1
The first time Peter Parker slipped, it took Tony a minute to realize what he'd said.
Peter had been working with Tony, first just as Spider-man, but soon as an actual intern in his lab, for over a year. The kid was smart—smart enough to keep up with Tony most of the time—and he had a unique way of looking at problems. Peter's brilliance had piqued Tony's interest, then his abilities and critical thinking skills soon won the genius's respect. Before long, Tony had found he actually really liked the kid, too, which surprised him. He hadn't ever gotten along well with teenagers, even when he was one. Peter was different, though.
Soon he'd found himself spending more and more time with the boy, even when they didn't have stuff to work on. Pepper was pretty busy running SI, and traveled more than Tony did, and with the Avengers in pieces, he had realized he was kind of lonely. Peter was fun, had a refreshing view of the world, and most surprisingly, seemed to genuinely enjoy spending time with Tony. He didn't always listen to him, especially when his alter-ego was involved, but he seemed to genuinely like Tony, without expecting anything from him other than some time and attention. Tony wasn't quite sure what to do with that. People always wanted something from him. Usually money, or a quick boost on his famous coattails.
This weekend Tony had a quick weekend meeting in Calgary, of all places, and he'd invited Peter along so he (Tony) wouldn't be so bored. Peter had a way of livening things up without even trying. When the conference was finally (more or less) over, they'd taken off to do something fun, and, since they had the private jet at their disposal, and they still had a full 24 hours before Peter had school, they decided to fly down to Banff National Park. They were only in the air about 30 minutes before they started their descent.
Currently, Peter was pressed up against the window of the plane.
"Holy crap, I think that's a lake between those two mountains... I feel like that smudge is moving. Do you think we can see a herd of elk or moose or something from up here?"
Tony was trying to work on something for a few minutes, and just had to smile and tell the kid he had no idea what his spider-enhanced eyes could make out down there. Peter was not deterred, and kept exclaiming at all the things that were so novel to a city kid.
"Wow! Oh my gosh... Ben, look at that!"
"What?" Tony said, trying to figure out what the boy had said.
Peter turned abruptly, his eyebrows scrunched together in some unnamed emotion. It was close to embarrassment, but not quite.
"Uh, I said 'When you look at this,' like, you're gonna think it's so cool, right?"
Tony raised his eyebrows in confusion.
"Sometimes you say dumb stuff too, Mr. Stark. Come check out these mountains! They're amazing!"
"Why do I feel like I was just gas-lighted?"
Peter rolled his eyes. "That's not what that was, c'mon. Seriously, check this out!"
Tony huffed and quickly moved to a seat by the window too before re-buckling. His flight crew hated when he did that.
Peter was right. The view was amazing. Even more so when they got on the ground and rode a gondola up the side of Sulphur Mountain. This place definitely deserved its National Park designation.
"I'm gonna have to get you a new phone when we get home, because that one is going to be full," Tony teased the boy, who had been taking pictures almost non-stop on the way up, and had continued documenting everything he saw from the Terminal at the top. He'd been trying to drag him away to eat lunch at one of the restaurants up there, but hadn't had any luck.
"Like any phone you gave me would fill up from me taking a few pictures," Peter scoffed, side-eyeing Tony. He smiled sheepishly though, and put his phone in his pocket, finally ready to be led to food.
Later that night, long after he'd returned an exhausted but happy Peter to his aunt, Tony pulled up the footage from the jet's cabin.
He hadn't been hearing things. His intern, who'd firmly insinuated himself into Tony's life, really had slipped and called him "Ben." Ben, who'd been like a father to Peter for the last 7-8 years before he passed. He'd confided to Tony that he barely even remembered his actual dad, and half of his memories were from pictures and video snippets, so he wasn't even sure if they were really his.
But he'd called Tony "Ben" in a moment of excitement. Tony sat back in his chair, eyes soft and surprised. As much as he'd come to care for the kid, and felt protective and invested in him, this was not a development he'd ever expected or even considered. How did Peter see their relationship?
2
Tony had been mulling over that moment with Peter for a few weeks the next time it happened, though this time it was more the implication than anything Peter said.
They'd been working on Tony's new Bleeding Edge suit, and the coding on the nanotech had been giving them headaches when they tried to instruct the nanobots to re-assign themselves for more complete coverage if some of the suit was destroyed or separated from the rest. Peter seemed especially annoyed that they couldn't get it to work. The nanobots seemed to "understand" the instructions, but in practice, they were very inconsistent about how they handled the situation.
"I just—I know we can make them do this," the teenager said in frustration. "I mean, what if something hits your helmet, and damages the bots there, or rips some of them away? It makes so much sense to leave a forearm unprotected vs. your head, you know? "
"Well, yeah, of course that makes sense. But why can't we just let FRIDAY handle it, Pete? She can do the thinking and reallocate. I don't know why you're so hung up on the suit itself being able to prioritize and reassign." He blew out a measured breath. Sometimes the kid was more stubborn than Tony, and that was saying a lot.
Peter was silent for a few minutes, just glaring at the coding on the screen. He deleted a few lines, then added something back in. "What if FRIDAY's down for some reason? This should be within the nanobots' capabilities."
"I'm not arguing with that," Tony said with fond exasperation. "But is it really worth all the time you've been spending on it? The odds of FRIDAY being down"— and the rest of the suit still functioning, Tony did not say—"are so unlikely. Take a break for a few days or weeks, and we'll look at it again, yeah?"
Peter made a noise very much like a growl, then pushed back from the terminal. "Fine. But I'm not done with you," he said, pointing menacingly at the code as he stood up.
Tony laughed, and shook his head. When it came to little things like this, he felt Peter had gotten almost as protective of him as he felt about the boy-hero. Tony knew if the situations were reversed, he would also keep fighting with the code to make sure the suit would protect Peter in such an unlikely event.
Oh. Tony tilted his head as they approached the elevator. As he realized the same issue might apply to the Iron Spider suit he'd been working on when Peter wasn't around, he suddenly understood Peter's determination. Maybe he could look at the problem again later tonight. While he didn't care about the back-up safeguard in his own suit, he absolutely wanted it in Peter's.
"Mr. Stark?" Peter waved a hand in front of Tony's eyes, getting his attention. Oh, the elevator had stopped at the penthouse, and Tony was just standing there, lost in thought.
"Sorry, Pete," he said, stepping out. "What do you want to eat? We can order something, or if you're hungry now, there's sandwich stuff in the kitchen, I think."
"Sandwiches maybe? I'm starving, and kinda don't want to wait," the teenager replied, toeing off his shoes and flopping down on the couch.
