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Tony Stark knew two things: it was cold and he was dying.
Those two things were not as related as someone might think. It was hard to say what would ultimately kill him: the subzero temperatures or the blood leaking out of his body from various places. It turned out that an angry super soldier, the fragile human body and gold titanium alloy did not mix well and Tony’s current state was the proof: chunks of alloy had been gouged deep into his body.
He'd lost feeling in his legs a long time ago. He wondered hazily if this was how Rhodey felt all the time since the accident and, in a surge of regret, knew he would not live to help his best friend walk again. His hands were going numb now. Breathing was getting harder and harder, a rattling wheeze in his chest, and every time he exhaled all he could taste was blood.
He closed his eyes and felt his chest squeeze tightly with pain.
A new scent reached his nose, spicy and familiar. It brought to mind the carnations that Ana Jarvis used to favor, and her beautiful smile when Jarvis would bring her home a bouquet after they'd been apart all day. Tony summoned all of his remaining strength to open his eyes again. He was losing his ability to see, but he could just make out several strands of curly brown hair. He stared up at them blankly and remembered his mother, in her youth, with her dark hair pinned up, and Aunt Peggy's brown curls.
"Sleep, my husband, for I am with you and all is well."
Something touched Tony's hand and he automatically obeyed the command, closing his eyes and - well, not falling asleep, but falling unconscious, so it was pretty much the same thing. He didn't dream. He remembered.
"What do you think, baby? Would you tear out their souls and eat them for Mommy? Would you do that for me?"
A unfamiliar voice, followed by familiar barking, woke Tony. He opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but soon gave up: the pain was immense, radiating across his body. Small, gentle hands helped him to sit and then piled pillows behind him so that he could lean against them without exerting himself. He accepted the help without protest, knowing that to argue would be useless.
When all was said and done, Tony found himself looking at a young woman that he only vaguely recognized. Her face and body were new, but – as always - she had dark hair and eyes and a mischievous smile that spoke of pain and death to anyone who crossed her. It was a smile that Tony had fallen in love with centuries ago.
"Persephone?" he asked hesitantly.
Her smile widened. "My love," she said, taking his hand and pressing a soft kiss to the back of it. "My lord. I'm sorry for not finding you sooner. I didn't remember who I was until Cerberus found me in a panic. He bade me to follow him. I'm glad he did, or otherwise you would've passed beyond my reach."
"Nonsense. Charon would have allowed you entry," Tony said. His mortal head ached with the knowledge pressed into it, but that was nothing new. It was always like this. Human brains weren't meant to handle a multitude of lives. He took a deep breath, wincing at the pain that shot through his chest, and forcibly pushed aside the vast majority of the memories. He would have time later to sit and sort through them, but right now there were more important things to deal with.
He was a god. More specifically, the god of the Underworld. People had been right to call him the Merchant of Death. Tony - Hades - smiled bitterly to himself. If only they knew! No one would ever trust him again. Actually, on second thought he might have been treated better if they'd known. He and his wife ruled the place where all human souls went after they passed on. Tony could decide whether someone had a peaceful afterlife, was reincarnated, or was tortured for the rest of their soul's existence. Already he could think of a few people that he wanted to enact some vengeance on once their souls reached his domain.
Of course, Tony had never been the vindictive one.
"Charon would've allowed me entry?" Persephone repeated. Her smile faded, replaced by rage. "You were dying! They almost killed you!"
"My love -"
"I will feast on their souls!" she bellowed. "Cerberus will drag them to hell and I will dance on their bodies!"
Tony winced. "Honey, that's not really -"
"I. Will. Kill. Them," she said in clipped tones, daring him to argue. Tony wisely remained silent and instead turned his attention to Cerberus.
He hadn't seen his most loyal pet in a long time. On the human plane, Cerberus looked like a normal, if large, black dog - that was, if a black dog could have three heads. He was roughly the size of a big wolf, with paws bigger than Tony’s hands. Six gleaming eyes stared happily at Tony and, as soon as they made eye contact, Cerberus launched himself onto the bed and began frantically licking at Tony everywhere he could reach.
