Chapter 13
It was late when Tony heard a tentative knock on the door to his lab. He had started working a little more, now that Peter had started to settle in. Looking up, he could see Peter though the glass.
“Come on in Peter.” He called out, saving his work on his tablet and setting it down.
“Hey Tony, I wanted to um, talk to you about something.” Peter started awkwardly. Then, looking around at the desk filled with papers and machine parts, he said, “But you look busy, so, we can do this later…” Peter went to back out of the office but Tony hurriedly shook his head.
“No, no, I’m just messing around. But even if this was actual work, you can always interrupt me. My kids come before my company, always. Please sit.” He gestured to the chair on the other side of the desk. Peter sat, but didn’t relax, staying perched on the edge, ready to leap up at any moment.
“So, the other night, when I was talking to Bucky after my, um, well, after, he said that he talks to someone about his PTSD stuff.” Peter paused waiting for Tony to cut in, but he didn’t. Taking a deep breath he continued, “and at dinner, Skyler said that she wants me to talk to someone too. What happened scared her. She has enough crap to worry about, I don’t want to be another one. So, what I’m trying to say is that I wanna try talk to someone. A shrink or something. Just to tell her I did.” Peter’s words were choppy and he was clearly uncomfortable asking Tony for something so personal, something that made him feel so vulnerable.
“I think that is a really good idea Peter. Do you want me to help you find someone, or do you want to reach out to your social worker?”
“I don’t want Alice involved.” Peter said quickly. “She’s been trying to set me up with therapists since day one. She’s a bit too over zealous about it. But, um, Officer Chang told me once that he knew someone he though could help. Said he was super chill. So, maybe we could ask him for the doctor’s name?”
“Yeah, I’ll call him first thing in the morning.”
“Cool. I mean, no rush. It’s not like it’s gonna change anything, I’m just doing it to make Sky happy. She stresses too much. I’ll probably just go once or twice, to say I tried.”
“There’s no commitment, you go for as long as you’d like. Though, I think Bucky once said that it took a little while for him to get used to it.” Tony could tell that Peter was desperate to make it seem like this was all Skyler’s idea, but he knew that Peter wouldn’t be doing this if he didn’t want to.
“I think I’ll text him tonight. Let him know that I’m gonna give it a shot.”
“I’m sure he’d like that.” Tony smiled.
Peter stood to leave, but Tony said, “Do you want to stay for a bit? According to Harley, you’re a science wizard. You’re more than welcome to tinker around. There’s a free lab station if you’d like.” Tony pointed over at an empty desk the was diagonally across from Tony’s. Next to it was another desk, but this one was crowded with books and notebooks and parts. Following Peter gaze, Tony smiled, “That’s Harley’s, I’m sure he’d love a neighbor he can make fun of my taste in music with.
Peter half shrugged, “I think I’m gonna head to bed. I’ve got an early shift at the diner.” Tony did his best to not let his face fall. Baby steps, he reminded himself, this is the best conversation you two have ever had, don’t push your luck.
“Well, it’s yours, use it however you’d like. The lab is pretty well stocked, but I can order anything you want if we don’t have it.”
Again, Peter shrugged, and then left the lab without another word. Tony sighed, it’s still progress.
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Why don’t you and Peter swing by the station the afternoon and I’ll give you Dr. Conway’s business card. I’ve known him since college, I think he could really help Peter.
Tony stared down at the text from Simon Chang for the third time that day. He was grateful that Peter had someone else in his corner, but he had to admit that the police officer was slightly intimidating. It was unsettling to have someone you’ve only met twice know your child better than you do.
And who’s fault is that? Tony’s mind echoed. He shook his head in an attempt to push the ever gnawing guilt to the back of his mind. He couldn’t go down that rabbit hole right now. He was waiting outside of the diner Peter worked at to walk over to the police station with him. He had texted Peter the plan when he had heard back from Simon, but all he had gotten in reply was a singular “k”. Tony was concerned that Peter was going to change his mind about seeing a therapist, and had been placing all day, trying to come up with what he’d say if Peter tried to back out. He’d never force him to go, but he truly thought it would be incredibly helpful for Peter to have someone outside of the craziness of his life that he could talk to.
A “ding” from the bell above the door turned his attention back to the present as Peter walked out of the diner, shoving an apron into the red, beaten up backpack he was carrying. Tony would have loved to buy Peter a new one, but convincing him to accept a new pair of shoes and a couple pieces of clothes had been hard enough. The last time he had brought up buying Peter something new, he had stormed out of the house and Tony didn’t hear from him for six hours.
“How was work?” He asked as the started to push their way through the crowded streets.
“Fine. Morning was busy but the rest of the day was sorta slow.”
“Do you prefer when it’s busy?”
“Makes the time go by quicker, and I make more tips. But I don’t mind a little down time after, it gives me time to read.” Peter was texting on his phone, speaking absently.
Tony was thrilled that they were having an actual, normal conversation, but tried to come across as casual as Peter was. “That makes sense, balance is good. Read anything good today?”
“A biography about Max Planck. He came up with-“
“Quantum theory. He won a Nobel.”
Peter looked up from his phone. “Yeah. He was a genius. He got his doctorate at 21.”
“He was quite impressive.”
“I wish I could be like him.” Peter confessed, more to himself than to Tony.
“You’re only 17 Peter. You’ve got time to become whatever kind of person you want to be.” Tony said gently, hoping he wasn’t over stepping. But Peter just shrugged noncommittally and went back to texting.
It wasn’t long until they were at the police station, waiting at Officer Chang’s desk as someone went off in search of him.
“Well, well, well,” A gruff voice from behind them said, “look what the cat dragged in. Who’d you beat up this time Parker?”