Peter and Shuri hit it off right away. To be fair, they spent a good amount of time together as she repaired each one of his ribs one by one. It was nice to have someone his age around- not to mention, she always kept him laughing. Maybe that wasn't such a good thing with a broken ribcage...
"Woah..." Peter said in amazement as he looked up at the hologram projection of his healing ribs above him. He lied on a table in the medical bay in T'Challa's palace. In just a couple weeks, he had been on three different planets, an alien spaceship, and a secret, highly advanced African kingdom. Sure it's been tough with the dying and torture and stuff, but overall, a pretty cool month.
Anyway, Shuri had just finished explaining to him how their state-of-the-art healing methods and machines worked. He'd admit that he didn't 100% understand, but what he did was mind-blowing.
"So you should be sore for a couple days, but by the end of the week, it should feel like nothing happened." Shuri said proudly, swiping the holograms back into her bracelet. Peter sat up tentatively and twisted his torso from side to side as much as the pain would allow him. It was just a dull throb though. Nothing seemed bad after what he had felt yesterday.
"So this is just an average Wednesday for you? Healing some shattered ribs and then what, engineering spaceships and stuff?"
Shuri smiled. "I actually don't get as much practice with medical sciences as you might think."
"Comforting." Peter smiled too.
"I do have a collection of all kinds of vessels that I designed myself. I can give you a tour later."
"I- Yeah, that'd be so cool!"
"And it's Friday!" She called back as she walked away. On her way out, Tony walked in, his hand bandaged up. Peter felt bad for leading Tony to resort to burning his own skin to remove the webs enclosing the infinity ring. They had agreed to just cancel out all of the guilt from the past couple days though, so he tried to take a deep breath and move on.
"Yes?" F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voice came over Tony's watch.
"Not you," Stark said, greeting Shuri as he passed. Then, "How you feelin', spidey?"
"A lot better," Peter said truthfully. "Can you believe that they can just... do that? Heal people like that?"
Tony's eyebrows raised as he looked around the room, unimpressed.
"Yeah. Pretty amazing." He said, making Peter laugh. Tony swung around to shoot Peter a questioning look.
"You're jealous." Peter realized.
"Jealousy is not in the Stark vocabulary, kid."
Peter got up and put his jacket over the Wakandan hospital uniform he was wearing.
"You know, if you had unlimited vibranium, you'd be just as good, Mr. Stark." Peter assured him, a wide, amused smile still clear on his face as they began to exit.
"Iiiiimplying that I'm not now?"
"I didn't say that."
"You might as well have. Give a guy a renewed set of ribs and he thinks he's top drawer." Tony joked, playfully nudging Peter.
"Ow..." Peter chuckled, holding his side.
"Ready to go home? The team's worried about ya."
Peter grinned but hid it from Tony. He loved that Tony could refer to the compound as Peter's home too. Of course, his true home would always be in Queens with May, but who said you could have two?
"Yeah. I'm ready."
It wasn't long for the compound to erupt with life again. It was similar to how it was before the space-soul mission, except about a billion times better seeing as Tony wasn't actively avoiding him and making Peter feel on edge all the time. A night after they returned from Wakanda, Peter was watching "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" in his room with Natasha, Thor, Sam and Quill when Tony knocked on the door and popped his head in.
"Glad to see we're all being proactive while Thanos is still prancing around the universe." He jabbed, although there was no real accusation behind it. Everyone knew how hard they worked during the day, whether it be from studying the stones, training for Thanos-specific situations, and even doing a few out-reach missions to restore order around the confused Earth once and while... And this was just in the past day.
"Woah, woah, woah... Dude. You're interrupting Etta! You don't interrupt Etta!" Quill complained, motioning to the attractive lead actress on screen. Tony looked to be at the epitome of unamused.
"Pete, have a moment?"
Peter nodded and carefully stepped over the people and bowls of popcorn on the floor. Wow. He was kind of hosting an Avengers movie night... Wow.
"What's up?"
