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"I'm leaving, Peter! Stay safe!", May yelled as she walked out the door to head into her third overnight shift in a row. She missed working days but the shift differential was a big deal when it came to feeding and enhanced teenager. Obviously, there was a downside as well. Working nights meant that she wasn't home while her nephew was out crawling around the city as Spider-man. That would have outweighed the additional dollar-fifty an hour had it not been for the fact that she knew Tony Stark was a chronic insomniac, had an open line to Spider-man's suit and a Medical Bay stocked with everything a potentially injured, enhanced teenaged vigilante could ever possibly require.
"I'm always safe, Aunt May!", Peter shouted back from his room where he was five seconds from diving out the window but those would, of course, come back to bite him in the rear later.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Tony was standing in his closet happily humming to himself as he knotted a pale pink tie around his neck and then neatly folding the matching pocket square, finishing the look with a pair of gold-rimmed, pink-tinted glasses. It was Valentine's Day and he had put a lot of effort into making the first date he and Pepper had actually had time for in months, perfect. Dinner reservations were at seven and the tickets to the musical that Pepper had been singing along to in the car for the last several weeks, were nestled in the interior pocket of his suit jacket. ...and the flowers he'd purchased, those were already arranged in a vase and sitting in the middle of the living room for her to find when they returned to his place together late in the evening. All that was left to do was to skip out the front door and drive over to her apartment where he was to pick her up.
Back in Queen's Peter's evening was starting out slower than he'd expected. He'd assumed that with so many people out and about that the pick-pockets and petty thieves would be having a field day but at the moment, all was calm. Taking advantage of the lull in crime, he swung down towards a vendor who was selling chocolate-covered strawberries with the intention of buying one but the man running the stand had insisted that he take a box of three at no cost. After thanking him profusely, Peter ate two of the festive confections before swinging the last one home to leave on the counter for his Aunt. After that, he was heading back out into the streets.
Around that same time, Tony was walking towards Pepper's front door with an obvious spring in his step. Two knocks later and the door was opening to reveal his amazing girlfriend, dressed to the nines in a dress that was only a few shades darker than his tie. They complemented each other perfectly. Anyone who saw them that night... and days after as the no doubt dozens of pictures hit the internet... would think they had planned it but that wasn't the case. It had just happened. One more thing to add to the perfection of the evening to come.
By the time Pepper and Tony were walking into the elegant French restaurant and were being escorted, hand in hand, to their candlelit table, Peter was sitting atop the highest building in the borough waiting for his spider-sense to call him into action. It didn't take long before the familiar tingle to creep up the back of his neck putting his other senses on high alert. Though he heard the danger before he'd spotted it. There had been a high pitched scream that was quickly muffled and followed up by several deeply spoken and harsh demands.
While Peter was swinging down into the dark alley, Tony was ordering a lavish four-course dinner for two, each course having been impeccably paired with a glass wine. As they sat there waiting for their Canape to be served they chatted lightly about their day. Pepper's eyes sparkled with excitement and Tony couldn't take his eyes off of hers. They were beautiful, enchanting, hypnotizing. "How did I get so lucky as to end up here with you tonight?", he eventually asked, smiling at the way the question made her cheeks take on a gorgeous, rosy hue.
During that time, Peter had already managed to get himself between the frightened young woman and the man who's hand had still been clamped over her mouth upon his arrival. After that, he'd sent the woman running while he made it his mission to ensure that the man in question wouldn't have the opportunity to take ahold of anyone else. "Going out and mugging pretty girls on Valentine's Day isn't exactly romantic, you know...", he quipped while dodging the man's left hook. "Though I suppose not everyone can't be a casanova.", he added as he shot a web towards the man's mouth before he could refute the comment. "It's not like I can talk, though. I don't have a date either.", he commented with a laugh before attempting to web the man to the wall. "...but as you can see, I'm not out trying to hurt innocent--", he started but his words were cut short when he felt a jolt of pain burning through his left side causing his attention to fall away from the man in front of him. By the time he'd looked back up, mere seconds later, the culprit was already running back out on to the street and Peter was in no position to chase after him. Instead, he leaned back on the wall and watched him go whispering a pained, "Thanks, man. I love you too."
