Chapter Text
Steve sat at the table in front of the room of reporters. Tony had offered to join him on this one, but Steve had said no. It was the first weekend in a while that Tony could get completely away and spend time with his family.
And Steve felt like this was his task to do on his own.
"I'm going to make a short statement," he said. "And then I'll take exactly three questions."
He knew Tony would smile when he rewatched the press conference later — Steve had been paying attention to his tricks all these years, after all. He took in a deep breath, another of Tony's little hints, and spoke slowly enough that every word carried its own weight.
"You've heard all the official releases about the attacks in New York and Wakanda by an alien threat, a conquering warlord called Thanos. You know that the Avengers were joined by heroes not just from around the world, but from throughout the universe to defeat him. The details of that fight don't matter as much as the fact that we won.
"However.
"I'm not here today to tell you that this kind of thing will never happen again. I'm here to say that it very well might. Hydra taught us that evil always finds a way to rise again, no matter how thoroughly we stamp it down. In defeating Thanos, we may have created our next enemy and pointed them at us without even knowing it. But what we gained is so much more important than a possible threat down the line."
He paused to steady his voice, his heart pounding in his ears.
"Because the Avengers have always been a good team. We've worked together through more than one world-ending situation now, and we stand stronger today than ever. But even with our Asgardian allies, the Avengers could never be enough on our own to protect this planet from every threat in the universe.
"Therefore, starting now, we won't be alone.
"The Avengers, in tandem with our Asgardian connections, will begin forging relationships and alliances with other groups of protectors throughout the universe. We're going to join hands with heroes on distant planets orbiting stars we haven't even identified yet. We'll form a truly universal network of people willing to fight the fights that preserve peace for our planets. So the next time a Thanos does set his sights on the Earth, we'll be ready.
"And, just maybe, we'll have the chance to do some good in return out in the universe on all the planets that don't have someone like us to defend them."
Steve set down his paper and looked out into the sea of cameras, trying to make eye-contact with the whole world.
"We are still the Avengers. And we're not going anywhere. But, if you're out there — here on the Earth or picking up this transmission across the universe — consider this your official invitation to the team."
Steve smiled and let the reporters take their pictures and begin shouting their questions. He weathered the storm so much easier now that he'd had practice and a good teacher.
He took one question about how he planned to ensure whoever joined up was actually a good guy.
"Trust me, we have a lot of friends and a lot of ways to be certain someone is sincere. We won't let Hydra happen to the Avengers the way it did to SHIELD."
The second question he allowed asked if there were really any other heroes left on Earth unaccounted for, and it made Steve nearly snort at them in response.
"Of course there are! There are millions of heroes here, whether or not they have flashy superpowers. But I think you'll be surprised by how many of us there really are, just hiding in plain sight and quietly going about our days while making the world around us a better place. And of those who do have special skills or powers, I hope a few more out there are willing to give us a chance and step into the larger fight beside us."
And then he took the last question. One he knew was coming, that he'd been waiting for. He'd planted this one with a contact through SHIELD not to exert control, but because it deserved to be asked and answered publicly.
"Will you continue to lead the Avengers?"
Steve took a deep breath, readying himself to reply. Not just to say the words, but to fully acknowledge the truth of them.
"I've been fighting for the entirety of my adult life," he said. "And the truth is that I'm good on the battlefield, but I have learned that, somewhere along the way, I lost something of myself outside of it. I've made big mistakes and I've hurt people I truly care about because I lost my sense of perspective."
He swallowed.
"I will remain as the leader of the Avengers for now. But times are changing and we need to change with them. I'm not stepping down any time soon, probably. Don't worry. But someday? When the next generation of Earth heroes is ready? Or when our alien allies are ready for that amount of trust?"
Steve nodded.
"I'm looking forward to the day I can hand over my shield to a new Captain America, and I'm even more looking forward to the day that 'Captain America' is not synonymous with leading the Avengers. Because we are and we should be more than that. More than I ever could be. And there are people out there who can carry the shield with more honor than I will ever know."
