A huge thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed. Thank you so so much, and please know that it makes my day when someone takes the time to say something kind about what like about my story, or even just that you enjoyed it. Thank you.
Also, I try to update every Sunday, just so everyone knows my update schedule. :)
Sendoff
Peter woke early on Sunday, heart pounding as his hand went naturally to the necklace around his neck, fingers gripping the charm. His breaths came in gasps as he remembered the dreams...not nightmares. But dreams that had kept trying to turn into nightmares. Hands shaking he sat up in bed, putting a hand over his mouth and trying to calm down.
May's birthday was in a few days.
Tony wouldn't be there.
It didn't matter, he told himself firmly. It wasn't a big deal. Tony had been there for him so many times and the man had to work now! Peter was sixteen years old. He could do this. He was practically grown. He didn't need his...he didn't need Tony there all the time. He had to wonder if the man knew, though. He hadn't mentioned it...but maybe that was because Tony didn't want to upset him.
There was no way he could go back to sleep. Groaning and pushing himself out of bed, he wiped his eyes and fought a yawn. Maybe he could take a nap later. Sundays were always calm around the tower, even with the others around. Throwing on a pair of sweatpants and a tank top, he headed for the elevator, grabbing his phone and new headphones on his way, then took the elevator to the workout room.
And then he was running.
His feet pounded on the treadmill as he ran, earbuds in blasting music as loudly as he could stand, chest aching with his racing heart. He'd hoped that an hour on the treadmill would calm him, but his chest still felt too tight, and breathing hadn't gotten any easier...well, he was running so that was to be expected….but he wasn't running that hard.
He turned the incline up and pumped his arms harder, hoping that he could outrun whatever this was. He'd known that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, even though it was just past three am, but Tony hadn't woken up so he guessed that Friday would only wake him if Peter had nightmares.
What if he had nightmares while Tony was gone?
The reminder that Tony would be gone just made his heart race even more and he didn't understand! He was old enough to stay alone! He'd just met the man less than three years ago! And he'd get to talk to him on the phone. Probably video chat…
If he kept this up…
What if Tony thought he was too clingy? What if he was getting on the man's nerves?
It felt like no time had passed before his sixty minutes was up and he groaned as the treadmill slowed down, rolling his eyes at Friday's reminder that he had a limit of one hour. "Yeah, yeah." He grumbled, tugging one earbud out and wiping his face with a towel and feeling the familiar lightheadedness that came with running in the morning. He didn't care. He wanted more. Wanted to absolutely exhaust himself so that his brain had no choice but to stop!
"Peter?" The boy jerked his head up in surprise, pulling his other earbud out and blinking at the man standing in the doorway.
"Oh...uh...good morning, Captain...Steve."
"Morning." The man nodded, seemingly torn between bemused and concerned. "You're up early."
"Yeah...couldn't really sleep." The man stared between him and the treadmill, and Peter felt the urge to explain. "It shuts off after an hour."
He nodded, looking him over critically, then moved over to the counter, grabbing a granola bar and tossing it to him. Peter caught it easily, but didn't open it. "Come on. Eat that on the way." Steve invited, and hesitantly, Peter did, opening the granola bar and taking a bite as he walked behind the man. Steve led him to the elevator, then down to the ground floor where they headed toward the back door. "Friday? If Tony wakes up, can you tell him that Peter and I went out? We'll be back soon."
"Of course, Captain." The voice from the ceiling told them, sounding almost concerned. Still, she didn't alert Tony that he was leaving and bother him about it which was good. Peter figured that he deserved to spend some time with Pepper at home...of course, they were going on this trip together.
Peter could have gone. He'd been invited.
He shook those thoughts off as he followed Steve into the almost chilly morning air. It would be warm later, but the mornings were still kind of cold. The Captain glanced back at him as they stepped out onto the street, and then they were walking. He followed, hands in his pockets, granola bar wrapper stuffed down in his back pocket where he could throw it away later. Nearly trotting to keep up with him, Peter stayed just a step behind on the empty sidewalk as they made their way across the street and to the park a few blocks away. Peter hadn't asked any questions...figured he was up for an adventure to take his mind off of things.
When they stepped onto the path, he glanced up at Steve again. The man was looking around...and then he smiled down at Peter. "Ready?"
