Chapter Text
Tony fought a smile on his face while he was looking down at the toddler who he was currently dressing. The little boy was sitting on Tony’s dresser looking around with wide eyes. This was their first morning in Tony’s recently renovated penthouse. Due to increased police presence, he had moved them from his normal house to the penthouse that he owned across the city.
It was off-grid and very private. No one knew that he lived here and he liked that. It was safer for them. Especially with all the press that Mary and her husband were generating. Since she’d rushed into one of his buildings accusing him of kidnapping the police has been breathing down his neck. Unfortunately, things had really kicked into gear and now he was afraid that at any moment the police would barge in demanding that Peter go with them.
He couldn’t let that happen so he had to take any and all precautions he could. His first step was relocating them, next he increased security, and lastly, he needed to change Peter’s name.
He looked Peter in the eyes as he helped the boy put his arm through the sleeve. “Now, tell Daddy what your name is.” Peter stuck out his bottom lip and turned his head slightly in thought.
“I Peter,” he said. Tony nodded before helping the boy with his other arm.
“That’s Daddy’s name for you. What’s everyone else’s name?”
“Uh I don’t ‘member.” Tony tried to hide his annoyance at the little guy, but he was tired of this same routine almost every morning for the last week.
“What does Daddy call you when he’s around his friends?”
“Oh! Prince. I Prince, right?”
“Yes, you’re Prince.” He held his hand out for Peter to give him a high five to which the little boy happily did. He offered Tony a wide smile and bounced a bit.
“I smart, Daddy.”
“You sure are buddy!” Tony gripped Peter and stood him up so that he could put a pair of shorts on his boy. Peter leaned forward on his shoulders to balance as he put each leg through the holes.
“So what do you do if your teacher calls you Peter?”
“I say dat not my name. I Prince.” Tony nodded with a smile.
“Why?”
“Cause I Prince. Only Daddy call me Peter. Dat his special name. It’s a secret.” With a relieved smile Tony gripped Peter around his waist and let him fall sideways against him. Peter squealed happily.
He dropped Peter down on his massive bed and let the boy bounce. The toddler instantly popped up with a smile and started to jump on the bed. He let the boy entertain himself while he went through his phone for updates from Rhodes and Happy. It looked like things were moving favorably. The penthouse security was up and had run with no problems last night. The police had yet to raid his house, but he was confident that in a matter of days it wouldn’t matter anyway.
“Tones?”
“Back here Platypus,” he called. Moments later, his best friend and lieutenant appeared. He was wearing a tight-fitting polo and a neatly pressed pair of slacks. “What do you have for me?”
“Little ears?”
“Oh, that good, huh?” Rhodes pursed his lips and Tony smiled at him before looking over at his son. “Hey bud, look who’s here.” Peter didn’t lookup. “Peter?” Still nothing. Tony rolled his eyes. “I found cookies.” Peter’s dropped his toy and looked up at Tony full of excitement.
“Cookies?” Tony made a face while Rhodes snorted.
“Toddlers. Can you say hi?”
“I want a cookie,” the little boy pouted.
“If you’re good you can have a cookie in a bit.” Peter offered him a side-eyed glance. Tony couldn’t help but laugh at his son’s skeptical look. “I will if you’re a good boy. What? I will.”
“I think he sees your game, Tones.” He glared at his friend before moving towards his toddler. Tony plucked Peter off the bed before walking him back into his own newly decorated room. He set Peter on the floor next to the pile of toys that the boy had pilfered from the other house.
Peter looked up at Tony with wide eyes. “We play now?”
Tony shook his head. “Daddy’s gonna work a bit, but you play ok? I even got you something special for my big boy.” It didn’t matter because as soon as Peter laid eyes on the giant race track he could care less about Tony. Tony smirked, he knew having that thing overnighted would be one of his best ideas ever.
Suck it Happy.
He pulled the door mostly closed as he and Rhodes made their way down the hall to his home office. He didn’t wait for the door to close before he asked his friend the question that was burning on his mind.
“What’s the status of the Widow Maker?”
“We’re all set.”
“What’s the plan?”
“I’ll give you the call and pick you up.”
“That’s it? No details?”
“She doesn’t give any and I didn’t ask. You know how she operates.” Leaning back in his chair he nodded. That was true. He knew her work and that’s why he kept her on the payroll. “I know you’re a control freak, but don’t worry. I’ve got you. By the end of the week, you and Prince will be safe.”
