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ɴᴏᴠᴀʟɪsᴇ.
"𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐆𝐎, 𝐖𝐄'𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐍.
𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓, 𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓, 𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐌𝐄
"𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃.
𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐄𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 I 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐀𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏."
ɴᴏᴠᴀʟɪsᴇ.
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𝓣he first night is always the hardest, that's what Happy told her on the ride back home from the hospital.
There was a hole in Jaylanie's heart that will never be filled for as long as she lived. She didn't understand why this was happening to her. She didn't understand why she was given this life — this brutal, heartbreaking, confusing life.
Maybe he'll wake up in the morning.
Steve was the one that pulled each stone out of his hand, the one that carried him. Stephen was the one who transported Pepper, Steve, Tony, and Jaylanie to the hospital. Pepper stayed overnight with Tony and she thought it'd be better for Jaylanie's mental health, to leave and go home to rest. She agreed, but seeing her father in that hospital bed, hooked up to all different types of machines made Jaylanie want to do unforgivable things to herself.
As Happy pulled up to the driveway of their cabin, Jaylanie let out a deep sigh, looking out of the window. It was 1:56 am, her father in the hospital. She didn't know why. He was already gone, but Pepper insisted that they take him. At least she had hope.
There was a moment of silence before Jaylanie spoke up. "I miss them. I miss them so much." Jaylanie broke down in tears, covering her face as Happy laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, squeezing it ever so often.
"I miss 'em, too—"
"Everything reminds me of them, Happy," she peeled her hands away from her face, leaning her head back on the headrest of the car, letting the tears stream down the side of her face. "Every. Single. Thing." Jaylanie turned her head to look at Happy, tears in his eyes as well.
"Your parents were my best friends. Those two together were...oof!" He chuckled and Jaylanie did, too. "Absolute hotheads and they second-guessed everything. The one thing they didn't second-guess was having you," Jaylanie looked down at her hands and then back to Happy. "I don't think they would've done what they did if they didn't know you were gonna be here after they were gone,"
Jaylanie stood quiet as Happy spoke. He always knew the right things to say. "Life ain't all sunshine and rainbows, kid. Especially the life you were born into. Your parents tried their absolute hardest to keep you away from it, but things happen and they happen for a reason. You're an Avenger. An Avenger's purpose is to save people and you guys did exactly that. It came with a price, but trillions are now alive, thank to you guys,"
Jaylanie let Happy's words sink in, but no matter how many times he'll try to comfort her, she'll never be able to grasp the fact that they were gone. She never thought that she'd be going through so much, especially so early in her life, she's only 25 and already lost her boyfriend, and her parents in the span of two years. Never in a million years.
"Your parents loved you, Jay. They loved you so much. And they still do...wherever they are—" Happy's sentence was cut off by a knock at Jaylanie's door, which startled the two. She looked through her window and all she saw was brunette curls and it was nobody else's, but Ingi. Jaylanie quickly, but gently, opened the door and he crawled onto her lap, shivering from the cold.
Just when she thought she lost everything.
"I missed you, mommy." Jaylanie's heart swelled at him calling her his mommy. His dark, chocolate brown eyes brought her down to earth. "I've missed you so much more, sweetface."
"And I don't think they would've done what they did if they didn't know you'd have him in the end." Happy said to her and she smiled. Ingi had a way of calming her without even saying a word. Just like Jaylanie was Nat and Tony's will to live, Ingi was hers. He was the reason why she's still here.
"Where's daddy?" He asked and her heart broke more than it already was. Jaylanie looked up at the sky through the large sun roof above them and saw six, bright, shining stars among a bunch of tiny ones. It was absolutely beautiful.
"Look," she pointed at one and Happy and Ingi followed her finger. "It's your daddy, and that's grandma and grandpa, and those three are for Vision, Pietro, and Agent Coulson. They're my friends." She smiled for the first time since the battle. It was odd to see stars, especially in New York. And what a coincidence that it was six. One for each.
"You don't get stars like that in the city." Happy said.
