If They Knew All About You

Old Friends

3 hours and 47 minutes was less than 4 hours. Like he didn't know. Like he had any illusions that Pepper would let it slide. FRIDAY had reminded him anyways, as he made his way out of his bedroom towards the living room then on to the kid's room. She was sure to tell Pepper just the same, no question about it. 3 hours and 47 minutes had he spent in bed. Only about 2 of those had he actually slept.

His mind just wouldn't shut up. His thoughts kept screaming at him. All these outside forces were one thing, but it was the kid's state of mind that worried him more. The self-reproach. The guilt he carried so tightly in his heart. That wouldn't just fade with one late-night heart-to-heart. That was buried deep in his very soul.

It had come out in a mad rush to action the night before and Tony had been there in time to talk him down, but how many more of these suicide missions would there be to come? And what if Tony wouldn't be there in time to do something about it?

Ben Parker. That one sat deep. The boy had been positively frantic about it the night before. He had never even mentioned anything about it before last night. Tony should have put two and two together, should have seen earlier how close the date had been to the kid's accident at OsCorp. How a kid like his kid would feel guilty about what he couldn't even control just because now, with his powers, he had a little more control then others did.

For a second, Tony's heart stopped when he had pushed the door to the boy's room open. The bed was empty.

"I... I'm over here." The boy was sitting on the low window sill, legs drawn close to his chest, his right arm resting on his knees.

Two deep breaths. "Hi there, buddy..." Tony forced his lips into a smile, cursed himself for the skittish school girl nerves. Of course the kid was there. FRIDAY would have told him, warned him...

He shook the thoughts from his mind. "How did you sleep?"

"I... alright, I guess."

Tony kept his eyes on him, eyebrows only slightly draw towards each other. "You did sleep then?"

"I mean, I did. A lot." Peter blew out a breath. "All day yesterday. Haven't... haven't really done much else, have I?"

"That's by design, buddy." Tony cocked his head a little to the side, then stepped a bit closer, eyes flickering out of the window, wondering what the kid had been looking at. "You need—"

"Rest. I know." Peter's eyes were on his hand, fingers tapping against his drawn up legs. "I did."

"Mh." He stepped a little closer still. "How about food?"

"Pepper made breakfast. Bacon and eggs."

"Good. That seems like an upgrade."

The boy nodded. "Lot better than the tea she keeps making me drink."

The corners of Tony's mouth did pull into a genuine smile at that. "Yeah, well..."

"It just..." Peter shook his head. "It's not all that different from the weird stuff Dum-E makes."

Tony pulled in a sharp breath, clutched one hand over his heart. "Oof. That's a little harsh. Don't let her hear that."

The kid's eyes widened and like he had just heard himself, his face fell. "I... I'm sorry! I didn't mean—"

Tony pulled his hands up and effectively stopped him in his rambled apology, a little disheartened by how quickly the kid always retreated to this deeply apologetic state of mind.

"It's alright, buddy." He made sure to keep the easy smile on his lips. "Just a bit of banter, right? I assure you, she's heard a lot worse from me on her domestic skills."