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Tony hadn't invited Peter into the fight so much as he just hadn't been able to stop him. The kid had been at the tower with him for the last two days while his aunt was out of town meaning that when the call to assemble came in, the boy had been right there and there just wasn't time to properly argue that he needed to stay behind. That's what Tony told himself as he allowed the kid to board the nearly empty Quinjet. It seemed that everyone, save for himself, Steve, and the kid, was off on other missions. If he was being honest with himself he would admit that they were short-handed and having Spider-man come in for the assist would make the task go by much more quickly. Besides, it was one large rouge robot, how bad could it be?
The answer was, very bad. The thing had at least six arms, all equipped with some sort of dangerous apparatus, and had been programmed to learn. Meaning that the more they fought the thing, the more aware it became. After the first hour, Tony had really wanted to send Peter back to the jet. Things were already out of hand enough and the last thing he wanted to do was to have to scrape a squashed Spider-man up off the sidewalk. The problem was they needed him. So, he instructed the kid to stay back and try to jam the things joints with webbing. He thought that was going pretty well, so far. FRIDAY hadn't brought anything detrimental to his attention and the robot had been significantly slowed by the sticky impediments.
Peter too, though it was going well for a while. That is until he'd swung himself from one side of the robot to the other and the thing had managed to cut his web, causing him to fall. That should have been okay. He should have been able to catch himself but every single web he tried to shoot from that point forward was intercepted by the robot's clawed arm. In an attempt to not hit the ground he'd tried to flip himself towards the large metal body but it thrashed to the point that he simply couldn't and ended up crashing down to the asphalt, landing directly into his knee as he had so many times in the past. Only this time it was from much further up and the velocity of his landing sent a sharp pain through his entire leg from his ankle to his hip.
With no time to recuperate, he sprang back into action and went back to his task but the ache in his knee never ceased. "Mr. Stark? I might--", he began in an attempt to let the man know that his knee was throbbing. Not because he wanted to be sidelined so much as he didn't want to be accused of not saying anything later. That and it really, really hurt.
"--Did you get hit by the blades?" Tony clipped back in horror, thus cutting the kid off before he could give any actual explanation.
"No, sir. I just--", Peter began again but was once again unable to finish his complaint.
Knowing that the boy wasn't bleeding was all Tony needed to hear. The kid had a tendency to want to chatter his way through a battle and under normal circumstances, he found it endearing. Not so much right now. Not while they were so overwhelmed. "--Unless you're actively dying, I'm gonna need you to save it until we're done here. Focus on the task at hand, kid," he said already knowing that if anything life-threatening had taken place he would have gotten an alert. The kid's AI knew to contact him if the boy's vitals ever tried to tank and that hadn't happened.
Peter quietened after that. Partially because his mentor had asked him to but also because he was having a hard time dividing his attention between the target and his knee. with his concentration already being spread as thin as it was, that didn't leave much room for coming up with any witty quips.
When all was said and done, the robot was destroyed but the man that had created it had gotten away. In fact, they'd never even seen him. As such, the robots 'brain' was removed so that the coding could be looked into. With any luck, there would be a few hints as to who had created the metallic monster, to begin with. Tony certainly didn't waste any time digging in. The moment they were on the jet he was already digging through the circuitry. There was a lot of pressure to bring the creator in. So when the man heard Peter approach him he assumed it was because the kid wanted to help and sighed.
"Hey, Mr. Stark, I think I might--", Peter said as he limped towards his mentor.
Never looking up from his task, Tony replied with what the hoped came off as a calm, "--Give a minute, Pete. I need to get this done." He loved teaching the kid things, he really did but this wasn't the opportunity for that. They could go over it all together later. He needed to work. The last thing they needed was for the original culprit to have time to build a second, potentially more lethal battle bot.
Not really understanding what the problem was, Peter sat down on the bench by the window and cringed as the pain jolted up his leg when he bent it. "This will only take a second, I promise, I just--", he said through his teeth but Tony was too deep into his work to recognize the pain in his tone.
