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Silence followed Barnes' declaration, stretching out for so many heartbeats that Tony found it almost deafening. All around him he could sense the stunned faces of the rest of the team, their expressions of shock and disbelief mirroring his own. Tony had brought Barnes here to help him, risked his life and Rhodey's life, even T'Challa's life to break him out of the Minsk prison so he could help them rescue the team, rescue Peter, and apparently by doing so he'd only managed to make things that much worse.
"What's wrong, Stark?" taunted Ross from his window, his slimy voice echoing throughout the metal box trap of a room. "Nothing to say? No quippy comeback, no joke, no smart remark? No trying to explain your way out of this? I have to say, I'm disappointed. I thought you always had something to say. You've always had to have the last word in every other conversation we've ever had, so what the hell is wrong with you now?"
Tony looked up at the corner at Peter, the HUD in his helmet cataloging every single one of Peter's injuries and listing them out in bullet points in front of his eyes. Broken nose in two places, fractures of his left cheekbone and jaw, multiple bruises and deep cuts covering his face and neck, bruised ribs, bruised knuckles. The fractures had already begun to heal, and likely the bruises as well, but Tony knew Peter was still in almost unimaginable pain, compounded even more by fear.
I'm gonna kill that fucker for hurting my boy!
"There are no words," Tony said carefully, trying so hard to keep from hyperventilating. He'd been right on the verge of a panic attack ever since Rhodey had burst into the D.C. apartment with the news about Peter and the team, but succumbing now would only play right into Ross's hands, which was something that Tony absolutely could not allow.
"There are no words," Tony repeated, stronger and louder this time. "No words, not in any single fucking language on Earth or any other language out there in the universe that can describe how utterly vile and despicable you are, Ross. Absolutely none. To take a child—, to take anyone, against their will and force them to fight for your own amusement, just because you think you have the right, it's just… unacceptable."
Ross let out a laugh, so evil and maniacal that it made Tony's blood curdle. "Unacceptable to you, is it, Stark? What about everybody else? What about all the death and destruction that you and the rest of your team have left in your wake over the years, with all of your… Avenging? There are dead people who would be alive today if not for you. The sheer number of innocent bystander casualties you people have caused is staggering, and that is something that this world can no longer afford. You all need to be put in check."
"Don't listen to him, Tony," Rhodes whispered. "He's just talking nonsense, trying to get under your skin and stall at the same time. Don't listen to him!"
"But… dammit, Rhodey, he's right," Tony croaked, so softly he wasn't sure if Rhodey could even hear him. Ever since Tony had announced to the world that he was Iron Man all those years ago, the number of events that one could consider out-of-this-world had risen dramatically. The fights with Iron Monger and Whiplash, both leaving long trails of destruction in their paths. The Stark Expo and Justin Hammer's drones that caused the deaths of Ben and May Parker, among others. Loki and the Chitauri in the Battle of New York, leaving such a huge mess behind that it took years to clean up. The Mandarin, who almost caused the death of Pepper. Project Insight, the HYDRA program designed to take not only Tony himself out, but Bruce and Peter as well, along with countless others.
Even the Winter Soldiers surrounding his team, ready to strike, were only there because Tony's own father had succumbed to the obsession of creating another super soldier serum. The serum which not only led to Howard's death, but the death of his wife as well, Tony's mother.
Apparently he and Peter both had that in common; fathers who were so obsessed with what they could create, that they never stopped to think about all the things they might destroy with their creations until it was too late.
The Avengers had been formed to make the world a safer place. But had they indeed done that? Or had their very existence only invited more catastrophe?
"Tony," Rhodes warned. "Don't let him get to you. He only thinks he's right because he's not the one out there, fighting these fights. Anyone can second-guess things after the fact. Anyone can be a goddamn armchair quarterback, but only people with the real know-how can actually win the game. Look at what Ross did to Peter, Tony! He is wrong; you can't let him get to you!"
Inhaling a deep, shaky breath, Tony glanced back up at Peter, suppressing a shudder as his HUD once again zoomed in on Peter's bruised and bloody face. From the looks of him, Ross's men had been at him for hours, trying to break him, to mold him into whatever it was that Ross's sick mind desired. But even after all of that, the expression on Peter's battered face was not one of defeat. There was fear, so much fear in his beautiful brown eyes that Tony nearly choked, tears instantly welling in his own eyes and spilling down his cheeks. No child should ever have had to go through what Peter had gone through in his lifetime, that much was a given. But instead of all of his traumas and hardships turning him into a bitter, dysfunctional teenage boy, Peter had somehow managed to remain the brave, kind, loving, mainly happy boy that Tony had known since he was seven years old. And while Tony knew he couldn't take credit for most of that, he had at least been able to ensure that Peter had been surrounded by people who loved him, ever since Tony had taken him in.
No. The look in Peter's eyes was not one of defeat.
It was determination, and pride, and bravery, and so much love that Tony thought his heart was going to burst. Because the whole time Peter was being held captive in this submersible cookie tin of a prison, the whole time he was fighting against these monster super soldiers, Peter knew without a doubt how much Tony loved him, and how Tony would move hell or high water to get him and the rest of the team back. Peter knew that his heroes—all the people who loved him—would rescue him, just like they always had.
Someone that noble, and pure, and good, deserved better than to be used as a piece in someone's elaborate game. They all deserved better. Every last one of them.
And maybe even Tony did too, if from nothing more than sheer association.
Slowly, carefully, Tony nodded once up at Peter, knowing Peter would see it with his enhanced vision. He then turned his head, locking eyes with Sam Wilson standing behind Rhodey. With a brief flick of Sam's eyes towards the dude wearing the astronaut costume, Sam squared his shoulders, which Tony quickly recognized as the stance Sam used when he was about to take off.
The team was preparing to fight.
And so was Tony.
With a strange rippling noise, the guy standing next to Sam suddenly shrunk down and disappeared. A split second later Sam's wings flew out from his pack, smacking one of the Winter Soldiers square in the chest and sending him flying backwards just as the soldier opposite him flipped away, landing hard on his upper back.
"Vision!" Tony shouted, repulsing a third Winter Soldier in the arm as he attempted to raise his rifle. "Get to Peter!"
Vision immediately took off towards Peter, the tinkling sound of bullets bouncing off of his vibranium body making Tony's heart stutter. Satisfied that Peter was at least safe for the moment, Tony turned around to see Steve, fighting hand to hand against Bucky Barnes.
"Bucky!" Steve cried, and Tony winced at the pain lacing through Steve's voice as he ducked out of the reach of Barnes' metal arm. Steve had been barely conscious when Tony first entered his cell, and Tony knew he was nowhere close to his full fighting strength even with his enhanced healing. "Bucky, this isn't you!"
