Post-Endgame

In Valhalla

Tony goes to Valhalla. Canon-compliant. Angst until it's not.

It certainly wasn't the way Tony had wanted to go out. If he was honest, he wanted to see Morgan grow up; hell, he even wanted to see her married (which was a big thing for him to admit, since he'd been adamant from the beginning about hunting down any boy, girl or person who ever hurt his daughter).

Peter crying and saying over and over that they'd won tore at Tony's failing heart. How broken Pepper's voice sounded as she told Tony he could rest. He didn't want to leave them; he wanted to give Peter another hug, tell him he loved him. He wanted to hold Morgan in his arms again, and scold her for playing with the rescue suit he made for Pepper.

He wanted to try and make things right with Steve, even if their friendship could never be the same again. He wanted to get to know Scott, who he'd only ever fought against. He wanted to learn how Wakanda was so advanced, and possibly steal some vibranium right from under the king's nose (okay, maybe he was kidding about that part). He even wanted to argue with the stupid, snarky sorcerer Stephen Strange again, which would sound odd if Tony wasn't dying.

But there was nothing he could do. Pepper told him he could rest, and Tony was too weak and powerless to do anything but obey. He stopped struggling, stopped fighting to stay awake and present and there. He felt himself fade away, inky blackness claiming him, and in the final second of consciousness he had, he felt nothing but an overwhelming sense of relief and peace.

He'd died for the universe, and for everyone in it. For his family, Pepper and Morgan and Peter and Rhodey. For his close friends, the Avengers and the Guardians and all the others. And, of course, for all those he didn't know; those with families of their own, unborn children, people whose stories were yet to be told.

For planets upon planets of civilisations. For animals, people, aliens and more. For every being big and small, living and dead and soon to be living. For the entire freaking universe and everyone in it.

When Tony let go, he wasn't expecting to ever think again, or even see. So it was with a shock that he slowly blinked open his eyes to what was quite possibly the shiniest place he'd ever seen. Gold and inlaid pearl flared at him from every direction, silver tiles lay under him and the cool chill of the place seeped into his bones.

He sat up, rubbing at his eyes as he tried to make sense of it. He'd been sure he'd died, he'd felt the breath leave his lungs, heard the sobs of the people he knew and loved. He looked around, confused, and pushed himself to his feet.

It was a place unlike any other he'd set foot in, more extravagant than even Wakanda, but void of any technology of any kind, advanced or not. The glare of the sunlight off of the gold and silver and the inlaid pearl and gemstones was blinding, making Tony wonder where the hell his glasses had gone. This thought made him glance down at his hands, finding the gauntlet to be gone, along with his wedding ring, and any jewellery he'd been wearing.

The clothes he wore were white, void of anything, no logos, nothing at all. Something told him these weren't the clothes he was buried in. He got the sense he was dressed up to be able to easily be told apart, a newcomer into this place. Footsteps behind him made him turn, and his eyes fell upon what he could only describe as a bellhop.

"Welcome, welcome!" The stranger was tall, almost intimidatingly so, and he was dark skinned, his eyes an odd, unnerving gold, but he was smiling at Tony like he'd won the lottery and that instantly made the genius take a liking to him. "I can't believe Valhalla is lucky enough to play host to the Tony Stark!"

"Valhalla? Like, in Norse Myths?" As soon as he asked, Tony felt stupid; Thor and Loki were real enough, so why not Valhalla?

"Exactly!" The bellhop pointed at Tony as if he'd just guessed the right answer to a million dollar question, which told Tony he was the first to ever actually know where the hell he was. "Now come on, let me show you to your room."