Chapter Text
They say talking to someone in a coma can help. It was something one of the nurses told Pepper when they were finally allowed to be in the room with his husband. Ever since, before they went to visit Tony, Morgan would pick a storybook from their shelves and read them aloud so that her dad would have a good night's sleep every day. Pepper would kiss Morgan’s forehead and cradle her to sleep as she told Tony about her day, how much they missed him and even the little details of their mundane lives.
And every day, just before sunset, a boy from Queens would visit. When the doctors finally allowed their family to visit, Pepper reached out to the boy and the kid, reluctantly, agreed to visit. They weren’t particularly close, but she’d seen the two work closely together, both in their suits and in Tony’s private laboratories—the kid was nice and polite, and hearing him ramble and talk about different people from Queens and sometimes New York. That’s why during the first visit, Pepper’s heart broke as Peter sat across from them silently and only stared.
She figured the kid needed time to process all of it, so she waited for him to be more comfortable with the two of them.
But after a week, the boy was still silent and only reserved to himself, sitting across from them. And only now did Pepper notice that Peter was sitting where the boy could see Tony lacking an upper arm, while a long, red scar from Tony’s shoulder spread to the right side of his face. Why did Peter keep sitting by that side of the room?
“You could talk to him too, Peter,” Pepper said softly in the room as the bedside heart monitor filled the silence.
“Oh, I-” Peter looked at her and back to Tony. “It’s alright. I don’t want to…”
Pepper frowned and stared at him. It was already past nightfall, and Morgan was fast asleep in her arms. “Peter, come sit next to us.”
“Oh- no, it’s okay, Miss Potts—” Peter then seemed to realise something. “Or uh, Mrs Stark…”
“Both are fine, Peter.” Pepper moved her chair slightly to the right, gesturing for him to move beside them. “Come, I insist. And maybe you can help me carry Morgan?”
Peter looked like he was about to say something before nodding along and moving his chair next to her. Pepper asked him again if he could hold Morgan for a while, and Peter agreed, slowly, before gently holding Morgan. Pepper smiled at the two of them.
“You know, we’re worried for you too, Peter.”
“It’s okay, I’m alright-”
“Morgan too, you know.” Pepper looked at him. “Whenever she reads to Tony, she’s also glancing back at you. I think she wants to get to know you more.”
“That’s…” Peter didn’t say anything else as his gaze fell to the child in his arms. He wanted to say something, but no words left his mouth.
“We miss him. We all do. It breaks my heart whenever I see him like this; the doctors told me that there’s no way to tell if he’s going to be alright–and I’m afraid that one day, he’ll be gone with no one by his side. Every visit seems harder than the last…” Pepper paused, clearing the tightness in her throat. All this uncertainty was pulling her down into a spiral, but she had to stay strong. For Morgan. And Pepper’s eyes looked back to the boy beside her. And for Peter. With a heavy sigh, she squeezed the boy’s shoulders with a small smile. “But I’m glad you’re here with us.”
“O-of course.” A few moments passed, and Peter’s shoulders finally relaxed. “Thank you, Mrs Stark. For everything.”
“Call me Pepper.”
Peter’s eyes slightly widened, blinking a few times before finally opening his mouth.
“Thank you, Pepper.”
…
A boy from Queens would always visit Tony Stark just around sunset. The whole hospital had signed an NDA from Mrs Pepper Potts Stark, allowing the child to visit the billionaire whenever and giving him the privacy needed. No one knew who this child was, but that didn’t stop the gossip whenever someone would visit Tony Stark—some nurses and interns speculated whether the boy was a long-distance family member, or perhaps a secret child from Tony Stark’s early days. Whatever the case was, no one was allowed to talk to the boy unless it was related to anything medical, and Pepper made sure of that.
Of course, the NDA also extended to certain superheroes or those who had a close relationship with the Stark family. And on some days, Peter would open the door and find someone else visiting.
Peter let out a gasp, “Oh my go—Hello, sir-War Machine- er, Colonel Rhodey, sir.” The boy bit his lip as if to silence himself from further embarrassment. Walking ahead, he extended his hand. “I’m Peter Parker.”
Rhodey shook his hand firmly and hummed, “So you’re Peter.”
Peter blinked a few times before chuckling nervously, “You know me?”
“How couldn’t I?” Rhodey smiled at the boy. “Tony talked about you all the time.”
Peter stared at the war machine as he processed what the man just said. The boy felt something warm in his chest, a spark of hope that quickly crumpled as his chest tightened. With a choke, the kid replied, “Really?”
“Really.” Rhodey glanced at Peter’s other hand, which was holding a small bouquet. “Are those for Tony?”