"--Kid," Tony interjected. "Now's not the time, alright. We can go over it later. I promise," Tony returned still fully believing that the entire exchange had to do with his mentee wanting to get his hands in the tech alongside him.
For the rest of the flight, Peter sat on the bench and sipped at the water Steve had given him. He knew he could have told the other man what was wrong instead but he had a healing-factor and figured that with time, telling anyone would be unnecessary. Except, even after the entire hour-long flight, not only had the pain not receded but the joint had grown stiff with swelling. Standing up to walk back into the building had brought tears to his eyes but still, he chose to remain quiet for the time being.
As was routine, once they landed they were expected to go straight to the conference room to debrief and fill out any paperwork that needed to be filled out. This go-around was going to be extra strenuous since not only did they lose their main target but there were only two actual Avengers to share in all of the logistical tasks. Peter followed slowly behind the two other men who were deep in conversation and sat down in the first chair that he came to. When the meeting didn't start right away he decided to once again, chance telling his mentor about his injury. "Excuse me, sir?", he said as he grasped Tony by his sleeve.
"Not now, kiddo. The debriefing is about to start and the better we are at pretending like we're paying attention the more quickly we can get this over with," Tony whispered out of the side of his mouth but he did reach over and give the boy's hand a gentle squeeze. "I know you're probably tired and starving."
While the mild physical affection was nice, what Peter really wanted at the moment was some reassurance that he would heal but clearly his mentor didn't have time to do that. Therefore, he tried to focus on the fact that his knee would more than likely heal completely overnight. All he had to do was to be patient. So, he leaned back in the comfortable chair he'd seated himself in and turned so that he could prop his legs up in another. He had half expected Tony to playfully smack him in the thigh and tell him to keep his feet on the floor but that didn't happen. The man was already waist-deep in papers.
The moment the long boring conference call was over both Tony and Peter tiredly headed towards the penthouse. Peter was walking stiff-legged but Tony didn't look as though he'd noticed. If he had he didn't say anything. More than likely the man had written it off as exhaustion. It had been a long afternoon that had led into a long evening. It was already past ten when FRIDAY welcomed them home.
"After you shower, you need to eat and then go to bed, yeah?", Tony instructed as the pair were about to go their separate ways.
"Yes, sir. but--", Peter acknowledged and was about to ask if maybe he could have an anti-inflammatory or something but Tony was already walking away.
"--Great. I'll be in the lab, Buddy," Tony said as he turned and walked into his own room leaving Peter standing in the hallway with watery eyes. He considered knocking on the man's door but decided not to. Instead, he limped into his bathroom to shower. He was hoping that the warm water would ease the ache and planned on following it up with some ice while he ate some dinner.
Although neither of those things seemed to help. Peter had gotten underdressed and nearly gagged at the sigh. His knee was red, blotched with bruises and looked almost misshapen but it was hard to tell with all the swelling. He was sure the joint was at least twice the size it was supposed to be. Showering quickly he slowly went back out to the kitchen and made himself an easy meal so that he could sit back down and ice the injury. Like the shower, it didn't help. Nothing helped. He'd been in pain for hours and at that point, it was beginning to become unbearable. He was sure that Tony would help him, he always did but he also knew that the man was under a lot of pressure at the moment. However, his leg wasn't going to wait any longer. With that in mind, he cautiously slipped down into the lab.
"Mr. Stark?", he quietly uttered from where he was leaning against the doorframe for support.
Tony looked up for a split second before going back to the coding that was swimming in front of him. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?", he queried with a small smile. He had sort of half expected the boy to end up down there.
"Well, yeah but I needed to ask you something," Peter responded with hesitation as he tried to casually shift his weight so that he was bearing that much more onto his good side.
"Whatever it is, is going to have to wait until tomorrow, Kiddo. I don't have a lot of time to figure this out," Tony gently replied hoping that saying that would be enough to get Peter to go back upstairs. It was late, the kid had school the next day and May would absolutely murder him if she found out that he'd kept her nephew up, well past midnight on a Thursday evening but apparently the boy wanted to be difficult.
