voidtreckerexpress | Back on the Road Again

Entry tags:

Back on the Road Again

Who: Tony and OTA
Where: Varies
When: Apple Day 14/15
What: Post- world event/ pre- newcomers shenanigans
Warnings: Uh, language maybe? I'll try to warn on tags that have Endgame Spoilers

[Anytime 14th]
Getting off the train for a week had greatly improved Tony's mood, as he would guess it had for others too. He'd done some good deeds, he'd had a party, he'd gotten laid, and he had both tools and alcohol to entertain himself when they left. All in all, he was as close to content as he could get, given the circumstances.

[14th, morning: Sparring with Lightning]

After their fight with the gorilla monster, Tony had been itching for another chance to show off as well as see what else Lightning could do. It was hot, what could he say? He was feeling a lot better physically after the rest during his first week and a fairly leisure week in the inn. He, unlike most, had returned every night to a comfortable bed. The fight had been a little rough, but Lightning had healed whatever he’d injured. Surely by now he was even more back to his usual self.

He finds her in the gym practicing a few moves and grins. “Are you having fun doing that by yourself or would you like an opponent?”

[14th evening: He’s been avoiding her, but time for ‘a talk’ with Sarai.]

For the most part, his anger had cooled since discovering Buttercup dangling from the claws of an eagle owl. He had had a talk with Eva and it had made him feel like they were seeing things more similarly now. More or less, he’d decided the blame should rest mostly on his own shoulders for not taking the responsibility and watching Buttercup himself. He’d relied on others and that had turned out to be a very poor decision. Unfortunately, the one person he’d yet to forgive was Sarai. He’d made a point a few times in the last day or so to ignore her and so far had been successful at not talking to her. That luck was about to change.

[14th night, worst nightmare yet: for roomies + Peter]

He’d been doing so much better! As far as he could tell, he hadn’t had any nightmares while in the inn. He’d slept well the first night after the train had taken off, so how was he supposed to know this night would be any different?

He was quiet for several hours into the night before the memories started coming back. There were a few light groans, before a sharp gasp of pain and fear. His hands curled into his bed sheets making tight fists. It wasn’t the memory of Peter fading away into dust, but something far bloodier and violent. “No!” He cried out. “Peter!” He vaguely moved his hands as if blocking some unseen attack. “Peter! Come back here!... Damn you… Peter!”

[15th anytime]

Tony had been doing so well! It was infuriating that he’d had yet another emotionally wrecking nightmare. It was humiliating on top of all the other mentally damning other affects. It left him exhausted and feeling emotionally frail. As a result, he was avoiding people while he slowly recovered. It should be fairly obvious he wasn’t himself today. He stayed in his bathrobe and slippers and let his hair do whatever it wanted. He spends time in the passenger carriage reading the book Peter had let him borrow or simply staring out into the void (until his head hurt and then he stared at the seat in front of him). Wherever he was, he had a bottle of hard cider with him and wished he had something stronger.

[ooc- Feel free to make a starter and put Tony somewhere at any point during the 14th or 15th, just be aware of which mood he’s in.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The adjustment back to the cosy, near-ceasefire atmosphere of the void had taken up most of her evening, but eventually she'd ended up back at the gym again. Her own memory of the battle was rather more self-incriminating, the lack of her gunblade affecting her more than she'd expected. Without any way to get a replacement, or even just a rifle, she needed to adjust, fast, so she didn't drag the others down again.

Still, it wasn't like they didn't all expect to have weeks to work on that. So when Stark interrupted, she didn't feel too bad about stopping to actually consider his offer rather than brushing him off.

"Wouldn't think you'd need to fight with a suit like yours." It wasn't a rejection - she moved to make room for him even as she spoke - but perhaps it was a challenge.

It was too bad they weren't given some kind of yoga or lounge pants. His options for working out were the cargo pants they had been given or his pj bottoms. He didn't really want to wear silk pajamas to work out in. Instead of wearing his shirt though, he had on a simple white tank top.

He gave Lightning a smirk and crossed his arms over his chest, knowing the pose accentuated his muscular form. It.. didn't compare to Dread's or Captain's, but he liked the occasional dessert, sue him.

"The suit just helps me, I know how to fight. I gotta be ready in case I'm ever caught without it, don't I?"

She'd settled for one of the polo shirts and her spare pair of cargo pants, the chill of the gym enough that she didn't have much issue with overheating that a towel couldn't fix.

His physique didn't really match up to the more physically-oriented warriors she knew, either, but she wasn't exactly going to share that. What would be the point? Half of those warriors wouldn't last five minutes against a bombardment from the suit. Comparisons were pointless.

