Chapter 2
Tony was sleeping in bed beside Pepper. Both of them content and fast asleep.
"DAD!"
Startled awake, Tony snapped his eyes open fearfully, panting heavily. His son's scream still echoing in his ear.
"DAD! HELP!"
Tony instantly bolted upright in bed, looking down at Pepper. But she was fast asleep. How could she not hear Peter shouting like that?
No time to wake her up, Tony just flew out of bed and raced out the room towards Peter's room.
"DAD!"
"I'm coming Peter!" Tony shouted back, activating his wristband to form his Iron Man gauntlet, and raised it as he burst into Peter's room. Prepared to take down an attacker.
But there was no attacker.
All that was in the room was a baby's crib.
With a crying baby.
Confused, Tony lowered his hand and moved to the crib. He peered down at the baby inside. A blanket was covering the crying baby, reading Peter.
"Peter." Tony whispered in shock, and instantly bent down to pick him up; "Shhh it's ok buddy. Daddy's got you." He rocked his son, smiling as Peter grabbed his finger with his whole hand and refused to let go.
"Daddy won't let anyone hurt you." Tony murmured humming to Peter. He stopped crying and laughing smiling up at him. It made Tony smile, his heart swelling with love.
But then suddenly, the room went pitch black. Tony panicked; "FRIDAY? What's happening?"
Peter started crying, Tony tried to sooth him. But then... he felt the weight go in his arms. Peter was gone.
"PETER!" Tony said panicked moving his hands finding them empty.
The lights came back on. The crib was gone, the room was completely bare. And Peter was gone.
"No no no." Tony said whipping around panicking; "Peter!" This couldn't be happening. Where was his son?
Racing out of the room, Tony searched everywhere screaming Peter's name, but he was no where. Tony was getting hysterical now, on the verge of a panic attack.
"Tony? Tony!" Suddenly Pepper appeared in front of him grabbing him by the shoulders, her eyes terrified; "What are you doing? You scared the hell out of me screaming like that."
"Pepper! Thank god." Tony felt relief knowing she would help; "P-Peter's gone!"
"What?"
"I went into his room, and he was there, but now...he's gone and his room is empty. I called his name and no answer! I can't find him anywhere!"
"Ok ok slow down." Pepper cupped his face; "First of all, whose Peter?"
Tony instantly stilled and frowned at her; "What?"
"Tony. We don't know any Peter. I think you just had a nightmare."
"No no..."
"FRIDAY says you've having another anxiety attack, why don't you just come back to bed?"
"No no!" Tony stumbled backwards looking at her suspiciously wondering if she was playing some sick joke; "Peter! My son! Our son!"
Pepper looked at him fearfully for a moment like he had lost his mind; "Tony. We don't have a son."
"Ok fine my son!" He snapped angrily.
"You don't have a son Tony!" Pepper replied back agitated and looked at him worriedly.
"No no this can't be happening." Tony ran his hands over his face, his whole body trembling. It felt like his world was crumbling down around him, like his heart was ripped from his chest. How could Pepper not remember Peter? He wasn't crazy! He had a son. Where was his son?
"Ok Tony you're scaring me now. FRIDAY call Dr Cho." Pepper sighed as she approached Tony slowly like an animal; "Tony just sit down and take a breath. Talk to me please. What is going on?"
Tony spun around terrified. Everything was fuzzy. It wasn't right. Nothing made sense.
"DAD! Help!"
Tony whipped around instantly looking out his the window to the backyard. Immediately seeing a figure in all black with a hood walking away, holding baby Peter who was crying his head off.
"PETER!" Tony screamed racing out after them. He rushed outside, pouring rain pelting him on the face, so he could barely see. But he didn't care. He would do whatever it took to find his son.
"DAD!"
Tony rushed forward, and tripped.
Falling face first.
He hit his head, and everything spun.
"DAD!"
Tony snapped his eyes open and sat up frowning. He was lying amongst concrete debris, one piece laying on his legs. Fire and smoke all around, along with screaming people.
"Wha...PETER!" Tony shouted frantically, whipping around.
That's when he saw it. A Hammer drone, shooting at a car further down the street. What the hell?