Someone shouted from the crowd, "It sounds like you already have a candidate in mind!"
Steve chuckled, caught out. "For the shield, or to lead the Avengers?" he asked.
"Both!"
"Officially, I don't. Unofficially?" He gave a very Tony-like shrug, he could feel it in his bones. "The shield's getting heavy for me these days, so it might find its way into new hands sooner than you might think."
That caused another outcry, and Steve mentally apologized to Sam for the circus he would have to deal with someday. Not that he probably knew it was coming. But of course it was.
Sam was born to fly, and the shield was born to fly with him.
Steve cleared his throat to regain control. "But in terms of the team, we'll see what happens. If the person I would choose to lead the Avengers is willing when the time comes, then I can promise you that the Earth will never be safer than in that person's hands."
He stood to leave, ignoring the additional questions.
Turning his back on the reporters, their cameras, their shouts, it felt like the start of a goodbye. Or maybe like stepping onto a train that would carry him forward. The beginning of the end, and of the next beginning.
A text from Tony arrived literally the second he walked out the door of the conference room.
Subtle, Spangle-Pants. Why don't you just TELL the entire world you want Spider-Man to take over?
Steve sighed. But before he could type a response, Tony texted again.
Don't sweat it. I'm counting on it, too.
Steve chuckled. Then he texted back: Does Peter still not know he's inheriting SI too? Don't throw stones at me when you live in a very big glass tower, Tony.
Tony spent the next half hour sending emojis and gifs — mostly of various people and dogs sticking their tongues out — in response.
-==OOO==-
Pepper hung up her last call and leaned back in her chair, just breathing.
"Lady Potts?" JARVIS addressed her.
"Yes?"
"Your assistants have successfully cleared your calendar and your inbox. They are fully prepared to manage in your absence anything you do not wish to turn over to me."
Pepper smiled. "None of you should have to do my job for more than a couple of days. It's too much to ask of anyone."
"If I may inquire, how equitable does that make your position to yourself?"
She chuckled. "Fair point. But the difference is that I love my job." She stretched her feet out, her work shoes already kicked off and hidden under her desk. "I love it and I wouldn't have it any other way."
"And yet I understand everyone requires time to rest, even from what one loves most."
"Well, yes. And that's why I'm taking a week at the cabin with my family. And when I get to the point that I'm done with Tony, I'll come back here and take a break from him. That's called healthy boundaries, JARVIS."
"I see," was all he said.
Of course, she was only partially kidding about Tony. One of the best things about their relationship was the fact that both of them regularly needed — and took — space for themselves. Tony needed to be able to disappear into a workshop for hours (and sometimes days) at a time. Pepper split hers — most often she retreated to work, but sometimes she went for the spa with May. Either way, they worked together because they could freely let one another be apart.
But Pepper had been apart for long enough after returning from Wakanda and she was more than ready for her together time again.
"JARVIS, is Bruce ready to head out?"
"Doctor Banner is just finishing packing up Miss Morgan's belongings and then requests just a few minutes to find where he left his bag." There was a pause. "I have informed him it is in the kitchen."
"Okay. I'll head up in just a minute."
Pepper bent to put her shoes back on — it was her Tower and she certainly could walk through even the SI part of it barefoot if she wanted and she would dare anybody to say a word. But she also knew what went on in SI, and what kinds of experiments might have been carried literally anywhere, and she'd never liked getting shrapnel in her feet.
"Doctor Banner says he is ready and can meet you at the car if you prefer, Lady Potts."
Pepper shook her head. "He's got his own bag, my bag, Morgan's bag, and Morgan to carry. I'll go up and help. But tell him thanks for me."
"Very well."
Could Pepper have gotten someone — security, one of the other assistants, maybe even an intern — to help her carry stuff? Sure. But there was a reason they didn't have a nanny for Morgan, either.
For all that Tony and Pepper and the Avengers lived in the spotlight, their family was private.
