Storm ≛ Tony Stark ≛

EPILOGUE

The door to the penitentiary squealed as it was pushed open. The sky was covered by its usual clouds of grey, the forecast predicting rain, like it always did. But the smell of wet soil was welcomed by all of those who exited the building. With the walls cold and thick, the only smell that wafted through the jail cells was that of stale bedsheets and poor plumbing. Anything other than prisoners' sewage was a delight and when it was all you've smelt for forty years, Lewis Storm stopped to take in the fresh, English air that chilled his nostrils.

Lewis went into the penitentiary a young man who had lost himself. He lost his job, his wife, his fortune, and his kids. The debt collector he had accidentally killed had been on his mind for his entire sentence. He wrote letters to no one and spent nights guilt-riddled at what he had done in his manic state. But after the first twenty years, Lewis forgave himself for the crime. But he never forgave himself for what he left behind.

He took his first step to the stairs that lead down to the path. At one stage, he would have flown down each step in a jolly spring. But his youth was behind him, and his eighty-seven-year-old body needed to take its time. His wrinkled hand gripped the rail, and it was a relief to make it off the last stair, before he looked up to continue on. But before he could, his hunched figure stopped at the two people in front of him.

The faces of Susan and Jonathan were aged, but Lewis knew them in an instant. The eyes of his wife stared back at him from his children and the thought of Melody quivered his old heart. He thought he would see their deep frowns and vengeful stares, but all he was met with were smiles. Sue and Johnny smiled at the sight of their father and there was nothing but relief to see him well.

In his red pullover a blue-collared shirt, their father was an old man. His blonde hair had faded to white, and his hairline had shrunk back. The blue eyes that neither of his children inherited were still bright but were hidden beneath sagging eyelids and bushy eyebrows. But through his wrinkled face and slightly shaking hands, Sue and Johnny saw their father again.

'My word... haven't you two grown,' his voice was croakier than they remembered, but his habit of smoking in the penitentiary had weathered his throat. 'You're... you're both adults! You're... older.'

'It's been a long time, Dad,' Johnny hummed as he and Sue stopped in front of him. 'It's good to see you.'

'Gosh, I... I've missed so much,' Lewis raised a shaking hand to hold the side of his head. The thought of missing his children's lives overwhelmed him. He looked to Sue, his little girl, who wore her own wrinkles on her face that reminded him so much of Melody's.

'Susan... you're so beautiful,' he reached out and was met with her hands, ones that were still smaller than his, but significantly bigger than the last time he had held them. 'But those veins! My dear, is your blood pressure okay?'

'I'm fine, Dad,' Sue laughed lightly. 'I'll explain later.'

Sue's eyes watered at the sight of her hunched over father that peered up at her. His sad smile stretched through his wrinkled face, and it pained her to think of him sitting in a jail cell. He had been old for the few previous years but continued to serve his sentence to the very end. There was no leeway for the elderly and his crime was adequately punished, but Sue couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He was once good and from what she could see, he was good once more.

'Marygay passed,' she found herself saying. She had to say something. She couldn't watch her father struggle through his guilt any longer.

'Y-Yes I heard. Poor, old Marygay,' Lewis Storm shook his head with a fond smile on his face. 'What a wonderful woman. To take you in after I failed to...'

'It's okay, Dad,' Johnny spoke up and put a hand on his shoulder. 'You've done your time. You still have years to live out.'

'Oh, no, my days are done. But you... you two have so much more. What have you done with yourselves? Anything exciting? Any stories to tell?'

'Oh, we've got stories,' Johnny smirked and stepped to be beside his father. He put an arm around Lewis' shoulder and delicately guided him forward. Sue turned and joined them, linking her arm with her father's.

'And you've got some people to meet,' Sue added. 'Some grandchildren.'

'Oh, how exciting,' Lewis hummed and let his children guide him, the fondest of smiles on his face.

Sue's pocket buzzed and she used her freehand to tend to it. While Johnny informed their father on what he had missed in the world, Sue pulled out her phone. In front of the lock screen of Tony pressing his lips against a giggling Morgan's temple, sat one message and a missed call. Both were from Tony, and she eyed the time of the missed call. It was from when she and Johnny had been waiting anxiously outside the penitentiary, and the message was sent after she didn't answer. From what it read, it wasn't urgent, but it sparked her interest. With a sticky note in her brain to answer Tony's question when she got home, she slipped her phone back into her pocket and listened to Johnny's exaggerations.

Tony <3:
Do you know a Victor Von Doom? FRIDAY had a message from him about wanting to meet with you. Any skeletons in the closest you want to tell me about? >:)