Hello, I'm back! And first, I'd like to thank you for the support, you are amazing, guys!
So where were we? Peter went missing, let's see if Tony can find him.
Disclaimer: no, I don't own Marvel. I wish.
As soon as Tony hangs up the phone, he orders Friday to find the kid immediately. To check every camera available, ATMs, traffic cams, security cameras, everything. He still remembers the last time when he asked the same. When Peter went after the man who had hit his aunt. Tony should create a protocol that Friday could follow in cases like this and give it a cool name. Like Where's Waldo? However, it would be really great if Peter running away didn't become a regular thing. Yeah, that would be awesome. The tracker in his suit is obviously not enough. Tony should really have him microchipped. He could definitely sleep better then.
Friday quickly finds Peter; she pulls up footage from some cameras and there's the kid, running through the streets. But then the AI loses him.
"Friday, what happened?" Tony asks nervously.
"I'm sorry, boss, Peter reached an area where there are no cameras that I can use."
"Keep looking. He could show up anywhere."
He won't and Tony knows that. Peter is smart, he's probably aware that Friday can easily find him if he doesn't avoid cameras. The kid doesn't want to be found. What did Ned say? Peter needed some alone time, right?
But why? And why now? The morning with Happy's arrival might have been a bit awkward, but it certainly wasn't bad enough to make Peter run away, right? Did something happen at school? Ned said it hadn't, but what if Ned was wrong? And what if there was something wrong all along, but Tony didn't notice it? Does he really know Peter that well? Maybe the boy was only pretending that everything was fine.
But whatever made him run, Tony has to figure out where he could be now. Hopefully, the kid wouldn't leave the city. No, Peter made up a whole story about fake relatives just to make sure that he didn't have to leave New York. With any luck, he doesn't think the situation is bad enough to leave the city now. Where could he go? Some place without cameras? Probably in Queens, right?
Patrolling as Spiderman, Peter knows the area like the back of his hand. He might have plenty of good hiding spots. But his number one would be… the place he knows the most. Where he spent the last few months.
His warehouse.
Tony pulls up in front of the abandoned building. When he checked out the place a few days ago and gathered Peter's stuff, he hoped he would never have to return here. Even more, he hoped the kid would never come back here.
But if Peter's here and it's gonna be a thing that he regularly returns to this awful place, Tony might buy the entire area and renovate every damned building here. So that Peter could have his me-time under better circumstances and not in the company of rats and drug addicts.
Okay, that's something that the old Tony Stark would say, he would think money is always the solution. However, the new Tony Stark jumps out of the car to look for the kid, because that's the priority. Not to wrinkle his nose in disgust. So he strides toward the now familiar, smaller building.
"Friday, is he here?" he asks anxiously.
"I can detect a heat signature in the building."
"Second floor?"
"Yes, boss."
Tony sighs relieved. That's where Peter stayed. The man hopes it's really him and the place doesn't have a new resident who wouldn't appreciate his visit.
Now he doesn't stop all the time, feeling upset about this terrible place like when he came here first. He quickly finds his way through the garbage to the second floor, to the open area that once served as the kid's home.
The old mattress is still there in the corner. And on the mattress there's… Peter. He's sitting there, back against the wall, knees drawn to his chest, with his head down, staring at his feet.
He doesn't seem to register Tony's arrival, but the man knows this enhanced kid could never not notice his entry. He just probably doesn't care.
Tony slowly walks closer and then sits down on the floor. "Mind if I join you?" he carefully asks.
Peter doesn't look up at him, just shrugs.
Tony waits for the boy to speak, but he's not surprised when the kid remains silent. He's an impatient man, though, so he tries to start a conversation. "Hey, Pete-"
Suddenly, the kid's eyes shoot up at him. "I wasn't running away! I wanted to go back, I swear," he claims. There's regret in his voice. And tears in his eyes. "I just wanted to be alone," he adds, whispering.
"That's okay, kid," Tony replies calmly. "I get it. There's nothing wrong with that. But you need to understand you can't just disappear like that. I need to know where you are, bud. All the time."
Tony wants to add that he would prefer if Peter stayed alone in his room at the Tower and not in this damned building, but he decides not to say that now.
"Because now you're responsible for me?" Peter mutters.
The man remembers that's what he thought earlier, too. But it's more than that. "Yeah, I'm responsible for you, kid. But more importantly, I was worried about you. When Happy said you had left, I freaked out, Peter. I panicked."
The tears start to flow freely on Peter's cheeks. He quickly wipes them away with the sleeves of his hoodie. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."
