Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Peter Parker was pissed off. 

Which didn’t happen often– he didn’t even get annoyed on a daily basis. Despite the many horrors that had tried to take hold of his life, he tried to be happy as often as possible: maybe to stick it to whatever power had hurt him so many times, maybe just because that was his usual disposition. Either way, Peter was a light-hearted kid. He held in his anger when he found it creeping up on him, he held back his tears when they threatened to spill. The “truth” he held so close to his heart was that ‘it was for the good of everyone if he was simply a happy kid with no emotional baggage for anyone to stress over’-- he couldn’t be more wrong, of course, but who could convince him otherwise?

So if his skin was really so thick, what had to happen to anger him so deeply? 

“Peter? You good?”

Peter looked up at his hero, mentor, father figure– in the words of Queen Taylor Swift, “Call it what you want”-- and nodded tightly. 

Tony Stark had been his mentor for over a year now, his legal guardian for a few months. Ever since the “civil war”, Peter (or Spiderman, really) had been in a tight spot with the government. His aunt May had folded under the pressure; Peter didn’t blame her, but still felt a little hurt at the way she finally snapped and kicked him out of the house. With nowhere else to go, Peter had ended up at the Avenger’s Tower. He really had only asked to stay a couple nights, but Tony insisted– “Kid, you’re my responsibility, you were before, and you definitely are now. I’m– kid, stop freaking out– why would you only stay a couple nights? You already have a room here”-- and after a few minutes of arguing, finally dropped the custody bomb. Even though Peter felt guilty letting his mentor adopt him, Tony seemed happy to do it and he had nowhere else to go… also, it would be fantastic to have him as a father– er, legal guardian. They had even moved out of the tower and to the compound together a few months later. 

“Really? Because you’re clenching your fists pretty hard there.” Tony said, interrupting Peter’s wreck of a train of thought. The man tapped the teenager’s hands with a concerned look. 

Peter looked down at his hands and was surprised to see them white with strain, clenched so tightly that his fingernails were digging into the skin, drawing blood. His eyebrows jumped up slightly in shock.

“I… didn’t realize.” Peter said, standing up from his bench at the worktable. 

He had just been practicing coding in Tony’s lab when his thoughts wandered off into the dark abyss that Tony had jokingly dubbed ‘Peter’s Ball-Pit of Intrusive Thoughts’. They honestly wouldn’t have gone there if Tony hadn’t just dropped a bomb on him– not one as good as the custody bomb– no, it was the ‘the-rogue-Avengers-have-been-pardoned-and-they’re-moving-into-the-compound-with-us’ bomb. 

…That’s why Peter was pissed. 

Peter walked across the room to the bathroom in the corner of the room, fully aware of the soft footsteps of Tony trailing behind him. Without looking up in the mirror to observe his mentor’s expression, he turned on the sink and stuck his bleeding hands under the cold flow of water. He closed his eyes at the sudden sting of pain and relief. Tony’s footsteps left the room. 

Peter opened his eyes with a soft sigh and began to actually scrub at his hands, making sure to clean the small cuts. As he turned the sink off, Tony’s footsteps returned in his direction, stopping behind him. Strong hands gripped Peter’s shoulders and turned him around. Peter sat on the counter and let Tony wrap his hands in light bandages. The man’s calloused hands were gentle with those of his kid. 

“I know why you’re upset.” Tony broke the silence, but spoke so quietly that it could barely be considered broken. 

Peter finally looked up to meet his mentor’s eyes. 

Of course he knew. But that didn’t mean Peter wanted him to. 

“Look, I know you’ve been holding a little grudge against the rogues–”

Peter snorted at the understatement. He had quite literally been doing nothing but hating on them ever since Tony’s return from Siberia. He knew something had happened there, but Tony wouldn’t tell him what. 

He remembered seeing Tony again for the first time on his return home from Siberia. 

Tony’s hands shook heavily and Peter grabbed them, trying to look his father-figure in the eyes. 

The man continued to stare at his lap as he sat in his hospital bed, stuck in some hellscape of a transe. 

Peter shook the man’s hands, kneeling on the floor so that he could look up at Tony’s face. 

Something in Tony’s eyes was broken. 

And Peter had been one of the few people that knew that it took months for that look to leave. 

And Peter had been the one to watch Tony’s hands shake for months.

And Peter had been the one to run into Tony’s room at night when he woke up screaming from nightmares (the man crying in fear, and then in shame when Peter came to comfort him. That was supposed to be Tony’s job, he was supposed to be strong, he was supposed to be iron).

Peter couldn’t just forget that.

Tony chuckled slightly at Peter and continued, “I know you’re only mad at them for sending me to the medbay that one time,” He saw Peter open his mouth to argue and continued, speaking faster before he could be interrupted, “But I don’t want you to hold that against them, okay? It wasn’t their fault. And you don’t even know what really happened, so there's not even a point in being mad.”

Peter squinted at the man, pulling his hands out of Tony’s and clasping them in his lap. “You’re right. I don’t know what happened. But I know what it did to you. Tony, they hurt you, they– they were supposed to be friends! Friends don’t make you afraid! They made you afraid, Tony.” 

Tony shook his head slightly, a surprisingly soft look on his face. “And you got me through it, kid. And I appreciate that a lot, I do, but now it’s over and we don’t have to misuse all your old rogue avengers merch. That means no more captain america dart board.” 

Peter shook his head, sliding off the counter. “Why are you forgiving them?”

“Why aren’t you?”

“Because I don’t think you really are.” Peter countered.

Tony rubbed a hand over his forehead. “I did, though, okay? And they’re gonna be here really soon, so you’re gonna have to work on your manners again.” Tony laughed quietly and threw an arm around Peter’s shoulder, leading him back to the desk. “I guess we might have gotten a little too comfortable without them around huh?”

Peter stayed silent, and so the man turned to stand in front of him. “Hey, Pete. Look at me.” Peter looked up reluctantly. Tony put his hands on Peter’s shoulders, “Look. You don’t have to forgive them. That’s up to you. But I think you should at least give them a chance. Okay, Pete?”

Peter smiled slightly at the earnesty (and the nickname) and nodded. “‘Kay.”

Tony smiled. 

And a few days later, FRIDAY was notifying them that the rogues had arrived. Tony ran to Peter’s room to get the boy. 

“Are you ready to meet them?” Tony asked. He knew Peter had been dreading it, but still hoped that his happy nature would find some way to come out for the rogues. 

Peter shrugged. “I guess.” Thoughts were running wild in his brain. 

He did not want to meet the rogues. 

He did not want to get to know the rogues. 

He did not want them to get to Tony again, or him. 

They stepped into the elevator together. 

“I don’t want them to know I’m Spiderman.” Peter said suddenly, turning to Tony. 

Tony’s eyebrows raised, and then furrowed. “That’s okay. They don’t have to know. Is there… any reason why?” 

Peter shrugged. “I don’t know, I just… I don’t think I’m quite ready for more people to know.” 

Tony nodded, and Peter couldn’t help but feel warmth at the immediate and unwavering support. “That’s okay.” Tony said. “I understand that.” 

And Tony didn’t have to know that Peter was hoping to throw off the Avengers. Some random teenager living at the tower? And considering his odd resemblance to Tony, they would most likely assume he was Tony’s secret son or something. And whatever they did in Siberia, they would regret immediately if they thought Tony had someone at home panicking for him. 

And though that wasn’t far off from the truth, they would never have taken Peter seriously without the legal claim to the Stark name. But they would regret it if they did. 

Because what would they have done if they had orphaned Tony Stark’s son? 

Tony put an arm around Peter’s shoulder, pulling him away from his secret plan. “So… would it be okay if we told them the other half of the truth?”

Peter looked up at his mentor, confused. “What do you mean?”

“About who you are. You know…” Tony looked at Peter, as if calculating the teen’s expression. He finally settled on finishing his sentence. “You know, My kid. My ward. Whatever you are.” He finished with a huff of a laugh. 

Peter grinned widely. “Yeah. You can tell them I’m your kid.” He turned 

He turned to face the front of the elevator and just missed the surprised and adoring expression Tony’s face had shifted to. He did realize, however, that this was actually going to help his plan. A lot. 

The elevator doors opened, and the two stepped out into the large opening hall at the front of the building. Standing in the middle of the room were the rogues, all looking uncomfortable, all shifting on their feet or fidgeting slightly. 

Tony strode confidently forward, never missing a beat. Peter followed, falling into stride beside him, as if to remind Tony, “We’re in this together.” 

They stopped in front of the group. Usually Peter would feel uncomfortable at the confused and calculating glances that were sweeping him up and down. But he remembered how strong Tony had to be to stand in front of them, and straightened his back to stand taller. He was Tony Stark’s kid, dammit. They weren't going to make him self-conscious. 

Also, ever since Peter had moved in and the two had gotten closer, Tony had proved himself to be extremely overprotective and the king of helicopter-parents. (Peter didn’t really mind it and honestly appreciated being fussed over. He didn’t ever have anyone that was really invested in his life and well-being, not as much as Tony was. Though it could reach an annoying point, in the end, it was worth it.) And so if Peter flinched under their gazes or shrunk away, Tony would probably grab him and run the other direction. Peter didn't want to look weak. 

After all, the Avengers had only ever met Spiderman, not Peter Parker. They say first impressions are everything. 

Speaking of, the rogues were not making a good one. 

“Tony.” Steve stepped forward, holding out a hand. 

Only Peter noticed the beat of hesitation. But everyone could feel the tension, sticky and thick like a hot day in New York City. Which, it just so happened to be. 

Tony took the hand and shook it. 

“Welcome back, everyone.” Tony said, pulling away and scanning the group. “It’ll be good to have a full house again.” 

Peter could tell that everyone was itching to ask who he was, but was holding back for the sake of formality. 

“It has been quiet. Especially without Rhodey around.” Peter said, surprising even himself when he spoke.

The group laughed politely. 

“And who are you, son?” The question was finally asked by Steve. Taking one for the team. 

“This is Peter.” Tony said simply, putting a happy arm around the teen. Because Peter wasn't looking at him, he didn't see how Tony had latched onto him as if to say, "No, my son." But Peter could tell that it relaxed him as much as it also helped Tony. They had learned fairly early in their relationship that physical touch made both of them feel more grounded, more present. And Peter had learned later that Tony was absolutely just as clingy as he was. 

“And… who is Peter?” Natasha asked carefully, a small guarded smile playing at her lips. 

Maybe he shouldn’t do anything, Peter thought suddenly. Maybe the rogues had felt enough guilt already. 

But then Peter remembered Tony’s shaky hands, his injured face, his sad eyes, and Peter shook the feeling off easily. 

“He’s my kid.” Tony said, holding his head high. 

Peter smiled. Tony Stark was proud to be his dad. Or… for him to be his kid. 

Also, Tony had set his plan in motion without him having to do anything. 

Everyone’s eyebrows raised in unison. 

“You… what?” Clint said. “I thought that was a me thing?”

“Well, you didn’t patent having a secret family, so I thought it was fair game.” Tony quipped back, squeezing Peter’s shoulder. 

Nobody asked any more questions, as if they already knew the whole story from that one joke. Peter really did look a lot like Tony, they never would have guessed he was adopted.

Tony gave the group instructions on where their rooms were and let them get their stuff and take it into the elevator. The two waited for the next one together, Tony still keeping a steady arm around his kid’s shoulders. 

Later that night, when the two set off for a ‘team dinner’, Tony threw his arm around Peter’s shoulders again. Peter appreciated the affectionate gesture, not realizing it was protective. And Tony was worried about Peter being around the rogues. 

The elevator doors slid open, and the two began towards the dining room on the avenger’s common room floor. Tony squeezed his shoulder before sliding it back to his side. 

“Play nice, Peter.” The man whispered. 

Oh, Peter would play alright. But he wouldn’t guarantee that it would be nice.

Chapter Text

It took a couple days for everyone to come to terms with the fact that they were all living together again. 

It took about five for everyone to come to terms with the idea of “Tony’s kid”. 

Peter had purposefully run into them as often as he could afford to, starting conversation with them so that they had to acknowledge him, had to look at him. (Had to remember what they did to his father.) It was much easier than he originally assumed it would be. He just had to be himself! And pretend he didn’t hate the rogues guts, which was slightly complicated, but still not impossible– he went to get snacks when he knew they were eating meals, went to do schoolwork when he knew they were working on anything, joined them at dinners with Tony– which apparently were optional, and he and Tony were seriously beginning to consider skipping, at least sometimes. 

Ever since the rogues had moved in, they had decided that they needed to begin mending their broken relationships immediately. As they kept saying, “It’s impossible to work together when you don’t consider yourself a team.” 

Peter couldn’t help but roll his eyes at this. What pompous asshole makes that up as a reason instead of just saying, “We need to figure out how to get along so that we don’t try to kill each other again”?

Captain America, apparently. 

Well, if Peter was going to have to sit through another one of these miserable excuses for a team dinner, he would at least make good use of it. Step one of his plan– convince the rogues that he’s Tony’s kid– complete. And honestly, he could barely consider it a step because whether he planned it or not, they would have assumed he was Tony’s kid. Especially with Tony publicly (as in, in front of the rogues) fussing over him all the time… and the adoption papers… okay, so maybe they were right. But that just helped his plan to make them feel guilty.  

All that aside, he could now move on to step two– discovering their weaknesses. 

And now was a perfect time– after their ‘team dinner’, they had decided to have a game night to ‘catch up with everyone on things that have happened and changed’. Peter knew it was just an elaborate way to say, “We don’t know each other anymore, so we’re starting over with middle school party games!” 

Whatever. 

Usually Peter would think it was the coolest thing ever to be invited to Friday Night Game Night with the avengers, but that was before they had done something to Tony that he was too worried to tell Peter about. How bad had it been for Tony to not want to tell him? Tony told him nearly everything, what the hell had they done to make him close up like this?

He would find out as long as everything went his way. 

“Alright, first game. I found this game on a weird website and my family plays it all the time so we’re just gonna see how it goes.” Clint said, clapping his hands together and standing in front of the group. “Basically, you have to use some kind of metaphor or wild description to describe someone in the group, and everyone has to guess who it is.” 

“What’s the point system?” Sam asked. 

“Uh… I don’t know. My family is really bad at game night, we usually just unanimously decide who wins at the end of the night–”

“Okay, Mr Family Man, there is no way we are letting you be in charge of this.” Natasha quipped, kicking his shin lightly from her chair. “I say whoever guesses which person the description matches gets a point. All in favour?”

All hands went up. 

“Great. Who should start?” Natsha asked from her chair. When nobody volunteered, she looked carefully over the room, her eyes finally landing on Peter. “How about you, Peter?” 

Peter’s eyes went slightly wide (of course he couldn’t help feeling excited talking to the Natasha Romanoff – but then he remembered what she may or may not have done). He forced his face into a neutral expression as all heads turned to him, and shrugged. “Yeah, sure. Does it matter who I describe?” 

“No, you go ahead and pick.” Clint said, taking the lead. “And go ahead and stand up, it’s your time to make thorough fun of any one of us.” 

There was a tense moment when everyone seemed to wonder if their forced peace was going to break during this game, but Peter stood up and walked to the front. He paused, taking a moment to think… 

“He’s like an onion.” Peter began dramatically. “It takes a while to peel away all of his outer layers– it’s hard work, and you might even end up crying in your attempt. But once you finish taking all the skin off, the onion is worth it.” Peter finished with a grin.

Everyone sat in silence, utterly taken aback. 

“...Natasha?” Clint asked slowly.

“Hey!”

“No!” Peter scowled.

Tony sighed and leaned back in his chair. “It's me, isn’t it?” 

Peter grinned again, “Yup. Easy peasy.” He cringed on the inside, because who the hell says easy peasy?

As the game continued, more and more people began to actively participate, and Tony and Peter even found themselves having actual fun. The tension seemed to be seeping out of the room and under the doorways, through the windows and out of the house completely. From the way Tony smiled, he could tell that it felt like old times– and by the way he put a happy arm around Peter, maybe it was better than old times. 

And maybe he should let it stay like this… Maybe he shouldn’t try to make it worse and make them feel guilty and regret hurting Tony… Maybe instead he should help them all heal and become a real team again–

Sam stepped up to stand in front of everyone, taking a deep breath and grinning maniacally. “Amer–”

“Steve.” Peter interrupted. 

Sam protested immediately at the outbreak of laughter, “I wasn’t even done yet! Can you at least let me finish?”

The room went silent, waiting for him to continue expectantly. 

“Okay…” Sam prepared himself, and continued, “American girl doll on steroids.” 

“STEVE.” Peter repeated, more insistently. 

“Man, alright, fine! You win!” Sam rolled his eyes and threw himself back into his seat. “My fault for using the word America, I guess.” 

“I’m not even that patriotic.” Steve crossed his arms.

The room went silent, all eyes on Steve, just staring at him. 

“What?” Steve asked innocently.

“...That was a joke, right?” Rhodey asked. 

Steve raised his eyebrows. “Is it really that bad?” 

Tony cackled. “If you wore a flag as a cape and an eagle mascot head, nobody would bat an eye.” 

While slightly caught off guard by the genuine playful remark from Tony, everyone laughed along… maybe they really could recover from all their infighting… 

The game continued, the descriptions getting shorter and easier to guess–

“Angry Birds–”

“Sam.”

“Jolly rancher?”

“Clint?”

“Because I have a farm?”

“Yeah, actually.” 

“Tin can ma–”

“Wait, Peter already did Tony–”

“Salt and…”

“Pepper!”

“Pepper’s not even here!”

“Pepper’s not even an avenger–”

“Uh… random kid.”

“Clint?” Bruce asked innocently. 

Peter grinned at Bruce– he had just arrived the day before (he had completely missed the ‘civil war’ and was actually really cool. Peter enjoyed his company and found that he was incredibly smart– smarter than he could have expected, at least) and had moved in, happy to have a place to live with people he was familiar with. They had become unexpected friends. 

“No, what?” Sam shook his head.

Wanda giggled, “What is this, your seventeenth turn?” 

Sam gasped at her. “If you wanted to come up here, you could. I’m just picking up the slack for all you losers who refuse to stand up. Also, I’m hilarious.”

“Right, right, I forgot.” Wanda drawled sarcastically. 

“Hey, for all you know, I could be describing you.” Sam quipped right back.

Peter readjusted his position on the couch. “It’s me, right?” 

Sam shook his head. “Yeah.” He then looked up with a grin. “Why don’t you give someone else a turn to get points, man?” 

“Hey, I’m the one who was just described as random kid. ” Peter argued. 

The group laughed.

“That’s true,” Steve said. “We really don’t know anything about you.” 

Peter felt Tony stiffen slightly beside him and made sure to make it completely clear that he was comfortable. For Tony’s sake. “What do you wanna know?” 

“I don’t know.” Steve laughed. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“How about we make it into a game?” Wanda asked. “Two truths and a lie. We can really catch up with that one.”

It was a unanimous agreement that they moved on to a big game of two truths and a lie. 

“Well, we made Peter start last time, why don’t we have someone else go?” 

“I shall start.” Vision said. 

“You know how to play?”

“I have access to everything and anything on the internet.” Vision responded curtly, before adding (as if it wasn’t clear), “Yes. I know how to play.” 

Vision began the game with, “I have red skin, I am not human, and I have yet to be attacked by aliens.”

“Well… I feel like it’s a little obvious, but whatever.” Clint shrugged. “The lie is that you haven’t been attacked by aliens, right?”

“Incorrect.” Vision smiled. 

“Wait– what?” Sam looked back and forth between Tony and Vision. “Wait– he’s– you’re– I thought you–”

Peter started laughing, Tony joining quickly after (because they were the only ones that immediately understood). 

“He’s made out of vibranium, he doesn’t have skin.” Tony explained. “So his skin isn’t really red because he doesn’t have skin.”

Sam rolled his eyes and glared at Vision. “Tricky bastard.” 

“Not to mention, through modernist views, the ‘skin’ is not actually red: the color is simply in our heads.” Peter grinned (and missed the proud smile Tony looked at him with). 

“Peter, do you really believe that, or are you saying that to help your point?” Bruce asked, an interested expression on his face. He could already tell that the kid was more intelligent than he had already calculated him to be.

Peter shrugged. “I’m fifteen. I dunno what I believe yet.” 

He received laughs from the group at his deadpan response, and the game continued. 

“I don’t know how to drive, I don’t know how to cook, I know how to sew.”

“Once I accidentally dropped a spoon from the top of the Empire State building, uh, passed out in a port-a-potty, and… punched a meteor and broke my hand.”

(“What is this, Banner, confession time? There’s no way any of those are lies.”)

“Well, I am naturally brunette, I’ve accidentally stabbed a Kermit the Frog doll at a mall because I thought it was my target, and… I swam two miles with a broken leg once.” 

“I’m twenty-two years old, I have a driver’s license, and I have exploded a microwave on accident.”

(“I don’t have a license.” “What! You don’t have a li– why does nobody here know how to drive?”)

The time finally came for Peter’s turn, and considering all the awesome and hilarious things everyone had said… he was a little nervous.

“Well…” Peter thought hard. “I’m fifteen, I go to an advanced school, and I’m bad at gym.” 

Everyone groaned and Tony cackled. “Oh come on, kid, you can do better than that.”

Peter rolled his eyes, “Well I don’t know what to say!” 

Tony shook his head and leaned over to whisper in his ear, “You don’t have to, but you can tell some of your exciting stories. Without them knowing who you are, I mean.”

Peter nodded, encouraged. Tony knew how much he loved to tell his patrol stories. And what harm could it do?

“Okay, fine.” Peter grinned when everyone laughed and ‘ooh’d, waiting for him to say something. 

Peter let himself think, and then said confidently, “I was in the elevator at the Washington monument when it collapsed, uh, dated the daughter of a supervillain, and… drowned in a lake.”

Everyone went silent in shock and Tony snorted, raising his eyebrows and smirking in a way that seemed to say, ‘Way to keep a low profile, kid.’

“There’s no way two of those are true.” Clint breathed. “And you’re fifteen?” 

“Wait, so you didn’t drown though.” Steve confirmed.

Peter shook his head, “Nope. All thanks to Tony.” He jabbed his thumb in his father’s direction.

“Wait–”

Rhodey rolled onto his back, cackling. “This kid is a load of trouble, you just wait.” 

“Now I wanna hear all about this.” Natasha said, rolling onto her stomach and setting her chin in her hands. “I guess you just see all that action because Tony’s your dad, right?”

“Mostly, yeah.” Peter lied. “Also, New York City.” 

“Did you have to break up with your girlfriend because of her dad being a villain?” Clint asked. 

Sam slapped the back of his head, muttering something suspiciously like, ‘Always falling for that star-crossed lovers trope’ as Peter answered, “Well, her dad got arrested and her mom had them move away, so… we didn’t really have a choice.”

There were a couple sad ‘awww’s and Tony rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on. They went on one date.”

Peter laughed as everyone turned to him with horrified expressions. They quickly realized that Peter wasn’t bothered and nervously laughed along. 

“Guys, it’s fine.” Peter reasoned. “It really wasn’t a big deal. I had a big crush on her for a while, but it kind of went away when she did. I think that just means that it wasn’t as serious as I was taking it.” 

Tony held his arms out towards Peter as if he was a showperson showing off a prize. “Everyone take a good look at him, he’s going to be the wisest person on this planet if he isn’t already.” 

Everyone grinned at Tony.

They never would have guessed, but fatherhood suited him. 

And as the night continued, Peter forgot about his ‘evil plan’. 

That is, until… 

“You know what the scariest thing on Earth is?” Sam asked from where he was laying on the floor.

Peter’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. No way.  

“What?” Wanda asked.

“Ghosts. If anything is ever gonna scare me to death, it’s ghosts. Like what are they? Why are they there? How do they work? I don’t understand them and I don’t want to meet one.” 

Peter’s jaw dropped, and he clicked it shut.

“No, I agree.” Clint answered tiredly. “That shit is weird.” 

Bruce shrugged from his spot on the couch. At that point in the evening, everyone had found some place on the floor or couch to lay down, or a chair to curl up in. They were all deliriously talking, just hanging out– like old friends would. “I just don’t like that I can’t understand or study them.”

“Nothing like the unknown to scare the living daylight outta you.” Bucky muttered from his corner of the room. 

Steve sighed. “Yeah, I remember during the war, everyone was really superstitious about soldiers coming back as ghosts… I guess it rubbed off on me, too.”

Natasha laughed. “Yeah, well, if you’re gonna be dead, be all the way dead.” 

“You know, I’ve seen a couple ghosts while I was with HYDRA. I don’t know if they were real, but…” Wanda trailed off before adding quietly, “They weren’t any less terrifying.” 

Peter closed his eyes for a moment because no freaking way.

Would it be cruel to use their fears against them? He had gotten to know them so much better tonight, and now he wasn’t quite sure that it was the best option…

“Tony, please– just– look at me, please…” Tony continued to stare at the wall, a blank look in his eyes.

Peter finally grabbed Tony’s shoulders, losing his patience, and shook him. “WAKE UP, TONY! I need you to come back, please, I– don’t know what to do…” When he got no response, he simply collapsed in his father’s lap, sobbing and expecting no comfort. 

“Come on, Tony. You’re… my dad, my best friend. I can’t lose you. I just can’t.” 

Something flickered in Tony’s eyes, and he looked down at Peter, frowning and gasping when he saw Peter’s pitiable state. He pulled Peter up into his arms, clutching him close. 

“I’m sorry, Petey, I’m so sorry. I… I was just thinking…” And his voice broke. “I just lost a friend, is all. I’m not going to let you lose me, too. Besides,” He had choked out, “You’re all I need.” He didn’t talk very much after that. No matter how much Peter asked him what he meant by that, tried to make him explain himself or his injuries, Tony’s mouth stayed resolutely shut. And it took a long time for that to change–

Peter snapped out of his flashback, suddenly very angry. He would try it out. And if he ended up deciding this was unnecessary, he would stop. But for now…

“Yeah, ghosts are kinda weird. I’ve had some weird stuff happen to me before and I don’t wanna say it was paranormal, but…” Peter trailed off and shrugged, as if deciding that what he had to say didn’t matter. 

Bruce sat up, interested. “Experiences?” 

Peter waved him off, “No, no, it’s just like, I don’t know, little things. It’s no big deal.” 

“No, I love ghost stories. Let’s hear it.” Natasha sat up, and everyone else followed her lead, propping themselves up and watching him intently. 

“Well they aren’t that interesting.” Peter shrugged his shoulders, Tony’s arm slightly weighing them down. “It’s just like, things moving by themselves, weird dreams, and, I dunno, sometimes voices…” 

Tony gave him a weird look, but said nothing.

“Voices?” Steve asked with concern. 

Tony didn’t like the way everyone looked concerned for his kid– he wasn’t crazy, just a little weird– and then he caught on. Because if Peter Parker was notorious for anything, it was for being absolutely precious, and a complete and total little shit. 

“I mean, it’s probably nothing.” Tony reassured the group, and got a ‘thank you’ poke from Peter. “I’ve had FRIDAY scan everything and we’ve patrolled and made sure the building’s safe. If there really is something in the house, it’s harmless.” 

Rhodey watched his friend closely and saw the mischievous glint in the father and son’s eyes. “ Of course.” He thought. “ Of course those petty little shitheads can’t pass up the chance to prank them.” But, with his duty as best friend and uncle, he joined them. “Harmless? How do you explain the thing that stands outside my door at night then?”

Everyone turned to look at him, suspicion and shock written on all of their faces. 

Tony rolled his happy eyes and grunted, “Rhodey, for the last time, you’re dreaming. We checked the footage and there’s nothing there–”

“We checked the footage and I was not asleep, either! You can’t ignore the evidence, Tony.” Rhodey interrupted him. 

It was kind of fun, building this little horror story together. And it was even more fun watching the reactions of their audience. 

“So the compound is haunted.” Sam deadpanned. 

Tony shook his head. “I never said that–”

“He just keeps saying that because he doesn't want to believe it.” Peter shook his head. “You have to admit, weird stuff happens here sometimes.”

“Fine.” Tony sighed. “I admit it. Weird stuff happens here sometimes . That doesn’t mean it’s haunted.”

Peter sighed, copying his father, and leaned into the back of his couch and Tony’s side. “Fine. It may not be haunted. But it’s weird, you know?” 

Tony nodded. “Yeah, but nothing we can’t ignore and pretend doesn’t exist.” 

“Nah, I’m not dealing with this, I’m packing my bags,” Sam joked, getting to his feet. 

Clint stood, too. “And I’m going to bed. See you around, Sam, have fun apartment hunting,” He clapped Sam on the back and waved everyone goodnight. 

Slowly, everyone filtered out of the room, yawning and bidding goodnight and sweet dreams, and “don’t let the poltergeist bite”s. 

Peter let Tony wrap his arms around his chest and lean back, pulling him halfway into his lap. Since they were the only ones in the room, the older man felt more than comfortable giving the boy more obvious affection. 

“Now what was that all about?” Tony whispered to Peter as he moved one of his hands to Peter’s hair. 

Peter grinned and looked up at Tony. “Thanks for the unwavering support.”

Tony shook his head with a smile, brushing through his son’s hair. “Of course. But why?”

Peter shrugged, letting himself get more comfortable. “I dunno. But it’ll be a fun little prank, right?” 

“Peter.” Tony whispered sternly. And it would have had more of an effect if Tony had stopped petting his hair and holding him close, but the man continued anyway, “This isn’t because of the civil war thing, is it?”

Peter shook his head and Tony rolled his eyes. “Right.”

With his eyes closed, Peter smiled tiredly at his father’s response– which caused Tony to grin dopily at how utterly adorable his kid was.

And if that was all it took for him to forget his son’s revenge plot, nobody had to know. 

(And if he let Peter fall asleep on top of him just because of how cute he was, well, they didn't have to know about that, either.)

Chapter Text

“So… anyone wanna talk about last night?” Sam asked from his place at the table. 

Clint set his spoon in his bowl of cereal, squinting at him. “What do you mean? They were just party games, nothing–”

“Ah, shut up, birdbrain, you know that’s not what I meant.” Sam rolled his eyes. When met with the blank stares of the rest of the team, his eyes widened. “Are you kidding? I know I’m not the only one who heard someone messing around in the hall last night. Now who was it?” 

Nobody answered. 

“Oh, come on, really?”

Natasha leaned back in her chair with a shrug. “I heard it, too, but I thought it was Tony, honestly.”

“Hey!” Tony sat up from his side of the table. (He didn’t even want to be here– they already had dinners together, why did they have to have breakfast together, too? “Because it’s good for the team, and it’s a healthy way to start the morning before a training session. You don’t have anything better to do, do you, Tony?” Blah, blah, blah. ) “Why would it be me, and what did you hear to think it was me?”

“Just someone walking up and down the hall.” Wanda rolled her eyes. “Nothing spooky.” 

“Yeah, it wasn’t spooky until I went outside to tell that person off, and then nobody was there!” Sam argued. 

Steve sighed. “It’s highly possible you were dreaming.”

“Ah, no, no, no,” Rhodey said from his chair next to Tony. “I told you last night that weird stuff happens here, and even if you and Tony are gonna say it’s ‘all a dream’, I still know the truth.” 

“What is the truth?” Vision asked. 

Rhodey and Tony knew that Vision had already seen through their plan. There was no way he also didn’t know who the person was that had been walking up and down the hall. Because of this leverage, they decided to proceed with caution.

“I’m not sure, but something’s here.” Rhodey shrugged. “I stand with Sam.” 

“ Thank you.” Sam threw his arms in the air. “Talk about ghosts one time and everything goes batshit.” 

“I didn’t take you to be a believer in the paranormal, Rhodey.” Steve said, interested. It was a good thing they were having all these meals together to catch up, because even these little details surprised him about his old friends’ personalities. They truly had been estranged for too long. 

“What, did your hearing shut off last night?” Clint chuckled where he was slumped in his chair. “You need to borrow my hearing aids, old man?” 

Everyone at the table laughed, Steve shaking his head. “Hey! No, I heard the story last night, I just thought we could put it down to a prank.”

“A prank?” Rhodey asked. “It sure as hell better not be a prank!” He whipped his head over to Tony. “Did you alter the security footage?” 

Tony raised his hands in self-defence. “No, I didn’t mess with any of it! I just… don’t care.”

“What do you mean, you don’t care, it’s your building. This thing is a trespasser–”

“Yeah, maybe, but it hasn’t hurt anyone yet.” Tony shrugged. Why was he doing this whole prank again?

Natasha raised her eyebrows. “So… you’re fine with trespassers as long as they don’t break anything?”

“Yeah, I guess. That’s how I ended up with Peter.” Ah, right. That’s why. “Where is he, anyway?” 

“He is in the backyard right now.” FRIDAY answered. 

“Maybe he’s the one who was up last night!” Sam said suddenly. “He’s sneaky enough to get to a door outside while we’re all sitting somewhere we can see the doors!”

“Peter did not go out through a door.” FRIDAY said, shutting Sam down. (And conveniently forgetting to share that Peter was, in fact, the one who was up the night before.) 

“How’d he get outside then?” Bruce asked, pushing his bowl of cereal away. 

“He fell out of his window three minutes ago.” FRIDAY answered calmly. 

Everyone jumped to their feet. “WHAT?”

“Isn’t his room on the top floor?”

“Why didn’t you tell us, FRI?”

“Well, Is he okay?”

Suddenly, a slam was heard from the kitchen, and the group spun around to face it. 

Peter stood in the kitchen, cracking eggs over a frying pan. 

The group froze. 

“...Peter?” Natasha asked. 

He looked up at them with a smile, his face slowly switching to a weirded out one. “Uh… yeah?”

“Did– did you just fall out of your window? From the top floor?” Clint asked, his Parent Instincts kicking in and taking control. 

Peter’s face broke back out into a grin at this and he waved them off. “Oh yeah, but it was fine, there was this really big tree under my window that broke my fall.” He raised his arms as an example and added, “Look! Didn’t even get a scratch!” And thus the boy turned back to his eggs. 

The avengers stood staring, jaws dropped as far as was physically possible. 

Tony was the first to move, standing up and pulling Peter out of the kitchen and into a separating room. 

“Uh… Peter? Was that a joke?” He asked, his voice wavering slightly with concern. 

Peter frowned at his father. “No.”

“Wh– Why? How did you fall out of a window?” 

“It was an accident!” Peter defended.

Tony threw his arms in the air. “I’d hope so! That doesn’t explain how!”

“Well…” Peter paused, pursing his lips. “It was kind of dumb.” 

Tony stared him down, blinking slowly.

“Okay, well, I was just trying to see how hot it was outside so I could see if I would survive leaving my sweatpants on–”

“You don’t have to open the window to do th–”

“And so I had FRIDAY open the window and then I tripped on the hem of my sweatpants.” 

Tony squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. After taking a calming deep breath in, he opened his eyes again and faced Peter. 

“Did you actually land in a tree?”

“Yeah.” Peter sighed. 

“No injuries?”

“Nope.”

“No scratches?”

“Those are inju–”

“Peter.” Tony said firmly. 

Peter groaned and pulled his shirt up to show a large, thin scratch up his side. 

“Peter!”

“It didn’t even bleed!” 

“Still!”

From the other room, the avengers had finally settled back down, taking their seats at the table and pouring themselves more cereal or taking another piece of toast. 

“You really weren’t kidding were you?” Steve asked Rhodey.

“What do you mean?” 

“Last night. You said he was a load of trouble.”

Rhodey simply shook his head and smiled. “Oh, just you wait.”

A comfortable silence settled. 

“I still think he’s the one haunting this house.” Sam muttered to himself. 

And FRIDAY, Vision, and Rhodey kept their mouths shut.

Through the next couple weeks, Peter slowly escalated his prank. 

Knock. 

Knock. 

Pause.

Knock.

Pause. 

Knock.

“WHOEVER THAT IS, STOP.” 

Peter knocked a couple more times for good measure, swinging up to the ceiling when Sam flung his door open. 

Maybe sometimes he was a little too tame with it…

“Please go to bed, my haunted friend.” Natasha whispered. The footsteps that had been walking up and down the hall stopped in front of her door, and didn’t happen again that night. She liked to think it was just a poltergeist who appreciated politeness. But she didn’t like that if walking really was it’s only means of transportation, it had stopped outside her door. But whatever, it’s a prank, it’s probably Tony having some petty fun. And since she couldn’t blame him after what happened in Siberia, she didn’t get angry when the footsteps started again the next night.

And maybe sometimes he was a little too rough…

Peter drug his fingernails up the wood of the door from the bottom to the top, letting the high-pitched scratch create the proper amount of tension. He knew Steve was awake and could hear the sound clearer than anyone. He also knew that the man’s super-hearing wasn’t nearly as good as his, and he couldn’t hear Peter’s footsteps up the wall, or his steady heartbeat. Peter, on the other hand, could hear Steve’s heartbeat quicken slightly. 

He scratched up the door a couple more times– and then began more insistently scratching at the bottom… before finally ramming into it and sprinting to the ceiling and back to his room. He heard Steve’s door open and he hid, watching the super soldier look around in bewilderment. 

This was just too fun. 

“Peter, honey, are you the one who’s been terrorizing the rogues and making them think the place is haunted?” Tony asked, even though he knew the answer.

Peter looked up from where he was updating a web shooter. His desk in Tony’s lab was covered in blue prints and scratch paper, but he still managed to know exactly where everything was in the mess. 

Peter bit his lip as he reached through the clutter and pulled out a screwdriver. “I thought you already knew it was me.”

“Well… yeah, I did. Just making sure.” Tony went quiet, watching Peter continue to work. He furrowed his eyebrows as he continued, “I… Pete, why are you doing this again?” 

Peter shrugged. “It’s funny.” He smiled and turned to Tony. “Did you see Sam this morning? I think I have him convinced!”

“You got everyone convinced, kid.” Tony said carefully, “Does that mean it’s time to call it quits?”

Peter snorted. “Nah, I think I’ll draw it out a little longer. I’m just getting to the more interesting phase of the prank.”

Tony quirked an eyebrow. “You planned it out?”

“I mean, pretty much. Most of it. Sometimes I go a little off script.”

“Okay…” Tony felt slightly uneasy, but Peter was a good kid! What harm could he really do, was this even worth worrying about? “Is it just a ‘hazing the new kids’ kind of thing?” 

Peter shrugged. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.” 

“But everyone just moved in. Why aren’t you pranking Bruce and Rhodey, too?” Tony asked. 

Peter raised his eyebrows. “Do you want me to prank them? Cuz… I think Rhodey already knows.” 

That was an understatement that would have had Tony cackling had the situation been slightly different. Rhodey had been absolutely indispensable in their prank: making up fake stories about weird dreams he had, voices he heard, things that had happened while he was trying to sleep. It was hilarious and nobody questioned his stoic expression and trustworthy record. 

“No, I just… I worry you’re messing with the rogues because you’re mad at them.” 

Peter set down the screwdriver and spun his chair around to face Tony. “Why would I be mad at them?”

Tony raised his eyebrows. “Are– Is that a joke?”

Peter’s face broke into a sheepish smile. “Okay, maybe that’s part of it, but…” 

“Peter.” Peter’s face fell. Of course he felt guilty about it: the rogues had been nothing but polite and incredibly cool since they arrived, but something wouldn’t let Peter trust them all the way. How could he forgive them fully until he knew what they had done to send Tony home so broken? “Just…” Tony gave a resigned sigh at Peter’s downcast expression. “Don’t let it get out of hand. You don't even know what happened and there’s no reason for that to change. They’re good people, please give them a fair chance."

Peter remained silent. 

“Are you hearing me, mio piccolo angelo? I’m not making you stop the prank, it’s too funny to drop, but I just want you to make sure this isn’t all just some big revenge plot. You’re too good to fall for something like that, okay?” 

Peter looked up to meet Tony’s eyes when he heard the earnestness in his father’s voice. He nodded, “Okay.” 

Tony smiled and ruffled his curly hair. “Okay.”

That night, Peter made sure to claw a little harder at Steve’s door, knock on a couple more doors a little more insistently, and even break a cup outside the kitchen. He thought through Tony’s words as he filled up the sinks in the bathrooms and kitchens. 

Was it right to be angry at them for a reason he didn’t fully understand yet? Tony did say he forgave all of them…

But they had hurt him! Or, one of them had. And maybe Tony was lying about forgiving them, only really trying to give him the chance to have a good relationship free of vendettas.  

Peter was beginning to feel incredibly conflicted– but why should he let the rogues sway his opinion of them before he knows the cold, hard truth about them?

Chapter Text

So… Peter’s mission was starting to change a little. 

He had been pulling this whole ‘ghost prank’ for two and a half weeks now and not only had he started to get bored and the avengers gotten used to it, he had decided that pranking them was dancing around the problem. What he really needed to do was figure out what the real problem was, and confront the rogues about it. Only after he found the truth would he be able to move on from it– and then they could be a happy team– or, whatever they were.

Where could he start, though? He had already tried to pull Tony’s suit footage from the time in Siberia but Tony had either completely wiped it or had hidden it very well on some private server. He had probably guessed that Peter would be snooping around. He could check individual suit footage from the rogues' suits, but he would probably have to zero in on a single person first. If Tony had the same safety measures over that footage then even if he had been able to find the footage, Tony would be alerted before he could finish watching it. 

So step one of plan two: figure out who the main problem was. 

“How have you been?” Peter asked, slumping next to Natasha on the couch.

Okay, so maybe interrogating the Black Widow wasn’t his best idea…

She looked long and hard at him before answering, “I’ve been better, but I’m okay.” 

Peter raised his eyebrows. Remember what you’re here for, Peter, remember what you’re here for, don’t get distracted–

“That seems kind of contradictory.” He said. Damn it, Peter!

Natasha just laughed, her shoulders relaxing. “Well, it comes with the job.”

Peter shook his head, “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean it should.” He paused before saying, “Anything you wanna talk about, or…”

Natasha gave him a kind smile before shaking her head. “Nothing I want to burden you with.”

“It’s not giving me a burden, it’s just taking some of the weight off of you! At least, that’s what Tony always tells me.” Peter said. Wow, of course he would end up giving a therapy session instead of an interrogation. He really needed to get back on track. 

“Well, Tony’s smart like that.” Natasha said. “Still, I don't want you thinking about some of the things I think about. It’s better this way.” She gave him a reassuring smile.

Internally, Peter screamed. Because, you know, he probably already thought about at least some of the ‘scary things’ she was talking about.

“When did you get so interested in my mental health?” She asked, eyeing him carefully. 

Peter knew this would not be an encounter she forgot, so he had to play it safe and tell the truth. If she caught him lying, well, that would be the end of him.

“I care about everyone’s mental health. That’s why I let the school bully beat me up, you know? He has a really bad home life, and someone else would get a worse school life if I made him find someone else to beat up. Also…” He bit the inside of his cheek, finally looking away from her eyes. “I need to know what happened in Siberia.” 

“Ah…” Natasha said, leaning back in her chair. “I appreciate the check-in and all, it was very sweet of you, especially because I could tell it was genuine, but,” She shook her head, laughing a little, “You could have just asked about Siberia, and I would have given you the same answer.” 

Peter looked back at her, confused. “And what’s that?”

She shrugged. “If Tony hasn’t told you, then it’s his choice as the victim in the situation. And your father.” She emphasized the word victim… 

A hint.

Peter barely held his smile back, and Natasha smirked at the happy shine in his eyes. “Thanks, Miss Romanoff. Er– Agent Romanoff?”

“Call me Nat.” She really liked this kid. 

He smiled. “Okay, cool… Nat.  If you need anyone to talk to, then I’m pretty much always around.”

She smiled and shooed him out of the room. 

Okay, so his theory that Tony hadn’t really hurt anyone was correct. Now he just had to find someone that would actually tell him what’s going on. 

He ran into Clint in the hallway and was so cut off guard that he simply asked, “Hey, do you know what happened in Siberia?”

“Uh…” Clint stared at him like a deer in the headlights. 

Peter swallowed and immediately apologized, “Sorry. I was… surprised by that, too.”

Clint gave him a weary smile. “Yeah, that does happen sometimes, huh? Well…” He looked at Peter carefully before saying, “Tony didn’t tell you?”

Peter shook his head.

Clint sighed, “I don't think it’s my place to tell you, then.”

Peter nodded, looking down to his feet.

“Look,” Clint said, putting a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “If I were you, I’d wanna know too. I can only imagine how Tony was when he got home and I can only imagine having to see your dad in a state like that. So, all I’m gonna say is that it was a little bit like you asking that question. Both of them were caught off-guard and they had to make split-second decisions that they ended up regretting.”  He pulled away. “I’m sorry I can’t tell you more, kid. Do you know who Tony was with when it happened?”

When what happened, oh my go– “No.” Peter admitted.

“Then I get why you’re trying to figure all of this out. Besides just wanting to understand, I also get that it’s gotta be hard to trust all of us when you know one of us betrayed your dad.” He clapped Peter’s shoulder, muttered a ‘sorry I can’t tell you more’, and continued down the hall.

It really was only one person… so his original plan to zero in on someone had been right. Now he just had to figure out which Avenger did it.

Natasha was more than unlikely. He saw the way she and Tony interacted– they were completely comfortable and really seemed to trust each other. Once Peter had walked onto the roof balcony and found just the two of them drinking scotch and playing cards. He had played a round with them and then left, leaving the two friends to catch up. 

Clint also wasn’t likely, mostly just because of how understanding he had been. He was a father and would probably crack if he had faced the kid of the man he had hurt so badly. He also seemed too detached from the situation and was making excuses for both parties… Tony and whoever. He probably only stood up for Tony because he had been the main victim, as Natasha had said, and because Tony was his father. After all, Clint had been a rogue and had probably broken off all contact with Tony after joining…

Captain America. 

How had he not thought of him yet– he was the obvious choice! He was the direct opponent that Tony had faced throughout the whole ‘civil war’.

And hadn’t he been good friends with Steve before? Hadn’t he been more tense around Steve and Bucky since they came back than he had been with anyone else? 

That was it! The answer was right there! 

Now he just had to wait for an opening to get into Tony’s lab alone, and find Steve’s suit footage. 

Maybe he had taken the camera out… but hopefully in the heat of the moment, he had forgotten that all their actions would go onto Tony’s server for later observation (as a safety precaution: if an avenger went missing they could have footage of the abductor, if they lost track of all their villains then they could look at the footage and see if anything was off, etc). Hopefully Tony hadn’t deleted it. 

He poured himself a bowl of cereal for breakfast and sat down at the table.

Peter didn’t know how it had happened, but there he was, sitting across from Captain America in the kitchen. Just the two of them. Alone.

Awkward…

Peter knew he was in trouble when Steve cleared his throat. 

“Uh,” He began. “Peter.”

Peter looked up, trying not to let his surprise show, “Yeah?”

“I just wanted to say that I’m glad Tony’s had you around.” Steve said, looking down at his lap. “I know a lot has happened between him and the avengers, and I know that people don’t give him as much credit as he deserves. After our… fight in Siberia, I was worried that,” He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “That he would turn back to alcohol, or… I wasn’t sure. I was just worried for him. But it looks like he’s done okay, and I can only put it down to you being around. I’m glad he has you.” He finished, finally looking up to meet Peter’s eyes. 

How bad had the fight been?

“I’m glad I was there, too.” Peter said. “It was really bad at first, I was kind of terrified. But he did get better. I’m glad he was able to work through it.”

Steve sighed and shook his head, “I wish it hadn’t gone the way it had.”

Peter hated the regret on Steve’s face– it was so deep that he knew immediately that whatever happened truly had been extremely serious… something Steve really didn’t expect to be forgiven for. 

He had to figure out what happened in Siberia. 

Today was a training day (supposedly to ‘resubmit the original lifestyle they had– training days for all avengers, no matter what tech they relied on, were mandatory and bi-daily.)

Peter didn’t really like letting Tony out of his sight with a bunch of the people that might have destroyed him, but Rhodey shot him a knowing look on their way out, as if trying to telepathically tell him, ‘I got this, now stay up here and out of trouble.’ 

Peter nodded in response. 

“Do you know if Spiderman will be here?” Sam asked as he faded out of Peter’s line of vision.

“Was he supposed to be?” Tony asked, voice slightly clipped.

Steve answered for Sam, “No, but maybe sometime we should get some of those vigilantes involved. It would be good for them to get some more serious training so they can keep on doing… what did Spiderman say it was?”

“‘Looking out for the little guy.’” 

“Right. We need more people like that.”

The conversation finally faded out of earshot– he couldn’t help but feel relieved that they couldn’t see him at the moment. He was blushing furiously because Captain America thinks I’m a good person– He quickly shook the thought off. That didn’t matter if Captain America was not a good person. 

And right now, Peter had a strong suspicion that he was not. 

Creeping down into Tony’s lab, Peter silently began a mantra in his head to convince him that what he was about to see was one: not Tony’s fault, two: it couldn’t change his opinion of Steve too much– if Tony had forgiven him, then it couldn’t be too bad, and they could all move on from it, and three: it was okay for him to see this problem. Tony didn’t really expect him not to find out, did he?

He pulled one of the screens up at the holo table and began his search. 

He typed in the dates of the five days before Tony had returned home, the passwords to the suit cams, the passwords to Tony’s server… 

You are not authorized to access this footage.

Override code.

You are not authorized to access this override code.

Override code. 

Finally… 

He did it. 

He had access to the footage of the five days he requested, all from Steve’s perspective. After scrolling through all of it, he finally found one that really struck his fancy.

Location: Siberia.

Perfect.

He hit play, and watched, bored, until the unmistakable red and gold of an Iron Man suit flew into view.

“Why are you here?” Steve asked, obviously suspicious. 

“Could be your story's not so crazy.” Tony answered. “Ross has no idea I'm here. I'd like to keep it that way. Otherwise, I gotta arrest myself.” 

“Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork.” Steve joked. 

Peter watched, confused. 

“It’s good to see you, Tony.”

“You too, cap.”

This was not at all what he had expected… they were being so friendly, what happened to mess this up? It looked like they had already forgiven each other for the whole ‘civil war’-- so why had they only just moved back in?

Then, of course, Zemo’s voice filtered into the room. Peter had to up the volume even with his super hearing to understand his words.

“...Given time. But then you’d never know why you came.”

“You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?”

Zemo launched into an explanation about how he had been studying Steve, and how he had thought he was perfect… but really couldn’t be. Something about eye color. 

“You lost someone?”

“I lost everyone… and so will you.” 

Peter shivered at the ominous threat. Was that foreshadowing or what? Well, no. It was clearly an open threat that ended up being acted on– but that didn’t matter right now.

“An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within? That's dead. Forever.” 

And suddenly, a monitor flickered to life. Steve turned towards it, and Peter watched in horror as Tony witnessed the recording of two people getting murdered. By Bucky.

“Please… help my wife…”

“Howard!”

Howard.

Shit. 

Bucky had killed Tony’s parents?

Peter immediately understood why Tony would tighten up anytime he was near Bucky… how could he just forget the image of his parents pleading for mercy, only to be killed by a man he now had to befriend?

“Did you know?” Tony’s voice startled Peter, and Steve apparently, too– he jerked towards the image of his father. 

“I didn't know it was him.” Steve responded.

“Don't bullshit me, Rogers. Did you know? 

Peter waited for the response, eyes wide. It had been silent far too long for the answer to not be...

“Yes.”

One of Tony’s best friends had known who his parents’ murderer had been, and yet he had kept is secret? 

Steve Rogers truly wasn’t what he seemed. 

Peter could have turned off the video there. Could have had reason to fuel the grudge for the rest of forever, but instead, he continued watching the video in stiff fury.

“It wasn’t him, Tony! HYDRA had control of his mind!”

That was true… Bucky hadn’t done anything.

But Steve… he sure as hell did.

So Peter watched, dread building up further and further as he watched Steve and Tony and Bucky launch into combat, fighting each other as if their lives depended on it. And in Bucky’s case, maybe it did. 

He didn’t know how it had happened, but suddenly Tony was on his knees, helmet off. His face was bruised and angry and distraught.

“He was my friend.” Steve said, though he sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than Tony.

Tony’s dark eyes stared down Steve. “So was I.”

“I just lost a friend, is all.” 

Wasn’t that what Tony had said while he was in the medbay? 

So that’s what this was all about. Steve had betrayed Tony. 

“Stay down. Final warning.” 

“I could do this all day.” 

Peter finally shot to his feet, terrified as Steve raised his shield and plunged it into the arc reactor.

It buzzed off. The suit was offline. 

Had Steve even known that he didn’t need the reactor to live?

Or had he been aiming to kill?

Peter balled his hands into fists. 

What could he do about this? How could he make Steve pay?

“Peter?” A voice wavered from the other side of the room.

Peter turned around to face the person talking to him.

Tony’s eyes blinked from the screen to Peter’s angry face, unsure of what to do. 

“I… Peter.” Tony swallowed, concern and regret in his eyes. “You weren’t supposed to see that.”

“Too late.” Peter growled, before stalking towards his father. “Are you kidding me? HE TRIED TO KILL YOU?”

Tony looked slightly alarmed at Peter’s attitude. He had never seen his kid so angry before– what was he supposed to do?

Calm him down. 

He could do that, he could calm Peter down. He did it all the time!

“Peter, look at me.” Tony said firmly. He waited until Peter had made it in front of him, glaring right into his eyes. “I need you to believe me when I say that everything that happened in Siberia has been forgiven–”

“Forgiven!” Peter yelled. “Are you– he left you to die, he lied to you about your parents’ murder, he tried to kill you, Tony!”  

Tony winced. “Kid, first of all, he was acting in self defense. He needed me to stop attacking them so he’d have time to get Bucky out.” He continued faster as Peter tried to interrupt, “And I understood what he did. I didn’t at the time, but I do now. Please accept that, Peter.” 

Peter shook his head, his voice getting quieter. “You know I would be alone if you had died there, right?” 

Tony dropped his head. Of course he knew that. That’s why he was so grateful he had made it out alive. “I do know that. He wasn’t aiming to kill. He let me live. And I’m so glad, Peter, because now I have you.” 

Peter shook his head. “Why are you just letting him get away with what he did? Why are you forgiving him?”

Tony offered him a sad smile, and pulled him into a tight hug. “Because it’s what you would have done, bambi.” He pressed a light kiss to the top of Peter’s curls and sighed. 

Peter loved that nickname, loved Tony’s hugs and kisses… and maybe that's what made him so angry in that moment. Steve had almost taken all of this away from him. 

He pulled away from Tony, ignoring his conscience telling him not to ignore Tony’s startled and worried expression, and marched to the common room floor. 

Steve was about to get a piece of his mind.

Chapter Text

Peter stormed out of the lab. “FRI, where’s Steve?” He manages to growl out. 

“Rogers is in his room. Would you like me to tell him you are on your way?” 

Something in the back of Peter’s head twinged as she said that– he and FRIDAY were pretty tight, at least according to Tony, so it made him want to laugh that her voice seemed to hold some kind amusement at him preparing to whoop Steve Roger’s ass. He was too angry to laugh, however. Peter didn’t care if it was America’s ass, justice needed to be served!

He could hear Tony rushing after him, yelling after him not to do that. 

But Peter wasn’t exactly known for listening to Tony when he didn’t want to.

So of course, the boy continued down the hall towards the stairs instead of the elevator– was he trying to kill Tony?-- that would lead up to the Avengers’ floor. 

Tony followed Peter faster than he usually would, knowing full well he wouldn’t be able to catch up to Peter. But he had to– he moved faster– because he wasn’t sure how Steve would react. Would he nod and listen solemnly? Would he argue with Peter and explain his side of the story? Would he yell back? 

Would he stab his shield into Peter’s chest?

Tony shook the thought off. Steve would never do that, would never hurt a kid, especially Peter, everyone loved Peter despite only knowing him for a couple weeks. He would never do that, he would never– would he? -- No, he would never hurt Peter– but what if he does?

Shit, Tony, what if he does. 

“Peter!” Tony called, his voice slightly hoarse. Oh god, what if he loses the kid–

He climbed the stairs faster than he ever had and ever planned to, knowing full well that Peter had already made it to the top. 

Get Peter, get Peter, get Peter, save Peter.

What if he wasn’t fast enough? 

What if Steve hadn’t really changed, and he had let a dangerous man near his son? What if Peter died because he had been stupid, too stupid to realise that Steve couldn’t change– god, what if Peter died? 

Tony was still too far down the many stairs to hear the confrontation happening above him.

“YOU.” Peter yelled, entering Steve’s bedroom. 

Steve looked up, surprised, from something at his desk. When he realized it was Peter, he seemed to understand immediately. He stood up to face him completely, lowering his sad gaze to meet Peter’s eyes. 

