5 times tony comforted Peter and the one time Peter comforted Tony
This is for @bluesweatshirt for the friendly neighborhood exchange!
(also i’m really sorry i couldn’t add in a cut off on mobile)
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1.
Peter wasn't a sad person.
He wasn't too sad when his parents didn't come home from their business trip. Yeah, he was sad when Ben died- he died in front of him for god’s sake- but he didn’t show it, he sucked it up and helped May with the new struggles with money.
Peter wasn't sad, no. He was tired though.
God, he was so tired.
It had been two weeks since homecoming night and Peter was catering between not being able to sleep at all and waking up every night from nightmares.
This night was different, though.
Because for some reason… Mr Stark was in his nightmare.
It was never anyone but peter. Always Peter stuck under rubble, falling from a plane, stuck in the fire. Never anyone else so why now would it be Mr Stark?
That wasn’t exactly the first thought on his mind when he woke up.
___________
Peter woke up with a start, breath stuck in his chest, tears already escaping his eyes.
He threw the covers off him, needing to be free from the confines, before reaching for his phone.
He’s hurt, mr stark’s hurt and he can't help him- oh god he can't save him-
“Hello?” Mr Stark’s groggy voice shook him out of his thoughts.
“Mr Stark?” Peter asked, almost scared for any reply.
“Pete? You okay?” His mentor’s voice took on a new tone. Worry mixed with… something.
“Yeah, sorry, i just- I’m sorry for waking you- I’ll hang up now-”
“Peter. Are you okay?” The question made him want to cry, made him want to curl up and let it all out with how safe it made Peter feel.
“Yeah I’m-” he took a breath, “I’m fine,”
He could tell the billionaire knew he wasn’t, “Okay, well you might as well help me anyway,”
“Help you?”
“Yeah, i've been up for hours trying to figure this problem out,” He lied.
“O-okay”
The mechanic explained the problem to him, Peter letting the words wash over him, breathing through the explanation. He pretended not to notice when Mr Stark didn't ask for his thoughts, when he reminded him to breathe every now and then, just letting his words soothe the kid from the evident panic attack he’d just gone through.
God, he was so out of his element.
Maybe this was a good thing- maybe it was good for him to comfort this kid- this kid who he barely knew. Just for tonight, only tonight.
2.
Tony was tired. No, scratch that- he was fucking exhausted.
He was pretty much ready to drop on that wednesday, ready to curl up in his king size bed and sleep for 16 hours straight.
And yeah, maybe he forgot it was lab day.
Peter walked- more like stumbled- through the lab doors, somehow racing and also shuffling to his seat, dropping his bag with a thud and sitting in his chair in almost the same manner.
Peter’s hair was messy, curls more unruly than usual, and Tony would bet that if he could see the kid’s eyes, they wouldn’t look healthy.
“Hey kid,”
No answer.
“You okay?”
A delay, then a slight nod. Peter still hadn’t put anything in front of him, just simply sitting at the desk.
“You wanna skip lab day today?”
Peter’s head shot up, eyes wide and concerned. And yeah, Tony was right, he had dark bags under his eyes.
“What? Is something wrong? Do you need me to leave?” Tony raised a hand to stop him.
“No- no- I mean more like…” He didn’t know how he was going to say this, “I’m pretty tired right now, do you wanna just order a pizza and chill out on the couch?”
Peter looked at him suspiciously, before nodding, already getting up and heading to the other room.
Yeah, tony thought to himself, you’re doing okay
.
______--
Peter was passed out on the couch within 5 minutes, remote laying in his limp hand and head lolled to the side awkwardly.
Tony brought the pizza in, setting the boxes down on the coffee table and gently shook Peter awake.
“Hey, kid,” He whispered as Peter woke up, matching the tone to the dark room, “You wanna have something to eat? Or at least get into more of a comfortable position,”
Peter nodded groggily, sitting up so Tony could sit next to him, legs touching as Peter moved closer. Tony raised his arm up and around the back of the couch, resting on the teenager’s shoulders and allowing him to relax into the billionaire.
