"Boss there is a teenage girl in the lobby who's here to see Peter. She identifies herself as Michelle Jones." FRIDAY interrupted the Die Hard movie he and Tony were watching.
Peter was camped in the same spot on the couch. It was becoming his second home and he wasn't sure how he felt about that, besides impatient to be able to get up and move around easily again.
"Send her up." Tony said and stood. He smirked at him. "Your girlfriend's here."
"For the millionth time, she's not my girlfriend." Peter rolled his eyes. "She's just a friend."
"Good, because if she was your girlfriend you'd probably have to marry her."
"What?" He couldn't tell if his dad was joking which was unusual.
"Now that she knows your secret you'd never be able to break up with her. She could go off and spill it to the first major news source that'd pay her the big bucks."
"MJ would never do that. Even if we were dating and we broke up."
Tony paused on his way toward the elevator and turned around to give him a weighted look that said he thought Peter was being extremely naïve.
"Besides, if we were dating, I wouldn't be the one breaking up with her. She'd be the one breaking up with me." Peter added.
Instead of arguing, Tony broke out in a large grin. "Hmm. So you do like her."
"Shut up. I do not." Peter said without any heat and turned back to the movie, purposefully ignoring Tony. Honestly, he'd never given it much thought before but Tony and the team's constant teasing since yesterday had made it hard to avoid. Of course he liked her as a friend. She was great. She was MJ. She was smart, funny in her own dry and sarcastic way, and one of the strongest people he'd ever met. He couldn't help but admire her a little and be intimidated by her more than a little. And he definitely enjoyed spending time with her. And anyone that saw her would recognize that she was beautiful in her own effortless way. That didn't mean he liked her liked her.
"Uh huh. Sure." Tony said skeptically but Peter ignored him. He heard the slight rustle of papers just as the elevator door chimed quietly and slid open.
Peter twisted back around and watched as MJ walked in. She didn't look any different than normal, but he didn't know why he'd expected her to. Just because she was visiting him in Avengers Tower and knew his most deeply guarded secret didn't mean she'd be any different. Maybe it was just hard for him to accept that she could become part of this side of his life and remain unchanged.
She took a few steps in without hesitation. The grandeur of the room and her current place at the penthouse of Avengers Tower didn't seem to phase her at all. Knowing her as well as he did, Peter hadn't really expected it to. She looked as unimpressed as ever.
She caught his eye from across the room and took a step in his direction, but before she could continue toward him, Tony stepped in her way.
"Ms. Jones." He greeted haughtily and shoved some papers toward her. "If you would be so kind as to sign these."
"Stark." She greeted back, not too rudely but not politely either. She'd left off the mister part after all, something Peter had had to work at even after he'd started living with the man. He watched as she took the papers from him and studied them intently.
Peter had to hand it to her. Most people would probably go weak in the knees at the sudden sight of Tony Stark, but not MJ. The only sign Peter had that she might not be quite as cool and collected as she outwardly seemed was that she took the papers Tony handed her without any extended interrogation.
She rifled through them in tense silence for about a minute before she snorted and slapped them back against Tony's chest. "Yeah I'm not signing these."
Peter couldn't help the smirk that stole across his face. He'd never seen his dad look gobsmacked before. She deftly maneuvered around him and took another few steps toward Peter before his dad recovered and chased after her.
"Wait." Tony ordered and grabbed her arm. She turned and glanced down at the hold he had on her and then raised an eyebrow at him and waited. After a couple seconds he released her like her arm was on fire.
"I've known Peter is Spiderman for almost a year." She said and hearing it said out loud like that made Peter flinch. "Don't worry. I'm not going to sign your stupid nondisclosure agreement but I'm also not going to go blabbing his secret identity. No matter how terribly kept it is."
"Hey!" Peter protested from the couch.
"You know it's true. It's lucky you're such a loser and no one pays attention to you or the whole school would know by now." She directed the comment to him.
"Hey." This time Tony voiced his protest, probably because of the whole getting called a loser thing. Peter didn't know how to explain that coming from MJ it was probably meant as a compliment.
"What? It's true. Ned and him talk about it at school all the time." She crossed her arms and cut an imposing figure facing Tony Stark, completely unperturbed.
"Sign the NDA or I won't let you see him." Tony threatened with more bite this time. This was going downhill quickly.
