“Uhm..M-Mr. Stark?”
Tony sighed before acknowledging the tiny voice in the back of the car. The kid had reverted back to calling him his aforementioned title lately and he wasn’t sure why. He’d been calling him Tony constantly for like a month now and all of a sudden over the past few days he’d reverted back to his old term of address, even when they were in private. He understood somewhat, they’d been at a conference for three days and he figured the boy was worried about slipping up in front of the general public; but now it was just Tony, Happy and the child in the car, there was zero reason for him to be calling him Mr. Stark. It frustrated the man, worried him and honestly insulted him slightly; but he couldn’t say anything in fear of the boy getting scared off. But that didn’t mean he accepted it warmly, he didn’t even turn around to look at Peter.
“Hm?”
“A-are- uhm- are we almost there?” Peter asked sheepishly.
Happy scoffed a laugh but Tony shot him a look to silence him. Peter had been good on this trip, he’d been rather quiet for the past twenty minutes or so and this was the first time he’d asked how long it was going to take; plus the kid had ADHD, sitting in a car for three hours was difficult for a lot of fifteen year olds let alone one with a focussing disorder. The boy looked as though his hyperactiveness was getting to him because he was shifting around when Tony peeked at him in the rear view mirror.
“About another hour or so.” Tony replied and he heard Peter physically gulp. He head whipped around and he could see more clearly that the boy looked distressed; his heart sank. Maybe Peter wasn’t just bored after all. “Kid what’s wrong?”
“N-n-nothi-“
“Bullshit, spit it out.” Tony sighed tiredly. He was in no mood to talk in circles and spend ten minutes dragging whatever was wrong with the kid out of him. He was tired and in a considerably bad mood, he didn’t have the patience for games.
“I just don’t- Uhm I uh- it-it doesn’t matter sir, I’m sorry.” Peter stammered, sinking back down in his seat.
‘We’re back to sir now? And he’s saying sorry at the end of every sentence?’ Tony was tired and in a bad mood and his feelings were starting to get hurt from the cold formality he was suddenly receiving from the kid; one that he himself hadn’t shown in months. And now his ward was starting to act funny and he didn’t know how to fix it- which was deeply stressful.
“Peter what gives? Why’re you acting so weird?” Tony snapped as anger seeped into his voice. He was more worried than anything but admittedly it came across harsher than he anticipated and Peter is visibly taken aback when Tony peeked in the rear view mirror. Big brown eyes going impossible wide before cringing and shrinking back in his seat- ah fuck Tony hated it when he flinched like that. Another thing he hadn’t seen in ages. What was wrong with the kid? Oh god was he going to puke, Tony was in no mood to deal with any puke-
“I’m sorry Mr. Stark I-I’ll stop talking-“ Peter babbled quickly as his voice broke, forcing Tony to twist around in his seat to look at the boy.
“That’s not what I meant and you know it. I meant why are you-“ But Tony didn’t need a verbal answer anymore. The second he clocked eyes on the kid it was painfully obvious what was wrong. “Oh.”
The boy was crossing his legs tighter than what looked comfortable and looking as though he was near tears; his face was obviously flushed even in the darkly lit car. Shit. Tony immediately turned back to his driver. “Happy pull off somewhere.”
“There ain’t anywhere around here-“
“Then take a detour.” Tony said sternly.
“I will as soon as I can, boss.” Happy looked back also and for a second thought the kid was going to vomit purely based off of urgent Tony’s reaction; but as soon as he looked the boy over he recognised the pee dance instantly from all the times he’d picked the kid up from school.
Peter wanted to talk, wanted to apologise, insist that he was fine and that he could wait- but he couldn’t, he really, really couldn’t. He wasn’t even sure he’d be able to make it out of the car at that point, it hurt so bad. He had to go for so long and he was waiting, and waiting patiently- silently- for a rest stop that never came. Tony knew how frequently he needed to go, he always put in several stops for him on road trips, sometimes even more than he needed; but this time he hadn't. And Peter had convinced himself that it was his fault. He was tired and emotional, so he assumed that he’d done something to cause such treatment. Tony was in a bad mood, maybe Peter had done something that made him mad and that was his punishment. That’s why he kept quiet for so long but now he just couldn’t. He couldn’t do it anymore it hurt so bad and if he moved he was going to lose it.
