Thank you for the comments so far! We move further into the Homecoming film...

Chapter 10

Tony was on his last day in India when he received a priority phone-call from Happy. He was in the middle of a festival celebrating something (honestly he hadn't really understood the significance but he went along with it because there was free drinks). When he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket he hadn't expected it to be Happy. He had instructed Friday to only route calls to him if they were from Pepper or were of the utmost emergency – unless they were from Ross. He could wait until Tony returned to the Compound.

Answering the call, he prepared himself for the worst. "What is it Happy?"

"It's the kid. He's done something stupid!" Happy said. "The tracker in the suit has gone haywire! And there have been reports of Spider-Man falling into people's gardens or pools and wrecking their rooftops as he chases after some van with advanced alien tech in it! I'm not sure if the tech thing is true…"

"Fuck…" Tony moaned. The kid had stumbled across some armed dealers who Tony had been trying to find for months, ever since they had started to personally mess with Damage Control and Stark Industries. "Where is he now?"

"Still chasing the van…" answered Happy. "Friday has managed to hack into traffic cameras. I think he's in big trouble, boss."

Tony ran a hand through his hair. Don't get stressed. Don't get stressed. He allowed the mantra to pass through his mind several times before he felt a sense of calmness settle in. He had to be calm if he was going to deal with this situation. "Okay. I'll activate the suit remotely from here. Just keep an eye on him before I get there."

He ended the call and quickly pulled out an ear-piece from his pocket, pressing a button on the side. There was a confirming bleep indicating a suitable wi-fi network had been found. Using his phone, Tony quickly logged into his secure server, activating his newest suit, MARK XLVII, the forty-seventh design.

"Friday, are you there?" he asked.

"I am, boss."

"Good. Pilot the suit to Peter's location," instructed Tony. He couldn't pilot the suit himself but he was able to give it actions when it wasn't in flight. Friday was capable of some degree of control of the suit but not much. Unlike JARVIS who had been able to control the suits if he needed to… Friday was still a young AI who didn't have enough experience to be able to take on the responsibilities of piloting a suit properly just yet. She just had basic controls.

He waited while the suit took flight. He knew what would happen next would look silly to the people around him but at the moment he didn't care. Peter's life was more important. If he was going to ruin his reputation by going after people he wasn't ready for… He swallowed. So much could potentially happen.

"I have him in sight, Boss. He has fallen into the river, entangled in the parachute."

Tony groaned. Now the kid was drowning. This wasn't his day at all.

"Get him out of there!"

"Sure thing!"

Tony waited for confirmation to come through from his AI that Peter was safe. When Friday confirmed she had rescued Peter, Tony directed the suit to the nearest park. Since it was late at night, it was unlikely to be populated. He and Peter could have a nice chat. The last thing he needed was for the kid to be killed when Tony was responsible for him. Granted, he had got him involved when he probably shouldn't have, but Peter had powers that were worthy to be trained. He would make an Avenger one day. This was all part of his training.

The kid woke up mid-flight and Tony instructed Friday to deposit the kid on the top of the monkey bars. He activated the remote camera hidden in his glasses, allowing him to see Peter sitting on the apparatus. Almost immediately, Peter began to wring out his facial mask, trying to get himself dry, moaning about the villains he had attempted to apprehend.

"And then he just like, swooped down like a monster… and picked me up, and took me up like a thousand feet and just dropped me." Peter glanced up at the suit floating in mid-air. "How did you find me?

Tony didn't answer, already knowing the kid would work it out.

"Did you put a tracker in my suit?"

Good thing he had done or Peter would have drowned. "I put everything in your suit." He held out a hand, which the suit mimicked. "I put everything in your suit. Including this heater. Friday activate heater in Suit Spidey One."

Instantly heat spread out from the cotton of Peter's suit. He was impressed by it. "That's better. Thanks."

