Marvel And Melanated Imagines (ongoing)

there's no fun in a funeral | tony stark

Silence filled the room as Steve, Rhodey, Peter Parker and Happy entered, carrying the coffin on their shoulders. It was clear to everyone that Peter could barely walk in a straight line, having not slept for days on end since the fateful day. 

He looked like he'd been crying for hours. It was an open casket funeral, but the majority of the people there couldn't bring themselves to look, desperate to cling onto the memories of Tony as a cheerful, sarcastic, warm guy, always making jokes. They couldn't bear to see his cold, pale body lying alone in that wooden box. They couldn't bear the thought of never seeing his smile again, never hearing his laugh and never speaking to him. It was too much to comprehend.

The first part of the funeral passed painfully slowly, with pictures from various points in Tony's life flashing up as a slideshow on the projector at the front of the room. Tony with Y/N, Tony in his Iron Man suit, Tony with the Avengers, Tony saving people. He was a hero, always putting others before himself.

Rhodey stood up and walked to the front, clearing his throat.

"Would anyone like to come up and say a few words about Tony?" He asked, his eyes flicking around the room and landing on Y/N, whose own eyes were red and puffy from crying all morning. She took a deep breath and got to her feet. As she slowly walked to the front, everyone in the room avoided looking at her, knowing that if it was hard for them, it must be even harder for her. Impossible to comprehend because everyone in that room was finding it extremely difficult, but it was true.

"Hi. You all probably know that I'm Tony's girlf- I was Tony's girlfriend-" she corrected herself, eyes filling with tears as she realised she was going to have to start referring to him in the past tense, "- well, actually, we were engaged, but we never got the chance to get married. I love – loved – him with all of my heart, and although he was far from perfect, I loved him. He was smart, funny, caring, and so much more, but sadly, he... he never knew his own worth. On the surface, Tony was a sarcastic, arrogant guy who was completely in love with himself, but deep down, he was insecure and fragile. He changed a lot over the last few years. When I first met him, he never would've sacrificed himself for other people, but then all of you came along," she gestured to the Avengers who were all sitting together at the front, "and just look at what he did in New York. Sacrificed himself for the safety of other people. I loved both sides of Tony but everyone in this room brought out the best in him. Thank you."

She wiped her eyes and smiled weakly before returning to her seat. The next person to stand up was Steve, who strode to the front of the room and tapped the microphone awkwardly.
"As most of you probably know, Tony and I didn't always get along perfectly. We were on opposing sides of a huge fight a while back, and it's funny because all that seems so irrelevant now. We refused to talk to each other for so long, and I just... I just wish I'd had the opportunity to say goodbye to him and make amends before he... went. I hate the fact that there was still bad blood between us when that day happened. I hate the fact that I can't just call him and hear his stupid, cocky voice," he smiled sadly, forcing himself to bite back tears, "and say 'look, Tony, I know we fought, but you're my friend and I want things to be the way they were'. I hate how... I just hate how cruel life can be. I've had close friends taken away from me before," he glanced over at Bucky, who smiled sadly, "and let me tell you, it doesn't get any easier. Tony, buddy, I just want you to know that I'm sorry for everything and you were a great guy. I'll never forget you."

Steve sniffed, suddenly unable to hold back the tears that filled his eyes and spilled down his cheeks. He smiled apologetically at the people watching him. He hated showing emotion in front of others but this time he couldn't help it.

Silence filled the room again, thick and heavy like a fog. Steve sat back down, and nothing happened for a minute or two, before Peter Parker rose to his feet, took a deep breath and walked to the front of the room.

"Hi everyone. I'm Peter Parker. I just wanted to say that without Tony, I never would've met anyone in this room. I wanted to stay being the friendly neighborhood Spiderman, stopping thieves and burglars in Queens, but Tony had faith that I could become an Avenger. I wasn't sure at all at first. I was scared. I've never really had a proper father figure in my life, because, well, that's a different story. But yeah, it's just me and my Aunt May at home. Then Tony came along, and it felt like I had an actual dad! He'd probably laugh and tell me that he's my mentor and not my father if he heard me saying that, but it's true. I was so, so happy and I felt like a void in my life had been filled by him. By Iron Man! How cool is that? Then..."

 Peter's face dropped as though he'd suddenly remembered what had happened, "he was taken away from me. Just like that, and I don't think I've ever felt this sad in my entire life. I-I'm sorry, this is too much. I'm sorry, Tony. I wish I could've saved you like you've saved me."

Peter burst into tears and began to sob, standing helplessly at the front of the hall by himself with his head in his hands, suddenly appearing even younger and more vulnerable in his black tux. Y/N rushed up to comfort him, taking him in her arms and escorting back to his seat. The atmosphere in the room had shifted; the silence had been replaced by the sound of people crying, and the ones who weren't crying were staring blankly into space. If this was what a world without Tony Stark felt like, no one wanted to live in it.