Fuck he was going to lose it either way. No amount of pulling the seat belt away from his abdomen or leg crossing or squirming was doing anything anymore. His bladder was so full it was making it difficult to even breathe without waves of desperation coursing through him and he just- couldn’t. He tried, he really, really did but his bladder was gradually losing its resolve and before he could do anything it started realising involuntarily; and not in short bursts either. Almost as soon as he noticed his control slipping his seat of jeans were already soaked and he could feel the wetness pooling in the leather seat and dripping down his calves, onto the floor of the car; in one long steady stream that he had no hopes of stopping. He couldn’t even stem the flow it was like his bladder muscles had given out completely and for a scary moment he thought he’d somehow broke himself. It felt like a rubber band had snapped in his stomach and in all honesty he wasn’t sure that was far from the truth.
His only saving grace was the fact that it was mostly inaudible, though to Peter the sound of his release was deafening. He wasn’t sure if it was his superhearing or the embarrassment but he was sure that the adults in the front of the car could hear what was going on.
“Kid it’s okay, I know it’s uncomfortable but we’ll be there in just a minute.” Tony assured the boy quietly once he heard Peter’s breath hitch. “You're doing good, just hold on a little longer.”
What Tony didn’t realise was that Peter was already steadily peeing; and his mentor telling him he could do it and was doing a good job only made him feel worse. His boss still believed he could hold it like an adult and he’s just proven that he’s an actual infant. As soon as Tony realised what he did, he's going to be so disappointed. Or angry. He was already in a bad mood and this was only going to make it worse..
Happy noticed what had happened because of course he did; it was his job to look out for the kid after all and the change in the boys face was enough to tell him it was already too late. The agent kicked himself for not picking up on the kids dancing sooner but he’d been too busy with trying to talk Tony down from his bad mood. He elected not to say anything as not to cause the kid anymore embarrassment, but he stopped speeding towards the nearest exit. He took his time pulling into what could only be described as the shadiest looking rest stop he’d ever seen (seriously, when you have a kid with a tiny bladder you get to see some of the weirdest fucking places in search for a restroom) however Peter had no such qualms about it.
Obviously he just wanted to get out of the car, wherever out may be, anywhere to get away from what had just happened and the two adults he was going to inevitably have to face. The second they pulled in, before Happy had even put the car in park Peter bolted out of the vehicle and into the small gas station bathroom which fortunately (or unfortunately) didn’t require key retrieval.
Tony had expected no less because the boy was dying to pee- he usually would have made the kid wait for him to accompany him, for security reasons, but he wasn’t about to force the boy to wet himself because of that. Though of course he went to follow suit to provide the boy some back up, but as soon as he moved to undo his seat belt he felt a large hand on his arm.
“Why are you touching me?” Tony spat disgustedly. Happy knew how much he destested physical contact at the best of times let alone when he was angry as fuck anyway and he was about to go check on his kid.
“Leave him.”
“Excuse me?” Had his head of security gone crazy? He wasn’t about to leave Peter in a shady rest stop bathroom by himself, that was asking for trouble.
Happy sighed quietly. “Boss, we gotta get him some clothes.”
“What?” Happy gesticulated to the back seat and there was a small puddle pooled in the leather. Tony face palmed. “Oh shit.”
Peter overheard them talking thanks to his superhearing and understandably freaked out. He freaked out even more as he watched Happy’s car pull out of the lot. So he did the only thing a young teen would know what to do when he’s convinced he just ruined his life and called his aunt. Who immediately called Tony. And sounded as though she was about to crawl her way down the phone and murder him.
“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING STARK?!”
Tony cringed. He’s not surprised she’s mad; he just made her nephew piss himself because he wasn’t conscious of the shy boy’s needs. If he found out someone else had done that to his kid he’d go ape shit too. “May I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for him to-“
“What do you mean you didn’t mean to- turn around! How dare you leave my child alone in the middle of nowhere at night! What is wrong with you-“
“Woah woah woah- what?!” Tony cut her off. Now he was confused- left him? He hadn’t left him, he’d done the opposite in fact. “I didn’t leave him- I’m standing outside while Happy went to get him some clothes!”
“I- outside? He said you- why does he need clothes?”
