You Or The Kid
The beam of light coming out of the warehouse ceiling distracted Tony for a second. The fear in his stomach spiked, making him feel sick.
He had made a promise to Peter Parker one day. That promise was that he’d always be there for him. Peter tried to make a joke when he said it, telling Tony that was impossible. But, for Tony Stark, it wasn’t. He’d always look out for Peter.
When their father/son relationship first started, Tony was terrified. In fact, he still was. He was terrified that he would be the reason Peter would die.
In this moment, seeing that flash of light, Tony’s worst nightmare looked like it was coming true.
“Friday, baby- please- get me over there as fast as you can,” Tony shouted, his heart beating faster than ever.
The heartbeat in his chest hurt. The panic that flowed through his arms and legs made him weak at the knees. That pain almost made him collapse as he stepped inside, seeing Peter chained up against the wall.
Peter’s eyes were shut closed, his head leant up against the section of the wall he was tied to. The wizard was nowhere to be seen, panicking Tony. But he didn’t have time to panic; he ran up to the kid.
Retracting out of his suit, he stepped up to Peter and put his hands over the kid’s cheeks. He waited for the kid to wake up, but he didn’t. His head rolled in a way that could’ve made Tony throw up. In a panic, Tony put two fingers up to the kid’s neck to try and find a pulse. Luckily, he found it. However, it didn’t explain why the kid wasn’t waking up.
“Pete-,” Tony said, surprising himself with how his voice shook. “Hey, buddy? Wake up- come on. We got to get out of here.”
No response.
Tony got more frantic. He shook the kid’s shoulders gently. He leant forward to press a kiss to the kid’s forehead. Nothing. Tony put his forehead against the kid’s, a tear falling down his cheek.
“Oh god-,” He whispered. He was a genius, wasn’t he? Why couldn’t he figure out how to wake this kid up. “Kiddo- please! Please, baby. Wake up. I need you.”
A puff of smoke filled the room. Tony’s head whipped up, still making sure Peter’s head was supported. When the wizard emerged, Tony’s pain turned into rage.
He laid the kid down gently on the floor, his heart breaking at the sight. However, he didn’t have to time to be hurt. He glared at the new person in the room, standing up straight without his suit. He knew he wasn’t protected, but he needed his kid back. When it came to Peter Parker, Tony Stark would do anything for him. Putting himself in danger was worth everything.
“A sleeping spell,” The man whispered, a smile growing onto his face. “A good bit of magic, isn’t it?” When he saw Tony’s face, he chuckled. “Don’t worry, Mr Stark, he’s going to be fine. Just a long nap.”
“Don’t call me that,” Tony shouted.
“Does it hurt? My child is dead and it is all your fault. You failed my kid and now you failed yours! When will you stop failing, Tony? Everyone you love will die if they stay with you,” The wizard taunted, “Did you even think about why it was so easy to get here?”
“The kid is more clever then yo-,”
“Morse code,” The man laughed, “You really think I’d be bested by some teenager tapping his location into a chair leg? I sent him to the past, Tony! I’m more smart than you’d ever know. I wanted you here. I wanted to watch your face as I kill him, so that you’d finally feel what I feel!”
Tony’s face fell. He glanced over at the kid and then back at the man. “What do you want? Money? I’ll give you anything if you leave my boy alone. He’s not apart of this, please. Please- just,”
“I never thought I’d see the great Tony Stark beg. Do you even remember my wife and daughter? Do you remember me? They’re buried six feet underneath the ground, all because that little suit couldn’t pick up the pace to catch them. You deserve this,” The wizard took a step towards Peter’s sleeping body, making Tony well up. Tony stepped in front of the body, protecting his boy.
“Marcus Scott. That’s your name, isn’t it? Your daughter was called Callie, your wife was Sarah. I remember them, I promise. Not a day goes by when I’m not guilty about the people I lose. I promise I didn’t do it on purpose,” Tony’s voice was small, his hands shaking as he refused to step away from Peter. “The same goes with Peter. He’s innocent, Marcus. He doesn’t deserve to die. He’s my world- I-I can’t lose him, please.”
