Spiderson Oneshots

Ch 79 - Sober

Today was one of those days where Tony spent most of his time cooped up in the lab working on project after project. One cup of coffee turned into five. He would contemplate taking a break but then he would be struck with an idea. Before Tony knew it, even more hours passed by.

He had started working at three a.m. after a particularly bad nightmare that set the man on edge and formed dark clouds in his brain. Now, after a glance at the clock, he saw that a full fifteen hours had passed.

But that wasn't what struck him as odd; instead it was the fact that Friday hadn't even reminded him of the time once. Tony was so used to her nagging, that without it, something felt off. He rubbed his eyes, which were starting to become unfocused (he needed another cup of coffee) and called out to his AI, "Fri?"

Her response was slightly slower than usual. "Yes, boss?"

"I've noticed a distinct lack of your nagging for me to go upstairs and eat. Any reason for that?"

There was a noticeable pause before the AI responded back, in almost a forced monotone voice, "I don't know what you're talking about, boss. I thought you disliked it when I informed you of your bodily needs."

Tony grunted in response, standing up to stretch out his limbs. It was obvious that Friday was keeping something from him. How could an AI be bad at lying? She must be talking to Peter too much.

As if on cue, Friday added, "And, boss, Peter has arrived and is asking for you in the kitchen."

Tony felt guilt rise up in his chest as he remembered that today he was supposed to be spending time with Peter. It was a good thing the boy arrived so late, Tony would feel horrible if he kept him waiting. Lately, as the two of them spent more time together, Tony realized that he wanted to be good for the teen. He wanted to guide him and be a safe presence for him in a way Tony's own father never was.

Tony took the elevator up to the penthouse level of the tower, stifling a yawn along the way. When the elevator stopped at the floor, Tony was surprised first to hear silence. Usually Peter was chattering away to Friday, telling her all about his day.

But then, Tony stepped out and his breath caught in his throat at the sight of the kitchen and living room. Bright streamers of red and gold hung from the ceiling and the occasional Iron Man themed balloon floated, the strings just touching the floor. There were boxes upon boxes of pizzas set up on the kitchen island, along with various brands of sodas and sparkling ciders. There was even a small, colorful cake set next to them.

What really caught Tony's attention was Peter, standing next to the island in a cheesy Iron Man shirt that Tony had seen once before being used for pajamas. The boy was grinning wide and when he made eye contact with his mentor he popped a small party popper, a rainbow of confetti exploding out and creating a tiny mess on the floor. "Happy six months sober, Mr. Stark!"

Tony blinked in surprise. With his habit of throwing himself into work constantly for long periods of time, it was quite easy to lose track of what day it was. Or what month it was. So it honestly came as no surprise that he had no clue that it had been six months since he decided to cut out drinking.

It also occurred to him that this was why Friday had been quieter earlier. She hadn't wanted to tell Tony to eat something, because then he would go up and ruin Peter's surprise. It almost felt like his AI and his kid were plotting behind his back. But it also warmed his heart to know they both cared about him, so he decided to not dwell on it.

After a long bit of awkward stuttering that was very unlike him, Tony cleared his throat and asked the first thing he could think of. "Has it really been six months?"

He briefly wondered if that was the right thing to say, but he knew it was when Peter erupted into laughter and, smiling wide, said, "See! I told you it wouldn't be too hard! At this rate, you'll be a whole year sober in the blink of an eye."

Tony wanted to tell the kid that without him, he probably wouldn't even have wanted to stop drinking. He couldn't put Peter through what he went through growing up with an alcoholic father. He didn't deserve that. Not to mention it stressed Tony out to think about what would happen if Peter got hurt while on patrol and Tony was too wasted to help him.

The man thought about telling Peter all of this, but he knew that it would put a lot on the kid's shoulders. Instead, he replied with another thought that he was having. "You didn't need to do all this, kid. We could have just, I don't know, watched a movie or something."

"But we always do that, Mr. Stark! I mean, we can watch a movie if you want to, but I wanted this to be special. Also-," Peter rushed over to Tony and promptly enveloped him in a hug. Tony instinctively wrapped his arms tightly around the boy, his heart swelling with warmth. "-I'm so so so proud of you. I knew you could do it."

Tony felt his eyes glaze over with tears, causing him to blink rapidly in a futile attempt to dispel them. "Thanks for remembering, bud. Hell, I didn't even remember."

Peter pulled back with a confused look in his eyes. "I thought Happy and Rhodey would have called you." Tony shook his head, mirroring the confused look.

Friday cut in, "They both did call you, boss, but you instructed me earlier to direct all calls to voicemail unless it was an emergency."

A bit of guilt filled Tony's chest as Peter sighed, raising an eyebrow at him. "Alright, well, we can call them back now while we eat our pizza. Okay, Mr. Stark?" The boy's eyes lit up. "And then cake and a movie!"

"Okay, kiddo, fine by me."

So they called back Happy and Rhodey (Tony was glad Peter hadn't mentioned Pepper. The two of them were on a break right now and it was still a sore subject.) and listened as the men each went through similar cycles of reprimanding Tony for not answering and then congratulating him for his sobriety.

The pair dished out pizza, with Peter's serving easily ten times Tony's because of his fast metabolism. When they were done, they curled up on the couch together with slices of cake and tuned in to a movie. It wasn't long before Peter was dozing off against Tony's side, his head resting against the man's chest. Tony ran his fingers through brown curls and felt the kid sigh in content. "Mr. Stark?"

"Yeah, bug?"

"I know I said it earlier, but-," Chocolate eyes turned to look up at Tony. "-I really am proud of you. I know this hasn't been easy, even if you don't… show it. But you're doing it. This is such an incredible achievement, and-and um, I… I'll always be here to support you."

Tony's eyes welled up with tears yet again and he buried his face in Peter's curls, chuckling wetly. "Thank you, kiddo. For all of this. For being here for me and letting me be there for you, no matter how overbearing I can be. I…" Say it. Say it in order to prove you're more than your father. Say it for yourself. Say it for Peter. "I love you, bug."

And then Peter's eyes were also filled with tears. "I love you, too."

They turned their attention back to the movie shortly after, with Peter falling asleep in no time at all. Tony carried him off to bed and tucked him in, the paternal actions not bothering him one bit. And as he watched the snoozing boy for one more moment before heading to bed himself, he wondered how he got lucky enough to have such a thoughtful, genuine kid like Peter in his life.