Good Intentions
Hey dudes, so my MH has been awful lately and I’ve been struggling with alot. @cagestark was there for me these past few days and helped me feel so so much better.
I cannot thank you enough for letting me rant and not making feel dumb so as a thanks my brain created this.
WIS work in progress
"Anthony Edward Stark!" Pepper growls as she walks into his lab.
Tony ignores her and keeps soldering the circuit board
"Don't ignore me! I've had just enough of you." Pepper stops in front of him, tapping her foot in irritation on the tile floor.
"Whatever it is, I didn't do it. "
"Tony."
"Okay if I did to it, it wasn't my fault. It was Rhodey's idea!"
"Don't bring my fiance into this. This is all your fault and your going to be fixing it. I was hoping without my help but at this rate your going to need me and Natalie and maybe even Bruce."
That made his eyebrows raise in curiosity " You and them? What the hell did I do?"
"This is what you did." Pepper tossed a StarkPad across the countertop.
Tony lifted his head and put down his tools as he pressed play on the video on screen.
"Brucie man I don’t know what to tell you. I’m a lone wolf and no cute, sweet omega will change that!" Tony took a drink of his scotch.
Bruce eyed him curiously for a moment "Not even your sweet, cute intern?"
Tony gave him a pointed look "I don't what it is about me and Peter but drop it. He's a kid. I’m supposed to be his mentor."
"Supposed to? So that means you DO have feelings for him. Nat owes me 20 bucks."
"You betted on this?"
"Not the point. So, you do have feelings for him?"
" That isn’t the point. Regardless of how I feel, even if I didn’t mentor him since he was 14, Peter does not need an old wore out superhero for a boyfriend."
"And now I owe Bucky 20. Tony, don't you think you should let Peter make his own mind up? He's not 14 anymore."
"No, you’re right. He isn't 14. He's 19. A college student. I only just convinced him to take his second year at MIT. If I say anything he's going to try and get back in NYU to be closer and the universe has done enough to stall and fuck with his future. Peter deserves the best and I sure as shit aint it." without another word, Tony downed what was left of his scotch and headed for the door.
"Tony you don't have to bolt out of the room."
"I do if you’re going to keep bringing up Peter because I'll be blue in the face until you get the fact it will never ever happen between us."
"I won’t say another word, just sit down."
Tony eyed him suspiciously
"What? Okay on one condition. You grab me a beer."
Tony rolled his eyes but walked over to the bar, pouring himself another then grabbing Bruce his beer. Just as he tossed it to the other man Natalie came storming into the living room.
"What the fuck Stark?!"
Pepper paused the video. "Get it now?"
Tony sighed "I don't know what you want from me Pep. You know as well as I do, I'm better off by myself."
"No. You’re afraid. Just like you were afraid of being happy with me. Then when you were afraid of being a father. Who helped you through that Tony?"
"Pepper..."
"Who was it Tony? Tell me."
"Peter okay!" Tony stormed off
"Don't you dare walk away from me!" Pepper followed him "When are you going to wake up Tony? You've changed and become more of the decent man I knew you could be and as much as I am loathe to admit it, that is because of Peter. You have a chance here, to finally be with someone that is your equal and you’re going to ruin it if you don't get your head out of your damn asshole!"
Tony swallowed. "I fucking know okay? but just because Peter is great for me doesn't mean I'm great for him."
Pepper sighed "If you didn't make him happy, he wouldn't have been crying on Bucky's shoulder for the past week. If you don't do something soon, he may just sweep Peter up himself."
At that Tony's head whips around and gave Pepper a pointed look. "Your bluffing."
Pepper rolled her eyes. "Why would I bluff about that? Friday? Can you project the living room feed from last Tuesday, around early evening?"
"Of course."
A projection appears on the left wall facing Tony of the living room of the Avengers wings.
"Good god Bucky. I was so fucking dumb."
"Peter no, not even close." Bucky walks over to the window where the younger man was standing. "Stark will always be Stark and if he isn’t ready for commitment that has nothing to do with you."
"But you weren't there. You didn’t hear him. How casual he sounded."
"Not that I'm defending him, but he didn't know you were there, maybe just maybe he was putting up a front to Banner?"
Peter sniffed. "I don't think so, Bruce isn't like that. He was annoyed that he was being pestered about us and made it noticeably clear it would never happen. So instead of being a stupid lovesick teenager, I'm a stupid lovesick adult."
Bucky squeezed Peter's shoulder. "Don't talk like that. You're not stupid. He is. You’re a catch Peter and if he can't see that well that's his loss."
“I don’t see how any of this-“
"Show us 4 days ago same room, same time." Pepper cut him off.
"God now he's ignoring me Bucky!" Peter paced back and forth across the room
"Will you please sit down? your making me nauseous." Bucky gestured to the couch across from the chair he was currently in.