“You.” Peter repeated, letting as much hatred as he could muster seep into his words. 

He wasn't a hateful kid. He wasn’t. He liked to think that he had never really hated anyone before– 

Guess he couldn’t pride himself in that anymore. 

“You almost killed Tony.” Peter said. 

Steve took a deep breath and nodded. “I know.” 

Peter shook his head and laughed in disbelief at the legitimate remorse in the man’s eyes. “You don’t even deny it!” 

Steve lowered his gaze to the floor. “I could never do that. It would be even more of an insult to Tony if I denied my actions. Tony doesn’t deserve that.”

“HE DIDN’T DESERVE TO DIE, EITHER!” Peter yelled. “Yet you didn’t seem to think that too long ago! How do I even know your mind has really changed? How can I trust you to be around Tony?”

Steve shook his head, still keeping his voice level and calm. “I don’t know. I want to make it up to him and regain his trust. I really do. I think the best way to do that is to wait until he’s ready for that. Peter, I know you don’t understand, but I truly do respect Tony, despite my actions–”

“I don’t care if you don’t think I understand, all I know is one day my dad went to Siberia to help one of his best friends for a few hours and then he didn’t come home for a week.” Peter’s voice had quieted down at this point to a low, scathing growl, similar to how he had talked to FRIDAY moments earlier. If looks could kill, Steve Rogers would surely have died right then. “And when he finally did come back,” Peter’s voice broke, tears beginning to rise in his eyes. “He was beaten up nearly to death, and had one less friend to worry about.” 

Steve kept his mouth shut, listening solemnly. He couldn’t blame Peter’s reaction, and had honestly been waiting for it. After he had talked to Peter about being glad Tony had him and Peter had reacted so calmly, he had felt guilty and unsettled. He would have preferred if the kid had yelled at him and told him that Tony was lucky to have survived, that he didn't want to see him, that he hated him and didn’t trust him. Now, Peter was. And it was much worse than he could have imagined. 

Peter yelled at him as if his life depended on it, proving just how much Tony meant to him. It hurt Steve exponentially to know that he had caused Peter so much pain and worry. To know he had done it to the kindest, smartest, purest boy in the world. 

“I mean, Captain America must have spent enough time with Howard to have heard that ‘Stark men are made of iron’. Bet you and your old buddy Howard really thought that was true, huh? Really thought that nothing you did would hurt him? Well I’ve got news for you–” He raised his voice again. “IRON. IS. BREAKABLE. It may take a long time and a lot of force, but it can break. He’s been putting up with shit for as long as he’s been alive, but everyone thinks he’s crazy for finally hitting a breaking point? Even all of you rogues just pretend it never happened, pretend that it’s just like old times! Well it can't be just like old times until everyone acknowledges that they betrayed him and don’t deserve to have his trust back, don’t deserve to be here. I see how angry you get when he flinches if Bucky gets too close. I know you care for him, but he helped you destroy Tony. Tony’s forgiven everyone for everything! But I sure as hell have not.” He took a deep breath before continuing, “I thought all of you would understand. Especially considering how long you’ve been dealing with the same life-destroying shit. You hurt him more than you'll ever know because you have ensured that he will never, ever fully trust you again. And you know what the funny part is?” Peter laughed a humorless laugh before continuing. “He understands, even forgave Bucky for killing his mom and dad, and he wouldn’t have had a problem with you if you hadn’t hidden it from him! If you hadn’t pretended like it wasn’t a big deal that his parents were murdered when he was a kid! Is it just not a big deal because he tried to ‘shut down the avengers’ even though we all know that’s not what he was trying to do at all? Or do you really just not care at all, like you’ve made all too clear to Tony and me? We understand that Bucky wasn’t in control when he killed Tony’s parents. But you, Captain fucking America, you were fully in control when you decided to cover it up.”

Tony pushed into the room, breathless, to see Steve with crossed arms and a remorseful frown on his face, and Peter staring up at him, seething, and still seeming the bigger man. The two looked towards him, Steve still wearing the regretful expression and Peter with his angry sneer. While Peter’s expression softened at seeing Tony, Steve’s only grew more pained. 

Of course Steve wouldn’t hurt Peter, he’s better than that. You knew that, Tony.

“Pete. Wh–” Tony caught his breath looking between them. “What did you say?”

“The truth.” Peter muttered, stalking past Tony and out of the room.

Tony grimaced, turning to Steve.

“Tony, I–”

“No.” Tony said firmly, shaking his head. By the way Steve closed his mouth immediately, waiting for him to continue, Tony knew that he was expecting to be yelled at again. Maybe to be told to ‘stay away from my fucking kid, Rogers’, or maybe something worse. No matter how much Tony wanted to tell anyone with the ability to hurt Peter to stay on the other side of the planet, he knew that one, that would be hypocritical, and two, it would probably do more harm to Peter than good. In the end, Steve was a good man who had made a mistake. And if Tony had forgiven him, then there was no point in punishing him. “No,” Tony repeated. “I’m sorry, Steve.”

Steve’s head jerked up to face him, probably giving the man whiplash. “Tony, what? No–”

“I didn’t mean for the kid to find out, I didn’t even know that your suit had taken a recording of the event, I thought I had deleted everything. I… I really thought he wouldn't find out.” He looked up to Steve, wincing.

Steve shook his head insistently. “No, Tony, no. The kid was bound to find out somehow, he’s incredibly smart, and stubborn.” Tony and Steve smiled for a short second before Steve continued. “If he wanted to know, he would know. And it isn’t your fault, Tony. I deserve this. I made a horrible decision and that’s on me. He deserves to have the option to know who I really am, and the choice to trust me.”

“Keeping him away from that video was the only way for him to know who you really are, Rogers.” Tony grunted. “Now… I don't know what to do. I wanted him to… learn from some of the best.”

“And he has you for that.” Steve smiled comfortingly. 

Tony shook his head. “No, that’s– no.” He paused for a moment, crossing his arms. “I wanted him to have a good relationship with good people. With… my friends.”

Steve smiled. “Tony. You don’t have to call us, or me that just yet. I understand how hard it has to be to try to rebuild trust with someone who betrayed you. But, in the long run, I also get your point. We’re supposed to be the Avengers.” He chuckled sadly. “We should be a good example for him.”

“I still want him to have this, and I still think you all should be a good example.” Tony frowned, before fully facing the super-soldier. “Are you… wanting to still be around him?”

“Of course.” Steve answered. “He’s an amazing kid, Tony, but I’m definitely not going to push him or crowd him.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want you to do that, either.” Tony said. “But I do think that if he still sees you around as much as he already does, then he’ll get used to your presence and then start liking you again. You know he used to have a ton of Cap merch before… well… before everyone went rogue. I bet if we all work together, like the Avengers are supposed to, then we can get him to warm up to everyone.” Tony gave Steve a determined smile. “Even you, capsicle.”

And if Peter found a way to like the man, then Tony would find it easier to trust him. 

Then he could really mean it when he called Steve his friend. 

Steve returned the determined smile. “Our most important mission yet.” 

Tony left in search of his son, having FRIDAY aid him as soon as he didn’t find Peter in his room. 

“Why would you go outside,” Tony whined, resting his head dramatically on Peter’s shoulder. 

Peter bowed his head and didn’t answer. 

It was a muggy and hot day, and Peter had, of course, chosen to sit on the low stone wall in the backyard. 

“I wasn’t joking though, kid.” Tony said, standing up straighter to put his chin on Peter’s head and wrap his arms around his chest in a hug. “What are you doing?” 

“Looking at the trees.” Peter answered quietly. He let a comfortable silence settle, the wind blowing through the trees with a soft rustling, before finally adding, “Are you seriously not gonna lecture me about what I just did?” 

Tony tilted his head sideways, opting to rest his cheek on top of the boy’s head instead. “Nope.” He waited a moment before saying, “But I was wondering why you did that.”

Peter sighed before shifting to look up at his dad. Tony stood up straight so Peter could actually achieve that goal. “I dunno. Just that he did something stupid and I’m mad. And I don’t trust him to be around you anymore.” 

Tony raised his eyebrows at this. “He’s not gonna hurt me again, kid.”

“And how do we know that?” Peter asked, looking straight ahead again. 

“Pete, I’m an adult. I can handle myself–”

“Didn’t look like that in the video.” Peter answered sharply. He immediately regretted that and quietly whispered, “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I mean, you're not wrong. I didn’t look too great in that video. Steve definitely didn’t get my good side in view.” 

The joke fell flat as Peter quietly answered, “What if he kills you?” 

Not wanting to admit how he had worried the same thing about Peter just moments earlier, Tony sighed and walked around the wall to kneel in front of Peter. “Hey, kid. Look at me.”

Peter reluctantly raised his chin to meet Tony’s eyes.

“Steve Rogers made a bad mistake–”

Peter groaned immediately. “We’re gonna keep calling attempted murder a mistake? Tony, come on! You definitely wouldn’t be saying that if it was me who he had tried to kill!”

Tony took a deep breath, trying not to let the image of Peter lying dead and bloody, all blue lips and vacant eyes and torso cut nearly in half by the shield, take too much of a forefront in his head. “Okay, first of all, not fair.” Tony said shakily and took another deep breath, steadying himself and clutching Peter’s hands. Peter seemed to catch that he had gone too far and wrapped one of the older man’s hands around his wrist, letting him feel the steady pulse under his warm skin. “Sorry, Tony. I’m really sorry. But look, I’m right here, I’m fine. I’m sorry…” 

Tony smiled up at the boy, taking another deep breath and concentrating on Peter’s steady pulse, and began again. “Okay, take two, huh?” Peter smiled hesitantly. “Like I was saying, first of all, that’s not fair. You can’t use yourself against me. You know I have different ideas on things depending on whether or not you’re involved. No, I wouldn’t ever forgive Steve for trying to kill you. I would probably kill him, and everyone else in the room, and then myself.” Tony hoped to lighten the boy’s mood with the edited quote from one of his favourite shows, Brooklyn 99. Peter simply bit his lip, waiting for the next point. Tony obliged him and continued, “Second of all, I have Nat on my side again. Even if Steve did go crazy or something and attack me, she would be on my side this time to back me up. And you know about her unmatched win streak. Nobody gets past her. Finally, third of all, Steve is a good man. I don’t believe that he was trying to kill me–”

“That doesn’t mean he wasn’t–”

“I don’t believe he was trying to kill me,” Tony said firmly. “He was trying to keep me from hurting him or Bucky while they escaped. That’s on me, kid.”

“No, it isn’t.” 

“Peter, think of it like this. If it was me and you, do you think I wouldn’t defend us, even to the point of injuring someone to the point that it’s irreversible? Do you really think you would pull your punches if it meant that it wouldn’t get both of us out of there?” 

Peter thought for a moment, before mumbling, “It’s not the same.”

“Bucky and Steve are best friends, and no, while they don’t have anything on us, it is still similar, whether you want to admit it or not. Steve just wanted to get Bucky out alive.”

“They still left you for dead. That counts as attempted murder. Next time you try to plead his case to me, edit it so that you consider yourself on the same level as other people. If you would consider this a crime for anyone else, then you need to consider it one for yourself, too.” 

Tony simply looked up at his kid, slightly amazed. No, he wasn’t happy that his kid wouldn’t listen and at least try to like a truly good man. But yeah, he couldn’t help but feel warmth at the way his kid effortlessly and insistently defended him. 

God, he had the dumbest, best kid in the world. 

“Okay. I’m not as good at logic as you. Fine. But Peter, I need you to promise something for me.”

“If you make me promise to like him, then I swear–”

“No, Peter, I’m not going to make you promise to like him.” 

Peter slumped slightly in relief. 

“I’m going to make you promise to try to see the good in him.” Tony finished.

Peter opened his mouth to argue, but Tony interrupted before he could start, looking Peter pleadingly in the eyes and saying quietly, “Come on, Peter. Please?”

Peter was surprised at the earnestness that Tony asked with. 

Peter sighed. “If it’s really that important to you… then fine.”

Tony smiled up at Peter. “There’s my Petey-Pie.” He stood and pressed a kiss to his son’s forehead and pulled Peter to his feet. “Come on, it’s way too hot for spider babies to be outside.”

Peter let Tony lead him inside, trying to hold back the smile threatening to show on his face. The two felt calm being together, one of Tony’s arms flung around Peter’s shoulders, quietly walking through the cold breeze that countered the blazing heat. Maybe things weren’t really so bad… at least they were together, right? They stepped into the crisp building– and the peace immediately broke at the sound of high heels hurrying towards them, and the sight of a certain worried, red-haired woman.

“Pepper!” Peter called happily, the smile finally breaking on his face. “I didn’t know you’d be here so soon!” 

Tony waved at her, a grin also displayed for her. “Hey, Pep. What’s up?” He frowned slightly as he noticed the worried expression still present on his fiancee’s face. 

“Hey, honey,” She addressed Peter, ruffling his hair, and then turning to look back and forth between them, “Someone from Stark Industries leaked important information.”

Tony’s eyes widened. “Wh– About what? It’s not any old blueprints from before–” Before he stopped selling weapons, “--Is it?” 

“No, no, nothing like that, but… well, Tony, you’re still gonna be really upset .” Pepper shook her head quickly.

“Just, what is it, Pep, you’re freaking me out!” Tony threw his arms in the air, and Peter looked back and forth between the couple with wide eyes. 

“Tony,” Pepper breathed out, “Someone found out about Peter. And they leaked it to the press.” 

A beat of silence passed, in which Tony’s hands ended up shakily by his sides again. 

“What?” He asked quietly. 

“They-- wait, Tony, before you panic,” Pepper put a hand on one of each of her boys’ shoulders, “It’s… it’s not too bad, and I think I can control some of it. But they know you adopted a kid; nobody thinks it Peter because they leaked the wrong name, but they’re on the lookout now.”

Tony took a deep breath in, nodding jerkily. 

But what if they did know about Peter? What if some villain, or one of the many people who wanted revenge on him, got Peter? What if they… 

“Tony. I’m okay. If anyone can control what people say, it’s Pepper.” Peter grinned. 

Pepper smiled, too, pulling the two into a hug. “It’s really going to be okay. I promise.” 

Tony nodded, putting his arms around the two. 

And, he knew people had said that one man couldn’t bear the weight of the world, but it sure felt like he was holding the whole world in his arms at that moment.

Chapter Text

As it turns out, it had been a complete accident that information about “Tony Stark’s secret son” had been leaked– Pepper and Tony had immediately tracked down the tabloid journalist who had released a story about it first and began that rumor, and made them give up their informant’s name and number. It had been a SI employee, but they had simply mentioned something about Tony needing a security pass for his son in an obscure daily report. How the journalist had gotten their hands on said report, though… well, that was probably their actual problem. 

“They think my name is Obadiah James-Anthony Stark? ” Peter screeched on seeing the news report. “What kind of an ugly-ass mosh pit of names is that?”

Natasha cackled as she entered the room, and read aloud what she was looking at on her phone. “Buzzfeed’s secret source reveals the ten most interesting facts about Obadiah James-Anthony Stark.” She looked up at Peter with an evil grin. “I had no idea that you graduated from college when you were eighteen! Or that you are also a notorious playboy…”

Peter slapped his hands to the back of his head angrily. “How can I be notorious if they just found out about me?” 

Tony patted his head with a concealed grin. “They’re just tabloids making up stuff as usual. Don’t worry, everyone knows that more than half of the stuff they say isn’t true.”

Rhodey sauntered into the room with his phone on and and grinned at Tony. “You never mentioned you named your kid after me!” 

Peter put his head in his hands. 

“You know, they’re saying that your kid was named after the three people who meant most to you at the time. Obadiah, because he was still close to you then, me, because obviously, and you. Because...” Rhodey laughed, “Well, you.” 

Tony shook his head. “Obadiah James-Anthony Stark is without a doubt, the ugliest concoction of names I have ever had the misfortune to hear.” 

Peter threw his hands in the air. “Why are they making up this stuff about me! They can’t even get my name right! If I’m gonna go viral, why did it have to be under the name Obadiah?” He asked, a disgusted look on his face. “Do you know how low the statistics for that name dropped after that whole fiasco? They weren’t exactly sky-high before, but come on! Now I’m the only guy in the world named Obadiah.” 

“Peter, you aren’t named Obadiah.” Natasha shook her head, amused. 

“Oh. Yeah.”

“I mean, we can always change it–”

“NO!” Peter interrupted Tony quickly, and the latter burst out laughing. 

“Stop worrying about it, kiddo. We have other things we need to be worrying about anyway.” Tony said, turning to face the TV, where the reporters were still making jokes about Tony’s parenting abilities. Namely that they didn’t exist.

“What do you mean?” Peter asked. “Is there another big villain we have to shut down? Or you have to shut down, I won’t be there.” Peter laughed nervously, trying not to glance at Natasha and her raised eyebrows. Yeah, he was pretty sure she already knew he was Spiderman, but still… until he was positive she knew, he would pretend that she had no suspicions whatsoever.

“No, nothing like that. I was thinking about bringing back Stark Expos. I need to get the word out. We’re trying to figure out the best way to do that, though…” Tony trailed off, not immediately noticing Peter start to physically shake with excitement. 

“You’re bringing back the Stark Expos?” Peter asked, beginning to bounce on the balls of his feet. 

Tony looked over to his son, a slight look of surprise on his face. “Yeah. We’re just trying to get some people to hype it up right now.” 

“I went to one of those! Ben and May took me, it was so cool!” Peter said excitedly. 

Tony looked to Pepper, then Rhodey, before turning back to Peter. “How about you do the announcement?” 

“I– what?” Peter immediately stopped moving. “I mean… what would that entail?” 

Tony shrugged. “I don’t know. The first time we did it we had a speaker explain what would happen there with some physical examples, and then the second time we just had some people say it was happening. The last time I just let some random people choose how to do it and they put on a skit about the expos. I think that one was the most popular but… It was also definitely the last time I didn’t have people run things by me or Pep.” Tony winced before saying, “So really you could do it pretty much however you want. As long as it’s interesting enough to make people talk about it and it doesn’t slander anyone too badly.” 

“...How extra am I allowed to be?” Peter asked slowly. 

Pepper closed her eyes briefly, immediately recognizing the mischievous glint in his eyes. 

“As long as Pepper’s fine with it, anything goes.” Tony shrugs, mouth twitching at the grin spreading across Peter’s face. 

“When do you need it?” Peter asked.

“Preferably by the end of next week.” Pepper said. 

“I think I could do all that by then…” Peter muttered to himself. 

“What does that mean?” Rhodey looked carefully at his nephew. “Are you gonna blow something up?” 

Peter shook his head quickly. “No, but…” He grinned, nodding happily. “It’ll definitely be explosive.”

“I want in.” Rhodey said.

Peter clapped excitedly before turning serious, “Okay but once I tell you what it is, you can’t back out. No matter what. ”

“I…” Rhodey looked suspiciously between him and Tony, who raised his arms defensively. 

“I don’t know what he’s planning!” Tony looked slightly startled at Peter’s secrecy.

“You know, what, I’ll do it.” Rhodey said firmly. “Nephew-uncle bonding time.” 

Peter grinned. “You know you can't back out, right?”

Rhodey nodded as Tony crossed his arms, looking sternly at Peter. “You know you can't do anything–”

“Evil, boring, or too offensive.” Peter reeled off. “And I have to get Pepper’s approval. Yeah, I know. Pepper, will you come here? I wanna run it past you before I get too far into planning.”

“I don’t get to know about it?” Tony asked, surprised. 

Peter shook his head and dragged Pepper and Rhodey off to his room. 

“I wanna see if I can get involved, too.” Natasha smiled at Tony. “I wonder what he’s planning?” 

“No telling with him,” Tony sighed. “At least he’s excited, right?” 

Natasha shrugged. 

As soon as Peter came out of the room grinning and Rhodey followed behind with a terrified expression, they knew either they were doomed, or something absolutely fantastic was going to happen. 

The next day, Pepper held a press conference. She acknowledged all the rumors about Tony’s secret son and made sure to clarify that nothing that had been released about him was true (besides the rumor that he existed). After going over all her points on Tony’s son (and not answering any questions about him–his name, appearance, mother, birthday, anything), she moved on to announce that Tony was hosting an event in two weeks with a big announcement and surprise. (“No, the surprise is not his son, but his son is the one writing the whole surprise and announcement. Tony has no idea what the surprise is either, so you can all be nervous together.”) Everyone was completely confused, but also extremely excited. Tickets to the event sold out almost as soon as they went on sale– everyone wanted to see the surprise firsthand. 

“Uh, I’m not so sure this is a good idea anymore.” Tony whispered to Pepper. Peter had locked him out of the training room and he could hear lots of yelling and banging from inside. “How did he get everyone to join him without knowing what they were agreeing to?” 

“You know how better than anyone,” Pepper said, rolling her eyes at Tony’s confused expression. “His lethal puppy dog eyes, Tony.”

Tony immediately seemed to understand. “Okay, but… he just got into a huge fight with Cap yesterday. Why is he suddenly inviting him into the training room with everyone else? What is he planning? Is he going to publicly humiliate the rogues? Or is he–”

“No, Tony, it’s nothing like that.” Pepper shook her head, a loving and patient smile on her face. “Did it really only take Steve getting involved for you to lose faith in Peter?”

“No, I just…” He trailed off, realizing she was right. “I guess I just worry.” He admitted. 

“Tony, I’m overseeing pretty much everything. I wouldn’t let that happen. And besides,” She rubbed her fiance’s back comfortingly, “He’s really trying to keep his promise to you. To be good to the rogues, I mean.”

Tony sighed and nodded. 

And suddenly, it was Friday night and Tony was sitting in the front row of a large auditorium, staring apprehensively at the closed curtain blocking his view of the stage. 

He had barely seen his kid over the last week and a half– he was always in his bedroom or the training room, always with Rhodey or Natasha or all the rogue avengers. 

How had he gotten them all involved, and what had he gotten them involved in?

The lights in the room dimmed: a spotlight lit the stage and Pepper walked on in front of the curtain. Cheers erupted, and Pepper waited for silence before beginning to speak.

“Wonder what the kid is gonna do.” Happy said, leaning over from his seat beside Tony.

“I have no idea.” Tony admitted, eyes never leaving his fiancee.

He had an empty seat next to him saved for Pepper, and the two seats beside her were occupied by Vision and Wanda (who had helped Peter with his surprise, but had refused to help present it). 

“Welcome, everyone. I’m sure you have all been wondering what Tony’s son has been working on for all of you, and the time has finally come for it to be presented.” Applauding began again, and once it quieted down, she pulled out a sheet of paper from her skirt pocket. “Before we begin, though, Mr. Stark, or better known as Tony’s son, wanted me to say a few words for him, since he will be unable to appear before you today.” 

A few groans and boos, but Pepper continued, beginning Peter’s written speech, “‘I would like to thank you all for coming to see what I so quickly threw together for you in this last week and a half– by the way, thank you, Dad, for only giving me thirteen days to pull this together. I know you just wanted a simple announcement, but I thought it would be more fun to surprise you with a completely overdone… thing. It may seem badly done or extremely chaotic, but I promise you, it is supposed to be like this. You have to have a certain sense of humor to appreciate my masterpiece that will be presented today. I would like to thank my assistant writers, Wanda and Vision, all the people who will be presenting today (you may recognize some familiar faces), and Pepper, for letting me do this at all. Also, of course, I would like to thank Peter Parker, for taking my place on stage for me and presenting my image the best he can. You have always been a true friend.” Happy and Tony turned to each other and shook their heads, grinning. “Last but not least, enjoy the next hour! Bet you didn’t think the presentation wouldn’t take that long. Thank you, from (most definitely not named Obadiah James-Anthony) Stark.” Pepper shook her head as she finished the letter and looked back across the crowd, who waited in tense excitement. “Enjoy.” She said simply, and left the stage. 

Pepper came from the side of the room and took her seat just as the curtain began to rise. 

They were met with a dimly lit stage, a set of fake buildings towering at the back of the stage, and fake fog floating around, making the stage look like a mysterious city street.

Happy and Tony glanced at each other again, before Tony turned to look at Pepper, who was grinning unabashedly at the stage. 

A fake lamp post flicked on, confirming Tony’s ‘mysterious city’ theory. 

What was his kid doing?

Jazz music began to play, and a single person walked onto the stage… sweeping through the fog to lean against the lamp post. His face was hidden under a fedora and a trench coat blocked his body shape from view. The person pulled the hat off his head– Peter , Tony realized– and slowly turned his head towards the crowd, and offhandedly said, “You know, it’s hard being the secret son of Tony Stark.” 

Uh– what the hell was his son doing?

Peter strutted to center stage as the crowd immediately burst into laughter and continued, “But I’ve always made due. Tried to be as good of a person as my dad, tried to help as many people as I could, tried to impress my teachers and friends…” He trailed off, as if in thought. “I guess… I was bound to make a mistake at some point.” He shrugged  and addressed the crowd fully. “But it’s a complicated story. Maybe, for your sake, I should start from the beginning”-- cheers erupted and the whole stage lit up suddenly, giving the crowd a good view of the city street set up on the stage– “It’s the year 2017, and my dad has just given me some extremely important information… and… well, maybe I’ll let him help me tell you.” 

The jazz music began again, this time more upbeat, and Natasha and Clint walked onstage, making the crowd go insane. They stopped in front of Peter and–

“Is Clint wearing my sunglasses– and is that my jacket?” Tony asked– “Wait, is he supposed to be me ?”

“Kid,” Clint said. “I have some extremely important information for you.” He turned to the crowd. “I’m thinking of bringing back the Stark Expos,”-- the crowd cheered– “But I need your help. It’s all happening in 2018 in June, and I need you to help me out with something.”

“And what’s that?” Peter asked.

“He has an important delivery coming in three days before the expo, and he needs you to bring it to him once it comes in.” Natasha said. “Easy, right?” 

“Sure sounds easy, Miss Potts.” Peter said. 

And then. 

Clint started singing. 

“He– he wrote a musical ?” Tony whisper-shouted at Pepper. 

Pepper lost it giggling, and nodded. 

Clint and Peter sang a short (and absolutely ridiculous) duet, and then Peter was off narrating again. He explained how time passed, and how he completely forgot about the task. 

Tony couldn't believe that he had asked his kid to announce Stark Expos, and the kid had written an hour long musical to do what could be done in a few sentences. Of course he would. Tony couldn’t help but grin. 

The musical continued, Peter saying how it was the year 2018, June, and– Tony had just called him asking if he was on his way with the delivery!

“Oh– uh– yes! On my way!” Peter said, turning to the audience with an overdramatic worried expression. 

“I got to get that delivery to him! Or else– the Expos will be boring!” 

The show continued, different Avengers showing up as extras and random villains to stand in his way of dropping off the package. Steve and Bucky showed up at one point as villains (petty, but hilarious), Natasha had shown up as herself, Clint had come back up as a helpful old man, Sam had been some annoying friend… 

Rhodey appeared onstage and Tony clapped as loud as he could. 

“Uncle Rhodey!” Peter yelled, nearly dropping the box. “What are you doing here?”

He rolled his eyes. “Tony knew you had forgotten and sent me to help you.” 

Peter frowned. “I’m almost there! I don’t need help!”

“Right, and rebranding War Machine to Iron Patriot is cool.” Rhodey said sarcastically. “You know, sometimes it’s okay to get help.” 

“I know, but only when you need it. There’s no point in making you help me when I don’t need you to.” 

And of course, as soon as Rhodey left, Peter’s character (who was still unnamed?) got trapped by some obscure villain (played by Sam) who told him that he could only leave if he gave up the package. Peter refused of course, and wasn’t able to escape. A sad song came and went, and then Peter was rescued by Clint (or Tony) and brought to the Expos.

“You realize you could have died if you didn’t just give up that package, right?” Clint asked, crossing his arms. 

Peter shrugged, handing over the box. “Well, I guess you could say I would do anything for the Stark Expos–” He turned to the crowd and winked. 

“Really, all I can say is good job, kid.” He turned to the crowd and said, “Now the Stark Expo of June 2018 will be a real success!”

A banner dropped– what was this, a middle school show?-- that announced the dates of the Stark Expos that Pepper and Tony had agreed on. The crowd went wild when they realised what it meant, and Tony smiled proudly. Of course his son would overdo it just enough. 

Clint shook his head smiling and opened the box. “Oh, it looks like they forgot to put it in here.”

“SO YOU’RE SAYING I ALMOST DIED FOR AN EMPTY BOX?” 

Tony couldn’t help but laugh at Peter’s expression as the curtain dropped again. 

“Peter, what the hell was that?” Tony asked, a grin contradicting his words. He had finally made it backstage to see Peter. 

Peter smiled back and shrugged. “Always wanted to be in a musical.”

Tony rolled his eyes and pulled his son into a hug. “That was ridiculous.” He laughed, and then pulled away as the other avengers and Happy and Pepper joined them. “Also, why was Clint me?”

“Is that an insult, Stark?” Clint joked.

“It is if you’re trying to steal him from me by pretending to be me.” Tony said. 

Pepper laughed at the way he said it like a joke, but obviously meant it. 

“That was the weirdest thing I ever watched.” Pepper smiled, also giving Peter a hug.

“It’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever done, without a doubt.” Steve grinned. He looked over to Tony, who nodded. Steve was doing his best to gain back Peter’s love– or at least get Peter to like him a little. 

“Same.” Bucky answered. 

“Me too.” Sam said. “It was kind of fun, though?”

“Not the weirdest thing I’ve done,” Clint said. “Not to brag, but all of my kids have taken me to school for show and tell.” 

“It’s definitely not the weirdest thing I’ve done and I am not proud of that, unlike Clint, apparently.” Natasha joked, smiling over at Peter. 

As the group began to filter out, Tony caught Peter by the shoulders, letting them drop to the back of the group. “How about we stay out of the spotlight for the rest of the summer, yeah? Have a calm break?” 

Peter nodded up at him, agreeing immediately. “Yeah, that was fun, but I don't think I ever wanna look at a crowd again.”

“Then it’s agreed.” Tony said. “We’ll have a nice, relaxing summer.”

Peter smiled and rested his head on Tony’s shoulder as they walked. 

They finally made it home and after a loud and happy family supper, Tony walked Peter up to his room. 

“I’m proud of you, tesoro.” Tony murmured, pulling the blankets securely around his son. He kneeled next to the bed and Peter rolled over to look at him.

“Thanks.” Peter whispered, eyes heavy. “It was fun.” 

“I definitely liked the part where your character called me their dad.” Tony said quietly, brushing his hands through Peter’s hair. 

Wait– Tony realised what he had said moments after. 

Surprisingly, Peter didn’t seem fazed. “Maybe I should just start calling you that all the time, then.” He mumbled. 

Tony smiled, “I would like that.” He dropped a kiss to his kid’s forehead and then crept out of the room. “Goodnight, bambino.”

“Love you, dad.” Peter said, giving a small smile and waving tiredly. 

Tony grinned. “Love you, Peter.” 

The man closed the door. He hadn't thought about how he felt about being a father for a long time, but the last time he had, he thought he would be horrible and incapable. Now, saying goodnight to Peter, tucking him in, saying ‘I love you’ to Peter… It felt like the most natural thing in the world. Of course, he had been Peter’s father for a while now, but being called a father by his son made it feel more real.

It wasn’t like Peter would remember their exchange the next day, but… he really liked being called ‘dad’.

Tony was wrong about two things. 

First, Peter would remember their exchange clearly the next day, and would call him Dad from then on. 

And second, they would not have a relaxing summer. 

The peace ended the night after the Stark Expo announcement night. 

And naturally, it ended with a bang.

Chapter Text

Bang.

Peter pulled the woman down to the ground at the sound of the gunshot, praying he had been fast enough. Without missing a beat, he jumped back up to his feet and disarmed the masked man, simultaneously webbing him to the wall. 

Peter had Karen notify the cops as the man began to loudly curse him out.

“Hey!” Peter said, webbing up the man’s mouth. “That’s not a very nice thing to say.”

The teen spun around to help the woman to her feet–

This was one of his favorite things about fighting crime. The way the people he helped would realize they were safe– it was a relief that Peter couldn’t help but be happy that he was the cause of. They would always smile and thank him, or try to repay him in some way. Peter always turned it down, and offered to walk them home. Because that’s why he was doing these things– so they could get home safe and sound to their families or friends. 

But… Well, this wasn’t a reaction he hadn’t had before, but it always made him feel sad whenever it happened. 

The woman took one look over Peter (in his Spiderman suit, of course) and began to cry harder. 

“Wait, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you! What’s wrong, how can I help?”

The woman shook her head, gulping in air. “No, I– oh my god!” She pointed frantically at his stomach. 

He looked down, confused. 

Shit.

A deep, dark crimson stain was seeping through the spandex and spreading, much faster than Peter appreciated. 

“Ah, crap. Karen?” 

Now was not a good time to panic. He tried to reassure himself that it was totally fine– couldn't even feel the pain!-- but wait, maybe that was a bad thing…

“Yes, Peter?”

“I– wait, you realise I was just shot, right?”

“Yes.”

“Wow. You are much calmer than me. I– why can’t I feel it?”

“You have very high levels of adrenaline right now that are dulling the pain. I suggest you get back to the compound before it fades.”

Peter nodded, turning back to the woman. “I– can I walk you home? Er–” He paused, weighing his words. “Well, do you need a walk home? Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to give it to you, it’s just…” He gestured lamely to the wound.

She waved him off, muttering ‘thanks you’s and ‘of course not’s and ‘get out of here’s. 

He shot a web into a building, and began the swing back.

“Karen, how bad is it for me to be swinging with an open wound?” 

“Probably not our best plan of action. But it’s also the fastest.”

Peter shrugged. “Hey, how has Dad not called yet?”

“Dad?” Karen asked. 

“Oh– uh, yeah.” Peter smiled despite himself and the tight pain that was beginning in his stomach. “Well, so… I call Tony dad now.”

“Took you two long enough.” Karen remarked.

Peter rolled his eyes. “Don’t act like you didn’t see it happen, I hooked you up to FRIDAY’s server for a reason.”

“I believe that you told me the reason was ‘so I can chill with another cool AI.’”

“Yeah, that and so you would always be filled in and we can talk about the drama together!” 

“And I do enjoy our gossip sessions. To answer your question, Tony has not called because the Avengers have activated the Blackout Protocol. I believe this means that they are having another meeting they do not want interrupted.”

“Accords stuff?” 

“I believe so. Director Fury and Agent Coulson showed up before the Blackout Protocol was activated. Because it was activated while the call was sent, the call will not go through when the protocol is deactivated. Would you like me to send a notification that you are on your way back when the protocol is lifted?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

Peter swung faster than he had in a while, but he was still pretty far away from the tower when the pain of the wound began to become overwhelming.

“Karen, there wasn’t any… I don’t know, poison, or something on that bullet?” 

“There is no trace of poison in the wound or bloodstream. It would be a good idea to remove the suit and place a thick cloth over the wound to slow the blood loss.” 

Peter nodded and landed on a rooftop, wincing as pain shot through him. 

He pressed the spider emblem in the suit before realizing he had nothing to put over the wound. “Uh… Karen?” He asked. 

His head was empty. What was he going to say?

There had been something important…

Or at least, he thought it had been…

But then again, Uncle Ben always used to say that you don’t forget important things. 

But that couldn’t be true, because Ben had forgotten Peter at places all the time.

Unless…

But that wasn’t– that didn’t matter right now, there had been something important…

“Peter. There is a clean t-shirt on that clothesline. Take it and put it on your wound.” 

“Wound?” Peter asked tiredly. 

He looked down to where pain was radiating through his body. 

Blood was spilling all over him, gushing from a small hole in his stomach, on his hands, up his arms now…

“Oh my god, what happened? Did… did someone get hurt? Karen?”

“Peter, you are bleeding out. Cover the wound with the t-shirt in front of you.”

Peter was confused, but trusted the kind voice and shakily grabbed the shirt. 

Why were his hands shaking? He wasn’t scared.

“I like this shirt.” Peter said, holding it up. “Is this the one Ned got me for my birthday?”

“Peter, that is not your shirt. Ball it up and press it against your stomach.”

“It’s not mine? I can’t take it then!” 

“Peter, you are becoming delirious from blood loss. Put the shirt against your wound and put the suit back on.”

Well, the voice was nice. It probably wasn’t lying. 

“Okay…” Peter made sure to communicate with his tone that he was unsure and didn’t like the idea of stealing. He balled the shirt up and pressed it where the blood seemed to be coming from, and tried to pull the suit back on. His hands slipped on the sleek spandex and soaked it a deeper red, but he continued to fumble with it until it was no longer resting limply on his hips, but settled loosely on his shoulders.

“Press the spider button on your chest.”

Peter looked down at his chest, oblivious of how his whole torso had been painted with his own blood, and pressed the spider. He giggled in shock when the suit tightened. 

“Woah, that was cool!” 

“Peter, do you remember how to use your web shooters?” And then immediately after, “The Blackout Protocol has been deactivated.”

Something clicked in the fuzzy depths of Peter’s head– he needed to get to the compound. But why? Blackout Protocol– what was that? Was it something bad? Had something happened at the compound? 

Had something happened to Tony?

He nodded numbly, and jumped from the building without warning. 

He clumsily shot a web, swinging like a drunk man with access to Stark tech. He grit his teeth as he hit the lowest point of every swing, the skin around the wound tugging painfully. But he couldn’t stop. He had to get to Tony, had to see what had happened– what if Steve had hurt him again? What if this time he had actually managed to kill his dad?

And somehow, the fog in Peter’s mind cleared slightly. Enough that he could process how horrible it would be to lose Tony, but not quite enough that he could realise how serious his wound was– or that it was there at all. 

Finally, after a few minutes, or maybe several hours, Peter reached the compound. 

“How do I get in?” Peter slurred quietly. 

“I will have FRIDAY open a window. Can you see it?”

Peter squinted at the wall of windows. “See what?”

“The open window– Peter, go through the other window– Peter–!”

Peter slammed into a window as it began to slide open, only just realising that the one beside it was fully open. He slid into the compound, surprised that he had made it in. 

Why was he here again?

…He paused, simply laying there for a second. 

He could hear his heart beating loudly in his ears but ignored it, trying to remember his motive to swing there so quickly. He did not process the many gasps from the other side of the room.

It clicked. Tony.

He jumped to his feet, nearly falling over again. “FRI, where’s Tony?” He asked. 

“P–Spiderman? What the hell–”

“I’m going to get Tony!”

“Oh my god, look at his suit–”

“Get Bruce, that’s a lot of blood–”

He clutched either side of his head and squinted his eyes shut, trying to block out all the noise. He was already having enough trouble concentrating on what he needed to do… What did he need to do?

Well, what did he usually do when he got home from being Spiderman?

Do homework. His brain helpfully supplied, or go to sleep.  

Well, he had swung into his bedroom, and he was so tired, he might as well just go to sleep…

He had not, actually, swung into his bedroom. 

He had swung into the Avengers’ common room. 

But Peter didn’t realise that in his delirious, highly-injured state. 

He sat down in a chair, not hearing the worried conversation happening next to him and tiredly pulled off his mask. Letting out an exhausted sigh, he pressed his palms into his cheeks, before roughly brushing his hair out of his face. He scrunched his nose when his face felt suddenly wet and sticky. 

“Peter?” He looked up, blinking slowly up at Clint. 

“Wassuuuuuuuup…” Peter slurred. 

“Oh my… Peter?” 

“Peter is Spiderman?”

“That… explains so much.”

Peter looked around the group of Avengers, looking at them confusedly. “Yeah I’m Spiderman, di'ja no’ see me walkin’ on th’ wall the other day?” 

“Uh… no?” Sam asked, putting a hand on his forehead.

Natasha stepped forward, kneeling in front of him. “Do you have something blocking up the wound?”

“Wha’?” He asked. “Wha’ wound? Why’re you all in m’ room?” 

“Peter, this isn’t your room. This is our common room. How much blood did you lose?”

“Blood?” Peter asked, confused. He stared at Natasha for a long time before turning away from her and curling up on the chair. “‘M goin’ to bed. G’night.”

“No, Peter.” Natasha said urgently, annoying Peter and pulling him into a sitting position. “Peter, you can’t go to sleep. You’re bleeding really badly right now and you need to let me look at the wound. Do you remember what happened?”

Only processing the part where he was told he wasn’t allowed to sleep, he asked, “Why not? ‘M tired.”

“Look, Tony’s on his way, I just need you to sit up for me before he gets here, okay? Can you do that for me?” 

Tony?

Wait– Tony!

Peter jolted up, trying to get to his feet– a wave of pain rocked him easily and he hunched over, barely falling over before Natasha caught and steadied him. 

“Tony!” He gasped out. “Is he okay? What happened?”

“Tony is fine, Peter, it’s you we’re worried about.”

How the hell had the kid lost contact with reality so much? Was his brain just refusing to let him worry about himself, so he was projecting it onto Tony? Were they so close he couldn’t tell the difference? How could he not recognise the blood that had leaked through the whole torso of the suit, the blood that had been wiped onto his face, the blood that had smeared onto the chair and floor and window?

“Spiderman, what happened?” Tony asked, running into the room. His face dropped at the sight of Peter without his mask off, and then twisted into horrified worry when he recognised the dark stains covering his son. 

“Peter!” He breathed. He rushed to the teen and lifted him away from Natasha, cradling him like a baby. And then he was off to the races, speeding to the elevator to take his blood-soaked child to the medbay on the first floor. 

Tony surveyed Peter’s face and all the blood the kid had wiped on it. “Baby, what happened?”

Peter shrugged indifferently, before seeming to remember something. “Are you okay?” He asked, looking suddenly panicked. 

Tony raised his eyebrows, confused. “I– yeah, I’m fine. Peter–”

“Bu’ you had the Blackout Protocol on an’ I thought Karen said something bad happened an’ I just thought Steve ‘ad gotten you this time.” The boy slurred, slapping a hand up to clutch Tony’s shoulder. 

He would deal with that later. 

“Well I’m okay, I promise. Now Peter, I need you to concentrate. Do you remember how this happened?” 

Peter shrugged again, this time yawning, closing his eyes, and leaning his head on Tony’s shoulder. 

“Nope, nope, not right now Underoos, wake up.” The elevator door opened and Tony raced through the halls toward the medbay. Afraid the movement wasn’t enough to keep Peter awake, he continued to repeat, “Peter, stay awake, it’s not nap time, but I promise if you stay awake we can have a nice long nap and you can sleep in my room this time, I know you like the mattress there better…” 

Peter hummed happily at that idea and pried his eyes open, making a valiant effort to obey his father. Tony knew he would let his kid nap anywhere anyway, but if this was what would keep him awake right now… 

“Tony! They said Peter– holy shit…” Bruce stopped short on seeing the child cradled tightly, dripping red on the floors and coloring Tony’s clothes and arms a shade deeper. 

“You guys have to stop making me deal with this, I’m not –”

“Not that kind of doctor, I know,” Tony grunted, setting Peter on a gurney. “Just get another PhD.” 

Bruce ignored him, pulling the kid to a different room and sliding the suit down to his hips. He pulled the wadded up shirt from the wound and winced at the sight of the gushing hole. 

“That’s a bullet hole.” Bruce said quietly, shaking his head. “What did you get yourself into this time, Spiderman?” 

“Bruce, I don’t think this is the–”

“I’m trying to keep him awake, be quiet, Tony.” Bruce answered and turned back to Peter, preparing an IV, blood transfusion, tweezers…

“I don’ remember.” Peter answered quietly, raising his head to look at Tony. “Hey, Dad.” 

He remembered. “Hey, bambino. How ya doin’ down there?” 

Peter shrugged, looking over to Bruce as the man began to extract the bullet. He laid his head back again, wincing. “Dunno. My stomach’s all numb.” 

Tony looked over to Bruce, whose expression hadn’t changed. “Yeah? Anything else?” The doctor asked. 

Peter shrugged yet again. “‘M tired, but dad won’ let me sleeeeeeep…” He drew out the ‘sleep’ dramatically, maybe forgetting he was saying it… 

“Yeah, dads can be annoying like that.” Bruce answered, dropping the bullet onto a tray and beginning to work on closing the hole. “Tony, go talk to him, I need to concentrate.”

Tony kneeled on the floor beside Peter’s head. 

Peter’s eyes were drooping closed.

“Hey, hey, none of that.” Tony tapped at the kid’s cheek. “You can sleep later, okay?” 

Peter shook his head. “No.”

“No? What do you mean, no?”

“No.” Peter repeated, closing his eyes resolutely. 

“Peter, hey!” He tapped his cheek again, this time more insistently, and Peter squinted up at his father. “Did you already forget our deal?” The man asked. “You get to take a nice nap in my room when this is all over, remember?” 

Peter hummed, a smile spreading on his face. “I like your bed.” Peter mumbled. “‘S fluffy.” 

“Yeah, it is.” Tony responded, brushing his baby’s cheek. Maybe he should keep tapping it, so it will encourage him to stay awake. “Pepper picked those sheets, did you know that?”

“She should pick my sheets.” Peter slurred, grinning at Tony. 

“Done.” Bruce said, standing up. A thick bandage covered Peter’s torso, and a blood transfusion had begun, and an IV had been slipped snugly under his skin. 

“Already?” Tony asked, stressed again. “There wasn’t any internal bleeding? It didn’t hit any organs?”

Bruce shook his head, pointing at the wound. "It must have been shot at an angle, it went right to the side, somehow didn't hit any organs. He’s  incredibly lucky, and also good to go.” Bruce patted Tony’s shoulder reassuringly before remembering the blood and pulling away quickly. “He’s going to be fine. You can clean him up and he can get some rest.” 

Tony nodded, hands still shaking slightly. He turned back to Peter, patting the kid’s cheek softly. “Didja hear that, Petey? You can go to sleep now.” 

Peter hummed, already half asleep. 

“Goodnight, baby.” He pressed a soft kiss to Peter’s cheek before turning to the sink and wetting a couple paper towels. He spent the next few minutes wiping the blood away from his son’s face, neck, stomach, arms… 

It honestly terrified him seeing Peter like that. Every time something like that happened, he would freak out and spiral into some horrible panic attack immediately after. It was more than he could handle. Seeing his kid covered in blood and barely staying awake, completely out of touch and almost out of reach. 

It wasn’t a state fathers were meant to see their child in. 

Tony sighed, intertwining his fingers with his kid’s warm but limp ones. “What am I gonna do with you, kid?” 

There was a soft knock on the door. 

Tony looked over Peter once more before standing up and opening the door. 

All the avengers stood outside, worried and confused. 

Tony raised a finger to his lips before stepping into the hallway with them and clicking the door closed. 

“He’s Spiderman?” Steve asked quietly. 

Tony nodded and leaned against the closed door. 

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Bruce asked. “That would have been helpful information for treating him. I assume he has a high metabolism? And that’s why he just laughed when I tried to give him Tylenol?” 

Tony chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, that’s why. High metabolism, super strength, enhanced senses, a sixth sense, etcetera, etcetera. And I didn’t tell you because it wasn't my secret to tell.” 

“A sixth– you can’t just glaze over that, Tony.” Clint rolled his eyes. “What does that even mean?”

“He can sense danger before it happens.” Tony said, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Fascinating.” Bruce said, crossing his arms. “Do you know how he ended up enhanced?” 

“It wasn’t… like what happened to me, was it?” Bucky asked quietly. 

Tony still hadn’t completely gotten used to being around Bucky and still had trouble feeling comfortable with him being around Peter. He wasn’t surprised that the man liked him, though. Everyone at the compound did. And even if Bucky hadn’t liked Peter… Well, Tony knew if he had been in the super-soldier’s situation, he would be worried that anyone went through the same thing, too.

“No, it wasn’t anything like that.” Tony responded softly. 

Natasha cocked her head. “Was it like Steve’s situation?” 

Tony shook his head again, a fond smile appearing on his face. “No, it’s actually kind of a funny story. Or at least, the first part is.” 

“Well, what happened?” Sam demanded.

“I think that’s a story he’d like to tell. Now, I’m happy you’re all concerned for him and all, but he's not taking visitors right now and… neither am I.” He flashed them a quick smile before slipping back into the room. 

“You got some explaining to do to them when you wake up, kid.” Tony murmured, pressing another kiss to sleeping son’s cheek.

Chapter Text

Tony grinned down at Peter as he carefully raked his fingers through the wild curls. 

“What is this show about again?” The man asked quietly. 

Peter turned his head so that it wasn’t pressed into his father’s neck, and rested his cheek lazily on Tony’s chest to look at the TV. 

“It’s not really about anything, I guess. There’s not really an ‘overlying plot’.” Peter mumbled, watching his cartoon of choice contentedly. 

The day after Peter had gotten shot, he had finally been allowed to leave the medbay and Tony was taking full advantage of it. He had hoarded the kid for a full day (so far), just keeping the kid in his bedroom and demanding he rest. Because Pepper had gone back to the city for a couple days on business (of course she had called to make sure Peter was alright as soon as she heard), Tony was keeping Peter in his own bedroom. “I did promise you, kid,” He kept saying, every time Peter said that he was fine leaving Tony alone. After the sixth time Peter lied that he was ‘totally fine with staying in my own room, dad’, Tony had finally broken and admitted, “Kid, I’m still a little in shock about you almost dying again, so you’re not going out of my sight for a bit.” Peter had stayed quiet after that and had been completely content to make himself comfortable. 

“And what’s happening?” Tony asked again, glancing at the TV. 

“Anais accidentally flooded the house and Gumball and Darwin are trying to get back inside.” 

Tony raised his eyebrows as the blue cat screamed again (he did that a lot?) and continued his attempts to get inside the house.

“Wait, so a blue cat, an orange fish, and a pink bunny… are biological siblings?”

“Darwin was adopted, dad.” 

“That doesn’t explain…” Tony trailed off, looking down to see Peter’s eyes beginning to droop again. Instead of finishing his thought, he simply pulled his arms tighter around the boy and continued brushing his hand through his hair. 

Considering how well Peter was healing and how quiet everyone had been at the tower for the last couple days, not bothering him and Peter at all except to leave food for the two of them, he was able to finally calm down a little more. Peter was here, he was safe, he was healthy and almost healed. And Tony would never admit it, but he absolutely loved cuddling Peter. 

God, the kid had made him go so soft.

…And maybe he was okay with that?

Honestly, who really cared if Tony Stark had a kid that he loved to death? …Well, a lot of people, but none that he had to listen to. He was completely happy having this kid, even though it meant lots of media backlash for him to deal with.

With that newfound realization, things couldn’t have been more peaceful.

Well, at least, they couldn’t for a couple more seconds.

Tony’s bedroom door banged open and the man jumped, rolling Peter slightly over to shield him while looking over his shoulder to see who the unwelcome intruder was. 

Happy stood in the doorway, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

“Happy? I didn’t realise you were gonna be at the compound–”

“And I didn’t realise that my nephew was being locked away in a room like Rupunzle.” Happy rolled his eyes, though they softened slightly when Peter’s head popped over Tony’s shoulder.

“Happy!” He exclaimed, the sleep disappearing from his eyes. 

“Hey, Peter. How’s your most recent gunshot wound treating you?” 

Peter shrugged, moving to sit himself up fully, much to Tony’s annoyance. “I think it’s pretty much healed! I feel a lot better. How are you , Happy?”

“I’m okay, just a little surprised when I heard you almost died… again,” Happy smiled and shook his head.

Peter giggled to himself, still slightly delirious. 

Tony sat up and twisted so that he was facing Happy, too. “So what’s up, Hap? I have a feeling you didn’t just come up here to see how Peter was doing…”

Happy rolled his eyes again and grunted, “I was just coming up to see how he was doing, but then everyone else made me bring a message up for you.”

Tony raised his eyebrows. “Oh, goodie.” He muttered sarcastically.

“They say they wanna have a team dinner over at that shawarma place you all love so much.” Happy said, leaning against the door frame. 

“And they don’t expect me to say yes, do they?” Tony asked, gesturing to Peter.

Peter looked at him, confused. “Why wouldn’t you go? I’m fine staying here by myself–”

“Um, absolutely not.” Tony said firmly. 

“I’ve been alone here before–”

“With a gunshot wound?”

“Oh come on, it’s healed!”

“Tony, did you really think Peter wasn’t invited?” Happy asked, looking between the two with some kind of annoyed amusement. “They haven’t seen the kid in two days, after all.”

“Yeah, someone’s been keeping him all to himself.” Rhodey slid into sight, clapping Happy’s shoulder. “Whaddya say, Tones?” 

“I say no! He was shot two days ago, for god’s sake–”

“Obviously if he was still hurt we wouldn’t be offering, Tony.” Rhodey rolled his eyes. “Just have Bruce check it out and then when he’s inevitably better, we can head out.” 

“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Peter said, looking up at Tony with wide eyes. 

Pepper was right. He did have a weakness for well done puppy dog eyes.

Tony sighed and Rhodey and Peter cheered. 

“Alright, I’ll send Bruce up and have everyone else get ready.” Rhodey spun down his heels and ran down the hall before Tony could argue, yelling, “HE SAID YES!” 

“What is he, five?” Tony grumbled, sliding off the bed.

Happy nodded in response and gave Peter a small smile before turning and following Rhodey. 

“I can’t believe they just sent me in because they’re all too cowardly to do it themselves.” Happy said to Rhodey.“Thanks for helping me out. He was never gonna say yes to just me.”

Rhodey grinned. “We uncles gotta stick together, right? Even when our brother is being annoying and clingy with his kid.”

“Yeah, I mean, what right does a man have to his son?” Natasha joked, joining them in the hall. 

“Well in my defence, I came down here to hang out with Peter. Why do you think I did that whole musical thing with him?” Rhodey answered.

“Ah, no more love for Tony? Poor guy.” Happy said before shrugging and walking off. 

“Hey! You’re coming with us, right, Hap?” Rhodey called after him. 

“Yeah, yeah. Only because Peter’s gonna be there, otherwise I wouldn’t wanna hang out with all of you leeches.” 

“Hey!” Clint popped into the hall just as Happy disappeared. 

The others shrugged and moved to the common room to wait for Tony, Peter, and Bruce, and it wasn’t long before the three walked into the room together. 

“There he is!”  Sam called, standing up and grinning. 

The rest of the Avengers smiled to see Peter finally up and about. 

“Man, we thought Tony was gonna hide you away forever.” Clint joked. 

Tony rolled his eyes and Peter shook his head. “I was really tired, and I need to sleep a lot when I’m having to heal. Tony was just making sure I actually went to sleep.” Peter defended immediately.

Tony. Not dad.

Tony pushed the thought away weakly. It was probably just an accident… right? Maybe he was being too clingy with the kid? Maybe this was his subtle way of saying he needed space? 

Shit, he had probably been trying to say that he wanted to go stay in his room by himself… 

Tony frowned slightly at the floor as he began to overthink the whole situation. Maybe he had been wrong, misread everything? Maybe Peter had been joking around with the whole ‘dad’ thing, and was afraid to hurt his feelings? After all, who would want Tony ‘genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, not a father ’ Stark to be their dad?

Peter grabbed Tony's hand with starry eyes and an excited grin-- and Tony immediately stopped worrying. Yeah, it was probably an accident. Tony smiled softly at his kid. 

The group set off to lower Manhattan (which was forever away, but they were insistent to go to their favorite shawarma restaurant). The group was so large that they ended up having to split into two groups in two different cars. They had grown a lot since that first time they had stopped to eat together after the first alien invasion of NYC. 

When they arrived, the group found a large table at the back of the restaurant that they quickly filled. When there still wasn’t enough room, Steve and Rhodey helped drag a couple more tables and chairs over to connect them.

As they all settled down and got their drinks ordered, Tony surveyed the group curiously. “Not that I’m unhappy we’re here or anything,” He began as the waiter retreated, “But what made you all decide you wanted to have dinner away from the compound?”

“We wanted to show the newbie Avengers our old secret hideout.” Clint said.

“I think it’s unfair to insult all of us when we didn’t have the chance to join before recently.” Sam defended.

Natasha laughed, “Ah, but still.” She took a drink of the complimentary water and added, “Newbie.”

Peter giggled from his seat next to Tony and Roodey and received a smirk from Natasha in return.

“And, of course, we wanted to show Peter, too.” Clint added, gesturing to the teen. 

Peter smiled, pulling his legs up to sit criss-cross in his chair. 

The waiter returned with their drinks and passed out menus, telling them to take their time and make themselves comfortable. 

Peter sipped his lemonade, scrunching his face when the overly-sour taste touched his tongue. 

“You good, bub?” Tony looked over at Peter, watching him with the concerned expression that Peter was beginning to know all too well. 

Peter nodded and said, “Really sour.”

Tony laughed, “Have you ever had lemonade?” 

