Peter tore his eyes away from the scene to check his phone.
‘I will never get behind eating fish eggs.’
Peter shook his head and typed out a response.
‘Wjere is this comin frm?’
‘Holy shit were u even trying?’
‘Stfu im busuy’
‘And i’m not? Also dum-e stole your favorite blanket and it’s not my fault’
Before Peter could send a response asking how the fuck Dum-E even managed to get his claw on the blanket, Peter heard the clacking of footsteps on the tiled floor and tucked his phone. Tony would just have to wait for a bit. Adjusting his mask, Peter crept further into the dark building.
“So, this is the stuff?”
Peter rolled his eyes so hard it almost hurt at the cliche line. Couldn’t this guy think of anything original?
“Yep. Guaranteed to give a high like none other.”
Peter made sure to keep to the shadows as he shifted to get a better look. The man holding the bag didn’t look particularly impressed; he was shifting it, flipping it, and twisting it in his hands,
“Even with a faster metabolism?”
The person who was flipping through a bundle of cash in his hands gave a toothy grin revealing unnaturally white teeth. “I assure you, he’s never gotten a single complaint.”
The man narrowed his eyes but eventually shrugged. “And who is this mystery creator?”
The other man’s grin widened impossibly further, “He’s a very shy man. Doesn’t really do well with crowds, ya feel me?”
Peter watched as the two parted ways before retreating. Grumbling and swearing the moment that he was out of earshot.
-
Peter flipped through another page. He was trying to focus on his book, he really was, but he couldn’t get his mind off of the deals. There was a lot more going on and they featured the same dealer.
Sure, he could just put away the dealer but then he’d lose the only lead he had. Of course, then there would just be a new dealer that Peter would have to identify and-
Peter felt Tony plop next to him on the couch, “Alright, what’s the deal?”
“What?”
Tony waved a hand, throwing his socked feet in Peter’s lap, “You’ve been all sighs and grumbles. What’s up with that?”
Tossing his book onto the coffee table, “I am not sighing, Tony. I am just breathing.”
“Sighing,” Tony maintained. “You’re sulking. Why?”
Peter leaned his head back and side-eyed Tony, “I am not sulking, I’m just tired.”
“Tired of me?” Tony closed his eyes and nodded, “It’s that isn’t it? You can tell me, no need to spare my feelings.”
“I thought you didn’t have feelings?” The banter was easy and familiar, here there was no need for analyzing or for overthinking.
“I don’t, that’s why you don’t need to spare them.”
“Right,” Peter drawled, “If you don’t have feelings then why did you cry during Hachi?”
Tony didn’t miss a beat with his denial. “I was not crying, you were crying. And I’ll have you know, the occasional tear slipping out while laying down is not unusual.”
“Tony, you were sitting up.”
“That’s not how I remember it.”
Peter continued, “And it wasn’t just a tear or two, you were sobbing.”
“I don’t remember that.” Tony shook his head and leaned back on the couch.
Peter patted his ankle, “That’s okay, I’m sure FRIDAY would be more than happy to remind you.”
Tony shot him a look, “You suck. FRIDAY, don’t even think about it.”
“So you do not want me to pull up the footage of you-”
“No, FRIDAY! I do not want you to pull up any footage.” Tony huffed and tossed a pillow at Peter, who caught it with his freehand.
“Now you don’t have a pillow.” Peter tucked the pillow behind his head. “Didn’t think that one through did you?”
“Why are you always so mean to me? What have I ever done to you?” Tony huffed as he shifted on the couch.
“You threw a pillow at me.”
Tony grumbled but otherwise stayed quiet, Peter didn’t miss how the lingering tension was slowly seeping out of his figure.
The man had just come out of a lab binge, Peter was almost certain he hadn’t slept for a couple of days.
Hearing Tony’s breaths begin to even out, Peter picked up his book once again. This time feeling far more relaxed and clear-headed.
The peace lasted for not even a minute. Peter yelped when Tony jerked into a sitting position, pointing an accusing finger. “Don’t you try and distract me from the topic!”
Peter shrugged slowly, “My bad?”
