A/n: This contains Endgame spoilers so if you haven't seen it and don't want to be spoiled, don't read!! This is also an exert from my series Hamartia if y'all wanna check that out!

Your muscles burn and your joints ache. The titan took you down using the power stone, throwing you just a few feet away from where he'd just thrown Rhodey. It's been a fight like nothing either of you have seen before. An entire army of aliens attacking Wakanda and a giant purple titan showing up with the infinity stones ready to wipe out half of all living things once he obtains the mind stone. To say the fight was difficult would be the understatement of the century and it only proved to be much worse as you and Rhodey were finally able to stand.

The two of you are hidden further into the trees but have a view to watch as Thanos snaps his fingers right in front of Thor. Thor yells, face turning a shade of red and veins stick out in his forehead and neck. A gust of wind blows against the land, trees and blades of grass rustling, dirt flying up with the swift wind. Thanos and Thor both stand almost in a state of shock, looking at the gauntlet on Thanos's hand.

Thor looks to be more in a state of surprised devastation while Thanos looks to be in a painful state of bliss. He won. The heroes lost. It's written across both of their faces and it only gets worse when Thanos opens a portal, Thor's hammer dropping from Thanos's chest before Thanos disappears into the portal.

You look up to Rhodey, your helmet dissolving so Rhodey could see the distressed look across your face. "We just lost, didn't we?" You ask, holding your fear as best as you can.

This cannot be the end.

Rhodey's helmet flips up and he just stares at you, holding a strong face. He doesn't want to lie knowing it wouldn't do either of you any good. You're old enough to handle it but you're still a kid. A kid with hope and faith that heroes always prevail even in times of heartbreak and devastation. Heroes die and they lose, but not like this. Rhodey looks around seeing Thor and Cap looking almost lost and he knows this isn't good.

"I don't know, kid." Rhodey nods and points forward. "Let's go to Cap."

You start walking in front of Rhodey, the two of you trying to exit the tree line but then something horrible and terrifying starts happening. You start feeling your arm go numb and when you lift it up, it just starts to turn to dust. You quickly turn around, facing Rhodey who was extending his arms for you.

"Rhodey? What's happening?" You're able to get out while the rest of your body starts to dissolve into dust, blowing away in the wind.

"Shit," Rhodey's voice is distraught, his armor-clad hands resting on your shoulders just as the rest of your body disappears.

Rhodey stands in a state of stunned panic, his bones going cold and he feels the warmth and sting of tears behind his eyes. He looks up and he sees Bucky finish disintegrating while Steve is moving to him and then he catches Rocket going to Groot who's fading away, followed by Sam who was only a few feet away from him.

They lost and all he can do is move his stare to his armor-covered hands where he's holding what's left of you. It's just dust. Thanos has won and now you, his best friend's daughter, his Goddaughter is one of the fallen. How is he supposed to tell Tony? How are they even supposed to come back from this?

-------

Birds chirp from above while leaves of the towering trees blow with the soothing wind. The bright green is soft but flowing from the wind. The air smells fresh, like after a heavy rainfall and the sun has finally come out to warm up the land. It feels like the first day of spring, the first day it's not freezing. Like it's the first day a hoodie and a pair of jeans is deemed acceptable and proper wear for the conditions. It feels alive.

A gasp brings you back to the land of the living, your eyes bulging from your head as you shoot up, sitting upright. You take heavy breaths, hand coming to your chest as you look around. You're still surrounded by trees and plants, rustled dirt underneath you while birds fly above you against the bright blue sky that's almost completely hidden amongst the trees. A few stray bugs fly around you before buzzing off and a distant murmur is heard from across the trees.

It all floods back in that moment. Thanos, the snap, turning to dust. Rhodey. You get to your feet, starting to feel frantic as you look around, seeing no sign of Rhodey who was just there. Or was he?

