One. Two. Three cubes in his glass.
Tony pours well past two fingers and some of the amber liquid runs down the side. He takes a long sip, then another, glancing around his workshop. He's been welding, tinkering with scraps. Blasting Metallica loudly.
One. Two. Three more cubes.
Anything to fill this nothingness that has moved in and occupied every corner of his mind.
"So, we're still being maudlin, I take it. Excellent." It's Stephen.
Tony takes another sip, but his tumbler has suddenly become a tea cup.
"Don't do that," Tony tries to snap, but his words are slurred.
"Snap out of it, Stark. We've got shit to do."
Tony ignores him.
"Tony, I know you-"
"They're planning a memorial service," Tony finally speaks. His voice is raw. "I've been-" he stops and laughs, almost hysterical. It breaks into a sob. "They asked me to speak." His voice cracks. "Fuck. Fuck."
It's been close to seven months since the defeat of Thanos. Very few people are still missing, but many others had lost their lives that day due to the suddenly unmanned vehicles, air crafts, and equipment. They deserve to be remembered.
Tony thinks about the young man who passed when the doctor operating on him disappeared. He thinks about the incident outside a school in Queens when a cross guard had vanished. He thinks about the subway crash at Seventh Ave; there had been no survivors.
He thinks about- He never stops thinking about Peter, growing cold and brittle, crumbling in his arms into nothing.
"Why isn't he back yet?" Tony says, staring off. "What am I doing wrong?"
"Where was it like for you?" Tony asks.
"What was what like?" Stephen asks, flipping through Tony's vinyl's. "I'm keeping this," he says as he pulls out a Queen record.
"When you disappeared. Your file… You only said that you were gone for a day but it didn't go into detail. What happened?"
"Oh." Stephen takes a deep breath and gives a small, self-depreciating smile. "It was perfect," he says quietly, voice low and thick.
"Perfect how?" Tony says, on edge.
"I woke up and I was a neurosurgeon. And Christine was my wife. I knew right away that it was an illusion."
"What did you do when you figured it out?"
"I performed an operation. Patient had advanced brain stem glioma." He looks down at his hands; they still tremble. "And then I went home and made love to my wife." He pauses again, taking a shaky breath. "And then I came back to reality."
Tony pulls himself out from under his latest project. He's greasy and hasn't slept in days, but for the first time in a while, he's full of energy. He walks around his creation, running a hand over the metal. He steps back and smiles.
He's been sober for a week, now. (He had to be to make sure everything was perfect. Tony doesn't take risks when it comes this sort of thing.)
"Let's take you out for a test drive, baby," he croons.
When the vehicle makes a smooth transition from road to twelve stories up the side of a building, he can't help but grin. Peter is going to love his Spider-Mobile.
"Happy Birthday, kid," he whispers to the night air.
Peter's seventeenth birthday comes and goes. Tony wants to visit May again, but he thinks better of it and opts to open a bank account for her instead. He deposits enough money for rent, clothing, Peter's college tuition. Whatever they might need. There isn't a single withdrawal, but Tony keeps it open all the same.
The Avengers have started to become a more cohesive unit, but Tony has chosen to remain distant from Rogers. At this point, he knows it's got more to do with jealousy than any sense of betrayal he once felt. But he doesn't want to think about that. Tony hasn't touched a drink in weeks and he's going to keep it that way.
He doesn't have time to dwell on Rogers and how everything seems to be working out for him. He's found his drive again and he's going to focus all his time and energy into a renewed search for Peter.
It has now been nine months since the defeat of Thanos.
Tony is sipping at his coffee, reading some news, when Stephen practically leaps through his portal, levitating in the middle of his kitchen.
"Jesus Christ, man. How many times do I have to tell you, don't do that."
"For God's sake, Tony. Put some pants on," Stephen says, ignoring the other man's complaint. "I know how to find Peter."
The coffee mug slips from Tony's hand and crashes on the tiled floor.
Stephen just stares at him.
"Are you going to faint, too, or can we get going?"
"So you're telling me the reason he hasn't returned is because… He keeps trying to return."
Stephen nods. "The soul stone is essentially a self-contained universe. Every time he tried to leave he created a dimension within a dimension. That's why he never came back. He's essentially stuck right now."
"So how do we get him out?" Tony asks tightly, drumming his fingers on the table. He's trying to stay focused but he's trembling with the need to act. They can talk later; he needs to bring Peter back now.
"He tried for so long, he was almost untraceable. Luckily Peter eventually stopped trying to jump dimensions and I was able to find him."
Tony's stomach is in knots. Nine months. Nine fucking months. And they were only able to find Peter because the young man had eventually… given up.
"Let's go," Tony says and suits up. "Talk on the way."
"Hang on, Tony," Stephen says softly, causing Tony to pause before putting up his face plate.
"What?" he snaps.
"Time… Time works differently in the Soul Stone. And Peter is… he's gone so deep. He's been in there for a long time. A long time, Tony."
"What are you saying."
"I'm just saying… be prepared."
Stephen opens the portal. Tony sees himself on the other side. He's younger, wearing a tux, and standing in Avenger's Tower. Tony smiles ruefully for a moment. Standing close to him is a young man he thinks he recognizes, but he can only see a partial profile. Tony tries to peer around Stephen's damned cloak to get a better look.
He doesn't get the chance to, though, because in the next moment the portal is closed and a young man in a dark three piece suit is standing before him.
His hair is cut close and swept to the side. There's a hint of stubble on his jaw, and his hazel eyes are wide in shock.
Without breaking eye contact, Tony claps his hands once. The Iron Man armor begins to recede and Tony reaches forward with a trembling hand.
"Tony?" Peter asks and takes a step back. "What… What's going on?"