And, besides, there was no shortage of people around every minute to look after Morgan, people Pepper trusted completely. Bruce had been nervous about the baby the same way he had been about Peter, but Pepper had absolutely no doubts. If Hulk ever appeared around Morgan, it would be only and purely to protect her. And Bruce, like Happy, like Peter, like — surprisingly — Pietro, was an amazing babysitter.
She exited her office, saying just a few words to her intrepid assistants on the way out, but her mind was already halfway to the lake house.
In the elevator, she took a moment to reflect.
Five years before, in the summer of 2013, Tony had been hiding under the name Carbonell in Queens. And Pepper had been working with Bruce and the medical team to deal with the Extremis in her. It had felt like her world had crashed down around her. She'd killed a man with her bare hands and was at risk of igniting herself on fire at the slightest provocation. She and Tony hadn't technically been on a break, but they had felt miles apart.
She'd been so painfully lonely.
And then Tony started telling stories about the Parkers in Queens. And the Avengers started gathering more frequently as a team — and then as friends.
And somehow, they became a family. She'd gained a sister and a son in May and Peter, and Rhodey who had always been there became a brother, and then so many others slotted themselves into her heart.
And then Morgan completed the last missing piece of the puzzle.
Pepper knew her life would never be easy. Her job was a battlefield of its own, and the politics of the Earth and Asgard were separate, constant stresses. And, of course, her husband and her son and her brothers and sisters would always be fighting for their planet, for people who needed them. There was no future where someone Pepper loved wouldn't be in danger.
But she had learned a few things in the last few years.
She had learned that happiness and contentment are skills, that joy and peace can be found in a single quiet moment and carried long after. That nothing is permanent, nothing is certain, and therefore that it is necessary to take the gift of today and hold onto it with both hands.
So she let out her breath and left SI behind her. Today was for family from this moment on, and she wouldn't waste a single one.
-==OOO==-
Tony bounced on his toes on the porch of the lake house, which doubled as bouncing Morgan in his arms.
"Any minute, Morguna," he told her. "Are you ready to show your brother your new trick?"
Morgan made a happy baby grin at him and burbled.
"JARVIS?"
"I'm sorry, sir. My language algorithm cannot yet parse Miss Morgan's vocalizations as anything other than randomized sounds."
"Yeah, but every day we get a little closer, don't we kiddo?" He nuzzled her cheek with his beard, and she grabbed at it. "I'm going to prove that you are smart enough to come up with your own language and then dumb it down to join the rest of us in English. That's right! I am!"
"Sir, studies have shown…"
"I know, blah blah baby sign language. Isn't it more fun to prove that the vocabulary stabilizes prior to conversion to English?" Tony lifted Morgan up above his head and wiggled her back and forth. "But if your first words aren't 'Iron Man rocks,' you're out of the will, Morgie."
Morgan drooled and it landed on his nose.
Tony pulled her back to his chest so he could hold her with one arm, wiping at his face with the other.
"You really have changed my whole outlook on bodily fluids, you know," he told her. "Once upon a time, I'd have burned this whole outfit to ash if it even got a hint of goobers on it. Now it's going back on the not-gross-enough-to-wash pile unless you get creative in the next few hours."
Behind him, Pepper laughed. "Don't tempt her. Or are you ready for another volcanic eruption?"
Tony cupped a hand over Morgan's ear. "Stop giving her ideas!" he hissed.
Pepper smiled, reaching out to dance her fingers against Morgan's cheeks. "Your daddy is very silly if he thinks you would hold back for one second just because he asked you to."
"I am a doormat," Tony said. "Slave to all you troublemakers in my life."
"Speaking of which, sir," JARVIS said, "the others are about to arrive."
Pepper scooped Morgan out of Tony's arms at once. He kissed her on the cheek, marveling once again at her ability to anticipate him. Then he made his way down off the porch so he could be there the literal instant the car stopped.
When Tony saw that it was Peter behind the wheel, not May, something in his chest broke a little and his eyes got rapidly wet. He blinked it all away fast, not wanting to spoil the moment.
"So!" he yelled maybe a little too loudly. "Finally making some progress on the driving front, then?"
