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Tony was slowly growing annoyed with his team member.
Because could Steve really not see why the accords are so important?
One hundred and forty countries agreed on this.
But the super soldier disagrees because they have agendas
Of course they have agendas! If a country was run without an agenda, there would be total chaos.
Tony was going to open his mouth to rebut against the captain, when he was cut off by a ding on Rogers' phone
Steve casted a quick glance down at the message, obviously put off by the interruption
But once the man's eyes scanned over the words, they widened so quickly that Tony could have sword they would pop out
"what is it, cap?" Tony asked, nodding towards the phone, "girlfriend?"
Steve didn't rise to the bait like how he usually did
no, his eyes stayed trained on the phone, as though it would cause him physical pain to look away
"Peggy died" He whispered, gaining the attention of everyone in the room, "in her sleep"
The rest of the team all adapted concerned and comforting looks on their faces, as they crowded around their leader
"I'm so sorry for your loss, Steve, I know she meant a lot to you", sam comforted, placing a firm hand on the man's shoulder
Steve casted him a grateful look, as the rest of the team spouted out murmers of agreement
everyone but Tony...
Tony's breath caught in his chest as his heart skipped a beat
Nono, this can't be happening
His hands started to tremble, as he desperately tried to claw his way out of his thoughts
Not Aunt Peggy
He closed his eyes, drawing in a few shuddery breaths, his lungs hurting as he did so
Peggy Carter; The woman who raised him, the woman who used to read him bedtime stories every night, the woman who would always be there for him, the woman who taught him Italian
...the woman who passed in her sleep
Tony needed to get out, there wasn't enough air
He moved towards the door, hand reaching out to grip the handle, when he was stopped by a female voice,
"and where are you headed now?"
Tony's head snapped over to see Natasha staring at him, eyes conveying an undertone of anger
"I need to go to my lab" Tony murmured, turning back towards the door
"aren't you going to stay here with cap?" the new voice belonged to Wanda, "He just lost his first love"
Tony squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, before turning to face the group once again,
"I'm sorry for your loss, cap. I have to go now."
Before he could leave, sam let out a scoff,
"I knew you could be cold stark, but that's cold"
Tony let out a huff of air. He clearly wouldn't get the team's approval, so he blocked them out, not caring if they judged him
he just needed to leave
He turned around for the last time, gripped the handle, opened the door, and stalked out of the room
The avengers all sneered at him, no one noticing Tony's shaking hands, nor the breaking in his voice.
No, they saw a selfish man walking away from a grieving friend
Thats when Tony realized that no matter how hard he tried, he'd always be the villain
__________________________
Once Tony had finally made it to the safety of his lab, he immediately punched the nearest wall.
He kept punching and punching, adrenaline flowing through his veins.
he punched harder and harder and harder until...
ring
Tony was snapped out of his trance at the sudden noise.
He walked over to his phone, and read the called ID: Sharon Carter
He let out a long sigh, looking down at his bloodied hands
yep, definitely broken knuckles
He looked back up at the phone, and clicked on the answer option on the glass screen
almost immediately, a female woman's voice sounded through the speakers,
"Tony", The voice breathed out, obviously just as 'out of it' as Tony himself
"Hey Sharon", Tony answered quietly, thriving in the familiar voice
"Did you get the news?" Sharon asked, sniffing a bit at the end
Tony nodded, before remembering Sharon couldn't see him, "yeah"
"the funeral is tomorrow at the old church she used to attend. will you be one of the pallbearers?"
Tony winced at the brokenness of her voice. Aunt Peggy's death seemed to really be affecting her.
He thought over the request, looking back down at his hands,
"I don't think I can", Tony concluded, "I messed up my hands pretty badly"
Tony heard Sharon sigh through the phone,
"Tony... we talked about this"
"yeah, yeah, I know", Tony mumbled, and he did, he just wasn't in his right mind, "I'm sorry"
"No dont be, just...", Tony heard her voice go silent for a hot moment, "will you be able to make it to the funeral"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world", Tony agreed sincerely
"alright, I'll see you tomorrow, Tony"
"see you then"
"oh and Tony?"
"yes?"
"remember, you dont have to go through this alone"
Tony was about to respond, when Sharon hung up
He walked over to his seat, slumped down in it, and dropped his head into his hands
Oh, Aunt Peggy, you have no idea how much I need you
____________________
Tony walked into the church, and was immediately greeted by Sharon, who grabbed his hand and led him through the crowd to the front of the church,
"Hi, Tony, glad you could make it", She welcomed, drawing Tony into a comforting hug
Tony stiffened at the contact, but eventually relaxed into the embrace,
"likewise", He replied, stepping back out of the hug
He took a look around the church. All of Peggy's children, nieces and nephews were there. Everyone who Tony grew up with. For the first time in a while, he knew wholeheartedly that he had a family
"Hey, cousin Ant. It's nice to see your face again"
Tony turned to see who the voice had belonged to, eyes meeting those of Peggy's son Mark,
"Same here", Tony nodded at his 'cousin', allowing his lips to turn up into a sad smile, "I'm sorry for your loss. I know she was a great mother"
Mark shook his head, before looking Tony right in the eyes, "She was as much your mother as sh was mine, Ant. She raised the both of us. Neither one of us is losing any less than the other, and you'd do good to remember that"
Tony stared blankly at Mark for a few seconds before the older man sighed and rested a hand on Tony's shoulder,
"Just promise me one thing"
Tony furrowed his eyebrows a bit, nodding, "Anything"
"Promise me you won't drink yourself into oblivion, or self destruct like you did when your parents died."
