May was freaking out. And when May freaks out, Peter freaks out. So, they both were freaking out and there was no one with a single brain cell who could stop it.
"How did this happen? Why did he let that happen?" yelled May and Peter didn't know how else to protect Tony from her anger than stealing her phone so she couldn't call him. This was not his fault at all. Well, maybe a little, but who could know?
“He was just trying to help! Flash was bothering me, and he called him out,” Peter tried to calm his Aunt down, but he was panicking himself. Whenever he looked at his phone, he saw the picture of him and Mr. Stark in London’s Starbucks for a very needed coffee. But that was fine, the article was worse. Plenty of articles, tweets, and all.
"But then he took you to England and now the whole world is speculating about who you are and why are you hanging out with him. I dealt with it, really, but nobody knew about you. Now they have photos, what if they'll try to hurt you? Because of him?" May gestured, hard expression on her face.
“Why would they want to hurt me? I’m not important, I’m just an intern. They talked to my classmates and they confirmed I’m just some loser. People will think he’s just making charity for a poor orphan. That’s not a big deal!” He said it and he meant it even though he was desperately wishing it wasn’t true.
That was the thing. People saw them together being friendly and all which wouldn't be a problem because Peter wasn't famous, and no one knew his name. But after their trip to Stark Industries, his classmates actually believed him. They saw. And it wasn't really a secret or something, but when the internet asked who he is, they gladly answered. And journalists tried to reach him in front of the school, they were interviewing everyone who knew him. His phone was buzzing nonstop from incoming notifications. And he tried not to worry, really. He went to school the day after, he was ignoring all the stares, because he's not interesting and they won't care in no time, right? But then old photos of the two of them started popping because plenty of people photographed them in the background while taking a selfie. And then people started questioning who is he? Or if he’s Tony’s son. Insane! Like yeah, brown eyes and hair, kinda genius, and with Stark's history, it wouldn't be really that surprising. But still, insane!
He looked at May with a question in his eyes. Perhaps they thought he's close to Mr. Stark, but that is not a reason to hurt him, right? Why would they?
“Because people hate him and want to hurt him all the time. And if they can’t reach him, they’ll just hurt people close to him!”
Peter stiffened. He knew that some people hated Mr. Stark. He also knew that they hurt Happy and Miss Potts in the past because they couldn’t hurt Tony Stark himself. But that wasn’t fair. It wasn’t Mr. Stark’s fault, he was doing his best to protect people and besides, Peter is Spider-Man! He can take care of himself.
"Look Peter, I know he understands you in a way I never will, but I don't think it's good for you to spend time with him. It's not safe," May's voice softened, and she tried to smile comfortingly and hug Peter, but he extricated himself from her embrace and glared.
“That is not true. I know you hate him. For my mistakes. But Mr. Stark is a good person, and he can fix this. It's not an absolute disaster, yet. Just conspiracy theories. That doesn't mean anything," Peter shrugged and despite May's protests, he took his backpack and left the apartment. He needed to talk to Mr. Stark.
…..
The subway ride was long, but Peter didn't mind. Calm songs playing in his earbuds helped him sort his thoughts. Mr. Stark probably hasn't even noticed that something's happening. All he must do was ask him to tweet that he's just an intern or say he barely knows him. Mr. Stark could fix this.
When Peter arrived at Tower, it was already dark and there was just security in front of the building. Peter showed them his badge, then swiped it through a scanner and stepped in. FRIDAY greeted him as always and confirmed, that Boss is indeed in the building. It was easy to find him. The workshop was his first choice.
Although FRIDAY knew Peter, he still had to press the right number combination to get in. Tony let just very few people step into his kingdom and one of the security protocols was code on a mirror glass door.
The door silently opened and Peter entered a huge room. He smelled motor oil as always, saw that organized chaos all over the place, and then he saw Tony himself. He was sitting shirtless on a stool, Happy behind him stitching him up.
“Mr. Stark?” Peter called hesitantly. He didn’t know there was some mission, but Tony seemed to be beaten up. Bruises on his face and abdomen. It was terrifying. Peter knew Tony isn’t invincible and fearless like he used to think when he was younger. But still, his mentor was also his hero. He looked up to him, he learned from him, and to see him hurt like that, without that façade, it was just weird.
“Underoos? What the hell are you doing here?” asked Tony and then whined in pain.
“Are you okay? What happened?”
Happy finished another stitch and let Tony turn to Peter. And he saw all the scars. The huge one where the arc reactor used to be. And another and another. There was plenty of them. Peter wondered how many times Happy had to nurse Tony. A horrified expression appeared on Peter’s face and Tony's eyes cooled down.