Tony honestly can't imagine what the kid thought. He disappears and Tony will be okay with that? He will just patiently wait for him to return? What parent would do that? But he guesses the kid is too upset to think straight now, so he might as well save the logical reasoning for later.
"Can you tell me what's wrong, buddy?" he asks instead. "A ride home with Happy would have been that terrifying?"
Peter smiles weakly. "Happy is terrifying. But it's not that."
"Then what?" Tony probes. Geez, it's gonna take a lot of time to get to the bottom of the story. He realizes being a parent is practically a test of patience. And a lot of worrying.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, it's just…" the boy starts hesitantly. "It's just too much, you know? I mean everything that has happened in the last few weeks... I mean one day I'm here, in this warehouse and the next day I'm at the Tower, in a penthouse? I'm grateful, Mr. Stark, I really am, don't get me wrong, please... I'm sure now you think I'm a brat. I should be happy. And I am. Of course I appreciate the bed, the food and the warmth. So much. You have no idea."
Tony looks around and frowns. He doesn't want to imagine what it could have been like to endure winter in this place, with no windows. What it could have been like for Peter to go to sleep hungry and freezing. He doesn't want the kid to go through that ever again.
"When I was here, that's what I was dreaming about, Mr. Stark," the boy continues. "I wanted to have a home again. And I didn't want to be alone anymore... But I always wanted just a small room, you know? Something cozy. You should have seen the apartment where I was living with my aunt. That place was so tiny, Mr. Stark. And now I live in your penthouse? Where my room is bigger than our old apartment was? I don't deserve that, Mr. Stark. Seriously."
Tony smiles. Really? That's the kid's problem? That's the reason why he ran away? Because his life has become better than he expected? And honestly, he deserves this. He'd deserve so much more.
"And there's one more thing," Peter goes on. "I was used to being by myself, Mr. Stark. I never liked it, but I was used to it. No one knew about my secret identity until recently… But now? You, Dr. Banner, Ned and Miss Potts know. I guess Happy also suspects something. It's just…"
"Too much?" the man asks, remembering the kid's earlier words.
Peter nods. "It's not bad or anything, it's just…"
"Overwhelming?" Tony tries.
The boy nods again.
"And you don't know how to handle this," the man guesses.
Peter lowers his head. "I'm sorry. I know how ridiculous it sounds. Everything's good. Really. And I know I sound ungrateful and I'm sorry, Mr. Stark but-"
"It's okay, Pete, it really is," Tony says. He moves closer to the kid and gently squeezes his shoulder. "Hey, kid, look at me." He patiently waits until those big, tear-filled eyes find him and he gives Peter a reassuring smile. "It's okay to feel this way. It's totally okay, you hear me? There's absolutely nothing wrong with that and I would never think you're ungrateful, okay?" He waits again until the kid gives him a nod. "Pete, I know you hate changes. You told me that. And I know changes can be scary, even the good ones. It's normal to feel uncomfortable and overwhelmed, when things change around you. And God knows things have changed around you a lot recently. It's okay to need time to get used to something new. But you know there's only one change that really matters. That you're not alone anymore. I'm here for you, Pete, whenever you need me. Don't you ever forget that. And you can always tell me if there's something wrong."
"Thank you, Mr. Stark," Peter sniffs.
"Tony. You can call me Tony. I mean you live under my roof," the man grins. "Which brings us to another issue, kid. I understand why you ran away and I understand why you have come here. But please, don't you ever disappear like that again, okay? Like I said I always need to know where you are, kid. That's part of my job. And although it seems very tempting to have you microchipped, I really don't wanna do that. I want to trust you, kid. So I need you to tell me where you go. Always, Pete. Please."
"Sure, Mr. Stark. I'm sorry," Peter sniffs again. "I'm so sorry."
"It's alright, kid," Tony says and pulls Peter into a hug, but he can feel the boy is still way too tense. He rubs comforting circles on the kid's back and sighs relieved when Peter finally melts into the hug. Cherishing the moment, he decides not to point out that the kid called him Mr. Stark again. Maybe that's just another change that takes time to get used to.
"Okay, it's Friday, kid, so what would you think if we just stayed home all weekend? Just you and me? Spending all the time in the lab? Except when we watch movies and eat pizza? Huh? How does that sound to you?"
"That would be perfect, Mr. Stark," the boy murmurs against the man's jacket.
Tony smiles and ruffles Peter's hair. "Yeah, I agree, kid. It's gonna be perfect."
So our boys are happy again. At least until the next bump in the road.
Thank you for reading!