Chapter Text
Peter exited the elevator with a smile, already feeling giddy and happy. May was off on a month trip, finding a nursing job application down in California. The boy had immediately jumped up to her, signing many wishes of good luck and congratulations to her.
He expected to be dropped off at Ned’s when she told him to pack his bags.
But it was an even bigger surprise when Tony opened the door to his apartment, showing a kind smile to his aunt, before his lips curled wider, eyes locking with Peter’s.
And so, here he was. It was a Friday, yet he still had a bucket load of homework much to his displeasure. Peter exited the elevator and quickly entered the lab, Friday allowing him inside without any need of typing down the code. He looked around the lab, expecting the man to be nearby, yet he couldn’t find any sign of him.
He was about to head back inside the elevator to check his storage floor…
That is, until his spider-senses tingled.
His head whipped around and he saw a red and gold gauntlet coming straight for him. He gasped and immediately ducked, hearing a crash as the flying hand stuck to the wall.
His hearing aids fell off in the jarring second, and he felt the world swallow up around him.
He felt the vibrations of some feet come near him. The boy groaned and quickly pushed himself up, seeing Tony kneel in front of him, rambling on many words he couldn’t decipher quick enough.
Peter pointed to his ear, and the man immediately stopped, tilting his head to get a better look. His eyes widened and he looked around, seeing the two customized hearing aids on the floor.
Tony quickly- and gently picked them up, before he handed one to Peter. The teen quickly started putting the right hearing aid back on, and nearly jumped in surprise at feeling calloused hands brushed his left earlobe. He couldn’t help but smile softly at the soft gesture from the man, helping him put his aids back on.
The minute they both clicked on, a sharp noise rattled through him, before it solidified into quiet and amazing sounds to Peter’s ears.
“-Kid?- you here?”
Peter turned to his mentor and nodded, showing a smile. Tony sighed in relief, leaning his head back as if he were catching his breath.
“I am so sorry Pete- I didn’t hear you come in. You sure you’re alright?”
The boy smiled and lifted his hands, “ Yup. I’m alright Mr. Stark.” His computerized voice coming out of his phone as it recognized his signs.
Tony glared playfully, “It’s Tony kid-... Actually- What happened to your little shitty move of calling me dad last week, huh?”
The boy blinked and blushed harshly at that, remembering what he said to him. Peter hid his face behind his hands, and the man laughed, ruffling his hair.
“So what do you want to do, work on some upgrades on your suit?”
Peter blinked, “ Upgrades ?”
So that’s how the rhythm eventually started. It was like a typical lab day, nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary. Just a father and son mentor and mentee hang out day.
The boy was pretty jumpy at seeing the nanotechnology model Tony presented him. He loved the intricate design it had, as well as the smooth sound it created as it formed around his arm, he felt so honored of just even breathing on it.
Tony quickly started pointing out many things of the suit, and they went on like this for many hours.
It wasn’t until Friday had to remind them to get ready to take a break, they realized just how far they fell into their own little world.
“Oh wow, it’s already six… want anything special kid?”
Peter looked up to the man, and quickly signed “ Whatever is fine.” Smiling at the man. Tony rolled his eyes and ordered Thai, helping Peter put away some of the technological instruments.
The teen quickly noticed the comfortable silence they fell into as they sat on the couch. Tony has his feet propped up against the low table facing the T.V.
While Peter was leaning against the arm rest, his legs were currently curled up against his chest. It wasn’t until the man noticed how uncomfortable the position looked, he did something that surprised Peter.
He swiftly grabbed his ankle and pulled, causing Peter to automatically shoot out his other ankle as well. The boy raised an eyebrow skeptically, seeing Tony position his feet onto his lap, his rough hand settling on his right ankle, thumb rubbing circles against his bones.
The teen sighed in relief at the gesture.
“So, you want to practice kid?”
Peter looked away from the T.V, seeing Tony look at him questioningly. He started fidgeting slightly, before he shook his head slowly.
A no.
The man’s eyes widened before he reached over to the remote, stopping the Star Wars movie they had watched for the fifth time that week. “What’s up with the sudden change?”
The boy let out a breathy chuckle, suddenly feeling very ashamed. He turned on his phone once again, and quickly raised his arms.
“ I-I want to learn for you Mr- Tony- er.. Dad?- I want to- but… my voice doesn’t sound…”
Peter didn’t finish his sentence, he didn’t really want to. He remembered when Tony had surprised him with the short sentence in sign language during Christmas time. It made Peter- beyond ecstatic and- he felt overwhelmed by the fact he had learned just for him.
So Peter planned on doing the same.
He spoke for Mr. Stark.
But he didn’t think it was going to be this hard.
Sign language- you have to learn how to be fluid with your movements- as well as slow enough to make it understandable to others. It was a rhythm, a steady rhythm where you have to try and not break.
But you didn’t have to make sound…
And that’s what scared Peter.