"Take out the weak ones first!" Ross shouted through the speakers. "Shoot them!"
"Watch out for friendly fire!" shouted Rhodes, repulsing a Winter Soldier into the wall. "We're stuck in a box here!"
"T'Challa, get that door open!" Tony called, aiming his repulsor at Barnes just as Sam flew down from one of the upper corners, planting both feet into Barnes' chest and knocking him out of the way. "Be careful, people! We're on a submersible, so we can't do anything that'll compromise the hull integrity or we'll all be swimming faster than you can blink!"
"The door is open!" T'Challa shouted back over the noise, immediately bounding towards the open doorway, trying to draw some of the soldiers out of the grey metal box they were fighting in and into the cell circle, where there was some breathing room. The prince had only taken one or two steps when the sound of a rifle shot rang through the air, followed by a piercing scream from Pietro Maximoff as he crashed headlong into the hard metal wall.
"Ro!" screamed Barton, dropping the arrow from his hand and rushing over to his surrogate son who was writhing in pain, cradling his shattered right knee with bloodied hands. Wanda, who'd levitated up to the window, perhaps searching for Ross himself, immediately dropped down to aid her brother, turning around and shielding he and Barton as her eyes blazed red in anger.
"Not in here, Wanda!" Barton shouted. "It's too close quarters, you'll blow the roof off the place and sink us!"
"Barton is right, let's not do that. At least while we're still on it," Tony said over his shoulder, keeping one eye on Steve still trading jabs with Barnes. "Get the kid to the jet, you can protect him better there."
"Copy that!" Barton grunted as he hauled Pietro up, wrapping Pietro's arm around his shoulders, ducking down behind Wanda to try and shuffle out of the room. Another shot rang out, bouncing off of Steve's shield as he exited through the door, chasing after Barnes with Sam directly behind him. Tony activated his repulsors, intending to fly up and collect Peter just as one of the soldiers grabbed his left ankle, slamming his bare fist into Tony's boot and shattering the repulsor.
"FRIDAY?" grunted Tony, managing to regain control seconds before he would've slammed sideways into the wall.
"Your left bootjet's failing, boss," FRIDAY responded. "Flight systems are compromised."
"I've flown with only one boot before," Tony muttered, altering the pressure on his palm flight stabilizers so he could repulse the soldier away and get up to the ceiling to Peter. Nodding at Vision, Tony gathered Peter into his arms, holding him as closely as his armored body allowed. "I gotcha, buddy," he said quietly. "It's gonna be okay now."
"Dad, I can help," Peter said, his voice muffled from his broken nose. "Please, let me try?"
"Not this time, Pete," answered Tony, landing on the floor with a loud clank. Everyone else had taken the fight out into the circle, and Tony could hear the sounds of shattering glass from the cells as the clash continued. "You're already beat up enough as it is, I'm not letting you get beat up any more."
"But, Dad," Peter protested. "I'm strong, and I can't get hurt as easily as some of the others. Please, let me help!"
"I said no, Pete," Tony said firmly, holding his hand up to shield Peter's face. He ducked down, guiding Peter towards the hallway that led to the jet. "You've done enough, the adults can handle the rest."
"But—!"
"Peter, don't argue with me!" snapped Tony. "Not about this!"
Rounding a corner, Tony pursed his lips as the jet came into view. "FRIDAY, prepare countermeasures as soon as Pete's on board. Those guards we took out in the beginning have woken up, and there's no telling—"
But Tony was cut off as a rocket-like force slammed into his back between his shoulder blades, knocking both himself and Peter forward. Skidding to a stop about three feet away from the front wheel of the jet, Tony quickly got to his knees, turning just in time to see the metal hand of Bucky Barnes wrap around his left wrist, crushing his gauntlet into his skin until Tony heard the telltale snap of his arm breaking.
"Gah!" Tony cried, trying desperately to twist his now-useless arm from the super soldier's grasp just as Steve's shield came zooming into the room, aiming for Barnes' metal arm. Tony could tell Steve's throw didn't have its usual velocity behind it as Barnes deflected the shield, setting it up in the air as easily if it'd been a frisbee and catching it before bringing it right down onto Tony's forehead, breaking his helmet into four pieces.
"Daddy!" Peter screamed, rushing out of the jet and sliding to the floor next to Tony. "No, don't hurt him!"
"Peter!" Tony croaked, pushing himself up with one hand, trying to get his knees up to knock Barnes loose as he raised the shield again, preparing to bring it down right on Tony's head. "Pete, get back on the jet!"
"Belay that order, Mr. Stark!" called Thaddeus Ross, emerging from the other side of the jet flanked by two of his soldiers just as Steve grabbed Barnes by the scruff of his neck, picking him up and slamming his forehead down hard against the floor, knocking him out. Steve collapsed next to Barnes, his blue eyes locking with Tony's for only a second before another soldier appeared, yanking them both up to their feet. Tony stumbled forward, his right hand clutching his broken left arm, his heart swooping as his eyes landed on Ross's arm wrapped around Peter's neck, his other hand holding a pistol, the end of which was pointed directly at the side of Peter's head.
"Don't!" Tony gasped, his eyes blurry with tears from pain and panic, his entire body trembling such that he could hear the tremors from his armored feet against the floor. "Good God, please don't!"
"Call off your team, Stark, and I'll consider it," Ross sneered, practically spitting the words from his vile mouth. He pushed the pistol even further into Peter's already bruised temple, nearly causing Tony to keel over as Peter whimpered in pain.
"It's gonna be okay, Pete," Tony said, locking eyes with his son, hoping his voice belied the intensity of his fear. "It's gonna be okay, I'll make sure of it."
"Now, Stark!" yelled Ross. "Call off your team now!"
"All right, all right!" yelped Tony, holding up his only good hand, not taking his eyes off of Peter's battered face, his skin almost pure white beneath the multitude of purple and blue bruises. "Cap? Can you—, can ya assemble the team?"
Steve—who looked like he could barely stay upright—covered his ear, speaking carefully into his earpiece, his eyes firmly trained on Peter as well. "Sam, I need all you guys in the hangar right away."
"Copy that, Cap," replied Sam as he hurried around the corner followed by Rhodey, Vision, Natasha, and the other dude, all of them coming to an abrupt halt as they took in the scene unfolding in front of the jet.
"And the ones on the jet!" called Ross, looking over Tony's shoulder. "Now, Barton! Get your goddamn asses out here!"
