This took a bit longer to update than intended- apologies! Hope you enjoy all the same, pretty chill chapter, an overall lead up to the climax kinda deal.


The talk had been much longer than Stark had anticipated, he didn't really know what he was expecting to happen. Obviously Aunt May was very upset, she had every right to be.

Tony mentally kicked himself every time she started to cry and hug Peter. His tired mind was plagued with guilt, what right did he think he had to keep this from her? Why had he waited so long to tell her about this serious situation?

The more he thought about it, the more he tried to reason with himself. He hadn't been thinking that night or the couple of days following the kid's attempt- that much was true. To be fair, his judgment was a little clouded at the time, he had been just as worried and upset as Aunt May was presently. It only made sense that his actions and decisions in that time weren't the most thought out. However, it was still no excuse, this was the kid's legal guardian for crying out loud! Tony should have known better, he knew that all too well.

Finally, after three hours of explaining, expressing and venting, things dissipated as Aunt May took a deep breath. "I am ok with you staying here Peter, if the psychiatrist said that you would benefit more here than home or a regular hospital then so be it…I just want you to be ok, understand me?" She took her emotionless nephew's face in her hands, her eyes brimming with tears, Peter had not cried once the entire conversation making both adults feel on edge.

Peter could not look her in the eye, he hadn't the whole three hours. "I'm going to try to get better, for you-"

"No Peter. No…you have to get better for yourself- use me as motivation but please…please do this for yourself. You are such a talented young man, I wish you could see that Peter! I-I would give anything for you to see that!"

As May's voice neared hysteria, Tony decided to step in, "The psychiatrist wanted to have a family meeting tomorrow, she can explain all this a lot better than I can.…but if it's any comfort, I can guarantee this place is and will be the safest place for Peter to be. I also have a room that you can stay in tonight if you would like- so you wouldn't have to deal with the drive in the morning."

May nodded, a sad and exhausted smile graced her reddened face, "Of course, I'll need to call my coworker and trade shifts with her so I can be here but- that's no trouble at all. This is worth it."

Peter shrunk down in his seat, feeling the all too familiar guilt creep into his mind. 'Great job idiot, not only did you make her cry the entire night, but you have managed to mess with her schedule too. You aren't worth it at all, they are all blind.'

"Right. Well, it's getting late and I kind of promised the psych lady that Peter would get at least eight hours of sleep-so! I'll show you to your rooms." Tony made it a point to drop Peter off at his room first, the room was directly in between the guest bedroom where May would sleep and Tony's room. "Here you are kid, need anything before you head to bed?"

The teen solemnly shook his head as he entered the room, saying goodnight with mock happiness then softly shutting the door- not before Tony and May both assured him he could come to either of them at any point if he needed them.

May immediately looked over at Tony when the door shut, "Ok, now can we really talk?"

He nodded, fully expecting to have another hour-long conversation. "Let's talk here." Tony led May to a random block of hallway far enough from Peter's room so he couldn't hear- even with his super hearing. They sat on the leather sofas, both adults looked out the massive glass window, to the busy streets and city lights below.

May broke, "I tried. I tried so damn hard to get him the help he needed. I saw him going down but kept telling myself that he would be ok! That everything would work out! I had no idea he was experiencing so much death and…and hate. I don't know what I was expecting, especially with the knowledge of him being Spiderman. I was too naïve, and look where it got him…has he been like this since you…since you caught him?"

Tony forced himself to look into the emotional woman's eyes, he was hesitant, but he knew that he needed this talk as much as she did. As uncomfortable as emotions were, he hadn't had anyone to turn to at all since the incident took place. With Pepper traveling, Happy having his own errands to run for Pepper, and Bruce running around keeping Stark's med bay in check, the man had not had a single soul to confide in.

Those were excuses not to talk about it though, he internally knew that any one of those people would drop everything and be there for him if he needed them. That was not in Tony's nature though, and in truth he wouldn't be talking about it now if he didn't have to, but he did, so he decided to just let go and tell the one other person that likely felt the same and worse.

"There are tiny moments where he is Peter again, they are rare and have been rare. He gets frustrated really easily, mostly with himself. Any tiny feeling of guilt or flaw sends him reeling again."

