A Hell of a Trip
Peter wanted to go on an excursion. But not any excursion. No, the kid wanted it to be 'old school'. Meaning renting an older car from a place Tony wouldn't recommend to his worst enemy, driving somewhere random with no GPS or map and only relying on road signs and 'instincts', and no technology with the exception of their cellphones and even then he said they had to turn the internet off and weren't allowed to message anyone unless absolutely necessary.
This kid was crazy. And yet, Tony agreed to it all. This is what happens when Peter watches too many old school movies. He always gets these weird ideas, goes to Tony, begs him to do these things, and Tony caved in because it was impossible to say no to this boy.
Tony loved Peter anyway.
They just finished putting Peter's overnight bag in the trunk of the beater. The plan was to only spend two nights away and then return home. After all, Tony highly doubted the beater could last more than that.
Peter hugged May tightly. "I'll be back before you know it."
"I know. You have fun, baby," May said, rubbing her nephew's back. "I larb you."
Peter pulled back and kissed her cheek. "I larb you too."
"You try to have fun too, Tony. I can tell you're nervous about this," May gestured to the car, "low class car."
Peter laughed and Tony rolled his eyes.
"I'm not nervous. This thing is just…a thing."
Peter laughed harder. Tony patted the kid's shoulder and gestured him inside. Peter went in and somehow got comfortable in his seat. Tony gave May a quick one armed hug before heading into the car.
"I'll take care of him, May. And have fun."
"Good."
With that, Tony got in and started the car. It still rumbled and Tony was surprised the thing didn't blow up already. Peter waved at May as Tony drove off, heading who knows where. It was all on Peter.
"This is gonna be awesome," Peter said, tapping his fingers on his lap. "I bet we'll find a cool place you never expected to find."
"Time will tell, Underoos. Time will tell."
And time really did tell. In the worst possible way.
XXX
Tony and Peter had been on the road for over an hour and were finally alone. With how many random turns Peter made Tony make, he was surprised the beater didn't lose its wheels. Then again, this car was a nonstop surprise. He really should stop feeling that way and accept it for what it is.
"Told you everything would be fine," Peter said smugly.
"We've only been driving. We haven't made any stops," Tony pointed out.
"Yeah, but you were so worried about this old car. Like, Mister Stark, c'mon! I know a good ol' beater when I see one."
"Okay, alright. You win," Tony relented, raising his hands momentarily.
Peter smirked and stared out the windshield. Both windows were rolled down since there was no air conditioning. It was actually kind of nice having wind blowing in, especially because it wasn't that hard. It was a particularly nice breeze.
"So, do you know any pit stops or do we just drive until we come across something?" Tony asked.
"I don't really know any pit stops," Peter admitted. "But that's the point, remember? We aren't supposed to know where to go. We just drive and eventually we'll find a place to rest for the night and the next day we'll be on the road again."
"Wonderful."
Tony would've felt much better if they had an actual plan. At the very least he would've liked to be able to use a map. He didn't want to take the kid to some creepy place in the middle of nowhere, because although being in the middle of nowhere was the idea, Tony still didn't want to put Peter in any danger. A creepy place in the middle of nowhere is dangerous.
The things Tony did for this kid. If push came to shove they'd just sleep in the car and even if that was the last thing Tony ever wanted, he'd prefer that over a creepy building.
"It'll be fine. Stop stressing! This is supposed to be fun," Peter said, pulling his knees to his chest.
"Sorry, kid. I'm just trying to be a responsible adult here," was the best response Tony could make up.
Peter frowned. "Well, I'm sorry you're not having fun."
Now Tony felt like shit.
Tony reached over and squeezed Peter's shoulder gently. "I am having fun. It's nice driving like this. I just like having a more concrete plan when travelling, that's all."
Peter looked at him skeptically. Tony couldn't blame him for not being convinced. Tony had done a terrible job at showing he was having…a decent time. The best part about this whole thing was spending time with Peter.
"I love spending time with you, kid," Tony said, firmly. "I guess I wasn't as prepared as I thought I'd be."
Now Peter looked unconvinced. "Mister Stark, that's what the movies were for."
Touche.
What Peter said next really made Tony's heart sink.
"Do you want to turn around?"
"No! Absolutely not!" Tony replied with no hesitation. "I said I'm gonna take you to some random place and that's what I'm gonna do. We're gonna have a good time."
Peter finally smiled. "Okay."
Tony ruffled the kid's hair.
XXX
"Stop, stop, stop!"
Tony slammed on the brakes, his heart nearly jumping out of chest at Peter's sudden shout. Peter recovered faster from almost kissing the dashboard than Tony because now he was looking out his window like he was on a mission.