"What if I make you a sandwich now, and FRIDAY orders some soup and salad from the deli around the corner for second-lunch?" Tony asked. He knew Peter could probably use two rounds today, since it had been awhile since breakfast. And Pepper had been bugging him about both him and Peter eating more vegetables. Peter should probably be getting better nutrition. ("Pizza is not a food group, Tony!")
Peter laughed, but said, "Yeah, that sounds great. Could we get some of those rolls they have, too?"
"Sure, bud."
"FRIDAY, bring up the next episode of Brooklyn 99," Peter said, pulling a throw off the back of the couch and snuggling under it. Apparently, he wasn't even going to argue about Tony making him a sandwich today.
Tony grinned as he entered the kitchen. Peter seemed more and more at home in the penthouse, even relaxing when Pepper was present the last few times. He didn't know why, but it gave him a warm feeling somewhere near where his reactor used to sit.
As they finished eating, (and the episode) Peter was looking less comfortable. He was fidgeting and picking at the chips left on his plate without actually eating many of them. He opened his mouth a few times like he might say something, but then closed it. Finally, Tony got tired of watching him avoid whatever he had going on in his head and set his own plate aside, turning to face the teenager more fully.
"Spit it out, kid. You're driving me crazy."
"Huh?" Peter said, looking up in surprise. "Whaddaya mean?"
"You've obviously got something you want to talk about. Let's hear it."
Peter sighed and sank back abruptly against the back of the couch. "Mr. Stark, it's so dumb."
"And?"
Peter sighed. "Fine. Um, I have an assignment in English, and I need your help. Would it be possible for you to tell me your favorite fiction book, and write a paragraph about what influence it had in your life? I'm supposed to read it too, then write about how I think it might have affected you, and what I got out of it. Then the teacher will give me your paragraph, and I have to write another essay about like… similarities and differences in what I thought and what you thought."
"Wow, that's a lot of words. My favorite book, huh? I'm gonna have to think about that. But yeah, sure. I can do that."
Peter sighed in relief and picked his plate up, quickly finishing off the chips he'd just been relocating before. "Thanks, Mr. Stark. That's… that's awesome."
"Pete, why does it have to be me? Just out of curiosity."
Peter froze again. "Um, well, it's supposed to be like a parent or a grandparent or something. Or a parent figure?" Peter looked embarrassed. "I… don't really have any of those, and I thought you wouldn't mind," he finished quietly.
"Of course I don't mind. But why wouldn't you ask May?"
"I didn't want to ask her to do one more thing, I guess. She's been so busy lately, and she's not big into reading books." Peter didn't continue, but Tony could tell there was something else. He stayed quiet, waiting to hear what else was on his mind.
"I… you know how she's been dating Wes, right?"
"Yeah, she mentioned it."
"They're getting really serious. They're spending a lot of time together, and May already feels bad about trying to work her shifts, spend time with him, and spend some time with me. He's… he's actually going to be moving in in a couple weeks so they can be together more."
Tony's eyes widened. That was a big deal. Peter definitely didn't look excited though. Tony should say something, right? Try to get him to talk about it? Ugh, he was not great at this stuff.
"How do you feel about that?"
"I dunno. May is excited. Wes is… fine."
"He's nice to you, right? Are you worried about him moving in?"
"No! Yeah, he's always been nice. It's… fine. And May's super excited. His apartment is nicer than ours, but it's a one-bedroom, and it's a lot farther from my school. I just feel like… I wish May didn't have to worry about me, and could just enjoy being with him, you know? I feel like I'm kinda in the way of her being happier."
Peter sniffed and turned his head away, bringing up a sleeve to wipe at his face. Tony was 99% sure a few tears had escaped as his voice cracked a little on those last few words.
Ugh. Tony's heart clenched in sympathy for the rough emotion in Peter's voice. Feeling in the way, or even a little unwanted was something Tony could definitely empathize with. He reached over and touched Peter's arm.
"Pete. Do you really think she feels that way about you?"
Peter turned back to him, swiping one more time at his eyes.
"No, not really. But I feel that way about it all. I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been trying to spend a little more time here, especially on the weekends, to try to give them more time together. I don't want to be a third wheel, especially with my aunt." He screwed up his nose and Tony couldn't help but smile at his disgusted expression. "It's weird."
"Have you talked to her at all about it?"
"Not in so many words. She keeps asking how I feel about everything, but I don't really want to tell her that it's awkward for me to be around when Wes is there. I'm afraid she'd spend even less time with him, or even maybe break up with him, and he really does make her happy, Mr. Stark. Like I said, he's nice, but we have zero things in common, and we're terrible at talking to each other."
Peter sighed in frustration, and Tony reached over to give his shoulder a squeeze.
"I wish I could just be somewhere else for a while, you know? Give them some space?"
Huh. Tony should probably check with Pepper first, but when had that ever stopped him? "Why can't you?"
"What?"
"Why can't you stay somewhere else for a while? A few weeks, or a month, or even just parts of the week. Stay here," Tony suggested, wondering at the little spark of excitement in his chest at the idea of having the kid around more.
"What? Oh my gosh, do you think I could?" Peter asked, sounding cautiously optimistic. "I mean, that would be amazing!"
Tony grinned. This could be really fun. But there might be a hurdle. "But what do you think May will think? You said you don't want her to feel bad? Do you think she'll agree?"
"If she'd agree to me staying anywhere, it's here, I promise," Peter said excitedly. "She already acts like you're basically… I mean, she trusts you and Pepper, and she knows how much I like being here. You're already my emergency contact at school. I bet she'll say yes, especially if I tell her how much I would enjoy it. Maybe… I could stay for two to three weeks, then maybe we could switch to parts of weeks, or every other weekend, or something?"
"So, join custody, huh?"
Peter actually blushed.
"No, nothing like that! I mean… I didn't mean…"
"Relax about it, kid. I need to talk to Pepper, but we'd be happy to have you. It might be a good fit all around."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." Tony hooked an arm around Peter's neck so he could scrub at his hair playfully, and Peter squawked at him in textbook teenage indignation.
"Mr. Stark!"
"I'm gonna have to have FRIDAY make one of those chore charts," Tony teased, releasing him to rub his hands together in villainous glee.
"Seriously? You're the worst."
"You have no idea. You might be begging to move back to May's by the end of the first week!"
"With the basically honeymooning? No way. Bring on the chore chart!"
3
Surprisingly, May had agreed to their plan after much pleading from Peter, and several long phone calls with Tony, where he'd assured her it was no imposition, and that he and Pepper would enjoy having him. A few days later he'd arrived, with a few suitcases and a huge smile.
Peter had been living at the Tower for almost two weeks at this point, and May and Wes had taken the opportunity to go on a weekend trip together to visit his parents in Wisconsin. Peter hadn't seemed too weirded out by that (the implication that things were getting more serious between them) and had mostly shrugged when Tony tried to ask him if he had any feelings about it.
