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“The things you escape have the ability to catch you, one or other day! Stop running away! Meet them and defeat them!” – Mehmet Murat Ildan
~
Danger wasn’t anything new to Tony. He’s already been kidnapped, tortured, nearly killed, nearly killed, nearly killed, nearly killed… let’s just say he nearly died plenty of times, alright? He’s seen some shit, okay? Things humans just shouldn’t see unless they want their brains to turn all gooey and numb. Tony didn’t. He was too reliant on his brain to let it shut down like that. And he liked being able to wake up in the morning (or afternoon, whatever) to the sound of FRIDAY berating him and the feeling of his chest filling with air.
Other people, on the other hand, seemed to really not want to live. They didn’t pay attention, they didn’t try, they didn’t look both sides when crossing the road, they didn’t tiptoe around dangerous areas or threatening, suspicious people. Heck, they didn’t even brush their teeth! Which Tony needed to think hard about if he wanted to relate that to death but he could get there eventually, just wait and see!
The point was, some people didn’t seem to be too keen on keeping themselves safe, like their lives didn’t even matter to them. His first example used to be Steve. The self-sacrificial idiot didn’t know when to quit. Hell, the stories Tony’s heard about him from his time in the army back in the days – before his plane crashed and he turned into a walking, breathing popsicle – were all very heroic and ridiculously dangerous and optimistic at best. The strategies were incredible, don’t get him wrong, but the supposed Captain of America was as smart as he was lucky. Which meant he was using half his brain and half his muscles.
Now? Now there was someone else at the top of that list. Someone so incredibly stupid for throwing himself into danger without a plan and without thinking ahead and without thinking about how badly injured he could end up… Tony felt like his heart was constantly skipping beats because he just KNEW the kid was in danger. He didn’t need to see it to feel the panic consuming him. Well, he could see it with the cameras spread all over the city for this exact purpose but he wasn’t going to because Rhodey was probably right about boundaries and how important they were when two people wanted to communicate with each other and one person was… easily scared, let’s call it.
Still, with his thirst for danger and the need to try and end his own life withstanding, Tony still didn’t get too close to Spider-Man. The vigilante stayed mostly over at Queens – where he probably lived – and rescued just about anyone from whatever he could, be it a person about to be assaulted, a bank robbery or a kid that’s being bullied. Spider-Man was always there to swoop in and save the day. That was his thing and Tony didn’t want to interrupt this routine, so he just made sure Ross stayed the hell away from him and told FRIDAY to inform him in case Spidey ended up stranded alone in an alley with no backup and a bleeding injury that could kill him. You know, Tony was like his guardian angel in a sense.
It changed when Tony got the alert that there was some kind of anomaly over at Queens. Something was happening and FRIDAY didn’t know what. What she could tell him was that Spider-Man was there, as usual, all by himself and ready to face whatever the universe had to throw his way. Tony wasn’t going to panic over it too much but then he asked FRIDAY to see the footage of the area and his breath hitched at the sight of a portal – as in full-on bad sci-fi movie portal – hovering over the city and sucking cars into it.
Yeah, that didn’t look promising. And Spidey was all alone out there.
So Tony put on his suit and flew over there as quickly as possible to find Spider-Man hopping around and pulling civilians away from the portal and to safer grounds, where their feet wouldn’t float up as their bodies would get taken towards the scary, swirling portal that seemed to suck the city into it. Honestly, Tony was sick of portals in the sky. He was sick of aliens and monsters and weird shit he couldn’t explain to his therapist, even though his therapist was Bruce Banner who was RIGHT THERE and knew all of this stuff already.
“Alright,” Spider-Man said cheerfully to a bunch of school kids that hung onto him tightly. He swung them away from the street and towards the entrance of a restaurant where people gawked at the scene through the window. Tony landed nearby. “Last stop of the Spidey Express. Please make sure all your limbs are intact and leave a review on our website. Thank you for choosing Spidey Express.” He shoved the kids lightly in the restaurant’s direction. “Get inside, guys. Trust me, you don’t wanna be near that thing.”
He turned around once the doors closed behind the kids and the white lenses landed on Tony. The vigilante flinched a little backwards, as if surprised to see Iron-Man nearby, and then he jogged over quickly. He looked like he wasn’t bothered by the situation around him but FRIDAY informed Tony about the speed of the guy’s heartbeats. He was panicking inside his little spandex suit and Tony couldn’t actually say anything to make this situation seem any better. It was pretty terrible.
Still, when Spidey spoke up, his voice was still just as relaxed as it had been when he was talking to the kids earlier. “Hey, Iron-Man!” He said and his lenses widened. “Welcome to Queens. I would have given you a proper tour but I’m pretty sure the borough’s about to get sucked into a portal so maybe later.” He shrugged.
“What caused this?”
“No idea.” Spidey shook his head. “But if you wait long enough, I’m sure Jameson would find a way to pin this all on me.” He snorted and then pitched his voice into a lower, gruffier tone. “’Spider-Man is a public menace. Just look what he did to Forest Hills when he opened a black hole over the city! We should all stay home and lock the windows and doors until someone takes care of this hooligan once and for all!’ You know, there’s only one thing Jameson’s good for now, really.”
Tony lifted an eyebrow. “And what’s that?”
“The day he stops calling me a menace, I will know the end of the world is upon us. And since that hasn’t happened yet, I can tell you that this isn’t the end. It’s just a glitch in the system. God is making trials to see what the most effective way would be to get rid of the human race.” He sent a web towards a building and swung away. “Catch ya later, Iron-Man!”
