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“I don’t understand why we couldn’t just stay at that nice hotel down the street,” Tony grumbled as he struggled to heave the heavy luggage out of the trunk of their rental car. He loaded Peter’s arms with the extra bags, designated as ‘presents’, and closed the trunk. “The suite left something to be desired of course, but it would’ve done the job. For a three star hotel in Tennessee at least--”
“I promised we would stay with them,” Pepper answered, shooting him a quick look, because they’d been over this particular topic several times leading up to the trip. “I don’t visit often, and they want to get to know you.”
“Yeah Mr. Stark,” Peter chirped from behind the bags, grinning cheekily at his mentor. “It won’t be so bad.”
“Hush it, brat. I’ll ship you right back to Queens. Don’t test me.”
Pepper rolled her eyes and moved away from the car, leaving the two behind to walk across the dirt path cutting through the lawn leading up to the front porch. Tony and Peter lag along behind her, toting their bags along with them.
“Y’know,” Peter huffed, “I should document this trip-”
“No, you really shouldn’t.” Tony immediately intercepted with a grumpy huff. He’d been extra testy all afternoon after the security snafu out on the tarmac where they landed.
Pepper rapped her knuckles on the wooden door of the large farmhouse and waited, glancing over her shoulder at the boys who had finally joined her on the porch.
They stood there for a few moments, waiting patiently for the door to swing open. Or at least Peter and Pepper were waiting patiently… Tony was shifting from foot to foot, tapping his toes restlessly.
“Welp; we tried,” he announced, reaching to grab the bags once more.
“Tony stop,” Pepper snapped, glaring over her shoulder at her fiance.
“Are you nervous to meet Pepper’s family, Mr. Stark?” Peter questioned impishly. Tony didn’t grace him with a response, instead he simply glared which looked much more like an angry pout, but Pepper answered for him anyway.
“Of course he is,” she smiled, “why do you think he insisted you come along.”
“I did not insist .” Tony snarked.
“Whatever you say honey,” Pepper smirked, turning to gaze back at the door. She lifted her arm to knock again, but before she could, loud footsteps thundered towards the door then swung wide open and they were all greeted with an excited squeal.
“Aunt Ginny!” Tony startled at the volume and he barely had a second to blink before a tiny blur of red and pink rushed through the doorway and barrel into his soon-to-be wife.
“Daisy!” Pepper greeted with a happy chuckle as she wrapped her arms around the girl.
Peter vaguely heard Tony muttering behind him. “Great. Just what I needed in life... More children.”
Soon, the little girl was joined by a hoard of more people and Pepper was quite literally getting peppered with kisses as Peter and Tony awkwardly stood behind her, waiting to be invited inside, or at least acknowledged for existing.
“Ahem,” Tony cleared his throat, stepping into their line of sight, “Hi, Hello. Soon-to-be part of the family standing right here.”
Pepper laughed and backed out of the arms of her family to grab onto Tony’s hand and drag him into the mob of people. Immediately, and he quite literally meant immediately , he was met with a wet pair of lips planting themselves far too close to his own. His eyes bugged out as he stared at the woman grasping either side of his face. Her soft red hair was speckled with grey and he could only assume it was Pepper’s mother.
“Everyone, this is Tony,” Pepper smiled happily, hand still clasped tightly in Tony’s. Then Peter was being dragged up to her other side, “and this is Peter.”
At the mention of Peter, the hands gripping Tony’s face released and a loud gasp followed.
“Virginia! A child?! You never said he had a child.”
Tony held up a finger to interrupt and correct her. “Actually, he’s not really my-”
“You better hope he is not yours Virginia. Making me go this long without knowing I had another grandbaby would put you in a lot of trouble.” Her attention turned to Peter.
“Well, I’m not really Mr. Sta-” Peter started… but then the lady grabbed hold of his cheeks tightly and cooed.
Pepper only smiled warmly as she gave out a few more hugs before asking to be let inside to put their things away.
“Pepper, you never told me your family was that big,” Tony complained, placing their suitcase on the bed they were supposed to be sleeping in. Peter placed his things against the wall across the room while Daisy was sent to fetch the spare air mattress from the garage, and he beelined it for the bathroom.
“If I had told you, you never would have come.”
“Of course I would have come,” Tony huffed, spinning to look at her with a betrayed frown, arms crossed over his chest and face hanging in defeat. “I would have just liked a bit more warning.”
“Let me rephrase,” Pepper sighed. “If I had told you, you would have refused to stay in the house.”
Tony’s eyebrows scrunched together cutely as he fixed her with a studious glare.
“What are you trying to say Pepper?” He accused.
“They all live here.”
“What?!” Tony practically shouted, eyes nearly bugging out of his skull. “How can your whole family live in this tiny house?”
“It’s not my whole family,” Pepper sighed. “My two other sisters and their kids are coming tomorrow and they don’t live here.”
