A/N: Thanks for your interest, everyone! This chapter didn't turn out exactly how I was expecting, but I'm not mad at it.
I hope you enjoy!
The next day was bright, and a chilly wind ran through the street.
They had spent the night on the floor of the main room, just across the room from the sickly woman on the couch. Her son slept on the floor next to her.
Peter hadn't said much to them, and his gaze was still wary. It was clear he didn't totally trust them yet, but he trusted Natasha enough to let them stay there.
He was also obviously protective of his mother, and had given dirty looks to anyone who attempted to come close.
The woman — who's name, as Tony had learned, was May — had woken for a bit at the end of the night, and Natasha had managed to get some water and pills in her. But it didn't look like it had helped much. Tony wondered just how long she had left.
People were awake now, and were wandering quietly around the house. Clint and Natasha were talking quietly out front, Pepper was getting some food together for some kind of breakfast, and Tony and Rhodey were grabbing water from the coolers.
They filled up a few cups, and passed them around. Tony had handed one to Peter, who had glared at his approach, then softened and accepted the water with a mumbled, "Thanks," when he realized Tony's intentions.
Tony and Rhodey explored back into the house, where they found a few more rooms — a bathroom that smelled absolutely terrible, what was once an office space, and a bedroom with a dead walker sprawled on the floor.
"Ugh," Rhodey said when they saw it. "Should we clear it out? This bed is probably better than a couch for that sick lady."
"Not a bad idea, Rhodey. You're a true gentleman, you know that?"
"Oh, shut up and help me."
They wrapped the corpse up in the rug, keeping their shirts over their noses to ward off the smell. Of course, it didn't help much.
Then they opened the window, and pushed the rug outside. It landed in a heap on top of a bush.
With the room clean and the window closed again, the two settled there to talk away from curious ears.
"So, what is this arrangement?" Rhodey asked. "How long are we staying here?"
"Well, it looks like Clint isn't leaving Natasha anytime soon," Tony said. " And Natasha's not leaving that woman and her kid. So we might be here for a bit. But, there's water here, and some food, and its relatively safe."
"I don't like how exposed we are. Feels like things could come at us from any angle."
Tony shook his head. "Yeah, I said that to Clint yesterday. I don't like it either. I'm gonna talk to this lady soon, see if we can try and move this party somewhere else."
"Okay."
"In the meantime, I'm thinking we organize a supply run, and explore this town."
Rhodey nodded. "Sounds good. We can leave after breakfast."
They did just that.
Except when they announced that they were leaving, they didn't expect for a certain kid to want to come along.
"Yeah, no," Tony said to Peter, shaking his head. "We can handle this one. You stay here."
"Oh, I'm coming," Peter replied, matter of fact.
Tony raised an eyebrow at Natasha. She just stared right back, a knowing glint in her eye.
"What is this, the babysitter's club?" Tony said, turning back to Peter. "You're not coming, kid."
"My name's Peter. And, I am. We've been here a few days, and I know my way around by now. You don't; I'll be your tour guide."
Rhodey shrugged. "Sounds reasonable to me, Tony."
Tony let out a frustrated breath. "Fine," he grumbled. "But I'm not changing any diapers."
"I can take care of myself, thanks," Peter said, pushing past them to the door.
Tony shot a glance at Clint, but it looked like the archer was a few seconds from bursting out laughing. No help there, then.
Resigned, he followed Peter out the door and onto the street, followed by Rhodey and Pepper (Clint was staying behind with Natasha). They each had empty bags slung over their shoulders, ready to be filled with whatever good stuff they should come across.
As they walked down the street, the leaves were disturbed by their footsteps. The wind pushed a lock of hair down into Tony's face, and he brushed it back with his hand. He should probably cut it again soon.
"So," he said, stepping up next to Peter. "You seen a lot of walkers around here?"
Peter shrugged. "Only a couple. This place is pretty small, and I think it was abandoned quick. People just took everything and ran."
"It doesn't look ransacked, though," Rhodey said.
"Maybe it was early enough that people were still civil about it, but late enough that they knew they needed supplies," Pepper offered.