Tony nodded and crossed his arms, “Why are you moping?”
Peter rolled his eyes, “And here I was, thinking you had finally cracked.”
Tony ignored his comment, “There’s something going on and I am going to get to the bottom of it.”
“I already told you that I was just tired.” It wasn’t a lie. Peter was exhausted, between work and then this new kind of drug targeting mutants specifically - he was burning out.
Tony swung his feet off Peter’s lap and scooted closer to him, “Maybe you should take a break?”
Peter hung his head, “I wish I could, Tony. But, it’s not that simple.”
Tony wrapped an arm around him, “Hey, I get it, okay? I promise, I do. But, you need to let yourself rest.” Tony tapped on Peter’s head, “Mentally and physically.”
Peter felt his lips twitch into a wobbly smile, “Says you.”
“Correct. And I’m a genius so I know what I’m talking about.” Tony bumped his shoulder into Peter’s then promptly winced, “Are we sure you’re not made of stone? Good God.”
Peter rolled his eyes, “Maybe if you stopped bumping into walls you wouldn’t have bruises on your shoulders.”
“I’ve never-”
“FRIDAY,” Peter sang with a cheeky grin just to watch Tony roll his eyes with faux annoyance. Peter felt his smile dim when he noticed an odd look pass over Tony’s face for a second. “Tony?”
“If it was something dangerous, you’d tell me. Right?”
“Of course, Tony.” He would at least give Tony a heads-up. “It’s just a little frustrating. That’s all. I’ve got like one lead and that’s all.”
Tony furrowed his brow, “Do you want me to help?”
Peter shook his head, “I couldn’t ask that of you, Tony."
"What? Why not? You've done plenty for me, why can't I help you?"
You've helped me more than you could ever know.
"I haven't helped you that much-"
"Toomes? The thing with Edwards?" Tony listed with a raised brow.
Peter huffed, "Of course, I helped with Toomes, that wasn't just about you, y'know? And why wouldn’t I help with the blueprints? I heard about it and I couldn’t just leave my friend to deal with something alone when I could have helped."
Tony glanced away with a purse of his lips.
Peter narrowed his eyes, "What?"
Blowing out a breath, Tony kept his gaze on something in the distance. “I didn't think we were friends at that point."
"I gave you my number! And told you to call if you needed something!" Peter felt his nose scrunch.
"That doesn't make people friends!"
"It does in my book!"
"Well, I know that now."
"You literally just said that you didn't think we were friends at that point."
"Yeah, past tense.” Tony gestured to emphasize the difference between past and present. “Presently, I know that we were friends."
"Okay, well, when did you figure out we were friends?”
After thinking about it for a moment, "When you told me that I was your friend."
Peter gaped. "Really? You didn't-"
"I didn't want to assume anything," Tony defended, lightly kicking Peter despite raising his hands in surrender.
Peter wasn’t fazed at the nudge, internally grateful that he had missed the healing wound by a few inches. "Tony, I baked you cookies-"
"Well, sometimes people do that. Y’know for co-workers and stuff."
Peter let silence blanket the two of them for a moment while he blinked at Tony. "Co-workers?! You thought we were co-workers?"
"No, I'm just saying that baking cookies doesn't mean that you want to be their friend."
It does if you're an asshole who used to be allergic to blatant affection.
"Am I-" Peter faltered for a moment. Am I that bad at showing that I care?
Tony replaced his arm around him, leaning on him, “That was back before I was fluent in Peter Parker.”
Peter looked up at him with a grim expression.
“Which is how I know that you were sulking and are currently sulking.” Tony patted his shoulder, “But, don’t worry, I know just what you need.”
“Oh, yeah? What do I need?”
“You need a distraction,” Tony grinned down at him, “Luckily for you, I have just the thing in mind.”
“I’m worried.”
“Don’t be. You’re going to love this.”
-
Peter glared at his reflection. Tony was right about one thing.
He was no longer worrying about the dealer, but he wasn’t too sure about whether or not he was loving this idea.
