"Everybody calm down. We can deal with this without anybody getting hurt."

Yeah, right, Tony thought.

The leader of the group of bikers was standing between the two men holding Peter and May, his arms spread wide. "Let's just talk this through like civilized folks, alright?"

Peter was struggling in his captor's grasp, trying to wiggle out of the man's grip. The guy pushed the muzzle of the gun into Peter's forehead, and Tony saw the kid wince. "Stop fuckin' squirming, kid. Unless you want a bullet in your head."

Peter looked furious, but he stopped struggling. His chest heaved as he looked across the parking lot at them.

Tony clutched the crowbar tighter in his fist. "There's nothing civilized about this, asshole," he spat. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"The name's David. Thanks for asking."

"Yeah, not what I meant, dickhead."

'David' glowered at him. "I'd keep your trap shut, old man. Unless you want your friends here to be hurt."

"What do you want," Natasha bit out, cutting off what would have been an indignant reply by Tony.

David shrugged. "We're hungry, is all. And we just want whatever you've got there. That's not so hard, right?"

Tony ground his teeth. This was the kind of guy who enjoyed the apocalypse. Had probably no money or anything of worth or character to his name before, but now that the world had gone to shit, his miserable personality was an asset. The injustice of it all made him want to spit.

"What, you can't get your own food?" Rhodey asked, his bat held up in front of him.

"We'd rather not risk our tails against the dead unless we have to," David replied. "And you've gone and done all the dirty work for us." He gestured to the bags on their shoulders. "Now, hand the food over, and we'll hand over your friends. It's as simple as that."

"Don't do it!" Peter said, struggling again.

The guy holding him cracked the butt of his gun against Peter's head, and he cried out. "I said stay put, twerp!"

"Peter!" May cried, trying to twist away. The man behind her just tightened his grip.

David shot Peter a glance. "Don't try to be a hero here, kid," he said, shaking his head. "Now, come on, people. Let's get a move on."

Tony was about to call the guy an asshole again when he saw Clint glower, bite a curse, and lower his bow.

Natasha shot him a glance like she was going to protest, but after she caught his eye she lowered her gun as well.

Tony looked over at Pepper incredulously. Were they really about to give in to these clowns?

Pepper didn't meet his eyes, though - she was still looking over at Peter and May, her eyes wide.

"Fine," Clint said gruffly. "Take it." He slung his bag off of his back and tossed it onto the pavement in front of him. Cans rattled inside.

David smiled. "Good choice," he said. "Are your friends gonna follow suit?"

Tony caught Clint's eye, but the anger he was sure showed on his face wasn't swaying the archer's resolve.

"Just do it," Clint said to him. "It's not worth it."

Tony let out an angry breath through his nose. After a moment, though, he slowly took off his bag and threw it away from himself. The others did the same beside him.

"Great. Now, drop your weapons, and back up against the wall there for me, huh?" David said, gesturing with his gun to the building behind them.

The five of them slowly put their weapons on the ground before shuffling backwards until their backs pressed up against the brick of the store's walls. Then David went up and grabbed the bags. He tossed a couple closer to his friends, and put the others over his shoulder.

"Pleasure doing business with you, folks," he said. "Because I'm a gentleman, I'll let you keep your guns, and your - arrows." Then he walked over to where their cars were parked, and with one last glance at them, shot holes in their tires.

"Are you fucking serious?" Tony yelled, angry and incredulous. "Really?"

"Can't have you all following us, now can we?" David said.

"God damn - Fuckin -" Tony grit his teeth.

Natasha called out, "Now, let them go!"

David climbed onto his motorcycle. "Yeah, alright. Let 'em loose, boys."

The other two men did as they were told, and pushed Peter and May down to the ground before picking up the other bags and rushing to their own bikes. The sounds of the engines split through the air, and they sped off, leaves rushing around them on the road.

Clint and Natasha raced forwards, Clint going for his bow, and Natasha running towards Peter and May.

Clint aimed, but as Tony came up beside him, he lowered it again, his mouth twisted in frustration. "Damn it," he cursed. They were already too far away.

"What the hell was that?" Tony asked him, waving his arms around him. "Why didn't you do something?"

Clint shot him a glare. "It wasn't worth it," he said firmly.

Tony let out an indignant noise. "I've seen you make impossible shots, Clint. You couldn't pull that off here?"

"No," Clint said angrily. "I don't think I could've. I could've saved one of them, but maybe not both. It wasn't worth it," he said again.

