inkinmyheartandonthepage - Tumblr blog

inkinmyheartandonthepage · 3 days ago

Text

Witness Protection

New We Forgot Peter update :) You can read it on Ao3.

When Peter Parker woke with a series of sluggish blinks and a head that feels like it’s filled with cotton, he finds himself tied to a chair. It not their weirdest place that he has ever woken up (and he doesn’t think Tony has quite forgiven the little hibernation nap he took wedged under Brooklyn Bridge while on patrol in the middle of winter) but it’s definitely up there.

Peter’s wrists and ankles are strapped to the chair with duct tape that sits in the middle of a large, empty space. He’s still in the clothes he wore to school, and he spies his backpack tossed carelessly to the side of what looks to be an abandoned warehouse. His cotton filled mind hopes they haven’t ripped it. Aunt May would kill him if she had to buy him another backpack so soon after the last one.

“Kid’s waking up,” came a rough voice.

Peter blinked. He hadn’t seen the other men in the room, and he wondered what he had been dosed with to knock him out. Whatever it was must have been strong for his metabolism to still be working it out of his system. He blinked again, counting five men in total, all dressed in black. They were standing far enough back in the shadows that Peter couldn’t really make out all their facial features. But he can recognise henchmen when he sees them.

A door creaked loudly, pulling Peter’s attention from the henchmen, and a man strode in. He was tall and dressed sharply in an expensive suit. He had rings adorning his fingers and his shoes clicked as he strode across the concrete floor. He was flanked by another two men who are dressed in black. Each of them has is holding a weapon but Peter is glad they aren’t pointed at him. Yet.

The well-dressed man came to a stop in front of Peter, a strong cologne wafting over him. The man’s eyes flicked over him in judgement that Peter’s thinks is a little unwarranted. Peter blinked at him sluggishly, shifting in his chair as much as the duct tape will allow. With his strength he could easily snap them, but he felt a little too foggy to try just yet. Part of him is a little curious as to who has kidnapped him in the first place.

“Peter Fitzpatrick. It’s been a long time,” the man said, voice smooth and rich.

Peter blinked. “Who?”

His captor smirks. “No need to play dumb, Peter.”

Peter’s thoughts feel as if they have been dipped in syrup, but he has enough awareness to realize that this has nothing to do with him being Spiderman. Maybe nothing to do with him at all. Peter gave his head a shake, trying to dislodge the cotton clouding his thoughts. He’s feeling horribly confused and like he could puke all over his shoes.

“Who are you?”

“I suppose it has been some time,” the man mused with a little twist of his lips. “You may call me Albert.”

This name does nothing to jog Peter’s memory and he is helpless but to stare at the man. “Right. And, sorry, did you call me Peter Fitzpatrick?”

“I’ve been searching for you for a long time,” Albert said, something dark flashing in his eyes.

“Right. But I’m Peter Parker,” Peter said. “Not Fitzpatrick.”

Albert let out a chuckle. “I’m sure that name was drilled into you buy the US Marshalls from a very young age, but we all know exactly who you are. The son of Richard and Mary Fitzpatrick.”

Peter blinked at his parents’ name. He had been four years old when he had gone to live with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben after their death. He can hardly be blamed for forgetting that when he went to live with them, they had also been put into witness protection. He had just lost his parents! And over the years, Peter had never truly interacted with the marshals. Ben and May had always taken care of that.

Peter vowed to pay better attention from now on.

“Who?” Peter asked again but he was a terrible liar and even he heard the shake in his voice. Of course his real last name came flooding back to him. Peter hadn’t always been Parker.

Albert sighed and gave Peter a disappointed look. “Peter. Let’s not play this game.”

Peter swallowed thickly and stared at the man. As the drug started to dissipate from his system and Albert’s features grew more defined, Peter felt his breath kept trapped in his chest.

“If you ever see this man. Run. As fast as you can. Run and don’t stop,” Uncle Ben had implored.

“Why?” Peter has asked.

“Because he’s a bad man who wants to hurt you,” Ben had said seriously.

Peter had pouted. “Did I do something bad?”

Ben had pulled him into a tight hug. “No, Peter. You didn’t do anything wrong. Just promise me you’ll run if you see him.”

Every so often as Peter grew up, Ben would pull out a photo of Albert and ask Peter what he should do if he ever saw him. Peter always answered the same; run as fast as he could until he found an authority figure. As Peter got older, he had questions. It wasn’t until after the Stark Expo where robots had attacked did Peter get an answer.

This was the man who had killed his parents.