“Yes! I guess I just haven’t had it in a while. I don’t remember it being that sour!” 

Tony shook his head with a smile as the group began to argue about something. 

“We could just talk like normal people–”

“I say we start a table football tournament.”

“Why on god’s green earth would we do that? At a restaurant? Have you ever been to a restaurant?” 

“You know, we haven’t done a game night since that first Friday after we moved in…” Wanda suggested.

A small silence followed, Peter remembering why Tony hadn’t had any more game nights after that, before Rhodey asked, “Wait, are we talking entertainment options?” 

The group nodded.

“Then I agree with Wanda. Those were so much fun.” He shot Peter a quick look.

Vision clicked his tongue, also casting Peter an amused glance, “But then again, last time we had a game night, we were haunted for two straight weeks.”

“Yeah, what happened to that guy? Ever since he stopped knocking stuff over in my room, I’ve been walking on eggshells so he doesn’t have a reason to come back.” Bucky said. As time passed, Peter couldn’t help but start to like the super-soldier. He couldn’t hold all the murdering against him and in the end, he was actually a really cool and smart guy. 

“Maybe the ghost found peace.” Tony suggested, kicking Peter’s chair from under the table.

Peter glanced at him and noticed Tony sending him a subtle look as if to say, ‘He better have.’

The teen took a sip of lemonade as if to answer, ‘He hasn’t decided yet.’ He scrunched his face at the bitter taste again, but ultimately shrugged it off. 

“How about a good old game of truth or dare?” Sam asked from the corner. 

“Oh god.” 

“In public?”

“Okay, but I have a feeling this is not going to go well.” 

The group decided that as long as nobody made a dare too rambunctious to complete in public, then they would play the classic party game.

“After all, it is another getting to know each other game.” Steve reasoned, trying to convince Happy to participate. 

Peter watched in amusement as the game began, immediately taking wild and ridiculous turns. Steve picked truth and shared the story of getting used to having the serum, Sam picked dare and stood up on his chair and did a ballerina twirl, and finally Peter was asked about how he became Spiderman. 

Peter leaned back in his chair, feeling tired and hot, and began the story, “Well, it was like, two years ago? I was on a field trip to Oscorp–”

“Never letting you go there again.” Tony shook his head.

Peter laughed, “I didn’t even know you then!”

“Yeah, and I’m never letting you make the mistake of going there ever again.” Tony explained, a small smile on his face.

“Wait– what?” Bucky asked from the other side of the table.

Peter tilted his head, confused. “What?”

“You didn’t know each other two years ago?” Natasha asked.

“Ah.” Tony said, leaning back in his chair. “No.” 

“Wh– I thought– wait, so how did you– what?” Clint sputtered. 

Tony shook his head, “Ask me when it’s my turn, the kid’s in the middle of a story.”

The group turned back to Peter, who was beginning to feel more feverish as he sat there. 

“Uh, well,” He thought hard, trying to remember where he was… “Oh, yeah. Uh, I went on a field trip to Oscorp and I got separated from my group, so I just kind of started wandering around, and I ended up in this lab? Apparently they don’t keep their stuff well contained, because somehow one of their experiments got out of its tank– it was a radioactive spider– and it bit me. Apparently the bite made the Spider DNA and my DNA start trying to synthesise, so… I just kind of have Spider DNA now. I got really sick that night and almost died.” Peter finished lamely. 

The group stared at him blankly. 

“So… you have actual spider DNA? Mixed with human DNA?” Bruce asked.

Peter nodded. 

“Weird. My transformation didn’t have any side effects.” Steve mused.

Tony shook his head. “Yeah, well, your serum was a finished product. The radioactive spider was probably barely in its early testing phases.” 

“And you just got powers from it? Just like that?” Sam asked. 

Peter nodded, sweat beginning to bead in his hairline. Why was it so hot?

“Odd.” Wanda looked impressed, despite her indifferent words. 

“Don’t think we haven’t forgotten you,” Clint said, swivelling his attention to Tony. “How did you and Peter meet? And when? Did you know he existed before? Wait, is he biologically yours? Is he legally yours? And how did you end up his dad? I just want the whole story, I guess.” 

“Woah, woah, woah, slow down, Legolas.” Tony said. “You haven’t asked the question yet.”

Clint rolled his eyes. “Alright, fine. Truth or dare?” 

“Dare.” Tony said– the table groaned in argument. “Fine, fine, truth.”

“What I said earlier.” Clint said, annoyed.

Tony glanced over at Peter and began. “Well, no, he isn't biologically mine, but he is legally and emotionally mine." Wait, did he just publicly admit how he felt about someone? Without it being toned down or a lie? He quickly added, "I tracked him down a couple months after he started fighting crime, which was…” 

“A couple months after I got bit.” Peter confirmed, finally lowering his legs to the ground and hoping it would help his current body heat problem. 

Tony nodded. “Right. I knew he had to be on the younger side and I appreciated what he was doing, so I obviously didn’t want him to get himself killed or anything.”

“Ah, that explains a lot. I was wondering why you let your kid be a vigilante.” Natasha said, leaning her chair on two legs.

“Yeah, I didn’t know him yet. So basically I got into contact with his aunt–” He stopped short, pausing to look at Peter. 

He had all but forgotten what May had done to give him the chance to adopt the boy. 

Peter looked over to him and shrugged, looking tired. “Eh, it’s fine.” He answered Tony’s mental question of, ‘Is it okay to talk about May?’ 

The rest of the group watched the short exchange with badly hidden confusion. 

Tony quickly continued, “I got into contact with his aunt May, who was, at that time, his legal guardian, and told her I was offering a Stark Internship for him. Peter accepted it and I started supplying him with tech and letting him come up to the tower to actually do some intern-y stuff. Then, after the whole homecoming fiasco we got a lot closer and he started coming over to the tower a lot more–”

“Homecoming fiasco?”

“Uh, the weapons trafficker that kept trying to kill me ended up being my homecoming date’s dad. So, uh, I had to ditch her at homecoming and fight him.” Peter said, wiping his forehead. 

“Oh. Awkward.” Peter nodded at Bruce’s comment and Tony continued. 

“Yeah, and then his aunt figured out about him being Spiderman, and… kicked him out. It was really…”

“Sudden.” Peter supplied. “I sure didn’t see it coming.”

There were awe’s and cooed apologies, but all Peter could think about was his rising nausea. 

“So he came to the tower and asked to stay a couple nights while he figured things out, but I obviously wasn’t going to let a fifteen year old kid get his own apartment or get put into the system, so I adopted him.” Tony finished simply. 

The group looked at him with raised eyebrows. “You just… up and adopted a child?”

“I mean, he was already kind of like my kid and it wouldn’t be fair for him to end up in some random home in New York. Especially when I could totally provide one.” 

“And… so you adopted him before the whole ‘civil war’?” Natasha asked, a small frown. 

“Yeah. If you’re wondering why I let him fight in Germany with you guys, then just know it was not my choice. He snuck onto the plane all by himself.” 

The group laughed quietly, though they were more thinking about the fact that Tony had had a kid for so long, and they had never known or thought about it. He had someone at home waiting for him that whole time they were in battle, and yet he had never used that as leverage or a sob story. The man just tried to do his job. 

Peter was too tired to completely recognize the look of sad understanding on Steve’s face. He looked over to Tony before setting his face on the cool table and watching the game continue. 

It was surprising how slowly the game was progressing, people beginning to take more time with their stories or to make their dares more complex– they had ordered ten minutes ago and were only beginning their second circle around the group. (It was taking forever, especially for Peter, who had recently realised that if he stared at the hand of Tony’s watch that was counting the seconds as they moved by, he could count to ten-mississippi before another second passed. Weird, huh?) 

“Hey, Pete. Are you okay?” Tony muttered, leaning over with a hand on the kid’s back. 

Peter nodded against the table, another wave of nausea rolling over him. He sat up wearily and mumbled, “I’m just not feeling very good.”

“Yeah? Do you wanna head back to the compound? We can–”

Peter shook his head insistently and said, “No. It’s just really hot.”

The rest of the Avengers heard their conversation. 

“Hey, Peter. Truth or dare?” Natasha asked, a small smirk on her face.

“Dare.” Peter groaned out, knowing he had already said truth twice and couldn’t do so again without looking weak.

“I dare you to go to the bathroom and splash your face with some cold water.” The spy smiled at his reluctant expression. 

He finally sighed, seeming to think the movement would be worth it. “Fine. Be right back.”

Tony nodded and let the kid walk across the small restaurant and down the hall on the other side of the building. 

“Well, I hope that helps him feel better.” Happy said, concern on his face as he looked over at the same hall. 

Meanwhile, Peter was not feeling better. He continued splashing his face with cold water, over and over, but the heat that was making him weak simply would not subside. 

Did he have food poisoning or something?

But he hadn’t even eaten anything. All he had had was the horrible overly-sour lemonade. 

He splashed his face again as his stomach tightened uncomfortably, groaning when it still didn’t help. 

Maybe he should just take up Tony’s offer and go back to the compound… but they had all been so excited to eat here together! He couldn’t ruin this for them…

He sighed, dried his face off, and wobbled dizzily down the hall. 

“Hey! Kid!” A voice called. 

Peter looked over to see a man trying to push open the door to the kitchen and carry three trays of food. 

“Kid, could you help me with these?” 

Peter nodded tiredly and without thinking, walked straight into the kitchen to pick up one of the trays for the man. 

He never felt the sack being thrown over his head, or the pain of landing on the cold floor while his wrists were tied behind his back. 

Oh, it wasn’t as hot anymore. The tile was nice and…

He passed out.

Chapter Text

“Oh my god, Tony, just go.” Rhodey grunted through a mouthful of chicken. 

Tony glanced over at his friend, and then back to the hallway that Peter had gone down. Ten minutes ago. He didn’t want to disturb the kid, but… what if something was wrong?

Natasha reached across the table and flicked his hand that had been incessantly tapping the table for the last seven minutes. “Just go check on him if you’re so worried.” The woman reasoned, waving a hand at him as if to shoo him away.

Tony pulled his hands to his lap, casting another glance towards the hallway. Dropping his eyes down to his watch, he resolved, “If he isn’t back in the next thirty seconds, I’ll check on him.” 

Clint rolled his eyes. “Just go now, what are the chances he comes back in thirty seconds when he hasn't in ten minutes?”

“Don’t ask him that while he’s stressed or he’ll do the math.” Happy said.

Tony rolled his eyes, watching the time tick by slowly. He could have probably already done the math by now…

Ten seconds…

He glanced up at the door… no Peter. 

Twenty seconds…

No Peter. 

Twenty five–

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, I’ll be right back,” Tony finally said, shooting out of his chair and striding across the restaurant and down the hall. He ignored the sniggers and chuckles that followed him from the group– because whatever. He had already decided that morning that he didn’t care what other people thought about him when it had to do with Peter. And he wasn't going to change his mind about that. 

The man pushed open the bathroom door and walked in, immediately glancing over to the sinks and then walking to the bathroom stalls.

He was greeted by grimy empty stalls. 

Okay, now he was worried. 

Tony spun on his heel, already typing the codes to receive Peter’s location into his watch. 

A red dot popped up onto the screen. Peter was–

In the bathroom? 

Tony stared at it a second before glancing around the bathroom again. His watch must have been broken, because he couldn’t see Peter anywhere. 

“Peter?” He asked, reloading the map. Peter’s red dot remained unmoved, sitting unperturbed in the same room as Tony. 

Beep . 

Tony’s eyes flashed over towards the sound, coming from the sinks. 

And shit . 

Peter’s watch sat innocently on the edge of the sink. 

The kid must have taken it off– or, someone could have taken it off of him…

“Shit.” Tony whispered. His sick kid lost in NYC? Or kidnapped? 

He could just be lost in the restaurant or something–

But no, Tony’s mind would not allow him peace, it never had.  And maybe it never would. 

“Peter?” He called, speed walking down the hall. He looked over his shoulder as he walked, calling his son’s name again, “Peter?”-- before colliding hard into something. 

Tony turned around too quickly to confront this thing– someone, he corrected on finding himself face-to face with the man who had been waiting their table. 

“Uh, hello, sir. Can I help you with anything?” The man asked politely. 

Tony nodded quickly. “Uh, yeah actually. You know that kid that was sitting at our table? Curly brown hair, brown eyes?” 

The man nodded, shifting on his feet.

“He’s gone. He was in this hallway last we saw him, would you have happened to see him?” 

The man’s eyes flicked back to the kitchen before landing on Tony again. “I believe I saw him go into that bathroom. But that’s all. I’m sorry, sir.” 

Tony nodded and brushed passed him, all but running back to the table. 

The group was in the middle of laughing at some story Clint was telling when he slammed his hands on the table and choked, “He’s gone.” 

Silence, and then Natasha was up and asking, “What do you mean–”

“I mean he’s gone, he was there, and now he’s not. He left his watch in that bathroom and now I can’t track him, that’s what I mean.” Tony ranted before adding, “I don’t trust that waiter. I think he knows more than he’s letting on.”

Natasha nodded and headed towards the hallway. 

Tony put his face in his hands before clenching them together in front of his chest, then dropping them at his sides and balling them into fists. He was losing Peter, there was nothing he could do, he knew he shouldn’t have let them go out that night, Peter was still healing! Now he was sick and alone and who knows what was happening to him–

“Tones, breathe.” Rhodey said, gripping his friend’s arm. “He’s gonna be fine. He always is.”

“No, he’s not always fine. Why do you think I worry? The kid’s a disaster magnet , Rhodey!”

“Yes, he gets into a lot of sticky situations, but he always comes out fine. He’s going to be okay. Breathe.”

“How long before he can’t be fine all the time.” Tony demanded quietly. “How long before he can’t stay his happy innocent self because I can’t protect him and he was in one too many traumatic events?”

“Tony–”

“And maybe he won’t even survive them, because it’s still possible for him to die! He always gets out, but how long before he’s too injured to do that? How long before we’re too late?” 

“Tony!” Rhodey said, pulling the man to face him. “You need to pull yourself together, man! Peter needs you right now probably, even though we haven’t yet ruled out the possibility that he’s just taking a walk, so you need to calm down , okay?” 

Tony nodded, taking deep gulps of air before looking across the table. “Where did everyone else go?”

“Wanda, Bucky, and Clint are out on the streets right now looking, Happy’s driving and looking, Vision and Sam are looking from above, and Natasha and Steve are in the kitchen asking questions or… something of that sort.”

Tony raised his eyebrows after hearing a loud clanging in the kitchen, but quickly distracted himself.

“We’re all looking, Tony.”

“I– I need to be doing something.”

Rhodey shook his head. “No, you just need to calm yourself down right now.”

“I would be calm if Peter was here! But he’s not, so I need to fix that!” Tony shouted.

His phone buzzed and he scrambled to pick it up, hoping for some kind of message from Peter. 

“Who is it?” Rhodey asked, looking over his friend’s shoulder at the phone.

“I don’t know. Unknown number.”

“Well, check! Maybe Peter got lost and borrowed someone’s phone.”

Tony nodded, praying Rhodey was right even though he didn’t pray, and opened the text. 

We have your intern. 

Tony’s face fell, still holding onto some hope that this was not happening.

Prove it.

The three dots at the bottom of his screen appeared, and Tony waited– to learn his son was kidnapped? To learn this was all a big joke? He hoped the latter, though he would still probably break the arm of whoever set it up. 

A picture of Peter, eyes closed and with a deep, bleeding gash on his forehead appeared and Tony choked out a breath. “ Fuck .” He whispered, passing the phone to Rhodey. 

Rhodey stared at the picture a moment before pulling out his own phone and opening the team group chat to alert everyone of Peter’s situation. 

Meanwhile, Tony watched wide eyed as demands were sent through– apparently they thought his kid was only worth $100,000, but he would have paid a lot more money than that for Peter. The joke was on them, he guessed

Except it kind of wasn’t, considering they were the ones in possession of his baby . 

“Rhodey, they sent demands.” Tony said tightly.

Rhodey nodded. All my fault, all my fault– “What are they?”

“They said that if we don’t leave $100,000 at a meeting spot on my own… they’re going to kill him or keep him. They said they haven’t decided.” Tony studied the picture of Peter, his eyes concentrating on the blood leaking down the side of his face, his limp body, the sweaty curls in his face… 

“And you can track their location, right?” Rhodey asked. 

Tony nodded, shaking himself from his trance. Peter needs me, Peter needs me– “I can try.”

At the back of the restaurant, Steve and Natasha were huddled together, reading the texts from Rhodey and deciding their new interrogation plan. 

“It’s probably a good thing the restaurant is so empty.” Natasha said, glancing up at Steve. “It would be a much bigger deal if we were interrogating a staff bigger than two employees, or if there were more people eating here than just us. I guess lucky us that this restaurant is failing.”

Steve and Natasha looked up at each other at the same time. “The restaurant is failing, so they need money.” Steve said dumbly.

“What better way to do it than kidnap a billionaire’s son.” Natasha added sarcastically. “But we don’t know for sure, how can we make these guys spill?” 

…..

Peter woke up, head pounding and eyes squeezed shut. 

God, how does a guy even manage to fall asleep in the bathroom of a restaurant? 

He peeled his eyes open and was not met with this sight of the bathroom ceiling. 

Wooden planks stared down at him, dusty and aging. 

“This isn’ the bathroom…” Peter mumbled. He tried to sit up, but on finding that his hands were tied behind his back, he rolled onto his stomach and wiggled to his knees. 

Now he could get a better look at his surroundings, find out where he was– 

Wooden walls on every side of him. No window with a view of the city, no mail that he could read the address off of, no neon business sign (and doubtless that was an overly optimistic expectation, but still). Nothing. 

A wooden door swung open and Peter looked up just before the door swung closed. Stairs going upward were behind it– he must be underground. Only then did he notice the man standing in front of him. 

“You look jus’ like my waiter guy.” Peter said. Why weren’t his words coming out right? “Why can’t I talk righ’?” Peter slurred the question. 

“Because you’re on a lot of drugs right now.” The man said condescendingly. “You aren’t gonna remember a single thing that happens here.” He crouched down and patted the boy’s cheek. “Nothing. No matter what happens.”

Peter scrunched his face up at that. He didn’t do drugs, why would he be on them? He voiced that thought, and the man began to laugh.

“You don’t have a very nice laugh.” Peter whispered. 

The man scowled at him and said, “I told your boss that if he doesn’t pay me to get you back, I’m either going to kill you or keep you. Which one would you prefer? Wouldn’t want to leave you out of the decision, would I?”

“My boss?” Peter asked dumbly. When did he get a job?

“Yeah, your boss. Tony Stark. Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist… Does that ring a bell?”

Of course it rang a bell to Peter, but that wasn’t really on his mind at that time. “I don’ know so much about ‘playboy’ anymore. He’s in a ver’ happy relationship with Pepper Potts–”

“Are you not at all worried that I kidnapped you? That I’m putting you up for ransom? That if he doesn’t pay, I get to do whatever I want with you?” 

Peter stared at the man, confused. “But I thought you just said you wouldn’ wanna leave me outta the decision?”

The man promptly sent a smack across his face and he fell weakly to the floor. 

Peter landed with a quiet thump and no resistance. 

“Home run…” Peter mumbled, eyeing the man.

But his kidnapper was looking at his phone, grinning. He had just received the text from Tony Stark: Send me the address.

“I think you mean bullseye, kid.” 

…..

“They sent me the address. I’m going now.” Tony’s suit encased him immediately.

“So that’s your plan? Just give them the money and let them go?” Bucky asked.

Tony glared at him. “This is Peter we’re talking about. It’s not worth the risk. We can always just catch them after Peter’s safe.”

Bucky nodded, inwardly agreeing. 

“Okay. I’m just gonna look through the building one more time.” Steve said. Before he left, he gave Tony a reassuring look and muttered a ‘Good luck, Tony. Bring him back safely.’

Tony nodded and took off, and Steve turned on his heel and walked into the silent restaurant. 

It didn’t make sense. It didn’t make sense that there had only been two men at that place; neither of them had ever left the restaurant, there hadn’t been any security footage of anyone else entering or leaving, and yet Peter was supposedly miles and miles away? 

Steve had raised these suspicions to Tony, but Tony wasn’t one to sit still. Information could be found at the dropoff site even if Peter wasn’t there, so that’s where Tony had gone. Steve stayed back to ease his own worries, and to indulge Tony, who had asked him to ‘just check one more time’. 

Steve ran his hands over the accent wall in the kitchen. It was such an odd little place. He was now beginning to wonder why they had ever liked it… walking through it alone, now, in the silence, it felt… well, there wasn’t any way to put it but off putting. Maybe even creepy. 

Steve shook his head. How could the kid have been there one second and gone the next? 

This was his fault. It had been his idea to have everyone check out their old favorite restaurant together, it had to be his fault Peter was gone. Tony hadn’t even wanted the kid to go… 

He banged a fist against the wall– and startled when he was met with a hollow echo. 

The wall was hollow. 

“Shit.” He muttered, tracing his hands along the wall, looking for some kind of door. He pulled aside a shelf of pans and yanked his phone from his pocket at the sight of an old wooden door.

“Call Tony.” He said into the microphone, and pushed open the door. 

He began quickly down the steps, the smell of damp wood and dirt nearly overwhelming, and grimaced with relief when Tony picked up.

“What? Did you find anything?” The man asked immediately.

“Yeah. A secret basement.” Steve said, barely able to believe it himself.

Tony asked, “Well is he there?”

Steve pushed open the other door and looked inside. “We’re about to find out.” 

Tony waited in impatient silence until Steve gasped, and the sound of quick shuffling was heard. “Tony, he’s here! Get over here!” 

Tony cursed and changed directions, following his trail back to the restaurant. 

Steve ripped the duct tape restricting Peter’s arms and legs, and rolled him onto his back.

“Hey, kid.” He checked his pulse and relaxed when he found the steady, if slightly slowed, pulse thumping under his fingers. “Can you wake up for me?” He patted the kid’s cheek insistently.

Peter groaned and his eyes flicked open. Once his eyes rested on Steve and he was able to recognize him (which took longer than a moment): “Why ya gotta ruin a good nap like that, cap?” He asked, his voice gravelly and thick.

Steve chuckled. “I’m sorry to bother you Peter, but your father’s flipping his lid right now. Would you be okay if I take you upstairs to wait for him?” 

Peter nodded, but made no move.

“Peter. Are you okay?” Steve asked, beginning to become concerned again. The relief that had made him feel so light was no beginning to dissipate, leaving heavy worry on his shoulder. “Did they do anything to you?”

Peter shrugged. “Dunno.” He paused, adding as an afterthought, “This is the weirdest kidnapping I’ve ever been to.”

Steve chuckled and lifted the kid onto his unsteady feet, supporting him heavily up the stairs and into the main room above. He sat Peter carefully onto a table and let the kid look disinterestedly around the room. 

Peter looked at him before saying, “Did you know I was down there?”

Steve shook his head. “I’m glad I figured it out though.”

“Me too.” Peter mumbled. “I wasn’t down there for very long… right?” 

“No, Peter, you’ve only been gone for about an hour.”

“How’dja find me so fast?”

“We all freaked out when we realized you were gone and… well, we’re pretty good under pressure, I guess.”

Peter nodded. “Thanks for savin’ me.” 

“Anytime, kid.” Steve smiled softly at him. 

Peter returned it tiredly, before his face shifted into a thoughtful expression. “I was only gone an hour?”

“Yup.”

“So you’re saying I speedran getting kidnapped?”

“I–”

A certain red and gold armoured figure burst through the door, ending the moment and starting one of his own. 

“Peter!” Tony’s armour crawled off of him and into the housing unit as he sprinted across the room, seizing Peter and lifting him off the table and into his arms. 

He swayed the boy back and forth, a hand in his hair and the other gripping his back. Peter had wrapped his legs around his father’s waist and his arms tightly around his neck. 

“Sorry for scaring you.” Peter mumbled into Tony’s shirt. “At least i’ was only ‘n hour, right?”

“Not your fault.” Tony answered weakly, still swaying his baby. “Oh thank god, thank god. ” He whispered, looking up at the ceiling. 

Peter closed his sore (and extremely dilated) eyes and let himself relax his cheek, the one the man had slapped, on his father’s shoulder.

Tony pulled away to look at him. “Are you okay? Did they do anything to you? Steve?” He looked between his son and the super soldier.

“He said he doesn't remember.” Steve said. “But it looks like he took a hit to his cheek, and then there’s obviously that nasty cut on his forehead.”

Tony nodded, already using a napkin to clean Peter’s face.

Peter struggled against it, mumbling, “Hey, hey, hey, there’s enough for everyone…”

“What the actual hell does that mean?” Tony asked, staring obliviously at his kid. When Peter didn't answer, he turned to Steve to confirm, "Is the guy in custody?" 

Steve checked his phone and nodded, "Natasha found him, and the partner was still in the kitchen. They're both in police custody now."

Tony muttered a thank you and turned his attention back to Peter.

Peter touched his forehead and put his hand directly in front of his eyes to stare at the blood on his fingers. He took a moment, seemingly entranced by the blood. Tony began to open his mouth to reassure the kid when Peter lifted his bloody thumb and wiped it across Tony’s forehead, muttering, “Simba…”

Steve guffawed and exited the room while Tony laughed, and then sighed. This shouldn't be funny, his kid was high against his will. He had literally just been kidnapped.

“Oh, Petey. This is the second time in three days that I’ve had to see you injured and delirious out of your mind.” Tony mumbled sadly. 

He paused, stroking Peter’s hair, before adding, “It’s adorable, but I don't like it.”

“Ha, that's funny.” Peter giggled. “Tha’s what my parents said about me before they left.”

“Pete–” Tony was interrupted by Peter’s loud fit of giggles.

The man rolled his eyes before saying, “That’s not a funny joke, kid.” He picked Peter back up bridal style before carrying him outside to get him checked by a paramedic before going home. 

Peter giggled again and whispered, “Then why ‘m I laughing?” He snorted again, as if he had said the most clever thing in the world and slumped on the platform of the ambulance. 

“Peter, really, we shouldn’t joke about that stuff. You may think it’s funny, but I know it’s abandonment issues and an unhealthy coping mechanism.” 

“Potato, tomato.” Peter slurred, watching his blood pressure be measured.

Tony did laugh at this, but did not stoop so low as to correct the poor kid. “Alright, I think you should just go to sleep or something.”

“I pick or something.” Peter said, sitting up. “Alright, wha’ did I win?” 

“Nothing. Go to sleep.”

“Tha’s not how game shows work, Mr Stark.”

“What, are we back to the ‘Mr Stark’ stage of our relationship if you don’t get a prize?” Tony asked, trying to hide the genuine confusion in his voice. Of course he would get the kid anything, but he wanted to know why. 

“No, ‘course not. I jus’ don’ want all the people watching the show to know our real relationship.” Peter said, tapping a finger to the side of his head. “Don’ wanna be named Obadiah again.”

“Peter, we aren’t on a game show.”

“Then why are those people recording?” Peter asked, confused, clumsily pointing behind Tony.

Tony swivelled his head around so fast that his neck popped, and found the sight of multiple different news reporters and cameramen watching silently across the street. 

“Steve, I need you and everyone else to come back and help me out, we got a couple reporters-- I think they’ve got footage of Peter.” He seethed towards where the super soldier was waiting, then turned back to Peter, who gazed innocently up at him.

The paramedic gave him the all clear to take Peter back to the compound, saying that his cut was the only injury and was already healing fine– he was simply higher than a kite and needed to detox.

“Are you mad at me?” Peter asked quietly, watching as Steve corralled the reporters.

Tony immediately shook his head, scooping the boy up and walking in the opposite direction of the reporters. “No, baby, of course not. Just a little upset at your kidnappers, and those reporters.”

Peter slapped a hand up to Tony’s cheek before whispering, “Why you mad? Why you sad? When you can be,” He lifted one side of Tony’s mouth in a makeshift smile, “Glad.” 

Tony coughed out a laugh, “Drugs make you psychotic, hm?” 

“Drugs!” Peter asked loudly. “You have a right to say no t’ drugs… don’ do it, Tony.” He looked around, checking his surroundings, before leaning in and whispering, “They’re bad for your lungs.” 

Tony shook his head, a reluctant smile creeping across his face. “Wow, you really are high. Never thought I'd see the day.”

Peter stared at him for a moment before turning away and whisper-singing, “I am highhhhh on bath salts, every night, every day…” 

“Okay, no more SNL for you.” 

“But I’m high on bathsalts.”

“That’s not a reason, Pete.”

“And here I thought you were a cool dad.”

Tony took Peter home and made sure that, when he finally fell asleep, he was left completely undisturbed. 

And if that meant he sat there awake all night…

So be it.

Chapter Text

“Morning, sleepy head.” Tony cooed, kneeling beside Peter’s bed.

Peter groaned and rolled over to look at him. “I have the worst headache that has ever graced the face of this planet.” 

“Other planets have worse headaches?”

“Dunno. Never been.” Peter squinted at Tony, holding his forehead tightly in one of his hands.

Tony chuckled and plucked his phone from the chair he had “slept in” the night before. “It’s already eleven, sweetheart. Do you wanna get up and get some lunch? Or breakfast? Or both? I know you didn’t get to eat your dinner last night.”

Peter shrugged, not moving from his bed. 

“Are you hungry?” Tony asked, poking Peter’s arm.

Peter nodded.

“Do you want me to bring you food here?” 

Peter shook his head.

“Well… do you wanna get up?”

Peter shook his head again.

“I don’t know what you want, bubba. You gotta use your words.” Tony said softly, resting his face in his arms on the bed.

The teen dramatically threw his arm over his eyes and muttered, “My legs hurt too bad.” 

“ Your legs hurt too bad… ” Tony repeated quietly.

Peter nodded.

It suddenly clicked in Tony’s head and he couldn’t stop himself from letting out a quiet coo.

His kid lifted his arm slightly to glare at him. 

“Oh, come on, kid. If you wanted to be carried, you could have just asked.” Tony teased. But also knew not to tease too much, and so quickly scooped Peter up before he could argue.

He didn’t, of course, once Tony had set a course for the kitchen, Peter curled tightly in his arms. 

“Guess we’re both lucky that you’re so light.” Tony said, smiling down at Peter. 

Peter didn’t notice, but answered, “Yeah. When that spider said ‘altering your DNA’, it meant it.”

The man laughed as he walked into the common room.

“How're you feeling?” Tony asked. Bruce had said that the kid’s metabolism would burn all the drugs out pretty quickly, but to let him know if there were any side effects. So here he was, to poke and prod his kid. 

“Headache. Legs.” Peter answered simply, wrapping his arms around his father’s neck and nuzzling his face there, too. 

“Are your legs cramping, like you laid in a weird position, or…?” 

“Cramped, I guess.” 

Tony nodded in approval. “Okay, good.” It still hadn’t left the forefront of his mind that if Peter hadn’t been a super-human, he would have easily been killed by the amount of drugs. Even if Tony gave them the money, Peter would have been dead. Had they done that purposefully? Or had they known he could survive it…? It was problematic either way, but Tony dragged his focus back to the living child in his arms.

“Aw, there’s the spider-baby!” 

Tony looked up to see Pepper hurrying towards them, an adoring smile playing at her lips. 

“Pep? I thought you had business–”

“Peter got kidnapped.” Pepper answered shortly, stopping in front of them. She moved a hand to cup Peter’s cheek. “How are you feeling, honey?” 

Peter shrugged, moving his arms to offer Pepper a hug. “Fine, I guess. Headache and my legs hurt.” 

Tony watched, filled with an unidentifiable emotion, as his fiancee hugged his son. 

Ah, that’s right. It’s called love.

Pepper put a hand on Peter’s shoulder as he wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck again, and used her other hand to cup Tony's cheek with a smile. “And how are you ?” 

Tony shook his head and sighed. “Tired. Gotta deal with this kid all the time.” 

Pepper laughed and dropped a quick kiss on his lips. Her smile grew when she looked between Tony and Peter. 

“What’s that smile for?” Tony asked, furrowing his eyebrows. 

Pepper patted his cheek and pulled away. “Just happy to see my two boys.” 

Peter grinned. “Happy to see you, too, Pepper.” 

“How long are you getting to stay?” Tony asked. 

“As long as I want.” Pepper said firmly. “Besides, it feels like every time I leave, Peter goes missing or something.” 

“Are you saying I’m incapable, Miss Potts?” Tony challenged. 

Pepper smirked. “No. Simply outnumbered.” 

“Outnumbered?”

“I think Peter counts as multiple children, considering how much trouble he gets into. And then you have all the avengers–”

“Hey, now!” Rhodey appeared in the room. “I’m a mature adult: I babysit Tony, not the other way around.”

Pepper turned to Tony, eyebrows raised. “Well, he’s not wrong.”

“Hey!”

“I think he’s outnumbered by trying to take care of Peter and himself. He counts as multiple children, too.”

Peter cackled and Tony rolled his eyes. “Ha, ha, laugh it up.”

“Laugh it up, fuzzball.” Peter quoted under his breath. 

“Oh, is that Peter?” Natasha asked as she entered the room. 

Peter waved lazily. 

“You had quite the adventure last night.” She said, looking him over.

“That was only last night?” Peter asked tiredy. “It feels like it was forever ago.”

“Yeah, it was just last night.” Happy said, entering from the kitchen with a mug held tightly in his hand.

Sam laughed from where he was lying on the couch, making everyone jump. He sat up and said, “Yeah you would know.” He turned to Peter and said, “This guy was speeding around the city looking for you like it was the end of the world.” 

“Well, maybe it would have been.” Happy defended. “I don’t wanna know what’ll happen if Peter dies.”

“If?” Peter asked. “I’m gonna die someday , Hap.”

“We don’t know that.” Happy shook his head, before looking over to Tony and jabbing a thumb towards the kitchen. “Fresh coffee’s in there.” 

“How have you been holding him so long? Don’t you have back problems?” 

Tony jumped and turned towards the couch. “I– Scott? When did you get here?” 

Scott shrugged. “Came to see my bug friends, only to find out one of them had been kidnapped last night?” He turned to Peter. “You lead a wild life, dude.”

“Bug friend?” Tony asked dumbly. “This is Peter.”

“Yeah. And Spiderman.” 

Tony stared. “Who told you…” 

Scott shrugged. “I mean, I met Peter like once right after the civil war thing and I recognized his voice. Didn’t realise it was a secret…” His eyes went wide. “Wait, do the other avengers not know?” 

“When did you meet him?” Tony asked. 

“Came to check if you were doing okay when you were sent back from Siberia.” Scott said, still looking worried. “I didn’t just spill his secret, did I?”

Sam punched his shoulder lightly. “We know about it. I can’t believe you figured it out before us, though.”

“I dunno, I still have a hunch that Natasha knew the whole time.” Scott said, passing the spy a smile. 

She returned it. “I assume Peter and I are your bug friends?”

“Yeah, but that sounds kinda lame.” Scott mused. 

“We can be the bug club.” Peter yawned.

“I like that.” Scott said. “Still sounds slightly lame, but it works.”

Steve and Bucky entered, followed quickly by Clint, who lit up on seeing Peter. “Hey! How are you feeling? Last night was wild.”

Peter repeated his answer again, “Headache and cramped legs. But I’m fine.” He was not very sleepy anymore. 

“I still can’t believe that you got kidnapped for only an hour. I’m glad we were that lucky.” Steve said gravely. “At least you have all of today to rest.”

“Wait… what day is it?”

Tony squinted at Peter, and shrugged. “I dunno. Do you have plans?”

“That depends on what day it is!” Peter squeaked, beginning to go pale. “FRI, what’s on the calendar for today?”

“One item on the calendar: Peter, Academic Decathlon tryouts, twelve o’clock.”

“SHIT!” Peter yelled, throwing himself out of Tony’s arms and sprinting to his room. He returned nearly as fast as he disappeared, already switching out his large t-shirt and flannel pajama bottoms for jeans and a collared shirt under a sweater. 

“Uh, Peter?” Tony asked, already in the kitchen and pulling together some food. “Your tryouts are today ?”

“Apparently!” Peter returned, wringing his hands and looking for something. “Where the hell is my backpack!?!”

“What do you need, Peter?” Steve asked quickly.

“Uhhhh, my backpack and this yellow folder that says aca dec on it.” 

Steve nodded, and the team dispersed, beginning the search.

“You’re already on the team, why do you have to try out again?” Tony asked, cracking eggs in a pan. 

Peter shook his head, grimacing. “MJ said she wanted to make sure she has the best people on the team and was gonna hold tryouts.” 

“Well that’s ridiculous, she knows you’re her best asset!” 

“Well maybe that isn’t true! She’s right to make sure!” 

“We aren’t gonna make it driving, we’ll take the suit.” Tony said, looking at his watch. 

“Peter, is there anything you need to have prepared?” Pepper asked, gently putting a hand on his shoulder. 

He shook his head. “I don’t know! I was a little busy being kidnapped and stuff–”

“FOUND THE FOLDER!”

Peter let out a loud sigh of relief as Clint barreled into the room holding a dark yellow folder. 

“Here.” He said, holding it out.

Peter took it with a grateful smile. “Thanks, Clint.” 

“Alright, breakfast, folder– where’s the backpack?” Tony asked, dumping scrambled eggs into a tupperware container. 

“Backpack!” Natasha slid into the room and slid it onto one of Peter’s shoulders. 

“Allright, let’s get going.” Tony clapped his hands and had FRIDAY call a suit over. 

“Does this count as taking advantage of superhero perks?” Peter asked as the suit encased Tony. 

“And why don’t you just use your nanotech suit?” Pepper added.

“The housing unit’s upstairs.” Tony said– Pepper took off running up the stairs– while he put the tupperware into Peter’s backpack with a fork. “Okay, uh, are you ready?”

“No!” Peter said. He looked over at a clock. “I think we’re gonna be late.” He grimaced.

“No, it’ll be fine. And if we are late, it’ll be–”

“Don’t say okay!” Peter clutched either side of his head. “I’ve been late to so many practices and everyone holds it against me because they don’t know that I’m kind of busy being a secret teenage vigilante!”

Tony nodded sympathetically. “It’s–”

“And I don’t even know where my phone is– like always – so I’m gonna be late without warning anyone– again .”

“Look–” 

“Here, Tony!” Pepper appeared at the bottom of the stairs and held out the housing unit. 

“Okay, let’s head out.” Tony said, activating the housing unit and making sure Peter was ready. The two waved at Pepper and took off. 

“I just realised I could have just swung over!” Peter yelled over the sound of the wind. 

Tony chuckled. “And show up all sweaty and tired?” 

“No. Swinging doesn’t make me tired.” 

Tony rolled his eyes from inside the suit. “Right, kid.” 

In a safe thirty minutes, Tony touched down in front of Peter’s school and ran inside with him. “Do you know where you’re meeting?” 

“Uh, library?” Peter said, sounding unsure of himself. 

They turned the corner, and Peter collided into someone–

“Peter! Dude! Why haven’t you been answering your phone? We’ve all been freaking out about it!” Ned began rambling immediately, helping Peter to his feet.

“What? Freaking out about what? I lost my phone, I haven’t been able to text you–”

“It’s all over the news! What the hell happened last night? It looked so bad, we’ve all been so worried!” 

“What’s all over the news, Ned?” Tony asked urgently.

“Oh– uh, Mr Stark, sir, there’s some footage of Peter sitting at the back of an ambulance and getting looked over by a paramedic– Peter, you looked so injured and delirious, or something–” He turned back to Tony and finished, “And then you carried him off while these other guys got arrested! It was crazy, there were so many ambulances and police cars– what happened?” 

“That’s on the news?” Tony asked, taking out his phone. ”And you could tell it’s Peter?” 

“Yeah! They had some really close up shots,” He turned to Peter and asked again, “Are you okay?” 

Peter nodded. “Just a bad headache and my legs are cramping pretty bad. I think my metabolism is taking its sweet time burning through the drugs.”

Ned opened his mouth, and then closed it. “That was… a joke, right?” 

“Oh, uh…”

“Dude!” Ned shouted, before slapping a hand over his mouth. He whispered, “What happened last night?”

“Kidnapped.” Peter grimaced as Tony called Pepper. 

“Gonna need her to deal with this.” Tony muttered. “Stupid ass reporters.”

“You were kidnapped?!” Ned whisper-yelled. “Holy shit!” He pulled Peter into a hug. “Are you sure you’re okay? Who did it? I couldn’t figure anything out from the news because they don’t have a clue what’s going on either, and I was trying to call you but you wouldn’t answer so I texted the AcaDec group chat and they were all freaking out, too, because you weren’t answering anyone–”

“ Everyone saw it? ” Peter hissed, panic in his eyes. He rounded on Tony. “What are we gonna tell them?” 

Tony shook his head. “I guess the truth. Or parts of it.”

“What parts?” Peter asked.

“Well, I assume they’re all going to be bombarding you with questions, so just tell them that the avengers took you out for shawarma since you haven't tried it before– do not include why I didn’t want you to go– actually, just say that I took you and the others tagged along.” 

“Why didn’t you want him to go?” Ned asked.

“Got shot a couple days before.” Peter murmured. 

“WHAT THE F–”

“Guys, concentrate!” Tony said. “One of the workers drugged your lemonade and you got kidnapped from the bathroom. You don’t remember anything that happened while you were there, right?” 

Peter shook his head. 

“Okay. So if they asked what happened, you don’t know. Cap found you, and I took you home– er, to the medbay– er, hospital?”

“I just realised that nobody knows I live with you.” Peter said, eyes wide. “They’re gonna think I’m your son even more if they find out I live with you!” 

“It’s fine, they don’t know now and they won’t find out.” Tony reassured. “Just say I took you to the medbay, it’s fine.” 

Peter nodded. “Okay, okay…”

“No offense, guys, but I think anyone with eyes would think you guys are father and son.” Ned said quietly. 

Tony and Peter turned to him, worried expressions on their faces. 

“What’s on the line if they figure out you live together?” Ned asked.

“Uh, Peter’s security, privacy, normal life?” Tony frowned.

Ned paled. “Uh, yeah, that’s a lot at stake… I’ll do anything I can to help, sir.” 

Tony nodded. “Thank you. And call me Tony, please?” 

Ned nodded. “Er, sorry, Mr Tony, sir.” 

Tony winced. “I guess that’s the best I’ll get, huh?” He turned to Peter and pulled him into a hug. “Hey, you’re gonna do great, kid. Don’t stress, don’t overthink it. You got this.” He pulled away and gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder. 

“Thanks, dad.” Peter mumbled. 

Ned facepalmed. “Anyone who had ears would think you’re father and son.”

Tony cringed. “Yeah…”

The three stood awkwardly for a moment, before Tony cleared his throat. 

“Alright, now get outta my sight. You’re…” He looked at his watch. “You’re late, go!” 

Peter and Ned turned and sprinted down the hallway.

“Dude! You called Tony ‘dad’?” Ned whispered.

“Yeah– it kinda happened after I performed that musical thing to discredit the idea that Tony has a kid?” 

“But now everyone thinks he does. There was literally an announcement at the beginning that you wrote, pretending– not even pretending, actually– to be Tony Stark's kid!”

“Yeah, but me pretending to be friends with his kid and playing him the show-- it's hiding in plain sight. They don't think it's me anymore, I don't think!” Peter explained. 

“Dude, your life is so cool. I’m so proud to be part of it.” Ned grinned, earning a laugh from Peter. “And by the way, I totally saw this 'dad' thing coming!” 

The two burst into the library and skidded to a stop in front of a table full of teens. 

“Guys, he came!” Ned announced, throwing an arm around Peter. 

Peter gave a hesitant smile. “Sorry I’m late… again, uh, technical difficulties back home.” 

There was a snort from the other side of the table. “What home, Parker?”

Peter turned to face Flash, eyebrows raised. “Sorry?”

“What home.” Flash repeated. “I know your aunt moved away. Where have you been living? The streets?” 

“Oh, shut up, Flash.” Cindy said, turning to Peter. “Are you okay? We saw the news last night, it looked really serious.”

“Uh, what?” Peter asked. Almost immediately, he remembered the very long conversation he had quite literally just had about the incident, but–

“You’re kidding, right?” MJ asked, looking him over. “What, did you hit your head, too?”

“Dude, I thought you were going to die.” Abe furrowed his eyebrows. “You were covered in blood! You looked like you were gonna drop any second! Now you just don’t remember it?” 

“Well… see, I know kind of what happened.” Peter said slowly. Flash scoffed.

“Well, what happened?” MJ asked. 

Peter pursed his lips. “Well… Mr Stark–”

“Oh my god, this again?” Flash asked. “Do you really think we–”

“There’s literally footage of them together, Flash, you cannot keep pretending Peter doesn’t know him. You did good in that musical, by the way.” Cindy berated Flash, but offered Peter a smile. 

“Uh, thanks. Yeah, uh, Mr Stark took me to a shawarma restaurant because he realised I hadn’t had it before, and, uh, one of the guys working in the kitchen put something in my drink that made me really sick and so I went to the bathroom to drown myself in the sink–”

“Not funny–”

“And they kidnapped me.” He finished simply. 

His friends (and Flash) sat, stunned. 

“Just like that?” Abe asked. “You just casually got kidnapped?”

“Yeah.”

“And then what?”

“Uh, I don’t really know. Apparently I was pretty drugged up, so I don’t remember anything before Steve found me.”

“Steve?”

“Uh… Captain America.”

“Are you okay?”

“I have a pretty bad headache and my legs are all weird, but it’s okay. D– Mr Stark took me to the medbay, so I’ve just been hanging out there.”

“Woah.” Abe said. “How long did they have you? What did they want?”

“They only had me for a couple hours, and apparently they were putting me up for ransom again.” Peter said, taking a seat. “So original.”

“You say that like it’s happened before.” Cindy said, watching him carefully. 

Peter froze and looked up at them slowly. “It, uh, definitely hasn’t.” 

Everyone stared at him, eyebrows raised. 

“You don’t believe that, do you?” Peter asked.

“Nope.” MJ said, pulling out a sketchbook.

“How many times has that happened?” Abe asked, wide eyed.

“Uh, I don’t know if I’m supposed to say.” Peter answered, wishing he had his phone. Then he could just text Tony and tell him to get him the hell out of here– but no, he still had tryouts…

“Yeah, right.”

“Shut up, Flash, I can kick you from the team, we do not need you.” MJ glared. 

“Speaking of the team, uh, when are we doing tryouts? And where is everyone else?” Peter asked, scanning the room. 

“Typical.” Flash mumbled. 

“What?” Peter asked. 

“Uh, Peter? We finished tryouts an hour ago.” Cindy frowned.

Peter slumped in his chair. “You’re kidding.”

Abe shook his head, confused.

Peter ran a hand through his hair. “I went into full on panic mode this morning because I didn’t know what day it was, and then it’s tryouts day but I’m in upstate New York and it starts in an hour, so everyone’s freaking out and I’m freaking out and then Scott was there, which was cool, but then Mr Stark is like ‘yeah, we aren’t gonna make it on time, let’s just fly there!’” Peter did a bad impression of Tony before finishing his rant with, “And then apparently people got footage of me high after I was kidnapped and so he’s calling Pepper and asking how bad it is and I just wanna try out for my freaking decathlon team!” He stopped himself. “Sorry, guys. Sorry. I really thought it started at twelve.”

“It does start at twelve, for you. That’s when I needed the members that are already on the team.” MJ said. “Everyone else who was trying out for the first time came at eleven.” 

“Already on the…” Peter trailed off, trying to understand. “You’re saying. I didn’t have to try out.” 

MJ nodded, slightly amused. 

Peter groaned and put his face in his arms. “So I made the team?” His muffled voice asked. 

“Yup.” MJ smirked. 

“Congrats, Peter!” Ned laughed, clapping him on the back.

Well. Peter would take it as a win.

But if Flash brought up Peter's living situation again, he might have to make Tony bring a stack of NDA's or something. 

Chapter Text

“How the hell is it already July?” Tony asked after FRIDAY affronted him by reading the schedule to Peter. 

After the whole decathlon incident, he had made a point to check the calendar every morning and every night. Tony wasn’t saying it was getting to be annoying, but…

“How– how?” Peter asked, shaking his head. “I have checked the calendar every day and night for the last four days and you never heard the date? It’s been July for four days now.” 

“It’s the fourth of July?” Tony hummed boredly. His head snapped up in realization. “Oh– it’s the fourth of July .” 

“Huh.” Peter said, disinterested. “Yay… freedom and stuff.” 

“What’s got you in a bad mood this morning?” 

“I dunno. Is it really Steve’s birthday today?” 

“Yeah, I think. I’m not sure if I really believe that, though, it’s just too… perfect. I feel like maybe the colonies waited to win until July 4th so they could win on his birthday.” 

“Steve… was not alive in 1776.” 

Tony shook his head and ruffled Peter’s hair as he passed. “I guess we’ll never know.” 

Peter put his chin in his hands and swung his legs from his seat on the bar stool. “Well then maybe that’s what has me in a bad mood.”

“Cap being born nearly 2000 years before his birth certificate said he was?” 

“No.” Peter said, staring down the glass of orange juice Tony had pushed in front of him. “His being born.” 

Tony barely held in a laugh. “Kid, this again? I thought we were starting to get over this after he saved you from your kidnappers.” 

Peter grunted, taking a sip of his drink. “Sure, he’s smart and all and he found the room, but whatever. He’s dumb.” 

“That was highly contradictory, kid.” 

“You know what I mean.” 

“Unfortunately, I do. But I wish you didn’t mean it.”

“Well, how do you expect me to just up and forgive the guy who tried to murder my dad?” Peter asked, his voice raising.

“Because I forgave the guy that succeeded in murdering my dad? And mom?” 

Peter clenched his fists, thinking. “These situations are very different. I’m not saying yours is less worthy to grieve, but maybe easier to forgive.” 

Tony rolled his eyes. “Come on, I feel like the fact that Bucky was mind controlled and the fact that Cap was conflicted and didn’t actually kill me cancel each other out and makes them even.”

“No, it absolutely does not!” Peter sighed, exasperated. “Why are you making so light of this situation?”

“I’m not trying to,” Tony says, changing his expression to one more serious. Maybe Peter would actually listen to him when he realised Tony had indeed considered his concerns? “I just… come on, kid. Work with me here. You said you would try to see the good in him.”

“And I’ve been looking! I really have been trying, it’s just not as easy when every time you look him in the eyes, you remember that they're the same ones that stared down your father as he died! The intention matters just as much, if not more than the crime!” 

“And I’m sure Thomas More would agree– well, maybe not him, but the Utopians, I guess–”

“Thomas More?”

“Uh– Medieval author. Doesn’t matter right now,” Tony waved him off and went back to their original topic. “Look, Peter. I understand what you’re saying, believe me, I do. I know it’s hard to move on. But it’s good, better, in fact, for you, me, and the rest of the team. Can’t you just… try to have a real conversation with him or something?” 

“Why are you so insistent on me forgiving him? And since when did you start believing in talking it out?” 

“Since a long time ago. I guess it’s just been more noticeable recently.” Tony shrugs. “You give me a lot more reasons to talk.” 

Peter raised his eyebrows, slightly confused. “Fine. One conversation.”

“Ah, ah, ah.” Tony said, holding up a finger and waggling it. “No, I think we can do better than that.” 

Peter glared. “But you just said–”

“And I just changed my mind!” Tony said, pulling trays and pans from a cabinet. “It’s Cap's, like, one thousandth birthday, and I want you to just be generally nice to him today. And have at least one conversation with him.” 

Peter dragged his hands down his face. Of course Tony would see through his loophole. Originally, he hadn’t clarified that that one conversation did not have to be a nice one, but now… 

“Now, help me with these eggs, would you?” Tony asked, opening the fridge. 

Peter sighed and dropped off of the stool. “Well, I guess you don’t get to celebrate a dinosaur’s birthday every day.”

Tony chuckled and patted his back. “That’s the spirit!” 

*****

“How much have things really changed since way back when?” Clint asked Steve while helping Tony and Peter put plates of food on the table. 

“A lot.” Steve said, placing silverware at each spot. “I guess the first thing I noticed is obviously the buildings and roads and cars and clothes and stuff… but then, the close second is money.” Steve laughed, shaking his head. “You should have been there when I saw my first price tag after I came back. I think it was for… a pair of shoes or something. Mine were soaked from the ice, you know. Went to buy a pair, and… well, you can probably guess how it went.”

“Captain America, passed out in a Designer Shoe Warehouse when a pair of shoes wasn’t two dollars.” Clint chuckled. 

“Hey, no! Things weren’t that cheap then.” Steve defended. 

“Really? I thought shoes were like, nine to ten dollars?” Peter asked, setting the pan of bacon at the center of the table. Tony nodded at the attempt at friendly conversation. 

“They were!” Steve said, impressed. 

“That’s only eight more dollars…” Peter trailed off with a smile.

“Yeah, but then eight dollars was worth a lot more.” Steve shrugged. 

Peter nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. A dollar’s value has increased like 3.13% every year since 1945, so one dollar was like… fifteen then?” 

Steve nodded. “Yeah, you got it. Different times. Can’t say they were weirder, though.” He mused, “Never had to deal with aliens, then.” 

“Or magic?” Wanda asked, walking in with Vision. 

“Not that I know of.” Steve shrugged. 

Vision cracked a smile. “The good old days.” 

The group laughed.

“You know, I can’t imagine having to go through that kind of adjustment process.” Wanda said, migrating to her usual chair. “I know it was weird getting used to America, but I didn’t have to deal with being 65 years behind the times.” 

Steve nodded. “Yeah, it was… interesting, to say the least. Sometimes I miss it, but then again… well, we have better healthcare now.” 

“Debatable–”

“No, it’s literally not–”

Soon after, the rest of the avengers (and Pepper) joined them at the table for a late breakfast. 

Though Peter had had breakfast with the same group many times, it was never less funny to watch them banter and fight. Half of them were always still partly asleep, the other half were always delirious and hyper, and one other always seemed to be awake and well-rested…

Which Peter didn’t understand, because he knew Natasha never slept as well or as much as she said she did. 

But he guessed she wasn’t the only one. Vision didn’t have to sleep at all. 

Which made sense, but Peter had stopped questioning their sleeping habits (even though he knew they had to be unhealthy. After all, who was he to judge?)

The group spent the rest of the afternoon lazily hanging around the tower. Peter had caught snippets of conversation that seemed to suggest that there were surprise plans later in the day for Steve, but he had a feeling that the super soldier sitting across from him, sketching something on a piece of yellow parchment, was simply humoring them in pretending not to hear. 

Peter stood up from his seat on the couch and walked carefully over to Steve. “I dunno if I thanked you for saving me from that kidnapper guy.” 

Steve looked up in surprise. “Oh… yeah, you did. And don’t worry about it, it’s what anyone would do.”

“Sorry, don't really remember that night.” Peter said sheepishly, before adding, “And it’s definitely not what anyone would do. So I appreciate it. Thank you.”

Steve stared at him for a second… before nodding. “Of course.” 

Peter offered a small smile before sitting down next to him. “Whatcha drawing?”

Steve turned the notepad towards him and Peter was met with a nearly exact replica of the garden out the window. 

“Woah,” Peter breathed. “That’s… pretty impressive.” 

Steve chuckled. “Lots of practice. Do you draw? Or I guess do any kind of art? Play an instrument, or…” 

Peter shook his head. “I used to like drawing a lot with my Uncle Ben, but… I guess I just haven’t really enjoyed it since… well, since he died.” He continued before Steve could apologize and said, “I used to have a ukulele that I could play really well, but I sold it to help May with the rent.” 

“Damn.” Steve sighed.

Peter looked at him, eyebrows raised. 

Steve shook his head with a smile. “I reprimanded them for language one time , and it wasn’t on purpose.”

Peter giggled and looked down at the drawing again. “It’s just a big joke at this point that you can’t stand curse words.” 

“I know!” Steve sighed, shaking his head again. “It’s gotten pretty ridiculous.” 

Peter sighed inwardly. It was really easy to like him, but as soon as he looked him in the eyes, he knew the illusion would be gone. It was just an illusion, right? His kindness, playfulness… but his talent wasn’t fake, Peter had to admit that. He was a good artist. Tony had tried to tell him before how good the man was at drawing, but Peter had pretty much ignored those stories. What did they matter?

But if they were true… 

Well, who knew what else Tony was right about?

“Have you ever celebrated the fourth of July?” Steve asked suddenly. He seemed to recognise the immediate confusion on his face and explained, “I know it’s a lot harder to celebrate here. What with fireworks being illegal and all… even though that’s really the only fun part of the fourth.” Steve sighed. 

Peter chuckled. “Yeah, but we’d– er, Ben and May and I would always climb up to the roof together and watch the city firework show. I think we’d get takeout sometimes?” 