The man snorted as he watched the guy pulling more people out of the way before they could get pulled into the hole in the sky. Meanwhile, Tony conversed with FRIDAY, trying to understand what was happening and how he could possibly stop it because as cool as it was, Tony couldn’t let an anomaly swallow the city like that. He was a hero, after all. He was going to live up to that name the best he could under the circumstances.
He noticed the top of buildings getting torn apart and levitating towards the sky. That was the turning point where he decided this was too big for him and Spidey to handle by themselves and he told FRIDAY to call the Avengers. If he was going to die, they were going to be there and feel guilty about it. That would be some nice legacy, wouldn’t it?
Unfortunately, Tony still had no idea what this portal was. He wanted to believe it wasn’t too bad but considering half of Queens was being pulled apart and floating towards it… yeah, he didn’t have high hoped. Actually, he felt so hopeless that he was beginning to think that maybe only another nuke might shut this endless pit in the sky up. It was like the stomach of a monster that was never satisfied, always needing more. More, more, more. And Spider-Man did his best to protect the people who were beginning to get pulled up.
Seeing as Tony had no idea what else he could do to help right now, he decided to do the same and protect the civilians. That came with the description of a hero, right? Being all over crowd control. Had Pepper only been there to see it, she would have been so proud of him for being responsible for once in his goddamn life. Well, Spidey’s thumbs up was good enough for now. He could just show the footage to his wife later on, after the world was safe again and not being threatened by an anomaly Tony couldn’t seem to grasp.
“No, wait, get out of the way! Get out of the way!!”
The scream pulled Tony out of his frantic search for more people to get out of the street and he turned around to see Spider-Man swinging quickly towards a bunch of stupid teenager and two adults who were all huddled on a rooftop – a HIGH rooftop – to film the portal. Were they complete morons? Tony started flying in that direction when the rooftop began to crack as the force of the portal started tugging at it, tearing it apart like all of the rest of the buildings around the area.
The people screamed and flailed helplessly, though Tony noticed one of them was still filming shakily. He wanted to knock out that kid for being so stupid and reckless but not now. Not now because right now he was busy trying to get there in time to save these people. Spidey got there first, of course, and scooped four people all at once before jumping down to get them back on the street. Then he climbed back up to get the three remaining people – the two adults and the filming teenager. The stupid filming teenager.
Unfortunately, the roof was being pulled too quickly and when Spidey tried to jump off with the trio he was just floating in the air, trying to get down using the force of gravity but being heaved up by the force of the portal. The vigilante froze for a second and then he yelled something at the three people and handed them a string of web that they held on to tightly. Tony watched with a dry throat as Spider-Man used all he had to toss his arm forward, sending the web flying towards the ground. Towards Tony.
The man caught the flailing, hysteric people but didn’t fly back down yet. He looked up instead, spotting Spider-Man who looked like he was trying to fight the energy that was pulling him up to no avail. Their eyes locked. “Get them to safety!” The vigilante screamed. Tony opened his mouth to protest right before the guy was sucked into the portal. And then, like a kid who finally got what he wanted after crying for hours on end, the portal disappeared. Everything that was in the way up came crashing back down and Queens remained in stiches.
And, of course, without its very own vigilante.
“Tony? We’re here. The portal is gone. What’s going on?” Steve’s voice came to life in his comms.
Tony was still hovering in the air, though, holding onto the string that was attached to three civilians and gawking at the last spot he’s seen Spider-Man. “I… it just…” He blinked twice. “Spider-Man is gone.”
It was silent for a moment. “He… died?” Steve asked. And even though the other Avengers never paid much attention to the web-slinger before, it was clear Steve didn’t like to think of a man who died on a mission. “I’m sorry, Tony. But if that’s the case then there’s nothing we can do for – “
“No, you antique! He didn’t die!” Tony protested. “He got sucked into the portal. He saved those people and then the portal… it ate him and vanished.” Tony tried to imagine that. It wasn’t very hard after he did something similar to finish the Battle of New York. He remembered the terror of ending up in space, in a place filled with enemies that wanted Tony to die. He couldn’t imagine Queens vigilante ending up in a place like that only to have no way out. Tony at least had a small chance that he managed to take. That’s how he survived. Spidey? He was stuck in there. “We have to get him out, Capsicle.” He rasped out. “We have to get him back.”
“Tony – “
“Can it, Rogers. I don’t need you to tell me that opening this thing back up again might tear our world apart or something. We can deal with that later. Right now there’s a person out there who needs our help because I’m not going to let him drift away wherever he is without trying to get him back.”
“Tony – !“
Tony was too busy talking, he wasn’t listening. But he was lowering himself and the people he was holding because he couldn’t leave them hanging forever. “This guy might have a family out there. He probably does. And they would be devastated if he doesn’t come back home after this. Hell, we don’t even know who they are!”
“TONY!” Steve snapped and Tony let go of the three people before finally spotting Steve and the others standing on the ground. They were all facing a very familiar red and blue figure that even from afar looked a little dazed. “We found him.”
Before he could even realize what he was doing, Tony was on the ground next to them, sizing Spider-Man up because he SAW the guy getting into the swirling portal. He could see that anomaly swallowing him whole. So how come he was on the ground, with only a few tears in his spandex suit? That wasn’t possible! He stared at him and for once Tony noticed how small Spider-Man looked. He wasn’t tall of broad or muscular like Steve. He looked almost like a kid.
