SPIDER-MAN IMAGINES

3000 (part two) | Peter Parker [TH] / Tony Stark

surprise, guess what i came up with

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The summer air was borderline suffocating, and other than the soft blow of the wind through the trees and the sound of the lake, outside of your home was silent.

"So how are you doing?" Peter asked.

You inhaled. "I, uh... I'm..." You looked at him and shrugged. "I mean - I don't know. I feel like - like I got cheated out of saying goodbye. I mean, I come back after five years, and then it's just over. I have to say goodbye right then and there. I keep thinking... that I wish it was me that grabbed the stones. I should've..."

"Don't say that," he said. He reached over and grabbed your hand. 

"Peter-"

"Hey," he said seriously, and he leaned in and looked at you. "I need you to listen to me. If I lost you-" He shook his head. "I just... I can't lose you. I can't."

You squeezed his hand. "You're not going to, Pete." 

He waited for a moment and then nodded. You kept looking at him as he leaned in and pressed his lips to the side of your head. You shut your eyes. 

"You and I have a chance to start over. And I know it isn't the way you want to start over, but... it's what we got. So can you promise me that you'll try to see the good things?"

Even though your heart wasn't in it, you nodded in agreement. 

"I'm not trying to erase your grief or anything. I unders-"

You put a finger on his lips. "Peter, I know. I don't think you're doing anything wrong." 

"Okay." He pulled your hand away and held that one, too. "I need to go pick up Ned. We've got practice again."

"Right," you said. You let him hug you. "Text me, okay?"

"I will. I love you." He stood up. 

"I love you too, Pete," you whispered, and you smiled as he left. You watched him get in his car and pull away.

Finally alone, you spent ten minutes outside, just taking in the silence and thinking. 

You pulled open the screen door, expecting to hear the vaccum running upstairs, Pepper cooking dinner, or Morgan banging together parts to make an Iron Man suit. But there was silence.

You stood at the base of the stairs. "Hey, Pep? Morgan? Happy? Anyone here?" you called, but there was nothing.

No note on the fridge, no text. Nothing.

"FRIDAY, you're here, right?" you asked aloud.

"Sure am," she replied.

"Great. So am I alone? Like, where's my family?"

"Just you and me, miss," she said. 

You breathed in deeply, "Okay. Where are they?"

She paused for a beat. "There's a package left for you on your bed, Miss ___."

"Oh." You started up the stairs. "Thank you, FRIDAY."

"Of course."

You walked into your bedroom, expecting to see a cardboard box or a white packaging envelope. But that wasn't what was there.

On top of your made bed was a helmet. An Iron Man helmet. One of your dad's.

You sat down on the side of your bed. Hooking your fingers underneath the cool metal, you examined it. Did Pepper just want you to keep one of your dad's things? Did she think you'd want it?

Your fingers graced over the side of the mask, and the eyes of it sparked with life. You jumped slightly as a projection shot out of it.

"Is this thing rolling? Yeah? Good. Okay. Here we go."

Your eyes were already filling with tears. "Daddy," you breathed.

There he was, sitting in front of you in a chair. Like he was really there. You wanted to reach out and touch him, but it would only ruin the illusion.

"Hey, ___," he said, "I needed to say some things to you, since I said some to your little sister. Who, of course, you're gonna just love. She's... she's like you. She's somethin' else.

"Now you might've thought I'd forgotten you, or that Morgan may of been a way to replace what I... what I lost when you vanished. I didn't. She's not. In fact, I literally never gave up the hope that you were alive. Never. I stopped talking about it, sure, but that's because everyone else in the world talked about it enough.

"I do have to admit that it is strange, ya know, talking to you like you're here and not like I have been missing you for five years. God, it's been so long since I've seen your face. But I know we'll get you back. How do I know that? I'm Iron Man." He held up his hands.

You laughed through your tears, pressing your hand to your mouth.

"And I don't even have to see you to know that you just laughed. You just love my smug arrogance." He stood up off the chair he was sitting on and knelt down right in front of you. "I can't wait to see you again, honey. I'm doing all of this for you and for Morgan. And in the chance I lose my life trying to save the world for my little girls, just know that it's worth it. God, is it worth it."

He smiled at you. You felt your heart shatter in your chest. You struggled to blink your tears away so you could see your dad before he flickered away.

"I love you, honey. I love you so much. Three thousand, like Morgan will probably tell you. And I'm going to bring you back." He flashed a grin and blew you a kiss, just like he did when you were little.

You blew one right back and then he vanished. Dropping your hands in your lap, you smoothed your palms across the front of your jeans, then looked up at the ceiling. 

"Did you know this was the package?" you asked FRIDAY. 

"Yes. But Ms. Potts suggested I let it be a surprise," she said. 

You turned your head to the doorway. Pepper was standing there, smiling through her own tears. Morgan had her hand and was staring at you with her big brown eyes.

"Pep," you whispered, standing up. You stumbled over to her and she caught you in a tight hug. "Thank you." 

She brushed her fingers through your hair. Morgan wrapped her thin arms around your leg, gaining your attention. You dropped down and lifted her up into the air, letting her wrap her legs around your waist and grab onto your shoulders. She giggled and Pepper kissed her on the top of the head, then kissed you on yours. 

"Both of you will always be your daddy's girls," she said, "and mine, too."