Work Text:
Tony walked out of his bedroom at eight in the morning only to be met with the sight of Peter Parker sleeping on the hallway floor.
Tony stared for a moment, not fully comprehending what he was seeing or why it was happening. Then he took a deep breath before approaching him quietly. He reminded himself that he has seen much weirder scenarios, like the one time he caught Peter walking across the kitchen ceiling. If he could handle that then he could handle anything.
First, Tony walked over and lightly nudged his shoulder with the bottom of his foot, hoping he didn’t have to bend down, his knees weren’t what they used to be after all. Instead of waking, Peter’s chin dropped deeper into his chest and he swears he heard a snore come out of the kid’s mouth.
Next, he kicked him with a little more force, not enough to hurt him but enough to apparently startle him awake.
Peter woke with a gasp and was up on his feet before Tony could even blink an eye. Tony put a hand on each of his shoulders before they both toppled over.
Peter grabbed each of his wrists and was ready to push away until they made eye contact. His grip loosened significantly and his shoulders dropped in relief.
“Oh, hey Mr. Stark.” Peter breathed out and gave a smile that looked much too cheerful for someone just waking up from the floor.
“I’m tempted to ask why you were snoozing in the middle of the hallway but I’m also terrified to hear the answer.”
Peter looked around as if just noticing where they were. “Oh yeah, I was watching the sunrise earlier.” Peter pointed at the window Tony was standing in front of like it explained everything.
He needed coffee.
“You know, you have a window in your bedroom, you also have a bed in your bedroom. Maybe you should try utilizing it, it’ll save you the neck pains and future back problems.”
Peter rubbed the back of his neck apprehensively. “Yeah, that’s probably smart.”
“Well they don’t call me a genius for nothing... come on, it’s too early to have conversations without coffee.”
Tony dragged himself downstairs with Peter close behind. He decided not to press him too hard, at least for now. As long as Peter was actually sleeping then it didn’t really matter where or how he was getting it. They’d take it one step at a time.
Tony opened the fridge, taking out ingredients for an omelette. “What do you want for breakfast, eggs and bacon?”
Peter stopped in his tracks, checking his surroundings before slowly sitting on the island stool.
“You don’t have to make me anything, I can just have cereal.” That only made Tony frown.
Peter has always been polite, it was one of the first things Tony had noticed about him all those years ago. But he has never been this polite, to the point where he was nothing but shy and timid around him. And he never said no to food.
“With that metabolism, cereal won’t cut it, I’m already making an omelette for myself anyway, it’s the least I can do.”
“I’m not that hungry...” Peter trailed off after he took a good look at Tony, who was giving his best ‘no bullshit’ expression.
He put the carton of eggs away and closed the fridge, turning his body so it was directly facing Peter. “Then how about we go out for breakfast? I can drive.”
Peter’s jaw physically dropped, which Tony thought was a pretty dramatic reaction (and that was saying something coming from him).
“Mr. Stark, I can’t be seen in public.” Tony rolled his eyes and held back a sigh.
“And why not, you can’t just hide in the lake house for the rest of your life.” Instantly, Tony regretted his words once he saw the raw emotion that filled Peter’s eyes, despite him trying to cover it seconds later.
“I’m sorry, you’re right- I need to... I should-”
Peter’s never been very good at hiding his emotions.
Tony stepped over so he was directly in front of Peter. “Kid, I didn’t mean it like that, I love having you here, you know that.” He maintained eye contact, trying to drive his point across, until Peter gave him a small but hopeful smile. He then placed his hand on Peter’s shoulder, lightly rubbing the tense muscles with the pad of his thumb.
“Let’s go out for breakfast, yeah? You’re never up this early and with everything going on I haven’t had much of a chance to spend one in one time with you.”
Peter still looked hesitant, but Tony knew he would eventually convince him. “But what about Morgan?”
“She has Pepper, don’t worry about her. Today’s gonna be your day.”
Peter stared into his eyes, as if he were searching for something. “Are you sure, Mr. Stark?”
“I’m absolutely positive, go get dressed. I know just the place where we can eat.”
