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Peter walked into the tower holding his side. He felt the blood on his hands. Pepper glanced over from where she was reading on the couch.
She dropped the book standing up, “Peter!”
He gave a shaky smile, “Mr. Stark?”
“He’s out of town.” Pepper ran to the kitchen, grabbed a towel, and brought it over to press to the wound, “MedBay. Now.”
“It’s not bad. A scratch, really.” Peter wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince.
“How did this scratch happen?” Pepper was leading him back to the elevator, “Because it looks bad to me.”
“Slight stabbing.” Peter wobbled on his feet and Pepper caught his weight, “Fine.”
“Not fine. Not fine!” Pepper’s voice was rising, “Who stabs people? This isn’t normal. You know this isn’t normal, right? Oh my God. You are a literal baby who was stabbed.”
“Okay.” Peter tried reassuring her, but he was leaning against her more, and it took everything in him not to collapse. “Don’t feel good.”
Pepper was willing the elevator to open, and it finally did, and she moved them forward, “HELP!”
A nurse came running. They had a fully staffed medical team at this point, “What happened?”
“Stab wound. He says it’s a scratch, though.” Pepper laughed, and she heard the craziness in her tone.
“I’ve got him.” The nurse took Peter’s weight from Pepper.
“Please take care of him. He’s just a kid.” Pepper watched them move away and glanced at the blood on her hands and clothes—Peter’s blood.
She was going to strangle Tony Stark.
~
“Hey Pep.” Tony was just getting back to his hotel suite and undoing his tie, “Sorry, I’m late.”
“P-p-peter.” She stammered out.
Tony felt his heart go cold, “What happened? Is he okay?”
“St-t-t-ab wound.” She was sitting in the waiting area, and no one had come to update her yet: “Blood.”
“Is he okay?” Tony was pulling up info from the Spider suit.
Pepper started crying.
“Baby, you’re scaring me.”
“He’s a baby. Someone stabbed him, and he’s a kid.” She didn’t know why she was feeling so many emotions.
“He’s in the MedBay?” Tony was trying to stay calm. He knew she was probably in shock.
“Yes. No one has come back. Curse you, Tony Stark. You brought him into our lives and made me love him, and now he’s bleeding.”
“No news is normally good news with him. I’m coming home, but I need you to stay with him until I get there. It’s going to be okay, Pep. It has to be.
~
Peter woke up to a familiar beeping. He groaned. Someone was holding his hand, and they squeezed his hand when he woke up, “Mr. Stark?”
“No. It’s me.” Pepper told the teenager.
“Oh. Thanks for not letting the scratch kill me.” Peter winced when he moved.
“It wasn’t a scratch. You lost a lot of blood. Are you crazy?” Pepper heard her tone go hard, “Tony told me you and May and he talked, and you weren’t supposed to patrol while he was out of town, but it’s clear you didn’t listen. What is it with you, Stark men, and not listening?”
Stark men. Peter knew he should listen to what she was saying, but he got stuck on those two words. It was like breathing fresh air. It was a sense of belonging, “Sorry, I scared you.”
“And sorry you lied to Tony and May!” Pepper added, “You are so grounded. I know I don’t have a right to ground you, but you are!”
“You have the right.” Peter reached over to grab her hand and looked her in the eye, “You absolutely have the right.”
Pepper took a deep breath and nodded, “Because I love you too.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I messed up.”
~
The next time Peter woke up, he knew Tony was sitting next to him. He could smell his cologne. “I’m sorry.” He mumbled.
“You made Pepper cry.” Tony explained, “You didn’t even call for help. You went out to patrol even though you promised me you wouldn’t. I don’t know where to start. I’m livid. I need you to start making better choices.”
Peter felt his eyes tear up, “I know. Okay, I messed up.”
Tony took a deep breath, “You’re a kid. You are going to mess up. This was a big one, though. I don’t want to think about what would have happened if Pepper hadn’t been home. You could have died.”
Peter started to cry openly at this. He had known it was bad, but he hadn’t let himself think about how bad it really was. He had only had one goal—Get to the tower and get help.
Tony motioned for him to scoot over and sat on the bed, and Peter lay against him. Tony started to rub soothing circles on his back, “I just need you to think about how that would destroy all of us before you do something this stupid again.
~
Pepper slept for a bit before returning to the MedBay, where her boys were located at the moment. She carried Peter’s Stuffed Spider, which Tony had gotten him as a joke, except it had become a comfort item. She found them both asleep. She put the stuffed animal next to Peter, who seemed to sense it there, reaching for it.
Pepper sat in the chair Tony had abandoned to go cuddle their kid. It was crazy that a couple of years ago, they hadn’t even known Peter Parker, and now he was this pivotal part of their life. He was the sun and they were the planets. The pull that tugged them toward him was love.
“Hey,” May leaned in the doorway, “I came as soon as I got your message after work.”
“I don’t know how you do it, May. I want to wrap him in bubble wrap.” Pepper wiped at her watery eyes.
“He would still go out as Spider-Man. It’s part of him, even if it makes us crazy at times.”
“I don’t even like Tony going out as Iron Man, but at least he’s an adult. How do you cope with the fact that he’s a teenager fighting crime?”
May sighed, “I hated Tony Stark when I found out that he pulled him into the fight with Cap. But I realized later that Tony Stark would do anything to keep my nephew safe. It’s like they found something in each other that they both needed.
Pepper realized it was true. Tony had stepped into the role of father as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Peter soaked up his attention too. “Tony would do anything for him.”
“That’s how I comfort myself.” May reached over to hug her, “And I know you would too.”
“He’s worth it.” Pepper glanced at the sleeping teenager, “So worth it.”