A New Beginning - Endgame Fixit

Exploring

Tony hit a button somewhere and a hologram screen popped up so they could talk to Pepper. When she answered she was chopping something, but whatever it was was offscreen.

Hungry or not, Pepper told them that it wasn't time to eat yet and they needed to wait for the party. Tony explained that Pepper had organized a celebration for everyone's return, and waited until Tony was healed enough and then waited until they found Peter before setting it into motion. Then she told Tony to take a nap or she wouldn't let him stay up.

Tony hung up with a dramatic sigh. "You know she's completely serious. She really will make me skip the party if I don't listen."

Peter wasn't exactly sure how to respond to this. Thankfully he was saved by the door opening.

"You, miss, are supposed to be in bed."

"Missed you too," said Natasha. Peter whipped his head around. She was leaning on the doorway, smiling mischievously. A trace of tiredness in her eyes and a slightly pale face were the only signs of her apparent death.

"You're not...dead?" was all Peter could think of to say.

She grinned and came into the room, plopping down on the end of the bed. "Of course not. If I'd stayed dead, Clint never would've stopped beating himself up about it."

She said it like a joke, but Peter knew it was true. Tony had clearly felt awful while he was gone, and he could all too easily imagine the same situation repeated with Natasha and Clint.

"Well, I'm...glad you're alive, then," he said, laughing nervously. Even though he was now an Avenger, it was still pretty nerve-racking to be talking to the black widow.

She seemed to notice. That wasn't too surprising, seeing as noticing things was her job. "Don't worry, I don't bite."

"Yes you do," Tony interrupted. "Sometimes literally."

"Hey," she said, pretending to be offended. "Only if they deserve it."

"True," said Tony, nodding.

Peter blinked.

"Why don't you go explore the place?" suggested Natasha. "I need to force Tony to take a nap."

"Hypocrite."

Rather than being offended Nat just shrugged and smiled. "I'm sure there's a bunch of other avengers wandering around, waiting for the big party. Go have fun."

Peter nodded. As he left he saw Natasha checking a couple of machines and before he closed the door he heard Tony asking if she remembered anything after Vormir.

He walked around on his own for a minute, opening random doors. Most led to boring places, like offices. He didn't see anyone until he opened the door to the kitchen. Pepper was stirring something, Aunt May was washing a pot, a woman Peter had never seen was making a salad, and someone who seemed familiar was looking through the cupboards for something.

"Shoo," said Pepper, playfully waving a towel at him. "Go play with something downstairs. No one gets to taste this until the party starts."

"There's a downstairs?"

"Elevator's on the other side of that wall. All the lab stuff is down there."

"Oh, cool! Thanks!" He ducked out of the kitchen as Aunt May flicked water at him and walked around the kitchen until he found the elevator. The doors opened just as he reached out to push the button and he was surprised to see it as full of kids. Several of them were talking at once.

Morgan noticed him first. "Peter!" she said happily. "Cassie, look! That's my big brother. He's Spiderman."

Peter's chest felt strange when he heard the words big brother. He's always wondered what it would be like to have little siblings. How much had Mr. Stark told her about him? He barely knew her, but she acted like she grew up next to him.