She snorted again, unaffected by the empty threat. "Yeah? And how are you going to do that? Take him out of school? File a restraining order against me with absolutely no basis?"
Instead of answering, Tony pursed his lips and frowned down at her, crossing his own arms and giving off the distinct and powerful air of 'I'm Tony Stark'.
"Dad it's fine." He said, trying to defuse the situation.
The slight raise of both eyebrows was the only indication MJ made that she was surprised by that statement. All too late he realized what he'd done. Shit.
"I see your point about the secret keeping." Tony deadpanned to her, casting an unimpressed look toward Peter.
"Sorry." He said with a wince.
MJ huffed. "So am I allowed to see him or not?"
"Sign the—"
"I'm never signing those papers." She interrupted, conviction clear.
"Dad." He implored. Again. Whoops.
The man cast a put upon glance at him.
"Tony." He corrected. "Just…can we talk? She doesn't need to sign anything."
Tony scrutinized the two of them, clearly unhappy, but after a few long seconds, he seemed to deflate.
"Fine." Tony agreed with a sigh before pointing a finger at her. "But I'm not done talking about his."
MJ quirked an eyebrow at him but didn't argue. She uncrossed her arms and quickly crossed the remaining space between the two of them.
"Um hey." He greeted her nervously.
She rolled her eyes and unceremoniously plopped down at the end of the couch. "Hey loser."
Thankfully, Tony didn't say anything about that. He'd moved into the kitchen, pretending not to listen. But Peter knew that's exactly what he was doing, pretending.
MJ appeared completely unfazed by it all even as she stared intently at him.
Before he could say anything else, she stated bluntly, "Ned wasn't exaggerating for once. You look like dog shit."
"No I don't." He tried to defend himself.
"You do." She said as if it were an obvious fact.
He frowned. When he'd seen his reflection in the mirror this morning he'd thought he was finally starting to look better.
"But you'll be fine soon enough." She flicked a stray curl back out of her eyes, not appearing all that concerned, although Peter knew her well enough to hear the hint of worry in her voice. "You have some kind of super fast healing thing or something right?"
"Or something." He answered with a grin.
She narrowed her eyes at him.
"I should be back on my feet in the next few days and I'll for sure be back to normal by the time school starts back up again." He clarified.
She nodded. "Good."
"So um how long have you known about the whole Spiderman thing?" He asked.
"Since last year." She shrugged as if the answer was inconsequential. "I wasn't kidding. You and Ned are really terrible at keeping secrets."
"Well um, thanks for not telling anyone."
"Don't be stupid Parker." She scoffed, offended. "You know I wouldn't tell."
"I know." He said, letting the sincerity soak through the statement. "But thanks all the same."
"You can thank me by stop being such an idiot and almost getting yourself killed." She motioned to his body littered with bruises and saddled with two casts.
He grinned. "Aw you do care about me."
"Don't push it." She said but didn't deny it.
Peter just grinned wider.
She rolled her eyes and glanced around, taking in the penthouse.
"So, this is where you've been crashing since your aunt died?" The observation came out more as a statement than a question. Said by anyone else, the seeming insensitivity might've made him flinch, but the words didn't hurt when MJ said them. He knew she wasn't saying it to be mean, and he almost appreciated the bluntness, the fact that she hadn't tried to dance around the whole loved one dying thing.
He nodded in reply but didn't add any more explanation to it. They'd both heard him call Tony 'dad'. MJ was more than smart enough to extrapolate whatever else she needed to from that alone.
"That explains the driver." She said, half to herself and half as a joke to Peter.
He let out a short laugh. "Yeah."
Her eyes finished wandering around the room and fell back upon him.
"So I'm guessing this is a secret too." She said sweeping a hand haphazardly to indicate the penthouse space. He didn't have to ask her what she meant. He knew she was talking about the fact that he lived in Avengers Tower now.
"Yeah." He answered.
"Ned knows." She stated. She didn't seem at all jealous, but Peter didn't figure she would be.
"Yeah." He said again.
"And Tony Stark's your…dad." She said hesitantly. It was the first she'd shown something besides her typical confidence.
