stark, peter parker

ii. i've accidentally just extended her vocabulary

losing a parent wasn't something that anyone was really prepared for, dakota thought. after all, how could someone ever properly prepare for something as tragic as the loss of a close family member? this, she imagined, had to be worse than any other agony she could face.

of course, she'd lost peter to the blip. that had sucked, zero out of ten, not fun. but the thing about losing peter was that it had been only one devastating loss out of millions. while she was grieving, so was the rest of the world that remained. and, because no one knew of his superhero identity, she didn't have to see his face on every magazine she passed.

her father, however, was everywhere. tony stark's face was plastered onto every single billboard, every news site, every article, and spray painted onto every wall. kodie couldn't go anywhere without seeing her father's portrait; either as himself or in the suit of iron that he wore.

it was the sweetest irony, she supposed, that he'd done the very thing thanos had said he hoped he would: humanity remembered him. maybe that was his farewell, his silent middle finger to the man who had brought upon his death.

humanity, along with dakota, seemed to grieve for him, if in their own way. every time she would see a candle-light shrine or a peaceful remembrance, a small smile would crack onto kodie's lips, even for a moment.

dakota wondered if the transition would be easier if she still had the other avengers to lean on. thor had gone off on his own, bruce banner had gone back to bettering himself. steve rogers had finally made a decision for himself and had gone back in time to be with peggy carter, and clint barton was with his family.

perhaps the transition would be easier if she still had hazel. hazel rogers had left with bucky barnes to discover what they could about their past. they were following a lead on zemo, and the last that dakota had heard was that they were about to get to the bottom of hydra's winter soldier project.

dakota couldn't possibly ask any of the avengers to leave their current endeavors for her sake, so she was choosing to move on in the only way she knew how. constant business. she was working for stark industries, working for charities, and doing absolutely anything she could to avoid thinking about the death of tony stark. 

losing her father had made dakota ever more sarcastic and ever more closed off from the world, if either thing was possible. she'd been forced to grow up a lot in her life, but now more than ever. it was as if the entire world had pointed her out in a crowd and had told her "hey, you, asshole, grow up! you're not a kid anymore! and, by the way, your dad's dead!". or, so she had put it when explaining it to her therapist.

oh, yeah, that was the other thing. dakota ashlynn stark, surprising as it was, was in therapy. kodie hated the idea of being vulnerable, and hated the thought of admitting that she needed help. after tony died, though, it was undeniable that she could no longer pretend that she was one hundred percent fine.

but, stubborn as always, dakota had refused to go to anyone directly about her feelings. it was only when aunt may put a hand on her shoulder and said "i think you should go to a therapist to talk about this" that she even considered the possibility of talking to a professional. so, she got online and scheduled an appointment with the nearest person she could find.

her therapist was nice, as far as therapists went, she assumed. dakota was extremely superstitious at all times, always wondering if someone would turn on her at any moment. having a therapist felt like betraying a barrier she'd put up on herself; a promise to never allow the public eye to know about her feelings. but, despite how foreign the help was, it certainly was helping, and even the stark girl couldn't deny that.

she still, however, hadn't brought up the topic of her guilt to her therapist. shannon, so her name was, was an older woman with gray curly hair that she tossed up into a headband and ponytail. she wore glasses and a wardrobe built of skirts and infinity scarves... both being things that dakota wished she could give the woman fashion advice on. shannon was incredibly kind and listened to all that dakota had to say, but the girl still couldn't bring herself to say much.