Peter had stopped asking questions after that and Ben never pulled out the photo again.

Staring at the man, Peter felt his hands curl into fists, the duct tape straining.

Albert gave a cruel smile. “You have been hard to track down. It was only the incident in DC with your school’s decathlon team did I get my first lead.” He stared at Peter; head cocked to one side. “You do look so much like your mother.”

Peter grounded his teeth together.

“Thanks to the incident making the news and a flash of your face,” Albert continued. “I could hardly believe what I was seeing. From there it was easy to track you down. Then it was a matter of finding the perfect time to take you.”

“You’ve been watching me?” Peter asked.

“My team has been giving me reports,” Albert said, waving a dismissive hand at his henchman.

Peter glanced at them, and then down at the duct tape that held him captive. Clearly, they hadn’t been doing that good of a job if they thought this was going to hold him. Not to mention where he spent most of his afternoons with these days.

“You’ve gotten quite good a slipping through crowds,” Albert said, almost sounding impressed. “You’ve made it quite the challenge, but it will be worth it for my reward.”

“Reward?” Peter stalled.

Albert chuckled unkindly. “You didn’t think I would let you live after I killed your parents, did you? Revenge is a fanciful notion but rather a pesky annoyance in my line of work. You’ve already taken up far too much of my time for my liking.”

A tingle ran down Peter’s spine. “You’re going to kill me?”

Albert grinned.

Peter couldn’t help but snort.

The smile fell from Albert’s lips, turning into a sneer.

“Sorry,” Peter said. “It’s not funny. I think you totally mean it. But there just one little problem with that.”

Alert raised an eyebrow. “Oh. And what’s that?”

“Mr. Stark would never let that happen,” Peter said.

The second the words had left his lips, the windows of the abandoned warehouse shattered inwards.

Peter snapped the duct tape, diving out of the way as the henchmen moved to slowly. A series of gun shots rang out in the space, echoing around along with the shouts of the henchmen. Peter didn’t pay any attention to that. Instead, his body moved swiftly, and he launched himself as Albert as the man turned to run.

Peter’s body collided with his, tackling him to the ground. Albert was strong, but Peter was stronger. The man tried to twist out of Peter grip, but Peter pinned him down. Rage burned through Peter’s veins, and it was like someone else had taken over him. He flipped Albert over roughly, the man grunting as his back slammed to the ground.

He growled as Peter, attempting to break out of Peter’s grip, instead crying out when Peter’s grip tightened, snapping the man’s wrist. He stared at Peter with wide eyes and Peter caught a flash of disbelief in the man’s eyes. Peter’s other hand gripped Albert’s shirt. Peter yanked him up and then slammed his down. He did it again. And again. And again.

“Peter stop!”

Peter paused mid yank, Albert hovering above the ground. Albert was panting, blood dripping down the ground below him.

“Stand down, Underoos.” Tony’s voice came right behind him.

“He killed my mum and dad,” Peter said, his voice coming out almost robotic.

Behind him, Tony inhaled sharply. Then a hand was on his shoulder, squeezing tightly. “Let him, go. Peter.”

Peter’s throat tightened and the words came out choked. “He killed my mum and dad.”

Albert gave Peter a slow, cruel, and bloody smile.

“Killing him won’t bring them back,” Tony said gently. “You’re better than him, Peter. So much better.”

“Are you?” Albert whispered. He flashed his bloody teeth at Peter.

Peter shoved him back down hard, something cold and full of disgust (at himself, at Albert) flooding through him. He allowed Tony to pull him back into his chest and pull him away from Albert. Peter turned, crashing into Tony’s chest, trembling.

There was a noise and a thud behind him but then Tony’s arms were wrapping around him tightly, holding him close.

“I got you,” tony murmured in his ear. “I’ve got you. It’s okay. You’re okay.”

Peter sobbed into Tony’s chest, tears streaming down his face and clung to the genius tightly. Tony held him just as tight, whispering soothing words into his ear, never once letting Peter go.

~*~

It was late when Pepper Potts finally showed the US Marshals out of the penthouse at the Tower. Peter doesn’t remember getting from the warehouse to the tower, or the many conversations that came afterwards, or the medical exam he underwent, but he does know that not once did Tony ever let him go.

“Okay?” Tony asked, voice soft and quiet.

They were on the couch, Peter tucked up into Tony’s side. May had given Peter a soft smile and a kiss to the forehead, disappearing into the kitchen behind the living room.

“No,” Peter mumbled. “But better.”

“It’s a lot,” Tony assured him. “It’s okay not to be okay.”

