A dirtied, slightly beaten, ragged looking Rhodey sat next to Tony where he waited for news. Rhodey's hand was resting on Tony's back but he could barely feel the soothing weight. He could barely feel anything.

Murmured voices floated around him, the frantic scene settled down a little from what it had been a few hours before. Wakanda had lost a lot of warriors and had a lot more to patch up. They had their hands full and Tony knew that but he couldn't help but feel impatient.

The need to know if Peter was okay clawed up his throat, anxiety squeezing like hands around his neck, choking him.

But there wasn't anything to do but wait.

So, he sat there motionless as time slipped and lost its meaning. He wasn't sure how long he sat there, or when the others came and he didn't bother to look up at the voices nearby, Natasha's words coloured with concern.

"Has he said anything? He doesn't look so good, Rhodes."

His friend answered, tired but Tony just kept his eyes on his hands. Too red, too empty.

"I don't even think he knows I'm here. He's so quiet. I want him checked out but everyone's a little busy right now."

Another voice accompanied the first two, sounding about as tired as Tony. "It's a mess around here. So many of the warriors died. Even when we win, we lose."

Tony may not have responded to Bucky's words but that didn't mean he disagreed. They'd won and yet they'd lost so much. Tony knew he'd never get rid of the memories from the other timelines. They may have saved the universe but Tony had still lost everything.

Natasha knelt in front of him, putting her hand on his knee as she searched his face for any kind of recognition. He didn't meet her eyes, keeping his gaze on his cold hands.

"Tony? Can you hear me?"

Rhodes sighed. "I've tried talking to him. I think it was just too much and he's shut down. I mean, that poor kid…"

"What kid? What happened?" Natasha stood, her blonde hair dirtied and mussed.

Tony closed his eyes as Rhodes pointed to the, now dried, blood stain on the floor in front of them. His other hand moved over the mechanics back, voice rough and quiet.

"Remember the kid that fought with us in that parking lot? Spider-Man? Tony and him are real close. They fought Thanos out on another planet but...Spider-Man got hurt. Bad. He's in surgery, now...He's only fifteen."

Tony squeezed his closed eyes tight, swallowing his nausea at the rush of memories and images that assaulted his mind. He couldn't stop seeing it.

The blood splattered over Peters' lips, his eyes and the fear in them, mirroring Tony's own. And the way Tony had pulled the kid's fingers from his shirt when he had to let him go.

Bucky breathed out a curse, looking over at the pool of blood staining the floor. "Shit."

Rhodes spoke again, his voice bringing Tony back to the present. "I got here about three hours ago. I found Tony on the floor, just...sitting there, covered in blood. I tried to clean him up but he wouldn't let me."

Natasha sounded closer and Tony clenched his teeth. "That's a lot of blood, Rhodes. How did the kid even-"

"Peter." Tony's voice shocked the Avengers around him, sounding ragged and dry. It was his first word in hours.

Rhodey sat forward, hand tightening on his friend's shoulder. "What?"

Tony opened his eyes, staring ahead and avoiding their worried faces. He was so tired. "His name is Peter."

Rhodey shifted, trying to get Tony to look at him. "Peter. Okay. I'm glad you're finally talking, man. You had me worried. I want you checked out, alright? There won't be any news on Peter for a while so, we have time."

Tony shook his head. "No. I'm not leaving until he comes out."

There was a pause and Tony expected an argument, especially from Rhodes but he simply leant against the wall. "Okay."

Natasha took a seat too, as did Bucky. Tony watched them, feeling a little less numb.

"What are you doing?"

Natasha gave him a small smile. "We aren't just going to leave you sitting here alone, Stark. You look like you're gonna pass out any second. Also, Bucky and I are waiting to be checked out. We're not allowed to help with anything."

Bucky leaned forward to see him, looking bored as he pointed to a knife still sticking out of his shoulder. "It's not that bad."

Tony let out a small laugh despite himself, Natasha's smile and Rhodey's shoulder pressing against his, easing some of the pain in his chest.

And then a voice called out.

"Tony?"

They all stood as Bruce came forward, looking tired. Tony's mouth opened, about to demand to see Peter but Bruce lifted a hand before a word could leave his mouth.

"Before you say anything, Peter is alive. He made it through the surgery. But I won't lie, there was a lot of damage and there have been some complications."

Tony's heart soared only to drop back to the bottom of his stomach again. "What complications?"

Bruce pointed to the chairs, sighing. "You should sit down."

Rhodey took his friend's shoulder as they all sat again, as Tony wrung his hands impatiently. He just wanted to see the kid already.

"Dr Strange explained to you what an aortic dissection was?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it meant that the blood supply to Peters spinal cord was compromised, which meant it wasn't receiving enough oxygen and-"

Tony shivered, his voice quiet. "There's damage isn't there?"

Bruce nodded, hating to add to Tony's pain. "We can't tell if it's permanent. He could get better with time and therapy, and with his abilities and the advanced technology here he has a good chance of a full recovery but…the resources here are stretched thin. We're lucky Shuri even had time to help with Peter's surgery. He wouldn't be alive without her."

"Shuri? The princess of Wakanda?"

Bruce nodded and gestured behind him, towards the rest of the medbay. "Yeah, I can explain more later but right now I think you'd rather see Peter."

Tony stood, more than ready to see the young Avenger himself and went to follow his friend.

Bruce put a hand on Bucky's chest as he tried to follow. "Uh, yeah not you. You aren't going anywhere with that knife still in your shoulder. Just stay here until I get back and Nat, you too. I know you broke your arm, don't think I'm stupid. Just sit tight, I won't be long."

…

Tony had seen Peter die, had seen him laying on the floor gasping for breath as he drowned in his own blood and he was overwhelmingly grateful to see the kid alive. The sight he was greeted with in the ICU was a relief, even as it filled his chest with guilt.

Peter was laying in the hospital bed, ghostly pale and looking so fragile that Tony didn't want to even touch him.

Bruce swept a hand to a young woman adjusting monitors stuck to Peter's bandaged chest. "Tony, this is Shuri. Shuri, Tony."

Tony tore his eyes away from the teenager to look at the...other teenager. He held out a hand. "You saved him?"

She nodded, taking his hand and shaking it. "Yes. I would have been able to heal him completely but with so many injured, my resources are stretched thin and it may be a while till I can get-"

Tony quickly interrupted, earnest and eternally grateful. "No, this is...you saved his life. I couldn't ask for more. Thank you."

The usually charming girl smiled sadly, knowing exactly how he felt. She'd seen so many of her people die, some under her own hands as she tried to save them. She would have given anything to have been able to save them all. Every life she had saved helped to drive her forward and she nodded.

"You're welcome."