#irondad angst

[ikarakie]

one thing you learn living in new york: you literally never know what's going to happen the next day. it's become a general rule of thumb to expect the unexpected, so to speak.

despite this, when the avengers get reports of iron man flying in circles over queens, growing more frantic by the second, they're confused. mainly because they're currently sat at a table with tony stark himself. and, according to his ai, the suit that's out causing mayhem is still securely stored downstairs.

they all head out to see what the hell is going on. they meet with strange on the way, who mutters something about inter-dimensional disturbances and whatnot.

spider-man gets to the scene just before them. the second iron man visibly freezes when he spots him in his red and blue glory. "mr. stark?" they hear him ask. they see as he turns and spots them, and then does a double take. "what's going on?"

"underoos!" real tony calls, nervous, at the same time as the other one spots them, and then lurches forward to all but manhandle peter behind him.

the avengers all tense, readying for a fight. fake tony raises a repulsor. "i just want the kid. i don't want to fight."

"you don't belong here." strange says, infuriatingly calm. "i don't know how you got here, but you need to go home." fake tony nods. strange adds, "you can't take him with you." which earns him a rather mean blast. luckily, he ducks out of the way.

the poor kid is whipping his head back and forth, clearly confused. tony's stomach twists unhappily. "you don't understand," fake tony hisses, "all the work it took to get here. i'm not going home without him."

"you have to." strange takes a step forward, "you can't transport him between universes. it's not viable." the lenses on peter's suit widen, and he looks at the fake tony.

"he's from another universe?" steve asks, disbelieving. strange nods, and opens his mouth to say something more, but is cut off by the other-universe tony. he removes his faceplate, revealing a tony stark that is far more haggard than anyone had ever seen before. he's thinner, his eyes are darker, pleading. he looks like a man who's lost everything.

tony looks to peter, who's still staring, wide-eyed. he can see the gears in his head moving but can't decipher why.

"you dimension hopped to kidnap the kid?" tony asks, a little unfocused. the kid was in danger, and it was all he could think about. "why?" peter turns to him, then back to tony number two. he gasps as something apparently clicks in his brain.

he steps forwards, rounds the other-universe tony and stands in front of him. he instantly lowers the repulsor. "because i'm dead." peter says, confidently.

everyone pauses. they look at the spider like he's gone insane, because he clearly isn't dead, not anymore, at least. but other-universe tony looks like he's had the wind knocked out of him. "pete-"

peter deactivates his mask. "right?" he asks. other-universe tony frantically looks over his face.

"it's my fault." he says, softly. "i'm so sorry. i'm sorry, pete. i'm-"

"come out of the suit."

other-universe tony pauses. "what?"

"come out here, please." peter asks again. other-universe tony does as he asks, stumbling out and immediately into the open and waiting arms of the baby spider. it seems to break him, the embrace; all at once he loses any trace of intimdation and anger and sobs, curling around the boy as much as he can. peter seems unphased, unlike the other heroes, and shushes him. "it's okay, mr. stark. it's not your fault," he murmurs soothingly, only reaching their ears due to the intercom on his suit. "it was never your fault. i chose this, i chose to come up there. i didn't regret it for a second."

other-universe tony heaves. "i was supposed to protect you. i failed. i failed and you're gone and you were so scared and i couldn't do anything-"

"you're wrong," peter soothes, and it's a weird image. the child comforting the adult. "if he was anything like me, then-" for a second, his eyes cut back to this-universe tony. "then he was glad you were there when he was dying. you made him feel safer. it would've been so much worse without you."

and then it all clicks for tony. this was a version of him from a world post-snap, who'd watched a kid he considered his own fade to dust in his arms. who sat in his own guilt, and shame, and loneliness. he knew the feeling all too well, and this tony had crossed dimensions to try and get his kid back in any way possible.

if it were for anyone but peter parker, this tony would've said it was a little dramatic.

he's sent home eventually, the other tony, after some more comforts and a not so subtle hint as to how they got everyone back after the snap, much to strange's dismay. later, real tony sits in the lab, watching peter from across a table, and he asks, "how'd you figure it out?"

"figure what out, mr. stark?"

"why that other me was here." peters looks up from whatever he's tinkering with. frowns.

