Chapter Text
"In the event that Benjamin Parker or May Parker cannot take care of Peter Parker, he is to go to his god father, Anthony Stark, who has agreed in this Last Will and Testament to adopt said boy. Furthermore..."
Peter was only five years old when his parents were killed in a plane crash. Tony was only thirty-seven years old when he watched the black box footage of his two best friends being assassinated mid-flight. They both put on their best suits and cried at a funeral together. Peter cried because, on some level, he knew what dead meant and he understood what his Padrino had been talking about the past few days. Tony cried because Rich was his right had man, they were brothers. His death was just one more to add on to the family tree.
Two months went by after the funeral, after putting Peter’s parents in the ground. Two agonizing months of emptiness and Tony knew exactly how Peter felt. Being orphans is just another box to check on the list of things Peter and Tony have in common. Tony still liked to see Peter, every day in fact, after the funeral. It was a humid Tuesday afternoon, Tony had only been up for two hours, when he got a call from Ben. It wasn't out of the ordinary; Peter liked to talk to him more often than he saw him. He like to tell his Padrino all about Kindergarten and what he got up to that day. Tony answered the phone, ready to talk to his munchkin.
Ben started talking before Tony could get a hello in, "Tony, it's May. She- she's in the hospital. The doctors found multiple masses during her last mammogram. They're running more tests right now. Peter’s here with us, I need you to come get him.”
Tony took about five seconds to process Ben’s stiff, whispered word vomit before jolting himself back to reality. "Uhh, yeah. Give me ten and I'll be there. Memorial hospital by your place right?" Tony grabbed a set of keys out of the bowl on the kitchen bar, his wallet, and raced down to the garage.
"Yeah, that one. I gotta go, the doctor’s about to take May for some scans. Thank you, Tony.”
"Anytime, Ben, you know it." Tony told JARVIS to tell Happy to tell the new girl she was getting a promotion to executive assistant and the details of what was going down with May. He made it to Queens in seven minutes even with traffic. Turns out, calling in that old favor with Detective Stacey can sure get traffic moving. In the whole seven minutes it took to get to Queens Memorial, Tony arranged to have May moved to an advanced medical facility in upstate New Jersey. It would be quieter there and she would get much better care.
He made it to May's room but Ben was sitting on the floor outside, leaning on the wall.
"Ben, what's going on? Where’re May and Peter?"
"They’re inside,” He gestured to the room door to his right, “Tony, May only has months. The cancer's fucking all over, in almost every fucking lymph node. I- I don't know what to do, Tony. I just lost my brother and now I'm going to lose May. I can't, I just fucking can't. I-" Tony unceremoniously slid to the floor next to Ben and pulled him into a tight hug. He eventually let go but kept an arm around Ben's shoulders. We must look like the most blessed mess on Earth right now, Tony thought.
"Hey, I already got everything set to transfer her to a facility in North Jersey. I'm paying for everything. You guys are strong; you can help her fight this. Now this was your breakdown moment. You have to get in there and hold together for her breakdown moments. Capiche?" Ben pulled away, wiped his eyes, and stood up.
"Okay. I haven't told Peter yet that he’s going to be staying in Manhattan with you. So I guess surprise to him." Tony snorted in a dry chuckle and pushed open May's door.
Peter was sitting on May's lap, looking at a magazine with her. There were dried tear tracks on their faces, evidence of hearing and understanding the news. They both looked up at the door opening. May smiled and Peter's eyes lit up like May's scans must have.
"Padrino! You're here! It's so sad. Aunt May is sick and thmf smf hmtf!" The rest of Peter's sentence is muffled by Tony's shoulder after Peter launches himself into Tony’s arms. Peter just keeps on talking and Tony can't understand a word of it. It doesn't matter though because he’s holding Peter and when he has his god child in his arms he feels like nothing can go wrong in the world.
"Hey, Pete. You're going to come stay at the tower while Aunt May and Uncle Ben go away for a while so Aunt May can try to get better. That's alright with you?" Tony looked a bit apprehensive. He knows Peter loves his Padrino to death but the thought of Peter not wanting to live with him tears at his heart. He glances over to May who gives him a reassuring smile and a nod.
"Are you for real?! I'd get to live with you and Happy even though sometimes you make him not happy? Yes, I want to live with you! A million bajillion times yes!" Peter looked to everyone in the room, like he was checking to make sure he wasn't being played for a fool. (Where he picked up that saying, no one knows.)
"Okay. Well we'll stay here a little while longer and then we can swing by the apartment and pick up some stuff. Sound good?" Tony looked to Ben on that question.
"Yeah that's fine. He can honestly tell you what he needs better than I can. I'm at work before he's even up." Ben sighed and ran a hand over his face. He moved from his spot in the corner of the room to on the other side of May's bed, across from Tony. He took his wife's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"We've got this," Is all May said before she dozed off into an afternoon nap, not even waking up when a young technician brought her to some x-rays.