A/N- This story is deep and I want you all to know that I don't think this type of thing would actually even happen no matter what state Tony was in, I just wrote it because I liked the plot, and I tried to make it up for Tony as best as possible. It's three in the morning and I'm not doing too hot, so sorry if this one sucks.

"Hey Mr. Stark!" Peter said as he climbed through his window into the lab, still clad in his Spider-Man suit. "I was thinking we could reinstall my parachute today-"

Peter stopped talking as he surveyed the room, realizing that all of the lights were off and he was the only person there.

"Uh... Friday?" he asked hesitantly.

After everything that had happened with the vulture and saving Mr. Starks plane, the man had decided to thank Peter by actually making the internship a real thing.

Peter started swinging by the tower every Friday after patrol, thankful that Mr. Stark had bought it back so he wouldn't have to travel upstate.

Peter was supposed to spend the night tonight because May had an overnight shift and Peter would have been alone in a cold apartment without anything to do. Mr. Stark had offered to let Peter spend the night once he heard, and the boy had immediately said yes.

Homecoming had only been a couple of months ago, so Peter was still getting used to spending time at the tower and using Mr. Starks advanced technology.

"Yes, Mr. Parker?"

"Is Mr. Stark here? Lab day wasn't cancelled, was it?" Peter looked around, body slightly shaking from the bitter New Your air, suddenly feeling out of place in the expensive lab.

"My records don't recall ever sending a message. Mr. Stark is in the penthouse."

Peter's brow furrowed in confusion. "Um, could you let him know I'm here?"

"I'm afraid boss had disconnected my servers from the penthouse."

Peter opened his mouth to respond, but soon after closed it, not knowing what to say.

He didn't think the billionaire had any plans, most businesses like his weren't very busy this time of year.

Peter searched his mind for what would cause the man to forget lab day, but his mind came up blank for anything special about December sixteenth.

"Uh, I'll just head up there then," he mumbled to himself.

Peter stepped into the elevator and watched as the doors closed. His body still shook a bit, the light layer of snow on his suit doing no wonders without being able to thermoregulate.

Maybe Mr. Stark would prefer to have a movie night tonight. Peter would be fine with that; he could drink hot cocoa and warm up under ten fuzzy blankets.

It didn't sound too bad.

The elevator doors opened to Tony's penthouse, and Peter silently walked in, looking around nervously.

"Mr. Stark?"

The boy walked towards the living area, his inside growing more and more cold.

He looked towards the couch where he finally spotted a head peeking out over the back of it, what Peter assumed was Mr. Stark looking at something in his lap.

Peter carefully walked around the edge of the couch so he could face his mentor. As he got closer, a strong wave of alcohol breached his nose, making Peter feel as if he was choking on the scent.

His heart dropped to his feet when he spotted the bottle of whiskey held loosely between Mr. Starks fingers.

Upon closer inspection, Peter could tell that the man's eyes were red rimmed and glazed over, obvious signs that he was drunk.

A tablet was resting in his lap, but all Peter could make out was a darkened, empty road.

Peter inched forward and knelt in front of Tony, attempting to look as non-threatening as possible.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter whispered again.

The man in question swung his head towards his mentee, eyes going uncharacteristically hard.

"Hm?" He asked, and Peter flinched slightly at the venom lacing his tone.

"Mr. Stark, are you okay?" Peter slowly moved his hand forward and grabbed the bottle of whiskey, gently pulling it away and setting it on the coffee table.

Tony sighed as if he was trying to groan and gave Peter a sharp look.

"Leave."

It was just one word, but it stung Peter's heart more than he would like to admit.

"Uh, I think you should go lay down, Mr. Stark."

Tony rolled his eyes and leaned forward in an attempt to get the whiskey back. When Peter moved in front of him and made a human wall between the man and the bottle, Tony's unfocused eyes narrowed at Peter.

"Kid, get. Out." Peter's eyes started to burn, but he didn't let that get in the way of helping his mentor. When Peter locked himself in place, Tony's face grew more furious. "Now."

The calm in his hero's voice almost made Peter throw up, but he ignored his own feeling in favor of getting the man to bed.

"I'm not going to do that, Mr. Stark. Let me just help you to your bedroom-"

Peter stopped short with a gasp when he felt a slap to his cheek. It only stung worse with the all-encompassing cold still radiating off of the vigilante's body.

He fell silent after realizing what had just happened, eyes falling off of Tony's face and landing on the tablet still in his lap.

The angle of the camera limited what was caught on tape, but in the corner of the screen, Peter could make out Howard Stark being punched several times in the face by a familiar metal arm Peter had come in contact with a few months back.

Peter felt like he had been punched himself when he realized what was causing Mr. Starks behavior.

It was the anniversary of his parent's deaths.

He blinked back the tears still swimming in his eyes and grabbed the tablet, powering it off and looking straight into Tony's eyes.

