Coming Back

Summary: Peter comes to see Tony at the tower
Warning(s): AU; spoilers up to and including Spider-Man: Homecoming
Pairing: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark

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“At least he made the right choice in the end.” Tony muttered the words more to himself than to anyone in particular, especially considering that he was on his own in the tower. Well, on his own apart from the two AIs, that was.

“I’m proud of him. I’m proud of you, Peter.” Tony stood looking out over the rest of the city. The kid couldn’t hear the words he was saying, but Tony spoke them anyway. Told himself that the next time he saw the youngster, he’d made sure Peter knew Tony was proud of him. Tony’s own father hadn’t said the words nearly enough to him and while he might not actually be the kid’s biological father, that didn’t mean he didn’t feel like a father to Peter.

The elevator doors pinged open behind him and Tony half-turned, placing his cup of ice water on the side. He didn’t bother to turn round and look at whoever was exiting the elevator. Instead, he said, “Sorry, all of the meetings are cancelled today. My assistant should have contacted you to make other arrangements.”

“Mr. Stark?”

Surprised, Tony turned round, catching sight of Peter standing awkwardly just inside the room. The elevator doors were closed behind him and the kid was avoiding eye contact with Tony. He was scuffing his feet along the ground. Hands in his pockets. Looking every inch like a guilty schoolboy.

Tony sighed and took several steps forward, stopping in front of the teenager. He reached out and placed his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Are you in some kind of trouble? Is your Aunt in some kind of trouble? One of your friends?” he asked.

“No, Mr. Stark,” Peter replied. “I just….” He hesitated, eyes darting from one side to the other, before blurting out, “I need some advice.”

Tony frowned. “Advice? There’s a lot that can come under that heading, kid. If you give me a bit of an idea of what you need advice about, I’ll be able to tell you if I can help or if we might need to ask one of the other Avengers.” He paused, remembering just who wasn’t around anymore, but quickly pushed those thoughts aside. Poking at an injury like that was far too painful, even if he could put on a brave face for everyone around him. “Let’s go and sit down.” He walked over to the couch and patted the seat next to him.

Peter walked over and sat down next to Tony, leaning into the arm that Tony wrapped around his shoulders and looking up at him. “It’s relationship advice.”

“Is this about your friend you told me about?” Tony asked. “MJ?” He grimaced. “I’m not sure I’m the best person to ask about relationship advice. My own relationships haven’t exactly gone the best way they could.” And there it was again. Poking and prodding at that old wound. He shook his head and tried not to think about the short period of time he’d been in a healthy relationship. It hadn’t exactly ended well…and wasn’t that an understatement?

Peter shook his head. “No. It’s not about my relationship.” He hesitated before blurting, “I have an idea for how to tell MJ how I feel, but I need to wait for our field trip.”

Tony nodded and let his eyes wander to the ice water he’d set down. “Can I get you anything to eat? To drink? Your aunt feeding you enough?” A faint note of concern crept into his voice. Peter’s metabolism was high. Tony had seen how much the teenager needed to eat in order to keep his energy up and to….

“Aunt May knows.”

Tony frowned and refocused his attention on Peter, who’d hunched in on himself and gave every appearance of a guilty toddler who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “You need me to reassure her you’re as safe as you can be? I can introduce her to the AI in your suit, if you think it’ll set her mind at rest.”

“No.” Peter flinched, darted a look at Tony’s face, and said quietly, “I’m sorry, Mr. Stark. I…didn’t come here alone.” His guilty gaze slid towards the elevator.

Tony followed the direction of his gaze, just as the doors slid open.

And Steve stepped out.

Tony froze. No other word for it. Only for a second, though, before he was clambering to his feet and…. “JARVIS.”

Except no. The first AI he’d ever created, his computer child, was gone. Save for what remained behind in Vision.

“Tony.” Steve didn’t take any more steps into the room other than the one he’d taken to leave the elevator. He stood just inside, his hands at his sides, dressed in civilian clothes. Looking innocuous and harmless. “I just came to talk.”

“I don’t have anything to say to you.” Tony looked at Peter and shook his head. “Now I know why you looked so guilty.” He tried to sound flippant. Like he didn’t care at all. Like seeing Steve just standing there, as if nothing had happened between them, didn’t feel like a punch to the gut. “You need to leave, Cap. Now. Before I do something I shouldn’t.”

“Will that make you feel better?” Steve didn’t look away. He spread his arms out to either side and said, quietly, “Do what you have to.”

“Mr. Stark, no.” Peter quickly scrambled to his feet. Placed himself between Tony and Steve, looking imploringly at Tony. “You can’t.”

Tony snorted softly, though there was little humour to be found in the situation. “I’ve got a lot more self-control than you seem to think, kid.” He crossed his arms over his chest, glared hard at Steve without making eye contact and said, “I’m not in the mood to give an apology.”

“That’s okay,” Steve said quietly. “It’s me who owes you one.” His eyes shifted towards Tony’s chest, to where the arc reactor that had kept him alive for so long had rested. “I’m sorry, Tony.”

Looking away, Tony set his jaw. He didn’t want an apology. He wasn’t really sure what he did want, except…. “You chose him over me.”

“It was never choosing one of you over the other.” Steve stepped round Peter, who edged out of the way while keeping a wary eye on both of them. Steve stood in front of Tony and he reached out, placing his hand on Tony’s chest, his palm over Tony’s heart.

Swallowing hard, Tony fought the urge to lean into the touch. He fought the dual urge to shove Steve violently away, into the wall. It might make him feel better, but that would only last a moment. And he didn’t want to have to rebuild the tower again. “Do you really think you can just walk back into my life and everything will be back the same way as it was?” he whispered hoarsely.

“No.” Steve’s hands slid down Tony’s chest. He took a step forward and gripped two handfuls of the shirt. Braced his feet on the floor, like he was ready for Tony to push him away and planned to stand firm. “I know things can’t be the same as they were, but I believe we can get past this. I want us to get past this.” He stared into Tony’s eyes and whispered, voice trembling with emotion, “I love you.”

Tony lifted his hands. Thought about pushing Steve away. About breaking his grip. If he pushed, he doubted Steve would push back. He could call one of his suits. Mask himself, so that his outside wasn’t raw with pain and emotion.

His hands gripped Steve’s upper arms tight and pulled the other man in close.

Their lips met in a hard, desperate clash of teeth and tongue. Tony could taste salt and he didn’t know if the tears came from him or from Steve. Maybe both. Maybe it just didn’t matter.

They held onto each other, all but clinging on, like they were holding onto ports in a storm.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter’s voice broke the spell that had surrounded them.

Tony took a deep breath and turned towards the teenager. He let go of Steve, but didn’t step away from the other man. “Yeah, kid?”

“Are you going to have makeup sex?” Peter’s eyes darted between the two of them as his voice cracked. Clearing his throat, he added, “Cause I really don’t want to be here for that.”

In spite of himself, Tony chuckled. He allowed his arms to wrap tightly around Steve before saying, “Makeup sex is good, but I think we can wait on that. Take some time to reconnect.” He looked into Steve’s eyes. “What do you think, Cap?”

“I’d like that, Tony.” A sincere note crept into Steve’s voice as he added, “I’d like that a lot.”

The End