The fight was supposed to be easy. In and out. It was the only reason Tony brought Peter along. He wanted him to have more fighting experience.

But the fight wasn't easy. Almost 10 blocks had been destroyed and the enemy (a giant space alien thing with crocodile-like sidekicks) would not die. Tony was getting desperate and he was worried about Peter. It was Spider-Man's first big alien takedown and he was way too optimistic.

The entire team was working trying to defeat the monster. Peter kept telling jokes and one-liners in an attempt to boost morale. So when his non-stop chattering stopped over the intercom, everyone's heart stopped. Tony quickly flew in the suit to Peter's last known location without so much as a goodbye to the other heroes. When he got to Peter, he fell to his knees.

Peter's suit was mostly ripped and there was blood everywhere. His leg was bent at an unnatural angle and he was screaming in pain. Tears streamed down his face as he begged someone to kill him.

Tony felt tears rising as he asked Jarvis what to do. In less than two minutes, the two were on their way to Stark Tower's med bay.

———————-

Tony had not stopped pacing the halls outside of the med bay for two hours. The only information he had been given was that Peter was in surgery. Tony was going slightly crazy worrying about the teenager. About 5 minutes later, May came rushing through, screaming about Peter.

"I came as soon as I could! Where is he? Is he ok? What happened? Is he alive? Where is my kid? Is he going to live? Is he gonna be ok? Tony I need answers!"

Tony placed his hands on the hysterical woman's shoulders and lightly shook her in an effort to stop her rambling.

"Peter's in surgery. I don't know his condition. As of right now he's alive and my best doctors are working on him. Ok? He got hit pretty bad in a fight. I'm so sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't have dragged him along. I wasn't expecting the fight to be that bad and it was supposed to kinda be like training or extra experience and yeah I'm sorry. It's my fault so I understand if you hate me and want Peter to stay away from me now" Tony hung his head in shame and guilt and worry.

"Were you the one who hit him?"

His head snapped up in horror "I would never hurt Peter!"

"See. You didn't hit him. You didn't put him here. I'm upset that Peter is in the hospital and it's kind of your fault but you didn't hit him. So I'm not angry at you. Just those monsters that hurt my baby" May broke down into sobs.

Tony cautiously drew her in for a hug, which she graciously accepted. "It'll be ok" he repeated, patting her back.

"It'll be ok"

————————

It was another 4 hours before a doctor walked out. Tony and May instantly jumped to their feet to hear the hopefully good news.

"Peter is out of surgery." A sigh of relief echoed throughout the brightly light hallway. "He flatlined twice but we brought him back. We are expecting a full recovery. You can see him in a few minutes. I would like to discuss something with you before you do"

Uh-oh. This couldn't be good.

"Peter had a lot of damage to his heart so Drs Banner and Strange suggested an arc reactor. Normally we would consult with the guardians and get consent but he would've died without it. Don't be alarmed, we had the newest model adapted specifically for him. I'll take you to his room now"

Tony and May were surprised the doctor didn't explain further or answer any questions but all they wanted to see was Peter so they dropped it. Walking into the hospital room brought back the tears as they took in their kid. Peter looked so pale and lifeless. The only color in the room came from the blue glow emitting from his chest. May broke out sobbing and had to leave the room.

So Tony sat down alone beside his protégée and took his hand in his.

"Heya, Pete. How ya doin'? I'm sorry about dragging you into the mess. It's my fault and I understand if you want to blame me for what happened to you. I'm glad you're okay." He forced a smile "I uh I hope you don't mind the arc reactor. Now we can be twinsies" he released Peter's hand to do unenthusiastic jazz hands. "Please don't leave me Pete. You're my only family. Kay? I'm gonna go check on May. She's probably crying in a closet"

Tony gave a slight chuckle. "I'll be back kid. Don't die on me." He ruffled Peter's brown curls before leaving the room. Trying not to break down sobbing.

________

Peter didn't wake up for a week. And when he woke up it wasn't peaceful. He awoke with a jolt and a scream of pain, waking Tony who had been trying to sleep on the chair beside his bed.

Doctors rushed in and tried to restrain the thrashing boy. A nurse quickly ushered Tony out in order to take care of the now sedated and restrained boy.

"Please I need to see him he's confused he needs a familiar face please I'm begging you" Tony tried to reason with the nurse

With a blank expression, he asked "Are you his father?"

Tony didn't even hesitate to reply 'yes' to the question. He already saw the kid as his kid so what was a little white lie? In his defense, he just wanted to see Peter.

The nurse opened the door to Peter's hospital room and motioned towards the shaking boy. "Visiting hours end at 5 but I'll make an exception for you. My name is Samuel if you need anything."

Normally Tony would at least try to be polite but all he wanted was to see his kid. So ignoring the nurse he ran over to Peter's bedside and soothingly rubbed his arm.

"Heya, kid. How ya doin'?" He gave a weak smile. "You gave us all a scare"

Peter returned the small smile. "Sorry. Ho- how long have I um how long have I been out?"

"A whole week."

"Then why am I still so tired?" He asked with a small laugh. His pathetic attempt earned a small chuckle from Tony.

"What's wrong?" Despite the fact Peter was the one coming out of a coma, he was still concerned with his mentor who looked preeeeetty nervous if you ask me.

So Tony decided to just blurt out the bad news. "Pete, your heart isn't strong enough on its own so....they gave you an arc reactor"

Insert cricket noises.

"Pete? Ya gotta say something."

Peter just looked down at his chest, only now noticing the blue glow.

"I-I'm sorry Peter. I- I know you probably didn't want this but it was life or death and i-i- i don't know but i-"

"It's okay. Really. I don't blame you." Tony looked up shocked. "Besides now I get to match my hero." Peter gave a small sheepish smile.

Tony smiled back. "Well I'm glad Iron Man is your hero. Wait til I tell Cap." He chuckled.

Peter didn't though. "Iron Man isn't my hero"

Tony's face fell. "Oh. Yeah. Cap is pretty cool"

"You are my hero. I mean you're my dad" the young hero looked up at Tony, embarrassed at calling Iron Man his dad. But Tony on the other hand was beaming.

"You should call me that more often. It suits me" he cracked a joke.

Peter just rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, dad"

—————-