It's Not Over Yet

Ch. 7

Tony took Peter back to the Tower. Once Peter had fallen asleep, Tony got back into his Iron Man suit and picked Peter up. He flew back to the Tower with Peter in his arms and wasn't surprised to find Pepper waiting up for him. They had been on their way to bed when he got the call, leaving almost immediately and without explanation. She had known who he was rushing to when he answered with 'hey, kid'. She frowned when she saw Tony carrying Peter, though. Wasn't May supposed to take care of him? She had nothing against Peter, but she figured the kid would want to stay with his Aunt once he got back.

"Is his room good?" Tony asked softly. Pepper nodded and Tony walked down the hall to the room he had designed and had built specifically for when Peter stayed the night. It was right across the hall from Tony's so if Peter had nightmares, he could easily find Tony.

"What happened?" Pepper whispered, standing the the doorway. Tony carefully laid Peter on his bed then deactivated his suit. He pulled the blankets up to Peter's chin and sighed.

"His Aunt," Tony said. He tore his eyes away from Peter to look at Pepper. "There's no confirmation, but the apartment hasn't been lived in for at least a year." Pepper nodded sadly and Tony turned back to look at Peter. He didn't feel like he could just leave him alone in his room. Even if the door was open and he turned on a nightlight, Peter was still likely to have a nightmare and wake up.

"You want to stay with him," Pepper noted. Tony nodded, but he knew Pepper understood. She walked into the room over to where Tony was standing beside Peter's bed. He wrapped an arm around her and she kissed his cheek. She kept her arms around him as she glanced down at Peter.

"He shouldn't have been there, Pep," Tony said, closing his eyes. Pepper gently brushed away a tear that trickled down his face and hugged him tighter. "I should have made him go back."

"Hey, it's okay," she said. "He's okay now. There was no way anyone was going to get out unscathed. At least he's not dead." She grimaced at her own words seconds after they escaped her mouth.

"Not anymore," Tony reminded her. She sighed and reached for his hand.

"We're right across the hall if he needs us," she said. Tony nodded, but continued to watch Peter sleep. Pepper gently tugged on his hand and he followed her out of Peter's room. He had FRIDAY turn on a nightlight in Peter's room and the hall so nothing was dark when Peter woke up from a nightmare. Both bedroom doors remained wide open and Tony told FRIDAY to alert him if Peter woke up and didn't immediately come find Tony. After making sure Peter was okay once again, Tony climbed into his bed beside Pepper and fell asleep staring across the hall at Peter.

* * *

Everything was white. Peter blinked rapidly at the bright light. He sat up, looking around for something that would indicate where he was. There was nothing but white, though. No one within sight and he couldn't hear anything. He got to his feet and pulled on his mask. Nothing happened. Karen didn't respond when he asked for her and he frowned. Karen was always there.

"Hello?" Peter yelled. His voice echoed but no one responded. Shrugging, Peter starting walking forward. He had nothing else to do; might as well see if this entire place was white or if there was something around. He walked and walked for what felt like days before coming across a difference in the landscape. The white turned to brown which turned to grass. He grinned and began to run across the grass towards the people he saw in the distance. He was so focused on getting to what looked like a battle that he tripped over a log and sprawled out face first on the ground. He groaned and glanced back at the log only to discover it wasn't a log. It was May.

Peter scrambled over and knelt down beside her. He shook her, but she didn't move. She was covered in fresh blood that stained Peter's hands every time he touched her. He yelled for her to wake up, but her eyes remained open and motionless. Peter screamed and dropped his head onto her unmoving chest. He let out a sob and clung to her body.

"You should have stayed with her like I said, Peter," a voice said from behind him. Peter looked up from May, his face blood stained and covered in tears, to see Tony standing behind him. His face plate was up and his face screamed disappointment. "She wouldn't be dead if you had just stayed with her!" Peter covered his ears tightly as Tony repeated his sentence over and over again. Peter tried to block out Tony's voice, but it seemed to grow louder and louder until Peter couldn't take it anymore. He closed his eyes and screamed for all he was worth.

"Peter!" Pepper cried, shaking him awake. Peter's eyes flew open and Pepper jumped back. He ripped the blankets off of himself and threw his legs over his bed. He was shaking as tears cascaded down his cheeks and he choked down sobs. He spotted Tony running through the doorway from the living room, tears also streaming down his cheeks.

"Mr. Stark," Peter whimpered. Tony was at his side in an instance and Peter threw his arms around Tony. "I-the soul stone-May-" Peter stopped trying to explain and just clutched at Tony tightly. Pepper knelt down beside them and rubbed Peter's back. They stayed on the floor until Peter had stopped crying. He kept his arms around Tony and Tony refused to let him go.

"How about some hot chocolate?" Pepper asked quietly. Peter looked up at her and nodded. She ran her hand through his hair then stood up. "Come on. Both of you." Tony stood up first and Peter followed. They sat down on the couch and Pepper walked into the kitchen. She had already made hot chocolate for herself and Tony after he'd had a nightmare, but she hadn't brought them into the living room before Peter's screaming distracted her. She quickly heated theirs up and made one for Peter then took all three mugs into the living room.

"Did you have a nightmare too, Mr. Stark?" Peter asked. He took a mug from Pepper and thanked her. Pepper sat on Tony's other side, handing Tony his mug.

"Yeah, kid," Tony sighed, rubbing Peter's back. Peter was curled up against his side, sipping his hot chocolate carefully. "Sucks being superheroes, doesn't it?" Tony chuckled then sighed again and took a sip of his hot chocolate as well.

"Yeah," Peter agreed quietly. "It does."