Chapter Text
He’s on the run from the police.
That’s something Tony keeps thinking about day in and day out, the idea just too surreal and unbelievable to fully accept it. After freeing Spider and Winter, the trio is moving constantly for almost 48 hours. When Tony is too tired to keep driving, Winter takes over so he can sleep and vice versa, taking them through five states during those two days alone. At one point, Tony asks where they are even going, but Spider assures him they would tell him when it’s time and Tony simply believes the boy, not sure what else to do.
For a while, it feels like he has been kidnapped without even realizing it. But that’s crazy, or not? He freed the two willingly - well, he freed Spider willingly and Winter because he had to, but it’s the same in the end. There is no way they are holding him hostage, he can’t believe that.
Still, during the third day, this feeling becomes stronger and stronger. One of them is always there somehow, whether it’s while Tony eats or stretches his legs or even when he takes a piss. It’s starting to get frustrating and eventually, Tony summons the courage to ask Spider what this is all about. The boy gives him a sweet and at the same time serious smile.
“We gotta keep you safe, right?” he says in the most innocent tone of voice that has Tony actually speechless for a moment. “If someone saw you and called the cops, we might get caught. I don’t want that. We’ll be safe soon, until then it’s better if we keep an eye on each other.”
Tony refrains from mentioning that people could call the police when they see them together anyway, somehow not wanting to cause any more drama. Spider sounds genuine and if he starts to doubt him, this whole thing will only turn sour. So, Tony nods and doesn’t complain, despite thinking about it constantly.
The place they finally arrive at the day after is nothing Tony expected. They have to hide, obviously, so he didn’t think of any luxury or even a house itself, but he gets at least that. Sort of. Winter drives up to a cabin in the middle of the woods, not shabby or tiny, but instead actually rather modern looking and giving off a sense of comfort somehow.
“That’s the place?” he asks dumbfounded and Spider nods, clapping his hands.
“Finally home!” he exclaims before storming out of the car, something that actually makes Winter laugh quietly. Tony doesn’t comment on it, but it’s the first time he sees the other man show any kind of emotion other than anger and he doesn’t forget it.
The cabin itself is quite big on the inside and surprisingly well furnished. There’s a fireplace and a small kitchen and a very comfy looking living room. There’s also a bedroom that’s built under the roof, reachable through a ladder and spanning the whole width of the cabin itself and half its length. He can spot a bathroom under the stairs, which isn’t big, but seems to have the necessities at least. And they aren’t on the road anymore, that’s a huge relief already.
“Oh no, Muffin died!” Peter exclaims just as Tony and Winter step into the living room area, sounding extremely upset. A moment later he comes out of the back part of the living room, holding a small glass container with a very much dead tarantula in it. Tony can’t help that he flinches, but it’s completely ignored.
“Don’t worry, we can get you another one,” Winter says quietly, taking the container from Spider, who immediately leans against his shoulder.
“We’ve been gone for too long…” the boy sniffs and looks sadly at the dead spider.
“It’s not your fault, okay?” Winter rubs Spider’s shoulder before pulling back. “I’ll bury her, or do you want to?”
Spider shakes his head and wipes his nose. “No, I… I don’t think I can,” he mumbles. “Thank you.”
Tony is still completely confused when Winter nods and walks back out with the container in hand, his eyes glued to the boy. It’s so clear that he’s sad and upset, mourning even, over a simple spider no less. Somehow, this whole scene gets to Tony on a level of emotion he could have never foreseen.
“You okay, kid?” he finally manages to ask and Spider looks up at him as if he forgot he’s there for a moment. Maybe he did, Tony thinks when the boy nods.
“Just sad, that’s all,” he sniffs, wiping his eyes. “She’s been with us for so long, I didn’t want that to happen.”
“He’s right, you know? It’s not your fault,” Tony tries to soothe Spider and lays a hand on his shoulder. “You were away for over a month, you didn’t want to leave her alone for that long.”
Spider nods and leans against Tony’s chest, sighing. “I know, I just wish she’d be okay,” he says quietly.
Tony finds himself wrapping his arms around the boy and pulling him close, without even thinking about what he’s doing. “It’s gonna be okay,” he promises, pressing a kiss onto Spider’s head. “You gave her a good life, that’s all that matters.”
The two are silent for a few minutes until the door opens again and startles Spider. He peeks around Tony, who turns his head to look at Winter too, and both see the other man nod. Nothing ceremonial, nothing special. Just a note that the job is done, that’s it.
“We’ll need food,” Winter says and walks over to squeeze Spider’s shoulder. “The usual?”
Spider nods and smiles at him. “How long you think you’ll take?” he asks.
“A few hours, maybe five or six,” Winter shrugs as he walks into the back of the living room where Spider got the dead tarantula from. “We still have enough money, so that’s no problem. Anything special you want?”