He'd finally admitted "It's a little crazy, and I'm not sure how I feel about stuff changing, you know? But in a couple more years I'll be at college and stuff anyway, and I don't want her to be alone. So I'm just trying to be happy for her. He's nice enough."
It was Saturday afternoon, and Peter had asked permission to have Ned come over. Tony had okayed it, of course, and had even sent Happy to pick Ned up. They'd been in Peter's room ever since, working on a giant LEGO set, but had recently relocated to the living room (because Pepper had asked Peter not to eat in his room, and they wanted popcorn) and were watching some kind of animated Star Wars show, from what Tony could tell.
Tony was in the kitchen nook around the corner from them, enjoying an afternoon cup of coffee (his 3rd, but who was counting?) and working on some e-mails when he heard the strange conversation. It was hard to hear most of what Peter said, but Ned was fairly loud, and Tony could make out most of the words.
"Oh, dude! Did you ask… could go tonight?"
"Nah, May's… town… she wouldn't have… 'nway." Peter's tone seemed casual but dismissive.
"Well, why don't you ask your… uh, sorry, I mean why… ask Mr. Stark?"
"Ned, seriously!" Peter had hissed that, but it came through loud and clear.
Ned sounded apologetic. "Honest mistake dude, he already….and like…living here now. You can see how… right?"
Tony's ears had perked up at the first exclamation. What had Ned said? He'd have to ask FRIDAY later, but he had his suspicions. His eyebrows crinkled in bemusement and he took a quiet sip as he continued to listen. Unfortunately Peter's next comment was too quiet to make out. The dialogue from the show stopped, and Ned continued to be as loud as before.
"Why not? You should ask! He might say yes!"
"...did your parents…?
"They said I could go if you're…"
"...not going, Ned."
"C'mon, please ask!"
"Ned."
"Please? Tammy Arnold's going to… really want to go, Peter!"
"Fine!" Peter said loudly, and Tony could hear him getting off the couch and moving his direction.
Hurriedly, Tony pasted a bored look on his face and started typing on his phone as he took another drink from his cup.
"Hey, Mr. Stark?" Peter said, standing halfway through the doorway.
"Yeah, Pete?"
"So some people in our P.E. class are going to a get-together at Amber Sherman's house tonight, like 3 blocks west of Midtown. They invited us, and I was wondering if I can go."
Tony tilted his head, curious at the weird facial expression Peter had on. He didn't look at all like he normally did when he was asking for something he wanted. His eyebrows were doing crazy things and his teeth were kind of clenched. What the…
"Your P.E. class?" Peter rolled his eyes and nodded.
"Did you ask May?"
"I don't want to bother her on her trip, and she said when I'm with you, I should get permission from you for things, as long as nothing flammable or explosive is involved."
"Um, more on the very specific set of exclusions there later," Tony said, disgruntled. "But what would she say if she were here?"
"I don't know. That she trusts my judgment?" Peter said hopefully. He was louder than usual though. For Ned's benefit? "So, can I go? I'll be home by midnight." He was still eyeing Tony wildly, and pushed his head further into the alcove to shake it minutely twice before leaning back into Ned's view.
Ah. Peter didn't want to go. But he wanted Tony to say "no" for him, so he didn't keep having to tell Ned "no" himself. Weird, but understandable. Tony had done the same thing with Pepper, come to think of it.
"Will her parents be there?"
"Uh, I don't know."
"Drinking?"
"Uh, hopefully not, since we're all underage?" Peter said a little sarcastically. He was glaring at Tony a little bit now. Was he hoping for just a blanket refusal? Tony had half a mind to give permission, just to see Peter's reaction.
Tony smiled, and Peter looked worried. His eyes were wide, probably nervous that Tony was about to give permission he didn't want.
"I don't think so, bud. "
The relief in Peter's expression and shoulders contrasted with his immediate exclamation. "But why ? Everyone else is going!" he whined loudly. "I can't believe you're saying 'no' to this!"
Oh, he was going to play it that way, was he? Fine, Tony could play 'bad cop,' no problem. He glared, and let his voice get stern.
"While you're living in my Tower, I'm in charge of keeping you safe. Unless I know her parents are going to be supervising, a party like this sounds like trouble. Not changing my mind."
Peter's expression said, "Really?" and he rolled his eyes at Peter's paternal posturing. But instead he said, "I'm literally Spider-man. How much trouble could I get into?"
"You're really asking me that with your track record?" (That was a serious question, by the way, Tony's expression said.) "You want to spend the rest of your time here grounded? Keep talking."
"Fine," Peter grumbled, giving Tony a grateful smile before jerking the corners of his mouth back down and turning to stalk back into the living room.
"See? I told you he was gonna say 'no.'"
"I… yeah." Ned said, his voice a little cowed.
Tony smiled, and took another sip of his coffee, wrinkling his nose a little at it's decreasing temperature. Time to head back down to the workshop and finish up that Starkphone upgrade.
"It's cool, Ned. We can hang out here instead. Maybe your parents will let you stay late? We still have a bunch of episodes to finish, and another hour of building, I bet to finish in my room."
"Yeah, I guess so. But, dude."
"What?"
Ned's voice was finally quieter, sounding sufficiently awed. "I can't believe… sassed Iron Man…"
"It's just Tony, Ned," Peter said, sounding amused.
"Still think you're lucky he didn't repulsor blast you or something."
Huh. Tony's eyebrows were in his hairline now. 'Tony?' That was new. Or at least, the first time he'd heard it. That whole conversation was just… yeah, nothing he'd had on his Bingo card for this afternoon.
4
After that first six weeks where Peter spent most of his time at the Tower, they had settled into what Tony had jokingly called their "joint custody arrangement." Peter had been staying at his apartment Monday afternoons through Friday mornings, (other than his Tuesday afternoon/evening official intern hours) but came home from school to the Tower Friday afternoons, and left from there Monday mornings. Sometimes he stayed longer at one house or another, if May or Tony and Pepper were out of town, but it had been working pretty well for them.
The arrangement had felt pretty much perfect to Tony. It was nice to have some days to fit in all of his SI stuff, and "let his genius flow" as Pepper said, (sarcastically, but she didn't tend to understand the need for 36-hour science benders) by working through the night on projects and counting coffee as a food group. But he was always happy when Peter was back, and they were on their "weekend schedule" of five square meals a day and at least eight hours of sleep a night. He wasn't getting any younger, and his body appreciated being taken care of at least half the week. Plus, it was awfully quiet around the penthouse without the kid's chatter.