Peter climbed out of the car looking elated. "Yeah! Happy gave me a couple of extra lessons this week and I think I'm starting to get it! Even though Aunt May didn't actually let me behind the wheel until we were out of the suburbs and the exurbs."
"Have you seen how those people drive?" May asked, getting out as well. "That had nothing to do with your skills and more to do with me not wanting you to have to contend with their stupidity."
Peter rolled his eyes and moved to the back of the car to get out the bags.
With the five or ten seconds that bought them, Tony looked at May and raised his eyebrows in a silent question.
He knew the information, of course. JARVIS could tell him how often Peter had woken from nightmares this week, how much sleep he had managed, how often he could eat regular food. The therapist sent updates after every session — three a week, down from daily again — that gave details about Peter's state of mind and his progress towards healing. And May texted him constantly.
But Tony hadn't seen Peter for almost ten days now, and that was ten days too many.
It had made sense at the time. Peter was cramming for the exams at the end of eleventh grade, and these ones really mattered for when he started looking at colleges over the summer and into the fall. He needed to focus and he needed to sleep.
(Tony had offered to solve that problem with one phone call to MIT who would let Peter in on his say-so, but Peter had been adamant that he was going to get in on his own merits and with scores he could be proud of. And against an argument like that, even Tony had to concede.)
At the same time, an international conference got called in Paris to talk through 'the alien threat' again, and at least some of the Avengers had needed to be present. Especially considering that one of the items on the agenda was who got to profit off the downed spaceships in Wakanda and New York. So off he'd gone to argue with people again. But at least he hadn't gone alone.
(Tony was pretty sure some people's ears were still ringing after the scolding from the combined forces of T'Challa speaking for Wakanda and Thor representing Asgard. Big guys, eloquent speakers, impressive accents, and absolutely no patience for war-profiteering meant some very excellent oratory all around. And that led to reasonable and sane treaties about the handling of dangerous alien artifacts. Which worked well because that meant fewer people for Tony to deal with later.)
"I'll be fine," Peter had said firmly the last time they saw each other at the Tower. "I'm okay, I have lots of help, literally everybody is watching out for me, and I'll come stay with you as soon as finals are over. I can handle it."
Tony was grateful Peter never wondered if Tony could handle it. But he had managed.
And while all signs were that Peter was improving, healing, recovering, it didn't mean there weren't still setbacks. Nights Peter woke in a cold sweat, fumbling against invisible foes and unable to sleep again for nights in a row. Days that his food had to be crunchy or crisp, when even the texture of toothpaste upset him with its reminders of what Thanos had fed him. Moments when JARVIS or KAREN had to speak to Peter, remind him of where he was, help him to breathe before he got lost in himself.
In a weird, disgusting way, Tony could almost be grateful for Quentin Beck. Because that man had nothing on Thanos, but the techniques they'd used to help Peter afterwards were proving effective this time, too, without having to figure them out from scratch.
(Tony still didn't know if Loki had dropped the man off a short pier into space or had him locked up in a dungeon — and he didn't actually care. Wherever Beck was, he had still gotten so much better than he deserved.)
Anyway, Tony and May had been texting about Peter constantly, and they had developed a quick shorthand spectrum for how he was doing at any given moment. So when Peter's back was turned, May held up three fingers.
Tony relaxed marginally.
One finger meant 'disaster imminent.' Five fingers meant 'manic phase appearing okay which means possibly not okay afterwards.' Two meant 'actively hurting.' 'Four meant 'pretending to be okay.' The three raised fingers meant 'stable and not hiding anything that I'm aware of.'
Tony was so deeply grateful there were more days like this than there had been a month ago. Every bit of progress was a miracle and he felt them one and all.
But he was broken out of his thoughts when Peter emerged from behind the car with all the suitcases. One of them the kid didn't even bother to hold by the handle — he just stuck it to his hip and waddled along with it held on by spider powers.
"Geez, May," Tony said, pretending as if they hadn't been silently communicating. "If you wanted to move in, I could have sent a truck and some burly guys."
