All My Life

15| I never doubted you

Tony's pov.

"I didn't think a murder was on today's agenda," Natasha says with a deadly serious voice the second I enter the living room where the entire team was gathered.

"It's not," I reply back, knowing they all were thinking that someone else had inflicted the pain on the kid. I think that might have had been better, at least I would have had known the cause instead of being completely clueless.

"What happened to him?" Steve asks being the mature person he is, but the question only makes me even more frustrated than I already am.

"You're acting as if you people haven't already interrogated Jarvis." Steve frowns at my semi-rude response and Natasha stares holes into my head making me sigh. "Look," I slam my hand in irritation. "He showed up with a high fever and was shaking with pain. There, you heard me."

"Hey, Tony, you need to cool down, I kn-" Clint starts but clamps his mouth shut mid-sentence when he notices the sudden change in my temper.

"We had to knock out the fucking kid because of the pain he was in. What do you expect me to do, get some Shwarma and throw a fucking party?" I yell out in frustration and watch him flinch making me regret my words.

I run a hand through my hair and watch as others give me worried looks. "I'll be in the lab." I turn on my heels and make my way downstairs, ignoring Pepper's protest.

I need a drink.

**************************************************

"Jarvis, lock the lab. Turn on solitary mode." I order Jarvis and soon enough I hear a beep while making my way towards the abandoned refrigerator that held my alcohol stash. I pull the metal door open and take out a bottle of champagne only to be interrupted by Jarvis.

"Sir, are you sure you wish to break your no alcohol spree after 53 days?" I frown at the statement and the disapproving tone in Jarvis' voice. 53 days, the same number of days Peter has spent being my intern. I pause at the thought but shake my head.

I need this.

"Shut up, Jarvis." The A.I. goes silent and I walk towards my work table. I pop the glass bottle open and take a sip before putting it on the table. The blue hologram screen pops up on the clap of my hands. "Jarvis, pull up the blueprint of Mark XLVII."

The A.I. remains silent but the blueprint pops up on the screen. I take another two sips while staring at the design. There are no ideas, no updates that come into my messy brain while the silence of the lab consumes me, devoid of the usual chatters and rants of a certain boy.

"Mr Stark, you should not be consuming them." It had been nearly a month of Peter and I working together when he found the refrigerator.

I gulp down the bottle's contents till it's halfway empty as words jumble up in my head.

"Don't worry, kiddo. I don't use it anymore." I reply back with a small smile at the angry puppy look on the curly-haired boy's face.

I take another few sips, noticing the bottle is almost empty.

"Now, if you are done with your inspection, get your ass back over here and pull out this wire." The boy blushed and ran towards me while laughing making me shake my head at the goofiness of the boy.

Peter's smile flash by my eyes and I throw the glass bottle on the floor making it shatter into sharp pieces. I sit down on the nearby chair as my head spins. I regret not putting enough walls to stop the kid from making me feel this helpless.

This is exactly what I feared...fuck these emotions...

I walk towards the refrigerator and pull out another bottle and get back to the table that held the foot thruster. "Dum-E, get me the wrench and a .7 hex." The robot beeps and then whirs towards me. I extend my arm and pop the bottle open from my other hand before taking a sip.