But Tony was not here for playful banter. He was angry Peter had got involved in things beyond his capabilities. "What were you thinking?

Peter took on the defensive straight away. "The guy with the wings is the source of the weapons. I gotta take him down!"

Tony knew he had some fault in this. He had been trying his hardest to deal with the winged guy on the sly but he was quite a slippery fellow, succeeding in escaping each time the net had been closing around him. Whether it was luck or Tony's ability to plan ahead had finally run out…. He didn't know. "Take him down now, huh?" He did want to sigh. "There are people who handle this sort of thing."

"The Avengers?" Peter was hopeful.

Tony shook his head. "No. This is a little below their pay grade."

"Mr Stark, you didn't have to come out here. I had that. I was fine." The kid sounded so sure of himself.

It was heart breaking for Tony to hear that. You nearly died, kid. How am I supposed to live with that if you die? It will be my fault for giving you a responsibility you shouldn't have had. He didn't say anything like that though. This was a one-time offence. He could be light on Peter and hopefully the kid would learn not to interfere in things that were not his responsibility. "Oh, I'm not here."

He activated the suit's faceplate to move up which showered Peter the suit was empty.

Tony's arms were down by his front, as he looked around his surroundings at the Indians who were laughing and joking and drinking. "Thank god this place has Wi-Fi… or you would be toast right now." He held up a glass of wine. "Thank Ganesh while you're at it. Cheers." The cheers part was more directed at the people walking past him than at Peter. Then he decided to impart some wisdom to Peter, hoping the kid would take it without questioning him on it. "Look, forget the flying vulture guy, please."

"Why?" Peter was clearly adamant to continue his involvement.

Please don't let me become the angry dad, kid. "Why? Because I said so!" His voice had risen and a few people around him stopped and looked at him curiously. He waved them off sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm talking to a teenager. Stay close to the ground. Build up your game helping little people, like that lady that bought you the churro. Can't you just be a friendly… neighbourhood Spider-Man?"

"But I'm ready for more than that now!" insisted Peter.

"No, you're not." Because the kid wasn't. He started to move towards his bright yellow sports car.

"That's not what you thought when I took on Captain America!" the kid retorted angrily.

Tony sighed. "Trust me, kid, if Cap wanted to lay you out, he would've." Memories of Siberia sprung to the forefront. Tony resisted the urge to shudder. He could have been killed there. Though the nightmares he had once had about it had ceased, it was still a worry that the next time they met, Cap would try to kill him. "Listen to me. If you come across these weapons again, call Happy." He turned the ignition on the car, the sound of the engine revering up carried across his audio ear-piece and into the range of Peter's hearing.

"Are you driving?"

Tony ignored him. "You know, it's never too early to start thinking about college." Peter should be thinking more about his future. He was a smart kid that could have a bright future at Stark Industries if he applied himself to his current studies instead of involving himself in things that did not concern him. "I got some pull at MIT. End call."

The connection went dead and Tony drove off, hoping Peter had got the message he had been trying to impart, though he wasn't sure if he had come across that well.

Tony returned to the Compound the following evening where he caught up on his messages and found Ross had been trying to get in touch with him again. He just kept putting him on hold.

Happy gave him a list of updates on Peter, including all the numerous text messages and answering machine messages he had left. Tony's former chauffeur was getting fed up of his constant communication though he never replied. Tony almost felt sorry for him. Peter was keen but there was a point where you could become too keen and that would then interfere with Peter's academic potential.

Tony became more involved with Stark Industries, spending more time at the site in Malibu and staying at Pepper's apartment during the week then working in his lab at the Compound. Pepper had informed him she was planning on moving her SI office to New York so she and Tony could spend more time together. It was just a matter for the board to decide if it was feasible to allow her to do so. She had put in place a business plan and she intended to commute to Malibu for at least two days a week, to ensure she kept a foot in with the general workforce of the company.

When Tony could, if the plan was approved, he would accompany her on these two days.

