THE CAR RIDE TO TONY'S FUNERAL WAS DEAD SILENT. Beth had one hand gripping Kaelyn's from the front seat with Happy driving while the redhead rested her head on Peter's shoulder. None of them could bring themselves to speak. This was a day none of them wanted to come so soon. Kaelyn wondered if they had held a funeral for her or Peter. Beth had mentioned something about a memorial with all of their names on it; it pained her to know her brother and Beth had been mourning her all these years. Now, how was she supposed to fit back into a life that she no longer felt belonged to her?

"You know," Happy finally broke the silence, but his voice was deeply saddened, "You guys are gonna get to meet Tony's daughter. She's barely five, but she's already the spitting image of him. Her name is Morgan, an absolute sweetheart."

"I didn't even know he had a daughter," Kaelyn sighed, "I guess there's a lot that can happen in five years, huh?"

"He kept a photo of you guys, multiple photos. There was one of him and Peter, one with all three of you, Hell, he even had your guys's junior prom photos," Happy explained with a half-hearted chuckles, "Morgan may be biologically his, but you guys were his kids, too. Don't forget that."

Kaelyn smiled warmly, "I don't even remember giving him a copy of our junior prom photos."

"I did," Peter admitted with a small smile, "I thought he'd like it. I mean, he was the closest thing I had to a dad, it only felt right."

Kaelyn reached over with the hand that Beth wasn't holding and squeezed his hand, "That's sweet, Peter. God, I don't know how I'm going to be able to do this."

"I don't know how any of us are," Beth interjected from the front seat, turning to face both of them, "I would drive up here once every couple weeks, bring him donuts and coffee from the city and catch up with him. He missed you guys like crazy, even as life moved on, he never stopped thinking about you guys. I just wish he had a real chance to reconnect with you guys before --"

"Yeah, me too," Peter said with a sigh, "I don't think a part of me is ever going to stop missing him."

"Let's just get through the next couple of days without breaking down, okay guys?" Kaelyn offered, "Then, we can try our best to get life back to normal. God, Peter, we have to redo our senior year, huh?"

"Sucks for you guys," Beth said with a laugh that contrasted with the mood of the car. "Don't worry, the rest of it wasn't that bad. It was just... lonely. You guys won't have to deal with that, though."

Kaelyn shrugged, "It won't be the same without us fucking around in Spanish class, though."

"Oh, my God, that was like sophomore year! Will you ever let me live that down?" Beth asked with a giggle that had real joy behind it. Kaelyn was always glad she and her best friend could make each other laugh even under the worst circumstances.

"What was it you said?" the redhead tried to recall with a grin, "Nosotros hablando acera de mi siendo una lesbiana grande? God, he hated us together in that class."

Beth laughed loudly, Peter snickering as well. The girl nodded, "Dude, you nailed it, but you definitely need to retake Spanish, that accent needs work! God that was so long ago. Like, what, seven years?"

"Yeah," Kaelyn froze, "Seven. Feels like two." It was a weak attempt at a joke considering how stark the difference was. There were five years of life between her and Beth that they were never going to get back and she would never stop being reminded of that. She knew Beth meant no harm, but man, it stung like a bitch to know her best friend had all this life. They were supposed to graduate together, go to prom, dorm together in college. Things were never supposed to happen like that. There were still so many things in Kaelyn's life left unanswered and all she got when she looked for solutions was more questions.

"I'm sorry, Kae," Beth's voice went quiet, her hand squeezing Kaelyn's a little tighter, "Things are different, but they can't really get any worse, can they? We have to rebuild."

"Yeah, rebuild," the girl repeated with a sigh. "Uh, are we almost there yet?"

"Pulling up now," Happy remarked as they turned into a driveway. The cabin was a decent size, but unlike the Stark tower and the compound, it seemed so much more like a home. It was something Kaelyn hadn't expected from Tony. Even in death, he continued to surprise her.

When they were stepped out, they were greeted by Pepper who gave both Peter and Kaelyn a tight hug. It was the hug of a mother, of the woman who had been with them to watch Tony take his last breath. She understood them more than Beth or Happy ever could.

"I'm glad you kids could make it, it's good to see you," she spoke, holding their hands gently. A little girl with long dark hair ran up and wrapped herself around Happy's legs. The man smiled and picked the girl up. "And this is Morgan, I don't believe you two have gotten the chance to meet her."

"You're the girl! The one in the photos!" the little girl reached out to Kaelyn, "I'm Morgan! Wow, your hair is red just like my mommy's!"

"Yeah, it is," Kaelyn said with a smile as she greeted the little girl. It was painful to see how much she resembled Tony, she even had his eyes. "My name is Kaelyn, but you can call me Kae, that's what all my friends call me. This is Peter, he's your older brother."

The little girl smiled, looking over at the boy next to Kaelyn, "Dad and Lizzie were always talking about you!"

"You let her call you Lizzie?" Kaelyn asked Beth with a laugh, "Only your mom calls you that."

"It's more fun to say than Beth," the girl explained with a shrug, "She struggled with the TH when she was younger so it just kinda stuck."

Kaelyn laughed, looking over as Peter and Happy interacted with the younger girl. Crossing her arms, she noted, "She's the spitting image of her dad."

"Don't remind me," Pepper interjected with a sad smile, "They were closer than close. I don't know how to explain to her that he's gone for good. She keeps -- she keeps asking me when he'll be back and I don't know what to tell her. Everyone is avoiding me like the plague, Steve especially. He thinks it's his fault because he's the one that got Tony involved, but I know, I just know they couldn't have brought everyone back without him. I'm just glad he got to see everyone one last time."

"I'm sorry, Pepper," Kaelyn spoke gently, pulling the woman into a hug, "Well, at least with the Avengers, you know it's gonna end up like Mamma Mia where she's got too many dads to count. Is Harvey here? I know she'd like to see both of her brothers today."

"It's sweet you call them that, Tony always thought of them as sons," Pepper laughed solemnly, wiping her eyes before tears could fall, "Hell, if it wasn't for May, I'm pretty sure Tony would have signed adoption papers the moment he first took on Peter as his little project. He'd be so proud if he could see you kids now. I hope you know, just because Tony's gone, you guys aren't any less family than you were. You and Peter are always welcome here."

Kaelyn nodded, wiping her own tears, "Thank you, Pepper, that means... everything."

Kaelyn introducing Peter as Morgan's older brother killed me y'all this chapter almost made me cry I cannot