Tony
Tony watched in amusement as Peter inhaled his 7th or 8th slice of pizza. Being so tuned into the boy, things he used to think were cute or amusing were fascinating and pretty darn adorable now. He never got over the kid's appetite and metabolism. Cap had always eaten like that, but he had a lot more mass to go with it. Peter still looked like an almost-skinny teenager, though he had filled out a little this year. The boy in question suddenly stopped mid-bite, and looked a little embarrassed.
"Oh man, am I eating too much? Did you want leftovers?" he asked, sounding worried. Leftovers, ha. That's a word they'd stopped using as soon as Peter started staying over more often.
"No! No, you're fine, Pete. Eat your fill. It's been a big day. Just remind me to pull out a veggie tray or something tomorrow, okay? Even teenagers shouldn't live on pizza alone."
"Who are you, and what have you done with Mr. Stark?" Peter asked conspiratorially, an eyebrow cocked in doubt.
"Hey, I eat vegetables!" Tony protested.
"Under duress," Peter fired back.
"You'll find I'm suddenly more invested in your health, I think," Tony said with a smirk. "Can't help it."
"Oh, man. No one mentioned that! I already have May and Pepper harping on me to eat healthy." Peter was teasing him back, but he also saw a just a hint of alarm in the boy's face.
"Relax, Pete. I need to eat healthier too. You can still eat all that junk. Just some good stuff as well." Peter rolled his eyes good-naturedly and finished his pizza slice.
They'd gotten Happy settled in his room, and a nurse was going to be checking on him every two hours during the night. And of course FRIDAY would be monitoring his vitals constantly. If all was well after sleeping, the doctor said he'd be fine to have a normal, but restful day. If he balked at resting, Tony would let him arrange the retrieval of the car (and bags) they'd had to leave behind. Normally, Tony would stay with his friend himself, but with the brand new soul bond with Peter, his attention was more divided. And Happy had basically kicked him out.
"Go take care of that kid," he'd said with a knowing almost-smile. Tony was surprised to find how appealing that sounded. It had been such an eventful, stressful afternoon and evening. He looked forward to just focusing on his new soulmate for a while.
As Peter finished eating, Tony assessed what they still needed to do. It was getting pretty late. It was no big deal, and even expected, for platonic soulmates to share a bed, especially in the early stages, but he thought it might be a little weird for the kid, so he was planning on them falling asleep on the couch tonight to a movie. Even if he might be stiff in the morning. He needed to invest in even better couches…
"Hey, Pete? You want to go change into some pajamas and brush your teeth and stuff, and we'll put on a movie out here?"
Right on cue, Peter yawned. His nap in the car really hadn't been that long, and Tony knew the kid was already a little sleep deprived from finals on top of Spidermanning. That was another plus to being at the Compound. He wouldn't feel the need to take off and do that.
"Yeah, I guess so. I'm kinda tired though. I might be ready for bed soon?" He said it as if he was asking for permission.
"I thought as much." He paused. "But you know we can't really sleep apart for at least a few days, right?"
Peter's eyes widened, and he saw that Peter had not actually realized that.
"Oh. I guess… I guess that makes sense. What do we…uh, what do we do?" he looked intrigued, but also uncertain.
"I figured we'd just fall asleep on the couch, during the movie or whatever, and stay there tonight, if that's okay with you. We've done it before, though Pepper doesn't approve."
"Oh, yeah yeah yeah." Then he looked slyly at his mentor. "You sure your back can handle that, old man?"
That would be funnier if it wasn't true, unfortunately. "Keep laughin', junior. With the acrobatics you pull most days, you're gonna be the one with back problems by the time you're thirty."
"I think my spider-genes will have something to say about that," he said smugly. Tony automatically hooked an arm around his neck and pulled his head in, meaning to scrub his knuckles into the kid's hair as a comeback, as per the script they'd roughhoused to before. But instead, he found himself planting a chaste kiss in his soft curls. Huh. That was unexpected. He ran with it, though. "I sure hope so, kiddo. I'm a big fan of that healing factor of yours," he said, releasing him.
Peter was surprised too, according to the shocked and bemused expression on his kid's face.
Tony shrugged slightly at the look Peter was giving him, and just grinned back. Peter gave him a shy smile, then turned to go get ready for bed. Tony figured he should do the same, and followed him down the hallway to his suite (Peter's room was already the second bedroom in there, which was convenient). Tony found some sweats and a hoodie, and grumpily picked out a few of his non-favorite pillows (because his favorite pillow was still in their stranded vehicle) and returned to the living room.
