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“Pete, I'm gonna need you to grab that", Tony says, trying to stay calm as an expensive piece falls off of what he and Peter are working on. Tony is sure it is going to clatter to the floor when, suddenly, Peter catches it, inches above the hard ground.
"Whoa", Peter says, letting out a sharp breath and a nervous laugh. "That was close, huh Mr. Stark?".
"Well, lucky for us, and my equipment, you have that Peter tingle", Tony says, knowing that it bothers the kid when he calls his spider sense that.
Peter rolls his eyes, “Mr. Stark, it’s not a tingle”, he hands the piece back to his mentor. “I’m gonna kill May for even making that a thing”.
“You know we love you, kid”, Mr. Stark says, continuing to try to put together this new suit.“It’s not funny”.
Tony nods his head to the side slightly, a smirk on his face. “It’s kind of funny”.
Peter can’t help but smile at this point. He enjoys these moments when things between him and his, usually serious, mentor can have light-hearted conversation.
Tony finishes applying the gadget to the new suit and plops down in the chair beside him and let’s out a heavy sigh. “What time is it, anyway?”.
“Uh”, Peter looks down at his Stark watch that Tony custom made just for him. “9:30”.
“Damn”, Tony leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees and rubs his head with his hands. “Where does the time go?”.
Peter is distracted by a small gadget. “I don’t know, Mr. Stark. It just goes”.
Tony doesn’t understand what the kid means half of the time, but he enjoys the conversation.“Does your aunt know that you are staying late?”.
“Yeah”, Peter says, seeming really intrigued by this object he has in his hands.
“Well, I’m gonna need more coffee if we are gonna finish this tonight”, he looks around for his coffee mug.
As if reading his mentor’s mind he answers. “You left it in the kitchen, Mr. Stark”.
“Really?” Tony says, sighing.
“Mhm. Right next to the coffee pot”.
“Wanna help an old man out, Spider-Man?” Tony asks.
Right when Tony gets the full question out, the gadget in Peter’s hand shocks him. He lets out a small yelp and quickly sets it down. “Uh, yeah, I’ll go get it. As long as you let me have some”.
“Kid, you know how I feel about giving you caffeine”.
“But Mr. Stark”, Peter tries to reason with the man.
“Hey, what’s this I hear about from May that you weren’t in class the day of your big Spanish test?” Tony begins to grill Peter, so he’ll stop with the coffee thing. “Because May thinks it may have something to do with patrol and-“.
Peter’s eyes widen as he cuts off Tony, “Actually, Mr. Stark, you are totally right about the caffeine. I’ll be right back with your coffee”. He rushes out the door and out to the kitchen.
Tony shakes his head and gets back to work on his suit.
Minutes pass and he knows that it doesn’t take any normal person that long to grab something from a few rooms away, let alone a super human. He sluggishly gets up and makes his way towards where Peter shouldn’t still be.The house is quiet. Pepper is out at a gala for Stark Industries and she won’t be back until late. Tony was initially going to go with her—since it is his company—but remembered last minute that he made plans with Peter. He couldn’t let the kid down. He just couldn’t.
Tony finally gets to the kitchen. “Hey kid, listen we are going to have to talk about the Spanish test eventually, so there is no point in avoiding me and trying to come up with ridiculous excuses”.
Right as Tony finishes he can feel his blood run cold when he sees that Peter is not in the kitchen alone.
A strange man is holding a knife to Peter. Upon hearing Tony’s entrance, he wraps his arm around the teenager’s neck and holds the blade to his throat.
Tony puts his hands up defensively, “What do you want?”.
The man is significantly larger than Peter. His red hair is slicked back and he doesn’t budge. “Make one move, Stark, and the twerp dies”, the man threatens.
Tony looks at Peter, “You okay, kid?”. Peter’s eyes are wide and his body is rigid, but he slightly nods, trying not to disrupt the knife against his throat.
“Hey!” the man yells. “You’re talking to me!”.
“Okay, so I’ll ask again, what do you want?” Tony gives his attention back to the man.
“Where do you keep the alien tech?” the man spits.
“Seriously, with the tech again?” Tony wishes that people would just find a new destructive obsession.
"I know you have it, Stark!" the man says impatiently.
Tony can see that Peter is communicating with his eyes. He wants permission to take this guy down--because he easily could if he wanted to--but he knows he shouldn't expose himself. This guy has no idea that Peter is Spider-Man and Tony intends to keep his identity a secret. He shakes his head slightly at the teen.
"What makes you think I have the alien tech here?" Tony questions.
The man presses the knife deeper into Peter's neck, drawing a drop of blood. "Don't fuck with me, Stark. I will not hesitate to end him". Peter hardly winces. The kid is so damn brave.
"That's all you want, the alien tech? Nothing else?" Tony confirms.
"Don't give it to him, Mr. Stark", Peter says. Tony wishes the kid would just keep his mouth shut.
