Tony remembers the first time his mother said she loved him, remembers the way she smiled at him whenever he came home with a good report card, or did anything good for the matter. He remembers how she would pamper him when he was sick, make his favorite dinner and even go get his homework since she didn’t want him falling behind. He remembers every detail of her. Her cinnamon cookie scented aura, her calm and soothing voice whenever he would go to her upset, nervous, or even scared. Her joyous laugh when he did something weird, her worried lectures whenever he would come home past curfew, even if it was just a few minutes.
Yet he can’t remember a single thing about his father. He never remembered his voice, his smile, or even eye colour for that matter. He was always gone, more worried about his Business than his own family. He missed all of Tony’s birthdays, the poor kids friends even flaking out and leaving him alone in his room with only one present, which happened to be one his mother bought him while looking at the card with tears in his eyes and self doubt clouding his mind. Whenever he was present, the house would fall silent. The air would stiffen along with his mother's shoulders and voice whenever he walked in through the door. He knows the reason too. He’s snuck down to see all the commotion and would watch as his mother fell to the ground while holding her cheek in pain. He would listen to all the harsh words he would call her, how pathetic and useless she was.
He had finally done something when he was only twelve, running down and standing in front of his mom only to get hit as well. The only difference from him and his mother was that he fought back. He made sure he got at least one good hit to his jaw before his mom pulled him away and dragged him to his room. He was thrown onto his bed, his mother lecturing him in a shaky voice before breaking down entirely. Tony’s never seen her this way, it hurt to see her this way. The two ended up spending the rest of the night in his room, Tony putting all his energy into helping his mother calm down and making sure she was comfortable and warm. He went as far as keeping a chair against the door knob so his father couldn't get in and scare her more than he already has.
By the time they did come out his father passed out in their room, but his mother still stayed with him that night. They didn't want to wake him up, so he grabbed something small for his mother before going back up and handing it to her.
He didn't sleep that night. He looked down at his sleeping mother, realizing the roles changed. His mother would always hold him the way he's holding her now whenever he had a nightmare. The only difference being hers is real.
Tony was only fifteen when he got into his first real fight, not with his father anyway. He had come home with a bloody lip, black eye, along with bloodied and bruised knuckles. He walked in to be greeted by his very worried mother. She brought him into the bathroom and immediately began to clean him up, Tony tearing up a little at how badly the cuts hurts. His father was home at the time, but only for a moment. He walked by and said one word that Tony would hear from him throughout the rest of his life.
That word stuck with him. Every test he brought home with lower than a 90%.
Every time he got into trouble, whether it was simply speaking out or a full on fight.
Whenever his report card wasn't straight A's.
That one god damned word had grown on him. He found himself staring into mirrors and mentally screaming that word at himself while he looked at the reflection of a pathetic, useless, faggot of a son. At least that's what his father made him believe.
His mother tried to convince him otherwise, she would even take him out to do his favorite things. But she noticed the difference. He was stiff, his wording formal and bland, following everyones directions without questions. Before he was more care free, his words fun and full of emotion, he was a rebel. Tony doesn't remember that anymore. He found himself chasing after one thing. His fathers approval of being a decent child, son, and human being overall.
Tony is only 21 and halfway through College when he hears the news.
He knew his parents would pass, he just wished they didn't leave so soon. Not only did he have to deal with the loss, but his fathers company was dumped onto him and everyone expected him to be just as good as his father. He couldn't do that, he wasn't even good enough to be acknowledged in his fathers eyes. He couldn't back out though. If he did he'd surely be a failure not only to his father but to the rest of the world.
He still remembers the day he walked into his fathers office, for the first time might he add. His father never let him and his mother near his office, so when Tony flung the doors open he couldn't help but glance around at the place. The workers seemed overly nice as well, offering him everything they could to ensure his work time would be as relaxing and stress free as possible. He didn't care about being relaxed or stress free, he had too much to do.
The years seemed to fly by like dust caught up in wind, and before he knew it he had his fathers business become one of the most known in the world, and the fact that he was a hero. The day he became Iron man was as clear as ever, and he never failed to be reminded about it thanks to the technology in his chest. Despite becoming a hero and carrying on his Fathers legacy rather well, he still told himself the same things his father would've whenever he screwed up.
