Hello dear friends! I'm back with a nice, very long chapter for you. Let's see if Tony can figure out what was going on with Peter in the last few days. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: no, I don't own Marvel. I wish.

Returning from Peter's room, Tony pats Bruce on the shoulder. "I promised him the Hulk, so the kid might be a bit disappointed when he realizes it's only you. Unless you want to turn into the Hulk. Wait, no, don't do that. I like this place as it is now."

Before Bruce could come up with an adequate response, Peter emerges from his room. He still looks smaller than he should, wearing a hoodie and sweatpants that look a size too big. He seems unusually pale and can't stop yawning and rubbing his eyes on his way to the kitchen. Honestly, he looks like a zombie, but Tony believes it's normal for a teenager on a Saturday morning. However, as soon as Peter reaches the table and notices Bruce, he brightens up and greets him with the same enthusiasm as earlier, when Tony took him to the med bay after his brutal fight with that monster that had escaped from Oscorp.

During breakfast, Tony and Bruce have a conversation, while Peter mostly concentrates on his food. With an amused look on his face, Bruce watches the boy demolishing most of the waffles himself.

"Trust me, you'll never get used to this sight," Tony grins, pouring more coffee for his friend. "It's really rewarding to cook for him."

"It's just so delicious, Mr. Stark," Peter praises with his mouth full.

"Yeah, I have a feeling that you find everything delicious as long as it's edible, but thanks, kid."

After breakfast, Bruce and Peter settle on the couch and start discussing the latest challenges in the scientist's research. Tony stays behind in the kitchen to clean up but he can't help watching them brainstorming. Surprisingly, the kid doesn't ramble as much as usual and it's mostly Bruce who does the talking. Tony turns away from them to load the dishwasher and suddenly, Bruce is there, standing right beside him.

Tony staggers back, putting a hand on his chest. "Way to give a man a heart attack, Banner!" he complains.

"Sorry," Bruce smiles sheepishly. "I just wanted to ask if you need help over here."

"No, thanks. I don't want to take you away from Peter anyway," Tony replies.

"You couldn't. He's fallen asleep," the scientist says, glancing back at the couch. Peter is still sitting there, his head resting on a back cushion in an awkward angle and despite the seemingly uncomfortable position, he's out like light. "I was in the middle of explaining my new theory on gamma radiation when he dozed off. I'm trying not to take it personally," Bruce chuckles.

"He must be really tired if he fell asleep during your little nerd convention," Tony frowns and watches the boy worriedly.

"He might have had a tough week at school. And being Spiderman must be quite exhausting, too," the scientist shrugs.

Tony sighs and walks over to the couch, grabbing a blanket from an armchair on his way. He gently maneuvers down the boy into a lying position and drapes the blanket over him. He affectionately runs his hand through Peter's soft curls and smiles. Until he notices a small cut on the side of his head, a cut that was hidden under his curls before. It doesn't seem bad, but when did it happen? If Peter had been injured during patrol last night, the cut should have been healed by now.

"What's wrong?" Bruce asks, stepping closer. He must have realized the sudden change in Tony's mood.

Tony gently slicks back Peter's hair once again. "That cut, there. Can you see it?"

"Yes, but it doesn't seem serious."

"That's not the point, Bruce. You know his healing factor. That cut shouldn't be there unless it happened in the last few hours. But that's impossible, because Peter didn't miss his curfew last night; he came home in time. If he hadn't, Friday would have alerted me. Right, girl?"

"That's correct, boss," the AI confirms.

Tony walks back into the kitchen and runs his hands through his hair frustrated.

Bruce follows him. "So Peter's healing ability might not work properly. He needs food and sleep to heal quickly, right? Which means he either didn't sleep enough lately or didn't eat much", he muses, glancing back at the boy. Tony nods. "Well, the lack of sleep would explain why he suddenly dozed off," the scientist adds.

"Yeah, I bet it sounds better than your presentation being too boring for him," Tony smirks but then he turns serious again. "Friday, does Peter have problems with sleeping?"

