SDMIRMSDMIRM
Chapter 2: Timing
SDMIRMSDMIRM
~~~~~~ 2 months later ~~~~~~
The suit was still there, ungifted.
Pepper gently broached the subject. "Tony, why can't you bring yourself to go give him the suit?"
Pretending he was invested more in the tv show they were watching than the conversation, he offhandedly answered, "Been busy."
Slipping her fingers under Tony's chin, she turned his face to hers. "Tell me," She beckoned with care, sensing this was an emotional landmine.
"He doesn't need me sticking my nose into his life. Bringing…" he sighed, "…him into a bigger spotlight than he's brought on himself."
"You mean you're afraid he'll do what Steve did, refuse to sign the Accords. Then he'll be another person you'll have to be against."
Defiance ignited in Tony's eyes. "I'm not going to out his ki…this Spiderman to SHEILD so they can jam the Accords down his throat."
Pepper sat up straighter in concern. "Will they go after him? Threaten him like they are Steve and the others if he doesn't sign them?"
"They better not try," Tony growled, making his feelings very obvious. Protective feelings at that.
Her eyebrows rose as she realized it wasn't Tony thinking Spiderman would give them one heck of a fight but more like Tony would give them one heck of a fight if they went after Spiderman. "You'd defend him against them?"
There wasn't any beat of indecision in Tony's reaction. "Yes, I will."
Tony's infatuation with Spiderman had just crossed over into serious territory, would affect their personal lives. "What aren't you telling me? To keep me safe? To keep .." she reached over and tapped the tablet on Tony's lap that had the Spiderman suit specs up .." him safe?"
Giving Pepper an absorbing look, Tony felt maybe it was time to share his burden, get her insight, have her help in knowing the right thing to do. He leaned over, elbows on his knees and ran his hands through his hair. "It's a mess, Pep."
Lacing her hand into Tony's, she calmingly offered, "Well maybe together we can make it less of a mess."
Raising his head, he looked at her with adoration. "Love you, you know that.?"
She smiled back with the same level of adoration. "I've had my suspicions." Waited a few more beats as Tony figured out how to tell her what he didn't want to burden her with.
"FRIDAY, display the info on Spiderman's real id," he commanded his AI.
The tv screen went black a second before pictures starting popping up ..of Peter Parker.
Pepper was stunned enough to jerk to her feet to get closer to the screen, part of her hoping he'd appear older if she got a better look. But he seemed even younger as she drew nearer. She spun to face Tony. "He's Spiderman?! But he's…can't be even old enough to drive?!"
Part resignation and part pride was in Tony's voice. "He's fourteen."
Palling at the facts, Pepper understood Tony's dilemma and his protectiveness. "You can't let SHIELD manipulate him," she insisted even as she knew they were in full agreement on that.
"How do I prevent it when I'm the poster boy for the Accords?" Tony asked in anguish. "Crap, Pep, he's a child. They'd…they'd.." he swallowed hard, knew how his genius was exploited when he was a child, by his own father. Knew there would be worse in store for this kid with his abilities. "They will destroy his soul in the name of patriotism."
This invoked Pepper's momma bear fierceness. "You can't let them."
"Which is why I haven't drawn more attention to him by outing him to them or even letting the kid know I know who he is. And him getting a shiny new suit would put him on SHEILD's radar."
"Especially a suit with Stark tech," Pepper added.
"Yeah," Tony despondently agreed with her.
Pepper began stalking the room, her thinking routine. "But he needs to be better protected or he'll get himself killed."
"I know," Tony dreaded the videos FIRDAY would gather for him daily on Spiderman, wondering when the kid's unmasked corpse would be shown around the world by some amateur video. Frustrated and fearful and feeling so freaking useless, he surged to his feet and threw the tablet at the wall to splinter into tech pieces. "Every day I'm terrified he's …he's gonna be…" he clenched his jaw, trying to not let his emotions overwhelm him.
Sympathizing with Tony's fear and frustration, Pepper wracked her brain of a way to help Spiderman and in turn, Tony. When she spun suddenly on her heels to face Tony, her face was alight with hope. "You have to prove to SHIELD that he's already on their side, no threat to them but their ally. Wouldn't hurt to make a show of it while clearly stating that you've vested in him. Heavily vested in him."
Catching on, Tony threw out. "Like 'mess with the kid and you're messing with me' vested."
Pepper gave a slow smile that emerged into a big one. "Oh yes. Very very vested in him."
SDMSDMSDM
Sitting in English class, Peter was busy writing, but it wasn't an essay on Lord of the Flies, was more of a journal. In code he wrote his first item: 'Need something fireproof.' Learned last night that, he might be fast enough to dodge through flames into a burning building but his Spiderman outfit wasn't fireproof..or even fire retardant. His hoodie was on fire as he carried the man out of the building warehouse. Was kind of embarrassing to have to drop and roll in the grass to get it out with half the neighborhood watching him.
That totally didn't feel very superheroish.
