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He sighed and quickly entered through the hospital doors. The area was filled with dreaded silence, only nurses shuffling in and out of the area. He blinked and tugged his hoodie, making sure it would cover his face. Tears were streaming down as he forced his head lower, his senses tingling slightly to avoid anyone in front of him.
It was easy getting past the front office, for he came in through the waiting room which was still somewhat filled with people, so he managed to skip pass through the first set of doors.
Now it was getting harder. He was at the emergency care room, and it barely had any people walking through the hallways, just some nurses. Peter knew he was getting weird looks, but he only continued to walk faster as he pulled his sweater down.
It was until he got to the room he bumped into problems. Peter knew his door was going to be locked, but he didn’t think much of it until he got there.
The teen looked around quickly, noticing there was an air vent just two feet away. He swiped his phone out of his pocket, pretending to be on it as the working ones passed. It took a bit longer than he would have liked it, but soon the hallway was clear, and he jumped onto the ceiling.
It wasn’t much of a hassle to crawl through the tight vents, he’s done it before. It took him less than a minute to get through, and he dropped into the room nice and quietly, not wanting to disturb the person who was sleeping.
The boy’s doe brown eyes landed on his mentor. Tubes were sticking out in all directions. His right arm and part of his face heavily tainted with scars and red patches of skin. He heard his heavy and slow breathing, coming out in soft wheezes.
Peter swallowed thickly. He shouldn’t be here.
It’s only been a few weeks since Tony broke from his coma, he’s been in it for a whole two months. But everyone was ecstatic when he woke up, yet Peter couldn’t contain his worry seeing he was still very sleepy.
He remembers being there when the doctors told the team he’s entering through a thick road to recovery. “Minimally Conscious State” is what they said. Tony would be in this state for a good time, waking up for a few moments every now and then. He would have a good moment of consciousness, but it was told to them it would be best not to let him speak, and just encourage him to go back to sleep, as exhausting himself out with just moving his body isn’t good.
The teen shuttered at the thought, the doctors gave them hopeful news, and it made Peter smile. He was ushered out once the news was over, but his ears caught more. It was just meant for Pepper and Happy, but he heard it anyways…
Even if he was recovering, his brain could enter a deep sleep, and not wake up. He’s too weak…
It shattered Peter, he managed to keep a smile on his face until he got home. And he managed to shove the negative thoughts away for a while. Everything was fine…
Until… his trip.
Mysterio…
He remembers the fake visions he saw when he first fought with him. Everything looked too real- felt- smelled- sounded so real. He almost fell for it. Peter was fine for the first part, but once Veck showed him his worst nightmare, he lost it…
“You know Peter… you’re a good boy”
He shoved one of his mirror images off, grunted as another came full force soon him. He was suffocating.
“It would be a shame for you to lose more… To Lose Tony Stark.”
He hesitated. The weight on his shoulders suddenly grew lighter, and was able to push off the rest of his copies off of him. The boy was in a white room, a loud monotone beep noise flooding his ears. He let out a scream and plugged his ears. Not able to withstand the pain.
There was a shift.
He blinked and noticed everything around him was gone, it was dark, soundless-
He looked forward.
“Imagine that… Here lies Anthony Edward Stark…”
Peter blinked, he couldn’t breath as he knelt down onto his grave, hand fidgeting in his lap.
“If you were good enough. maybe Tony would still be alive.”
The boy let out a choked whine. Tony was dead? No. He couldn’t be- this was fake right?- he was still breathing and fine in…
In a hospital… bed.
“N-No… n-no..” he whispered out. Just as he was about to reach out to his grave, something shifted beneath the ground. He quickly picked himself up and backed away, fear finally settling between his spine.
A robotic arm was forcing out of the ground. The red and gold pattern Peter knew by heart, he lurched back.