"But I just--", Peter attempted to say.
"--No buts," the man firmly but not unkindly shot back. He was just tired, had a lot to do, and felt unprepared to deal with the teenager's stubbornness. "I told your aunt that you would make sure you went to bed at a reasonable hour and so far you're making a liar out of me. Go to sleep, Buddy," he elaborated and when there was no comeback let out a grateful sigh despite the fact that the kid hadn't moved.
After being cut off for what felt like the eight-hundredth time that day, Peter couldn't take it anymore. He was tired, his leg hurt and he was so beyond frustrated that his chest was clenching. As such, rather than say anything at all, he stood there for several seconds trying to hold back the emotion that had been building in his throat but he could only do that for so long. Eventually burst into tears much to Tony's combined remorse and horror.
"Pete?", the man gasped as he clamored to his feet and rushed over to where the kid was standing by the door with his hands balled up into fists as he continued to cry. Seeing the kid in such a state was causing his heart to beat faster than it should, making the few seconds it took for the boy to gain enough composure to answer feel like an eternity.
Even though he was utterly embarrassed by his frustration-induced melt-down Peter was also relieved because he finally had Tony's undivided attention. Though it took him several hitched breaths and barely swallowed sobs to get it all out. "I've been- I've been trying to tell you all day, Mr. Stark- I just-- Can I please have some, some aspirin or something. Please. That's all I need and then I'll leave you alone- I swear," he finally choked out.
Bringing his brows together in concentrated worry, Tony placed his hands on each of the teenager's shaking shoulders. "What do you need aspirin for, Buddy?", he asked while actively trying to ignore the fact that the kid had felt the need to promise not to bother him anymore. Admittedly, that had hurt but he would get back to that later. He was still lost as to why the kid was crying. "Shh. Calm down and tell me what's going on, alright?"
The moment he'd felt Tony's hands on him, Peter had practically melted at the touch and leaned forward so that he was pressing his weight onto the man's chest instead of the wall behind him. "I hurt my knee and- and it's not getting any better. Ice didn't help. -and why isn't it healing?", he cried, unabashedly into his mentor's shirt
Swallowing hard, Tony glanced down at the way Peter had his leg bent so that it wouldn't have to bear much weight if any at all and readjusted his grip. "Let me take a look," Tony said gently and then helped the kid over to the couch, realizing then that the boy was moving with a significant limp. All of a sudden, he was kicking himself for not having not been more attentive. He'd recognized that Peter had seemed slower and was quieter than usual but if he was being honest, he'd been too busy to notice much more than that.
Once Peter was stretched out onto the couch, he took a deep breath and reached down to grab the hem of his pajama pants. Then he paused. "You won't touch it, right Mr. Stark?", he hesitantly pleaded. The spray of the shower and the weight of the ice pack was bad enough he wasn't sure he could bear anyone pressing on it.
"No touching," Tony promised and stood at a distance while Peter hiked up his pants leg, cringing once the material had been bunched up around the teenager's thigh. The join was painful to look at. "Ouch, Buddy. What happened there?", he inquired while swallowing back the guilt that was creeping up for not already knowing. It certainly felt like that was something he should have known about right away. Then again, he'd not even asked the kid if he was okay upon the completion of their mission. He'd just taken it upon himself to assume that he was.
"In the middle of the fight, the robot thing kept cutting my webs and I just landed on it really hard," Peter replied, his voice cracking a little at the end.
Tony nodded his head and rubbed the boy's back in a soothing manner. "I think that might need a little bit more than a couple of tablets, kiddo," he said with a sigh. "Let's get down to medical. I'm pretty sure Bruce is back from the conference he was at today." When a quick check with FRIDAY revealed that the doctor was indeed, in the building he started to help the kid back to his feet. "You ready?"
"Y-Yeah," Peter returned but cried out as his knee bent, in turn, causing Tony to instantly jump in to help him gain better balance. From there, he ended up bearing the majority of the kid's weight as they walked towards medical. Not that he minded, it felt like, literally the least he could do. He already knew he was going to have a lot to make up for when this was all said and done. He just hoped that his lack of care hadn't resulted in any further damage.
