Artemis (A Steve Rogers Story)

11- Love You, 3000

It had been a few weeks since everything that taken place, a few weeks since we had lost Anthony and lost Natasha. I still was trying to grasp the loss as I stood in my bedroom, Steve and I had been able to go back to our house, where we had let Wanda, Sam and Bucky stay at until they had somewhere to go. I start to take out a couple dresses when I hear movement, and turning I see Steve standing there.

"You ready?" he asks me.
"Not really. I always thought I would be able to watch Anthony grow old, see him and Pepper have grand-kids. I never imagined that I would be saying good-bye to him, until he was old and grey" I say to him.
"You remember the day on the hellicarrier, after I had just pratcially met Tony, I had this whole idea of him and I told him" "You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you" I answer for him.

"Yeah, he proved me wrong didn't he" Steve says to me.
"Yeah he did" I say as I sigh taking out a dress to wear, "I'll be ready in a few, meet you downstairs" I say to him, as I give him a quick kiss on the cheek. He then leaves the room, and I start to get changed into the dress.

I slip on my heels, as I head to the door, and leave the room, slowly heading down the stairs. "Hey, Steve's waiting in the car" I hear Bucky telling me.
"Thanks Buck, we will see you out there later right?"  I say to him.
"I don't think I will" Bucky says to me.
"James" I sigh looking at him, and he knows I'm being serious when I have never called him that, "Anthony would be okay with you being there. You aren't the reason he lost his parents, that wasn't the you that I know and love" I tell him.

"I know, but still doesn't seem right you know" he says.
"You would be there as support to Steve and to me" I tell him, "You deserve to be there, he did help bring you back, you owe that to him to pay your respects"
"I will be there" he smiles to me.

"Good, well I should get going, Sam, Wanda, make sure he comes" I call out to them, and they both just nod at me. I leave the house, and walk down to the car, where Steve was waiting for me.

We arrive at the lake house, and step out of the car, and head up the porch steps, "Auntie Willow" I hear the familiar voice of Morgan call out. I see the young girl come up to me, and I bend down and pick her up holding her close to me.
"Hey, Sweetie" I smile at her, "Do you know why we are all here?" I ask her.

"Mommy says that Daddy had to go way to the stars with Aunt Natasha" Morgan says to me.
"Yeah, yeah he did, but he left you a very important message, think we should go hear it." I say to him and she nods at me, as we head inside the house.

"Everybody wants a happy ending, right? 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 something like 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 10 years ago that we weren't alone... let alone to this extent, I mean, I wouldn't have been surprised...but come on, who knew? The 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. So I thought I better record a little greeting... in the case of an untimely death. On my part. Not that death at any time isn't untimely. This time travel thing that we're gonna try and pull off tomorrow...it's got my scratching my head about the survivability of it all. That's the thing. Then again, that's the hero gig, right? Part of the journey is the end. What am I even tripping for, everything is gonna work out exactly the way it's supposed to. I love you 3,000"

I follow Pepper, Happy and Morgan out of the house, as we head down to the water. Pepper places a floral arrangement that has the arc reactor that she had give him. PROOF THAT TONY STARK HAS A HEART  I watch as it floats away, and I feel Steve wrap his arm around my waist and he holds me close to him. 

I look around seeing all the people who came to pay their respects to Anthony, Peter was here with his Aunt May, Thor and Bruce, Doctor Strange, Wong, Scott, Hope and her parents, Rocket and his team the Guardians of the Galaxy along with Nebula. I then spot Clint with Laura and the kids, T'Challa with his mother and sister. I spot Bucky, with Sam and Wanda and right behind them is Hartley a kid that had saved Tony years ago, and behind him was Agent Hill and by her to my surprise is Secretary Ross. Standing on the stairs to the deck was Carol, and hidden on the porch I spot Nicholas Fury.

I step away from Steve to go talk to Peter, "Hey, how you holding up Peter?" I asks him.
"Oh, I'm...I'm okay Ma'am" he replies to me.
"You ever need anything Peter, please feel free to call me. I will help you no matter what"  I say to him.

"That's...that's not necessary Miss Artemis, Harper Ma'am" he stammers.
"Peter, I promised Anthony that I would take care of you, I mean it" I say as I then hug the kid.

I go over to Happy, "Hey Happy" I say to him, "You know that little girl is your responsibility right" I say to him.
"I'll take good care of her, just like I did Tony" Happy says to me.
"I know you will Happy, and take care of Pepper too. You know you can always call me for anything. Oh and Happy about the kid, try to make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble, or if he does that you will get him out of it" I say to him.

"I promise Ma'am" he says as we then hug one another.
"Hey Happy, can you watch Morgan for a moment, I would like to talk to Willow" Pepper then comes over saying.  Happy nods to her and then takes Morgan's hand and leads her away from us.

"Hey" I smile at her.
"Hey" she smiles back as we hug.
"You will be okay Pepper, I know how strong you are" I tell her.
"I knew, I knew the day you guys showed up that he was going to help. Even though he said he wouldn't the wheels already started spinning, and we know Tony, once an idea is planted in his head, he can't put it down." Pepper says to me.

"No he really can't. I should have been there for him more" I say to her.
"No, you were always there when he needed you" she says to me.
"Doesn't feel like I was" I sigh.

"What happened was not your fault Willow" she then says to me.
"I feel like it was, like I should have been the one to do what he did" I say.

"Then it would be your funeral that we would be at, and how would Steve live without you, how would Tony have" she says to me.
"I know... I know, umm listen Tony talked to me before we did this, he had me promise to take care of you and Morgan.  So if you ever need anything don't hesitate to call, any time" I tell her.
"I will, thank you again Willow, for everything" she says as she hugs me.