chip off the ol' block, eh, kid?
āItās weird,ā Peter says suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence that fell over the lab, āEveryone says I look like my dad. They always have. But, like, I donāt really remember him.ā
Tonyās brows furrow as he set down the solder, confusedā Peterās usually a tight lid. Heād spent hours just coaxing the real Vulture story out of the kid, a story that Tony isnāt one-hundred percent positive is the real one, but beggars, not choosers or whatever. āWhereās this come from?āĀ
Peterās back is to him, but Tony can still see the way the kid deflates.
āNā Nothing. Itās fine, itās whateverā unimportant.ā Peter mumbles but doesnāt pick his wrench back up.
Tony chuckles awkwardly, pulling his googles off. āWell, hold on, kid, I didnāt say stop, I donāt care, I was just confused as to what spurred on the whole dad thing. Youāre usually pretty tight-lipped about that.āĀ
āJustā something Iād been thinking about. I donāt know, it really doesnāt matter.ā Peter dismissed, putting his head on his folded arms.
āKid.ā Tony shook his head fondly, āI want to know. Sorry if I made you feel otherwise.ā He apologized, hand on Peterās elbow.
Peeking through his arms, he examined Tony with deep-rooted distrust, but with a small, dying shimmer of hope. They stared at each other for a while as Tony tried to show his earnest curiosity through his expression. Peter was always better at that than Tony, his expressive eyes and all.
After what felt like an eternity, Peter finally spoke up, āOkay.āĀ
āOkay,ā Tony affirmed, hand still resting on Peterās arm.
Exhaling, Peter picked at the loose threads on his sleeve cuff, āCuz, like, when I was a kid, I remember not liking my dad as much as I liked my mom. I still loved him, obviously, but I had one of those weird kid grudges where if someone does something you donāt like, you have, like, a permanent vendetta against them until you forget about it because your brain is small and doesnāt understand, yāknow?ā
Tony nodded, because, no, Peter, I have no clue what youāre talking about, but, sure, kid grudges. V for Vendetta and all that.
āYeah, anyways. Itās weird. I still have those feelings.ā Peter shrugged.
Tony frowned slightly, āYou still dislike him?ā
āSorta? Like I said, itās weird. When someone dies, it's kinda like a time capsule. Likeā all your feelings get solidified with the person. But also, it feels wrong to know they were flawed. Like, suddenly, when they die, you forget all the bad and just remember all the good, so when you remember that they had flaws or did stuff wrong, it's, like, wrong.ā Peter rambles, eyes drifting about the lab.
āWrong how?ā Tony pressed.
Peter exhaled sharply, āWrong, like when youāre eating a soft food, and something crunches in your mouth, but you know itās all supposed to be soft, so you kinda pause for a second like,ā Peter made a confused face before continuing, āBut youāre also like, āeh, itās already in my mouth and in the food so how bad could it be?ā And you ignore it and swallow, but thereās still a part of you thatās like āthatās not right.ā Kinda wrong. Do you get what Iām saying, or am I justā¦ā He trailed off, gesturing with his hand through the air.
Tonyās quick to assure, āNo, no, I get it. Iāmā Iām understanding. Yo comprendo.ā Tony smiled, feeling like this conversation wasnāt entirely over, but that there wasnāt much more to say. āWhat about the ālook like your dadā part. Where does that come into play?ā
āWell, I mean, I donāt really remember my parentsā well, I do. Sorta. I remember my dadās scratchy beard, and my mom always smelled like a big garden. Very floral. She liked the color pink and didnāt like triangles. He liked science and trains. I think I got my ADHD from him.ā
āOh, a triangle hater. Thatās new.ā
āShe didnātā she didnāt hate them. She just wasnāt fond. Like, I donāt know, but you get it.ā He waved Tony off, but his smile was genuine.
Tony wiped his fingers off with a towel. āEhhh, you sure she also didnāt have ADHD or some sort ofā¦ thing?ā
Nodding vigorously, Peter pushed himself up, āPretty sure, though I wouldnāt be surprised.ā He sniffed, āBut, sometimes itās weird because May will look at me and be like āyou look so much like Richard.ā And I kinda just have to sit there and take it, because, sure. Didnāt know the guy, so Iām kinda just being compared to a rando. But Mayāll also look at me and say, āoh that was a Mary face. You look like Mary when you make that face.ā Which, okay. Thanks?ā
Tony pursed his lips, sighing. āI think for people who knew Richard and Mary, itās kind of a way to see them still living. Like their faces are still moving and talking and smiling, and I think itās like a reassurance.ā
Peterās brows creased, but he nodded, āI get that.ā
āPeter.ā Tony hesitated, worried heād mess his next words up. That theyād come out wrong and make this worse. Ugh, emotions. āYou havenāt done anything. You canāt control any of those. You are not at fault, in anyway. I think Mayās just grieving and it coming through you. Sometimes, I grieve my mom through Pepper because theyāre so similar. Itās small reminders. Nothing the other person can control, but itās like theyāre still here.ā
Peter smiled a bit, shoulders lighter. āOkay. I canā¦ understand that, I guess.ā
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