Growing Up

19 Years Old

Tony was in the middle of a Stark Industries meeting when he felt his phone vibrate. He'd had the foresight to turn it on silent before the meeting so thankfully no one heard it in his pocket, but Pepper still sent him a look. Ignoring it, he continued to focus on the meeting as his phone vibrated. Eventually, it stopped and Tony relaxed now. FRIDAY, however, decided to let him know who had called, talking through his watch so that everyone in the conference room heard.

"Sir, Peter has left you a voicemail."

Tony frowned, glancing at the clock hanging on the wall. Peter was supposed to still be in class and FRIDAY had orders to let him through if it was an emergency.

"I detected signs of distress in his message."

Before Pepper could even think about keeping him in the meeting, Tony was out of his chair and headed for the door. No one said anything as he left, simply resuming the meeting on Pepper's command.

"Give me stats on the Spider-Man suit," Tony demanded, tapping his earpiece so FRIDAY could communicate directly with him.

To Tony's surprise, the suit was still inactive and laying in Peter's dorm room.

"Where's his phone?" Tony asked. If Peter wasn't out Spider-Manning, then where was he?

"About five minutes away from the Tower."

Tony redirected his route to the garage where he knew Peter would park before going upstairs to the penthouse.

"He is taking the subway," FRIDAY said.

Tony groaned and changed his route again to the ground floor so he could meet Peter at the front doors.

By the time Tony reached the ground floor and made it outside of the tower, Peter was within sight. His hoodie was pulled over his hair and his head was down. Both of his hands were shoved in his pockets but every now and then he would reach up and wipe his face. Concerned, Tony frowned and hurried forward to meet Peter on the sidewalk a few meters from the front doors. It wasn't until Peter ran into him that he noticed him.

"Peter? What happened?" Tony asked as he sniffled and wiped his face again.

Instead of replying, Peter threw his arms around Tony and started sobbing. Tony hugged him, rubbing his back comfortingly, and when he realized Peter wasn't going to calm down soon, he guided Peter into the tower. Getting to the lift was a slow process, but no one said anything as they walked through the Tower.

Peter cried the whole ride up to the penthouse. It was the only sound in the lift and while Tony wanted to know what was going on, he knew Peter wouldn't tell him yet.

When they finally reached the top floor, Tony led Peter into the living room and onto the couch. As they sat down, Peter pulled away and wiped at his tear-stained face.

"Okay, how about you tell me what's wrong," Tony suggested softly. Peter sniffled and wiped his face as he nodded. Shifting closer to Peter, Tony wrapped an arm around his shoulders and waited for him to explain.

"Gwen broke—broke up with me—me," he stuttered before collapsing into tears again.

Tony sighed and let Peter all but crawl into his lap like he had when he was younger.

"I'm sorry, kiddo," Tony whispered, trying to remember what it had been like when he and Pepper had broken up. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of a single thing he'd been told that had helped. "I'm so sorry, kid," he repeated, rubbing Peter's back and wishing he could do more to help.

He'd only left Peter only for three days. Pepper had said there was a meeting he couldn't miss so he'd left their house in Massachusetts and in the short time, Peter's life had fallen apart. Although he knew he couldn't prevent what had happened with Gwen, Tony made a mental note to never again leave for more than a day.

Peter had been reduced to just hiccups and the occasional sniffle by the time Pepper arrived upstairs from the meeting. At the sight of Peter with his face buried in Tony lap, she hurried over to the couch and gently sat on Peter's other side. When she put her hand on his back, he just sniffled and rolled closer to Tony. Worried, she glanced up at Tony for an explanation.

Gwen, he mouthed and Pepper's face dropped.

"Peter?" Pepper asked softly, trying to get his attention.

Peter slowly sat up with Tony's help and turned to face Pepper, still leaning heavily against Tony.

"Do you want me to call the school so you can stay here for a while?" she asked, knowing better than to ask how he felt.

Peter nodded so Pepper stood up, running a hand through his hair then leaving to make the phone call. Once she was gone, Peter looked up at Tony with red eyes and a tear-stained face. At the sight, Tony felt his heart break and he pulled Peter closer to him.

"It gets better, right?" Peter asked quietly. Tony nodded, kissing his head.

"Yeah," he said, "It will get better eventually, but it's gonna suck for a long time."

Peter sniffled and Tony felt bad that he couldn't give the kid something to make him feel better.

"Don't worry, though," Tony assured him, "It feels horrible right now, but it gets better."

Tony had half expected a smart-ass response, so when he got nothing, he sighed and hugged Peter tightly, silently wishing the kid didn't have to go through something like heartbreak while simultaneously wishing he was in Peter's place instead.