Tony yelped in pain and Persephone immediately reacted; she’d always had a calming influence on Cerberus, and now proved to be no different. She soothed their pet and quickly coaxed him into laying alongside Tony’s body. The heat radiating off of Cerberus (the heat of the Underworld) felt amazing. Tony could still feel the cold of Siberia in his bones, and this went a long way towards helping.
“Thanks,” Tony said, looking up at her.
To his surprise, Persephone blushed. “You’re welcome. I’m sorry.”
“For what? You saved my life.”
“I want to kill your friends. I know they mean a lot to you. Thor’s told Jane so many stories about the Avengers.”
It suddenly clicked in Tony’s brain. “You’re Darcy!” he said, finally remembering where he’d seen her. A couple pictures of her had been in Thor’s file, and Coulson had given Tony all of the Avenger’s files before the Battle of New York. Tony had read through them that same night. Thor’s file had touched briefly on Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis and Erik Selvig as humans that Thor had met and interacted with.
Persephone – Darcy – looked pleased. “Yes, I am. Darcy Lewis, to be exact.”
“Darcy Lewis,” Tony repeated. He wished he knew more about her now, but he’d never imagined… He took her hand impulsively. “Don’t be sorry. I don’t think they were ever really my friends.” It hurt to admit that out loud, but it was a truth that Tony needed to face up to. He’d built up the Avengers in his head as the perfect team. He’d even created floors for all of them during the rennovation! When he thought about all the hours he’d wasted, making sure each floor was perfect, Tony wanted to smack himself. What a waste of time.
He knew better now. They’d never been a team. Not the way Tony had envisioned. Before finding out about Bucky, Steve hadn’t really cared about anything. Now, Steve’s first (and only) concern in the new world was Bucky Barnes. It actually made Tony kind of pity the Avengers who had left with Steve. He had to wonder if any of them realized that Steve would just as easily fuck them over as he had Tony if it meant that Bucky would benefit.
Darcy was watching him with sympathy written across her face. It didn’t bother him as much as it would have coming from anyone else. He squeezed her hand, wondering how long she would stay with him this time. In the lives where he and Persephone had found each other, they’d been loyal to each other until the end. But Tony couldn’t help thinking it might be different this time around.
For one thing, there was a sizeable age difference between them. Tony was in his late forties, while he’d estimate Darcy’s age to be around mid-twenties. He was old enough to be her father, he thought with a grimace. The media would have a field day with that. For another, Tony’s reputation still wasn’t that great. Now that he’d fought with Steve, it was 50-50 as to whether people would be on his side or Captain America’s. That was far from an ideal situation to drag someone into.
He wasn’t sure how to broach that with her right now, but as it turned out he didn’t have to. At that moment the door opened and Tony’s personal doctor walked in. Darcy got up and slipped out of the room to give them some privacy; the doctor didn’t react to either her presence or Cerberus, who would look like he only had one head to anyone who lacked magic. Tony submitted to the exam and was asleep by the end of it.
--
“I made you something,” Darcy said. Tony jumped in surprise and looked around at her. She was sitting on his couch with her feet up on the coffee table, glass of wine in one hand. His mouth went dry when she stood up and he realized she wasn’t wearing her typical pajamas. Instead, she was dressed in a slinky blue negligee that showed off her curves and legs perfectly.
“You did?” he said, mouth dry, and bent easily to pick up the tablet he’d dropped when Darcy spoke. It hadn’t taken him as long to recover from what happened in Siberia as people believed. Being a god was, every once in a while, helpful. Tony maintained an image of injury, but within the privacy of the Tower he could drop the pretense: he was in better health than he’d been in years.
Even though it had been two months, Darcy hadn’t left. If anything, she’d moved in. She’d never officially said as much or asked if she could, but she was there constantly. She was still working for Jane from a distance since Jane was still in London. The rest of her time had been spent with Tony, talking and eating and laughing. Thinking about it now, Tony realized they’d spent more time together in the past two months than he’d spent with anyone outside of a business environment in years.
