When Thanos snaps, Peter doesn’t go. And Tony? Tony holds onto the teen every night as they drift through space, terrified that there would be a late reaction and that his kid would disintegrate before his eyes.
Because the love he feels for Peter is everything. He’s gone through hell and back in his life, all of it leading up to finding Peter. And, for Peter to be okay, it was like every bad memory stuck in his head was worth it.
Peter was innocence, wrapped up and contained in a 5ft 8 body. His hair is everywhere and uncontrollable, but it’s something that Tony can hold onto when he feels like this is all just a dream. When he feels as if they’re not going to make it back to see how much the world has changed, he’s got Peter there to be his optimism.
And they do get back. When they do, Pepper runs up to them and she gathers them both up into a hug that makes them woozy. Steve’s there too, and Peter’s looking up at him with admiration.
“We lost,” Tony says, and Peter’s holding onto his hand as Steve sighs, barely looking at them. He looks destroyed, as if he can’t keep going on. Tony recognises the look. He sees in every single person that still walks the streets.
Five years goes by like a blink of an eye. Peter’s tall now. He’s grown a beard, and he’s finished high school with Ned (and, god, he’s so glad Ned wasn’t one of the vanished). He doesn’t go to college, however, as the institution has crumbled. There’s no-one around to even offer them a place.
Ned and Peter live in the lake-house with them, after they both lost everyone in their families. Morgan’s there too, young and vibrant. She takes after Peter more and more as the days go past. Tony smiles every time he wakes up, because nothing is wrong. It’s good, for once, and he relishes that feeling as he know it won’t stay forever.
He was right to think that. Scott Lang is alive and he’s proposing a way to get everyone back. Peter’s there to convince him to help, and they both immediately jump in the car that the group came in...
They crack time travel in an afternoon. They’re apprehensive to go through with the plan, of course, but they go anyway. It’s the only way.
Peter and Tony go to Vormir. It’s a beautiful planet, nothing in it but red sand and a gorgeous horizon. They walk together, chatting about how great it’ll be to get everyone back together again. That is until they get to the red skull.
The deal is a sacrifice. Because, yes, of course it is. And Tony knows. He knows this is where he lays down the mantle. This is where the ‘great’ Tony Stark goes to die. He takes Peter’s trembling hands into his, giving him a look that’s saying goodbye.
Yet, Peter’s stubborn. Learnt from the best, of course. And, he refuses to let go. He says, “It’s my time, dad,” and that’s the first time he calls Tony something that isn’t ‘Mr Stark’. Tony scoffs at the idea, tightening the grip on Peter’s wrists.
“No,” Tony says, “Kid, I’ve lived,” he begs, “Don’t do this, please. Please, Peter. I can’t lose you.”
“And you think that I’ll be fine without you?” Peter replies, his eyes filled with the same determination he’s had since he was fifteen and chasing Tony’s plane. “No, no, I’ve got to do this.”
Tony holds onto his kid, hugging him tight to his chest. He presses their foreheads together, distracting the teen momentarily. “You’ve been a good son, Parker. I hope that you’ll have the best life you can. Just know that I’ll be in your heart every step of the way.”
Peter yields. His shoulders slump. When Tony’s hands release him, the older man can’t react in time. Because Peter’s already jumping off the cliff. Tony tries to activate his suit to catch the boy, but it’s too late.
Tony falls to his knees. Peter’s body is there, making an imprint into the ground below. He’s... dead. Peter’s dead.
Fuck, fuck- Tony can’t think. He can’t think. The Red Skull barely gives him a minute to mourn, before the soul stone is passed over. He can’t even look at it, because Peter’s dead.
Thump... thump...
Tony’s heart is barely functioning. He can’t breathe (and, morbidly, he thinks about how Peter’s feeling the same. Because Peter’s blood is rushing out of his body and he’s dead, and he’s never going to be able to breathe again).
“I hate you!” Tony screams, his whole body shaking. This isn’t real. Peter’s supposed to survive. He’s supposed to be there as they all return. May’s going to come back and Peter’s going to be dead. She’s already lost so much, he can’t be gone as well.
He barely puts himself together and he gathers the soul stone. And he has to leave , all alone. Peter’s not there. Pete’s... he’s- god, how’s he going to tell the team? No, it’s more than that. How’s he going to live with himself?
“It’s all for you, Peter,” Tony whispers, as they all return. They put the stones into the gauntlet and Tony puts the soul stone in last. It’s Peter’s contribution, after all.
Thanos comes back. He attacks, destroying the compound. Tony’s glad that its gone, it reminds him too much of Pete, but he’s not glad that all their work could be undone. Nothing was going to stop him from making sure Pete’s sacrifice was worth it...