When talking, you have to make sure your tongue is in the right position, your teeth aren’t covering your words- how to fold your lips correctly over the words, how your throat tightened and opened with the sounds you made-
None of them were correct for Peter
Tony, Mr. Stark, Dad, May, and Thank you, were the few words he could get alright. But he could still hear the wavy mess his voice created, he can hear the cracks and drowning like noises when he tried to form other words, how it sounded unnatural.
He didn’t want to make more of a fool of himself.
And he didn’t want to admit that to his father figure.
Yet, like the many times Tony has caught Peter, he caught onto his situation quickly. His grip tightened around his ankle firmly, causing Peter to look up, snapping out of his thoughts.
“Kid… You talking- it’s already such an amazing miracle…” he whispered out, showing a soft smile.
“You didn’t have the chance to develop your voice unlike the many other kids your age. And that’s not your fault.” He firmly stated.
Peter sighed softly, shaking his head in disbelief, yet the man continued anyways.
“No ones forcing you kid, but you already made the first big step. To have the courage to try again. Now all you have to do is keep trying- keep crawling out of your shell.
I know you can do it. Do it for May, for your friends, for yourself…
For me?”
The boy’s eyes watered at the sentence. Peter sniffed quietly and rubbed his hands together, trying to put pressure in between them to stop his tears from flowing down.
“O-O-O-Ok-eh…”
Tony’s smile brightened up, and he squeezed his ankle again, “Yeah?”
Peter nodded, “Y-Y-Y-” he grunted, trying again, “Y-Yeh?”
The man chuckled softly and signaled for Peter to get up, “Almost there, come on, let’s go.”
The teen stared at the man before he quickly nodded, standing up and quickly grabbing a light sweater.
The two wandered around the city. It was a common practice now for the two, the man would start a simple conversation, leaving room for Peter’s short replies here and there. If the kid couldn’t say the beginning word of his sentence, Tony would continue, not to shun him or anything, but just acting like a friendly reminder to practice that specific word- as well as other words that had a similar beginning.
“-Also Pepper asked if you were allergic to anything- just in case so she wouldn’t make anything that would kill you.” He quipped, sending a soft smile to him.
Peter blinked, feeling his hand itch to just turn on his phone and sign away, but he forced himself to open his mouth.
“N-N-No. Th-e b-bi-te fix-x-x-d th-at.”
Tony stared at him for a quick second, slowly understanding his distorted words, before making a face, “You were allergic to things?”
He nodded, “C-C-C-“ he grunted, taking a deep breath, “C-ats, p-p-pe-noots?”
“Pea-nuts.” Tony echoed back, letting the boy play around with the pronunciation in his mouth before repeating it out much clearer to him.
The two eventually wandered over to the huge park, waking and practicing words as they went on. It continued like this until they decided to take a break near a water fountain. Tony made a face when he saw Peter drink from the water spurting out of the metal face, nose scrunching in discomfort.
“Ew, what- my son is drinking from the sewer drains now?”
Peter coughed and choked on water for a few seconds, before he faced Tony with a red and embarrassed face. The man couldn’t help but show a toothy smile, smiling proudly at the boy’s look.
“N-N-Not s-sew-ar wu-ter.”
“Whatever you say kid.”
He walked away from the fountain, and they both continued to walk slowly down the park’s path, enjoying the sudden quietness that filled around them.
It was as if time had just stopped for the two of them, letting them bask in the glory of creation around them.
Peter hummer softly and looked up to Tony, who had his eyes steady on the dirt path. His mouth quivered open.
“D-Dad?”
He saw his eyes widen slightly, before they turned to him. He smiled softly, “Hm?”
Peter chuckled softly as he pressed his short nails into his wrists, trying to keep himself from stuttering too much. “I-It’s o-o-o-ok-ey if I-I c-call you t-t-th-at?”
The billionaire blinked, his face slowly morphed into a serious and stern one. He stopped and made Peter stop as well, placing his hands on both of his shoulders so that the boy would have no where to look other than his eyes.
“Kid- course it’s alright. Heck I think of you as my own son- what’s up with that question?”
He shifted in his spot, wishing his eyes weren’t locked on his mentor’s- father figure’s- eyes, but he relented, letting his quivering voice take control.
“I-I’m deaf. I-I s-s-sond w-weed-”
“Pete, Sorry. It’s we-i-rd. Not weed.” He stated lightly.
Peter’s face turned into a tomato, and he suddenly looked very disappointed.
Tony’s mouth twisted into a frown, and he slowly shifted his hold on the boy. One arm was lightly wrapping around his shoulders as he forced him to continue walking down the path.
“Kid I don’t care if you’re deaf or you sound different. I don’t care about that.”
“W-W-hat a-abot ot-er peeple.” Peter winced, knowing what he said was completely wrong.
Yet, the man said nothing about it, he only squeezed his shoulder, “So what about others. Fuck them- don’t let them get to you.” He stated, suddenly sounding a bit like his press self.
Peter couldn’t help but giggle at the fact.
