Work Text:
It had only been three days since the disastrous Stark Expo had taken place and Tony was still receiving daily calls, emails, and letters. Most of them were requests for interviews but there were also a few other things tossed in there. Including the occasional hate mail. That was nothing new, he thought to himself as he tossed a formal-looking letter into the trash. If whatever was in it was really important, he'd hear about it later.
A couple of weeks passed and the discarded letter had been long since forgotten as Pepper handed him a brand new stack to go through. He'd just pulled an event invitation out of its envelope when his AI interrupted him.
"Sir, there is a woman on the line who wishes to speak with you," JARVIS said.
Tony looked up and sighed. "I thought I already made it very clear that I wasn't taking any calls today."
"My apologies, sir but she's being rather insistent. This is her tenth call today alone," The AI replied.
With a roll of his eyes, Tony waved a hand vaguely towards the ceiling. "Great. A stalker. Tell her I'm busy J," he said before some amount of curiosity took over. "Wait, who did you say it was?"
"Mary Fitzgerald, sir. She says that the two of you met at a bar while you were in Switzerland for the Bern Science Conference," the AI dutifully replied.
Tony's heart skipped a beat. He'd met her by chance and they'd spent the entire weekend together in a whirlwind of thoughtless passion. He'd never expected to hear from her ever again. "I don't know her," he lied.
"I think we both know that is a lie, sir. May I remind you that you often speak freely while inebriated," JARVIS exasperatedly replied.
"No you may not," Tony grumbled before picking up. The call wasn't exactly what he'd expected. He'd thought she was in town and watched to have a repeat of their previous encounter. Not having her tell him that he had a nearly nine-year-old son. Deciding to keep of the guise that he didn't know who she was, he rolled his eyes and cooly repeated the long since memorized speech about how all paternity claims went through his lawyers. He was going to hang up on her after that but something seemed to be stopping him.
"I don't need a DNA test to know he's yours, Tony," Mary said. "You're the only one I slept with. That and- he's just really smart. They won't test his IQ yet but he's a genius. He's not building circuit boards or putting together engines but he has your brains. He also has your dark curls, brown eyes, broad lips, and that irritating knack for bringing able to read people. He even has your blood type, Tony," she pleadingly spoke.
"Yeah-" Tony dubiously drew out. "Congratulations, you read my file. That doesn't mean you know me," he stated without room for argument and that was how the call ended.
Thought as days passed, he couldn't seem to get it out of his head. Something about the entire situation sounded genuine and he was almost scared. When his lawyer confirmed that the claim had legitimate he was terrified and oddly annoyed that she' waited so long to tell him. "Alright, I have a son. What do I do now?" he asked in a mild panic
"Well, you could just send her a check each month and be done with it," the man suggested "-but she's pushing for you to meet him. It's up to you, of course, legally speaking you don't own her that."
Tony thought about it for a few seconds before guilt washed over him. "Maybe I own him that" he mumbled despite his unease. "I'll meet him, one time. That's it. That's all I'm promising."
The lawyer set it all up and soon enough Tony was walking into a private conference room in Stark Industries New York headquarters. He was there early but rather than sit in one of the many chairs, he paced.
Before he knew it, the door was creaking open and Mary was walking in with a small boy following so closely behind that he couldn't really see him. "Hey, Mary," he whispered. "It's been a long time."
Mary agreed before pulling the child around to her front and smiling. "I know I should have said something years ago but now I'm-" she began before switching gears completely. "This is Peter. You're son."
Tony stood there and looked at the kid in awe. She had been right, there was no denying that the boy was his. He was a spitting image. "It's nice to meet you, Pete," he said with surprising ease but the kid looked wary, and then all Tony could see was himself. He remembered feeling that same apprehension whenever he walked into the room with his own father as a child and suddenly all of his plans to remain distant went out the window. The meeting was no longer about quelling curiosity or reducing his guilt by allowing the kid to be in the same room with him for a little while. It was about... something else.
With a deep breath, Tony kneeled to the child's level and smiled. "I can't wait to get to know you, Kiddo," he said eliciting the brightest, most amazing grin he'd ever seen. That led him to tentatively hold out his arms in an invitation for the kid to hug him. When the boy came into his embrace without hesitation, he knew that was it. Through hell or high water, he was never letting go.