Chapter 86 - The Cavalry Has Arrived
Pete's legs were dangling over the armrest of the sofa. It was comfortably dark in the room even though the sun was high in the sky above the Compound. He had gotten a late start after another sleepless night but it was almost 2 pm and his stomach had started to growl some time ago.
There were still about 7 minutes of break time at Midtown left though and his fingers were hovering over the keyboard of his phone as he was staring at the three dots indicating that Ned was still typing. He stopped wiggling his legs as Ned's message came through.
so, MJ had just sat down & he came up to us
I first thought he was just gonna to like hurl something
at us but he put his tray on the table & sat down in the
chair right next to her
you should've seen her face!
Pete scrunched up his nose at the thought. It bugged him more than he was willing to admit. Flash at a lunch table with his friends. Worst of all, with him not there. It just wasn't right.
His fingers flew over the keyboard.
that's ridiculous! Did he just start talking to you?
apparently he heard that I was at the Compound
to visit you
wtf
ikr?! get this: he asked me if I saw Spider-Man
when I went
Ned added a bunch of emojis, the little faces laughing so hard they had tears streaming down like little rivers. Pete, too, felt like crying but not in a good way.
what did you say?
told him that it's all confidential. then his face
went all white & he was like "you saw him,
didn't you? you saw him?"
think he might have a crush on you
he followed me around for the rest of the day
maybe mr. Stark is onto something with those
tutors
I mean Flash would prob mob you if you'd
come back
Pete shook his head. Thinking about going back to school was off-limits. Tony made his position clear and it just got Pete cranky and angry to dream of the impossible.
we still on for saturday?
yeah, I asked my mom & she said it looks like
she'll have the car
okay. cool.
dude, gtg
Pete bit his lip. Once again they were being cut off by the start of a new lesson. If Pete would keep messaging, Ned would likely try to respond anyway but he might get caught and it wasn't worth Ned losing his phone for a week. So instead, he said his goodbyes for now and with a long sigh, his hands dropped to his sides onto the sofa. It was only another two days then Ned was going to come and visit. Two days. He could entertain himself for another two days.
Craning his neck his eye fell on the workbench that stood by the wall. He had finished his assignments the minute Lane had been called away for an early pick-up of her daughter a couple of hours ago. The material they had gone through so far was easy enough especially compared to the workload he'd had at Midtown and maybe he should tell Pepper or Tony that was still a little bored by assignments, but both tutors had turned out quite nice. It'd be foolish to risk getting an asshole to teach him instead just because he had a little more free time than he was used to.
"Hey FRI, where's Pepper at?"
"Miss Potts is in her office on the 4th floor. I can let her know that you're looking for—"
Pete sat up straight. "No. Stop!" There was a moment of silence. "You didn't tell her, did you?"
"No, I did not."
"Alright." Pete scratched the back of his neck. She was still working then and he wasn't going to disturb her just because he was bored and a little hungry. "So, without telling Tony I'm asking, can you tell me where he is?"
"Mr. Stark is in his lab on the 2nd floor."
Pete's shoulders sacked as his chest deflated with another sigh. His eyes flickered in the general direction of where Tony's lab was, only a couple of doors down from where he was sitting right now. The week had been a good one. They had gotten along quite well. Actually, they had gotten along great. Tony had been working a lot, of course. Had been in town for a couple more meetings but whenever he got home he'd come and look for him.
The morning after Tony had given him access to his own lab, access to the video files he hadn't really thought he'd see again, Pete had woken up in his bed, no Tony in sight. He couldn't even remember getting back to his room and for about half an hour as he woke himself up and showered, there was a bit of panic rising in his chest. Had Tony had to carry him back to the room? Had he blacked out for some reason? Was he gonna be mad?
But when he stuck his head out of his door, both Tony and Pepper were there to greet him. The mood in the room was relaxed and Pete didn't miss how they held hands behind his back all the way to the common room. Things for once had calmed down and he hadn't wanted to rock the boat because once again, Pete was sitting on a secret.
He rubbed both hands across his face. It had felt so good, telling Ned. It had felt like a million tons of baggage had been taken off his shoulders, but then it had dawned on him that maybe... maybe he shouldn't have. Maybe he should have asked Tony first. Maybe he wasn't allowed to tell people.
