A Game of Shadows

Team Stark, Mass Effect, Supernatural, Dragon Age, Final Fantasy XIV, Final Fantasy XV, Robert Downey Jr/Tony Stark, Iron Man, Video Games, Cosplay

[fireplceashes]

God of War (2018) | God of War: Ragnarök (2022)

[stil-lindigo]

prodigal son.

a sort of epilogue for God of War Ragnarok, since I miss these two so much.

support me on patreon

[galasgamingcorner]

Fenrir ‘sneaking up’ to Kratos and Atreus for some pets.

[rcvenly]

Sometimes I think about Tony's life before Iron Man and I just feel bad for that man.

He spent his entire childhoods in a house where he wasn't loved for who he was. His dad didn't payed attention to him and mentally abused him (idk if in the MCU he was physically abused too, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was), his Mother- even if she wasn't bad and was lovely- always tried to justify Howard's action towards him (during the BARF scene we can see an example of her actions). Living in a house like this, where you feel no one is at your side is exhausting. Where everyone expect from you the best, and even if you try it, you won't ever be enough for your parents.

He entered at MIT at only fourteen, so that means (I guess) he never went to school with his peers. At seven years old he enters at the Philips Academy and it's a secondary school. Despite his outgoing behaviour, I don't think a little kid is comfortable around people much older. I don't think he even had real friends before going to MIT because even if he was more mature than his age, I don't believe a lot of teenagers or pre teens were ready to befriend with a kid.

So, no friends at school and not a good relationship with his family. He must have felt lonely for 14 years, and when he goes to MIT he decides to change. He puts a mask on and begins his new behaviour. He starts going to parties, to drink and to act cool around people to be liked and appreciated. I remember reading some fake testimonials that Marvel made to honorate the release of Iron Man 3, testimonials about how some ex students remembered Tony at MIT and two of them said:

“No one really knew him, he was just a rich kid. Everyone wanted him around, though, because he'd always bring something fun for the party.”

“I remember him at after-parties on Thayer Street. He was up later than anyone else. But you could always get a ride home with him, because he always had a car.”

No one knows the real him because that's what he does: he hides him self behind parties, fun and this kind of stuff to just be noticed by someone. Some people might say that he just wants to be at the centre of the attention, and yes that's true and it is a bad thing, but ever wondered why? Imagine being a kid, who has no friends, who's father hates you and you feel like no one will ever love you, until you find a way to be finally appreciated. You found a way to have someone who notices you after years of loneliness. I can't speak for everyone, but I would have done the same thing.

He keeps doing this for years and years. He lost his parents, he lost Jarvis and he has to take responsibility for his father's company at 21. He doesn't want that, he just wants to have fun and to distract him self from the reality because half of his life, at the time, was just empty, with no one taking care of him. So he practically leaves the company to Obadiah and he just spends more than 10 years trying to fill that void.

Why do you think he was a playboy?

Now... I don't know if that could be possible in the MCU, but in the comics he was assaulted at fourteen by a woman who was way older thank him That was the first time ever he was touched by someone like that, and even if he was a genius I wouldn't be too surprised (again) to find out he was taking refuge from his problems in s*x. He probably thought that was love, that the only reason someone could really love him was to make s*x with them and to make them feel pleasured (we could apply this logic even if he wasn't assaulted). I can think of other fictional characters who are Playboys (Barney Stinson from "how I met your mother" for example) in which is heavily implied that the only reason they act that way is because they need to feel loved.

Ten years of doing this, and you think he would be able to recover? Ofc no.

He has Rhodey, He has Pepper, He has Happy (and he has Obadiah but we don't talk about that man in this house), He has moneys, fame, he can finally have fun, he can drink and have all the women he wants. His life seems perfect, but we all know that's a lie.

He has everything, but he still has nothing, as Yinsen said.

