It starts with what is supposed to be a normal, boring convention. Tony had only brought Peter along with him because he knew the kid would love to go and meet some of the people he learned about in class. People who had made science related discoveries, and people who had written their own books on scientific theories that Peter loved to go on and on about.

And Peter did manage to do that. Tony had let the younger wander around on his own, keeping Peter in his line of sight just in case, and occasionally went up to him remind him to eat. Other than that, Tony gave the kid some space. Maybe, but he'd never admit it, he'd secretly snap a picture to send the group chat he had with Happy, Pepper, May, and Rhodey.

It started like that.

So why in the world was he sitting in the back seat in the midst of a panic attack with Rhodey comforting him?

"Tones," Rhodey says softly as he rubs the shaken man's back with worry, "Tones, you gotta explain to me what happened. We need to know what you know to find out who took Peter."

Tony took a deep breath to try and do just that. He squeezed his best friend's hand in an attempt to get anchored to his surroundings, and clenched his eyes shut. He needed to focus. He needed to play the part of the witness, and he needed to get his priorities straight.

And his number one priority at that moment was getting Peter back.

"Okay," Tony managed out, "Okay I'm ready to talk about it."

Rhodey, the bestest best friend in the entire world (Tony really needed to get him a mug with that saying on it), passed Tony a water bottle, "Start at the beginning, Tony. Whenever you're ready."

Tony takes a large gulp of water, and shakily twists the cap on before putting it in one of the cup holders. He opens his mouth, and starts to weave together the events of what happened.

•••

"Why do I have to wear a suit, Mr. Stark?" Peter whined, pulling at the tie he had managed to put on. "It's not like this is a formal thing, right?"

Tony scoffed good naturally, making sure to smirk at Peter to let the kid know that there was nothing harsh behind the noise, "This convention will have some of the brightest minds in America here, Pete. People dress to impress."

A roll of the eyes paired with a smile, "I doubt that these people 'dressed to impress' when they discovered some of the most advanced research of the decade."

"Yeah, well," Tony straightened out his protégés tie, "They're going to 'dress to impress' when presenting the stuff."

"'Cause they're scientists and inventors?" Peter smirked.

"'Cause they're scientists and inventors," Tony agreed with a nod.

Peter laughed, and swatted Tony's hands away, "We don't have to stay there for long, right?" Is smile was a little more uneasy now, and his eyes had that Bambi look to them that could be compared to puppy dog eyes.

"Give me the word, and we're out of there," Tony assured. "Now let's go. Don't want to be late."

Peter smiled up at Tony, and Tony smiled back. He had started to grow closer to the kid after the events of Homecoming. There were the lab meetings, and the movie nights where Pepper would come watch and Tony felt a feeling of wholeness that he didn't know was missing. He never focused on the feeling long enough to identify it. He already knew, deep down he already knew, that those feelings were parental. Although he never really… accepted the parental feelings he knew he had. He just wasn't read for it.

Tony put a hand on the younger's shoulder, and led him to the car where Happy was waiting. "You ready?" Happy asks, making eye contact with the two with the rearview mirror.

Peter eagerly nods, and Tony nods. "You saw the eager head nod, Haps. Let's go," Tony smirks. "And play my soundtrack?" Happy rolled his eyes, and pressed the button to roll the divider up. Peter giggled, and they ended up listening to music on their phones.

When they get to the convention center, Peter's eyes grow wider than they already were as he took everything in. Tony had once toyed with the idea of Peter having photographic memory, but never really asked about it. He was soon pulled over to a table that hosted someone that Tony vaguely remembered studied space.

The rest of the time went like that. Tony had faded back, following Peter around, but never actually interrupting Peter's few conversations with the other brilliant minds in the building. He drifted over to Peter a few times to remind him to drink water, but never interfered with anything else Peter chose to do.

Tony was talking to one of the smaller-funded companies that had come to get some advertisement with the people who worked in this field when he saw it. Peter had tensed up, and nervously excused himself from the conversation he'd been having before starting to make his way over to him.

Peter had barely taken five steps in Tony's direction before the scream followed by a ring of bullets echoed throughout the room. Everyone immediately kneeled close to the ground, and Tony snapped his head over to where Peter was on the ground. The kid's eyes were wide, but this time they were full of fear instead of amazement or wonder.

The kid had once told Tony that Peter wore a full face mask so the people he fought wouldn't know what he was feeling by his facial expressions. Tony could understand that as the kid was naturally expressive, especially when he was scared, but Tony had never really seen true and utter fear on the kid's face until now.

He hated it.

'Stay low,' Tony mouthed to Peter, who nodded once sharply, before clutching the sobbing woman's hand the sat next to him.

"Alright everyone, we'll make this nice and easy," The man yelled even though the room was already deathly silent. "We don't care about any of the valuable items you have on your person. We don't even care about the money you probably have. We just want one, very special person!" The heavy footsteps seemed to bounce around the room. "So don't you worry your smart little heads," The same man continued, his voice seemed to grow more metallic.

Tony looked over to see all the people who had burst in with gas masks over their faces. The man who was speaking adjusted the one on his face before finishing his thought sinisterly, "Because unless you work for Tony Stark you'll be just fine."

Tony met Peter's panicked eyes once more, but before he could do anything else, gas filled the room. Tony collapsed to the ground, the last thing he saw before the darkness took him, was Peter stumbling to the ground.

When Tony woke up to Rhodey shining a light into his eyes it had taken him a while to remember what had happened. When he did he had looked Rhodey dead in the eye, gripping his best friend's shirt so roughly he was sure it ripped he gasped out, "Peter? Where's Peter?"

Rhodey shook his head, and Tony felt his very soul leave his body. "I'm sorry, Tony," Rhodey said softly, "They took him."

It started like that.

AN: Don't worry everyone! This plot will continue on until day five! Up next? Day Four: "Where Are You?".

Until then, thank you for reading! Don't forget to review, favorite, follow, and all that fun stuff. Until next time!