Sweet Chemistry

Granulated Sugar

A/N: HOLY HECK I ACTUALLY UPLOADED A CHAPTER XD just a quick note letting Y'all know that I posted another fic-- and I would love it very much if you went and gave that some love <3 

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The sun was shining, the city was bustling, the birds were singing, and the breeze was blowing. The sun was shining, the city was bustling, the birds were singing, the breeze was blowing, and Peter's world was ending. 

Peter, May, Ned, and Tony stood on the sidewalk, gruntled pedestrians pushing past and muttering about how idiots needed to learn to move out of the way. As Peter stared forward, he couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anything but the tragic disaster right before his deep brown eyes. 

"I can't...please, please tell me this isn't real," Peter begged, eyes welling with tears as he stared at what was once his bakery, now nothing but the charred foundation and melted metal. 

"I'm sorry, Peter... I'm so sorry." May said, pulling her nephew close and kissing the top of his head. "Ned and I are going to meet with the lawyers and the insurance company now," she explained. "You don't have to come, because you haven't had a shift in a while, but you're more than welcome to if you want." 

Peter shook his head softly, he didn't want to go, the thought of sitting there, talking about how much the bakery was worth made him sick because he knew it was worth more in sentiment than in monetary value. 

May nodded and squeezed him tight, pulling out her phone and sending a text "I sent you where we'll be, in case you change your mind." a tight smile formed across the woman's lips as she ruffled Peter's hair before she patted Ned's shoulder and they disappeared into a crowd of people.

Tony frowned, he was never good with making people feel better, he always said too little, not enough, or just not even close to the right thing. In a feeble attempt to make Peter laugh he spoke "Hey, at least you have a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist boyfriend," He winked. 

Peter did smile a bit at the comment and he leaned his head on Tony's shoulder, unable to look away from the devastating sight. 

Of course, this is where Tony dug himself into a ditch "Honestly, babe, I could buy you twelve just like this, better even." 

This snapped Peter out of his melancholy thoughts and he stepped back from Tony, tear-filled eyes now filled with shock and anger. "How could you even say that?" He asked, obviously hurt by the comment. 

"Say what?" Tony asked, feeling defensive, " the truth? I was just stating a fact. You know I'm not good at this," He gestured to the sight before them and at Peter, which only hurt and angered the poor boy more. 

"Well this," Peter made an exaggerated gesture to himself, "isn't going to deal with that," He gestured to Tony. "Not at the moment." He huffed slightly and turned, making his way down the street. In a moment of anger, Peter pulled out his phone and texted James:

 Hey, Listen, sorry about the other night, something came up. Any chance you wanna grab a coffee?

Text from: James: Hey, don't worry about it. Meet me on 6th in 15?

Yeah, sounds great. 

Peter felt sick to his stomach, but it was just coffee, and it wasn't going to lead anywhere. He just needed to get away, clear his head and vent to someone completely impartial. 

Tony, on the other hand, was left in complete shock, he had tried texting Peter, but thought against it and decided to let him cool off. He made his way back to Stark Tower, where he planned to attempt to keep his mind off of things. 

At the coffee shop, Peter had just finished rambling on about his horrible week to James. "The worst part is, I feel horrible for how I reacted, but I know I shouldn't. It was really fucked what he said."

James nodded, placing a hand over Peter's "Hey, the way I see it, he doesn't deserve a catch like you." the male smiled warmly and held eye contact with Peter, his comforting touch lingering just a little too long before he finally pulled his hand away and took a sip of his coffee. 

Peter flushed darkly and cleared his throat, taking another drink of his coffee and looking down at his watch "Oh shit, it's late, they probably want to close up and here we are, acting like the world revolves around us." He laughed nervously, hopping down from the stool. 

James got down as well, leaving a tip and offering the crook of his arm to Peter "It sounds like you still need to get a little more off your chest, why don't you let me walk you home." He smiled. Peter hesitated, chewing his lower lip as he looked down for a moment. "Cmon, these streets aren't safe at night," James urged. 

Maybe it was to spite Tony, or maybe it was because James had a point, maybe Peter just needed to let loose for a change; whatever the reason, the brunette found himself taking the males arm and walking with him. 

The later it got the more Tony wanted to text Peter, but the later it got, the drunker Tony got. Somehow he had managed to stumble over to Stephen's house, and before he knew it he was knocking on the doctor's door. 

"Yes?" The male asked as he opened his door, raising a brow. Tony reeked of alcohol, of course, and that's how Stephen knew he was in for a long night. 

"Did I ever tell you you're pretty?" Tony slurred, grinning goofily as he swayed in his friend's doorway. 

"No?" Stephen shook his head, laughing a bit and sighing softly as he helped Tony into his house and onto the couch. "C'mon tough guy, you gotta sit." 

Tony laughed and looked up into Stephen's eyes before his face turned serious. "I pissed Peter off..." he said, leaning his head back and sighing loudly.

"I'm sure he'll cool off, you two always piss each other off." Strange noted, sitting beside Tony. "What in the world did you do now?" He inquired 

"I said something stupid.." He said, before he leaned over and kissed Stephen, whose eyes widened in surprise as he pushed Tony back "and...well now I kissed you." Tony laughed before he fell off the couch. 

"Alright," Stephen sighed and picked Tony up "It's time to go home." He called Happy, explaining what happened and that Tony would need babysitting. 

Somehow, Peter ended up walking to James' apartment, rather than his own. At this point, Peter didn't feel comfortable anymore, and he stopped walking. "Listen, James I appreciate the coffee and you listening and all, but I love Tony, as much of an asshole as he can be, and I just...I can't do this. I'm sorry." 

James looked down, nodding in understanding.  "Hey, I'm always here, alright?" He smiled and hugged Peter gently. Peter hugged back and smiled softly, patting his back before he turned to walk to his apartment, not quite ready to see Tony again yet.