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"You're really, really sure you want me here?" Peter leaned into Tony's side, talking under his breath.
" Peter . I made the reservation four months ago. I bought you a 6,000 dollar suit. We matched my tie and your pocket square to Pepper's dress. We're sitting in the restaurant - that's a pretty long con for me to pull to ditch you at the last second," Tony replied, the table shaking slightly as his leg bounced anxiously.
"I know, but you're literally going to pop the ques-"
Peter let out a wheeze as Tony elbowed him in the ribs just in time for Pepper to take her seat again, an exasperated look on her face.
"Honestly, if I would've known that being C.E.O of Stark Industries would lead to me getting harangued by reporters in the ladies room I might not have said yes," she deadpanned, arranging her napkin on her lap. "This lady practically locked me in there and wouldn't let me out until I gave her a statement regarding the release of the new Stark Watch," she sighed.
"I told you I should've bought out the whole floor," Tony hissed to Peter under his breath, hiding his face behind the menu.
"And I told you that would give away the whole surprise," the teenager whispered back, an unimpressed look on his face.
"What is up with you two tonight? You've had your heads together ever since we sat down," Pepper teased, flipping one side of her menu down to raise an eyebrow at them. "And you still haven't told me why we're here in the first place,"
"Uh- no reason Ms. Potts!" Peter squeaked, and Tony had to resist the urge to hit his head against the table.
"You know me- any excuse to get dressed up and blow some cash- will you excuse us for a moment please?" Tony said, looking over at Peter and motioning towards the other side of the restaurant.
Keeping their pace measured- and doing their best to not look like they were fleeing the table- they walked into the bathroom, the heavy door swinging shut behind them.
"Peter. Roo. Light of my life. You're killing me here," Tony sighed, splashing some cold water on his face.
"You know I can't lie to Ms. Potts!" Peter's voice pitched upwards in fear.
"You lie to me almost every time you come home from patrol,"
"Ms. Potts is different!"
"Geez, I'm gonna have to have Pepper monitor your baby monitor footage instead- maybe you'll take better care of yourself," Tony muttered with an exasperated sigh.
"Tony,"
"Sorry, sorry- not the point. Ok, let's go over the plan one more time,"
"So after we finish our food, I'm going to get up and go get the flowers that you have waiting in the kitchen, and follow the waiter as he brings out the desert. Once the cake is on the table I give her the flowers, then you kneel down and show her the ring- Pepper says yes, and we all go home,"
"Perfect," Tony said, brushing back a stray wisp of Peter's hair before placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Alright, we can do this,"
"Now who's nervous," Peter teased, watching as Tony turned towards the mirror and straightened his tie for the fiftieth time in ten minutes.
Tony didn't even respond, simply rolling his eyes fondly before stepping out the open door and heading back towards the table.
"I was just about to send the waiter in after you," Pepper said dryly, but her eyes betrayed her concern. "I had to place our drink order already,"
"And look at that, perfect timing," Tony said, sitting down just as the waiter approached again.
"Two sparkling waters," the man said, setting down the two bottles. "And one martini, extra olives," As soon as the glass hit the table, Peter's spider sense flared, and his head snapped up, eyes sweeping over the surrounding tables.
There was nothing there. Nobody readying weapons, nobody glancing at them over their shoulder, no one at the shadowy corner of the room- nothing.
It was the drink- it had to be the drink.
Peter stared intently at the liquid, not seeing anything overly wrong with it, but his spider sense continued to needle him at the back of his mind. His eyes flickered to Tony, who was staring intently at the menu, and he almost opened his mouth, before he saw the man nervously fidgeting with the ring box Peter knew was in his pocket.
Oh god- this is going to kill the proposal. Nothing sets a romantic mood like; hey Pepper, I think somebody might have tried to drug your martini.
Peter fidgeted nervously, gaze flitting around his surroundings, desperately searching for a place to dump the drink. There wasn’t a vase of flowers at the center of the table that he could tip it in, and he couldn’t very well spill it on the table- he didn’t know what could happen if anyone accidentally touched the liquid.
Thankfully Pepper had been too focused on what she was going to order to take a sip of her drink- so Peter waited until she bent down to look for something in her purse before swiping the glass off the table, seeing no other choice than to just knock it back in one gulp.
The liquid was already halfway down his throat before he realized that might not have been his greatest idea.
Peter grasped at the tablecloth, his eyes watering as a burning sensation clawed at his throat- barely even noticed his and Pepper's glasses toppling over, his sparking water dousing the tablecloth.
"Oh my god- Peter sweetie, are you alright?" Pepper asked, putting a gentle hand on his heaving shoulder.
"'M fine," he wheezed, a few tears slipping down his cheeks.
"Went down the wrong pipe?" Tony asked, reaching across the table to give him a pat on the shoulder.
"Mmhmm," Peter hummed, leaning heavily against the table as he took in gulping breaths. "S'ry," he gestured at the puddle of liquid seeping across the table.
"It's ok Roo, deep breaths alright?" Tony said gently, concern shining in his eyes. "Here, do you want a sip of my water?"