The lenses of the red mask widened at the sight of Tony and the vigilante ran towards him and the next thing Tony knew, there was a stranger clinging to him in a hug that was way too personal for it to make sense. Strangers could hug, but it was always awkward and hesitant. This? This hug felt like it’s been developed after years. There was a voice inside Tony that told him to shove the guy away from him and demand his personal space back, but another part of him told him to shut up and let it happen. He would find out what was going on soon enough.
And he did. Spidey pulled away after a few moments to look up at Tony, his lenses narrower than before. He looked confused at Tony’s lack of response. For a second they just stared at each other and then Spidey took a step back. He glanced around and noted the presence of the other tense Avengers and then turned back to Tony.
“O…kay.” The guy said, sounding suspicious and uncertain, but he still kept on going. “Alright, this feels weird, but okay. Okay. So you will not believe what just happened. I was patrolling, right?” He looked at Tony – not the others. The man sniffed a little. The vigilante waited for a moment, as if expecting to hear something from Tony. “Yeah, anyway… I was swinging around and then this thing opened above the city and there were people around that were going to get sucked in but I caught them and pulled them to safety and then I tried to call for backup from you.
“I really did and FRIDAY can vouch for me,” That was… strange. How did he know about FRIDAY? “But I ended up attaching a web to a car that was floating towards the black hole in the sky and it just kinda… swallowed me. And then I felt like I was being pulled up, but I guess I was actually falling down because I’m back here and when did you get here, anyway? I mean, not that I’m complaining, Dad, but the trip should have taken you a while. And I literally just called.”
Pause, rewind, play again. “Did you just call me ‘dad’?” Tony asked and then looked around at the other to see if they were as put out as he was. “You guys heard it too, right? I’m not hallucinating? Spidey called me ‘dad’.” He ranted. The vigilante took another step back, head cocked to the side and lenses even more narrowed. He looked almost… scared.
FRIDAY pitched in. “He did, boss.” She said. Then, in a gentler tone she added, “Spider-Man appears to be panicking. I suggest assisting him.”
And when Tony turned to look at the vigilante again he was met with a heaving person who looked around like he was a caged animal. “I don’t understand.” The guy said, breathing heavily. “If you’re not my dad then what…” He shook his head. “Am I hallucinating? Did I end up in this nightmarish hell that would never let me out of this loopy dream that would break me down until I’m just a ball of misery floating around in an endless space of agony?” He looked like he was trying to tug at his hair through the mask before remembering the fabric that was in the way. “No, no, this cannot be happening to me. Dad will KILL me.”
He started pacing in the small circle the Avengers formed around him and had Tony been a little less baffled by the entire situation, he would have probably tried to calm down the vigilante but he was freaking out because whoever this was looked like Spider-Man and claimed he was Tony’s kid. Which was ridiculous because if Tony did have a kid, they’d probably end up in a ditch somewhere, dead. Not running forward to try and HUG Tony. He would surely be a terrible father, just like his.
Spidey stopped all of a sudden. His eyes locked on Avengers Tower. He turned slowly to the others. “W-where’s the Baxter Building?” He asked, voice almost fearful.
They looked at each other in confusion. “The what?” Nat asked.
“Oh, my Gosh.” Spider-Man laughed, a little hysterically, and turned back to face Tony again. “I’m not crazy! This is a different reality. This portal didn’t lead to space or something – it brought me to an alternate universe!” He exclaimed and threw his arms in the air. “That’s awesome! Also crazy! But hey, at least that would mean that I’M not crazy.” He nodded, like that was the answer to everything.
Zeroing in on Tony, the vigilante looked like he was waiting for his response. Right, because he thought Tony was his dad. Or the counterpart of his dad. Ugh, that was insane. “Alright, We’ve got another nutcase on our hands, I guess.” He shrugged and Spider-Man huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “So I’m gonna guess you’re coming with us to the tower to try and… get you back home?”
He nodded. “Yes, please. Thanks, Da- Tony.“ He swallowed and then shook his head. His lenses widened a little. “Okay, that is officially a weird day now. Man, Dad must be freaking out right now.”
They took Spider-Man to the tower and to the medbay to see what they could learn from his blood. Whether he really was from an alternate universe or not, Tony knew there was something weird going on. What he did do the moment he had everything he needed was to get out of there and lock the guy out of his lab because there was NO WAY he was letting this stranger inside his workshop, okay?
“But you ALWAYS let me work in your lab!” Spidey protested, stomping his little foot on the ground. Tony countered that with the reminder that he wasn’t, in fact, that boy’s father, meaning he never let the guy in his lab. Not once. Spider-Man scoffed at that and sounded so offended, Tony actually considered changing his mind and instructing him to just sit in the corner without disturbing him.
He didn’t, though, because Tony was still freaked out about the idea that Spider-Man in a different reality was his kid. Tony had a child! And one that didn’t end up completely hopeless, at that! He couldn’t wrap his mind around it because it just sounded impossible for the guy to be related to Tony Disaster Stark. His life was a rollercoaster of mainly falls and plummets that would have killed other people so how could he possibly end up with a child that seemingly liked him? How did he not mess such a tender thing up?
This person used to be a baby! There was no universe in which Tony Stark could take care of a baby without it ending in a disaster. Maybe the baby would fall and land on his head or Tony would let him play in the lab and the boy would end up decapitated because Tony was too busy working to pay attention to him. Or maybe his kid would just resent him because Tony didn’t pay him any mind, just like his own father, with his demands and expectations that never seemed to reach an end.