Tony put a random star wars film on the tv, letting it drift into background noise as the kid fell asleep next to him.
For years, Tony had been scared of fucking a future kid up, becoming his father and eventually pushing everyone away. Somehow, now, his fears have receded, his mind reassuring him repeatedly.
He trusts you. You’re doing okay.
3.
Peter woke up under rubble.
No, no, this wasn’t a nightmare. The air was too thick, dust invading his airways. He choked on it as he took a breath. It was too dark, way too dark, the rocks were crushing him, piercing his skin in multiple places. He groaned with the weight, reaching for his watch instinctively.
He pressed the side button three times, letting red light illuminate his surroundings and trying to breathe with the rubble pushing down on his chest.
His watch lit up blue, and Tony’s voice started speaking through it.
“Peter? Pete- you there?”
“Y-yeah I’m here” He choked out, a waver in his voice.
“Okay, how are you feeling, kid?”
“I- The rubble- it’s crushing me- i can’t-” His breath started to speed up at the reminder, panic invading his senses.
“Kid- kid! You gotta calm down, okay? We’re getting you out now, i promise- we’re gunna get you out real soon- but you gotta calm down for us to do that, okay?”
Peter made an affirmative noise, closing his eyes and trying to even out his breaths. His memories were resurfacing much quicker than he could cope with and Tony’s voice was only helping slightly. Peter didn’t know what he was saying, letting the noises meld together in his mind as he calmed himself.
After a few minutes- or hours, he didn’t know- he’d calmed down somewhat, finally able to focus on the voice coming out of his watch.
“We’re getting you out of there now, kid. You’re doing so good for me, Pete- just keep breathing for me, okay?”
With the panic receding now, Peter was much more aware of his surroundings. He was also aware of the fact that his brain was slowing down, unable to process things as quickly as he normally could. There was a reason for that in the back of his mind but he couldn’t reach it.
There was something wet underneath him, soaking up into his clothes, he didn’t like that. He wanted to move away from it but only made it hurt worse when he tried- he cried out in pain.
“T-tony!”
There was a scuffle on the other end of the line- “Yeah, pete? You okay?- what’s happening?”
“T’ny- t- tony! T’y please- g’t me out- please- please- i- i can’t-”
“Peter- what’s happening?”
“H’rts- my- my chest- there’s- it’s-” The panic was back now, confusing him even more than before, “S’mthing- und’r- something wet- under me- t’ny please-”
“Shit- Peter- Pete- breathe, okay kid? Breathe for me. We’re gunna help you,”
Peter took a breath, then another, and another, steadying his heart before whimpering when the rubble shifted, “Kid, we’ve almost got you. I need you to stay awake, okay? We’re gonna get to you soon but you gotta stay awake so you can tell us if we move the wrong thing, okay?”
Peter made an affirmative noise again, wanting nothing more than to move away from the pain, but listening to Tony.
Tony talked again a while later, surprising Peter when he did.
“Pete? You still awake for me, bud?”
“Y-yeah im- im here,”
He heard Tony breathe out slowly, “That’s good, Pete. We’re only a few feet away from you, but the next thing we’re going to move is gunna shift some stuff, okay? Tell us if it hurts you, okay, kid?”
“Okay- I’ll tell y’u”
He waited a few seconds, hearing some movement to his side, before the rubble shifted and his legs screamed in pain. He only let out a grunt, not wanting to stop the team’s efforts, and only a moment passed before he saw his father figure knelt down beside his head, cradling it with one hand. He smiled up at him.
“T-tony-” He sobbed.
Tony nodded, “Yeah, yeah, kid, i’m here now. Sorry we couldn’t get to you sooner but I got you now, i promise. You did so good for me, bud,”
“Good?” Peter’s eyes were closing now, relishing in the relief of pain after hours of panic.