"They're one of a kind."
༻❁༺
𝓘t's been a couple of days since the battle, she honestly didn't even know how many days have past. It's all a just one big blur. Pepper and Jaylanie leaned on each other for support whenever they needed, and it was pretty often, almost 24/7. They still resided in the cabin, no matter how hard it was to constantly wake up and not hear Tony's AC/DC playlist roaring through the speakers or not smelling Nat's Apple Sharlotka.
Her father was cremated, per his request. Her mother's body was still on Vormir, no way of retrieving it to give her the funeral she deserved and that hurt Jaylanie more than anything.
Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, and Jaylanie gave their eulogies earlier on in the day, but had to take a small break. They just needed a break.
As Jaylanie was crouched down, straightening the tie on Ingi's suit, his soft voice broke her from her thoughts. "Mommy?"
"Yes, honey?"
"Why are you crying?" He asked innocently and she looked at him, fixing a few strands of his hair.
"Well," she took a deep breath before continuing. "Today's a very sad day because grandma and grandpa are in space with daddy and, um," Jaylanie felt herself losing her composure and stopped for a second. "We can't see them anymore. They can't come back and that makes me very sad."
Ingi was still entirely too young to understand what death was, why there were people outside in all black, and Jaylanie had a hard time explaining it to him. Ingi showed no signs of sadness or distress and she planned to keep it that way.
"When can we see them?"
"Um, we can only see them at night and one day, we'll be in space with them. Not now, though. It's too soon. We have to let them get used to their new home. It's gonna take a really, really, reaaaally long time until we see them, again, okay? Now, let's go downstairs, they're waiting for us." Jaylanie stood up, fixing the creases on her black dress before stretching out her hand for Ingi to take and he did, hopping off the bed.
"Okay." He nodded just as Rhodey walked past her door, coming from the bathroom, the three of them walking down the hallway. "Go to Happy, he's downstairs." She told Ingi, giving him a gentle push towards the stairs, his dress shoes clicking against the hardwood floors of the house.
"How you holdin' up?" He asked, placing a hand on her upper arm, as they both walked slowly behind Ingi.
"For losing my parents in the span of, what, 2 weeks? I think I'm doing all right. It hasn't hit me, yet. It still doesn't feel real." She spoke honestly. It was true. Jaylanie cried, yes, but it hasn't hit her that her parents were gone.
As they walked down the stairs, they were greeted by the remaining four remaining Avengers, Pepper, Happy, Ingi, and an Iron Man helmet sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch. "Tony left something for you guys. I think it's a recording of some sort." Happy said, sitting down on one of the wooden chairs next to the table.
Listen to the song above while reading this section.
Jaylanie took another deep breath and nodded, grabbing Pepper and Ingi's hand before sitting down on the couch. Ingi crawled into Jaylanie's lap, a leg on each side, his head resting on her shoulder. Happy did the honors and turned on the recording by pressing a button underneath his helmet.
She thought it was going to be a regular voice recording, but a hologram of his body, sitting on a chair, popped up and he stood quiet for a moment, almost like he was thinking of something.
"Everybody wants a happy ending, right?" He started and Jaylanie's heart broke into a million and one pieces after hearing his voice. "But it doesn't always roll that way. Maybe this time. I'm hoping if you play this back, it's in celebration. I hope families are reunited, I hope we get it back. And something, like, a normal version of the planet has been restored. If there ever was such a thing," He chuckled. "God, what a world. Universe, now. If you told me 10 years ago that we weren't alone, let alone, you know, to this extent, I mean, I wouldn't have been surprised, but c'mon! Who knew? The epic forces of darkness and light that have come into play. And for better or worse, that's the reality Jaylanie and Ingi are gonna have to find a way to grow up in. So, I thought I better record a little greeting, in case of an untimely death. On my part. I mean, not that death at any time isn't untimely," he paused and it looked like he was looking straight at Jaylanie which made her bow her head down for a moment before bringing it back up. "This time travel thing we're gonna try and pull off tomorrow, it's-it's got me scratching my head about the survivability of it all. But then again, that's the hero gig, right? Part of the journey is the end," he scoffed. "What am I even trippin' for?"
