Hang In There// P.P.

Chapter 41: Home.

I sat beside Tony as he lay there, sedated. There was a massive commotion about everything and in the end he was too weak to fight any longer. Pepper walked into the room and I took that as my queue to leave. I got up, wrapping the blanket tighter around my shoulders. I smiled at Pepper and thanked her as I was about to leave; but she stopped me.

"He's proud of you kids."

My flickered between the redhead and Tony.

"If Peter was here he'd be hopping off the walls to know that Mr. Stark was proud of him."

I chuckled sadly as Pepper looked back at me.

"We'll get them back."

"I know we will."

"You seem surprised that we will?"

My eyes shot back to her.

"I just didn't think I'd be here to see it."

There was a knock on the door as Steve stood in the frame. I smiled at him before handing Pepper a small note.

"Give this to Tony, please."

She nodded as she took it and I turned to walk towards the out of time soldier.

"Hey, kid."

"Hey."

We walked away from Tony's room and towards the other Avengers. They were in deep discussion about what to do next and quite frankly, as much as I wanted to get everyone back, I still had to get back to Sophie Osborn's normal life.

"Sof, you up for this?"

I looked at the tall blond.

"Look, Cap, as much as I want to help with all of this, I need to get back to those at home. There's people that need me more than ye need me right now. When ye figure all this out, and everything is gonna go down, tell me. I want to be there when we kick Thanos' grapefruit looking ass."

He smiled gently at me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Here, take this-"

He handed me a slip of paper, a number written on the inside of the folded surfaces.

"-If you need anything, call me. I'll keep you updated on everything, you're as much an Avenger as anyone else in this room, you deserve to know."

I smiled at the man.

"Thank you."

"You're a good kid, Sof. You'd make a great soldier if this was the nineteen-forties."

I laughed at his comment for bidding my farewell and leaving the compound.
It was time to go home.

__________________________________

I got back to the Osborn Mansion a few hours later. The house was in darkness. I got out of the Taxi and ran inside, desperately hoping that I was wrong. I looked everywhere, called his phone a million times; but there was no answer. Harry was gone. The hole in my heart just kept getting bigger and bigger. Nobody was here, so there was no point hanging around.

I made it to the Parker's apartment block about a minute later, using a spell to get me there without all the mundane hassle. I knocked on the door numerous times; no answer. So, I walked through it. Spell. I walked around the apartment only to find that May, too, was gone. I made my way down to Peter's room, slowly opening the door to see it was exactly how he had left it. I strolled over to the shelf that hung adjacent to the window. I ran my fingers along the frames, stopping on a black and white photo if us. It was of Homecoming last year. I smiled to myself as I remembered the day perfectly. The smile left my face as I went looking for a large box, eventually finding one in the attic. I grabbed all the photos around the house, placing them carefully into the box. After the photos I moved onto anything else that the Parker's would have considered important or sentimental to them. I taped up the box, making sure it was secure before going back to the kitchen. I sat down on the couch, resting my chin on my hands as I turned on the telly. Nothing.
Thanos had wiped out half the universe; who knew he would have wiped out all of mine.

_______________________________

I woke up around seven a.m. the next morning; Wednesday. School. I remember leaving a spare pair of clothes here, usually because I'd always find myself looking for them if I didn't have them. I threw them on and headed out, making my way to Midtown High.

The school hallways brought back so many memories as I walked in. The place was dead. The normal hustle and bustle of the hall was gone. People barely talked, most keeping their heads down and getting on with their days; just about. There was no denying that people were struggling. Everyone lost a piece of themselves, most will never understand why or how. I paused when I came across Peter's locker, I looked at it for mere seconds before sighing and moving on.

"Sof?"

I looked up to see Ned walking down the hallway. I let out a relieved, but sad, sigh as I ran towards the boy, wrapping my arms around him as I let a tear slide down my cheek.

"I thought I had lost everyone."

I held on for a little longer, pulling back when Ned asked the question I didn't want hear.

"Where's Peter?"

I wiped the tears out of my eyes as I looked down at my feet, responding with an 'em'. I took a deep breath and looked up at him.

"I lost him, Ned. I couldn't save him."

If the sound of a heart breaking could be heard, I certainly heard it in that moment as Ned's body became limp, his emotions numb.

"He's.....gone, gone?"

I scanned the space around me before grabbing Ned's arm and dragging him into the nearest room, closing the door behind me.

"Ned, we're gonna get him back. I promise."

"That's a pretty big promise to make, Sof."

I sighed.

"I know, but owe it him to try."

He smiled sadly at me before taking a deep breath.

"On the other hand-"

He started.

"You have GOT to tell me everything about space!"

"Well, you better sit down, this is no short story."