"How is everything? How's your room? Need any more movies or-"
"No, no." Peter laughed lightly. "I think it'll take me a lifetime to get through all of those. Everything is great. Thank you."
"How are the ribs?"
"I barely notice 'em."
"Good. That's what I like to hear. Listen, Bruce and I could use your help on a project. You think you'd be interested?"
Peter's face lit up.
"Uh, yeah, yeah! I can do that. Is it with the- with the stones and Thanos-"
"Well not quite."
Tony led him into the large lab that hardly anyone touched other than Stark and Banner. Peter had observed in awe from afar before and would've done anything to just play around with all of the equipment like his personal Disneyland, but there had been that whole "Mr. Stark is avoiding me" stage that kept the lab and all out of reach. But man, the toys around this place.
"By the way- not toys, kiddo." Tony pointed out strictly as if he could read Peter's eager thoughts and excitement.
"I know, I know. Wait-" Peter uttered, making his way across the floor and sidestepping weird contraptions that he wasn't even going to begin to try and define. He made his way to a case where the five infinity stones were suspended midair- that's right, five. Where was the sixth?
"Pete, come on. Stay with the class, please." Tony urged, waving Peter over to where he was scanning his fingerprint onto a small screen on the wall. With a whirr, a panel slid open, revealing a whole, secret... lair. Really, it was just an extension of the lab, but anything behind a secret wall thrilled Pete's imagination.
"Ay, there he is." Banner said, who was hunched over a desk, glasses stooped low on the bride of his nose. Peter took a good guess about what he was studying.
"Hey." Peter greeted with a small chuckle. "Um, so... Why do you have the-" Peter stretched to see what color the gem was. "-the mind stone holed up back here?"
"Excellent question, itsy bitsy."
Peter rolled his eyes at the nickname. How was he still cranking them out so seamlessly?
"Tony, I think we should reach out-"
"No, no, no-"
"Shuri could help us get past the polymorphic stage. "Reprogram to have the synapsis to world collectively,"
"...work collectively." Tony finished with Banner. "Yeah, I remember. But, we've got this."
"Uh- got what?" Peter cut in, his head snapping back and forth trying to follow their conversation. Tony sighed and let his head tip to the side to look at Peter.
"Welllll. Miss Wanda up there has got a birthday coming up so Banner and I have been... workin' on a little something in terms of a gift I guess you could say."
Banner and Tony both watched Peter as if they were waiting for him to catch on. He got the whole wanting to do something nice for Wanda. She had been pulled into a deep depression ever since...
"Vision..." Peter realized. It looked as if Tony couldn't help the excited smile spread on his lips. Peter knew that light in his eyes. It was always apparent when he was enthralled with a new idea or project. They looked at Peter with intent as if to say, 'So... What do you think?'.
"But... Okay, how? I thought J.A.R.V.I.S was gone and-"
"Yeah, logistics are a little skewed at the moment. But really, we have the two things that really made the magic happen."
Peter shot Tony a confused look who rolled his eyes and pointed at Banner and himself.
"Oh... But, it wouldn't be the same, would it? I mean he wouldn't have the experiences or memories or the voice?"
Tony sighed and sat in one of the spinny-rolly stools by the counter on the wall.
"Yeah, yeah... But amnesia Vision versus dead vision..." Tony raised his hands as if he was weighing his options.
"Point taken." Peter said. It was weird to wrap his head around, but it was exciting. This was unparalleled to anything he's ever dreamed of doing before, and if it helped Wanda and everyone else affected by the loss of Vision, then...
"So, what do you say? You wanna join the science bro boy band?"
Peter beamed back at Tony. He was pretty sure both Stark and Banner knew the clear answer to that.
~X~
Darkness. Deep, swallowing, unforgiving darkness. And it was something Peter knew all too well. It wasn't like the inky blackness you saw when you laid down and closed your eyes to sleep. It wasn't like the darkness of the sky at night- stretching on forever with promises of new, undiscovered wonderment. No, this was the worst type imaginable. This was the life-death twilight limbo that Peter had spent what felt like an eternity trapped within. This is where everything he desired, every person he loved, every human experience was just barely out of his grasp and out of his control. It was suffocating.
