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Tony knows what the date is.
May 5th. Two days before the first anniversary of Ben Parker’s death.
Peter’s in the lab with him, has been for the past hour. Tony had half-expected the kid to cancel on him, and then when he didn’t, he wasn’t sure what to expect from him.
He gets anger. Quiet, contained anger, but anger nonetheless. Every time Tony tries to talk to him, he’s met with gritted teeth and one-word replies. It’s definitely not how he would’ve guessed Peter would get around the anniversary - depressed, perhaps, or anxious (more so than usual) - but angry wasn’t high on the list.
He asks Peter if he’s okay, and Peter snaps, “I’m fucking peachy,” and grips the beaker he’s holding so hard that Tony thinks it might shatter.
He thinks Peter might be shattering.
Tony understands. He was the same way after his parents died.
Doesn’t mean he’s prepared. But he understands.
“Spider-Man is currently chasing an unnamed criminal through the streets of Queens, and he appears to be losing.”
Tony’s off of the couch and into a suit before he can even hear the rest of the news story.
Losing. Chasing an unnamed criminal. Losing.
It’s May 7th. The anniversary of Peter’s uncle’s death. Tony definitely didn’t think he’d be out patrolling today, but Peter would surely give him some crime never sleeps speech and say he’s fine. Even though he’s clearly not fine, seeing as he’s apparently losing a fight.
He flies into the fight and it’s over in five minutes flat. Peter doesn’t speak to him for anything other than coordinating the fight.
Afterwards, Peter swings away and Tony follows until they both touch down on the roof of a building, Tony immediately stepping out of the suit.
Tony can see the anger before Peter even faces him. The rigid spine, the stiff shoulders, the clenched fists - irritation rolls off him in waves that can probably be felt around the entire city of Queens. Tony starts to say…something, anything, but Peter’s faster.
The kid spins on his heel and glares daggers at him (if looks could kill, Tony thinks he’d be dead). “Who asked for your help?”
He’s quiet. Chillingly quiet. Tony thinks this would at least be easier if Peter was yelling. He’s used to yelling. He knows how to deal with yelling.
Tony steps toward him and Peter takes a jerky step back.
Okay. This is how this is going to go. If the kid needs to let out his anger about his uncle on Tony, then so be it. He can take it.
“Underoos, I was just trying to -”
“It doesn’t matter what you were trying to do!” Peter snaps, and alright, he’s yelling now. He rips off his mask - Tony almost chastises him for it before remembering that no one can see them on the top of a damn building - and throws it on the ground. “I didn’t ask for your help! I didn’t - I don’t need your help!”
I know. I know you don’t need my help, kid. I know you don’t need me.
“I’m aware, Pete,” Tony says, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. “I’m not gonna apologize for coming to help, though -”
“It’s not your job to fix my problems. I’m perfectly capable.”
“I know you are -”
“And yet, you don’t fucking act like it!”
Tony runs a hand through his hair, lets out a sharp exhale. Doesn’t he? He knows he treats Peter like a kid sometimes, but that’s because he is a kid. A super strong kid with spider DNA and enhanced senses, but a kid nonetheless. But he knows how capable Peter is. How smart he is, how brave he is, how great of a superhero he is. He knows.
But everyone needs help sometimes. Even superheroes. Hell, even Tony.
“Kid, I’m sorry if I’m making you feel like I don’t - like I don’t trust you or something, but -”
Peter cuts him off once again. “Stop acting like you have some - some - some obligation to me. You’re not - you’re not -”
Tony sees it coming. It’s obvious where this is going, what Peter’s getting at here.
“You’re not Uncle Ben!”
And yet, it still hurts.
Peter’s near tears when he says it, and maybe that’s what hurts the most, the fact that Peter’s in so much pain. Because Tony has never thought he could replace Ben Parker, never wanted to replace Ben Parker, never tried to replace Ben Parker. He knows he’ll never be able to fill those shoes, to fill the hole left in Peter by Ben’s death. That’s not news to him.
(It almost seems like it’s news to Peter, though.)
The thing is, Tony also knows that Peter’s words go deeper than that. It’s not just you’re not Uncle Ben, it’s you’re not my parent. It’s you’re not my family.
And he can’t tell if it’s Peter or the grief talking, but either way it hurts.
All he wants is to do right by this kid.
“Peter -”
The kid doesn’t give him the chance.
In the blink of an eye, Peter has grabbed his mask off the ground, put in on, and swung off the edge of the building. A blur of red and blue streaks off through Queens, and Tony is left standing on the top of a building and wondering where the hell he went wrong.
He calls Peter sixteen times over the next three days. He talks to May a couple of times when Peter continues to ignore his calls, and she assures him that he just needs time.
On May 10th, Peter shows up at the compound, unannounced, in his Spider-Man suit, and hugs him. Doesn’t say anything, just hugs him tight.
They stay there for almost five minutes. When Peter pulls back and starts to speak, Tony says, “It’s okay, Pete. We’re okay.”
The two of them spend the rest of the day watching old animated Disney movies on the couch, laughing and eating ice cream straight out of the carton, and Tony thinks it might be the happiest he’s been in a while.