Tony's nostrils flared. "Great. Well, now we're back where we started, and that whole run was for nothing. And he fucked up the cars!" He ran a hand through his hair. "Jesus Christ."

"It's okay, Tony," Pepper said. "We'll figure it out."

He looked over at her, and the look on her face made him take a deep, steadying breath. "Okay," he said. "Sorry. That just really made my blood boil."

"Hopefully those dicks get what's coming to 'em," Rhodey said, picking up his bat from the ground and balancing it on his shoulder.

"Not likely," Tony said bitterly. "But a guy can dream."

He looked over across the parking lot, and saw Natasha helping May to her feet. Peter was pushing himself up off the ground.

Tony started walking over, and winced when he saw that there was a good amount of blood running down Peter's face from where he'd been hit with the gun.

"You okay, kid?" he asked.

Peter looked up at him, his eyes a little dazed. A hand went to his forehead, and he stared at it when it came back red. He nodded absently. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm - I'm good."

"You're a terrible liar," Tony replied, shaking his head.

"Peter!" May said desperately, and suddenly the kid was wrapped in a hug. Peter returned the gesture, holding onto his aunt tight.

Then she pushed back, and put a gentle hand on his forehead. "Oh, Peter. Your head!"

"I'm fine," Peter said reassuringly. "It's nothing. Are - are you okay?"

"I'm okay, Peter," she replied. "But let's clean up that blood. Go sit down, I'll find something to wipe it off."

Rhodey was over by the cars, looking into one of the trunks. "They didn't take anything from the trunk!" he said.

"Well, there wasn't any food in there," Tony said. Then he remembered. "But - we have the stuff from the clinic! Rhodey, grab the first aid stuff!"

"Oh, right!" Rhodey said. He pulled out the bag of supplies and brought it over to them.

May took it from his hands and started looking around inside, pulling out a few things and putting them on the ground next to where Peter was sitting.

Peter was touching the wound on his head, and wincing.

"Don't mess with it," May said sharply.

Peter dropped his hand to his side.

It was obvious that May had some medical experience, because she took care of Peter's forehead like a pro. Although she was obviously shaken by the experience they'd just had, and her face was pale, her hands were steady as they wiped away blood and cleaned the wound.

"Guys, over there," said Rhodey suddenly, and his tone made Tony's head snap up. He looked around and saw Rhodey was pointing down the street, where two walkers were making their way towards them.

"I've got it," Clint said, walking a few paces and aiming an arrow in their direction. Two shots later, the walkers were down, and Clint was moving over to collect the arrows.

Tony turned his attention back to May, who had just taped on the last of the gauze.

"There you go," she told Peter. "Don't pull that off, okay? We'll look at it later."

Tony left their side and walked back over to where Pepper was standing, Rhodey moving with him.

"Well, today's been fun, hasn't it?" Tony said, crossing his arms. "We're pretty screwed."

"What's our next move?" Rhodey asked. "Find another car?"

Pepper was pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "Well, we need food. We already haven't eaten for two days. I'm worried about how long May can keep up like this."

"Should we go back in?" Tony said, gesturing to the storefront.

"No, we picked that place clean," said Rhodey, shaking his head. "There's nothing good left in there."

"You know what I'm mad about?"

The three of them turned and saw Clint coming towards them.

"They took my maraschino cherries!" Clint finished.

"Yeah, that's the tragedy in all of this," Tony said dryly.

"Well, there must be something else in this town," Clint continued. "We'll just have to get looking."

Tony saw Pepper looking across the parking lot, and turned his head to see May and Peter sitting on the ground, Natasha standing next to them. Now that May had finished cleaning up Peter's head, Tony noticed that she really didn't look well. She seemed pale and shaky. They were all hungry, but the lack of energy really seemed to be hitting her.

"I think we should find some place to hide out," Pepper said. "That way May can relax, and the rest of us can go out and search without worrying about her."

Rhodey nodded. "That's a good idea."

"Well, it better be close," Tony said. "I'm not liking our odds of finding a car out here."

"There's a few houses down the street," Clint said. "They might have food - or at least a good place to lie down."

"Sounds good," Pepper said. "I'll grab whatever else is in the car. Tony, come with me."

Tony raised his eyebrow, but followed her over. "What is it?" he said, when they were over by the cars.

"Just drink some water, okay?"

He frowned. "Okay… is that it?"

