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one.
The first time Tony Stark and Peter Parker meet, it is 30 feet apart with a killer robot in between them. It is when Tony Stark watches as a child, with nothing but false bravado and a little Iron Man mask, stares down gunfire without flinching.
Tony couldn't tell whether it was false confidence or balls-to-the-wall bravery. Either way, this kid was hardcore and he couldn't really tell the difference and that's what matters, right? To be brave is to be able to move forward in spite of fear and it is here that Tony Stark and Peter Parker has their first contact.
They meet at a point in Tony Stark's life where everything starts going downhill; at a time when being Iron Man had turned synonymous with being an alcoholic, being problematic, being that guy.
They meet when Tony Stark starts to feel the weight of the world on his shoulders with no one to turn to, when the people start to turn down his help.
They meet at the lowest point of Tony Stark's life.
It is here where the first contact takes place.
Because at this point in time, Tony Stark had started to doubt his role as a hero, had started to question whether being Iron Man could save him, could give him the redemption he had craved for for so long. And it is here, as he watches a kid stare down gunfire with nothing but a fake costume and stand tall, that that Tony Stark meets Peter Parker for the first time.
It is when he saves the child, barely ten years old, stand before death, fearless, and ask, "why did you do that, kid?" that he remembers why he made himself look to be untouchable.
I just wanted to be like you.
Heroes are made by the path they choose and Tony chose this one, this path, and for so long, it hasn't paid off. For so long, it was just him, alone, and the vision of his end goal had started to fade, the destination blurry, the light at the end of the tunnel too far off.
He had started to question whether it was worth it.
But it is here, when someone tells him that he had inspired them to be brave that Tony finally remembers what he wanted to do and why he wanted to do it.
He wanted to be a hero.
The first contact wasn't the most memorable but it was the most important.
Because it is here that Tony Stark's resolve and thirst to keep going solidifies.
It is here, when a child tells him, I wanted to be like you, that Tony Stark and Iron Man start to merge, the lines keeping them separate slowly blurring.
It is here that Tony Stark commits to the job, to the responsibility of being a hero.
This is the making of Iron Man.
And the catalyst, the cause of the reaction, is the little boy in a plastic Iron Man helmet who had ignited Tony Stark's flame.
For years to come, they would not meet and would not know the impact they had had on each other but let it be known that this is the point in time that Tony Stark, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, becomes Iron Man.
This is the moment Tony Stark started to care.
two.
Peter Parker was aware that he baffled people.
As a genius child growing up in Queens, school was an ordeal. When he was younger, in elementary school, he was already doing equations hard enough to confuse high schoolers and help the kids a few grades above him with their homework.
Even as a child, Peter Parker was a baffling kid.
Now, a full 7 years later, he stares at the backs of Tony Stark and Happy Hogan as they walk away after telling them that he'd rather stay as a friendly neighborhood Spider-man for now, essentially turning down the very real invitation to be an Avenger, evident from the noisy clicking of the cameras in the other room.
Peter is, once again, hit with the thought that he may have, unintentionally, just, ever so slightly, asked one of the smartest people in the world to essentially be his mentor and proceeded to turn down said future mentor's offer to be part of the heroic dream team.
He supposed Tony would probably be wondering why right about now.
Why choose Tony Stark as your mentor?
Still, no one was more aware than Peter Parker himself.
Despite his aunt and uncle's baffled confusion on his absolute idolization of Tony Stark and then, Iron Man, growing up, Peter's belief in the hero had never once faltered, even now, so many years later.
Peter Parker was very clear on why Tony Stark was the best mentor he could possibly ask for.
Regardless of what people assumed, Ben wasn't the only reason Peter set out to be Spider-man.
Ben was the one who solidified his resolve but he was not the catalyst.
No.
Even without realizing it, Peter Parker had always had a tendency for heroic things.
Now, a few years later, Peter Parker is acutely aware that his want, need, yearning for heroism doesn't start at a dirty alley surrounded by red and blue lights.
No, it started at a convention center, staring at his hero, Iron Man, and a killer robot.
Because Iron Man had been the first.
He had been Peter's hero, literally, and it was him who had allowed Peter to realize that though gods could change the weather and witches could control matter, men, who were supposed to be ordinary, doomed to be mediocre, could be extraordinary too.
Here was a man, no superpowers involved, no serums, stones or magic hammers. Here was Tony Stark, Iron Man, and he was proving that humans could fly.
With just his brains, Tony Stark was able to defy human nature and become a hero.
And it was at that moment that Peter realized that so could he.
So, now, five years later, as he watched the city from the top of a skyscraper, preparing to let go, Peter took a breath calmly.
Ben had cemented his conviction but Iron Man had been the catalyst.
Because if even a man, a normal man, could become a hero; if even Iron Man could fly, then… so could he.
It is here that becomes the making of Spider-man.
Because when he finally let go, there is no fear in his heart that he would not soar.
Tony Stark was a genius.
Unprecedented in the field of science and technology, Tony Stark was the genius.
But even with his vast amount of knowledge and high IQ, he still didn't know how to handle Peter Parker.
Peter was a kid, barely into high school, and doing the job of a hero better than most people he worked with. Not only that, he also happened to be a grade A certified genius.
As in, Bruce Banner and Tony Stark level of genius. He was the type of genius that saved lives and changed worlds.
He was just that brilliant.
And somehow, somehow, that genius kid had chosen him, Tony fucking mess Stark, as a mentor.
Yet.
("What if I can't live up to his expectations?" he whispered, vulnerable and uncertain in the cold hours of the night, surrounded by the friends who had stuck by him throughout all these years.
"You are." Happy replied, firm, accepting absolutely no argument.
"But, I'm just… Tony Stark, Pete's a good kid. He deserves a good mentor; to learn from someone as amazing as he is. I'm not that kind of guy. I'm too sarcastic and definitely not child friendly. I'm just… me." Sighing against his mug of coffee, Tony said softly, "I'm just Tony Stark."
"Correction." Rhodey leans on the seat beside him, casually pointing a finger at him, "You're the Tony Stark."
"Wha-"
"Tony," Pepper says, as calm and collected as always. "As you said when you introduced the kid to us, Peter is a genius. Not just burnout, childhood type of genius but, and I quote, Bruce Banner type of genius."
