Peter was sitting on his bed reading when there was a knock on the door frame, causing him to startle and look up. Stephen Strange stood there, looking nervous. The look seemed strangely out of place on the man’s face.
“I don’t mean to disturb you but I was wondering if we could get to know one another, as you are dating my best friend.” He sounded unsure and Peter found it endearing.
Peter closed his book and smiles. “Yeah, come on in.” He folds his good leg under his injured one and watches Stephen cross the room. “What’s on your mind?” He asks.
“Well,” Stephen takes a seat and folded his arms. “People are idiots.” He says bluntly, making Peter laugh.
“Care to expand on that?”
“There was this guy in the ER today who did body shots off of a complete stranger and got piece of glass stuck up his nose and didn’t realize until three days later and it had moved up to his eye socket.”
Peter winces. “Oh my god. Gross.”
“Gross indeed.” Stephen laughs and shakes his head. “How do you not realize you have glass up your nose?”
“Well some people are dumb.” Peter remarks, shifting and wincing a little. “Sonofabitch.” He hisses.
“Try bending your knee a few times every hour. You’re not moving it enough and it’s getting stiff. If you let it get to stiff, the work you’re doing with Natasha is only going to hurt more.” The older man suggests, standing up. “May I?”
Peter stared at him blankly for a moment, before he realized what was happening. “Uh, yeah. Okay? Sure.”
Stephen slowly wraps his hands around Peter’s leg, on either side of his knee.
“This is going to hurt.” He warns before slowly bending the leg. Peter gasped loudly and reaches to stop him but Stephen shoos his hand away. “Let me help you.”
Peter lays back and closes his eyes, tightening his jaw.
“Talk to me Peter. It may distract you.”
“About what?” Peter’s voice raises an octave when the rods touched a little.
“Sorry sorry.” Stephen releases his leg and lays it flat. “Tony?”
“What about Tony?”
“Anything. I have many stories and can answer questions if you want?”
“Okay but I do have a question for you.”
“Fire away.”
“How come you or Steve haven’t threatened me yet? You are his best friends right? I don’t get a whole ‘you hurt him and I’ll kill you and make it look natural’?”
Stephen laughs at that. “I take it Pepper hasn’t come to visit you yet.” Then his face sobers. “But do keep in mind that I am a brain surgeon, Nat is helping you learn to walk again and Pepper and Steve are trauma surgeons. You do not want to piss off a bunch of doctors.”
Peter gaped at him for a moment then breaks into a grin. “That’s what I was waiting for.”
“Also remember that both Steve and Bucky are ex military so they don’t take kindly to someone hurting one of their own.” Stephen takes his seat again. “But I’m honestly not worried because you make Tony really happy and you’re good for him.”
Peter is quiet for a few minutes after that. “I’m glad because I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. He’s amazing.”
“Yes, he really is.”
“So you said you have stories? Care to tell me some?”
“One time, during our internship, Tony swallowed a needle to prove he was a badass.”
“Why in hell?” Though, thinking about it, that does sound like something that Tony would do.
“He likes to show off a bit. He doesn’t need to though. Anyone who has met him can tell that he’s the best at what he does.”
“He really is amazing, I’m surprised that he is dating me when he can do better.”
“It’s because he’s drawn to you. He loves you so much. I’ve known him for years now. When you’re around, his smile is brighter and his eyes sparkle. You have a magical effect on him.”
Peter listens quietly and something dawns on him. He’d talk to Tony about it later.
“I haven’t felt this way about anyone in…..ever. I mean, yeah I’ve had crushes and relationships before but this….it feels real. It feels perminate.”
”Maybe it’s fate.”
“Maybe so. I hope so.”
-----.-----
Tony finished his rounds and makes his way to the cafeteria to get a coffee. He had been on his feet for over twenty four hours and honestly he just wanted a break. He gets a straight black coffee, which is nasty but does keep him awake. He sips at the bitter liquid and slowly strolled the now empty halls. He comes to a stop outside Peter’s room and smiles. The younger man was sitting up, slowly bending his leg at the knee.
He waits until Peter stops messing with his leg and then knocks on the doorframe. Peter looks at him and grins.
“Tony. I missed you.”
Tony moves forward, dropping the empty cup in the trash before approaching the bed and pressing a kiss to Peter’s forehead. Peter tilts his head up.
“Give me a real kiss.” He demands. Tony found it so adorable that he couldn’t say no and leaned down, pressing a tender kiss to Peter’s lips. Peter makes a soft noise, pulling Tony closer, so the doctor was braced with one knee up on the bed and his hands on Peter’s face. The kiss deepens, a mix of harsh breath, teeth and tongue.
The sudden loud beeping of Peter’s heart monitor scared the hell out of Tony and he jerked back. Peter looks sheepish and the two locked eyes before bursting out with laughter.
“So” Tony says, once he got himself under control. “Is that going to be a norm for us?”
“Hopefully not while I’m hooked up to machines. That’s very unsexy.”
“I think you always look sexy.”
Peter blushes and grins doopily.
“I think you look sexy always too. Even now with messy hair and a five o’clock shadow.” He says fondly, reaching up to rubs his thumb across Tony’s cheekbone. Tony nuzzles the hand and kisses the thumb.
“Anything interesting happen today?”
“I talked to Stephen today. A guy got glass up his nose from body shots.” Peter shudders.
“That’s nasty.”
“Well I think it was a college student. If not, then that’s just sad.”
Tony laughs. “You were a collage student once.”
“I wasn’t dumb enough to do body shots off a stranger.”
“Did you do anything dumb in college?”
Peter blushes and looks away, mumbling a little.
“I didn’t catch that. Care to repeat it louder?”
“Iwasastripperforayearandahalftopayforschool.”