Once they were in the exam room, it didn't take terribly long for Bruce to come up with a diagnosis. Just a quick once over and a few x-rays. Soon enough he was walking into the room with a tablet in his hand and a sympathetic look on his face. "Well, it looks like you have a displaced fracture of the patella. Which explains why your enhanced healing isn't helping any. Every time you move, you're disrupting your body's attempts to repair it and it goes right back to square one. That being said, you're definitely going to need surgery," the man said and Peter groaned. He really hated surgery. The needles, the anesthesia, the cloudy head that came from the anesthesia- all of it.
Bruce smiled and nodded his head in understanding even though nothing had really been said. "I know, Peter but even with your healing factor, this is going to need some help. We need to pull the pieces together with wire and then we'll have to immobilize the joint for a while. With your speedy recovery time, it should only be a week at most."
"Good news, kiddo. You drew a 'get out of gym free card'," Tony interjected with a grin, in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"I'd rather pass 'Go' and collect two-hundred dollars, thanks", Peter grumbled back. Tony wanted to roll his eyes in response but he didn't.
"We'll write it up as a sprain for your school but you're going to miss tomorrow completely. Maybe Monday too," Bruce announced before walking out the door to prepare the surgical suite. Leaving Peter and Tony to themselves. There was no real room for conversation during that time, though. Peter was preoccupied with worry and Tony had put himself to work trying to ease it with gentle touches and a handful of reassuring words until Bruce reappeared, ready to put the kid under anesthesia, Tony holding his hand the whole time.
Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, Peter opened his eyes to find himself in a dimly lit recovery room. For a while, all he did was stare unfocused at the ceiling, floating between consciousness and lightly dozing. After some time, enough of the haze cleared that he was able to work up enough energy to turn his head and look around the room. It was then that he spotted Tony sitting in a chair in the corner, with his attention on the tablet in his hand. Presumably finishing up when he'd started in the lab. He tried to call the man's name but the words caught in his throat causing him to cough and his mentor to look up at him.
"Hey, kiddo. You with me?", the man asked as he tossed the tablet aside in favor of talking to his kid. Peter nodded that he was. "Good because while you've been hanging out in dreamland I've been thinking about our day. It occurs to me that I've been a pretty lousy mentor," he added with a sigh, shaking his head when Peter cracked a small smile that screamed 'you couldn't be any more correct' at the admission. "I'm so sorry, kid. I promise not to let that ever happen again." No other responses came as Bruce made his way into the room.
"Hi, Peter. FRIDAY said you were awake. Are you in any pain?", the other man asked. Peter had to think about that question before deciding that he was okay and shook his head. It felt like pressure more so than pain at the moment. It was a welcome change from the constant ache.
"Would you like some water?", Bruce questioned next and that time Peter didn't need any time to contemplate. His throat was scratchy and dry from the anesthesia.
The second he nodded there was a straw being placed in his mouth and he greedily drank down several large gulps. "Thanks," he rasped once he'd quenched his thirst and had gone back to staring at the ceiling while Bruce bustled around him. He could feel the blankets being lifted so that his leg could be looked over and heard the two men talking about him but he was in no place to really comprehend what they were saying. Then seemingly out of nowhere, Bruce appeared back in his vision.
"Everything looks good," Bruce stated while disconnecting the IV and dosing out two oral painkillers. "You can go up to your own room as soon as you feel up to transferring into a wheelchair."
"Thanks," Peter returned. He wanted to say more but his vocal cords just weren't up to the task, so he simply took the pills and lay his head back down, watching as the man left the room.
"You still look pretty out of it. Should we wait for a few before we head up?", Tony asked softly as he ran his fingers through the boy's hair.