“That wasn’t your whole family?”
“No.”
Tony shifted awkwardly on the couch, smushed between Pepper and Peter as he slowly started to sink further and further into the crack of the cushions. He clasped his hands together in his lap and kept his knees pressed together tightly as Pepper’s family sat around the Living Room, staring at him. Pepper was in the middle of introducing them all and his head spun trying to remember all their names and connect them to the few stories he’s heard.
“That’s Uncle Morgan and Aunt Sherri, Grammy Thomson, my youngest sister Selena, her son Mike and her daughter Daisy, and my mother, Ellie.”
“Hmm,” Tony smiled tightly, lifting a hand to offer them all a half-hearted wave.
“I’m Peter,” Peter announced awkwardly. His voice cracks out of nervousness and Tony pats his knee in a poor attempt to relieve him. He purses his lips, hoping the awkward silence would end soon.
“Well Tony,” Pepper’s mother spoke up with an excited smile, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“I’m sure you have.”
“She never told me you had a son, though.”
Both Tony and Peter’s heads slowly swivel towards each other. Peter’s cheeks pinken, but all Tony does is stare, both uncomfortable and unsure how to address the delicate topic with a group of virtual strangers.
Pepper nudges him softly and Tony turns to slowly look back at her family and offer them a press-worthy smile. “We’re not technically... “ he waves his hands in a vague gesture of indifference, “related? I guess.” He turns his head back to Peter, seeking the boy’s approval and Peter shrugs his shoulders and nods as if that were a good way to explain the complicated relationship. Sure, Peter had the tendency to call him ‘Dad’ every now and then, but that was more of a private matter, and something Peter was inclined to get embarrassed about even if it was just between them. So, it wasn’t something they even discussed. It was more of an unspoken acknowledgement to their growing relationship and both of them were fine with leaving it just the way it was.
“Yeah, um, we’re just, like, really close, y’know.”
Tony can practically feel Pepper’s mental facepalm as her family stares at them.
“Why is he here if he is not your son?” The old lady who Tony thinks was Pepper’s Aunt spoke up… and she raised a very good point.
“I’m Mr. Stark’s intern!” Peter happily announced.
Like that makes it any better...
“I see,” Pepper’s mother nodded. She obviously didn’t believe them, and apparently neither did the rest of the family, and he supposes that was fair considering the defensive and awkward attitude both he and Peter were currently presenting. So, Pepper decided to step in and clear things up just a bit.
Thankfully .
“They work together a lot. Tony helps Peter with school and he’s training him in different fields of science so he will be qualified to work with SI once he graduates. So, they tend to spend a lot of time together.”
“So he’s not your son?” The Uncle asked. Tony’s pretty sure it’s the same uncle who’s more often than not been at the root of some of the more outlandish stories Pepper would tell of her family.
“Well…” Again, Tony hesitated.
“He’s kinda like my Dad,” Peter chirps anxiously, hoping they could move on from the topic. “My parents are dead.”
The silence in the room was stifling thanks to the sudden influx of awkwardness Peter just vomited out of his mouth.
“Way to kill the mood, kid.” Tony mutters with the smallest of chuckles. Peter winces and looks up at him looking just about as miserable as Tony felt on the inside. When Pepper said bringing Peter with them would raise questions, Tony didn’t realize this is what she meant. He thought just the excuse of ‘family friend’ would’ve been enough to brush the question off and that’d be the end of it. He was not expecting this-- whatever this weird intervention-esque styled interrogation was. Tony just sighs, shakes his head gently and drapes his loose arm over the back of the couch and around Peter’s shoulders to try and offer some subtle comfort. He hoped this wasn’t something else Pepper’s family would try to read into.
That’s when Tony notices the little boy, Mike, staring at him. Like, eyes wide, mouth on the verge of hanging open, unblinking kind of staring at him. It was a look Tony’s grown all too familiar with through his career as a famous superhero.
“You’re Iron Man.” He eventually squeaks, startling his grandmother sitting beside him.
“I am.” Tony nods, mouth twitching involuntarily as he adjusts in his seat. There was nowhere to escape that he could see, and he couldn’t help feeling that by the end of the day he’d have another obsessed child to add to his collection of nieces and nephews. He really didn’t see the appeal kids found in him, but he should be used to his by now…
“And guess what Mikey,” Pepper interrupts with a coo in her voice, leaning forward with her hands clasped beneath her chin. The boy’s stare jerks towards her, but the shock and utter panic at meeting a superhero does not leave his face. “He loves to build robots just like you. Remember?”
Tony quirks a brow, turning his head to glance at his fiance like she was crazy. Was she trying to exacerbate the problem, because it looked like that was exactly what she was doing. He had enough kids hanging off him as it was.
The boy practically turned blue, like he forgot how to breathe for several moments.
“And Peter loves them too. He also likes legos. Maybe you can take them to your room to show them all your cool robots.”
