- What's up, folks? I hope you're all doing well. I'm back with another chapter for this story and this one is a little more lighthearted than the previous couple.

- If I'm being honest, writing this was a little easier on me too. Planning fighting sequences and then attempting to write them out properly is still quite a challenge.

Enjoy.

…

With Thanos and most of the Black Order now dead, there was only one sensible course of action Ebony Maw could take...and he quickly ordered the full retreat of all their surviving troops. The Asgardian, Wakandan, and Kamar Taj forces slaughtered the hostile alien force by the hundreds as they tried to fall back to the few Q-ships that were left. Thor and the Black Panther led the renewed attack, with some of the other Avengers providing their assistance too.

Spider-Man was not one of them though as the wounds in his torso were being tended to by his girlfriend, the Scarlet Witch.

"How you feeling?" Wanda asked, looking into his hazel eyes.

Peter gave her a tired smile. "Sore as hell and hungry but otherwise okay. You?"

"I'm hungry too, which makes sense. Apparently, I haven't eaten anything in four years."

The two youngest Avengers chuckled together at that before she continued to heal his injuries. The area around the wrecked building had been turned into a make-shift field hospital. There were many Asgardians, Wakandans, and students of the mystic arts being treated for the various wounds they suffered in the battle. Healers from New Asgard were busy giving out medicinal potions or bandaging bloody injuries while some of the sorcerers from Kamar Taj casted healing spells to help soothe blaster wounds.

Maria herself was being tended to by Hilde not too far off. That last orbital bombardment had injured her right arm pretty badly. Had Hela not managed to get her away from the frontlines in time...she could've lost all use of her limb permanently.

Pepper was by her husband's side, helping to hold him steady as he slowly stood up. Tony took a lot of damage to his head during this battle and it was likely that he'd be suffering from the effects of a bad concussion for the next few weeks.

Still, it was better than him being dead...the last thing Peter wanted was for Morgan to lose her father at such a young age.

Just a little ways further down the field was Bucky, helping his oldest friend walk over to the medics. Captain America had suffered more injuries than Iron Man but they were a bit less serious. Both his left forearm and some of his ribs were badly fractured. The only thing keeping his forearm bones from wandering too far out of place was the leather strap of his destroyed shield. That punch he had taken to the side of his face from Thanos damn near snapped his jaw off too. While it thankfully wasn't broken, it still hurt a lot for him to move his mouth around.

"There, all done." The Scarlet Witch said, the red glow of energy in her hands fading away before she pulled them back. "I've mended the fractures in your chest. You might feel a few aches for the next couple of days but you'll be okay. Just take it easy for now."

"Don't worry, I will." Spidey muttered as he placed his arm around her. "I think we've earned a nice long break after all this."

Wanda rested her head down on Peter's shoulder with a smile, savoring the comfort of his warm presence. It wasn't long before the Black Widow and Jessica approached them from the side...carrying an unconscious Carol in their arms.

The two youngest Avengers immediately stood up and moved to provide their assistance. Natasha and Jessica handed Captain Marvel over to Spider-Man, who gently lowered her down to the ground.

"Is Carol okay?" Peter asked, placing his fingers on the side of her neck.

Natasha nodded. "I believe so. She should wake up in a little while."

A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he found a steady pulse. Seeing Thanos punch her away with the power stone augmenting his strength had been quite a scare. He was planning to go check on Carol immediately after Thor killed Thanos but Lady Sif and Hela ordered him to fall back so he could get his wounds treated. While Sif went to help cut off the enemy's retreat, the Goddess of Death destroyed Thanos's corpse by setting it on fire. The dead purple bastard burned until he was nothing more than a pile of black ashes.

"Where are Luke and the others?"

Jessica pointed to where the bulk of the Avengers and their allies were. "Helping Thor and the others kill the rest of these damn things. We just saw that squid-looking bastard get cut down by some bald Asgardian guy in blue armor wielding an axe."

The young Spider thought for a moment. There was only one bald Asgardian he knew of that wore blue armor. "Was it Skurge?"

"Uh, maybe? I don't know his name. Natasha and I just saw him throw his axe into that son of a bitch's spine while he was trying to run away."

The Black Widow slid her pistol back into the holster at her side and sat on a flat-surfaced rock. Wanda placed her hands above a bleeding gash on Natasha's forehead and began to heal it. "With him dead, the Black Order is no longer a threat. It won't be long until we wipe these things out for good."

