"I'm fine, Dad. Stop hovering," Scott ordered as he tried to get out of bed by himself.
"You were unconscious for three hours-"
"But I'm fine now! Go bother Tony."
"Tony's busy. It seems Mr. Parker was skipping school to play Spider-Man." Scott winced on his friend's behalf.
"Is Tony alright enough to-?"
"Don't worry about it. Honestly, you should be worrying about your own ass and that stupid stunt you pulled-"
"I thought Cap was hurting Tony," Scott admitted. "And I knew you wouldn't be able to separate them like I could…"
"And when you saw that that wasn't the case?"
"Tony couldn't breathe, Dad. I didn't… Yeah, I was annoyed with him, but I didn't want to lose another… I would have backed off if Tony's life wasn't on the line. And so I gave it everything I had because he's worth it."
"I should tan you."
"I won't regret what I did," Scott said. "So you do what you think is right, Dad, but I'm not sorry, and I'd do it again if his life or Peter's life was in danger."
"Did you not see Cap on the ground?"
"Briefly, but Tony was the priority."
"So in your arrogance, you thought you could stop someone who took out the undisputed leaders of the Avengers?"
"No sir, but I thought I could keep him pinned long enough until help arrived." Chris rubbed his temples.
"I'm… Scott, I'm extremely grateful that you helped keep that… that man away from Tony, but the cost can't be your own life. I could have lost him and you. As upset as I would be if I lost Tony, I… Scott, I don't think I could survive losing one of my kids."
"I'm not sorry," Scott said again, looking at his lap.
"I'm not asking you to be sorry for saving him. I need you to just-" Chris stopped and went to the window, looking over the city. "If you're going to be an Avenger, then you're going to have to learn that you can't save everyone, and at the end of the day, what matters is that you come home. If you can't agree to that, then I can't do this anymore. I can't wonder if I'm allowing you to train for your death. I can't wonder if you're going to pull a stunt like this again and it not work out like it did."
"Ok," Scott said quietly.
"Ok what?"
"My life is a priority. I promise to only risk my life for family, unless an adult is in a better position to keep my family safe."
"That's the best I'm going to get out of you, isn't it?"
"Yes sir."
"Major Summers, there is a call coming for Mr. Stark from the NYPD."
"Is he too busy to answer?"
"He is."
"Alright, Friday. Am I ok to take the call in the office, or should I take it in our room?"
"The office is free."
"I'll be there in a minute." Chris held his arms out to Scott, who stood to allow his father to hug him. "I love you, Scotty. Please just be safe from now on, ok?"
"I will." Chris kissed the top of Scott's head and headed out to Tony's office. The door was unlocked and Chris went in, picking up the phone.
"This is Chris Summers," he answered.
"I'm looking for Tony Stark," a voice said. "This is Captain Lenoli, NYPD."
"Mr. Stark is unavailable at the moment, but I'm happy to pass along a message." Chris heard shuffling of something over the phone.
"We have a body that we need identified. The next of kin is a minor, and Tony Stark is listed as a second guardian."
"Oh God," Chris said, dropping into Tony's chair.
"This isn't… Is the guardian really Tony Stark? Iron Man Tony Stark? Or is this some bullshit prank that the kid-?"
"It's no prank. Please tell me the address of where Mr. Stark will need to go for the identification." The officer rattled out an address that Chris missed completely, but knew Friday heard.
"I understand that this is unpleasant, but we really do need the body ID'd soon-"
"Tony will be there soon," Chris promised. He hung up and cradled his head before sniffing to compose himself. "Friday, is Tony in Peter's room?"
"He is," Friday confirmed.
"Thank you." Chris stood and left the office and headed across the floor to Peter's room. He knocked three times and waited.
"We'll be out in a minute!" Tony called.
"It's me," Chris said, cracking the door open. "Tony, I need to talk to you."
"Can it wait three minutes?"
"No." Chris heard some murmuring and then Tony was pulling the door open further and stepping out.
"What's going on, Bear?"
"There was a call from the NYPD."
