Comfortember Day Twenty-Nine: Reunited [Post Apocalypse AU]

The world took everything from Tony Stark. It took his best friend, it took his fiance who he was just getting ready to start a new life with and now it took his adopted son. It all happened in just four months.

The world turned to shit; there were fires and explosions and raids and nothing was the same. Towns and cities all over the world were a mess and barely habitable. The world was slowly dying and Tony was unfortunate enough to stay alive and watch it.

Right now he was wandering through what he assumed was a town. He didn't really have any destination in mind. He was just going to keep walking until he dropped dead, he supposed. There were rumours that there was a place people could take refuge and avoid the dying world, but Tony doubted the place existed.

So, Tony Stark walked.

And walked.

And didn't stop walking.

Tony had a run in with a few raiders who thought he had something worth taking. The scuffle didn't last long. Tony hadn't eaten or slept properly in days. So he let the raiders take what they wanted, which was really nothing at all but a near empty backpack, and stayed in the town he was currently wandering through.

Nearby he saw the debris of a crashed plane. It reminded him of Rhodey. His best friend was in the air, trying to evacuate citizens and get them away from all the explosions and fires. Then his plane was hit by a missile shot from who knows where. There was nothing left of Rhodey or the passengers.

Part of Tony wished he was on that plane with him. After all, Pepper had died in an explosion at his Tower prior to that. But then Tony was dragged away by Peter and only minutes after that was when Rhodey's plane blew. Tony only had Peter after that and Tony was all Peter had. His apartment had burst into flames while he was at school when everything happened.

Tony and Peter were planning on leaving New York, and the US as a whole, and just go to Canada to see how it was there. It was probably still a mess like the US but maybe not as bad. That's what Peter hoped for and for Peter's sake, at the time, Tony tried to be positive.

Then raiders came and grabbed Peter off the street and knocked Tony out cold before he could get him back. The chances of Peter being alive were slim.

XXX

Peter Parker was...scared.

He was scared when New York burst into explosions and flames and he was scared when raiders came along and stole him from his father figure. Tony was all Peter had left and he was terrified to be in the world without him. Because although a dying world is scary, it's scarier to be alone in that kind of world. He needed Tony. He didn't know how to survive in a dying world.

Peter barely managed to escape the raiders that stole him from Tony. He got injured along the way, having been shot by one of the raiders during his escape but he didn't stop running. He ran and ran. He didn't know what else to do.

Now Peter was in an abandoned city. Buildings were toppled over, debris was everywhere. It was no wonder no one lived here anymore. It was both good news and bad news for Peter. Good news being that he didn't have to worry about people coming along to hurt him. Bad news being that there probably wasn't a lot of food around.

As time went on it was getting harder and harder for Peter to keep moving. He was starving, he was thirsty, he was lonely. If loneliness could kill, he'd probably be dead by now. He wished Tony was with him. He wished Tony would hold him close and tell him everything was going to be okay.

Thinking of Tony was all Peter had to keep him going. He didn't know if the man was alive, but if Peter was, there was a decent chance Tony was. So instead of looking for Canada or the rumoured refuge, Peter was wandering around trying to find Tony. Then they could go to Canada or the refuge.

"Tony, Tony, Tony…"

Peter had to keep muttering to himself to keep himself awake. To keep himself going, no matter how weak he was feeling. He wanted to see Tony one last time before he died. He wanted to feel his arms around him. He wanted to hear his voice.

Peter staggered forward only a few more steps before he collapsed on his side. Everything hurt.

XXX

Tony came across an old truck and attempted to bring it to life. He didn't know why. It was just sitting there and he had nothing better to do. The engine was completely busted. He needed to find a new one from another car if there was a decent one around. Or maybe there was a store that hadn't been raided yet that had an engine.

He tossed his poor excuse of tools in the back of the truck and started wandering through the city. No one was around so he didn't have to worry about getting jumped. Not that anyone should want to jump a wreck of a man like him, but that's just what the world was like now.

Tony rubbed his hands together and tried to find something that looked like a hardware store. Halfway down a street he saw something slumped on the ground. Even from this distance he could tell it wasn't an animal. He was sure all the dead bodies had been picked up already. Apparently not.

As he got closer he saw the body twitch. Tony stopped moving and he felt his heartbeat pick up.

XXX

Peter shivered and curled in on himself when his enhanced hearing picked up on movement. He didn't want to be taken away again. He shifted his body and turned to his side to see who was coming. It looked like it was just one person and they weren't dressed heavily the way raiders were.

As he got closer, Peter felt himself freeze. The man was still far away but he recognized the clothes, recognized the body...Peter blinked a couple times to try and catch his barings. Was this real?

"Peter?" The voice was distant and it was only because of his enhanced hearing that he heard it. And Peter Parker knew that voice anywhere. "Peter!"

"Tony…"

Peter groaned as he forced himself up. He rushed the best he could to Tony. He jumped into the man's outstretched arms and the two of them fell over. Peter sobbed and gripped onto the fabric of Tony's clothes. He snuggled into him.

"Baby-boy…" Tony wrapped his now thin arms around Peter and held him as close as possible.

"Tony...oh, Tony," Peter whimpered, refusing to let go. "I missed you so much! I- I thought…"

"Shhh, it's okay," Tony whispered. His voice was hoarse but Peter still found comfort in it. "It's okay. I'm here now. I gotcha."

Tony didn't let go of Peter as he somehow managed to stand on shaky legs. He held Peter close to his chest and stumbled to a nearby building before he sat again. Peter buried his face in Tony's chest.

"Please, never leave me," Peter pleaded. "I love you so much, please stay with me."

"I promise, kiddo." Tony ran his fingers through Peter's messy hair. "I'll never leave you alone again. I love you so, so much."

They sat like that for hours, and eventually fell asleep feeling the most comfortable and safe they had in a long time.

Author's Note: Told you this one was going to be bittersweet. Now, there are two endings to this one shot and I'll let ya'll choose the ending.

Ending One: Tony and Peter are found by a group of survivors and they take them to the rumoured refuge [and/or Canada]. AKA, they survive.

Ending Two: Tony and Peter starve to death where they are and end up in the afterlife where they reunite with the rest of their dead family and friends.

You can choose whichever ending.

That's all for now. I'll see ya'll in the next chapter.

Thanks for reading!

~Kurosaki