She nodded, and stepped back. "Warm up first, then we'll see how you do."

"Back to giving orders.. you have no idea how hot that is," he teases and steps a few paces away. He starts to stretch. From his movements, this is obviously a routinely practiced sequence. Child pose, warrior pose, downward facing dog.. the usual.

After a few minutes, he turns to her and bounces a little on the heels of his feet. "Okay come on." He drops into a loose fighting stance. It wasn't a particular fighting style, just 'at ready'. He never had the patience to learn the careful strokes of martial arts. He just had to wing it, which he did fairly well considering.

If Tony had wanted to act the child, that was fine by Sarai. She had plenty of things to do anyway--inventorying the things she'd brought back to the train, spending time with her husband. Also, she's been carving a bone whistle with some help for Dread--but that's another thing, for another time, and another person entirely.

Not that Sarai hasn't been well aware of Tony's presence, but she's been giving him a wide berth as well. At least until he cools down--because at least in her mind, she's done nothing wrong. And had Buttercup waited for her and Dread, nothing bad would have happened. She's fairly certain that it was mostly Tony and his practically inflexible "kids are dumb" viewpoint that goaded Buttercup into that, anyway, but since that would be like sticking one's tongue out at an adamantoise, well. She'll pass on that.

Still, it's up to him to come talk to her--though Sarai will acknowledge his presence with a nod, and a raised eyebrow. Not averse to the idea, but she'll be damned to the seven hells if she makes Tony Stark do anything!

He'd come into the kitchen for tea and had been fairly lost in thought until he was fully in the room. That's when he noticed Sarai at the sink with her hands deep in dirty dishes and soapy water. He had to make a decision here, whether to continue this stonewalling or man up and address what was between them. He'd never admit it, but he had missed her. She had seemed to get what he was going through when he'd had such trouble early last week and she'd been fun to talk to since. Still, he wasn't ready to just be 'over' what had happened.

With a heavy sigh, he yanks a dry dish cloth from a drawer and comes over. Picking up one of the freshly washed dishes, he starts to dry it. For once, he didn't know what to say. He'd been proven right in his eyes and there was just more behind all of this than that debate.

"You can leave that big pot out. I'm going to work on making some potions tonight."

"Not until I wash it, I won't. Twelve knows what it'd do to your potions!" The pot had been scoured a bit beforehand--some people might even consider it clean enough. Sarai was not most people. So, with the strength that vanquished armies and felled primals, she scrubbed that dirty pot until it practically shone--and then she rinsed it out and set it aside on the 'stove', so that Tony could use it later.

This was totally a case of the unstoppable force and the immovable object; the only question was which of them was which. With just about any other person, Sarai might even be apologizing--but Tony had been an arse, and she couldn't see that he was going to stop that any time soon. But she acquiesced a little, both by not being a jerk about the dishes and splashing him with dirty dishwater, and asking him, "So, have you been sleeping all right?" Because he did look better than he had--being on Ciyesia clearly had been good for him.

Not that Tony was the only one--it was awfully hard to share quarters with a relative stranger, when she'd been used to having a house for two.

"Right." It took about everything in him to keep the remark that the bowl gets taken care of but the child did not. Instead, he simply acknowledged her response with a fairly neutral tone.

She felt he had been an unforgivable ass and he felt betrayed. Those were both very powerful emotions to push aside enough to hear what the other person was really saying or needing. Tony had learned a lot of the last few years of how to deal with another person better, how to be a better person in a relationship. Granted, Sarai and he weren't a couple, but he'd thought they had bonded into a friendship. He'd hate to be wrong. A part of him wasn't all that sure she cared or wanted that friendship now.

She wouldn't have been the first one.

"Huh?" Tony had almost lost himself in thought between the remark about the bowl and the comment about his sleeping habits. It reminded him of a pretty face he'd left behind and would be forgotten before too long. His lips curl into a devilish smirk. "Well.. when I've been alone, I've slept quite peacefully. Thank you. How about you?"

Perhaps, but it wasn't just one individual he'd be treating with those potions--besides, oh, if only she could read thoughts--but the Echo certainly didn't seem to be in the mood to be helpful at the moment--which was, quite frankly, par for the course with that particular power. It did what it willed, what Sarai wanted or no.

She could wish, however, that it would throw her a bone, here! Diplomacy was, she liked to claim, a strong point, but not when she wasn't exactly certain where to start...it wasn't that Sarai did not understand Tony's anger, but she thought that if she admitted that, it'd just start a tirade of how he'd been right and she'd been foolish--and she hadn't been foolish. Buttercup could pass as any child of the Steppes--though even they weren't immune to thinking they were invincible, either.

