Title: My Favorite Weakness (is You)
Summary: Where is Peter's place in a place he doesn't belong?
Author's Note: AN ACTUAL UPDATE! I'm studying for the NCLEX, but thought I could progress the story little by little as I do so. Makes for a nice study break. I am so happy you're liking the story so far and really hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 12: Never Gonna Let You Down
- Day 6 - Multiverse Day 1 (continued) -
Peter returned to the biggest plate of scrambled eggs he'd ever seen in his life, which Steve promptly set in front of him.
Steve turned to get him a fork from the drawer, and Peter opened his mouth to comment, but Steve spoke first, his friendly tone interrupting Peter's thoughts.
"So, Peter, what's your impression of the Tower so far? I know you haven't seen much yet, but have you got any advice for us here?"
Peter grinned, "I love it so far! The med bay here is awesome, it's got its own mini-lab thing that the one in my universe's Stark Tower didn't have! I haven't really been anywhere else yet. But the bedroom I stayed in here is pretty cool."
Peter thought his summary was short and clear, but he was bombarded by a short-lived silence, cut off by a wave of questions.
"You haven't been anywhere else in the building?" (Clint asked this question.)
"Tony hasn't set up your med-lab?" (That was Dr. Banner.)
"Tony hasn't given you a room?" (Asked by Steve.)
Peter shook his head in response to each of the questions, not really having a chance to speak.
"I'm sorry," Natasha said, and everyone quieted down to listen to her, "but did you say 'Stark Tower'?"
Everyone shifted their gaze to Tony, who just shrugged. "Has a nice ring to it," he joked, but Peter thought he could spot some other emotion on Mr. Starks face. He just wished he could interpret it.
"Anything you'd like to tell us?" Natasha prompted in a joking manner.
Tony shrugged. "I don't know what other-me's been through. And just remember before you comment, that's real for Peter here."
The questions and comments ceased after that, and Peter finishes his plate in what he feels is an uncomfortable silence. He doesn't know why he feels so guilty, but feels like he said something wrong.
For a moment, he tried to piece together the kind of life his counterpart had lived here; he'd had the entirety of the Avengers team as friends; he apparently had his own room in Stark - no, the Avengers Tower; and he and Mr. Stark seemed to be a lot closer than what Peter knew. Out of all that, the last part made him feel jealous of his other self. They were on the same timeline, and his Mr. Stark had ignored him while these two were probably working in the lab together and making pancakes.
The two days he'd spent with Mr. Stark at home was probably only a glimpse of what this Peter's life was like on a more regular basis. What had Peter been doing wrong? Maybe this Mr. Stark was correct in thinking that his counterpart didn't like Peter. But on second thought, Peter wasn't sure he believed that.
He'd probably done something wrong himself.
The thought made him feel sick.
Sam's voice interrupted his thoughts from the couches where the rest of the Avengers were seated.
"Hey Tony, mind if we borrow Peter to show him the training room?"
The sick feeling didn't go away, but Peter's attention was at least redirected. He looked at Mr. Stark, who turned towards Peter.
"Sure, you wanna go?"
"Are you going?"
"Only if you want me to."
"Yes, please."
Tony smiled, "Okay, but as long as we can stop by the med lab afterwards. Brucie and I were thinking we'd like to get a baseline on your health."
"If it's okay with you, Peter," Dr. Banner added to Tony's thought from across the room.
Peter shrugged; he didn't think his Tony Stark had even a baseline on him, but it'd be interesting to know. Plus, his sick feeling wasn't getting any better. "Sounds good to me."
The training room was awesome, and he even got a private lesson from Bucky in the ring, with Sam and Tony giving pointers from the side. He didn't even hit Bucky once, and every attempt Bucky either redirected or used Peter's off-balance stance to twist him to the ground.
Bucky said Peter did well; Sam said Peter went too easy on Bucky; and Tony said Bucky was too rough with Peter.
Peter rolled his eyes.
"It's fine - I'm fine! It's not like I get much hand-to-hand combat time anyways."
"Yeah, and you could be on fire and say you were fine," Tony argued.
"Reminds me of someone else I know," Sam said, and Bucky pseudo-coughed and nodded his head in Tony's direction. Peter smiled.
"Uh-uh-uh-" Tony began, holding up a pointing finger, "that... is... not a good thing!" He turned back to Peter, "Remember what I told you when we first met?" Tony remembered which he wasn't talking to, and instead turned to point at the two troublemakers. "Well, I told my Peter that he shouldn't do anything I would do, and-"
"Not to do anything you wouldn't do," Peter finished for him.
Tony looked back at Peter, "Exactly."
"I operate in the little grey area," Peter finished. Peter thought he saw sadness in Tony's eyes, and wondered if he should have said something at all.
Sam rolled his eyes, "riiight."
"It does exist," Tony argued, giving Peter a nod before turning back to the others. They just laughed, Peter included. But he still thought he could see a glimmer of pain or sadness behind Tony's scolding glare.
He found himself thinking again about how close this Tony and Peter must have been, and realized how difficult him being here must be for Mr. Stark. He began to feel guilty, wishing he could somehow comfort Mr. Stark without, well, being himself.
He didn't say anything while the lot of them made their way down to the med floor, where they parted ways with Sam and Bucky, leaving Peter and Mr. Stark alone on their way to meet Dr. Banner.