"Not um biologically." He corrected quietly even though he knew Tony could probably still hear from the kitchen. He guessed how it could look. Like maybe he was his illegitimate love child or something. "But he um…adopted me when May…" He trailed off. Even though he'd appreciated MJ's directness, he still found it nearly impossible to say the words himself.
She nodded but didn't ask any questions about how he knew Tony Stark so well. Why the man had chosen to take him in. To adopt him. If that meant he knew the Avengers. Although she could probably guess the answers to those questions now that she knew he was Spiderman. The silence stretched as he waited to see if she'd ask or say anything else about it.
"That sucks." She finally said.
It was the very last thing he'd expected her to say, and the clang as Tony accidentally dropped what sounded like a pot in the sink and gave away his eavesdropping, made Peter let out short surprised burst of laugher.
"It's not so bad." He finally managed to say.
She shrugged. "Whatever you say."
He could tell she was teasing him in her own way and at the same time realized he'd missed her more than he'd thought. He wasn't quite ready for her to leave. He tried to recall if he'd felt like this over the summer. He didn't think so. He wondered if something had changed or if he'd just been too devastated to miss anyone except May.
"Um, do you want to watch a movie?" He asked, inwardly cursing that the question came out tight with nerves.
MJ's eyes widened slightly before going back to their baseline bored and unbothered appearance. "I would but I'm meeting my mom at a documentary screening in Brooklyn." She glanced at her watch and then shot him a semi-apologetic look. "I actually need to get going if I'm going to make it in time."
"Oh ok." He tried to act nonchalant. "Um what's the documentary about?"
"The ongoing struggle against women's oppression in the Middle East." She smirked as she stood.
"Sounds…interesting." He said.
She eyed him up and down, which made him feel oddly naked even though he was fully clothed and under a blanket, before she said, "Another time."
"Another time?" He frowned, feeling oddly off kilter. He didn't get it. And a big part of him hated that he didn't get it and couldn't prepare some witty comeback.
"The movie you want to watch together?" She clarified with a quirked eyebrow, uncharacteristically patient of her. "Another time."
"Yeah? That'd-that'd be great. For sure." He stumbled over the words.
"Leaving already?" Tony asked as he walked back over to stand behind Peter's sofa.
"Yeah. Sorry to disappoint." She said in mock seriousness.
"I think I'll live." Tony gave it right back. Peter sighed.
MJ smirked again as she looked back at him. "Take care of yourself Parker. Or should I call you Stark now?"
He knew she meant it as a clever joke, but he couldn't hold back the slight shock and panic that crossed his face. He watched MJ's brow furrow slightly as she looked from him to Tony behind him. He didn't know what she found there and he was afraid to look himself.
"Sorry." She apologized and Peter could tell it was genuine. "Didn't realize that was a touchy subject."
"It's fine." Peter said when it became obvious Tony wasn't going to say anything. "Um, I'll…text you later?"
"Yeah." She agreed and flicked another curl back off her forehead. "Later loser."
"Later." He said and couldn't keep the slight grin off his face. He watched as she turned and walked back to the elevator, getting in without looking back.
The elevator doors closed and a few long stilted seconds passed before Tony said, "Your girlfriend's terrifying."
He looked over at his dad and frowned. "She's not my girlfriend."
"All the same. Terrifying." His dad repeated.
Peter sighed and looked back at the closed elevator doors she'd just exited through. He turned back to his dad. "I know."
Tony came around to the front of the couch and sat in the spot MJ had just vacated. He had another mug of coffee in his hand. Peter had rarely seen him without it the past few days. Probably his doing.
Peter expected his dad to continue the conversation about MJ, so he was surprised when Tony cleared his throat nervously.
"Listen kiddo." He started. "There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."
Peter's brow furrowed as he turned his full attention to him.
"I was talking to Pepper a few days ago about something and your friend just reminded me of it."
For the life of him, Peter couldn't think of any similar train of conversation that could've occurred between Pepper and MJ.
"Pepper mentioned the two of you were talking awhile back about being the heir to Stark industries and the possibility of changing your name came up."
Peter's eyes widened in shock. He definitely hadn't expected this conversation. He felt completely blindsided. And he wasn't even mobile enough to try to escape if he wanted to.
"Wow ok. Didn't know I'd get that kind of reaction." Tony said in his own surprise.
