Endgame Spoilers ahead.

Disclaimer- I don't own Marvel or Disney nor the characters in this story. Though I'd be nice if I did because Tony definitely wouldn't have died.

"There's something about dying that causes people to act hysterically. Not that I would disapprove if someone cried, lost some sleep, or fell into a pit of depression over my death. That's right, my death. I, Tony Stark, husband, father, form super hero, am dead. Dead, deceased, expired.

It's just that sometimes when people lose someone they love they sometimes do stupid things. I've done my fair share of stupid in the past, when I wasn't dead, but this takes the cake. I would have never approved of such a mission, nor would I have taken part in such mission as it is.

Ok let's be real, I totally would have done it if I were alive, and not dead, and if it was someone that I cared for a lot, that was dead. Like Pepper, definitely Morgan, hell even one teenage intern by the name of Peter Parker, whom by the way is going along with said plan.

I'm grateful, I really am. No really. It gives me all sorts of warm and fuzzy feels. Feels, everyone says feels right? But I'm gone. Finally at peace, finally resting. I don't need bringing back. I don't want to be brought back. I don't... I need...

Who am I kidding? This place, what ever this place is, wherever this place is, it's not heavenly. Though it's not hellish either. If you believe in Heaven and Hell. This place is just... blank. There's nothing, I'm nothing. It's definitely not in my top five vacation places that's for sure.

Maybe this is a hallucination. A dream. No, I'm dead, definitely dead. Their plan is never going to work. I'm dead.

I'm dead. Their plan isn't going to work.

I'm dead.

I'm dead.

I'm dead...

...right?"

—

"Mr. Stark? Hey... Mr. Stark, can you hear me? It's Peter."

"Yeah, Pete, I hear ya bud."

"We won. Mr. Stark. We won, Mr. Stark. We won and you did it, sir. You did it."

He tried to think. What happened again, exactly? He couldn't feel anything. He felt warm, too warm. Burning inside. What exactly did he do now? What did they win? Why was Peter upset?

Peter continued to babble. Then next he heard the sweet voice of his beloved, the one he swore to protect. He looked at her, God, she's so beautiful. He's glad she's here, he feels like he's slipping down a slippery slope and he's trying to hang on.

"Hey, Pep," He can barely get the words out of his mouth. He's tired and he's hanging on for dear life. What happened to him?

We won. Peters word ring in his head. Thanos! The stones. He's dying.

He's failed her, again. She demands him to look at her, so he does. She tells him they're going to be okay. She tells him he can rest now. He's relieved, she isn't mad at him, she seems sad but she isn't mad. His last thoughts was how much he loved her and Morgan and how he was going to miss them.

Then the burning world and all who he loved slipped away. Darkness grasped him and pulled him down that slope he'd been clawing at so desperately. He could hear distant crying, wailing. Why were they crying over him? He wasn't as important as they thought, he just did what he had to do. The end.

But he didn't want to leave them. He didn't want to go. He didn't want to leave Morgan behind, so young, what if she forgot him?

"Oh my God," Pepper had gasped.

"What's happening?" He heard Rhodey.

"It's the stones, don't touch him!" A female voice said with authority, who the hell was that?

He was warm, so warm, burning. Then everything went blank.

—

This had to be her fifth cup of coffee? But who was counting, right. Ever since the battle she seemed to not be able to get enough. The company was booming again, despite its primary owner... well she didn't want to think of that.

She moved everything back in the tower in New York. It just made sense, they'd had several offers on it but Tony had never seemed to want to part with his baby. Well, it was one of many babies Tony had had. And with the compound gone, with no real hopes of ever being repaired, the tower shown like a beacon in the darkness. It was their light, shining the way for them, begging them to come back to the safety of its confines. And so they did.

It was safe, they felt at home there, and there they could grieve amongst themselves.