Tony stood up from his seat, walking over to Jaylanie, standing right in front of her, looking at her. It was almost like she could touch him. "Everything's gonna work out exactly the way it's supposed to," he bent down, putting his hands on his knees. "I love you 3000." Tony gave her a soft smile before the hologram shut off. Jaylanie shut her eyes, letting the tears roll down her cheeks, hugging Ingi tightly.
"Jaylanie," Thor's deep voice broke her from her thoughts and she stood up, still carrying Ingi. "It's gonna be okay." He told her and her expression softened. Thor has gone through so much and he still puts his feelings aside for Jaylanie.
"Same goes for you, Thor." She gave him a somber smile and a nod before putting Ingi back on the ground, grabbing his hand, and jerking her head to let them know she was ready to go out.
Pepper grabbed the flower arrangement with his arc reactor, the very first one he's ever had, PROOF THAT TONY STARK HAS A HEART engraved on it. It brought back memories for her and Pepper. Most of his ashes were spread on the flowers that decorated the arc reactor.
Jaylanie and Pepper stood in the front, side by side as everyone walked behind them. Pepper opened the door and there was a line formed on each side, creating a space for them to walk in the middle. On one side was Stephen and Wong, Peter and his aunt May, Bucky, Sam, and Wanda, The Guardians of the Galaxy, which consisted of Quill, Drax, Mantis, Nebula, Groot, and Rocket.
On the other side was the Dyne-Pym family, consisting of Scott, Hope, Janet, and Hank Pym, King T'Challa, Shuri, and Okoye, Fury, Maria, Carol, Harley, and Clint's wife, Laura, and his children, Lila, Cooper, and Nathaniel.
Jaylanie's heels clicked on the wood of the front porch deck, slowly going down the stairs and making her way onto the grass. The breeze was nice, it's not as cold as it was earlier.
It finally hit her.
Her parents were gone and this was their funeral. She hoped it'd hit her in any other place but the funeral.
She peeled her eyes away from the crowd and looked down at the ground to stop herself from completely losing it, holding Ingi close, Ingi smiling and waving at everyone he saw. Bless his little heart.
Once they got to the dock, Pepper and Jaylanie both shared a knowing look before crouching down, gently placing the arrangement on the water below, watching it as it slowly drifted away.
The flowers were drifting further and further away from their sight and Jaylanie stood up, facing the crowd behind her.
"Thank you all for being here," she spoke through her tears. "It means so much to us. You have no idea. The amount of love and support we've received the last couple of days have been so uplifting and it's greatly appreciated. The ceremony is over and there's food and refreshments in the house, I'd you'd like. Thank you."
As Jaylanie finished her thank you, she saw a few people nod their heads and walk towards one another to chat, some going inside the house to help themselves to the food and drinks. Jaylanie walked away, Ingi running off to play with Clint's children. Pepper walked off as well, taking a walk with Happy.
Jaylanie honestly didn't want to believe any of this was real. She didn't know what was going to happen with the Avengers, she didn't know where to go from there. She's been so accustomed to this life, she doesn't want to live in a world where the Avengers went their separate ways, where she didn't have her parents, and where the love of her life, but life definitely had other plans for her.
Jaylanie walked around aimlessly, not really sure where to go. Everyone seemed to be in groups and socializing with each other, she didn't want to interrupt anything. She kept her head down, but she knew where she was walking.
The once chatty environment was now nowhere to be heard, only the rippling of the water was all she could hear. Maybe a few birds chirping every so often. She walked and walked until she got to the new quantum tunnel that Rocket and Bruce built at the back of the house, and then, three, flat headstones, side by side. One for Tony, one for Natasha, and one for Loki. Though their bodies weren't buried, Pepper and Jaylanie wanted to have them.