“You know why May.” Tony sighed gently, peaking back at the door where the kid was hauled up inside. Fuck Peter must’ve been really panicked if he called May- he usually wouldn’t contact his aunt for anything. He’d known Peter to walk the entire four hour walk home from school because he’d forgotten his travel pass, rather than bother May (or Tony for that matter) at work. So the kid must be really fucking panicked to have called her let alone tell her that he’d essentially been dumped at a gas station in some shady burrow of upstate New York.
The woman’s tone immediately changed as the realisation washed over her. “Did he not speak up or..?”
“He did. Kind of. Just not in time. But it’s my fault. I forgot to schedule in a stop.” Tony admitted, waiting for another round of angry yelling that didn’t come. He was pretty sure May had made similar mistakes with the boy in the past but that didn’t make it feel any better. He’d known Peter long enough not to forget such an important part of their routine; and he’d let some shitty conference weekend with a bunch of shitty business people and their shitty business- shit, get in the way of the important stuff. He’d gotten so wrapped up in work drama that he’d forgotten about their youngest’s needs and man did that feel bad. Stopping at the liquor store on the way home kinda bad.
As if that wasn’t enough guilt, what made him feel worse was the idea that Peter thought for even a second that Tony would abandon him over something as simple as an accident- one that he’d caused no less. “Did the kid really think I left him here?”
“Don’t take it personally, he called me freaking out saying he needed money for an Uber because he couldn’t face you then he saw Happy drive off through the window. He was already upset so I guess his brain just jumped to that.” May sighed again, trying her best to comfort Tony but she understood that ultimately he was going to feel awful for a while.
“Right.” Tony said shortly, trying his best to keep the emotion out of his tone; but he could tell that May detected what little hurt seeped into his voice. He couldn’t help it. “Did you think I would do that?”
“He was crying I went into mama mode, what do you want from me?”
“He’s crying? Fuck.” Tony wiped a hand over his face stressedly. He knew Peter was upset, duh who wouldn’t be, but he hadn’t seen or even heard of the kid crying since- well since took his suit away. They’d come a long way since then and the idea that this incident had set them back and pushed the kid over the edge..well fuck. “I gotta go fix this, I’ll report back.”
“Be gentle with him.” May sighed tiredly; she felt for them both, she knew how bad Tony must’ve felt in that moment- but all she knew was that she was going to have a very tired and very upset teenager to deal with when they eventually got him.
“Underoos, open up.” Tony knocked gently on the door to the bathroom, expecting Peter to open it or at least verbally respond but he got nothing. He knocked again, same thing. “Kiddo, come on.”
But on the third knock Peter did answer, purely because he didn’t want to freak his mentor out thinking he’d ran away or something; even though not two minutes before he thought Tony had been the one to abandon him. He managed to squeak out a quiet; “I’m sorry.”
“Don't start. This is my fault I should’ve scheduled a stop in like I usually do. I don’t know why I didn’t it must’ve slipped my mind- that is not your fault.” Tony said firmly, still talking through the door as Peter refused to let him into the single stall room.
Despite the door between them Tony could still hear Peter sniffling wetly. “I should’ve been able to wait, we were almost-“
“Peter, don’t- you’re a kid, I don’t expect you to be able to wait forever.” Tony cut the boy off. He wasn’t going to entertain the idea of the kid being able to wait that long, ever. He never expected him to nor would he encourage him even attempting to try and go that long without a break. Tony knew of some adults (*cough cough* Steve) who would have struggled with that trip without a break, especially considering they got dinner before they left. For a kid that usually peed every hour Peter had done exceptionally well. “And I know you’ve been getting better at telling me but I should’ve thought about how you get when Happy’s there.” Tony said, swallowing guiltily. He tended to forget that not everyone knew how much of a softie Happy really was and that someone like Peter was likely still terrified of him.
“He’s scary.” Peter whispered almost inaudibly, confirming Tony’s suspicions. Poor kid, it must’ve sucked being trapped in a car for hours too scared to say anything...fuck, he was never gonna forget to schedule breaks for the boy again. This was entirely his fault.
“I know. But he would have stopped sooner if you’d asked.” Tony assured him. “Why didn’t you text me the code word pal?”
“B-because you were mad at me a-and I thought..I thought you..I don’t know.” Peter did know. He just didn’t want to admit what he now knew to be a stupid idea out loud- a stupid idea that would likely make to y feel awful. But unfortunately for them both Tony knew exactly where the boys mind had gone to.
