Life Changes (ch 9)
Life Changes (ch 9)
Finally Peter was able to start PT and he could feel that it was going to be a long day. Getting out of the bed was one thing, standing upright was another. Walking was an entirely different beast all together. Dr. Romanova was pretty patient with him. He asked her multiple times if she thought he could actually walk again. Every time, she calmly told him that he was doing great. The woman honestly had the patience of a saint. Walking wouldn’t come yet, as he was still having trouble staying upright by himself. He was sore and just wanted to sleep. He glances over to the door, distracted. He wanted to see Tony, but also didn’t want to see Tony. He wanted Tony to be proud of him for something. He feels the back of his head being lightly slapped and he snapped out of his thoughts.
“If you don’t stop staring into space, I’m going to let you fall on your face.”
“You wouldn’t!” Peter pouts a little. She raises an eyebrow and loosens her grip. Peter stumbles and flails his arms. She catches him easily and smirks.
“Believe me now?”
“That was mean.” Peter pouts.
“What’s on your mind, Spiderling?” She asked, sitting him down slowly in a chair.
“Spiderling?”
“That’s not answering the question.”
Peter sighs a little. “I don’t…..I don’t know if Tony and I are the right thing.”
Something flashed in the woman’s eyes but her speech remained calm. “Explain?”
“Tony is amazing, you know that. But am I really good enough for him? I mean, he’s a brain surgeon for god’s sake. One of the best.in the world. And I’m just an ex-dancer. He saves lives for a living.”
Dr. Romanova nods a little. “Tony is a special person. He’s a man with a broken past. I have never seen him smile as much as he does since he met you. He is legitimately happy. He hasn’t lost a case since you two became a thing. You’re like his saving grace or something. His good luck charm. Never doubt your self worth Peter.”
Peter looks down. “Yeah. You’re right. It was dumb.”
Did Tony really believe he was good luck? He didn’t feel like he deserved it but he wasn’t going to argue with Tony. Or Dr. Romanova because she kinda scared him.
“Peter I don’t blame you for questioning yourself, but maybe you should talk to him about all this.”
“No.” Peter shakes his head. “No. I can’t. I don’t want to worry him.”
-----.-----
Tony makes his way across the lobby area to look at the surgical board. It looked like he was clipping an aneurysm in a bit and he had to check on Aaron. He would like to spend some time in the ER today. Maybe he could catch Peter for lunch and he could finally meet Steve. He’d ask Nat. Turning on his heel, Tony makes his way towards Aaron’s room. As he walked, he sings softly to himself. ‘Sweet Caroline’ typically comes to mind when he had moments like this. They were rare before he met Peter, but they did happen.
“Sweeet Carolineeee, bum bum bum, good times never seemed so good-”
“My god, you’re smitten.” A voice behind him interrupted.
Tony stops and turns. Stephen stood there with an amused look on his face.
“I can’t help it!” He grins. “It’s a good feeling, to have someone want you for more than your brain. Pun intended.”
Stephen’s face fell a little but he recovered quickly. Tony still caught it and felt bad.
“Well I’m happy for you. It’s about time you started smiling more.”
“Stephen I didn’t mean-”
“Don’t worry about it.” Stephen waves his hand. “On your way to go see Aaron?”
Grateful for the subject change, Tony nods. “He’s doing great from what I’ve heard. Oh hey, what are you doing for lunch?”
“I’m not sure. Why?”
“I was gonna see if Steve and Bucky and Nat and Peter wanted to do lunch. You wanna come? A real lunch not hospital food.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Go see your future FBI agent.”
Tony gives a mock salute and smiles. “See ya at lunch.”
“Maybe.”
“Nah. I’ll see you then.”
Tony laughs as he makes his way into Aaron’s room. Only Hayley was there.
“No Spencer today?”
“He had class. At the university.” Aaron smiles a little. “Going for his first PhD.”
“His first?” Tony raises an eyebrow.
“He’s a genius.” Hayley says proudly. “Graduated highschool at thirteen.”
“Wow, he really is a genius.” Tony whistles. “Well it all looks good. Ready to get out of here?”
“I’d love nothing more.” Aaron answers, sitting up.
“I’ll get you the papers, one moment.” Tony leaves the room to go get the papers and returns a moment later. “Just fill the paper and then take it to the desk and you’re free to go.”
“Thanks Dr. Stark. You’re the best.”
