Seeing Double
1995-
Peter heard a noise. Tony was calling for him. He let his eyes open, looking over to the other man. He tilted his head, confused, when the man was fast asleep. He must’ve been hearing things. He fell asleep again, his head hitting the pillows.
“Glad you’re finally sleeping,” Modern Tony said, a little louder. “Peter, wake up.”
Again? Peter looked up. Was the man pranking him? He turned his head to see if someone had planted speakers to prank him. What he saw instead, made him freeze up. His breath almost escaped him.
Standing there, the iron man suit right beside him, was definitely his Tony. The man’s face looked like he was seeing a ghost yet, his face was all smiles.
“T-Tony?!”
“Tony, huh? Must be serious,” He whispered, “Oh Pete,” He said, with a small laugh. He would’ve cried otherwise. “Come here, buddy.”
“Tony!” Peter repeated, getting up from the sofa. He tripped on the rug, falling forward.
Tony caught the kid mid fall, cradling him to his chest. Peter was crying into his t-shirt, his whole body shaking as he did. Tony was kissing his head, holding him like it was their last time.
“I-I missed y-you so much!” Peter sobbed, holding Tony like the man was going to disappear. “So much.”
“I missed you most,” Tony whispered. “How was I supposed to go on without my little man? I never gave up, Peter. I was going to try everything to get you back.”
“I hope you didn’t work too hard. You better have slept, I will be asking Pepper,” Peter said, taking a deep breath. “I love you so much, Dad.”
Tony would’ve been lying if that name didn’t make his knees weak. He pried the kid off him. As much as he would’ve hugged the kid until the end of the time, the Spider-Kid’s grip was blocking his airways. He couldn’t even breathe.
“Hey, buddy,” Tony said, putting one finger on his jaw. “Look at me, honey. I’ve missed your face, let me see it.”
Peter looked up, trails of tears down his cheek. He smiled into Tony’s eyes and he couldn’t believe those were looking back down at him. “I-I’ve been with you- I mean- young you- this entire time...”
“How have I behaved? I can imagine I’ve been a bit short, if I remember how I acted back in the day,” Tony told him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.
Peter looked at Tony like he hung the moon. In his eyes, Tony was the kindest, smartest, comforting person there could be. He didn’t answer for a bit, tearing up all over again. To have someone who cared for him this much, to follow him back into the past, was almost unbelievable.
The kid was smiling up at Tony, his face vacant. Tony started to get worried that he was some decoy planted by the wizard, made to antagonise him. He looked at him, waiting for him to just say something.
“Kid?” He said, squeezing his shoulder.
The room was dark, the only light on was a small lamp on the coffee table. Tony couldn’t see much of Peter’s face but, he didn’t need to see him to know that the kid was crying all over again.
“Buddy?” Tony said, moving him over to the sofa. He sat him down, brushing his hair with hands. “Was I really that bad?”
“N-No,” Peter sniffed. “I just still can’t believe you’re here.”
“Did you really think that I’d leave you behind?”
“N-Never,” Peter whispered.
“Glad you know that, kiddo,” Tony told him, moving his leg so he could sit down too. “These old sofas I picked were so uncomfortable, glad I got rid of these."
As soon as Tony sat down, Peter rushed into his arms and tucked himself into the man's arms. His head was still on his chest as Tony's chin rested in his hair.
"Yeah, I missed you too Petey-Pie," Tony sighed, the feeling of his kid in his arms was all he needed for all the tension in his body to leave. "Ned told people that you moved to Madagascar."
"Madagascar? He has always been a bad liar," Peter laughed.
"He's awful, kid. I'm surprised he's kept your secret for so long."
"So am I, Mr Stark," Peter smiled.
Tony frowned for a second. So, they were right back to ‘Mr Stark’. He would’ve preferred to hear ‘dad’ all over again. He didn’t say anything, however, as he just content to have his kid back in his arms again.
Next to them, on the other sofa, they heard some movement. Both of them turned their head to see past-Tony staring. His eyes were wider than Peter had ever seen, clearly in shock. Peter glanced up to see his Tony making the exact same facial expression. It was quite weird, really, to see them both in the room together.
Peter saw some fan-art of himself on twitter once. The artist drew two versions of him pointing at each other, seeing double. Somehow, this situation reminded him of that.
"Mr Stark... meet Mr Stark," Peter giggled, sitting up from Tony to let him see properly.
The kid asked Jarvis to turn on the lights. As soon as Jarvis began speaking, his Tony's eyes flashed with heartbreak. Peter didn't know how much the old AI meant to him, but it was clearly a lot.
