So this the one where Peter dies so warning for character death I guess? This is the one I'm worried about in terms of characterization and its ability to compel the reader.

Feel free to let me know what you think!

He held his breath for just a moment longer. Ignoring Morgan's tears where they soaked his shirt. Ignoring the shouts and calls of the Avengers as they took care of those who had done this. Ignoring the cold bite of frost on his bare hands.

He focused everything on the tips of his fingers. But nothing happened. He pressed harder and still there was no answering beat, no hint of life. No indication of the man that had sacrificed his safety to protect another.

Tony swallowed hard, knowing what he needed to do but the heart in his throat almost made it impossibly. Still, he managed to squeak out, "Karen, what's going on?"

"Mr. Stark, Peter is showing no signs of life." The sad, sweet voice answered his question with as much empathy as she could but there was nothing she could do to change her factual response.

Then something in Tony broke. He threw his head back and howled. It was a blood-curdling scream that forced all movement in the room to stop dead in its tracks. But it was over as soon as it started and Tony simply collapsed. He clutched Morgan closer and leaned forward enough to latch onto Peter's shirt before his shoulders began to heave with the heavy onslaught of tears. He didn't notice when the others came over, their uniforms bloodied and torn. He only noticed they were there when Rhodes pulled a crying Morgan off his lap, giving Tony the opportunity to fall forward and fully pull the slowly cooling body of his oldest son to his chest. Steve knelt down next to him and laid his hand on the older man's shoulder, "Tony…" He started but then stopped haltingly, not knowing how to continue, "Tony please."

Tony swung out blindly, forcing Steve to jump back. Free of the distraction, Tony curled farther over Peter's body, softly begging his dead son to wake up, to say something, to prove him wrong.

But Peter never did.

Tony sobbed until the reality of the situation caught up with him. He dug his clawed hand into Peter's ruined shoulder, unaware, or unable to comprehend, the charred skin sticking to his fingers or the blood coating his hands. He sobbed until the tears would no longer fall, leaving his hitched breath to escape in uneven, short bursts.

As if it was a signal for him, Rhodey handed Morgan over to Steve and knelt down next to Tony when he saw the early signs of a panic attack, cursing himself for the unconscious thought that he was surprised it had not happened earlier. Rhodey laid his hand on Tony's back. "Tony," he said commandingly, even as the order he was planning on giving made him want to vomit, "Tony, you have to let him go."

"No, he needs help Rhodey. He needs help. I can't let him go." Tony practically whined, as he slowly started to rock the body.

"He's gone Tony, Peter's gone. You have to let him go and you have to see to Morgan."

"He's not gone Rhodey." Then he met Rhodes's eyes, his tear-stained face warped in a horrific look of pain, "He can't be gone."

Tony was begging. He was begging Rhodes to tell him that everything he was seeing, everything he knew, was wrong. But Rhodey knew he couldn't. Instead, he did not even try to fight back his own tears, "Tony, Peter's dead. You have…" He tripped over his own words momentarily before he continued, "You have to let him go. Let me take him, okay? You need to check on Morgan. He needs his dad too." The words felt like ash in his mouth, coating his tongue in acidic grit that nothing would wash away – he was using a live son to convince a father to let go of a dead one – and he hated himself for it.

Tony simply looked lost. He glanced down at Peter's slack face and then up at Morgan before looking again at Peter. Something seemed to click for him because he carefully pressed a kiss to Peter's forehead before he gently laid him down on his back. He tangled his hand in his oldest son's hair once more, wrestling with the idea that it would be the last time he would ever be able to do so.

And then he awkwardly stood and took a step backward. Steve handed over the struggling six-year-old who quickly wrapped his arms tightly around Tony's neck as both stared down at the body on the ground before Steve stepped into their line of site and carefully picked up the downed superhero.

Tony felt his stomach lurch and the tears return when he saw how boneless Peter looked in the Captain's arms. It should have been him, goddamn it should have been him. It should be Peter standing here with Morgan, not him. Never him. He tugged his younger son closer as the boy hid his face in Tony's collarbone, tears again beginning to soak his shirt. Tony held Morgan's neck and slipped his hand into his hair, missing the blood that he left in the strawberry blonde curls. As Steve walked passed him, Tony could not help but bury his face in Morgan's shoulder for a moment before he turned to follow the procession out of the building. He knew there was a quinjet waiting but he also knew there was nothing the med team on it could do to help Peter.

It was another three days before they had the funeral and for those three days, Tony did not talk to anyone. He locked himself away in his lab, building or tinkering or drinking, even Pepper was not sure but when he emerged, he was composed, well dressed, and sober.

Tony spoke at the funeral. It was short, heart-felt, and not at all what he had planned. But he managed to finish it without crying, picking Morgan up off the pew and settling him in his lap as he sat back down.

Then they laid Peter to rest and Tony made it through that with water-logged eyes but he managed to keep the tears from falling.

It was after they got home from the service, when he was safely ensconced in his private rooms with only Pepper and Morgan that the small family grieved for its loss. For Tony, it helped. A bit. But he knew he would never truly be okay again.

I'm hoping that was not too rushed, I wanted to get through writing the death of a character that I have written for before because its really freaking hard! I hope that it felt honest and authentic and made sense. Also, if you have read this far, thank you so much! I appreciate you reading through the (in my opinion) harder piece of the story. You are so wonderful and it is very much appreciated.

Feel free to let me know what you think!

I hope you have a wonderful night/day and as always, stay creative!

- Lily