It's too bright.

Things shouldn't have been bright. The sun should be covered by clouds. It should be raining. Anything that wasn't sunny and happy, because there was nothing happy about October 18th, 2023. It was the day Aero got into his uncle's car and, for the first time in seven days, realized the gravity of his situation. He was Tony's oldest—and only—child. He was going to be the face of the Stark Legacy, and the world would be looking at him when he made even the smallest mistakes. They would criticize and tear him apart and tell him he wasn't worthy of being Tony's son.

Aero knew that. He just wonders how they know, too.

Rhodey told him about the house—it's a cabin in the woods, and it's cozy. Big enough for the family, and lonely enough for him and his mom, Aero thinks. He watches the trees pass in a blur and wonders who's going to show up to Tony's funeral besides who would be expected to be there. Aero has a feeling a lot of old grudges are going to come back to haunt him, and a part of him honestly can't wait to give back what everyone gave his dad—relentless blame and criticism.

"Oh," Rhodey said, causally, "you should know about Morgan."

"Morgan?" Aero asked, monotone. "Who's he?"

"She," Rhodey corrected. "She's your sister," he adds.

It's enough to flip Aero's mood entirely, and it's like his memories are suddenly pushed back into his head. Of course. He'd left the house because he was excited about his mom being pregnant. It's been five years. She would've had the baby by now, and Aero was a brother, and they'd named her Morgan, and—

Aero turned his gaze onto Rhodey. "Wait. Morgan. As in, like, Morgan. As in me," he stammered, the realization hitting him like a truck.

Rhodey grinned. "Yeah. They thought it was appropriate."

"Holy shit."

"She's almost five."

"Holy. Shit." Aero broke into a grin, and it's all he can do to keep from laughing with joy. "I'm a brother. I'm a brother! Like, I have a sister, and I'm older than her, and I can teach her how to drive and protect her from boys and— and. . . ." Aero trailed off, his smile fading. His dad should've been the one to teach Morgan to drive. He should be the one protecting her from boys. Aero didn't deserve that job, not when he'd missed so much development. Did she even know about him? Of course not. He was a complete stranger.

Rhodey glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "Aero. You're allowed to be happy."

"Am I?"

The question hangs in the air, cold. Aero wants to scream.

They pull up to the house.

It's quaint. Quiet. There's a lake to the side and the whole thing is made of wood and maybe, Aero thinks, he could like it here, as long as he can still go to Midtown and have friends and be with his family. It's, quite frankly, Aero's dream home—far away from the public eye, deep in nature, and utterly soundless when you wanted it to be. It was perfect, but all Aero could focus on was the fact that his dad had probably designed the house and now he wouldn't even get to see Aero's reaction to it.

Aero got off the car. He moves in front of it and waits for Rhodey to join him, and in that time Happy has time to hug him and ask Aero how he's feeling. Aero gives the typical answer of, "Fine. You?" before Rhodey gets to his side, and then Aero is perfectly fine with going silent, looking around the property with interest. Yeah, he's going to like it here. It's going to be lonely, but that's what his mom and sister are for.

His eyes go to the dirt road. There's a few cars scattered around, showing that people had come to the funeral. And then, in the very back, pulling up and trying to hide between the trees, Aero sees a white van with tinted windows, and he feels anger burn inside his chest, turning his heart into molten lava that he can't wait to pour on the person who thought it was a good idea for a news agency to crash his dad's funeral.

"Hey," he cut in, interrupting Happy, and he points at the van. Rhodey and Happy follow his gaze.

"Oh, hell no," Rhodey muttered, hurrying away with Happy to deal with the whatever motherfucker was in the van. Aero almost goes with them, then remembers that they probably want pictures of the family, and Aero is family. So he turns the other way and heads over to the crowd of people milling around as they wait for the funeral to start, and Aero can't help but wonder who some of them are and why they were at his dad's funeral when they didn't know him, not really.

Bruce should be there, it makes sense. He and Tony were good friends. Nat should have been there, but Aero can't think about that right now. Thor, maybe; he and Tony weren't best friends, but they weren't enemies, either. Steve, Clint, a few others Aero didn't recognize—they didn't deserve it. They should leave, and they all knew it, too. But that's not what his dad would want, so Aero didn't say anything, just walked into the scene and pretended that he was okay when he really felt like he couldn't breath.

