Chapter Fifteen: Babies, Brakes, and Biometrics

336 13 9
                                    

   Photo credit: mspinesdrawings
—————————————————————
   Peter stepped into the hospital room, his eyes glinting with joy when he saw Pepper laying there, a bundle in her arms.
   "You're a big brother now, Pete," Tony said, grinning as he looked at his newborn daughter.
   "What's her name?" Peter asked, sitting next to the bed.
   "Morgan," Pepper replied.
——————————————————
   It had been months since Morgan had been born, and it was time for the annual Stark Expo.
   "I'm nervous," Peter said to Shuri. "What if it's not good enough?"
   "It's good enough," Shuri said.
   "Damn," Tony swore under his breath.
   "What?" Peter asked.
   "Happy's pretty sick right now. He can't drive us."
   "I can drive!" Peter said excitedly.
   "I always drive," Tony said curtly, thinking back to the vehicle incident from Afghanistan where he was almost killed.
   "Why?"
   "I just do!" Tony snapped.
   "Tony, how is Peter supposed to get better if he never practices?" Shuri asked.
   Tony's left arm started to shake slightly. "Fine," he replied, pursing his lips. "Take the keys, Webhead."
——————————————————
   Peter pulled out of the driveway, quickly stopping multiple times on the way, giving the passengers a minor free sample of whiplash.
   "Don't stop, go! Now!" Tony screamed in the middle of an intersection.
   "Stop?" Peter asked, hitting the breaks.
   "No! Go! Go now! Drive!"
   Peter hit the gas and slowly used the brakes to avoid hitting the car ahead of him.
   Tony's arm began shaking again, much more violently.
   "We're okay. We're fine. See, it's not so bad," Peter said, more comforting himself than anyone else.
   Tony's chest felt tight, and the car seemed to be closing in all around him.
   "Pull over," he managed to say, voice strained.
   "What?"
   "Pull over!"
   Peter turned into the nearest fast food parking lot and double parked.
   "Tony, are you okay?"
   "Is he having a panic attack?" Shuri asked.
   Harley got out of the back of the car, hurrying to the other side. He opened the passenger door.
   "Tony? Are you okay?"
   Tony fumbled with the seat belt, pushing his way out of the car.
   Harley put his hands on Tony's chest to stop him.
   "Tony. It's okay. Just breathe."
   Tony slid against the side of the car.
   "I'm.. I'm okay."
   "Just breathe, Tony. I got you through this once, I'm going to get you through this again."
   Peter and Shuri were standing behind him, unsure of how to help.
   "I always drive," Tony said to himself.
   "I-, uh," Harley paused,  not knowing what to say.
"I always drive," Tony whispered frantically.
Peter put a hand on Tony's shoulder. "You have a chauffeur," he said, referencing Happy.
"Haven't you noticed he's always driven Happy around?" Shuri asked.
"He's only let Happy drive me once. After the whole civil war thing," Peter said quietly to himself.
"Maybe it's because of his parents and that incident," Harley said. "Or Whiplash."
"The accident when he got shrapnel in his chest. He's never gotten over that," Peter added. "After that, he only let that guy drive him cause his arm was broken."
Tony was shaking, covered in a cold sweat.
"Tony, it's okay." Harley leaned in closer to Tony. "Did you start getting help?"
Tony gave a weak nod.
"He's been seeing a therapist," Peter confirmed.
   "That's a relief," Harley murmured, lips pursed and eyes filled with concern.
   "I-," Tony rasped. "You sh-," Tony gripped his hair through clenched fists.
    "We shouldn't what?" Peter asked gently.
    "I'm sorry."
    "Tony, you have nothing to be sorry for," Harley comforted.
    "I'm supposed to be a father figure, and here I am breaking down instead of lifting you up," Tony said. "You shouldn't have to see this side."
   "Tony, everyone has rough days." Peter put his hand on Tony's leg. "Even parents or mentors."
   "It's alright," Harley added. "It's what makes you human. You can't always be superman."
   Tony gave a half-hearted laugh, breathing still panicky.
   "How can we help?" Harley asked.
   Tony crossed his arms, squeezing them to his chest. "Company."
   "Company?" Peter asked.
   "Just be there." Tony cleared his throat. "Until it's over."
   "Okay, we can do that." Peter sat down next to Tony.