“Honey, I don’t think that’s--” Tony tries to do some damage control, but it doesn't work. Peter’s already leaping from the couch with a grin, urging the boy to show them the way.
Mikey’s unsure glance flickered back to Tony and his less than excited frown and immediately he began to tear up and goddamn… he was a fool to think he was going to leave this house without falling in love with these children too.
Peter grabs onto his hand like he was about to haul him off the couch, more than eager to get out of the room and far away from the current discussion, and Tony suddenly saw the appeal. But he was already standing, approaching Mikey slowly and holding out his hand for him to take. He’s babysat kids enough times to know how to handle them by now and he has full confidence in stopping tears before they had the chance to fully begin.
God, tears are his kryptonite.
“C’mon Mike, let’s go check it out. I betcha got all kinds of cool stuff goin’ on in there.” Mikey stares at his hand, then back up at him, and soon he’s hiding his face in his grandmother’s blouse, gripping her sleeve.
“Oh honey,” Ellie coos, “it’s just Uncle Tony. He wants to go see your robot things. You’ve been wanting to show him since you heard he was coming. Go on.” She looked up at Tony and apologized to him. “I’m sorry, he just gets a bit shy around strangers. He’ll warm up to you soon enough, and believe me, you won’t be able to shake him off. He’s been talking about you nonstop since he heard you were coming to visit.”
And, yeah, Tony got that vibe from the start.
With a bit more coaxing, Mikey eventually takes his hand and slowly guides Tony and Peter to his room. And to be honest Tony was vain enough to think they would find Iron Man plastered all over the walls with toys and figures portraying his alter ego similar to the way he’d found Cooper’s room a while back… but no. The room was fully and completely Spider-Man . The walls were blue with a poorly painted spiderweb covering the whole accent wall. The comforter was Spider-Man, at least three posters of Spider-Man and was that… yep, among the discarded dirty clothes on the floor was a plethora of Spider-Man emblazoned pyjamas and shirts.
Tony grinned at the sight and nudged Peter in the side as they both took in the room. Peter was awestruck, completely distraught and on the verge of tears possibly. But before he could break down into happy sobs Mikey was turning back around to face them, hands clasped gently in front of him and his eyes staring at the carpeted floor as he nervously toed at a discarded Captain America action-figure.
“Ummm… do you- do you know Spider-Man?”
Tony bit back a knowing smirk. “Yes I do. I can tell you're a fan.” He glanced around the room to take in the sights once more. Red and Blue everywhere . He didn’t even know that they sold Spider-Man merchandise somewhere other than New York.
“Yeah, you and Aunt Ginny sent me all this stuff for my birthday, ‘member?” Mikey grinned brightly, eyes lighting up with excitement. And, no , Tony did not remember that, but he does remember the sudden influx of Spider-Man merch priced on his credit card. At the time he had assumed it was Peter finally putting to use that spare card he gave him, but it turns out Pepper was the real culprit. “She told me that he comes and sees you guys sometimes! And-and she said that sometimes you fight bad guys with him!” He rushed towards a large toy box across the room, digging through the abundance of toys.
Tony could feel Peter’s essence melting into a puddle of goop from beside him. And for once he could actually say that he wasn’t put off about not being the favorite… his kid deserved to be fanned over. He deserved all the praise and recognition for what he did.
Tony squatted down as Mikey returned with two figures in hand. One of Iron Man and one of Spider-Man, and the boy handed him both. Tony took them with a grin. “Y’know more often than not he’s the one saving my butt, isn’t that right Peter?” He turns his head up to look at Peter and the teen is still frozen in a state of shock. Mikey looked up at him too with a curious tilt to his head.
So Tony keeps talking. “Peter here is Spider-Man’s best friend. He can probably tell you more about him than I can.”
He swears he’s never seen a child’s eyes sparkle so much as they looked up at his kid. “Yeah I think you two are gonna hit it off.”
And hit it off they did. After ten minutes or so he got the feeling that he wasn’t really needed.
Pepper knew she was right. She was always right. Tony hadn’t seemed to learn this yet, though, considering the absolute fit he threw when she told him there was nothing to worry about and that he would fit right in with her chaotic family. He had been nervous to meet them. The only real family atmosphere he’d been around was Rhodey’s when he’d go to visit during vacations off from MIT, so she tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but going into this she knew her family would love him. She had been more worried that Tony would meet them and be scared off by their eager acceptance. Tony had a tendency to distance himself from affectionate atmospheres, especially when they first started dating and he was barely able to go a whole night sharing a bed with her. Even now, she still feels a little worried that Tony will spend time with them and dread ever coming back and having anything to do with this side of her life. But Peter’s softened him up, and after the last few months, watching him interact with Clint’s kids and all the other gremlins she knows he loves so much, she thinks he might finally have a change of heart. He’s healing, and she thinks he finally realizes that family and affection and love wasn’t a bad thing, like his father had indirectly taught him it was. And she wants her family to help him heal.