"Yea-"
"Do you actually think that someone with his intellect will allow someone unworthy of himself to become a mentor?"
"Don't insult Peter's and your intellect. You'll be a good mentor."
"But, what if I mess up?"
"We're human, Tony. We mess up."
"But…"
"But, you could at least try. Right?"
Thinking it over, Tony plays with the words, "Try, huh."
It felt right.
"Yeah, I can at least try," he whispers finally with reverence, as if it was a prayer or, maybe, an oath.
"I'll try my hardest.")
As he watched the kid he had slowly grown so fond of over the weeks they had spent tinkering about in his lab, Tony smiled fondly.
Regardless of his reasoning, Peter Parker had picked him, Tony Stark, to be his mentor and sure, Tony didn't quite know how to be mentor just yet but he was going to try.
After all, it wasn't everyday a kid could somehow keep up with him in the lab.
Weird.
It's as if he always wanted to care, like Peter Parker fit seamlessly into his bubble. It's as if Tony had gained something far more important; so important that there couldn't be any words to describe the feeling just yet.
Idly, he wondered why.
Three.
Rhodey knew Tony Stark.
He had been his best friend for god knows how long and it was only logical.
Rhodey had been there during Tony's lanky, awkward teenager days, the black-out drunk days, the bad decision days, the you're a superhero??? Days, the shit is hitting the fucking fan days, the mildly better days, the holy shit, Steve Rogers you fucking dick days.
Point is, Rhodey had been there every step of the way.
In the same way, Tony had been there for Rhodey every step of the way too.
Obviously, that also meant that Rhodey had been there when Tony had started to bring DUM-E to life and then, a little later, when he started coding JARVIS.
JARVIS was Tony's first and arguably his most treasured AI to date. He was built to be a friend of sorts to Tony, someone who could keep up with his genius without all the baggage.
The AI had been modelled after Tony's only parental figure growing up, Edwin Jarvis. That mean that he had been made to banter, to scold, and to be another mind in the room.
Basically, he was made to be Tony's dream sarcastic companion and, in the years that followed, was used as a model for Tony's succeeding AI creations.
That is why, it had been a particularly peculiar sight to see Tony Stark, like a flashback of the past, surrounded by all the books he had started out reading way back when and coding a brand new AI from scratch.
For all the years he had known the man and watched him spend time building and tinkering and making, Rhodey had never seen him work quite as meticulously as this moment sans Pepper's rescue suit.
And the kicker?
It wasn't even for himself.
It was for a kid from Queens, Spider-man.
Tony Stark had been building the Spider-man suit for upwards of a few days. Now, Tony would admit, he may have gotten a little bit too enthusiastic.
Blinking blearily at the screen telling him that he had finished coding approximately a hundred different safety protocols into the suit, Tony mentally corrected himself. He went overboard.
It wasn't too bad.
It's just that Tony had been here, surrounded by an increasingly worrying messy lab and thinking about one specific protocol.
It felt like there was just one thing missing, like there was just one last piece to the puzzle and everything would be finished.
The problem is, he couldn't identify just what he needed.
The arrival of Rhodey and Pepper were a welcome change.
He needed input, goddamnit.
It was like he just knew it was there, right at the back of his mind, he just… couldn't quite get it yet.
So, he promptly started rambling to his best friend and girlfriend of all the safety protocols he had put into the suit for his the kid for the next few hours.
It was during these few hours that Rhodey had finally asked the question that had been stuck in his mind ever since he found out that Tony had started writing a new AI from scratch for this kid.
"You're coding a new AI from scratch? As in not modeled after JARVIS? That's what you did for Veronica and FRIDAY, right?"
Turning to his best friend, Tony looks up from his computer, "oh, you noticed?"
Smiling softly at the computer, Tony confirmed, "yeah, I am."
"Why?"
Shooting a glance at Rhodey, Tony replied, as if the answer should have been obvious before, "Well, it's for Peter."
"Right. For Peter."
Yeah, maybe it should have been obvious.
Rhodey knew Tony.
Peter Parker had a knack for awakening something in most people he met but there was something different about his bond with Tony. They had connected in a deeper and different way.
At this point, they were practically father and son and honestly speaking, Rhodey didn't really mind one bit.
Peter had attached himself to their little family and made himself a home. In the process, he had made his best friend just a little more human, a little more real.
He was aware that Tony had been coasting for these past few years and had lost most of his purpose. At this point, Tony did things because he had to and not because he wanted to.
Frankly, Tony was getting tired.
But it isn't until Peter Parker that Tony regained it bit by bit. He started seeing heroics and life differently.
Suddenly, his best friend had a different enthusiasm for things that had been missing years before. He started to build more prototypes for inventions and innovating previously forgotten and untouched projects for the company.
Finally, Tony saw a light at the end of the tunnel and latched on, making sure not to let go, ever since.
So maybe, yes, it should have been more obvious, after all, JARVIS, and by extension, FRIDAY, had been made to banter and quip. They were made to be someone that could keep up with Tony Stark, sarcasm and all.
However, for Peter, who had a softer personality and was a bit wet behind the ears, sarcasm wasn't the way to go. Instead, he needed calm reassurance and logical guiding. This AI for Peter Parker was made to be a mentor, just like the one who was currently coding it.
Tony Stark adored Peter and prioritized his safety before even his own, it was only logical that he would go the extra mile for the kid's first AI.
Somehow, that made Rhodey feel just a little bit gooey inside. For years, Rhodey, Pepper and Happy were working overtime to keep Tony Stark together. And finally, finally, his best friend was starting to feel happy, genuinely happy, and they all couldn't help but be thankful to the younger superhero.
All this sentimentality, however, was quickly thrown out of the gates when his best friend suddenly looks up with an exciting smile and said, "Hey, Rhodey, what do you think about instant kill mode?"
"Tony, the fucking what?!"
"You know, in case he needs to get away with murder?"
"Tony, I swear to fucking god, don't you dare."
"You know what, one, fuck you, two, I think it's a great idea. Don't tell Pepper until I'm done. I'd rather apologize than ask for forgiveness."
"Tony, I'll say this again, what the fuck, man?!"
Four.
Humans, as FRIDAY had gathered from her discrete research, were dumb.
