To The Sun [3] Endgame

Twenty

Chapter Twenty:

When the dust finally cleared, and the bodies of the fallen had been taken away, did anyone truly realize exactly what had been lost.

Hazel stayed right where she was, even when everyone disappeared onto other things. She had nowhere else to be anyways, considering her home had been reduced to rubble. She was still staring at the large piece of concrete she had mistaken as a rock, the one where Tony Stark had slumped against as he took his final breaths. She could still see him, the half of his face that was burnt, and the other half which was much to pale. The smile he gave her when he said she was alright, as if he believed she wasn't.

Hazel stood there for hours in silence until the sun began to set and Steve carefully approached her for the fourth time. He had cleaned up, where, she didn't know. He wore regular clothes now, his hair wet and slicked back. She knew she was filthy, her face covered in dirt and blood, her body aching with pain.

"Why don't you come get some rest." Steve said, voice soft. He was hurting just as much as she was, but he was used to hiding it. "You've been out here for hours. He's not coming back, Hazel. No matter how much you wish it."

She closed her eyes, "What happened when Thanos tossed me through the air? What did I miss?"

Steve walked up next to her, "You missed Tony flying to your side, shoving me out of the way. You weren't breathing, we thought you were dead."

"I was trapped between the soul stone and time stone. He threw me back in time, Steve." She frowned, "I don't know how to control my powers again. All that training and adaption was a waste, I did nothing with it."

"What?"

She looked up at him, her eyes were red. "I'm 16 again."

Steve nodded slowly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, leading her away from the site. She let him, suddenly just wanting to fall asleep and stay that way forever. They walked over the wreckage, walking for ten minutes in silence until they reach the patch of drive way that hadn't been affected by the attack. A car was parked there, and Steve helped Hazel get in the back. He took his place at the wheel and soon they were driving, leaving the place behind. Hazel couldn't bring herself to turn, she wouldn't be able to see anything anyways considering the sun had almost set.

They pulled out onto the main road, and already she could see people milling about under street lamps. Some dared to inch closer towards the remains of the headquarters, but most stayed back as the car drove past them. The closer they got to the city, the more people filtered the streets. Hazel wanted to feel happy, and deep down she did and was glad the rest of the population had returned, but she couldn't get past what they lost. It was only two people, but it also wasn't. Natasha Romanoff and Tony Stark weren't just two people, they were the entire world for a lot of them, and now they were just gone.

Steve was silent as they pulled up to an apartment building, and when they parked he rushed to her door and tried helping her out. Hazel swatted him away, following him into the building. She should've figured he would've boughten her to his apartment, considering she had nowhere else to go. The Headquarters had literally been her home, her room was there with all of her belongings, now all just buried somewhere along with a piece of her.

They took the stairs up to his floor, and his keys jingled as he tried opening the door. Eventually it creaked open, and Steve pushed it open wider. The lights flickered on, revealing a figure sitting on the couch. Hazel stopped as the figure stood up, giving her a small smile.

"Dad." She mumbled rushing forward, wrapping her arms around him. She could feel him hesitant, but she didn't care. He was back, and they could work on their odd father-daughter relationship.