Work Text:
“Smile!” Tony blinked at the flash of the camera as he looked up from his work. He was confronted with a giddy Peter Parker, examining the picture he had captured.
Tony couldn't help but chuckle. “Having fun with that new camera I guess?”
He gave a nod, “The picture looks so good! Thanks Tony.” He thanked him for the camera for what seemed like the hundredth time, and Tony just shook his head and rolled his eyes. “You don’t have to say thank you everytime you take a photo, you know.”
Peter got to work on downloading his pictures onto his computer at his workstation. “I know. But it’s such a good gift. I love it!”
Tony smiled, looking back at his work, “So I’ve heard.”
Tony watched as hundreds of pictures were downloaded and Peter sent them to the printer, watching as they came out as individual photos, a machine he and Peter had done as a project together so he could print them at home.
He took to hanging them all up on a big board that dominated a whole section of wall in the lab. There were pictures of his friends Ned and MJ, his Aunt May, Tony, the rest of the Avengers, and various photos of dogs he had met. There was also another space entirely dedicated to landscape photos of the New York skyline he took as Spiderman. Tony was genuinely impressed by some of the pictures. Another part of the board was covered in various photos of civilians he had helped, some selfies with criminals he had webbed to walls, and even some with the police he sometimes worked with.
Peter eagerly hung up the printed pictures as they were printed out, including the one he had just taken of Tony.
“Hey bud?”
“Yeah?”
“Why do you take so many pictures?”
Suddenly, Peter stopped. He set down the photos he had in his hand on his workbench, and stared at the pictures on the wall. Tony furrowed his brow as he saw his normally enthusiastic demeanor diminish in an instant.
But just as soon as his face fell, he bounced right back and smiled.
“I just like it, I think. It’s fun.”
Tony suppressed his confused expression as Peter sat back down and organized the rest of the pictures. That wasn’t the reaction he was expecting.
A few minutes of silence passed, with nothing but the ruffling of papers and mechanical whirring as Tony tried to focus his attention back on his work. When he misplaced a wire that shocked him and cursed however, Peter broke the silence.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just wasn’t being safe.”
Silence engulfed them for another few minutes, but it was stuffy, uncomfortable. All of Tony’s movements felt somewhat forced as he divided his attention towards the teen who went back to pinning up photos.
After the second time hurting himself while working on his project, Tony set his tools down.
“You wanna tell me what’s up?”
Peter looked up, surprised at the sudden voice.
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean.”
“No, I don’t.”
Peter just shrugged sluggishly, and Tony got up, picking up a stack of photos and tacks before moving over to the board and organizing them accordingly.
“They’re really good, you know. I like this one,” he said, pointing at a scene of him, Pepper, May, and Rhodey in a dim little restaurant in Queens. Their food was all laid out in front of them, obviously waiting to dig in after Peter had gotten his photography fix.
“Really? Cause I think this one is my favorite.” Peter points the one where Tony is fast asleep on his work table, a trail of drool coming from his mouth. Peter’s face poked in from the bottom of the frame. Tony’s face scrunched up “when did you take that?”
“Last week. Remember? We spent the whole day working on a car, and then you totally passed out.”
“Oh yeah.” Tony paused, searching for the right words. “Hey Peter?”
“Yeah?”
“Why do you like taking pictures so much?” Peter looked at him, then looked away quickly as his mentor tried to meet his gaze.
“I dunno,” He pinned a few more up absentmindedly, “I’ve always liked taking pictures. Ever since I was little. It’s fun. But also. . .” Tony raised his eyebrow.
“But also, because, like, it’s like this. . .um, these little snapshots of different moments in life. Things that we forget about, you know? Like that time last week. I thought it was funny so I took a picture.”
“Because you wanted to remember slightly embarrassing moments in my life? Truely, I’m touched.” Tony tried for a grin, but Peter only smiled softly back. He looked older, like someone who’s seen too much. Too much, Tony decided, for a kid. “That, too.”
He sighed, then turned to face Tony.
“I can’t remember what my parents looked like.” Peter dropped his gaze. “I mean, I’ve seen a few pictures, but I don’t know what they looked like, not really. I can’t count how many freckles my mom had on her nose.”
Tony stared at him “So you take pictures. . .to remember them? The people you care about?”
Peter nodded. “I also. . .um. . .I like to remember the faces of the people that I help, too, and the criminals I send to jail. Because they’re all important. They’re all so. . .New York. They’re home. Someday, I might move away from here. I might come back and it’ll feel different. I want to remember what it feels like now.”
“It’s not like I don’t think change is good, or important,” He continued on as Tony listened intently, “But I also want to remember things. I wish. . .I wish I could remember what Ben looked like the day he died.”
Peter never talked about his uncle. At this point, Tony realized something. Peter was feeling regret, like he had felt so many times. He wished that he had been able to save them, and keep them safe. His parents, his uncle. And if he couldn’t, he at least wanted to remember them.
Wanted to keep them safe in a frame.
“You want to be able to have something to remember the people in your life by. Because you’re afraid you’ll lose. . .all of this.” He said, gesturing to the board. Peter nodded with a solemn expression, still focused on his shoes.
“I’ve already lost so much,” his voice cracked, “I can’t. . .I can’t lose you too. I can’t lose any of you.”
Tony moved closer and brought Peter close, “Hey. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. You know that, right? Neither is Aunt May, or Ned or MJ. We’re all here.”
Peter just stared down at the photos in his hands. “You’re Iron Man.” He said, barely audible, “How do I know I won’t lose you every time you go on a mission?”
The older man paused at that, before replying, “I could ask the same about you. Why do you think your aunt and I worry so much?”
Peter huffed “I know, I know. . .this line of work is. . .dangerous. But I can’t help it. After losing Ben, I didn't wanna let anyone else go through that pain. It’s why I help people, I think. Because I don’t want to see someone get shot, like Ben, and never come home to their family. . .” he trailed off, tears welling up in his eyes, before he quickly wiped them away.
“It’s stupid, I know, but the pictures let me remember all those stupid little things that make everyday life what it is. Like morning rituals,” he laughed, “We always eat brunch on Sundays. But. . .I don’t know what my parents did. I guess that’s all it is.”
Tony understood what he meant. Through the years, he had forgotten his mother’s face, and only ever saw her in pictures. He wished he had more.
“Hey, it’s not stupid. I think it’s nice that you want to take pictures to remember us by,” he smirked, “Even if we’re not going anywhere for awhile.”
The teen chuckled, wiping at his eyes, “I dunno, you’re getting pretty old.”
Tony looked absolutely betrayed, “I’ll have you know I was voted as one of the most handsome celebrities several times!”
Peter scrunched up his face, “And by several times do you mean Pepper said it like, twice?”
“Wow, okay, Parker, just for that we’re not getting ice cream.”
“We were gonna get ice cream?”
“Well not now we’re not.”
Peter pouted. He got up and unplugged his camera from the computer and took a selfie, Tony crossing his arms and smiling from behind him.
“What was that for?”
“I call this one: ‘ten minutes before we got ice cream.’”
The older man laughed, swinging his arm around Peter’s shoulders. “Twenty. It’s a bit of a drive to the good ice cream place.”