“If you’re so sure they’ll love me so much then why haven’t you introduced them to me in all the years we’ve known eachother, hmm?” Tony had asked her. It was a valid question; one that didn’t surprise her, but she was prepared with an answer. And she was truthful, but she didn’t tell him everything. He was a genius, and he was able to fill in the blanks.
“My family’s been through a lot of loss, Tony. I didn’t want to risk putting them through another loss if things didn’t turn out.” She had approached him with a sad smile and wrapped her arms around his waist and her forehead against his to soften the blow. “But now we’re getting married, and you’ve changed… I don’t plan on letting you go again anytime soon, and I think it’s time you be a part of this half of my life… Trust me, they’ll love you.”
And love him they did… and she thinks now it’s safe to say…
And love them he did as well.
“Now Grammy,” Tony scoffs, looking down at the presented cards the old woman had just laid down, leaving her hand completely empty. He glances back to the handful he still clutches between his fingers. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were a sneaky little card shark.” He grinned playfully at her, squinting her eyes, and her face split into a wide smile, dentures nearly falling from her mouth when she did so.
“That’s it, I demand a rematch,” he declares, gathering the cards and shuffling them to deal three hands once more just in case Aunt Sherri decided to wake up from her impromptu snooze that was induced in the midst of their last hand.
He didn’t know how she was sleeping, the house was slowly slipping into chaos, and it was loud . He was used to loud, but it was different.
As if to prove his point just then, Mikey comes bolting around the corner, screaming and roaring with laughter. Then Daisy. And finally Peter, chasing after them with a wide grin on his face. The three kids weave through the living room and kitchen, circling their table and passing right behind both Sherri and Grammy, but neither blink an eye. And it’s only a pure stroke of luck Tony’s able to catch Mikey by the arm when he trips and nosedives towards the tile right beside his chair. He recovers just as quickly as he falls and he’s right back to running.
“Careful, guys!” Tony calls out, but they’re already flying through the open patio door, nearly trampling Pepper’s mother in their path.
“Sorry Miss Potts,” he could vaguely hear Peter call out, but the boy kept on running.
She was supposedly used to it because she just shakes her head in abject amusement as she comes back inside to assist Selena and Pepper with dinner. “There will be no peace once your sisters get here.”
Pepper laughs, and she sounds so carefree and happy, it makes Tony smile. He hopes one day he would be able to make her feel that way. “It was never going to be peaceful to begin with Mama.”
“Fair enough Virginia,” her mother replies, shooing Selena to the side to make room at the counter for herself. “Now, does that man of yours know how to grill? I don’t trust Morgan or Selena with those burgers after what happened last time. I’ve grown rather fond of my porch.”
“Hey!” Selena protests without any real heat.
Tony grins as he continues his eavesdropping, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on his cards to not give himself away, but Pepper knows him better than that. After all, he’s not deaf by any means.
“I don’t know,” Pepper muses, and he can hear the smile in her voice, “he’s never grilled for me before… What do you think Honey?”
Tony lifts his head to address her, pursing his lips to maintain an air of innocence. She gives him a look and raises her brows, but she’s more amused than anything else and he smiles at her.
“I’ll try if you’re all willing to risk food poisoning.”
Pepper’s mother immediately begins shuffling towards him with a plate full of raw hamburger patties. “It’s better than having my porch burnt down. Now hurry, the kids will be here soon and they’ll be hungry. Maybe get your son to help when he’s finished having fun.”
“He’s not my--”
“Oh tomato, tom-a-toe,” she begins pushing him towards the door, “hurry along.”
Tony liked her.
“Pepper,” Tony sighs as he falls into the mattress beside her where she was reading a book by lamplight. Peter was already passed out and snoring on the air mattress across the room.
“Tony,” she replied with a small smile, but he said nothing in response, just rolled onto his stomach and pressed his face into the pillow. “You finally plotted your escape, hm?” She continued reading her book, now using her free hand to rub up and down her fiance’s back, and he hummed in appreciation.
“You’re sisters declared bedtime finally... I don't think I realized how many kids 8 kids were. That’s like all of my kids except all of them are under ten… That’s a lot of screaming and snot Pepper.”
“Why do you think I came up to bed so early,” Pepper teased, running her nails along the soft skin of his back and along his sides.
Tony grunted at her in indignation. He was too tired to do much more than that.
As soon as the children arrived they crowded around him like a magnet and it was a cacophony of questions and noise. It was so different from meeting or interacting with any of his other honorary nieces or nephews who were mostly indifferent towards him before they actually had a chance to bond. These kids were all instantly starstruck and hyper… and they had so many questions.
It was like meeting 8 baby Peters.