"Really!" Peter carried them all as if they were marshmallows, but it still looked awkward. "Even for a month, there's no way you need this much stuff."
May shrugged, unrepentant. "You never know."
Peter hauled everything up to the porch, stopping long enough to drop the bags in one hand so he could extend a finger for Morgan to grip.
"Heya, Mo," Peter said softly. "I missed you, sorellina. Look how big you keep getting!"
Morgan made a happy sound and tugged on Peter's finger, bringing it to her mouth to gum wetly.
Over Morgan's head, Pepper grinned. "I think she's been waiting for you longer than Tony. The only thing that got her settled all day was her little Spider-Man toy."
Peter went a little pink at that. "Well, I'm here now."
"Do you want me to take that stuff inside for you?" Tony offered.
Peter detached himself from his baby sister and picked up the bags he'd dropped. "You'd have to take four trips. I got it." And he disappeared into the house.
"She does look bigger," May said, joining them on the porch. "Are we sure she's not growing a little too fast?"
"We're not sure of much," Pepper said. "Her DNA mostly comes back normal for an unenhanced human, but there's enough margin for error to mean anything's possible. I don't think we'll know for sure until something happens."
"Well, at least you don't have a baby setting fire to the house yet." May opened her arms and Pepper set Morgan in them. Morgan immediately latched onto May's free-flowing hair and gave it a tug. "I've seen that movie and it doesn't end well for the house."
"JARVIS has it on lock," Tony assured her. "If Morgan ever shows even a vague hint of going all fire veins, he'll let us know, deploy the fire suppression system, and call everybody."
"Speaking of everybody, when are they all coming?" Pepper asked.
"Rhodey said he'd be late." Tony wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. "Something about military contracts with Asgard, I don't know. He'll be here by dinner."
"Happy will be here by then, too," May said. "He got held up arguing with Maria about security protocols for our space friends. Then he has to go pick up Nat from the UN."
"Bruce is out taking a walk and Steve was bringing the rest over shortly. We're going to have a full house soon," Pepper said, and she smiled, leaning against Tony. "At least for a little while."
"Sure you can't stay all summer?" Tony asked May. "Seriously, let me buy that dumb hospital and deal with this scheduling nonsense and you could get away for more than a couple weeks at a time."
"I like what I do," May said firmly. "I like it, it's important work, and I'm proud of doing it, even when you think it's inconvenient. And I don't want special treatment, either. But thanks for letting Peter stay. I think this...is a good idea."
It had taken some convincing to get Peter to actually leave Queens for any length of time. Only the promise that Ned could come visit as often as he liked and that Bucky, Sam, and Steve would keep an eye on the city for him finally convinced him to agree to an absence. The kid was getting stubborn — or maybe he was the same stubborn with better debate skills.
But at least this would be a weekend with everyone Tony truly loved all together under one very private, very comfortable roof. And after that there would be at least a month or two where he could focus on helping Peter put everything else aside and just rest.
Peter needed the most healing, but everyone had been hurt and everyone was still in their own stages of recovery, after all.
"Um."
Tony turned to find Peter back from dropping the luggage upstairs. He had a reusable grocery bag in his hands.
"So, with everything that happened, I didn't want you to think I'd forgotten either of your birthdays," he said. "I just...I kinda needed a little extra time to get stuff together."
"Oh, kiddo." May shook her head. "We don't need anything."
"Yeah what she said," Tony added.
Peter's face went flat. "You are my family and I missed both your birthdays because Thanos was a butt. You're getting your presents whether you like it or not."
And when Tony laughed, he laughed freely for once. "Thanos was definitely a butt," he agreed.
Pepper took Morgan back from May so Peter could press something small into her hands. Tony watched her unwrap the tiny box, expecting maybe another piece of jewelry. And it was a cushy black velvet box, but when May opened it, she blinked.
Tony leaned over, trying to peer at the mysterious thing that was about the size of the head of a pin.
"What is it?"
"I'll show you. It goes with your locket."