That's probably why Peter woke fighting to suck in air. He was trembling uncontrollably from head to toe and his heart was pounding in his ears. Peter hated that feeling in his chest, like it constrained by bound ropes that just kept getting tighter and tighter. He needed to get the hell out of his room.
Peter projected himself out of bed and frantically burst into the hallway. He ran shaking hands through his hair and nervously tapped his fingers on the side of his pajama pants while pacing.
"I said get them up!" A voice slurred, nearly scaring the shit out of Peter. He whipped around towards Natasha's room where the door was ajar. Pete peeked his head in and squinted to see her dark form in bed in the dark. She turned over and mumbled more gibberish in her sleep. Peter chuckled and gently closed the door so that his anxious freak-out session wouldn't wake her from whatever dream she was having.
Once Peter calmed down a bit, he found himself walking down to the kitchen... Well, he slinked along the walls and ceiling to the kitchen. Something about being up there made him feel like nothing could touch him.
So there he stuck to the ceiling in the kitchen, slowly making his way toward the fridge and testing how well he could reach down and open it upside down.
"How the view from up there?"
Peter yelped and lost concentration, feeling his fingers slip for the surface above him. Luckily his spider reflexes kicked in and he spun fast enough to land in a crouch on his feet.
"Ooooh, sorry." The voice said. Peter let his eyes adjust and used the blue moonlight seeping in from the large window to make out Cap's features.
"It- it's okay, I just didn't see you."
"Couldn't sleep?"
"Nah..." Peter shook out his hair and leaned against the counter awkwardly. He didn't quite know the etiquette when caught hanging on the kitchen ceiling at 2am by Captain America. "...you?"
Cap smiled sadly and reached forward toward the wall from where he sat on a kitchen stool. He flipped on a dim light, softly illuminating the room. "Nah..." He mimicked Peter. His face looked at him kindly and with sympathy. "Rough week for you, huh?"
"A bit." Peter said sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked down and shuffled his feet. "Nothing I can't handle. That's kind of the job, right?"
Cap pursed his lips and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, yeah..."
It was quiet for a bit before Peter spoke up.
"I- I shouldn't complain anyway. I mean, next to what some of you have been through-"
"Hey, don't worry. It's not a competition." Cap said with an amused smirk. Peter smiled and rolled his eyes at himself.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. It's just… I don't know, I kind of feel like I'm out of my league here."
Cap kept his smirk and nodded, sitting back in his chair and sighing.
"I don't know. Fighting Thanos on an alien planet and getting turned to dust is one hell of an initiation. Can't say that I personally can cross that one off my bucket list."
Peter couldn't help but smile at that. He guessed it was kind of cool. He had been to a whole other planet, Thanos's planet, which was something even the Captain America couldn't even say he has done. But then…
Peter's smile faded. He pulled himself up to sit on the counter's edge. Pete was aware of Cap's eyes on him, filled with concern but reluctance to pry.
"Peter."
Peter turned his eyes up hesitantly. He didn't want to seem vulnerable in front of Captain America. Heck, he was still intimidated from just being in the same room as the guy. When he saw his face though, it was filled with kindness and empathy and suddenly Steve Rogers was not so daunting anymore.
"It's okay to not be okay." Steve said calmly. "Those of us that have been in this business for a while, well… we just get better at hiding it. That doesn't mean that we aren't still wide awake through the nights or that we aren't constantly terrified of what has passed or is yet to have passed."
Peter swallowed thickly and nodded. He didn't quite know the right response to that, but he appreciated Cap telling him. It did seem like everyone but him had their mentalities under control, but the more Peter thought about it, no one in their right mind would be 100% okay with what they had to deal with.
"Exhibit A." Cap continued when Peter didn't answer. "I can't stop dreaming that I'm back in World War II."