Tony blinks as he deciphers what was just word vomited at him.
“Wait really?”
Peter nods, looking as if he wanted to disappear.
“I think that’s hot as hell. I wish I could have seen it.”
“”Well I was quite popular.”
“Did you have a stripper name?” Tony raises an eyebrow and leans forward on his hands.
“I was….SpiderMan. Because of the way I could climb the entire pole easily and hang upside down. And I could dance with ropes.”
Tony is quiet as he ponders this. “I wonder if anyone has videos….”
“Please don’t go looking. It was cringy!”
“All the more reason to look for it.” Tony teases.
“Tony!” Peter whines.
“Alright, alright fine. I won’t go looking.” He was interrupted mid sentence with a yawn.
“Come lay with me.” Peter says suddenly.
“You sure?”
“You look dead on your feet and I wanna snuggle.”
Tony looked as if he wanted to argue but thought better and climbs up onto the bed. Once he was settled, Peter was snuggled into his side and closes his eyes with a content smile. As happy as he looked, something nagged in the back of his mind.
Stephen Strange is in love with Tony. How was Peter supposed to compete with that?
Tony was almosts asleep when his phone started blaring ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran. That was the ringtone he set for Peter. Was he hallucinating? Why would Peter be calling him? Scrambling for his phone, he answers it.
“H-hello?” Amazingly, his voice sounded steadier than he felt.
“Tony?”
“Peter. You’re real.” His voice was as soft as Peter’s was.
“ Of course I’m real.” The tiniest bit of a smile shone through the younger man’s voice. “I know I was an ass to you and I don’t blame you if you hate me but do you think...You could come up here?”
“Peter...I don’t hate you.”
There is silence for a moment.
“Can you come up here?” Peter’s voice wavers a little. “Please? I need to see you.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Thank you.”
Tony pulls on his shoes and looks around for his keys.
Tony?”
“Yes love?” Tony asked, sliding out his door and locking it.
“Can…..can you stay on the line until you get here? You’re voice is comforting. It’s the one thing that I have from before.”
Tony doesn’t have an answer for that. He just wanted to hold Peter and never let him go.
“Yeah, I’ll stay on the line. So talk to me. How are you feeling? Are they treating you okay?”
“I’m starting to get feeling in my leg again, which hurts like hell by the way but painkillers are a blessing. I’ve noticed there are a lot of redheads here. Oh and Dr. Romanova says I can start PT in a few days so I suppose that’s good.”
Tony chuckles a little.
“Have you met T’Challa King yet?”
“Oh yeah! He’s nice.”
“His sister works in plastics. I think you two would get along.”
“Maybe I’ll meet her. I seem to be meeting a lot of people. I met a guy from peds today.”
“Guy from peds?”
“Big guy. Kinda scary looking. Ex cop with a fake arm that’s all doodled up?”
“Ah. Bucky. Don’t let how he looks scare you. He’s a big softie, especially around Steve.”
“Steve? The guy who helped him?”
“Peter, Steve and Bucky are engaged. Theirs is the wedding I invited you to.”
“Oh! That’s sweet. So when do I get to meet Steve then? It’s only fair if I meet both halves of the couple. And they are friends of yours so it's fair right?” Peter babbles a little
“I’ll see if I can set something up. We’ll do lunch or something. How does that sound?”
“Only if you want to. I don’t want to impose.”
“I’m sure they’d love to. Steve has already asked twice. He’s kinda old fashioned in his ways. He wants to take us out and pay forit himself. He’s such a dad but it’s sweet.”
“Well okay….If he insists.”
Tony smiles. “Well I can’t exactly argue with my boss.”
“Yeah that is true.”
Tony pulls into the parking lot and turns his car off.
“Do you want me to bring you something from the cafeteria?” He asked, suddenly remembering he hadn’t eaten all day.
“Um….not fish sticks.”
“I see you talked to Wanda.”
“Yeah. She’s really nice.”
“That she is. How does grilled cheese sound?”
“That sounds amazing. And a hot chocolate?’
“Your wish is my command.”
“You are the best.”
“Yes so I’ve been told.”
“Hurry up here. I really wanna see you.”
“I’ll be there soon. I gotta hang up now so I can order okay?”
“Okay bye. See you soon.”
Tony heads up to Peter’s room, sandwich in hand. On his way, he spots a familiar streak of white hair.
“Stephen!” He calls.
Stephen stops and looks over at him. His face goes through a whole range of emotions that Tony couldn’t quite read. He sets the chart down and makes his way over.
“So I take it you’re feeling better?”
“Yeah. Thanks for letting me stay over.”
“It’s no problem. I’d rather know you were safe than dead in a ditch somewhere.”
Tony nods a little.
“So what are you doing here?”
“Oh, I’m actually here to see Peter.”
“Peter?”
Tony grins widely.
“Yeah. He called and asked me to come up.”
“Oh. That’s wonderful.” Stephen smiles a little, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Okay, what happened last night?” Tony asked, worried. “Did I do something stupid? Did we do something-”
Stephen raised a hand, shutting Tony up.
“No, we didn’t do anything. You wanted attention and I sent you to bed but instead of going to the guest room, you decided to sleep in my bed. So I slept in the guest room.”
Tony’s smile fell. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you out.” “I’m not worried about it. You were drunk so I saw no point in arguing with you.”
“Yeah. I am an unreasonable drunk.”
“Don’t flatter yourself Antony. You’re always unreasonable.” Stephen teases, seeming to relax a little.
“Well I think that depends on who you ask.”
Stephen rolls his eyes and pats Tony’s back. “Go on. He’s waiting for you.”
“I’ll talk to you later?” He asked, turning to go to Peter’s room.
