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The longer that Tony is gone the longer that Henry is worried, he's trying to tell himself that this is alright. Defeating someone trying to wipe out the Earth isn't a quick job but it doesn't make Henry any less nervous. It doesn't help that he's come to the conclusion that Peter must be with Tony, he's tried to ask FRIDAY but she doesn't give him any information and IAN isn't much help either. Paxton has tried to take his mind off of it though, giving him beers to cloud his mind, making him go into the game room, and betting on pool but Henry's thoughts always end up drifting to Tony though.
Pool balls getting hit against each other break Henry away from his thoughts about Tony, he shakes his head quickly and sends an apologetic look to Paxton who only rolls his eyes. "He's fine, I know that me saying it won't help you though." Henry nods as he lines the pool cue stick up to take a shot. "I'm not just worried about Tony though, I'm also worried about Peter." Henry has become close to spilling Peter's secret about him being Spider-Man but he hasn't because it's not his secret to tell. He knows that Paxton wouldn't tell anyone but it isn't about that, it's about trust.
"I know you are, but he's with his friends." Henry nods at Paxton for the sake of not having to talk about it anymore but he doesn't believe it. He knows that Tony would never put Peter in danger but he also knows Peter, he knows that Peter who only wants to save the world would sneak to help Tony and try to save the world. "Have you texted Dex today?" Henry changes the subject quickly looking at Paxton, Paxton nods and pulls out his phone before letting it rest on top of the pool table. "Shortly after I got here he texted me that he's going to work for the day, but I told him to be cautious and text me when he can. It's the end of the world after all." Paxton's words had a teasing tone but Henry felt dread when he heard that phrase.
He knew that something bad was going to happen today, he just didn't know what, and he was scared to find out. Henry sent another text to Pepper asking if she was still alright, he didn't care if he was bothering her but he had to figure out what this nagging feeling meant. "Hey, stop texting people. They're fine, I'm fine, Tony is fine, Peter is fine. Everyone is fine, the Avengers will stop it." Paxton reached out to grab Henry's phone from his hand but Henry put it in his back pocket.
"Paxton, the Avengers are no more. Steve was literally in hiding because of the Accords, when I saw him today I felt rage. That man hurt my husband and now we have to rely on his help, the Avengers are broken because of Steve yet once again Steve has to save the day." Henry puts his cue stick down and puts his hands in his hair sighing. "Look, I can't promise everything is alright but maybe your gut is wrong. Maybe it's not the end of the world." Paxton patted Henry on the back before he placed his stick on the rack that was against the wall and started to line the balls up in the starting position.
Henry knew that Paxton was right, he's had feelings like this before but he's been wrong. Henry is just scared, he's never been in this situation before. He's already lost Tony once before, he doesn't want to lose him again. "Listen, I'm sorry Pax. I'm just really tense right now." Henry began to help Paxton put everything away. "I understand. I'm not upset or mad at you, this is the first since you've gotten together that you've had to deal with Tony being Iron Man. Since now he's been on the sidelines, so It's understandable." Henry nods and looks at Paxton who opens his mouth to say something else but his hands start to turn into ash. "He-" Henry runs towards Paxton but by the time he is in front of where Paxton is supposed to be, he finds a pile of ash.
Henry puts a hand over his mouth and puts a hand on the dust gasping when it just disappears onto his hands like it's pencil ink. "Oh my god." Tears start to spring to his eyes, He jumps up and runs towards the TV to turn on the news. Tears cloud his vision as he sees it isn't just him, people all over the world are disappearing. Which means Tony could be one of them.
Henry gasps putting a hand over his heart to catch his breath as he thinks of losing Tony, his legs bump into the couch and he sits with a choked gasp. He jumps out of his skin when his phone starts to vibrate quickly. With shaky hands, Henry grabs his phone his phone is flooding with texts asking him if he's alright. Putting a hand over his mouth he sends a text to everyone who texted him telling them he's alright. Pepper, Happy, Alex, all survived but the one person who matters to Henry, he doesn't know if he's alright.
Wiping his eyes Henry clicks on the answer button when he gets a call from Dex, he already knows what this is about, and he's dreading having to tell him. "Dex, Paxton is gone," Henry says as soon as the call connects, more tears start welling in Henry's eyes as he hears Dex's reaction. With a rushed-out apology Henry hangs up on Dex, he feels bad but Henry feels like the walls are caving in on him.
"Fri." Henry looks up the ceiling. "Yes, Mister Oakley?" F.R.I.D.A.Y's voice comes through the speakers. Henry gulps. "Never mind." Henry fell silent, he grabs the blanket from the back of the couch and curls up against the armrest ass the news plays in the background, he isn't paying attention. All Henry can think about is Tony and if he's alive.
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