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Reaching 40 without a single clue about your soulmate isn't humiliating (or maybe it is), but deep down in his mind, he can admit that it feels a little bit—a very little bit—lonely.
The average age you get close enough to your soulmate to at least know which of your wrists has the mark is 20 years old; it makes sense, you finish high school, leave your parents' house, and move away to college, the change of scenery must have brought many soulmates together.
The problem is that he is Tony fucking Stark, for God's sake. He has been traveling across the country—and the world!—since before he could walk, and not seeing a single trace of his mark means that his soulmate is an astronaut trapped in space waiting to be rescued, or…
…well, he doesn't want to think about the alternative.
Around Rhodey's right wrist, there is a permanent black line; he already found his other half, she has been his girlfriend for 10 years. Pepper's line, on the other hand, is visible only when she is at the tower working. Clearly, her soulmate works here just like she does.
"Why don't you just slap everyone in this tower until your mark turns black, Miss Potts?"
"Because, first, it's rude," Pepper replies without looking up from her tablet, "and second, I will find that person when the time is right, Mr. Stark."
The media, of course, never missed an opportunity to remind him of his situation. The day after any public appearance, a new headline with his name on it always pops up:
'The soulmateless playboy continues to add fleeting romances'
'Can a person be born without a soulmate? The Stark case reopens the debate'
Someone from one of the less prestigious publishers even made a collage comparing the soul marks of his family and friends, making it clear that he was the only one without a soul.
'Everyone found their soulmate; could it be that fate simply forgot about Tony Stark?'
Yinsen didn't have any trace of a soul mark around his wrist either, but unlike Tony, he used to have one ("My family is dead. I´m going to see them now, Tony").
As Tony escapes that cave, his feet covered in sand and the Afghan sun burning his back, a new thought begins to form in his head. Maybe it's the exhaustion making him overthink, maybe the media is right and he is destined to live alone forever.
Or maybe… maybe his soulmate died even before Tony was aware they existed.
Rhodey talks to him about what happened over the last three months, but he isn't listening. He sees Pepper's reddish nose and the tears in her eyes, and it's only when someone finally puts a cheeseburger in his hands that he can admit, strictly to himself, that knowing nothing about his soulmate was starting to unsettle him.
Afghanistan changed him; he went from being just Tony Stark —the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist (without a soulmate?)— to… Iron Man.
"Listen, my car got taken out in the explosion, so… im gonna have to hang on to your suit for a minute, okay?"
Tony looks at Pepper and shakes his head with an ironic smile. "Not okay. Not okay with that"
Rhodey straightens up in his spot. "It wasn´t a question" The suit activates and propels itself into the sky until it disappears.
Tony watches him leave and turns to look at Pepper, who returns the gaze with a smile and steps closer to him. If only she were his soulmate, everything would be so much easier.
The adrenaline started to leave his body, replaced by exhaustion. Tony thinks he should have expected something to go wrong at the expo. One moment he discovers that the palladium in his arc reactor is poisoning him, and the next he is in Queens watching how the Stark Expo, his father's legacy, turned into a war zone with drones shooting at the public. Once again, technology harming people.
"It's not your fault."
Tony looks back at Pepper, not having realized he had lowered his gaze. "Yeah, I know…" He sighs and steps far enough away to get out of the suit before taking her hands in his again. He looks at their intertwined hands for a second, feeling how soft they are compared to his. "It's just that-what the fuck?"
"What?" Pepper watches with concern as Tony freezes, staring at their joined hands. The color drains from his face, and his eyes seem to grow bigger and bigger as he grips his left wrist tightly. She steps closer and places her hands on his face, trying to get him to look at her. "Tony, what?… What's go-"
"Please, Pepper, tell me you see it too and that it's not just a hallucination in my head from the palladium exposure," Tony interrupts her. Because there, around his left wrist where there definitely had been nothing for the past 40 years, there is now a faint grey line, barely visible, but visible enough to make his heart race and a knot begin to form in his throat.
Pepper goes quiet. For a moment, she simply watches the line, then looks up at Tony's face with an indecipherable expression, staring intently at his wrist. She exhales before rubbing her hand over Tony's back. "Congratulations, Tony." Her smile softens. "You're close to your soulmate."