He had always hated these kinds of functions. Too many people, too many overpowering smells mixed all together, too many wandering hands, and too long lookovers.
At least all the other times Peter had gone to these functions he had a job to do and a camera as a small shield.
With a sigh, Peter stepped out of the room and was immediately greeted with applause. Unable to stop himself, Peter felt his lips twitch upward.
“I didn’t actually think you’d put it on,” Tony said as he went to fix Peter’s necktie. Easily walking into Peter’s space.
“I can change if you’d like?” Peter suggested sarcastically.
Tony huffed and muttered a response under his breath, something along the lines of him being a little shit. Once he was done fiddling with the necktie he stood back to admire his work.
It was when Tony stood back that Peter noticed something and a glance down at his own suit confirmed his suspicion. “Tony…are these matching suits?”
Tony nodded without hesitation, Peter could tell that he didn’t see any problem whatsoever.
Peter looked back down at the suits. It wasn’t too noticeable, it would probably be fine. People probably wouldn’t even notice, and if they did, it could be brushed off or explained as a coincidence.
Plus, it wasn’t like they would enter together or even be together during the event.
“Ready to go?”
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” Peter allowed Tony to lead him.
.
The car ride was uneventful since Happy had been the one to drive the two of them. It was silent for the most part aside from Tony’s muttering and Happy’s grumbled insults at the other drivers on the road.
Peter watched the scenery pass in silence, his fingers were digging into his knees as he forced his legs to stay still.
“Everything okay, kid?”
Peter hummed, “Peachy.”
He heard the tablet Tony had been tapping on land on the seat in between the two of them. Peter only looked over when Tony placed a light hand on his shoulder, “Just try to relax, okay?”
Peter pursed his lips and tried to keep a lid on his anger that he knew stemmed from anxiety, “If your goal was to get me to relax, I have to say, you picked an awful venue.” He was a little proud that he had successfully managed to keep his voice light.
“You know what I meant. Don’t worry about that guy, right now. Okay?” The earnest look in Tony’s eyes made it very hard for Peter to be mad at him.
“Fine.” Spider-Man was the least of his worries right now, truthfully.
Tony smiled at him and Peter tried to return it but judging by the slight furrow in Tony’s brows, Peter guessed he failed.
.
Peter looked at Tony with a raised brow when the car came to a full stop. “Well, this was poorly planned.”
Tony raised a brow, “What do you mean?”
Peter pointed at the door, which was acting as the only barrier between them and, what seemed like, a hundred flashing cameras. “I’m closest to the door that you need to leave out of. So, one of us is gonna have to move over the other.”
Tony furrowed his brows and shook his head slightly, “You’re speaking nonsense, kid. You get out and then I’ll get out. It’s just that simple.”
Peter huffed a laugh, “We’re going in together?”
Tony nodded to Happy, signaling him to get out and get the door. “Why wouldn’t we?”
Peter took a deep breath and looked at the headrest in front of him. Pursing his lips to prevent himself from saying anything that he would later regret.
The door opened and Peter glanced back at Tony who was urging him to go before stepping out of the car. Tony climbed out a moment after him.
“Just smile and keep moving.”
Peter bit his tongue as he plastered on the nicest face that he could. Doing his best to ignore the feeling in the back of his skull.
Upon entering, Tony was immediately swarmed and Peter took the opportunity to disappear into the background and wander away from the spotlight.
Peter scanned the room before making his way to the small bar that was tucked away. Yeah, that seemed like a good place to hang out.
“Long night?” The bartender greeted, an odd look in his eye.
Peter sighed, “Understatement of the year.”
The bartender cracked a smile. “What can I get for you?”
Peter rested his chin on his fist, “Just a coke. Nothing special.”
The bartender nodded and while he fixed the drink, Peter let his gaze wander to the rest of the room.
Tony was still surrounded and busy talking to people that, Peter guessed, were too important to ignore.
Hearing a slight clink on the wood of the bar counter, Peter looked away from the room and back toward the bartender.
“So, what brings someone like you here?”
Peter ignored the roaring of his spider-sense as he sipped at the drink, “Why does anyone come to functions like these?”
