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Peter had just come out to May and Ned. They were still uncertain about telling people but they knew for sure they wanted to use they/them.Peter didn’t know how Tony would feel though cause Tony never talked to Peter about any of this before. Tony could have bad opinions for all Peter knew. They were worried about how their mentor would react but they didn’t want to be misgendered. So they made it to the lab and looked at Tony and went to say something but then Tony looked at them and talked about the project they were working on today. Peter never got to talk about their pronouns.
~
May called Tony a week later. Tony was confused at first but he didn’t think anything of it. She was talking about Peter’s summer break and what days Peter could go to the lab.
“He is doing real well with this recent project,” Tony said.
“They,” May corrected him. Tony froze. Did the kid tell him about the pronoun change? Tony was trying to remember.
“Peter uses they/them now?” Tony asked.
“Did he not tell you?” May asked Tony. Tony figured he didn’t want to upset Peter if he did.
“I must have forgotten,” Tony explained. “We have been working on this project for a while now. I could have forgotten he… they told me.” Tony made a note to make sure to use the right pronouns with Peter from now on.
~
Peter was walking into the lab when he heard Pepper and Tony talking. He stopped feeling bad he was intruding until he heard his name.
“Peter has been helping you? How much of the work has he helped with?” Pepper asked.
“They have helped with a lot of it actually,” Tony said. Peter froze at that. “I think the kid has helped with every single step. I normally wait until they are here before I work on it.”
“Is Peter using they/them now?” Pepper asked.
“Yes,” Tony said. “I was thinking we could do something for pride this year. I know you have worried about how the board will take it but I think we need to make sure more kids are seeing a company that supports them and has employed people not because of their sexuality but because of how well they can do the job.”
“You just want an excuse to paint the Iron-Man suit for June,” Pepper said.
“I got some other avengers on my side and I even made a new suit for the kid for the month if they want to wear it. It’s an option.”
“I think he..they would like to know you did that for them,” Pepper said. Peter decided now was the best time to slip in. Maybe they could pretend he heard nothing. Peter came in smiling at the duo.
“Hey Tony, Hey Pepper,” Peter told the both of them. They smiled at them as Pepper excused herself as Tony told Peter what they were going to do for the day.
“Tony?” Peter asked knowing now that Tony was going to accept them.
“Yeah, Kid?” Tony asked.
“I need to talk to you about something,” Peter said. Tony nodded as he gave Peter all his attention. Peter let out a breath before they looked at Tony.
“I’m going by they/them pronouns now,” Peter said. Tony looked at them confused before realizing something.
“You hadn’t told me yet,” Tony said. Peter shook their head. “May let me know a week ago. I’ve been using your pronouns since.” Peter was surprised.
“You’re okay with me being non-binary?” Peter asked him. Tony just seemed to look at his kid as if he was proud of the child in front of him.
“Peter, I don’t care what pronouns you use or what your sexuality is. I just care that you are happy.” Peter felt the tear of joy slip before they could stop from crying. They didn’t mean to cry but something about knowing Tony cared for them no matter what made them feel valid. It was the same reaction as when May found out.
“I was actually just talking about how I was making the avenger uniforms fit their flags for June. As a way to show that the avengers are not only allies but part of the lgbt+ community,” Tony said. “Not all the avengers are but the ones that want to join in and show off their pride. I made a Spider-Man suit if you feel comfortable with it.” Peter felt so happy about that. They went and gave Tony a hug. Tony was surprised but gave the kid a hug as well. He was proud of the kid and the things they had done that day. Plus Peter seemed to be excited about the new Spider-Man suit and that meant another project for the two of them to work on together. Which meant more time working on something the two of them cared about. Which meant more time with the kid that was practically his child.
“You know some kid is going to be lucky to have you as their dad one day,” Peter said.
“I can think of one kid that I see as my child already who I am lucky to be around,” Tony said. Peter was surprised that Tony saw them as his kid. Maybe that was something that they would get used to but maybe it would take a long time. Either way Peter Parker was lucky to have Tony in his life.
“So what are you going to do with the Iron-Man suit?” Peter asked.
“Well I would do the pansexual flag or the polymory flag,” Tony said non-chalt. Peter froze.
“Who else are you dating?” Peter asked.
“That is for me and my significant others to know,” Tony teased.
“It’s Rhodey and Pepper isn’t it,” Peter said. Tony went to deny it but just sighed and told the kid. Peter was going to talk with Rhodey and Pepper later about it because Peter felt lucky to know.
“Now we have a project to work on,” Tony reminded the kid. Peter smiled as he went to work on the latest project feeling great to know how amazing the people in his life were and how accepting they were.