Peter must of found what he was looking for because moments later, he quickly nodded and bounced off of the bar stool. Tony was surprised it didn’t get knocked over in the process. “Okay, I’ll be ready in ten minutes!”
While Peter ran off to get dressed, Tony cleaned the leftover dishes from last night and picked up some forgotten toys laying around the house. He then finally made himself a pot of black coffee and waited for Peter to head downstairs.
He didn’t have to wait for too long however. Not only two minutes after he sipped his mug and Peter was stomping downstairs wearing a pair of dingy blue jeans and an MIT sweatshirt.
“Hey is it okay if I wear this? I didn’t bring much nice clothes with me.” The fact that he considered an old college sweatshirt as nice was laughable to Tony, but he didn’t say anything. For some reason, seeing Peter in one of his shirts brought out a strong feeling of sentiment and adoration.
“I haven’t worn that thing in years now, where did you even find it?”
“It was in the bottom of your drawer, I figured it wouldn’t be missed if I borrowed it for a little bit.”
“Well you can keep it, it looks better on you anyhow.”
Peter put his hands in the front pocket and smiled sheepishly. Tony could tell that it was genuine because his eyes squinted in the corners.
“Thanks Mr. Stark.”
Tony smiled back, not bothering to hide the pure affection in his voice, “you’re welcome kiddo, and because you seem so pleased I’m not even going to ask why you’re wearing a sweatshirt in the middle of summer.”
Peter’s smile dropped into a look of disbelief. “Are you kidding me? I’ve never been to a restaurant where it isn’t completely freezing, they always have the AC cranked up.”
“And that’s why you bring a jacket like a normal person.”
“A jacket isn’t enough! Plus I need the extra layers since I don’t thermoregulate.”
Tony paused while grabbing the car keys, turning his attention back to Peter. “You don’t thermoregulate?”
“No, did I not tell you that?”
“No you didn’t tell me that, it would have been nice information to have.”
“I could have sworn I did.” Peter thought for a moment before snapping his finger in realization. “Oh I know, May and I learned about it last winter when you were...” Peter didn’t finish his sentence, but Tony could figure out what he was about to say.
When you were dead.
Logically, Tony knew that losing nine months is nothing compared to losing five years. He should be grateful that he woke from the coma to begin with. But the selfish part of him can’t help but be upset over the wasted time. He woke up to see Morgan almost a foot taller and Peter well adjusted into post blipped life. Pepper had spent an entire night filling him in on everything she possibly could from the past nine months, skipping over the parts where they mourned and grieved over Tony’s absence, but it still wasn’t the same.
He looked over at Peter only to see a combination of distraught and panic on his face.
“Kid, what’s wrong?” But Peter only shook his head, much to his dismay.
“Nothing, let’s go eat” he croaked out. Peter walked passed Tony and headed straight to the car, avoiding both eye contact and conversation. Tony felt his heart snap in half.
Maybe Peter wasn’t as well adjusted as he thought.
~~~
The first fifteen minutes of the drive were spent in silence, but Tony wasn’t about to be the one to break it. He could tell that Peter was thinking hard about something, and it was only a matter of time until it would all come spilling out. Until then, Tony decided to patiently wait as he watched Peter’s leg restlessly bounce from the corner of his eye.
It took another five minutes for Peter to finally speak.
“Mr. Stark, can I ask you something?”
“Go right ahead.” He tried to sound as casual as possible, not wanting Peter to see the anticipation that’s been eating him alive.
“Well I’ve been talking to my therapist…”
Oh, so it was one of those conversations.
“How have you been liking therapy, do you think it’s been helping?”
“Oh yeah, I really like Ms. Patterson! She taught me this cool counting exercise that I’ve been using.”
“That’s good to hear Pete” and he really meant it.
“Yeah…”
“So what did your therapist say?” Tony said to get the conversation back on track, especially since Peter looked ready to back out in any given moment. He thinks if the two of them weren’t trapped in a moving vehicle then Peter would have done exactly so.
“She talked about opening up- asking people for help when we need it.” This didn’t seem like an extraordinary idea to Tony and he was about to say just that, but he bit his lip after realizing that would make him the biggest hypocrite in existence.