Tony continued, “Just know that- your family still loved you. Your friends still love you. Heck your number one hero is falling for you Kid- and he would die for you. How are you not feeling like the king of the world!”
The teenager smirked and lightly shoved the man away, earning a mock gasp from him. The two continued their playful banter, with Tony continually telling him how great it was to have a hero-billionaire-idol by his side. And Peter- he only rolled his eyes and smiled.
“I-I l-love y-you t-too.”
Tony stopped mid sentence and whipped around to face the boy. His eyes slowly rounded and turned soft, showing one of his genuine smiles. It was as if the man suddenly looked much older- yet much more caring and light all at the same time. It was a pleasing sight...
“Kid… I-”
Peter’s senses suddenly exploded, and his inward force pushed him so that he would push Tony down as well.
They both crashed onto the floor with a grunt, and before the man could ask anything of what was going on, a gunshot rang past them.
“Pete, get up now and start r-”
Something hit him behind the head, and he fell down with a thump.
“PETER!-”
There was another thump.
A bag came over their heads.
Then darkness.
He wanted water.
That was the very first thought that came into his head, eyes blinking slowly as burred colors twisted and morphed into his sight. He was thirsty, very thirsty in fact. His mouth felt like it was pulsing, tongue begging for cool liquid to go down his throat and ease his mouth.
He was thirsty.
So he made a move to get up.
He.. couldn’t move his arms.
And that’s when everything came back to him.
His eyes widened and Peter forced himself to clear his vision, focusing on the grey floor. He turned his head to see some ordinary cuffs on his wrists, attached to another pair behind him.
The boy tensed, feeling another’s skin brush against his hands.
It was Tony’s.
Peter continued to look around, seeing some others wearing cloth masks over the bottoms halves of their faces, others weren’t. It sent shivers down his spine just looking at them. It was as if they weren’t bothered by a child and a man literally tied together- bonded together- in a dark place. He hated it.
Pete winced and wanted to turn around to face Tony, just to see his face as they were tied together, but he couldn't. More cuffs were bonding him to the legs of the chairs, making him unable to turn around.
Anger suddenly pooled over him, and he tried to make a move. He could bust out of the cuffs with no problem, he could get them both out of… whatever- wherever they were.
Yet the minute he moved his arm, he felt Tony’s hand wrapped around his own, stilling him.
Nothing was said out of the man.
It was then that Peter realized a crucial part of this situation, one that would definitely hinder a way of getting out of here- getting them both out of here.
His aids were gone.
Peter thickly swallowed his burning saliva, hoping it would at least ease his senses from spiking and warning him about every little movement anyone did.
It didn’t.
He felt the man tense behind him, as well as some soft vibrations from underneath his worn adidas. Someone was walking towards them.
Peter saw the person stand at the side of them room, so that he and Tony were able to view the mysterious man. He raised his hand- as if to clear his throat before he began speaking.
He silently prayed that he would stay in line of sight so he could lip read.
“Tony Stark, Welcome.”
He felt his mentor shift once again, elbows bumping into Peter’s own. He tried to turn his head, but he couldn’t read any of his words.
The mysterious man frowned.
Well, whatever he said, it must have been snarky for him to be upset.
“Tony Stark. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way-”
His hand gestured to Peter, causing him to blink.
In reaction, he suddenly felt familiar calloused hands wrap and lock with Peter’s, squeezing very tightly. He jostled in surprise, but the pressure remained there.
It was silent on Peter’s end for a bit, before Tony had finally stopped talking. The man seemed bored for a brief moment, before he gestured one of his men to come to him.
Or, so Peter thought.
The man raised his gun, aiming it towards Peter.
The boy broke into a cold sweat. His hands suddenly stuck - literally - to Tony’s hand. He tried to remain calm, he really did. But, as much as he would die for Tony, take a hit- do anything for the man…
It still wasn't a way he wanted to die. He really… didn’t want to die.
He felt the billionaire jump in his chair so harshly, he even moved his own chair. The man flashed a wicked smile, and the gunman slowly settled the weapon back to his side.
Peter let a shaky sigh escape his lips.
“So, do we have a deal? Your old blueprints… or the life of your son will be taken away.”
...Peter definitely didn’t read right… right?
He felt Tony squeezed his hand once more, before he gave his answer to the man. He seemed pleased with him, and signaled everyone out of the room, leaving the two in the cemented dark area.
It was only them for a couple of minutes, just them and silence for Peter. It was only then that he realized his hands were still sticking to his, and he quickly waved them about, shaking them off.
Yet, the man quickly wrapped his hands around Peter’s once more, his thumbs circling the center of his palm over and over again, soothing away his worried.
The boy smiled softly, before he tensed once again, realizing they were practically stuck in this situation…
Unless…
He opened his mouth…
“I c-c-cnnn brekk...”
He made sure the breath in his mouth would be soft, that’s how whispering felt like he remembered. The only problem was he doubted very much if he said it correctly.