Jaylanie got down on her knees, the green grass tickling her soft skin. "I wish you guys were here," she spoke softly, running her fingers over the raised lettering of their gravestones, sometimes brushing away any insects or leaves that fell upon them. It wasn't until two, white butterflies landed on her. One one her right pointer finger, the other on her ring finger.
"That must mean you guys are here, huh," She spoke to the butterflies as if she were speaking to her parents. "I really hope that means you're here." She let the butterflies walk up and down her fingers before another landed on her, this time on her left, ring finger. It wasn't a white one, it was gold and white, glitter shining under the sunshine.
"That's an Asgardian Butterfly," said Thor from behind her, almost scaring her.
"But how?" She said, not taking her eyes off the beautiful butterfly.
"I have no idea," he crouched down to her height. "When my mother passed away, the same butterfly appeared on my fathers ring finger as well." Jaylanie smiled still looking at the butterflies on her fingers, one of the white ones landing on her nose. A faint oop leaving her mouth, followed by a giggle, Thor laughed as well.
"That one's definitely your father. Always stealing the spotlight." Thor said and they laughed even harder.
"What are we laughing at?" Bruce said, walking in with Sam, Bucky, and Steve. Steve didn't have the suit he had on earlier, he had the Captain America suit on, Thor's hammer in one hand, a briefcase in the other.
Jaylanie stood up carefully, with the help of Thor, and turned around to face the team, showing them the butterflies, and Bruce smiled. "The gang's back together!"
The butterflies lingered for a while longer before they flew away, together. Jaylanie's eyes followed where they went until they were no longer in sight, turning her gaze to Steve as he handed the briefcase to Bruce, propping it on the small desk where the panels were at.
"Now, remember," he opened it, revealing the six Infinity Stones. "You have to return the stones to the exact moment you got 'em or you're gonna open up a bunch of nasty, alternative realities."
"Don't worry, Bruce. Clip all the branches." Steve closed the case, locking it safely.
"You know, I tried. When I had the gauntlet, the stones, I-I really tried to bring her back..." he turned to Steve. "I miss her, man."
Steve looked up at him, nodding in agreement. "Me, too."
Bruce furrowed his brows, trying to hold his emotions in, but it seemed like he was close to losing it. Thor walked off, something about meeting with The Guardians.
"You know, if you want, I could come with you." Sam tried to reason with Steve, elbowing him playfully, which caused Steve to laugh.
"You're a good man, Sam. This one's on me, though."
Jaylanie didn't say anything, watching the friends interact with one another, remembering the last 9 years of being an Avenger. So many memories, good and bad, the amount of heart attacks Jaylanie had from the countless of death scares, the restless nights, early mornings, creating her suits, helping her dad make his suits, helping him with his arc reactor when needed, going on missions with her mom and Steve. Especially the one where she met Sam for the first time.
Steve walking up onto the quantum tunnel broke Jaylanie from her thoughts, the machine whirring. He clicked the button on the back of his hand, his quantum suit activating.
"How long is this gonna take?" Sam asked, looking as Steve was getting prepared to go back in time, again.
"For him, as long as he needs. For us, five seconds." Bruce told him, calmly.
Steve picked up Mjölnir with ease, holding it in his hand. "You ready, Cap? We'll meet you back here, okay?"
Steve took a while for him to answer. "You bet." His helmet activated and he looked at Bucky, who looked back at him. He looked upset, but that was how he always looked.
"Going quantum. Three...two...one."
Steve disappeared into the quantum realm and Jaylanie, Bucky, Sam, and Bruce watched on. Bruce and Jaylanie were the only ones who didn't look frightened as they already knew it would work. It was Sam and Bucky who looked frightened as they've never seen anything like it before.
"And returning in five...four...three...two...one."
Nothing happened. He didn't pop back out. Bruce looked at the screen of the small computer and back up at the tunnel, switching the on and off button on the panel. Nothing.
"Where is he?" Sam asked, looking at Bruce and Jaylanie.
"I don't know. He blew past his time stamp." Bruce said as Jaylanie got beside him, trying to help by clicking the appropriate buttons.
