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The Avengers don’t officially meet Leia until Saturday. They give Peter and Leia space on the Friday knowing how much Peter was, unsurprisingly, upset after the whole lockdown event on Thursday evening. Nobody really expected it to happen on Saturday, either, but Peter’s always thought that having children makes life unpredictable.
Leia and Peter are enjoying a lazy morning. They sleep in longer than they normally would, Peter managing to convince Leia to close her eyes for another hour or so when she storms into his room to wake him up. Peter is vaguely aware of Pepper knocking on his door at some point and opening it slightly, cooing when she sees the pair cuddled together. When they eventually surface, Peter smiles at the new photo of them pinned on the fridge, taken less than an hour ago, both of them smiling peacefully in their sleep.
The morning is one of domestic bliss. They make pancakes together in the kitchen, Leia eats most of the chocolate chips before Peter has a chance to put them in the batter. He pretends to be annoyed for all of thirty seconds before he laughs and kisses the top of her head as he fishes another packet out of the cupboard above her head.
Their peaceful morning-turned-afternoon is interrupted by Peter’s phone ringing just as they are settling down to watch a film. Peter laughs as Leia groans dramatically.
“Everything alright, Mr Stark?” Peter asks when he answers the phone. He frowns at the hesitation Tony takes.
“Pete, I’m sorry, but Fury’s called a meeting. I’ve tried my best to get you out of it, but he won’t listen,” Peter sighs heavily, rubbing his eyes. “Any chance you could pop down?”
“Yeah, just…just lemme find Miss Potts, see if she can watch Leia for a bit,” He frowns when he hears Tony suck in a breath.
“Sorry, Pete. Pep’s in a meeting. Some last-minute emergency in New Zealand,” Peter doesn’t say anything, but Tony hears him sigh down the line. “You okay, kid?”
“Yeah. Thinking.”
“You could just bring her along,” Tony suggests lightly. “It’ll probably only be quick. Nobody would mind at all,” He makes an apologetic sound. “Sorry for crashing your morning, kid,”
“No, no, it’s fine.” He sighs lightly. “Just gimme a few minutes to put some clothes on,” Tony snorts as he agrees and hangs up.
Twenty minutes later, Peter is entering conference room E. Everybody but Fury looks up when he enters, all offering their greetings. Fury only looks up from his papers when he speaks up.
“Parker. Lovely that you could grace us with your presence.” Tony’s lips quirk at the obvious fake smile that Peter flashes at Fury, snorting when it disappears the moment the director looks back down. Peter walks further into the room and the Avengers all smile when they notice Leia following, still in her Spider-man pyjamas, one hand holding Peter’s and the other holding on tightly to Bearbear. When the young girl notices Tony, she smiles brightly and lets go of her father’s hand, reaching out for the older man. Tony grins at her, lifting her up and spinning her around in his chair.
“Hello, sweetheart,” Even though Tony tries to keep his voice down, Fury’s head snaps up when he hears him talk. Peter sits down in the empty chair next to Tony, rolling his eyes when Fury speaks again.
“No. No children allowed. Absolutely not.”
“You heard the man, Peter,” Sam sighs dramatically from where he’s sat opposite Peter. He slides down far enough in his seat that he can kick Peter’s out from under the desk. “No children. You need to leave,” Bucky snorts from two seats across.
“Wha…hey!” Nearly everyone laughs at the annoyed look on Peter’s face. Fury just narrows his eyes. “No offense, Mr Fury, Sir, but you didn’t really give me enough notice to arrange a babysitter.”
“Not my issue, Parker. Out.” Fury demands simply, pointing to the door. Peter narrows his eyes, staring at him for a few long moments. He debates with himself whether annoying Fury more is worth it. He decides against it before he stands up, not caring when his chair falls over. Natasha covers her laugh with a cough.
“Fine. C’mere Leia,” The girl lifts her head from where she’s place it on Tony’s shoulder, her fingers messing up his hair. She moans, high and long, burying herself in Tony’s chest.
“Wanna stay with Uncle Mista Stark,” Peter shoots her an apologetic smile.
“Yeah, well, Mr Angry doesn’t want you with Uncle Mr Stark because he’s too busy being a big meanie,” He whispers, but his voice is loud enough that everyone in the room hears him clearly. Fury is growling when he replies.