They had just made up.
With a shaky breath, he got to his feet. If Pete had learned one thing in the last few weeks it was that keeping secrets from Tony ended in disaster. Every time one of them came out, he had cursed himself that he hadn't come clean on his own. Things would have always been so much better if he had come clean on his own. He nodded to himself as his feet carried him out of his brand new lab and down the corridor towards Tony's.
He really liked the lab. He really wanted to keep it. With a groan, he was bobbing back and forth on the balls of his feet, still out of reach of the doors' sensor. Tony wouldn't make him uninvite Ned, right? Maybe... maybe Pete would just get a bit of a lecture and then things would be okay?
It didn't matter. It was only two days till Ned was coming back and he would have to tell Tony before then.
With a determined nod to himself, he stepped up to the doors that opened up into the lab.
Right away, raised voices rose around him.
"—and with every additional day we wait, this is just going to get harder to push through, Tony. They are stuck in there and it's not gonna get—"
"And if we agree to this now how is that gonna improve things, huh? They'll sell it like it's solved and the public—"
"Boss, Pete is here to see you."
With a curse, Pete stepped back into the hallway, trying to pretend like he hadn't just walked right into their conversation. But both Tony and the Widow had already turned towards him.
"Hey, buddy!" Tony's voice had a very fake cheerfulness to it. "You alright?"
"Yeah..." He swallowed hard, trying not to look directly at the Widow. "Sorry, I thought you're alone..."
"That's alright. Come on in, kid. Natasha was just leaving."
With a glance, Pete confirmed that the Widow was entirely unhappy with that assessment, in fact, she didn't move at all.
"Don't be ridiculous, Tony. We still have to—"
"I think we both have said everything there is to say on this. Now..." With a wave of his hand, FRIDAY's projections turned blank. "If you'll excuse me."
She stared at Tony for another moment, like she was waiting for him to come to his senses. "You're seriously going to babysit your kid right now instead—"
"Goodbye, Romanoff," Tony hissed.
She clenched her jaw but with a glance at Pete, her features softened ever so slightly. "I'll be in town till tonight."
With that, she stalked towards the door and brushed past Pete as he stepped a little further into the lab.
"Don't get caught," Tony called after her.
"Sorry, I... er... I can come back later," Pete mumbled, his eyes on the Widow as she stomped down the corridor.
"Don't be ridiculous," Tony waved him off with a sigh. "You were being incredibly helpful." He moved through the lab, collecting documents from the desks that he had disappear in the nearest drawers. "Alright, what's going on, kid? Did you just wanna come and say hi? Anything that's on your mind."
There was. There was a very specific reason why he had come to the lab, but the prospect of talking about it with Tony was daunting.
"It's... er... I was texting with Ned. You know..." He cringed at his own high-pitched voice. "...my friend, Ned. Best friend."
"Of course, of course," Tony nodded, then turned his eyes right to him.
"He's... His mom said she's likely gonna be able to... to drive him here. On Saturday."
Tony's eyes dropped from his face down to his hands. It was only then that Pete realized he had been picking at his fingers. Damn nerves. He balled his hands up and tried to low-key hide them behind his back.
"Alright, yay," Tony smiled carefully. "I'm glad that's working out. Did you remind him that I can always send a car?"
Pete nodded because that was easier than outright lying. He had offered it the first time Tony had suggested it but it quickly dawned on him that the availability of a car was the main issue Mrs. Leeds had with Ned coming out to the Compound.
"Is he gonna spend the night?"
"No..." Pete had offered that, too. It would have been amazing. They could have stayed in the lab and... Pete gave his head a little shake. "Maybe another time." In another life where Ned's parents wouldn't dislike his father so much.
"Hm." Tony shoved his hands into his pockets. "Is it gonna help if I give them a call?"
"No..." Pete mumbled.
"Alright..." He blew out a breath and shrugged. "Maybe they'll have a little car trouble on Saturday night. It's such a pain to get a mechanic out here on the weekend but I'm sure we could get it fixed until let's say Sunday after lunch?"
Pete smirked up at him. "Yeah, that's gonna help with earning their trust."
