âWhat is a Build-a-Bear?â Nebulaâs rasping voice framed the words like they were a foreign language, careful and slow.
Tony blinked at her. He was still in the Medbay, slowly recovering from starvation, oxygen deprivation, and the last of his stab wound. The time between getting off the ship and waking up here was blurry. Nebula, who had suffered from hunger much less than Tony, had come to visit him while Captain Danvers and the raccoon prepared their ship to go find Thanos.
âYou called Rocket a Build-a-Bear.â
He didnât remember doing that, but it sounded like him.
âOh. Itâs a stuffed animal,â Tony explained listlessly, picking at his blanket. âItâs for kids.â
Peterâs room was a mishmash of Lego figurines, science apparatus, and second-hand furniture. Tony glanced around, taking it in. The last time heâd been here recruiting the kid, the space had been much more bare. He smirked as he saw the Star Wars spaceships, but it turned into a wicked grin when he caught sight of a red and gold stuffed animal.
Peter looked around from where heâd been rummaging in his desk for his spare webshooter. He saw where Tony was looking and his cheeks immediately flushed.
âUm. A⌠birthday present.â
Tony reached out and picked it up. The little bear had gold Iron Man masks all over his crimson fur and was wearing a shirt and pants that looked like the Iron Man armor, complete with a tiny glowing arc reactor and a cloth mask.
âIt looks new,â he remarked casually.
âIt isnât!â Peter hurriedly assured him, rushing over and trying to snag it from Tonyâs hands. Tony pulled it closer to his chest, raising an eyebrow at Peter.
âDonât get grabby, Parker,â he chided. âNow, come here, weâre taking a selfie.â
âYou give these slain creatures to your children?â Nebula asked. Her voice and face were as emotionless as ever, but there was something like disgust in the tilt of her head.
Tony, jerked out of his thoughts, took a second to catch up.
âWhat? No! Geez, no. Theyâre not real animals, theyâre made of cloth.â
âCloth,â Nebula repeated, sounding dubious.
âYeah.â He hesitated for a second. âCome here, Iâll show you.â
He reached over to the bedside table, where heâd slammed his phone down half a second after Rhodey gave it to him. Heâd taken a single glance at the lock screen photoâone of Peter with engine grease all over his face, the car he and Tony had restored together barely visible in the backgroundâand promptly hyperventilated until he passed out. He hadnât touched the phone since, and his hands shook as he reached for it now.
He swallowed hard, unlocking his phone and carefully not looking at his background pictureâthis one of him, Peter, and Pepper all asleep on the couch. He opened his camera gallery and quickly scrolled through the file of photos of Peter, trying not to see any of them, any of the hundreds of memories that would forever more be nothing but agonizing reminders of his own failure.
He overshot the one he was looking for and had to go back, but finally he pulled up a picture of Peterâs Iron Man Build-a-Bear, his own hand holding it up to the camera.
Nebula crowded around the head of the bed, peering down at the screen. She looked at it critically for a second, glancing between it and Tony.
âWhat is itâs function?â She finally asked.
âKids cuddle with them,â Tony replied. She looked confused. âYou know, hug them?â
âOh geez. Um. Like, like this.â Finger hesitating for a second, Tony swiped to the next picture. His breath stuttered in his lungs.
Beaming up at him from the screen was the ghost of Peter Parker, bright and young and perfect. The teddy bear was tucked under his chin and his cheeks still faintly pink with embarrassment. Tony had had to make a really stupid âdad joke" to even get Peter to smile. In the picture theyâd taken together, Peter was mid eye-roll.
Tonyâs thumb hovered over the image as if about to caress the boyâs face. He could feel Nebula looking at him, knew she recognized Peter as the kid that had died in Tonyâs arms. And even if she hadnât, she still would have knownâshe was the one that had heard him screaming Peterâs name in his sleep, whispering apologies to the Peter he hallucinated once the infection took hold.
âWhy do they⌠cuddle them?â Nebula made a face at the word and Tony snorted, still staring at his screen.
âUs humans do that. We, um, need physical contact.â
Tony woke up to the hazy awareness that came with heavy medication. He remembered the entire fight, this time, and groaned quietly. His injuries would take forever to heal, his busted knee would probably ache for the rest of his life. Getting old sucked. But taking the brunt of the damage was worth it as long Peter got to grow old, too.
Speaking of Peter, Tony felt a suspiciously Peter-shaped weight against his side. He peeled an eye open and, sure enough, Peter was tucked up against him, his arm over Tonyâs stomach.
âKid,â Tony groaned. Peter looked up at him, a nasty bruise on his temple.
âWhat are you doing here?â Tony asked, fighting the pull of medication trying to make him fall asleep again.
âHuman contact helps dull pain,â Peter told him. He pressed himself a little closer. âIs it working?â
âBetter than morphine,â Tony said drily. Peter made an aggravated noise at his sarcasm.
âIâm trying to help,â Peter whispered.
Tony sighed, shifting a little so that Peterâs head was nestled more comfortably against his shoulder.
âYou know you donât have to feel guilty, buddy. You really donât.â
âAnd you know that I do anyway, so just let meâŚâ Peter trailed off.
âItâs the only thing I can do for you right now.â
Tony closed his eyes. This kid.