“So good, kid. I’m so proud of you for staying calm. You can sleep now, okay? Let us do the rest.”
He smiled up at his mentor again, letting his eyes close and his body relaxed as his mind gave in to the not-so-distant pull of sleep.
4.
Tony woke up that morning to a call from midtown tech.
Of course, he was confused as to why Peter’s school would call him at midday on a random tuesday.
“Is this Tony Stark?” The caller sounded dubious- doubtful.
“Yes, it is,”
“This is Julia calling from midtown tech. Are you the emergency contact for Peter Parker?”
“One of them, yes,”
“Would you be able to pick Peter up soon?” Tony was already getting some more presentable clothes on, worried as hell.
“Yes, of course. Can I ask why?”
“To be completely honest with you, Mr Stark, I don't even know. There’s a police officer in there with him right now, and that’s all i know.”
Tony froze. A police officer could only mean two things, and Tony didn’t like either option.
“I’ll be there in 10 minutes,” And with that, he hung up.
Peter practically fell into his arms when he walked into the office. Tony instinctively went to cradle the back of his head as he processed everything that was happening. One of those things being that Peter was crying.
Peter was crying.
He wrapped his arms around the teenager more firmly as the police officer stepped toward them.
“Mr Stark, I’m officer Langford,” Tony nodded curtly towards him, waiting for an explanation.
“You may want to sit down for this,”
It took some time for Tony to maneuver Peter into a more comfortable position on the couch in the corner, the kid not wanting his mentor to see his face- in fear?- but they got there in the end.
The officer sat down in a chair opposite them, “I’m sorry to tell you this but this morning May Parker was involved in a car accident, she was rushed to the hospital but unfortunately, she was pronounced dead on arrival-” Peter held him slightly tighter, “We called you here because you were Peter’s second emergency contact, and in situations like these, we need a temporary home for him. If you agree, you can take him home now, and if not we can move him to a separate-” Tony held a hand up to cut him off.
He moved the hand back down to rub across Peter’s back, meant to be a soothing gesture but somehow made him more tense.
“I’ll take him now, and i can sort out the paperwork for a… longer arrangement soon,” Officer Langford nodded before wishing them well and leaving, but Tony didn’t pay any notice, his mind too caught up in what just happened.
It wasn’t caught up in May’s death, somehow in the back of his mind, he knew, he knew that police officers didn’t just show up at a kid’s school for no reason. He wouldn’t have been called if it was anything else.
No, it wasn’t caught up with that.
It was caught up with the fact that Peter- his kid, his Peter- upon hearing Tony’s agreement to take him in- he lost all tension in his body. As if he was relieved, as if he feared Tony would leave him, as if he would abandon the kid he’s grown so close to lately.
Tony couldn’t process it.
“Hey, kiddo, can you look at me please?” Peter minutely shook his head, burrowing into Tony’s shirt even closer than before. His tears had long since stopped, now just seeking comfort from the billionaire.
“We’ve gotta be clear about some stuff, okay, bud? Just a few minutes and then we can go back to whatever this is,” Tony wasn’t good at this.
But, still, Peter pulled back from their embrace, head turned down towards his legs.
“Kid-” Tony was stuck for words, “i want you to know that you can stay with me for as long as you like, okay? If it’s just for this week, for a while or if it’s for the rest of your life, okay? I need you to understand that i’m going to stick with you through all of it, anything you need from me, I’ll get it for you,” He took a breath, “You’re not alone in this,”
Peter crumpled.
As if against his own command, his body surged forward, arms clumsily reaching for his father figure, breaths coming through as gasps, head still downturned.
But still, Tony caught him.
__________
Tony took Peter back to the tower, he set him up in his room, gave him food and sent him to bed. He figured they’d deal with talking about it tomorrow, after some good sleep and a long fucking think about how Tony feels about this kid.
