Hello friends! This is me trying to start and finish a story in one chapter. Wow. It's gonna be pretty challenging. Let's see if I can make this work.

And the first story goes to… Tony Stark. That's why the title comes from a great song by AC/DC, The Razor's Edge. The story is set after CW.

Disclaimer: no, I don't own Marvel. I wish.

You're Running Out of Lives

Tony has often wondered how he will go out. How he will leave this world.

It first crossed his mind back in Afghanistan, in that terrible cave. He thought he would die there. It seemed like a possibility. But he got out. And became Iron Man. Started the hero gig. And since that, he has always known he will probably go out wearing the red and gold armor. He will go down in a fight.

He has saved the world a few times, defeated a bunch of bad guys. But one day there will be someone who is too strong to defeat. Too clever to outsmart. And that day will be his last one.

But he has always thought that it's okay, really. Because that's part of the job, right? Whenever he can feel the suit building up around him, whenever he looks a villain in the eye, he knows he might not make it.

And yeah, it seems like that day has come. The too strong, too smart bad guy has managed to beat him. Okay, that's not really true. The bad guy is just another crazy scientist, what's new? He's probably not even that smart. He's just extremely determined and persistent. And managed to build a huge army of drones. Drones that attack basically anything and able to turn off any tech. Like computers, phones, vehicles and yeah, his suit.

When Friday didn't respond, he panicked a little. When he lost control over his suit while he was flying over the buildings of Manhattan fighting three drones, he panicked more. A lot more.

And then he was falling, the ground came closer and closer and he couldn't do a thing. He crashed into the ground in a back alley, scaring the shit out of some stray cats.

And here he is now, unable to move, unable to get up. Hell, he can't move any part of his body. He's trapped in the damaged suit. But even if he could get out of it… he doubts he could do anything. Everything hurts. Literally every part of his body. Several of his bones must be broken. And there's blood, he knows it, a lot of blood, he can feel hot blood trickling through the broken parts of his armor.

Their comms are dead. Friday is still silent. He should call for help, shout or something, someone might hear him. He opens his mouth, but all he can manage is a weak whisper. No one will hear him. Not in the chaos on the streets.

So yeah, this is it. His last day. The last battle. He has always known this day will come.

But he has never expected it to be like this. It's actually quiet. The battle is not over yet, no, he can still hear the drones and his friends fighting them. They won't come to find him for a while. They obviously have other priorities now. Maybe they haven't even seen him going down.

He can also hear sirens and people. People screaming, running for their lives. But here, in this back alley within only a mile of the Tower, it's quiet. Almost peaceful.

He chuckles a bit. So this is the end of Iron Man. It's the total opposite of his life. He goes out quietly, how ironic. Ridiculous, even. Right? Tony Stark is leaving and no one notices.

Someone will come along later, when the battle is over, when the Avengers defeat the crazy guy and save the day again. They will realize he's missing and they will search for him. Find him in this creepy place, in the pool of his own blood. But it will be too late. He's losing blood and time too quickly, he knows that. He can still hear several drones flying in the air; it will take time to get rid of all of them.

And to his utter astonishment, he realizes he doesn't really mind. He doesn't panic, he doesn't feel scared. Surprisingly, he's kinda okay with it. He can actually accept this fate, no matter how ridiculous it is. It's actually… a relief.

He's going down fighting. Like a hero should. He's dying with honor and dignity.

And he's kinda tired. Tired of fighting. Maybe he could stop now. Maybe it's a good thing. A chance to stop fighting. To rest.

He sighs. Okay, there will be always more villains to come; the fight will never really be over. But he did what he could. He did his best. And he managed to make amends with Cap and the Rogues. He brought them back. Back home. They're a team again. Maybe not a family, but they're close. They still have issues, because hell, it's not easy to forget what happened. What they said to each other. What they did. But they're okay. Sort of.

And they will be okay without him. They can stay at the Tower, they have everything they need, the super-secret boy band can remain active. The world will be in good hands. He let relief flood over him.

Pepper… she will take care of SI, of course. She always has. Fine, things have been a bit awkward between them lately. She told him he was obsessed with Iron Man. Of course she is right. But he hoped they could work it out. He thought he would have time to show her how much she meant to him. Maybe in another lifetime.

And then another thought hits him.

Peter.

Tony swallows hard. Gosh, it's gonna be hard for the kid. He has already lost so many people, he has already gone through so much. This is not what he deserves. Losing someone close to him again.

