Shadowplay | Tony Stark

FORTY TWO - A BANDAID

''Hey Peter, great job in training earlier. Have you seen Mila around? I thought they'd be home by now.''

Tony glanced down at the time on his watch as he jogged down the hallway to catch up with Peter who had just walked out of his room, slinging an arm around the boy's shoulders with an affectionate amount of force that made the teenager jump slightly.

The immediate silence and sheepish smile on Peter's face made suspicion rise instinctively inside Tony's chest. The boy's shoulders cowered inwards as he continued to walk with his hands stuffed deep into the pocket of his jeans, his head tilted downwards.

''Y-yeah, they're home,'' he sighed loudly before stopping dead in his tracks, forcing Tony's arm to fall back by his side, ''I think something happened while they were out today.''

''What do you mean?''

There was a blank stare directed at Peter that made him feel like under interrogation. He'd had a great day at school that Friday and had outdone himself in training earlier that afternoon, excitement at spending the evening with Tristan carrying him through a tiring few hours.

That anticipation was soon axed, however, when he saw the solemn look on Mila's face as she walked into the kitchen with Tristan in her arms, the child resting his teary face into her shoulder, neither of them saying a word.

''I don't know, I just...'' Peter stared up at Tony with innocent eyes and a small shake of his head, ''They're downstairs, I think you should go talk to them.''

Tony nodded, saying nothing before quickly taking off in the opposite direction down the staircase, not having the patience to wait for the elevator.

He too had endured what had been an unusually stress-free Friday for once, looking forward to the sight of Mila sitting across the table from him under candlelight on their date that evening. They rarely went out anywhere just the two of them and so an occasion like that night was one Tony held dear to his heart, loving spending time with Mila as themselves rather than as parents.

Endless scenarios began to storm through Tony's mind as he headed towards the living room, sickness turning his stomach and making his heart race faster, desperate to know what Peter had been talking about.

The room felt still when he walked into it. Everything was neat and tidy rather than a ruckus of toys and books strewn across the floor, a lack of decorative toy soldiers that usually lined the table made Tony realise that there was definitely something wrong.

Mila was sat on the couch in the corner, Tristan on her lap. She was holding a book in front of them, letting the boy turn each page with a gentle hand as she read to him quietly.

He cleared his throat after neither of them noticed his presence, clearly too wrapped up in their own little world.

Mila drew in a soft gasp when she looked up and saw Tony leaning on the arm of the couch, swallowing once before gently closing the book.

"Hey buddy, have a nice time at the park today?" Tony said, offering Tristan a wide smile.

His face soon fell however, the sight of a red bandaid on the side of the boy's face as he turned his head made his heart rise up into his throat, flooding his lungs with guilt and worry.

The child just nodded, saying nothing. The reaction shattered Tony completely, being so used to having the boy fling himself into his arms and cover his face in kisses, eager to tell his father all about the fantastic day he'd had.

Instead, Tristan reluctantly pushed himself off the sofa once Mila whispered something to him, heading over to his toy box in the corner without so much as looking Tony in the eye.