#coming out of hibernation to post starker before disappearing again

[peterrparrkerr]

Songfic (maybe further continuing our 50s au 😌)

Second Child, Restless Child by The Oh Hellos

See, I was born the second child With a spirit running wild, running free And they saw trouble in my eyes They were quick to recognize the devil in me See, I was born a restless child And I could hear the world outside calling me And heaven knows how hard I tried But the devil whispered lies I believed Can you hear it hanging on the wind? Can you feel it underneath your skin? You've got to go on, further than you've ever gone You've got to run far from all you've ever known You've got to run far from all you've ever known

Restless Child

Part 1 & 2 read on AO3

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The sun was coming up slowly, and Peter was asleep in the McDonald’s booth. Tony leaned back, his own eyes drooping, watching as the sunlight cut across Peter’s face. The table between them was littered with burger wrappers and loose fries. Tony brought the paper cup to his mouth, sipping at the lukewarm coffee. 

They were four hours from the farm now. They’d taken Simon’s truck into town and exchanged it for an unattended corvette. Now in Indiana and heading further west. Peter wanted to see the Rocky Mountain National Park, after hearing about it on the radio, so that's where they were going.

Tony didn’t have a plan for after that. Drive to Colorado, maybe stay, or head even further west. They could head south, or even north if they wanted to. 

Tony finished his coffee before waking Peter up. They needed to get on the road soon. Put as much distance between them and his cousins. He wasn’t naive to think the farm would’ve been a permanent home for himself and Peter, but he didn’t think they’d have to leave so soon. 

They’d been good at hiding it for the last five months, but they’d gotten too comfortable. They thought they’d had the house to themselves, but Joseph had walked in on them. Tony thought it was better to leave before the other three got home. He didn’t know what they would do, but he wasn’t about to risk Peter to find out. The cousins might not be in with his dad, but they were still Starks. They had the blood of the most notorious mob family in all of New York running through their veins, whether they used it or not. 

Tony had packed them up in the middle of the night, long after Joseph drank himself unconscious. It was easier sneaking out of the farm house than it had been leaving his home in New York.

Tony collected their trash from the table and walked it over to the bin, making a little detour to fill his paper cup with more coffee for the road before making his way back to the table. 

It was the second time in a year that Tony had packed up a bag and left in the dead of night. It wouldn’t be the last time, he was sure. But he had Peter beside him now. His bag had both of their lives packed inside, meshed together with the skeletons in Tony’s closet. 

He set his hand on Peter’s head, giving it a gentle shake. The younger blinked his eyes open and yawned. 

“Lets go,” Tony hummed, stepping back so Peter could shuffle out of the booth. He was still a couple inches shorter than Tony, though he grew a bit in the last five months they’d been in Michigan. 

He’d filled out on three square meals a day. His skin held more color, his eyes brighter than Tony had ever seen. Even now, with no clear destination, Peter smiled up at Tony, his sleepy eyes still filled with bright excitement for the journey they had been rushed into.

“To the mountains?” Peter asked, unnecessarily. They nodded farewell to the early morning McDonalds workers on their way out.

“Wanna get some driving practice in?” Tony asked as he dug the keys out of his front pocket. Peter hummed a negative.

“Too tired,” he complained. “Maybe after lunch.”

So Tony climbed into the driver’s seat, and Peter slammed the passenger door shut behind them. The back seat carried their lives; a blanket, a backpack and a small cooler. Books were stacked in the floorboards and a towel securely held their toiletries. 

Peter had lived a long time on the streets, living with nothing but what he had on his shoulders. Tony had always had everything he needed, but somehow, this seemed to be all either of them could want. Tony could see them traveling the country for the rest of their lives, living off of spare change that smelled like old coffee.

Peter tried to stay up for a while as Tony drove, Only You by the Platters playing quietly on the radio, but he was snoring softly by the time they reached Indianapolis. It was too early to be out. The roads were empty. 

It took them another two days of driving before they reached Colorado. Peter grinned widely out of the window at the mountain range as they passed. Tony smiled after him, the younger’s excitement contagious. 

“How long can we stay?” Peter asked, whipping his head around to face Tony. “Two days? A week?”

Tony’s smile turned into a grin as he reached across the bench to grab Peter’s hand. Peter instantly twisted their fingers together and shifted across the bench until they were shoulder to shoulder, smiling at Tony’s shoulder as they exited the freeway.

“As long as you want,” Tony said, only to see the way Peter’s smile widened. He gave an excited little squeal and leaned close to kiss at Tony’s jaw.

Tony had stopped looking through the rearview mirror days ago. He was worried his cousins were following them, or that his father had caught wind of his whereabouts and were sending someone after him.

But the longer they drove, the easier it was for Tony to loosen his grip on the steering wheel; to just drive with Peter beside him. Tony felt relaxed around Peter, safer than he’d ever felt before. 

He knew just about everything about his younger companion, and Peter knew just about everything about Tony in exchange. He didn’t judge Tony on the life he’d left behind, and Tony never pitied Peter his old life either. They were in it for life. Whispered oaths of devotion and promises of love in the darkness of night where it was just the two of them.

They both had their ghosts, but it was evident that they’d never become ghosts to each other.