Photos, letters and keys
The dawn light crept through the blinds.
It created almost mystical shadows and shades over the objects in the room. It was finally quiet, the only disturbance being the gentle whistle of a breeze as it filtered through the open window.
Pepper and Tony were asleep, ignorant to the deathly silence of the room. But while Tony's dreams were haunted by your memory, Pepper's sleep was just filled with darkness. She couldn't dream, not with everything that had happened.
In fact, she was relieved to be woken by her phone. Many early hours at the office meant the slightest sound made her alert again.
She checked the room subconsciously before reaching over Tony's still sleeping form to see who it was. She was surprised to find it was only 6am.
The number that called wasn't one she recognized, however. Curiously, she accepted.
"Hello?"
"Ms. Potts?" The voice on the other end responded.
"Yes."
"Hi. I'm sorry to call like this, but I heard about (Y/n)'s death and I was hoping we could talk."
Pepper sighed. "Look, I'm afraid we're not making any comments during this time. And if you're calling to sue, you'll need to take it to the PR department."
"I'm not a reporter, Ms. Potts, and I'm not suing."
"Then who are you? How did you get this number?"
"My name is Matt Murdock. I'm a lawyer. (Y/n) Stark's, to be exact."
Pepper was momentarily silenced by surprise as she automatically glanced at Tony. He was still sleeping.
"Ms. Potts?" Matt asked.
"Y-Yes. Sorry. Give me a moment."
She slowly got to her feet and left the room, entering the hallway where she began to pace.
"You knew (Y/n)?" She managed to ask.
"She came to me a year ago." Matt explained. "She told me everything in the hopes that we could work together to plan for the worst case scenario."
"What do you mean?"
"She had people after her and she knew there was a chance she might not be able to keep on running. If things did go bad, she requested that I contact Director Nick Fury of SHIELD to get in touch with either her father or you."
Pepper stopped pacing and settled by a window that overlooked some of the New York buildings.
"Oh, my God." She struggled to form the right words as many different thoughts ran inside her head. "She really planned for all this?"
"I'm afraid so. (Y/n) may have always prepared for the worst, but she was good, too. She was one of the smartest people I had the pleasure of meeting. I'm very sorry for your loss. And for calling so early."
"No, it's... It's okay. Thank you." She tried her best to smile. "I've always been a morning person."
She heard a light chuckle over the phone. "We have that in common. I hope it's not too early for you to consider meeting with my partner and I about (Y/n)'s will? Perhaps during or after the funeral?"
She was still trying to digest the fact that you had an actual will already completed and took a few seconds to reply.
"Of course." She decided. "I hope to see you next week."
"And I you. Thank you for your time, Ms. Potts."
The call ended a moment later and Pepper set her phone down with a heavy sigh. Her head hung low as she thought about it all, especially about what you could have left in the will if you were on the run constantly.
She and Tony already had enough money and material objects in their life so she doubted you would have left anything like that. In fact, the only thing Pepper truly wished for was you back in their arms. She felt like she had lost a daughter the day you died and nothing was able to heal that kind of pain.
She waited a few more minutes to clear her head before walking back to the recovery room. However, when she got there, Tony had disappeared.
She scanned the room quickly and moved to the bathroom, only to find that empty as well. She couldn't have been gone more than fifteen minutes max.
"JARVIS?" She called.
A second later, the AI responded loud and clear. "How may I help you, Ms. Potts?"
"Where's Tony?"
Surprisingly, JARVIS hesitated.
"Mr. Stark is on his way to his laboratory on the upper floor." He informed her eventually. "His heartbeat is accelerated, however."
"Accelerated?" She mumbled, immediately thinking back to how he was after the Battle of New York with all the nightmares and panic attacks that followed. "I'm heading there now. Why didn't you say anything?"
"Mr. Stark requested that I don't."
"He's supposed to be resting."
"I told him the same but he muted me."
-
Up in the labs, Tony burst through the main door.
His palms were sweaty, his chest was rapidly rising and falling, and he couldn't seem to focus on anything at all within the room. He stumbled to the edge of a desk and gripped the end until his knuckles were white and his muscles sore.
He looked up and found a set of Iron Man suits that were meant for testing purposes. Fourteen of them lined the wall, all seemingly in perfect condition.
"Lights on." He said aloud.
His own voice seemed foreign. He didn't sound at all like himself.
As the lights switched on one by one, he followed them throughout the room. When all the suits were lit up, as well as some projects along the other walls, a TV in the corner also switched on and began displaying a news channel.
