36. Fights


Becca can see Peter sitting on the ledge of the roof of the building adjacent to where the ferry is. Her brother holds her in his suited arms protectively because he couldn't shake the feeling of his little sister being in danger. Danger that Peter had put the two of them in. Helicopters flying overhead could be heard by the three people, the ships signalling they were near the ferry also as they evacuated the people still on board the ferry and the tug boats making their way to pull the ferry back to the docks.

In other words? Anthony Edward Stark was pissed.

"Previously on, Peter Screws the Pooch. I tell you to stay away from this. Instead, you and my sister hacked a multibillion dollar suit so you could sneak around behind my back doing the one thing i told you not to do." Tony snaps as he hovers in the air, Peter refuses to look over at the siblings. Despite the great he had currently running through him from the man he calls his mentor, he just wanted to keep Becca safe. And he failed.

Becca attempts to speak but Tony shakes his head, sensing her trying to buffer the conversation. But Becca knows that this conversation involves her very little, it's between her brother and boyfriend.

"Is everyone okay?" Peter asks quietly. "Is Fia?"

"No thanks to you." Tony snaps again at the teenager still sitting on the ledge as the adult hovers in the air still with his sister in his arms.

But something inside Peter snaps when Tony says this. He swivels off the ledge and stalks over to his mentor and girlfriend, "No thanks to me?" He scoffs, "Those weapons were out there and I tried to tell you about it, but you didn't listen!" He snaps back as he walks over to the Stark man quickly. Tony sets his sister down beside him, causing her to stand in between the two as Peter continues his rant and venting. "None of this would've happened if you just listened to me!" Peter yells, gripping his mask in his hand as he's now feet away from the Iron Man. The teenage boy scoffs, his tunnel vision and anger taking over, "If you even cared, you'd actually be here."

In seconds, Tony Stark steps out of his Iron Man suit and stands inches away from Peter Parker. The teenage boy was taken aback, backstepping as Tony walks forward. Becca wants to get in between them, but she can't, not right now.

"I did listen, kid. Who do you think called the FBI, huh?" Tony questions, "Do you know I was the only one who believed in you aside from my mom? Everyone else said i was crazy to recruit a fourteen year old kid-"

"I- I'm fifteen." Peter stammers but Tony is so beyond pissed he will take no rebuttal from this boy in front of him.

"No. This is where you zip it! All right?" Tony shouts at the boy, "The adult is talking." He snaps. Tony's eyes glance over at his sister as she simply watches with her crystal blue eyes wide in shock and slight fear of where this conversation was going.

"Buddy.."

"No, Reebs. I love you but this is between him and I." Tony says, taking a softer tone of voice towards his sister. The older brother then turns back to Peter, "What if somebody died tonight? What if that somebody was Reebs? Different story right? Cause that's on you." Tony snaps dangerously low. Becca gasps and she can see Peter reel back in the thought process of her death being on his hands. He couldn't bear that thought. He couldn't. "And if you died, I feel like that's on me. I don't need that on my conscience."

Peter nods, trying not to break down in front of Tony but it's getting harder by the second to keep his composure. "Yes, sir. I'm sorry. I understand." Peter says, his voice wavering more and more and it breaks Becca's heart.

"Sorry doesn't cut it." Tony replies with a shrug.

"I just- I just wanted to be like you." Peter whimpers.

"And I wanted you to be better." Tony states harshly, he glances back at his sister before turning back to the boy she loves. "Okay, it's not working out. I'm gonna need the suit back." Tony mutters and Becca gasps, her blue eyes begin to cloud with tears as her hands fly to her mouth in shock.

"For- for how long?" Peter asks, hoping that this was just a temporary punishment.

"Forever." Tony says and Peter shakes his head in disbelief, "Yeah, that's how it works."

"No, no. Please. Please." Peter pleads with what seems like everything he has. "You don't understand."

"Let's have it." Tony states simply.

"It's all i have. I'm nothing without this suit." Peter states quickly and both Tony and Becca recoil. She couldn't believe what he had just said, and Tony looked over at his sister quickly and her reaction to Peter's words sealed the fate of the teenage boy.

"If you're nothing without this suit, then you shouldn't have it, okay?" Tony tells Peter point blank as tears fall from Becca's eyes. Her heart was breaking as she watched her brother and boyfriend. But her heart hurt the most when Peter said that the suit was everything to him. She knew he loved her, but was his love for being Spider-Man that much more now? That was something she needed to know before the day ended. She needed answers. There was so much running through her mind in this very moment that needed to be answered.

Peter lets out a shaky breath as he glances over at the ferry then back at Tony, "I don't have any other clothes."

