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sheabeeprime · 3 years ago

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My Wish (Is For You)

BY @sheabeeprime FOR @tonystankandpetieboi AS PART OF @friendly-neighborhood-exchange

RATING: General Audiences

RELATIONSHIPS: Peter Parker & Tony Stark; Pepper Potts/Tony Stark; Ben Parker & May Parker (Spider-Man)

CHARACTERS: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, May Parker (Spider-Man), Ben Parker, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan

SUMMARY:

Peter was his name. Peter Parker. That was the child Tony was visiting.

Peter was a 9-year-old boy from Queens, New York. The file given to Tony by the Make-a-Wish Foundation described him as shy, yet fun loving and optimistic. From his own digging, however, Tony learned that he was also a trauma magnet.

When Peter was only six years old, both of his parents died in a tragic plane crash, leaving him to the care of his aunt and uncle, May and Ben Parker. Although May and Ben were noted as being extremely loving towards Peter, they only had two and a half years to try and help the grieving child adjust to his new life before he was diagnosed with a Grade II Juvenile Astrocytoma in his cerebellum.

Peter Parker is just another poor cancer kid, but he won’t let that stop him from getting the great Tony Stark wrapped around his little finger from the moment they meet. Tony, on the other hand, just wants to protect this new precious presence in his life from all the hurt the world seems to dish out onto it.

LINK: https://archiveofourown.org/works/35881288

The drive from the Memphis International Airport to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is only supposed to take a total of 18 minutes, traffic and stoplight time included. A relatively quick and easy commute for most people, even with I-240 W being as packed as it was.

Tony’s mind wondered as he stared out the window, trying to distract himself by imagining what the other people on the road were thinking. Like the old man driving way too fast for his half-baked Honda Civic. Or the teenage girl with the hand-me-down Toyota Corolla that tailgated them until they got onto I-69. He thought about how he was probably twice more comfortable in the back of his brand-new Rolls Royce then they probably were in their comparatively crappy vehicles, yet he only a fraction as happy.

Tony wasn’t unhappy per se, it was rather that he was very anxious. And Tony hated to be anxious. What did he, a billionaire superhero, have to be anxious about? As far as the public knew, there were very few people on the planet that could level up to Tony Stark, let alone cause him to sweat.

‘Stark men are made of iron,’ his dad always said. But Howard Stark was also a fan of country music, so there was no trusting his judgement.

“You’re nervous.”

Tony’s head snapped to the direction of the woman sitting next to him. A fiery, powerful red head. CEO of maybe the most influential company in the world, that being his very own Stark Industries. But above all, she was the love of his life. No one put up with him like she did, and Tony knew he took that for granted every day yet could not be more thankful that she continued to stick around.

“I am not! I mean, come on. I’m Iron Man! I fight terrorists every day, hands on,” Tony retorted.

“But this is different,” Pepper replied calmly, hands folded gently in her lap.

“Yeah? How so?”

“Because this time you’re not fighting evil, you’re helping the good. Facing the innocent. And that makes you uncomfortable, doesn’t it?”

Tony scoffed, turning to look back out the window. Unfortunately, the passing cars were no longer serving as a useful distraction, especially from the burning hole Pepper was staring into his back.

Only a couple minutes passed before Tony finally gave in with a sigh, rolling his head back towards the brilliant woman beside him. Their eyes lock for a moment and Tony knows she can see right through his façade, like always.

Tony drops his line of sight downwards towards his hands, which had suddenly become a lot more interesting and a lot less piercing than her gaze.

“I’m not nervous. I’m anxious,” he admits, eyes still trained on his now sweaty palms.

“Boss, hate to break it to you, but I’m pretty sure that those words are synonymous in this context,” Happy cut in from the driver’s seat, glancing back at them through the rearview mirror.

“No. Being nervous implies there is something to be worried about. Being anxious is a state of being. You don’t need a reason to have anxiety,” Tony replied, practically regurgitating something one of his many therapists had told.

“So, you’re admitting you have anxiety?” Happy asked.

“What? No! I-” Tony started but was quickly silenced by Pepper’s delicate hands taking his own. She cradled them for a moment, before slowly bringing them up to her lips to place gentle kisses along each finger.

“Honey, it’s okay to be nervous or anxious or worried or whatever you want to call it. Many people find this sort of thing to be scary. Seeing sick and dying children, it’s not easy. And I know you. You don’t want to let this child down.”

Tony opened his mouth to reply but found the words were caught in his throat, leaving him just gaping at his girlfriend like some sort of mouth breather. When he was finally able to get the wherewithal to push his jaw back up, Tony used all the spit his dry mouth could muster to swallow his words back down, only to then try and regurgitate them once more, like a cow chewing its cud.

“I- I, uh…what if…no, I mean…”

The billionaire wasn’t usually lost for words. He was the type who could give a TED Talk on astrophysics while drunk off his ass with no dress rehearsal. But that, math and science, was something he knew, he understood. Always growing yet never changing. It took zero space in his brain to learn and apply those principals. Talking about his feelings, on the other hand, was significantly more difficult.

‘Stark men are made of iron,’ he could hear his father say again. Tony always wondered if there was any real truth to that. After all, how strong could they really be when that sentiment left them hauling around the weight of their emotional constipation everywhere?

“Breathe, Tony. Take a moment,” Pepper encouraged, running her hands through his hair. “Now, what is it you’re trying to say?”

“What if he doesn’t like me?” Tony finally said, voice meek.

To the genius’s surprise, Pepper actually laughed. It wasn’t one of those long belly laughs, but rather a short, breathy sound. The kind of laugh a person makes in disbelief.

“You’re worried that he won’t like you?” She asked.

Tony nodded.

Pepper shook her head.

“Honey, trust me when I tell you, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. And I know that alone won’t put your mind at ease, but have you stopped to think that how the kid is going to feel? That maybe he’s going to feel the same way about you? Actually, he’ll probably be more afraid of you not liking him than you are of him not liking you. At least you’ll have some sort of common ground.”

Tony looked up at her, eyebrows furrowed. No, he hadn’t considered that prospect. Unfortunately, the car lurching to a stop brought him out of the conversation before he could formulate a reply.

“We’re here, Boss,” Happy said.

Tony sucked in a breath. Steeling his emotions back into the mental lock box from which they came, the billionaire threw on his shades and flashed his companions a nervous smile.

“Guess it’s time to find out.”

Tony then took his CEO’s hand in his own a pulled them smoothly out of the luxury vehicle before Happy could even shift into park. Better to just face the music head on, he figured.

Although the Stark Industries PR team had been specifically instructed to keep their visit to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital completely under wraps, Tony was still pleasantly surprised to find that the paparazzi presence was scarce. Only the publicity team invited specifically by the Make-a-Wish Foundation to cover the event seemed to be present, plus one or two local news stations that always hang around these locations anyway.

Off to a good start. I wonder how long that’ll last, Tony thought to himself.

Still hand-in-hand, the power couple strolled past the lackluster press personnel as they made their way towards the hospital’s front doors. There would be a time and a place for pictures, but right now Tony just wanted to meet this kid already.

As soon as they entered St. Jude’s, they were intercepted by a man dressed in beige trousers and light blue dress shirt, topped with a sleek navy suit jacket. His outfit, although nice, was nothing compared to the three-piece suit Tony was wearing. And yet, the way this man straightened his back and squared his shoulders before greeting them gave Tony the inclination that he thought himself a work of art.

This did not go unnoticed by Pepper either. She lightly squeezed her boyfriend’s hand before dropping it so that she could shake the newcomer’s hand instead. Tony knew what that meant: ‘Play Nice.’

“You must be Mr. Callaway. It’s nice to finally meet you in person,” Pepper said to the man.

“Ms. Potts. What an honor. Please, call me Austin,” he replied.

“The honor is all ours, Austin. We’re happy to be able to be part of this wonderful organization you’re so graciously volunteering with.”

Tony rolled his still shaded eyes. He hated formalities.

“Yes, the Make-a-Wish foundation is very prestigious. Great work y’all do. Really. But, uh, shouldn’t we get a move on? I was supposed to meet the kid at 10:00am sharp and it’s currently 10:03,” Tony said.

“Tony!” Pepper hissed behind a tight smile.

Callaway turned to Tony as if he had just noticed the man was in the room. As if Tony wasn’t the main event; the reason why they were there. The man’s calculating eyes scanned over the billionaire for a second before he put on a fake smile.

“Ah, yes. Mr. Stark. It’s nice to finally meet you. I know you’re a very busy man, so we appreciate you taking the time to actually grant this child’s wish,” he said.

Tony nodded curtly, the subtle jabs not going unnoticed. He knew exactly what this was about; why this man was acting so cold. Because the child he was seeing today had not been the first to request to meet Superhero Iron Man as their dying wish.

Iron Man was requested a lot, actually. And while Tony had never formally declined being part of the Make-a-Wish Foundation, he had used a lot of work arounds.

For example, he would often send the younger children that asked for Iron Man an actor look-like within a fully functional suit replica. The replica still all had the bells and whistles the kids loved to see but was safe to be around the critically ill. His go to actor was apparently really good with kids too, and a trained medical provider to boot. Never can be too safe. Anyway, Tony had been told the act had yet to disappoint, so why change the formula? He was sure his replacement was much more interactive anyway.

Kids older than eight that asked for the superhero, i.e. those at an age where they would be able to recognize the real Tony Stark from a double, would receive an invitation to get a private tour of Stark Industries. They were taken around and taught all about the current dealings of S.I., such as with prosthetics, nanotechnology, and clean energy. They would get to go to Tony’s personal museum featuring all his non-classified suit models, and even got to try on safe repulsor canon replicas. Towards the end of the tour, they were also allowed to play with prototypes projects, take selfies with the suits, and all went home with some piece of new Stark tech, like a phone or watch. That was always a crowd pleaser too.

Basically, Tony had always been very hands off when someone wished for Iron Man. He didn’t want to deny anyone an experience, but at the same time he was convinced any experience he could give would be better off without him. No one would end up disappointed this way. There is a reason why the saying “never meet your heroes” exists, much to the disgruntlement of the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Except this kid was different. Because the kid Tony was slated to meet today didn’t request to see Iron Man. No, he requested to see Tony Stark. And while Tony had publicly boasted “I am Iron Man,” there was a difference. Iron Man was a hero. But Tony? Tony was a long-time villain. He was personally responsible for fueling the evil out there that Iron Man fought against. Why would anyone want to see just him as he was, especially a child?

Peter was his name. Peter Parker. That was the child Tony was visiting.

Tony learned that May and Ben Parker had used almost every dime of their savings traveling across the country in search for a doctor that would help them but were told time and time again that there was nothing that could be done for Peter.

That was until the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital caught wind of their situation.

St. Jude’s took on Peter’s case with no charge to the Parkers. They even paid for May and Ben’s food and lodging while they stayed in Memphis to support Peter in his treatment. And it was this combination of generosity with the advanced research being conducted at St. Jude’s that led to Peter being able to have the first part to his tumor removal surgery just two months after his ninth birthday.

The second part of Peter’s surgery was set to happen on July 7, 2011, exactly one month before the kid’s tenth birthday.

And six days from today, Tony thought, checking the date on his watch.

Tony figured that’s why the Make-a-Wish Foundation had been adamant that Tony’s visit with Peter be scheduled for this week; because there was no guarantee he’d survive the second surgery.

And what a grim thought that was. Another reason why Tony wasn’t a fan of doing these sorts of visits. It was too sad.

Regardless, Tony wasn’t going to let Callaway get a rouse out of him. If he was going to be here and do this, he wanted to do it right. So, he let Callaway make condescending jokes and jabs as he led Tony and Pepper down the winding hallways of the hospital towards Peter’s room, all the while rambling about protocols and procedures in case of a fire or tornado.

Tony turned his attention away from the Make-a-Wish liaison to a special piece of paper he had folded in his pocket. It was a letter Peter had written to him to formally “wish” to meet him. Tony wondered if anyone told him how unnecessary it was, since the Make-a-Wish Foundation’s team would be the ones in charge of organizing everything on his behalf.

Dear Mr. Stank Stark,

My name is Peter Parker. I have brain cancer. My Aunt May says that makes my life hard and because my life is hard some good people have choosen chosen to grant me a wish. I don’t really understand why, but Aunt May says it is to make me happy. Good carma karma for being strong. But I don’t feel strong. She told me these people are magical, like a jeanie genie. That means they also have limits. Like, I can’t bring people back from the dead or make someone love me or have more then than one wish. I told my Aunt May that I wish to meet you. She said that was a bad wish. But I really want to meet you, Mr. Stark! I think you are so cool! I heard on the news that you made your first motor when you were younger then than me! I like to build things too! And you went to MIT. Aunt Mays says that is where smart people go and that I’m smart enuf enough to go there one day too! I hope I can do good things like you one day. May says I can do anything. I don’t know. I just want to help people. So my wish is to meet you so I can learn how. I am tired now, so I’m going to go to bed. May said the jeanie genie will only send this letter after I go to sleep. But I think that is just her way of getting me to rest, because I don’t think genies are actually real. Anyway, goodnight Mr. Stark.

From,

Peter Parker

“– and be careful not to step on his aunt’s toes. She will…Mr. Stark, are you listening?”

“Hm?” Tony replied, tearing his eyes away from the letter to look up.

Callaway looked ready to pop. Luckily Pepper was there for damage control.

“Don’t worry, Austin, I have all of that marked down. We won’t forget. Right, Tony?”

“Oh. Oh, yes, of course,” Tony replied absentmindedly, eyes glued on the door they had stopped in front of. “Is this it?”

Callaway took a moment to release all the hot air building behind his head before answering.

“Yes, that is Peter’s room. The nurses just woke him up, so he should be ready for you now.”

Tony sucked in a breath and checked to make sure his lock box of emotions was tucked away in right corner of his mind. At a painfully slow rate, Tony extended his arm as to open the door, but right as his hand hit the doorknob, one of Callaway’s bigger hands stopped him from turning it.

“You have some real nerve coming here today, you know. This must be one special kid,” the man said.

“He is,” Tony replied, shrugging Callaway off and, with every ounce of courage he had, finally pushing the door open and strutting through.

“I’ll have the nurses call you to see us out when we’re finished,” Pepper said as she trailed after her boyfriend, closing the door firmly behind her before Callaway could give a proper answer.

Peter’s room was a lot more colorful than Tony envisioned it would be. Each wall was painted to represent a different ecosystem. The wall opposite to the bed was painted like an ocean full of fish. The wall to the far left had wildlife of the African Savanna, while on the far right were creatures of the Amazon Rain Forest. Behind the bed looked like the Great Smokey Mountains filled with foxes, raccoons, bears, and squirrels.

It was quite impressive, to say the least.

Peter didn’t notice them come in at first though. It was clear in the way his face was scrunched up with his little tongue sticking out subconsciously, that the child was absolutely too engrossed in the crafting project he was attempting to complete to recognize that there had been a change in his surroundings.

Tony probably would have stood there awkwardly forever waiting for Peter to notice him if it hadn’t been for the two adults that were sitting next to Peter, whom Tony could only assume were Peter’s Aunt May and Uncle Ben.

Ben Parker smiled at Tony and Pepper like they were old friends, making it obvious that they were in the right place as he silently ushered them further in the room as a less enthused May Parker went to get her nephew’s attention.

“Peter, honey. You have guests,” May said, gently nudging Peter’s shoulder to snap him out of his hyper-focused trance.

“Hm?” Peter hummed, looking up at his aunt with what Tony could only describe as the biggest eyes he had ever seen. They were a warm brown color that reminded him of a little fawn. Of a little Bambi.

Since when did they make kids this cute? Tony asked himself, just absolutely taken with the kid before him.

“You have guests,” May reiterated to Peter, pointing at the CEO and billionaire combo.

Slowly, Peter turned his head away from his aunt until his eyes locked with Tony’s. For a brief moment that seemed to stretch into an eternity, the two just stared at each other. Galaxies passed between them, as if they were lightyears apart, but also just out of reach from one another. The poor cancer kid from Queens somehow making Iron Man feel small.

Just as Tony was about to crack under the scrutiny of this child, Peter’s face changed. It started at the boy’s big, round eyes. They seemed to gain a sort of spark, like embers flying from a fire lit deep in his soul. That heat then spread outwardly from the crinkling corners of his eyes to dust the tips of his ears and the apples of his cheeks with a rich rosy pink. But the biggest change in his demeanor was in the way Peter’s lips slowly turned upward. The smile that swept across his features seemed to keep getting wider and wider until there was no room left on his face for anything but the expression of joy.

Tony swore the room got brighter as the caliber of excitement radiating from the kid reached its peak. Tony swiped the shades he wore from where they rested on his nose, dying to drink in the light of the kid’s dazzling smile without the hinderance of his glasses.

For a fraction of a second, Tony, who had always made it his mission to stay away from kids, suddenly felt like he understood why people had the urge to have them.

Peter’s reckless brown curls of hair bounced on his forehead when he finally broke eye contact with Tony to look back at May, disbelief mixing with the happiness on his features.

“Oh My Gosh! Aunt May, look! It’s Tony Stark! Like, really Tony Stark! He actually came!”

“Mmm, that he did,” she said, a smirk playing at the edges of her mouth.

Peter’s head snapped to his Uncle Ben next. The older man just winked at his nephew, laughing at the way he just sat in his own bewilderment, completely flabbergasted over how totally chill with everything his two guardians seemed.

“Wait, you knew, didn’t you? Both of you knew! And you didn’t tell me?” Peter asked, accusingly, although his tone lacked any aggression about the situation at all.

“Well, it wouldn’t be a surprise if you knew, now would it?” Pepper chimed in, stepping out from behind Tony.

Peter eyes dilated another degree upon seeing the powerhouse CEO.

“OMG, Ms. Potts is here too?!” Peter asked, directing his question at Tony this time.

The billionaire laughed. Not his typical sarcastic laugh or a bitter snort, but a real, pure sort of laugh he usually reserved for his most intimate moments with Pepper or Rhodey. He couldn’t help himself. The kid’s enthusiasm was absolutely contagious.

“It would seem so, bud,” Tony answered, flashing a blinding smile of his own.

Tony watched as the kid began to practically vibrate with an overflowing, uncontainable emotion of unknown magnitude. It was so intense that this hospital bed began to shake under the pressure of his bouncing and May had to step in, placing a soft hand on her nephew’s back to remind him to calm down.

Ben seemed less worried about it though, laughing at the child’s antics.

“Peter, why don’t you relax for a minute and introduce yourself, hmm? Maybe even ask a question or two. These two don’t have all day,” Ben eventually spoke up, whilst moving out of his bed-side seat so that he could offer it to Tony.