Tony sucked in a breath, before bowing his head to some degree
A bit too late for that
Tony didnt respond, just lifted his hands up to marks face, allowing him to see the battered knuckles
Mark grimaced once he caught sight of the injuries, grabbing the offending hands into his own
Tony winced and tried to pull away, only for Mark to grip his hands tighter
Tony's features morphed into those of confusion, as he looked back up to his cousin with questioning eyes
He could see Mark's teeth clench, watching his jaw tighten while he ran his rough thumb over the top of Tony's hand
"call me next time", Mark grounded out, fixing his glaze on Tony with a sharp glare
Tony knew he wasn't mad. Mark had always been the protective one in the family, especially to Tony, though the man in question had no idea why. Mark was always there if anyone needed help, and Tony felt a pain of guilt for causing his cousin to worry
He nodded again, whilst Mar withdrew his hands, glimpsing at them while they fell back into the Tony's pockets
"Stark?" A voice barked out from a few feet away, "what are you doing here?"
Tony turned to see Sam Wilson regarding him with crossed arms, Steve standing beside him. Tony looked more to the side to see the rest of the Avengers, sans Rhodey, as he didnt know about Peggy's death yet, siting in one of the cues
"I'm here for the same reason as you, Wilson", Tony told the man in response, not feeling up to a fight at the moment
Do they really have to start something at Aunt Peggy's funeral?
But Sam didnt seem to catch the hint, as he kept at it, "and why is that?"
Tony merely raised a single eyebrow, "How many reasons are there to attend a funeral?"
At Sam's rolling of the eye's, Tony continued,
"no, really, I'm curious now"
"Tony, this is extremely disrespectful", Natasha stood up from her seat in the front cue, "You can start fights elsewhere, but not at a funeral"
"And how exactly am I staring a fight?" Tony questioned, shifting his weight onto his other leg
Clint just gave him an exasperated look,
"oh I dont know", he started sarcastically, "maybe by showing up to a funeral you weren't invited to, and flirting with the with Agent Carter's family"
Tony gave a reassuring glance to Mark, who looked just about ready to pounce on the group
He then turned to address the Avengers as a whole, "Every think that maybe I have my own reasons to be here?"
Before anyone could respond, the church bells rang, signaling the start of the ceremony.
Without sparing the team another look, Tony and Mark made their way over to their seats, while Sharon Strolled onto the stage
Once Tony sat down, he redirected his eyes to meet Sharon, who was beginning her speech,
"Peggy Carter was known to most as a founder of SHIELD", She started, eyes scanning over the room carefully, "But I knew her as my aunt. Aunt Peggy had a photograph in her office. It was of Aunt Peggy standing next JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. I asked her once how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage at a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either. And she said, 'Compromise where you can. Where you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye, and say, 'No, you move'."
Tony looked over to Steve, who was seemingly moved by the message given
It took every will that Tony had to not roll his eyes
No Steve, fighting for gender equality isn't the same thing as fighting for the right to illegally enter countries unannounced and destroy thousands of dollars worth of property
He knew Steve wouldn't listen to him, even if he did say that, so he moved his focus back to his cousin,
"I would now like to Invite Tony Stark to the stage to speak on his behalf"
Tony nodded respectfully, and joined Sharon on the stage, pointedly ignoring the judging eyes of the Avengers
"Thanks Sharon", He thanked, taking the microphone into his own hands
Sharon smiled in return, and went to sit down with one of her five-year-old nephews
Tony awkwardly cleared his throat, looking over the sea of people whom were staring back at him
this is your family, Tony reminded himself, The people you grew up with. No reason to hide
"it's great to see you all again", He started, voice slightly quieter than usual, "though I wish it were under better circumstances. Most of you already know this story, as you've lived through it beside me, but for the sake of those who dont know, I'll tell it once more"
Tony took swallowed hard in an attempt to swallow down any emotions before he continued,
"Peggy Carter and my father met in the war, and fought alongside each other. They had become quite close, and eventually founded the organization that is now called SHIELD. When my father found out he'd be having a child, Peggy immediately offered to be the one to take me in if anything were to happen to my parents. She'd come over on the daily, and I had called her Aunt Peggy"
Tony risked looking over to the team, and was greeted with a mixture of emotions
Roger's eyebrows were raised to what seemed like the limit, Sam's eyes were filled with overwhelming guilt, and the rest of the team's emotions seemed to range between the two
Tony tore his gaze back off of the group, not wanting to look at them at the moment. He had more important matters,
"Aunt Peggy raised me just as must as my parents did, and treated me as one of her son's. I was invited to her family with open arms, and now I like to think that I can call her family my own"
Tony studied the crowd, seeing every one of his cousins, nieces, and nephews smiling back at him. Despite everything thats happened, this was the most loved he's felt in the past four years, and he was forever grateful to his family in all but blood
"As mom was gone on business trips most of the time, Aunt Peggy was the closest person I've ever had to a mother, and I'm going to tell you all the same thing that she told me when my parents died; 'Yes, this sucks, and there's nothing I can say to fix that. Just remember that as long as our family sticks together, we are never alone.' Aunt Peggy was a religious woman, who stood strongly behind her faith, so I like to think she's in heaven now, having the time of her life, dancing her thoughts away"
Tony presented his family with one last smile, before making his way back offstage, where he was quickly embraced by Mark,
"you did great, Ant", Mark congratulated, "I know Aunt Peggy would be proud"
Tony pulled back, and nodded, not yet trusting himself to speak. His voice seemed to stop working once he finished his speech
Tony and Mark left the church to grab a bite to eat, Tony not wasting a single thought on his team
because now
he knew who he can trust
and its not them...
it's his family