He had been right, though. Just not entirely. Not in her mind, anyway.

Sarai snorted a laugh at that--figures he'd have found a way to have some fun! Not that she wasn't aware he was married, but...things would probably be very different if Tony's lady were here. Like things would probably be different with her, were Dread himself absent. Things were the way they were, and Sarai wasn't going to chide him.

"I have to admit, I was not getting a great deal of sleeping done, while I was off the train." And that was all Tony Stark needed to know about that!

"Ah!" That explains why he hadn't witnessed Sarai or Dread out in the forests or mountains fighting the animals and elements. "I imagine that would be difficult with another in your room. In college, the tradition is to put a sock on the door handle to let your roommate know you're 'busy' and they should go elsewhere for the night."

He put one of the dishes he'd dried back in it's place- as best he could tell- and turned around to lean against the counter, watching her. "I'm surprised that took precedent over your promise to have Buttercup travel under the watchful eye of you and Dread."

"Hm." That was an...interesting way to signal that sort of thing, but Sarai was pretty sure that Manabu would not appreciate that at all. So she wasn't about to try it. There had to be another way--but it was a thought for another time.

She narrowed her eyes at that. "Funny, that. It didn't--but considering she left before I did, I had thought you simply had taken her with you, after your assertion that you didn't trust me to watch her."

Sarai had thought it a logical conclusion, until she'd heard that Buttercup had been injured. "If I had known she'd gone off by herself, or even had an inkling, I would not have gone off to get different supplies for the train. That's hardly as important to me as her safety." And by her tone, it was more than clear that him implying that galled her to the core.

Tony's jaw tightened at that. It hadn't occurred to him before that maybe she thought he'd taken Buttercup. He wasn't ready for that logic to be so sound. He was still smarting, still angry.

"It would've mattered? Because from what I remember, you and the other women were in hysterics over the notion a child wasn't perfectly capable of taking care of themselves and shouldn't have someone watching out for them. Dammit, Sarai! I can't believe you didn't back me up at that meeting! Of all people..." He shook his head, and tried to pull back. However, his anger was mixing with some of his pain and upset from other things and it was all being channeled through this argument for good or bad. "You made it sound like you all would take a child and put them in a nest with those adamantoise and if the babe survived then you'd bother giving it a name. Anything less was coddling it to the point of damning them to a weak and impotent life. So you all got your wish. Both of my kids almost got killed. I mean, the kids. Peter and Buttercup."

Her eyes widened at Tony's assertion. "Would you rather I lied? So you thought me the snake at your breast, rather than being honest? Not that you don't seem to think I am that, anyway!"

His next words had her paling so much that the faint grey undertone of her skin made her scales stand out in stark contrast. Calm, Sarai told herself, silently. Sure, she'd told him about her homeland and her people, but being told is one thing, and living it was another, entirely.

"My people are harsh, but not even we are that harsh. Perhaps the clan Dotharl, but they court death as easily as you or I breathe. And they believe that their souls come back, so dying is a good thing. My clan...does not think the same by any means. What you say--we would never do that. Though the gods know our children can be that...adventurous." Putting it lightly, there, because she's thinking exactly of how she and Irves got into trouble on the Steppes when they were children. She could see Tony's point then. She can see it now, too, but she still disagreed with him.

"The very last thing I wish is for your children--whether they're of your body or your heart, Tony Stark--is to come to harm! Would that I could have my own--but that is not to be." She just shook her head at that, sadly. Bad enough she'd just thrust the knife home, she didn't have to twist it, too.

Tony found a way to bite his tongue. He owed her that much. He owed her a chance to explain after what he'd just said. He was seething from way more than just the hurt their argument was causing. There was a lot going on underneath the surface making this feel so much worse.

At least, that was until she spelled it out to him in no uncertain terms just how far past the line he'd tread. She would know the instant the words sink in as all the anger from his posture and face vanish. In its place was regret and pain- for her and for himself.

"I.. I didn't realize.." His gaze dropped to the floor for a moment as he played their conversation back in his mind again with this new information. It changed so many points, particularly all the ones he'd been mad about. He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. He looked her in the eyes, this time no accusations in sight. "I'm sorry, Sarai. Please, I wouldn't have.. I didn't mean that."

He dropped his arms that had been crossed at his chest and the weight of this situation was all the more evident. "I don't know what I'm doing here, Sarai. I know she's not 'mine'. I know she's from a world where she's had to be so much harder and stronger than the children in my world. I just.. I can't help see Morgan when I look at her. And when I saw her dangling over that cliff by one of those damn birds.." He shook his head again. There weren't words to describe how petrified he'd been. "But you don't deserve me taking this out on you. It never even crossed my mind you thought she was with me and that makes so much sense now."

