AN:

This story takes place post-Endgame, though the first chapter takes place during the funeral scene at the end of the movie. There will also be at least one chapter set pre-Infinity War and post-Homecoming to setup a change to the time between movies which doesn't change Infinity War or Endgame. Apart from that the major change to canon as of the end of Endgame is that Peter was the only one from Homecoming to get dusted.

Chapter One

Peter Parker had been here before, watching a woman weeping as she cling to the corpse of the man she loved. Dressing to mourn the man he respected most in the world. Blaming himself for not preventing it.

May knocked on his door, smiling when he looked to her with a hopeless look as he undid his tie for the fourth time. "Want some help?"

"I can get it," he assured her, but she could see he was getting frustrated so walked over and waved his hands away so she could take over.

"Did you sleep?" she asked quietly, purposely focusing on his tie. They both knew she knew, but it was her duty to ask.

"Better than the night before," he offered.

"I'm sure it'll get easier," she said finishing the knot and moving on to straightening his tie.

Sympathy colored her features as she brushed his hair back and turned to look at him in the mirror. Peter turned and looked himself over, his gaze drifting from his black suit to his aunt. Maybe it was his enhanced perception or just the fact that what had been days for him had been years for her, but it was as if he could see the five years she lived without him etched into her face.

"I'm sorry."

With a sigh, May squeezed his shoulder and rubbed his back, resting her head against his. "I told you, sweetie, you don't have to apologize."

"I left you alone," he whispered. "Ben and then me. I just…"

May reached up, placing her hands on either side of his head and kissing his temple, then ruffling his hair and smirking as he groaned at having it messed after he brushed it. "Some part of me always knew you'd be back. Otherwise we'd be having this discussion in my home office."

She was relieved to hear him chuckle, even if it lacked his usual cheer. With both of them dressed and ready they sat in the living room, May handing Peter her phone to quickly text Happy telling them they were ready.

Moments later a spark of amber light cut through the air of the living room and both got to their feet as the portal opened and they saw a lakeside house through it. Peter stopped mid stride when he felt May grab his hand, eyeing the rift dubiously.

"I've only been on a plane twice," she admitted suddenly.

"And I've been on a space ship. This is nothing, May." He shifted his arm to take her hand in his. "Just follow me."

Her first time seeing a portal like this was days ago when Peter returned from the ruined Avengers facility upstate and now she was going through one. It was one thing to accept that Peter was Spider-Man, but another entirely to see the oddities of his life in person. It was amazing to see how nonchalant he was to it all, and not in his usual defensive way. She was torn between concern for and pride in the boy she'd raised.

While Peter casually strode through the hole in space and time, May cautiously put one foot through before leaping forward. She turned, gasping when the portal snapped shut and she found a tall, slender man in a black suit lowering his hand which had a trail of amber light fading from his fingers.

"Thanks for the shortcut, Doc," Peter said turning to face him. She saw both a flicker of annoyance with the nickname in the man, and a flicker in Peter's eye that told her he knew it annoyed the doctor and enjoyed it. "Doc, this is my Aunt, May. May, this is Doctor Strange. He's pretty strict about using fake names."

Strange sighed as beside him a portly Asian man snickered. "I told you, Mr. Parker, Strange is my surname."

"It is pretty weird, yeah," Peter said with a sagely nod.

"Oh I know this," May said patting Peter's arm. "Who's on second?"

Knowing she played up the awkward older role as she often did with him he countered by asking, "What's that?" His 'youthful ignorance' bit always frustrated the older folk, and much to his enjoyment made his aunt snicker while Wong and Strange sighed. Motioning to the house, Peter asked, "Are we early or late?"

"Not early enough to see the fighting," Strange said with a shrug.

"Who was fighting?" Peter asked, surprising himself with the flare of anger in his voice. It felt incredibly insulting to think anyone would even think about starting a fight at Mr. Stark's funeral. Of course his immediate thought was he should find whoever it was and punch them.

"It seems Doctor Banner and General Ross have some history beyond the Accords," Wong offered quietly.

"Ross is here?" Peter said with a gasp, glancing toward the house.