You turned to dust and now you're back. That doesn't even make any sense. None of it makes any sense and it was just like you'd gone to sleep but if you turned to dust, you couldn't have simply been asleep. So what happened and where's Rhodey? Where's Tony and Pepper and Peter and everyone?

"Rhodey!" You call out, your voice more broken than you'll ever admit.

"Y/n?" A familiar voice rings in your ears as you exit the trees, into the passing where you last saw the purple titan.

"Bucky?" Your face scrunches in confusion. "What happened? Where's Rhodey? And Cap? Thor?"

He shakes his head, looking just as confused but not nearly as frantic as you. "I don't know."

"Did you turn all dusty?" You ask, you and Bucky closing the distance between yourselves. "Because that's all I remember and Rhodey being there and looking scared and then I just woke up and we...lost."

Bucky stares at you with wide eyes, almost like he's in shocked confusion trying to piece everything together himself. "Yeah, yeah. I remember seeing Steve and turning to dust. I woke up over there." Bucky jerks his head behind him. "Let's find some others." He rests a hand on your shoulder, leading the two of you to where you find Sam who's walking out from another tree line.

"Barnes? Little Stark?" Sam questions, his expression turning to one of disbelief and relief.

"Sam?" You and Bucky question.

"Did you turn to dust, too?" You ask.

"Yeah..." Sam nods, brows furrow while his eyes move to the ground. "Because that's now something normal."

The three of you exchange looks, all of sadness and mixed confusion before hearing Wanda call your names. Her expression doesn't differ from any of yours while she joins you, explaining the last thing she remembers. Thanos using the time stone to bring Vision back and then ripping the mind stone out of his head and then turning to dust. She woke up with the three of you.

"Uh..........the tree is also here." You whisper to Bucky, capturing a glimpse of Groot looking at his limbs.

"I am groot." Groot says.

"Yes?" You question. "Wasn't he with a raccoon?"

"A talking raccoon that wanted my arm, yeah." Bucky lets out an exasperated sigh while Groot joins you.

It's only then that T'Challa comes out from another tree line, holding himself strong and for a second, all of you think maybe he might know what happened but, he didn't. He also turned to dust just as he was going to help Okoye but, at least with T'Challa, the group of Avengers and Groot have someone to follow, someone who might actually know who will know what happened. So, you all fall in line with him, following his lead to the kingdom.

Luckily for them, Okoye was the first to greet you but it wasn't all happy. Naturally, she was happy to see T'Challa back and she had Shuri on her side who had apparently been dusted as well and just come back. But, that's not what threw any of you off. Okoye told you everything.

It's been five years. Five years since Thanos won and it's taken five full years for anyone to have any idea how to reverse it. No one really gave up but it seemed hope was lost and the effort to gain everyone back was lackluster, well, besides a few. But five years is a long time.

You listen but your mind wanders to your friends. If it's been five years and you're still the same, at least it seems you're still the same, what about your friends? If they weren't dusted, they're out of high school. They're living their lives. Older.

What about Peter? He was in space with your dad. What if he wasn't dusted? Did he die in space because how else would he get back? What if he was the only one left in space and he died from either starvation of dehydration? And what about your dad? Your mom? Rhodey? Everyone else?

You know your dad didn't give up but did he move on with your mom for at least some time? Was there a time where your parents did give up? Five years is just so long with no answers. Five years is a long time to go without being able to get their kid back.

"How's my dad?" You ask.

Okoye dodges your stare but only for a second. "He's not stopped since you were gone." Okoye sends a soft smile to you, one that shows happiness but a small of touch concern, certain that there must have been a sacrifice or will be one in order for all of the dusted to have started reappearing.

There's almost a sense of relief but not much. You didn't want your parents to just move on with their lives if there was a chance to get everyone back but at the same time, whoever said it was possible? You don't need all the details to know that maybe this could not have been possible. And if not, then your parents should have been able to move on. So, there's a part of you that feels sad they've spent five years of their lives stuck. And looking for someone they don't know if they could ever get back.