"Uh...sure…" He murmured, taking his hands out of his pockets and glancing around at the mostly deserted park. "Ready for…"
"C'mon." And then Steve took off. He jogged at first, moving slowly enough that Peter could easily catch up...and then he was running. Full out running. Feeling a grin spread over his face, he took off after the man, matching his pace easily, and laughing when Steve did. "Damn, kid. You're fast." Peter shrugged as he ran. "Were you always?" He shook his head with a laugh.
"No. I had asthma."
"Me too."
And then they were running. Sprinting. Racing through the park along the pathway. A few minutes in, Peter started to pull out his headphones, but realized that might be rude. He'd never run with anyone before. But Steve nodded down at him, barely out of breath when he spoke. "Go ahead, kid. I don't mind."
So Peter did, sticking his headphones in his ear and blasting his music and running as fast as he could along Captain America. He was going on an early morning jog with Captain America! He couldn't wait to tell Ned...in fact, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, texting and running. 'Dude, you'll never believe what I'm doing right now!'
It was ridiculously early, but Ned responded after only a few minutes. 'What!?'
'Jogging with Captain America!'
'Dude!?' And then about twenty emojis. Peter chuckled, pushing his phone back into his pocket and hurrying after Steve who had gotten a little ahead while Peter was texting. Every once in a while, the man would glance back as I making sure he was still with him...making sure he was okay. Peter didn't resent it...it was kind of nice. To know the man was keeping an eye on him, not that he needed looking after. Still, it was cool! He was jogging with Steve Rogers. And just for a little while he was able to forget...to forget that May's birthday was in a few days and that Tony was going to be gone and that he was going to ask the man to adopt him and that he felt like he was on the edge of a nervous….
"Peter?" Steve was glancing back at him, slowing down, and Peter realized he was breathing heavily again. "Peter? Are you okay? Do you need to stop?"
He shook his head, speeding up once more and turning up his music. "Fine. Sorry. I was texting." Steve seemed to accept it, even though he wasn't holding his phone, and the two ran for almost an hour, making a loop around the park. Peter wanted to keep going, and he knew that Steve could have, but the man kept stealing glance at him, jaw tight and eyes worried.
His phone vibrated in his pocket while they were headed back to the tower. Pulling it out, he was surprised to find it was almost five thirty. It was from Ned again, asking if he wanted to hang out sometime that week. Peter told him that he would check, figuring he could go to his place after school on Thursday. He'd check with Tony...or did he even need to? Tony wouldn't be there...he could just go. Text Rhodey.
In the elevator, Peter leaned against the wall, trying not to look as exhausted as he felt. Steve didn't ask how he was, but as soon as they stepped onto the main floor, not Tony's floor, Steve motioned for him to come along. Peter followed, even though he'd planned on taking a shower and maybe getting a couple more hours of sleep. "Have a seat, kiddo. I'm making breakfast."
"What the hell, man? You already went running? It is Sunday morning. Don't you ever take…" Sam Wilson cut himself off when he caught sight of Peter, his head resting in his hand, elbow propped up on the counter where he was sitting on a barstool. Lightheaded and tired, he didn't even look at the man. "What the hell did you do to him?" For a second, Peter thought Sam was asking him what he'd done to Steve, and, confused, he looked up at the man who was standing at the stove.
"He came along for the run. I think we might have overdone it."
"I'm fine." Peter put in, an edge to his voice that he hadn't meant to put there.
Something was placed in front of him and he opened his eyes to find a glass of orange juice on the counter. "Drink up," Sam ordered, and Peter drained it without argument, shifting on the barstool and pulling his phone out of his pocket, placing it on the counter instead. "You alright, kid? Really? Because I really don't want Iron man to come down here and try to kick my ass because Cap decided to take you on a run and then you passed out or something."
Peter snorted. "Try to kick your ass?" The man rolled his eyes, a hand shooting out to ruffle his hair. Peter swatted him away, a reluctant smile turning the corners of his mouth as he tried to smooth his sweaty hair down.
"So he's funny too." At the stove, Steve just smiled a little, shaking his head as he pulled out a carton of eggs.
"Fried or scrambled?" The Captain wondered.
"Um...scrambled?"
Steve nodded, cracking several eggs into a skillet. Sam joined him, opening a bag of bread and throwing a few slices into the toaster. A door down the hall shut, and then someone was heading their way. The necklace against his skin grew just slightly warmer...it had been resting against the skin under his tank top, so it had already been the same temperature as him. But now...it was just a little warmer. And then Loki turned the corner, lifting an eyebrow when he spotted Peter. "Hey, Loki." He greeted, smiling. Sam glanced back over, an eyebrow raised, and Peter got the impression that Sam didn't care much for Loki.