He moved to a table in the corner where a new suit was in progress. He had only just started it so, for now, it was a scattered mess of parts and paint. Making something usually helped to distract his mind. Maybe it could distract him from your death too.
His breathing began to slow a little as he picked up the hand of his new suit and began checking for modifications or fixes needed. When he deemed it worthy enough, he slipped it on.
The news anchor caught his attention right after. "In breaking news, Black Widow spoke out against the senate committee recently when asked if Tony Stark would be taking responsibility for damages after the attack outside the Avengers Tower."
Tony glanced at the TV, slowly walking over.
"If a man can't save his own daughter from being killed, how is he going to take responsibility for some civilians, I say. Is that really the kind of 'hero' this world wants looking out for it?" The anchor continued. "(Y/n) Stark was responsible for a skirmish in New Jersey too, but it's a bit late for her to apologize."
Before the anchor could utter another word, the TV was blasted apart in a spray of dust and sparks after Tony fired a repulsor beam at it out of sheer anger. His ears rang with the destruction and he turned away with furious tears in his eyes.
He cursed under his breath as memories of that masked man filled his head. He could hear the shot even now just echoing in the recess of his mind. He could still feel the rain splashing against his skin. He could still see you running towards him and then falling short as blood covered the floor. He could still hear the news that you were as good as dead, and the people who said they tried yet failed to save you.
He remembered the way you were so content. When you told him you still loved him. How hard it was to let go. The way you simply smiled as the light left your eyes.
Things could have been so different. He was convinced this was all his fault still. He should have saved you. He should have been Iron Man instead of just Tony Stark. He should have used the suits that made him a hero to save you instead.
As his anger became rage and his sadness became despair, he let out a broken cry and fired the repulsor multiple times, hitting each Iron Man suit hung up along the wall.
By the time he fell to his knees panting and gasping for breath, the lab was covered in shattered glass and destroyed machinery.
Why did every emotion have to hurt so much? Then again maybe he deserved it after everything.
He had an arm around his middle where his still healing wound was and silently sobbed, muttering question after question to himself.
"I'm sorry! Why couldn't I save her? Why her? I needed more time!"
Among the rubble of the lab, a little hydraulic arm robot began to stir. It was Dum-E.
Tony created him in the basement of MIT's Homberg building, earning his fourth consecutive MIT Robot Design Award. He even upgraded Dum-E with a small AI to recognize voice commands.
Dum-E observed Tony on the floor of the lab with what little emotions he could feel being mostly confused and startled. He was able to register the sobs coming from his maker and made a small whir, communicating with JARVIS.
"Sir is upset." JARVIS informed the small bot. "Miss (Y/n) has passed away."
Dum-E actually processed and understood what he was told thanks to the voice recognition in his wiring and beeped sadly, his arm drooping.
He had an impressive memory capacity for an arm. As he moved towards Tony, he remembered the last time he saw you as if it was yesterday.
-
The ruins of the Stark mansion on the Malibu coastline had been shut off from the rest of the world for a while now.
It was a wasteland to most, acres of destroyed property covered in tape and sectioned away. And that was just the grounds. The mansion itself was much worse with half of it having collapsed into the ocean below the cliffs.
Among this ruin lay Dum-E. He was trapped under some stones after the lab caved in. Thankfully he remained mostly unharmed, just beat up and scratched. He tried to use his arm to move things but it was impossible. He whined and beeped in protest, hoping someone might hear.
He tried and tried until finally he heard footsteps approaching.
"Dum?" A soft voice called out. "Dum-E, is that you?"
He made a chirping sound to try and get their attention again.
"Hold on!"
He heard objects and clutter being moved out of the way before finally someone picked him up. He could feel their hands brushing away the dirt that clung to his robotic body as they spoke.
"Hey, Dum." The person - a female - said. "Look at you... I'm glad you're okay. I missed you, clumsy brother-bot."
He beeped happily, filled with excitement as he finally recognized the person now kneeling in front of him. Only one person called him that, and it was you.
"Hey." You laughed, hugging the arm as it launched for you. "It's okay."
He beeped again, holding on tighter.
"Yeah, I missed you too." You smiled, although it was a sad one. "I'm sorry it's been so long."
His happy sounds turned slightly disheartened to express some of the emotions he was capable of showing.
"I didn't mean to run away, you know." You told him. "Things happened."
As you explained, Dum-E nudged against your stomach and you gave the top of him a light pat. Once you finished telling the bot all about what happened, you carefully took an envelope from your pocket and handed it to him.