And Tony, after being kidnapped for three months knows that. He knows his whole life was empty at that point. He said it him self when Yinsen asked him if he had a family out the cave. He just said no, he thinks no one is waiting for him to come back. For 38 years of his life he had nothing to live for, and even though we know how much his friends cared about him, he's not aware of that because he thinks they care for the mask he created for him self when he was young. At the age of 38, he still thinks no one could ever love the real him, because he doesn't love him self.

That's why I hate when people says he's immature, narcissistic and egocentric. Is he aware he is a genius? Yes. It's not bad to know that, especially when everyone expected him to be one since he was born. But that doesn't mean he's narcissistic. He acts like he's better than everyone else, but in reality he feels like the worst person ever. How can a narcissistic person think how their girlfriend deserves so much better than him? (As he said in Iron man 3). How can someone be egocentric and then puts other's life before him every single time, or when he's one of the few who cared for everyone, and who was ready to sacrifice himself for a world who never loved him? How can people even assume he thinks he's better than everyone when he admits himself he's just a man in a tin can?

If you can't see that during all the movies that he covers him self with an armour- not iron man, an INVISIBLE ARMOUR made of humour, sarcasm and fake self-esteem- to protect him self from further pain, then I suggest you to rewatch the movies.

Tony Stark is one of the most human and well written characters in the MCU, it's sad that not a lot of fans (and almost everyone in the marvel universe as well) can't see that.

[idk-bruh-20]

Tony, the futurist

Buckle in folks, I've had some thoughts and I'm about to make it ✨everyone's✨ problem.

Been thinking about Tony Stark, the futurist who saw the end of the world.

Tony, who in IM1 escapes kidnapping and torture and says, "I shouldn't be alive. Unless if was for a reason."

who, in The Avengers, has this exchange with Bruce Banner:

Tony: You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart. This stops it. This little circle of light. It's part of me now, not just armor. It's a… terrible privilege. Bruce: But you can control it. Tony: Because I learned how. Bruce: It's different. Tony: Hey, I've read all about your accident. That much gamma exposure should've killed you. Bruce: So you're saying that the Hulk… the other guy… saved my life? That's nice. It's a nice sentiment. Saved it for what? Tony: I guess we'll find out. Bruce: You might not like that. Tony: You just might.

Right after this, Cap tells Tony, "You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

And then Tony flies a nuke into a wormhole, tries to call his girlfriend because he thinks these are his last moments, did not go in there expecting to survive.

Although he survives, he witnesses an alien army so terrifying, so unbeatable, it gives him crippling PTSD nightmares and panic attacks, knowing they are not prepared to defend the earth.

I'm thinking about Tony who, in AOU, gets manipulated by Wanda into witnessing his worst nightmare.

Which, by the way, involves losing all of his newfound friends.

Later, he has this exchange with Nick Fury:

Tony: And I'm the man who killed the Avengers. I saw it. I didn't tell the team, how could I? I saw them all dead, Nick. I felt it. The whole world, too. It's because of me. I wasn't ready. I didn't do all I could. Fury: The Maximoff girl, she's working you, Stark. Playing on your fear. Tony: I wasn't tricked, I was shown. It wasn't a nightmare, it was my legacy. The end of the path I started us on. Fury: You've come up with some pretty impressive inventions, Tony. War isn't one of them. Tony: I watched my friends die. You'd think that'd be as bad as it gets, right? Nope. Wasn't the worst part. Fury: The worst part is that you didn't.

Tony's worst fear is to survive in a world he's failed to save. He has to "do all [he] could" or else the future he's terrified of will happen and it will be his fault.

(Not to put too fine a point on it, but there's a reason why Tony and Peter are so compatible as mentor and mentee.)

Tony's seen what's coming, and he's willing to do whatever it takes.

Here's the thing, though:

Tony doesn't actually want to die.

In AOU, when they're arguing about why he created Ultron, Tony says this to Cap:

"Isn't that the mission? Isn't that the 'why we fight'? So we get to go home?"

He tells Bruce that the reason they should create Ultron is to have "peace in our time."