"It is not important." Not precisely true, no--Sarai had said that children were seen as the wealth of her people, and that was no lie. But even if she'd been able to, she would have thought long and hard about bringing a child into the world, with the way things were going on Hydaelyn. Sarai was positive that Tony understood that, without her having to say anything. "You did not know, and I honestly didn't want to tell you, but...I had no idea how else to make you see. And I am sorry for that." She hadn't wanted to hurt Tony--it felt terribly underhanded to have revealed that in this way. "Please...don't mention it to anyone else." Bad enough he knew, now. Not that Sarai didn't trust Tony. It was just...not something that she felt needed to be public knowledge.

She made a slight scoffing noise when Tony said he didn't know what he was doing. "You are caring, and if you think I am going to yell at you for that, you're out of your mind! I know you want to be a good father and a good parent, even if Buttercup isn't your blood. I know Peter means a great deal to you, as well. And by all the gods, I know you miss your wife terribly--how mad would I be to not think you did not miss your precious child, as well?" Like Sarai missed Irves terribly. Dread was the other half of her heart and soul, and would probably always be that--but her little sister was her best friend, and they'd been thick as thieves since they'd left Azim together as teenagers. While Sarai wouldn't really want Irves to be stuck on this train, she still missed her sister.

Tony might be projecting, it was true...but there were worse emotions and things to be projecting on other people. Sarai could not, and would not, fault him for that. Not now--and she certainly hoped it never did come to that.

Tony didn't agree that this piece of Sarai's heart that had just been shared wasn't important. It was damn near sacred to him now that he was aware of it. It might seem odd or backwards, but he was glad she'd told him. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her- well, really hurt her. In that moment he'd wanted to zing her with petty things but not something like this.

"Sarai, you don't have to ask for that. I.. I can't imagine.." He shook his head again. Words were just failing him right now.

His cheeks color rose as she says it so plainly that Buttercup and Peter were his heart and he wanted to be their dad. The instant she mentions Pepper, his eyes sting and he has to look away. His throat felt thick as he tried and failed so quickly against a tear that slipped down his cheek. Why had she gone and said that so honestly? He couldn't handle it. He couldn't stand that someone- anyone- had this kind of power over him but referring to his child and his wife, he was powerless. "I always pictured death as the end. You didn't go to heaven or hell or anything, you just stopped. I was fine with that. But.. now I'm having to live without them? It's like.. it's like losing Peter all over again. He doesn't know.. but he dies shortly after when he told me he's from. If I do what I'm supposed to do in my time, he comes back and can live his life again. If I don't then.. we all die."

"And I had thought the burden I had to shoulder was a difficult one," Sarai murmured, mostly to herself. She frowned a bit as the tear rolled down Tony's cheek--the last thing she had intended was to make him cry...she shook her hands as she took them from the water in the sink and reached for a towel to dry them...

But the Echo was having none of that, now. The noises of the room became distant as her heartbeat thundered in her ears and the vision of now was replaced with a hazy, ruined world with skies of orange, massive and monolithic objects towering over the people below.

She saw Peter, pale, staggering towards Tony, who had his helmet off and looked a bit beaten up, to boot. "Mr. Stark," he breathed. "I don't feel so good--" and then, as Tony grabbed him and held him to him, the teenager just--fell into ash in the man's arms. Sarai paled again, staggering slightly, and grabbed the edge of the sink just in time before her knees gave out beneath her.

"Dear gods, it was like that?" she breathed, pulling herself to her feet. She did not quite launch herself at Tony, but she grabbed him and hugged him, hard.

Edited (is infinity war even a spoiler anymore? idk just in case) 2019-08-01 20:41 (UTC)

Tony hadn't intended this to become 'whose pain was worse' competition. He understood pain was pain and that was still suffering. He wiped the moisture off his face and just as he was looking back over at her, she abruptly paled and looked so out of it.

He stepped forward quickyly, trying to catch her before she fell. "Sarai?! What the hell? What's wrong?" He frowns in confusion at her words and makes a soft 'ooph' when the next second she was hugging him.

Okay.. what just happened? He stayed still for a moment, too stunned to do anything. Eventually he relaxed when it didn't seem like she was going to have any more of an attack and hugged her back. "It's okay, Sarai.. I'm okay." He thinks. He's not sure what they were talking about right now, but he knew distress when he saw it.

Nor had Sarai intended such--she really wasn't even considering it as a competition! The Echo? It might have other ideas, however, impersonal and pitiless power that it was.

