A month later, you were all coming back from a party at the tower to celebrate its new opening. According to the press, you lived and worked there full time just like your father had for a massive chunk of his life, the idea making you smile. You missed him, even if you never got to officially meet the man.
Dum-E resides there permanently because he started to crowd up the space in your guys' apartment. Peter has been on his medication for over five months and the party tonight was, unknowingly to more than a few, to celebrate how far he's come with it. The party was truly amazing though and you got to invite Prue, Alex, and even Fred came in his best suit.
Before you guys had left, all of you dolled up to the nines for the rare occasion, getting ready at your and Kate's apartment before you would pile into the car that Kate's driver, Ranjit, would do rounds of picking up your plus ones, you offered a place at the tower for Peter to live. He gratefully denied it, saying he was happy to be starting from scratch, and you respect that, you do, but you told him that if he ever changed his mind, there was an empty suite that was all his. You also told him that if he ever wanted to work for Stark Industries – which seemed to intrigue him a lot more than the living space – a job was always available for the curly lad who was studying remotely at MIT.
So, as the three of you stumbled back to the apartment a bit tipsy with a bottle of something in your hand, you were all singing loudly to some tune that had been playing in the car on your way to have the driver drop the others off. It was nearing two in the morning and your cheeks were rosy with the cool summer night's breeze, the alcohol dancing in your system, and your two favorite people swaying at your side.
Happy was someone you trusted with everything you had when you thought about it, and he was definitely the man you wanted on the ground floor of this new opening. He secretly loved that you were picking up where Tony left off before his retirement, but you were making it your own, wanting to focus on the charitable side of the company. It wasn't the best move for any business in reality, but you didn't see the money as something you needed such an excess of, and with Pepper sneaking into the picture, you wanted to hold steady on it.
You were still quite resentful towards the former CEO, you always would be because it was time you couldn't get back with your dad, but you also saw Morgan through all of that tension. You saw a mini Tony within her brown eyes and sass which made you excited to maybe be considered an older sister in the coming years. Yeah, you'd suck it up if it meant you could have the little miss in your life, there was no doubt.
Only a week ago, while Kate was out taking her finals that had been delayed and Peter was working at the pizza parlor, you were lounging in the living room on the phone, making last minute changes and assuring details of the upcoming party, when there was a knock at your door. It was none other than King T'Challa, offering his condolences for your family and eventually asking you to join him in Wakanda after catching up, even offering a story or two about when he had fought at Tony's side. It was amazing to hear it from someone with no biases towards your dad and he had much respect for the billionaire from meeting him up until the end. It wasn't a massive amount of time or anything in between, but still. It was good to hear. You told him you'd definitely consider the offer since you were a Hunter at heart, but you also warned him that your friends and (chosen) family lived in New York, so at most, it'd be splitting your time. He didn't seem put off by the information and he left a couple hours later.
"Here," You giggled, feeling a little fuzzy from the more than three glasses of champagne you had earlier, and handed Kate the envelope from your bag when the three of you got inside but waited until Peter took Lucky out, "This is...for you."
She looked to you curiously, a smile playing on her lips as she furrowed her eyebrows, and then she tore into the envelope, taking out the tickets that Peter helped you purchase not long ago.
"Holy shit, what is this?"
"Six month anniversary's coming up," You shrugged, "Thought we could spend it in Australia since you'll be on summer break still?" You were now guessing your life choices because they have angry kangaroos and like spider webs that are massive – you're a bit drunk, "A family was quick to sell me their farm a few days ago and I thought we could go check it out? Maybe fly from there to someplace more romantic after and –"
She cut you off, jumping into you to smash her lips against yours with a wide smile, and you wrapped your arms around her middle, kissing her back after the shock wore off.
"That sounds amazing!" She cheered, "I've never been there and like – oh, this is so cool!"
You laughed, lifting her as much as you could as you kissed her again, and she muttered a string of 'I love you's against your lips in between kisses, so you happily returned the sentiment whenever you could with a small chuckle.
When Peter got back, you ordered some pizza and the three of you, with Lucky on the couch and Powder burrowing into Peter's chocolate curls, sprawled out on the sofa to watch some late TV, just talking about the night. It went unsaid that Peter would take your bedroom for the night since it had really become a guest room and eventually, everyone went off to bed.
It was an amazing night, and you couldn't feel happier about everything that was happening in your life right now. After all the crap you had to suffer through growing up, by the time you turned twenty, you'd be on top of the world.
It was nearly six in the morning when you slowly woke up to go to the bathroom, needing a wee, when you remembered Happy giving you something with a sad smile.
It had been a tiny envelope with a USB in it and he told you that it was the 'key to Stark Industries'. When you had questioned him about what that meant, he pulled you into a surprising hug and then clapped you on the shoulder affectionately, telling you to trust him. He seemed on the verge of tears and when you thanked him, accidentally calling him 'Uncle Haps' he had to get out a tissue, putting a hand up when you went to apologize to stop you from doing so, saying that he'd see you later, he just needed a moment.
But you could only wait so long before your curiosities got the better of you and you sat on the sofa, opening your laptop with the drive in your free hand. The light from the screen shined on you, but it was dark surrounding you otherwise. You took a glimpse out one of the many windows in the apartment, smiling softly to yourself as you waited for the drive to load.
When the screen popped up, it was black, but it was a video. You furrowed your eyebrows, not expecting a video to be this 'key' but clicked play after hesitating for a moment.
Tony appeared on the screen and your breath caught in your throat, pausing it before you could think twice because you needed a second to brace yourself for this.
He was dressed in a dark Black Sabbath tee shirt and jeans, sitting on a couch like you were now, leaning forward with a smile, the crinkles prominent by his eyes. He was looking right at you – or the camera, and you didn't know how to feel. But it was a lot already and when you pressed play, it only took two words for tears to prick at your eyes, a small smile tugging at your lips.
"Hey, kid."
The End.
Thank you so much for reading this and I hope you enjoyed it!! xx