“I’ll be here.”
-----.-----
Peter looks up with a careful smile as Tony enters his room.
“Tony.” He breathes softly, wanting to reach for the older man but holds back.
Tony however, moved to sit beside him and hands over the burger with a smile.
“I missed you Peter.” Tony says, breaking the silence. That made the dam inside Peter break wide open.
“Tony I’m so sorry. I snapped at you and it was wrong. I was an idiot and I shouldn’t have said those things. None of this is your fault. It’s my own fau-”
“I’m going to stop you right there.” Tony says, leaning over with a tiny smile. “Peter, I don’t blame you for acting the way you did. Hell, if I were in your situation, I’d probably be worse.”
Peter opens his mouth to protest again but Tony leans over and kisses him gently, effectively shutting him up. When Tony pulled away, Peter stared at him.
“Is this going to be a thing now? You kissing me to shut me up?”
“Hm. Yes, I think it is.”
Peter blushed a little. “O-oh. Okay.”
“So have I missed much?”
“No, not really. Though I do have a question.”
“Ask away.” Tony props his feet on the edge of the bed and smiles.
“Nurse King wouldn’t happen to be related to Shuri King, would he?”
Tony sits up straight in surprise. “You know her?”
“She’s dating a friend of mine.” Peter grins. “Michelle Jones.”
“Ah well I don’t know Shuri to well, but I do know she’s a great person.”
“Oh yeah. She’s super sweet. The two of them are great together except when they get pissed off. Then it’s scary.”
Tony laughs softly again and sits up to take Peter’s hand in his own. He intwines their fingers and looks up into Peter’s eyes. He could listen to the younger man talk for hours.
“What about you? What have you been up too since I flew off the handle.”
“Well I worked in the ER and did a surgery or two.”
“Anything interesting?”
“A guy had a branch go through his leg.”
“Anything else?”
“Um….I got drunk and ended up at Stephen’s house?”
Peter giggles a little. “Is there something that happens often?”
“Me gettin drunk or me going to bother Stephen?”
“Both? EIther one?”
“I don’t drink a whole lot anymore. I used to be an alcoholic and I realized that was just like my father and I don’t want to do that. As for me bothering Stephen,” Tony smirks. “I do that as often as I can.”
“So do I get to meet this Stephen?”
“Do you want me to go get him?” Tony asked, moving to get up.
Peter makes grabby hands at Tony, stopping him from getting up. “I don’t want to bother him. I don’t want to be a bother.” He catches his bottom lip between his teeth.
Tony chuckles a little. “Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure he isn’t doing anything right now. It’s late and most people are sleeping.”
“Are you sure?”
Tony runs his fingers along Peter’s lip, gently pulling it free from his teeth.
“You’ll get blisters.” He says softly. “And yeah. Just give me a minute.”
Pressing a kiss to Peter’s head, Tony stands and leaves the room. Heading back towards the nurse’s station, he looks around for Stephen. Not seeing him, he heads for an on-call room. He hears the sound of soft crying through the cracked door and peeks in, concerned.
“Hello?” He calls.
-----.-----
Stephen watches Tony head towards Peter’s room and smiles softly. It was good that Tony was so happy again. He finishes his rounds and finds an empty on-call room. He pauses by the young ex-performers room. Tony looked so peaceful talking to him. It was something Stephen hadn’t seen in a while. He enters the room and sits on one of the beds. As he sits in the dark, his thoughts seem to settle around him. His mind goes back to the kiss and Stephen squeezes his eyes shut tight, feeling heat rise in his face. If it was any other circumstance, he’d be giddy with joy. Though maybe this could help him get over his feelings. Except it didn't. It just confused him more. He knew Tony would never feel that way about him but the words kept repeating in his head.
“I need you…..”
“You’re my best friend….”
Putting one hand over his eyes, he feels the tears slip out, making hot tracks down his cheeks. Sometimes a man just needs a good cry. Stephen did have a terrible habit of burying his feels deep inside. He hears the door creak and jumped up, realizing he hadn’t shut the door all the way.
“Hello?” A soft voice called.
“Tony?” Stephen’s voice cracked a little and he winces. He hurriedly wipes his face and takes a deep breath. “Did you need something?”
“I’m turning on the lights.” Tony warns before flipping them on. Stephen hisses at the sudden flood of bright lights.
“Stephen.” Tony moved closer, sitting beside him. “What’s wrong?”
Stephen shakes his head and clears his throat. “It’s nothing. I’m just tired is all.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it.” Tony counters,
“Do you need something Tony or did you come to annoy me?”
Tony glares at him. “You aren’t getting out of this. We are going to talk later. But yes, I actually want something.”
“Well I’m waiting.”
“Peter wants to meet you.”
“Me? Why?” Stephen asked, shocked.
“Uh because you are one of my best friends?”
“I….see.”
“Please will you please just come meet him? He’s really important to me.”
Stephen knew full well he could never tell Tony no. He sighs and nods. “Only for a few moments though because I actually would like to sleep in my own bed tonight.”
“Great. Come on.” Tony gets up and leads him out.
Once they got to the room, Stephen took one look at Peter, who was all bright smiles and greetings, and couldn’t help but smile.
“Hello. My name is Stephen Strange.”
“You helped fix my leg!”
Stephen nods. “Yes, I did.”
“Thank you a lot.”
“Well I’m just happy to help.” Stephen says, relaxing a bit.
“So….do all the neurosurgeons here have pretty eyes and nice hair?” Peter blurts, his face flushing.
Tony gives Steve a look, a dopey smile on his face.
“Well, not as far as I know but don’t tell me I’m going to have to fight my best friend for your attention.” Tony teases. Stephen pants Tony’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry. He isn't my type. No offence Peter.”