“Oh no, Mr. Parker, I don’t need to sit. I’m fine standing,” Tony said, trying to decline the generous gesture. But one stern look from Ben told him otherwise. Tony was sitting down before Ben could even offer a retort.

“Please, Mr. Stark, call me Ben. And I insist that you sit. It’s bad for your back to have to stand in one place for extended periods of time. May and I were going to go get some coffee from the cafeteria anyway while you two get to know one another. How do you take your coffee?”

“If I’m calling you Ben, then you should call me Tony. And thank you. I’ll just have it black,” Tony replied.

Peter grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest in a dramatic way, in what must have been an attempt to get the attention back on him.

Tony laughed again.

“I’m sorry, kiddo. Your family just so very charming. But I’m not here for them. I’m here for you. So why don’t you tell me about yourself, hm?” Tony said encouragingly.

Peter opened his mouth to reply as Ben, May, and Pepper shuffled towards the door in the background. Unfortunately, this did not go unnoticed by Peter, and suddenly, with his support structure leaving, Peter’s shyness kicked in.

The previously vibrant nine-year-old was now suddenly at a loss for words and shutting down fast.

Tony felt a bit of panic kick in, but before he could even think through his next steps, a voice inside of him took over.

“Hey, they’ll be right back. Okay? I promise.”

Peter still looked uneasy, so Tony allowed that voice in his head to continue its encouragement of the child, something he never figured he would ever know how to do.

“If it makes things any easier, I can introduce myself first, yeah?”

“Y-yeah. Okay,” Peter nodded.

Ben gave Tony one last thumbs up before finally leaving the two alone.

“Great! My name is Tony Stark. But you knew that already, didn’t you?”

Peter nodded again, letting out a little giggle.

Tony smiled. “Great. So, what’s your name?”

Peter gave Tony a confused sort of frown. Fortunately, Tony understood Peter’s body language better than anticipated. And while confusion was a cute look on the kid, the billionaire would much rather see him smiling.

“Yes, I also already know your name too, but I want to give you the chance to introduce yourself to me properly, just in case there is something else you would like to go by other that Peter Parker.”

This time Peter shook his head.

“Peter is fine, Mr. Stark. Thank you for asking.”

“You can just call me Tony too, you know?” the billionaire said.

Peter blinked at the man, as if he told some sort of preposterous lie.

“No, I can’t. May says it’s disrespectful to call an adult by their first name. And I don’t want disrespect you, Mr. Stark.”

“Hmm, I guess I’ll let it slide. But just for today and today only. You got that, tyke?”

“Yes, sir.”

Tony considered correcting Peter about calling him “sir” as well but decided against it. All he could hear was Pepper’s words from earlier: ‘he’ll probably be more afraid of you not liking him than you are of him not liking you.’ Continuing to harass the kid about being respectful was not a way to bridge that gap they were hanging dangerously between at the moment.

So, Tony moved on to the next easiest ice-breaker question he could think of.

“How old are you, Peter?” he asked.

“Nine, but I turn ten on August tenth!” Peter exclaimed.

“Yeah? That’s next month! What are you asking for?”

“I want all the Star Wars movies on DVD!” The kid answered without hesitation.

“So, we got ourselves a little Star Wars fan, huh?”

“Yeah! They’re, like, the best movies ever! We used to have them on VHS, but the VHS player sometimes eats the tapes, so now only episode six works.”

Tony let those words sink in, absolutely stunned. This kid was born in 2001, he shouldn’t even know what a VHS player is.

“VHS? What is this? The ‘80s?” Tony snorted.

“VHS players were around in the 1980s? But I thought that’s when TVs were invented?” Peter replied, making Tony nearly fall out of his chair.

“Bud, TVs were invented in 1927, not 1980. Maybe you should touch up on your history lessons.”

The billionaire really wanted to follow up by asking how old this kid thought he was, but decided he could only handle being made to feel old once in a day.

“Anyway, since Star Wars is your favorite movie series, tell me who is favorite character?” Tony asked, picking back up on the questions.

That got Peter’s attention. The kid looked around for a moment, as if a monster was about to pop out and scare them at any second. It wasn’t until he deemed the room safe that he went to answer the question, but not before pulling on Tony’s arm, indicating that the man was to lean in really close if he wanted to hear what Peter was going to say.

“You can keep a secret, right?” Peter asked in a hushed tone.

“Of course,” Tony said.

“Okay. I told Aunt May and Uncle Ben that it’s Han Solo, but I actually really like Princess Leia,” Peter confessed, a warm blush painting his cheeks.

“Do you mean like, or like-like?” Tony asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Peter looked disgusted.

I guess girls still have cooties at his age, Tony thought to himself.

“Gross, Mr. Stark! I just think she’s cool!” Peter said.

“Uh huh. Anyway, is there anything else you’re asking for? A set of DVDs isn’t much,” Tony said.

Peter hesitated.

“Well…I already know that they got me my own wheelchair. One of the nurses told me that I would need one since I might have a hard time walking because of where my tumor is that’s getting removed…but, and don’t be mad Mr. Stark, I know eavesdropping is bad, but I couldn’t help it when I heard them talking about how expensive wheelchairs are! I just…I feel bad asking for more.”

Tony didn’t know what to say. This had to be the sweetest and most amazing child to walk the Earth to date. It wasn’t fair that he was cursed to have brain cancer while so many other bratty kids got to go about their lives carefree. It didn’t feel right. And Tony, being the mechanic he was, felt the overwhelming need to fix this.

“Okay…what would ask for if money wasn’t an issue? If you could have anything in the universe, no questions asked, what would you want?”

“Anything?”

“Anything that money can buy,” Tony said.

“Then…Then I’d ask for the Lego Millennium Flacon,” Peter said.

“You like to build with Lego?”

“Yeah! Aunt May and Uncle Ben were donated a bunch of them by some church group when I first moved in. I’ve built so many cool things! I even tried to build a Lego Arc Reactor!”

“Really?” Tony asked.

“Yup! But I didn’t have enough blue pieces…anyway, I just think it’d be neat to have a real set, you know?”

“I mean, I’m hearing what you’re saying, but I’m still hung up on ‘Lego Arc Reactor,’” Tony replied.

Peter went flush with embarrassment, suddenly unable to make eye contact his idol. It was touching. Tony knew kids liked Iron Man, but to be so interested in his tech alone? It filled the man with a sense of pride. Tony always felt like he was doing everything wrong, but maybe this was a sign that he was doing something right.

Tony wanted to ask more questions about Peter’s Lego endeavors, but something fluttering in the breeze created by the hospital’s strong central air caught his attention from the periphery of his sight.

“What’s that?” Tony asked, pointing to the crafting project Peter had disregarded earlier when Tony had come in.

“The paper?” Peter asked back, confused by the sudden change in subject.

“Yeah. What were you doing with it?” Tony pressed.

“I was, uh, making a Möbius strip.”

“You know what that is?” Tony was baffled.

“I think so? It’s a surface with only one side and only one boundary curve, right?”

“Yeah…yeah, that’s right.”

Tony was examining the paper when it was snatched from him.

“Oh! Watch this, Mr. Stark,” Peter said, taking a pair of scissors and cutting down the center of the Möbius strip.

“When I cut the strip down the center, it makes one long strip with two full twists in it, rather than two separate pieces…and if I cut it again about a third in from the edge, it produces two linked strips! Isn’t that neat?”

Peter presented Tony with the two linked pieces of paper that was once one thick Möbius strip.

Okay, so not only is he insatiably cute and cotton candy sweet, but he’s a genius too? What have I gotten myself into? Tony thought.

“Very impressive, Peter. Did you know that, of these two linked papers you now have, one is just a thinner Möbius strip, the same length as the original, while the other is a thin strip with two full twists twice the length of the original?”

“Really?! That’s so cool! Dad never told me that part,” Peter said.

“You learned this from your father?” Tony asked.

“Yeah. We used to do all sorts of math problems together. He bought his huge book called Math GED practice. I’m not really sure what that means, but Dad said it was for ‘big kids.’ I thought it was pretty easy though. We would do four or five problems a night because Dad said it was important to keep the mind sharp.”

“So, just to clarify, you were doing high school level math at the age of six?”

Peter shrugged. “I guess so?”

“And you liked doing that?” Tony asked.

“Yeah! I think math and science is fun! And one day, I can use what I know to help people. Just like you, Mr. Stark!” Peter exclaimed.

“You don’t want to be like me, kiddo. Trust me,” Tony said.

Peter frowned. “Why not? You’re a superhero!”

“I wasn’t always. And I’m not always so good at it,” Tony confessed, thinking back to the disaster that was the 2010 Stark Expo.

“It’s okay, Mr. Stark. My mom always told me that as long as you do the best you can do, that’s all anyone can ask for. Are you trying your best?” Peter asked.

“I don’t think I can try any harder,” Tony said.

Peter smiled. “Then I think you’re good.”

Tony could feel his cheeks beginning to hurt. He hadn’t realized he was smiling so widely. He leaned in and ruffled the kid’s hair, making him giggle.

“You’re too good for this world, you know that?”

“Aunt May says that too,” Peter said.

“Then she’s a wise woman. But promise me something, yeah? Don’t try to be like me. Just try to be like you. Because you can be better than me. You can be Peter Parker,” Tony said.

Peter looked away, demeanor changing. The spark in his eyes was still there but it was glazed over such that his eyes looked glassy. His arms went to wrap around himself, and he hunched over a bit in a self-soothing gesture.

Tony felt like his stomach dropped as he watched the nine-year-old fight back tears. This was worse than watching a movie where the dog dies.

“Oh God, I’m sorry Peter! Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?” Tony asked, trying to push down the frenzy of panic bubbling up to the surface.

Peter sniffled and rubbed at his eyes for a moment before looking back a Tony with a soul-piercing gaze that the billionaire only thought his girlfriend could pull off. Except it wasn’t a harsh look, just sorrowful one.

“I’m okay. You just remind me of them,” Peter finally admitted.

Tony was confused.

“Of whom, Peter?” he asked.

“My parents.”

Tony had to let that sink for a second before realizing what it really meant. Tony reminded Peter of his dead parents. There was a bitter sweetness to that which Tony’s mind couldn’t quite comprehend no matter how much he ruminated on it.

Finally, however, it clicked.

Tony moved from his bedside chair to sit directly next to Peter on the bed itself. He wanted to offer the child some sort of comfort but didn’t quite know how. Until he started dating Pepper, Tony could have been what people call ‘touch starved.’ So, he was feeling extremely awkward about the situation to say the least.

Tony did know, however, that physical comfort was very important for a child’s development, or at least so said one of the many therapists he had acquired over the years.

Slowly, Tony opened his arms. They felt heavy in that position, and he had to focus on keeping his hands from shaking with anticipation.

Peter, however, was too absorbed in his grief to notice what Tony was doing. So, Tony took it upon himself to take his gesture a step further.

Moving at a snails pace as to make sure he didn’t startle the child, Tony draped on of his outstretched arms around Peter’s shoulders, leaving the other arm in it’s original position as an invitation to further the side hug into a full hug if needed.

And it was needed, because the next thing Tony knew, Peter was clinging to him for dear life, head buried in his chest as tears streamed down his face.

“Aw, buddy, come ‘ere,” Tony cooed.

The billionaire instinctually slid the arm that had been around Peter’s shoulders downward such that it was now stretched across his back. This way he could better hold the child against him. His grip also tightened to make the hug firmer. Meanwhile, his free hand went up to pet Peter’s head, smoothing his unruly curls back gently like Tony’s own mother used to do to him. The memory of how soothing that was driving Tony to continue no matter how weird it felt to cradle a child he had just met.

“It’s okay Peter, let it out.”

They sat like that for what could have been five minutes or half an hour. The stiches that held together the fabric of time blurring together as they were wrapped in the ambient buzz of the hospital room.

Tony found that he didn’t really mind. Actually, it was kind of nice. He found the love this child had was so innocent and pure. He didn’t have to wonder if Peter was faking it or using him or just liked him for Iron Man. Peter had hardly even mentioned his alter ego at all.

But, as per usual, all good things must come to an end.

Once he had gotten himself composed again, Peter pulled away such that he was still in Tony’s lap but was no long gripping the older man like a spider monkey.

“I’m so sorry if I ruined your visit here, Mr. Stark. I didn’t mean to,” Peter said, unable to meet the billionaire’s gaze.

Well, this just will not do, Tony thought to himself, the urge to ‘fix’ coming on strong.

Tony put a hand on Peter’s cheek and pushed gently to guide the kid into looking at him properly.

“Peter, look at me. It’s okay. I promise, you didn’t ruin anything. I understand what you’re going through. It’s not easy.”

Although his face was still red from crying, Peter no longer looked depressed. His eyes actually shone with a curiosity at the older man’s words.

“You do?” Peter asked.

Tony nodded. “I do. Well maybe not the cancer part, but I lost my parents as a kid too. I was much older than you, but still young enough to be considered an orphan.”

Peter sniffed. “Does it ever stop hurting?”

“Not completely, but it gets better. Life gets better. And I know you have so many good things ahead of you to look forward to,” Tony said.

Peter was silent for a moment.

“What if I die?” He finally asked, voice barely a decibel above a whisper.

“No no no. Don’t say that. You won’t die, okay? The doctors here know what they’re doing. I’ll make sure of it,” Tony replied, clasping the kid’s much smaller hand in his own.

“You will?” Peter looked unsure, but also hopeful.

“I will. Now, why don’t we talk about something else, yeah? I want this to be happy memory for you.”

Tony poked Peter’s nose, finally getting a giggle out of him.

“Yeah, okay,” he said.

“So…oh! I know! The Fourth of July is coming up in just three days. Are you doing anything special with your aunt and uncle?”

Peter shook his head.

Tony frowned. “They don’t do fireworks here?”

“They do. It’s just…after my first surgery, I can’t stand loud noises or bright lights anymore. Ben says it’s because my brain is still healing and that I’ll go back to normal one day, but I don’t know,” Peter admitted.

Tony gave Peter a smile of understanding.

“If we’re being honest, I also don’t like fireworks very much anymore,” he said.

“Really?” Peter seemed almost excited to have someone like him.

“Yeah. I haven’t really told anyone this, but my doctors say I have a condition called PTSD from the time I spent in Afghanistan. Basically, loud noises make me jumpy and sometimes even scared.”

“Me too! But…doesn’t that make being Iron Man hard?”

“Asking the big questions, huh?” Tony laughed, ruffling the kid’s hair. “Sometimes it does, but helping others makes it worth it. You seem to understand that, based on the letter you wrote me.”

Peter’s Bambi eyes went wide.

“You got my letter?” he asked.

“Of course I did. I still have it too. Actually, it’s in my pocket right now.”

“Sorry for all the spelling mistakes. May helped me edit it,” Peter said, blushing.

Tony chuckled. “It’s okay. Spelling is overrated anyway.”

Just then the door clicked open allowing for May, Ben, and Pepper to come filing in, laughing all the while.

“Hey, sorry we took so long. We were stopped by the press. They’re starting to get antsy. They really want to get pictures of the two of you together,” Ben said, pointing Tony and Peter.

“Hope it’s not cold,” Ben then added, passing Tony his coffee.

Tony accepted the drink, taking a long gulp from the cup as Peter watched him with interest. It was lukewarm, but the caffeine was worth it.

“You wouldn’t want any, it’s not very good,” Tony told his newest little friend.

Peter stuck his tongue out, nose crinkling in disgust.

“Oh, I know. I’ve had coffee before. It’s nasty.”

Laughter rang out from the group of adults at that statement. He wasn’t wrong. Coffee was very much an acquired taste.

Peter politely waited for the laughter to die down before he spoke up again.

“I, umm, was actually wondering if we could go outside. You know, for the pictures?”

Peter acted like he was talking to Tony, but his eyes were pleading for permission from his Aunt May.

May turned to look at her husband, who just shrugged.

“I guess if you’re feeling up to it, then fresh air isn’t a bad idea. You are going to use the walker just in case you begin to feel ataxic again. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I will not have you falling,” Aunt May stated firmly, smiling when her nephew whooped with excitement.

“Yes! Thank you, Aunt May!” he squealed.

“Why don’t we step out while they get him ready, Tony,” Pepper suggested, moving towards the door.

“What? No! Don’t leave,” Peter cried, grabbing Tony’s hand as he stood up to follow his girlfriend out.

Tony opened his mouth to say something but May jumped in before he could get a word in wise.

“You don’t want him to see you get dressed, do you?” Aunt May asked.

Peter shook his head, but he was still unsure, hand relentlessly locked onto Tony.

May sighed. “How about this: I’ll go with Tony and Pepper, just to make sure they don’t leave while your Uncle Ben gets you ready. We’ll meet you outside in the garden. Is that okay?”

Peter looked between his aunt and his new friend. Uneasiness was still drawn over his features, but he did finally acquiesce, carefully removing his hand from around Tony’s.

So out left May, Tony, and Pepper, but not without Tony flashing Peter one last smile and a thumbs up.

At first, Pepper and Tony followed May to the garden in relative silence. It was an awkward silence, unlike the comfortable silence Tony and felt with Peter in the hospital room. No, this silence contained a sort of tenseness that floated around them in almost a tangible form.

Tony was the first one to crack, not surprisingly. Rhodey always used to tell him that he liked to hear himself talk. His current therapist theorized that he was using his voice as a way to drown out the negative thoughts in his head. Either way the end result was the same.

“So, May. Your nephew is something else,” Tony remarked.

“He was good for you?”

“The poster child for politeness. I was surprised though. His file didn’t mention anything about his intelligence,” Tony said.

May stopped and turned to face him, looking mildly offended.

“What is that supposed to mean?” she demanded.

Tony raised his hands up and took a step back, similar to how a professional would recommend you walk away from an angry lioness.

“I’m trying to say he’s smart. Maybe even a child genius. Have you considered testing his IQ? I’d be interested to find out what it is.”

May instantaneously relaxed, a smile now playing on her lips as her thoughts wondered to Peter.

“He’s always been too smart for his own good. Just like his parents. Maybe we’ll get him tested one day, when all this cancer business is a thing of the past.”

“His parents were scientists, right?” Tony asked.

May hummed an affirmation.

“You know, when Peter told me we wanted to use his wish to meet you, I wasn’t so sure. I know you’re a superhero now, but the reputation you used to carry around still left a bitter taste in my mouth. Still, he was adamant, so I let him do it. I don’t know what I was expecting but the bar wasn’t high.