"Holy shit," Tony breathed, placing a hand on his chest. "What was that?"
Peter undid his seatbelt and pointed out his window. Tony followed his finger and saw a small building close by. It looked like some kind of shack but not too run down. Tony pulled over on the side of the road and got closer before Peter hopped out.
The moment the car was stopped, Peter jumped out and headed to the shack. Tony hoped the kid wasn't planning on suggesting they stay there for the night. There was still plenty of daylight. They could find a better place.
Peter looked at the sign in front of the building before rushing back to Tony. The kid had a wide and excited smile plastered on his face.
"It's an antique shop!" he cheered. "How awesome is that?"
"Pretty awesome," Tony laughed. Thank god it wasn't a place to stay.
Peter took Tony's hand and dragged him to the shop. It was surprisingly spacious on the inside, nothing like Tony expected at all. It was wooden and rustic but it had a cosy feel to it. The shelves had vinyl records and old books lined among them. There were little trinkets and knick-knacks placed around. It was like walking into a grandma's house.
"Welcome," an old greying man behind the counter greeted. He didn't seem to recognize Tony, thankfully. "How can I help you?"
Peter roamed around like a kid in a candy shop. Tony placed his hands in his pockets and shrugged.
"We're just looking around," Tony replied absentmindedly. "We're on a road trip."
"Oh, today is a great day for a road trip. Sunny with some clouds, perfect," the shop owner said.
"Whoa, Mister Stark, look!" Peter reached up and took a vinyl record from one of the shelves. He practically shoved it in his face and the kid smirked. "This should bring back some nostalgia."
Tony took the record and scoffed at the date. "This is before my time."
"But pretty close, right?"
Tony rolled his eyes and shoved the kid playfully. "Put it back. I don't have a record player."
Peter huffed but he still had the shit-eating grin on his face as he put the record back. He continued walking around the shop while Tony stayed where he was. It was fun watching the kid, he'd admit that. He looked so bright eyed and excited about this old place.
"So where are you two headed?" the old man asked.
"The kid says nowhere," Tony said, ignoring the look Peter tossed his way. "We'll probably just drive until we find a place to stop for the night. Keep going tomorrow."
"Like in the old movies," Peter commented. He was looking at weird statues now.
"If you're looking for more old things, there's an older motel up the road. Quite a ways up the road," the old man said, pointing out the window. "But if you head out now you should get there before it's dark."
"Thanks," Peter said, smiling. Peter had two cassette tapes in his hands. "Can we buy these? Please? I think this will be a blast from the past for this old man."
"Watch it, Peter, or I'll revoke your lab time when we get home," Tony threatened with no real heat.
"Of course. That'll be fifteen dollars," the old man said.
Tony reached into his pocket and searched for something as simple as a twenty dollar bill. The lowest he had was a fifty. Peter rolled his eyes playfully and took out his own wallet. He handed the old man a twenty and took his two cassettes.
"Thank you," Peter said.
The two of them left the shop and got back in the car. Peter wasted no time in shoving one of the cassettes into Tony's hands while he put the other in the glove box. Had it been anyone else (aside from a small group of people), Tony would've snapped at Peter for handing him something.
Tony looked at the cassette and scowled in Peter's direction. Peter looked out his window and whistled innocently.
"Before. My. Time."
Peter shrugged and struggled to hide his smile. This kid really could be such a little shit. Tony loved him anyway. He put the tape in, not at all surprised that the beater had a cassette player to begin with, and started up the engine.
Not long after they started driving again, Peter seemed to actually enjoy the song. He was tapping his foot and everything. If Tony was being honest with himself, he didn't find it to be that bad either. It was pretty decent and it fit their theme for today.
"This really isn't that bad," Peter said. "It almost reminds me of On the Road Again."
"The perfect song for this trip," Tony chuckled.
"Yeah! See, aren't you glad we went to that shop?"
"I am, actually. It was interesting to see such an old shop." Tony nodded. "Old guy was nice too."
"Most old men are. You can be cranky though."
"Keep calling me old and you're walking," Tony threatened, but again there was no real heat to it.
Peter stuck his tongue out. Tony reached over and flicked his forehead, smirking at the indignant squawk the kid made.
"So, how do you feel about going to that motel the guy talked about?" Tony asked. "Do you want to stop there or keep driving through?"
Peter hummed, thinking. After a moment, he nodded. "I'd like to go there. See what it's all about."
"Alright, Motel California here we go."
Peter looked at him completely unimpressed. "That was horrible…"
"Yes, it was. I blame you for trying to get me to make references."