It's fascinating how fast that kid has grown on him. He would have never thought he could care about someone like this, let alone about a kid. When he recruited him before Germany, he didn't think this would happen. That helping Peter, mentoring the kid would be a lifelong thing. And it would become more than that, more than just mentoring. The smart, shy, kind kid with his impeccable manners and the billionaire playboy… who would have thought? The boy is like a son to him… shit, this is the first time he actually realizes this. Too bad he didn't understand it before. When he could have told Peter.

This will break the kid.

No, it won't. Because he has his hot aunt, his awesome friends and a bunch of superheroes to help him through this. He has a big family now. He can count on them. They will be there for him. Peter has lost so many people, yet he's still strong, tough and good, gosh, so good. He has such a good heart. He will get through this, too. He will make it.

Tony looks up at the blue sky through his shattered faceplate.

It's all good then. He can let himself relax. He can stop now. He can let go.

No more fighting, no more worrying, no more sleepless nights, no more nightmares.

It's finally over.

And it feels nice.

From the corner of his eye, Peter can see shiny red-gold metal falling through the air. For a second, he believes it's a part of some kind of plan, Mr. Stark's idea to lose the drones that have been chasing him. But no, Iron Man is still falling, metal limbs flailing in the air.

"Mr. Stark!" Peter cries out even though he knows the man can't hear him. Not without their comms that have been dead for a while now.

He's in the middle of a fight with two drones. He quickly webs them together and throws them at another one flying towards him. Great, three down, only a hundred more to go.

But instead of looking for his next target, he launches himself toward the buildings where he saw Iron Man going down. He needs to check up on him. That's more important than a few more drones. Even if these little beasts have managed to hack his suit and turn it off. Karen's gone for now. But at least, he still has his web-shooters, so he's good, he's just back to old-school. He bets if they still had the comms, Mr. Stark would bench him, though.

But gosh, what if these irritating drones hacked Mr. Stark's suit, too? And that's why he was falling. He doesn't have webs to help him out.

Peter swings even faster than before and he soon finds his mentor in a back alley, lying unconscious on the ground in his broken armor.

"Mr. Stark!" he yells frantically, landing beside the man.

He can see blood, oh so much blood dripping through the damaged pieces of the suit, pooling under the man. He gently pats Mr. Stark's cheek, calling his name again. And again and again. Begging him to wake up.

"Mr. Stark, please, Mr. Stark, you gotta wake up," he pleads softly, ignoring the tears burning his eyes. "Please, Mr. Stark, open your eyes. You can't… you need to… please, just open your eyes and everything's gonna be fine, I promise. Please, Mr. Stark, I'm begging you, please."

Finally, after a few agonizing minutes, the man's eyes slowly flutter open. Those familiar, warm brown eyes seem unfocused and can't find Peter, but the boy can't help letting out a small, relieved chuckle.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark, there you go," he smiles through his tears. "Stay with me, please, Mr. Stark. Help is coming."

Honestly, Peter doesn't know about that. He doesn't know if the fighting is over, he doesn't know where the others are. But he doesn't care. Right now he needs to stay with Mr. Stark, needs to make sure that the man stays with him, stays awake.

Then something weird happens. Peter's spider sense falls silent. It was pretty active all along the battle but now it's silent. Mute. Does it mean…? Can it mean…?

Peter takes a look around and he can't see much from this crappy alley but he can't hear the now familiar buzzing of those annoying drones anymore. He can still hear people screaming and sirens, but his sense tells him the fight is over. They can relax now. They have won.

He looks back at Mr. Stark with a grin on his face. But that grin immediately melts away when he can see the man finally looking up at him. His look is focused now, which is good of course, but… that look… And he smiles. Mr. Stark is smiling up at him, giving him a warm, proud smile but… The man doesn't speak, probably can't speak, but his look and smile tell Peter everything he needs to know. Everything he doesn't want to know.

That Mr. Stark is proud of him. He loves him.

And it's all good, sure, it's wonderful. Except…

Peter understands what this message means now.

It means… goodbye.

"Oh, Mr. Stark, please, no," he starts begging again, his voice breaking. The tears start falling again. He's crying now but he doesn't care. Because he can't let this happen. "Please, hang on, Mr. Stark, please. Stay. Stay with me. Fight, Mr. Stark, just a little bit more. It's gonna be okay. Please."

Peter needs him. He can't lose him. He can't lose somebody again. He wouldn't survive that.

No, that's not true. He would survive. Life has never been easy for him, but he has always made it. He will make it. He has May and Ned and MJ and his new super friends. As if he has a second family now. It's so awesome.