“I did. Here you go.” Darcy held her palm out and twitched her fingers. A crown of flowers appeared in her hand. Tony’s eyebrows went up as he stepped closer. There were so many flowers and other plants woven into the crown that he couldn’t identify them all, but he thought he recognized aloe, white carnations, basil, dill, lavender, violets, red tulips and yarrow. He glanced at Darcy thoughtfully, knowing that each one had special meaning. As the goddess of Spring, she knew plants and flowers intimately and was well-versed in using their language to communicate. Getting a flower crown from her was a gift of honor; they were imbued with her power.
“Thank you,” he said, forgoing questions in favor of ducking his head so that she could place the crown on his head. It fit perfectly and filled his nose with a wonderful scent.
Darcy was smiling. “It won’t be visible to anyone without magic,” she said. “It’s impervious to water or cold. Will you wear it always?”
“I will,” Tony said, touched that she’d gone through so much effort. “Thank you. I don’t…” He trailed off, realizing he had nothing for her in return. It was a weird feeling. He couldn’t remember many times in his life when someone else had given him a gift first, and without the expectation of getting something in return.
“It’s okay. You don’t need to give me anything. I wanted to make this for you,” Darcy said. She seemed to know what he was thinking. She hadn’t met Pepper yet, but Tony couldn’t help thinking the two of them would be a force to reckon with once she did.
“I’ll buy you whatever you want,” Tony said.
“Then buy me a ring.”
Tony looked at her, startled. “What?”
She held up her bare left hand and tapped her ring finger meaningfully. “My finger is very empty, husband.”
“We’re… not married in this life,” Tony said weakly, flustered.
“Then let’s rectify that.”
“Are you serious?”
Darcy’s smile faded. “As I’ve ever been. You’re my husband, Tony. I love you, and only you. We’re already married, so why shouldn’t we do it again?”
“I’m too old,” Tony tried to explain. “People will say terrible things about both of us. You know that my whole life is under a magnifying glass. They’ll do the same thing to you. At best, they’ll call you a whore or a gold digger or say I’ve gotten you pregnant. At worst…” He trailed off, hating the thought of Darcy having to go through that. It wasn’t fair to her. As it was, he’d noticed that Darcy hadn’t left the tower much since she’d accompanied him back from Siberia. That was probably the only reason no one had figured out that she was here.
"And what," Darcy said slowly, "makes you think I care about any of that?"
"I care," Tony said, hurt.
She sighed. "I know you do. You've always cared too much." Her hand, when it cupped his cheek, was surprisingly cold. "I've never let anything keep us apart, Hades. I'm not about to start now. In the long run, humans are insignificant."
Hearing her say his god name shook Tony to his core, though he couldn't have said why. He had to catch his breath before he could speak again. "This isn't about the Avengers."
"Isn't it?" Darcy asked with a knowing smile and a shake of her dark hair. "My love, listen to me. I've never cared what they think of us. It's always been you who cares too much, because their souls come to you in the end. That hasn't changed. You can call my mother and ask her. It doesn't matter to me what people say. I've always been like this."
"I know," Tony said wryly, before he could stop himself, and she grinned.
"I want to finish getting my degree," she said, fired up now, her dark eyes shining with the force of the sun. "I like school. And then I want to figure out what I want to do. Maybe I'll run for mayor of New York. Or maybe I'll end up as a lawyer. I don't know yet. What I do know is that I want you by my side in the process. I want to wake up beside you in the morning and share dinner with you at night. I want to watch dumb movies with your friends and I want to learn about your armors. I want to be your wife; I want to be worthy of you."
"You're already worthy," Tony said fiercely, pulling her into a hug. She was smaller than he was, and she fit so nicely into his arms. "You're heads and tails above me."
"We'll agree to disagree on that one," Darcy said. She smelled wonderful, like damp earth and moss. Tony tucked his nose into her hair and breathed deeply. Having her here was like finding the piece of himself he'd never known was missing. He'd never lived a life without her. Even though it would be better for her sake, he couldn't really imagine doing so now. It would be easier to rip out his heart.
"Okay. We'll get married," Tony said. He never could deny her anything.
Darcy pulled back slightly and grinned up at him. "Excellent. I knew you'd see it my way," she said smugly. "Now, what's this I read earlier about you launching a clean energy initiative?"
