When You Need Me

“I’m Spider-Man,” Peter says, and then Tony’s world comes crashing down.

Peter’s staring at him now, eyes blinking rapidly as he assumingly waits for any sort of response. But Tony stands still. Suddenly his hands feel sweaty, and his heart is speeding up. He can’t think straight because, after all this time, Peter has been the person behind the mask. Sweet, little, and kind, Peter Parker, puts his life at risk every night, and Tony had no idea. What if he had died? God, he almost did. And nothing has been done to protect him from it all.

“You?” Tony manages to say, because anything else that was begging to come out was not PG-13 appropriate. “You’re Spider-Man?”

“Well, when you say it like that it almost sounds insulting,” Peter shrugs, playing with the ends of his sleeve like he always does. He’s nervous, sure, but Tony doesn’t focus on that when his mind is freaking out over the fact that Spider-Man is literally a child. He’s fought alongside him, for crying out loud! No fourteen-year-old should be a co-worker, and that includes the Avengers. “Mr Stark? Are you mad?”

Tony snorts. “Mad?” he says, incredulous.

Tony laughs once more and ignores the pink blush that arises in Peter’s cheeks as his body folds into itself. He crosses his arms over his stomach, his eyes flickering to the side of the room where he stares at the corner of the chipped wall. The anger pooling in Tony’s stomach makes him forget the promise that he once made to himself. A promise to never be like his father. But here he is, shouting and tearing down Peter’s self-belief because he’s angry.

“Kid, I’m fuming. You’re fourteen years old-”

“Almost fifteen…,” Peter interrupts, frowning.

“No, this is where you stop talking,” Tony says, raising his finger in front of Peter’s face. Peter’s eyes snap back to Tony’s face, and he flinches at the sudden movement. Tony takes a deep breath and looks at Peter as his bottom lip quivers and his eyes begin to water. “You’re a child, Peter. Why on earth would you ever think it was a clever idea to go out and pretend to be a hero?”

“I am a hero,” Peter says.

“Oh, really? Is that so?” Tony says.

“Yes,” Peter says, his voice quivering. He stands a bit taller, raising himself by resting on his tiptoes. Tony stares down, for once being the taller one in the situation, and shakes his head. “I am! You wouldn’t have said Spider-Man didn’t help you guys a day ago! You’re pretending like I haven’t done anything just because I’m young!”

“Jesus Christ, Peter!” Tony snaps. He runs his hand over his face, exasperated. “I’m telling your aunt about this, and then you can put the stupid costume on whenever you turn eighteen. But for now I’m not letting you go out again when only a few days ago you almost died in my arms!”

“You can’t do that!” Peter shouts. He’s red in the face from anger rather than embarrassment now. His fists are clenched and he’s breathing heavily. He’s staring at Tony like he can’t believe what he’s hearing. “You’re not the boss of me, Tony! I can do what I want!”

“No, you can’t,” Tony says, shaking his head. “You can’t do this, Peter.”

“Why not?!” Peter shouts. “You’re not my dad. Hell, you didn’t even like me a few weeks ago! You couldn’t stand the sight of me and now you’re acting like you’re the saint of the century by stopping me from helping people. Well, you can’t do that. If you take away my suit, I’ll make another. You can’t stop me from doing this.”

“You’re insufferable,” Tony mutters. “Listen, kid, you don’t know what the hell you’ve got yourself into. Yeah, well done, you’ve saved a few kittens from some trees-,”

“I do more than that, and you know it,” Peter interrupts.

Tony rolls his eyes and then continues what he was about to say. “There are dangerous people out there, Peter. People who don’t care who the hell is behind the mask. They’ll kill you on sight, and they won’t care that you were a fourteen-year-old boy all along.”

“And why do you care?!”

“Because I don’t know what I’d do if you died!” Tony shouts back. He takes a breath.

And, yeah, there it is again. That overwhelming feeling of dread falls over him and his stomach drops like there’s a stone weighing it down. He takes a deep breath and his hand hovers over his gut. He swallows and averts his eyes away from Peter.