The days did seem to fly by quickly and Tony worked on various projects. He was continuing to develop his B.A.R.F technology and he hoped to be able to fix it that it wouldn't give one migraines. Now that this therapy had started and finished, and he was employing the practices he had learned with the Guru, he was able to watch his last memories of his parents before they had left for that fateful trip. It didn't upset him and he was able to finally process his grief over their deaths.

He still intended to use B.A.R.F to help James Barnes but he couldn't just yet. He still needed to find a way in which it might be able to help supress the triggers used on the Winter Soldier to turn him into a mindless killing machine.

Still, he was making progress and his relationship with Pepper was getting stronger every day. Happy still kept the ring safe, but Tony knew the day was coming he would get down on one knee and propose to Pepper.

Their sex life was better than ever too. In the months that had been leading up to their split, it hadn't been as often as their lives took different directions. But now they were spending more and more time together, making more of an effort to be with one another and keep in contact, their sex life had certainly been quite spicy.

Of course, it hadn't helped, when Pepper had been using the gym, Tony had entered to find her in the tank top and shorts that had instantly turned him on. Poor Rhodey had been scarred by that particular incident, leading Rhodey to request Pepper and Tony keep it to their private quarters which was understandable.

It hadn't helped after being discovered in the gym, Tony and Pepper's desire for one another grew and they ended up spending the rest of the day in their quarters having sex.

It was here, laying naked in bed after Pepper had ridden him slowly and squeezed him until all his seed had spilled into her, that she finally asked him a question he had been dreading would come up. They'd never spoken of it before.

"Tony… do you want children?" she asked carefully.

Tony swallowed. He wasn't sure what to say. His silence spoke volumes but he tried to answer, to give her some consolation. "I don't think I'd be good dad material…"

"Is this about Howard?" asked Pepper.

Partially it was. "He wasn't a very good father… How can I be one when I never had a good role model growing up?"

"Because you will learn from his mistakes," she answered. "You know not to discourage a child or to criticise their achievements when you think they should have done better. Also," she turned his head to face her, "you have me. And if there is one thing I have been good at is advice. Advice which you can be good at following."

Tony still wasn't sure. But he hadn't ruled children out completely. "That is true… Do you want children?" He knew the answer already.

"I do," answered Pepper. "Our lives may be busy but I still want a child of my own. I want a baby with your hair and your smarts and your eyes… And I'd like a baby with my hair and your eyes and… I just want a baby with you. I wanted to ask…just to see what your thoughts were. We have sex frequently. I'm on the pill but you never use a condom and I don't mind that because I love it when you come inside me. But lately… the amount of sex we are having… and, don't get me wrong, I love it…"

Tony smirked. "You know… you're the first person I've slept with who doesn't mind me not using protection."

"I'm surprised your many conquests actually wanted you to be protected, considering the amount of money they could get from you if they had a little accident which produced a little Stark baby…" grinned Pepper.

"I always insisted actually. I may have been obsessed with sex, it doesn't mean I was irresponsible about it…" retorted Tony.

"You may have been obsessed with sex, Mr Stark?" Pepper raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay… I could still be then…" It was true. Pepper was irresistible to him. "I think the same applies to you, considering how often you want me to have you against the wall because you can no longer wait… Miss Potts…" His voice turned husky as he leaned in to kiss her.

Pepper giggled. "Fair point, Mr Stark."

"So, children," started Tony. "I haven't completely ruled them out. I think it is still a possibility."

"Good," smiled Pepper.

He learned from the news bulletin a few days later that Spider-Man had gone to Washington D.C and scaled the monument to rescue a party of school teenagers from a collapsing elevator shaft. Tony had watched the footage back, feeling quite impressed with Peter's attempt to save his classmates. Though it had been a more public outing than Tony would have liked, he still felt pleased Peter had managed to act on his own and save them.

The casualties would have been catastrophic otherwise.

