I won't let you give up

Ch. 6

Clint looked at them curiously when they told him he could go inside, but simply nodded, giving a slight grin to Peter before bounding down the steps.

Peter helped Tony sit, curling up beside him.

The two sat in silence for several minutes before Tony prodded Peter's knee. "Am I going to have to pry everything out of you?"

The teen rolled his eyes, slumping back against the rubble. "No. I'm just trying to fit everything into categories. Helps me not break down. You know."

"Yeah. So which categories?"

"Right now it's talk and don't talk. For instance, their deaths, are don't talks. How I nearly died last week when searching for food, that's a talk."

"So talk."

"'Kay. So I was about twenty blocks from here, right?-"

He rambled on, just talking about anything and everything that went through his head, until Tony stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

His eyes were dark with concern. "Are you really okay?"

The soft words belied the firm tone, prompting Peter to shake his head slowly. "I'm just so tired, Mr Stark. I'm tired of this. I'm tired of the dead people, I'm tired of walking around a corner and being chased by something wanting to kill and eat me, I'm tired of being one of the only sane people left in the city, I'm tired of constantly having to look over my shoulder, and I'm tired of falling asleep and never waking up." Tears blurred his eyes, and he wiped desperately at them. "I'm just so tired."

The teen let himself collapse sideways until he was leaning against Tony's shoulder. "I just want it to stop," he whispered. "Everything."

"I know, bud," Tony rubbed his hand up and down the boy's back. "I know."

They were silent for several minutes, staring out at the wastelands in front of them.

"You should stay with us," the older man said quietly. "It'll be safer for you, and it'll add another person to our group. And I would like to know for sure you're okay."

Peter tilted his head up, squinting slightly in the bright glare. "Yeah. I'll stay. It'll be nice to be with actual people. Instead of freaky dead people trying to eat me."

"Lurkers."

The teen raised his eyebrow. "Lurkers?"

"Yeah." Tony shrugged. "Little melodramatic, but it's better than-" he pretended to shiver. "Zombies."

"You're weird, Mr Stark."

"Not denying it. Just- call me Tony, yeah? Seems a little ridiculous to keep calling me that. I mean, it's the apocalypse, so manners are kinda no use."

"Whatever you say," Peter lifted his shoulder, staring straight ahead. "Mr Stark."

"Shut up."

So this chapter was shorter, but I decided to publish it instead of taking weeks to make it longer.