“That doesn’t give you the right to say I’m not good enough,” Peter says. “Tony, I’ve been doing this for a while. I know what I’m doing, and I’m not going to stand here and let you dictate my actions when you’ve only just started properly speaking to me, for crying out loud. I’m almost fifteen, not ten. If I want to put my life at risk, then I will. I have powers and that means I can’t just stand idle. I can help, and I do.”

“You’re putting others at risk as you’re not trained and that makes our lives a lot more difficult than they need to be. So, do us all a favour and quit, Peter,” Tony says, his words coming out weak as if he doesn’t even believe them himself. “You’d make the world a safer place if you did.”

Peter gives him a cold glare before brushing a tear away with the end of his sleeve. He shakes his head in astonishment and runs out of the lab, slamming the door so forcefully that objects fly from the shelves. Tony dives to save one photograph and exhales a sigh of relief once he has it in his hands. Since he hasn't looked at it in years, he wipes the dust from it and squeezes his eyes shut as he tries his hardest not to cry.

He remembers the day that photo was taken.

Years ago

Tony was fourteen years old at the time. His birthday was approaching, and his father had promised that they would celebrate shortly. That morning, though, he gulped his expensive scotch and hugged his kid for two seconds. They took that photo for the press and then he returned to his office to take business calls. He didn't even say happy birthday. His mother shot him a sympathetic look and said that she and Jarvis had made him a cake, but he didn’t want to look her in the eye.  

Tony was done by that point. He went to his room and began working on his AI, which he had been working on for years. He claimed to be unaffected, but as soon as his hands were free, his entire body shut down and he began to cry. He sobbed that whole night and waited until he knew everyone would be asleep.

He snuck down to the wine cellar and drank three whole bottles. It was Jarvis who found him in the morning.

When he woke up in a hospital room after getting his stomach pumped, his father stood and stared at him from the corner of the room. He checked his watch periodically as his mother made sure he was okay. His father didn’t say a word.

“Say something, darling,” his mother tried.

His father shook his head in disappointment. “You waisted my expensive bottles with this little tantrum,” he said. “Don’t do that again,” he added, before gesturing for Jarvis to follow him out of the room.

Jarvis, who looked broken, came over and gave him a hug. “He cares for you deeply, young master. Just in his own way,” he said before he walked out and followed his father down the pristine hallways.

“He doesn’t, mama,” Tony said. He remembered her brushing his hair out of his face, as she looked at him with worry only a parent (some of them, anyway) could manage. “He doesn’t love me.”

“Oh, bambino, he does. I swear, sweetheart. He loves you so much. Just as I do,” she said.

Tony never believed her, and he never would truly know if he did since they both died only three years later.

Present day

Tony stares at the photo, his hands shaking. Things are broken around him into tiny pieces. He gets up and walks carefully around the room until he’s stood with his hand against the door. He stares and wonders if he should go after Peter before it’s too late. Because he knows how it feels to never feel appreciated and loved by the people around him. If just told Peter, then it would be okay.

Tony looks down at his feet at some old bottles of rum. His mind tells him to just take a sip and bury his thoughts, but suddenly he’s kicking it across the room and racing outside of the door. The lab is a forgotten memory as Tony rushes outside and looks for Peter. But he’s nowhere to be found.

He curses underneath his breath and goes back inside. Grabbing the keys to one of his many sports cars, he drives off to Peter’s apartment. It’s been so long since he has sat in the driver’s seat of one of his cars that it takes him a few seconds to get used to it. But once he’s on the road, the wind in his hair, he has a mission to complete.

The goal? To break a long, long, cycle that has been happening for generations.

PETER’S POV

Stupid Mr Stark. Stupid rules. Stupid big mouth for telling him when he knew that it would all go wrong. Tony didn’t get it. He had to be there for the community. He had to make sure Ben was proud of him. And to do that, he needed to use his powers for good.