Fourth, she was going to go with this was her fourth cup, because having a sixth cup might mean she's addicted to the black liquid, though unlike Tony, she liked a little cream and sugar in hers. She rose from her chair beside the king size bed and she stared down at the form laying there. Breaths came evenly, eyes remaining closed, lips were touched but not tightly, chest rising with every breath. The gauntlet still in place along with the rest of the gold alloy nano tech armor, though it was in shambles and encompassed by soft light that originated from the stones.

She pressed her lips tightly together. It had been fourteen days since it had happened, since he'd snapped his fingers and set things right. He'd also come so very close to dying, maybe he did die. But then he wouldn't be here now, breathing, right in front of her eyes. A knock of the bedroom door made her turn her head, she smiled at the person standing there.

"Steve," she walked up to him.

"Mrs. Stark," he tipped his head slightly.

"Please, how many times do I have to tell you," she used the tone she'd used so many times on Tony when he was being petulant, though Steve was anything but. "Call me Pepper."

"Pepper," Steve gave a small smile then his gaze drifted over to the incapacitated form of Tony Stark. "No change?" He said quietly.

She pursed her lips and shook her head. "At least he seems peaceful."

Steve nodded and looked at the chair.

"I'm going to get a cup of coffee, do you want to sit with him?" She asked him many times before, but Steve hadn't seemed to be able to take sitting next to the seemingly sleeping man. He'd politely decline and then leave.

Tony hadn't really elaborated as to what happened between them. Whatever it was had to be big, knowing Tony. And the way he'd acted towards Cap previously, well, she thought Tony probably had a good enough reason to want to distance himself from Captain America. Still, things had been righted by her husband, she felt that this feud should end as well.

"I'd like that," he looked her in the eye and she smiled warmly at him, glad he was going to stay.

"Good," she put her hand on his arm and gave it a gentle reassuring squeeze.

She stepped beyond him turned back and watched as Steve Rogers crosses the floor and took a seat on the chair next to the bed. She watched as he looked Tony over, then ever so gentle he reached out towards the glowing light that surrounded Tony. Danvers had said not to touch him, Wanda had helped in his transportation. They weren't sure what would happen if he were touched, but Banner theorized that the gamma radiation would probably be harmful to them.

Steve stopped short of touching the light and sighed. He was looking at Tony's face, once burnt and scared from using the stones for the snap, was now pink and healing. His hair floated around his head and the light moved around him.

"I'm sorry Tony, that I wasn't there. And I'm sorry for what happened between us," his voice faltered. "You're a good man, Tony." He swallowed. "I was wrong."

Tears pricked Pepper's and she hastily retreated. This was private and she had no right to eavesdrop, plus it was making her cry, she'd done enough crying. She walked to the kitchen and poured another cup of coffee.

"Daddy said you shouldn't drink so much coffee, mama," Pepper turned and saw Morgan at the table coloring a picture.

"Oh yeah," Pepper smirked. "And why is that?"

"Because you get bossy when you drink to much coffee," she said without lifting her head.

Pepper chuckled lightly but added cream and sugar to her cup. "Is that so?"

"That's what daddy said," Morgan looked at Pepper.

"I'm sure," Pepper walked around the counter and sat next to her daughter.

She looked at the drawing, the four year old girl was drawing a picture of their cabin with the three of them and a funny looking dog.

"What's that?" Pepper asked, pointing to the dog.

"That's Rocket. Can we keep him?" She looked up at Pepper with the same pleading brown eyes that'd looked at her so many times before, begging her to stay, to cover for him, to give him another chance.

Pepper looked at the picture. "That's up to Rocket, sweetheart."

"Oh," Morgan looked back at the picture and little disheartened. "Do you think he'd want to stay with us?"

"Hm... maybe," Pepper leaned down until her forehead touched the top of Morgan's dark brown locks.

"If he doesn't want to stay," she started sadly but then her voice grew excited. "Can I have a puppy?"

Pepper laughed. "A puppy, huh?"

"Yes, like a police dog," Morgan smiled happily.

