I'm Sorry
It was the moment everyone had been waiting for, five years of grief and hard work had led up to this moment.
And when Dr. Strange’s portals opened up, revealing everyone who Y/N had once mourned, they couldn’t hold in a loud shout of triumph.
They walked up beside Steve, returning a small smile as they both enjoyed the small victory that was bringing everyone back. The large army gathered behind them as they prepared for the climatic battle against Thanos’ forces.
“Avengers!” Steve shouted, gaining the attention of everyone before dropping his voice to a gravelly whisper, “assemble.”
They all began to sprint towards Thanos’ monstrous army, and for a single second Y/N felt no fear. Until they crashed into one of Thanos’–things–and panic flooded through them once more.
The creature scratched and bit at Y/N, if it weren’t for the suit gifted to them by their dad, it would’ve gutted them. They blasted the creature away with a beam of pure energy, simultaneously burning a hole in its chest. They could handle this.
The next few minutes were one of the most confusing ones in Y/N’s life. Y/N would defeat swarms of soldiers, only for even more to take their place.
After defeating one particularly troublesome enemy, Y/N looked up. A familiar figure was swinging through the sky. Clutching the iron gauntlet to his chest as he navigated the battlefield.
Peter.
Even just a glimpse of their boyfriend sent their heart pounding.
Had it really been five years since the events on Titan? Since Peter had dissolved in their arms after a tearful goodbye? It almost seemed like yesterday that they were floating through space in the Guardians ship, about to die in their dads arms. Thank God for Captain Marvel.
Suddenly, Thanos’ warship opened fire, and all thoughts except survival fled their mind.
Dodging each blue blast, with a little help from their personal AI, Y/N flew over to Peter. Where he was currently being overwhelmed by Thanos’ forces, his robotic limbs trying desperately to keep them at bay.
“Heads up!” They shouted as they flew by, alerting him to an opening.
He fired a web at them, allowing himself to be dragged away from the horde.
Y/N grabbed him by the arm and yelled, “get ready!” before tossing him over to Valkyrie, where he then mounted her pegasus, he quickly greeted Valkyrie before being brought right back into battle.
For a split second Y/N was relieved, he was safe for just a moment. That was until the pegasus was shot out the air, sending Peter plummeting to the ground. He managed to hold on to the gauntlet, but before he could regain his bearings, he was being pummeled by the missiles.
“Peter!” Y/N cried, running over to him as he curled into the fetal position, trying to protect himself. They dragged him into cover, activating their shield in order to protect them both from the projectiles.
The firing suddenly ceased. The loud crashes and screams quieted down as the cannons pivoted, firing off into the clouds.
Captain Marvel’s all too familiar orange glow flew out from the cloud cover, completely ignoring the missiles as she rapidly approached the warship.
She crashed right through Thanos’ impeding ship, causing it to collapse into the battlefield.
She glided over to the pair, eyeing the gauntlet that Peter was clutching to his chest.
“H-hi, I’m-I’m Peter Parker,” he introduced shakily, still holding onto the gauntlet.
“Hey, Peter Parker,” Carol answered, smirking slightly, “you got something for me?”
“I don’t know how you’re going to get through all of that,” he mumbled, fully taking in the size of Thanos’ army as he handed her the gauntlet.
“Don’t worry,” Scarlet Witch began, stepping up beside her.
“She’s got help,” Okoye finished as the universe’s most powerful women stood beside her.
Y/N watched in awe as the group plunged right into battle, easily forging a path for Carol as she tried to get the gauntlet to the van.
“I missed you,” Y/N said to Peter, grasping Peter’s hand as they rested.
“It’s good to be back,” he answered, squeezing Y/N’s hand affectionately.
Y/N gazed into Peter’s eyes, before being shocked back into battle. They looked away from Peter in time to catch what happened next.
Carol was almost to the van, but right before she was able to send the gauntlet back in time, Thanos threw his weapon at the machine. Completely destroying it.
A shockwave resonated throughout the area, sending everyone flying backwards. Y/N grabbed onto Peter, refusing to let them separate.
Y/N watched in horror as the rest of the Avengers tried to keep Thanos away from the glove.