“None taken!” Peter stammered a bit. “You aren’t really my type either.”
“So if Peter isn’t your type, who is?” Tony questions with that damn quirked eyebrow of his.
Stephen shrugged, stopping himself from saying what automatically popped into his head.
“Ah well, you’re find someone who I deem good enough for you.” Tony grins.
“Yeah, we’ll see.”
Tony looks around, unsure where he was at first. He started to recognize his surroundings. Stephen's room? More specifically Stephen's bed. Then the panic set in. He didn't really remember anything from the previous night. What the hell happened? Did he- Did they-
Tony climbs out of the bed, noting with relief, that he was fully clothed.
"Stephen?" He calls, padding out into the living room and then the kitchen. It was empty. Then he noticed the time. Eleven thirty.
"Shit!" Tony scrambles around before trying to call Stephen and getting voice mail. That's when he noticed the sticky note on the door.
Tony, don't bother coming today. I told Rogers you're sick. No more drinking and don't bother looking as I have gotten rid of all of mine and stopped by your place. Go rest and shower. You smell terrible. I'll know if you don't. And don't bother calling, I'm busy all day. I'll see you later.
The note was written in Stephen's careful, neat handwriting. Though it was written, Tony could hear Stephen speaking in his head, cold and careful. He sighs and pulls on his shoes and jacket. He needed to find out exactly what happened.
-----.------
Peter looks up as a doctor he didn't recognize entered his room. He was big compared to Tony. He had a fake arm too, which Peter found pretty cool. The arm was decorated with swirls and music notes.
"Hi?" Peter asked, sitting up.
"Hello."
"Who are you?"
"My name is Bucky. I'm a peds surgeon."
"Peds?"
"I work with kids."
Peter tilts his head. "You do know I'm an adult right? Did Tony tell you I was-"
"No Tony didn't tell me you were a kid. I am aware of your age."
"So-not to be rude at all- why are you here?"
Bucky laughs, sitting down. "You see this here?" He gestures to his prosthetic arm.
'Um..yes?" Peter answers, confused.
Bucky looks at him thoughtfully.
"I was in the same predicament you're in years ago."
Peter blinks, not understanding at first. The he leans back, his eyes narrowed.
"You can still do what you love. I literally cannot."
Bucky stared at him, obviously choosing his next words very carefully.
"Peter, when I was younger, I never wanted to come anywhere near a hospital if I didn't want to. I was a cop right here in New York City. One of the best on the precinct. There was a bomber that took out an entire city block, about thirteen years ago."
Peter nods. "I remember that. I just started seventh grade when that happened." His voice was small, careful.
"I almost had the guy when part of the building collapsed and trapped me and a pregnant woman. She went into labor and I had to deliver her baby myself. At that point I had no training at all. But the little boy seemed healthy. We stayed there until the EMTs came to get us. We managed to get her out but part of the building collapsed. I was knocked back and pinned under a peice of the building. I couldn't feel my arm and I blacked out. Next thing i know, I'm in the hospital with a missing arm. That's the day I met Steve Rogers. He was just an intern at the time but he helped so much. Never put up with any of my bullshit and called me out on it every time. He helped me get back on my feet and made me realize that there was more to life than chasing down bad guys and paperwork."
Peter smiles a little. "Yeah but saving people is what you've always done. You're just doing it differently. I can't even do what I'm good at anymore. There is no way around it."
"Well feeling sorry for yourself won't make it any better." Bucky says, crossing his arms. "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know!" The words came out louder than he intended, and he winced a little. The silence settled heavily in the small room.
Bucky stands up. "You'll figure it out. Don't be stupid and give up here. You'll regret it."
-----.-----
Tony stared blankly at the wall of his living room. He needed to find out what happened with Stephen. It wasn't like him to not answer his phone. If he didn't, he always texted. But Tony had called twenty eight times and no response at all. Maybe Pepper knew? Sitting up straight, he called Pepper. She answered on the first ring.
"Tony? How are you feeling?"
"Like hell." He answers honestly.
"What happened?"
"I'm not actually sure-"
"You got drunk again." It wasn't a question.
"Can you do me a favor?" Tony asked. He hated asking for favors but it needed to be done.
"Depends on what that favor is."
"Can you find out what's wrong with Stephen? He won't talk to me. At all."
Pepper sucked in a breath.
"Tony what did you do?"
"That's the thing. I don't know?"
"My god Tony." She sighs. Tony could picture her rubbing her forehead in his mind, the way she always did when he did something stupid. "Yeah I'll see what I can find out."
"Thank you. You're the best."
"Yes, I know."
"Hey if you see him, can you have him check on Aaron for me?"
"He's in there now."
"Alright. Good."
"Peter talked to Bucky today."
"Oh? How did that go?"
"Bucky told Peter the story of how he lost his arm."
All the attendings at the hospital knew the story. It still chilled them when it was brought up. Tony is quiet for a few minutes. He had no idea what to say.
"He is starting PT day after next."
Grateful for the subject change, Tony winces a little.
"Oh that's gonna be fun." He says sarcastically.
"Tasha won't take any crap from him."
"I think it'll do him good to get up and walk about a little."
"Yeah-"
Tony her a conversation in the background he couldn't quite make out then Pepper was back.
"I gotta go. There's been a crash."
"Go kick ass."
-----.-----
Stephen turns into Aaron's room after updating himself by reading the chart. As he enters the room, the tall boy next to the bed visibly tenses. The blonde girl on the other side stands and holds out her hand.
"Come on Spence. Let's go get some food."
Silently, the boy nods and stands. As they past, the girl whispers
"He doesn't like new people."
Once they left the room, Aarn finally spoke.
"Where's Dr. Stark?"
