I'm sorry about the code issue. just keep telling me when it happens and I will fix it. It pisses me off too.
Peter mentally limped out of his Physics class after the review quiz. He knew he had bombed it spectacularly like every other class assignment since returning. He found it impossible to concentrate. His head was full of worry, stress, and anxiety that he was unable to rid himself of, no matter how hard he tried.
He stumbled into the bathroom and made his way to a stall, banging the door shut behind him as he sat down hard on the toilet. Peter put his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands, trying hard not to cry.
He reached into his front right pocket and pulled out his new iPhone X. He stared down at it, unblinking. Suddenly he was furious. Peter unlocked the phone with impatient fingers and typed a text, hitting send.
10:52 am
Peter: THIS IS ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULT!
10:52 am
Tony: Things usually are but what are you talking about specifically baby boy?
10:53 am
Peter: DON'T EVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN!
10:53 am
Tony: Why not baby boy? It suits you.
Peter screamed out loud and almost chucked the phone, but before he could he heard someone quickly leave the bathroom, the door shutting behind them. Peter froze, his fist clenched around the phone ready to smash it on the ground. Tony was the most infuriating person Peter had ever met. All of this was his fault. Everything, his nightmares, his school work, his relationship with Ned and Aunt May. Tony was to blame.
10:57 am
Peter: I hate you.
10:58 am
Tony: I know you do. It's ok I'm here whenever you need me.
Peter looked down at the text. A tear dropped from his face and landed on the screen. Peter wiped it away with trembling fingers. Even with all of his raging, Tony still cared.
Peter finally understood why he was texting Tony instead of talking to Aunt May or Ned. It was because Tony could take his rage and emotions being tossed at him. Peter couldn't do this with Aunt May. He couldn't shout and curse at her like he could with Tony. Peter's relationship with Ned was too unstable for Peter to even show how badly he was affected by everything let alone talk about it. But with Tony Peter could throw abuses at him and the man wouldn't even blink. He just came back with witty responses that made Peter smile despite himself. He was a safe target.
11:05 am
Tony: What's wrong baby?
Peter almost laughed.
11:06 am
Peter: Everything.
11:06 am
Tony: I got that, but what specifically set you off?
11:08 am
Peter: I bombed my physics review quiz.
11:09 am
Tony: The one you told me about last night?
11:09 am
Peter: ...Yea.
11:10 am
Tony: I'm sorry to hear that baby boy. Was it hard material?
11:11 am
Peter: No. …..Just couldn't concentrate.
11:12 am
Tony: Have you been having trouble concentrating since you got back?
11:13 am
Peter: Yes.
11:14 am
Tony: So trouble sleeping due to nightmares, trouble concentrating on school. Anything else I'm missing?
There were things Tony was missing but Peter didn't want to tell Tony what they were.
11:17 am
Peter: No.
11:18 am
Tony: Peter you're lying again. Look, you don't have to tell me what they are, just don't lie to me.
11:18 am
Peter: Fine there's more. And no I'm not telling you.
11:19 am
Tony: Good boy. I'm here if you ever want to talk about it.
Peter grimaced at his body's reaction to reading those two words. The shot of pleasure that ran down his spine was not the reaction he wanted to have to that patronizing statement. He put the phone back in his right pocket and made his way out of the bathroom feeling a lot calmer. His next class was organic chemistry, his most difficult class all semester. Peter trudged his way through the science building to his classroom. He sat in the back and waited for the rest of the class to file in. The class started at noon, but Peter used the extra time to work on the homework he hadn't finished for the class.
At least he tried to. Like every other time, he just stared at the paper feeling lost. He sat there for ten minutes before pulling out his phone again.
11:41 am
Peter: It's getting worse.
11:42 am
Tony: Will you let me help you?
Peter thought about what that question could mean. But he was tired of living like this. If he didn't do something, the path he was currently on would kill him. Any change from this would be better than nothing.
11:49 am
Peter: Yes.
11:50 am
Tony: Good boy.
People started drifting into the classroom and Peter hastily hid the phone under the desk. Peter sat almost motionless as class began. The lecture went in one ear and out the other. All Peter could think about is what he had just agreed to.
The rest of the school day flew by in a haze. He blinked and class was over, he blinked again and he was on the subway headed home. He blinked once more and he was walking up the stairs to his apartment.
He opened the door to the apartment, knowing that Aunt May was still at work. He set his keys down on the kitchen counter and made his way to the bedroom pushing open the door and stopped dead in his tracks.
