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Chapter 4: "Friendly" Skirmish

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As impressive as Spiderman was, Peter Parker blew him away in Tony's opinion. The kid was so intelligent and good hearted and …yeah, ok, just latched onto your heart and you knew you were a goner. 'When the bad things happen, they happen because of you.' That poignant painful declaration, twisted Tony's heart, made him want to undo any bad thing that the kid had endured. But he didn't show it, because he was Tony Stark, all flash, bang, give them a show while you're saving their keesrs. This kid had been hurt, badly, but he didn't turn that into an alcohol binging lifestyle, instead he became a defender of the people, used his powers for good.

And speaking of powers, Tony couldn't help recounting everything the kid had let slip: he had heightened senses, didn't seem to need adhesives to climb walls, had gotten the powers only months ago. And he frigging made the web shooters himself?! And they were strong enough to hold a bus?! This kid was the full package…if a little short and lacking on years. And dang it if didn't make Tony want to spend more time with him than he had already ached to do for the past months, since he'd realize a child was putting himself in incredible danger for the sake of saving others.

Tony wasn't prone to grinning after enduring time with children. Grinning over his genius, defeating a bad guy, proving his awesomeness to one and all, yes. That trademark victorious, cocky grin was all part of the Iron Man/ Tony Stark package. But as he left the apartment, his smile wasn't for publicity or for cheering on his brilliance, it was for the pure joy that fourteen-year-old kid gave to him, just being with him, hearing him, seeing the honor in the kid. Dang, he feared, if he spent more than ten minutes with Peter, he just might be mistaken for someone who was wrapped around the kid's little pinkie.

He couldn't even wait until he was taking the stairs down to the street before calling Pepper. "Pepper, he's….like…crack without the hallucinations."

"He's …he's unstable?" Her disappointment all for Tony in her tone, knew how much he had come to admire the kid from a stalker distance.

"No, addictively likeable," Tony animated corrected her misunderstanding as he traveled down the seven stair flights. "Like if you had to adopt a kid, he's the model you'd ask for every time. You won't believe…I can't believe…well I can't say here. Call you when I'm back at the tower."

"You haven't ever taken to anyone like you're taking to him," Pepper analysed, fought down a spike of jealousy. She's worked dang hard for Tony to like her, heck to look up from his work when she talked to him, as he blindly signed whatever paperwork she put in front of him.

"No one is like him, that's why," Tony nearly gushed. Could make comparisons to his own genius sure, but the kid's character..heck even Tony's hardnosed dad would have found the kid up to his humanitarian standards. (Unlike his own son with his drunken pranks, misspent brains and all around tom foolery.)

"Because of his superpowers?" Pepper prodded, wondered if that was what this kid had that so enamored Tony.

"No, that's just…a portion of what this kid has going for him," Tony bragged, knew part of what drew him to Peter in person was his similarity to Pepper's good nature and common sense. "You'll like him when you meet him. He thinks things through and doesn't do what he does to showboat."

That softened Pepper's heart, to Tony's praise of the kid and of the kid himself. That Tony wanted her to meet him, knew the traits in the boy that she'd value…even if they weren't evident to everyone in Tony's own character. Heart lightened, she teased, "You're sounding awful hero worshipy, Tony."

"You know what, screw it, you might not be wrong. Sign me up for his fan club. Make me Manhattan chapter president," Tony beamed, would join that club in a heartbeat. Having reached his car, he couldn't resist looking up the edifice of the apartment building, found Peter poking his head out his window but quickly snapped his head back when Tony caught him watching.

As Tony pulled into traffic, an unsolicited part of him wondered, 'How long will he look up to me once he knows I'm using him? Once he spends time around me and knows the man under the Iron Man mask, the callous jerk under the ballsy billionaire scientist superstar?' Had a sinking feeling that he would respect Peter long after the kid felt wholly disgusted that he ever thought Tony worthy of the stammering awe he'd greeted him with that day.

Pepper's voice, her smile evident in her tone brought him back to his phone conversation, "I was right on a second thing, wasn't I? He was wowed with Tony Stark, didn't need Iron Man there at all."

