Midnight Racer-Tony Stark's Daughter

forty-one

Griffin Sanders stands with his hand interlaced with Jay Smiths. They wear their best clothes as they stand next to one another, silently comforting each other as they heavily think. Heavy hearts, and heavy chests, neither one could grab a decent breath.

It is Griffin who decides he has had enough and breaks their silence. "So, you're a racer?"

"Occasionally, I am." Jay responds softly.

Griffin nods, and they keep it silent for a few minutes. Just the two of them staring, thinking, breathing, squeezing one another's hand. Him not knowing how to voice his words.

"Tell me about your Dad, again." He says instead.

Jay blinks, and Griffin can see him in his peripheral looking at him, but he does not dare to meet his eyes. Dares not to face the pain on his boyfriends face.

Jay sighs, "He was a lot like Mr. Stark."

Griffin was not expecting that response, he takes an even deeper, an even harder breath. He puts his head down to his chest, and closes his eyes. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.

Jay grabs Griffin's upper arm gently, "Hey," He speaks un-wavering–how he does that, Griffin could only hope to learn in the next few seconds–and waits for Griffin to look at him. When he does, he hardly can contain himself, "Come here," Jay says, and pulls Griffin into a hug.

"It wasn't your fault." Jay says.

Griffin scoffs into Jays shoulder.

"I'm serious, Griffin. No one could've predicted what was going to happen. It was an accident." He says surely.

"An accident that I could've prevented." Griffin says.

"Can you stop a car from hitting a racer? Can you stop a car from rolling? Can you predict the future? No, you can't. She wanted to be out there, what happened, none of us could've seen it." Jay says, and holds Griffin tighter.

"Jay..." Griffin mumbles.

"No, just please believe my words, Griffin." Jay says.

Griffin pulls out of the hug, and looks into Jays tired eyes, "She didn't want to be out there." He admits.

Jay frowns, "What?" He whispers.

Griffin presses his tongue to the inside of his lips, hoping the pressure would keep him from crying his heart out.

He leans in, speaking thickly and in a barely audible whisper, "She told me she wasn't ready, but I just brushed it off, and told her she was going to be great."

Griffin takes a step back from Jay, feeling full of guilt and resentment towards himself. He does not feel worthy to be standing with someone he loves, while his best friend is–

"If I had just listened to her. Maybe, just maybe she would be–" Griffin breaks off into a sob, hunching in on himself, and shaking.

The warmth that surrounds him surprises him.

"It still wasn't your fault." Jay says.