Steve nodded. “Have you ever set off a firework?” 

Peter shook his head.

Steve grinned. “Well, Tony paid for a bunch of us to get firework permits, and since we’re so far away from the city, I think we have some for tonight. You should try it, it’s pretty fun.” 

Peter smiled back. “Cool. Have you been able to hear their whole conversation, too?” 

Steve bit the inside of his cheek to repress a smirk. “Do they forget with you, too?” 

“All the time.” Peter shook his head, laughing. “You’d think they’d learn after a while.” 

“You’d think.” Steve agreed. “But I guess it’s for the best. I’ve found that most of the surprises I’ve experienced I have not enjoyed.” 

Peter tilted his head to the side. “Yeah, that checks out.” 

*****

“Ready?”

…

“Set?”

“JUST START THE FUCKING GAME, STEVE–”

“Hike!”

Steve threw the football across the yard, almost immediately getting tackled over by Bucky. 

Peter caught the football and took off running. Of course, because he was faster than anyone playing, he easily passed their designated touch-down point and cheered. 

Steve helped pull Bucky to his feet, yelling good job’s at Peter. 

“I feel like Steve’s team may have an advantage.” Clint sighed, patting Bucky’s back. “Good tackle, though.”

“I feel like it shouldn't, considering we got rid of all the rules in the game except the touchdown and point ones.” Bucky chuckled.

Peter laughed, suddenly at their sides again. “I don’t think I can switch teams again. You already kicked me off yours.” 

Clint hit the back of his head. 

“Hey! Did I just see you hit my kid?” 

The three turned to where Pepper and Tony were standing next to Wanda and Bruce, and were only slightly surprised to see it was Pepper who had yelled. Tony was laughing his ass off, and Pepper had a slightly red face. 

It was highly possible that was an accident.

“Looks like the Starks are really warming up to you, eh?” Clint positively cackled, ruffling Peter’s hair.

Peter blushed and ducked his head. “And looks like you’re losing a game of football to a fifteen year old.” 

“Ah, low blow!” Bucky called as he ran away. 

“Well, I’d much rather Pepper accidentally accept him as her kid than hate him.” Steve shrugged, turning to smile and wave at the woman. She rolled her eyes and gave a wave back.

The three men turned and walked back to where Peter was standing with the football at the center of their “field”, waiting. 

“I’m guessing you don’t get to do this often?” Bucky called as they got closer.

Peter shook his head. “People think I’m a weak nerd at school, gotta keep it that way so they don’t get suspicious.”

Clint shook his head as they came to a stop in front of them. “You should just show up at a football practice and show everyone up.” 

Peter shook his head with a small smile. “I actually value my secret identity, thank you.” 

Bucky opened his arms and Peter passed the ball to him. “So this is the first time in how long since you've gotten to play as hard as you can?”

“Ever.” Then added with a wicked grin, “And no offence, but I think Steve and I may be going a little easy on you.”

“You little–”

“Hey, heard your team was failing miserably and needed a hand!” 

The four turned and found Natasha walking towards them.

“Shit.” Peter whispered.

Bucky and Clint cheered and ran over to her. 

“Well, at least now we have a real challenge, right?” Steve smiled.

Peter shrugged. “Guess so. This’ll be kinda fun, gotta admit.” 

“Wait, you took out all the rules?” Natasha yelled at Steve and Peter.

“That was them!” The two pointed at Clint and Bucky.

“No rules…” Natasha smirked at them. “Great.” 

Not long after Peter was absolutely pummeled by Natasha (who was still apologizing profusely and checking the bruise already forming on his jaw), Tony called the game to a standstill for dinner.

“Definitely not because Natasha tried to kill your kid.” Clint patted Tony’s back. 

Tony rolled his eyes. 

Apparently Pepper and Tony and Rhodey were a very good team, even when it came to cooking. They had all convened in the kitchen quickly after Natasha joined the game and concocted a delicious meal of… 

Well, all the American classics, apparently. 

“I… don’t think hot dogs are a classic food.” Bruce said, shaking his head.

Tony laughed, “Ah, but it’s a classic American delicacy. And who’s more American than Captain America?”

Steve thought it was hilarious, and absolutely loved the whole ‘stereotypical foods’ thing. 

“Okay, I have to know. Were you actually born on the fourth of July, or is that just a myth?” Rhodey asked. 

Steve shook his head, an amused bewilderment gracing his features. “I– yeah, I was. And I don’t get it either.” 

“Steve Rogers was predestined.” Rhodey laughed, leaning in his chair. 

And yeah, Peter could admit that it was a nice change to be comfortable around Steve and to laugh and enjoy his company… 

Peter met Tony’s eyes and the man shook his head with a smile, seeming to read his mind. He gave the kid a pointed look (as if to say ‘I told you so’) before turning his attention back to the conversation. 

“Okay, can we go light those fireworks or what?” Scott asked, grinning down the table. 

The group agreed on noticing that it was already dark outside. They all trekked loudly to the backyard, all discussing animatedly on how their favorite fireworks and who should help light them. 

Most of the adults had taken seats on the porch, but Steve, Clint, Scott, Sam, And Natasha ushered Peter over as they picked up armfuls of fireworks. 

“”Hey, is it true you never lit a firework?” Sam asked as they began the walk to a safe distance away. 

Peter shook his head. 

Sam laughed, “Ah, you poor city kids.” 

Steve handed him a pair of ear plugs as they set down their cargo, muttering , “You might want these, kid.”

Peter took them unhesitatingly. “Oh, thanks. Never heard one up close.” 

“Yeah, and with sensitive hearing, it’s much better that it stays that way.” He smiled and stuffed his own earplugs into his ears. “Or, if you use some of these.” 

Peter put in the earplugs, feeling the sudden wave of peaceful quiet wash over them. He could still hear everyone’s muffled conversation pretty well, but it would still (hopefully) be enough protection. 

“I say we let the kid have the honors!” Steve said, setting down a firework and holding out the lighter. Peter accepted it gratefully and kneeled next to the small cylinder. 

“You know the drill, right? Just light it and back off. Don’t put your face over it.” Scott warned, eyeing the firework carefully. 

Peter nodded and held the lighter up carefully and placed the flame against the tip of the fuse. It took a moment, longer than Peter expected at least, but it caught and sparked, the fuse running much faster than Peter would have guessed (maybe he was just bad at estimating).

He scrambled back with the rest of the group and looked up at the sky just in time to see the ball of fire shoot up into the sky and explode into what Peter could only imagine were a thousand different colors. He watched in awe as it sparkled and fizzed out, dissipating into the black of the sky. From upstate, far away from the city, it was only more beautiful to see them fade into the stars. Which, much to his delight, he was able to see every night. 

Peter soon found himself back at the porch and standing directly in between Tony and Steve. His father had thrown a happy arm around his shoulder, and Steve simply stood there, smiling up at the fireworks. After one particularly large explosion, Steve glanced down at him and gave a wide smile. 

Peter had long since learned that the best birthdays tended to be… well, not his own. 

But he never would have suspected it would be Captain America’s. 

Steve Rogers, He inwardly corrected. 

Just Steve, maybe.  

Peter couldn’t help but grin back as their faces were illuminated by the bright, colorful sparkles exploding in the black sky above them.. 

Maybe Steve wasn’t all that bad after all.

Chapter Text

“Come on, dad…” 

“No! Peter, I said no, and I mean no .” 

“What a dad.” Natasha smirked, not looking up from her phone. 

“Dunno if this’ll ever get old.” Clint agrees, sprawled across the couch. 

Natasha scoffed, “Miss your kids?”

Clint frowned. “Yeah.” 

“How long have you two been sitting there?” Tony asked, turning to face them. 

He had been arguing with Peter on and off for the last ten minutes, and he had honestly thought they had complete privacy. He should have remembered that no, he and Peter were not the only people that lived in the compound anymore. So of course someone would be eavesdropping.

“Long enough to get bored.” Clint said, throwing his arms over the back of the couch and pulling himself up. “Why don’t you argue about something else?” 

“Yeah, give us some variety.” Natasha added, sitting up next to Clint. 

“Can’t you guys just give us a minute? Go throw knives or crawl through vents, or whatever you do.” Tony said dismissively. He turned back to Peter, who was already opening his mouth, a new point on the tip of his tongue. “No, Peter.”

“Dude–”

“Did you just call your father ‘dude’?” 

“Man, I love kids.”

“Natasha, Clint, stay out of it!” Tony sighed in exasperation.

Clint raised his hands in surrender. “Why is this a big deal again?”

“It’s not.” Tony rubbed his hands down his face and leaned against the kitchen counter. 

“Then why are we still arguing?” Natasha asked. 

“ We are not arguing. You and Clint are eavesdropping. Peter and I are arguing.” 

“Ah, right.” Clint clicked his tongue before turning to Natasha and whispering, “Tony as a parent. Both interesting and enjoyable.” 

“Our lives are not some documentary for you to observe.” Tony rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah, we’re kinda in the middle of something?” Peter grimaced.

“What! Can you even blame me for being intrigued? I never thought I would get to see Tony’s soft, sweet side and now he’s a dad! A pretty good one, too…”

“Says you, og secret family man.” Peter quipped, before turning back to Tony and continuing, “But seriously, why not? I just wanna go see Ned and MJ for like, a couple hours. What’s wrong with that?” 

“I dunno, I feel like Tony’s got a point.” Scott slid into the kitchen on his socks. 

Peter’s shoulders sagged. “You’re taking his side?” 

“Well, yeah. Every time you step outside, something breaks. And it’s almost never not you.” Scott said, opening the fridge and peering inside. 

Peter sighed and flopped onto a bar stool. “Oh, come on! I just wanna see my friends!”

“Peter, we’re not against you seeing friends, we just need you to lay low for a while. The only reason you got to go to your decathlon tryouts is because I could fly you there without the press noticing. They’re still raving about ‘Stark’s kidnapped intern’ or whatever. I just want to avoid them spying on you– it’ll all go away, but for now.... Can’t we just stay at the compound for a little longer, Pete?” Tony folded his arms and leaned against the counter. 

Peter put his chin in his hands. “Fine.”

“Wow. You should have said that at the beginning of the argument,” Clint said, before jumping out of reach of Tony’s hand, which had aimed for the back of his head. 

“I think Scott’s input really helped.” Natasha said, bumping Peter’s shoulder. “And you know, he’s not wrong.”

“Yeah, thanks for the endorsement.” Tony said. 

Scott nodded and enthusiastically clapped his hands on one of Tony and Clint’s shoulders. “Dad squad!” 

Tony slipped out of his grasp with a weak smile. “Uh… I’m gonna need some time to consider that group name.”

“Ah yes, he’s a one man show.” Natasha laughed, before pretending to think hard. “Well then what’s his dad title?”

“President Father.” Clint said immediately. 

Natasha pretended to be deep in thought. “No, but he’s a business owner– so Mr Dad.”

“Well, I feel like the superhero part is more prominent, though. Superdad?” Scott mused.

“Feels a little generic.” Clint frowned. 

Tony shook his head and rubbed Peter’s back. “Look, I actually do have stuff to do today. Like real meetings in the city that I actually have to go to. Maybe you’ve never heard of those before? So if you don’t mind–”

“Wait!” Natasha grinned. “Dadman.”

“We’re on the edge of greatness… but maybe we should keep workshopping. Something more simple, that just slides off your tongue…” 

“Okay, I’m leaving.” Tony finally said. He turned to Peter and muttered quietly, “Lunch later?” 

Peter nodded and waved as his father left.

“Iron parent?” 

“Maybe we should just stop trying. I don’t know if we’ll ever find the perfect title.” Scott sighed. “I mean, what other alterations of ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Dad’ could we do?”

“I already forgot what we’ve said, so I guess it doesn't matter anyway.” Clint chuckled. 

Scott pulled himself onto the counter and kicked his feet back and forth. “And besides, isn’t just plain ‘dad’ a good enough title?” 

Natasha and Clint grinned at him. 

“You’ve always been the better parent, Scott.” Clint dramatically feigned wiping tears from his eyes. 

Scott made a face. “I dunno. It started off pretty badly. You know, jail and stuff.” 

Peter stared at him for a second before blinking and sitting up straighter. “I completely forgot you’ve been to jail. You’re so nice.”

“Yeah. And poor.” Scott grinned. 

Peter shook his head with a small smile and rested his cheek on his fist. “FRI, what’s on the calendar for today?”

“Just meetings for Tony.” She responded. 

“Okay.” Peter slid off his stool, trying to think of something to do. 

“Maybe you could facetime them, or something.” Clint suggested, bringing back up the subject of his friends. 

“Yeah. I guess.” Peter slumped onto the couch. 

“Well, if you get too bored, just come over to the gym. We can do some drills or something.” Natasha said, patting his shoulder and leaving the room. 

Scott offered a sympathetic smile before following Clint down the hall. 

Maybe he could just do something in the lab. It was highly likely he could find something down there to occupy him until Tony returned for lunch. There was always something he could work on down there, even if he just took something apart and put it back together. 

Yeah, that sounded good. 

Peter headed down to the lab on his own, hoping there wasn't some protocol Tony had put in place to keep him from going in alone. It’s not like he had ever done it before, but Tony just seemed to add more and more protocols the longer they lived together. 

He wondered why that was… 

It’s not like he was clueless… he just felt arrogant thinking or saying that someone cared for him. Presumptuous might have been the better word. 

Why should I think he cares until it’s said out right?  

But it had been said out right, so why worry? 

Maybe Tony was lying.  

Tony wouldn’t lie, though. 

Maybe I misread it, then. 

Kind of a big thing to misread… 

Peter quickly shrugged the thought off, trying not to fall too deeply into his mind. The places his mind would go when he was alone… maybe he would never really be too old for Peter’s Ball Pit of Intrusive Thoughts.

The doors to the lab opened, and he was practically jump scared by the sight of someone else in the room. 

Their back was turned, bending over something on the table… Peter didn’t recognize them at all. 

“Uh– hi?” He asked. If the person was bad, his spider-sense would have gone off… right?

The person turned around. It was a teenage girl? 

She smiled warmly at Peter. “Ah, you must be Peter Parker-Stark. I’ve been so excited to meet you! Tony has told me quite a lot, you know.” She began in his direction, hand already stretched out for a handshake. 

Peter raised his eyebrows, and finally offered a polite smile. “I– uh, cool! How… how do you know dad? Er-- Tony?” He accepted her hand and shook it. 

“I helped Tony build a new spinal column for Rhodes after his fall.” She said with a smile.

“I– oh my god!” Peter’s eyes went wide. “You’re Shuri! Dude, Tony told me a lot about you, you have to be like, insanely genius!” 

“I hear you’re pretty sharp, too!” She grinned. “I’ve wanted to meet you ever since I realised… well, of course, I noticed you must be Spiderman first, but once I learned you were Tony’s son, too, I knew I had to meet you!” She laughed at the way his jaw dropped when she mentioned Spiderman.

“I– I’m not–” He met her eyes and sagged. “Who told?” 

“Nobody. I kind of just figured it out.” She shrugged. 

“Makes sense, honestly.” Peter breathed out, still slightly in shock. “Did you hack your way into the lab?”

She smiled. “No. I just asked nicely.”

Peter laughed at that. 

“So you just live with the rest of the Avengers here?” She asked.

Peter nodded, and Shuri shook her head. “It’s weird being a kid and still only ever hanging out with adults, don’t you think?” 

Peter nodded in agreement, “I mean, come on! You’d think there would be more people our age around.” 

Shuri shook her head with a laugh. “I guess it’s our punishment for growing up too fast. Adults realize and put you to work sooner.” 

The two giggled quietly. 

“Wait, so what’s the coolest thing you’ve ever built? Feel free to give me a list.” Peter said eagerly. 

Shuri shook her head with a smile. “I guess I’m very proud of the suit I made for my brother.” 

Peter couldn’t help but fangirl slightly. “Oh, his suit is so cool . I saw it during the battle at that airport!”

“Speaking of the battle at the airport,” She grinned mischievously. “How did you take down Captain America?”

Peter smirked back. “I shot him in ze legs because his shield is ze size of a dinner plate– and he is an eediot.” 

The two dissolved into cackles… 

And maybe it wasn’t so bad Peter had to stay home that day. 

*****

“Peter? I’m back!” Tony’s call echoed through the quiet kitchen. 

“Shuri should be somewhere around here.” T’Challa sighed. “I didn’t even realise he was coming here today. I thought she was at the hotel, but… well, I guess she did want to meet Peter.” 

Tony chuckled. “I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing if they meet. On one hand, they become good friends, and they can actually keep up with each other because they’re both so intelligent. On the other hand…” 

“Mass destruction and total insanity. Prank overload.” T’Challa finished with a laugh. 

“Exactly. I guess we’ll just have to see.” 

And they honestly did expect them to find each other (whether on purpose or on accident) and for them to get along.

What they didn’t expect was to walk into the lab, and straight into three inches of molten lava. 

“Holy–” Tony and T’Challa backpedalled and examined the glowing substance. “Uh, FRI? What’s this?” 

“It’s not real and cannot harm you in any way. It is simply a projection.” The AI answered promptly. 

A loud burst of laughter came from the other side of the room.

“Hey, that’s cheating!”

“You have spider powers, how is this cheating?”

“Touche, touche.” 

T’Challa and Tony peered into the room and saw Shuri and Peter standing on top of a table in the middle of the ‘lava’. 

“We should move this projection to the living room while everyone’s in there!” Peter said. “Watch all of them scramble to the high ground.” His face lit up suddenly and Shuri seemed to read his thoughts. 

“Take that table, I’ll move to this higher one!” She grinned.

Peter jumped to a lower table and went into a hunched stance. “I should have known the Jedi were plotting to take over . . .”

“From the Sith!!! Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil.” Shuri responded. 

Peter scoffed. “From the Jedi point of view! From my point of view, the Jedi are evil.”

“Well, then you are lost!” Shuri cried. 

“This is the end for you, master. I wish there were another way.” 

Tony and T’Challa exchanged an amused and exasperated expression. Of course this would be happening. 

“It’s over, Anakin! I have the high ground!”

“You underestimate my power!” 

“Don’t try it!”

And of course they knew all the lines. After a dramatic flip, Shuri pretended to stab at him, and Peter disappeared into the lava projection.

Tony couldn’t help the shiver that ran down his spine. 

But then Peter popped up with a grin. “That was awesome.”

“Yeah! And we should totally move this into the common room.” A smile tugged at Shuri’s lips.

“We’re doomed, aren’t we?” T’Challa whispered. 

Tony couldn’t help but laugh.

Chapter Text

“You have to be kidding me.”

“Peter, I told you this was happening, you knew it was coming up!”

“Can’t we just leave it for a few more days? Shuri isn’t gonna be here all the time, we need to make the most of it!” Peter stared up at his father with his classic puppy dog eyes. 

Tony flinched. “No! And stop looking at me like that, I might pass out.”

Peter sighed and suspended his attack. “I could get my wisdom teeth out like, any other day. Why on one of the few days Shuri’s around?”

“First of all, we scheduled this long before I knew Shuri would be here, and second of all, I honestly think she will really enjoy this.” 

“Dad…” Peter drew the word out, watching knowingly as Tony turned his back to hide his ill-suppressed smile. 

“Look, I’ll be there the whole time– well, until you fall asleep, there’s no way I’m sitting in on that surgery–”

“Not encouraging me,” Peter said in a sing-songy voice. 

“Okay, uh, well it isn’t even going to last long, especially with your super healing.” Tony amended.

Peter shook his head. “Yeah, I just can’t believe you aren’t even gonna be there after.” 

Tony winced. “It’s not like I wanna go to that meeting–”

“But the avengers and probably the fate of the world is on the line, yeah, I know.” Peter finished. “At least I don’t have to go, I guess.” 

Tony frowned, but nodded. “Ross tried his darndest to get Spiderman to show up, but luckily you are not an official avenger.” 

“It’s nice to know I’m wanted, though.” Peter joked, before going back to his original topic. “Who all is staying?” 

“Shuri’s staying with you and I think maybe Scott is coming back here early. He doesn’t have to stick around to meet the press and all that jazz.” Tony waved his hand.

“So you’re leaving your drugged child in the hands of another child.” Peter deadpanned. 

Tony stood for a minute, thinking… and then nodded confidently. “Yeah, I guess I am.” 

“Shuri’s gonna meet the worst of me before she even really knows me at all.” Peter said, furrowing his eyebrows. 

Tony put his hands reassuringly on Peter’s shoulders. “Look, if it makes her dislike you more, then it’s probably a clone or Loki pretending to be her. Don’t worry about it.” 

“‘If your friend stops liking you, don’t worry. It’s probably just someone who might kill you’.” Peter mocked. “Thanks for the advice.” 

“Alright, I admit that wasn’t my best pep talk. But she’s seen people on drugs and understands that they don’t act like that all the time.” Tony brushed some hair off Peter’s forehead and smiled softly at him. “And besides, I’ll be back later tonight. Then it’s just you and me.”

“And maybe Pepper.” Peter smiled back. “You better bring back some ice cream.”

“Will do, bambino.” Tony chuckled. 

Three hours later, Peter woke up with a headache and a fuzzy feeling in his mouth. 

“Wha’s goin’ on?” He mumbled into the buzzing silence.

A cheerful voice responded, “You just got your wisdom teeth removed. You’ve been asleep for nearly an hour.”

“I slept for an hour? Wow!” Peter exclaimed. “Give me a golden star and call me a functioning human!” 

“I’ll find you a golden star sticker, you definitely deserve it.”

Peter turned to face the voice and smiled. “Shuri! What’re you doin’ here?” 

“I’m babysitting you.” She grinned.

Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “But ‘m not a baby.”

“No, I guess not.” Shuri shrugged. “But I’m taking care of you until Tony gets back.”

“Ohhhhhhhh,” Peter drawled. “Makes sense. Why’re we in the medbay?”

“You got your wisdom teeth removed.” Shuri repeated.

Peter frowned. “Oh. Where’d they go?”

“Uh, I think the doctors took them. I don’t know where.” 

“Joke’s on them,” Peter snorted. “I barely got common sense, let alone wisdom.” 

Shuri laughed. “Well then I wonder what they wanted with them.” 

“I guess we’ll never know.” He shrugged.

A dull thud rang through the room and the two teenagers turned their heads towards the door. 

Scott poked his head into the room. “Oh! You’re awake. Hey, Peter!”

“Hey, Scott.” Peter answered clumsily. “What’re you doin’ here?” 

“I got to leave the meeting thing early. I don’t think it would be a great idea for me to talk to the media…” Scott trailed off, deep in thought. He shook his head and continued, “Anyway, it’s probably best that you guys have some kind of supervision.” 

“I dunno, I feel like you help us pull off our crazy shenanigans rather than stop them.” Shuri prodded playfully. 

Scott shrugged.

“We should probably move him somewhere more comfortable, right?” She turned from Scott to look at her friend. He stared up at the ceiling, mindlessly pulling at the gauze in his mouth. 

“Yeah…” Scott agreed. “Hey, keep those in your mouth!”

Though it took some time, Scott and Shuri moved Peter upstairs to the avenger’s common room. After multiple (failed) attempts to help Peter walk down the hall, they settled on pushing him in a wheelchair– that way, when he got distracted he wouldn’t run towards what he was looking at, but could only point at it. Finally, they settled Peter on a couch in front of the tv. 

“I’m hun’ga’ry.” Peter stated. 

“Well we can’t eat anything for a while.” Scott answered softly. 

“Why can’t you eat anything?” Peter asked. 

Scott paused. “Well… I guess I can, but–”

“Okay, so we can eat.” Peter gasped and yelled, “WE SHOUL’ GET BASKIN ROBBINS.”

“No, Peter, we can’t.” Shuri giggled at his outburst. 

“Why?” He asked innocently.

“Because you just had surgery.” She answered calmly, barely holding in a laugh at his bewildered face.

“Yeah, on my arm. Why wouldn’t I be able to eat?” 

Shuri hunched over laughing as Scott raised his eyebrows. “No, Peter, you had surgery on your mouth.”

“But why can’t I eat?”

“Because you had surgery.”

“...But why can’t I eat?”

Scott sighed and tried, “...We’re out of money?”

“Oh no!” Peter gasped. He paused before adding, “…Well that’s okay, we can just steal some.”

“Yeah!” Shuri cackled. “Easy–”

“No!” Scott clutched either side of his head.

“Why not?” Peter asked. 

Scott pleaded, “Because they’ll send you to jail or something.”

“They’ll never find out.” Peter answered quickly. 

“Baskin Robbins always finds out.” Scott waved his hands to emphasize his point.

“Why would Baskin Robbins find out?” Peter asked, dumbfounded.

Shuri cackled. 

“Because you stole from them!” Scott shrieked. 

“What?” Peter furrowed his eyebrows. “Why would I steal from them?” 

“I– what is happening anymore.” Scott deadpanned. 

“I was saying we should steal from the ice cream stash in the kitchen.” Peter answered. 

Shuri fell onto the couch wheezing. 

The elevator doors pinged open and Bucky and Steve walked into the room. The two seemed to be in the middle of a serious discussion when they were pulled away by the noise from the common room. 

“What’s going on?” Steve asked, barely holding back a smile. 

Scott shook his head. “I don’t know anymore.”

“I’m gonna go get the painkillers from the kitchen.” Bucky murmured, then turned around and left the room.

“Painkillers? What’s going on?” Scott’s bewildered expression shifted to concern.

Steve shook his head and reassured the man quickly, “No, nothing’s wrong. We’ve both just gotten pretty bad headaches and since no other medication will touch it, we had to come back here to get it. We’re about to head back.” 

Bucky strided back into the room and handed Steve two pills and a glass of water. The two took their pills (in sync enough for Peter to start giggling) and followed Scott back to the kitchen when he decided that it was probably a good time for Peter to take his pain meds, too.

“No! Wait!” Bucky slapped the bottle of pills out of Scott’s hand as he picked them up.

The pills clattered to the floor and Scott jumped. “Dude! What the heck?”

“Those aren’t his pain meds, those are ours! I don’t know if ours is stronger than he needs…” Bucky explained.

Scott stared at the super soldier for a minute. “Um… first of all, you could have just said that. Without slapping the bottle out of my hand. Second of all, Peter’s dosage is wayyyyy higher than yours.” He leaned down to pick up the bottle, examining the label carefully. “And third of all… these are definitely not yours.” He paused, accidentally letting a laugh escape his mouth. “They’re Peter’s.” 

Steve and Bucky stared at Scott for a moment, letting the newfound information sink in.

“How many did you take?” Scott asked, wide eyed. 

While Bucky pursed his lips and wondered aloud, “I wonder what’s about to happen to us,” Steve simply rubbed his face with a hand and sighed. 

“Well I don’t know if we’re going to be fit to drive in a couple minutes, so maybe you should take a seat.” Steve finally answered Bucky’s question. 

Bucky nodded with a rueful smile and headed to the common area. 

“I guess I should call Tony.” Scott said, pulling out his phone.

Steve stopped him. “No, I should do it. It’s my problem.”

“Yeah, but I have this small feeling that you’re about to become one of mine. I think that makes your problems mine by extension.” Scott tried to reason.

Steve simply shook his head with a chuckle and left the room, already opening Tony’s contact. 

It did not take long for the meds to take effect. Steve barely finished his call with Tony, his head seeming to fill with fluff and his legs feeling like well cooked pasta– jelly legs, he remembered– he stumbled into the living room. 

“What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen?” Peter asked Bucky from where he was sprawled on a couch.

Bucky chuckled, slurring his words, “There was this 900,000 word long fanfic written about me. And it was gooooooood.” 

Peter cackled, choking slightly. “You read the whole thing?!?”

“Why wouldn’t I? I wanted to see what people were thinking about me.” 

Steve found himself laughing at his friend along with Peter. 

“I wonder if someone’s ever written fanfiction about me…” Peter wondered aloud. 

Bucky laughed, “If they did, I wouldn’t read it. They know nothing about you, they’d probably get it all wrong. They just think you’re Stark’s intern. That’s not a lot to go on…”

“Yeah, but people know about Spiderman! Shuri, is there any fanfic about me?” Peter asked eagerly.

Shuri rolled her eyes with a small smile. “How would I know?” 

Peter was very quickly distracted when Scott’s phone started ringing. 

“Hey! That sounds like a song in my musical!” Peter said excitedly. 

Scott paused, checking the contact, before answering Peter. “It is a song from your musical.” He answered the phone. “Hey, Tony… Uh, as well as it can be going, I guess…”

“Tony!” Peter yelled. “He’s my dad!” 

Shuri chuckled quietly at the laugh from the other side of the phone. 

“You know, I should write another song.” Peter mused. 

“Yeah, good idea, you do that, Peter.” Scott said, then turned back to the phone.

“Hm… how should it go?” Peter mumbled. He sat in silence for about thirty seconds, then gasped. “I got it!

Tony, Tony, Tony Tony Tony,

He can cook, he makes me macaroni, 

I met a lot of people but only

Tony, Tony, Tony is my home-y!” Peter finished proudly, then added, “I should have put THAT in my musical!”

Shuri nodded, stone faced. “Yes you should have, you musical genius.”

Peter grinned, thought for a few moments, before snapping and singing,

“Shuri, Shuri, Shuri Shuri Shuri,

Not a day goes by with her that’s drury–

Touch her tech and then face her fury,

Love her well and there’s no need to worry!”

Steve and Bucky started laughing from where they were laying on the floor. 

“Noice.” Bucky drawled. 

Steve giggled, “Do one for Bucky!”

Peter nodded determinedly as Bucky weakly begged for him not to.

“Bucky, Bucky, Bucky Bucky Bucky:

Lived three lives and none of them were lucky,

Pretends he’s mean but is really a puppy

Just like me except he’s more sucky.”

“Did you call yourself a puppy?” Shuri laughed.

Peter shrugged. “That’s what Tony and Pepper call me sometimes.” 

“You called me a puppy?” Bucky choked out. 

“You called him a puppy,” Steve wheezed, out of breath. “A sucky one, too.” 

“Do one for Steve!” Bucky demanded with a laugh.

“No, no,” Steve waved his arms, still laughing from his spot on the floor. 

But Peter began moments later:

“Stevie, Stevie, Stevie Stevie Stevie:

Asthmatic star spangled little being,

Worse at flirting than you’d ever believe,

Stevie is a patriotic freebie.”

The group dissolved into hysterical laughter as Scott hung up the phone. 

He sighed, looking at the group… and broke into a smile. “I can’t believe I’m babysitting the princess of Wakanda, a high Spiderman, a high Winter Soldier, and a high Captain America.” 

The four stared at him– Shuri with a mischievous grin and the other three with blank expressions. 

Scott couldn’t help but laugh. 

*****

“How’s he doing?” Tony asked, peeking into Peter’s room. 

“He passed out after performing half an hour of his musical.” Scott shook his head and Tony chuckled. 

Pepper slid next to them and smiled at the sight of her pseudo-son asleep in his bed. She wasn’t able to hold in the coo at the sight. 

Tony grinned knowingly at her. She ignored it. 

Scott left the two, who immediately stepped into the room to check on Peter.

The couple knelt beside the teen's bed and couldn’t help but smile at the peaceful expression that graced his face in his sleep. And for a time, they simply sat in silence, relishing in the domestic quiet. 

“You love him, too.” Tony finally whispered. 

Pepper paused, watching Peter breathe in the silence. She finally nodded. 

Tony chuckled and put an arm around her waist. “Yeah, he’ll do that to you.” 

Pepper laughed quietly and rubbed his back, laying her head on his shoulder. 

“Pep.” 

Pepper looked up at her fiance.

“He’s my son.” He whispered… and added, “And you’re going to be my wife.”

Pepper nodded and tucked her head back into his shoulder. Of course she knew where he was going. “And I would be happy to have him as my son.” She whispered. 

Tony smiled. 

And in his mind, nothing could be better than that.

Chapter Text

“Good morning, sweetheart.” Pepper greeted Peter with a smile when he sleepily stumbled into the kitchen. 

Peter yawned, “Good morning, Pepper. How was that meeting yesterday?” He took a seat on a bar stool.

“Very successful. We got the outline for the new accords approved, and people have finally started asking questions besides ‘does Obadiah James-Anthony Stark really exist?’” She chuckled at Peter’s stormy expression. 

He nodded in approval. “Did Shuri leave?” He asked, rubbing his eyes. 

Pepper nodded and gave him a sympathetic smile. “Yeah, she had to leave with T’Challa. They only came for that meeting, he had to get back to Wakanda. King stuff.”

“Hey, bambino, how’re you feeling?” Tony asked, waltzing next to Peter and dropping into the seat next to him. He rubbed Peter’s back with one hand and smiled down at his son’s sleepy expression.

“My mouth is only a little sore. Is that normal for it to already be healed?” Peter scrunched his nose and looked up to meet his father’s gaze.

Pepper laughed and set down a cup of orange juice in front of him. “I don’t think anything about you is normal, honey. But especially your healing speed.”

Peter accepted the glass of juice and Tony smiled at his fiancee. “Yeah, Pep’s right again. I think it’s normal for you. For anyone else, it would probably be a miracle.” 

Peter nodded as he took a sip of his drink. 

Something felt off… 

He couldn’t tell what it was, though. Everything was fine. Completely peaceful. Just him, Tony, and Pepper. 

…That was probably it. 

Almost like a functional, classic family you’d see on tv. A mom, dad, and a kid. It was almost like he had both of the parents he had lost as a child. Tony was good enough, but having Pepper around… 

Well, it was perfect.

It was too good. That had to be why things felt off. 

“You good, bud?” 

Peter looked up to see Pepper and Tony looking at him expectantly, faces slightly creased with concern. 

“Sorry, what?” 

“We were just asking if you wanted to come shopping with us today.” Pepper asked, her expression lifting at his responsiveness. 

“Yeah, we got so busy with you getting shot and kidnapped and drugged and stuff that we never even thought about the fact that the compound isn’t completely furnished. I guess I didn’t think about why they were always hanging out on our floor until I actually went and checked their kitchen and dining room and stuff. There’s nothing there.” Tony chuckled. “Guess I just got so used to it just being us two.” He ruffled Peter’s hair. 

Peter smiled and looked over to Pepper. “Well… change can be good.” 

Pepper smiled at him and ruffled his hair, too. 

“Hey, hey, since when did messing up people’s hair become an affectionate gesture?” Peter asked, using his hands to shield his head. 

The two adults laughed at him and began to move around the kitchen, making breakfast together. Peter sat at the bar and watched them. It had been years since he watched two people– well, two people so in sync and in love– do something as simple as cook together. They seemed to dance around each other in perfect harmony, never missing the steps or bumping into each other… 

He could get used to this. 

“Where should we go?” Pepper asked, stirring some eggs in a bowl. “Peter, any ideas?” 

Peter tilted his head sideways in thought. “Uh… the only furniture place I can think of is Ikea.” 

Tony chuckled. “And the only downside of that place is their too detailed instructions… that are somehow still not enough.” 

The group laughed quietly, and then it was quiet again. The only sounds being the sizzling of bacon on the pan, and the sound of Pepper whisking the eggs. 

“So we’re agreed then? Ikea?” She asked.

“IKEA?” Clint slid into the kitchen. “I love that place.”

“Uh, well it’s–”

“Did someone say Ikea?” Natasha asked, behind Clint. 

Tony frowned. “Well, yes, but–”

“Wait, are we going somewhere?” Scott asked, entering the kitchen with Wanda and Vision behind him. 

“No, you aren’t–” He motioned at them, but was cut off again. 

“Where are we going?” Bucky asked. 

With a lot of reassurance from Peter and encouragement from others, Bucky was becoming a much more integrated part of the team. He spoke up more, was more comfortable being in a group with everyone, and even joked around. He was actually a pretty funny guy, Peter had quickly learned. They got up to some trouble every now and then, but nobody had figured out about their mischievous bond quite yet. 

“Ikea.” Clint answered, lifting himself up to sit on the bar.

“Ooh, I’ve heard about that place,” Wanda said in interest. She had also become much more comfortable being around the group– things really do just take time to adjust to. 

“How did everyone even fit in this kitchen?” Peter asked, scooting his seat over so Bruce could slide onto the stool on his left. 

Steve shrugged. “We do what we always do,” He said in a jokingly serious voice. He paused for dramatic effect. “Squeeze.” 

The group groaned, booed, or made gagging sounds. 

“You can’t say stuff like that in front of a child!” Tony gasped, moving behind Peter to sarcastically cover the boy’s ears.

Peter pulled his head away to shake his head at his dad. “You guys are the ones that made it weird.” He thought about it for a second, and gave them the credit due by adding, “-Er.” 

Everyone laughed. 

“So, Ikea?” Sam asked. “I haven’t been there in forever. Last time was actually with Steve and Nat, too. We make a good team.” He said, grinning and turning to Natasha.

Natasha smirked back.

“What did you do?” Bucky asked, a slightly disgusted look on his face.

“Well he had just been recently injured and was still on some pain meds, so he fell asleep in one of the beds…” Sam started laughing uncontrollably and Natasha finished for him, “So when he woke up we told him that he was at Stark tower and Tony had just finished remodeling everything.” 

“Never seen such a stoic man so high and so confused,” Sam cackled. “He tried so hard to be polite about the very open floor plan.” 

Steve shook his head with a small smile but didn’t stop the two from telling the story or teasing him. 

“Ah man, you shouldn’t have told that story in front of Peter: he’s just coming off of his meds, we could have tried it on him!” Clint feigned pouting in disappointment. 

"To be fair, I think Bucky and Steve are just coming of off his meds, too..." Scott said under his breath. 

Tony clicked his tongue, “Ah ah ah, no pranks on high children, Katniss. The spider baby has already had enough experiences this summer.”

Pepper laughed and added, “Enough to give Tony about half a head of gray hair, at least–”

“Hey!” 

“Hey.” Pepper countered, dropping a short kiss on his lips. 

All the avengers awwwwed. Tony rolled his eyes and turned back to the bacon, which Clint reached to take a piece of at the exact wrong moment. Tony swatted at him with a spatula, “Back off, Barton! Gosh, you’re all just a bunch of freeloaders!” 

“But you looooove us.” Natasha smiled innocently. 

Tony pointed the spatula at her. “Pushing it, Romanoff.” 

The two smirked at each other.

“When are we leaving?” Scott asked. 

“Okay, I know all of you think you have the immediate right to be included on every outing you hear about, but this was just a little family thing we were doing. Just me, Pep, and the kid.” Tony said, flipping the eggs. 

“Family thing, huh?” 

Tony turned to the door on the other side of the kitchen to face Rhodey. 

“So why was I not invited? I believe I have rights as the fun uncle?” The man gestured wildly, drawing a snort from Peter. 

“Oh, it’s not a big deal, Tony.” Pepper murmured quietly to Tony. “They’ll probably wander off somewhere anyway.” 

Tony looked up, thinking, and finally shrugged. He turned to the group, “Alright, you can all come. But that’s assuming you’re all up to date on public etiquette?” 

The group cheered and left the room to get ready for the day.

Tony, Pepper, Peter, and a slightly grumpy Rhodey were left to eat breakfast together. 

*****

“This would be a lot easier if Thor was here…” 

Pepper smiled ruefully at her husband and moved away from the offending Björksnäs. “It would only be easier in that we would know how we’re supposed to pronounce everything.” 

“Hey, Peter! Come look at this thing! It’s…. gigantic.” 

Peter raised an eyebrow and moved to where he was being called. 

This was the first ever recorded event of Pepper Potts being wrong. Because the Avengers had not wandered off. In fact, they had stuck very close by, and continued to distract and steal Peter away. Tony and Pepper weren’t annoyed , per se. No, they were just… slightly… exasperated. Yeah, that was it. 

Or at least, they could keep telling themselves that. 

Pepper sighed as Peter waved sadly at them and walked away. 

Peter had been looking forward to it just being him, Tony, and Pepper. It was like Tony had said… they also thought of it as a family outing. So they must also think of Peter as a part of their little family. 

He had known that Tony loved him like a son, but… maybe there was a chance Pepper did, too? He wasn’t one to jump to conclusions, though. 

“Hey, Peter, we just had an idea.” Scott said in a low voice. 

“What?” Peter asked, interested by the groups’ sly and excited faces. 

“Ultimate hide and seek.” Scott said simply. 

Peter’s eyes widened. “That… is the single most genius idea I’ve ever heard.”

“I knew he’d be on board!” Natasha beamed. “Who wants to be it?” 

“Who’s never been to an Ikea before?” Clint asked.

Wanda, Vision, and Bucky raised their hands. 

“Ooh, Bucky, have you ever played ultimate hide and seek?” 

“...Uh, can’t say I have.” Bucky frowned, scratching the back of his neck. 

“Oh my gosh, you have to seek. It’s a mandatory experience.” Clint said, slapping his back. 

“Okay, I guess I’m seeking. I have a feeling this is going to take a long time…” 

Two hours had passed since Peter had disappeared with the Avengers when Tony and Pepper finally saw a familiar face. 

“Hey, Steve!” Tony called. “Have you seen Peter anywhere?” 

Steve shook his head and raised a finger to his lips, walking backwards into a different room. 

Tony and Pepper looked at each other, eyebrows raised, and followed him.

“Steve? …What’s going on?” Pepper asked.

Steve whispered, “We’re playing hide and seek. He’s probably hiding like everyone else.”

“Alright. I guess I have to adopt a different kid then, because we are never finding him.” Tony deadpanned. 

Steve shrugged. “Just call him. But be warned: he might hold it against you if you make him lose.” 

Tony pursed his lips and nodded at the surprisingly good advice. He had spent so long hating or fearing the man that he still forgot that Steve was actually smart. 

And good, he reminded himself.

Tony tapped his foot quietly as he waited for Peter to answer the phone, Pepper smiling ruefully at him. 

“Hey!” Peter finally whispered as he answered the call. 

Tony rolled his eyes and put the phone on speaker. “Hey, where are you?”

“Uh…” He paused, shifting as he looked outside of his hiding spot. “The children’s section on the showroom floor? I’m pretty sure. Yeah, that’s where I am.” 

“Have you been hiding there for the two hours you’ve been missing?” Pepper asked, slightly concerned. 

Peter shrugged, curling up further in the toy chest he was occupying. “Yeah, but I keep getting bored because this place is so big and nobody’s finding me, so I’ve just been moving around. I’ve gone up two levels in Geometry Dash, though!” 

Tony shook his head with a smile. “Okay, well we’re pretty much done, so we're coming to get you. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, cool. Don’t know how much longer I could sit still anyway.” Peter laughed, rolling over in a box and slamming his nose into the side.

Pepper frowned at Tony on hearing the noise. “Uh, Peter? Are you okay?”

“I guess so.” He said, rubbing his nose. “Just slammed my face into a wall.” 

“Impressive.” Tony chuckled. “Break your nose?” 

Peter checked. “Nah, it’s not even bleeding.” 

“Okay, well we’ll see you in a minute.” Tony said.

“Don’t run into anything else,” Pepper added.

“Will do.” Peter responded, and hung up.

The two began the walk up to the second floor. 

“I guess we have to find all the others, too.” Pepper stated, a small smile at the corners of her lips. 

Tony shrugged. “Eh. If the others have to hitch a ride back to the compound, that’s their problem.”

The couple laughed as they entered the children’s section. 

“Okay, you find Peter, I’m gonna go check out one last thing.” Pepper said, kissing his cheek and heading off in a different direction. Tony bidded her goodbye and began trekking through the copious amounts of crates and children’s beds and small dressers.

It really got him thinking about Peter’s childhood. 

It was so unfortunate– tragic, maybe– that he had completely missed it. Maybe being a part of it would have made the kid’s life worse, but maybe it would have made both of their lives better. It sucked that he would never know. Or maybe it was better that he could pretend he knew the answer.

He thought back on the many baby pictures of Peter that he had found (and kind of stolen… but it wasn’t like May needed or wanted them anymore). Peter had been an adorable kid– he still was, really– Tony couldn’t help but feel deprived of seeing his baby grow up. There were countless seemingly mundane things that Tony could think of that he would never get to see.

Peter’s first steps.

His first birthday. 

Help him pull a tooth.

Ride a bike.

He would never get to do these small but monumental things with Peter because Peter had to grow up in a dangerous area of Queens, poor and lonely, while he was busy partying and making millions of dollars off weapons that had caused more destruction than he would ever really know. 

It was unfair. 

He wished he could have met Peter sooner, gotten more time with him– of course any time at all with him was more than he deserved, but still. He wished he could have protected him from the death of his parents, the murder of his uncle, the rejection from his aunt– or even just little things like thunderstorms at night, that asshole at school who won’t leave him alone, scrapes on his knees– hitting his face on the wall, he chukled to himself. There was no doubt in his mind that he would do anything to make up for that lost time, or to protect him. 

The worst part of his heart had been changed by a teenage boy named Peter Parker. 

Tony's phone pinged and he smiled on seeing it was from the boy currently occupying his thoughts. “Speak of the devil,” He murmured. Well, angel–  but he kept that thought internal. Only Pepper had overheard him call Peter his angel and he was planning on keeping it that way. 

Then he read the text. 

DUDE SEND HELP

Tony raised his eyebrows and sent back a text.

What’s going on?

He waited, trying to ignore the way his heart was nervously trying to skip beats. 

BEING CHASED

Tony’s heart seemed to shudder to a stop and he looked around, trying to decide the best direction to go. He ran down a random direction and texted, Where are you 

It only made him more worried when he didn’t get an answer back. 

Tony was smarter than to just run around yelling for Peter and hoping they would end up in the same place, so he immediately pulled up Peter’s location. Thank god Peter had remembered to wear his watch that day. 

He sprinted in the direction that Peter was headed so that he knew they would end up in the same place– yeah, they might crash as they were running on perpendicular paths, but he would still find Peter.

He just had to find Peter, that was it.

He had to find Peter. 

And suddenly it was just like that day Peter had found out about Siberia. He was running but he didn’t know if he would make it on time– the image of Peter lying dead and bloody, all blue lips and vacant eyes and torso cut nearly in half by the shield – he didn’t even know who he was up against or if he was strong enough– but he had to be, he had to be, for Peter – was this what it would have been like if Cap had gone crazy after Peter’s confrontation? Was this the worst case scenario?

Right, left, right, left…

What if he didn’t make it? Why hadn't he gotten to Peter yet– it had been so long– but if it had been hours then why did it feel like the world was moving too fast? How long had it really been? Seconds? 

He thought, ‘The world is moving too fast because it knows that if you don’t make it to him, it will stop.’ 

And that had to be the most logical reason. 

Because if Peter died, it was on him. 

If Peter died, it was over.  

He didn’t know if he had ever run so fast in his life when he finally collided with Peter. Acting on instinct, he gripped Peter around the chest and yanked him away from the direction he had been running down. Tony then pushed his kid behind him, shielding him with himself, and raising a menacingly glowing gauntlet. 

“Woah, dad! What–”

Tony stared at the man he had saved his son from. 

And though his hands were up in surrender, a surprised, confused, yet somehow understanding expression across his face, Tony didn’t lower the gauntlet. 

Because the Winter Soldier had just chased his kid. 

“Stay back!” Tony barked out. 

And he didn’t know how much of a threat Bucky actually was. 

“Woah, Tony…” The super soldier took a couple steps back. 

Peter grabbed Tony’s arm and looked up at him, distressed. Of course he knew exactly what his dad was thinking. “Dad, he– I should have clarified on those texts, I assume that’s what this is about? Dad, we’re playing hide and seek tag, he found me, he was just trying to tag me, I didn’t even realise that it would sound like that, I was just-- wow, it sounds stupid, but I was trying and failing to communicate that I would need a couple more minutes before you could get me– I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you…” 

Tony took a deep breath, closing his eyes (against his instinct, which was to keep them wide open and make sure Bucky didn’t lunge at him or Peter), and slowly lowered the gauntlet. 

“Sorry,” He finally whispered, opening his eyes and looking up at Bucky. 

He had really thought he had gotten over this fear, his distrust of the ex HYDRA agent. He really thought he had gotten completely used to such a notoriously dangerous man being around his son. 

But god, had he been wrong.

Bucky nodded in understanding, lowering his hands. “No, no. I get it. It looked bad.” He gave a sympathetic smile, even giving Tony an out: “And besides, you would have reacted that way to anyone chasing your son.”

They all knew it was a lie. 

They all pretended it wasn’t.

Chapter Text

Peter hated awkward silences. 

He would never admit that, but he guessed everyone at the compound must have known by then, so what was the problem with making conversation? They had probably been expecting it. And he was nothing if not a people pleaser. 

“So…” He trailed off immediately, not sure where to begin. 

The day before had been slightly awkward. After Tony’s panic attack over Bucky chasing Peter and the three never telling anyone what happened but everyone sensing that something had happened even if they wouldn’t say, all the avengers had been on edge. 

Something had happened between Bucky and Tony and Peter. 

That was all they knew– they could speculate, but that wouldn’t be enough to help. They had also kind of expected Peter to have accidentally spilled it by now… but he was a better secret keeper than they gave him credit for. 

“Uh, so,” Peter tried again. “Anybody got any plans for today?” 

The table stayed completely silent. 

Natasha finally broke it when she choked on her eggs, not able to hold in a laugh anymore.

“What?” Peter asked defensively.

She shook her head, taking a sip of water. “We need to work on your casual small talk.” 

He sighed. “Yeah, I know…” 

The table laughed and Peter felt relief sweep over him as the tension drained from the table. This was the mood he was more used to waking up to. 

“I wasn’t kidding though, I am curious if we have anything coming up.” Peter said.

Tony shrugged. “Not that I know of. FRI?”

“There is nothing on the calendar.” The AI chirped in response. 

“Cool,” Peter said, an idea forming in his head. “When’s the last time we played a game together?”

“Uh, yesterday?” Clint chuckled quietly. 

Peter bit his lip. Too soon? “Oh, yeah... I thought it was at the shawarma place.” 

“No, it was yesterday.” Wanda said matter of factly. “I have to say, I have never had to hide for fun.” 

“Was it worth it?” Steve asked.

Wanda nodded. “Yes, it was. I guess missing so much of your childhood leaves more damage than you realize until you’re doing something for the first time that you should have done a very long time ago.” 

Vision rubbed her back comfortingly, and she gave him a warm smile. Answering everyone’s sympathetic looks, she added, “Don’t feel bad for me. I’m the closest to over it that I will ever be. I’m… happy.” She shrugged, smiling at her team. “Thanks to all of you.” 

“I… I don’t want to be invasive or anything, but… what happened that took away your childhood?” Peter asked carefully. “Only if you're comfortable answering, obviously.” 

Wanda gave him a small smile and nodded. “No, you’re alright. Don’t ever be sorry about being curious.” She squinted her eyes for a moment, and then began, “When I was ten years old, my town was bombed and my parents died. After that, Pietro, my brother, and I were on our own. We had to work very hard to stay alive, which, I guess was when our innocence began fading. But I remember that sometimes we would stay up at night, just the two of us on a roof of any building we could climb onto, and make up our own constellations.” She chuckled, shaking her head. “He wasn’t very good at it.” 

The group smiled silently, knowing full well what had become of her twin brother. 

“I guess after a while we got sick of being kids. Even though that’s what we were. Nobody would take us or our tragedy seriously, nobody would listen to us or consider our pain, because we were just kids and what could we know? So when we found out about a secret organization that was willing to listen and help us get revenge… Well, of course we were tempted. We just wanted someone to listen, someone to help us. But of course, we really were just kids, and we really didn’t know as much as we thought. How could we have known what HYDRA really was?” She frowned down at her cup of coffee.

“How old were you then?” Peter asked tentatively. 

“Fifteen or sixteen.” She shrugged again, taking a sip of her coffee. “It’s hard to know. After we joined, it was hard to know how much time passed: we never got to go outside until they were done experimenting and were ready to use us. And, of course, they were able to experiment for a long time. I guess once we joined we realized we had made a mistake, but you know. We didn’t want to admit it. So we made the best of it. We knew they were going to target the people that had bombed us at some point,” She gave Tony an apologetic glance, “So we held on. It was… horrible, to say the least. Living for no purpose but revenge.” She sighed. “I’m glad I got out of there. Or, I’m glad all of you got me out of there. And Pietro. He was free for a little while, too.” 

The table fell into a respectful silence. 

“Well, at least you’re not alone in it.” Natasha finally said. “I guess it’s kind of weird how many of us have been brainwashed soldiers at some point.” 

Wanda grinned at her. “For sure.” 

Bucky shook his head. “I mean, there are only three of us here, but I guess three is still too many in this context.” 

“Yeah, I can’t say my time in the RedRoom was particularly pleasant.” Natasha quipped, passing Rhodey another cup of coffee. 

“I just can’t believe how many evil organizations were able to kidnap and brainwash people.” Peter said, resting his chin in his hands. “I mean, evil is evil, but come on. Be original, have some respect.” 

The group laughed at him, and Peter continued, “Bucky, was your time in HYDRA similar to Wanda’s?” 

Bucky frowned. “Honestly, I don't really remember a lot of my time there. I got most of my memories from before the winter soldier and during back when I stayed in Wakanda. But that little space between the transformation is completely blank. I don’t even know how long the transformation was, but if I had to guess, I assume it would be an understatement to call it a ‘little space.’”

Steve nodded. “Definitely would be.” 

“I don’t remember the time that I was in HYDRA as myself, but I think I remember everything from when I was the Winter Soldier. Which… sucks, to be honest. It’s really no good to not be in control of yourself.” 

Steve chuckled quietly. “Once again, an understatement.” 

“Yeah, yeah. But I can relate to Wanda about the whole ‘parents’ tragic death’ thing. Mine’s slightly less tragic, though.” 

“What happened?” Natasha asked.

“Uh… not for sure. My mom died when I was a kid, or disappeared or something, and my dad died in an accident during some basic training at Camp Lehigh.” 

Wanda nodded. “Death is death no matter the circumstances. All of it is worthy of mourning.” 

“Man, my biological parents died, but my adoptive parents are pretty cool.” Natasha said. 

“Yo, same.” Peter laughed, stealing a piece of bacon from Tony’s plate (who didn’t try to stop him and wouldn't have called it stealing).

The table went quiet and Peter immediately knew something had gone wrong– but he didn’t think it had anything to do with what he said. He looked up at the group with his eyebrows furrowed. “What?”

“That was a joke, right?” Natasha asked with a small smile. 

Peter immediately understood, then frowned and looked over to Tony. His father shrugged. “Uh, no.” 

“Wait, what?” Clint said. “Tony’s not your biological dad?” 

Peter shook his head. "Uh... Clint? We announced that when we went out for shwarma... like, a long time ago."

“Wow, even I forgot about that. A lot has happened since then.” Bruce asked with a teasing smile. 

“Wait, Peter, look over here.” Rhodey said, and Peter obliged him. Rhodey stared him down and then jokingly asked Tony, “Are you sure he’s not biologically yours?” 

“Rhodey, you were there when we signed the papers.” Tony rubbed his eyes.

“Still,” Steve said. “There’s a possibility.” 

Pepper walked in with a small stack of papers. “Not really. He definitely is biologically Mary and Richard Parker’s kid. I would know," She chuckled. "I made them take a test."

“Mary and Richard Parker? Who is that?”

“They were geneticists.” Peter said. “They died in a plane crash.”

The joking mood immediately shifted. 

“Wow, I am so sorry, Peter.” Scott said sincerely. 

“Nah, it’s fine. I don’t remember them. Also, they worked for OsCorp, so… not sure I wanted them raising me anyway.” 

The team laughed reluctantly. 

“How did you guys meet again?” Sam asked.

“He broke into my apartment and asked me if I wanted an internship.” Peter deadpanned.

“Sounds like Tony,” Bruce muttered.

“Hey, hey! That’s not the full truth! Your aunt let me in, I didn’t break in.”

“Oh, so you lived with your aunt after that?” Natasha asked. 

“My aunt and uncle. But my uncle was murdered, a few years after I moved in with them, so basically yeah. My aunt.” 

“Oh… that was… too casual of a way to tell that.” Rhodey said, patting Peter’s back. 

“And they were good to you, right?” Sam asked carefully.

Peter nodded. “Yeah, of course, they were really great people!”

“Were?” Wanda asked. 

Tony scowled. “Were.” 

“...Did your aunt die, too?” Bucky asked carefully.

“Uh, no, not really. At least, I'm pretty sure she’s still alive.”

“How did you get custody?” Clint asked Tony.

“She kicked Peter out when she found out he was Spiderman.” He answered angrily. “Personally, I’m still slightly upset about it.”

“But I’m not.” Peter said, stealing another piece of Tony’s bacon. “She obviously wasn’t very happy with me around, so I think it was for the best.” 

