Don't Go

By: Writer-at-Heart0

This was written between the time that Infinity War and Endgame came out. I hope you enjoy it! I recently found it in the depths of my laptop, please drop a review on your thoughts!

Peter pinched his eyes open a centimeter before slamming them shut again. Why was the sun so bright? The last thing Peter remembers was excruciating pain as his body tried to hold itself together, gripping tightly to Mr. Stark in an effort to stay in one piece, and then an orange void. Endless seas and swirls of orange, both in the sky and under his feet. But now, the sun was shining? It hadn't been this bright on that planet.

Peter jolted up into a seated position at that thought and frantically looked around himself. This was definitely not the planet he had been on nor was it the orange chasm he'd floated in. The sky above was a deep azure, and the plants around him were wilting in the sun, but green nonetheless. The dirt under Peter's hands was chalky, dry, but brown. The city rising in the distance was glimmering in silver under the afternoon sun.

This was Earth.

Peter's eyes involuntarily watered and he smiled as wide as he could. He was home. He was alive. He was…well, Peter wasn't exactly sure where he was, but he knew in the core of his being that he was on his home planet of Earth. Not some gravity-defying dead planet or noxious orange realm: home. Peter felt the relief fall through his whole body, unraveling stress he didn't know his unconscious had been holding onto. It almost seemed too good to be true to feel the heat of the sun searing across his skin. But he relished in the relief.

Shouts from around him had Peter turning to look over his shoulder, and his eyes widened. Around him were hundreds of warriors holding shields and spears; some had blue cloaks hanging over their shoulders and others wore burnt red/orange outfits. Peter then saw King T'Challa, the Black Panther, moving amongst the crowds of warriors, and he knew that this must be Wakanda. Whoa, wait until Aunt May hears about this trip!

Before Peter could continue down the rabbit hole that was his family, his eyes caught a small group not far from him. They were standing in a loose circle and someone that looked like Steve Rogers was kneeling in the middle. Peter cocked his head to the side, rocking his body left and right trying to see what was happening. He squinted as hard as he could, but he wasn't able to see anything through the circle of bodies.

"Come on, kid." The hard, quiet voice of steel had Peter's head snapping around. Standing there was Bucky Barnes, blue-grey eyes hard as they stared straight at the assembled Avengers. Behind Bucky was Sam, the Falcon. His normally mischievous, amused expression was hardened into an unreadable mass of rock. Peter stood to his feet, apprehension coiling like a snake in the pit of his stomach at the displays of stoicism. He'd only met them once at the airport in Germany, and he'd been fighting them, but he was sure that they were more humorous then this.

But despite the hesitation he felt in his gut, Peter followed the two older men to the circle where he saw Colonel Rhodes and the original five Avengers. Dr. Banner was kneeling across from Steve, both speaking quietly, but Dr. Banner's hands were moving swiftly. The Black Widow, Natasha, and Hawkeye, Clint, stood silently side by side. Peter noticed that Natasha had tears slowly dripping from her eyes—something he had never seen before. He remembered Natasha as being the one with the tightest control of her emotions; her mask was infamous for delaying the extent of her feelings. Next to Colonel Rhodes was Thor, who was holding his ax? in a low, loose grip. The ax head was drooping towards the ground dejectedly.

Around Peter, he began to see other Avengers gather. Scarlett Witch, Scott Lang, Dr. Strange, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Even T'Challa ran up to the group, momentarily leaving his people behind. But the one person Peter expected to see, he did not.

Where was Mr. Stark?

"Bruce, there has to be something—" Steve's voice was tight and strained, not full and weighty with command. It was out of character for the soldier. It shocked Peter, making him momentarily pause his search for Mr. Stark.

Bruce shook his head, his hands shaking uncontrollably, "I've tried everything Steve, I don't know if this can be fixed. I-I…he's been down too long."

The snake in Peter's stomach painfully coiled up, waiting to strike. He felt his heart begin to thud painfully against his ribcage and the air rushed out of his lungs. No…Peter pushed forward and looked in between Steve and Bruce. The snake reared back and struck out; Peter felt his stomach roll and his lungs contracted. Air was not entering his body, thoughts were incomprehensible.