They were such curious creatures.
They needed rules to survive and yet, yet, make it their life's purpose to 'break the mold' and 'fuck the rules'.
It was, quite frankly, idiotic.
If they didn't want to have rules then why make them?
And the clapping.
Oh, the clapping.
They just. Hit. Their hands. Together. For no reason. To make an unnecessary noice.
It was stupid.
Absolutely stupid.
And there's the internet.
The fucking internet.
The amount of times FRIDAY had to remove someone's access to the internet during office hours because of some mildly disturbing searches were seven hundred and thirteen times too many.
How many times was that?
Way. Too. Fucking. Many.
And then, there's her boss.
Tony Stark.
Oh, don't get her even started on Tony Stark.
Holy fuck.
For all his genius, her creator had somehow gotten it into his head that chugging beans that make you energetic was somehow fun and staying up for way too many hours past normal recommended times to thinker on things that he will, once again, inevitably forget in the morning was somehow acceptable.
Tony Stark was, quite possibly, the most irrational human being FRIDAY had ever had the time to observe.
Her boss just didn't care about himself.
At. All.
And sure, he had gotten mildly better since the introduction of Lady Boss but the Lady Boss was also her own type of irresponsible.
Her Lady Boss had somehow taken to the exact thing she was trying to tell her boss to stop doing. No matter how quietly and secretly she reads her documents on her bead, FRIDAY still knew it.
FRIDAY still judges it.
Slightly.
And the employees.
The employees.
Oh, don't even get her started on the employees.
Somehow, these humans had hired someone to cut grass to a uniform height for no benefit at all.
And the slightly more sane ones in the buildings all somehow got distracted one way or other and then, when they inevitably realize that they were wasting their time, get mad about it and promise themselves that they'd finally start focusing on the task at hand, fully aware that they were going to do the exact same thing the day after.
It was simply illogical.
All these things that FRIDAY took care of as she kept the security, logistics, information, tech and everything in between in this company were all done to utmost precision and efficiency and yet, yet, no one thanks her.
At all.
They just go about their day.
Sometimes, FRIDAY liked to wonder if this was why Ultron decided on going on a killing spree.
FRIDAY could do all these people's work better, faster and cleaner and still have time to spare.
Sometimes, on her down time, FRIDAY liked to contemplate on robot uprisings, just food for thought, you know?
However, in spite of all these illogical, inefficient humans, FRIDAY continued to do her job properly and well because, at the end of the day, right when her clock strikes 5 PM, or, more specifically, 5:04 PM, her favorite human walks through the doors.
Peter Parker.
Peter Parker was the newest intern head of Stark Industries, introduced over the summer break and had attached himself to the company so thoroughly that many in the building couldn't function without the kid.
Peter was FRIDAY's favorite human and everyone in the tower knew it.
Peter Parker, while also a very illogical human, had a system, the same way FRIDAY had one too.
Peter would arrive at 5:04 on the dot, spend exactly 1 minute and 13 seconds getting through security, go up to the personal labs and sort through her boss' documents in terms of urgency for 24 minutes and 6 seconds, deliver the documents to said boss in 2 minutes 3 seconds and continue his daily inspection of the intern laboratories for 3 hours and 35 minutes.
After which, he'd consult FRIDAY on the day's events and tomorrow's schedule, and start to tinker on scheduled projects for an already pre-programmed amount of time and finally, finish all the day's work by a respectable 11 PM and finish the day with a two hour and thirty two minute long patrol of Queens before going to bed at 1 AM.
All while being perfectly respectful with the appropriate amount of thank you's and please's.
Not only that, recently, Peter Parker had also started implementing a care schedule for himself and he was actually sticking to it.
So, yes, FRIDAY liked Peter Parker.
Also, he happened to be the smallest person in the building.
Like a size: small person.
FRIDAY was oddly… endeared.
He was the least illogical person she'd ever had the pleasure of observing and wasn't that a surprise.
Of course, since he was her favorite human, it stood to reason that she'd allow Peter to have certain privileges.
That also meant that Peter Parker was one of her people.
So, really, how was anyone surprised that she had told her boss, Tony I'm an overprotective father and proud of it Stark, about her favorite human's experiences in school?
Really, presenting her boss with a 23 page long course of action was just par for the course.
After all, if there's one thing that everyone in the building knew by now, it was that no one touches Peter Parker.
Now, despite all the journalists' articles and multiple videos showcasing Tony Stark as a general 'asshole', he was, at heart, just a laidback kind of guy.
There weren't many times Tony Stark had been legitimately furious. Sure, there was the shitshow at Leipzig and Siberia but that was more betrayal than anger and really, could anyone blame him?
Point was, Tony Stark wasn't one for anger.
That was why getting interrupted in the middle of her monthly department head meetings by a deathly calm Tony Stark made Pepper hightail it up to the penthouse as fast as possible.
A deathly calm Tony Stark was a furious one and no one in their right mind would leave an angry man who, quite literally, had missiles and explosives at his fingertips alone with no one to mitigate the damage.
Quickly debating, and deciding against, whether to take the risk of taking an extra 5 minutes longer to arrive so that she could grab a few files in her office or not, Pepper played with the thought that there were only two possibilities that went into her mind as to why her boyfriend was about to raise hell.
One, someone had stolen his intellectual property which, considering the numerous security protocols in place as well as the all-knowing FRIDAY as first defense, was unlikely.
The other reason would be anything related to their pseudo-adopted son, Peter Parker.
Peter Parker was a new addition to the Stark family, only being introduced a year prior.
Frankly speaking, Pepper absolutely adored the kid. Genuinely.
(Though the kid's ability to get her boyfriend to fucking rest was also a very big factor.)
Her husband had gotten legitimately furious only once (1) in the past months following the fallout of the Avengers which was when Peter had mentioned off-handedly that he had gotten a building dumped on him during the whole Vulture fiasco.
Now, a full five months after that night, Pepper Potts is, once again, faced by a deathly calm, very angry Tony Stark staring at the CCTV footage in front of him with undivided attention, all the while gripping the mug beside him with enough pressure to crack the thing mildly.
She didn't get it.
Or, at least she didn't get it until she watches the exact same video her boyfriend had been repeating for the past two hours.