"Sir, you can hit me all you want but I am not walking out of here until you are asleep in your bed." Mr. Starks eyes slightly widened even in his delirious state, and Peter even surprised himself with the steadiness of his own voice.

The boy wrapped his arm around his mentor's shoulders and practically pulled him off the couch, turning and leading him towards his bedroom.

When they walked into the master bedroom, Peter helped Tony towards the bed and under the covers. It was obvious the billionaire's anger had faded away, the now blank look on his face saying it all.

Peter was starting to believe that wasn't the only bottle of whiskey his mentor had gone through that day.

He made sure that Mr. Stark was comfortable and had his eyes shut before walking to the bathroom to grab some Advil and a cup of water. Between the man's blank face, uncharacteristic silence, and submissiveness, Peter was absolutely certain he never wanted to see the man like this again.

The kid walked back out of the bathroom and set the items on Tony's nightstand, sighing as he heard that the man's heartbeat had evened out in sleep.

After glancing once more to make sure Mr. Stark was set for the night, Peter walked out of the room and shut the door, just after whispering, "Goodnight, Mr. Stark."

When Tony woke up the next morning with a pounding headache, he immediately recognized the familiar feeling of a hangover.

And a bad one.

He groaned and sat up, hands moving to gently massage his temples. He blinked his eyes against the dim light that Friday had helpfully turned on in his room.

The genius couldn't remember anything about the night before, he just felt ashamed that he had lost his sobriety streak.

After coming home from Afghanistan and becoming Iron Man, Tony had made it a point to start drinking less. Yes, he would pick up a glass here and there, but he wasn't even sure when the last time he actually got a hangover was.

His energy was so drained, but he knew he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep without some painkillers.

"Fri?" he whispered.

"Yes, boss?" The AI answered, matching her creator's tone, and Tony was instantly grateful for the hangover protocol he had installed into all of his AI's back in his partying days.

"Be a dear and send Dum-E up here with some pills, would you?"

"They are right next to you, boss."

Tony cracked an eye open at the reply, brain short circuiting while noticing that there were indeed two pills along with a cup of water sitting prepared for him on his nightstand.

He quickly threw them back while attempting to figure out who would have put them there, because he specifically remembered requesting Rhodey and Pepper to leave him alone on- ah, that's right- his parents' anniversary.

The two had known not to come to the penthouse, so no one else should have been on that floor besides-

Oh shit. Peter.

Tony sat up straight, eyes widening as he realized he had forgot about inviting the kid over.

"Friday, show me the footage of Peter entering the penthouse last night."

The flat screen in front of Tony's bed flickered to life, and Tony watched in horror as the boy attempted to help him, only getting snark in response.

He actually ended up puking into a bin near his bed as he watched his drunken self literally slap the kid.

Oddly enough, Tony felt proud as he watched a teary-eyed Peter tell him off and haul his ass to bed, regret and shame and disgust causing more bile to rise up the man's throat.

"End it, Fri," Tony choked out around heaves, sighing as he watched Peter's pale face disappear off of the screen. "You know where he is?" he asked after emptying his stomach.

"In his room, boss."

Tony quickly stood from his bed and scrambled out the door, completely forgetting about his nausea and exhaustion.

When Tony pushed the already cracked open door out of his way, he felt as if he would puke a third time. Peter was sitting with his back against his headboard, knees pulled to his chest and tear tracks visible on his face.

When the boy turned his head and made eye contact with his mentor, his face crumpled and tears instantly began falling down his face again.

Tony couldn't even move from his spot in the doorway as Peter began to sob, fearing to even get close enough to touch the boy. But when Peter's sobs paused for a moment and he gasped loudly around such a painful sounding, "Mr. Stark!", Tony was instantly pulled forward, the urge to hold the kid in his arms too great to resist.

"God, Pete, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry," he said while Peter continued to cry into his neck, grasping onto the man like a lifeline. "Kid, I don't know why... I shouldn't have... I can get you home if you want. You don't... shit kid. I'm so sorry. We can get all of your stuff packed up-"

"No!" Peter shouted through the sobs, body pressing impossibly closer to Mr. Stark. "P-please... please don't make m-me leave. Mr.- Mr. Stark, please, I can't- I can't lose someone again... not you. Please don't m-make me g-go."

Peter continued to gasp and sob, oblivious to the tears filling his mentor's eyes.

"It's okay, Pete. Just breathe, bud. I won't make you go, I promise." Tony didn't know how or why the kid was being so forgiving, and even if Peter forgave, Tony wasn't going to let himself off of the hook that easily.

He was going to do everything in his power to make the previous night up to Peter, whatever it took.

A/N- For once I actually kind of like the plot of this even if the writing sucks, but I'm not quite sure how well it's going to do with you guys. Let me know, and thanks for reading! 3