Tick Tock Goes the Clock

Chapter 8

"Where is he?!" Tony said for the hundredth time. He'd been pacing back and forth for so long, he was probably wearing a trail into the floor. "Damn Cat turning off his phone. Where is he?"

"I still can't get ahold of Strange," Bruce piped up, setting his phone down.

"Fucking asshat always disappearing when we need him."

"That's not really fair, Tony. He's been working hard to find a cur-"

"I know!" Tony bit, then just as quickly felt bad. He didn't usually give a rat's ass when he snipped at people, but he couldn't stand seeing that damn sad look Bruce always got. "Sorry. I know. I know. I just- I need to know the kid is ok and the only way I can find him is with Strange's stupid magical stupid portal."

"I still can't believe Peter knows the Blackcat."

"Yeah, he knows her alright."

"Wha- what does that mean?"

"Nothing."

"It means they're sleeping together," Rhodey clarified, arms crossed.

The man had shown up nearing the end of the fight - not that it had lasted that long anyway. With Peter taking that vial and then disappearing, the mutants had taken off pretty quick. No one was injured too badly on either side. Tony had gotten in a few good hits, but he'd also taken a few - especially from that damn Magneto character. How the hell was he even supposed to fight that guy? Tony's whole gimmick was a metal suit.

"They-?! Oh."

Tony's phone dinged and the man all but tackled the device, nearly crushing it. Rhodey raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything.

It was a text from Peter's number.

"Come find me 🐈‍⬛" Attached to the message was a pin for his location.

"Fucking hell." Tony grumbled and called his suit to construct, flying right through a window and ignoring the cries of surprise behind him.

Peter was close, only a few buildings away. Tony landed at the foot of the building the text said Peter was at. He wasn't in the alleys around it, or on a bench outside, and he wasn't in the lobby or surrounding shops. So where the fuck...?

"Perhaps she took him to the roof?"

"Maybe." Taking his AI's suggestion, he flew up to the top. It was a tall building, if the kid was up there, he was probably freaking out.

The roof was sloped and didn't have access from inside or through a fire-escape. It wasn't looking too promising. Something caught his eyes: a plushy of a black cat with purple eyes glinting in the sunlight. Tony frowned and scanned it. It wasn't a bomb. He approached it. Much to his surprise, the roof fell off into a lower section, about 7 feet down that had been hidden by the slopes on either side of it. Tony flew down. It was a medium-sized landing with walls on two sides of it and a curved ledge taking up the rest. In total, it probably had a square footage of about 33 feet give or take. Against the inner wall, there was an awning under which there was some furniture.

More importantly, there was a boy passed out on the couch. He was on his stomach and had one arm slung over the side, dangling. His face was directed outwards and pressed into a pillow leaning against the arm of the couch. He was snoring.

"PETER!"

The kid jerked awake with a start. He shot up, blinking wildly as his head swivelled in alarm. After a moment, he spotted Tony and the panic vanished. He relaxed back into the couch. "Oh hey, Mr. Stark, how's it going?" His eyes drifted shut.