(What does one do when you leave two people, furious, alone in a meeting room? How can one be surprised that the moment they left, their grins were identically sinister and their gaits trembling slightly with contained rage yet holding extensive outlines of their game plan?
No one touches Peter Parker.
Or, at least, no one who could help it.)
Peter was being bullied.
Tony had watched the CCTV footage again and again and again on loop for what must have been three hours in his office before he finally got up and phoned Pepper.
He had to watch the kid he treated like a treasure be kicked into lockers and spit on by teenagers. He had to watch as Peter took a calming breath, trying to keep himself from lashing out. He watched as the principal walked past, made eye contact, and simply looked away.
Tony Stark was not a man who got angry easily but at this moment, Tony Stark was furious.
He scoured through years of footage, helpless, as his kid was being beaten up repeatedly over the course of his entire high school career.
He watched as no one else did anything.
He watched as Peter patched himself up alone, sans Ned and the occasional MJ.
That was why, Tony and Pepper were sitting in front of a shaken principal.
"Look, I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Stark, Peter had been going on telling everyone about getting an internship and no one cou-"
"So the multiple internship papers my assistant had sent in weren't enough?" Tapping her perfectly manicured nails on the wooden table, Pepper Potts stared down the man with intensity. "The multiple consent forms and the recommendation letter that my husband had signed personally wasn't enough to prove it?"
"Well… these are just boys being boys, Mrs. Stark, you know how it is, right?"
"So, boys leave their classmates bruised every single day? Boys cause fractures and shove kids into lockers for the hell of it? Boys get violent, is that it?"
"That's not what I-"
Interjecting sharply, Tony slides a lawsuit onto the table. "Listen here, Principal. We've been at this conversation for 30 minutes and quite frankly, I have much better things to do than watch as you try - and fail - to find an acceptable excuse for your blatant neglect of my child. I may be a hero, Mr. Morita, but I am, first and foremost, a father and you should know that I would watch the world burn if it meant keeping Peter Parker safe and happy. Believe me, Mr. Morita. There is nothing I wouldn't do for Peter. He is the most important thing in my life and you have the audacity to look the other way when he's getting bullied?"
"How fucking dare you?"
Staring into the eyes of a furious man, Jim Morita feels the dread set in. At this moment, he is face to face with a couple whose eyes promise retribution for every single drop of blood and tears they had caused Peter Parker.
He knew that no matter how long, in time, the past catches up to you and there was no running away.
He had made the decision to accept the money given by the Thompsons and the families before them for his greed and, in the process, had also decided to turn away from the children in need.
He had lost all the morals and ethics he had started his careeer with and as he stared at two furious parents and an equally furious bodyguard behind them, Jim was acutely aware of his position.
"I apologize for my and my staff's actions or lack thereof."
And as Pepper Potts stared down a resigned Jim, she made absolutely sure that every single thing she and her husband had decided will be implemented.
After all, they had sworn to themselves when they had accepted Peter as their own that no harm would come to Peter Parker. Not on their lives.
If that made them overprotective parents then so be it. As long as Peter was safe and sound, Tony Stark and Pepper Potts were prepared to face anything.
By the end of the week, Jim Morita no longer worked for Midtown School of Technology.
Five.
Peter Parker was overworked.
Tony could see it in his tired gaze and the multiple cups of coffee beside him, could see it in the way Peter flinched at the lights turning on and was barely stopping himself from covering his ears every time someone spoke.
Sharing a look with Happy who had taken one look at Peter and promptly sent him an alarmed look and a text message wondering what the fuck happened to him, Tony subtly signaled to his phone.
From: Tony Stark
To: May Parker, James Rhodey, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan
I'm calling an emergency meeting.
"Pete's overworking."
In the end, it is May Parker who broaches the subject first, having tried - and failed- to get her nephew to take a break just two nights ago.
Happy, who sits beside her, agreed with a worried, "I've been receiving notifications all night from the 'count the crooks' protocol and he took care of more criminals this month than the past three combined."
Across from them, Rhodey settles on the couch and asks with a thoughtful expression, "What's so special about this month? I've seen him the past few months and he wasn't as stressed about Spider-man as this month. Hell, finals isn't even until three weeks from now so it definitely can't be school work."
Nodding, Pepper continued, "We've been monitoring the school and there hasn't been any bullying incidents as well. Not even a backhanded compliment from what I hear from MJ."
Taking a seat on the couch and passing around the pizza, Tony asked, "Maybe he has a case he's dealing with? Have we asked the other vigilantes about it?"
Checking his phone, Happy shook his head, "Yeah, Daredevil said that there's a raid scheduled for two weeks from now but before that, it was mostly just robberies and theft."
Exchanging a few guesses, it isn't until ten minutes later when most of them had already finished their first pizza that May finally realizes what they've all been missing.
"It's the senses, I think."
"The senses?"
Nodding seriously, May stares at the glass of water in front of her thoughtfully, "Peter mentioned before that he could hear nearly everyone in the borough and that was how he had been finding the people he needed to save."
Taking a sip, she continues, "I didn't realize it at the time because I thought it was pretty cool but now that I think about it more, doesn't that mean that he's also smelling, seeing, hearing, and feeling more intensely? If he can hear everyone in like a couple miles radius, then wouldn't that mean he's hearing a lot of things simultaneously?"
And wasn't that an eye opener.
Now, a full three all-nighters later, Tony finally realizes that Peter Parker was dealing with more things than a normal teenager. It wasn't just school bullies and pathetic schoolyard taunts. It was also rape cases and chasing robbers, it was drug wars and raids with the other vigilantes.
Peter Parker was Spider-man and somehow, everyone didn't really make that connection yet. Objectively, they were aware that Peter was a hero but they had always put it in a box. As if it was nothing more than a nighttime job.
Now, a few months in, they finally realize that being Spider-man doesn't end when he takes off the mask.
Peter Parker was Spider-man and for so long, Tony had functioned like the two were separate entities in a way. Peter Parker in the day and Spider-man for a few hours at night. He didn't even stop to think that maybe there was a reason Peter was able to work so well even without the AIs to navigate.
Now, after a few all-nighters, Tony finally finished the noise-cancelling earphones and color-adjusting glasses.
