"YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!"- The joys of parenting a Spider-Child

And if you die, I feel like that's on me.

MAJOR INFINITY WAR SPOILERS
yes I am writing one without IW spoilers but-
INFINITY WAR SPOILERS

Angst anGST ANGST A N G S T
but then I fix it.
Sorry Tony, sorry for making you hurt, but when I love my boys I hurt them
I'm so so sorry

"If you die, I feel like that's on me."

Tony regretted that sentence. More than anything.

It had been spoken so, so long ago, yet he regretted it more than anything.

And it was on him.

The kid had died, and it was his fault.

But now, now he had the chance to fix it.

And he was going to do just that.

Taking a shaky breath, Tony lifted the hand with Thanos' gauntlet on it.

He closed his eyes, exhaled, and then snapped his fingers.

A burning sensation shot through his arm, and Tony dropped the gauntlet with a yelp.

He didn't take the time to check his arm for injuries, though, as he'd already noticed the people beginning to reform from the dust.

Immediately, Tony's gaze was searching the crowd, scanning for even a glimpse of that oh-so-annoying kid.

As the seconds stretched into minutes, doubt began to creep into Tony's mind.

The minutes became hours, and Tony's optimism was failing.

Soon, he was the only one out on the streets, standing alone.

Slowly, dejected, Tony forced himself to move, forced himself to walk towards the Compound.

Of course Peter would be the only one who wouldn't make it back.

Of course it had to be the kid.

It had to be his kid.

Tony blinked back the burning sensation in his eyes, blinking back the tears.

He forced back the sob that was rising in his throat, and forced his shaking hands to still.

He set his sights on the compound, and his nanotech armour slid into place. The flight boosters burst into life and Tony was soon landing at the entry to the compound.

The last time he'd been here, he'd had hopes of saving Peter.

The thought made his freeze, just for a second, before he forced himself to walk forwards. His nanotech armour was rapidly folding back into his arc-reactor as he crossed the threshold, sucking in a breath.

The Compound was unusually quiet.

The other Avengers were probably out celebrating the return of their loved ones.

And yet here was Tony, alone and feeling like someone had tried to stab him with a blunt knife.

He made his way over to the kitchen table, sinking into a chair and letting his head flop forwards into his hands.

Silent tears made their way down his face, and his fingers pulled at his hair in anguish.

Why him? Out of everyone, why did it have to be him?

Tony let his forehead touch the tabletop, twisting his fingers around his hair as he cried.

He wasn't sure how long he stayed like that, but it was definitely late when he made his way up to his room, feeling stiff and lifeless.