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From the moment Tony meets Peter, he connects him with Sophia.
He’s her age , he thinks, which makes him feel incredibly protective over the young boy. The feeling only grows when he finds out he’s an orphan brought up by his aunt. He thinks of Peter’s parents then— if it was me, I would want someone to watch out for Sophia .
At first, Tony tries to keep Peter at arms’ length, but it ends up being impossible. He doubts anyone could ever keep Peter at arms’ length; he is the purest, most open person in the world. He wears his heart on his sleeve, has a natural positive outlook in life and is excited about everything. There isn’t a single bad bone in that powerful body of his, and his kindness is sometimes offensive. But Peter’s also impulsive and inexperienced, distressingly reckless and in terrible need of guidance, so Tony takes him under his wing—sort of adopts him, in a way.
He doesn’t think any drama could come out of it—until Peter and Sophia meet for the first time.
His daughter is rather different from Peter. She’s kind and sweet—but only to those she considers have already proven themselves, meaning that she’s rather mistrustful of people; which, really, he can’t blame her for it. She’s sarcastic and skeptic, and she wears a look in her eyes that makes Tony feel as if she’s the parent. There’s a wisdom to her that chills him to the bones sometimes, and he knows he’s responsible for that and makes him hate himself for it.
Tony doesn’t expect more of them than to acknowledge each other, get along for his sake, and keep on with their teenage life.
He’s wrong, of course.
Peter and Tony are tinkering in the workshop, working on upgrades for their suits, when Peter suddenly tenses and looks up.
“What’s that smell?” he asks, sniffing the air with confused eyes.
“Uh?” Tony answers distractedly, focused on what he was doing. “Maybe something is burning. FRIDAY?”
“Everything is working accordingly, Boss. No fires.”
“No, no,” Peter frowns. “It’s nothing like that. This is—nice—and sweet, like vanilla and—”
“Maybe Pepper bought an air-freshener.”
“No,” the boy insists. “It’s something else.”
At that, Tony looks at him, but Peter’s eyes are fixed on the glass doors. He’s about to ask the boy what he means when a whirring sound makes him follow his gaze.
Tony lights up like a Christmas tree at the sight, and he gets up.
“ Cara? ”
“Hello, Papa ,” his daughter grins, letting out a shriek when he sprints to her and hugs her so tightly he lifts her off the ground. He wants to cry when he realizes she’s almost as tall as him—which admittedly isn’t much, but still.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, taking her beautiful face in his hands and taking her in. “Are you okay?”
She rolls her eyes. “Of course I am. I just came earlier.”
“Did something happen?”
“No, Dad,” she scoffs with a smile. “I’ve just finished my exams earlier and decided to come see you.”
“That’s the best decision you could have ever made.”
She laughs and is about to speak when something over Tony’s shoulder catches her eye. Her expression turns curious and slightly distrustful.
“Who’s this?” she asks.
“Oh,” he exclaims, suddenly excited at the prospect of his two children meeting for the first time. He goes to the boy, who has gone unusually quiet, and throws an arm around his shoulders. “This is Peter. I told you about him, remember? Peter Parker?”
Sophia raises her eyebrows, but he knows her too well to know she’s seizing him up under that polite smile.
“Yes, of course,” she replies softly. “Hello, Peter.”
Tony is expecting Peter’s cheery voice, so when he doesn’t hear it, he looks at him with a confused frown.
Peter is still, his face blushed in deep crimson, as he stares at Tony’s daughter with wide, sparkly eyes.
“H-Hi,” he stutters out, blushing even harder when Sophia cocks an eyebrow and tilts her head in amusement.
“This is Sophia,” Tony says, giving him an odd look. “My daughter.”
“He looks surprised,” Sophia teases because she is his daughter after all, and is a little shit. “What, haven’t you mentioned me, daddy?”
He has. Multiple times. Which is why he doesn’t understand Peter’s reaction until it hits him.
