Tony felt like fainting and laughing at the same time.

He wasn't sure if it's because of the nauseating sight or the fact that his annoying neighbor's actually dead.

It's a lot to take in.

The brunet walked back to his house and after entering, he softly locked his door. His mind was too preoccupied at the moment to remember his groceries.

Justin Hammer was dead. He was probably murdered but the reason, it's unclear.

To think that just a few days ago, he wished for the guy to disappear. For him to die in an unpleasant way. To suffer.

And Tony's ashamed and guilty that a part of him felt happy...giddy rather that Justin's finally gone.

That's not normal, is it?

The brunet let out a heavy sigh as he leaned against the door for support. His head felt like cotton and acid started crawling up his clogged throat.

It was the same feeling he felt during that day at the hospital with Pepper.

Except it was accompanied by happiness he can't bring himself to accept or decline.

Peter looked somewhat squeamish when he arrived from school and he had every right to be so. He probably heard of the news.

Tony's just glad his son didn't get to see the gruesome sight himself. The authorities had removed the crime away from the eyes of the civilians when he went to retrieve the groceries he left behind earlier.

The brunet didn't bother cooking for the two of them and just made dinner for Peter. He's not surprised that he couldn't bring himself to consume solid foods after what he saw.

Coffee doesn't even looked as appetizing as it was before which is saying a lot. Tony's usually known to function properly with his daily dose of the caffeine.

As much as he wants to just sleep through the night without eating or drinking anything, Peter's still going to get worried.

He can't keep adding things that will complicate his son's life more. He already had his fair share of the chaos.

"You sure you don't want some dinner?"

Tony blinked at the words and turned his gaze to the other in front of him. The brown eyes that are identical to his were filled with concern that the genius was so sick of seeing.

Tony moved his gaze down on Peter's plate and was both glad and slightly envious that the plate he served him was halfway empty where it was originally filled to the brim with mashed potatoes.

Mashed potatoes...hard layer on the outside then soft on the inside...easy to smash...just like how Hammer's face was bashed inside his skull-

The little amount of coffee he forced himself to drink came back full force from his protesting stomach. Since the bathroom was a few footsteps away, Tony had to settle for the sink instead and there he disposed of the liquid inside of him.

Not without making choked up sounds and tears stinging his eyes which annoyed him when Peter immediately ran after him.

Tony felt the other's hand rubbing soothingly on his back as he continued to heave pathetically in their poor sink.

Fortunately after a few more seconds, the coffee turned into saliva and eventually he managed to stop.

The brunet turned his focus to breathing in oxygen into his system and then calming his rapidly beating heart.

He was getting old for this shit.

"Dad?"

Peter cleared his throat after to cover up for the hitch in his voice.

"I-" Tony coughed out, "I think I'm good Pete, thanks."

He opened the faucet and splashed his face with some water. He glanced down to watch what he heaved pass through the drain.

Brown like dirt. Brown like the barks of trees. Brown like the dried blood on Hammer's tattered shirt-

Tony gagged a bit more before he was able to settle his upset stomach.

The sound of the flowing water hitting the sink was the only thing heard at the moment. Neither of the two dared to disrupt it.

Tony woke up late the next morning and then the thought of his son entered his mind.

He bolted out of his bed faster than when he was late for his class back when he was still in college.

Hygiene be damned. Peter's breakfast and education always come first.

The brunet dashed down the stairs and miraculously managed not to slip and break his neck in the process.

When he reached the dining area, Tony had to stop his tracks in order to stare at the lone plate full of breakfast on the table.

He approached it and found a small note sticking out from under the plate.

I let you sleep in cuz you looked like you needed it. Btw, I made breakfast for us, I put effort into this so I hope you like it ;D P.S. I also didn't burned the house down so that's good.

Tony's lip twitched into a tired smile. Leave it to Peter to brighten up his morning after his restlessness last night.

He doesn't feel like eating but for Peter's sake and for his efforts not to go to waste, he'll try to consume as much as he can stomach. He finished half of it before he had to set it aside for lunch.

Tony walked up to his door and reached for the handle before he stopped. He can the tightening of chest and saw how his outstretched hand trembles at the thought of going outside.

It was all too soon.

He breathes in and out a couple of times. He'll eventually had to go out there again one way or another. He can't keep himself locked up.

Tony, however, was bewildered that upon opening the door, he found a small container on the ground that he almost stepped on if he hadn't caught himself.

His eyes drifted from left to right in hopes of finding the person responsible for leaving this.

The brunet crouched down and inspected the container then blinked at it when he found a slice of pie inside.

His eyes widened when he saw the specific wrench that he threw at Justin almost a week ago.

Tony doesn't know how to react at this. He was still emotionally and physically tired after the things that happened to him this month.

He decided to just pick it up and felt uncomfortable holding something that linked him back to the gruesome crime and to his actions.

He felt numb as he walked back inside and the thought of going outside left his mind.

Tony placed the wrench on the living room small table when he passed by it.

Does he have something to do with Hammer's death? Does he know the possible killer?

He doesn't even know anymore.

He bit lip hard as these thoughts plagued his mind. He would've dismissed this as another coincidence if it weren't for the fact that he actually didn't bother to retrieve the wrench.

Once he's at the dining table, Tony decided to transfer the pie on a plate. He took a fork then stared at slice of pastry and contemplated whether he should try it or not.

If this really was from the killer, does that mean the pie is poisoned or something?

There's something odd about the pie too. He couldn't determine the flavor even after slicing a piece of it to look at the inside. The smell was also different, it smells like meat but the pie was cold like it was stored inside a freezer.

Tony stabbed the small piece of pie and brought it inside of his mouth.

This was not a good idea.