My soulmate… He stares at the faint line on his wrist, not daring to move. What if taking a single step makes it fade away?
The knot in his throat deepens, his nose stings, and for the first time in a long time, his chest feels warm.
No, no, I'm not going to cry, Tony Stark doesn't cry. Or maybe he does, but not in front of his girlfriend? CEO? His… whatever Pepper is to him now.
They spend a few minutes just like that, with Tony staring at his wrist and feeling Pepper's comforting movement on his back. Eventually, she speaks again. "I'm so happy for you, Tony. I knew this was going to happen at some point."
Tony smiles at her and intertwines his fingers with hers again. He glances at his wrist and then turns around to appreciate the city.
So… A slight smile appears on his face.
Queens, huh?
Standing in front of the door of an apartment in Queens because Captain America went crazy disobeying the law (shocking, i know) and protecting a criminal was definitely not on his New Year's wish list.
When he found out about Spider-Man 5 months ago, it was entertaining, like when you watch a video of a guy doing a backflip, with the difference that this specific kid wears pajamas, jumps between buildings, rescues kittens from trees, and—his favorite to watch—helps blind people who got trapped in dead-end alleys. Simply fun, harmless, and something he quickly forgot about…
…or at least he did until 3 months later, when the same kid stopped a moving car with his bare hands.
Ignoring the kid's clear desire for a secret identity was just a preventive measure and nothing to be ashamed of, nor was it dangerous, it's not like he sells the identities of enhanced people to Hydra in his free time.
Analyzing the days and times Spider-Man was spotted, along with other details like the kind of (many) jokes he makes while fighting-
"You know, statistically speaking, this is a very bad career choice."
(Seriously, the guy doesn't seem to understand that making fun of the person pointing a gun at you is a bad idea.) It was easy to assume he was some college kid with a desire to make a difference in the world and blah, blah, blah.
That Spider-Man turned out to be a 14-year-old kid who still can't drive a car on his own was definitely not what Tony expected. Hopefully, Rogers comes to his senses without the need to use the spider-kid. Either way, he plans to make a million-dollar suit personally designed by him for the boy, so… he'll be fine.
…probably.
He snapped out of his thoughts when the door in front of him opened, revealing a surprised May Parker. Upon seeing him, she froze in place with one hand on the doorknob and some kind of cake in the other. She knitted her brows and pressed her lips together, looking him up and down before murmuring, "What the fuck?"
Tony barely raised an eyebrow, not surprised by her reaction. Before starting a conversation with her, he glanced over her shoulder trying to see if the kid, Peter Parker, was in what seemed to be the living room, but there were only various baking tools scattered across the furniture and the sound of Modern Family playing in the background.
No Peter. "I guess I'll have time to win over the hot aunt before facing the kid."
He turned his gaze back to May Parker as she let out an uncomfortable cough, looking embarrassed. Tony couldn't help but linger his gaze on May's bare wrist, where he knows the mark connecting her to Ben Parker used to be.
"Yeah, I usually make that first impression." He shoved his hands into his pockets, feeling the edge of his phone. "Though there's usually more screaming and non-consensual groping." He nodded to himself as May stared at him. "I prefer this reaction."
May looked at him with an arched eyebrow, clearly confused. "I… I'm sorry, you caught me off guard." She looked down the hallway, and seeing that no one was there and that Stark wasn't explaining what the hell he was doing standing outside her apartment, she continued, "What… what are you doing here…? Well, I mean, I think you have the wrong address."
Tony sighed, pulled his hands out of his pockets, adjusted his tie, took off his sunglasses, and smiled, putting on his best trustworthy businessman face before looking May in the eye. "I'm here for Peter Parker."
May's expression changed immediately, replacing every trace of confusion with concern. Tony kept talking before she had a chance to ask.
"I am pleased to inform you that your nephew has been accepted for the September Foundation grant."
The room was just like you'd expect from a teenager in Queens: the bed unmade, the pillow tossed on the floor between the bed and the desk, the walls covered in comic posters and math jokes (why was the math book sad? because it had too many problems!), stacked books, and other teenage stuff. The room was messy, but without being a total disaster, not like that walnut and date bread his aunt gave me, Tony thought to himself.