Heart eyes , Tony realizes with a start, he’s the heart eyes emoji.
“Y-Yes, yes, he has,” Peter manages to articulate. “I’m sorry, I just—I just imagined you differently.”
Sophia stares at him with a glint in her eyes. “Is that good or bad?”
“Good,” he quips, staring at her for a moment longer before looking down at his feet. “Definitely good.”
But Tony isn’t so sure about that.
His daughter smirks.
***
The first meeting leaves Tony with an odd feeling, but weeks go by and nothing happens. Peter keeps coming to the penthouse to spend time with him and barely leaves the workshop when he’s there. Sophia, on her part, couldn’t be less interested in whatever they tinker with, so she also stays away whenever Peter’s around.
As far as he’s aware, Sophia and Peter don’t really interact, so he forgets about it…
Until Pepper brings it up.
Admittedly, Tony isn’t the most observant man in the world but he has always been curious so, when Pepper comes to bed one night, smiling to herself as if she was enjoying some inner joke, Tony can’t help himself.
“What?”
“What what?”
“What are you smiling about?”
But she shakes her head, still smiling as she gets into bed. “Nothing.”
“Pep.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m not telling you.”
“You know me better than anybody. If you didn’t want me to insist, you shouldn’t have said that.”
She hesitates for a moment until, “Fine,” she accepts, only to give him a serious look. “But you have to promise me not to do or say anything.”
That makes him frown. “Why would I want to do or say—”
“I’m serious, Tony. Don’t freak out and, most importantly, don’t get involved. You have to promise me.”
His frown deepens. “This sounds more serious than I thought it would be.”
“It’s not,” she says. “But you will make a big deal out of it because—well, you are you.”
“What is it, Pepper?”
The woman smiles. “Peter’s in love with Sophia.”
It takes him five heartbeats to process those words. At first, they don’t mean anything, they sound absurd and unjustified. Tony can’t find them any meaning. Then:
“ What. ” It’s a fortune he’s sitting in bed, or his knees wouldn’t have supported him. “That’s—That’s impossible.”
Pepper rolls her eyes. “He’s supposed to have superhero reflexes and I’ve just witnessed him hit his head against the shelf because he couldn’t stop staring at her. Twice .”
“That doesn’t mean—”
“Also, he blushes every time she merely looks at him.”
“He blushes for everything.”
“He stays over the exact same days she does.”
“It’s a coincidence.”
“He can’t get out any words whenever she’s around, Tony,” Pepper points out. “And it’s Peter we’re talking about.”
Tony doesn’t have anything to argue that with, because she’s right. Peter is a little chatterbox and he never shuts up; not when he’s tinkering with him in the workshop, not when he’s training, not when he’s fighting , not ever. And he’s noticed that, whenever his daughter is around, he gets unusually quiet, particularly when they are having dinner together or something.
Tony’s head begins to spin.
“Peter is in love with Sophia?” he blurts out in a horrified whisper. Pepper nods. “And is she—is she in love with—” he can’t even say it.
“I don’t know,” Pepper admits. “She’s harder to read.”
He doesn’t know if the answer relaxes or worries him more. He’s not overjoyed at the idea of them dating—what if they break up and they make Tony choose between them? But the idea of his daughter breaking Peter’s heart doesn’t make him feel any better.
“Oh my God,” Tony exclaims, grabbing his head. “I didn’t sign up for this. What am I supposed to do now?
“Nothing,” she immediately snaps with a warning glare. “I told you. Nothing. You have to let them figure it out on their own.”
But Tony has never been good at doing nothing.
***
Unsurprisingly, Pepper is right.
Tony decides to be more observant and, what he observes, confirms what Pepper has told him—Peter is hopelessly in love with Sophia.
For a while, he just doesn’t understand how that has come to happen because he never sees them interact, until one night that he wakes up at 2 am with flashbacks of space and Chitauri in his mind, sweating and on the verge of a panic attack.