“Let me be the first to say, however, that you aren’t who they said you were. Peter is the best judge of character, and I can tell he is absolutely taken with you. If you were anything like I thought you were going to be, he wouldn’t have been, well, sitting on your lap laughing like he was when we walked in.

“So, I want to thank you. But not just for this. This isn’t the first time you’ve helped Peter. Do you remember the 2010 Stark Expo?”

Tony rubbed his temples, just the mention of that disaster causing a throbbing behind his eyes.

“Unfortunately. It was a complete disaster,” Tony admitted.

May let out a breathy laugh.

“That it was. I would know. We were there. With Peter too,” she said.

Tony was stunned speechless. He turned to look at Pepper who looked just as shocked as he was.

May continued. “It might has gotten out of hand, but Peter still had a blast. He ran around in a flimsy plastic Iron Man helmet and matching gauntlet for weeks. He would only take them off to shower, otherwise they were on his body. He even slept in the damn things.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Tony finally asked.

May sighed. “Because that was the last happy memory Peter had before everything began to happen that led to him being diagnosed with a cerebellar astrocytoma. Brain cancer. I have hardly seen him smile since then. That is, until today.

“I think that is part of the reason he wanted to see you. Besides the fact that he looks up to you for the obvious reasons, he associates happiness with you. You inspire him and give him hope. Coming here today, I can’t begin to describe how it’s going to change him. So, on behalf of not only Ben and I, but also his parents Mary and Richard, thank you.”

Not for the first time today, Tony didn’t know what to say. Because, as much as he wanted to go with the traditional ‘You’re welcome’ and get his conversation over with, he felt like he owed the Parkers so much more than that.

When he agreed to meet Peter, he wasn’t very excited. Tony was worried about the same things May just expressed she feared too. That Tony would be no good for him. Tony avoided children for that reason. He was too much like his father, too cold and standoffish. He would do nothing but mess them up.

Peter, however, proved him wrong. Meeting Peter…it provided Tony with some sort of catharsis that he didn’t realize his body was yearning for until it was given to him. The thought that this was coming to an end was more melancholic than he anticipated it to be. He actually felt guilty that he even considered the concept of being relieved in leaving, like he had this morning.

Tony had a lock box full of emotions, and apparently Peter Parker had the key.

Unable to articulate all of this, Tony did the only thing he knew how. He pulled out his checkbook and began making out some grand amount to the Parkers.

“Here,” he said, thrusting the check in May’s face.

May turned her nose up at the check though, pushing it away from her.

“I didn’t tell you that to get your pity money,” she said.

Tony frowned, trying to hand it to her once again.

“I know that. I know that. I just…look, you say I did a lot for Peter today, but I want to do more. Because, maybe, just maybe, he’s helped me too. And I, ugh, I guess I’m not ready to just walk away from that at the end of my time here. Not without at least trying to do something else. To make as much of a difference as I can.”

May crossed her arms over her chest, still refusing the check.

“Look if you want to make a difference, don’t do it just for Peter. Donate that money to this hospital. To St. Jude’s. Let them use it to help Peter and more kids like him.”

“I can do both you know. You can accept my money and I can donate to this research hospital. It doesn’t have to be either or,” Tony continued to push.

Surprisingly May laughed. “Man, Peter really left an impression on you, didn’t he? Look, I still don’t want your money, although you make a good argument for taking it. If you really want to help Peter, and Peter specifically, it would mean the world to him if you came to his tenth birthday party next month. If all goes well, we’ll be flying back to Queens for it so he can be with his best friend, Ned, for the event. Don’t worry though, Ned’s also a fan.”

“Yes! Yes, of course. I’ll be there,” Tony agreed, putting the check back into his pocket and offering his hand out to seal the deal.

“Really?” May asked, disbelief coating her tone.

“Really, May Parker. I could not be more serious than I am right now. Pepper can vouch for me. Right, Pep?”

Tony’s gave his girlfriend a pleading look, like a child asking his mother for ice cream at the mall. It was kind of pathetic.

The CEO gave him half smile and a shrug.

“It is true, Mrs. Parker. Tony is notorious for saying exactly what he means. He doesn’t have the wherewithal to sugarcoat things,” she teased.

Tony turned back to May with a goofy grin.

“See? So, you want to shake on it?”

May rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, giving it a nice, firm shake.

“You better be there, Tony. I mean it. You might be Iron Man, but don’t think that means I can’t hunt you down.”

“I wouldn’t dream of missing it.”

Overall, the press on the Make-a-Wish event went very well. Tony, Pepper, and the whole Stark Industries PR team were quite pleased. The pictures that had been taken for the paper of the billionaire and his new best friend are ones that Tony will treasure forever. In almost every image one or both of them was laughing. They may have taken a few selfies on Tony’s personal camera too.

Some of the more popular anti-Iron Man blogs tried to paint Tony’s visit to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as cheap publicity stunt. Tony found that most people didn’t buy that version of the story though. Even some of those blogs’ most avid followers were skeptical.

It was easy to understand why. Tony Stark’s popularity before the visit was already at an all time high. He didn’t need Peter to boost the public opinion of him. In addition, if Tony had never shown up in person to a Make-a-Wish event before this, especially when his ratings had dropped after the Stark Expo, why would he suddenly do it now? There was obviously more going on behind the scenes than the desire for publicity. Not to mention, if Tony was able to make a child as happy as he made Peter, then who cared if it was for publicity or not?

Since there wasn’t much drama behind Tony’s presence at St. Jude’s, the press on it quickly died down and it wasn’t long before everyone forgot about Peter.

Everyone except Tony, that is.

The moment Tony returned to his home in Malibu, California, he had locked himself in his lab. He wanted to make a special head piece for Peter, one that included noise cancelling headphones and special sunglass, so he could comfortably enjoy the fireworks on the Fourth of July.

The apparatus he was making wasn’t just going to be a set of sunglasses attached to some random noise-canceling headphones though. No, there as more to it than that. In the span of a day, Tony built a very rudimentary A.I. for it. It’s function would be to monitor Peter’s his heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, and other factors while he wore head piece. If at any point the A.I. detected changes in Peter that might indicate he was getting anxious or having a panic attack, it would notify his aunt and uncle via text message.

The head piece had other functions too. Peter would be able to listen to music with them if he wanted to. Tony built in a couple of soothing sound options he could select from, or he could plug it into his phone. The glasses were made with Peter’s prescription in mind so they could be worn inside, but automatically transitioned to be tinted in the light outside. Tony also gave Peter the option to have manual control the tint density if the automatic transitional feature was too light or dark at any point. And last but not least, Tony made sure apparatus looked really cool so Peter wouldn’t be embarrassed to wear them. He was sure he’d be the talk of the hospital.

When he finished, he typed up a simple instruction manual and had the product overnighted to the Parkers. He threw in a slip of paper with his personal phone number on it too. He told himself he put that in there so the Parkers could contact him in case the head piece malfunctioned or needed to be adjusted, but honestly if they just wanted to call and chat, he’d be okay with it. Or if there was an emergency and they needed Iron Man…well, he didn’t want to think about that.

Tony also kept his word to Peter about making sure the doctors slated to perform his surgery on July 7 were qualified. He ran background checks on each and every member of his surgery team. If they even had one racist tweet from 5 years ago, Tony would be sure they were to be replaced. Luckily that wasn’t needed.

On the day of July 7, Tony probably had his secretary call the research hospital 30 times to check on the status of Peter’s surgery. And when the hospital stopped answering his company’s phone number, he used his personal number. HIPPA violations be damned, he would find out how Peter was doing.

At 3:04pm July 7, he got a text message from an unknown number: Peter’s surgery went well. They think they got all the remaining cancer. He’s currently resting and has a great prognosis. So would you please STOP harassing the hospital’s receptionist. Also, here is the address to the birthday party. Don’t be late. ~May

Tony already had a penthouse in New York for when he needed to visit and oversee the construction of the Stark Tower. But, that same day, Tony made arrangements with the pilot of his private jet to get him there on August 9, the day before Peter’s birthday, just so that he wouldn’t be late to the party on August 10.

He ended up late anyway.

“Oh my God, Happy, did your mother never teach you how to wrap presents?” Tony practically screamed whilst pacing around in his penthouse.

“What are you talking about, Boss? You’re the one who asked me to for help, not the other way around,” Happy grumbled as he tried to properly fold the corners of the wrapping paper around the enormous Lego Millennium Flacon Box.

“I told you, my hands are shaky.”

“Yeah right.”

Against his better judgement, Tony checked his watch.

11:55am.

He was going to be late. He was going to be late, and May was going to kill him. How would he even explain that? ‘Sorry, May. I figured out how to make whole new chemical element in a day but was stummed at the prospect of wrapping Peter’s gift.’

Yikes. At least it couldn’t get any worse, Tony thought.

And then Pepper walked in.

“What is taking you boys so long?” She demanded.

Pepper didn’t need an answer though, because when she finally saw what the two men were huddled around, the answer became pretty self-explanatory.

“Really you two? You know what, don’t answer that. Just get out of my way, I’ll fix it.”

Pepper practically pushed past the two men to get to the box. She could feel every muscle in her eyes roll at the disaster they managed to create. Thankfully it wasn’t too far gone, and within minutes, Pepper was able to turn the ugly mess of paper and tape into something presentable.

“I love you,” Tony said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah, yeah. Now come on, let’s go!”

And with that they raced to the party. Happy definitely broke some traffic laws along the way, but if you’re not caught did it actually happen?

Anyway, when they finally pulled up Tony checked his watch again.

12:10pm.

Less than 15 minutes late. Nice. Hopefully May will find that forgivable, Tony thought to himself, still wasting no time as he rushed inside, Pepper trailing not far behind.

The Parkers had decided to have the event at Peter’s friend’s house, since it was small and familiar to the kid. Tony’s presence was supposed to be a surprise, so Tony felt bad about just barging into a stranger’s place without any warning, but he did it anyway.

Luckily, May was at the door waiting for him.

“You’re late,” she said monotonously.

“Fashionably so,” Tony retorted, flashing a guilty smile.

“Uh huh. Just give me that and go say hi. Peter’s in the next room playing video games with Ned,” May said, taking Lego Millennium Falcon off his hands.

Tony, not wanting to upset her further, did as instructed.

Just like at St. Jude’s, Peter was too engrossed in what he was doing to notice the billionaire walk in. Tony was okay with that though. It gave a minute to just watch this kid and take in his presence.

Much to his surprise, Peter was wearing the head piece Tony made him. May hadn’t mentioned it, but he guess that meant it worked. Even with it on though Tony could tell all of Peter’s hair had been shaved off. Not that he cared. So long as Peter was alive, what he looked like didn’t matter. And not only alive, but he appeared happy and healthy as well.

Tony smiled fondly at the way the kid physically leaned over as the car was racing in the game went around a turn, tongue sticking out, completely in a hyper-focused trance.

Tony waited for the game to end before clearing his throat, which at least caught Ned’s attention.

“Oh my God! Peter, is that Iron Man?!” Ned exclaimed.

At the mention of the superhero, Peter dropped his controller and snapped his head towards where Tony was standing.

“Mr. Stark?” he asked in disbelief.

“In the flesh.”

Tony felt his heart clench as the same spark of life that had been there when they first met could still be seen shimmering in the kid’s Bambi eyes.

“You came! I can’t believe you came!” Peter cried, opening his arms for a hug.

That was all the invitation Tony needed. In three long strides he was across the room and in the boy’s arms. The part of his heart that with clenching before was now swelling with a sort of parental joy as the kid nuzzled into his neck.

“Don’t act so surprised,” Tony said. “I will always be here to support you. Always.”

Always.

#Friendly Neighborhood Exchange 2021 #irondad #iron dad #Ironfam #fic #peter parker #tony stark #spiderman #spiderson #iron man #pepper potts #precious peter parker #cancer #tony stark has a heart #irondad hugs #platonic love #fluff #touch starved

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tonystarkissist · 3 years ago

Text

Extremis / Exhaustion - Villainous July

Part 3 of “Oh Sweet Child, The Things I’d Do for You...”

Summary: Peter faces a demon whose chased him ever since his Uncle’s death. He can’t fail. Not again.

Rating: Teen (For language and Thematic Material)

Word Count: 2.15k

Trigger Warning: So, there is some severe depression talk and it's not technically suicidal more like, 'I don't care if I go to sleep and never wake up again' thoughts. So tread lightly please.

A/N: These two themes were pretty integrated into last chapter as well, they are just more prominent here. And just for the sake of technicalities, Peter is weak from exhaustion and malnutrition, so he is not at his strongest. I am not ignoring his canonical powers, I am just addressing basic biology which I do believe still applies to enhanced humans.

Previous Chapter ~ Masterlist ~ Read on Ao3 ~ Next Chapter

Something in him stirs… and Peter lunges.

He’s driven by a manic frenzy first festering, then bursting from his chest, and he releases a guttural scream.

This man… the audacity of this man. The audacity of Tony Stark. After what he did? He thinks he has any right to be alive? To smile? He deserved a painful, torturous death and not even that would be enough to atone for the sins he committed, but Peter was more than eager for the opportunity to inflict the punishment himself.

He thinks of his Aunt May, and his Uncle Ben, both who died because of the actions of this selfish so-called hero standing before him. The last two members of Peter’s family… gone, because of Tony Stark. The last two people on the earth that loved him and who he loved in return.

“Ben!” May screamed beside him from their place ducked behind a totaled car. “Ben get back here!”

They had decided to meet up with Uncle Ben during his lunch break. They were going out to celebrate his promotion to Police Captain... he was still in uniform. They were gonna go to Delmar’s.

There was screaming all around from the various New Yorkers fleeing the area. Car alarms blaring all up and down the street from the abandoned vehicles scattered across the demolished freeway. Peter had to clamp his hands over his ears to drown out all the scary noises, tears streaking through the dust and dirt coating his face, but he could still hear the screaming no matter how hard he pressed against his ears. Especially May’s.

He stares at his Uncle standing on top of a car in the middle of the street, acting as a shield of sorts for the hoard of people gathered around him, trying to flee. He waved his hands in the air, shouting above everyone else's screams, trying to direct them away from the danger.

And then there was Iron Man…

Peter hadn’t seen the news, or the stories people had been telling. So when the ground started shaking and the loud explosion sounded from the Avengers Tower Peter thought it was like the alien attack a year ago and he couldn’t help but feel that same fear he felt the year prior. So, when Iron Man descended from the sky, hovering heroically above the street of debris where they were located a couple blocks down from the Tower, Peter felt a breath of relief escape from his lungs. Iron Man was there… it was all going to be alright. They were safe. Iron Man would protect them like he always did. He’d make sure no aliens would be able to hurt him or his Aunt May.

The armor looked even cooler and shinier in person than it did on his posters and toys. And he was on the verge of cheering at the sight of his long-time hero, but then Ben lifted up his gun to aim at the suit of armor and any form of celebration died in his throat. Instead a muffled squeak puffed out from his lips as he stared at his uncle in shock.

“Ben?” He whispered. He feels May’s arms wrap tighter around him, pulling him close to her chest. She must have sensed his instinct to run out there and remind his Uncle that Iron Man was a good guy and he was there to help.

“Stark,” Ben calls, aim following the hovering suit.

“Ben Parker,” the suit rumbles like he’s speaking through a chuckle, voice slick and metallic. “You weren’t at your precinct when I came looking for you.” It was spoken in a sweet manner, yet also with an underlying sneer

Peter watches his uncle nervously shift on his feet. How did Iron Man know his name? And where he worked? Were they friends? And if they were friends then why was Uncle Ben pointing his gun at Mr. Stark? Ben always told him to never ever touch guns and to never point them at people because it could hurt someone really bad. Did Ben want to hurt Mr. Stark?

The faceplate folds back and Peter’s eyes widen at the sight of the man he’d only ever seen on TV. He looked different now. ”I saw all the redacted reports, Parker. I know exactly what you did.”

“You don’t have to do this, Mr. Stark.” Ben shouted, hand beginning to visibly shake.

Mr. Stark frowned. “But I do.” The suit slowly approached Ben, still standing tall atop the car. “I’ve been down the path I was headed… and I’ll be portrayed as the villain no matter which path I follow. So why not accomplish something for a change.” He smiles. “All you two-faced liars… afraid of all your dirty little secrets getting out... With me… there is complete transparency. I’ve got nothing left to lose.” He’s close now, only a yard or two away from Ben, and Peter stares with his breath caught in his lungs. “And what better way to start my journey than cleansing the world of dirty scum like you.”

Ben shoots as soon as the words come from the man’s mouth, gun aimed at the exposed skull of Tony Stark, and Peter screams. He wrenches himself away from his aunt, stumbling forwards in reaction to the sudden ‘BANG’ of the gun and the subsequent ringing in his ears that followed it. He’s forgiven Ben for many things, but he would never forgive him for killing his hero…

But Mr. Stark only grins. He doesn’t fall, or bleed like any human would after being shot… instead… he shoots back. His helmet snaps into place and he lifts his arm all in one instant, and Peter goes silent, watching as his Uncle is sent flying off the car and begins skidding along the concrete behind him after a blinding flash of light. It all happened so fast, and by the time Peter was able to tear his eyes away from his Uncle’s body lying mangled on the asphalt, arms askew and a gaping hole steaming in the center of his chest, Iron Man had already disappeared. Peter wasn’t sure what to feel about it as he watched his hero disappear.

Relief? Liberation? Sadness? Fear?

He turned to find May sobbing, hands lifted to her mouth to muffle her wailing shrieks, tears welling in his own eyes upon seeing her bitter distress. Iron Man wasn’t supposed to hurt people and make people sad… he was supposed to help them.

Then he finally found a word.

Betrayal…

How could his hero do something so cruel?

He’s had to relive that moment so many times through the years, and this one was the only time it had truly sickened him.

Tony Stark murdered an innocent man in cold blood. A good man. A hero, some would consider him to be. Ben helped people, he cared for them. It didn’t matter what Peter’s own personal feelings towards him were… he was a good man at heart. Peter truly believed that.

And now, at that moment, the rawness of the memory felt like a fresh wound. Ben died. May died. And now he had nothing to hope for or look forward to in his future besides this. Besides the debilitating guilt driving him to choose a career that would probably end in him being killed before the age of 30, in some senseless attempt to prove his worth to the world and to the family he had lost. And it was all thanks to Tony Stark.

It was because of him he will never have a family.

Any hope or prospect of happiness had been ripped away from him from the ripe age of 10-years-old, and it made him livid.

Peter’s arms flail wildly with an impassioned effort to hurt the man. To make him feel the same pain he’s inflicted on others.

