Tony was having a bad day. Earlier he and Pepper had gotten into a fight, and things had escalated quickly. Now she was giving him the silent treatment and not returning any calls or texts, simply leaving him on read so he knew she was getting them. Then, when he had hoped that Peter would help cheer him up (and maybe help him out, Peter was much better with people), he got a text from the kid that he had a project due for his Psychology class due the next day that he still needed to finish.
"Can't you just tell the teacher that it's going to be late?"
"Mr. Stark, if I don't present it in front of the class tomorrow, I get an F. I would have to have a valid excused absence, and even then I would have to make it up with a ten page paper, and that would take even more time! I promise, I'll be there next week."
So, Tony broke his promise he had made to Pepper, Rhodey, Peter, and himself, and began to drink.
He knew he shouldn't have, but really, it wasn't a lot. He could control it. Maybe. Probably.
Definitely not.
The next morning he was experiencing the worst hangover of his life. His head was killing him, he was slightly nauseous, and wanted water more than Flint, Michigan probably did. What he needed was a good, hearty breakfast, and maybe a little hair of the dog. He had his nice bottle of bourbon hiding away in one of his cabinets. (He was pretty sure Pepper knew about it, but since he never drank any of it, she never brought it up. He could just throw it out later and if she asked, just tell her that he had decided to remove all temptation.)
He groaned as he sat up, stretching his body. Blood pounded in his ears, and he had to wait a moment for the room to stop spinning.
"Boss, there was a reported gas leak in Midtown Tech." FRIDAY reported, making him jump.
"Volume down 53%, FRI," Tony groaned. He rubbed his eyes, then what she said hit him, "What?!"
"Midtown Tech reportedly is experiencing a gas leak. You also have seven unread text messages from May and Peter Parker." FRIDAY replied, but softer. Tony spun quickly, (a little too quickly, and had to stop so the spots in his vision would fade) and grabbed his phone. Turning the brightness all the way down, he looked at the from May first.
Hey Tony, Midtown has a gas leak, so they cancelled for the day. They figured it out before anyone got there, so there's no need to panic. However, I have to work today, and Peter was wondering if he could come over since he wasn't able to last night. I told him as long as you're okay with it, he could go, but otherwise he shouldn't leave the house unless Spiderman is needed.
Relieved that Peter wasn't in danger, he checked those from him
Mr. Stark can I come over?
May says I can if you say so and I feel really bad that I couldn't last night.
Also I'm not even allowed to go to Ned's.
Please Mr. Stark?
I promise I won't get in your way, I can just work in my lab if you want.
If not, that's okay though, I don't want to bother you.
Tony grinned softly, and sent back a quick reply to both of them.
Of course it's fine, I'll send Happy.
He sent Happy a text afterwards telling him to go pick him up. His phone dinged a moment later
Ugh, fine
He smirked at that, and then realized that he was going to have to pull himself together. He couldn't have Peter come over when he looked (and smelled) the way he did He slowly got out of bed and walked to the shower. After a quick shower, shave, and brush, (both his hair and teeth), he was ready for Peter. He checked the location of the car on his phone (all his electronics were linked so he could track any device from anywhere) and saw that they were about ten minutes away. He popped a few ibuprofen and walked down to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for them. It was only nine o'clock, and he figured that even if the kid had eaten, his metabolism would make him hungry enough to eat something anyway. About ten minutes later, he was frying up some eggs and hash browns when he heard the elevator open.
"Hey Mr. Stark!" Peter called brightly, bounding over to him. Tony smiled.
"Hey Pete. Hungry?"
"When am I not?" Peter responded, grinning at the sight of the food. "It looks amazing Mr. Stark!"
Tony flipped the eggs, and making sure nothing was in danger of burning in the next thirty seconds. turned to give the kid a hug. He heard the kid sigh, knowing how much he loved hugs. Suddenly, he felt him stiffen. Confused, he pulled away.
"What's wrong kid? Do I smell bad?" Tony joked, unable to contain his uneasiness at the expression on Peter's face.
"Not bad, just... wrong," Peter replied distantly.
"Wrong? How so?" Tony was really worried at this point.
"You... you smell like alcohol," Peter whispered, almost too quietly for Tony to hear.
Tony's heart broke. The small voice, the way Peter wouldn't meet his eyes. He could sense the disappointment.
"Kid..." Tony's voice broke.
"You promised," came the small voice. Tears threatened to spill out of Tony's eyes.
"I know, I'm so sorry."
"Why?" His voice was thick, and that's what set Tony off.
"I wish I could tell you, but I don't know. I was just lonely, and things weren't going right, and I just broke," Tony explained through his tears. There was silence for a moment.
"You were lonely?" He said it so softly, Tony wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not. After a moment of confusion as to what he meant, he realized that Peter was blaming himself for not being there, and that was Not Okay.
"No, no, no, that isn't the only reason. I messed up wit Pepper, and I just wanted to forget about it. Please, don't you dare blame yourself," Tony said sternly. He couldn't let him blame himself, no way.
"But if I had been there, you wouldn't have done it," he said, wiping his face while still staring at the ground.
"I might have when you left," Tony said fiercely. "Don't you dare blame yourself, you'll only make me feel worse."
He felt bad for trying to guilt trip Peter, but it seemed to work. After a few moments, Peter finally looked back up at him. Tony thought his heart was broken before, but seeing the red eyes and the two or three tears shattered it.
"Oh kid," he said, before pulling him in for another hug. He felt Peter bury his head into his expensive jacket, and simply held him, one hand on his back and the other cradling his head. They stood like that for a few minutes, then he heard a muffled voice against his chest.
"You promise it's not my fault?"
"No, Pete, this was all on me."
"Promise you'll stop this time?" This one was smaller.
Tony considered a moment, and reluctantly let Peter go. He walked over to the cabinet, feeling Peter's eyes on him. He reached for the hidden compartment and pulled out his hidden bourbon from the night before. There was a pretty good amount missing, he grimaced noticing. He walked over to the sink and poured the rest down the drain. He turned towards Peter, and saw him blank faced.
"I promise, the only other alcohol in this tower is used for chemistry purposes. And I'm not stupid enough to drink that," Tony promised. Peter smiled, but his face then twisted into a look of disgust. Tony wondered what he had done wrong, when Peter looked behind him and his eyes widened.
"The eggs are on fire!"