Tony Stark's funeral was not grand or lavish like he always joked about wanting. There was no reporters or string of fans with posters mourning his death as AC/DC played from large speakers.

Instead, his funeral only consisted of friends and family who sat inside his wooden cabin by the lake. All of them sitting around the crowded living room as they awaited the last words of their friend.

Elizabeth stood between Natasha and Steve behind the couch as she stuffed her hands in the pockets of her black pant suit. The three of them tried not to let themselves cry as they looked at the holographic Tony that was projected from his Iron Man helmet that sat on the edge of the coffee table.

The holograph of Tony sat backwards in a wooden chair as he looked  at them all. Whether he could actually see them or if he was just staring out at wherever he recorded it, Elizabeth didn't know. But she found comfort in thinking that he could see them all right now.

"Everybody wants a happy ending, right?" Tony asked all of them as he rested his chin on his palms. Elizabeth saw as Morgan tilted her head when she heard her father speak, his voice sounded far away. "But it doesn't always roll that way," Tony continued and Elizabeth smiled when she saw his eyes seem to meet hers for a split second.

"However, I'm hoping if you play this back, it's in celebration." Tony said after a pause. All of them listened intently to his words, wanting to remember everything he said. "I hope families are reunited, I hope that we get it all back. And that a somewhat normal version of the planet has been restored."

At his words, Elizabeth let her gaze drop to the wooden floor. A smile on her face as she nodded to herself,  happy that Tony was in the right place at having hope. They did do it right in the end.

Tony shook his head as he spoke. "If there ever was such a thing. God, what a world. Universe actually." Tony corrected himself as he looked down in awe, as if not believing his own words. "If you told me ten years ago that we weren't alone, let alone to this extent, I mean I wouldn't have been surprised. But come on, who knew? The epic forces of darkness and light that have come into play and for better or worse, that's the reality that Morgan's gonna have to find a way to grow up with."

Morgan looked up at Pepper with a frown when she heard her name come out from her father's mouth. In return, Pepper just gave her daughter a teary eyed smile before looking up back up at her dead husbands holograph. Elizabeth watched the exchange with a heavy heart when she felt Pepper's sadness and Morgan's confusion.

"So I thought I'd better record a little greeting, in the case of an untimely death on my part." Tony held a hand to his chest as he spoke. "I mean, not that any death on its own isn't untimely. This time travel thing that we're gonna pull off tomorrow has got me thinking about the survivability of it, that's the thing."

Tony shrugged before speaking, brushing off his concerns. "Then again that's the hero gig, part of the journey is the end." He frowned to himself before pushing himself off the wooden chair. "What am I even tripping for, everything's gonna work out exactly the way it's supposed to."

Everyone in the room watched as the holographic projection of Tony walked forward until he stood a few feet in front of Morgan. How he managed to figure out the exact spot where his daughter would be, no one knew. But he was Tony Stark, there was nothing he couldn't do and they all knew that.

Bending down, Tony stopped until he was eye level with Morgan. The young girl pressed herself into her mother's side, unsure of the blue see through figure that looked exactly like her father. "I love you 3000," Tony saved his last words for his only daughter with a smile before his projection faded away.  And that was the last image they had of Tony Stark in their heads, smiling down at his daughter.

After that, all of them stood on the docks by the lake as they got ready to say their last farewells to Tony Stark. At the front were the most important people to Tony, his family and Rhodey and Happy. Pepper held Morgan's hand in hers tightly as she lowered a bouquet of flowers into the lake carefully.

Elizabeth saw what must've been one of Tony's arc reactors sitting on top of the floating bouquet as it drifted off across the lake. All of them watching as the final piece they had left of Tony Stark drifted away.

As Elizabeth looked off at the lake, she felt an arm go around her shoulder. She reached her hand up to cover Bucky's hand that hung off her shoulder. He smiled down at her sadly before resting the side of his head on top of hers. "I never got to say sorry," Bucky whispered and Elizabeth felt the guilt radiating off him so she squeezed his hand tightly.

"I think there may be someone else you could talk to instead," Elizabeth suggested to him just as Pepper walked past the guests with Morgan by her side. Bucky had opened his mouth to ask her what she meant but she silenced him with a light kiss. "Just hold on, you'll see," She tried to convince him. He nodded hesitantly, unsure but still trusting her.

Soon, one-by-one, everyone began to say their goodbyes. Some with promises to keep in touch and others not even bothering to say anything. Steve and Natasha walked up to where Sam, Elizabeth, Bucky and Wanda stood. Steve's arm around Natasha's shoulder as they came to a stop before the four of them.

"We're gonna go help Bruce set up," Steve told them. Steve had volunteered to be the one to return the infinity stones back to their original timeline, they didn't exactly want their entire flow of time to collapse on itself.

Sam, Bucky and Wanda nodded at his words but Elizabeth cleared her throat expectantly. "Isn't there some news you'd like to share with someone?" She reminded the blonde with a raised eyebrow. "Or would you rather I be the one to do it?"