He wanted to let out a scream as he saw Tony’s suit, broken- tattered, Beaten, and deanted come out of the ground. But that’s not what scared him the most, it was what the suit was holding inside, clearly visible due to the large holes it had…
It was bones…
A skeleton…
His skull…
Peter took a few steps back.
He blinked, the illusion faded…
He noticed it was too late to get off the train tracks.
Tears were pooling in his eyes as the memory faded away. He quickly covered his mouth, not letting any of the burning sobs come out. He would stay quiet, just for Tony to rest. Just for him… just for him. He would do anything for him. He gave him a suit, a chance to be a hero. Tony became his mentor just for him, he even…
Adoption papers felt forever ago...
He took a deep breath and walked over to the seat next to his bed. He slowly settled his body, his hand backing away from his mouth.
The boy pressed his lips together, letting his blurry eyes wander over to the man. His arc reactor flickering ever so slightly as his chest rose and fell. His eye lashes were slightly down, wrinkles becoming more prominent. But his face looked so calm, so peaceful. Peter felt as if it were a sin to stare at his mentor.
He looked away, bowing his head and folding his hands together. He didn’t pray often, and he wished he had to courage to do it more often. But now more than ever, he really needed some light in his life.
Tears began streaming down his cheeks. His hands gripping himself tightly. He let out a soft sniff as he wiped his nose, opening his eyes which burned at the cold air of the room.
‘He’s fine. He’s alive. He’s not dead. He’s here and safe.’
It was a constant loop in his head. He felt more reassured, but he felt more hopeless every time it repeated. Peter wanted him back, he didn’t want this trip to happen. All he wanted to do was get MJ and that was it.
But his Parker luck was never on his side anyways. It was as if fate loved tormenting him, no matter how much pain he was feeling.
He bit his lip and closed his eyes, frustration seeping out of his tired body as it shook. Another sniff broke, and this time a quiet whimper. He grunted softly and pushed his hand back over his mouth.
“P’te?”
The boys eyes snapped wide open, the trapped tears quickly dripping down his cheeks in the process. He whipped his head around and saw Tony, staring at him.
Chills racked through his body, he sniffed, “Mr. Stark- I’m so sorry- please just go back to sleep-”
“P’te... wh’ts wr’ng?” His voice was weak, and he had to swallow to keep talking from what Peter saw. The teen shook his head and stood up a bit straighter, pulling his hoodie down slightly.
“Mr. Stark… it’s okay. Go to sleep. You need to rest”
The man gave the boy a blank stare. It was usual for Peter at this point. Whenever Tony woke up, it would take him a while to catch up with the conversation, yet his sarcastic remarks were still at full play.
His eyes flicked and suddenly filled with concerned. His brows slowly creased together, “Und’roos.. I’ll go t’ sleep wh’n y’ure ok…”
Peter couldn’t help but smile at that. The fact that the man still wanted to care for him even in this state. The boy was about to reassure him he was fine, yet Stark interrupted him.
“I won't go t’ sleep t’ll I help y’u kid…” he said huskily, eyes firmly staying on his
The boy bit the inside of his cheek, looking away from the man. He rubbed his nose as his own eyes suddenly grew heavy, forcing him to look at the ground.
“P’te…” It came out as a plead, and Peter looked up shock. His eyes were full of worry and sadness as his face was lined with sorrow. The boy couldn’t help himself anymore and he broke down crying in front of him, shame piling over his shoulders.
“Kid- please… c’m h’re.”
The boy finally nodded silently, deciding to scoot his chair quietly over to his bed closer. The man started to left his right shaky arm, and Peter freaked out quickly pressing a light hand on him. “No no- D-Don’t do that Mr. Stark. You’ll hurt yourself.”
Tony stared for a moment before snorting, eyes blinking wearily, “You s’und jus’ like Pep…”
The teenager shook his head, before setting his face on the mattress, trying to cool off his hot head.