"Holy shit," Tony heard Barton breathe as he stepped out of the jet, Wanda landing down next to him. Barton immediately grabbed Wanda around her waist, moving her slightly behind him.
"Okay, we're all here," Tony said, biting his lip to keep it from shaking. His chest was so tight he could barely breathe, his heart was racing, and his fingers and toes were tingling, as if their blood flow had been cut off. "You can put down the gun now."
"Yes, you're all here!" Ross bellowed, not moving the pistol even a millimeter. "You're all here, and that is exactly where you're all going to stay!" He raised his head, looking up at the ceiling of the submersible fortress. "This is your home now, Stark. No more luxury Manhattan skyscrapers, no more sprawling upstate warehouses with lap pools and screening rooms and training gyms the size of football fields. You and all the rest of your… teammates, your family, as you so eloquently put it, the only way any of you will ever leave this place again is under my orders." He stepped forward, pulling Peter along with him. "And if you ever do leave, it'll be to do my bidding and my bidding only, because every single one of you belong to me now! I own all your asses, and the only orders given around here will be mine, starting right now!"
Drawing in perhaps the most painful breath he ever had, Tony tore his eyes away from his trembling and terrified son just long enough to glance to his left. Everyone was there: Sam, Natasha, Vision, Rhodey, and Steve, with Barton, Wanda, and the other dude off to the side. Even T'Challa was there, standing behind Rhodey.
"Please," Tony pleaded. "You've got us all here now, put the gun down. Don't—, please, don't hurt him. He's just a boy."
"Hmph," Ross grunted, his upper lip curling into that damn hateful sneer he often wore. "Just a boy, huh, Stark? No mere boy that I've ever seen before could knock the hell out of one of my soldiers, or climb up the goddamn wall and sit on the ceiling." He wiggled the pistol, digging it further into Peter's temple. "I think I'm going to have fun with this one, learning about all of his little tricks. Don't you think so, Stark?"
"You goddamn fucking piece of shit," muttered Tony. "You're insane."
"No more insane than you are, Stark," replied Ross. "Now, I am ordering all of you to strip down your gear and get back to your cells. Once you're all back where you belong, then I'll consider putting down the gun. We'll just have to see how it goes."
Tony's upper lip twitched, his lungs burning as if the very air he was trying to breathe in was on fire. Glancing to his left he saw Steve, slowly clenching his right hand into a shaky fist, Barnes still splayed out on the floor next to him. Steve glanced back, only for a split second before flicking his eyes in Peter's direction. Tony locked eyes with Peter, still panting and shaking with fear, and noticed that his stance had widened ever so slightly, with his feet forming a wide V-shape. Peter blinked his swollen eyes slowly once, his jaw clenching in determination.
Peter was ready to flip.
His heart stuttering, Tony desperately wanted to tell Peter no, to somehow signal to him that it wasn't worth the horrible risk, that not even he needed to be that brave. But Tony also couldn't see any other way out of their situation, and precious seconds were ticking away.
It was now or never.
With a single blink in reply, Tony signaled to Peter that he was ready, just as an anguished groan floated up from the floor next to Steve. Barnes was starting to wake up.
"Now!" called Tony, raising his right arm just as Peter's hand flew up, pulling the pistol away from his head and flipping backwards out of Ross's choke hold, landing directly into the arms of a swooping Sam Wilson.
"Go, tic tac!" shouted Sam, prompting the astronaut dude to shrink back down, tripping up an oncoming Winter Soldier as Tony aimed his repulsor and fired directly into Ross's chest, sending him flying through the windows into the surveillance room. With red-hot rage surging through his veins and completely ignoring his broken left arm, Tony raced after Ross, yanking him up and shoving him onto the control panel, his head slamming so hard against one of the monitors that the screen shattered.
"You depraved, malicious, pathetic excuse for a man!" screamed Tony, his armored hand wrapping around Ross's throat and squeezing. "I'm gonna kill you for what you did!"
"Dad, no!" Peter cried from behind him, still clinging to Sam, the muffled sounds of the battle in the hangar starting to wind down. "No, don't do it! Don't bring yourself down to his level!"
"Stay out of this, Pete!" Tony warned, tightening his grip, relishing the look of panic building in Ross's bulging eyes as he scrabbled helplessly, trying to loosen Tony's grip on his neck. "See how it feels, Ross? Now you're the one at my mercy!"
"Dad, please, don't!" Peter pleaded, tugging on Tony's elbow. "This won't change what happened!"
"Yeah, but it might make sure it'll never happen again!" Tony barked, not taking his eyes off of Ross, whose face was now the color of an overripe tomato. "And it can never happen again, you got that, Ross? Never again!"
"Daddy, please!" begged Peter, still pulling on Tony's elbow, just enough to wiggle it. "This isn't you; you aren't a killer!"
"Get him the hell outta here, Sam!" yelled Tony. "He's already seen enough!"
"Yeah," replied Sam with a heavy sigh, gently lifting Peter's hand from Tony's arm. "Let's… go wait by the jet, Peter."
Tony glanced behind him, watching as Sam wrapped his arm around Peter's shoulders, leading him out of the room, sniffing and shuddering. As soon as Peter was out of sight he clenched his jaw, turning back to Ross.
"You see that, you motherfucker?" he rasped, bringing his face so close to Ross's that their noses were practically touching. "Did you see how many people love that boy? Did you see it? He is so much better than you there's not a number that exists that's high enough to calculate it, and you were just gonna blow his head off? Not while I'm still breathing, Ross! You will never, ever get your filthy hands on my son again, or anyone else on our team, do you understand me? I'm gonna make sure of it!"
"You—, don't—, have—, the—, fucking—, balls—, Stark!" Ross wheezed through clenched teeth. "You never have. Not to do what needs to be done!"
"Oh, and you're one to talk!" snapped Tony. "'Cause apparently the only balls you have left are just enough for you to order your goddamn goons to beat the shit out of a kid!"
"Tony," Steve said, suddenly appearing at Tony's left, placing one bloodied hand on Tony's shoulder. "Tony, don't. It's all over now, we can make sure that Ross gets the justice he deserves. Killing him isn't the answer."
"Justice?" Tony said, incredulous. "Really? You seriously would trust the same government who gave him permission to do all of this, to give him justice? Am I hearing things, Cap?"
"Tony, we cannot be the judge, jury, and executioner," said Steve. "We just can't. If we start doing that, if we allow our emotions to get the better of us, then we're no better than the bad guys that we're trying to stop."
Tony squeezed his eyes closed, his entire body trembling as he tried to maintain his grip on Ross's throat. "You can't understand, Cap," he whispered. "He threatened—, he was gonna kill my son! I can't—, I can't allow it, I can't let him get away with it!"