"What are we doing now?" Wanda asks.

T'Challa stares in front of everyone, his sister on one side and Okoye on the other while orange and yellow portals start forming over Wakanda. You can see what looks to be a battleground, debris everywhere and Thanos with his army far into the distance while Steve is in your view.

"Now," T'Challa starts. "We fight." T'Challa starts walking towards the portal while everyone follows suit, a sense of adrenaline coming over everyone.

You might not have every detail but the one thing you all have is extreme hatred for the purple titan in the distance. He killed you all and your loved ones and he's not going to win this time.

"On your left." Sam says while he uses his mechanical wings to fly above you all and through the portal.

A smile pulls on your lips while your helmet starts to cover your head as all of you enter through the portal. T'Challa, Okoye, and Shuri hold their stance, looking at Steve while you leave a few feet of distance. You see T'Challa nod and a smile pull at Steve's mouth.

Sam flies through the sky where other portals all start to form and T'Challa starts the chant for the Wakanda army, everyone falling right in line. The chant gets louder and more and more people start walking through portals, it's all steady but with purpose. Steps are tough and everyone is ready for this to be the last war against the titan. He won't be making it out this time and it's written all over the hundreds of faces that walk and fly and swing out of the portals.

Hero and warrior join behind Steve, taking their stances to face off the army staring you all down. You're now more evenly matched but even if you weren't, that wouldn't matter. Everyone can feel the tension in the air and the desire and need to win. Everyone shares the same want and determination.

Steve stands right in front of everyone, taking his own stance while he looks directly at Thanos. "Avengers," Steve yells and pauses just for a second. "Assemble."

With Steve's words, everyone rushes forward. Those who can fly take the air while everyone else runs, ready to take their revenge. You fly into the air, moving with Sam on one side and someone on a pegasus you haven't met before on the other side.

Yelling and sounds of metal clanking hit the air as everyone starts fighting. Some are using swords while others have spears. Some like you are using a type of blaster and others have guns, some have magic and others are just using their pure strength to punch the aliens of Thanos's army.

You fight on your own among others, using the blasters to your best ability all while you catch a glimpse of similar blasters but they're bigger. You turn to see a blue and silver suit back to back with the familiar red and gold suit with the bright blue reactor in the chest. The two of them are using blasters in a circle, defeating the aliens easily and you beam from inside your helmet.

You fly over to them, blasting and killing the last alien and gaining the attention of Pepper and Tony before the three of you move to the ground. The helmets all dissolve into the rest of the armor while you stare at each other. Pepper and Tony get teary eyes while you hold a smirk that says it all.

"Dad." You let out a breath and run to him, Tony embracing you in a hug.

Tony's arms wrap around you and maybe he's hugging you a little too tight but neither of you can be bothered to say anything. He just squeezes harder and kisses your cheek, gaining a groan from you and a "sh" from him.

One of the things that's kept Tony going is you. While in space, he ran through it over and over how he would have to tell his daughter that he lost her friend. He lost the kid. But then he thought he was going to die and then that turned into multiple apologies for not only losing your friend but for losing himself. And then, it got worse when he was saved and brought to earth. The first words he said were "I lost the kid. I lost the kid. Where's y/n?" and Steve had to look at a malnourished Tony and tell him that Peter wasn't the only kid gone. You were gone, too.

"Hey, mom." You say, trying to pull away from Tony.

"Tony," Pepper rests a hand on Tony's shoulder. "I think she's okay."

Tony pulls away, hands resting on your shoulders as he just looks at you with relief and happiness. "Yeah, you're alright."

You nod before moving to hug Pepper. "When'd you get a suit? What's up with that?" You ask, looking up to Pepper who laughs.

"Your dad's been busy." Pepper whispers, her eyes glancing to Tony who's heart is swelling in his chest at the look of his small family being reunited.

"Not to cut the reunion short but you've got incoming at 3 o'clock." Rhodey says through the coms, flying above you.

