Irondad and Spiderson

Blood, Tears, and Denial

“Alive?!” Three people say at the same time. It’s impossible. It’s insane. It’s a miracle.
    “He’s alive.” Bruce confirms, a shocked look playing over his face like a toddler playing the keys of a piano.
“I can’t… I just can’t believe it.” Steve says quietly. The other Avengers just stare, their vision bouncing subtly from the wordless doctor to the miracle child. Maybe he really was Tony’s kid.
“And Tony?” Natasha says, breaking the profound silence.
“He’ll be fine. He’ll probably need a few weeks of bed rest and a considerable amount of blood transfusion, but he’ll be back to his same annoying self with a few weeks and a lot of calories.” Bruce smiles slightly.
“Ah, good. I was worried there for a second.” Clint says, smiling down at his unconscious friend.
“We should be arriving at Stark’s tower and personal hospital within an hour.” Steve announces from the cockpit. Everyone else nods silently, and goes to take their seats. For the next hour, the quinjet is filled with a large silence and a lot of staring at the father-son duo, their fingers always touching through the entire flight.
“You know, I was always worried that Tony was just talking big talk about the kid,” Natasha says at one point, “but seeing them here, like this… I don’t think there’s a person in the world that Tony cares about more.”
And back they went to the silence.
The plane touched down in the early morning, with Pepper and Happy waiting anxiously for them. They had hopped on a private jet the second that Steve had been dispatched to Tony’s location, and hurried home to await their family.
Bruce and Steve rush Tony and Peter off the plane in their respective stretchers. Pepper, upon seeing them both, gargled the most inhuman cry, the sob sticking loosely in her throat. She ran a thumb over Tony’s pale cheek and a hand over Peter’s blood-coated mess of hair. They were rushed, wheels squealing and hearts beating, into the infirmary. The large, heavy doors swung shut behind them, closing them from the outside world.
Tony was immediately set up with the proper blood transfusion and a quick inspection of the arc reactor. Then, the wounds were tended to in a more deliberate and slow way. They were tough to treat, definitely, but it was nothing that Bruce Banner couldn’t handle. Stitches, cauterization, healing spray, and bandages were applied within a twenty minute span.
Peter’s case was much easier, and therefore, Pepper was brought into the room to tend to him. Just a few cuts, some scrapes, but nothing super serious or life threatening. The only somewhat dangerous part was the large bruise on the back of his head and a large circle crease that had been dug into the side of his head, but an ice pack quickly diminished the threat. Pepper ran warm water through his hair and over his skin, tinting the basin underneath him with the copper-colored blood. The source of the blood seemed to be nowhere on Peter, but they bandaged his head just in case.
After about an hour, Bruce and Pepper left the room to leave the pair of them to rest. They were being heavily monitored by FRIDAY, and the rest of the Avengers were given a very tearful thank you on Pepper’s part, and a bittersweet farewell. After many promises of keeping them updated on Tony’s progress, the Avengers flew away and back to their compound.
Now, came the waiting.
The long, agonizing, painful, excruciating, worse-than-death waiting.
Around four the next morning, Tony Stark’s vitals shot up. Like a kite catching wind and being whisked up, his vitals steadied, then shot towards their usual position on the screen. Pepper had been switching between Tony and Peter’s rooms in the infirmary, as they weren’t able to be moved together. She was exhausted, but she wanted more than anything to be there when both of them woke.
And then, at 8:37 in the morning, Tony’s eyes started to open. It was slow, unlike the way they show in movies—eyes fluttering open dramatically and strangely perfect in every way. Tony’s eyes opened and tears flooded his face, left over from before he drifted off on the plane. His eyes dilate for a second as he squints against the light and attempts to get used to it. He reaches up to wipe the tears from his face when he realizes that he has an IV stuck in one wrist. He looks around again, this time more worried about his surroundings.
“Pep?” It’s hardly distinguishable with the croak in his voice, but he can make out his significant other positioned awkwardly in the chair next to his bed, sound asleep. But at the sound of his voice, she shoots upright, blinking and gasping before her eyes settled on Tony.
“Tony.” She puts a hand over her mouth and gingerly leans over and envelops him in a hug. He tenses against the contact, and barely leans to hug her back.
“I thought you were dead. I thought you weren’t coming back, that I was never going to see you again.” Her blue eyes gleam with emotion, as she looks down happily at Tony. He tries to give her a small smile, but the truth his, he’s mad that he’s here.