The man gets right in Peter's ear and grips Peter tighter, "You shut the fuck up".
"Kid, not helping", Tony says.
"Just give me what I'm asking for, Stark, and this punk can live".
"I can't do that", Tony says.
"I'm not fucking with you, Stark". The man says angrily. "I will slit this kid's throat".
"No, I mean that I literally can't do that. I don't have the tech with me". Tony lowers one of his hands and reaches towards his back pocket.
"Hey!" the man shouts, not trusting what the billionaire is reaching for.
Tony stops reaching and pauses, "I'm just reaching for my phone".
"Why?".
"To call someone for the tech, genius", Tony is trying to bite his tongue, but this guy is pissing him off. He pulls the phone out and begins to dial a number.
"No! Mr. Stark, don't do it! I'll be okay", Peter intervenes.
The man pulls the blade from the teen's neck and hit him over the temple with the handle of the knife. Peter winces at that.
"Kid, don't talk for once in you life", Tony snaps, but not so much at Peter as at the blow the kid took to his head. He just wants Peter to stay quiet so he wouldn't trigger the loose canon.
Tony places the phone to his ear. There is a silent moment as he waits for the person to answer. "Hey Rhodey, it's me. Hey, I was wondering if you would be able to have the alien tech transferred over here". Another pause. "No reason, I just want to see if I can find anything new since I last checked it". Silence once again as he listens. "Yeah, well you know, people are just insane in the membrane". The man gives him a dirty stare. "All right, thanks Rhodes". He hangs up. He looks back at the man, "Happy?".
"Once the tech gets here, I will be".
The sad look in Peter's eyes hits Tony hard. Tony just can't let his kid get hurt because he's Tony Stark.
"Can you at least let go of the kid now?".
"Nah", the man says, "I think I'll keep him with me for insureance".
"He's just a kid", Tony says.
"Yeah, and this ain't just a game", the man snaps back.
Tony is ready to blast this guy to hell. He looks at Peter and notices that Peter is trying to communicate with him. He's trying to relay something with his eyes. Then, it occurs to Tony. Peter wants to try to pull something and bring the man down. Tony's eyes widen, letting Peter know that he does not approve of that idea, but the look in Peter's eyes doesn't change before the look turns into one of reassurance.
"Listen, why can't we just sit down like adults and talk about this?" Tony tries to reason with the man, so Peter won't have time to do anything stupid.
"Because, I'm not-".
The man is cut off due to Peter's fist colliding with his nose. As the man cries out, Peter turns his body, twisting his way out of the man's grip, but not before the man slices his arm with the knife. Peter's reaction is to spartan kick the man in the stomach, causing the man to fly back straight into the pantry door--breaking it--and his body crashes into the shelves as all the boxed and canned good fall on top of him.
Peter quickly rushes over to the unconscious man. He observes him. Besides a few marks from the items falling on him and a small bit of blood coming from his head, he is fine. Tony runs over to Peter. "It's okay, Mr. Stark. I didn't kill him".
Tony immediately grabs Peter's bleeding arm, "Let me see that cut".
"Mr. Stark, I'm fine. It's already started healing", Peter assures him.
"Yeah, you could need 74 stitches and say the same thing", Tony averts his attention to Peter's neck, cupping his face in his hands and positioning his head up to get a better view of the cuts.
"Mr. Stark", Peter gently grasps his mentor's wrists and pulls his face away from him. "Really, I'm okay".
"Mhm", Tony says skeptically, "And would you tell me if you weren't?".
"Yes!" Peter answers. Tony doesn't change his expression. "Well, I try to take care of it myself", Peter changes his answer.
"Right", Tony confirms. "I rest my case".
“What about the alien tech?” Peter asks, remembering what caused all of this in the first place.
“Oh, it’s safe. Rhodes knows the code phrase”, Tony assures him.
“Code phrase?” Peter is a bit amused.
“Yeah”, Tony says, “‘Insane in the membrane’l.
Suddenly, the hairs on the back of Peter's neck spike. The man has woken up. Peter whips around and blocks the man's punch, but he still feels pain. It's not coming from the hand he blocked the punch with, but it burns. It burns so much. He looks down to the source of the pain. A knife. There is a knife protruding from his body. As soon as he notices the weapon, it is ripped from his form. He can feel a hot liquid make it's way down his body. He staggers back, looking at the man with pure confusion.
"Kid", Tony says, concerned. "What's happening?". Peter turns towards him. Tony's heart stops when he sees the growing red patch on Peter's chest. "You're alright", he says to the stunned teenager.
The man smiles sinisterly, "Adrian Toomes sends his regards". He rushes out of the room.
"FRIDAY, don't let him get out of this building", Tony calls out to the AI.
"Already on it, boss", she says in her smooth voice.
Tony hasn't taken his eyes off of Peter.
"Sorry, Mr. Stark. He got me", is all Peter says.
