Work Text:
Peter felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he pulled it out. There was a text on it.
Dad:
Hey, underoos, are we good to meet up after school still?
Peter smiled. He still couldn't believe it. He had a father, one who cared, one who was amazing. Peter couldn't quite admit it aloud. In his mind, Tony was 'Dad' but... Peter couldn't say it. Almost every family member he had was dead. He'd called Mary and Richard Mom and Dad and they'd died. His Nana and Papa had died. And his Uncle Ben...he could have saved his uncle, but he hadn't been fast enough, hadn't been brave enough. Peter was pretty sure he was cursed. He considered himself lucky that he still had May.
Though, Peter was sure no one could take May away, she wouldn't put up with that.
Part of Peter felt guilty. He knew that Tony would love to hear it...to hear Peter call him 'dad,' but Peter worried what would happen if he said that word. Would the curse mark Tony too? Every father figure he'd had was dead and Peter couldn't take a repeat performance. He loved Tony and the time he got to spend with him. It was the first time he'd felt, to his memory, a father-son bond. He didn't want to lose it. But he did want to be that. He wanted to call Tony 'dad,' but then what if the worst happened and it was his fault? Again.
Peter shook his head.
Peter:
Yeah, I'll meet you there. Save me a shake.
Dad:
Vanilla shake, just whipped cream, I know. You're boring like that. See you in a few hours, kid. Pay attention in class, only show off a little.
Peter chuckled at the teasing and put his phone in his pocket.
"Bro," Ned whispered. "Was that you know who?"
Peter nodded. "We're going to get food after school, then I'm staying the weekend."
"Sweet." Ned grinned. "What are you doing about the holidays, bro? Have you know who and your aunt talked about it?"
"We're doing Thankgiving at you know who's, all of us. Pepper invited us. We haven't talked about Christmas yet. It would be our first Christmas...I don't know if I'll be there on the day though...it depends. I have no clue what to get him, you're going to have to help me. What do you get a father figure for Christmas?"
"Depends, bro." Ned shrugged, rolling with the fact that Peter couldn't just outright call Tony his dad. "We'll talk about it later."
"Hey, Penis, what's this I hear about a father figure?" Flash snarked.
"Don't start." Ned snapped back.
"What, Parker doesn't have a father figure, or a mother, ha, or an uncle for that matter."
"Do you three want dentention?" Mr. Harrington asked.
Peter ducked his head instantly. He didn't want to miss out on time with his da-Tony.
-
Peter dropped into an alleyway. He felt pretty good. He'd stopped a mugging on the way to meet Tony, so...two birds with one stone. He pulled off his mask and walked around the corner. He felt a tingle in the back of his skull and turned. The street was busy and he felt a faint hum of danger, but it didn't seem urgent. He looked at all the cars and windows, but didn't see anything suspicious. He frowned and walked into the restaurant.
Tony was in the back corner, wearing casual clothes, a ballcap and sunglasses. For the most part, when he dressed like that, no one seemed to figure out who he was. "What's that look for, kid?"
"Just had this danger vibe outside. I don't feel it now though." Peter shrugged. "OOH shake! Come to papa."
"There are thirty shakes of exotic flavors here and you get the plain vanilla. I really don't get it." Tony, of course, was sipping on a espresso shake.
"Some things are classic." Peter liked other shakes better, but vanilla was special. Ben liked vanilla. "How was work?"
"Boring. I didn't get any lab time. Pepper had me grounded to meetings." Tony sighed.
"Sounds like the equivilent to a APUSH lecture. My teacher just droans on and on when it could be summed up in a short, neat, paragraph."
"Tell me about it. How was the Spanish quiz?"
"Excelente. Tengo una A. Gracias."
"Bel lavoro, tesoro. Ora devi solo imparare l'italiano." Tony grinned.
"I have no idea what you're saying to me." Peter shook his head.