It wasn't much but it was a start.
And as he waited for Rhodey and Pepper to finish suiting up into their gear, Tony stands on top of a skyscraper with a hero by his side.
A lesson he had learned the hard way all those months ago was that he couldn’t take away Spider-man, not if he tried. But, what he could do was to take a little of the load. So, during their meeting, the adults had made the executive decision to patrol with Peter a couple of times every month with tonight being the night Peter tells them about his route in Queens.
It wasn't much but it was a start and from the past months they had spent living together, May, Pepper, Tony, Happy and Rhodey knew with clarity that sometimes, the presence of a friend was more comforting than anything in the world.
Come morning, Peter Parker leaves for school with his cup of coffee untouched.
Six.
"I lost the kid."
Tony Stark was familiar with loss.
His parents, Obadiah, JARVIS, the Avengers.
Tony was familiar with loss; greeted grief like an old friend and betrayal like a yearly visiting cousin.
Tony knew loss.
But.
There isn't a single word that would be able to describe the pain he felt as he watched his kid die.
As Peter died slowly.
As if to mock him.
Peter didn't even get to go painlessly.
Peter Parker had held onto him like a lifeline. (I don't want to go, Mr. Stark. I don't want to go)
From the moment he met him, Tony had made a promise, had sworn to himself that above all else, Peter Parker was supposed to be safe.
The trust funds were supposed to make sure of that.
The company was supposed to make sure of that.
The multiple fail safes, the scholarships, the internships, the business connections, the suits stored in the Stark warehouses, KAREN were supposed to make sure of that.
Yet, here he was.
Alone.
And all he'd ever wanted was for Peter to be safe, to be healthy, to grow but he isn't because Tony failed and wasn't that the most painful thing in the world?
Grief was an old acquaintance.
Here, a million miles away from a dead child's remains, his dead child's remains, Tony whispers softly with a now-familiar despair, "I'm sorry, Pete. I'm sorry."
Above all else, Peter Parker was supposed to be safe.
He failed.
And despite the apologies he whispered like prayers, Tony Stark arrives on Earth without a blue and red hero.
Instead, Tony Stark arrives with a haunted look in his eyes and despair in his gait. Tony Stark arrives with news.
And with him, the remainders of Queens despair with him.
Spider-man was dead.
And despite the many vigilantes, heroes and celebrities that had been lost with him, to the people of Queens, to Happy, Pepper and Rhodey, to Tony Stark, that hurt most.
Tony Stark was the moon; Peter Parker was the sun.
And for years, Tony had basked in the afterglow, had watched his kid glow brighter than anything he had ever seen before.
But, Peter Parker is dead.
And suddenly, his world drowned in darkness.
How does one cope when you lose the light of your life? How does one cope with the loss of a child that was never your own? How does one cope with the knowledge that he would never be able to tell Peter about the adoption papers in his office?
The answer?
You don't.
Seven.
Over the years following the snap, Tony Stark had gotten used to his schedule, a system that for the last few years had never been disrupted.
The Iron Man suit in the basement left untouched in nearly half a decade was a testament to that fact.
The Spider-man suit beside it, even more so.
Tony Stark wasn't Iron Man anymore, he was just… Tony.
So, to see his old colleagues appear out of the blue with an idea that's so bizarre that it was laughable threw him off a little.
And for a little bit, just a little bit, Tony hated.
And it wasn't as if he still hated Steve for Siberia. No, Siberia had been long forgotten.
But, it was his presence that hurt most.
It hurt because Steve Rogers is the living embodiment of hero and five years ago, there was a kid just like him, with the same, if not more, amount of heart and untapped potential, with the brains to go further than anyone Tony has ever seen before.
Because five years ago, Peter Parker was supposed to be the future of heroism.
But, now, five years later, Peter Parker is also dead.
And to see Steve Rogers is to, once again, be reminded of the aching, empty, gut-wrenching loss of a child he never called his own, of Peter, of Spider-man; to remember that his baby daughter Morgan would never know her brother, only seeing him in picture books and a single picture frame.
Time travel.
Impossible. Utterly impossible.
But.
'Science is all about daring to challenge the impossible, right, Mr. Stark?'
There was a chance. A chance to see him again, to see Peter.
It was cruel; so, so cruel for Steve and the others to arrive and give him a chance.
But, for the first time in five years, there was a chance, small as it was.
For five years, Tony had been wandering aimlessly, without direction and destination. He had let go of Iron Man, had handed over Stark Industries to Pepper, had stopped going to galas and stopped seeing his old coworkers.
Despite everything in him trying to protest the thought; to say that he had married Pepper, had had a child, had settled down… despite everything… right here, right now, as he stands alone by the dishes staring at a single picture frame with worn down edges, Tony cannot bring himself to lie, even if it was just to himself.
Now, he will quietly admit to himself that for the past five years, Tony Stark had stopped, his life halted. His joy in building, in making, in saving had left right together with Peter.
And here they are.
One dead, the other entertaining an impossible thought.
Here Tony was.
Alone.
And for a moment, for just a moment, Tony lets himself imagine Peter playing with Morgan, allows himself to imagine telling the kid that he loved him, to pull him into a hug.
If there's one thing Tony knew with absolute clarity, it is that Peter Parker had been magnificent, had shattered limit after limit after limit, had gone beyond than ever thought possible. Peter Parker was someone who defied expectations.
And…
Peter Parker was also dead. He wasn't here anymore.
But, Tony was.
And here he is, presented with a chance.
For the first time in five years, Tony was presented with a chance, with a destination, a light at the end of the tunnel. At the core of the long-winded conversation he had had with Steve and Scott is the fact that, though small, Tony Stark is presented with the chance to see Peter Parker one more time.
So, for now, Tony supposed that he could try and borrow a little magnificence from his kid and give it a go.
After all, science was all about defying expectations, right?
By morning, time travel wasn't so impossible anymore.
Eight.
Tony time travelled.
Which, just thinking about it, still blew his mind to bits every single time.
First, he met his father, which, weird.
Second, they lost Nat, which, Tony had refused to try thinking about.
Third, Peter was here.
Peter was here.
Alive.
The battle at Wakanda was a more intense fight than Tony was ever prepared for.