Laying motionless and silent on the rough Wakandan soil, was Tony Stark. Blood leaked from his right nostril and a cut across his forehead stained his hair russet red. His nanotech housing unit was dim instead of brilliant blue; his armor was not fully covering the man. His body was covered in scratches and tears littered his clothing. Peter realized with a start that Mr. Stark didn't look like a hero, or a billionaire, or a genius.

He looked like a man.

A man who had fought terribly hard for something. A man whose life was draining away before their very eyes. A man who was surrounded by friends turned family turned enemies and then back to friends again.

A man.

Peter mumbled out words haltingly, his brain trying to process. How…what…why? Peter stumbled on noodle-like legs to Mr. Stark's head and collapsed unceremoniously onto the ground. He slowly reached out and laid a hand on Mr. Stark's shoulder.

"He grabbed the gauntlet once it was free from Thanos," Natasha's voice met Peter's ears as his eyes scanned his mentor more thoroughly. "He used his nanotech armor to fill it and snapped, apparently asking the universe to undo what Thanos had done; reverse the disappearance of everyone."

Thor's low rumbling voice was next to explain the chain of events, "Once the light died down and we could see, Stark collapsed. Mortals are not meant to wield the infinity stones, and I believe his body was unable to handle the power that was dispelled from the use of all six stones."

Silence reigned on as the Avengers and Guardians just watched. What they were watching, Peter was unsure because Tony Stark couldn't be dead. He just couldn't be. He was always rambling, moving excitedly, and so full of life—he was too still now. Almost dead, except Peter wouldn't accept it.

"Do something." Peter's voice rang out and he didn't even know he had said the words. His eyes looked up pleadingly at the adults, his heroes, the people who do the impossible. "Do something, please. He's…he's…" My mentor, my hero, my dad.

"Kid…" The finality in Bruce's words electrified Peter. He stared into the sorrowful eyes of a man who watched his best friend die, a man who had no more anger to give. Peter's eyes welled up and spilled over, and he curled over Mr. Stark.

He tried to keep the sobs tight in his chest, to not let his pain be known, but he couldn't help choking out the words on his mind.

"Please…M-mister St-stark." Peter cried into his mentor's chest, clinging to the hope that his mentor was just comatose and not dead. "Please, I-I d-don't want you to go. I'm sorry I got in that space ship and I'm sorry you felt responsible when I left you on that planet but…" Peter sucked in a deep breath and choked on his own tears. "I don't want you to go, Tony."

Around Peter, the other gathered heroes were shedding their own tears. Some for the pain of losing a friend, some because of the pain of watching a child lose a father figure. The Guardians clung together in a group hug, grateful to be alive—even Gamora, who they thought would forever be trapped in the soul stone. Wanda had clustered to Clint and Natasha, while Sam and Bucky stood like sentinels behind Steve.

Dr. Strange spoke, breaking the delicate mourning around him, "It had to be this way. Stark was the key to defeating Thanos; he died a hero, and we cannot undermine his sacrifice."

Peter glared up at Dr. Strange from his spot on the ground. "You knew he was going to die?"

The vehemence in the words shocked the surrounding people. They turned collectively towards Dr. Strange, who was looking impassively at the group. "Yes, I did."

Peter Quill, Starlord, looked incredulously at the wizard, "Dude, that is harsh. You gave Thanos the Time Stone for that dude, and then you're just going to stand there and let him die?"

Bruce's head whipped up and he jumped to his feet. Steve was now also on his feet, anger in his expression, "You gave Thanos an infinity stone while we were here fighting to protect one? We lost two friends because of Thanos, and now we learn you played a hand in it?"

The adults circled around Dr. Strange, shouting questions and demanding answers. He simply raised his eyebrow sarcastically and refused to answer, saying it would change the reality they were in. Peter, on the other hand, stayed on the ground by Mr. Stark, his hands still resting on the man's chest. Peter refused to believe that they couldn't bring Mr. Stark back. He used the infinity stones to bring Peter back, so why not use them to bring Mr. Stark back?