~/~
Tony found himself in an anxious mood. It wasn’t something that he experienced often, but since he’d brought the sweetest toddler in the world home he’d been experiencing it more.
Was Peter safe?
Was he happy?
Was someone going to take him?
Thoughts of paranoia constantly flooded through his mind. At least until his little guy would come and ask for a hug or snuggle up next to him. In those moments he couldn’t think of anything other than how much he loved his boy.
“Daddy?”
“Yeah buddy?” Peter was laying on his back with his feet propped up in the air while he played with his toes. He’d just gotten out of the bath and the little boy was full of time stalling questions.
“When I grow big will I be like ‘ou?”
“What do you mean?”
“Am I gunna hab people to boss?” Tony smiled at the little creature before brushing his hair out of his face.
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Oh. I wanna be nice, not mean.”
“I’m mean?” Peter nodded his head pronounced.
“‘Ou yell lots.” He let his legs drop and Tony quickly pulled the blankets up before he could protest. The little boy yawned. “Mama say muh daddy loud and uh big boss.” Tony stilled at that.
What?
“What did your mama say about your daddy?”
“She say dat he nice and sweet but nobody know. ‘Cause he hide it.” He felt his heart hammering in his chest.
“Did she tell you who your daddy was?” Of course, at that moment the little boy fell asleep. “Peter? Come on, Peter,” he hissed before sighing.
He’d just have to wait.
~/~
An hour or so later, Tony got the message he’d been waiting for. Hill was coming up to watch Peter because the Widow Maker was in place.
With no remorse he let Happy drive him across town at a speed that rivaled one of a Nascar driver. Tony leaned back and let the moment consume him. After almost a month of turmoil, he wanted this to be over.
Peter was his and no one should question that.
When he walked into the dimly lit area he wasn’t surprised to see Mary Fitzpatrick and Ben Parker blindfolded and gagged while on their knees. He was surprised to see another man. He wasn’t sure who he was, but Rhodes was there to assist.
“The other guy is Richard Parker, Ben’s brother. You remember him, right? He’s the one you had us do a number on a while back for making her cry,” Rhodes said in a hushed whisper. “He thinks he’s the kid’s father.” Tony nodded. “Want us to proceed?” Careful not to speak, Tony nodded.
He watched from the distance while blaring alarms and flashing lights were thrown around the area. Just when they would think that it would stop it would start up again. The three adults were woefully disoriented and by the end, they were sobbing.
One of the Widow Maker’s attendants removed the gags from the trio’s mouths. And as soon as they were off the woman was frantic. Mary screamed, “What do you want from us?”
“Nothing,” the Widow Maker said cooly.
“Nothing? Then why us? What did we do,” the burly man asked panting heavily.
“This is how this will go. I’m going to shoot you each in the heads and leave your bodies in a place where no one will ever find you.” Before the words came out there were gasps and screams. Tony wasn’t moved by the display, but he was more proud that no one else was either. “You three having been making waves recently and today that stops.”
Ben was gasping harshly and looking around even though he was blindfolded. “What kind of waves? We haven’t done anything!”
“This is about the boy, isn’t it?” Tony watched the slender man’s shoulders sag. He looked just as annoying and smug as Tony had ever seen him. “He’s a baby you know. Stark took him and you want us to shut up about it. Well, we’re not going to. He stole that boy and we want him back!”
“What makes you think that Stark has him, Richard? What makes you think that he’s still alive?” Mary gasped with horror and she started to wail.
“No! Not him too!” She screamed out again. “What did they do? What did they do? He was a baby. An innocent baby!”
“Innocence doesn’t matter,” the Widow Maker said. “If he was smart, he would have stayed hidden.” Again Mary screamed.
“So you’re saying he’s dead,” Ben said.
“Courtesy of Richard here,” the Widow Maker said.
Richard let out a pained gasp. “What? What are you talking about? I didn’t have anything to do with that.”
“You shouldn’t make enemies in high places, Richard,” the Widow Maker said. Without missing a beat she pulled out her gun and shot him in the head.
“Rich? Richie!” Ben frantically tried to move toward his brother but was stopped by a firm hand. Mary was crying so hard that she was shaking and Ben looked shattered. He cried silent tears as they streamed down his face.