May glanced at Tony, but he shook his head, as much in the dark as she was. She pulled out the locket Peter and Tony had made for her years ago, opening it carefully. Peter picked up the tiny thing from the box on his fingertip, then pressed it inside the locket where it stuck to one side.
All at once, a hologram of four icons popped up. There was a symbol like an arc reactor, Peter's Spider-Man logo, a heart, and a five-pointed star.
"I know you worry," Peter said. "So I got Scott and Hope to miniaturize an arc reactor with a linkup to JARVIS on it. I got some help from Shuri, too, so it's unhackable and also waterproof and stuff. Try clicking the icons."
May did, choosing the Spider-Man logo. At once, the hologram changed to show Peter's current biometrics and location. There was even a link for a live feed from KAREN, currently inactive since Peter wasn't in his suit.
"I thought you'd want one for each of us. Tony's the arc reactor, Morgan is the heart, and Pepper is the star. And if you want to add somebody else someday, like, uh, I dunno, Happy," he said it fast because he was still awkward like that, "JARVIS and I can add as many as you want."
Peter was getting nervous; Tony could tell.
"We can add pictures, too, if you wanted more than just the ones I cut out when I was a kid. And I know you could just get the same thing from JARVIS any time, on your phone or whatever. But I thought maybe it would be different here. Like...having the proof would…"
May shut the locket and threw her arms around Peter. "I love it. It's amazing and you're amazing, and I love you, too."
Peter hugged her back. "Happy belated birthday, Aunt May."
When she released him, he turned to Tony. Tony couldn't have said why he felt suddenly nervous.
"So, this is a little weird," Peter said. "But…"
"It's okay," Tony said at once. "Figlio, whatever it is, it's from you and I'll love it anyway."
Peter shifted his weight, then reached into his bag again and pulled out a box made out of Legos.
"I figured it was tradition," he said a little sheepishly.
Tony smiled at him and took the box, carefully lifting up the top. Inside was a plain silver chain.
"So...this is supposed to replace the chain of the Saint Patrick medal I gave you before," Peter explained. "But, uh, it's not just a chain."
Tony lifted an eyebrow and waited.
Peter let out a breath. "I asked Loki to duplicate the spell he uses to make sure I'm okay and put it on the chain. So if something really bad happened to me, you would know even if JARVIS didn't or...anyway. I don't...I don't know exactly how it'll work. It's something to do with you being a Craftsman and Loki says you'll understand it better than I do. But...I wanted you to…"
Tony let his eyes fill up with tears and interrupted his kid, yanking him in for a hug.
"The only thing I could ever want," Tony said roughly, "is to know my children are safe. If this will help me protect you, tell me when you need me, then there is literally nothing more I could ask for."
Peter held him tightly, but not too tightly. "I thought maybe it would help you sleep," he whispered.
Tony couldn't help but huff at that. "Always thinking about the other guy, Peter. Yes, I'll sleep better knowing for sure that you're safe."
In fact, Tony could think of nothing more wonderful than that. Maybe on the Asgardian's next visit to Earth, he'd get Loki to add Morgan to the spell. Then Tony could just close his eyes and know that his children were well. Even if the power went out. If JARVIS went rogue. If the world fell apart. He would know his children were safe — or he would know to go save them himself.
With that certainty, Tony thought he might sleep well again for the first time in months or years.
"Ti voglio bene, Peter Benjamin Parker," he said, putting his whole heart into the words. "I love you and I will love you long past when the sun burns out or the universe goes dark. Forever, Peter."
And suddenly May was there, and Pepper with Morgan, all in one tight hug, and Tony felt like he had finally come home.
-==OOO==-
May sat on one of the porch benches that had been dragged out into the grass, a glass of lemonade in her hand.
When she shut her eyes, she could pick out the sounds one by one.
First, of course, the yelling.
"That's not in the rules for bocce ball!"
"What rules are you talking about? It's right there! Google it!"
"Do you believe everything you read on the internet or are you just an idiot?"