Still, it was the afternoon and Tony was on his way to Avengers Tower to find out how Happy's progress was going along with moving day fast approaching. He was also coming to personally collect the Mark XLVII as he'd rather fly it to the Compound than have it taken by jet a few days later.

He felt he should congratulate Peter on his successful mission in Washington. He was close to Avengers Tower but he had time to call the kid.

He dialled the number on his vid-phone and waited for Peter to pick up.

"Mr Parker. Got a sec?"

"I'm actually at school." It was a hurried response.

Tony knew that was a lie. "No, you're not." He leaned back in the seat of the back of the car. "Nice work in D.C."

"Okay," answered Peter.

Tony was on a roll now. Peter was his first chance to be a dad, see how his parenting skills were. "My dad never really gave me a lot of support…. And I'm trying to break the cycle of shame…"

Peter butted in before Tony could continue. "I'm in the middle of something."

"Don't cut me off when I'm complimenting you. Anyway, great things are about to-" He paused as he heard a loud honking noise over the background. His suspicions rose. "What is that?"

"I'm at band practice."

Tony's instincts flared. Something was really wrong. "That's odd. Happy told me you quit band six weeks ago. What's up?"

But Peter ended the call. "I gotta go. End call."

"Hey-! Fuck!" Tony had a really bad feeling brewing in the pit of his stomach. And that was when he realised. He'd heard from his sources the Staten Island Ferry was a prime candidate for an upcoming weapons deal of the Vulture and his crew. He had contacted the FBI… What if Peter had learned of it? And had gone to try and stop it himself? "Oh fuck."

Thankfully the car had stopped outside Avengers Tower now and Tony bolted out the door and into the tower. "FRIDAY! GET THE SUIT READY!" The ride to the top of the tower where Happy was supervising the cataloguing of various items took longer than Tony wanted. By the time he stepped out onto the top floor and rushed towards the hidden wall panel where he kept the latest version of his suit, it felt like ten minutes had passed, though in reality had only been a minute.

He rushed past Happy and his co-workers without explanation, punching in commands to his wrist watch as he went by. The wall slid open, revealing his suit. It sprung open and Tony leapt inside, letting the suit close around him, before activating his thrusters and flying away out through the window that Friday had opened.

He set a course for the Staten Ferry, coursing through the sky at his fastest speed possible. He flew over Manhattan. An alert appeared on his HUD of a breaking news story of 'terror on the Ferry'. Tony pushed the suit faster. He had already contacted Veronica up in orbit to bring down the magna clamps.

As he flew over the sea he could see the Ferry breaking apart, and hanging in the middle of the two halves was Peter, desperately using his webbing to keep the Ferry from falling apart.

Shit.

Tony sped up, heading straight for the port side of the ferry, engaging his own clamps in his palms and attaching himself to the side. He put all his power into his thrusters and the ferry slowly started to move back together, though the magna clamps would do the rest. He was in a position that he could peer through one of the windows of the Ferry and look straight at Peter.

"Hey Spider-Man. Band practice, was it?"

The kid knew he was in trouble.

Tony flew off as he heard cheers erupt from the terrified public. He flew to the car storage, firing up his uni-beam, altering the frequency to help meld metal back together. Then Peter was there, following him, using his webbing to keep up with him as Tony went through the whole ferry, gluing it back together. The ship would never work again as the damage was too much, but Tony had prevented it from sinking.

"Mr Stark? Hey Mr Stark!"

Tony ignored him. He was far too angry with the kid to talk to him. Just when he was congratulating the kid too…. He had to get himself involved in this… Again.

"Could I do anything?" Peter swung beside him. "What do you want me to do?"

Finally Tony turned to face him. If Peter could see his face now, he knew Peter would be frightened. "I think you've done enough," he said coldly, before he flew off away, content that he had done what he could to save the Ferry and its passengers.