Peter raised his eyebrows. He had never heard Steve talk about his WWII life.
"That's nothing, though. I always dream that I'm back in the forties again. It doesn't bother me. But now… I'm breaking down the enemy barricade, everyone at my side. My team, Peggy, Bucky… Only when I look over," Cap paused, his eyes unfocused as if he was experiencing the dream all over again. Peter leaned forward in anticipation. ", they all turn to dust."
Peter turned his eyes down and thought about that. He never thought that Captain America would be getting so personal with him at 2am in the Avengers Compound kitchen. There they were though, and Pete was grateful that Steve trusted him enough to share.
"The worst part is that when I wake up, they all might as well be dust… Yeah, depressing, I know." Cap scoffed and nodded sadly.
"Well… Except Mr. Barnes." Peter said, trying to make light of the heavy atmosphere. Cap smiled genuinely.
"Yeah. Can't seem to get rid of him." He joked.
The room was quiet again. Peter knew this was the part where he told Cap why he himself was awake in the twilight of night, but he couldn't find the words right away. Steve didn't seem to be in a hurry though. He just took a sip of whatever was in his mug and waited patiently.
"I um… It's not so much a vivid dream or anything. It's just- just the darkness." Peter stuttered out. Cap raised an eyebrow at him curiously and Peter took a deep breath before telling him everything about what he experienced after the dusting, how his body and thoughts didn't even feel like his own, and how often he'd feel like he was back in that state or worse… that he never even left at all.
"It just gets to the point where I'm not even sure if I'm actually still in that void and just dreaming of this, of real life." Peter finished. Steve nodded and sighed, getting up from his chair to walk to the sink and rinse out his cup.
"It'll get better, Peter. I promise. You shouldn't keep these things to yourself though. Believe me- confiding in someone you trust is huge. I'm still working on that part myself."
Peter nodded and swung his feet back and forth in the air as they hung over the counter.
"Which by the way, I'm always here. My door is always open. I know that we haven't known each other too long. Not to mention, our first meeting wasn't exactly ideal…"
"I don't know, I had fun." Peter mused, earning a chuckle from Steve.
"I hate to pry in whatever relationship you have with him, but have you talked to Tony?"
Peter shrugged.
"I didn't really have the chance before. He was being kind of…" Peter trailed off, looking for the nice way to put it.
"Yeah, he can do that." Steve said, cocking his eyebrow. "Stark is a handful. I'd like to venture to say that no one understands that like I do. But I also understand how good of a person he is, no matter how his intentions come off. He cares more than anyone could know, even if it doesn't show that way."
"Yeah… I know…" Peter said unsurely. And he did know. He knew Tony was an asshole, but an asshole who cared more than anyone Peter knew. Yeah, him and Mr. Stark figured out their whole emotional divide after Peter had nearly been killed by Thanos, but sometimes it was hard to be completely certain of where Peter stood in Tony's eyes. "He just… I don't know, he makes it hard to… exist near him sometimes."
Cap outright laughed at that. Peter held out his hand.
"Wait, wait. That came out wrong."
"I know what you mean." Steve assured him. Cap leaned back on the countertop across from Peter and kept his gaze. "But listen, kid. Don't doubt the lengths that Tony will go for you. I've known Stark for a while and through some pretty heinous stuff, so I do know him to an extent. I could tell right away that he liked you from the get-go and believe me, that never happens."
Peter was yet again without words.
"He wouldn't ever tell you the full extent of it, but he went crazy after you were gone. Heck, he goes crazy even when you're here. He's constantly worried about you and to be honest, I can't blame him. It's nothing against you or what you can or can't do, it's just a lot of responsibility to bring someone else into this chaos."
Peter nodded. He understood better now, and he tried not to freak Tony out, he really did. But…
"He's just so overprotective sometimes."
"I will say that that's something that I never expected from Stark." Steve agreed. "Nevertheless, Pete… I do think you should talk to him. Tell him about these nightmares. No one has them like Tony does anyway."
That caught Peter's attention.