Tony laughs a little. “Yeah that is what I’ve been told.”
“Yeah well it’s true.” Aaron replies, filling out the paperwork.
It was nice to hear that. He felt the smile growing across his face. It was cases like this that reminded him why he does what he does. To help people. To see their smiles and happy tears as they hug each other in relief. It was unlike anything he’s ever seen. Tony bids them goodbye and decided to go find Steve to ask about lunch. He makes his way upstairs to Steve’s office and knocked on the door that was usually open, but was closed now. Tony heard a gasp and then a thump, laughter and then
“One moment!”
A few minutes later the door was opened to reveal Steve with messy hair and a red face. Looking over his shoulder, Tony spots Bucky sitting in Steve’s desk chair looking smug as hell. The drawings on his arm were smudged. Tony smirks a little.
“In the office? You have balls Rogers. Or a kink. Either way,” Tony gives a two fingered salute. Bucky laughs loudly behind them. Steve turns and shoots him what Tony assumes is a dirty look.
“Can I help you with something Tony?” He forces out. Tony barely held back the laughter building up in his throat, earning himself the ‘Steve Rogers Stare of Disappointment’.
“Yeah I was wondering if you and Bucky wanted to join me, Peter and Stephen for lunch. You are the only one who hasn’t met him yet.”
Steve instantly brightens up. “Yeah. That sounds great. Bucky?”
“As long as it’s not hospital food I’m in.” Bucky calls with a wave.
“Awesome. We’re meeting at noon. Make sure you have pants on.” He teases.
Steve shot him daggers at him in the form of his bright blues. Tony just cracks up.
“Okay you two carry o. I’m gonna go find Peter.”
‘You haven’t told him about lunch yet.”
Tony bites his lip.
“....No?”
“You set up a group lunch date and didn’t think to ask your boyfriend yet?”
“I’m going I’m going.” He turns to walk away but looks back. “Stay safe you two.”
The response was a pen flying at Tony’s head.
Tony made his way to the ortho PT area but it was empty. So next he tried Peter’s room. As he got closer, he hears soft singing. It was Peter.
“...One dance, just you and me, beneath the moon, beside the sea. One dance and it’s happily ever after...One dance and you will see, we’re not so different, you and me. Just us two, me and you. One dance…”
The song had a sad feeling to it and Peter’s voice was like a siren, strong and beautiful, but also sad and sorrowful. Tony feels himself being drawn in and moving forward.
“What song is that?” He hears himself asking.
Peter gasped, startled. He flushes and looks away.
“Sorry, I got a little bored.”
“Don’t apologize. It was beautiful.” He settles on the bed.
“It’s called ‘One Dance’. It was a deleted song from the movie, replaced by ‘Part of Your World’. It is on some soundtracks but wasn’t included in the movie due to not being catchy enough. It’s when Ariel is human and has deep feelings for Eric. It’s a beautiful song, one of my favorites.”
“It sounded beautiful. I love it.” Tony smiles. “So how was PT?”
“Dr. Romanova almost dropped me but other than that, I’m almost ready to stand on my own.”
“You’ll be walking in no time.”
“I hope so. I’d hate to take up a bunch of room being in a wheelchair for your friend’s wedding.”
Tony laughs softly. “That is true. But i won’t have you walking before you can. I care that you heal fully, no matter how long it takes.”
Peter nods a little. “Yeah I know. I'm just a bit stubborn.”
“Just like me. I can match you stubborn for stubborn.”
Peter laughs. “Is that so?”
“Yes it is. Oh!” Tony clasps his hands together. “We have a lunch date.”
“We do?”
“Well, you, me, Stephen, Bucky and Steve do. Non hospital food.”
“Oh? So I finally get to meet this Steve everyone keeps talking about.”
“Yes you do and he’s excited to meet you too.” Tony laughs a little at the memory of interrupting Steve and Bucky earlier.
“What’s so funny?”
“Earlier I interrupted Steve and Bucky in his office.”
“Interrupted…?” Then realization dawned on the younger man’s soft face. “Oh. Oh .”
“Yep. He threw a pen at my head.” He pulls the pen from the pocket of his coat. “This one.” It was blue and had ‘MARVEL HOSPITAL. Saving lives is what we do’. Peter looks at the pen and laughs.
“It is a nice pen.”
“Yeah. I guess it is.” Tony smiles.