"Good, we're even then, because my Spanish is rusty. Whatcha hungry for, kid?"
"I'm thinking about a burger."
"Good choice, I'll allow it." Tony teased. "What you up for this weekened?"
"Movies and explosions?"
"Movies yes, explosions no. I'm still in the doghouse with Pepps for that last one. So, how about we not do any more of those arrows for Clint. Or at least not let him test them."
"Okay. Movies and relaxing? Plus I have some lit homework."
"Really? What's the subject?"
"The use of food in both A Midsummer Night's Dream and Great Expectations. It's a compare and contrast thing. She randomly selects topics and it's aweful."
"Well, if I were any good at essay writing I'd help, but...I'd probably make your grade worse, if I'm honest. I almost failed that class in highschool." Tony frowned.
"No kidding?" Peter would have never guessed that.
"Solid C- student in that class. A+ everywhere else, just never could get the words to flow elegantly enough. I understood it, but organizing my thoughts in words doesn't help much."
"Numbers are easier for that." Peter agreed.
Tony smiled. "Exactly."
They chatted and ordered food, eating and laughing. Then Peter paused. The sensation was back, worse. Like something bad was going to happen.
"Peter?"
He frowned and looked down at the table. "Something isn't right."
Tony's face became serious. "We can go home. You might be more comfortable."
"Yeah, maybe. I don't know. My...'sixth sense' goes off over weird things sometimes. Like, whenever there's a thunderstorm I have this sense of impending doom right before thunder. It's weird...." Peter didn't like it. He could sense danger, but he couldn't find any direction, any solid proof that it existed.
Tony looked thoughtful. "Then let's get you away from it, whatever it is. You don't look comfortable."
They gathered up their jackets and Peter put on his backpack as Tony paid the bill. Together they stepped outside. "Sorry." Peter appologized.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, kid. I don't have a sixth sense, but I know what it's like to be uncomfortable or feel doom coming-thank anxiety for that."
Tony was talking, but the feeling was worse. Peter turned, trying to find where the threat was. He really didn't like this. It was like the feeling was pulsing, buzzing high then low. It got better and then it got worse. "Yeah."
"So, Rhodey's coming by for Thanksgiving. I thought maybe we could tell him about...you know, if you were up for it. I trust him."
"Yeah...sure." Peter said.
"Kid?" Tony paused and turned.
Peter's body shot up ramrod straight. The danger became instantly apparent to him. There was no threat to Peter. He was sensing it around Tony. The buzzing in and out, that pulsating feeling...it was Peter getting in the way of the danger.
"Peter, what's wrong?" Tony's eyes were wide when he saw Peter's face.
Peter felt cold, full of terror. He whipped his head around and up at the threat. Sure enough, a sniper in a window. "Dad! Down!" He launched himself forward as the horrible sensation grew to a peak. He tackled Tony to the sidewalk as the gunshot rang out. "This way." He helped Tony up and yanked him away from the feeling. Through the streets and down an alley way. Peter knew he just needed to get them out of the line of sight, and away from any more possible assassins. He got Tony into the alley way and used his webs to launch them both up to the roof. "Holy shit.... Pepper's going to be pissed. She said no guns."
"Never mind that, kid. Are you alright?"
"Huh, yeah, you?" Peter asked.
Tony nodded. "I'm calling a suit." He tapped on his wrist then turned to look at Peter. His eyes widened, his face paled to a shade of white. "Peter..."
"What?" Peter asked. Why were the clouds fuzy?
"Peter...oh shit. No, no, no."
"The colors are really blurry...why're they so..." Peter looked down and saw red coloring the shoulder of his jacket. Only then did he feel the flash of pain. "Ow. Tha' hurts."
Tony gripped him quickly. "Hey, you're okay. You're fine. Breathe. You're going to be okay, Peter. I've got you. You're going to be fine." Tony caught Peter as he collapsed. "This is gonna hurt, bambino, just hold on for me, stay awake." Tony held Peter on his lap and pressed down on the wound. "Help's on the way, okay?"