"I'm aiming for your trust here, kid, not theirs," Tony said, sounding entirely genuine.
Pete snorted, but the laugh died in his throat. Trust.
"Kid?"
His eyes shot up at Tony but he couldn't really stomach another attempt at a smile.
"It's gonna get better, okay?" Tony frowned at him. "He'll visit a few times, we'll send him home with all his limbs still attached and they'll come around."
"Right," Pete nodded. "Er... I... There's something..." He scratched the back of his neck. How did he usually hold his hands? "Something else."
"Okay." Tony took another step towards him but then stopped. "Do you want to sit down, buddy?"
"No..." He could hardly keep his legs still. The thought of sitting down...
"Well, should I be sitting down?"
Pete looked up at last. There was a clear sense of alarm on Tony's face even though his voice sounded somewhat unfazed.
"I told him." It bubbled out of Pete faster than he could stop himself. He had been holding onto that secret all week and it just had to come out now or he would have burst.
"Told... told who?" Tony hadn't moved.
"Ned." His voice was squeaky, fitting the still prevailing panic that was buzzing in his bones.
"You told Ned." Still considerably calmer than Pete had suspected he would, Tony was looking at him, his eyebrows the only thing that slightly rose. "You told him what?"
"Everything," he breathed.
"Everything?" Gone was the calm in Tony's voice. His mouth was gaping, like a fish taking in water.
"I mean not... not everything." His blood was rushing in his ears. "Just like... my stuff. Not... not your stuff. I mean, only like... I know some of your stuff and my stuff they're like... linked and I just, I didn't. I mean. Mostly, I didn't, just... just my stuff."
Tony started towards him. With just a handful of long strides, he was right in front of Pete. Both of his hands came to rest on Pete's shoulders as he stared right at him.
"Alright, take a breath." Tony sucked in a deep breath and Pete followed suit, just because he wasn't quite sure if it was an instruction to him or if Tony had been talking to himself. "Your friend. Ned."
Pete nodded.
"What... what exactly did you tell your friend Ned?"
His eyes were round as he stared at Pete, his breaths shallow but Pete could still feel them on his skin.
"I told him about Spider-Man." He swallowed hard but with Tony this close, his voice wouldn't rise above a quiet murmur. "That... that night you found me in Queens and... and then the terror things and how I got... you know..." His hands were shaking. "How I got stabbed and you... you helped. And then I... er... ran. And the internship and then—"
"What about Clarke?" Tony's chest was heaving up and down with every breath. "About Ross? Did you tell him that Ross threatened—"
"No." Pete was panting. "Nothing... nothing like that. Just about Spider-Man and... well... Germany. Kinda... kinda told him about the airport stuff."
Tony's throat moved as he swallowed hard, his face blank. "Siberia," he asked quietly. "Did you tell him about that?"
"No!" Pete shook his head profusely. "I wouldn't. I swear, I didn't."
He stood up a little straighter, both hands slipping from Pete's shoulders.
"I swear, I wouldn't." His heart was racing with the need for Tony to believe that. "I just... I just had to tell him about my stuff, I... I didn't want to lie to him anymore or... or slip up and—"
"Alright." Tony gestured for him to stop, then rubbed both hands across his face.
"He's not gonna tell anyone!"
"Right," Tony mumbled. "Listen, I know this has always been your secret but..." His hand rubbed his neck while he sucked in a couple of breaths. As he started again, he looked up at Pete directly, his voice a little calmer. "I know this has always been your secret but right now... right now would be a really, really bad time for all that to come out."
"I... I know."
"Clarke will be shouting it from the rooftops as soon as the trial gives him a stage. I mean, he's shouting about it now, just from the NYPD basement for now."
"He... he is?" Pete's breath caught in his throat. What if people would believe him? What if they'd come for him?
"Hey..." Tony's hands were back on his shoulders, then on either side of his face as he studied him. "It doesn't matter what that asshole does, okay? You'll be okay."
Avoiding his eyes, Pete nodded.
"Buddy, listen if..." With a sigh, Tony grabbed his shoulders again, squeezing them tightly. "If you want this to come out. If you want to... if you want for this to come out now, we'll find a way to do that. I'll protect you, you know that."