And behind it, the stadium saying STARK Expo.
Oh god no.
Tony whipped around his eyes searching. Finally landing on a small figure. A boy, wearing an Iron Man mask, holding up a fake Iron Man gauntlet against a Hammer Drone.
It was Peter!
"NO! PETER!" Tony screamed, trying to get up but was held down. Angrily, he shoved and clawed at the rock on his leg but it was too big. He moved to activate his wristband for his suit, but there weren't there.
"No no no." Tony panicked.
There was a familiar whining of a gun powering.
Tony turned instantly, his eyes widening as he saw a Hammer Drone about to shoot Peter. His son.
He felt his heart stop. Doing whatever he could to get up.
"PETER RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!"
All the while he waited for himself to appear. To save him. Iron Man saved him. That's what happened. Peter was safe.
But then where was he?
Hearing a roaring, Tony looked up seeing...himself. Or well Iron Man. Flying up in the sky shooting at drones below.
"HEY!" Tony shouted; "SAVE HIM! SAVE PETER!"
But he was ignored. Iron Man just flew off. And Peter was alone.
Tony turned in horror just as the Hammer Drone fired.
"NO!"
BANG!
Tony was knocked onto his back, and then suddenly there was a Chitauri leaning over him growling.
"WOAH!" Tony rolled out of the way, and was shocked to see he was in his Iron Man suit. He raised his hand shooting the Chitauri killing it, and lay there for a moment breathing heavily. What the hell was going on?
Scrambling up, Tony spun 360; "PETER!" But this wasn't the Stark Expo anymore. But New York city. The Invasion. 2012.
The city was in ruin, fighting everywhere. The Avengers all around him. But no Peter.
Right now Tony didn't care about the Chitauri of the Avengers, he just wanted Peter.
"TONY!" Tony whipped around as Captain America glared at him; "What are you doing? The missile! Do something!"
"What?" Tony was baffled, and then remembered this was when he diverted the missile into space to save the city.
He didn't have time for that.
"No I have to find my son!"
"Your son?" Steve rushed over to him; "Did you hit your head Tony?"
"PETER!" Tony snapped, getting frustrated at no one knowing about him and looking at him like he was crazy.
"We don't have time for this." Natasha said rushing over; "Tony! Get the damn missile!"
"No screw all of you! I'm going after my son." Tony turned and was immediately punched in the face by Clint. Everything went black.
When he opened his eyes he was flying up into the air with the missile, looking up at a field of stars. He went through the portal, and the stars were all around him. Nothingness. Emptiness.
Then the Hulk screamed and Tony awoke with a start; "Peter!" Not bothering to wait, he immediately flew up into the air and sped towards Peter's apartment with May. He didn't care what anyone said. He was going to find Peter.
Ignoring all the shouts of the Avengers over comms calling his name.
But when he reached Queens and the apartment building. He stopped in horror; "No!"
The building was destroyed. In ruins.
"Oh god." Tony felt like he was going to throw up. His heart was racing so head it felt like it was going to explode out of his chest. He couldn't breathe. His son was dead...gone...and it was all his fault.
"Tony!"
"Tony!"
"TONY! Wake up!"
Gasping, Tony's eyes shot open. And he was met with Pepper's terrified face leaning over him.
"Oh thank god Tony." Pepper laid a hand on his chest, frantic concern crossing her face; "Are you ok?"
Panting, and breathing fast, Tony sat upright, his body trembling hard. What just happened? He looked around seeing he was back in his bedroom with Pepper. Had what he just seen been real or not? It sure as hell felt real? Please god no...
"Peter." Tony exhaled, his eyes bugging out as he grabbed Pepper's arm; "Oh god Peter!"
"No no Peter's fine Tony. He's in his room sleeping. He's ok." She emphasised cupping his face, forcing him to look at her; "You were having a nightmare. FRIDAY woke me up to warn me you were having an anxiety attack. I could barely wake you. You just get calling Peter's name."
"Peter's ok?" Tony whispered, looking Pepper in the eye needing to be sure.