“How she couldn’t have been happy with you around is a mystery we may never solve,” Pepper said, ruffling his hair. She turned to face Tony. “Hey, there are some documents I need you to look over real quick.”

Tony nodded and pushed away from the table. “Be right back,” He called, following Pepper. 

There were a couple beats of silence. 

And maybe it was just that Clint still wasn't completely used to Tony being a dad, or maybe it was the well known insecurities of Peter, or maybe it was simply the guilty look in Peter's eyes that made him say it. 

Only once the two had disappeared did Clint turn to Peter and ask, “You know how much you mean to him, right?”

Peter furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean?” 

"I don't know. I just get the vibe that you don't know that. He cares a lot about you." 

"I... okay." Peter laughed nervously. "I really don't know where you're getting that vibe."

"Do you think you don't deserve it or something?" Clint asked. "Because I have pretty insecure kids and sometimes it's really hard to get them to understand how much I care about them. I know Tony already does a lot for you-- is that it? Do you feel like you don't deserve for him to do anything for you?"

"I-- why are you interrogating me?" Peter asked, eyes wide.

"Do you know that he cares?" Clint asked more softly.

Peter frowned."Um, so this went from zero to one hundred real quick--"

Natasha shook her head with a smirk. "Peter, you avoiding the question as good as answered it."

Peter blushed. "Dang it." 

"How can we convince him before Tony gets back and gets upset that we're killing him with kindness?" Clint asked mischievously. 

"Examples to back up your claim are the best things to prove a point." Steve answered with a playful smile. 

“He wouldn’t adopt someone on a whim, for one.” Sam said.

Peter shook his head, “No, I’m pretty sure that was just because I showed up at his house panicking that night because I was homeless. He just wanted to help.” 

"Well, he wouldn’t let just anyone in his personal lab or personal space. The man has a very defined bubble, and he is always willing to let you in it.” Rhodey smiled knowingly. 

Vision said, “The security footage suggests that as well.” 

“And his thoughts make his love for you pretty obvious.” Wanda added.

“Woah, hey, I wasn’t denying that he cares for me or anything,” Peter raised his hands in surrender. "Also, you read his mind?" 

“You were reluctant to accept Clint’s affirmation of that, suggesting that you are in some kind of denial.” FRIDAY butted in.

“I am not in denial!” Peter threw his hands higher.

“He’s in denial about being in denial.” Sam whispered to Steve.

“Look, I get that he cares for me to some extent, okay? I just… feel kind of bad for him about how that came to be.” Peter admitted, adding with a scowl, "You win this round of crack the egg."

“Why?” Natasha asked.

“He was forced into a parental role, okay? He had to adopt me to keep me from going into the system, and I know that becoming a father wasn’t something he really wanted to do, so I just feel kind of guilty. Like Rhodey said the night you all met me-- I’m kind of a handful.” 

“You think he was forced into being a parent?” Rhodey asked, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline. “There’s no way you actually think that.” Peter shrugged and Rhodey continued angrily, “Okay, I mean this in the best way possible: he did not have to adopt you. Have you never heard that Tony Stark only does what he wants to do? I assume you have, so you have to know that he wanted to adopt you.”

Peter frowned and opened his mouth to speak but Rhodey cut him off again. “You two were close before he even adopted you! He thought of you as his kid long before May kicked you out. You should have seen his face the first time you accidentally called him your dad. He didn’t look disgusted or taken aback or anything. You know what he said after you hung up and I called him out on it?”

Peter shook his head.

“He said, ‘Would you look at that. Looks like I’m a dad now.’ And then he gave me the dopiest smile I’ve ever seen. He was not forced into this, Peter. And yeah, you’re a handful and you can be a little shit sometimes, but he loves you. Possibly despite that, but most likely partially because of that. Don’t sell yourself or him short.”

Peter frowned and put his chin in his hands again. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. It doesn’t really make me feel less guilty, though.”

“Well, think about it and give it some time. Because it should.” Natasha said.

Peter nodded, clutching to the reassuring words the team had just waylaid him with. 

“Alright, is everyone finished?” Steve asked, clapping his hands together. “With breakfast, I mean.”

The group nodded.

“What do you want, cap?” Natasha joked.

Steve smiled. “I think it would be beneficial to have a training session. Just so we can get moving and working together again.” 

“I’ll meet you guys there, I’m on cleaning duty today.” Bucky said, standing up and beginning to pack up the leftovers.

The rest of the group followed Steve to the compound’s gym, leaving Bucky on his own. 

Tony walked into the kitchen and found it empty, save the super soldier. The two locked eyes, and Tony sighed. “About yesterday…”

Bucky shook his head. “Not your fault. Don’t blame yourself. There wasn’t enough communication and that always leads to problems and accidents.” Bucky said. Tony immediately got the implication of the ‘civil war’, and heard the silent apology he was making through the comment.

“But really, I overreacted. You’re far more trustworthy than I give you credit for.” Tony continued.

Bucky smiled reassuringly. “Tony, you’ve seen me do horrible things. I can’t blame you for being wary around me... I have a feeling that’s part of what you wanted to speak to me about.”

Tony nodded with a downcast expression. “I… I really am sorry, but you’re right. It’s gonna take me a little while to be okay seeing you around Peter. I know it’s not your fault and I know you aren’t a bad person, I just…” 

“You’ve seen too much of the winter soldier and not enough of Bucky.” The super soldier finished. Tony couldn’t help but hate himself, because Bucky understood completely. He had seen this coming from miles away. And Tony wasn’t much of a people pleaser, he liked to be unpredictable… maybe he could pretend that was what made his heart clench. 

“I really am sorry, Bucky.” Tony said one more time.

Bucky gave him a friendly smirk. “Really, Tony. It’s okay. I understand completely, and I forgive you, even though you have no reason to be apologizing.”

Tony nodded with a frown.

Bucky slid the last tupperware container into the fridge. “Do you wanna go find the others? I think they went down to the gym.”

“Sounds good.” Tony agreed, and the two men made their way down the stairs.

Tony felt slight apprehension as it started to rain– he used to love storms, and he knew Peter loved storms, but now they always made him feel nervous. It was too dark outside when it should have been light and something about that shift always gave him anxiety… but he shouldn't be worried. There was nothing to worry about. 

But there was always somethings to worry about.

A strike of lightning and a thunder crack. 

Bucky and Tony strode into the training room side by side. The group stopped what they were doing to wave at them and beckon them over. 

“Good thing we decided to work indoors,” Steve commented. “I never would have guessed it would storm today.” 

“Not a cloud in the sky, and yet…” Bruce trailed off, looking out the window. 

“What?” Tony asked, turning to look at what Bruce was staring at.

“Oh. My. Thor.” Peter gasped out. "Is that Thor?"

Outside on the backyard lawn stood two men, shrouded in shadow and pelted with rain and wind. 

Two very well known gods that had gone unseen and unheard from for a long time. 

“Yeah, that's Thor,” Tony breathed, putting a protective arm in front of Peter. “Why the hell did he bring Loki?” 

Chapter Text

“Have you lost your mind?” Tony hissed. 

“Son of Stark, I would not bring Loki here if I thought he were dangerous.” Thor looked over to where Loki waited with a bored expression. “Well… as dangerous as he was.”

“Thor, I don’t think you understand.” Steve finally interrupted the argument. He nodded over to where Peter sat (in a chair on the opposite side of the room as Loki, per Tony’s order) and said, “Thor, you see that kid over there?”

Thor swiveled to face Peter and gasped. “A child! Why, he’s adorable!” He rushed over to Peter and grabbed his hand to shake it. 

Peter was pulled to his feet and he laughed good naturedly at the friendliness. 

“Why haven’t I met you before, son of Stark?” Thor boomed. 

Peter raised his eyebrows in surprise. “How did you know Tony’s my dad?” 

“Anyone could see the resemblance from a mile away!” The god laughed. “What is your name?”

“Oh, uh, Peter.” Should he tell Thor that he’s adopted? Or spiderman? No, Thor probably wouldn’t care for the first, or even know what the second meant.

“So now you know Tony has a kid.” Steve stated, and Thor nodded. “Then you understand why we’re wary of Loki’s being here? Why Tony’s worried?”

Thor’s face sombered. “Ah, yes, I do. If you would prefer it, I could return him to New Asgard? I wouldn’t want you to worry for your son’s safety in any way.”

“Thor, I—“

“Is this child alright?” A voice drawled. 

Thor, Loki, and Steve turned to face Loki with raised eyebrows. 

“Excuse me?” Tony asked defensively, taking a step towards Peter. 

“I asked if that child is alright.” Loki repeated. 

Tony furrowed his eyebrows and looked Peter up and down. Not seeing anything wrong, he turned back to Loki with barely controlled anger. “What, should he not be? Are you doing something to him? Loki!”

Loki raised his eyebrows in surprise. “No, I am not doing anything to him. He just has an odd kind of presence.” 

“What does that mean?” Natasha asked, standing up. 

“There is magic around him.” Loki stated simply. “Or in him… it’s hard to tell.”

Tony put his hands on his hips. “Maybe you’re sensing Wanda. She has a very magical ‘presence’.” 

“No, it’s definitely coming from him.” Loki stated, still staring at Peter. He squinted and tilted his head at Peter.

“Don’t get any funny ideas.” Tony said, stepping in front of Peter.

“Are you saying I’m magic?” Peter called from behind Tony. 

“That’s not what I said at all.” Loki answered.

“All right, I think we all just need to take a minute and calm down. I’m having trouble following what's happening right now.” Rhodey said, ushering everyone to chairs. Once he was the only one standing, he began, “Okay, now that we’re all calm and quiet… Hi, Loki. Good to see you again.” At Loki’s frown he added, “Well, hopefully.”

“Okay, can we get on with this? Are you joking about the magic thing?” Tony interrupted. 

“It wouldn’t be below me, but no, I am not joking.” Loki answered. 

“What kind of magic is it?” Thor asked. “Is it Asgardian, or–”

“Luckily, it is not Asgardian. Those spells are a little too powerful for Midgardians to handle.” Loki squinted at Peter, whose eyes were still wide. 

“I still don’t think I understand what you mean by magic.” Clint cut in. 

Wanda nodded towards Loki, “No, I sensed it, too. I just thought that it must have been some remaining traces from… well, maybe you.” She turned away from Loki. “But I also don’t have nearly as much experience or training in my magic as I should.” 

“Okay, cut the crap. Is the magic good or bad?” Sam asked. Though he would never admit it aloud, he had grown fond of the young spiderling. 

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It has a lot of negative energy,” The god answered.

Everyone turned to look at Peter, whose eyes grew impossibly wider. “Does that mean I’m, like, a super villain or something? What’s wrong with me?” 

“No, you do not possess any magical abilities.” Loki stated. 

The avengers let out a sigh of relief.

Loki stated, “You have been cursed.” 

The Avengers shot to their feet.

“Wait, what?” Tony shot out. “When? Who– what?” He pulled out his phone and began to type out a message

“Of course he’s cursed, that makes so much more sense.” Scott shook his head. 

“Well, can we reverse it?” Pepper asked, ever the calm one of the group. 

Loki shrugged. “I can’t. I can’t even identify the spell– for me to try to reverse it, it would be chaos and probably do more harm to him than good. I am only accustomed to Asgardian magic. I know very little about this world’s.” 

“Well, who can?” Bucky asked, glancing worriedly at Peter.

“Oh, come on, I’m not about to drop dead or something.” Peter threw his arms in the air, before putting them back at his sides and turning to Loki. “ Am I? ”

Loki shrugged. Peter frowned. 

“Hey, whoever got out the sparklers, put them away, this is not–” Steve stopped on seeing the sparking circle open into another room. The red and orange circle stayed spinning in mid air when a man stepped out of what they all recognized to be a portal. Or at least, all recognized as fireworks, and then a portal. “Strange?” 

“Yes. Now what did you say about a curse?” Dr Strange asked, turning to Tony.

Tony threw his arms in the air, mirroring Peter moments earlier. “I’m not even sure if there is one, I just need you to check Peter!” 

Strange walked over to the teen. “Ah, the notorious Peter Parker. I’ve heard much about you.” He shook Peter’s hand and looked him up and down with a discerning eye. 

“I– wow, I’ve heard a lot about you, too.” Peter, starstruck, stared up at the doctor.

Strange pulled away with a quick smile at Peter, and faced the group. “Yes, definitely cursed.” He noticed Loki as everyone (except him) frowned, groaned, or gasped. “Ah, Loki! Long time, no see. Did you publish that book yet?” 

“THIS IS NOT THE TIME!” Tony took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “My son is cursed, can you not fix it?” 

Strange shrugged. “Yes, I can. What’s the magic word?” 

Tony glared, but nonetheless indulged him. How could he not? It was Peter they were dealing with. “Please.”

Strange frowned at him. “That is definitely not it.” He turned to Peter and began making complicated hand movements and muttering under his breath. 

Peter simply stood there, tapping his fingers on his legs, seemingly feeling nothing.

“Alright, he’s fine. It’s a good thing you called me here, though.” Strange said, flicking his wrist and then turning back to Tony. 

“Why?” Pepper asked.

“Because that was a generational curse. Each time the spell gets too powerful, it either kills the person cursed and moves on to their closest living relative, or begins to spread to other people around them. It seems to have been in your family for only a matter of years. Twenty, at the most.” Strange explained.

“So you’re saying… Parker luck is a real thing.” Peter deadpanned.

“Parker luck?” Strange said. “That curse was anything but luck, it could have killed you in a matter of years. And if it didn’t kill you, it could have spread through our universe, possibly the multiverse– we’ve never let it get so far, so we have no idea what havoc it could wreak.” 

“The multiverse is real!” Peter squeaked.

Tony frowned. “ That’s all you got from that?” He turned back to Stephen. “Do you have any idea who did this?”

“I believe the sorcerer to be dead.” Strange admitted. “Magic doesn’t fade when a sorcerer dies. All I can tell you from simply seeing the strength of the curse is that this was a very powerful sorcerer. And I should have met Peter sooner. Have you experienced much misfortune in your life?”

Peter frowned. “I guess so. But I don’t know how much of it is due to the curse, and how much of it was just a part of life.”

Strange nodded. “You have a strong grip on reality. Remember that and don’t let it fade. You never know when it will come in handy.”

Peter nodded and let the avengers walk Strange out, as they had some ‘grown up things’ to discuss.

It’s not like he hated being alone, it was just that a lot had just happened and he wasn’t sure how to feel about any of it, and… he could use a hug or something. At least a conversation.

“Son of Stark.”

Peter spun around to find himself face to face with none other than the god of mischief himself. 

“You can call me Peter if you want.” He offered. 

“You can call me Loki.” The god answered. “I sense a disturbance in you. Are you alright?” 

Peter couldn't help but feel surprised. The so-called evil god who had tried to take over their world only years ago was asking him about his feelings? “Uh… a little weirded out, to say the least.” 

Loki chuckled. “Ah , yes. Your first time having a curse lifted from you?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Yes, that would surprise anyone.” Loki smirked. “My first time was quite chaotic. The curse made me able to climb walls and shoot webs from– well, that part doesn’t matter. But Thor has been very fond of spiders since then.” 

Peter laughed. “You were turned into a spider?”

“Were you?” Loki countered.

Peter raised his eyebrows. “You know about Spiderman?” 

“Of course I do. Thor loves him and won’t shut up about him... or, you, I guess. Keeps saying that I should have kept my powers and been your ‘spider buddy’.” Loki shook his head.

“Well it’s too bad you don't have those powers anymore. We could have been a cool team.” Peter’s eyes raised from the floor, lighting up. “We could still be a team! Just, for something else.”

“And what kind of team would we be?” Loki asked. 

Peter grinned. “A pranking team.”

“I like the way you think, Peter. I really like the way you think.” 

“I'm good friends with someone named Shuri and we wanted to start a whole squad of master pranksters, but we never got around to it because I had to get my wisdom teeth out. You should join so it can be official! We could all get matching jackets and everything!" He paused, calming himself down and clearing his throat at Loki's amused smile.

"I would be... happy to join." Loki realized, and admitted it aloud. 

"Let’s get to work, then. I already have a prank in mind.” Loki followed Peter up to his room and the two began to plot together. 

“Oh, hey. Strange said you were writing a book. Is that true?” Peter asked. 

Loki gave him a mischievous grin. “Well… kind of…”

“What does that mean?” Peter asked.

“I’ve already written it.” Loki answered. “And I’m considering writing a sequel.” 

“What’s it about?” 

“The winter soldier.” Loki chuckled. “It’s a 900,000 word fiction story about him. And it’s hilarious. Strange edited it for me and he offered to edit it again if I write a sequel.”

Peter wouldn’t deny that he cried laughing. “Did you know Bucky read it?” He cried.

“What!” Loki’s eyes widened, a tear rolling out as he began to wheeze. “He read it?”

“And he loved it!” Peter sobbed out. 

Loki choked, “That’s it, I’m writing a sequel.”

Peter guffawed and hid his face in his hands.

The only times Loki had ever laughed like this had been with his brother, Thor, and once with Strange when they met each other in person to read over the completed story. It was extremely hard to get him to open up, so Loki didn’t know why he had asked Peter about his feelings, why he had told Peter about his childhood, about the book, why he was willing to sit here and laugh with this random kid he had just met.

He decided to just put it down to some other energy he could sense in the boy. Some very positive, trustworthy, pure energy, that he knew that anyone could sense. It wasn’t magic. Tony would later tell him that it was called ‘a personality’. Which of course Loki knew about– he had just never seen a personality quite like this. 

“A what now?” Loki interrupted Peter’s story. 

“A bike? You know, two wheels, handles, kind of hard to balance on…?”

Loki continued to stare at Peter blankly. 

“What, you’ve never ridden a bike?” Peter asked. 

Loki shook his head and Peter jumped to his feet. “I have to teach you!”

“Didn’t you just say that the last time you tried to ride a ‘bike’, you almost got hit by a car? It sounds like you never learned.”

“Come on, how hard could it be?” Peter asked, pulling Loki out of the room.

“You just made it sound very hard.” Loki frowned. Midgardian children were confusing. 

Peter shrugged. “Worse comes to worse, I fall over and break my arm. Or leg.” 

“This sounds far more risky than it’s worth…” Loki mumbled. 

“It'll be fine!” Peter waved him off.

Right, super hearing. Loki had forgotten about the many abilities of the Spiderman. He wasn’t sure how, considering how often Thor fangirled about him. 

Soon, Peter had them in the back garden with two bikes set up, ready to go.

“So, you just…” Peter straddled the bike, “Like this? And then you just…” He placed one foot on the pedal, kicked the ground with his other foot and propelled himself forward.

Loki watched as he sailed off in a slightly squiggly line and clapped for him. “Well done–”

Peter flipped sideways, the bike landing on top of him. 

“Er…” Loki trailed off. “Are you alright?” 

Peter raised a hand, giving him a thumbs up. He shakily got to his feet with a wide grin and shouted, “This is harder than I remember.”

“Probably because you never learned how to ride one, Underoos.” Tony said, stepping up to stand beside Loki. 

Peter and Loki jumped, neither of them having seen him walk up to them. 

“Yeah, I guess that’s a valid reason.” Peter said, scratching the back of his neck. 

“Well, you should teach him,” Loki frowned. “Because I’m not sure I want him to teach me if he doesn’t know how to do it himself.” He gave Tony a small smile as a peace offering and turned to stride back to the compound. 

“Hey, Loki,” Tony called after him.

Loki stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Yes?”

“Thanks for looking after my kid.” 

Loki smirked. “My pleasure, Stark.” He turned and traded the muggy summer air for the crisp coolness of the compound. 

Tony approached Peter with his hands in his pockets. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Peter answered, pulling the bike up from the ground. “What was the ‘grown up stuff’ Dr. Strange wanted to talk about?”

Tony frowned. “Just some missing cases that he wanted us to know he was keeping an eye on. Some suspicious activity and sightings that might be connected.” He shrugged. “Nothing too serious, yet.” 

Peter nodded. “Oh, okay. I thought he was going to try to convince everyone to execute me or something.”

“What? Why would he do that?” 

“I dunno. I didn’t realize my existence was dangering the whole universe, maybe even the multiverse.” Peter answered solemnly.

“That wasn’t your fault. None of us knew– and that wouldn’t be a reason to execute you. And I think Pep would have drop-kicked him if he even mentioned that.” He paused, ”Honestly, I think anyone would have.” 

Peter gave a small smile. “Okay.”

“Anyway, what about that bike?” Tony asked, slapping a hand down on one of the handles. “You still wanna learn? So you can teach Loki?” 

Peter shook his head, “I think I'm a little too old to be just now learning. Maybe I should just leave it alone.”

“Hey, someday you may need to know how to ride a bike! You’ll look back and think either, ‘I should have let Tony teach me’, or ‘I’m sure glad I let Tony teach me’. Which one do you want to think?”

Peter shook his head, grinning. “You sound like Dr Strange.”

“What? How?”

“‘You have a strong grip on reality, you never know when you could need that’.” Peter quoted. “Except this bike thing feels a lot less… menacing.” 

Tony gasped jokingly. “I'll have you know, a bike saved my life when I was around your age.”

“What.” Peter didn’t even ask it.

Tony grinned. “Angry mob at MIT after my father sold some weapons to a questionable group.” 

Peter frowned. “Oh. I thought it was gonna be a funny story.”

“It is!” Tony argued.

“I don’t know, not really…” 

Tony put an arm around Peter’s shoulder and ruffled his hair. “Okay, whatever. You have a right to your opinion. Now are we gonna do this or what?”

Peter shrugged. “I guess so.” 

Tony carefully guided Peter through the steps of riding a bike and gave him a few balancing tips. After only two tries, Peter was up and riding around the back garden.

“Nice going, Underoos!” Tony called after him.

“I don’t think I should be this excited– it’s just riding a bike!” Peter yelled back.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Don’t sell yourself short, bambino. This is important!”

Peter laughed to himself as he made a sharp turn and stayed balanced. Tony clapped for him from the porch. 

“Wow, looks like you’ve really taught him everything.” Pepper murmured with a grin, stepping up and putting an arm around his waist.

Tony shook his head. “I could never take that much credit. He figures out way too much on his own.” 

“Still.” Pepper persisted. “You don’t have to do all this for him and you do.” She put a hand on his cheek so that he was looking into her eyes and continued, “How are you still unable to see that you’re a good person?” 

Tony huffed a laugh and turned back to watch Peter. “I guess… maybe I could start to come to terms with that idea… as long as you and Peter stay around.”

“Don’t be a codependent mess, Tony. You’re a good man on your own, too.” She kissed his cheek. “But either way, we will always be there for you.”

Tony nodded, showing that he heard her. 

“Hey, I’ve been thinking.” She said. 

“What else is new?” He joked, turning to look at her. 

Pepper rolled her eyes playfully. “Once we talk to Peter about me adopting him,” She made sure to lower her voice so Peter wouldn’t hear, “And if he’s comfortable with that–”

“Which he will be.” Tony interjected.

“Tony–”

“No, really! I cannot imagine a world where he wouldn’t want you as a mom. But,” He added for clarification, “If he isn’t, it will be okay, and there will be no hard feelings.”

“Good. Thank you.” Pepper said, and Tony waved a hand for her to continue her thought. “If he’s comfortable with that, I think we should make it official on our wedding day. That way he can be involved and officially a part of the family on a day that’s already important. I mean, we don’t have to, we could have two different special days and that would be fine, but I think it would be, I don’t know, a nice symbol–”

“Pep, darling, love of my life.” Tony chuckled. “You sound like Peter right now.”

“I know, I know. Don’t say it like it’s a bad thing.” She teased back.

Tony gasped in mock outrage. “I would never!” He cleared his throat, trying to be serious again. It was slightly hard when he was just so happy about his fiancee and his son and they were all going to be a family– “Also, I think that’s a perfect idea. So you didn’t need to stress and try to explain yourself.” 

Pepper sighed in relief and put her head on his shoulder. “Oh, thank god. I don’t know why I was worried.” 

“Me neither,” Tony admitted. “So, when should we put forward this genius idea?” 

Pepper frowned. “I don’t know. The wedding is this November… so we have some time to work everything out before we tell him.”

“Don’t let procrastination get the best of you,” Tony said pointedly. “It’s already August.” 

“His birthday!” Pepper gasped. “Okay, so I either need to tell him long before that or a while after–”

“What, why? Just do it on his birthday, that would be a pretty great surprise.”

“No!” Pepper pulled away. “If he doesn’t want that, then it would ruin his birthday, and he’d be stressed and uncomfortable–”

“Do it on his birthday.” Tony advised. “You already act like his mom, and he likes feeling safe. Making it official would make him feel more secure. Do it on his birthday.” Tony advised. 

Pepper frowned. “I’ll…. Think about it.”

“Okay, well you only have ten days, so I would be thinking pretty hard.” Tony laughed quietly.

Pepper playfully swatted his arm. “Fine. I’ll… I think I’ll do it on his birthday– but you can't be disappointed in me if I back out.” 

Tony nodded. “Deal. Also, for the record, I don’t know how I could be disappointed in you. Unless you like threw Peter across a room– well, no, if you hurt Peter in any way I would be disappointed, but then again, it’s you. So I’m not worried.” 

Pepper raised her eyebrows. “Looks like he gets the rambling from both of us.”

Tony smiled and shook his head. “I wish we could take credit for that. I really do.”

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?” 

Tony and Pepper whipped around to look at Peter, who had somehow managed to stand on top of his bike seat, balanced.

“What?” Tony asked, stepping forward.

Peter frowned. “Oh, never mind. Just some hammer. I think it’s the one we lost during that fight with the testing robots!” 

“Ah, okay. As long as it isn’t Thor’s!” Tony shook his head. “Should I come check it out anyway?”

“Nah, his is supposed to be heavy, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, then this is not it.”

“Good to know he isn’t just dropping his stuff all over the yard. Thanks, Bambi.” Tony turned and walked back to stand next to Pepper. 

“At least you can take credit for his extensive vocabulary.” Pepper smirked. 

“Hey, now.” Tony bit his lip, trying to stop himself from laughing. “You know what you're getting into, right?”

Pepper squinted at him with a fake expression of contemplation. “I believe I do.” 

Tony nodded in approval. “Good.”

Peter appeared next to the two. “What are you getting into?” 

“Oh, nothing. Just a bunch of forms that need signing that Tony doesn't want to do.” Pepper smiled at Peter who shook his head playfully at Tony.

“Wow, Dad. Wow. Put all the work on your fiancee.” 

“Hey! I wasn’t gonna ditch her to do it all by herself–”

“Thank you, Peter. I appreciate the sympathy.”

Peter nodded at Pepper and gave her a fist bump. “Anyway, I think I’ve mastered riding a bike, so I’m gonna try to teach Loki again. Maybe I can help Thor, too!” 

Peter bounded inside as Tony and Pepper shared a smile. 

“He’s quite the little helper.” Pepper smirked.

“Nice of him to want to teach those idiot brothers– wait, did he say Thor?” Tony spun back at the house. “PETER, DON’T YOU DARE PUT THAT MAN ON A BIKE!”

Chapter Text

“Okay, fairest in the land, darling woman, love of my life–” 

“Tony, cut it out. What do you want?” Pepper raised an eyebrow at her fiance’s antics. 

“What do you mean, ‘what do I want’? Only your eternal happiness and–”

“And?” 

“...And to remind you that it’s August second. Peter’s birthday is in nine days. Do you have a plan yet?” Tony leaned against her desk, putting his chin innocently in his hands. 

Pepper sighed. “I don’t know what to do! I, just, this is actually important! Important things should… take more time to plan; it shouldn’t be a spur of the moment decision!” 

“Or maybe it should!” Tony countered. “Remember when I proposed to you?” 

“Tony, that cannot count–”

“It was spur of the moment, but it was so important that I already knew it was the right choice, no matter how I did it.” He paused, thinking. “Well, I guess doing it well did help.” 

“Exactly!” Pepper threw her hands in the air and got to her feet. “It needs to be perfect. I can’t go screwing something like this up.” 

“Maybe instead of focusing on the gift, you should focus on the sentiment.” Tony shrugged. 

His fiancee gave him the death glare. “Hypocrite.  Does having a panic attack over not knowing what to give Peter last Christmas ring a bell?–”

“But then I gave him a hug and he thought that was his present! And you know what, he cried he was so happy.” Tony also had his hands in the air at this point, and anyone watching through the soundproof glass walls of Pepper’s office had to be wondering what the hell was going on. A silent rave? An upside down handstand contest? Who knew? “It doesn’t take much to please him, Pep. Just spend some time with him today and I promise you’ll feel better about the whole thing. You’ve been so focused on figuring this whole adoption thing out that we haven't seen you around as much.” Tony put on a sugar-coated, slightly mocking voice, “Peter misses you…”

“Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Pepper groaned, putting her face in her hands.

“What?” Tony asked, standing up straighter. Could it be…?

“You’re right, okay?” Pepper finally admitted into her hands. 

It could be!

“Really?” Tony asked. It had been a while since he had heard that. Especially from someone who was known to be a logical and sensible person. 

“Yes.” Pepper gave an exasperated sigh and shook her head with a rueful smile. “Yes, you’re right. I can’t have you hogging Peter all to yourself, can I?” Pepper kissed his cheek and walked out the door. 

“Well, I mean, you could…” Tony trailed off, beginning to realize that he had truly created a monster. ”Wait, are you saying I have to share? Wait, Pep!” 

Pepper held back her laughter as she walked (read: raced) down the stairs towards the avengers’ common room and kitchen, where Peter usually ate breakfast with… well, anyone who showed up when he did. Which usually ended up being everyone. The residents of the compound almost always waited for Peter for breakfast, and with the two new visitors, it was bound to be extra crowded– and chaotic. 

Pepper burst into the dining room with a grin. “Peter?” She called in no particular direction.

A hand raised from what was practically a dog pile instead of a huddle around the table. “Here!” 

“Are you… able to get out?” She asked, leaning over to observe the group closer. 

“Yeah, just– give me– a minute!” There was a loud laugh as someone pushed Peter out of the circle obligingly. 

Pepper rushed to him, grabbing his wrist and pulling him towards the door on the opposite side of the room. “Okay, let’s go, let’s go–”

“Where are we going?” Peter asked curiously, following her immediately and matching her pace. 

“Not sure yet, but we’re currently being chased by Tony, so–” She looked at him with a wide grin and shrugged. “Anywhere. Any ideas?”

Peter’s face lit up. “Oh, yeah, I got some good hiding spots.” 

“Okay, let’s go.” 

Tony walked casually into the dining room, calm as ever. “Anyone seen Pepper?” 

Steve chuckled. “Just grabbed Peter and ran.”

“Let me guess,” Nat asked, leaning against the table with a grin, “She got wise and is trying to keep you from keeping him all to yourself?”

“Well, that’s what she thinks.” Tony smirked.

Thor stood up at his full height. “What does that mean? What she thinks is the truth, no? That’s what all of you told me last time I was here…”

“Tony, what did you do?” Rhodey asked, a grimace of anticipation on his face.

Tony shrugged. “Just convinced her to hang out with Pete for a little bit today instead of panicking in her office for the next sixteen hours.” 

“Why is she panicking? It’s not about the whole… Dr Strange thing is it? He already said it was probably nothing.” Wanda asked, concern flooding her eyes. “It’s nothing, right?”

Tony shook his head to reassure the young Avenger. “No, no. She knows better than to worry about something Strange isn’t worried about.” 

Anybody who knew Wanda before the new accords never would have guessed that after years of wanting him dead and seeking only to spill his blood, she would be seeking news and comfort in Tony Stark. But then, sometimes the unexpected happens. 

Sometimes even the wisest don’t see what is to come. 

“So what is she worried about?” Steve asked. “Is it something we should know about?”

Tony paused, thinking. “I… if Pepper wants you to know, then you’ll know. I’m just not sure how much of it is confidential for now. You will know in probably nine-ish days, if it makes you feel better.” 

“You just picked a random number, didn’t you.” Clint deadpanned.

Rhodey rolled his eyes. “No, birdbrain, that’s Peter’s birthday. It has something to do with him.” He turned to Tony and gave a smug smile. “And I, with uncle privileges, already know what it is.” 

Tony crossed his arms. “Damn, she asked you for advice, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, because she knew mine would be better than yours.” Rhodey taunted.

“Uh, since when?”

“Since actual suggestions on tactics became better than your whole ‘oh, it’s the sentiment that counts’ bullshit!” Rhodey laughed incredulously. “Come on, that only applies to gifts, can you imagine if that applied to everything? ‘Oh, don’t worry, pilot. Land the plane wherever you want, as long as you do your best!’” 

Tony shook his head. “You ex-air force guys and your planes, oh my god.” 

The two grinned at each other and went to fill their coffee cups, leaving a very confused and almost amused group of avengers behind. 

“So, what, you’re just gonna have them run wild until they realize you were never chasing them?” Rhodey asked, handing Tony a mug. 

Tony shrugged. “I mean, I guess so. Hopefully it’s not a waste of their time.”

“You mean, hopefully it’s not a waste of time that could be Peter-Tony time.” Rhodey corrected.

His best friend shrugged. “Call it what you want.”

“I call it how it is.” The man chuckled. “Really, though, Tones. How’s the adoption process going? Or has it started yet?” 

The table on the other side of the room went silent. Rhodey and Tony frowned at each other and slowly turned around.

“And you all heard everything we just said, didn’t you.” Tony said it, and though it wasn’t really a question and more of a statement, the group nodded in unison. 

“Pepper was worried about how to put forward the idea of adopting Peter.” Natasha nodded in understanding. 

Tony frowned slightly. 

“Ohhhhhhhhh…” Scott said. “I thought Rhodey was adopting Peter.”

“What? Why would I do that? I'm already at cool uncle status, I don’t wanna be a parent!” The realization hit him– “I DON’T WANNA COPARENT WITH TONY!”

“Wow, okay? A little harsh?” Tony defended. 

Rhodey scrunched his face up and shook his head. “Is it? Why would I do that to myself?”

Tony smiled in a dramatic adoring way. “Why do you do anything with me, honey-bear?” 

“He has a point.” Rhodey announced. “From here on out, I terminate my relationship with–”

Tony let out a scream and hit his arm. “No! How could you? After everything we’ve been through–”

Pepper and Peter looked at each other, sharing a concerned glance. 

“That’s… Tony screaming, yeah?” Peter asked. 

“Yeah.” Pepper confirmed. 

“Hm.” 

There was a beat of silence, and Pepper wondered if the joke had gone too far. Maybe she should take Peter back to Tony, maybe Peter was uncomfortable being alone with her–

“Anyway, you wanna play chess or something?” Peter asked, oblivious to her tornado of thoughts. 

“Chess is good,” She said, letting her insecurities take a small break. Pepper Potts needed to stop overthinking things– she didn’t want to ruin something again because she was trying too hard to make it work. How many times had that happened with her and Tony? Their relationship had gone so much better when they had kept it open and casual, instead of throwing themselves at each other and hoping it worked out. If she stayed as calm as Peter was, and just let them get used to each other's company, then he would be more ready when she asked him to take the leap of faith. 

She knew it wasn’t the same thing as her and Tony, but there was one universal truth that applied to all relationships: If you don’t prepare someone for the jump, then they won’t know to catch you. 

If she threw herself at Peter without him expecting it, it would go horribly awry. Most likely. 

But then again, Peter had fast reflexes, so maybe it would be fine. 

But, maybe his reflexes usually applied to fights, so he would push her away instead of catching her–

“Pull yourself together,” She thought to herself. Because of course in her attempt to reason with her insecurities and become her usual confident self, she had come up with some flimsy analogy that was, once again, getting her lost in her thoughts. 

“You want to start first?” Peter asked, finishing setting up a chess board.

Pepper nodded. “Sure. But quick question,” She cleared her throat and looked around the hidden ceiling loft. “How did you find out about this place?” 

“Was climbing the walls one night so that Steve wouldn’t see me when he checked who was scratching on his door again–” Peter froze. "Uh, not because I was, uh, it was for... not a prank! But like, a... hazing...?" 

“That was you?” Pepper asked, eyes wide.

Peter had the audacity to look ashamed, and nodded. He cringed in on himself as if waiting for… what, yelling? A hit?

“That makes so much sense,” Pepper accidentally let out a surprised laugh. She put a hand over her mouth. “I mean, this is definitely a serious situation. Not… not funny at all.”

Peter looked cautiously up at her from under his eyelashes. 

“It’s just, the whole ghost thing showing up out of nowhere, and then disappearing all of a sudden after you started to kind of get along with them? I suspected it, but… I can't believe it, you pretended the house was haunted to haze to rogue avengers!” Pepper’s face broke out into a smile again. “That was... actually really creative, how did you even decide to do that?”

Pepper gave a sheepish smile at Pepper’s show of genuine curiosity. “Uh, well everyone was really tired the night they first came over, and I guess delirious, too. And they all just started talking about how ghosts are scary and stuff. It was… it was way too easy.” He admitted.

“Yeah, I bet. Is that why it didn’t last very long?”

“I guess. That, and I was starting to get to know them, and I was starting to feel guilty about it.” Peter frowned. 

Pepper smiled kindly at him. “Yeah, well. If I’ve learned anything about you, it’s that you have a very kind heart. And if you lose your way, you’re bound to find your way back.” She elbowed him softly. “Even if it takes a little help.” 

Peter grinned at her. “Thanks, Pepper.” 

She moved her first pawn. 

“Okay, Tony, don’t act so bored: it was your idea to let them have some bonding time.” Rhodey said, shaking his head. 

Tony groaned into the couch cushions. “I know, but it’s taking so long. ”

“Oh my god, you got so annoying when you started caring about people, you know that?” Rhodey teased, swatting at his arm. “It’s only been three hours.”

Tony raised his head to glare at Rhodey. “Yes, I’m sure you miss the old me.” He said, ignoring the latter comment. Time was irrelevant most of the time to Tony, because when he was alone, it somehow always felt so much longer than it was. 

“No, you’re right, I like this new one way better. Even though he’s a little bit clingy.” Rhodey smiled softly. “Why don’t you go find them? I’m sure it would be good for Peter to get some time being with both of his parents around.” 

Tony pretended that the argument was much more logical than it really was to him. And pushed himself to his feet. “Right you are, Platypus. Guess I’m gonna crash their party.” 

Rhodey rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you have fun. I’m gonna go find everyone else, I think they were trying to show Thor what a cherry bomb was? I don’t know if I misheard them, but I think Loki was telling them to attach a bunch together… and I don’t know how gullible they actually are.” 

Tony wished him luck without really thinking about anything his friend had said and headed upstairs. “FRI, where’s Peter and Pep?” 

“In Peter’s super secret ceiling room.” 

“Thanks, FRI.” 

As he approached the room, he heard loud laughter coming from it. 

So it was going well! Tony thought excitedly.

Or… it was going horribly and one of them was laughing over the dead body of the other. 

…But it was most likely going well. 

Tony quietly pushed open the door to find Pepper slumped against the wall, wheezing, and Peter laying on the ground, clutching his stomach and crying.

Maybe it wasn’t going well? 

“Uh…” 

The two looked up at Tony, and broke into laughter again. 

Ah, right, Peter cried when he laughed. They were laughing. It was going very well, by the looks of it. 

“So… what’s going on?” Tony asked, cautiously sitting on the ground next to the discarded chess board. 

Pepper hiccuped and sat up straighter, “Uh, oh, well we were–” She looked over at Peter and burst into laughter again.

“It’s about me, isn’t it?”

Peter nodded, tears rolling down his cheeks. Tony instinctively leaned over and used the pads of his thumbs to carefully wipe them away from his face. 

“Oh, god, what did tell him, Pep?”

“She was just telling me about the time that you two went down to Tennessee for a vacation and how some guy taught you how to ride cows, but you got confused and–” 

“Woah, woah, woah, Pepper told you about that?” Tony whipped his head over to look at his fiancee. “Pepper, how could you?”

“He told me about something embarrassing that you did, so I had to, too. It’s only fair.” She faked a sympathetic smile. 

Tony shook his head at the two. “Wow, you spend three hours alone and suddenly you’re both out to destroy me.” 

“People bond over common goals, honey.” Pepper bit back a grin unsuccessfully. 

Peter fell back over in another fit of giggles.

Even if Tony had to be the joke, he was just happy to hear his two favorite people laughing. Which, he would later learn from Pepper was an unhealthy mindset to have, but at that moment, he didn’t care. This had to be his favorite sound. He had to be the luckiest man on the planet. 

Peter sat up suddenly, a face so serious that Tony’s thoughts faltered immediately. 

“Somethings gonna–”

Boom. 

A monumental explosion shook the walls of the compound in a way that frankly terrified Tony. This was a strong building, if it was shaking, then what had–

“FRI, what’s going on?” Pepper asked, getting to her feet. 

Tony could only thank whatever universal power out there that this was the woman he was marrying: ever the image of reason and calm whereas he was… not.

“Loki enchanted a large amount of cherry bombs and someone lit them. It is unclear who.”

Peter cocked his head. “Wait, where did we get cherry bombs? I thought those were illegal.” 

“They are.” Tony groaned. “Why is it the Avengers who seem to do the most law breaking?” 

“Was anyone injured?” Pepper frowned.

“No.” The AI answered.

“Wait, where did they do this?” Peter asked.

FRIDAY supplied, “The back garden.”

“...Do we still have a back garden?” Tony asked.

The AI paused. “Not currently.” 

Tony sat back down with a surprised frown. “Huh. I guess Rhodey isn’t as convincing as he used to be.”

Pepper and Peter mirrored his expression and sat back down, sharing a moment of silence for the loss of Rhodey's negotiation skills. 

Tony clapped his hands together. "Anyway, who's up for some spaghetti?" 

Chapter Text

Somebody restrain the kid

Pepper looked down at her phone and found a text message on the group chat between her, Happy, and Rhodey. It was strictly for Peter-Tony business only, and it had come to be named ‘dumb dad and his crisis kid’. Of course, out of affection.

Salt

What’s up?

Not So Happy Hogan

Peter was bringing stuff up to his room and Tony asked him if he needed help

Rocky Rhode

Dumbass

He has super strength

Not So Happy Hogan

Yeah exactly. Now he’s picking up everything in the common room and very sarcastically asking Tony for help

Rocky Rhode

Let him deal with it. It’s his fault

Though he said that, he immediately got up and raced to the common room to see the whole ordeal. 

Pepper slipped into the room and stood next to Rhodey, watching Peter pick up a couch and then yell over his shoulder, “Oh, this is soooo heavy. Dad, could you get the other side for me?”

“Alright, alright, I get it! Gosh,” Tony threw his hands up in surrender. “When did you get so mean?”

“Since you adopted me, probably.” Peter grinned, setting the couch back down. He purposefully scooted it a few inches away from where it usually was. 

“Wow, low blow.” Tony said, picking up the box of stuff and shoving it back into Peter’s arms. 

Peter winced in a dramatic show of pain and added, “Man, your shoulders popped really loud when you picked that up. Is there anything you want me to move for you ?” 

Tony swatted at the back of his head. “Go put your stuff away, brat.” The two smirked at each other, and Peter left the room without argument.

“Wow, he diffused the situation all by himself!” Rhodey whooped and began clapping. 

“Barely.” Happy grunted from the other side of the room. 

Pepper also clapped a few times for her fiance’s success and smiled at Happy. 

“Oh, what would we do without you, Hap?” Tony asked teasingly. “You’re always here for us when my kid causes trouble. I can’t think of anyone else I would rather watch him destroy the house with.” 

Happy raised his eyebrows at the sarcasm. 

“Oh, Dad, I forgot to give you that hammer back that I found in the yard the other day!” Peter yelled from down the hall, making more skidding sounds than was probably necessary. 

He slid into the room with a smile, arm outstretched to Tony with a massive hammer in his hand. 

“Oh, you’ve gotta be fucking with me.” Happy muttered, rubbing his face. 

Peter frowned at him. “What? Did I do something wrong?”

Tony stared blankly at the hammer in his son’s hand. “No, nothing wrong, we’re just… I can’t say surprised, but… uh, just a little shocked, Petey.”

“Okayyyyy…” Peter set the hammer down on the coffee table and stared at it. “Now that I think about it, this is a lot bigger than that mallet we lost.” 

“Yeah, uh, that’s not a mallet.” Rhodey held back a laugh.

“Has anyone seen Thor’s hammer anywhere? He’s throwing a fit over it and he won’t call it because he’s ‘worried it’s going to break something’.” Loki strolled into the room with his arms crossed.

Mjolnir sat innocently on the glass coffee table. 

“Ah, there it is.” Loki said, and yelled over his shoulder, “THOR. It’s in here!” He turned back to the group and gave a ‘what can you do’ shrug. 

Thor barreled into the room and positively squealed at the sight of his hammer. “Ah, Mjolnir! We are united once again!” He threw a hand out and the hammer flew into it. 

“Perhaps you need more… people friends, Thor.” Loki suggested, patting his brother’s shoulder. 

“Nonsense. We are among many of them now! Peter, Son of Stark! You look like you could use some Asgardian ale. Not that I’m offering!” He added quickly at Tony’s sharp look.

“That’s… your hammer.” Peter mumbled, almost as pale as when he would be injured. 

Thor nodded happily. “Yes, it is!”

“He picked it up.” Tony explained. He seemed to wake up from some kind of trance, and added, “Of course he picked it up, why am I even shocked?” 

“You picked it up?” Thor asked, whipping to face Peter. “Here, show me!” He thrust the hammer towards Peter and waited for the dazed boy to take it from him.

Peter carefully reached out for it, and gingerly took it away. While he didn’t seem to trust his strength, he held it as if it weighed nearly nothing. 

“HE’S WORTHY!” Thor bellowed. “Peter, Son of Stark, I sensed such greatness in you! You are the worthy crown prince of Asgard!” 

Loki smirked at him. “Finally. I was worried we were never going to get a king I liked.” 

“A king ?” Peter raised his eyebrows. “I… don’t know if I’m cut out for that.”

“That’s alright, Peter! If you would like to pursue kingship then I can train you for it! Then as soon as I die, you can take the throne.”

“Woah, woah, woah, I don’t think I could just send my kid off to Asgard with you–”

“Oh, don’t worry, Tony. Asgard was destroyed during Ragnarok. New Asgard is here on Earth.” Thor supplied.

Tony shook his head, “Yeah, well I don’t think I could send him away from home at all.”

“Also, after you die ? I thought you were immortal?” Peter asked. 

Thor frowned. “Yes, well, I haven’t died yet, so we aren’t sure if that’s true or not. Also, there is always the great possibility that I die in battle.” 

“Ah.” Peter nodded. 

Tony shook his head, “No, look, I’m sorry Peter, but I don’t think I can send you off to be King of A– New Asgard. Also, being completely honest, I don’t know if Thor would ever die in time for you to be King.” 

“I mean, I don’t really mind. I’m pretty content where I am.” Peter said.

Thor clapped a hand to Peter’s shoulder as he prepared to compliment Peter’s wisdom, and recoiled when Peter stayed upright. “Oh, I am sorry, I always forget my– but how did you withstand such a blow?” 

“Super strength.” Peter shrugged. 

Thor raised his eyebrows. “Ah, I should have guessed.”

“He’s Spiderman.” Loki announced, watching Thor’s eyes widen.

“You’re Spiderman ?” Thor asked excitedly. When Peter nodded with a very surprised expression, Thor clapped his hands together and laughed. “I can’t imagine a better man to be such a great hero. Tell me, how did you become half spider?” 

“Well, I’m not half spider, I just have some spider DNA is all.” Peter explained. When Thor seemed to understand him, he continued,”I got bit by a radioactive spider. Don’t know if I can completely explain the science behind that one.” 

“Fascinating! Once, Loki got cursed and he got the powers of a spider– are you able to… dispense web fluid? ” Thor asked carefully, lowering his voice as if it was a sensitive topic.

Peter giggled, remembering Loki’s story. “Uh, no actually. But I mix chemicals together and put them in a dispenser and those shoot webs for me.”

“That was very intelligent! After all, what is a spider without his webs?” Thor said, throwing a brazen glance at Loki. Loki shook his head. 

“Even though he is not to be announced king, I believe it would still be beneficial for him to be crown prince. He won’t have any responsibilities, except maybe to visit New Asgard every once in a while. And maybe him helping two gods and a Valkyrie run a country might look good on a resume, or whatever you Midgardians call it.” Loki changed the topic to avoid any more fan-girling on Thor’s part. 

“Ah yes, we would be happy to have him around, and you could come visit with him!” Thor said, extending an arm to Tony.

Tony frowned, only wanting the best for his son. “If it gets to be too much for him then I’m terminating his prince-ship.” 

“Fair!” Thor agreed. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. How do you feel about it, Peter?”

“I… I mean, okay. I don’t see any problems with it. I… still am not completely sure what’s going on?... I feel like it should be harder to become a prince, but okay.”

“Don’t put yourself down, Peter. It is very hard to be worthy. I still don’t understand how I am. But you, Son of Stark, are more noble and pure than any other I’ve met. It only makes sense for you to be worthy.”  Thor encouraged him, and Tony smiled a little. It was completely true. If it made sense for anyone to be worthy, it would be Peter. And… well, it was.  

“I think this means I have the legal rights to bragging about having the best nephew, right?” Rhodey asked. 

Happy chuckled quietly and nudged him. “You mean ‘we’, right?” 

“Of course, how could I forget about good ol’ Uncle Hap?” Rhodey teased. 

“Peter, don’t expect any special treatment just because you’re a prince now.” Pepper warned with a playful wag of her finger. 

“Special treatment? What do you mean, he already deserves the most special-est treatment. Why should we deny him that now just because of his change in status? That’s classist!” Tony exclaimed, putting both hands on either side of Peter’s face and turning it to face Pepper. “I mean, come on, Pep. Look at this face!”

Peter raised his eyebrows and tried to pull out of his father’s iron grip before deflating and giving up. Tony laughed and let go of him. 

Natasha clicked her tongue at the father and son as she walked in. Crossing her arms, she looked down at Peter with an intimidating stare. “So.” 

“Yeah…?” He asked nervously. 

She squinted at him. “Wanna explain how the common room is flooded?”

Peter’s expression faltered. “I– it flooded?”

Tony frowned. “Weird. That’s not supposed to happen.” 

“Yeah. That’s not even the weirdest part.” She looked away from Tony and back down at Peter, still wearing her stone-faced mask. “It’s flooded with lava.” 

Peter stared up at her silently.

The only sounds in the room were the ticking of some clock. 

And the buzzing of empty sound.

“It was a good move. You scared the shit outta Clint when he fell out of the vents and onto a table half sunk into lava.” Her mask fell away and Natasha laughed lightly. “Never seen a grown man look so surprised.”

Peter chuckled, slightly out of the humor of the situation and partly because thank god she’s not going to decapitate him .

“You and Shuri made it, right?” She asked. 

Peter nodded. 

“Good work. But we need you to clean it up before Scott starts reenacting that lava battle scene in that one Star Wars movie.” Natasha joked, punching his arm playfully. 

“The Duel on Mustafar?” Peter asked. “Wait, do you think he’d let me be Anakin?” 

Natasha’s mouth quirked into a smile and she shook her head. She looked over to Pepper and Tony and pointed down at Peter. “Helluva kid, Starks,” And the woman sauntered out of the room. 

Peter watched her go, then turned back to Pepper and Tony, unfazed by Natasha addressing Pepper as his mom. “No, but actually, do you think he’d let me be Anakin?” 

“Don’t worry, young Padawan. We shall fight him for it if he won’t.” Loki announced grandly. 

Peter’s eyes widened. “Padawan? You’ve seen Star Wars?” 

Loki scoffed. “Of course I have, I was at Amidala's funeral. Couldn’t believe Earth made a documentary about all that.” 

Peter gaped at him, Tony and Rhodey even having the decency to look shocked.

“I’m just kidding.” Loki smirked. “But yes, I’ve seen the movies. I'll have you know that I am very up to date with Midgardian pop culture.” 

"But you don't know what a resume is...?" Peter asked slowly. 

Loki raised his eyebrows as if to challenge Peter's confusion. 

The teen shrugged. “Alright, do you wanna go fight Scott with me?” 

“Always.” Loki answered. 

The two strode dramatically from the room, Happy and Rhodey laughing, Pepper and Tony smiling at each other. 

Chapter Text

“Hey, Dad?” 

“Yeah, Pete?” Tony looked up from the phone he was disassembling. 

Peter sat down on a swivel chair in the lab and kicked, sending him spinning across the room towards Tony. “What if we went outside tonight. And just hungout and looked at the stars and stuff.”

Tony raised his eyebrows in surprise and Peter backtracked immediately. “I mean, I know it’s a dumb idea, I was just thinking about like–”

“No, Petey, it sounds great. Who all were you thinking? You and me?”

Peter, highly relieved, answered, “I dunno, I didn’t think that far ahead.”

“Well, with our luck, the others will find some way to hijack our event.” Tony began.

Peter finished jokingly, “Best to invite them and hope they don’t show.”

“Exactly. I’ve taught you well.” Tony smiled, standing up and ruffling his hair.

“Well you’ve definitely taught him, but I don’t know who all would consider it 'well’.”

The two looked to their door.

Tony’s eyes lit up. “Pep, darling! What has happened for you to grace us with your presence?”

“A catastrophe. Tony, we need to talk.” Pepper answered bluntly. 

“Oh. Okay. No Peter?” He asked, and drooped dramatically when she shook her head no.

He waved sadly at his son and mouthed ‘be right back’ as he exited being partially dragged by his fiancee.

Peter sat down in Tony’s seat and waited patiently, examining the phone Tony had been deconstructing. Glancing up at the hologram in front of him, he decided to further whatever project his father had been working on. 

Meanwhile, in the hallway…

“Why didn’t Strange tell me that if it’s such an emergency?” Tony asked.

Pepper pursed her lips. “Because he told Steve.”

Tony sighed. “Of course he did. Was Steve planning to tell anyone else?”

“Of course he was, I had to stop him!” Pepper answered, throwing her arms in the air. “Strange keeps sending mixed messages– either he doesn’t want everyone to know and panic or he wants everyone on guard; he can't decide and so I’m taking things into my own hands. I’ve already called him to tell him that he can come to us when he decides it’s an ‘avenger’s level threat’ or whatever that means. I honestly think we should be working on it now, but...” She took a deep breath and continued, “But I wanted you to know. If something bad could happen… I just want Peter to be safe, is all. And I think you’re our best bet.” 

Tony took it in and nodded. “How bad is it really?”

“They found more bodies, Tony.” Pepper put a hand to her forehead and bit her lip. “They found five more bodies.”

“Same condition as before?” Tony asked warily.

Pepper nodded. “If anything, he’s escalating.”

“He?” Tony raised his eyebrows.

His fiancee shook her head. “I– we don’t know.”

“I… I’m starting to wonder if this– this thing is even human. What kind of human just leaves a trail of bodies in that condition? Pep, they couldn’t even identify them, the police are relying on dental records and fingerprints alone at this point!”

“Some kind of psychotic serial killer, Tony! We've seen worse, and people are capable of horrible–”

“I know that!” Tony burst out. The two stood in silence for a moment as he collected himself. “I know we’ve seen worse.” The man sighed and rubbed his hands down his face. “But we’ve got a lot more to lose this time around, Pep. We have the team back, and I have you, and I have the kid now, what if he– it– gets to–” 

“We won’t let it.” Pepper all but growled. 

Tony stared at his fiancee, slightly taken aback. Yeah, he had seen her mad before, quite often actually. But this was different. He had only seen it a couple times before, mostly in Maria Stark when she was alive, but he’d be damned if he didn’t recognize what it was now. This wasn’t just anger: it was maternal instinct, motherly love. “Shit, Pep, I’m sorry. Sometimes I forget I’m not his only parent.”

Pepper’s face softened–

A pained yelp shattered the moment and Tony and Pepper spun around and raced back into the lab. 

“Peter?”

“Peter!”

“Down here.” A raspy voice gasped out. 

The two parents glanced at each other and ran to the voice. Laying on the floor in a state of weak surprise was a slightly bloodied Peter Parker-Stark, shrouded in furls of lazy grey smoke. 

“Oh, baby,” Pepper cooed, putting her arms around his waist and hoisting him into a sitting position. She rested his back against her and held him up for Tony to examine him. “You okay, baby, what happened?”

“I just…” Peter coughed. “I accidentally blew up your phone.” 

Tony raised his eyebrows. “I’m not worried about the damn phone, kid, are you okay?”

“Cut my hand on the glass,” He sighed. “Breathed in some of that smoke.” 

“Okay, that’s okay, buddy.” Tony prompted, sharing a look with Pepper. “Let’s, uh, let’s wash that off.”

