Air I Breathe

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Tuesday, March 3

Peter isn't expecting the entire Avengers team to be gathered around the kitchen island and overflowing into the dining room when he gets home from school after decathlon practice, but there they are, discussing the briefing they've just received for a mission.

"What's going on?" Peter asks, moving out of the way when a hurried Clint squeezes between him and Tony. "When did everyone–"

"Ever hear of the Manhattan Project?" Tony sips from a cup of black coffee while his eyes scan the StarkPad in his hand.

"Is that supposed to be a trick question?" Peter asks, throwing his backpack down.

"There's an 8-alarm warehouse fire in Chelsea," Tony explains, watching the confusion grow on Peter's face. He puts his coffee down and a hand up to stop Peter from unleashing his usual series of rapid-fire questions. "It's right where the Manhattan project stored their uranium. Apparently, there's more residual uranium than was removed in the 1990s in a sealed bunker beneath the building, but with it on fire, there's the threat of an explosion. The firemen can't get anywhere near it right now. That's where we come in."

Peter's face lights up. "Awesome! What's the plan? When do we suit up?"

"No," Tony says, shaking his head. "You know that I can't let you go, Peter."

"B-but I'm swinging again, the meds are working! Even Bruce said–"

"That you still need to avoid triggers and smoke is 100% a trigger."

"My suit can withstand the smoke and radiation, though! I went to space!"

"There's the threat of an explosion, one that could be big enough to blow a hole in lower Midtown. So go ahead and hate me for this, but you're not coming this time. End of story."

"Tony, please!" he begs, desperation in his eyes. "I need this! You know how hard it's been–"

"No! There will be other times, Peter. Other missions. And Bruce is staying home, too. He can't be near the radiation or he'll...you know." He notices how Tony uses the word home rather than behind, goes back to his StarkPad and walks away without another word.

Peter tries to come up with something, anything, that will make Tony change his mind, but by the time he enters the kitchen, he realizes that everyone is scrambling to leave.

Without him.

"I linked your comms," Bruce says, handing Peter his StarkPad. "Think you can help me keep track of everyone on the map?"

Peter nods, feeling numb, tries to breathe away the disappointment not in Tony for not letting him go, but in himself for not being able to.

x

"Tony, you just dropped 500 feet," Natasha asks. "That recovery was shit. Everything okay?"

"Language," Steve interjects.

"Reactor's glitching," Tony mutters, attempting to catch his breath.

Bruce cuts in. "You should get back to the Tower while you still have power, Tony. We can run diagnostics."

"No, I'm good. I'm good," he lies between gritted teeth. The reactor surges and pain shoots through his chest, which makes him lose his breath. "I'm not good," he whispers.

"You've never seen me when my heart goes into an arrhythmia," plays in Peter's mind as he listens form the living room couch on his StarkPad. He sits up, back straight and heart pounding.