Chapter Text
After everything settled down, the girls finally left to get their nails done.
Peter and Tony had been in the lab for about 3 hours at this point. They had been working on coding Peter his own A.I.. Peter was so concentrated on the project; he was able to distract himself from all his thoughts and worries.
“I think here’s a good time to stop. We only need to finish those last lines, and then we can test it out.”
“When can we do that, Mr. Stark?”
“It’s Tony, kiddo, and maybe we can sneak down after dinner for a little while if we can get past Pepper.”
“Hmm, only if you let me put all the blame on you when we get caught. I want to stay on Pepper’s good side forever. She thinks I am an angel right now.” Peter sassily remarked.
“Wow, Pete. I see you will gladly throw me to the wolves. I can see whose side you are really on.” Tony sarcastically replied putting a hand dramatically over his heart.
“Yep. Definitely Peppers. She is scary when you are on her bad side. The way she was talking to those lawyers, I was scared for them.” Peter fakes shivers and laughs.
“Oh, trust me, kid. I know, I’ve been there too many times. But come on, I’m Tony Stark, aren’t I scary too.”
Peter pretends to think about it, tapping his head before shrugging, “hmm, not particularly.”
Tony laughs and pulls Peter up from his lab bench, “We’d better head up for lunch, before Friday snitches to Pepper, and we really have something to be afraid of.”
Tony keeps his arm around Peter the whole way up to the penthouse.
“Tony?” Peter suddenly asks quietly looking up at his mentor. The entire mood changes and Tony knows Peter is going to say something serious. Tony could see the pure vulnerability in Peter’s eyes, and he swore he would do anything to take the pain and insecurity away from them.
“Aunt May hit me,” Peter whispered barely audible. He didn’t know why he had the sudden urge to confess to Tony what he already knew. Maybe he needed to know if he was brave enough to say it out loud. Maybe he wanted to know if May still held control over him. Or maybe he needed to put the weight of his dark secret off him and on to Tony who he knew would willingly take it, “And she let Skip hurt me.”
Tony pulled him into a hug and locked his arms around Peter securely. Peter immediately felt safe. He breathed in the familiar smell of expensive cologne and motor oil.
“I know, buddy. I’m so sorry, but she can’t hurt you anymore, I won’t let her, or anyone touch you ever again. You’re safe now.”
Peter just nodded into Tony’s chest, he thought that Tony’s arms were the only thing that kept him from falling apart.
“Tony?” Peter asks looking up at his mentor, “What if I’m too broken, and you don’t want me to live with you anymore once you figure that out. Aunt May said no one would ever want me. Sometimes it scares me that she was right.”
“Peter, listen to me really carefully, because what I’m going to say is important, and I never want you to forget it or doubt it ever. Understand?” Tony waited for Peter to respond. Peter must have heard the seriousness in Tony’s voice because he looked up.
“Yes, sir.”
“I love you, Peter. I always will. Nothing will ever change that. Ever. You’re my kid, now. And I will always do everything in my power to protect and love you. I will never give up on you, no matter how broken you think you are. And whether you graduate from MIT top of your class, or you drop out of high school, I will always love you. The same goes for Presley.”
“Are you sure you want to deal with me? Are you sure you want me to be your kid?”
“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my entire life. You belong with me, kid. We are family now, and I don’t give up on my family.”
“I love you, too, Tony. Thank you for- for everything.”
Tony hummed and gave Peter another squeeze around the shoulder before dragging him into the kitchen. They ate in silence for a while. Peter letting what Tony said sink in.
“So, you are okay with me dropping out of high school?” Peter asked with a chuckle.
“Ah ah, I didn’t say that. In fact, I will never let you drop out of high school, kiddo, sorry about that.”
“Does this mean you can ground me, now? I hope you don’t ground me as much as you used to threaten because then I’d be grounded like every day.”
“Oh, grounding is definitely apart of my job description now. And I will be making sure I use that power as often as needed.” Tony chuckled.
Peter rolled his eyes, “Well, I’d definitely take your groundings if, in return, I get a hefty allowance when I’m good.”
“I definitely think that can be arranged. I’ll have to research what an appropriate allowance is for a thirteen-year-old.”
“I could help with the deciding.” Peter helpfully added. Tony laughed, “I’m sure you would be happy, too.”
They ate and continued to banter. Peter still felt an ache when he thought of May and his old life, but he was content at that moment to be eating a sandwich with Tony.
“Tony, will you build me my own Iron Man armor?”
“Absolutely…not.”
END OF PART I