Work Text:
It all starts like a joke. They´re just finishing some cleanup down at New York, him and Wanda and Natasha and Peter and Vision, even Thor came down to help a bit with the new alien menace that he super duper ultra promised had nothing to do with his psychotic brother.
Tony´s swinging a piece of starship onto a cargo truck, as it hangs from one of Peter´s spider webs, when Friday alerts him that it´s well past midnight, so he goes down to the team and opens up his faceplate.
“It´s getting late kid. Get on the car and Happy will drop you off at May´s, it´s a school night and you´re losing the “internship” for real if you drop that GPA” he says. Peter takes off his mask and rolls his eyes.
“Yeah dad” Peter replies, turning to the car where Happy´s waiting, before whipping back at near superhuman speed. “I MEAN MR. STARK”
“Really?” Says Wanda with that obnoxious half smirk of hers “Because it sounded like dad to me”
“Of course not, that would be weird! Ha ha, anyways, I´ll go home on my own Happy, da-MR. STARK, SEE YOU LATER ALL!” Peter says in rapid succession, and then he´s sprinting away from them and swinging himself up and away into the skyline.
There´s silence at the battle scene, and Tony sighs.
“I´ll give you five minutes, then I´m going” He declares, and lets the shitstorm commence.
--
Of course when he walks into his office the next morning, there´s a huge banner over his desk reading “Congratulations, it´s a spider”. On the desk proper rest a “world´s best dad” and a “world´s okayest dad” mug, a book titled “The VERY embarrassing book of dad jokes” and a folded pair of khakis.
He switches his suit trousers for the khakis and serves his morning coffee in the “okayest” mug.
--
Once he actually starts an internship at Stark Industries, Peter always brings him the coffee in the “best” mug. Tony pretends he doesn´t notice, and rolls his eyes at the mug once Peter is gone, but he can´t deny the coffee somehow tastes better.
He tells himself it means nothing.
--
May calls him once. When did she get his number anyways? "Hey, I have a date with a guy from the Thai food restaurant we like, and I kinda want to come back to an empty apartment if you know what I mean, so I'm gonna make use of this joint custody thing we have” She says quickly, not giving him a chance to interrupt. “He´ll be at your place after school, make sure he doesn't break the Empire State building and have him at the apartment by Sunday night"
"You're aware I'm not really his dad aren´t you?” is all Tony can say after the instructions
"Yes whatever, you got any pickles in your frid-"
"And bread and churros, who do you think I am? I also got him a new backpack, his current one is falling to pieces, it´s embarrassing” Tony interrupts before he can stop himself.
He can literally hear May smirking in the silence that follow.
"THIS DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING OK MAY?!" He says. She laughs on the other side of the line, and he hangs up, groaning.
--
“Still nothing” He mutters between his teeth as he brings in yet another shipment of web fluid materials to the apartment.
“As you say, super dad” says May, stepping aside. She holds him up before he leaves, with a steaming mug of coffee, and they talk colleges. Tony tells himself he stayed only because of the coffee.
--
"MEANS NOTHING" He says as he supervises the moving company employees getting Peter and May´s stuff inside the new house, that´s already equipped with a lab in the basement. It´s stocked with the best equipment he could find and Karen has been programmed to call Tony immediately if Peter attempts anything too stupid. A little stupid, however, is allowed because how is the kid going to learn otherwise?
Aunt May nods. “Of course. Hey, I´m going to try the new coffeemaker, want a cup?” She asks before going in.
--
"Nothing, ok? Don´t even mention it" when he shows up to Peter's high school graduation ceremony with a churro bouquet and balloons.
“Yup. Saved you a seat, come on” she says, gesturing to the chair next to her.
--
"Still nothing, I swear" as they see Peter off to college for the first time. May simply pats him on the shoulder and goes inside to cry in Peter's bedroom for a while.
He goes into the house a bit later and turns the coffeemaker on before asking Friday to notify him as soon as Peter´s bus reaches its destiny.
--
"Nothing yet?" asks May a few days after the accident. Peter's stable by now, but he spends most of the day asked as his enhanced body keeps working in overdrive to repair the damage done to his internal organs.
The New Avengers' facilities are silent like a cemetery because Tony promised to put anyone who bothered Peter in an actual cemetery and Happy's roaming the halls regularly, quite invested on his grim reaper role.
Tony looks up from the comforting peaks and valleys in the heart rate monitor screen, but can't hold her stare, or rather, can't keep himself looking away from the only proof the kid's alive for too long.
"Maybe something" he mutters.
Aunt May squeezes his shoulder and goes to get them both some strong coffee, because nights have been long and they will continue to be so for a while.