"Mr. Stark has nightmares?"
"Oh yeah. In fact, I know he's had plenty of you after you scared the life out of him on Titan. There's a lot Stark keeps under wraps. Just talk to him, though. He'd kill me if I went around telling people. Hell, he's basically already tried so I'm not keen on poking at that beast again."
Peter bit his lip and thought about it.
"I'm going to try and get some sleep. You should do the same. We still have a genocidal tyrant with a God-complex to catch." Cap said, running a hand through his hair tiredly. "Nearly 80 years can go by and yet some things never change."
"Hey, uh… Mr. Rogers?"
"Steve."
"Okay, Steve… Thank you. Really, I appreciate it."
"Thanks for listening to an old man ramble." Steve said kindly. He walked towards the door.
"I'll see you tomorrow, kid."
"Have a good night."
Peter watched him go, noticing how his heart rate had returned to normal from before. He did feel better and less alone- more like he belonged. Peter sighed happily and opened the fridge, grabbing a handful of grapes, and walking out.
Once in the hallway, Peter padded across the ground silently. The whole compound was dark, save for one light shining a beam onto the floor down the hallway to Peter's right. Wait… that was Tony and Pepper's room.
Curiosity got the better of him (and the fact that he still wasn't tired), so Peter made his way over to see what was keeping them up at nearly 3 A.M.
"…but I should just check on him. Real quick. Just in case."
"Tony, stop. Give yourself a rest. You know he's fine."
"Do I though?"
"He was right you know."
"What?"
"Hel-i-cop-"
"Oh, stop."
Peter heard Tony and Pepper speaking as he approached cautiously. It wasn't hard to figure out that they were talking about him.
"And Vision. I keep seeing… I don't really understand what I'm seeing, actually. Some twisted Tim Burton shit or something, just… ugh…" Tony groaned as Peter peaked through the crack of the slightly open door. Tony was on the edge of the bed, Pepper right alongside him. Peter could tell his hands were shaking in his lap even from where he stood.
Wow… Cap was proven right faster than Peter would've thought. He had never seen Mr. Stark so… vulnerable.
"Boss, Peter is at the door." F.R.I.D.A.Y's voice came over the intercom. Peter's eyes went wide and he threw up his hands in frustration. Seriously, sometimes this A.I's got on his nerves.
"Um…"
Peter gently pushed open the door after Tony and Pepper's attention turned to it. He sheepishly leaned in the doorway.
"Sorry, I saw the light on."
"You okay? Do you need anything?" Pepper asked him. She was always so hospitable to him.
"No, no. I'm okay Miss Potts. Thank you."
"Well…" Tony said, pushing himself up to grab his sweatshirt that was thrown over a chair. "Since you're up-" Tony pulled his sweatshirt on. "- and I'm up-" He slid on a pair of slides. "-and Pepper wants me to stop keeping her up-"
"I didn't say that."
"And now you don't have to, dear." Tony told her, both endearingly and with sarcasm. He kissed her on the head and she rolled her eyes but smiled.
"Anyway, let's take a walk."
Tony and Peter walked quietly through the halls of the facility. Stark led them upstairs, past Peter's room, above the medical lab floor, and finally to the roof. Peter didn't even know there was a staircase to get up there.
"Better." Tony said, taking in a stuttering breath once they were out in the fresh air. Peter was taken aback from this and even the way Stark was acting. It was very uncharacteristic of him, but only went alongside what Cap was telling Peter earlier. Mr. Stark looked freaked out.
Peter cleared his throat.
"Are- are you okay?" He asked, watching Tony pace on the edge of the building, taking deep breaths. Tony swung his gaze over to Peter and waved dismissively.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Then, "What about you? What's got you burning the midnight oil, huh? Your room okay? You know you can change the temperature next to your door. Is it Quill's snoring, God…"
"No, no." Peter laughed. "Mr. Stark, everything is great. Really. Thank you."