“Wait for me outside,” commanded Tony, no emotion in his voice.
“But what happened? Does it hurt? Shouldn’t you see a doctor?” stuttered Peter and made two steps closer to Tony.
"Kid, I said to wait outside," Tony's voice was hard and husky. He hadn't shown any emotion in his face, but his hands were shaking. He grabbed his left hand and closed his eyes for a second.
"Mr. Stark, I really think you should see a real doctor," Peter almost pleaded while scanning Tony's abdomen full of old scars. It was horrifying. Tony Stark was not a super soldier, trained spy, or inhuman. He was just a man with a genius and a big heart. And he was scarred and hurt. Inside and outside. And suddenly Peter was scared to death because if he could get this hurt, he could also get killed. That thought never even crossed Peter's mind. Tony was a hero he wasn't supposed to hurt.
All Peter’s emotions must have been projected in his expression, but perhaps badly read.
“Get out!” Tony yelled. Peter heard Mr. Stark yell, he even yelled at him before, but this was different. This was somehow way worse than the ferry incident aftermath.
Peter rushed away.
He didn’t know what to do. He really needed to talk to Mr. Stark about what happened to him and also that media now knew about him. But he yelled at Peter and it felt like he did something horribly wrong.
Peter was hesitantly standing in front of the elevator, trying to decide whether to leave or not.
"Peter, what are you doing here?" A soft voice echoed in Peter's ears and ended his dilemma.
“Hello, miss Potts, ma'am. I- I know I shouldn't be here but I'm like famous now, you know? People saw me with Mr. Stark, and they have these crazy conspiracy theories. And Aunt May is freaking out. And when she freaks out, I freak out. And I kind of freaked out even before her which is worse. And I stole her phone, cause she wanted to yell at Mr. Stark and stuff-"
"Slow down, Peter. I saw the mess you two made in London. Our PR team went crazy, but don't worry, it will be fine. We'll figure it out. What I meant is, what are you doing here in the hallway looking like a lost puppy. Where's Tony?" Pepper frowned. She was beautiful and elegant as always, wearing a midi skirt with a slash, blouse, and her hair in a high ponytail. Just her high heels were missing, she was barefoot now, making no noise while walking.
"You look really nice today," Peter said before he could stop himself and reddened immediately. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Well, I did, but… Mr. Stark is in the workshop. With Happy. Didn't want me there," Peter finally answered sheepishly.
"Oh, I see what happened. Have you ever done yoga?" Pepper asked and smiled at Peter's confused expression.
"No? Why?"
"Let's say it takes some time before they're done, and I really need to stretch. Also, you seem to be really stressed and this could help. Come on," Pepper waved at Peter and walked towards the elevator, Peter hesitantly following her.
"How do you know they're not done yet?" the boy asked because he didn't know what else to say. One second he’s arguing with May and the others he’s going to do yoga with Pepper Potts. What is going on?
"The nursing is done quite quickly, but Happy always gives Tony lectures about being careful and tries to explain that he's not a doctor even though he has a course. And that Tony isn't twenty anymore and he should take care of himself. And he missed Downtown Abbey because of him, so we have at least another half an hour. You coming?"
Pepper led Peter somewhere he had never been. It was a huge room (like there would be a small one in Tony’s building), Peter guessed it’s a gym. There were weights and treadmill, and even a boxing ring (why?). Half the machines Peter didn’t know and couldn’t even imagine what they do. But Pepper didn’t lead him to any of it, but to a zen corner, how she called it. There was a small table with candles, a big flower on the floor, some soft pillows, a mirror, and two yoga mats.
Why two, the boy asked himself and then Pepper right afterward.
"One of them is Tony's," she smiled and handed it to Peter.
"What?!" Peter didn't even try not to look shocked. Can you imagine THE Tony Stark do yoga? He certainly couldn't.
“Oh yeah. It’s not like he can do a middle split, but after a few strained muscles after some ironmaning, he admitted that it could do him some good. And he actually likes it. You know, people think that yoga is just for women," Pepper said while unrolling her mat, "but that is not true, not even a little bit… For some positions, you need to concentrate to hold a balance and use some strength. Yoga can be very challenging. After few sessions, Tony found out that he must really think about what he's doing and so his mind finally shuts up. It could help you too. You geniuses and your always buzzing brains.”
While Peter unrolled his own (or rather Tony’s) mat, Pepper went to change. She came back in some yoga leggings and sports bra, which made Peter blush.
Pepper started slowly, guided Peter through their gentle flow. They rolled their heads first, then shoulders, forward fold, cat and cow, downward dog, and so on.
