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Being Better

Summary:

After his fight with Vulture, Peter is badly injured.

He accepts his fate and lays down to die but Tony Stark has other plans.

Notes:

Hey guys!! This fic has been in my mind ever since I watched Homecoming about two years ago. I am the biggest slut for Irondad and Spiderson so I bring you this. This will be a few chapters long and I already have ideas for some one-shots in this universe so look out for those. Apologies for it being so short, the rest will be longer I promise. With that being said please enjoy the angst.

~Alex_Marie

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: Giving in

Chapter Text

I wanted you to be better. 

The words had been echoing in Peter’s head since he had heard them. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn’t shake them. He knew how bad he had messed up but he had been trying to do good. That’s all he had been trying to do since he had gotten his powers. 

He heard those words when the building collapsed on top of him. He heard them again when he pushed said building off his aching body. He heard them as he brought down the plane in a mess of fire. He heard them as he lifted the fiery hot wings and pulled Adrian Toomes from the flames. He couldn’t stop hearing them. 

He dragged Toomes away from the flames and webbed him to the crates of tech and quickly left a note. The sirens were getting closer and he didn’t want to be anywhere near when they arrived, so with that knowledge in mind, he quickly made his way off of the beach.

A few minutes later he made his way into an alleyway and somehow managed to stay on his feet. The adrenaline was running out and his legs were beginning to shake.

He shot a web and forced his body to scale the building to the roof. He heaved himself over the edge and stumbled, collapsing on the hard gravel roof. 

All the pain that he had been suppressing started to make itself present and he groaned in agony. His legs were aching and his hands felt numb. His chest felt warm and he looked down to see red seeping through his suit.

Blood. It was his blood. He was bleeding. He was bleeding a lot. That wasn’t good. 

He touched his hand to the wound and hissed at the white-hot pain that flashed through him. He pulled his hand away and let it drop. 

Okay, note to self: Don’t touch wounds. 

He looked up at the sky above and released the shaky breath he was holding. If he didn’t get himself patched up he was going to die. He didn’t want to die. At least… he didn’t think he did. Maybe it was better this way.

He was tired. He was so tired. He couldn’t remember ever being this tired before. 

Even if he wanted to get help there was no one to help him. His phone was long gone and he didn’t have his suit anymore, there was no way of contacting anyone. Ned wouldn’t know what to do even if he found him and Mr. Stark had taken the suit. Had taken back the beliefs he had in him. Made it clear that he didn’t think that Peter wasn’t cut out for being a superhero. Happy had stopped answering his calls a long time ago and May, she would just blame herself. Blame herself for working too much and for not realizing he was Spiderman. 

I wanted you to be better  

Those words rang through his head again and this time he agreed with them. He wanted to be better too. If he had been better he wouldn’t have let himself get tricked into getting trapped under the building. If he had been better he wouldn’t have let Toomes get in as many hits as he did. If he had been better he would have been able to stop Toomes before the plane left the ground. If he had been better then he would be home with May right now instead of lying on a rooftop, in a puddle of his own blood, alone and dying. 

Maybe it was okay for him to die. He had kept Queens safe from someone who had wanted to destroy it. He had fought the bad guy and won. Even though his time as a superhero had been brief, it had still made a difference and that’s all that mattered.

He had mattered.

Maybe that meant he could finally rest. No more bad dreams. No more sadness. No more pain. He would get to see his parents and Ben again. He felt bad about leaving May but he knew that she would be okay. She wouldn’t have to worry about taking care of him anymore. Wouldn’t have to worry about taking so many extra shifts to help pay for things that he needed. She would be able to live her life without having to worry about taking care of the child she had never wanted. 

Dying didn’t feel like what he had imagined. It wasn’t like the movies had told him, he wasn’t seeing his entire life flash before his eyes. He was just seeing the darkness of his eyelids. He wasn’t feeling some euphoric feeling either, instead, it was just a cold and empty and tiring feeling. 

He rolled on his side and curled his legs up, closing his eyes. His body was starting to feel warm and everything was tingling, it was a nice feeling, it almost felt like he was falling asleep. Sleep. Sleep sounded really good right now. He was tired. Maybe he could finally sleep. 

That’s when he heard it. It was faint but it was there. Repulsors. And it was getting closer. But that wasn’t possible. Mr. Stark couldn’t have found him. He was dreaming for sure. Mr. Stark had better thing to be doing then to be looking for him.

“Shit Peter..” He heard Mr. Stark say.

He felt himself being lifted and held tightly. The sound of the Repulsors came to life again and he felt the air ruffling his hair. Everything was growing more and more distant but he could hear bits and pieces of Mr. Stark talking. 

“Faster Friday… Fuck...Kid hold on…. Kid!...Peter!” Mr. Stark yelled.

He tried to hold on for Mr. Stark but he was too tired. The darkness was quelling the pain he was feeling and he didn’t want to feel any more pain.

Even though he knew he was dying he felt safe in the arms of his hero. He held onto that safe feeling and reveled in it, he let the feeling surround him and he felt himself start to drift away. 

The last thing he heard was Mr. Stark’s voice.

 

 

 

Chapter 2: Not Letting You Go

Summary:

His thoughts were going a mile a minute, all of them revolving around Peter.
Is he okay?
What if he’s hurt?
Why would he do this?
Fucking Christ this is all my fault.
If I had just listened.
What if he dies?
No!
He has to be okay, I can’t lose him. Not now.
Not ever.

Notes:

What's up my guys! I know that it's been literally forever and for that I am sorry. Life went to shit for me and it's been a hell of a time pulling myself out. I think I have finally climbed out the other side though so keep your fingers crossed. Now onto the chapter!