They walked a short distance together before Tony broke the silence.
"What's eatin' at ya, kid."
Peter brought his mind back to the hallway they were traveling down, trying to figure out what Mr. Stark was referring to.
"Don't play innocent with me," Tony continued, "I know when something's bothering you. And when you're lying, so keep that in mind as you answer. What's up?"
Oh.
"Nothing really," Peter began, "I just, uh, wasn't feeling good earlier."
There. That was a truth.
Tony narrowed his eyes, but followed the lead. "In what way?"
Peter shrugged. "I don't know. Nauseous, maybe? Just a little. I feel better now."
Tony nodded. "So if you feel better, why'd you clam up just now?"
Peter thinks about what else he can say; he didn't want to make Mr. Stark feel worse than he was already making him feel.
But Tony cut off his thoughts-
"Eh-eh. I don't want to see you thinking, I wanna hear you talking."
Peter couldn't help but give a laugh. This Tony Stark knew him pretty well. It occurred to him that every thing this Tony Stark knew about him was a bond created that he didn't have, and he realized that that gave this Tony quite an advantage.
He shrugged. "I was just thinking," he started, and the fact that Mr. Stark didn't make a comment on this obvious point, but instead waited for him to continue, proved to Peter that his realization was right.
"I was thinking about how bad it is that I'm here. Like, not for my sake but for yours." He didn't look at Mr. Stark but kept his eyes on where he was walking.
"What do you mean," Mr. Stark asked, "for my sake?"
Peter shrugged again. "I don't know. I mean, I do know. I feel bad because I'm here trying to get home, but just me being here is hurting you. I was always so scared of being in the way in the first place, and now there's literally nothing I can do to help because my existence is literally the problem."
Mr. Stark disappeared from Peter's peripheral vision, and Peter paused and turned to where Mr. Stark had stopped behind him in the hallway. Peter hated that he couldn't read the expression on Mr. Stark's face, like his other self would have probably been able to do.
Tony sighed.
"You're too good for this world, kid, or any world for that matter."
Peter opened his mouth to protest, but Tony shook his head and went on.
"Pete, your existence could never be a problem. Not at your home, and not here. And definitely not for me. Yes, I'll admit it's hard, but that's only because I miss you. It doesn't mean I don't want you here. If anything, it's the opposite."
Peter shook his head, but Tony went on before he could say anything.
"Let me explain - please Peter!"
That shut Peter up. He looked at his mentor with a puzzled look, now curious to listen. But Mr. Stark looked down as he spoke.
"I've been thinking too. I realized that everything you learn about me is something you don't get to learn from your Tony, and I realized how much I would absolutely hate having my personal life exposed like that, even by myself. It's a privacy thing or something, but I don't want to get into it with you. I want you to learn about me from, well, your version of the real me."
Peter took in his words with a frown, realizing what they implied; "you don't mean you're leaving, do? I don't want to have to figure this out without you!"
But Tony shook his head, "No no no, I'm not going anywhere. Because honestly, and this may be selfish, but this gives me more time with you. And sure, it's not 'my version' of the 'real you,' but you're really Peter Parker. So in a way, it's like a gift that I get to have you for a little while longer."
Peter tried to connect the dots, but couldn't. It didn't make sense that Mr. Stark could be there without Peter getting to know him all the while. "So what are we gonna do?" He asked, looking more confused than ever.
Tony smiled. "We're going to make this all about you- more than it already was. I get lucky enough to spend time with you, and you'll have me to help you get home. And I'm only telling you this because, first of all, you're smart and would figure it out, and secondly because you're otherwise too nice to let me dote on you."
"Dote on me?" Peter wasn't sure he liked how that sounded. He just said he wanted to help Mr. Stark too!
"Yes. And don't worry, I already know how you hate it. But I know what my kid liked, and I get you again for a limited time, so you're gonna have to suffer through it."
Peter's breath caught and he blinked at Mr. Stark calling him his kid, but he shoved that thought aside as he tried to use what leverage he had.
"I don't want to put you through all that - I mean I just told you I already feel bad!"
Tony rolled his eyes once more and slowed down. He took a deep breath and placed his hands on Peter's shoulders, looking into his eyes.
"This is not something you should feel bad about. Yes, I lost you. But you being here... this temporary time we're faced with? This is extra time I get with you. And when we're not working on getting you home, I want to spend it by doing what you like. Just think of it as a superpower, that I already know what it is you like to do."
Peter nodded; he didn't know what to say. He looked down to hide the surge of emotion that arose in the back of his throat, and Mr. Stark touched his chin.
"We'll figure this out," he said, "but first," he began, and touched the side of Peter's neck. Peter lightly pulled away from the pain of the touch.
"First we're going to get a thorough health baseline, and by the looks of that bruise we're also apparently going to have to check you out for injuries."
Peter laughed nervously, "I'm fine!"
Tony stood up. "Famous last words," he replied, and they walked down the med bay's hallway into Spider-Man's personal medical room.
Author's Notes: Is it fluff? Or is it foreshadowing? (:
Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter! They really encourage me, and I can always use encouragement.
Shout-out to my class of 2020 crowd! I got my diploma in the mail today! (woo-hoo!) Next stop: NCLEX. (I'll do my best to update the story throughout the studying process!)
