Across the Stars 🕷 Peter Parker [3]

thirteen

Colin

Tony was sick, really sick. He had been adrift in a dying spaceship for nearly three weeks, with limited air, food, and water supplies. His body had been through a lot, but his body just couldn't handle that kind of stress and limited resources. So now, he was laying in a hospital bed, Pepper at his side.

The others were going to find and kill Thanos. Colin wasn't going with them. This was something the Avengers needed to do. Colin was going to stay on Earth, with Tony and Pepper, to make sure they were both okay. That was something he needed to do.

After the others took off into space, Colin found himself standing in Tony's medbay room's doorway, his arms folded across his chest. Pepper sat ever vigilant next to her finace, her hand wrapped in his. She glanced up at him and gave a tired smile. "Colin, you don't have to stand there, there are plenty of seats." She gestured to the one on the other side of Tony's bed.

"I didn't want to assume--"

"He's your friend, isn't he?" She asked him.

Colin paused, glancing over at Tony, considering their relationship carefully. Several months ago, Colin would have answered no in a heartbeat. He and Tony weren't friends, Tony was his boss, the one signing his paychecks, the one Nick Fury had asked to take Colin on for a job after SHIELD had collapsed.

But now? Tony had been providing his daughter with the equipment she needed to safely operate as a masked web-slinging vilgilante. He and Tony had spent a lot of late nights together when Colin's daughter had been sick, and Tony had worked his ass off to save her. Save her not only because she was Peter Parker's girlfriend or his daughter, but because it was the right thing to do.

"Yeah," Colin finally said, nodding slowly. "Yeah, he is."

Pepper nodded to the open chair and Colin sat down. He glanced at the sleeping Tony, who Bruce had given a sedative that was apparently going to keep him under at least until tomorrow.

Pepper gently ran a hand across Tony's forehead and through his hair, which seemed considerably thinner now. "He's always trying to do the right thing," She sighed. "Sometimes he doesn't remember to take care of himself while he's doing that."

"He's a good man," Colin replied, because it was the only thing he could think to say.

Even after all of the years he'd spent working for Tony, Colin still didn't really know anything about him. The real him, anyway, there were plenty of news stories about the great Tony Stark. But Colin had a feeling that many of those stories didn't show the real Tony Stark. Those tabloids that brought back his past that he was trying so desperately to escape, the news articles that tried to stain the new reputation he had worked so hard to build... 

"He is." Pepper agreed softly. 

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After several hours of just sitting, Colin finally managed to convince Pepper to go get some rest. "He'll need you at one hundred percent when he wakes up," He told her. So, she left the room and went to clean up and sleep. Colin sat next to Tony's bed, keeping a watchful eye on the man, just in case anything changed.

The sedative Bruce Banner had given Tony was meant to keep the man knocked out until the next morning, however, around eleven that night, Tony stirred. Colin sat up in his chair as Tony groaned and his eyes fluttered open. He squinted at the scene around him until his gaze finally landed on Colin. 

"Wallace?" He asked, his voice rough and coarse. "What the fuck happened?"

"You passed out earlier," Colin said. "Do you remember anything?"

Tony furrowed his eyebrows together before sighing and running a hand across his face. "Think so," He replied. "Cap was bein' a dick, so I shut him up."

Colin grinned a bit, thankful that Tony seemed to be his normal self, despite the pain he had endured in space. "Yeah, you did," Colin said. "Doctor Banner gave you a sedative to make sure you would get some rest."

Tony nodded slowly, suddenly tilting his head before glancing over at Colin. "Speaking of dicks, where is Rogers anyway?"

"He and the others went to kill Thanos," Colin answered before he had time to think about it. When Tony's eyes widened, he realized he probably should have come up with a different reason for them not being there. "Tony--"

"They went to do what?!" He demanded, attempting to sit up, only resulting in him wincing and Colin getting to his feet to restrain him if necessary. "They can't just kill Thanos! He'll kill them first! He has the stones!" 

"I know, I know," Colin told Tony gently. "They're hoping that if they can get the stones from Thanos then they can undo what he did, bring everyone back."

Tony stopped suddenly, looking over at Colin. "They won't be able to," He said, his voice suddenly very small. "Thanos is too strong. And everyone is gone." He leaned back against his pillow and sighed, letting his eyes close. "They're all gone." For the first time since Colin had met him, Tony Stark shed a tear. 

Tony suddenly inhaled deeply and looked over at Colin, his eyes wet and red. It was obvious that he was trying to keep himself together. "Wallace, your daughter--I'm so sorry, I can't imagine..." He said. "Losing a kid..."

"Yes, you can," Colin replied, surprising Tony. "You're the only other person here who knows what I'm going through. You lost your kid, too."

"My kid? I don't--"

"Don't try to deny it," Colin interrupted, leaning back in his chair. "Anyone with eyes could see how you felt about Peter. And I'm a dad, so I can tell when I'm around another father." 

Tony's eyes drifted down to the bedsheets. He seemed to be lost in thought. He squeezed his eyes shut, and Colin furrowed his eyebrows. "Everything okay?" Colin asked. Tony nodded, looking up. 

"How are you so calm right now?" Tony asked. "Your daughter is gone. Thanos won. He really did it."

"The team said they would handle it, and I know it's different for you because you are an Avenger, but for me, when a group of superheroes tell me they've got it handled, I'm inclined to believe them." Colin replied, smiling a bit. He suddenly got to his feet. "I should go get Pepper, she made me promise to come get her if anything changed with you." 

Tony let out a small chuckle, which was the first time Colin had heard him make any noise other than a groan or a wince, which was a nice change of pace. "Yeah, you'd better, you really don't want to deal with the wrath of Ms Potts, trust me, I would know."

Colin nodded. "Yeah, I believe it."

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When the Avengers returned to Earth the next day, Tony was sitting up in bed, eating small portions of softer foods, at the approval of Pepper. They gathered together in the common area, Colin desperately awaiting the news. 

However, when they arrived without the gauntlet or the stones, Colin knew what they were going to say. 

"He's dead," Captain Rogers said. "Thor took care of him."

"...But?" Tony prompted, surprising Rogers, considering the words the pair had exchanged the previous day. 

"But..." Natasha stepped in. "The stones were already gone."

"How is that possible?" Tony demanded.

"He used the stones to destroy the stones," Carol supplied. "They're... gone." 

And with those words, any faith Colin had was gone. He thought that maybe, just maybe, he would have his daughter back in his arms. But now, with the infinity stones destroyed and Thanos dead, there was truly no way to bring back those who had been lost.

Alexandra was gone, and the very thought of that sent Colin spiraling. 

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FINALLY I UPDATED. 

Sorry that it's kind of a filler chapter, I just really wanted to get something up for you guys because I feel really bad that I took such a long hiatus >.< But don't worry! The plot is about to start to pick up! 

~Mads