Spider-Man carried Captain Marvel over to an empty stretcher and set her down. Making sure that her head was resting comfortably on the pillow, Peter pressed a gentle kiss on the side of Carol's face. He turned his attention back to the battlefield for a moment. There were a lot of dead alien corpses scattered all over the place. Unfortunately, some of the fallen were their allies too. This was perhaps the most important battle he and the Avengers have ever fought in and while they fortunately won...it still came at a heavy cost.

…

A week later...

Peter gulped nervously as he fidgeted in his chair. His aunt May was sitting across him with a serious contemplative expression on her face. After a long moment of awkward silence, May took a deep breath before she finally spoke.

"...So you've been dating not only Wanda but six other women too for the past four years."

"Y-yeah."

He decided to tell her about his special relationship five days after they reunited with each other. May had been restored back in their old apartment, which was fortunately still in their possession. The poor woman had been so confused about everything and after sharing a long hug with his aunt, Peter did his best to explain all the stuff that has happened since the Decimation. It understandably took her a while to accept the fact that four years have already gone by.

Now they were discussing the matter of his dating life and he wasn't sure if May approved of it at all. However his aunt felt about the matter at the moment, the young Spider just hoped she wasn't mad. He would much rather fight Thanos one on one again than face the full wrath of her anger.

"I see." His aunt muttered before turning her attention to the others in the room.

She and Peter weren't discussing this alone. Wanda and his six other girlfriends were also present. The Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, and Maria Hill sat close to him while the others decided to just stand.

May's eyes narrowed slightly. "Is it true you all love my nephew?"

"We do." Natasha said without hesitation. "I understand your concerns about us. Our relationship with him isn't exactly a normal one...but I promise you our feelings for Peter are genuine."

Wanda and the others nodded or smiled in agreement. Peter couldn't help but smile too as his face blushed a twinge of red. His aunt rubbed her forehead, doing her best to sort out her thoughts about all this. She had seen every one of them interact with her nephew in the past few days and there was no denying that they got along well. What worried her though was how others would judge them for this. Tony, Pepper, and a few others were already aware of Peter's unorthodox dating life and they didn't have any problems with it...but not everyone would be so open minded.

"It's alright, May." Wanda said, sensing what was on her mind. "I understand our relationship with Peter isn't something most people would agree with but none of us care about what others may think. We're happy together...and nothing will change that."

The living room grew quiet again as May thought about what the Scarlet Witch's words. Spidey reached over and placed his hand on top of hers. Wanda intertwined her fingers around his and held on with a gentle grip. His aunt couldn't help but smirk teasingly at them...she still thought they were the cutest couple ever.

"If that truly is the case and you're all taking good care of each other, then I have no issues." May stated before the look in her eyes grew cold. "But if any of you ever break Peter's heart, I don't care how damn powerful you may be...I will tear you apart."

All seven ladies felt a chill go down their spines, knowing she was dead serious. Even Hela and Carol barely repressed the urge to shudder...few things were scarier than an angry loving parent seeking vengeance for their child. Not that any of them would ever give May a reason to do so. They would never dare harm their boyfriend in any way whatsoever.

The young Spider approached his aunt and set his hand down on her shoulder. "Don't worry, May. We'll be fine."

The look on May's face softened as she embraced Peter with a smile. "I know. I larb you."

"I larb you too."

The two of them laughed together and almost immediately, the awkward atmosphere in the room eased into a more friendly setting. Carol, Darcy, Valkyrie, and Hela walked up to May and introduced themselves properly to the woman who raised their boyfriend. Peter and Wanda headed back outside to give them some time alone. Maria and Natasha followed the two youngest Avengers out of the Stark family cabin.

"...That was nerve-wracking." Hill muttered, taking care not to bump her bandaged right arm into anything by accident.

The Black Widow couldn't help but agree. May was such a sweet kind woman but she was also very fierce and protective when it came to Peter's overall well-being. Though most of them were stronger than her, she suspected May would still find a way to make good on her promise to tear them apart if they ever hurt her only nephew.

Spidey sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that. My aunt can be kind of intimidating when she wants to be."

"Don't worry about it. We all know May's just looking out for you." Wanda said, holding onto his hand. "At least now we know she's okay with all of us being together."