The most interesting thing was the retro tech piled up in a corner, though he didn't expect the kid to be one of those dumpster divers. But well, as the saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure.
Although the kid didn't want to admit that the strange man swinging through Queens was him, and insisted that the online videos were fake, it wasn't hard to find his suit hidden in the only corner of that room. the attic. Very cinematic, he must say; everything happens in the attic.
With the little he saw before Peter snatched the suit from his hands, the only thing Tony could think was that the suit also looked like it came out of the trash.
Tony doesn't want to dwell too much on the idea that this kid, who isn't even 15 yet, was fighting crime in Queens in literal pajamas. Though he had to admit the webs caught his attention. he'll have to ask him for the formula later.
And what are those, blind man's bluff goggles? "How can you see through these? I'm blind!"
Peter felt his cheeks flush as he saw Tony making fun of him wearing the lenses of his suit, and he snatched it back out of his hands. "Yes! Yes, I can see, it's just that..." He crossed his arms, searching for the right words. "When whatever happened, happened, all my senses went into overdrive. It's really overwhelming, so they help me focus."
Tony looked at him seriously before snorting. "Touching. Now..." He looked back at the suit, noticing the thread joining the pieces of fabric, clearly hand-sewn. If I'm making this kid a suit, I should remember that.
"You know, you could really use an upgrade." Tony looked Peter up and down, pointing with his hand to his entire body as Peter crossed the room to sit on his bed. "Systemic, top to bottom, 100-percent restoration." He pointed to himself with an arrogant smile. "That's why I'm here." And because I need an extra hand to deal with Rogers.
The only thing Tony thinks while listening to Peter's reason for getting up every morning and doing what he does is that, at least his reason for all this spider-guy stuff is honest and heroic. He doesn't have to worry about the mutant teenager swinging through Queens starting to use his power to steal bicycles, or shops, or, hell, putting cats back into trees just so they couldn't get down again. He'd end up wanted by the police until they eventually realize he's powerful, and then somehow it'd become Tony's problem. He'd have to be the one to go after him, and the next thing anyone knows about Spider-Man is that he's locked up in a cell on the Raft, and, and, and…
…Well, they won't get to that point. He's strong, empathetic, wants to protect his city, and has a good backstory, so he's more than prepared to scare his probably-childhood hero, Captain America.
Tony sighed and got up from where he was sitting. God, I need a parenting advice. He glanced around the room and approached Peter, who was looking at him confused.
He stood next to the bed and pointed at the spot next to Peter. "I'm gonna sit here, move your leg." What would Howard do with a nostalgic mutant kid? He'd probably report him to SHIELD to turn him into the next Captain America. Yeah, definitely not doing that.
Tony turned toward Peter, who was still looking at him without understanding what was going on. He raised his arm and hesitated, holding it in the air for a second before resting it firmly on Peter's shoulder. He opened his mouth to ask a question, but the words got stuck in his throat. Suddenly, he was grateful that Peter decided to look at the floor, because otherwise, he'd be met with Tony's stupid expression upon seeing—right there on his wrist where his shirt slid up a couple of centimeters—a visible, perfectly straight black line that he was certain wasn't there this morning.
For a few moments, he thought it was a shadow or that his eyesight was failing him, but no, the line seemed to glow, just a tiny flash, but enough to notice it.
Everyone says that when you're close to your soulmate, the line takes on an identity impossible to mistake or overlook. He had never paid attention to those stories.
Until now.
shit. Tony felt his stomach drop. It really couldn't be. Not now. He felt his hands start to sweat as he thought of alternatives. Maybe it's May Parker, but no, because having two soulmates was impossible even if one was already dead. Besides, she was too far away for the mark to be this eye-catching, practically screaming for attention.
No, no, no… To be honest, Tony didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Of all people, of the eight billion people in the world, his soulmate turned out to be the kid from Queens, alias Spider-Man, whom he came to recruit to fight in a battle that isn't his for reasons he barely even understand.