Pepper grinned at her daughter. "Maybe when daddy wakes up, ok?"

"Ok," Morgan agreed. Pepper tried to rein in her emotions but saw she'd failed when Morgan's smile vanished. "Daddy'll wake up soon mommy, don't worry."

Pepper couldn't help the sob that escaped and she pulled her daughter close to her.

—

Steve sat looking down at his hands. He'd said things he should have said before Tony... No one was sure what had happened. Only that the stones should have killed Tony, but here he was. Still breathing, apparently healing. He wanted to reach out and make sure Tony was real but Danvers and Banner had said not to touch him.

Something about the gamma radiation. The serum wouldn't protect him, when he was hurt he had to heal just like everyone else, though it did take a lot to hurt him.

He looked at Tony's face, he looked like he was resting, just like Pepper had told him to do. Strings of light flashed around him, light particles sparkled along his body. His hair waved as the light moved around him. It made him look younger.

"Tony," Steve started. "Come back to us."

"Daddy, can you wake up now? Mommy is drinking lots and lots of coffee, and you know what happens when she has lots of coffee. Uncle Steve is sad, he tries to cheer mommy up. The boy that comes over is nice. His name is Peter. He plays with me and draws with me. He says I'm super smart. I like Peter, but he's sad too.

I seen him crying when he was sitting with you. I don't think he has a daddy or a mommy. He lives with his auntie. She comes with him sometimes and talks to mommy. But Peter is sad you'r'e still asleep.

You've been asleep too long sleepy head. It's time to get up. I miss playing with you. And mommy promised I could get a police dog puppy if you wake up. Mommy is calling me, I hope you have sweet dreams."

That voice, it was so sweet. He knew that voice. He knew all the voices that came and spoke with him. This was a cruel cruel joke. He was dead. He was suppose to be some where, wasn't he? Heaven, Hell, where ever you go when you die. This... This was nothing. This was blank. It was light but then it was darkness. It didn't make sense. And the voices, people he loved. Pepper, Morgan, Rhodey, Steve... Peter...

Oh Pete, he's the most distraught one out of them all. Or at least he does a poorer job of keeping it like the others. The poor kid had already lost so much, it was cruel of Tony to add to that list.

I'm sorry, Pete.

He wanted to tell Peter how sorry he was but he was dead and couldn't talk. Boy this plan of theirs... Didn't make much sense to him, and clearly it wasn't working. Cause... he was still dead... at least he thought he was. Wasn't he?

None of this made sense and he was starting to question whether or not he was dead. Sounds were more prominent now. He could hear things that, and he was just guessing here, that he never heard before. He could hear the building, assuming he was in a building. The metal moaning from the high winds. The elevator going up and down. Morgan tearing a piece of paper from her art book. Peter setting his backpack down at the door when he swung in on the balcony.

Tony felt like he was waking up. Which shouldn't have been possible because he was dead. Right? That's what happened when a human used all six stones, or even one stone. They couldn't handle the power and it killed them. So... why was he hearing everything? Why did he feel like he was waking up?

He was dead, the opposite of alive.

He heard Peter walking down the hall towards where he was. He heard Peter sit, in the same place everyone else did. Right beside him, or at least that's what it felt like.

"Hey, Mr. Stark," Pete said.

Really, kid? How long are you going to call me Mr. Stark? But Tony couldn't actually speak.

"Got an 'A' on my calculus test, Happy tried to help me study but I corrected him more than he corrected me. Morgan actually helped me. I've been teaching her numbers and math, she's so smart, Mr. Stark. She held the flash cards and told me if the number was the same or not. She kinda conned me into having a tea party with her."

Ah, tea parties. I feel ya, kid. Though, I kinda miss tea parties.

"I had to wear a pink feathery scarf and a hat with a flower on it."

Good girl.

"She said Pepper promised her a puppy if you woke up. I'll admit, I'm kinda excited."