Steve sighed but shook his head at her, letting her know that he'd be the one to do it. "What is going on?" Wanda asked when she saw Steve look at her as he removed his arm from Natasha's shoulder.

"Let's have a talk," Steve began as he jutted his head for Wanda to follow him as the two left the group. Steve led Wanda out of earshot from the group before he began to tell Wanda about Vision's body. They all watched as Wanda's expression turned from confusion to anger, no doubt at the fact that they had kept it from her for so long.

But despite the fury that they could all see in her green eyes Wanda didn't say anything to Steve as the man spoke to her calmly. All she did was turn her back on them and rush out of the clearing by the docks.

"You think she'll be okay?" Sam asked the rest of them cautiously as Wanda left their view.

"She'll be just fine," Natasha said as Steve walked back up to them. But Elizabeth wasn't too quick to agree with what Natasha had said.

Steve shrugged, letting them know that he did the best he could to deliver the news gently. "Shall we?" He asked them when he saw Bruce waving them over to follow him deeper into the woods to set up the time machine.

Sam and Natasha nodded and made a move to follow him but Elizabeth and Bucky stayed behind. "We'll meet you there," Bucky said when he saw that Elizabeth made no move to leave her spot. The three nodded and left the couple behind alone.

Well, they were alone for about three seconds before Thor showed up. "Hey!" He waved at them happily as the two smiled back. "I'm gonna head out," he informed them.

"Where are you gonna go?" Elizabeth inquired as she tilted her head at him.

Thor pointed behind him with his thumb to where Nebula and Rocket stood with a group of individuals whose names she didn't know. "With my new friends," Thor said with a smile. "We're going to go across the whole galaxy."

"Sounds nice," Bucky offered Thor a smile to which he returned with a pat on the back.

"Don't forget about us, big guy," Elizabeth said before Thor pulled her in for a tight hug. He smelled less like beer than he had before, she noticed with a smile.

"Never," Thor told her as they pulled away. "Besides, I'll always be up there, somewhere amongst the stars." Thor pointed to the clear blue sky above them and Elizabeth wondered if maybe that was where Tony was too. Not in the after life or heaven or whatever, but amongst the stars.

"Look after her, yeah?" Thor turned to Bucky as he walked backwards to Rocket and Nebula.

"With my life," Bucky promised as he smiled down at Elizabeth who waved goodbye to Thor.

Elizabeth turned to Bucky before she wrapped her arms around his neck. "So, you gonna tell me what you have up your sleeve, dollface?" Bucky raised an eyebrow at her.

She looked past his face and saw Happy and Morgan talking to each other as they sat on a bench outside the cabin. "Follow me, sergeant," Elizabeth said. Grabbing his hand, she led Bucky up the porch steps to the cabin until they stood in front of Morgan and Happy.

"Hey," Elizabeth greeted the two as Bucky stood by her side stiffly. "Do you mind if we talk to Morgan for a bit?" She asked Happy hopefully.

Happy looked at them for a moment before nodding his head. "You gonna be okay kiddo?" He asked Morgan as he stood up from the bench.

"Yeah," Morgan replied as she played with her small fingers. "Are you gonna bring me a cheeseburger when you come back?" She asked Happy with wide eyes.

"You bet," Happy replied as he ruffled her hair softly before retreating back inside the house.

Elizabeth and Bucky looked at each other, Bucky silently asking her what she was up to. She calmed him down with a hand over his before she moved closer to Morgan. "Hello," Elizabeth said sweetly with a smile. "You fine if I sit beside you?"

Morgan shrugged saying she wasn't opposed to the idea. "This is Bucky," Elizabeth introduced her boyfriend first who leaned against the banister opposite the bench. "And I'm Elizabeth."

At their names, Morgan perked up and sat straighter  in her seat. "I know you!" She exclaimed excitedly, mostly at Elizabeth, who scrunched her face up in confusion. "You're the one from my dad's stories!" Morgan said happily with a wide smile on her face.

"Really?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief as she and Bucky both shared a surprised look at the words coming out of the little girls mouth.

"Yeah, you're all in them." Morgan played with a loose thread on her little black dress as she spoke. At her words, Elizabeth wished that the others were here to hear all of this.

Elizabeth tried to hold the tears back in her eyes as she swallowed down the lump in her throat. "He talked about us?" Elizabeth asked once more, still not believing what she was hearing.

Morgan nodded her little head. "He said you guys were a pain in his ass." Morgan's use of language made both Bucky and Elizabeth laugh lightly. "But he also said you guys were his best friends."

"Well that sounds like him," Elizabeth bit her lip to stop the shake in it as she spoke. "And so do you, actually." She added.

Morgan's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree at Elizabeth's words. "Really?" She asked and Elizabeth could feel how happy she was at being told those simple words.