“Lucky Charms!” Spider demands and runs over to hug the man. “And some new clothes maybe? I’m growing out of mine…”
“Alright, Lucky Charms and clothes,” Winter nods and hugs Spider back quickly. “We can’t have you run around naked, you’ll catch a cold.”
At this, Spider giggles, a sound so adorable and cute that it makes Tony’s heart flutter. The boy walks back over to him and wraps his arms around his waist from behind. Eventually, the two sit down on the couch and Spider starts talking about Muffin, dwelling in happy memories of his little arachnoid friend.
Around fifteen minutes later, Winter comes back to the front and Tony could swear he’s looking at a completely different man. He shaved, which takes a few years away from him already, and is now dressed in a dark hoodie, simple jeans and a cap on his head. At first glance, he looks like anyone else on the street. Even his left arm - the one that's made of metal and always gives Tony the chills - looks normal, his hand stuck in a glove. It’s almost impossible to recognize him from the photos in his file Tony read or from the recordings in the asylum.
“I will do the regular run,” he says, nodding at Spider and pulls the keys to Tony’s car out of his pocket. “You can have those back, I won’t need them.”
“Don’t you need a ride?” Tony asks surprised when he catches the keys Winter throws at him and the other smirks, shaking his head.
“Your car is too conspicuous right now, I’ll take one of ours.”
Tony just nods and Winter leaves, not without patting Spider’s head before doing so.
“How many cars do you have?” he asks eventually, his curiosity too strong to ignore it. Spider laughs at the question and sits up.
“We have a few standing around,” he informs him with a grin. “Learned the hard way that having a car nearby that’s not on any search list of the police is a good idea.”
Tony raises a brow at that. “How long do you live like this already?” he wants to know.
Spider shrugs and leans against the back of the couch, putting his feet up on the table in front of them. “A few years,” he says casually. “Winter picked me off the streets when I was around twelve, been with him ever since.”
Tony bites back a comment at that, not even wanting to imagine what Winter did to the twelve year old kid he found. It explains why he’s so protective over him though and why Spider does the same, at least.
“And you just drive around, rob banks and kill people?”
At this question, Spider laughs and throws his head back as if he just heard the funniest joke ever. Tony watches him confused, trying to stop his lip from jerking. The boy is gorgeous when he laughs, it’s like his body reacts without his consent.
“We need to get by somehow, don’t we?” Spider finally says with a sweet smile. “He’s an assassin, that’s his job. People pay him to take others out. Guess they did something to deserve it, but that’s none of my business.”
“So, you don’t care that he kills people?” Tony asks surprised and Spider shrugs again.
“He’s a cool guy,” he says. “And it’s just a job, really. It’s nothing personal.”
“What about the kidnappings? Your files said you had a few of those on your back too.”
“Huh?” Spider actually looks confused for a moment and it looks very genuine. Then, it looks like something clicks and he laughs again. “Oh, those! We didn’t hurt anyone, just got some money to return the people safely. We would have done it anyway, I guess. But the money was helpful.”
Tony thinks he’s in some sort of comedy sketch at this point. How can this boy be so sweet while telling him that his friend - or whatever Winter is - goes out killing people and they kidnap others for money? By now, Tony knows that Spider isn’t as harmless as he looks or acts, but at the moment he just sees the cute boy that he is, not the ruthless criminal.
“You’re scared of him, aren’t you?” Spider asks after a while that they were silent and Tony is actually startled by the observation. It’s pretty obvious, he figures, but that doesn’t help.
“He’s… I don’t know, creepy?” he huffs and shakes his head. “You just see that he’s not messing around and that he’s dangerous.”
“Yeah, he’s pretty intimidating,” Spider agrees and nods. “But he’s really nice, actually. Just very protective and he doesn’t trust people.”
“He surely doesn’t trust me,” Tony laughs sarcastically. “He looks like he wants to burn me.”
Suddenly, Spider wraps his arms around Tony’s neck and kisses his cheek, then snuggles against him. “I won’t let him,” he says with a bright smile. “He won’t do anything like that if I tell him not to.”
Tony is highly confused, but still wraps an arm around the boy’s shoulder. He can’t say he’s not relieved to hear that, even if he can barely believe it.
“So, you two won’t kill me at night and bury my corpse somewhere in the woods?”
Spider chuckles amused and shakes his head. “No chance,” he grins. “You’re mine now. I will keep you.”
As degrading as those words should be, Tony likes the sound of them. He likes Spider a lot, knowing he wants to keep him is kind of nice, actually. Maybe this can work out somehow, even if it means indulging a life of crime to go by. Is it wrong and messed up? Absolutely. But does he care about such details? Not at all.