He was prepared to lay in that horrible basement and bleed to death. He was so close. And then his friends had come in to save him.
“And don’t worry, Tony.” Pepper’s voice brings him back from his angry thoughts. “Steve told me he shot the man that got you. He’s dead, and he’ll never hurt you ever again.”
“Great. Great.” Tony says. His voice is still husky and hard to hear, but at least Pepper can understand him.
“Tony, is something-” Pepper is cut off by FRIDAY’s automatic voice.
“Miss Potts, there is a situation in infirmary two that requires your immediate attention.” At that, Pepper took off like a shot, not waiting to answer Tony’s questions.
“Who’s in there? Pepper! Who is in infirmary two?!”
**********
“Peter?” Pepper burst across the hall and through the door, not wincing as it slammed behind her. Peter’s eyes were shut, but his vitals were dropping at an alarming rate. What was going on? Doesn’t he have super healing to save him?
“Peter, oh my god.” Pepper starts to look through the log on the computer. There was no updates with his condition, nothing new that would create such a reaction in the teen. It was a fight to consciousness and Peter was losing.
“C’mon, Peter.” Pepper says. She feels silly talking to him, but she heard that it sometimes works. It’s worth a shot, right? “I know someone out there who needs you more than anything. He’s not dead, he’s very much alive and he’ll be so happy to see you. You just need to wake up.” The screen beeps to say that Peter’s vitals have pitched to the start of the “danger zone”.
“He feels like he’s alone in this world, but when he met you, everything changed. He had someone who loved him and looked up to him in every way. Who worshipped him when he couldn’t even look at himself. Peter, I am so confident that you saved his life. You turned his life around. You should have seen him when May took you. He was a mess. Hardly eating or sleeping. All he cared about was getting back. You can’t leave yet, Peter. He needs you. He needs you more than you’ll ever know.” She finishes with a sigh. With hope and tears in her eyes, she turns to the screen.
    Bit by bit, Peter’s vitals were climbing up. It was a hard uphill battle, but eventually, they were back to a stable rate.
    “Thank you, Peter.” Pepper breathed a sigh of relief. She leans down over his sleeping figure and gently places a kiss on his hairline.
    “FRI, alert me of any changes and when he wakes up, okay?” Pepper calls, quietly slipping from the room.
    “It’s time to rest now, Tony.” Pepper says with a smile. She smooths back Tony’s wild hair and presses a button to dim the lights.
    “I can’t rest until… until…” But Tony is so tired, and his eyes drift peacefully shut before he can finish his sentence. Pepper, with a sigh, retakes her position on the uncomfortable chair next to Tony.
**********
    A few hours later, Pepper is awoken by FRIDAY telling her that Peter was awake. Quickly, she stumbled from the room and into Peter’s.
    “Miss Potts?” Peter says groggily. He has one head cradling the back of his head and the other positioned on his thigh.
    “Hey, Peter.” She says with a smile, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “You should hear how the Avengers are all talking about you.”
    “The Avengers are talking about me?” A sleepy grin splits Peter’s face for just a second, before his eyes widen and any hint of sleep-drunken happiness disappears from his face. “Wait, Mr. Stark! Where is he? Is he okay? Can I see him?”
    “Goodness, Peter.” Pepper laughed. “He’s fine, he’s resting right now, and both of you are on strict bed rest orders for a bit.”
    “There has to be a way to see him-” Peter says quickly. He’s desperate, but a few hours ago he was convinced that the most important person in his life was as good as dead.
    “I’ll try and figure something out. In the meantime, can I get you anything?”
    “No, I’m alright. Thanks.” He smiles at her as she leaves the room. As soon as the door swings shut behind her, he immediately whispers, “FRIDAY?”
    “Yes, Peter?”
    “Where is Mr. Stark?”
    “He is in infirmary one, across the hall from yours.”
    “Can I walk there in my condition?”
    “It is highly inadvisable, Peter.”
    “But could I do it?”
    “I suppose… if you brought the IV rack with you and you were extremely careful not exert yourself, you may be able to sustain your vitals for long enough to see Mr. Stark.”
    “Yes!” Peter cries excitedly, pumping his non-IV ridden arm.
    “But be careful, Peter.” The AI warns. “Over exertion could decrease your vitals once again.”