"Whatever it was, this place is actually pretty cleared out," Peter said.
They stepped into what looked like the one block of "downtown" this town had - the same place they had seen Peter run out of the pharmacy.
"Is that why you were so far out yesterday?" Tony asked. "Trying to see what was out there? Let me tell you, there isn't much."
Peter actually looked sheepish. "Yeah, uh... I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention that to Nat. I wasn't supposed to leave the boundaries of the town. But - but that was why I left. There's nothing here!"
"She got you on a leash?" Rhodey asked.
"She's just trying to keep me safe, I guess," Peter replied. "I can't blame her. Took her enough convincing for me to go out on my own. She wanted me to stay with May, but I don't know anything about helping sick people. I can help her better doing this."
They walked into the hardware store. Sure enough, the shelves were practically empty. The only things there were stuff that weren't of any use in their new lives - fertilizer, light bulbs, key chains, and other miscellaneous things.
"I grabbed a saw from here the other day," Peter said, walking down one of the aisles and running a hand on the shelf.
"A saw?" Pepper said.
He shrugged. "You never know."
"Is there any place that does have stuff left in it?" Rhodey asked, picking up a singular screw from the shelf and bringing it up to look at it.
"There is one place I think might have stuff," Peter said. "I just haven't been able to get in there."
Tony gestured to the door. "Show us."
"Okay, set her down now. Gentle. Gentle," Natasha said.
"Whoops, sorry," Clint replied.
May was settled on the bed now, in the room that Rhodey and Tony had cleared the walker from. Natasha arranged her limbs and pulled the covers up over her.
"Do you… do you think she'll make it?" Clint asked quietly, looking down at the woman. She still didn't look well, despite the pills that she had gotten down the night before.
Natasha tucked a piece of hair behind May's ear. "I don't know," she said. She looked up at Clint. "But I'm not giving up."
"And you shouldn't," Clint replied. "The fact we're both still alive is proof that people don't die as easily as we think."
Natasha smiled. "I'm glad you're not dead," she said.
"I'm glad I'm not dead, too."
She rolled her eyes.
"How'd you meet these two anyways?" Clint asked, leaning up against the wall.
Nat sat down on the edge of the bed. "It was right after… right after Coulson. These two still had a car, but they had stopped to pick up some supplies. We ran into each other. I was in a bad way… hadn't eaten in days."
"I know the feeling," Clint sympathized.
"I know. But - I stole some food from them. And ran off." Nat sighed. "Later, I got cornered by a whole group of them. The walkers. I thought I was done for. Then, May comes driving up with her car, knocking bodies left and right. They picked me up, and we drove off." She huffed a laugh. "They said they just wanted their canned green beans back."
"How long ago was that?"
She shrugged. "It's hard to keep track of time now. But… maybe three months. And a lot's happened since then."
"Believe me, I know," Clint responded. He looked down at the woman in the bed. "What are they like, though? Peter and May?"
Nat stood and moved to the foot of the bed. "Well, they're both funny. Which is impressive, considering how many bodies we see on a daily basis nowadays. Peter's been a little withdrawn lately, but that's just because of how May's doing. He's usually talking your ear off. Plus he's smart." She flashed a smile. "And once I taught him a few things - a good fighter."
"Sounds like a good kid."
"Yeah, he is. And May's a lot like him, which is probably where he gets it from. She's not great with guns, though. Or knives." She crossed her arms. "What's your group like? You say we can trust them?"
Clint quirked his brow. "I've been with them about as long as you've been with May and Peter. We've been through a lot of shit. They're dependable - and good. They know right from wrong. Which is something you can't say about everyone these days."
"Right."
May shifted on the bed. "Peter?" she said horsley.
Nat shifted to be in her line of sight. "Hey, May. It's me - Nat. Peter's out. He'll be back soon."
A weak nod. "Okay."
"You think you can get some water down for me?"
"I can try."
Nat gave her a small smile. "That's the spirit."
They walked up on what looked like an abandoned clinic. It was two stories, with a blue awning and neon lettering. It was the first place they had seen around with boarded up windows.