The small family all turn to the right direction, sticking out the same hand, and using the blasters to kill an alien three times the size of Tony. A swelling of pride radiates though you as you look between your parents, happy to be with them and fighting alongside them. But, it is still a war and you need to focus.

You and Pepper fly up, the two of you going in different directions to fight and help where you can while Tony works on killing some of the aliens on the ground.

"Look who's back." Rhodey says, flying by you.

Rhodey.

"Heard it took five years, what's up with that?" You quip, taking down a group of aliens with large blasters sticking out from the shoulders of the armor.

Rhodey laughs as he flies past you, just barely glancing at you and smiling to himself while he fights but not before you catch sight of the raccoon riding on Rhodey and shooting the gun with more joy than probably needed.

"You have a raccoon on your shoulder." You state, remembering the raccoon from the fight in Wakanda but not catching the name or anything about him other than that he was with Groot.

Rhodey sighs. "Yeah, it's been five years."

You laugh before turning to face off with another alien, this one proving to put up more of a fight but not one you lose. You kill the alien in minutes and are off to fight another but your attention is pulled when you catch something, someone, out of the corner of her eye.

Peter.

"Holy cow," Peter rushes his words as he approaches Tony. "Mr. Stark, you will not believe what's been happening. Do you remember when we were in space and I got all dusty?" Peter's words all run together and Tony can't even put them together, he's only focused on the fact that this kid, the one he's mentoring and looks at as his own, his daughter's best friend, is alive. In the flesh, right in front of him.

Tony reaches out and pulls Peter in for a hug, Peter's words slowly slurring together and coming to a stop in confusion before he hugs Tony back, something he really didn't think he'd get the chance to do. Tony's weird about even being handed things and as far Peter's seen, Tony's only ever hugged Pepper, you, and Rhodey. But this? This is nice.

"Oh," Peter says. "This is nice." Peter sighs, before his eyes go to the sky and he sees you and his eyes bulge from his head.

He wasn't sure about you. He didn't know where you were after he left the bus. He didn't know anything and while he hasn't had time to overthink or panic or even fear very much, it was looming in the back of his head about what happened to you but now he's seeing the red and silver suit coming down to him and Tony.

"Y/n?" Peter whispers, his grip on Tony loosening while you stand a few feet away from them, your helmet dissolved showing your soft smile and teary eyes.

Tony glances behind him before looking back to Peter. "I'm glad you're back, kid. Stay safe." He sends Peter a smile, squeezing his shoulders, before he launches into the air to start fighting again and allowing the teenagers to have a short reunion.

Peter's heart races in his ears and his chest with the sight of you, someone he really wasn't sure he'd see again once he hitched a ride to space. And even with the noise of the war surrounding him, Peter can hear your heartbeat again. And suddenly, it feels like everything is gonna be okay.

"Peter!" You beam, Peter's name is drenched in excitement as you run over to him.

Your arms immediately wrap around his neck and his around your torso. You've hugged a million times before. It's nothing unusual or out of character but this hug just feels so good. It's a hug that's tight and filled with things unsaid and rushed relief. It's a hug that should probably wait until after the war is won but it just can't. It's an impulse. And it feels like things are falling into place.

And Peter can't get his heart to slow down. He can blame it on the adrenaline of the war and the mix of seeing his mentor and one of his best friends again. He can blame it on the curiosity of wanting to know exactly how five years have passed for everyone besides those who were dusted and he could blame it on the wonder about his other friends and May. But, there's that feeling in his gut and that's not it. He's just so happy and relieved to see, to feel, you with him again.

And one second you're hugging and the next, Peter's pressing his lips to yours. You're eyes widen and your breath hitches in your throat while you don't even bother to breathe, the shock of the kiss is enough to knock the wind out of you. But, it doesn't last long before Peter's pulling away, as if being snapped out of the rush of relief.

"I-uh, I um, s-sorry, I shouldn't....I mean...." Peter stutters and his face is matching the deep red of the iron spider suit and your cheeks heat up.

