Marvel OneShots

I Saw It (IronStrange)

((Spoilers for Endgame))

Stephen was watching the flowers drift, far out on the lake.

Tony Stark was gone.

He wasn't coming back.

They had won. Their one way to win, they had done it.

He had done it. And it had cost him his life.

Stephen heard the soft footsteps approaching him, and he glanced sideways in time to see Pepper Potts stop next to him.

"I'm so sorry," Stephen whispers, voice tight with grief.

"He's at rest, that's all I've ever wanted for him," Pepper replies solemnly. "I miss him, of course, but... we'll be okay."

"That doesn't make it easier," Stephen murmurs sympathetically, eyebrows pulling together.

"I know," Pepper goes quiet, gazing out at the light glittering on the lake. Stephen takes the hint and goes silent as well, his shaking hands gripping each other gently.

"You know..." Pepper hesitates, and Stephen glances at her as her teeth toy with her lip, testing her words mentally. "He loved you." Her words are soft, not angry like they would seem.

Like he would have expected.

Stephen feels rocks drop into his stomach, the empty void in his chest ache at her words. He hesitates even longer than Pepper had, his gaze growing distant.

"I know... I saw it..." He whispers. "I saw it in the way his eyes always found mine... Even in a dark room, over the tops of a hundred people's heads." Stephen lets a faint smile tug onto his face. "I saw it in his soft smiles, and wandering hands that pulled me close."

I shouldn't be saying this to her. Stephen found himself thinking. Pepper is his wife. This is the last thing she wants to hear.

And yet he was saying it anyway.

"I saw it in the way he held onto me, like a lifeline... Like we were the only ones who ever existed... I knew... I knew when he pressed his lips to my cheek, and told me that he loved me." Stephen chokes out softly. To his surprise, Pepper is smiling sadly.

Like she knew.

"So why didn't you stop him?" Pepper asks quietly, studying Stephen's expression.

"Because I loved him too." Stephen lets out a shaky breath, feeling the weight on his shoulders diminish slightly. Pepper is gazing at him with a sad, inquiring look, prompting him to continue.

"All he wanted.. All he ever wanted... Was for the world to be safe. For the people he cared about and loved to be safe and happy..." Stephen frowns deeper, biting his lip. "I wanted to be selfish. I wanted to stop him, not let him do what had to be done. But... He never would have forgiven me, or himself. He had to rest. He needed to." Stephen looks anywhere but at Pepper. "So I had to let him..."

The man jumps when Pepper's hand rests on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Stephen," her voice wavers, her eyes are watery, but she's smiling.

"Why are you thanking me?" Stephen croaks past his own tears, hands shaking harder as he gazes at her. Her smile widens slightly, and tearful laughter comes from her.

"You saved everyone, too. Think of how many more would have died if you hadn't given up the stone. If you'd tried to keep fighting so Tony wouldn't have to..." Pepper glances off slightly. "You got everyone back to the fight. Because of you keeping us on the right course, people were reunited with kids and parents and siblings and loved ones. My daughter is safe. Thanks to you."