Tony walked up and tried the door. It was locked, of course.
"You think I haven't tried that?" Peter said. He pointed up to a second story window. "That's the way in. The problem isn't really getting in."
Rhodey frowned. "Then what is the problem?"
"Um… well, there's about ten walkers in there," Peter replied, a little sheepishly.
"Oh, great," Tony said. "You couldn't have told us that before we crossed town for this?"
"I mean… four versus 10. That's — we could do it."
"If we have a death wish, you mean," Rhodey replied.
"No, listen!" Peter said, a bit anxiously, when they began to turn away. "We need to go in there. There… there could be something there to help May," he finished quietly.
None of them answered for a moment, all looking between each other and Peter.
"Please," Peter implored.
Pepper spoke up. "We could do it," she said. "Ten walkers, all trapped in the same place? We've done that before."
"Yeah, when our lives depended on it, maybe," Tony replied.
"Someone's life does depend on it," Pepper hissed, eyes flashing.
Peter just looked desperately at the building, then back again. "Please," he said again.
Tony looked over at Rhodey, who shrugged, and at Pepper, who was looking at him expectantly. "God, alright!" he said finally. "Just quit it with the puppy dog eyes, okay kid?"
Peter flashed a relieved smile. "Thanks," he said. "Thank you."
"Yeah, yeah," Tony brushed it off with a wave of his hand. "Now, how are we getting in here exactly?"
Peter pointed up again to the second floor window. It was right above the awning. "Through there," he said.
"Can't we just bust down the front?" Rhodey said. "Or go through a window that's not fifteen feet off the ground?"
"We'd have to smash this window to get in," Pepper said. "The sound would draw them all over at once."
"Pepper's right," Tony said. "It'd be better if we could take them out one at a time."
Rhodey sighed, and looked up at the window. "Fine," he said resignedly. "But I'm not crawling up there first."
"I can go first," Peter offered. "It's easier than it looks."
Tony frowned. "You've been up there already?"
"How'd you think I knew there were walkers in there? I'm not psychic."
Tony rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. Lead on, Macduff."
Peter didn't waste a moment. He went up to the building just under where the roof started, and leapt up to grab the pole that went horizontal across the top. Then he muscled his way on top of the awning until he could get his knees under him, and stood up.
"Oh, yeah," Rhodey said sarcastically. "Easy."
"Come on, Rhodey," Tony replied, stepping up to where Peter had gone up onto the lower roof. "Where's your sense of adventure?"
"Apparently lost - along with my sense of self preservation," Rhodey said dryly.
Tony pulled himself up, and although it was definitely a little more flailing than the kid's ascent had been, he made it up in no time. Then he and Rhodey helped Pepper up, and finally Rhodey himself made it up onto the ledge.
Tony pushed his way over to the window and looked inside. He could see the second floor inside, and already spotted a few roaming walkers. One of them spotted them through the window and turned in their direction. Tony snapped his head back. He knew it wouldn't be long before the rest followed. They needed to move.
"I'll go first," Tony hissed. "Rhodey, you follow. Then Peter, and Pepper you take the back."
There were nods all around.
"I see about three of them in this room," Tony continued. "You guys ready for this?"
"Let's go," Pepper said.
"Alright - on three," Tony said, his hand on the sill, ready to push up the window frame. "One… two…
"Three!"
Clint stood at the door to the back room, his shoulder leaned up against the frame, and watched in a mixture of sympathy and disgust as May heaved into a bucket Natasha was holding up to her face.
He didn't know this woman, but he wouldn't wish this on anyone. She had been vomiting for a while now, and according to Nat it wasn't exactly a new phenomenon. As far as he knew, she had only had water that day. If she couldn't keep that down, that was a scary sign.
Clint wondered if Peter knew just how bad it was.
Now, he just hovered, unsure of how to help.
A few minutes later, May had settled down again, her face somehow even paler than he'd seen before.
Nat put the bucket down beside the bed and wiped her mouth with her arm before walking over to Clint. She didn't look great either, and suddenly Clint felt a flare of fear. Was this thing contagious? Could Nat be in danger being at May's side all this time?
