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Peter was relieved at first. A smile grew on his face for the first time in years (literally) when he saw Thanos turn to dust. Obviously Mr. Stark would be the one to step up, he always was. It made Peter idolize him even more than he did.
But that was before everything went silent. And then an irregular heartbeat. Wheezing breaths, that were starting to slow down to a dangerous rate.
Peter looked around him frantically, starting to panic at what his enhanced hearing was picking up on. And that's when he saw it. Rhodey, crouched down in front of a sitting down Tony, who looked almost dead.
Peter forgot about the damage the infinity stones could cause to a mortal, in the heat of the battle.
No.
No, no, no, no.
He only just got back. He only just got back.
The boy instantly rushed over to his Dad mentor with shaking legs. He willed himself to jump down beside Rhodey and walk closer.
"Mr. Stark?" He hoped his voice didn't sound as shaky as he felt. Rhodey's expression morphed from sadness to sympathy once he heard the kid's arrival. He knew this was going to be hard for Peter to handle, and hard for the man to watch.
Now that Peter was getting a closer look at Tony, it felt like a weight was dropped right in his stomach. He could still hear his heartbeat though, so maybe everything would be okay? Rhodey backed away, allowing Peter to crouch down in front of Tony.
"Hey." Peter said, knowing for certain that his voice was shaking, this time. Tears dripped down the boy's face when Tony didn't answer him. He just sat there, staring into...nothing. It made Peter spiral even more.
"Mr. Stark, can you hear me?" He asked, touching Tony's hand. It felt cold and scorching at the same time.
Tony didn't answer. "It's Peter." The boy continued. "Hey." All he wanted was Tony's attention. He needed him to respond. He needed him to be alive.
But still nothing. Peter started breathing quickly, trying his best to keep it under control. Tony was usually the one who helped him calm down, and now he never would again. He would never be there to dry his tears, he would never be there to hug him after a really bad day at school, he would never be there.
"We won, Mr. Stark." Peter said, trying his best to smile, just in case Tony could still see him. "We won, Mr. Stark." He held back a sob as more tears drenched his face. "We won. You did it, sir, you did it." Peter couldn't control his crying now. His voice was shaky and wet, along with his face. He wasn't even sure if he was breathing correctly.
He felt a pair of hands being placed on his shoulders. He didn't know who's they were, but he also didn't care. He didn't want whoever was comforting him and trying to pull him upwards. He wanted Tony.
"I'm sorry." He whispered, clinging onto Tony with both hands now. "Tony?" He couldn't say anything more, his uncontrollable crying was making it too hard. He bowed his head and let himself be pulled upwards by the person standing behind him. It was Pepper, whispering reassurances to the boy but her words were going straight over his head. He was too lost in his own sorrow and pain that he couldn't understand what she was saying. He held his hand against his mouth, hoping it would muffle his sobs as he backed away from his...Dad. Away from his Dad. Forever.
Pepper crouched down in front of Tony, but Peter didn't know what she was saying. He couldn't comprehend any of it. Time seemed to be slowing down and he didn't know how to handle it.
This wasn't fair. None of it was fair. He only just got back, and his dad was being taken away from him.
He wondered if it was even worth bring him back if his reason for living was stripped away from him straight afterwards. He'd rather stay dead.
He looked around him, seeing the sadness written on all of the Avengers' faces. He had never seen Steve Rogers look so...broken before. He wondered if that's what he looked like, or if he looked worse. He searched the crowds, trying to ignore the pain on Clint's face, or on Thor's, Bucky's, Sam's...everyone's.
His eyes finally landed on Wong's. He looked sad, but it was more sympathetic than the others since he didn't know Tony that well. Peter walked over to him, not being able to stand in this situation any longer. He would've walked over to Dr. Strange, but that man was grieving and Peter didn't want to disturb that, knowing how it felt.
"M-Mr. Wong, sir?" Peter greeted once he approached the sorcerer. Wong's sympathetic expression only increased when he looked at the boy.
"Mr. Parker." He replied, pouring every ounce of I'm so sorry and I wish this didn't have to happen into his greeting.
"Can you, um, can you portal me back home? Please?" Peter asked, looking at the ground as another tear drop fell from his eye.
Wong hesitated before answering. "Are you sure you don't want to wait with the others?"
Another tear rolled down Peter's face. "I just want to see my Aunt, please." He said, still staring at the ground.