Somewhere between the Duck Confit and the Plateau de Fromage, Tony's phone began to buzz in his pocket. He thought nothing of it, as he reached into his pocket and pressed the button to end the call without ever checking the caller ID. He was sure that whoever it was could wait. This was his night with Pepper and didn't plan on diving his attention. However, when the phone began to buzz for the fifth time in as many minutes he frustratedly reached into his pocket in order to turn off the device completely. Yet, before he could do so, there was a niggling at the back of his head telling him he should at least see who was so determined to talk to him at the moment. Giving the screen a quick peek he looked guiltily between his date and Peter's contact information flashing in front of him. Knowing the kid wouldn't typically call him so incessantly unless it was at least somewhat important, he sighed and brought the phone up to his ear. "Hey, Pete. I'm on a date with Pepper so this had better be good."
Cringing at the greeting, Peter slid his body painfully down the wall so that he was sitting on the cold cement and took a few breaths. He'd not actually wanted to call the man at all. His AI had been the one to insist that he initiate contact after the mugger had managed to leave a small blade in his side. While he was completely prepared to pull it out and let his healing factor to do its job, she'd insisted that he required medical attention. Though to be fair the longer he sat there, the more he was starting to think that maybe she'd been right.
He'd not realized how long the line had been connected without him saying anything until he heard Tony's voice barking his name so loudly that it made him flinch violently. "Huh?", he asked, suddenly realizing that maybe he'd missed something because his head had been getting fuzzier by the minute and the pain that was still radiating through his body in waves had taken over every bit of his attention shortly after the man had answered.
The lack of chatter coming out of the boy's mouth from the time he'd picked up the phone had been enough to send Tony's nerves into a frenzy without the inattentiveness. "I said, what's wrong, kid. Where are you and what happened?", he repeated with urgency as he tried to make eye-contact with Pepper from across the restaurant where he'd disappeared into a hallway the moment he'd answered the call. He already knew he was going to have to abandon their meticulously planned out evening but he was stuck where he was until he had at least some idea of where the kid was, at the very minimum. "I'm trying to pull up your stats and location but I've got nothing, Pete and we will definitely be talking about that later but right now I need you to give me something. Anything. Come on, kid. Where are you?"
"She said not to touch it.", Peter hissed through his teeth because for some reason that felt like pertinent information. More than likely because his fingers were ghosting the handle of the knife and that had caused a surge of nausea to rise within his stomach.
The cryptic statement did nothing for Tony's nerves as he flicked his wrist and brought up the console that connected him with FRIDAY. '"Well, if she said not to touch it, then don't touch it. Where are you?", he pleaded again, pushing the concern about whatever the AI had told him not to touch in favor of receiving a location. He'd have plenty of time to figure the rest out later.
Peter looked around and tried to take in his surroundings. The fact that he could have easily asked his AI for his exact location slipping his mind completely. "It's uh, it's a theatre.", he mumbled once he's spotted a partially lit sign peeking just around the edge of the building he was leaning against.
"Buddy, there are a lot of theatres in Queens. How about you ask your AI to send me some coordinates.", Tony clipped as he continued to try to swallow back the panic that was trying to edge its way through. He would be of no use if he panicked. He really needed to keep it together but that was becoming more and more difficult with each second that passed without an answer. "You still with me, Pete?"
"Hmm?", Peter replied when the sound of his name broke the trance the blinking lights surrounding the theatre's partially exposed markee had put him in. I had been a nice distraction from the pain.
Stuck somewhere between relieved to have gotten a response and annoyed that the response was useless, Tony ran his hands through his neatly styled hair causing it to stick up in every direction. "Coordinates, Kid. I need some. Pronto. Some vitals would also be nice, you know if you don't mind sharing.", he spat with sarcasm even though he knew it wasn't really what the kid needed from him at the moment. That was just his natural response to stressful situations and he couldn't think of anything more stressful at the moment, than waiting for the information the kid had languidly requested be sent to him, to show up. However, when it did things didn't really get that much better. His blood pressure was low and his heart rate was skyrocketing. "Christ, kid... I'm on my way. Give me ten minutes and do not move. Do you hear me?", he asserted not really expecting much of a response.
After hanging up with Peter, Tony checked to make sure that the Iron Man suit he'd ordered FRIDAY to send to his location was on its way before heading back towards Pepper as quickly as he could without drawing too much attention to himself. "Honey...", he began with a mixture of remorse and worry. He wanted to say something, to explain the situation, maybe apologize but when the words didn't come, Pepper was quick to pick up where he'd left off.