Besides, seriously? A 14-year-old kid?
What am I, a creep? he thought, imagining Peter tied to him for life. Rationally, he knows that soulmates weren't necessarily romantic, that the bonds go beyond what anyone can comprehend, and blah, blah, blah, but… the media is going to love this.
"Mr. Stark…?" Peter's voice sounded distant.
"Mr. Stark!" Tony pulled his hand off Peter's shoulder as if the simple act of having it there burned him. He looked once more at the line on his wrist, not fully processing what he was feeling about everything that had just happened, and looked into Peter's worried eyes. I really just finished convincing him to put on a suit and fight. What the hell am I supposed to do now?
He thought about what to say next, but he didn't get the chance because Peter immediately called his attention again. "Uh, are you okay?" He frowned.
God, my 14-year-old soulmate is asking me if I'm okay with this. Tony straightened up, clearing his throat and smoothing his shirt. Shouldn't I be the one comforting him? He let out a long sigh to hide his nerves and looked seriously at Peter. "Look, listen, kid... I-"
"No. No, no," Peter interrupted him, raising his hands in front of him and shaking his head nervously. "I don't mean to be rude, sir, but i noticed… well… you know." He pointed vaguely to his eye, where Tony suddenly remembered a huge purple bruise decorated his face.
So Peter didn't realize the whole soulmate thing. "He definitely wouldn't act this calm about being Iron Man's soulmate." Maybe that was a bit vain.
Maybe.
Tony sighs and closes his eyes for a moment. He has to think very carefully about what he's going to say and do next. If the kid really doesn't suspect a thing, everything that might happen in the coming days depends on him.
Tell Peter right now what he just discovered on his wrist, or… let it slide and pretend nothing happened? He tried to imagine both situations. Fuck, is it really a good idea for him to be an influence on a teenager? Because looking at the situation now, it's clear that that's the kind of relationship they'd have something like mentor-mentee.
Tony thought back to what he´d been like at Peter´s age and a few years older: drugs, parties, and alcohol. He wasn't exactly role model material.
Peter, on the other hand, is more like the stereotypical good kid from the movies (plus the spider powers, of course). The last thing Tony wants was Peter deciding to celebrate his sixteen birthday by seeing how many people can fit in his car (trunk and roof included) and then drive down Times Square.
But he's a hero, right? And now his soulmate turned out to be the Spider-"man." Maybe fate wants him to be the Obi-Wan of Manhattan and teach Peter to control his Chakra so he could defeat Voldemort. Or whatever.
He could give him all the tools he needs to make this whole Spider-Man thing better. Better equipment, better training, and better judgment. He could leave Happy in contact with him, and then he'd be out of the bad part of his influence. Everyone would be happy and content.
But then Tony thinks about the present and why he's there. His own problems got out of hand, and he recruited a high-schooler kid. And even though he hopes no fight happens because, in fact, he still believes he and Steve are friends it's still a risky argument that Peter isn't part of, not to mention he's going to be on another continent without his aunt knowing what he's really doing there.
Not for the first time in his life, he wishes soulmates simply didn't exist.
He snaps back to reality when he realizes he has closed his eyes for a second later than normal. "Any moment, the kid´s going to offer me one of those suspicious over the counter pills that I know he has."
Honestly? He could use some… Coffee and painkillers... Yeah, sounds great.
Tony opens his eyes and looks at Peter's face, trying to guess what's going through his head. Sorry, kid. He places his hand back on his shoulder and, with an expression he hoped looked like a ressuring smile, says, "Ever been to Germany?"
Did someone mention soulmates?
"I can't go to Germany," Peter shrugs apologetically.
"I got homework."
…Because I didnt.
The trip to Germany was a total success. Ever since that day in Queens, Tony made sure to avoid Peter and stay far enough away from him so that the line on his wrist remained invisible and out of everyone's sight, especially Peter's. This probably isn't the healthiest thing he could do, and Pepper would love to hear everything he did to keep the kid away until both of their bodies were completely covered by their suits.
Happy had picked Peter up from his apartment and driven him to the airport ("The kid has three suitcases, Tony, three"), and he clearly made sure to travel on a separate plane and stay at a hotel 13 blocks away from theirs, yeah, yeah… precautions.