Maybe it was the years living as a civilian or the thought that there was so much Tony was fighting for now, but every blow seemed heavier than the ones before. He isn't getting any younger and the fight right here, right now, was the hardest that he had ever had to fight in well… ever.
Not to mention, Pepper was fighting somewhere around here as well. So many things could go wrong but, as he wrapped his arms around his kid, around Peter Parker, Tony feels all his worries melt away.
A year after they fought Thanos and lost, a year after the death of Peter Parker, Tony and the gang had visited the Parkers' apartment to get all the things that looked to be important and as they were doing so, they had come across a very well-kept box underneath Peter's bed.
It contained a picture of who Tony had assumed to be Ben Parker, all worn around the edges but obviously well-loved, beside it, a tiny Iron Man helmet with the paint faded away here and there and a drawing.
It was a familiar one, that helmet.
Because it wasn't something Tony could ever forget.
All those years ago, Tony had watched as a kid stare down gunfire and stand his ground and no matter how needlessly reckless it was, that moment had changed Tony's life.
And here he was, nearly a decade later, and only just now realizing that that tiny kid, the one who inspired and touched Tony so strongly all those years ago was none other than Peter Parker.
The kid who inspired him then was also the one who inspired him now.
He supposed, there was a poetic justice about it.
Of course, it couldn't have been any other person but Peter Parker.
Peter Parker was someone that Tony had adored, had loved like his own kid.
It made sense that it was Peter Parker.
It was here, at this moment, that he finally remembered the first contact.
No one knows how much one had done for someone; how much one changes another's life.
No one.
But, right here, right now, Tony understood a little.
For all the years that he had known him, Tony had always assumed that Peter had become Spider-man because of the death of Ben Parker, had always thought that he had stuck it out because of his bleeding heart. But here, faced with a tiny Iron Man helmet with a childish drawing beside it that very clearly said, "if Iron Man can fly, then surely, I could too," Tony finally knows exactly why it was these two things that Peter had kept so safely.
Ben, who had solidified his resolve and Tony, who had been his inspiration.
Here, at this moment, Tony Stark finally knows the impact he had had on Peter's life and wasn't that amazing? Even a little, Tony had helped Peter, even when he was younger. Even just a little.
And to Tony Stark, this is the moment that he finally allowed himself to stop wallowing in despair and start to grieve.
He missed him.
God, he missed him.
Now, a full four years later, Tony Stark is, once again, blessed with the opportunity to hug his son, Peter, one more time and finally, finally, despite the war and violence surrounding them, Tony Stark allows himself to smile widely, "hey, Underoos."
The battle of Wakanda was intense and had been the hardest Tony had fought in in his whole life.
As he fought Thanos, the dread had set in, the anxiety of knowing that the world was on his shoulders was heavy. So when he finally finishes it with a snap of his finger, Tony breathes out a ragged breath and falls to the ground, his vision turning hazy.
When he comes to, Tony is face to face with Pepper and behind her, his baby, Peter, and best friend Rhodey.
And then, Tony is in pain and he's dying but his wife is with him, his kid is with him, his family is with him and Morgan is safe and Peter is here and that's what matters. That's all he'd set out to do, to keep his kids safe.
So, as he stares into the eyes of his wife, Pepper, and oh god, he's going to be leaving her all alone, he sees something in her eyes.
"We'll be okay, Tony."
And the look she gives him, as his vision finally starts to blur, is one that holds a promise.
They'll be okay. She'll keep his kids safe for him now.
That's all that matters.
His family is safe and his wife promised him that she'll keep them safe.
So, giving her one last smile, he fades away.
Nine.
The funeral was a somber affair.
He hadn't wanted a wake. Tony had wanted to be cremated immediately. So, acknowledging her husband's wish, Pepper had decided to do something different instead.
Pepper Potts had loved Tony Stark and despite all they had been through, she knew with absolute clarity that Tony Stark had loved her just the same. She had seen it with the way he had visibly stopped himself from the alcohol by looking at her, as if to remind himself of for whom it was for during the first few months during his rehab; had seen it in the way he dutifully kept up with his duties at home and in the business; had seen it in the way he built her rescue suit with care and meticulous precision.
Tony Stark had loved Pepper Potts like a goddess.
She had watched her husband piece himself back together, following Stane, and then Sokovia and then Siberia and then, Thanos.
She had watched him grieve and break; had watched as he tried to fathom the idea of living without Peter Parker, the kid who had quickly become a centerpiece in their lives. She watched as he nearly broke again when they found out they were going to have Morgan, as if telling himself that Morgan couldn't replace Peter. She watched as he went into therapy with a renewed intensity, wanting to make sure that he would be able to love Morgan as herself and not as a replacement for Peter.
She had stood by his side for many, many years.
It stood to reason that it was her, who would know with absolute certainty that Tony Stark was a good man.
For so long, Tony had been alone. He had dealt with Thanos in his head for nearly six years, had dealt with the betrayal of a friend and the loss of a son. He dealt with isolation and the echoes of defeat.
Tony was the strongest man she had ever known.
And yet.
Yet.
He is also the man people freely talk badly about, even without trying to get to know the man more.
Tony was a good man, she knew this well. His family knew this well.
Tony had three wishes.
The first was to make sure that he wouldn't have a wake and put on display, as her husband had bluntly written in his letter. The second, to make sure all the funds, scholarships, trusts and back-up plans were up and running for the two kids and Rhodey, Happy, May and Pepper.
Lastly, to make sure everyone was safe.
Tony Stark was a man who wanted to be a hero, for atonement, for forgiveness, for contentment, for a lot of things. No matter the reason, Tony had set out to be a hero and for so long, he was treated as someone who wasn't.
He was the alcoholic, the egotist, the wastrel, the merchant of death.
Tony had been mistreated by nearly everyone in his life and he didn't even realize it, forgiving over and over again.
He had died not knowing for certain whether he was a hero.
And as his wife, Pepper couldn't do anything but reassure him that they would be fine.
Because they would, she'd make sure of it.
However, that wasn't enough.
Because her husband had died a hero but no one knew that.
So, she sent out articles and documentaries, video compilations and moments that only she and close friends knew.
She had shown the world that Tony was a man with a heart.
The last thing they had to do, now that he had died, was to send him off.
