Serial Killer AU part three (1, 2)
Six months have passed since he took the kid and Tony Stark has Peter Parker right where he wants him.
Pliant, loving, so fucking sweet. He couldn’t ask for more.
Maybe that’s why Tony has nightmares of killing him. He’s carving a body, business as usual, and then he recognizes a mole on the ribcage, and a heartbeat later, Tony gets slammed by the realization that he murdered the love of his life. He wakes up panting, eyes wide and horrified, quickly filling with relief when he understands it was just a dream. Then he’s shakily unlocking the four locks on Peter’s door.
He tries to give him privacy because he’s a teenager and he deserves his own room, but on those nights, he can’t help but disregard that, pulling the kid into his own bed and wrapping his arms around him tightly. The first time it happened, Peter cried, body tense and shaking, but now, he welcomes the touch.
Stockholm syndrome. That’s the term. That’s what Peter has fallen into. It’s the reason why he cuddles into Tony’s body like a kitten, why he begs him not to leave; it’s why he tells him he loves him. Whether he does or he just thinks he does, it’s enough for Tony.
There’s still fear in those chocolate brown eyes, but Tony swears there’s more. Curiosity, adoration, amusement, Tony’s seen glimpses of them all.
And that’s the thing. Tony has to keep him safe. He has to. So when the news catches a whiff of Peter on a day Tony took him out of the house, he knows he fucked up. He packs their bags hurriedly, ignoring Peter’s little protests. Tony doesn’t blame him for not wanting to leave their house. It’s perfectly safe and Peter doesn’t have to have on handcuffs all the time, and he’s finally settled in, after all. Still, that doesn’t change them having to leave.
It’s just a precaution. Tony will take every precaution on the fucking planet in order to keep his baby by his side. He won’t lose him. He can’t lose him.
Because if he can’t have Peter, he’ll make sure as hell that no one else will.