He gets out of bed not to disturb Pepper and goes to the kitchen for a glass of water—or scotch, he’s going to decide there. His mind is still reeling and he’s trying to control his breathing, so it takes him a while to hear the voices.
When he does though, he stops dead in his tracks, his first thought being that somehow there’s been a breach in security. He’s about to blast his way in when he realizes it’s just Peter and Sophia.
“… it’s a blend of lavender, passion fruit, lemon balm and chamomile,” his daughter is saying.
“It’s really good,” Peter says shyly.
“It’s supposed to help with anxiety and insomnia.”
“For your dad?”
“Well, I learned the blend for him and he pretends to drink it not to make me feel bad, but I know he doesn’t like it,” she laughs, and Tony winces. He should’ve known nothing slips past her. “Now I drink it.”
“Do you get anxious too?”
She scoffs. “I was born anxious, and after Afghanistan, New York and—well, since Dad became Iron Man basically—it’s just gotten worse. I had to learn how not to let it control me.”
Tony feels sick to his stomach. It’s not like he’s unaware of the effect his life-threatening choice of career has had on the people he loves. He worries about it every day of his life, but he’s managed to convince himself that, at the end of the day, it’s all to keep them safe. He is well aware of the way Sophia worries, but to hear it so bluntly from her is like getting stabbed.
“I’m sorry,” Peter whispers. “I know it sucks but he—he does it to keep you safe.”
“I know,” she sighs. “And I know it’s selfish of me but—”
“It’s not selfish, Sophia,” he cuts her off determinedly. “You have every right to feel that way. I’m sorry that you do, and that you have to bear it.”
“Thanks, but you don’t have to apologize.” Sophia gives him a small smile. “And I wouldn’t change it either. I’m proud of the father I have. He’s the best.”
“Yeah, he is,” Peter laughs. “You’re very lucky.”
Tony feels his heart swell, and he’s very conscious of the way his eyes are wet. He’s about to burst in and hug them both, tell them he loves them with all his heart and that he would do anything for them, but he stops himself when Sophia keeps talking.
“We both are,” she points out. “Since he’s practically adopted you as well.”
Peter flushes. “Does—Does that bother you?”
“It did at first,” she admits. “I’m the only child of a millionaire, I’m spoiled. I felt like you were taking the spotlight off me.”
“I’m sorry, that was never my intent—”
“I know, Peter,” she cuts him off with a fond roll of her eyes. “It took me a while, but I see it now. Besides…” she arches her eyebrow at him, almost teasingly. “It’s kind of impossible to hate you. You’re too nice.”
If he was red before, he’s practically the color of his Spider-Man suit now. Tony almost feels sorry for him.
“T-Thanks? I guess,” he stammers, scratching the back of his neck nervously. “So do you—do you like me now?”
“Of course,” she answers nonchalantly. “We’re practically siblings, aren’t we?”
Ouch . Her choice of words even makes Tony wince, even if he considers them his children and has thought about them like that more than once.
He can’t really see Peter’s expression from where he’s standing, peaking through the slightly ajar kitchen door, but Tony thinks he’s turned a little green.
“I wouldn’t—I wouldn’t say that,” the boy manages to say, his voice tight.
“Why not?”
Tony narrows his eyes because while his daughter is an expert at hiding her emotions—he regrets allowing her to spend so much time with Romanoff—, he knows her too well, and he can see right through her. Her tone is too breezy, too nonchalant.
She’s testing him. Sophia is testing Peter.
“We don’t—I mean—we aren’t really related ,” he says.
“Don’t you see my father as a father figure?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then why can’t you see me as a sister?”
Peter flinches at the word. He takes a moment, clearly trying to come up with an answer. Tony practically can see the wheels turning in his brain, the smoke coming out of his ears. However, eventually, he settles for:
“Because I just can’t.”