Peter jumped to his feet and pushed through the adults. He stood directly between Steve and Rhodey, both who were animatedly shouting at Dr. Strange. Peter waited until Rhodey finally threw his hands up in frustration before he spoke.

"Use the Time Stone to bring him back." Peter channeled every conversation he'd had with Mr. Stark into his voice, hoping it had his no-room-for-argument quality. Mr. Stark depended on Peter to be strong right now, and Peter wouldn't let him down.

Dr. Strange shook his head, "Absolutely not. That would disrupt—"

"The space-time continuum, yeah, I heard." Steve ground out, fists clenching at his sides.

Peter narrowed his eyes and marched right up to Dr. Strange and gripped his cape. "You will use the Time Stone to bring him back, because this is your fault. Save him. Now."

Dr. Strange was silent for a time, studying Peter's face. His eyebrows were furrowed in the middle and his mouth was set in a hard line. Peter's light brown eyes bore into Steven's face, and the doctor realized that the kid wasn't messing around. Steven looked over the shoulders of Peter and saw the other heroes with determined expressions. Their eyes still glimmered with tears, but they were steeling themselves for a fight. A fight to save Tony Stark, or a fight against Steven, the wizard did not know. But he could at least try something.

"I cannot go too far back…but I can at least reverse his time to when he was last breathing." Steven watched the hope reignite amongst the heroes. "But then it is up to you to resuscitate him."

"You were a surgeon before you got all magical, will you help us?" Sam asked coolly.

Dr. Strange shook his head, "I'm already doing too much by reversing time. You must do the rest."

Peter watched the frowns deepen among the older heroes, but they all turned simultaneously back towards Tony. Peter watched as Natasha, Steve, Sam, and Thor gathered in a huddle, much like a football team discussing their next play. This was it—this was the Hail Mary. If it didn't work…Peter remembered the stuffy suit he'd worn to Uncle Ben's funeral rubbing his skin, and the repeated "I'm so sorry for your loss" without meaning. Peter wasn't sure if he could go through with that again.

"Alright team, here's the plan." Steve's voice commanded attention and the gathered heroes immediately straightened their spines, ready for whatever their role would be. "Once Dr. Strange reverses time, we will only have a short window to stabilize Tony. From what Sam can gather, there is some internal bleeding that we'll need to take care of and possibly some arrhythmia of his heart.

"Mantis, of the Guardians of the Galaxy," Steve's voice was formal but polite, "I understand from Thor that you have some power and experience with calming people and aiding in their sleep. Would you please be willing to keep Tony unconscious until we are able to transport him to the palace to receive surgery?"

Quill looked at Mantis. Her eyes were wide as she realized that the assembled group was looking to her, all with hope radiating from every pore and encouraging smiles. She met Quill's eyes before nodding, stepping forward. "It would an honor to help save the hero who saved us."

Steve smiled at her before turning back to T'Challa. "Your highness, can Shuri be at the palace and ready to perform any necessary surgeries Tony is going to need?"

"We are already ahead of you, Captain. I have received word from Okoye that the surgical wing is prepped and waiting. Okoye herself is on the way with transport to take Mr. Stark to the palace."

Steve faced the saviors of the universe once more. "Thor is on stand by to act as a defibrillator; Bruce and Sam are our field medics and will be working to stabilize Tony. Bucky and I are going to be prepared to restrain Tony for when Mantis can't keep him sedated. Everyone else," Steve paused, meeting the anxious eyes of the others, "pray."

With a final nod, Dr. Strange opened the Eye of Agamotto and the Time Stone glowed its brilliant emerald. Peter watched in fascination from Rhodey's side as the area around Mr. Stark shimmered and twitched slightly. It reminded Peter of old VCR players when you would rewind a VHS tape—everything moving quickly backwards as the tape rewound. After only what seemed like moments later, Dr. Strange stopped reversing time and a strangled gasp fell from Tony's lips as his eyes darted open. The team moved forward, and it was a race to save Tony before he permanently died.

One Year Later

"Peter Benjamin Parker."

After his name was called by the assistant principal, Peter walked up the steps and across the stage, shaking the hands of his teachers and Principal Morita. In the crowd, a large cheer went up punctuated by a baby's squeal. Peter accepted the diploma with a wide smile and turned to peer into the crowd. There, gathered at the back of the gym, was his family.