He barely had time to introduce himself to Pepper’s two other sisters before they were being crowded around the large dinner table while the pair of twins argued at his feet over who got to sit on his other side. He nearly tripped over them as Pepper’s mother shuffled him to the seat at the end of the table, and she sat Pepper to his left, and Peter beside her, and then one of the twins to his right. It was either Rocky or Ricky, he couldn’t tell. In fact, he didn’t even know for sure, he was just assuming based off the quick rundown Pepper had given him before they arrived. Both names started with ‘R’ and rhymed so he’d like to say it’s a logical guess.
Everyone had taken their seats and, my god, Tony had to take a moment and glance over all the heads sitting around the table. There were so many people. Fifteen. Not including Pepper, Peter, and himself. He’s suddenly glad that the whole family wasn’t here to greet them when they first arrived. He would’ve turned right around and walked back to the car, but now he’s too invested into this family to make a run for it. It was a lot of heads to count, but he’s sure the kids will grow on him, as kids usually did.
As soon as everyone’s seated and Pepper’s mother gives the go ahead they all began pitting for the food lined across the table. The bowls and plates of food were passed around to the adults and oldest of children, and an abundance of chatter erupted as everyone began speaking all at once. He notices the Rocky or Ricky kid sitting beside him stretch across the table, reaching for the mashed potatoes, and Tony can just picture the disaster waiting to happen. Pepper must have foreseen it as well, and she lifts the large bowl from the table before his tiny hands can grab on to it and she passes it to Tony without even looking away from her sister and their animated conversation. He holds the bowl in his hands for a few moments, looking from his empty plate to the kid’s, and he notices that he’s the only adult capable of serving him.
And as he serves the kid a few plops of potatoes he looks around to see most all the younger kids each strategically placed beside an adult and all he can figure is Pepper’s mother must put a lot of faith into him in regards to caring for a child.
It wasn’t until that moment when he looked around at the various adults each serving their own assigned toddler that he noticed something, and he hadn’t been able to get it out of his head since.
Besides Uncle Morgan, who was just a bit senial in his opinion, he was the only man at the table, and Peter would be the closest second, followed by the three young boys. He feels like he should’ve noticed the high ratio sooner. And now, as he lays in bed and really thinks about that dinner, absent of any children hanging off him, he thinks he finally understands Pepper’s words when they discussed coming to visit her family.
He rolls onto his back and looks up at her, trying to find a tactful way to bring it up.
“Hey Pep?” He starts carefully. She hums, eyes once more fixated on her book. “I noticed something during dinner... “ She must hear hesitance and question in his voice because she puts down her book. “Besides your uncle Morgan, I’m the only guy. Adult guy. It just seems like with how big your family is that there’d be-- You know, just… statistically speaking...”
“I know,” she answers before he could fumble any further with his unspoken question. She pursed her lips and sighed and Tony stares at her. He knows there’s a story behind it all and he wonders if maybe she’ll finally tell it. In the past, asking Pepper about her family was like pulling teeth and when the arrived and he witness her interactions with them he couldn’t for the life of him think why she never spoke of them. There was something being left unsaid.
“My family’s been through a lot, Tony. I told you that before we came.” He nods. He remembered. “We don’t have the best record when it comes to men… My father died when we were young. I was just going into middle school and Selena had just been born. We had an older brother named Jason and after Dad died, well Mom didn’t have a job and she had five kids… and Jason was the only one old enough to get a job. We all depended on him probably a bit too much.”
“Pep,” Tony sighs. He knew where this story was going. He sat up and scooted closer to her then reached out to hold her hand. “You never told me any of this.”
“I know Tony. It’s not something I love to talk about.”
“Can I-- What happened to Jason?” He grabbed her hand and held it between both of his.
“Well, in highschool, me and Elizabeth both got part time jobs to help Mom too, and with four incomes we started doing pretty good financially and I-I don’t know what it was, maybe Jason finally had enough relief to think and do things for himself without having to worry constantly about how it would affect us, and the anxiety through the years finally caught up to him and… he found an outlet. And one day he got in an accident. DUI... and that was-- that was it.”
Tony lifts her hand to his mouth and gives it a gentle kiss.
“That’s when Morgan and Sherri moved in with us, and they brought Grammy with them. Lizzy got a boyfriend, started acting out; got into things she shouldn’t just like Jason. Got pregnant, got married, got pregnant again. She gets arrested, goes to court, the guy takes the kids and she goes to rehab; and she never heard from them again. And she has three more with a new guy none of us have ever met when she gets out. Brooke does better, she gets married, has two kids, and while she’s pregnant with the twins her husband goes on tour to fight in Afghanistan and he doesn’t come home. So, long story short, as I said, our family doesn’t have the best history with men, and the only decent male figure the kids have ever had is Uncle Morgan, and even that’s a little questionable at times. Even Peter being here is so good for them. Why do you think they were so smitten so quickly? They’ve never had an uncle below the age of sixty before.”