"Wowed…yeah," Tony happily admitted, smiling, treasuring the stammering awed greeting Peter had honored him with. But the next second, he gave evidence of how Peter's "wow" didn't make the kid bow at his feet and lead to them trading superheroing stories. "He lied to my face, not convincingly. He wasn't all that great with the lying to his aunt either, which makes it even more amazing she hasn't learned his secret yet."

"His aunt…she doesn't know he…." Pepper's shock bleeding through.

"Nope. And the kid made me vow to not let the spider out of the bag." Tony didn't know how to feel about that, part of him loving being the only one in on Peter's secret and the other part, the adult mature almost nonexistent part of him cringing at keeping Peter's aunt in the dark about her nephew, who she clearly loved.

"Oh Tony, that's…complicated," Pepper knowingly knew his struggle.

"Yeah, I know," Tony sighed. "But what? Am I suddenly going to be the voice of reason?! Besides, admit it, most days you wish you didn't know I was Iron Man."

Though she wasn't expecting the question, she answered readily enough, proving she'd given it some thought. "Yes, life would be a whole lot less stressful if I was in the dark but I'm glad I know so I can help you. Who's been helping this kid?"

"No one," Tony grimly reported which was, after all, what he had feared all along. "But that's changing as of today," he resolutely decreed. "That reminds me, I need to make some changes to the kid's suit. Don't suppose we can fit in a dinner by the light of my soldering gun?"

"I'll be there sporting flame retardant clothing," Pepper retorted with a smirk coming through her words.

Tony's smile was a thousand watt as he declared, "Love you, even if you dress tacky."

"Hey!" she protested, earning laughter from him and a retraction.

"Kidding. You know you're a super model of fashion." Was only one part of her that he loved to death. Loved her more for her heart, her kindness, her forgiving nature of all his broken promises and broken bones and broken houses and…well the list always kept growing. As did her tolerance level.

"Better comeback," she sallied back but her next words carried anxiousness. "Tony, this kid…he's not going to get hurt, right? Steve and the others…they won't…You're still friends, right?"

"That's what I'm hoping to preserve. And the kid, he's way tougher than he looks." Wasn't sure if he was reassuring Pepper more or himself.

"You look tough but you're all squishy inside. That the kind of tough you mean?" Pepper perceptively prodded, worried plenty for Tony because he might wear a suit of iron but had a heart of fragile soft pliant gold underneath.

"I'll ignore the insult of my squishiness and say…I wish I could say you're wrong but …" How did he describe the kind of strength Peter projected, the well of goodness, of wholesomeness. "He's noble and good and innocent and, crap Pep, things I probably never was even when I was an innocent child."

It wasn't the answer she wanted but expected. "So you're not the only one I need to worry about getting emotionally torn apart by Steve and his rogues. That's …great. Because more stress was totally what my nervous system's been craving."

"You're worrying about the kid?" Tony incredulously asked. "You haven't even watched any Spiderman footage beside what I've showed you."

"I might not be a member of his fanclub but he's important to you, and if he's gets hurt, you'll be hurt. So yeah, I am worrying about the kid too. Which means I'm gonna need dessert tonight, and wine and you to at least giving me five minutes of eye contact during dinner." Because she knew how to leverage the most out of Tony for his benefit and her own.

"Such a nag," Tony zinged back, smiling widely. "See you soon," as promised as he hung up the call.

Honestly, he couldn't wait to regale Pepper with every moment of his encounter with Peter. And hoped she could distract him from the fear clawing at him that everything, all his plans, all his good intentions would blow up in his face. Not only hurting him but the people he cared about, which now surprisingly included a fourteen-year-old kid who was prone to saving little old ladies from muggers while sporting goggles and swinging from off the charts tensile strength webs.

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Tony knew he should never have fallen for the distraction, allowed tons of cars to nosedive right onto his head. His excuse: the freaking kid. His mind was on Peter. He'd lost track of where Spiderman was and he was …hoping the kid was doing his part in the fight. That would be his party line if anyone asked where his head was at and why.