How selfish would it be if he walked past a burning building and left everyone inside it to die just because he was fourteen years old? It didn’t make sense. That would make him closer to a villain, right? Plus, Tony loved working alongside Spider-Man! So, it was okay to work with him when he had no idea who he was but now because he’s young it’s a horrible thing? It was stupid.

Even if he was still recovering, and if he told Tony he was staying in the tower, there was no way he was sitting in there now. He was so mad at Tony. Why would he treat him like that? He had no right. Peter swung across the city, using the hoodie Tony gave him to obscure his face.

When he was halfway home his phone vibrated in his pocket. Deciding to answer it only because it was Cooper calling, he swings to the top of a building and sits on it. Cooper at least deserves some of the truth for why he’s suddenly left ‘ship’ so to speak.

“Hey,” Peter answers, trying to hide the fact that he’s outside. Cooper catches on immediately.

“Is that wind?” he asks. Peter doesn’t say anything. “Dad saw Tony’s car leave, and I was just wondering if he was taking you home.”

“Yeah- uh- that’s it. Sorry. Aunt May wanted me home,” Peter says. “I would’ve told you I was leaving, but she said it was urgent, so we had to leave quickly.”

Why was Tony driving? Was he trying to find him to have a go at him? Peter resists the urge to groan and tries to think if Tony knows his address. Of course, he does, it’s Tony. Even if he didn’t, he could find it easily. Peter lies back and decides to make camp out here for a bit. If it means he can hide from Tony. He wants to be angry for a long time.

“…Why do you always lie to me?” Cooper finally says.

“Huh?”

“I know when people lie, Peter. My dad and his best friend are super spies. I’ve been around it my whole life, and you remind me of them too much. I don’t know who you are, or if you are just shady in general, but you worry me,” Cooper tells him. “…So, don’t lie. You don’t have to tell me the truth. But, please, don’t take me for an idiot.”

“…Okay,” Peter says. “I can’t tell you, but… maybe one day I will.”

“Okay,” Cooper says. “Get home safe. Text me when you’re there.”

“Will do.”

Peter hangs up the phone and sighs. He rests the phone on his chest and looks up at the many constellations above him. He feels the cold but doesn’t move. Instead, he snuggles into the jumper that Tony gave him and tries his hardest not to cry.

Peter stays up on the rooftop for a while, knowing that somewhere out there Tony is driving around trying to find him. The way Tony spoke to him once he found out he was Spider-Man felt like a knife to his back. Tony was someone who Peter idolised for years, and now he felt like he didn’t want him around. All of those times he would yell at him… what if he really meant it?

Peter felt small, useless, and maybe it would’ve been better if he never met Tony at all.

Tony’s POV

Only five minutes ago, Tony had pulled up to their apartment after easily finding out where it was through Friday. He parked his hundred-thousand-dollar car on the side of the street and jumped out, barely remembering to lock it behind him. When he stepped out and walked up to Peter's place, fear set in when his aunt told him she hadn't seen him yet. He faked a message from Clint stating everything was great, trying not to worry her when it was everything but. None of this was okay.

“Are you sure everything’s fine?” May asked. She looked so worried, that even meeting Tony for the first time wasn’t anything surprising. Not that he thought she’d be starstruck. But people usually have some surprise on their faces. “Tony?” she said when he was too stuck in his own head to reply.

Tony looked behind her and saw how small their apartment was, and then noticed the leak. “Have you ever brought anyone in for that?”

“Tony,” May said, a tired look on her face. “Is my nephew okay?”

“Oh, that,” Tony said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Sure, yeah. He’s fine.”

“You don’t sound certain,” May said.

“I am. Sorry. Just trying to remember my plumber’s number.”

“We don’t need your plumber, we’re fine,” May said. “Just get him to text me, okay? I’ve been worried sick.”

And just like that, the door was shut in his face and May was gone. God, Tony thought, now he knows where Peter got his personality from.