“Who’s next,” the Widow Maker asked cooly. Tony had to admit that he was in awe of how in control she was.
“Please,” Ben gasped out, “Please! We thought it was Stark, but it’s not. We didn't mean to bring attention to you."
Mary nodded, "Please, we don't care who you are we just wanted to know where he was! Just please let us go. We promise! Please let us go and we won’t say anything!”
“No can do.” The Widow Maker gently placed her gun against Mary's temple while one of the attendants did the same to Ben. Mary screamed violently while Ben openly sobbed. “I’m going to give you one chance. Take the posters down and stop talking to the media. The boy is dead. If you don’t there is not a question of if, but when I will find you.” Both of them nodded frantically. “121 Meadow Lane.” They winced and started to cry harder. “I know where you live and I will kill you and I will kill everyone close to you. Consider this your one gift. Next time, I won’t be so nice.”
Just like that they were roughly pulled to their feet and taken away. Tony and Rhodes moved toward the back of the warehouse before they were greeted by the Widow Maker. She offered a curt nod before disappearing into the shadows.
"What a night," Rhodes said.
Tony nodded before looking around quickly. It was very dark and they were hidden in the shadows. He felt confident that no one was around. “Richard guy? That was low even for you.” The smaller man smirked at the statement. “I mean it’s brilliant, but you know also a bit of overkill," Tony said.
“Hey, he was a great scapegoat. Besides, I always hated him. He acted like he was better than her. Like he was some big shot ‘cause he was a scientist. Nurses are important too. Loser. Plus, it wasn’t my idea.”
“Oh?”
“Nope. He’s on her list of jobs for whatever reason so just killed two birds with one stone.” Rhodes looked up at Tony. “So you satisfied now?”
“I will be when the feds stop knocking on my door looking for him.” Rhodes snorted.
“Time will tell.”
~/~
The next night, Tony found himself covered with a very clingy toddler. Peter was grumpy and didn’t want to move from Tony’s side which honestly Tony was fine with. He didn’t mind it one bit. After the events from the night before, he had laid low and stayed in the house with him and Peter enjoying each other. They mostly played and the little boy helped him make lunch. It was sometime around late afternoon that Peter became a bit grouchy and he would whine and cry if Tony tried to put him down or leave him.
For whatever reason, it was so bad that he even had to use the restroom with a grumpy toddler on his hip. It wasn’t easy, but it was better than having the kid screaming and kicking at the door.
Peter was laying on Tony’s chest sucking on his thumb while Tony rubbed his hair. “You want to tell me what’s wrong?” The boy huffed. “Come on, I’m right here.”
“I jus’ wan’ ‘ou.” Tony’s heart melted at the statement.
“I’m right here, buddy. You know that.”
“I scared,” he said, burying his face into Tony's chest.
“Why?”
“Mama leab and you do too.”
“I’m not gonna leave you, Peter. You know that.” Peter shook his head.
“Dey say it on duh TB!”
“What did they say?”
“That I gone and Mama gone too.” Tony narrowed his eyes. “I see it! I gotta leab,” Peter offered a distressed whine.
“Where? When did you see it?” Frowning he reached for his phone and scrolled through news stories. Sure enough, there were updated articles everywhere saying that the missing boy had been found dead. Both Ben and May had retracted their statements and thanked everyone for their help. He had someone ‘leak’ several pictures of ‘Peter’ nearby from where May’s body was found. He guessed if the press were taking it as a real story then the pictures had been Photoshopped very well. “Oh buddy, this isn’t you.”
Peter looked up at him hopefully. “It not?”
“Nope. That’s pretend Peter. You’re real Peter.” Tony laughed when Peter’s face didn’t show an ounce of understanding. “Remember how I told you that when I became your Daddy you got a new name?” Peter nodded.
“I Prince.”
“Right, and this is Peter.” The little boy’s mouth went into an ‘o’.
“So Daddy not leabing and I stay wiff ‘ou?”
“Yep. You’re not leaving and I’m not leaving. We’re staying together.” Peter beamed up at him.
“Oh boy! Dat great! I just lub you!” Peter flopped himself happily against Tony’s chest and held on for dear life.
“I just love you too, my Prince.”
“You da king and I’m da prince.” Tony smiled and placed a kiss on Peter’s head.
“That’s right buddy.” That was how Tony and Peter spent the rest of the night. In each other’s arms enjoying being a family.