He suddenly felt a hand go through his curls lightly, pulling his knots undone as he laid there. As desperately he wanted to tell the man to stop, he couldn’t. He missed his touch, his voice, his “Stark” attitude in the air. He missed it all.
His calloused hands combed through his curls, they were shaky, gentle, yet firm all together. It was like if someone was shivering as they brushed their fingertips through his scalp. He breathed in deeply, trying to calm himself down as the warmth from Tony flushed through his head.
He didn’t deserve this… No… not like this.
The words from Mysterio came back to him, his mind wandered over to the day he woke up again. Strange was yelling at him to get up as h opened portals, Sam for some reason shouting at him to open it near Cap’s left all at the same time. Tears blurred his vision again as he felt a shiver rack Stark’s hands, he winced.
If he was stronger ... he could have snapped. Tony didn’t have to do it. Why didn’t he take the gauntlet…? Weak.
Maybe Quentin was right, he wasn’t good enough for Tony.
“Ar’ you goin’ t’ t’ll the stor’y or am I g’nna h’ve t’ ask?...” he asked nonchalantly, his hands still tugging his hair lightly.
He raised his head up, looking at his mentor, “Did um…” he sniffed, gathering the last of his courage to talk, “Did you hear about the guy named Mysterio?”
Tony smiled, “An’ the f’mous Night Monk’y?”
Peter instantly blushed, causing Tony to let out a pained laugh, eyes closing in amusement. He tried to clear his throat, but it came out as just a cough. The boy stilled before standing up, quickly walking to the corner of the room and grabbing a plastic cup, filling it up with water before bringing it back to Tony.
Peter was about to hand it to him before he drew back, causing the man to raise an eyebrow, “Sorry- I forgot you don’t like being handed-”
“Kid j’st give me the w’ter.”
The boy reluctantly gave it to him, and Tony drank in silence, muttering a much clearer “Thank you” to Peter.
“I he’rd him in the news… seems we h’ve anoth’r hero?”
The young hero stilled, watching the expression fade away from Tony’s eyes. The man cleared his throat once more, this time he succeeded, “I was only awake for that day… did I miss something?”
Peter sighed, “He um, lied about being a hero… he wanted revenge on you- so… he decided to go after me…”
Tony blinked, “He knew who you were?”
The boy nodded, “It’s a long story… apparently something about you firing him… and calling his tech B.A.R.F.-”
“Quentin?…. Oh my- shit Pete this is my fault-”
Peter’s eyes widened, “Mr. Stark it’s not your fault! You didn’t know this would have happened!” He assured him, which didn’t seem to work, it only made the man’s expression grew dimmer.
“Pete… did something happen with Quentin?”
This is what the boy was afraid about. He nodded fearfully, fingers curling in his lap as he licked his lips, his mouth suddenly becoming dry.
“He… he pretended to be a hero- but in reality he was using this projector thingies, to um, create some sort of illusion… and I fell for it-”
“Pete I knew this man- and his tech was pretty advanced, don’t feel bad-”
“I gave your glasses to him... Even dead I’m...” he trailed off before continuing, “...not a nice name… um… by the way. No offense.”
Tony’s brows furrowed in confusion, before he blinked, sighing. “The glasses were in case if something happened to me, I think i stayed dead for a bit too long I confused my own system.” he said with a sad smile. He looked to Peter again, pressing his lips together, “Pete why did you give him the glasses?.”
Peter looked scared for a brief moment before he rambled on,“I-I saw him as a better hero! I didn’t think you actually chose me to follow your footsteps!-”
He took a shaky breath, “I was scared alright? I already messed up- and I-I didn’t want to make it worse! But I did and in the end he was bad- and he made me go into another building he showed me illusions and I saw MJ fall to her death in front of my eyes- and your grave and your corpse literally dug out of the ground- and I didn’t know he pushed me into some train tracks and-”
“Wait what?”