That brought a smile to Peter's face and he quickly pecked a kiss on the back of her hand. The Black Widow and Hill headed over to the large table full of food and beverages to get themselves a drink. The rest of the Avengers and their friends were scattered all around the place. Tony and Pepper had invited the team to come up to their place for a little party, to celebrate their hard-won victory against that dead purple bastard. None of them objected to that idea...especially considering all the work they had to get done in the aftermath of the battle.

The entirety of Thanos's army was no longer amongst the living. Thor and the Black Panther didn't order their forces to stop attacking the hostile alien troops until there were no survivors left. Unfortunately, it also meant there was a lot of dead bodies to get rid of at the end. Burying all the corpses would've taken too much time and space though so they did the next best thing...burn them.

It still would've taken a considerable amount of time to cremate all those alien bodies. Fortunately, Dr. Strange and some of the other wielders of the mystic arts came up with a very extreme time-saving method. They had some of the Avengers throw the enemy corpses into three giant piles on the smoked out battlefield. Once all bodies were confirmed to be accounted for...Dr. Strange and Wong opened a portal beneath the three large piles of dead aliens. Kassandra and a dozen other students of the mystic arts provided their assistance by holding the giant portal stable so it wouldn't close too early.

Peter remembered his jaw dropping that day as the corpses he and some of the other members of the team spent all morning moving suddenly just disappeared through the ground. As it turns out, the portal that opened up led to the actual sun of their solar system. The alien corpses only remained for about a fraction of a second before the intense heat of the star literally melted them all to nothing.

The only reason they hadn't suffered the same fate was because Dr. Strange had erected a powerful barrier just a few meters outside the portal to keep the high temperatures from affecting them.

As for the wrecked Q-ships and downed Sanctuary, Thor and Iron Man had blasted the vessels until they were nothing but useless scrap metal a few days earlier so neither the U.S. or any other world government could attempt to secure the more advance alien technology stored within.

Jessica walked up to the two youngest Avengers with an inquisitive look on her face. In her right hand was a half drunk bottle of beer. "Where have you guys been? You disappeared shortly after we all got here."

"We were having a long talk with my aunt."

"About what?"

Peter looked back at the cabin for a second. "We decided to tell her about my dating not just Wanda but Natasha and the others too."

The private detective's eyes widened a bit before she smirked. "Let me guess...May gave you all the shovel talk."

Wanda breathed out a sigh. "That woman can be very scary."

"Yeah, I know. So what did she say?"

"She was understandably reluctant at first...but in the end, May told us she's fine with me and the others being together with Peter. "

Jessica gave them a little toast by raising her half drunk bottle of beer. "Congratulations then. You still haven't told me how this relationship of yours began, Peter."

"I'll tell you about it, although it isn't as grand as you might think." Wanda said before she turned to her boyfriend. "Could you get me something to drink? My throat's feeling a bit dry."

The young Spider nodded and stood up. "What do you want?"

"Just some lemonade, please."

"Okay. I'll be right back."

Peter pressed his lips against Wanda for a quick kiss before he walked towards the buffet table.

"He's a good man...one of the best I've ever known." Jessica said, watching Spidey with a rare fond smile on her face. "You're lucky to have each other."

The Scarlet Witch blushed as she nodded in agreement. Being together with Peter was the best and happiest thing to have ever happened to her.

…

Spider-Man was whistling a happy little tune whilst pouring some lemonade into two large cups when a pair of arms suddenly wrapped themselves around his waist from behind.

"Hey, Peter!" Lorelei cheerfully greeted.

Peter set the pitcher of lemonade back down before he turned around to look at the young red-haired girl. "Hello, Lorelei. How are you?"

"I'm fine. So is my mother and Amora."

"That's good to hear. Where's your family?" He remembered Hilde being one of the many Asgardian healers helping to treat the wounded in the aftermath of the battle just a week ago.

She pointed to the right, where her sister and mother were enjoying a light snack. Beside them sat Lady Sif, Jane, and Volstagg's family...watching a rather amusing pop-tart eating contest unfold. One of the two competitors was Thor and the other Volstagg. The two old friends were sitting at an empty table, scarfing down different flavored pop-tarts as fast as they could. Behind them was a bunch of empty pop-tart boxes that kept piling up more and more by the minute.

Spidey was amazed by how fast they were eating. Thor and Volstagg were practically inhaling the pop-tarts like there was no tomorrow. "How long has this been going on?"

"They started about five minutes ago." Lorelei said, giggling at the funny looks on Thor's and Volstagg's faces as they chowed down. "Sir Volstagg made the challenge and our King couldn't refuse."