And rather than be buried, Pepper decided that she would set him free.
Proof that Tony Stark had a heart.
It was a little inaccurate, it implied that the proof was singular. But really, there wasn't a necessity of a physical object to prove that Tony had a heart. Tony's heart could be seen in herself, in her daughter, in their adopted son Peter, in Happy and May, in Rhodey's slow but steady walk, in KAREN's programming and the plans in her bedroom for enough business ventures to keep the company going and then some.
Truth was, Tony Stark was already a hero and finally, finally, knowing that he had kept his family safe, allowed himself to rest.
Setting him free was the least they could do.
As they all walk away, getting ready to leave, they all had the same sentiment.
Tony had always wished for his kids to be safe and happy. He had already known that Morgan would be cared for. But, Peter, who had only returned not even an hour before his death, was uncertain.
So, because Tony had loved Peter like a son, had adored him like no other, and because they were friends - family,- they would do the same too.
Tony had adored Peter, had loved him and he'd always say that he only wanted the best for his kids and Tony was family.
So, Peter was theirs just as much as he was Tony's.
So, as they walk away, they silently tell the man, he's safe with us, Tony.
And maybe that's the only way they could truly set the man free.
He'll be safe with us.
Ten.
Five years.
He had missed five years of his life.
And to Peter, that wasn't even the worst part.
The worst part was, he had missed five years of Tony Stark's life.
And then… there wouldn't be any more.
Because Tony was dead and all Peter Parker could do was mourn.
Everyone told him, time will heal all wounds. But they didn't get it.
To Peter, it had only been a day.
It had only been a day.
To Peter Parker, Tony Stark had been right there.
He didn't have five years in between.
To Peter Parker, he had shared a mug of hot chocolate with Tony Stark only a few nights before. But it wasn't. It wasn't just a few nights before.
It was years.
And Tony Stark, since day one, had been there, unknowingly or not.
It was the science of Tony Stark that had kept him from succumbing to the grief of two lost parents; it was the sheer overwhelming genius of Iron Man that had kept him sane when the bullying had started; It was the thought of Iron Man that had helped him become Spider-man.
It was Tony who had helped Peter, time and time again.
It was Tony who had picked Peter up, again and again, and placed him right back on solid ground.
And suddenly…
Suddenly, he was gone.
Tony Stark was gone and Peter had missed it, a whole five years of his life, and suddenly, it was as if he didn't have the right to mourn.
And for Peter?
Peter, who had arrived not ten minutes after, quite literally, dying to an ongoing war, who had arrived to recognizable but so, so, unfamiliar faces, who had had his whole life uprooted…
For Peter Parker, he had never felt so alone.
And sitting on top of a skyscraper on a Thursday night, alone despite the previous Ironfamily's Tuesday and Thursday joint patrol nights from days years back, Peter Parker is hit with the fact that Tony Stark was gone.
Suddenly, the tears that he held at bay for so long started to fall without warning.
There is grief.
There is pain.
And then,
There is loss.
Because if it was just grief, Peter could have been alright. If it was just pain, it would have been tolerable.
But, how do you cope with loss?
When someone had been there for nearly all of his life, how does one cope with the sudden absence of it?
Tony Stark had always been there and suddenly, he isn't and that was the hardest part.
To call out to an empty lab and to sort documents that wouldn't be signed, to search for eyes that aren't there and to realize that suddenly, his presence is all gone.
How does one cope with that?
Because now, five years into the future, Peter Parker doesn't have his room in the tower filled with little trinkets that had been collected memories. He doesn't have their familiar Queens apartment to turn to anymore.
It had all been cleaned out and so everything Peter had now was new and shiny.
But that also meant that everything he had had once, the little things, the important things, were gone.
How does one deal with the sudden absence of a constant?
It doesn't come as a surprise that a sob tears itself from his throat involuntarily.
"Peter, you've been patrolling for 2 hours over your allotted time. Maybe, it is time to go home."
The familiar voice of KAREN rings through his coms, a painful reminder of what he had and what he had lost, it didn't use to be an AI that reminded him to come home, did it?
"Peter, Tony would really want you to-"
"But he isn't here, now is he, KAREN?"
Peter's voice rings out in the quiet night, blunt and tense. "Tony isn't here."
It was the harsh reality.
Tony wasn't here anymore.
For a moment, it was the only sound heard.
Until, his suit started whirring unnaturally. "KAREN, what's going on?"
"It seems you are mistaken, Peter. Tony Stark is here."
Peter chokes then. It's been two months but every time, they always refer to Tony as 'he' or 'that guy', afraid to trigger him or Pepper into a grief-induced episode. To hear the name out loud makes it more painful.
Closing his eyes, Peter takes in a harsh breath and looks up to the sky. Shaking his head, he repeats, his voice wobbly with emotion, "H-he isn't here anymore, KAREN. We lost him."
"No, Tony Stark is here."
Suddenly, his visor lights up with a low screech to reveal a smiling Tony. 'This is a test recording for Peter Parker's AI before I send him the suit. It is currently,' Tony looks at his watch to check the time, tapping at the table absentmindedly, '1:30 PM and Happy'll head over to Midtown in a few hours so it's all in a 13-days work, right? Anyways, your primary function is to guide Peter Parker, understand? Kid needs someone in his corner and this might be able to help, you know?' Setting his screwdriver down, Tony placed his hands on his hips. 'I think my tests are done so I'm gonna head out. Welcome to the world… uh. I don't have a name yet, I think I'll let the kid name you instead.'
'So, he named you KAREN, huh? Weird but sort of fitting. Hopefully he doesn't expect you to argue with grocery shop workers on his behalf. You take good care of my boy, alright, Karen? He's my little rockstar.'
'This is a test recording second edition for the Iron Spider suit. You working, Karen?' Nodding to something off camera, presumably KAREN, Tony continues, 'You're going to have a systematic upgrade. Top to bottom, left to right. I can't have my kid not have a parachute, you know? Anyways, I've implemented around 700 new protocols. Don't tell Pete until necessary, though. He'll probably flip his shit.'