"Hey, now. House rules are a thing. How about we just house-rule it?"
"No!"
Apparently that was going well. Leave it to the competitive ones to start a fight about a lawn game. They'd already kicked all the enhanced people out of the game so it was just Tony, Sam, Rhodey, and Happy figuring it out. Hopefully they'd come up with rules they could live with before they got to the point of bloodshed.
Then there was a crash from the water of the lake.
"Beat that, Rogers!"
"Okay, I will!"
Having been ejected from the bocce ball game, Steve, Bucky, Pietro, and Vision had decided to do a distance throwing competition of their own. What they were throwing, May had no idea. Hopefully nothing worse than rocks. Originally they were just going to chuck stuff into the woods but Vision was concerned they'd hit a squirrel or a bird or something, so they picked the lake instead. Apparently Vision didn't have the same moral compunctions about fish.
More quietly was the discussion happening at the bonfire. The grill was cooling from the piles of burgers and hot dogs and steaks, but the bonfire was roaring merrily in spite of the warm summer evening. Peter and Bruce were trying to teach Wanda how to make perfect s'mores. Which mostly ended up with Peter eating the overcooked results of her attempts.
Privately, May thought Wanda might be messing with him, screwing up her marshmallows on purpose just to frustrate him. It was definitely working, even though he did eat every single one she made, no matter how burned.
That just left Nat and Pepper and May who were trading Morgan around amongst one another and periodically wandering into the other sites of chaos to provide commentary or take pictures.
The sunlight was warm and the air smelled like smoke from the fire and the good charcoal of the grill and the trees and dirt and water that surrounded them. And aside from the shouting and the cajoling and the teasing and the laughter, there was the low hum of crickets and the rustle of wind in the trees and birds singing (at a safe distance).
For a moment, the world was far away. Its dangers, its pains, its threats, they all existed in some nebulous other place.
May felt the tears on her cheeks before she realized she was crying.
"You okay?" Nat asked softly.
May opened her eyes to find Nat at her elbow. Pepper, Morgan in her arms, was standing between her and Peter and commenting about s'more technique. Distracting him, May realized. So he doesn't worry about me.
"I'm fine." She rubbed at the tears. "I'm…I'm just so…relieved."
Nat nodded. "Any particular reason?"
"Because…we're here. We're alive and safe. And there are scars but…" A few more tears slipped free.
She gestured to where Peter was smiling at Morgan. And maybe he didn't notice (but maybe he did) that more eyes than just a few were on him. May had been around the Avengers long enough to know — just as they would fight in battle with one eye on each other, even in the midst of their games and silliness, they were all still aware, still protective. Still keeping everyone safe.
"Because we…after Ben…we were so alone," May whispered. "And then there was Tony and then Pepper and…"
Nat reached over and squeezed her hand. "I understand."
"I bet you do." May squeezed back. "I am just so relieved. Because it could have gone so differently."
"According to Strange, fourteen million times it did go differently. But there's no use dwelling on that. There's no gain to be afraid of what didn't happen. Just be grateful for what did."
May pulled Nat's hand so that she could draw her to sit on the bench and looped their arms together.
"I am so grateful. I'm grateful that we're here together and safe. I'm grateful that I have so many people I can trust to watch over us if the worst happens. And I'm just…"
She wiped at another tear.
"I didn't know what I needed until I found it. I didn't know I…Peter and I both…needed all this. But now…"
"Now you could never imagine anything less." Nat pressed against her side. "And you don't have to."
Suddenly May's phone pinged. She looked down to see a text.
Nat leaned over to read it aloud. "I did not know that I was so empty, to be so full." She huffed a laugh. "The Last Unicorn again. It always does seem to have something to say in moments like this."
And May knew without even looking at the sender that the text was from Tony, that he was, as always, watching over her from a distance. But it could have been from any one of them.
"So many of us were that way," she said. "A little empty without knowing it."
"Turns out we all needed the same thing." Nat looked up, smiling faintly at the team who had become friends who had become family.