Peter always thought he is pretty flexible. He touched his toes, you know? Ned couldn’t do that. And he rarely strained a muscle. But now he realized that his strained muscles probably healed so quickly that they didn’t hurt after all the adrenaline left his body. It was more likely he just didn’t notice them. But he tried and did his best. Until Pepper scolded him that if he will push his body like that, he will rip his hamstring or something, and boy that hurts like bitch. So, she showed him some modifications and he finally started to enjoy it.
After forty minutes or so, Peter completely forgot about his celebrity problem and Mr. Stark’s injuries. The only thing he could think about was to not stop breathing while trying to do a half-moon. He couldn’t imagine doing stuff like that without his super strength.
“And now the best part, Shavasana,” Pepper announced, and Peter groaned.
“Is that another torture position? I am actually tired and it's almost impossible to tire me," replied Peter half-joking but Pepper just shook her head.
“After all the work our bodies deserve a rest, just lay down on your mat, close your eyes and completely relax. Let go of your fears and worries. Just breathe deeply and let your body slow down.”
“I like Shavasana,” whispered Peter after a while with eyes still closed. FRIDAY dimmed the light, so he could see just soft yellow light from the candles through his eyelids.
“Everybody does,” responded Pepper with a content sigh.
"My body feels weird. It's vibrating. It's like there are thousands of ants running through my veins… This is nice."
“Would be nicer if you’d stop talking,” chuckled Pepper.
“Sorry.”
…..
Pepper blew out the candle, rolled her mat, and shown Peter where to put his. They weren't talking.
Peter sighed, he didn't want to go back to real life where people were mean and, his Aunt angry, Tony Stark hurt, and Peter famous.
"It'll be alright," said Pepper as if she could read his mind and patted him on the shoulder. "Trust me."
Peter just nodded and let her lead him back to the living areas.
They heard a soft piano from a distance. Peter shot Pepper a surprised look, but she just smiled and kept walking.
When they walked into the room, Peter stopped and stared at Tony sitting behind a huge piano and playing a song the boy didn’t know. Sounded old.
Peter noticed the instrument before, but he assumed that Pepper is the one who plays. He honestly couldn't imagine Tony playing any instrument, not even a triangle. And here he was.
Miss Potts let Peter stare shocked, meanwhile, she approached her fiancé and hugged him from behind, rested her chin on his head.
“Hey, hun,” said Tony softly, never stopping playing. And Peter felt awkward. “I fucked up,” he continued, and Peter wanted to disappear. He was even turning back to the hallway with the elevator, but then Tony said his name.
"I yelled at Peter again. I told him to wait outside so we can talk it out, but he left. I wonder how many of my screw-ups is he gonna tolerate before he walks out of my life forever.”
Peter felt his heart break a little more. How could he ever think that?
“He’s not gonna walk out. And he didn’t leave,” replied Pepper. Tony stiffened, stopped playing. His whole body visibly tensed when he turned on his stool to face Peter, who was frozen in half step towards the exit.
“Hi, Mr. Stark,” he awkwardly waved and wished to die right there at that very moment. Just evaporate.
"Hi, kid. You all good, buddy? You look like you just ate the whole lemon," Tony smirked at Peter's obvious awkwardness and turned back to the piano.
“I’ll leave you two boys sort things out while I’ll take a bath. Bye, Peter,” grinned Pepper and left.
“You know what? I think it can wait. Pete, be good and go home, I have a bathtub activity I need to attend.”
“No, you do not have!” called Pepper from the hallway and Tony sat back down.
"Gross," muttered Peter and when Tony shot him an amused look, he just shrugged.
Although Tony seemed way more relaxed, Peter didn’t dare to start the conversation. But Tony didn’t start it either. He just started to play the piano again. And Peter stood there all awkward again.
“Come here,” called Tony and Peter rushed to stand by his side. He didn’t know what to do with his hands and how to stand and wow, how can a superhero be so damn awkward.
“Relax, I’m not gonna bite you… My mom taught me this song. Well, she taught me most of the songs I can play. She was a great pianist and when she was playing, it was forbidden to argue. So, whenever me and my dad fought, she started to play, and we had to shut up. I'm not saying it helped, I usually left, and then we argued in another room. But sometimes, I stayed, and she played for hours. And when she taught me how to play, oh god, that was the greatest weapon. Any time Howard started yelling, I just played. And when he yelled louder, I played fortissimo. He hated it so much, it was so funny,” Tony smirked and Peter chuckled. He was finally able to relax a little, his sight never leaving Tony's fingers dancing on black and white piano keys.
“I wish you could meet her. Oh, she would love you.” And suddenly, Peter had no idea what to say. He decided to be quiet for now and Tony didn’t seem to mind.