That went to shit at around 4am.
Tony was up on his feet before he could process the scream, legs rushing him to the only inhabited room on his floor. Pushing the door open and hoping for the worst.
He really didn’t expect to see Peter in the corner, bed sheets crumpled around his feet, breaths barely present.
He kneeled down a few feet away, unsure about whether Peter needed him close or not. But upon seeing the kid reach out a trembling hand towards him, he surged forward, pulling the teenager into his arms.
“It’s okay, whatever it is, it’s okay, we’re safe. I’ve got you.” He repeated in hushed whispers, rocking the two of them back and forth.
It was only a few minutes later when Peter responded to him, breathing normally now, hand clutching his mentor’s shirt as he mumbled into his chest.
“Couldn’t- couldn’t save y’u- i- i can’- can’t do i’- pl’se t’ny-”
Tony hushed him.
Peter repeated the mantra for another- god, tony didn’t know how long- until tony was finally able to hush him. The billionaire carefully picked him up, walking him the few feet over to the bed and laying him down in it.
Tony hesitated by the door, before hushing his brain of all negative thoughts, turning off the light and retreating back into the teenager’s bedroom. He climbed into the bed with the kid, curling up next to him- relieved when Peter immediately turned to cling to his chest.
Slowly, he fell asleep.
5.
To say Peter was worried about this mission was an understatement. Him and Tony were going undercover together and honestly… it was already awkward.
The thing is, Peter wouldn’t have any trouble going undercover normally but now, they were going in as father and son.
There was this guy- this villain they’d started calling the ‘poisoner’- who was targeting father and son couples, poisoning the son and leaving the father with the body until they were found. They’d tried everything to arrest the guy but… he kept getting away- going undercover was the only option- the last ditch attempt before the avengers started knocking on doors.
It was weird how Peter was more scared to act like Toy was his dad, when he could actually die if the other guy got the upper hand.
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They were sat in the hotel room, waiting.
They saw the guy- the poisoner- earlier at the bar. He’d followed them all night, back to their room but… he hadn’t pushed his way in, always staying just too far away to be apprehended by Tony.
It took a few hours for there to be a knock at the door, Tony standing up and casting a quick look at Peter before going to answer it.
He opened the door to see him- the guy- the poisoner- dressed up as a waiter or something, pushing a cart in front of him.
“Can i help you?”
He smiled, “Room service, sir,” He started pushing his way past Tony.
“I’m sorry, but we didn’t order room service,”
The poisoner turned around quickly as he heard the door blow shut, quickly pulling Tony into a headlock and facing Peter, who was frozen in the shock of it all.
“Now I’m going to say this one time only,” He ignored Tony struggling in his hold, pulling out a gun from his waistband, “There’s handcuffs under the cart. You’re going to cuff yourself to the bed or I’ll blow your dad’s brains out,”
Peter moved slowly, sliding off the bed and keeping his hands visible. The man was the same height as Tony and didn’t look much bigger than him. Tony should be able to get out of his hold easily- there was a reason he couldn’t- and now he had a gun to his head.
He reached under the tablecloth, feeling the cold metal and pulling out three sets of handcuffs. He moved over to the bed again, cursing the hotel for having actual bed posts, and cuffed his left wrist to the bed, laying down on it to make himself more comfortable.
The man then pushed Tony away from him, pointing the gun at Peter this time and making fear rush through him, “Now you- cuff his other hand to the bed,”
Tony hesitated, making the man cock the gun, and Tony then quickly moved towards Peter, efficiently cuffing the teenager’s wrist, giving it a small squeeze of reassurance that didn’t do much to reassure him.
“Pull the chair away from the desk,” The poisoner commanded, “And cuff your hands behind it,”
Tony did so immediately, not risking Peter’s safety again. Only once he was situated did he start talking.
“You know you’re going to regret this,” The poisoner laughed.
