st_arkravinghazelnut | Cats in the Cradle

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What brought Tony Stark up to the roof was the well-developed model of Peter Parker's little quirks he carried with him in his head--his Fatherly Sense, simply put. Whenever the teen wanted to put distance between himself and the rest of the world, it was at the highest ground he could reach.

Tony's sole propulsors 'wooshed' softly as he lowered to stand, his armor fleeing to leave him in a simple coat. All the snow from earlier in the month had long since gone, leaving the mild California nights. In the center of the roof laid Peter, catching filtered moonlight.

"Hey." Peter was awake. Tony only had to take one look at him to know.

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From:

st_arkravinghazelnut

"So whose responsibility is it." Though Tony had been shouting over Peter, his voice suddenly dropped.

From:

st_arkintern

Peter's voice drops so he's no longer yelling.

"It's my responsibility."

From:

st_arkravinghazelnut

"Good goal. I mean it. Unfortunately you'll have to deal with my stupid face for a few years before I'll cede the duty." Tony didn't reign in his emotion so much as channel it, this time.

From:

st_arkintern

"We're not going to have a few years," Peter snaps, and it's only after the words have left his mouth that he realizes how sharp they came out. He stops there for a moment, swallows, and attempts to readjust the tone of his voice. "We're not. And I don't want you thinking that I was your responsibility and that me dying is somehow on you."

From:

st_arkravinghazelnut

"We are going to have a few years. A lot more than that. Because I am not letting what we saw happen to you." Tony's gaze was fierce, ablaze with absolute conviction.

From:

st_arkintern

"You were the only one who managed to get a scratch on him. The only one. How can we possibly win against that? We can't..."
Peter looks down at his hands. "We can't win."

From:

st_arkravinghazelnut

Shaking his head, Peter was in Tony's arms in a second. He held Peter together, as if the boy could disintegrate at the next wind.

From:

st_arkintern

Peter hesitates when Tony throws his arms around him, as though he's not sure how to respond appropriately. He's accepted his fate, he's ready for it, and yet he's afraid. He told himself that because he knew, that moment wouldn't be as scary because he could prepare himself for it, but more than once in the last week, he's found himself struck with the same desperate fear he saw in the face of the other-him. The one who realized he was going to die like all the rest. The one who felt it before it happened. The one that fought desperately against it.

There's no fight in Peter now, just the acceptance that this is how things are going to be.

His arms start to circle Tony's body, but they don't quite fold over them. He realizes now that he's shaking and his arms finally respond and he clutches Tony with the same fierceness he holds him.

Peter buries his face in Tony's shoulder and wonders if Richard Parker would comfort him in the same way. He wonders this because thinking about his dead father is still better than thinking about his future.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles into Tony's chest.

From:

st_arkravinghazelnut

“I don’t know how yet. Be sad. Be angry. Be whatever you goddamn need to be just—“ Tony almost choked on his words as they came out in a strained murmur, holding onto Peter for dear life, “—just have hope. Just an ounce.”

From:

st_arkintern

Peter nods his head, though his face never leaves Tony's shoulder. He doesn't really know what he's nodding at because right now, everything really feels hopeless. They've felt hopeless ever since that other Peter showed him what his future was going to be like.

But he wants Tony to believe he can. And maybe someday, that lie will become truth and he will have that ounce of hope. But right now, he has none of it, but he still nods anyway.

From:

st_arkravinghazelnut

“I’m persevering because I believe. So does Thor. So did you.” Tony buried his cheek in the untamed mop of brown hair. If there was one thing for certain, it’s that Peter was staying with him in his room.