Stephen bites the inside of his cheek.
"He's sick. He'll be back tomorrow."
"Is he okay?"
It was sweet that this kid is concerned. Stephen found himself almost smiling.
"Yeah. It's just a head cold is all."
"Oh. That's good. So what's your name?"
It was then that Stephen realized that he hadn't introduced himself.
"I'm Dr. Strange. I'm filling in for Dr. Stark today."
"Dr. Strange?" Aaron smiles a little. "I bet you get a lot of crap with a name like that."
Stephen laughs. He liked this kid.
"Yeah, to-Dr. Stark likes to tease me about it. I've probably heard every joke there is about it."
"Well at least it's not as weird as Hotchner."
"I think Hotchner is kinda badass. You could be called Hotch and be like an FBI assassin."
"You know, that's not a bad idea."
"So how are you feeling Agent Hotchner?" Stephen asked with a grin and a wink.
"Better. I can feel my arm now."
"That's good. If all keeps up, you should be able to leave tomorrow."
"Really?" Aaron grins.
"Really."
He looks towards the window. "And it looks like your people are back. If you need anything just let me know, okay?"
"Okay. Thank you."
With a nod, Stephen leaves the room. He puts the chart back on the nurse's station and turns to see Pepper.
"Ah hello."
"Hey are you busy?" She asked.
"No. What's up?"
"I know Tony was at your place last night." She starts.
"Pepper-"
"I need to know what happened." She says gently.
Stephen looks around an takes a breath. He trusted her. She was the only one who knew his secret. That he was in love with Tony.
"Not here." He said, turning and going to the nearest supply closet. Pepper follows him in.
"Stephen?"
Stephen turns to face her.
"He showed up to my place, drunk off his ass. Probably due to this Peter situation. He said he wanted attention but I know how he is when he's drunk. I sent him to a guest room and finished the chapter I was reading before going to bed myself. Instead of going to a guest room, he went to my bed." He pauses and stares at the floor.
"Did something happen? Did you two-"
"He kissed me." Stephen says and Pepper's words trail off.
"He kissed you?"
Stephen nods silently, running a hand through his hair.
"Did you kiss him back?"
Stephen shakes his head. "I couldn't. Not when I wasn't the one he wanted. Did he tell you?"
Pepper sighs and shakes her head. "He doesn't remember."
"Of course not." Stephen lets out a dry laugh. "He's not going to. I'm not- I can't tell him. I can't face that."
"You should tell him eventually Stephen."
"Well it doesn't matter now, does it?"
-----.------
Peter looks up as a nurse came in the room. It wasn't Wanda this time, but a tall black man with nice hair.
"Hi."
"Hello."
"Where is Miss Wanda?"
"She's at home today." He smiles a little. "I am T'challa."
"Oh. Well T'challa, my name is Peter."
"Yes I know. Tony is very worried about you. It's making him crazy in the head."
Peter stared at him in disbelief.
"How about, let him know how are feeling."
Peter is silent, watching T'challa check his vitals and offer him a smile. A knowing smile full of warmth. Taking a deep breath, Peter pulls out his phone and dials.
"Tony?" He says, barely a whisper.
Peter’s words cut Tony like a knife. He backs out of the room slowly, making his way out in a daze. He should have known better than to make those promises. It was a stupid thing to do. How was he supposed to make this up? Would he even be able to? Where did he go from here? He leans against the wall and just breathes for a moment. He needed something to keep him busy so he heads down to the ER. He needs something to distract him. Anything really. He looks around then leans over the desk.
“What do we got?”
-----.-----
Peter lay still, still a bit shocked at the news. It is just his luck that he lands his dream roll and it’s ripped away from him. What was he supposed to do with his life now? He presses the heels of his hands to his eyes, stopping the tears that slipped out. He wanted to scream but he knew it would be pointless. He had a hunk of metal in his leg and no amount of screaming himself sick would change that. He looks down at his injured leg and carefully touched it. A spike of pain shot up his leg and he winces, biting his lip. His mind wandered to Tony. Tony with his stupid pretty face and kind words. Didn’t he know better than to give a dancer false hope of getting their leg back? What an idiot.
Peter looks up when another person enters the room. It looked like a nurse. She had kind eyes and red hair. Peter couldn’t help but smile.
“Dinner time.” She announces.
“Thank you.” Even though he didn’t feel like eating, he was raised with manners.
“Between you and me, the burgers in the cafeteria aren’t bad but don’t trust the fish sticks.” The nurse says, looking up and winking playfully.
“Noted.” Peter shifts and groans softly. “My name is Peter, but you probably already knew that.”
The nurse with the kind eyes smiles and nods.
“My name is Wanda.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure. Go for it.”
“Are there a lot of redheads here? I-I’ve seen like seven redheads nurses just walk by while I was laying here, plus there’s you and Dr.Romanova.”
Wanda looks up from the chart and laughs. It was a light pleasant sound.
“There are quite a few. Maybe we should start a club.”
“Yeah, maybe you should.” Peter agrees, picking at his food.
“I’m not going to leave until you eat.” Wanda warns. “I’ll go get Tony if you don’t.”
Peter tenses, looking up at her. No Tony. He couldn’t face Tony right now.
“No.” He says, it sounding a bit harsher than he intended. “I’ll eat.”
Wanda looks at him, seeming to be in deep thought. She nods once, before turning to check his vitals. Peter eats in silence, glancing at her every so often. She seemed to have good intentions. Peter respected that much.
“Thank you.” Peter says, breaking the silence and pushing the empty plate away.
“You’re welcome.” She smiles. “Full?”
“Yeah. It was pretty good.”
“I told you. God knows I’ve eaten in that cafeteria more often than I care for.”
“Yeah but is it worth it?”
