Our Dad's an Ir⎊n Dad || Marvel

[five]

Tony's chest aches. He doesn't want to be like Howard. He wants to be there for his kids. He wants them to be able to come to him if they have issues or if he's done something, but he had the chance to listen to Peter earlier about the rest of the Avengers team and he blew it. Even if he couldn't change the situation, he could have heard Peter out. He could have handled it better. It's no wonder the kid is all clammed up now.

He tries to think about what set his kid off. Had Peter wanted to sit with him instead of with Pepper? No, Peter loves Pep. Was it Harley? No, they seemed to be getting along pretty well too. Maybe Peter was allergic to something in his food? But that wouldn't have sent him into a mental panic and force him to dissociate.

Tony rubs a rough hand down his face. This is getting him nowhere.

"Is Pete okay?" Harley asks when he gets back into the dinning room. Nobody is particularly hungry anymore, but the food is still spread all over the table.

"I don't know. He's taken a sensory break right now, but you should go check on him later." He runs a hand through his hair. "I don't even know what set him off. Did I say something? Is he still upset about earlier? Did-"

"Tony you didn't do anything," Pepper says softly. She looks back towards Peter's door sadly. "I think it's my fault this time. I'll go talk to him." She slides her chair back before standing.

Peter is leaving his room before she can even get close. He's wearing one of Tony's old MIT hoodies and he has a book bag thrown over his shoulder. He doesn't even look at them when he speaks.

"I'm gonna go to May's for a few days," he says quietly. "She's off this week."

"Is that what you want?" asks Tony, but his fingers twitch to pull his son into a hug. You've been gone for months. You died. Don't go. Peter nods. "Do you need a ride? I can call Happy to come and-"

"I'm just going to walk."

"Oh. Yeah, o-okay. Do you have your soundproof headphones or do you want me to-"

"I'm fine," Peter says through gritted teeth and Tony wishes he could find it in himself to hold it together.

"No you're not! None of us are fine. That doesn't mean you pull away whenever you get upset. I'm trying to help, Pete. I can't do that if you won't let me."

"I don't need any help."

"We all need help, kiddo. And that's okay. We're family, we can help each other."

"I don't need your help. You're not my dad. And Pepper's not my mom. And Harley and Nebula and- and whoever else, we're not siblings. You're not my family! None of you are. May's my family. May's always been my family. She's all I've got." Peter doesn't let anyone respond before he's in the elevator and being taken to the ground floor.

"Hey, old man?" says Harley, but his voice sounds panicked and muffled. "Dad?"

"Tony, look at me," Pepper says. She's closer than Harley, but she still sounds like she's miles away.

Tony wonders why he feels like he's drowning again. He makes to scratch at his chest, to push down, to add pressure, to do anything, but he can't feel his arm either. He can't breathe.

His body thuds to the ground.

Maybe he is just like Howard. But then again, maybe Peter's right, he'd have to have kids for that.

--:--

It's dark when Tony wakes up. He's lying on a bed and not wherever he had happened to land on the shiny hardwood of the penthouse floor before.