"He's fine Tony." Pepper smiled pulling him into a hug, tears in her eyes worried for him. Seeing Tony was really really shaken by this, struggling to get his breathing under control; "Peter's safe. He's safe. And he's unharmed." Pepper said as she touched Tony's back and head to calm him; "He's here."
Tony clung to Pepper for a moment. So happy to have his Pepper back, the one who never looked at him like he was crazy, who understood and knew Peter.
"I need to see him." Tony finally murmured pulling away from her. He couldn't relax until he saw Peter for himself.
"Ok ok." Pepper said nodding and taking his hand; "Come on." They got out of bed together, and she led him to Peter's room. Tony felt a rush of love for her. She didn't question him or doubt him, she just knew what he needed.
They reached Peter's door, and Pepper waited whilst Tony opened the door. Staying by the door as he went inside.
Walking in, Tony braced himself. But it was Peter's room, just as it should be. And Peter...he was fast asleep in bed, face down. An arm dangled over the side.
Tony stumbled for a moment, pure shock at seeing Peter. Alive. And safe. He was here. He was home.
Covering his mouth, Tony breathed shakily as he walked over to Peter's bedside. He knelt down on the floor by Peter's head. Just staring at his face for a moment. His tension immediately starting to fade away, seeing Peter's steady breathing and relaxed, innocent face.
Reaching out, Tony hesitated before he touched the top of Peter's head. Exhaling in relief that he was real. This was real. It had all just been a dream. Running his hand through Peter's hair, Tony felt a small smile forming. Peter was ok. He was safe.
Then Tony carefully picked Peter's arm up, and placed it on the bed by his head, pulling the duvet back up to his chin. He sat back on the floor, his knees out in front of him, resting his arms over them as he looked anxiously at Peter. He was afraid to look away in case he disappeared. Watching Peter sleep, it just soothed Tony.
Pepper watched from the doorway, crossing her arms and pulling her jumper tighter around her as she rested against the door frame with concern. Then she slowly padded back to bed, knowing this was something Tony needed to do alone. It wasn't the first time he had a nightmare about Peter. Pepper tried to help, but she could only do so much. She just hoped this was something Tony could get past.
0o0o0o0oSPIDERMAN0o0o0o0o0o
Pepper was sitting up in bed, looking over her tablet when Tony walked into the room. She paused to look at the time, seeing it was 4 am.
Looking at him softly, she set the tablet aside.
"What are you still doing up?" Tony said stopping for a moment guiltily.
"I wanted to make sure you were ok. Come here." Pepper opened her arms to him, and he immediately got back into bed and she hugged him tightly.
He wasn't shaking anymore, but he was still clearly shaken.
"I just...I had to sit with him for a while. To be sure."
"Sure of what?" Pepper asked gently.
"That he...he was alive. That he was here. Safe."
"What?" Pepper sat up startled, her eyes wide as she met Tony's eyes. She shifted to face him fully; "Tony. What happened? What did you see?"
With a deep sigh, Tony set about explaining his dream to Pepper. He didn't keep secrets from her, and he needed to talk to someone about it.
"Oh Tony." Pepper murmured as she hugged him, and kissed his forehead in comfort; "I'm sorry that had to have been horrible."
"You have no idea." Tony said closing his eyes and shuddering. It had all been too vivid.
"Peter's safe." Pepper reminded him; "He's ok. It wasn't real."
"I know." Tony smiled gratefully at her for trying, reaching for her hand, interlocking their fingers; "It just felt so real. I needed to be sure it wasn't. That he really was ok. That no one had taken him away."
Pepper nodded in understanding, the whole thing just sounding unimaginably painful.
It wasn't hard to figure out what caused it though. Peter's mother keeping Peter secret was just like taking Peter away from Tony, and she knew how guilty and angry Tony still felt for not being there when Peter was little. She just didn't know how much it affected him.
"You and I both know what this is about." Pepper prompted gently after a moment.
Tony looked away and leant back against the headboard. The anger and guilt hadn't gone away. He still felt cheated out of his son's childhood. Especially after seeing those photo albums. His son looked up to Iron Man, to him, and he wasn't there.
"I feel like a deadbeat dad. Like I failed him."