"I'm sorry." He apologized automatically. "I just— I wasn't expecting— I don't—"
He had no idea how to explain his suddenly scattered and panicked thoughts.
"It's ok kid. Calm down. We're just talking." Tony smiled softly and reached out to squeeze his uncasted right leg in comfort. "It's just me."
"I know." He did. "Um why were you guys talking about that?"
"It just came up." Tony answered, not letting him deflect. "Can we talk about it?"
"There's nothing to talk about." He mumbled and picked at some invisible lint on his blanket.
"I think there is." Tony argued.
"What did Pepper say?" He tried to maneuver out of discussing his thoughts.
"You tell me." Tony countered.
"How would I know? You're the one that talked to her."
"You talked to her too buddy."
Peter scowled at him, annoyed that Tony was just as good, if not better, at the verbal maneuvering.
"Tell me what the two of you talked about." His dad instructed instead of asking.
"I don't remember." He lied.
"Peter." Tony said tersely. Peter wracked his brain to try to figure out a way to get out of this conversation or at least around it, but nothing came to mind.
"I-I don't know. We just talked." He shrugged.
"About what?"
"Stuff."
"Peter." Tony said his name again, this time with a sigh of disappointment.
Peter's frustration mounted and he found the words exploding from his mouth before he could stop himself, "What do you want me to say? She told me I'm the heir to SI even though we never even talked about it! And then she was asking if I was going to change my name because it made the most sense from a business perspective and I-I didn't know what to say! I'd never thought about it before. And if I changed my name, then what? I wouldn't be a Parker anymore? But that wouldn't be fair to my parents or Ben or May. But-but if I kept Parker as my middle name, then I'd have to get rid of Benjamin and that'd make me a terrible person after everything Ben did for me. He-he died because of me and then I-I what? Show my appreciation by just throwing his name away? I-I don't— I can't—" His breath was coming out in short little spurts.
"Ok ok. Calm down. Take a breath." Tony said as he rubbed his hands up and down over Peter's shoulders, trying to calm him. Peter was so distressed he couldn't even remember when his dad had moved from the other end of the couch to his side. At least the verbal vomit had finally stopped.
"I-I'm sorry." He choked out.
"Don't be sorry." Tony said. "I had no idea this was bothering you so much or we would've talked about it a lot sooner."
Peter looked away but Tony cupped his chin and moved his head back, forcing him to make eye contact. Peter saw nothing but love and concern in his dad's eyes. No hint of disappointment or anger.
"You don't have to change your name." Tony said, as if it was obvious. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to. You're Peter Parker. If sometime in the future you decide you want that to change, whether it's in a month or a year or ten years or never, that's fine too. It's entirely up to you. You're my son regardless. With or without my name. Ok?"
Peter sniffled and nodded. The relief of not having to decide between his new dad and his dead parents and guardians brought tears to his eyes.
"Good." Tony said with a nod and the hand cradling his chin let go so he could thumb away the fresh wet tear tracks trickling down his cheeks. Peter wanted to blame the lack of his emotional control on the painkillers.
"However," Tony continued unapologetically. "As my son, you're my heir. And that makes you the heir to Stark Industries. Regardless of how you feel about it. Or what your last name is."
"But…what if you have another kid?"
"What do I look like? Some spring chicken?" Tony joked.
"I'm serious. Y-you shouldn't make me your heir. What if you have your own real kid? They should be your heir. I'd never want to take that away."
"And what are you? My fake kid? Huh Pinnochio?"
He shrugged, not trusting himself to speak with the knot in his throat. He expected another lighthearted comment, so he was surprised when Tony cupped his cheeks in his hands.
"Peter, you're my kid. I'm not planning on having any others. And even if I did, as my oldest son, you'd still inherit SI."
"But I'm not really yours." Peter protested. "You just got stuck with me."
A blaze of anger flashed in Tony's eyes. He gave Peter's head a small shake and said firmly, "I never want to hear you say that again. You hear me?"
More tears welled up and spilled from his eyes at the harsh reprimand. Under the stern gaze of his father he couldn't help but give a small nod of acquiescence.
"You don't get to choose your biological children. You're stuck with what you get." Tony continued, explaining with a fervent intensity. "I didn't get stuck with you. I chose you. That makes you even more special. Understand?"
When Tony put it that way, maybe he did kind of get it.
