[Soft piano is playing. Tony Stark's mother, Maria, sits at a piano. A young Tony is on the couch.]
Bucky takes a shaky breath before he looks down in guilt.
Maria Stark: Try to remember the kind of September. When grass was green... [She stops singing as Howard Stark walks in, but continues playing.] Wake up, dear, and say goodbye to your father.
Howard Stark: Who's the homeless person on the couch?
[Tony, wearing a Santa hat, staggers to his feet and chuckles.]
Young Tony Stark: This is why I love coming home for Christmas... right before you leave town.
Sirius and many others nod sadly in agreement.
Maria Stark: Be nice, dear, he's been studying abroad.
Howard Stark: Really, which broad? What's her name?
Young Tony Stark: Candice.
[Howard pulls off Tony's hat.]
Howard Stark: Do me a favor? Try not to burn the house down before Monday.
Young Tony Stark: Okay, so it's Monday. That is good to know. I will plan my toga party accordingly. Where you going?
Maria Stark: Your father's flying us to the Bahamas for a little getaway.
Howard Stark: We might have to make a quick stop.
Young Tony Stark: At the Pentagon. Right? Don't worry, you're gonna love the holiday menu at the commissary.
[Maria stops playing the piano.]
Howard Stark: You know, they say sarcasm is a metric for potential. If that's true, you'll be a great man someday. I'll get the bags.
"And I am," Tony whispers.
[He walks out of the room, and Maria stands up.]
Maria Stark: He does miss you when you are not here. And frankly, you're going to miss us. Because this is the last time we're all going to be together. You know what's about to happen. Say something. If you don't, you'll regret it.
[Howard walks back in.]
Young Tony Stark: I love you, Dad. And I know you did the best you could.
[Maria leans in to kiss Tony on the cheek, and when she leans back, an older Tony Stark is standing in the background. Howard and Maria walk out, leaving the two Tonys.]
Tony Stark: That's how I wished it happened. Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing, or BARF. God, I gotta work on that acronym. An extremely costly method of hijacking the hippocampus to... clear traumatic memories. Huh.
"That's a terrible acronym, Stark," Bucky chuckles, obviously trying to hide the fact that he was close to crying.
"I know, I still have to come up with a better one," Tony says with a smile.
[He blows on a candle and everything around him shimmers, then starts to dissolve. It's a hologram.]
Tony Stark: It doesn't change the fact that they never made it to the airport... or all the things I did to avoid processing my grief, but... [He takes off his glasses.] Plus, 611 million dollars for my little therapeutic experiment? No one in the right mind would've ever funded it.
[He is standing on a stage in front of a large crowd. A sign reads MIT Alumni Honors: Tony Stark.]
Tony Stark: Help me out, what's the MIT mission statement? "To generate, disseminate... and preserve knowledge. And work with others... to bring it to bear on the world's great challenges." Well, you are the others. And, quiet as it's kept... the challenges facing you are the greatest mankind's ever known. Plus, most of you are broke.
[The crowd chuckles.]
Tony Stark: Oh, I'm sorry. Rather, you were. As of this moment... every student has been made an equal recipient of the Inaugural September Foundation Grant. As in... all of your projects have just been approved and funded.
[The crowd breaks out in applause and cheering.]
Tony Stark: No strings, no taxes... just re-frame the future! Starting now.
[The teleprompter above the audience reads. 'Now I would like to introduce the head of the foundation: Pepper Potts.' Tony stares at it sadly.]
Tony Stark: Go break some eggs.
[He exits the stage.]
MIT teacher: Wow. Wow. That uh... that took my breath away. Oh, Tony! So generous. So much money! Wow! Out of curiosity... will any portion of that grant be made available to faculty? I know, "Ooh, gross," but hear me out. I have got this killer idea for a self-cooking hot dog. Basically, chemical detonator embedded...
[Tony is not listening.]
Tony Stark: Restroom's this way, yeah?
MIT teacher: Yeah. Embedded in the meat shaft.
"In the meat shaft, ey?" Sirius says suggestively.
"Merlin, you're so fucking stupid," Remus says as he slaps the back of his husband's head.
Sirius scowls and rubs the back of his head. "Ow," he mutters.
Stark's Assistant: Mr. Stark, I am so sorry about the teleprompter. I didn't know Miss Potts had canceled. They didn't have time to fix it.
Tony Stark: It's... fine. I'll be right back.
MIT teacher: We'll catch up later.
[Tony steps into a quiet corridor. He loiters by the men's room, then glances back at the stage door before walking towards the elevator. A woman in sober clothes is also waiting. Tony stops and turns his back to the wall.]
Mrs. Spencer: That was nice, what you did for those young people.
Tony Stark: Ah, they deserve it. Plus, it helps ease my conscience.
Mrs. Spencer: They say there's a correlation between generosity and guilt. But if you've got the money... break as many eggs as you like. Right?
[He narrows his eyes and half smiles, then turns to face the elevator. He looks surprised to find the button unlit and pushes it himself.]
"That's suspicious."
Tony Stark: Are you going up?
Mrs. Spencer: I'm right where I want to be.
[She digs in her handbag, and Tony grabs her wrist. He realizes what he's done.]
Tony Stark: Okay, okay. Hey! Sorry, it's an occupational hazard.
Mrs. Spencer: I work for the State Department. Human Resources. I know it's boring... but it enabled me to raise a son. I'm very proud of what he grew up to be.
[She shoves a photo at him.]
Mrs Spencer: His name was Charlie Spencer. You murdered him. In Sokovia. Not that it matters in the least to you. You think you fight for us. You just fight for yourself.
The Avengers all look down in shame.
[Tony shakes his head.]
Mrs Spencer: Who's going to avenge my son, Stark? He's dead... and I blame you.
[She turns and walks away, leaving Tony standing by the elevator with a grim frown.]
---
The county fair is in town!
Took my friend to that because she moved here two years ago and didn't go last year so that was her first time. We had fun.
Fix your posture and drink some water!
-toast
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The Winter Witch | mcu x hp wtm
Фанфик"𝒞𝓊𝓉 𝓊𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓁 𝒾𝓉 𝒷𝓁ℯℯ𝒹𝓈 𝒾𝓃𝓈𝒾𝒹ℯ 𝒶 𝓌ℴ𝓇𝓁𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽ℴ𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝓅ℯ𝒶𝒸ℯ" --- Gabrielle Clementine Gray Orange Spot The Fifth Marauder The Winter Witch She goes by many names. One day, the Marauders were chillin' with each other, wh...