Peter took it gratefully, though the cold liquid did nothing to quell the fire in his throat.
"Can I take your orders please?" The waiter asked, and Peter stared down at his menu. The words seemed to be swirling on the page, his eyes unable to make out more than two letters at a time.
"Petey?" Peter looked up to see Tony looking at him, a concerned crease in his brow.
"Oh! Uh- this please," Peter said, plopping his finger down randomly on the menu, not concerned with what he was pointing at- his stomach was churning too much to even think about eating it anyway.
"Very good- I'll also bring out some new drinks as well," the waiter walked away, the click of his heels on the tile sounding like a hammer echoing in Peter's skull.
"Peter- baby, are sure you're alright?" Tony said softly, and the teenager lifted his head up from where it was resting on his arms, to see his mentor crouching next to his chair.
"Mm, just- loud," Peter choked out. It wasn't necessarily a lie- every high pitched scrape of silverware around him sending stabs of pain through his temple.
"Oh Roo," Tony sighed, guiding Peter's head down to rest against his chest. "We can always go home if you need to, ok? You're more important to me than making a perfect moment,"
"It's fine- I'm just gonna, take a break for a sec," Peter replied, standing up and putting all his energy into walking normally despite the slight dizziness he was feeling.
Practically falling into the counter the second he stepped into the bathroom, he winced as he saw his reflection in the mirror. A few strands of his previously perfectly gelled hair pressed flat against his forehead, his skin almost looking grey. "C'mon Peter, c'mon- don' ruin the moment," he muttered to himself, trying to splash some water on his face, and ending up dousing his suit instead. "Shit," Picking up some paper towels from the basket, he dabbed at his suit a few times before running one under the water and pressing it to his forehead. The coolness eased the throbbing just a little, and Peter took a steadying breath, still bracing himself against the counter. "You can do this Peter, you can do this,"
The waiter was just putting down the plates as Peter took his seat once more, Tony shooting a skeptical look at Pepper as the plates hit the table.
"You...ordered a shrimp cocktail?" Tony said slowly, and Peter looked down.
So he did.
"Um- figured I should branch out my tastes a little," Peter replied, giving an unconvincing smile.
Tony and Pepper kept up a light conversation as they dug into their meals- Peter hardly looked at his food, staring at one point on the table cloth like he was trying to bore a hole in it.
He almost let out an audible sigh of relief as Pepper's fork clinked down on her empty plate, and Peter was jumping up a second later- a little too anxious to finally get the plan in motion, and moving a little too fast for his body to handle.
Stumbling to the side as the whole room pitched to the left, he almost collided with the wall, his spider-sense stopping him at the last second. Vision swimming too much to see straight, Peter felt his way along the wall until he hit the swinging doors of the kitchen.
"Uh- 's th'r some fl'wrs?" He slurred, the burning feeling in his throat returning with a vengeance.
"What?" He heard someone say, their voice sounding yards away. The lightheaded feeling was almost overtaking him, so he dropped to his knees, hands pressed against either side of his head, desperately trying to stay conscious.
"You alright kid?" Somebody was kneeling next to him, and Peter raised his head, his hands fumbling to wipe some frustrated tears from his cheeks.
This was Tony and Pepper's big moment, he wasn't gonna ruin it. He wasn't.
"Mm," Peter groaned, desperately trying to steady his vision. "Roses- please,"
The person in front of him disappeared, coming back a moment later to press the bouquet into his hands. "Boy, this is some case of the jitters," they said gently, giving Peter an arm and helping him stand up.
"They’re not for me," he said weakly, and almost on cue, Tony stepped through the doors.
"Oh my god, Peter," he reached out to cup Peter's face, the other hand pressing against his forehead. "That's it, we're going home- now," Tony said firmly, as Peter shook his head frantically.
"No! No, Tony don't- I can make it, I promise- jus' looks worse than it is,” Peter argued weakly, grasping at Tony's shoulders. "We're already here- you spent so much time planning this,we can’t go home yet,"
"Alright- but we are hauling ass the second my knee leaves the floor, you got me?"
Tony's gentle hand on his shoulder was the only thing grounding Peter as they walked back, though the room was still spinning dangerously.
"Is everything alright- what's going on?" Pepper asked worriedly, her eyes jumping between the pair.
Peter stepped forward and presented the flowers, not so much handing them to her as shoving them in her face- black spots appearing in his vision.
No. No no no- not now not now not now
Vaguely he could see Pepper's lips move, but her voice was drowned out by the ringing in his ears. He stepped to the side as Pepper set down the bouquet, swaying lightly on his feet.
Ok. This is it- just a few more seconds.
I'm gonna watch him propose...and then I'll die.
Tony barely got the ring out of his pocket before Peter was crumpling to the ground, strong arms stopping him from braining himself on the table at the last second.
"Peter!" Someone screamed, but he couldn't exactly tell who.
"Peter..."
"Stay with me..."
"...It's gonna be ok..."
"...keep those eyes open Roo..."
Stars were almost completely obscuring his vision as voices filtered through his brain, and he could just barely register a hand gently running through his hair.
"S'ry," he murmured, before his eyes slipped closed.