"I didn't even say anything!"
Tony shrugged. "I have to blame someone and I refuse to blame myself."
Peter rolled his eyes but he did smile. That was a win.
XXX
According to the car's clock it was 8:00PM. They had been driving for quite a few hours now. The sun set and the sky turned into a violet shade with some orange peaking in here and there. It was a truly beautiful sight.
The only thing was that they hadn't come across the motel the old man talked about. They did find a rest stop where they could relieve themselves and stop the car for a few minutes, but the motel was nowhere in sight. Tony was starting to wonder if it was torn down and the old man just forgot.
Something Tony completely forgot to worry about was gas and the possibility of running out before reaching a gas station. And that's exactly what was happening. The car rumbled much worse now and it wouldn't stop beeping, reminding them that the gas was running low.
And before long, the car came to a stop. No matter how many times Tony tried to restart it, it refused to come back to life. Wonderful.
Peter looked at Tony. "What do we do now?"
Tony sighed and leaned back in his seat. "We can walk the rest of the way to the motel."
If it even exists…
"Or are we finally allowed to use our phones and call someone?" Tony suggested.
Peter actually seemed to think about this, his face scrunching up. Tony would prefer to call someone but if the kid didn't want that…Well. It was fine. This was Peter's day.
"How about we walk for a little and if we don't find the motel in…three hours, we call someone?"
Three hours was a bit much in Tony's opinion. Oh well.
"Let's start moving then. It's only getting darker."
They exited the car and Peter headed to the trunk practically forcing it open. He took out both their overnight bags and handed Tony his. Tony adjusted it to get it as comfortable as he could manage.
"Ready?" Peter asked.
Tony nodded. "Let's head off."
XXX
Tony would be lying if he said he wasn't getting tired. Hours of driving and then having to walk a couple hours more was tiring. First he was numb from sitting for so long and then he was sore from walking because of how cramped he felt. What a situation.
The later and darker it got the more uneasy Tony felt. It might not have been so bad if there were signs of other people around but there weren't. No other cars drove by, no other people were walking, it was like they were the only people in existence. And Tony didn't want to put Peter in a dangerous scenario. More dangerous than walking in the dark on an unused road.
"I should've bought an extra gallon of gasoline," Tony commented.
"Yeah, you probably should've," Peter said, sounding somewhat amused. "But it's alright. We'll be okay."
Tony would feel a lot better if they had shelter. He decided to keep this to himself, as he did with all his worries at the moment. Peter didn't seem to notice and if he did, he was smart enough to not comment on it.
They walked on for another hour before a building finally started to come into view. By then, it was completely dark. They didn't even have a moon to guide them, Peter had to take out his phone and use it as a flashlight.
It took them about fifteen minutes to reach the motel. There were only three cars in the parking lot. There were two separate buildings, one was the check-in and the one next to it was the actual motel where the rooms were. There were only two floors. It looked decent on the outside, with the exception of the flickering fluorescent lights.
Tony sighed and pulled the glass door open for Peter to walk in before following him. It was a 24/7 check-in motel, thank god. The lobby was spacious but it only had three waiting chairs. The floor was tacky tiles with cracks in them. The front desk was probably the only thing that was clean.
Tony pushed Peter into a chair, ignoring his yelp of protest and headed to the front desk. He pressed the bell. He pressed it again when there was no answer. A moment passed and an older woman came from a nearby bathroom that Tony hadn't even seen.
"How can I help you?" the woman asked, going behind the counter. "It's rather late."
"The sign says you're open at all hours," Tony said, tiredly. He wanted to get off his feet already. "We've been on the road for hours, the kid's tired, I'm tired. We just need a room for the night."
"Alright. The top floor is out of commission so the only rooms available are the bottom ones," the woman said. "The ones at the bottom aren't as big and only have one bed. If that's a problem, I suggest going somewhere else."
Tony resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "It's fine. How much- never mind." Tony reached into his pocket and handed the woman a hundred dollar bill. "Keep the change."
Peter finally stood and walked to his side. The woman searched around in a metal box and pulled out a key that said Room 20 on the tag. Peter took the key with a smile and dragged Tony out of the lobby, obviously sensing his lack of patience.
Room twenty was only a few paces away from the lobby and one of the middle rooms. Peter unlocked the door and headed in with Tony on his heels. The room was exactly what Tony expected it to be. Small with one bed, one chair in the corner, one nightstand, a closet and a bathroom attached. The wallpaper was something that should be in a museum and was peeling. At least it wasn't dusty.