But the truth, now that wasn't so brash. That gut churning terror was surging through him, envisioning the fourteen-year-old child taking a neck snapping punch from the Captain or what if Barnes flipped his switch again, went stone cold assassin and shot Spiderman in the head.

If there was an upside to being pinned under a traffic jam of cars, it was that he was able to take the time to scan the battleground for a red suit. That search revealed his worst fears realized as he watched the kid take on Steve. 'Legs kid, go for his legs!' he silently coached, hoped the kid took his advice that morning to heart. Felt ridiculously gratified when Peter webbed Steve's legs just like he'd told him to. But the score soon changed up when the Captain used the web strand between them to jerk the kid to him…and then slammed the Sheild right into Peter's face. Into the freaking child's face!

'Son of a Bitch, my father didn't give you that Sheild to hit children, nearly break their faces!' Tony fumed, felt the red tide of fury overtaking his humanitarian 'let's all get along' goal.

And when the Cap sent the passenger boarding bridge crashing down upon the kid, Tony's chest froze up, rendering him unable to breath, let alone scream the kid's name out in horror. But Peter proved the next second that he wasn't a kid. Ok, he was but he was so much more than that. He was freaking SpiderMAN…who caught falling boarding bridges and held them over his head so they didn't crush him.

A surge of pride tamed down Tony's fury. 'Take that you, sanctimonious jackass. My kid caught your best shot,' not realizing the possessive tone his thoughts had taken.

When he unburied himself from the cars, Tony stamped down the powerful urge to go to Peter, forced himself to be content that the kid was back to keeping his distance from further close quarter battle threats. That didn't mean, in Tony's book, all was forgiven Steve for trying to pancake the kid. So when Nat suggested taking the gloves off and playing things down and dirt, Tony was more than ready to forgo the Queensbury Rules. Wanted this fight over before the kid got injured, before the Cap and the others' desperation made them cross lines allies never should, before Tony forgot he wasn't there to kick Steve's keester for the pure pleasure of paying him back for the hurt he'd put on Peter.

He was all set to bring on the pain to Steve and his merry band when things got hugely out of control (pun intended.) Now they had to contend with the Attack of the 50ft Man?! Come on, that didn't seem fair!

After each of his team had taken a run at the giant and came away worse for the wear, Tony polled his constituents for battle suggestions, never really expecting it would be the kid who would have a viable plan. But then again, he shouldn't have been all that surprised. He'd watched enough of Spiderman's YouTube videos to know Peter had a tactical head on his shoulders..even if it came bundled in rambling movie inspired dialogue.

Empire Strikes Back tactics?! Really?!

But ddaaannngg! Tony couldn't complain about the results. In fact, he was going to give Peter verbal accolades for his plan when the 50 ft falling guy's flailing hand batted the kid like he was a knat …or more to the point, a spider of the daddylonglegger variety. Tony's heart seized as Peter's downward momentum slammed him through a pyramid of crates before he tumbled across the tarmac like a motorcycle rider who got separated from their bikes at 100mph speeds.

Tony frantically flew to Peter, desperate to restrain his torque before he snapped his neck or broke his back. But even Iron Man's suit wasn't quick enough to reach Peter before his body rolled and twisted across the tarmac like a broken ragdoll.

As his boots hit the ground at a run, Tony's steps soon faltered at the horrific realization that the kid wasn't moving. Retracking his faceplate, for a long moment he couldn't force himself to take another step, to face the consequences of his interference in this child's life. To bear the cost of his good intentions for Peter.

But he had to know if Peter was badly injured…or worse. If there was still time to save him.

Putting on metallic foot in front of the other, he came to the unmoving child's too still body and bent down, reached out with a hand that was trembling badly in the Iron Man armor. "Kid, you alright?" he asked, the modulations of the suit's not mimicking the panic in thrumming in his every breath as he gently rolled the boy's body over, saw Peter's Spiderman mask was askew.