The man didn’t show any signs of response, maybe he didn’t understand.
Peter tried again.
“I-I-I sss-trrroong. I brekk…”
He moved both of their arms around, feeling the cuffs scratch around them slightly.
Tony shifted his hold slightly as his thumb started to tickle the insides of his hand.
N. O.
The teen’s eyes narrowed, brows etched in confusion.
“W-W-Whhhyhh?”
He felt the man’s thumb work on spelling again, this time a much longer word.
D. A. N. G. E. R. O. U. S.
Peter pursed his lips, the man wasn’t wrong about that. But he also new, if they made no move on getting out, they would be trapped in here for good.
He was about to open his mouth to form another response, but a rumble interrupted him. He felt footsteps come closer to the room again, before he felt the whole room shake. A door slammed open.
He turned his head, seeing a laptop being rolled into the room on a wheeled desk. Two men walked beside Peter and Tony, and reached down towards the cuffs.
His mentor’s hands were separated from Peter, and he suddenly felt a wave of nausea hit him from the loss of contact.
Peter was turned around so that he would face Tony, who now had his own wrists free, yet was now having his ankles cuffed to the metal poles of the desk. Which, sadly looked a bit to thick for Peter to break in right away.
He saw the men talk to him quickly (too quickly for Peter to read), as well as gesturing him towards the laptop.
The billionaire glared harshly at the men, and leaned forward sightly, spitting on his face. There was a pause at the scene.
One of the men neared Peter, and his senses suddenly exploded once again. Before he could realize what was going on, the back of a gun struck him across the face. Iron and copper suddenly filled his mouth as warm blood oozed around his tongue.
The boy blinked a couple of times and his vision focused again.
He looked up.
Tony, had a look of regret and pain flashing towards him.
It was then he realized, they truly believed he was connected to Stark biologically. It made sense anyways, as the way he looked at him gave a familial feeling.
But, Peter also realized, he was just a tool in this situation.
If a tool was missing, the plans wouldn’t be able to be completed, correct?
The teen watched Tony slowly peel his eyes away from him, his hands slowly reaching onto the keyboard and started typing. He figured it might take a while, as most blueprints from Tony’s past were locked away in SHIELD.
That means Peter had time, he had time to figure out a way to get out of the way.
If the tool was missing, they wouldn’t be able to work.
If Peter was missing, Tony wouldn’t have a reason to work.
Thus, the men can’t get what they want.
It was around thirty minutes later, Peter saw a change. One of the men left the room, probably to take a break.
There were only two left in the room… two.
Peter, could take on two.
He looked around, seeing there was some rusted pipes directly behind him. One of the men was leaning against the wall, swiping through his phone.
Another, was keeping an eye on Stark just in case he would try anything.
The teenager breathed. He made sure his footing was in the correct position.
He breathed, he inhaled, he exhaled, he inhaled, he exhaled, he inhaled…
He fisted his hands, and pulled them apart. Immediately he felt the snapping of the cuffs strong around his skin. The one near Tony took notice first, and he tensed, causing his mentor to also look at him with wide and fearful eyes.
Before the guard could do anything, Peter already leaped across the room, taking his gun and squeezing it, making it so it wouldn’t be able to fire anymore. With one strong kick directed at his head, he was effectively knocked out.
The other man was already raising his gun, and he quickly fired towards Peter.
Thank God for his spider senses.
He ducked before anything bad came from it, and threw the broken gun straight to the man’s nose. He opened his mouth- probably to shout in pain, before he accidentally dropped his gun. Peter quickly took advantage of the open window and ran towards him, punching him twice in the stomach and one at his jaw.
Knocked out as well.
He had one more job to do.
The teenager went back to where the pipe was and ripped it off. Like he had expected, too old to be carrying any water. He went towards the double doors of the area and slid the pipe through the handles, sighing as the last of his adrenaline was starting to burn away.
He turned around, and nervously smiled.
Tony… definitely didn’t look happy.
With his free hand he raised them up, trying his best to sign, “ First, you ok?”
The teenager gulped and nodded, and the man seemed to calm down just by the short answer.
“ Second, never do that again.”
Peter smiles slightly, “ Let's not plan to get kidnapped again, then I can promise you that.”
Tony raised an eyebrow before he suddenly looked a bit guilty, mouthing sorry.
The boy looked confused for a moment, yet eventually smiled sadly, realizing he didn’t understand what he said. It wasn’t entirely his fault, the man already knew a bunch of sign, but not everything yet. And that was ok.
“L-L-Lets n-not git k-k-kind-napped a-agin, t-t-then I-I ca-an p-pro-omess t-to nut do it agin.”
The man blinked, stared for a brief moment, before he smiled. “You’re pretty good at speaking without your aids.” He said this time, as he probably didn’t know how to express himself with sign.
Yet Peter perfectly understood him, and he smiled brightly at the praise.
The moment was soon shattered as their situation came hurtling back towards them again. The billionaire gestured towards the unconscious man, pointing at the floor…
His phone.