Sophia stares at him with a smile on her face but Tony can see her expression, and her eyes don’t go together with that gesture. They are sharp like a knife, and too many things are brewing behind them.
“Do you not like me enough for that?” she asks.
Peter seems to notice it too because he doesn’t look away from her. He doesn’t blush. He doesn’t hide or cower when he answers:
“I like you too much for that.” It comes out as a whisper, but it’s clear and loud enough, no hesitation in his voice. “That’s the problem.”
Her eyes widen slightly, probably not having expected him to be so blunt or to even answer it. For a moment, Tony allows himself to forget these are his children , that it’s his only and precious daughter who’s getting a declaration from a boy, and allows himself to feel proud of Peter.
“Okay, Peter Parker,” she finally says, putting him out of his misery. The smile is back on her face, this time genuine, and her pink cheeks are proof that she’s not as unaffected as she pretends to be. “We won’t be siblings then. Would you like more tea?”
It’s a subtle answer, but it makes Peter grin foolishly anyway.
“Yes, please.”
They don’t touch the subject again, and they start talking about some viral video after that, something Tony doesn’t care or dare to understand. However, the stupid smiles on their faces are obvious to anyone with a pair of functioning eyes, so he decides to forsake his drink, not wanting to burst their bubble.
Pepper is going to be so proud of me
, he thinks as he turns and walks away, his nightmare completely forgotten.
***
Girls are terrifying.
Years ago, when he found out he was going to be the father of a girl, after many crises, breakdowns and blackouts, relief came to him in the realization that he wasn’t going to bring another Stark man to the world. They had, after all, already fucked it up enough.
The idea of a Stark girl, however… it warmed his heart, because he’s always thought girls and women are better than men; it has been his experience—his mother, nannies, teachers, co-workers, Pepper… They all have been better in general; less destructive, more efficient and capable; more intelligent and human.
But they are terrifying as well, especially when they get mad.
Tony has always cowered before women’s rage, he can’t help it; and his daughter, even if she’s a teenager, is no exception.
“Who is that ,” she spits, glaring through the car window so hard that Tony thinks it’s going to melt.
He follows her gaze to find Peter there, talking to a girl. Tony doesn’t know who that is, but she’s evidently into Peter, if the way she keeps playing with her hair, touching his arm and smiling at him is any indication of it. Tony doesn’t want to brag, but he’s been on the receiving end of that kind of attention millions of times, so he recognizes when a girl is interested.
Peter, however, looks a mix of confused and flattered, even if he keeps looking away, as if wanting to get away from the interaction.
Tony doesn’t doubt he does, but Sophia, of course, doesn’t seem to notice that last part.
“No idea,” Tony replies with a shrug. “He’s never mentioned her before.”
His comment appears to relax her, but Happy ruins it.
“Whoever it is, she has the hots for our Spider-boy,” he chuckles, unhelpfully.
His daughter growls. “Well, it’s rude of him to keep us waiting. Besides, we’re going to be late.”
Tony could point out that it’s simply Steve’s birthday party, which he doesn’t even want to celebrate and has only been forced to do so by Natasha, so it doesn’t really matter if they are a little late—which they aren’t, anyway. But he opts to keep quiet.
“Not really, we still have time to—” Happy begins, but before he can continue, Sophia opens her door.
“I’m going to go get him,” she declares, ignoring him completely as she gets out of the car.
Tony is trying to give them the privacy he’s promised Pepper he would, but it’s hard when he’s become so invested in their teenage drama.
Peter senses Sophia immediately; Tony doesn’t know how, but he always does. He still remembers how he’d smelled her the first time he met her, so he figures it has something to do with his senses becoming attuned to her—but, really, he doesn’t want to think about it at all .
Peter is the most polite person Tony has ever met, so even if he probably isn’t interested, he has been paying attention to the girl as she rambled on and on. However, as soon as he sees Sophia coming his way, his expression changes radically; his face lighting up, staring at her like she’s the sun, and in a way that makes Tony feel like he’s intruding just by looking.
