Being in the same car as Tony, was simply put, horrifying.

The man had turned on the music, making screeching sounds hurt Will's ears as Tony himself tapped along the strong beat of the song. He didn't seem to notice William's discomfort or flinching every time another strong guitar riff shook the car.

William wasn't that much of a fan of his driving technique either, since, well, he wasn't really driving. William watched with wide eyes as most of the time Tony just sat in the driver's seat, tapping away in his phone as the car drove on autopilot.

The soldier's heart dropped every time the car turned without anyone even touching the wheel. Although Tony seemed just fine.

He would have preferred walking to the self-driving car.

It took them just half an hour to reach the city, and as soon as the houses started towering around them, William felt the familiar alertness again. His eyes kept flickering all-round, trying to see if there was someone following them or if something suspicious was happening in the streets.

"Should have packed some vodka, you need to relax, Spy. If something weird was going on I would know so take a chill pill, sit back and enjoy the ride until you-" he shuddered, "-have to use public transport."

Will leaned back slightly, finding the overly soft seat actually really uncomfortable. Dog was taking the most of it, laying in the back seat with her belly up as her tail kept thumping against the door every once in a while.

The buildings around them weren't as glamorous, flashy or tall as they were in New York. They were rather quaint and grey.

The car parked in front of a bus station, the sound of purring engine dying off as Tony finally placed his phone down. "Well, we made it."

Without waiting for a reply, he exited the car and moved towards the trunk. William followed suit, though he scanned the windows and rooftops before going to stand beside Tony.

"There, your stuff. Besides all those grenades of course. Can't let you run around the city with explosives." he said nonchalantly, tossing Will his bag that he caught with ease.

Will's eyes hardened at that, he needed his guns. Though he would find new ones, he wanted his guns.

"Give them back." he said roughly, glaring at Tony as he seemed to look for something in the car.

"Nah, have a leash instead." he replied, straightening up as he held a black leash out for Will. His blue eyes kept flickering between the leash and Tony.

He didn't want a leash, he wanted his grenades back.

The man let out a weird noise from the back of his throat, rolling his eyes as he turned around on the balls of his feet. "Come on, out you get." he said to the dog as he opened the back door of the sleek black car.

Dog stepped down carefully, planting her bum on the ground as Tony clipped the leash on the collar. Will raised an eyebrow, stepping beside him to look at the red and black coloured collar. There was Dog written in gold on it.

"That wasn't there before." he grumbled, looking up accusingly.

"Ever heard of goodbye gifts? Yeah, well, that's one. If you finally get a phone like a normal person, write your number on it. At least with that people know she's not a stray. You don't particularly seem like an owner who's read The Dog Owner's Manual: Operating Instructions, Troubleshooting Tips, and Advice on Lifetime Maintenance." Tony ranted, slamming the door shut as the trunk closed silently on its own. Will took the leash from Tony's hand, clutching it as they stepped away from the car.

"Well, that's getting awkward now. Anyways, don't blow up any buildings, don't murder anyone and stop glowering. Doodles." he said hurriedly, not giving the duo another glance as he went back into the driver's side of the car.

William cleared his throat, looking up from the dog. "Tony?" he stilled, one leg inside the car as he looked at William quizzically.

"Thank you."

The gratitude in his voice seemed to startle Tony, his eyes widened and his mouth formed an 'o' shape as he mumbled a quiet you're welcome and slid into the car. There was nothing else said as the car backed off and rolled out of the parking lot.

He watched as the black car with a number plate that read STARK in golden, bold letters, kept going further and further down the road until it disappeared from his line of sight. He gently pulled the dog with him as he went to search for a car that looked as if it had been there for a while.

He found a dark blue Mazda, the spot underneath the car was filled with leaves and trash alike, unlike every other spot in the parking lot. It was a dead giveaway that the Mazda had been sitting there for a while. He dragged off one of the number plates from a nearby car, exchanging them with the Mazdas.

Getting into the car was not a problem either, and Dog was happy to take a seat beside Will as he tried to pull off the plastic plate underneath the wheel to get to the wires.

In no time, the Mazda roared to life. He took a seat behind the wheel, closing the door and locking them before grabbing his bag to skim through his things.

He noticed immediately that it was stuffed with new clothes, snacks and water bottles. He saw his knives, but no guns nor grenades.

Though he halted when he saw a small pile of money tucked into a pair of socks. He glanced towards the collar around Dog's neck and suddenly felt bad.

Guilty, even.

Tony had done things he wasn't required to do. Hell, he could have left him under the tree. Tony had shown him kindness, for the first time in his life. And William was not going to forget it. He would repay the man one day. He wasn't sure how exactly, but he would.

Dog and Will started the long trek back to the city, where Will would have to say goodbye to someone he thought he knew a long time ago.

The drive was uneventful and they stopped offen, or mostly when Dog had grown bored in the car and decided to ignore Williams growling and keep on chewing on the car seat. They'd stop, he'd let her wander around a little and be on their way again.

The roads were filled with cars and Dog seemed to grow restless in the enormous city. Finding a place to stay was now harder since Will had more luggage than he did before. Crawling into someones addic was dangerous, most hotels were against pets and alleys were no place for a dog like that. For any dog for that matter.

At some point Will finally found a little run-down motel that had seen better days. The room was small and dimly lit with thick curtain that barely let any light shine through. The dog did a couple of zoomies across the room before deciding it was enough and flopping down near the door.

William threw the bag on the bed, taking out the roll of cash and stuffing it into his pocket. He had two days until the funeral, before that, he would restock and scout out the area.

William looked at the pathetic, white daisies in his hands and wondered, who was John to William? Who was he really?

John was an eagle, Will realized. He was the eagle that had really been in William's memories, if that's what they were, memories. And not just some awful dreams that had been planted into his mind.

