Chapter Text
Peter bounced anxiously on his heels as he waited for Tony and Strange to come out of the meeting. Because he was a reserve member, and a minor who’d been in school most of the day at that, his presence wasn’t required at these kinds of things. Normally Peter was more than happy about that; he didn’t exactly relish the thought of spending hours bickering over a word or phrase.
However, today was not one of those days. Peter was dying to know what was going on inside that room. He stared hard at the door, wishing that x-ray vision was part of his powers. The soundproofing was good enough that not even his enhanced hearing was enabling him to eavesdrop. It was twenty minutes past the time when the meeting was supposed to end, and he was ready to start literally climbing the walls.
Finally, the door opened. A few council members came out, speaking in hushed tones. They were quickly followed by Hope van Dyne and Scott Lang; Lang was doing his damndest to try and get van Dyne to talk to him, but she was having none of it. Peter quickly got out of their way and turned back to the door just in time to see a very tired, but triumphant-looking Tony exit the room.
“Hey!” Peter said, rushing over to him.
“Hey Pete,” Tony said with a weary smile. “I figured you would be here.”
“I couldn’t wait to know what happened,” Peter said, entirely unashamed. “What did the council say?”
“About what? About what Rogers did to you and your aunt? Not much. It’s not really something they can address in the middle of a group meeting like that. But I definitely brought it to their attention, and I made it clear that FRIDAY can prove what he did. I’ll help you file the more formal complaint as soon as we get home. It’ll have more impact coming from you,” Tony told him.
“Okay, that’s great, but you know that’s not what I meant,” Peter said impatiently, crossing his arms.
Tony sighed and smiled slightly. “I told them all that they’re no longer allowed to stay in the tower. As of today, they’ve got thirty days to make other arrangements with the council for a place to stay if the Compound isn’t ready by then. I made it clear that I felt Rogers looking up your identity and personal information made him a liability. I have too much private data in the tower. They couldn’t really argue with that.”
“So they agreed?”
“They couldn’t really say no. The tower legally belongs to me; they can’t force me to let anyone live there if I don’t want to,” said Tony. “I didn’t feel like I had the leverage before, but now…” He shrugged. “They might not like it. Maximoff started throwing off red sparks when she heard. But they don’t have a choice, thank god.”
“And how did –” Peter didn’t get the chance to finish his question. He was going to ask how Rogers had taken the news that Strange was now Tony’s caregiver.
But Rogers appearing in the doorway and shouting, “Tony!” kind of answered that for him.
Tony visibly stiffened. His expression and voice turned cold. “I don’t have time to chat, Rogers. If you want to schedule a meeting with me, you’ll have to go through my P.A. just like everyone else.”
Which would never happen, Peter knew. Tony’s new P.A., a young woman named Abigail, had been personally handpicked by Pepper, thoroughly vetted by Rhodey, and had her background and connections researched by Happy before she was allowed to start working with Tony. Peter’d had a handful of conversations with her, not that she had a lot of spare time, and he knew for a fact that she took a lot of enjoyment out of acting as Tony’s gatekeeper. There was no way in hell she was going to be intimidated by someone like Rogers.
“Tony, come on! Why would you do this? Why are you tearing the team apart like this?” Rogers demanded, as though Tony hadn’t spoken.
“Why?” Tony snapped. “Why am I tearing the team apart? Please. You did that just fine on your own. You are seriously deluded if you ever thought for even one moment that I wanted you as my caregiver. You’ve never listened to me. You don’t care about me. You just want to control me.”
“That’s not true!” Rogers denied. “You’re my friend!”
Tony laughed bitterly. “Oh, am I? Funny, that’s not what you said before,” he replied, and Rogers recoiled. “Leave me alone, Rogers. I don’t want to have anything to do with you or your team. Don’t call me. Don’t talk to me. We are teammates because of the Avengers, and I will fight with you on the field if I have to for the sake of innocent people, but that’s it. I want nothing to do with you.” He turned away, setting a hand on Peter’s shoulder and tugging gently. Peter fell into place beside him.
“Tony! Don’t turn away from me! Tony!”
Peter’s spider-sense flared. He started to turn, anger burning bright in the pit of his stomach, and would’ve punched Rogers right in his stupid face if he’d dared to touch Tony. But as it turned out, Rogers never got that far. Orange symbols bloomed in the air in front of Tony, forming a shield, and Rogers’ hand impacted the shield instead. It flared bright gold and threw him back hard enough that he hit the wall.
