The Side They Don't See

May

Chapter 6- May

Steve outside Tony's hospital room when a kid opened the door and ran into him. Before Steve could process what happened, the kid pushed past him, keeping his head down. Confused, Steve walked into the room and was greeted with a weak, but very much alive, Tony.

He caught the tail end of something he was saying about "Wheres Peter?' but didn't comment on it.

He cleared his throat, making his presence in the room known. Tonys gaze snapped into his, and they had an almost silent exchange. Steve could see the relief in his eyes and knew Tony was thinking the same thing as him.

Thank god you're okay.

Old feuds long gone, Steve felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. When he saw Tony with the infinity stones on the battlefield, all he could think was That should be me.

Tony had a family, a daughter. He had everything to live for. He was a hero. Tony didn't deserve to die. Steve, on the other hand, was a criminal. Well, technically pardoned, but he betrayed Tony when he needed him most. He betrayed the world.

Tony broke his gaze, turning to Pepper. She got the cue and stood up, allowing Steve to sit next to Tony.

"Its good to see you alive, Stark."

"Don't sound so relieved Rogers. As soon as I get out of this hospital, I am gonna make you pay for that shield. I mean, losing it is one thing, but you managed to break it!"

Steve cracked a grin, glad to see Tony was still his old self. The moment was very nearly overwhelming for him, and he could only imagine what Tony must feel like. Steve felt the mix of emotions that always came after a battle. Relief that all his friends were (mostly) okay, fear of the backlash that he knew was coming, and utter euphoria. Because they had done it. They actually did it. They brought everybody back.

The room lapsed into silence. Harley, Morgan, Rhodey, and Happy were all in the room but made no effort to speak. They knew this was between Tony and Steve.

Steve was contemplating when he remembered, "Oh, by the way, there was a kid who ran into me on his way out of here, who is he? Did you adopt a third kid or something?" He thought he would bring up the random occurrence, still confused and curious who the kid was.

Tony looked confused for a moment before opening his mouth. "Do you mean-"

"Peter?" Pepper cut him off. She also had a confused face on, but also looked mildly concerned. "He was just here, I called him to come and see you. He was here a second ago, but then you walked in, and..."

Tony furrowed his eyebrows. "Steve, did you see where he was going or what he was doing?"

Steve shook his head. "Not really. He was kind of running and had his head down. He was heading for the elevator, but he's probably fine."

Steve was a bit confused about why Tony seemed so concerned, along with Pepper. Hed never heard Tony talk about anyone called Peter before, and wasn't aware of any other kids with close connections to Tony.

Tony and Pepper were staring at each other, silently communicating.

"Could you guys please tell me who this Peter kid is?"

Tony turned to him again. "Spider-man. He, uh, he got dusted. He's the reason I helped."

Steve's mouth formed an "o." That explained why Tony never talked about him. In fact, every time someone brought up Spider-Man, Tony almost immediately diverted the conversation, or would straight-up leave. The memory was probably too painful. And from the looks of it, the kid wasn't that old.