Instinctively he caught Peter's hands before Spiderman could land a blow. Even as his heart was racing in knee bending relief that the kid was alive, he, at the same time, felt admiration at how resilient the kid was by coming up swinging. Of course Tony chose to make a joke out it, was how he'd learned to deal with soul decimating fear. "Same side. Guess who? Hi. It's me."

Finally registering that it was Mr. Stark with him and not someone on Captain America's team, Peter's flight or fight instincts went offline. It left him bone weary and closing his eyes, riding an ebbing tide of fear. "Hey man. That was scary," spilled out in a wheezy exhale and immediately he cursed himself for saying that out loud. 'No no no wrong thing to say. Superheroes do NOT say they were scared. Are never afraid! Mr. Stark will think I'm a coward all over again!' Mr. Stark's next words seemed to prove how right he was.

"Yeah. You're done, alright?" Tony firmly announced, his heart still reeling at Peter's innocent and truthful admission. The boy had been SCARED! 'And I put him there, in a place to be scared, to be…hurt, even killed.' Though he heaped vile curses on himself for putting this kid in the middle of a superpowered crapstorm, he didn't want any of that self-recrimination to fall upon Peter. "You did a good job," he praised, meeting Peter's one uncovered eye, hoping the kid knew how damn impressed he had been, that his words weren't a throw away consolation prize, were the real deal. But thought maybe he'd been too praiseworthy when Peter seemed intent on sitting up, to get back into the fight to earn more of those "good job" accolades. Keeping Peter's hands locked in Iron Man's grip, he commanded, "Stay down."

But Peter bulked at the safe out Tony was giving him, proved what Tony should have remembered: that this "kid" was a fighter, was resilience personified.

"I'm good. I'm fine," Peter assured, his refusasl to disappoint Mr. Stark outweighing his fear of getting back into the fight. 'Don't be the coward he thinks you are! Get up!' Meant to put actions to words but Iron Man's hands were still encased around his wrists, pressing him down, holding him down.

Tony internally refuted Peter's claim, 'Fine?! You're not fine, kid! And that's all on me!' His fear that if the kid got up, engaged anymore in the fight he would be far more than a unfine, lent steel to his repeated. "Stay. Down!"

Peter quelled not at the command but at what it signified. 'Mr. Stark will never take me seriously after this! None of them will. I can't chicken out on my first big Avenger fight.' "I gotta get him back," he insisted. Had to show Mr. Stark that just because he got knocked down, confessed to being scared, that didn't mean he was a quitter. Could take the pain, even knew that he deserved it.

The idea of Peter being in any more danger redlined Tony's blood pressure, had his words coming out harsher than he wanted. "You're going home!" Course the kid didn't want to be sidelined, was about to protest so Tony threw out the best leverage he had. "Or I'll tell Aunt May," even as he knew he wouldn't shatter the boy's trust, well anymore than he already had by putting him in a fight he should have never been in to start with. "You're done!" he growled out with finality. 'And so am I. I will never do this to you again, get you hurt, think I know what's best for you. Heck, I don't even know what's best for me according to Pepper. How dumb of me to think I knew better for this kid.' Unable to bear the kid's hurt expression, Tony powered up Iron Man's jets and lifted off the ground, lambasting his selfishness of wanting to get to know this kid overriding his need to protect him.

As Iron Man started to take to the skies, Peter called out, "Mr. Stark, wait!" starting to push himself up from the tarmac. "I'm not done. I'm not…" but pain stole away his breath for his brag and he collapsed back onto the ground, clutching his side that felt like he'd been speared through his new Spiderman suit.

Since Iron Man was leaving, since he was already long forgotten by Mr. Stark, he dejectedly admitted, "Okay, I'm done," as he slumped onto his back on the tarmac. Wheezed out "I'm done." And he knew it wasn't just for this fight. That whatever hopes he had for being a real Avenger, for deserving Mr. Stark's trust in him, were done too. All done. Gone. That whatever future at Iron Man's side that he'd foolishly envisioned was now out of his reach…just like reaching Ben before the thief could pull the trigger had been too great a distance for even him to cover in time.