Tony stopped his nervous movements and crossed his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes at Peter expectantly. Pete knew he was expecting some kind of explanation. He looked down and shuffled his feet that were still just in socks.
"Well it's- It's not that big of a deal, you know. I um…"
Peter avoided Mr. Stark's questioning gaze. Silence took over the night again and the only sounds were of the wind and the chorus of crickets in the forest around them. Peter could see the light of the nearby city in the distance. The moon reflected across the serene lake that bordered the compound. He never really realized how pretty the area was.
"Come here."
Tony sat on the edge of the roof with his legs hanging over the edge. They were right by the giant Avengers "A" that was backlit by a L.E.D. light. It cast dramatic highlights shadows over both of their faces as Peter joined him.
Tony didn't talk. He didn't question. He didn't pry. He just patiently waited, just like Cap did, actually. Peter smiled a bit. Those two were more similar than they thought.
"What's funny, Parker."
Peter wiped the smile of his face and shook his head defensively.
"Nothing."
Silent again. Then everything. Peter told him everything.
Mr. Stark listened intently, but never looked over at Peter. He didn't mind, it made it easier. He did have trouble reading Tony's expression, though. Apparently, it didn't bother Peter too much, because he just kept going… and going. Thanos, the dusting, the void, the voices, the memories out of reach, his parents, having trouble gripping onto being back in reality, not understanding what even happened to him, being constantly terrified of returning to that God-awful place…
Finally, when he was done, the air was empty again- empty, but heavy. Peter wished Tony would just say something. Eventually, he did, but it wasn't quite what he'd expect.
"Dead parents are a pain in the ass." Tony stated plainly. "That'll never change, unfortunately. Years can go by and you feel great without 'em until one single day where it feels like you're pulled back to that first day when they were gone."
It always slipped Peter's mind that Tony also lost both of his parents in the same day, just like he did.
"There will be something stupid to all of the sudden remind you. Like you have to accept a 'prestigious philanthropy' award for you dead Mom, or you rediscover you Dad's biggest scientific breakthrough, or you watch a video revealing that your best friend's best friend actually murdered your parents with a .47 and his stupid, cliché metal appendage." Tony finished bitterly. Peter froze.
"What!?"
"What, you think I hate Barnes because he ate my leftovers from the fridge or something? I have principles, kid. I'm pretty certain I'm justified on this one."
"I- I didn't… Wow… I'm sorry."
"Hey," Tony shrugged. "It doesn't change the fact that they're still dead. It is what it is. But yeah, it sucks. And I'm sorry you didn't get as long with your folks, but trust me Pete, they're fucking proud as hell wherever they are."
Peter smiled and turned his gaze down again. It was hard not to feel a lump swelling in his throat from the thought of that. He took a deep breath and sent the feeling away.
"And for the uh, the nightmares or whatever, I get you there, Pete. Trust me. It's been six years of avoiding sleep in every way I can. If I could give you any advice…"
Tony paused and Peter listened intently.
"Don't go pushing away the people who want to help. Don't have too much pride to keep it all in because that'll just drive wedges between yourself, people who care, and sanity to be honest."
Peter nodded. He had a feeling that a lot of this was personal experience talking. It was strange to think of Mr. Stark's darker personal life. Sure, he saw all the cool "billionaire" parts of his life behind Iron Man. Parties, lavish business trips, the whole shebang. Never has Tony ever shown any inkling of emotional distress though, at least not to Peter. Obviously, Pete would never wish anything like it on his mentor, but it felt relieving to know that even Tony Stark was in a similar boat- even if his was a yacht and Peter's was a canoe.
"You're handling the whole interdimensional thing much better than I did already, so you're on your way kid. It'll get better. We're also still kind of in the heat of things. Thanos is still out there…"
Tony shook his head. Peter heard his breath suddenly catch as if he just realized what he said.
"Ugh, Christ. Yeah, there's still that. Anyway, just do what you can to make yourself comfortable. Talk to people, talk to me…" he offered up, "Or not, whatever you want. I won't be offended. And also…"
Tony trailed off. He suddenly stood up so fast that it made Peter jump.