She stared up at him, wide-eyed. "You were on a world--I do not think it was yours. It was in ruins--and you were hurt. Peter was there too--he told you he did not feel well--and then he--" She took a deep breath, trying her very best to not hyperventilate. People did not do that, not unless it was something like a Calamity. "He turned to ash as you hugged him! That doesn't happen!"

Although the Echo did not play others' memories false, no matter how terrible they were. So that meant that this had to be the horrid truth...

"How?" was all she could ask.

He was stunned when she starts talking about the worst point of his life. He was speechless for a moment- a really impressive feat- before he can answer.

"H- how did you see that? What.." He sighs and pulls Sarai a little tighter in a hug. If she'd seen that somehow then she had to understand why he was so weird and hyper protective around the boy.

"Thanos. He's an ancient evil force from god-knows-where who came to our world and did that same thing, turned people into ash, for exactly half of our planet. Peter and I were stranded on a ruined planet and I had- I couldn't do anything to stop it. He has an ability where he can sense danger coming and somehow he felt that, but it was inevitable at that point. I was left behind with one other person and we got back on a space ship to try and make it home but we got stranded. The ship didn't have enough energy to get us anywhere. We got rescued about a day before the oxygen ran out. I don't remember how long we were there." He'd been so sick at the time and really, he didn't want to think about it long enough to recall the exact time frame. It didn't matter, they should be talking about Peter not him. "That's who I was fighting when I arrived here, Thanos. We'd brought everyone back who had been turned to ash, but needed Thanos dead. I had the weapon.. was about to use it and poof, I'm here instead."

He let Sarai go as gently as he could. "Peter doesn't know any of this. He doesn't know he lost five years of his life or what living in the aftermath of that attack had been like. I don't know what it would do to him to know his future like that. And who knows? He might be from another universe where we succeed instead of fail half the population." He shook his head and gives Sarai a small, forced smile. "But.. hey. I think for all that I'm doing pretty well. You've certainly been a great support while I recover and try not to strange the kid every time he does anything dangerous."

Peter just didn't know how fragile his life was.

"How did I--Oh. The Echo. It is a..." Sarai hesitated, but it was still called a gift, so. "A gift from the Mothercrystal. We--Dread and I, here, and other Warriors of Light on our world--can resonate with the soul of another, and see into their past. It...is not terribly consistent, but apparently it felt I needed to see that." There were other 'perks' as well, like not precisely needing the ICP to translate for them, but it was still a handy little tool to have--at least in Sarai's mind, it was.

Nor could she readily explain why the Echo chose now to reveal unto her tidbits of Tony's past. Though it did explain his protectiveness of Peter and Buttercup, and how he'd been so adamant about protecting the latter back on Ciyesia.

Sarai frowned as Tony told her about this Thanos, brow furrowing. And Tony had been brought here before he could vanquish the creature? Thanos sounded like the worst parts of Zenos yae Galvus, given more power--and she was troubled enough knowing his body still walked her world, possessed by an Ascian!

"Thanos sounds like someone I should be taking on, with Dread and Irves and a few other close friends," she growled softly. "Eight total, if one wished to be precise." If only she could! Still, even Thanos sounded as if he'd give them quite the run for their gil...

She shook her head then. "Of course--we're friends. I have done my best, and you have done well!" Sarai chuckled a bit, dryly. "I suppose in retrospect, it makes sense that you wish to prevent him from doing boneheaded things--save he's a teenager and that makes it terribly difficult." She was still young enough to remember being a teenager, after all, and the remarkable journey she and Irves had made in the wake of the Seventh Umbral Calamity.

Which only served to prove that all life was so terribly fragile...

Tony's not sure how he feels about Sarai having witnessed the worst moment of his life. He wasn't so selfish he wanted someone to have to see that pain. Especially not someone he cared about like Sarai.

"I appreciate the sentiment. We could've used all the help we could get." They had help from all over the world and a few outside of it and still had been taken out. He shakes his head. "But even with that, it doesn't excuse my behavior to you."

He might be a dick, but in this case, he was a contrite dick.

"How do you say...you did not have 'the full picture'?" They didn't have things like cameras on Eorzea; one had artists to draw pictures or paint them, and that was how such things came about. Woodcuts. Prints. She doubted that it meant quite as much if she'd said something like that, however.

Sarai simply did not hold what Tony had done against him. He hadn't known everything. That was hardly his fault. Nor was she the type to grind his nose into the ground simply because she could. That was for other people...she at least tried to hold herself to a higher standard.

Or maybe because it was because she considered Tony a close friend. Dread certainly teased her about holding grudges often enough...