Tony shrugs, nodding slightly, "Okay, we'll sort that out." He says. The brother turns to face his sister, the two embrace without even needing to look at each other. They both simply knew that Becca was hurting deeply right now.

When Iron Man leaves, he takes the suit with him, leaving Peter in a 'I survived New York' shirt that was three sizes too big on him and 'Hello Kitty' pajama bottoms. But Becca? She still wore her suit, and it pissed Peter off, but before Peter can say anything, a sob from the girl he loves rings in his ears as she stops walking. She had turned on her camouflage setting like she had back in D.C. to not be noticed as a superhero as she and Peter walked back to the apartment.

"Fia?" Peter questions, the day was already hard on him. His mind was reeling the conversation he had with Tony over and over again, how Becca not once tried to step in.

"The suit is all you have? You're nothing without the suit?" Becca asks Peter, her voice breaking as she inhales air as she sobs harder. "What about us? What are we if the suit is everything to you?" She asks, her voice straining.

Peter stands frozen in shock. He doesn't know what to say in this moment to Becca. "The suit was my chance to impress Mr. Stark. You don't have to impress anyone." Peter states quickly, "You never have."

Becca shakes her head, "They're my family." She retorts simply, her arms hugging her body as she and Peter walk into a quiet part of the sidewalk.

"But i've had to climb and climb and climb. Doing everything i can to make sure Mr. Stark is impressed and pleased with my work."

"Our work, I thought." Becca mutters.

"It didn't seem like our work most of the time. You were always so perfect at everything, never needing to struggle. Never failing at anything. You're perfect in their eyes! You can do no wrong while i do everything wrong!" Peter shouts, he was hurting from everything that had been building. Happy always belittling him while he was the perfect gentleman to Becca. How Tony always was protective of Becca but never Peter and how Becca could never do anything wrong in anyone's eyes. But to them, all Peter did was screw up, and it had reached its breaking point.

Becca shakes her head, "Never needing to struggle? Is that what you just said?" She questions in disbelief. "I struggled for seventy years of my life!" She shouts back, her emotions were overtaking her and she knew things were going to be said in sadness and anger today. "Every day for seventy years, i was beaten, handcuffed to a metal bed and nearly frozen to death every day during the fall and winter! I watched girls die from hypothermia and so much more in Russia. And you have the audacity to say I never struggled?" Becca snaps back. She had never felt this much anger and frustration before towards someone. She certainly never thought it would be towards the boy she loved.

"But you never had to struggle being a superhero, ever. It was always handed to you! Your family is the most famous family on the planet, everything is and was handed to you!" Peter shouts in frustration, "I've been so jealous of how Happy and everyone else treats you versus me! It's not fair!"

"It's not fair?" Becca repeats Peter, "I never asked for them to treat me like that! I never asked Buddy to make me my own suit! But I did ask him to make yours!"

"What?"

"No one told you that?" Becca questions, "I asked Buddy to make you a Spider-Man suit, not directly saying it was you, but the vigilante I was aiding in patrols." She states and Peter is taken aback. The suit, the suit that gave him his shot at being a real superhero was from Becca.

"Mr. Stark never said anything about that." Peter states.

"He wouldn't have. Because I asked him not to. Because I knew you wanted to impress him, or anyone. I wanted them so badly to give you a fair shot and they did!" Becca says with a weak smile on her face. "But impressing my brother became the only thing that mattered to you."

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is!" Becca shouts, tears falling freely from her eyes now without restraint as she clutches onto herself. "You quit everything in school! You abandoned our friends! You abandoned me."

"Fi-"

"No!" Becca screams in anger and sadness, "Don't call me that right now!" She yells in pain, her hand gripping her chest as they both hear each other's heartbeats. The both could imagine the breaking of them. "You said the suit was everything to you." She mumbles, "What does that make me, Peter?" Becca asks, her heart breaking as she said his real name for the first time in close to two years. It felt taboo for them to say each other's real names anymore, it was always Benji and Fia.

"You- you said my name." Peter stammers in shock and fear.

"What does that make me, Peter?!" Becca shouts, needing to know the answer.

But Peter takes too long to respond. He loved Becca with his entire being, she loved him more than anything. But Peter's priorities were in disarray now, he was giving up literally everything in pursuit to be a superhero, an Avenger. But at what cost?

Peter finally understood the price. And he was not sure if he could pay it.

"Don't make me choose.." Peter mutters.

"Then i have my answer." Becca says in reply.

"This isn't fair, Becca." Peter says, saying her name felt odd, it didn't feel right. But if she was calling him by his name, then he was going to do the same. "You don't get to make me choose between you and being a superhero. We're a team."

"Are we? Or was i just along for the ride to make my brother happy?" Becca asks, "If i said i didn't want to do superhero stuff anymore, would you stop as well?"