He could barely see the blurry face of his dad through moisture gathered in his eyes. He blinked and his vision cleared as the tears fell. Tony was looking at him with blatant earnestness, concern, and love. He gave another small nod and sniffled as his dad wiped the new tears away with his thumbs.
"I'm sorry." He whispered.
"I know." Tony said before pulling his head closer to kiss his forehead. "I love you. I just wish you'd believe it."
"I-I do." He croaked and tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. "I love you too."
Tony smiled sadly at him as he swiped away more tears. "It's all right kid. We'll be all right."
Peter leaned forward so his head rested against Tony's chest. His dad released his face and brought his arms around him to cradle him in a careful hug instead. The position stressed his aching injuries but the feeling of comfort and safety was worth it.
"Everything's going to be all right." Tony mumbled as he ran a hand down the back of his head.
And that should've been that. He should've let his dad's assurances lull him into complacency, but a treacherous thought nagged at him.
"You don't regret it?" He asked before he could change his mind.
"Regret what?"
"Taking me in? Adopting me?"
"Never." His dad said sternly.
"Not even a little?"
"No." His tone was adamant.
"Then why do have all those books in your office to tell you how to deal with me?"
He felt Tony tense slightly at the question.
"They don't 'tell me how to deal with you'." Tony denied. "They're more like…a tool…so I don't screw up more than I already have with you. You've been through a lot and I'm new at this whole parenting thing. I figured some expert advice couldn't hurt. It's not because you're difficult or I regret adopting you or whatever other nonsense you've built up in your head. It's just a little extra help. Like those cheat guides you and Ned use for your video games."
Peter huffed a small wet laugh at the comparison and his dad kissed the top of his head.
"I still don't like it." He mumbled. "Makes me feel like a problem."
"You're not a problem." Tony said into his hair.
"If you think I'm so messed up why aren't you making me go to therapy?"
"Do you want to go to therapy?"
"No."
"I've thought about it." Tony admitted and Peter cringed. Wow his dad really did think he was messed up. "But there's no one I'd trust with you."
"What do you mean?"
"If you're going to do therapy right you need to be able to tell the truth." Tony explained. "And the more people that know that you're Spiderman or even that you're my son now, the more dangerous it is for you."
Peter sighed.
"And I think we've been doing ok." Tony added. "Right?"
He nodded.
"But listen kiddo, if that ever changes and I don't think you're doing so good, or if you decide you need to talk to someone, I'll make it happen. I'll figure it out. Ok?"
He nodded again.
"And just when were you in my office?" Tony asked. The question wasn't accusatory but he could tell it wasn't asked out of pure curiosity either. He'd have to be careful.
"Um Ned came over to play a computer game a few weeks ago when you were in DC. We needed another computer." He explained.
"He brought over a computer game that needs two computers to play but didn't bring an extra laptop?" Tony sounded suspicious and Peter's heart jumped in his throat. He swallowed hard.
"He uh doesn't have a laptop." He lied.
His dad put hand on the top of his head and pushed it back so he could make eye contact with him.
Tony's eyes narrowed as he studied his expression before asking, "If he doesn't have a laptop how'd he hack your suit in DC last year?"
Shit. Peter sometimes forgot how smart Tony actually was. The man didn't forget a thing.
"Um…" Peter hurried to think of a believable lie. "He did have a laptop last year, but it um broke."
"How'd it break?"
"I think maybe he dropped it?" Yeah real convincing. He shrugged. "I don't know."
"Hmm." Tony didn't look like he quite believed him. "So the two of you weren't snooping in my office while I was gone?"
"No!" He shook his head. "We weren't. I promise. We were playing a computer game. If you don't believe me, you can ask FRIDAY."
Tony's expression softened and he gave him a small smile. "That's all right kid. I believe you."
Peter smiled back and pushed his head forward to burrow back into his dad's chest, the characteristic scent of his dad helped to alleviate his stress.
"Is there anything else you want to talk about that you've been keeping to yourself?" Tony asked lightly.
Peter thought about it for a few seconds, and there honestly wasn't.
"No." He answered, unable to keep the slight surprise out of his voice.
"You sure?" Tony asked, amused.
"Yeah."
"Ok good." His dad ran a hand through his hair again. "Hey, since you're still awake, what do you say we have Bruce come up and take a quick look at you?"