"well, you invented time travel to get me back," he says. "why would you stop before dimension travel? it just made the most sense." tony has half a mind to argue, but one look at his lab: a midtown high hoodie draped over the back of a chair, a teenager's backpack in the corner, a seperated table with it's own organisational pattern and piles of blueprints, a report card pinned to a board, and a spiderman charm hanging from dum-e, he figures the kid is right.

"yeah, well, i love you a little too damn much then, don't i?" he doesn't think about the words before he says them. he's felt it for so long it feels like a second instinct.

luckily he gets no time to panic. because peter immediately lights up, says, "i love you too." and gets back to work.

damn kid.

[stxar-pvnk]

It was a mistake. Tony swore it was.

"Mr stark I'm-im 16! I can take care of myself!" Peter groaned tugging his mask off a few bruises peppering his face

"take care of yourself? You nearly got shot! And then proceeded to get thrown into a building! On a mission I told you not to come on!" Tony yelled stepping out of his suit,

The roof they stood on was oh too familiar, they're first argument had been there. It was almost the same too.

Peter licked his awfully chapped lips wiping away angry tears.

"I did my best, Tony." The teens voice rang out echoing

"no you didn't do enough." Stark took a menacing step towards Peter visibly shaking in anger

"Mr-"

"you know what you did? You acted like a complete and utter childish brat who doesn't listen to a WORD I SAY!" Tonys voice was loud now, teetering on the edge of painful for Peter's ears.

"i-..I did what was right.." Peter's voice cracked the tears threatened to spill over those already rosy cheeks

"you are one idiot who's got his head stuck up his ass that's what! You-you disobeyed me! Maybe I was wrong about you, parker."

The last name resonated in the air making Peter tremble

"you don't mean that."

"yes I do."

"no you don't"

"yes."

"no!-"

"god damn it parker I just want to THROTTLE YOU!" Tony shouted his fist suddenly shooting up hovering and screeching to a halt when he saw Peter's reaction.

Peter had scrambled back the back of his feet hitting the other side of the buildings roof. he was shaking, His eyes were wide and his spidey senses were screaming at him to run away.

But no.

Peter parker stared back at the man who had a raised fist at him, looking like a damn deer in headlights.

Tony came to his senses in an instant, a sudden lump in his throat.

They stood like that for a minute

"Peter-"

"I need to leave." Peters voice came out choked as he took cautious steps away

"Peter c'mon i—please—i wouldn't do anything to hurt you I mean-"

"tony I'm leaving. Let me leave."

It was more of an ask of permission that made Tonys heart pang in despair.

Peter really thought Tony would hold him off from leaving.

So the older man took a step back, away from his suit and away from peter, his hands held up in surrender.

Peter still didnt feel..alright. but he had an escape at least.

The teens hands fumbled with the mask, his eyes blurry from tears.

"kid, let happy drive you at least.."

"no." Peter's answer was final. He cast one more glance up to his mentor.

Tony's eyes locking on his protoge and they both paused.

If only things had gone differently.

Without a word, a now covered Peter parker, swung off with an obvious shake in his hands.

And Tony didn't want to leave that roof. He didn't want to feel the shame of having to go home and seeing pepper hell maybe even rhodey.

Seeing himself in the mirror would be a whole different story. Because he wouldn't see Playboy philanthropist billionaire in the mirror.

He'd see Howard stark.

[My AO3, @STXRMVPP3T]

[periwrinkles]

“Tony really cared about you,” Pepper continues on, handing Peter the framed photo. “I know he struggled to show it— hell, if anybody knew how bad he was with affection, it would be me— but he talked so much about you, before and after your death.”

“He did?”

or; pepper and peter talk about tony at his funeral ⮯

day two of @juneofdoom!! sorry it's late for the second day in a row haha

[hurtspideyparker]

Thinking about restless spirit Tony Stark who just can't move on to the after life.

The first thing he does once he realizes he's an apparition is check on Pepper and Morgan. True to their word, they're okay. He watches them for a bit but feels this deep unrest pulling him away from the quaint home he yearns for.

There's a deep wrongness within him, some unfinished business that draws him back to New York.

He fears for a moment that it's Peter- but no, it can't be him. He'll be in Massachusetts right now, attending MIT as a freshman. There isn't a doubt in Tony's mind that his little genius is already making his mark.

Still, he follows the pull of his spirit to some dingy Queens' apartment he's never been to before.