So no, Tony didn’t let Spidey in his lab and he tried not to think about it too hard as he let FRIDAY work with the blood sample. It wasn’t hard to find an anomaly in it – something that proved this person wasn’t from their universe. He didn’t belong here. Well, the parts of his DNA that matched a spider definitely were weird enough, but Tony knew that wasn’t what he was looking for.
Once he had the proof that the guy was right about him being from across the multiverse, Tony tried to find out who this person was in their universe. He didn’t like the idea of snooping around to find out who their Spider-Man was after working so hard on not chasing the guy away, but he didn’t really have a choice. He needed to know that now.
He found the answer after two hours of looking for the information. Peter Parker, a sixteen-year-old orphan who lived with his aunt in Queens. He went to Midtown and always got perfect grades, to the point where Tony couldn’t help but think the kid deserved to be called a genius. And yes, he was definitely a kid. That meant that in another universe Tony let his kid – a teenager – swing around and risk his life. Definitely not Father of the Year. Probably never got a cup from Peter for his birthday.
Printing everything, Tony got up and walked out of his workshop and to the penthouse where he knew the others would be. Or at least some of them. He stopped in his tracks when he got there, though, because he didn’t expect THAT. The oven and the TV and DVD player were all gone. Well, no. That wasn’t quite true. They were still there, it’s just that they were taken apart, the pieces left on the floor and table. Nat and Sam were there, watching Spidey – Peter – as he messed around with the parts, a concentrated but happy expression on his face.
“Oh, hell no!” Tony burst into the room and the three turned to look at him, Peter’s goggles widening a little like he could sense how angry Tony was. The man stormed towards the boy and then pointed at the bits and pieces left of everything HE bought. “Explanation. Now!”
The boy looked from Tony to the parts and then back up. “Man, this feels like I’m back home already.” He mumbled and then shrugged. “Well, you wouldn’t let me in the lab and I was bored. Dad knows he should never leave me alone when I’m bored. I start playing around with things.” He said it like it was something obvious Tony should have known. And yes, maybe in a different universe he did know that, but here he didn’t.
Sam snorted. “You know you can’t fault him for this, right?” He asked smugly and looked over at Tony. The man raised an eyebrow skeptically. “I mean, his dad is you. Everything he does wrong is the result of your education.” He snickered when Nat smiled and Tony spluttered. Peter tilted his head thoughtfully but at least he stopped messing with the parts around him to build… whatever it was he was working on. “Oh, this is priceless.” Sam leaned back comfortably, hands behind his head. “Also, the kid is building me a drone. You need to let him finish.”
Eyes traveling over to the kid again, Tony noted the way he bashfully scratched the back of his head before nodding timidly. “Y-yeah. In my universe Sam has a drone and I figured I could make him one here, too.” He went quiet for a moment or two. “I’m sorry, D-sir.” He corrected himself midsentence and then shook his head. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I just… I’m bored.”
“Well, then I have something for us to do. Get up. We’re going to see your aunt.”
Spidey moved to his feet but he sounded confused when he spoke up. “Umm…” He glanced back at Natasha over his shoulder. “Aunt Nat is here. Who are you talking about?”
“May Parker. Know her?” He asked and the boy shrugged and shook his head. “Well, in this universe, she’s your aunt. Well, she’s our Peter’s aunt.” The kid didn’t even seem bothered by Tony throwing his name into the conversation. Then again, in his universe it sounded like Tony already knew who he was. “And since her nephew went missing right when you showed up, we’re going to pay her a little visit and explain whatever we can to her. We don’t need her to panic.”
Peter’s lenses narrowed a little. “B-but why do I have to go? I don’t know her. She’s a complete stranger to me!” He objected. “Take Aunt Nat instead! She can be there with you and I can stay here and finish the drone for Uncle Sam.” The two cringed at their mentions but Tony and Peter ignored them. “I don’t wanna go to some lady I don’t know to, what, fool her into thinking I’m her nephew so that – “ He shut up and then just stared at Tony for a few seconds. “You want me to stay over at her place, don’t you?”
“Yes. Please and thank you. Let’s go.” Tony didn’t even try and deny it.
“She’s a STRANGER!” Peter argued, throwing his hands in the air. “Do you need me to spell it out for you? S-T-R-A-N-G-E-R! I don’t know her and she doesn’t know me. She could be a serial killer for all we know and you’re just going to leave me with her??” He sounded like he was about to start crying.
Pointing at him, Tony kept his features as stoney as possible. “I left you some clothes in the bathroom down the hall. Go change into them and then we’ll go and see what happens.” He said sternly and when the kid looked like he was about to retaliate, Tony turned around and waved his hand over his shoulder. “This isn’t up for debate, kid. Go now and then find me at the garage.”
“This is a bad idea.”
“Shut up.”
“It’s a terrible idea. She’s gonna freak out.”
“Don’t care. Be quiet.”
Peter shot Tony a look, his eyes narrowed and his lips pressed tightly together. He was trying to look angry. He probably really was upset about all of this, but his face was just too young for it to be anything but adorable. Tony snorted at him and rang the doorbell again. There were faint mumbles from inside and then a woman – messy, brown hair and tired eyes – opened the front door of the apartment and waved a towel with one hand, like she was trying to shoo a fly.
Her eyes traveled from Peter to Tony and then they widened and she stared back at Peter, her body frozen in shock. The kid barely had time to prepare before she jumped forward and hugged him so tightly, Tony wouldn’t have been surprised to see Peter bursting from the sheer force of her grip. The boy choked a little and splattered, trying to say something, but the woman wouldn’t listen. Yup, definitely May Parker.
