Chapter Text
That night, Peter had fallen asleep on the hospital room’s couch. Tony had a feeling he hadn’t been sleeping well in the time since they’d last seen each other, so he let him sleep instead of pelting him with more worried questions and lectures.
Seeing his kid so peaceful was one of the biggest reliefs he’d had since he snapped his fingers. He was finally safe again, even if there was a part of him aching to be back in his aunt’s arms.
Still, Tony had a sinking, terrified feeling that diving deep into records would show the last thing Peter wanted.
And if that was the case, he’d be there for his kid. He had risked everything in him, everything he had built, just to get him back. He’d take him in, help him readjust, anything he needed. He’d love Morgan, and Morgan already loved him. That may provide him some solace in his grief.
Tony hated that he automatically jumped to the worst case scenario with May, and hated that Peter’s breakdown was evidence that he was feeling the same way.
Then, the door to the hospital room opened, and Pepper peered in. Tony dreaded looking at her face, because with the resources she had at her fingertips, there was a good chance she already knew what happened to May. If she was in the worst-case scenario or not.
He looked over at the kid for a long moment, and then finally looked at his wife.
Something warm bloomed in his chest when he saw the hint of a genuine smile on her face. He wasn’t relieved that this was a sign that he wouldn’t have to take care of the kid. He was relieved that Peter wouldn’t fall apart like he did when his parents died.
“Where is she?” Tony asked.
Pepper gave Peter a fond glance. “He was on the right track. Charlevoix, Michigan.”
---
“I can’t do this.”
Peter and Tony were right outside of an apartment complex in Charlevoix, and Peter’s hands had been shaking since he had awoken that morning, and Tony had told him that they got an address on May. They had flown in the Quinjet, Tony insisting on going with him, even though he hadn’t left a hospital without medical supervision in over a month. It had eased his nerves a miniscule amount, but he was still petrified.
Tony chuckled. “You’ve been looking for her for a month, and now that we’ve found her, you don’t think you can-”
“What if it’s not her?”
“Pep has access to some of the most accurate census and residence records in the world. I will personally file a lawsuit against the places she got this from if she isn’t here.”
Peter wasn’t sure if Tony was serious or if he was just making a joke to try and make him feel better. Either way, Peter was tugging on the strings of his blue hoodie, a nervous tic he had developed recently that didn’t seem to be going away any time soon.
Tony sighed, clearly noticing that he hadn’t helped Peter’s mood at all. “Listen, you know you’ll always have a place with us. Especially in the highly unlikely event that she isn’t in that building. You do know that, right?”
Peter shrugged. “Thanks. I-I really appreciate it.”
“Don’t mention it. Seriously, Morgan would love you. She will love you. Regardless of whether or not your unreasonably attractive aunt isn’t here.”
Okay, that was definitely a joke. It was funny, but Peter was devoting everything he had to not running as far away as possible, so he didn’t have the energy to laugh.
Tony gave him that nearly omnipresent concerned look he had been giving Peter lately. “What, nothing? All right, bud, let’s sit down for a second.”
He took Peter’s shoulder and led him over from a nearby bench. “Okay, what’s really going on here?”
Peter shook his head slightly. On one hand, he absolutely didn’t want to admit his incessant fear to Tony. On the other hand, he really, really wanted someone to tell him that everything was going to be okay. The latter won.
“What if she doesn’t want to see me?”
Tony looked incredulous. “What if she-kid, of course she wants to see you.”
“I abandoned her. I got on a damn alien spaceship and abandoned her. I mean, do you have any idea how hard it was for her? After my parents died, after Ben died? I was the one who was supposed to hold her together and I...I just forgot all of that. Why would she want to see someone who put her through that?”
Tony didn’t say anything. Peter’s stomach sank. He desperately wanted Tony to tell him that it wasn’t his fault, even if it wasn’t true. God, of course Tony was mad at him for getting on that ship. He had gone against everything Tony wanted for him, everything he’d risked for him, so of course he would be-
“I had to tell her.”