She went to brush past him into the hall, but he stopped her, a hand on her arm. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly, and maybe a little desperately. "You don't feel sick, do you?"
Nat shook her head. "Only because she was throwing up right next to me. It's not exactly fun catching someone else's vomit in a bucket."
"You don't think you could get sick from her?"
She shot him a look that somehow made him feel ashamed of the question, and shook her arm out of his grip. "If I could, it's too late anyways."
Clint swallowed. "I - I guess. But, I just want you to be safe."
"And I want her to be safe," Nat replied sharply. She walked past him to the main room, and he followed.
"I'm sorry," he said, trying to catch her eye. "I can't help it. I just got you back!"
Clint saw her settle down, and meet his gaze. "I know," she said. "But it's worth it either way." She blinked quickly, like she was trying to push back tears. Clint had to marvel at that. It took a lot for Nat to cry.
"She saved my life," Natasha continued, voice tight. "I have to save hers."
Clint looked at her for a moment, taking in the determined glare in her eyes. There was something else there too, though. It was fear. Fear of loss. He couldn't just stay quiet at that.
"Okay," he said. "I understand."
She nodded.
After a moment, Clint asked, "Does Peter… does he know how bad this is?"
Natasha sighed, and shook her head. "He knows it's bad. I don't know if he knows how bad. I mean, if she keeps up like this… she needs to keep water down, at least. If we don't have some way to get her fluids…"
"I know. She won't have long," he finished.
"I'm scared she won't make it," Nat admitted quietly. "And I'm scared he'll disappear if she doesn't."
Clint frowned. "You think he'd run away?"
She shook her head. "Not run away - I think he'd disappear into himself," she explained. "That who he is would disappear."
"She could still make it," he reminded her.
"I know," she responded. But it didn't sound as confident as before.
Tony stood back to back with Rhodey. A grotesque hand was reaching out for him, pressing against his chest. Yellow teeth snapped too close to his shoulder.
His arm shot out, and blood spilled down over his hands as his knife sunk into the side of the walker's skull. The creature dropped, and he pulled it out, immediately looking around for the next threat.
They had seen a few walkers inside, and Peter had said that he thought there were about ten in the building.
They didn't expect this. But now there was no turning back.
As soon as they had entered through the window, the creatures seemed to spill out from the walls and head right for them. So they did what they could. They fought back.
Rhodey had picked up a chair from the floor and slammed it down on top of one.
Pepper stabbed her knife through another's eye.
Peter pushed one off of him and to the ground before shoving his foot down on its forehead.
Tony took in the chaos around him, his eyes tracking from one thing to the next. He killed one that was going after Pepper, and the next moment Peter was saving him from a walker who got too close.
His heart raced, and his breath came fast. These moments came too often these days — the moments that felt like you cheated somehow, that you weren't supposed to make it out alive. As they stood together, gathering their breath and their wits, Tony knew they all shared the same thought: that was close.
"Damn, kid," Tony said, sharing a wild look with Peter. "When you come on a supply run you don't fuck around."
Peter's eyes were wide, still looking around for more walkers. He shook his head, and said, "I'm — I'm sorry. I didn't —"
"Is everyone okay?" Pepper said, cutting off the stammered apology.
"I'm good," Rhodey replied, a little out of breath. "I think we're good."
"Why don't we get what we came for," Tony suggested finally, once they were all settled. The others nodded their ascent, and they wandered towards the staircase.
As they went down, they kept their weapons up, senses keyed for any movement. There was one walker at the bottom of the steps, but Rhodey took care of it quickly. Soon, they were looking through shelves and boxes at a veritable treasure hoard of medical supplies.
They filled their bags with as much as they could carry, including IV needles and bags, medicine, suture kits, and bandages.
Now unconcerned about walkers in the building, they broke open the front window and made quick moves back to the house.
They'd be set for quite a while with the supplies they'd found — and some of this was sure to help May. When Peter had held up the IV kit, he'd even had something like hope in his expression.
Tony hoped it was enough.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Please let me know your thoughts, and if you have any moments you'd like me to include I just might be able to!