“Work?”
“Something like that.” Peter took another sip of his drink, eyes drifting around the room as he tried to locate anything that could possibly set it off.
Maybe someone from Oscorp was here? Were his senses malfunctioning? Was Tony still doing okay? He seemed like he was doing fine.
When his drink was empty, the bartender moved to refill it.
“Oh, no. That’s okay.” Peter waved and pulled the cup toward him. “I don’t really feel like spending all of my paycheck at a bar.”
The bartender just shook his head with a smile, “There’s no charge. Especially not for something as simple as a coke.”
Peter was hesitant but slowly nodded. His spider-sense was slowly becoming more muted.
Reaching the end of his third drink, Peter noticed that his vision was flipping between focused and unfocused.
Peter slapped a ten-dollar bill on the counter, sliding it over to the bartender before standing up.
Had the room gotten warmer or was that him? Likely him. Judging by the way that the room was now spinning slightly.
Peter shot a smile at the bartender.
“Leaving so soon?”
Peter nodded at the few people on their way to the bar, “Don’t worry, you’ll be getting more company soon.”
The bartender wore an odd look and perhaps if his brain wasn’t so foggy he’d be a bit more aware of the alarm bells ringing. “Such a shame, I was having so much fun.”
Peter didn’t stick around to find out whatever that meant. Despite feeling like his body was weighted down and like the world was spinning, Peter did his best to not stumble.
“Excuse me, are you feeling okay?”
Peter blinked and turned to face the lady, she was older and her face was kind. Peter swallowed the nausea and plastered on a smile, “Yeah. I think I might have drank something off.”
The lady nodded with a choleric look as she adjusted her pearls, “I never trust the bars at these kinds of places. It’s all low-quality goods with fancy labels and ridiculously high prices.”
Peter smiled and nodded along to what the lady was rambling about.
“Oh, my goodness.” The lady hovered her hand over her mouth, careful not to smudge her bright red lipstick. “I didn’t mean to trap you with my rambles.”
Peter forced a small laugh, “It was wonderful talking with you.”
When he was out of her sight he felt a sigh leave his lips. Now he just needed to find a bathroom or somewhere that he could lay low.
~
Tony felt something close to relief when the group that had been hounding him about various topics finally eased off and dispersed.
“Geez, I thought they’d never leave.” Tony turned and paused when Peter was not next to him.
How long had he been gone?
Tony scanned the room for Peter and felt a twinge of worry when his kid was nowhere to be seen. Tony forced himself to take a deep breath. Peter was Spider-Man, he was likely fine.
“Oh! Mr. Stark, what a pleasant surprise!”
“Esther,” Tony greeted like he wasn’t about to explode with anxiety, “I hope my presence isn’t a surprise, as I was invited.”
Esther let out a small laugh, soft and short and fake. “Of course now. I was referring to your outfit. I ran into someone else wearing the exact same thing.”
Tony felt his eyes widen slightly behind the dark shades, “Oh? I don’t suppose you’d be willing to point me in his direction?”
Esther narrowed her eyes for a moment, “He didn’t look too good. I’d try the bathroom, first.”
Tony nodded and began to walk.
“If he’s feeling better, do point him in my direction! Such a wonderful listener that boy.” Esther’s voice faded as Tony walked further away.
Waving a hand at the few people whose eyes lit up when they saw him and looked as though they were going to make their way over.
The bathroom door handle was slightly mangled and Tony had to put a bit of force to get the door open.
“Peter?” Tony’s voice called as he stepped into the bathroom, he scanned the first area before turning to the other section of the bathroom and panicking. “Holy shit, Peter.”
Peter was sitting on the floor, unconscious and only propped up by the wall he was leaning on.
Tony rushed over and crouched in front of him, grabbing his shoulder and shaking it. Gradually getting rougher when the boy didn’t respond.
When that didn’t work Tony splashed cold water on him from one of the nearby sinks. That had Peter groaning and blinking his eyes open.
“Hey, buddy, come on. You need to wake up.” Tony kept resumed his shaking which succeeded in getting Peter to open his eyes after they had slid back shut.