"You're just really tense right now," Pepper replied. "Loosen up, okay? The last thing we need is a shouting match."

He was about to reply when she tugged him down for a kiss. He couldn't help melting a little bit, and brought his hand up to cup her cheek.

Pepper pulled back and passed him one of the water jugs, a wry smile on her face.

Tony chuckled as he grabbed it from her. "You really know how to pull my strings, don't you?"

"It's a gift."

He raised an eyebrow suggestively. "Maybe the house we hole up in will have room just for us," he said.

"You should hope so," Pepper replied. "Now help me with the rest of this stuff."

A little later they had gathered themselves together and made their way down the street towards the houses that Clint had seen.

Clint had his bow in hand, ready for anything to pop out.

He was frustrated with their situation, but he'd learned long ago to be flexible when these kinds of things happened, and to see the positives. At least none of them had been hurt. May and Peter were both alright.

He did wish he could've put an arrow in David's face, but you couldn't always get what you wanted. He just hoped they never ran across those guys again. He'd rather face a walker any day than someone like that. At least walkers were predictable.

Natasha spoke up from beside him. "No one blames you, you know. Or if they do, they shouldn't. You made the right choice."

Clint looked over at her and nodded. "I know. Even with both of us aiming for them, there wasn't enough of a guarantee."

Nat nodded. "I'm not sure I could've made a clean shot anyways. They were standing too close to May and Peter. I might've shot one of them instead."

"Exactly. This is the best we could've hoped for. Even if it sucks," he added.

"Well, maybe we'll finally run across some luck."

Clint chuckled. "Come on, now. Don't jinx us."

They slowed as the group stopped in front of the closest house. It was a nice place - two stories with white siding and a front porch.

"Alright, let's clear this house," Tony said. "Clint - Rhodey - come on in with me."

"I'll come, too," Peter chimed in.

"Sure," Clint cut in before Tony could speak, not wanting a fight to start with everyone as short on patience as they were. "Just watch your back."

"Be careful, Peter," May said, lowering herself to the curb. Natasha went to sit next to her, and offered her some water.

They walked up the steps onto the porch, pulling out their weapons as they went. Rhodey peeked in the window, and Tony looked through the glass on the front door. When he tried the knob and it was locked, Tony looked to Clint, and only nodded.

Clint chuckled to himself, but a moment later he had kicked the door in and they all stepped carefully inside.

It was dim inside, but they could still see from the sunlight coming through the windows. It looked undisturbed - there was nothing knocked over, or destroyed. That was promising. A set of stairs started in front of them and went up.

They split up, Tony and Rhodey taking the downstairs and Peter and Clint going up.

"Call if you need anything," Clint said to them softly.

Rhodey nodded to him, and disappeared behind a corner.

Clint walked first up the stairs, with Peter behind him. The kid had his knife out in his hand, and was looking around, eyes wide.

"You take that side," Clint whispered to him, pointing down the hall to the right. "Be careful."

A nod, and Peter walked away from him slowly, tense and vigilant. Before Clint walked away he saw the kid push open a door and walk inside.

Clint went the other direction, his ears and eyes keyed for movement. Even though they were brainless, walkers still managed to find the darkest places to hide themselves, and it was important to stay aware.

In all the rooms he checked, though, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. It looked like a regular house. Maybe one that had been abandoned and had gotten a little dusty, but still pretty normal. Cute accessories sat on bookshelves, and the bathroom had rubber duckies in the tub. There were pictures on the walls of a smiling family - two little girls, a mom and a dad, and even a dog.

And no walkers.

Clint made his way back to the staircase, and looked around for Peter. He wasn't there, and he didn't hear him moving around, either. Was he still checking his side? He should have been done by now - there were only two doors on the right.

Clint frowned. Something wasn't right about this. Was Peter in danger?

Then his ears, searching for any sound, picked up a strange gurgled noise.

Clint's eyes widened, and he readied his bow again as he strode quickly across the hall. The room the noise was coming from was the one he'd seen Peter go into, and the door was still half open.

He pushed it open the rest of the way, and looked around wildly for the threat. What he saw made his heart stop in his chest, and he slowly lowered his bow.

The room looked like a master bedroom. Peter was there, alright - and the strange noise he'd heard was the kid puking his guts up onto the carpet.

Because beyond him, on the big king sized bed, were four bodies lined up next to each other. Two little girls, a mom, and a dad. Each with a bullet hole in their temple.