"But killing him won't change that," Steve said, gently but firmly. "And Peter's gonna be all right. He will, Tony, you know he will. But right now he's out there, in pain and crying in Sam's arms, and he only wants his father. He needs you, Tony. We all do."
"You told me yourself that the Avengers are not killers," came the gravelly, accented voice of T'Challa as he slid into the room next to Steve, carrying his helmet under his arm. "Do not allow revenge to consume you, Stark, as I almost did. It will not bring you the peace that you seek."
Ross's eyes were starting to roll into the back of his head, his face a horrible shade of purplish-blue, his breaths coming in loud, shuddering gasps. Tony only had to squeeze his fingers together a bit more and it would be all over.
"C'mon, Tony," said Steve in his captain's voice. "The mission is over. It's time to stand down."
Shaking his head, Tony waited three more heartbeats before releasing Ross, who immediately crumpled to the floor, gasping and choking. Shoving him under the control panel with his foot, Tony turned, looking up at Steve.
"Okay, Cap," he whispered, tears stinging his eyes. "I'm down."
Steve nodded, clapping his battered hand on Tony's shoulder. "All right. Then let's get the hell out of here."
"I'm afraid that your jet was disabled during the battle," T'Challa said as they stepped out of the surveillance room. "And Mr. Barton mentioned something about removing the controls to the hover engines, to prevent it from being repaired before the authorities arrive."
"Okay, so… how're we gonna get out of here?" Tony asked, taking in the carnage around the damaged jet. The four Winter Soldiers were all knocked out, with Natasha and Barton busily binding their hands and feet with the same metal cuffs Tony had seen on the Maximoff boy. A fifth Winter Soldier was being dragged in by Vision and the guy Sam had called "tic tac", the man's bruised nose so crooked he looked like he'd been punched by someone wearing a boxing glove made of iron. Bucky Barnes was sitting on the floor near the ramp to the jet, looking like he'd just gotten his clock cleaned, and Peter was a few feet away, still sniffing into Sam's shoulder.
T'Challa held up his hand, pointing to the beads encircling his wrist. "I have already called for my own aircraft, it should be here within the hour."
"It can get here from Minsk in an hour?" Tony asked. "That's pretty damn amazing! What kind of propulsion system does it have?"
Smirking, T'Challa shook his head, raising his hand. "Now is not the time to be discussing such things. You are injured, as is your son and several of your team members. I believe medical attention should be the first priority."
"Yeah, that's true," whispered Tony as he came up to Sam and Peter. Sam nodded, patting Peter on the back.
"Your dad's here, Peter," he said quietly.
Slowly, Peter raised his head, his shoulders still shaking as he turned to look at Tony. "Did you do it?" he asked in a squeaky voice.
Tony knelt down, raising his right hand, entwining his armored fingers gently into Peter's matted hair. "No, Pete. I didn't."
"Good," Peter said. He wound his arms around Tony's neck, laying his head just above Tony's arc reactor. "I knew you were better than him. I knew it."
"Oh God, Peter," gasped Tony, burying his nose into Peter's neck. He smelled strongly of blood and sweat, nothing like his usual green apple scent, but Tony didn't care. He was alive. "I don't know about that. But I do know that you're better, and that's all that matters."
It was quiet for a few minutes, and Peter had nearly fallen asleep against Tony's chest when they were both startled by a sudden loud clanking noise. Peter yelped, tightening his grip on Tony's neck as the walls of the Raft started to vibrate.
"It's okay, Pete," Tony murmured. "It just means we're coming up out of the water. I think T'Challa's plane is coming in."
"Is he the panther guy?" asked Peter. "His suit is cool."
"Yep, that's him," replied Tony, suppressing a smile. "And you're right, his suit is pretty cool."
They both watched as the Raft completed its ascend to the surface and the upper doors opened, allowing the Wakandan aircraft to touch down next to the broken Quinjet. Tony couldn't help but admire the sleek, nearly circular design and hoped he'd get the chance to pick T'Challa's brain about it at some point, if in fact the prince ever chose to leave Wakanda again after everything that had happened.
"All right, buddy," Tony said, wrapping his good arm around Peter. "Let's get you onboard.
"Man, this thing is nice!" Barton exclaimed as he and Wanda dragged Pietro onto the aircraft, his shattered knee wrapped in a blood-stained bandage. "Don't you think so, Tony?"
"Damn right," replied Tony. Settling Peter down on one of the plush couches towards the back of the aircraft, across from Barton and the Maximoff twins, Tony stepped out of his armor, keeping his left gauntlet on to protect his broken arm. He sat down next to Peter, curling his arm around Peter's shoulders and breathing out a shaky sigh of relief. The rest of the team shuffled in, with Steve supporting Barnes and Sam talking to the tic tac dude. Rhodey, Vision, and Natasha brought up the rear, with Rhodey settling into the copilot's seat next to T'Challa as soon as he stepped out of his armor.
"Lucky bastard," Tony muttered under his breath, grimacing when he saw Peter's slight grin. He needed to start remembering just how well Peter could hear now.
"I'm sure James will tell you all about it once we get home, Dad," Peter murmured.
"Yeah," answered Tony. He pressed a kiss to Peter's head, careful to avoid the worst of the bruising. "Don't try and talk too much, Pete. Your jaw is broken."
"Uh huh," Peter replied sleepily, leaning his head against Tony's arm and closing his eyes. "Hurts, Dad."
"We're gonna get you fixed up in no time, buddy," Tony whispered. "Just try and rest now."
Somehow they both managed to doze off leaning on each other, waking only when the aircraft began its descent. Tony blinked as he looked out the windows, expecting to see the familiar skyline of New York City and instead seeing a cluster of smaller buildings in brilliant colors of blue, purple, and teal, surrounded by mountains topped with trees so green they looked like they'd been painted.
"Dad? Where are we?" asked Peter, squinting against the harsh sunlight streaming in through the windows.
"I don't exactly know, buddy," Tony said, shifting to sit up. "Hey Rhodey, what's up?"
"I've brought you to my home, Stark," answered T'Challa, expertly touching the aircraft down on a circular landing pad. Killing the engines, he pushed back from his seat and walked to the back, holding a hand out to Tony to help him up. "Welcome to Wakanda."
"Whoa," breathed Tony, gently helping Peter to his feet. "Um… you didn't have to—"
"I assumed you would want to keep your son's new abilities as secret as possible," said T'Challa. "I assure you, your secrets will be safe with us here. Also, my sister's methods for healing are quite advanced, much more so than your traditional remedies."