Tony got back in the driver’s seat. He gripped each side of the wheel and face planted into the horn. He ignored the quick sound it made, before yelling curses into the open space where nobody would hear him. He knew he fucked up, and he didn’t know how to make any of it right. He knew Peter was out there. He was probably cold or had done something stupid like try and fight a whole gang by himself. And all Tony can do, because he’s too scared to even go looking for him, is wait and hope that soon Peter will come back, and he can apologise for freaking out.

Peter’s POV, few moments ago

Peter waited to go back once it was gone eleven, hoping that Tony would’ve given up by then. He climbed down the side of the building and shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jumper. At that moment he felt numb. He knew that telling Tony wouldn’t go well, but he didn’t know it would fail as badly as it did. He sighed as he passed familiar buildings. He ignored the cold making him shiver but pulled the jumper around him tighter to feel a bit more comfortable.

Peter thought about going to sleep at Ned’s. But if Tony was going to tell his aunt about Spider-Man then he should at least be home for everything to blow up. She would be so mad, and he knew that. He thought about his argument with Tony and felt angrier as he continued to walk down the street. Tony had no right to treat him like that, and he wasn’t going to crawl back to the compound anytime soon even if Tony brought him a whole island. Which he would probably try to do, knowing him.

Cooper could start coming over to his. Even if there is that stupid leak and there is hardly any room, it would be better than having to face Tony again. Right?

But then Peter remembered all the times they shared recently. Even if Tony was cold and barely spoke to him, Peter loved being around him. Whenever it was just them, they had brilliant conversations. Tony wanted him to be okay, and he got more comfortable being a ‘father figure’ even if it wasn’t quite that. When Tony sat and asked if he was okay one night as they ate food together, Peter felt seen. It was like he had Uncle Ben back for a while.

He should’ve known not to get attached.

Now

Peter finally gets to his building and Tony’s car is right there. And Tony? Tony stands right against it with his arms crossed. He looks pissed, worried, and tired, all in one. Peter just rolls his eyes and tries to walk on, but Tony grabs his hand and stops him. Peter immediately rips his hand away and stands there, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

“What?” he snaps.

“It’s late,” Tony says.

“Really?” Peter says, looking around at the night sky. “Wouldn’t have guessed.”

“Don’t be sarcastic, kid. That’s my thing,” Tony answers back with a short smirk on his face, which he tries to mask with a frown immediately after it. “I was worried about you.”

“You weren’t so worried when you told me I wasn’t good enough.”

“I didn’t say that,” Tony says, his frown becoming more obvious on his face. His hands are now in the pockets of his trousers, and he’s still leant against the car.  

“Yes, you did. You said I was making the world a dangerous place by simply existing,” Peter says. “Well, say that to the people I save. I stop people from dying every day, but because Tony Stark comes in and tells me I’m too young… I might as well stop.” He keeps his hands in his pockets and stares down at Tony’s shoes, so he doesn’t have to look him in the eye. “Why are you even here?”

Tony sighs deeply. “I came to…,” he hesitates, “apologise.”

Peter laughs a little to himself. “Doesn’t sound like you mean it.”

“I’m just worried about you,” Tony says back. “You mean a lot to me, okay?”

“Do I? Do I really? Because how the hell am I supposed to know that?!” Peter says.

Peter looks back up at Tony and his eyes widen because Tony looks broken. He looks scared as to what to say, his mouth half-open as he watches Peter. He looks worried. The way he looks at Peter makes him feel like he’s three years old again and his uncle is telling him his parents are not coming back. He starts to well up and suddenly he’s pulled forward into Tony’s arms.

“I’m sorry,” Tony whispers. He puts his hand on Peter’s back and holds him there as Peter sobs into his chest. “I’m sorry that I’ve projected all my worries onto you, kid. I shouldn’t have yelled at you for doing exactly what I do. I know you’re young, but I’m sure you know what you’re doing and I’m proud of you for being so damn brave.”

Tony keeps him there and squeezes before letting go and wiping his own face. Peter looks at him with a small smile on his face. “You know that this doesn’t mean I’ve completely forgiven you yet.”

