The World Is Wide (But I Feel So Small)

Tony

NEW 2020 EDIT: THIS IS NOT STARKER.

The rest of the week passes by without much incident.

They mostly stay in the Tower, the genius fixing both him and Peter dinners and watching every Disney movie that Friday could find. Tony knows that he should be pushing Peter to go out into the real world, or at the very least back to school, but his boy's fearful brown eyes make this a lot harder then it should be.

Peter is still scared. The Billionaire thinks as he stirs the melted butter into the mashed potatoes, frowning harshly and gripping the spoon tighter. It doesn't matter that the fucker is going to be dead in a few hours, Jason still holds power over him.

Over both of them.

It's funny, actually. Tony knows that the man is not escaping his fate, that he is not going to suddenly reappear on the street one day and rip Peter from his arms, take his baby away and hurt him again.

But that doesn't stop the elder Stark from scanning the crowd when driving down the street, making sure to check the security footage around their home before he goes to bed, and holding his child closer when anyone with even a hint of red in their hair or a speck of hazel in their eyes comes within 10 feet of them.

He knows that it is irrational, sometimes even stereotypical of him to react this way, but that doesn't stop the hum of anxiety and blood chilling instincts that force him to take these actions. His thoughts are haunted with evil laughs and his son's screams, the imaginative versions quickly becoming reality when he has to wake up every few hours to shake Peter from another goddamn nightmare, pushing the young boy's head against his chest and blinking back his own tears.

A sudden beep to his left has the genius startling, and he glances down at the now almost soupy bowl of mashed potatoes that he has been beating for the past ten minutes. Shaking his head, Tony grabs the red and white oven mitts from the hook above the stove, the red numbers flashing at him as it continues it's obnoxious alarm.

After double checking that the meatloaf is cooked all the way through, the elder Stark carries it over to the gleaming dinning table, the candles flickering as he brushes past. The sound of the T.V, now not blocked by the wall, carries over to him and he hides a snicker behind the mitt as the sound of Peter singing to The Lion King carries over, the loud grumble of Happy audible in between the lines.

Setting the steaming dish into the center of the table, Tony stops for a second to admire his handiwork, all of the food piled up and the China sparkling. Giving a small smile, the Billionaire walks quickly into the next room, picking up a stray napkin as he goes.

What he sees next makes him laugh out loud and have a heart attack all at once.

Peter is standing on the back of the couch, his arms raised over his head and his mouth open wide as he screams/sings the lyrics in perfect unison with the movie, ignoring Happy as the man shoved his own fingers into his ears, his face pulled in a scowl. But his eyes are sparkling in mirth, and Tony knows that he is not actually annoyed.

"Peter! Get down from there now before you fall and hurt yourself!" Huffing out a harsh sigh, Tony quickly walks the few feet to stand behind the teen, trying to slow his racing heart and stop of the images of his son falling from flowing through his mind.

Reaching forward, the genius gently grips his son by the waist, picking him up easily and setting him back into the couch, the sound of Peter's singing cut off short as he yelps. Squirming slightly, the teenage tilts his head back as far as it will go, the motion making his face turn red as the blood flows toward his brain.