Peter throws on an orange football shirt over his black outfit. He makes his way to a farmers’ market with a limp, looking around at his surroundings. He stumbles and steps in something and groans. He sees a seemingly nice cheese farmer who’s on his phone and makes his way towards him.
“Excuse me, sir?” Peter asks, stopping in front of his table.
“Yeah?” The man answers.
“Can I borrow your phone?” Peter hopefully asks.
“Yeah.” The cheese farmer smiles at the young boy and hands his phone over, “Ja, zeker.”
“Everyone’s so nice here.” Peter whispers and smiles, receiving a nod in return.
Peter turns around and the man leans on a cage. Peter stares at the phone in his hands for a minute thinking of who to call before putting a number in and dialing.
He puts the phone to his ear and runs a hand through his hair and pleads. “Okay… Pick up, pick up, pick up. Hey. Hey! Uh… I messed up. I need a… I need a ride. Where am I?”
Peter turns back to the cheese farmer who is now staring at him, while still holding the phone near his ear. “Uh… where am I, sir?”
“Het is Broek op Langedijk,” the cheese farmer replies, and Peter looks at the cheese farmer trying to figure out how to pronounce it. His head hurts too much to figure out how to repeat that back to Tony.
“Hang on,” Peter says into the phone. “Could you say that into there?” Peter asks, handing the man his phone back so he can repeat the words.
The man takes it with a smile, “Hi, it’s Broek op Langendijk.”
There’s a brief pause and then the cheese farmers respond with a “Yeah, no problem.”
He hands Peter the phone back and Peter politely smiles, “Thanks.” He puts the phone back to his ear, “Did you get that?” He asks as he uses one arm to hold the other, using the little strength he has left.
“No,” Tony answers with slight annoyance in his voice. “But I’m sure Jarvis did. Care to tell me what’s going on? Because last we talked you were going to Europe with your classmates.” Tony crosses his legs as he waits for the jet to get to Peter.
“Can we wait to talk about it until you get here? P-please?” Peter immediately feels guilty as soon as the words leave his mouth. He thinks about the whole trip and how much he screwed up. He feels a tear make its way down his cheek and brings his hand up to wipe it.
Tony gives a frustrated sigh, “Yeah, of course. Be there soon Bambino.” And with that Tony ends the call.
Peter bites the inside of his cheek to avoid crying. He turns back to the cheese farmer and hands him his phone. “Thank you.” Peter gives him a polite smile and starts walking with no destination in mind. He just wants to get as far away from people as he can.
Peter makes his way towards a tulip field, limping between a row of pink tulips on his right side and yellow tulips on the left. He hears a roaring sound in the distance and sees the quinjet, it lands in front of him blowing dirt and tulip petals all over, and he staggers towards it. The door opens and the stairs unfold.
Tony rushes down the stairs, holding the rail. “Peter?! Are you okay?”
“Dad, is that you?” Peter hesitantly asks. His Spidey Sense skyrockets, and he pushes aside the voice that’s telling him to run away and not trust his own father.
Tony stares at his son, worried. Why would Peter think it isn’t him? What the hell happened to his kid? “Is it me? Yeah, of course, it’s me!” Tony continues to make his way towards his kid but slows down the pace.
All Peter can hear in the back of his mind is Beck telling him he’ll get his own dad killed. That he’s going to get everyone he loves killed eventually. His mind goes back to his mom, his dad, aunt May, and uncle Ben. It’s only a matter of time before he gets his dad killed and the rest of the Avengers.
Peter hesitates for a moment then stops walking and holds out his trembling hand while shaking his head. “Stop! Tell me something only you would know!” His voice is laced with fear.
Tony stops in his tracks, worry covering his face. The last time he heard his son this scared was when Tony snapped using all the infinity stones. He takes a moment to take in the appearance of his kid. He has a deep cut on his right cheek, bruises all over his face and arms, and a limp. He sees that the area around his eyes is red like he’s been crying.
First his family dies, then he gets abused for years in foster homes and sexually assaulted all before age six. Then he gets bit by a spider and that leads to him to getting a building dropped on top of him, him on top of a plane in the sky, and him on a burning beach, all with no real Spider-Man suit since Tony took it away. Then he turns to dust in Tony’s arm and when he comes back, he has to see his own father almost die due to the energy of the stones. And to top all of that he gets bullied constantly by some dipshit at school. Tony pushes the thoughts away and focuses on what’s happening.