Well, I'm glad getting a puppy will be the high light... wait, wake up? Didn't... Morgan said that too..

Was he hearing right? Thus far he figured he was in something parallel to purgatory, seeing nothing, being nothing, but hearing people he cared for and not being able to respond. Wake up? No, he was dead. Dead, dead. Dead as a door nail. Dead and not coming back. How could he wake up?

Peter sat staring at Tony's face. The gray hair he'd noticed before was gone, he didn't know how but it was. Maybe whatever that was healing him was getting rid of his gray hair. He focused his on the golden light that swirled around Tony, and the orbs around his body. Dr. Banner had made it clear, that while there was no gamma radiation being emitted from the light, it was still radioactive and to not touch it.

But none of the others were like Peter, they didn't have accelerated healing. Was it still a bad idea? Probably. But he had to do it.

He reached his hand out slowly, wondering how the radiation would feel against his skin. Would it burn? He'd seen videos and photos of radiation burn victims from Chernobyl, that was gamma radiation too, wasn't it? He couldn't remember exactly. The tips of his finger touched the moving wires of light and it tingled.

He pressed on more confidently and reached for Tony's head. His hair flowed softly over Peter's hand. Peter's arm tingled. He rested his hand on top of Tony's head and a jolt was sent through his arm and through his whole body. He yelped and jumped back and started tumbling down, his eyes widened as he saw the brown eyes of his mentor were open as he fell to the floor with the chair in a resounding crash.

"Peter?" Pepper's voice carried through to Tony's room.

He caught his breath and scrambled to his feet to look at Tony.

"Peter, are you ok?" Pepper was at the door looking in.

"Ye-Yeah, I'm fine," Peter didn't take his eyes off Tony, who's eyes were now shut again.

"Oh my God!" He heard Pepper gasp. "Pete your arm! What did you do?"

Peter lifted his hand to look at it. His hand and whole arm was red and swelling.

"Shit," He whispered.

"Let's get to medical, now," she grabbed his shoulders and steered him out of the room and towards the elevator.

"Peter, what were you thinking!" Dr. Banner exclaimed, he was going quickly, grabbing things from cabinets. "We specifically said not to touch the light! You're very lucky! You could have been seriously hurt!"

He started treating Peter's red scalded arm. Peter winced at Banner's ministration.

"I just needed to..." he closed his eyes.

"I know," Banner treated the teen's arm with his large green hand. "But we said not to for a reason."

Peter swallowed his voice a bit shaky. "I'm sorry. I'll be alright. Accelerated healing and all."

"Still, you see what that thing did to my arm?" Banner's arm was still in a large sling, burned, and disfigured. Peter hoped that it would heal in time.

"He opened his eyes," he looked up at Banner, who's eyes snapped to his.

"What?" Banner paused in his treatment.

"After I... touched his head, there was like this jolt of electricity up my arm and it kinda threw me back. I saw his eyes open but when I got up they were closed again," Peter rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand.

"Let's get this wrapped up to protect it while it heals," With Banner's instructions Peter wrapped his arm.

They went back to the penthouse, Pepper looked up from cleaning up Morgan's papers when they came out of the elevator. She stood up straight and crossed her arms and sent a scary look towards Peter.

"He's ok, no need to worry," Banner told her.

"Good, I can go straight to scolding then," she frowned.

"Pepper," Banner said calmly. "Peter said Tony opened his eyes after touching him."

Her mouth slacked and looked back at Peter, the bandage starting around his fingers and going up past his elbow. She immediately went straight to Tony's room but Tony was still laying there unmoving, eyes closed. She sighed, Peter felt bad for giving her such high hopes only for them to come crashing down.

"Are you sure you saw him open his eyes?" Banner asked.

"Well, I didn't see him open his eyes. I just saw his eyes open," Peter fidgeted with the bandage.

They watched Tony together from the door way. Peter silently pleaded for him to wake up. But he didn't.