Like You'd Know How It Works

Chapter 1

Peter tried to control his heart rate, took a few deep breaths. Mastering his anxiety and the stress of the situation. Just like Mr. Stark had taught— Urgh, nope. He couldn't think about that right now! His mind was racing. He needed to convince them. He needed their help to bring Mr. Stark back. There was no way that he could figure this out on his own.

"They are right, Peter. Time is a difficult construct. There are rules that have to be followed and when we break them, we might make a mess. An enormous unnecessary mess, that we can't take back. Tony deserves better than that." Strange had taken a seat at the opposite end of the room, furthest away from him. The sorcerer seemed to know what was good for him.

"You said, we would win." Peter was proud, how strong his voice sounded. With all of them against him, against Mr. Srak, he was fighting a losing battle against his emotions, but he couldn't let his weakness show. "14 Million possible futures and you said we would win this one!"

"Peter, Tony was trying to save the Earth. To save the universe. He won."

"Bullshit!" His breath hitched. He wanted to scream at the wizard, rage at him, but if he did, his voice might finally break. He might finally break. His eyes landed on Colonel Rhodes, who had been quietly observing, which in itself ticked Peter off. He was Mr. Stark's friend! How was he not speaking up for him?!

"Pete..." he sighed and awkwardly leaned back in his chair. "Messing with time travel any more than we did... we don't know what ripple effect it would have for the alternate reality that splits off. Or... or whatever it is that happens. It could cause more pain, more suffering. You know that Tony wouldn't want that."

Peter's mouth fell open in shock. "We don't know that! We don't know that anything bad would happen at all or if anyone would be any worse off! We do know that this world right here is suffering now! Miss Potts is suffering right now! We can change that! We can get him back! They deserve better! Mr. Stark deserves better!"

Rhodes cast his eyes to the ground, softly shaking his head. "We can't play God. It's not right, Pete."

Shock let him gape at Rhodes. How... how could he say that? How could he...

"I... how can you give up on him... You're supposed to be his best friend!" Peter turned away from him facing the others again. "What is wrong with you people?! How can you still not care? After... after everything he has done for you?!"

Rogers' clenched his jaw before he spoke up again. "Listen, kid, I get that you feel guilty that Tony risked everything he had to get you back, but screwing around with the Quantum Realm any more than we already have is not an option. Tony knew that there was a chance that he could die. Yes, this sucks and we do care. Nobody here wanted to lose him, but we did. That is the harsh reality we have to deal with now."

That was it. Peter's head was just gonna explode. "Do you even hear yourself-" But then he fell silent, brow furrowed in sudden thought. "Wait... wait, what did you just say?"

The Captain's face had lost a considerable amount of anger, his jaw now hanging open in silence. Peter took a step towards him, not worried but aware that he couldn't feel his legs anymore.

"What did you just say?"

Peter turned to the sound of Colonel Rhodes braces engaging and found the man had stood up and was walking up towards him.

"Pete—"

No. No. No. No! "That's... that's not true. That can't be true." He couldn't make his voice work properly. Just a low whisper came over his lips.

"Well, that was subtle, Cap..."

Without his enhanced hearing Peter probably wouldn't have caught it. He spun around and his eyes fell on Lang looming behind Rogers. He tried to say it again with more conviction as he turned his eyes back on Rogers.

"That's not true. You're lying!" A familiar sense of pressure was building up in his chest and he tried to control his heart, his breathing, his spinning thoughts.

"Tony would have done anything for you, Pete. And you know that." He pushed Rhodes hand off his shoulder and turned again, his mind dizzy. They were wrong. They had to be wrong.

"No... not when Ms. Potts... He wouldn't... he would never risk losing Ms. Potts for-" Movement behind Colonel Rhodes pulled in his focus. Down the corridor of the hospital wing his mentor's fiancé had just stepped into his eyeline as if waiting for his cue. Or... or probably his wife at this point. Pepper Potts or Pepper Stark. He didn't know. But she wasn't the only one that was walking down the hallway away from them to the other side of the building. A young girl, clasping her hand tightly, was walking alongside her. A little girl, who... oh god.

The commotion behind him didn't really register. His body was frozen in place, his mind empty, with the exception of one thought. Just a whisper of his sub-conscience at first, but the longer his eyes were fixed on the girl, the more the fact registered.

"That's... that's Morgan. She's—"

"Don't." Don't say it. Don't say it. Don't say it.

He didn't need Rhodes to say it. He didn't want to hear it. The undeniable truth was that Peter was looking right at Mr. Stark's daughter. She had an air of buoyancy and mirth in her step that screamed of the Tony Stark he had known. She was going to see her father. He could tell. The suppressed eagerness was radiating off her. She was going to see her father and she didn't know... she didn't know yet, that it would be the last time.

"Pete, come on..."

Only as Rhodes' put his hands on him did Peter regain some form of feeling in his bones. His arms were shaking. His legs were like jello. He tore his eyes away from the hallway, from Mr. Stark's family, and took a couple of steps back. They were alone. Just him and Rhodes. So, this was it. His legs buckled and he didn't hold back his tears any longer. Rhodes reached for his arm to catch him before he could hit the floor, but Peter jerked away. He balled himself up against the wall of the room, dropping his face into his hands and wept. Weeping was all that was left for him to do now, all he could do.

He wept for Mr. Stark. For his family. For the life he should have had with them. And he wept for himself. He didn't know how he would ever be able to cope with this. How would he ever be able to live with that? Mr. Stark had risked it all for him. And lost.