"Tell me my horoscope, then."

"That's not how it works, Sam."

Naomi trailed after Steve and Natasha, who were leading the way through the complex, and only whispering secretively to each other occasionally. According to Steve, Tony had called Stephen in, but for what reason, he didn't know. It was surprising for Naomi to hear that most all of the heroes had assumed Stephen to be a traitor, working for Thanos. She supposed that she couldn't have known what went on on Earth while she was away, and that it likely looked like Strange got her killed, but Naomi knew that he was on their side. After all, Thanos was dead, wasn't he? Stephen had held up his end of the bargain, as far as Naomi was concerned. Giving her a sword and shoving her at Thanos had also no doubt been a part of his plan.

No matter what the heroes now thought of Stephen, he was here now, and so was Tony and Loki, which were Naomi's priorities at the moment. She simply needed to follow Steve and Nat to wherever they were, while also fending off Sam and Bucky's comedic probing.

"So where's the crystal ball at?" Sam grinned, enjoying himself far too much as he walked next to Naomi. Bucky, on her other side, cracked a smile. She simply sighed good-naturedly, as Naomi had expected nothing less from the unlikely pair of friends. The entire 'prophet' shtick had gotten far too out of hand.

"Maybe she reads Tarot cards." Bucky joined in, his tone less teasing than Sam's but still poking fun at Naomi.

"I'm not a real prophet, you know that right?" Naomi raised a brow, looking between the two of them. Their expressions lifted slightly in surprise- showing that clearly no, they weren't aware. "It's just one of Tony's jokes." She shrugged.

"Then where do you get your information?" Natasha suddenly spoke up without turning around. Her question startled Naomi slightly, she hadn't been aware that Nat was listening in. She shouldn't have been surprised though, seeing as the shorter, now blond woman was an ex-Russian spy.

"It's a long story that we can go over another time." Naomi said. If Tony hadn't bothered to tell them she was from a different dimension, she wouldn't worry about it now. She had to stay focused on actually getting to Tony and Loki, Team Cap could wait. It would take hours to explain everything, and she simply couldn't afford that right now. They rounded a corner, entering into another hallway that looked exactly the same. Honestly, she had no idea how anyone found their way anywhere in the complex. It was simply all white walls and glass and high-tech elevators. It was almost as unoriginal as Asgard.

"You said that you knew the past, present, and future. Were you lying?" Steve looked back at her, eyes stony. Naomi could tell that she hadn't quite won their trust yet, which was a tad disheartening to her, but ultimately unimportant at the moment. She had a goal, and she was sticking to it- finding the people who would be affected most by her 'death.'

"No, I wasn't lying to you. I'm just being vague and uncooperative." She shrugged. "But I know stuff, yeah."

"Stuff?" Sam repeated, "like what?"

Naomi arched an eyebrow. "I already quoted Cap in the elevator. I know stuff like that." Sam looked surprised for a moment, before turning to look ahead at Steve with a disbelieving grin.

"You said that? That dramatic-" Sam deepened his voice comically, barely succeeding at suppressing his laughter, "anybody wanna get out- kinda shit?" Bucky and Nat added quiet chuckles to Sam's boisterous laughter, and although Naomi couldn't see it, she would bet money that Steve cracked a smile.

"It was in the heat of the moment." Steve pitifully defended himself, his tone lighthearted. Beside Naomi, Bucky rolled his eyes.

"You say stuff like that all the time, like I-"

"can do this all day?" Naomi finished Bucky's sentence, her expression almost bored as the ex-assassin whipped his head toward her with startled eyes. Steve halted for a moment, prompting the entire group to stop walking as he looked back at Naomi. She fought the urge to chew on her lip, instead looking over Steve's face for any sign that she had offended him. She really needed to curb her habit of finishing people's sentences, it would undoubtedly land her in shit one day if she kept it up. But to her relief, Steve seemed mostly surprised, and perhaps a little impressed. He turned around to keep walking, Nat at his side and the rest following behind.

"You really know your stuff huh? I guess I can see why Tony was so insistent upon you." Steve said. Natasha hummed in agreement.

"He never shut up about you." She remarked. Naomi couldn't decided if her tone was annoyed or approving, but she hardly cared either way. She smiled at their words, happy and just a tad proud to hear that Tony had advocated for her. If anything, it made Naomi all the more anxious to see him again.

