Chapter 4
Pepper was standing at the window, looking out at the New York City buildings. She held a mug of hot green tea in her hands, which always managed to soothe her tangled nerves. And she really needed that now. With each warm sip, she felt all the stress that had accumulated in her over the few days slowly recede from her. Peter was far from okay, but she knew it could be much, much worse. They may be happy with how it all turned out. And Peter was home. All her loved ones were home, and that was the most important and also the only thing that mattered.
"He is still sleeping. But that's good in his case. He needs to get some energy," Loki said, suddenly appearing in the room. He was glad he only found Pepper here. He didn't like it when there were so many people around him. Maybe he had a hunch that he didn't really belong here. After all, which one of them accepted him? Only Pepper and Peter. Maybe Natasha. But he wasn't surprised at all. After all, given their common and not very nice past... He must have smirked.
Pepper looked back at him, then gave him a sad smile. He walked slowly toward her. "Thank you," she told him. Loki didn't answer. He didn't know what to do in situations like this. What's appropriate? To say it was nothing was stupid. Besides, she certainly had nothing to thank him for. Banner helped Peter. He just conjured a peaceful sleep without nightmares, and Pepper didn't know that. Plus... his report was just the better news. He didn't tell her what he felt. That Peter was completely exhausted, at the bottom of his strength, with zero energy. That they managed to save him at the right time. No, Pepper didn't have to know.
So he just nodded when the silence became a little awkward.
"No, really," Pepper breathed, squeezing his arm gently for a moment. She smiled when she realized it was really Loki, not just an illusion. She was pleased to know that he was indeed with her, present in body and soul. "Thank you for everything. For your help and for being here. It helped me a lot, you know?"
No, of course, Loki didn't know. And so he stared at Pepper for a moment, unable to speak, and that something like this rarely happened. His heart trembled a little. She looked at him with such a beautiful smile and such gratitude in her eyes that it almost physically hurt him. He had to look away. It was as if he were looking at the Sun.
He himself was surprised to realize that he had an urgent need to hug Pepper, to hold her in his arms, and to promise her that he would always be here for her. But when he heard footsteps, looked back, and saw Stark coming in, he had never been so happy to see him.
"Hello, Rock of Ages," Tony said, but there was no typical venom in his voice, but fatigue. Pepper released Loki and turned to her fiancé. "Michelle is home, I made sure she really came in."
The strawberry-blond woman nodded and went to him. "Good. But I'd still rather if stayed here with us. I guess I'd be feeling better, and Peter would love to see her. Well, we couldn't force her. Plus, they must have been worried about her at home. We'll have to hope we didn't scare her too much with this and she'll come to us again," she smiled a little sadly and stroked Tony's cheek.
He grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly. "I'm so sorry, Pep," he whispered suddenly. "I'm sorry. I... I can't help but feel like it's mainly my fault because it's me—"
Pepper put her index finger to his lips. "No, you will not blame yourself. Whenever something goes wrong, you feel it's just your fault. Anthony Edward Stark, when do you realize that you are definitely not responsible for everything in the world? And, please, could we not talk about it today? We all need to rest. We can deal with the consequences of all this later. Let's move the salvation of the whole world away and of our little world at least until tomorrow. The main thing is that you are all home again, even Peter. We can start fixing other things later."
Tony smiled exhausted at her and pressed a butterfly kiss into her palm. Warm tenderness and love appeared in his eyes, and Pepper shuddered. "All right," he breathed, and with an apologetic look at his fiancée, he picked up the phone. "But I have to fix one thing now because it's been too long. I still have to call Steve."
Pepper's happy gaze accompanied him as he left for the kitchen.
•••
Teresa was sitting in a tidy kitchen in her small apartment. A gentle piano melody reached her ears, and she allowed herself to close her eyes. She loved the moments when she could turn off and let her mind wander as she pleased. She sipped her black coffee and muttered the melody softly. As the dynamics of the song began to change and the tones intensified, she couldn't help but remember her little brother. Is he already home, with his family? He definitely is. They are all together and disgustingly happy. And they certainly think they have it all behind them.
She smiled slyly. If they only knew. This was just silence before the storm. Maybe drizzle. The real storm and the ferocity of the hurricane were still waiting for them. She felt almost sorry. She didn't want to hurt her little brother, but she probably wouldn't have a choice.
"Actually, it's not entirely your fault, brother," she said with a smile, pulling out a small photo she had with Peter laughing. "Everything could have been different if Mom hadn't met your father. If you weren't born. Or if Mom acted like a real mom, maybe we'd be family. But you won't change what happened. The only thing you have in your hands is the future. And I won't. I'm sorry, Peter. But it has to be that way," she breathed contentedly, setting the photo on the table in front of her. She stared at it for a moment before getting up and going to the hall to get dressed.
Maybe we'd be a family... maybe in a different reality.