But, either way, he’s a gossip, so he rolls down the window to listen to the scene.
Sophia goes up to him and, without warning, throws her arms around his neck to embrace him in a hug.
Peter stiffens, his eyes going wide, and it takes him a while to react and understand what’s happening. When he does though, he surrounds her waist with his arms and moves his head a little, almost as if to check it’s really her . His nose brushes her hair and his eyelids flutter, and Tony can see the red on his face even from where he’s sitting inside the car.
It doesn’t last long but when Sophia pulls away, Peter’s expression is one of absolute daze.
“Soph? What—”
“We’ve come to pick you up,” she tells him innocently. “It’s Cap’s birthday, remember?”
But Tony doubts Peter’s listening to a word she’s saying, because one of her hands is pushing a rebel curl back and the other is playing with one of the strings of his hoodie, and Peter looks like he’s having an out-of-body experience.
She’s evil, Tony thinks, especially when Sophia turns to the forgotten girl—who looks both stricken and offended—and gives her a fake smile.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there,” she says. “I’m Sophia Stark, and you are…?”
The girl widens her eyes at the name. “Cissy. Cissy Ironwood.”
“Nice to meet you, Cissy,” she smiles sweetly, too sweetly. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I’ll have to steal Peter. We have a commitment to attend to, would you mind terribly?”
The girl can only shake her head, and Tony kind of feels sorry for her. His daughter simply smiles again and turns to look at Peter, who is staring at Sophia as if she has the answers to every question he’s ever asked himself.
“You ready?” she asks him.
Peter nods, jumping a little when he feels her hand taking his. He looks down and quickly looks back up at her, but Sophia is already walking towards the car, tugging him along.
“See you around, Cissy,” she smiles sharply, her tone almost like a threat.
When they get inside the car, Tony pretends to be busy with his phone, not wanting to get caught in his spying.
“We can go now,” Sophia tells Happy, who has been absorbed in some period drama and has noticed nothing. “What?” she asks Tony later, when she catches him staring.
He arches an eyebrow and points at their joined hands, resting between their bodies on the seat. They pull away and Peter becomes a traffic light, shooting him a horrified look. Even Sophia is embarrassed at being caught.
Tony snorts but says nothing, opting to make conversation with Happy, allowing them to think he’s oblivious to whatever is going on between them.
***
When Peter clears his throat for the third time, Tony sighs and looks up, finally accepting he can no longer postpone the conversation he obviously wants to have.
“Just spit it out, kid,” he rolls his eyes. “Before you combust or something.”
“I was wondering,” Peter begins anxiously. “Hypothetically. What would you do if, for example, Colonel Rhodes fell in love with Miss Potts?”
Tony blinks, caught completely off guard by the question.
“What?”
“It’s not like I’ve seen or heard anything!” he quickly adds, widening his eyes in horror. “Colonel Rhodes would never—and Miss Potts—she obviously loves you. This is purely hypothetical. I just—want to know how you would react.”
“Apart from kicking Rhodey’s ass and blowing my brains off afterwards?” he scoffs. “What the fuck, kid?”
Peter pales. “So you wouldn’t accept it? Even if he really loved her?”
Tony frowns. “What?”
“Colonel Rhodes is your best friend, right? He’s like your brother, like—like family ,” he insists, opening his eyes in a way that is creepy at best and psychotic at worst. “Imagine he falls in love with Miss Potts, who you love more than anything. He obviously didn’t plan for it to happen, and he fought it over and over again because he knows he’ll ruin everything if he even acknowledges it. He knows how important Miss Potts is to you, but he can’t help himself. He knows you’ll get angry and will see this as a betrayal but, really, he just—can’t stop.” He is out of breath by the time he finishes. “It’s not like he’s going to do anything about it, Mr. Stark. But like, would you forgive him?”