âEases pain, you say?â
âAnd helps you sleep,â Peter added, his own words getting thicker as he started to doze against Tonyâs chest.
Tony ducked his head and lightly kissed Peterâs bruised temple.
âWell, heaven knows I could use some of that.â
Tony jerked himself out of his own thoughts this time. The picture of Peter was blurry now, and Tony blinked hurriedly to dispel the tears.
âDo you⌠donât alien kids have something like that?â he asked.
Nebulaâs dark eyes stared at him for a long moment.
Right. Suckiest dad in the universe.
âTell you what, when Iâm up and moving again, and youâre back from your space adventure, weâll go get you one.â
Nebula worked her jaw for a moment, like she was going to argue, but her eyes betrayed curiosity and a little bit of excitement in her gaze.
Marching up to a Build-a-Bear after the end of the world with an ex-homicidal blue alien was pretty high up on Tonyâs list of âweirdest things Iâve ever done,â but he glared at the shop attendant that cowered behind the counter as if it was totally normal.
Heâd been a little surprised the place was still open, actually. Plenty of stores had had to close their doors after the Snap, too short staffed or without managers and owners.
This was the same store heâd come to with Peter. It still smelled the same. The memory punched the air out of his lungs.
âKeep your eyes closed, Pete.â
Peter scowled. âMr. Stark, people are giving us weird looks. I can feel it.â
âChill out. Just a couple more seconds.â With both hands on Peterâs shoulders, Tony steered them through the brightly lit store, around little kids and stands with tiny clothes hanging on little cardboard hangers. When they reached the right spot, Tony reached out tipped Peterâs chin down so that heâd see the surprise right when he opened his eyes. The kid didnât even flinch at the unexpected touch and Tonyâs lungs constricted at the trust Peter put in him.
âAlright, kiddo. Go ahead.â
There, at the end of the line of Avengers themed teddy bears, was a red plush with spider web patterns all over it. It was wearing a replica of the Spider-Man suit and had a mask shoved up on itâs head, smushing the ears.
âCongrats, kid, youâve joined the ârecognizable enough to make a profitâ league,â Tony laughed, both hands still on Peterâs shoulders.
âOh my gosh!â Peter picked up the stuffed animal, running his fingers over it. He tugged the mask over the bearâs face.
âLooks just like you, Pete,â Tony joked, grinning widely. Peter gave his arm a soft whack.
âThis is amazing. I have to take a picture and show Ned. Heâll freak,â Peter rambled, fishing for his phone in his pocket.
âOr you could just show him in person.â
âItâs a bit far to comeââ Peter started, looking around at the store with a furrow between his eyebrows.
âIâm obviously going to buy you one, kid,â Tony interrupted, rolling his eyes. âTo add to your collection.â
Peter blushed. âMr. Stark.â
âAfter all, you canât have Iron Man without his loyal sidekick Spider-Man, can you?â
Peter pursed his lips, but there was something soft and awed in his face, like being Iron Manâs sidekick was a dream come true. âNot your sidekick, Mr. Stark.â
âI know, kiddo,â Tony assured him, ruffling his hair. âNow, come on, show me how this works.â
Twenty minutes later, they were leaving with a new teddy bear, the little pseudo-birth certificate that came with reading âUnderroos.â
âYour face is leaking.â Nebulaâs voice startled him so badly he flinched. His hands flew up to his face, wiping away the tears on his cheeks.
âRight. Sorry.â Nebula didnât say anything. It was one of the best things about her.
âWhat do I do?â she asked, a little quieter as if embarrassed to not know.
âJust pick one you like,â Tony said shrugging, walking around the store and peering at each bin full of animals waiting to be stuffed. Nebula trailed along behind him, examining them as if wary they would come alive and bite her.
When they came to the Avengers ones, Tony paused. The Spider-Man bear was still there, the crate almost empty. The only ones that seemed more popular were Iron Man and Captain America. Tony smiled a bit. Peter would flip if he knew heâd beaten out Thor.
âThatâs your son,â Nebula remarked, a touch surprised.
Tony swallowed, looking at the little plushie. He decided not to correct her. âYeah. He, uh, heâs pretty popular, here on Earth.â
Nebula stooped and picked out a Spider-Man bear. âI like this one,â she proclaimed, with a confidence that surprised Tony. Sheâd never expressed real preference or dislike for anything before.
Tony cleared his throat. âYou⌠you donât have to get that one, just cause itâsâYou donât have to get that one for me.â
âI like this one,â she said again.
âAlright, Bluebell.â She glanced up at him at the nickname. âLetâs go get you your very first stuffed animal.â
After the bear had been stuffed, the little heart placed insideâNebula had been very confused at that partâand closed up, the worker left them to pick out clothes and whatever else they wanted. Nebula looked at the bear in her hands for a long moment, and then raised it and tucked it under her chin, mimicking what she had seen Peter doing in the picture Tony had showed her. Tony watched, one eyebrow raised, as she stood like that for a long moment, eyes closed.
When she opened her eyes, she looked at Tony.
âI see,â she said simply. Tony smiled.
Two weeks later, as she and Rocket boarded their ship to leave Earth, Nebula had her little Spider-Man bearâdecked out in an Iron Man outfit, at her insistenceâunder her arm.