It hadn't all been sunshine and roses. When Peter had started living there full-time, Tony had realized that even amazing teenagers sometimes had an attitude, or didn't want to do their English essays before patrolling, or left their dishes seriously everywhere, or occasionally had to be reminded to shower. There were emotions, and friend drama, and overwhelm to be talked through, as well as "I'll do it in a minute"s and sighs of frustration (on both sides). They'd actually fought over the whole "Spider-man doesn't need a curfew" thing, since Peter thought that being out of May's house meant no one would be holding him to previous rules. But for the most part, Peter was a wonderful kid, and Tony and Pepper enjoyed having him around. Even Happy seemed to miss him when he wasn't "home."
The injuries had gotten harder, though. Harder for Tony to deal with, that was. Spider-man did tend to get scraped up, and ran into things harder than him, and got punched around a bit, and even shot once, on Tony's watch. He'd thought it was bad seeing the kid knocked nearly-unconscious in Germany, but that had been after only spending a hour or two one-on-one with him. As they'd grown closer, and especially since Peter had started living there, somehow the teenager had wriggled his way into the same "necessary for happiness; must keep safe" tier that previously on Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy had occupied. Now, seeing him hurt was a whole new ballgame.
Tony had had more injured teammates than he could count since starting the whole Avengers business. He had hated every break and cut they sustained, and had done his best to protect them with the gear he designed. But seeing this 16-year-old kid, who he loved far more than he'd ever realized he could, stumbling in, covered in blood from a gunshot wound had almost broken the older superhero.
That night, he'd begged, and pleaded, and bribed to try to get Peter to give up the whole vigilante schtick at least until after high school, but the kid hadn't budged. So Tony had gritted his teeth, made sure Peter was stable and resting well, then disappeared into his lab for nearly a week finalizing design and coding on the Iron Spider suit. It was tech he'd only had halfway working models of before, but fear is an impressive motivator.
Now Peter (though he grumbled about it) went out almost exclusively in the bullet-and-almost-everything-else-proof suit, allowing Tony to get instant vitals feedback as well, and they both chafed a little under the compromise. But they did compromise, because they both understood the need to make a difference where they could, but also the fear of losing someone.
But he couldn't build a suit to protect Peter from the other parts of hero-ing that were hard. Almost twice a week he'd wake to Friday's alert, or to a sleeping teen on the floor next to his bed. Neither of them said anything when Tony bought a low-profile memory foam mattress that slid easily out from under his bed. The nightmares weren't always super intense, (according to the little bit Peter would talk about them) but they were frequent. When Peter was at May's, Tony would sometimes receive late-night calls from the rattled teen, and he'd stay on the line, talking about whatever project he'd been working on that week until he heard the even breathing of Peter falling back asleep.
When FRIDAY woke him this night, Tony wasn't surprised. Sometimes when she did that, he'd just lie awake, waiting to see if Peter needed him, or if he'd appear in the doorway. Teenage pride and all that. But as Tony lay there, rubbing at his eyes, she spoke again, more quietly, so as not to disturb Pepper.
"He's not waking, Boss. But he's very distressed. Perhaps you should go to him." Even the AI parented Peter, in her way. The brown-eyed boy won people (human and mechanical) over so easily.
Tony quickly rolled out of bed and pulled a t-shirt on, then padded down the hall towards Peter's bedroom.
Before he stepped through the open door, Tony could hear him fighting. He moved quickly to the queen-sized bed, where the kid seemed frantic, all tangled in the sheets. "No! I can't— too heavy. I… Help me, please!" Peter's struggles had pulled the sheets free of the bed, but they were tangled around his legs and torso, and that seemed to be causing extra panic.
Tony's heart clenched, and he hurried across the room and carefully put a hand to to the boy's sweaty hair.
"Peter? Wake up, buddy. It's just a dream," Tony's voice was low and soothing. The last thing he needed to do was further scare the super-powered kid. He'd made the mistake of that once early on, and Peter's flailing hand had nearly given him a black eye, which had caused Peter immense amounts of unfounded guilt for the next several days.
Peter's eyes opened, but they were unfocused, staring at something above him. "I can't! It's too heavy! I can't get out!"
Tony moved in closer, pulling gently on the sheets to detangle them more. He knelt next to the bed and pressed an instinctive kiss to the side of Peter's head as he wrapped an arm carefully around him. "Wake up, Pete. You're okay. I'm here. Wake up, kiddo."
Peter thrashed his head a little, but then leaned into Tony's face. "Ben? You're not—? How?" He sounded so confused, and not-a-little terrified.
Tony closed his eyes in sympathy at the broken tone. "Not Ben, buddy. You with me, yet?"
Peter turned to him and his fear-(and tear-)filled eyes finally focused on him. "Tony?"
"Yeah, kid, it's Tony." Something in him melted. Peter hadn't called him that to his face yet, though FRIDAY reported he used it often when talking about him to May or to his friends, and even with Pepper, recently. Tony had been kind of grumpy that he hadn't dropped the "Mr. Stark" thing yet, as cute as his insistence had been.
Peter huffed out a deep, shuddering, relieved breath, and curled over on his side, pressing into Tony's arms.
After a few minutes, when his breathing had returned to near-normal, Tony said "You wanna talk about it?"
Peter's voice was as quiet as crinkling tissue paper, and about as strong. "Um, I don't know. I haven't had that one in a while."
"Which one, Pete? Telling me might help. Let's take some of the power out of it, huh?"
Peter was quiet for a minute. He moved out of Tony's grasp and sat up, leaning against the headboard, and pulling ineffectually at the twisted bed sheets and blanket. They wouldn't cooperate. Tony glanced around the dimly-lit room (Thanks, FRIDAY) and spotted another blanket thrown haphazardly on Peter's computer chair. He stood up, his joints all protesting the last ten minutes, and grabbed the blanket, bringing it back over to the bed. Peter scooted over to the center of the headboard in obvious invitation, and Tony sat down next to him.
Peter pulled the fuzzy blanket up to his ears, and leaned over to rest his head against Tony's. "So, remember the night of Homecoming?"
Tony wrinkled his brow. Peter had opted out of that whole hullabaloo this year, and he had gone on a weekend trip just him and May. "When you were in Chicago?"
"No. Last year. Before we knew each other that well, and I had messed up with the ferry, and realized my date's dad was behind all the weapons and stuff…" His voice was hesitant.
Tony sighed. Neither of them liked to think about the mistakes that were made in those first months of little contact but plenty of opinions. "Oh, that weekend."
"Well, I kinda found him first at his warehouse, be fore he crashed your plane."
"What?"
"And he kept talking, and talking, and then his flying mech suit kinda attacked me, but didn't actually hit me, and I thought he just missed. But he hadn't. He'd been taking out the support beams in the warehouse."
Tony felt like he couldn't breathe.
"It fell on me. And… I mean, I didn't have my suit, and I'd left my phone in his car to track him, and no one could hear me."
The oxygen deprivation was finally screaming loudly enough, and Tony gasped quietly, turning his forehead to press against Peter's hair where it had leaned against his cheek. "Oh, Pete."