Peter nodded his assent and let Pepper and Tony drag him to his feet. 

“Anything else hurt?” Pepper asked, dragging Peter to the bathroom in the corner of the room.

Peter shrugged, his shock wearing off. “I don’t think so, Mo– Pepper.”

The couple glided over his mistake. “You don’t think so? What kind of an answer is that?” Tony would never not be bewildered by this kid. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Pete, injuries are not secrets!” 

“I know, I know,” Peter coughed out. His voice cracked as his throat had become completely dry, even after only a few inhales of the smoke. 

“Shit, kid,” Tony muttered. “Pep, could you turn on the fan in there or something? We need that smoke to clear out.”

Pepper nodded and strode from the room, leaving Tony and Peter alone again. Tony turned on the water and let Peter rinse his hands. After making sure there wasn’t any glass lodged in the boy’s reddened hands, his strong hands gripped Peter’s shoulders and turned him around. He sat on the counter and let Tony wrap his hands in light bandages. The man’s calloused hands were gentle with those of his son. 

“Deja vu,” Tony broke the silence, but spoke so quietly that it could barely be considered broken. 

Peter looked up to meet his father’s eyes. 

“Yeah.” Peter agreed, looking down at his half-bandaged hands. “Deja vu.” 

The two sat in silence, Peter’s eyes falling back down to his lap. This was very similar to the day when he found out the rogues were moving back with him. Funny how things happen like that. But things were much better. He and Tony were closer than ever, the rogues were actually pretty cool, and he had a mom! Er, no, he had Pepper. Which was pretty close– no, he couldn’t just assume that because she was nice to him that she thought of him like a son! How presumptuous and embarrassing could he be? Had he actually just called her mom ? He really was a complete idiot.

“You know, I know what’s going on.”

Of course he knew. But that didn’t mean Peter wanted him to. 

“Look, I know you and Pepper have been getting close lately–”

Peter snorted at the understatement. He and Pepper had been hanging out almost constantly recently. The boy almost couldn’t believe how interested she was in him– she wanted to get to know him, to be around him. It was weird… but then again, she was going to marry his dad. But there was no way she was going to be his mom or anything.  She hadn’t signed up to be a parent when she signed up to marry Tony. What if she and Tony decided to have their own kids and get rid of him so they could have a clean state? They would probably want kids together, and if she did then she only signed up for the kids between them! Shit, that’s probably what they wanted! Tony needed to break it to him and he was too kind to just go out and say it. Maybe he should just go ahead and put Tony out of his misery….

“Look, just say it.” Peter said, clenching his toes and beginning to sweat. “You and Pepper need to get rid of me so you guys can have a clean slate. I get it. You don’t have to feel bad about it.”

Peter looked up at his father, who stared at him blankly. “What?” He asked dumbly. 

Peter frowned. “I just… what were you going to say?” 

“That I’m glad my son and future wife are getting along?” Tony sputtered. “What is this about getting rid of you? Pete, we’ve already gone over this, I want you here and nobody’s opinion can change that! Even if Pepper didn’t love you, you would be staying. Good grief, kid.” 

Peter’s face burned red. “I just… Sorry.” He whispered. 

“I hope you are!” Tony mumbled, finishing wrapping the bandages. “There’s only so many times that I can lecture a kid on how much I care about him.” 

Peter chuckled. “I, yeah, I guess so.” 

“Oh, and another thing: if you ever, for any reason, see or feel weird– spidey-sense or otherwise– you come to me, okay? I need to know about this stuff.” 

Peter nodded at his father and slid off of the counter. “Okay...? Where is all of this coming from? That was completely out of the blue.” 

“Just tired.” Tony answered. “Got a big day tomorrow I’ve been thinking pretty hard about.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “My birthday is not that big of a deal, and that has nothing to do with my safety.” 

“You’re sixteenth birthday? That’s totally a big deal! And I don’t want any aliens or reporters ruining it for any reason, so you gotta tell me if you think something is coming.” 

“Okay…” Peter answered slowly. 

Tony laughed quietly and threw an arm around Peter’s shoulder, leading him back to the desk. “I guess we should go clean up that phone, huh?”

Peter nodded, though his thoughts were back with Tony’s words. What was Tony so worried about? And did he seriously think that Peter didn’t hear his heart rate increase when he was talking about Peter’s safety and his spidey-sense? “‘Kay.”

Tony smiled. His heart rate didn’t decrease. 

*****

That night, Tony and Peter laid quilts across the yard for all of the inhabitants of Avengers’ Compound. 

“What gave you this idea, bud?” Tony asked, sitting down on one of the quilts. 

Peter shrugged and flopped down next to him. “Ben used to take me up to the roof the night before my birthday every year and we would go stargazing. Sometimes we would talk and sometimes we would just… sit there. When he died, May would do it with me.” Peter sighed, squinting up at the sky. “They’re a lot brighter out here.” 

Tony nodded as the rest of their friends joined them on the yard, grouping together onto different quilts and throwing themselves onto their backs. A few of them began hushed conversations, while the others used the time for quiet contemplation. Tony and Peter stayed quiet for a few minutes, but Peter couldn’t let it stay that way forever. Especially having just brought up old traditions with his aunt and uncle… it was hard to take his mind off of the fate of his lost pseudo parents.

“Do you ever wonder…” Peter trailed off, seemed to think better of what he was saying, and shook his head.

Tony propped himself up on his elbow. “Do I ever wonder what?”

“No, it's nothing. Kinda dumb.” Peter waved him off. 

“For some reason I doubt that, kid.” Tony chuckled. “I haven’t heard a thing that was actually dumb from you. At least, not that I remember.”

Peter frowned, thinking. “I just… Do you ever wonder where the people that don’t talk to you anymore are now?” 

“Yeah, I guess I used to quite a lot.” Tony answered, laying down to face the sky. Knowing where it was going, he added, “I’ve been doing a lot better since I stopped, though.”

Peter let the silence fill the space between them. “Yeah.” He said simply. 

Tony looked over at his son and tutted, pulling him into his arms. “Do you wanna know how May’s doing?” 

Peter sniffled and nodded.

“She’s… well, she’s moved to a different state, and she’s got a new job. I think she’s engaged.” Tony began scratching at the back of Peter’s neck, keeping his breaths steady and hoping this new information wouldn’t crush his spider-baby. 

Peter stayed quiet and Tony squeezed him in their horizontal hug. The two waited for the other to speak, though neither knew what to say.

“I’m glad she’s happy now.” Peter finally whispered, his voice breaking quietly.

Tony pressed a kiss to the side of his head and murmured quiet reassurances. “She’s happy out there on her own, and we're happy here together. We all got what we wanted, baby.” 

Peter nodded, mopping at his eyes with the backs of his hands. “Yeah. Yeah, that's true.” Peter gave a pained smile up at his father.

“She doesn’t know what she’s missing.” Tony said earnestly, stroking Peter’s cheek with his thumb. “She really doesn’t get what she’s missing, cucciolo. And if Ben could see you know, I know he would be so proud. If he’s half as great as you’ve made him out to be, then I know he’s so incredibly happy to see who you’re becoming.” 

Peter nodded with a smile. “Yeah, I really think he would.” He looked up at Tony. “Thanks, Dad. For everything. I don’t know where I would be without you.”

“Probably dead.” Tony chuckled, pressing a kiss to his forehead. 

Peter laughed with him, and the two settled into a comfortable silence. Only then did the sound of some dated tune float over to them. 

“Hey, I know this song.” Peter mumbled. 

Tony scrunched his face up in thought. “Didn’t we put this on Cap’s birthday playlist?” 

“It’s been a long, long time…”

“Yeah, we did.” Peter agreed. 

Two by two, people began to pair off and slow dance together. Wanda and Vision, Natasha and Rhodey, Clint and Scott (tripping over each other and cackling), Thor dragging Bruce around…

Pepper crouched next to the pair and held out her hands. “Hey, come on.” 

The two looked up at her with oblivious blank expressions. She rolled her eyes and pulled them to their feet. Wrapping an arm around Peter and Tony, she began to sway them back and forth. After all, who was there to judge them? 

Tony caught on almost immediately and wrapped his other arm around Peter. Though Peter’s ears reddened, he wrapped both of his arms around his two parents. 

“Haven’t felt like this, my dear, since can’t remember when…”

“This was a good idea, Peter.” Tony murmured. 

Peter smiled up at the two. “Yeah. Old traditions are good, but… I think new ones are okay, too.” 

Pepper and Tony glanced at each other with fond smiles. 

“Peter, could you go ask Steve to turn up the music?” Pepper asked.

Peter nodded and withdrew from the group, leaving Pepper and Tony alone. 

“Tony, I’m taking a trip up to the city tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow for Peter’s birthday, I just need to meet with Strange, okay?” 

Tony frowned. “Is Happy taking you?” 

Pepper shook her head.

“Let Happy take you–”

“Tony, it’s fine, I’ll–”

“Pep, I don’t want you on your own with this thing on the loose.” Tony said earnestly. 

“You’ll never know how many dreams I dream about you…”

Pepper sighed. “Okay.” After a moment of silence, she added, “My lawyers have the adoption papers ready for tomorrow. For if he agrees.” 

Tony smiled. “Good. That’s good.” 

Peter appeared next to the two again. 

Pepper pulled him into a hug and he returned it without question. “Are you leaving?” His muffled voice asked. 

“Yes, but I’ll be back for your birthday, okay?” She answered, and kissed his forehead. Tony patted Peter’s shoulder. 

“You don’t have to, you know.” Peter said. “Don’t rush yourself and get hurt or anything.”

“I won’t,” Pepper answered, ruffling his hair. “But I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Pete.” 

Peter blushed and smiled at his feet.

“Have a safe trip.” Tony said. 

His fiancee dropped a quick kiss on his lips and patted his cheek. “I’ll be back before you know it.” She said. 

“Or just how empty they all seem without you…”

“Love you, Pep.”

“Love you, mo– Pepper!” 

“I love you, too.” Pepper smiled at her two boys and pulled them both into one more hug. “Happy early birthday, Peter. I’ll see you both tomorrow.” 

Before she could convince herself to stay, Pepper spun on her heel and walked back inside to collect her things to leave. Five more bodies , she thought to herself. There was no way she could just sit around while people died– her city was in danger, and who knew what this villain wanted? Who knew when and where it would strike next– who knew who the next victim would be? She trusted Strange, of course, but couldn’t really feel like the situation was thoroughly under control until she herself looked it over. 

After all, wasn’t she a mother now? Wasn't it her job to make the world safer?

Tony turned to Peter. “Welp. Just you and me, bambi.” He held out his hands and let Peter take them. 

“So kiss me once, and kiss me twice, and kiss me once again,

It’s been a long, long time…” 

Chapter Text

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap…

Peter’s eyes blinked open. From the way his room was completely dark save the dim red light shining from his alarm clock, he knew that it was either very late or very early. 

He yawned and looked up at the clock.

…It said that it was 6:32 PM? 

Peter sat up and rubbed his eyes, looking at the clock again. The red numbers stared him down, refusing to say anything but 6:32 PM. 

Why was he even asleep? He should be with everyone else having dinner. He glanced at the clock, and then did a double take– August 10? 

He had slept through most of his birthday? 

Peter frowned. Why would Tony let him sleep through a whole day? Especially this one?

How had he even managed to sleep that long? 

And why wouldn’t that stupid noise stop?!?

Tap. Tap. Tap. 

Peter groaned but nonetheless got to his feet. He padded down the freezing cold hall searching for Tony, frowning at the sight of stars in the sky outside the window. But it was only six, so why would the sun already be down? Maybe his clock was wrong. 

He pushed open the door to Tony’s room and sighed at the sight of the empty bed. He was probably down at the lab again, desperately avoiding sleep. The teen spun on his heel and tiptoed down the hallway in search of his father. 

Tap. Tap. Tap. 

The farther Peter got down the hall, the louder the sound got. As his skin began to crawl and sweat started running down the back of his neck despite the freezing temperatures, he heard the tapping stop… and a sort of distorted scratching begin– almost like a record player.

“Suddenly you’re nowhere to be found

I turn around and everything has changed…”

Exactly like a record player, Peter realized. Steve’s record player, actually, because who else at the compound would have one? 

The music floated down the hallway from the living room, where the door was shut and a muted light filtered reluctantly under it. He took another careful step toward it, even though his senses were screaming for him to turn around and run .

“Please say hello to the folks that I know, tell them I won’t be long…”

Peter pushed open the door and gagged as an awful stench of iron and burnt something assaulted his nose. He peeked his head though, and on seeing nothing, quietly stepped inside. The boy looked every which way continuously to make sure nobody would creep up on him, keeping his head on a swivel. Seeing nowhere else to look for, he decided to see where that smell was coming from.

“They’ll be happy to know that as you saw me go–”

He quickly realized that the smell was coming from behind one of the couches. He hurried towards it– what if someone was hurt?-- and completely ignored the now searing pain his sixth sense was creating in the back of his neck. 

He looked over the back of the couch. 

Laying on the floor in an ocean of blood, legs broken and bruised and bleeding, fingers burned and toes charred, missing most of her teeth— was Aunt May.

“May?” Peter choked out, jumping over the couch to get to her. The first thing he did was grab her blistered wrist and check for a pulse. 

Nothing. 

“Come on, May? May! Can you hear me? May, please wake up!” 

Her glassy eyes stayed resolutely staring up at the ceiling. 

“No, no, no…” Peter sobbed out. “No, May, please!--”

A hand grabbed Peter’s wrist and he immediately twisted to see who it was– following the arm back to its body, he found…

“May?” Peter’s voice quivered. 

Her eyes slid from the ceiling and down to look at him. 

“Hello, Peter.” She rasped. 

Peter tried to pull away, but her hand was clenched tightly around his arm– 

“May, you’re breaking my wrist!” 

Sure enough, a snapping sound echoed through the room moments later, and Peter cried out in pain.

“LET ME GO, LET ME GO!” Peter screamed. 

May tilted her head at him. “I can’t let you go…” She whispered. “It’s not my choice.” 

“I… what?” 

May smiled at him and rose to her feet in a ghostly manner, her feet staying in the same spot on the floor the whole time as her body simply lifted to stand over them. 

“May, what– what is this? Who’s doing this to you?” Peter asked frantically. 

May leaned into his face– Peter noticed how no breath seemed to be coming from her– and answered, “You.”

Peter yelled for help over the music that was only getting progressively louder. 

“Keep smiling through, just like you always do…”

“TONY! TONY, HELP ME, PLEASE!” 

“Tony can’t hear you.” May hissed. 

Peter swung his head to look at her. “Why not?” 

“Because we aren’t even at the compound.” May answered. 

Surely enough, Peter looked around and realised– he was in an old apartment. His and May’s old apartment. 

“Why the long face, Petey?” May cooed. “We’re home now.”

May leaned towards him and stroked his cheek with the hand that wasn’t keeping him firmly in front of her. 

“GO AWAY!” Peter screamed through his tears. “LET ME GO, GET AWAY FROM ME!” 

May frowned. “Is that what you want?” 

Peter nodded, taking a moment to breathe. 

She stared at him for a long moment, glassy eyes never showing emotion. Finally, she answered, “We don’t always get what we want, do we, Peter?” 

Peter gulped and opened his mouth to scream again, but before he could, his aunt leaned over to him, the pool of blood splashing around her feet and onto his legs and up his body. The cold silence made the air suffocating, and he could hardly breath, and god , that smell –

“ I’ll see you tonight. ” May whispered. 

Peter looked up at her, horrified– only she wasn’t there anymore. Just him standing in a pool of blood with charcoal on his face and terror in his eyes. 

“We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when…”

“Peter…” 

Peter spun around to see where the deep voice had come from. It was echoing, almost… robotic.

“Peter…”

“But we’ll meet again, some sunny day…”

“Peter!”

Peter jolted up in his bed, sweating profusely. He wiped at his eyes and face, looking immediately over at his clock. The blue letters read 6:32 AM, August 10.

“Peter, buddy, are you okay?” 

The teen looked over to the voice, and found Tony kneeling at his bedside with a grimace of concern on his face. 

“Just… just a nightmare.” Peter's voice shook, and he squeezed his eyes shut. He forced them open immediately when the image of May, distorted and dead, assaulted his vision again. 

Tony frowned. “A bad one, huh?” 

Peter nodded, but smiled sadly at his father. “It’s okay. I think I’ve probably had worse.”

“Tell me about it.” Tony said, standing up and taking a seat on the bed. 

Peter shrugged. “Not much to say, I guess.” He took a deep breath and began, “Well, my clock had the wrong time and color and there was this weird noise so I got up to look for everyone and then music started playing so I followed that and when I got to the common room I found Aunt May and she was dead– like really really dead– her legs were broken and bleeding everywhere and her fingers were burnt up and she was missing her teeth and there was blood everywhere like everywhere but she grabbed me and started saying all this ominous shit and then I realised we were actually in our old apartment and not the compound and I kept yelling for help but I guess none of my neighbors were around or something because nobody came to help and then she told me she’d ‘see me tonight’ and she disappeared and then I was just standing there alone and someone started saying my name but it didn’t sound like anyone I know except like maybe Ultron or something and then I woke up.”

Tony raised his eyebrows. “Not much to say, huh?” He chuckled, and put an arm around his son. “In all seriousness, Pete, I think this probably had something to do with us talking about May last night. Your brain always comes up with the worst case scenarios, doesn’t it?” 

Peter sighed and he dropped his hands to his lap. “Yeah, I guess so.” 

“Did you… come across any news reports on anything happening in the city last night? Or recently?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Peter asked, slightly annoyed. 

Tony put his hands up in surrender. “I was just wondering. Maybe you saw a case and your subconscious connected it to May, I didn’t know.” And if Peter didn’t know about all the murder victims that strangely matched the appearance of May in his dream, then they could hold off for a little bit. Just for his birthday. After that, he would have to tell him everything about this case Strange had brought up… 

“Hey, is Pepper back yet?” Peter asked suddenly. 

Tony frowned. “Not yet. She told me her meeting was running a little late.”

“Meeting?” Peter looked up at him. “Who did she have a meeting with in the middle of the night?”

Tony frowned. He couldn’t just lie to Peter. “Uh, Strange.” 

“Strange? What’s so bad that she had to go see him?” Peter quirked an eyebrow at him. 

Tony chuckled. “Just some suspicious activity that we’ll have to look into tomorrow. But for today,” Tony stood up and clapped his hands, looking down at his son with adoring eyes. “I believe it’s someone’s sixteenth birthday?” 

Peter shook his head with a smile and stood up. “Why are we up so early?” 

“Well, I was going to let you sleep in, but as it seems we’re both already awake…” Tony held out a hand and when Peter accepted it, he led him downstairs and to their kitchen. 

“Alright, Birthday Spider, what’s for breakfast?” 

“Hmmm… wanna make pancakes with me?”

“Always.” 

The pair got to work, silently pulling out pans and ingredients. They had made pancakes enough times to both know the recipe by heart. After brewing himself a cup of coffee, Tony disappeared into the connecting common room. The familiar scratching and song that followed had Peter’s heart racing–

“If Cap is gonna keep that record player sitting around, might as well put it to some good use.” Tony said good naturedly. On seeing Peter’s obviously shaken expression, he frowned and asked, “Hey, what’s up? This not your ideal song choice?” 

“We’ll meet again…” 

“I’ll see you tonight,” May had said. 

Peter shivered. He didn’t pray often as he wasn’t sure who or what he was praying to, but in that moment he sent up a silent prayer that he wouldn’t see May that night. Especially not if she was in the state she had been in his dream. 

“No, I just… was thinking about Pepper.” Peter fumbled for an excuse. 

Tony’s face spread into an understanding smile. “Aw, don’t worry about her, cucciolo. She’s okay– if anything were to happen that she couldn’t handle, she’ll have Strange and Happy.”

Peter nodded, pretending to be reassured.

The two got back to cooking. 

Nearly thirty minutes later, at 7 AM, Steve and Bucky entered the kitchen.

“Ah, putting the old man’s piece o’ junk record player to use, I see?” Bucky quipped, swiping a pancake from Peter’s tower. 

“That’s exactly what Tony said.” Peter laughed. 

Bucky and Tony shared a cordial smile. 

“Why do you guys always have to hate on me?” Steve defended. “Also, you’re older than me!” 

Bucky shrugged, “And yet, better looking.” 

“Eh, up for debate.” 

The three looked over at–

“Loki! I thought you liked to sleep in?” Peter’s eyes lit up. 

Loki scoffed as if his excuse was obvious: “Not on the Crown Prince of Asgard’s birthday, I don’t.” 

Natasha slid into the room next and grinned at Peter. “Ah, паук ребенок! Happy birthday.” She pulled him into a hug and he smiled. 

“Thanks, Nat!” His nightmare was already fading into the depths of his mind as the kitchen began to fill and the noise levels began to rise. 

Natasha slid over to Tony as Sam, Scott, and Bruce entered the room. 

“Sorry he’s growing up. I know that sucks.” She muttered. 

Tony looked at her with a fond smile. “It’s bittersweet.” He admitted, but added, “I’m just glad he’s here. And he’s healthy and happy.” 

Natasha nodded. “We can talk about it sometime. Preferably over a game of cards.”

Tony laughed. “Yeah. I’ve missed our little talks.”

Natasha smiled.

“PETER! Son of Stark!” Thor boomed, sweeping Peter off his feet and into a hug. “Happy belated birthday!” 

“Thanks, Thor!” Peter gasped out, barely able to breath in the tight grip. 

Once Peter was back on the ground and occupied with the pancakes again, Thor leaned over to Bruce–
“Did I say it right?” 

“Yes, Thor, you said it very well.”

“It’s just that ‘birthdays’ aren’t as appreciated on Asgard, as we all have so many –”

“Yes, Thor…”

After Wanda and Vision gave Peter birthday wishes, Peter turned to the group with a frown. “Wait, where’s Clint? Usually he’s one of the first up.” 

“Probably crawling through the vents looking for your gift.” Rhodey smirked. 

“I did that once!” Clint slid into the room as if on cue. 

Natasha scoffed, “Oh my god, don’t even try to lie, we all see you do it! Isn’t it like, part of your nightly routine now?” 

“No!” Clint defended. “It’s part of my morning routine.” 

The group laughed and began to set the table. 

As the day went on, Tony only felt more and more worried about the status of his fiancee. She hadn’t texted him back in hours, and she should have been back hours ago…

The group spent the morning messing around in the training gym: Peter trying (and failing) to teach Clint, Scott, and Sam to swing on webs, baking: Steve and Bucky guiding Tony and Peter through baking and frosting a cake, cooking and eating lunch (courtesy of Wanda and Vision), a large group game of Sorry-- Sam swore up and down that Steve cheated, and naturally, a large video project where Peter got the Avengers to recreate vines. The funniest had to be either the one where Happy and Tony were fighting each other in the kitchen while Rhodey stood in the corner yelling, "CAN I PLEASE GET A WAFFLE?" or the one where Natasha stole Cap's helmet and whispered into the camera, "Watch your profanity." Of course Peter sent all of them to Shuri after. By the time four thirty rolled around, it was decided that they would open presents without Pepper. 

“Peter, wait, open my present first!”

Tony could present the adoption papers with her as soon as she returned. A late surprise made it better… right?

Tony watched with a smile as Peter carefully unwrapped gift after gift, taking time to appreciate each one and thank each person. 

He finally got to one that Tony had been highly anticipating. Peter took off the wrapping paper and simply stared at the box for a moment, his jaw dropped. Tony smiled as Peter looked up at him with wide eyes.

“No way.” Peter mumbled, looking back down. He finally seemed to decide that what he was holding was real and ran to Tony, giving him a hug. 

“Wait, what is it?” Scott asked curiously. 

Peter ran back to the box and opened it, pulling out a sleek, polished ukulele. 

Steve looked over to Tony, and the two shared an understanding look.

“I can’t even believe it!” Peter said. “I haven’t played one of these since I had to sell mine.”

“Play us something!” Clint called from across the room. 

Peter frowned down at the ukulele, trying to decide what to play. After a moment of hesitation, he held it up and placed his fingers on the strings. It took a moment for the team to realise what song it was, but when they did–

“No fucking way. I didn’t even know you could play that on the ukulele!” Sam said, slightly bewildered.

“He can, but I don’t know how he still remembers it.” Rhodey said ruefully. 

By the time Peter finished up his fully instrumental rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody, he had a glowing grin spread across his face. He played the final chord and immediately ran to give Tony another hug. 

“Thank you so much, dad. I forgot how much I loved playing.” 

Tony returned the hug tightly. “Of course, baby. Anything for my kid.” 

Peter blushed slightly, but he grinned nonetheless. 

Suddenly, the elevator doors chimed and slid open, revealing a very stressed Happy Hogan and a very harried Pepper Potts. 

“Pepper! Happy!” The group cheered together. 

“Uncle Happy! Mom!” Peter ran to hug the two, praying against all the odds that he hadn’t just said what he thought he had. 

Pepper hugged him tightly, and so did Happy. Though most people wouldn’t think it, he and Peter actually had a very close relationship. Happy Hogan wasn’t very open with most people, much like his friend (or brother, as he and Tony had become), but Peter was one of his few exceptions, along with Rhodey (his other brother by choice), Pepper, and Tony, of course. In the time that the small group had been the only ones living at the compound, they had become a very close family. That was when Peter had begun calling Happy and Rhodey his uncles. 

Pepper and Tony shared a look. Because even though Peter didn’t want anyone to remember it, they had both very clearly heard him call Pepper ‘mom’. And that was enough to encourage Pepper to go grab the adoption papers from her office. 

“What took you guys so long?” Tony asked as he approached them, a slight edge to his tone. Though he was trying to keep it light, his concern was seeping into his words against his will.

Pepper gave him a pointed look. “Meeting went over. We had more to talk about than I thought we would.”

“What did Strange want?” Peter asked curiously. 

Pepper looked at Tony with raised eyebrows and answered carefully, “Uh, we just needed to discuss something we’re all gonna have to look into later. But not yet.” 

“Okay…” Peter said slowly, but quickly distracted himself by turning to Happy and saying, “You missed my first song on the ukulele in years!”

“Wait, really?” Happy asked, furrowing his eyebrows. When Peter nodded he muttered, “Damn it.”

“I’ll do it again for you later.” Peter promised. Happy seemed satisfied by this. 

“Look, Peter, I have to go grab something from my office. I’ll be right back.” Pepper said, already partly turning back to the elevator. 

“Wow, okay. I guess at least Happy is interested in seeing me on my birthday.” Peter joked. 

Pepper rolled her eyes, very familiar with his antics. “Oh, hush, it’s one of your presents.” 

She disappeared into the elevator and Peter didn't argue. The group settled back into a circle as Pepper hurried through the building. Her heart was beating double time, and she could hardly believe what she was about to do. Was she even ready to be a parent? Did Peter even really want her to be his mom? 

Of course he did! Probably… 

Maybe it was a complete accident that he called her mom! Maybe it had no significance! But then again, he had been slipping up and calling her that for nearly a month straight… so it probably didn’t mean nothing . 

And she was definitely ready to be a parent. She had practically been Peter’s mom for nearly a year now, even if she didn’t have the legal title yet. But if all went well, the process for that to change would begin that day. 

Pepper grinned despite herself. Her and Tony’s first kid. Peter was finally going to be hers by law– now no matter what happened, she would have a place in Peter’s life. It was an endlessly comforting thought. 

She swiped the papers from her desk, checked that they were all there, and slipped them into the gift bag she had picked out. After carefully arranging some tissue paper over it, she spun on her heel and began the trip back to the common room. Though her mind was racing and her stomach churning, she was starting to believe that maybe it would all be okay. 

When she finally stepped through the elevator doors after what felt like a lifetime later, she was greeted with more smiles and cheers. 

“The final gift…” Scott said dramatically. 

“This better be good, Pep, because Tony, Hap, and Rhodey have already pulled out the big guns.” Natasha joked. 

Pepper smiled and shook her head. Tony jumped to his feet and pulled Peter with him. 

“This one’s actually partly from me, too.” Tony said. 

“So, Peter, Tony and I have been talking and…” Pepper looked to Tony and at his nod of reassurance, continued, “And… well, I’m not quite sure how to say this… so I guess I’ll just let you open the present.”

Peter looked between them, seemingly unable to understand their giddiness. His eyes suddenly fell one something behind them, and he paled completely, all the color draining from his face. 

“What?” Tony asked, demeanor immediately changing. 

Peter didn’t hear him. Instead, he addressed the figure that had just stepped through the elevator. “May?” His voice shook. 

The group turned around and, sure enough, standing in front of the elevator doors was the one and only May Parker- Jameson. 

"I'll see you tonight," She had said. 

“May?” Tony asked, shifting to stand in front of Peter protectively. “I thought you moved to Arizona?” 

“I did.” She answered. “I still live there.” 

“Then why are you here?” Pepper asked carefully. 

“For Peter.” She said simply. 

“Because it’s Peter’s birthday?” Tony tried for clarification. 

“No.” May answered. “Because I’m here to take him with me. I’m filing for full custody. I want him back.” 

Chapter Text

Tick. Tick. Tick. 

The sound of the clock was the only noise to be heard in the room as everyone tried to process May’s words. 

“What?” Tony finally asked. It was unclear whether he needed clarification or if he thought he must have misheard her. 

“I’m taking him back with me to Arizona. I have a fiance and a stepson that I think would love Peter. I have a steady job and a safe home environment. He would be safer and happier with me.” May answered bluntly. 

Tony laughed a humorless laugh. “And what makes you think you have the right to just– just waltz into my home and take my son from me?” 

“Because you have no real claim on him.” May stated casually. She treated the situation as if they were discussing vacation plans rather than completely uprooting and taking a human being from his home. “I’m his closest living relation and he belongs to me.” 

Tony fired back immediately, “He doesn’t belong to anyone! He’s not some toy or pet, he’s a human being, May, you can’t just take him–”

“I’m aware of your current… infatuation with Peter,” May said carefully. “But it’s only a matter of time before you get bored and he gets hurt. It’s best to cut it off where it is and move him somewhere safe. Somewhere where he can be a normal kid. Not some vigilante or the secret ward of a billionaire.” 

“This isn’t some short-lived pet project, May, and you know it.” Pepper finally stepped in. 

May scoffed. “You could never make me believe that.”

“It’s not you we need to convince.” Pepper answered curtly. “It’s the court. And who do you think they’re going to believe? The man who’s supported and cared for Peter for years now? Or the woman who up and left him for some stupid reason that can’t be disclosed to the public?”

May shot her a withering look, but seemed to falter. “Look. I’m not happy with how I reacted when I found out he was Spiderman. I regret leaving, I regret kicking Peter out. I’ve had a lot of time to consider the circumstances and everything… and I just… I want him back in my life. And if you care so much for Peter, then why don’t you agree with me? Do you seriously think it’s okay for him to be sticking around with people who have only ever attracted danger? Do you really think it’s okay for him to constantly be in the line of fire of aliens and monsters? Do you actually think you can keep him safe?” 

The group paused. This time, Happy was the one to step in.

“Yeah. I do. I think if anyone could keep Peter safe, it would be Tony. Nobody cares more about the kid than him.” 

May shook her head. “I honestly thought all of you had more common sense than this.”

“I think that at this point it would be completely against common sense to send Peter with you.” Rhodey cut in. 

Tony silently agreed, but instead turned to Peter, who was still frozen behind them. “What do you think, Peter?” 

Peter looked up at him, eyes still wide. He opened his mouth, and closed it. After a moment, he whispered, “I don’t wanna leave.” 

Tony nodded and turned to May. “There you have it, May. He’s staying.” 

“Could you at least consider it?” May addressed Peter for the first time. “Can we at least talk?”

Peter shrunk into himself. He looked to Tony, who reassured him, “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, bambino.” 

Peter thought for a moment, but nodded. “Okay.” He looked to May. “Let’s… talk.” 

May smiled. “We have a lot to go over. It’s… it’s been quite a while.” 

Peter frowned. “Yeah. Yeah, it has.” 

May’s smile faltered. 

As the two got settled in a separate room, the rest of the group gathered with Pepper in her office. 

“I… am very upset right now.” Clint said. 

Tony crossed his arms and pursed his lips. “Join the club, birdbrain.”

“My sentimental heart can’t take this kinda bullshit!” Clint cried. “He was supposed to learn that Pepper wanted to adopt him, not get reunited with his crazy aunt!”

“As long as we can get her out and convince her that he’s better off with us, then we can still tell him today.” Pepper sighed. “I just can’t believe she would throw something that big at him so suddenly.” 

Tony leaned against her desk and grunted, “I can. She seems to really enjoy suddenly relocating him.” 

Pepper frowned and shrugged. “May has enough common sense to understand that she isn’t the best thing for him anymore… right? Tony?” 

“I don’t know anymore. You saw her in there– and honestly, I would have said yes if she had never kicked Peter out. But because she did, I know that she makes split-second decisions based on her emotions at that moment. I can’t trust her judgement.” Tony answered earnestly. 

Steve stood up straighter. “But she can’t do anything, right? She doesn’t have the resources or background to beat you if she took you to court.”

“Correct,” Tony nodded, but the darkness in his eyes did not dissipate. “It should just be annoying considering how low her chances of winning are, but honestly…”

“You’re more than annoyed. She’s trying to take your child and delegitimize your relation to him– you have a right to be more than annoyed.” Natasha cut in with a scowl. 

The door suddenly opened, and Peter poked his head inside. The group stood up in unison, nervously anticipating what the teen had to say. 

Peter stepped all the way into the room and said, “Look, she agreed not to sue for custody.”

Everyone slumped in relief. 

“But…”

Everyone stood up straighter again.

“She said she wants to take me to dinner before she flies back home.” Peter finished, biting the fingernail on his thumb. 

“Well, is that something you want to do?” Happy asked carefully. 

Peter frowned, still fidgeting with his fingers. “Not… particularly. But she didn’t have to take me in and take care of me for as long as she did– I owe her at least this!” 

Rhodey put a hand on Peter’s shoulders. “Pete, you never have to do anything you don’t want to. Stop telling yourself otherwise.”

“And you don’t owe anyone anything.” Tony huffed. 

Peter continued twisting his fingers together, but finally said quietly, “I really think I should do this.”

“You’re too kind for your own good, Peter.” Wanda commented. “Maybe you should give yourself a break. It’s your birthday, after all.” 

“I know, but… it’s May.” Peter answered weakly. “I’ll just go to dinner and then… we can stay up all night finishing everything else you guys wanted to do!” Peter’s voice gained energy and excitement as he talked. 

Tony shook his head. “At least let Happy drive you, okay? You know what, I’ll wait with Happy, too.” 

“No, no, it’s fine. She said she’ll need to leave for her flight right after, so she wanted to drive there. You guys can pick me up and harass me all you want after the dinner.” Peter joked. 

Sam squinted at him. “Since when do we trust her with you?”

“We don't.” Everyone answered in unison. 

“Okay… well, you’re just gonna have to trust me .” Peter shrugged. 

The group went silent for a moment as everyone waited for Tony to make the call. And as much as he wanted to say ‘sure, you can have one last meal with your aunt before you never have to see her again’, he just couldn’t bring himself to say yes. “I’m sorry, Pete. But I don’t trust her to be with you alone.” 

Peter’s face fell. 

Pepper put a hand on Tony’s shoulder and said quietly, “What if we just let them have this one meal together, yeah? We can have surveillance and be right outside, but it’s his choice. If he wants to do this, I think we should let him.” 

Tony searched her face as if trying to decide if she was joking… but finally sighed and shook his head. “Fine.”

Peter’s face brightened and Tony cut him off. “ But there will be rules.”

Peter nodded immediately, and listened as his father listed them off. They let May know that they would be waiting outside and she seemed to completely understand– something Tony was majorly suspicious of– and then headed to some restaurant that Peter mentioned they had used to eat at a lot. Tony was sure that Peter had already put his foot down to May about moving away with her, and he knew that if she tried to use the homey setting and old memories against him to change his mind, then she would only ignite the fury of all the people waiting behind the scenes. 

Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, and Tony sat in their SUV in silence after Peter exited and met May in front of the restaurant. At least, they did until orange sparks filled their back seat and a man appeared in it. 

“Strange!” Rhodey yelped. “Why can’t you just travel like a normal person?” 

Strange rolled his eyes. “Because I’m not one. Have any of you had any strange dreams recently?” 

“I– what?” Happy spluttered. 

Strange repeated himself as if he didn’t understand their confusion. “I asked if any of you had any strange dreams recently, last night specifically.” 

“Yes? Why?” Tony answered. “Did you put some spell on us or something?” 

“Why is that always the first question you ask every time I see you?” Strange asked. He then cleared his throat and added, “But yes, this time I actually did.” 

Pepper shook her head. “I thought you were joking about that, Stephen!” 

“Wait, we’re allowed to call him Stephen?” Rhodey asked.

Strange frowned. “No. She only allowed to because she’s above me.”

“Makes sense.” Tony shrugged. “Now what spell was this?” 

“It connects your subconscious brain with the most likely outcome for future events. It doesn’t exactly mirror what is most likely to happen, but puts it in the form of a dream that your brain is used to having. If you’re used to having very boring and to the point dreams, then the future will be handed straight to you. If you usually have wild and mystifying dreams, then it is most likely that the information you need will be as garbled as your regular dreams.” On seeing the confused looks of everyone in the car, he explained, “I put a spell on all of you to see if you all would see the same outcome of today. Considering the rate that people are going missing and how few bodies are being found compared to the number– it’s an understatement for me to say that I’m concerned. This magic is so old, I needed a test run. If this works then I’ll start putting this spell on all of the avengers every night and we’ll always be a step ahead of this… villain.”

Rhodey frowned. “So whatever we dreamed is going to happen today?”

“I don’t know yet as I don’t know whether the spell worked. What did you all dream last night?”

“I dreamed that this serial killer guy started trying to hide the bodies’ identities and he started removing their teeth, fingerprints and toeprints.” Rhodey said matter-of-factly. 

Strange nodded. “We’re off to a good start. I found a body this morning in that state.” 

Happy frowned. “I dreamed that we were in the hospital with May, and that she needed surgery.”

“A little more convoluted, but okay.” Strange said. 

“I dreamed that… Peter was dead.” Tony said slowly. “This spell better not have worked, Strange.”

Strange put his hands up in defense. “Even if it hadn’t, this would only be the most likely outcome. That doesn’t mean it definitely would happen. What about Peter’s dream?”

“ Peter’s dream? ” Tony asked. “Why would you put a spell on him? Strange, you aren't allowed to cast spells on my kid!” 

“Just tell me about the dream, Tony,”

“I… he dreamed that May was dead– that she didn’t have teeth and that her toes and fingers were burnt up. And then she kidnapped him.”

“Well, at least there’s a common theme.” Strange sighed. “But I’m not sure how I’ll know whether the spell worked.” 

“I… I’m going to check on Peter.” Tony said, trying to keep his cool attitude together over his pale face. 

Pepper jumped out of the car with Tony and the two headed into the restaurant while Happy and Rhodey watched. It would have been easy for anyone to see how concerned the four of them were– but Strange, the only one with a view of their faces, wasn’t watching. He stared into his lap with a frown and furrowed eyebrows. 

“Strange, what’s on your mind?” Rhodey asked quietly. 

Strange stayed quiet for a moment… but then suddenly looked up and shot a hand out for the door handle. 

“What? What’s going on?” Happy spun around to look at him. 

Strange ignored him and pushed open the door, jumping out. Just then, Pepper and Tony ran out of the restaurant, pale and sickly looking. 

The trio made eye contact and they froze, staring at each other from across the road. 

No words needed to be exchanged. At that moment, everyone knew: Peter was gone.

Tony finally broke eye contact to look down at his watch.

6: 32 PM.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

Chapter Text

“Man, they’re taking a long time.” Scott mused from where he was laying on a couch. He threw a mini basketball up and caught it.

Natasha rolled over where she was laying on another couch. “Yeah, they are.” 

“Since when did we need a kid around to be entertained?” Bucky asked with a laugh. 

Clint chuckled. “Probably since you guys met Peter. I, however, am a father. I’ve always been like this.”

“You know what, we should probably work on that case Strange brought up.” Steve sighed, standing up. 

Bruce looked up from the book he was reading. “Has he been updating you on that? I know he mentioned it the day he came to lift that curse from Peter, but I didn’t think anything came of it.” 

“Yeah, he said he wanted a couple people informed but I’ve honestly wanted to tell you all for a while. And what better time than the present?” Steve asked, standing up and asking FRIDAY to pull up a couple holograms. “Anyone up for a good old briefing?” 

The group agreed and sat at attention, ready to finally be filled in on the disaster in the city. Steve pulled up all the photos and news reports of the bodies. 

“We don’t know who or what we’re dealing with yet, or where they’re working out of, or really anything, to be honest. We know that more people are going missing than being found– and a lot of people are being found.  The current known body count is twenty one different people in varying different states,” Steve explained, and everyone in the group winced or shivered. “He seems to be escalating, but we can’t know that for sure because we don’t know what his goal is.”

“Could just be a serial killer that’s getting more violent, could be someone who isn’t getting what he wants from people.” Natasha added. “But then again, Strange probably wouldn’t have gotten us involved if this was a serial killer.”

“Yeah, that’s not exactly our area of expertise.” Bucky agreed. 

Steve nodded. “Exactly.”

“What do they have in common? Do we have a victim profile?” Vision asked as Wanda put an arm on his back.

Steve shook his head. “There doesn’t seem to be much in common between each person. At first it seemed that all of the bodies were lower class or homeless, but then the bodies of four politicians and one of their sons were found together. This is where the mutilation began, and all of them were identified by dental records.”

“How did we connect the other bodies to these if the mutilation was more recent?” Bruce asked, leaning forward, completely invested in the conversation. “Murders aren’t exactly few and far between here.” 

Steve looked back at the hologram and answered, “All of them had the same distinct scratches in their legs. They were deep enough to seem as if they were made by a knife, but it was identified as some kind of nail or talon. Nobody has been able to identify what it could be from, but investigators are beginning to suspect that maybe it’s to help cover their tracks. Possibly to make it look like some kind of animal attack.”

“That was kind of dumb, we don’t get a whole lotta wild animals in New York City.” Clint rolled his eyes. 

Steve took a seat facing the group. “Exactly. Either it’s a haphazard attempt to cover their tracks and they’re extremely disorganized, or–”

“Or it’s methodical.” Bruce cut in. 

Clint put his chin in his hands. “Is it some kind of medical procedure? Why would he open up their legs? The rest of the mutilation makes sense if they’re trying to cover their tracks, but the cuts?”

“I think we should pursue a lead based on those cuts– the only other thing we can do is have FRI look more into connections between each person, maybe she’ll find us another common denominator. Everyone agree?” Natasha asked. The group turned to look at her and agreed unanimously. 

It had been months since the group had a briefing like this. Ever since the Civil War, they had either been separate or not working. This was their first case back together– although maybe the effects of the infighting were still clear in the fact that Tony wasn’t with them… maybe they should have waited for him?

“Is there anywhere we could look for them in the meantime? I know we don’t know for sure that this is a serial killer– I mean, they kind of are, but– well, don’t serial killers usually dump their bodies in a radius around where they live?” Scott sat up straighter, tapping the mini basketball in his hands. “Or like where he works?”

“The police have been working on that–” Steve tried to answer.

“-- But they don’t have the tech we have here.” Bruce interrupted. “We should run a search from here as well.”

“Okay, cool.” Scott sighed out in relief. “I was worried it was a dumb suggestion. I was basing that question off of what Luis and I watched on Criminal Minds.” 

“If it makes you feel better, I base all of my criminal psychology off of that show, too.” Loki reassured. Then he frowned, “Although, perhaps I should check that it is factually correct?”

“Couldn’t you just base criminal psychology on your thought process?” Thor asked, confused.

Natasha shook her head with a snort, “And in what situation have you found yourself in where you needed to know criminal psychology?”  

“Now.” Loki answered simply. “And in the bedroom.” 

Before everyone could scream in terror or laugh at the joke, Bruce bit his lip and tried to stay on task. “But it’s also possible that if the bodies surround anything, it’s where he works from, just going off of this ‘methodical and organized’ theory.”

“When was the last body found? Are we sure he would actually still be there?” Wanda asked carefully.

“Yeah, he could have gone on vacation. Like Cap’s moral compass when he plays Sorry.” Sam said with a joking frown and a shake of the head. 

Steve shook his head, “Best to check. At the very least, we find where he works out of and get some more information. And, Sam, how are you still salty about that? That was this morning, it’s been hours!”

“Because you cheated! I had one more pawn, Steve, ONE MORE– ”

Orange sparks filled the middle of the living room and Sam stopped his beratement to jump back with a shriek. Tony and Strange stepped through moments later. 

Naatsha’s smile faltered when she saw that it was just the pair. “Hey, where’s Peter?”

“May got him.” Tony said, completely emotionless. He stared at the floor as if confused, or maybe as if he thought he were frozen in time. 

Strange glanced at the hologram and nodded. “Good. You’ve been looking over the case. I believe we’ll need all hands on deck from now on.” 

“May got Peter?” Bruce asked, standing up. 

Strange frowned. “I believe that she kidnapped him because of her desperation to bring him back to Arizona. But that’s not our only problem right now,” Strange said, motioning to the hologram. 

“Tony, doesn’t Peter have a watch with a tracker in it?” Bucky asked, face flooded with concern.

Tony’s head swung up suddenly to face him. “I– uh, yeah it did. It was deactivated.” 

“Damn, I really wish Pepper hadn’t stopped you from putting a tracker in him,” Clint mumbled under his breath. 

“Where are Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey?” Thor asked. 

Tony stared straight ahead, but answered, “Uh, they were driving the car back. They went together.” 

“I need FRIDAY to run facial recognition on every security camera in New York and its outskirts, and someone to compile a list of the top places May would take him.” Strange said, thankfully taking the lead in the place of the still shell-shocked Tony. 

“On it,” Natasha said. “Come on, Tony, I’ll need your help.” 

“And I assume a search party didn’t help the last time he was kidnapped?” Strange asked, though he still wasn’t sure whether to put it out of the question. 

Steve tilted his head back and forth. “Well, it didn’t end up needing to be as big as we made it, but yeah, kind of.”

“Well, go out. Look. Take someone with you.” Strange waved him off.

“Bucky?” Steve asked, and the other super soldier got to his feet to follow him out of the room. Before he left, however, he turned to Tony, who, somehow, in the midst of all the chaos, found the presence to look up and make eye contact with him.

Bucky approached him carefully. “Stark, I’m not going to go looking for him if you would rather me help in some other way. I can have Steve take someone else.” He said it in a quiet voice, as gently as he could, which he had learned that he could do very well ever since he had started bonding with Peter.

Tony stared at him for a moment before beginning quietly, “You know all that stuff I said to you about a month ago, about how I don’t trust you around Peter?” 

Bucky nodded. “You meant it. I understand. I’ll have Steve bring Sam–”

“No. Forget it. Please go find him.” Tony said, a pleading tone to his voice.

Bucky was taken aback for a moment, but stood up straighter, honoured to have Tony’s blessing. Especially since it was an acknowledgment of his trust– his trust with Peter, the man’s most precious god given gift. “I’ll do everything I can, Tony.”

“I know you will, Bucky.” Tony said quietly. “I know you will.” 

The super soldier nodded and jogged off after Steve. When he caught up, the two continued their jog to get their gear and any tech they would need. 

“Well, Sam was right about one thing.” Steve muttered.

Bucky raised his eyebrows with a small ghost of a smile. “What could he have gotten right?”

“Sometimes my moral compass does go on vacation.”

The two brothers looked at each other with a half smirks.

They were gonna find this kid, if it was the last thing they did. 

Peter woke up in a building that he recognized. He wasn’t sure if that was scarier than when he woke up in ones that he didn’t.

But then again, staring up at the ceiling he’d grown up waking up to and knowing that he wasn’t ever supposed to wake up there again– no, this had to be scarier. 

He sat up from the dusty floor– nobody had moved into his and May's old apartment since he left. Maybe it had to do with the urban myth he started a while back about it, maybe it was because the safety in this old neighborhood was only decreasing. Either way, Peter recognized a trail of footprints that led to his body from the bedroom door, and then turned around and left. He surveyed the room, feeling a shiver go down his spine– The window was open. And from it, the marks of a heavy set of footprints led through the room, stopping right in front of him.

But nobody was there. So…?

Peter couldn’t help but feel afraid and simultaneously as if he was in some cliche horror movie. Since when did this shit happen to actual people? 

Well, he wasn’t going to stick around and find out. He dragged himself up to his feet and carefully tiptoed through the footsteps so as to not leave any of his own, and hoisted himself through the window and onto the fire escape. Moving as quietly as he could, he managed to make it to the ground alive and unnoticed. Despite the neighborhood being partly closed off from the city at large, the sound of its bustle still filled the tiny group of apartments. This worked in his favor. And so did something else– at the end of the alleyway, a bike was leaned against one of the tall brick walls. 

Peter’ first thought was that perhaps Parker luck was turning around– then of course, he remembered that it had to have been. The actual curse had been lifted. He hurried to the bike ( “Hey, someday you may need to know how to ride a bike! You’ll look back and think either, ‘I should have let Tony teach me’, or ‘I’m sure glad I let Tony teach me’. Which one do you want to think?” ) and clambered onto it. 

The hair on the back of his neck suddenly stood up– with a major rush of adrenaline and about a thousand internal curse words, he kicked off and sped into the night. 

Some kind of whooshing noise erupted from behind Peter, followed by an echoed growl–

“Where are you going, Peter?”

The same voice as in his dream– human-ish, but… strangely robotic. 

Knowing that looking over his shoulder would only slow him down and possibly make him crash, Peter pedalled as fast as he could, racing through the poorly lit city streets. It was obvious from the loud scratching and pounding coming from behind him that something was pursuing him. All he could do was move his legs faster and hope it was enough. 

But, of course, it wasn’t. 

The next thing Peter knew, two clawed hands were grabbing his face from behind and swiping him off of the bike. It fell to the ground with a loud crash and Peter cried out in pain when the nails dug into his forehead and cheeks. He could feel sticky hot blood beginning to slide down his face and drip to the ground as he looked down to see his feet dangling three feet from the ground. 

It was like he was frozen in time. The person turned around, Peter still held out in front of him, and began walking back to the apartment. Peter couldn’t scream. Couldn’t move a muscle. He didn’t know if it was from fear or if something had been done to him– his body swung helplessly back and forth as he was carried forward. 

A couple minutes later, he was back in the apartment, but this time was carried straight to the living room. Peter was sat down in a wooden chair. As soon as the talons were removed from his face, he let out an involuntary sigh of relief. At least that was over–

“Where did you think you were going to escape to, little one?” The voice asked. 

When he didn’t answer, the voice seemed curious. “Why so quiet? You used to be much more talkative.”

Peter still didn’t answer. 

“Well, I guess I am kind of intimidating,” The voice chuckled. “I couldn’t blame a child for being scared.” He knelt in front of Peter. 

He was human– or at least, partly. His eyes were real– swollen, dilated, and reddened, but real. His face was gaunt and sharp, his hair gone or falling out. From what Peter could tell, anything human stopped near his neck. But how could a human be in this state and still be alive? 

His silver claw stroked at Peter’s cheek and Peter tried to pull away.

“Tell me, child… are you afraid?” 

Peter’s voice quivered, but nonetheless, he answered, “No.” 

The red eyes stared into Peter’s and the teen tried to resist the urge to shiver.

“Where’s May?” Peter gritted his teeth. 

The man flicked his eyes over Peter before standing up and saying, “She’s right here.”

May dutifully walked over to his side, her movements more tight than usual. 

“May? You– you’re with him?” Peter asked, incredulous. He knew she had hated him, or thought she had before she tried to steal him from Tony– but this was what it had all been for, hadn’t it? He had never thought of May as evil– perhaps mean or hotheaded, but not malicious. How could she…?

“I see what you’re thinking, little one. And I will give you a moment of peace before we begin.” The man said, looking to May. “Your aunt would never do this to you.” 

“Begin what? What are you going to do?” Peter asked, looking around the empty room. “And she already did!” 

The man chuckled again– Peter couldn’t help but hate it. It was condescending and radiated all the wrong kinds of joy– he looked over at May, who began to quiver. Her neutral expression morphed into one of fear and sorry, her eyes flicked from the man to Peter. Regret filled her still features. 

“Tell him, May.” The man said.

May let out a gasp like she hadn’t been able to breathe. She turned her head so that it was facing him and breathed out, “I’m so sorry, Peter.” She heaved in another breath as sweat beaded on her forehead– as if talking was hard to do. “It’s not my choice– please, this wasn’t my choice–”

Her face suddenly snapped back into its neutral uncaring expression.

“What…?” Peter looked between her and the man, utterly bewildered.

May stared at him, utterly unfazed. 

“What did you do to her?” Peter asked quietly. 

The man frowned. “The same thing I’m going to do to you. To everyone.” He stated simply. Once again, he knelt in front of Peter, but instead of stroking his cheek, he grabbed his chin in his claws, staring the teen down with unhidden greed.

The man cleared his throat and breathed in Peter’s face, “I claimed her.” 

“Tony, what are you…” Rhodey continued walking forward and after a few steps, had Tony’s body sprawled across his lab floor in full view. “...Doing?” 

Tony looked over at him, dulled eyes not processing who was in front of him or what he had said. “FRI, where are you on those scans?” 

Her answer went unheard as Rhodey sighed and sat down on the floor next to him. He put a hand on Tony’s shoulder, who flinched and looked up at him. 

“Tones, what are you doing?” Rhodey asked gently. 

Tony stared at him a moment, his expression conveying that he thought it was obvious. “They won’t let me go out and look for Peter. So I’m looking from here.” 

“Tones, they aren’t letting you look for Peter because they have it covered out there. They need you here–”

“But Peter’s out there and he needs me. So really, I think I’m more needed out there.” Tony argued heatedly. 

Rhodey slumped against the desk behind him. “I know you’re worried.”

“Wow, was it that obvious?” Tony remarked sarcastically. 

Rhodey let out a sigh. “You know, we’re worried, too. I know it’s not the same, but we care about him, too. He’s mine and Happy’s nephew– and Pepper, she thinks of him as her son.” 

Tony deflated slightly. “I’m sorry.” He muttered quietly. 

Loud footsteps echoed through the lab before Rhodey could accept his brother’s apology. Strange appeared in front of them suddenly. For some reason, they both jumped even though they both had known someone was walking towards them. 

“Where are we on those scans?” He asked. 

Rhodey brushed himself off and got to his feet while Tony sat up, blinking tears from his eyes. “Nothing yet.” He answered. 

Strange frowned. “How did they get out of there unseen? Nobody could do that without advanced tech or magic or special abilities.” 

“So May had help?” Rhodey asked. 

Strange frowned. “That’s the only solution I can think of.”

Tony got to his feet, too. “So we have no idea where he is, who actually took him, or what the fuck they want with him. Wow, we are really on top of things!”

“Tones, I–”

“Rhodes, could you give Tony and I a moment?” Strange asked. 

Though taken aback, the colonel slowly nodded and exited the room. 

“Stark. It’s midnight. I thought I asked you to go to sleep.” 

“Yeah, so you can put some crazy sleep hex on me, I don’t think so. I’m busy.” 

“Too busy to help me find your son?” Strange called after him as Tony tried to walk away. “It’s a dream spell, and it’s our best bet at finding him at this point.”

“Strange, I already dreamed that he was dead! He’s… he’s probably already gone.”

“First of all, dreams show the most likely possibility. Second, are you sure he was dead in the dream? Or was he missing, or severely injured with little chance of recovery? Stark, you are one of the people that has dreams that wouldn’t reflect the complete reality of the next day, in the same way that Peter believed that May was dead and going to take him whereas in reality she was alive and kidnapped him. It’s most likely more on the side of a nightmare than reality. Was there anything else significant in the dream?” 

“We snuck into May’s apartment and I found him in his room. Dead.” Tony whispered. “I don’t see any other significance.”

“Well, the apartment was put on you and Natasha’s list, so it will be checked. It’s obviously important. Most of the dreams seemed to be connected to May, after all. It was probably just a premonition about how you would go to May’s.” Strange tried to be reassuring. 

Tony huffed out a breath. “Fantastic. But what if I keep dreaming that he’s dead?”

“Well, it depends. If it was the same dream despite my spell then I would be more concerned, as the dreams are supposed to gain clarity with multiple consecutive uses of the spell. But we haven’t gotten quite that far yet, so we aren’t going to worry about it until or unless we need to. I’m aware that asking you to go to sleep seems like a major request–” At the seething look from Tony, he continued, “Just take a sleep shift like the others. Then you can stay awake all of tomorrow, when we’re more likely to have something for you to be involved in.”

