“Tony, we need you for this mission. C’mon.”
Tony stared at him with a dumbfounded expression. “I’m not leaving my kid, Rogers.”
They both looked to Peter, who lay silent, a thick layer of bandages wrapping around his torso.
Steve sighed. “Tony, I know you don’t want to leave him, but he’s fine. He’s recovering.”
The inventor massaged his forehead, glancing around the dark room. “I can’t let him wake up alone.”
“He won’t be alone. The mission will be fast. Peter probably won’t even notice you’re gone.”
They both jumped as Sam burst into the room. “Are you guys coming? We need to go now.”
Tony hesitated. “FRI, if Peter wakes up, tell him I’m on a mission and I’ll be back soon. And tell him not to move around too much, and to call me if he needs help. Call me if he wakes up, too. Got it?”
“Overprotective, are we, boss?” the AI replied.
He smiled. “Always am.” The genius bent and kissed Peter’s cheek gently. “Stay safe for me buddy, okay? I’ll be back before you know it.”
Tony looked sadly at his kid’s closed eyes, then followed Steve out of the room. “I’ll be right back.”
~~~~~
The first thing Peter noticed was the empty space beside him. No familiar heartbeat, no breathing, no talking.
Where was Mr. Stark?
Tony was always there.
He groaned and blinked. “Mr. Stark?”
FRIDAY’s kind voice filled the room. “Tony is on a mission right now. He will be back soon. He requested I tell you not to move around, and to call him if you are in need of help.”
Peter nodded. “Is he okay?”
The AI hesitated. “My attempts to contact Mr. Stark have been unsuccessful.”
He froze. “What?”
“I’m sure boss would not want you to worry, Peter.”
“He-he hasn’t responded? What about the rest of the team?”
“No one has answered.”
Oh god, what if Mr. Stark was hurt, or captured, or-
No, he wouldn’t say it.
“I have to help him!” Peter shifted to the side of the bed and carefully stood up.
Bad idea.
His torso flashed with a hot pain and he doubled over. “O-ow.”
“Peter? Please sit down to avoid hurting yourself further,” FRIDAY said, urgency crossing her voice.
“N-no, FRI, I’m fine.” He breathed deeply. “See? I’m good.”
“Peter, moving any more would cause your stitches to come loose. Please sit down,” she insisted.
Peter winced and leaned heavily against the wall. “No, I- I gotta make sure they’re okay.” He stumbled to the hallway.
He needed to help Mr. Stark
The boy staggered down the hallway, the pain increasing. He could hear his stitches tearing, which was definitely not good.
He didn’t remember being in so much pain before.
Wait, what was he doing? Where was Mr. Stark?
Oh right… Mr. Stark needed help
He needed to help him!
“Help who?” he mumbled aloud, sliding down the wall. “Help? Who’m I helpin’?”
He winced as a voice pierced his ears. “Peter, I have contacted Mr. Stark and emergency medical services, but my communication seems to be failing. Stay awake until help arrives, Peter.”
He blinked slowly.
There was a voice in the ceiling. So weird…
Was it Clint?
Wait… who was Clint?
The sky voice was still talking, but he didn’t really understand it.
Medical services. Mr. Stark. Stay awake.
What?
~~~~~
Tony had to keep himself from calling Peter every ten seconds, reminding himself that FRIDAY was there and would alert him if anything happened.
He had a deep feeling that something was wrong.
The genius hummed anxiously. The mission was relatively simple. Just a quick trip to a suspected HYDRA facility, then out again. No fighting.
“Cap? I’m gonna head out.”
“Tony- wait, you’re leaving?” Steve exclaimed.
“Yeah,” he replied, then blasted into the sky.
“FRIDAY, call Peter.”
“Of course, boss.” There was a pause, and then- “My attempts to contact Peter have failed. Would you like me to try again?”
Tony could feel his heart beating out of his chest. “That’s not possible.”
“My sy-sytems have been compromised, boss. I-I can’t-”
“FRI?”
Nothing.
The screen flickered. “Fuck,” he snapped, increasing speed as the back up power lit his face. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
God, he needed to get to Peter yesterday.
~~~~~
He landed on the compound roof, cracking the cement. Tony sprinted to the medbay, stopping only when he spotted Peter’s tiny body on the ground.
“Peter!” he screamed, falling to his knees and cupping his face in his hands. “Whoa- no, no no no, what happened?!”
Oh god, there was blood. Peter’s blood, Peter’s blood on his hands.
He pressed his fingers to his neck, where Peter’s pulse beat rapidly. “Oh, baby, oh my god. Wake up, kiddo. Wake up!”
Tony gently scooped Peter into his arms and rushed to the medbay. The lights flickered on, and he set his kid carefully on his bed, kissing his forehead. “I’ll be right back, baby. Hold on for me.”
He dashed to the cabinet, frantically searching for a needle and thread.
Tony hated himself for doing this. Hatred that burned and solidified permanently.
But he took the needle, his hands shaking, and stitched Peter’s wound back up.
It was something he would never, ever forgive himself for, leaving his kid alone, who got hurt because of him.
God, this was all his fault.
~~~~~
“Stark! What’s wrong?” Steve cried, his heart leaping as he spotted Tony, slumped over in a chair by Peter’s hospital bed, head in his hands.
Tony startled, jumping up to stand in front of his kid. “Oh. Steve, it’s you.”
They both pretended not to notice as he wiped tears from his face.
Tony Stark doesn’t cry.
“What happened? Is Peter okay?”
Tony sighed, scrubbing at his eyes. “He pulled a few stitches. He-he was up looking for me. God.”
Steve frowned. “Didn’t you tell FRIDAY to alert you if that happened? Is that why you left?”
The inventor bit his lip. “FRI- she was hacked.”
All his fault.
“What?! How? Did you fix it?” Steve said.
“Yes, I fixed it.” He rolled his eyes. “I don’t know how, and I need to figure that out.”
Steve noticed the way he looked at Peter in worry and protectiveness.
“Look, Tony, we can get someone else from the team to track whoever did it. You can just focus on Peter, okay?”
Tony’s eyes gleamed with relief. “Thanks, Rogers.” He sat back down, grasping Peter’s hand and smoothing his hair back.
Cap nodded. It never failed to surprise him how much Tony loved this kid. How overprotective and worried he was all the time.
He spotted a few gray hairs in Tony’s normally black ones.
Ah, the perks of being a dad.