IronDad/SpiderSon One-shots

Rainy Mind

Third Person POV:
Word Count: 1,192
Trigger Warning: Implied sadness and grief
Spooktober 2022 Day Twenty-One: Umbrella

It was days like today that Peter wished he could have an umbrella for his head. Days where the clouds were so heavy in his head that they couldn't help but pour. Days where his brain was soaked with sadness and grief. Days where he didn't feel like wearing a smile or having a laugh. Days where he just wanted to cry. If he had an umbrella for his mind, maybe he could use it to stop the sadness from seeping into his brain. Maybe he could find a way to smile and brighten up everyone's day. But, sadly, no one made an umbrella for his brain.

So, he just went through the motions. He woke up, sat in the kitchen while picking at some cereal before going to school. At school, he just focused on getting from class to class without any run ins or weird encounters with other students. At lunch, he sat with his friends and did his best to disguise the sadness he felt inside. He continued on with getting from class to class after that. He ignored the questionable stares from his friends. He ignored the glances down the hallways. He ignored the petty comments from Flash. Today wasn't the day to interact. Today was just a day he simply had to get through.

He walked out of school to see Tony's car waiting for him outside. Not the car Happy drove. The one that Tony specifically drove. The one that he always knew Tony would be in. That was when he really wanted an umbrella for his mind. He hated when his mentor saw the sad part of him. He hated when Tony saw him down. For some reason, he felt embarrassed about it. He wanted to hide it from him. He was supposed to be the happy one. He was supposed to be the peppy one. But, on days like these, he couldn't bring himself to do that. The sadness in his mind felt so controlling that it wouldn't allow him to do that.

Taking a deep breath, he walked over to Tony's car. He got into the passenger seat and put on his best fake smile. "Hey, Tony. I didn't know you were picking me up today." He set his backpack down on the floor by his feet before rubbing his hands together slightly. The chilly October air was really starting to get to him. It always did this time of year (and to think that this was only the start).

Glancing at the kid, his suspicions were confirmed. May was right to text him. This was definitely not a good day for Peter. He could already tell. To start, the kid's smile looked almost painful. There was no light in it. No glimmer in his eyes. Another thing was that he was trying to be too casual. The kid still had a nasty habit of calling Tony 'Mr. Stark' all of the time. To call him 'Tony' out of the blue like that? It raised suspicion. And everything about Peter's body language was off. The way he sat. The way he was holding his hands. The way he was making sure to look in every direction but Tony's. Yeah, today was not a good day.

Clearing his throat, Tony shifted gears and pulled out. "You weren't. May called and said she was working a double. She wanted me to make sure you got fed and all the good stuff like that. Figured we could make a lab day out of it." After pulling into traffic, Tony glanced towards Peter. "Are you okay with that," he asked. As much as it would break his heart, if the kid said no, he would be fine with that. He would make sure to buy him dinner and bring him back to his aunt's apartment. He would understand if Peter wanted to be alone.

The rain in Peter's mind let up for a split second. The idea of spending time with Tony was hopeful. He hated being alone, especially on days like this. "Yeah, that actually sounds really nice." It did. It would give Peter the chance to work on things. It would distract him from the rain in his mind. Any sort of distraction would work. A lab day was probably a lot safer than a patrol distraction. He kept that part in his head.

Nodding, Tony smiled. "Good." That made Tony happy. It meant that the kid would be safe. Based on what Tony could see, he knew it wasn't a good idea to let the kid go patrolling. The lab was a safer option. On top of that. It meant that he could keep an eye on the kid. If the kid's day got worse, he could be right there to help him through it. If the kid's day got better, then he was glad he could help. He just wanted to be there for Peter and do the right thing for him.

And that is exactly what he did. He took Peter to the lab. He let the kid tinker with his web shooters, sharing ideas on how they could improve them and special features they could add to them to make them better. A couple hours in the lab and they had a new prototype for his web-shooters in the making. It would take a couple more lab sessions to finish them. They would have to test them out multiple times and figure out how to fix them, but it was good to have a project they could work on. Peter didn't care that the man was helping him with his suit. He just appreciated the fact that he got to work with Tony. He loved when they did one project together instead of working on separate projects.

Once they were done in the lab, Tony decided to order some pizza upon Peter's choice. Peter loved pizza. Tony even ordered extra pepperoni on it for Peter. When the pizza came, Tony tossed the remote to the kid and told him to pick something to watch. Wanting to change things up a little, Peter decided to watch The Mandalorian. It wasn't really much different than what he normally chose. He normally chose something related to Star Wars. Tony would always throw in some joke about how that's all Peter would watch (on a good day, of course), but secretly, Tony loved the movies and shows just as much as Peter did. It was Peter's fault he got Tony hooked on them.

By the time it was time for Peter to go home, Tony could see a change. The kid didn't look like his normal self, but he definitely looked better than he had when Tony came to get him. Inside Peter's mind, he still was longing for an umbrella, but it wasn't raining as hard as it was earlier. Now it was just a light sprinkle that he knew would clear up by tomorrow. It was just a rough day.

And, without even having to talk about it, Tony helped. That's just who he was. And Peter wouldn't have it any other way.

That's it for this chapter! Remember to drink some water, eat something, take medicine (if you have to), and rest today. You did a good job and I am proud of you :)
Till next time
- Storm