"It's okay." You whisper. "That was just unexpected." You say but you give Peter a warm smile.

"Um," Peter glances around to the war around you. "Yeah..." He scratches the back of his neck.

Peter opens his mouth to start rambling an apology but he's cut off by an explosion to the side of you. The two of you flinch away from the blast, both being brought back into reality that you don't have time to stand around. Everyone needs to work together if you're gonna win. Reunions can wait.

You lean in and kiss Peter's cheek. "We'll talk about it later?"

Peter nods quickly, his heart skipping a beat and his cheek where you kissed him is burning in the most soothing way. "Yeah, yeah." Peter's face scrunches and he slowly gains a fighting smile, one that says he's ready to jump back into the fight. "Together?" Peter asks, his mask forming around his face.

You smirk with the shrug of your shoulders, your helmet forming around your face. "I'll cover you."

The two teenagers move around, Peter using his webbing to grab the aliens and you blasting them, killing them instantly. You work together to help as much as you can while you listen to Cap in your coms telling Clint to get the stones far away and Scott saying they still have the van but it's right behind Thano's army.

Peter and you use your AIs to locate the gauntlet that contains the stones, making your way towards it to cover anyone who has it. It goes from Clint to T'Challa and T'Challa was doing great with it, making up plenty of ground until one of Thanos main minions trapped him in rock and debris.

"You're on, Parker." You say, firing at the rock holding T'Challa just as Peter swings in and webs it, pulling it into his grasp.

"I got it!" Peter yells, landing on an alien before he's completely surrounded. He only has one choice and he knows his AI will plenty happy. "Activate instant kill."

Adrenaline floods Peter's veins as the pincers come out of the suit and kill every surrounding alien while Peter holds onto the gauntlet with his life. He never really thought he'd ever need an instant kill feature given his feelings on killing but desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Instant kill, huh?" You ask, flying above Peter and killing a few incoming aliens. "How'd it feel?"

"Shut up." Peter groans through a half-hearted laugh before he's back to running and swinging with the gauntlet, trying to get it through at least some of the army but it doesn't last long before he's jumped by ten aliens and missiles start firing from Thanos's ship.

"Peter!" You yell, trying to turn around but you get hit by an alien three times your size, taking you down to the ground.

"Uh, a little help!" Peter yells, squirming away from the aliens as he tries to hold onto the gauntlet.

"I-" You punch the alien as hard as you can, taking a step forward while ignoring your throbbing head, desperate to go help Peter. "Swear-" You punch it again, this time using an extension of the armor. "I'm-" Again. "Going to lose my shit!" You groan, using the blasters on your shoulders and your hands, instantly killing the alien who only barely stood a chance.

You pant but only for a second while you look over your shoulder, seeing no sign of Peter anymore. Instead, you go to look back in front of you, ready to fly back into the air and continue the work while having your own AI keep a look out but before you can move anywhere, you're being snatched into the air before one of the aliens that looks like a hybrid centipede attacks you.

"Gotcha." Peter says, webbing you and pulling you along, saving you.

You look up to see he's riding a pegasus and still holding tight of the gauntlet. "Raccoon riding on Rhodey, talking trees, Peter on a pegasus." You mutter, your blasters turning on so you can detach yourself from Peter's webbing and fly alongside. "Anything else?"

Peter glances to you and you can't see through his mask but he's smiling, a small and sweet smile. And his eyes are just as bright as they always are. "We're surrounded by wizards." Peter says gaining a half laugh, half scoff from you but that quickly disappears.

A missile comes and flies right past you, the motion of the missile knocking Peter from the pegasus and throwing you off course. You're quick though and go to catch him, just enough for the two of you to collide with the ground. The two of you don't waste time in getting to your feet, Peter running first and you keeping him covered just long enough for you to make it a few more yards before another missile hits right in front of Peter. And lucky for you, his reflexes are faster than the missile.

