Dark Paradise

I'm everything you need.

"Don't look at me so surprised, you must have known how this would end... So, kneel," came the man's hoarse voice. The boy in front of his figure fell to his knees almost ready to pray and feared what would come. Tony, determined to bring Peter up a little, moved closer to kneeling boy on the ground, cutting open his T-shirt on his back, revealing his skin covered in a few birthmarks. Then he ripped sleeves and threw the knife somewhere in the corner.

"Don't worry, I'll leave your pants," he grinned at the young man's reaction.

The boy's frightened eyes watched him silently.

"I admit that our first meeting was not very successful. It could have been better," the older man began his monologue. "But I wanted to start over with you. I didn't tie you down anywhere or anything like that. And how did you repay me?"

Whack.

The boy hissed.

"The first escape, if I could call it that way, could still be understood with a little good will, people tend to panic as soon as something happens to them in life. Plus, you fell into the icy water and almost drowned, so I'd say you were punished. But one would expect ... that then you would come to your senses!"

Whack.

"I have had patience with you, each person adapts differently. But I'm starting to feel that talking to a wall would be more useful!" 

Whack.

Peter could hardly feel the first two blows, but as soon as the others came, which were much stronger, he perceived them much more intensely. His chin shook and he blinked several times as tears blurred his vision.

Stark circled around him like vulture over a dead body, talking constantly. The boy bowed his head as close to the ground as possible and dug his nails into the hard floor, trying to escape his pain. Yet every other word was like a needle piercing his skin, and like the icing on a cake came the whiplash. He could feel streams of blood running down his back, and for moments his mind began to skip because of fainting. He shouted at himself to persevere, but he was still loosing control of his muscles.

"... and then you do such nonsense and cut yourself!"

Whack.

"Can you imagine how you scared me?" He paused. "If I wasn't with you, you wouldn't be here anymore."

Whack.

"I would expect gratitude!"

Whack.

"People don't run away from me and "no" doesn't exist as an answer for me. Maybe you'll finally remember it after this."

Whack.

After the last blow, the boy's head dropped and he fell on the ground.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

He opened his tired eyes and squinted into the darkness. He lay on the stone floor, still in chains that allowed him no greater movement. He had no idea how long had passed, or whether it was still night outside or had been replaced by day. Windows, which would be able to answer his question, weren't there. Peter's back was burning with pain, he tried not to think about it. His whole body trembled with cold. He curled up on the ground in a ball as he could with the chains and the pain of his whole body. Remorse gripped his heart, and he let anxiety and self-pity take hold.

The longer he lay there, the more he thought. We all know this when we lie in bed, sleep does not and does not come, and we gradually recall perhaps all the embarrassing things we have ever said, done, or we come up with arguments into a quarrel that has taken place a long time ago.

He didn't want to admit it, but he was afraid like never before. Under the influence of fear, he finally inadvertently opened his mind to the meaning of Tony's words.

The truth was, after Ben's death, the family's subsistence fell on May. She worked late into the night to support herself and her nephew. Peter wanted to help her and find a job, but apart from his summer jobs, his aunt stopped all his efforts, it was useless to try to persuade her. She says he should focus on studying and leave the finances to her. Peter, despite disagreeing with her, always obeyed. He worked hard at school to get a scholarship to university, and could return it all to his aunt one day. She was his family. He had only her and he loved her above all else. 

Sometimes we have to sacrifice our welfare for the welfare of others.

Stark was right from the start. If he listened to him, he gave in immediately, he would save himself from a lot of pain. At the very least, he would have a few bruises on his back as a reminder of the night before or an escape through the window. He thought the man was just a beast, monster, trying to shake his psyche from the ground up. But what if the opposite was true?

How could he be such a selfish person? Think only about returning home to his loved ones? Stark was nice to him, with few exceptions, and he didn't appreciate it enough. He deserved to be punished. Not even the sleep he fell into again brought him calm...

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The door to the dark room swung open, and a strip of yellow light illuminated the boy's face. Even in his sleep, his face was crooked with pain and his fingertips were twitching slightly. He muttered something and turned his head toward the ceiling, half-opening his eyes slightly swollen from lack of quality sleep.

"It's true, is-isn't it?" His voice was not much louder than a whisper. His mouth was dry and his throat scratched with every word he said.

"What specifically?" The man knelt beside him.

"She will be better without me .... I'm just a burden to her." I caused her more than enough suffering.

Tony smiled slightly. He ran his hand over the boy's bloodied back. Peter flinched, unable to do anything else. 

Tony was terrifying the young man on the ground.

Who is this? Where did his evil twin, who left him lying here, go?

The boy gripped Tony's sleeves tightly under his shoulders, and salty tears began to soak the man's shirt as Peter rested his head on his chest. Tony stroked his hair and pulled his thin body closer. Peter didn't pull away. Even though he felt nothing but resentment for the man kneeling in front of him.

Scared person feels the need to find security with the only source available, the perpetrator, Tony Stark. 

"Please ... don't leave me here anymore," he begged and sobbed.

"Are you going to be a good boy now?" Anthony ruffled his hair. Peter nodded. "If you won't make more breaches, I won't have reason to punish you or be mean to you."

The young man didn't answer, just kept his head on the man's chest, crying and refusing to let go of Tony.

"Shhhh ... just calm down. You'll stay here with me, safe. Everything you need is here. I'm everything you need," he smirked at the young man with a smile on his face as Peter looked up to look at him.

"Come on, let's clean your wounds."

Hi. Yes, I'm still alive. :)

English is not my native language, so I apologize for the mistakes.

And I have a question for you: Do you think Peter will get the Stockholm Syndrome or not? 

_Marvelholic_