TONY STARK !
Titan?
Oh god, he’d never left. He knew it. All of that about finding the stone, finding Peter and Stephen again, going home – it had all been blood-loss induced hallucination.
He was still here. He’d never left.
Lying on the cold hard ground–
“Shut up, Taylor Swift,” he choked out.
Dust swirled around him, like the dust that everyone had turned into, like he was finally, blessedly turning into as well. He stared at his hands, relief sweeping through him. It was cowardly, but he wasn’t going to be left alone, he was–
–“Pete?!” he stared, wide-eyed and horrified, as Peter ran over to him, catching him as his legs started to go. No. No, NO this was wrong. Peter had dusted. Peter was gone–
“I’m sorry,” he sobbed out, because his mind understood what his heart was slow to acknowledge - that he’d not only failed to save the kid, he’d done worse.
He was going to die and leave him behind on Titan. Alone. Stranded. Facing the thing that Tony himself had once feared the most. ‘Once’ – because now he was discovering that that old fear was dwarfed by something far more awful – the horrible reality unfolding in front of his eyes. “Pete– you gotta–”
Words drifted away.
He opened his eyes, and he was on Earth, somehow. A futuristic version of it, apparently - by his guess, probably ten years, or possibly twenty. He wasn’t sure how this had happened, but maybe Thanos had sent him through time instead of killing him? Maybe that was what Stephen had done with the time stone?
Confused, he brushed himself off and looked around. If he was back on Earth, then – what had happened to Peter? What had happened to his–
You’re not qualified to call him ‘son’.
He cringed at the mental voice, then paused when he heard a familiar voice yell at him. “Pete?”
A moment later, Peter barreled into him, and Tony swept him up into a hug, yanking him close and refusing to let him go. “Shit. Are you okay? How did you get back to Earth? I’m sorry - I’m so sorry for leaving you behind. God, Peter.”
peter was emotionally exhausted. nightmare after nightmare -- it took a toll on him.
he was sure it took a toll on everyone. anyone who had to deal with this. he wasn’t sure how they’d ended up here or why they were here, but they were. he was shaking. no matter what he couldn’t stop shaking. watching people he love turn to dust -- he thought that was over. he couldn’t tell anymore what was real and what wasn’t.
had they really defeated thanos or had it all been a dream? surely that part had to have been real. it felt real. but so did this -- this felt so real. he’d already relived the death of his uncle. to see his friends -- his loved ones -- disappear... he felt like he couldn’t breathe.
how long had he been runnning? where was he? he wasn’t sure. when he spotted tony, he hadn’t hesitated. ran right for him, hugging him tightly. like if he let go, tony would disappear all over again.
maybe it was a genuine fear at this point.
no, scratch the maybe. it was.
“i-i-i,” he stammered, tears streaming down his cheeks as he looked at his mentor and father figure. “i don’t know. i-i was so scared. i thought i lost you -- you, and mj, and may... i thought i saw you all turn to dust. what’s going on?” he sniffled.
“don’t... don’t blame yourself it’s... it’s not your fault. you couldn’t have stopped it even if you wanted to. i think. why is this happening to us?”


