Tony laughs. “Yeah, Pete. I know. You’re stubborn like that.” He sighs. “You should probably get inside. It’s late.”

“Yeah…,”

Tony opens his car door and steps inside. Once he’s in, he opens the window and smiles at Peter. “Right. Well, I’ll see you soon. Maybe next time you’re over I’ll let you work on a suit. We could make you your own suit... How does that sound?”

“Sounds awesome, Mr Stark. I’ll be there.”

“See you later, Pete.”

So much so for not crawling back, hey?

The car window closes once more and the engine is loud as it speeds off into the distance. Peter stands there and watches it go for a few seconds before smiling to himself. He’s still angry. Or, well, bitter. And he will be for a while. But he can’t help but feel giddy knowing that Mr Stark does care about him… and that they’re going to make a Spider-Man suit together! Even if it didn’t go well that morning, it eventually sorted itself out and now they’re even closer than they were before.

He steps inside and goes to bed, knowing that nothing could go wrong now!

But the only thing is… neither of them noticed the many cameras surrounding them that evening.

The next morning

Ned had texted him something… odd. It was just a link with a bunch of exclamation and question marks. He thought that maybe it was a new Star Wars announcement or a game they’d been wanting to play for a while, so he pressed on it as he brushed his teeth for school.

But as he clicked on it and the first page loaded, he frowned. Because the person in the photo looked awfully familiar. He took a closer look and gasped. Because clear as day on the front of the article there was a photo of him and Tony hugging. Below it was the headline:

STARK’S SECRET SON?

Last night at around 11PM, Tony Stark was spotted hugging a young boy (see photo above). Before this, we’ve all assumed that there could be a secret Stark running around- considering Tony’s playboy days- but we’ve never had any form of confirmation until now! This boy is a spitting image of his father and looked extremely comfortable in Tony’s old MIT jumper (and in his arms!). We don’t know this boy’s age or his name, but we know that he must be very loved! Let's welcome him to the Avenger’s family!

We reached out to Stark Industries for any comments but they refused to get into contact

Oh… Oh shit

After reading the full article, Peter's immediate reaction was to toss his phone on the floor in a panic. Then, after some more worrying, he walked to his bedroom and started to... well, properly freak out! He couldn’t believe this was happening. His phone began to ring incessantly, buzzing every second with texts from acquaintances he hadn't spoken to in years. He had 10 missed Ned calls and one from Cooper. But it was all radio silence from Tony.  

At least they didn’t think he was Spider-Man… but Mr Stark was going to hate him for this!

As if people thought they were father and son. Sure, Tony’s started to be nice to him but, come on, it was one hug! Did they miss the argument before it or were the vultures out to cherry-pick what they wanted in their stupid article?

Peter didn’t have time to panic for long since he had to go to school.

And that’s where he was now. People kept coming up to him and all he had to do was hide by Cooper and Ned. He didn’t know how to react, or what to say for all of this to go away. He wasn’t Tony’s son, but every time he would deny it people would just laugh and say “sure.” But he was telling the truth!

Even Ned started to get suspicious.

“So… he’s not actually your dad is he?” Ned asks as they sit down for lunch.

“No!” Peter says. “Jesus, Ned. I would’ve told you if Tony Stark was secretly my dad all these years.”

Ned shrugs. “It was a convincing hug. Okay?”

“No, not okay. None of this is okay,” Peter says.

“It’ll be fine,” Cooper says, joining in with their conversation as he takes his usual seat at the table. “The media knows about my dad now, and we’ve been fine.”

“But he’s not even my dad!” Peter says. He takes out his phone and there’s still no contact from Tony. But there are even more comments and thousands of follow requests from random people on Instagram. “God, is this a nightmare? Because it feels like one. I’ll wake up any minute now.”

“Don’t be dramatic, Pete! The whole school thinks you’re a billionaire’s son. And not just any billionaire. Do you know how popular that’s going to make you now?” Ned asks, taking a bite of his sandwich. “Do you know how popular it’ll make us?”