"This is for Dad, okay?" You said. "But don't let him open it until something bad happens, until he's got nothing else. It's... It might help. Got that?"
He whirred in confirmation, moving the hand up and down in a nodding motion.
"I love you, Dum-Dum."
-
Dum-E observed Tony some more in the destroyed lab, deciding that this was as bad as it was going to get.
He needed the envelope.
He moved himself over to a little treasure box at the corner of his table. It was filled with little trinkets he'd collected over the years such as spare bolts, charms, batteries, and random adjusters. He opened the lid and right at the bottom was your parting gift to him.
With the envelope secure in his hand, Dum-E got himself all the way to Tony. Even though he was just a robot with a little AI inside, he was capable enough to feel immense remorse at the sounds of his creator sobbing and calling your name.
He tried to get Tony's attention with a light beep.
Tony looked up with tear-filled eyes, finding him waiting. He just shook his head, not interested. Dum-E tried again.
"Not now." Tony said quietly.
Again.
"Dum-E, not now." He repeated more firmly.
But the bot didn't give up. He got even closer - making a particularly annoyed series of beeps - and dropped the envelope in front of Tony.
Tony was more than ready to toss the thing away. He grabbed it to do just that when all of a sudden he noticed the scribble on the paper. It was similar to his own handwriting and he slowly moved his thumb to see what was written.
From (Y/n),
To Dad
He went silent, trembling hands now moving to open the surprise letter. He was so shaken that it took longer than he wanted and he almost ended up just tearing the thing open. He was glad he didn't, however, as the first thing he saw was a photo.
You were smiling at the camera with the brightest and most proud grin he had ever seen. You were in a lab and dressed up in SHIELD gear, an engineer's uniform by the looks of it, and you seemed so young. But the part that really got him was the fact that you were trying to mimic an Iron Man pose. You were trying to be him.
In the background of the image was a TV displaying a charity event where he and the team had gone in full costume to spend time with some kids. He was doing that exact pose on the screen.
Attached to this photo was a letter and a key necklace. It was only small, but he grabbed it quickly, desperate to have something of you. He read it intently.
Hey, Dad.
I'm not good at the whole emotional thing when it comes to parental figures but I thought you'd like this. You know, to remind you of me during the bad times.
I'll keep this short for now, but I want you to have the key that came with this letter. Just in case. It's important to me and I know you don't understand but just trust me. You'll get it eventually. I promise.
Love, (Y/n)
Tony held the key in one hand and the letter as he looked between them. As you had guessed, he had no clue what it meant. But, if you wanted him to have it, he was going to keep it until his dying breath.
He still couldn't believe it. All the hours he spent believing you hated everything about him when what you wanted all along was just to come home. He looked at the picture again, his fingers brushing over every detail with the utmost care. He held it close to his chest, glancing up at Dum-E.
"Where did you find this?" He asked.
Dum-E gave a dejected beep which was followed by a pattern of many more just like it. After he went quiet again, JARVIS took the liberty of explaining.
"Dum-E says that Miss Stark found him some time ago in the ruins of the old residence. She told him to give you this in the aftermath of a negative outcome. He misses his her."
Tony closed his eyes, determined to keep back any more tears. When he opened them again he carefully set everything down and offered a hand to Dum-E. The bot cautiously accepted, whirring in pleasant surprise when Tony actually hugged him.
"I miss her too, buddy." He said. "I miss her so much."
Dum-E nudged against him some more.
"She loved playing with you." Tony reminiscenced. "Remember? She thought I didn't know but she'd sneak in and try to figure out how to make her own."
Dum-E's hand made the nodding motion again, confirming he also remembered.
Just then, the door to the lab opened and a shocked gasp filled the silence. Tony turned from where he sat on the ground to find Pepper slowly approaching, eyes wide as she took in the destruction of the area. Tony placed Dum-E back on the ground and gathered the envelope's contents again before walking over.
"JARVIS told me." Pepper said, watching him sadly. "Are you okay?"
He wasn't quite sure how to respond to that.
"I'm alive." He shrugged. "Sorry for running off. I just needed to think about something else. I'll clean this up. Sometimes anger management gets messy."
"I know, Tony. It's okay." She noticed the things he was holding tightly in his hands. "What's that?"
"(Y/n) wanted me to have them."
He showed her everything. The letter, the photo, and the key.
"So you don't know what the key's for?" She checked, just as curious.
"Not a clue." Tony confessed. "But I'm starting to learn that she had reasons for everything. I... I miss her, Pep."
"Hey... I'm sorry." She quickly wrapped him up in a hug. "I miss her too.”