The wizard, now identified as Marcus, looked at Tony with a shocked look on his face. “Y-You do remember?” He whispered. Tony nodded gently. “I-It doesn’t change anything! I still can-can’t get them back. You deserve to get h-hurt-,”
Tony didn’t know how to reply. He stared at the man’s face, not knowing what to do. Nobody else had come into the warehouse yet, all too caught up with the distraction Marcus had set. Tony wasn’t too sure what happened, but the light that came out of the warehouse set off a security system. Only the people Marcus wanted in the room could enter. That meant Tony was completely on his own to protect his kid and he was going to die trying.
Marcus took a deep breath, making Tony’s gaze flip back to him. “You or the kid?”
“What?”
“I said- you or the kid? It’s one of you, Stark. You choose,” Marcus said.
“Me,” Tony said without any hesitation. He thought about Pepper for a second, about how devastated she’d be. Rhodey, his best friend from college, would be broken. Even the kid. But, Tony couldn’t live without Peter. He wouldn’t physically be able to go on without his kid. So, the choice was easy. “Any day.”
“Fine.”
With a flick of the wrist, Marcus woke the kid up. The boy blinked a few times, wincing. As soon as his eyes met Tony, a broken smile grew on his face.
“Mr Stark-,” Peter said, breathless. “You found me.”
Tony turned around, leaning in front of the boy. “Hey buddy,” He whispered, taking the kid’s hand. “Look at me, Pete.” When Peter’s eyes finally met his, after looking delirious before. “That’s it. You’re doing such a good job. You’re going to be okay, kiddo. Just fine.”
“It hurts,” Peter whispered, as if the other man wasn’t in the room.
“I know, baby. You’re my son, Pete. Before I met you, I didn’t- I was lost, kid. You made it okay. You make everything okay. I’m so proud of you.” Before Tony could think, tears streamed down his face. He leant forward and kissed him on the forehead, for the last time. “I love you, you know that right?”
“Mr Stark?” Peter said, a flash of realisation forming on his face. “No- no, no- what are you doing? Why does this sound like a goodbye? What are you thinking about doing?”
“It’s all for you. Just remember that I care about you. So damn much, Petey.”
“No-,” Peter screamed.
Before he could say anything to Tony, he was gone. Tony reached for the kid, but all his hands felt was the puff of smoke that replaced him. Tony’s head fell into his knees, his breath short as he let the tears fall properly for the first time.
“It’s over, Tony.”
Peter was transported out of the warehouse, still with his hands tied behind his back. He looked up to see the team, and some avengers, looking down at him with worry in their faces.
“Tony- Tony- He’s-,” Peter whimpered, crying so much that his head began to hurt. He couldn’t even breathe as he gasped for breaths between speaking. “Tony-,”
Peter knew that his words were incoherent. When Steve approached him, he couldn’t even look up at the man. Steve broke his handcuffs, using his enhanced strength, and let his arms go. He wrapped his arms around the super solider, immediately, trying to get the comfort he needed.
Steve froze up, putting a hand on the back of the kid’s back. He had never, ever, held Peter like this (or anyone, really) and his heart broke as he tried to calm the teenager down.
“What’s wrong with Tony, Peter?”
“He’s-He’s- He’s going to kill him! St-Steve, help him!”
Stephen Strange stared up at the warehouse. He walked up to Peter, taking a bit of the fluff from his jacket. He was aware it looked weird, but it allowed him to break the spell on the warehouse (with an item from somebody that had been inside). He closed his eyes, leant forward, and broke the spell Marcus set up.
When he stepped inside, Marcus was leant in front of Tony with glowing hands. Before he could think of anything, Strange leaped forward and put the wizard’s hands behind his back with his own power. As one of the most powerful sorcerers, it was easy to overpower him.
Tony was laid down, his eyes shut. The lack of breath scared his team as they all stared to filter into the warehouse. Peter rushed in (with Steve’s assistance) to check up on his mentor. When Peter saw Tony down on the floor, he gasped. Marcus was stood in the corner of the room, with the nerve to look guilty.
“Tony- no!” Peter cried out, “No-No-No, please,”
“I’m sorry. H-He’s alive, but-,” Marcus whispered.
With his arms still attached to Tony’s shoulders, Peter glared at the man. “No! Don’t you dare talk to me! I get that you were missing your family, I understand it all! I’ve lost most of my family- Mr Stark was the only one I had left. Yet, I didn’t go around on a murderous rampage. You tortured me, you sent me back to the past where I was alone and scared and, now, you’ve hurt the only person I had left. I-I-,”
“It’s okay, Pete. I’ll sort him out,” Rhodey said, glaring.
