In the days that followed Thanos' attack on the Avengers compound, the world came to a standstill. People who had returned found themselves traumatized by the events that had occurred, and the people who had stayed, the ones who had started to heal, were set back to five years ago while stuck with the memories.
Peter Parker was one such individual. Going back to Midtown High was a horrifying experience, because half the people he was supposed to graduate with, were now graduating college. One of his favorite teachers had committed suicide, post-Snap, after losing his wife and daughter, and the ones that didn't die as a result of Thanos' actions...they didn't come back. Half of the population may have turned to dust, but millions died in the aftermath, and they're still gone.
And yet, despite all that, Peter still had to go back to school. He wasn't alone of course, Ned and MJ were with him, and there were some new kids in his class that Peter was growing close with. Khamala, Miles, Sam, and Riri were all technically five years younger than Peter, but they hadn't died in the Snap.
Classes weren't normally a struggle for Peter, but after what happened, he couldn't seem to find it within himself to care about his grades anymore. He didn't care about being Spiderman either. Aunt May had noticed, it was clear to almost everyone. Peter was different now. Some people chalked it up to having a hard time processing what had happened, but only May and Ned knew the truth. Peter had lost the second father-figure he had in his life, and that was worse.
The day of Tony's funeral, Peter almost didn't go. He didn't know how he could face it. How he would face Pepper, and Tony's little girl, Morgan, who just happened to have her dad's smile, and his eyes. But May took him anyways. After they sent off the wreath, Peter saw another boy, about his age, with the same haunted look in his eye, that Peter himself had seen in a mirror. As people wandered off in their separate ways, Peter approached the boy.
"You must be Harley Keener. Mr. Stark...Tony told me about you."
The blond didn't turn around, but sighed in acknowledgement. "And you must be Peter Parker. He told me about you too."
Harley glanced back at the brunet who had approached him. Tears glistened in the corner of his eyes. "Wanna swap stories?"
Peter felt a sob emerge from his throat, but he swallowed it back down and nodded. They sat on a park bench, not far from the lake, and began exchanging tales of interactions with Tony. May knew that the adults were doing the same inside the house, but she glanced at Pepper, who was watching the boys thoughtfully. The two women shared a look, and then Pepper knelt down and made eye contact with Morgan, who was clinging to the hem of her dress.
"Hey Mo, do you see those boys over there?" Pepper nudged her daughter gently. The little girl nodded. "Well, those two are your big brothers. Why don't you go ask them to tell you stories about papa?"
Morgan's eyes widened. "I have big brothers?" For the first time since Tony died, Morgan smiled, and waddled over to the teens on the bench. As she got closer, she realized they were both crying.
She approached the bench slowly, and walked around, before reaching up, and tugged on Peter's jacket. Peter wiped his eyes, trying to figure out who had touched him, only to see her looking up. Peter tapped Harley on the shoulder, and the two stared at her with a bewildered look.
Trying to overcome the shy feeling, Morgan stuck her head up, and said "Mama says you two are my big brothers, and you can tell me about my daddy."
Both of the teens were speechless, and Peter whipped round to glance at Pepper. She and May were watching from the porch, and Pepper sent a reassuring nod to the boy. Tears welled up in Peter's eyes, and he turned back around to look at Morgan. He nodded, still unable to formulate words, but finally, was able to choke something out.
"Yeah, uh, we are. My name's Peter, this is Harley. And...and of course we can tell you about your dad. What do you want to know?"
Morgan's eyes widened, and she thought for a moment. She decided on a question, and said "How much do you love my daddy? Because I love him 3000! Which is a lot! How much do you love him?"
Harley smiled, and held his hands out to the little girl. She climbed up onto his lap, and snuggled into his arms. "We love him 3000 too."
Morgan gasped. "You do?" She clapped her hands. "Mommy says Daddy is a superhero. Do you know what that means?"
Peter laughed, a strange thing to do while still crying. "Yeah. A superhero is a really special person. They help people, and save lives. And you know what? Your daddy... he is...was...the best superhero. And I want to be just like him."
"Are you a superhero too?" Morgan asked, curiously. Peter thought for a moment, and then leant close to her, and began to stage-whisper. "Yeah, I am, but it's a secret, okay. Can you keep a secret Morgan." The girl enthusiastically nodded. Peter gave the little girl a high-five. "Well, here's the secret. I am Spider-Man."
