DYER | STEVE ROGERS

𝐕𝐈.𝐗𝐗𝐗

〚 HERO 〛

Darla watched as Tony looked between her and Dr Strange, he knew exactly what he had to do. And worst of all, he knew that they knew. The girl began to tear up, knowing exactly what was about to happen.

"I am– inevitable." Thanos smirked as he clicked his fingers, only for nothing to happen. He looked towards the Infinity Gauntlet and furrowed his brows.

Darla sprinted towards Tony, tears streaming down her face as she did so. She wanted to get there before he did anything. She knew that she could take some of the blast and maybe then, Tony would survive and he could go home to his family.

"And I am" Tony paused. "Iron Man."

"DAD!" Darla screamed as Tony clicked his fingers. She quickly placed her hand on the Infinity Gauntlet and absorbed some of its power.

Thanos and his arm slowly began to disappear, and Darla clung onto Tony, tears streaming down her face. It didn't work. She didn't take enough of the blast and Tony was going to die.

"I'm so sorry, Dad. Please, I'm sorry." Darla whispered as she held Tony. "I tried to take the impact. I tried to help."

"I know, kid." Tony whispered as he leant himself against the rubble.

"I'm sorry. I'll take care of them, I'll tell Morgan that you love her. I'm sorry, I tried to take the impact. I tried to keep you here. I'm sorry. Tony, I'm sorry." Darla broke down crying and it hurt Tony to see her like that.

He knew that she tried her hardest, and for that he was proud of her, he placed his hand over hers and whispered,

"I'm so proud of you and-" He let go of a small cough. "how far you've come." He paused looking across at her. "You should be proud of yourself. I'm proud of you." He rested his head against her's momentarily. "I'm happy to say you're like my daughter. Thank you for calling me dad."

Darla began to cry harder, causing Tony to wrap his arms around her small frame and pull her closer to him. Her head now rested on his chest as she cried. He hated seeing her in so much pain, when all she deserved was happiness.

"You best marry that man okay? He loves you. And so do I." Tony whispered softly as Rhodey flew down.

Rhodey instantly made his way towards his best friend, his eyes filling with unshed tears, he never thought that he would see this day.

Peter rushed over to the pair, tears in his eyes as he saw how weak Tony looked. Darla seemed to be devastated as tears rolled freely down her cheeks.

"Mr. Stark? Darla?" Peter ran over to the pair, crouching down in front of them with tears in his eyes. "Hey– Mr. Stark? Can you hear me? It's Peter. Hey."

Darla placed her hand over Peter's, she knew a little bit about his past. He lost his parents and his uncle, now he was losing the only other father figure he had left in his life.

"We won, Mr. Stark– We won, Mr. Stark. We won. You did it, sir. You did it." Tony hadn't said anything and it hurt both of them. "I'm sorry– Tony–"

Darla slowly stood up once Pepper made her way towards them. She moved out of the way, despite how much she actually just wanted to be by Tony's side. She knew that Pepper would want to say Goodbye.

The blonde wrapped her arms around Peter, pulling him close to her and allowing him to cry on her shoulder. Briar rushed over to the pair, noticing Tony's limp body. He wrapped his arms around them both, knowing how much it was hurting them.

"Where's Steve?" Darla managed to whisper, her voice cracking as she spoke.

Steve slowly made his way over to the girl, pulling her into his chest. Darla clung onto the man tightly as she felt her knee's buckle. If it wasn't for Steve's arms wrapped around her waist, she would have fallen to the floor.

Darla watched as Clint knelt down and lowered his head, causing the girl to crack a small smile. T'Challa and Carol were next, all of them ready to honour what Tony had done for them, because of Tony, they could return home, they could see their family, and their friends again.

Everyone slowly began to kneel, Steve looked towards Darla before dropping the the floor, tears rolled down his cheeks as he held the girls hand.

Tony's death had affected them all in different ways. But it broke them all just as much. Darla knelt down beside Steve, followed by Briar and Peter.

Everyone knelt for Tony Stark and honoured him like the true hero that he was.

'90%'