Peter took Rhodey’s hand in his. “U-Uncle Rhodey, we’re better than that. Lets ju-just get Mr Stark back to the hospital.”
Rhodey looked down at the kid, his heart breaking. He told FRIDAY to send his suit back, watching as it flew away. As the team, par Strange who took Marcus away, watched Peter cling to Tony as Rhodey carried him to the jet, they all felt emotional.
Peter was walking beside the team, grabbing onto Tony’s hand, when the residual pain he felt got to him from the torture dealt to him by the wizard. He collapsed onto the floor, hitting his head onto the ground below him.
The last thing Peter remembered was holding onto his mentor’s hand, the man he loved unconscious. He remembered the pain and then, suddenly, the lights went out. He could hear people shouting at him, asking if he was okay, but he couldn’t react. He just laid on the grass, his cheek against the mud.
Peter Parker’s favourite thing in the whole world, (well, it was in the top five) was lego. With lego, you could make anything in the whole world. Lego created things, allowed him to he imaginative. The best thing about it, it couldn’t leave. Most of the things in his top ten, were no longer around. His parents, his Uncle and now, maybe, Tony. Tony was gone.
Opening his eyes, Peter recognised the bright white light in the hospital room. Oh, this was a familiar sight. He sat up, listening to the sound of his own heartbeat on the machine he was hooked up. In the corner of his eye, he saw Pepper sitting down on one of nearest chairs.
“Pepper-,” He whispered. Not Miss Potts, it couldn’t be in this moment. “Pepper.”
Pepper’s eyes went wide as he talked, rushing over to him. “Hey Pete, you’re awake.”
Peter looked down at his hands. “I am,” He whispered. Looking at Pepper, he thought about Tony. “Mr Stark!” He gasped, “Where he is? Is he okay?”
“Look to your left, baby,” Pepper smiled, taking his hand. She squeezed it, leaning in to give him a small kiss on his forehead. “He’s just fine.”
Peter looked to his side, to see Tony in a similar bed. He had a soft, small, smile on his face and he could see that he was in pain. Wires were in his arms, just like Peter’s, and his heartbeat was just a bit slower than it normally was.
“I’ve been waiting for you to wake up, bud,” Tony whispered.
“Tony- oh- I’m so glad you’re okay!” Peter said, trying to get out of the bed to get to Tony. He was stopped by Pepper’s hand, making him stay still.
“You need to rest, Peter. You’re in a lot of pain.”
“But-,” Peter said, taking a deep breath. “I need- I n-need-,”
“I’ll still be here, Petey-,” Tony sighed, reaching across the gap between their beds to join hands. “Look, I’m here-,”
“You risked your life for me,” Peter cried, “You should’ve just left me to-“
Pepper glanced at Tony, realising he needed to have a serious conversation with the kid. She gave them both a kiss on the head, leaving the room.
“Don’t say that, Peter,” Tony said, his voice more stern than he wanted it to be. “Look, kiddo. I’m never going to not protect you.”
“I-,” Peter sighed. “I-I just didn’t want- I don’t want you to die, Tony. I wouldn’t have been able to live without you.”
Tony nodded. “I get it, Pete. I’m a selfish man. I knew that I’d die without you, so I gave up. He gave me a choice. It was you or me and you’re my son. My child. I couldn’t feel the pain of losing you, so I’d rather let myself die instead.”
“But- that’s not fair,” Peter shook his head, “I-I’d feel the same without you, Tony.”
“I get it, kiddo. It was just a split decision choice, Pete. He was going to kill you.”
Peter nodded. He felt Tony’s fingers on his wrist, tracing the bruises around his hand from how tight the cuffs were. Looking up, he saw how tried the man was. His eyes had a deep red ring around them and it was clear that he’d been crying. He had a similar bruise near his jaw, similar to the ones around his wrist.
“I’d do the same for you, you know that right?” Peter mumbled.
With a sigh, Tony shook his head. He let a small smile come onto his face at how determined the kid was. “I know, that’s what scares me.”
“I love you, Tony.”
“I love you too, kid. I have since the first time you came into my lab with that ridiculous lab coat on.”
When the two of them finally got discharged from the hospital, they shared the longest hug ever. If Peter soaked Tony’s shirt in tears, nobody had to know.