Spider-Man: Unmasked

Chapter Six

Steve watched in shock and horror with all the other Avengers as the ambulance took away his son.  His son was Spider-Man.  He didn't know how to feel.  Those times when he came home with bruises... all those times they worked with Spider-Man...

Everything made sense.  The night Peter ran off and the way Spider-Man had reacted to how Steve felt about the whole situation and how Spider-Man had disappeared when they found Peter.  He looked at his husband, tears cascading down his cheeks. 

Tony held his husband close, tears of his own falling.  His own son.  Risking his life everyday.  He had had no idea.

Soon, Steve asked the question they had all been thinking; "How did we not notice?"

Natasha sighed.  "I don't know.  How did we not see it before? He's been acting strange for so long, I..." She shook her head. "Gosh, I can't believe it."

"We can talk about how crazy it is and how we can't believe it later," Tony said, wiping at his eyes. "Right now, Peter is in the hospital, badly wounded. We need to get there. Now."

Everyone nodded in agreement before heading to the hospital.

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"Let us see him! Now!!" Tony yelled at the nurse outside Peter's hospital room. "That's our son!!"

"Mr. Stark, please. They are doing the best they can to help him, and you going in will not help!" The nurse insisted, not moving.

"Tony, please," Steve said, holding his husband's arm. "Let's just wait. I want to see him too, but we can't."

Tony sighed and nodded. "Fine." He shot the nurse a glare and sulked back into the waiting room where everyone else sat.

Natasha and Bruce looked up at him, expectantly. "Not allowed in yet," Tony said plainly. He slumped into a chair and held his head in his hands. Steve rested a hand on Tony's back, rubbing it gently.

Tony thought back to his son, bleeding in Tony's arms. He started shaking, the worry rising. Would his son be okay? The son he had raised and fed and loved, had been lying to him for years. He didn't know what to feel. Pride? Shock? Betrayal? Anger? All of them?

He was brought out of his thoughts by a nurse saying, "You're the parents of Peter Rogers-Stark, correct?"

Tony looked up and nodded. "Yes. How is he?" He asked frantically.

"He is... awake." Everyone gave a collective sigh of relief. "Though he is still in very poor condition.  A few broken bones, some major blood loss...."

"Can we see him?"  Steve asked hopefully.  "Please?"

The nurse hesitated before shaking his head.  "No, sirs.  He is still in poor condition, like I said, and-"

He was cut off by Steve and Tony charging up to him.  "Listen here," Tony said through gritted teeth.  "That is our son in there.  He is hurt and we need to see him. Let us in, or there will be consequences!"

If Tony's threat hadn't been enough, then the glare from Steve and Natasha certainly were. The nurse gulped and nodded. "Alright. Just be careful. Don't be too loud."

The Avengers headed to Peter's hospital room. Steve looked at the group as they arrived at the door. "Only Tony and I should go in first. If it's as bad as they say, then we definitely shouldn't go in all at once." Everyone nodded in agreement and Tony and Steve went into Peter's room.

Steve held back a sob as he looked at his son. Peter was laying in his hospital bed, eyes half shut. He was bruised and bandaged up everywhere.

Peter's eyes widened a little as his dads came in. "Dad. Pops." He tried to sit up a bit but then then just gave up.

"Peter," Steve said, going up to one of the seats beside his bed.  "H-how you feeling, bud?"

"Like crap," Peter said, voice hoarse.  "Surprise surprise."

Tony nodded.  He had no clue what to say.  "Understandable."

Come on, Tony, he thought.  Say something!

Steve eventually said, "Peter, we really need to talk about this... this Spider-Man thing."

Peter let out a deep sigh. "Yeah, I know..." He looked down. He knew this was coming. As if his dads would let that slide.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Tony asked, the hurt plain in his voice.

Peter stared at his bandaged body and said, "I-I knew that if you knew, then you wouldn't let me do it anymore. I love being Spider-Man. I love protecting the city. I knew that you guys would make me stop if you knew... I'm sorry."

Tony wanted to retaliate by saying that they wouldn't have, but he knew that Peter was true. If they had known... Tony and Steve shared a look. "You... you're probably right, kiddo."

Peter nodded. He looked at his dads. "Exactly.  I couldn't risk it."

Steve sighed. "And you've fought this guy before? This... Carnage?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah. But... I can't remember how. Sorry, that must sound so dumb." He sighed.

Tony rested a hand very gently on his son's shoulder. "It's not, Pete. We understand. You've been through a lot." He hesitated before asking, "How... how long have you been... doing this for? How long have you been Spider-Man?"

Peter bit his lip. "A year?" He estimated, looking at his dads.

Tony's eyes widened. "A year? How- how did this happen?"

Peter fidgeted a bit, wincing. "I-I got bit by a... radioactive spider..."

Steve sat up straighter. "A radioactive spider? When? How?" His mind was racing. His son had been bitten by a radioactive spider over a year ago? And they hadn't known?

"At a field trip. We went to this... lab. I don't know. My memory is awful, especially after that fight..."

Tony stood up. He ran a hand through his hair. "All that time in the lab. All those times when you were out and we thought you were at Ned's house. All of those times -"

"Tony, please," Steve said, quietly.

"Dad..."

"No," he said, pacing. "I asked you if you knew Spider-Man. Gosh, I'm an idiot. How did I not know?" He seemed to be talking more to himself now. "And I wanted to recruit him?! All those times you came home with bruises..."

"Dad, please!" Peter said, tears beginning to fall. "I'm sorry." He looked down. "This is why I didn't want to tell you."

"So you were just planning on not telling us?" Tony said, anger and confusion blinding him. "What if we had recruited Spider-Man, huh? Were you just planning on never-"

"Tony!" Steve said, standing up. "Please calm down!"

"My son is in the hospital, Steve!"

"Our son! Don't you think I'm worried and stressed too?!"

They both argued and didn't stop until they heard the machines connected to Peter beep more frantically. They both looked to see Peter unconscious. Steve gasped and Tony cursed. Nurses rushed in, ushering Tony and Steve out.

"I knew it was a bad idea," the nurse from before muttered, rushing to help Peter.

The door was slammed shut once Tony and Steve came out. The Avengers watched, confused and worried. They started asking questions and Steve tried to answer. Tony just stayed silent and, after a while, left the group.

Steve noticed almost immediately and excused himself from the group so he could talk to his husband. He was on his way when Thor rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Give him time," he said, looking at Steve. "He needs it."

Steve hesitated before nodding. "Yeah. I think we all do." He watched his husband walk away, wanting so much just to follow him.

(A/N) thanks for reading! Sorry that took a while to post and wasn't the best quality, but I hope you enjoyed it.