Post-Endgame

You thought you had me

Full title, bc it wouldn't fit: You thought you had me, you thought that I was done but I'm stronger up against the ropes.

The gauntlet was in his grasp. Red and gold, such familiar colours, along with the ethereal glow of the stones. He took a deep breath as he raised his hand, the shocked look on the face of the titan giving him more satisfaction than anyone could know. And in that moment, he remembered it all.

He remembered the moment on Titan, after Peter had faded to ash in his arms- after his kid had died. He'd sat alone, fighting back tears, knowing that they'd lost, lost, lost. Thanos hadn't just snapped half of the universe away to dust, he'd snapped away half of Tony's universe.

Peter, the kid, his kid, was gone. Tony didn't even know if Rhodey or Pepper we're still alive. The Guardians, who'd helped him up on Titan; they, too, were gone.

The sorcerer, who Tony had found infuriating at first, was gone too. Funnily enough Tony actually wanted him back, for their snarky banter to start up again. He wanted the Guardians back, with that dumb, annoying Quill guy and that clueless alien with the antenna and that large, muscular one he'd threatened when he'd thought Quill was going to kill Peter.

He wanted anyone, someone. Just to know he wasn't alone. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to find himself staring into the eyes of a female, blue, robotic alien.

"You have lost your friends," came her voice, distinctly feminine with a robotic edge. "I have lost my family."

"I lost my... my kid," Tony replied, voice raw, tears stinging at his eyes again.

"I can transport you home," the female alien offered, and Tony gave her a weak smile.

"Thanks."

Then he was remembering the early days, where they thought that maybe they had a chance, that maybe if they just found Thanos and the stones it could all be reversed.

He remembers arriving back to earth to find a small portion of the Avengers, alive and well, and oh god Pepper. She was there. She was alive.

And Rhodey, too- he hadn't lost as much of his family as he'd feared. He met Carol, who was insisting they find a way to fix everything, to bring back Fury. Natasha told him about the encounter with Thanos, and then Steve showed up and anger rose in Tony, old anger, long buried anger.

An argument burst out, ending with Tony ripping the arc reactor from his chest before he passed out.

And then he was remembering the life he built with Pepper, his daughter, his family. He was constantly missing Peter, but he didn't dare risk his wife or his daughter to try again to return those who were snapped.

Then he was remembering finding the answer to time travel. The journey they'd taken to get to this point. Seeing his past self. Speaking to his dad.

Most importantly, getting the kid back. Getting to give him a hug, a way to try and express how much he cared for him before he had to get back into the battle.

And now here he was. Gauntlet raised, stones in hand. Ready to end it once and for all.

"I am... Iron Man."

Then he snapped his fingers, and the world went dark.