So instead he said, “she makes a good point.”
“She’s a good therapist.” Peter didn’t sound like he was about to continue so Tony attempted to push him forward once again.
“So what do you need help with.” He had to force himself to keep his eyes on the road instead of gauging Peter’s reactions. But even when not looking, it was impossible to miss the way Peter stiffened in his seat.
“So uh… okay, you know how I’ve been having all these nightmares?”
He thought of this morning, seeing Peter sleeping on the cold, hard floor and pretending it was normal.
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, so sometimes I’ll wake up and get through the day and everything will be good- But then something starts to shift and then everything turns into another illusion… and it’s just really scary.”
Tony hates that he isn’t surprised by the admission. Peter had mentioned the illusions a few weeks prior when Tony had first woken up from the coma, but he had hoped the problem would naturally go away with time. If anything, it only seems to have gotten worse.
“I guess I’m just waiting for things to turn scary again... I don’t know if that makes sense.”
The statement is worded in a childish manner, and Peter almost makes it sound like he’s talking about monsters hiding under his bed. But then Tony takes a quick glance at Peter and he looks so much older than a seventeen year old boy.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget how mature Peter truly is, despite being so young. On the surface level, he’s an awkward teen whose barely escaped puberty. He talks about his homework and still plays with Legos in his free time. But then there’s moments like this where he looks like a completely different person. Tony has read countless of news articles questioning how a teenage boy could be the face under the Spiderman mask, and Tony remembers his own shock when he first learned about Peter. But right now, he sees the resemblance of Spiderman and Peter Parker so clearly, simply from the way he holds himself. He hates how Spiderman has forced Peter to grow up as quickly as he did.
Tony turns the wheel so he’s off the main road. Once he’s safely in the curb, he puts the car in park so he can direct his full attention to the conversation.
“That makes sense.” And it did, Tony has had countless nightmares throughout the years. He knew better than anyone what a toll it could take to someone’s mental health.
Peter let out a laugh that had no humor to it. “I don’t know what to do anymore, I feel like I’ve tried everything.”
“This isn’t forever kiddo, it’s going to get better and you’re doing all of the right things.” Peter seemed to consider this for a moment.
“You know I had a dream where we ate breakfast together.”
“Oh?” Tony didn’t know how to properly respond to that.
“Yeah, it didn’t end very well...” Suddenly, Peter’s initial hesitancy of going out to eat was starting to make more sense.
“Well, I don’t know how to prove this is real- in all honesty I don’t think I can… but what I will do is stay by your side until this all passes over.”
“What do you mean?”
“Next time you’re having any doubts, you come straight to me, okay? I won’t judge or ask any questions, I promise.”
Peter shook his head, but Tony expected this reaction. “I can’t do that to you.”
Tony raised an eyebrow. “And why not?”
“Because… what if it’s late at night?”
“Then you wake me up, I’m kinda notorious for odd sleeping hours anyhow.”
“What if you’re not at the lake house?”
“Then you call me and I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
“What if-” Tony interrupted before he could finish the sentence.
“Kid, we can do this all day and I’m always going to give the same answer. If you need me, you come get me. I’ll make sure you’re not alone when you’re feeling like this.”
Peter looked down on his lap and took a deep breath. “But I’m not even your kid, I can’t ask you to do all of that for me.”
Tony took a pause at that. He’s literally told the kid that he loves him, he didn’t think he could be any more obvious.
“Pete… of course you’re my kid.”
Peter looked up, his eyes looking suspiciously wet.
“Yeah but not really, you and Pepper have Morgan now and I’m just in the way.” He whispered the last part, like he was ashamed to admit it out loud. Tony felt like he was just punched in the gut.
“Just because we don’t share the same biology doesn’t mean you’re any less my kid, you should know that better than anyone.”
“I just feel like the only thing I do is make your life more difficult.”
Tony opens his mouth to refute but he doesn’t know where to even begin. How can he efficiently describe to Peter just how missed he was during those five years.
“Have I ever told you the story of how I saved the world?”
Peter gave him a bewildered look, “I’m pretty sure I was there.”
“No I’m talking about before the actual battle- Need I remind you that you’re talking to a man who invented time travel.”