Modern Tony stared at himself for a second. “Well, hello College-Yearbook, looking as handsome as ever. What year is it? 1995? We must be working on that program, you know the one, so I’ll just let you know that we’ve misplaced some numbers in the calculations,”
Younger Tony sat up, his hair ruffled and out of place. He looked at himself, trying to figure out how to reply. It wasn’t easy to be on the opposite side of his own ‘eccentricity’. Was this how other people felt?
“Which program would that be?” Tony asked, sitting up with his back against the fluffy pillows. “Also, I swear I heard you dissing ‘our’ sofas, what’s the issue?”
“Hmm wait until we make our own sofa, the comfort doesn’t match anything you’ve ever even thought of. Right, Pete?” Peter’s Tony turned to him, “Comfy enough to the live the rest of your life on. Also, you’ll figure out which program that I’m on about. Whichever one fails first, since they never do.”
“To be fair, those sofas are incredible,” Peter nodded.
“As much as I have loved looking at personifications of my past mistakes,” Tony said, waving a hand at the past version of himself. “No offence,” He glanced between the two, putting a comforting hand around his kid again (he didn’t want to let go ever again). “I think that it’s time for us to go.”
A flash of something that Peter didn’t recognise fell across Tony’s (the Tony that he had spent the last two months with) face. The man’s whole body language changed immediately, his shoulders sinking.
“You can’t,” Past Tony blurted. He recognised how the other two looked at him, quickly changing his tone of voice. “Because- I need to get Rhodey and Pepper here to take the memory potion and I need to-“
“I can’t pass the opportunity to see those two all young and fresh again,” Tony smirked, “So, I guess we will.”
Spending the time with himself was something else. He didn’t remember acting like this when he was 25, Peter’s influence was something else. That kid managed to make the coldest people warm again.
Tony sat and waited for a while, practically attached to Peter’s hip as they spent the day speaking and staying up in the penthouse (they didn’t want to scare the staff with two Tony’s walking around).
Peter was away in the bathroom, leaving only the two Tony’s alone in the room. Future Tony stared at the man, as past Tony spent longer looking down at his wedding ring (and the countless scars all over his arms).
“A superhero, huh?” Younger Tony asked, “Doesn’t really sound like us.”
“We’ve changed, young padawan,” Tony smiled, “How much did the kid tell you?”
“Not too much. I saw the look in his eyes, though. You’ve been through, uh, a lot. I mean, let’s not talk about it too much. I don’t think I want to know about the trauma I’ll eventually go through.”
“Good choice, it’s like we’re the same person. Oh, wait,” Tony winked, adjusting his Stark’s sunglasses. “I wish I could write you some things so that you remember, but I can’t risk changing the future. I don’t want to fuck it up and not meet the kid, somehow.”
“I can feel how much I care for him. I can’t imagine how much you love him. He’s a great kid.”
“That he is. He’s the best. My protege and my one and only son, my heir, my everything. Well, I could go on and on,” Future Tony.
“Are you happy?”
“That’s a complicated question, little one. The kid, well, he sure makes it easier. Pepper, Rhodey and Happy do too. Some others that you meet join that crew. I can’t say that ‘happy’s’ the word, it’s more ‘content’.” Tony explained to himself (which might be the weirdest thing he’s done in a while).
“That’s much better than I am right now,” The other Tony said in reply, noticing for a second that the other’s eyes flashed with empathy.
Their conversation stopped as soon as Peter walked back in, the kid’s smile already bright on his face. The kid walked straight over to future Tony, sitting in his personal space. The face the kid gave him, Tony gave him the same one in return, was one of pure admiration. Their love was so evident.
If Past Tony hadn’t already made up his mind about letting go, the love in this other Tony’s eyes would’ve been reason enough. They both needed each other. A little part of him yelled out at himself to keep Peter in his crutches. It wasn’t fair, he needed him just as much as this Tony did. But, that was a far away thought by now. He just needed to let go.
Peter watched Tony’s face as Rhodey and Pepper walked in. Young Tony’s eyes diverted from looking too closely at Pepper whilst a massive smile grew on future Tony’s. They both had the same reaction to see Rhodey (which, of course, was always delight). Rhodey had always been there for them, after all.
“Jesus, look at you both!” Future Tony said, eyes wide. “You’re SO young. Look at them, Pete. It feels like a lifetime ago when they looked like that.”
“Tony?” Pepper said, staring at him. “Is that grey in your beard?”
“That beard looks so much better now,” Rhodey said, staring at Tony’s face. “No offence, our Tony.”
