Tony exited the elevator, rubbing his forehead.

"Hey, he'll be fine." Natasha Romanoff approached him and gave him a tight hug. They broke the hug and went over to the common room, with the rest of the Avengers in there. They all had blank expressions on their face, after hearing the news.

"Tony, you know that kid the most. You should know that he's strong. He'll make it way through this." Steve Rogers, his best friend, comforted him. Tony just nodded and went into the kitchen area to grab a snack. He pulled out an orange and bottle of water, trying to be healthy after being yelled at constantly to change his diet. He peeled the orange peel off and sighed into his cupped hands.

"Hey Tones, it's gonna be okay." Natasha rubbed his back. She was always there for Tony. Always the first one to know a secret or problem he had. She was the first in the group to know about Peters aunt.

"I know, it's just a lot going on." Tonys eyes stayed focused on the half peeled orange.

"Does the kid know? That his aunt is..." Nats voice trailed off, avoiding saying the worst.

"No, no, not yet. I'll tell him soon." That was a lie. Tony knew he could never tell anyone something like that, especially if it's Peter.

"Well you better tell him soon before social services find him. I don't think that kid would want to know his aunt was dead this entire time while he's also being put into some adoption place." Bucky called from the couch. He was being held in Sam Wilson's arms, even though SHIELD specifically said no relationships with co-workers. Bucky would always respond with 'We aren't co-workers, we are a family!', but with with his logic, that meant you date your family. Besides the fact that Bucky made no sense, they all agreed with 'not being co-workers'. They've been through everything together. Pain, celebration, achievements, happiness, sadness. They were more than co-workers.

The whole thought of family caused ideas to burst in Tonys brain.

"Nat, I need to talk to you in my lab." She gave Tony an odd look and followed him into his lab.

•

"Okay, I have an idea, it's about Peter." Tony started right as the passed the glass doors to his lab.

"You want to adopt him? Or become his legal guardian? Which one? I can't tell yet."Natasha asked with a little sarcasm. Tony gave her a confused and a 'what the fuck' look. She just rolled her eyes and laughed.

"I am a spy, and you're one of my best friends. Don't be surprised." Tony rolled his eyes and playfully glared.

"Okay, so do you think it would be a good idea? Be honest. I mean, I got enough money to support him. This is a safe place for him, I think."

"Tony, I don't think it's a good idea. To be honest, you would be a terrible father, but you love that kid so much and he does too, so, yeah I mean you would be a good father." She gave a warm smile.

"What is that supposed to mean? First I'm gonna be bad, then I'm good?"

"Tony, I think it's a good idea for Peters sake, but you're going to need to work on your fatherhood skills." Tony nodded and left the lab, Natasha following close behind.

When they got back to the common room, most of the group was gone, probably getting ready for bed. The only ones left were Sam and Bucky, but asleep on top of each other, Clint FaceTiming his family and Wanda Maximoff reading a book on the green sofa.

"I'm going to head to bed." Tony left everyone and into the elevator. He pressed a button, and the machinery whirred in the silence. Once he got to his destination he walked down the hallway. As he went by Peters room, he peeked in quietly to make sure Peter was okay. He was just sleeping in his warm bed peacefully. He smiled and slowly closed his door. Tony continued down the hallway and into his room. He slid his shirt off and went into his bathroom. After undressing himself more, he started a steamy shower. As he stepped in, the hot water burned at first, but then sent a wave of relaxation through him.

He finished the shower and dried himself. He threw on sweatpants and a hoodie, then sitting on bed. He was typing away at his laptop, trying to distract him from the whole deal that happened. He obviously wasn't as close to May as Peter was, but there was a lot that wasn't going to be in his life. The tight bear hugs he received from her whenever Peter came home from staying at the facility while May was away. The dumb little puns and jokes she made that he could tell Peter got all of his humor from her. The awkwardness he would feel after May scolded Peter for something. His eyes began to water, but he immediately wiped the  tears that would fall. He sniffed and shut the top of his laptop, darkening his room.

