Just like you

Peter's system had worked through the anesthesia (mostly by throwing up) and after a few cautious sips of water he managed to talk to Tony. "H-hey, Mr Stark. How are you?" Tony let out a watery chuckled. "How am I? How am I? How are you, kid?" Peter wipe his mouth with the back of his hand. "Sick but I'll be okay." Tony shook his head and rested in his hands. "Okay? Kid, in case you haven't noticed you have a machine in your chest and you were bombed at!"

Peter frowned and tapped the middle of his chest where a small growing blue spider was. "You mean this?" Tony coughed out a sputtering laugh. "What else could I possibly mean!" Peter tried to raise himself onto his elbows but groaned and Tony hurried to help him back down. "But Mr Stark I'm not upset about it. I saved you and Happy, and came out alive! I'm happy, all of this is a miracle." 

Tony dropped his head back into his hands. "I'm not saying it's not but-" Tony suddenly felt his emotions bubble up and burst out. "-FOR GOD'S SAKE! LOOK AT YOUR DAMN CHEST!" Peter looked startled but then his face softened. "But that's completely fine, Mr Stark, don't you see?" He smiled and tapped the spider. "This. Makes me more like you and I'm completely fine with that."

***

Tony closed his eyes and shook his head, he couldn't think about that. He couldn't. Just like he couldn't think about the kid turning to dust.

*** 

A few months later.

Peter rubbed his eyes but that didn't seem to stop the tears pouring down her face. He kept seeing his mentor's old arc reactor floating down the river, and he grabbed the material above his own arc reactor. 

The last thing Mr Stark had ever given him. The last thing he would ever give him. 

He put his head between his knees and wrapped his arms around his knees. His eyes burned. A scream built up in his chest. But he just sobbed.

And sobbed.

And sobbed.

And sobbed.

***

Cap was walking up to the time machine to return the stones when Bruce pulled him aside. "Cap, can I have a minute?" Steve's army instincts told him to get on with the mission before chit-chatting but there was honestly no rush so he shrugged and went to talk to Bruce. "What did you want to talk to me about, Bruce?"

The now permanent giant green Bruce shuffled awkwardly. "You're going to see Peggy, aren't you? And you're going to stay." Steve stood perfectly still for a moment then whispered. "How? How did you know? About Peggy." Bruce looked away and his voice broke. "N-nat-Nat told me, and also it's just because I know you, Cap." The fondness the last bit of his sentence made him look away as well.

Banner seemed to snap out of his trance and stepped forward. "Don't do it, please. We've all lost two of our b-best friends." His voice broke again. "I don't think we could handle you dying of old age." Steve reluctantly warmed, he had always valued love and friendship. And he had the best of friends often did love each other. 

"Don't you think your being melodramatic?" Banner took on a fiercer expression than he had ever seen on him. "No. No, I don't. Actually." Bruce put his hands on Steve's shoulder and turned him around to face the window. "Look, if your friends can't convince you to stay maybe the kid can." Through the window, they could see the brown-haired boy sobbing and hugging his knees and Steve's heart throbbed in sympathy. "Is that-is that Queens?"

"I talked to Pepper and Tony a lot these past five years, you did too. We both know Tony cared about him. A lot. Peter was almost his adopted son and now, this boy has lost his mentor. You once told Nat that you were Tony's godfather and you felt horrible that you couldn't be there when Tony lost his parents. Now you have another chance, what are you going to do?"

Banner walked away, leaving Steve standing there staring at Peter.