Tony waited in the air while the authorities began to converge upon the Ferry. He even briefly landed on the Ferry to talk to the FBI co-ordinator to personally apologise for the botch attempt of apprehending the culprits. After he had ensured there hadn't been any injuries, Tony returned to the suit and flew away, homing on Peter's figure in the distance. The kid seemed to have managed to get rid of his tracking device, something which Friday had informed him about only moments ago. It was just another thing Peter had done which made Tony feel upset and angry.

He flew to the top of a building where Peter was sitting on the edge of the wall, looking over in the distance of the Ferry.

"Previously on Peter Screws the Pooch… I tell you to stay away from this. Instead, you hacked a multimillion-dollar suit so you could sneak around behind my back, doing the one thing I told you not to do." He was still hovering in the air. He didn't know what he would do if he forced himself to land.

"Is everyone okay?"

Tony rolled his eyes. They would have been fine if Peter had left things well alone and allowed Tony to sort things out. He'd contacted the FBI after all. They were the people who were needed in this type of situation, not superheroes. "No thanks to you."

"No thanks to me?" Peter turned to face him, getting up from his perch and walking towards him. It was clear he had been crying as his eyes were wet from moisture. "Those weapons were out there, and I tried to tell you about it but you didn't listen! None of this would've happened if you had just listened to me!"

If you had listened to me kid… Tony seethed as he floated closer to the walkway.

"If you even cared, you'd actually be here!" Peter accused.

Tony released the hatches, stunning Peter by his physical presence in the suit. He stepped out and walked towards the kid as he continued to step back, suddenly wary of Tony's presence. "I did listen, kid. Who do you think called the FBI, huh? Do you know I was the only one who believed in you? Everyone else said I was crazy to recruit a fourteen year old kid." Nat, Happy and Rhodey all said it.

"I'm fifteen," defended Peter.

Tony stepped forward again, bringing his fingers up in a closing sign. "No, this is where you zip it, all right? The adult is talking. What if something had died tonight? Different story, right? Because that;s on you. And if you died… " He held his hands out. "I feel like that's on me. I don't need that on my conscience."

Peter looked scared now. "Yes, sir." He lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry. I understand."

But Peter had, had enough chances. Tony had warned him and the kid had not listened. "Sorry doesn't cut it."

Peter looked up beseechingly. "I just wanted to be like you." He hero-worshipped Tony and that the hard part for Tony. To live up to the name Peter had made for Tony.

But Tony hadn't wanted Peter to be like himself. "And I wanted you to be better." Tony fiddled with his watch. He knew what he had to do. "It's not working out. I'm gonna need the suit back."

Peter's eyes widened. "For how long?"

Tony felt harsh right now. "Forever. Yeah, that's how it works," he added when he saw Peter's stunned expression. He didn't have sympathy right now, not after the mess Peter had made of the FBI's attempts to bring the Vulture's crew to justice.

"No… no! Please!" Peter begged him.

Tony was adamant. "Let's have it."

"Please, this is all I have! I'm nothing without this suit!"

Tony could understand the feeling. He had once thought the same during his early years as Iron Man. Then the Mandarin had happened and he had realised he was more than just the suit. He had learned a cruel lesson and become a better person because of it. Peter had to learn that lesson too. "If you're nothing without this suit, then you shouldn't have it. Okay?" It struck him then who he sounded like and he hated himself for it. "God, I sound like my dad."

"I don't have any other clothes," mumbled Peter.

Tony felt some sympathy at last. "Okay. We'll sort that out."

Peter couldn't look him in the eye. The kid knew how much he had disappointed Tony.

After ensuring Peter had clothes to wear on the way home, Tony took flight in his suit and headed back to Avengers Tower.

One thing kept his mind occupied through the short flight through Manhattan skies. Why do I feel so guilty?

It was a feeling which would not go away so easily.

To be continued...

Only two more chapters to go...

More soon,

Until then,

the-writer1988