Quando sono solo

Sogno all'orizzonte

E mancan le parole

Sì lo so che non c'è luce

In una stanza quando manca il sole

Se non ci sei tu con me, con me

Su le finestre

Mostra a tutti il mio cuore

Che hai acceso

Chiudi dentro me

La luce che

Hai incontrato per strada

- English Translation Underneath-

When I am alone I sit and dream

And when I dream the words are missing

Yes I know that in a room so full of light

That all the light is missing

But I don't see you with me, with me

Close up the windows, bring the sun to my room

Through the door you've opened

Close inside of me the light you see

That you met in the darkness

Time to Say Goodbye, by Andrea Bocelli, from the album Fly, released in 1995.

Tony was melancholic, yet disheartened at the same time. It was raining in London. A rather cliché weather, considering what was happening on this very specific day. There was very sun breaking the sky, but that was rather apt. Peggy had never liked too much sun, nor had she liked it when it was overly heavy with rain. The rain was good for hiding in, but the sun was much nicer to be in.

Better it be a light drizzle, where there was little water to obscure your vision and even less sun to illuminate you when you were trying to hide. They had flown, neither Peter nor Tony being much in the mood for a road trip. It was much too far either way.

They'd be staying at one of Tony's apartments, specially bought for when Tony wanted to see Peggy. He'd fast-tracked the funeral date- there was no way that his Aunt was going to be laying on a cold and granite slab in some random morgue for an unnecessary amount of time.

They'd come down a few days earlier than the actual funeral, so they both had time to prepare, and finalise some things. Pepper had joined Tony, as had Rhodey, both of them wanting to be there for Tony and Peter. May would have come if she could, but since she was still in the hospital, there wasn't really any people who could accompany Peter. It had been difficult managing to escape New York without the other Avengers realising, and it would be even harder to go to the funeral without Steve realising.

Tony wasn't even sure why he didn't want Steve to know, other than that it was a selfish part of him that wanted to keep her to himself. Well, himself and Peter. That was how they found themselves standing in front of a mirror on a dreary November afternoon, fiddling with ties and jackets. Tony was wearing a white shirt, with a dark black overcoat.

In the middle of his collared shirt, there was a navy blue tie. To go with the outfit, he had a pair of belted black trousers. On the right side of his jacket, there was a small red pin-on poppy, as well as a small glowing pin made in the style of the arc reactor. He had combed back his unruly hair, and styled it into something much neater.

Rhodey was wearing his military uniform, and while it stood out more than a sore thumb, it was his own way of showing respect to Peggy. Pepper was wearing a deep black dress with a simplistic pearl necklace draped around her neck. Accompanying it was a black handbag, and she was wearing black slip-on shoes. Peter was dressed as a mini-Tony, as Rhodey ever so eloquently put it.

He was wearing a very similar suit to Tony, with a rose threaded through the pocket of his, just over his dress. They'd tamed his hair temporarily with some gel, but they could do nothing about the red rims around his eyes. They weren't a pair in that sense, because while Tony had shed a tear, he'd fought very hard to not have red-rimmed eyes.

Tony straightened up Peter's tie, barely resisting the urge to ruffle his hair. Tony was worried about the kid, with his red-rimmed eyes and abnormal quietness. He'd almost never known the kid to be quiet, it was a quintessential part of his character to be bubbly and happy and always chatting about the next Lego set or a new piece of tech, or something.

Him being quiet just didn't sit well with Tony, but he couldn't force him to speak. Tony just hoped that he'd open up to him eventually, or even talk to his therapist once they got back.

"Are you two ready to go?"

Pepper quietly asked, hanging back with Rhodey. Tony couldn't believe that Pepper was his fiancée, but he also couldn't believe that he hadn't had the chance to tell Peggy about it. She'd always looked forward to the day where he got married, but now she would never see it.

Tony nodded, smoothly avoiding speaking, as he turned to Peter, who nodded slowly. In a silent procession, they made their way to the hired Audi, Peter and Tony slipping into the back seat as Rhodey slid into the driver's side. Tony wrapped his arm around Peter as the car began to move, taking them to their intended destination.

Steve was remorseful. And devastated. Someone had kept his old suit, one that had been his Pa's, and had been far too big when he was a kid. He had gratuitously accepted it back. A bit of ironing and straightening out later, and it was ready for him. It fit him fairly well, considering everything that had happened, and it was almost in pristine condition.

Still, he never thought he'd be wearing it again. Peggy was his last link to the past, his love, and that had been cruelly stolen away from him. If this was how Peggy felt when he went into the ice, then he never wished this upon anyone. Someone had funded for the funeral, Steve didn't know who, but he'd find out later so he could thank them.

Perhaps one of her family members had done it. He'd been chosen to be a coffin bearer. It had specified in Peggy's will supposedly, but that was another thing that Steve hadn't seen. He had been requested to be her coffin bearer and he was her former love, but he couldn't look at her will? It made him angry, but no amount of smiling and Captain America-ing had solved the problem.