"Yeah, okay," Tony said, still stunned by the bright scenery surrounding them and trying to ignore the fact that his broken arm was throbbing with every single beat of his heart. All the adrenaline from the fight had worn off, leaving him with nothing but pain, exhaustion, and his ever-present, underlying gnawing fear for Peter.
The ramp to the aircraft opened, and Tony watched as a group of bald women dressed in bright red, brown, and silver uniforms lined up on either side of the ramp, all carrying spears at least seven or eight feet long. Another woman—much younger than the warriors and with elaborately braided hair—was also there, both of her hands resting on what appeared to be some type of floating stretchers.
"Come, Stark," T'Challa said, holding out his hand towards Tony as Barton and Wanda helped Pietro down the ramp, laying him down on one of the stretchers. Speaking in a language Tony didn't understand, the girl with the braided hair spoke to one of the warriors, apparently asking her to take Pietro into the building and start working on him.
"Yeah," whispered Tony, his right hand resting on Peter's shoulder, guiding him to the second stretcher. "C'mon, buddy, let's get you situated."
"Dad!" Peter yelped as he sat down, holding out his hand towards Tony. His frightened brown eyes were as wide as they could be given the fact that they were still swollen. "Don't leave me!"
"The table will easily hold the weight of you both," said the girl, smiling softly. "Your father may sit with you."
"Cool," Tony said, grunting in pain as he sat down on the table, replacing his hand on Peter's shoulder as Peter leaned into him. The girl nodded as the table began to move towards the building a few yards away, with T'Challa hanging back to help coordinate the rest of the team. Tony could see Steve and Vision supporting Barnes, still so out of it that he was barely able to move, Sam with the tic tac dude—Tony really needed to learn his name—and Rhodey with Natasha.
"I am Shuri," the girl said, weaving the table around corners and down a hall to what appeared to be a very high-tech laboratory.
"Tony Stark," Tony replied, trying to keep himself from gaping as he glanced around the lab, filled with every kind of technological gadget imaginable, and some that weren't. "And my son, Peter."
"Hello," Peter said, his mouth curling into a lopsided smile.
"It is nice to meet you," Shuri said, smiling back at Peter. "We don't receive too many visitors here, especially during times of mourning."
As the table came to a stop next to a series of computer panels, Shuri proceeded to soak two large cloths in a pale bluish solution, wringing them out and applying one to the left side of Peter's face, gently guiding his hand to hold it in place. "This will help with the pain," she said, holding up the second cloth. "For your arm?"
"Oh yeah," Tony said. Carefully, he removed his gauntlet, setting it down on the tablet next to him as Shuri wrapped the cloth around his swollen forearm, the relief from the throbbing pain so immediate that he gasped. "Oh hell, that feels so much better!"
"Good," Shuri said. "Then it is working. Now I must go and check on your friend's knee. I will return shortly."
"Thank you," whispered Tony.
"Dad," Peter rasped as Shuri walked across the room over to Pietro's table. "She's really pretty, don't you think?"
"What? Oh sure, I guess," Tony said, his eyebrows shooting up as he glanced at Peter, barely suppressing a laugh at the ga-ga look in Peter's eyes. "Oh God, Pete, buddy, I'm not ready for that yet! Aren't you supposed to still think that girls have cooties or something?"
Peter chuckled, pressing the cloth harder against his sore jaw. "Nope."
"Well, I think you're looking at her through painkiller goggles right now anyway, kid," Tony said, winking. "It'll pass."
"Mmm," said Peter, resting his head against Tony's shoulder. "I don't think so. I think she's pretty."
"Yeah, well, just keep those thoughts to yourself," Tony said, grinning despite himself. "'Cause I have a feeling you won't think she's so pretty once she starts working on your busted-up nose. Right now its more crooked than a politician, Pete."
"It's okay," Peter mumbled, his eyelids starting to droop. "M'm tired, Dad. Wanna lay down."
"Okay, buddy," Tony said, kissing the top of Peter's head and shifting down towards the end of the table so Peter could rest his head on Tony's lap. "Careful of your face, there, bud."
"Uh huh," whispered Peter as his eyes fluttered closed. "'Night."
"'Night, buddy," Tony whispered back, smoothing the matted curls off his forehead. It'd been far too long since he'd cuddled Peter to sleep, and Tony had missed it. "Don't let anymore spiders bite."
I can't believe I could've lost him today. I'm never letting him out of my sight again.
As it turned out, the team was in far worse shape than Tony had even realized. In addition to Pietro's blasted knee, Tony's broken arm, and Peter's multitude of injuries, Steve had not only suffered broken ribs, broken knuckles, a bruised kidney, and plenty of facial bruising during his "power analysis" at the hands of the Winter Soldiers, but also two more broken ribs and a dislocated finger at the hands of Bucky Barnes. How he was even able to stand, much less be coherent enough there at the end to talk Tony down from strangling Ross was nothing short of a miracle.
Natasha and Sam had both managed to escape with only minor injuries, a sprained ankle and two broken fingers, but Scott, the guy Sam had called tic tac, wound up with a pretty bad concussion after he was backhanded into a wall by one of the Winter Soldiers, such that he had no memory of the entire ride to Wakanda and had no idea where he was once he finally woke up in Shuri's medbay.
Out of all of them, only Rhodey and Vision managed to escape completely injury-free, with Barton and Wanda suffering only a few cuts and bruises.
Whether it was because she was busy with Steve and the Maximoff boy or simply because she knew Peter needed the rest, Shuri let Peter sleep for almost four hours before she woke him to start fixing his face. Unfortunately for Peter, his enhanced healing had actually worked against him in this instance, causing his nose and jaw to heal in their crooked states and requiring Shuri to re-break them in order to get them both positioned correctly. And even with the aid of the liquid painkiller, Tony still had to go and retrieve his right arm gauntlet so Peter could hold his hand during the procedure without the risk of crushing it. It was all Tony could to do to keep from crying from Peter's yelps of pain as Shuri worked on him, speaking to Peter in as soothing a voice as she could while working as fast as possible.
"I am finished, Peter," Shuri said, laying a comforting hand on Peter's shoulder as she applied the cloth to his repaired face, freshly soaked in the painkilling solution, and covered his shivering body with a dark grey blanket. "You may rest now, you will be fine soon."
"Uh huh," Peter whimpered through his gasping breaths, still clinging to Tony's hand even as he looked to be on the verge of sleep. "Thank you."
"Go on back to sleep, buddy," Tony murmured. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Uh huh," whispered Peter as his breaths evened out, likely aided by the painkiller-soaked cloth. "I'm so tired, Daddy."