“Hey,” The heavy voice enlivens him with awareness, just in time to feel his wrists grabbed with rough hands that push his back against the wall behind him like it was an effortless attempt. He felt heat curl along his wrists and sweaty palms, piercing through the thin cotton of his jacket. “I don’t want to have to hurt you, kid. So stop it.”

Stark’s body is close, eyes glimmering and brows pulled together in irritation. He towers over Peter and Peter felt so very small beneath the man’s harsh gaze, but it wasn’t enough for him to give in to the demands. He didn’t stop. He couldn’t. His chest hurt and his throat was swelled with a wild desperation and he couldn’t fucking breathe!

He sees May, sitting beside him, driving down the highway at a speed far from safe. Tears trailing from her eyes, down her dusty cheeks as she sobbed… Then they hit the car in front of them… May died… trying to get them away from the city… away from the very same Tony Stark standing in front of him… who was very much alive.

How could it get any more unfair than that?

He couldn’t let this killer get away. He couldn’t… His conscience wouldn’t let him walk away without some blood to show for it.

So he pushed, milking the last of his strength out of his exhausted and weakened muscles to escape from the restraint of Stark’s grip, and the man was pushed back a couple feet. Peter’s only able to land a couple staggering blows on him before Stark has him pinned once more. His grip was strong; far stronger than possible for an unenhanced human.

Peter struggles against him, but it was no use. He could quite literally feel the energy being sucked from his body, a strange sting and numbness encompassing both his arms and legs as they finally gave in.

He cried, choking on an angry sob as he threw one last clumsy punch. Stark easily catches it and pins his hand back in place against the brick wall. He pushes most of his body weight onto him, and Peter can feel the heat emitting from the man’s glowing skin. It was hard to miss with the striking contrast of the cold evening.

“No,” he sobbed. He couldn’t fail. What kind of hero was he if he couldn't even avenge the death of his aunt and uncle?

A heavy weight settles over his bones and the overwhelming anguish and realization of his progressing failure breaks the balance he’s been able to maintain, crushing the last of his willingness to stand, and he crumbles.

He was hungry. He was tired. And most importantly… he was a failure. He was weak.

Tony slowly lowered to the ground with him, keeping a firm grip on his wrists and around his waist as he did so.

Peter cries.

He was just so tired. He had no fight left in him. He just wanted to curl up on the cold ground and cry himself to sleep so he could wake up in the morning and see it had all just been some terrible dream. He just wanted to sleep. To just forget the nightmare that was happening right now and go back to the time when Tony Stark was nothing more than a subject of study in his research project for school.

In fact, he wouldn’t mind so much if he just didn’t wake up at all. What more was there for him to be living for. The only person that would miss him was Ned, and maybe even MJ and Mr. Delmar… but they’d get over it eventually. They’d move on and find someone else to take his place in their busy lives. And actually If Tony Stark decided to kill him right now he didn’t think he’d mind. It’d be the smart move to make on the man’s part, since y’know, Peter’s seen his face and all that.

At least he’d finally be able to sleep through the night… he’d never have to wake up ever again actually. He was so tired of being alive, of living every day, having to act like everything was fine, just because the world wouldn’t stop spinning because he was having a shitty day.

He cried, mourning for the life he never had the chance to live. Although, he supposed he should have mourned for that years ago. His death wasn’t what had taken that chance away from him…

He felt a heavy hand fall onto the hood covering his head, followed by a soothing stroke that ran down his neck and trailed down the spine at his upper back. The weight acted as a steady comfort, grounding him to the reality of his own mortality, and the humm and soft shush that followed it tickled his chest, finally releasing enough pressure to give him the ability to find his breath.

“Shhh.”

And he choked on a hard sob at the momentary feel of serene relief.

Next Chapter

@multiverse-irondad-july

#Villainous July 2021 #villainousjuly2021 #villain tony stark #extremis tony stark #sad peter parker #peter parker #tony stark #irondad #evil iron man #superior iron man #fanfiction #dark peter parker #dark tony stark #dead uncle ben #dead aunt may

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whumphoarder · 4 years ago

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hii !! i recently found your account and i wanted to just say thank u it’s helped me a tonne :) i was also wondering if you know of any fics where may dies and tony adopts peter, n they have to navigate the whole son/father thing together? either way i hope you have a wonderful day !!

Hey! I definitely do—this was one of the first tropes I ever read in the fandom:

All the Devils are Here by @yellowdistress

Peter knows deep down, in the glass that is his mind, that he couldn't have stopped it. He couldn't have known that on a freezing night, May Parker would step out in front of a moving vehicle and die. All the while, he was laughing with Ned, their voices carrying through the streets of Queens.

Peter knows deep down, he couldn't have fathomed the events that would follow. An abyss of never-ending ache and the disorderly behavior that grown men weren't supposed to exhibit, but Tony Stark would manage to display anyway.

Peter knows all of these things, but still manages to be eaten alive, every single day.

Accepting the Tides by Emma_Anacortes

Tony had dragged Peter from the depths of despair after May's death. It was normal that he'd grown to care a little about him, right?

Yeah, okay. He freaking loved the kid.

So naturally he would feel a little weird when Richard Parker randomly shows up in Peter's life. Naturally he'd feel protective, nervous, and confused because where has Richard been all this time? And why does Tony feel sick every time he sees him around Peter?

All he knows is if Richard hurts his kid, Tony's gonna give him hell.

The darkest hour is just before the dawn by @starryknight09

“Is this Peter Parker?”

“Yes…”

“This is Dr. Nguyen. I’m sorry but your aunt’s been in an accident and we’re going to need you to come to Queens Memorial as soon as you can.”

Peter's life shatters with a phone call. The last person he expects helps him pick up the pieces.

And You'll Blow Us All Away by @losingmymindtonight

Peter Parker had had everything: a mother, a father, an uncle, an aunt. He'd lost them all.

All he had left was Tony Stark, and all Tony Stark had left was him.

And in the wake of their insurmountable losses, they go about trying to find a family within each other.

what you were then I am today by @madasthesea

Tony likes giving gifts to prove his love, but they don't usually have four paws and a tail.

AKA: Tony, Peter, and a dog named Maggie learn how to be a family.

Aunt May Dies by Jumpp

And Peter think's he's dying, too.

5 Times Peter Thought Tony Was Mad by @caraminha

... and one time he actually was.

Set a few months after Aunt May's death where Tony is Peter's legal guardian.

Navigating a new life together and settling into being father and son is a rollercoaster - falling in love with the kid? Easy.

Dealing with a grieving teenager, and trying to figure out how to do this whole parent thing? Uh... not so easy.

Make Way For Tomorrow by @tonystarkstan

Before Ben died, Peter won a booth to present his project at the Stark Expo. But even on the run from the foster care system, he can't pass up the opportunity to attend and show the world his project. It all goes so well, until it doesn't. Trying to avoid being caught, Peter runs out on Tony just as the man is about to make him the offer of a lifetime.

Bold of him to assume Tony won't try to find him.

Oh Christmas Lights, Keep Shining On by @ciaconnaa

Tony isn’t one to hash out the differences between a house and a home. Those kinds of cheesy sayings are better left to soccer moms and Hallmark cards. But standing in the middle of Peter’s kitchen with his sleeves all sudsy, surrounded by pictures, evidence, and history of a house well lived in, Tony can easily define that this is not a house, it's a home. Peter’s home.

There’s no way he can take Peter away from his home for Christmas. Not when he doesn't have his aunt anymore.

He makes a decision. A split decision, really. All the details explode in his head like a supernova, like they always do, but it’s a plan. And he’s gonna stick to it.

The Guardian by @justme--emily

When a terrible accident claims the life of May Parker, Tony Stark steps up as Peter's guardian. But it's not just a traumatized super-teen he'll have to worry about when he receives a transmission from Thor.

#dead aunt may #may parker #adoption #i know this trope can be a bit controversial #and there are a lot of people who love may too much to read it and that's totally fair #but i also firmly believe that it CAN be done well and in a way that tells a really compelling story #and these are just some of the examples of that #if dead may isn't your thing that's fine #but these stories explore what that kind of grief would look like in peter's life #and how tony steps up to fill that hole left by her loss #often very imprefectly #which i think is a really interesting dynamic when done well

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bexterbex · 5 years ago

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A Soul to Mend His Own | Ch. 4

Warning, if it hasn't been obvious in the movies there is Nazi symbolism within the First Order. I will expand on this much more throughout the story. If this is something that bothers you, please just exit the story. The author does not condone any Nazi ideals, this is just for fictional uses only.

A Kylo Ren x Modern! Reader in a soulmate au with some canon divergence. —————————————SLOWBURN————————————–

He is already the Supreme leader, searching the universe to find you, his Empress. Your name on his wrist has been the only constant in his life, while you have doubts about his existence and his acceptance of you. He isn’t in the database and why did the name Kylo Ren cover Ben Solo?

Originally posted on my Ao3 Crystallclover. (Incase you missed it) Chapter Three

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Chapter 4: When the Machine Starts

Summary: “ALL REMAINING SYSTEMS WILL REMEMBER THIS, AS THE FIRST DAY OF THE NEW EMPIRE!!!” Cannon fire was heard in the distance.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Y/N? What do you think,” asked Carter.

You thought for a moment and answered, “I don’t know, this is all so much to take in. When are you guys thinking about registering? I don’t want to go alone, there will be too many people.”

“I was thinking about going tomorrow morning. The registration office closest to me doesn’t open until 9 AM but I want to guarantee that a line will start 6,” said Carter.

“I guess I really hadn’t thought that far to be honest. Too caught up in the alien thing,” said Hayden “Why don’t we plan on going together?”

“I think that would great, but Y/N do you need to go to a special registration center? As an American,” asked Carter.

“Let me check online,” you said while pulling up the government website on your phone. “It says it I should be fine if I go to the motor vehicle registration office, the social insurance number office, or the immigration office. I need my passport, social security card, immunization forms, birth certificate, driver's license, and work visa. It also says that I will be in a separate line and that my registration will take up to 1 hour to complete.”

“Sweet, I know you aren’t a fan of getting up early Hayden but what if we all go to the MVR office tomorrow at like 5:45 AM and just get it done together? We have no idea how long the lines will be or really how long it will take,” asked Carter.

“Fine, but like we need to get brunch afterward or I will riot in the streets. You guys don’t have to work tomorrow right,” asked Hayden. “Tony gave me the next few days off.”

“No, Henry gave us all time off. I’m pretty sure Scott and his wife will go awol. Like you should have seen him this morning. He was on his phone in the walkway for the first hour, late to our meeting. Ally had to message him asking if he was coming. He then walked finally went into his office and got ready. He blamed it on his wife being paranoid,” you said.

“Yeah but that is such a Scott thing to do, I am surprised Talia hasn’t evaluated him yet that man is a walking HR nightmare,” said Carter.

“That isn’t even the worst of it. Immediately after the announcement he kind flipped out. Talking about how the First Order will brainwash us and how we shouldn’t stand for it. Like I’m pretty sure he was going to blow a gasket. Daniel told him off and then he went to talk to Henry but not until saying that this may be the last time we will probably see our families, then Henry gave us the week off basically,” you ranted. “I honestly hate the man he’s late to everything, even deadlines, he also can’t organize his office even if his life depended on it. Plus he’s always on his phone with his wife. Just all around unprofessional.”

“Damn go off, I would hate to hear what you would have go say about me if I worked with you,” stated Hayden.

“Well, I’m glad we are just friends and not coworkers. Brunch sounds like a good idea to me, especially if we can start day drinking because guaranteed my registration is going to be more stressful than both of yours and I’ll probably need something to take the edge off. And if Scott is right about this being the last bits of freedom before the First Order starts brainwashing us or ‘probing’ us then I’d like it to be fun,” you ranted.

“Probing, damn I wish I thought of that earlier. You know we should start watching some really cheesy Sci-FI movies before the ‘Supreme Leader’ announcement,” suggested Hayden.

Both you and Carter agreed and you set up your phone to keep steaming CBC News and you set up “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” on your laptop.

After your third movie, you all just decide to pull up the news to avoid missing the announcement. The seemingly perfect white brunette anchorman and similarly perfect blonde anchorwoman were explaining once again where to register while also talking about the average wait time to register. You always found their perfect hair, teeth, and skin; they were just too perfect.

Live from Washington D.C.

The camera focused in on the Supreme Leader, “People of Earth, the First Order has so far been impressed by the cooperation we have received from you. As it was mentioned before, if you remain calm and follow all orders directed towards you, you will be able to live a long and prosperous life here.

Your respective nation’s leader should have informed you of more updates such as where to receive registration and changes to your planet's economy. The First Order and my self Supreme Leader Ren have a few more directives for you.

First as mentioned to you many times today, everyone on your planet must register with the First Order as citizens. Anyone refusing to do so will be dealt with justly. Second, all citizens upon registration will receive an education on the First Orders and the beliefs of the new empire. Any citizen who has an issue with this education should direct their comments and concerns to any Stormtrooper or First Order officer at their local registration station.

Finally, anyone found in favor of the New Republic or the Resistance will be dealt with immediately. The First Order would like to make this transition for Earth as smooth and as peaceful as possible. Any found being a traitor to the First Order may find themselves at a public execution!

My Allegiant General Hux has a few words for you.” He stepped to the side to reveal the ginger human-looking man.

“Today is the is the beginning of the new empire! And the end of a regime that acquiesces to disorder! At this very moment, in a system far from here, the New Republic lies to the galaxy, while secretly supporting the treachery of the loathsome Resistance,” The red hair man almost seemed to be foaming at the mouth while he was giving his speech. “Our alliance is a fierce machine that we will build, upon which we will stand, will bring an end to the Senate, and to their cherished fleet! ALL REMAINING SYSTEMS WILL REMEMBER THIS, AS THE FIRST DAY OF THE NEW EMPIRE!!!” Cannon fire was heard in the distance and the camera came to a wide shot of the podium’s stage.

On the stage, you could see the U.S. President, Supreme Leader Ren, Allegiant General Hux, and the silver armored soldier. Behind the stage, you could see the white house lawn filled with the white armored soldiers standing at attention. In the distance you could see there was now a banner over the white house, it was large and read with a hexagon with a star-like black symbol. You assumed this to be the flag of the First Order.

The camera cuts back to the news anchors who were now conspicuously wearing pins with the same symbol that was on the banner. “I like the sound of that, don’t you Karen,” asked the male news anchor.

“I sure do Jim. A new galactic economy and protection from a powerful new ally to protect us from the treacherous Resistance. I don’t think we could have asked for a better ‘alien’ invasion, do you, Jim,” responded Karen.

“Now it's almost as if fate was on our side, or should I say the Force. For everybody, at home, both Karen and I have been registered and have started our First Order education. That’s where we got these cool new pins that you will be required to wear once you’ve been registered unless directed to do otherwise,” stated Jim.

“Yes, it is important that all citizens register as soon as possible, and all citizens are asked to cooperate with the First Order. You all heard our new Supreme Leader Ren, they would like us to be peaceful and anyone found in contempt of the First Order may be subject to public execution,” stated Karen. “And I’m sure all of you remember 8th-grade world history when we learned about what happened to Marie Antoinette, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” She and Jim chuckled at her off-color joke.

“I’m sure no one wants that so if we all stay calm no one should lose their head. There will be nightly updates every night at 7 PM Eastern Standard Time from the First Order. We have been informed that it will be various officers as our new Supreme Leader is very busy,” stated Jim.

“I’m sure he is, and what a wonderful Supreme Leader we have. Dedicated to our safety and the safety of the galaxy. I can’t wait to learn more about him from my First Order education. Now stay tuned to the weather,” said Karen.

You muted your laptop once again. You, Carter and Hayden all sat in shock after what you just watched.

Carter was the first to speak, “well at least be getting the registration and education over an done with as soon as possible. That General Hux guy seemed pretty intense.”

“Your boss might be right Y/N we may just all be brainwashed soon. Why do I have a feeling like the First Order may be something out of a George Orwell's novel,” said Hayden.

“Just promise us you won’t do anything stupid Hayden, we will all have enough to worry about. Tomorrow at the registration office you might want to keep your conspiracy theories to yourself. I don’t know how much the First Order will like them,” you responded.

Carter seemed to be in agreement with you, “Why don’t we all just call it a night? We can meet in the parking lot of the MVR office at 5:45 AM and I’ll bring coffee for all of us.”

You and Hayden nodded in agreement. Both of them packed up their things and left. You cleaned up the kitchen and plates. Shut your laptop before preparing for bed.

You grabbed your pajamas and went into the bathroom and took a shower hoping it would relax you. Getting you changed into your clothes, brushed your hair and teeth.

You shut off the lights to your apartment and walked over to your bed. You plugged in your phone and set an alarm before crawling into bed and drifting off into fitful sleep.

#lets see if this works #kylo ren #kylo ren x reader #kylo ren imagine #kylo x you #star wars imagine #Star wars soulmate au #star wars #star wars first order #sw first order imagine #first order #feedback is appreciated #armitage hux #a soul to mend his own

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storieswrittcnarch · 4 years ago

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@magicandmayhcm gets a somewhat plotted starter from Jay to Antonio

It’s the anniversary of Ben Corson’s death. A kid that died far too soon - a kid that had gone through more than he should have. Lonnie’s dead now but to this day, this kid, this case - it still gets to him. He’d known who Lonnie was, what he was - if they had just listened to him, maybe Ben wouldn’t be dead. Maybe he could have done more.

His phone has been ringing constantly for the past few hours - he hasn’t bothered to check it. If the unit needs him - right now, he doesn’t care. Won’t be much use to them when he’s drinking anyway. An bottle of whiskey in his grip - one that he’s drank a considerably large amount from already. He’s not nowhere as drunk as he’d like to be but he’s getting there, at least.

“I’m sorry, man. Shoulda done more for you.” It’s muttered, barely audible. Every year he comes out here, he’s just usually back by now before anyone notices he’s gone. Something about a recent case brought back memories of Ben, brought back those feelings of guilt. Poor kid could have been someone important, there’s so many could have’s that run through Jay’s head.

The sound of a vehicle pulls up, the flashing of headlights that have Jay wincing and bringing his hand up to shield his eyes as he looks over his shoulder in that direction. Antonio’s vehicle. How many missed calls has he received from him? Voight and the others probably tried calling him too.

“Go away, Tony.” He says as Antonio approaches him - he wants to be alone but it’s probably not the best thing to be right now, when he’s obviously drunk and staring at a grave. He’s usually good at ignoring cases, not letting it get under his skin, but this one - to this day - still does.

