BLUE [BUCKY BARNES]

AMONGST THE STARS

Tony Stark's funeral was not grand or lavish like he always joked about wanting. There was no reporters or string of fans with posters mourning his death as AC/DC played from large speakers.

Instead, his funeral only consisted of friends and family who sat inside his wooden cabin by the lake. All of them sitting around the crowded living room as they awaited the last words of their friend.

Elizabeth stood between Natasha and Steve behind the couch as she stuffed her hands in the pockets of her black pant suit. The three of them tried not to let themselves cry as they looked at the holographic Tony that was projected from his Iron Man helmet that sat on the edge of the coffee table.

The holograph of Tony sat backwards in a wooden chair as he looked  at them all. Whether he could actually see them or if he was just staring out at wherever he recorded it, Elizabeth didn't know. But she found comfort in thinking that he could see them all right now.

"Everybody wants a happy ending, right?" Tony asked all of them as he rested his chin on his palms. Elizabeth saw as Morgan tilted her head when she heard her father speak, his voice sounded far away. "But it doesn't always roll that way," Tony continued and Elizabeth smiled when she saw his eyes seem to meet hers for a split second.

"However, I'm hoping if you play this back, it's in celebration." Tony said after a pause. All of them listened intently to his words, wanting to remember everything he said. "I hope families are reunited, I hope that we get it all back. And that a somewhat normal version of the planet has been restored."

At his words, Elizabeth let her gaze drop to the wooden floor. A smile on her face as she nodded to herself,  happy that Tony was in the right place at having hope. They did do it right in the end.

Tony shook his head as he spoke. "If there ever was such a thing. God, what a world. Universe actually." Tony corrected himself as he looked down in awe, as if not believing his own words. "If you told me ten 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 that Morgan's gonna have to find a way to grow up with."

Morgan looked up at Pepper with a frown when she heard her name come out from her father's mouth. In return, Pepper just gave her daughter a teary eyed smile before looking up back up at her dead husbands holograph. Elizabeth watched the exchange with a heavy heart when she felt Pepper's sadness and Morgan's confusion.

"So I thought I'd better record a little greeting, in the case of an untimely death on my part." Tony held a hand to his chest as he spoke. "I mean, not that any death on its own isn't untimely. This time travel thing that we're gonna pull off tomorrow has got me thinking about the survivability of it, that's the thing."

Tony shrugged before speaking, brushing off his concerns. "Then again that's the hero gig, part of the journey is the end." He frowned to himself before pushing himself off the wooden chair. "What am I even tripping for, everything's gonna work out exactly the way it's supposed to."

Everyone in the room watched as the holographic projection of Tony walked forward until he stood a few feet in front of Morgan. How he managed to figure out the exact spot where his daughter would be, no one knew. But he was Tony Stark, there was nothing he couldn't do and they all knew that.

Bending down, Tony stopped until he was eye level with Morgan. The young girl pressed herself into her mother's side, unsure of the blue see through figure that looked exactly like her father. "I love you 3000," Tony saved his last words for his only daughter with a smile before his projection faded away.  And that was the last image they had of Tony Stark in their heads, smiling down at his daughter.