Peter placed his bag down next to the chair and stretched his limbs. Tony sighed and also placed his bag down before sitting in the chair. It was hard and the fabric may as well not have been there at all. But it was better than being on his feet.
"Finally. I was starting to wonder if this motel was actually a thing," Peter said, plopping on the bed. It barely bounced. "It feels like we've been walking forever."
Tony scoffed, "You're telling me."
"You okay, Mister Stark? Don't think I haven't noticed your bad mood."
"Sorry, kid. It's been a long day," Tony sighed. "An interesting day, but a long one. I didn't really expect we'd be walking in the dark aimlessly."
Peter winced. "Sorry."
Tony shook his head. "It's not your fault. It's mine for not getting extra gas."
"Well…all of this really makes for an interesting experience."
Tony chuckled. "Yeah, it does."
"I'm gonna go get changed into something more comfortable."
Peter got off the bed and pulled out a Star Wars T-shirt and sweatpants before going to the bathroom. While Peter was doing that, Tony took out his phone and connected to the poor WIFI the motel had and looked up towing places. He hoped someone could get the car gassed and to the motel by morning.
Despite himself, Tony couldn't help but chuckle again. This was such a ridiculous situation, it was funny. When he woke up this morning he did not expect any of this to happen. Things didn't always go one hundred percent, especially if there were no plans, but this was something else. Peter seemed to be mostly alright with it.
Speaking of the kid, he stepped out of the bathroom looking much more refreshed, although Tony saw there was a bit of tiredness in his eyes.
"Are you hungry? I can see if there's a restaurant or something nearby we can order from."
"It's too late for that, don't you think? Nowhere is going to be open."
"Kid, you need to eat. You've only had snacks."
"I saw a vending machine outside."
Tony scowled. The kid needed more than vending machine food. He really should've packed some lunchboxes or something. Then again, Tony should've done a lot of things to make this trip smoother. Alas, he didn't. There was nothing he could do about it now and Peter was right. No one would be open at this hour, no less to deliver.
Tony sighed. "We'll find a good diner tomorrow and get you a great breakfast. I'm sorry about all this."
Peter grabbed some coins and bills from his wallet. "It's fine. It's all part of the adventure." He put his shoes on and headed out.
Tony waved him off and scrolled through his phone again to see any towing companies open at this hour. There was only one open at all hours. He tried looking for any open diners but couldn't find any, just like Peter said. It was worth a shot.
Either way, Tony made the call to the towing company and told them what happened and gave his location. Around 10:00AM or so was the fastest they could get the car back to them. Better than nothing.
He wanted to call Pepper and May to tell them what happened. He decided it might be best to leave that up to Peter. No doubt he was going to be ranting excitedly when they got back home.
Soon Peter came back with some chips, granola bars, and some cans of soda. Not ideal, really. Peter needed so much more than that. Tony would definitely make up for this in the morning. Peter deposited the food on the bed and placed the soda cans on the nightstand.
"Just don't tell May about this part of the trip, okay? I don't want her to think I neglected you," Tony said, opening a can. "I guess I kinda did though."
"No you didn't, be quiet." Peter scowled.
Tony blinked, surprised at Peter's firm tone. It was supposed to be a joke albeit a poorly made one. Peter tossed Tony a bag of chips.
"Thanks, kid."
"Why don't you change into something more comfortable? It'll put you at ease," Peter suggested, munching on a granola bar.
Tony shrugged. "I'll change in a bit."
There wasn't really anything Tony and Peter could do regarding the usual entertainment. There was no TV so they couldn't look and see if there were any shows or movies they could watch before bed. There also wasn't a radio that they could use to listen to music on. They mostly went back and forth and talked about random things.
After they finished their poor excuse of a dinner, Tony got changed into an MIT sweater and sweatpants, finally getting somewhat comfortable. He probably would've felt better if this motel was a little more in shape, but beggars can't be choosers.
Before long Peter finally decided he was tired enough to sleep which was a relief to Tony. He didn't trust sleeping under the blankets the motel provided, so he opted to sleep on top of them while Peter snuggled under the covers. Tony ran his fingers through Peter's curls and slowly fell asleep.
XXX
Tony stirred in his sleep. His arm was flat on the bed when it should've been resting on top of his kid's body. Peter was one hell of a cuddle bug after all. Tony's hand stroked up and down the bed, trying to see if the kid somehow managed to move out of his reach but there was nothing.
Tony groaned loudly when he felt a small hand shake his shoulder. He rolled onto his back and blinked his eyes open. Peter was on his left looking as if he had seen a ghost, his wide and his skin pale.
"Peter? Wha-"
Peter pressed his palm over Tony's mouth and raised a finger to his lips. Tony glared at him halfheartedly.