"Peter is very strong in both mind and body," Shuri said to Tony once Peter was asleep, unwrapping the cloth around his left arm and eyeing it critically. "There is no need to worry, he will be fine."
"I know he will," Tony whispered, wincing as Shuri pressed over a particularly sore spot on his arm. "I just hate seeing him in pain, he's been through so much already."
"It is always difficult to see our loved ones in pain," Shuri replied, picking up one of her gadgets. "I'm going to heal your arm now, Mr. Stark, please try and remain still."
With an affirmative nod from Tony, Shuri began to run the gadget back and forth across Tony's arm. Tony flinched at the odd, tingling, electric-like sensation, almost as if he could literally feel the fibers of the broken bone knitting themselves back together.
"This arm has suffered extensive trauma," Shuri said, frowning at him. "You are fortunate that you have as much use of it as you do."
"Yeah, well, being Iron Man isn't exactly without risks," Tony muttered. "And my left arm's been bum for years now, ever since a plane tried to knock me out of the sky on one of my first missions."
"Hmm," said Shuri, quirking an eyebrow. "Well, I would suggest that you try and avoid additional trauma if you can. I am able to heal many things, but extensive nerve damage becomes more difficult the longer it persists."
"I'll keep that in mind," Tony said as Shuri completed her work with the gadget and began pressing her fingers along his arm, as if testing for further weak spots.
"I believe I have finished," she said a few moments later. "Would you like to rest now? I can have another table brought over."
Tony immediately shook his head, the thought of being separated from Peter by even a few inches so soon after Tony almost lost him forever was too much to even consider. "No, no, thank you. I… want to stay right here with him, if that's okay."
"Of course," Shuri said. "I must go and see how the others are doing, I will check on you both later."
"Yeah, sure," said Tony. "If you wouldn't mind take extra good care of Cap over there, I'd appreciate it. He's been through even more than Peter here lately."
"I take extra good care of all of my patients, Mr. Stark," protested Shuri. "There is no favoritism here."
"Hey, that's cool, I didn't mean anything by it!" Tony said, raising his free hand. "Just… trying to look out for my teammates."
Shuri tilted her head, her deep brown eyes trailing across Peter's sleeping form to his hand, still clinging to Tony's. "A good man always looks out for his family, Tony Stark. My brother told me you were a good man before you arrived here, and now I have seen it for myself. Your teammates will all receive the best care I am able to provide."
Tony's throat tightened; he didn't particularly feel all that great at the moment, not with what he almost did in a fit of nearly uncontrollable rage. "Yeah, thanks. To both you and your brother."
"You are welcome."
As it turned out, thanks to Shuri's advanced healing technology, all of the team members were able to recover quickly. Even the extensive bruising that covered Peter's face was wildly improved by the next morning, and by the following afternoon it was almost as if nothing had happened at all. His nose and jaw were completely healed and free from any residual pain, there was only a few remnants of the deepest bruises present around his eyes and along his cheekbones. Tony's left arm felt the best that it had in many years, and even Steve and Pietro—who under normal circumstances would've likely lost his supersonic running speed with how badly his knee was blasted—were almost completely back to normal.
Three days later even more good news arrived, in the form of a communication addressed to Tony and Steve from Nick Fury. Among other things, the communication stated that the presidential order giving control of the Avengers over to Secretary Ross had been rescinded, and the team was free to return to the United States at their leisure and resume normal activities. When Steve inquired as to exactly how Nick Fury had managed to achieve such a feat in such a short time, Nick informed him that the evidence—which turned out to be a complete livestream of the confrontation with Ross, downloaded from FRIDAY and sent to Fury by Clint Barton while he was sequestered on the Quinjet—was incontrovertible. Fury even went so far as to alleviate Tony's concerns about keeping Peter's new enhancements a secret, saying that he'd had plenty of experience with altering visual recordings, and knew Tony well enough to know that Tony wouldn't want that part broadcasted.
Fury also informed Tony and Steve that when the squadron of Marines he sent to take Ross into custody arrived on the Raft, they not only found Ross and his five Winter Soldiers dead from various gunshot wounds, but also managed to unearth evidence that Ross had indeed framed Bucky Barnes for the second explosion in Lagos, under the hope that he could then flush Barnes out and capture him.
And, as wrong as it perhaps was, Tony couldn't help but be relieved that Ross was dead. At least now he didn't have to worry about the lunatic ever coming after Peter again with revenge in mind.
"This is quite the place you've got here," Tony said one evening a few days later, as he, Steve, and T'Challa strolled around the palace grounds following the evening meal. "I can kinda understand why you guys would wanna keep it hidden away."
"My father was of the mind that Wakandans should only take care of their own, that we should not get involved with the rather messy affairs of the rest of the world," T'Challa replied. "And to be honest, after what happened in Lagos, it would be quite easy for me to continue along that same path. But I now believe it is the destiny of our people to help others, not to continue to hide away."
"That's very brave of you, Your Highness," Steve said softly. "Especially after what happened to your father."
T'Challa dropped his gaze. "I was consumed with the idea of vengeance after my father's death, and I am not proud of my actions that followed. I would have killed your friend Barnes at that prison had Stark here not appeared when he did."
"Hey, I'd say it was good timing all around," Tony said. "Since you came in pretty darn handy during the fight at the Raft."
"Yes, that may be," said T'Challa. "I understand now that it was not Barnes who was responsible for my father's death. That he was a victim, just as much as my father. You prevented me from killing an innocent man, Stark, and for that I am grateful."
"Still," said Steve. "I can't thank you enough for how you've offered to help him."
"You are welcome," answered T'Challa with a slight smile. "If I am able to help Barnes find peace, I know my father would be pleased."
They walked along in silence for a couple of minutes, enjoying the calm evening air when Tony suddenly heard an odd humming sound coming from behind them. Jerking around to find the source of the sound, which seemed vaguely familiar, Tony was shocked when he saw Peter and Shuri burst through one of the side entrances to the palace, sparring back and forth with what appeared to be fully functioning lightsabers.
"What the—?" stammered Tony as all the blood drained from his head. "Christ, Pete, what the hell are you doing?"
"Oi, Shuri!" called T'Challa, his brow furrowing in annoyance and confusion. "What did I tell you about using that particular technology to build playthings?"
"It's just a bit of fun, brother!" said Shuri, jabbing her lightsaber towards Peter and laughing as he flipped out of her reach.
"Yeah, a bit of fun that'll end up with one of you losing an eye!" shouted Tony. "Or worse!"
