Like Father Like Son | Irondad + Spiderson

tell

tw: mentions of self harm! same as the previous chapter, i'll put asterisks before the triggering parts. stay safe, love y'all <3

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Over the next few weeks, Peter's mental and physical health began to plummet even more. It got to an incredibly worrying point, that Tony had to do something.

School ended, and Peter got into Tony's car, looking down. Tony looked over to him, he was used to this. But, Peter looked worse than he ever had. 

The teen looked out the window, trying to keep tears from streaming down his bruised and cut up face.

"You oka-"

"Yup, just tired."

Tony swallowed a lump in his throat, sighing and beginning to drive.

They arrived home after a silent car drive a few minutes later. Peter began to go up the steps to go to his room, but Tony stopped him.

"Peter, can we talk?"

The teen sighed, looking up at Tony. "About what?"

"Just, uh, sit down." 

They both sat on the couch in silence for a few seconds. Peter's breathing began to increase in speed, worried as to what they were going to talk about.

"Peter, are- are you okay? Answer me seriously."

"Um- y-yeah, of course, dad."

"Peter, I said seriously."

The teen looked down at his shoes, biting his lip. He didn't answer.

"What's going on, Pete? You're really worrying me- I hate seeing you hurt like this."

No response.

"Is it that same kid who was hurting you before?"

Silence.

"Is it- is it me?"

The only noise which came out of Peter was a sniffle. He put his head down and quickly wiped his tears with his sleeve. 

"Oh my God." Tony whispered, wrapping his arm around his child. "Talk to me, kid, please."

"It- it's nothing y-you should worry about," Peter leaned into Tony, his eyebrows nervously creased. "It's just that... school's been, uh, hard."

The taller man nodded as Peter shifted his position, sitting up.

"And, uh, Peter?" Tony cleared his throat, taking his arm away. Peter looked up at him, wiping his eyes.

**

Tony shoved his hand in his pocket carefully. Hesitantly, he pulled out a  flat object. It was silver and shone in the light, and had sharp edges. "I, uh, I found this in your room."

Peter's eyes widened, and he, all of a sudden, felt everything get blurry. His throat closed the slightest bit as his eyes stung. He bit his lip roughly, causing a small amount of blood to be exposed. "Uh-" He stuttered, his body starting to tremble. "I-I don't, uh, I don't know wh-what that is.." The teen tried to steady his breathing, but was too panicked and terrified to be able to. Petrified, he looked away from Tony, trying to hold back tears.

"Peter?" Tony's voice got even softer as he thinned his lips, tightening his grip on Peter though still gentle. "Hey, damn, hey just calm down! Calm down Peter, please."

Peter heard, but didn't listen. He couldn't. Everything in his gaze was fuzzy, and he soon shut his eyes. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry-" These words repeated as whispers as he tried to breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe.

"Breathe, Peter," Tony instructed, trying to remain calm. "Look at me, kid."

Peter did so.

"Listen, follow my breathing, okay?"

In and out.

In and out.

Peter's breathing, although still shaky, had returned to a normal pace. He was still freaked out, he was sure he hid the blade somewhere safe. He must've forgotten to hide it last time.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid!' He thought to himself, shutting his eyes. He quickly wrapped his arms around Tony tightly. 'That's all I am.'

"I'm sorry,"

"Kid, whatever it is, it's not your fault-"

"Yes it is, Mr. Stark. You shouldn't have adopted me. I've only proved to slow you down, your life would be better without me. You'd be happy and less stressed. I'm not worthy of calling you my dad. You're incredible- you're Tony Stark, you're Ironman. I'm just a kid. A stupid, annoying kid. I've done nothing but stress you out."

The teen got up from the couch, clenching his sleeves and quivering. He took a deep breath.

"Peter, do you re-"

"Don't even talk to me."

The teen soon sprinted upstairs, and Tony heard a door slam.

"He never calls me Mr. Stark anymore." Tony whispered to himself, tears appearing in his eyes as he covered his face with his hands.

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i just saw antman and the wasp last night and aHHH IT WAS SO GOOD 

<3 stay safe ducklings