“Only I would know. Uh. You-I-uh, remember when we were captured by a villain on a mission, and I told you not to say a word and your smartass said ‘Fergielicious’ then I said, ‘I said no words.’ And you looked at me in the eyes and said ‘Oh! I see. Two weeks ago, while playing scrabble, it’s not a word and now suddenly it is a word because it’s convenient for you.’”
Peter looks at his dad for a moment but then shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair, “No. No. Someone could’ve heard you say that, say s-so-something else. Something only you would know!” Peter’s voice is shaky, and he puts his trembling hand back up.
Tony narrows his eyes, does his son not trust him? What the hell happened? He complies with Peter’s orders trying not to scare the kid.
Tony nods and thinks for a minute. “One night shortly after I adopted you, I went out with some friends to celebrate and Happy watched you. I came in and saw you sitting on the couch watching a tv show and leaning against his arm. I sent him home and knelt in front of you to talk to you, but I kept tipping over because of the alcohol. You looked visibly uncomfortable and kept scooting away from me. I eventually gave up with the kneeling and stood up, I put my hand out towards you to lift you up, but you flinched and that broke my heart. You ran into your room crying and slammed the door shut.” Tony felt himself start to choke on his words but tries to stay strong for his kid. “I remember being so exhausted, so I didn’t even bother asking you what was wrong, and I went to bed but when I woke up the next morning, I remembered everything. You were uncomfortable because your foster parents used to beat you while they were drunk. That morning I woke up and dumped out everything containing alcohol and I haven’t drank since then.”
Peter feels his eyes get watery and thinks for a minute before nodding his head.
Tony runs towards Peter and catches him right before Peter collapses from the lack of energy and the searing pain going through his body. Tony holds Peter in a hug for a minute in the dirt.
“It’s so good to see you, dad.” Peter whispers, voice trembling. “I’m s-so-sorry, dad. I’m s-so sorry.” Peter’s voice cracks and the tears start running down his face. At this point he could care less, and he forgets Beck’s words.
“Peter, you’re going to have to tell me what the hell is going on here.” Tony whispers as he helps Peter stand again. He keeps his arm wrapped around his son’s waist for support.
They walk back to the quinjet and he leads Peter to the back seat, where the kid takes off his orange sports shirt. Tony takes a seat and has Peter stand in front of him so he can take in all of his injuries. “God Bambino, what the hell happened to you?” Tony makes his way to the sink and pours Peter a glass of water. Once he brings the cup back and sets it on the table he takes note of how Peter keeps his left hand on the glass of the water, turning it, but never taking a sip from it.
Tony makes his way to the seat behind Peter and sees the deep cut on his upper back that needs to be stitched. Tony bends down to grab the white first-aid kit and sets it on the table. Upon opening it he sees everything he needs and starts stitching Peter’s back, taking note of Peter’s pain and quietness.
“Okay… hold still. There we go.” Tony says pulling a stich through.
Peter flinches, “Ouch.”
“I thought you had super strength.” Tony says not hiding the amusement from his voice.
“It still hurts.” Peter replies, tapping on the glass.
Tony pulls another stitch through and Peter flinches again, “Dad, come on.” Peter says, clearly annoyed. He takes his hand away from the glass, instead putting in on his forehead.
“All right, relax. Just a few more… there we go.” Tony replies as he finishes off the stitches. Peter runs his hand through his hair, tensing up.
Peter yells, “Oh, my god. Dad!” He slams his fist on the table.
Tony pulls back, tying the last stitch and setting the supplies back in the kit. “Relax!”
He watches as his son jumps up from his chair, aggravated. Peter stares at his dad’s prosthetic arm that looks nearly identical to the arm he lost after the fight with Thanos.
“Don’t tell me to relax, dad! How can I relax when I’ve messed up so bad? I trusted Beck. Right? I thought he was my friend, so I gave him the most important thing that you gave me and now he’s going to kill my friends and half of Europe, so please do not tell me to relax.” Peter sits down a few seats down from his dad and supports himself with his elbows on his knees.
Peter inhales sharply and runs his right hand through his hair, making sure to avoid eye contact. “I’m sorry, dad. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t shout.”
“Care to tell me what this is all about? You’re supposed to be in Italy with your class but instead you’re here. Wherever the hell here is.” Tony glances out the window
and looks down at the tulip field. He turns his attention back to Peter who is now sniffling. “What did you give the Beck person?”