“I’m sorry I shouted at you. It was a dick move, but really, could you act even more shocked? Disgusted? I know I don’t look like I did twenty years ago but you don’t have to remind me that with your ‘I really think you should see a doctor,’” said Tony bitterly, pained expression crossed his face, but it was gone in a second.
“Disgusted? What? No! Mr. Stark, I’m, I didn’t-“ Peter started rambling but when he saw Tony’s amused smile, he stopped himself to sort his thoughts. “I was just scared, you know? I know that you risk your life daily, but it's your armor we see in action and I think I never realized that you are in it and that you get hurt. And you get hurt bad. All those scars? It freaked me out. You have so many of them. And you let Happy stitch you!" at that thought the boy started to freak out again. Bye-bye, good yoga effect.
“Hey, Happy is actually a really good nurse. Most of the scars are really straight and thin,” Tony replied and tucked his shirt up a little. Peter stared in shock, then he quickly closed his eyes and waved his hand at Tony.
“Please, don’t show me this.”
“What? Like you don’t have any.”
“I don’t! They heal. Because I have superpowers. Oh my god, how can Miss Potts let you still do that? You could die!”
This was new. Tony knew Peter pretty well by now, he was able to deal with all the teenage nonsense most of the time. He could help out with the superhero stuff but this? What the hell was this?
"That's no news, I have had this gig for a while now. What is the matter with you? You know how this goes." Tony stopped playing, he turned to Peter and raised his eyebrows. He could see that Peter’s really stressed. But why? Why now?
“But I never realized that you can actually die! Okay? You were my hero since I was little, you were invincible. And you are hurt, you have heart problems and have done enough. You don’t have to be Iron-man anymore,” Peter glued his eyes to the floor instantly when he recollected he told The Iron-man not to be Iron-man. But Tony didn’t say anything, so he continued. “My parents died when I was little and Ben a few years ago. I can't lose you too. I just can't. I don't think I could survive that."
Peter didn’t dare to look at his mentor. But if he’d look, he would see how shocked this statement made him. He would see his inner fight in his eyes. Fight between the part of him that genuinely believed in those words Peter just said and the part that knew he is a horrible person who doesn’t deserve love.
After a minute or so of heavy quiet, Peter finally looked up and met Tony’s eyes. His vision was blurred a little and he blinked several times to get rid of the annoying tears.
Tony was still quiet, but he stood up and grabbed gently Peter’s shoulder, then he hugged him. Not tightly, not for long. He wasn’t good at this. But it was a hug, first that they shared. Then, still holding Peter's shoulders, Tony said: "I really want to joke about this, or be sarcastic, because it's easier than to deal with emotions, but I feel like that's not appropriate."
Peter gave out a watery smile at that, and Tony continued. "It's normal to think that nothing happens to me when I am in the suit. It's just a piece of gold and titanium, colored brightly. It's not me, you don't see me get hurt and it's only natural that you freaked out when you saw all the scars. Peter, I am just a man in a can. And you need to get used to the idea. Yes, I can get hurt and I can die. Hell, I thought I'll die so many times. I know it's hard, but you need to stop thinking about me like that. I'm not a superhero. And I'm definitely not invincible. If something happens, it will be so much harder for you to cope. Work on that, alright? For your own good. But I can assure you I'm doing my best not to die. I don't want to die, I really don't. But I can't stop trying to do some good. I hurt so many people before, I need to remedy it. Besides, I am Iron-man. We are one. That’s a fact. Also, someone needs to look after you. Sometimes you have really bad ideas. Like, take a nap under a collapsed building."
“You know about that?!”
"Yes, it almost gave me a heart attack. You don't have to worry some bad guy will kill me; you'll do it first."
Peter didn’t like it. He didn’t like the idea of getting used to the thought that Tony might die. He would very much like to live in denial, thinking Tony is invincible with his child-like innocence. But he was right. He had to grow up and face the reality.
“Are you okay? What happened today?” he asked instead of trying to convince Tony that he, in fact, is a hero. That was a battle for another day.
“That is none of your concern. But I’m fine, I promise. Why did you come here, anyway? Today is not a lab day, is it?”
"No, it's not. I need help. Someone took a photo of us in London and now the world is trying to figure out who I am. There were paparazzi at our school. Some people think I'm your illegitimate son."
"Nonsense! I always used protection, I'm not an idiot," exclaimed Tony and Peter took a step back.
“Ugh, gross,” he grimaced. “But that’s not the problem, I know I’m not your son. But I need it to stop, to be invisible again. Could you, maybe, tweet that I’m nobody to you? That I’m just an intern and that you barely know me or something?” asked Peter hesitantly, scratching the back of his neck.