“Peter, I promise I’m not mad at you. I was never upset with you- I got pissed off because of the whole accounting situation and people not doing their jobs- I didn’t mean for it to affect you. I’m so sorry, kiddo.” Tony said earnestly, which seemed to take Peter by surprise a little bit as he finally opened the door; just enough so he could peak out and study Tony’s face- probably because he didn’t believe it was the real man himself. Clearly he hadn’t expected an apology- but then again the kid probably blamed himself for not waiting longer or speaking up sooner; both of which Tony didn’t blame him for in the slightest. “I would never leave you anywhere just for the record.”
Peter blushed and put his hands over his face. He’d overheard his aunt on the phone and he immediately regretted getting her involved. “I-I know that- I was just freaking out-“
“Ugh I don’t have the mental capacity to talk you down from this kid, just come here.” Tony rolled his eyes before entering the bathroom fully to give the boy a hug (once the door was fully closed of course, any potential paparazzi would have a field day with that). Sure he could spend the next hour talking the kid down from the edge, convincing him that he wasn’t mad in any way shape or form, but a simple physical gesture (albeit one he was still getting used to) could do the job in under twenty seconds. That’s just economic of you think about it.
The kid immediately stiffened but very quickly got over his shock and leaned into the comforting hug. After all, they were very rare and the boy tended to savour the moments; though he couldn’t do so for long because he was majorly conscious of the fact that he could get the man wet.
“I’m sorry.” Peter muttered as he pulled away, though he wasn’t entirely sure what he was sorry for. Ending the hug prematurely? Maybe. Pissing in the back of the man’s expensive car? Definitely. Oh god the state of the car-
Tony didn’t bother dignifying the apology with a proper response because he didn’t want to encourage the kids habit of apologising for things that weren’t his fault. “Huh? Sorry I can’t hear you- your aunt burst one of my eardrums.”
Okay, now Peter knew what he was apologising for; his whirlwind of an aunt. “God I’m so sorry- she’s a mess.”
“I would be to if I thought someone had dumped you in some shady rest stop bathroom and driven off.”
Peter looked slightly taken aback by that and looked up at his mentor quizzically. “You would?”
“Uh yeah? Of course I would.” Tony said obviously, shaking his head. He’d raise hell for anyone who dared to abandon the kid anywhere he wasn’t safe; Christ he’d spent half his time going and retrieving Peter from unsavoury places back when the kid thought he could just wander anywhere because he had the suit. If he found out the boy was alone in a place like this he’d murder the person reponsible; that included Peter himself.
“I can handle myself.” Peter huffed, puffing his chest out slightly with an indignant look on his face; and honestly Tony thought it was so fucking cute how the kid was trying to act tough while he still had tears on his face and wet pants.
“You’re still a little kid-“
“I’m fifteen Tony.” Peter pouted, inadvertently making him look a lot younger than his years.
“No I mean you’re little and a kid.”
“Heeeeeey! I’m almost as tall as you!”
Tony scoffed. “Almost as tall as my shoulder maybe.”
“Don’t tease me I’ve had a rough day.” Peter sniffled, wiping almost angrily at his eyes as though they’d betrayed him somehow.
“Yeah you have huh?” Tony sighed before doing something slightly out of character but he felt was very much needed; he wrapped an arm around the kids shoulder, jostling him slightly in a half hug. Two hugs in one day? Wow Peter had statistically higher odds of winning the lottery and he wasn’t even old enough to buy scratch cards.
Luckily Peter didn’t have to hang around in wet clothes for too much longer. Happy brought him some clean ones along with a package of baby wipes (how thoughtful); though of course Tony was the one to deliver the items because Peter couldn’t face Happy, knowing the man had been the one who had to...deal with the mess in the back of the car- even though Peter had said repeatedly that he would do it, the agent had already taken the initiative knowing he’d get the job done a lot quicker.
The boy obviously refused to meet the man’s gaze for the remainder of the journey, both adults had expected that; and the also expected Peter to have trouble meeting the man’s eye for awhile, but that was okay. Happy knew the kid was still scared of him so he didn’t want to be overbearing by forcing him to interact.
Though Tony decided that he’d sit in the back with Peter from now on even on short haul trips but especially on the longer ones. And he’d never ever forget to schedule a pee stop again.