"D-dad?"
"Yeah, Peter?"
"I don't feel so good." The swirling colors faded to black.
"Peter!"
The sounds went away too.
-
"Spiderman's lost a lot of blood, but he made it through the surgery. It took Captain Rogers' meds to keep him down." Helen frowned. "I don't know if we can give him blood, given his mutation, his body might not react well. You were lucky he was there. Anyone without a healing factor would have died. I just don't know how well he'll do in recovery given how much he lost."
Tony looked up at her. "Mine would be the closest, probably the safest."
"Pardon?" Helen looked at him curiously.
"He's my son." Tony whispered.
Helen paused for a moment, then nodded. "Got it. If there was anything that would work a blood relative would."
Tony held out his arm. "Whatever he needs."
She put her hand on his shoulder. "We have enough in storage already, Tony. I don't need your arm."
Oh. That was right. Tony forgot that they kept spare blood for all the Avengers...just in case a fight went wrong and they needed it later on. His mind was fuzzy. It was just an endless worried circle of Peter, Peter, Peter.
"He's going to be okay." She nodded before she walked away.
Tony waited, just outside the door. The panicked noises of before seemed to have gone. It was a bit of a comfort, but there wasn't anymore shouting so Tony couldn't tell what was happening to Peter, to his son. His hands shook. There was still blood under his nails and it made him nauscious. He'd only just gotten his son back and here he was nearly losing him, and it was his fault.
A hand firmly grabbed his.
Tony looked up at May.
"You look like shit, Tony." She sat next to him and squeezed his hand. "How's Peter?"
"They're giving him a blood transfusion now. Dr. Cho said he lost a lot of blood, but she wasn't sure she how he'd react to someone else's blood, given his mutation." Tony had told May Peter was Spiderman outright. He'd promised to be honest with the woman so he could have Peter in his life. May had, surrisingly, taken the news pretty well. She was pissed that Peter'd never told her, but she seemed actually happy that Tony was making sure he was safe.
"They try yours?" May asked.
"That's what they're doing now." Tony nodded and put his head in his free hand.
May squeezed his hand. "It wasn't your fault. Peter will always throw himself into trouble. He's a teenaged superhero and keeps it a secret from his aunt so he doesn't stress her out. He doesn't know I know, but still, that's Peter." May frowned. "Has he ever told you about...that night?"
Tony knew exactly which night she was refering too, but Peter had never said a word about it. He'd seen the news report. He knew enough to know that Peter'd held his dying uncle in his arms. Peter had put the pressure on the wound, Peter had tried to save him. Ben had died anyway. It wasn't Peter's fault, but Tony could tell by the way Peter looked when he spoke about his uncle that Peter blamed himself. Tony'd seen that look on his own face.
"It wasn't Peter's fault, powers or no. Sometimes things happen. But Peter, he still hasn't forgiven himself. I try to get him to therapy when I have the money for it, but even with that he still has this weight on his shoulders." May frowned. "Tony. Peter lost his parents. Grandparents... Ben and I were his only living relatives...and then Ben was murdered." May shook her head. "He won't let me go out at night alone. He won't let me go shopping by myself past a certain time. He always tells me which parts of town I should and shouldn't go to." May scoffed. "Then he finds out that he has a biological father. He's been so much happier, brighter. I can honestly admit that I didn't like you. But the more I see you with him. You're so good for him. I'll admit, it's helped me like you a bit more. You're a good father."
"He called me 'Dad' for the first time today."
"Really? He's thought of you as a father for a long time...even if he's never said it. I'm pretty sure your name in his phone is Dad." May squeezed his hand harder. "Now, a gun was trained on you. Do you think he'd ever let that hit you? No. Not my Peter, not OUR Peter. He'd do everything he could to save anyone, what do you think he'd do to protect someone he loves? More than take a bullet, I'm sure. It wasn't your fault that someone was there, and Peter will always be the person to try to protect others. Do you know how many times he's taken other people? Even people who hurt him? I can't tell you how many times that kid's covered for bullies... It's just who Peter is. He's a good kid, a hero even before the whole...spider thing."