'You could do better than that, you're just being worthless like always.'
'You're so useless, get out of the way and let the important people take care of things.'
'You're such a poor excuse of a son.'
He would wake up in a cold sweat, trying to catch the breath he always seemed to be holding. He found himself unable to sleep at times, too worried that if he closed his eyes everything would fall apart and it'd be his fault. He'd stay up for days at a time, working himself endlessly in hopes he could improve and not be as useless as he makes himself out to be.
He doesn’t notice himself become distant from his friends, doesn't notice his snappy attitude and annoyed expression like his father always had. He doesn't notice how his personality altogether changes. Pepper tries to talk to him, saying its that superhero persona that's making him change, but he knows that's not it.
He doesn't realize what he was entirely doing when Steve tried to kill him for wanting to keep the team together. He didn't want that, yet everyone blamed him for it, which only caused his stress and anxiety to heighten to the point he shut himself in his room for days at a time, desperately wanting to make things right but knowing that option was long gone the moment he ran at the people that were once his team. His family.
When he finally does realize how much like his father he's become, it's too late. He watches as Peter Parker, a kid who's only fifteen and trying his hardest walk away with his head hung low does he snap out of it. Only does he realize everything Peters done to get his own approval. How much time the kids spent testing and improving, how much he's tried to prove what he could do to help. And he ignored it just like his father did to him.
He didn't sleep that night like always, pacing around his pitch black room all night loathing himself and internally screaming at how big of a fuck up he really was.
He knew he had a chance though unlike all the other times, he was determined to not give up so easily. So he didn't. He had improved Peters suit, but leaving in the recording of course so he could check up and make sure the kid was doing okay.
When he finally was able to get the suit back to the kid, he had stopped the one person he'd been looking for in just a few hours tops. For the first time in a long time, he felt something nice. Not regret, sadness, or anger. He was happy. Happy that he got to see the kid alive and willing to forgive him for what he did. As he watched Peter leave after offering him a new and improved suit along with a spot along the Avengers, he felt like he did something good after so long of believing he was a failure.
Unfortunately, the happiness didn't last long. Just when he thought things were finally gonna get better, he found himself joining up with Wizards named Dr. Strange and Wong, and his old friend Bruce while fighting off an alien that resembled squidward on crystal meth. What he least expected out of all of this was for Peter Parker to show up only to get pulled up into an alien ship with Strange. Luckily he still had that suit, sending it off and saving Peter before he passed out due to lack of oxygen as the ship raced through the atmosphere. He had been able to get onto the craft safely and watched as Earth quickly became a speck among millions of other stars and planets.
He had found Strange after wandering the ship for some time, but he was being held captive by Ebony Maw, Peter coming out of nowhere behind Tony. Of course he chewed him out a little for not staying on the bus before turning his focus back to Strange, biting his lip a little bit as he tried to think about what to do next. He'd dealt with aliens plenty of times, but from the looks of it one wrong move and Stephen would be done for. Before his thoughts could fall too far down the dark hole, Peters voice cut through and snapped him back to reality.
"Mr. Stark? I think I have an idea, but it’s from a movie so it might not work well."
Tony knew this was a bad idea, terrible one might say, but at this point he told himself to try anything if that meant him, Peter, and Stephen would be okay. Before he could really start thinking the plan was in motion, and within a moment Ebony Maw had been sucked out into the vastness and danger of space while Peter held onto Stephen as he closed the hole of the ship. The moment the hole was sealed he looked back at the two, sighing out the breath he didn't know he was holding when he saw them alive with all limbs still intact. He would never admit it, but despite the two barely knowing each other, he still cared for Stephen. He was someone who's willing to help him, and he couldn't be more thankful.
He landed carefully on the platform, watching as Strange walked over to see where they were, or where they were headed anyway. He walked over next to him, confusion written on his face as he tried to understand the alien technology.