Wong sighed in defeat. "What's the address?" He asked. Peter finally looked up before stating the address to his and May's apartment. Wong then stepped to the side and opened up a portal. Peter's apartment building instantly appeared in eye sight and the boy let out a shaky breath. He turned his head to look at Tony one last time, face scrunching up in pain and heartbreak at the sight of Pepper crying on his dead body. He turned back around, not wanting to watch anymore. He sniffed, wiped away his tears and faced Wong once more.
"Thank you, sir." He said. Wong gave him a nod and Peter put his mask back on, stepping through the portal.
He was suddenly standing on the pavement, outside of his home, and the portal closed up. Peter looked around him, watching as people were rushing around franticly and hugging their loved ones. He felt his eyes sting with tears again, so he began walking forward. He snuck into the alleyway beside the building to take off his two sets of Spider-Man suits. He was suddenly extremely grateful that he left his clothes on before jumping out of his bus to help Mr. Stark.
His heart hurt from the memory, so he cleared his brain and thought of nothing instead.
He scrunched up his fabric suit and tossed it in the trash. He didn't want it anymore. Besides, he had the nanotech one that Mr. Stark made for him-
Stop it.
He let out a shaky breath before heading to the front of the building and rushing up the stairs, itching to see his Aunt. He ran until he got to his floor, walking down the hallways until he got to the door to his apartment. He hurried to open it, but it was locked. He cursed under his breath and knocked on the door, shifting on the balls of his feet.
A shaky smile grew on his face as he heard footsteps on the other side of the door. The door door opened, and Peter's smile dropped. The woman staring back at him was definitely not Aunt May. This woman was tall and dark skinned. And his apartment looked nothing like his apartment.
"You're...I'm- who are you?" Peter asked, not caring about how blunt he was being. He deserved it, after the day he had.
"Jayla Vale. Who are you?" The woman responded, looking equally as confused as Peter.
"I...this is..." The teenager didn't even know what to say, "this is my...apartment." His eyes began to water again. He just needed a break, and the universe just kept on throwing stuff in his face. Realization dawned on the woman - Jayla - and her expression turned sympathetic.
"You're one of the blipped, aren't you?" She asked, opening the door wider. "Are you Peter Parker?" Peter didn't respond. He didn't even know what was happening, but he gave a slight nod regardless.
"Come in." She said, turning around and walking into Peter's her(?) apartment, leaving Peter standing there, stunned. He followed her in and closed the door behind him. His apartment didn't look like his apartment anymore. He made him want to cry all over again. That was until he turned a corner and saw his Aunt, sat on the couch with a mug of coffee in her hands. She looked...confused. And upset. There was a man sitting in front of her. Peter assumed it was the woman's husband.
Peter started crying again when May looked up at him, a smile spreading on her face as she set her coffee down. The boy immediately rushed up to her and threw his arms around her neck, trying desperately not to start sobbing.
"Could we, uh...could we have some privacy please?" May asked the couple. Her voice was shaky. They nodded in understanding and left the room. Once they were gone, May buried her face into Peter's neck, trying to slow down her flow of tears.
"Oh, Pete. I was so worried that you weren't going to come back." She sniffed. Peter pulled away, both of them wiped their wet faces.
"May, what's going on?"
"Everyone who was blipped came back half an hour ago. Just like me." She said expression wavering. Peter frowned. Aunt May blipped too?
Part of Peter was relieved to hear that. It meant that May didn't have to live without him for however long.
"I blipped back here...a-and I was terrified because I felt so disorientated and...our apartment is completely different...and you weren't here." May explained to the shivering teenager. He didn't know why he was shivering. He wasn't cold.
"Then Jayla and Frank, the couple who live here now, explained everything to me. I was gone for five years, Pete. You were too." She said, her voice breaking and tears escaping her eyes.
Five years.
Five years.
This whole thing is fucked up in so many ways.
"Jayla told me I could wait here in case you showed up." She said, embracing her nephew again. "Oh my God, Peter. I was so terrified. What took you so long? Where did you blip back?" She pulled away again.
Peter's eyes instantly watered at the questions. They brought back what happened only fifteen minutes ago.
"I..." Peter's voice broke off. "May...something happened." May took notice of the way Peter's voice wavered. The way the tears in his eyes started to fall down his cheeks. She also took notice of how silent the boy had been the whole of their reunion, but she assumed it was just from shock.
"What, honey? What happened?" May asked, placing a hand on Peter's shoulder for comfort. It was strange how easily and quickly May fit back into her 'Aunt' role. It was like nothing ever happened. Like they didn't just come back from the dead after being gone for five years and were sat in a stranger's apartment, that used to be theirs.