It's enough to drive him crazy.

He's walking around, lost, when he's stopped by the wizard.

"Aero," the man said, and Aero look at him blankly. "Doctor Strange," he added, holding out his hand.

"Are we using our superhero identities?" Aero asked, shaking his hand. He has no bad blood with the guy, Strange, because, so far, he seems good. "I'm sorry to say that I don't have one yet."

Strange rolled his eyes. "You and Parker both," he said, and Aero's heart thumps a little faster at the mention of his not-to-be-seen friend. "I wanted to . . . apologize. But I know apologies mean nothing at times like these," he said, which is exactly how Aero feels. "Your father was a good man, willing to die for our universe. There aren't many people like him. I hope you take comfort in that."

Aero was quiet for a moment, digesting the words. They don't make him feel better, but they don't make him want to roll his eyes, so he supposed that, yes, he'll find comfort in the knowledge that he isn't the only one who knows his dad is a hero. Because Tony is . . . wasa hero, and it's time other people recognized that.

". . . Is your name actually Doctor Strange?" Aero asked, and it makes the man chuckle quietly.

Aero moves on. Bruce and Thor stand under the trees, speaking to each other, but they both turn their attention to Aero when they see him approaching. Bruce smiled sadly, his arm in a sling, and Aero hugged him, surprising both of them. He wants to say thank you for bringing him and everyone else back, but he can't form the words. Bruce seems to understand, gently putting his good hand on Aero's head for a moment before removing it. Aero pulled away and smiled, looking up at him.

"I want answers," he said bluntly, "about what the hell happened to you when I was gone."

Bruce chuckled. "It's a story for later, Aero," he said honestly, and Aero nods, because he doesn't want to hear it now, anyway. Then he looks at Thor and smiles, nodding in thanks for the day on the battlefield, when Thor offered a distraction from Aero's life for a few hours. Thor grins at him, but it's somewhat forced, both of them feeling the saddness in the air around each other. Thor lost a friend, and Aero lost a dad, and while in their situation it wasn't comparable, they both felt guilty. So he hugged Thor, too, and he doesn't make a comment about the smell of beer because he doesn't believe that Thor would be drunk at Tony's funeral, that it's only a lasting smell from five years of depression.

And Aero understands.

He moves on through the crowd.

There's people he doesn't know, another Peter and a talking raccoon and a talking tree and a blue robot who gives him a knowing look when he passes. He doesn't recognize her, but she knows him, and Aero has to wonder how she does. But he doesn't bother asking because it's not worth knowing about. Maybe she just knows him from the news.

He's stopped by a tall man with brown hair and kind eyes, standing a few feet away from an even taller, brown-haired woman who gives the man a little push. The man sighed and looked at Aero, and for a moment it's like he actually sees Aero, and Aero has to wonder if this guy is a dad, too, because he has the same look that Tony had when he first laid eyes on Aero—this is a kid, and I will do my best. But it's different, too, because this guy isn't Tony, but he seems nice enough, so Aero pauses to let him speak.

"My name is Scott Lang," the man said, looking nervous. "I want to say that I'm sorry."

Aero doesn't roll his eyes. He can tell that there's real guilt in the statement, though he doesn't understand why. "It's fine. You didn't kill him." The words come out too bluntly. Scott winced, but Aero doesn't flinch. It's just how he is now.

"No, I mean— I'm the one who suggested the Time Heist," Scott admitted.

Aero blinked. "The . . . Time Heist?" he echoed, confused. "What the hell does that mean?"

"I'm the one who suggested that we go back in time to save everyone," Scott explained. "He wanted to get you back. If I hadn't suggested it, he wouldn't have made time travel possible and he'd probably still be here. I'm— I'm sorry," he finished, voice catching at the end, sincere and scared and angry at himself. Aero studied him, quiet, and finally nods.

"Well. Now I'm just curious about the fact that time travel is real," he said simply. Scott smiled hesitantly. "Look, it's not your fault, man. If you guys hadn't gone back in time, I probably wouldn't be here. Half these people wouldn't be," he said, and he doesn't miss the way Scot looks at the brown-haired woman, who smiles. "But whatever. I don't blame you. You seem cool, actually." The name clicks, just then. "Wait a minute. You were at the airport. You were the, uh, the—"

"Giant-Man?" Scott supplies.

