worthy of the title and she couldn't let them down.

 Thus, Emilia now stood before the glistening lake that stretched before the Starks cabin with her hands held high as fizzling amber sparks nipped at her fingertips.

 To be a master, one had to conquer the Mystic Arts and Emilia had shunned her studies of Magic in favour of keeping what power already lined her fingers from bursting forth and swallowing people whole. The only problem was that any attempts at the Mystic Arts simply reminded Emilia of everyone she had lost; The Ancient One, Wong... and Stephen.

 Even after almost two years had passed, the pain hadn't gotten any easier to deal with. The nightmares continued on, ravaging her mind and heart every single night. Guilt still tore at her gut, and though the blistering burn that had been singed into her flesh was nothing more than a slight discolouration of the skin, it still seared.

 After the events of the Snap, Emilia seemed to have far more control over what power she had, and now, knowing of the failure that her fear had ignited, she refused to hold herself back.

 "Hey sparky, you fall asleep over there?" Tony's voice called out and drifted through the wind until it caught her ears.

 Emilia rolled her eyes as she dropped her hands; the sparks clattered to the grass and promptly disappeared. Emilia twisted her neck, looking over her shoulder as she parted her lips to speak, "How can I when you're as loud as you are?"

 Tony frowned and looked at the squirming toddler in his hold, "I'm not loud, am I?" A simple babble came as a response and Tony nodded along, head bobbing with each unintelligible sputter from Morgan, "Exactly, thank you."

 "Actually," Rhodey interrupted as he lightly flicked the toddler's nose, "I'm pretty sure she just said that I'm her favourite... So..."

 Rhodey ducked as Tony's hand swatted out and a droplet slipped from his glass of lemonade that Pepper had spent the morning making.

 The wooden picnic bench was covered in various plates; a platter of vegetables that Pepper had grown in her garden, chips, cookies and a pot of salsa that Morgan had somehow managed to sneak her fingers into. The sides of her lips were tinted red, as were the tops of her little fingers.

 Morgan bounced happily on Tony's leg, watching with wide eyes as her mother took a bite of food; the little girl was nothing if not a glutton. Bruce smiled at the pair who continued to swat at each other as he slowly rose from his seat

 Bruce offered Morgan a light pat on the head when the girl clapped her hands and looked his way; she had become rather partial to both Bruce as he was, and the more... Greenified form he had reconciled with.

 Emilia watched him approach; it had been so very long since the snap had taken away friends and family, since they had all failed and been left behind to deal and suffer through the consequences. Bruce had been there for every minute of it, as had Tony.

 Her two lab partners had never yielded when her mood soured, nor when her sadness and bitterness seemed to get the better of her. It happened far more often than she'd have liked, she'd distance herself and allowed her voice to turn to stone. Yet they never took it to heart.

 She watched him pause by her side, both casting their eyes over the serene lake that merely rippled in the light summer breeze. The smell of freshly cut grass mingled with the sweet scent of the tulips that had sprouted at the water's edge.

 "How's it coming along?" Bruce asked.

 Emilia sighed as rose her hands into the air; she had been trying to replicate the very motion Stephen had used back when Maw and Cull had invaded their planet with the intention of taking the stone, the spell that split the haze that had gathered in the air.

 Her attempts had been futile thus far, only managing to create the tiniest of movements with the water by her feet.

 She twisted her hands in a movement that Bruce could scarcely keep up with, and then she pushed forth. A gust passed them by, and the loud giggles spewing from Morgan indicated that it had tickled her cheeks. No waves formed upon the lake's surface.

 "I can lift objects with my mind, I can create force fields and use a sling-ring. I can create shields out of Tao Mandalas but God forbid I try to create a breeze."

 "Maybe you're thinking about it too much." Bruce provided before he winced at his own words. He knew if he were to look at Emilia's face he'd surely find an unamused expression residing on her features. The pair of them thought about everything too much.

 "Okay, bad take..." He cleared his throat, watching — as always — with awe as Emilia shifted her stance.

 Her legs parted and bent slightly, her feet were shoulder-width apart as she inhaled through her nose and slid her eyes shut. Scarred hands hovered in the air, fingertips wiggling as sparks emitted from them. Emilia twirled them again, her movement less rigid, more poised and graceful.

 The wind picked up again and Morgan's laughter split through the air, only joined by Peppers as she grabbed her auburn hair and held it from her features. The wind whistled and the trees creaked... Emilia threw her hands forth and a glowing swirl of russet poured from her flesh. It crawled across the lake, intertwining with the breeze, and much to Emilia's surprise, the lake was disrupted.

 A small wave formed, being pushed forth by the breeze. It still wasn't quite enough, so before the water could settle into its stagnant stage once more, Emilia repeated her actions.

 Curling water swept into the air and crystal-like droplets sprayed over Emilia and Bruce's cheeks before it rumbled and toppled back down.

 Emilia teetered as Bruce bumped her shoulder, "You did it."

 She would have kept at it for the rest of the afternoon, had a cry not interrupted her victory. Morgan wailed like a banshee from her father's lap; her wide eyes clamped shut as tears strolled over her chubby cheeks.

 Emilia appeared by Tony's side at record speed, leaving Bruce by the edge of the water as he watched the rippling tide she'd aggravated.

 "Oh dear," Emilia cooed, as she watched Morgan lift her arms and try to grab for her, leaving Tony looking rather disgruntled, "Have you had enough of him? Understandable, sweetheart, come here."

 Tony huffed as he watched Morgan settle into Emilia's arms with ease, her little finger prodding Emilia's cheek as she giggled happily. The billionaire narrowed his eyes at his daughter, "If aunty Em is bribing you to like her more, you can tell me."

 Morgan blew a raspberry in his face.

 "Wow." Tony breathed in mock offence, "My own kid."

 Emilia heaved Morgan higher into the air and watched with delight as the toddler giggled and screeched. From the moment the little girl had been born, she and Emilia had clung to one another like glue; Emilia knew it was all a distraction at first, busying herself with a chittering, babbling baby, but now Emilia could scarcely let her go.

 As for Morgan, she simply adored the magic that sprouted from Emilia's fingertips, and the attention she'd receive.

 Pepper rested her chin in the palm of her hand, watching the squabble as Rhodey gave his input, fingers rubbing at his chin as though in deep thought "I don't know, Tones, maybe you should learn some magic too."

 "And get myself a pointy hat? A broomstick?" Tony snorted and promptly ducked as a spork flew his way. A ripple of blue dissipated from the cutlery and Tony turned his offended gaze to Pepper, "You see this?"

 Pepper, who had watched the whole ordeal with warm eyes, shook her head with a light hum, "See what?"

 "My kid, and my wife? Em, lay off, would you?"

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DATE: 01/12/2023

:·ﾟ★ first update of the new year! happy new year to you all, i hope this year is better than the last... we all deserve it. <3

also, made a NEW sign-off gif for the endgame portion <3

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