Tony snapped out of his thoughts upon seeing Ant-Man turn into a giant. "Okay, that's new." He approached Rhodey and searched with his eyes for Peter, who was behind one of the planes adjusting something on the ground.
"Better if he stays there; this has already gotten way out of hand."
The friendly chat with Rogers went horribly wrong, and even though the kid had a battle entrance he surely won't shut up about for years and managed to do his part in the fight by stealing Cap's shield, now everyone is separated, fighting their own battles.
Even Natasha and Clint are fighting each other despite being soulmates.
With his new suit, Peter now looked like a real hero, and Friday even notified him that he managed to immobilize Falcon and Barnes. Tony thinks that maybe he'll let him keep the suit after getting through this whole mess.
If only he would stop chatting so much between fights.
"Hey! You guys ever see that really, really old movie, The Empire Strikes Back?" Yeah, just like that.
Rhodey choked on his saliva and turned to look at Tony with an offended look "Jesus Christ, Tony, how old is this guy?"
"I don't know, I didn't carbon date him, old enough"
Peter's plan was ingenious, even Tony had to admit it. His and Rhodey's help managed to bring down the giant and get rid of one more nuisance. It was definitely a good idea that he brought Peter.
"Whoa! It worked!" Peter exclaimed upon seeing Ant-Man lose his balance and start falling as he returned to his normal size. "I hope that was caught on cam-ow!" he gasped as Ant-Man's giant arm, falling down, hit him square in the back, throwing him to the ground.
"Spidey!" Tony slammed the brakes upon seeing Peter crash hard onto the floor, sliding a couple of meters until he lay completely motionless.
Shit, shit, shit… He landed on the ground and ran toward Peter's body lying unmoving. He held his breath as he knelt beside him, watching with concern Peter's complete lack of reaction.
I take it back, very bad idea to bring him, top five worst decisions.
"Kid! Peter," he muttered, shaking one of his arms, trying to get his attention while knowing the kid wouldn't want the whole world finding out his secret identity.
When he tried to look at his face, the large hands of the iron suit wouldn't let him simply remove the mask. Cursing under his breath, he took off his own gloves, leaving his hands bare. He pulled the Spider-Man mask up to his forehead, revealing the serene face of an unconscious Peter.
Without thinking, Tony placed two of his fingers under Peter's jaw, feeling his pulse a bit erratic, but steady. Jesus Christ, what a scare. Relieved, he released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. At the same time, an unfamiliar sensation began to grow in his chest.
A panic attack?
Before he could analyze and process everything that had just happened, Peter chose that exact moment to regain consciousness.
"Whoa! Easy, kid." Peter started kicking and trying to break free from the grip Tony had on his wrists.
Tony watched Peter keep moving. "We're on the same side, remember?" Peter looked Tony in the eyes before stopping his movements. "Friends, not enemies, you know."
"Mr. Stark? Uh, sorry. I panicked." With a nervous laugh, he broke free from Tony's grip and looked over to where Ant-Man was now lying on the ground.
"Yeah, well, no more Spidey for today," Tony said as he stood up and returned to his full Iron Man suit. "No, uh, I mean it!" he added upon seeing Peter open his mouth to protest.
"Good job." He stole one last glance at him before taking off.
Peter straightened up in his spot, feeling a bit embarrassed by the compliment, before huffing and crossing his arms over his chest, looking away. "I could do this all day." He fell backward, lying on the ground while he could still hear in the background the rest of the fights that hadn't finished yet. "Though I trust the others' strength… yeah, that."
For Tony, the fight had been a disaster, that's probably the easiest way to describe it. It wasn't just the fact that Steve and the Winter Soldier achieved their goal and escaped, but that Natasha, whom he thought he could trust, ended up betraying him and helping them leave.
Deep down, Tony can admit he isn't overly surprised by what she did, but it still hurt.
On the other hand, guilt eats away at him, knowing he is responsible for his best friend now being in the hospital with the news that his legs will probably never be the same again.
