Priceless | Antonia Stark

With him, she's not alone.

No matter how many times she tried, she couldn't get sober.

The bottle was just like her PTSD, after everything, it was always there. Punishing her for something she wasn't at fault for. She just wanted her family back, she just wanted a semblance of peace in her system after Pepper left.

So as she sat there, chugging her third ridiculously expensive bottle of Macallan "M", wishing she'd die of alcohol poisoning, she sobbed uncontrollably sobbing on the cold floor of her workshop, all alone.

Now, if you were wondering where Vision or Peter went, Vision had turned off his transponder, probably leaving for Wanda and forever gone from Toni's life. Granted, she was a pretty bad mother for the android, but she did make him, feed him, and shelter him.

Peter, was of course busy with studies, him being a high-schooler and a that. She chuckled sadly to herself at fact that Steve would probably absolutely load into her about the fact that she had endangered Peter in Germany, and in letting him be Spider-man.

Toni groaned softly as she felt the alcohol in her system slowly make her drowsy and dizzy. Her hand slipped on the floor, which plummeted her upper body down.

She held back a gag, her stomach threatening to vomit out the excess of liquor she had consumed.

And so she did, right on the freshly sweeped floor that Dum-E had cleaned.

And she felt the burning sensation of the alcohol sear her throat, along with the gastric juices mixed in.

And after her spree of tinkering, which lasted for an excess of 73 hours, spent on making nanobots that seemed insane, a theory that someone was out there to destroy the universe that seemed unlikely but inevitable.

Of course, she'd feel a little tired, add in the fact that the female was shitfaced drunk and the floor was pleasantly padded for her comfort whenever she dropped to the floor, which was once a week or so. Either from drinking, lack of sleep, a situation gone wrong, something exploding, or a mixture or all of the variables.

The floor was fine, for now.

So as her fleeting consciousness drifted away, she saw the silhouette of a certain teenager in the elevator.

"Ms. Stark? I was wondering if you put any kind of limitations on the suit-" Peter cut his sentence short, seeing his superior laid on the floor, the vomit stain nearby, smelling the pungent smell of alcohol.

The male hopped into action as he rushed to Toni's side, "Oh my god, Ms. Stark, are you okay?" He asked, panicked, while gently propping his arms below her to lift her upper body up a little.

Toni groaned softly as her consciousness barely managed to hold up. She looked up at the boy and sighed softly, "I'm fine, Peter, just get... get some coffee and put me back on the chair... I... I need to work on this." She groggily spoke.

"Ms. Stark... as amazing as you are, you're still human. Please, Ms. Stark, you haven't been sleeping, have you?" Peter softly asked the intoxicated female.

"I mean... what else do you expect? I have to work on this and... I'm not exactly a patient person, Peter." Toni shook her head, protesting with a small; "Hey!" as the boy picked her up.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Stark, you'll be angry at me for this but you have to go to sleep." Peter shook his head while carrying the female over to the lounge, not really knowing where Toni's room was, considering she never ever did bother to go there.

"Peter, I am your superior, put me down and let me work... or else I'll take away your suit." Toni warned the boy, whom gently placed her on the couch, to which was met with a small sigh.

"I did fine without the suit anyway, Ms. Stark. Please... you can take away the suit, you can kick me out of here, just, please, take a rest, Ms. Stark." The webhead pleaded as he watched the female sprawl on the couch, " You're clearly too drunk to stand up on your own."

"Peter..." Toni slurred as she grubbed around at the direction of the workshop, "Take me to the workshop, or I'll tell Aunt May..."

"You're going to be too drunk to remember this, Ms. Stark." Peter facepalmed, noticing the woman's eyelids get all droopy, "I'll help you out tomorrow... just please, sleep."

"Peter... I swear... I'll..." Toni huffed softly, as she had no choice but to let her droopy eyelids do their work and close her eyes, she conceded, and drifted off to sleep.

-----

Night terrors were a constant in Toni's life, for some reason she was just plagued by them. Possibly from PTSD or just her inherent fear of driving everyone away, maybe it was the fact that there was a looming danger she always sensed, and even though people tell her that it's just her paranoia. She couldn't help but think that the danger would come one day.

But, even though it was a constant, it didn't mean that there were rare instances where they don't come, where her mind decides to give her a break.

This was what happened, after all the damn heartache, after all the paranoia and the stress. The work, the alcohol. 

If it came from Pepper, it'd be understandable. Happy? Unlikely, but there's a chance. Rhodey? Maybe. Steve? Well, before there was. 

But it came from, of all people, a random kid in Queens who happened to get bitten by a radioactive spider.

But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. 

The boy was on his own, trying to look out for the little guy. With a responsibility that he never wanted, but had to take. He had a calling, and he took it. He was the future, looking out for the past.

And with the gig, he was alone. Albeit, having fun, but still, alone. And she was the one to give him more company, the one who helped him better himself, the one training him to be better than her.

He cared for her like a mother, and she like a son.

So as Toni slowly sat up from the couch, noticing that she was all blanketed and made comfy. The girl sighed softly in content of the moment, no back pain, but of course, a throbbing pain in her head. Hangovers.

She smelled the scent of freshly brewed coffee in the air as Peter came into the lounge, a tray with coffee and a plate of omelette in hand. Which made her smile.

"I'm not legally allowed to drink... but, I did search up hangover remedies." Peter shrugged as he set it down on the coffee table.

"... you didn't have to do this, I have..." Toni trailed for a moment as she remembered that Vision was gone, and so was Pepper, and so was Nat. "I have... Dum-E."

"Ms. Stark..." The boy sighed softly as he took a seat on the edge of the couch, "You don't have to be like this. I can help."

"But I can't use up all your time." Toni shook her head as she took a sip of coffee, "You did say, you had homework."

Peter shrugged and looked up at the ceiling, "Well, I have the internship now. I'm here if you need me, Ms. Stark."

"I'll keep that in mind." Toni felt a small smile creep up her expression as she placed the cup down, "Well, it's Sunday... you want to help out with the nanobots?"

Peter smiled brightly at the offer, "You had me at Sunday, Ms. Stark."

And as the two went to go to the workshop, of course, the boy still assisting the female as she was still a little groggy. Toni couldn't help but think to herself;

With him, she's not alone.