Everything was happening so fast. It was complete and utter chaos.

Somehow, the new gauntlet found its way into Peter's hands. It was freaky, having all that power in his hands.

He was so close to getting it to Scott's ugly van. He thought he might just make it.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his gut and heard Tony yell his name. He gasped and fall, gauntlet still in hand.

He turned himself over and saw Thanos. Thanos pulled his weapon out of Peter's gut and Peter groaned. Wasn't this lovely. He had just been stabbed by Thanos.

Thanos didn't hesitate. He immediately reached for the gauntlet, a wicked smile on his face.

"Yeah, I don't think so." Peter shot a web at Thanos's eyes and used his suit's spider legs to attack him.

The webs barely affected the titan and Peter feared that he would get his hands on it. This was not good.

A crack of thunder could be heard as a certain hammer hit Thanos in the back of the head. Peter managed a grin as he saw the rest of the alive original Avengers ran to the titan, attacking him.

"Queens!" Steve yelled. "Run! Get the gauntlet away!"

As Thanos stumbled back, Peter stood up and ran as fast as he could with a hole in his gut and a powerful gauntlet in his hands.

There was no way this was getting to the van. Thanos was behind him, whether he was being stopped by Avengers or not, and everyone else was busy trying not to get killed by Thanos's goons. It was hopeless.

Unless....

Peter looked down at the gauntlet and then up at Doctor Strange, who was a short distance away, trying to make sure the field wasn't flooded.

Strange had already been looking at Peter. He must have read Peter's mind because he nodded with a grim expression on his face.

This was it. This was the one outcome where they won. Peter knew what he had to do.

Thanos was quickly approaching. It was now or never. Peter slid on the gauntlet, the stones immediately sending a shock through his body. He let out a yell of pain.

"No!" Thanos and Tony both cried, both for different reasons.

Thanos was mere feet away.

Peter looked at the group of heroes that were trying to stop the mad titan. He knew he needed to do it now, but he knew what would happen. He didn't want to die. Again.

His eyes landed on Tony, who was looking at Peter with a worried look on his face and he knew. He knew that he had to do it. For Tony. For everyone. Peter took a deep breath and, through the pain of the six stones coursing through his veins, he snapped his fingers.

There was a bright light and almost immediately, Thanos's men began to disappear. The mad titan himself sat down on rubble and soon disappeared.

There was a long silence, everyone in shock. Eventually, Tony's smile dropped into a frown.

Peter.

Tony ran to the boy, panic and worry clouding his mind.

He wanted to sob upon seeing the boy. He had a hole in his gut from Thanos's blade and his arm was severely burned, along with the whole side of his face. His gaze was dazed and empty.

He looked at Tony as he knelt in front of Peter. "Did we win?" Peter asked, voice barely audible.

Tony nodded, tears welling in his eyes. "Yeah. We- we won. All thanks to you, Peter."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Peter's lips.

"Karen," Tony said quietly, having her check Peter's stability. He already knew the kid wasn't going to make it, even with his quick healing.  He refused to believe it. 

"Life functions critical, sir," Karen's voice came from Peter's suit.

He couldn't lose Peter. Not again. He shook his head. "No. I'll find a way. I'll-"

Peter shook his head weakly and grabbed Tony's arm weakly with his not burnt-to-a-crisp hand.

"Mr. Stark. It's okay." Peter looked into Tony's eyes as if willing him to accept it.

Tony was shaking. "I'm so proud of you, underoos," He said, hugging the week teenager. "you were the best of all of us. You are a wonderful Avenger."

"You did good, son. You can rest now."

Tony felt the boy in his arms go limp and knew he was gone. Peter was gone. He let out a sob and held the boy's body close.

He had just got him back. Now he had lost him. For good this time. He had lost his son.

There was no bringing him back.

-

The funeral was small. May, Happy, the Avengers that had fought Thanos, Ned and MJ were the only ones that came.

They were holding it in Queens, which was surprisingly quiet, considering half of the population had just come back from being dusted away.

There sat Peter's grave, right next to Benjamin Parker. The words With great power comes great responsibility were engraved on the tombstone of the hero that left too young.

Tony now stood at the grave alone, it having been some time since the funeral ended. For a while, it had been him and May. Then she left, leaving Tony at the boys grave alone.

"I'm sorry, Peter," Tony eventually said, getting choked up once again, just like during the funeral. "I wish I could have saved you. You saved all of us."

Tony shook his head. "It should have been me. You were so young, you didn't deserve this."

"Stark, it was the only way."

Tony turned around and saw Strange. Strange walked over to Tony who went back to staring at the grave.

"The only way we could win is for Peter to have snapped his fingers. Any other way would have failed. It couldn't have been you."

Tony shook his head. He wiped at his eyes, embarrassed. "Why? Why would it have to be him? He had his whole life ahead of him. He didn't even get to graduate..."

"I can't explain why. I can only tell you that it was the only way it could happen." Strange rested a hand on Tony's shoulder. "There's nothing you could have done. It's not your fault, Tony."

Tony nodded. "I- Right. Thank you, Strange." He stared at Peter's name on the stone and sighed shakily. He'd get through this.

He had to. For Peter.

-

"Peter!" Tony sighed and picked up the three-year-olds shoes. "We've got to go! We've got to get to Queens before Morgan's game!"

The boy ran down the stairs, laughing happily. "Not now, dad! I'm busy saving New York!"

Tony laughed. "Oh really now? Well, who's gonna save you from tickle monster?!" Tony picked up the toddler, causing the boy to scream out of laughter.

"No! Anything but that!" Peter Stark giggled out. "No! Mom, Help!"

"Just promise to put on your shoes and your dad will let you go," Pepper yelled from the other room.

Peter pouted before groaning and saying, "fine." He slid out of his dad's arms and to the ground where with Tony's help, put on his shoes.

"Finally," Tony said with a laugh. "Let's go, squirt!"

Together, he, Pepper and Peter headed out. They first made their way to Queens for a quick stop.

When they arrived, Pepper stayed in the car with Peter as Tony walked out of the car and across the graveyard. He stopped right in front of the gravestone of Peter Parker.

His grave was still surrounded by flowers, Spider-Man merchandise, and art. Soon after Peter's death, the world was told about Spider-Man's identity. Even four years after Peter's snap, people would still leave things at the grave of the fallen hero.

Tony cleared his throat, tears already threatening to spill. He sat in front of the gravestone and stared at the words etched in.

"Hey, Pete," he said after a few minutes of silence. "Happy birthday. What is it now? Twenty-one?"

He looked back at the car where Pepper was entertaining Peter while also glancing back at Tony every now and then.

"He's only three, and yet he radiates your energy. You know, crazy, 'I've-got-to-save-the-world' mindset. Of course, the world he's saving is made out of LEGO's."

"I plan on taking him here, one of these days," he said, holding back his tears. "So he can understand the sacrifice his namesake made. Of course, at the age of three is not the time."

Tony sat there for a few minutes before sighing. "We've got to get to Morgan's game. Happy birthday. I- I love you, Pete."

And with that, he walked back to the car. He got into the passenger seat and looked back at three-year-old Peter.

Peter smiled. "You okay, daddy?"

Tony nodded, ruffling his hair. "Yeah. I'm great, bud. I'm great."