*****
"Ok May...yeah...Happy's on his way, alright? Ok...see you in a few,"
Peter opened his eyes to see Pepper putting her cellphone down on the windowsill, Tony's suit jacket draped around her.
"Hi sweetheart," she said gently, as her eyes met Peter's- and Tony was shooting up from his place against Pepper's shoulder, reaching the edge of the bed in two strides.
"Hey Roo, how're you feeling?" He asked, sitting at the edge of the bed, his collar unbuttoned with his tie hanging loosely around his neck.
"Did I miss it?" Peter asked, his voice still weak, but thankfully the pain in his throat had subsided.
"You stole the show kiddo, didn't even give me a chance," Tony teased gently, frowning as tears welled in Peter's eyes.
"I'm sorry," he said, his voice wet with emotion. "I ruined it,”
"Oh Petey, hey- don't cry, it's not your fault baby," Tony assured, leaning over to press a kiss to his forehead. "There'll be plenty more chances,"
"So- it was poison, wasn't it?" Peter asked after a moment of silence, and Tony's face hardened ever so slightly.
"You seem pretty positive about that kiddo," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well- I mean- I knew, kinda,"
"You knew?" Tony looked like he was going to either scream or faint.
"Well as soon as the waiter put down Ms. Potts' drink, my spider-sense like, screamed- and I didn't want to kill the moment, so I just uh- drank it,"
Tony stared at him in silence, taking a long inhale before running a shaking hand through his hair. "Are you telling me," he said, his voice quiet but full of fury, "That you willingly ingested poison and decided to just soldier though it because you didn't want to kill the mood?"
"Well when you say it like that..."
Tony groaned.
"Hey! It made sense at the time! Kind of," Peter said, looking sheepish. "I kinda realized it was a dumb idea when my throat felt like I swallowed a hot coal,"
"You think? Jesus Christ Peter- if you had a normal metabolism that would've killed you! Especially if you had waited that long before getting medical attention,"
"Tony- maybe right now's not-" Pepper tried, but Tony stood up sharply, throwing his hands up in the air.
"What the hell were you thinking?" He shouted, and Peter could see from a mile off that he was more scared than angry.
"I was just going to wait until you'd finished- and then I was going to say something!" Peter argued.
"So what, you were just going to let me have the happiest moment of my life and then make me watch my kid drop dead right in front of me?" Tony yelled incredulously.
"I didn't think I was going to die,"
"You drank poison!"
"Well I didn't think I was gonna die right then,”
"Because that makes it so much better," Tony shot back, before taking a weary sigh, sitting at the edge of the bed once more. "You just dropped Peter," he said softly, Pepper sitting down next to him to rub a hand up and down his back. "You were so pale and- your eyes were open but there was this faraway look and...I thought- that was it. I was gonna lose you,"
"I'm sorry Tony," Peter said softly, tugging on Tony's shirt sleeve to get him to come closer.
He obliged, pulling Peter into a tight hug and pressing a kiss to his cheek.
"Don't you ever do that to me again alright? I have a heart condition- you do want me to live to see married bliss don't you?" Tony said softly, and Peter giggled into his shoulder.
*******
"So- I mean- do you want to just do it now?" Peter whispered, leaning towards Tony, who was squished against his right side.
"Do what now?" Pepper asked from her spot, equally as smushed on Peter's left.
"I'm almost too exhausted to be nervous at this point, so- might as well," Tony said, standing up and walking around to the other side of the bed. "Honestly, with our lives, we should've just saved everyone some time and planned this in the med bay to begin with," Tony muttered, reaching into his pocket, opening the box and kneeling down on the floor. "I think we all know that words aren't exactly my strong suit, at least not when they're actually heartfelt- and any progress that I've made in that area can be entirely credited to you by the way- but I'm going to try to keep this brief,"
"Sure," Pepper said lightheartedly, and Tony rolled his eyes, grinning before his expression fell back to a more serious look.
"Pep- there is not a day that goes by that I don't thank the universe for letting the warmest, bravest, most strong willed woman I have ever met somehow be willing to stick around in my life- even when I was too self absorbed and stupid to fully appreciate that. You've always supported me and met me exactly where I was, but you've also inspired me to be better. And I can't promise everything will be perfect, but I can promise that I'll never stop trying to become the man who deserves a woman like you. You probably gathered by now that this was supposed to happen at the restaurant- I wanted to give you the perfect proposal, but honestly- though I could've done without the heart attack courtesy of a certain Spider-baby- I almost think this worked out better. If you've taught me anything, it's that the small moments are the ones that truly matter, the ones that are just us. And I can't think of anything more ‘ us’ than the med bay at two in the morning. So, Virginia Potts, will you do the honor of marrying me, and join me in this slowly unfolding disaster that is my life?"
"Yes! Of course yes- oh Tony," Pepper sighed, her voice wet with tears and Tony pulled her into a hug- picking her up and spinning them around before capturing her lips in a kiss. Gently, he slid the ring on her finger- Peter whistling and cheering from the hospital bed- and Tony beamed, looking at his family with warm eyes.