"We're in the Endgame Now."
“We’re in the endgame now.”
“What happened? Did we just lose?”
Tony could only glare at them both, his voice trapped painfully in the back of his throat. Then suddenly Peter was by his side, helping him up and the pained look on the kid’s face made Tony’s heart stutter, a fresh wave of panic washing over him. While he was fighting Thanos, he barely had time to check in on his kid to make sure he was okay. No - he wasn’t fighting Thanos. He was getting his ass kicked. Repeatedly. And he was well aware he would be dead if it weren’t for Strange doing exactly what he swore he wouldn’t do. Hadn’t he declared if it came to him, the kid, or the stone, he would protect the stone at all costs? What the hell happened to that?
Peter had his arm around Tony’s waist, supporting most of Tony's weight, but he still had that pained look, so Tony shook his head and pulled away from him with a muttered “I’m fine,” so he could look at his kid more properly. He cursed not being able to use Friday to scan for injuries.
“What happened? Are you okay?” A range of emotions flitted across Peter’s face, until finally residing back on that same pained expression, despite the way he rolled his eyes indignantly.
“Mr. Stark, I should be asking you that. I’m fine.” His mouth stayed open a second too long, like he had something else he was going to say but had thought better of it before snapping his jaw shut. Tony wanted to call him out on it, but then his stomach twisted painfully in a way that had nothing to do with any of his Thanos-induced injuries as he recalled what Peter had said to him. Words that would have stung even before his recent discovery. Before he knew Peter was actually his child.
The self-proclaimed Guardians were gathering again, and Tony forced himself to look away from Peter - forcing himself to focus. He noticed a couple of them pulling webbing off themselves and the one they called Drax kept making it a point to say how gross it was. The faintest smirk turned at the corner of his lips. So that’s where Peter had ended up- he was saving these guys after they were tossed aside like confetti by Thanos. Made sense.
It had only been a few minutes since Thanos left, and Tony was getting antsy. He felt like death, and he just wanted to get him, and his son, out of there. Frankly, he didn’t really care what happened to the rest of them at this point, aside from possibly the wizard. But he knew Peter would. Peter would argue if he tried to leave them behind.
He didn’t get a chance start discussing escape plans, however.
Something in the air shifted. Despite having stepped away from Peter, and maybe because he was just hyper focused on him, but he could practically feel him tensing behind him. Where Peter had been sliding his foot back and forth anxiously against the rubble, now had completely stilled.
“Something’s happening.”
Tony turned, just in time to watch as the Mantis turned to dust and ash right before their eyes. Chills ran down his spine as each of the Guardians disappeared one by one, the air surrounding him thick with their ashes. As he watched, each time he’d glance over to Peter, making sure he was still solid. As horrified as he was, relief flooded through him every time he saw his horror-stricken face, still solid. Still alive. Still with him.
That was the most important thing.
“There was no other way.”
Something jolted through Tony as he tore his eyes away from his son to look at Stephen. His face crumpled for the first time since it all started, as the wizard turned to dust and ash just like the others.
He honestly couldn’t tell if he was genuinely upset that he lost the wizard, the man who just foolishly saved his life, or if he was just upset that he thought he was his main ticket back home for him and Peter.
Peter- who was by some miracle still —
“Mr. Stark...”
No.
Please, no.
“Not you,” he whispered, spinning back around so fast to face Peter that it made his head spin.
If Tony had thought his kid looked pained before, that was nothing compared to the way he looked now. His eyes were wide, and Tony didn't think he'd ever seen Peter look so terrified.
"I don't feel so good."
It was happening different for Peter than the others - Tony could see his skin peel apart, and then repair itself, only to peel off again. It was 1000 times more startling than what he witnessed with the others.
Then Peter was stumbling towards him, and Tony didn't hesitate to reach out for him. "You're alright," Tony found himself saying, clinging to Peter just as Peter clung to him. He hated that he knew it was a lie the second that it left his mouth.
The air had gone completely still around them. There was nothing left except for the pleading boy in his arms, begging him go help him - to save him. Tony's heart split in two, and felt his knees buckle under their combined weight, and they toppled over. He wasn't even strong enough to hold the - his - kid up, as he cried in his arms. Watching the pain that then turned into defeat in Peter's eyes felt worse than having part of a planet thrown at him by Thanos. It rippled through him in waves, paralyzing him.
"I'm sorry."
Tony tried to brush away some of the ash off of Peter's face, like it might magically disappear, and Peter would be fine - the whole thing turning out to just be a really terrible nightmare.
But his hand never met Peter's skin. Tony crashed to the ground, ending up with a fistful of Peter's ashes.
The sound of someone yelling out echoed through his ears as he pounded angrily at the ground, scooping at the piles of ash like he might be able to put the pieces back together. Maybe if that person stopped yelling - he'd be able to think - he'd be able to save him... It wasn't until his throat hurt, and he fell into painful coughing fit from breathing in too much ash that he realized the person yelling was him.
No. No, no, no, no, no.
God, he never wanted to turn back time more than he did now. Why did that blasted wizard have to suddenly grow a different moral compass and give up that stone? Why was HIS life worth saving over the wizard's? Over Peter's? In what world did that make sense?
Peter's presence had been keeping him grounded, giving him a reason to ignore the pain and stay strong. Now that he was gone, the pain started to overwhelm him. Tony collapsed, letting it overcome him. Any strength he had been holding onto left his body in a rush and it wasn't long until darkness overcame him.