Shit, Jaylanie cursed under her breath. "What's happening?" She asked, mostly to herself as her and Bruce continued to click the buttons. "He should be here!"
"Get him back—" Sam demanded.
"We're trying!—"
"Get him the hell back!"
"Hey! I said we're trying!"
Bruce, Sam, and Jaylanie continued to bicker back and forth over trying to get Steve to return before Bucky spoke up. "Guys,"
They all brought their heads up, looking to where Bucky was looking at, and there was a man, sitting on the bench, overlooking the lake. All of them, besides Bruce, walked closer to the man, not getting too close.
The longer Jaylanie looked, the more it looked like Steve. His hair wasn't that dirty blonde she saw just a couple seconds ago, it was gray. "Go ahead." Bucky said to them and Jaylanie took it upon herself to go first.
She slowly walked towards the man and lo and behold, it was Steve. But as an old man.
He didn't have to see her to know it was Jaylanie and he smiled.
"Steve?"
"Hi, Honeycomb, how do I look?" His voice sounded aged, a bit raspy.
"You look like Joe Biden, Steve," she teased and he laughed, patting the seat next to him, and she sat down. "What happened?"
"Well, after I put the stones back, I thought...maybe I'll try some of that life you and your parents were telling me to get." He pat her knee and their was a silver wedding band on his ring finger.
"You got your best girl back?" She told him, referring to his first love, Peggy Carter, who he lost when he crashed into the ice in the 1940's and when she passed away in 2016. Jaylanie got to meet her in 2014, she was in the hospital, and very sick. She was glad to meet her, especially since Steve talked so highly of her.
"I did," He said, smiling absentmindedly. "It was beautiful."
"I'm happy for you," Steve draped an arm over her shoulder, squeezing her in, and she laid her head upon his shoulder.
As they both looked at the lake, a couple of ducks swimming by, the birds chirping, the wind rustling in the leaves above. It was peaceful. She wished it could stay like this forever, but she knew she had to let him go soon. "It was nice seeing you, Steve." She sat straight and they both shared a hug, Steve giving her a kiss on the cheek, and she returned it.
"It was nice seeing you, too, Jay. Maybe we'll talk again over some beers, yeah?"
"Definitely," she laughed, "I'll hold you to it." Jaylanie stood up, making her way back to the group.
"So," Sam began, "what happened?"
"You go find out yourself." She told him, smiling as he made his way past her to talk to Steve. Bucky looked at Jaylanie.
"Did he do it?" He asked and she took a glance at Sam and Steve, then back at Bucky.
"Yeah, he did," Bucky wrapped an arm around her shoulder, smiling from ear to ear at the news, Jaylanie wrapping her arm around his waist. "He said it was beautiful."
As the three watched the scene before them unfold, Steve passed Sam a brown, circular backpack. Sam looked shocked at what was in it and he looked at Bucky, who gave him a simple nod.
It was the Captain America shield.
Sam picked it up and tried it on for size, he shook his head, not wanting to take it, but Steve nodded once more, insisting that he should.
It took a while to finally give in and he reached a hand out, Steve taking it with pleasure, shaking his hand. And that's when Sam walked back, with the Captain America shield on his arm.
"Bucky, you gonna go talk to him?" Jaylanie asked, looking at him and he shook his head.
"I already knew he was gonna do it—"
"Well," Sam said, excitedly, cutting off Bucky unintentionally. "This calls for a brownie, don't you think?"
"It sure does!"
"Also, who's the girl he married?"
Bucky and Jaylanie looked at each other, smirking, before looking back at Sam, shrugging their shoulders, turning around to walk away from him, Sam jogging after them.
"Oh, come on!"
Authors note!
This is the last official chapter of Novalise! The next one will be a short epilogue and that'll be it!
I have a new book coming out called Married Life and it's based on WandaVision. It will have Jaylanie and Loki!
Thank you everyone for the constant support you've shown this book, I'll always be grateful! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
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-j <3