It's deep in the night yet the apartment is empty. He looks around a bit, his body phasing through anything he attempts to touch.

It's small and dirty. There's old coffee cups on the desk, alongside a couple GED manuals. Great, the universe thinks he has unfinished business with some broke high school dropout.

He's pondering how he must have screwed up this kid's life; was it the Avengers, Stark Industries? Maybe his old playboy lifestyle is finally coming to bite him in the ass.

His contemplation is cut short by the sound of the window cracking open.

It strikes Tony for a moment that maybe he's stuck on Earth to be a guardian angel, Iron Man living on as some invisible protector against whatever creep is sneaking into people's windows. It doesn't make much sense considering the whole non-corporeal thing, but he still stiffens like he's ready for a fight.

He sees a man- no, a thing? A creature maybe, or an alien. Even in death Tony can't escape being one of Earth's mightiest heroes.

The creature is shrouded in darkness, something slick and bald crawling inside the room with terrifying grace and silence. It shuts the window with a soft kssssh as the seal is formed.

And then it pulls off its mask.

There, with the click of a table lamp, glows the face of Peter Parker.

He's definitely older now; sturdier shoulders, a rugged set of his jaw, hair tamed to something semi-professional. Still present, though, are those gentle brown eyes.

Nothing makes sense right now. Why is his kid here, in this apartment? Surely May wouldn't allow this. How many tenant laws does this place break? Where are his little sidekick friends? And on what planet would Peter Parker ever need a GED?

Tony's getting angry now, watching Peter move around the tiny space. He changes out of his costume and into pajamas. That spider suit isn't Tony's suit, it looks like cheap craft store fabric.

The kid opens a small freezer and pulls out the singular bag of peas that reside in there, pressing it against his ribs while he goes to pop some bread into a toaster.

Tony takes note of every glimpse he gains into Peter's life. Empty cabinets when he reaches for a jar of peanut butter. A fridge housing nothing but condiments and energy drinks when he goes to grab jam. A drawer with two spoons, no forks, and a paring knife which he pulls out and sticks into the strawberry jam jar just as the toast pops.

This is all so wrong.

Tony's outrage is coming to a rolling boil. Peter deserves the world- he was gonna give him the world. He couldn't wait to send Peter to MIT and show him off as his protégé. Tony was gonna fund his projects, tease him about pretty girls, maybe even see him step back from Spider-Man and act like a normal college kid. He wanted to see him flourish and grow up. It was all he could think about when Peter turned to dust between his fingers; he should be goofing off with his friends at a mathletes meeting, or building Legos, not fighting an intergalactic war.

Tony couldn't even conceive how much went wrong to end up here.

Alone. Broke. No school. He didn't even have his Stark suit to protect him. Everything that made him him has been stripped, leaving him in this shallow box with scuffed paint and hollow cabinets.

Tony can feel the violent rage burn deep in his spirit as he thinks about it.

This is why he's here. He can't let his boy live like this, wasting his potential to be some villain's punching bag. Where is everyone? Does no one care enough to stop this? The fury that builds in Tony is dangerous, wondering why a dead man is the only one who cares about the teen's life right now.

Without thinking Tony's hand reaches for the GED textbook, a mocking piece of work that laughs in his face, and throws it at the stupid little kitchenette that's mere feet from the bed.

It sails across the room with surprising speed before it's met with a thunk against Peter's palm, hand reaching out to catch it from the air before it collided with the toaster.

Oh.

Peter sets the book down and immediately picks up his web shooters, eyes darting furiously to every corner of the tiny apartment.

"Who's there?"

Tony steps a little closer but Peter's eyes just look right past him.

"C'mon Pete, c'mon. I'm here, I'm right here."

Tony looks for something else to grab. He swats at a hopefully empty coffee cup on the wooden desk, but his hand just passes right through it.

"Shit," the hope Tony felt waivers slightly and he tries again.

Nothing.

Peter is searching his apartment now, making sure the window is secure and feeling around every crevice, bookshelves, under the bed, in the top corners of the room. Searching for something nefarious, tech maybe.

Tony hits the cup, again and again, frustration building up and up and up till-

The cup flies across the room, Tony and Peter's eyes track its movements as it bounces against the ground and rolls to a stop.

"Shit," Peter breathes out.