Peter swallowed thickly. “I – I could have….I was going to…”

“You didn’t,” Tony said firmly. “You didn’t, Peter. Focus on that. What he did…nobody can fault you for your actions. But you stopped. And I am so damn proud of you.”

Peter didn’t feel proud. He pressed himself further into Tony’s side. “I’m glad you came when you did.”

“I’ll always be there for you, Peter. Always,” Tony vowed.

Later, when he wasn’t feeling so raw and vulnerable, Peter would ask just how Tony had found him. And Tony would ask him about witness protection and tease him for forgetting about being in it. But for now, he sunk into Tony’s warmth and love, and thought his parents would probably be happy that he had Tony looking out for him and loving him like he was his own. Peter knew he was. He would forever be thankful that he had Tony Stark in his life and promised to show Tony just how grateful he was.

#irondad #spiderson #irondad and spiderson #ironman #spiderman #peter parker #tony stark #We Forgot Peter #ao3 fanfic #fanfic

23 notes · View notes

inkinmyheartandonthepage · 27 days ago

Text

The Knife In My Back

New We Forgot Peter Update! You can read it here on Ao3.

Peter Parker hastily straightened his clothes, glancing around the dim alley way he had been abruptly yanked into. At the far end of the alley way, New Yorkers went about their daily lives, unaware that Peter was being mugged.

Peter glanced down at his would-be mugger, now laying slumped against the damp wall, head lolled to one side. Peter had been on his way to his Stark Industries Internship when he had felt a familiar tingle run down in spine. Before he could react, he was yanked by his backpack. Peter had flailed but dressed as a civilian, when a knife had been pressed to his throat and a voice hissed in his ear to shut up, Peter had done what he had been told.

He had allowed himself to be dragged into the alleyway, out of sight before he had been roughly shoved away. Peter mentally cursed himself that he hadn’t worn his Spiderman gear under his clothing. But Peter couldn’t risk bringing it to SI as nobody knew that it was him who was under the mask. Especially Tony Stark.

When Peter had first applied to the SI internship, it had been a long shot. He wasn’t in college, but it had always been his dream to work at SI. Working under Tony Stark was his ultimate dream and he had been working on his application since he had learned about the internship as a young boy.

When his Aunt May had caught him working on his application, she had encouraged him to apply.

“You may not be in college yet, but it doesn’t hurt to let them know that you are interested now,” she had said. “Apply. You never know unless you try. You may not get it but at least you gave it a go.”

Neither had been quite expecting that congratulations email. After pinching himself to make sure it wasn’t a dream, May had helped him accept the internship and read through all the paperwork with him. Accommodations had been made since he was still in high school, but Peter had accepted two days a week after school to work in the SI labs.

To his shock and delight, he even got to work with Tony Stark. The genius had been there when Peter started his first day and had introduced himself with a charming, but warm, smile.

“Your application was impressive,” Tony had told him. “I’m looking forward to seeing what you can do, Mr. Parker.”

Peter had almost died right then and there (and Ned had almost fainted when Peter had recounted the whole interaction to his best friend.) Tony had stayed for a bit before leaving them with his head of R&D. The next lab day, Tony had come back. Slowly the star struck feeling faded and Peter no longer thought his heart would beat right out of his chest at being in the same room as his hero. He had been working there for over a month now and Peter still couldn’t believe that this was his life.

And that for the first time he was going to be late.

The would-be mugger had demanded Peter to hand over his backpack and any money he had.

“I -I don’t have any money,” Peter protested. “And my backpack just has my schoolbooks!”

“Hand it over,” the mugger had growled.

“Come on, dude,” Peter had whined. “Textbooks are expensive! My aunt will kill me if I lose another backpack.”

The mugger had lunged for Peter and instinct had taken over. They had gotten into a scuffle and Peter forgot to hold back his strength and pushed the mugger too hard. He slammed into the wall of the alleyway and had slumped down, unconscious.

“Sorry,” Peter apologised to the unconscious mugger before he turned on his heel and fled. He darted back onto the sidewalk, walking swiftly towards the Tower where the SI labs were held.

Peter winced as he looked at the time. He was already late, and everyone would notice. They all knew how much Peter loved his internship and that he was never late. Peter wished he had at packed his web shooters, but he didn’t dare bring them with them.

While over the month Peter had become close to Tony (the genius becoming Peter’s mentor in a way that made him miss Ben) the genius had no idea that Peter was Spiderman. Something that Peter didn’t plan on sharing any time soon either.