Still, he straightened up his collar and his tie, as he looked at his car outside. He needed to leave soon in order to make it to the funeral. He had used the Avengers' money to fund the trip to London, something that he was sure they wouldn't mind too much. It was abnormal circumstances after all. Had the circumstances been better, Steve would have gone sightseeing around London.

It was, after all, one of the biggest cities, and it was the capital of the UK for a reason. But be that as it may, he was here for one reason, and he was in no mood to go see Big Ben or the London Eye. The apartment he was staying in, while not the best place, was enough to live with.

A small bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, along with an old TV that wouldn't be seen anywhere inside the compound. It wasn't like he was in the mood to do much more than wallow anyway. Bucky hadn't received his letter or hadn't replied, because he was nowhere to be found. No matter. He couldn't help but dwell upon past memories, back way back when, when he was at the peak of his life.

Dancing with Peggy, the smell of her perfume, faint enough so it wouldn't trigger his asthma. When she was wearing a beautiful white dress that she promised she would never get rid of, a small, barely noticeable bracelet ghosting along her wrist. The strong English twang of her accent, ever so beautiful, as they spoke and kissed one another, her accent contrasting with his own. The accents were so different, yet when they rang out together, they sounded like a melodious tune.

Dancing, old and slow, to 'It's Been a Long, Long Time' by Harry James. It was a beautiful piece, much better then the current music, especially what could be heard outside of Tony's lab, and the lyrics resonated with him. While he had never had the experience of music growing up, their harmonious tunes being replaced with the bomb siren, he still had a keen appreciation for it. It brought people together, and tied bonds that couldn't be broken.

Kiss me once, then kiss me twice... Their first kiss had been a memorable one like they always were. Someone didn't kiss someone else if they didn't mean it, even if it was just a chaste kiss on the cheek. It was distinctive in the sense that Steve back then hadn't thought anyone would be interested in him romantically. Who would want to date a man who had so many medical illnesses that he was expected to die any minute?

Even with the serum enhancing everything, and making him healthier then he would have ever been, they had no idea if the illnesses had been cured, or just held at bay. The kiss had been just before he was due to attempt the recover the Tesseract and defeat Red Skull. The doorsteps to the plane were open, inviting him in with open doors, where she had grabbed him from behind- an impressive action, considering his bulk then- and engaged the kiss.

Nosing her, he had returned it, before she pushed him away. He boarded the plane that would become his 'freezer' as Tony would have put it. It's been a long, long time. Haven't felt like this, my dear, since I can't remember when. That much was true. Grief was, at this point, an old friend of Steve's. He'd lost everything, once upon a time, only to regain it once again, and then to lose it for a second time.

A constant cycle that always looped back to the same key theme- loss. With everything they had now, a century after his era, surely they would have been able to treat most diseases like shell-shock. That had been around since he was a babe, literally.

Shaking his head, he turned to look at Sam, who was dressed in a very similar suit. The man looked at him with a sad look, before redirecting it out of the window, which was smeared with raindrops.

"Are you ready to go?"

Taking a deep breath in, feeling more nervous then he had in years, he nodded slowly, fighting back tears that were threatening to build up. Then kiss me once again. It's been a long, long time.

Peter was angry. Angry but solemn. He was angry at everyone and everything. Even Tony was on the receiving end of his silent, unbridled anger. The teenager inside of him was petulant, lip jutting out, scowling while also huffing. Tears building up in his eyes, and his eyes hurt and wounded, screaming 'It isn't fair.' But Peter kept that hidden.

He was well aware that sometimes, life wasn't fair. And it never would be. Peter had loved Peggy like she had been his own aunt. It took a lot of Tony's trust to learn of his connection with the Brit, and even more to be introduced to her. That kind of honour was trusted only to Tony's closest friends and family. `And Peter was grateful for that.

They'd been introduced when he'd just turned fifteen when Tony had taken him out on the spur of the moment trip after Peter had a particularly nasty afternoon dealing with Flash and his cronies. They'd driven to Washington, talking in companionable silence, with Peter silently refusing to mention why exactly he had a black eye and a now-clean bloody nose.

That had been a fun trip, despite the circumstances surrounding it. 'Why are we going to Washington ?' He'd asked at the time, nervously biting his lip. Tony had sighed but flicked his eyes to the side, before resuming to concentrate on the road. The song 'Dream On' had been getting into its loud crescendo at the time, and the only reason he remembered that fact was because he had been hyper-aware of the song in an attempt to avoid Tony's probing questions and not give away his feelings.

'I'm going to introduce you to someone who is very special to me. She always gave me good advice, so I think she will do the same for you.' Peter had turned his head to face Tony, his brown eyes widening ever so slightly. He knew a lot of people that Tony was close to: Pepper: his then-girlfriend; Rhodey; his friend from MIT, who had stuck by his side; the Avengers: who Tony did everything for; and of course, Happy: who doubled as Peter's babysitter.