“But that’s not true, you’re not nobody, you’re important,” replied Tony before he could even think about it. The second he said it, he cringed but then he remembered his talk with Pepper about letting good people get close. So he didn’t try to joke about it or anything.
“Well, it's not like you'd have a problem with lying."
“That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think? I don’t lie, I tell people what I think even when they don’t want to hear it. But yeah, I could say that I barely know you and that you just bring me my coffee. Peter who?”
That stink. Peter knew that Tony is saying those things just because Peter wants it, but it still hurt a little. But apparently, Tony was not done just yet.
“I thought kids your age wants to be famous. Didn’t you say that your greatest dream is to be a Meme Lord? But now seriously, think about it at least until tomorrow. If I do what you’re asking me to do, we won’t be able to hang out outside this building anymore. Moreover, you always talk about how you wanna do good. You are a sweet kid, people will love you and with publicity, you have influence. I’m sure you would find a way how to use it. And if you would decide to let the world know we are close, I would, of course, make sure you and May would be safe. You would have a panic button of sorts that would alert an Iron-Man suit that would protect you. Don’t look at me like that, I know you can take care of yourself, but Peter Parker can’t stick to the ceiling, Spiderman can. May would have one too, of course. Or, I don’t know, we would work on that. But anyway, yeah, think about it.”
Peter considered it but he still thought it would be best for him and really everyone if Tony would announce that he barely knows him. However, Tony’s resistance was odd.
“Why do you even mind if the world will think I’m nobody?”
“I had plans for us? Look, I wanted to take you to the next MIT confarreation, introduce you to some people and stuff. You would have contacts which is always good. Also, since I am a good boy now, these kinds of events are so god damn boring and you’re fun to be around. And you know what? When we are at it I can say it all, I dismissed you before, I pushed you away and I don’t want to do it again. You said I didn’t listen to you, remember the ferry incident? Yeah, I listened but didn’t communicate. You said a don’t care. I do care. I do care a lot and I don’t want to make you think that I don’t ever again. Furthermore, when you think you are the only one who can fix shit up, you do stupid ass things. And if you die, I think that’s on me, remember? I don’t need that on my consciousness. So anyway, I like to have you around, and if I do what you want me to do, it won’t be possible anymore. But it’s your choice, really. Just think about all the pros and cons till tomorrow. We can meet then and talk about how we do it.”
Peter certainly didn’t expect that. But he knew Tony Stark for a while now and he knew that he didn't like emotional stuff, didn't like talking about it. But he was also very impulsive, meaning that from time to time Peter got a burst of honest, heart-to-heart talk. And this was probably one of them. Peter could sense when to continue with the conversation or when to lighten the mood and turn it into a joke, too. And so he did.
“Oh my god, Mr. Stark, when did you become so serious and adult-like?" he chuckled, even though it was a bit forced.
“The day I met you. I instantly knew I will have to take care of you because your dumb ass is a magnet on problems. But you should see me when I was your age. Oh, I'll never forget the turtle incident," Tony grinned back with a mischievous spark in his eyes.
"What turtle incident?"
“You will never know.”
“Oh, come on!”
“Nope. That’s my dark secret. Jeez! It's past your bedtime. Happy will take you home. Think about what we discussed and let me know how you decided,” Tony tapped his expensive wristwatch to show Peter the time.
“No, it’s okay, I can take a bus, don’t bother Happy,” tried Peter resist, but already knew it’s a lost cause.
“I’m not bothering him, I’m paying him. And give May her phone back, she already called me from your neighbor. You’re probably grounded, by the way, she sounded pissed because you disappeared for a few hours.”
“Oh shit! I gotta go. Thank you! And sorry! Love you, bye!” and he was gone. While he ran through the hallway, the piano started playing again. And when he rushed into the elevator, he thought he heard Tony sing? Can Tony Stark sing? And what did Mr. Stark do to a turtle when he was Peter’s age? And-
Holy shit.
Holy motherfucking shit!
He told Mr. Stark ‘love you’.
Peter certainly didn’t want to say it. Those words just slipped. He was used to saying that to May and well, he loved Mr. Stark. Sort of. But he didn’t mean to say it out loud!
But before Peter could switch to a full panic mode, Happy honked at him and made him get in the car.
“Hey, Happy?” said Peter before the older man could push out a barrier between them.
“Yeah?”
“Do you know something about a turtle incident?”
“Heard about it, but it’s a mystery to me too, kid,” answered Happy and Peter might have seen him grin?
Mission number one: Find out about the turtle incident.