And he understands Mr. Stark. He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. He is Iron Man. He is an Avenger. He fights all the time. And not only with villains like the others, no, he fights for the Avengers, too. Maneuvers in a chaotic world of politics and power, in a world that the others don't understand. And when it's all done, when the fight is over, when the bad guys and the annoying politicians are defeated, he retreats into his lab to make new, better gear for the heroes. To invent something that could help them. Help the world. And then there's the SI, charities, press events…

Peter understands it must be exhausting. Being Tony Stark must be the most demanding job in the world. He gets it, he really does.

He understands the man has had enough. But…

Mr. Stark is still looking straight at him, his eyes waiting. Pleading for… what? Approval? Acceptance?

But Peter can't let him go. Doesn't want him to go. Not now. Not ever.

"I know, Mr. Stark, believe me, I know," he says softly, swallowing back his tears. "But you can't let go. I need you. I know it's selfish. But… I need you. We need you. We love you, Mr. Stark. This crazy family that you have just brought together... I know what it feels like. That you did what you had to and now it's over, it's okay to let go… But it's not over, Mr. Stark, you can't leave now. You have a family here and your family needs you. Because we want to be with you. I want to be with you, Mr. Stark, you hear me? Please stay with me."

He's sobbing now, letting his tears fall and land on the red and gold suit on the ground. He grabs one of the man's hands and he doesn't care it's covered in metal; he squeezes it like his life depends on it.

He can hear shouting in the distance and he realizes he knows those voices. Cap, Clint and Ms. Romanoff.

"They're coming, Mr. Stark, they're nearly here. Help's here, just hang on, please," he whispers. "Please, don't leave us, Mr. Stark, we love you. I love you. Please, dad. Just hang on."

Peter can feel something weird and it takes him a moment to realize that it's Mr. Stark squeezing back his hand. He looks down to see the metal fingers clenching around his own. Then he quickly looks up at the man's face and he can see Mr. Stark giving him the tiniest nod before closing his eyes.

Despite the tears, Peter lets out a small chuckle. Because that was a promise. Mr. Stark promised him not to give up. He promised him to hang on. That's all Peter needed.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark, thank you."

Peter has spent the last four days in the medbay, never leaving Mr. Stark's bedside. Only when the Avengers come by and he quickly leaves to take a shower or grab something to eat. Other than that he's always there, sitting vigil at the man's bed, waiting for him to wake up.

He knows Mr. Stark will wake up. He promised. And Peter trusts him.

When Dr. Banner told them that despite the serious injuries, Mr. Stark would make a full recovery, everyone sighed relieved. Everyone but Peter. Because he always knew. Mr. Stark promised him to hang on.

He just needs time to rest. And Peter can wait. He can wait as long as necessary, he just wants to be here when the man finally opens his eyes. He wants to be here for him.

Until then, he talks to him. Tells him everything. How the others defeated the last drones and how Thor found the mad scientist hiding in a basement. How grateful people are to the Avengers. The politicians… well, that's another story, but Mr. Stark doesn't have to worry about it, because Colonel Rhodes can handle it. Everything's fine.

Peter tells Mr. Stark stories about the Avengers. He tells about their training sessions, he tells how Clint teaches him archery and how Ms. Romanoff shows him creative ways to take out bad guys. He tells how he discusses science with Dr. Banner.

And then he talks about school, the new Lego set he's going to build with Ned and an upcoming school presentation. He tells the man about decathlon and how MJ will probably kill him, because he missed the last two practices. But no, that's not true; MJ understands he needs to be here now. MJ is great, by the way. She's so weird but in a good way. She's smart and she's an awesome friend. And she's pretty, really pretty, she has beautiful hair… Looking out of the window, Peter smiles thinking about her.

"You so have a crush on her, kid," a voice croaks.

Peter nearly jumps out of his chair. He looks at the man in the bed and Mr. Stark is staring back at him with a grin on his face.

"Hey, kid," he mutters.

"Mr.-Mr. Stark! You're… finally," Peter stutters. "I knew it. I knew you wouldn't leave. You promised."

He smiles and he can feel tears in his eyes once again.

"I'm sorry, Pete," Mr. Stark says softly.

Peter grabs his hand and squeezes it lightly. "It's okay. I understand. I just… I can't let you go. I need you. I don't need Iron Man and I don't need you to make a suit for me or to help Spiderman. I need you, Mr. Stark. I need you, dad."

The man slowly raises a shaking hand to Peter's cheek to wipe off his tears and he gives him a warm smile.

"I'm here for you, kid, don't worry, I'm here for you."

Thank you for reading!