“One peep out of her and she’s out, you hear me?” Peter doesn’t reply, just picks his chair up from the floor and sits down. He smiles when he sees Tony running his fingers through Leia’s hair. The man smirks at him when she starts falling asleep in his lap.
“She gets this from you, you know.” He lifts the fingers from her hair, immediately putting them back when she whimpers softly. “Does this send all Parkers to sleep? Or just the children?”
“STARK!” Peter smirks when Fury snaps.
Peter decides Tony is a stone-faced liar when Fury is still droaning on an hour and three quarters later. He’s fairly certain that Steve is the only one of them actually listening. If he didn’t know Natasha any better, he would think that she’s talking notes with how she’s writing and glancing up every so often. But he does know Natasha and knows for a fact that she’s actually editing Peter’s essay on Othello that is due in next week. Clint is watching Fury but clearly not paying attention, Tony is still carding his fingers through a sleeping Leia’s hair, and Bruce is face down on the table, possibly sleeping. Either side of Steve, Bucky and Sam are throwing things at each other, struggling to contain their laughter each time one of them hits Steve and he huffs.
Leia is just beginning to stir in Tony’s arms when Fury wraps up another forty-five minutes later, just as Peter starts to contemplate grabbing her from his mentor’s arms and making a run for it. She turns her head towards her and makes grabby hands as Fury picks up his papers, says “Dismissed.” and then walks right out of the room. He lets her crawl out of Tony’s arms and into his.
“Lunch time?” He asks quietly, smiling when she nods sleepily. “What are we fancying?”
“Mac’roni?” She asks quietly after thinking for a few moments. She giggles when Peter fakes a groan.
“Again? Are you sure?” She just keeps giggling as he stands up. He gets to the door before he hesitates and turns back towards his team. “You can join us if you…if you want to. I mean, you don’t have to, but I know you want to meet her properly and-”
“Breathe, kid,” Tony laughs as the other just smile at him. Peter sighs in relief when Clint grins at him.
“This macaroni any good?” Leia giggles again.
“Daddy makes the best mac’roni, mister,” She smiles sweetly, squirming until Peter puts her down.
“The best, huh?”
“In the whole world!” Leia promises, bouncing slightly on her feet.
“The whole world?” Natasha asks, mock dis-belief lacing her voice. “That’s a lot of macaroni you must have eaten,” Leia just smiles and nods before looking back up at her father. He grins down at her.
“C’mon then, munchkin. Let’s go and make some macaroni,” He holds the door open for Leia to leave the room, following close behind her. Before the door shuts, they can hear Leia convincing Peter to let her have ice cream after her pasta.
“You guys coming?” Tony asks, standing up and turning back towards them as he holds the door open.
By the time they make it up to the kitchen in the Penthouse, Peter is cooking, one pan filled with water just beginning to boil, a wooden spoon balancing on the lid of another. Leia is sitting on top of the glass kitchen table, legs crossed, drinking a capri sun.
“You’re not supposed to be up there, trouble,” Tony teases with a fake stern look. He lasts about thirty seconds, breaking when Leia just giggles at him.
“So now you have two kids you can’t stay mad at, huh, Stark?” Tony scowls as Bucky walks past him and lifts himself up onto the counter.
“That is not true.” He argues, glaring at the super soldier. The other man just raises a single eyebrow.
“It is so true!” Clint insists, pinching Leia’s cheek softly, grinning up at Natasha when the young girl giggles. Natasha smiles back before turning back to where she was looking at the fridge. She trails her fingers gently over the picture pinned next to the Iron Man colouring.
“No.” Tony’s scowl deepens. “Nope. Not true. I’ve never even met these brats. Kids. Yuck. I hate children. Sure am glad I don’t know any.” Tony’s façade begins to crack when Peter snorts, breaking completely when Leia bursts into a fit of giggles. He pokes her cheek gently, always gently. “You’ve blown my cover now. Now everyone is going to know that I have feelings!”
“Oh no!” Peter gasps in mock despair as he pours a whole box of macaroni into the pot of water. “Imagine. People no longer confusing you with a robot. The horror.” Tony scowls again.
