Peter had never felt safer, snuggled in close to his dad. Still, he didn't trust himself to fall asleep. Peter's cheek was pressed up against Tony's chest and he could hear the steady thump of a heartbeat. Peter noticed as Tony's breath slowed down a little and he knew that he had gone to sleep now. The little spider tightened his grip on Tony's blazer that he was still wearing as his thoughts immediately went to the explosion. Scott's injured body lying crumpled on the floor of the elevator flashed through Peter's mind. His face scrunched up when he remembered it and he pressed his face more firmly into his dad's chest.
Even at the small motion, Tony woke up. "Hey…Pete…What's up? Are you ok?!" Tony shifted a bit to grip Peter's shoulders and look at him better. "Yeah dad, I'm fine." Came the reply. Tony's heart swelled when his kid called him "dad." However, he didn't believe the fact that his kid was "fine" for a second. "Listen Peter, I don't want this conversation to hold off for any longer. I need to know what's going on with you. Why did you leave the house in the first place?" Asked Tony, very concerned.
At the question, Peter flipped over so he was facing away from the man. He really wasn't in the mood to talk about it. "Hey, hey, hey. Don't ignore me Pete. We have to talk about it eventually, and I would like it to be now rather than later." He insisted. Peter rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well no thanks, I'd rather not." Scoffed Peter, voice dripping in sarcasm.
"Excuse me? You do not talk to me like that young man." Said Tony, eyebrows raised.
"You can't force me to talk about something I don't want to." Peter whined, wiping his eyes, hoping his dad wouldn't notice.
"Um actually Peter, I can, but I won't. I promise that you will feel better if you do, though." Tony tugged on the back of Peter's shirt. "Look at me when I'm talking to you underoos." He said. Peter slowly flipped around, trying his best not to move his legs too much.
Tony's heart almost broke when Peter's big brown, pain filled doe eyes met his. "That's it buddy," Said Tony, tucking a curl behind his kid's ear. "Alright kiddo, I'm gonna give you two optioins. One," Tony held up his first finger and 'booped' Peter on the nose. "You either go to sleep. Or two, you stay up and tell me about everything that's been going on with you. Deal?"
Peter frowned. "I'll take option three where I do neither of those things, and stare up at the ceiling all night!" He gasped. "Or, I'll just leave this room and go back to my apartment. My REAL home!" Peter sat up rapidly and began to scoot over to the edge of the bed.
"No, no, no. Pete!" Tony sat up and caught Peter by the back of his shirt. "Ok, ok Pete we can talk about it later, but please just go to sleep." Tony gently massaged the back of Peter's neck. Peter shook his head and looked at his dad. "I can't go to sleep dad. If I do…Dad every night since the explosion I've had nightmares. And…I know I deserve it. It's my fault that the explosion happened. So I can't go to sleep. Not ever again."
Peter turned away from his dad, too embarrassed to look him in the eyes. Tony opened up his arms as an invitation, and Peter took it, burying his face in his Dad's neck. "Oh kid, I'm so sorry I left you, I promise I never will again. Listen, I don't know what'll convince you, but it wasn't your fault that the compound blew up. Trust me Peter, please. No one blames you I promise. I know that you tried your best." Tony caressed his son's soft cheek with the pad of his thumb.
Peter shook his head. "But my best wasn't good enough. You…you told me to be better." He said, with his bottom lip trembling. Tony paled when he realized that his kid was mentioning the disastrous conversation after the ferry incident. "Pete…I…what I said after the ferry accident, I was so wrong. I mean, you did screw up a bit, but you didn't have any experience. I should have mentored you better. It's my fault that you got trapped under the building and almost DIED from the Vulture attack! I…I don't know what I would've done if I would have lost you that night. And can't ever lose you kiddo." Tony tucked Peter's head into his neck, trembling a bit at the prospect of his son dying before him.
"Don't worry Mr. Stark, I don't plan on dying anytime soon." Peter said solemnly.
"Yeah, well considering the past few days, it seems like you do." Tony whispered, kissing Peter's cheek. Peter snorted and shrugged in Tony's embrace. "I'm not trying to die, death just like comes over my way somehow. Well at least I have one fan!" Said Peter optimistically, proud of his comeback.
Tony simply rolled his eyes and unconsciously squeezed his kid tighter.