Tony immediately reacted in an outburst. “How do you expect me to sleep?”

“Trying to would be a good start–”

“Strange, my son is missing!”

“I’m aware, but–”

“I can’t eat, I can barely drink a sip of water, how the fuck would I fall asleep? Who knows what the hell May wants with him? Who knows what could happen to them with that– that manic killer thing on the loose?!”

“Stark, I am asking you to please get some rest. At least a small amount. I’ve set the spell on everyone on the sleep shift right now, and I believe your dreams would be helpful in finding Peter– the sooner I can get the prediction for tomorrow from you, the better. Getting rest would be more helpful than whatever you’re doing right now.” 

“I couldn’t fall asleep if I tried.” Tony whispered, voice thick with emotion and straining not to crack.

Strange seemed to understand his emotion and quickly supplied, “I can put a sleeping charm on you. One that won’t interfere with my dream spell.” 

Tony paused, thinking it over, but ultimately let out a ragged sigh. “I… alright, Strange.” He wouldn’t have been able to escape the nightmares, but letting Strange lure them straight to him? It felt like a trap. One that he would only endure for Peter’s sake, of course. 

“Thank you.” The doctor answered sincerely. “As soon as you wake up with a dream, you come to me. ” 

Tony agreed silently and headed to the couch in the corner of his lab– he hoped nobody expected him to leave that room, though he knew it was highly unlikely nobody was that delusional. 

Tony had never been close to Strange, had never actually talked to him much. He knew they both had not so fantastic perceptions of each other that neither bothered to try and remedy, but he would have never expected this kindness and gentleness from the man. Maybe it had something to do with his current vulnerable state, maybe he had simply misjudged him: either way, Tony felt endlessly grateful that this man was doing everything he could to help his son. Before he knew it, he was laying down  on the couch he had moved into the lab specifically for his son whenever he crashed during a lab-binge. The same couch he had told Peter he would rather die than sleep on. Well, it was like Happy had said: nobody knew what would happen if Peter died. Maybe the world would end. Tony knew for a fact that it would, at least for him. If Peter was already dead, then maybe the world was already over– maybe he himself was simply a dead man walking… or in this case, trying to sleep. 

It didn’t matter if Pepper or Rhodey called it ‘unhealthy’ and ‘codependent’. That was his son. What was he supposed to do?

These were the last thoughts he had as he drifted off to sleep. 

Tony was in his Iron Man suit. The displays in front of him were glowing their usual shade of bright blue, and he wasn’t sure what he was doing. He knew it had to be important because of the way his stomach was lurching and his heart was fluttering. 

“Tony?” 

He turned his head to see Steve and Bucky standing beside him. 

“Where did you find him?” The words slipped from his mouth involuntarily. 

Steve shot him the look of utmost regret but still answered, “He’s upstairs. In his old bedroom.” 

Tony pushed past the two and looked up at the building looming in front of him. He never thought he would have to see this run down, unsafe, definitely not up to code Queens apartment again, but here he was. 

He walked into the lobby, immediately turning to the stairs as the elevator hadn’t worked in years and there was no way that would have changed since his last visit. He didn’t remember the trek being quite this long, though. 

He stopped in front of a door, still wondering what he was doing, why he was at Peter’s old apartment, why he was so damn scared. He stared down the silver door marker 112A, the one he and Peter used to joke about being an inversion of apartment 221B, and trying to decide what made him and May the complete opposites of Sherlock and Watson. 

“Wait, does that make you Lestrade?” Peter had giggled. 

Tony had scoffed. “Ew, no, why would you insult me like that?” 

“It’s not an insult! I’m saying you’re the opposite of Lestrade, that’s obviously a compliment.”

Tony smiled to himself and gently touched the numbers, tracing them with two of his fingers. Feeling a sudden sense of urgency as the two super soldiers came to stand behind him, he trailed his hand down to the door handle and pushed it open as the time displayed on his HUD flipped to read 12:00 AM. The three crossed the threshold together. 

“Fuckin’ dusty.” Tony mumbled to himself. 

He turned to look around him, and noticed that he was alone in the unfurnished room. 

“Steve? Bucky?” He whispered, noticing how he suddenly felt vulnerable– he should have worn his suit, why didn’t he wear his suit?

But hadn’t he just had it on? Where did it– A feeling of dread filled him as he realized that they weren’t simply waiting in the hallway for him. He didn't know why, but he walked to the door and closed it. 

Tony felt safer. So then why was his heart still pounding out of his chest?

He did the first thing his instincts told him to do– explore the home. He should have known, based off of the living room, that every room would be empty and covered in a blanket of dust. Well, maybe he should be surprised– hadn’t Cap just said someone was in here? 

He turned to the last room left: Peter’s room, of course.

His old bedroom. 

Tony let out a little gasp in what he hoped would be an incorrect revelation and rushed to the door, pushing it open with his shoulder when it was locked. It flew open and banged against the wall, upsetting the dust. It flew up in unrealistic clouds and Tony trekked through them, following a trail of forward and backward footprints until he was standing in the middle of the room, staring down at a body. Another pair of footprints mirrored his on the other side of the body, coming from the window and stopping in front of the body. 

Tony dropped to his knees and rolled the still body over, his own body shaking in terror. 

Peter. 

He grinned to see his wide eyed, alive son. “Hey there, Petey-Pie. What are you doing here? I was worried sick, you can’t just leave like that. Come on, let’s go home.” 

“It’s not my choice,” Peter mumbled. 

Tony quirked his eyebrows “What do you mean, kid?” Peter seemed very unlike himself. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m normal.”

“No, my Peter wouldn't disappear on me and then not tell me what was wrong. He also smiles a lot more.”

Peter’s face remained unchanged and neutral. 

“Come on, Peter. Can you give me a smile?” 

And to Tony’s horror, he did. Peter smiled at him as he melted into his true form…

He screamed and dropped the boy, scrambling away from the body. 

It was Peter– but not quite. 

It… it just couldn’t be Peter, because– because Peter had big, brown eyes, flushed cheeks, usually from laughing or embarrassment, and straight white teeth and a big smile. 

This Peter didn’t have any of those. 

No color in his pale face.

No teeth. 

No eyes. 

He was undoubtedly dead. 

Tony stood staring at the smiling, rotting dead body and screamed until his throat was raw and his lips were chapped. The body finally rolled over, motionless. Peter’s old features had returned but his life had not. 

And what else could Tony do?

“Come on, Petey please. Please, wake up, this isn’t funny, I–” He pulled Peter into his arms and cradled him in his lap. He wrapped him up in a tight, safe hold, trying not to believe the reality of his situation. “Peter, where are you? Peter, wake up, wake up! ”

Peter’s face stayed a blank mask. 

“Peter?”

Tony woke up alone in his silent lab. 

He was destined to find his dead son in only twenty-four hours. 

His muffled sobs echoed through the room. 

“I wish they would turn off that stupid fucking song.” 

May’s old neighbor, Mrs Rohloff, looked pityingly at her father. “Sorry, dad. If I knew who lived up there I would tell them to stop.”

“Nobody even lives up there anymore, I should know. I talk to the landlady every day and she says she’s sick of tending to the same four tenants.” He lowered his voice and muttered darkly, “Probably some dumbass teenagers, up to no good.” 

They listened silently for a moment to the music blaring upstairs. It turned off suddenly for the third time that hour. 

“Maybe they won’t turn it on again.” Mrs Rohloff suggested. 

“They could at least not play the same damn song over and over.” Her father answered, shaking his head.

Mrs Rohloff shook her head with a fond smile. “Come on, dad. You should be in bed. It’s almost one in the morning…”

She led her father to his bedroom, crossing her fingers that he would sleep undisturbed. It was already bad enough that he claimed to hear people fighting up there all the time. The last thing she needed right then was for him to be right about all those late night disturbances. 

But then again, it was just music. 

Two flights up, Peter Parker sat gasping on the floor of his old bedroom, sputtering through the blood in his mouth as he tried to take in a full breath.

“There, there, child. I’ll give you a moment.” 

Peter glared up at the man in front of him, but nonetheless slowed his attempts to breathe.

“Why do you even need me?” The teen finally gasped out. 

 The man seemed taken aback. “You can’t tell? Why, Peter Parker- Stark, I thought you were smarter than that… Even if you are adopted.”

“He won’t take ransom.” Peter rasped out in a futile attempt to be let go. 

The man shook his head. “I don’t want his money. Did you really think I would go this far for something I could easily steal? No, what I want is far harder to gain…”

“And what do you want?” 

The man stared at Peter for a long time, before saying, “Maybe when we’re somewhere safer. May, be a dear and take out another one of his teeth, would you?” 

Peter tried to back away from his approaching aunt but was unable to move his chair. He opened his mouth to cry out for help, but the man turned to his old record player again before he could.

The music played full blast. 

“We’ll meet again…”

None of the few remaining apartment tenants would find out what was happening in that old abandoned upstairs apartment, or who would want to be in it so late. Nobody went up there anymore.

Maybe it was a party.

“But we’ll meet again some sunny day…”

Chapter Text

“Oh my god, he can be useful–”

“Clint, this isn’t the time.” Steve said as he and Bucky dragged a struggling woman down the hallway to the avengers’ common room.

Tony stood up on seeing them back– his anxiety had been spiking when the soldiers didn’t return the next morning. It was 6:30 PM: two minutes until his son would have been gone for twenty-four hours, and four and a half hours until he was supposed to find Peter’s body. His eyes darkened when he saw that the one Steve and Bucky were holding between them was none other than May Jameson. 

Peter was supposed to be there. Not her. 

“Jameson. What the fuck.” Rhodey began calmly. 

Tony walked across the room until they were face to face and he was looking her right in the eyes. “Where’s Peter.” He demanded. 

She stared at him, simply perturbed. As if being grabbed off the street by two super soldiers was an everyday minor inconvenience. 

“May.” Tony growled out. “Answer me. Now.” 

“I have nothing to tell you.” She spat out. 

Tony laughed a nearly deranged laugh. “You kidnapped my fucking son and you think you have nothing to say to me? You think you’re just going to be let go and be able to drive off into the fucking sunset with a child in your trunk? Is that what you think?” 

“Tony.” Strange said quietly. 

Tony spun to look at him. “No, Strange, she’s insane , she’s–” 

“She’s under a spell.” Strange interrupted. 

Tony stared at him for a moment before slowly turning to face May again. “I…What kind of spell?” 

Strange promptly answered, “It’s manipulating her thoughts. At its core, it’s a spell of confusion.”

Bruce stood from his seat on the couch. “Can you trace it?” 

“It’s not that simple.” Strange said, ignoring May’s growling. “This isn’t technology, it has far less rules than codes. With magic you can find much easier loopholes and counters, or create your own– dark magic is easy to recognize and use, but very hard to get control of.” 

“And?” 

“And this is the work of a dark sorcerer.” Strange concluded. 

“So you can’t trace it.” Steve grunted. 

Bucky gripped May’s arm a little tighter than he needed to and asked, “So… May didn’t kidnap Peter. A sorcerer made her do it? But what would a sorcerer want with Peter?” 

“Seems to be the situation, yes, and… I have no idea.” Strange admitted. 

“Well, can we reverse the spell or something?” Bruce asked, knowing full well that he knew nothing about how magic worked.

Strange frowned. “I believe I could. The spell used is one that I myself could not cast without losing myself in dark magic– usually a spell based in virtue could not overpower one like this. Luckily, the sorcerer is weak– that’s why it is just a spell of confusion rather than complete thought manipulation. The spell is unstable enough that I believe I could counter it.” 

“Okay… when?” Bucky asked.

Strange nodded at the two to let May go. “Now. No time to waste.”

The four men backed away from May, who stood up straighter and stared Strange down. Something flickered behind her eyes and Strange immediately got to work. 

She shivered and screamed and tried to fight the whole time she was trapped in slowly rotating rings of glowing sparks. By the time Strange was nearing the end of the spell, it seemed as if she had given up. But then May dragged her head up from the ground to look at him, and muttered, “You won’t find him in time.” 

She gave them a sickening smile, and dropped to the ground, passed out. 

Strange lifted his force field of magic and dropped to his knees beside her, checking for a pulse. 

“Good. Alive and no traces of dark magic.”

“Okay, but she’s passed out. How do we question her?” Tony stared at May, barely able to keep up with the situation. 

Strange put two hands up and opened a portal. He picked May up and carried her through, calling over his shoulder, “Medbay first.” 

The four followed him, sharing troubled glances as they went. 

“I would like to get to know you more, Peter. After all, we’re going to be together for a very long time.” 

Peter rolled his eyes. It was best to pretend he was unfazed than show his fear– that would be accepting defeat. “You first.”

“Alright. My name is Robert.”

Peter stared at him with squinting eyes. “...Right.” 

The man didn’t blink at Peter’s skeptical stare. A ringing silence took its place.

“If you don’t want me because I’m Tony’s son, then why do you want me?” Peter finally asked. 

“Don’t take it so personally. Remember, I said I wanted to claim everyone.”

Peter huffed. “Okay, fine. But why start with the people you did?”

“I started without a full idea on what I wanted. But the more operations that failed and the more people died, I realized who it was that I needed to claim first.” Robert shrugged. 

“Who?”

“The Avengers.”

Peter raised his eyebrows. “And why do you need to… ‘claim them’?”

“To get what I want.” Robert shrugged, 

“ Which is? ” 

“It’s simple. I want to reform the world. Many before me have tried, and all of them have failed. Not because they lacked vision, but power. But I…” Robert explained, expanding his arms in a presentational manner,  “Even without my full power, have enough. And I can only gain more.”

Peter shook his head back and forth. “So, what? You’re mind controlling people? Creating an army?” 

“Putting it simply, yes.” 

“Wow, so you were right. That is unoriginal.” The teen tried to annoy him. 

“How many times will people write the same song with different lyrics and be tolerated? How many times will someone paint a picture with the same idea as another and be called a master? Everything is based on something. Peter, do you know what makes us believe things are original?” Robert asked, treating Peter like a prized student in some high school classroom. 

Peter grunted, “No.” 

“Method.” Robert answered lightly. “I may be trying to do the same thing as many others before me have, but what makes it original, what makes it more likely to work, is the fact that I am doing it my way. ”

“And what is your way?” 

“You haven’t caught on yet? Your father really didn’t tell you anything?” 

“No, he didn’t.” Peter said, only getting more angry. “Please, enlighten me.” 

Robert frowned, thinking. “...No, I don’t think I will.” 

“You can't want me to tell you about me if you aren’t going to return the favor.” Peter argued. 

“Fine. How about I tell you a story about myself? Maybe you’ll learn a little more about yourself as well as me through my history.”

“Fine.”

Robert leaned back in his chair and spoke slowly, “Once, a long time ago, I became an aspiring nanotech engineer working for an up and coming technology company after years and years of dedicated studying. I had also been studying the magic arts and knew that if I could find out how to have both magic and technology on my side, then I could do anything I wanted. Everything I wanted. Change the world to fit my image and desires. My good friend, a gentleman who I worked with, though he admittedly worked in a different department, learned of my intentions. He tried to stop me while I tried to convert him– I knew his brain could be useful. But he wasn’t as loyal– or strong or smart– as I thought he would be. So I cursed him, and waited. Since he wouldn’t follow me, I waited for his downfall. And it only took a couple months.” 

“Till what?” Peter asked quietly. 

The man stood up to his full height and answered, “Till he and his wife died in a plane crash.”  

Peter’s face paled as realization dawned on him. “The curse of hereditary bad luck.” 

“I had always wanted to meet Richard and Mary Parker’s son.” Robert mused. “They would never let me around you, though. I guess we weren’t quite as close as I wanted to be. But, then again, I did kill him .” 

“But Strange said that the one who casted that spell was dead.” Peter argued. There was no way this man could be the same sorcerer. 

Robert smiled. “He was right.”

The two stared at each other. 

“Did you know that a sorcerer can set a spell to make sure he’s resurrected if he dies?” The man asked curiously. 

Peter shook his head slowly. 

“Turns out, dying can take a lot out of you. I lost most of my magical power when I came back, but I still had my brain to help me: I built myself this body when mine began to fall apart. I had thought I would have to build up my power again before I could continue my work. But then I realized… if I can do this for myself with only technology, I can do this for others, too.” 

Peter stared at him, no longer willing to speak. 

“No questions anymore?” Robert tilted his head. 

“I’m not playing your game.” Peter grunted. 

“But I thought you liked games, Peter?”

Peter glared up at him. 

“Well, that’s okay. I guess there’s nothing more to do than begin the operation.”

“What operation?” Peter asked, moving to push his chair slightly backward, remembering yet again that it was bolted to the floor. 

“Peter, when I said I was going to claim you, you didn't think all that meant was kidnapping you, did it?” Robert tutted and walked to his desk. “No, we have a little more to do than that. Or couldn’t you tell from what I did with May?”

“What’s the diagnosis, Helen?” Tony asked stiffly. 

The doctor entered the room completely, still staring at her clipboard. She looked up at the group and answered, “I’m not completely sure. I did an x-ray to stay on the safe side and… there’s something, I’m not sure how, covering her bones.”

“What do you mean?” Strange asked. He waved a hand and FRIDAY pulled up a holograph of the results. 

Cho shook her head. “I’m not sure. I could do a surgery to find out, but I would need a good reason to do it without her consent. She still hasn’t woken up.” 

“Is child endangerment and kidnapping enough?” Tony crossed his arms. 

Cho frowned. “I… probably. What happened this time?”

“She kidnapped Peter under the influence of magic. We’re trying to figure out why.” Strange pointed at the results. “Her bones are coated in metal.”

Cho nodded and added, “She had stitches up her legs that look like she had a surgery recently, but none of her records show that. I also have no idea how anyone could surgically coat bones in metal. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Wait– in her legs? Like the victims of that serial killer.” Steve stated. 

Bruce pointed at the hologram, “Police reports also show that she’s been reported missing by her fiance in Arizona.” 

Bucky covered his mouth with a hand. “Just like those other victims.” 

“I think it’s best if you just get on with this surgery.” Tony said impatiently. 

Helen frowned. “Bruce, Strange, would you feel comfortable sitting in?” 

The two doctors nodded. 

Four hours later, May was wheeled back into the hospital room with fresh stitches on one leg. Cho held out a handful of sand-like metal she had removed from the bone. “You recognize this, Tony?”

Tony took it and examined it. “This… this is damaged nanotech.” He said quietly. 

Cho nodded. “Her bones were encased in nanotech sleeves. When we tried to remove it, it fell apart into its natural form.”

“It’s disconnected from its housing unit.” Tony concluded. “She wasn’t just mind controlled, she was being physically controlled. Like a robot. It’s a nanotech endoskeleton.” 

Strange’s face flooded with disgusted realization. “His magic wasn’t strong enough to completely control her so he needed something to aid that.” 

“So she was kidnapped and internally controlled.” Steve asked carefully. 

A groggy voice on the other side of the room mumbled, “I could’ve told you that myself.” 

The six turned to face the hospital bed and saw May sitting up and pulling the IV from her arm. 

“Woah, May, you can’t do that.” Cho said politely, rushing to her side and pushing her back into the bed. 

May never looked at Cho but simply stared at Tony. “Tony,” She whimpered. “He has Peter.”

“Who does?” Tony asked, practically sprinting to her bedside. “What’s his name, what do you know about him–”

May closed her eyes tightly and answered, “I’m not sure. I don’t have a name, I don’t know,” She opened her eyes wide and said, “But he’s– he’s a monster , Tony.” 

“What does he look like?” Strange asked urgently. 

“He’s… he’s decrepit and– and practically decomposing– he has a human head, but he’s wearing armour, or, or something, he’s covered in metal. His hair is greasy and stringy, his eyes– god, his eyes, they’re swollen and red– and Tony, he has these claws– I saw him pick Peter up with them, and– and he just went limp, like… like…” She broke down sobbing. “I’m so sorry, Tony, it wasn’t my choice, I never would have hurt him or tried to take him from you, I’m so sorry–” 

“May, where did you see Peter?” Bucky interrupted. 

“We were at our old apartment.” May sniffed. “The one Peter and I lived at.” 

Tony shot to his feet and Strange pulled away. May watched as Bruce and the two super soldiers followed them to the door. 

Tony had FRIDAY notify the rest of the avengers to suit up.

“So he’s at May’s apartment?” Natasha asked, pulling a jacket on. 

Tony nodded. “That’s where May last saw him.” 

“So that’s where we’re going.” Strange said. He held his hands out and began opening a portal, the rest of the avengers lining behind him with their weapons and armours on. 

The group stepped out into the humid air of a New York City night. 

Tony was in his Iron Man suit. The displays in front of him were glowing their usual shade of bright blue, and he felt a horrible feeling of deja vu as his stomach lurched when he looked up at the building looming in front of him. He had come to despise this apartment. 

The avengers spread out, most of them securing the perimeter while others followed him inside, splitting off at each floor. By the time Tony reached the top, it was just him, Steve, and Bucky. It never even crossed his mind how only months ago, he would have never trusted them to be around him, especially alone. 

He looked up at the time on his HUD and saw that it was only minutes away from midnight. He pushed at the door and growled when he realized it was locked. Immediately lifting his arm, he blasted the door off its hinges and the three crossed the threshold together. 

Tony made sure to keep his mouth shut and made a beeline to Peter’s bedroom, the two super soldiers following him closely behind. He rushed to the door, pushing it open with his shoulder and expecting it to be locked– instead, it swung open without hesitation. On the floor in the middle of the room was a clean spot on the floor in the shape of a body. Footsteps from the door led to the clean spot and back, and another trail of footsteps led from the window to the body, and back to the window. 

Tony stared in disbelief at the empty room until Bucky shook his shoulder. “Tony, can you hear me?”

He finally looked up at the super-soldier, who was grimacing. “Tony, let’s go check the other rooms.” 

Tony nodded and followed silently. 

Down the hallway, Steve tried the handle of what Tony knew to be the bathroom door. It was locked. 

Tony pushed in front of Steve and levelled his gauntlet at it, this time carefully burning the door from its hinges and handing the door to Steve. Steve took it and leaned it against the wall. 

Tony stepped inside, immediately reaching over to where he remembered the light switch being. 

The light flipped on. 

In front of him, illuminated by the dull light of the old bathroom light, was a bathtub.

Painted in streaks of red. 

Blood splashed onto the floor.

Blood splattered up the walls. 

Blood pawed across the sides of the tub. 

Tony let out a horrified gasp and shot across the room to kneel at the side of the tub. 

Of course, sitting at the bottom, was the body of a teenage boy. 

And of course, It was Peter.

But not quite.

The Avengers followed Tony home silently, in a sort of funeral procession. Why not call it that? Tony was carrying the dead body of his son, wasn’t he?

Pepper froze when she saw Tony’s blank face and the limp body of Peter. She stood on the other side of the room, thoughts racing but it never showed on her face. She looked lost. Confused. 

This wasn’t supposed to happen. 

Happy had expected for Tony to race through the portal with Peter and go straight to the medbay, for Cho to perform a miracle, for Peter to heal. He had never expected Peter to die. He had never expected to outlive his nephew. 

He sat down on the couch and placed his face in his hands. 

Rhodey stood behind Tony, unable to look at Peter. 

He knew they wouldn’t be able to have an open casket funeral. Not with Peter in this state. He didn’t know how Tony was able to hold him like this. How Tony was keeping it together. He was sure, though, that this moment would affect all of them. 

That this moment would echo through time. 

Things would never be the same again.

Peter Parker-Stark was dead. 

Rhodey bowed his head. 

“Looks like they got Peter back… he must be enjoying the reunion with his father, right?” Robert turned around to face the group of people in the room. They all nodded. 

Robert looked over their heads. “Right, Peter? Are you enjoying your reunion?”

Peter glared from where he was chained to the floor. 

Robert grinned. “What, no smile? Aren’t you happy to be with your father again? I think it was incredibly intelligent to throw them off my trail with a distraction like that.” He waited for a reaction from Peter. When he didn’t receive one, he knelt in front of the boy and grinned menacingly. “You don’t agree?”

Peter was hopeless. 

He might could have made it through before, knowing that his family was searching endlessly for him, ready to do anything to save him. 

But now they weren’t looking. 

Peter Parker was fully alone, dead to the world. Dead to his family. 

They had no idea he was chained to the floor of a dark basement of some old warehouse, coughing up blood and struggling to breathe. 

If Robert was going to kill him, he wished he would just get it over with. He was already practically dead. He didn’t want his family to grieve for him twice, and he didn’t want to lose control of himself and back the plans of some evil maniac. 

Peter wanted to die in control of himself.

And he remembered what Strange had said about keeping a tight hold on reality, but he couldn't help how tired he was… his grip was loosening as he laid there and there was nothing he could do about it. There was no telling how long he had been there but it felt like it had been a century. He knew that was unlikely. But nothing felt real anymore. Even the pain was fading away. 

He wished he could feel angry about it. 

Chapter Text

“Tony?” 

“Honey, I need you to answer her.”

“It’s alright, he’s in shock. It’s completely normal. It’s just, as usual, ill-timed.”

“Tones. She needs your permission to do the autopsy. Please just answer her.” 

An autopsy.

Ah, right.

Because the brightest light in his world had been blown out. 

Because his bambino, his cucciolo, his spider-baby had been kidnapped and brutally murdered. 

And as if the many cuts to his legs, the charred fingers and toes, and the missing eyes and teeth weren’t enough– they wanted to cut him open all over again and study him. 

Tony felt sick as he remembered the many dissections he had done before. 

He had never thought that Peter would have to have one, no matter how many times they joked or fought about him getting murdered. He had never thought he would outlive Peter. Hell, he had never actually thought that Peter would die. 

And now he had to worry about this autopsy, the funeral, and god what was he going to do now? How was he ever going to recover? Easy: he wouldn’t. A Peter-less future flashed through his mind and he realized that it was just as bad, worse, actually, than before he had met Peter. After all, Peter had been the reason he had tried to become a better person in the first place. But now he was going to be a sonless father, and he was going to have to live forever knowing he could have stopped this, that he and Pepper almost had everything– would there even be a wedding anymore? He imagined setting aside their wedding plans in favor of planning a funeral– after all, how could they concentrate on a wedding anymore? How was he going to handle not being able to have Peter there? Would Pepper be able to handle it? Would they even be able to be around each other anymore? He had seen it so many times– a child dies and the marriage falls apart, like some twisted version of that k-i-s-s-i-n-g chant– first comes blame, then a fight, then everything falls apart and the marriage ends– or something like that. Would they be able to handle getting married? It was probably safe to say that neither of them would be.

So, what? That was it? The end of years and years of solidarity and friendship and trust? All of that hinged on the life of one small child?

That didn’t sound right. 

But this was Peter he was talking about. 

But this was him and Pepper! The disaster couple and yet simultaneously the power couple of the century! How could it just end at the flip of a switch? The end of a life?

Because it’s Peter’s life.  

But not everything is about Peter. 

But you know what is?

And he did. That fucking autopsy. 

“Just do it.” He whispered hoarsely, his eyes never zoning in from where they had made their resting place on some arbitrary spot on the floor. 

He heard but didn’t process the sound of someone quickly exiting the room. Later on, he would understand that it was Cho hurrying to prepare an operating theatre. Later on, he would ask Cho how she handled the night, tell her to take some well deserved time off, and look into hiring a couple other doctors. 

But for now… 

“Tony.”

Tony wasn’t going to answer. He didn't have the heart. 

“Tones.” 

Tony wasn’t going to answer. He didn’t have the will power. 

“Honey.”

Tony wasn’t going to answer. He didn’t have the gut. 

His family watched in despair. Happy, Rhodey, and Pepper sat on the chairs closest to him. 

Pepper’s face was completely dry. She just looked pale, weak, and tired. She would go into shock later, but right now she was holding on for the three men in the room, and the boy in the operating theatre. 

Happy and Rhodey didn’t cry much. But they were now. Silently, of course, and later they would break down completely while they stood side by side outside Peter’s room that night. At least they weren’t alone. They still had each other, and they wouldn’t let anything change that. 

Tony had tears in his eyes, but his body wouldn’t let him go any farther. As if crying would admit the reality of the situation, as if it would be letting go of any last hope, as if it was his final, silent, and reluctant way of giving up. But Tony Stark was known for his stubbornness, and he’d be damned if a single tear fell. He could take time for himself later. Later, when he had found the fucking monster that had killed and mutilated Peter and done the exact same things to him. 

Then maybe he would admit defeat. 

Tony had no idea how long he sat there. He didn’t really care anymore. Time could pass as much as it wanted, he didn’t give a damn anymore. Maybe soon his time would end and he could see Peter again… he would wait there as long as he needed to. Nothing would pull him from his trance. 

Nothing except…

“TONY!” 

The shrill scream rang from down the hall and the man’s eyes, for the first time since he set Peter down in the medbay, snapped from their place on the floor. He shot weakly to his feet, swaying slightly but standing his ground. 

“Tony!” Cho slid into the room, a look of unbridled horror on her face. 

Tony paled. What could have gone wrong at this point? “What.”

“It’s– Peter, he’s–” Cho gasped out.

Happy got to his feet, too. “Is he… alive?” Everyone, especially him, knew how unlikely it was. 

Cho began hopelessly, “I don’t know–”

“What do you mean, ‘you don’t know’?” Rhodey was on his feet, too. “You have his body–”

“No, I don’t.” Cho breathed out. “It’s– it’s not a real body, it’s some kind of dummy– it’s not Peter. ”

Tony froze.

A moment passed. 

“What. The fuck.” He breathed out.

With wild eyes, he whipped his head over to stare at his brothers and fiancee. “WHAT THE FUCK?” He shouted, and dashed out of the room.

“FRI, check– anything, check anything! Security footage, whatever else, I don’t care, just found him!” 

How could he not have recognized the difference between some dummy and his son ? And why was this villain so focused on Peter– he hadn’t tried to fake any other death before now… 

Natasha appeared at Tony’s side. “I have theories.” 

Had he been ranting out loud?

“Spill.” His fingers raced across a keyboard of his, preparing a scan of the city.

“He might be using Peter as leverage against you. You might be the actual target. Also, he might know about Peter’s ‘arachnid activities’-- maybe he thinks of Peter as an asset for whatever this is. And maybe…”

Tony glanced up at her, waiting for her to collect her thoughts.

“Maybe he was just trying to use Peter to send a message. Maybe he was using him as some kind of pawn.”

Just a pawn. Tony growled under his breath. 

“But we made that map earlier of the dumping slash murder sights– there are multiple locations we need to check in that radius. There are multiple places that he could be working from.” 

Tony nodded immediately. “Round everyone up, make sure they’re ready for some good old fashioned ass kicking.” 

Natasha nodded and left the room, leaving Tony Stark vulnerable to his thoughts. 

But there was no time to panic. Somewhere– maybe not even in this city– his son was being held captive by some evil bastard with no fucking idea what was coming his way. 

He was going to make sure that this monster, as May had described it, never forgot what would happen when anyone laid a finger on anyone in his family. 

And then, of course, he was going to kill him. 

Before Tony knew it, his family was suited up around him– his fiancee donning her blue armour– and beginning the search at each location on their extensive list. 

Before entering any building, they would run heat scans and check all entrances. 

After exiting each building, they would be empty handed. 

It went like that for multiple hours. 

Scan. 

Enter.

Leave.

Continue to the next building. 

Repeat. 

Abandoned apartments, shady basements and alleys, dark warehouses– they all passed, each bringing the avengers more and more frustration and worry. If Peter wasn’t here, then where was he? Well, the next location, right? Right?

No.

So the search continued. On and on. 

“Hey. Why don’t we just talk this out? You know, man on… wizard… thing. Man on man!” Peter corrected himself. 

“Why don’t we not?” Robert answered. 

Peter struggled aimlessly against the metal restraints. He never did enjoy being strapped down, especially against his will, and especially when the restraints were attached to a metal surgical table. 

“Why are you doing this? I just don’t get it! Why do I get all the special treatment?” Peter did his best to keep a whining tone from his voice– but then again, who really cared at this point?

“Because, Peter. You are special. You are an important puzzle piece in the mystery that is the future. You know, my plan has been in motion far longer than anyone would ever believe.” He checked the restraints on Peter again, and added, “Believe it or not, it all started with you.” 

Peter stared. “What is that supposed to mean?” He finally pushed from his dry throat. 

“Back when I was a much stronger sorcerer, I was able to see into the future. To see the paths I wanted. I looked for a future where my plans to reform the world worked, and they all started with you.” Robert answered simply. 

Peter gulped. 

“No matter what, each successful future involves you. You are a key piece to my plan. I’m incredibly lucky that out of all your futures, you made it to one where you survived to meet me.” 

The sound of metal on metal clinked through the room as Robert organized his surgical instruments. Completely changing the subject, his low and gravelly voice said, “Don’t worry about anything, Peter. This will all be over in a couple hours.”

Peter took a shaky breath.

In, and out.

How many more times would he be able to enjoy something as mundane as breathing?

He knew he had to be at an all time low to consider breathing as something enjoyable. But what could he say? He had low standards. 

And time was ticking. His chances of survival and rescue were only lowering with the time that passed. 

The old clock on the corner continued its pattern, and Robert began his procedure.

“Breathe deep, Pete,” he said. 

With the mask over his face and no way to escape the inevitable, Peter laid still and quiet. And holding his breath only worked for so long. Soon his lungs gave up on him, and he took a deep shuddering breath in. 

Sleepiness began to set in. 

And soon, Peter was passed out, left to the mercy of his kidnapper. 

“Pep.” 

Pepper turned around, instinctively taking Tony’s hand. “Yeah?” 

“This is the last house.” Tony mumbled.

Pepper immediately understood. “We’ll find him,” She said firmly.

Tony pursed his lips and nodded tightly. 

He had already mourned his son– he had already learned what exactly would happen to him if Peter were to die. 

He couldn’t cope. He knew it. He knew everyone else knew it.

“Hey,” Pepper said, dropping a hand to his lower back. “I’m gonna be here the whole time. No matter what.”

Tony looked up at her, eyes filled with repressed emotion. 

“I mean it.” She said, as if she had read his thoughts earlier. As if she knew he was doubting the strength of their relationship, all thanks to Peter. “We are going to get through this together. I don’t care how long it takes. I am not leaving you.” 

Tony coughed out a breath, tears dropping involuntarily down his face. “I… thank you, Pep.”

She pulled him into a gentle hug, tight and reassuring. 

“I love you, thank you,” He murmured into her hair. 

Pepper nodded. “I love you, too. I love you very, very much.” 

The two pulled away, red eyed and very clearly emotional.

“Let’s go find our son.” Pepper said, turning towards the surprisingly well-maintained house in front of them. 

Tony nodded, and the couple led the avengers into the house. 

If Tony hadn’t known better, he would have said that the house looked… homey. Cozy chairs, pictures lining the walls, a couple well maintained plants. But Tony did know better, and he recognized the layer of dust over the chairs, how the pictures never showed people, only landscapes, and that all the plants were fake. 

It was like walking onto a stage. 

“Split up?” Steve asked quietly. 

The group nodded, Tony and Pepper sharing a wordless look and dropping each other’s hands: one of them had to be there when they found Peter, right? 

Tony led a smaller group of people down a hall, moving as quietly as possible. A sneak attack had to be their best option, right? Though that was slightly hard, considering every single light and lamp was on— this only fed into Tony’s suspicion. What normal middle class family would keep every single light in the house on well past midnight? Even if Peter wasn’t there, something was off about that house. 

Room by room, the two teams searched their last location. Room by room, they were disappointed. 

No signs of struggle, no signs of life. 

Nothing.

The group rejoined in the living room, tired and hopeless. Moments passed where they did nothing but stand there. 

“So.. what now?” Bucky asked into the silence.

“We have FRIDAY update the list. We expand outside of the perimeter and we keep looking.”  Pepper answered smoothly, a hand gripping tightly on Tony’s arm. His arm quivered with what he assumed were tremors from the woman’s nervous hands. 

“I could have sworn there was someone in the house.” Steve said under his breath.

Bruce crossed his arms. “It’s not like our tech to be wrong.”

“Well, we never found anyone, so we’re obviously missing something.” Natasha said, gesturing around the room. “Where was the heat signature coming from?”

“Up. But there’s nowhere for an attic entrance.” Bruce answered. “Obviously it could be hidden, but I never found anything to hide an entrance.”

“So it’s well hidden. And nobody with good intentions would try to hide something so hard, would they?” Scott asked. 

Tony stared up at the ceiling. “Most of the time, no.”  

“Can’t we just blast through the ceiling?” Rhodey asked nobody in particular.

Clint shook his head, “What if we hurt Peter?”

“Well if we figure out where he is on the scan, then we won’t–”

“We don’t even know that it’s Peter yet. Let’s not get our hopes up.” Natasha said brusquely. “And I think Rhodey’s right. We just need to get up there, the likelihood that it’s Peter is slim anyway, and the likelihood we hurt him is even lower. We’ll just go up on the other side of the room as the heat scan and check it out. If it’s a normal citizen… well, we should probably check on their well-being as well.”

“Alright, Bruce set up the scan.” 

After a few moments, Bruce left to stand under a specific part of the ceiling. “Right around here,” He waved. “Blast anywhere but here.” 

Tony nodded and moved forward. He stood, eyeing the ceiling carefully, and after a few tense seconds, carved a circle into the roof with one of his lasers. 

What happened next was… not what they expected. 

Dust filled the room, and a sudden loud crashing sound filled the room. Coughing and choking took the place of the silence that had just reigned dominant, and everyone scrambled from the spot. 

Had they just knocked someone from the ceiling?

Yes and… no.

As the dust cleared, they were met with the sight of a tall… thing. 

Covered in metal, like some kind of armour, with thin hair that looked as if it was actively falling out– and then he turned to face them. 

Red, swollen eyes stared them down. 

“That’s him, right?” Pepper asked. “That’s exactly who May described.” 

The Avengers stared back at him. 

“Where is Peter.” Tony demanded. 

The thing– Robert, though only Peter knew his name– gave a little grin, before barreling upwards. His quick mechanical movements immediately gave him the lead– but Strange was quick, too, and put him into a binding spell, bringing him back down. 

“I’ll hold him off. Get Peter.” He shouted, hoping internally that not every single avenger would listen to him. 

Luckily, he was left with plenty of backup as Tony, Pepper, Bucky, and Natasha went through the hole in the ceiling. 

Inside the room, there was a small rolling cart with metal instruments littering the surface. Next to it, there was a metal surgical table with a small person on it. And covering that person, and the table, and the floor around it, was blood. 

“PETER!” Tony yelled, rushing to his son’s side. 

Peter looked up to meet his father’s eyes, but… seemingly couldn’t.

His eyes were glazed over, and though he stared at Tony, he never did recognize him. 

“Peter?” Tony asked, starting to undo the straps holding him down. “Peter, please say something, anything.”

Peter took a shuddering breath in and out, as if concentrating fully on doing just that. 

“Peter, come on, buddy, please?”

The teen licked his lips, and took another round of breaths, before finally whispering, “Help.”

“Tony, look at his legs,” Natasha said urgently. 

Tearing his gaze away from Peter’s face, he moved the couple feet it took to get his legs fully in view. 

And suddenly, Tony was also having to concentrate fully on his breathing. 

Peter’s legs were… mutilated, to say the least. It looked as if there were supposed to be one clean cut to each thigh and shin. Perhaps Peter had struggled too much, or perhaps Robert just had incredibly shaky hands (the avengers didn’t know it, but it was both): the result was four incredibly jagged and deep cuts through his legs.

But then again, Robert had been trying to reach the bone. 

“Get him out of the restraints, we need to get him to Cho.” Pepper spoke for Tony, pushing him back to Peter’s head. 

Tony snapped back into action. 

“Hey, Petey, I’m right here, okay? Ton– Dad’s right here.” 

Peter stared up at him, exhaustion and confusion prevalent in his expression. “‘M really sleepy.” He drawled out. 

“Do not fall asleep, okay?” How many times had he said that this summer? “I need you to stay awake, okay?”

Peter understood the urgency in his father’s voice and somehow managed to keep his eyes open. 

“Alright, get him out of here, Tony.” Pepper said, burning through the final cuff. 

Not waiting a second longer, Tony scooped Peter into his arms and dropped through the ceiling. 

“Found Peter, headed out.” Tony yelled over the chaos, already moving towards the front door. 

Multiple avengers moved to follow before Strange shouted, “HEY, HEY, WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING?”

Remembering they were still in the middle of a fight, the group reluctantly continued. 

Not realizing that the sorcerer they were fighting was not their only enemy…

“Alright, bud, we’re headed home. You hear that?” Tony asked Peter. The wind rippled and slightly distorted Tony’s voice and the cold air soothed Peter’s stiff limbs.

A deafening boom made both members of the pair flinch. 

“What the hell…” Tony wondered aloud, turning to look behind him. 

Not seeing anything, he continued his path to the medbay at the Tower, as it was closest. 

Before he could register what was happening, Tony was plummeting from the sky, straight towards the ground. He clutched onto Peter, muttering some curses and trying to bring his suit back online– 

Crash. 

Moments later, Tony blinked awake on top of a building in the middle of some ghost-town-esque neighborhood. He was suddenly aware of the fact that his comms were on. 

“Tony, do you copy? What’s going on?”

They continued to call his name as he collected himself. He checked Peter over, looking for any new injuries. Satisfied that there somehow weren’t any, he answered his team. 

“I’m here.” He said, slightly breathless. 

“God, Tony, what the hell? You scared me half to death! What’s going on? FRI said you crashed?” Pepper’s voice broke through the comms in a broken wave of panic. 

Tony took a moment to look around as he formulated a response. “I think we were shot down.” He said blankly. 

“What?” Pepper asked. 

Tony continued to investigate his surroundings. “Look, Pep, I just need some back up, okay? I think we were shot down and I need to get Peter out of here.” 

“Copy that.” Pepper answered stiffly. 

Tony waited tensely for anyone he knew to arrive on that roof with him. He talked nonsense to Peter, murmuring quiet reassurances and promises. Peter didn’t seem to understand any of them. 

A skittering sound broke Tony from his one sided conversation.

“Hey, that backup is starting to sound better and better to me.” He said into his mic. 

“I’m sorry, Tony, we had a major detainment problem with what’s his face over here.” Clint said. “Strange can only hold him for so long. Cap is bringing some people over right now.”

Tony didn’t dare to sigh in relief. He knew that they weren’t quite out of the woods yet. 

Especially when he looked up to see five people with weapons drawn. 

He would never have recognized them, had he not seen their missing reports on the news.

“Hey, aren’t you–” Tony began, but was cut off when one of them lunged to grab Peter. 

It clicked in Tony’s head that of course they weren’t on his side. They were part of the army that ‘what’s his face’ (Robert) had been trying to grow. 

“Uh, yeah, that’s a big no from me.” Tony said, holding Peter tighter and turning to a defensive stance. He addressed his team on comms again, saying, “I got five of his proxies over here, looks like they’re trying to get Peter. Could use some help right about now.” 

“Detain, don’t kill.” Cap reminded over the comms. He was just moments from Tony’s location. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony said, dodging another swipe. 

Natasha landed next to Tony on the roof. 

“How did you–”

“Never mind that, why haven’t you left yet?” The assassin interrupted. 

Tony frowned. “I don’t know how, but they were able to disable my suit. I wasn’t going to leave until they were distracted, I couldn’t risk crashing again.”

Natasha nodded. “Well, we’re here now.”

A sudden shout rang through the comms, before they went out completely. Natasha and Tony shared a glance before the two began attempts to reach their teams. 

Steve and Sam began to detain the five proxies– only to realize that there were more. 

And more. 

And more.

“They just keep showing up!” Sam growled out. “Where are they even coming from?” 

“Doesn’t really matter, does it? They’re here now.” Steve grunted. 

Scott’s urgent voice finally came through the comms as the server reconnected. “He got away! We’re headed your way right now, but the big bad got away first, and we can only assume he’s coming your way now!”

Unfortunately, Scott was right. 

Robert appeared on the ground in front of the building the four avengers stood on. His proxies surrounded him, waiting for orders. Within a second, every single proxy was charging the building, some of them going into the building to the stairs, others with magical enhancements were climbing up the side of the building or flying to the top. 

The four avengers were completely surrounded. 

Exactly what made them the ‘good guys’ was what was making them lose: they wouldn’t kill innocents. 

Detain, don’t kill. 

After minutes of fighting one handed, Tony was finally grabbed from behind, his helmet ripped off his head, and thrown to his knees. Peter was pulled away by another proxy, who had no problem in moving the weak teen. 

“THEY GOT PETER,” Tony yelled out, now having no other way to communicate with his team. 

They had thought that it would be much easier to win once the rest of their team got there. They had thought the battle would end almost instantly, as it had before with weaker enemies. But it didn’t. 

The battle continued on, everyone fighting their hardest. Every triumph ended with sending each weakened proxy to the reinforced holding cells under the compound through a portal formed by Strange. 

Chaos reigned, and still nobody had seen Peter again. 

Pepper landed next to Tony. “It’s almost over, they’re all almost gone– where’s Peter?”

“They– they got him, I’ve been looking, but–” 

“Keep looking, I’ll tell everyone else.” Pepper said firmly, immediately beginning to send the news to the team over their comms. 

“We need to take down the sorcerer guy, how do we do that?” Rhodey asked Strange. 

Strange shook his head, guiding two proxies into the portal, “I believe he’s weak enough that we could knock him out with force. Then I need to bind him in a detainment spell, send him to Wong, and let him deal with it. I think we’ve done enough today.” 

Rhodey nodded, and began his attempts to attack Robert. Naturally, each shot was blocked, each blast was deflected to hit someone else. He very quickly realized that perhaps this was not going to work. 

“All you can do is try!” Strange said, as if reading his mind. 

Rhodey continued his pointless efforts. 

Down the street, Peter accidentally knocked out a proxy. 

“Oh, sorry– sorry, that was…” He had a sudden moment of clarity, and stopped his apologies. Maybe it was just the adrenaline rush, but thank god it happened– perhaps he wouldn’t have survived if it hadn’t.

He was dragging the proxy towards the fight (towards the many familiar faces that he remembered trusting), not quite sure what to do with him– when he saw Robert. He saw his uncle trying, and failing, to fight him. 

How could he help? He had to help!

But what could he do?

What was he even talking about? He was Spiderman! He was the crown prince of New Asgard! He could totally do something about this. 

He raised his right hand up towards the sky, and as loud as he could, yelled out, “Mjolnir!” 

Seconds later, the heavy hammer was in his hand. 

Nobody saw the teen spin the hammer with as much force as he could muster, or saw him throw it with perfect aim. 

They did, however, see it collide straight into Robert’s face. 

Robert collapsed, and the proxies stopped fighting.

The crown prince of New Asgard stumbled a few feet, exhaustion taking over. 

The world went mercifully black for Peter Parker-Stark. 

Chapter Text

Peter woke up in pain. 

Maybe the fact that he woke up was all that mattered, but the pain was a little too hot and a little too persistent for him to ignore it. 

He let out a choked gasp when the pain in his head intensified suddenly. 

“He’s awake–” 

“How the fuck is he awake?”

“He’s lost a shit ton of blood, Tony, get him out of here–”

“What do you think I’m trying to do?” 

“Just hurry up, Cho’s waiting, we have this covered!” 

The next thing Peter knew, he was weightless. It felt like he was floating. Peter succumbed to painless sleep. 

The next time he woke up, he didn’t feel nearly as bad. The pain was bearable, in fact. So bearable, that he decided to relieve some of his curiosity, and have a look around wherever he was. 

He sat up, eyes as wide as he could make them. 

Peter sat in a dark room filled with medical equipment. His heart gave a little leap at that, a phantom pain in his legs flaring up as if to remind him why medical equipment was to be feared– but the comfortable sheets wrapped around him, and the familiar people next to him calmed him down. 

Perhaps he used to be overwhelmed in large groups of people– well, he still was– but he had never felt safer in his life. Multiple avengers were sharing chairs, sprawled across each other on couches, and sitting propped against one another on the floor, all the way into the hall. Every single avenger was there. Well, not Strange, but Peter didn’t notice that yet, and he didn’t know that Strange was busy banishing a dark sorcerer. 

Sitting fast asleep right next to his bed with tightly clasped hands were his two parents. 

He didn’t bother to correct himself that time. 

Feeling relaxed, he fell back asleep with no questions asked. 

The third time Peter woke up, there was light shining through the closed blinds on the window, and his room was nearly empty. 

Pepper and Tony sat talking quietly, reading over something and eating a sandwich that Sam had sent down to them. 

“Mornin’,” Peter mumbled, trying to sit up, but deciding against it when he immediately felt dizzy. 

When the world had stopped spinning, Peter was able to take in the delighted expressions on his parents’ faces. 

Whoops, he had done it again. Who cared, though, right? As long as it stayed in his head, it wasn’t harming anything. 

“Hey there, Petey-Pie. How’re you feeling?” Tony asked softly, putting a hand to his forehead. 

In the back of his head, Peter wondered why Tony didn’t ruffle his hair or how he usually did?– but he was probably just micro-analyzing things. What’s wrong with trying new things? 

“Like I fell off another building.” Peter mumbled, closing his eyes to let them adjust better to the new lighting. 

The two laughed softly. 

“For all we know, you might have.” Pepper muttered. She shared a look with Tony as if to say, “Wouldn’t be surprising.” 

Tony chuckled, and Peter opened his eyes again. 

“How are you guys?” He asked, his voice hoarse.

Tony and Pepper laughed.

“Of course, asking about us.” Pepper shook her head. “We’re much better now that you’re back.” 

Tony nodded in agreement.

Peter nodded, rolling onto his side to face the pair properly. "What happened?"

The pair shared a look again, and Tony picked up a clipboard. Without looking at it, he began listing, "What exactly happened was a fractured wrist, deep lacerations to the face, deep lacerations to the back, stabs and cuts to your legs, which, by the way, Bruce is incredibly concerned about, a concussion-- Cho says she had no idea how you don't have lasting brain damage yet-- and I could go on about the deep bruising and sprains, but for your sake, I won't." 

With a little sarcastic nod, Peter said, "Oh, that's all?" 

Pepper held in a laugh as Tony's jaw dropped. Before he could say anything, Pepper reminded him, "Honey, he's messing with you."

Tony took a deep breath to collect himself... and turned back to Peter. 

"Right, anyway... I suppose you wanted to know more about the 'action-y' stuff." At Peter's nod, he said, "Well, all that really matters is that we won. He won't be messing with anyone else, Strange is seeing to that right now. I'll tell you more details later when you aren't so tired that you won't remember it."

"I'll remember it."

"Debatable."

"I think Tony just doesn't wanna talk about it yet." Pepper said softly. "It's been a rough couple days, huh, Peter?"

Peter understood and agreed. "I don't even know about half of the stuff that you guys had to deal with, anyway, so later is good." 

There was a short pause. 

"Anyway," Tony said in a joking tone, “Can we now say with certainty that that was your worst birthday ever?” 

Peter laughed. He nodded. “I don’t think anything could be worse than that.” 

“But maybe there’s something that could make it better?” Tony said, making a pointed look at Pepper, who rolled her eyes and shook her head at Peter. 

Peter squinted at the pair. “What's goin’ on with you guys?” 

“Nothing, Peter,” Pepper answered shortly.

“Come on, Pep,” Tony said quietly. He raised his eyebrows at her.

The two made facial expressions back and forth as some weird form of communication while Peter watched, dumbfounded. 

Finally, the two turned to face him, Tony with a triumphant expression, Pepper with one of exhaustion. 

“Look, I really don’t know how to say this…” Pepper began.

Usually Peter would have interrupted right then and there, apologized, and told them that he understood and would leave them alone from then on. But he had learned many times from doing this to Tony, and thus decided to listen patiently. 

“This isn’t like anything I’ve ever done. It’s not like anything else I’ve ever wanted to do.” Pepper said carefully, staring at her fumbling hands. 

Tony put his arm around her, rubbing her back in reassurance. She gave him a grateful look before turning to look Peter in the eyes.

“I… you know what, I’m just gonna tell you.” She took a deep breath, glanced down at her feet and straight back at him. Finally, she stated curtly, “Peter, I’d really like to adopt you.” 

Peter stared at her blankly, long enough for Pepper to second guess herself. 

“Really?” Peter finally asked, completely confused. 

Pepper nodded earnestly. 

“But… are you sure?” The teen asked. 

“Of course,” She said, and as if reading Peter’s insecurities, added, “I’m not just doing this because I’m marrying Tony. But, of course, the fact that you’re my fiance’s son would make the adoption process much more realistic and easy.” She chuckled. 

Peter broke out laughing and opened his arms for a hug. Pepper stood up quickly and leaned over to pull her son into a hug. 

Tony grinned, and stood up to join them. 

“Maybe it’s not the worst birthday ever,” Peter mumbled into the group hug. 

His parents laughed. 

Some time later, when Pepper had to leave to talk to Strange about Robert, what they would have to tell the press, etc, Steve showed up to check on Peter. 

Tony looked up from where he was sitting next to Peter in the hospital bed. “Ah, did you bring the goods?” 

Steve smiled and held up a grocery bag. 

“Perfect.” Tony said. 

Steve took the seat that Tony had used before he had moved to the bed. 

“How have you two been doing?” Steve asked. 

Tony looked to Peter, who shrugged. “Fine, I guess.” 

Steve then looked to Tony, who seemed surprised to actually be asked about that. By him. “Uh… better. Definitely better.” The man said with a small smile.

Steve nodded at that.

“What about you, Cap?” Tony asked. 

“Y’know, I haven’t been all that bad.” Steve answered. “Last night was hell, but otherwise.” 

Peter glanced between the two as they faded to silence. “Did you guys ever have a conversation about Siberia?” 

The two looked up at him, surprised. 

Tony nodded. “Yeah, we did.”

Peter looked to Steve for confirmation. Steve nodded in response. 

Peter seemed satisfied by this. 

“Are you guys cool with each other now?” Peter asked, leaning back again.

Tony and Steve looked at each other for a moment, considering the question. In unison, they agreed, “Yeah.”

Peter nodded in approval, making Tony chuckle.

“What about you, huh? Are you okay with us being friends again?”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you know I am.”

Tony and Steve laughed. 

“What are ‘the goods’?” Peter asked suspiciously, eyeing the bag.

Steve smiled, handing it to Peter. “Just some stuff Tony and I thought you might like.”

“It was all the captain’s idea, don’t let him convince you that I had any part in this,” Tony claimed. 

Steve shook his with a smirk. 

Peter pulled a notepad and a metal case of colored pencils from the bag.

“Woah… these are, like, really good quality.” Peter said, examining the pencils. 

Steve nodded. “Yeah, they’re what I usually use to draw.” 

Peter looked up at him, and smiled. “I haven’t drawn in a while. I'm probably shit at it now.” 

Steve shrugged. “Perhaps. But if you find that you still enjoy it, then that’s all that matters, right?” 

Peter thought about it, and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess so.” 

The super soldier got to his feet. “Well, it was nice talking to you guys. I hope you find some enjoyment or comfort in those, Peter.” With that, the man left the room. 

“What an interesting little man,” Tony mused teasingly.

Peter snorted with laughter. 

That night, Peter was able to change into some of his own clothes before he went back to sleep. His legs were still in horrible condition, so he ended up having to get help, and he was too tired to really notice what he put on before he passed out– but boy, did he realize when he woke up. 

The next morning, the first thing he noticed was how cold it was. It turned out, he had started to run a fever that night, so all his sheets had been taken off of him. 

The next thing he noticed was that he wasn’t alone. He looked groggily to his side to see Tony and Thor looking at him, amused for some reason. 

The last thing Peter noticed was his choice of dress. He squinted at them before instinctively looking down at himself. Of course. 

Of course he had fallen asleep wearing his Thor pajamas, because of course he did!

“Tony.” Thor said very seriously. “Your son has excellent taste in fashion.”

Tony cackled and Peter groaned, smashing his face into his pillow– to which Tony berated, of course, because “Peter, you literally have a concussion, you can’t do that!” 

Peter mumbled something incoherent into his pillow and was asleep again in minutes. 

A soft knock echoed through Peter’s door. 

Peter set down one of the colored pencils and looked up. “Come in!” 

Tony opened the door. “Hey, bambino.” He closed the door quietly behind him. “You have a visitor.”

Peter frowned. “Who? Everyone else just barges in here.”

“I just wanted to talk to you before. I just wanted you to know, you don’t have to do it, and we will both understand if you can’t or just don’t want to. Okay?”

Peter nodded. “Yeah, but who is it?”

“It’s May.” Tony answered. 