"Follow me real quick."
Peter did, and Tony led the two of them inside and down to the lab. It was dark and quiet, very unlike during the day where machines and holograms were buzzing and whirring over the sound of Tony's blasting CD's.
"Come here. Stand right there." Tony instructed. Peter stood in front of the sliding door at the finger print screen. "F.R.I.D.A.Y."
"Boss?"
"Scan Peter's fingerprints into the database and give him access to the lab."
Peter's heart fluttered at this. Tony trusted him enough to give him full, 24/7 access?
"Go ahead, Peter." F.R.I.D.A.Y gently urged. The pad lit up and Peter stepped forward, pressing his finger on the scanner. It locked in his print and finished with an affirming "ping".
"When I freak out and can't sleep, I spend hours… Well, okay, I spend full nights here, but don't do that unless you want your fiancé to bury you in the backyard." He mused. "Or, just never have a fiancé."
Peter shot a look at Tony.
"I love her, I swear." Stark defended. The door to the lab opened revealing the tables, counters, and bins just full of… stuff. Stuff Peter very badly wanted to play and tinker around with.
"Just remember what I said, okay? Not toys. But… okay some of these are basically- Well, you know what I mean. No fires, no chemical bombs, no lasers through the walls, get me? I just pieced this place back together from our last fiasco."
"Got it."
Peter cautiously made his way over to a particle separator. The lights came on as he moved inside the lab, all of the gadgets and gizmos firing up to life.
"Everything will turn off once you leave, so don't worry about that. Just try not to stay up all night. It'll still be here in the morning."
Tony started to turn to go.
"Wait, are- You're not going to stay?" Peter stopped him. Tony turned and thought it over, his face twisted into thought and hesitation.
"Well…" He finally gave in. "Alright. Just don't tell Miss Potts."
Peter promised to keep their late night- or early morning- tinkering between them.
That night, he didn't get to bed until nearly 5:30AM but he didn't care. He wasn't even tired when he did. Peter wouldn't have given up that night for anything. His "heart to heart" with Cap, his learning of Tony's similar nightmare situation, Mr. Stark's gift of the lab… Yeah, this 'being scarred by Thanos and the dark place' really sucked, but it was finally starting to feel like it would be fine, like it would get better, like there was an end in sight.
Peter pulled his covers over himself and yawned, nearly unconscious by the time his head hit the pillow. He fell into a peaceful sleep to the muffled sound of Natasha's sleep talking next door.
~ X ~
"I'm like, 74% sure." Tony answered Thor.
Him, Thor, Banner, and the kid stood in the middle of the hidden extension of the lab. A large glass-metal chamber took up a good portion of the empty floor space in front of them. This was it- they were in the final steps.
"And you think this is the right path to embark on?" Thor kept with his irritating 20 Questions game.
"I don't know, Sparky. But who the hell are we if we didn't at least try when we knew we could?"
To be honest, Tony didn't know if bringing Vision back was the "right path to embark on". It would be different, sure. Weird? Hell yeah. But they knew they had the resources to do it. If you could bring back a magical, sacrificed android-friend, wouldn't you?
"Alright. Stand back." Thor agreed. The three of them did as they were told, taking their places against the furthest wall from the God. Stark noticed Peter's poor attempt at hiding his excitement from his expression. Tony resisted the urge to roll his eyes or poke fun at his fangirling. He didn't see why the kid was always tickled pink by twinkle toes over there.
It wasn't long before the entire lab was overcome by lightning. Tony raised his hand over his face and closed his eyes to shield him from the blinding light. It didn't really do much.
When it was over, Stark cautiously lowered his arm and opened his eyes, trying to regain his vision… no pun intended.
"Holy shit…" Stark heard Banner mutter besides him. Tony blinked a few times before he could see clearly. Holy shit was right.
