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PETER PARKER HAD GROWN TIRED OF FUNERALS. He'd attended far too many within his short time upon this earth, more than any young boy should ever experience. He had thought that maybe, just maybe, the funeral held for Tony Stark may be the final one he attends, at least for a while. But, as he sits within the back row of pews at the funeral held for Analisa Morgan with guilt swelling within his heart, he realises how naive he had been to believe such a childish notion.
And, even long after the ceremony had reached its conclusion, and the many others, including heroes, who had known and respected her, Peter Parker remains idle. Tears drip freely down his cheeks as he stares absentmindedly into nothingness, focusing not on a singular thing. Instead, he was entrapped within his thoughts; thoughts of how he could have saved her, if only he had tried after.
Only when small arms tightly wrap around Peter is he brought back to reality, the unexpected embrace able to catch him off guard. Turning his eyes to view who had abruptly hugged him, the ghosts of a smile's first beginnings dance upon his lips as he sees that it had been none other than Morgan Stark. She, the same child-like nativity glimmering within her eyes, stares up at the teenager, smiling widely. "Mommy told me you needed a hug."
"I did, thank you," Peter responds half-heartedly, the boy lightly smiling at her. He gently returns the same hug, the weight upon his shoulders lightening, even if just for those short few moments as he holds her.
From over the shoulder of Morgan Stark, Peter spots the mother of the girl, Pepper, approaching the both of them. A small, forced back smile tugs slightly upon her lips as she watches the two interact, such a sight rare, but valuable. However, once her daughter finally releases her hold upon the boy, she steps in, saying, "Hey, kiddo, Uncle Happy needs a hug too. Can you go give him one?"
Morgan silently nods in agreement of her mother's words, standing slowly from her place beside Peter and wandering toward the place she knew the man in question to be. Pepper, a sadness swelling within her eyes, takes a seat beside the heartbroken hoy, turning to look upon him. "You holding up okay?"
Peter merely shrugs in response, his eyes downcast in shame, and guilt, unable to find the will in himself to meet the woman's eyes. Pepper gently placed a single comforting hand upon the boy's shoulder, and, for a while, all is silent, neither person possessing the right words for such a solemn situation. Only when Pepper reaches into her pocket, realisation striking her with a great force, gently pulling out something from within.
"Annalisa once gave me something, asking that, if she was to die, I would give it to Tony," Pepper explains to the boy, her fingers delicately holding the spoken of item. "Now that she's gone, I feel that it's only right for you to have it. It's what she would have wanted."
Within the hands of Pepper is a beautifully crafted silver ring, with a small diamond embedded within the valuable material. She outstretched her hand to Peter, offering him the small, yet significant item. He eyes it with great hesitance lingering within his eyes; eyebrows furrowed ever-so-slightly together. Slowly, as if unsure that any of this was truly real, he gently takes the ring within his shaking hands, staring down upon it with both confusion and longing.
"It was once her mother's," Pepper explains to the boy, and, instead of easing his confusion towards the significance of such an item, she furthers it. Peter had never once heard even a mere mention of the family that Analisa had, nor had he ever dared to question her about it. "It's the only thing she ever found from her life before the car crash, before A.I.M. It took her years to find, and, even if she didn't remember much of her family, she had this. It's yours to remember her by, now."
"I... Why..." Peter struggles to form even a singular coherent word of response, his mind flooded by many thoughts, varying from questions of why he deserved such a thing, to gratefulness. His eyes burn as more tears fall freely from them, the boy caring very little any more to hide his pain from the observations of those around him.
Knowing that, often a time, words fell short, Pepper speaks not a word, and instead pulls the boy tightly in for an embrace. Peter wraps his arms around her also, burying his head within the shoulder of the woman. And, for minutes or hours, they could not be sure, the odd pair remain in this same position; Peter sobbing into the shirt of Pepper, and she, in return, simply being there to comfort him.
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A/N
To be completely honest, I've had no clue what on earth to have as the thing Peter is given in the epilogue, even tho I've had this planned since the start? But I lowkey like the idea of the ring, even if tings have had a lot of mentions throughout this story already?
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this epilogue, and that you all have a great day 💛
oh, and remember, this isn't the end just yet, so stick around for some post credit scenes 👀
