As soon as he closes the bathroom door behind him, Tony stops, taking a deep breath to steel himself again and forcing himself to relieve some of the tension in his shoulders.
He'd been tense since Jarvis had alerted him that Morgan had been granted entrance to the kid's room. He isn't entirely sure why he was so on edge about it, if he's being honest; neither of them were in positions to hurt the other, unless Morgan tried to climb up on the bed with him for some reason - not that he really thought either of them would try. Still, finding them both intact and chatting amicably had been a relief. It was actually nice to see Peter so relaxed; in comparison with how he had acted around Morgan, it was clear how tense (and afraid, even if he doubts Peter would admit that) he was around Tony.
Of course both of those reappeared as soon as he entered the room, but that wasn't the point.
Not that he'd actually entertained the thought that he was desperate enough to do anything, but Tony was glad Peter hadn't tried to say or do anything stupid with Morgan. He'd tried testing the waters and immediately backed off when he saw that wasn't going to get him anywhere, rather than start something with her in the room. And to an extent, he was glad she hadn't seen the cuff he'd put on the younger male's ankle, either; he wouldn't have taken it off if she had, but he knew she would have been upset by it.
In truth, Tony was upset by having to do it. But deciding that it was a necessary evil was one of the decisions he'd made this morning; he isn't going to have him try to take off when he's still injured. Tony has every intent of nursing the kid back to full health, whether he likes it or not. And of course it doesn't have anything to do with his guilt or his need to know what Peter has gone through on behalf of the Avengers, or anything he knows about the people looking for him; but if he manages to make some of that up to him, well, that's just an added bonus.
He hasn't told Peter who he is yet, and clearly, Peter hasn't figured it out on his own, despite seeing him use the gauntlets and his nanotech. He can't say he's too surprised; it's been almost six years since he himself made a public appearance. He's gone into hiding, in a way. He would daresay he's still a recognizable figure, but he doesn't go out to where he could be recognized very often anymore. He thought long and hard about it this morning, but he's decided he's not going to tell him - at least, not right away. Mainly because of what Peter has apparently already gone through on their behalves, and the adverse reaction he'd probably have to realizing. The kid is clearly already terrified of him now; the last thing he needs to add to that mix is him knowing who he is and thinking that he has some alternative purpose for helping him. Which he probably already thinks, Tony knows, but with this new information, the kid would probably think he's found a legitimate reason to worry. No, he wants to try to gain at least a tiny bit of trust between them first.
It doesn't look like it'll be impossible. Difficult, certainly, but not impossible. He's got Morgan on his side, for one thing. He's yet to meet anyone who is immune to her precious charms, and if the bit of interaction he heard before bursting in earlier is any indication, Peter is no exception. That in itself will open up some avenues. Not that he would ask Morgan to do or say anything to Peter on his behalf, but… well, clearly, she's well taken care of, and he's been told it's obvious she adores him. Hopefully some of that will be enough to let Peter rest easier around him.
Besides, he intends to take care of him personally, and he likes to think he's not too scary after the first couple of meetings (unless he's trying to be, of course, but he won't be). Eventually he'll have to realize that Tony really wants nothing more than to help him.
The only problem he's going to run into, Tony muses as he hunts down the supplies to fix the kid up again, is that they were only supposed to be staying here for a day or two, while Pepper has her meetings. Peter is going to take weeks to recover. And while he may have put up with Tony carrying him to the bathroom, if he tries to, say, load him into the car and drag him out to their lakeside home, he knows the young vigilante would absolutely freak. That really would be kidnapping him. And unless he goes separately from Pepper and Morgan, they'll be witness to whatever happens.
Not to mention the fact that Pepper is mostly certainly still highly recognizable, and if he sees her, he'll probably put things together in an instant.
He can deal with that later. Pepper has meetings today and tomorrow. He'll just call Happy to help him keep an eye on Morgan and try to see what kind of progress he can make with Peter. By tomorrow night he'll have to make some kind of decision about who's going where - if they're all staying, if only he stays, or if he's willing to drag a possibly kicking and screaming superhero out of the city with them - but not today.
Today he just goes in search of the first aid kit and heads back to the room where he left the younger hero, intent on helping however he can.
When he re-enters the bathroom, Peter is carefully balanced on the edge of the tub, steadying himself with his unbroken arm and leg - he only has one of each, in the midst of all those injuries - and is checking the temperature of the water. He's somehow managed to get from the toilet to the bathtub across the room, and he's gotten the shirt and sweatpants Tony had dressed him in last night off on his own.
Tony has to admit, he's impressed with the kid's pain tolerance, and his reckless tendency to continue pushing boundaries. What he's not impressed with is how skinny he is - he'd noticed he was small, before, but now that he's not covered in blood and he can get a better look at him, he can see the prominent set of his ribs, the fact that he's not just in-shape skinny, but unhealthy-skinny. And with all the bandages he's swaddled in, he looks even smaller.
He lets out an unhappy hum under his breath without even consciously realizing it. Peter doesn't look up, but he shifts slightly in a way that lets Tony know he definitely heard it and asks, "What?"
