Tony stood just outside the bedroom door, leaning against the wall as he looked inside. Peter was sitting on the edge of the bed, talking to May in hushed tones. At one point, he smiled, and Tony realized he'd never seen that expression on the kid's face before.

It was all because of May. She was doing much better now, thanks to the supplies they'd gotten from the clinic. The IV had been especially helpful. None of them had known exactly how to set it up, but eventually they got it working, and May had started to get the fluids she so desperately needed. Her face started to get some color back into it, and yesterday she had even kept some food down.

And even though Tony didn't know them very well, he was happy to see it. The world didn't have much mercy nowadays, and it was gratifying to see something good happen for once.

Of course, their problems weren't over. They never seemed to be over.

Before arriving in this little town, their problem had been water. They had plenty of that now, though. Their problem instead was food.

The arrival of four extra people into the house had quickly depleted whatever stores Natasha and Peter had built up - which hadn't been much to begin with. They had planned to go out and get more, but the town was picked clean. They'd found a few things, and Clint had managed to shoot down a few squirrels, but it wouldn't last them long. They'd need to move on, and soon.

And the question remained: should they stay with these new people, or move on their own?

Tony knew that Clint was staying, no matter what the rest of them chose. Natasha was family to him, even more than they had become family to him. Tony was big enough to admit that. But he, Pepper, and Rhodey could push out alone if they chose. It would probably be for the best. Lots of people in a group slowed you down, especially if one of them was sick. Plus, they'd have to find way more supplies than they were used to.

Yet he couldn't help reflexively pushing away from that idea. Somehow, he didn't want to leave any of these new people behind.

But he'd have to talk to the others and see what they thought.

Peter looked up, saw him standing in the doorway, and waved. "Hey, Tony," he said. "Come on in."

Tony hesitated for a second before walking into the room. May's eyes flicked to him, and they seemed more awake than he'd seen them. She was leaning up against the headboard, and could track his movement easily as he entered the space.

"Hey there," Tony said, putting on his airs of confidence. "Nice to officially meet you. I'm Tony. Tony Stark."

May quirked a little smile. "Hi Tony Stark," she said, her voice quiet and tired. "I'm May."

"So I've heard. This little gremlin's told me a bit about you," he replied, gesturing to Peter.

"Hey!" Peter protested. "I'm not a gremlin!"

"It's true," May joked, patting Peter on the arm. "Don't feed him after midnight, it's not pretty."

Tony smiled, glancing at the kid. "I'll keep that in mind."

"No! You can't team up against me - that's not fair!" Peter exclaimed, though he looked more amused than angry.

"Well, the next time you all puke your guts out you can team up against me. How's that?"

Peter crossed his arms and actually pouted. "Fine," he grumbled.

Tony couldn't help it. He laughed. "You're ridiculous," he said.

" You're ridiculous," Peter shot back, but he was smiling now.

"Okay, kids," May said, voice tinted with amusement. "Settle down."

Tony shook his head before saying, "So, you feeling better?"

May nodded. "Yeah. I am, thanks. I'm not sure what I caught, but it feels like I'm on the other side of it now."

"Good. That's good."

There was an awkward pause as none of them knew what to say next.

So Tony let out a last chuckle. "Well, I've got to go find my wife," he said. "But it's good to meet you, May. I'll see you two later."

"See ya," Peter said, offering him one last smile before turning back to May.

Tony walked off, casting a look over his shoulder as he went.

It was time to talk with Pepper and Rhodey. And he knew which side he was going to take.

Pepper was organizing food in the kitchen when Tony walked in.

She caught his eye, then gestured to the store they had, and said, "This is all we have left. This might last us two days."

Tony just nodded. "I know," he replied. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Is Rhodey around?"

"I think he's out front."

He nodded. "Let's go meet him out there. We've got some decisions to make."

"Okay," Pepper said, curious as to what he was referring. Had something happened? "Are you alright?"

Tony smirked a little and grabbed her hand. "Yeah, I'm fine," he reassured her. "We've just got to figure out our next move." He gave her hand a squeeze and they walked together through the living room, where they saw Clint sitting on the couch, and out the front door.

Rhodey was sitting on the front steps, looking out across the empty street. His head snapped back to them when he heard the door open.

Rhodey pushed himself to his feet. "Hey," he said. "What's up?"

"Apparently we've got a decision to make," Pepper said. They moved a little to the side of the house. "So? What is it, Tony?" she asked.

Tony leaned up against the house. "Well," he said. "You know there's not a lot of food left in there. We're going to have to move soon - get somewhere that we can find more."

"Right," Rhodey agreed.

"The question is," Tony continued, "Do we stay with these people? May won't be ready to move for another few days, at least."