After letting out a long sigh, he lay himself down under the cover, trying to sleep. Every time he tried closing his eyes, they would slowly open up back again. Tony wasn't really the one to know strategies for sleeping. Being so generic, he started counted sheep in his brain, which only tired him out a bit. After reaching 365, he leaned over to the bed stand. He rummaged through a few things to find the perfect thing. A book his mother gave him. It was about a young boy who runs away after being told he was sick, and dying. He was tired of all the medications and doctor visits and just wanted to accomplish a goal, to climb a mountain- he always forgot the name, though.

After reading the book for a good few minutes, he began to feel tired, but didn't set the book down. While his vision blurred cause of how sleepy he was, he continued to read. Soon enough, he was fast asleep and the book was open to the last page, laying on his bead.

•

Tony woke with a jerk. His eyes flew open and he was catching his breath. Although he gets them quite a bit, nightmares are still terrifying for him. He let out a long sigh and turned over to see the time on a digital clock. It read 6:39AM and Tony sat up, stretching his back. He knew there would be no point in falling back asleep.

•

After a few minutes, Tony made his way out of his room and into the common room. After he left the elevator, he heard suspicious noises coming from the kitchen.

"Who's there?" Tony said, slightly shouting.

"It's just me, I-I don't know how this works." Peter was pressing random buttons on the coffee maker.

Peter, it's just Peter, Tony thought.

"Hey, what are you doing up so early?" Tony ran over to the teen, who's hair was all messed up and wearing sweats.

"School?"

"No, no, Pete, I don't want you going to school today." He shook his head, wondering why Peter would want to go to school after all that happened.

"Why? I gotta see my friends, and do school stuff, and then I'll go home to see-" his voice cracked.

"Pete," tears formed on Peters eyes and tony brought him into a tight hug.

"I don't know if May is alive and, and I just want to know that she is alive. But the more I think about it, the more I think she's dead." Tony knew he could never tell the news to Peter, but he had to.

"I need to tell you something, let's go sit down on the couch." Peter nodded and they went over to the couch.

"Um, about May." Peters face immediately went to worried. He leaned forward just a bit, and tensed up.

"She didn't make it, I am so sorry." Tony shook his head, looking down. All Peter did was sit there, absorbing the words he just said.

"She- shes dead?" Peter asked, holding in a sob.

"I'm afraid so, kid." Peter didn't reply, instead he let out a sob and cling onto Tony for a hug. The crying would get loud, then calm down, and then repeat. Tony wasn't the one to cope and help people with their emotions, but since Peter was technically his son to him, father-like instincts kicked in.

"Shh, Peter, it's alright. I'm here for you." Tony would whisper when the sobs were quieter.

After about an hour, the crying had stopped and Peter laid his head on Tonys shoulder.

There were no more tears for Peter to let out. Besides the time Uncle Ben died, he has never cried harder than he did today.

Tony was rubbing circles on the kids back, while Peter breathed shakily.

"You should get some rest, right now." Tony broke the silence.

"Hm?" Peter looked up.

"I doubt you got much sleep last night, and since you woke up so early, I can understand that you're tired."

"No, no, I'm fine, I'll just," Peter stopped for a second, "I don't know what to do." He stared blankly at Tony.

"Peter, it's fine. I won't leave the room until you are awake. If you get scared or have any nightmares, you'll wake up around the people who love you the most." Peter nodded and slowly and hesitantly fell down onto the couch. Tony pulled out a big and fluffy blanket out of a basket and covered Peter with it. He sat next to Peter and grabbed a magazine someone left that was on a coffee table. Tony kept a hand on Peters shin, for him to know that Tony was there the entire time.

Within minutes, Peter was out, but Tony stayed in the same spot, reading articles and glancing at Peter every now and then.

Uh okay I'm not so proud of this chapter, sorrryyyy😞 but better ones are on your way!