"It was okay. I mean, it wasn't, but it was my own fault, and—"
"Someone dropping a building on you, knowing full well you were just a kid was so far from you fault," Tony bit out, bringing his far hand over to grasp Peter's arm in some effort at delayed comfort.
"Okay. Fair," Peter said softly. "Anyway, it was a while before I could get out, and I was really scared, and didn't know if I would get out. And no one was there. I was alone, and stuck, and… So sometimes… sometimes I dream of those few minutes, when I couldn't get out, and didn't know if I'd ever get out again, and I can hear and feel the building falling more, and it's actually going to crush me. And I… sorry. I just—" Peter's breathe came out in a ragged almost-sob.
Tony pulled him closer. "No sorries, kid. Not for that. I'm so, so sorry for my part in that. I should have never left you so unprotected. I really thought taking the suit would get you to stop. At least for a while."
Peter let out a single little laugh. "Guess you didn't know me as well then."
"Yeah, tell me about it," Tony sighed, managing a small smile himself, despite the awful revelation he was still processing. "But how did you get out?"
"I decided I was still Spider-man, suit or no suit. I didn't really have any other options, so I just… lifted the stuff off me."
"By 'stuff,' you mean the tons of concrete and metal?" Tony asked mildly. His voice might have sounded dangerous if any of his anger was directed at Peter.
"Yeah, I guess. It was probably the hardest thing, physically, that I've ever done. But I did it," he said tiredly, scooting back down into a laying position, curling into the side of Tony's leg.
Tony let his hand slip down with Peter until it was absently smoothing his damp curls. "I had no idea you could do that," he said quietly. "It shouldn't be possible."
"Yeah, well that's the problem. In my dreams, it's not," Peter sighed. His voice sounded exhausted, but not scared anymore.
"I'm so sorry, kid," Tony said, again. He'd probably be saying it until he was old and gray. How could he have thought that would work, with as much as he'd seen of the young superhero's determination? He'd seemed cowed after Tony had basically screamed at him. He really thought the teenager would stay out of trouble for a while after that. But as much as his math was always correct, he'd managed to make a terrible miscalculation.
"No sorries from you, either. You were doin' your best, 'xcept for not telling me you'd actually listened an' called the FBI," Peter said in his near-sleep voice. "I don' think 'bout it that much anymore," he said, pausing to yawn. "I know 'm not alone anymore, and that you're trackin' everything, and that you'd come find me if I was stuck again."
"That's a promise," Tony said fervently, cupping the back of Peter's hand firmly for a second.
"You shou' go t'sleep, Tony," Peter said, barely understandable.
"I will," Tony said out loud. When I don't think I'm going to have the same nightmare now. It might be a few days. Or weeks.
He stayed there for a few hours, their physical contact assuring his fight-or-flight reflex that Peter was safe and present. Long after the teen's breathing grew steady and deep, Tony thought about all of the what-ifs and could-have-happeneds, and brainstormed ways to protect his kid in the future. This little know-it-all from Queens had become such an integral part of his life that the thought of being without him was too awful to even consider.
As he watched the sun's light start to filter in, Tony shook his head slightly and rubbed his too-tired eyes, one side of his mouth kicking up as he laughed internally at his predicament. He would get overly attached to another thrill-seeking do-gooder with a savior-complex, who also had no sense of self-preservation. Pepper would say it was karma. He didn't know what to call it. "Family, I guess," he finally admitted to himself out loud.
At least he was in a position to support and try to protect this particular do-gooder. And at least Peter was a little more durable than your run-of-the-mill vigilante. He couldn't change the past, but Tony would be there in the future. To catch him, or to pull him out of trouble, or patch him up afterwards. Whatever it took. Apparently, he was in this for the long haul.
5
It was a Friday afternoon, and Tony was just finishing up some projects as he waited for Peter to show up. Tony had been out of town earlier that week, and he hadn't seen the kid since last Friday afternoon. Even though they'd talked on the phone once, and texted plenty, and it seemed like it had been way too long. Peter had firmly rejected the idea of missing school for a week in mid-December for some reason when Tony asked if he wanted to tag along. Grades and finals and all that. He was much more responsible than Tony had ever been.
Tony walked over to his desk and opened the drawer, taking a small case out of it. This had been the cause of a special trip to one of the on-site safes he maintained in California. He had a few of them holding onto a few valuables, but mostly with things which were irreplaceable to him. For some reason, he seemed to be a magnet for explosions and alien attacks and other destructive mishaps, and he'd lost a few things he regretted when Aldrich's people had destroyed the Malibu house.
Tony took the motionless watch out of its case and looked critically at it. It was one of the smaller ones in his collection. Its basic brown leather band had been replaced at least twice, each time with something more expensive and more comfortable. He'd worn it himself during certain parts of his life. Now wasn't one of those times, and he hadn't worn it regularly for a long time, but it was still meaningful to him.
He frowned, and brought it down to rub at a smudge on the glass with his t-shirt. Well, drat. It was actually a little scratch. It might have been from that time when DUM-E had accidentally hit him with the fire extinguisher instead of spraying him. He wasn't even very on fire. That was annoying. If he'd realized it was there, he would have gotten the glass repaired. Of course, if Peter ended up wearing it, he was sure it wasn't the last scratch it would have, he thought in amusement.
"FRIDAY, you have this scanned into memory, right?" he asked, holding it up.
"Yes, Boss," she said patiently. "You've been working with its design all week."
"Would you also order some replacement glass?" he asked, ignoring her tone. "Something sturdier than this."
Tony carefully unscrewed the back of the watch, and settled the new and improved workings inside the case. With careful fingers (and tiny tools) he connected a few gears, integrating the high tech upgrades to the antique face. He turned it over, and smiled to see the hands start ticking forward like they'd never been interrupted. Even knowing it should work, he always got a little extra thrill out of marrying old technology with new—keeping nostalgic aesthetics with fresh functions was so satisfying. He pulled up an app on his phone and used it to set the watch. The dials on the side had different functions now. It was fun to see the little analog hands travel to their new positions untouched.
After making sure everything was secure, he replaced the back and fastened it in place. He was just finishing up when Peter burst in, cold air with a hint of pine trees and New York hot dogs somehow clinging to him.
"Hey, Mr. Stark!"
Tony raised an eyebrow at him, and Peter bit his lip in an apologetic smile. He dropped his overloaded backpack on the couch.
" Tony, I mean." He was still working on it, but Tony felt like he was currently at a 75% success rate with the name switch-over.
"Hey, Pete! Long time, no see," Tony said with a smile over his shoulder. He finished with the tiny screw, then turned to catch his kid (had he gotten taller this week?) in a tight hug.
