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Chapter Text

"Peter!" Aunt May exclaimed, waking the boy from his sleep.

Peter rubbed his sleepy eyes, then sighed and exclaimed:

"I'm coming!"

Internally, he felt like crying because it was Saturday, 7:00 a.m., Aunt May had put him to bed 5 hours ago, and he was so sleep-deprived that he was dizzy.

He wanted to go to bed earlier than 2:00 a.m., but his aunt decided after a few glasses of wine that they would go for a night walk, during which Peter began to cry from fear and fatigue.

Peter didn't understand why she was dragging him along. All he knew was that if he didn't agree, she would be terribly angry.

Last week, he didn't want to come back from the playground yet, and as punishment, May threw his favorite cuddly toy in the trash, which he couldn't sleep without.

He had received it from his parents, and every thought of the lost souvenir made him want to lament. Don't get him wrong, May was a wonderful woman, but when it came to taking care of Peter, she was far from perfect.

"What's wrong, Auntie?" The 8-year-old asked as he walked into the kitchen. There was a ready-made breakfast on the table.

"I just got a letter from Stark Industries that you've been accepted for an internship!" She exclaimed happily.

Peter was ecstatic.

"But how is that possible?" He asked, disorganized. "I didn't sign up anywhere."

"It doesn't matter my dear, it's important that your big brain is finally appreciated, and that the internship is paid."

"W-what? We can't afford it!" Peter cried out in despair.

May giggled.

"No, don't be silly, they'll pay us!" Peter started jumping for joy.

"Isn't that wonderful?" But how did it happen, after all, I didn't apply for any internship.

"I guess the school gave you a reputation for being a little Einstein," May chuckled.

Peter began to smile. Such praise from Aunt May was no mean feat.

"Come on, have breakfast and dress up in something nice. Something more elegant than those rags."

Peter looked down at his tattered clothes. His pajamas were too short, full of holes in a few places, and probably used for several generations.

He hurriedly ate his breakfast and ran to get dressed in faded suit pants and a shirt with a small stain on the back. He felt as if this day was going to be the best of his life.

***

Tony Stark paced around his lab listening to Pepper complaining.

"Tony, I've told you many times that you need to have a personal intern. Do you know how well it will affect your image?"

"I'm not going to do anything for the public. Dealing with these brats for a good image is laughable."

"Actually, you don't have a choice in this, because I've already approved several candidates. Fortunately, each of them is a student, so you don't have to deal with them, but I ask you to at least try to pay a little attention to them."

"Uh, okay!" Tony sighed resignedly.

He knew he couldn't win this argument. He was glad that at least all the candidates were adults. He hated the presence of children. They took everything in their mouths, touched them and tended to behave recklessly.

"Great," Pepper smiled happily. "You have a meeting at 9:00 a.m. with the first one"

With that said, she walked out of the lab. Tony sank into his chair in resignation. It was going to be a long day.

Chapter Text

As soon as Peter walked into the Avengers tower, he immediately felt out of place. Everyone here was grown-up, well-dressed, probably rich... He, on the other hand, was just a stupid kid to them.

"Are you lost, darling?" A young woman asked, leaning over him.

She had nice blonde hair and a notebook in her hand.

"N-no, I'm just looking for Mr. Stark."

"Mr. Stark?" The woman looked like she was about to laugh. "I'm afraid I can't comply with your request." She frowned, "Do your parents work here? Are you waiting for them?"

"I got an internship here," Peter said, pulling out a letter.

The woman took it from him and read it briefly.

"Hmm," she murmured, surprised. "You've got to be really smart, huh?"

Peter nodded in acknowledgment. He knew he was smarter than other kids his age.

He was always bored in class, and every year the teachers asked Aunt May if she wanted to move him to a higher class. Every year she answered the same thing: Peter should enjoy his childhood.

"In that case, Dear Sir, I invite you to the 6th floor. Do you see that elevator straight ahead? Yes, this one. Go to the floor and ask for Rob. He'll know what to do next."

"Thank you," Peter said, and walked away toward the elevator, drawing a few puzzled glances.

When Peter entered the elevator, he noticed a man in his early twenties. He was shaking with nervousness as he talked on the phone, and his eyes widened at the sight of him.

Peter clicked button number 6 and waited for the elevator to start.

"Yes, mhm, I'm waiting for the audition. I know! No, I'm not going to miss this chance," said the mysterious gentleman.

Peter stared at the floor, not really knowing what to do. Fortunately, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. He hurried out of the elevator.

Peter began to look around the unfamiliar place. Everything from floor to ceiling was modern.

Blue carpets covered the hallway, and the walls had nice gray wallpaper in unfamiliar shapes. He parted his lips in surprise. He didn't think there was a more beautiful place than this.