Peter looked up in shock. Tony’s stern face was suddenly back on, it almost appeared as if he wasn’t tired in the first place. But his dark eyes flicked around his face, and Peter only started realizing that he was crying once again. Tears started running down his face, the boy failed to wipe them all away.
“Please Pete- what about me? And a train?”
The teen sucked air between his teeth before taking a shaky breathe out, which sounded more like a wheeze to the man, “H-He started creating t-these I-Illusions a-and I-I saw y-you… your grave in f-front of me. A-And after he- talked to m-me I-I saw your Iron suit come o-out of the ground- b-but I didn’t r-realize at first t-that it was broken… a-and had holes i-in it- and it was your bones- your skull a-and-”
“Pete.”
He didn’t hear the man, “and he kept on telling me t-that if I was just better none of this would have happened to you- and I-I didn’t realize he backed me u-up so a train would hit me-”
“Peter.”
He looked up, tears burning at the edges of his eye lids. But his mouth hung open slightly in surprise, seeing the man was wet around his eyes as well, yet they showed anger more than anything.
“I want you to listen to me, ok?” He asked sternly, and Peter slowly nodded, holding his breath as he tried to keep the water works away. He sniffed and tried to breathe, yet it only made him suck in the air faster. Nerves shaking his whole body.
The man’s eyes were still stern, yet soft all at the same time. He reached with his shaking arm and cupped it against his face. Peter let out a sob at the contact, feeling his weak calloused thumb stroke him against his cheek, brushing the tears away.
“No matter who tells you that you should have been better, that you aren’t good enough or just useless… Just know they are insulting me to.”
The boy sniffed, “w-wha-”
Tony cut him off as his hand brushed over his nose, the teen blushed, “I’m choosing you to be the one to take on my path. Peter… So in the end they’re just telling me they don’t agree with the great Ironman.” He smiled, “I wouldn’t have chosen anyone else… just you… you got that?”
Peter’s tears started to stream faster, and he gave the man a jerky nod. Tony stared in silence before becoming satisfied with his timid nod, and he started reaching up to go through his curls again. The boy allowed it to happen this time, and he bent his head down onto the mattress, feeling the shaking fingers of the man tickle his scalp.
“Know that Peter… I still don’t regret my decision… your such a good kid, too good.”
The boy let out a quiet sob into the mattress, and Tony pushes his hand down gently, trying to ease the boy’s cries. They stayed like that for a few minutes. The man of Iron gently undoing his tough curls as Peter shivered through his pained cries, feeling the man’s comforting touch sent butterflies to his stomach. His comforting words made Peter fold his fingers against the blankets of the hospital bed, emotions becoming too much for him.
He felt his gut clench and twist as the man continued his soft words of comfort, fingers tugging his hair ever so soft. Peter’s stomach filled with emotion, so much so he thought he was going to throw up. Pain spread across his body, forcing his breathing to be slowed, eyes squeezing shut as tiny whimpers escaped him
He never felt so humiliated in his life. He was shaking like a leaf, whimpering as if he were only a baby. Yet the painful feeling that Tony created in his body, it hurt like hell, but it felt… safe… right...
It wasn’t until Peter stopped whimpering the man approached his face, his calloused hands dragging to his cheek, picking him up gently. The teen let his face be held up, tear stains still wet and some still managing to seep out of his large eyes.
The man patted him gently before wiping away the rest, causing Peter the blush even more. Tony just smiled.
“Is there anything else that’s bugging you?” The man asked his kid, gently removing the loose curls that were in front of his face.
Peter stared at him, wide brown eyes filled with unsureness before nodding hesitantly, a soft frown finding its way to the man, “You can tell me kid…”
He cleared his throat trying to look away from the man, yet Tony only steered him back, causing his eyes to land on his.
“U-uh… M-Mysterio h-he… um… f-framed me f-for causing a whole d-drone fight w-with him… and k-killing h-him.”