He webs you as he's thrown backwards and to the side, pulling you against him while a missile hits where you were running behind. The two of you roll and tumble against a large rock, Peter's mask and your helmet dissolving once you've stopped.

You're both bleeding from noses and lips, both looking terrified and it only gets worse when more missiles start coming down. You duck under each other, both of you trying to protect each other from the impact anything that might hit you while the gauntlet is right under you, not moving even a centimeter.

The explosions of the missiles press on for what seems like forever, allowing the teens to cower into each other, hoping to keep each other and the gauntlet safe from Thanos and his army. And Peter's got his web attached to you while his arm is wrapped around you, his eyes closed shut while his head is buried into your shoulder.

Your arm is tangled over his side and the two of you are holding each other in a death grip as if that's enough to keep each other safe. Fighting a war is hard. Fighting a war as a teenager, even with superhero tech and superhuman abilities, is harder. Fighting a war with all of that and fighting with someone you're also trying to protect is the hardest. But, that's how you stay alive. Protect each other.

The sounds of the missiles come to a stop and debris stops flying around while the dust starts to diminish, Peter and you looking up to each other. Your eyes are both bloodshot from the dust that was being blown around and you're covered in dirt, faces decorated in dort and blood mixture, already forming bruises hidden by the filth.

"You okay?" Peter asks.

"Always. You?" You ask.

"Y-yeah," Peter nods, his voice shaking as he doesn't let his grip fall from you or the gauntlet.

You're about to speak, tell him you need to get up and either keep moving or find cover and pass off the gauntlet when you're attention is brought to the front of you when a pretty woman with short blonde hair flies in front of you. Peter and you let go of each other, Peter cradling the gauntlet as he stares at the new hero.

"Hi, I'm...Peter Parker." He says, looking up at her with soft and puppy eyes, his voice broken and scared. "That's y/n."

You quirk a brow but stares back at the hero, your eyes matching Peter's. Pleading for her to help the two of you.

"Hey, Peter Parker and y/n." She greets the two of you while you help each other to your feet. "You got something for me?" She asks, her voice a little rough but perfectly fitting for her and even welcoming.

"Oh, yeah." Peter hands her the gauntlet. "I don't know how you're gonna get it through all that."

The hero takes hold of the gauntlet rests it against her hip while Wanda flies in. "Don't worry." She says.

"She's got help." Okoye says as she comes seemingly out of nowhere.

Other women from all over start joining in. The woman on the pegasus either teen has yet to formally meet, Pepper, a woman who can shrink like Ant-Man, Mantis, and Shuri join in. Gamora and Nebula join from either side, everyone keeping the newest hero with gauntlet in the middle to keep her covered.

There's a sense of pride that rushes through your chest as you watch and you're bruised, bloodied, and beaten but you're all for joining the group of women to fight Thanos. So, you step forward and Peter watches in a state of awe. But, you sure don't get far before you hear your mom in the com.

"You and Peter pull back. Keep fighting but pull back." Pepper says, her voice is stern and while you might wanna argue and go to war with all of these women, you know better than to even try to reason with Pepper when her voice is that stern.

"Pulling back." You say, taking a step back beside Peter and the two of you have to stand and watch, just for a few seconds while the women run into action, the one with gauntlet even having superspeed to do so. "Who is that?" You ask, leaning closer to Peter.

"I was gonna ask you." Peter sighs, and he manages a sort broken smile with his cut lip. "So, uh," Peter looks around. "Now where?"

You look around and it's a little heartbreaking to watch but you've seen worse. It was more of a slaughter in Wakanda but at least here, you're holding up your ground. Thanos's army hasn't made a dent and it's all evenly matched but it's still devasting to see the amount of damage that's already being done. It's supposed to be daylight but there's so much debris and dust and dirt being kicked up into the air it looks like dusk. It's gloomy and people are screaming and yelling and fighting for their lives.

"We pull back and keep going." You look to him and give him a single nod before turning around.