She stops writing and meets his gaze. “Yes. More than.”
“If you couldn’t do this….what would you do?”
Wanda is silent for a moment before tucking her hair behind her ear and sitting on the edge of his bed.
“This is about you not being able to dance any more, isn’t it?” She asked softly.
Peter meets her eyes. “It’s rude to answer a question with a question.”
She sighs and nods. “I know. I’m sorry.” She takes a breath. “If I couldn’t do this, I’d find some other way to help the less fortunate. That’s my life mission I guess you could say.”
“That’s sweet.”
“What about you Peter? What are you going to do?”
Peter lays back completely and groans, laying his arm across his eyes. “I don’t have a clue honestly. All I know is performing.”
“No.”
Peter peaks out at her. “Excuse me?”
“I think there’s more to you than just being onstage.”
“I’m afraid you’re wrong Miss Wanda.”
“I don’t think I am.” Wanda smiles a little. “Just give it time.” She stands and pats his shoulder. “Get some rest Peter. You need it.”
-----.-----
Tony drags himself to the attendings lounge and sinks into the couch with a groan. James, “Bucky” Barnes, a pediatric surgeon, looks up from his book.
“Rough day?” He asked, marking his page and closing the book, setting it down on the table. He absentmindedly rubs at the shoulder of his prosthetic arm, which Steve liked to draw on with sharpies and paint markers. The chief has a knack for art. Currently the arm was adorned with flowers and leaves. The children loved it.
“You could say that.” Tony says, rubbing his temples. “And it’s only….” He looks down at his watch. “Nevermind, it’s almost nine-thirty.”
“What happened?”
Tony looks over at him, dropping his arm.
“Peter hates me.”
“Peter?” Bucky asked, obviously confused.
“Peter Parker-”
“Oh! The one Stevie told me about. He seems nice. Sorry, I spent the day in the NICU.” Realizing he cut Tony off, Bucky at least looked sheepish. “Sorry, go on. Why does he hate you?”
Tony takes a breath and sits up straight.
“He got hurt during an audition today and he fell. Shattered his entire leg. Apparently he has super weak leg bones.” He pauses, staring at the floor. “It was his dream roll, super important to him. I told him we could fix his leg and get him up and dancing in no time.” His voice drops off towards the end.
Bucky sighs softly. “He is never going to dance again, is he?”
Tony shakes his head. “Tasha managed to fix his leg, adding rods to keep him from hurting himself again. He’s mad because I gave him hope of getting better. It was stupid but I wasn’t really thinking about it.”
“Tony,” Tony looks up, surprised that Bucky used his first name. “He is going to get better, he just won’t be able to dance again. He still has his voice so maybe he can do something with that.”
Tony nods a little. “Once he’s fully healed, Tasha wants to start his PT so he can work on walking again.”
“Well with her help and your support, he’ll be better in no time.” A new voice joined the conversation. Bucky’s eyes brighten instantly and Tony jumps a little, turning to see Steve leaning against the doorway.
“What do I do about him being pissed at me though?”
“Give him time. He’s hurt and vulnerable right now. Bucky was the same way when he lost his arm in that accident.”
“Maybe I should go visit him.” Bucky suggests. “I’m not on call tomorrow.”
“I think it’s a great idea.” Steve smiles a little.
“Would you? I think it would be good to let him see that his injury isn’t the end of the world.”
“It’s a plan then.”
“Are you going to be okay Tony?” Steve asked gently, coming to sit beside him.
“Yeah.” Tony takes a deep breath and let’s it out slowly. “I have to be, don’t I?”
“Stark, it’s okay to not be okay.” Bucky points out.
“I’ll be fine.” Tony stands. “I’m going to go see if Stephen wants to go get a drink.” He pauses at the doorway. “Congrats you two, by the way. It’s about damn time.” He manages a real smile this time.
Tony wanders the hospital, looking for Stephen, when he finds himself outside of Peter’s room. He stands still, looking in the window. Peter was asleep and the color had returned to his face. Tony debated if he should go in or not. He ended up settling on ‘not’ and slowly walks away. He runs into Wanda.
“Hey Wanda-”
“Dr. Stark, I’m worried about Peter.”
Tony stopped dead and looked at her.
“I’m afraid he’s going to sink into depression. He is set on how he’s nothing without performing. I think it’s going to drive him crazy.”
“What can we do to help him?”
“I don’t know. I think he needs you though.”
“Yeah, well, he doesn’t want me.” Tony says bitterly.
Wanda is quiet for a moment. She sighs and turns away.
“In due time Tony. Believe me.”
Tony nods and waves her off, deciding to give up looking for Stephen and just heading to the bar. He wanted to drown his feelings.
-----.-----
Stephen finally settled down with a glass of red wine and his favorite book when the doorbell rang. He sighs and sits the book down. Who the hell would be here at this hour? He finally gets a moment of rest and hear someone was to bother him again. He opens the door and the reek of alcohol hits him before he even sees who it is. It is a very drunk Tony Starik.
“Tony, what the hell are you doing here? How drunk are you?”
“Hey Stranger Things. Can I come in?” The speech was slurred and Stephen had to grasp his arm to keep him from falling face first into the hardwood. Well that answered one question. Stephen hauled Tony into the living room and onto the couch, where he kinda just flopped over.
“Tony, why are you here? Not that I don’t enjoy your company but-”
“You talk to much.”
Stephen glares at him.
“And you’re an ass.” He retorts and picks up his book again.
Tony whines a little. “Stephen Nn”
“What?” Stephen looks over the top of his book at his pouting friend.
“Pay attention to me!”
“Why should I?” Stephen sets the book back down and raises an eyebrow. “You show up here in the middle of the night smelling like a bar and demanding my attention like I owe it to you.” His tone was not accusing but it was annoyed.