"Good morning, I'm looking for Rob," Peter informed the man with glasses standing next to him.

"It's me," he called out in a cheerful voice. "How can I help you?"

"The lady from downstairs sent me here" now Peter began to regret that he had not asked her name.

"The lady from downstairs? And in what matter?"

"I have an internship here," he replied delightedly.

"Mh, I see" the man looked at him carefully. After a moment something occurred to him "Indeed, a young man was supposed to come here, but" he hesitated "you are so small. How old are you?"

"8 and two months," Peter said proudly.

"Hm, well, follow me, I will show you around."

***

"This must be a joke," Tony said at the sight of the first trainee. He just watched as he rode up in the elevator.

"He can't be that bad," muttered Pepper.

"He literally brought his child here. For a job interview!"

"Wait a minute, now he's getting out of the elevator by himself," Pepper pointed her finger at the screen.

They had agreed beforehand that each potential intern would show up every 15 minutes. First they will talk to Tony, and then everyone will meet together. In two hours, the intern will be selected.

Pepper and Tony watched together as he shuffled around the lab not knowing what to do with himself.

"Come down to him finally," Pepper said.

Tony was about to protest, as he still wanted to see how he would behave without him, but Pepper was right, he should go.

"I'm coming," he sighed, getting up from his chair.

As Tony walked down to the lab the potential intern straightened up proudly, raised his head and introduced himself:

"Good morning, Mr. Stark. My name is Joe Michael."

Tony glanced at him from over his glasses. And shook his hand in greeting.

"Hello Mr. Michael, your profile interested me a lot. Please tell me more about yourself..."

***

Rob toured Peter around the lab, explaining where what was and warning him where it was better not to go.

Then he led Peter to a free table and told him to build "something that would surprise him."

Peter worked for nearly 40 minutes until he finally fashioned a tiny robot that drove around in circles.

"Amazing! Did you build it yourself?" asked a surprised Rob walking up to his desk.

"Yes, but it won't stop," said Peter with tears in his eyes.

"Hey, hey, don't worry. I'm impressed! That's a big accomplishment considering you only had 40 minutes. Not to mention your age..."

At this point everyone fell silent. Out of the elevator came none other than Tony Stark himself.

***

Tony was devastated by the level of the interns.

The first one was on the phone all the time, ignoring Tony.

The second one was just dumb. He literally didn't even know what a screwdriver looked like.

The third seemed okay, quite smart, but looked around the room as if he was about to steal something.

Tony had had enough of them. This was a failure. All that was left was to go down to the lab still, as he had promised them he would.

The four of them got into the elevator and went to the 6th floor. When they got off, Tony immediately noticed that all conversation had quieted down.

He smiled under his breath and began showing the three men around the lab. He was walking slowly down the corridor when the kid from the elevator ran right in front of him.

He had brown eyes and hair, and was dressed in worn suit pants and a shirt. Tony was surprised to see that the boy was chasing some robot shouting:

"No, stop!"

The situation was comical, and Tony himself even laughed.

Finally the robot came full circle, hitting Tony's legs. Tony knelt down lifting the writhing robot. It made an impression on him. Tony raised his eyes from his kneeling position to the boy, who blushed from all the attention focused on him.

"This is yours, hm?"

"Yes, thank you," said Peter taking the robot from the billionaire.

Tony stood up and put his hand on the boy's head.

"What are you actually doing here, kiddo? Are you waiting for your daddy?" He pointed with his head to the man in the elevator.

Peter furrowed his brow confused.

"I have an internship here. And that's not my dad," he made an exasperated face.

If Tony was impressed before, it was nothing compared to now.

"You have internship here!? Jesus, kid, how smart you are?"

Peter blushed again.

"Well I guess it was you I was looking for."

Then he whispered something in Peter's ear, and Peter exultantly nodded.

"Ladies and gentleman" Tony turned to everyone there, "I just found my personal intern."

Chapter Text

Riding in an elevator with Tony Stark was certainly not an everyday occurrence. Peter thought he was dreaming it.

Of all people, he was the chosen one? And as a personal trainee! He didn't know exactly who it was, but he was glad that his childhood idol was paying so much attention to him.

"Hey, Peter," quipped Mr. Stark as they rode in silence, "do you want to see my lab?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Peter exultantly and started jumping.

Tony laughed, looking affectionately at the boy.

"Calm down, haven't you ever heard about how an elevator can break down if you jump?" Tony joked to Peter, because he knew that FRIDAY he wouldn't let that happen.

Although actually that about jumping in the elevator was a fact.

Peter immediately stopped and raised a horrified look at Tony.

"Sorry, I didn't know," he muttered under his breath.

Tony did not know where this sudden change in the boy's behavior came from.

"Relax, I was just joking. I'm not angry or anything."