Morgan's mouth dropped open. "My daddy told me about you!" She yelled, excitedly. "He said...he said that you can crawl up walls, and hang from the ceiling, and swing above the clouds! You fight crime, in exchange for churros!"
Peter drew back in shock. She knew about him. Tony had told her about him. Morgan began reciting the last story Tony had told her about Spider-Man, and how they had teamed up to stop evil aliens flying a donut from destroying New York. Harley looked at Peter in surprise, clearly not prepared to know the superhero's real identity.
Morgan kept chattering on, and as she told the story, Peter began to chime in, adding details about Tony's contributions to the fight, and how Hulk refused to show up because he was sulking. Morgan laughed, and Harley sniffed. "Well, I'm cool too you know!"
Morgan looked up at him in wonder. "Are you a superhero too?" Harley faltered. "Well, no, but I helped your dad save people too. Together, we took down a terrorist organization. And he helped me build a potato gun."
"Oooh, can you teach me?" Morgan asked. "I want a potato gun, it sounds fun."
Harley stuttered. "Well, uh, sure...but maybe not today...we don't have the tools...and…" Morgan wriggled out of his arms, and ran to Pepper. "Mommy, can we go into Daddy's workshop and build a potato gun?" She yelled as she toddled across the lawn. Pepper raised her eyebrow, and shot Harley a look, and he did his best to look guilty and mouthed sorry to her.
"Please Mommy, can we?" Morgan begged, and Pepper found her willpower crumbling. Tony had taught her how to do the puppy-dog eyes, and she had a feeling she would be subjected to that look a lot as her daughter grew up.
Finally, Pepper nodded, and said "Sure, but make sure Happy's watching okay. And Harley? Peter? If she gets hurt, you will have me, and then Tony to deal with, understand?"
The two teenage boys quailed, and nodded under the redhead's stern look. Morgan cheered, and waved the boys over. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, we gotta find Uncle Happy. Let's go!" She ran back and grabbed the boys' hands, and yanked them towards the direction of Happy Hogan.
"HAPPY!" Morgan yelled, looking around for the security guard. The adults all glanced around, surprised at the set of lungs at which the small girl was able to use to yell for the older man. Finally she found him, talking to her uncle Rhodey, and another man she didn't recognize, who was wearing an eyepatch.
"Happy Happy Happy! Come on come on come on!" Morgan pleaded with the older man. She let go of the teenagers to tug on his jacket.
Happy looked down at her. "What's up Mo? Where are we going?"
Morgan smiled at him. "We're going to Daddy's workshop. Harley's gonna teach me how to build a potato gun!"
Happy looked up sharply at the boy. "Is he now?" A warning edge was present in his tone.
Morgan rolled her eyes, and said "Mommy said it's okay, as long as you're there to watch."
Happy looked between her and Harley and Peter before acquiescing. "Fine," Happy sighed. "But you're not touching any of the tools young miss."
"Yay! Potato gun potato gun potato gun!" Morgan cheered as she marched through the house towards the garage. As she did, she continued to attract attention, and before long, the three Barton children and the Wakandan princess were joining the procession to see the potato gun. Cassie Lang also joined the group, and Bruce Banner watched as the kids marched, happy to see that the young Stark had inherited her father's enthusiasm.
Up in Valhalla, Tony watched as Harley patiently taught his little girl about materials and pressure build up, and hydraulics, and all of the kids chimed in to influence the making of this potato gun. A tear came to his eye as they all worked together. Happy watched with a stern eye, taking the safety of his friend's daughter very seriously, but internally softened, upon seeing the loving care that emitted from both Peter and Harley as Morgan built her first weapon of choice.
In the end, the blaster was the perfect size for the little girl, painted red and gold like the Iron Man suit, and while Happy wouldn't let her fire potatoes, Cassie found some marshmallows in the pantry, and Lila Barton taught her how to nail targets.
To make things more interesting, Peter, Cooper, Nathaniel and Shuri then ran around trying to catch the marshmallows, and soon enough, the kids were laughing and playing, while the adults all watched with joy.
Tony looked on at his kids as they played, chuckling when Morgan was able to shoot a marshmallow right into Peter's mouth, and Natasha watched the engineer as he slowly began to believe his family would be okay.