    “I will be careful, FRIDAY.” Peter promises. Carefully, he pushes his feet over the side of the bed and sits up. He feels fine so far. He pushes his feet so they’re resting against the floor but he’s still leaning against the bed. Finally, he takes a shaky step forward. He almost falls onto his face, but manages to regain his balance within a few seconds. He can almost feel the AI watching him judgmentally, doubting its decision to let Peter move from bed. He grabs the rolling tree-like rack that holds the IV, and he starts for the door.
    Pausing, he asks, “FRIDAY, where is Miss Potts?”
    “She is in the kitchen gathering some breakfast for you and Tony.” Perfect. That means Peter will have at least a few minutes with Tony before he has to go back.
    “Let me know when she’s coming for the room, okay?”
    “Will do.” At that, Peter starts with the rack and through the door. He goes through the door, and into the hallway. He realizes, once his bare feet hit the cold tile of the hallway, that his suit has been exchanged for a thin hospital gown. Despite feeling slightly uncomfortable, nothing is going to stop Peter from seeing Tony.
    He slips through the door to Tony’s room, immediately seeing him lying in the bed in the center of the room. He’s hooked up to a few machines, as well as an identical IV to Peter’s. His eyes are closed in a way that shows he’s just trying to rest, not fall fully asleep.
    As Peter silently approaches Tony’s bedside, he sees the streak of tears that slip down the bedridden man’s face. Normally, Tony would never sit still for long enough to get an IV stuck in his arm. He would be out of bed by now, working on some new project or bounding around the tower with something to do. So why is this time different?
    “Peter…” Tony sobs so quietly that Peter doubts he ever heard it. Then, again: “Peter… Peter…”
    “Mr. Stark?” Peter says softly, his heart breaking with every breath that Tony exhales. Tony’s eyes shot open, widening even further when he sees Peter standing above him.
    “Oh, God.” Tony lifts his hands and rubs his eyes, the groaned response tearing Peter’s heart apart even further. Why doesn’t Tony look happy to see him?
    “Why couldn’t I have just died in that stupid basement!” Peter is taken aback by Tony’s outburst.
    “Mr. Stark, I’m here.” Peter says, debating whether or not to reach out and touch Tony’s shoulder.
    “No, you’re not.” The words freeze Peter’s voice in his throat. “You’re just some hallucination that my mind is creating to torture me further.”
    “No, I’m real!” Peter says desperately. “I’m here, I’m real, I promise!”
    “You died.” Tony says, tears filling his eyes again. “I saw the blood. There’s no way that you’re here.”
    “Mr. Stark, please.” Peter says, his eyes mirroring Tony’s tear-filled ones.
    “I should’ve just died quicker.” Tony shakes his head. “I would be with you right now if I had. I would be there, hugging you. I would apologize over and over. I would finally be able to live in peace knowing that you would be safe from harm forever.”
    “You can do all that stuff right now, Mr. Stark.” Peter’s voice cracks at the same time that the tears spill over.
    “Just get out.” Tony says, more tears slipping down his face. “Get out of my mind so I can hurt in peace.” Peter can’t control himself anymore; he leans over and grabs Tony in a hug. A small “oh” escapes Tony’s lips until he grabs Peter in an even bigger hug. Soon, the pair of them are sharing a bed, each cradled in the other’s arms. Tears streak every item in the bed, but they don’t care. They are just happy to be father and son, reunited again.
    Tony rocks back and forth in the bed, kissing Peter softly on the head. A smile slides over his face and stays there as he rests his head against Peter’s. Tears flow from his eyes and soak Peter’s hair. Quiet apologies bounce from Tony’s mouth every so often, followed by Peter telling him not to worry about it. After a few minutes of that, the two of them settle into the best kind of silence. Peter grins against Tony’s chest, his forehead touching the cool metal of the arc reactor and Tony’s heart beating calmingly in his ear.
    Pepper enters the room a few minutes later, setting down the tray of eggs and toast on a nearby table. She approaches the bed before stopping a few feet away. A smile breaks her lips, followed by a laugh. She lifts her phone and takes a few pictures of the pair snuggled together. With the orders given to FRIDAY to archive the image on her phone, Pepper sneaks from the room. She is finally able to relax as she sees Tony, after months upon months of agony and pain, finally sleeping with a smile on his face and his son in his arms.