"Until last night, he didn't go to sleep at all, boss," Friday says calmly.

"What?" the man exclaims. He can see Bruce looking back at the couch to check if the sound has woken up Peter. Fortunately, it hasn't and Tony repeats himself, whispering this time. "What do you mean, Fri?"

"Aside from a few short naps, Peter didn't sleep from Tuesday to Friday."

"Why?" he manages through gritted teeth.

"Peter was working on his suit, boss. The suit was damaged on Tuesday night and he wanted to fix it."

Tony's mouth falls open. There are thousands of questions running wild in his head and he honestly doesn't know which one he should ask first. He must look really shocked because Bruce places a hand on his arm and guides him to a chair, helping him sit down. From the corner of his eye, he can see his friend taking a seat next to him.

"Friday, tell us everything, please, from the beginning," Bruce says and Tony feels grateful that the scientist has taken the lead. He isn't sure if he could speak coherently just yet.

"Like I said, Dr. Banner, on Tuesday night Peter returned from patrol with a damaged suit. He believed he could fix it himself and he was working on it every night. He finally finished early this morning, at 6.21am. He went straight to bed then."

"But he kept going out as Spiderman with the broken suit, too," Tony interjects. Friday would have told him if Peter had stayed home. Not that he would be sure about it anymore.

"Yes, boss. Peter believed the damage wasn't that bad."

"What was it exactly?" he asks, leaning back and crossing his arms.

"There was a problem with Karen's audio system. She couldn't communicate with Peter properly."

"And that wasn't bad enough to keep him put?" Tony asks in shock, giving an unbelieving look to Peter's sleeping form on the couch. He folds his head in his arms. "Why didn't you tell me anything, Fri? What's your excuse?"

"Peter assured me that it was only a minor malfunction and he could handle it. He didn't want to bother you, boss. And you had a very busy week, you didn't need more stress," the AI explains calmly.

Tony shakes his head in disbelief and hides his face behind his hands. He can already see the scene unfolding in front of his eyes. Peter returned from patrol with a damaged suit. He freaked out. He felt guilty and didn't want Tony to know what had happened. So he convinced both Friday and himself that Tony didn't have to know about it at all. It was better if they didn't bother him. And Friday, whose top priority is Tony's well-being, agreed. Which left Peter alone with the problem. Until he literally collapsed.

The image of a desperate and terrified Peter working all night in his room instead of sleeping leaves Tony upset. It was extremely dangerous and reckless of him to patrol exhausted and in a ruined suit and Tony can't imagine why the kid thought it was a good idea. And what about school? How didn't he fall asleep during class? Ned might have been there for him. If Peter told him. Because this kid is damned good at keeping secrets and Ned? Tony likes that kid, really, but he didn't figure out that his best friend was a superhero and homeless for months.

But no. Tony can't blame anyone else but himself. He has just told Bruce that Peter is his responsibility now. Yeah, and he didn't notice anything, he didn't notice there was something bad, something huge bothering the kid. He wasn't there for him. He let his work distract him and take him away from Peter when he needed him. Yeah, Peter didn't come to him, he didn't ask for his help, but Tony should have known anyway. That's his job now, right? Looking after the kid. And he's doing a wonderful job.

"Tony?" Bruce's voice breaks into his thoughts.

"I'm just like my father," he groans, still hiding behind his hands.

"What? No, Tony! That's not true," the scientist claims.

Tony looks up at his friend unimpressed. "I was working all week and I wasn't there for the kid, Bruce."

"I'm sorry, Tony, I know you love blaming yourself for everything, but this isn't on you. I mean, yeah, maybe you should have spent more time with Peter, I don't know, I wasn't here, but he, Tony," Bruce says, pointing at the sleeping boy on the couch. "He should have told you what happened. He should have told you about the suit and he definitely shouldn't have patrol. He must have been exhausted. That was really irresponsible of him. On second thought, now I understand why you two get along so well."

"Very funny, Banner," Tony deadpans. "I guess I need to have a serious conversation with him."

"That's right. But wait until he's alert enough for that."