Peter quickly ran towards it and picked it up, rushing back to Tony.
There was a rumble again.
The two turned to see men trying to bash open the door. Peter tensed quickly tried to give him the phone.
Yet, Tony pushed it back, and reached for the drawers that were in the desk he was at, suddenly hyper focused.
Much to Peter’s surprise, he pulled out a sharpie, yanking his arm into his reach. He felt the cold ink of the marker scratch on his skin, and he desperately tried to stay still for Tony to write whatever he was writing.
Peter looked at his arm.
It was a phone number.
His mentor finished his writing with the words “call!” And “help!”, before he pushed Peter roughly with the phone, signaling him to run and get out through the opposite end of the room.
The teen knew this was the best idea, probably the smartest part of the plan. If the two ran around they would surely be caught. Yet he still felt very conflicted on leaving the billionaire alone in this situation.
Tony glared at him, shouting “Go” as he jabbed his finger towards the door.
Peter shook his head, “N-No I-I-I-I-” He coughed as his throat closed in on himself, realizing his voice was already giving in. He looked back up to him and he saw his stern face once again, continuing to try and shoo him out of the situation.
The boy felt a cold tear slid down his cheek.
It was then Tony’s glare softened, and he showed a comforting smile, before he repeated his command in a much softer tone.
“Go.”
This time, Peter listened, and rushed out through the opposite doors.
Peter yelped as he felt another pair of footsteps catch up to him. He turned around and quickly kicked him right in the area, causing him to gasp out and pain and hunch over.
It wasn’t like Peter couldn’t really fight back, but he didn’t want anyone to be suspicious if he suddenly fought like a pro.
So he fought dirty.
The teen quickly scanned the area once more before he ran into another room, locking the door. With a sigh he fell to his knees shakily, feeling the adrenaline and fear courses through his bones.
He was honestly quite scared. He felt fine when he was with Tony, scared but fine. Now… He was just running on his own not knowing if his mentor was alright. He hated that he had to leave him. He hated that he felt so vulnerable without his hearing aids of his Spider-Man suit.
He hated all of this.
If he hadn’t argued with the man to just practice his pronunciation none of this would have happened.
Peter’s eyes slowly looked down, locking with the rough scratching on his arm.
The phone number.
Quickly, he fished out the phone out of his back pocket, swiping up to use the calling service. He slowly typed in each number, making sure each one he entered was correct, before he pressed call.
It rang.
But he didn’t hear it.
He blinked. He wouldn’t be able to hear the other end.
It was then he realized the dreaded problem to his situation, and it was there before he knew it. The timer of the call was already counting.
With a shaky breath, he spoke once again.
“I-I-I w-won’t b-be -a-a-ab-el to h-hare y-you.” He swallowed his saliva, hoping whoever was on the other end of the call would be able to understand his distorted words.
He should have practiced more- he should have just listened to Tony-
“D-Da- Er. Mr. Stark s-said y-you -c-n h-elp. W-We n-nead h-help.” He gasped out, hoping whoever was there would come.
He felt the vibrations of the phone buzz in his palm, and he could only stare pitifully at it, knowing he won’t be able to hear anything they are saying.
With a broken gasp, he felt unshed tears slowly flow down his cheeks, he grunted.
“P-Pleese h-help Mr. Stark…”
He couldn’t lose him.
He continued to feel the buzzing, yet it wasn’t as strong as before. Yet Peter continued to stare at the counting numbers. Keeping it on would be smart right? They would be able to track it- right?
Peter nearly dropped the phone as he felt a bang against the wall. He looked up frightened to see other guards trying to push the door open. The boy quickly looked up to the ceiling, locking his eyes with a vent.
Another bang immediately came, shaking his whole body. He jumped up to his feet, accidentally dropping the phone in the process. With a strong push of his legs, he jumped and stuck up on the ceiling, pushing the vent open.
He climbed in just in time as the other guards broke the door open. He crawled through the narrow vents until he knew he was far away from them. He breathes out a heavy sigh and rested his head against the cool metal, trying to contain his tears.
Be strong for Mr. Stark, Be strong for Mr. Stark, Be strong Be strong Be strong.
With a strong huff, he pushed himself up and continued to crawl through the vents. He crawled and crawled and crawled until he knew he reached the end of the dark area.
With a final grunt and let his body rest against the metal, taking in deep breaths to calm himself down.
Mr. Stark will be fine.
Peter will be fine.
They’ll get help…
They’ll get help…
They’ll get help…
“H-H-Help…”
Soft drummings against the metal is what stirred him awake.
His eyes didn’t adjust in the dark, but he knew he had fallen asleep. He pushed himself up, gasping for air as sweat dripped down his face. Realization dawned on him.
He fell asleep.
But for how long.
He figured it was due to the stress of this situation. That was probably it. But it still didn’t help that he fell asleep, and his father- Mr. stark could be somewhere in trouble. Peter shook his head at that thought, biting his lip harshly.