It was concerning. Very concerning. The rare times Tony woke Peter up or saw Peter wake up it was a fast process. One call or one touch was enough to get the kid upright and awake.
Tony had never thought seeing Peter fight consciousness like a typical teenager on a school day would be a concerning reaction.
“Come on, bambino, we need to get out of here.” Tony kept an ear out for the sound of a door opening or anything to indicate that someone else was there.
Peter tried to shove his hand off, “I came here with someone.”
Tony rolled his eyes and patted Peter on the cheek whenever his eyes slid shut again. “You came here with me.”
Peter’s eyes opened half-way, “I should find him.”
Tony wrapped Peter’s arm around him so that he could heft him up, “Congratulations, you found me. Come on, let’s get you home.”
Peter nodded and leaned against Tony slightly, “Home sounds good. You smell nice.”
Tony raised a brow and texted Happy to bring the car around to a back exit, “Interesting thing to say.”
“Reminds me of my friend Tony,” Peter slurred and Tony, at this point, was just grateful that the kid was responsive.
“Uh-huh,” Tony shifted Peter in his arms and made his way out of the bathroom. Thankfully, a conveniently timed announcement took the other people’s attention. Allowing the two of them to slip out the back and into the car waiting.
“What happened?”
“Not sure, Haps. But, just get us home.” Tony adjusted Peter in the seat and buckled him up.
“Seatbelts so we can be safe,” Peter mumbled as his head lulled and landed on the window with a thump.
Tony smiled at the kid.
“I don’t understand why people like dolphins. It’s like the Captain America phenomenon.”
“The what?”
Peter’s eyes were alternating between half-lidded and closed. “Like dolphins suck. I don’t hate them but yes I do. Like, people think they’re these cute innocent creatures- no. Like, if people actually did research they would understand.”
“What does this have to do with Rogers?”
Peter huffed, “Like, people just look at him and go, oh yeah he’s great and he can do no wrong. Except he does do wrong. Meanwhile, sharks are being murdered so that people can eat them, which happens to a lot of animals so whatever. But sometimes they’re killed just because people can.” Peter’s voice wobbled, “It’s not right, man. Tony deserves better.”
“Okay, I’m lost again.” Tony looked over and saw that Peter had fallen back asleep. “I guess I’ll forever be confused.”
-
Carrying Peter to the elevator was harder than it was to carry him into the car. Probably because Peter had been at least kind of helping and wasn’t out cold.
Peter groaned when Tony pushed open the bedroom door.
“Back with me, kid?” Tony deposited Peter onto the mattress. “Oh, jeez. I am not as young as I used to be.”
Peter stirred on the bed, eyes still shut. “I don’t want to do this.”
“What?” Tony asked.
Peter opened his eyes, glazed and unfocused. “I’m trying to be better, I can’t-”
“Peter?” Tony gently laid a hand on Peter’s shoulder. Of all the reactions expected, Peter letting out a choked sob and scrambling back was not one of them.
“I said no, jackass!” Peter didn’t stop until he was curled up against the headrest, tense and looking ready for a fight.
Tony slowly moved away from the bed with raised hands, “Peter, it’s me, Tony.”
Peter collapsed on himself, burying his face in his hands. “I want Tony.”
With the same amount of caution, Tony approached Peter. “It’s me, bambino. This is your room in the penthouse and this is your bed.”
“I’m sorry,” Peter scrubbed his face with his hands, “I’m so confused, I think something’s wrong with me.”
Tony made a soft shushing noise, as he placed a hesitant hand on Peter’s shoulder. “You’ll be alright. You got drugged but you’ll be fine. Just try to get some sleep-”
“No!” Peter sobbed and turned to face Tony with wide pleading eyes, “Don’t let me sleep.”
Tony was startled when Peter clutched at the front of his shirt but didn’t dare try to brush his hands off. “Peter, you need to go to sleep. The sooner you go to sleep, the sooner this is over.”
Peter shook his head, “You don’t- I can’t. Tony, please, I don’t want to remember.”