Tony can't help repeating over and over in his head the exact moment Vision's blast hits Rhodey directly, and how it doesn't matter having all the money or the best technology in the world because it didn't help him save his friend from a drop of hundreds of meters; he couldn't save him from spinal cord damage that condemned him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
The hospital room was quiet. Tony made sure nobody bothered Rhodey while he was there, until they could take him back to the United States.
The only thing that could be heard was Rhodey's voice talking about anything to try and fill the silence. The only comfort Rhodey could give Tony was the fact that he survived purely thanks to the armor; otherwise, he wouldn't have come out with just a spinal injury.
Tony sighed and ran a hand over his face. "This is a mess," he interrupted Rhodey in his talk about the differences between American and European healthcare.
Rhodey looked at his friend's tired face. "Yeah, that's one way to sum it up."
Tony let out a bitter laugh.
When the idea of the Avengers first came about, he thought it was a chance to do things right again. Despite the clear differences among several of the team members, he spent time believing that any problem could be solved with debates and maybe a few punches.
After today, Tony finally understood that apparently there were limits to that. The Avengers are completely broken apart for an indefinite time, probably forever. Mm, lovely…
The sound of his phone ringing pulled him from his thoughts. Tony looked at the screen, Happy. Sighing, he accepted the call and brought the phone to his ear.
"What?"
"Tony, I've been trying to reach you."
"Yeah, well, I'm at the hospital right now."
"I know, I'm not calling about that."
"Then what? I don't have all day, Happy, talk fas-" Happy interrupted him.
"It's the kid."
Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed …of course it's him.
"What did he do now?" Out of the corner of his eye, Tony could see Rhodey knitting his brows in confusion, not knowing who they were talking about.
"It's not that, he wants to talk to you."
"Tell him I'm busy."
"I already did."
"And?"
"He kept bothering me to give him your number."
Tony closed his eyes …God, this kid.
"Listen, Happy, I'm dealing with a lot of things right now, deal with it, will you?" Tony moved the phone away from his ear, listening to Happy's protests.
"What? Tony! I'm not a babysit—"
"Chau!" Tony finally cut the call and turned off the phone, seeing the reflection of his face on the screen; he looked as bad as he felt.
Tony rolled up the sleeves of the t-shirt he was wearing and ran his hands through his hair, stressed out. Clearly, he hadn't forgotten about the kid, his soulmate, even if he was trying to. When he wasn't thinking about how he was going to explain to the media what had happened, he was thinking about Peter, the mark, and not knowing what to do.
He had so many pending things to resolve that Tony could feel his brain turning over. Now he admires Pepper a bit more for being able to deal with the company and with him at the same time.
"Tony, what the fuck?" Tony looked up to meet Rhodey's incredulous and slightly hurt expression. "you weren´t going to tell me?"
Tony raised an eyebrow. "And now what, Rhodey? I have no idea what you're talking about."
Rhodey shook his head exaggeratedly. "Oh no, no, don't play dumb. What. is. that?" Emphasizing every word, Rhodey raised his arm, pointing at Tony's uncovered wrist.
Having an idea of what Rhodey is referring to, Tony feels his breath catch in his throat. Slowly, he turns his gaze toward his left wrist, fearful of what he's going to find on it.
There, exposed for everyone to see as if it were proud, is a perfect, straight line of deep black color encircling the circumference of his entire wrist. It leaves no room for doubt; this time he can't mistake it for a shadow or any other kind of illusion.
Unable to tear his eyes away from it, and trying to deny the impossible, Tony thinks, hopes that maybe Peter managed to escape from Happy and is on the other side of the door about to throw it wide open and demand that Tony take him back to Queens so he can take his Spanish exam or something.
But when none of that happens, Tony suddenly remembers. The airport… He really wants to hit his head against the wall right now.
In that moment when the giant hand dragged Peter, throwing him to the ground, Tony had been so focused on making sure Peter reacted that he didn't realize what the fact that his bare hands touched Peter's neck meant. From that moment until the death of one of the two, he would carry on his wrist permanently the mark representing the bond they both share.
Tony snapped his head up, cutting off Rhodey's complaints about not having told him about his soulmate. "Peter," he exclaimed, starting to panic.