‘He’s fine.’ He thought over and over again, not truly knowing if what he was thinking is true.
More rumblings came from underneath, causing Peter to jump. He raised his eyebrows and slowly started crawling back, what was going on?
It only took a few minutes to find his way back to the previous room he was in before, and he was surprised at what his eyes were telling him.
There was Captain America, picking up a broken phone, the same one Peter dropped before he blacked out. His eyes whizzed back and forth across the room, seeing Black Widow and Falcon, both having a serious yet worried look in their eyes. There was even that Scarlet Witch girl, who had her arms crossed and a scared look on her face once she saw the phone.
Also why was Black Widow’s hair white?
Peter, couldn’t really feel much assurance with them. He knew what Captain America did to Tony in Siberia, and still couldn’t exactly trust him for that. But then again, why else would they be here? They probably heard Tony went missing and-
He gasped. The phone call…
Was THAT who he called?
He didn’t have any time to think about that, because the vent underneath him was quickly gone, pulled open by Black Widow. He yelped and fell face flat onto the floor. He groaned, and was about to stand up before he was flipped over by them, staring straight at their faces.
He gulped.
“Who are you?” He saw Falcon ask, having some sort of suspicion in his eyes. Peter, not wanting to say this name to them, shook his head and pursed his lips.
“Answer the question young man-”
“Mr. Stark.”
Peter blinked, realizing he didn’t stutter at all. Did he say it fine?
He looked at the group, who had faces of realization. He probably did.
“You’re the boy from the call right?” He saw Black Widow asked. Peter eagerly nodded his head.
Before he could ask if they had seen the billionaire, he saw Captain America press two fingers in his ears, eyes widening in surprise. He faced the group, “Clint spotted Tony, but he isn’t in good shape he says. We have to…”
Peter didn’t bother reading the rest of his words. He bounded to his feet and started running, ignoring the fact that there were unconscious bodies of the same men who kidnapped them along the hallways. They deserved it anyways.
He could feel the heavy footsteps of the others following behind him. Peter figured they were telling him to stop, but he just couldn’t he needed to find Tony, he needed to find his dad.
Yeah… his dad.
He rounded another corner and quickly saw the same double doors he ran from before he left Tony. Quickly he barged them open, seeing the famous Hawkeye shoot arrows at the men, sometimes punching them when they got to close.
He gasped, seeing on the other side, Tony was beaten up, blood pouring out of his side badly, before he was pulled out through opposite doors.
Peter, growled.
Before he could realize what he was doing, he jumped in front of Hawkeye and grabbed a gun that was being pointed at him, crushing the nozzle with his hands, and punching the man in the face.
There was a pause in the room, no matter which side, everyone seemed surprised at what he had done.
A red, white, and blue shield flew in the center of the room, hitting three men on their heads, effectively knocking them out.
Peter snapped out of his worried gaze as well, taking on two men at the same time, before managing to push them both down with his bare strength.
Tony .
He ran through the same doors his father figure was being pulled out, seeing three men pulling him across the floor. Tony himself, was thrashing weakly, already looking tired out.
The teenager ran across the hallway, running onto the wall before jumping, tackling the same man that was pulling him. He quickly tried to push him against the other two, trying to create some distance. Yet the action barely did anything, it only caused them to stumble.
Peter winced and realized he didn’t have any way to run back in time. With only having a few seconds, he saw one of their guns raise to Tony’s head.
The boy shook his head, no they were supposed to shoot at him, not the other way around.
They probably got tired of all of this.
Peter yelled and jumped over Tony, blocking his head with his own body, shielding him from the
pointed gun. He tensed, expecting to feel a bullet to go through his chest.
There was only a soft clap on his back, coming from the billionaire.
Peter hesitantly backed away, seeing the three men were down, having some sort of electric arrows on their chests. The boy’s attention was fixed back onto his mentor, who had a tired yet worried look on his face.
The kid gave him a confused look.
Tony slowly brought his hands over his skinny arm, causing Peter to look.
There was a large wound on his shoulder.
Peter’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. When had that appeared there? The boy figured it was when he blindly threw himself in the room with a bunch of shooters in the room, that probably must have been in.
The world tilted, and he suddenly felt like he was floating.
“D-D-Dad?”
“You’re ok.” He saw Tony speak to him, having a loving look.
He let out a laugh, having a smile, before he blacked out.
His nose scrunched up. Even if he took a steady breath in, the smell of alcohol and medicine made him have a faint headache. His eyes fluttered open, seeing bright lights dance around him.
He groaned, reaching to cover his eyes, only to let out a whimper, realizing his shoulder was stuck.
There were gentle hands coaxing him to calm down. With a confused groan, he tried to open his eyes again, before smiling, seeing it was Pepper who was helping him out.
“T-T-Tanks…” he coughed out, showing a smile.
Pepper smiled back, “No problem, you can understand me right?” She asked worriedly, having some type of fond expression.
