After the war, Tony decided to give Peter some time.

He gave the boy his number, along with the instruction to call Tony if he ever needed him... and Peter had easily agreed.

So, Tony gave Peter time, and lots of space.

When Peter didn't call for five months, part of Tony wanted so badly to go to his apartment and demand what was wrong.

The other part of him understood. He had dragged Peter into a war that he shouldn't have had any part of, had gotten him hurt, had selfishly pulled Peter away from his civilian life for a war that he now could feel nothing but regret for.

So he gave up on him. Worry constantly gnawed on his mind, but the footage of Spider-man swinging around and the pictures in the Daily Bugle were enough to keep him sated.

That wasn't to say that when Peter finally called, 5 months later, Tony wasn't excited.

In fact, it was all he could do to keep from acting like a teenage fangirl.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter's voice sounded stiff and his words were short. "D-do you mind bringing some bandages to the alley between Shearing's and Blue Bird on 5th?"

Tony frowned. "Are you injured, kid?" He asked as coolly as he could manage. If he's calling now, after not doing so for so long... Something had to be up.

"Not that badly." He could hear the panic seeping into Peter's voice as his breath hitched. "I just... need to patch up a little to stop the bleeding."

"How bad is it?" Tony prodded.

There was a long silence at the other end, before Peter whispered, "Please, Mr. Stark, you're the only one that knows Spider-man. I can't ask anyone else."

"I'm bringing you to the tower." Tony was tapping Pepper's shoulder and signalling for keys before he had finished speaking.

She raised an eyebrow at him, and he mimicked a spider, then pretended to be wounded.

"No, no, it's alright..." Peter's voice was speading up. "Really, Mr. Stark, I don't want to burden you..."

"Burden me?" Tony echoed as Pepper stood up. "What do you mean burden me? You're injured, in some alleyway, from the sound of it unable to move, and you're worried that you're burdening me? Peter, this isn't about burdening me, this is about whether or not you're still going to be alive tomorrow."

Pepper gaped at him. "What is going on?" She hissed.

Tony covered the mouth of the phone and turned to her. "No time, alleyway between Shearing's and Blue Bird, 5th. Explain once we pick up dying kid."

Pepper pursed her lips together as Tony pressed the phone back against his ear. "I'm driving." She sighed. "I'm not trusting you with a car alone after the last incident."

"I was attacked!" Tony protested.

Pepper frowned at him. "Ask your dying kid what's up. FRIDAY, we need the elevator, stat."

"Peter, to know how to treat you, we need to know what's up." Tony muttered into the phone as he stepped into the elevator.

There was a long silence at the other end, and just as Tony was starting to worry that the kid really had died, Peter repeated, "I'm fine, Mr. Stark."

"Don't give me that 'I'm fine, Mr. Stark'." Tony mimicked. "You didn't call for 5 months, something's got to be up. I know you've got shot before, it was on the news, and you still didn't call me then!"

The elevator doors pinged open and they stepped out into the garage. "You let a kid get shot?" Pepper demanded, horrified.

"I called his aunt, Pepper." Tony hissed back, before speaking into the phone again. "Peter, I just need to know if there's any chance of you dying before we get there."

"...a little bit." Peter's voice sounded small. "But I'm okay, really. I'm putting pressure on the wounds, and it's only like a decimal so you really don't have to worry..."

Before he could remember to censor himself, Tony swore.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark." Guilt lined Peter's voice. "I know you probably didn't want to spend your time doing this..."

"Why did you get this hurt?" Tony cut in as he pulled himself into the passenger seat of one of his cars. "I know that you're strong, there shouldn't be any way for you to get this hurt by normal street thugs."

"I was still a little injured from my last fight." Peter replied quietly. "I was careless."

Part of Tony felt guilty for not helping earlier, for seeing that while Peter was a hero, he was still a kid and a pure one at that... Peter still thought that he'd be fine working by himself.

The other part of him was furious. "You idiot!" He exclaimed. "This is why you get help! I gave you my number for a reason, so you could call me if something went wrong! Why didn't you call me when you got injured last time? Or any of the other times? You got a $%^&ing bullet in your shoulder, you should have at least called!"

"I'm sorry." Peter repeated, his voice growing fainter.

They pulled up next to the alleyway, and Spider-man waved weakly.

"What were you thinking?" Tony asked quietly from his place next to Peter in his personal health station. "Why didn't you call sooner? For backup, or help when you got the first bullet wound? Why did you wait until you had five bullets in you and were dying?"

Peter lifted a shoulder, and winced. "It wasn't that bad." He replied. "I've had worse."

"And why didn't you call me when you had worse than a bullet wound?" Tony demanded.

"I didn't want to burden you." Peter replied.

"Would you rather wait until it's too late and burden me with the knowledge that you died because I didn't help you fast enough?" Tony asked furiously.

Peter flinched. "Sorry. I didn't..."

A wave of regret washed over Tony for snapping at Peter. "No, you don't need to be sorry. Just... call next time, okay? You're not burdening me, I want to help you."

"You'll get worried." Peter replied, fiddling nervously with his web shooters. "You'll worry about me dying, about me getting injured, I don't need you to..."

"Yes, you do." Tony cut in. "And if I worry, it's only because I care about you."

Peter looked surprised. "You care about me?" He echoed blankly.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Why do you think I dropped anything to help you?" He asked.

Peter shrugged, a small smile lighting his features. "Thanks, Mr. Stark." He said.

"Promise to call me next time you get injured?" Tony asked. "Even if it's just a scratch?"

Peter rubbed the back of his neck, and asked teasingly, "Do I have a choice?"

"No." Tony replied, grinning.

"Alright." Peter agreed. "I'll call next time."

"Good." Tony grinned. "I'll be waiting."

A/N: Once again, I'm procrastinating. I like this oneshot, too. Maybe I'll expand. I dunno. I'll see what you guys think...?