They were losing.
This wasn't how things were supposed to go. Tony blasted another alien with a repulser blast while dodging a hit from another. There were too many of them and they were coming from every direction. They hadn't even managed to get anywhere near Thanos yet. He didn't want to admit it, but he was scared. Hit after hit and it was like every time an alien went down there was another one that showed up in its place. Tony glanced around trying to find his teammates, heart racing when he noticed that they were all struggling as well. There was one specific person that he needed to see was alright though. Peter.
He remembered the horror he had felt when he saw that Peter had joined them on the spaceship. This was the last place he wanted him to be. He was supposed to be down on earth, somewhere safe. Not in the middle of all this mess, he was a child for christ's sake. His eyes scanned frantically looking for the iron spider suit which was nowhere in sight. He flinched as he heard the bellowing laughter of Thanos in the background mixed in with the sounds of war, he turned around and his heart stopped in his chest.
There was Peter, being slammed into the ground. Over and over again. Thanos threw him a couple yards away as he kept laughing, surveying the scene with a smug look on his face. Peter flew though the air, limp as a ragdoll. Tony rushed over, knocking away any alien that got in his way, heart hammering in his chest as he feared the worst. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally reached Peter and dragged him behind a couple rocks so they would be shielded from the fight.
He could see Peter weakly try to get his mask off, his chest heaving as he tried to get some air in. Tony removed his facemask and took off Peter's mask, not saying anything while Peter sucked in deep breaths of air now that his mask was no longer in the way. Tony waited for the kid to calm down slightly, but he didn't miss the way that Peter's breathing was still labored, a slight wheezing present with every breath he took.
"H-hey Mr. Stark, I'm fine you don't have to worry about me"
Tony furrowed his eyebrows as he noticed that the words were coming out slightly slurred.
"How 'bout I be the judge of that? Can you sit up?"
Peter tried to shift his weight slightly on his elbows, but sharp pain ran through his entire body and his vision went blurry, He let himself fall back to the ground, groaning, wishing the pain would just leave.
"-eter? Peter!" Tony kept calling out his name as he saw Peter lie there, eyes scrunched in pain, entire body rigid. He was getting worried, the kid usually bounced back quicker than this. Or at least pretended that he was fine, but he wasn't even acknowledging that Tony was calling his name.
Peter's felt his heart start racing. Why isn't the pain stopping? He thought. He tried to raise a hand to his face but his arms felt heavy, like weights holding his limbs to the ground. Should I be feeling this tired? Being Spiderman he had definitely gotten his fair share of injuries, but never this bad. His breath caught as a sudden thought ran through his mind; how good is my healing factor? He had always been good at recovering from his injuries as Spiderman, but he had never stopped to think about the fact that an injury might be too much for his healing factors to recover from.
When he had seen the spaceship from his school bus, it hadn't even been an option to not rush towards it. It's what he did, he protected people. He knew that he had always been reckless and maybe he had just been over confident but the thought of actually dying always seemed improbable. But now, in this moment, the realization that he might not make it out of this hit him harder than ever.
He didn't want to die. There were so many things that he wanted to do, he hadn't even graduated from high school yet. There were people that he hadn't gotten a chance to say goodbye to.
Ned. His guy in the chair. He had told him not too worry and that he would text him tomorrow as he rushed from the school bus towards the spacecraft. He remembers Ned's look, mouth half open in protest as Peter ran off. He knew that as much as Ned loved the idea of him being Spiderman, he hated that Peter put himself in dangerous situations. He could picture him now, pacing in his room waiting for the text. The text that Peter might not be able to send him afterall.
Aunt May. She was probably frantic by now, piecing together that Peter was involved with the spacecraft involved in downtown New York. The spacecraft that had propelled him into space, into a war that he was not prepared for.
He was having trouble concentrating. Thoughts were becoming jumbled in his brain and as he looked around, nothing seemed to be focusing. Tony's face appeared in his field of vision and he tried to give a smile, but he couldn't manage. He didn't want to be here anymore, he wanted to be back on earth, in his apartment in Queens. He wanted to be in May's arms, telling him that everything was going to be ok. He choked back a sob, pain radiating with the motion. He was scared, more scared that he had ever been before and he didn't know what to do.
"I need you to tell Aunt May—" Peter started, speaking almost frantically.
"No. None of that. Peter, you are going to be okay, you can tell Aunt May yourself when we get you back to Earth."
Tony was trying to remain positive, but doubt was weighing heavy on him. Peter did not look like he was getting any better. He could see his unfocused gaze and how his breath was getting slower and shallower. He didn't want the kid to see how scared he was but truth was that he was terrified. This was the last thing he wanted to happen. He had accepted that there might be some casualties but not Peter. He wasn't even supposed to be here.
Peter chocked on his next words, bright red blood staining his lips.
"I need you to tell her that I love her ok? You need to tell her that it was quick and that I didn't feel anything. Please take care of her, I don't want her to be alone, not this soon after Uncle Ben"
Peter was rambling, trying to get as many words out as he could, but the words were strained as he coughed out more blood.
Tony ran his hand through Peter's hair, he had seen May do that to calm him down and he knew that it couldn't replace her but he was willing to do anything to help.
"Shh, kid I'll take care of her don't worry about that. I'll tell her how amazing you were out there. She would be so proud. I'm so proud of you"
Peter looked sluggishly in Tony's direction. He could no longer see much of anything anymore. He knew that there wasn't much time left. Peter smiled weakly up at Tony.
"Thank you, Mr. Stark"
Tony sat there, running his hand through Peter's curls until his last breath. Peter was gone. Tony felt his chest tighten and his throat constrict. He forced himself to take a deep breath.
Now is not the time. He repeated it over and over in his head like a mantra.
You can break down later.
He didn't want to leave Peter's body there, lying on the ground all alone but the fight was still happening and he was going to fight Thanos and his army with everything he had left. Wiping the tears from his face, he put his mask back on.
If there was one thing he had learned about war, was that death did not care what side you were on.