And May realized in that moment that everything would be okay. For all of Peter's suffering, for the healing he had yet to do, she was certain it would end well. She could see it in Pepper's laughter, in Bruce's smile. In Tony's dramatics. In Rhodey's calm. It was there in Steve and Bucky leaning on one another, in Pietro poking Vision. In Sam and Happy trading insults. In Wanda's giggle. In Nat's warmth beside her.
May knew that Peter would be okay because every single person here and many who weren't — Loki, Clint, Thor, Shuri, Harley, and of course Ned and his parents — cared about him. Loved him as she loved him. And love, May believed with all her heart, could make everything better. Love could make a person whole.
May looked at Peter, at this family gathered, and had never felt so much love all at once.
So she let herself cry in relief, in joy, in too many feelings to name.
And absolutely knew that everything was going to be all right.
-==OOO==-
Peter sat in the grass outside the lake house, watching the last colors of sunset on the lake. Morgan was asleep in his arms, and all the others were back in the house cleaning up and talking.
"You know," Peter said to her softly, "I wonder how long I can go before I have to tell Tony that his chain works both ways and I'll always know if he's okay, too. Because, between you and me, he's a lot more likely to get himself in trouble than I am. Like, just look at his track record."
Morgan sighed in her sleep and wrinkled her nose.
"Yep." Peter tucked her extra close, knowing he was warmer than the air around them with the bonfire put out already. "Your dad...our dad is kind of a trouble-maker. But that's okay. It runs in the family."
In the house, Peter could hear Tony laughing at something Rhodey had said. And if he closed his eyes and concentrated, he could feel the tiny hum in his own chest from his own bespelled chain that meant Tony was safe and content.
"Pretty soon, I'll need one of these for you, too, Morgs," he said. "Like, as soon as you start walking. Or maybe crawling. Because I'm never ever not going to be there to catch you. Just like Tony always has been for me."
Somewhere, far away, Peter envisioned Uncle Ben sitting at a long table with Grandfather Odin. The two of them laughing and telling stories. And watching over him together.
"We're so lucky," Peter said, ducking his head to bump Morgan's forehead with his nose. "There are so many people who love us. So many people who would fight for us and protect us. So many people who would do anything for us."
Peter looked down at her sleeping face.
"And that's why I'm going to protect all of them. Because I love them all. And I'll fight for them all to the very, very end. Just like I would for you. No matter what."
Morgan blinked open her eyes and looked at Peter.
And a weird feeling, not quite his Spider-Sense, but something else, curled in his gut.
"Why do I suddenly think maybe someday you're going to be right up there fighting with me?" he asked her. Morgan just stared at him.
Peter sighed. "Talk about payback. I made everybody else worry, and now you're going to make me worry. So excited. Can't wait."
Morgan smiled at him.
"Well, if you do decide to become a hero," Peter said. "I can give you a few pointers. Like, first, don't keep it a secret because that never works out with all these nosy people around. Second, branding matters because people will make really good and also pretty weird fanart and you have to live with it. Third, nobody ever remembers the hyphen. It's Spider-hyphen-Man, not Spider-space-Man, or, even worse, Spider-Man-all-one-word."
Morgan babbled in agreement.
"But whether you become a hero or not," Peter said, glancing up at the final sparkle of sunlight reflected on the lake and, for a moment, feeling things that were very far away, "you're going to be amazing, Morgan. You're going to be amazing because you're part of this, and this is the best thing in the universe. And I should know. This family saved the universe. And we did it for each other, and for everybody else, and for you."
Peter swallowed a sudden lump in his throat.
"And I don't know what comes next. I don't know if things will be better or worse after all this. But I'm ready for whatever happens. I'm ready to fight when I have to, and I'm going to be strong when I need to be. Because I have so much worth fighting for, worth living for. Right here. With everybody I love. Including you."
Morgan wiggled her little hands at him.
"So don't be scared of the world, sorellina. I'm right here. And tomorrow…"
Peter shut his eyes and let the warmth of everything wash over him.
"Tomorrow is a brand new day."