"Nothing," he says quickly, irritated at himself for his lack of control. He steps closer. "Do you want anything to put in there? You're not allergic to any type of soap or anything, right?"
"Not that I know of," Peter says after a moment's hesitation, and Tony instinctively knows that it's true, if only because if he actually was allergic to something he probably would have refused to tell him what or just flat out refused to answer. "But I'm good."
"If you insist." Tony steps closer, waiting until he turns to face him to touch him so he doesn't startle him. He gently grabs one of his arms, starting to unwrap the bandages there, and continuing to do so until he's pulled all of the bandages off.
Peter watches silently, and gives no hint of a reaction except for an occasional wince, until he's pulled off the last one and is throwing it in the trash can. Then he says so quietly Tony almost isn't sure he's supposed to hear, "Thanks. You can go now."
Tony blinks, his brow furrowing as he looks down at the slight kid in front of him. "What?"
Peter shrugs, turning and carefully draping his legs over the tub. "I said you can go. I can do this myself."
He has the insane thought of 'you're dismissing me?' and then realizes that Peter would have no idea why that scenario is so backwards even if he says it outloud. He shakes the thoughts away, putting his hand on his shoulder. "Peter… I know it's uncomfortable for you, but I really think-"
"Don't touch me." Peter jerks away almost violently, and Tony dimly realizes after the fact that the younger male had immediately gone from stiff to shaking under his touch. Shit. He's got trauma too, you moron.
"I'm… sorry," Tony manages, trying unsuccessfully to keep the thoughts at bay of exactly what kind of trauma would have made Peter react to his touch like that. "I'll… go, then, but I'll be just outside, okay? Holler for me when you're decent, and we'll get you wrapped back up." Then he practically flees the room, without waiting for a response.
He leaves the door cracked just a tiny bit behind him, then settles down to wait.
Peter watches him go and doesn't say anything. Some part of him feels bad for snapping at Tony, but he just couldn't help it, the same way he could hardly control his body's reaction to it. He's shaking, and he's honestly not sure why, what he even triggered, but it's there and it's not going away.
He sighs, slipping off his boxers and easing himself into the water, slowly, groaning a bit at the pain. He looks about as bad as he feels, which is to say, like absolute shit. There's not a single part of him that doesn't hurt, and all he wants to do is sit and soak in the water for as long as possible. Maybe he'll get lucky, fall asleep with the water running and drown. He's starting to think he'd much prefer that to any of the other inevitable unhappy endings coming to him. Besides, there's no one left who'd care if he's gone anyway. He had one family member and two friends left by the time the Snap had happened. And of course all three of them had disappeared. Right in front of his eyes, to boot. But wasn't that just his luck?
He can't remember the last time he'd actually been able to soak in a bath of water - at least, a time when it wasn't being used as a torture device. This time, between his injuries and his exhaustion and the fact it is not an uncomfortable temperature nor is anyone wrecking havoc on his body or his mind while he lays there, he actually does doze off. Scrubbing himself clean is exhausting, not to mention difficult in his scenario. One moment he's rinsing off his mangled leg with painstaking care, and the next he's out.
He wakes up a bit later to the feeling of weightlessness, and realizes he's being carried. He startles when he realizes it, but the arms around him tighten in response. "Easy Pete. It's just me."
It's probably supposed to be soothing, and coming out of the grips of the memories and fears that paralyze him as he sleeps, it kind of is, even if he doesn't know if he should trust Tony yet. He settles for long enough to be taken the rest of the way to bed, where Tony carefully lays him down.
He's clutching handfuls of Tony's shirt like a little kid, and he doesn't even realize it until the elder man is trying to set him down and meets the resistance. To his utter embarrassment, he's stuck to him again. So not only is he wet and naked, wearing nothing but a towel after he failed to even take a bath on his own, he's now stuck to his… whatever the hell this guy is to him now, and he's not in control enough of himself to be able to make his stickiness go away. And he's so tired that he can't even say or do anything about it.
Tony seems to sense his distress. "Easy, kiddo. It's alright. I'll stay, if that's what you want." He carefully settles beside him on the bed, and before Peter fully realizes what's happening he's tucked snugly into Tony's side, the blankets pulled up around them, and suddenly he's asleep against the elder man's side.
Tony is still there when he startles awake some time later, soothing him before he'd even fully aware of what's going on.
"Easy, it's all right… just lay back down, breathe, Peter… it was just a dream…"
He was dreaming? News to him. He must have been freaking out in his sleep again. "I'm- sorry," he manages to get out.
"Don't be." Tony runs a hand down his arm, and Peter unthinkingly snuggles closer to his side. It's been such a long time since anyone held him like this. Platonically, lovingly, as if his comfort is the only thing that matters. He dimly registers Tony's other hand dragging through his hair and resists the urge to purr like a cat. "You feeling okay now? More awake?"
"Yeah…" Suddenly it returns to him why Tony is still there and he flushes furiously, jerking back as if burned. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" he tries to pull his hands away and realizes they're still stuck, albeit in slightly different places than before.