Tony’s hand pressed against his cheek, wiping a tear away before it had a chance to fall any lower, “Well that’s fine- we can both fix that confusion. It won’t be a problem for Tony Stark.” He created a comforting smile, yet it slowly started to fall once he realized the boy’s features worsened.
“What?...”
He sniffed, “He also… r-revealed o-on the m-morning alert n-news that… S-Spider-Man is Peter Parker.”
Tony stilled, his hand slowly retreating to his side where it clenched, he started to see some red in his vision. “Peter when did this-”
“Last week, you were asleep for it… that’s why I came at this time, and with this-” he tugged his hoodie, letting the man stare at it before drawing his attention away.
“And- most people believed him s-so-”
“Peter... are you hiding?”
The teens breath hitched, confirming the man’s suspicions.
Just as he was about to speak up, Peter’s head swung over to the door, a look of terror came on his eyes. Tony’s sternness came over him, and grabbed Peter’s shoulder, forcing him to stay put. The boy looked fearfully at the man, yet he only just shushed him softly, making the boy swallow down his cries.
They saw silhouette pass by their room, and stopped there for a moment. The two males waited in silence for a moment, Tony’s hand gripping Peter’s shoulder securly.
The person seemed satisfied with the silence and continued down walking leaving the two alone.
The teen let out a sigh, yet it didn’t sound very relieving. Tony sighed, seeing the kid scared to bits didn’t fit too well for him. He squeezed his shoulder once more, grabbing Peter’s attention.
“Pete- listen to me alright? This is what we are going to do.”
The boy blinked in confusion as he slowly turned back to him, eyes landing on Tony.
“You are going to stay here with me. I only have a few more weeks till I’m off of hospitalization-”
“Wait what? But I thought the sleeping cycles-”
Tony chuckled, cutting him off, “Sure I still have been in and out of consciousness, but it’s been nearly three months Pete, and I want out.”
The boy grimaced, “Mr. Stark you still need to stay in-”
“Do you want the truth Pete? About all of this?”
The boy stared at him, his cheeks were still stained and glistening in the dark, his eyes still slightly red. He sniffed before nodding, rubbing his nose.
“I’m here because my heart is weak, It still has shrapnel near it. The doctors are getting over protective as my brain isn’t doing much better, but it comes with age. And my arm?- will never heal properly. I can only move it up and down and twitch my fingers…”
Peter felt immense guilt pool in his stomach, he looked away, rubbing his eyes as Stark continued, already knowing about the man’s condition.
“I’m in- whatever the type of sleepy cycle comas I’m in-”
“Minal conscious state-”
Tony snorted, “yea that- but it’s just because my body is healing properly. I’m finally waking up for real, It doesn’t mean I can’t wake up.”
“It still means you could die without the proper rest Tony.” The boy said bitterly.
Peter’s mouth shut close, before it opened again like a fish. His head pounded as tears were beginning to spill again, he was humiliated.
“I-I’m so sorry I didn’t mean!-”
“You called me Tony again…”
The boy blinked before he shrugged, looking away. The man sighed once more, before he dove back into the topic.
“I may be here in the hospital Pete. But I’m not leaving you until you are ready to be on your own, I promised that.” The words were barely higher than a whisper, holding so much truth. The boy nodded quickly without word, his hands rubbing up and down his arms.
The young hero snapped his head up as he heard a groan come from the man. He looked to see Tony pushing himself up, Peter nearly screamed, “Tony!-”
“Oh shush Underoos.” He quipped, pushing his weak body to the side of the large hospital bed. He patted gently with his fingers beside him, Peter stared not understanding.
“Pete get in. And that’s an order.”
Peter blushed before he shakily stood up on his legs, unsure of what exactly to do. He didn’t want to lay down near him, considering the fact that he still had tubes in his nose and all over his body.
He breathed in and slowly took off his sweater. He kicked off his shoes (and socks, not wanting to have the dirty wear near the man) and crawled in beside him, being careful to lay his body next to his. He tried to stay perfectly still. Not wanting to move much for the man.