“It’s official. Leia, you’re now my favourite kid. You’ve got the top spot. Congratulations! Parker, you’ve been bumped down. Shame.”
“As if she wasn’t your favourite anyway. I was replaced as soon as you set eyes on her. I can’t even be mad about it.” Peter sighs softly as he opens the fridge, holding two bags up for Leia to look at. “What sort of cheese do you want, Leia? Red or white?” She takes them both in her hands and looks between them for a moment, considering.
“Yes.” Leia eventually nods at her father. He rolls his eyes, soft smile painting his lips.
“Pick one, please, princess,” Leia frowns before Tony winks at her.
“The red, right, Leia?” He hands the bag of red shredded cheese to Peter. As soon as he turns away, he puts the other bag, the one half full of white shredded cheese, in the big pocket of Leia’s t-shirt, whispering something in her ear. Peter turns around when Leia giggles, narrowing his eyes.
“What are you doing?” Tony and Leia look up at him, identical smiles on their faces.
“Nothing, Daddy,” Peter scowls at Tony.
“You’re corrupting my daughter, Stark.” Leia giggles when Tony shrugs his shoulders. “Sweetheart, you wanna stir for a bit while I drain the pasta?” She nods enthusiastically, not stopping until Tony has picked her up and carried her over to the pans. Peter smiles as he hands over the wooden spoon before he picks up the other pan. Peter stands at the sink for a few moments, watching the scene, smiling when every few seconds Leia looks over Tony’s shoulder at him and giggles. Tony shushes her every time she does, which just makes her giggle harder. “How you doing, Leia?”
“Done, Daddy,” She says after Tony nods at her. Peter brings the now drained pot of pasta over, pouring the cheese sauce Leia has been stirring into it, before turning it into a baking dish. He smiles as Leia grabs a handful of cheese off the counter and sprinkles it over the top.
“Come and meet some people,” Peter says after he’s put the dish into the oven and set the timer. He narrows his eyes when he notices Leia’s hand in her pocket and Tony smiling innocently. “What are you up to?” She shakes her head but reaches out towards Peter, slapping his cheek the way she sometimes sees Tony do. He rolls his eyes when he hears Tony’s delighted laughter. They turn towards the others and Leia doesn’t even wait for Peter to introduce them, just smiles up at Steve, who is standing closest to them.
“Hello, Mr Cap ‘Merica,” Steve laughs softly as Sam snorts.
“Oh, my God, there’s two of them,” He whispers. He laughs when Peter narrows his eyes playfully.
“Sorry for teaching her manners, Mr Wilson,” Peter rolls his eyes. “If I ever have another child-”
“Mr Falcon!” Leia laughs and points at Sam, who just frowns as the others laugh at him. Peter smiles as he places Leia back on the table, leaving her to talk to the others. He sits and watches for a while before he checks on the macaroni. He decides the pasta needs a few more minutes and puts it back in the oven. He turns back around just in time to see Leia take her hand out of her pocket and hand something to Tony, and the man lift his own hand to his mouth. He clears his throat, pursing his lips when Leia looks up at him and blinks her eyes.
“Open your hands,” Leia frowns a little bit when she spreads her fingers wide. He narrows his eyes at the piece of cheese clinging to her skin. “Empty your pocket.”
“Kid,” Tony swallows and tries to interrupt, but Peter just ignores him.
“Empty. Now, please,” He doesn’t take his eyes off Leia, who just pouts when he doesn’t move. Her pout deepens when Peter cocks an eyebrow, and she pulls the bag of cheese out of and hands it up to him. “Thank you, Princess,” He takes the bag out of her hand and puts it back in the fridge. On his way, he whacks Tony over the head with the bag, snorting when Tony groans dramatically.
“Mad at me, Daddy?” Leia asks quietly when Peter sits down and doesn’t say anything. Peter sighs and takes her hands in his, squeezing gently.
“No, Sweetie. Daddy’s not mad. Well,” He pauses, smirking up at Tony slightly. “Maybe a little bit. But only at Mr Stark,” Leia frowns for a moment before she smiles and nods.
“Okay.” Tony snorts at her response.
“Thanks for the support, kiddo. Really appreciate it,” Peter smiles softly before pulling Leia onto his knees.