“You know, I expected more words like ‘handsome’, ‘rugged’ and ‘pristine’ and, really, a better response than that. I’ve really grown in the past years. Look, I’m even a father,” Tony told the two new people. He stood behind Peter, an arm wrapped around his shoulders. He ruffled the kid’s head and pressed his lips to his head. “A son and a wife,” Tony winked over at Pepper, “But you’ll forget that soon, so it’s fine that I said it.”
“I feel like I’ve been attacked here. I’m not sure why I’d think that, really. Just a hunch,” Past Tony sighed.
“No, I think it’s blatant,” Future Tony smirked. “Right, you lot. Time to say goodbye to the baby here, it’s time for us to head off. Not that you’ll remember me, but it’s been a pleasure.”
2018 Tony sat in the lab downstairs with his suit whilst Peter said his goodbyes upstairs.
Showing up in front of the beach house, Peter never expected that he’d actually be let indoors. As much as his friendship with Tony was strong; Peter wasn’t sure if it would stay throughout time. When he first started to hang out with this Tony, he noticed all of his sudden changes. His slight smiles whenever Peter wasn’t looking and his ‘reluctance’ for movie night (although it was always his choice, anyway. Peter, however, didn’t think to bring that up).
Tony stood with Pepper and Rhodey by his side, the memory potions across the table. He looked over at Peter who was awkwardly stood beside the kitchen counter.
“Kid... I, uh,-“
“I’ll miss you Tony.”
“Yeah,” Tony took a deep breath, a little smile coming onto his face. “I’ll miss you too.”
Taking one step towards him, Tony placed his arms around him and pulled him into his chest. “This is a hug, I don’t give many out so cherish this.”
“I will,” Peter frowned, giving him a hug back.
Their hug only lasted a minute (at most). When Peter pulled away, Tony’s face was crestfallen. His eyes were glossed over with tears, only a few. He didn’t cry often, so he didn’t want anyone of the people in the room to see. Tony wiped his face with his sleeve, looking away from the room’s gaze.
“Thank you for... everything.”
“You’re welcome, kiddo. I think I should be thanking you instead. I’ll see you in approximately twenty years.”
“Bye,” Peter said. It wasn’t emotional as he would’ve liked, but he didn’t want to burst into tears in front of them all. He gave younger Rhodey and Pepper a hug and waved gently, turning around to join the other Tony in the lab downstairs.
As he left to walk down the stairs, he heard the faint cries of the man he knew before. He got into the lab to see Tony suited up in the suit, an extension of his time travel machine around his wrist (Tony explained how it all worked that afternoon). Peter jumped into Tony’s arms, ready for the trip. The crying that Peter heard suddenly stopped. That must’ve meant they all took the potions upstairs.
“Frid- I mean, Jarvis- Initiate ‘Time Travel Protocol’. Tony said, before turning the bracelet on his wrist. The protocol they made deleted any video evidence that they had ever been there. A flash of light emitted in a second, taking both of them forward in time. Finally, everything was going to be okay.
Upstairs, Tony stood around with empty bottles around him. He was standing around his friends, Pepper and Rhodey, and he had no idea why. The last memory he had was a party he attended last night (a fake memory, but he didn’t know any better. Well, future Tony’s memories of his period of time returned back to him). He must have got drunk, probably. That made the most sense. What didn’t make sense was the friends beside him. He had no idea why they were here.
Pepper and Rhodey left, leaving Tony alone in his penthouse. He went and sat on his sofa. He noticed a blanket on his sofa, one he never used. Two empty plates were on the coffee table. A weird feeling was in his heart. That feeling was quickly drowned in his nearest alcohol bottle. Alone again...
2018-
Tony landed in the lab, a huge smile on his face. Looking down to his arms, nobody was there. Peter wasn’t there.
Oh shit, Tony thought. He got out of his suit and ran upstairs to see if the kid landed somewhere else. He couldn’t find the kid anywhere. He grabbed his phone and called the boy’s phone number.
Somebody answered the phone immediately. That somebody wasn’t his kid, however.
“You might’ve figured out how to bring him back from the past, but I’ve got him here. You and Peter will never see each other again.”
The phone call dropped. Tony stared at the empty wall, tears of frustration in his eyes. He punched his wall, trying to get all his anger out.
Peter was back in 2018, finally, but he wasn’t with Tony. He was sat, shackled in super-powered cuffs, with his back against a concrete wall. He felt a pain in his abdomen, but he wasn’t even sure where it was coming from.
His head hung down low, his eyes looking up. There was a man looking down at him, surprisingly familiar. Peter finally realised who it was. Looking down at him was the same wizard that originally sent him back to the past.