Cooper laughs, but then stops when he looks Peter in the eye. “It’ll die down soon. Don’t worry about it.”

Yeah, Peter thinks. It’ll be fine. No one will even remember this in a few weeks. Right?

As the school day ends, Peter’s one of the many students rushing outside to try and get home as quickly as possible. But as he steps outside, he sees a huge crowd outside gathered around a big limo. He tries to take advantage of this and runs past without anyone asking him any questions until he hears someone calling his name. He looks up and immediately groans.

“Pete!” Tony shouts. “Over here! Dad’s come to pick you up!”

Peter blushes. So much so for this passing by in a few weeks. He passes through the crowd, holding his backpack close to him as people try and ask him about his ‘dad’. He manages to get to the front and is pulled into the backseat by Happy who tells the other kids to get lost as they try and sneak in.

Tony takes some pictures with everyone and signs some things before getting back in the car. Cooper’s already sat across from him, trying to hide his smile, as Peter glares at Tony. Tony thinks this is so funny since all he can do is laugh as Happy drives away.

“Are you not freaking out about this?” Peter asks Tony, stubbornly putting his seatbelt on as Happy refuses to go any further.

“Hmmm, not really,” Tony laughs. “Being an Avenger’s kid is brilliant, isn’t it Cooper?”

“Sure.”

“See, Peter? It’s not too bad,” Tony smiles. “Plus, this isn’t the first time people thought I had a kid. There’s this boy called Harley that everyone was convinced I fathered back in the day. He’s a good kid. Not mine, but good. I don’t mind having that in the papers. Better than them slating the avengers or calling me a merchant of war.”

Peter wonders why he gets a little jealous over the fact he’s not the first rumoured Stark son. He huffs. “But you had to make it worse by coming to get me from school and saying ‘dad’. Didn’t you?”

“I was coming to get you anyway. We have a lab day.”

“Okay, dad,” Peter rolls his eyes.

Tony’s pov

Tony would be lying if he wasn’t feeling a little bit happy hearing that word coming from Peter’s mouth. He never wanted to be a dad. He hated kids, and never knew how to handle being around them but meeting Clint’s gang and Peter changed his mind. Having someone idolise him makes him want to be a better person. He didn’t feel like touching the drink anymore. All he wanted was to hang out with his- no, the kid.

Perhaps it was the fact that he almost died that made Tony want to be closer to him. He's lost the fear of ruining his life, and all he wants to do now is make him happy by letting him into the lab and hanging out with him. It was strange.

“See, Coop? I knew he’d be excited,” Tony chuckles. He puts his hand around Peter’s shoulders and tucks him in so that his head is resting on Tony’s chest. Peter struggles for a few seconds but then eventually gives in. “It’s going to be fine, Pete. I’ve got this under control,” he whispers.

Later that day

“Tony, this is totally out of our control,” Pepper says. She’s dressed in her suit, popping down from her office to come and visit them for damage control. Peter’s sat across from her, looking as worried as ever, and Tony sits beside him with a frown.

“Why not?”

“The photo is… very convincing. The media just won’t believe us if we issue a statement saying he isn’t yours.”

“It’s just a hug, I don’t see how this is concrete evidence that he came from me,” Tony says. He’s got his arm around Peter’s chair who’s sat exactly like he is. Pepper’s looking at them like she’s not entirely sure if he’s telling the truth either. “Fine. But at least take some of the stories down. I want to sue them for using those photos without my permission.”

“We’ll work on it,” she sighs.

She gives Tony a kiss on the cheek before talking to Peter. She introduces herself, gives him a hug, and tells him what’s going on and how she’s going to help in the next few weeks. He looks overwhelmed, but grateful.

If this had happened only a few days ago, Tony would’ve retreated to his lab and drank his whole cabinet in shame. He would’ve blamed everything on himself for getting too close to Peter when in reality he knew it was all because of the media. But this time he will stick by Peter and make sure everything is okay. No matter what.