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Tony was on his hands and feet, crawling around and trying not to hit his head on every table corner when Peter strolled in to the lab.
“Hey, Mister Stark! Thanks for getting me and May a ride from the airport! We had a great time in Vancouver with her sis- uh, why are you on the floor?”
Tony lifted his head but didn’t turn around yet, not quite ready to face the kid with his failure. At least Peter hadn’t noticed -
“Wait… where’s Ham Solo?”
Tony silently grimaced, before slowly crawling out from underneath the desk. Peter was over by one of the lab tables, an empty cage sitting atop, looking at Tony with wide eyes.
“Mister Stark, please tell me this isn’t what it looks like.”
“This isn’t what it looks like. It’s a complete misunderstanding.”
Peter waved at the cage, looking increasingly upset. “Do you really expect me to believe that?”
Tony sighed deeply, looking down at the ground in guilt. Time to face the music, he supposed.
“Okay, look. I was feeding him this morning and I swore I closed the cage but-”
“You lost Ham Solo?!”
Peter crossed his arms, looking over at Tony angrily. “You had one job, Mister Stark. All you had to do was watch Hammy for four days, and now he’s missing! He could be starving in the streets for all we know-”
“Kid, it hasn’t even been a full day, I’m pretty sure a hamster can-”
“One. Job.”
Tony grimaced again. “I know, I know. And I’m sorry. But don’t worry, we’ll find him, I promise. I got FRIDAY on Hamster Watch, and Clint and Nat are somewhere around here, helping with the search. Between the most advanced AI in the world and two super-spies, there’s no way the little guy is getting out of the tower.”
“You don’t know Ham Solo, Mister Stark. He’s super smart. Ned and I built him a rat maze last year and he had the route to the exit memorized in less than an hour.”
Peter’s eyes welled up. “I can’t believe he’s missing. What if something happens to him? There aren’t any cats in the tower, are there?”
“No cats,” Tony reassured, walking over to Peter and putting an arm around him. “A few birdbrains sometimes, but definitely no cats.”
Peter didn’t respond, just leaned into the hug, wiping an arm over his eyes.
Tony turned and wrapped both arms around him, giving a quick kiss to the boy’s head. “I’m truly sorry, Peter. I really did think I closed the cage top, and I was already back in the penthouse when FRIDAY alerted me that he had escaped. Then by the time I ran back down here, he’d already disappeared. For such a stubby-footed fellow, he’s pretty quick.”
That earned him a small chuckle, before Peter pulled away. He crossed his arms and gave Tony a teary but mischievous smile. “Y’know, Mister Stark, even though it was an accident, I still think this counts as a breach of trust on your part. And you know what Captain America’s PSA says to do when there’s a Breach of Trust.”
Tony narrowed his eyes. “Nope, no way. This wasn’t on purpose, it was a total fluke, I’m not doing it.”
Peter gave Tony his most imploring gaze. “But you gotta prove I can trust you again! Please, Mister Stark?”
Tony blew out a long breath, letting his cheeks puff out on the air. This damn kid.
“Okay, fine. But this is the last time, got it?”
Peter grinned, moving to stand a few feet in front of Tony, his arms making a big X over his chest.
Tony held his arms out. “Ready when you are, kid.”
Peter let himself tip until he fell backwards, Tony easily catching him in his arms and lifting him back onto his feet.
"There? Happy?"
“Thanks for doing a trust fall with me, Mister Stark,” Peter said with a nod, then cheekily added, “it’s good to know I can always count on you.”
Tony rolled his eyes, smiling fondly. “Yeah, yeah. Glad I’m back in your good graces, Pete.”
Just then a vent opening at the top of the lab ceiling dropped, clattering to the ground and startling the pair. Clint’s head popped out. “Think I found something that belongs to you, Peter.”
He twisted a shoulder, arm falling to hang over the side, hand gripped tightly around a squirmy, squeaky ball of fur.
“You found him! Hammy, you’re okay!”
Peter ran over, lifting his arms to take the hamster. As soon as he had him secured he cuddled the little guy to his chest, murmuring reassurances as Clint dropped down to the ground and walking over to Tony.
“Thanks for finding my kid’s pet, Barton.”
Clint scowled. “You owe me pizza, Stark. I’d do the Budapest mission all over before I’d volunteer to catch that little dude again. He’s freakin’ fast.”
Tony raised an eyebrow. "So you and Nat finally ready to tell everyone exactly what happened in Budapest, eh?”
“Get me my pizza and I’ll consider it," Clint replied with a smirk.
“FRI, you heard the man. Ten pizzas to the tower, pronto.”