Tony sits up and stares at him. “Why are you so sad?”
“It’s nothing.” Stephen did not want to have this conversation while Tony was drunk off his ass because his boyfriend was upset.
“You’re lying~” Tony cooed.
“I’m not having this conversation right now. You need to sleep.”
“So there is something wrong! Tell me!”
“Anthony Edward Stark, shut the hell up and go to sleep. You have work in the morning.”
Tony looks surprised at the use of his full name and smirks, standing up.
“I’ll be in the guest room.”
Stephen waves him off, finishing his drink before putting the glass in the sink and heading to bed himself. He makes his way through the dark, towards his bed. He didn’t notice the dark lump until he landed on it and a voice yelps. Stephen jerks back and turns on the light.
“Tony what the hell are you doing in my bed?!?”
“Waiting for you?”
“...Why?”
Tony props up on his elbows and smirks, leaning up and planting a kiss on Stephen’s lips. Stephen froze for a moment before pushing him away.
“No Tony. Don’t.” He backs away, one hand going to his hair.
“Please?” He sounded vulnerable, scared, broken. “I need you. You’re my best friend.”
Stephen tightens jaw, fighting back feeling bubbling up.
“No Tony. You don’t. You just think you do. You don’t need me. You need him.” He turns, walking out of the room.
“Where are you going?” Tony calls.
Stephen stopped, looking over his shoulder.
“The guest room. You can stay here tonight. Sleep.”
With that, Stephen leaves his room, going to a guest room and falling into a restless sleep.
The next morning, Tony wakes up to an empty house.
Aka the ‘shit hits the fan’ chapter
Peter was in a cloud of bliss the next day. He was waiting for nerves to set in, as his audition was at two. He ran through the song and the dance again, wondering if he should text Tony. He wanted to but also didn’t want to appear to clingy. Maybe a good morning text? That couldn’t hurt right? Peter unlocks his phone, pleasantly surprised to already see a text waiting.
Received Tony: Good morning Stella~ How did you sleep?
Peter tilts his head. Stella? Had he meant to send that to someone else? He felt a pant of disappointment.
Sent Tony: Who’s Stella? My name is Peter.
After that was sent, Peter’s phone started to ring and he panicked. He drops his phone and curses, scrambling to answer it.
“H-hello?”
“Good morning.” The smile was obvious in his voice.
“So who is Stella?”
He hears Tony laughing and Peter smiles at the sound but feels as if he’s missing something.
“ Peter, you are Stella. I’m Italian. Stella is Italian for Star. Because you’re a star.”
Peter feels himself blush. He felt stupid now.
“Hello? Peter?”
“S-sorry. I just feel stupid now.”
“Peter, I’m not seeing anyone else. I promise.”
“No I know that. I believe you. I just….I guess I’m just paranoid. It’s dumb. I’m so-”
“Peter. It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure out a nickname for you.”
Now Peter felt terrible.
“You don’t have to do that. It’s okay, really.”
“Peter.” Tony says gently. “Are you okay? Really?”
“Yeah.” Peter takes a deep breath. “I’m fine. I think it’s just nerves.”
“Take a deep breath Peter. You’ll do great. I believe in you.”
“Thanks Tony. That means a lot coming from you.”
“Okay I gotta go. I’ll call you at lunch?”
“Yeah. That sounds great. I’ll talk to you the. Have a good day Tony.”
“Shine on beautiful.”
Peter couldn’t stop the smile on his face as the call ends. He puts his phone down on the bedside table and gets up. He had some time to kill before his audition and decided to spend it watching Star Trek: The Next Generation.
-----.------
Tony hangs up just as the elevator doors open and he nearly runs smack dab into Steve Rogers, his boss.
“Woah there.” Rogers takes a step back. “Head in the clouds Stark?”
“Nah. I was just on the phone is all.”
“How’s your tumor patient doing?”
“Better now. He was awake and sitting up when Strange left last night. I’m about to go check on him.”
“Well keep me posted. Oh and I need to see you at lunch, okay?”
Confused, Tony finds himself nodding.
“Alright, sure.”
“Don’t worry, you aren’t in trouble.” Rogers gives a smile.
“Well that’s a relief. I didn’t do anything wrong this time.”
Rogers laughs, patting his shoulder.
“This time.” He pushes the button on the elevator.
“If you’re headed to peds, tell Bucky I said hi.” Tony calls over his shoulder, taking off down the hall. Everyone knew the big scary man had a soft spot for kids. Tony stops outside of Aaron’s room. There was a group of people in there. He knocks softly on the door frame and Aaron looks up at him.
“Dr. Stark.”
“Good morning Aaron. How are you feeling?”
“My arm is kinda numb but other than that, I feel fine.”
Numb? It could mean nothing but in this profession, you always had to be sure.
“How numb on a scale of one to ten?” Tony asked, coming forward and setting the clipboard down.A tall, skinny boy with shoulder length curly hair scrambles off the bed and sits in a nearby chair, pulling his legs up. His eyes never left Tony. “Which arm?”
“Right. And maybe a four?”
“Can you feel this?” Tony taps his pen into the middle of Aaron’s right hand and the boy’s fingers twitch.
“It kinda feels like……” Aaron reaches out and ghosts the fingers of his left hand over Tony’s hand, just barely. He looks up, his dark eyes wide and scared. “Is that bad Dr. Stark?”
Tony bites the inside of his lip thoughtfully.
“Honestly I’m not sure yet but we will keep an eye on it. If it gets worse or better, let me know, okay?”
“Okay…”
“Is he going to be okay?” A soft voice asked. Tony turns. It was the lanky kid. He looked terrified and Tony felt bad for him. Before he could answer, Aaron spoke.