“Maybe it can be a good luck charm.”
“Nah. I already have one.” Tony grins and kisses Peter’s forehead.
Peter blushes at the compliment. Tony found it endearing.
-----.-----
Steve leaves his jacket in his office and heads down to peds to pick up Bucky for lunch. He pushes through the door and greets the group of interns. He finds Bucky in the NICU, feeding one of the smaller babies. Steve waits until the bottle is empty before going forward. Bucky looks up at him and smiles. After getting caught that morning, Steve redid the drawing on Bucky’s arm. Today’s there was Disney.
“Hey Stevie.”
“Hey Buck. Is he eating now?” Steve asked, peeking over the bed. This little boy had been refusing to eat since he had surgery repairing his stomach.
“Yeah, a whole eight ounces today.” Bucky grins. He holds the empty bottle up proudly.
“That’s wonderful.” Steve kisses him softly. “Come on, we have to meet the others. Tony decided we’re doing Mexican, so we’re meeting the others there.”
“Mexican sounds amazing. I haven’t had a good taco in a while.”
“Well let’s get going then.”
Bucky laces their fingers together and pulls him to the door.
“I’m driving.”
Once they arrived, were seated and orders were placed, Steve looks around at the faces at the table.
“Where’s Stephen?”
“He had an emergency surgery come up. An FBI agent came in with a bullet wound to the neck.” Tony explains.
Steve winces. Getting shot suckes. Getting shot in the neck was probably hell. He finally looks at the new face and smiles.
“So you’re the Peter Parker Tony is so crazy about?”
Peter nods, obviously nervous.
“Yes sir, that’s me.”
Steve couldn't help but smile.
“No sir. Makes me feel a hundred years old. Just Steve. It’s okay, I don’t bite.”
“Bullshit.” Bucky says, tugging at his collar. Purple spots littered his neck.
“Damn Steve! I thought I was possessive.” Tony snorts.
Steve rolls his eyes and turned his attention back to Peter.
“Any way, if you didn’t know, Tony is nuts about you.”
“Yeah. I think I got really lucky.” Peter laughs.
“Nah you just have amazing tastes.” Tony says, leaning over and stealing a bite of the young man’s taco salad.
“Oi!” Peter smacks him away. “Mine!”
“It’s rude to smack the man you love.” Tony says before a panicked look crosses his face. “Shit, sorry. It slipped out and-”
“Yeah.” Peter interrupts him. “My bad.” His face has a smile so bright the room seems dim. He presses a smile kiss to Tony’s cheek and whispers in his ear. Steve has never seen Tony blush that much.
Steve looks over at Bucky, who’s expression was soft. Steve leans on his fiance's shoulder.
“That’s forever right there.”
“It sure as hell is.”
More Posts from Consultingundergroundrainbow and Others
Starker Exchange Tumblr update
Hi all,
Unsure if you guys will actually see this post.
Unfortunately, because this blog was marked as explicit–done to give people fair warning and a chance to be responsible–Starker Exchange now no longer appears in searches and has been pretty much stripped of anything belonging to the original layout.
We’re also unsure whether any new posts will actually show up on dashboards so the reveal will be done on Dreamwidth. I wanted to actually do the reveals here because this is where the exchange started but, unfortunately, I don’t feel that this is possible.
We will cross-post this to Dreamwidth. If you can see this post, please do spread the word, it’ll be much appreciated.
All the best, - SE Mods
stopped working on the new years comic 2 make this.
im not joking btw.
The Earl in blue
anonymously make an assumption about me and i'll confirm/deny it
Whoever decided that I am legally an adult is hysterical 🤬
I've done all but starved myself.
I tried to forget my feelings for you. I did. Honestly. But every time I see you, I fall in love with you all over again. I know you don't love me, but I still love you. I'm sorry.
This guy on my science class drew this
Life Changes (ch8)
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.”
Me Too
#MeToo. Why?
Because just because someone goes on a date or flirts with you, they do not owe you sex.
Because she was wearing a skirt does not mean she wants to be harassed.
Because it does happen to guys and girls, men and women and everyone in between
Because clothing doesn't make it anymore or less likely to happen.
I was wearing my marching uniform with shorts and a T-shirt underneath. If you tell me or any other survivor that we were "asking for it" or that "you should have stopped it" or "you secretly enjoyed it" I will personally break your nose. No questions asked
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