She smiles knowingly at him, having heard the rambunctious laughter while Tony played with them in a way they hadn’t really been able to play with anyone before. The tumbles and crashes, and thumps, and loud stampede of footsteps running up and down the halls made her smile as Tony tossed them to and fro on various pieces of furniture like he would Clint’s kids at the compound once in a while. They played all night and after a few rounds Pepper had to head to bed herself before she could get roped into the chaos. Peter had came stumbling in only a few minutes after her, tired out by the festivities as well with a wide grin on his face as he collapsed onto his bed. He’d helped Tony tire them out tonight, just like they’d tired out him. She could only imagine how exhausted Tony must’ve been, having to mellow out the hyperactive energy all the children were pumped with after their traditional present hunt.
“I honestly just thought it was the Iron Man thing, and well, Pete’s just all around loveable,” he laughed, slipping back down on the bed, to lay on his side, pressing his forehead against her stomach.
She pets his hair. “Well that too.”
It’s silent for a while, long enough that Pepper could usually safely assume the had fallen asleep, but she knew better.
“Thank you for being so good to them,” she whispered into the quiet room, feeling her eyes well up with tears as she thought about it. For so long, she had to watch her sisters and mother struggle and overcome so many things, and now just to see them happy after all this time, especially the kids, it made her so grateful. It wasn’t all Tony of course, but for once she can finally see how far they’ve all come. Together.
“And thank you for making me meet them even when I was being an ass. You have quite the family, Potts.”
She sniffles and a wet chuckle bursts from her mouth while she wipes her eyes. “Believe me, I know.” His hand grabs at her hip and tugs slightly.
“Mm, it’s late. Get down here and snuggle me, Potts. Or are you gonna make me beg?”
She turns off the lamp and smiles, then scoots down to join him on the bed.
Movie nights in the Potts’ household were much different from what he was used to.
First of all, seating. Seating was a big problem. Thankfully he and Pepper were able to grab a seat next to each other on the couch, and Pepper’s mother sat beside her. Peter and the other kids, however, had no other choice but to cozy up on the floor. Peter ended up sitting at his feet, leaning up against his legs. Tony was already squished between Pepper and her youngest sister, Selena. He was used to being squished during movies even if there was plenty of space on either side of him, so it wasn’t an issue. Nate, Lila, and Cassie did good with familiarizing him with the concept of no personal space. And even Peter was a gosh darn cuddle bug more often than not. So, being squished was fairly normal.
Though, as the movie continued, the kids grew tired. And considering how young they were and how loving and close the family was, they were used to being cuddled up to another warm body when they grew tired. And so started the silent war over who could be closest to him or Pepper. He was elbowed in the gut more than once, and he received enough knees to the crotch over a period of time that he learned to settle a discreet hand over the pained area to serve as a protection.
They climbed over him like he was a jungle gym for goodness sake and he was trying to watch a movie , and Pepper had the audacity to laugh at him. Eventually they settled… and by the end of the movie the couch was just one giant dogpile. He had two in his lap and one of the older ones that had somehow squished themselves into the tiny space between him and Pepper. Selena had one, Pepper too, and her mother of course.
He was barely able to sit up and look down at Peter still leaning against his legs. The kid was asleep with Mikey curled up against him, and Tony chuckles, because of course. That kid hadn’t been far off from wherever Peter was since the first day.
Each night ended in a similar way. Sometimes they would watch an actual movie, other times they watched old family movies, and Tony had immense satisfaction in teasing Pepper about her bossy tendencies that had apparently been quite prominent when she was younger as well. He enjoyed it more than he thought he ever would. And even though he more often than not felt hot and crowded by all the mini space heaters around him, it made him feel like he’s always been a part of the family.
Peter was as big a hit with the family as Tony was, if not even more so, and the kid loved every second of it. He’d run around and play with the little kids during the day, play cards with Grammy and Aunt Sherri, then indulge Uncle Morgan by listening to one of his fantastical war stories that absolutely never happened. Pepper’s sisters all adored him, linking arms with him and toting him around beside them as they talked and walked laps around the backyard while the kids all rolled around in the grass. But Pepper’s mother seemed to be most smitten. They stayed up late, crocheting on the back porch. She guided Peter through how to hold the needle and yarn and how to make patterns and rows while she rocked the porch swing back and forth and they just talked .
In fact, Tony had woken up in the middle of the night towards the end of their stay only to find Peter’s bed void of his favorite Spiderkid, and went on a short manhunt to find him. He found him cuddled up next to Ellie under a blanket on the porch swing while she rocked back and forth, fingers weaving through the strings of yarn while she hummed a peaceful tune under her breath.
Tony smiled, knocking his knuckles against the screen door to announce his arrival so he wouldn’t startle her.
“Hey Miss Potts,” he whispered.
“Call me Ellie, Tony,” she insisted without even looking up from her project. “We’ve been over this.”
He pushed open the screen door slowly, wincing at the harsh squeak and noting to himself to fix that for her before they left.
