Hey!

So since I got such good reception with the oneshot, I decided I might try and make a little collection of oneshots and arcs that have fatherly!Tony and son!Peter! So here's another oneshot so I can see what you all think!

This oneshot's a bit shorter than the first, sorry about that x.x

Disclaimer's on my prof.!

Enjoy!

Tony had been honestly surprised when, upon exiting the elevator on the top floor of the tower, he found Peter sitting on the long couch in the livingroom.

It wasn't that this never happened, quite the opposite in fact. Peter would regularly drop by the tower for a quick visit while he was on patrol, even the other inhabitants of the tower, such as Rhodey and Natasha, had become used to the young hero dropping in.

But something was different this time.

With his mask laying beside him on the couch, Peter had his knees hugged to his chest and his dark eyes were distant and sad. He looked so much...smaller, than he usually was.

"Kid?" The boy didn't appear to hear him, so Tony tried again as he approached. "Peter?"

The teen gave a start, head snapping up and sharp eyes fixing onto Tony's questioning face. Peter's cheeks flared red, and he quickly popped up from the couch, turning to face Tony fully. Now, with the boy directly facing him, Tony could see that Peter's cheeks were damp and his big brown eyes were watery.

He'd been crying, Tony realized with a nauseating sense of dread.

What was he supposed to do? Tony'd never been the type to comfort another, let alone a fifteen-year-old superteen.

"I-I, uh..." Peter hurriedly wiped the tear trails from his cheeks. "S-sorry, for, um, coming here without letting you know." The teen apologized hurriedly, stumbling over his own words. "I just...I...I didn't know where else to go." He admitted, sounding and appearing defeated as he looked down, toeing the ground.

Tony took in the slump of the youth's thin shoulders and the posturing that positively oozed a dangerous mix of frustration and depression. Slowly, Tony moved to the nearby kitchenette and deposited the case of paperwork in his hand onto one of the counters, taking the few seconds of silence that he afforded himself to figure out how exactly to broach this situation. The man turned back to Peter, approaching the boy.

"What happened, Pete?" He asked, surprising even himself with how gentle his voice was. His tone seemed to set Peter more at ease as the young hero relaxed slightly and looked relieved to not be in trouble for entering the tower uninvited. This change in Peter's posture thanks to his tone were encouraging to Tony. He could do this, he told himself. He just had to tread carefully.

Peter shifted from foot-to-foot uneasily, seeming nervous as he glanced up at Tony's face before quickly looking away. Tony frowned slightly, reaching forward and touching the teen's shoulder, making Peter flinch. Tony bent his head slightly to try and meet Peter's eye.

"Spidey?"

For the barest of seconds, Peter's lower lip wavered, and Tony realized that the source of the boy's troubles must've stemmed from something that had happened while as is alter-ego, Spiderman.

"I couldn't save him."

Oh.

Oh.

Now it made perfect sense.

Every superhero was fated to have that one battle where they couldn't save someone. A person they loved or a random stranger, it didn't matter. That first time where you couldn't reach someone in time. Peter had only been in the business for seven and a half months, and it seemed that his time had finally come.

He'd been unable to protect someone and they had died.

"...Why don't we sit down." Tony finally managed, trying to ignore the lead-heavy feeling in his chest.

Peter nodded hesitantly, letting the man guide him back to the couch. The two heroes sat beside one another, close enough that their knees were just barely touching. Resting his elbows on his knees and threading his fingers together, Tony watched Peter carefully, waiting for the boy to start talking. It didn't take long.

"There was a carjacking." Peter started, voice barely more than a murmur. "I was chasing them down, and I managed to get them into a construction zone- the one on Fifth street? No one was there, they'd ripped up the road there and so it was all just empty dirt. I thought...I thought it'd be safe..." The teen paused, having to swallow a lump in his throat as he blinked back tears. "B-but there was this guy there, he...he was o-only twenty, only f-five years older than me...He was there w-with an R.C car, driving it around, a-and the carjacker's lost control of t-the car..."