#magicandmayhcm #jay interactions

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the-firebird69 · 9 months ago

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AK Sportscars AK40 | GT40 replica with Ford Coyote engine

https://www.aksportscars.co.uk/ak-40/

It looks worth it but the frame is not that good and these guys don't build a good friend I would not buy it and recommending people don't buy these kids they're using their own frames and their frames are crap we checked it out too and they're doing it on purpose they're a bunch of problems they act like they have nothing to do because they're delusional as hell and they're trying to hit other higher-ups and his stuff looks like crap to them and they don't buy it and I was thinking of making the kit because these idiots and their dumb technique and their failures and they're delusional and demented and mental patients.

-does more happenings and our son doesn't care too much Max these people are mentally ill from birth and so what you just ordered a bunch of retarded people that's terrifyingly stupid he feels great that you have confidence in it and it's not really willing to argue and you don't understand it's like a process and you're not involved in a lot of it and we know you're not here's what's happening too people are calling for these kits they're sending out tons of them with the frame and these people are making their own frames and using existing chassis and they fit on several different vehicles with some modification it's a pain in the ass but it works and it's extremely fast this is a top-of-the-line vehicle and their carbon is not that bad is it going about 800 and that's faster than they've ever gone and all the shops in La can handle it and The Rock boight about 5000 that does people buying them. Pitbull about a million from one manufacturer and he has tens on using existing chassis and the materials from the frame yes, and Riddick Vince Diesel bought 50,000 and Stallone and there are two different guys he went a hundred thousand and Tony Stark who is a third guy same clan okay he bought about a million and he likes them and they're really nice there's other people who bought more Ben Arnold but 3 million and the list goes on

Her son is encouraged our son is encouraged and he gets along with Ken and says that we could reissue the Bradley GT and make a Bradley GT3 he says why not it says it's a good idea and they make a lot of parts and at first you could just deliver from everywhere he's laughing you can make this price and has some padding and just order it all and send it to that address and take forever and it's true but really they're only like four places to buy from and he goes good and use a certain chassis for the Bradley GT3 and it says you get all these parts that are basically aftermarket parts for the Corvette and and cars like that so he's kind of excited and he wants to see it again he wants to figure out how to do it and our son and daughter want to help and he says it could be like a long-range project of several months from now but it's based on the lambo project and he agrees it's a good idea

We're going to start trying to figure out how to do that he says the design is the important part and the chassis and he thinks he has an idea that the Bradley GT3 will be probably not a huge car it'll be like the GT2 put on like a mustang or a Camaro and we agree and what he says is some of them are not that much and they start out with like a 350 and they'll whopping 180 and with the Bradley GT the new one it'll probably go about 1200 miles an hour and it's true it will go way too fast and that's what we're worried about

Thor Freya

I'm thinking of a more tame vehicle. Well you're right kind of people want the speed and they're getting this car which means they want it so to look at it and Chow fat is thinking about it and making a kit for a third one that's not the dagger and he says it look more like a kit and it would be a Bradley and it does have her it's advantages anybody and he says well the tracks a lot of attention and he gets that put the head guys and so he gets that too and you're right though not just organized to the resistance so he's going to look at just modernizing it and see how it looks and we know how it looks looks pretty good

I want to do this idea it's a great idea millions that makes millions of dollars

Ken and yeah there is like four or five places depends what car you get parts from Corvettes are kind of pricey but they are shaped right and the seats and everything but he says it's a lot aftermarket for even windshields which would be like $200 instead of $3,000 I noticed that too and you are correct and you can get all the parts of the doors and everything from there so I wonder if you could use the door things like that I wonder what you're saying you make it real easy

Ken

We're going to head and we're going to add some stuff so what we want to do cuz that sounds like fun making the Bradley kit car company and our son doing it if someone doesn't get to it they don't think they're going to that's what they say is taking forever and it's really it would be a lot of fun it's not really that hard and we can help

Thor Freya

It's a cool idea and we want to do it with him and he wants us to and we're going to look at it again but boy this is a nice idea and he says it'll be months away and start working on it as part of the lambo project and we agree it's an awesome project and it's worked

Frank Castle hardcastle

That little car saved a lot of lives that Lamborghini and really to look for a kit for it is not that hard they have a lot of them is absolutely not true there's only like one company and they're very small and we don't think it's a front and he was really upset he said there's too many and he says you just do the best you can in you get orders at your store or shop and you open a few factories by having some people at least you the factory and everything he says well that's cool so he started doing it and he's got like 10 factories he's leasing and he's making tons of money nope it's a good idea it will probably start doing it now cuz the symbology

Duke nukem Blockbuster

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ohwereusingourmadeupnames · 4 years ago

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Counting Airplanes

Pairing: Peter Parker/Tony Stark (Starker) Rating: Mature (M) Word Count: ~12k Notes: This is my coffee shop au prompt fill for my @starkerfestivals bingo card. @goindownshipping gets mad props for the mechanic Tony inspiration. Warnings: mentions of war. PTSD, flashbacks, disassociation, h/c, NSFW stuff Summary:

Tony Stark always dreamed about what it might be like to touch the clouds. His father, who runs a garage, wants him to take over the family business. The Air Force gives him the opportunity to be a pilot and finally touch the sky - but some things aren't meant to be. Tragedy strikes and Tony is left with PTSD and a company to run. Many years later, he meets Peter Parker at Uncle Ben's - a new coffee shop he's forced to walk into when Steve & Rhodey are unkind and don't refill. A love story ensues.

Or: the one where Tony meets Peter in a coffee shop and he proves to himself that's not nearly as fucked up as he thinks he is.

Read it on AO3 here.

As a kid, Tony longed to know what it was like, up in the clouds. He spent most summer evenings laying on a blanket out in the back pasture looking at the sky. During those times, the days stretched out as long as they could and right before the sun set for the day, the sky lit up with the most beautiful colors. It set his mind on fire, looking up and wondering what was out there.

Getting older meant stepping away from the ease of lazy June nights – Howard, his father, ran a small garage over by the airfield in town; he catered to the retired military population and took care of everything from motorcycles to airplanes. By his 8th birthday, Tony was a permanent fixture in the garage – he was one of his father’s best workers. His brain was meant for parts and pieces; Tony’s intuition and ability to absorb knowledge made learning the ins and outs of engines, transmissions, and everything in between simple.

For Tony, the real fun began when he turned 15. His father, having a hard time juggling all the different aspects of the business, let Tony take control of the airplane repair and maintenance. His brain was constantly seeking out challenges and the small stuff wasn’t satisfying – Howard was smart enough to realize the talent he had on his hands and finally did something Tony suggested.

Much to his surprise, that part of the business started to boom. Tony quickly found a love for planes and the complex engines and physical properties that comprised them. At that point in his life, they were the way he could stay connected with the sky. He and his best friend Steve were totally taken by the idea of being pilots and being around planes like the ones they repaired on a constant basis.

The rest of Tony’s high school experience revolved around getting the best grades he could, working in the hangar’s garage, and ignoring his father’s disapproving looks. Stark’s was a family business and his father expected him to take it over. Tony wanted more, though – he wanted to know what it was like to touch the sky and to take control of the humongous scientific masterpieces he marveled at on a daily basis.

Admission to the MIT Air Force ROTC program came in October of Tony’s senior year – the first step to his dream coming true sitting in the envelope he carelessly pulled open. It came with a full scholarship and a direct link to the officer core. At most, he owed four years of service and at the very least, he would have a functioning job in his career field of choice. His father didn’t see it that way, but the money attached to his admission meant it didn’t matter what Howard had to say.

Without having to work multiple hours a day after school and on weekends, Tony flew through his college courses; where most people took 5 years to get through the Aerospace Engineering program, it took Tony only 3. He willingly took the early entry into the pilot program and made his way to Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas. The 3-year training program was rigorous and finally demanded everything out of Tony – for the first time in his entire life, he felt challenged.

Leaving for the deserts of Iraq was not how he figured he’d spend his first assignment, but the state of affairs in the US forced his hand. They ran tactical missions, refueling runs, and every now and again, offensive fly overs. The 18 months he spent there seemed to go by so fast and drag all at once. Tony got excited every time they went out on a mission, only to come back a little worse for the ware and more disappointed than before.

The very last mission Tony flew during his time there ended up being the most exciting. It was supposed to be a simple refueling exercise. The big tanker would fly right above them and connect to the fuel port. All he had to do was hold steady and they’d be in the air for another 12 hours. They were right where they should be when the right wing got clipped by some sort of missile strike – it made the entire aircraft shake and lose connection to the fuel tanker above it.

To say that the fuel hose puncturing the front pane of glass was a bad thing seemed like a total understatement. As he shouted into his radio ‘mayday, mayday’, Tony realized the uselessness in it. The crew in the back were all experienced – he hoped to the powers above that they remembered the crash-landing protocol. The pressure on the inside of the cabin changed immediately; he’d been in so many training exercises reenacting that very moment – but nothing compared to the real thing.

It was the many years of hearing horror stories from pilots in the shop that allowed Tony to set the plane down without taking it apart into several different pieces on the comedown. He gripped the reins tight and followed the momentum – his actions just enough to save all four lives of the people on the plane. Still a little woozy from the huge change in atmospheric pressure, Tony leaned into the seat he was still secured in and let the cut across his eyebrow bleed steadily into his eye – what else did he have to do? They were in the middle of the desert with very little supplies and even less water. The prognosis was not very good.

In the end, death by water deprivation was not to be there fate.

After trying the radio over and over again, Tony threw the receiver and let out a defeated huff. They weren’t going to be able to sit idly in the aircraft for very long. His navigation skills weren’t the greatest, but he did understand what enemy territory was. The rest of the crew found him right as he was collecting everything he could from the cockpit – including the handheld radio, just in case.

Wandering around the desert in the middle of the afternoon seemed pretty stupid – Tony felt every ounce of water in him draining with every step they took in the midday sun. He also knew that if they stopped, they were done for.

The sound of a vehicle accelerating a couple hours into their journey had all four of them looking up with hope – only to be reminded that more than one danger lived in the sands blowing swiftly by their faces.

The worst part about being taken by enemy forces was the bag over his head. He remembered the torture training they received right before graduating pilot’s training – five days’ worth of learning how to negotiate, being put in boxes, and enduring waterboarding. Tony held steady throughout, until they put the bag over his head – the sensory deprivation felt a little like losing his mind. Luckily, they weren’t far from their destination and they tore it off of him to pull him out of the truck and into a chair with a bright light right above it.

Upon seeing the stripes on his uniform, Tony was signaled out – they wanted blueprints and specs for the latest planes the USAF was flying over top of them. Tony knew each of the aircrafts front to back and could easily help them, yet – he held fast. In all likelihood, they were going to kill him – he knew that and understood that going down with his secrets was the only way he was going to let that happen. He signed up for this very moment – the ultimate application of all the skills he’d ever learned.

Every day, Tony was brought into the same holding cell and cuffed to the chair – he’d become so photophobic from the light shining in his eye that it immediately made him nauseous. They questioned and threatened him, all while reciting the names of every person he ever cared about – the list one Tony rattled off in his head over and over again, beating them to the punch.

It was the same routine for six months – Tony gauged the days by the length of his facial hair and the thinness of his arms. His captors kept them all just on the worst side of hungry – they wanted them delirious, on the verge of doing anything for the slightest bit of relief. Tony had to give it to his fellow brothers and sisters in arms – they stood united and took the punishment with barely bent heads and eyes wide open.

When they were finally rescued, Tony kept silent until they were safely ensconced in Rhodey’s aircraft – his best friend from pilot training the only person he would trust to get him back to some semblance of safety. Only then did he let himself sigh with relief, the tears coming before he even knew it. Tony finally let all the emotions he’d been bottling inside flow through him – after all the time in captivity, he knew he’d never be the same.

The flight home was more somber than he ever could have imagined. Two days before coming home, Howard died of a fatal heart attack. For a long while after hearing the news, Tony figured the last week had been a complete hallucination and he was still back in the cell, curled up and waiting for the next time the door would open. The reality of the situation didn’t really hit home until he was standing in front of a smooth black casket – the only family he had left two seconds away from being buried in the ground.

He never really cared for his father – the man didn’t appreciate his dreams and wrote him off. Tony didn’t think his death would hit so hard, but it did, anyway. The thought of staying in the service when he got home made his skin crawl – so he took medical retirement and got out as quickly as he could. The Air Force gave him many things, including the opportunity to be a pilot and fly some of the coolest aircrafts – but it also left him with a permanent scar on his right eye and PTSD that felt like a heavy monkey on his back.

It only seemed right that after all the time and effort he put into avoiding the family company, that he ended up with it. In all the time he’d been away, Tony realized that simplicity was exactly what he wanted. He knew what it was like between the clouds and could easily get that same feeling from the safety of the cockpit of the little planes he kept in the hangathere r. If nothing else, his experience gave way to a deeper understanding of himself.

Pleasing his father by finally taking the company, even if it was after his death – that had to count for something.

----

That lovely adventure happened 14 years ago.

Since then, Tony made a name for Stark’s – the place becoming strictly for aircrafts and diesel engines. He didn’t want to spend too much time finding people to run the car and motorcycle maintenance – his expertise existed in the realm of airplane engines and all the parts and pieces associated with them. He hunted down Steve and Rhodey a couple years after acquiring the business and converted them to the soothing nature of grunt work. Between the three of them, they handled multiple big-ticket companies and kept a steady local clientele.

For all intents and purposes, Tony could claim happiness. At least, he felt content enough to say that he wasn’t unhappy. Nightmares still plagued him and sometimes loneliness settled deeply within him, but he was okay – that was all he’d ever really known.

A Friday in the middle of October, Tony walked into the main building of the garage, his head aching from the lack of caffeine in his system. He took an early morning consultation a couple hours away and didn’t have the time or patience to stop in either direction. They’d be getting a couple carriers worth of engines to pick apart and modernize in the next couple of hours – he wanted to be prepared.

Upon finding the pot empty and all of the coffee that went into the machine to make another gone too, Tony took a look around the kitchenette with wide eyes. “I’m not the only one that can buy coffee around here, right?” he asked out loud, his voice resonating in the otherwise empty room. Biting down on his lip in frustration, Tony pulled out his phone, immediately pulling up the map app to find the nearest coffee shop. The first one on the list was less than two miles away – a brand new place, Uncle Ben’s. Shaking his head at the weird name, Tony selected it and let the map pop up.

As it turned out, the coffee shop was just outside the garage’s property – the strip mall that it sat in a new addition to the slowly developing town. A soft sigh left Tony’s lips when he pulled in. For a brand-new place, it looked homey and welcoming – nothing like the cookie cutter inside of a Starbucks. He took a minute to collect himself; going into public places was still hard for him, even after all of this time.

Once he felt grounded enough to get out of his car and turn his back on the world, Tony walked into Uncle Ben’s. The first thing that hit him was the amazing smell of coffee beans – he recognized the big grinder pressed against the wall and immediately knew the stuff he was about to get would be good. When he bothered with the nicer things in life, Tony had a pretty decent setup in his apartment.

The next thing that smacked him in the face was the very cute man standing behind the counter. His unconventional uniform of blue jeans and a dark red flannel made Tony smile – there wouldn’t be anything stuffy coming out of this place. Tony’s eyes were drawn to the open look on the man’s face – deep brown eyes framed by long lashes caught his gaze. The man grinned at him, his full lips pulling him in further.

“Hey! Welcome to Uncle Ben’s – I’m Peter. What can I get you today?” The pitch of his voice rung in Tony’s ears and settled low in his stomach. For whatever reason, Tony couldn’t keep his heart from beating against his chest, the feeling one he wasn’t all that familiar with. Ducking his head, Tony sucked in a breath.

“Hi, Peter. Can I get your darkest roast as black as you can make it in the largest size?” Tony asked, his eyes watching Peter’s face for a reaction to the insanely boring order. He spent most of his college days living off of burnt coffee from the pot his roommate forgot to take off the burner – the taste of anything sweeter made his mouth prickle just thinking about it. If he thought it was weird, Peter didn’t show it.

While Peter keyed in his order, Tony took a second to take a good look at him. His hair was on the longer side, styled just enough to look swooped back, but messy because that’s how it fell naturally. The apples of his cheeks were red, almost like there was a permanent blush there, camping out to make sure they stayed rosy. Eyelashes that were sinfully long brushed his cheek. In other words, he was absolutely stunning.

“So, the darkest roast as big as I can make it is $2.50. Is there anything else I can get you?” The pull of his lips and the crinkle of his eye shouldn’t have been as distracting as it was. Tony found himself really having to process the question before answering it.

“No, that’s it,” replied smoothly. He didn’t do a lot of eating throughout the day, especially when there was a big job looming over him. Anxiety made his insides squirm, the less food he put in his stomach, the better. Making the sudden decision to relax against the counter, Tony let his hip rest there, his body in no hurry to move. Right before walking in, Tony was impatient and agitated – in a hurry for some reason.

Now, though – he had all the time in the world; especially if it meant getting to sneak a couple more peeks at the cute barista behind the counter. There weren’t any other people milling around – maybe he could pull it together long enough to actually make conversation with the beautifully intimidating human he already felt a magnetic type pull towards.

Digging into his pocket, he pulled out his wallet and went about the process of paying with his credit card – the old USAA logo in the corner making his skin prickle slightly. Peter’s voice had him looking up – “You’re Tony Stark.” The words were said with conviction, like he was so sure, he’d absolutely put money down on it. He quickly put his wallet away and pressed his palms to the counter.

“That would be me,” he replied, quirking his brow. “Have we met before?” Tony knew for sure that he’d never seen this person in his life. The gorgeous gleam in his eye would be a hard thing to forget.

Peter handed him his receipt, his head shaking. “We haven’t. Stark’s is the one thing people mentioned when I looked into opening the shop here. In my curiosity, I let Google tell me a bit about it. You and the major switch you made to aerospace made a lot of different newspapers. Seemed to shock a lot of people.” He pushed back from the counter then, his feet carrying him between the different machines seamlessly.

Tony watched him with interest, his eyes still wide form Peter’s admission of researching him – well, not him so much as his company, but it was still something.

“Before I joined the military, I spent a lot of time getting the aerospace portion of the business started. When I got back, it only made sense to steer it towards bigger engines and more specific clientele. Narrowing the industry is always big news.” Tony spoke freely, his body thrumming with a sort of energy he hadn’t felt in a long time. This sort of chemistry surprised him – he wanted to see where it would lead.

“That makes sense. People aren’t really used to change, are they?” Peter smiled at him and placed a large cup of coffee down in front of him. It smelt heavenly, the rich aroma of the fresh coffee bean sitting in his nostrils and taking hold – he would gladly let that smell wrap him up for the rest of the day. Tony pulled the cup closer to him and threw his own smile Peter’s way.