~Alex_Marie

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The last thing Tony expected to hear from Happy was that his plane had crashed and that Peter had been the one to do it, and that he had also been the one to take down Toomes who had been trying to steal his tech. Now instead of the peaceful Saturday evening he was looking forward to, he was on the verge of having a heart attack.

His thoughts were going a mile a minute, all of them revolving around Peter. 

Is he okay?

What if he’s hurt?

Why would he do this?

Fucking Christ this is all my fault. 

If I had just listened.

What if he dies?

No!

He has to be okay, I can’t lose him. Not now.

Not ever.

Tony could barely hear Happy on the other side of the phone in his haste to get to his suit and fly out of the window. He put the thrusters of his suit to the max and sped off towards the pier where his plane was, in pieces and on fire. 

He landed next to Happy with a loud thump causing the man to startle and turn.

“Hap, where's the kid?” He said urgently, trying his damn hardest to not completely freak out. He was pissed, not at Peter but at himself. Peter had been right about Toomes and Tony hadn’t listened, had brushed him off like he didn’t matter when in reality it wasn’t the furthest thing from the truth. 

He could barely admit to himself that he saw the kid as more than just his protege, he didn’t want to get attached and ruin the pure good that Peter Parker is. But he was kidding himself, he couldn’t deny the fact that Peter was becoming the most important thing in his life, he’d give up his life in an instant if it meant that Peter would be happy and healthy for a long time. 

“Not sure Boss, we followed the blood we found but it led to nothing.” Happy looked nervous and vaguely ill. Tony felt ice creep up his spine as he realized that he had no idea where Peter could be and in what condition. He wouldn't put it past the kid to waltz into an alley to bleed out purely because he wouldn’t want to inconvenience anybody. 

Without saying anything to Happy, Tony shot back up into the sky desperately looking around for something that would tell him where his kid went. He was flying in circles, dipping into alleyways and looking on top of rooftops. He was about to go check out if he had gone back to his apartment when he saw something. He flew forward towards it, dread filling his bones and making them feel like lead. 

He landed on the roof and practically fell out of his suit, racing forward he crashed to his knees beside Peter. He was curled up on his side, deathly pale and breathing shallowly. There was blood surrounding him and staining through his clothes, the whole thing was making him feel nauseated. 

“Shit Peter..” He whispered.

Tony reached out and gently rolled him over, pressing his fingers to the kid's neck to feel for a pulse. He could feel tears stinging in his eyes as he felt a weak thumping against his fingers. He reached out and scooped Peter up into his arms and held him tightly, hurrying back to his suit and flying straight towards the tower. 

“Faster Friday!” He shouted. He could feel Peter's body growing heavier as if the life was slowly draining out of him. “Fuck, Kid hold on!” 

The tears were now running freely down his face as he raced towards the tower. It was only luck that he knew the medical staff would still be stationed there for the next week whilst everything was going to be transferred. 

He looked down and watched as Peter’s head lolled backwards, his entire body finally going completely limp. 

“Kid! Peter!” Tony screamed as he flipped backwards and flew straight through the windows of the medbay floor, pulling the kid closer to his chest to protect him from the glass. 

He heard shouts of surprise and fear as he turned around, once everyone saw him holding a bleeding Spiderman in his arms everyone jumped into action. Peter was pulled from his arms and placed on a gurney, which took off immediately towards the operating room. 

Tony couldn’t hold it anymore, he stepped out of his suit and fell to his knees, the tears streaming down his face in floods. His shoulders shaking as his chest started heaving. 

“Tony!” Happy burst through the doors and rushed to him. He grabbed his shoulders and shook him a little. Happy pulled him up and pushed towards the chairs in the corner of the room. He doesn’t know how long they sat there in silence until he saw the operating doors open and a couple of doctors walked out and started towards them. Tony jumped out of his seat and ran to meet them halfway, Happy tripping to keep up with him. 

“Is he okay?” He asked frantically. His heart was palpitating in an unhealthy way and his knees still felt very unsteady. He just needed to know if his kid was alright. 

“Spiderman sustained quite a significant amount of injuries but his healing factor has already started to take effect, we stitched him up everywhere we needed to and gave a few blood transfusions since he had lost a couple of pints of blood and was going into hypovolemic shock.”

Tony felt Happy place a hand on his shoulder, a silent way to tell him that things were going to be alright and that he didn’t need to worry. 

“He has a few broken ribs and a fractured wrist but those should heal up within the next couple days, along with the moderate concussion he sustained. He should be back to 100% within the next week or so. You’ll be able to see him after the nurses have gotten him cleaned up and settled into a room” The doctor finished up and Happy reached out to shake their hands, thanking them before they walked away. 

Tony felt the relief flow through him like a tidal wave, nearly bringing him to his knees again. Happy’s hands were back on his shoulders guiding him back to the chairs and pushing him down into one. The tears had started streaming down his face again but this time out of sheer relief. He dropped his face into his hands and let his shoulders slump down.

Peter was alright, he was going to be just fine. 

His kid was alright, he hadn’t lost him and now he was going to make sure he never would. 



 

 

Notes:

Well I hope you guys enjoyed that, I think that this story will only have a couple more chapters but I think I wanna make this story a series of sorts so watch out for that. Those of you who stuck with me during my long absence I hope you know how much you are truly appreciated!!

Until next time!

~Alex_Marie

Notes:

Hope you guys enjoyed! Let me know what you guys thought down in the comments whether good or bad lol. If you guys wanna see something specific please let me know and I will try to make it happen.

Until next time.

~Alex_Marie