Peter woke up slowly, staring at the ceiling over his head. He coughed slightly, grimacing when his head pounded. Karen was speaking but Peter had to strain to listen clearly to what she was saying.
“Come on, Peter. You just have to stay away a little bit longer, okay? Mr Stark is on his way”
Pain shot through his stomach as he tried to sit up.
“Wha’ hap’n’d” Peter slurred, still trying to get his thoughts in order.
“You got shot in the stomach, emergency services are on their way, as is Mr Stark” Peter grunted and let his head drop down, resting back on the concrete underneath him. His vision was slightly blacking out but the teenager was using all of his energy to stay awake.
“Fuck- kid, what the hell? What happened?”
“I d’no” Peter replied, still slurring his words. He heard FRIDAY talking to Tony, the voice of the AI was soothing Peter’s head, his migraine dulling slightly.
“Okay, Pete. I’m gonna carry you to the MedBay okay? It’ll hurt but if you stay here much longer, you’re gonna bleed out in this alleyway.” Tony’s faceplate moved back into place and Peter braced himself weakly to be picked up. He realised slowly, he hadn’t realised the blood that was pooling around him, slowly soaking through his suit.
Peter barely held in a scream as he was lifted by the metal suit, pain flared across his body. Tony muttered an apology before taking off, flying quickly to the tower.
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Helen met Tony as he landed on the roof with Peter, he handed the teenager off to the various doctors, setting him down on the gurney they’d dragged out to hold him. The doctors turned around quickly, pushing the gurney back into the spacious elevator as Helen yelled out orders Tony’s sleep deprived brain couldn’t keep up with.
The iron man suit melted off Tony’s body, leaving the mechanic alone to find his way down to the MedBay.
As the doors opened in front of the mechanic, all Tony could hear was calm, muffled voices. A confused look crossed his face as he walked down the hall to where the voices were coming from. He rounded the corner, eyes landing first on Dr Cho and then on Bruce, then finally to the small body on the bed between them, hooked up to multiple machines beside the bed.. Surprised, Tony waved, both doctors chuckled, before inviting the man in.
“How- uh- how is he?” Tony stuttered, eyes drifting to the body in front of the door. Peter looked… normal, most people would just assume he’s asleep. In fact, Tony thought he was asleep.
Helen gave him a reassuring look, “He’s okay, we sewed up the bullet wound pretty quickly, but his wound looked slightly infected so I sent the blood down to the labs and told FRIDAY to test it for everything.” At Tony’s concerned face, she continued, “It’s nothing to be worried about, his temp is back to normal and the wound is healing quickly, it might’ve just been his body healing itself, but we’re not taking any chances,”
Tony let out a breath and thanked the two doctors, before sitting in the vacant seat beside the bed, not looking as they closed the door behind them.
He took Peter’s hand in his own and smiled, “You’re gonna be just fine, kid. You always are.”
-----------------
Helen came back a few hours later, after Tony had left Peter to get some coffee.
“Hey Peter, where did Tony go?” Helen looked… nervous. Peter hadn’t seen her like this before, and if he was being honest, it was scaring him.
“Uh- he went to go get some coffee, i spent over twenty minutes convincing him that nothing would happen to me in the five minutes he’d be gone,” he chuckled, before continuing, “I don’t want to be rude or anything but… why are you here? Is everything okay?”
Helen was quick to reassure him, “Everything’s fine, Peter. I was hoping to talk to you first, actually. This is a very sensitive subject and I know it may be hard to hear but I was hoping you could be the one to tell Tony, I think he’d appreciate it from you more,” She explained. When she saw Peter’s scared expression, she hurried to continue, “Tony already told you about the blood sample we sent down to the labs to be tested-”
“Oh my god, is something wrong? Was I poisoned? I don’t feel bad or anything so i thought nothing was wrong.”
