Dedication: To Joe and Anthony Russo, for tearing down the MCU so they could rebuild from the ashes, better than ever before.
"No amount of money ever bought a second of time."
-Tony Stark
"Mama?" A little girl asks. She and her mother are sitting on the dock overlooking the lake of their forest cabin hone.
"Yes, dear?" her mother replies softly, eyes staring into the horizon and the shadowy pines on the opposite side, clearly thinking of something else.
"Tell me about Daddy," the girl says.
Pain crosses the woman's face and agony flashes in her blue eyes.
"Your father was a hero," Pepper Potts begins sadly. "He fought his way through hardship and sadness and he saved all of us. He was brilliant and funny and handsome." She sighs. "He once described himself as a genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist," she remembers fondly. "And sometimes, he was the biggest pain in my ass." Realizing what she said, she covered her mouth.
But Morgan was too busy thinking about her father to chide her mother for swearing. "Mama?" she says.
"Yes?"
"He's gone, isn't he?"
"Yes," Pepper whispers sadly. "Yes, darling."
Morgan's silent. "I miss him."
"Me too."
"He said he loved me tons," she says.
"Oh, honey," Pepper murmurs. "He loved you so much more than that."
"I miss him," Morgan repeats sadly.
"I know," Pepper whispers. "I know. But look at the sky," she points, where dusk is settling like a blanket over the world and the stars are beginning to twinkle into existence. "See the stars?"
Morgan nods.
"That's where your father is. He's sleeping in the skies, but when night comes, he awakes, and he watches over you, keeping you safe while you sleep." Pepper smiles through the tears that begin to slip out of her, one by one. "Remember," she says softly. "He's always there, even when you can't see him. He's watching us," she repeats. "He's watching us."
Morgan stands on the dock and blows a kiss to the stars. "I love you 3,000," she whispers.
...
When Pepper has tucked Morgan into bed, she sits on the veranda under the stars, a battered Iron Man helmet before her. She reaches over to it and flicks the switch to turn it on.
Tony's voice begins to speak.
"Is this thing on? Hey Miss Potts, Pep. If you find this recording, don't feel bad about it. Part of the journey is the end. Just for the record, being adrift in space with zero promise of rescue is more fun than it sounds. Food and water ran out four days ago. Oxygen will run out tomorrow morning. And that'll be it. I know I said no more surprises. . . but I was really hoping to pull off one last one. But it looks like . . . well, you know what it looks like. When I drift off, I will dream about you. It's always you." He pauses.
"It's always you, too," she whispers her response, picking up the helmet and pressing it against her forehead as if some part of her husband is still in there.
"Tony's here," the helmet whispers in her ear.
But she dissolves in tears that flood from her soul, drowning her in sorrow, filling her with a pain that will never leave.
Because he's not.
Because his billions didn't buy him even a nanosecond of time.