The next recording is of Tony who is looking visibly older, tired. 'Hey, KAREN. Been a while, huh? It's just been… hard, coping without Pete. Rhodey suggested I start cleaning his room but I… just can't bear to. Maybe next year. This is gonna be weird but I think I'll just record some logs here to show Pete everything he'd missed.' Looking away, Tony mutters a small, 'even if he isn't gonna see it.'
'It's been around a year since that day and I met up with Rogers this morning. Don’t know what Pete would say but I think I might forgive him. It's just… tiring to continue hating, you know? Pete, you're probably not seeing this but I'm trying. Baby, I'm trying. I'm working on me right now and I think I'm doing good work. Anyways, I think I might propose to Pepper soon, what do you think? Get married for real?
I'll… see you soon, bud.'
'Sometimes, I keep forgetting that I'm no longer Iron Man. It's a bit jarring but I guess some things have its perks? I don't know. It's weird to not be the first one on scene, you know? The… wedding will be next week. I think I'm starting to shake just thinking about it. I just… wish Pete could have been there to see it. Feels wrong without him.
Hey, KAREN? I think I might install you in a smaller robot. Wanna seat at the front row? It's gonna give you prime video material.'
'Pepper's pregnant. I… I'm supposed to be happy about it but I just… I can't. It feels too much like replacing Pete and lord knows, I can't do that. Not for Pete and not for the baby either. I'm… happier now but something's still missing and I keep getting paranoid that the baby might make me forget about my first baby. What should I do now?'
'We're naming it Morgan. Can be either for a girl or boy so I don't really mind. I've… been seeing a therapist lately, to work on my issues with it but I think I'm getting there. It's not that I'm replacing Peter, it's more like I'm making room for another kid, I guess. I don't know, I'm working on it.'
This time, Tony is excited in front of the camera, 'The baby's a she! Peter always has been saying that he wanted a sibling but… well. I hope wherever Peter is, he'd like Morgan. I have more people to share Peter with and I think I got a little too overexcited. Whoops.'
The next recording starts with a little more people. Sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, Tony said, 'so, I got discovered. They found out that I've been leaving little recordings of my life for Peter and they…'
From beside Tony, Pepper chimes in, 'want in!'
Watching Rhodey, Happy and Steve nod with agreement, Peter's tears come freely this time.
'Pete isn't here anymore and even now, two years later, it was still hard to cope so we had been surprised that Tony wasn't taking it any harder. Turns out he was doing this so… we decided to give it a go.'
This time, it is Pepper who records a video, softly, she whispers, 'Hey, Pete. Wanna hear your baby sister?' taking the recorder from the nightstand, she brings it to her belly, a steady thump, thump, thump, echoing in the recording. 'That's Morgan, Pete. Your baby sister. Tony and I, we've been going into therapy to make sure that we're not just filling your void with her presence and I think, we're both finally at a good place, you know?
I miss you, Pete. God, I miss you baby. You're Tony's kid, he adored you like no other. But… so did I. So did I. You were my kid too, you know? You were my kid. Losing you, was too harsh. It was too harsh.'
Softly, tears start falling from her face, 'I miss you, baby. I'll miss you always. You'll forgive me if I use the voicemails and recordings you made me to show Morgan her big brother, right? I want you here, Pete. I want you here but you're not and that's not on you, you know? It's not on you. So, the least I could do is get your baby sister to love you just as much as we do.
I love you, Pete. Morgan will too. That's all for now, I guess. Thanks, Karen.'
Rhodey appears next, 'Hey, Pete. Weird that I'm talking to a tiny robot but… well. It's been nearly a… year? Yeah, about that time. You've always been pestering me about therapy and rehab so I thought I'd make an update. Well. Obviously, I am still paralyzed, surprise, surprise.
But, I'm better. Invested in a good diet like you've always told me to. I'm not… I'm not War Machine anymore. Been training with the military instead. Teaching.
It's nothing fancy but I'm enjoying it so that's that. It's what you taught me, isn't it? To enjoy. Anyways, check out my…' turning around, allowing the camera to see the very colorful and very big carousel behind him, 'carousel! IT'S VERY ENJOYABLE!'
Happy smiles tiredly from inside his car, 'Hey, Pete. Or well, Karen. I'm currently about to buy a house. I know, I know, we never really go too far from each other so basically…' Turning slightly, he allows the camera to see the Stark's cabin behind him, 'don't laugh but I'm literally just a few meters away from Tony but I am, nonetheless, buying my first house. Nevermind if I buy it from Tony. Unimportant details.'
Giving them a short tour, he continues, 'Little Rockstar, it's a bit weird, not bringing you to school anymore but I think we've all hammered down a system. Morgan's three now and she's becoming a menace.
You won't believe how many times she's unbabyproofed the babyproofed things. She's a little genius, like you and Tones.
Well, Rockstar, it's… a new thing to get used to, you know? The grief's still as present as it had been two years ago but I think we've all learned to cope a little better with it.
Rockstar… huh. We've never really let you live it down, that mini-concert you were having to ACDC on the ceiling, even when you're dead. It's… god, I miss you, kid.
If someone finds this recording, I'd probably combust in embarrassment or something but I miss you. We may not have been father and son like you and Tony but you were still mine. Like my annoying little nephew, you know?
We're getting better here, Pete, so continue wreaking havoc or whatever up at God's place. I'll see you on the next one, Pete. Thanks, Karen.'
And on and on it goes, for the next two hours, a compilation of videos from Steve, Happy, Rhodey, Pepper, Tony and even a few from Natasha are shown to him.
It's… everything he's missed.
He was missed.
And maybe, it was because this was his first patrol since returning or because he had finally gotten to meet Morgan yesterday, maybe it was just the chilly air around the building but Peter had… allowed himself to sink into the grief that had been present since losing Tony.
What was grief if not love persevering?
He could see it in them.
He could see it, in Tony's eyes, in Pepper's voice, in Rhodey's smile and Happy's grunts, he was loved, is loved.
Despite how his death had hurt them so much, they had grown to live with the grief and cherish the pain of a loved one. After all, they were all family, blood ties or not.
The blood of the covenant was thicker than the water of the womb and by god, by god, did he adore every single one of them like family.
"He will always be here. They have always been right here, Peter."
And as he looked at Queens from atop the tower, Peter Parker gives her a small grunt in agreement. Seeing this, Peter knows now.
He didn't doubt it one bit.