And he snaps.
He snaps, because... well, there’s a bit of him that can’t move on without his little sidekick by his side. Plus, he’s a hero. It’s what heroes do, of course. And if it means he can reunite with Pete, he’s not too sure if he’s that scared to let go.
“You were always clingy, dad,” Peter says, softly, as Tony walks into a little corner of the afterlife. He sees Peter sitting down, surrounded by some Parker’s. They’re in the visiting spot, an area that lets families see where their loved ones are. “Never thought you’d come after me this quick, however.”
“Well, I was always a fan of yours,” Tony replies. He sits beside Peter, watching as their friends and family organise a double funeral for father and son. “I can’t believe you jumped,” he says, and he’s surprised at how much emotion jumps out.
“Nobody would’ve been there to snap if I didn’t,” Peter says, hands intertwining his his father/mentor. He sees the exhale of breath from Tony’s chest, so he continues. “I did what I knew was right. The world needed you more than it needed me.”
“That’s not true, Pete. You were going to change the world. I just knew it,” Tony cried, and he noticed that he wasn’t the only one that was sobbing.
So many people in this afterlife, all with their personal visiting spot. But, most of the crying isn’t sad. They’re crying from laughter, from pride, and it’s almost like they’re still alive and kicking. Tony cries as Morgan visits his grave, covering it with hundreds of drawings of the saviour (her daddy). Peter gets some flowers too, coming from Ned who’s absolutely beside himself as the news comes through. Peter starts crying as Ned goes to college, something that had planned to do together before everything went to shit.
They visit Morgan, both of them missing her more than anything. They spend years in the afterlife together, and Tony’s happy. It’s been peaceful, a lot peaceful than life had been. They miss their family, of course, but they’ve got forever. Because they’ll be right here, deep in the afterlife, waiting for them to arrive.
Peter can’t make a change in the world, but May releases some of the medical papers he was working on and he changes a field of medicine for good. They watch, both enthralled, with how much of an impact Peter still has after death.
“Guess you were always fated to change the world, huh?” Tony whispers, sat in their favourite burger place (you could morph the afterlife into your liking, choosing anyone you’d like to come along).
“And save it,” Peter winks, “But, seriously, wow. That’s awesome. I may have saved people before, but this is people’s lives and their happiness and it’s more important than saving cat number ten from the local willow tree,” he rants, before Tony wraps an arm around his waist.
“I’m so proud of you, Pete,” Tony says, putting his arm around the kid’s shoulder. He looks at Peter’s face for a second, his consciousness making words for him. “You had already changed the world, way before your amazing discovery.”
“Tony?”
“You changed me, Pete,” Tony says, breathless and moments away from crying. “Thank you for giving me my happiness, baby. Thank you. I know we’ve got forever to be ‘Peter and Tony’, but it’s the not the same as watching you grow up. You’ll be forever 22, you hardly got to live.”
It’s not the first time they discuss what happened on Vormir, but it’s the most passionate Tony had ever been. “I just wished you-you didn’t want to be so good. I wish you stayed a normal kid.”
“I sometimes do,” Peter whispers, but he can’t dwell on it. “What’s our code name for my success back down in life. Edith? Even dead, I am the hero.”
“Sounds great,” Tony replies, before pulling the boy into a hug.
Their friends start to join them, and once they have the group together (par Thor, who’s probably not going to be around for a long time), they make a Shawarma in the afterlife and they all eat together.
“Guess you couldn’t bare to be without your kid,” Clint says, and he’s so old. Tony takes one look at Peter and nods. Clint chuckles. “Mine are in their sixties now, I let with some great-grandkids.”
“I had to take ‘if your friend (son) jumps of a cliff, would you do it too?’ rather literally, didn’t I?” Tony quips, laughing when his teammates all collectively groan. ‘Still the same, they say’.
Peter hears it and hits the side of his torso. “Dad has said that... hm, like 1000 times in the last fifty years,”
It’s weird to form a life in the afterlife, but Tony’s content in it. And so is Pete. Fate might’ve told them to die young, but they still experience a sort of growing up together.
And, god, Tony’s so thankful he’s with his kid. Because if Peter had been snapped... it would’ve been five, long, years without him.
And it might be selfish of him, but he’s sort of okay with the fact that they went together. There’s times where he can’t think about it, or that he gets angry that Pete didn’t get to grow up, but it’s clear that they can’t be apart and that’s okay..
Tony Stark loves Peter Parker. He has since the dorky kid showed him his dumpster computer. Their relationship between son and father is/was so strong that it forces people to do things, crazy things that’ll get them killed if it means the other is okay.
And if they had to do the whole ‘Thanos’ time heist again, it would go the exact same way as it did before.