A shudder went through him at the thought. "No," he breathed, shaking his head. "Please, I don't..."
"Okay. That's alright." Tony hovered close to him, then seemed to make up his mind. He pulled him into his arms, his head dipping against Pete's. "You're safe with me, kid." His chest was rising with a deep sigh. "And we trust your friend. So, all good, hm? All good."
And just like that, for a while, it seemed like things really were falling into place.
Bright and early on the next Saturday morning, the Leeds family car rolled through the gates of the Compound. Once again, Ned's mom was sticking close to her son's side as they made their way into the lobby. Ned's eyes shone with just as much awe as they roamed across the room, but the grin on his face as he saw Pete was infinitely wider.
They hugged and Ned didn't hesitate to initiate their handshake. Mrs. Leeds and Pepper shook hands too, the old fashion way. The grim expression on Mrs. Leeds' face seemed a little less intense this time around though. It wasn't until they made it to the common room for refreshment - or so Pepper had advertised it - that Mrs. Leeds' frown deepened. Ned on the other hand went voiceless from one moment to the next.
Tony had his back turned to them at first like he just happened to be standing there making himself a coffee. Super coincidence. Not planned at all.
Pete's eyebrows rose at him as Tony turned, a sparkling smile on his lips.
"Ah, the cavalry has arrived."
Next to Pete, Ned's shoulders started to shake. His lips were pressed tightly together to keep his nervous laughter on the inside. Wide eyes stared at Tony, then turned to Pete not unlike the first time they had seen the huge Lego display at F.A.O. Schwarz.
Tony wasn't fazed though, despite the tired sigh on Pepper's face. He stepped towards them, graciously asking Mrs. Leeds about the trip out there while he shook her hand.
After a minute or two of stilted small-talk, Tony clapped a hand on Pete's shoulder. "Alright. I will have to head back to the lab. How about I take these two rascals out of your hair while I'm at it?"
"T-to Iron Man's lab," Mrs. Leeds positively shrieked, her eyes turning to her son like she was going to see him for the last time.
"Iron Man's lab," Ned breathed in awe instead. His eyes were just as round as his mothers, but shining with barely hidden excitement.
"No, no," Pepper jumped in. "We have a separate space just for Pete where he can work on the assignments from his tutors and gets to play around with some old phones and things like that."
Actually, Pete had been playing around with the old prototypes of some new phones, but this wasn't the time to correct her.
"Why don't you sit, Mrs. Leeds," Pepper continued with a wide smile. "I'll make some coffee, shall I?"
That was as clear a cue as they were going to get. With a tug on Ned's shirt, Pete gestured towards the hallway and they were off, Tony right behind them.
"Rascals?" he mouthed at Tony as they were out in the hallway.
With a shrug, Tony squeezed his shoulders. "What would you've preferred? Troublemakers? Wanna-be-engineers?"
Pete gasped at him. "Wanna-be?"
Tony snorted. "Well, I thought anything else might have her insist on chaperoning you."
"Hey, Ned, so about that phone…"
Not looking right at Tony seemed to do the trick for Ned. He found the quiet registers of his voice as they walked towards the lab, but when the doors opened, so did Ned's mouth.
The lab - Pete's lab - looked a little more lived in by now. It had only taken him a week, but he had moved some things out of his room into the lab, school stuff mostly but also a few of his things from his old room in Queens that had still been sitting in the boxes in the basement.
"Now, I didn't outright promise Ned's mother no killer robots, but I feel like that was kinda implied. No weird challenges. No showing off," he pointed a finger at Pete at that.
Pete gasped, clutching the front of his shirt in mock affront.
"Don't forget that FRIDAY is watching." He narrowed his eyes on them. "Isn't that right, FRI?"
"Yes, boss. I'm always here to assist."
"To watch. To watch and tell me if these two are being reckless idiots." Tony squinted up to the ceiling. "Don't you dare enable them!"
"Of course not, boss."
He kept his eyes on the ceiling sensor for a little longer, like a warning, before his eyes were back on them.
"Alright, boys. Be good." He pointed a finger at Pete then at Ned. "Have fun."