"Don't know where he got that from." Tony wiped his eyes.
"I'm starting to figure it out...I think." May whispered.
The door opened. "Tony, he's doing well. He's asleep, but you can uh, both come in." Dr. Cho said.
"Thank you, so much." May said. "Come on, let's go see our brave idiot."
Tony got up and went with her. She went right to his side and kissed his cheek. Tony stared for a moment. Peter looked decent...a little pale, but he looked okay, alive and breathing. His face was relaxed, even though his shoulder was bandaged.
"My brave kiddo. What am I gonna do with you?" May sighed.
Tony swallowed his guilt, because, well, May was right. This was Peter. Peter would do this for anyone, even the stupid Flash kid. He walked forward and gently put his hand in Peter's. "You're in so much trouble, bambino."
"Grounded, I agree." May laughed. "So grounded."
Tony ruffled Peter's hair gently and leaned down to kiss his forehead. "You know, it's my job to protect you, right?" Tony shook his head and closed his eyes kissing Peter's forehead one more time. "I'll do better next time. Ti voglio bene, bambino."
"He's going to be fine, healing up nicely." Dr. Cho said. "Sorry for the interruption. Mr. Stark, I believe you'd like this incident to be private, but I believe someone should oversee his case. His body isn't like anyone elses, not even Cap's. I should look into it so I can make medicines that can actually help him. He needed quite the dose to keep him under, even with the blood loss. His secret would be safe with me...all of his secrets."
Tony looked up at Helen. "Thank you. I admit medicine isn't my field. I'd really be grateful for the help."
"I'll get on it." She walked forward and checked a few of the machines. Curiously, she looked at the bandage and gently lifted the wrappings. "And I don't know why we bothered with stitches, they'll have to come out soon. I'll be back to remove them before he heals too much or wakes up."
"Thank you." May smiled up at Helen.
"You're welcome." Helen didn't ask who May was. Tony was grateful. He knew the image this presented (even if it was a false one), but Helen didn't ask or try to pry out any details. She remained professional and kind and left the room.
"So, how long do you think we should ground him?"
"Oh, I was thinking two weeks." May nodded.
"I was thinking three." Tony said. "It'd really show him, you know? Then he'd be grounded on Thanksgiving while every other teenager is haveing fun on their days off."
"I think we just became friends." May grinned at Tony. "I like your plan."
Tony laughed. "Friends." He agreed.
-
Peter woke up all at once and shot straight up. "Dad?" He asked in a panic. The last thing he remembered was that his dad had a gun pointed at him. Was Tony okay, or had Peter failed him...just like Ben? "Dad?!"
"Hey, easy underoos. I'm right here." Tony's hand was suddenly in his hair, gently guiding him back.
Peter turned and looked at Tony with wide eyes. "You're...okay."
"Thanks to you."
"You're okay." Peter whispered.
Tony nodded. "I'm alright, Peter. Take it easy, you're mostly healed, but Helen says the internal damage is gonna sting for a bit, so ease up."
"I thought I was never gonna get to call you dad. I was scared."
"Kid, you can call me that whenever you want." Tony promised.
"Really?" Peter asked with wide eyes.
"Yeah, in fact, I really like it." Tony nodded with tears in his eyes.
Peter sat up and wrapped his arms around Tony. "I'm glad you're okay, Dad. I love you."
"I love you too, son." Tony smiled gently.
"This is soo cute. But you are soooooooooo grounded, Spiderman." May said from the doorway.
Peter's eyes widened and he pulled away. May knew. May knew he was Spiderman. MayknewhewasSpiderman. He was not just grounded, he was dead. "Oh fuck."