“You said it, Pete. There’s not enough room for innovation. Unless you don’t give any other option, then there’s really nothing anyone can do about it,” Tony shrugged his shoulders – he followed orders to the t when it was absolutely necessary. With the freedom to do what he wanted; he was going to do exactly that. Despite the immense fear he felt every time he got into the cockpit of a plane – Tony’s interest and skill remained.

Thinking on his feet, Tony shifted the conversation in Peter’s direction. He didn’t move away or make it seem like talking to Tony was an obligation. It spurred him on, Tony for the first time in a while somewhat desperate to make a connection. “How long have you been open? I haven’t done anything other than pass through town in ages.” It was true, too – he avoided public places and curious eyes. People that knew him when he was younger knew way more than he was comfortable with, and those that didn’t know him – well, he didn’t like strangers much, either.

“I got the keys about six months ago and got the doors open about a month after that. I finished my MBA last summer and decided that small town USA was the place to open my weird little café.” Watching Peter cross his arm, Tony bit down on a smile. His body language and restless limbs were just as cute as the softness in his smile and the curl of his hair. “What brought you in today? Since you’re not usually one to join the masses.”

Finally impatient enough to want the kickstart of the caffeine despite the heat of the beverage, Tony pulled the cup to him and tossed back a couple big gulps of it. Despite how hot it was, Tony was overwhelmed by the taste. It was rich and earthy, bitter on the tongue the exact way he liked it. He took a second to truly enjoy it before answering, the jolt of caffeine was exactly what he needed.

“The guys in the garage didn’t leave any trace of coffee anywhere in the office. I run off the stuff, so I needed a fix quicker than the grocery delivery order could get there,” Tony let the words roll off his tongue, the ease in which he was talking something new – he only felt comfortable enough to speak freely with Steve and Rhodey. “I’m glad this is where Google Maps brought me. This is the best coffee I’ve ever had.”

A shot of anxiety ran through him when he realized what he said – it sounded way more sensual coming from his mouth than he ever anticipated. Taking another scalding sip, Tony avoided bright eyes for a second, the warmth on his cheeks threatening to become a harsh blush with every increased beat of his heart. The sound of a deep laugh had him looking up, the red spreading across his cheeks, regardless.

Locking eyes with Peter, Tony forced himself to take in a deep breath. He felt hot all over, like the dredges of his anxiety attacks were moving in – just, without the flushing rush of fear. Instead, it felt like a something he hadn’t let himself feel in forever; arousal. Bringing his bottom lip between his teeth, Tony shifted his feet a little – his body unable to stand stationary in that moment.

“I’m glad it brought you here, too,” Peter started, his eyes still gazing into Tony’s bulging a little with the confession. Tony felt his cheeks turn up a little, the look obviously enough to calm Peter down enough to let him continue. “I admittedly spent way too much time researching coffee beans and how to get the best flavor from them. I even took a trip to Costa Rica to learn more about the bean and all the different blends. One of the coolest trips ever.” Peter’s smile translated into his words, the last few sounding so wistful, so carefree.

Tony spent the next few minutes listening to Peter talk about the different coffee plantations he visited and the black beaches that were popular around the country. Tony remembered flying over the volcanic regions just for fun during an air strike but didn’t get to experience the beauty like Peter described it. He used so much emotion to talk about the things he liked, it was hard to imagine not wanting to try whatever Peter talked about.

A swift buzz against his hip drew him out of the trance he’d been in – Tony thought listening to Peter could easily be something he got carried away in. He dug into his pocket and checked the screen; Steve was reminding him about the Boeing delivery expected at the garage any time. Shaking his head, Tony didn’t bother responding – it would take less than five minutes to get back to the garage and he hadn’t seen any big trucks pass by the window from where he was standing.

“Looks like it’s back to work for me. Thanks for the coffee, Pete,” Tony mumbled, raising the cup in his hand. He felt himself smiling widely – his muscles a little sore from the lack of use. Tony didn’t smile, not really. There weren’t many things to get excited about in his life. It felt easy, though – directing the look Peter’s way. There was a weird sizzling energy crackling between them; Tony wondered if Peter could feel it, too.

“Here,” Peter replied quickly, his hand landing on top of Tony’s softly. “Let me top you up.” The same hand on his own reached out – Tony wordlessly passed him the cup, their fingers brushing ever so slightly. Every part of his skin Peter touched felt like it was on fire – the burn of it licking his skin, the caress sending so many conflicting thoughts and feelings back to his brain in an attempt to be processed.

The pass back was just as tantalizing, Peter smiled widely at him – his cheeks crinkling in the cutest way. “You have a business card, Mr. Stark?” Peter questioned, his hands bringing a crystal fish shaped bowl front and center. It had a card taped to it that said, ‘enter for free coffee for a year’. Peter shook it up, then pushed it towards Tony.

Pulling his wallet back out, Tony found a couple in the pocket and dumped one in the bowl. He quirked his eyebrow, a chuckle leaving his lips. “I wouldn’t mind winning that one.” He emphasized his point by taking a big gulp of the warm coffee. “Thanks again, Pete.” Pushing the door open with his back, Tony waved at him before walking out of the store and climbing into his truck as quickly as he could.

Tony spent the drive back to the garage trying to decipher exactly what went down back in the coffee shop. He didn’t know how to feel about the crazy reaction he had to a complete stranger – and how, just after a couple minutes of talking, Peter didn’t feel like a stranger at all. The thoughts carried him all the way into the garage where Steve and Rhodey were gathered around the specs he brought back with him that morning.

“Hey, boss – what’s got you looking so loopy?” Steve asked, his words bringing Tony from the dreamy haze he’d been in. The words almost didn’t register, the thoughts in his head really scrambling his brain.

Tony shook his head and brought the coffee cup up for them both to see. “I found the coffee I hope to drink for the rest of my life. You assholes left the dregs of a burnt pot, so I had to improvise.” His tone sounded a little guarded, but that wasn’t something terribly unusual.

Rhodey snorted and got up from the table, his hand wrapping around Tony’s shoulders. “I’ve only seen that look on your face one other time in my life, Stark. Remember Tommy Driver?” He pulled Tony tight against his side, the man looking him square in the eye. Tony absolutely remembered Tommy Driver and hoped to never think about the useless crush ever again.

“Fuck you, Rhodes. The new place, Uncle Ben’s – the man who owns it is devilishly handsome. I may have noticed.” The words sounded a little pained being dragged out of his mouth like that – at the same time, it felt good to tell the truth, to admit that yes, maybe he did find himself liking someone for the first time since pilot training. Shaking Rhodey off, Tony walked a little further into the room.

Steve and Rhodey shared a look, the two idiots beaming at each other. “He must have met Peter, then,” Steve remarked. Tony looked between them, a shocked look on his face.

“You guys know him?” Tony crossed his arms over his chest – the petulant tone of his question right on point.

“Yeah, Tony – we don’t live in the garage like you do. Uncle Ben’s has been open for a while and their coffee is fantastic.” Rhodey shrugged his shoulders, the not sorry look on his face making Tony smile despite the moodiness he wanted to project. There was a reason these two were his best friends.

“I’m slightly offended neither of you thought to bring me a cup of this before. It really is great.” Tony looked between them, flipped them both the bird, then sat down at the table where the specs were still sitting. “Now sit down, honey bear – we’ve got some work to do.”

----

About a week later, Tony woke up behind his desk – his phone buzzing against the empty coffee mug yanking him from the uneasy sleep he’d been in. Unwanted dreams seemed to be haunting him the last couple of days and sleep, when he could get it, felt more like torture than actual rest. Rubbing at his eyes, Tony grabbed at the phone to stop the buzzing. He wanted to ignore it, but the suggested contact (Maybe: Peter Parker) attached to the text caught his eye.

Straightening up a little bit more, Tony blinked liberally in an attempt to force the waking up process to work a little quicker. He let the facial recognition open the phone, his finger hovering over the text app for a moment – all the of the sudden, he felt nervous. In the days since meeting him at the coffee shop, Tony hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Peter – the gorgeous brunette with warm hazel eyes and cheeks as red as cherries. It seemed silly, to be so dopey over someone he didn’t even know.

He made his thumb press on the screen and open up his text messages, the one highlighted still making his chest ache with nervousness and excitement.

Maybe: Peter Parker: Hi, Tony Stark! This is Peter Parker from Uncle Ben’s. I had the drawing this morning and your business card was the lucky pick. Maybe: Peter Parker: Free coffee for a year is officially yours.

Tony felt himself smile – lucky wasn’t usually on his side. In all of the times of entering something like that, this was his first time actually winning. Looking at the messages for another minute, Tony quickly changed Peter’s contact information, then typed his own message back.

Tony Stark: Hi, Peter Parker. This is one of the best text messages I’ve ever gotten. Tony Stark: But, just so I know – what does free coffee for a year actually mean? Tony Stark: Is it an unlimited thing, or do I have a little punch card that keeps track of how much of your coffee I’m consuming?

He shook his head at the lameness of his old self but sent them off anyway – he didn’t know how to socialize with humans, he figured if Peter was actually worth all the pining he was doing, he wouldn’t mind Tony’s awkwardness. Maybe he’d appreciate it, even.

Peter Parker: Glad to have made your day, Tony Stark. Peter Parker: Since you don’t drink anything fancy, I’m not really worried about you coming and grabbing coffee whenever you want. I have dark roast for days, my friend. Peter Parker: Just don’t abuse the niceness.

Tony Stark: You might get tired of seeing me. Tony Stark: I would never.

Peter Parker: I’m not sure that’s possible. Peter Parker: I genuinely believe that.

Tony Stark: Oh? That’s a bold thing to say. You don’t even know me. Tony Stark: Do I project good vibes, or something?

Peter Parker: You’re not much of a talker. It’s going to take a lot of visits to even get to know you, let alone get tired of you. Peter Parker: Yeah, or something. Your friends speak highly of you. James and Steve. Peter Parker: You listened to me talk about coffee beans for twenty minutes and didn’t look bored once. I think that says a lot.

Tony Stark: You might be on to something. Though, I can talk – I’m just not good at it in public. Public in general is a lot for me. Tony Stark: James – I haven’t heard anyone call him that in years. I’ll have to give him shit for that. Tony Stark: I like coffee beans. I used to have a fancy press like the one in your store. I wanted to be in Costa Rica with you.

Looking at the words he’d just sent, Tony felt his cheeks flare up. It felt easy, talking to Peter – the words were just coming to him, ideas and thoughts he hadn’t been able to grasp in years were floating around his brain, waiting to be used. The cloudiness of disturbed sleep was gone, a sense of clarity overtaking him instead.

Peter Parker: Oh. How are you with one on one type situations? If you’re in a place of comfort, or course. Peter Parker: I have no idea what you’re talking about – but it seems like you guys are always ragging on each other for something. Have you all been friends long? Peter Parker: Used to? You left a piece of equipment like that behind? Next time I go, you can come.

Tony Stark: It’s much better. I have a feeling I could muster up the courage to talk to you just about anywhere, though. Tony Stark: We call him Rhodey – it’s a thing in the military to call each other by our last names. We do, though – rag on each other. I’ve known Steve since I was a kid. Rhodey and I went through pilot training together. Tony Stark: I left a lot of things behind. Oh yeah? I’ll hold you to that.

Peter Parker: Then I’ll hold you to that. Any chance you’d like to get a drink or something sometime? Peter Parker: That makes a lot of sense, actually. No wonder they kept calling you Stark. Peter Parker: So, you were a pilot? Was that always the dream? Do you still fly? Peter Parker: Hm. Sounds like there’s a story there. Good, please do.

Tony Stark: Maybe not a drink – but I’d love to go out. Ever been in a two-seater plane before? Tony Stark: I still am. I just don’t do it in the Air Force, anymore. The dream started out as wanting to touch the sky. When I realized how cool planes were, it kind of evolved from there. Tony Stark: Isn’t there always?

After agreeing to go up flying with Tony a couple of days later, Peter excused himself to get back to work. Tony sank down into the chair he’d been sitting in scrolling through the entirety of their conversation a couple of times. It went from 0 to 60 pretty quickly, but Tony was surprisingly okay with that. Everything with Peter up until that point felt completely natural – that had to mean something.

The day of the date quickly approached and to take the edge off, Tony took the opportunity to get some of his free coffee. He stepped into Uncle Ben’s when he figured it’d be in a lull – Peter was the only one behind the counter looking up at him with a grin when he walked in. “Tony, hey!” Peter greeted him happily, his long legs carrying over to the counter. “Darkest roast as black as I can make it?”

Tony nodded at him, his cheeks quirking up in a small smile. “Yeah, Pete – thanks.” He took a deep breath and let himself take the other man in while he went about putting coffee in a to-go cup for him. “It’s nice to see you,” Tony mumbled, his hands staying in the pocket of the puffy vest he’d been sporting since he got out of his work clothes from the morning. His eyes strayed to the spotless counter before looking up and catching Peter’s.

“It’s nice to see you, too. And without the hat today. I like the look – it suits you,” Peter said, pointing up at the hair that he was still letting dry on his head. They did some work on one of the jets and he was disgusting when they were done – the last thing he wanted to do was go see Peter covered in sweat and grime. Unconsciously, he ran his fingers through it, his shyness ruling him.

“I got covered in engine oil this morning. We’re working on a Sentry right now and we’re hitting a bunch of hiccups. I don’t usually leave the house without one, honestly.” Tony replied, his fingers wrapping around the warm cup gratefully. “Thanks, though – I’ll remember that for later.” At that, Tony brought his head up and beamed. Peter was looking back at him with the same look, his eyes alight.

Peter stepped away from the counter again, his hands moving through the process of making another cup of coffee. When he added the foamy milk on the top, Tony made a face. He hadn’t been able to do overly sweet stuff in a long time – the sweetness reminding him of the way his mouth felt puckered with thirst all that time ago. “Can you sit for a bit? There shouldn’t be too much of a crowd for at least an hour or so.” Peter looked towards the small table at the back of the restaurant.

Tony could do nothing but nod, his stomach clenching for about two seconds before he realized that Peter left him the chair where he could see the rest of the coffee shop. Letting out a sigh of relief, Tony settled in the surprisingly comfortable chair and took a couple of calming sips of the coffee in his hands.

“I did the maintenance on the plane we’re taking up later – she’s going to run perfectly,” Tony remarked, his nervousness forcing him to break the silence. He felt a tremor run through him, the feeling of it almost enough to pull him out of the chair and out the door. At what seemed the right time, Peter smiled at him and made him feel a little bit better.

He watched long fingers wrap around the same brown cup in his own hands and bring it to pink lips – Peter took a long drink, the length of his throat bobbing with each sip. It shouldn’t have looked as good as it did – and Tony probably shouldn’t have been staring as hard as he was. Peter didn’t seem to mind, though – he met Tony’s eyes with a smirk and placed a hand on top of Tony’s. “You’ll have to show me around under the hood. I’d love to see what you’re working with.”

Tony tilted his head, his brows scrunching together. “You’re interested in that kind of stuff?” They were still trying to get to know each other, so Tony was surprised – there weren’t a lot of people that even pretended to be interested in the nerdy mechanisms Tony worked with on a daily basis.

“I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering, actually. I wanted to go into the car industry but got hooked when on business when I did my internship my senior year. They stuck me in marketing, and I haven’t looked back since. So yes, I am. I’d love to see the engine, at least.” He didn’t seem to mind Tony’s surprise, the smile on his face just as genuine and real as before.

He couldn’t help the way his hand turned over and gripped at Peter’s – the more he got to know him, the easier it was to allow himself to let go of the uptight control he always tried to have. “I’ll gladly show you anything you’d like to see.” Tony’s fingers stroked the inside of Peter’s wrist where they were settled, the pulse picking up a little at the contact.

They spent a few more minutes idly chatting back and forth before the bell on the door chimed. Peter’s face fell for a second before he got himself back together and shot Tony a deflated look. “I’ll see you tonight, right?” Peter’s question made Tony’s heart beat a little faster, the excitement of getting to see Peter on his own turf was almost too much.

“Right. I’ll be in the shop the rest of the day. Just let me know when you’re heading my way.” Tony gave Peter’s hand one more squeeze before getting up, his legs a little weak from sitting there for so long. “I can’t wait,” Tony whispered as he passed by Peter’s shoulder – the shiver he saw run along the other’s back so satisfying. It felt good to know he had some physical effect on Peter. Tony responded to him the second they were in the same room, a little assurance it was mutual wasn’t the worst thing.

----

Two filter replacements and another shower later, Tony was waiting impatiently in the office. Peter sent him a text saying he was on the way a few minutes ago – the second he received it, Tony’s heart started to beat out of his chest. He felt a little lightheaded from the elevated blood pressure and knew that pretty soon, the tizzy he was trying to stave off would end up winning.

Looking in the mirror right over the sink, Tony messed with his hair, running his fingers through it. His head felt slightly naked without the hat on it – it’d been a mechanism of armor for him since coming home. He’d been wearing the same dirty one for 14 years.

A slight tap on the front door brought Tony out of his musings, Peter was smiling at him, his outfit completely different from the one he’d been in earlier. The jean jacket made him look even younger than he actually was – a feat that made Tony feel old for a second. It didn’t stick, though, his brain too focused on Peter and all the good things his body felt when the man was around.

Undoing the lock on the door, Tony pulled it open and moving a hand in a welcoming gesture. “Hey, Pete. Welcome to Stark’s,” he said softly. Peter stepped in and let a hand brush against Tony’s chest. He was all of the sudden glad that he skipped the vest and settled for the thin Henley shirt he kept in his locker. Tony’s skin pebbled as the warmth of Peter’s hand moved across it.

Peter looked around, then stared longingly towards the back of the building – the door to the hangar on the far side open. “Hey, Tony. I’m so excited. I haven’t seen a garage like this before. Or been in the front seat of a plane.” Peter pressed his hands together in excitement, Tony imagining the little claps the other man obviously held back on. “Where’s everyone else?”

Tony thought back to the conversation he had with Steve and Rhodey just half an hour earlier, the two of them packing up long before the time of day they usually did. “Where are you guys going?” Tony asked, his hands still covered in grease and wrapped around a wrench. His time was dwindling down, but that didn’t mean the others weren’t able to keep on working.