Peter tolerated it for exactly three seconds before he pulled back and looked curiously at Tony's workbench. "What's that?" he asked, digging two wrapped hot dogs out of his pockets before pulling his jacket off. Well, there went that mystery. Tony smiled as the boy handed one to him and opened his own.
"What does it look like, boy-genius?" Tony asked, his gentle tone softening the sarcasm.
Peter rolled his eyes, but was quiet until he finished chewing. "Um, a watch?"
"Yep. A watch."
"Was it… yours?" Peter's careful expression made Tony smile. He was obviously not trying to suggest that the watch or Tony were really old, but he was definitely making that connection.
"My dad's, actually. His dad gave it to him when he was about your age, and he later gave it to me."
"Oh," Peter said, his interest peaked. He'd studied Howard's achievements in school, and talked to Tony about them some, but he'd been around long enough to know that Tony didn't have a great relationship with his father. Tony still loved his dad, somehow, but he definitely didn't like how he'd treated Tony, and he mostly avoided the topic.
"Just doing a little upgrading. Adding some new tech, making sure the old watch face and the new system are compatible."
Peter moved in closer, his expression even more curious. "Really? Is it still just a watch? What are you doing with it?"
"Still just a watch? Look who you're talking to," Tony scoffed. "Now we've got a GPS tracker which is resilient against materials that would usually block it, a panic button, and check this out—"
Tony turned the watch over and tapped the metal sides in a preprogrammed sequence.
"Listening," the watch said quietly. Tony tapped another sequence. "Audio recording until stopped, " the watch said.
Peter looked up, his eyes wide. "Uh, is that Karen?"
"Yes, Peter. What can I help you with? " Karen said from the tiny side speaker. Her voice was tinny, but unmistakable.
"Tony, why is Karen in your watch?" Peter asked, his confusion starting to morph into wonder.
"Stop recording." He eyed the boy. "Why do you think? See how it fits," Tony said, handing it across to Peter. Peter held the watch gently, staring at it for a moment. He made an aborted motion as if he was going to offer it back to Tony.
"I… this was your dad's. It should go to one of… well, your kids, right?"
"Pretty sure I get to choose who to give it to. Now if you don't like it, or it's uncomfortable, that's another story. No harm, no foul, and it was a good exercise for me. I enjoyed the challenge.
"I would like you to have the tracker and the panic button for when you're not in your suit. When your bus was lost on its way to your meet the other day, and you'd forgotten your phone in your locker, both May and I were a little concerned. I can put the same functionality in something more modern, though," Tony said rapidly, holding his hand out in case Peter wanted to hand it back to him. Teenagers were picky about stuff like this. He reminded himself it wasn't any kind of rejection if Peter didn't prefer the aesthetics or feel of the old timepiece.
Peter pulled it in protectively. "No! I… it's awesome! And it was yours, so that's… that's really cool."
"Ah, okay then. Does it fit?" Tony tried not to smile, but it was a lost cause as he watched his kid try to buckle the watch on. He was a little awkward with the fastening, and Tony reached in to hold it still while he maneuvered the metal tongue through a hole.
"I think so. It looks good, right?" Peter asked, glancing up with a grin.
"It does," Tony said. It mostly did. It looked just a touch big for the still-scrawny teen, but he'd grow into it. He turned back to his desk and grabbed the other thing he'd been working on.
"Here's a back-up with the same functionality, in case you lose the watch, or forget to put it on." He held out the small nondescript button that was designed to attach to the inner fabric of Peter's backpack, and Peter opened his hand. "At least on school days," Tony amended with a small frown. "I haven't figured out what to do for a back-up if you don't have your backpack."
"I'm sure I'll be fine," Peter said with a small smile. "I've never had a tracker on me before, and nothing interesting has ever happened to 'Peter Parker,'" he said matter-of-factly. "But I'll do my best to keep the watch on." He brought his wrist up again to inspect in proprietarily.
"Yeah, well. All it takes is once," Tony said gruffly, rubbing his hands on his jean pockets. "Don't ask me how I know that."
"This is just, like, amazing," Peter said again, reverently, letting his hand drop to his side. "But if you ever have, like a real kid, I won't mind giving it back when they're older. I'll keep it safe," he said, his expression so ridiculously earnest. What was Tony going to do with him?
"What are you, Pinocchio?" he asked incredulously.
Peter just look confused. "Huh?"
"You know, how he always wished to be 'a real boy?'" Tony asked, head tilted. Did kids not know that story anymore?
"Oh, uh… yeah, I guess?"
"So I'm saying even if Pepper and I decided to have a baby, you're already my kid. Nothing's gonna change that, unless you get sick of me and join the circus or something, I guess. And I'd probably still track you creepily. Full disclosure."
"Oh. Um…" Peter didn't seem to know what to say. "That's… I mean… I feel that way about you, too," he finally admitted, his ears turning a little pink. "But I didn't realize that…"
"You're right. I give all my interns family heirlooms and invite them to live with me on the weekends," Tony said dryly.
"You don't have any other interns," Peter said, rolling his eyes slightly.
"There's another clue for you," Tony said, giving Peter a doubtful look. "I thought they said you were smart or something," he teased.
Peter laughed, and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "That's… is this the part where I get to hug you?"
Tony laughed. He'd hugged Peter plenty of times, hadn't he? When he'd walked in that day, even. "Sure, Pete. Bring it in."
Peter wasted no time pushing into Tony's arms, his forehead tucking against the side of the older man's neck. He had to duck just a little to do that, though. Had he grown again?
Peter pulled back and eyed Tony. "Wait, do you often track people creepily without their knowledge?" he asked, obviously not quite sure if Tony had been kidding.
Tony slung his arm around Peter's shoulders and steered him towards the door. "Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to, kid."
+1
It started at the "family party" Tony and Pepper had insisted on throwing.
When the adults had approached Peter about Tony and May officially adopting him (instead of just keeping the "Guardian" status May had), it made a lot of sense. May and Wes were about to be married, and were leaving on a 3-month travel nursing tour in lieu of a honeymoon. Peter was planning to stay with Tony and Pepper, of course, but May had been worried about anything happening (to her, or even to Peter while she was gone) and said she'd feel more comfortable with Tony officially tied to Peter as a legal parent. She said the only reason she and Ben hadn't ever gone through the process was because it was so expensive, and that she was excited about it, if he was okay with it. Of course Peter was okay with it, but he had to admit he was surprised Tony was also okay with it. Sure, he'd be 18 in a year and a half, but that was, like, a life-long connection.
Tony had let him know how ridiculous he was being about the whole thing. He'd looked at Peter with that same confused, amused face he'd had when Peter had protested the watch a few weeks earlier. "Why wouldn't I want to officially be your parent, Peter? That's basically what we've been doing for the last year. Making it official doesn't change anything, but it does give us a little more protection against the state if anything weird happens while May is gone. Or, for that matter, with your alter ego." Tony had carefully ignored the issue of the possibility of something happening to May.
