Chapter Text
The private jet was flying in the air for last five hours. The clouds moved constantly, flowing as sheets hundereds of feet above yet giving appearance of one dense layer from the land below. The view was spectacular with the hills and mountains passing by as if being coated with thick fog. Outside it might look beautiful but inside the small plane, the scene was opposite
Tony watched intently at the small and young looking boy on the makeshift bed. Every breath Peter inhaled, it was a blessing to him. That was all he was asking for. He just wanted to Peter to keep breathing until they reached Australia
Bruce had taken a seat to the right side of the jet, working on the antidote. He didn't want to take any risk. What if the man who was behind Peter's suffering refused to give him antidote. He needed to be prepared for any kind of worse situation. The scientist titled his head and glanced at the pair. His heart ached at the scene
Tony held Peter's hand in his, thumb slowly running in circular motion. His eyes shone with tears and he let them fall. This was all his fault. He would never be able to forgive himself if anything happened to the boy. He didn't deserve to die...not like this
Peter moaned and tried to move but Tony quickly placed a hand on his chest pushing him gently back "Don't get up Pete"
Peter fidgeted, face scrunching in discomfort "Up..pleas'.." he pleaded feeling suffocated as it was getting harder to breathe "Can't... breathe"
"Tony help him up. It'll be easier for him to breathe" Bruce said, voice laced with worry. Tony nodded placing a hand under Peter's small back and lifting him up, wincing at the heat that radiated from his body "There you go kid"
Peter managed to give a small nod as he inhaled deeply through the nasal around his nose. With blurry and feverish eyes, he looked at his mentor "Hurts" he complained with a whine just like a child does to his parent when they fall sick
Tony ran a hand on Peter's curls hoping it would bring some comfort "It's gonna be okay kid. I promise"
Peter shivered, body leaning heavily towards Tony who immediately wrapped his arms around him and held him close. Peter crawled on to Tony's lap and curled himself on his chest. Cold shivers wracked his entire small frame and he whimpered, eyes stinging from unshed tears and sobs erupt his throat "Co.. so Cold"
Unable to hold back his own tears, Tony held Peter even more closer, rubbing his arm and whispered few soothing words
Tears exhausted themselves from Peter's eyes and his sobs turn into small whimpers. His muscles were screaming in pain, head pounded mercilessly and veins felt like they were on fire. His chest burned whenever he tried to breathe. Maybe this was it. He was going to die. If this was his last day on earth, he needed to confess two very important things. He didn't have the energy to lift his head to look at Tony as words slipped from his lips "Tell... Aunt May... I love her"
Tony froze, his hands going still around the boy. Why did Peter say that? Why was he talking like this some kind of goodbye?
Peter shivered again as he wheezed short breaths "I.. Thank you... Mr Stark... for everything"
"Peter don't!" Tony said fiercely "No goodbyes okay. You're going to be fine"
"I..love you Mr...'ark" Peter continued, eyes shutting down in slow motion and Tony's heart clenched painfully in his chest "I..I love you too kid"
Peter felt hand on his face and a firm voice nudging him to stay awake but he lost battle against darkness
Tony's heart nearly stopped, his finger dipping under Peter's jaw to check for pluse. He took a huge sigh of relief when he felt low thumping "Oh thank God"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Next few hours were agonizingly slow and torturous for Tony. His hold on Peter never wavered as he kept him close to his chest. The boy was in and out of consciousness, again blabbering anything that came to his mind. At one point he even confessed not attending a history test and lied about it. Tony assured him it was no big deal even though he knew Peter was not coherent enough to hear him
It was almost twelve hours when Tony laid Peter back down who whined at loss "Mr...Stark?"
"Right here kid. Just give me few seconds okay. I'll be right back" Tony whispered softly and asked Bruce to prepare him for the ride outside while he wore his suit
Bruce injected a fresh dose of painkillers and changed the his oxygen tank with a new one. He smiled when Peter was looking at him with his half opened eyes "You're a strong kid Peter. Fight this okay. I know you can. Now I need you to listen to me carefully"
"Wh..t's ...ha..pening?"
