Hello!

To those who celebrate, happy Easter :) I hope you are all staying safe and well. Thank you so much for all the love you have given this series! It blows me away each and every time! Thank you!

PROMPTS ARE CLOSED until further notice.

This prompt is from thispersonwhoiam on Ao3 -Would you be able to write one where Tony goes back in time and meets uncle Ben? Maybe Tony is experimenting with time travel, and tests his machine, forgetting that he's holding something Peter gave him, which turns out to be something Ben gave Peter the night he died. So Tony meets Ben and figures out who he is and what's going to happen, but either chooses not to stop it so as not to change history, or gets pulled back to his own time just before Ben gets shot?

I hope you enjoy and apologies for any mistakes.

A Moment In Time

Tony regrets ever inventing time travel the minute he arrives and it's pouring rain. The specially designed suit he is wearing gets soaked in an instant and water drips down into his eyes. It wasn't even supposed to be raining. The date he had picked for the test run had been a clear, sunny day. He was also not supposed to have ended up in the middle of the street but rather in the tower.

Cursing, Tony runs towards the nearest cover which happens to be a bus shelter. He ducks under the awning and pushes back his wet hair, flicking his legs and arms out much like a dog shaking after a bath.

Next time, Rogers is the one doing the test run, Tony thinks bitterly as he shivers.

"On your way to a costume party?"

The sudden voice has Tony flinching and realising that he isn't alone in the bus shelter. The man is looking at him with amusement, looking a little wet himself. He's taller than Tony and looks vaguely familiar but Tony can't place where he knows the man.

"Something like that," Tony says in return.

"Hey, your Tony Stark, right?" the man asks.

Well, at least I'm not in another dimension, Tony thought wryly. Strange would have loved that.

"Sure am," Tony gave his signature smirk, the action feeling wrong. He had not had to give such a smile in years. There wasn't a whole lot to smile about, lately.

"My nephew is a huge fan," the man continued.

"Yeah? What's his name?" Tony asked out of politeness and in hopes that it would give him some clue as to he was speaking too.

"Peter Parker," the man said. "I'm Ben Parker, by the way." He held out his hand.

Over the sound of the rain hitting the metal shelter, Tony took Ben Parker's hand and shook it. He felt numb in a way that was not from being soaked and cold from the rain. If this was Ben Parker than Tony had travelled far further than the year he was aiming for. How had he screwed up so spectacularly?

It dawns on Tony as fast as he the rain had soaked him.

Peter had helped him with the calculations as they tried to figure out time travel together. An alien named Thanos had started a chain of events many years ago that had now led to half the universe being disappeared into nothing. Steve couldn't accept it, none of them could and the race to go back in time and stop Thanos had begun. Tony had struggled through the mass calculations and was on the verge of throwing in the towel when Peter had come into the lab.

Peter's face was pale and tense in a way it shouldn't be on someone so young. He was clutching a small pin in his hands, his thumb swiping over the surface in a rhythmic motion.

"Here," Peter had thrust the pin at Tony.

"What's this?" Tony had said, taking the pin. It was small, no bigger than his thumb. It was of a shooting star, looking like something that had been won at a carnival.

"It was my Uncle Ben's," Peter said. "He said it was his good luck charm. He always wore it when he needed a little bit of luck. I thought…" Peter's cheeks went pink. "I thought it could help."

Tony's smile had softened, heart flipping in his chest. "You think he would mind?"

Peter shook his head. "No. He would want you to wear it. We need it, right? All the luck we can get?"

"Sure do, kiddo," Tony said. He pinned it to his shirt carefully, making sure it was stuck tight. "Thanks, Peter."

Four hours later and Tony had cracked the equations needed to get their machine to work. Another three after that, Tony was suited up and doing the test run. He had shed all items that held significant meaning, except for the socks that Peter had given a year ago. They were hand knitted and had been a gag gift but held significant sentimental value that was needed for Tony to end up where he was supposed to.

Except he had forgotten to take off the pin.

"Nice to meet you, Ben," Tony said honestly. "Your nephew, Peter, how old is he?"

"Just turned fourteen," Ben said, giving a little laugh. "Kid's growing up way too quickly."

Tony lips quirked, having to agree.

"It's really coming down," Ben peered out into the rain that was still coming down in heavy sheets. "Guess we won't be going anywhere for a while."

"There could be worse places to be stuck," Tony said. He winces when Ben gives him a searching look.

"Yeah, you're right," Ben agrees.

"What do you do, Ben?" Tony asks.

Tony knows he should be getting back. He should let the others know that it works and that they have some adjustments to make but it works. But Tony can't help but think he has a rare opportunity right now. Since Thanos' attack, Peter had been living with him. In the purge, as many were calling it, Tony had lost Pepper and Peter had lost May. Over the three years that everyone had been gone, Peter and Tony had grown that much closer, Tony seeing Peter as his son.

But he couldn't take credit for Peter being an amazing kid. That went to May and Ben Parker and Tony had the rare opportunity to meet the man before he died.

"Mechanic," Ben said. "Work in a little shop here in Queens."

"Peter going to take after you?" Tony asked.

Ben chuckled. "Nah. More like his parents. They were scientists too. Hey, maybe you knew them? Richard and Mary Parker?"

