Suck It Up (Peter Parker/Irondad)

8

(I made a Tony Stark playlist and named it 'I love Led Zeppelin!'. I debated calling it 'Always In My Arc Reactor' but it was too long lol.)

Tony's POV

I'm trying to wrap the events of yesterday when I was interrupted by a familiar grumpy cat.

"This is the school." Happy informs me.

I hum as I rake through the crowd with my eyes. None of the kids look like Peter, but I should give him time. He's probably just talking to a teacher or something.

After a while I speak up. "You sure? It's been like ten minutes since kids started to leave."

"This is where the files led me, so yes. Don't stress about it, he's probably talking to a teacher or something." He says, rolling the window down and pulling out his phone. That's what I thought, but...

"Happy look!" I warn, pointing to a boy about to run into the hood. He snaps his head up.

"Kid?" He says, getting the boy's attention. He backs up and rambles a string of apologies, his head down and hood on, before Happy cuts him off.

"Kid, it's fine. Are you Peter Parker?" He asks. I scoff. No way this kid is him. He would be way more clean and put together, right? I mean, this boy looks like a troublemaker, especially with the all black and the hood up.

"I -uh, yes, why?" I bolt my head up.

"Get in."

I hold in a laugh before speaking. "Y'know, Hap, that sounded really sketchy."

The boy is laughing uncomfortably, still looking at his -very beaten- shoes. I step out of the car, knowing he would listen to me (ya that sounded cocky, but I'm Tony Stark so).

He looks at my bottom half before doing a double take. His eyes widen as his hood falls off, revealing a nasty black eye. My arrogant smile falters, but I cover it up with a

"Hey kid."

Peter's POV

Que?

"I -uh-" cough "H-hey a-a M-r-" Jesus Christ I can't words right.

"Yeah, so can you get in?" Mr. Stark asks.

'Well, actually, I can't. My job at Delmar's is kinda important and it's the only thing sustaining May and I'- is what I should've said. "Um, s-sorry, I have um, a job." Why the hell do I stutter so much when I'm nervous?

He looks at me with a confused face. "You have a job? Where?"

"D-Delmar's, sir." I reply timidly.

He seems to ponder for a moment before shrugging. "Oh well, get in, we'll give you a ride." He says, already walking in the car. To afraid to say no, I follow him. God, I don't belong in here. I'm gonna ruin this somehow. I squeeze my arms to my sides and push my legs together, trying to take up as little space as possible. I yawn quietly, making sure they didn't hear me. I barely got any sleep last night and I'm exhausted. If I need to get him to like me, I need to take May's advice. If I stay quiet, keep my head down, take up little space, not ask for anything, stay out of the way, and don't stay in his presence for long periods of time, maybe he won't think I'm annoying. Or a nuisance. Or pathetic. Or stupid. Or poor. Or-

"We're here."

I jump, turning to face -Happy was it?- and Mr. Stark. "Thanks." I say quietly as I step out of the car. As soon as I step foot on the sidewalk, a pain shoots through my leg. I completely forgot about that. Grunting quietly, I limp my way into the store. Upon seeing Amy I smile, remembering the day before. The day before. My smile fades as I remember. The hitting, cutting, insulting, bruising, scarring. I shake my head as if to get rid of the memories swimming in my brain.

"Hi Mr. Peter!"

Just as fast as my smile faded it bounced back. I make my way over to my favorite customer and pull up a chair,

"Hey Amy! How's it going? Anything new?" I ask, hoping to get in some small talk. She was about to respond when her mom interjected,

"Peter, can we talk for a moment?" She gesturing to the hallway leading to the bathrooms. God, this isn't going to end well. I comply with a tight lipped smile and follow her, waving to Amy. When we get there, she lets out a breath and her usually neutral face turns into one of worry.

"Peter," She breathes out, "What's happening?" Her voice cracks. "Everyday you come in here with bruises, cuts, injuries, yet you hide behind a smile." Tears stream down her cheeks. "We care about you Peter. We're here." She grabs my hands as a soft sob escapes her mouth.

I can't speak. I try opening my mouth to explain, but I can't.

I can't.

........

Tony's POV

I smile as I step back into the car, Peter following close behind. I grin at his shirt. It's a list of scientists, and I notice Albert Einstein at the top. I'm about to start conversation when I process what he said. He has a job? Isn't he a little young?

"Aren't you a little young to have a job?" I ask as Happy pulls out of the parking lot. Looking up from my phone, I see that his head is down, eyes opening and closing sleepily. I decide not to push him, I don't even think he heard me. He's sitting weirdly... compressed? Small? It looks like he's trying to shrink into nonexistence. Oh well. We stay in silence until we pull up to a corner store with a beaten down sign that reads, 'Delmar's: Best Sandwich in Queens'. I need to make sure to stop by here tomorrow. Might even pick up some hoagies myself. I look over again, only to see him falling slightly.

In attempt to wake him up, I say, "We're here." He jumps, mumbles a small 'thank you', and steps out of the car. When his leg hits the concrete, it buckles and his face contorts in pain. Before I can do anything, though, he limps into the store. I see a little girl call out to him, and his whole demeanor changes. All of a sudden, he stands upright and smiles, though it looks somewhat forced.

Happy starts to pull away, but I stop him. "Hap, wait one sec." He sends me a questioning look in the rear view mirror, but shrugs and puts the car in park. Peter pulls up a chair and is about to sit down next to the little girl, but a woman -who I assume is her mom- points to a hallway. Peter and the woman go into the hallway, and immediately she breaks down. She grabs his hands and looks at him with pleading eyes. Peter has silent tears dripping down his face, but he does nothing as she runs gentle fingers over his damaged eye.

"Okay, Happy. We should go now." I know I've already seen too much.

On the way back, I struggle to keep the image of Peter out of my burdened mind. He seemed so happy! Yeah, he was shy, but I thought he would open up at some point. I sigh, his tears never leaving my thoughts.

Who hurt him?

Okay so you know how I said I wasn't going to ship Peter with anyone? Well I lied. Anyways, the next chapter will be longer. Also, my dad found my Wattpad account... oh god.

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