"It's um...you - you remember when that spaceship came down and the news said Mr. Stark was missing?" He didn't know why he even asked. Of course she would remember. it might've been five years, but to them it had been five minutes.
May nodded. "Yeah, I tried calling you so many times and you didn't pick up. You scared the shit out of me." She said as she let out a wet chuckle. Peter knew he was supposed to laugh, but he couldn't.
"I was with him, May." Peter said, head bowed. His voice was drenched in tears, making him sound different. Making him sound broken. All that was running around his head was, you were with him. You should've done better. You could've saved him. You're useless. You were with him the whole time, and you did nothing to help him.
May just sat there, mouth agape slightly, before speaking. "You were...what?"
"Yeah." The teenager looked up. "I was in a spaceship with Mr. Stark. Trying to stop Thanos from killing billions of people." Peter almost laughed at how ridiculous it all sounded. "I was with all the Avengers."
May remembered Frank and Jayla telling her about all the Avengers who died trying to stop Thanos. She didn't know why they failed to mention that Spider-Man was with them.
Peter ended up telling her the whole story. From the moment he jumped out of the bus, to when they were on Titan. His Aunt sat patiently, waiting for the boy to finish. He was clearly in so much distress and pain, so she held her panic down. Peter got to talking about the final battle. If their situation was much different, Peter would've been telling the story in excitement and joy. After all, he was part of a huge battle with the Avengers. He was an Avenger.
"Wow, I'm so proud of you, honey! That battle sounds so...I can't even - you saved everyone, Pete!" May exclaimed when she thought the kid was finished. Peter's lack of enthusiasm told the woman that something was very wrong.
"I didn't save anyone. It was...it was Mr. Stark." Peter whispered, tears falling. May got an awful feeling in her stomach. "He actually, um...he..." He physically couldn't say the actual words. He already felt like throwing up.
"He's gone, May."
There was silence, but May was sure she could hear Peter's heart breaking.
She didn't know what to say, so she said nothing. She simply wrapped her arms around Peter and let the boy sob into her shoulder. Tears were forming in her own eyes, too. After May found out about Peter being Spider-Man, she had grown relatively close to Tony.
She hushed his cries when they soon became hysterical.
"Oh, Peter...it's going to be okay...I'm so sorry, honey."
All Tony could feel was...actually, he wasn't sure what he could feel. He was hot, but he was cold. He was awake, but he felt asleep. He was in so much pain...but he also wasn't. In so many ways.
It took him a while to open his eyes, but he finally did. He was in...a hospital, it looked like. He furrowed his eyebrows and his eyesight soon became clear. He could hear his heart monitor beeping, and it was only then that he finally realized what had happened. What he had done.
He thought that the snap was definitely going to kill him. So why didn't it? He was definitely not complaining, though. In fact, he let out a huge sigh of relief as tears sprung in his eyes.
He needed to see Pepper. He needed to see Morgan. He needed to see Rhodey, and Happy, and Peter-
Peter.
The second hit of realization. Peter was alive. He was back. His son was back.
Tony decided that staying in the med bay wasn't worth it if he had a chance to see Peter straight away. He tried to sit himself up, but lost balance. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and tried to ignore his throbbing head as he tried again.
"Tony!" Someone suddenly exclaimed from the doorway. Pepper rushed over to him and helped him lay back down, with tears in her eyes. "Oh my God, you're awake." She sniffled, burying her head in his shoulder like she never intended to move away from him ever again. "You're awake." She repeated with a sad laugh, tears falling down her face as she lifted her head back up. Tony could feel that his own tears were eager to make an appearance.
"Hey, Pep." He said with a sniff, trying to hold back from openly sobbing. He was so overwhelmed and confused.
" Hey..."
"Hey, Pep."
Pepper wanted to have a breakdown over the memory of the love of her life, the father of her child, dying right before her eyes. He was alive, so it doesn't matter anymore. He was with her and breathing, so everything was fine. But despite that, her mind still loves to play horrible tricks on her.
Every time she would look at her husband's scarred face, or take notice of the fact that he only had one arm now, she would be reminded of everything that happened. She knows it will haunt her dreams.
But there was no use of dwelling on it, because Tony was alive. And she would make sure it would stay that way.
When Tony tried to move his arm to hug his wife, he found that he couldn't. He looked down in confusion and instantly paled at the sight. His right arm was gone.
