Tangled (Irondad Spiderson)

7: Help Me Help You

Peter's POV

I took off my mask and put my arm behind my back.

"What the hell?!" Tony stepped back and looked me in the eye.

"I-It's no what you think. I g-got caught in a fight with these guys an-"

"Peter, they're in neat rows. I know you did it." Tony took a few steps away, rubbing his chin. He sighed.

"Why?! Why would you do this to yourself?" He dropped his hands to his sides.

"It's complicated. I'm just dealing with a lot right now."

"So you CUT YOURSELF instead of asking for help? What's wrong with you?!" Tony realized what he said almost instantly after it came out of his mouth. I pulled down my mask and backed up.

"Peter I-"

I swung back to the tower as fast as my arms could. I felt the tears swell up in my eyes.
I'm a freak. I cant do anything right.

I reached my room, shut the door, and locked it. I took off my suit and hopped into the shower, feeling the stinging on my arm from the burnt cuts. It hurt like hell but they needed to he cleaned.
I finished up, wrapped my arm in gauze with burn cream and got dressed in a striped longsleeve shirt and basketball shorts.

I sunk into my bed, crying. Sobbing. I just wanted to be happy again.

Tony's POV

"Peter I-"

But before I could say anything he swung away, upset. I turned around to find Clint standing against an electrical box.

"Good goin' boss." He said in a smart ass tone.

"Well what am I supposed to do, huh? Give him kisses and tell him it's okay to do what he's doing? Clint, this is LIFE THREATENING! What if he hits a vein?" I yelled.

"You have to watch what you say. Don't be so hard on the kid, let him do what makes him happy. You can do that but push him to be safe too. Just watch your tone and choice of words. That's how I do it." He walks away and starts to head back over to the police. I sigh.

Why do I suck so bad at this parenting thing?

I made my way back to the tower after everything was resolved. I got changed and walked over to Peter's door. I knocked.

"Hey Pete, can we talk?"
He opened the door with his web shooter as he laid on his bed, reading a book.

"Yeah, what's up?" He nervously pulled down his sleeves.

"Look- earlier I wasn't thinking. I had a poor choice of words. I don't know how to do this, but what I'm trying to say is that I'm here for you. Call me, text me, wake me up at 3AM I don't care. Just- please don't hurt yourself again. I can't lose you kiddo."

"T-thank you Tony. I'm sorry."

There was an awkward silence.

"Okay, well I'm gonna go start a movie if you would like to join us. Or we can dink around in my lab if you want."

"I think I'm gonna go to bed actually. I'm exhausted." Tony nods.

"Goodnight kiddo." He shuts the door and I drift off to sleep.
I said goodnight to the kid and sat next to Cap as the movie starts.

"How's the kid?" He asks.

"Honestly? He's depressed. Real bad. And I don't know how to fix it. This isn't a math problem I can calculate Steve, this is beyond me" I put my hands to my forehead.

"This isn't something you're gonna be able to 'fix'. He's gonna need time and your support the most. Just be patient and don't get mad if he comes to you at an 'inconvenient time'. Just be glad he's coming to you for help. It's obviously something he doesn't want to talk about just yet."

He put his hand on my shoulder.

"You got this."