"Is it Peter?", Pepper asked, already knowing the answer. She knew Tony would have answered the phone for no one else. When he swallowed hard and nodded his head she reached out and squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Then you need to go. I'll come by your place later tonight.", she promised and was unsurprised when he began to take a few steps backward, towards the door, before he replied.
"I'll make this up to you, Pepper. I promise.", he said before darting out the door and towards the waiting suit. He didn't even hear her as she called back for him to 'not worry about her' and to 'go take care of his kid'.
While Peter waited for Tony's arrival he leaned his head back onto the wall and took a shaky breath. He could hear a conglomeration of voices heading in his direction and realized that a movie must have just gotten out. He hoped no one spotted him pathetically slumped against the building with a knife sticking out of his side. Not only would that be super embarrassing, seeing as he was still in his Spider-suit but it was Valentine's Day and he was pretty sure that walking past a vigilante who was bleeding out in an alleyway would be the ultimate mood killer. He was thankful when the crowd passed without noticing him and then he closed his eyes. He thought it had only been for a second or two but the next thing he knew, he was being jolted awake by a hand on his shoulder.
Having landed in the alley to find Peter in a slouched position with his head lulled to the side, Tony didn't even bother taking the time to exit the suit before reaching out to remove the mask and grab him by the shoulder. "Open your eye's kid. It's not nap time.", he pressed and was relieved when his efforts were met with two brown eyes blinking back at him.
"Mr. Stark?", Peter half croaked, half slurred in response. He'd not expected the man to show up so quickly.
"The one and only but let's talk about you.", Tony quipped, having already knelt down in from of the teenager to look him over fully. Even in the dark shadows of the empty lane, he could make out the outline of a knife handle protruding from the boy's side. He would have been a lot more concerned had his own AI not assured him that while the kid was in a great deal of pain and clearly needed medical attention, he wasn't in any immediate danger. His healing factor was already trying to repair some of the damage. "What happened here?"
Peter followed Tony's gaze to his side and groaned. "Didn't know the guy had a knife.", he replied, realizing exactly how stupid that sounded. He'd stopped hundreds if not thousands of muggings and had never been injured before. Though in his defense... usually the bad guys were quick to pull out their weapons before he got there or at minimum announce that they had them. This time the guy had pulled the thing seemingly out of nowhere and unceremoniously inserted into his side without warning. Of course, it was also worth noting that he'd webbed the guy's mouth shut. Maybe he wouldn't do that again...
"Right because tonight of all nights you had to decide to go out and play with the tough guys.", Tony returned before attempting to maneuver his hands so that he could pick the kid up while causing as little additional pain as possible. "Why couldn't you just go out on an adorably awkward date for Valentine's Day like all the other kid's your age?", he asked once the teenager settled in his arms.
Peter had not been on a singular date since Homecoming. While there was definitely a girl he was interested in, expressing his interest and asking her out for a first date on Valentine's Day felt intimidating. He had no idea if his feelings would be reciprocated and he wasn't exactly popular. Girls were definitely not lining up at his door waiting to be asked out by him. "I don't think I really strike anyone as good dating material, Mr. Stark.", he hissed once he had his arm wrapped securely around Tony's armored neck and was able to relax just enough to get the words out.
"Not when you're bleeding out like that, you don't.", Tony scoffed right before his faceplate fell into place, adding a metallic undertone to his next words. "I've already asked FRIDAY to give the medical team a head's up that we're on our way. We'll have you stitched back together in no time."
As promised, it didn't take long for Tony to fly across the city to the Medical Bay at the Tower where Bruce Banner and a team of medical personnel were dutifully waiting for their arrival. Once Peter was laid out onto a stretcher he sighed in relief. Not because he was suddenly comfortable but laying on the padded bed felt ten times better than being carried or sitting on the cement. However, the relief didn't last long before he was gasping in surprise as a pair of scissors began to cut through his Spider-suit. "What are you doing!"
"They have to get it off without taking the knife out, kid.", Tony, who had ditched his armor and tie, said from the top of the stretcher where he was running a hand through Peter's hair. He wasn't sure if the gesture was meant to reassure him or the kid but it seemed to be working on both fronts. The boy didn't so much as flinch as an IV was inserted into his arm and he was happy the kid wasn't crying.
"...but the suit--", Peter began to whine.
"--is not more important than you...", Tony snapped, essentially cutting off the boy in his complaint. The words had come out of his mouth quickly and without thought. Those were not things that he typically said out loud but he blamed the already sappy mood he'd been in all day. It was easier than admitting that seeing the boy legitimately injured was scaring the life out of him.