He notices how hard the kid is fighting to stay on his feet, but it seems like the bloody cough that escapes his mouth ruined his attempts. He staggers a bit before his knees buckle beneath him and he falls and Tony catches him, lowering him to the floor. He's kneeling beside Peter, leaning over him. There is so much blood. Not only is it pooling over his chest, but a crimson pool is forming underneath Peter's body and his knees. he quickly unclips a band on his wrist and places it on Peter. It scans his vitals. A voice, similar to FRIDAY's voice, comes from the band, stating Peter's vitals. They are not good.
"Taking Peter's superhuman abilities and healing factor into account, he is declining very quickly", it informs Tony.
"Do you have any idea of where the bleeding is coming from?" Tony asks, trying to be calm for Peter's sake.
"From the amount of bleeding and decline, I believe the blade pierced his heart".
Tony drops his head, letting out a sigh.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark", Peter says. Tony looks at him. Tears have already formed in his big brown eyes. Peter's voice sounds so weak.
"Hey, it's okay, kid", Tony says, placing a rough palm on the side of Peter's face, while applying pressure to his chest with his other hand. The squishing noise all the blood makes, makes Tony nauseous. This is all Peter's blood.
Peter slightly nods and looks up at the ceiling. "Hey, Mr. Stark, you know how you asked me", he takes a deep breath--well, at least as deep as he could, "If I would tell you if I wasn't okay?".
"Yeah, that convo was literally 5 minutes ago", Tony smirks.
"Yeah, well", Peter swallows thickly, "I'm not okay". His lip quivers and his voice gets tight. “I’m not okay, Mr. Stark”. A sob escapes.
“Hey, that’s progress”, Tony says light-heartedly. “ Listen Pete, I know you don’t think you’re okay right now, but you will be”. More tears fall from Peter’s eyes. “Hey, Pete”, Tony gently directs his head to face him. “You’ll be okay”. Peter looks at him and chokes back a sob.
“FRIDAY, have you called Dr. Cho?” Tony asks.
“Yes Boss, but she didn’t answer”.
“Well, then call her again!” Tony says impatiently.
"I will try her again".
Peter can feel all the liquid beneath him. He knows that if it weren't for his super-human abilities, he would be dead by now. He can feel his heart trying to heal itself, but the blood just keeps flowing. He feels himself shiver. It's really cold. Why is it so cold. He begins hyperventilating. His body is panicking, but he can't stop it.
"Whoa", Tony says, noticing the boy's sudden change in behavior. "Pete, I need you to calm down".
Peter can feel his heart racing. It hurts every time it pumps, and the blood begins flowing faster. His head is spinning, so he grabs onto Tony to try to make the room stop twirling around.
Tony doesn't know what to do. Peter's eyes roll back before they stare up at the ceiling, wide and glossy. His lips have turned a pale shade of blue. Shit. He's going into shock. Tony hates to leave Peter's side, but he runs to the living room to grab a blanket off the couch. He returns to the teen and tucks the blanket around him. He grabs a few boxes of food that fell in the pantry and elevate Peter's legs. He doesn't know if any of this is working, but it's all he can do.
"FRIDAY, did you get Cho?".
"Yes Boss, Dr. Cho is on her way now".
He looks back down at the weakening teen. He is so pale and his whole face is just beaded with cold sweat, except for the warm tears making there way down into his hairline. Tony doesn't take his hand off the wound. He runs his hand through Peter's sweaty hair and tries to communicate with him. "Peter, can you hear me? Look at me, kid".
Peter continues gasping for air, and with some effort slowly pushes his wide eyed stare over to Tony. "Mis-ter Stark", he says in between gasps.
"Yeah, good job, kid", Tony says to him. "Stay with me".
"May", is all Peter says this time around.
"She'll be fine, kid", Tony assures him, "All you need to focus on right now is keeping yourself awake".
Peter's eyes are burning into his mentor's. His gasps are sounding more and more wet and his small, weak coughs keep bringing up more and more blood. Peter's grip on Tony's arm is too weak. Tony doesn't know what to do. He was literally just okay. They were in the lab, just having a good time and enjoying each other's company. How did it come to this? How is his kid lying on the ground, bleeding out in front of him?
Peter is feeling to cold now and his breathing is getting harder and harder. He doesn't take his stare from Tony. "Mr. Stark", he chokes. "Mr. Stark", he says again. He's scared. He doesn't want to die. There is so much more he could do. So many more people he could help. "Mr.-", his head spins more as his eyes roll back in his head, the pain in his chest numbing, and his gasping stops.
"Pete", Tony says, gently shaking him. "Kid", he tries again, places his hand on his face once again and gently slaps it, but he gets no response. "Hey, Peter, come one". He feels for Peter's pulse and find a very small and weak pulse--hardly there. He lets the tears fall, praying that help gets there soon to save his kid. He just needs Peter to assure him that he is okay one more time.