"Of course, Mr. Stark," Ned mumbled, his head dark red.
"God, there's another one," Tony groaned.
Pete's eyes flickered to Ned with a grin. Was it? Was this how Pete had looked the first time he had met Tony? His face had been hidden by his mask that first night up on the rooftop. Right now, Ned's eyes were wide open, unblinking as he stared at Tony. Beads of sweat were forming on his hairline as he nodded like he was agreeing with everything Tony said.
No. The realization hit Pete with a pang in the pit of his stomach. The first time he'd met Tony, things had been very different. Tony had been very different. Up on that rooftop, he hadn't tried to humor Pete. He hadn't been playing around. He had been in a bad way that night.
It had worried Pete then, enough to justify a trip - his first one - to the top of the Tower.
That seemed like a lifetime ago now. With a wide smile on his lips, Tony pulled him into a one-armed hug, but hesitated for a moment, clearly conflicted. Instead of the quick kiss, he would tend to plant onto Pete's hair, he just squeezed his shoulder.
"I'll see you boys for lunch!"
Pete's cheeks were hot as he turned away from the door. "Well, then..."
"Dude..." Ned was staring at him, his mouth hanging wide open.
"Yeah," Pete sighed. "I know..."
"This is so bizarre."
"Yeah, I know..." He shifted from one foot to the other, unsure what to say.
"Could we really build a killer robot?"
Pete snorted out a laugh, his nerves bubbling out along with it. "You wanna try?"
"Oh hell yeah!"
Ned's visit was the most fun Pete had had in a long time. Despite Tony's earlier suggestions, the Leeds' car rolled out of the Compound's gate just past 8 pm. But it didn't take long for them to come back. Whatever it was that Pepper had done that day, Ned's parents didn't object to another visit on the next weekend. This time, it was Ned's dad that had driven him out to the Compound. The week after that, it was Happy who picked up Ned, on Wednesdays even right after school.
Things were looking up. Pete was sleeping better. The nightmares were still lurking in the back of his mind, but they didn't torture him every night and when they did, he would wake up to the strong rhythm of Tony's heart.
But Pete wasn't kidding himself. Things outside of the Compound were anything but rosy. The week after Ned had come to the lab for the first time, was the first time, Pete talked to May again.
They hadn't had any contact, not after what had happened at the courthouse. In all honestly, Pete was petrified at the thought of talking to her. Of what she might want to say. If she would blame him. For Ben. For everything.
"She's still in the hospital and..." Pepper sighed, checking her watch. "FRIDAY, can you please remind Tony that he was supposed to be here 30 minutes ago."
"Right away, Ma'am."
Pete swallowed hard. Tony had been spending more time than usual in the lab, hunched over documents with the Widow or in phone calls with Rhodey.
"It's fine, FRI." Pete shuffled back and forth in his seat. "He's busy," he said at Pepper's worried glance. "It's fine. I know he's really busy right now."
"Not that busy." His face set, Tony came up behind him. His hand pushed into Pete's hair, ruffling it before he bent down and placed a quick kiss against the top of his head. "You feeling okay, buddy?"
"I'm fine," Pete mumbled, his face a little hot.
"Now, listen to me," Tony had leaned towards him, his eyes focused only on him. "You can talk to her. You can tell her about what's going on with you. This ends whenever you want it to end."
Pete gave a little nod. "Or whenever she wants it to."
"She has asked for this, kid." Tony reached for his hand, squeezing it. "But if you don't want to—"
"No, I do." His voice was weak and he cleared his throat. "I do want to talk to her."
And he did. He missed her, more than he could ever tell Tony or Pepper. He missed her laugh and the movie nights, her cooking even.
"There will be no talk about anything related to the case, okay? Not Ben, not Clarke, not Barnes."
"Okay," he breathed.
"Pete, promise me!"
"I do." He cleared his throat again, forcing himself to look up at Tony. "I do, I promise."
Tony had made that clear as soon as the request had come in from his lawyer. The request from May. She wanted to see him. Wanted to make sure he was okay. Tony and Pepper had talked to him about it more than once.