Watching from his place next to the kid, Tony couldn’t help but wince a little at the clear discomfort of Peter. He wasn’t hugging May back – he didn’t know this woman. Of course he wasn’t hugging her back – but he wasn’t pushing her away, either. Instead opting to send Tony a distressed look over the woman’s shoulder, as if begging Tony to jump in and explain things to May.
With a pang of sympathy towards the kid, Tony opened his mouth. “Miss Parker?” Tony asked and the woman pulled a little away from Peter – just enough to look at the billionaire, giving him this thoughtful, slightly guarded look. “I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but this isn’t actually your nephew.”
“What are you talking about?” She pulled away from Peter completely and scanned him from head to toe. She didn’t seem to understand and only furrowed her brows further at the look on the boy’s face. “Peter, what is he talking about, baby?” She demanded. “Of course you’re my nephew. What did you tell Stark?”
“I’m not…” Peter glanced at Tony briefly. Tony realized he kept on looking at him because he was used to the support coming from someone who looked just like Tony. Well, he wasn’t actually the kid’s parent so that was stupid. “I’m sorry, miss, but I’m not Peter Parker. It’s… do you know about the multiverse?”
She frowned and set her jaw. Her eyes flitted from Peter to Tony again and again before she moved aside and let them into the apartment. Tony was surprised to find two more teenagers inside – a boy that kept on staring at his phone and a girl with a book that tried to pretend to be reading but her eyes weren’t moving so she wasn’t really fooling anyone. They both looked up at the sound of Peter and Tony stepping in and their eyes lit up at the sight of Peter. The kid looked just as excited as them.
“Ned, MJ!” He called happily, leaving Tony’s side in the blink of an eye to crush the two teens in a hug that they returned, even if the girl looked a little uncomfortable with the close proximity. May watched this with tight lips. Tony noticed the pain in her gaze at not being welcomed by the kid the same way he did with his friends. Apparently he had those same people in his universe, then. “Oh, you have no idea how glad I am to see you…”
May stepped forward, a frown on her face. “Hold it right there, ‘Not-Peter’.” She said and the three turned to look at her. While the two teens looked confused, Peter cringed and looked away before Tony noticed his eyes flitting back to his friends, something like a wall appearing between them as he must have remembered those weren’t really his friends. They were Peter Parker’s friends. “Tell me what’s going on here. If you’re not my nephew, which I’m finding very hard to believe, then who are you? And where is he??”
“Wait, you’re not Peter?” Ned asked. “But you look just like him!”
MJ quirked an eyebrow. “Who are you?”
Stepping up, Tony draped an arm around Peter in a way that even surprised himself. The boy lifted his head, clearly stunned at Tony’s choice to be this close to him after trying to push him away for so long. Well, contrary to popular belief, Tony did have a heart beating inside his chest, behind his ribs. He could use it from time to time. As if realizing Tony wasn’t going to just pull his arm back, Peter leaned into his touch like he was used to standing like that. God, he probably was, wasn’t he?
“This here is Peter Stark.” He introduced the kid who waved awkwardly at the three people watching them. Ned’s mouth fell open, MJ’s brows lowered suspiciously and May looked like she just swallowed a whole lemon. “He is from a different universe. The black hole that opened over the city this morning brought him here and… I saw your nephew being swallowed by it, Miss Parker. I’m very sorry.”
Hand shooting to cover her mouth, May stumbled onto the couch and stared ahead, looking dazed. Peter reached out his hand as it to try and touch her comfortingly but then he pulled it back unsurely. “I’m sorry he’s not here, ma’am. I just… we thought you should know about it so that you wouldn’t worry.” Her eyes locked with his and he shifted a little. “I promise we’ll get him back, though. I’m planning on getting back home because my dad will END me if I don’t. And I bet your Peter wants to come back here just as much as I want to be home.”
Ned blinked. “So… Peter’s still out there…” He said and slumped back down, his hand pulling his phone back out.
Instead of taking her book again, MJ kept on looking at Peter who looked at her, blushed and then started shifting in place like a caged animal. Seriously, the kid wouldn’t stop moving. Tony kinda wanted to freeze him in ice for seventy years – maybe that would slow him down a bit, though it didn’t seem to work on Cap so maybe not.
“Were you walking around Queens when it happened, too?” She asked eventually and there was something in her voice that made Tony realize she was asking about Spider-Man without making it obvious. By the sharp look Ned gave the girl, Tony assumed May was the one who didn’t know about the vigilantism part of her nephew’s life. It was good that Peter didn’t come here in his suit, then. Wouldn’t wanna reveal the identity by accident.
Peter took a moment to answer. “Yes.” He said hesitantly and then nodded a few times, basically jerking his head like he was a bobble head figure in a speeding car. “Yeah, I was… yeah.” He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and then glanced at Tony, eyes almost bugging out. “What now?” He asked silently, moving his lips a little too much to punctuate each vowel.
“Now we’re giving May my number, just in case, and we leave to get back to the tower.”
“I thought you wanted me to stay.” The boy said, a little surprised. Though Tony still noticed the small smirk he was supporting.
The man waved his hand dismissively. “You haven’t finished Sam’s drone yet. Can’t let you slack like that, kid.” He said and then went towards May, ignoring the grin on Peter’s face. He wasn’t softening the longer he was around the boy. He was just… really interested in not letting Sam – his teammate – down. That was important, after all. Yeah, that was it.