He tells Pepper that his constant tinkering, his inability to ever, ever rest is because he needs to keep her safe from the oncoming threat.

Tony has a life he wants to protect, people he wants to keep safe. And, unlike the other Avengers, he knows exactly how impossible this will be to achieve.

Tony is the only Avenger who understands how severely outmatched they are. Maybe Thor understands the threat, but he has no ability to imagine losing.

Tony tries to get them to understand:

Tony: Recall that? A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing three hundred feet below it. We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the live long day, but, that up there? That's… that's the end game. How were you guys planning on beating that? Steve: Together. Tony: We'll lose. Steve: Then we'll do that together, too.

Well, they do lose. And they don't do it together.

And it turns out Tony was right about everything.

He was right that he would survive to face his world that he'd failed to save.

He was right that the Avengers would not be enough.

He was right that Bruce's powers would be worthwhile someday.

And, apparently,

some people think he was right that he was only alive for this reason.

Because, obviously, the only "reason" for someone like Tony Stark to be alive is to eventually sacrifice himself, right?

A character so traumatized can only find peace in death.

Right?

No.

Stop that.

Tony Stark may have been willing to risk his life for his family, but that doesn't mean he wanted that to be his end.

Remember when this happened?

Bruce: Saved it for what? Tony: I guess we'll find out. Bruce: You might not like that. Tony: You just might.

Bruce gets to live long enough to like his ending.

Remember when this happened?

All Tony ever wanted to do was make the world a better place.

And, what about this?

You're telling me that Yinsen didn't value family above all else?

That he thought Tony should die and leave them behind?

No.

Tony Stark is a futurist.

He is the Cassandra of the MCU. He warns the others constantly of the oncoming threat that only he, apparently, can see. (Even Thanos calls him "cursed with knowledge.")

No one believes him. Alone, he tries to prepare for the threat that he has witnessed. He sits with his nightmares and tries to find a way around them, constantly.

He builds a life worth living, finds people worth protecting, just like Yinsen told him to.

To protect the future, he does all he possibly can.

Tony deserved to be part of the future too.

[thekingwhereitallends]

White Haired Men from Bleach just hit different💕

[rcvenly]

One thing I love about Irondad is that Tony -despite his past with Howard- is not cold with Peter, and is not ashamed to admit how much he cares for the kid (in his way, ofc).

People always judge Tony's character is Homecoming because "Hah!! Stark doesn't care about him! He ignored for two months!! He's the worst!"

Can I Start saying that that man right here wasn't in the right mood to mentor a kid right after civil war? He saw his parents die, he saw his friend almost killing him in rage and then had to deal with the breakup of the Avengers and the whole Rhodey's situation. He probably thought it would be better for both to not be in contact, because while Tony wants to heal, he also want Peter to not be like him.

Think about it: After civil war, Tony was a disaster and all of this because he was an Avenger. Of course the man wouldn't want Peter to be like him, not when Tony's life went down hill since the first day as Iron Man. He doesn't want that life for a fifteen years old kid, so he leaves Peter with Happy and everyone is safe.

Not because he doesn't want the kid around, but because he thinks it's the best for the kid to not be around a billionaire with severe anxiety and a little bit narcissistic.

Tony never showed any discomfort around Peter, since their first scene together. He has always been interested in the kid, and was the one one who understood Peter, as Peter said him self in the infinity War novelization.

(I won't start saying how everyone blames Tony for "manipulating" Peter and bringing him into a war. Just know that is incorrect, and Tony would never bring a kid in a war, because that wasn't meant to be a fight. Tony brought Peter so that -his words, not mine- he could web them up if they tried to escape. He never thought about ending up with a broken arm and with Rhodey who can't walk anymore)

Anyway, returning to the subject, I think we can all agree on one thing: Peter is not aware of how Tony actually cares about him. But not because Tony is an asshole and hates him, but because of one reason:

1. Peter in homecoming only wanted to prove himself. He desperately wanted Tony to see the potential in him, so during all the movie he he acted so that Tony could be proud of him, but at the same time when Tony complimented him he didn't even showed gratitude. He was blinded by wanting to show the man what he was worth for that he didn't notice Tony was always proud until the very end.