Pepper sensed the shock and quickly intervened. "The radiation was spreading too quickly. We had to remove your arm otherwise you...we weren't sure you were going to make it." She said with a shaky exhale. "Shit...you're...you...you sacrificed yourself, Tony. I can't even...I love you so much." She sobbed.
Tony looked back up, the tears he was trying to hold back had finally escaped. It wasn't about his arm. He couldn't care less about his arm. If it meant that he could continue to live with his family, then good riddance.
"God, Pepper. I love you so much." He said, voice breaking, before their lips crashed together.
Besides, he could just make himself a new arm. Maybe with Peter-
Peter.
"Wait, pep..." He said as they pulled away. "Is...is Peter...?" Talking about him just made Tony want to cry even more.
But Pepper's expression didn't look happy, or full of love. It looked broken.
"We didn't want to tell him about your condition until we knew for certain that you were going to survive." She said, with a soft voice. "We didn't want to give him false hope, especially because of how he's dealing with everything."
"Wait...are you saying that my kid thinks I'm dead?!"
"Yes, but I'll get someone to contact him, Tony. He'll be here as soon as he hears the news." She said with a slight smile.
Tony let out a shaky breath before nodding. "Okay...fine. Now let me see Morgan."
It had been a week since...everything happened. Jayla and Frank allowed Peter and May to stay at their apartment whilst the pair looked for a new place to live, which was nice of them. But Peter somehow wasn't able to express his gratitude. In fact, he hardly spoke to them at all. He was just so...numb. May was the one who had to do all the talking, but she didn't mind. She knew what her nephew was going through, they all did. Besides, May had made friends with the couple so she loved talking to them anyway.
Peter was sat in the spare bedroom, curled under his blanket, when he go the call. He was about to decline it before he saw that it was Pepper. He wiped his tears away and answered. He may be feeling numb, but there was no way he was going to ignore Pepper after her husband died.
"Hi." His shaky voice said.
"Hi, honey." Pepper replied. Peter furrowed his eyebrows. The woman didn't sound as upset as he expected her to sound. "I know this may be a bad time for you, but...I was wondering if you'd like to come over and meet your little sister?"
Peter blinked. He forgot that Mr. Stark and Pepper had a kid. He remembered Dr. Strange telling him.
His heart hurt when Pepper called her his 'little sister'. She probably wanted them to meet before the funeral. Peter squeezed his eyes shut. As much as he wanted to say no, he didn't. Pepper must've been going through a really hard time and he didn't want to upset her further.
"Great, Happy is already on his way to pick you up. I've also got a surprise for you." She said. Her voice sounded like she was smiling, which caught Peter off guard. She shouldn't be smiling. She should be in pain.
"O-Okay...thanks Pepper." He mumbled and hung up.
Once Happy arrived, Peter walked out the apartment (for the first time since he got there a week ago) and slid into the backseat.
"Hey, kid." Happy greeted. Which was also weird. Peter was usually the one that had to start the conversation, and Happy still wouldn't talk. He probably just pitied Peter, or maybe he needed some cheering up too.
"Hi, Happy." Peter murmured, not wanting to carry on the conversation. Happy took the hint and started driving. He didn't actually know where they were going. Does the Avengers Compound still exist? Is Pepper with her daughter in their own house?
The boy asked himself so many questions, but didn't expect to turn into a hospital carpark. Happy parked up and began to get out.
"Wait - what are we doing at a hospital?" Peter asked. He hated hospitals. It just reminded him of the many people he had lost.
Happy just simply smiled at him. "Come on." He got out the car.
Peter had never been more confused as he timidly got out of the Audi and followed Happy inside. Maybe his 'little sister' was hurt? Pepper was already waiting for them at the front, immediately embracing Peter when she saw him.
"Hi, honey." She sniffed sadly. The boy looked so much different from the last time she saw him. He was pale, skinny and had dark circles under his eyes. It broke Pepper inside and she regrets not telling him sooner about Tony's survival.
Peter buried his head in the woman's shoulder, trying so hard not to start crying.
"Hi, Pepper." He said and pulled away. He swallowed a lump in his throat. "I-I'm really sorry...about everything."
Pepper smiled sadly at him before a little girl came running up to them.
"Mommy!" She shouted. Pepper beamed at her and picked her up.
"Hi, sweetheart. Look, this is Peter. He's your big brother!" She explained, turning her so she could see him. The little girl waved at him excitedly.
