"Everybody wants a happy ending, right? But it doesn't always roll that way. Maybe this time. I'm hoping if you play this back, it's in celebration,"
One of the hardest things that The Avengers had ever had to do was watch Tony Stark speak to them about his own death.
The living room of the Stark family lake house was crowded with Tony's family: Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy sat side by side with little Morgan Stark, who barely even understood what was going on. Steve stood in the back, his arm tightly wound around Lottie as they watched the hologram of Tony walk through the living room and talk. Thor, Bruce, and Clint stood off to the side as well with Peter Parker and May Parker beside them. The original team, his closest friends, Tony's family stood in the room together.
"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. God, what a world. Universe, now. If you told me ten years ago that we weren't alone, let alone, you know, to this extent, I mean, I wouldn't have been surprised. But come on, you know? That epic forces of darkness and light that have come into play. And, for better or worse, that's the reality Morgan's gonna have to find a way to grow up in,"
The hologram of Tony Stark stopped in his tracks, taking a seat on the chair that he had with him while filming. He turned back to the camera, where the group sat as the hologram played out of one of his many suit helmets, and smiled. It was a sight that they all wished they could see one last time.
"So I thought I'd probably better record a little greeting... In the case of an untimely death on my part. Not that, death in any time isn't untimely. This time travel thing that 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. Part of the journey is the end," hologram Tony rose from his seat, a large grin on his face as he leaned down in front of the camera, the scene looking like they were staring right back at them. "Uh, what am I even trippin' for? Everything's gonna work out exactly the way it's supposed to."
Hologram Tony paused for a moment, smiling down at the camera with love and adoration in his eyes. Lottie's eyes stung with tears as she realized exactly who he was looking at and thinking of in that moment: little Morgan Stark.
"I love you 3,000,"
On his end, Tony Stark flipped off the recording, the hologram disappearing as the team sat in silence for just a moment, staring at the spot that Tony had just stood in.
Pepper cleared her throat, wiping her under-eyes as she rose to her feet, her lip quivering as she stared back at her family behind her.
"Why don't you all take a moment before we head outside? I'll get you when I'm ready, I just...I need a minute or two,"
The team nodded, staying silent for a moment as they watched Pepper pick her daughter up and walk into the kitchen, leaving the team alone in the living room to speak with one another.
Steve's hand moved it's way down Lottie's back to grasp her hand. She looked up at her husband, giving him a small smile as she wiped her under-eye. All Steve did was motion his head toward the hallway, and Lottie quietly followed behind him.
Turning into the guest bedroom of the Stark house, Steve left Lottie in the middle of the room, shutting the door behind them before turning back to his wife with a small smile that she did her best to reciprocate.
"How are you doing?" Steve's voice came out in a whisper as he walked forward, grasping his wife's hands. Lottie shrugged lightly.
"I don't know, really. I feel like I've cried out all my tears over the last few days and now...I just feel numb,"
"Maybe this will help," producing the black bock from his back pocket and lifting it open, Lottie's eyes widened at the sight of the diamond necklace with the slate blue diamond hanging from the bottom. "Tony gave this to me to give to you. Howard and Peggy...they were out one day and thought of us, so they bought it. Guess Tony kept it after his parents passed."
Carefully and with shaky hands, Lottie brought the necklace out of the case and laid it in her palms, looking down at it with a small smile on her face. Her eyes stung from the tears welling up as she looked up at Steve.
"Put it on me?"
Without a moments hesitation, Steve took the necklace and walked behind his wife. Moving her hair to the side, he laid it over her, clasping it in the back as it rested against her chest.
Steve moved his arms to wrap around Lottie's waist, holding her close as she held him back.
Her fingers danced up and down the necklace, moving over the little diamond at the bottom. At the slightest touch of her fingertips, the diamond glowed, a light blue light protruding from the diamond and out in front of her.
"This is definitely going to end up more sappy than I ever wanted it to be, but I guess there's a first time for everything,"
Both Steve and Lottie froze at the sight of the hologram Tony Stark in front of them, projecting from the necklace around her neck.
"If you're watching this, that means capsicle had to give you the necklace for me. I decided to modify it, give it my own little trick so I could leave this for you. If all went well I was just going to reverse it and pretend it was a normal necklace and like nothing ever happened, but...I guess I'll just pretend I got the short end of the stick for the sake of the video. I'm definitely starting with the star spangled man with a plan first, though, or else I might cry. And I'm sure he's watching this with you,"
Steve's grip on his wife tightened as they stared at the hologram of Tony, who was smiling happily into the necklace, almost as if he was looking right at them.