It takes him a moment to understand what he’s trying to say. It’s not easy, because the kid is long-winded and close to insane by the time he’s finished, but Tony understands the analogy he’s trying to make.
Peter is Rhodey, Pepper is Sophia. Got it.
He could have done it without the horrible mental image, though.
“It would take time to get used to it,” Tony begins carefully. “But I guess I would forgive him if he really loved her. He’d have to promise to take care of her though.”
Peter visibly relaxes, looking at him seriously. “Of course he would, Mr. Stark. With his life.”
That doesn’t make him feel better, especially knowing how impulsive and altruistic Peter is.
“But I don’t want him to sacrifice himself. I love him too.”
“Right, right…”
He narrows his eyes. “So, would ‘Rhodey’ really do nothing about it? Even if—if—God, I can’t even say it.” He winces. “Even if ‘Pepper’ felt the same way?”
At that, Peter’s face falls. “Miss Potts doesn’t feel the same way, Mr. Stark. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Peter looks away. “Yeah, I—how could she?”
Tony sighs, hating to see happy-go-lucky Peter so depressed. He can only wonder what his daughter’s feelings are on the matter. They have a close, trusting relationship but he draws the line at talking about boys. Sophia should consider herself lucky Tony hasn’t sent her to a nunnery to keep her away from them.
“Well, I’m not going to encourage it,” he mumbles. “But if she feels the same way and he wants to pursue it, then he should. I love them, and I want them to be happy.”
For a second, Tony thinks they’re having a pivotal moment, one where they are on the same page about things.
But then, Peter gives him an odd look.
“Are you serious, Mr. Stark? You’re too good. I would kick Ned’s ass if he tried anything with—” he interrupts himself and blushes.
Tony suppresses the urge to slam his head against his desk. He can’t believe the patience it takes to deal with teenagers.
***
It’s a Sunday night and Sophia is showing him a viral—supposedly funny, though he still doesn’t get it—video during dinner when FRIDAY drops the news.
“Boss, Peter’s protocols are going off,” the AI says. “The last update on his vitals is critical, but I can’t track his location.”
The way his daughter’s face falls and pales is probably a mirror of his own and they are both on their feet before Pepper can even blink and process what the AI has informed.
“What was his last known location?”
“A warehouse in Brooklyn.”
“Brooklyn? What was he doing in Brooklyn?”
“Karen’s data shows he’s been chasing some minor crime rings for weeks, hoping it would lead to their lord.”
“Did he find out who it was?”
“Norman Osborn.”
Tony frowns, a chill going down his spine at the name.
“Osborn?” Sophia repeats in shock, looking at him. “Harry’s dad?”
“He’s always been a nut case,” he replies. “Nat has been keeping tabs on him. FRIDAY, call her and ask for any leads she may have.”
“On it.”
Tony thinks he’s fast at putting on his nanotech suit that Peter has helped upgrade and develop, but when he looks up, he almost has another heart attack at the sight of his daughter already wearing the volatile, not-at-all-tested, prototype of the suit he is still designing—in secret—for her eighteenth birthday.
“What the—” he begins, blinking stupidly. “You’re not—”
But Sophia is showing that haughty, stubborn Stark side he’s not exactly proud of at the moment.
“You can ground me later,” she snaps. “We don’t have time now. Peter needs us.”
He is about to argue all the same because there is no way his daughter is ready for a mission , especially one that concerns Norman Osborn, but FRIDAY interrupts them, informing that Natasha has an approximate location of where Peter could be.
So, Tony has to gulp down all his complaints. “Do everything I say. Stay close to me or Nat at all times. Don’t engage. Don’t risk yourself. Don’t do anything, you’re just—an observant tag-along.”
Sophia scowls but ends up accepting the conditions.
“Also, you’re grounded until you’re thirty.”
She rolls her eyes, which is really telling of the authority Tony has over his own teenage daughter, and off they go.