"How did you do it?" Aero asked, and then it's another thirty minutes of meeting people—Hope Van Dyne, Dr. Hank Pym, and Janet Van Dyne, who all take their time to explain how Scott's suit works and the Pym Particles that made time travel possible, and Aero can't help but laugh when they talk shit on his granddad, Howard Stark. Janet ruffles his hair and for the first time he feels a burst of emotion, but then he stamps it down and puts on a fake smile and watches Scott and Hope make lovey-dovey eyes at each other before he excuses himself to catch up with the others.

He nods when he seems T'challa, but he doesn't expect to be confronted by the king's sister, Shuri, who he's completely fascinated with. She's smart and funny and slips in a couple of vine references to trip him up, but Aero fires back with his own and they're quick to exchange numbers. He sees a general, Okoye as he'll soon learn, roll her eyes but smile just faintly, and Aero can see things looking up for now. He moves on with the promise of sending Shuri one of his favorite Vine compilations to see if she's seen it before, but he's pretty sure she has. The whole interaction makes him have hope, and that's enough.

Wanda finds him near the house, looking around as if a little lost. He hugs her despite the airport battle and she puts a hand on his shoulder, telling him she's sorry, but Aero doesn't really care, anyway, because he was friends with Wanda before the split of the Avengers and he's friends with her now. They share their grievances about Vision, but it's clear she's more emotional about it, because Aero remembers J.A.R.V.I.S. and Wanda remembers Vision, and those two were different people born from the same coding. He moves on.

He finds Bucky Barnes as far away as Sam Wilson will allow him to be, and he walks over. Sam eyes him, but he doesn't step in.

"Barnes," Aero greeted, and for a moment he's a little stricken, because, damn, Bucky may have hurt his dad, but that doesn't mean he wasn't handsome as hell. Aero shakes his head, pushing the thought away because now is not the time. "I never said thank you. For saving me," he added, though he knows Bucky understands.

". . . Call it an apology," Bucky finally said, quietly, and Aero understands.

"I think I speak on his behalf when I say it's accepted," Aero says. Just for a moment, Bucky smiles—it's faint and doesn't last long, but it's there, and Aero has a feeling it's very rare to get a smile out of Bucky Barnes. "I'll see you around," he adds, looking from Bucky to Sam, and it's an offer to both of them—you don't have to run anymore. Aero's tired of fighting and hating people and being bitter. Five years have passed, and times change. It's time Aero changed, too. If Bucky and Sam wanted to come back to the Avengers, they would be allowed back. Aero might not be an Avenger, but his dad damn well was one of the leaders, and Aero intends to make his legacy last.

He moves on.

He still hasn't seen his mom, but he doesn't seek her out. They're time will come.

Instead, he's intercepted by Maria Hill, who offers her condolences and tells Aero he's a brave kid. Aero smiles and gives thanks and walks away. He meets Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel, and he tells her she's an absolute badass, bluntly, and she nods. He has a feeling she doesn't give respect to people often, so he's thankful she has it for his dad. He walks away from her, too, glad he said something nice, before he sees them.

Steve and Clint, talking quietly, just before the actually funeral starts. Aero paused, wanting to walk away. There are some things you don't forgive.

And then he remembered his dad, took a deep breath, and walked over.

Steve is the first to see him. He bowed his head respectfully. "Aero," he said.

"Steve," Aero replied.

Clint looked between them. "Er—"

"Look, I'm not going to say you're heroes or that I forgive you or whatever," Aero said evenly, sharply, because he remembers entering the raft with Tony, amazed with everything in the facility; he remembers his dad's arm in a sling and a bruise around his eye, and he remembers the way Barton mocked and jeered and Aero feels angry all over again. But he pushes it down, under a pile of Picture Perfect Respect. "But he did, and that's all you need to know. He didn't hate you. He just trusted you."

