You can rest now
“Bambino, it’s alright, shhh. Don’t cry, baby boy."
Someone is holding him. It's warm and he feels safe. He opens his eyes and is met with bright colors. Everything was immersed in this orange, reddish light, the warmth surrounding him. He isn't able to identify the person who's holding him, but he knows that they love him. The atmosphere is filled with the love they feel for each other, and it seems like they are frozen in this memory. He isn't able to speak, only whimpers escape him, which leads to a gentle touch on his head. They stroke his curly hair, and whisper things in his ear that he can't quite understand, because the voice seems distant. He didn't know where he was, who he was or what he was, but he felt like that didn't matter, just this person holding him was important.
"I'm here, Buddy. It was just a nightmare. Daddy got you, Bambino. You can rest now."
Peter wakes up with a startle. Confused and disorientated, his body jerks around. Someone had shaken him awake. The Dream was still fresh in his mind, the warm voice replaying itself repeatedly. It seemed familiar and gave him a fuzzy feeling, but before he could put a face to it, the shaking begins again, and he finally looks up.
"Young boy, the library is closing now, Fridays we are only open til 7 pm."
An elderly woman looks down at him, her brownish hair bouncing up and down, because of the shaking. She has deep green eyes that bore into his and were hidden behind her thick glasses.
"Hope you found what you needed, but i really need to close now. Christmas is in 6 Days and believe it or not, but they are still preparation that needs to be done."
The woman helped him find the exit, still talking about her grandchildren and how excited she was to see their reaction to the presents. Peter just smiled at her, politely.
Christmas...
A sudden sadness comes over him, and he just wants to curl up under the thin red blanket his neighbor had made him. He misses everyone, and for the first time in his life, he feels utterly alone. Even though back in his universe, no one knows him anymore as Peter Parker, he knew them. Watching them from afar or the daily coffee talks with MJ were things that kept him going. Now there was nothing left for him, just copies of the People he used to know. May was dead. He saw her die, holding her as she took her last breath. This May had memories with this Peter. Not with him. Tears welled up in his eyes and his shoulders began to shake with the sobs that escaped his mouth. Even if he would meet this May, it would never be the same.
"Oh god, I'm sorry! Are you okay?"
Peter wanted to say he was fine, but his lips just wobbled, and more tears escapes his eyes, so he just shook his head, because honestly? He wasn't fine at all.
"Oh come here."
The woman wraps her arm around him, holding him in a tight embrace. She gently rubs his back and whispered softly in his ears that everything was going to be okay. He lets himself sink into the warmth, which felt similar to the warmth in his dream. Peter doesn't know how long the hug takes, but it's the first hug he received in a while, so he doesn't mind.
"Can I call someone for you?" her voice is gentle and soothing, and without further thinking, he nods.
"Yeah, there is someone I would like you to call."
Tony Stark was furious. Who the heck would dress up as Spider-Man and act oblivious afterward? It was just disrespectful. Angrily, Tony looks up from his phone. After May had called him, he couldn't lay in bed any second longer. He knew that this couldn't be Peter. He saw Peter die in front of his eyes, and not even a spell from some wizard could bring him back. How did he know that? Because he made that wizard do everything in his power to at least try. After so many years, why now? Why bring Hope now, when he was trying to work on his grief?
He holds his head in his hands. Tony just needed a breather. Just some time to relax and everything would be alright again, but that Kid on the news, who jumped from that stupid building, was in his head, constantly. Not just that. They were clips of him actually swinging around New York. Tony knew what Peter would have wanted him to do. Recruit him, and help him find responsibility for his action. Using his Powers for the greater good. Tony didn't know if he could do that. There was only one Spider-Man in his life that he wanted to teach, and that was his son.
Tony remembers hearing as a kid, somewhere, that parents were never meant to watch their children die. A father burying his son was an excruciating kind of pain. You're supposed to watch your child grow into something great, someone you're proud of, not watching him slowly close his eyes to never open them again.
But still, here he was, standing in front of the grave of his son, who saved the world. Tony wishes Peter hadn't given his life for humanity, and he would do anything to see his child again. Just hold him. When he heard the news about Westview, he was horrified at the fact that if he had the ability to bring Peter back like that, he would. It was one of the Reasons, Tony couldn't help Strange to fight Wanda. He knew the second Wanda would offer him a deal where he could be with Peter, he would take it gladly.
Tony kneeled in front of the tombstone, stones digging into his knees.
"I'm sorry Bambino."
"I'm sorry, Bambino, I should have protected you."
Ashes fall from the black sky. Around him, he sees bodies, blood, and fires. The battle was over, and a sudden silence fills the air. There is a white noise in his ears that won't go away, and his eyes struggle to focus. Tony, is still confused about coming back and getting told that it had been 6 years since he was snapped. Doctor Strange had told him that Peter finally figured it out and that the real war was about to begin. And now he was here, the battle was over, but a war of emotions just started to unleash as he saw his son sitting on the floor. His right sight was burned, severely burned. His suit didn't save him at all, it was just torn apart, revealing the red, angry-looking flesh under it. Tony gasped, running up to him. His Boy looked so small, even though it seemed like he was in his twenty's now. As he got closer, he could see his chest rising, up and down, his eyes still open.
"Pete, hey. Buddy, look at me."
Tony lets himself fall to the ground next to him. Taking his left hand, that looked like nothing happened at all. Peter's breath is short and sounds like when he was a little boy. Those squeaky scratches, that he had because of his asthma. Those late nights when he was awoken by his son that couldn't breathe properly.
No...
Peter turns his head to him and a small smile is curled around his lips.
"Dad, your back."
Tears build in Tony's eyes. His son looking so hopefully at him. His voice sounded wobbly. Peter seems to tear up too.
"I missed you."
Tony just shakes his head.
"Of course I'm here. I would never really leave you."
Peter sobs, letting his head fall onto his father's shoulder. He feels like he is back in 2008 seeing Peter for the first time after everything happened in Afghanistan.
"Your back," Peter repeats, his head getting heavier. "I missed you really badly, Dad."
Tony gets alarmed by the sudden weight on his shoulder and helps Peter sit back up, but his son just keeps on mumbling about how tired he is.
"Hey, Bambino. No, don't you dare do that to me, okay? You're going to be fine, alright? Your Spider genes are going to help you heal and everything is going to be fine. Trust me, it's just a little scratch, Your Dad gotcha."
His son just smiles at him, his eyes teary.
"I love you, Dad."
"Hey, you know I love you, okay? I'm so proud of you, and I know this is hard, but please don't close your eyes for your Dad, okay? Please?"
Tears roll down Tony's Face, and he lays his forehead against Peter's. His head is burning from the heat, and Tony just closes his eyes. The breath is getting shorter, and Tony kisses his curly head.
"Daddy's got you, Bambino. You can rest now."
"Peter?"
Peter never expected to hear his name out of his mouth again. It feels so familiar and for a second he doesn't know if he is dreaming or not. He is unsure of what to think, because what if they hadn't known each other that well in this Universe, but he just felt so foolish to visit May. So in his tiny brain, the only reasonable option (and the only other phone number he remembered) was him. And god, maybe this was stupid too, but Peter had missed him so much.
"Ned?"