"He comes in peace," Wong assured. "They had words but were convinced to put their personal feelings aside."

"He's alone surrounded by, well," Strange motioned from them to the house, "us."

Wong nodded. "He's not going to start anything."

With a wary nod, Peter looked to May, who gave him a supportive smile before they made their way to the house while Strange introduced them to Wong.

As they reached the deck the house doors opened and Pepper Potts stepped through the threshold. The moment her eyes settled on Peter she took a shaky breath and smiled. "Peter."

"Hi, Miss Potts."

They'd only really met a few times, maybe a handful of those actually in person and more than a second or two in passing or at her wedding where she was otherwise occupied, yet she rushed forward to pull him into a hug as if he was more than some acquaintance. It felt like one of May's hugs, specifically the desperate, relieved kinds that were abundant after Ben died.

After a moment, Pepper pulled away with a look of embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she said wiping her cheek, "I just-"

She was cut off by Peter suddenly putting his arms around her for another hug. May felt a swell of pride realizing he'd done that more for Pepper than himself, silencing her apology and easing her concern as she let out a relieved sigh and gently patted his shoulder, whispering a quick thank you to him before they separated.

Pepper looked from him to May and Peter was surprised to see the familiarity in her smile. "May."

"I'm so sorry for your loss," May said taking Peter's place in hugging her.

"You two know each other?" Peter asked looking back and forth between them.

Both women chuckled as they separated and looked to Peter. "Tony, Pepper and Happy were a lot of help for me early on. They kept checking up on me."

Nodding, Peter looked to Pepper with a grateful smile. "Thank you."

"Come inside," Pepper said motioning to the others before looking to Peter, "there's someone I'd like you to meet, Peter."

Inside he saw most of the guest already arrived, including most of the Avengers and even the Guardian's of the Galaxy. While the mystics peeled away to rejoin them Pepper led May and Peter to the kitchen where Happy was sat with a small, somber girl on his knee.

When he saw them arrive, Happy smiled yet didn't seem very happy. "Hey, Kid. May."

"Happy," May said with a nod.

Morgan seemed to come out of her daze, turning with a somber smile to wave at Peter's aunt. "Hi, Miss May."

While May returned her wave, Morgan's gaze shifted to Peter and she gasped, her eyes widening as she clutched Happy's arm. Peter's brow knit and his stomach flipped at the thought of upsetting this girl May told him about the day he returned and he'd seen from afar during the public funeral and burial.

He'd been glad to hear Mr. Stark and the others were around to help, but he'd almost expected it upon hearing from Rhodey that May hadn't disappeared like he did. But it was a shock to hear he had a daughter of his own.

"Morgan's a sweet girl," May said as they sat for dinner the night before. "She's smart as either of them, but Pepper says she's all Tony since she gets into everything and fiddles with all her toys."

As Peter listened to his aunt describe the girl, he could only think that Morgan was the last piece of Tony Stark left in this world. Ben never had a child with May or anyone else, so when Peter held dying uncle he watched the last piece of Ben Parker leave the world, but it was different with Tony Stark. There was a piece of him left in Morgan, a piece Peter vowed to protect forever. He owed Mr. Stark at least that much.

So seeing her reel at the sight of him made him dread the thought he might somehow repulse her. As he started to wonder if he should leave, he saw her whisper, "Peter."

All his twisting emotions gave way to confusion as he looked from May to Pepper, noting that both of them and even Happy were teary eyed. He warily looked away from them, turning his attention back to Morgan as he sank to his knee and smiled at her as best he could.

"Seems like you already know me," he said reaching a hand out to her. "I'm Peter Parker."

The girl stared at him with big, glassy eyes before her lips stretched, trying to smile before suddenly hopping off Happy and throwing herself at him. Morgan threw her arms around him and started sobbing into his shoulder. Pepper and May had their own teary smiles watching as Peter quickly pushed aside his confusion and concern to soothingly shush her and rub her back.

"It's okay," he whispered to her, gently brushing her hair before carefully standing with her in his arms. Morgan's grip on him tightened as he found May, Pepper and Happy staring at them with somber smiles.