Peter still wasn't back yet, so Tony scoped out the sleeping situation. He'd probably be most comfortable setting up on the end of the couch where it reclined. Then the kid could lay out along the length of the couch to sleep, hopefully helping them keep contact all night. Sheesh, as exciting as it was to have a new soulmate, these first few days were a little rough. That headache he'd had earlier after their short separation had been a doozy. He remembered that he and Pepper had had frequent issues, but he liked to think he'd gotten better at touching by now, and that he was better at being a soulmate in general. Of course, though romantic relationships tended to be stronger than platonic, that wasn't always the case. As he'd told Peter, ever pair was different, and a different timeline and needs. His and Pepper's seemed to be on the lower end of the intensity-spectrum, since they'd been able to spend long hours apart after just a week. Tony was a little alarmed at how quickly he'd developed strong symptoms today, but it was just the first day. He guessed it was to be expected.
Oh, now that he thought about it, he hadn't let Natasha know about the new developments. It would be polite to let her know the questions they'd want answers to had left the hypothetical in the dust.
"FRIDAY, call Nat," he said, picking his phone up off the side table.
"Two calls in as many days, Stark?" she answered with a smirk audible in her voice.
"Hey, Nat," he said without any rejoinder.
"What's up?" she asked in a more serious tone. "You sound different."
"Uh, I'm feeling kinda different, I guess."
She was quiet, waiting for him to elaborate.
"So, remember Peter's platonic blank?"
"Of course. That's why we're coming down, right?" she said slowly.
"Well, it's not a blank anymore."
He heard her quick intake of breath at the other end. "He already found his soulmate?"
"Yeah. And it's me."
Silence. Then "Wow. That is not what I expected you to say. I didn't know you had another blank! But that's… amazing! Congratulations, Tony," she finished softly. "How's it going? You already accepted?"
"Yeah, this afternoon. Uh, it's going okay, I think. Other than the car accident on the way down here that gave Happy a concussion."
"What?"
"Not important now. Everyone's okay. As for the bond, we're… navigating."
"That sounds ominous."
"No, we're really okay, I think. But we're looking forward to you guys coming and giving us some pointers, if you're still up for it."
"Yeah, we're coming. But I can come earlier - tomorrow afternoon - if it's helpful."
"That would be great, actually."
Peter walked in, holding a pillow and nearly dragging one of those big fluffy blankets he liked. He had found some of the pajama pants he kept here, and one of Tony's old MIT sweatshirts that always migrated to his room when he was around. With the oversized sweatshirt, and hair messed up from changing, he looked a couple years younger than he was. Tony's eyes softened and he smiled at how cute he was. Of course Tony wouldn't say that out loud. Most 17-year-old boys didn't like it when adults called them "cute."
Peter smiled back hesitantly and raised his eyebrows at Tony, flicking his eyes around to different places he might sit. Tony moved his pillow off the cushion next to him and patted it.
Natasha's voice dragged him back to their conversation. "I know you've done this before, but the main thing is contact, right? Don't try to sleep apart or anything, just because it's a platonic bond."
"Oh, I won't. We were apart for fifteen minutes earlier and I almost got a migraine," he laughed.
Peter frowned. He didn't find it entertaining, apparently. They hadn't touched yet since the kid came back, and Tony pushed his knee out to rest against the boy's. He felt his shoulders drop, though he hadn't realized there was tension there, and he saw the same signs in Peter.
"Oh, wow. Really? How was Peter?"
"Not as bad as me. I'm wondering if his super healing is involved at all. I guess we'll find out eventually." He handed the remote to Peter, gesturing for him to pick something to watch.
"Tony. No experimenting with that during the early bonding stage."
Peter was giving him a skeptical look, probably because he knew how hard Tony was to reign in when he was curious about something.
"Now why would you think I would do anything like that?" He smiled innocently at Peter and winked at the boy.
"Experience." Peter laughed just a little bit at that. Right, he could certainly hear both sides of the conversation.
Tony scoffed at her, and Natasha laughed. "I'll be down tomorrow. Stay close to that kid."
"Yes, ma'am. End call."