"I don't think Tony shuts up about anything." Naomi snorted with a smirk, prompting scattered laughter from the heroes surrounding her. Suddenly, Steve and Nat stopped once more, now in front of a door- though it had no handle. It was clouded glass, the only indication to what was inside being hazy shadows cast against it. Nat turned to look at her, eyes retaining an amount of caution.

"It's best if we go in first." She explained, voice firm. Naomi's shoulders slumped slightly, but she gave no resistance. It likely was best if she didn't simply charge through the door and give everyone a heart attack by revealing she was alive. So she waited, trying not to fidget with her hands as Steve asked FRIDAY to open the door. The AI did so, swinging it open slowly and allowing Steve to enter alongside Nat, then swinging back to shut it securely. Sam and Bucky waited outside with Naomi, leaned against the wall with impatient expressions. She could tell that they had loads more questions for her, and the thought of spending more time with them made Naomi excited, but that feeling paled in comparison to her need to see Tony again. Steve hadn't known where Loki was, so Naomi could only pray that he was either with Tony, or that he would know where he was. The realization of just how long Naomi had put off her reunion with the people important to her was jarring, though she had been asleep for most of it.

Face falling into a frown, she gnawed on her bottom lip as she thought about how she would feel if she thought either Tony or Loki had been dead. To say it was painful was underwhelming. Truly, it was remarkable how tightly she had grown attached to them, how quickly she had formed a solid, intimate bond with both of them, albeit in different ways. Naomi craned her head back until it hit the wall with a dull thud, staring up at the pristine ceiling. Her relationship with Loki had grown especially fast, a whirlwind of witty comments and tearful late-night conversations that culminated in those three special words. Naomi didn't regret them, and she prayed that Loki still felt the same. There was simply so many steps they skipped, so little time spent together in the grand scheme of things. It made Naomi's heart ache as she realized that there was so much she didn't know about Loki, and that he knew even less about her. But, she thought as a sweet smile curled onto her lips, if everything worked out, they could have all the time in the world to find out.

The door flew open, banging against the wall with a hard thud. Naomi jolted, knocking her forearms against the wall as she pushed away from it, wincing. Bucky also started, instinctively squaring his shoulders as he stared at the doorway with wide eyes.

"-swear to GOD Rogers-" Tony's voice erupted in the air once the door opened, the man himself stalking angrily out into the hallway not too soon after. Clearly, trying to break the news to Tony gently hadn't gone well. Despite that, Naomi's face broke out into a grin once she saw him, dressed up in one of his suits and yelling at Steve. It took Tony a second once he stepped into the hallway, but as soon as Naomi came within his sights, he froze. She simply stood in place with a breathy smile and watched his expression morph from shock to disbelief. Tony's mouth fell open slightly as he looked her over, gaze lingering on her bandaged arms for a moment before returning to her face. His eyes were wide, and wet, and Naomi was sure that hers were too as he slowly walked towards her. He reached out, pulling her into a tight hug which she reciprocated gladly, ignoring the pain in her arms. He let out a breathy laugh, moving one of his hands to cup the back of her head, as you would a child. Naomi rested her forehead on his shoulder, her grin never wavering. Tony's embrace was warm and reassuring, conveying to her everything he failed to say out loud.

Neither of them noticed, but Bucky took it upon himself to slowly and quietly usher everyone out of the hallway, even Stephen Strange, who emerged from the room only to freeze upon seeing Naomi. His baffled expression would have been comical to anyone but Natasha, who forced him to keep moving down the hallway so Tony and Naomi could have their reunion in private.

After a while, Tony spoke, "Hey kid."

"Hey Tin Man."

He laughed, Naomi could feel the rumble in his chest. "Hepburn," Tony gave the obligatory reply. "You scared me there, you know?"

Naomi felt a pang in her chest, his voice carried hints of the grief that, until now, had hung over him. "I'm sorry." She muttered into his shoulder, voice muffled by his suit. He took in a deep breath, exhaling through his mouth in a relieved manner.

"From now on, only I'm allowed to pull the sacrifice stunts, okay?"

"Like hell I'm letting you do that."

Both of them smiled.