“You put more cheese in the sauce, huh?”
“Ruin it?” Leia’s eyes fill with tears as she speaks, not meeting Peter’s eyes. Peter coos and lifts her chin, making her look at him.
“No, baby. Do you want to know why?” Leia nods, letting Peter wipe away the single tear that has fallen. “Mr Stark is the smartest man I know. He’s cleverer than Dr Banner, and Dr Banner knows lots and lots about lots of different things, yeah? Mr Stark knows more than even him. Mr Stark is the cleverest man in the whole world, but here’s the thing, Leia. He’s not clever enough to realise how predicable he is,”
“Wha’s predict’ble?” She asks, eyes looking less red than they did moments ago.
“Means I know what he’s gonna do,”
“Because you’re cleverer than him.” She states as a fact, nodding her head. “I know that.”
“No,” Peter shakes his head. “Mr Stark is just a bit silly, sometimes, sweet. He always does the same thing with macaroni. Likes having two types of cheese in the sauce, just like you, and always tries to put more in. And he doesn’t think I notice when he’s whispering to you to put a handful in when Daddy’s not watching,” Peter laughs when Tony groans.
“Stupid super hearing,” He mumbles just as the alarm goes off. Peter ruffles Leia’s hair as he stands up and gets the macaroni out of the oven. He picks one of Leia’s plates out of the cupboard and, once it’s cooled some, spoons a bit of pasta onto it, and hands it to her.
“Thank you, Daddy,” She smiles when Peter sits down in front of her and takes a forkful of food from her plate.
“What? The rest of us don’t get table service?” Clint asks, huffing out a laugh when Peter rolls his eyes.
“Sure,” He offers, not looking up at him. “Soon as you start wearing Spider-man pyjamas and letting me do your hair, Mr Clint. Helps if you love me, as well,” Peter laughs when Clint clears his throat and pouts at him, fluttering his eyelashes.
“Love you, Peter,”
“Nice try, Barton,” Natasha smiles when Peter rolls his eyes and Leia giggles. The others in the room all get up and get themselves some pasta, Tony sliding a plate in front of Peter, so he stops eating his daughter’s. Leia giggles when she starts stealing pieces from Peter’s plate instead.
“Oh, my god. Where did you learn to cook like this, spider-boy?” Bucky groans. “Thought Leia was exaggerating when she said it was the best in the world,” Peter shrugs, smiling softly.
“Mama taught him!” Leia smiles up at them. Everyone in the room stays quiet for a moment, until Peter replies, a soft, happy look on his face.
“Yeah,” He breathes, pinching Leia’s cheek. “Yeah, she did,” Everyone around the table relaxes, the tension that had grown at the mention of Leia’s mother fading away. They all start up their own conversations, letting Peter and Leia be in their own little world for a while.
Peter is just pushing the pasta left over around his plate when he looks up at Tony and clears his throat.
“Mr Stark?” Tony hums slightly as he looks up, frowning slightly at the look on Peter’s face. “It would have been her birthday on Tuesday,”
“Eighteen, huh?” Tony asks with a sad smile. Peter nods, looking back down.
“Yeah,” He chokes out. “Leia and I are going out for the day, you know. It’s been cleared with school and Aunt May’s taken the day off from the hospital to come with us. We were just gonna go to the zoo, visit her grave, and stuff. We were wondering if…if you’d come with us? Spend the day,” He looks at Tony’s face but avoids his eyes as his voice drops to a whisper. “She would have liked you,” Tony freezes, and Peter tries to ignore the way he can feel the others listening, even as they try to pretend they’re still deep in their own talks.
“You don’t want me there. It’s your day, kid. You should spend it together, as a family,” Tony sighs, trying to let the kid down gently.
“Exactly. As a family.” Peter drops his head back down, stomach dropping when Tony is quiet for what feels like a few seconds and a hundred years.
“You really want me there?” Peter’s head shoots up, nodding, wide, hopeful eyes meeting Tony’s. The older man sighs, smiling slightly. “Okay, kid,”
“Thanks, Dad,” Leia tugs on Peter’s sleeve after he speaks, and the teen turns to face her when she starts asking about ice cream. He doesn’t see the tears that fill Tony’s eyes. No-one else mentions them.