"Hello, child." Loki greeted, taking a seat beside him. "What happened to you?" He asked, looking Peter up and down. Peter could see through his mask by now...he looked unconcerned, but he knew that the Asgardian cared.
"We went running."
"Why?"
"Uh...fun?" He shrugged. "Like...jogging. In the park."
"Was someone chasing you?" The dry question started a laugh out of Peter and he grinned, shaking his head.
"You never go running? Or like...exercise for fun?"
"No."
"What do you do for fun?"
"Stab my brother." Peter laughed again, tickled by the incredulous looks on Steve and Sam's faces. He caught the corner of Loki's lip twitching as Steve began to scoop eggs onto a plate that he pushed over to Peter, then Sam added some toast and passed him the butter.
"I'm making more, but that should hold you for a while."
"Thanks." Peter offered a piece of toast to Loki who took it and ate it dry, despite the fact that Peter wrinkled is nose and tried to give him some butter, then jam. Giving up and feeling like he'd better eat something, he took a bite of his own breakfast, which quickly turned into him scarfing down his own breakfast.
"Maybe you want to chew that?" Sam asked mildly, but Peter barely listened, just focused on stuffing his face, and enjoying how the lightheadedness faded.
"You feeling better?" Steve asked, which caused Loki to give him another long look.
"I'm fine." He assured the man between bites, noticing how Loki wrinkled his nose when Peter spoke with his mouth full.
"Do Midgardian children not observe basic table manners?" Loki muttered under his breath, making Peter laugh again.
Steve was back at the stove, still making eggs, and when breakfast was over, Peter had eaten three plates full of eggs and at least five pieces of toast. They offered him more, but Peter thanked them for breakfast and said he was going to head back to his floor. No one corrected him...no one reminded him that it was Tony's floor. Loki followed him to the elevator, walking with him even though it was barely twenty feet. When they reached the elevator, Loki turned to him, crossing his arms and looking him up and down.
"How are you sleeping?" He asked, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. Almost gentle. Peter shrugged.
"Fine."
"Nightmares?"
"No."
"Then why were you up so early that you could go running with Captain Freedom?" Peter's lips twitched and he almost laughed.
"I...I woke up." He told him with a shrug. "Just...couldn't sleep.
"Why not?" Peter shrugged again, averting his eyes. "Peter?" He was surprised to hear the man say his name, and he looked up, meeting his eyes. "Are you alright, child?"
"I...yeah. Really...just tired. I'm going to try and get some more sleep."
The Asgardian regarded him seriously, then nodded, stepping back as Peter stepped into the elevator that had been waiting for him. As soon as the doors closed, he closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall. Thankfully, no one was in the living room yet, so he dragged himself to his room, took a quick shower, then dropped onto the bottom bunk, almost surprised when he was able to fall asleep instantly.
The next thing he knew was a gentle hand on his hair, and a weight at his side. "Kiddo? You okay?" He hummed in confusion, and a thumb rubbed against his temple. "It's almost noon."
"Huh?" He asked, eyes shooting open, heart rate immediately racing. "Am I late?"
"No, you're okay." Blinking and disoriented, he looked around the room, feeling uncomfortably warm under the blankets and shoving them off. Tony helped, pulling the blanket off and resting the back of his hand against Peter's forehead. "You feeling alright?"
"Yeah...yeah, I just…" He shook his head, trying to clear it. "I thought I set an alarm." Tony held up a phone, and it took Peter a second to realize that Tony was holding his phone.
"Where…"
"Cap brought it up. Said you forgot it at breakfast. He also said you two went running." Peter nodded, taking his phone, still feeling disoriented. "Pete? Are you sure you're okay?" He asked as Peter sat up and rubbed his hands over his face.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I just...I can't believe I slept that late."
"In all fairness, you did run for a couple of hours first." Tony didn't look mad about that, exactly. He didn't look too happy either, though. "Pep and I are leaving in about an hour. Do you want to come out and eat something?" Although the last thing he'd done before going to bed was eat, he had slept for a little over five hours so he was starving again. Nodding, he pulled himself to his feet, automatically reaching a hand out to Tony to pull him up. The man smiled, taking the hand and letting Peter tug him to his feet.