Five minutes and already they ate through two dozen pop-tarts combined. Even with his own immense appetite, Peter doubted he'd be able to eat that much...unless he was really hungry.

"Man, I sure hope they don't throw up when this contest is over."

"Me too...so are you alright now? Mother told me you had been injured in the big battle last week."

Peter ruffled her red hair. "I'm ok now, thanks to Wanda healing my wounds. My chest still feels a bit stiff but it'll go away in a day or so."

"Glad you're feeling better, kid." Tony said as he suddenly approached from the side. White bandages were tightly wrapped around his head.

Spidey was actually kind of surprised to see him walking about right now. For the past few days, Pepper had forcibly confined her husband to their bed in the cabin so he could properly rest and recover from all of the trauma his skull had suffered in battle.

"Hi, Mr. Stark."

"Ah-ah. It's Tony, remember? Mr. Stark was my dad. Anyways, do you have a moment? There's something I want to talk about with you."

Peter nodded before he grabbed the two cups of lemonade and handed them to Lorelei. "Could you do me a favor and bring these drinks over to Wanda? Tell her I'll be back shortly."

The young red-headed girl smiled and pecked a shy little kiss on Peter's cheek before she headed over to the Scarlet Witch with the two glasses in her hands. Tony just watched them from the side, quietly chuckling for some reason.

"...What?"

The billionaire smirked teasingly at his intern. "You've grown to be quite popular with the ladies, haven't you?"

Peter just rolled his eyes before the two of them walked towards the lake. The skies were mostly clear today with just a few clouds hovering in front of the sun. A gentle wind was in the air too, keeping everyone in the area comfortably cool as it flowed by them every now and then.

When they stopped at the edge of the wooden dock, Spidey finally spoke. "...So what'd you want to talk about?"

Tony decided to cut right to the chase. "I've decided it's time I retired as Iron Man permanently."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. Pepper and I have been discussing this all week...we've agreed that it's best for me to retire for good."

"...For Morgan's sake?" He asked. The little four year old girl was currently engaged in an intense game of tag with the Barton children.

Tony nodded before he looked to his daughter. "Much as I hate to admit it, I'm getting too old to be playing superhero. Even with the suit on, my body can't handle being in tough fights anymore. Being with my family and taking care of them is the most important thing to me now."

"Huh...well, your hair is starting to go gray." Peter joked.

"Shut up."

"Heh. So what are you going to do with your suits then?"

"Not sure but for now, I'll keep all my suits of armor stored and locked away." Tony muttered. "There's no way in hell I'm letting the government get their hands on it."

Much as it saddened Spidey to learn that Iron Man would be retiring for good, he knew it was for the best. After all of the horrors he's faced and gone through in the last ten years, the man deserved to live a good peaceful life with his family.

Peter smiled as he held out his hand. "Thanks for keeping the world safe for as long as you have. I wish you all the best, old man."

Tony grasped his intern's hand and shook it with a firm grip. "Don't make this too sentimental. It's not like we're saying goodbye...and I'm not that old!"

The young Spider laughed as the billionaire headed back to his wife, who was keeping an eye on their daughter from the front porch of their cabin. Jane walked towards Peter and wondered why he was laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Ah, I was just joking around with Mr. Stark a few seconds ago." He said. "So what's up?"

The astrophysicist jerked her thumb backwards to where Thor and Volstagg were. "Thor wants to know if you'd like to take part in their pop-tart eating contest."

"Tempting...but I think I'll pass. Pretty sure I'd lose one of my hands just trying to grab a pop-tart if I joined in."

"With the way they're eating, I wouldn't be surprised if that did happen."

Peter nodded before he remembered something. "So...how are things between you and Thor now?"

Her lips slowly curved into a shy smile. "Never better. We talked a lot the last couple of days and he decided to give us another chance."

"Really? That's great! But does that mean he and Sif are over now?"

"Not exactly."

Now he was confused. "What do you mean?"

"...Let's just say Sif and I have decided to follow your example." Jane winked at Peter before she wrapped her arm around his. "Now c'mon, let's get back to the others."

...

- Tony's not dead but he is done being Iron Man. It does sort of make sense. In the movie, he was barely able to keep up in the battle at the end. He's still a normal middle-aged man despite his armored suit. Retiring from the role of Iron Man seems like a good choice for him...if not for his sake, then for Pepper's and Morgan's at least.

- Hope you all liked it. Till next time.