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Mister Stark? Hey, Mister Stark, can you hear me? It’s Peter.
We won. You did it, sir. You won.
I’m sorry, Tony…
A set of double doors flung open and Rhodey marched out. He let them slam shut behind him, rubbing a hand over his face.
“Colonel Rhodes?” Peter stepped forward, legs shaking just as much as his voice. “What… Is he…?”
Rhodey lifted his head quickly, locking eyes with Peter and trying to compose his expression. “Kid,” he sighed, then turned to Pepper a little way down the hallway. “We’re not going to know anything for a few hours at least. Shuri and Strange are doing everything they can.”
Peter’s knees buckled at just the thought of losing Tony. He couldn’t go through all that pain, not again. Rhodey caught him before he could hit the floor, Pepper ran forwards to help him back to his feet.
“Pepper,” Rhodey dropped his voice low, but Peter could still hear him as clear as day. “You should take him to the lake house.”
She shook her head. “I- I can’t leave. Not without… without knowing.”
Rhodey squeezed her arm, smiling sadly. “Morgan’s going to need you. I’ll stay here, the second I know something, you will too.”
After a moment’s thought, she nodded. She put her hands on Peter’s shoulders and led him down the corridor. As much as he wanted to marvel at the beauty of Wakanda, the sight of Tony’s blackened and burned body wouldn’t leave his mind.
Life signs critical.
His breathing picked up, short and sharp. Gasping for air. Pepper’s face filled his vision, her cheeks tear stained and eyes rimmed with red.
“Breathe, kid,” she whispered. “He’s strong, he’ll pull through.”
Slowly, Peter’s breathing returned to normal and they carried on down the corridor. It ended in a communal room, packed full of people. Most of the Avengers had come to Wakanda after the battle, needing time to process what the hell just happened and wanting to be away from prying eyes - if only for a few hours. And, of course, they wanted to know how Tony was doing.
Silence settled across the room as they noticed Pepper and Peter in the doorway. Pepper gave his shoulders a quick squeeze and whispered, “Wait here.” She pushed forward into the group, searching for Wong. Once she’d found him, she had him create a portal and the pair walked through.
It closed behind them, leaving Peter feeling strangely cold. Before him stood a house, a beautiful wooden cabin next to a lake.
“This-” Pepper’s voice caught in her throat. She swallowed, and tried again, “Tony built us this house after… everyone disappeared. We’ve lived here ever since.”
Peter nodded slowly, wanting nothing more than to rest but knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep. “It’s nice.”
“There’s something else you should know before we go in…” Something in Pepper’s voice made Peter look up. “We… We had a kid. A girl, Morgan, she’s four.”
“No way…” Peter smiled. “Mister Stark? A kid?” Pepper nodded, smiling just as wide as Peter. “That’s great, Miss Potts.”
“Mrs,” she reminded gently. “Morgan, she loves Spider-Man. We… We told her stories.”
“Does she know… I mean, about me?”
Pepper nodded. “She does, Honey.”
Peter barked out a laugh, gaining himself a weird look from Pepper. “It’s nothing. It’s just,” he put on a sing-song voice, “Baby Stark.”
At that moment, Happy appeared from behind the cabin. He froze the second he saw Peter, mouth opening and closing wordlessly. Before he knew it, Happy had run forward and locked him in a bone crushing hug.
“Hey, Happy.” Peter breathed a sigh of relief as Happy pulled away, holding him at arm’s length. His face was more wrinkled and a beard covered his chin, but he was still Happy.
Before anyone could speak, a quiet voice called out. “Mummy?”
Happy stepped aside, and there stood Morgan. Pepper hurried over, taking Morgan up into her arms and kissing her between assurances of her love for her. Morgan squirmed she could see Peter, keeping her wary eyes on him. Happy rested his hand on Peter’s shoulder.
“Who’s that, Mummy?” She whispered.
Pepper put her down, holding her hand. “That’s Peter. You remember what we told you about Peter?”
Slowly, Morgan nodded. “He’s Spider-Man.” She toddled over to Peter, pulling Pepper along behind her. “Hello.”
Peter crouched to her level, unable to stop smiling. “Hey, I’m Peter. I’m…” he cast a quick glance up to Pepper. “I’m your brother.”
Morgan let go of Pepper’s hand and took Peter’s instead, turning it over so she could see his wrist. Her brow creased. “Where do the webs come from?”
“Oh, well, I have some special gadgets that your Dad built for me.” He reached into his pocket, taking out the nanotech web shooters from the Iron Spider suit and clicking them to his wrists. Morgan watched wide eyed as they formed. “You like them?”
Morgan nodded, not taking her eyes from the web shooters as she looked on in awe.
Peter chuckled. “You’re like your Dad, huh?”
Her head shot up. “Is he coming?”
“Uh…” Peter’s throat closed up. Panicked, he turned to Pepper.
She crouched down, taking both of Morgan’s hands in her’s. “Daddy got hurt, baby.” Tears flooded Morgan’s eyes instantly. “But he’s with some very smart people who are helping him get better. Uncle Rhodey’s looking out for him.”
“Okay…” Morgan hung her head, lip trembling.
“Hey,” Peter gently lifted her chin, “Did you want to see the rest of my suit?”
Morgan thought for a moment, then nodded once. “Yes please.”
# #
A few hours later, while Happy, Pepper, Peter, and Morgan were cuddled up on the sofa watching every Disney film they could get their hands on, a portal appeared outside the window and Rhodey stepped out.
Peter shot to his feet first and bolted out of the door, the others close on his heels. “Colonel Rhodes?”
Rhodey’s smile should have been enough of an answer, but he still needed to hear the words. “He’s awake, and he’s asking for all of you.”