Peter sighed as he practically threw himself down on the couch. "Ignoring me. Bucky he never ever does that. "
"Tony ignores everybody at least once a week."
"But not me." Peter pointed out. "He found out I heard him. he must have." Peter's voice started to break the end.
"Pete c'mon that's probably a coincidence."
Peter glared at the super solider "Yeah because Tony would randomly ignore me for the first time in 4ish years days after I heard him say he would never ever be with me no matter what."
"Now your exaggerating. Peter you guys were literally snuggling last week during movie night. He wouldn’t do that if he wasn’t interested."
"Well clearly not interested enough."
"Okay. Ready for the next one?"She asked as the clip ended.
Tony rolled his eyes "Haven't you shown me enough? I get it. Peter is hurting but that doesn’t change a thing."
"Exactly my point, this last one though, with any luck will pull your head out of your ass. Ready?"
Tony looked at her in confusion. "Fine."
"Okay Friday, show us Movie Night, 7pm."
"Okay guys ready?" Steve asked, standing in front of the room scanning to make sure everyone was here.
"No, Peter and Tony aren’t here yet."
"Yeah well it was about time that Tony would start ditching again." Clint said as he grabbed some of Nat’s popcorn.
"I'll go find Peter, one sec." Nat handed Clint the bowl and headed down the hall. Returning a few minutes later with Peter trailing behind her, looking for a seat.
"Don’t even think about it Peter." Clint grinned, stretching out like a cat on the sofa which made Nat roll her eyes.
"I can move him if you want Peter." Nat said, leaning towards his legs.
Before Peter could respond, Bucky padded the cushion next to him on the loveseat "C'mon over Pete."
Peter smiled and nodded, "Thanks but I’ll just sit by Buck." Nat raised her eyebrow but said nothing.
"Okay we good? Can we start?" Steve asked, started the movie and quickly sitting down when no one objected.
Bucky laid his arm down on the back of the coach, whispering something in Peter's ear which made him giggle. Peter looked to the door for a few minutes before his shoulders sagged and he leaned into the other man as he got comfortable. Smacking his flesh arm and gave him a look at whatever Bucky had said, his voice lower than the movie.
Tony squinted at the feed even after it stopped. After 5 minutes of him being silent Pepper spoke up.
"So?"
"Tony?"
"Tony!!" Pepper practically shouted
He shook his head and turned to her. "Uh sorry what?"
"Did that perhaps hit a nerve?"
"Nerve? No. "
Pepper just looked at him for a few minutes, it was clear he needed a few moments to process what he just saw.
"They use nicknames now?"
Pepper rolled her eyes "That's what your taking out of this?"
"Bucky never called Peter by anything other than Little Spider or Parker... And what’s with Peter calling him Buck?"
"Well I think its best I just leave you to brainstorm why your love interest is calling Captain Americas ex-boyfriend nicknames." Her heels clicking as she crossed the room heading for the elevator.
"Wait Pepper. What was the point? how is this anything to do with me?"
Pepper turned from her spot in the doorway “Well if you didn't hide out in here and yes that’s exactly what you were doing. Peter would have been snuggled up to you instead of the super solider."
"That’s what he was looking at, he was disappointed I wasn’t there!" By the time Tony spoke again Pepper was long gone and he was left to his own devices.
"Fri?"
"Yes Boss?"
"Lock down the lab, we need to work that last video and amplify the sounds while lowering the volume of the surround sound. "
"Activating Do not Disturb protocol, Keep current exception list of Ms. Potts. Rhodey, Mr. Banner and Peter?"
Tony sighed. "Since when have you referred to him as Peter? Who added him to the exception list without my permission?"
"Would you rather i refer to him as Petey? Petey Pie or perhaps Spiderling?"
Tony chuckled. "Peter is fine. How did he end up on the exception list?"
"As per my programming sir. The algorithms showed you and Peter have an active role in each other’s lives, physically and online. It was only fitting to add him to the list. Should I remove him now that its changed?"
"Changed? " Tony questioned his AI
"Peter has not been in the lab or Avenger corridors at the same time as you in the last week, you haven't contacted each other online either. There seems to be lack of interacting in the last week. "
"Who is on Peter's exception list?"
" Ms. Widow, Ned Leeds, Bucky Barnes and yourself Sir."
"Ms. Widow?"
"As per Peter's instructions I was to refer to his contacts as Ms. Widow, Ned Leeds, Bucky Barnes and Tones."
Tony felt a smile creep up on his face at Peters chosen nickname. "No nickname for the super soldier?"
"Negative Boss. Shall Peter stay on your protocol?"
"Yeah but change Rhodey to Platypus and Peter to Petey Pie. It has a ring to it doesn't it?"
"It does sir, very fitting for him. Shall I alert to Ms. Potts You’ve made progress?"
"Don’t you dare. Now back to amplifying the sounds excluding the movie please?"
"Yes sir."