"I know," Steve said painfully, like he doesn't know how to get the words out. "Aero, I'm—"

"I don't care," Aero cut in. "I'm not a teammate, I'm not your boss, and I don't care, so I can say it. You're not in trouble anymore, Rogers, but I won't bite my tongue and say anything respectful when you hurt my dad." He took a breath. "But I won't hate you. Either of you. Because he wouldn't want that." Then, before either of them can respond, he put on his fakest smile. "Enjoy the ceremony, and don't smile for any cameras."

May intercepted him just before he's called to stand with Pepper. She hugged him tightly and told him he's going to be okay, and it's the first time that he feels like crying that entire day. She presses a kiss to his cheek and then she's gone to find Peter again, and Aero watches her go, wishing Peter had already been with her.

People begin moving toward the lake. Aero followed.

He nearly ran straight into a little girl running in front of him like a maniac. She looked up at him and grinned, and for a moment Aero is angry, because how could she genuinely smile at a time like this, before he remembers she's just a kid, probably no older than five, and—

He choked, stopping in his tracks. He looks down at her and sees it.

Her smile is a match to his own, and her dark brown hair falls a little past her shoulders, neatly brushed and sprayed down; her eyes are shining and they're the same shade of brown as his dad's, their dad's, and Aero had the indescribable urge to hug her, his older brother instincts kicking in. She stopped, too, staring at him, recognizing him, and Aero wondered exactly what Pepper and Tony told her and if she knew who he was after all. Her smile and shout of, "Era!" says she does. She hugged his legs and Aero puts a hand on top of her head, taking a deep breath as the realization hit that this is his sister.

The ceremony calls for them.

"Come on, Mommy wants us," she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the crowd.

Aero can't think. He can barely breath.

His mom hugged him and pressed a kiss to the top of his forehead, smiles brokenly when she sees Aero and Morgan holding hands. She shows Aero the flowerbed she's holding, and he sees the first ever ARC reactor sitting in the middle, the words proof that Tony Stark has a heart etched into it, and he takes a shuddering breath before nodding. Pepper faces the crowd and thanks them for coming, her voice shaky but her posture strong, and tells them about Tony, about legacy, about a hero. She doesn't tell them about a father, a husband, a man who smiled so brightly while being so broken. She doesn't tell them about the panic attacks and the late nights and the birthdays and the death scares and the I love yous. Because that's all for Aero and Morgan and Pepper and Happy and Rhodey; no one else can have that, and Aero understands.

Everyone knew Iron Man, but not everyone was lucky enough to know Tony Stark.

Pepper turned to the lake and takes a step forward before stopping. She closed her eyes for a moment, quiet, before she turned to Aero and held the flower bed out to him. Aero got the message, taking the flowers and the ARC reactor, and knelt next to the lake, prepared to send his dad off to wherever he would go. Aero didn't believe in God or Heaven or hell, but he believed in Tony.

Aero paused. He turned and made eye contact with Morgan, who smiled at him—just a kid who didn't understand what was happening. He offered his hand to her, and she moved over to him, taking his hand. He placed her hand on the other side of the flower bed and helped her put it into the water. "On three, we push it," he explained softly. She nodded. When Aero got to three, they both push the bed of flowers further out into the lake. Aero stood, taking Morgan's small hand in his own, staring at the water with an unreadable expression.

"Era," Morgan said quietly. He looked down at her; she raised her arms and he instinctively picked her up, bringing her up to his level. He turned and walked back toward their mom, who was clearly trying to remain strong for them. Aero stood where Morgan had, wrapping an arm around his mom's shoulders and making sure to keep Morgan up.

Then, almost like an echo, he could hear it.

Take care of them.

Aero looked around, but no one had spoken. So he shrugged it off and trained his eyes back onto the lake.

It's almost three minutes before anyone speaks again.

It's Rhodey. He turned to the crowd and, without a hint of a smile, calls out, "To Tony Stark!"

And the crowd's answering cheer is enough to fuel Aero's energy for days.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

His dad stood in the living room, making a speech about happiness and things working out, and Aero wants to believe it's real, but all he can see is the crappy hologram recording his dad's left behind, and he doesn't think he can ever follow his dad's advice to the full extent.