"Aww, Dad, it's okay," Peter protested, skidding to a halt a few feet away. He pointed to the chest plate he was wearing, similar to one worn by the female warriors that guarded the king. "Shuri let me borrow some of the Wakandan armor, so I can't get hurt."
"Yeah, but it's still not covering your face!" Tony retorted, shaking his head. "Look, can't you two just go and build a Lego castle or something?"
Peter glanced at Shuri, his shoulders sagging. "But we already did that! And Shuri said after we watched the all the Star Wars movies that she was sure we could build a lightsaber that was even better than the ones in the movies, and so… we did!"
"Mmmhmm," Tony said, rolling his eyes. "Of course you did. Look, isn't there a way to… turn off the part of that thing that could actually go through you?"
"That is not a bad idea, Shuri," said T'Challa. "It would be in very poor form for you to maim one of our guests."
Shuri sighed, throwing a sharp glare at her brother. "Fine," she grumbled. "But then they won't make the cool noises."
"Well, you'll just have to improvise," said Tony, rubbing his knuckles into the top of Peter's head. He'd been growing so fast lately that it was getting harder and harder for Tony to reach the top of his head. "You're both good at that, it seems."
Peter and Shuri exchanged frustrated glances. "Yeah, okay," Peter finally said. He pressed a button on the hilt of his lightsaber, eliminating the humming noise. "There, I did."
"Hmph," grumbled Shuri. "Now we may as well be playing with sticks. C'mon Peter, let's go see what else we can try."
Tony watched as the two teenagers walked away, chattering a mile a minute as they disappeared back into the palace. As soon as the door slammed shut he turned to T'Challa, raising an eyebrow. "I am so not ready for this whole teenager thing. Between Pete's excessive smarts and the spider bite making him as strong as an ox, he's gonna think he's invincible now."
Steve, who Tony noticed had been eerily quiet during the whole exchange, stifled a laugh. "I'm sorry, Tony, but I can't imagine that you didn't do some pretty… questionable and dangerous things when you were a teenager. I know I did."
"Yeah, well, that's completely different," Tony said, shooting Steve a glare. "My dad couldn't have cared less about what I was up to, and I imagine that the most rebellious things you and Barnes used to do involved jumping onto trains and hiding in boxcars. Not playing with actual light-swords."
Hurt flashed across Steve's eyes, only for a second before it was gone. "There was no way I could've caught up to a train when I was Peter's age, Tony," he said. "I could barely walk two blocks back then without getting winded. But Bucky and I did hitchhike back from Rockaway Beach on the back of a refrigerator truck one time, after Bucky spent our train money trying to win a stuffed something for a redhead. That was… interesting."
"Well, there's worse pursuits I can think of than trying to impress a girl," said Tony.
"Besides," Steve continued, the smirk back on his face. "Peter's like the easiest kid in the world, Tony. He was bound to do something… impulsive one of these days."
"I will say, with all of her responsibilities here, it is rare that my sister allows herself to act like the child she still is," said T'Challa. "It is rather refreshing to see her like this, especially after the loss of our father."
"Yeah, well, that just means you'll have to invite us back sometime," said Tony. "'Cause you still haven't explained the propulsion system for your aircraft, or the tech behind that suit of yours."
T'Challa grinned. "All in good time, Stark. All in good time."
"C'mon, Pete, it's time to wake up," Tony said two mornings later, gently shaking Peter's shoulder. "Heading back home today."
"Mmph, don't wanna get up! Too comfy!" grumbled Peter, his face pressed into the fluffy pillows on the bed he'd been sleeping in ever since Shuri had discharged him from the medbay. While the Wakandan palace wasn't really all that extravagant, especially compared to some other royal palaces Tony had visited over the years, Tony had definitely appreciated the spacious bedroom he and Peter had shared during their stay, as well as the sprawling grounds, offering a view of the beautiful mountains in the distance. And as much as he missed Pepper, and his own lab, and just tinkering in general, Tony was a bit sorry that it was time to leave. Despite the circumstances that had brought the team to Wakanda, once his injuries had healed, Tony couldn't remember the last time Peter had seemed so relaxed. He hadn't even had a single nightmare the entire time they'd been there, which was practically unheard of. Tony would have to ask if they could come back again sometime, especially since Peter and Shuri had gotten along so well.
And managed to cause so much trouble together. Tony still couldn't believe that they'd managed to not burn the entire palace down the time they attempted to bake cookies by trying to harness energy from the sun.
On second thought, maybe seeing Shuri again wasn't such a great reason for them to come back.
Regardless, since T'Challa and Shuri had agreed to try and rid Bucky Barnes of his HYDRA programming, Tony knew that Steve at least would want to check in on him from time to time. And there was no reason why Tony and Peter—and even Pepper, if T'Challa allowed it—couldn't accompany Steve on those visits.
After managing to cajole Peter out of bed—with the suggestion that he could join Shuri in her lab while she was working with Vision, after he first ate a decent breakfast—Tony left the room, searching the grounds for Scott Lang. With everything that had been going on with Peter and with Scott recovering from his concussion for a couple of days, Tony hadn't yet had the opportunity to thank him for helping to comfort Peter during their time together in the Raft cells.
As it was, he didn't need to search for very long. Tony found Scott only a few minutes later, taking a stroll through the gardens with Sam Wilson.
"Excuse me, Mr. Lang," Tony called, hurrying towards them. "I was wondering if I might have a word?"
Scott immediately gulped, glancing at Sam fervently before nodding. "Um… sure, Mr. Stark."
"I'll catch up with ya later, tic tac," Sam said as he leaned in towards Tony, lowering his voice.. "Go easy on him, Tony. Dude's already scared to death of you."
Suppressing a grin, Tony waited until Sam was out of earshot before turning to Scott. "Look, Mr. Lang—"
"Please, call me Scott," Scott blurted out. "And I know what I did was wrong, and I know I shouldn't've listened to Hank Pym, because he said you should never trust a Stark, but then Peter said that he really only meant you should never trust Howard Stark, 'cause apparently they didn't like each other very much, and that you weren't anything like Howard Stark, and I know stealing is wrong, and I shouldn't've done it, I should've just asked, because Peter said that you're pretty nice and you would've helped me, and—"
"Um, pardon me?" Tony said, holding up his hand. "Mr. Lang—, Scott, I didn't seek you out to reprimand you. I came here to thank you."
"Huh?" Scott said, his eyes widening comically. "Uhh, you did? Um… for what… exactly?"
"Well, for your help during the Raft fight, for one thing," Tony said. "You were damn handy, with your… shrinking ability, and I really appreciate the fact that you just jumped right in when things started to go down. The way you and Sam were working together, it was almost like you'd been with the team for a lot longer than only a couple of days."