Peter sighed and rolled his eyes, but he knew Tony couldn't see. Bruce had stopped by daily to check on him. He was supposedly the one in charge of monitoring his recovery, but Peter was getting a little sick of all the poking and prodding. He was mostly fine now anyway.
"Do I have to?" He complained.
"What? You don't like Bruce now?"
"I like Bruce fine, but I'm getting a little sick of Dr. Banner."
"Words I never thought I'd hear you say." Tony joked.
"I just don't feel like it today." Peter grumbled.
"Well tough. He's the reason you get to lay here on the couch at home instead of in a bed at the compound."
"Fine." He sighed petulantly as he let go of his dad and sat back. "But is Bruce even that kind of doctor?"
"In fact he is. Along with his other seven doctorates." Tony answered. "Didn't he ever tell you about the time he needed to lay low so he hid out in Calcutta working as a doctor?"
"No." Peter frowned. That sounded kind of interesting.
"Hey FRI, be a dear and see if Bruce is free to come up and check on my kid." Tony addressed the AI. Peter's chest warmed at the nonchalant way Tony referred to him as his kid. He wondered if that would ever change. If he'd be twenty five and still be filled with surprise and wonder when Tony called him his.
"Yes boss."
Tony went back to talking to Peter. "You should ask him about it. He's got some good stories."
"Maybe I will." Peter said. "Hey do you think he's going to let me take these casts off today?"
"I don't kiddo. You'll have to ask him."
"Come on. I know the two of you talk about me behind my back. You have to have some sort of clue on the timeline."
"You make it sound so devious. It's not like that. We discuss your recovery, yes, but we're not plotting against you in dark rooms where you can't hear."
Peter rolled his eyes. "So, you still have to have some idea. Am I getting them off today?"
Tony huffed in amusement but answered, "Probably not today."
"When then?"
"I really don't know."
"Tomorrow?"
"Probably not tomorrow."
"See? You do know something."
"Why don't you ask Bruce?"
"Why don't you just tell me?"
"Because it's not my decision and I don't want to be the messenger. I like being the dad, not the bad guy." Tony reached out to ruffle his hair as he answered.
"That just tells me I'm not going to like the answer."
Tony gave him a tired smile but didn't offer any more information. Peter wanted to keep pestering him, but he could tell from the look in Tony's eyes that he really didn't want to be the one to give him any bad news.
"Fine. I'll ask Bruce, but I can already tell I'm not going to like it."
"Ask me what?" Bruce asked as he walked into the room. Peter had been too distracted to hear him get off the elevator.
"Kid wants to know when the casts get to come off." Tony said before Peter had a chance to ask. Apparently Tony wouldn't answer him but he had no problem talking for him.
"Probably in a week or so." Bruce answered as walked to the couch. Tony stood to get out of his way, and the scientist took his spot perched on the edge of the couch.
"Another week?" Peter lamented. "But they don't even hurt that much now."
"But they're still very much broken." Bruce countered.
"Yeah well you should see the other guy." He joked as he settled in to get poked and prodded as his dad hovered nearby. "Pretty sure he ended up more broken and busted up than me."
"That is true." Bruce agreed distractedly as he rifled through his black medical bag to grab a stethoscope.
"Where did that robot come from anyway?" He asked them, suddenly curious. He hadn't thought to ask about it before, but none of the Avengers or his dad had told him anything about it, besides that it was destroyed. Along with part of his school.
Bruce and Tony shared a meaningful look but didn't answer.
"What?" He asked confused by the subterfuge. "Why can't I know about the robot?"
"Let Bruce take a look at you first and then we'll talk about it." Tony said.
Bruce didn't add anything as he pushed his shirt up and placed the stethoscope against his lower back.
He made a face at the coldness.
"Does that hurt?" Bruce asked, not missing a thing.
"No. Just cold."
"Sorry." Bruce said, bemused. "Take a deep breath."
Peter did as he was told, breathing as Bruce listened to his lungs. At least it didn't hurt to breathe anymore. Peter stayed quiet while the man listened to his heart. When he was done listening, he hung the stethoscope over his neck and it made him look like an actual doctor, although apparently he really was one. Peter waited as he leaned closer to press a flat hand gently against his injured left side, pressing lightly.