Peter leaned down and whispered, "My Spidey-sense started buzzing so I woke up to see what the problem was and I peaked out the curtains and there's a creepy man walking outside."
How Peter managed to say that without stopping to breathe was beyond Tony. Tony grunted, partially muffled by Peter's hand, when there was a loud knock on the door. Peter whipped around to the door as Tony sat up. He was too tired for this shit. The last thing he wanted to deal with was an intruder.
"Come on, let's hide in the closet," Peter whispered.
Peter practically hauled Tony to the closet and hid inside, quietly closing the door and moving as far back in the small space as possible. Tony almost saw no reason for this just for the fact that if the intruder actually came in, Peter could probably knock him out from behind. Lord knows he had the strength to. Perhaps he was too tired.
There was more loud knocking, giving Tony one hell of a headache. He ran a hand down his face. For Peter's sake, he resisted the urge to groan in annoyance.
The door slammed open, making Peter flinch and cover his ears. Whether it was out of fear or sensitive hearing, Tony did not know. It could've been both. But now that the man was inside, Tony felt a familiar protectiveness over Peter and hid the kid behind him. This creep had a lot of nerve disturbing their night.
The creep was moving all around the room but from what Tony managed to hear, he wasn't looking through any drawers or opening their bags. When footsteps got louder in their direction, Tony made sure Peter was completely hidden by his body.
Tony was having absolutely none of it the second the door began to open. He tackled the man the moment Tony's eyes landed on him. He shoved him against the wall and pressed his forearm against the creep's throat.
"Mister Stark!" Peter yelped from behind.
"Peter, call the police," Tony said, keeping his glare on the creep. He pressed his arm against the creep's throat harder. "I got this."
Peter hesitated for a moment before doing as Tony said. Meanwhile, the creep tried clawing at Tony's arm, struggling to breathe and doing a poor excuse of begging.
"Listen, asshole. It's been a long night," Tony growled. "The kid needs sleep. I need sleep. We don't need this bullshit."
It only took a couple seconds longer before the creep passed out from lack of air. Tony backed up and let him collapse to the floor. Just to be sure, he checked his pulse and he was still alive.
"The police will be here soon," Peter said.
Tony nodded. He headed back to the bed and sat letting out a long sigh. Peter sat next to him and rubbed circles on his back.
"This is one hell of a night, huh?"
Tony scoffed. "No kidding. No freaking kidding."
"It'll be fun to share with everyone."
Tony laughed despite himself. "Yeah. Real fun."
And just like Peter said, the police arrived within fifteen minutes. The creep was still unconscious when they arrived. The police didn't seem bothered by this, if anything they made it seem like it was another Tuesday. If it was, then this motel needed to be shut down if it kept getting intruders.
After giving their statements the police left and took the creep with them. Tony and Peter watched them leave. No one else came out from their rooms. When the cars were completely out of sight, Tony looked down at Peter.
"So."
"So?"
"Do you wanna risk staying here or do you wanna see if we can find somewhere else?"
"I'm kinda tired, Mister Stark. Like you said, it's been a long night," Peter sighed. "Besides, where else would be open? It's two in the morning and we don't even have our car. And there's no way the taxi place is open."
Tony nodded. "You're right. Kinda sucks, doesn't it? Think we can get another room with a new lock?"
"The old hag is probably asleep, even after all this," Peter mumbled.
Tony almost choked on his own spit at Peter's words. He looked down at Peter incredulously. It was not like him in the least to talk about someone like that, even if they could be annoying. He was always so polite.
Peter seemed to realize what he said and he looked up with wide eyes. "I-I mean…uh…"
"You're just a tired Spider-baby."
Peter blushed and looked down. "Yeah…"
They went back inside and shut the door. Because the lock wasn't usable anymore, Tony grabbed the chair and put it in front of the door. It was better than nothing. Peter crawled back in bed with Tony following after him. He held his kid close to him.
"Goodnight, Mister Stark," Peter whispered.
Tony kissed the top of Peter's head.
"Goodnight, Spiderling."
This whole road trip was going to be one hell of a story when they got back home.
Author's Note: And we're back again with another one shot! A much longer one this time, it just kinda got away from me. xD
The final half [the motel part with the intruder] was inspired by a short horror game I watched a while ago. I can't remember the name of it, but it included a car breaking down and someone going to a motel and eventually having an intruder break into their room. The ending I wrote was completely different but yes, the motel was inspired by a game. All the stuff before that was also random stuff that came to mind.
That's all for now. I'll see ya'll in the next one.
Thanks for reading!
~Kurosaki