In my opinion, the hardest thing after the battle last week was realizing that all our shit was gone. The only recoverable things from the Compound were the files in the basement. Which aren't all that useless, but I'd like to have my clothes and personal items back. And my cat. Pepper immediately made it a project to begin rebuilding the Compound and in the meantime, a few of us had to rent apartments in New York. Thankfully, there was an available room connected to Steve's apartment that he had lived in over the past five years. Wanda and I moved into that apartment and Sam and Bucky moved in with Steve. It was like living in the Compound again, but more tight-spaced and musty. 

"Does this look alright?" Wanda stepped out of her room, wearing a black, cardigan sweater with a black shirt underneath and black dress pants. 

"Mhm." I turned away from the window. 

"I feel like I might be underdressed." Wanda looked down at her outfit. 

"Why's that?" I asked. 

"Well, I feel like I should be wearing something similar to yours-" Wanda gestured to my plain black spring dress. 

"This was the first thing I saw in the store," I explained. "Don't worry about it, you'll know everyone there." I walked away from the window and sat down on the couch. "I'm betting that Thor won't be dressed so fancily clad as you might think he would." This got a laugh out of Wanda and I smiled. 

A knock came to the door that connected our room to Steve's and I stood up to answer it. I opened the door to reveal Bucky standing there, wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants with his hair tied back. He looked like he had just woken up. 

"What's up?" I greeted. 

"Hi," he returned. "I was just wondering if you wanted the leftover pizza we had last night." He pointed his thumb towards the kitchenette. "Steve and Sam are in the lobby, don't tell them." 

"You guys had pizza without us?" I mocked a gasp. 

"How dare you," Wanda added behind me. 

"That's why I'm asking if you want the leftovers." Bucky smiled. 

"Sure, we'll take it." I nodded. 

Bucky looked at my dress for a moment. "You look nice." 

"Thanks," I said, then looked at his getup. "Why aren't you dressed." 

"Hm?" 

"For the funeral," I explained. 

"Was I invited?" Bucky looked at Wanda then back at me. 

"Yes, why wouldn't you be?" I asked. 

"I just thought- nevermind," Bucky sighed. "I don't have anything to wear." 

"You probably do," I said, squeezing past him and walking into the apartment. 

Bucky turned around and followed me as I walked to his bedroom and opened his closet that was filled with a small number of clothes. I went through the hangers, looking for any item that was black. 

"How is your arm feeling?" Bucky asked and I glanced at the bandages wrapped around my right arm. 

The damages that were done to my arm during mine and Clint's escape from the Outriders in the sewer system were nothing compared to the permanent damages on Bruce's arm after snapping everyone back, but it still hurt like hell. The side of my face had healed quickly, a small scar branched across my cheekbone and I had joked that the Red Skull would have loved to have a face like this. Steve and Bucky did not think that was funny. My arm was taking its precious time to heal and if I were to take off the bandages, I'd expose the still raw, burned flesh underneath. 

"It's alright," I answered. "It hurts every now and then, but if I do the minimal movement, we're good." 

I turned my attention back to Bucky's closet. Most of his clothes were henleys, something he had not let go of since the 1940s, and jeans. Finally, I found a pair of black jeans and a black, leather, bomber jacket. I pulled out the jacket and turned to face Bucky. 

"Where did you get this?" I held it up. 

"Uh, I was out with Sam and Steve. Sam convinced me to get it," he explained. "I didn't really have a use for it." 

"Could have worn it on one of our dates, but okay." I handed him the jacket and grabbed the black jeans. "Go get dressed, we're leaving in an hour." 

Bucky retreated to the bathroom and shut the door. I turned around to face Wanda who stood in the doorway and I smiled, shaking my head. Wanda let out a laugh and I collapsed onto the couch in the boys' apartment. I heard the shower turn on in the bathroom and Wanda walked to the fridge and opened it, looking for the hidden treasure of leftover pizza that Bucky had promised. I leaned my head back to watch her take out the box and open it. 

"Did they eat it all?" I asked.

"Nope," she frowned. "They left us one whole half of a cheese pizza." 

"How generous," I joked. 

"Do you want a slice?" Wanda looked at me. 

"Sure." I stood up and walked around the couch to the kitchen and took a slice from the box. 

Sam and Steve had come back to the room before Bucky had finished getting dressed. I nodded to both of them, not wanting to speak threw a mouthful of pizza crust. They waved back and walked fully into the apartment. Both of them were wearing suits and Wanda gave me a look, referring to her worry about being underdressed. I held up my hands defensively and swallowed my mouthful then turned to Steve and Sam. 