Tony walks up to Peter now, standing before him.

"Figure it out. Think kid, you've met aliens, gods, magicians, surely ghosts aren't too far fetched."

Peter closes his eyes. His posture straightens, Tony watches him take a deep breath in as the hairs on his bare arms stand on end.

Peter's eyes blink open, and they're looking directly at Tony.

Tony smirks, "that's it."

Peter turns around and picks the cup off the ground, running to his desk with it and ripping a piece of lined paper out of a notebook and scribbling furiously on it.

Tony walks over as Peter places the cup in the center of the paper.

On the left is the word YES in bold print, NO on the right.

"Okay, okay okay. So, move the cup if, if you wanna talk. Um, is there someone in the room right now?"

Tony reaches for the cup, an intense glare as his fingertips graze it gently. It shifts minutely towards the YES.

"Shit! Shit. Sorry, whew. Okay. Are you friendly?"

Tony moves it to YES again.

"Are you a, um. Person? Like not an alien?"

YES.

"Are you wearing tech, invisibility suit or your molecules are uncalibrated or maybe it's a portal thing like, multiverse shit is happening again, a mirror universe! Oh, maybe a..."

Tony let's a frustrated sign. The kid is too practical, logical. He needs to think like a non-genius.

"... could be. Or, or maybe you're just a ghost-"

Tony perks up and immediately swats the cup, causing it to fly off the desk towards the YES.

"Oh. Oh that's... kinda normal. Or maybe really weird? I mean... I certainly have some ghosts in my past."

Peter picks the cup up and puts it back on the desk.

"Do I know you?"

YES.

"You said you were friendly, and I'm not getting any danger tingles from you. I'm gonna start with people I know are dead, cuz I just really hope you're not a... new ghost. Um. M-May?"

The boy's voice cracks on the word and Tony freezes. May is dead? Tony starts to fear that things are a lot more wrong than he previously thought.

Peter's breath catches and Tony realizes he's waiting, dying for an answer, and quickly pokes the cup towards NO.

Peter's shoulders sag.

"Uncle Ben?"

NO.

"T- Mr. Stark?"

Tony grins, "now we're getting somewhere!"

YES.

Tony is going to have his work cut out for him, but being here with Peter just feels right.

Peter breaks out into a matching smile.

"Wow, okay. I think I'm gonna need more paper," he says as the boy gets to work making a more complex system than YES and NO.

Tony watches on proudly, reminiscing about all the great Peter was and all the great he still is, despite his situation. Whatever this is, they'll figure it out.

Together.

[reeneeart]

Concerned dad Tony

[nanaonmars]

everytime i think about the fact that tony literally invented time travel for peter just for peter’s existence to be erased from everyone’s memory i lose ten years of my lifespan

[irondad-defensesquad]

“Last time someone looked out for me… it didn’t end well.” Peter doesn’t break while saying this, he’s mostly avoidant. “I don’t want it to happen again.”

Tony wraps an arm around him. “That doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be cared about, kid.”

“I’ve just grown… convinced at this point.”

Peter thinks… then he lies against Tony.

“… Sometimes you help me see another way, though,” he admits.

He can feel Tony smiling at him as he half-squeezes Peter.

"I'm glad."

[irondadmadlads]

Irondad Prompt #217:

Peter loses his powers. He’s terrified. And it’s not because he can no longer stick to walls or lift buildings. It’s because now, he’s no longer “useful,” to Tony.

[starchasersversion]

you're gonna go far by noah kahan but it's peter parker and tony stark

[m3vl0vesu]

SPIDEY STUFF

TW: Bullying, mentions of suicide, it's just kind of sad

A/N:don't know if I'm going anywhere with this or if it's been done before. Probably has but🤷‍♀️

Do you know how angsty a Spider fic can get?? Most Spideys are teenagers, and of course their canon events, sprinkle in some bullying and feeling outcasted by society and there you have it! A real Spider-person. They've got faster healing, an abnormal amount of strength and can deflect most attacks due to their spidey sense. But they're not immortal, if they die, they die. And they know that, you know that, we all do. But do other people?

The cities' civilians don't know anything about their local hero. The people they work with? They don't know if the kid can't die-i mean the reckless shit they do? They might as well be immortal if they keep on risking their life like that. Or they just count it as 'stupid teen doing stupid stuff' if they do know. And it hurts, the lack of empathy people have but they used to it by now. .

