Three years later

The sun hung low in the sky, casting a golden hue over the snow-covered landscape. The air was crisp, carrying the faint scent of salt from the nearby Okhotsk Sea.

Magadan Oblast.

The breeze flowed quietly over the dense trees over the small wooden house there, carrying with it the soft sound of laughter. Nearby, Violet's laughter filled the air as she played with Peter, her tiny feet padding across the soft grass. The two-year-old had inherited her father's mischievous grin and her mother's eyes, her curls bouncing with each playful step.

A short distance away, Nora knelt in front of two graves beneath an ancient oak tree. Her hand softly brushed the initials engraved on the stone– the connections she once shared with her parents now purely physical, only in form of words. It had been thirty years since that dreadful day, since the day her life had tilted off its axis, since the time HYDRA had taken everything away from her. And since she had last stepped into this small town.

She had thought that she was finally ready, but now sitting in front of the graves of her parents– it felt like she was once again the same nine year old girl who had lost them.

Tony's presence anchored her from completely drowning in it, his hand warm against hers, a gentle brush of his thumb against her knuckles keeping her in the present. His expressions were solemn too though he didn't speak nor wanted to intrude on the personal moment.

"It's been thirty years," she said softly, her voice carrying a weight time hadn't entirely lifted. "Thirty years since they were taken away from me, sometimes it feels like yesterday, sometimes...another lifetime,"

Tony gently brushed her knuckles with his thumb, "They had been proud of you, you know. Proud of everything you have became,"

She let out a shaky breath, her eyes lingering on their graves, "I really hope so," she whispered, "that they would know that despite everything HYDRA have done to them– to me, at the end I have found my peace, My family," she shook her head, some tears falling from her eyes, "You, Violet, Peter, you all make this more bearable,"

Tony said nothing, just pulled her in a sideway hug, her head resting on his shoulder while he gently soothed her, with a lingering kiss on her hair or just a squeeze of hand. He watched as her hand rested near her mother's grave before suddenly, a small sprout pushed through the dirt beside her mother's grave. It unfurled into a vibrant green sapling, its leaves catching the sunlight that streamed through the trees, a yellow-golden vein going between it.

Tony's breath hitched, "Did you–?"

Nora shook her head, her expression frozen in shock before they crumbled into grief and love, "No, I didn't," she whispered, voice cracking, "It's her, my mother she– always loved plants with golden veins,"

And in that moment, if they would have been able to see beyond the veil of living, two souls would have revealed them, Golden, translucent– but there. Both of them free of the pain and fear that had once held them down, but instead filled with love and peace.

Nora's mother stepped forward kneeling down to press an ethereal kiss on her forehead, the touch so gentle it can only be felt as a warm brush of wind against her skin. A single tear slipped down Nora cheeks, her hand instinctively reaching toward her forehead even though she couldn't see the source of the warmth.

Her father lingered a moment longer, as he glanced down at Tony– gratitude profound in his eyes, gratitude for finding his daughter, and giving her everything they were not able to. He rested a golden hand on his shoulder, both a blessing and an acknowledgement. Tony couldn't see them either, but a shiver passed through his body, his head turning as if sensing something invisible but profound.

Their spirits exchanged a last glance– their love for each other as evident as it was in their life, before their shimmering form faded away in the horizon.

Free.

After seeing her.

Safe. 

Happy. 

Loved. 

At peace.

After thirty years of long wait, they too found their peace. 

Nora crumbled into Tony's embrace, her tears this time not from sadness but the overwhelming peace that had washed over her, finally– after all this time, feeling like an invisible boulder had been lifted off her shoulder.

In the distance, Violet's laughter rang out, and Nora turned toward the sound, wiping away her tears, watching as her daughter ran toward them with Peter leaping into her arms, giggling and wrapping her tiny arms around her mother's neck, Nora felt the completeness of the moment settle deep within her soul.

Her parents were gone, but their love had never left. It had lived on in her, in the choices she made, in the family she had built. And now, in this place of both endings and beginnings, she knew they had blessed not just her, but Tony and Violet and Peter too.

She leaned her head against Tony's chest, while his arm wrapped around her waist giving it a gentle squeeze, the other urging Peter to come and join the family hug too which the boy gladly did, both Violet and him laughing.

"You were right," she whispered, her emerald eyes meeting his molten gold one– that mirrored the emotions she felt, "This– This all was really worth everything,"

"You are worth everything, always have been,"

Their voice was synchronized just like their heartbeats.