"So none of you told Bucky that he was invited?" I asked. They both looked at me, their faces told me that they had not. 

"I thought that you told him," Steve said. 

"She didn't!" Bucky's voice came from inside the bathroom followed by the sound of a blowdryer. 

I gave Steve a thin smile and shrugged. Shortly after, Bucky stepped out of the bathroom with his hair brushed and wearing the jacket and jeans. 

"Ooh, give us a little spin!" Sam teased. 

"No," Bucky scoffed. 

I laughed and walked up to him, placing a kiss on his cheek. "You look handsome." 

"Thank you." 

~~~

I felt good to see Tony again, but only in hologram form as we watched him give his last message that he had filmed sometime before the Time Heist. Pepper, Morgan, Happy Hogan, Rhodey, Steve and I were all watching this message in the living room of the Stark household. 

"So I thought I'd probably better record a little greeting... In the case of an untimely death on my part. I mean, not that, death at any time isn't untimely. This time travel thing that we're gonna try and pull off tomorrow, it's– it's got me scratching my head about the survivability of it all. It also had me thinking that I should probably say things to everyone that is near and dear to me. Pepper," he began and Pepper's face lit up. "You have no idea, or maybe you do, of how much you helped me just, live. Thank you. Rhodey," this caused Rhodey to look at the hologram, tears rolling down his face. "Thank you for coming up with ridiculous lies to get me out of trouble, like missile tests." Rhodey smiled and looked down. "Happy, you are the best security guard anyone could ask for, Morgan is in good hands." Happy smiled and glanced down at Morgan who sat on the couch, cuddled up to her mom. "Eleanor," this caused me to sit up. "I'm sorry that I sucked at being a caregiver and became a strict dad, but, I think Howard would be proud. You did good, hon." I smiled and wiped the tears that began rolling down my cheeks. "Cap... Rogers... Steve, get yourself a life." As Tony said this, he winked playfully and a few of us chuckled. "That took some weight off my chest, whew. That's the thing. Then again, that's the hero gig. Part of the journey is the end." Tony suddenly got up and walked towards his camera. "What am I even trippin' for? Everything's gonna work out exactly the way it's supposed to." He leaned down and smiled, looking straight at Morgan. "I love you 3,000." 

The message ended and the hologram cut out. There was a moment of silence among the group as we processed the message and recovered. 

We followed Pepper as she carried a wreath out of the house to an audience waiting outside for the funeral. On top of the wreath was Tony's first arc reactor which Pepper had framed with the words "Proof That Tony Stark Has a Heart" back in 2008. We walked onto the dock and Pepper leaned down and placed the wreath in the water and stood up to silently watch the wreath float away. Steve placed his arm around my shoulder and I leaned my head down to rest on his chest. 

~~~ 

I walked up the steps of the porch to the house, where many of the funeral attendees were, helping themselves to refreshments or food. My goal was to see Pepper and Morgan, but I stopped in the doorway when I saw Steve and Bucky standing at the corner of the porch, deep into a conversation. I stepped into the doorway but stayed within earshot to hear what they were talking about. 

"It's a bad idea," said Bucky. 

"Why-" Steve began. 

"Because it's going to mess with-" 

"You don't know what I saw, Buck." 

"I know exactly what you saw," Bucky's voice raised slightly and I frowned. "I had to see it for 40 years. It's not going to change into anything good. Just leave us be. Don't try to change others' story, make your own." 