"You have apologized for it, should that not be enough?" Sarai tilted her head and arched a brow at him, now.

Tony smiles at her, unable to keep from forgiving himself when it was so clear she'd already done so. "Alright, alright.. argument and crap, in the past. Got it. Now we need to get back to how I'm going to steal you from you oversized husband."

He chuckles and picks up the kettle on the stove. "Care for some tea? Or after sticking your hands in all that dishwashing water, you've steeped enough?"

That made her laugh--not that Tony's antics didn't usually make Sarai laugh. "No, I've not steeped enough, apparently. Tea would be lovely. Thank you."

She ducked her head, shaking it as she smiled. "I'm flattered, Tony, but honestly, you would not be the first male who has tried and had little luck." For the moment, she's thinking of Magnai Oronir, asking her if she was his Nhaama--honestly she'd had as good a laugh as the Dotharli khatun had, when Y'shtola Rhul had shut him down. 'Little Sun', indeed!

Sarai was much gentler in her rejection.

He pours some water into it and gives her another laugh. It was a relief the ugliness between them could be put aside so easily. She was so sweet and easy to talk to, he needed her in his life. From how warm she was acting now, he wondered if she hadn't needed his friendship too. Well, probably not as much since she did have Dread, but friends were always important.

"Oh how naive of you to believe I will fail, darling," he teases. He steals a small piece of his brownies he made that has been mostly picked over by the kids. "I know, I can't stop feeling like I cheated on Pepper with Albany. I know I won't see either of them again, but.." He shrugs, trying to act tougher than the topic sounded.

"Oh, please," Sarai said, waving a hand. "It isn't as if I'm anyone special." Really, it wasn't as if she didn't put her trousers on one leg after the other. Same as about anyone else on the train.

Tony got it in one--she valued her friends, and she'd had been sad had she and Tony drifted apart. She loved Dread, and that would never change, but as he thought, she needed her friends.

"Well. If I thought I would never see Dread again, things might be different. That much, I will admit. Wouldn't you be dismayed if we picked Pepper up at some point--believe me, that is not something I wish for, I am bringing it up simply in the theoretical!"

No way, if that actually happened, likely Tony would be heartbroken. She wouldn't wish that on anyone, much less someone she actually cared for!

"I wouldn't say that," Tony lightly argues, giving her a smile. She was way more special than that. If she didn't think so, why was Tony so intrigued with her? Anyone could have a hot body, but not everyone was smart, articulate, and just enough odd to be interesting to hold his attention.

He winces at the question. What would he do? He had no idea. "I'd be devastated that I did that to her." It wasn't something he'd share with anyone else either. "But that's the point. She's not going to be on this train. How long do I wait to be respectful? It's.. a strange dilemma."

"You did nothing to her. It isn't as if this train picks and chooses its passengers by any rhyme or reason. I may be a hero in my own right on my world, if I might be so bold as to say so, but did the train pick me for that reason, or because I'm Dread's capable wife, and he is a hero as well? Difficult to say."

She was fairly certain that Pepper was exceptional in her own way, and thus...likely a candidate by the train's bizarre standards, but Sarai didn't want to voice that thought to Tony. His was a precarious emotional state for many reasons, and while he did well at cavorting on a very fine tightrope, she didn't feel a need to give him a shove--as if her words might not do such a thing, anyway.

Though her next words held a teasing tone. "Did you wait long?" But Sarai shook her head. "I don't know. I can't answer that. I'm not sure how long I would wait, myself, but I certainly would need some time to grieve."

Tony scoffs at that. "There's no way you were chosen just because you're Dread's wife. You, my dear, can stand on your own any day of the week." He didn't even have to know all the things she'd done for her world. He simply knew it was important and she had a strong hand in it.

"I waited.. two weeks?" Tony answered with a laugh. "But I can't take credit almost everyone on this damn train are five year olds!" If they didn't look it, they acted like it. There were a couple women he'd consider eye candy like Sarai and Lightning, but he doubted he should say that aloud. He wasn't too sure how old Lightning was, after all.

"What do you suppose is next on this train? I realize I acted poorly to that last planning session, but perhaps we should meet again as a group sometime to discuss what we're going to do if we're asked to do something that isn't as noble as assisting farmers."

Another night scare? Buttercup was awake again. Sleeping all through the night was still not something she had gotten used to yet and so she was often up and wandering at odd hours.

Like right now, she was just returning to her room. To sleep some more before it was light and she heard Tony call out. For Peter?

She got closer, not close enough to touch but close enough to watch. And to speak. "Do you be wanting me to be getting Peter, mister Stark?"