I don't think the main problem is in fact Tony because as we see, and Peter can't, he actually already invested in Peter's life.

He listens to the voicemails, remembers them and always kept an eye on him, even during his journey to India (TO RECOVER HIM SELF FROM CIVIL WAR Y'ALL).

And can I say something more? Tony isn't afraid to think Peter as his son. Often, in the Fanfics, we always see Tony panics because him and Peter became closer and he's scared how he could be like Howard to the kid. The second part is right, but he would never panic about thinking Peter as his son. Actually, he doesn't mind and already thinks the kid as his responsibility.

It's actually funny and cute how he says "My father never really gave me a lot of support and I'm just trying to break the cycle of shame" because all I see is a man who was neglected and abused by his father, and hated the idea of having a child because of this (remember that scene in IM3 where he flinches at the only thought of having one) until he met Peter. He decided to be better because of him, he wanted to change because of him.

When he says "I sound like my father" my heart broke because no, YOU DON'T YOU SILLY.

These two phrases demonstrate how he's not afraid to tell the kid he sees himself like a father for him. Ofc he's scared because he doesn't want to end up as his own father, but he is ready to be a good role for Peter when he will finally be healed from civil war.

He's not cold, he's not distant towards Peter and even though he's afraid of ruining the kid and his childhood, he already loves him.

Homecoming was a new start for both of them and I believe that in the two years between Infinity war and Homecoming they were not afraid to tell each other how much they cared (again, on their way because even I think it's pretty weird imagining tony saying "I love you you're my son" to Peter or Peter saying "Yes you're my dad adopt me" because that's so out of character).

Every interaction they had in infinity war screamed that. You can clearly see how much the kid is now comfortable with the man, is not shy around him, and is not scared to talk to him; you can also see how Tony has become more protective of Peter. Literally everything he says or does screams "don't touch this kid or I will kill everyone in this room and then my self" (I mean, that's what he did in endgame, no?)

at last, I want to appreciate this scene because it's not appreciated enough:

Strange is literally assuming Tony is Peter's guardian, and the way Tony crosses his arm, assuming this defensive pose to protect him self when he said "I'm confused as to the relationship here" because he wants to know what Strange has to say about them, ready to answer and to kick his ass out of the flying donut if he says something bad about Peter or about their relationship. Or the fact he always has something to answer to Strange, but this time he stays silent and doesn't even try to explain who is Peter when he asks he is his ward because that's his kid and so many other things he doesn't know how to explain.

Also, Peter saying an awkward and quick no while staring at Tony will never not be cute for me. It's like this already happened before and someone already pointed out how they look father and son together, and Peter is not even that embarrassed. He's just confused why everyone keeps thinking they are father and son (but not unhappy)

[tonystarkissist]

Genius Billionaire Playboy Philanthropist

- Tony Stark

[sky-ham]

Mass Effect au where instead of the Starchild, Shepard finally gets indoctrinated by the Reapers at the very end and you have to play as the squadmate with highest relationship points or their LI to stop them. 

If your ems is high enough, you can break through the indoctrination and bring Shepard back to stop the cycle.

If your ems is too low, you have to stop Shepard. 

Permanently. 

And it falls to you to activate the Crucible.

[skyllianhamster]

I got a new drawing tablet!

dodges pitchforks

[skyllianhamster]

part 2, low EMS Destroy ver.

[skyllianhamster]

part 3, low EMS epilogue

(I know I said the last one was the last but @rackofages had an idea)

[mrsgingles]

a continuation of me redrawing my older art 

it felt so nostalgic drawing that damn flip phone

[renfri]

The AVENGERS (2012) | AVENGERS: Endgame (2019)

[jen27ny]

“Fun” fact: Peter using his Puppy Eyes while holding a small puppy is so undeniably cute and disarming that even Happy can’t say no.