Picking up his pace, Peter was panting by the time he reached the tower. He fumbled for his ID badge as he hurried through the doors, wincing at the small pain in his shoulder. It gave an annoying throb, a flash of heat following it. He forgot about it as he hurried through security and made his way to the lift. As got in, he fidgeted as he waited for the lift to go to his floor.

He let out a breath as the doors finally slid open and he hurried towards the labs. Through the glass walls he could see that he was the last to arrive, Tony already there. Peter swiped his badge to the lab and pushed open the door, apologies already spewing from his lips.

“Mr. Stark! I am so sorry I’m late,” Peter rushed as he headed towards his desk.

“Kid! I was about to send a search party,” Tony teased as he grinned at Peter.

“I’m sorry! It won’t happen again, I promise,” Peter apologised, letting his backpack fall from his shoulders. He felt a tug between his shoulder blades but ignored it as his backpack hit the floor. He crouched down, unzipping it to grab his notebook. “I promise I’ll stay late to make up for the time I missed.”

“Kid!”

Peter looked up from where he was crouched over his backpack, brows furrowing at the strangled tone Tony had taken. The man was looking at him, eyes wide and horrified. Peter glanced at the other interns, taking in their horrified looks too.

“Mr. Stark?”

Slowly, Tony approached Peter. “Pete. You feeling okay?”

Peter blinked slowly. “Um, yeah?”

“Okay. Good. Good,” Tony said. He came closer, moving to take Peter’s elbow and slowly helped him stand up straight.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter frowned. “Everything okay?”

“It will be,” Tony said firmly. “I don’t want to freak you out.”

“I think that’s too late,” Peter admitted, and he saw Tony’s lips twitch before they fell again. “Mr. Stark? What’s going on?”

“You have a knife in your back,” Tony said bluntly.

Peter froze.

Peter had forgotten about the knife the mugger had held to his throat. And in their scuffle, he had forgotten all about it. Hadn’t even noticed that the mugger had planted it in his back. That explained the pain in his shoulder. He thought the mugger had just gotten good punch in.

“A knife?” Peter squeaked out.

“Yes,” Tony said.

That wasn’t good.

“It’s going to be okay,” Tony said. “I’m going to take you to my med bay, and we’ll get you all fixed up in a jiff.”

“Uh, no. No, that’s fine,” Peter said quickly. No. he couldn’t got to a hospital because then they would know that the wound was healing far too quickly. That would lead to more questions and then Peter’s secret would be out. “I, uh, I should just go home.”

Tony’s grip on Peter’s elbow grew tighter, stopping him from moving. “Peter. I can’t let you go home.”

“It will be fine,” Peter said quickly.

“Hey, Pete.” Tony face got closer to his. “Do you trust me?”

“Wha – of course I do!” Peter spluttered. “You’re Mr. Stark! Ironman! They coolest person ever. I mean, aside from George Lucas because he created Star Wars.”

Tony’s face softened. “Can’t beat that.” His hand squeezed Peter’s elbow. “I may not have created Star Wars, but do you think you could trust me on this?”

Peter took in the earnest, worried expression of the genius and felt his shoulder’s slumping. Pain flared at the knife entry and his grimaced. There was no way he was getting out of this. “Yeah. Okay.”

Tony squeezed his elbow again. “Thank you, Peter. Come on, I’ll take you to the med bay.”

Peter kept his head low as Tony led him out of the lab, trying to ignore the rush of whispers that flooded out of the interns as they left.

“Any idea how you got a knife in your back?” Tony asked lightly as he led Peter down a hallway.

“I got mugged on my way here,” Peter said glumly.

“Oh kid,” Tony winced. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Peter shrugged and then immediately regretted the action. “He didn’t take anything.”

“FRIDAY,” Tony called out as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

“Already on it, Boss,” FRIDAY’s voice came from the small speaker. “Checking security cameras in the area and forwarding it to the police.”

“Please don’t,” Peter rushed out. “No, Mr. Stark. It’s fine. Really.”

“Peter. You have been stabbed and robbed,” Tony said, giving Peter an incredulous look. “I can’t let that go unpunished.”

“He didn’t take anything,” Peter pleaded as Tony led him down another hallway. They walked to the end where there was another elevator tucked into the wall.

“He still stabbed you,” Tony pointed out.

“I just – I don’t want this to be a big deal,” Peter pleaded.

“Kid. I’ll take care of everything. I promise,” Tony said. “And you know your aunt would come after me if I let you leave here with a knife sticking out of you.”

