An Iron Man Doesn't Need Therapy

Prologue

Everything was a blur.

They collapsed onto the ground, Tony pinning Peter on top of him.

Chills went down Tony's spine. This was absolutely. Fucking. Unreal.

He clutched the boy's skinny body, his hands gripping onto his shoulders oh-so-tightly to prevent the unpreventable. It wasn't happening. It couldn't be. Tears stung at the corners of his eyes, but he was sure it wasn't from the smell of burning metal.

There was a tense pause of silence. A soft breeze ruffled their hair in a lazy, relaxed manner, contrasting with the scene before them. Peter's eyes lay fixed to the sky, glassy and shining.

Kid, look at me, Tony screamed in his head. Anything to tell me you're still there.

As if he had read Tony's mind, Peter turned his head and faced him. His youthful eyes locked Tony's, filled with a myriad of emotions. Yet the sight only made his chest tighten more as he realized the emotions were now directed at him. What kind of mess had Tony dragged him into? Peter's lips barely parted as he whispered two words that made Tony's heart shatter.

"I'm sorry."

For what? Tony wanted to ask, shaking the boy into existence. What are you sorry for?

But he remained frozen in place as he watched the boy fade away. He wanted to scream at every single piece of ash to come back, to get the hell back onto Titan, yet every piece disintegrated and curled up like smoke. But at the same time, he still didn't believe the boy was truly gone.

But that was when reality struck him. Hard.

Tony's heart was clobbering in his chest as he grabbed at the small bits of ash blowing away in the wind. He cupped his hands, but the ash simply went through the small cracks in them.

He stood up, looking around. Around him was the ash, everywhere. The remnants of people who had once been loved. Every speck of ash had history, their own upbringing, their own friends, their own hopes and dreams, failures and victories, happy and sad moments alike. The gravity of it all rooted Tony to the ground. But it all flew up towards the sky like it was worthless and meant nothing.

Suddenly, Tony's suit felt very heavy, his knees giving way as he sat down on one of the ruins. He could feel Nebula's eyes burning through him, calculating, but he didn't care what other people thought of him right now.

"He did it," Nebula muttered. Tony shook his head, closing his eyes, trying to get rid of the memory.

Peter Parker... Oh, the boy had nerve. Always full of vine references, mundane jokes, and full of crude humor. Tony could barely stand the boy. But something about his death was unsettling.

Peter hadn't even spent a full day as an Avenger.

He had only spent a few hours in his new suit. He hadn't tried out the upgraded web grenades. Or the small, fun things Tony had put into his suit. Things he was sure Peter would've loved.

Titan was inhabitable at night... everyone knew that. Tony was willing to stay for Peter though. He was willing to mourn the deaths lost that day. He didn't care if he died; that was only an added bonus. No one like him deserved a chance to live.

That was when he made a vow to never be too soft on himself. The wind was starting to howl now, the alien sun continuing to sink beyond the horizon. It tainted the sky a sickening red, tantalizing him as if it were daring Tony to stay on the planet for a minute longer. He knew he couldn't, of course. Nebula was already telling him to hurry up, but his feet felt like lead as he walked towards the smaller spaceship.

Neither of them said anything, too shocked in their own grief. Nebula wordlessly pressed buttons and levers that would autopilot to wherever destination they were going to.

"Earth, right?"

Tony nodded, sighing. "If there's even anything to go back to."

The woman hummed in sympathy as she punched a few more buttons. The engine flared to life and Tony felt the ground rumble below him.

The spaceship took flight, lifting them off the ground and scattering more ash around them. Tony stared at the pieces as blood roared violently in his ears. Somewhere in there was Peter, goddamnit. He bolted to the window, sticking his face to the window as he watched the ground become smaller and smaller. He couldn't breathe. They were leaving everyone behind.

The planet was already fading into the horizon when Tony finally managed to choke out a strangled breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He had so many things he wanted to say. It wasn't fair. There wasn't enough time.

The planet was fading from view when Tony was finally able to manage to utter words. He only said three, however. The three which would've been enough if the words had been uttered earlier, but was too late now. No matter how many words he said, what he did, no one would be around to hear him. Yet, a part of him felt like the boy's presence was next to Tony.

"I'm sorry too."

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I'm sorry it's short, I'm basically trying to recap what had happened at the end of infinity war lol the next chapter is when the story begins

Edit: I did edit this intro a bit, so it may look a little different :)