“Why should I look after the ankle-biter?” Happy asks, trying to look as unhappy as possible. “Just give him to a shelter or something.”

“They’re already so full and I know that your apartment allows dogs,” Peter answers without missing a beat.

Happy squints. “How do you know my apartment allows dogs? Did you hack into my computer to take a look at my lease?”

Peter shrugs. “Your password is password, it’s not that difficult.” Before Happy can say anything, he already continues. “C’mon, you’re all alone at your place, you can use the company. And he can help you get into shape and-”

“Will you stop insulting me if I take him?”

“Absolutely. Done.” Happy doesn’t get to even sigh to let Peter know how displeased he is, the kid wastes no time in pressing the small dog into Happy’s hands. The puppy looks at Happy and Happy looks at the puppy. Why is this happening to him?

~*~*~

When Happy opens the door to his apartment, he expects utter chaos but that’s not the case. Everything is still exactly like he left it and the only thing unusual is the soft thump thump thump coming from the puppy who is excitingly wagging his tail at seeing Happy.

“You didn’t move,” Happy mutters, dropping his keys and crouching next to the old pillow he gave the dog as a bed. The dog sits up, bursting with energy, clearly reading for hours and hours of play time, but he stays on the pillow, just like Happy told him. “Kinda expected you to tear this entire place apart.”

Deciding to give him a reward, Happy pets his small head, slowly getting more used to the action. The dog happily rubs his head against his palm before sniffing at Happy and taking interest in the badge clipped to his jacket in particular.

“You like badges?” Happy moves his hand from the head to the dog’s bare neck. “How about we get you one, huh?”

The puppy barks once.

~*~*~

Tony squints at him. “Y’know, I’m already busy cleaning up DUM-E’s messes, I’m not gonna clean up his messes as well.”

“You won’t need to. Cerberus is very disciplined.” More than a little bit proud of himself, Happy looks down to the growing puppy sitting next to him, his new leather collar with his tag tied around his neck. It’s the first time Cerberus is in Tony’s lab and there’s a ton of distracting stuff around, but like the good boy he is, he stays by Happy’s side, waiting for the occasional treat and reward (okay, yeah, Happy picked up a book or two from the library about training dogs, sue him).

His boss fully turns to him, raising both of his eyebrows. “You named that puppy-” he points at the dog, “after the giant hellhound with three heads that guards the Greek underworld?”

“Seeing as he’s gonna be SI’s first guard dog, I thought it’s only fitting.”

Tony stares at Happy, blinks once, shifts his stare to Cerberus and slowly back to him. “Can’t decide if I should be impressed or not. I mean, it’s a lot of improvement from having password as your password.”

Happy groans. “Peter told you?”

A shit-eating grin spreads on Tony’s face. “He called me the second he found out about it.”

~*~*~

“You’re gonna spoil him,” Happy says.

“He deserves to be spoiled,” Peter says, sitting on the ground in front of Cerberus, the bag of treats between his legs, making the puppy go through all the demands he already learned. Cerberus is eager to please – and to get his treats. “Cerby is a good boy.”

“Cerby?”

“His nickname.”

“Yeah, I kinda got that.” Peter takes out another treat and tells Cerberus to play dead. Immediately, the dog lays down and onto his side, being absolutely still until Peter mutters good boy and holds out the treat for him to take. “If you keep showing up like this, he’ll expect treats from Spider-Man every time he sees you swing by.”

Peter looks down at the suit he’s wearing. Apparently, patrol has been very uneventful today, so he decided to stop by Happy’s apartment. Peter shrugs. “It’s fine. I can easily work a little bag for treats into the suit.”

~*~*~

“I’m surprised no one has said anything yet,” Tony says, sitting in the chair across from Pepper’s desk, watching Happy and Cerberus through the glass walls of her office. It’s been a couple of weeks since Happy first brought his dog to work, claiming he’s now part of SI’s security team. Tony humored him, silently deciding to let him have his way until the complains would roll in. But until now, no one has said anything bad about Cerberus.