A few people are in the living room, watching his dad talk, and Aero wondered if they're trying to make themselves believe that Tony is really there and that this isn't a funeral, but a celebration, too. Aero certainly tried to, but that hope fizzled out as soon as his dad said, "So I thought I better record a little greeting, in the case of an untimely death, on my part." Because his dad is dead and this isn't a nightmare, it's fucking reality and Aero doesn't think he can stand to be in the room for another second—

Hologram Tony bends down to look Morgan in the eyes and says, "I love you three thousand," and Aero thinks it's over, finally, before Tony looks directly at him, standing by the sliding glass door, half-in and half-out, and says, in full honesty, "Oh, and Aero . . . I am so proud of you, kiddo."

Aero can't take it. He stepped back outside and sat down on the closest bench, closing his eyes and swallowing the lump in his throat as he tried his hardest not to cry. He needed to be strong for everyone. Not the world, but his mom. His sister. His baby sister who climbs onto the bench to sit next to him, having difficulty because she's so small, and Aero knows that he can't break down in front of her, he can't break down at all, and it's enough to push all his emotions down.

Morgan looked at him with big eyes. "Daddy told me about you," she said softly.

Aero smiled. "Yeah? What'd he say?"

She thinks for a moment. "Not much. That you're my older brother. And that your best friend is Spider-Man." Aero laughed quietly, but his eyes do a quick search for Peter for the fifteenth time. He knows Peter is there, May said so herself, but he still hasn't caught sight of Peter's brown hair or brown eyes or cute face.

He shakes his head, trying not to think about Peter again. "Did he tell you that my middle name is Morgan?" Aero asked, and Morgan perks up.

"Really?" she asked, like it's a huge secret. Aero nodded, fully turning to face her. "That's so cool. Before he left he told me that he'd start reading me one of your favorite book series for bedtime stories," she said, and Aero immediately knows what she's talking about. "Did you see your room yet? Mommy and Daddy spent two years making it into something you'd like!" And she goes on, changing the subject twenty different times as she tries to catch Aero up on the last five years, and Aero listens intensely, wanting Morgan to know that he's always going to be there to listen to her.

And then she said, "Mommy also said you're in love with Spider-Man. Is that true?"

Aero choked on air, his ears burning as his face flushed red. "Well, I— I, uh— love is a little strong," Aero says simply.

Morgan grinned at him. "Do you feel about Spider-Man the same way Mommy and Daddy look at each other?"

Aero has to pause. He doesn't know the answer to that question. "Love is complicated, Bug," he said quietly, the name slipping out before he can think. Morgan doesn't seem to mind. She changes the subject again and gets lost in her words for another twenty minutes, and Aero wondered if she's going to graduate high school early because of fast and accurate she speaks. He's can't really say anything—Morgan is the product of two of the sharpest minds in New York, of course she's smart as hell. Aero only wished their dad was there confirm his suspicions that Morgan was going to graduate at sixteen, or even sooner.

Happy comes up to them hesitantly, like he doesn't want to interrupt, but Morgan's given him a lot to think about, so Aero makes the excuse of finding Peter (it's not really an excuse if Aero plans on going through with it), and Morgan waves him away, telling Aero to give Peter the straight (ha!) facts—that he, Aero Stark, is in love with him, Peter Parker (or, Spider-Man, as Morgan says, and Aero wonders if Morgan knows Peter's secret identity at all).

People have begun leaving now. Steve, Clint and Wanda, Sam and Bucky—everyone who wasn't that close to Tony at all. The four space aliens from earlier are starting to leave, but the blue robot—who's not a robot at all, Aero realizes—catches his attention. He walks over to her after a moment, figuring Peter can wait.

"I'm Aero," he introduced, holding out his hand. She eyed it, and he lowered it after a moment. "I like your style."

"Tony was a kind man," she said, and it feels forced—not like she doesn't mean the words, but like she's not used to saying them. "I wish you the best of luck in your life, Aero. He spoke of you all too often. I heard nonstop praise twenty-two days," she said honestly, and Aero can't help but grin. She goes to walk away before saying over her shoulder, "Nebula." It takes him a moment to realize that's her name, but he takes note of it so he can find a way to send her an invite for dinner, because something tells him that Nebula and Tony have a bond that can only be formed in space.

He turned around and saw Peter.