Peter nodded and exhaled deeply. He was still groggy but his stomach was growling and the water he'd drunk had done nothing to stave off the emptiness. He supposed it had been hours since he'd eaten last and he always burned through food faster when he was healing. He really wanted to eat but at the same time, he wasn't sure how much he could physically handle. Chewing sounded like a lot of work at the moment. Then an idea struck and he looked pleadingly towards his mentor. "Jello?", he asked with a weak smile, knowing that after everything that had transpired the man would get it for him without question.
"You hungry?", Tony chuckled. Peter nodded his head. "I'll go find you some jello."
Peter acknowledged him with another nod of the head before another question managed to float through the haze and up to the forefront of his mind. "May?", he asked with his eyebrows knit together in concern. He was suddenly worried that he'd had surgery without his aunt knowing. His unease was put to rest almost instantly when his mentor smiled and rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Called her, told her the whole story and got my ear chewed off. Still have some lingering tinnitus," Tony said with humor despite the fact that it had been an extremely uncomfortable conversation. May, while being a very forgiving woman, hadn't done so until she'd thoroughly berated him for his lack of actual supervision. That was fair, the kid had tried to tell him multiple times throughout the day that he was hurt only to be brushed aside and he'd been too far into his own head to take notice himself.
"Good", Peter replied with a smile. He could only imagine the things that his aunt had said to the man. If that phone call went anything like the one that took place after she found out he was Spider-man then it probably involved a lot of screaming- and cursing.
Tony sighed and moved his hand from Peter's shoulder to the side of his face, cupping his still slightly pale cheek. "I'm really am sorry, Kid. That was extremely crappy of me," he confessed. He'd never meant to allow the kid's wellbeing to fall to the wayside like that but he'd meant it when he said it would never happen again. He cared too much to let it happen again. The suit's protocols had already been updated to inform him of any injury that required any amount of medical attention but that was just the beginning. He'd also promised himself that he would never allow himself to get so caught up in anything that the kid's health or comfort would be ignored. He would listen.
Knowing how rare it was to receive such an apology from Tony Stark, Peter continued to smile. "Mhm. Forgive you," he said as he turned his head further into the man's hand. He knew without a doubt that the man cared about him. That he was doing the best he could as he tried to navigate the new relationship they were building.
Looking down at Peter, Tony couldn't for the life of him figure out what the teenager saw in him. "I'm not sure I deserve it, kid, but thank you," he finally uttered and slid his hand upward so that it was threading through the boy's tangled curls. The kid had always had some sort of unwavering faith in him and he thought that his lapse in judgment would have torn that to shreds but it was still there. Even if it felt unwarranted.
A few seconds passed as Peter prepared himself to respond. What he wanted to say couldn't be expressed through body language or a smattering of words. He took a deep breath. "That's never happened before--", he started in an attempt to let his mentor know that he knew it had been a mistake, a one-off and that he trusted him emphatically. He also wanted to tell him that he appreciated everything that he'd done for him and maybe that he loved him but he didn't get the chance. The man was cutting him off before his first thought could be properly formed.
"-and it won't happen again. Cross my heart," Tony swore, using his free hand to gesture the sentiment, eliciting a meager laugh from the still half-lidded teenager.
"-cause you love me," Peter pointed out with undaunted certainty.
Tony rolled his eyes to cover up the way his heart had swelled in his chest and chuckled. "Bruce has you on the good stuff I see," he evasively stated because the kid hadn't been wrong. He did love him and that was the primary driver behind his pledge to be better at- whatever it was he was doing. He was sure that they had, at some point, moved beyond mentoring but he couldn't quite label it what it had become.
"Maybe," Peter replied with a smile. His head was clearing but he still felt light, airy and obviously uninhabited. "You do love me, though."
Seeing as the kid wasn't going to let it go, Tony nodded his head and awkwardly leaned down to kiss him on the head. "I do. Very much."
Sighing contentedly, Peter closed his eyes and soaked up the affection. "Mhm. Love you too," he echoed and then opened on eye towards his slightly misty-eyed mentor. "Can I have my jello now?"
Huffing a laugh at the dramatic change in subject, Tony patted the kid's shoulder and shook his head. "As you wish, kiddo," he said and then walked out the door smiling.