thanks for being my first passenger

I absolutely adore the scene where Happy and Peter talk on the jet, but I refuse to acknowledge Tony’s death. So I give you: the jet pep talk, but with Tony and Peter.

-

When the jet lands in front of Peter, he doesn’t know what to think. He’s a whirlpool of emotions: relieved, yes, but underneath that is a backdrop of pain and panic and defeat and confusion and all the things Peter never wanted to feel again.

So when Happy stands in front of him, Peter can’t let himself immediately go to him. What if it’s not him? What if Mysterio is fucking with his mind again? Peter is close to tears, tired of not being able to trust his reality.

I just want to go home, he thinks almost childishly.

He nearly falls into Happy. It’s the closest piece of home Peter has right now, and the familiar, caring face and arms around him is more than he could ask for. Safe, safe, safe, Peter’s mind supplies.

Happy steps back and gets a good look at his bruised and bloody form before letting out a breath. “Jesus, kid. He really got you good, didn’t he?”

Peter swallows thickly around the tears in his throat, looking down in shame. Self-hatred bubbles in his chest, and all he can do is nod tiredly. Happy pats him gently.

“Let’s get you inside, see if we can’t fix you up a bit.”

They make their way into the jet, and Peter nearly collapses in relief when the doors close behind him. He can’t even bring himself to marvel at the nice piece of aircraft—he’s too caught up in the fact that, for now, he’s safe.

“Wow. A couple days of vacation and you’ve already forgotten about me? I get no acknowledgement?” a voice says wryly, and Peter turns sharply to find Tony watching him closely.

Peter stumbles back, looks at Happy with wide eyes before looking at Tony again. Tony, who isn’t supposed to be here. Tony, who’s still recovering from the Snap, who has a wife and a daughter he should be with, who’s retired from being Iron Man.

“Wh-What are you doing here?” Peter stutters. For some inexplicable reason, he can feel his eyes well with tears all over again. This—he never wanted to bother Tony, and this is more than he could have ever asked for. But he can’t face Tony’s disappointment. He just can’t.

Tony shrugs. “You needed backup. I’m backup.”

Peter’s breath hitches at the words, an echo from their time on the ship together. He takes in a careful breath, trying to keep hold of his tenuous control on his emotions.

Behind him, Happy says, “No, you’re not. You’re here for moral support only. In fact, you’re really more of a stowaway than anything else.”

Peter’s face crumples. Immediately, all traces of amusement fall from Tony’s face as he stands and opens his arms. This time, Peter doesn’t hesitate. He lets himself stumble into Tony, careful not to hurt the man or ruin the prosthetic.

“Whoa, whoa, I’m here, kid, I’m here. I’ve got you,” Tony murmurs as Peter tucks his head into Tony’s shoulder, taking in deep shuddering breaths.

For a moment, they just stay like that, Peter trying to ground himself in the comforting embrace and Happy hovering awkwardly behind them. It’s awhile before any of them speak.

“You—You were wrong,” Peter finally chokes out, and Tony gently pulls away at that, hands braced on Peter’s shoulders.

Tony frowns, sitting them both down. “Well, that doesn’t sound right. I try not to make a habit of being wrong. Comes with being a genius.”

Peter swipes messily at his eyes. “You were. Wrong, I mean. I—I can’t—I’m not cut out for this. This is too big. All of it.”

Tony nudges him affectionately. “Big? Of course it is. But too big? Space was bigger. And you handled that beautifully.”

Peter snorts derisively. “I died.”

“You fought,” Tony corrects. “You got back up. Over and over again. Against the most evil Titan known to man.”

Peter looks at Tony then, eyes full of nostalgia and fear and self-hatred. “But I had you with me,” he whispers, a confession almost.

Tony softens, tilts Peter’s chin up with a finger. “Hey.” He waits for Peter’s eyes to lock with his before speaking again. “You still have me. You know that.”

Peter’s lips tremble for a second, days of constant stress and pressure fraying at his nerves. “I know, it’s just—“ Peter’s voice cracks, “Everyone keeps asking me if I’m going to fill Iron Man’s shoes and I keep—I keep screwing up, and I can’t—I can’t—“ I can’t be you, Peter doesn’t say. Tony hears it anyway.

“Peter, stop,” Tony says firmly. “Listen to me: the world doesn’t know this yet, but they don’t need the next Iron Man. They don’t need me at all. They need you.”

Peter starts to shake his head, a protest already on his lips, but Tony’s quick to cut him off. “Ah ah—don’t interrupt me when I’m trying to give you a pep talk. I’m only gonna say this once—actually, that’s a lie, I’ll say it as many times as it takes to get it through your thick skull.” Tony sighs. “I know—god, I know this scary. I know this is terrifying. But you, Peter Parker—there’s a, a goodness in you that I’ve never seen in anyone else before. Not in Cap, not in the Avengers, and definitely not in me,” Tony tells him. “For most of us? There’s a reason why we do what we do. A selfless reason. But you? You do this because you can. Because you care about other people, and that’s it. You have nothing to gain. And that’s—god, that’s more powerful than anything.”

Tony grips Peter’s shoulder with his metal hand and brings his other to Peter’s face, wiping away the stray tears. “So no. You’ll never be the next Iron Man. You know why?” Tony asks. “Because you’re better than him.”

Tony gently squeezes Peter’s shoulder for emphasis and waits a minute to watch his words sink in. He knows that this is a make or break moment, that Peter’s been knocked down and maybe this time he’ll choose not to get back up. Tony wouldn’t blame him.

But then Peter sucks in a sharp breath, eyes hardening with determination, and Tony knows. His chest swells with pride.

“Okay?” Tony asks, just to be sure.

“Okay,” Peter agrees.

When Peter started building his new suit with some rock music playing in the background while Happy watches him fondly

tony’s ghost watching peter give away the edith glasses:

Everywhere I go, I see his face. I just really miss him.

Huh, this is nice.

Cutting out that Irondad kissing Peter’s cheek scene was Marvel’s biggest mistake. I demand a refund

I really miss him.

The world needs the next Iron Man.

glad Tony is finally retired at his lake house :^)

((tag as st//arker and be thanos snapped))

I just really miss him. Yeah, I miss him, too.