"If there's any doubt about what you may or may not know, any of these fools might subpoena you. Not just for anything pertaining May's case, but Clarke or the Rogues or—"
"I know, I get it." Pete pulled his hand back, hiding his trembling fingers underneath the table. "No revelations. No apologies. I promise."
"Okay, then." Tony patted his thigh instead but didn't get up to leave.
With a glance at Pepper, it was clear that she wasn't surprised by that. Tony was planning to stay for this.
"You don't have to sit through this with me," Pete bit out, a little harsher than intended. He had promised, hadn't he? Did Tony really distrust him that much? Why? Because he'd told Ned?
"Just in case you need me." He wasn't swayed by Pete's tone, just sat back in his chair, nodding at him encouragingly.
"Alright then," Pepper chimed in.
She placed the phone in front of Pete, pointedly putting it on speaker. The call signal echoed through their apartment, stoking Pete's rising panic with every beep.
"Hello?"
Pete's mouth opened at the sound of her voice, but there was not one word that came out.
"Honey? Is that you?"
His eyes were burning, the tear that threatened to roll down his cheeks, turned his voice husky. "Yeah," he breathed. It's... it's me."
"Oh honey, it's so good to hear your voice. How are you doing?"
His eyes fell shut, hot tears dripping off his lashes.
"It's alright, buddy," Tony whispered, too quietly for the phone to pick it up. The hand on Pete's thigh squeezed him reassuringly as if to say 'See? I told you she'd never blame you…'
With a little nod, Pete huffed out a quiet laugh. "I'm fine, May. It's..." His eyes were wet as he blinked up at Tony, who smiled at him, squeezing his leg again. "It's really good to speak to you, too."
###
There was a projection in Tony's lab, a small, tiny one that had been running all day. He had made it clear to FRIDAY that nobody got to lay eyes on it but him and so far, it had worked like a charm.
It showed the two boys bent over one of the first prototypes of the new Starkphone. It's not like Tony wouldn't have agreed to find a fully functioning one for his son's friend, but Pete had never asked and it seems like they both liked the challenge when it came to making this one work.
Natasha coughed pointedly. "You seem a little distracted."
"I'm just thinking," he bit back. "You should try it sometimes."
"Uh, burn. Good one." She sighed, then tapped on the tablet that way lying between them. "So, what do you think you want to do about this?"
He crossed his arms. The intel was clear. A lab in Brooklyn. It was where Sallic had Pete's blood analyzed. Where he had confirmed the mutation.
"The lab would only know that it's a blood sample with mutant DNA." He tapped his fingers against the table. "They have no way to know it's connected to Pete. Which mean..."
"It means that Clarke has no definitive proof. He has a suspicion."
Tony grimaced. "But we know his suspicion is correct."
"But he doesn't know that." Her fingers swiped over the tablet, pulling up the mug shot of a middle-aged man. "And if we were to remove his accomplice at the lab—"
"Jeezes, Nat..." Tony's hand shot up, massaging away the headache she was giving him. "Can you please stop to talk about removing people?"
She tilted her head at him. "I was thinking, science boy here can get a job offer in LA and maybe he gets searched at LAX and the sniffer dogs find a kilo of coke."
He looked up at her.
"Or meth? Your pick."
He bit his lip. It wasn't the worst idea.
"Come on, Tony," she sighed. "He's been taking blood money from people like Sallic. He will never see any consequences for that. He'll likely continue helping out people just like him. It's corrective justice."
He huffed out a groan. "I can't believe you ever signed the Accords in the first place."
With a shrug, she pulled back the tablet. "Yes or no."
Tony's eyes flickered to his little projection, the smiling face of his kid. "Fine. Just make it discreet."
She sent him a smile. "They'll never even know I was on that plane."
That sounded ominous even to Tony. "Just be back in time."
"Obviously," she called out over her shoulder as she made her way out of the lab.
The next set of negotiations for the Rogues' release would be on Wednesday. Clint had been in custody for less than a week, awaiting the decision of the commission. But it wasn't Clint's faith that Tony was worried about. They would let him go home, he had no doubt. He was offering them everything they wanted. Oversight, retirement, atonement.
It was Rogers that was unwilling to offer any of those things. Oversight, maybe, but only by the right people. To Tony's detriment, there was only one place Rogers saw fit for oversight for both Barnes and Wanda. The Compound.