    "Is touch okay?" Harley asked.
   Tony nodded. "P-preferable."
   Peter put his hand over Tony's shaking and sweaty one, and Harley leaned his head on Tony's shoulder, saying nothing.
    Together they sat there until Tony's raggedy breathing ceased, his body exhausted and still slightly shaking.
    Tony leaned his head against the car. "Is it okay if we call Happy to come drive us back? I'm not in the mindset to drive, but I don't think I can take anyone else driving me today."
   "Sure, yeah," Shuri said.
   "Not a problem," Peter said, already dialing Happy.
    Peter held the phone to his ear. "Yeah, hi. Can you come drive us the rest of the way there? We're okay, don't worry. Tony requested you to drive us."
   There was Happy's voice on the other line, but Tony couldn't make out what he was saying.
   "Thanks." Peter hung up. "He's on his way."
——————————————————————
Happy glanced in the rear view mirror with concern, looking at what were essentially upset children in his backseat.
Tony was in the middle, playing with the light. Peter was covering the window rolling, and Harley kept pressing his knees into the back of the seat. Shuri was squished in between them, playing with the headrest.
"Cut that out. All of you," Happy said grumpily.
"Sorry," the four grumbled in unison.
"Look, I'm not trying to be mean here." Happy sighed, focusing on the road again.
"Are we there yet?" Peter whined.
Happy fought the urge to kick him out then and there. "We're not any closer than we were last time you asked."
"Technically-," Harley started.
"Technically, I'm not hearing it." Happy huffed.
"Well-," Shuri started.
   "Technically speaking," finished Tony, a small smirk on his face.
Happy pursed his lips in annoyance, but he ended up cracking a tiny smile.
——————————————————————
"Wow," Peter said in awe. "This is even cooler than all the videos!"
The four stepped into the Stark Tech building, the place decorated for the kids tech inventions.
Bruce and Stephen waved from the staircase.
"I'm glad you made it," Bruce said, enveloping Tony in a much-needed hug. "How are you feeling?"
Tony buried his face in Bruce's shoulder. "I'm thriving."
Bruce ran a hand through his friend's hair. "Rhodey is here if you need a support buddy with your introduction speech."
Tony nodded, breaking away. "Yeah. Sounds great."
Stephen pulled a machine up next to him. "Are you nervous?" He asked the boys.
"Definitely," Peter said. "This expo used to be the coolest thing."
"No kidding," Harley agreed. "Especially since we know Tony, I don't want to... you know, accidentally give him a bad rep."
"You'll be fine," Stephen comforted.
Stephen and Bruce had been working on an organic matter healing machine, dealing with the attempt of extracting alcohol and other substances like drugs from the blood, without needing to pump stomachs and hope for the best.
Harley and Peter had been working on circular levitating skates, inspired by GoGo from Big Hero 6. They could skate when your feet were in them, but when flipped horizontal, could hover.
Shuri came over from grabbing Nebula to greet them with her invention. It was an a small microscopic disc inserted into someone that essentially worked like antidepressants for those that forgot to take them or don't have time to. Her prototype was already inside Nebula's head, but was in the electronic side. Shuri had yet to figure out how to make one that didn't bother or overwhelm organic beings.
——————————————————————
The crowd roared with applause as Tony Stark himself stepped up onto the stage.
He put his arms out to the side and raised them. "Ladies, gentleman, all other beings. Welcome to the expo."
The crowd cheered.
"As you all know, I've been trying to keep this alive since my dad started it way back when. I've been doing this for a while now, and I wanted to introduce you to a dear friend of mine. When I go, I wanted only the best to replace me. Someone better than me. Someone who not only showed genuine interest in the meaning behind this event, but also was intrigued in being a part of it. I'd like to introduce you to, Peter Parker!"
Peter shyly walked onto the stage, giving a nervous wave. "Hi guys."
"Peter, take it away."

Man in a Can: Tony Stark (PTSD Recovery)Where stories live. Discover now