He'd done his best, sadly. "But my best will never be good enough," he sourly bit out. No matter the powers he got, no matter how hard he tried, no matter what suit he wore, he would never be what people needed him to be.

Tony heard Peter's words, the call out to him to not leave, the admission that he was done, his dejected self-hatred, all of it. The boy's pain and desolation came through the Iron Man's communication too loud, too clear. It had Tony aching to go back to the kid, to make Peter realize that he wasn't disappointed in any perceived weakness of his. Wanted to reassure himself that the teenager wasn't hurt too badly.

But the big picture was getting in the way of Tony's heart's desire. Freaking Steve Rodgers was getting in the way. 'I am so done with this, all of it.' Screw this allies bullcrap. The gloves were coming off and the rocket missiles were coming out. 'Right after I make sure Peter's really ok before I leave him.'

Turning midflight, Tony piloted the Iron Man suit back to Peter, who was distressingly now lying down again on the tarmac. Landing and crouching immediately by the boy, he wished he could retrack the metal glove, touch the kid with something other than cold metal. But it was all he could offer as he rested his hand with a grounding but gentle touch upon the boy's chest, met the boy's surprised eyes as they snapped up to him.

"Hey, in all the gruff 'you're done, you're going home' stuff, we breezed over just how proud I am of you. You have nothing to regret today. Your best kicked butt, Peter. You were an honorable addition to our team. But now I need to know you're safe, ok?" Imploring the kid to understand he couldn't gather any semblance of focus if he thought the kid could get hurt worse, was lying out here unaided, that someone might take advantage of him in his weakness. Heck, that some of Ross's Commando squad might pick him up, thinking he played on Steve's Team.

Knowing it couldn't be about his own ego, that Mr. Stark had much bigger things to worry about than how he might screw up more, Peter nodded his consent. He would leave so Mr. Stark wouldn't have him as a liability, think he had to safeguard him. when Iron Man's hand slid away from his chest and the Iron Man face plate fell back over Mr. Stark's face, Peter felt something akin to grief. Like his connection to the hero had been savagely severed, maybe forever.

When Iron Man took to the sky again but didn't look back this time, Peter found himself fighting back a sob. Ben's last words weren't so different than Mr. Stark's just were. "Peter, go ….not safe. I need you to be safe." Ben died never knowing things were unsafe because of Peter's inaction. Because he'd condoned the thief's crimes when it benefited him. He hadn't been like Ben: when he saw someone in trouble he thought it wasn't on him to save anyone. Never guessing the one he wouldn't save was his own uncle, a man he loved like his own father. A man who died because Peter couldn't be bothered to do the right thing, to give his best.

'Please don't let Mr. Stark ever know what I did. Please don't let him ever find out,' Peter brokenly begged of the world, couldn't bear the disgust that would replace the pride Mr. Stark had bestowed on him seconds ago.

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Even as he was flying to intercept Steve's planE, Tony couldn't stand to put Peter's needs in second place. "FRIDAY call Happy," he commanded of his suit.

"Fighting all done? Heard quite a racket for a friendly skirmish," Happy opened with.

Refusing to comment on how unfriendly the "friendly skirmish" was turning out to be, Tony briskly said, "Happy, the kid's down on the tarmac east side. Help him get out of here and take him home."

"He hurt?" There was a surprising tone of worry there, though Happy had complained to Tony that the kid yapped like a yippy puppy. Now Tony suspected Happy happened to LIKE yippy puppies but was reluctant to show it.

"No.." Tony answered definitively, thinking of the spark in the boy's eyes as he sought to get back into the fight. Then Tony remembered the pain there too, the way the boy had laid on the tarmac so still before he reached him, was laying down when he'd come back to him, which had him amending his answer, "Yes." Fell silent a beat before confessing, "Heck, I don't know, Happy. Check him…can you…check him?" his voice cracking with his guilt and worry.

"Sure, Tony. I'll check him over, make sure it's just bumps and bruises." Happy was using his rare kindness voice and instead of resenting it, Tony felt the tightly coiled fist squeezing his heart relent a bit.