“You really think so, do you? I know you’ve got this room bugged, i know the avengers are probably on their way here. But I’m here to send a message,”
“And what message is that?”
He paused, pulling the lid off the metal plate he brought in on the cart, it revealed a neat line of six vials, all full of a blue liquid.
“You need to pay for what you did,”
__________
As it turns out, the poisoner doesn't actually inject the poison.
No, that would be too merciful.
Tony’s handcuffed to the chair he’s sat in, facing the bed. The same bed of which Peter, his kid, the teenager who he’d grown to care for so much in the past year or two, was handcuffed to in an ironic parallel. Father and son. Mentor and mentee. Tony, the merchant of death, destined to lead anyone he comes into contact with to a gruesome fate.
Peter happened to be that person.
Tony remembered the first few days after the fight with the rogues, how he regretted taking Peter with him, knowing he was going to ruin the kid. The few months after had only solidified that claim, and so he’d taken the suit.
There was no way he was getting out of the situation now.
The poisoner- that son of a bitch tony was going to kill as soon as he could get out of this damn chair-
The poisoner, had strapped a mask to the teenager’s head, slowly screwing in a vial of that fucking liquid on either side.
And now he was breathing it in- the gas- the poison that Tony just sat there as he’d been strapped down.
Now, Tony thought it was bad enough when he’d had all those thoughts running through his head, memories of Peter before they’d gotten to know each other, before Tony had taken him in. He thought that had been bad enough.
But no, it was so much worse when all those thoughts suddenly screeched to a halt.
Because Peter had just turned his head, linking eyes with Tony, a desperate plea moving between them.
Because Peter was scared- he looked terrified.
There were unshed tears laying in his tear ducts, enough to easily see as you looked at the kid. His lips barely visible within the mask but from what Tony could see, they were held in a strained frown, lips being bitten.
Peter moved his head towards his mentor, linking eyes with the man. And that, right there in that moment, was when the teenager let go.
“T-tony-” A sob cut him off, choked out between his lips.
“T-tony please- i can’t- i don’t-” Tony shushed him from where he was sitting.
“Kid- Pete- I-” Tony was speechless, all known reassurances dying in his throat as soon as he’d thought of them, what were you supposed to say to a kid who was dying and you couldn’t do anything about it?
“Tony- please- dad- i can’t-” that kicked his instincts into gear.
“Kid, you need to stop talking, okay? The team’s going to get here soon, they’ll get this shit out of you and you’ll be okay, then you can tell me whatever you need to when you’re better, okay?”
Peter nodded, eyes still wide with tears but he listened to the billionaire. and somehow, that made it so much worse, the kid would follow him into fire if he asked him to, and now Tony got him into this situation.
Tony wanted nothing more than to look away from what was happening, as Peter breathed in the poison, helpless to do anything, but he couldn’t not be there for the kid. He needed his father figures comfort.
“he’s right, the teams gunna get here soon, i don’t know when but we’ll get you out of this as soon as we can, and then we can spend a week watching all of the star wars movies, and the clone wars if you want, anything you want kid”
The poisoner was sat in the corner of the room, on the other bed. He was watching them, watching Tony desperately give his kid comfort without being able to touch him.
Tony looked at him, “you’re a fucking psychopath, you know that, right? he’s 16, he’s just a kid. why don’t you kill me instead if you want me to pay so much, huh?”
The poisoner chuckled, standing up to walk over to them, “If you die, you wouldn’t feel the pain i did as my kid died in front of me, i’m going to make you watch as your kid suffocates in front of you”
He got two new vials, replacing the almost empty ones. Peter’s wheezing had gotten a lot more prominent now, trying desperately to bring in air.
Tony’s always been around death, it greets him at every corner. but every time, someone else dies instead of him, or at least, they come close to it.
He doesn’t know what he’d do if Peter dies.
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He’d already changed to the last set of vials now, Peter's breath was barely there.
