Maya Stark

Chapter 43: Goodbye.

'Yeah, that's me. He talked about you a lot too,' Harley said.

Pepper smiles at me before walking away. 'You made an impact on my dad,' I said. 'Helped him out. Thank you.'

'Yeah, well, he was my hero,' Harley said.

'He was everyones',' I said; looking around the room. Morgan came running over to me all excited about something. I kneel down to her height. She warmed up to me quickly.

'Mommy said we can have cake when this is all over,' she said, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

I smile at her and try not to break down right there. 'Really? We have to hold her to that, okay?' She nods. 'Now go watch your mom to make sure she doesn't try to get out of it.'

'Okay!' she said, excited. She runs back through the crowd as people move out of her way.

I stand back up with a small smile on my face as I turn back to Harley.

'She seemed to warm up to you nicely,' he said, smiling slightly.

'Yeah,' I said. 'She is five and dad told her all kinds of stories.' I wipe a stray tear off my cheek.

'Miss Stark,' came a very familiar voice to my right. Both Harley and I turn to see T'Challa standing with two women. Harley smiles at me before slipping back through the crowd.

'Your highness,' I said, turning to him.

He smirks slightly. 'I don't believe you have met these two. This is my sister Shuri, and this is Okoye.'

'Nice to meet you both,' I said, smiling at them.

'I'm sorry for your lost,' Shuri said.

'Thank you,' I said. I turn back to T'Challa. 'Thank you for coming.'

'Of course,' he said. 'Tony was a good man. He did much for all of us. He deserves to be honored.'

'Yeah,' I said. 'Yeah, he does.'

The three of them smile at me and walk away. I take a deep breath as I look around the rest of the room. Clint and I locked eyes. He was with his family. I smiled at him, and he nodded back at me. I was too scared to go over to him. My visions blurred with tears, and I scolded myself as I blinked them away. I scanned the room until my eyes landed on Scott. He was talking to a girl I didn't know, and I decided to pay him a visit. When Steve told me everything I missed, the only one I had seen since the battle, he told me Scott was the one to give them hope. I wanted to thank him.

'Scott Lang,' I said, making him turn. 'What a surprise.'

He smiled, smally, at me. 'How have you been, Maya?'

I shrug. 'As well as any of you. Maybe a little worse.'

'Hi, I'm Hope,' the girl said. She held a handout for me to shake and I do. 'I'm so sorry about your dad. It's never easy losing a parent.'

I nod at her, another tear rolling down my cheek. 'Yeah, well...I'm just glad he knows he did it. Thank you for coming. I know you didn't really get along with my dad,' I said to Scott.

'Of course, Maya,' Scott said. 'He may have thrown me in jail, but he turned out to be a good man. A good dad.' I nod in agreement.

I smile a little before walking away from them, making a beeline to the kitchen. There was nobody in there and it was quiet. I close my eyes as I lean against the counter.

'You know you still look the same for five years,' Steve said from behind me.

I smile as I turn around. 'Can't say the same for you though, can I?'