Well, he saw Peter walking toward a car, probably May's, and it takes Aero a moment too long to realize that Peter is leaving without even saying goodbye. His smile drops and his hands go into his pockets, and he can't even call out to Peter before he's in the car, and, suddenly Aero is angry. It's Tony's funeral, Aero's dad's funeral, and Peter can't even be bothered to offer his condolences, much less give Aero a fucking hug or even a hello. Something burns deep in his chest, threatening to over spill, and Aero needs a fucking drink. But since he isn't legally old enough for whiskey, he settles for going all the way to the end of the lake to sit and ponder and be angsty.

He doesn't expect to see a boy there.

It's a teenager, someone Aero has never met before. He has the briefest instinct to yell at the guy for crashing his dad's funeral, but the boy is wearing a suit and staring at the flowerbed that had reached the corner of the lake, and Aero realizes that the guy is sad and figures it would do well to find out who he was before yelling at him at a funeral.

Aero stepped beside him. The boy gave him a look out of the corner of his eye.

"Harley Keener," he said at last, turning to face Aero. "And you're Aero Stark."

It clicked. "Wait, aren't you, like, ten-years-old?" Aero asked.

Harley scoffed. When he speaks, he has a southern accent. "How long has it been since your dad was in Rose Hill, Aero? People age."

Aero took a moment to respond, suddenly realizing that Harley Keener is fucking hot. He has these long, dark lashes above pretty blue eyes and light, soft looking brown hair that goes well with his medium toned skin. His mouth has a slight quirk to it, like he's always amused, and Aero can see the troublemaker that his dad described in his eyes, which study Aero with an interest that Aero can't place.

Aero grinned. "Harley fucking Keener. I never thought I'd meet the kid of mystery."

Harley chuckleed. "Old Man speak highly of me?" he asked.

"Most of the time, sure, but I've also heard about you being annoying more times than I can count," Aero said back.

"You're one to say," Harley teased, and it's like they've known each other forever. "I've heard more about your ability to solve puzzles more times than I've cared to."

It's easy to slip into the banter, and there's a part of Aero that's telling him to take a chance on Harley, to forget about Peter, just for a while. But he can't. Because everytime Harley laughs, Aero's mind goes to Peter's laugh and his dimples and his messy brown hair and big brown eyes. Whenever Harley makes a joke, Peter's there in the back of his mind, his arms around Aero, telling him that it'll be okay, smiling at Aero's jokes and fanboying with Aero over Broadway musicals. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to see that Aero is irreversibly into Peter Parker, and taking a chance on Harley Keener was never going to fix that.

But he gives Harley his number anyway, just to keep in contact.

Aero walked away and goes back to the house. He stayed in the kitchen while the others leave, one by one until it's just him and his family—Pepper and Morgan, Happy and Rhodey. Happy's brought cheeseburgers to the table and Rhodey brings out three beers before Pepper sighed and tells him to get four, warning Aero that it's a one-time thing only, at leastuntil he's twenty-one. Aero grins and agrees and drinks, and things don't seem so bad anymore.

Hours into the night, Pepper shows him his room.

It's bigger than it was at the compound, or at Stark Tower. It's grey, too, instead of purple. Things are mostly the same—it's his bed, the black and purple comforter stretched out on his black sheets. The carpet is a cream color, and his old desk is in one corner. But there's seven bookshelves lined up across the back wall, with only one book series on the middle one—Percy Jackson, because Aero talked too much about it when he was around; the empty space is for him to fill. Across from his bed is a TV mounted to the wall, and all Aero can think about is how this is his dream room, completely and without a doubt, and he hugged his mom tightly, saying a thank you that comes out as a whisper.

Things seem okay.

And then, at four in the morning, Aero is finally alone, tired and burnt out and telling everyone else that he's going to bed. Completely alone, without anyone around. Just to test the house, he asks for F.R.I.D.A.Y. to activate, and she obeys his request to soundproof his room, not questioning why.

And then he falls against the door, still in his suit, with messy hair and a red face and a confused heart and mind, and he sobs until his head hurts and his throat is raw from screaming into his pillow, and he checks his phone for any sort of message from Peter and finds nothing waiting for him but a blank screen.

And, suddenly, the phrase 'completely alone' is all he feels.