That gets Peter’s attention, he looks up and stares at his dads’ arm and not at his face. He hasn’t been able to look directly at his dad since everything happened with Thanos. Tony sees Peter’s eyes filled to the brim with tears.
“EDITH.” Peter whispers and the waterworks start. Tony freezes for a minute, trying to make sense of what Peter just admitted.
“I’m sorry, what?” Tony asks, frustrated. He avoids the urge to stand up and pace the aisle, knowing it will only make Peter more anxious.
Peter stands up, clearly more frustrated. He starts walking up and down the aisle, looking down and avoiding his dad’s gaze. “I gave EDITH to Beck, okay? I-I-I thought it was another test or something. Like with joining the Avengers after everything that happened with homecoming. Because before the blip, before Thanos, you always told me that I wasn’t responsible enough to handle this.” Peter gestures around, “So it doesn’t really make sense that you would suddenly give me the responsibility of EDITH… does it?!” Peter shouts, tears running down his face.
Peter looks at Tony’s arm and then away. He takes a seat and continues. “So, I gave it to Beck. Some guy that I helped fight some elemental things, only he was the one using technology to create an illusion of these elements because he wanted Fury to notice him and become an Avenger. His whole thing is illusions. He showed me every bad thing that happened in my life. He made me re-live everything from everyone dying, to getting abused in foster homes a-a-and getting raped by someone. And then he showed me you… you dying because of me. Because you adopted me. I mean do you think I wanted to do this?! I wanted a nice summer
vacation in Europe with Ned. I wanted to tell MJ how I felt about her. I wanted to…” Peter pauses and buries his face in his hands and whispers, “I wanted a chance to be a normal teenager. That’s why I’m wearing this ridiculous black outfit. I left my Spider-Man suit at home so I could enjoy myself.” Peter’s voice cracks but he’s too tired to care at this point.
Tony takes a minute to absorb all the information. He sighs and leans back in his chair, trying to find the right thing to say. He stares at his son, wanting to take away his pain. “Kid. I trust you more than anyone in the universe. I gave you EDITH because I trusted you, and I’m sorry that I made you think it was a test because it wasn’t. And I’ve trusted you with a hell of a lot more. Your suit, the quinjet, and my company just to name a few.”
“This is different, this was a whole satellite that’s equipped with missiles.” Peter says as he drags his foot along the carpet and takes a shaky breath.
“The stones.” Tony whispers. He can tell that, that gets Peter’s attention immediately because he tenses and looks up at the wall of the quinjet. “I trusted you with the gauntlet that held all the stones. You held onto it the longest during the fight and I’m proud of you for that.” He sees tears going down his son’s cheek and pauses a minute before continuing. “But that’s not even the most important thing, Bambino. I trust you with my life.”
Peter feels more tears go down his cheek as he remembers the day. He shakes his head to make the memories go away, but they’re replaced with the illusions Beck showed him. He squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head again.
There’s a pause in conversation before Tony speaks up. “Your friends are in trouble. The tech is missing. What are you gonna do about it” Tony asks?
After a moment of silence Peter responds, “I’m gonna kick his ass.” Peter stands, determined, and looks at the table in front of him.
Tony nods and smiles, “That’s good but I mean right now. Specifically, what are we gonna do? Because we’ve been hovering over a tulip field for the last fifteen minutes.”
Peter brings his hand to his mouth and starts pacing the aisle. “Right, um… I can’t call my friends because he’s tracking their phones… uh, give me your phone, please?” Peter asks as he makes his way towards his dad.
“My cell phone?” Tony asks.
“Yeah.” Peter says as he stares at his dad’s legs.
Tony grabs his phone from the pocket inside his jacket, “Okay. Here.” He goes to hand it to Peter but pulls back when Peter goes to grab it. “On one condition,” Tony deadpans.
“Hmm?” Peter asks and puts his hand down. He knows where this is going, and he doesn’t like it.
“Look at me,” Tony whispers. He sees as Peter tenses up and puts his hand in his pocket. “Peter. You haven’t looked at me since-“ Tony lifts his arm up even though Peter isn’t looking, “-I got this arm.” He watches as Peter’s face twists. He knows his kid isn’t ashamed of him or his arm, it’s just a painful reminder for them both.
There’s a silence for what feels like minutes but is only a few seconds before Tony breaks it, “Bambino, look at me. I miss seeing your Bambi eyes.” That gets Peter to chuckle and Tony smiles. The last time he ever got to really see his son’s eyes was when Peter was disappearing in his arms five years ago.
