Peter Parker laid against the side of the mattress belonging to his best friend Ned Leeds, his eyes trying desperately to close.
But he didn’t wanna have the horrible memories that stole every moment of shut eye like some kind of mental Winter Soldier, replaying his worst memories on a film reel.
But it was warm in here, beneath the weight of the blanket Ned had so graciously let him borrow. He had been crashing here since…what happened with Aunt May. Mrs. Leeds was nice, Peter supposed. She always looked at him like he was somehow broken, and it made the teenage superhero feel less than.
Less than Ned, less than the others who the world looked up to.
Captain America, Hawkeye, Falcon, the White Wolf, Ant-Man.
He was just a kid. A damn kid in underoos-
“Hey, Pete?” The teen’s head snapped up, he was still laid on the ground beside his best friend’s bed.
“Over here, Bug-Boy.” Peter’s head snapped over to the window, and Mr. Stark was leaning against the wall of the cramped bedroom.
“M-Mr. Stark!” The kid squealed, jumping up and looking him up and down.
“Y-You…You aren’t one of Beck’s super realistic illusions right?” The boy asked as his head lowered slowly into the chest of his beloved mentor. It felt like his suit, and he could feel where the Iron Man suit summoning device was hidden beneath the patterned shirt.
“Last time I checked I’m myself.” The billionaire’s arms tightened around Peter’s shoulders. He smelled like home, almost like the lab Peter had lost access to after Thanos’s snap temporarily killed him, then when Tony saved the world…and died, but no one was gonna save him.
He died right in front of Peter. Pepper was there was she not? Almost every Avenger was basically right next to the older man.
But now he’s alive. He’s here. He’s holding onto Peter’s body, the kid’s mentor was calling him all those stupid nicknames that made his eyes blur like some shitty Snapchat filter.
“Hey, I got Happy to take us on a drive. Let’s go, he’s waiting outside.” The billionaire adjusted his grip on the kid, his smile so warm it basically was melting the boy who had lost too much to only be 17.
“Like old times.” The double orphan mumbled, pulling his Stark Industries sweatshirt tighter around his thin frame.
“Yup.” Mr. Stark’s hand reached up into Peter’s hair, stroking the unruly curls down to his forehead. Just like he did before everything stopped making sense.
Happy honked and rolled his eyes as his boss’s husband and their mentee came out of the cramped house.
“Took you long enough.” The head of security complained, his hands gripping the wheel much tighter than needed.
“You know you love driving us, now take us to the compound.” The billionaire flashed one of his award winning smiles and the other man sighed, rolled up the divider and let the mentor and his mentee hang out.
“This…you’re not real. Are you?” The kid mumbled, his hand holding Tony’s sleeve.
A sigh escaped the lips of the other man.
“Wish I could give you a good answer, bud. But I can’t. I died. When you got snapped on Titan, I knew I’d die to bring you home, and I did. But you’re here.” The man’s hand was rubbing the place between Peter’s neck and shoulder.
“Mr. Stark…” the teen whined, his eyes filling up with tears.
“But you know what kid? I’m in here,” He tapped Peter’s chest, right above the heart that hadn’t beat correctly since that day in 2018, “and I’m here.” The billionaire’s other hand came up to cradle the younger’s forehead, “I’m in your brain, I’m in your heart, and as long as you live, I do.”
“This isn’t- this isn’t fair!” Peter’s eyes started leaking tears.
“I know, kid. Rarely is life fair. You got Maguna. You got Ned and May-“
“No I don’t! I don’t have Aunt May anymore either…she died. Tony. She died.” Now Peter’s eyes were leaking more and more dribbles of water until it became rivers.
“Oh…I didn’t know, Bug.” Softly, the older man’s hands traveled through the kid’s hair.
“That’s why I was at Ned’s. His mom took me in. She said she couldn’t handle the thought of me in the foster care system.”
“Good. My baby bug deserves a good home.” Tony’s voice was nothing more than a coo now, as if he were talking to an actual baby and not a near adult.
“Still got that MJ girl?”
”Yeah…seven years together now, counting the time we spent…um…absent.” The billionaire smiled slightly, his hands sliding down his spine.
”I like her, macabre but a good head on her shoulders.”
Peter smashed his face into Tony’s shirt, doing deep inhales of his scent because he knew this would probably be the last time he hugged him. The last time he sat in the back of Tony’s crazy expensive car, with Happy grumbling up in the front.
Much too quickly in the high schooler’s opinion, the forest had began to thin out. He could see the compound where he lived whenever Ned’s mom needed him out of the house. He’d spent many a days here, pretending it wasn’t lonely with only the ghosts of the dead Avengers watching over him.
Sometimes he would sit on the mat Natasha used to throw him onto and probably do things that wouldn’t pass in this new world, and he swore he felt the Russian’s arms wrapped around his shoulders.
Eventually, the kid felt the car stop.
“Get out kid. The Avengers need you.” Tony’s voice was soothing and made him wanna stay.
“But Mr. Stark—“ the kid started to whine
“Parker. We’ve been over this. The world is done with me, not with you. Go.”
Peter got out of the car, shut the door, and woke up laying in Ned’s bedroom, his eyes blurring like he was peering through a shitty Snapchat filter at the world around him. As he laid there, he began crying against his arm. Life sucks. It’s not fair, the world doesn’t need Peter, it just needs fucking Spider-Man. The web-slinging superhero. The guy who the teen didn’t wanna be anymore. He wanted to have a good life, with Tony and his children, but instead he just got gifted trauma. Thanks, Thanos.