Tony woke up to FRIDAY’s voice telling him that Peter was asking for permission to get into his room. His bedroom. In the middle of the night. Pepper moaned a little and blinked her eyes open, blurrily staring at the ceiling at the voice of the AI. She glanced at Tony who groaned and covered his face with his pillow. That was ridiculous. He didn’t need to put up with a teenage kid who thought he was his father, okay? He wasn’t. He barely even knew the guy.
“Tell him to go away.” Tony mumbled. Pepper raised an eyebrow and elbowed him in the side but he didn’t relent. No way was he going to be up at night like he used to do back in the day just to… what, be with a stranger who was tugging at his heart for no reason? Obviously, Tony didn’t know Peter so why was it so hard to look at the kid and not feel responsible for him? Maybe it was his instincts from the boy’s universe. Maybe they passed right along with him.
It was quiet for a moment but then FRIDAY spoke up again. “He seems distressed, boss.”
Pepper sat up straight. “Let him in, FRIDAY.” She said before Tony could object. The man groaned when the door opened and a small kid pattered towards their bed, breaths shallow and eyes glinting with fear in the dark room. His shoulders were hunched and he looked like he wanted to hide forever and never get back out there. He looked at Tony and then at Pepper. “You must be Peter, right?” The woman asked sweetly. Right, she’s been busy all day and didn’t get the chance to meet the kid.
Rubbing his eyes, Peter looked like he wasn’t sure what was going on. “Mom?” He asked unsurely and at Pepper’s surprised look he flinched back. It was like the realization that the last day was real just dawned on him and he started breathing even more shallowly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I just…” He was on the verge of tears by the sound of it.
Tony opened his mouth to speak but Pepper cut him to the chase. “It’s alright, honey. This must be pretty scary, right?” She moved a little into Tony’s space and patted the bed next to her. “You wanna come here?” She asked and at his timid nod she smiled and stretched out her hand to invite him closer. He did, his bare feet pattering as he stepped towards the bed like a little, lost child. “What happened?”
“I’m sorry I woke you up.” Peter mumbled and shamelessly snuggled closer to her, like he was used to doing just that. Tony was too stunned to speak. Since when did Pepper know what to do with a kid? Since when did she care so much about strangers? Sure, the kid called her ‘mom’, so she was probably his mother in that other universe, but she wasn’t here.
“It’s alright. Why did you wake up?” She asked softly. “Do you wanna talk about it?”
The kid shifted and his eyes glanced at Tony for a moment, as if worried the man would look at him like he wanted him gone. Yeah, well, Tony was already pretty much awake so there was no need in kicking the boy out. Even if it felt extremely weird to have him there with them. Pepper glanced at Tony, too, and widened her eyes a little, asking him silently to not be rude. Well, being rude was who Tony was. He was famous for being blunt. That was just asking too much.
Though he was too tired to really explain that so instead he gave up and let his face relax just a little. He could pretend to be someone’s dad for the sake of keeping the peace, right? Peter’s shoulders relaxed a little. “I always have this nightmare. Like… like a flashback of what happened last year.” He said awkwardly. Tony couldn’t blame him – they were strangers. Looked like his parents, but weren’t actually them. “I chased down this bad guy who was selling crazy weapons all over the city and I tried to stop him because he was planning on taking down Dad’s plane but Dad was mad at me because…” His eyes flitted over to Tony’s and he quickly looked away. “I messed something up. A little.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, this guy and I ended up in his warehouse and he talked to me before he… he dropped the place on me and escaped.”
“WHAT?” Tony screeched. He knew this kid wasn’t his. He knew that he basically didn’t even know Spider-Man or Peter but the person telling him all of this was a child and he was explaining that a man dropped a warehouse on his back! That was crazy! People were crazy! What was this guy thinking? Didn’t bad guys have any limits? Like, for example, no killing minors? Or the sons of billionaires with metal suits that could blast them to next week?
Peter and Pepper turned to look at Tony. The boy flushed a bright shade of red that was visible even in the dark room and he ducked his head in embarrassment, avoiding eye contact. But Pepper looked right at Tony with this faint smile, like she knew he wouldn’t be able to sit down quietly and peacefully and listen to a child that was telling them about the time he was targeted by a maniac. He wanted to claim that was stupid and that Tony didn’t really care specifically about Peter but about the situation in general, but there was a lump in his throat and he couldn’t get the words out.
Chuckling weakly, the boy nodded solemnly. “Y-yeah, I got stuck under that rubble and I screamed for help but there was nobody around who could hear or help me so I thought… I thought I might just die in there.” He closed his eyes when tears began to fall down from his eyes to his cheeks. Pepper cooed at him softly. “I got out in the end because I was able to lift it all up just barely. It… it’s just that I keep dreaming about those moments when I felt like I wasn’t going to make it…”
“It’s okay, sweetie.” Pepper said and Tony found himself bobbing his head up and down in agreement. He didn’t know the kid. He wasn’t related to him in any way. But Tony still felt the need to comfort him. God, he was rubbing off on him. “You’re safe now. Nothing is gonna happen to you here as long as we’re around, okay?”
Peter didn’t say anything and after a few minutes of silence Tony realized the boy was actually asleep, tucked close to Pepper. The woman looked at Tony, as if asking him if he was alright with this and he just sighed and let his body sag. It looked like he wasn’t going to get a say in this. Besides, as long as Pepper didn’t mind having to sleep with a teenager clinging to her, Tony wasn’t going to protest, either.
