Tony should have known something was up when Peter didn't answer his phone. It's been less than a week since the Rogues had invited themselves into his home to invite him into theirs for dinner, but tonight is the night. Dinner with the Avengers. Before the snap, he's sure Peter would have been thrilled, but now the kid is nowhere to be found.
He's on his way back from a meeting with the principal of Midtown Academy to confirm Harley's enrollment since school starts in a couple of days when he tries to call Peter again, but the phone goes straight to voicemail. He calls Harley instead.
"Please tell me you're dressed."
"I am. Not sure about spider-baby, though."
Tony hears a muffled: "It's Spider-Man" and lets out a breath now that he knows Peter is okay. He's not out somewhere swinging around in his suit running from this.
"Tell your brother to get dressed and learn to answer his damn phone. I was two seconds away from calling May."
There's a groan in the background of the call, but Harley doesn't seem impressed.
"He heard you. He said okay."
An even louder groan is heard and Tony laughs. At least he's not hurt. Things are getting better and Tony's glad for it.
"I'll be home in 5." There's shuffling on the other side of the phone and then Peter's voice is coming through not panicked but slightly anxious.
"Do you mind if I uh...Can I meet you in the garage?"
Tony knows that Peter's doing it because he misses him but also to scratch his itch to protect the people he cares about. The kids have been a lot clingier now that he knows that he can be without the threat of anyone berating him for it, especially after what they're now calling the Breakfast Breakdown but he also gets this look on his face like he isn't all there. Like he's lightyears away on a planet he never should have been on fighting a big bad that Tony should have been able to protect him from.
They've come back to the Compound for a bit of scenery and a nice change of pace. It's nice having everyone there even if he doesn't sit with them much, if at all. It doesn't feel so much like a ghost town like when he and Nebula first landed.
"Yeah, kid. Meet me there." The phone clicks off as he pulls onto the property. He doesn't want to spend free time with Steve Rogers any more than Sam Wilson wants to spend time with him, but he's trying not to feel like he's driving to his own funeral.
Peter is at the connecting door the second he pulls into his spot. Bursting in just as he cuts the purring of the engine.
"I would've been here sooner if I didn't get stopped by Captain Rogers. But," Peter adds happily, "you'll be glad to know I didn't punch him this time either."
"I'm both proud and surprised," Tony says with a grin as he walks over ruffling the kid's hair.
"As a matter of fact, I actually thanked him for inviting us to dinner."
Tony smiles over at him with tears in his eyes. His smile grows softer. Fonder.
"I'm glad you're starting to feel like yourself again, Pete."
"Me too."
When they make it to Tony's quarters, Pepper is tugging off her work shoes for a pair of more comfortable flats and Rhodey is coming from the extra bedroom talking on the phone, they both smile when he comes in.
Pepper comes over to him and it's now that he realizes Peter has been tugged away by Harley to put on something that wasn't a science pun printed on a t-shirt.
"Hi," she says softly raising herself slightly on her tiptoes to press a chaste kiss on his lips.
"Well hello to you too, beautiful." He helps her take the pins out of her hair so the bun it was in falls into soft waves of strawberry blonde. "How was work?"
"Same as usual. Everyone's still adjusting, but it's better. You should come back to the tower before Monday so—"
"The boys can be close enough for school," he cuts in. "I know."
"Of course for that, but you should come talk to some of the college interns in the R&D department too. A lot of them are still adjusting to being back or to getting their families back and they're using work as a way to find normalcy. And I know you know all about that."
"Guilty as charged." Tony smiles at her then kisses her forehead. "I'll see what I can do. Maybe Pete and Harley could get to know them too."
"That sounds like a great idea. They always need a hand and the boys could use it for volunteer hours."
It's a beautiful thing knowing that you have people who know you better than you know yourself. People who can finish your sentences and still respect your thought process. People who love you. He smiles softly at her.
"Anything else, Ms. Potts?" he asks teasingly, but her gaze sharpens as if there was more. There's a small smile on her face but she still seems nervous.
"Actually, Tony, there is."
He raises an eyebrow at her serious tone, but he means it when he says: "Well, I'm all yours."
"Well you know how much I love Harley and Peter and now that everything has calmed down a little I think it's a good time to tell you that—"
There's a thump across the room as Rhodey drops his phone and grabs onto one of the bookshelves near the window before forcing himself into motion. Tony's eyes flick from his soon-to-be wife's face to his best friend...his husband, though he is still holding onto Pepper's hands.
"You okay over there, Honey Bear?"
Rhodey doesn't answer at first, because he's too busy rubbing his head and bumbling around for his shoes and jacket. Pepper's eyes are on him as well. She's hasn't seen him this worked up since Tony was trapped in a cave for three months with no way out and they'd had no idea how to help. He hadn't even looked this shaken up after the snap because somehow he was sure Tony would find a way. She's seen him disappointed and ecstatic and nervous, but it's been years since she's seen him this scared.
"Rhodey?" she asks, her grip strong in Tony's, but her eyes on their...well she isn't sure what to call him.
"Rhodes," Tony says, "you're freaking us out."
He looks up into Tony's eyes at that and there are tears clinging to his lashes.
"I...I have to go get Lila."
"Lila?" asks Pepper confused.
"His niece," Tony answers, but he squeezes her hands before dropping them and moving over to Rhodey. "What's going on? What happened?"
"Moms had a stroke."
Tony's arms are around Rhodey's torso before the man can even finish talking and it's as if the pressure is enough to break the dam because almost immediately he's sobbing into his shoulder.
"I just talked to her yesterday, Tones, and she was fine. I called her to wish her a happy birthday and now... well now she's not."
"This is not your fault, Rhodey," Pepper says from where she's wrapped both of her hands around one of his. "This will never be your fault."
"Correlation not causation," Tony says firmly, holding him tighter. Before pulling him away to look him in his eyes. Rhodey had been there for him for too long for him to not return the favor. "You want me to drive you to the hospital? And we can figure out where to go from there. Ma Rhodes is strong, she'll be fine." Tony's voice is strong with surety. "I just don't want you to have to go through this alone, trying to be the strong one."
Rhodey huffs a breath at that, the tear tracks still on his face, but a small smile cracks his face.
"You're one to talk, Stark."
"Yeah, but you were always there for me too."
There isn't much more that needs to be said. Tony moves to grab his jacket and Pepper takes his place hugging Rhodey and once she's given him a good squeeze, she's sending him off with Tony while she heads to the elevator to get a room sorted for Lila on Rhodey's floor.
Their family grows bigger every day. She wishes she was surprised.
-§-
hey futher muckers
im honestly too fucking drained for a full authors note
anyways hope you lot enjoyed this chappie
& lemme know how ya felt otherwise
love y'all
black lives matter ✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
-- angel janeé xoxo 💋