"Hi! I'm Morgan!"
Morgan Stark.
The girl reached out to the boy, so he hesitantly took her from Pepper's arms and held her. Peter blinked. Morgan's hair, her eyes, her confidence. It all resembled Mr. Stark. Her face shape and the light streaks in her hair resembled Pepper. She looked up at Peter like he hung the moon. She must've been told stories about him when he was...well, dead. She was adorable, looking at him with big doe eyes that were shining with glee.
Peter knew that he already loved her and he would protect his little sister with his life.
"Hey, Morgan. I'm Peter Parker." He smiled, the tears he had been holding back finally slid down his face. She frowned when she noticed her brother crying.
"Petey, why are you sad?" He was about to answer when Pepper turned to her daughter.
"Hey, Mo, would you like to go get some juice pops with your Uncle Happy?" She asked. The girl immediately nodded. Pepper took her from Peter and set her down and Happy walked her out of the room. Peter's confusion returned.
"Come with me, Peter." She said with a smile.
She walked off before Peter could ask her to elaborate, so he quickly followed after her.
She finally got to a door and paused, looking back at Peter.
"What's going on?" Peter asking nervously.
"See for yourself." She opened the door, gesturing for Peter to walk in, so he did. Very slowly.
Until he came face to face with Mr. Stark. The man gave him a smile with watering eyes when he saw him.
Peter blinked. His brain was registering what was happening. Was he dreaming? He had to be dreaming. He just stood there, frozen in place, completely unaware of the tears streaming down his face.
"Peter." Mr. Stark almost sobbed. He reached out for the boy, but Peter remained still.
"Go on, honey." Pepper said softly from beside him.
He was dreaming. He had to be. But if he was, why did Mr. Stark have scars on his face? Why did he only have one arm?
He felt like throwing up.
"Peter, c'mere." Tony said, looking like he was seconds away from crying himself. Pepper was already there.
"N-No." Peter finally gasped out, turning his head away and walking backwards until his back hit the wall. He didn't want to look at him. He couldn't.
"Peter, it's okay. It's alright." Pepper was next to him in an instant, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly. She could feel him trembling under her hand. Peter covered his mouth with his hand, in hopes of muffling his cries.
Tony moved to get out of bed, desperate to comfort his scared kid, when Pepper shot him a look.
"No, Tony. Lay back down." She said and turned back to Peter. "Pete, honey. It's okay. Take my hand."
Pepper let Peter take his time before he finally lifted his shaking hand and placed it in Pepper's. She walked him over to Tony's hospital bed, extremely slowly, for Peter's benefit. Tony found himself wiping away his own tears. They finally reached the bed, but the teen's head was directed at the floor. Pepper slowly let go and stepped to the side.
"Peter." Tony choked out after a few seconds of silence. "Can you look at me, please?"
Peter had his eyes squeezed shut as his tears dropped straight to the floor. He let out a shaky breath before finally lifting his head up, meeting his father's eyes. They were red. He was crying. Peter had never seen him cry before.
Oh my God.
He's alive.
Peter's not dreaming.
"Mr. Stark." Peter hiccupped, reaching forward and wrapping his arms around him. He sobbed into the man's chest as he ran his hand down the boy's back.
"Sh, it's okay. I'm okay."
"I-I...I thought you were..." Peter trailed off.
"I know, I know. I'm so sorry."
"I-I don't understand. H-How?"
"I'll explain later. Let's just be with each other for now, yeah?" Tony said, kissing Peter's head. The boy nodded and scrambled into the bed, lying next to his Dad.
"I missed you so much, Peter." Tony whispered, the five years without him still lingering in his mind.
Peter thought about saying 'I missed you too' but he didn't think that was very fair. Tony had to live without him for five whole years, whereas Peter only went without Tony for a week, and he had been too selfish to even stick around to found out he wasn't actually dead.
So instead, he said, "I met your daughter."
Peter could hear the smile in Tony's voice. "I've always wanted you to meet her. She reminded me so much of you, kid."
"She's amazing."
"Yeah. And she has an amazing big brother, too."
Peter's heart warmed.
"Your arm is gone." He stated.
"Yep. How do you feel about helping me make a new one?" Tony asked, seeming like he had no care for his missing arm at all.
Peter beamed. "Of course I will."
Tony smiled and kissed Peter's head. Peter clung onto him tighter.
"I love you, Dad."
Tony felt like crying all over again. "I love you, so so much."