It takes them two hours to get to Peter.
Osborn has mined and prepared the place so diligently that it’s not difficult to figure out the whole thing has been a trap, that taking Peter has been his way of leading the Avengers to his fortress and eliminating them—or at least attempt to.
Natasha, Steve, Wilson and Barnes are already there when Tony and Sophia arrive. The men are surprised by her presence, but Natasha simply smirks knowingly, as if she has been expecting it all along.
They have to face cyborgs, bombs and different genetically-modified beings before finally finding Peter. He’s strapped to a lab table, with tubes and cables and all kinds of things stuck to him; bruises all over his body and looking barely alive. Tony’s stomach churns when his mind starts conjuring ideas of what Norman could have done to him to leave him looking like that, considering Peter’s superhuman endurance and the little time he’s held him prisoner.
He’s just glad Sophia isn’t the one to find him.
It takes him a while to wake him up, and Tony makes sure to destroy everything in that lab, so as not to leave any traces of Peter’s blood or DNA anywhere.
“Tony?” he rasps, and even blinking seems to take him a painful effort.
The only thing keeping Tony from going after Norman Osborn and killing him with his bare hands is the urge of comforting Peter.
“Hey, kid,” he whispers, covering him with a random lab coat. “Tough day?”
Peter wheezes a laugh. “Yeah, not—not the best.”
“You’re okay now,” he assures him. “We’re here to take you home.”
“We?” he asks distractedly, already beginning to lose consciousness again.
“Yeah, you’ve managed to assemble half the team.”
“That’s—That’s nice. I appreciate it.”
“Half the team… and one stubborn brat,” he adds with a wince.
He snaps his eyes open, still drugged and in pain.
“What?” he asks. “Are you talking about—”
Before Peter can even finish that sentence, Sophia herself comes flying through the door, a cyborg chasing her hot in her heels. Tony lifts his gauntlet and blasts it off.
Peter’s eyes widen and blink several times, evidently doubting what he’s seeing.
She lands next to Tony, uncovering her face and taking Peter in, her face scrunched up in worry.
“Sophia?” he blurts out in shock. “What are you—Is that suit—”
But he can’t even get out the whole question before Sophia is kissing him.
It’s quick and gentle, barely a brush of lips, but it still makes Peter gasp and freeze. Tony cringes and looks away, preferring to see his own teammates getting their ass kicked by cyborgs.
He allows them five seconds before he’s clearing his throat.
“Uh, yeah, not the time for that.”
His daughter at least has the decency to blush a little, but Peter seems too starstruck to react or notice Tony is still there; his goddamn heart-eyes are back on again, unable to stop staring at her.
He rolls his eyes but he can’t help the way his lips curve up. He’s just thankful his helmet is hiding his expression—he has a reputation to uphold, and something tells him he’s gonna need that reputation if he wants to keep those two in line.
Teenagers, after all, can be ridiculously hormonal.
“Get him out of here,” he orders her in a serious voice.
For the first time in her life, Sophia obeys him without complaining, nodding her head and accommodating Peter in her arms. Tony thinks he sees him pass out before she takes off.
***
Bruce keeps Peter in an induced coma for three days, alleging he needs to rest properly and without pain after everything his body has had to endure.
Sophia doesn’t leave her spot besides Peter’s bed in the medbay for two days straight. When the bags under her eyes are almost as purple as Peter’s fading bruises, Tony has to threaten her with sending her to a Catholic boarding school if she doesn’t at least take a shower or sleep a few hours in her own bed.
When Peter wakes up, she isn’t there, and Tony can already imagine all the shit he’s going to get for that. Anyway, he decides to take advantage of that alone time with Peter.
“Hey, kid,” he says softly, a million tons lifting off his shoulders at the sight of him awake. Bruce had assured him he was going to recover just fine, but that doesn’t mean Tony hasn’t been worried sick despite the front he has been putting up for his daughter’s sake. “How’re you feeling?”