"Is he gonna be okay?" Tony asks leaning back again, watching the kid worriedly.

Bruce smiles. "Of course. He just needs to sleep, that's all." Then he pats his friend on the shoulder and gets up. "But I have a plane to catch, so I need to leave now, sorry. Call me if you need advice or just a listening ear, okay?"

"Thanks, man, I appreciate it," Tony replies. "I will definitely take up on your offer."

After Bruce leaves, Tony decides to do what he always does when he has a problem and doesn't know how to deal with it: he distracts himself with work. But instead of retreating into his lab, he stays in the kitchen because he can easily keep an eye on Peter from there. He knows it's stupid because he could always ask Friday to tell him when the kid wakes up, but after everything that happened, he feels reluctant to let the boy out of his eyesight just yet. He needs to see him to reassure himself that Peter is here safe and sound and not out on the streets, risking his life.

First, he reprograms Friday, so that Peter's well-being is just as important for the AI as Tony's. Then he reprograms her once again, making Peter top priority, coming before Tony. He creates a bunch of new protocols to protect the kid and he still feels dissatisfied because he knows it's impossible to make a protocol for every possible scenario. He knows he must have forgotten something. Even though there's a protocol now in case of a volcano eruption and a zombie apocalypse, too. When is a parent too protective, though? Is there such a thing at all?

Tony can't help wondering why the kid didn't come to him for help. He thought after the runaway incident, he made Peter understand that he isn't alone anymore and he could always count on Tony. He was obviously wrong. Maybe the boy was alone for too long and Tony should give him more time to get used to the new situation, to get used to the fact that he has someone in his corner now.

Maybe he just doesn't know the kid as much as he thought. Peter is still full of secrets and they both need time to get to know each other better.

Anyway. Protocols. By the time he runs out of ideas about how the world could end or how Peter could get hurt (which is pretty much the same thing according to Tony), it's early in the evening and the kid finally shows signs of waking up. His bed would have been much more comfortable, but he didn't even stir in his sleep on the couch. Yeah, result of four sleepless nights in a row. But now he groans and slowly sits up, looking around in the room confused until he spots Tony at the kitchen table.

"Good morning, Peter," the man greets him. "It's good to see you're back in the land of the living."

The situation reminds Tony of the day when he brought the kid to the Tower after he had been shot. He remembers how confused Peter looked when he woke up in the med bay and saw Tony sitting in his room. He was confused because he didn't know what had happened exactly and how much Tony knew. Pretty much like now.

"Mr.-Mr. Stark," Peter all but stutters. "What… what time is it?"

"It's 5.54pm," the man replies, glancing at the clock on the wall. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," the boy answers, closes his eyes and drops back on the couch.

"I bet," Tony smirks, getting up and walking to the couch. He sits down on the coffee table. He wants to be as close to the kid as possible. "I guess that's what a few sleepless nights do to you."

Peter peers an eye open and watches Tony suspiciously. "Friday?" he asks.

"Well, she didn't say anything until I asked her. I mean I know you like sleeping in on weekends, but falling asleep in the middle of Bruce's lecture has been a whole new level." Tony can't help smiling when Peter's face turns red. "Anyway, it looks like Friday agreed with you that it was perfectly fine not to tell me about your problem with the suit. To protect me. Which is bullshit, kid. You don't have to protect me. As an adult, it's my job to protect you. To help you. Whatever happens."

The boy sighs and sits up. He looks Tony in the eyes and opens his mouth to say something but then he shakes his head and lowers his head instead.

The man waits for Peter to change his mind and speak up, but he doesn't. "Hey, I'm not mad," he says, trying to comfort him. That makes the kid look up at him immediately. He looks hopeful and puzzled at the same time. "Okay, I'm a bit mad," Tony clarifies. Peter frowns. "Listen, kid, patrolling after what had happened on Tuesday night was extremely reckless, you have to give me that."

"No offense, Mr. Stark, but I had started patrolling before you made me this suit. Karen might have been mute, which really sucked, but I could manage."