John was the smell of gunpowder and soil as well. John was past, and that scared William, because if the past was dead, how should he know what to expect from the future?

William was sitting in the church, in the upper level where he could see over the whole room. He knew it was going to be challenging and messy because there was no way it wasn't a trap he had walked into, but he couldn't miss this. He couldn't live with himself if he just missed it.

He knew he would have wanted John to be at his funeral.

He had been in there for hours before it started, he hadn't wanted anyone to see him come in.

His head was a scrambled mess and despite him doing his hair to look presentable, it had once again turned into a proper mess after the second time he had slid his fingers through it.

He had found black dress pants in a cheap clothing store, and he even wore a tie over his black shirt. It was a symbolic gesture, he hated the feeling of it around his neck, loathed it, even. It didn't sit well, seemed too tight even if he loosened it.

But it was for John. Whoever he was. Whoever he used to be to Will.

He didn't know how to feel, or how to label his feelings exactly.

His chest was aching and it hurt to breathe, but there was also a bit of confusion since he didn't know John anymore, but his death was still squeezing his heart in unimaginable ways. And yet, those feelings were overshadowed by uncertainty and the need to stay alert. Although his body yearned to sink on it's knees and just mourn for a brief moment, William's mind wouldn't let it.

He had to notice everything. Had to hear everything, see everyone and sense every threat.

The casket had been brought in and he was startled to realize that the casket was, in fact, half-open. Will had seen numerous bodies, he knew that. Had seen death creeping in the shadows and life fade from someone's eyes.

But this made his insides churn. And then the church was quiet again, as if it was time given to John and William. As if this was the final goodbye between two comrades.

His alert, blue eyes slid over the empty rows, perking up to listen if there was anyone nearby at all. If it was safe to step out of the shadows for a brief moment. If it was safe to say one final goodbye.

Silently, he rushed down the stairs, his heartbeat low and steady in his ears. The church itself was enormous and somewhat terrifying.

He shouldn't be there.

Holding his breath, he stepped out of the shadows, eyes darting from one corner to another to see if there was something amiss, anything.

When he didn't get shot and no other heartbeats reached his sensitive ears, he inched closer to the open casket, eyes never once focusing on it until he became to stand next to John.

He peered down, feeling his breathing pattern change as his throat tightened. That damn tie.

He flinched and looked away, balling his fist and biting down on his knuckles to regain some control over his hectic emotions.

He forced himself to look down, knowing he was running out of time to say goodbye. Though something caught his eye. There was an odd amulet around John's neck. Or rather, a key. Familiar warmth flooded him as he realised that he was very, very familiar with it. It oozed warmth. With no hesitation, William snatched the key, eyes flickering between John's closed eyelids and his deathly pale hands.

He grabbed the little bundle of daisies that he had tucked into his pocket earlier, and carefully placed them on John's chest. With one last look, William turned and left.

Barely back in the shadows, the enormous door creaked open, announcing someone's entrance. Will froze, eyes on the slender figure who entered with lethal grace. The silent footsteps told him enough, that was not just a normal funeral attendee.

He tucked away from the plain sight as he studied the woman clad in black, she took a seat in the back, probably to make sure she could see over the whole room. He waited in silence to see what she would do.

She tilted her head subtly, to oblivious eyes it would seem as if she was simply trying to get rid of the kinks in her neck but William knew better. She was observing, listening.

When her head turned away, Will slid down the candle stand, making himself smaller so it would be harder to spot him up on the second balcony. He waited, hoping civilians would come flooding in to prevent the woman from doing anything.

Though he waited a good forty minutes before the woman shifted slightly. Normal people would not hear a thing, but the quiet, static voice coming from the woman's earpiece made the hairs in the back of his neck rise in uncertainty.

"No sign of the target around the perimeter." the woman gave a nearly silent copy that before the sound of the heavy door creaking open echoed throughout the church.

Heavy footfalls reached Williams ears as a sturdy male entered, clad in a dark suit as he seemed to drag his feet, slumping down opposite of the woman who seemed to turn most of her attention on the stranger.

Not much later, people started flooding in in small groups. Their ages varied, but most, he noticed, were over the age of seventy. His breathing slowed down as he heard the silent footsteps coming up the stairs, William pressed his back against the candle stand, making sure whoever entered the balcony would not spot him in the darkness. The person halted near the entry before slowly inching towards the elegant balcony. By the smell, William could tell it was a man. He heard shuffling and metallic noise that made him turn all of his focus and senses on the agent.

The man was setting up a gun, it was a perfect place to ambush someone, hence why William had chosen the same spot.

He didn't doubt the man was there for him, and to think they were only separated by one measly candle stand.

"Group Delta in position, over."

"Hawkeye in position, over" the man muttered, getting comfortable in the dark corner.

William felt unimaginable rage at the disrespect of the agents. This was a funeral, and as much as Will wished he could push the candle stand on the man and tear out his jugular, he refrained himself from doing so.

Unlike them, he wouldn't disrupt the beginning of John's last journey like that. Although, if the agents -HYDRA or not- were in his way after that, he wouldn't hold back.

He didn't move a muscle as he kept focusing on the pastor and the agent on the other side of the candle stand. He was there to honour John, and that idiotic agent was not going to ruin this for him.

*******

A/N

So, I have the next chapter nearly down but I can't update so frequently because people disappear if I doooo 😂

Anyways, I'm so tired and it's so late, so.

I'm a solid five.

I'm just gonna go now

Yeah now, gonna go now

Right now

I have no reason to keep on writing this A/N

Good night and STAY SAFE EVERYONE!

Lots of love
SincerelyLoki

P.s sorry about grammar errors, too tired to fix stuff