Tony's kids oneshots

🔵 seeing you slip away 🔵

((Part 5, the final of 🔵 hearing a heart stop 🔵))

Harley didn't know when he started pacing, he didn't know when Pepper got there, he didn't know when Ned started screaming that Peter can't leave him now, he didn't know when he started to cry.

The only thing he knew is that he felt like he had been in that room for days, when it had barely been an hour.

And when the heart monitor sped up and stopped abruptly... well...

Harley's whole world shattered. His heart shattered into a million pieces as he started to drown in tears and emotions he couldn't control. The realisation of the fact he would never have a brother again hit him like a truck and his entire body went numb with the pure agony his heart felt. This wasn't happening.

That night, he dreamt of Peter and Tony. Tony led Peter away into the light as Harley watched from a window, the two of them smiling and waving.

And that's all Harley needed to remember that now, Peter would be okay. He would finally fit in again. With Tony, with his parents, with uncle Ben and aunt May.

And no, it didn't make it any better or help him to move on or accept it. It didn't make the grieving process any easier.

But it gave him the strength to carry on.

He knew he had to.

Not only for Tony and Peter, but for Morgan and Pepper and Ned and MJ. The people who made it this far. He had to be there for them and for himself.

After Peter's funeral, he played the video on Peter's phone. He looked at peace, like he knew what was coming and had accepted it.

"Hiya, Harls. If you find this, if you come looking... I'm sorry. This is... much harder than you would think. I don't know how dad was able to think of what to say. I'm trying to... say anything that comes to mind. Just, know that... I love you. And I could never ask for a better brother. Everyone wants a happy ending, but like dad said, it doesn't always roll that way. And it would be an understatement to say that my ending wasn't happy. But that's okay, because I'm hoping that this isn't my ending. And that's not some crappy afterlife shit, but... I hope I leave something behind. Some type of legacy. As Spider-Man, a hero and an inspiration, or as Peter Stark, a brother and a nerd. There's something surreal about all of this... something that I can't quite wrap my head around. The... feeling of knowing what's coming but not being sad about it. When other people die it's... horrible and depressing and you want to hide under the covers until  the sun goes away, but when it's you.. it's easier. I haven't felt this kind of peace... ever, actually. And it's nice. I'm rambling, so I'll try to wrap this up. Tell mom I'm sorry and tell Morgan I miss her. And give Ned the spider suit.... These past three years have been difficult but this is how I'm gonna move on and I hope that you can forgive me. I've been holding on to a rope that is about to split for way too long now, so I'm taking the easy way out. I'll miss you forever and always, but... just know that... I'm gonna stand by you. Even on your darkest days, you know that I'll never change, I'll love you the same. No matter where I am. Part of the journey is the end, love you all three thousand!" Peter smiled in the video. A true and genuine smile despite the one tear that fell down his cheek as he waved and ended the recording, and Harley sobbed. He was so pure, so innocent. How could this world take him?!

He hadn't felt this before, this numbness. But.... he could also feel a tiny fraction of the calmness that Peter had described.

Gravity pulled him down as he collapsed to the floor, unable to stand. The weight unbearable. But he knew that despite the fact he was alone in his room, physically alone... he knew that the metaphorical weight that Peter loved and lived by with his whole heart wasn't something he had to carry alone. Because even though Peter was gone, he still carried that weight with Harley. He still held it up and kept both of them going, even if he wasn't really there.

And Harley hated metaphors like that, but this one... it was.... a family heirloom. That metaphor was a part of them all.

And Harley knew that he'd be okay.