All My Life

35| Sunflowers

"Ms Romanoff, stop!!!" I yell making her push the brakes suddenly in a panic and I give her a guilty smile. "I'm sorry. I just want to get some flowers for May." Her eyes stare at me in disbelief before she snaps out of the haziness. "You scared me! And you call me Ms Romaoff one more time, I'll throw you out of the car." I give her a nervous smile before stepping out of the black Audi.

I rush towards the familiar kind lady who owned the flower shop. She turns to me, her eyes widen before a huge smile reaches across her lips, her eyes shining along with it. "Peter, honey! What can I get you?"

"Hey, Ms Grazia. Could I have a bunch of sunflowers, please?"

"Fought with May?" She gives me a knowing look and I rub the back of my neck and stare at the clean floor in embarrassment before looking back up to see her gathering the golden flowers and turning back to me. "There you go, sweetie. Don't fight with her, you understand, young man?" She says in a stern voice and I nod hurriedly before paying for the flowers and rushing back towards the familiar car.

I take my seat and Ms Romanoff turns the ignition on before we are back on her path. I'm going to fix this. "She likes sunflowers, huh?" Ms Romanoff speaks up, breaking the heavy silence that had settled over. A huge smile forms upon my face at the mention. "She loves them."

"But, why sunflowers?" The eight years old me whined as May bought the same bunch of flowers again as we decided to visit the cemetery, to see mom and Uncle Ben. She gave me a small smile before crouching in front of me.

"Because facing the sun is a choice a sunflower makes every day." She said before touching my nose making me giggle out loud.

Ms Romanoff glances at me, a small smile forming upon her face before she turns back to the road and a small sigh escapes my lips as pure bliss flowed down my veins as I remembered May's words.

Because facing the sun is a choice a sunflower makes every day.

We are halfway there when the shrill ringing of Ms Romanoff's phone fills the silence. I watch her staring at her phone, a frown etched on her face. My enhanced eyesight makes the word Tony visible for me. Mr Stark...

She gives me an unsure glance before picking the call up. "Romanoff, have you reached the place?" I hear Mr Stark's voice from the other side, thankful for the notched up senses. "We are halfway there." Ms Romanoff informs him, her voice was hesitant and unsure.

"Turn around, right now. I am sending you the coordinates." I frown at the statement. Coordinates... Mr Stark doesn't use them unless he wants to hide the location.

"Jarvis?" Ms Romanoff questions. Mr Jarvis was in the car too? "I've received the coordinates, ma'am." My heart speeds up at the sudden change in plan. Something's wrong. "Turn on autopilot, Jarvis." She orders followed by a beep but she keeps her hands over the steering wheel.

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I feel my heart drop as I stand in front of the hospital building and feel Ms Romanoff put her hand over my shoulder. My hands clench around the bunch of sunflowers as we step inside. She checks something on her phone before walking to the receptionist. "Room 220?" The constant hammering of my heart in my ears drowns out the following conversation as I feel my palms sweat, dread making it harder for me to breathe.

"Peter? Look at me," I snap out of my thoughts and look up to find her green eyes staring at me, a concerned look plastered across her face. "Calm down, Peter. Just breathe." I comply are request and she gives me an encouraging nod before guiding me towards the unknown destination.

We stop in front of room 220, the metal doors blocking my view. My hold around the flowers goes tighter as Ms Romanoff pushes the door open. The room was deathly silent and completely white, almost lifeless. I step in, my eyes falling upon the figure laying over the white bed.

"Pete," I hear Mr Stark's careful voice but my eyes remain glued to the woman in front of me. I feel my grasp over the flowers loosen as I find it difficult to push the tightness in my chest. "May..." A small whisper escapes my lips and the flowers fall out of my grasp. I take small steps in her direction as she lay there, unmoving and still.

Various tubes connected her to the machine sitting beside her, a constant beeping being the only sign of life competing against the ghostly pale hue that had settled over her usually warm skin. I feel a ringing in my ears but I ignore it, my hands moving to touch hers. My fingertips barely brush hers before the entire room starts echoing with the loud and obnoxious beeping from the machine.

The room floods with people wearing white uniforms and I feel someone pull me out of the room, my eyes falling upon the crushed flowers that lay on the ivory floor. This isn't real, this isn't real. I chant the words in my head like a mantra.

"Peter, kid. You gotta breathe, buddy." The haziness pulls away and I am greeted with Mr Stark's warm brown eyes looking at me, his lips constantly moving but I feel numb. I feel something warm travel down my cheeks before I am pulled into an embrace.

May...

A sob escapes my mouth as the delicacy of the situation hits me and I feel Mr Stark run his hands through my hair, trying to calm me down but I feel miles away from a single flicker of calmness. Tears flow down my eyes and I can't find myself to push them back, not anymore, not this time.

Mr Stark remains silent, simply comforting me while the ruthless life knocks the air out of my lungs. "She, I-I don't understand. She-" I find it difficult to push the words out of my mouth before another sob rips out of me.

"She has cancer." I feel myself freeze at the statement, my eyes running back over all the moments I found her seeming weak and tired but decided to ignore it, decided to push it towards the back of my mind. I step out of the warm embrace, my eyes searching for answers in my mentor's.

"How long?" A pained look covers his face as I feel Ms Romanoff's eyes on us from my peripheral vision. "It has been a few months." Months, it has been months. She had been a walking dead, walking with a clock attached to her, counting each second, taking her closer and closer to her end.

The metal door suddenly opens and all three of our faces snap to the doctor. His eyes were down, a sorry expression covering his features.

No...

How did I not know, how did I not notice? The how questions soon turn into ones concerning Mr Stark. How did he know? How long had he knows? I turn to him, fury seeping into my very bones at the thought of him keeping the information hidden.

"You knew about it all this time, didn't you?" My voice comes out shaky yet rough and I feel betrayed. Mr Stark remains silent, answering the question without a single word.

He knew...

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A/N

Phew, okay first of all. Please do not kill me, you guys knew it was coming...

Also, 10K views!!! This is absolutely insane. It couldn't have had happened without you guys and let me repeat my words. This is insane, a hell lot more than I deserve and ever expected. But, once again, thank you so much. I love you all!

See ya! ;)