Aftermath (Peter x Tony)

-5-

Peter woke up with a start, the remnants of a nightmare still flashing in his brain. He couldn't remember the details, just random flashes of light and a hollowness in his heart. His chest rose and fell like pistons straining.

A downy blanket fell from his chest. Was he back in Tony's room? How could that be? He was just off looking for the source of that strange blip EDITH detected outside the city. So how could he possibly have ended back here?

He glanced around at the modern room, the door hanging wide open. Peter groaned, rubbing his head and trying to steady his rapid breathing. His "I Survived my Trip to NYC" t-shirt clung to his chest tightly. "Uhhhgh," he groaned, his brain still stuck in the nightmare he couldn't remember.

"Finally awake, didn't use to mean that much of the tranquilizer, but y'know, couldn't be helped," Tony appeared in the doorway.

"Huh?" Was all Peter could manage to say, his mind still trying to sort through the jumble of words.

"You ran off, kid. Without telling me. And when I asked you very nicely and politely what the fuck you thought you were doing you starting throwing those annoying webs at me. Couldn't be helped."

The last words Peter would use to describe Tony were "nice and polite" but he could only focus on the part about getting drugged against his will. "You, you tranquilized me?" Was all he could manage to say.

"You were about to head into the territory of the biggest crime syndicate in America with nothing but that outdated suit and a hell of a lot of stupid. Yeah, I tranked you. You're welcome," Tony started to walk out of the room but stopped, turning back to Peter. "You lost workshop privileges by the way. No more tinkering, Underoos."

Wait, what?

"You can't do that!" Peter leaped out of Tony's bed and scrambled through the door into the main area of the penthouse. He barely noticed he was in nothing but his boxers.

"I can and I did," Tony wasn't looking at him, eyes down on his phone, fingers flying across the holographic screen.

"That's so unfair!" How could Tony just shoot him down like that? Literally! Give him enough tranks that he could barely remember what his whole plan was!

"Do I have to call the Wambulance? Life isn't fair, kid. This isn't preschool where everyone has to go around and share. Life doesn't work that way. I gave you that suit, I gave you EDITH, I made you and I can take everything back if I want to."

"You didn't make me. You didn't do anything. You were gone for five years and couldn't do jackshit. Who saved the goddamn universe? Not you. Not once. Who brought the Avengers back together? Not you. I didn't have you for five years and I turned out just fine. I grew up. Take the godamn suit, I know how to build my own."

Why did he ever think Tony would change? Of course he'd be the same asshole he always was. It was in his blood or something.

Tony finally looked up from his phone, raising his eyebrows at Peter. "You delivered that entire speech in nothing but Dickies Boxers?" He snorted.

Peter turned red.

Tony chuckled again, walking towards Peter and giving him a firm pat on the back. "Maybe you don't need me so much anymore, kid. But I'm always the hero. I got more memorabilia and statues with this ass carved into it than anybody."

Peter smiled, "that's true."

"But there's a reason I did what I did kid. I wasn't just playing into some power complex or whatever. You were heading into something neither of us fully understand."

"Like what?"

"I don't know yet," Tony put his free hand on Peter's shoulders. Now they were a little closer than Peter's stomach liked.

"But I promise, kid," Tony continued, "I'll find out whatever the hell EDITH is picking up and then we'll charge into battle with a barely devised plan with little to no chance of succeeding together, okay?"

"Okay," was all Peter could manage to say. "Can I please get dressed now so I'm not standing here half-naked yelling at the richest man in the world?"

"I don't know," Tony's hand slid from his shoulder to Peter's lower back, "I kind of like the Dickies look on you."

"Fuck you," Peter laughed.

"Don't tempt me," Tony said in an all-too serious voice.

Peter felt his face heat up like a furnace. He knew Tony could tell. Especially after the larger man started chuckling at the look on Peter's face. "Or maybe," Tony bent down until his goatee brushed against Peter's ear, "the Dickies would look better on the floor."

"Ngh," was all Peter could manage to say, his entire brain shutting down and rebooting over and over each second.

Tony's hand drifted from Peter's lower back to his ass and gave a firm squeeze that made Peter's brain stop working all together.

Then Tony was off of him, running a hand through his carefully combed hair. "C'mon don't just stand there, we got work to do."