Peter stared, letting the information sink in. “Oh.” 

“You don’t have to–”

“I should. Last time we talked, she was brainwashed.”

“And the time before that, she was kicking you out.”

Peter shrugged. “It’s been a while since that happened.”

Tony looked at him, and nodded. “Okay, but I’m gonna be here the whole time.” 

“Okay.” He agreed. 

Tony wasn’t letting May get Peter alone again, not after what had happened last time. 

The man opened the door, and May stepped cautiously into the room. 

“Hey, Peter.” She said softly. 

“Hey, May.” 

The two waited in awkward silence for a moment, before May suddenly burst out into tears. 

“I’m so sorry, Peter.” She said earnestly. 

Peter stared, confused. “Wh– what?”

“For everything,” She explained. “I don’t know what I was doing when I kicked you out– I still can’t believe I did that to you– and of course I’m happy that I met my fiance and stepson when I moved to Arizona, but the only reason I even went there in the first place was because I didn’t have you anymore and once I got over freaking out about you fighting crime and putting yourself into danger every night, I realized that you were kind of the only thing I had left, and there was no point for me to stay in New York anymore! And then that sorcerer-guy-thing showed up at my house and then I kidnapped you apparently and I’ve just been messing everything up! I just…. I am so, so sorry. I am so glad that you have Tony, and Pepper, and all of these people to protect and support you. But I’m sorry that I betrayed you like that.” 

Peter was shocked, to say the least. “I…” He paused, letting himself think about everything. 

“Thank you.” He finally said. “I appreciate that you recognize what I went through.” After a moment, he added, “You know, if you had found out just a few months earlier, you would have been all I had to. I didn’t have Tony or anyone else then. I have no idea where I would have gone– Ned’s maybe, but you know. There’s only so long you can squat at your friend's house before his parents realize something is up.” He paused for a minute, before adding, “I am incredibly lucky to know Tony. If I had never met him, I have no idea what I would have done when you kicked me out. I can only imagine it would have ended in disaster.” 

May nodded her agreement. 

After a few moments of silence, “Are you happy here?” She asked hopefully. 

Peter nodded. “I am very happy here. Happier than I’ve ever been.” 

May smiled tearfully. “Good. That’s good.” 

“Keep in touch?” Peter asked carefully.

May frowned. “Of course. But I think that after everything… maybe you should find a way to move on without me. I think you’d be happier… healthier… if you moved on.” 

Peter looked taken aback. “Maybe. But I don’t know. I would still like to know what’s going on in your life. If that’s okay with you.” 

May laughed wetly. “Alright, Peter. I would like to keep in touch, too. But make sure you’re doing what’s best for you, and not what you think will make others happy.” 

A smile spread across Peter’s face. “Okay.”

May leaned in for a short, quick hug, and then hurried from the room with a smile over her shoulder at him. 

The door shut behind May. 

Chapter Text

Everything there is to tell has been told. The arc has been completed, the loose ends have been tied, and the characters have been developed. 

There’s nothing left to say. 

Except…

“Hey, Tony?”

Tony looked up from his StarkPad. “Hey there, Bruciebear. How did it go, how’s he looking?”

Bruce frowned. “I’m a little concerned about Peter’s–”

“What’s going on?” Tony asked, sitting up straighter and turning off his tablet. 

Bruce sighed. “He’s developing a pretty bad fever. I assumed that his healing factor would be targeting his legs and healing them faster, but… well, it’s not. My theory is that they’ve been reduced by the sheer amount of injuries he’s sustained. Either way, I’m gonna give him his fever reducers and see if that does it.” 

Tony nodded and got to his feet. Popping his back, he said, “Good to know. His healing factor’s never done that before, though. Why do you think it’s doing that now?”

“Can’t be sure.” Bruce said, shaking his head. “Maybe it’s been a slow buildup and it finally got overwhelmed… or maybe there’s some outside factor.”

“Like what?” 

“Like… maybe that Robert guy put some kind of spell on him or something.”

Tony’s eyebrows flew up. “Do you actually think that?” 

Bruce shrugged. “I don’t know, there’s no way for me to be sure. I’m having Strange come by to check, though. In the meantime, just keep doing what you’re doing. You can go see him again, that was the only out of the ordinary thing I found.”

Tony nodded, taking deep breaths per Bruce’s whispered instructions, willing away any possibility of dark magic surrounding his son. He headed to Peter’s room in the medbay. 

When he arrived, he knocked lightly on the door frame before entering. Peter looked up and smiled when he saw who it was. 

“Hey there, buddy,” Tony said, walking back to his usual bedside chair. “How was the checkup?”

Peter shrugged. “Same old. Apparently I have a fever now, though.”

“You couldn’t tell?” The man frowned.

“Well, I noticed it was a little hotter and a little colder than usual.”

Rolling his eyes fondly, Tony asked, “Does anything feel weird? Hurt more than usual?”

Peter shook his head avidly. Tony decided to leave him alone after that– hadn’t he been bombarded enough today? The answer was definitely yes. 

Tony settled down on the bed next to Peter, who was already very close to falling asleep again. The teen flopped against his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his stomach. Tony chuckled and patted his bandaged head– both of them were still getting used to that– and wrapped his arms around Peter, pulling him closer. 

“Goodnight, bubba.” Tony murmured. 

Peter mumbled something back, already half asleep. 

When Tony woke up again, he noticed something odd: he felt like he was on fire. 

Weird, but not unsolvable. He opened his eyes and saw that it was still just him and Peter, nothing wrong. 

So then why was it so damn hot?

It took far too long to click in his head. 

Shaking Peter gently, Tony whispered, “Hey, Peter? Buddy, wake up. FRI, call Bruce.”

Peter, sweaty and groggy, sat up. “Wha’s goin’ on?”

“Nothing, just gonna have Bruce come check on you real fast.” 

Peter stared for a minute, and then laid back down. 

Not knowing what to do, Tony let him. When Bruce showed up, he acknowledged that yes, Peter’s fever had risen by a significant amount. And no, he wasn’t yet sure why.

“Could be an infection.” Bruce said, then added, “Probably an infection.” 

Tony stared. “Well, what do we do?” 

“Clean it regularly and keep giving him fever reducers. Nothing much we can do besides that.” Bruce stated. “I mean, obviously I need to check first before we get ahead of ourselves.” 

Tony nodded, and watched from his place next to Peter as Bruce carefully unwrapped the bandages around Peter’s legs. Noticing the way Peter was wincing and shivering constantly, Tony was slightly prepared for what he was going to see. But only slightly. 

Bruce grimaced at the sight of Peter’s wounds. “Yeah, that is definitely infected.” The man stated gravely, before turning to Tony. “I’m gonna need your help cleaning these.”

Tony nodded immediately. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

It took far too long, in Tony’s opinion– Bruce told him that he was just impatient, and he had to agree– but two hours? Good grief. 

“What can we do to help?” Steve asked as Bruce shared the news the next morning after a checkup with Strange and Peter. Luckily, no magic-- just major medical issues. 

The scientist shrugged. “Keep him comfortable? I’m putting most of the weight on Pepper and Tony, you guys don’t need to ‘do anything’ except maybe offer verbal support every now and then.” 

“We shall smother them with affection!” Thor boomed.

“No!” Bruce exclaimed. “No– no smothering, that’s exactly what you don’t need to do!”

Thor looked thunderstruck, and Loki spoke up for him. “I have an idea. And I know exactly who to ask for help…” 

Bruce raised his eyebrows questioningly. 

“...Of course I said yes, Loki didn’t have to convince me: I’ve been waiting to do this for years. Years, Rhodes. Do you know the last time someone willingly did this with me?”

“Uh. Years ago?” Rhodey asked, bewildered. 

“Longer.” Happy grunted. 

“This is a side of you I have never seen before.” Rhodey said bluntly. “I’m terrified.” 

“You should be.” 

“Uncle Happy?” Peter asked, looking up. “Oh, and Uncle Rhodey? And… Natasha? And Thor– and Ste– what’s happening, why is literally everyone here?” 

Pepper stifled a laugh behind her hand as Wanda took a seat at the foot of his bed. “Loki had an idea.”

Peter sighed jokingly, “Oh, great–”

“Hush, Midgardian.” 

“--And we thought it would be a fun way to keep you company while you’re sick.” Wanda finished, her expression never changing. 

Peter nodded slowly, squinting around the group. “If it involves moving, I hate to break it to you, but I literally haven’t been cleared to walk again yet, so–”

“It involves traveling to far away lands!” Thor cried. “How did you know? Did Tony tell you?” He asked, turning to stare the man down with disapproving eyes. 

Tony put his hands up defensively as Bruce cut in, “No, I told them, they know. You won’t have to do any walking.”

“So… your first thought when I got sick was…” Peter stared around expectantly, waiting for someone to laugh. When they didn’t, he finished, “...Make me travel somewhere far away?”

The group nodded. 

Peter shrugged. “Okay.”

Happy stood up with two bags of supplies. 

“You’re in on this?” Peter asked, wiping some sweat off his forehead. 

Happy cackled. “Kid, I’m the ringleader. I’m the main man. I’m–” He whipped something out of the bag, slamming it onto the table and propping it up. A folding divider with dragons on it stared the group down. “...The dungeon master.” He finished ominously. 

Peter stared, slack jawed. “You play dnd?” 

“Always have.” The man nodded, leaning back in his chair. “Now are you in or what?” 

Peter stared in shock a moment longer before nodding with a laugh. “I am definitely in. Is everyone playing?” 

Happy nodded as he handed everyone a character sheet. 

“And this was Loki’s idea?” Peter asked again. 

The group nodded again. Peter cackled in response and bent over, examining his character sheet. “Woah, my dude is stacked… How did you make all of these? And why am I starting at level two?” 

“First of all, your dude is not stacked. And these are a bunch of character sheets from old campaigns. All of them were either mine or a friend’s. I have a copy of all of them because most of the time I was dm-ing.” Happy explained. 

“Why does my character sheet have my actual name as my character name.” Tony deadpanned. 

Happy chuckled. “That’s from a long time ago during your party days–”

“Don’t act like it wasn’t only ten years ago.” 

“I was six ten years ago.” Peter said casually, still reading his sheet. 

Tony and Happy stared at each other, the whole group feeling older than ever (save Wanda and Vision). 

Happy, vindicated, continued, “You were really drunk one night and I was staying with you that night to make sure you didn’t die or something–”

“As security guards do,” Tony smiled, waving his hand for him to actually tell the story.

“And you asked me about dnd and said you wanted to play a round.” Happy said. 

Pepper frowned. “Wait, by round, did he mean–”

“A whole campaign, yeah. We played one of my old ones. Didn’t actually finish, but we didn't stop until he passed out, and when he woke up– no memory of it, whatsoever.” Happy shrugged.

Tony prompted, “And the name?” 

“Well, drunk you said that you wanted to play so that you could meet a bunch of fake mythical people,” Happy said. “Apparently if it wasn’t actually you then there was no point.” 

The group laughed, Tony inwardly annoyed that practically half of his memories were either blurry or completely missing. It was these little moments that people would mention that made him wish he was able to get those memories back. But then again, the likelihood that there were more bad than good ones there was too overwhelming for him to actually try. 

He snapped back to reality when he heard Rhodey and Peter laughing over something.  

“Alright, are we doing this or what?” Happy asked from his seat, set apart from the rest of the group. 

Tony looked down, realizing that he had been handed a set of dice. He joined everyone in nodding.

Happy smirked in approval. 

“It’s another dim and dreary night in the village of Daekrahm. The citizens that have not yet returned to their homes are few and far between: stalking silently through the deep snow and shivering, knowing that soon, the sun will have disappeared completely.

“Nights in Daekrahm are dreaded by anyone within thirty miles of the small village. They have learned by experience; the bitter coldness of the night… as well as its unforgiving reputation for horrific and plentiful bloodshed. ”

The team sat captivated. They had seen, hell, experienced creepier than whatever was probably about to happen…. And yet they were spellbound. It was safe to say that they now understood why he was dm-ing. 

“You see, the town is surrounded by woods… farther than the eye can see, and much farther than a person could walk in a day. They span forty miles around the town: no matter which direction you go, you must walk at least thirty before you can consider yourself safe. No common outsider dares enter the woods at all, and the most daring never step farther than the very clear ten miles that precede those thirty miles to the quiet village. Young, foolish outsiders with the thought in their heads that they had outsmarted this urban legend would ask the man who had attempted to enter before, “And how did you know that you made it past the ten miles? How did you know that you had entered the ‘cursed part of the woods?’” His answer was always the same. Probably rehearsed and memorized because of the amount of times he was asked. “I had taken one step forward… and the world had gone silent. The air had gone still. And I knew that at that moment, I was exposed to the many eyes of something… purely evil. It took everything in me to take another step back.” 

The outsiders don’t know that the town of Daekrahm exists. They would have never known of the true horror that the citizens live in every night. If it wasn't for one young half human…”

Peter opened his mouth to ask a question, but was suddenly cut off by a throbbing pain in his legs. His breath caught in his throat and he squeezed his eyes shut, a ringing in his ears drowning the sounds of the gasps of everyone in the room. 

He only came to after Bruce put him on pain killers and talked him through a breathing exercise. 

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea to continue this.” Happy had said. “I think we should let Peter get some real rest.”

Peter shook his head frantically, ignoring the pain in his legs. “No! I wanna keep going.”

“Pete, you’re about to be so loopy.” Tony said, the two sitting side by side in the bed. 

Peter smiled weakly, a hint of mischievousness in it. “So you guys will definitely enjoy it.” 

It took a lot of convincing and puppy dog eyes, but finally, the group settled back in to continue… Peter slightly more delirious and even more talkative than usual: Bruce had brought out Peter's intense pain killers.

Happy repeated, “The outsiders don’t know that the town of Daekrahm exists. They would have never known of the true horror that the citizens live in every night. If it hadn’t been for one young half human…” He turned to Peter, who looked slightly surprised. Happy continued on, “Argos wakes up, head pounding with lost memories and incomprehensible pain– and he realizes that he isn’t cold. For the first time in his life, he is not half buried in snow and trying his best to fight it off. He feels heat. So much so that he is uncomfortable and confused. Could he be in a burning building, perhaps? He opens his eyes— and finds a set of eyes looking straight back to his!--”

“Who is it?” Peter asked excitedly. “Or… what is it?”

“It is a man. He looks old and probably couldn’t hurt him so bad, so Argos lets the man help him up. Around him is a valley with very few trees and incredibly muggy air. Argos, what would you like to do?” 

“Can I ask him who he is? Do I have to roll to do that?” Peter asked.

Happy shook his head. “No, you don’t. You can just ask– I’m only just now realizing that because none of you made your own characters, you don’t actually know your backstory very well or your common goal or how to move forward the story…” 

“...Looks like you’ll be doing a lot of talking today, Happy.” Rhodey said with a laugh.

Happy shrugged. “Fine by me. But if anyone wants to do this again, we’re gonna do it the right way.” 

The group agreed and Happy continued his unconventional narration (finally deciding to write up a list of goals and plot points each person needed to get to during the campaign. While they waited, they weren’t bored– Peter entertained them effortlessly and completely accidentally).

When they began again, Happy said, “You ask the man who he is. He tells you that his name is Tony Stark–”

“Fuck, I had already forgotten that I’m using my actual name. Wait, you called me old and unthreatening earlier!” Tony exclaimed, shock and betrayal across his face. 

“What about it?” Happy asked innocently. “It’s just your character, Tony. Now talk to Argos.” 

“Uh… hey there, kid. Er… uh, however old you are, I don’t know if you’re an elf. Are you an elf? Do you know?” 

Peter frowned and glanced at his character sheet. “Human. Or at least partly.” 

Tony nodded. “Okay, kid.” He looked down at a sheet of plot points that Happy had put down. “Ah, it looks like you have a head wound. Are you okay?”

“Don’t know how I got here.” Peter stated. He looked up at Happy. “Wait, do I have amnesia from head trauma?”

Happy shook his head, “You don’t have to know exactly what’s happening. Just go with it. Your character doesn’t know and neither should you.”

“Am I okay, though?” Peter asked, eyes wide. “Am I gonna die before we even do anything?”

“Die?” Happy asked, confused.

“I died?” Peter asked, outraged. 

Tony laughed, rubbing Peter’s shoulder. “I think you’re misunderstanding this–”

“Wait, can Vision die in this? Or are you still basically immortal?” Peter asked Vision suddenly.

Surprised on the change of subject, he answered, “Well, I actually can die, but–”

"But factory reset." Peter said, as if he had cracked a code. “So if a human's heart stops… and they get get amnesia… it’s like the human version of factory reset.” Peter mused, tapping his chin. 

Nobody questioned how he got there.

“Sure.” Rhodey said softly, a joking hit of concern in his voice. 

The game continued like this. Tony’s character brought Peter’s to a nearby town, where they met up with Rhodey, Steve, Natasha, and Bucky. After concluding a drawn out bar fight that Tony had accidentally started after failing an ability check (Happy only giggling as the situation spiraled out of control), they headed to a different tavern. Peter had Happy explain the dangers of his hometown, and why he was confused how he had made it out. Happy informed them that a man at the bar seemed to be listening to their conversation, and perhaps he could help them in some way...

“How could he know how to help us?” Rhodey asked. “Nobody knows, anyone who goes in the forest would be dead. I thought we had all agreed on this.” 

Happy frowned. “Not everything an npc tells you is true. Maybe he doesn't actually know. But still, listening has more benefits than doubting. Now, who would like to roll for persuasion? You'll have to make a good argument to get him to tell you everything.”

“Don't let Tony do it.” Natasha quipped. 

Tony threw his hands up. “Are we never letting this go? I started one bar fight–”

“By interrupting an orc in the middle of a serious conversation and then hitting him!”

“I didn’t mean to hit him! Happy made me take an ability check to put my hand on his shoulder!” 

“He wouldn’t have liked that even if you had done that instead of hitting him.” Happy said quietly.

Tony stared. “So we were gonna have that bar fight no matter what?”

Happy stared back, and said in a mysterious manner, “It is not for humans to know what could have been.” 

“So we’re all just gonna blame me for an absolute point in time?” Tony asked the group. 

They nodded. 

Tony glared and shook his head. 

“Jus’ listen to the guy! We gotta get back to Daekrahm and defeat the monster! Then… we can eat it.” Peter says, rubbing his hands together.

Pepper’s eyebrows shot up her forehead. “Uh… are we sure about eating it?”

Peter nodded like a drunk man with no restraint or filter left. 

Tony clapped his hands together. “Welp, guess we’re eating a monster, then.”

“We can’t just go back!” Scott cried. 

“Well I am.” Peter said firmly. 

Steve shook his head. “We aren’t ready yet. We have to talk to the guy! He's the only one who knows anything."

"I know stuff." Peter answered.

Bucky cried, "YOU HAVE AMNESIA!"

"We won’t let you leave.” Rhodey agreed. 

“You can’t just keep a child, that’s kidnapping.” Wanda argued. 

Sam crossed his arms. “How relevant is law here?”

“PRETTY RELEVANT!” Clint cried. 

“Boys, boys, you’re both pretty. Can I go home now?” Peter grinned, looking over at Tony, who couldn’t help but burst out laughing. 

“Do your legs still hurt?” Tony asked softly. 

Peter shook his head without opening his eyes. “Doesn’ hurt. Doesn’ anything. Numb.” 

Tony let out a small sigh, being the only member of the pair that knew how Bruce had purposefully numbed them in an attempt to let Peter rest. The rest of the avengers had left by now, some of them asleep in their rooms while others were leading a press conference in the city with Pepper and the NYPD. This left the father and son alone. 

Bruce had since then pulled Tony aside and explained to him that on further examination of Peter’s legs, many tendons and muscles had been almost completely shredded– with the infection and his suddenly nonexistent speedy healing, Bruce told Tony that maybe he should start to come to terms with the possibility that Peter may never walk again. 

Tony had yet to break the news to Peter.

“You need to get some sleep.” Tony murmured. 

Peter turned his head to plant his face in Tony’s neck. “I’ve been tryin’ to. Maybe I’m just not actually tired.” The boy answered quietly, exhaustion obvious in his voice. 

“Do you want me to get Bruce to give you something to help you sleep?” Tony asked.

Peter shook his head.

The two laid there in silence, Tony squeezing Peter a little tighter with one arm. His other hand moved up to rub the back of Peter’s head, which was still wrapped in bandages. 

“How does your head feel?” 

Peter shrugged and moved one of his arms pressed against Tony’s chest to dangle it over Tony’s side. 

Tony had been in this position many times before. 

Well– not the physical one (actually, he had, but that’s not the point): Peter would be injured and exhausted and yet unable to sleep, so Tony would find some way to remedy it. He always did, but he could still remember the first time he had tried to help him. It was while they were still just mentor & mentee, being much friendlier than usual and starting to notice that their relationship was evolving to something… more. Tony had panicked when he heard Peter was severely injured, rescued him and brought him to the medbay. Really, it was an easy fix, but Tony was surprised by himself for being so scared– and then, of course, Peter couldn’t sleep. So what did he do? He held Peter’s hand and told him stories about his high school and college experiences. That was their first physical show of affection between them, and looking back, Tony was still weirded out by that time before. 

Before admitting they were family. 

“Hey,” Tony began. “Did I tell you about my senior year at MIT, when Rhodey and I hitch hiked to California to sneak into a comic con?” 

Peter made a noise of disbelief and pulled slightly away to scan Tony’s face for any signs of deception. On seeing none, he giggled and went back to his original resting place. 

“Start from the beginning.” 

Tony took a deep breath and said, “Oh, you know. It started how it always does. Some professor yelled at us for being sheltered little rich kids.  Something about ‘not even knowing how to take care of ourselves’. Which was funny, because me and Rhodey had done one of our projects over living on the streets and finding the best and fastest ways to gather resources, make money, find shelter, all that jazz. But whatever.”

“Are you sure this is where it starts? I know where this is supposed to be going, but I don’t see how we’re gonna get there.” Peter commented.

Tony stifled a laugh. “Just give me a second, Underoos. Let a guy tell a story properly, will you? No respect whatsoever for good storytelling.” He joked. 

Through the story, Peter relaxed and actually even got drowsy. At one point, Tony had even stopped talking, thinking that Peter’s slow, deep breaths meant that he was asleep. The two had stayed in silence for over a minute, Tony contentedly rubbing Peter’s back when finally Peter prompted, “And then?” Tony had laughed, surprised, muttering an apology and then continuing the story. 

Once he had finished the incredibly long story and Peter still hadn’t fallen asleep, Peter said, “Thank you. You don’t have to talk anymore, though.”

Time passed unnoticed to the two from then on. 

Maybe the reason Peter couldn’t sleep was because he couldn’t get something off his mind… maybe he’d be able to sleep if he got it off his chest. 

“Should we have killed him?” Peter asked suddenly. 

Tony’s heart jumped for a second– “What?”

“Robert. I know he did so much horrible stuff, but didn’t killing him make us just as bad as him?” Peter explained. 

Tony sighed. “Peter, honey, no. First of all, there is no ‘we’ when it comes to the decision to banish Robert. You weren’t involved in that decision at all, so you shouldn’t feel guilty about it. Got it?”

He only continued once Peter nodded. “Second, there weren’t any safe ways to keep him locked up. He was a dark sorcerer, Peter. He could bide his time and break out again, over and over, and we’d just do that forever until we die– he was walking dead, Pete, so he wouldn’t have died until someone bested him, which would be pretty hard to do again. We couldn’t risk that.”

“Also, Strange didn’t technically kill him, he just reversed the resurrection spell.” Tony added as an afterthought. 

Peter sighed, “Which condemned him to death.”

“Look, Peter,” Tony said firmly. “If there had been some way to keep him away from civilization with no risk of him getting out, if there had been some way to rehabilitate him, then we would have tried. Okay? We just didn’t have a way to do that safely. It’s not your fault. But too many people got hurt for us to even consider taking that risk. Do you understand?”

Peter did, but he still felt a small twinge of guilt. His father was right, though. The people that hadn’t died had spent at least a few days under his control, some had even spent weeks under him– Peter had made it out lucky, and was still suffering great consequences. Cho spent days with Strange and Bruce just trying to get the nanotech removed from the many proxies, and they had finally finished after Strange had found a way to remove it all at once, and without a surgical process. 

“Yeah,” Peter said. After a moment, he added, “You know, he’s the reason my parents died. Probably why Uncle Ben died, too.” 

His father pressed a kiss to the top of his head. Peter understood that as acknowledgement that yes, he did know.

“I don’t get why it all relied on me. If it wasn’t my fault, then why did his whole plan revolve around me? Why was I a fixed point in his success?”

“I dunno, bub. I don’t understand all the magic and different futures and stuff. I just know that you are a very special person, that none of this is your fault, and that you have a lot of people that love you very much who will destroy you if you keep thinking that.”

Peter sighed out a laugh and let his intrusive thoughts lay down for the night. It truly wasn’t something he could change now, and he was just so tired. “‘Kay,” He mumbled. 

Tony nodded in approval, and the two fell back into a comfortable silence. The older man grappled with whether to tell Peter about his worsening condition, when and how– but did he even need to? It would work out, right? He could find some way to fix this. 

Despite his hopeful thoughts, Tony felt a sinking in his stomach. Deep down, he knew that there was nothing he could do. 

Peter was asleep, and didn’t notice the way Tony clutched him a little tighter.

Chapter Text

Peter didn’t fully understand why he felt sad. 

It was likely the happiest day of his father and mother’s life, and yet he was sitting in a broom closet by himself, crying. 

Yes, the day had finally come. 

Pepper and Tony were getting married. 

After spending the rest of August and all of September expecting Peter’s luck to turn around all the while listening to Peter nag them about wedding plans, they had decided to go through with it in October. The adoption papers were supposed to be official soon, so not only was Pepper getting her legal title as Tony’s wife, but the legal title as Peter’s mom. 

Peter had every right, hell, he had every expectation to be happy. 

But he wasn’t.

Yeah, he had already come to terms with the fact that he would be stuck in the wheelchair for the rest of his life. But it didn’t make it any easier. Sometimes he would sit by himself in his room and watch the news– every time his masked persona was discussed, it was by worried television hosts or reporters, sometimes even random people off the street that got interviewed. The truth was, everyone was worried about Spiderman and wondered where he could have gone. Two and a half months had passed… had he been a victim of that dark sorcerer? Nobody knew, and Peter couldn’t tell them. So the people continued to wonder. 

But today wasn’t even about him. It was about Pepper and Tony, Tony and Pepper: his two parents that loved each other very much and loved him as well. 

He knew that logically, they should be the ones that the guests should be paying attention to. But unfortunately, he knew that they wouldn’t.

All eyes would be on the newly disabled son of the happy couple. 

He was going to have to put up a hell of a show. 

After vigorously rubbing at his face and deciding that it must look normal by now, the red mostly dissipated, Peter leaned forward carefully and pushed open the door. He looked into the hallway and saw nobody there.

He wheeled his wheelchair into the hall. 

Peter’s arms hadn’t been this sore in a while. With his powers and healing factor on a ‘well deserved vacation’, as Scott kept telling him, he was much more vulnerable to everyday aches and pains. Constantly insisting on wheeling himself around wasn’t helping. 

The teen glided slowly down the hall, stretching his arms out in front of them after each push of the wheels. Once he reached the end of the hall, he gave up completely, turning his head to his right to look out a window but not bothering to turn his chair towards it. 

His life had changed completely over the summer. 

It had begun… not so well. And then it had gotten much better– Peter would have even called it his best summer yet! But then he had lost the ability to use his legs. To be Spiderman. To help others. 

What was he supposed to do now?

Tony kept telling him that Spiderman wasn’t the only thing he could contribute to the city. 

Peter couldn’t help but think that was just a lie to keep him hoping and trying. 

A hand landed on his shoulder and he jumped: he still wasn’t used to not being able to tell when someone was approaching him. Looking to his left, he saw Happy staring down at him with a concerned frown. 

“Hey, Pete.” Happy said. 

Peter gave him a tight smile. “Hey, Hap.” 

The two stood in silence, both turning to look out the window again.

“What’s going on, Peter?” Happy asked quietly, gripping Peter’s shoulder. 

Peter continued to stare out the window, taking slow, deep breaths. After a while, he gave a half hearted shrug. 

Happy didn’t want to admit that he didn’t understand what his nephew was going through. But he would never lie to Peter, and he had to say something. 

“Look, Peter,” Happy sighed. “I can’t say that I understand what you’re going through. I don’t know if anyone can. But please remember that there are so many of us that are here for you.Whatever you need, whenever. Got it?”

Peter nodded slowly, mumbling a ‘thanks’, and never looking away from the window. 

Happy glanced at his watch and squeezed Peter’s shoulder again, muttering, “Time to go, kid.” 

Peter reluctantly let Happy turn his wheelchair around and push him across the building. 

It was some quiet venue in the middle of nowhere, unlikely to be found or intruded on. The goal for the day was: 1) for Tony and Pepper to get married, 2) for only the people invited to be the ones who showed up, and 3) for Peter to be left alone. 

That was maybe the most unattainable goal. 

For example, Pepper’s family had been invited, and Peter had been dealing with them constantly. He had almost immediately decided that they were too much– constantly questioning him and pushing him around in his chair, once even trying to lift him out of it. That was the only time anyone else had been present for one of their harassment episodes: Tony had panicked on seeing them grabbing at Peter as he weakly struggled and asked to be put down, and swooped in immediately to take him elsewhere, anywhere–

“God, Petey, I am so sorry,” Tony whispered as he jogged down the hall, anger and, oddly enough, fear in his eyes. “I have no idea why they would do that, I can’t believe they did that! Are you okay, did they hurt you? God, why would they do that? ”

Peter couldn’t say anything, didn’t know what he would say– after all, they were just trying to be warm and welcoming to a new member of their family. That’s what caring looked like to them. Though perhaps they needed to see what boundaries looked like? 

But they would only be there for a week. He just had to deal with them until after the wedding. 

Ah, yes. The wedding. 

Peter stared down at his lap, needing to fidget and forgetting over and over that he could not tap his foot anymore. He resorted to twisting his fingers together, interlocking them and then squeezing them together. Constantly in motion: a never ending spiral of pure and unrelenting anxiety.  

But he was supposed to be happy today. 

He wrung his hands as one last hurrah, and clenched them on the arm rests. Now, perfectly still. 

Happy hated to see Peter like this. Everyone did. But what could they really do at this point? 

Peter clasped his hands respectfully as he was rolled to a stop in the front row. Happy took the seat next to him. 

Pepper and Tony had chosen to have a wedding ceremony with just the two of them and the officiant at the front– they had too many close friends to be able to fit all of them up on the stage and even if they did, there would likely be drama over their placements– the avengers swore they would play nice, but Pepper had promptly reassured them that it wasn’t them she was worried about. 

And so it was decided that it would be just the two of them. 

Even so, the avengers kept their promise to ‘play nice’ and allowed Pepper’s family to sit in front of all of them. Only Happy, Rhodey, and Peter were sitting up front as Tony’s family. 

As the ceremony started, Peter felt his mind ease a little. How could he not be happy on the happiest day of his parents’ lives? 

He was happy! But even as he grinned up at his dad and mom at the altar, there was an emptiness waiting at the back of his mind… waiting for him to relax, to be off guard so that it could take him over again. 

Peter pushed it farther down. 

The officiant asked for the couple to state their vows. 

To say that Peter was excited for this part was an understatement. He had helped them write parts of it, even though they never let him read the final version. Apparently they just really, really wanted him to hear it for the first time at the wedding. 

The couple silently looked over to Peter, both wearing different yet matching smiles. The teen smiled back.

But they didn’t look away.

Peter was starting to get an odd vibe… he had to be missing something. Otherwise, this would be the most awkward moment of his life– well, maybe it had already made the list. His smile faltered, and only then did he notice that they were beckoning him. His eyebrows shot up his head. 

The couple laughed quietly and walked towards him, hand in hand. Together, they pushed him to the altar. 

Only then did they switch the hands they were holding, and take Peter’s hands in their free ones. 

And they started to recite their vows. 

“...And, yeah, maybe our ‘little obstacles’ were much bigger than we ever thought we could overcome– but look at us. Look at us now, Pep. Stronger than ever,” He squeezed her hand, “our very extended family back and normal again,” he said, looking out to the avengers, “and with the greatest kid ever.” Tony had always said that when you gave a speech, you saved your favourite or the most impactful thing for last. 

Peter felt honoured to be Tony’s favourite. 

“Honestly, I kind of saw this coming, “ Pepper had laughed, and then abruptly explained: “Not the marriage, no, I definitely didn’t see this coming for a while–” The audience laughed, some more than others. “But the vows. Let’s just say mine are a bit more… structured?” The family of three laughed together, Peter leaning forward from wheezing so hard. 

Pepper continued her speech.

“...And I promise, with everything in me: no matter what it takes, no matter how hard or easy it is, I will always be here for my family. To fight for it, to love it, to cherish it– life will feel incredibly short, thanks to the joy that the two of you bring me. I’m ready for every moment with you, Tony, and every chaotic day that we enjoy with our son.” 

And okay... maybe the night was a little bit about him, too.

Peter couldn’t remember a time when he was happier. 

“Oh, Peter, aren’t you just so happy?” Pepper’s grandma leaned over him, smiling in a way Peter wished he didn’t identify as menacing.

Peter gave her a smile and nodded, hoping it would satisfy her. Instead, she continued, “You must be so relieved. I mean, you and Pepper must have gotten close over that time, and with Tony’s history, you must have been worried that it would just… end!” She giggled lightly and added, “But it all worked out, and now you have a parent with some sense.”

Peter froze, wondering if she was actually saying what he had heard her say. 

“Well, I guess there’s always a possibility that he could still drive her away…” The old woman said aloud. 

Someone beside her chuckled. “More like a likelihood.”

Without thinking about it, Peter’s arms jerked to the wheels and he began to push himself forwards, away from the group. 

“Oh, Peter, honey, let me help you with that!” The grandma called, hurrying after him. “Where do you need to go? Are you thirsty? Let me get you a drink.”

Peter ignored her, making a beeline for the exit. The grandmother was stopped by another guest, asking her if she was proud of her granddaughter and her oh-so interesting choices. And… well, Peter could wait just a little bit for her help, right? 

Tony watched as his son practically raced from the room, ignoring the woman who called after him once and then let him leave. His heart jumped to his throat– he knew how much it hurt for Peter to move himself around, and considering his speed… he had to be in a lot of pain. He took a dutiful step forward, only to find an arm across his chest. 

He followed the hand to the arm to the face, and found that Stephen Strange was the one holding him back. 

“Let me talk to him.” The doctor said. By his facial expression, Tony knew that he wasn’t telling him, he was asking for permission.

Tony frowned. Strange muttered, “I think he might need someone who understands his situation.” 

The father stared, but nodded. “Come and get me if it goes anything remotely resembling wrong.” 

Stephen nodded and spun on his heel, striding from the room with purpose. It didn’t take long for him to find Peter, in an uncomfortable position on a bench with his wheelchair tipped on its side at his feet. 

Peter and Strange locked eyes. 

Peter burst into tears. 

Strange swooped silently over to the teen’s side. Sitting down, he put a gentle hand on Peter’s back. 

“Why do they hate Dad so much?” Peter asked.

That wasn’t what the doctor had been expecting– he was not prepared for this kind of conversation at all. 

But he guessed he could try?

“I think… maybe they’re stuck in the past. They’ll never forget who Tony used to be- nobody will. Their problem is that they won't forgive it.”

Peter wiped his face sloppily. “Why can’t they just leave them alone? I know that they want what’s best for Mom, but she’s obviously happy where she is! Don’t they know that she doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to? Or that she’s always right? What, did they never learn any of the basic rules of the world?” His words were joking, but his tone suggested that he meant each of them legitimately. 

Strange chuckled, but said seriously, “Not everyone can see the good in things they don’t understand: Pepper’s family doesn’t get why she loves Tony, so they won’t see the good that he brings to her life.” He bumped Peter’s shoulder with his and added, “And I don’t think they’re worried what her family thinks. Pretty sure they only invited them as a formality. I do know, however, that they’re worried about you.” 

Peter couldn’t help but roll his teary eyes. “There’s nothing they can do.”

“I think that’s what scares them.” Stephen murmured softly. 

The two sat side by side in silence. 

“I could barely get onto this bench by myself,” Peter admitted, shame evident in his voice. 

The sorcerer moved his hand to his shoulder. “And that’s okay.” 

Peter shook his head. 

Strange thought for a moment before saying, “You know, I knew a man who was paralyzed from the neck down. He wasn’t ever supposed to heal. It wasn’t possible. He wasn’t supposed to survive it.” 

Peter wiped his nose and listened intently. 

“And he didn’t. Well, he survived, but he never healed.” On seeing Peter’s face fall, he continued, “My point is that he continued living his life. He met someone and got married, they adopted two kids and moved out to the country… he’s still living out there, and he just celebrated the birth of his first grandchild. He’s not a nurse anymore, and even though that was all he ever wanted to do– help people– he found life in other things. He found joy.”

Peter sniffed.

“I think you can, too.” Strange told him. 

Peter clasped his hands together.

“I also met a man who broke his multiple disks up his spine in an accident. I went looking for him not long after mine… and I found him playing a game of soccer. Running around as if he hadn’t been paralyzed a year before.” 

Peter’s head snapped up. “He healed?”

Strange nodded.

“How?”

“He took a trip to Kamar-Taj. Learned the mystic arts, and found control of himself.” Strange admitted. 

Peter sighed and put his chin in his hands. “I thought you were gonna say I had a chance.” 

The sorcerer paused, considering Peter’s words. He would never lie to Peter, but he had no idea if telling the truth was the best for him to hear. 

In the end, his resolution was to tell the truth– it usually was. 

“Well…” Strange crossed his arms. “Everyone does. I told you both of those stories because I wanted you to know that you have a choice. You could go back to being Spiderman and not being crowded by the ones who don’t understand how much you hate it– or you could let nature choose for you. You could let this work itself out. You could rest. ” He paused, and added, as if to explain further, “Maybe it happened for a reason. Either way, you are left with two options, Peter.” 

Peter looked up at him, and understood. 

Student of the mystic arts, or a liability. 

“I’ll have to think about it.” Peter whispered. His tears had dried. 

Strange nodded in approval– he wouldn’t have it any other way– and stood. He raised both of his scarred hands and said, “Remember, Peter: there’s always some kind of hope. And progress is progress, no matter the form it comes in. Whether you walk again, or heal in a different way.” 

Peter watched the doctor walk away, feeling the endless possibilities wash over him. 

When Peter arrived back in the main hall, he found the party in full swing. The dance floor was full, the lights dimmed, the DJ going batshit crazy… but Tony and Pepper were nowhere to be seen. 

He rolled himself to a stop at a table in the back. Hopefully, his new cousins and aunts and grandparents would leave him alone. Hopefully, he would get to see Tony and Pepper soon– or maybe it was best to leave them alone. How did weddings work again? If he had ever been to one, he didn’t remember it. Whether it was normal or not for him to be sticking around his parents at their wedding, he probably shouldn’t, right? The couple had refused to go on an actual honeymoon (they had given multiple reasons, but Peter knew they were just afraid to leave him. Nice sentiment, but still annoying), and instead decided to go to some resort hotel place in New York for only five days. It was best that he give them as much alone time as he could, right?

A chair was pulled out by his side, and Peter was surprised to find his dad sitting next to him. 

Tony immediately put a hand on the back of his neck, rubbing it comfortingly and smiling softly. “How we doin’, Roo?”

Peter smiled back at his father. “I’m really happy.” 

“Yeah?” Tony’s smile widened, tears shining in his eyes. Not able to help himself, he leaned forward and, as gently as he could, yanked Peter into a hug. “Me, too, baby.” The man murmured into his son’s hair. 

Peter gripped Tony’s back, smiling into his neck. 

After a moment, the two pulled apart. Tony looked down at Peter, his grin fading. 

The mood change had been so sudden... there was, of course, only one thing it could mean. 

“I wanted you to be better by now.” Tony whispered, words somehow loud and clear over the blasting music.

Peter looked down at his lap. So did he. “So did I.” He bit the inside of his cheek and added, as if trying to convince himself of it as well, “But I can get better in other ways, too… right?” 

Tony stared for a moment before tears began rolling down his cheeks and he was pulling Peter into another, tighter hug.

“Of course you can, Petey-Pie, of course you can. You can do anything, baby. Anything you want. And I'll be right here the whole time.”

Peter clutched at his father's back.

Perhaps everything would be okay. 

Chapter Text

Peter stared down at his sketchbook. 

He was in a good mood today. What could he say? It was hard to be upset after gaining another member to his official prank squad, convincing a previous member of the squad to wear the official sweatshirt, and then also convincing said member to give all the pranksters access to the lengthy and so far very well received sequel to an avenger fanfic. 

Loki had then made the day even better and asked Peter to make the sequel’s cover art. 

Peter tapped the page lightly with his pencil, giving his war veteran some light stubble. 

All he had to do now was color it and get Loki’s approval… which he never did seem to find hard to do. 

As if summoned, Loki strolled into the room with a laptop and ‘official prankster’ sweatshirt on. Plopping onto the bed next to Peter, he swivelled the laptop to face the boy. “How’s that for a title?” 

Peter grinned at the words that seemed to continue on and on and on. “Why is it so long?”

Loki made a face (holding back some retort), and answered, “The first line is the title. The rest is a subtitle .”

Peter nodded approvingly. “I think it’s perfect. And the way you roped Steve into it? How much you wanna bet Bucky’s still following it and shows Steve?” 

Loki chuckled and muttered under his breath, “Yes, and then they actually fall in love.”

Peter giggled. 

The two sat quietly, the only sounds being the clacking of the keys on Loki’s borrowed (stolen?) laptop. 

After a moment, the elder of the pair looked down at the sketch book and gasped in delight.

“It’s perfect.” The man breathed out. “That’s for the cover, correct?” 

Peter nodded, a validated smile spreading across his face. “I just need to color it.”

“No, leave it! It’s perfect the way it is– it looks just like a photo they could have taken together way back whenever they were a normal age!”

Peter laughed. “Dinosaurs.” 

“Exactly.” He paused for a moment, and then opened a new document. Typing up a quick sentence, he closed the document again. Peter, a speedy reader, was able to catch ‘avenger’s dinosaur au’.

A light tapping of knuckles against the door interrupted the pair. 

The door swung open and Tony looked in, surveying the two with raised eyebrows. 

After a pause, he asked, “What’s going on in here?” 

Loki, inwardly afraid of Tony’s expression, covered his feelings with a classic grin. “You probably don’t want to know.”

At that, Tony laughed. Loki’s worry eased. 

“I just came to talk to Peter. Mind if I steal him for a second?” Tony asked. 

Loki nodded and slid off the bed, taking the laptop with him and ignoring Tony’s barely contained where-did-you-get-that look. 

Suddenly the father and son were alone, as they hadn’t been since the night of the wedding. 

It was almost like the day they first met. Except on that day, Tony had known exactly what to say. Now Tony knew exactly who he was talking to, but didn’t have a single word prepared or unprepared. 

Tony didn’t know what it meant. 

“I talked to the school. I’m gonna be allowed to do online work until I decide to go back. I’m already halfway caught up.” Peter said, allowing his father to relax. 

Tony chuckled with pride. “Too advanced for the most advanced school in New York. Figures.” 

He joined Peter on the bed and didn’t notice Peter discreetly closing his sketchbook. 

“So…” Tony cleared his throat. “I was just coming to check on you. We haven’t… talked in a while.” He looked up at Peter.

They say eyes are windows to the soul, and if Peter ever had reason to believe it, it was at that moment. Tony’s eyes were guarded, but of course he could see the flash of desperation in them. It reminded him of the time he had used his flashlight to send the morse code digits for SOS to Ben’s room when he was younger. Maybe Tony thought he was having a nightmare. Or maybe he was living one.

Peter wasn’t sure. 

“And that’s okay, if you need your space, I mean, it worries me a little if you do just because, you know, you don't usually want space, like even while we’re fighting, we hang out– but people grow into it, and it’s okay if you’re growing up! Well, you’re already pretty grown up, which I’m actually really mad about, but that’s beside the point. I’m just saying I miss hanging out with you and talking to you and knowing everything about what’s going on with you and that got me thinking that I’m just gonna know less and less the older you get and who knows what time can do? Time is unpredictable and uncontrollable, believe me, I know, Strange never shuts up about it. But he’s also been acting so weird lately, but I think he’s just stressed or something. I guess he’s like time in that way, impossible to explain. Also, time is just an idea! Which also worries me, because some people can stop it and reverse it and warp it, which means it’s harnessable and maybe someone could ruin everything and then what if they make everything worse than it is– not that things are really bad, I mean, things are great except for your injury– are you really gonna let me keep talking?” 

Peter stared in amusement. “I wanted to see how long you’d last.”

Tony made a face that Peter had now seen twice today. The man didn’t voice whatever thought gave him that look, but said wearily, “Look, all that to say that I miss you and I’ll do anything to help you out. Even if that means reinventing physics or working with Shuri to get you walking again. Only if that’s what you want, though.” 

Peter smiled, a bit pityingly, perhaps, but warmly nonetheless. “Thank you. I… don’t know what to say.”

“That makes the two of us.” Tony sighed, leaning against the headboard. 

Peter laughed, “You just gave me a two minute long example of why that’s a total lie!” 

Tony pretended to be shocked, but he had to admit, the kid was right. “Damn, okay, Bambi!”

“I must get the rambling from you,” Peter joked. 

The man sobered. “Kid, you are lucky as hell that I can’t in good conscience knock you over the head.”

“Because you love me soooooo much.” Peter said, looking at his dad with his head held high. 

Softening, Tony shook his head. “You got me there.” 

Barely a beat passed before Peter said, “To be honest, that whole spiel had a lot to unpack.” 

Tony chuckled, but his eyes brightened as he asked, “You wanna talk about it?”

Peter chuckled. “Why don’t we head to the garden?” 

The man agreed and helped Peter to his wheelchair. The teen let his dad push him. 

“First of all,” Peter began, “I’m not totally sure that I’ll ever ‘grow out of not wanting space’? I think that’s gonna be around for a while… side effect of being a touch starved kid, I guess.” 

Tony nodded along. Yeah, he understood. 

“But anyway. Second of all, you’re mad that I’m growing up? ” Peter asked. 

Tony rolled his eyes. “Yeah, welcome to the thoughts of a parent, Pete.” 

Peter shrugged it off and simply stated, “But we’ll have like forever together. I guess as long as things go well…”

The boy seemed to understand and Tony frowned. “I guess we know all too well how likely things are to last forever.”

The sleek hallway was suddenly cold with years of loss. In the middle continued the pair. Not untouched by the temperature, but not alone to face it. 

They arrived at the garden, and chose their favorite spot by the brick wall. 

Tony smiled sadly at him. “I’m just so glad that you chose me to be your dad.I just hate that I missed so much of your life.” 

Peter chuckled, “I mean, all the younger kid milestones are kinda boring, so you didn’t miss mu–”

“Believe me, Petey. Those ‘little milestones’ mean so much to your parents. I missed your… first steps.

Your first birthday. The first time you lost a tooth! Even… well, I was gonna say helping you learn to ride a bike, but–”

“You taught me that, Dad.”

Tony laughed. “Yeah, kid. I know. I was there.”

“Exactly, Tony. You were there !” Peter grinned as if he had just cracked a code. 

Tony stared, confused. 

“My first birthday at the compound– pretty sure it was still my best one! And when I lost my wisdom teeth! You were there. It’s not like you have to get high to lose your first tooth, or like you’ll remember your first birthday. I remember all the times you’ve been here for me. Believe me, Dad. You came just in time.” 

Tony stared. 

Maybe he had. 

Tony pulled his son into a hug. “God, Bambi, I love you so much.” 

“Love you, too, Dad.” Peter said into Tony’s shoulder. “Now go, don’t you have to go pick up Pepper from her meeting?” 

Tony pulled away with a nod. “Yeah– oh, yeah, I do. Thanks, kid. I’ll be right back, okay?” 

Peter smiled and nodded. Tony blew an exaggerated kiss as he left the room and Peter pretended to catch it. 

Tony really had been there for him since they had met. And they had checked all the boxes on Tony’s ‘missed’ list. Except…

“Next up, second first steps.” A voice said. 

Peter snapped his neck sideways to see Strange standing next to him. 

After a moment, he processed the man’s words. 

“Maybe. We’ll see.” Peter answered softly.

Strange nodded. “Have you thought more about my offer? It’s alright if you haven’t, these kinds of decisions take time.” 

Peter looked down at his lap. “Yeah, I thought about it.” 

“...And?” 

“I don’t know if I can.” Peter said, putting his face in his hands. 

Strange took the seat next to him. “Explain to me why.” 

“I just… how would I ever learn? I wasn’t born with any special thing about me, except a curse that ended up killing my family! I mean, I have a friend whose grandma says they have magic in their bloodline and he says sometimes his fingers tingle and stuff but– but I’m not magical, I could never–”

“Peter, listen to me.” Strange said. “I thought that, too. I didn’t even believe in magic when I first sought to learn it. You do not have to be born with ‘magical talent’. This universe does not belong to J.K. Rowling.” 

Peter stared.

“If anyone has the determination to learn it, it would be you.” 

Peter examined his hands in his lap. 

Maybe he did have a chance. 

Maybe he could do anything he put his mind to. 

Anything.

"Maybe, but..." Peter trailed off.

"What is it?" Stephen asked. 

Peter paused, choosing his words carefully. After a moment of hesitation: "I don't know if I should," He finally breathed out. "I just... I think everything happens for a reason. And I think maybe I'm supposed to learn something from this. I only just got back and I don't wanna leave my family. I think... I think we'll figure this out." 

Strange made a quiet sound of understanding. 

"I see." 

As a wave of silence passed over the two, Stephen got to his feet. 

"Peter." The man's gentle voice took Peter by surprise. The boy looked up to meet the his eyes. "Peter. You are making a very difficult choice, especially for someone of your age. But it shows what kind of person you are."

When Peter raised his eyebrows, Strange chuckled. "A good one. A stable one. You've learned a lot, but you are also teaching us new things every day. Accepting reality is the greatest challenge humanity faces." He observed Peter for a moment. "Tony must have been right about you."

"What?"

"You truly may be the best of us." 

Peter rolled his eyes with a smile. "Right."

Strange smirked. 

“I'll take you inside. I'm sure your father is moping since he couldn't be with you for two minutes."

Peter laughed and let the sorcerer push him inside. 

“YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS.” Sam Wilson’s voice rang through the common room and kitchen. 

“Summer time!” Thor exclaimed. “Or at least, that’s how Peter told me to answer that question.”

Throwing Thor a ‘you-haven’t-even-seen-High-School-Musical-before-have-you?’ kind of look, Sam dropped onto a couch. 

“Enlighten me. What time is it.” Loki asked, looking up from a laptop he had spent the majority of the night giggling over. So far only Peter and Strange had been allowed to look over his shoulder, leaving the group dumbfounded on what he could be doing. 

Wanda walked into the living room, making a beeline for Loki. “I got your text.” She kneeled next to him and Loki turned to screen towards her. 

Tony and Rhodey strolled into the room. “Hey, are we still doing game night tonight?” Rhodey asked. 

“Yes. And could we please break up the freak squad? Wanda and Strange and Peter keep helping Loki type something up and it’s starting to scare me.” Bucky said, staring at them over a book. 

Completely ignoring him: “What is the name of that book you’re reading?” Loki asked curiously. 

Bucky glanced at the book, and answered in a distrustful tone, “Uh… it’s called The Letter Men.” He paused and added, “Uh, Steve suggested it to me.” 

“Perfect.” Loki said, fingers scrambling across his keyboard. 

Wanda giggled from the corner. 

Strange sipped his coffee.

Bucky appeared to be distraught.

Tony rolled his eyes, answering Bucky’s question, “I don’t know if they can be called the ‘freak squad' if Peter’s involved. Maybe just the troublemakers.” 

“So you aren’t going to ask what they’re doing?” Clint asked from a chair, staring a hole into Loki’s forehead.

Tony shrugged. “Probably don’t wanna know.” 

“Good choice, Stark.” Loki smirked from the corner. 

“Where’s Peter?” Wanda asked, glancing up at the ceiling to indicate that she was talking to FRIDAY. 

The AI answered, “Peter is currently in the elevator, making his way to this room. Would you like me to tell him that you’re asking for him?”

“Yes,” Wanda said, still grinning mischievously at the laptop screen. 

The sound of wheels speeding down the hall was enough to make everyone look up (mostly because they were worried about how Peter would stop himself). The teenage vigilante crashed through the doors, just like old times, and skidded to a halt beside Wanda. He had gotten quite good at controlling his wheelchair. 

“Hand it over.” He said breathlessly. 

Loki wordlessly obeyed him. 

The group turned back to Tony, who took his time silently checking over Peter from across the room, before turning back to them. 

“Anyway…” The man said, clapping his hands together. His face blanked, and he stood motionless. After many silent moments passed, he admitted, “I don’t remember what we were talking about.” 

“It’s game night.” Sam repeated, a maniacal glint in his eyes. The small possibility that he hadn’t been paying attention the last few minutes became clear to a few. 

“Yes, Sam. It is.” Tony answered. 

The sound of the elevator doors opening made everyone in the room turn. 

"Okay, who did this?" Steve entered, holding his shield-- now covered in stickers of birds and superheroes. 

Sam turned back to Tony. “Anyway, are we doing this or what?” 

“Alright. Peter, will you do the honours?” 

Peter rolled himself over to the wheel he and Wanda had made together and spun it. It landed on ‘Never Have I Ever’. 

Ooh’s spread through the room and Clint rubbed his hands together. “Alright, let’s go!”

Peter stopped at Tony’s side and the game began.

“Never have I ever… lost a game of Sorry.”

“Ah, FUCK YOU, TOO, STEVE, YOU’VE PLAYED THAT GAME ONE TIME.” Sam yelled. 

Steve responded smugly, “And I won.”

“Never have I ever fallen off a building.”

Peter sighed, “Low blow, dude.” 

“Never have I ever missed an important meeting.”

Tony frowned and put down a finger.

“Never have I ever been a fugitive on the run.”

“Peter, you’re a dick.” 

The teen smiled innocently as he and the ex-rogues exchanged faces and hand gestures. 

“Anyway, in case you’ve all forgotten, it’s my turn.” Tony said, taking on a slightly nazily voice.

Peter giggled and waited as the group went silent.

“Damn, I can’t think of anything. Peter?” Tony leaned over to have Peter whisper an idea in his ear. 

“Ah, that’s cheating, you can’t have your kid make all your turns for you!” Clint complained. 

Sam stared at Tony and Peter with interest. He thought aloud, "Sometimes it's hard to believe how different things are. It feels like old times but back then I never would have imagined Peter and Tony. It makes sense now, but I mean, I used to think Tony would be a one-man show, but here we are. Guy's a full-blown family man." 

“Not much of a one man show anymore, huh,” Natasha said. She turned to Tony with a mischievous grin, “You know, we never did decide your special dad title.” 

“Dad title?” Sam asked.

Loki said, “You know, his special dad title. It’s a pop culture thing.” 

Clint scoffed. “You passed on President Dad. I think we all know that there’s no way to top that.”

The group pummeled him with skeptical looks. 

“What about IronDad?” Pepper asked, drawing the group’s attention to herself. 

The group paused, thinking it over. 

Natasha broke the thoughtful silence first. “That sounds…”

They waited for her to finish…

“...Slightly stereotypical.”

Steve let out a sigh of relief. “I didn’t want to say it, but I agree.”

Loki rolled his eyes from the corner.

“Yeah, I think I liked DadMan better.” Scott said. 

The group agreed unanimously. 

Peter laughed. “Never have I ever… been happier to be part of a family.” Peter watched as everyone put a finger down.

He lowered his own pointer finger with a smile. 

“You cheesy little shit,” Tony rolled his eyes, though he had put a finger down with everyone else. 

Peter shook his head, disgusted. “A cheesy little what now? That’s so nasty!”

Tony shrugged. “I don’t make the rules.”

“What rules? That was the most non rule following insult I’ve ever had the misfortune to have to hear!”

“I can’t wait til you leave for college.” Tony lied to Peter’s face.

Peter grinned right back, pretending to be angry. “And I can’t wait to get my inheritance.”

Tony cackled and Pepper rolled her eyes. 

And as Peter looked around the room, he knew he made the right decision. Things were different, yes, but the best and most important parts would always stay the same. 

He had a family that loved him. And no matter what happened, they would be there-- to have his back, hold his hand, and help him when he got hurt. 

Things were different, but they were good. 

Peter Parker was happy.