She's not sure he can hear her. But maybe her voice will get into his head through the stupid nightmare.

No one is gonna have to wait long, Peter's not too far down the hall after all and he's certainly not sleeping. The first time he hears his name he makes a face and sits up, squinting in the dark like he isn't sure what he just heard. Maybe he imagined it. He lays back again to stare up at the ceiling.

Then he hears it again. He's definitely not imagining it, he hops off the top bunk, landing in crouch before standing up and sliding out of his cabin before rushing over to 1C.

"Mr Stark?" He knocks on the door. "You okay?"

This time, Tony can't hear Buttercup over the roar in his mind of battle and chaos. Thanos on this train, on his home world, and everywhere else. The destruction being left in the wake was traumatizing and he kept trying to find one boy in all the death and ruins. Every time he got near, the boy turned to dust. "Peter!"

He jerks in his sleep, trying to keep away from the objects flying through the air or randomly Thanos' blade. They were getting closer and harder to dodge. The knowledge that he was about to die was strong in his mind.. but if he could just save.. "Peter!"... It might be okay.

He wasn't waking up, he was just calling for Peter and jerking around like he was ill. Then she heard the knocking and Peter's voice. He might be able to help. She moved over, it was only a couple of steps and swiped her ticket against the bit that opened the door.

"Peter! It do be being good that you do be being here." She gestured in to where Tony was trapped in a nightscare.

"Y-yeah, it sounded uh-I could hear." Super sensitive hearing and all that but he's more concerned about Mr Stark presently. What could Mr Stark be having nightmares about that involved him? He shakes it off and moves closer to his mentor. Where's the housing unit? He glances around to make sure he's not about to get hit by a repulsor.

"Uh, stay back, okay?" He whispers harshly, not wanting to wake Eva. "Hey, Mr Stark-Hey-It's me-it's Peter. I'm okay Mr Stark. Hey..." He moves closer, moving over to start to try and grab the man's shoulder. He knows it's not a great idea but he's also got super strength so he should be fine. "Hey, Mr Stark, wake up."

It takes longer than it should to wake him. For a moment, being held down makes him fight harder against the foes in his mind. Unintentionally, he was making Peter use that super strength to hold him down. Just when he feels like he might literally be having a heart attack, he gasps awake and.. can't breathe. He gasps again, trying to get air.

He puts a hand to his throat. He knew what this was after the last time, but he couldn't say it aloud to Peter. How was Peter even here? Where was all the smoke and fire and death and- gasp.

She does better than step back, she climbs back up onto her bed high up out of the way as she watched Peter try and wake Tony up. It takes a while and for a moment she wonders if Tony is going to wake angry and violent. But he doesn't, he wakes like he can't breathe.

She stays silent, watching. Not making any sudden moves in case she is perceived as a threat. Tony likes Peter even if Peter talks too much and is terribly untrained. He had gotten mad at him but under all that he still likes him. He knows him. It's safer for Peter to be the one to calm him.

Okay, so maybe approaching him wasn't a great idea and if the housing unit somehow is able to sense distress well, it might end badly for Peter but hey, what doesn't? He's trying to be as gentle as he can while keeping the flailing to a minimum. He can recognize this kind of panic attack when he sees one.

"Hey Mr Stark. That's right it's me. You gotta breathe-deep breaths. focus on what's in the room, okay? Name five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste." He's not sure it'll work for Tony's anxiety as well as it does his but it is one thing he's taken from his therapist that does tend to help.

Some of Tony's panic dies down a bit simply because he sees and hears Peter there. It's enough to get some of his mind working and out of the fog. Listening to Peter, he tries to take a deep breath, but that isn't working. So he opts to focus on the other instructions. Five things...

Peter. Something above him- not sure what. The blanket- why was there a blanket? Buttercup, she was up on her bed. Bunk! That was what was above him.

He manages to take a breath. Was he supposed to be doing this out loud?

"I- I can touch.." He's shaking something fierce when he looks down at his hand. The hand that held the gauntlet.. the infinity stones.. Thanos- gasp! That was having the reverse effect. Okay, what was the other option? He hears.

"I hear you. I... uh.. I hear Eva.. she's snoring. I hear the bed creaking.." He was starting to get a hold of himself. "I.. I think I'm okay. I taste that I need some mouthwash." He took a couple deep breaths, feeling himself level out. He felt completely wrecked and not in the fun way. One glance at his pillow and he could see it was stained with sweat. "I'm sorry, Pete. Sorry, kid." He put his face in his shaky hands.