Pepper frowned. "Are you saying we should leave? Without them?"

Tony shook his head. "I'm just… putting it out there. I don't really know which move is the right one, to be honest."

"How come we don't have Clint here for this?" Rhodey asked. "This seems like something he should be a part of."

Tony shrugged. "Well, we know what he's going to do. It's not really a question on his end."

"That's true," agreed Pepper. "He just found Natasha again. He's not leaving her. And from what I've seen she wouldn't leave Peter and May."

"Right," Tony said. "So it's either we stay all together, or the three of us split off."

Pepper could see Rhodey biting the inside of his cheek. "Well, it might be for the best," Rhodey said hesitantly. "You know - to leave. Pulling around another three people would be an adjustment. We wouldn't be able to move as fast. And you guys know - speed is safety."

"But there's strength in numbers, too," Pepper argued, and then added a moment later, softly, "Plus, it's nice to have new people around. I don't… I don't think I want to leave them."

Tony nodded. Pepper thought she could see something like relief in his eyes at what she had said. "I think I'm on your side, Pep," he said. "Strength in numbers. Plus," he added, "It would be hard to leave ol' Legolas behind."

Rhodey chuckled. "Alright. I'm in."

Pepper smiled. They were staying. Their little family had just gotten a bit bigger.

Clint was sitting on the couch in the living room. He pulled the arrows out from his quiver one at a time, checking them for cracks and sharpening the tips before cleaning them off. He didn't have as many as he'd like. He could usually pull them off of the walkers he put down, but not always.

Natasha walked up to him and chuckled lowly. "Same old Barton," she said, amused.

Clint shrugged. "What can I say? I'm predictable."

She snorted. "At least something is."

He just smiled and turned back to his arrows.

Nat took a seat next to him on the couch, still laughing to herself. "Do you remember that time you shot me in the arm?"

Clint rolled his eyes. "Oh, are you still bringing that up? It was one time. One time!"

"I still say you missed," she teased.

He let out a sound of mock outrage. "Missed? I was aiming right where I wanted to. It's not my fault you were too busy choking that guy to move out of the way."

Natasha raised an eyebrow. " Sure, " she said doubtfully. She picked up an arrow and twisted it around in her hands. "I haven't told anyone what we did," she said eventually, looking back up at him. "Before."

Clint held her gaze for a moment before replying softly, "I haven't either. It feels… separate."

She nodded, a far off look in her eyes. "It seems so far away now. Like a dream."

Clint bit his lip. "Do you think it's better," he asked, "to just leave it behind? Should we forget what it was like before? Or is that too pessimistic?"

"I don't know, honestly," Nat replied. "But I don't want to forget. I just don't want everyone knowing everything. They might not trust us after they learn what we did."

Clint frowned. "It wasn't like it was illegal, Nat."

"Still," she said. "Just… don't mention it, okay?"

"Okay," he acquiesced, still a little confused. "I won't."

"Thanks." Natasha leaned back into the couch, the smirk on her face indicating a change in the conversation. "And thanks for shooting down those squirrels, by the way. It's nice having a weapon for that that doesn't make a ton of sound."

"My bow's been pretty useful," he agreed. Then he paused, catching her eye before saying, "But it won't be enough. Without more food - we can't stay here for much longer."

Natasha sighed. "Yeah, I know. I'm hoping we can stay just another couple of days. I want May stronger before we get back on the road. Right now she's too slow."

Clint shook his head. "We might not have the choice," he said regretfully, taking his arrow from Nat and placing it down on the carpet next to the others. "There's nothing left here."

"I get it," Natasha said sharply. "I just… two days, okay? We'll leave in two days."

He bit his lip, and nodded. "Okay. Two days."

Nat stood from the couch, gave him one last look, and walked to the other room, leaving him with his arrows.

The next day, Tony and May sat on the front steps of the house, watching Peter and Rhodey messing around on the street. The two had connected over the past few days, and now Rhodey was trying to teach Peter some defense moves. The kid was getting easily distracted, though, and wouldn't stop messing around with Rhodey. It was pretty entertaining to watch.

"You look a lot better," Tony said to May.

She smiled. "Feel better, too. It's nice being in the open air again." She turned to face him. "Thanks for busting into that clinic for me, by the way. I heard about it from Nat." She shrugged. "I'm not thrilled Peter was there, but I'm pretty happy to be alive, so that kind of makes things even."

"We were just doing what we could," Tony replied, shaking his head.

"Well, you didn't have to help me. You didn't owe me anything. So take the thank you."

He chuckled. "Will do."

May smiled back, and then shook her head. "Probably just delaying the inevitable, but for now - yeah, I'm glad to be alive."

Tony, paused, and frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I just mean… the world is different now. There's no guarantees any more."

