souls don’t meet by accident
"Souls don't meet by accident."
- Unknown
August, 2012
Other than the press Tony had to do on behalf of the Avengers, he had spent most of the last four months hiding away in his lab, observing the construction on his Tower, improving his suits, and searching for any information he could find about his mysterious savior.
To his eternal frustration, there was not a single detail about who this guy was or where he came from. Nor, his apparent desire to separate himself from the Avengers.
Tony had had JARVIS combing through the web for any clue but he had come up empty.
That never happened and Tony was stumped.
Pepper was the only person that could convince him to leave his lab and he’d hardly seen the other residents of the Tower since the first week after the damned invasion.
Tony shuddered as he remembered what he had seen through the portal. The armada just on the horizon.
He had yet to tell anyone, his beautiful girlfriend included, about what he saw. He just couldn’t form the worlds. The only person he’d confided in was JARVIS but that was par for the course with Tony.
And while loyal AI had immediately started trying to help brainstorm ideas to plan against another invasion, Tony only had one thing on his mind; Spider-Man.
It was clear to Tony that the ‘vigilante’ had made his first debut during the invasion. But he’d made himself a regular figure throughout the state of New York over the following months.
There had been multiple articles and videos made about what he’d been doing as well as eye witness reports from the people he’d helped.
He bounced all over the city, or rather flung himself around.
He was rescuing cats from trees and returning other pets to their homes. Tony’d even seen someone post online about how he found their pet turtle. He carried groceries and helped old ladies cross the road. He walked girls who felt unsafe at night.
But the guy was also stopping muggings, robberies, rapes, fires, everything. He’d even heard about Spider-Man tying up a few drug rings in the city. He was smart, well-trained and almost brutal if the situation called for it.
He communicated with the police by leaving sticky notes on the scene, but he was always gone before they arrived. Barely anyone had been able to speak to him, save for criminals and victims.
When JARVIS had hacked into the police department’s database, he’d found out that a few of the criminals they’d picked up had been acting strange and when asked, they explained that Spider-Man talked them down after securing them to the wall and then made them question their own actions. By sitting down talking to them.
One moment he didn’t exist and the next he was everywhere, overshadowing even the Avengers.
That was another thing, many reporters had tried to interview the man but fewer had succeeded. The only direct quotes Tony had seen were Spider-Man enthusiastically denying the ‘fact’ that he was an Avenger (which, true but), his extreme dislike for the word ‘superhero’ and his preference for ‘vigilante’ instead, and then some shit about ‘just doing his duty’.
There only seemed to be one person capable of taking a decent picture of the man but even then they were far and few between so Tony didn’t bother investigating.
It was all very confusing and he was starting to get frustrated.
He’d tried to catch him during his rounds around the city a few times but had yet to be successful. If there was one thing he could rely on, it was the fact that Spider-Man was out there every night, religiously.
The man was lithe and ridiculously fast, and Tony was sorry sure he might have super senses because every time he thought he was getting close, the man swung away. Faster than Tony could hope to see or follow.
It was fascinating to watch. The way he would shoot whatever substance from his wrist and swing in graceful arcs through the streets and over buildings. Tony had managed to get his hands on a sample of the web-like fluid but by the time he’d made it back to the Tower, it had dissolved.
Tony had almost broke down in tears when he pulled out the small tube and saw that it was completely empty.
It was genius and Tony hated that he couldn’t figure them out.
Were they synthetic or did it come out of his body? Who manufactured it if it is an artificial web? What other spider-like powers did this guy have?
He had hundreds of questions and no answers and he was pretty sure he was driving himself and everyone around him insane.
He just couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Spider-Man had saved him from certain death and took off without a word. Well, without a kind word. He hadn’t asked for anything in return, hadn’t tried to use the opportunity as an in with Tony Stark. Hadn’t even made himself available for Tony to thank him.
It was- it didn’t happen. Not to him.
“-ony! Tony!” Pepper’s voice cut into his thoughts. She was standing a few feet in front of him, clad in silk pajamas.
