definingfuture | IC inbox for duplicity

[ If he says he can't tell it's going to sound even more suspicious. He went through a lot of trouble to erase his identity reveal from peoples' mind, and he hasn't been nearly as careful as he should have been to keep it a secret since then. Blowing it up just so he can argue with Tony is not worth it. ]

I don't hate you. You helped when May needed money for her hospital stay.

[ How much of that does Tony even remember? He was in his suit when he confronted him about that, after breaking into the Avengers Tower didn't work so well. But he knows from their last meeting that he remembers Peter, MJ and May living at the Tower for some time, while he was working for him and "designing Spider-man's suits". Tony giving money to Jarvis, and having Jarvis help him, is something he should still remember. ]

But you infuriate me a whole lot.

[Ah. So he feels indebted and guilty for hating someone that did him a favor. Well, that's natural. It just goes to show that people like Peter are naturally good.]

I suppose it would have been the least I could do...

[It's almost a quote back to Peter, but Tony doesn't remember talking to him. He remembers Spider-Man, angry and berating him for causing an innocent life to suffer and not saving her. It plays out, but it plays out like a dream.]

But I didn't do that.
Jarvis made the arrangements. I wasn't involved.

[He was someone else too, after all. It doesn't count.]

[ He knows it's a lie, because Jarvis wouldn't have showed up if they hadn't had that confrontation. And he remembers how desperate he was to save her life, how guilty he felt that she took a bullet because of him. How he became an actual criminal in the span of a few hours just to ensure she could keep on living.

Then he remembers all the time they did spend at the Avengers Tower together. How it felt like family. And how it crumbled.

Keeping the conversation going really was a bad idea. He should have stopped once Tony said who he was. ]

What about Spider-man?

You said I was never just a employee. What about him? Was he just convenient to team up with?

Spider-Man?

[He doesn't know why Peter would suddenly change topics, but maybe it's just his curiosity, trying to gauge just what level of monster Tony really was the whole time. It must have been a shock for him. And wasn't Peter friends with Spider-Man? That only really makes sense. He's testing him.]

I guess I say a lot of things, don't I? I should stop doing that.

[ He was testing him, trying to get a hint as to whether Tony did figure it out or not. But unsurprisingly, he gives him basically nothing at all.

He's going to have to cut this conversation without solid answers if he doesn't want to screw things up further. ]

I'll see you around.

[He didn't want to go back to that, but his past is apparently chasing him. For the moment, at least, he gets a break. Hopefully Peter got what he wanted out of it, but Tony isn't so sure. It feels unfinished.]

Take care of yourself, Pete.

[Only after he hangs up does he realize he probably should have said I'm sorry.]

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