Closer Than You Think

8

3rd POV

Seven Years  Later

It had been ten years since Peter had been taken, nothing was the same after that, especially after that night at the Stark expo.

Justin Hammer never gave out any information, he denied ever saying anything about kidnapping Peter.

Pepper started blaming Tony for Peter's abduction. She said that if he hadn't been such an egoistic jerk her son wouldn't have to be paying the price.

They rarely ever spoke to each other, unless it was to argue. A few years later the avengers broke up, Bruce was nowhere to be found and Thor was off-world with no form of contact.

Steve betrayed Tony by hiding the truth about his parents' death and even Natasha had to go into hiding because she helped them escape.

Rhodey was always busy with military business and Vision was all over the world, Tony didn't even bother keeping track of him anymore.

Pepper hated him for that too, she said that Tony couldn't keep things the way they used to be for when Peter comes back so he could have his normal life again.

She said that he caused them to leave, and the only reason that she didn't divorce him was so that Peter would have what's left of his family when he gets back.

She wanted things to stay the same, so when Peter came back home he would feel like he never left but Tony had to go and ruin that too as if causing her son to get kidnapped wasn't enough.

Tony tried not to let her words affect him, he knew that it was the alcohol talking and not Pepper. He had to support her through the bad times like she always did for him but she would only yell at him every time he tried to help her.

Tony had to take over at Stark Industries again because Pepper stopped caring about anything.

When Tony wasn't trying to find Peter or doing work he was in the lab tinkering, to get his mind off all his failures.

He failed his son, his team, his wife, everyone.

He loved to play a game that he invented. 'How long can I go without sleep before I pass out'.

His record was one week and a half, he preferred passing out than going to bed. Every time he went to sleep he would dream of moments he spent would Peter but it would end with someone taking him away.

Tony didn't want his bad dreams to spoil the memories he had of his son. Other times he would dream of the torture he went through in Afghanistan and sometimes it was Peter there instead of him.

He didn't want to think about what Peter had experienced, it broke his heart even more.

So he stayed awake as much as possible, drowning his worries in coffee and work because there was no one to stop him.

No one cared about him, no one was there to offer him support, no one to stop him from his unhealthy habits.

He wondered what Peter even looked like, he would have been a teenager then, no longer the little baby that he knew.

He wondered what condition Peter grew up in, did they keep him locked in a room? Or was he living a different life somewhere else?

Tony wished that wherever Peter was, he was safe.

"Boss, it's been more than ninety hours since you last sleep, I strongly suggest that-" Friday said and got cut off by Tony.

"Mute, " Tony said not wanting to listen to another one of Friday's lectures as to why he should sleep.