A few minutes past and Tony could feel Peter's breathing slow, and the kids body slump against him more. A smile graced Tony's face and his fingers automatically found his way to the kid's pulse. It was strong and steady. Perfect.
Tony scooched to the back of the bed, little spider still cuddled in his arms. Tony lay down and adjusted the kid in his grip. Peter looked so peaceful as he slept. His dark lashes were a stark contrast to his pale cheeks. Tony brushed a stray curl out of Peter's eye and kissed his forehead. "Sleep well underoos." He whispered. Then Tony himself closed his eyes and relaxed into the peaceful, darkness of sleep.
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Steve couldn't help but coo at the adorable scene that he had stumbled in on. Tony and Peter were snuggled together, and Tony had one hand in his son's unruly curls, and the other around the kid's waist protectively. Steve grabbed his phone and quickly snapped a shot of the two, planning on using it for blackmail against one of the two.
Just then, Clint came in and once he saw the scene, he snorted and began to howl with laughter. "Tony said he would never have a kid!" The man exclaimed, savoring the fact that the billionaire had been wrong about something for once. Steve smacked his hand over Clint's mouth as soon as the laughter started.
"They need sleep Clint, leave them be for now." He said. Clint then spoke his next thoughts for him. "Why is Tony here anyway, I thought he was supposed to be aiding Bruce with the new compound?"
Steve shrugged. "I have a feeling it had to do with Peter." The man said, noticing the lack of a wheel chair in the room. Also, the window was open, so frigid air was streaming into the room. Steve was sure that he could make a pretty good guess of what took place.
Steve was going into the room in the first place, to tell Peter that his Aunt was worried sick about him. She had heard about the explosion of the compound, as well as practically the entire world. May was demanding to talk to her nephew, only calming down when Steve assured her that Peter would be fine, and that he was sleeping. Steve didn't tell her of the extent of Peter's injuries, it was more of Peter's tale to tell if he decided to. Steve had convinced Pepper and May to stay on their vacation, and have tons more fun. The two woman were certainly a bit wary, but they had agreed.
Steve left the room, nudging Clint with him. "Let's check up on Scott, shall we?" The captain suggested. Clint nodded in agreement and went off to find the man. They were more than a little surprised to see him standing in the kitchen, cooking breakfast. Currently, he had three packages of sausages frying, four cartons of eggs cooking, and probably 60 pancakes in a stack.
Scott grinned when he saw the two men. "Hey guys! I was in the mood for tacos this morning, but then Natasha reminded me that it wasn't really a breakfast food, so here we are." He said, flipping another pancake. Natasha then popped up from behind the counter, with a tray of quiche from the oven. Everything smelt so good. Clint dramatically fell backwards at the lovely smell, and Steve caught him, with a roll of his eyes. "Stand up, you're fine." Said Steve, hoisting the man back upright.
"I hope spider kid is up and has a big appetite!" Exclaimed Scott, stirring his eggs. Then a look of concern crossed his face. "How is he anyhow? It seems like Pete hasn't been doing so well these past few days." Scott said, unconsciously picking at the bandage on his nose.
"Well, actually Tony's back!" Said Clint joyfully. He headed into the kitchen and helped himself to a sausage.
Natasha peered out from around Scott, frowning. "Why is he back? Not that I don't like having him here, but wasn't he supposed to be gone for a few more days?" She asked.
Steve shrugged. "I'm thinking that it has to do with Peter. It's not my story to tell though. They're in bed sleeping and cuddling may I add." He smiled.
An array of "Awww's" came from the kitchen. "Did you take a picture?" Nat asked hopefully.
Steve smirked. "Obviously, how could I pass up such a prime opportunity for black mail?" He snorted, pulling out his phone. He sent Nat the picture and then turned to Scott.
"Hey, you did a great job with breakfast, but how about you let Clint or me take over? You really should be taking it easy." He said.
Scott nodded sadly. "Yes Captain." He said sorrowfully, with a dash of humor. He limped over to the counter and took a seat on a stool, being wary of his ribs.
Steve turned to Clint expectantly. "Awww, no I don't wanna help in the kitchen." Clint whined, understanding Steve's expectations of him. Natasha glared at Clint, with a spatula in her hand menacingly. "You're such a child Clint, get your ass over her." She demanded. Clint's eyes widened and shuffled over to help flip the sausages.
Steve chuckled at the two, who were practically siblings. Yeah they were missing a few members, but Steve realized he had an amazing family and nothing else would ever come in the way between them