the skies are grey

summer, part three

[mentions of a suicide at the end of the chapter]

Tony's taking long enough strides that he can hear Peter struggling to keep up. He doesn't pay it much mind, though, instead trying to figure out a way to get out of the town they've found themselves in.

"You're not telling me something," Peter accuses. "I'd like to know what it is."

Letting out a defeated sigh, Tony pauses where he's walking. They've ended up somewhere on a flooded road with a bridge some ways down; the water's deeper under it due to the dip of the road going underneath it.

"We're not going to swim in that, are we?" Peter asks, his nose scrunching. "It looks gross."

Tony lets out a huff of a laugh as he shakes his head. "No, we're not. At least, we'll try not to. How good of a swimmer are you?"

"I know how to, if that's what you're asking." Peter raises an eyebrow, smirking a little. "Not very good at it, though. The military school didn't bother with that. It was my aunt who taught me, and she died when I was younger, so..."

Tony nods. "Well, to answer your earlier question, yes, I'm not telling you something."

"Well what is it?" Peter asks quickly. "Don't keep me in suspense, dude."

Tony shakes his head at the nickname. "I had a feeling it was going to be an ambush. We, uh. Had a similar set-up back in Boston. Block the road and force travelers to go through the road we were waiting on. Ambush them as soon as we could and take their stuff. Most times that meant killing them." He sighs and looks around. "Although, with this city being abandoned, they have more room to work with. I wouldn't be surprised if they're chasing us down to kill us."

"But they won't, right?" Peter asks, his voice soft. "Kill us, I mean."

There's something in Peter's face that makes Tony pause a moment. He looks, well, like a kid. Scared about what's laying ahead of him and looking to an adult, Tony, for guidance. The looks scares him more than he'd like it to. "We'll do our best to make sure that doesn't happen, okay, kid?"

"Okay." Peter gives him a small smile, and Tony takes it as a win.

Suddenly, there's shouting coming from down the street. Tony grabs Peter's arm and drags him into a nearby building to avoid being seen. On the bridge, a few individuals are running for their lives down the road. Chasing them is a truck modified with a turret on top that's shooting at them. They're out of the line of sight, but Tony can feel Peter gripping his arm as they hold their breaths and wait for it to pass. There's screaming that's quickly silenced after a round of shots ring out. He can feel Peter's hands shaking from where they're holding onto him.

Tony waits until he's certain they're safe to let out a breath. "We're fine for now," he says. Peter seems to be reluctant to let go of him, but he shuffles back nonetheless.

It's then that Tony takes notice of where they're at. It's a hotel— a lavish one at that. It's in a state of disrepair with a small amount of flooding coming in from the street. It looks like a hotel Tony would've stayed at on business trips for his company.

"I bet this place was gorgeous back in its heyday," Peter comments. "I would've wanted to stay here."

"I probably have," Tony admits with a laugh. "Well, not this exact one. If it was a chain, I've likely been to a city and stayed in it."

"A chain in this instance is like... multiple of the same thing in many areas, right?" Peter asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yeah," Tony answers with a grin.