Dark Paradise

They said someone saw you in the woods.

Peter half-opened his eyes and yawned. He heard muffled voices. Two, maybe three. Police, his head flashed. He flew out of bed and ran to the window like lightning. Carefully pulling out the curtains, which immediately let in a thin beam of setting Sun, he peered out. He saw Tony talking to two men with a police car behind them. One part of Peter wanted to hammer on the window so much and shout "Please! I'm here!", but it wouldn't make sense. There was no point in trying anything. There was no point in resisting him. Wherever he ran, he would find him. Anthony suddenly looked in his direction. The boy released the curtains and jumped a step back. He just stood there for a moment, listening to the silence, waiting. Then he slammed himself back on the bed.

Maybe the police uncovered one of Tony's crimes and came to arrest him. Or did they come for him? No, why would they do that. After a while, the familiar sound of the door unlocking came. Tony entered the room and Peter sat.

"What did they want here?"

"They were looking for you."

The man sat down next to the boy on the bed. Peter had a hundred desires to start screaming out loud, and then collapse to the ground. 

"But... how?" Peter said. He didn't know how to feel, what to think. Should he be happy? He used to play with the idea of leaving here. There was nothing else for him. But now that he had a chance ... he wasn't sure what to do, what to expect. He wasted it.

"You know, Mr. Stark, one man called us and said, that he was walking around here and he is almost one hundred percent sure he saw the missing boy, Peter Parker."

"I thought he was dead."

"The boy disappeared without a trace and is very unlikely to be alive. However, we have to check everything, so ... Have you seen him or have you noticed something suspicious?"

"They said someone saw you in the woods.."

"They will definitely return. They'll come back, "Peter whispered absently, staring ahead, trying to calm his frightened heart.

"Baby, calm down, you're shaking," Tony put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

Put. your. fucking. hand. away.

"I'll go make dinner, then we'll figure out what to do next," Stark announced after a moment, leaving the boy alone in the bedroom. The young man remained sitting on the bed with his hands in his lap. He ran his thumb over the scars on his wrist. Tony was his everything, but at the same time he felt he needed to get as far away from him as possible. He remembered the promise he had made some time ago. That he'll get out of here. He completely forgot about it.

An imaginary light bulb flashed above his head. He paused in surprise. Of course, he hasn't tried this yet. If it fails, he will end up in the basement for a very long time, but if it doesn't...

Peter quietly left the bedroom, looking around. Tony's mysterious study room. He could find something there. But Stark forbade him to go there unless he was with him. And what, who cares... he'll risk it. He made sure the man wasn't watching him until he closed the door.

His gaze stopped in the armchair. He couldn't help but smile a little at the memory of the Tony's beautiful hoarse voice and how he was sitting on the ground at Stark's feet, hearing I like to see you're satisfied.

He didn't understand himself. He came here to find something to put Stark out of service and try to call the police. But now he stood there like a stake in the fence, listening to the voice in his head shouting at him to let the man confess to what he wanted to do and demand punishment. He was about to listen when something on the table caught his eye.

... until one day their cup of patience will overflowed....

News. A familiar face shone from the front page. The boy took the papers in his shaky hands and read each word carefully.

"May," he breathed at last, blinking a few times to ward off the tears.

... and nothing but a big explosion could follow.

"We are completely alone here... in the middle of nowhere?"

"You're not going to stop, are you?"

"Nothing good will come of this."

"Are you giving it to me as an order?! Let's try again, Pete."

Then Peter remembered everything as if he were in a dream. He didn't think. At one moment he was standing in the man's study, at the next one he was heading for the stairs, taking a little copper statue from small table. 

"Come on, I won't hurt you. It's just a drink."

"Is anyone here?" 

"The world swallows thousands like you every day."

"Forgive me."

"I want you to understand that, so I'll tell you clearly."

"Will you tell me about it? Weren't you scared?"

"You may think that your beloved aunt, loves you and cares about you, but try to strain your head."

"And what makes me listen to you?"

"I'm just trying to protect you, no one out there will do that."

Then Peter just registered that he's standing right behind Anthony.