“Ellie,” he corrects himself with a smile, “what are you guys doing out here so late?”
“I’m sorry Tony, we must have lost track of time,” she looked down at Peter and smiled, lifting her arm to stroke the back of her hand against his cheek. “He couldn’t sleep so we sat out here for a little while and talked. He’s such a wonderful young man, and he reminds me a lot of my son.”
“Yeah, I lucked out on this one, didn’t I?” He approaches the swing and squats down in front of the kid to brush the hair out of his face. He can feel Ellie watching him studiously, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.
“He really looks up to you, Stark. Loves you a lot.”
Tony huffs a small laugh and slowly begins adjusting Peter’s arms and legs in a position easy to pick him up. “So, I’ve heard.”
“Dad?” Peter grunts, eyes blinking open lethargically, looking up at Tony as he slowly lifted him up from the swing.
“Hey Pete.” Tony greets back.
“I c’n walk,” Peter mutters in slight protest, but his actions say otherwise as he wraps his arms around Tony’s neck.
“I’m well aware you can, but do you want to walk?”
There’s a long pause as Peter’s sleepy mind contemplates the question before he shakes his head slowly, pushing his face into the small space made between his own arm and Tony's jaw.
Tony shares a look with Ellie and hefts Peter up into his arms securely. “Alright, I’m gonna take this one to bed. See you in the morning Ellie.”
“Goodnight Tony. Goodnight Peter.”
“Night Gra’ma,” Peter mutters, willing his hand to give a slight wave in her direction.
Tony’s heart beats a bit wildly as he walks back to their room. All the family Peter ever had were his Aunt and Uncle and for a few years his parents. His family had always been very small, and May had told him that was why Peter formed such a strong attachment to him and Pepper so quickly, and then later to the other Avengers. He yearned for a family. One to love and miss, and look forward to seeing.
It makes him happy to see that Peter feels a part of this family as well. He has a grandma now. He has eight more cousins who adore him and so many more Aunts. He’s so glad he was able to share this experience with Peter; to help give him something he himself had lacked as a child.
He toes open the door with his bare foot as quietly as he could manage so he wouldn’t disturb Pepper. But she was already awake and Tony smiled at her, nodding down to the passed out teen in his arms.
“Tony what’s going on?” She pushed herself out of bed while Tony moved to place Peter on the air mattress.
“The kiddo here fell asleep talking with Grandma, isn’t that right, Pete?” Tony chuckles when the kid grunts in affirmation and rolls to turn his back to him. He can feel Pepper hovering behind him, so he makes quick work of tucking the blankets over Peter’s shoulders.
“Grandma? Grammy doesn't talk, Tony.”
“No,” Tony whispers with a laugh, “your Mom, Pep.”
Pepper blinks, a bit startled. “Oh.”
“Yeah, oh,” Tony chuckles, standing up from Peter’s bed.
“She does really like him,” Pepper whispers softly, leaning forward to fidget with the hem of Peter’s blanket to tuck it further around his shoulders once Tony was finished.
Tony hums in amusement. “I can tell. You better call May, Pep. Your family may not be letting him go home.”
When it came time to leave, Tony was impressed to find that he was able to remember each and every one of their names. He’d been getting by on creative nicknames for most of the trip, especially when it came to the children. There were just too many of them. The kids loved it though, thankfully, and a select few would giggle manically every time. It might have had something to do with the situation during those occurrences, considering more often than not he was addressing them with a playful growl while he tossed them onto the couch and tickled them until they couldn’t breathe through their own screeching laughter anymore.
They were wild little things, and he knows he had done nothing more but made the issue worse, because he knew better. Nate, LIla, and Cassie were exactly the same, yet he hadn’t seemed to learn his lesson quite yet and he swore Pepper was going to kill him when they were awoken by a meticulously planned dogpile on their bed one morning, but the soft giggles and need for cuddles quickly won her over and she was more than happy to indulge her younger nieces and nephews until they were being called down for breakfast. Peter had received the brunt of the damage, the older two of the children collapsing on top of him to serve as his personal good morning wake up call.
It was a situation Tony never thought he would ever be okay with, but he must be mellowing with age because he layed their and endured the torture he swore it was with a smile on his face.
The kids were damn good huggers. He couldn’t deny it. And now as they were all saying their goodbyes, each and every one of them nearly squeezed the life out of him as they did their rounds. Grammy gave him a kiss on the cheek when he bent down to her level where she was sitting in the chair. She grinned up at him and he grinned back, promising to practice his card skills so he could return for a rematch. Out of everything he got out of this trip, he was most surprised to learn he wasn’t as disgusted by old people as he would have thought. She was a sweet old lady even though she hadn’t spoken a single word to him the entire visit. She communicated through smiles and slow blinks, and he likes to think he’s become quite fluent in Grammy language over the past week.