Peter winces a little. “Like the Long Island ferry was dropped on me while I was sleeping. What happened?”
Tony tells him about Osborn kidnapping and experimenting on him, but keeping details to a minimum. It is too soon to burden him with all of that, and the man is already rotting in Raft anyway.
Even then, Peter pales, probably because he’s getting flashbacks.
“Am I going to be okay?” he asks in a thin, almost childish voice, and Tony is once again hit with the realization that this hero has just turned eighteen years old.
“Yes, Pete,” he assures him gently, squeezing his shoulder affectionately. “You’re going to be just fine.”
He relaxes at that and he even smiles a little.
“Have you told May about—”
“Yeah, she’s furious about you going after an insane and powerful crime lord on your own.”
Peter winces again. “It’s Spider-Man’s job!”
Tony narrows his eyes. “And what do you think the Avengers do? Organize tea parties?”
“I didn’t think it was as big as it turned out to be,” he admits.
“And that’s why you should always let me know what you’re up to, Parker,” he scowls. “That’s the only condition I asked you to respect when I let you keep the suit—and you didn’t.”
Peter looks down, clearly ashamed. “I’m sorry, Mr. Stark. I promise it won’t happen again.”
“It better not,” Tony huffs. “Because I won’t be the only person you’ll disappoint—and hurt—if you don’t keep that promise. And that person is where I draw the line.”
He looks up with wide, startled eyes and, at first, he’s confused. Then, Tony holds his gaze pointedly and raises an eyebrow. Peter blushes and begins fidgeting with his hands.
“So you know—you know how I feel about—”
Tony rolls his eyes impatiently. “Just how stupid do you think I am? You’re the least subtle teenage boy in the universe. Besides—Pepper and Rhodey? Really?”
Peter cringes and, for a moment, he’s too embarrassed to function or even hold Tony’s insistent eyes. However, after a while, Tony senses a change in him; he squares his shoulders, his whole posture becomes more confident, and he looks up and stares back at him with determination.
“I love her, Mr. Stark,” he declares without a trace of doubt in his expression. “I really do, and I promise that, if Sophia will have me, I will do everything I can and more to make her happy—and keep her safe.”
Tony makes him suffer a little bit. He’s not proud of that but Sophia is his only daughter and he’s still an overprotective father, so he keeps his expression shut and his eyes stern and serious. Peter withstands it admirably, so when he thinks he’s had enough, Tony lets out a resigned sigh.
“Fine, you have my permission to date my daughter,” he accepts.
Peter can barely enjoy his victory before another voice creeps in and erases the smile off his face.
“That should be my decision, don’t you think?”
Peter pales as Sophia enters the medbay with an expression of contempt, looking more rested than Tony has seen in days. She doesn’t sit, and goes to stand next to Peter’s bed to stare down at him with crossed arms.
“Of—Of course,” Peter stutters, shrinking into himself. “I’m not—I’m not presuming anything, I was—I was just—”
He looks so helpless that Tony decides to throw him a bone. After all, Peter is also his child.
“Wasn’t your decision made when you kissed him in front of your old man and traumatized him for life?” Tony says, narrowing his eyes at his daughter. “Or do you just kiss everyone, cara ?”
The glare she sends his way makes Tony smirk.
“The kiss was real?” Peter blurts out, blinking in shock. “I was so drugged that I thought I had hallucinated it! You—You came for me? In an iron suit?”
Peter’s smile is so big and enamored that it looks like it hurts, and Sophia turns red in a way her father has never seen, so he gets up casually and turns to leave, as if he hasn’t just contributed to one of his kids’ most embarrassing moments in life.
“My job here is done,” he says proudly, before exiting the medbay.
When he comes back hours later to check on Peter, Tony isn’t surprised to find both of them sleeping in Peter’s bed; Sophia’s head on his chest as she hugs his torso and his arms protectively around her body.