Since they were no help, Peter turned to look at the others in the room and found half of them staring at them with similar looks. Peter looked to Strange for help, but the doctor smirked and shrugged.

Peter then looked to Steve Rogers, who wore his own solemn smile at the sight while beside him Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson smirked and Wanda Maximoff wore a more stoic expression with a hint of a smile. Rhodey grinned while beside him Thor and Hulk wore their own glassy eyed smiles. It was unsettling seeing two of the strongest men in the universe weepy, so he quickly turned away from the room and focused on Morgan.

Thankfully she seemed to be cried out, slowly pulling her head from his shoulder to look at him. "I take it you know who I am?" He said with a laugh. "May must've shown you lots of pictures of me, huh?"

"Sometimes," Morgan said with a nod. "Daddy too."

Surprised, Peter asked, "He did?"

Morgan pointed to the kitchen, where his enhanced vision let him see the edge of a photo on a shelf by the sink. "You're Daddy's pupil," she said turning back to Peter.

That earned a snort from May and snickered from Happy while Pepper rolled her eyes. "Pupil?" Peter said with a smirk.

"That's what daddy called you," she said somberly. "It's like a son."

Peter hadn't been expecting someone so small to hit him so hard, but it felt like the air was knocked out of him. He managed to quickly hide it, his mind suddenly making a few connections which made the smile he put on more natural. "I guess that kind of makes me your brother, huh?"

He was a bit surprised to see her nod as if that was something she long ago accepted. "Mmhmm."

"Well then you know that means if you ever need anything you can ask me and I'll do everything I can to help, right?"

"Really?" she asked skeptically. "Even get me a juice pop?"

"Definitely," he said, amending when he saw Pepper shake her head, "after the party."

Peter returned Morgan to Happy while Pepper took them around the room, making introductions. To his relief she told Ross he was a promising intern Tony took an interest in, much as he had the young Harley Keener. The presence of the two made his story easily accepted by the general, who excused himself to wait for Fury and Maria Hill outside.

They already met Wong and Strange on the way to the house, though May gasped and bowed when Pepper introduced them to T'Challa and his retinue of Okoye and Shuri. "May," Peter whispered in embarrassment.

"Show some respect," she said swatting his arm, earning snickers from the king and his party.

"It is fine, Mrs. Parker," T'Challa assured, nodding to Peter, how did the same. With a smirk he declared, "I can forgive such insolence."

While May had been honored to meet T'Challa, Peter said the same when he shook Hank Pym's hand. "I've read some of your papers, sir. You're incredible."

"Please don't feed his ego," Janet Van Dyne said with a laugh. "It's big enough as is."

"Luckily shrinking things is his specialty so it doesn't tip the van over," Scott said with a shrug.

"Hey, Bug Boy." Peter, Scott Land and Hank Pym all turned toward Rhodey, who shook his head. "I meant the big one."

"Hey," Hank and Scott said when Rhodey came over to shake Peter's hand.

"May this is Colonel James Rhodes," Peter said stepping aside.

Snickering, May shook Rhodey's hand. "We've met."

"Tony had us all over for dinner a time or two," Rhodey said to answer Peter's confusion. "And it's Brigadier General now."

"Congrats," said Peter and Scott. Hope rolled her eyes that her boyfriend had the vocabulary of a teenager before offering, "Congratulations, General."

Peter led things as they moved toward the group of aliens stood around a table, introducing May to the Guardians he knew while Rhodey introduced him to Rocket. Eventually Pepper stepped away, sending Strange off to bring the last of their guests while Quill asked May about some old show and Nebula told Peter about her time traveling the galaxy with Rocket for the Avengers.

When Pepper returned she did so with the mystics and Nick Fury, Maria Hill and Carol Danvers, who flashed him a smirk as he half waved at her. The room quieted not because of the guests but because of the somberness that had retaken Pepper now all of them were in attendance.

Peter wasn't sure what to feel watching Tony's holographic image speaking to them. Part him shared Morgan's obvious aversion, feeling it was like watching a ghost. Another felt like it was rubbing salt into the wounds, showing him the man he would never have the chance to speak to again. He would never get to hear Tony Stark chastise him or groan whenever he asked if he saw some old classic movie.

