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Tony on the other hand had to follow his father's ideas about "Stark's are made of iron" he took it a little too literally, he's been deprived of touch for so long that any slightest touch leaves him with a weird feeling of pain, not the "don't touch me, it hurts" kind of thing, more like "if you touch me again I'll fall apart because that's what I've been silently begging for for the last 30 years" so when Peter often started touching him because simply, that's normal for him, pats on the shoulder, quick hugs, nose-snatching games, it's normal, but for Tony this is just a reminder of how vulnerable he was when it came to physical contact

One day Peter hugs him after a particularly stressful day, it was all he needed at the moment, comfort, affection, genuine concern, he broke down, hugged Peter back feeling tears wanting to escape his eyes, Peter could probably hear his heart beating fast, He knows he shouldn't get so attached, he'll scare the boy, damn he could lose the boy for a show of weakness like that...

Peter just stands there, paralyzed, and when Tony releases him 1 minute later with his red face covered by his sunglasses but obvious tear marks, he is so confused, Tony just runs away from there, shouting in a shaky voice that "LAB IS CANCELED FOR THIS WEEK"

The following week Peter acts as if nothing had happened, Tony can't, he tries to start a conversation to explain himself but Peter hugs him and he can't say anything anymore, fearing that his voice would fail and he would collapse again, Peter just says "if you wanna cry, you can cry you know?..."

Tony breaks down, for the first time in his life feeling comfortable enough to cry in someone's arms, vulnerable enough to break down without feeling judged

Pepper found the scene of Peter carrying Tony to the room on his shoulder, then the two stayed in the living room talking about Tony until 1 hour later when Tony woke up and saw Peter at the kitchen counter drinking a carton of grape juice talking to Pepper with a glass of wine on the couch about how Tony is needy for physical touch

So maybe Gotham is facing especially nasty trouble, and vigilantes are on the receiving end this time. So maybe Jason is thrown at the dirty Alley in his part of town, wounded, with helmet flying off, and there is just a crowd of people staring as bleeds out, astonished. And Jason thinks, oh, that's the end — he can go and shoot himself, honestly, because he just failed the man rule every vigilante have: never show your face, never reveal your identity.

But people are... helping him? His eyes are half-open, breath laboured and pained, but all he hears is gentle murmuring:

'God, he is just a kid...'

'He must be younger than my son.'

'Poor child...'

He feels soft elderly hand against his cheek as someone from the crowd, an ex nurse, comes closer to bandage his injuries, while a kid, barely with the size of his helmet, brings it back, sticking out their tongue as they try to place it back on his head, to hide his face.

'It is okay,' the old woman reassures him. 'You are safe with us, son. We hadn't seen anything.'

Jason's eyes sting, because, oh.

It is his people. He loves them. He will die for them.

And they love him just as much.

He still waits for someone to out him, though. But the week ends, the villain is out of the picture, and no one says a thing. The only proof that it ever happened is civilians, who keep waving at Jason — not Red Hood, just Jason — when their paths cross somewhere in the shops or streets.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!! I bring my followers a longish comic with some Damian feels, I hope you like it :)