May nodded, "He wasn't himself last week…he was so quiet, and anytime I brought it up he insisted that he was tired. I believed him! Mostly because he looked like death, his therapist insisted it would pass but…obviously she was wrong."

Stark scoffed, "yea- looked her up, really can't believe she is even certified with her past."

A small broken voice made Tony instantly regret his wording, "It was the best I could do…"

Tony looked over quickly as he heard May's voice crack again, his discomfort level rose considerably. Damn. He wasn't good at this, none of this was in his field of knowledge at all. He sensed he would be a fucking expert by the end of it though.

He quickly changed the subject to a more positive note, "I'm really impressed you even got him to go to therapy- that's a feat in itself. You did do the best you could, honestly that is probably what kept him at bay a lot longer."

May wiped away her tears once more, her make up now non- existent. "How have you been holding up?"

"I- well…" What a great question, he hadn't really had time to think about it. It had been survival, bookings and appointments ever since Peter's injuries had cleared up, the man had stayed by the kid's side most of the past couple of days now. It had only taken a day for Peter's broken nose to heal, his wrists and ankle had only taken a few hours before they were back in full use-

"Mr. Stark?" Mays voice snapped the tired man's drifting.

"Hm? Oh- I've been alright. Just want him to feel better."

The same sad smile appeared making Tony squirm, he understood why Peter was so secretive towards his Aunt now, it hurt his soul to see her so defeated. He felt like he was under a magnifying glass, like she could see right through him.

"You and Peter are very much alike you know." With that she got up and half stretched, "You need sleep-I'm going to go make a few calls before it gets too late, goodnight Mr. Stark- and thank you. I know I was furious at first but…he trusts you so much, if anyone can help him through this I think it's you. I am thankful he has a male role model to look up to."

With that she was gone, leaving Stark to sink down into the sofa overlooking the city, her words stormed in his mind.

'Of all fucking role models to have, he picks the most unqualified man in New York City to follow. I mean, I knew he looked up to me, but this is completely different. He needs me…I have to follow through. Don't fuck this up Stark.'

As he reflected on the conversation, he wondered briefly why in the hell May had ended it so quickly. She was bound to have a lot more questions- however, now that he thought about it, he could only imagine how awful he looked from lack of sleep. She had pity on him for tonight, besides, there would be plenty of time for questions in the morning he supposed.

So with that, Tony went to his room to attempt to get rest, hesitating at Peters door, resisting the urge to check in on the kid even though it had only been half an hour ago he said goodnight. He decided to pass, he had extensive amounts of cameras in all the rooms of the building anyways, the kid would be fine.

Meanwhile, unbeknown to anyone in the penthouse, Peter Parker successfully fished out a small blade in the extra jeans May had brought him from home. His hands shook as he went to his personal bathroom, knowing there were likely cameras everywhere he decided to wait as he stashed it away under the bathroom sink in a small crevice. He would have to assess his new situation before letting himself give in to the one thing he firmly believed would hold his sanity these next few weeks.

It was a big risk, the teen knew that if he got caught with this small piece of metal alone he would never get any alone time whatsoever. Not to mention being stuck in confinement even longer than before.

'That won't happen.' Was Peter Parkers last thought as he drifted to sleep, confident the next few weeks were going to go smoothly.


The next morning came early for everyone, no one felt they got any sleep, the nine hours that had passed begged to differ.

After a rushed breakfast, May, Tony and Peter found themselves sitting in a rather large room, Stark had insisted they not be in the same crammed room. Opting instead for what usually was the massive room he held most of his press meetings at. Instead of fifty seats lined across the room though, there were four very well cushioned chairs, a small coffee table centered between the four chairs.

The meeting was strangley mundane with talks of therapies, groups, staffing, just a general run down of everything. Until the medication issue came back up, to which May swiftly left in the doctors hands.

"I would like to see if therapy will be enough for now, but the moment you think he really could benefit and still function with medication? I am fine with that as long as he is." May finished. She and Peter shared a look in that moment, an appreciative one, Tony was astounded by her reasoning. "Depression runs in the family, I know therapy can't fix it all, there is still a chemical imbalance so…let's just take it slow."

From there the meeting wrapped up, everyone seemed to be on the same page by the end of it and even Peter seemed a little more at ease with everything that was said.

Tony shoulders relaxed a little as the meeting concluded, maybe, just maybe, things would work out easier than planned.