The next day Tony woke up to the sound of bedsheets rustling and he blinked lazily in Pepper’s direction only to see Peter squirming out of her hold as gently and quietly as possible to try and get up. Their eyes locked for a moment and Peter froze before he offered the man a brief smile. Tony just kept on staring at the kid as he got off the bed and started walking towards the door. Somehow, Pepper didn’t wake up from that and kept on sleeping, blissfully unaware of the boy who got away from her.
Glancing at the clock, though, Tony saw it was morning already, so there was no real point in getting back to sleep. So he pushed himself off the bed and got out, following the kid to the common room and from there to the kitchen. Tony was too dazed to open his mouth and tell the kid where to find everything, but it looked like he didn’t even need to bother because Peter just opened cupboards expertly and started rummaging through them to get everything he wanted and needed.
There was this one moment when the boy hissed and shut a cupboard immediately, his body turning around to face Tony. He widened his eyes and leaned against the cupboard, expression almost making Tony believe the kid had a near death experience right before his eyes… from food. But then he mentioned something about mint and spiders and how those two things didn’t mix together very well and how back in his universe his parents threw away anything that could hurt him like that to make sure he wouldn’t accidentally eat it.
Other than that, the kid seemed like a natural, moving around like he knew the place like the back of his hand. He probably did. To Tony’s astonishment, the kid started making pancakes with chocolate chips, humming Sweet Caroline under his breath. Making himself a cup of coffee and drinking next to the table, Tony watched the kid with interest. This human being – this person – was his. In an alternate universe, sure, but it was still… amazing to think about. Did they look alike? Yes, he could see it if he squinted. And the kid was obviously smart enough to be his son…
But how come a kid that grew up with Tony as a parent ended up being so… calm and collected and not a complete mess? How did the kid not have more scars? At least visible ones. Tony didn’t really make a complete mental evaluation on him. How come his kid in a different universe seemed to actually want to go back to his father?? Talked about him with so much love and hugged him like he was truly happy and feeling safe in Tony’s arms?
It made no sense.
Peter carried the plate of over twenty pancakes to the kitchen table and put it between Tony and himself. He brought another plate for himself and one for Tony and then gestured towards the pancakes like it was the most natural thing in the world – sure, the kid always got up in the morning, made pancakes and ate them with Tony. Hell, why not?
For a few minutes they just ate quietly, Tony humming at the surprisingly good pancakes. The kid seemed to eat most of them, taking one after the other to his plate like his appetite was endless. Maybe it was. Tony didn’t actually know much about the kid’s metabolism, after all. And then Peter looked up from his plate and locked his eyes with Tony, his lips thinning.
“I know that look.” Peter admitted and slowly put down his fork.
Tony frowned. “What look? There’s no look.”
“The look you give me when you think I can’t see you.” Peter insisted and shrugged a little. “You used to look at me this way all the time. Or, uh… my dad, did. And then I asked Mom about it and she said you were just always so surprised because you didn’t think you would ever actually be a good dad. Which is ridiculous because you… HE was definitely a good dad.” He shrugged again and went back to his pancakes, shoving a giant piece into his mouth. “You have that same look on your face now.” He said with his mouth full.
“Kid, that’s disgusting.” Tony scolded flippantly and the kid snickered. “You said he used to look at you like that?” He asked after a moment and Peter nodded. “What made him stop?”
Swallowing whatever he still had in his mouth, Peter licked his lips and then grinned. “I told him to stop.” He said and after a few long moments of Tony just staring at him blankly, the boy sighed and stopped eating again. “It didn’t make him stop. I actually had to have this long conversation with him about it and I showed him all of those moments that were nothing like his childhood to make him see that he was great.” He stared at Tony for a few moments and then stabbed his pancake with his fork. “And he’s probably freaking out now because there’s someone who looks like me right there who doesn’t know him.” He played with the pancake but didn’t take a bite to his mouth. “I bet Johnny’s going mad, too.”
Tony kept on observing the kid. “Who’s Johnny?”
“Oh, he… um… he’s a part of a superhero team that doesn’t exist here, apparently. He’s a little older than me, but we’re sorta friends.” He pursed his lips. “His family doesn’t like me very much because I won’t tell them who I am and we always hang out when I’m Spidey, so…” He started moving the pancake from side to side in his plate. “And Ned is going to both geek over this and find it extremely disturbing… and I really, really miss MJ. Not this universe’s MJ because she seems distant, somehow. I miss my MJ.”
The way he said ‘my MJ’ made Tony think there was something there, but he wasn’t a child counselor and he wasn’t about to try and listen to the kid rambling about his love life, okay? As much as he was warming up to him, Peter was still someone who was going to leave and he wasn’t Peter Parker. He was someone else. Another version of a person that Tony needed to get back.
Suddenly the kid’s eyes lit up. “America!”
Blinking at the kid and feeling very unimpressed, Tony took in the bright expression on Peter’s face. “Yes, this is America. How smart you are.”
“Don’t be a jerk, D-Tony.” He waved him off quickly. “America is someone I know. She… she jumps between universes. Doctor Strange knows her.” He waited. Tony didn’t move and the kid frowned a little. “Doctor Strange? You know, the wizard you really dislike because you both have egos the size of the country? No? Nothing?” Peter shrugged. “Anyway, I met her once. She’s super nice, I really like her. But the thing is, she gave me this number to her phone and she said she could supposedly communicate with people through the multiverse with it? I never tried it before but if I can get her, she could help bring me back and get your Peter here!”
Tony sniffed. “And you’re mentioning this only now, because…?”
“I only met her once, Dad! And it was for, like, half an hour. I’m sorry I don’t think about everybody I’ve ever ran into immediately.” He scoffed and didn’t seem to notice his slip of the tongue.
