Chapter Text
Peter delivered the coffees, (double espresso for Tony, Earl Grey tea for Pepper), with the steadiest hand he could manage.
He placed the cups on their designated cork coasters on Tony's vast desk, avoiding eye contact with either of them.
"Will there be anything else, Mr. Stark? Ms. Potts?" Peter asked, his voice was almost too high.
"No, Parker. You can go," Tony dismissed him, his eyes fixed on Pepper.
Peter practically fled, closing the door softly behind him. He sighed in relief, planning to fetch the ASGARD reports to have an excuse to return in a few minutes.
He walked along, strolling through the corridors, noticing nothing unusual.
He took two steps down a silent hallway when, from a dark alcove housing a supply closet, two strong hands grabbed him. One clamped over his mouth, muffling his surprised yelp, while the other pulled him into the darkness.
The door shut behind them.
Inside the office, Pepper watched Tony. She began to speak, calmly.
"Your weekend was... productive, I see?" she asked, taking a sip of her tea.
It was the first jab. His absence.
Tony just shrugged, looking down at his tablet, "The ASGARD merger is demanding full attention, Pep..." He deflected.
"I understand," Pepper continued, "It's just that... a few shareholders called me. Concerned about... volatility. And about your recent, unexpected partnership with that... employed." Second jab. Beck.
"Beck is a necessary evil. And talented. We're aligned now," Tony replied, still not looking at her.
"Aligned," Pepper repeated, the word hanging in the air, "You seemed quite 'aligned' with your new secretary this morning, too. A new suit? Generous of you, Tony..." Third jab. Peter.
"He's my... my personal assistant now. He needs to look presentable," Tony countered, irritation starting to seep into his voice.
"Of course," Pepper smiled, a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "I just found it curious that you were completely incommunicado all weekend. I was worried. I thought something might have happened." Fourth jab. The disappearance... The lie...
"I was busy!" Tony snapped.
"I'm sure you were," Pepper said softly. She stood, walking over to the window, "I just wonder, Tony... busy with what? Or with... whom?"
Tony groaned, throwing the tablet onto the desk. He stood up, "WHAT. DO. YOU. WANT. Pep? What do you REALLY want to hear?"
She turned, her composure finally breaking, her face flushed, her eyes shining with hurt, "I WANT to know what YOU want! From me! Why are you acting like this? Why has everything been a complete mess these past few months?!"
Tony faced her, the arrogance gone, leaving behind a deep weariness. He muttered, almost inaudibly, "Years."
"What?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"I said... years," he repeated, louder. "Things have been a mess for years, Pepper. Not months. I'm tired..."
The conversation derailed from there,
about distance, about unmet expectations.
Pepper asked why they were always so distant, why he never seemed truly present.
"Because I NEVER was," Tony admitted, his voice defeated. He looked at her, the woman who had been his rock for so long, "I always cared about you, Pep. Always admired you. Always considered you... the best part of my life." He took a deep breath. "But I never loved you."
The shock on Pepper's face was visceral. Horror. Anger. Pain. She understood now.
"You..." she began, her voice trembling, "You're breaking up with me?"
Tony nodded, feeling like garbage, "You deserve better. Someone who can give you what I can't."
She didn't take it well, the hurt turned into fury.
"Better? After all these years? You wasted my time, Tony! You LIED! You... You disappeared! You were... destroying our relationship while I was trying to fix it!"
The word "destroying" hit him.
"You're a liar! You consume everything around you!"
Her words were echoes of Quentin's, of Peter's, of so many others...
He tensed, a vein pulsing softly in his temple.
The flashbacks came: past fights, accusations, the constant feeling of being inadequate, of being a black hole.
Pepper's voice became background noise, her words losing meaning as he shut down.
Peter felt the rough fabric scrape his face before it was pulled down.
He was suffocating,
his heart pounding wildly.
It was dark, he was tied to a chair, trembling with fear. Kidnapping? Terrorism?
Suddenly, the sack was pulled off his head. He blinked, his eyes adjusting to the dimness. He was in a dark, empty office floor, only the emergency lights flickering. And surrounding him, in a....quite dramatic semi-circle, were some familiar figures.
Clint stood right in front, holding a flashlight under his chin, looking ridiculously serious. Also Janice, Victoria, that guy from Finance, that Marketing intern, even some faces he didn't recognize.
It looked like a tribal council.
"Peter Parker," Clint's voice was deep and theatrical. "You stand accused by The Alliance."
Peter felt such immense relief he almost laughed, "Clint! What the hell?! Untie me!"
"Silence, prisoner!" Clint commanded, "You have been compromised. You lied to us. You deceived The Alliance, consorting with the enemy!"
"Compromised! Compromised!" some whispered in the background.
"It's not like that!" Peter tried to explain, "I can explain, guys! Let me go!"
"I am disappointed, Parker," Clint continued, ignoring him, "We trusted you. Our agent inside the eagle's nest..."
Peter looked around. It was kind of creepy, "Clint, this is ridiculous! Untie me! Tony's going to notice I'm gone, he'll check the cameras!"
Clint scoffed, "First: I'm head of IT, I turn off whatever cameras I want. Second: FRIDAY is... otherwise occupied."
Vibrant virtual server room.
Abstract data streams flow like waterfalls in the background.
Around a sleek and holographic poker table float four distinct light-based avatars... They were FRIDAY, JARVIS, KAREN, and EDITH.
And opposite them, awkwardly interfaced via a direct link and represented by a clunky, blocky avatar, was DUM-E.
The sophisticated AIs were """"murmuring"""" probability calculations.
JARVIS: "The statistical probability of Player DUM-E drawing a sequential royal flush is... 0.000154%."
FRIDAY: "Yet, empirical data suggests..."
DUM-E emits a simple 'Beep-Boop' sound and lays down five glowing cards: 10, J, Q, K, A of Spades.
KAREN: "Anomaly detected, guys... recalculating... It appears DUM-E wins."
DUM-E's avatar performs a victory wiggle.
Peter looked at Clint, exhausted, "What is your problem? Let me go."
"No."
"I'll tell you everything if you let me go."
"Don't believe ya!"
"It doesn't even make sense to tie me to a chair on a random floor!"
"I enjoy theatrics," Clint admitted.
Peter lost his patience, "CLINT! UNTIE ME! NOW!"
The shout echoed through the empty floor. Clint groaned, the dramatic pose deflating, "Aw, come on, Parker, you ruined the mood..." He went and untied Peter.
Peter stood, rubbing his sore wrists. He took a deep breath, "Okay. You guys want the truth?" He looked at the curious, suspicious faces around him, "Me, Tony, and Quentin... we're together. Romantically. It's... a relationship. The three of us."
Absolute shock. Total silence. Nobody moved.
Then,
chaos.
"WHAT?!", "HOW?!", "SINCE WHEN?!", "BECK?!", "WHAT ABOUT PEPPER?!", "IS HE CHEATING?!", "IS THIS EVEN LEGAL?!" The questions came from all sides.
Peter tried to answer everything, "I... I don't know what Tony's going to do about Ms. Potts," he admitted. "But I... I really hope they figure it out..."
He was interrupted by a commotion. Several members were staring at their phones,
"Guys!" the Marketing Intern yelled, "Someone on the Exec floor just posted! Mr. Stark... collapsed! Panic attack! They took him to the Tower medbay..."
Peter's blood ran cold, "What? I have to go!" And he bolted towards the emergency stairs, taking the flights down as fast as he could.
When he arrived, panting, at the door of the Tower's medba, he saw Quentin arriving at the same time from the elevator, looking equally confused and worried.
Their eyes met.