Tony eagerly began to tell her about his plans. He'd been making quiet plans for this since before the memories of Persephone and Hades came back to him - clean energy was not only a way to atone for his previous actions, but also a way to further set Stark Industries apart from what it had been while Howard ran it - but now it seemed especially important. The Earth was Darcy and she was the Earth in Demeter's absence. Humanity had been making unwise choices for a long time now; Tony had concerns about the impact that would ultimately have on Darcy. Darcy listened intently, offering her own suggestions here and there, and promised to grow things for him so that he could experiment to his heart's content.
It felt wrong to deny Darcy a huge wedding - especially in this life, where Tony could easily afford it - but she insisted that a quiet ceremony was what she wanted. The very next morning, Tony sourced out a minister who was willing to sign a confidentiality agreement in return for a substantial donation to their church and he and Darcy were married. As he slid the ring, a simple gold band that was identical to the rings they'd exchanged in every other life, onto her finger, Tony couldn't bring himself to regret it. And when she gave him his ring, he couldn't remember being happier.
That feeling lasted right up until he woke up the next morning and FRIDAY informed him that a) the media had found out and b) Pepper and Rhodey were on their way.
"Goddamnit," Tony grumbled, rolling out of bed. "FRIDAY, how'd they find out so soon?"
"I'm working on it, Boss," FRIDAY said.
"Well, it was nice having it be a secret for a day," Darcy said, sitting up and laughing. She stretched, her naked body beautiful in the morning light, and Tony had to stop himself from climbing back into bed with her. He hadn't had sex with anyone since Pepper - and even then, sex had always been awkward and loaded with potential mines. With Darcy, with Persephone, Tony had no such fears.
"They're going to kill me," Tony said.
"You're a god, my sweet. You can't be killed."
"Rogers came close," Tony pointed out, hunting for his jeans. He only realized what he'd said when the temperature in the room dropped, and he glanced up to see the dark expression on Darcy's face.
"Yes," was all she said. It was more than enough.
"Persephone," Tony warned, straightening up quickly.
"Your friends are here," Darcy said, swinging her legs over the bed and standing. She looked like a goddess, hair trailing around her shoulders and breasts. Like a dangerous goddess, eager for vengeance. A chill ran down Tony's spine.
"Ms. Potts is demanding entrance, Boss. She says she'll have Colonel Rhodes break the door down if she has to," FRIDAY said.
"Don't do anything stupid," Tony said to her.
Darcy's smile was pure sweetness. "Oh, it won't be stupid," she said, and vanished.
Tony swore just as he heard the sound of repulsors, followed by a door shattering into a thousand pieces.
"TONY STARK!" Pepper screeched. He swung around just as she burst into the room. Tony actually paused and blinked at her, stunned to see Pepper in jeans and a tank top with a coffee stain on it. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her so disheveled.
"Um... Hey Pep," Tony said weakly.
"What the hell is this?" Pepper held up her phone. Tony couldn't make out the headline, but he could see the picture of him and Darcy climbing onto the Starkjet clear as day, not five minutes after they'd left the church. He ground his teeth together. On a scale of one to ten, how terrible was it to sue a minister for breach of confidentiality?
"It looks like my wedding." Tony pretended to squint at the screen. "Yes. It is, in fact, my wedding."
"That's not funny. What were you thinking? Who is this girl?" Pepper was practically vibrating.
"She's my wife," Tony said before he could stop himself, and then he tensed in preparation to duck - because, from the look on her face, Pepper was about ten seconds away from chucking her phone at his head.
"But who is she?" Rhodey said, laying a calming hand on Pepper's shoulder. He was a little slower to move thanks to the braces. He blinked at Tony. "Dude. Are you wearing a flower crown?"
In the back of his mind, Tony acknowledged a burst of power and winced. "Um, hold that thought."
The human world was a little trickier to move around on than the Underworld was, but Tony was an old god. It took very little power for him to lock onto Darcy's position and step through the energy to join her. He was sure he'd hear it from Pepper and Rhodey later - it wasn't every day your best friend disappeared right in front of you - but he needed to see what Darcy was up to. The last time she'd gotten that expression on her face, a volcano had exploded. Hephaestus had complained for months.
He found himself standing, not surprisingly, in Wakanda.
