A/N: Hello again! I had originally intended for this story to be a one shot but the plot bunny started jumping about. This chapter will conclude the story, but I am planning on writing a couple other Avengers/Spider-Man stories. I'm not sure when they will be up but keep your eyes peeled. Thank you for all of the kind reviews, follows, and favorites. You know how to make a girl feel loved. I hope you enjoy the finale. And as always, I don't own anything (disclaimer).
"Figured I'd find you here."
Peter had heard the approaching footsteps, but hadn't bothered to turn and see whom they belonged to. He didn't need to. By this point in time, he knew the way each of his team members moved. These footsteps demanded attention. They contained a self-assured strut that Peter could see with his eyes closed. Naturally, they belonged to Tony Stark. Within a few seconds, he had traveled the row of tombstones and paused at Peter's side. When Peter didn't respond, he turned his attention from the young hero's face to the gray stone directly in front of them. "Hey Gorgeous Gwen," he whispered so softly that Peter would have missed it had his hearing been on the same par as a normal person. But as it is, he did hear it and the sentiment broke his heart all over again.
"I figured you'd be glued to Pepper's side." After a few moments, Peter drew his attention to Tony.
"She's resting and she's tough. That woman doesn't need a man waiting in the wings." Tony shrugged nonchalantly.
"Translation: You were hovering too much and driving her up a wall?" Peter guessed.
"Bingo."
"She is one tough cookie," Peter replied, trying to save face for his teammate.
Tony took the opening and ran with it. "Tougher than I am. I'm telling you, kid. She's way out of my league." After a moment, he added, "I can't let her go."
They fell into a comfortable silence after that. Peter didn't know how to respond to that statement. Luckily, the friendship they had forged over the past couple years didn't require him to keep up the conversation. Tony Stark was a great conversationalist, which meant he knew when to push the conversation and when to let things unfold naturally. Right now, his gut was telling him that silence said more than words. The silence stretched on for minutes before Peter initiated another turn in the conversation.
"How's her shoulder?"
"It's alright," Tony responded, eyes scanning the empty graveyard. It wasn't outside of the ordinary for Tony Stark to be seen with Peter Parker. Since being signed on as a 'consultant' to SHIELD and The Avengers a few years back, the media was accustomed to snapping pictures of the two together upon occasion. It seemed only logical that Peter have a cover story, a reason to be seen around The Avengers every so often. Hiring Peter as an intern at Stark Industries seemed like the natural move at the time. It was a decision that had panned out for all partied involved. After Peter graduated high school, the billionaire, genius, no-longer-playboy, philanthropist found it in his mechanical heart to keep him on as Peter worked his way through college. The tricky part was limiting the time spent out in the open with Steve, Clint, and Thor. As Tony's intern, Peter was likely to bump into certain people, such as Dr. Banner (who also spent time at Stark Industries) or Natalie Rushman (who occasionally stopped in for a chat). Keeping Peter's identity a secret was something that they all took seriously. "We took her into the ER for that. Bruce wouldn't pop it back into place without some serious pain killers in her system first, which we have laying around somewhere, but he insisted that an actual MD do it. I don't know, maybe he was worried about putting her in more pain than she was already in. We trust him, no problem, but this situation is a little different than the one we are normally in."
"There is a big difference between needed a shoulder popped in because your team needs you and having access to an actual physician with western medicine," Peter agreed with the non-present Bruce Banner.
"Exactly," Tony nodded. "So we got that taken care of and other than that she just needed a few stitches in her cheek. Not too bad considering-" He let the rest of that sentence be carried by the wind. Considering the events of the day, Peter wasn't surprised to find Tony so serious. It was just odd to carry out a conversation for this long without Tony cracking a joke or making a snarky comment.
"It could have been worse," Peter cleared his through and tried not to let his mind wander to the dark place in his head. "But seriously, how is she?"
Peter knew that was a loaded question that could go so many ways. Tony thought for a few moments before responding. "The meds are keeping anything physical under control. But I'm sure she'll be pretty sore for a few days. Her nerves are shot. She's been pretty jumpy even though I upped the security in The Tower. I think she's still in a little bit of shock. When that wears off, she's probably going to be stubborn and want to get back to work. So I'm not looking forward to that fight." He paused before adding, "She's worried about you. But that isn't anything new."
Peter chose to ignore the end of Tony's response. "You'll probably be having that fight sooner rather than later." He chuckled at the idea of that particular argument. During his time at Stark Industries, he had seen his fair share of quarrels between the couple. It was almost an art form that at times was a borderline Broadway show and other times was a catastrophic train wreck.