Tony was fucking terrified, obviously.
The team was close, he was sure of it, but that had been what he’d been telling himself the whole time.
They were barely minutes out by his assumptions, but he didn’t know if Peter had minutes, vials nearly empty as the liquid in them turned to gas for the teenager to breathe in, slowly suffocating him.
He was still facing Tony, eve after this long, still trusting him to save him. Even as his body could barely pull in breaths, eyes drooping, they didnt stray from his face.
“Peter, you gotta keep your eyes open, i know it’s hard, i know- but you’ve gotta stay awake for just a few more minutes. We’re gunna help you, but you just gotta stay awake,”
Peter looked at him sadly, but his eyes stayed open and Tony counted that as a win. He started to say something but Tony shushed him quickly.
“It’s okay, kid. Don’t try to talk. We’ve been over this already, you can talk to me after the team gets here- star wars marathon and everything, remember?”
Peter’s eyebrows creased inwards, and Tony’s heart dropped. Either he just forgot about that whole part of their conversation or… or…
“You just gotta stay awake for me, okay? I believe in you kid, dont let me down,”
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The door seemed to explode inwards when the team got there, Tony didn’t look up.
He didn’t look up as they arrested the poisoner, Bruce and sam moving to Peter, while two others moved to get Tony out of the seat he was in.
As soon as the handcuffs were undone, he surged forward, one hand reaching for the kid’s- which now rested on the bed after being released- and the other going to rest in his curls. Tony quickly wiped the tears off the kid’s face, staying away from his mouth as the others tried to give him as much oxygen as he needed.
Peter choked on a sob when he realised Tony was there, mouth slightly upturning even as another oxygen mask was placed over his face.
“I’m here kid. I’m so proud of you for staying awake, okay?” He looked to bruce, as the man looked away from Peter’s vitals, nodding to Tony now, “You can go to sleep now, I’m so proud of you kid, it’s okay,”
Peter’s eyes didn’t leave him, even as he fell asleep.
Tony cried as he was carried away.
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Peter woke up in the medbay. That was his first sign that something bad happened.
The next sign was his mentor-father-figure-dad asleep on the side of his bed.
Peter’s eyes widened as he saw the tear tracks lining his cheeks. Tony never cried, not even when he dropped an engine on his foot that one time. If Tony was crying now, this- whatever it was that happened- it was bad bad.
“Tony?”
Tony startled awake, as if he meant to be on guard, and took one look at the kid in front of him before reaching for Peter and bringing him into his arms.
“Oh my fucking god, kid. Holy shit, you’re okay. Oh my god-”
“Tony what happened?” Was the teenager’s muffled answer, not complaining about being smothered in his da- Tony’s shirt.
“There was this- this guy we went after- had to go undercover and he got to us and he poisoned you, kid- and i couldn't- i couldn't do anything about it- i just sat there and you- you did so good-”
Peter shushed him as the memories arose in his mind, “Tony, can i talk for a second?” He received a nod in reply, “You called the team, Tony. I didn’t, you did. They got there in time and now I’m okay, aren’t I? You did everything that you could, if anything i should've done something, I’m the one with powers here. No- i know- i couldn’t have done anything but you were there the whole time telling me to stay awake and i did, Tony, because of you.”
Tony didn’t say anything, seemingly processing what the kid said. He looked up slowly, tears falling down his cheeks, leaning forward and pulling the kid into a hug again.
Slowly, Peter got tired, nearly falling asleep in Tony’s arms. So, of course, Tony moved into the bed with him, pulling the kid to rest his head against the man’s chest.
“I got you, kid, don’t worry. You can go to sleep,” Peter didn’t know if Tony was reassuring himself or the kid.
Stil, nonetheless, Peter seemingly couldn’t hold back from murmuring a last thought as he fell asleep.
“Love you, dad”
Tony froze for a moment before replying, “Yeah, i love you too, kid,”