"You look like him too," Elizabeth continued and if they thought Morgan's smile couldn't get any bigger, boy, were they wrong. She muttered a triumphant 'yes' under her breath and Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at Morgan.

Across from the two, Bucky watched the exchange silently. He admired how well Elizabeth spoke to Morgan. Gently enough that it made Morgan feel at ease, but she also didn't hold back with her words, knowing that Morgan was a lot smarter than they thought. Bucky crossed his arms in front of the dark jacket he wore as he thought to himself silently, she's great with kids.

As if she could sense that he was thinking about her, Elizabeth turned to look at him with a smile. A smile that made him fall in love with her all over again. "Well, my friend Bucky has something to say to you."

'Friend?' Bucky mouthed to her with a look of fake hurt on his face before kneeling down so he was eye level with Morgan on the bench. "It's actually something I wanted to say to your dad," Bucky began nervously. "But, I never got the chance."

He tripped over his own words as he tried to figure out the best way to deliver what he said. He owed it not only to himself but to Tony, but since he wasn't here, any Stark would do. "You probably won't know what I'm talking about," he began shakily, causing Elizabeth to put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "But when you're older, I'm sure you will."

"Someone would've told you about what happened, what I did." As Bucky spoke, Morgan listened carefully in silence. She was young but she wasn't too young to understand what he was trying to do. "I did horrible things, and I hurt a lot of people. But, I want you to know that I'm sorry." 'I'm sorry for killing your grandparents,' Bucky wanted to say but stopped himself, Morgan didn't need to know the details at such a young age. She didn't need to hold onto that as she grew up.

"I'm not asking you to forgive me. I just want you to know that I didn't mean to hurt anyone-" Bucky stopped himself for the second time that day. He took a deep breath before he continued. "I just want you to know that I am so sorry."

Elizabeth and Bucky both watched Morgan carefully, waiting for her reaction. Morgan's eyes darted back and forth as if trying to process what Bucky had just said. "Okay," she said finally with a smile at Bucky. Before he could respond to what she had said, Morgan reached out and took a piece of Bucky's long hair between her fingers. "You have nice hair," she observed with a smile.

Looking up at Elizabeth, Bucky looked at her with wide eyes. She gave him an encouraging smile, knowing how much this meant to him. He was filled with nothing but pure relief and peace.

"Thank you," Bucky sighed out to Morgan with a faint smile on his face. He thanked her for so much more than just the compliment on his hair. Morgan smiled as she tried to braid two strands of his hair together, ending up with more of a twist than a braid.

"Morgan!" Happy called as he opened the front door. He stood with a plate in his hand, containing a burger.

Morgan gasped when she saw what Happy held out for her. "Cheeseburger!" She exclaimed before grabbing the plate from his hand and running inside. Not before stopping to say a quick 'bye!' to Elizabeth and Bucky. Happy gave a curt nod to the couple before closing the door behind him and Morgan.

"You feel okay?" Elizabeth looked at Bucky who nodded at her. He moved up from his place on the ground to sit beside Elizabeth on the  bench.

He wrapped his arm around her as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm always okay if you're with me," Bucky mumbled as he kissed the side of her head.

Smiling to herself, Elizabeth buried her face into the fabric of his jacket. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes until they saw three figures emerge from the tree line. She lifted her head up and squinted to catch the familiar faces.

"We come bearing gifts!" She heard Leo call as he held up a cat in both his hands.

"Alpine!" Bucky and Elizabeth exclaimed before the two of them clambered down the porch steps to scoop the cat up in their arms.

Bucky held the cat in his arms as he scratched the back of its ears. "We thought she was gone," Bucky began as he looked between Luke, Leo and Emilie. Where did you find her?"

"She showed up at my doorstep yesterday," Emilie explained to the two. "So it was more like she found me."

"We also came to offer our condolences," Luke added before he looked around at the empty space. "But it looks like we're a bit too late."

"Where are you guys going to go after this?" Elizabeth asked the three in front of her as she stroked the fur of the cat in Bucky's arms.

Leo shrugged before he shoved his hands into the pockets of his dark jeans. "Maybe Paris," he informed her. "All our stuff is still there."

"So you also came to say goodbye," Elizabeth stated as her brothers both nodded their heads.

Emilie was the first one to pull Elizabeth in for a hug. "We'll see you soon," she muttered into Elizabeth's ear. "And thank you, for the last five years."

Once the two pulled apart, Luke and Leo took their turn in embracing her. "We'll be back, little sister." Luke said and Elizabeth scoffed at his words.

"That's what you two said last time," she remarked but there was no bitterness behind her words anymore. There hadn't been for a long time, she realised as she watched the three of them leave.

Elizabeth and Bucky faced each other in the empty clearing. "Now it's Steve's turn to say goodbye," Bucky commented sadly before they walked into the woods.

Warning

Hi everyone, just a small warning, this is the second to last chapter before this book ends. I'd like to thank each of you for reading this story and getting it to nearly 20k! I couldn't have done it without you.

All the love,
H.