Okay, then. Peter had sighed happily, finished his dinner, and called Ned and MJ as soon as he got home. It had been surprising, but also amazing. He would have never expected or even guessed that Tony Stark would welcome him not just into his lab and then his home, but officially into his family.
The process had gone much faster than he'd expected (partially because May and Tony had started all the paperwork quite a while before they talked to Peter), and they were celebrating. May and Wes weren't leaving for two more days, so they were there. Rhodey, Vision, Ned and MJ and their families, Happy, and even some of the security guards and other employees Peter had gotten to know well were there. Pepper had found big banner that said "IT'S A BOY!" to add to the decor. Peter had rolled his eyes in embarrassment, but it was sweet that they were all going out of their way to make a big deal out of this.
It was pretty noisy though, with the Mario Kart tournament Ned and some of the security guys had started, and Peter had gone back to his bedroom to grab his noise-canceling headphones so he didn't end up with a headache if he played. As he came back through the kitchen, Rhodey spotted him.
"Hey, there you are! Your dad wants to cut the cake!"
"What?"
"What, you didn't think he'd make a big deal out of that, too? Have you met him?" Rhodey asked with a smile that implied a shared inside joke. It made something warm bloom deep in Peter's chest. Rhodey had always been really nice to him, (and had completely forbid him from using 'Colonel Rhodes' by the third meeting) but he felt like there was a new level of attachment on the man's end the last few times he'd seen him.
"I… did you call him my dad?" Peter asked curiously, ducking his chin in uncertainty.
"Course, Pete. We've been teasingly calling him that since last summer! It's official now. He is your dad, legally and in every other way." Rhodey raised his eyebrows and smiled softly. "You know that, right? Tony's more attached to you than I'd ever imagined he'd be if he ever had kids. Pepper and May have already had a fight on their hands keeping him from spoiling you rotten. "'16-year-olds don't need islands'" Rhodey parroted, in a fair approximation of Pepper's exasperated voice.
"I… I guess so," Peter said, letting his mouth curve up in a small smile. "Ned keeps saying that, too, but it seems weird to think about him that way, I guess."
"Well, start thinkin' it. I'll give you a hundred bucks to let me be there when you call him that for the first time, though," he said, laughing. "I want to see the look on his face. It's gonna be great!" He clapped a friendly hand on Peter's shoulder, and pushed him toward the living room. "But now, cake!"
Peter was surprised to hear that Rhodey just assumed Peter would be calling Tony 'Dad' instead of by his name. Was that something he… would be open to? Or maybe even wanted? Peter had just barely gotten comfortable calling him 'Tony' instead of 'Mr. Stark.' He wasn't going to start calling May 'mom.' But it gave him a lot to think about.
After that, it seemed like a downhill slope. Ned and MJ ignored his protests and were always like, "your dad" this and "your dad" that. He'd gotten so used to it that he stopped rolling his eyes after the first week, and just ignored their teasing. He thought that's what it was, but they never stopped using that term, and didn't even seem to notice that they did.
Happy wasn't much better. "Do not spill that Frosty on your shirt this time. Your dad said you guys are leaving as soon as we get home, and if you have to go change first, he's gonna blame me for buying it." And "Your dad got caught up in a meeting. He said there's leftover pizza in the fridge and cookies in the cupboard, but he wants you to eat some kind of vegetable first. And I quote, 'Tomato sauce doesn't count.'"
May was the most surprising one. They were talking on the phone about two weeks into her travel nursing, and she'd been telling him all the amazing things they were seeing while in Belize." You'll have to have your dad bring you down here sometime," she said casually. Peter didn't even know what to say. He just garbled something affirmative out, then quickly asked another question about the beach there. He couldn't see her face, but he could hear her knowing smile as she answered him.
Even Peter was starting to refer to Tony as "my dad" in his head after everyone seemed to be ganging up on him. He hadn't been brave enough to try it out loud yet though.
As if the universe knew he needed a little push, that all changed one afternoon in early February.
Peter had been sitting in school, halfway sleeping through class, when his watch buzzed. He surreptitiously pulled out his phone under the desk and saw a news alert that Iron Man, Vision, and the NYPD were battling it out with a guy who had taken control of half of Manhattan's power grid. He had a few hired guns with him who were causing havoc as they tried to hold law enforcement back long enough for him to do whatever it was he wanted to do.
There was a text from Tony, and it said what it usually did when something happened and Peter was in school: Sit tight.
He sighed in frustration. Tony had gotten overprotective about all the Spider-man stuff, and he used any semi-valid excuse to keep Peter out of the action. He understood in theory, but he could help . It's not like they had the whole Avengers team anymore. "16-year-olds need to stay in class," was such dumb reason for the moratorium on helping out when he wouldn't normally be patrolling.
He tried to ignore all his curiosity and worries about what might be happening as the bell rang and they switched classes.
However, the alert he got an hour later made him sit up straight and raise his hand. "Mr. Harrington? Can I go to the bathroom?" he shouted out in the middle of the lecture. He was grateful that it was Mr. Harrington, and not one of the stricter teachers. The poor guy looked at him really weirdly, but nodded, and Peter ran out of class, backpack straps hitting the door frame on his way out.
The alert had been sent by Karen, not by any of the adults in his life, who probably wouldn't want him involved. But he had done just a little bit of his own coding, too, and in this case, FRIDAY had even helped with an override or two.
EMP weapon detonated. Vision stunned and Iron Man taken. War Machine en route, ETA 25 minutes.
No. No no no no no no no. Peter slipped out the high boys' bathroom window. He needed to get somewhere he could start swinging from. He jumped the fence and started running down a road, trusting his spider sense to warn him if he was going to be seen. Ducking into an alley, he webbed his backpack to the school roof after pulling his back-up suit out of the black towel in the bottom of it. he changed at lightning speed, cursing the necessity of eschewing the Iron Spider for this particular attempt. Even if the villain fired another EMP weapon, he'd just lose Karen's input, and some function. Thankfully, the webshooters he kept in his bag were mechanical, and not the high-tech versions he usually used. He just hoped they wouldn't jam or anything. It had been months since he had used them.
He jammed the mask over his head and took half a second to adjust to the slightly different display. He tried the webshooters and they both worked!
"Karen? Guide me to the last place they saw him!"
"Sources report they are all probably on-scene still, but there is an unknown helicopter beginning an approach. "
Peter's response would definitely require a deposit in the "swear jar" Pepper had installed in the kitchen ("because you should be a better example, Tony,"). He'd never swung so fast, and some of the risks he took on distance would have earned him a one-way trip to a remedial physics lesson with his mentor… uh, his dad. But he got there before the helicopter took off.