Peter nodded, being able to read her lips clearly.
“Tony is in the other room, he’s fine and I tried to get him to rest, but he insisted on fixing your aids first.” She said to him, having some look of annoyance.
The boy let out a raspy laugh, before he pointed to the door, having a pleading look. With a roll of her eyes, she let him get off the hospital bed.
“Father like son.” He saw her say, before she let him go out the door.
Peter looked at his bandaged shoulder. He’ll have trouble writing for a few days but that’s about it, his super healing should kick in and he should be ok before his Aunt gets back he told himself. Hopefully anyways.
Taking careful steps, he walked down towards the lab, gripping the bar to make sure he wouldn’t slip.
It wasn’t until he reached the bottom, he realized he wasn’t alone.
The Rogue Avengers were all there, having a confused yet stern look in their eyes on the engineer. From the way there were moving around him, they seemed to be arguing.
Well, Steve Rogers seemed to be arguing with Tony, more than anything.
The teenager didn’t know what to do. He merely looked to his feet for a split second, before gasping out a shaky sigh.
“D-D-Dad?” He called out.
The group seem to still, and all of the Rogue Avengers turned around. Tony soon followed after, having a shocked look before his lips formed into a frown.
“What are you doing up?” The man nodded his head at him, having some sort of parental glare. Peter couldn’t help but feel a bit angered by this.
“We g-g-g-got Ki-n-n-nap-d Mr. Stark. Y-You w-w-ere hert. I-I w-wanted t-to see I-I-If y-you w-w-ere okey.” He told him, his hands shaking to cover his red face as he spoke, both flushed in frustration and humiliation at how he spoke in front of the Rogue Avengers.
He looked around, seeing their confused and concerned faces. The only one who seemed to catch on was Hawkeye.
Which, made sense.
The man glared for a second longer before he sighed, walking over to Peter and pulling him into a light hug. The boy tensed at the feeling his head being scratched. It was nice, almost comforting, coaxing him to calm down.
They pulled away a second after, Tony having a relaxed look. “I’m sorry. I just don’t like seeing you hurt…”
Peter blinked and looked at the man’s white T-shirt he was wearing, knowing there were bandages underneath. He gently pressed his hand on his side, Boeing his head, “Me neither…”
He felt a rumble course through the man’s body. A chuckle. Peter smiled.
His head was slowly brought up by the man’s gently hand underneath his chin. With his free hand, he grabbed two objects in his pocket, showing them to Peter.
Hearing aids.
The boy smiled and couldn’t help but rest his head gently against the man’s chest in glee. He felt another rumble go through the man, as he gently felt the calloused fingers brush against his ears.
Everything buzzed into a painful noise, before it evened out, turning into a quiet buzz.
“Testing One two three- Peter you here- hello- yellow?- down low too slow? - knock knock?”
“W-Who’s dere?” He replied, having a smile. He liked Tony’s voice. A lot. Yet he didn’t have any time to enjoy the soothing voice, as it was soon interrupted by a female voice.
“You’re telling me he’s deaf to?”
The two looked up at Wanda, who had a shocked face. Falcon stared at Peter for a second, “Secret super enhanced love child Stark?”
The teenager tensed, “I’m n-n-nut Sp-pider-Mn.”
The group all gave him a look. He heard his mentor sigh beside him, “Very smooth kid.”
Peter couldn’t help but blush at that. Yet before he could form another response, Tony placed a hand over his shoulder, having a smirk.
“But, this is none of your business- just me and my son. Which- thank you for finding.”
The teen turned even redder, which he didn’t think was possible.
“Tony… you can’t brush this off-That’s Spider-Man. You let a child go into war-?” Clint was cut off
The billionaire raised his hand, “It was civil. And he’s fine. He’s perfectly capable on his own.” He pressed, eyebrows furrowing close together.
“Tony the child is deaf.” Clint Barton said, and Peter couldn’t help but feel a bit insecure. The man grunted, having a sharp glare.
“Oh like you’re one to talk.”
“I’m an adult, I chose this Stark. You forced a literal kid.” He pressed, not liking the fact that there was a literal teenager who fought them back in Germany.
“I-I-I c-c-chose dis t-too. D-D-Dad did n-n-notin wong.” Peter stuttered out, feeling his cheeks rise with heat as he heard how he sounded like.
Falcon and Hawkeye gave each other a look, while Steve and Wanda both gave some sort of stern look towards the two.
“What Tony did isn’t right anyways. He shouldn’t have allowed you to fight against us.” Falcon said, having a concerned gaze.
Peter felt his hands form into fists. He quickly retorted back, “W-Well h-h-He wouldn’t h-h-have n-needed my h-elp I-if you g-uys d-did-n’t fite in de fi-st pl-ace!” His nose scrunched up, feeling his head grow a bit too hot.
Steve still has an unsure look, “Tony- you can’t just do this- he’s young and you can see that. This wasn’t right of you-”
Peter had heard just about enough. He gently pushed Tony back, as if his body were able to cover Stark from Steve’s gaze.