After watching Tony's final message, everyone made their way to the lake where they watched Pepper send off the reactor she once gave Tony.

Most of them had been there days earlier for the grand, public funeral and burial but Peter was kept at a distance to protect his secret identity. The distance helped him detach himself from the funeral and burial, but he struggled to fight back tears as he watched the reactor drift away.

However it wasn't May squeezing his shoulder that kept them in but guilt. He felt like he didn't deserve to cry or feel any sorrow. From the dark depths of his soul he could hear voices whispering in his mind. 'It's your fault. You could have prevented it. You're no better than them.'

It was the same ones he heard at Ben's funeral, the ones that drove him to go out every night that week and hunt down the one who shot him. It was the same whispers that almost made him punch a hole through the face of the man who murdered his uncle. Instead he'd punched so many holes in the walls of the abandoned building that half the roof collapsed after he left.

"Peter." May whispered, feeling him tense as Rhodey and Happy guided Pepper back toward the house. "Sweetie."

He couldn't move. If he did he would shatter. The tears would flow and they would know he was thinking it was his fault and just like with Ben they would tell him it wasn't even though he knew it was. He knew he could have done more, he could have done things differently.

"Queens."

The word snapped him from his haze and he turned to see Steve Rogers standing in front of him. Peter tried to smile, managing it after one failed attempt. "Brooklyn."

Steve smirked. "I have something I have to do tomorrow, but I was hoping we could speak before I head off." Glancing to May he asked, "If it's alright with you, Ma'am."

Pride colored May's smile as she looked to Peter, rubbing his shoulders before she kissed the side of his head. "Of course, Steve."

Peter's brow knit as he looked to his aunt. "Do you know all the Avengers?"

"Only the best ones," she said squeezing his shoulder before heading to the house.

He saw General Ross speak briefly to Fury before making his way toward the cars while the others went inside and May spoke with Clint's wife.

"How you holding up?" Steve asked as Peter turned back to him.

"Easily enough. Legs do most of the work," Peter answered with a dry laugh.

Steve smiled somberly as he thought that was the kind of deflective joke Tony would make. "I'm glad you're here. It would've meant a lot Tony."

"Probably would've meant more if he was here," he said quickly, then sighed and shook his head. "Sorry."

"Don't be. I bet he would've loved to be at his own funeral. I almost expected him to jump out of the casket and tell us we weren't sad enough." Seeing Peter nod, Steve reached over to squeeze his shoulder. "You can't blame yourself for this."

Peter's eyes swung up, wondering if he had made it obvious or if Steve just assumed that was something he would do. Either way the moment he met the soldier's gaze he could see he knew Peter blamed himself. But shockingly he realized it was probably because he was doing the same thing.

"I know I shouldn't, but I do."

"We all do," Steve said shaking his head. "It comes with the territory. You can't think about how different things could have been. It's better to think about what you can do going forward. Grow from it, don't let it eat at you. Use it."

Peter knew better than most that there wasn't really much that could've been done different, not if Doctor Strange was right. He had seen millions of different possibilities and of all of them only one ended with them winning, but that just made it worse for Peter.

'You were too stupid,' echoed through his mind. 'You never even tried. You were too scared. Too weak. You let him die.'

"It's why I do what I do," Peter admitted.

"Yeah?" Steve asked in surprise.

"If I can help people and I don't am I really any different from the bad guys?" Peter said with a shrug.

"Doing good doesn't make us good people, Peter." said Steve. "And not doing good doesn't make us evil."

"We have these powers," Peter said holding up his hand and closing it into a fist. "It's our responsibility to use them the right way." Seeing Steve looking impressed, Peter lowered his hand admitting, "My uncle used to tell me that."

Crossing his arms, Steve asked, "Did he know?"

Shaking his head, Peter answered, "No. It was just how he lived. With great power comes great responsibility meant more than the stuff we can do. To him great power was having spare blankets to give someone in need, or being able to share a meal with someone who was hungry."

"Your uncle sounds like a good man."

Peter's jaw shifted as he nodded, looking to the drifting reactor. "He was."