"Karen, did they take him?"
"As far as they can tell, yes,'" she said worriedly.
"Rhodey?"
"Still seven minutes out, coming from the opposite direction it's heading. "
It was a small helicopter, and Peter didn't know if shooting a web at it and hauling himself up to it would actually work, or if it would pull it off-kilter, causing a crash. It wasn't worth the risk, was it? Was there any other way he could—
He detached his gloves and pulled his watch off. The one his dad had given him. The priceless hand-me-down from several Starks before him. And then he chucked it at the helicopter, following it immediately with a web. He thanked all his crazy spider-enhancements, which gave him the strength to throw it that distance and the essential accuracy to make it work. As the helicopter zoomed away over the water, Peter dropped to the ground, head in his hands. All he could do was wait for Rhodey, and see if FRIDAY was tracking that watch. He kept his eyes on the helicopter as it moved away from the city, memorizing the direction, at least, in case his tracking Hail Mary failed. He couldn't lose Tony.
What seemed like days later, but was really only an hour later, Colonel Rhodes (minus his EMP-susceptible War Machine suit), Vision, and Spider-man burst through the side door of the drafty warehouse. They were supplemented by a SWAT team, but it was unnecessary. It surprised none of the three to find Tony Stark with three kidnappers tied up with computer cords. Tony was free, and was currently trying to crack a safe in the wall. Peter wanted to hear that story later, but right now he was just drinking his dad in. He was about to jump forward when Rhodey put up a warning hand, holding them all back. A few seconds later Tony made a satisfied noise and opened the safe, pulling his nanobot housing unit out of it. Peter knew a crazy electrical interruption like that would cause the nanobots to retreat into their casing unit to try to recover. They must have grabbed Tony's suit and taken it as well when that happened.
Tony turned back, his eyes shining. "Hey there, Rhodes, Spider-guy," he said, not anything unprofessional leak into his voice.
Right. The SWAT team. They shouldn't know his identity or their connection. Peter wrapped his arms around himself in an attempt to keep from springing across the room.
Rhodey looked at him for a second and turned to the team, bellowing, "Everyone out!"
The SWAT team grumbled, but grabbed the trussed up criminals and cleared the room quickly, especially with Tony Stark's firm shooing motion urging them to comply.
Peter ripped his mask off. "Dad!" he cried, taking three wobbly steps towards the scraped-up-but-otherwise-unharmed hero, who met him halfway. They collided in a hug, and Peter was holding on so tightly that he felt the other man wheeze a bit. He loosened up, but didn't pull his face away from where it was buried in his dad's neck.
"Hey, hey. I'm okay. I'm okay. Shh."
Peter wasn't crying. He wasn't. Okay, maybe just a little bit. He pulled back and looked into his dad's worried brown eyes.
"I'm supposed to be the one that gets kidnapped, not you! I heal fast, and I'm strong, and I could get away when they're not looking, and no one's going to try to use me to build super-powered weapons, and I know you'd come find me if I couldn't!" the words burst out like a firehose. He was scared, and mad, and relieved, and tired and emotionally wrung out. And so happy his dad was okay.
"Bite your tongue," his dad said lightly, using his long-sleeved shirt to wipe Peter's eyes carefully. The whole goal is for you to not be kidnapped, remember? It would be terrible for my heart condition. And, hey"—he grasped both of Peter's shoulders and shook him lightly—"look who you're talking to. Do I look like I needed rescuing? I was coming back to you, bud!"
Peter took a deep breath, using the smell of his dad's aftershave and coffee to ground him. He managed a small smile as he glanced around the room. "They weren't ready for you, were they?"
"They were not ," his dad said. "Frankly, I was a little offended at how little effort they put into trying to keep me here. I'm not just my suit. Speaking of," he said, pinching lightly at the material on Peter's shoulder, "I didn't know we even still had this one. Where'd you have it stashed?"
"My backpack," Peter said, as his dad pulled him into another quick hug.
"Of course you did," he said flatly. Peter knew how his dad felt about going out in glorified spandex, even with all the tech he'd integrated. But he was so grateful he'd had it on hand today, just in case.
"Hey, Spidey, you might want to mask up and meet up a few blocks out? Tony and I need to walk out of here, but we just can tell them you left," Rhodey interrupted.
Peter listened for a minute. The SWAT team was, indeed, ready to come back in, and were about to do so, from what he heard of their conversation.
"Okay. I'll wait for a few minutes, and you guys let me know where you'll pick me up?" Peter asked, standing taller and giving one last swipe to his eyes before he pulled his mask back on.
"Sounds good. We'll keep it brief," his dad promised.
"Oh, and Pete?" Rhodey stopped him before he could climb out the window. The Colonel was holding a folded hundred dollar bill between his first and second fingers, proffering them in Peter's direction. "Completely worth it," he said with a smirk.
Peter blushed, grabbed the money, and slipped quickly out the window. But he could hear the conversation behind him.
"What the heck, Honeybear? What are you paying off my kid for?"
"Don't you even worry about it, Tony; easiest money he's ever made."
Peter smiled at the sky and moved quickly into the coverage of an alley. It definitely was, since the money (which he'd forgotten about) had nothing to do with the shift that had happened while he was waiting to see if Tony was okay.
Peter leaned against the wall, and blew out a shaky breath. He removed his suit's gloves and put his dad's watch back on. The SWAT team had retrieved it, thankfully. Today had been awful . And it had made Peter realize it wasn't worth holding that little tiny bit of distance he'd kept in his head (and in his language). Iron Man was supposed to be invincible. Maybe he'd thought if he didn't let Tony in as close as Ben, that nothing could happen to him. But something had happened anyway. And he was lying to himself if he thought Tony was any less essential than Ben had been.
So obviously it was pointless to pretend that Tony was just his mentor. Or just a good friend who spent hours with him every week, let him live in his house, made ridiculous trackers and backup trackers, and… and had even freaking adopted him to make sure he was safe and tied to him. (Yes, Peter was starting to see how dense he'd been.)
Tony had proved that he wasn't planning to go anywhere. It hadn't occurred to Peter that something else might happen to take Tony—take his dad —from him, until today.
"Hey, you ready to go, kiddo?" The object of his thoughts stuck his head into the alley with a tired smile.
"What? Yeah," Peter said, hurrying over to him.
"Rhodey still won't tell me; what's up with the money?" Tony gestured for Peter to slide into the car.
"Um, he just asked me to do something for him," Peter said, gratefully removing his mask.
"Well, you should do it again. You keep this up and I won't need to give you any allowance."
Peter just laughed and slouched back into the seats. He leaned his head against his dad's shoulder.
"Wait, I'm supposed to be getting an allowance?"