“Oh, yeah,” Peter said sheepishly, attempting to hide his embarrassment as he made his way to the bedside, which had a vase with flowers that were slowly withering. It was a routine that he unconsciously followed, and Pepper didn’t seem to mind. “It’s nothing really—when I first visited, the flowers were already dying, so I got some and—I mean, it’s not like he’s- uh… I just think the flowers will give… a nice floral scent… when he wakes up.”
Rhodey hummed, watching as the kid arranged the new flowers neatly. It was clear the boy was nervous, if it wasn’t already obvious from his shaky voice. “Relax, kid. I think Tony will appreciate it.”
Peter paused as he looked back at his mentor. Tony probably wouldn’t notice the flowers, or even give them any attention when he wakes up—he was never the type to pay attention to these kinds of things. Peter took away the dry flowers. “They didn’t really cost much, but yeah, I hope so.”
“Queens is a bit far from here.”
“Yeah, but I swing by whenever I can.”
Rhodey sat next to the kid, ignoring how Peter fiddled with his fingers. “Don’t you have an aunt? She might get worried if you’re out here this late.”
“It’s fine, I don’t stay that long anyway–uh, Colonel Rhodey, sir.”
Rhodey scoffed, “Just call me Rhodey, kid. Anyways, how have you been holding up, Peter?”
Peter finally looked at the war machine and shrugged his shoulders. “It’s, uh, it’s been fine. There’s not much crime around the city right now, but… other than that, I’ve been doing good.”
“Good.” Rhodey patted the kid behind his back. “Stay in school, kid. From what I’ve heard, you’re gonna do amazing at college. Say, what college you thinking of applying to?”
Peter smiled as the boy slowly relaxed with Rhodey’s presence. “My friends and I have been thinking of applying to MIT… and maybe get an apartment together.”
“MIT, huh? Just like father and son,” Rhodey said, and Peter jerked his head up at the mention, but the colonel continued, “That’s really great. I remember Tony back in college—a little prodigy breezing through MIT and graduating at the top of his batch.” Rhodey chuckled as he looked back on the early years of college with Tony. “Y’know, you really do look like Tony when he was around your age. You’re like a mini version of him.”
Peter stuttered, trying to find the words to tell Rhodey something, but the colonel only ruffled his hair. “But between you and me, that little guy was an ass during college. I felt like I was babysitting your dad every single day. He was a reckless, spontaneous smart-ass.” He paused as he stared at his friend. “But Tony was—is a good person, and seeing you now, I think he did a pretty decent job raising you. He’d be proud of you, kid.”
Peter froze and stared at the colonel, whose gaze remained on his close friend. The boy pursed his lips and lowered his head. “I hope so. Most of the time I don’t really know what I’m doing and—” Peter clenched his jaw as he gazed at the ground, and with a shaky breath he admitted, “Everywhere I go, I see his face. And the whole world is asking who's going to be the next Iron Man. I don't know if that's me. I can’t be him—I can never be anything like him.”
Rhodey’s eyes fell to the kid and realised how much pressure Tony’s kid must be dealing with right now. After all, it had only been three weeks since he was brought back and since Tony snapped his fingers. Rhodey lets out a soft exhale. “That’s the point, isn’t it? You’ll never be Iron Man, kid. Nobody could live up to Tony… But trust me, Tony didn’t hesitate when he chose you.”
Rhodey pulled the boy closer, holding his shoulder as the boy slowly lifted his head slightly to glance at his mentor. A few seconds passed, and the two of them fell into a comfortable silence during this peaceful night.
…
“Peter?”
He was still sitting beside Tony when suddenly he heard someone call his name; it was a familiar young voice.
“You’re hurt.”
Morgan was grabbing onto Peter’s sweater. The child looked at him with worry, and Peter touched his face and winced with pain. He should’ve bandaged himself up more properly; well, he wasn’t really expecting to fall asleep—Peter was supposed to visit for only a few minutes today.
“Mommy called someone to come by and check on you.”
That caught Peter’s attention, and he scrambled to stand up and leave quickly. He didn’t mean to cause a headache for Pepper. “Oh, that’s-there’s no need for that, Morgan. Tell your mother I’m fine and that I’ll be-” he said as he wore his jacket and tried to grab his bag, ignoring the excruciating pain all over his body.
“Peter! Don’t you dare move.”
Shit.
It was Pepper who just opened the door to see the sight of Morgan pulling Peter’s bag away from his hands. Peter thinned his lips as it looked like Pepper was about to scold him.
“I’m alright, just a bit tired from… school,” Peter said, with an unconvincing smile. Pepper only looked unimpressed and crossed her arms.
“School?”
“Yes… school.”
“School doesn’t give you cuts in your face and bruises in your torso unless-” Pepper paused as she realised, worried, “...You’re not struggling with anyone in school, right?”