Peter, who was just starting to feel the effects of the pain medication that he'd been given, looked up and gave his mentor a half-cocked smile. That had been the closest Tony had ever come to admitting that he cared about him. He'd been somewhat surprised to hear it and if the look on Tony's face was anything to go by, he'd been somewhat surprised to have said it. "You're just saying that because it's Valentine's Day, Mr. Stark.", he taunted, rather than continuing any sort of sentimental conversation and that seemed to have been the right choice because it made Tony laugh and go back to running a hand through his hair.
Not long after that things got a bit more serious. At some point, Bruce had begun talking to Tony about anesthesia and metabolic rates as a group of nurses began to bustle around him. It was about that time that it clicked that they were talking about surgery and he really didn't like the idea of any kind of surgery. "I don't need surgery... I have a healing factor.", he finally managed to call out causing both of the men standing beside his bed to look at him with concern.
"That doesn't make you invincible and we don't know how much bleeding your healing factor can handle before it can't keep up anymore.", Bruce explained before going into a bit more detail about how they needed to make sure nothing important had been hit and then sew him up from the inside out.
"Can't you just take out the knife and give me a bandaid?", Peter asked hopefully but Bruce just shook his head and left the room to get scrubbed in while Tony rolled his eyes.
"Really, kid? A bandaid? You really think a little pink bandaid with hearts on it is going to fix this? ....because if so, then we really need to enroll you in some sort of first aid classes", Tony said the moment Bruce was out of the room. They'd not done a lot of testing in regards to the kid's healing factor so he wasn't sure where the kid's confidence in it was coming from and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. As far as he was aware, this was the kid's first major injury as Spider-man.
"To be fair, Mr. Stark, I think A plain old, tan-colored bandaid would work just as well... but the hearts would be a nice touch.", Peter replied with a small smile but whatever medicine they had given him was starting to make him tired. "I just really don't want to have surgery.", he whined as tears began to build in the corners of his eyes.
All jokes aside, Tony had been able to feel the anxiety begin to radiate off of the kid the moment he'd realized he was going to be put under and he hated seeing him look so... scared. "It's going to be fine, kiddo. You're going to sleep through the worst of it and wake up in one piece."
"Mr. Stark?", Peter asked with trepidation after the room had been quiet for several seconds. "While I'm in surgery are you going to leave? I know you were on a date and I'm sure Ms. Potts probably isn't too happy about me interrupting that and all.", he asked just so he would know what to expect later. He knew May was still at work and he wasn't sure what Tony's plans were but he was worried he was going to end up being alone. "I'm just wondering who will be here when I, you know, wake up."
Reading between the lines, Tony smiled softly. "I'm not going anywhere until you're awake and in your bed in the penthouse."
"What about Ms. Potts?", Peter asked with a sigh. He didn't want to be the reason that Pepper didn't get to have a nice night out with Tony even if it was comforting to know that the man cared enough about him to stay.
"She knows where I am and she understands.", Tony said with confidence. "Plus, I can take her out another night", he added just before as the nurse came into the room and began to roll Peter out of the room.
It wasn't quite two hours later when Peter woke up in the recovery room and the first thing he noticed was the Tony was kneeling on the floor beside his bed. "Mis'ser S'ark?", he slurred causing the man's to look up at him with a grin. "What're you doing?"
After standing up and making a show of brushing the non-existent dirt off of his dress pants, Tony smirked. "Well, it turns out that we don't actually have any pink bandaids with hearts on them around here, so I thought I would use this sharpie to draw some red hearts on to your boring white gauze. Looks like I finished just in time.", he said as he placed the cap onto the marker and took a seat in the chair right by Peter's head. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired.", Peter replied with a yawn while trying to lift his head enough to see several red hearts drawn across the wound dressings that were wrapped all the way around his abdomen. Even in his sleepy state, he was able to smile at the man's efforts.
A quick post-op check-up and a few sips of water later, Peter was released to go upstairs to his own bed. With the support of the stitches, some fluids and a few ounces of glucose his healing factor was now doing a phenomenal job of correcting the remaining damage. In fact, Bruce seemed to be under the impression that he would be as good as new within the next couple of days.