Tony nodded slowly. "That's true," he agreed.

"It just kills me… how unfair it all is." May shook her head. "By all rights Peter should be in school, worrying about homework and whether he'll have a date to homecoming. He shouldn't be worrying about whether or not he'll… live through the day. About what monster lies around the corner." Her face was pained. "He's just a kid."

Tony knew the pain of worrying about the people he loved. But he could only imagine caring for a child in this new world. "There's still hope," he said, with more determination than he had felt before. "Things could still go back to normal. We don't know who could be working on a cure out there."

May just looked at him sadly. "I'm not sure you're right. And even if things do work out… it might already be too late. There's — there's some things you can't unsee."

Tony wasn't sure how to respond to that. After a moment, he said, "Peter… Peter said you came from the city."

"Yeah… we did," she replied quietly.

"Pepper and I used to live there, in Manhattan. We only moved upstate a few months before everything started. But…" he shook his head. "It must have been awful there. I can only imagine."

May's face was strangely blank. "We were lucky to make it out when we did," she said. "If we had stayed any longer… I don't think we would've made it."

Tony glanced over at Peter. "He's a tough kid."

At that, a ghost of a smile crossed her face. "He sure is. Stronger than me."

"Can I ask… what happened to his dad?"

May looked up at him, and Tony was worried he had overstepped. But then she just said simply, "His parents are dead."

"Oh," Tony said lamely. He kicked himself for being so stupid. She wasn't his mother - even Peter called her 'May.' How hadn't he put that together?

"They died a long time ago. When he was a toddler. His father was my husband's brother. My… my husband and I raised him together. Ben." She took a shaky breath, and Tony knew whatever was coming next wasn't good. "He — he was killed when this whole thing started. He was protecting us."

"I'm sorry," Tony said softly. The words didn't feel good enough.

"So am I. But, I guess that's the way the world works now."

"I… I guess you're right."

May shifted in her seat. "Anyway, after that we protected ourselves. We managed to get out with a car, but it didn't last long. So we've been on foot, just… moving."

Tony nodded. "We've been doing the same thing. We've tried to find somewhere to put down roots, but no where's been safe enough."

"Have you lost anyone?"

"Yeah," he said gruffly. "A girl, Wanda. And a man named Jarvis. That was a while ago now. Near the beginning."

"I'm sorry."

A bitter smile played on his lips. "Yeah. Like you said, that's just the way things are now."

"Have you heard anything? About safe places, or things the government might be doing?"

"No," Tony said. "I don't really think there is a government anymore. Besides, Congress would probably be just as productive as walkers as they are as humans."

May chuckled. "True enough."

"What the —" a voice said loudly to their left, and both May and Tony snapped their heads towards the sound, expecting trouble. Instead, Tony had to laugh when he saw Rhodey wondering incredulously at Peter, who was doing a handstand.

As they watched, Peter walked forwards on his hands a few feet before he righted himself and smiled towards May and Tony.

May waved back. "Promise me," she said to Tony, after Peter had looked away again. "If I ever… if I don't end up making it, promise me you'll look after him."

Tony frowned. "May, you don't have to talk like that. That's not gonna happen."

"You know it might. Now, promise."

He looked at her for a moment, and her steely eyes stared right back. "Okay," he said finally. "I promise."

She just nodded, and turned back to watch her nephew. "Good."

The next day they were off, piled into two old cars that they'd managed to get moving. Natasha and Clint had spent the day before gathering fuel, so they had a decent amount. Hopefully they'd be able to get to the next town before they broke down.

Clint was driving, and Nat was in the passenger seat. May was stretched out in the back, sleeping. The others were in the other car.

Natasha was looking at a map they'd found at the hardware store that was spread out across her lap. She was frowning, though.

"What is it?" Clint asked.

"This map is near useless," she said, frustrated. "If I'm reading it right, we're about to drive off the edge."

Clint rolled his eyes. "Of course. That's just perfect."

"There must be something close by, though. All roads lead somewhere, right?"

"I guess," Clint replied. "Let's hope so anyway."

Natasha rolled her window down, and Clint was curious for a second until he spotted the walker on the side of the road. Nat pulled out her gun and shot the thing down.

"Nice shot," he commented.

She only smirked, and put the gun away again before rolling up the window.

Clint turned back to the road ahead, reveling in twists and turns of the road. It felt good, to be on the move again. And with Natasha there, even though the world was in shambles, things felt right again. He actually felt content.

If only they knew then what waited for them down the road.

A/N: Another chapter!

This one was really just a bunch of conversations, so it might not have been the most thrilling thing ever. What can I say? I love writing dialogue!
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think, and watch out for more chapters! I'm so excited for what comes next! (Insert evil laugh here)