Title: My Favorite Weakness (is You)

Summary: Natasha takes initiative.

Author's Notes: Thanks for staying with this story! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 15: Help for who we still have.


- Day 6 [first morning without Peter] -


Tick;

Tick;

Tick;

The persistent sound became louder in Tony's mind, and the realization of what it was startled him awake.

It was a bomb counting down detonation.

Peter was going to die.

TICK.

Tony sat up, his eyes fighting the urge to close against the stabbing pain in his chest, and looked around the room; no bomb, he reassured himself, yet despite the fact that he knew they were doing everything they could to find Peter, there was always the nagging voice that he could be doing more.

As if just the fact that Tony wasn't physically out looking for Peter on the streets was proof that Tony could be doing more; and despite what Natasha said, Tony knew he wasn't going to be able to rest until they found Peter.


Natasha knew Tony was awake, and waited for him in the lab where they'd set up their base to search for the Stark intern; Natasha had already begun to suspect there was something more to the boy than Stark was letting on, but she also knew when to prioritize which quest for information.

And right now, the boy's location was atop the list.

She silently watched as Tony entered the lab, obviously unaware of her presence and on some quest for something probably involving a drink.

She watched as he put his book under his left shoulder so he could pour himself a glass. No, that wasn't a book – but a round wall clock. Now curious, she raised an eyebrow at what he might be up to.

She was again surprised when he set down the clock, pulled open a drawer, removed a hammer, and – with his glass in the other hand – began beating the clock to pieces.

Her face resumed its normal unreadable expression as her thoughts returned to the missing person.

"This boy," Natasha began, and though she saw him flinch at the sudden noise, she knew he accepted her entrance into his current existence with a quick glance, before he went on slamming the clock. "He's your… intern," she reiterated.

"Yes." It wasn't really a question, but he knew she was seeking information, so he answered.

She studied him. She could tell there was something Tony was not telling her, but despite her questions, she was still in the dark as to what it could be. She could only hope that whatever it was, was not important in finding Parker.

The banging stopped, and Tony, apparently pleased with his handiwork, used his sleeve to sweep the remaining pieces onto the floor before turning towards Natasha and leaning his weight back to be supported by the table.

"What do you think?" He asked, picking up the conversation topic.

She paused a moment before answering, studying his face to get more details, then shrugged, and looked at the display sitting between them.

"All the boy has to do is get his face in front of any non-disposable camera," she replied; "this technique is based off the way we found Loki, and it's only improved since then. Plus, I'm guessing your intern doesn't have an inter-dimensional portal he's been using to leave the planet?"

Tony blew out a deep breath; "no, nothing like that. He would have said something, to someone, before he did anything. Whatever this is, it happened to him." His eyes were looking at the wall, but seeing something she knew wasn't there. She wondered how many times and how many situations he'd watched this intern get into trouble, and she could only imagine that he was already piling up the guilt for a list of occurrences which never happened.

She was already beginning to realize how right she was about this intern being special, and knew she was going to lose Tony, too, if they weren't careful, and sooner than later. She had to maintain control.

"Like how you happened to that clock?"

His eyes regained focus on her, and despite his slight frown, she noticed his cheek twitched. "Nonsense," he said, and his voice resumed its lightness; "that clock was asking for it."

"Asking… to get hammered to bits?"

"Loudly and persistently."

She smiled at him, noting how stressed he was, how labored his breathing was despite how much it had already calmed down. He was on the brink of losing it.

Natasha bet she knew the reason why Tony wanted as few people as possible on this case – the real reason, that is – but she was going to have to convince him otherwise. Something was wrong with the entire scenario, and they needed help.

She'd help Tony keep his secret, but began making a search-and-rescue plan involving the other Avengers. As important as it was to find the kid, they also had to make sure Tony made his way out of this. From what she'd read on the kid, it was already evident that someone must have pieced the information together and connected that the best way to get at Tony would be to take his kid.

If whoever it is was smart enough to piece together that information, then she knew their next move would not be so careless as to accidentally show Peter's face to a hackable camera. No, it would be purposeful, and they would be ready by then. Ideally, with the help of the team, they would be able to find Peter before anything was broadcast.

She looked at the time, calculating what the best move would be.

"Why don't I go get some breakfast?"

Tony looked at the time on his computer display, and Natasha bet the hesitation was him trying to figure out if it was AM or PM.

"Breakfast," he repeated, "sure. I'll go with you."

"Or I can bring it here," she suggested, "and you can update the past few hours?"

He shrugged. She hated seeing him like this, none of his usual demeanor. This wasn't Tony.

"Sure," he said. Good. She needed help.


"I see why you're worried about him," Steve Rogers said, "and thank you for telling me."

They were in the kitchen; Natasha was leaning back against the counter, waiting for the toaster behind her to cook, and Steve was leaning against the kitchen's island bar next to the stools, the windows providing a backdrop of rain behind him.

"You understand that you can't do anything yet, without his permission," she asked, "right?"

Steve nodded. "whatever reason he didn't trust us to ask us for help before, I'll respect that. But I'm glad you told me so I can be here for him; I wouldn't want to lose him right under our noses."

"He asked me not to tell you, or any of the team, for that matter. You know I wouldn't have called you like this if I thought there was a way I could do this without you."

Steve glanced at her, but nodded.

"We both know," she continued, "an angry Tony is better than a lost one."

They sat for a moment, eyes lost in the rain, remembering the times Tony had been lost – ambushed in Siberia; long nights of drinking; and the time he'd been counting down the days until the poison would claim his life — and the lifelong psychological damage they've witnessed since.

The toaster popped, and they were brought back to the present. Natasha turned to get the bread.

"So, should I come upstairs now?" Steve asked, bringing the focus back to the problem at hand.

"No, I'll call you. I just wanted to talk to you before, so you have an idea of what's going on."

"Before… as in he doesn't even know you're talking to me?"

"I needed to make sure we're on the same page. I already know I'm going to need your help; you and Tony have a friendship. "

Steve raised his eyebrows skeptically at the word.

She eyeballed him, and shrugged as she spoke. "You are friends, even if you're going through a rough patch. You two have been through too much together to not. And you're here, in the Tower; that's proof enough that he hasn't given up on you."

Steve remained quiet, keeping his eyes down as he considered her words.

"And I also wanted to make sure you knew not to mention Barnes at all."

Steve huffed out a voiceless laugh and shook his head. "I know."

"Okay, good. And Steve?"

He flicked his eyes up to meet hers.

"Do not tell the others, until Tony gives the clear. You can feel free to bring up the notion of the team helping, and hopefully he'll make the right choice from there. I'm guessing we're gonna need all the help we can get, but we can't overwhelm him or completely take over. Tony needs to stay in control. I also don't want too many people knowing too much about Tony's problems without him being the one to share it – we both know he's more private about this stuff."

She knew how much Steve hated the idea of keeping secrets, but he nodded in understanding and agreement, and Natasha got up to go.

On her way to the door, he stopped her. "Natasha?"

She turned.

"What makes this kid so… I don't know, special? I don't mean this in a bad way at all, but it just seems out of character for Tony to put so much personal effort into finding someone he didn't know at all rather than relaying it on to the proper authorities."

Natasha held eye contact, and shrugged. "Tony only said he was an intern for the company."

He nodded, and she walked out.


Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! There's more to come - good and not-so-good. What do you think where Tony's at? Thank you all for the comments, DMs, and kudos! I appreciate the love and support and am so happy you're liking the story! Let me know what you think, and I'll keep it coming!