"Alright, we're going back to Earth. Im not taking the stone to somewhere in the middle of space." Stephen turned to Tony, who rose a brow.
"Says the one who said they needed to fight."
"I said I wanted to protect the stone. If Thanos gets his hands on the Time stone, it's all over. As long as we have it we have a chance."
Tony fell silent, taking in what the other told him as Stephen looked back at the technology. The colour from the Doctors face drained, Tony looking up and his eyes widening.
"Uh, Alien planet coming at us real fast. Kid, grab that other control. We have to act together since this is made for a bigger alien."
Peter did as he was told, going to the other control and copying Tony’s movements. The two of them got ready while Strange cast a protection circle around the three of them. Peter and Tony started to steer, trying their best to act as one person.
"To the right, right!" Peter yelped, the ship crashing into what looked like a building, Tony grunting and trying to make sure they don't die. Luckily, when the ship crash landed, none of them got hurt too badly, just a few scratches and marks.
Tony sighed heavily as he tried to catch his breath, not happy with how the days gone so far. He glanced around at all the damage the ship took from the impact, knowing damn well they won’t be able to use this to get out of here. Stephen shook his head, his cloak wiping some dirt off his face. Peter came down on some webbing, hanging upside down.
"I just wanna say if an alien attacks me, puts eggs inside me, and makes me kill you both Im sorry." Both adults exchanged confused glances, Tony speaking up.
“That’s it, I don’t wanna hear another movie reference out of you for the rest of this trip-”
"What are you talking about?"
"I’m trying to say something’s coming."
Before Tony or anyone could fully react, a bomb went off, three people coming out of nowhere and ambushing them. Tony didn’t know what he was doing entirely, letting Instinct kick in. Within a minute he had an alien under him with his gun pointed at him, Peter was being held hostage by a guy in a mask, and Stephen was ready to attack anyone that moved. The guy in the mask showed his face, Tony surprised to see he was human. The guy however wasn't up for being friendly.
"Where is Gamora?!" The male asked, Tony confused.
"I'll do you one better. Who is Gamora?!" Everyone glanced down when the alien underneath Tony spoke, causing slight confusion for everyone.
"I'll do you one better. WhY iS gAmORa?!"
"Everyone shut up!" Stephen cut through, looking to the male holding a gun to Peter’s head. "I'm only gonna ask this once. What master do you work for?"
"What am I supposed to say, Jesus?!" The male shook his head, Tony getting annoyed.
"Yeah, that’s on Earth dipshit-"
Parkers voice cut through, his being more quiet than everyone else’s. "So you're not working with Thanos...?"
The male holding Peter looked confused, letting go of the kid after a moment while they all backed down, the tension slowly unwinding.
Tony let the three explain themselves, figuring out that their names were Drax, Mantis, and also Peter unironically. They wanted to stop Thanos as well, and that was all he needed to hear before letting them help. They all walked outside, Tony’s eyes grazing along the landscape and getting used to his surroundings. What was this place, and why did the ship bring them here of all places? What was so special about a post apocalyptic looking planet?
Time seemed to pass slowly as everyone tried to find a way off this planet, or even anything that was in working order. When they found nothing, they had decided to at least plan for when Thanos came for the Time Stone. Tony already had a plan thought out in his head, but before he could finish speaking Quill cut through.
"Let’s talk about this plan of yours. I think it's good, but it sucks. So let me do the plan, and in that way, it might be really good!" Quill smiled at Tony who simply looked at the ground, wishing he had a whole bottle of Vodka right about now.
"Wow." Tony sighed, shrugging. The more people thought about a plan and mashed them together, the more foolproof it would be. Besides, he's got nothing better. In the middle of discussing the plan, Mantis interrupted in a panicky voice.
"Erh- is your friend okay?" She pointed to Strange, who had been meditating a moment ago, seemed to be having some sort of panic with his body jerking unnaturally. Tony immediately ran over, worried for the Doctor despite their constant bickering.
"Strange, you alright?" The moment Tony put his hand on his shoulder, the Doctor snapped out of it like a pencil breaking in half and caught his breath. He looked up at Tony, his voice calm for the most part with a small hint of panic. "I-I saw it."