And besides that, when he got home he had to rip the shirt off his back because it had burned to his skin. And oh, yeah, his skin came off with it. He had had to bite his forearm so he wouldn't scream. Knew he was still lucky May was working a double at the hospital because he was sobbing in agony for half the night.
The trouble with fireproof or fire-retardant clothing was they were expensive…and he was bingo on cash and no way was his going to take anything from May for this. This was all on him. He'd do it himself. Had to. No one else was going to get killed because of what he was. Ben had already paid that too high price.
But this secret life, it was alienating him from May, from Ned. He passed on so many of Ned's invites he was afraid his best friend would stop asking him, no longer want to hang out with him. And May, he felt a resurging flood of guilt for Ben's death whenever she got that sad look in her eyes, made it hard to be around her then. So he'd head out to do some Spidermanning, lie to her face and say he was going to Ned's.
He was starting to think that the people videoing him and putting it on Youtube were maybe the only people on earth who cared who he was…or at least cared what he could do. Part of him insisted that Ben would care…would maybe be proud of him…if he hadn't gotten him murdered.
SDMIRMSDMIRM~ One Month Later ~ SDMIRMSDMIRM
When Steve went AWOL with his pals, Tony knew this was exactly the event he and Pepper had talked about. After telling Natasha that he had an idea who to bring as backup to the party they'll throw for Steve, Tony called Pepper.
"So that mecca of the right circumstances at the right time that we needed, it's here," but there was trepidation in his voice to go along with the 'watch what you wish for' harbinger of doom feeling in his gut.
Pepper gave a resigned sigh and easily guessed, "Steve and his rogues." Knowing this wasn't the benign circumstances she'd wanted.
"It's splashy big, clearly shows the kid's on the good side of things. He'll be wearing my tech and though the fight might get destructive, it shouldn't turn nasty. They'll be pulling their punches because it's friendly fire of sorts," Tony wasn't entirely sure who he was selling this more to, himself or Pepper.
"Oh, Tony. Putting him up against Avengers…." Pepper's doubt not helping to temper Tony's own.
"Ex – Avengers," he nitpicked, feeling a little animosity toward Steve and especially his one-winged psycho pal that had nearly killed him. He prayed Barnes was as sane as Steve swore he was when he wasn't batshit mind controlled crazy, because he didn't want his kid…the kid going up against that version of Steve's BFF.
"You're willing to risk a fourteen-year-old kid's life by making him go up against Captain America?" And there was an unfair amount of censorship in Pepper's tone.
Tony sighed, ran a hand down his face and conceded her point a bit, "It's not ideal."
"Tony.." that unmistakable warning in Pepper's tone.
"I..I trust Steve, Pep." Wished he hadn't stuttered on the declaration, would have sold it better. But the truth was, regardless of the Cap standing on the other side of this Accords thing, Tony still had faith in him to do the right thing. Even if that didn't necessarily mean signing the accords. "Still trust him. He won't do any permanent damage to any of us. Neither will the others."
"You're staking Peter's life on that trust," Pepper softly pointed out.
Tony felt like she was turning the screws to his Arc Reactor with her bluntness. The worst-case scenarios his mind kept calculating were already making him regret choosing the burrito option for lunch. Going to one of the Avenger command center's big windows, he lightly banged his head against the glass, hating himself just a tiny bit for what he was about to risk, who he was about to risk. "I know. I'm like the worst soon-to-be mentor. Ever."
"Or the sexist," Pepper joked even as she gave him her support. A pause fell between them then, one Tony always knew to wait for because what usually came next was sage advice from the woman that had a way to bring sanity into his chaotic brain. Then she was speaking, her voice that gentle, supportive, I'm-talking-to-the-real-Tony-Stark tone that was all her own. "Tony, be yourself when you meet Peter. Not Iron Man."
The advice caught Tony by surprise, made him petulantly protest, "But Iron Man impresses all the kids."
Course Pepper had her comeback all lined up to go. "But Tony Stark, he's the real treasure. Let Peter meet him. Peter, not Spiderman."
"You've given this some thought, huh?" Though he knew he shouldn't be surprised by that.
"Almost as much as you have," Pepper knowingly retorted. "You'll do great with him Tony," and there was undeniable pride and faith in her tone.
"I'll win him over with the suit I made for him," Tony announced, because yeah, he'd tried to figure out the best approach to kick things off with the kid and knew this was the forerunner, bar none.
Pepper laughed even as she shot down his approach. "No, no bribery. Just you. It'll be more than enough for him."
"How do you know that?" his tone leaking an uncharacteristic well of nervous uncertainty.
Her voice conveyed the smile he knew she was wearing, "Because it's enough for me. Now go meet your hero."
"He's not my hero," Tony grumbled but couldn't hold back the grin that broke free at the thought of finally meeting the kid.
SDMIRMSDMIRM
TBC
SDMIRMSDMIRM
Thank you to everyone reading this story and showing it any love! It would be awesome to know if you enjoyed this chapter.
Merry Christmas!
Cheryl W.