Tony debated on whether he should correct him or not, but eventually decided to just ignore it. The kid was having a hard enough time trying not to freak out again over being in the wrong universe. Tony wasn’t THAT mean. He wasn’t going to actually bring his spirit down this early in the morning.
So he just watched quietly as the kid pulled out a phone – one that looked brand new except for the cracked screen – and then quickly dialed a number before putting the phone against his ear, his fingers tapping against the table. Tony put another piece of pancake in his mouth.
Apparently, she answered pretty quickly. “America! Hi, it’s Peter? Peter Stark? Earth-39277, was it?” He seemed unsure for a moment but then Tony could hear a faint reply and the kid’s face lit back up. “Y-yeah, exactly! So, listen. I may, uh, need to ask for a favor?”
America was… well, she was… a child. It was a little disturbing to see that a lot of people with powers were actually children, okay? Tony didn’t like to think about that too much. He didn’t like to imagine a world where he let his KID go out and play superhero in his spare time like it was dangerous as hell. So he just welcomed the girl with a bow of his head and then watched as she punched the air and… a star-shaped portal opened in the common room.
Staring at it, Tony felt a little uncertain. What if the kid went in there and it just didn’t end up being such a great idea? What if it wasn’t safe? What if it was so much more dangerous than the boy staying put? What if he got hurt or if that girl would end up sending him to the wrong universe? What if Peter got in more trouble and Tony didn’t have a way to help him??
A hand touched his briefly and Tony snapped his gaze away from the portal and to Peter who smiled at him like he knew exactly what was going through his head right now. “Don’t worry.” He said. “My dad was worried about it, too, when I first wanted to go through one of those. So we went together and we both saw that it was safe.” He gestured with his head towards America, the girl who stood next to the portal with this sheepish look on her face. “I trust her.”
Tony pursed his lips. “Bring back this universe’s Peter, yeah? Don’t forget, kid.”
“I promise.” He waved at Tony as he went towards the portal along with America and then they hopped in and… well, they were no longer there. The portal closed and Tony found himself all by himself at the common room, staring at the wall like a lunatic. When in his life did this start to make sense? Warm holes above the city? People who could climb walls? Gods? Multiverse-hopping people?
Yeah, that wasn’t normal.
He waited there for what felt like hours. At some point Tony moved over to the couch and sat on it, tapping his foot against the ground while waiting because the kid promised to bring back Peter Parker and Tony had no way of making sure that would happen. Obviously, if both Peter and America forgot, Tony wouldn’t be able to tell them to get Parker back because he couldn’t contact them when they were on a different universe.
Steve showed up for a few minutes and asked Tony what he was doing and where Peter was. Then Sam showed up to show off his new robot, the one Peter made. And lastly, Pepper came to the room and sat with him for a while, just waiting with him for Peter Parker to come back to his rightful universe, the place where he belonged. Because the kid had to come back. He had to come back to his aunt who was desperate to find him again and his friends who looked so upset when they realized Peter wasn’t THEIR Peter.
Half an hour after Pepper had to leave to attend a meeting of the company, another portal opened and Tony tensed before the kid – looking exactly like Peter – hopped through, the portal closing behind him. He wore different clothes – pajamas – and his hair was messy, his eyes red. He stood there for a moment, awkward and uncertain. And then his eyes fell on Tony and he seemed to take him in, the way the man just stood there and watched him, waiting.
“I’m sorry.” The kid said eventually. He took in a deep breath but it turned shallow and Tony itched closer after getting up and away from the couch. He wasn’t sure what to do. He and this kid? They were ACTUAL strangers who only talked to each other once briefly. Yet the kid was crying and he looked miserable. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Tony had no idea how to react to that. “It’s okay.”
Biting his lip, the kid shuffled his feet in place and turned his head to look at the city through the wide windows. “I, uh… this… this other Peter showed up and told me I could come back home and I… I didn’t want to leave them.”
Who? Tony wanted to ask who the kid was talking about, but, well, they didn’t know each other. There was absolutely no reason for this boy to reveal his life’s secrets to Tony, so instead he just nodded, trying to look at sympathetic as possible. Peter sniffed and wrapped his arms around his body, looking even smaller than before. And that was what actually made Tony hug the kid. Sure, he didn’t know him and the kid didn’t really know him and frankly, Tony had no idea how the kid might react to it, but he seemed to miserable and alone, just standing there and trying to support himself.
To Tony’s surprise, the kid actually hugged him right back, clinging to him like he didn’t want to let go ever again. Maybe he really was clinging to him with his powers. Who knows. But the point was that it felt like Peter needed that right now. Whatever happened to him – whatever he saw in the alternate universe – shocked or confused or hurt him. And even though Tony didn’t know him at all, he was there to offer support. And if he could be a father in another universe, he could surely be there for a kid who didn’t need him to be there twenty-four seven.
Once the kid’s sobs quieted down enough, Tony spoke up, Peter’s curls brushing against his lips and tickling him a little. “You’ll be okay.” He said gently, hoping it was the right thing to say. The boy just sniffed. “And I’m not trying to kick you out, so don’t take this the wrong way, but your aunt and friends have been freaking out and if you want, I can drive you to them right now. What do you say?”
He nodded against his chest. “T-thanks, Mr. Stark.”
“Please, you’re making me feel old.” The man drawled out, groaning. He was pretty sure the kid was smiling now, though he couldn’t see it. “Call me Tony.”
“Okay, Mr. Stark.”
Oh, Tony already liked the kid.