"What do you mean?" Tony’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion and worry, Stephen looking down for a moment before speaking again.
"I saw over sixteen million realities, all of them ending differently."
"How many where we won...?" Quill asked anxiously, everyone looking to Strange hopefully.
Everyone heard each others breath hitch, the Doctor looking up at Tony and sighing his name softly. If Strange really was serious... He didn’t want to think about that. They had to win, for the sake of the Universe.
Thanos came through a portal, glancing around and noticing Strange levitating over some debris almost immediately. Everyone else hid among the landscape, waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack and steal away the Gauntlet.
As Tony watched and waited for Stephen to give the signal, he got more antsy. What if they weren’t able to steal the gauntlet away? What if he fucked up again, just like his father always said he did? No, he couldn't think like that not now.
Before he completely snapped out of his darkening thoughts, everyone was already running to attack and get in formation. Tony immediately bound into action, hoping Quills plan worked, especially since they didn't have any others nor a back up.
He wasn’t sure what happened entirely, but he tried not to think about it while he slipped the Infinity Gauntlet off, Parker helping him while Mantis held Thanos under control. Quill walked up, laughing. "Not so big and tough now are ya? This was my plan by the way, all me." Quill tilted his head as he watched Thanos struggle against Mantis' magic.
"Where is she?" Quill urged, Parker and Tony struggling to get the Gauntlet off as Mantis suddenly cut in with a shaky voice.
"He feels... Anguish! He mourns!" She sniffled, Quill glaring.
"What does this monster have to mourn?!" Nebula sighed heavily, Quill turning to her with a worried expression.
"He went to Vomir with Gamora. He came back with the Soul Stone…”
Quills breathing hitched as he turned back to Thanos, tears swelling up in his eyes.
“You asshole! Tell me you didn’t do it!” Thanos struggled a bit, his voice coming out in a barely audible whisper.
“No- no you didn’t-” Quills voice held a quiver, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall as anger swelled in his chest. Tony glanced over, seeing Quills fist shake in anger.
“Quill, don’t engage do not engage we almost got this off!” Both him and Parker struggled to get the gauntlet off, trying to be as quick as possible.
Before they could get it off entirely, Quill threw a punch straight to Thanos’ nose, causing Mantis’ hands to fly away from their enemies temples. Tony immediately held Quill back while Parker tried to get the gauntlet off. Thanos quickly got to his senses however, grabbing the weapon and throwing Parker at least ten feet away from him while getting Drax and Strange away as well.
“Dammit-” Tony muttered, immediately letting go of Quill and running towards Thanos.
As he fought with their greatest enemy, he would steal glances at Parker and Strange, seeing Quill out the corner of his eye every so often. As long as everyone was alive and still in the fight, they had a chance.
Fate had other plans however, the ground suddenly seeming to lose most gravitational pull when one of the stones lit up for a split second, Parker immediately trying to save Drax, Mantis, and Quill who all got knocked out while fighting and trying to stop Thanos. Strange and Tony were the only ones who were able to fight, the Doctor immediately going for it.
Before Tony knew it he was face to face with the man who called himself a God, everyone else either knocked out or too hurt to continue fighting. He did know however that he was the only thing standing between Thanos and the TIme Stone, and he had to give it his all.
He ran at Thanos, thankful for all the new technology and weapons he came up with in the Lab, throwing everything he had at Thanos. He threw a hefty kick at the others cheek, panting heavily as Thanos wiped away some blood.
“All of that for a drop of blood?” Thanos asked, smirking a little as the colour from Tony’s face drained. Before he could get far away enough, the Titan threw a punch at him, sending him flying and hitting the ground harshly. He immediately got back up, trying to continue fighting but getting bad hits from his sides, face, arms, and legs. His suit couldn’t handle it, the nanotech starting to disperse with each hit Tony took. A sudden thought came to his head, taking out a dagger and using all the strength he could muster to aim it at Thanos neck and swinging.