So Peter did know how to be calm. Even if he showed a distinct lack of calmness... All of the time. But he is doing an alright job helping Tony so she begrudgingly admits he might not be wholly useless in a crisis.

She watches as Tony names the things and calms down, she wonders what his night scares are about. He says he is a protector and he has a flying suit that can kill birds with just one blast. What can he even be so scared of?

These heroes are as strange as the world they come from.

Peter really doesn't like seeing Tony Stark of all people like this but this isn't about what he likes, this is about the fact his mentor is having a massive panic attack from some form of nightmare, unbeknownst to him, he wonders the exact same thing Buttercup is-what does Tony Stark have to fear like that? Thanos?

Once again, he's left wondering how all that turned out as he's sure Tony knows-being from the future and all. Peter just hasn't asked because he can tell however it went-it did not go well.

"It's okay, Mr Stark. Really. We all get nightmares-I mean in our line of work I'd be worried if you didn't get nightmares-it's just uh... par for the course, right?" He is not helping at all, is he? He lets out a sigh and sits down on the edge of the bed.

"It's okay. Just breathe-slow deep breaths. Breath in-count to ten as you breathe out."

Tony asked himself that a lot, how could someone so strong be so weak? Why couldn't he be more iron like his name. Why couldn't he ever figure out what the right thing was or if he was making any difference or just causing more harm?

He feels raw and exposed when at last his attack seems to be dying down. In front of two people he wanted so desperately to see him as invincible, he was being a pile of chicken shit. Why did he even think anyone in their right mind would look up to him or see him as a leader?

He missed Pepper. These moments used to be for her eyes only. Sometimes the others Avengers would see it, but mostly he contained it to just Pepper.. and maybe Happy. There was just no where to hide on this train. They were getting to see all sides of him and he didn't like it one bit!

It's enough to almost put him into another tailspin. He knew he was going to regret this, but Peter was the only one there. He wraps his arms around the boy and draws him closer, holding on for dear life, hoping the trembling would stop soon.

Heroes got nightmares all the time? They were very badly trained. All things told she was glad she had ended up on the side of the dark rather than the light, they were very dramatic and exhausting.

She watched as they hugged and sat back, bringing her knees up to her chest. All in all she's glad Peter's here. This is a situation where she can admit he is better trained than she is. Shadow servants don't get nightmares and so she has never been trained to deal with them, in herself or others.

Peter tries hard not to show just how much Tony's reaction is scaring him as he just lets the man hug him and he hugs back. He's not really sure what to do. Should he try and reassure Tony that everything's okay? Distract him somehow? What good is a distraction?

What would May do? Usually when Peter used to have bad nightmares she'd wrap him a blanket and try and rock him back to sleep. That probably doesn't apply here.

"Uh... wanna a hear a stupid joke?" Well, last time Peter had seen Tony sorta like this, he told him a lame science joke and that seemed to at least help.

"Um... so... a photon checks into a hotel so the hotel clerk asks if he can help him with his bags. The photon replies 'No thanks! I'm traveling light."

War did awful things to people. It made the stronger, hardest individuals into victims of PTSD. The brain could only cope with so much before it started to crack under the pressure. He needed this to stop before there was no one left to believe he was strong, especially himself. But really, what difference did it make when he was already a dead man walking?

Tony's pulled from his dark internal thoughts when Peter was speaking. He draws back and looks at the boy. At first it's like the kid is speaking a foreign language. Then the words start to come through to fog in his mind. A photon did what? A- oh!

He breathes a laugh, more at Peter than at his joke and rolls his eyes. The kid was incorrigible. He very gently patted Peter's cheek, finding the emotions of humored and exasperated so comforting and familiar after what he'd been feeling. "How do you feel about a walk to get some tea?" He glances up at Buttercup. "You too if you'd like."

That was indeed the most stupid joke she had ever heard. Because it made no sense at all. What was a photon? Why would it go to a hotel? Why would the fact it didn't have much luggage be funny?

But mister Stark laughed and that was the important thing. It had done it's job and now he seemed less scared.

She nodded from where she sat. "We can be going and making tea." She clambered down, making sure not to wake Eva and waited for them to get up.

Peter smiles a little himself when his stupid joke actually works. Good thing it does because he had no real idea how to help other than that. He just nods, happy that Tony seems to be regaining his composure.

"Uh... yeah, I'll take some tea, I guess." He's not big on tea but there's still no energy drinks and even if there were there's no way Tony would let him have one this late.

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Back on the Road Again

[14th, morning: Sparring]

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[14th evening: Who's avoiding whom?]

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Echo used with permission: CW Infinity War spoilers!

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IW/ EG spoilers

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14th Night

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