"Alright, kiddo, looks like we're free to head upstairs", Tony said as he helped Peter pull a t-shirt over his head and take a few steps towards the waiting wheelchair. From there the trip up to the penthouse was short and soon Peter was climbing into the bed that had been his since the first time he'd stayed the night there. Though typically Tony didn't follow him into the room and practically tuck him in. Not that he minded in the least. The evening's events had left him feeling vulnerable and the added company was reassuring.
"Did you call Aunt May?", Peter asked once his head was resting comfortably on his pillows.
"Of course I did.", Tony scoffed before carefully sitting down at the edge of the kid's bed. He wasn't stupid, that was the first thing he'd done once Peter had been taken back for surgery and had been slightly surprised when the woman didn't seem the least bit upset. In fact, she's seemed more exasperated than anything else. "...and she said to tell you, and I quote, 'So much for always being safe.'"
Having suddenly remembered the last conversation he'd had with his aunt, Peter stilled. "Oh."
"Yeah, 'Oh'. Sounds to me like you jinxed yourself, there, Kiddo.", Tony chuckled.
"Maybe.", Peter sighed out as he pulled the blankets up a little more tightly under his chin. "I'm still really sorry that I ruined your Valentine's night with Ms. Potts."
Tony continued to chuckle and patted the remorseful boy on the shoulder. "It's fine. Just maybe don't let it happen again."
"I won't!", Peter shot back quickly. He had no intentions of ever getting stabbed or anything else, ever again. "I'm going to be so much more careful and--", he began but his mentor was already rolling his eyes and talking over him.
"--not remove the protocols I install for your safety? I know you won't.", Tony said with a smirk. "You know how I know that you won't? Because when we make your new suit, I'm going to be reinstalling them with every fail-safe I can come up with in order to keep your grubby little hands from touching my code.", he pressed but there was no real heat in his words. While removing the safety features... again... had been stupid he was pretty sure the boy had learned his lesson. With the tracker and 'Baby Monitor Protocol' in place, an urgent message would have popped up on his watch the second the wound had been inflicted. He would have been able to get to him much more quickly.
"That... that sounds reasonable.", Peter sheepishly replied. He had no intention of touching those things ever again... unless he absolutely had to.
"No promises though, huh, kiddo?", Tony asked with mirth. The fact that the kid made no effort to even pretend he wasn't going to do it again was both amusing and irritating but he wasn't exactly surprised. Then, the shake of his head became an outright laugh when Peter repeated the words 'No promises' back to him. Though, he did note that the teenager had at least had the decency to look a little bit guilty about it, which made him smile more than it should have. "I'm pretty sure it's Spidey's bedtime."
"Yeah.", Peter agreed. "I'm tired."
Tony stood up and started towards the door saying a quiet, "Good night, kiddo.", as he reached out to turn off the lights but he never made it to the hallway.
"Hey, Mr. Stark?", Peter called out before the man had the chance to get the door all the way closed. "It's still Valentine's Day, right?"
"I suppose so. Why? You have somewhere to be?", Tony asked with a quirk of his brow.
"No. I was just checking.", Peter returned with a yawn.
Still unsure of where this exchange was going, Tony sighed. "...and you were checking because...", he said as he waved his hand around in a circular motion.
Being that he was exhausted and still medicated, Peter's inhibitions were at an all-time low. That combined with the fact that he'd had a rough evening and was still in a bit of pain was leaving him in desperate need of comfort. Preferably of the physical nature. He'd really liked it when the man had run his fingers through his hair earlier in the evening and was hoping that maybe that was a hint that they were there now. "Because if it was then that would mean I still had time to ask you for a hug without it being weird.", he said with a verbal shrug and a hopeful look.
"I... did not know that's how that worked.", Tony returned with amusement from the doorway.
"Well, it is.", Peter said without pause and then held his hands out in a childish request for an embrace.
Tony rolled his eyes and crossed the room towards where Peter was still laying there with his arms out and chuckled. "You know what? I'm going to humor you because it's a holiday and you're injured.", he said before leaning down and allowing his kid to sit up and wrap his arms around his neck while he pulled him towards his chest. "Good-night, Buddy. Sleep tight.", he whispered right before he released his hold and reached up to ruffle the teenager's already tousled hair.
Laying back down contentedly, peter looked toward's his mentor and smiled. "Good-night, Mr. Stark."
...and if Tony walked out of the room still smiling at the gesture... no one needed to know. ...except Pepper, who had walked in just in time to witness what appeared to be a look of parental affinity spreading across his face as he exited the hall.