Peter visibly perks up at that, ever the scientist, and Tony almost smiles at the mood shift. “How long did it take to make the machine?”
Tony shrugged like it was no big deal, “eh not too long, but you wanna hear something crazy.”
“Always.”
“I almost didn’t build it at all.”
Now Peter just looks confused. “Why not?”
“Well for one, I didn’t think it was possible, why do you think it took me five years to begin with? But also, the selfish part of me realized that I didn’t lose very many people, I had Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, and a baby along the way.”
Peter looked like he was just punched in the face, and Tony grabbed his hand before he could fully flinch away.
“But then I thought about you, and I realized I don’t want to live in a world that doesn’t have Peter Parker in it.”
It took a moment for the words to fully sink in for Peter, and when it did he actually did flinch back, snatching his hand away from Tony’s.
“Are you implying that you created time travel for me?”
“I’m not implying, I’m straight up telling you.”
Now Peter looked livid, which wasn’t the reaction Tony was expecting. “Mr. Stark, you have a family, you can’t just do things like that.”
“I wasn’t just not going to save you- I also saved half of the universe in the process, but that was just a bonus.”
“You almost died.” The anger in Peter’s voice surprised Tony, it wasn’t too often the kid let his temper get the best of him.
“Yeah, I almost died, but then I didn’t. I’m right here talking to you.”
“Mr. Stark, if you didn’t wake up from that coma I would have never forgiven myself.” Peter’s voice was trembling, sounding like he was about to burst into tears. Tony thinks he prefers the rage.
“Hey come on kid, don’t get all sad now, everything worked out for the best, remember?
“You only have one arm.”
“Ah but I have two kids, I think that’s a small price to pay.”
Tears finally fell from Peter’s eyes, and Tony was quick to wipe them away using his prosthetic hand. “Plus, I think I kinda look cool with this whole cyborg look, think of all the innovations I can make in the future.”
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
“I don’t regret it though.”
Instead of a verbal response, Peter jumped out of his seat and threw his arms around Tony. While he wasn’t expecting the sudden position change, he was quick to hug back, letting Peter put all of his weight on his chest.
Yeah, Tony would never regret this.
~~~
The rest of the drive was spent in silence, but unlike before, it was comfortable. Peter seemed more relaxed, actually leaning back in his seat and staring out the window with a content look on his face. Tony mentally patted himself on the back, pride washing over him.
The victory was quick to disappear after they made it to their destination. It was a local diner shop that was a little out of the city. Not many people knew about it but Tony thought of it as a secret treasure. While it got business, a lot of the people were often elderly and didn’t care much about celebrities and fame. There were very little fan encounters and most people didn’t blink an eye whenever he walked in. He always made sure to tip well whenever he ate here.
Tony unbuckled his seatbelt and waited for Peter to do the same before opening the door. He didn’t.
“Why don’t we go get fast food or something, I hear McDonalds has great breakfast sandwiches.”
Tony glared at him. “Do I look like someone who eats at McDonalds.”
“Why not try new things?” Tony glared some more.
“Peter, why don’t you want to get out of the car?”
Peter looked at the diner in front of him, then the cars in the parking lot. “What if someone recognizes me.”
“Oh, people will definitely recognize you.”
Peter turned his attention back to Tony, eyes wide in horror. “Mr. Stark.”
“What, I’m just being realistic.”
“Mr. Stark.”
Tony couldn’t help but laugh. “Listen, you’re going to have to get used to people staring at you, it kinda comes with the job of being a superhero, but I promise isn’t that bad once you get used to it. And plus, I’ll be with you the entire time, if anyone tries to bother you they’ll have to deal with Iron Man.”
“You really mean that?” He sounded so vulnerable in that moment and it made Tony’s heart skip a beat.
“Of course, I’m on your side, remember?”
Peter nodded before closing his eyes. He took a deep breath and sat up straighter in his seat. Then, he reached over and unbuckled his seatbelt.
“Okay, I’m ready.” It was moments like this that really reminded Tony that Peter was Spiderman, and he swears he’s never been more proud.
“You’re about to have the best omelette of your life.”