"I don't know if I ever got to tell you, but I forgive you, Cap. Took awhile, some therapy sessions and a couple bottles of vodka, but I do. I also never got to tell you that...you're one of my best friends, Cap. The fighting...it wasn't worth losing you. I want you to know, for as much as we went back and forth, for as much as we disagreed, for all the times we had to lie to one another...I never stopped caring about you, Cap,"
Lottie reached down to her waist, her hands finding Steve's as she gripped them as tightly as possible, feeling his tears falling onto her shoulder.
Tony smiled down at his feet before his line of sight moved slightly down from where he had looked before, almost staring directly into Lottie's eyes.
"Khaleesi...god, I don't know where to start. You know, when you first showed up, I thought I was gonna have a heart attack. I almost didn't want to keep you around, you just...reminded me too much of dad. Unfortunately for me, I grew kind of attached to you,"
The hologram took a step closer, almost eye to eye with Lottie now as a tear slipped down her cheek.
"You were dad's best friend, and you were mine too. You were there, even when I wanted to be alone. You stayed behind, gave up the thing you loved the most, for me. And I'll never forget what you said: 'you're my family'. I think it was that moment, right there, where I realized that just because mom and dad were gone, didn't mean I was alone. I still had a family, and it was all of you,"
Lottie tightened her grip around Steve's arms as silent tears fell down both of their cheeks. Hologram Tony let out a short laugh, a fond smile on his lips.
"You know, I didn't get to put a suit of armor around the world. But, I did put one around my world: Pepper, Morgan, Rhodey, Peter...you,"
Steve had to reach up and wipe a tear away from his face,
"I love you Khaleesi, and...I love you too, Cap. Take care of our family for me," Tony looked down at the end, laughing as he shook his head. "I've really got to stop with these depressing hologram messaging. First the one for everyone, and now this? Everything is going to work out just fine, and we're all going home,"
Tony Stark stared down into Lottie's eyes, smiling as his hand reached forward, his finger tapping on the little diamond as his hologram vanished before them.
Lottie smiled as a tear fell, memorizing the smile on her best friend's face as her and the love of her life were left along in the room once again.
All they did was hold onto one another. Nothing needed to be said, because Tony had said it all. His words brought them peace, one neither of them thought they'd be able to find again.
Rhodey tapped on the bedroom door, bringing their gaze up to him as he gave them a nod, motioning out into the hallway as the followed along behind him.
Pepper Potts stood at the end of the dock, Morgan wrapped in her arms as they watched the bed of flowers float down the lake. Lying in the middle was the first arc reactor that Tony ever had, the familiar scripture from Pepper around the ring.
PROOF THAT TONY STARK HAD A HEART
Those words puzzled Lottie now. That arc reactor wasn't proof, the family that stood behind Pepper and mourned his sacrifice was the proof.
Rhodey and Happy stood behind Pepper, holding onto one another tightly as they held their emotions in as best they could.
Steve stood behind them, an arm wrapped around Lottie's waist as he held his wife close to his side. Lottie's had was wound tightly in Peter Parker's, the boy holding onto it like a lifeline as May Parker held onto his shoulders in comfort.
Bruce, Thor, Stephen Strange, and Wong stood silently in a group together, their eyes never leaving the lake before them.
Scott Lang and the Pym family, even though Hank Pym despised the Stark name, stood off to the side and mourned the loss of a hero.
The Guardians of the Galaxy were silent, heads hung low as they all stood together. Each of them had been touched by Tony, whether it was his bravery on Titan, or the kind heartedness that he showed to the daughter of Thanos while adrift in space. They all mourned together.
T'Challa, Okoye, and Shuri stood side by side with Clint Barton's family, the group standing respectfully as they gave a moment of silence for the man who risked it all for them.
Sam and Wanda held onto Bucky in the back, keeping him strong and held together as they stared out at the lake.
Behind them was Harvey, a young boy that Tony had met after the mandarin situation. Lottie had heard the stories from Tony, and did everything in her power to reach out and invite him here. Tony had touched his life in a way that Harvey would never be able to repay. He deserved to stand with them and mourn.
Maria Hill stood beside Secretary Ross, neither of them able to look out to the lake. Ross was quiet, for once, staring down at the ground as he mourned.
Carol Danvers brought up the rear, standing on the steps of the house as she looked out upon the group before her. She hadn't known Tony as well as many of them had, but seeing the way the mourned, she understood their pain. Tony Stark had touched their lives in a way that no one else ever would, and he sacrificed himself for the world.
Nick Fury, the man who started it all, was stood at the back of the group in silence. He stared at the mass of heroes before him, the original group that he had assembled, and the ones that they had found along the way. He couldn't even resist the sad smile at the thought.
The Avengers stood together on that lake in silence, mourning the death of a true hero: Anthony Edward Stark.
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Totally not crying...not at all
But hey, I love making you all cry, so enjoy this video below that I edited together for Lottie and Tony. I apologize now for the tears that might ensue