"Ok…ok. Get him safely out of this shitshow, ok?" Imploring there and he couldn't hide it. Was too worn through to attempt to conceal it.

"You sure you don't need me?" Because Happy was used to being there for Tony, not some pipsqueak kid.

"What I need is for that kid to be safe, Happy," he choked out. 'To be safe, to be away from me. To not give me another chance to hurt him, screw up his life.'

"Got it boss." Happy affirmed before the connection was closed. Sure, he didn't like it but would do it. Because Tony clearly cared about the kid and needed to know he was ok. Happy could do that for Tony.

Having stowed away his worry for Peter, Tony poured on the speed of the Iron Man suit. Sure, no one meant to injure the kid, but they had and now he was beyond PISSED (even if most of that anger was directed inward). It made him want to punish the other side, with prejudice, to bring them to their knees and end this. NOW.

Hearing Rhodes order Jarvis to target the Falcon's backpack, Tony knew that situation would be handled so he zeroed in on the plane, closing in the distance, ready and willing to rip the freaking wing off it about now. To yes, bring down a plane carrying at least one person he knew and "cared" about. But Steve and his good buddy were super soldiers, they could survive a little plane crash.

Some ingrained instinct, or maybe he heard an uncharacteristic catch in Rhodes' breathing, something had Tony looking over his shoulder searching for his friend. A friend that was tumbling in the air as he fell to earth. "Rhodey!" Tony shouted as he swung around, raced to reach another of his teammates, prayed he'd do better than he had Peter, or at least have the same half decent no serious injuries results if he couldn't reach him in time.

"Tony, I'm flying dead stick." Rhodes reported like the good Air Force man he was. Report your problem, let someone in Command know what had gone wrong. So the next guy didn't die because of the same aviation malfunction.

It was the worst news Tony could have heard, was his greatest fear…his greatest failing to compensate for in the suits. The bitch of gravity. He screamed out a horrified, terrified, "Rhodes! Nnnnooo!" as his best friend was surely going to beat him to the ground.

Rhodey's impact was like a comet burning through the atmosphere red hot to impact with the ground, shot dirt into the air and dug an entrenchment into the ground. And then there was that awful silence that followed.

Seconds later, too damn long seconds later, Tony was there, kneeling in that crater, ripping off Rhodes' faceplate and tersely ordering FRIDAY to scan him. To know if he'd murdered his best friend by his engineering failings, by his blinded anger to stop Steve, to make him pay for everything happening, for Peter's pain, for Tony's worry, for having their team fight each other.

FRIDAY reported a pulse, had called for an ambulance, did a hell of lot more to help Rhodey than he had. All he could do was slump beside his best friend in that pre-mature grave and put his metal hand to his friend's cheek and offer up prayers to a God he hadn't honored maybe ever.

When Sam landed and uselessly offered an apology, it was only the barest grip on his sense of morality that had Tony not deliver a lethal blow to the man's chestplate instead of burst worthy to swat away a bug. Because he knew who he wanted to punish most wasn't Sam, or even Steve, it was himself. He had allowed this fight to escalate, had wanted to HURT someone since Peter had gotten hurt and he had …Rhodey. He had ended up getting his best friend hurt, critically so.

He wanted to sob out an apology, to be sick, but all he could do was retrack the Iron Man suit to reach for his friend with his own warm flesh. But didn't dare hold him, move him, was too freaking terrified to even shift his friend's body to detrack the suit in case he had a broken neck…back..internal bleeding. All of which he could ask of FRIDAY but couldn't. Couldn't bear hearing any of that decimating news.

So he bowed his head to Rhodey's forehead and put his hand on the laser blasted chestplate. Repeated a litany of pleas for Rhodey to stay alive and "I'm sorry"s until the ambulance came, took his friend out of his so uncapable hands.

Then Tony stood there, utterly lost on the battlefield of his own making.

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TBC

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Thank you to my awesome reviewer! You keep me posting this story.

Have a great day!

Cheryl W.