Tony shook his head. "No. Unfortunately I never got the pleasure to meet them. I'm sorry for your loss."

Ben nodded; face drawn tight. "Thanks."

"Must have been hard, taking on your nephew like that," Tony said carefully.

"Peter's always been a great kid," Ben smiled softly. "My wife and I, we weren't thinking about kids. If it happened, it happened but when we took Peter in, it felt right. He was the silver lining on an incredibly dark day."

"Yeah," Tony agreed completely. Had it not been for Peter these last three year, Tony wasn't sure he could have survived without Pepper. The kid had saved Tony in more ways than he could count.

"He looks up to you, you know," Ben said. "He's watched all your press conferences, read all your journals. Got enough Iron Man merch to sink a ship."

Tony grinned. What do you know, the kid could keep a secret. Tony would have to investigate where that merch went once this was all over and possibly make duplicates of any photos taken with it.

"You're not from here, are you?" Ben asked.

Tony froze. "From Queens? No?"

Ben gave a smile. "I meant from this time."

"Why would you say that?" Tony's palm felt clammy, and not from the rain.

"Aliens invading New York, Gods from another planet, people with powers popping up more and more," Ben listed. "I read the papers and know enough about you that standing in a bus shelter having a conversation with a man about his nephew is not something you do."

Tony winces, hating that Ben is right.

"That and your greyer than you were on the news the other day," Ben chuckled.

"I think Peter takes more after you than you realise," Tony said quietly.

Ben's eyes widened and he shuffled closer to Tony. "You know Peter?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah, I know him."

"He works with you?" Ben asks, almost desperately.

"Yeah. Hell of a kid. Has the most amazing ideas," Tony praised. "He's a hell of a lot better than I was at that age. He's going to be better than us all one day."

Ben grinned. "I knew he could do it. I knew it! Thank you, Stark."

Tony shook his head. "No. I should be thanking you. Peter….he's amazing. The best kid. Hell, I'm the lucky one to be working with him."

Ben bright smile has dimmed a bit, looking at Tony carefully. The rain pounds against the shelter as the silence stretches between them.

"Pete's been acting strange the last two weeks," Ben said, voice quieter. "Been tense, angry, sneaking out."

Tony nods. He knows this. Peter had told him about when he had gotten bitten by the spider, how scared he had been, how he had taken it out on Ben. How Ben had gone out to get him ice cream to try and mend the tension between them when he had been shot. Ben had forgotten his wallet and Peter had brought it to him just in time to be a part of an armed robbery on the street.

It had been raining that night too.

Tony's hears drops radically into his chest.

No.

No, it couldn't be tonight.

Not now.

"Is he okay?" Ben asked. "Are we…are we okay?"

"Yes," Tony said, his mouth moving but feeling numb. Bile rises up in his throat, but he forces himself to keep talking. "You're okay. Ben, Peter loves you. So much. You are his hero."

Ben's shoulders relax. "Thanks."

"Peter's okay. May is okay too. They're both doing really well," Tony adds.

Ben seemed surprised that Tony mentions May. Something flickers across his face and Tony catches the moment that it dawns on him.

"Thanks for taking care of them," Ben said, voice thick.

Tony nods, not able to speak past the lump in his throat.

Around them, the rain is finally starting to ease. It won't be long until it stops all together and Ben can continue on with his night.

Tony wants to stop it. He desperately wants to keep Ben talking to him, to wait until Peter finds them at the bus shelter together to give Ben his wallet, rather than further down the block. But a part of him is shellfish. If he stops this, will he still meet Peter? Will he still be able to call him son later on. But if he did stop it, then Peter could still have is Uncle in his life.

Tony knows he can't stop this. Changing an event this far back will cause a ripple effect, who knows what would change in the future if he did.

Ben Parker must die so that they can save half the universe in the future.

"When you go back," Ben broke the silence between them. "Can you tell Peter that I'm so god damn proud of him?"

"I'll tell him every day," Tony promises.

Ben nods and then frowns. "You and May aren't-" he waves a finger at Tony.

Tony barks out a laugh. "No! No, having one scary woman in my life is enough for me. Besides, May's too busy yelling or laughing at me for us to be like that. She's a good friend. Nothing else. Ever."

Ben nods, grinning again. "She's always had a temper for you. Didn't think you were a good role model for Pete."

Tony snorts. "Yeah, I know. Got an earful for that."

Ben laughs and Tony commits it to memory.

The rain is easing more, and Tony knows he has to go.

Ben seems to realise it too and grows serious once more. "Thank you, for taking care of them for me."

"It is my most sincere pleasure," Tony said. "I'm sorry."

Ben nods. "Good luck, with whatever it Is you are doing."

Tony gives a smile and shakes Ben's hand one more time before stepping out into the light rain. He walks a few paces before turning around.

"Hey Ben?"

Ben looks up.

"If you think in the next half an hour or so you could convince Peter to accept money from me, that will make my life so much easier."

Ben grins "Nah. Think of it as pay back for all the press conferences I've had to listen to over the years."

Tony laughs and turns on his heels, hurrying away. He ducks into the nearest alley way and leans against the wet bricks. He takes a few calming breathes before lifting his arm to touch the watch around his wrist.

Time travel works and he can save the future. When they do, Tony makes sure that he will let May and Peter know how much it was Ben who saved the world.

Happy reading :)