Thanos simply caught it in his hand, breaking it off and taking the dagger through Tony’s rib cage, the Avenger gasping in shock and pain as he fell to his knees and leaned against a rock. He glanced down and watched his blood gush out, the familiar copper taste filling his mouth. Thanos simply watched, his hand almost cradling the others head.
“You have my respect Mr. Stark. I hope they remember you after I’m finished.”
“Stop!” Strange suddenly cut in, Thanos smirking and standing up. “If...If I give you the stone, let him live.” Strange panted, Thanos thinking for a moment before speaking curiously.
“No tricks?” The Doctor shook his head, reaching up and pulling the stone from what seemed like the stars, taking a sorrowed glance at the green gem before handing it over to Thanos. Tony looked to Strange, confused. On the ship he said he wouldn’t hesitate to let either him or the kid die, so why suddenly risk the Universe to save someone like him? What made him so special?
Thanos added the stone to his collection, taking in a breath and smirking before suddenly disappearing in a blue mass of smoke, Quill running up only moments after he disappeared.
“Where is he?!” He urged, Tony taking out the dagger and healing it up to stop the bleeding. Both him and Strange stayed silent, Quills eyes widening slightly.
“Wait… did we just lose?”
Tony wasn’t sure how much time passed, but he found himself dreading something. They lost the Time Stone, meaning it was up to Vision and Wanda to keep the Mind stone away from the man who only grew more powerful. He also found himself hoping. Hoping Steve had found the two, hoping his old friend had found Natasha and Sam, Bruce and even Bucky. Whatever kept the Universe safe, he was willing to look past everything that had happened. He was gladly willing to look past his egotistical facade and apologize countless times. He just wanted his only family back.
As Tony’s thought went farther down a hole, he began shaking. Not only from the pain of the wound that reminded him of one of his many failures, but it was also from the fact that he couldn’t save the only people he cared about.
His inky black thoughts suddenly dried up and disappeared, Drax’s voice splitting the silence between everyone.
“Uh, guys?” Drax lifted up his hands only to see them be drifted away in the wind, the rest of his body following.
“Something’s happening-” Mantis looked to everyone, her body turning to clay coloured dust and blending into the dirt as she fell.
“Quill?” Tony suddenly asked, seeing the guardians legs turn to dust. Quill turned to him, sighing heavily.
“There was no other way, Tony.” Stephen cut in, his chin resting on his hand now. He looked down as he followed everyone else’s fate, crumbling with elegance and silence.
“Mr. Stark..?” Tony whipped his head around, fear striking his core as he watched Peter start to leave him too. Not him. Anyone but him.
“You’re fine-” Tony tried to dismiss the kids worries, Peter stumbling forward and wrapping his arms around his only father figure as pain struck his entire body, making his knees go weak and go out underneath him.
“I-I don’t know what’s happening- Stark don’t make me go I don’t wanna go- p-please don’t make me go-” Tears began slipping down Peters cheeks, Tony’s chest tightening as he held onto his son as tight as he could without hurting him even more. They both fell to their knees, Tony gently laying Peter down and cradling him as the younger male gasped for air. Tony’s never felt so useless in his life, watching with teary eyes as Peter slowly faded into dust. Peter looked up at him, sighing as one last tear fell.
“I’m sorry…” He closed his eyes, letting his body be relieved of pain as he dispersed into nothing and left Tony to stare down at his now dust covered hands as he held back broken sobs.
Why did it have to be him? Tony would’ve gladly took Peters place, the poor kid didn’t deserve this.
He leaned back against the same rock that was now painted in his blood, holding his hands close to his chest. It was just him and Nebula now, the place more quiet than it was when they first arrived. Tony didn’t like this. The girl looked down, blinking away any emotion and keeping her voice soft.
“I can’t believe it. He won…”
“I could’ve prevented this-” Tony sighed shakily, thoughts running through his head. His father really was right. He tried so damn hard to prove his worst enemy wrong, and yet in the end he still got swallowed by his words.
Tony suddenly stood up, wiping his tears with his sleeve, and glaring at the spot where Thanos disappeared.
“If he’s gonna kill everyone, he’s going down with them.”
“I’m gonna kill him for taking my son.”