Yet Tony caught him off guard, there was a very light jab at his side, and that’s all it took to make Peter squirm, a bark of laughter escaping from him.
He gasped and covered his mouth, while the man laughed, shaking his head.
“Just relax Pete, please?”
The boy looked over to him, failing to stop his red face from growing any darker. He nodded as laid down back on the bed, his head enjoying the cooling sensation.
He felt Tony’s hand direct his face over to his. He didn’t feel uncomfortable per say, but he hated the fact that not only he was so close and vulnerable in front of his idol, but the fact that his mentor was also injured, and any wrong shift may hurt him.
He saw his mentor’s eyes soften, a smile finding a way to his lips as he let out a breathy laugh. Peter couldn’t help but return the gesture, anytime Tony genuinely smiled made the boy feel lighter.
“Listen ok? First, you’re going to stick with me. The doc checks on me every morning- I know. And when he enters I want you to wake me up.”
“Tony?-”
He didn’t let Peter talk, “I’ll explain about you alright? You have the famous Tony Stark on your side- it shouldn’t be a problem. Yes? I only need a nod.”
Peter stared at him for a moment longer before nodding.
Tony smiled, “Ok… then, you can stay here alright. We can manage with you staying here with me for a couple of weeks, since I know you- you don’t want to involve you Aunt Hottie into this.”
This time Peter chuckled at the name, and Tony mentally fist pumped at the sight of his soft smile, at the same time, reaching for his curls again, “After that, I’ll call your aunt and explain what’s going on-”
He pushed a curl out of the way, “And once I’m out, I’m gonna stick up for my kid- or aka the next better Ironman you decide.”
He blushed at Tony’s response, but he only nodded, fearing he would let another stream of tears wash out if he spoke up. Tony chuckled softly as he let his hands brush through his curls, purposely letting some fall near his face, just so he can brush them away.
The boy blinked and looked up to him, pressing his lips together as he pushed his body closer to him.
The elder saw what he was doing, and quickly shifted forward as well, letting his arms bend around him as one stuck to his hair, another landing on his neck and shoulder, massaging them.
The boy sighed softly, showing signs of tiredness. Tony continued to pull and tug on some knots in his hair, obvious that the boy enjoyed the feeling.
“I don’t say it a lot but, I love you… ok Peter…?”
Peter pushes his head closer to his chest, the small buzz of his arc reactor calming him, “I love you too dad…”
…
Wait-
“Oh my gosh!- Tony!- Mr. Stark I’m-!”
“I haven’t heard that slip up in a while. You should say it more often.” The man teased, causing Peter’s lower lip to stick out.
“Not funny dad. ”
“Sure it is son. ” He replied just as playfully back. The boy blushed before rolling his eyes, resting his head once more on his chest. The man continued to play with his curls until he felt a wave of warmth cover over him. He hugged Peter tightly, before placing a soft kiss on Peter’s forehead, causing the boy to slightly jump.
“Remember, wake me up when they arrive alright?”
He felt the boy nod against him, and the man accepted the final reply. He grabbed the sheets, draping them over the two of them. Peter stared at Tony as he saw his eyes fluttered close, his smile fading slightly as it entered back in his calm state.
The boy felt an oozing feeling in his chest, the same one from earlier- the one that painfully burned in a good way. He let the sheets stay tucked over his chin, breathing deeply, the stained scent of grease, oil, and smoke slowly entered his nostrils. Peter mentally laughed at the fact he still smelled like that. He felt Tony’s warmth make his body fully relaxed, as his heart continued to beat in a steady rhythm, reminding him that he was alive and how Tony would never leave- no matter how-...
...
A soft snore broke through his thoughts... the boy smiled.
...He closed his eyes.
"I love you 3000 Tony..."
"Mmm... Go t' sleep kid..."
He sighed, "..kay..."