Steve followed his gaze, smiling as he turned back to Peter. "You know he talked about you a lot." When Peter arched his brow, Steve clarified, "Tony. The way he spoke about you wasn't too different from how he did with Morgan."

Peter gave a relenting nod. "He did treat me like a little girl."

Steve chuckled, probably the first since before Bruce snapped. "I meant like you were his kid."

Peter glanced back toward the house where he saw Morgan sat with Happy on the porch, she caught him looking and smiled, giving him a brief wave he returned.

"I heard he made you an Avenger," Steve said as Peter turned back to him.

"He just," Peter mimicked the mock knighting Tony gave him, "and said I was an Avenger to shut me up."

"Well then it's official." Peter looked up and saw Steve nodding. "Look, I know you're a kid. You've got a lot on your plate and I'm not asking you to do anything I don't think you're capable of. I just want you to know that as far as I'm concerned you're one of us."

Once again Peter felt his heart swell as it had when Tony told him he was an Avenger on the ship. "Really?" A flood of doubts hit him, shrinking his smile as he asked, "Does that means there's like a thousand Avengers now?"

"No. It's not just cause you fought with us. It's because you're you. Because Tony made sure we all knew the kind of person you are. Because you just told me how important helping people is to you."

Peter was stunned, his mouth gaping as he tried to say something but found himself uncertain what to say. Thanking him didn't feel like enough.

Clapping Peter's shoulder, Steve told him, "If you ever need anything you can rely on us. Just ask and we'll help however we can."

Leaning forward slightly, Peter whispered, "Do the others know you're letting me in?"

Steve said as he strode toward the house, "What do you think we were talking about before you showed up?"

Peter stood alone on the dock watching Steve, stopping briefly to wave at Morgan before he headed inside. Part of him wanted to jump up and let out a victorious cheer but even Peter knew that would be grossly inappropriate. He also felt a fresh wave of sorrow realizing while he was finally a real Avenger it was on a team that could never have Iron Man as part of it.

He turned and stared out at the lake, taking deep breaths to try and cool his burning eyes. That was where Wanda Maximoff saw him as she walked with Clint back toward the house. Though he was clearly standing off on his own to avoid any attention, to her he was like a beacon of emotion. Sorrow and guilt radiated off him, yet buried beneath it she sensed a deep warmth that swelled when he felt a small hand grab his sleeve and turned to see Morgan had come over to join him, wrapping her arm around his.

Clint noticed Wanda slowing her pace and turned, arching his brow as he followed her gaze, watching Peter put on a smile and kneel to be level with Morgan. He took her hand, swinging it lightly as they spoke, saying something which made her giggle.

"Looks like Itsy Bitsy is good with kids."

"He loves her," Wanda said a furrowed brow.

Clint knew she could sense it but he didn't need her powers to see that. It was clear in how Peter smiled when he spoke to her, the evident joy he felt hearing her laugh, the care he took while lifting her as if he couldn't lift a car over his head. It was how Clint was with Lila back when he could still pick her up without her complaining he was embarrassing her.

"She's all he has left of Tony," Clint said with a nod.

Wanda knew it was more than that. The emotion he felt toward the girl was not unlike what he felt toward May or even Pepper or Happy, but what surprised her was that it seemed to be a constant thing with him. It dwindled when he spoke to Ross, but buried all the fear and anxiety there was still an underlying, ever present speck of warmth which confused her. The oddest thing was how quickly it grew in others toward him.

When they were discussing him earlier, many said Tony admitted Peter had been his hope for the future, a large part of what he wanted them to become. Pepper said he'd admitted while she was pregnant that his time with Peter made him want his own family with her. It was clear to them Peter was the inheritor of Tony's will, a bastion of his hope for the world. Yet seeing him now Wanda wondered if the truth wasn't that Tony passed on his hope to Peter but that he'd gained it from him.

AN:

This was mostly started on a whim and has changed a lot from what I originally thought it would be, but I think I have a feel fun ideas and ways to work in stuff. I'm planning to use some stuff from the shows, but they most likely won't be canon compliant to their sources. I'll take the characters and aspects that work and add to the story.

Next chapter starts the real Post-Endgame stuff.