The bond works both ways. If Tony has the line on his wrist, Peter definitely does too. And if Happy's call says anything, it's that Peter has very likely already realized it …fuck
The moment he realized what was happening, that call couldn't be a coincidence, Tony took 3 deep breaths, grabbed his stuff, said goodbye to Rhodey, who understood nothing of what was going on, and took a car to the hotel where Peter and Happy were staying.
Going in the suit would have been faster and much more practical, but really, the last thing he needs is to land in front of a hotel full of people and draw all that unnecessary attention. So he simply took a car to the hotel where Happy and Peter were staying.
Tony walks down the hotel hallway looking for the room where he knows Happy is. He stands in front of the door with the number 67 stuck on it and knocks on the wood with his knuckles until he hears an "I'm coming! I'm coming!" from Happy, who sounded annoyed.
Happy opens the door, ready to argue with the person who came to bother him.
Upon seeing Tony, he shuts his mouth abruptly, swallowing his yells. "Tony… I thought you said you weren't coming."
Tony looks at the bathrobe Happy is wearing and rolls his eyes. "Yeah, well, I changed my mind. Which one is the kid's room?" He should have paid more attention when they assigned the rooms, but whatever.
Tony walked down the hallway again toward Peter's room while running his hands through his hair out of nervousness, trying to think of what he was going to say to him. Maybe he could play surprised, as if he hadn't been hiding anything from Peter. Before his hand could touch the door, it burst open, revealing Peter, whose very first action was to bring his left wrist right up to Tony's face, where Tony could clearly see a completely black line half a centimeter thick around his wrist.
"Hey, Pete."
"You knew!" Peter exclaimed, without taking his eyes off Tony's, who returned the gaze without answering.
The silence seemed to give him away. Peter pointed a finger at Tony, accusing him. "You actually knew! Why didn't you tell me?"
Tony stepped into the room, dodging Peter, scanning the area and seeing the Spider-Man suit on the bed next to a cardboard box with pizza crusts, all the edges were left uneaten. "What makes you think it's me?" He cleared his throat, touching his neck, and turned toward Peter, who was watching him with a furrowed brow and arms crossed over his chest. "It could be one of the German girls living here," he tried to sound casual.
Peter looked at him, unimpressed by his response, and began pacing back and forth as he explained, "Well, listen. After the fight, I was really tired, right? And for a change, you were nowhere to be found. Miss Black Widow told me to leave before the police or the government arrived, so that's what I did. I called Happy because you never gave me your number —I had to call him three times, by the way—I went back with him to the hotel, where I was finally able to take a shower. Then I took off the suit and bam!" He raises his wrist again, showing the mark to Tony. "I had a damn bracelet tattooed on my wrist."
Tony scrunches his nose, watching Peter start to get worked up. "Kid…"
Peter stops what he was going to say, waving his hands toward Tony. "No, no, wait, wait. I started panicking because I had no idea who my soulmate could be, so I started thinking. I didn't have the mark this morning, and I didn't have it before putting on the suit for the fight either, so…" He glances at Tony's wrists, covered by his shirt, before looking up into his eyes. "So it had to be you! Because when I went to sleep for a bit after the fight with the giant guy, I woke up right when you were feeling my pulse! That was the only skin toskin contact I had today!"
Peter walked over to the bed and sat down. He grabbed his suit and stared at it as he continued talking. "A little while ago, before you came, I was thinking about everything that happened since you went to my apartment. You were acting weird, you left on another plane just because, and then you stayed in a hotel that is more than a damn kilometer away from this one, which, now that I think about it, is pretty weird considering you apparently wanted to make sure I was okay." He arched an eyebrow and looked at Tony, who huffed. "First I thought you were just being… well," he pointed at Tony from head to toe, "you. But now, putting that with everything else it makes sense."
Tony stood in silence, looking everywhere except at Peter, unsure of how to start explaining himself without making Peter mad. He focused his attention back on him when Peter spoke again. "I wasn't sure, though… you confirmed it by not talking." Well, the silence really did give him away.