Front and center, tears streaming down her face, was Aunt May. Her camera was forgotten as she clapped and grinned at her nephew. Beside her, Pepper had an arm wrapped around May's shoulders. Pepper waved and blew him a kiss, making Peter blush. On May's other side was Natasha. Her eyes sparkled mischievously while the corner of her mouth quirked up slightly, indicating her extreme delight at Peter's accomplishment.

Behind Natasha were Bucky and Sam, now with bored expressions on their faces. Since the end of the Infinity War, the two men had become something akin to big brothers to Peter; they teased him, hazed him, and pretended to absolutely loathe him like any good big brothers. Even now, they both held a sign that says, "I guess you did alright…or whatever." Peter gave them a shit eating grin, causing the older men to roll their eyes and unenthusiastically wave some pom-poms in a circle.

Peter's eyes continued to rove until he saw Rhodey, Bruce, and Steve smiling proudly, nodding at Peter. Those were definitely his uncles, just as Pepper, Natasha, and May were his aunts. Each man had his arms crossed, intimidation radiating off of them, but the grins made them look approachable. Rhodey leaned over to Steve and Bruce, whispering and pointing at Peter. Both men began laughing, causing Peter's face to heat up minutely. He gave them a short nod.

Peter continued looking, eyes searching for the last piece of his family. He scanned his family once more before he finally saw him. Standing at the bottom of the gym floor, bouncing slightly from foot to foot, was Tony Stark. He was in a pristine suit, a wide smile adorning his features. And in his arms, waving her arms frantically, was Morgan Stark, just three months old. Peter waved at Morgan, who recognized him instantly. She squealed and tried to bounce out of Tony's arms.

It took all of Peter's willpower to not run over and scoop his baby sister (or who he considered his baby sister) into his arms. But he had a graduation ceremony to finish. Peter took his seat and tapped his leg wildly, waiting for the ceremony to end. He just wanted to be with his family, to enjoy the fact that last year they had been successful in saving the universe. That they had been successful in saving Mr. Stark.

And soon enough, Midtown High stood to sing their alma mater and tossed their caps into the air. Peter laughed as he watched the caps fall over each other to the ground and students scrambled to pick them up again. Peter's eyes found Ned and MJ a few rows ahead of him, a face splitting smile on Ned's face and a sarcastic grin on MJ's face, as if she was analyzing the overemphasis on high school promotion to the forced experience of college that not all students need. It was the perfect end to the chapter in his book. He waved at his friends, knowing that they had plans together for that evening and the summer, before scrambling towards the exit.

Peter pushed and elbowed his way outside the gym and to the parking lot where he saw the Avengers clan standing and waiting. As he approached, they broke out into obnoxious cheers and clapping. Peter rolled his eyes at his family but inside his heart was soaring. He was surrounded by so much love and support and he'd gained a large family when he'd originally had a small one. Watching all of them exhibit their love and support for his accomplishment was something Peter would always carry with him.

"Alright Spider-punk, I guess you did alright, graduating with honors or whatever." Sam wrapped an arm around Peter's neck, giving him a noogie.

Bucky grinned from next to Sam and ruffled Peter's gelled back hair once he was freed, "Yeah, you're a real smart cookie."

"Don't mess up my hair!" Peter struggled away from the two men only to smack into the women, who weren't much better. May kissed Peter sloppily on one cheek while Pepper kissed the other. Natasha wasn't giving physical affection but the grin she was shooting his direction was sappy enough. "Guys…too much lovey dovey! I'm an adult, with a degree!"

"Once you have seven Ph.D's, you can call yourself an adult." Bruce quipped, a smile on his face.

"Or at least one college degree, a master's degree, and a couple of Ph.D's. Maybe just go ahead and add wife and child in there, too." Tony added, Morgan slapping her hands on his arms. She looked up with dark brown eyes and reached for Peter, who happily took her. "Until then, you're still just a kid."

Peter readjusted Morgan so she could see her parents and bounced her lightly before replying. "But Morgan is the kid now! And what about Cooper, Lila, Nate, and Cassie? Hmm, they're all kids!"