He'd been feeling better but the pressure against his broken ribs hurt and he pulled his face into a tight grimace.
"Still sore huh?"
"A little." He tried to downplay it.
Bruce palpated a particularly tender spot and he wasn't expecting it. He let out a little grunt of pain.
"Sorry." Bruce apologized, looking chagrined.
"It's ok." He said and the next second he felt his dad's hand land lightly on the top of his head. Even with the added comfort, he couldn't help but hold himself stiffer as Bruce finished looking at his side.
"So what's the verdict? Will he live?" Tony asked jokingly once Bruce let go.
"Oh I think so." Bruce answered equally lighthearted as he gently grasped his shoulder and pushed him back until he was lying down flat on the couch. Tony's hand stayed tangled in his hair. Peter hated this part. He'd thought the broken bones would be the most painful, but it was actually his abdomen that bothered him the most.
Bruce splayed a hand across his stomach and Peter couldn't stop himself from involuntarily tensing up.
"Try to relax." Bruce instructed and Tony raked calming fingers through his curls. Peter forced his muscles to unclench. To be fair, Bruce was as gentle as possible and he started at the least sore part of his stomach, but when he got to the sensitive part Peter scrunched his eyes shut. He tried to distract himself by focusing on his dad's hand in his hair but it was hard. Ow ow ow.
Finally Bruce was done. Peter breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sorry." Bruce apologized again. "I know that part's no fun."
Peter responded with a quiet hum and a yawn. The poking and prodding always wore him out.
"Almost done." Bruce shot him an amused smile and moved his attention to his casted arm and leg. This part never bothered him. Peter let his eyes slip closed as he waited for Bruce to finish.
"He's healing, but he still has a ways to go yet." Bruce said to his dad after a couple minutes.
Peter opened his eyes at the sentence. He hadn't realized he'd already been half asleep.
"You guys always talk about me like I'm not here. I can hear you, you know." He complained.
"No we don't." Tony denied. "We thought you were asleep."
"You do too." He mumbled. "And you keep things from me."
"No we don't."
"Ok then why won't you tell me about the robot?" He asked, craning his neck back so he could see his dad's face from where he stood over his shoulder.
Bruce and Tony shared another long look.
"Huh?" He prompted.
"We're not keeping anything from you." Tony finally answered as Bruce stood and walked away. "We just don't know."
"You…don't know?" He didn't get it.
"The robot had a self destruct feature. Once we took it down, it incinerated itself. There was nothing left of it to figure out where it came from or what its objective was. Natasha's working on, but as of right now, we don't know." Tony explained.
"Oh." Peter blinked in surprise. The not already knowing everything about the robot didn't mesh with his flawless view of the Avengers. Before he could say anything else, Bruce came back with a large warm throw blanket and spread it out over him.
"Thanks." Tony muttered to his friend and took over tucking him in.
"Get some rest Peter." Bruce told him then turned to Tony. "I need to get back down to the lab but I'll see you at dinner."
"You still planning on making that tikka masala thing?" Tony asked, and the mention of Indian food made Peter realize he'd forgotten to ask about Calcutta. Maybe next time.
"Yeah. Clint's request." Bruce smiled.
"Thanks again." Tony said and clapped the man on his shoulder as he walked by him on the way out.
"Don't mention it." Bruce smiled again and left.
"I can't believe you don't know anything about the robot." Peter mumbled to himself after the elevator doors closed behind Bruce.
"Contrary to popular belief, we're superheroes, not gods. Well except for Thor. I guess he's technically a god. Or a demigod. Or whatever. But he's not here." Tony said. "Anyway. The point is, even we need a little something to go on. But if we find out anything about the robot, I'll let you know. Ok?"
"Ok." Peter said and yawned again.
"Get some rest kiddo." Tony ruffled his hair. "I think your girlfriend tired you out."
"She's not my girlfriend." He grumbled even though he knew his dad was just teasing him.
Tony smirked.
Peter sighed. He had a bad feeling the girlfriend thing was destined to become a recurring taunt.
A/N: I'm not sure if Bruce actually has an MD but I'm going with it since I've seen some sources that say he's an MD/PhD and he seemed to be working as a physician in India at the beginning of the first Avengers movie. As always, thanks for all the wonderful comments! Let me know what you thought about this chapter!