Peter's voice cracked, and he bit his lip, squeezing his eyes shut and burying his face in his hands.

"I c-can't get it o-out of my head! I k-keep seeing the car just...Jus hitting-"

"Easy there, kid." Tony found himself soothing the boy, wrapping an arm around wracking shoulders.

"I couldn't save h-him!" Peter managed through choked sobs. "I-I'm supposed to b-be there for p-people, supposed to p-protect them..!"

"Even heroes can't save everyone, Peter." Tony stated, voice uncharacteristically soft. "There's not a hero out there who hasn't been unable to save someone. Even I've had to go through that."

"That doesn't make it any better!" Peter snapped, jolting up to his feet so suddenly that Tony gave a slight start. Peter ran his hands through his hair frustratedly. "I should've tried harder! I should've done...done something!"

Tony grimaced. Peter, for only having been a hero for seven months or so, was amazing. He was smart, strong and brave, yet he thought he should've worked harder. Problem was the kid already put one-hundred percent of his effort in everything he did, it would be impossible for him to work any harder than he already was. Mulling over how to go about this, Tony finally spoke.

"How many people would've gotten hurt or killed if you hadn't gotten those carjackers into that construction sight?" Peter turned to look at the genius, startled. He opened his mouth, but Tony sent him a look while pointing at him. "And don't say you don't know, 'cause that's a lie and you know it. I've seen your I.Q scores, and I know you've done the math. So tell me, how many?"

Peter pursed his lips, glancing away.

"...Considering it was at rush hour...And...And at the speed they were going at...More than thirty people could've been hurt. Half of that number would've been probably killed, considering how many crashes the carjackers would've caused..."

Tony nodded in acceptance of this, standing and moving over to Peter. He hesitated, but quickly steeled his resolve and took hold of Peter's shoulders. The boy looked up at him, startled.

"Kid...Peter. You did what had to be done. Sometimes being the hero means you have to make the tough decisions- probably some of the toughest decisions of your life. You didn't know that there was someone at that construction sight, and I know you definitely didn't go there planning to let those carjackers kill someone." Peter looked unsure, and Tony's grip tightened slightly in a show of support. "I know you, kid. You do everything you can to make sure that people are safe and protected. This wasn't your fault, it was those idiot carjackers. Pete, you can't save everyone- its statistically impossible, if you want to be logical about it. But every life that you do save, that you do protect, thats what makes it all worth it."

Tony felt Peter's shoulders go lax under his fingers, and the anger drained from the boy's face. Dark brown eyes turned down.

"I...Every time I blink, I see it...See that car and that guy..." A slightly nauseous look. "The blood..."

Tony grimaced.

"I wish I could say it gets better." He admitted. "If it did, I wouldn't be such an insomniac." Peter looked disheartened and Tony quickly continued, "But if you need someone to talk to, or just need to be around someone who gets it...Then I'm here for you, alright? You had my back during the whole airport fiasco, and I have your back now, got it?"

Peter smiled, the expression somewhat watery, and nodded.

"Got it."

Tony smiled in return, patting the teen's shoulder. The genius was admittedly relieved that he'd managed to handle this situation so well. When it came to a hero's first time of being unable to save someone, the situation could go from bad to worse in the blink of an eye. That danger had been even more threatening considering Peter was a hormonal teenager.

Turning to the couch, Tony picked up Peter's discarded mask, examining it for a moment before tossing it to Peter. The boy caught it easily.

"Its getting pretty late, bug boy. Better get home before your Aunt begins to freak out."

Peter nodded, quickly wiping his cheeks and adopting a more normal, happier expression.

"Yeah. Knowing her, she'll file a missing report if I'm not back by seven."

Tony crossed his arms, grinning as he watched the teenaged hero pull on his mask and go to the balcony.

"See ya later, Mr. Stark!" Peter called back over his shoulder, slinging a web to a building across the street.

"Quit it with the 'Mr. Stark' thing!" Tony called after him, still smirking. "Its Tony!"

As he watched the young red and blue clad superteen swing off, Tony was hesitant to admit it...But that kid was really something special. At least to him.