Peter starts to lift his head but looks back down, “I can’t.” Peter says, voice shaking.
“Pete. Please.” Tony’s voice cracks but he doesn’t care.
It takes a few failed tries, but Peter finally makes eye contact with Tony. It lasts a few seconds before Peter looks at Tony’s arm. “Pete, focus on my face and not the arm.” Peter listens and looks at his father’s face.
“I’m sorry,” Peter whispers, barely audible but Tony hears it.
Tony stands up and walks over to his son. “This-“ Tony says as he lifts his arm up, aware of the tears coming down his face, “-isn’t your fault. I made the choice to use all the stones, but it was for a good cause Pete. I never want you to blame yourself because it wasn’t your fault.” Tony put his arm down.
They stare at each other for a minute before Peter looks down at Tony’s arm. “You were going to leave,” Peter starts crying. “Y-you were go- I know your job is to save people but…” Peter stops mid-sentence. Tony’s feels his heart break at that, ever since he adopted Peter, the kid was afraid that Tony would leave him because everyone else in his life has left. And he made his fear a reality by choosing to use those stones.
Tony sits back in his seat and hands Peter his phone, “Here.”
“Thanks,” Peter grabs the phone from his dad. He takes a few steps and turns around, so his back is facing Tony. “What’s your password?”
“Your birthday,” Tony says as he crosses his legs at the ankles.
Peter smiles and goes to Instagram where Flash is live. Flash’s voice cuts through the silence as he says, “Ello, governor! Cup of tea for you? I’mma be in London soon-” Flash looks at the screen and shouts, “-Oh my fucking god! Tony motherfucking Stark is watching my live. Where’s Penis Parker? I gotta show Penis that his ‘dad’ is watching my live.” He puts quotes around the word dad and Tony scoffs before realization hits him.
“Is that the kid that’s bullying you?” Tony shouts and Peter swallows before handing his dad his phone back, still not making direct eye contact.
He puts his hands in his pockets, “They’re in London.”
“London? Okay.” Tony gets up from his seat and moves towards the front of the quinjet.
Peter feels the quinjet start to move and he looks out the window. “This place would be really pretty under different circumstances,” he whispers. He watches his dad’s legs move as he starts to walk towards the front of the quinjet. “I need a suit!”
Tony turns around, a grin plastered on his face. “Suit?”
Tony presses some buttons on the ceiling and a space behind Peter starts opening. Peter turns around to face the now open compartment in awe. He starts walking towards it and another small compartment opens. A small metal pad comes down from the ceiling with a hand outline on it. Peter puts his hand on it and a blue light appears, he takes a step back and watches it in awe.
“Okay, um… bring up everything you have on Spider-Man,” Peter takes a few steps forward as a hologram appears. He scrolls through them, not aware that his father is watching. “Yeah, open that. Okay. No, no, no…” He puts his arm through a holographic arm and starts tinkering with some things.
Tony’s voice cuts through the air, “You take care of the suit, I’ll take care of the music.” He presses a few more buttons on the ceiling until ‘Back in Black’ by AC/DC plays throughout the quinjet.
Tony takes a seat towards the front of the plane and watches Peter, smiling. He watches as his son expands a hologram of the Spider-Man suit. The boy is completely in his element, he just wishes that he and Peter were back in the lab together, like life before everything happened.
“Okay, can you pull up my web-shooters?” Peter asks politely to no one in particular. A hologram of the web-shooter appears, and Peter pulls out a small part. “Isolate the taser webs and reconfigure and boost the voltage to a factor of… 25 percent and give me complete manual control over detonation.”
“Why are you staring at me?” Peter asks as he continues tinkering with his suit.
Tony smiles, truly happy for the first time in a long time. “No reason,” Tony pauses. “I’m proud of you Bambino, never forget that.” He watches as Peter’s cheeks redden and that makes him chuckle. No matter how long he’s had Peter, the kid blushes over the slightest compliment.
“I love you, dad.” Peter says, turning his head to make eye contact with his father.
“I love you too, Bambino.” Tony replies.
Maybe his life hasn’t been the greatest, but he wouldn’t change a single thing. Because the path he took was the path that led him to Peter. Even if things had ended differently with the snap, it would’ve been okay because he got to see Peter grow into this amazing young man that he is today.