“People like him,” Pepper comments, barely glancing up from the document she’s reading. “Cerberus is well behaved and friendly to the employees. There are actually several studies that show having dogs at a work place can be benefiting.”

Tony turns around to his fiancé. “I get the feeling that you like him.”

“That’s because I do.”

“Why?”

“Because I happen to like animals.”

“I knew that. Of course, I knew that.” Pepper snorts. As always, Tony takes it as an invitation to continue. “In fact, I will buy you an animal for every letter in the alphabet. Starting with an alpaca.”

~*~*~

Happy can do nothing but stand there and take in the aftermath of that alien attack that happened a few days ago. Cars are still blocking the streets, most of them crashed into buildings or other cars because their drivers suddenly vanished. Bikes, skateboards, bags, umbrellas and so many other things litter the sidewalks where people have been dusted. The lifeless bodies – the victims of half of the universe suddenly disappearing – have been retrieved, but no one really started working on the clean up yet, all of them too paralyzed with shock or still denying their new reality.

The thing Tony has been afraid of for years happened. And now Tony is… gone. In space, if Pepper is right. That’s everything she holds on to, that he hasn’t been one of the ones who got dusted, but that he will come back. No one has the heart to tell her any different. And maybe she really is right and Tony will come back – he always has a way of surprising everyone.

Something wet touches Happy’s hand, and as he blinks his tears away, he looks down to see Cerberus next to him, watching him with his big eyes. “Hey, buddy,” he whispers, unable to raise his voice even a little bit. Suddenly feeling very defeated, he sinks to the steps in front of the deserted SI building. “It’s gonna be alright, Cerby.”

Cerberus pushes his hand against Happy’s hand, but the man doesn’t know for whose benefit this is. Half of the universe is gone. The Parkers are gone. Tony is most likely gone. And there’s nothing Happy can do about any of it. Cerberus whines softly, placing his head on Happy’s thigh, and together they just sit there, listening to a world that is way too quiet and broken.

Tag list: @joyful-soul-collector @sheabeeprime @spideyspeaches @zanderljones @jelly-pies @ftopbn @lost-lunar-wolf @peter-is-a-bean @a-moon-fairy @stark-genius @supernoetta @glorified-red @probablyprocrastinatingrightnow @thecrazymarvelfan @hatakehikari @aixabi @sublimedragonherohumanoid @bittersweetbeneath @vintervittrannerd @anarinette @always-loki @zetasaturno99 @sdottkrames @potter-turn-to-page-394 @doctordumblesstark @neon-oreo4  @fangirl485 @gaycinnamonrollgirl @bettyadinnye

[superherotiger]

What Marvel won’t give us, I will create hah!

 I started this back in September but finally found the time to finish it tonight, because I think we’re all in dire need of some wholesome Irondad content! I’m really proud of how it turned out and it would mean a lot to me if you would reblog this, your support keeps me creating, especially on projects like this that take a lot more time to make :D Thanks so much and I hope you all have a great day!

-Superherotiger

[van-dyne]

Choose Your Fighter

[justjensenanddean]

Jensen Ackles was nominated for “Critics Choice Super Awards” for “Best Actor in a horror series”. The results will be announced on Sunday, January 10, 2021 (8:00-10:00pm ET/PT).[x]

[justjensenanddean]

HE WON!!!!!!!

nextbestpicture.com

[xxx-cat-xxx]

Where’s Control Z When You Need It

Word Count: 4k

Summary: While helping out his injured mentor, Peter lets his curiosity get the best of him and ends up learning some information about Tony’s personal life he wasn’t meant to know. If only trust were as easy to build as it is to break. But Tony knows some people are worth a second chance.

A/N: This is my @marveltrumpshate fill for @sallyidss. Thank you to Sally for this thoughtful prompt and your donation. You and your fics are a delight! And thank you to @whumphoarder for beta reading and coming up with a title.