Peter blinked. “Uh, yeah, no. No one in school did this to me—it’s just from one of the patrols. I got a bit… distracted.”
“Peter…” Pepper walked closer and held Peter’s face gently. “After we treat the cuts and bruises, let Happy take you home.” Peter tried to refuse, but Pepper only interrupted the boy. “Peter Parker. You will be treated and get home safely, understood?”
Peter opened his mouth to say something, but Pepper’s gaze only made his mouth shut. “...Okay.”
“Can I come too with Happy, mommy?” Morgan asked as one of her hands held Peter’s sweater while the other held the bag. “His bag is so heavy, I’m gonna help Peter carry it.”
Pepper stared at her daughter for a moment before nodding. “Sure, sweetie, we have plenty of time to go back home anyway.”
“Pepper, you don’t have to do all of this. I’m fine.” Peter tilted his head as he took a quick glance at Morgan and back to Pepper.
Pepper raised both her eyebrows, and the two of them seemed to have a conversation with each other’s eyes, leaving Peter sighing in defeat as Pepper grabbed Morgan to carry her.
Shortly after, a doctor entered the room to treat Peter’s injuries. It wouldn’t be the last time Peter found himself going back to this room after a rough day.
…
Four months afterwards, Peter still visits regularly as Happy also became an important part of his life. Pepper had entrusted Happy to look after and take care of him. Throughout the few months, Peter felt like he could finally relax as he hung around Ned and MJ—slowly, he was able to feel lighter whenever he visited his mentor. During these months, Peter finally opened up and followed Pepper’s advice to talk to Tony whenever he visited.
There wasn’t much to talk about other than his patrols, helping people around Queens and New York when he came to visit, and sometimes Peter would talk about everything that happened during the day just to talk to Tony—that even if his mentor was asleep, Tony wouldn’t feel alone with all the stories Peter had to tell.
“Hey, Mr Stark! Or, er, Tony.” Peter scratched his head as he made his way to Tony’s bedside. “Sorry, I’m not used to calling you that yet.”
Peter placed the new, fresh flowers in the vase and spread them out.
“Oh, I’m going to Europe next week for a school trip! It’s really exciting—I haven’t been to Europe since Germany.” Peter sat down and took out a book and a piece of paper; he had made a habit of finishing homework while he was there. “Anyways, there’s also, uh, MJ. I know, I know, I’ve been talking about her for the past three weeks… or maybe more… But! I’ve made a foolproof strategy to get us… you know! A bit closer.” Peter paused, looking at the draft that he made earlier. “And you, Mr Stark, will have the honour to know what I have planned. Well, I’ll talk to Ned about it tomorrow morning and see what he thinks—but, anyway…”
Peter laid out his plan to his mentor and continued to talk about the usual: the patrols, the weekend with Ned, Aunt May and Happy, and Morgan calling Peter even when he was on patrol.
It was nice.
“Goodbye, Mr Stark! See you in two weeks!
…
Peter Parker visits three weeks later, apologising to his mentor about his late visit before staying far longer than he was supposed to. After that visit, the boy would only sleep next to his mentor and leave a few minutes later, ignoring the constant buzz in the boy's phone.
Peter Parker doesn’t visit again for two days, bringing freshly picked flowers to replace the dead ones in the hospital.
Peter Parker doesn’t visit again for a week, and this time, there are no greetings or stories to tell. The boy would collapse and fall asleep on the ground until he heard familiar footsteps in the hallways—then the boy would hurry to leave through the hospital window.
Peter Parker doesn’t visit again until a month later.
Until eventually, Peter Parker doesn’t visit again.
At some point,
There is no Peter Parker to visit Tony Stark.
…
In four years of recovery, the doctors reached out to the Stark family about Tony Stark’s recovery. Although it wasn’t released to the public, the doctors found Tony moving his fingers as a good sign that he was steadily recovering and, hopefully, would be able to open his eyes. Pepper and Morgan continued to stay by his side, watching him carefully.
Eight months later, Tony Stark opened his eyes and finally saw his family waiting for him. His eyes wandered to the flowers beside him.
It took Tony another month to be able to speak and move parts of his body. It was a heavy struggle with slow but steady amounts of therapy—but he was recovering. He couldn’t form full sentences for now, but seeing his family was all that he needed to keep going. It seemed like he missed so many years away from them, with Pepper still looking beautiful as the day he held her hands in the aftermath of the battlefield, and Morgan looked far taller than the last time he saw her.
Someone was missing.
Tony closed his eyes.
By this time, the flowers had withered away, and one of the nurses took them away.
Peter hadn’t visited in a while, and Tony could only hope that the kid was enjoying his time in MIT. Tony wondered what course Peter took—the kid did mention he wanted to major in biophysics at some point, but you never know; maybe the kid took chemical engineering instead. Whatever it was, they could catch up for the years they’ve missed once the kid found time to visit him again.