Scott pursed his lips, dropping his head. "Yeah well, what better way to impress my little girl than by telling her I got to fight alongside Captain America and the Falcon. And Iron Man, of course. She thinks you're pretty cool too."
"Of course," Tony added with a smirk.
"Soo, does this mean you're not gonna have me arrested once we get back home?" Scott asked. "'Cause I really am sorry… about the—"
"No, no, I'm not gonna do that," Tony said. "And I mainly came by to tell you thank you for looking after my kid. From what Peter told me, you were really helpful to him during that whole horrible experience, and for that I'll always be grateful."
"Peter's a great kid, Mr. Stark," said Scott. "I was glad to meet him, even if it had to be under those circumstances."
"Yeah, he's the best," Tony said with a smile. "In fact, if you and your daughter ever feel like taking a trip out to New York, I'm sure Peter would love to meet her. Just let me know and I can send the jet to pick you guys up."
"Oh, wow, I'm sure Cassie would love that!" exclaimed Scott. "And if I'm ever able to convince her mom that I'm worthy to take her anywhere again, I'll be sure to take you up on that offer. Thank you, Mr. Stark. I really appreciate—"
"Tony," interrupted Tony. He held out his hand. "My friends call me Tony."
"Tony," echoed Scott as he shook Tony's hand. "Thank you, Tony. Apparently Hank Pym was wrong about you Starks."
"Well, at least about two of us," Tony said, winking. "I'll see ya on the plane then, Scott. T'Challa says it's wheels up in about an hour."
"Yeah, see ya then."
With a nod, Tony headed back towards the palace, making his way over to Shuri's lab where he found her and Peter examining a live data stream on a monitor, with Vision sitting on one of the floating tables right next to them.
"What are you kids up to now?" asked Tony. "You're not trying to turn Vision into a humanoid torch, are you?"
Peter shot him one of his "duh" looks. "No, Dad. We're trying to take readings from the stone in Vision's forehead, but there's so much there that the computer only catches maybe one out of three of the lines of code. It's gotten even more complex since it fused with Vision."
"This is fascinating!" Shuri exclaimed, tapping commands into her monitor as the screen continued to fill with hundreds upon hundreds of code lines. "I've never seen anything quite like this, I wish we had more time!"
"We don't even have a supercomputer at home that's capable of taking these readings," said Peter, his eyes wide as he stared at the data in front of him. "I mean, when we made Ultron it was super dense too, but not even he compared to this. It's almost like Vision and the stone are evolving together."
"Yes, and I'm so glad I'm able to be of service," said Vision, sounding so thoroughly bored that Tony had to stifle a chuckle.
"Aww c'mon, Vision," Tony said, clapping him on the shoulder. "You're helping to broaden two brilliant young minds here. There's no more noble of a calling than that."
"Hmm," Vision grumbled. "Well then, perhaps I'll remind you of that the next time these… brilliant young minds decide to use nanoparticles to build an aesthetic pyrotechnic device."
"Wait a minute, you two did what?" barked Tony. "You can't tell me that T'Challa said it was okay for you to set off fireworks around the palace?"
"Umm…" mumbled Shuri, looking sheepishly at Peter. "No, he did not. Peter and I sort of went into the mountains and set them off there."
"Oh that's even better! Let's set off the fireworks inside a forest, for heaven's sake! Nothing bad could happen there! C'mon, Peter, you're so much smarter than that!"
"It's okay, Dad!" Peter said, biting his lip. "Nothing bad did happen, so it was okay."
"Ugh," Tony grumbled, his eyebrows knitting together. "Well anyway, it's time to go, child. T'Challa and the rest of the team are assembling at the landing pad."
"Thank goodness," said Vision, hopping down from the table.
Peter scowled, glancing helplessly at Shuri. "Fine. I guess I have to go now."
"Let me save all of this and I'll walk you out," Shuri replied, rapidly tapping her monitor. "I have a feeling I'm going to be studying these readings for a long time."
"You'll let me know what you find out though, won't you?" asked Peter, a slight flush creeping up his pale cheeks.
"Of course," Shuri said with a smile. "You're the only one who understands any of this stuff besides me."
The rest of the team was all waiting when they arrived, and Tony once again had to hide his smile behind his hand as Peter and Shuri exchanged a very awkward handshake/ hug/ fist bump that had them both giggling at the end. Rhodey even had the audacity to elbow Tony in the ribs as he watched.
"You're gonna have to keep an eye on that one, Tony," he said under his breath. "He's gonna be breaking hearts all over the planet."
"Christ, Rhodey, he's still only fourteen!" Tony grumbled. "Don't make him grow up before he has to!"
"I think he's gonna do that whether you like it or not, Tony," Rhodes said with a rather maniacal grin as they took their seats in the back of the Wakandan aircraft, allowing Barton to take a turn in the copilot's seat. "And something tells me you're not gonna like it."
Tony sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, Peter was getting older, and lately those seven years that he didn't get to have with Peter were starting to bother him more and more. Tony knew it shouldn't, that Peter wouldn't be the incredible boy that he was without the influence of his birth parents and his aunt and uncle who raised him before he came to live with Tony, but still. It was times like these when some of that old, irrational jealousy started to rear its ugly head again.
"Hey Dad," Peter said after they took off a few minutes later, once he was able to peel his face away from the windows. Plopping himself down onto the couch, he scooted over right next to Tony, laying his head on Tony's shoulder.
"Hey, buddy," Tony said. He kissed the top of Peter's head, ruffling his curly hair. "You'll need a haircut when we get home, bud. I'm surprised you can even see right now with your hair hanging in your eyes like it is."
"Mmm," mumbled Peter. "Pepper will take me, she likes to."
"Yeah," answered Tony, settling back on the couch and closing his eyes. "Wanna watch a movie when we get back?"
"Yeah!" Peter said excitedly. "Can we watch the new Star Trek movie? I think it's available for streaming now."
"Whatever you want, bud," said Tony. "We can even invite Steve and Sam and the rest if you want to."
Peter thought for a moment. "No, not this time, if that's okay. It's been too long since we've just watched one together."
Tony's throat tightened. Maybe his silly, irrational jealousy was just that. Silly and irrational. And while he may not have been in Peter's life for his first seven years, Tony was going to do his damndest to make sure nothing kept him away for the rest of it.
"You got it, buddy."
Whew!
I hope you guys enjoyed a bit of fluff after all the angst and heartbreak of this arc. :) I can't wait to hear what you think, please don't hesitate to leave me a review!