“Trust me, Tones – you’re going to want us to not be around. Take him up in the air and wow him with your pilot skills. Then bring him back here and enjoy the peace and quiet of the emptiness,” Rhodey answered for both him and Steve, the other man looking at him with the same stare of seriousness. Tony shrugged and let them walk out the door – with a little bit of time to think on it, they were totally right – Steve and Rhodey being there was the last thing he wanted.

“Rhodes and Steve decided to take the night off. Thought maybe we might want to spend some time together without an audience, I guess.” Tony felt a reluctant smile bloom on his cheeks – his friends weren’t very subtle, but he liked where their hearts were at. It’d been a long time since he’d been out on a date – and even longer since that date actually mattered the way it did with Peter. The guidance was nice, Tony couldn’t deny that.

A soft nod was the only response Tony got from Peter, the ease in which he accepted things a nice change of pace. Walking past him, Tony grabbed Peter’s hand on his way out the door, the other man tangling their fingers together easily. “Want to start with the flight, or would you like to see the planes first?” Tony posed the question while they walked across the small distance to get into the part of the hangar that actually held the planes.

The plane he prepped to take into the air was in the center of the open space. All of their work areas were off to the side, the huge jacks and machinery they needed to be able to move the parts and put them up to get inside. It was far from spotless, but Tony was proud of the work they’d been doing to the space over the years. Peter looked around with a sense of awe, his slack jaw one of the cutest things Tony could remember seeing.

It took the other man a few seconds to answer, the deer in the headlights look of someone who was experiencing something for the first time staying there even as he spoke. “I think I’d like to go up first. I might spend too much time nerding out if we start with the parts and pieces.” Peter spoke with such clarity, despite the fact that he was still looking around a little star struck.

Nodding, Tony gave Peter’s hand a quick squeeze and pulled him towards the plane waiting for them. He opened the passenger side door, his hand reluctantly dropping Peter’s. “There’s a set of headphones sitting on the seat, put them on when you get buckled in,” Tony murmured, his eyes flashing with excitement when Peter climbed in without any hesitation. A long time ago, Tony would’ve taken the cockpit like that, too – the inside of a plane used to be his happy place. Now, he forced himself to take a few breaths before he got in behind the controls, his hand trembling slightly.

It took Tony a few extra minutes to get through his pre-flight checks – he wanted to make sure he was thorough as well as give himself a bit of time to get his shit together. When he was finished and could no longer delay, he grabbed Peter’s hand, gripping it tightly. He started to babble off pre-flight instructions to distract himself. “The change in pressure is going to be pretty noticeable in a small plane like this – don’t freak out, we’ll level out and you’ll be alright. Talk into the headphones if you need anything.”

Before he could talk himself out of it, Tony flipped the controls and steered the plane out of the open doors out onto the runway. His eyes bulged for a second, then his training kicked it like it always did – he kicked the plane into gear and took off down the runway. At the perfect moment, Tony pulled the plane off the ground, the wheels tucking in once they levelled out.

“Holy shit – that feels so different than in a commercial airplane. No wonder people like this so much,” Peter exclaimed, his tinny voice coming down the line and into the speaker in the headset. His voice surrounded Tony and filled his ears. The skin on his arm prickled, the old rush of being in control and the new stimulus of Peter’s excitement combining to make the ultimate feeling. Tony felt himself chuckle, all of the worries that could so easily overwhelm him washing away.

“It’s pretty cool, right? There’s nothing like being up here, tangling with the clouds. Here in a second, we’ll be able to see the sunset – the view is something else.” Tony said, his hands turning the steering mechanism to put them parallel with the setting sun. “This is the only time of the day you’ll see colors like this.” He pointed towards the crisp purples and pinks, the edge of the sunset like sherbet ice cream – bright and colorful.

Tony kept them out for another thirty minutes or so, the tail end of the sunset leading him back to the runway and eventually on the ground and back in the hangar. Peter ripped his headset off when Tony flipped the engine off – the cockpit now silent. “Tony, that was amazing.” Peter looked at him with eyes that were completely overtaken by a dark pupil, the excitement tangible within them.

Pulling off his own headset, Tony found himself nodding – it had been amazing. The last hour was the best bit of flight time he could claim since coming back from Iraq. He usually felt prickly and uneasy, like he was forcing himself to sit there and be okay with something that brought him so many mixed emotions. Not today, though – it was like the before times, when he felt the most confident behind the control panel. “It was. It really was. The best flight I’ve had in a long time, actually.”

As if he understood the magnitude of that statement, Peter reached over and gripped his hand. The smile on his face made Tony feel fuzzy, his body a little floaty from the endorphins still coursing through him. “Uh – let’s get down and back to solid ground. I promised you a tour around some of the latest projects.”

About an hour later, both of them were covered in grease and laughing, Tony completely blown away by Peter’s knowledge and the easy way he carried himself. There was obviously a gap between cars and planes, but Peter was smart enough to realize that and ask relevant questions when he didn’t quite understand. Tony did the practical thing and got his hands dirty, using the actual pieces to describe the big differences between automotive and aerospace engineering.

Tony led them to the clean-up area where they attempted to get the clingy oil from their skin. Standing close together, Tony and Peter bumped shoulders as they ran their hands under the water and used an overabundance of heavy-duty soap.

Turning the water off, Tony glanced over at Peter and let out a little laugh. “You have a little – “ Tony started, his hand coming up to swipe his thumb across the line of oil on Peter’s cheek. Cupping his cheek, Tony turned his body slightly, his chest pressing against Peter’s when he did the same.

Searching Peter’s eyes when their gazes eventually locked, Tony leaned forward. There seemed to be an unspoken question and answer exchanged before their lips met. It was tentative and soft, Tony doing his best to gauge Peter’s reactions before pushing any further. Reading his mind, Peter wrapped his still wet hands around Tony’s neck and narrowed the space between them even more. Tony tilted his head, the move deepening the kiss and breaking the imaginary line they’d been trying not to cross. A soft moan left Peter’s lips, the gust of it tickling Tony’s lips.

They stayed tangled up for a while, Tony pulled back whenever he needed breath only to tilt his head forward and rest it against Peter’s. The shared breath between them eventually pulled them back together, the smile Tony got to kiss off of Peter’s lips irresistible, yanking him in time and time again. It seemed like hours had gone by when they finally resurface, Tony caught between being overrun by arousal and floating away from the very spot he was standing.

“Pete, I – “ Tony started, his lips tingling and cheeks a dark shade of red.

Peter stopped him with another soft kiss, the press of their lips together sending tingles down Tony’s spine. “Me too, Tony. Me too. Thank you for tonight. This was the most fun I’ve had on a first date.” He ran his fingers through Tony’s hair and beamed at him, the words sinking in just a bit more with the touch.

“Does that mean we can do this again? I’d really like to.” Tony hated the vulnerable tremble in his voice – he didn’t really know what he was doing, he simply let his instincts kick in and guide him.

Nuzzling their noses together, Peter whispered “of course” against his lips, the tickle of his breath sending a shiver down his spin. Tony brought Peter close again, his happiness sitting tangibly in the air surrounding them both.

----

Two months and several dates later, Tony finally felt comfortable enough to invite Peter in – and that meant in all ways. They usually ended their dates against the door of Peter’s apartment, Tony pressing the younger man against the wood and attacking his mouth with vigor. The second Peter tried to take it any further, Tony took a step back, ducked his head, and retreated with a final, chaste kiss on his boyfriend’s lips. He’d only been intimate one time in his life and it was rough and kind of embarrassing – he wanted to feel comfortable before putting himself in that position again.

After a really delightful night laying out in the middle of the airfield watching the stars, Tony invited Peter back to his place. They climbed into Tony’s truck and made idle chit chat the entire way back to the little ranch house. Peter’s eyes lit up when he saw the huge wrap around porch. In all the time they spent together, Tony never brought Peter to his place – it took him forever to feel at home there, he needed to be sure of things with the other man before inviting him into his safe space.

And he was – sure of things. Peter was calm and patient, the man’s first thought always to rationalize, not react. It was the perfect juxtaposition to the unyielding randomness that Tony’s emotions could pull from him. He’d only shown his true colors around Peter a couple of times – and each time he did, his boyfriend waited until Tony worked through the anxiety, sitting right next to him the entire time. He’d pull him close when Tony was ready, then hold him close when it all became too much. It was a lot to ask from another person and Peter handled it with grace.

Walking into the house, Tony kicked off his shoes and put his keys in the little dish by the door. Peter followed him in, his hands gripping Tony’s hips tightly. Without stopping, Tony led them up the stairs and to the right, his heart thundering with each step that took them closer to his bedroom at the end of the hall. By the time he got there, his hands were dripping with sweat. Peter closed the door behind them and pushed Tony against it, the hands on his hips guiding him, keeping him grounded.

“You okay, Tones? We don’t have to do anything. I just – want to hold you, if nothing else,” Peter mumbled, his nose brushing Tony’s before pressing soft little kisses to his cheeks, forehead, and lips. Tony slammed his eyes shut, the tenderness of the touches something he never experienced before. He kept them closed while Peter peppered soft licks and touches around his face and down his neck.

A soft groan left his lips, his head tilting further to the side to give Peter more room to work with. “I’m fine. I want to – I really, really do. It – it has been a really long time since I’ve done anything like this. I’m nervous,” Tony babbled, his inhibitions leaving him the more Peter tenderly explored him. “I’m just really fucking nervous,” he repeated again, his hands finally joining the party to run down the length of Peter’s sides, the hardness there making his hips thrust up in search of friction.

Peter gripped his cheeks in both hands, thumbs brushing across Tony’s prominent cheek bones. “It’s okay. I’ll take care of you, Tony.” He used the leverage of his hands to pull Tony’s head up until their eyes met. “I’ll take care of you,” Peter reiterated, the grip of his hands tightening a little bit. Tony didn’t give himself a chance to question or even think about the words coming out of Peter’s mouth. The simple fact that he thought to say them meant the world.

Skillful hands undressed him, first his shirt and undershirt, then his pants and the black boxer-briefs he picked out for this specific thing. Peter looked at him like he was something special, each new piece of skin revealed a treasure for him to explore. When Peter joined him in nudity, Tony let out a deep sigh, his hands shakily running down Peter’s flanks, tracing the round globes of his ass, and across a tight stomach. He let his hand flatten and press against tight abs as Peter settled between his legs and covered him with his body.

Soft lips distracted him enough that he didn’t hear the loud snick of the lube cap being opened, nor did he notice the cold lube being pooled on his flat stomach. It wasn’t until Peter pulled away and spread his legs that Tony caught on to what was happening. Brown eyes searched Tony’s for a moment, his head nodding on its own accord – he wanted Peter, there was no guess work necessary.

The first finger felt odd, it’d been a long time since something penetrated him that way. Peter kept the pace slow, his finger moving in and out against the ebb and flow of Tony’s muscles contracting and relaxing. Tony let out a howl when Peter pressed against his prostate. “Fuck, do that again,” Tony practically screamed, his entire body humping up to move against Peter’s finger and have that spot touched again.

Peter worked him through the second and third finger flawlessly. The needier he got, the less Tony worried about his nerves and the vulnerability he was portraying. He could feel Peter’s stiffness against his leg, the entire process wasn’t just affecting Tony in such a monumental way. His boyfriend muttered little praises and compliments while he worked him over – Peter’s hand going back and forth between rubbing long strokes across Tony’s chest and pulling his cock with self-assured strokes.

When Peter eventually slipped inside, Tony was half mad from want – his body thrumming, every nerve ending sensitive and slowly burning him up from the inside out. Tony grabbed Peter’s sides and gripped them tightly. Peter braced his elbows on either side of Tony’s head and kept them close. The gentle slide of Peter’s stomach against Tony’s cock made the impact of each of his boyfriend’s thrusts magnified ten-fold.

“Pete, fuck – you feel amazing. Making me feel so good.” Tony didn’t even know the words were coming out of his mouth – his brain was completely overtaken by sensation.

An inevitable crescendo came when Peter started to pick up the pace of his thrusts, his hands gripping Tony’s thighs tightly, using the momentum to pull him back against his cock with each one. The tip of Peter’s cock hit Tony’s prostate head on, the overwhelming feeling of it spreading from his core, down his arms and legs, and settling in the tips of his fingers and toes. His entire body felt like it might leave this plane and float away to another.

“I can’t believe you’re mine. You’re so good. Fuck – you’re so goddamn good. I’m so, so close – you’ve been perfect for me, baby.” Peter pulled Tony’s ear between his teeth as he spoke, each word coming out as a gasp and enunciated by the thrust forward and the gentle nudge against his prostate. Tony didn’t have any chance of holding on anymore and came across both their stomachs with a loud shout of Peter’s name.

Tony counted two more strokes out before Peter was collapsing on top of him, his harshly panted breath coating the side of Tony’s neck, making his skin prickle with oversensitivity. Peter pressed a kiss to the little bits of skin he could find and let his hips thrust through the rest of his orgasm. He almost wished they hadn’t been so responsible, Tony wondered what it would feel like, to be so completely filled by Peter’s cum.

Bringing his bottom lip between his teeth when Peter pulled out, Tony let himself relax against the bed, his body now boneless. Peter got rid of the condom, crawling back into bed after dropping it in the garbage and wiping them both off with a towel he found on the floor. Tony laid flat on the bed and opened his arms, Peter settling into the gap against his side and fitting perfectly. Their arms wrapped around each other and for the first time in a while, Tony fell into a soundless sleep.

At least, he thought it was going to be soundless. He wasn’t sure how long it’d been, but the next time he was blinking awake, Peter was shaking his shoulders, his boyfriend looking at him with a mixture of confusion and sadness. Through the fog he could hear Peter calling to him – “Tony, Tony – wake up. You’re having a bad dream.” The words seemed to hit his ears and ping right off, his brain still stuck on the battlefield, his hands still immobile in the imaginary binds around his wrist.

Wetness against his cheek was the thing that truly brought him out of the waking memory he’d been trapped in. Gasping, he looked up helplessly – Peter’s eyes were wide and dripping tears, his hands restlessly moving over Tony’s long hair. “Pete? Where are we?” Tony tried to cling to reality, his hands finally free to move, his fingers digging into warm skin and clinging.

“We’re in your bedroom. It’s 3AM on a Friday morning. You’re safe.” Peter’s voice was wobbly, and tears were streaming freely down his face. The way they landed on his skin was one of the only things keeping him in that moment – his brain still a little fuzzy. Peter looked at him with so much affection, Tony wished he was lucid enough to truly remember it. “You’re safe, Tony – I promise.”

Peter tucked his head into Tony’s neck and wrapped him up in his arms. Tony slowly relaxed his bruising grip on Peter’s skin and laid his palms flat on his back instead. The full body contact they were creating pulled him back from the haze one minute at a time – Peter’s tears and the definitive warmth of his limbs pressing against Tony’s own just enough to keep him right where he needed to be.

What seemed like forever later, Tony felt like himself enough to wrap Peter up and roll them over, his chest pressing Peter down into the mattress. “Thank you,” he muttered, his nose pressing against Peter’s cheek. “I was still in my cell in that camp – I heard you put couldn’t get to you. Thanks for getting me back.” He pressed their lips together, the chest under his own shaking a little.

“Sorry, I couldn’t get to you sooner,” Peter said weakly, his voice tear soaked, his face red and puffy. It made Tony’s heart ache – the feeling he pulled out of the man he loved. And he did – love him. It didn’t take much thought to understand just how good of a person the man in his arms was. He looked scared out of his mind, but his arms clung to Tony’s body and kept him close. The tears in his eyes weren’t for himself, Tony knew that – they were for all the pain he witnessed Tony go through.

In their time together, Tony slowly started to open up about his experiences. It made for some nights that were so bogged down by bad memories it was a little hard to bear, but Peter stayed with him and let him talk until it was all gone. He cried with him and held him tightly – Tony didn’t understand how much he needed that until he experienced the tenderness that Peter so easily shared with him. In instances like this one, he never expected any sort of explanation, he simply held him tightly.

Leaning down, Tony pressed their lips together in a messy kiss, the two of them clinging to each other until sleep claimed them again. This time, Tony slept soundly in the cocoon of Peter’s arms, the protective hold his boyfriend kept around him all night keeping him far away from the demons always trying to pull him under.

The next morning, Tony was surprised to see Peter under him still. Despite how well his boyfriend took all the crazy shit that came with being Tony, he didn’t know what to expect after witnessing something that Tony had no control over and had a hard time coming back from. The tears in Peter’s eyes scared him, he understood how hard it was to deal with – he hadn’t adjusted to it after almost 15 years of being haunted by it.

Peter must’ve been waiting for him to move – his arms tightened around Tony’s hips when he tried to get up. “Nope. I need this. Lay still for another couple of minutes,” Peter mumbled, his eyes staying closed.

“Let me roll over a little, my arm is numb,” Tony replied, his voice deep and bogged down by the sleep that wanted to draw him back in. Little by little, Peter let the grip he had on Tony loosen so he could readjust and turn onto his side, his right arm glad to be free from the pressure of his body weight on top of it. “That’s way better.” He let out a soft sigh as Peter pulled him back and against his chest, the warmth there lulling him into relaxing further into the bed.

Tony fought off sleep by concentrating on Peter’s hand rubbing small circles up and down his stomach, his muscles clenching under the tease of the caress. He pushed back a little, his back flattening against Peter’s chest a little bit more. “I love you, Pete,” Tony whispered, his right-hand pressing Peter’s hand flat against his stomach. “I didn’t think I knew what that was, but I think I do now. It’s this, you – being here and never wanting it to end.”

“I love you, too. You scare the fucking shit out of me, Tony. I don’t know if I’m ever navigating stuff right, but I want to try. You’re it for me, old man.” Peter’s lips pressed against the back of Tony’s neck as he spoke, the words and kisses getting mixed together to create an unnamable sensation.

Neither Steve nor Rhodey said a word when he wondered in three hours later than usual, a haunted look in his eye but the slightest bit of a smile on his lips. He counted it progress, getting up out of bed and actually contributing so soon after a bad night. The guys slapped him on the back and let him wander off to do his own thing when he felt good enough to be near them for a few minutes. And around lunch, Tony finally found it in himself to sit with the two of them and be present for a conversation. It didn’t hurt that Rhodey promised him a cup of coffee from Ben’s sitting on the table as enticement.

It felt good to have people that knew him surrounding him. He felt exhausted, but the ease in which he could just be with Rhodey and Steve eased the tension in his shoulders and brought back a little bit of energy from the reserves. The taste of his favorite dark roast made him think of Peter and he immediately felt a little bit stronger. By the end of the day, he was back in under the hood of the Sector with Steve flanking him with the tools.

