Golden Days✓ Tony Stark [Book 3]

6: Grounded.

Peter seats on the edge of a building, without his mask, feeling guilty. If Mr Stark was here, does that mean he knows Lisa is here? What is Lis gonna say? She'd be so disappointed. He barely notices the Iron Man suit flying towards him.

"Previously on Peter Screws the Pooch: I tell you to stay away from this. Instead, you hacked a multimillion-dollar suit so you could sneak around behind my back doing the one thing I told you not to do." Tony scolds, barely able to keep his anger in.

"Is everyone okay?" He asks, his voice shaking.

"No thanks to you." Tony replies.

"No thanks to me?" Peter asks angrily as he swings his feet over the ledge, walking towards his mentor.

"Those weapons were out there, and I tried to tell you about it. But you didn't listen. None of this would've happened if you had just listened to me." Peter exclaims. "If you even cared, you'd actually be here." He adds.

The suit suddenly opens, revealing Tony inside. He steps down from the suit and marches toward Peter, who backs off.

"I did listen, kid. Who do you think called the FBI, huh? Do you know that we were the only one who believed in you? Everyone else said we were crazy to recruit a 14-year-old kid." Tony grits out.

"I'm fifteen." Peter adds.

"No, this is where you zip it, all right? The adult is talking. What if somebody had died tonight? Different story, right? 'Cause that's on you. And if you died, I feel like that's on me. I don't need that on my conscience. I have enough on it already." Tony replies as his mind goes to his Smalls.

"Yes, sir." Peter says as he looks down.
"I- I'm sorry." He adds.

"Sorry doesn't cut it." Tony replies.

"I understand. I just wanted to be like you." He admits.

"And I wanted you to be better." Tony responds. He looks away for a few seconds before turning back to the kid. "Okay, it's not working out. I'm gonna need the suit back."

"For how long?" Peter asks.

"Forever." Tony responds with finality. His heart sunk as the boy shakes his head, tears filling his eyes.

It's for the best. Smalls would have supported me. It's for his safety, that's what Lis would have wanted.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's how it works." He adds.

"No, no, no…Please, please, please…" Peter pleads, his voice breaking.

"Let's have it." Tony insists.

"You don't understand. Please. This is all I have. I'm nothing without this suit." Peter pleads.

"If you're nothing without this suit, then you shouldn't have it. Okay? God, I sound like my dad." Tony responds.

Peter stares at him for a few seconds trying to persuade him but when he sees the finality in his eyes, he succumbs.

"I don't have any other clothes." He mutters.

"Okay, we'll sort that out." Tony responds.

▪️🔸▪️

A knock resounds in the almost quiet apartment and she rushed to the door.

"Hey." He whispers, so softly.

She inhaled deeply as she looks over his features in a quick single glance, before storming inside.

"I've been calling you all day. You didn't answer your phone. You can't do that. Then this ferry thing happens. I've called five police stations." She says as she takes a seat on the edge of the sofa.