Tony Stark sat in his desk chair wearing his quintessential three-piece suit.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Peter demanded.
Tony looked up from the textbook he had been reading. He sighed snapping the textbook shut with one hand. He set it on the desk as he stood.
"Peter this is the sixth time you have sworn at me in the last two days and I'm tired of it. I know you are surprised, I know you're angry and upset, but I have very few rules. Don't lie to me, Don't swear at me, and don't betray me." Tony moved towards him.
Peter launched himself at Tony and beat at the man's chest screaming his rage at what he had gone through since meeting the man.
"YOU DID THIS! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU DID THIS TO ME! HOW COULD YOU?! HOW DARE YOU SHOW UP HERE LIKE THIS?!" Peter shouted at Tony, pounding him with his fists.
Tony just wrapped his arms around Peter and pulled the boy into his chest. Peter went stock still in the hug for a few seconds, then he just lost it. Tears flowed from his eyes. He wrapped his arms around Tony's waist and held on for dear life. He sobbed into the man's chest.
"I know baby, I know. I'm so sorry, but I'm here now." Tony soothed Peter, rubbing his hands up and down Peter's back in long gentle strokes.
"I h…..ha...hate….y...yo...you" Peter sobbed out, still clutching Tony to him.
"I know," Tony responded wrapping his arms even tighter around the sobbing boy.
"Y..yo..you….di...did...th..this..to..me"
"I know, I'm so sorry." Tony continued to sooth.
"WHY!" Peter finally cried out as his arms let go of Tony, his legs buckling underneath him. Tony held on and followed Peter to the ground. He knelt still holding the boy who still sobbed unable to support himself under the crushing weight of emotions.
Tony didn't reply to Peter's question, but honestly, Peter didn't care. Tony was here. Tony was holding him. Everything that had been pent up for the last two weeks could come out and be released. The weight was slowly lifting as Peter cried it away. His chest that had felt tight since he had left the mansion finally loosened and Peter could truly breathe again. He sucked in air, desperately filling his lungs, terrified the second Tony left he would be back to where he was, chest tight, and unable to truly breathe.
Peter finally cried himself out. They ended up with Tony sitting on the floor with his back leaning against the desk, the man's legs splayed out in front of him with Peter sitting sideways between them, his legs laying over Tony's right thigh his head resting against Tony's chest, and Tony's arms wrapped securely around the boy. A comfortable silence engulfed the two.
"What are you doing here?" Peter finally sniffed out.
"I'm here to help," Tony replied. "You said you needed help concentrating, so I thought I'd come over and help you study. Turns out what you really needed was a solid cry."
"Fuck you." Peter quipped back, but there was no heat to his words.
"Peter," Tony said warningly.
Peter just snorted a laugh. The boy heard Tony's head thump back against the desk.
"If I wasn't so comfortable, and you weren't in such a delicate emotional state, your ass would be black and blue right now."
Peter was surprised that he didn't even tense at the words. He knew Tony was serious, but he had no fear of the man. He trusted Tony, and that scared the shit out of him. Well, it was more than just that, he not only trusted Tony, he was glad Tony was here.
"My aunt will be home soon," Peter said changing the subject.
"I'm well aware. Do you want me to meet her?"
Peter jerked himself up to look Tony in the eye crying "NO!"
Tony just chuckled. "Ouch, you really don't want to introduce me to your family. You've met mine, should be tit for tat don't you think?"
"Not happening. You need to leave before she gets here." Peter stood up and started tugging on Tony trying to pull the man to his feet.
"Peter stop pulling at me. She's not going to see me, and she won't be home for another hour or so."
Peter let go and started pacing the room anxiously.
"What if she changed her schedule? And what about the police force outside? They could find you here at any second and Fury would take any excuse to throw you in jail. You know how stupid you are being?"
Tony got slowly to his feet and put his hand out, grabbing Peter's arm and pulling the boy to a halt.
"Stop. You're going to make yourself sick with all this stressing. I can tell you've already lost some weight, there are bags under your eyes, and you look pale. If you continue going like this you're going to end up in a hospital, or worse."
Peter took a deep breath in and let it out in a sigh, trying to calm himself down.
"Better. Have you eaten anything today?" Tony asked.
Peter blanched at the question. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he had had a solid meal. He hadn't really been hungry the last two weeks. Too nauseous to really consider it. He heard Tony sigh.
"I had a feeling so I got J to put together some sandwiches for you. They're in the fridge, come on. I'm going to make sure you eat something before I leave." Tony let go of Peter and started heading for the bedroom door.