"I didn't mean Karen, kid. I meant you must have been exhausted. Patrolling was awfully dangerous in your condition. You should be more responsible than that. You should have stayed in."

"It's not like criminals would take the day off just because I'm not out there," Peter scoffs.

"And it's not like you could help anyone if you're down, kid, don't you think?" Tony snaps back, narrowing his eyes.

Peter stares at him pouting but keeps his mouth shut. Not that he could contradict Tony.

The tension in the room is palpable.

The man sighs. This is not how he wanted this conversation to go. He didn't want a fight. Yes, Peter needs to understand that he was reckless, took an unnecessary risk and he should never ever put himself into danger like that. But Tony wants a peaceful conversation and not a fight. He needs to be the calm one here. Gosh, this whole parenting thing is really, really challenging. Tony Stark being calm. Ridiculous. But if he also starts pouting that won't take them anywhere, right?

"Nice work, on the suit, by the way," he says, trying to ease the tension. He checked earlier. He had to be sure if it was safe enough for Peter to use it.

The boy instantly stops with the sulking, his face lighting up. "Th-thanks, Mr. Stark."

"Fixing it would have taken much less time if you had told me, though," Tony continues. Peter's smile fades away, but the man ignores it. This is the truth and the kid needs to hear it. "We could have repaired the damage together and you wouldn't have had to miss bedtime. I guess these last few days must have been pretty tough for you."

The boy just shrugs. Tony gives him a sad smile. The kid would never admit how much he must have suffered due to the lack of sleep.

"I thought you liked tinkering with me in the lab," the man laughs nervously. Come on, kid, say something. Tell me why you didn't come to me. Why you couldn't trust me.

Peter stares down, fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve. But Tony decides not to give up. He will wait patiently until the kid gives him an explanation. Yes, he needs sleep, lots of sleep to compensate for the previous nights, but Tony doesn't care. Peter can sleep once he tells him why the hell he didn't ask for help.

And his patience pays off. Peter's eyes suddenly shoot up at him, tears shimmering in them. "I ruined the suit, Mr. Stark! You made that suit for me and I ruined it! I should have been more careful, I should have dodged that hit, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Mr. Stark!"

Tony staggers back. That's Peter's problem? He just worried about the damage? Did he feel guilty for ruining the suit? Or was he worried about what Tony would say? But who cares about the damned suit?

Obviously Peter does.

Tony leans closer, places both of his hands on the boy's knees and looks into his eyes, giving him a reassuring smile. "Oh, kid. That's why I made the suit for you. So that it takes hits instead of you. So that it protects you. I don't care if it gets damaged. I can always make a new suit for you. No problem. What matters is you. Only you, you hear me? Your safety, your health. That's the only thing I care about. Suits get ruined all the time. Don't you know how many suits I have?" he chuckles.

That makes Peter smile. He wipes the tears away with the sleeves of his hoodie. "So you're not mad at me for damaging the suit?"

Tony looks the boy in the eye. He can see doubt and uncertainty radiating off of Peter. Geez, the kid really doesn't believe that Tony doesn't care about the damned suit but only about him!

He rolls his eyes, gets up and settles on the couch next to Peter. He puts an arm around his shoulders. "No, I'm not mad at you about the suit. But like I said I'm a bit mad at you for putting yourself into danger, kid. That's not okay."

The boy nods and leans his head on the man's shoulder, eyes closing. Tony smiles and kisses the top of his head. The kid probably understands now that the man is not mad about the suit like he thought and he must feel relieved enough to doze off again. Which is fine with Tony. It's only Saturday night. They can stay like this until Monday morning, right?

But only after a minute or two, Friday speaks up. Or whispers, not wanting to wake up Peter. "Boss, there's an incoming call."

"Ignore," the man shrugs. Whoever it is, it doesn't matter. Not when the most important person is right here beside him.

"Boss, he insists," Friday tries again.

"And I insist-"

"It's Director Fury, boss."

So they're all good again, but what does Fury want? As this is obviously an AU anyway, I'm gonna say we have SHIELD here, okay?

Thank you for reading!