Helen shook her head, “You haven’t been poisoned. I told FRIDAY to check for everything and by that, I meant check for every poison. But FRIDAY did every test we have in the labs, including a… paternity test,” Peter froze, mouth hanging open slightly, “She tested your DNA with every blood sample we have on the database, and one of them matched.” She paused for a second, and Peter filled in the gap for her.
“Tony” he breathed. He looked up, and Dr Cho nodded.
“We just got the results back. I’m so sorry i had to be the one to tell you, Peter”
Peter opened his mouth, then closed it again, hesitating, before deciding what to say.
“Could you- uh- leave? I need to figure out how to tell Tony before he gets back,” His eyes were locked on his lap, hands fidgeting as various thoughts raced through his mind. He heard the door close as Helen left, but still, he didn’t look up.
Tony- or, his dad?- had always been some kind of a father figure to Peter, but now it was confirmed. Had Richard known? Did his mum know? Had May known? No. She would’ve told him by now. Tony was gonna be back any minute now, Peter had to figure out how to tell him. What if Tony already know? What if he didn’t want anything to do with him after he finds out?
“Hey kiddo, you feeling okay?” Peter didn’t hear the door open as Tony entered. He looked up, and nodded, plastering a smile on his face.
“Yup, i told you, nothing would happen in five minutes” Tony sat down in the chair next to his bed, setting his coffee cup down on the little table next to it.
Tony paused, face morphing into confusion as he saw Peter’s face, “What happened?” His voice was concerned, yet cold. Deadly serious.
“What?” Peter chuckled, praying Tony would believe everything he was okay, so he could have more time to figure everything out.
“Kid, I know when you’re faking. What happened?” Tony looked even more scared now, serious exterior cracking as his emotions shined through.
Peter let his face fall slightly, “Okay, okay,” he relented, quick to reassure Tony, “I’m okay, I swear! But something did happen. Uh-” He paused, trying to find the right words.
Tony moved forward, putting his hand on Peter’s shaking one, steadying it.
“Kid, It’s okay. Just take a breath, okay?” Peter did, breath hitching a few times before he got it.
“Helen came in and, uh, when FRIDAY tested my blood, she found something- nothing bad i swear! Just… she was testing my DNA with other people’s for a… paternity test,” Peter’s breath hitched, letting a few tears fall down his face as he tried to continue explaining. Tony’s face fell, and he leaned forward to bring Peter in for a hug.
“It’s okay, Pete. Calm down, take your time.” Peter started sobbing, fears resurfacing. Selfishly, he didn’t want to tell Tony what happened, he didn’t want to ruin their bond.
“She found a match.” Tony cut him off.
“Okay, Pete. we can figure something out, we can talk to that person, okay? We can explain and if you want, you can-”
“It’s you”
Tony froze, Peter's face still buried in his chest. Peter heard his heart speed up, as well as his breathing.
“I’m sorry i didn’t just tell you. I understand if you want to leave now, if you don’t want anything to do with me, i can leave. I won’t bother you again, i swear but you deserve to know.” Peter waited to hear Tony’s reaction. He tried gently pulling away, but Tony kept him close, even holding him slightly tighter. He took a breath before speaking.
“I don’t want you to leave. I always- i guess i always had a hunch but i never tested it.” He leaned back to look Peter in the eye, smiling, “I’ve thought of you as my kid for over a year now, Pete. I thought that was obvious.” He chuckled.
Peter teared up again, burying his face in Tony’s chest, “Thank you,”
Tony rubbed Peter’s back slowly, “For what, kid?”
“I don’t really know to be honest. I thought you were gonna kick me out.”
“Kid, I would never, and I mean never, kick you out. You’re here to stay until you’re eighteen.”
Tony carefully maneuvered his body to lie down next to Peter, trying not to jostle his bullet wound too much. He brought Peter’s head to rest on his chest, bringing a hand up to play with his chestnut curls.
“I love you, kid.”
Peter smiled, “I love you too, Tony”