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The whole world celebrated the return of those who had been snapped. But to Peter, it felt like he was dying all over again. Sad could not even begin to describe how he felt.
Devastated. Miserable. Lonely.
Ever since he had been back, he had barely spoken, barely slept, barely eaten. He just felt empty. He didn't care about anything. Nothing made sense anymore. Nothing mattered. Tony was gone, and that was all Peter could think of.
And as if it wasn't hard enough to get it through each day without breaking down, his school just had to announce an Iron-Man-tribute day. Peter knew Tony wouldn't have shut up about this. Oh no, he would never have heard the end of it. And not hearing the man bragging about it only reminded Peter of the fact that he was gone.
What made it slightly better though, was the fact that this was an Iron Man tribute. Not a Tony Stark one. It was for Iron Man the avenger, the hero, the savior. It made Peter slightly mad. How dare these people ignore the great man in the armor? But maybe it was for the best, really. The media never was too friendly when it came to Tony businessman Stark and Peter didn't think he could bear any more Stark bashing right now… or ever.
Tony had been Peter's mentor, his father-figure. They had grown close after the vulture incident, so much that when people referred to them as father and son, they didn't even try to deny it. Because it felt right. Because that's what they were, in a way.
Not that it mattered now. Tony was dead and never coming back. No more sarcastic comments, or tinkering in the lab. No more scolding Peter for making a bold move in a fight, or coming back injured from patrol. The irony. Before the Snap, Tony's rants about safety used to drive him mad. He knew the man just wanted to protect him but he couldn't help being annoyed by it at the same time. More than once, the team had called him a helicopter-parent. That usually made Tony splutter and Peter's cheeks redden. Oh, what wouldn't he do right now to get his helicopter dad back.
Posters were plastered through the whole school. Seeing his mentor slash father's face everywhere made it hard for Peter. At noon, the principal gave a short speech and then they observed a minute's silence. People didn't know Tony as well as he did, but knowing that they were grateful for his sacrifice and not dismissing it as part of the hero gig was what made the day a little more bearable for Peter.
But of course, something had to go wrong. After lunch, Peter found himself sitting in class with the rest of his classmates and Mr Harrington announced that they would be watching a documentary honoring the fallen hero.
For two and a half hours straight, pictures and videos of Iron Man flashed up on the screen. There were many fight scenes, a few press conferences, all of them about the hero that kept saving the world.
They mentioned Tony's scientific exploits and his genius brain, of course. He had designed the suit after all. But it wasn't until the end that the domestic side of tony came up. They showed clips of him and Pepper. A lot of them also included Rhodey and Happy. Bruce, Steve, Natasha, Clint, Thor. They all appeared as well. But what knocked the wind out of Peter was the recording of a speech Tony had made for a radio before the Blip. One that Peter hadn't known about.
"What would you say inspires you the most, as a hero and as a man?" The interviewer asked.
"I wouldn't say it's a what. It's more of a who. Kid's a genius but doesn't realize it. He has a pure heart, fights for what he stands for. Selfless, humble." Tony laughed. "Well, he's everything I'm not, really."
"Are you two related?"
"I wish." Tony laughed. "Seriously, that kid has everyone wrapped around his little finger and doesn't even know it. Anyone would want him as family. I want him as family."
"Sounds like a wonderful person."
"The best." Tony said solemnly, unusually serious.
"And who might that young man be?" The woman asked curiously. After all, Tony Stark was known for his arrogant attitude and hearing him praising other people, other than Pepper of course, was almost unheard of.
"Well I can't tell you that or you'd all go harassing the poor kid. Just know that one day, he'll take the world by storm and I'll be there to say I told you so."
Peter blinked quickly to get rid of the burning in his eyes.
As if they knew who Tony had been talking about, they showed Iron Man and Spiderman fighting side by side, the heroes laughing together, Tony rushing over to Spidey after he had gotten shot on the job. That actually made some of Peter's classmates aww sadly.
The fact that Iron Man had taken the vigilante under his wing had not escaped the public's eye. In fact, Peter knew how much people loved to see them interact, fascinated by the fact that someone could turn Tony Stark into such a lovable man. Some of them even went as far as dubbing the duo Irondad and Spiderson. Funny how people could know so much and yet be so oblivious.
It was the final image that finally made Peter lose his composure. It was an innocent picture of Tony in his lab. He was bent over an iron man suit, laughing as he looked up at the camera. What people didn't know though, was that the reason for Tony's smile was the kid holding the camera who was dangling upside down from the ceiling. In the corner was written in bold:
Thank you, Iron Man. You will be missed.
Tears welled up in Peter's eyes and his breathing got labored.
The screen went black and words flashed one last time:
In tribute to Tony Stark.
Hero. Husband. Father.
The light came back on and Peter closed his eyes, tears rolling down his flushed cheeks.
"You ok, man?" Ned's voice was gentle, but everyone in the silent room could hear him perfectly.
Peter just gripped his desk and panted heavily, trying to regain his composure.
"Mr Parker?" Mr Harrington asked hesitantly.
Peter looked at his teacher and attempted a smile which looked more like a grimace.
"He really was something, wasn't he?" He half-laughed half-sobbed. The teacher looked lost, as did everyone else in the room.
Ned put a hand on Peter's shoulder, squeezing it gently. "Do you want to go out? I can call May? Or Happy?"
The mention of Happy only made Peter's tears fall faster. Usually, he would call the bodyguard when he needed to see Tony. Tony who he couldn't see right now because he was dead.
"He's gone" His voice cracked. "He's really gone"
Peter looked at Ned desperately.
"God, I miss him" A sob escaped him, another followed, and then he couldn't stop.
Ned wrapped his arms around his best friend in an attempt to soothe him.
"I know, Pete."
"I miss him so much" The grief in his voice was clear to everyone in the room. If anyone still had doubts about the internship, they definitely dismissed them right then.
Ned just rubbed circles on his back and made shushing sounds.
"I-I can't d-do this without him. I-I can't" Peter was crying so much he could barely get the words out.
"Yes you can, Peter."
"No. I need him." He was pleading, as if imploring that someone, anyone, just gives him his father back. "I'm n-nothing without him."
"Come on, man. Don't say that." Ned said gently
Gripping Ned's shirt tightly, Peter drew back and fixed him with begging eyes. "He was… He's everything to me."
"I know, Pete. You were everything to him too."
Peter just shook his head and whimpered, trying in vain to hold his sobs in. He buried his nose in Ned's shirt again.
"I w-want him back."
"I know, Pete. I'm sorry."
"I w-wish he was here."
"I wish he was here too, buddy."
Peter knew his little breakdown would probably seem suspicious for someone who was just an intern, but strangely, he didn't care. If anything, he wanted to shout to the world how great Tony Stark really was, how proud he was to have such an awesome dad.
And Peter did just that.