Their dad reacted first, but soon got knocked away.
Thor, dual wielding Mjolnr and Stormbreaker, managed to keep him down with the help of Steve. But they too were shaken off.
Carol attacked last, managing to get a few punches in before being thrown away.
Thanos picked up the gauntlet, and slid it on. He ultimate power was in his grasp once again. He posed his thumb and middle finger, about to snap.
Carol leapt into action, single handedly preventing Thanos from destroying the universe, glaring up at him as he fruitlessly tried to knock her aside. She managed to gain the upper hand, pushing him down to the ground.
Just as it looked like she had won, Thanos grabbed the power stone in his left hand and punched her, sending her hurtling across the battlefield.
Y/N watched as their father slowly sat up, gazing at something in the distance. They followed his line of sight to Dr. Strange. He was holding back the almost endless flood of water, and as his gaze connected with Tony’s, he held up one shaking finger.
Y/N knew exactly what he meant, they wouldn’t allow it.
They turned and planted a quick kiss on Peter’s lips, the first in five long years, before launching themselves at Thanos. Not even allowing their father time to act.
They fought Thanos for the glove in a sick game of tug-of-war, before being effortlessly pushed aside. They keeled over, seemingly defeated.
Thanos held up the glove, gazing up at it like some sort of perverted lover. “I am, inevitable,” he growled, a smile crossing his face as he snapped his fingers.
The metal glove echoed uselessly, nothing happened. His smile melted off as he took a second look at the gauntlet, the stones were gone.
He looked over at Y/N, a sly grin spread across Y/N’s face as they held up their armored hand. The pilfered stones found their way to their proper places on Y/N’s arm, locking into place and sending wave after wave of energy through their veins.
Y/N looked over at their father, fear and anticipation plagued his tired face.
Y/N’s grin faded, “I’m sorry,” they whispered, before snapping their fingers.
* * * *
Everything was white. Blindingly white. A slight tingling sensation began in Y/N’s fingers, spreading upwards through their arm. The tingling changed into hot, searing pain. They felt as if they were being torn apart, atom by atom.
They were going to die.
Unexpectedly, the light faded, they were back on the battlefield. Y/N looked down at their arm, glancing at the exposed skin. It was cracked and red, like sand dried by the desert sun.
They looked up, their neck aching at the slightest movement. Everyone began to dissolve.
Y/N panicked, did they mess up the snap? But no, they didn’t.
Thanos army crumbled into dust, blowing away in the wind just like everyone did five years before.
Thanos sat onto the ground, slumped over in defeat. A bewildered expression remained on his face until he was gone, mere dust in the wind.
“No, no, no!” Tony cried, running over to Y/N’s collapsed figure, “it was supposed to be me,” he grabbed onto Y/N’s uninjured hand as he addressed Y/N’s AI, “Saturn, state condition.”
“Vitals deteriorating. Chance of survival, low,” the AI listed, almost sadly.
“Dad,” Y/N barely whispered, “don’t-” they winced, “-blame yourself.”
They could feel their strength ebbing away, they wanted nothing more than to close their eyes.
Their dad stepped aside, unable to watch Y/N’s life slowly disappear. Pepper looked at Y/N piteously, they held a hand up to their face before whispering, “it’s going to be okay.” They smiled at them lovingly before moving to comfort Tony.
Peter came over next, a triumphant smile stretching across his face, he was oblivious, but not for long.
“Mr. Stark?” he asked as he approached, “what’s-” he suddenly noticed Y/N. “Y/N, oh God, Y/N.”
“Peter,” Y/N mumbled, their voice barely more than a whisper.
“We won, Y/N!” he cheered sadly, “you did it! You did it,” he started to cry, wrapping his arms around Y/N as tears flowed down his face.
Y/N slowly lifted a trembling hand up to Peter’s face, tangling their fingers in his messy curls.
“I love you,” Y/N whispered, weakly kissing Peter before falling back, their eyes staring off into the distance.
Their hand fell limp to the ground, and as the surviving heroes began to surround Y/N, Peter let out a loud scream of anguish.
Y/N was gone.