[Third Person's PoV]
Natasha was fast asleep after her operation, her breathing slow and steady. After nearly an hour, her eyes began to flutter open.
As she slowly regained consciousness, her vision focused on Tony standing over her, a surgical knife in one hand and a strange, fleshy object in the other. Her sluggish mind struggled to process the scene until she turned her head slightly and spotted Melissa holding a cooler with both hands.
Suddenly, Natasha's eyes snapped open, her heart pounding in her chest. She jerked her head back toward Tony, and that's when she saw it clearly—the foreign object in his hand was a liver, blood dripping from his gloves.
"I told you we should've been quicker about this!" Tony whispered in a panicked voice, glancing nervously at Natasha.
"Quick! Put it back in before she notices!" Melissa hissed urgently, popping open the cooler and shoving it toward Tony.
Natasha bolted upright in bed, scrambling backward in a panic as her hands flew to her sides, frantically checking her abdomen.
Phttt!
Tony was the first to break. The surgical knife and liver flickered and vanished into thin air, revealing them as nothing more than holograms—along with the blood on his gloves.
"Hahahahahaha!" Tony doubled over, clutching his stomach as he laughed uncontrollably.
The cooler in Melissa's hands glitched and disappeared too, exposing it as another hologram. "Hehehehe!" Melissa burst into a fit of giggles, nearly doubling over herself.
The two of them leaned against Natasha's bedside, laughing hysterically. Melissa was gasping for air, waving her hands frantically. "I'm sorry! Hahaha—I'm sorry! Tony made me do it! I'm sorry—oh no, I'm gonna pee! Hahahaha!"
"My stomach's cramping—Hahaha! Ow! Hahaha! I'm sorry! But your face—!" Tony slid to the floor, holding onto the surgical bed for support as he continued laughing.
Natasha sat there with a completely unimpressed look on her face. Her tongue moved inside her mouth, pressing against her teeth, while she stared at them with a deadpan expression.
It took a few minutes before Tony and Melissa finally calmed down. As they both sat gasping for breath, they risked glancing at each other—only to burst out laughing all over again.
Natasha sighed deeply, exasperated. Once they finally settled down, she asked flatly, "Are you two done?"
"Yeah, haha… yeah, we're really sorry about that," Tony said, still catching his breath. "I had to do it after what I said when we put you under."
"You didn't have to do anything," Natasha scoffed.
Melissa wiped the tears from her eyes, smudging her makeup in the process. "We really are sorry, though… So, how are you feeling? Any pain?"
"Apart from the heart attack you just gave me?" Natasha raised an eyebrow but then leaned back against the bed, her hand drifting down to rest on her abdomen. Her expression softened, her eyes closing. "Complete," she whispered.
Tony and Melissa fell silent, watching as Natasha's face grew contemplative.
"It feels like… like a part of me that's been missing for a long time has finally come back," she murmured.
A heavy silence settled in the room. Then, tears began to well in Natasha's eyes. She tried to hide her face, but the tears slipped through, staining the back of her hand. Her shoulders trembled with restrained sobs.
Tony and Melissa exchanged a knowing glance, their earlier mischief forgotten. They both stepped forward, wrapping Natasha in a comforting embrace.
Even someone trained to suppress her emotions couldn't hold back everything she'd carried inside.
After a while, Natasha pulled back, wiping at her face with an embarrassed expression. "S-Sorry you had to see that…"
"Don't worry. We get it," Melissa said softly, handing her a box of tissues, which Natasha gratefully took.
Tony gave her a warm smile. "The others are waiting outside to congratulate you. Mind if I let them in?"
Natasha blinked, surprised. "What? Shouldn't they be busy with the situation in Sokovia?"
Tony chuckled. "Yeah, but they were worried about you—and the operation. They figured that could wait. You were… more important."
Natasha's eyes widened in disbelief. She leaned back, shaking her head with a small smile. "Those fools…"
Seeing the warmth in her expression, Melissa asked, "So, shall we let them in?"
"Yes… that'll be alright," Natasha nodded.
"We'll give you a moment," Tony said, and with that, he and Melissa stepped out into the hall, where the Avengers were waiting just outside her door.
Clint stood at the entrance, holding a basket of fruit while the rest of the team hovered nearby, glancing at him for the go-ahead.
"Your Make-a-Wish is waiting inside," Tony quipped, jerking his thumb toward Natasha's room.
Stark snorted in amusement as it would be something he would say, but the others just shook their heads as they started filing into the room. Clint lingered for a second, placing a firm hand on Tony's shoulder.
"Thank you," Clint said sincerely. "You have no idea how much this means to Nat."
He gave Tony a playful wink. "Now she might actually start thinking of you guys as her own personal heroes."
"Just get inside already, you cornball," Tony retorted, rolling his eyes.
Clint just chuckled and followed the others in. As he opened the door, Stark's voice drifted in after him, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Congrats on having your baby room up for business again~"
Melissa groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead. "Anyways what do we do now?" she muttered.
Tony sighed, his tone turning more serious as he looked at her. "I guess there's only one thing left to do. We should pack up and get ready to leave. Feels like we've overstayed our welcome."
"I was afraid of that…" Melissa murmured, rubbing the back of her neck. She placed one hand on her hip, the other still resting at her nape. "Guess we better get started."
Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out a miniaturized version of the ship they'd arrived in. Shrunken down, it looked like nothing more than a fancy toy. The two of them made their way to a secure location in Avengers Tower and set the ship on the ground.
Taking a step back, Tony tapped his watch. The ship began to expand rapidly, growing past their height in mere seconds.
Once the ship was at full size, Tony and Melissa headed inside, immediately diving into a systems check. They inspected for any hidden damages caused by their last rough landing.
"Looks like some of the wiring got dislodged during that crash," Tony muttered, examining a panel. "But it's nothing we can't fix. Should be done in, what, 20 to 30 minutes?"
They began disassembling sections of the ship to work on the internal components. As Tony carefully reconnected two red wires, he spoke up.
"So, Friday, how's that list of things I asked you to retrieve coming along?"
During the downtime after Natasha's surgery—and while they waited for her to wake up—Tony had been working on a few side projects. He'd tasked Friday with discreetly gathering some materials and data.
"The matter has been handled," Friday's voice chimed through the ship. "I've retrieved the samples and gravity cores from the Chitauri—the same ones responsible for the attack on New York, and the reason the group known as The Avengers first assembled. The samples and cores are en route and will arrive in approximately five minutes."
"Good," Tony said, nodding as he twisted the wires into place. "And the virus?"
"All data concerning the Extermix virus has been successfully replicated and stored in my systems," Friday reported. "Additionally, I have retrieved sufficient data from Wakanda regarding their Vibranium resources."
"Excellent," Tony grinned. "I've got my own stash to study, but a few hundred years of Wakandan research should be useful. Any trouble getting that data?"
"At first, yes," Friday admitted, a hint of smugness in her tone. "But once I identified the weaknesses in their security systems, it was a simple matter to slip in—and out—without detection."
Tony chuckled at her confidence, while Melissa stayed mostly quiet, focusing on fixing her side of the ship's systems in preparation for their journey home.
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