"Tony. No. It's not your fault. Peter knows that."
"Yeah but it doesn't change how I feel. I've tried to get past it, but for some reason I can't."
"It's only been 9 months. It's going to take some time."
"No it's more than that. I don't want to lose him Pep."
"He's not going anywhere." Pepper rubbed her thumb across his hand; "He's right down the hall. There's nothing on Earth that would keep you two apart again."
"Oh I can think of a few things." Tony said bitterly, making Pepper frown.
"Like...?"
"He's 16."
"Not following."
"Well he's going to college soon. Almost an adult. He's not going to need a dad then." It was his deepest fear that his son would not longer need him. He'd only just discovered his son, and may have to let him go before he even got the hang of being a father.
The worst part was when he had to say goodbye to Peter as he returned to his home with May. This whole 4 day week thing Tony hated with a vengeance. At the beginning Tony thought that it was good for all of them to spend time with Peter. And so Peter could maintain his relationship with both of them. But every time Peter left, and Tony didn't see him for a couple of days. It was like someone was ripping his heart from his chest. He didn't realise how much Peter had become such a huge part of his life. His son. It was still a shock sometimes. But Tony hated not seeing his child every day. He'd already lost out on 15 years, and missing even a second more just felt unfair. He felt he was going to miss another important event. He wanted Peter here, with him, permanently, every day. But how could he ask May to let go of Peter like that?
Yes, Tony was his dad, and his son should be with his dad. Legally, there was no question that Peter should be with him. But it was more complicated than that, May was more than just Peter's aunt. She had raised him, had essentially been his mom for 16 years. They had a bond that Tony couldn't break, and wouldn't want to. Peter needed her. Then there was the bigger issue, that they were still having to act under the radar, so the press didn't find out about Peter. Having Peter move in with him, that would throw up a lot of red flags to everyone, and if the press found out, Peter's life would be turned upside down. Tony wasn't going to be selfish and ruin Peter's life just because he wanted to spend time with him.
Still, it just sucked. The whole situation sucked. He couldn't go out in public with his son, meaning they could only hang out in the house or at SI. He was sure deep down it bothered Peter at times, when he suggested going out at times and Tony having to refuse. The situation couldn't go on forever, the truth would have to come out eventually. But Tony was scared of hurting Peter. He only wanted what was best for him. But he wasn't sure what that was?
"I don't want to miss out on anymore of his life Pepper." Tony admitted with a huff; "Not a second of it. I'm his dad, he should be with me here. And I know that's being unfair to May. She raised him. She's like his mother. But..."
"You're his dad." Pepper said firmly; "Of course you want him here. It's only natural." Now she started to understand what this was all about. She'd noticed a routine lately. When Peter left to go home to May, Tony would stay in his lab, sullen, and wouldn't come out. Yet, when Peter was here, the normal Tony was back.
"Why don't you talk to May about this Tony? You can't keep going on like this. If you want Peter, then fight for him. May might understand."
"I don't know..." Tony wavered; "Maybe I'm just being selfish. If he comes to live here, the truth will come out about him."
"Well maybe it's time." Pepper shrugged; "He's your son, we all knew we couldn't hide that forever. And it's not fair on anyone to keep him a secret. Especially Peter."
"The press will ruin his life." Tony closed his eyes, he was used to the press. He'd had them swarming his whole life. He knew how vicious they could be, and the circumstances of Peter's conception could hurt him.
"I know the press can be horrible, but stories do fade. And he won't be alone. He'll have you to protect him."
Tony felt a little bit better at that, because maybe Pepper was right...
"And you." Tony added turning to look at him.
"And May and Happy." Pepper concluded; "He's not alone Tony. He never will be. Just think about it ok? And just know whatever you chose to do I'll support you. And Peter."
Tony grinned, and leant in to kiss her.
"I don't deserve you."
"True." Pepper smirked and kissed him back; "Come on. Try to get some sleep. Peter's fine. And he's still here for the next three days. He's not going anywhere."
Tony laid down beside Pepper, and much as he was afraid he'd having another nightmare. He wanted to sleep so it would be tomorrow already. So he could see his son.