Peter put one of the pizza crusts into his mouth, leaving crumbs on the Spider-Man suit, before walking back toward Tony. "So… am I right, Mr. Stark?"
Tony grimaced at the choice of words. "Do I really have to say it?" Peter waited. "Yes, you're right," he uttered the words as if it pained him; he is a man with a lot of pride. He raised his arm, rolling up his sleeve enough for Peter to see the mark on his skin.
Peter observed the mark for a few seconds before speaking again. "Why… why didn't you just tell me? Were you never going to tell me?" Peter muttered the last part with a hurt voice.
"Of course I was going to tell you, eventually, I guess." Tony lowered the tone of his voice with every word. Seeing Peter's expression, he hid his mark again and sighed. "Look, kid, I had my reasons, okay? Being tied to me for life isn't as perfect as you probably think." Tony knew that wasn't the best thing he could have said as he saw Peter narrow his eyes and press his lips together into a line.
Peter swallowed hard before responding. "But it wasn't your right to decide for both of us! No offense, Mr. Stark, but I'm the one who should find out if it's really true that you shouldn't meet your heroes!"
Tony scratched the back of his neck and lowered his head. "Listen, kid." He rested one hand on his hip and extended his other palm toward him. "This isn't what I wanted to happen." He grimaced, uh, that sounded worse than I expected.
Peter took a step back and let out a dry laugh. "What? That my soulmate is Iron Man, or that yours is some random kid from Queens and not someone important and billionaire from Manhattan like you?"
"What? No! I didn't mean that and you know it, genius," Tony said impatiently.
Seeing no way to avoid the conversation, Tony finally relaxed his shoulders and took a deep breath. "Just… well, believe it or not, I'm not exactly the best example for a growing teenager. I'm a mess, Peter, and after everything that happened today? It just proved to me even more that I had no business dragging you into my problems."
"I'm fine!" Peter exclaimed, pointing to his own body. "And I did everything right, you said so yourself," he pointed at Tony.
"You got knocked out, remember?"
"But I woke up!" Tony looked at him with disbelief and shook his head, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"I don't know how I would've escaped your aunt if you hadn't."
Peter's expression softened. He opened his mouth, but closed it again, searching for the right words. "What are you afraid of, Mr. Stark? Why can't you just accept things as they are?" He brought a hand to his chin, thinking. "My aunt told me once that our worries don't matter because the universe knows what it's doing; we have to listen to it." Peter smiled faintly.
"Your aunt hasn't taken a self-help course, has she?" And he had to ruin it.
"Answer me!"
"Fine! Fine, God, you're a pretty persistent kid, has anyone ever told you that?" Peter raised an eyebrow. Tony hesitated for a second before speaking. "I thought it was for the best."
"For me."
"…Yeah."
Peter joined his hands at his chest. "Without asking me. This isn't what I wanted."
Tony raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, I get it, I'm sorry. Maybe it wasn't the best thing I could have done, but I thought I was protecting you, and… I guess myself too." He shrugged.
Peter looked at him for a few seconds before turning around, shaking his head. He sat back down on the bed, wiping the pizza crumbs off his suit. "I'm still mad," he said without looking at Tony.
"I figured." Tony shoves his hands into his pockets and checks the time on a clock on the wall behind Peter, almost 2 a.m.
"A lot."
"Yeah, I already got that" he commented sarcastically.
"…I don't know how much I can trust you from now on."
"Yeah… I probably deserve that, I guess." They would work on that in the future; Pepper surely has a list of 10 things to do if your soulmate doesn't trust you.
Peter stopped what he was doing and looked everywhere except at Tony. "I-I'm happy about this, Mr. Stark," he stammered. "I know it's not going to be as easy as it is for other people, but I'm still happy." He finished with a smile.
"Mm." Tony stared at him for a moment before sighing and smiling. "I guess officially Iron Man and Spider-Man are soulmates. I'll break out my finest non-alcoholic drink to celebrate." He walked over to Peter and sat on the bed beside him.
"Wait till my Aunt May finds out about all this, she's gonna freak out!"
"I am looking forward to that moment with extreme enthusiasm," Tony said with a bright smile.
"Are you being sarcastic?"
"Me? Never."