.

. 'Adrenaline' thats what you say. When people ask 'why do you swing so low sometimes' especially when your coming off a tall building. Should you tell them the truth?

Yeah.

Would you?

Hell no.

In reality you were testing yourself, it started slowly. Seeing how low you could get without being scared. Scared to hit the ground, you were just making sure that you weren't going to change your mind. And not once would you. You awaited the day the impact will finally kill you. You could make it look like an accident as well.

Maybe you forgot to make your web fluid that day, maybe you just idiotically went too low. People would maybe pick up on it, how sometimes your body would almost touch the pavement before you swung away. You were always quiet when doing it, not cracking a few obnoxious jokes. But you were just focusing, that's all. Nothing to worry about.

But just how long would they have their Spidey? And how long had their happy one been gone?

[arthropodwithapen]

what are two irondad tropes I love? glad you asked.

1 - Tony meeting Peter and immediately just.. *adopt*

2 - Tony being distraught on life ruining levels over losing his pseudo-son

how does this apply to one of my WIP's you might ask?

Naturally, I killed Peter.

[moritashie]

I choose to believe that once Tony Stark had Morgan, he was freaked out of his mind. Why? Well, his parental instincts were supposed to kick in once he laid eyes on her. Tony didn't identify anything like that appearing once he did exactly that. Neither did they start working after she fell asleep in his arms, or after they arrived home. They seemed to do their thing on Pepper, why didn't he feel something so very different and unfamiliar. Where is the thing that is supposed to ensure his child is safe and sound?

A few days later Morgan starts trying to take something dangerous and put it inside her mouth much like babies do. He instantly spots her doing that, and with a horrified expression in his face stops her. Pepper jokes "see? Your parent sense is working just fine."

That's when he realizes, he does have those. He simply didn't know that was what it was. The reason was pretty clear; he expected to feel something unknown to him before. Meanwhile Tony has already experienced that over the course of the previous 1.5 years.

He promptly loses his balance and breaks down in the middle of the kitchen.

[stxar-pvnk]

"I wanted to be your son."

"I wanted to be your dad."

Peter knew when Tony snapped his fingers that he would never see his dad ever again.

Tony knew when he snapped his fingers he would never get to admit how much he loved Peter.

They both knew at that moment, nothing would ever be the same.

[lovergurrl411]

Sometimes I just want to watch a film version of my favorite fanfiction. I can't be the only one.

[hurtspideyparker]

Tony Stark haunting the narrative in Spider-Man: Far From Home

Everywhere I go... I see his face. And the whole world is asking who's gonna be the next Iron Man. And I don't know if that's me, Happy. I'm not Iron Man.

You're not Iron Man. You're never gonna be Iron Man. Nobody could live up to Tony, not even Tony. Tony was my best friend, and he was a mess. He second-guessed everything he did. He was all over the place. The one thing that he did that he didn't second-guess was picking you.

[yes-i-am-happyaspie]

OK OK BUT JOY, the prompt: “If you die, I die. Don’t you get that!” Between Irondad?! Either way! ASDGHJKL ANGST

AHHHH!!! Mini-fic time?? Yes. Yes, Mini-fic time.

Here it is, at 997 words. A lot of action, leading to a short panic-induced argument... and a hug. Because of course, there is a hug. :D Enjoy!! [click here for a reversed use of this prompt]

If You Died...

Peter hadn’t meant to get in over his head. It was just- he needed to keep his neighborhood safe, and he had powers. It wasn’t like he could see a problem and just walk away. But he had been careful. He’d used his tools and his abilities to access the situation. He’d asked his AI to run facial recognition on everyone involved and had cross-referenced their information through several databases; just to make sure he knew what he was up against. 

Three regular guys, selling regular drugs inside a regular empty warehouse. That was it. Nothing about it had been alarming or ominous. So, taking them out should have been easy. And technically it was. It was the swarm of armed individuals that had flooded in after that had been the problem. He had that too for a while. Then the big guys came in. Three of them, with large shoulders and enhanced strength that matched his own. He was having a difficult time dividing his attention between the projectiles and the hands being aimed at his face. 

“Karen?” He dodged, while shooting webs that never seemed to hit their mark. When they did, they never held for long. The big guys  busted right out of them. “A little back up would be nice.”