It didn't matter to Tony how much Peter complained he didn't need one, that he was a teenager, and could handle things by himself, so the boy had eventually given up on attesting it. Plus, the man was good to talk to about all sorts of things, especially now he had gotten over his discomfort. Tony took his look with a small smile, as he turned his head away again, changing gear again, and bringing the car up to the new speed.

'I didn't always make good decisions. But between my mother and Peggy, they wouldn't let me bow under my father's treatment of me.' They had lapsed into silence, and the rest of the journey just had a small-talk. It hadn't taken them long to get to Washington, and while Peter had been expecting a mansion or something, he hadn't anticipated a nursing home. It was a nice nursing home, don't misunderstand him, but it certainly wasn't what he was expecting.

He had turned to Tony with a quizzical look on his face, wondering if Tony had taken a wrong turn or something. But the man stepped out of the black Audi, and so Peter followed silently, through the wide doors and towards the reception. Tony raised up his shades so that his eyes were visible, before putting his other hand on the desk. 'I'm here to see Margaret Carter.'

And that was how they had been introduced, the now infamous phrase being murmured to Peter: '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.". Although in his case, it had been about bullying, whereas she had used it all those years ago to tell women to stand up to sexism.

Either way, it was still a good quote and one that he would honour as hers until the day Peter died. Peggy may have forgotten his name from time to time, referred to him as Tony's son, called him Tony from time to time, and may have told him childhood stories about Tony as a kid, but she would, and always would be, his Aunt, damned of the lack of a biological relation or not.

With a silent resolve, he allowed himself to be gently prodded into the car, the world a wash of silence and loneliness as the world passed him by.

They were quiet, deep in thought, mourning the loss of a loved one. They sat at the back of the mass of chairs, watching almost from the shadows as her casket was carried in, draped in the flag of her home nation like it was a badge of honour. Rising for the entrance of the casket, they all murmured a prayer in joint synchronicity, as six men carried the casket in, sliding it on its resting place, decorated with several flowers.

The choir of young children continued their mournful, soul-searching song, before they slowly came to an end, the sound still echoing around. There were bouquets of flowers on the bottom next to the altar on both sides, but also on the top of the casket, linked together by candles that had the faintest whisper of a flame. The coffin bearers, eyes each wet and red, moved slowly to sit down in the front row, bowing their heads in respect and remembrance.

The reverend moved up to the front, standing behind his altar, dressed in formal and respectful clothing. Next to his altar, there was a bouquet of flowers, looking bright and colourful with their vibrant red, a contrast to the sombre and melancholic mood of both the atmosphere and the other flowers. All eyes were on him as he began to read out the eulogy from a script of paper.

"Margaret Carter, or 'Peggy' to all that knew her, was an inspirational soul, up until her very end. A guiding influence to her nephew, who kindly sent some words to be said in his stead, and she would regale her grandchildren, her nieces and nephews, with stories from her past. Such as the time where she sat her nephew on her knee and told him to never be afraid to stand up to himself, for there will be a day where he will have nobody in his corner. Or the time when, asked what her proudest achievement was, she answered: 'I don't have one. There is no need for pride. I do what is needed, what is necessary, so why should I find pride in that?'. She had many sayings like that, ones that her family grew up learning, so some of her teachings will forever live on. Now, we may sit in silence, as we listen to Peggy's nephew's chosen song of Who Wants to Live Forever."

At the back, though his eyes were shrouded a little, there was a small smile on his face, as tear tracks ran down his face silently. The opening chorus of 'Who Wants to Live Forever' began to ring out, and to some, this might be distasteful, but the song was meant to honour Peggy's sense of humour, and her impact on everyone around her. There was no disrespect in the song choice.

But touch my tears with your lips. Touch my world with your fingertips. And we can have forever. And we can love forever. Forever is our today.

The song closed off, its sad tune wavering off into the background. Once it was completely silent, the reverend looked at his notes, bowing his head a little bit.

"And now, I would like to invite Peggy's niece, Sharon Carter, to come up and say a few words."

As Sharon walked up, all eyes were drawn to her as she looked pale, red-rimmed eyes peering out confidently into the crowd. Her stance was set, standing tall as she took in a shaking breath.

"Margaret Carter was known to most as a founder of SHIELD... but I just knew her as Aunt Peggy."

She paused, taking a moment to console herself. They all looked up at her again, as they waited patiently for her to begin again. Tony looked at Sharon with a fond look, reminiscing about his childhood, before his attention was drawn to her speech once again.

"She had a photograph in her office. Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I never told anyone we were related. I asked her once how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage in a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either. And she said, compromise where you can. But 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.'"

Author's Note

Hello all! I'm glad you're all enjoying the story so far! Or at least, I hope so.

I'ma keep this short, because Prelims, blah, blah, sleep- what is that?- and exhaustion.

QOTW: What is one thing you want to be answered?

See ya next week!

~Cait