~ X ~
Tony made his way around the crowded living area. Everyone was there: The Guardians, Natasha, Thor, the kid, Strange, T'Challa, Phil, Pepper, etc, etc, etc... Everyone but the one person he wanted to be there, he needed to be there... Wanda. He swore that kid was a black hole of angst and irritability. This time though, he didn't quite blame her. Tony didn't know how to deal with stuff like this- a girl who had just lost her... "significant android-other". In his mind though, Stark knew Vision was more than that. No one knew it like Wanda did.
"I'll be back." Tony said, kissing Pepper on the cheek before turning and squeezing through the group of people trying to start conversations with him while holding plates full of steak, vegetables, potatoes and more.
Finally, Tony made it into the main passageway, moving towards the stairs. It didn't take long to get to Wanda's door, but it did take some time to find the courage to push past it. He was surprised to find Cap and Barton already sitting on either side of her small form. Wanda's knees were pulled up to her chest and she was sporting what seemed to be three blankets (a little dramatic) and pajamas. All eyes turned to Stark when he entered.
"I heard there was a party up here. Sick vite."
Wanda rolled her eyes before Tony could even get all of his words out.
"Tony..." Cap said in a low voice, shaking his head as if to tell Stark that now wasn't ideal for his presence.
Rude. Tony thought.
"I need to talk to Miss Wanda, please."
"Not feelin' it." She said bitterly. Stark looked at her in disdain.
"Please." He managed to say with mock enthusiasm.
"We'll go get some dinner." Clint said, nodded at Cap before they both left Wanda and Tony alone. Stark sat down next to Wanda who turned her face the other way.
"I know we aren't on the best of terms right now." Tony said, interlocking his fingers and resting his hands on his knees. "Which, to my credit, I feel is a little unfair, but that's beside the point."
Wanda scoffed.
"Don't you have a birthday coming up? May 18th?"
"January 3rd." She correctly flatly.
"Whoops. Well okay, then I have a month early, half-birthday present for you."
That sparked her attention.
"Would you come down with me?"
Wanda didn't move. She didn't speak.
"Hey, I understand it sucks, okay? This sucks. Thanos sucks. The fact that you had to be the one to kill your boyfriend?"
Wanda looked at Tony, unable to ignore his blunt phrasing.
"Sucks." Tony finished. He took a deep breath and softened his voice. "Just... will you please come downstairs?" He reached out his hand. Wanda just stared at it and then back up to Tony as if to say 'really?'. Tony scoffed let his hand fall to his side. He jerked his head towards the door.
"Come on, Eeyore."
"Fine. Just stop using references I don't get or care about."
Tony smirked and led Miss Maximoff down to where everyone else was gathered. The room was different than when Stark left. Instead of a mess of bustling people, mini food fights, arm wrestling competitions, and other stupid stuff, everyone was gathered around one single point in the room. They all seemed to be facing the fireplace that they often made announcements in front. Well, this looked like one hell of an announcement.
Banner was already up there, a very confused, reincarnated Vision at his side. Yeah, okay... So this was weird, but nothing concerning Vision has ever been normal.
"...we pulled from whatever data we had. Logs, video records, security here at the compound, saved J.A.R.V.I.S. files..."
"It's not perfect," Vision cut in, his voice clipping in the middle of his sentence. Tony winced. Yeah, it'd be a while before he was able to get J's voice configuration smooth and flawless again. ", but I have... fragment. Fleeting memories and-" Vision stopped when his eyes fell on Tony and Wanda. Tony looked back at her expression.
Yeah, it was worth it. He thought to himself. Tony grabbed a plate and filled with food from the counter, not bothered by the invasive silence that took over the room. Stark sat down on the couch next to Peter who was engrossed in the situation playing out in front of all of them. The kid's eyes were alight, watching Wanda slowly make her way across the room to a levitating Vision who's eyes never left her for a second. Stark nudged Peter and raised his eyebrows.
"Huh? Look at that. You helped do that."
Peter smiled and shrugged, but continued to watch the two reunite.
Wanda may have had her beef with Tony, but he guessed that at the very least, this would move him up her list.