Three months passed, and Tony began to worry. Surely Pepper would’ve informed Peter he was awake by now, right?
Tony could now stand and move his arms and legs; it still hurt like hell—especially now that he had only one arm. The scar from his shoulders to his face healed somewhat, but it still left a nasty scar. Tony didn’t think about it as much; as long as he was able to hug his wife and daughter, it was fine. Still, he needed to attend one more month of physical therapy before he could go back to their lakehouse.
Someone was missing.
“Hey, Pep,” Tony called out, his voice still weak. “How’s Peter doing?”
His wife looked at him with a strange expression. “Who’s Peter?”
“Peter. You know, Peter Parker? Spider-Man?” Tony said, gesturing with his hands vaguely, “It’s good the kid’s focusing on his college, but when is he gonna visit his old man?”
“Tony,” Pepper said softly, “Who’s Peter?”
“Pep, you-” Tony froze as he saw Pepper seriously looking at him with worry. “What do you mean, who’s Peter? You know, the kid!”
“I didn’t know you knew Spider-Man.”
“That’s-no, you met him! During the visits? The labs? Whenever he would stay at the compound?”
“Tony, I’m sorry, hon, but I don't know any Peter.” Pepper took Tony’s hand and held them tightly.
Tony paused as he let out a dry laugh. “You- what? No… I…” A sudden pang of sharp pain shot through his head, and with a rough and painful grunt, he pressed his fingers to his head. Tony felt Pepper holding him in worry, but Tony could only think of one thing:
Someone was missing.
...
It was early morning, and Tony Stark couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t anything new; he already had plenty of sleep for the past five years. He watched the sunrise by his window; his mind drifted elsewhere as his hand held a phone that searched for Peter Parker—only to find the death of the kid’s aunt on the news.
From the small TV at the top left of his room, Spider-Man was still active, as far as he could tell, and Tony tried reaching out to the kid, but the phone number was unavailable. Pepper discouraged him from pushing himself further after doctors recommended that Tony should avoid stressing both his mental and physical state as much as possible. But he just… couldn’t let it go. Tony looked through Midtown High's school records, yearbooks, and anything that might help him track where the kid was—or at least, how the kid had been holding up.
But there was nothing. Tony saw the yearbook that had Peter’s friends, but never saw Peter himself. Could he no longer attend school because his aunt died? No, no, Pepper and Happy would’ve helped him about that. And speaking of, that was another issue itself; no one seemed to recall Peter Parker, and it bothered Tony even more. It felt like he had to prove the kid exists and wasn’t something he made up when he was in a coma.
All of... this was bothering him.
Ha… This kid is really giving him grey hairs as soon as he woke up.
Still, Tony made a habit of watching the TV whenever there was any news about Spider-Man. He found himself smiling as he saw Peter take down several crime lords; the kid was practically everywhere, and it made Tony even more restless.
And this morning, news broke that Spider-Man was now in critical condition. Between life and death, the masked vigilante was shot in the back, near his spine—with the best doctor in the country performing a twelve-hour surgery to stabilise the kid’s condition.
“Tony?”
And Tony only stared at the screen as the news continued. Tony hears the uncertainty about whether the kid would be able to make it,
“Tony?”
Tony hears the city talk about the stories of his kid and the people he’s saved,
“Turn it off- Tony, look at me!”
Tony sees the people in front of the hospital wearing red and blue—
Tony sees…
Pepper in front of him.
“Tony—Tony!” Pepper shook his shoulders as her breath shuddered, and Tony found his wife in front of him as the news was now turned off. “Look at me, look at me. Can you feel my hands?” She placed her palm gently on his face, and Tony only gave a small nod, his eyes drifting to the now-turned-off TV. Pepper moved his head as he looked at Tony’s eyes. “Can you hear me?” Tony blinked a few times before nodding again.
“Pepper, he’s-”
“It’s Spider-Man, I know.” Pepper thinned her lips. Studying her husband closely, “I made sure to get him the best doctors we know.”
“How… How is he?” Tony asked, and before Pepper could answer, he shut his eyes and used his left hand to hold her. “Don’t just tell me the kid is fine—I know he isn’t. So, just. Be honest with me.”
Because there was no way anyone would have survived with that kind of injury, even if the kid had enhanced healing.
Pepper lets out a long exhale as she sits next to her husband. “He’s still in surgery... we don’t know if he’ll make it.”
Tony gazed back at Pepper before nodding to himself. “Alright. Okay.” he clicked his tongue and laid back down, looking back at the ceiling while Pepper still held his hands.
…
Pepper finds herself standing in front of Spider-Man’s hospital room.