Clint swallowed roughly, anger rising inside of him. They had - this family - the parents - they had killed themselves, and killed their kids who were too young to know better, rather than face the world.

He wondered if the girls had been scared. If they knew what was happening when their parents brought them in here to die.

He was fighting back the urge to vomit himself.

Clint steeled himself and walked up to Peter, who was bent over, still heaving on the floor. He put a hand on the kid's shoulder. Peter flinched back until he realized who it was, and quickly stood and stepped back from the puddle of vomit on the floor. He hadn't had much food in his system to begin with, so there wasn't much there.

"Let's get out of here," Clint said to him roughly.

Peter wiped a hand over his mouth before he nodded, not meeting Clint's eyes.

They went back the way they came, the silence of the house somehow stronger than it was as they'd come up the stairs. As they left, Clint closed the door to the bedroom and kicked off the handle. Hopefully no one would have to see that again.

Tony and Rhodey were waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. Clint noticed that they had a few cans of something in their hands.

"Is it clear up there?" Rhodey asked.

Tony was looking at Peter, taking in his shaken expression. "What happened?"

Clint glanced at Peter, then back at Tony. "We don't want to be here. Trust me. Let's go across the street."

Tony frowned. "What is it? What -" he cut off as Clint shook his head at him meaningfully.

Peter just kept walking until he was out the front door, not looking at any of them.

"I'll tell you later," Clint hissed to Tony as he passed, headed for the open air himself.

He didn't want to be in that house another second. The more he was in it, the more it felt like a tomb.

An hour later they were getting settled in a different house. The place was clear from top to bottom. There'd been one walker in the bathroom, but they just took care of it and pushed it out the back door.

The place looked like it had been looted at some point, but there were still some things in the kitchen, and combined with the few cans he and Rhodey had found in the last house, they were able to put together something resembling a dinner.

Even with the horrifying stuff he'd heard about the dead family Peter and Clint had seen, Tony was starving. His meal of beans, two ways - green and black - was gone in minutes, and he was left unsatisfied. If anything, the food just reminded him of how hungry he really was. But he supposed it was better than nothing, and his body needed the fuel. They'd find more food tomorrow.

Peter was only pushing the beans around in his bowl, looking down into with a drawn expression.

Tony didn't blame him. He was selfishly glad that he and Rhodey had searched the downstairs, and he hadn't had to see the horror in that bedroom. They already saw enough gruesome things these days.

As he looked around, Tony noticed that everyone seemed to be down and quiet. After the day they'd had, it was to be expected. But suddenly, he couldn't stand it anymore. There had to be something that would turn the mood around.

Tony stood abruptly from the couch he was sitting on. Faces turned towards him questioningly, but he only said, "I'll be right back," and wandered away from the room.

He strode through the rooms on the ground floor, his eyes peeled for something in particular. Something every house like this surely owned. He opened a few cabinets, looked under the table, and then - there!

Tony picked up his prize in two hands, a smile spreading over his face. This was gonna be good.

"Monopoly!" he said loudly as he entered the sitting room again. He held up the box for everyone to see. "We're playing it!"

Tony was happy to see a few chuckles and smiles.

"Do we have to?" Rhodey asked, a longsuffering look on his face.

Peter, on the other hand, had a grin slowly forming on his face. "I love that game!" he said excitedly. "I don't even know when the last time we played a game was."

"Well, we're playing one now," Tony replied happily. "Everyone has to - no exceptions. Team up if you have to."

"Can I play with you?" Peter asked him.

Tony shrugged, and chuckled. "Sure. Here's our piece."

"The money bag? Really?"

The others were starting to move around him, and the energy picked up. "Fine. I call Nat on my team!" Rhodey said.

Everyone looked at him.

"What?" Rhodey said, looking around defensively. "That girl is ruthless. And I'm playing to win!"

"Alright," Natasha laughed. "I'm in."

As everyone settled down to play, Tony caught May's eye. She gave him a smile, and he nodded back with his own.

It might've been the apocalypse, and they might've just had the worst day in a long time.

But they could push their problems off until the morning.

A/N: I really didn't plan for this story to go this direction. I didn't even plan for it to be this long. Originally it was going to be a one shot, but it's gotten a life of its own, and I'm having so much fun with it.

There's plenty more coming down the line - I've got twists on twists planned, and I think y'all are gonna be pretty happy about the next one ;)
As always, let me know your thoughts in comments!