Peter had to agree with Tony there. When May had met the genius when Peter had come in for his interview, she had made it very clear that the Avengers wouldn’t be able to save him if anything happened to Peter under his care.

They got into the lift and Peter fell silent. Worry gnawed through his stomach as the elevator carried them upwards. Tony’s hand was a steady presence on his elbow. When the doors reopened, Tony guided him out and towards a door.

Peter jaw dropped as he was taken into the fanciest hospital he had ever seen.

“Bruce!” Tony called out as he guided Peter to a bed. He helped him sit, not once leaving Peter’s side.

“Holy crap,” Peter gasped as Doctor Bruce Banner came wondering over, glasses perched on his nose and a white lab coat. “That’s Bruce Banner.”

“Nice to meet you,” Bruce said, offering Peter a smile.

“This is Peter Parker,” Tony introduced. “My intern I was telling you about.”

Peter gawked at Tony’s easy admission.

“Ah! And what brings you down here?” Bruce asked with a small smile.

“The knife sticking out of Peter’s back,” Tony said with force casualness.

Bruce did a double take. He hurried behind Peter, letting out a hiss. “How did this happen?”

“He was mugged,” Tony answered for Peter. “Any chance you can get that out and stich him up?”

“Don’t worry, Peter,” Bruce assured him, coming back around the bed so Peter could see his face. “I’ll get that out of you and stitched up in no time. First, I’m going to take some x-rays, make sure it isn’t hitting anything vital. Then we’ll start getting that knife out.”

“Thank you,” Peter said.

Bruce gave him a soft smile. “No problem. Let’s get you lying down on the bed.”

With Tony’s help, they made the bed flat and helped Peter lay on his stomach.

“FRIDAY. Do you mind taking some x-rays and putting it on the screen,” Bruce asked.

“Of course, Doctor Banner. Scanning now,” FRIDAY said.

“Mr Stark?” Peter asked, voice miserable and muffled by the fabric of the bed.

Tony appeared by his head, a hand coming to card gently through Peter’s curls. “Yeah kid?”

“I’m sorry,” Peter whispered.

“You don’t have to be sorry, kid. None of this is your fault,” Tony assured him, voice soft and gentle.

“I – I’ve been lying to you,” Peter sniffed, casting his eyes down.

Tony’s hand stilled in his hand before it started carding through his curls again. “Yeah? About what?”

Peter swallowed thickly. Take a deep, trembling breath, Peter let’s his secret pass his lips. “M’ Spiderman.” With his left hand, he reached out to snag Tony’s jacket and let his power stick to it. He gave it a tug to demonstrate.

Tony’s hand stilled in his hand again. Silence followed.

“Scan complete,” FRIDAY said. “It appears the blade has not penetrated anything vital. However, the wound does appear to have started healing around the blade.”

“That’s…that’s not possible,” Bruce said, and Peter could hear the frown in the doctor’s voice.

Tony cleared his throat. “Bruce. I think we might need Steve’s drugs for this one.”

Peter couldn’t see but he could feel the pointed look that Tony was giving Bruce over his back. Peter heard Bruce walk away and then Tony face was hovering in front of Peter’s.

“So, Underoos. You’re the webslinger, huh?” Tony asked, eyes dancing across Peter’s face.

Peter gave a miserable nod.

“That’s a big secret to have,” Tony said gently. “Thank you for telling me.”

“Didn’t have a choice,” Peter gave a small huff. Peter waved a hand towards his back. “This kind of blew it.”

Tony chuckled. “Little bit. But thank you for telling me.”

“You’re not mad?” Peter asked, eyes wide.

“Only at myself,” Tony said. “I’ve been trying to find Spiderman to reach out, offer him some training.” He gave Peter an amused look. “Never thought you’d be right under my nose or one of my interns.”

Peter gave a small grin.

“I meant what I said,” Tony said. “You can trust me, Peter. And I still want to help you.”

“You do?” Peter asked. When Tony nodded, Peter let out a breath. “That would be so cool.”

“Cooler than George Lucas?” Tony asked.

Peter snorted. “Mr. Stark. Nothing will ever be cooler than him.”

Tony laughed, shaking his head. He grinned at Peter. “Let’s get this knife out of you and then you can tell me all about how you became Spiderman.”

This isn’t how Peter wanted to have his secret told, but he was (in a small way) grateful for the mugger. Being a superhero was hard and it would be nice to have Tony in his corner. And maybe, together, they could do something great.

#ao3 fanfic #irondad #spiderson #peter parker #tony stark

21 notes · View notes