The Devil With The Face of an Angel | Irondad, pepperony

Chapter 90

Peter hid in Pepper's arms, and she stroked his hair gently. The two were shaken by what had happened in the last few hours, and they needed a moment just for themselves to gather all their strength and recover. Peter clung to her as if he was afraid that if he released his grip, she would disappear in front of his eyes. He enjoyed every single touch. He was safe with her. Like every child, he believed that there was no danger in his mother's arms. And it didn't matter if you were five, seventeen, or thirty.

He was very tired, his eyelids closing, but he tried to keep his eyes open. And he couldn't tear them away from Mary's motionless body. He felt strangely empty, dazed, maybe it took some time for the unmistakable truth to reach him fully, even though he had it right in front of his eyes all this time. Mary was dead. His biological mother lost her life. When he allowed himself to close his sleepy eyes for a moment, tears flickered in the corners of his eyes.

"Darling, we should go," Pepper whispered softly, and he nodded wordlessly. She pulled away from him at arm's length and scanned him. Peter noticed that she, too, had red eyes, but she smiled at him and stroked his cheek. "You were very brave, honey. I'm proud of you. You did better than I could ever hope for. I'm really sorry about your mother."

"She was never my mom," Peter muttered in a hollow voice and swallowed. "It's you. You always have been and always will be."

"And you will be always my son. And that will never change," she assured him in a shaky voice and kissed his forehead. "Come on, we should go before someone finds us here.

"Perhaps it won't be too difficult to find an exit," Peter remarked, grabbing his mother's hand tightly. She squeezed it and walked decisively toward the door. Peter looked back hurriedly. He took one last look at the woman who had carried him under her heart for nine months and who had made their lives hell for so long. Did he feel sorry? Sadness? Relief? He didn't know. He never had a very positive relationship with this woman, but that didn't mean he was happy for her death. Even though she was no longer alive, he knew very well that he would never forget her. She was a part of his life, his past, and there was nothing he could do about it. It wasn't something you could delete.

But when he crossed the doorway, he didn't look back. He drew a thick line behind his life so far and set out for a future that he hoped would be full of happiness and sunshine. He squeezed his mother's hand tighter. Alongside Pepper and Tony, he can handle everything.

•••

It took them a while to find the way out and get out. They had no idea where it was, so they relied only on their instincts and hoped luck would wish them. It was really standing by them that day, so it could stay by their side for a while longer.

The two were surprised at how few workers there were. But maybe it was just some side secret lab and they had a base elsewhere. Or they were all stuck in individual rooms working on research. Peter knew it was only a matter of time before one of them went looking for Mary, found her dead, and set the alarm on. They had to get out before that happened. Although, thinking about it like that, he was quite surprised that such a situation had not happened yet.

"Mom, don't you know where Beck is?" Peter whispered as they crept down the halls and quickly hid with each louder sound or the creaking of the door.

"I don't know, I didn't even notice he disappeared. When we get out, we'll work it out," Pepper promised him, having an uncomfortable feeling that they were walking in circles. There was an incredible number of corridors, all the doors were the same, and they had nothing to orient themselves. The two could not wait to finally be out, had it behind them, and they would return home together, trying to forget about such an experience as soon as possible.

Fortunately, it didn't take long and they soon reached the exit. Peter would have liked to yell with joy, but he didn't want to risk it. Some of the scientists who worked here have come across them more than once.

"We're out, we're out," Peter breathed as they stepped out and a light breeze stroked their cheeks. Pepper turned on him brightly, relief in her eyes, and then crushed Peter in the arms again. But he looked around in amazement. "Where's Dad?"

"Pepper! Peter!" Tony's red-and-gold suit reflected the rays of the sun, both of which dazzled for a moment. As soon as Tony touched the ground with his feet, an iron mask disappeared from his face and revealed his glowing face. Pepper ran to meet him, and in a moment he held her tightly in his arms and kissed her urgently as if their lives depended on it. "Oh my God. Are you okay?"

"Oh, Tony, Tony. Yes, I am, but only thanks to Peter, if you saw him, he was just amazing-" Pepper blurted out in practically one breath and Tony had to kiss her again.

"Dad!" They were forced to pull away for a moment because they were joined by their disheveled happiness. Peter jumped around his father's neck and he hugged him in an - literally - iron embrace. "I'm so glad to see you!"

"I love you too. You don't even know how scared I was of you! You must never do this to me again!" he told them sternly, examining them both from head to toe, checking for injuries.

"At least now you see how I feel all the time!" Pepper set a seemingly reproachful tone, but she couldn't stop smiling.

"I promise I'll never do anything like that again, love," Tony assured her, and the three of them laughed. He hugged Pepper around the waist and took Peter by the other hand. "It's okay. I'm so sorry if I could prevent it in time-"

"Dad, you underestimate us. Someone just won't get me and mom. They don't know what we're capable of," Peter said, trying to sound playful. Tony smiled and kissed Pepper on the forehead. She looked at Peter with infinite love and gratitude in her eyes. "Let's go home."

•••

And only the epilogue left.