The Strangest Feeling | Earth-56: Pilot part 1

Tony

The control room of Thanos's ship was not a large space, but, as it turned out, it was sufficiently spacious for two determined people to ignore each other. Tony had been keeping close to the north side of his room for nearly an hour, burying himself in information from holographic screens and displays from his suit, and it was almost possible to believe Strange wasn't doing the same across the room. Well, not quite the same. He was probably scanning the future eagerly for the moment Thanos or one of his goons finally got Tony and he didn't have to put up with him anymore.

"Hey Mr. Stark?"

Tony jumped. He had been so deep in bitter thoughts he hadn't noticed the kid approach.

"Sorry, I was just wondering if your comms worked this far out?" Peter had taken off the mask of his new suit, and the aura of energy and optimism that usually surrounded him seemed dulled. Tony frowned slightly at his voice - there was something about it he would almost have called fragile.

"To earth? Sorry, they barely last out of the atmosphere."

The kid seemed to deflate. "Oh. I just wanted to tell Aunt May... something. She doesn't know I'm here."

Tony felt he should say something, but he didn't know what it was.

"I have a chem test right now," Peter said faintly, and then glanced around at the ship, suddenly looking very out of place. "I don't really do this kind of thing normally." He half smiled, but Tony could see the reality was hitting him all at once. "This is a bit beyond the neighborhood level."

"We'll get back home, kid," Tony said, and two minutes ago it may not have been true, but now with him standing there so small and out of place in the darkened ship, he was sure of it. He was sure he wasn't going to let this end any other way. "I promise."

And they were both still standing there in the control room of a gigantic alien ship on their way to God-knows-where, Peter missing his chem test, but a hint of something like relief, something like gratitude, flashed across the kid's face, and that was the only thing Tony cared about right then.

I just love Tony as a supportive dad. <3 Tell me what y'all think!

 - Wesley H