The adults didn't give Peter an answer, instead they just raised their eyebrows and chuckled in unison. Peter groaned and looked down at the baby in his arms. "Well Mo, I guess I'll be 'kid' for as long as you are, huh?" The baby gurgled at Peter and reached up to tug on a stray lock of his hair. She gave a mighty pull and laughed as Peter's head jerked.

Peter heard the sound of May's camera snapping and he squinted at her, "More photos?"

Pepper came and stood next to Peter, grinning at her daughter, "Let your aunt get as many as she wants, this is a special occasion!"

"Yeah Peter, let your aunt do what she wants." Sam mocked from the back of the group.

"Let's get an Avengers picture, and then a couple of you and me, then lunch." May said conciliatorily, already waving an arm to group the Avengers together. Morgan giggled as she tugged on Peter's hair once more. "And a couple with Morgan, of course."

And so the group posed together, first the Avengers all together with May, Pepper, and Morgan off to the side. Peter stood between Steve and Tony, with Natasha squatting in front of him. Sam and Bucky stood behind Steve while Bruce and Rhodey stood behind Tony. The group smiled for a nice photo before they did a silly one. Natasha jumped into Steve's arms while Sam and Bucky koala-ed on to Peter, making him hold their combined weight. Tony gave Peter bunny ears while Rhodey and Bruce stood off to the side, looking exasperated. These photos were in every space an Avenger lived, showcasing the family they'd built.

The next photo was of Peter and May, grinning in the sunlight with Midtown High in the background. It was still framed on their wall at home, right in sight of anyone who walked in. May even had it in her wallet, ready to show everyone that asked about her wonderful nephew. Peter had a framed copy on his desk at college the following fall.

Then Peter got a photo with Morgan. The little girl was preoccupied with Peter's hair again, tugging it as Peter laughed and the girl giggled. Tony and Pepper had this picture on their fridge and mantle at home; when Morgan grew older, she had that same photo in her room and it always made her smile in the darkest of times. When Morgan graduated high school, Peter recreated the photo, but this time he tugged on Morgan's hair.

Then finally, after an assortment of extra photos that May hadn't told him she was taking (and thus delaying lunch further), Peter and Mr. Stark finally posed together. It reminded the teen of the photo they took to commemorate his internship, but this one had a different feeling. As the two stood with Midtown to their backs and the sun shining on their faces, Peter realized that Tony was radiating what he called "Proud Dad" energy. He'd felt it from Ben as a young boy, felt it around Ned and his father, and even seen it the day Morgan was born. But now, that energy was directed at him.

"I'm really proud of you kid," Tony mumbled through his smile, "I'm so so proud of you." Tony squeezed Peter's shoulder. "Without you, I probably wouldn't be here with Morgan or Pepper or anyone else. I owe you for that."

Peter looked up at Tony then to find the man staring down at him, his eyes crinkled in the corners. The older man wrapped Peter in a tight hug, squeezing him tightly. Tony then held Peter out at arm's length, a soft expression on his face, and though Peter never heard the words, the "I love you" was deafening. The click of a camera grabbed both men's attention, causing them to turn in unison to stare at May.

The woman shrugged, grinning knowingly at Tony. "Lunch, gentlemen?"

"FOOD!" Sam moaned, leaning into Rhodey, who shoved him off. "I need sustenance."

Bucky rolled his eyes and shoved Sam back towards Rhodey, "Dude, they're having a moment."

"Twelve percent of a moment?" Pepper piped up from next to Bruce, who was now holding the dozing baby.

Tony rolled his eyes and joined the group, Peter trailing behind him. "At least you get 50% of the credit with Morgan."

Natasha snorted and shook her head. "You should have quit while you were ahead. We all know Pepper gets 90% of the credit with Morgan."

The group of Avengers laughed at Tony's affronted look. He entered into a heated argument with the others, arguing that genetically he got 50% of the credit for Morgan. Peter chuckled as he trailed behind, watching as the sun finally began to dip slowly overhead. A year ago, Peter never thought this would be happening. Now, the moment was even better than it could have ever been imagined.