Bruce exhaled sharply. He needed Peter to understand what was going to happen so he wouldn't panic and adjust himself accordingly "Tony is going to carry you out Peter and I need you to keep breathing nice and slow. Close your eyes if you want but don't forget to breathe. Can you do that?"
Peter gave a small nod. He didn't know why they needed to get out but if Tony had decided something, it had to be for his own good. He trusted the man with his own life so he was ready to do anything he said "I an... do that"
Tony came back wearing his suit "Okay let's go. Bruce did you tell him?"
"Yeah I told him. I need him to wear extra hoodie so he wouldn't feel cold when he's out" Bruce pulled out extra pair of Peter's clothes and helped the boy with the sleeves and covered his head with a winter cap "There you go kid. Okay now he's ready"
Tony took a deep breath and nodded with confidence "C'mon Underoos. We're going to fight this. You and me"
Bruce helped Peter up supporting him when he swayed. Tony easily scooped the boy who rested his head on the metal chest letting out a tired sigh. Bruce adjusted his nasal tube "I'm right behind you" he said looking at Tony and ruffled Peter's hair "You'll be okay Peter"
Tony turned his suit on and within seconds he was flying through the blue sky. Peter gasped when cold air seeped through his clothes and soaked into his skin. His chest hurt like hell and stomach cramped painfully. He tightly cluched Tony's metal arm pushing himself closer as he tried to inhale oxygen, finding it extremely difficult because of Tony's speed. He hid his face on Tony's chest and concentrated on two things... inhale exhale... inhale exhale... inhale exhale... inhale ex..
Tony pushed himself at his best. The engine of his suit was turned to fullest as he flew with Peter in his arms. He felt the boy shift and dared to look down. He could barely see the kid's face since he had curled himself but the pain was visible from his tense posture. Tony's eyes welled up again and he tightened his hold on Peter "Few more hours. Please hang on" he then spoke to Al "FRIDAY give the location where Micheal is hiding his sorry ass"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Micheal Horne released a satisfied breath as he placed the antidote on the table in an abandoned warehouse. He checked the time, eyes wandering around the dull walls. If his calculations were right, the boy, Peter barely had fifteen minutes left before the virus in his system would kill him. And that exact moment his revenge would be fulfilled. Even if Tony somehow miraculous made it to him, there was no way he would be able to get the antidote to the boy in time
Suddenly the door to the warehouse blasted and Micheal jumped in shock. With wide eyes he saw Tony as Iron man flew in, cradling a boy in his arms
Tony landed on the ground and slowly lowered Peter on the ground. Dread pooled in his stomach when he noticed Peter's white skin and blue lips "Peter! Hey kid.. open your eyes. Pete!"
"You're too late. The kid is dead" said Micheal in vicious tone with shock written all over his face. He didn't expect Tony to bring the boy along with him. He glared at the man and spat out "Now you'll know what it feels to loose a child!"
"NO!" Tony exclaimed angrily and charged his repulser throwing the man in the corner over the pile of old boxes "Where is the antidote!?"
"It's no use" Micheal struggled to get on his feet "This time I win. Consider this as a payback for what you did to my son"
Tony blasted another attack "It wasn't my fault what happened to your son! It was an accident!"
"An accident you're responsible for Stark"
"I can't deal with you right now. Tell me where is the antidote. Peter has nothing to do with this. He doesn't deserve to die!" Tony looked around and finally saw a small syringe of blue liquid. This had to be the antidote, thought Tony and rushed to pick up the bottle
"Take it Tony but I don't think it's going to do any good to the boy" Micheal wiped the blood off his mouth "Look at him... he has already given up"
Tony glared at Micheal "Then you know nothing about my kid. He's a fighter. He's the strongest person I've ever known" he shot the man knocking him out and ran towards Peter and jammed the syringe in his thigh "C'mon Underoos... fight it. Peter I need you to fight it"
Peter remained rigid and unresponsive which heightened the worry in Tony's chest. He cupped the small pale face letting his tears flow freely "Pete please! Don't give up on me son.. come back... you hear me.. you've to come back. PETER!"