Peter sprinted forward so he was in front of Tony blocking the door.
"Wait, I'll go get it, you shouldn't be out there in case Aunt May comes home."
Tony folded his arms over his chest and looked at Peter before sighing. "Alright fine. Bring the sandwiches back here. I promised J and Pepper that I would see you eat something before I left."
Peter was a little surprised at Tony's statement. He had no idea that Pepper and Jarvis cared about him that much. It was nice to have other people worry about him then just Aunt May and Ned.
Peter made his way into the kitchen quickly and opened the fridge. He immediately spotted the sandwiches. They were in a brown paper bag that was elegantly labeled 'for Mr. Peter Parker'. Peter smiled. It had to have been Jarvis that wrote it. No one else called him Mr. anything.
He grabbed the bag and headed back to his bedroom making sure to shut and lock the door behind him. Just in case.
Tony was back to sitting in his desk chair and perusing his textbooks. Peter looked at which textbook Tony was flipping through. It was his physics textbook.
"What are you doing?" Peter asked.
"Just looking. You know I have a bachelors in engineering and a masters in engineering and physics right?" Tony said still flipping through the book.
"What?" Peter asked stunned. He had known Tony was smart but he hadn't expected the man to have gotten not just one, but two masters.
"Yea, but that was a long time ago. Now I just run the family business and tinker on the side."
Peter sat down on the bed hard. He was learning so much about Tony. He knew a lot about the man's personality but these things like 'Where did you go to school?' 'What did you study?' 'Do you like pineapple on your pizza? These were questions he had no idea about, nor had he realized that he wanted to know the answers to those kinds of questions.
"Peter, eat. If I bring back a bad report saying you didn't eat. Not only will Jarvis skin me alive, but I have no doubt he will show up here and force feed you himself."
Peter looked up to see that Tony had rotated the desk chair so he was facing Peter, the textbook open and forgotten in his hands.
Peter opened the paper bag he still clutched in his hand and reached in it, pulling out a wrapped PB & J on white bread. Peter hadn't had one of these since he was, like, 10.
He unwrapped it and bit into it almost groaning with pleasure. He had forgotten just how delicious a good old PB & J sandwich could be.
"Can you thank Jarvis for me?" Peter asked through a mouthful of sandwich.
Tony chuckled in response, nodding. Peter finished the sandwich in less than five minutes and pulled out the second one. He had forgotten what it felt like to actually want to eat food and then enjoy it. Everything he had put in his mouth over the last two weeks had tasted like sandpaper.
Peter finished the second sandwich, then got up and left the room once more to throw out his trash and grab a glass of milk before returning. Tony watched him from the doorway of his bedroom, moving aside gracefully as Peter re-entered the room and sat back down on the bed with his glass of milk. He drained it in a few gulps and set the empty glass on his nightstand.
"Want any help with your physics homework before I leave?" Tony asked, gesturing towards the open textbook he had set down on the desk when he had gotten up to watch Peter.
Peter looked at the book consideringly but shook his head. He had a bit of a headache from all that crying and he was frankly exhausted.
"I actually think I'm going to try and take a nap."
"That sounds like a good plan. I'll join you." Tony responded and started stripping off his suit jacket and pulling at his tie.
Peter wasn't sure what he should do. His bed was a twin so he wasn't sure how they were both going to fit, plus he wasn't sure if he wanted to sleep next to Tony in the first place.
Tony moved in front of him and Peter noticed the man had taken off everything but his socks, dress pants, and a tank top. Even his belt was draped across the back of Peter's desk chair.
"Come on Peter, we could both use it. To tell you the truth I haven't been sleeping well either." Tony pulled the covers back and sat down on the edge of the bed, facing Peter.
Peter deliberated but decided 'what the hell'. He was already messed up, what was one more thing to add to the list? He cautiously kicked off his shoes and moved towards the bed. He climbed and put his face towards the wall. Tony sighed behind him but shifted so he was spooning Peter from behind. Peter shifted a little so he could get himself more comfortable. His head pillowed on Tony's bicep, and Tony's other arm wrapped securely around his waist.
Peter would never say it, but it felt really good to be in Tony's arms again. He let his mind drift and before he knew it he had drifted off to sleep.
"WHAT THE HELL!"
Peter was startled awake by the sound of a shout and sat up in bed fast, looking over Tony's shoulder. The man just groaned and stayed where he was. Peter looked dead into Aunt May's eyes as she stood in the doorway one hand covering her heart. He had forgotten to lock the door after his second trip.
Well shit.