The Flame (Avengers Fanfiction)

38-Lowlife

"And for those who still thing I am lying, remember that I have nothing to gain in this situation. I can't extort Clint Barton for money. I'm not going to press charges against him. I didn't want to speak on this situation at all because of what was the reason of this fight. I didn't want to come out and tell the world that the man that hit was the father of the child I miscarried. I didn't want to say that I was angry at him for wanting me to have sex with him because he was the one that told me I couldn't handle being the mother of a child so I should just have an abortion. I didn't want to have to do this, but Clint Barton wanted to spin this situation to make him not look like the bad guy. I wanted to clear my name and tell you all what really happened." Oh my God. Her husband had told her to kill her baby. Laura was pregnant when Peyton was pregnant. Did he fuck her when Laura was already pregnant? Or was it before Laura had told him? According to Peyton, he still wanted to fuck her when this video was recorded. Laura had the time stamp memorized. It after Cooper's birth.

"I'm sorry for those I might hurt by telling the truth." Peyton says and it hits Laura like a ton of bricks. She was directing that straight at Laura Barton. The only one that knew about Clint having a family was Natasha. Peyton didn't know a damn thing about Clint being married. Peyton wasn't the guilty party at all. How could she know? Laura was a secret to the entire world. Tears rolled down the mother's cheeks. Her husband had cheated on her. He had gotten the other woman pregnant, told the woman to get an abortion and then ran away. He didn't give a damn that Peyton had miscarried his baby. Clint had hit her and then lied to Laura about it. He had been lying the whole damn time. She shut off the TV and kept her eyes on the black screen as the front door opened. Clint called her name, but she didn't answer. She just let her heart break even more as she broke down into sobs.

-

Tony, of course, was the one to find Peyton. He had noticed that his sister had disabled FRIDAY in her bathroom. It didn't seem like a big deal until FRIDAY had alerted him that there was flooding in the bathroom. So Tony went down to his sister's room. It wasn't like her to leave the tap running.

"Pey, Pey you left the water on." Tony called out as he knocked on the door. There wasn't any response. He could hear the bathtub still running. Something nagged at him. Something was off. He turned the door knob and found it locked. Water pooled out from under the door.

"FRIDAY, call Steve up here now!" Tony told the AI worriedly.

"Right away, sir." She answers back. Within moments, the blond man in running in, almost slipping on the wet ground.

"What's wrong? Why is the ground wet?" Steve asks, looking at Tony Stark. Tony doesn't respond.

"You need to break down the bathroom door. Something's wrong." Tony says, completely serious. Steve doesn't move, obviously confused, so Tony yells at him, "God damn it, Rogers! Do it!"

Steve nods and throws his shoulder against the door with all of his strength, making it crash to the ground. The super soldier almost slips again on the slick tile, but Tony moves past him.

"God damn it, Pey!" Tony screams as he rushes over to the tub. Tony doesn't even take the time to shut off the water as he pulls her out of the tub. Her lips were blue and she wasn't breathing. Tony felt a for a pulse. It was faint but it was still there. So Tony started doing CPR.

"Go! Call an ambulance! Quick!" Tony shouts and Steve does what he asks. Tears are running down the older Stark's face as he tries to revive his sister. As he did the chest compressions, he saw the empty bottle of pain killers.

-

It's cold. It's very cold when I open my eyes. I can hear a baby wailing nearby. I find myself getting up. I walk past pictures hanging, soon finding myself in a nursery. I walk towards the crib, obviously curious as to why there's a baby. I look down and see a little baby boy, with brown hair and green eyes. I pick him up, and hold him close. It just...feels right. Arms snake themselves around my waist, a chin resting on my shoulder.

"You didn't have to get up. It's my turn to change him and feed him." Matt's voice is unmistakable. It's groggy, like it is when he wakes up. I put two and two together as I look down at the now quiet little boy in my arms.

"How is he here?" I murmur softly turning in Matt's arms to look at him. Matt smiles.

"I don't think I need to explain the birds and the bees to you, sweetheart." He teases and I look down at the baby in my arms.

"I-I can't have kids. Ultron took that away from me." I tell him, still a little dumbfounded. The baby is looking up at me, a little smile on its tiny face. I feel so much love for this little baby boy. So much love.

"You guys defeated Ultron, remember? And during your check up after you found out you were pregnant?" Matt says, sounding very worried. I reached up and puts his hand against my forehead, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay. Why don't you go back to bed? I can handle this." I reassure him. Matt nods and kisses my forehead and then the baby's.

"Alright. Goodnight Michael." He murmurs softly before leaving the room. Michael. It was Matt's middle name. I looked down at baby Michael as I carried him over to the changing table.

"You look like a Michael." I say softly to my son as I change his diaper. He wiggles around as I button his onesie again. It feels all to natural to hold him close, to feel him so close. I let his little hand wrap itself around my thumb. My other hand pulls him closer and I see a sparkly ring on my left hand. This is what I could've had. A family, a marriage. I sit down

"I love you. You'll never know how much I love you." I tell my son in my arms, smiling down at him. I want to stay with him. I want to be here with him, with him and with Matt. Forever.

-

Steve walked in to Peyton's hospital room. She was unconscious, but Tony was still sitting beside her bed. Peyton looked pale as she laid in the bed. It wasn't the first time Steve had seen her in a hospital bed. It had to be either the second or third time, but he never got used to it. He handed Tony a cup of coffee while he took a sip of his own.

"It's not the first time she overdosed. The first time she did, I wasn't talking to her. Then I got a call that she had been found in the bathroom, choking on her vomit. It's different when you see it in front of you." Tony tells Steve as he takes the coffee. Steve didn't know that Peyton had previously overdosed not had he knew that she had overdosed today.

"I didn't know that."

"We don't talk about it. She hates the fact that she was doing so bad that she overdosed. It's why she quit." Tony responded, looking tiredly up at Steve.

"Tony, why don't you go get some rest? She's stabilized and you and I both know that Peyton'll be pissed if she finds out you spent the night here." Steve says and Tony wipes his face. He turns his head and looks up at the Captain.

"You sure as hell better call me if she wakes up. I'll put you back in the ice myself." Tony says unhappily as he stands. Steve nods and takes Tony's seat.

Steve sat there and drank his coffee in the hospital room. The image of Peyton Stark submerged in water sent chills down in his spine. Her lips were so blue. When Tony has pulled her out of the water, Steve thought he was already dead. He knew that these past few months had been hard for Pey, hell the past few years would drive anyone else insane. However, Steve did not expect Peyton to have been in so much despair that she rather just kill herself than continue on. Steve had always seen her as extremely strong and independent, but then again, that's what Peyton wanted everyone to think. She hated letting others see her cry. Peyton had told him that he witnessing her mental breakdown after Wanda fucked with her mind made her angry at herself. The youngest Stark hated being seen as weak.

That's why her announcement earlier today was not that surprising. Peyton hates being seen as weak and Clint was making her look weak and no longer in control of herself. So Peyton set the story straight. Steve was proud that she did. Peyton took control of the situation without making it seem like she was a weak girl who got her heart broken. Steve was just unhappy that he no longer had a reason to knock Clint's teeth out. Well, not a very valid reason. The Star Spangled Man With a Plan was still pissed off by what Clint did to Peyton. He didn't understand how someone could mistreat a person like Peyton, but then Clint was an asshole so...

Steve took a sip of his coffee, sat there, and waited. He was stuck in the ice waiting for seventy years. He could add a few hours or so.