Lunch felt rushed to Peter, even though neither Pepper nor Tony seemed to be hurrying. He knew that this would be the last time he saw them for a week. And it was no big deal, he told himself. He was fine. He was sixteen years old now and he wasn't afraid to be without his family for a couple of days. Heck, most teenagers would be excited! They'd be thinking of ways to throw a house party or sneak out with friends...but Peter didn't feel the urge to do any of those things. In fact, he just wanted to lay back down.
When he finished eating, he automatically carried his plate to the sink and started washing the dishes. This once, Tony didn't say anything. Neither did Pepper. But as he was cleaning, Pepper came over to say goodbye, a gentle hand touching his shoulder. "Alright, Peter." She murmured, and he turned to face her, hands still a little wet. He dried them on a towel, and she squeezed his arm. "We'll be back before you know it."
Those words made a knot form in his stomach, a memory from so long ago hitting him full force. "That's what my mom said." He whispered, and he felt more than saw her stiffen.
"Peter…" The woman whispered, breathing out his name with such sadness. "Hey...look at me, sweetheart." He did, blinking back the heat in his eyes, all the while calling himself an idiot...berating himself for worrying her.
He forced his face into a smile, did his best to make it reassuring. "I'm fine."
He should have known he wouldn't be able to fool Pepper. She pressed her lips together, then shook her head. "I think we should stay." His jaw dropped, and immediately he was shaking his head.
"No….no you can't! It's important...you have to go!' They couldn't do this. Not for him. "Please...I'm fine, Pepper. You have to go." He could tell she was conflicted, which told him how important this was. "Please. I'm okay. I promise. I'll just miss you guys. But you can call, right?"
"Of course we can." She murmured, both of them making an effort to keep their voices low so Tony wouldn't hear. But he was sure to start getting suspicious soon if they kept whispering like this. For a moment, she just stared at him with eyes that seemed to see everything, but then she squeezed his shoulder a little harder, a hand coming up to cup his face. "I want you to promise me something." He nodded. Of course he would. "If you need us to come home, I want you to tell me. You don't have to tell Tony. You can just text me if you want…"
"But this meeting…"
"Is not more important than our son." The words hit him as hard as the memory had, and he felt like his breath had been taken away. "Do you understand? No meeting is more important than my kid." He swallowed hard, looking into her fierce, serious eyes. "Okay?"
He nodded, feeling his voice crack as he responded. "Okay."
Then she smiled, that hand on his cheek still there, thumb rubbing over his face. "Okay. Good. I'll see you in a couple of days. I love you, Peter."
It wasn't hard for her, he realized, not in the same way it had been for Tony. For her, those words came easily. "Love you too, Pepper." It would be almost exactly a year before he'd call her 'mom,' his voice a little clumsy with the title he hadn't used since childhood. But it would all be worth it...it would make her smile like he'd never seen before, eyes lighting and filling with tears at the same time. Pepper would never forget that first Mother's day they'd spend together as a real, actual, legal family.
He didn't realize, as Pepper headed back to the living room to grab her bags, that it was Mother's day. Even if he had, he would have felt too awkward to say anything.
Tony joined him at the sink as he was finishing up the dishes, only about a minute after Pepper had left. For a moment, the man just stood beside him, staring out the window that overlooked the city. "Are you sure you don't want to go? Because you can. I'll write notes for your school and we can get your stuff together...or we can get you new stuff. They have clothes in Hong Kong." Peter nodded, fighting the urge to give in. But finals were coming up and he...he had to get through them. Ace them. He didn't know why that was so important, but it was.
"Promise. You don't have to worry, you know? I won't cause trouble for Rhodey or anything." Tony snorted, rolling his eyes.
"I never thought you would. I just…" He cut himself off, then smiled, wrapping an arm around Peter. "I'll miss you kid."
Peter leaned into the embrace. "I'll miss you too." He admitted. Tony turned, pressing a hand to the back of Peter's head, and he felt the man take a deep breath.
"I love you, kid. Call me if you need anything. I mean it. Anything. And text me during the day."
"Won't you be asleep?"
"Don't care. Still want you to text me."
"In class?" Peter asked, voice a little teasing. Tony chuckled.
"Yes. But don't get caught."
"I almost never do." Peter gave a breathy laugh when Tony did.
"Alright, Pete." Tony pulled away, hands on his shoulders. "I'll text you when I land. Just…" He hesitated, then smiled, his whole face softening as his eyes crinkled at the edges. "Be careful. I love you."
"I love you too, Dad." Tony put a hand on his head, not ruffling his hair but just resting it there.
"I'll see you on Saturday."
And then, Peter was alone in the apartment.
Thank you for reading!