"Them again? It's-"
"They have a body they need ID'd."
"And they called me? All my relatives are dead."
"The next of kin is a minor and you were down as a second guardian. They don't want to scar the minor, so they're asking you to come in." Tony looked at Peter's door and shook his head.
"This is going to kill him."
"Don't say anything until we know for sure," Chris said, taking Tony's hand. "I'll see if Clint will come down to hang out with the kids, and I'll go with you." Tony nodded.
"Fri, you mind asking Barton?"
"Mr. Barton is assisting SHIELD with the transportation of the Winter Soldier."
"What about Bruce?"
"Dr. Banner is available. He will be there in four minutes."
"Thanks, Fri," Tony said, rubbing his forehead.
"You go tell my kids we're heading out, and I'll tell Peter," Chris offered.
"Yeah. Yeah, I don't think I can see him without telling him-" Chris hugged Tony and felt the man tense before relaxing.
"We'll get him through this." he promised. "He's not alone, Tony."
"I know. I just hate that this is…"
"I know," Chris said. He pulled away. "Dr. Banner will be here in a minute." Tony nodded and walked off towards the rooms that housed the Summers children. Chris knocked on the door again and entered Peter's room.
"Mr. Stark?" Peter asked from the corner.
"Corsair," Chris said, announcing himself. "You can pull your pants up and turn around." Peter did as Chris said and turned to look at him. "We're going to email your teachers and get your last half of the day excused."
"What's the catch?"
"We can discuss that later. Something's come up and Tony needs to step out a bit. I'm going to go with him. Dr. Banner is going to come up to help out with Annie and Gabe, and while you're not grounded to the Tower, please don't leave the floor. We'll be back before dinner."
"So I can leave my room?"
"Room, yes. Floor, no. And no talking about what happened earlier around Annie and Gabe. I'd prefer if Alex didn't know the whole story, either."
"Yes sir." Peter fidgeted. "Mr. Stark said he wasn't finished, um…"
"You mind if I finish it for him?"
"Uh…"
"You're going to sit at your desk or the table and write 'I will not skip class' one hundred times. I expect them to be completed by the time we return."
"Yes Corsair." Chris nodded and left Peter's room.
"Be good for Brucey-Bear, Sunshine," Chris heard Tony say. Tony walked over to him and gave him a tense smile.
"Let's go." Tony nodded and the two headed to the elevator. Friday gently dropped the elevator to the garage and Chris looked around, whistling.
"What?"
"How many of these are yours?"
"Twenty." Chris' eyes lit up despite the situation. "When things are a bit calmer, I'll make sure you get the chance to ride in all of them."
"You do that and I'm sure we can discuss you riding something else."
"If I'd known seeing my cars would finally get us to that step, I'd have brought you to the garage weeks ago."
"Who says I wasn't just waiting to see how long it'd take you to ask again?" Tony gave Chris a look and Chris chuckled. They picked a car and Chris happily allowed Tony to drive in New York City traffic.
"I don't know what we're going to do if it's her," Tony admitted.
"We take it one day at a time. At least with you listed as his guardian, there shouldn't be too many hoops to jump through for custody."
"Are you ok with this?" Tony asked Chris. "You didn't exactly sign up-"
"Yes I did. I knew how you felt about him, T. I've heard him slip a few times and call you 'Dad.' And the kids already get along like siblings. This will just… cement it." Chris shook his head. "I wouldn't have wished this on him. And next week is Thanksgiving-" Chris let out a harsh breath.
"I hadn't even thought of that." Tony admitted.
"This will be the kids' first Thanksgiving without Kat. Now Peter without May…"
"Not your first Thanksgiving without her?"
"I wasn't always home for it," Chris reminded him. "No one realizes the full sacrifices active military take, but military wives and families? It's…" Chris shook his head. "At least I was Stateside the whole time. My dad was in Kuwait when I was a teenager. It nearly destroyed my mom. He retired as soon as he could after that."