Peter turns with you. "Okay. I'll cover you." He says and the confidence he wants to show is his hidden by fatigue but he won't give up. Not now.

"Let's go, Spidey." You jerk your head and you're about to start moving when another explosion comes out of nowhere and it sends the two of you flying forward, Peter landing on top of you.

Peter groans, quickly rolling off of you and onto his back, quickly growing defeated by the fight. He looks to you and your head is turned towards him, eyes drooping while you shake your head just enough.

"Ow." You mutter. "When will it stop?" You whine, trying to get up but, like Peter, you're tired from the fight, too.

Peter gets up first, ignoring the stinging and weakness in his muscles and he's reaching down to help you to your feet. No matter how many times you fall, you have to get up. If you don't get up, you might as well just call it quits and hang up the suits. It's no place to die. You reach your hand up to grab Peter's and while Peter is pulling you up, your attention is pulled to the right, in front of them.

Thanos has the stones.

"Oh, no." Your voice shakes as you see Tony going to grab Thanos and panic spreads through your body.

You know. And Peter can feel your fear radiating off of you. He heard your heart start to race and not from the exhaustion, not from the pain, but from the fear and heartbreak of what you're both certain you're going to witness. And if it weren't for Peter's superhuman hearing and senses, he wouldn't have been able to grab you in time.

"No," Peter's arms are around your waist, holding your back. "You can't. He'll kill you." Peter mutters against your ear.

"Peter! Let go!" You struggle against him. "Please." Your voice breaks as you watch Thanos push Tony off of him, while he starts giving a boring villain speech no one can be bothered to fully listen to. "Peter, please." You look to him and your eyes are watering and Peter's never seen you cry before. He's never seen you like this at all and never really thought he would. "I need you to let go and come with me."

Peter's grip doesn't loosen but he's thinking about it. What if it were May? Thanos is too busy talking that he hasn't noticed the stones gone but Peter and you have. Tony has them and what if it were May? But this is Tony and Peter looks at him like another father figure and maybe you have a plan.

"Okay." Peter says hesitantly and you rip from his grip, grabbing his hand to drag him along.

"I'm inevitable." Thanos says and your blood boils but it quickly turns to more panic when Tony holds up his right hand, showing the infinity stones.

"And I...am...Iron...Man--"

"Dad!" You yell as loud as you can before you run directly into him and wrap your arms around his neck.

Pain. All you feel is pain the second you touch him and you know it's the power of the stones but that also confirms your half-assed theory. More people.

"You snap, you die." You struggle through a pant, your body already breaking out into a sweat.

"Hey...Mr. Stark." Peter says, following your lead, pain radiating through his body but lifting only a small fraction of pain from you and Tony.

"You can do it if you get a bunch of people to stand with you. More people, that means the power can be more equally distributed especially when we have people like that one girl who can fly and we have gods here and wizards." Your words are exasperated but your grip doesn't loosen, not even the slightest bit despite your muscles pleading for you to let go.

Another hand comes down on Tony's shoulder while the three of you look up and Pepper is standing there. "We have a smart kid, Tony." Pepper says, she's maintaining a worried and painful smile but Tony nods and more people seem to gather what's going on and one by one, everyone either has an arm around someone or is holding their hand or shoulder.

As one person joins after other, the pain starts to dissipate. It becomes just bareable enough and Thanos can only stand there while a few of the wizards hold back the rest of his army. He knows he's just lost. Tony doesn't have to snap his fingers to know, it's written across the purple titan's face and it's the most satisfying sight any of the heroes have seen in a long time.

And then Tony snaps his fingers.

Everyone connected to each other yells out in pain but no one lets go, no one even questions it. They just take the pain, knowing this is the only way to defeat Thanos and prevent anyone else from dying. And it only lasts seconds for the pain to start dissipating to a slight gnawing and Tony's hand falls limp, the armor around his hand completely burned but he's alive. Everyone is alive all while Thanos and his army start to turn to dust just as Thanos had done to everyone else five years ago.