"Of course not." Peter replies too quickly for Becca's liking.

"But we're a team." Becca restates what he had said just moments earlier, proving her point. "We might have been a team in the beginning, but you want to give up everything to pursue the hero life." She reminds him softly, "I just want to live a normal life. Hanging out with friends, late night study sessions.. going on dates.."

"Your life will never be normal, Becca." Peter points out and Becca's eyes snap up to meet his.

"What?"

"Your life will never be normal. That's just a fact, you can pretend all you want, but it will never be true." Peter says in anger and frustration. He was upset at this whole conversation, and everything he had thought was coming out of him without a filter. "You're the daughter of two people who should be dead. Your family is the most famous in the world. Everywhere you go, eyes follow you." Peter states, scoffing, "You punched Flash and broke his nose with one swing that probably wasn't even your max strength." He states, proving his point more.

"But i'm trying.."

"And you'll keep trying, but it'll never happen. Your life will never be normal." Peter snaps, crossing his arms over his chest. He was hurting, and the anger was a deflection of his true pain.

But what Peter Parker says next changes the dynamic of the couple instantly. "Maybe.." he pauses, his mind and heart screaming at him to not finish his sentence. "Maybe we shouldn't be a team anymore." He says.

"What? I- I don't understand.."

"I think you do, Becca." Peter says harshly, "There shouldn't be an us. Because clearly it's too much for either of us to handle." He states, "I can't handle being compared to you. At least, not right now. Because that's all i am right now, is a comparison."

"N- No, please." Becca stammers, "Can't we work through this?" She asks, stepping towards Peter slightly. She didn't want to lose him, she didn't know if she could handle it. "My Mama's said that fights in relationships are normal, right?"

Peter steps backwards from Becca, refusing to let her touch him. Because he knew that she touched him, that he would cave. And that wasn't what he was trying to accomplish. Because if he caved, he would bury all his pent up emotions again like he had that had caused all of this to blow up.

"Normally. But i don't think this is one of those cases." Peter says quietly, his head turning from her. His back faces her as Becca crumbles onto her knees. Sobs wracked her body as she understood what this meant for them. "We shouldn't be together anymore. Not as a team, and not as a couple either."

"Y- You're breaking up with me?" Becca stammers, trying to get her breathing under control.

"Yes." Peter replied curtly. He couldn't handle hearing Becca's cries and pleas anymore. He shakes his head slightly to try and shake off his mind screaming at him to pick her up and hold her tightly.

"You said nothing would ever tear us apart." Becca says, "Was that a lie then?!" She screams in agony. Peter has no reply to her anymore. He can't physically form any words in this moment. Peter also couldn't stop hearing the words Tony had said about what if Becca had died today on the ferry. He couldn't have that. He loved her too much despite the anger he felt right now. And he knew that the best way to keep her safe, was for her to think that he wasn't right for her. No matter how much happened between them, he would never let her die because of something he did.

"Think what you want. I'm going back to the apartment now." Peter says cooly. "Do what you want."

Becca inhales air sharply and lets out a heart shattering cry of agony as she clutches her chest on her knees as Peter walks away from her. Her entire world had been Peter. He was her center, her focus, her passion. And now all that was left was a void. She felt broken, numb. She felt as if she had lost her reason for living in this very moment.

"You seem to be in great distress, Rebecca. Would you like me to contact Peter?" Karen says in Becca's ear. "Your health levels are dropping."

"N-No.." Becca stammers as she sees stars in her vision.

"Then who do I contact if not him?" Karen asks, Becca could swear she heard concern laced in the AI's voice. But her mind was foggy and she couldn't focus. "You need medical attention."

"Buddy.." Becca whispers as her body collapses onto the ground, her vision going black as her head hits the ground hard.

"I've contacted Mr. Stark, Rebecca." Karen says into Becca's ear but it sounds to the girl as if the AI was miles away. She knew she was blacking out, her heart was beating out of control and her breathing was unsteady. She couldn't catch her breath and her chest felt like he was imploding.

It doesn't take more than a few minutes for the sound of Iron Man's footsteps to reach the adjacent sidewalk where Becca was laying. And the sight of her laying on the ground unconscious nearly broke Tony instantly.

"Reebs?!" Tony shouts, he scrambles over to his baby sister and gently lifts her into his arms, "Friday, what's going on with her? Why is she like this?"

"Vitals are dangerous, Boss. Her heart rate is not steady and her breathing is uneven." Friday responds, "Shall i contact a doctor?"

"Get Mom's apprentice to the compound by any means." Tony states as he quickly flies off with his unconscious sister in his arms, determined to figure out what the hell had happened from when he had seen her only two hours ago.

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