Later, when Peter walked in with a carrier of coffee, they all broke away from the work and pulled his boyfriend into a hug. His friends took to having Peter around as easily as they accepted all of Tony. Rhodey said it was because Peter brought a bit of the old Tony back, but he figured the man’s charismatic personality and overall ease at pleasing people had something to do with it, too. Tony looked around the room at the end of the day and finally understood what being home actually meant.

He’d been floating for years, stuck between a place that was literal hell and one that he tried to run away from all of his life. It took a little bit of perspective to see what he’d been building and who he’d been putting the bricks and mortar together with. The only people he ever needed were sitting around the table, laughing and joking around – enjoying the hell out of each other’s presence.

Wrapping an arm around Peter’s shoulders and tugging him closer, Tony pressing a kiss to the side of his head, his cheek resting there. Peter relaxed into him, no questions asked – his hand finding Tony’s fingers and tangling his own with them. The dredges of his memories were at the edges of his thoughts trying to dig in – but the weight of Peter against him and the friends around him kept him there. The tiny victory enough to reduce the size of the monkey clinging to his back.

It was still there but getting smaller all the time.

----

A couple years later found him and Peter married, their lives completely intertwined.

There was evidence of his younger husband all over the ranch house. The room Tony used for storage quickly became an office, and the master bedroom got the makeover of a century when they knocked the wall in trying to get Peter’s huge bed through the doorframe. They opened up the wall between the master and the room next to it and put in an entertainment center that had all the bells and whistles. They constructed most of it together in one of the man insomnia fueled all-nighters Peter joined him for.

Tony found a direct link to his anxiety and the garage, so he stepped back from it and helped Peter at the shop when he was feeling a little extra stir crazy. He would get his fix of too much coffee and an overabundance of Peter’s calming presence before going back and letting his passion drag him under once again. Tony figured out that balance was the key to not getting so caught up in the things that made him a little extra antsy.

He also figured out that time away from his beloved airplanes made his return to the hangar and the aircrafts themselves so much more meaningful. Tony got to approach them with a little less anxiety and a lot more interest and excitement.

Whenever Tony was feeling extra good, he would take Peter up into the clouds and just enjoy the view. It was one thing to dream about flying and touching the sky – and a whole other to be doing it with his best friend. Reaching across to take Peter’s hand, Tony pressed a kiss to the back of it before turning the plane and heading back toward Stark’s.

The clouds were nice, but the reality he made for himself was even better.

#starker #ironspider #starkerfestivalsevents #prompts #coffee shop au #au prompts #bobbie writes

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theherothechampiontheinquisitor · 5 years ago

Text

Peter Parker’s Best Birthday Ever

By @theherothechampiontheinquisitor (MelissaBosquez on AO3) for @superherotiger

Read it on AO3 HERE

For the 2020 Friendly Neighborhood Exchange @friendly-neighborhood-exchange

Rating: G

Relationships: Tony/Pepper, Peter Parker & Tony Stark

Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts

Summary: Peter Parker was orphaned at the age of 11 when his family was killed an a car accident. Luckily he wasn’t alone for long when billionaire and literal superhero, Tony Stark, swoops in one day and agrees to become a foster parent. However, Peter can’t help but think even as the years go by that he always has one foot out the door, waiting for the day that Tony will decide he doesn’t want to be a parent anymore…he just didn’t think it would happen on his 16th birthday.

Peter overhears a conversation and is convinced that he is going to be sent back into foster care, but not everything is as it seems.

Peter’s alarm clock shrilled through the air, shockingly early that morning, stunning him out of a peaceful sleep. It was only 8am which on a weekday might be considered a good time to sleep in until but today was saturday, and it was definitely way too early to be up. Why had he set it for that early?

Peter felt a nervous anticipation in his stomach as his mind tried to work, still too foggy from sleep to be fully functioning, when suddenly it all clicked into place.

Today was the day!

Peter threw the covers off of him and jumped out of the bed in his excitement, swaying slightly on his feet from the head rush of moving too quickly. He rushed to stand in front of his floor length mirror and inspected his facial features and body intently to see if anything looked differently.

Today was his sweet sixteen birthday.

Biologically he looked the same, though he thought maybe he had just a few more bits of facial hair starting to crop up, not that it was enough to really mention, but every day was one more step to losing the soft baby face features he had carried with him from birth. He’d get there eventually. He hoped.

Not wasting anymore time he ran into his closet and pulled out some clean clothes before rushing to his bathroom and taking a shower and completing his morning routine. Today was his birthday and as such that meant that today was the day that Pepper would be in the kitchen making all of his favorite breakfast things, followed by an obnoxiously extravagant birthday party, as had always been the case since he had come to live with Tony and Pepper five years ago.

It had been just before his eleventh birthday when Peter had experienced the most horrible day of his life. Peter, his parents and his aunt and uncle had all been loaded up in his father’s SUV to celebrate something or another, Peter could hardly remember that day, when another vehicle had jumped the center divider and crashed into their car.

Peter was the only survivor.

With no other family to speak of, the hospital had tasked a social worker to begin the process of finding him a foster home to stay in when he was finally cleared from the hospital.

It had been by complete chance that day that billionaire and literal superhero, Tony Stark had been visiting the Children’s ward of the hospital. According to the chatter from the nurses it was a fairly common occurrence, the man often stopping in to visit and dispense gifts like some kind of Santa Clause.

Peter had always admired Tony, first for his technology, having always held a certain affinity for science and creating, but that had spread ten fold after he became Iron Man. He had even met him once at a Stark Expo, getting an autograph and a pat on the head that he would use to fuel him through bad days for years.

When the man had visited though, Peter couldn’t bring himself to care. He had just lost his entire world and was about to be dropped into an unknown future where he’d probably be pulled out of his school and away from his friends. He’d never get to hug his parents again or never hear his Aunt May laugh at his Uncle Ben’s corny jokes and not even the latest Stark Pad could ever hope to put a dent in that pain.

So, he had kept himself turned away from Tony’s theatrics as he handed out gifts and sat and spoke to all of the kids and their parents. There were no parents to sit with Peter. He had been alone, but thankfully neither that or Peter’s cool reception had been able to stop Tony.

Tony sat and talked to him for hours that first night, first telling funny jokes and stories trying to get Peter to smile, but then he changed tactics.

“The nurse told me your situation. I know it’s not the same but I lost my family when I was really young too.”

That had caught Peter’s attention because he hadn’t realized that. So, he began to open up a little. He responded to Tony, and for the first time since the accident he didn’t feel so alone anymore.

They continued on like that until Peter recovered and they would talk about everything, science, tech, baseball, Iron Man. Each night it grew a little bit harder to say goodbye to Tony at the end of visiting hours but even though he was busy he always promised to come back the next day and he always kept his word.

The day that Peter had been discharged he felt like he was losing the one little bright spot in this entire disaster, having to leave before the time that Tony would normally come and see him, so he didn’t even get to say goodbye.

Little did Peter know he’d find himself stepping out of the social worker’s dinged up Volvo and being met at the bottom of Stark Tower by none other than Tony Stark.

“Surprise,” Tony had said, holding his hands open and stretched out into the air. “This is okay, right? I just…couldn’t let you go yet, kid.” The thin veneer of confidence had faded and shown through to his true emotions, the apprehension evident in his face and the way he shuffled his feet.

Peter had immediately rushed into the man’s arms and hugged him, thankful that if he had to go through this nightmare, he at least was able to go through it with someone who seemed to like him.

That didn’t mean they never had their ups and downs. Tony had no experience being a foster parent or a disciplinarian. Peter’s emotions would often swing back and forth wildly, especially that first year, from sadness to anger and they would fight and misunderstand each other and there was a steep learning curve but they got through it, mostly with the help of a therapist for Peter and the guidance of Tony’s long term girlfriend Pepper Potts. Without Pepper, Tony would have been a mess and they all knew it.

They had finally married last year and Peter had been the best man. He finally felt like he was part of a family again and he hoped that maybe one day they could all make it official.

Peter finished drying his hair and pulling on his clothes, flashing himself a smile in the mirror before rushing out to partake in Peter’s birthday breakfast tradition.

He approached the kitchen quietly, hoping that he’d maybe be able to sneak up on his foster parents and give them a little birthday scare when he heard them speaking in hushed whispers. Peter got excited when he realized that it was about him and more than likely what was in store for his birthday party that day. He pressed his back against the wall around the corner from the kitchen and listened in.

“Tony we really need to tell him now, before the baby gets here,” Pepper said, cracking an egg and letting it drop into the skillet.

Peter almost gasped. A baby? He smiled brightly at the thought. He knew it was something that Tony and Pepper had been tossing around in discussions since they first got married but now it was a real tangible reality.

Then the darker side of his mind chimed in, the side that was filled with all the insecurities and pain that came from becoming an orphan and dealing with the major trauma of that loss. It had been hard to silence that part of himself and though he was better about it now, it was always there lurking in the background, like now, saying that now that Tony and Pepper were going to have their own baby, they wouldn’t want Peter around anymore.

"I know we do, I just don’t know how I’m going to do this, Pep.”

“Just tell him the truth. It’s been coming for years now, I’m sure he has to expect it at this point. Now that we are having a baby, it just moved the timeline up a bit,” she said, gently squeezing Tony’s shoulder. “This was never going to be forever.”

“That doesn’t make it any easier or mean he’ll be happy about it. It’s a delicate situation. I have to break it to him gently and just hope he doesn’t hate me.”

Now Peter’s blood pressure was rising. They weren’t just talking about the baby. They were talking about him, and all of his worst fears were coming to light. They really were wanting to get rid of him, send him back to foster care after all this time. Just when he thought that maybe someday they would want to adopt him, call Peter their son.

He had been so stupid.

He thumped his head back against the wall, stupidly alerting the Starks to his position. The chatter immediately ceased and then Tony popped his head around the corner, his face lit up in a smile.

“THERE’S THE BIRTHDAY BOY!” he shouted, loud enough for Pepper to hear him and fondly roll her eyes.

“Happy birthday, Peter!” she smiled as she finished up their breakfast and Tony wrapped an arm around his shoulder and drug him into the room.

Peter smiled and laughed and ate his blueberry pancakes with the whipped cream and blew out the birthday candle that it was always topped with. He played the part of the happy sixteen year old but inside his heart had been filled with dread and anxiety wondering when exactly Tony was going to tell him that he was being sent back to foster care.

“Hey Pete, did you get everything you wished for?” Tony asked coming to sit down on the couch next to Peter, an arm instantly going over the young boy’s shoulders and giving him a quick squeeze.

Pete gave a half smile because he didn’t want for Tony to think that he didn’t like his gifts or his party. He knew that he and Pepper always went to a lot of trouble to make sure that he had everything that he needed and to make him feel wanted. It really was a great day once he had been able to forget the Stark’s hushed conversation that morning but now that his friends were gone and the party over, he was once again left alone with the dread and the fear.

“Mostly, I think.”

“Mostly? Hmm. That won’t do.” Tony hummed and squinted his eyes up in thought.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to seem ungrateful, I loved everything, really. You guys outdid yourselves.”

“Well, sixteen is an important age. Your first taste of being an adult y’know? You can get your driver’s license and the curfew extends an extra hour and was it just me or does there seem to be a little bit of a romance blooming with you and MJ?”

Peter’s cheeks heated a little at the mention of MJ and how they maybe hadn’t been quite as secretive as they had thought. Tony just smiled knowingly.

“So, you really did have a good day though? The balloons and photobooth too much? You know Pepper talked me down from most of what I wanted to do because she’s not fun like we are.”

Peter laughed. “Yes, yes. I promise it was great. Maybe a taaaad overboard with the balloons though,” he said kicking at the cluster gathered around their feet, sending colorful balloons flying in every direction.

“Yeeeeeah, maybe just a tad. I’ll cut it back a little next year, deal?” he asked, producing his fist for Peter to bump.

Peter rolled his eyes, like he would even be here next year, but for appearances fist bumped the man anyways, even if no one fist bumped anymore.

“So…” Tony started and then stopped, letting loose a deep sigh. “There is uh, just one more thing that I needed to discuss with you today.”

Peter’s heart started thumping wildly. He hadn’t expected to have this conversation so soon, he just thought maybe he’d be able to get through his entire birthday before having Tony tell him they didn’t want Peter anymore.

Peter swallowed thickly over the lump that formed in his throat and wiped his sweaty hands against his jeans. He was never going to survive this conversation if he let Tony ramble through this conversation like he knew that he would. Tony was good at public speaking but these little heart to hearts always made him nervous. Maybe it would be better for both of them if Peter just ripped the bandaid off right out of the gate.

“Yeah, I already know…”

Tony’s eyes narrowed. “Already know about what?”

“You know,” Peter began, hand flailing in the air ineffectually between them, “about what you’re going to tell me…about Pepper right?”

“Okay, kid, out with it. What do you know?”

Peter really didn’t want to say it. He didn’t want to admit to his eavesdropping and he certainly didn’t want to say out loud the words he had heard that meant that his life was about to shift in the most dramatic way possible for what felt like the millionth time in his short life. If he repeated what he heard out loud it made the words real, concrete, inescapable. Maybe this hadn’t been the best idea. One glance at Tony’s concerned face told him though that there was no way in hell that he was going to escape this conversation.

“I know about Pepper and the baby…” he finally said out loud, popping up from his seat and making another section of balloons bounce and scatter about. His heart was pounding so quickly, he could scarcely hear over the rush of blood in his ears and he shoved his hands in his pockets.

Tony leaned forward off the couch, pushing the sleeves of his sweatshirt back to his elbow and clasping his hands together in front of him on his lap.

“You’re right. I am going to be a father…” Tony started but Peter cut him off before he could get started.

“Which is great! I am really excited for you guys. I know it’s something that you guys have wanted for a really long time and now you can finally have it all…only you can’t. Because you have me.”

“Pete…” Tony started again.

“No, it’s okay, really. I get it. You guys finally can have your own family and I am not really a part of that. I appreciate everything that you guys have done for me, really, I couldn’t have asked for a better pair of foster parents and even though I know I’ll never get this lucky again, I just want you to know that I-I won’t fight you on your decision.”

He was telling the truth. As much as the thought of being sent to another foster home actually gutted his insides he could do this for Tony and Pepper. He couldn’t blame them for wanting a fresh start and getting rid of Peter and all of his baggage was the logical way to go. Maybe if he was lucky he’d still get to visit sometimes, or if that was too much he always had his friends to fall back on for support.

“My decision??” Tony gave him an incredulous look and his voice remained low and flat. It was that same look and tone that he would give Peter when he had been caught in a lie about studying when really he and Ned had been building with Legos all night or if Peter had ate the last piece of pizza on movie night.

“Yeah…” Peter said, reaching his hand behind him to rub at his neck. “Now that you’ll have your own kid…you don’t need me anymore and will be sending me back into the system…I heard you tell Pepper that you had to break it to me gently and hope that I wouldn’t hate you. And I don’t. I get it.”

Now Tony looked absolutely horrified. His mouth was slightly agape and his eyes were wide, hands clenching and unclenching in his lap. Peter should have just let Tony speak first and drop the bomb on him instead of Peter having to painstakingly reveal each moment. It would have been easier for him and the looks of it, easier on Tony. Peter’s gut clenched and he could feel the sting of tears behind his eyes as he thought about having to leave this place.

“Pete…” Tony began once again, his name spoken in a whisper. “Do you really think so little of me?”

“W-what do you mean?”

“Do you really think that after five years I’d just-” he broke off, unable to finish the sentence, turning his head away from Peter as he tried to get his emotions in check.

Confusion began to settle back over Peter and he slowly sat back down on the couch beside Tony, folding one leg beneath him as he turned and adjusted to face the man that had been like a father to him all these years. Tony wasn’t often an emotional man. He was sappy, and corny and every bit that type that loved to do Dad jokes but as far as actually showing tears, that level of emotion was rare and for the first time that morning he wondered if he had got it all wrong.

“I just…I heard what you and Pepper were saying…I’m sorry, I don’t understand. If you guys don’t want to send me back then what did you want to talk about?”

Tony took a deep breath, getting his emotions back in check before turning and reaching into the end table drawer beside the couch and pulling out a rectangular wrapped gift, holding it tightly in his hands.

“Okay, clearly we still have some things that we need to work on to make you feel safer and more secure with us. I hope that this will be a good first step.”

He passed the gift to Peter and it felt thin and floppy in his hands. Gently he tore at the paper, revealing an ordinary looking manila envelope. There was no writing or anything distinguishing looking on the outside as he flipped it over and folded the tongs up. He wasn’t sure what he was really expecting when he pulled the small stack of papers out, all of them signed and dated by Tony and Pepper. It definitely wasn’t a ticket back to the foster care system.

“Is this…” he choked out and covered his mouth, his eyes wildly moving back and forth as he began to read over the document.

“You were right, Peter. I am going to be a father…but I hoped it would be to two children.”

“This is for real? You’re serious?”

“Pepper and I have been talking about it for a long time. I was ready to sign these papers years ago but Pepper thought it was better to let you heal and adjust first. I won’t do it if you don’t want me to, I still won’t send you back to foster care, I don’t want you to ever worry about that, but if you don’t want this then just say the word.”

“Yes.” Peter immediately spoke, looking up from the documents into Tony’s eyes.

“Yes?” Tony questioned cautiously.

“Yes, I want for you to adopt me.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth Peter immediately felt himself being wrapped up in Tony’s arms, hugging him as tight as he could. Peter reciprocated and wondered how he could have ever thought that Tony would toss him away like trash. Tony loved him. Tony was…his dad.

“Pepper has been nagging me to tell you for weeks,” Tony spoke over his shoulder, unwilling to relinquish his grip. “I just couldn’t. I didn’t think you would want this. You’re almost an adult and you’ve already been through so much, I wouldn’t have blamed you, but I wasn’t sure what I’d do if you’d have said no. Gotten over it I guess, but I am really, really happy that you said yes. I swear I wasn’t this nervous when Pepper and I got married,” he laughed wetly, a couple of tears escaping.

Peter laughed with him, his own happy tears starting to fall. “I’m sorry I ever thought you capable of anything else.”

Tony pulled away first. “You have nothing to apologize for. Just promise me that in the future you’ll talk to me first when you start to feel any doubts like that. I love you kid.”

“I will, I promise.”

“Good. Now, did you get everything that you wanted for your birthday?”

“Yes,” Peter grinned, still holding tightly to the adoption papers in his hand. “I really don’t know how you’ll top this next year. This was the best gift I could ever get. I love you…Dad.”

#thefriendlyneighborhoodexchange #superherotiger #Mel's Fics #iron dad #irondad #peter parker #tony stark #mcu

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