Tony swallowed and slowly patted Peter on the head, “It’ll be fine. You’ll be safe, Peter. You are safe.”
Peter shook his head and detached from Tony. “I didn’t mean to.”
Tony shushed him and pushed him to lay flat, “It’ll be okay.”
Peter’s eyes were slowly closing once again and his sobs were fading into hiccups.
-
On loop it replayed.
I’m trying to be better. I don’t want to remember.
Two phrases that Tony couldn’t get out of his brain.
What was he talking about? Did something happen? Was it before he was around or did it happen while he was around?
Needless to say, Tony didn’t sleep well that night. Of course, that was nothing out of the ordinary.
Tony was a little surprised that he had managed to fall asleep at all.
There was a short, blissful moment when he woke up. Oblivious to the memories of what had happened last night. A short-lived moment as the memories washed over him like the cold water Tony used to wash his face.
Tony wished that he was surprised to see that Peter had fled. Instead, all that filled him was a quiet resignation.
Tony stumbled back to his room to grab his phone before heading into the lab.
‘Thanks.’
Tony didn’t respond.
~
Looking back on what happened, Peter wanted to strangle himself. He should have realized that the bartender was suspicious.
River Mason. A chemist who had previously researched and worked at Oscorp before being fired for ‘an awful attitude and lack of dedication,’ which led to him becoming a bartender part-time.
Peter watched as Mason left, tapping on his phone and smacking his gum. He waited until Mason was climbing in the passenger seat of a familiar car, that Peter couldn’t quite place, to slide into the home through an open window.
On the walls, there were a few family photos. As Peter walked down the hall River slowly got older and the boy that was always next to him grew more familiar until Peter was able to place that the guy next to River was the dealer.
“Cory Wagner,” Peter read as he passed a photo of the two boys at their graduation.
The incriminating stuff was found in the basement. It had been refurbished into a complete lab and off to the side were bags identical to the ones that had been being dealt out.
After taking various photos, Peter left without a trace.
~
Tony was maybe a few hours into his work. Stopping every now and then to contemplate and replay what had happened.
“Boss,”
“Not now, FRIDAY,” Tony mumbled as he picked up the wrench he had dropped.
“Turns out you were right.”
Tony jolted and spun around to where Peter was standing, clad in the Spider-Man suit except for his mask. A file was tossed onto his desk, “I finally found the guy I had been searching for.”
Tony, as usual, flipped through the file. He was far too nosey for his own good. He heard Peter walk to a different part and heard the ruffling and shuffling. “I was going to say something to you before I headed out but FRIDAY said you had just gotten to sleep-”
Tony interrupted, unable to hold it in any longer. “So, we aren’t going to talk about it.”
Peter let out a confused hum and Tony heard the shuffling stop. “Talk about what?”
“Last night.”
“Oh. Well, I don’t really remember anything that happened. I remember the bartender, going to the bathroom and passing out, and then waking up here. Did something else happen?”
Tony turned and saw Peter adjusting the strings of his hoodie while looking at him with a confused look.
Tony leaned back in his chair with a shrug.“I mean other than you comparing tony stark to a shark and steve rogers to a dolphin, not really.
Peter blinked before his lips spread into an easy smile. “I have zero recollection of that. But I will stand by it.”
“Damn. Here I was hoping for some kind of explanation.” Tony stood up from the seat, stretching his arms over his head.
If he dropped the wrench one more time he had a feeling it would land on his toe.
Peter chuckled and Tony felt a bit of the tension in his shoulders ease away. “Did I say anything else embarrassing?”
Tony shook his head, wrapping an arm around Peter’s shoulders as he lead the two to them out of the lab. “Nope.”
He’d have FRIDAY wipe the footage. Peter would come to him whenever he was ready.
“I’m starving,” Peter complained, “You should order us some lunch.”
“I don't know, I think I might try this new recipe I found-”
“Aw, come on! I just recovered from being drugged and you’re already trying to poison me?” Peter leaning against him didn’t lessen the blow of the reminder.
Tony huffed, “You’re a little shit. I can’t take you anywhere.”
Peter only smiled in response.