Tony groaned dramatically, "I'm trying to ignore the inevitable. Maybe if I appeal to her logical side, she'll see it my way." Peter arched an eyebrow at the billionaire. "I'm just saying that if she can't return to work on Monday, she shouldn't go back in the middle of the week. It's like a diet. You have to start on a Monday."
"Stick with that argument," Peter deadpanned. "I predict a victory in your immediate future."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Stark rolled his eyes at the younger man until they fell on Peter's wrist. "How about you? The wrist going to fall off?"
"Nah, Natasha worked her field medic magic. I'll live to fight another day." Peter rotated his bandaged wrist back and forth. "It'll be back to normal in a day or so."
"That's good to hear. You're pretty handy to have around. But you know Cap is going to put you through another physical eval before he lets you come out to play again."
It was Peter's turn to groan. While Steve was an excellent leader and supportive teammate, he had a tendency to act like a helicopter parent at times. He had lightened up some since Peter turned 18 and graduate high school but it still got irritating sometimes. "Oh, I know it."
"You know if you were to persuade one Miss Pepper Potts to take a week-long vacation, I'm sure I could destroy all evidence of this injury." The offer was casually made but Peter saw right through it.
"No dice. I'm sure Bruce, Natasha, AND one Miss Pepper Potts have ratted me out by now."
"Yeah, you're right. In your haste to make like a baby and head out first, you missed the good Captain. He was ready to haul your scrawny ass back into SHIELD medical until Natasha talked him down. You're lucky I'm the one who found you instead of him."
"Where I go isn't really a big secret. You all know where to find me. It's just that you're the only one who likes to invade personal space." Peter added the last bit with a lighter tone, to let Tony know he wasn't as annoyed as he made it out to be. Adding some warmth to the statement didn't make it any less true. While Tony Start was definitely someone you wanted on your team, the guy just didn't know boundaries. It was something the two of them had argued about for months until Peter finally gave up. After figuring out that being pushy was Stark's way of showing affection, Peter was less inclined to put up a fight at every turn. It didn't make the man any less irritating at times but, again, it felt damn good to know that Tony Start had your back in a battle (regardless of the type of battle).
"You forfeited all rights to personal space when you joined our deranged family." When Peter opened his mouth to interrupt, Tony plowed right along, "And don't say you aren't part of the deranged family because we are getting you a matching Christmas stocking this year!"
"Dude, I had a Christmas stocking last year."
Tony's mouth snapped shut before opening again, "You did?"
"Yeah, Pepper got it for me. Remember?" The older man shook his head. "You were probably drunk."
"Most likely," Stark confirmed making Peter chuckle out loud. Tony joined in for a brief moment before the laughter died off. He once again became aware of where they were standing and his expression sobered quickly. "You were right, you know that?"
Not catching the change in topic, Peter laughed again. "Well yeah, I know. It was hanging there with all of yours by the tree. They all match for crying out loud. I wanna know who decided to have 'Petey' monogrammed on it, though."
"I'm not talking about the damn stocking, Pete." Tony cut him off, "You were right when you said I'd get Pepper killed. It almost happened today."
The humor and warmth of the conversation evaporated so quickly that Peter almost choked. He should have known the conversation would take a turn in this direction. Peter remembered that day all too well. Not long after Gwen had died, he and Tony had it out about Peter moving on and picking up the suit again. It was an argument that hadn't ended well. It was an ending that could have halted his relationship with Stark for life. Thankfully, and contrary to popular belief, Tony Stark understood what it felt like to lash out at those who cared about you. He understood that anger and grief could turn the nicest person into a hissing snake. Enough people had forgiven him for his past and he knew that Peter's reaction was just a hiccup in their friendship.
When he opened his mouth to respond Tony interrupted again, "Don't argue with me. We both know it's true. I can't always be there to protect her. Today is a perfect example of that. Being my girlfriend is bad for her health. If you hadn't been around-" He trailed off after that, unable to complete the sentence. He didn't need to complete it. They both knew what would have happened if Peter hadn't been there to literally catch her. The next words out of Tony's mouth shocked Peter. "With everything that has happened over the past year, I think she would be better off without me. She would be safer without me. Today just confirmed what I've been thinking. I need to get her away from this life. We both know what happens to women who date super heroes." With that, he turned away from Peter.