“J-Just b-be-cuse I’m in h-highscool, I-I c-can’t speek w-well or h-hear, d-doesn’t m-m-mean I c-can’t t-take re-re-re-”
He coughed, grinding his teeth together and trying again, “Re-spon-bility o-over m-my Hero l-life. I-I can do I-it just f-fine! I-It w-was m-my chose nut h-his!” He gasped out, feeling his throat slowly dry out once again.
The group went quiet again, and the only person to show a response was Natasha. She sighed softly and looked to Stark, before looking to Peter, “So, Spider-Man… you’re fine with this? You’re sure you can do this.”
Peter nodded, having a harsh glare. He didn’t want to hear another word of how he couldn’t be a hero because of how he was, or how it wasn’t right for Tony to choose him on the team so long ago.
If anything it was his choice.
The red haired assassin shrugged her shoulders after that, “We should go, there’s nothing for us here.”
Clint blinked and turned his head towards Natasha, “What are you talking about- There’s no way that Spider-Man kid can stay as a day and night hero. He’s probably still in highschool...”
Everyone looked to Steve. The blonde man only sighed and stared at Peter for a minute longer before he looked to Stark with a look, as if he were giving a warning.
“Spider-Man said this was his choice. If he claims to be perfectly capable on his own, smithed that’s it. Doesn’t matter if he’s deaf or not.” Steve finished, having a clouded look. He didn’t look like he totally agreed to this, but he also didn’t look like he wanted to continue fighting with Peter.
Which was a relief to the teen.
“Thank you, now me and my son have to heal up so- get your butts out of here.” Tony lightly said, just having his usual press look.
The group all nodded reluctantly, leaving the lab in an ordered fashion. Natasha was the only one who stayed for a second longer, looking back to the two.
“Your son?”
Tony pulled Peter deeper into his side, “Yup.”
She stayed silent for a brief moment, looking back and forth at the two. She smiled, “Bullshit.”
“And you’ll never know.” Tony quipped back, having a smirk.
The assassin looked to Peter once more, “You fight well. Keep training.”
The teenager tensed at that, before he smiled brightly at her, letting his fan side escape, “T-T-Tanks.”
She nodded and quickly left after that, sliding the lab door closed. It quickly became quiet after that.
“M-M-Mr. S-Stark?”
His fiancée walked in at that time, her arms crossed and face holding a concerned look. She seemed lost at what just had happened.
“Will they be alright?” Pepper asked, having a worried look.
Tony waved his hand at this, “Don’t worry they won’t get caught.”
“T-Tony?” Peter tried again.
“But what if they do.” Pepper interrupted again, still unsure of the situation.
The billionaire shrugged, “Their fault for going against Ross’s-”
“Dad?”
For once there was no stuttering in his voice when he said it. It was clear, perfect, the way it should sound like. Tony finally turned around a smirked, “Yeah?”
Peter, finally realized how the man responded to this, and had a light glare in his eyes.
“Nothing, just testing out my hearing aids.”
Tony’s smirked immediately dropped, with Pepper laughing soon after. The man quickly pulled Peter over to the plush couch they had in the room, and let his fingers dance all over the kid’s sides. He kinda regretted speaking back to Tony Stark.
“W-W-Wai-” he gasped out, only to keep laughing harder.
“Last time I was bound to driving and I couldn’t do shit, this time I’m not!- so this is payback for the first time you did this to me too!”
If Pepper later took a picture of Peter passed out on Tony’s lap to send to May, the two would never know.
The teen had a pillow under his head. He pressed his face further into it, enjoying the feeling of his face being squished against something incredibly soft.
He tugged the blanket around him even tighter, looking at Tony beside him, who had his hand rested in between his curls, while the pillow was sitting on his lap.
“You ok there kiddo?”
Peter nodded, breathing out a sigh.
“Hey you did good today.”
The kid snorted, “O-O-On de fit-ing o-or the t-t-talking…”
Tony pressed his fingers deeper in his hair, “Both… which, Thanks for… sticking up for me. You know you had Friday… you could have just signed and she could have translated if you weren’t feeling comfortable enough to speak.
You looked red as a tomato.” He softly chuckled out, yet having a sorry look.
Peter shook his head, turning his body around so that his face would be facing the man, “I w-was r-red at f-first c-cuse I-I-I s-sonded s-stupid.”
“Hey don’t say tha-”
“B-But I-I was m-m-mostly m-mad. T-They were still f-fiting y-you be-cuse y-you h-helped m-me dat day. T-They b-bla-med y-you.” He husked our, breathing in deeply.
“So… I-I-I s-spoke f-f-for you… l-like y-y-you a-a-s-ked m-me.”
Tony didn’t say another word. Peter looked up after noticing the silence, only to see the man wipe his eyes with his hand, before he motioned underneath his chin.
Signing.
“ Thank you.”
Peter smiled, “ You’re welcome.”