"Hey hey. It's alright. You can't control it all the time." Tony puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him, and he stills, blinking hard against the sudden burning behind his eyes. As if he needs to be more indebted to this man. But Tony notices even that, and his expression softens even more. "Peter, calm down." He taps his chin up gently. "I'm not mad, and you didn't do anything wrong. You're healing, and those freaky spider powers of yours seem to be making it go quicker at the cost of your energy. You need all the rest you can get." He pauses, smiling a little. "Anyway, you're far from the first person that's ever used me as a pillow, kiddo. I'm used to it."
Peter lowers his eyes when Tony releases his chin, unable to take the earnesty in them when he doesn't know if it's real or fake, and either way no one has given a shit about him in so long that it's honestly painful to see. He takes a breath and mutters a small, "Thanks."
"Of course." Tony ruffles his hair with such care that Peter wants to flinch away from the obvious affection. "Now, let's get you dressed in something besides a towel. You think you can let me up now?"
Peter bits his lip, not answering in favor of concentrating hard. Slowly but surely, his hands come unstuck from where they are resting on Tony's torso.
"Perfect." He gets up carefully, so he doesn't jostle him, then walks over to the dresser and grabs a stack of clothes Peter hadn't noticed earlier. "I took the liberty of getting some clothes brought up for you, since you obviously didn't have anything besides the suit with you and that is not even going to be an option until repairs are done - if they even can be, as unrecognizable as it is. They might not fit just right, but it's better than nothing." He stops at the edge of the bed, setting the clothes down beside him and frowning slightly at the look that must have crossed Peter's face. "What?"
"You… think you can repair my suit?" Peter doesn't dare let the hope show on his face. If he's willing to repair it, that means he gets it back, right? Which means he has to be intending to actually let him go when he gets better. Or that he just wants it to be up and running again to get whatever information out of it is possible, a pessimistic side of him adds, but he pushes the thought away in favor of another slightly less pessimistic but equally concerning one. "Wait. What do you know about my suit? You never told me."
Tony tenses, then visibly forces himself to relax. Peter internally curses at himself. That's not the reaction of someone who's not guilty of something or the other. And just when he was starting to think it might be worth it to trust him…
"It's not what you think," Tony says quickly, apparently seeing the expression on Peter's face. "I just… happen to know the person who made your suit. So I know a bit about it, and yeah, we might be able to fix it. But I can't promise anything, Peter. It was really messed up."
That's because he had gotten really messed up, but neither of them wants to say that. Apparently the unspoken words hang heavy in the room, though, because Tony suddenly continues, "Speaking of which, kid, I would really like to get you seen by a professional. I think your leg and your arm need to be reset and casted at least temporarily, and I would really like to see some actual scans being done to make sure there's nothing on the inside I missed. Is that okay with you?"
Peter hesitates. He doesn't like the idea of it. He hasn't been seen by a doctor in years - partially because he can't afford to be, partially because he knows since the bite he's not all human and he doesn't know to what extent that is, and he's not all about being turned into a human science experiment. "I… haven't been seen by a doctor since…" he hesitates. He's honestly not sure of the exact amount of time, but it goes back further than even the Snap, into his early teens, probably.
Tony's eyes widen a bit at the realization. "Oh. Longer than the Snap?" Peter nods. "How long, then, exactly?"
"Um…" He looks down, picking some imaginary fuzz off the blanket. "Seven or so years, at least."
"Sev- Jesus, kid. That's not healthy, even if you weren't getting injured every time you step on the street." Tony looks stricken.
"Yeah, well, excuse me for not wanting to become a human science experiment!" Peter retorts unthinkingly, then blanches.
Tony stares at him, then shakes his head. "That's… reasonable, I suppose. I'm sorry. But you're going to see one this time, kid. I know a guy, and you wouldn't be the first mutant he's dealt with. I promise you, no science experiments, no scary stuff, and he knows how to be discreet. Does that sound fair?"
Peter slumps back against the pillows, closing his eyes. "What does it matter? We both know you're going to make me whether I say no or not."
He hears Tony let out a pained sigh. "It's for your own good, kid. Just… don't make this harder than it needs to be." A pause, then the bed moves as he settles beside him again. "Come on. Let's get you bandaged and dressed, then we'll get some food into you and you can rest again for a while."
Peter says nothing as gentle hands take his arm again, starting the process of bandaging his wounds again. Peter lays still and quiet except for when otherwise instructed as Tony wraps him up and helps him into some fresh clothes. Despite not doing much - or perhaps because he hasn't - Peter is trying not to fall asleep again by the time he's finished.
Tony gets his shirt on and lays him back against the pillows, seeming to realize then that he's battling unconsciousness again. Whatever he was going to say is lost as he just closes his mouth and smiles a little, pulling the blankets over him again. "Get some rest, Peter." He tucks him in and gets up, and Peter's eyes fall closed before he's even out of sight.
His mind is a few minutes behind his body, though, even though that's also fading fast. Still, he's awake for just long enough to hear the faint dial tone of a phone and Tony's whisper of, "Bruce, I need a favor," and then the world is black again.