faded 🕷️ peter parker [2]

18

More and more cars parked in the front yard as everyone arrived. Standing in the front porch, dressed in all black, Jessica greeted their guests one by one. Every hero who had ever met Tony had come to give them their condolences. She knew a major part of them, with some exceptions, like the talking tree that came with the talking raccoon. Even Carol Danvers showed up. When she did, Jessica thanked her, not only for being there but also for that time where she saved her, Tony and Nebula from dying alone in space. For the most part, nobody would say much more than a few words, like it is usual at funerals. However, one particular man seemed interested in presenting himself to Jessica.

"I'm sorry for your lost." He said. Jessica couldn't help but stare at his eye patch and wonder what happened to him. "We haven't met. I'm Nick Fury." He offered her his hand and she shook it. "This is Maria Hill." He pointed at the woman standing behind him.

"Hi, thanks for coming." She said, softly. "I'm Jessica."

"I know who you are." And without saying anything else, he went inside the house and started talking to the other guests. He had left Jessica a bit perplexed, but she didn't have time to give it to much thought because all her attention was focused on the couple that was walking towards her.

"Hi." May was the first to say something. It had been so long since they had seen each other. Jessica hugged her in response, glad that she had come. Besides her, Peter looked at them hugging with his eyes puffed. He hadn't been strong enough to stop the tears. After all, he had lost his mentor and the man whom he looked up to.

"Hi, May."

"Sweetheart..." She rubbed Jessica's back, comforting her. "How are you holding up?"

Jessica didn't respond and May pulled away. She knew how bad losing Tony had affected the two teens. The young girl now turned to her boyfriend. She could feel a knot building up in her chest when they established eye contact. They hugged as well, but theirs lasted longer. Peter thought of his last long hug, which had been with Mr Stark before he died. Both of them felt the need to burst into tears, but both knew that it would make it even worse. If Jessica started crying, Peter would too and the other way around. By the time they ended the hug, May had already got inside with the rest. The teens stood close to each other. 

"We'd better go inside." Jessica whispered and Peter nodded. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and held onto his arm, accompanying him indoors. He didn't say anything as he examined every inch of the house. It was his first time visiting it and it felt weird to imagine Mr. Stark living there. Jessica was on the lookout for his reaction as they walked into the living room, where a few more people were talking between them. The rest were outside, getting ready to start the ceremony. They saw Tony's Iron Man helmet on the coffee table. Jessica let go of Peter's arm to pick it up. She was going to miss him a lot. 

Peter found an old picture of him and Mr Stark, the one Tony kept. He spent a long moment staring at it while Jessica was still focused on the helmet. As she held the helmet, she noticed a blinking blue light reflected on the palm of her hand. It was coming from a button located on the interior of the helmet. She pressed it and, unexpectedly, the next thing she saw was Tony's face. 

"Everybody wants a happy ending, right?"

The helmet was projecting a recorded hologram of Tony. Everyone in the room turned to Jessica, who left the helmet back on the coffee table as the message kept playing and everyone gathered around to listen. 

"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 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."