Peter was adopted by Tony, and is sixteen. He has yet to call Tony 'dad'.

Peter's phone rang in the middle of class.

His teacher, Mr Harrison, fixed him with a stern look. "You know the rules, Peter. Turn the phone off or turn it in."

Peter turned it to silent.

Then it rang again.

The teacher raised his eyebrow. "Off, Peter."

Peter glanced at the screen.

Only one person had the tech to push a call through, and-

Crap.

"Sir, I really need to take this."

Mr Harrison sighed, waving his hand. "Step into the hall, please."

Peter ducked out, placing the phone to his ear. "What happened? Is everything-"

He was cut off by Pepper's frantic voice. "Peter you have to come home now!"

Her voice was hysterical, as if she had been crying nonstop.

Peter froze, ice spreading through his veins. "What happened, Pepper?"

She stumbled over her words, sobs leaking through. "T-Tony, he was- he was on a mission, and he got hit, and Bruce doesn't know how bad it is yet but he says there's a chance he won't remember anything and he might have brain damage-"

Peter cut her off sharply. "Okay. Stay calm, I'm on my way."

He raced out, stopping briefly to tell Morita that it was a family emergency before splitting for the tower.

------------

A distraught Pepper met him at the private entrance.

She was a mess.

Usually she was in a neat skirt and blouse with a jacket.

Now she was in sweatpants and a large tshirt. One of Tony's, no less.

Her eyes were red from crying, and her hair was halfheartedly pulled into some semblance of a bun.

She threw her arms around him, crying softly into his shoulder.

Peter tried not to panic.

Pepper didn't usually panic, so when she panicked, Peter panicked.

"Pepper, please, tell me what happened."

She nodded shakily, taking several deep breaths. "He was- he was on a mission. He was with Natasha. Fury thought it wouldn't take more than them. It was big, Peter. Way bigger than he thought. He got hit by something that hacked Friday, and his suit shut off. He was in the air, so high, and he fell, and he's hurt really badly, and Bruce says he might not wake up for a while, and when he does he might not remember us Peter!"

Peter put his arm around her, guiding her back inside. "I need to see him."

-------------

When he got to the infirmary room he sent Pepper to get a shower and rest, promising to watch over Tony.

The figure in the white hospital bed was still and silent.

It was unnaturally quiet.

Usually either or both of them would fill up the silence with idle banter, but now Peter could only stare numbly at his adoptive father.

"Please, Tony." The plea slipped unbidden from his throat.

"Please. I'm really worried here."

No sign of anything.

So he waited.

For hours.

Bruce came to talk to him more than once.

The outlook was grim.

Tony might have- probably did sustain brain damage. Not severe, they hoped, but enough to cause temporary side effects such as, number one, the coma.

Worst case scenario was Tony wouldn't remember them.

And yeah. That hurt.

But they could hope, right?

---------------

Once it had been made clear that Tony should- would be okay, Pepper sent Peter back to school.

She was insistent on making him go.

She'd call as soon as anything happened, if it did, she promised.

----------------

The phone call came two days later, startling Peter out of his daze.

Mr Harrison again raised his eyebrow at Peter, but having been appraised of the situation, made no comment.

Peter once again ducked out of the room.

"Hello? Pepper? What's going on?"

The voice on the other end of the line was tired, but happy. "He's awake."

----------------

Peter was there before anyone else, his heart beating wildly.

Bruce was waiting.

The look on his face should've warned Peter.

"Is he okay? Does he remember?"

Bruce sighed. "He's... physically fine, mostly. I think he has some type of amnesia. Most likely retrograde. I won't be able to tell until we get the scans back, but it's not looking good.."

Peter twisted his fingers together anxiously. "Which means...?"

The scientist sighed heavily. "He may not remember you. He remembers Pepper, mostly, but he hasn't mentioned you. I don't know if he remembers the last few years which would mean he might not remember the adoption."

Okay wow. That hurt.

Peter nodded quickly. "Can I go in? Is Pepper already in there? Should I wait? Should I-"

Bruce cut him off firmly, but gently. "She'll be out in a minute. But take it slow, okay? See what he remembers. We don't want him to be overloaded with information. Not until we know how bad the damage is."

Peter nodded jerkily, pushing down the dread that was creeping up. "Okay, just- is he going to be okay, though? I can handle him not remembering me, if he's just okay."

Bruce rubbed his eyes. "You know I want him to be okay just as much as you. I care about him, Peter. He's one of my best friends."

He sighed, his eyes tired. "He should be fine, barring complications. The worst of it is in his leg and head."

Peter gripped his fingers around the opposite wrists, holding tightly, the feeling grounding.

"Okay."

Please. Please be okay. I need you to be okay. To remember me. I never got to call you dad. Or tell you I love you. Please. We can deal with everything, just please let us know you're going to be okay.

------------

Peter waited until he couldn't stay patient anymore, then he opened the door, quietly slipping in.

Pepper was holding Tony's hand, talking quietly to him.

She looked up as Peter sat on the edge of the bed. "Hey bud."

Peter gave her a quick smile. Then he looked at Tony.

The billionaire was watching him, eyes dazed, and glassy.

Peter gave him a soft smile. "Hey. You feeling okay?"

The older man nodded slowly. "Who- who're you?"

Peter inhaled sharply. "Oh." Was all he could manage.

"Tony-" Pepper started, but Peter broke in.

"Pep." His tone was warning. "Bruce said not to overload him."

Tony studied him curiously. "Who are you?" He asked again.

Peter took a deep breath, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Peter. I-I'm Peter."

The older man tilted his head slightly. "What are you doing here?"

Peter ran his finger over the edge of his thumbnail. "I'm just- I was checking if you're okay."

Tony glanced at Pepper, than back at Peter. "How do I know you? Or do I?"

Peter looked away briefly. "Yeah, I- it's kinda complicated."

How do you tell your amnesiac father that you're a webslinging vigilante that patrols around wearing red and blue tights that he gave you? Or that he adopted you because your aunt died, and you two got really close, until it was really like father and son?

His internal panicking was cut off by Tony's tired voice. "Please don't tell me you're a product of my unsavoury past? An illegitimate son?"

Peter stiffened. He could hear Pepper straighten, emitting a strangled noise.

"I have to go." Peter said quietly. His eyes were burning, and it felt like his entire world had fallen from underneath him.

He paused at the door, not looking back, but directing his words toward Pepper. "Call me if anything changes."

Then to Tony.

"Bye dad."

As he left the room, he heard a soft inhale, and a whispered name that sounded a lot like his own.

He didn't know who had said it.

But he didn't turn around.

He ran.

There will be a part two.