“Steve!” Maximoff cried from inside the room. She, Romanov, Wilson and Barton rushed out.
“Do not touch him,” Strange barked.
The hairs on the back of Peter’s neck rose at the pure rage that filled Strange’s voice. Tony just smirked, crossing his arms, though Peter knew him well enough to see the tremble in Tony’s hands and know what it meant. That made him angry all over again. He didn’t know what would’ve happened if Rogers had grabbed Tony from behind, but it wouldn’t have been good.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Barton demanded, turning on Strange.
“I could ask the same question of you. When someone tells you not to touch them, it’s generally considered good etiquette to obey,” Strange snapped.
“Steve, are you okay?” Maximoff asked. She was so obviously fawning over Rogers that Peter rolled his eyes. He’d seen Rogers get hit by a car and not break a sweat: being thrown into a wall barely counted as a scratch.
Rogers sat up and gently pushed her away. “This is between Tony and me. You have no business interfering!”
“Actually, you’re wrong. Tony is my Little. I’m his caregiver. I have every right,” Strange said calmly. “But even more importantly than that, Tony told you that he didn’t want to talk to you. If you’re really as friendly as you seem to think you are, I would think you would want to respect his wishes.”
He stepped closer, cutting Rogers off with an upraised hand when Rogers went to speak. “Then again, that would mean you actually stopped to consider what Tony wants for once in your life, and we all know that’s never going to happen. Tony doesn’t know what he wants, right? He needs to be shown what’s good for him?” There was a glitter in Strange’s eyes.
“I never said that,” Rogers said.
“You thought it. I know you have. Well, let me tell you something. Tony Stark is no longer your concern. He will never be your concern. I don’t care if you think that’s not fair, or if you think you know better. Frankly, I don’t give a fuck what you think. Just stay away from Tony.”
“Are you threatening us?” Romanov demanded. “I don’t think the Council would take too well to that.”
Strange pinned her with a cool glare. “I’m not threatening you. I’m just telling you what’s going to happen from here on out. I will not hesitate to defend my Little, and I can guarantee that you will not like what happens if you push me too far. Tony may have leniency towards you. I don’t.” He smiled unpleasantly. “And if you think, Miss Maximoff, that you are strong enough to fight me, you’re not. If I find out that you’ve been trying to mess around in Tony’s mind again out of some misguided attempt at revenge, you’ll find that out firsthand.”
Maximoff flushed red, though whether it was from rage or being called out, Peter wasn’t sure. None of them looked pleased; Rogers and Romanov in particular wore ferocious scowls. It was Romanov who spoke, though.
“Tony, don’t let him do this. We’re your family,” she said.
Oh hell no. “You’re not his family!” Peter burst out furiously. “You’re nothing more than a bunch of back-stabbing business associates who can’t take a hint.”
“That’s exactly right,” said Strange. “Now it’s not a hint. You’ve been told. Stay away from Tony, or you won’t like what happens next.”
He turned, his cloak billowing impressively around his shoulders, and moved back to Tony and Peter. He ushered them both of the room and left Rogers and his group behind. Peter took a lot of satisfaction out of closing the door on their stupified faces. He was pretty sure that wasn’t the last of it – they were all way too stubborn for that – but for the time being, it felt really good.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Tony said almost immediately.
“Yes, I did. You’re my Little, Tony. It’s my duty to protect you, and I take that very seriously,” Strange said.
Tony’s face kind of collapsed, and Peter hastily looked away. He caught Strange’s eye and saw the man nod towards the nearest door; Peter nodded back and quickly opened the door, letting Strange guide Tony into the room. As he shut the door, he saw Strange pulling Tony into a hug and Tony burying his face in Strange’s chest. It made Peter feel warm from head to toe. Finally, someone was on Tony’s side. Someone was giving Tony the help and affection he so badly needed.
Finally.
He gently shut the door and stood in front of it, crossing his arms. If Rogers, Romanov, Barton, Wilson and Maximoff had an ounce of sense, they’d take the other exit and not have to pass by this way. Since Peter couldn’t be sure those five had even that much sense, he’d gladly guard the door until Tony and Strange were ready to come out. He could, and would, give Tony that much.