“Of course, Peter. Contacting Mr. Stark.”

Peter ducked and slid beneath one of the large men’s legs. “Wait! Isn’t- Is Captain America available?” He spun around, sending his foot into the guy's knee cap. The impact made no difference; like a child kicking a fencepost. “Maybe Black Widow? Hawkeye?”

There was no debate. “Mr. Stark is already in route.” Three dots appeared on his HUD along with an ETA. 

Peter wanted to fret over his mentor's imminent arrival but there wasn’t time. Whenever he thought he had one of the men restrained, they broke free and he had to start over again. One down, two to go. Two down, one- no, still two to go. It was a vicious cycle.

Ten minutes later a blast came from the right. A hole appeared in the wall and Iron Man, gauntlets ablaze, flew through it. Peter looked up. The momentary distraction allowed enough time for a football sized fists to make contact with his stomach. He flew backwards, through a spray of ammunition, and landed in the wall. 

The comms crackled to life. Peter wished they hadn't. Pain was already radiating from the back of his skull down and down his spine. When Mr. Stark shouted his name, his ears began to ring. Dazedly, he looked up. Mr. Stark was swooping around the room. Metal clanked and repulsors whirred. Peter struggled to get to his feet to help. Mr. Stark’s voice was back in his ears.

“Stay down, Spider-Man! You’re done!”

Peter blinked. He took stock of his body. The blow had hurt, but he had enhanced strength and a healing factor. He shook out his limbs and demeaned himself well enough to continue. “I’m good. Just a little-” 

He didn’t get to finish. Mr. Stark flew by, lifted his faceplate and scowled. “I said you’re done!”

The tone gave Peter pause. Reluctantly, he slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. “I’m really okay,” he whispered, despite his throbbing head.

“And I’m really not discussing this will you,” Mr. Stark quipped. “I’m just about done here. You stay put. Capice?”

Peter nodded and looked around. Most of the little guys had fled. And only one of the larger men remained standing. Clearly his webbing needed an upgrade. Maybe taser webs with a manual detonation. A range of fifty to ninety thousand volts would probably do it. Could the suit handle that without increasing the power? He was unable to finish the math before Mr. Stark was in front of him.

“Let’s go.”

Peter allowed himself to be lifted to the top of a nearby water tower. He pulled his mask off and ran a hand over his sweaty forehead. “Mr. Stark, I-”

“Do you have any idea who those people are, what they’re capable of?” Mr. Stark gestured wildly toward the warehouse.

Peter shifted his feet. “I didn’t-”

“Didn’t what? Didn’t know? Of course you didn’t. Did you even stop to ask?” Mr. Stark wrapped his fingers tightly around his wrist. “There were two dozen lacheys and three giant bruises in there! What were you thinking?”

“I didn’t- it was three normal guys when I started!” he half-shouted. It wasn’t his fault, but Mr. Stark didn’t look keen to listen. “The others just- showed up!”

Mr. Stark took a step forward. “You could have died in there, Peter!”

“I wasn’t going to die!” he defensively shouted. “I have super-powers and I did call for back-up!”

“Your AI said you had been going at it for over an hour before you called! Peter-” Mr. Stark looked frantic with his hands running through his hair.  “Peter, I don’t know how to explain this to you any more clearly. I-” His face dropped, all blood draining from his face. “What if you had died? Then what?”

 Frustrated, Peter gritted his teeth. “It’s on you.”

Mr. Stark blinked. “No. No, bud. That’s not- geez.” he pinched the bridge of his nose, his breaths increasing as he spoke. “Pete. If you die, I die! Do you get that? If you die- I will never recover. I will-”

Peter’s brows furrowed with realization. Mr. Stark was having a panic attack. “Are you okay, Mr. Stark?”

Mr. Stark’s head shot up, his eyes wide and pupils dilated. “Are you?”

“Yeah.” Peter stepped closer, his hand going to the back of his hair.  “My head hurts but that’s it..”

Without warning, he was pulled into a tight hug.

“Just- promise me you won’t wait so long to call for help next time. Because- Peter? Peter, I can’t lose you.”

Eyes closed tight, Peter nestled his face into Mr. Stark's chest. “I promise, Mr. Stark. You won’t lose me.”