For the second time that day, unspeakable anger boiled up inside Peter. Tony walked a few gravestones before Peter snapped at his retreating form, "So that's it, huh? A couple resourceful thugs are going to scare off the great Tony Stark?" That got his attention. Stark turned around with a murderous glare on his face. "You can send a nuke up into a hole in the sky and fight aliens, but when push comes to shove it's the everyday punk that has you shaking in your suit?"
Tony attempted to argue back but with three wide strides, Peter was in his face. "Everyone feels the need to tell me their opinions and 'knock some sense into me'. Well, this time you're going to listen to me. Every day I wake up thinking of that girl," He motioned to the area where Gwen was laid to rest. "And every night I fall asleep hoping that I'll wake up and realize this was all a dream. I'm starting to realize that it wasn't being with Gwen or away from her that got her killed. It was the middle ground that got her killed. I couldn't stick with a damn decision. I couldn't live with myself for breaking the promise I made Captain Stacy. But I couldn't live without her either! There is no doubt in my mind that it was the back-and-forth, in-and-out of the relationship that put her in that position. If I had just stayed away, she would have been at the airport about to leave for England. And if I had stuck around, I would have dropped her off at the airport myself. I would have supported her and planned on meeting her across the pond after she got settled. But either way, she wouldn't have been at the power plant."
All of the emotions Peter had been feeling that day were fighting to breach the surface. He fought them down. "Yes, Pepper being Iron Man's girlfriend is bad for her health. But being Tony Stark's off-and-on love is fatal. There is a reason why Jane and Thor work so well. There is a reason why Bruce and Betty are both still alive. They didn't pick the middle ground. Betty is safe because Bruce cut all ties and left. He made his decision and stuck to it. No doubt it was the hardest decision he's ever made and he's lonely more often than not, but he did what he needed to do. He is a bigger man than you or I. I couldn't do it and I know that you can't either. We aren't the selfless person that he is. And Thor, well, he's Thor. He has a guardian keeping an eye on Jane and a big ass hammer to protect her with."
Pausing for a second, Peter swallowed heard and took a step back. The anger in Tony's face was slowing draining from his face, being replaced with anguish. "It's too late, Tony. You love Pepper, and she loves you. She's not going anywhere, and you know it. Don't push her away because you think that means protecting her. You will just be putting her in that gray area where she could really get hurt. What is it everyone keeps telling me? I can't blame myself because Gwen chose me? Well, that goes for you too. Pepper doesn't want anyone else. You said it yourself; she's out of your league. But that doesn't matter because her mind is made up. You're stuck with one Miss Pepper Potts. Maybe you need to stop fighting it and enjoy it? Because the day might come when she isn't around anymore and you'll want the good times back." He glanced over his should again. "I know I want them back."
Peter was pretty certain tear were present in Tony's eyes. But then he blinked and they were gone. After letting out a deep, resigning sigh, the billionaire nodded to himself and then said, "We need to limit your time with Barton. You're developing a flair for the dramatics, Webhead."
With the tension fully broken, Peter let out a dry laugh. "Oh, yeah, Clint is the dramatic one. It couldn't possibly be anyone else."
"I'm so glad you agree." Tony ran a hand over his face, looking older than his years. For the first time, in a long time, he looked to be at a loss for words.
"You should probably get back." Peter prompted him and nodded in the direction of Tony's car.
"Yeah, I told Pepper I was getting ice cream for her. I better make good on that promise."
"The woman does like her mint chocolate chip." Stark nodded in agreement before turning on his heel to leave. Peter watched his back for a moment before returning to his normal spot in the cemetery. Tony's voice brought him up short, though.
"I will never be able to thank you enough for what you did today. You're right. I can't go on without her. Thank you, Peter." Peter didn't think he'd ever heard Tony sound more sincere. Knowing that Tony would understand, he responded with a nod and a slight smile (which Tony returned). "You know, you can come back with me. It might clean out my bank account but I can swing two ice creams."
"Thanks, but I'm going to stay here for a little bit." With an 'okay', Stark turned from him once more. "Hey Tony!" He faced Peter once more, this time with an eyebrow arched as if to say 'Yes, Dear?'. "A few months back when I told you that you would get Pepper killed, I was in a really bad place. I shouldn't have said that to you. I couldn't see past my own issues. You and Pepper aren't Gwen and I."
"Don't worry about it, kid. Sometimes even Tony Stark needs to be taken down a peg or two. Not often of course, you've used yours up. Don't think you can pull that crap again." And with that he strutted away from Peter and toward home, where the love of his life was waiting patiently.
A/N: The scene that Tony and Peter are referring to toward the end of the chapter will be in one of the upcoming stories. Please review! :)