I slipped back into the house and grabbed a glass of water, trying to think about what their conversation could have been about. What did Steve see? I shook my head and walked up to Pepper and Morgan, forgetting about the conversation altogether. 

~~~

A newly built Quantum platform sat in front of me, Steve, Sam, and Bucky in the woods next to the old Compound grounds. Bruce stood behind a control panel, flipping all the switches and pressing all the buttons to prepare the time machine. I closed the briefcase that carried all six Infinity Stones after counting them maybe ten times. 

"Now, remember– You have to return the stones to the exact moment you got them. Or you're gonna open up a bunch of nasty alternative realities," Bruce said to Steve, who was wearing his Captain America suit. 

"Or open up more alternative realities that we already did?" I muttered and Steve stifled a laugh. 

"What's that?" Bruce looked up. 

"Don't worry, Bruce. Clip all the branches," Steve changed the subject. 

"You know, I tried." Bruce's tone turned solemn. "When I had the gauntlet, the stones, I really tried to bring her back." He looked at Steve and I. "I miss them, man." 

"Me, too." Steve nodded. 

Steve and I walked to the platform and Sam walked up to us. Behind him, Bucky was staring at the Quantum platform, his knack for futuristic things keeping him busy. 

"You know, if you want, I can come with you," Sam offered. 

"You're a good man, Sam," Steve smiled. "This one's on me, though." Sam smiled at him and they exchanged a hug. 

Steve then walked over to Bucky, who turned and smiled thinly. 

"Don't do anything stupid 'till I get back," Steve said. 

Bucky laughed and glanced away. "How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you." 

The two best friends hugged each other tightly before pulling away. 

"Gonna miss you, Buddy," Bucky said with a strain in his voice and I began to wonder if they both knew something that I didn't. 

"It's gonna be okay, Buck," Steve assured. 

He turned to me, a soft smile spread on his lips. I cocked an eyebrow, waiting for him to say something first. Steve quietly chuckled and looked down. A thought came to my head and I remembered the discussion I overheard between him and Bucky. My brows furrowed and I looked at the Quantum tunnel, realizing something without even having to be told. Steve saw something in 1970 and I had a feeling I knew what it was. I took a step forward and hugged him tightly. 

"Don't change anything," I whispered. 

"What do you mean?" He whispered back. 

"Don't take me out of cryo..." I mumbled. Steve's head turned slightly and I could tell he was confused by what I had just said. "What happened, happened. It'll fuck up everything, just leave us be. As you said, We'll be okay." 

Steve returned the tight embrace and we stayed there for a few minutes before I pulled away and clapped his arm, trying to end the emotional moment then and there. Steve walked over to the Quantum portal and donned the Quantum suit. I walked to the control panel and stood next to Bruce. 

"How long is this gonna take?" Sam asked. 

"For him? As long as he needs," Bruce answered. 

"For us? Five seconds," I added.

Steve picked up Mjolnir, that needed to be returned to, of course. 

"Ready, Cap?" Bruce asked and Steve nodded. "Alright. We'll meet you back here, okay?" 

"You bet," Steve said. 

"Ellie, flip the do-dad." Bruce pointed and I did so. "Going quantum. Three, two, one–" 

There was a flash and Steve disappeared into the Quantum portal. The forest was silent for a second before Bruce began counting. 

"And returning in, five, four, three, two, one–" Bruce pressed a button and I flipped the do-dad switch. 

Steve didn't appear on the pad. I breathed out and Bruce looked around the equipment. 

"Where is he?" Sam asked. 

I walked out from around the panel and stood next to Bucky, who was keeping a very calm composure as he scanned the area. 

"I don't know. He blew right by his timestamp," Bruce said. "He should be here." 

Bucky turned away from the pad and I followed his gaze towards the lake. 

"Son of a bitch..." A small smile spread across my lip and I took Bucky's hand. 

"Well, get him back." Sam looked at the Quantum platform. 

"I'm trying," Bruce said. 

"Get him the hell back!" Sam shouted. 

"Hey, I said, I'm trying!" Bruce shouted back. 

"Sam," Bucky spoke up. 

Sam walked toward us and followed our gaze to the old man sitting on a log facing the lake. The three of us walked forward and stood a few feet away. 

"Go ahead." Bucky had a smile forming and looked over to Sam. 

Sam hesitantly walked up to the now aged Steve who sat on the log. As they spoke, Bucky squeezed my hand and took in a deep breath. I watched Steve with amazement. Amazement that he really pulled off such a move, but he had listened to both Bucky and I. He had made his own story. Steve turned to the canvas bag that sat next to him and unzipped it, pulling out a new Shield. He looked up at Sam and held it out to him, smiling. Sam looked over to me and Bucky, mostly to Bucky for approval. Bucky nodded with a soft smile and Sam slowly took the Shield, holding it up. It looked good. 

"Ellie," Bucky said softly. 

"Hm?" I glanced at him. 

"Are you happy?" He asked. 

My lip twitched and I looked at the lake, thinking. There was nothing that I could think of that was keeping me from being happy. The impending doom of Thanos' wrath was no longer looming over our heads; The Stones had been returned; Our family was back, everyone was home; The Compound was being rebuilt, and I was standing next to the person who I love the most. I smiled and looked up at James, he returned the smile. 

"I am." 

We looked back at Sam and Steve. Sam still had the shield on his arm and was grinning down at Steve. He raised his head and grinned at us. Bucky placed his arm around me and placed a kiss on my head. This was going to be the start of something very interesting.