When he kneels down in front of Mikey, the kid throws himself at Tony, wrapping his tiny arms around his neck and Tony returns the hug with one arm and a light chuckle. This kid was probably the only one whose name he hadn’t forgotten during their trip. “Hey, kiddo.”
Mikey hugs him tighter, but doesn’t say anything. Tony rubs his back.
“Hey, Bud. I’m gonna miss ya. Maybe I’ll see you soon, yeah?”
MIkey lets go just a bit to pull back and look up at him, eyes wide with surprise. “You’re coming back?”
“Well, eventually I hope. That will be up to your Aunt Ginny.” He lowers his voice for the next part to avoid any little ears overhearing. “But maybe your Mom will let you and your sister come out and visit us for a week or two. I’ll show you all my cool robots. And me and Pete might even get Spider-Man to drop by for a little visit. How does that sound?” Tony grins, gazing down at the six year old little boy, looking exactly as he’d picture a starstruck little Peter that sported some blonde hair and freckles.
“R-really?”
“Absolutely,” Tony grins, “but maybe we should talk to your mom before we start-- oof!” He grunts and stumbles forward just a bit as a small weight jumps onto his back.
“Now who might this be?” He teases, reaching up to grab onto the tiny arms encircling his neck. The high-pitched giggle gives her away.
“Taylor… what are you doin’ little ladybug?” He pulls on her arm gently to guide her off his back and pull her around so he can see her properly.
“You didn’t say bye to me yet, Uncle Tony!” She grins, hands falling into her hoodie pockets while she jutts her waist out and swings back and forth.
“I was making my way over there Missy.” He scoffs playfully at her and pokes her belly. “So impatient.”
He finishes with his goodbyes and moves to stand next to Pepper, who’s cuddling baby Emma in her arms, swaying back and forth as the little girl squeezes her tight. And they both watch as Peter struggles through finishing his own round of goodbyes. It was like the kid had known everyone forever and was preparing to never see them again. Each kid swarmed him and cried as he hugged them goodbye, begging him to go home with them, and Tony thinks the kid nearly gave way to tears a few times himself.
But soon each of the kids are loaded up into their designated van, strapped into their usual car seats. They stand on the porch and wave goodbye until neither vehicle could be seen any longer. And then it was just the original six standing on the porch with them. Grammy sat in her rocking chair beside Aunt Sherri. Uncle Morgan was in the middle of the yard poking at a dead carcass of some sort with his cane. Selena had both her kids tucked up at her sides, Daisy and Mike wearing the most pitiful pout Tony thinks he’s ever seen a child sport.
And then there stood Ellie at the top of the stairs, wrinkled hands clasped together tightly in front of her, and her old rust-rimmed glasses perched atop her head in front of the messy bun she’d thrown her greying hair up into that morning. Peter stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at her.
“C’mere baby,” she lifts her arms towards him and Peter darts up the stairs to wrap himself around the older woman. She was tall, just like Pepper, and he was able to settle his head just beneath her chin, soaking in the warmth and comfort she offered. She kissed the side of his head, one hand lifting to stroke his hair. “You better come back to visit us soon dear. I don’t know if my old heart can stand missing you for too long.”
Peter pulls away to grin up at her, discreetly wiping at his eyes. “Can I?”
“Please do. I’ve only had a week with you and I have so many years to catch up on. You’re my oldest grandbaby, and I haven’t spent near enough time with you.” She holds his cheeks between her hands and kisses his forehead. Then she whispers. “And make sure your father comes with you too. I know it was a lot for him, but we enjoyed having him with us.” She winked and finally eased out of the embrace.
Peter didn’t even argue with her anymore about the dad thing. He only grinned and nodded his head, turning to look over his shoulder at Tony and Pepper.
“When can we come back?”
Tony laughs. “Slow your roll buckaroo. We haven’t even left yet--”
“What about Thanksgiving?” Pepper suggested eagerly, looking up towards her mom for approval.
“Okay Pep, hold on now--”
“Yeah!” Peter exclaimed, eyes alight with so much excitement Tony just can’t muster the heart to stomp on it. “Maybe May could come too!”
“Ohhh, your Aunt May,” Ellie grins, a wide smile breaking across her face. “I would love to meet her!” She looks at her daughter. “Yes! I’ll expect you all for Thanksgiving. It’s been so long since we’ve all been together as a family for Thanksgiving. Your sisters will be so excited?
Pepper grabs onto Tony’s elbow and hugs his arm close. She looks up at him and grins blinking her eyelashes to tease. She leans her body weight against him and Tony can’t help but smile through his sigh. He hugs her close and rolls his eyes.
“I’m not getting out of this one, am I?”
He grunts at the sudden impact against his waist as Peter latches his arms around him, propping his chin up on his chest with a bright grin.
“No, you’re not.”
He ruffles Peter’s hair with a smile and an amused huff.
“I really gotta learn how to say no to you.”