Peter gasped and Tony thought it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. He helped the boy up and hugged him tightly "Oh thank God"
Peter blindly grabbed Tony's metal suit, his wide eyes showing clear signs of panic "Mr.. Stark.. wha.. Mr.. " he whimpered as his body still felt the effects of virus
Tony caught Peter's failing arms and hushed him softly "Hey hey..ssshh.. it's okay buddy.. You're okay now... take deep breaths"
Peter leaned into Tony's hands and let his exhausted body go limp. Tony placed his two fingers under the boy's jaw and sighed in relief when he felt soft thumping "You're going to be okay Peter" he landed his eyes on Micheal and narrowed his eyes "I won't let him hurt you again. Never"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Peter woke up to constant sound of beeping. His body felt stiff and muscles ached in different places. When he tried to move a voice reached his ears "No moving kiddo. Your body still needs rest"
Peter slowly blinked his eyes open and saw Tony looking at him worriedly "You... okay?"
Tony smiled fondly ruffling Peter's hair "You almost died kid and you're asking if I'm okay?"
Peter frowned. Died? When? What happened? His last coherent thought was...the accident. After that everything was blur to him. Sensing the boy's distress and confused look, Tony replayed last twenty hours to him "It was very close kid. I'm sorry you had to suffer because of me but he won't come after you ever again. I made sure of it"
Peter stared at Tony, taking in all the words. He couldn't remember much except that he was in so much pain but it definitely sounded bad. He hesitated for few seconds before asking in small voice "Can I ask you something Mr Stark"
Tony nodded
"Who is Micheal? Why did he wanted to take revenge on you?"
Tony sighed rubbing his tired eyes, a look Peter read as guilt and regret "I don't know if you were aware but five years back there was an explosion in one of the Stark labs. An experiment had gone wrong and the whole place was burned to ashes"
Peter vaguely remembered reading an article about the explosion in a newspaper
"Micheal Horne use to work for us. The day of explosion... his twelve year old son tagged along with him"
Peter frowned "But you have strict rules.. no children below fifteen"
"That's what I told Micheal but he said his son had a day off at school and wanted to see his father's work place. He said it would be a quick tour and he'd soon drop his son back home"
Peter noticed Tony's eyes grew heavy and voice cracked as he spoke further "Micheal was busy talking to his colleagues outisde when his son was roaming inside the lab.. everything happened within minutes... there was a blaring alarm...the lab was going to explode.. the place locked down itself before ..."
Peter's heart skipped a beat "The boy was..." he never wanted to finish his sentence even though he knew there was no happy ending coming
"He was trapped inside the lab when it exploded"
Peter sucked in a shaky breath and whispered softly "Oh my God"
Tony's eyes welled up "It was really a tragic accident that no amount of money could heal the loss Micheal suffered. He thinks... he blames me for his son's death.. this is when you come into picture. He knew I.. I think of you as..." he hesitated but then locked his eyes with Peter's brown ones "...my son and decided to take revenge. I'm sorry Pete"
Peter's heart warmed with Tony's confession. Though they never said it aloud there was always that invisible trust and love between them. Tony was liks a role model for him, something he always wanted to see in his father. He reached out to grab Tony's hand who took it without hesitation "It's not your fault Mr Stark"
"Except it is Peter. You could've died"
"I didn't. I'm here alive and thanks goes to you Mr Stark. You saved my life"
"I would do anything for you Underoos" Tony ruffled Peter's hair affectionately and next second he got himself an armful of the boy
Peter wrapped his arms around the man's waist and hugged him tightly "Thank you so much for everything Mr Stark"
Tony smiled placing a soft kiss on Peter's curls. He mentally thanked all the angels above who kept his kid alive and safe "Does that mean I get to pick you up daily from school?"
"Da..Daily?"
"Yup! Or even better... I'll also drop you to school"
"What?"
"Everyday"
"Mr Stark!!"
THE END :-)))