The heroes won.

"I love you tons." Tony looks over his shoulder to you who's still hugging his shoulders and you give him a weak but genuine smile. "But you're so grounded for this."

You scrunch your face but roll your eyes. "At least you can ground me. I'll take it."

Tony chuckles, the chuckle tired but he's alive.

Everyone starts to move away, feeling like it's finally safe to let go and it is. But now they're just looking around at the damage and they're all taking in what they just experienced. The fight of their lives. One that was all or nothing. It resulted in damage, a lot of damage that's going to take ages to clean but that's okay.

You let go and plop down beside your dad, Peter awkwardly following suit. "How's your hand?" You ask.

"It'll be alright." Tony says, his brows scrunching together when he gets a good look at you, seeing the blood, bruises, and dirt covering your face. "You're a mess." He brushes his whole hand over your face.

"Stoppp." You pull away. "Battle scars, I probably look cool." You hear Peter laugh from beside you. "I do."

"Yeah, alright." Tony rolls his eyes.

"C'mon," Pepper holds out her own hand for Tony. "Let's give them a minute and start," She pauses looking around.

"Damage control." Tony sighs but gives his wife a loving and adoring smirk.

"Yeah, exactly." Pepper's eyes widen while the two walk over and they meet up with Cap who's already with Bucky and Sam.

You look at Peter who's just an utter mess, the sweat from the pain of the infinity stones has only made the dirty and blood run together making him look dirtier than before. There are visible bags under his eyes and he already has a bruise around the bridge of his nose but he still has that look that's always been uniquely Peter. One of innocence and hope, one that just reads happiness.

"You okay?" You ask.

"Yeah, but, uh, I should be asking you that. How'd you know that would work?" Peter asks.

You shrug. "Thanos is big but he survived when he used the gauntlet. I saw Dr. Banner's arm, I'm guessing he used that one to bring us back. He's smaller than Thanos but he lived. It was a lucky guess."

"Pretty cool guess, too." Peter admits, a blush that can't even be seen through the dirt covers his cheeks.

"Thanks." You match the bashful smile. "You kissed me, by the way. I didn't forget."

"Oh," Peter immediately turns flustered and starts stuttering, trying to find something to say, an explanation even.

"It's okay." You repeat. "I didn't mind."

Peter's eyes widen at your words. You've just been friends and neither of you ever even thought of each other as more. Peter always thought you were pretty and admired you but never thought you as anything more than a friend. The same went for you but seeing you again and you seeing him again, it just. The kiss felt right.

"You didn't?" Peter asks, his voice laced in hope.

"No." You admit, a shy smile forms across your face as you fidget in place, something you never do. You don't get nervous but Peter has you feeling all sorts of nervous.

"Do...do you, wanna do something? After..."

"After we see everyone and take a long nap?" You laugh.

"Yeah." Peter laughs with you but it's a tired and nervous laugh, one that shows he's still leaning on hope.

"Okay, um," You think for a second. "Cheeseburgers at the tower? We can watch Star Wars." You pause, looking around and realizing where you are. "Well, the old tower, I guess." You correct yourself realizing you're sitting on pieces and debris from the new facility.

"That'd be awesome." Peter beams while he bites his bloodied lip. "W-we should, get up then and....help?" Peter looks around.

"Yeah." You nod and Peter stands, helping you to your feet, the two of you standing there in a bit of awkward happiness. "Thanks for saving my life, too." You look to the ground before it's your turn to catch Peter by surprise and kiss him quickly.

This time, you can see the red coming to Peter's cheeks when you pull away. "Anytime." The word is breathless before Peter slowly pulls you into a hug, this time, it's a comforting hug.

A hug that you don't have to rush or worry about ending before it's too soon. And your eyes close, just happy to be safe, this time, really safe and with each other. Both of you nervous but excited to see what the future will bring you.