Chapter 16
It’s no secret that Peter Parker is fragile – he wears hoodies that are too big, ducks his head when people tease him, flinches at loud noises, and most of the time he looks like he’s Bambi – but Tony never understood why until he walks into the tower one day and he’s not babbling with excitement; he looks like he’s bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders, and promises of hot chocolate or the lab or even Star Wars manage to lure him out.
Tony knocks on Peter’s door and, without waiting for an invitation, he opens the door and sees Peter sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest, and Peter’s crying; Tony slowly walks toward him, sits down, and fixes Peter’s collar before he finally asks, “What’s wrong?”
When Peter tells him about the bullying, the people who don’t care about him, Tony’s heart breaks as Peter tearfully tells him that he’s unlovable, and Tony pulls him into his side and tells him, again and again, that he isn’t unlovable, that he has Ned and MJ and May and Tony, and they all love him, and they’d all die for him; Tony doesn’t know how many times he has to tell Peter that, but finally, Peter seems to understand, and that’s all Tony could have ever hoped for.