Clingy
Clingy isn’t a word that most people would use to describe Tony Stark. It’s certainly not one Peter would have used. If anyone was clingy, it was him.
He hadn’t even heard from his mentor after he was sick aside from him stopping by to get his blood drawn aside from a brief text to “stay the hell away from mint, kid” before that spaceship appeared in New York.
But right now, it was the best word Peter could of think of to describe how Mr. Stark had been behaving ever since he’d discovered Peter had stowed away on the ship with them instead of returning home like he was meant to.
There had always been times where he was a bit... overbearing and overprotective. But this... this was different. This was his normal overbearingness multiplied.
There was something new in the way that Mr. Stark kept glancing at him. Like he was afraid Peter might just keel over at any second just by being there. He was pretty sure the man nearly had an actual heart attack when Peter had blamed him for him being there by making his suit so intuitive. He’d heard the way Stark’s heart stuttered and the pain that crossed his face before Peter backtracked.
But it wasn’t until after they’d run into the Guardians on Titan and started forming a plan on ways to corner and attack Thanos that Peter really began to get exasperated with his mentor. (Which, speaking of -if these were the people or beings in charge of guarding their galaxy, Peter was incredibly concerned.) The man was desperately trying to refuse to let Peter leave his side or do any part of it on his own. At one point, even suggested that Peter literallycling to his back instead of hanging out somewhere else while Tony attempted to drop a building on Thanos.
“Mr. Stark... What is wrong with you? You’re acting weird.” Peter sat down on a rock once he and Mr. Stark were alone. The wizard had told them that they had a little time before Thanos would arrive, so he figured he might as well rest while he had the chance. His extra sense hadn’t calmed down since he had been on the bus, and he had a feeling that things were just going to get worse rather soon.
“Nothing is wrong with me, and I’m not acting weird.” Mr. Stark rolled his eyes and joined him on the rock. Peter couldn’t help but notice the same odd expression on the older man’s face that he kept spotting over the last several hours, mixed with familiar exhaustion, anxiety and fear.
“You are. You don’t actually expect me to cling to your side the whole fight do you? That’s not even practical. Why would you -“
“Because you’re my damn kid,” Tony blurted, flailing his hands in front of him before pointing an accusing finger at Peter. Peter blanched, his eyes widening, his mentor's wording stirring something in his chest that he didn't want to focus on. Instead, he opened his mouth to argue - to remind Mr. Stark that he wasn’t actually his kid and that he was more than capable of taking care of himself, but the man apparently wasn’t finished.
“You’re my responsibility. You said it your yourself back on the ship. It’s my fault you’re here. If something happens —“
“Mr. Stark, please. You know I didn’t mean it’s actually your fault. I know you like to look after me and everything and I appreciate that, but it doesn’t fall on you every time I get a scratch.”
Tony’s shoulders visibly tensed, even through his new suit, and the glare he shot Peter left him stunned for a minute.
“This isn’t a typical neighborhood mugger or bank robbery, kid. This is big time. This is end of the world, big time. I don’t think you realize what we're dealing with here, and it is my responsibility to —“
Peter let out an agitated groan, jumping to his feet so fast that it had effectively, at least temporarily, silenced Mr. Stark.
"Mr. Stark. You're not my dad. I'm just a kid - a guy - that you needed and then took pity on or something, I don't know. I'll --" But if Tony visibly appeared hurt by Peter's harsh words - words he regretted the second they left his mouth, Peter missed it. His breath hitched and his entire body went rigid, his train of thought completely lost as he stared off into the distance. The air around them changed, and the prickly feeling that had been ever present at the back of his neck for the last few hours worsened.
He barely registered Mr. Stark stand up next to him, turning to look in the direction that Peter was staring in before turning his concerned gaze back towards him. "Pete?"
"We need to get ready. He's coming," Peter whispered, his eyes refocusing before sliding back to Tony. "I'm sorry, sir. I'll stay close. I'll be right over there," He pointed above them, above the spot where Dr. Strange was meant to wait for Thanos as a distraction. Where the man was already sitting. It wasn't far from the location where Mr. Stark would be coming down. "Let's just stick to the plan." Then without another word, Peter tapped his web shooters and swung off to get in position, and behind him he heard the familiar sound of Iron Man's repulsors flying off as well.