Tony's eyes were still on the projection of his kid. If that were to happen, they would be forced back into the city and with an unknown number of Clarke's minions still holding their jobs with the NYPD, moving back into their jurisdiction would be one of Tony's personal nightmares.
He squinted at the camera feed.
There it was. With a gesture of his hand, FRIDAY blew up the projection of Pete's lab. Both boys had stuck out their heads through the door and Pete pointed down the corridor to the left. The bathrooms.
It was as easy as pie. Only the pie was one of Tony's gauntlets that he had positioned well in sight through the open door of his lab and the kid was easy pickings.
He had to pass Tony's lab on the way back, but this time, Tony made sure the doors were open. As Ned shuffled past, he gasped, freezing in position. After a quick look over his shoulder, he stepped a little closer, still in the hallway.
"Hello?" His voice was thin, shaking with nerves or excitement, it was hard to tell. "Mr... Mr. Stark?"
His mouth was a little open, as he inched closer and closer to the table with the gauntlet.
"Well, hello there, Ned."
Like he was caught with his fingers in the cookie jar, Ned stood up straight, his eyes wide. They flickered over his shoulder but FRIDAY had long closed the door.
"Er... Mr... Mr. Stark... I... gosh..." His voice was high-pitched and squeaky as he backed away. "I'm so... so sorry... I... er... must've... must've gotten..."
"Must have gotten distracted by this old thing here?" Tony gestured towards the gauntlet.
"I... er.. yes... no... I don't..."
His chin held high, Tony eyed him. His face was red with panic, hands nervously pulling on the hem of his shirt.
"It's fine. You can come a little closer." Tony drummed his fingers against his leg. "You've been friends with Pete for how long now?"
"Er... since... er... since middle school." With wide eyes, Ned looked from Tony to the gauntlet, the color slowly draining from his face as he took in Tony's serious expression.
"Middle school, hm?" No point in prolonging this. "Pete trusts you."
"He... Pete, er..." His eyes only widening, he nodded. "I think... think so..."
"He wouldn't have told you if he didn't." His own eyes narrowed, Tony made sure not to look away. "Very few people know about his secret."
"I... I don't—"
With a wave of his hand, Tony stopped him. "Let's not do that. Remember who you're talking to."
With a silent nod, Ned swallowed hard.
"You're not gonna tell anyone about his secret, are you?"
"No!" His voice was stronger than Tony had expected. "No, I wouldn't. Of... of course not."
"Hm..." He tilted his head to the side. "If people found out, Pete could get hurt. Badly hurt."
"Right," Ned mumbled.
"And we don't want that."
"No, Mr. Stark. I..." He gulped again. "I swear, I didn't... didn't tell anyone. I… won't. He's... he's my best friend."
Tony studied him. He was just a kid, not unlike Pete. A little older maybe but with all the years they had known each other, none of that seemed to have made a difference. Not unlike it hadn't for him and Rhodey.
It was too soon to tell. Friendships were fickle - nobody knew that better than Tony did - but you didn't get a best friend without risking the disappointment of being betrayed. Pete had been willing to take that risk.
"Alright then." With a glance at FRIDAY's sensor, the door to the hallway popped open again. "You gonna find your way back?"
"Yes, Sir. Mr. Stark. Sir," he nodded quickly.
"No more peeking into any rooms here, no matter how shiny the stuff inside might look."
"No, Sir!" Ned's eyes had grown a little wider as he backed away towards the door. "Sorry, again, Mr. Stark, Sir."
The corners of his mouth twitched. "How about you call me Tony, hm?" He narrowed his eyes a little. "To mark the special friendship we just cemented."
"Tony," Ned mouthed, almost inaudible. With a robotic nod, he stepped out of the door and dashed back towards Pete's lab.
"Hm." Tony turned his eyes up at FRIDAY. "Well, that was fun. How about some coffee?"
###
[author's note:
I'm a little slower than I was planning to be, buttt... I think I can keep them coming every few days now till the end ;)Hope you enjoyed the update! Thank you all for reading and the comments!
Many thanks go out to Spagbol99 again for her awesome help.]
