The World I Knew [Discontinued]

A Growing Family

The realization was heavier than an elephant as it struck him, making him physically take a step back. He could feel his heart plummeting into the hard foundation beneath them, and found it too hard to breathe properly.

His powers were gone.

"You're okay, kid," Tony said, reaching out to steady him.

"They're gone," Peter rasped again, voice protesting as he stopped whispering, the world swaying around him again, making him grateful for his mentor's grounding hand. "They're gone."

"You're alright."

Spider-Man was gone.

"No, no, no no nononono!" Peter exclaimed, pressing himself against the wall. "I can't—no! How did—Mr. Stark?" He looked up at Tony desperately. "Wh-what happened?"

"You're okay," the man said instead, though it was clear he was worried as well. "Just calm down, we'll figure this out."

But Peter was panicking. "What does that mean for me, a-and my family? Mr. Stark, what should I do?! I-I can't help people, a-and they're gonna wonder where I am, and then people are gonna get hurt, and I can't protect May, o-or anyone else, and—"

He was cut off by being caught in a crushing hug, Tony's chest smothering his words, and making his breath catch. Big, strong arms were wrapped tightly around his shoulders, and a scratchy, stubble-covered chin was scraping gently against his scalp, a warm, solid body in front of him, surrounding him in warmth that made something akin to comfort bloom in his chest.

"You're okay, kid," Tony murmured. "We'll figure this out."

Helplessly, Peter wrapped his arms around Tony in turn. "I... I thought we weren't there yet," he mumbled uncertainly.

"Geez, kid," Tony said, his voice holding some sort of quality to it that made Peter's chest ache. "Of course we're there. We always were."

Peter tried to remember to breathe. "You won't leave me, will you?" he asked hoarsely, heart thudding painfully at the fear now spoken. "I-I don't think I can go through something like that again."

Who was he kidding?

Of course Tony was going to leave him.

Tony had recruited him for his powers, and now that those were gone, what was keeping them together anymore?

Instead, the arms tightened with almost a desperation to them, squeezing all the breath out of Peter. "I won't, kid," Tony promised fiercely, voice muffled as he replaced his chin with his lips against Peter's head. "I'm not going to leave you. I swear, to the stars and back again, Pete, I'm not going to let you down like that. I'll never let that happen to you again."

Something cracked in Peter's heart, letting firecrackers popping with the force of a bomb in each nerve and cell, filling him so full of warmth that he feared he would overflow with it.

Only it didn't.

It just kept filling him, every pore, every crevice, pooling in his feet, flooding his gut and rising, rising, rising, like an overflowing river in a storm. It swept away all the debris, all the lies, the fear, the doubt, everything.

Until the only thing left was love.

Pure, unbridled love.

The type of love that could never be erased, never properly conveyed, and never communicated enough.

"Thanks, dad," Peter breathed, finally returning the ferocity of the hug, though neither of them could ignore the tears of absolute joy that dampened Tony's shirt.