Blissful Despair ~> Tony Stark

Epilogue

Tears.

That place always brought tears.

But as they stood there together, hand in hand, they didn't seem to feel sad at all.

It was December 16, and to her surprise, they weren't spending their time drowning their sorrows, and being miserable.

This time it was different.

It was different in every way.

Valentina's hair swerved with the direction of the wind, but she didn't seem to care.

Her son was playing around with his robot, that he apparently built in a science fare at school.

Like father, like son I guess.

As if sensing her watching him, he turned around slowly, and shot her a toothy grin.

His brown eyes shined with love as he stared at her, and it was just like staring into her husband's eyes.

They were exactly the same, and it gave her the creeps sometimes.

Turning her attention away from her 6 year old son, she smiled at Tony, who leaned down, and placed the beautiful flowers neatly next to his parents' graves.

Licking his lips, Tony stared up at his wife's hand which was extended for him to get up, his eyes caught sight of the gorgeous ring on her finger and he suppressed his smile.

Tony Stark had finally got what he wanted.

A family with her.

His hand traced the outline of her baby bump, and ever so slowly he leaned down, and gave her a kiss on her stomach.

Letting out a giggle, she refused to break eye contact with her husband, and to be quite frank, she loved that look in his eyes.

His eyes were a mixture of love, happiness, and euphoria.

And after all those bumps along the road, all those fights, all those tears, Tony and Valentina had made it.

They had made it out together.

"Dad, come play with ELLA." Eddie tugged on his father's shirt, motioning to his new robot.

"What does that stand for again?" Tony frowned, slipping Eddie's hand into his own.

"Eddie's Loyal Loving Assistant. You really gotta keep up, Dad." Eddie teased Tony, who widened his eyes, and sprinted after his son.

"You're in for it now!"

"Catch me if you can!"

If anyone saw them from afar, they would think that they were absolutely insane, running after each other in a graveyard like that, but as Valentina watched them from where she stood, she didn't think that they looked insane at all.

She thought they looked happy.

"Come here you little rascal." Tony grabbed Eddie, tossing him over his shoulder, and tickling him everywhere.

"No, Dad! Mommy!" His little giggles bounced through the dull place, giving it life.

Having stopped tickling him, Tony brought him in for a hug, and Valentina couldn't help but admire the sight.

"I love you, Dad."

And Eddie had told him those words repeatedly everyday.

The words Tony never uttered to Howard.

"I love you too, bud."

"I love you three." Valentina couldn't help but cringe at what she said, but it was worth getting that reaction out of her son.

"No mom! No one says that anymore!" He scolded, and Valentina couldn't help but wonder what he would be like when he grows up.

A heartbreaker for sure.

A playboy.

A genius.

Reminds her too much of Tony back then.

Slowly, Tony trailed his way over to her, placing his lips right on her forehead, forcing her to close her eyes and take in the moment.

"I love you. I will always love you." He whispered, enough for her to hear, and she nodded as a silent I love you too.

Turning his head towards the gravestone, Tony wrapped an arm his wife's shoulder, and pulled her closer to him.

His son had already fallen asleep with his buried in his father's neck, automatically putting a smile on both their faces.

"Do you think I'm getting the hang of this?" He raised an eyebrow as he asked the question, referring to his parenting.

"You already got the hang of it a long time ago, Tone." Pecking him on the lips quickly, she smiled at the flowers they had bought, and she felt proud that Tony had enough courage to finally face this place.

"We made it, Tone."

"Of course we did. This is us were talking about here. There is nothing absolutely nothing that can keep me away from you. I love you. We made it because we tried. We made it because we were meant to be. We made it because we just did." He was about to place his lips on hers again, but a snarky comment made him stop dead in his tracks.

"That was so cheesy, Dad." Eddie mumbled in his sleep, snuggling even further in his father's embrace.

"Okay, he definitely got his sarcasm from you." Valentina pointed towards Tony, who still stared at his son bewildered.

"It wasn't cheesy, Eddie."

"Yes it was." Eddie protested, earning a laugh from his mother.

"It kinda was." She agreed, making Tony's eyebrows furrow even further.

"Who's side are you on?"

And as they laughed together about it all, Valentina knew that this wasn't actually what she wanted.

It was more.

It was more than anything she ever wished for.

And she had the man before her to thank for that.

****

Reactions to Infinity War?!

I literally watched it four times, and I literally cried every time.

Anyway, I thought I'd write this since I thought it would be fun.

Hope you enjoyed.

   -Alexandra Giovanni