He jerked forward and winced when he shocked himself where he was fiddling with the Mark 14 of his Iron Man suit. “Shit!” He cursed, looking up at his girlfriend.
She winced in sympathy before her face settled back into a frown. “You’ve been down here for 42 hours.”
Tony looked to the ceiling in betrayal. “Snitch.” He muttered.
“As you say, Sir.” JARVIS replied sassily.
“Tony.” Pepper called firmly. “You need to eat and sleep.” She leaned forward and sniffed. “And shower.”
Tony squawked in outrage. “Are you saying I smell?”
“Yes.” Pepper answered simply, lips twitching.
“I don’t-“ He paused and smelled his shirt, nose wrinkling at the stink.
“Yeah. Exactly.” Pepper said, smile on her face. “I expect you to be out of this lab, fed, showered, and in bed in the next hour.”
Tony sighed heavily, staring longingly at his suit before nodding. “Will that be all, Miss Potts?” He asked.
“That’ll be all, Mr. Stark.” Pepper returned with a sharp nod before turning on her heel and walking gracefully out of the lab.
Tony sighed again, moving to clean up a little. He looked back up at the ceiling. “Why’d you have to tell the Boss Lady on me, J?” He whined.
“My primary protocol is your health and safety, Sir. When you are a danger to yourself, other actions must be taken.” JARVIS replied promptly.
“Where’d you get that sass? I didn’t program that into you.” Tony grumbled, a smile lighting up his face.
“I have absolutely no idea, Sir.” JARVIS retorted sarcastically. Tony couldn’t help but laugh as he stood and stretched, moving to exit his lab.
Once he’d eaten and showered, Tony climbed into his bed beside Pepper with a huff. His lovely girlfriend watched him wriggle into the mattress with a soft smile.
“Are you okay?” She asked kindly.
“I’m fine.” He returned automatically. At her look, he amended his words. “I will be fine.”
Pepper sighed but nodded, cuddling into his side.
“I’m worried about you.” She whispered into the dark.
“I know.” He answered, grimacing slightly. “Go to bed.”
“Only if you do.” Pepper retorted cheekily.
Tony rolled his eyes and pulled her closer. Closing his eyes he let out a deep sigh and let sleep drag him in.
The next morning when he woke, Pepper was already gone.
After getting dressed for the day he decided to head to the floor he’d had made up for the Avengers to check in with them.
He stopped short when he noticed Natasha and Clint sitting at the table with Steve and Bruce.
“When did you two get here?” He asked confusedly.
“About a month ago.” Natasha answered nonchalantly, popping a grape into her mouth and biting down with a crunch.
“Ah.” He said nodding as though he knew the whole time and shot a betrayed look at one of JARVIS’ cameras. “Well is there anything you guys need? That isn’t already down here?”
The others shook their heads but Steve tilted his head in a manner reminiscent of a puppy. “Can I order some art supplies?” He asked.
Tony nodded, flopping into the chair next to Bruce. “‘Course. Just tell J what you need and he’ll get it for you.”
“Right.” Steve nodded, eyeing the ceiling warily.
Tony withheld another eye roll and nodded watching as the group descended into awkward silence.
Tony quickly stood, already regretting his choice to socialize. “Alright well if that’s all-“
“Do you want to watch a movie with us? Natasha and Clint want to show me something called-“ Steve trailed off, looking lost.
“The Art of War.” Clint added, smirking.
Tony’s eyes widened and he couldn’t help his grin. “Oh absolutely.” He said with some excitement.
“Good.” Steve breathed, a relieved smile on his face. His eyes crinkled when he grinned at Tony happily.
Tony smiled tentatively back as the group made their way towards the living room.
“You heard the man, J. Throw on The Art of War.” He ordered, settling into the couch between Steve and Clint, while Natasha and Bruce sat together in a loveseat.
Tony couldn’t help the way his eyes widened at Natasha’s new sense of ease around the man she’d seemed so afraid of before. He almost laughed when he noticed the flush on Bruce’s cheeks at the proximity.
Oh, this was going to be fun.
And for the first time in months, Spider-Man was barely on his mind.