Peter furrowed his brow at Tony. “What do you-”
“I had to tell her. That you were...gone. And that it was my fault.”
“Tony, it wasn’t your fa-”
“Yes, it was. She was on the phone with me, begging me to tell her where you were. What had happened to you. And I did. I told her that I was with you right up until the end. And that it still wasn’t enough for me to protect you. She hung up on me the moment I told her you died in my arms. A week later, she was gone. It was like she just shoved everything she owned into a bag and...left. She never talked to me again after that.”
He tugged Peter into a side hug, like he was trying to keep him from turning to dust again. “It wasn’t because she blamed you. She blamed me. As she should have. I couldn’t protect you, kid.”
“I would’ve gotten dusted even if I was on Earth.” Peter said half-heartedly. He didn’t remember much about the moment he was dusted, mostly just an intense feeling of helplessness and wanting somebody’s help. For someone to just do something. But other than that...it was just a haze of orange, someone hugging him and muttering something that he couldn’t really piece together.
“But at least you would have been with her.” Tony said, a haunted look in his eyes. “Not billions of miles from home. I was holding you when you died. You begged me to save you and I just...couldn’t do anything.”
“May wouldn’t have been able to either.”
“You would have been with her, though. You would have been home.”
Peter didn’t know what to say. Tony had been there for him as he died, and there would never be a day he wasn’t grateful for at least having that. But May...would she truly not be upset with him? Would she want to see him?
“She’ll want to see you.” Tony said. “That’s what she’s wanted for the past five years. I wanted it too, and I just happened to get to see you first.”
Peter smiled a little. It was nice to have someone care about him as much as Tony did. It gave him a massive sense of comfort, even through how petrified he was.
“All right.” Tony said, patting his shoulder. “Are you ready now?”
“No.” Peter’s internal voice said.
“Yeah.” Peter’s actual voice said.
And at long last, he let go of the hoodie strings.
---
It took an absurd amount of effort for Peter to lift his hand up and knock on the apartment’s door.
Tony held his shoulder as he did so, grounding him. It did help, but at the same time, he could barely register it. Every second the door was closed was like an eternity and a millisecond.
Please . Peter thought. Please let it be her. I know I have people, but please. Please let it be-
The lock clicked, and the door opened.
She cut her hair.
Peter didn’t know why that was the first thing he noticed. Her hair went just above her shoulders. She definitely looked older, like he’d offhandedly noticed Tony had on the battlefield. But she was still her. She was still May.
For a moment, the three of them just stood there in a stunned silence. Peter hadn’t even thought about what to say. When Strange had returned him to Tony, he had planned on just easing his worries and explaining himself. But May...what could he say that could possibly make up for what he did five years ago?
Suddenly, May rushed forward and cupped Peter’s face in her hands, a disbelieving smile on her face. “Honey…?”
Hearing her voice is what broke him. He fell into her arms, holding her just tight enough that his powers wouldn’t hurt her. In fact, it felt like she was the one with super powers. She was holding him so hard that it hurt. But in a good way.
“Oh, baby .” She gasped. “You’re here, you’re alive . How-where have you-oh my god.”
She kissed his temple repeatedly, and there were so many things he wanted to say to her, but they were all caught up in his throat. Was this how Tony felt when he reunited with him last month?
Speaking of which, one arm released its iron grip on Peter, and tugged Tony in. Tony let out a startled sound, but May didn’t let go.
“ Thank you .” She sobbed, kissing Peter’s cheek for the thousandth time.
Peter looked at Tony for a moment, who quite frankly looked alarmed. But Peter smiled at him a little, and mouthed, “Thanks, man.”
Then Tony smiled, wrapping an arm around the kid so he was crushed between the two adults. But if Peter was being perfectly honest, he couldn’t care less that it hurt a little.
The two people in the world that would do anything for him were here.
Things wouldn’t be back to normal for a while. Maybe they wouldn’t ever.
But if this was Peter’s new normal?
He wouldn’t have it any other way.