"Hm. My dad supplied the weapons for the Gulf War. One of the major things he did before he decided to drive drunk and crash the car." Tony pulled up to the hospital and parked.
"I know you don't like being touched," Chris said. "But I'm here if you want me."
"I don't… It's too much to unpack now, Bear, but I don't mind when you reach out and grab my hand. But unless you want this outed and to be harassed… for the rest of your life, it might not be a good idea. As soon as word gets out that I'm here-"
"I'm not ashamed of you or us."
"It's a lot to-" Chris leaned over and roughly pulled Tony to him, capturing the billionaire's lips with his own. "-deal with," Tony said. He cleared his throat and got out of the car to adjust himself. Chris grabbed Tony's hat and sunglasses from the glove box before he got out.
"Rhodey said this is the norm for you now," he said as he handed the articles to Tony.
"Yeah. Thanks, Bear." He quickly donned the hat and slid the glasses in place. Chris unashamedly took Tony's hand and the two walked into the hospital. They checked the directory and Tony took charge as he led Chris to an elevator and down to the morgue.
"Can I help you?" a police officer asked once they exited the elevator.
"Captain Lenoli is expecting us," Chris said.
"Did you check in upstairs?" the officer asked in a bored tone. "You need to show a valid form of ID to-" Tony took off his hat and glasses. "Tony Stark!"
"And there's my valid ID."
"This guy still needs-"
"He's with me. Now get your captain out here before you lose your job, Officer… Bennett."
"I'm sorry, but protocol says-"
"What's going on out here?"
"Captain Lenoli!" Officer Bennett said. "Mr. Stark is here with a… guest. They didn't check in-"
"Good. The last thing we need is a media circus outside. Thank you for coming, Mr. Stark," he said, reaching his hand out. Tony looked at it and then looked at Captain Lenoli.
"Chris Summers," Chris said, shaking the hand in front of Tony. "We spoke on the phone."
"Right, right." Captain Lenoli pulled his hand away and turned towards a set of double doors. "The body is this way." Tony put his hat back on and followed the captain down the hall with Chris bringing up the rear. They were taken to a window and Lenoli tapped on the glass with a single knuckle. The blinds pulled up and Tony looked at the body before looking away.
"That's May Parker," he confirmed.
"What happened to her?" Chris asked.
"She was at work and started to complain of a migraine-" Chris and Tony's eyes locked together.
"Ruptured brain aneurysm?" Tony asked.
"Yes. The coroner wasn't sure since aneurysms can be treatable these days, but-"
"Have her checked for thallium poisoning," Tony ordered.
"Mr. Stark-"
"May was healthy. She made sure to take care of herself because her nephew had already lost his parents, and then his uncle to a mugging. She wouldn't have ignored any signs of illness."
"She didn't have insurance-"
"She knew I would foot the bill." Lenoli scratched his head under his cap and pulled out a notepad.
"What makes you think it was thallium poisoning?" he asked.
"My wife was murdered the same way," Chris said. "She complained of a migraine and was gone within three hours."
"There haven't been any cases of thallium poisoning that I've heard-"
"I'm not from New York."
"Get her tested and then call me," Tony ordered.
"Mr. Stark-" Tony took a step closer to the officer and Chris put a hand on his chest to keep him from advancing more.
"You're going to have a panel done for toxins and then you will call me, Captain Lenoli, or you will lose your job. I will happily contact the commissioner if necessary and tell him that the NYPD was less than compliant for a case involving the family of a ward of an Avenger." Captain Lenoli swallowed and then nodded. He opened the door where the coroner was waiting.
"Run some tests," he said, making sure Tony could hear him. "Check for thallium poisoning."
"We're done here," Tony said. "Call me when you get results."
"We'll need to send Child Services to collect her nephew-"
"He's already with me. Send the social worker to the Tower." Tony grabbed Chris' hand and dragged him back to the elevator. He pressed the button to take them back to the main floor when Chris cleared his throat.
"Yeah Bear?"
"That… My heart is breaking for Peter, but seeing you take charge like that…" Chris slammed Tony against the elevator wall.