Tony eyed Peter, whose eyes were looking a little droopy. "Why does everyone keep thinking I'm going to neglect you, hmm?" Tony growled softly. He opened his arm up, inviting Peter to come in closer to him. After just a little hesitation, Peter did, pulling his sock-covered feet up on the couch and leaning into Tony in a way that was completely new, but felt… nice. A few of his impulses were yelling at him to get up and regain his own space, but mostly he felt warm and content, so he ignored them. This wasn't about what was most comfortable for him. And it seemed like he was going to need to get comfortable with it.
"Have you talked to May since we got here?" He'd texted with her to let them know they were safe, but he was sure she would want to hear from her nephew after the scare of the accident.
"Yeah, I just talked to her for a minute. She could only take a quick break, but she was happy I called."
"I'm sure. I'm glad you got a hold of her. How ya' doin,' bud?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's just been a big day. All of… this (he set his hand lightly over Peter's soul mark) is pretty big."
Peter hummed happily at the soul mark contact. "Right now? I'm pretty happy with it all," he joked, referring to the pleasant buzz Tony knew he was enjoying. "Yeah, it's a lot, and there will probably be some changes I'm not even aware of yet. But it's pretty cool, too. I like the idea of you being my family, I mean for real. Forever." Then more quietly, and sounding a little vulnerable, he said, "Like, I already, uh… love you, you know. How could this be a bad thing?"
"I love you, too, kid," Tony said, switching his hand to smoothing the back of Peter's hair gently. They sat like that for a few minutes, just watching the movie and resting in the aftermath of their mutual acknowledgement.
Peter was awake now, not passed out like he'd been in the car, but Tony gingerly lowered his cheek to the boy's head, letting it rest there. Peter froze for just a moment, but then sighed lightly and relaxed, bringing an arm across Tony's body and turning his nose into him.
"Can you even see the screen like that, kiddo?" To Tony's surprise, Peter had chosen not some iteration of Star Wars, but the movie Die Hard, which was one of Tony's favorites. And kind of Christmassy, he supposed. Hmm. He'd nearly forgotten it was almost Christmas. It sounds like everyone's Christmas plans had just changed a little, because the Parkers and the Starks were definitely going to be spending it together…
"Not really, but tha's okay," Peter mumbled against his chest. Ah, he was losing the kid.
"Hey Pete? Why don't you grab your pillow and try to get comfy? You should go to sleep."
"Mmm." Peter didn't move.
"Hey, Underoos." Peter perked up just a bit at Tony's stronger tone and at his tap on the arm.
"Huh?"
"Grab a pillow. Lay down, bud."
"'kay," he said sleepily. He sat up slowly, and looked around in confusion, finally snagging his pillow from the floor in front of them. He set it on Tony's legs, so he could reach down to arrange his fluffy blanket so it covered him completely. Tony knew Peter liked to sleep warm.
He thought the kid would scoot down and put his pillow right next to Tony, but Peter just laid down right where he was, with his head on the pillow that he'd laid across Tony's lap, facing out towards the TV. Well, that worked, too. Good thing he'd already used the bathroom.
Tony reclined his chair a little, so it wouldn't be so abrupt for Peter if he reclined it further after the kid was fully asleep. Tony laid his hand lightly on the kid's shoulder over his soul mark, enjoying the little sigh he felt accompany that, and picked up his phone with his other hand.
Hey Pep.
Hey sweetheart. :) How are you guys? Is Happy settled? How's Peter?
That's a lot of questions. I'd call, but I have a baby superhero nearly asleep in my lap.
I'm impressed! How are you doing with that?
Had he really been that bad about all the touch stuff? Everyone seemed so surprised that he wasn't running for the hills.
Good. It's not too bad. I mean, it's Peter.
That's true. You've been pretty good about touching him even before now. I've been proud of you. If I didn't tell you that before, I'm sorry.
Thanks. I'm trying. I know he needs more. And apparently, so do I.
I wish I was there with you guys.
Me too, hon. A few more days, and you should be able to come up, right?
Yeah. I should be done by the 22nd.
Great. I miss you already.
Oh, Nat is coming up tomorrow instead of Sunday.
Yeah? Did you tell her?
Yep.
That'll be nice then. She can help support you guys if you need it. Hey, don't forget about the 24 hour mark.
Oh, good call. Yeah, I'll watch out for that.
I love you. Sleep well.
Well, I'm on the couch with a head in my lap, but I'll try.
You're a good dad, Tony.
Huh?
You know that's basically what you're going to be now, right? You halfway were already. He really is your kid now. And I'm really happy for both of you.
You're probably right. You usually are. Not my kid, though. Our kid. Thanks, Pep. Love you. Sleep well, sweetheart.
❤️