Journey Back To You // Spider-Man [Book 3]

twenty-two {Third Person POV}

Arya pushed herself away from everyone as she fought her way out of the Quantum suit. She rushed outside where she sank down against a wall and pulled her knees to her chest, letting out all the sobs that were built up inside her. 

She was so happy the time travel had worked, but she had not expected that seeing Peter again would hurt this much. She hated that she hadn't been able to get to him and knowing that that could've been the last time she ever saw him, hurt her more than anything. 

In the distance, she heard thunder and the sky became overcast. "Hey, kid," she heard a voice speak up and she glanced up, finding Clint standing a few feet from her. 

"I"m okay, Clint," she muttered, wiping away her tears and sniffing her nose.

"No, you're not," he said, sitting down next to her. 

The two sat in silence for a moment, the only sound being Arya's occasional sniffs and lost sobs. 

"Why does it hurt so much?" she asked softly, leaning her head on his shoulder. 

"He was your family," he said quietly. "I know what that's like." 

"Oh, Clint, I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to-" 

"It's okay," he cut her off with a forced smile. "What matters now is that we might have a way to get them back." 

She nodded. "You're right." Pushing herself off the ground, she brushed off her clothes. Slowly but surely, the clouds started to disappear and the sun returned. "Let's go back inside." 

Clint shook his head. "Your dad gave you the rest of the day off. Use it however you want. I believe Steve, Nat, and Rhodey are going to do some research and Bruce is working on the suits." 

"But I wanna do something. I can't just sit around-" she rambled, but Clint placed her hands on her shoulders. 

"You just travelled through time. Not many people can say that. You need a break," he said sternly. 

Arya blew out a long breath. "I guess I could do some more reading." 

"Or you could take a walk and have a cup of tea." 

"With a book on quantum physics," she said with a grin. 

"You're exhausting," Clint commented before she walked off. 

"Yeah, but you love me," she sang. 

Clint chuckled, shaking his head. Arya Findley-Stark was the closest thing to a daughter he had left. He had missed caring for someone like that. 

***

"Okay, so the 'how' works," Steve spoke to the team as they were all gathered in the briefing room. It had been a day since Arya had travelled through time and everyone was ready to take the next step. 

Natasha held a notepad and a pen in her hands, ready to take notes of anything useful that was going to be said. Arya had a tablet in her possession as she was in charge of the holograms that were against the walls.

"Now we gotta figure out the 'when' and 'where'," Steve continued. All of the information they had been able to gather about the six Infinity Stones was displayed with a proper picture. Arya labelled the file they were working in, 'TIME HEIST'. 

"Almost everyone in this room has had an encounter with at least one of the six Infinity Stones," Steve said. 

"I'd substitute the word 'encounter' with 'damn nearly been killed by' one of the six Infinity Stones," Tony cut in, holding a cup of to-go coffee in his hands.