"Persephone, what are you doing?" Tony said, shoving his hands in his pockets and doing his best to adopt a lazy expression in light of the absolutely shocked faces of everyone around him. Fortunately, the only people in the room were the ex-Avengers, T'Challa, a young woman who looked a lot like T'Challa, several Dora Milaje, Darcy and - oh.
"Hades!" Ares boomed, beaming.
"Hello Ares," Tony said warily. "Athena. Nemesis." His stomach dropped at seeing the god and goddess of war, but it dropped even further at the sight of the goddess of revenge and retribution. Nemesis grinned at him like she knew exactly what he was thinking. She probably did. He could feel the traces of their power on the room, and belatedly realized that Darcy had probably had this in the works for weeks. Months. Since she'd rescued him, likely before he'd even awoken. He had to wonder what untold misery the Avengers had been living with since.
"Hades," Athena said with a tip of her head.
"What the hell is going on? Tony?!" Steve said.
Tony spared him a look. "Hello Steve," he said. The other Avengers - Natasha, Sam, Scott, Clint and Wanda - seemed to be trying to speak, but their voices were gone. Tony wondered who was responsible for that. Athena, probably. She was very touchy about proper respect. It wouldn't have taken long for one of the Avengers to mouth off to her.
"Mr. Stark," T'Challa said. He sounded strained.
"Highness," Tony said blandly. "Sorry for the intrusion. We won't be here long. Persephone, we should go."
"Absolutely not," Darcy said. "They hurt you. He tried to kill you." She pointed at Steve.
"I did not!" Steve exclaimed.
His exclamation was met with two blank looks. "Yes you did," said Ares, and his voice went low and soft. "You think I don't know what violence is wrought under my name, boy?"
"I - what?" Steve said, uncertain. "Tony?"
"Shut up Steve," Tony said. Darcy had set something in the works here. What, Tony didn't know.
"Yes, do shut up," Athena said. "He's certainly not mine. Never thinks beyond his next move. He's yours."
"Thanks," Ares said, rolling his eyes.
"However, the lot of you are warriors, and pathetic ones at that. For that..." Athena's grey eyes glowed. "May you never find peace, and may your strategies in battle always fail you." Somewhere in the distance, a shield clashed against a sword. Tony shivered. When he looked again, Athena was gone.
"Nemesis," Darcy said. "As I promised."
When Nemesis smiled, the room cooled. "A new toy," she said, sauntering over to Wanda. Wanda's hands glowed red. Nemesis just laughed.
"Hey," Tony said, though half-heartedly.
"Don't, Hades," Nemesis said, flicking a gaze at him. "This one's heart is dead already. She sacrificed it in the name of a vengeance that wasn't even owed to her." She gripped Wanda's chin hard. "You will make a fine spirit, my dear. You'll bring that same lust for revenge to the hearts of humans everywhere."
"Let her go!" Steve yelled, taking a step forward - but Ares was there, catching Steve's fist as easily as though there was no serum in Steve's veins.
"You're mine to deal with, bringer of war," Ares said.
"I'm not - let go of me!" Steve fought. It was a pathetic fight. Tony could've intervened. He didn't. He watched, outwardly placid and inwardly troubled, as Ares and Nemesis vanished with their sacrifices.
Darcy swung around to face the remaining Avengers. "Walk carefully," she said in a dark voice. "Or I will allow Cereberus to feast on your souls before you reach the domain of my husband. It is a most unpleasant death." Her eyes gleamed, not unlike Athena's. "And rest assured, I am thinking up some truly torturous sentences for you when you die. If you are fortunate, I'll only let you suffer for a few centuries for your actions."
"Persephone!" Tony said.
She didn't look at him; her icy glower was for the Avengers alone. But she did stalk over to him, moving with a regal grace. Without touching him, she opened and closed her hands and Tony felt the flower crown on his head fluctuate with power. Before he could even think about addressing those left behind with some kind of explanation, he was drawn away from Wakanda. It was only once they'd left the physical plane that Darcy's hand found his. She held fast to him, her warm hand like an open invitation, and he heard her whisper on the winds that smelled of flowers and herbs.
"They hurt you, my husband. I told you I would make them pay."