This fic takes some liberties with the timeline of CW and HC, but is otherwise largely canon-compliant. Enjoy!

Link to read on Ao3

*

“So. Will you finally tell me what’s going on?” Peter addresses the half-conscious engineer currently splayed out on the ground in front of him. Tony blinks his eyes, groans, and mumbles something unintelligible.

“Huh?” Peter hopes Tony knows that the exasperation in his voice is really just worry, accumulated from a whole afternoon of watching Tony try to hide the fact that he is clearly not well, culminating in him dropping to the floor so suddenly Peter didn’t even have a chance to catch him.

“Was gonna sit down,” Tony mutters defiantly. “Missed the chair.”

“Wow.” Peter runs a hand through his hair. “Like, really, wow. Did you hurt yourself just now?”

Tony shakes his head and then winces, bringing a hand to his temple.

Peter frowns. “You didn’t hit your head when you fell. Is it a migraine?”

“You’re not gonna let this go, are you?” Tony asks, resignation already clear in his voice.

Peter crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Not a chance.”

Tony sighs. “’S not a migraine, kid. Just a concussion.”

Peter blinks. “Now where did you get a concussion from?”

“Remember the Skrulls that tried to steal the Statue of Liberty yesterday?” Tony sighs, moving his hand to rub over his face. “Bit hard to stave off thirty of them without any backup.”

And that, Peter knows, is as close as Tony Stark will ever come to admitting that he misses the Avengers.

Quietly, he says, “I could have been backup.”

“You, young man,” Tony replies, pushing himself up to sitting and straightening his shoulders, the moment of vulnerability gone with the blink of an eye, “had a history test. Will you help me up now?”

Keep reading

[xxx-cat-xxx]

Where’s Control Z When You Need It

Word Count: 4k

Summary: While helping out his injured mentor, Peter lets his curiosity get the best of him and ends up learning some information about Tony’s personal life he wasn’t meant to know. If only trust were as easy to build as it is to break. But Tony knows some people are worth a second chance.

A/N: This is my @marveltrumpshate fill for @sallyidss. Thank you to Sally for this thoughtful prompt and your donation. You and your fics are a delight! And thank you to @whumphoarder for beta reading and coming up with a title.

This fic takes some liberties with the timeline of CW and HC, but is otherwise largely canon-compliant. Enjoy!

Link to read on Ao3

*

“So. Will you finally tell me what’s going on?” Peter addresses the half-conscious engineer currently splayed out on the ground in front of him. Tony blinks his eyes, groans, and mumbles something unintelligible.

“Huh?” Peter hopes Tony knows that the exasperation in his voice is really just worry, accumulated from a whole afternoon of watching Tony try to hide the fact that he is clearly not well, culminating in him dropping to the floor so suddenly Peter didn’t even have a chance to catch him.

“Was gonna sit down,” Tony mutters defiantly. “Missed the chair.”

“Wow.” Peter runs a hand through his hair. “Like, really, wow. Did you hurt yourself just now?”

Tony shakes his head and then winces, bringing a hand to his temple.

Peter frowns. “You didn’t hit your head when you fell. Is it a migraine?”

“You’re not gonna let this go, are you?” Tony asks, resignation already clear in his voice.

Peter crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Not a chance.”

Tony sighs. “’S not a migraine, kid. Just a concussion.”

Peter blinks. “Now where did you get a concussion from?”

“Remember the Skrulls that tried to steal the Statue of Liberty yesterday?” Tony sighs, moving his hand to rub over his face. “Bit hard to stave off thirty of them without any backup.”

And that, Peter knows, is as close as Tony Stark will ever come to admitting that he misses the Avengers.

Quietly, he says, “I could have been backup.”

“You, young man,” Tony replies, pushing himself up to sitting and straightening his shoulders, the moment of vulnerability gone with the blink of an eye, “had a history test. Will you help me up now?”

Keep reading