“Spencer I’ll be fine.” He smiles. “Right Dr. Stark?”
“You should be fine.” Tony nods. “But we just wanna make sure. You can’t leave for a week anyway. You need time to heal from the operation.”
“See? I’ll be fine. I’m too stubborn to die anyway, you know that.”
The other kid- Spencer - nods a little.
“Can I lay with him again?”
“Yeah. Go ahead kid.” Tony smiles and nods. He turns back to Aaron. “Where are your parents?”
“Missionary trip overseas.”
“So who are you hear with?”
“My girlfriend Haley-” He nods to a blonde girl who just entered. The girl, Haley, waves a little. “-and our boyfriend Spencer.”
“Okay, are you staying with an adult or something while your parents are gone?”
“David Rossi. He works at the police station.”
“I’ll give him a call and update him and be back here to check on you a bit.”
Tony turns and leaves the room, stopping to look in the window. Haley was sitting next to Aarons bed, holding his hand and Spencer was curled up at his side. It was sweet in kinda sad way. Tony moves to make his rounds, making his way down to the ER. A guy had split his head open trying to put up Christmas lights.
“It doesn’t look too deep.” Tony says, tilting the guys head towards the light. “I’m going to stitch it up and give you something for the pain. We’re going to do an MRI just to make sure you don’t have a concussion.”
The guy nods and sits still as Tony works. The work up was pretty quick and the MRI showed he didn’t have a concussion. Tony sent him on his way in an hour. He then makes his way up to Steve’s office. He knocks twice and then Steve opens the door. He smiles and waves him in.
“Make yourself comfortable.”
Tony settles on the couch, one leg drawn up and his arm draped across the back.
“So you finally have time for the little people?” Tony teases. He knew being chief of surgery was a full time job and Steve was under a lot of pressure.
“Tony you’re my best friend, I always try to make time for you.” Steve smiles, but was obviously nervous. He was never good at hiding that.
“So what’s up?”
“I uh, purposed to Bucky last night.”
Tony sits up, a grin on his face.
“Well it’s about damn time!”
Steve gives a sheepish smile and looks down at his hands.
“Yeah I know.” He looks back up and licks his lips. “I would like for you to be my best man.”
Tony gaped at him. “You mean it?”
“Of course I mean it. And you can bring a plus one. Maybe the dancer Stephen mentioned?”
Tony’s eyes brighten at the mention of Peter.
“You’re gonna love him.” He grins. “I’d be honored to be your best man. When is the wedding?”
“Um...We were thinking Christmas Eve.”
“That sounds beautiful.” Tony smiles again. “It’s been a long time coming.”
“Yeah. I agree. So does he.” Steve laughs a little.
Tony thought it was nice to see Steve smile again. It hadn’t happened in a long time due to the stress of his promotion, but he did deserve it. Suddenly Tony sits up.
“I gotta call Peter!”
“Okay you do that, I asked you what I meant to ask.”
“Congrats again. I’ll talk to you later?”
“I’ll be here.” Steve waves him off.
-----.-----
Peter paces the hallway, waiting for Tony’s call. His audition was in twenty minutes and nerves were eating him alive. Just as he was at wit’s end, his phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hey what are you doing Christmas Eve?”
Peter raises his eyebrow.
“Uh...nothing. Why?”
“Wanna be my plus one at one of my best friend’s wedding?”
“That sounds like fun. I’ve never been to a Christmas wedding before.”
“Awesome! So, how’s your day going?”
“Well I audition in twenty minutes and my nerves are crazy. Which is normal but I really want this part. I’ve dreamed of getting this part for as long as I can remember.”
“You’ll crush it. I have no doubt in my mind.”
“I hope so too. So how is your day going?”
“Pretty good I think. My patient, the one that made me late last night, he seems to be doing a lot better and I fixed a guy’s head. He fell putting up Christmas lights.”
Peter laughs.
“Well is he okay at least?”
“Yeah. Just needed stitches. He had a hard head. Like someone else I know. How’s your head by the way?”
“I’m fine. It didn’t hurt much when I hit it and it’s fine now.”
Peter was touched that Tony cared.
“Well I’m glad. I’d hate to see such a lovely head damaged.”
“My aunt says it’s to thick for my own good.”
“Ah well that just means your brain is protected.” The smile was basically audible in Tony’s voice.
Peter turned when he heard his name called.
“Peter? The person who was supposed to go on before you didn’t show, so it’s your turn.” The director explains.
Peter thanks him and turns back to the call.
“I gotta go. My audition got moved up.”
“Shine on beautiful. Knock em dead.”
“I’ll call you soon as I’m done.” He promised and hangs up. He squared his shoulders and makes his way to the stage, taking his place. He closed his eyes and takes a deep breath. The music starts and Peter is suddenly fine. All his nerves disappear.
The dance involve a lot of footwork and Peter felt that he had it down. That was until his feet got caught and he crumpled, crying out in pain. His head cracked against the stage as pain shoots up his leg. Then all went dark.
-----.-----
Pepper rolls her shoulders as an ambulance pulled up.
“What do we got?” She asked an EMT.
“Shattered leg and likely a fracture on the skull. Felt like his entire leg is broken. It’s pretty bad.”
Pepper immediately leapt into action, helping get the gurney down. Her stomach dropped when she sees the face of the person on the stretcher. She turns to an intern standing with her.
“Page Stark. Now.”
“Stark? But shouldn’t we page ortho-”
“Page Stark! Now! Put ‘Iron’. He’ll know what it means.”
That was their code word for ‘drop everything and get your ass here to help me’. Pepper hurries along side the paramedics.
“Peter? Peter! Stay with me!”