Peter smiled slightly, but didn't jump again.

Suddenly, the elevator stopped and the doors opened, revealing a huge laboratory with state-of-the-art 21st century technology.

Tony showed Peter around and pointed out where his workspace was. Tony decided to ask Peter some questions to see if Peter was really that smart.

W"ell young man," said Tony planting Peter in a chair and approaching the boy from behind. Peter giggled at what he called him. "Do you know what this is?"

Tony pulled a chisel from behind his back, which happened to be next to him.

"Hm" Peter wondered. "Chisel?"

"Good" Tony exclaimed exultantly. "And this?"

"A strum?"

"Not bad at all. That was a tough one."

And so Tony tested his knowledge on various topics for the next two hours, until finally Peter got tired and became grouchy. Tony noticed a change in his behavior after a while.

"Hey, are you okay? Do you want to rest?"

Peter rubbed his eyes with his fists and nodded. Tony didn't want the kid to feel uncomfortable, so he decided to take a longer break.

"There you have a couch," he pointed to a corner of the room. "If you want, you can lie down for a while. Does that sound good?"

Peter nodded and dragged himself to the indicated place. He lay down on his side, facing the back of the couch, and fell asleep before he knew it.

This was probably due to a five-hour sleep. Before he fell asleep he felt someone cover him with a blanket. He smiled, as it was rare for someone to do that for him.

With a sense of warmth and security, the boy fell asleep in an unfamiliar, but quieter place than home.

***

Tony didn't expect the boy to fall asleep. He thought he would lie down or something.

Actually, he didn't know what to expect, but he certainly didn't imagine it. Had he done something wrong? Had he bored him? Or maybe Peter was sick!

Tony pushed these thoughts away. Maybe the kids were like that, he knew nothing about them in total. What was he thinking taking an 8-year-old into his care?

While Peter was sleeping Tony called Pepper and briefly told her what had happened.

"Tony, you have to settle everything with his parents first. You can't just appoint this boy as your personal trainee without telling anyone."

"I'm just telling you."

"You are unbelievable..."

"I know, I know, but this kid is the person I was looking for. As soon as you see him..."

"Actually I will be in the tower in about an hour, why don't I stop by and see you?"

"Good idea. The kid should be up by then."

"Remember to feed him when he wakes up. Boys his age need a lot of food."

"Yeah, sure. I'll feed him."

"Make sure he eats healthy."

" Okay, I'll take care of him. See you later."

"Bye."

Tony looked at Peter and watched for a moment as his chest rose and fell in calm breathing.

***

Peter felt someone lightly shake his shoulder, and a cooing male voice whispered something in his ear.

"Time to get up sleepyhead. Did you have a nice nap?"

Peter rubbed his eyes not knowing where he was. But wait a minute... Isn't that Tony Stark? Ah yes, the memories from earlier in the day just came back to him.

"Here is someone I want you to meet."

Then he put his hands under the kid's arms and picked him up. He was surprisingly light.

He set him on his feet and turned toward the door. A pretty woman with strawberry blond hair entered the lab. She was wearing stilettos, which is why she seemed huge to Peter.

Peter knew her from television. She was Pepper Potts, Tony's fiancée. Or maybe his wife?

"Hi Peter," she said in a pleasant voice that Peter immediately liked, "I'm Pepper."

"Good morning," said the boy blushing.

"Are you hungry?"

"A little" shyly admitted Peter.

"In that case, let's go to the kitchen" saying this she extended her hand to Peter, who grabbed it and went with her to the elevator. Tony followed right behind them.

Entering the elevator Pepper called out:

"To the penthouse FRIDAY." Looking at the ceiling.

"Hm?" asked a confused Peter.

Tony giggled.

"FRIDAY is my artificial intelligence. You know what it is, right?"

Peter dipped in agreement and showered Tony with questions about FRIDAY.

"Or perhaps FRI would like to introduce itself?"

"Yes, sir," came a voice from the speakers in the ceiling. "Welcome to you, Mr. Parker. It is a great pleasure to welcome you to Avengers Tower."

Wow! - exclaimed Peter delighted.

He had always wanted to build an artificial intelligence! He didn't even know that Mr. Stark had built such a complex system. Peter had another reason to admire the man.

Peter's thoughts were interrupted by a quiet bell, announcing that they had reached the right floor.

Pepper got off the elevator, followed by Peter and Tony.

The house was huge. There was a wooden staircase in the middle, a living room on the left, a bathroom, some rooms that Peter hadn't yet determined what they were, while on the right was a kitchen with a dining room, another living room and a terrace outside.

Peter had no idea how someone could live in such luxury. Who was cleaning all this?

"What do you think? Do you like it?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Peter exultantly.

"Then follow me, we'll give you something to eat," said Tony.

They entered a large kitchen with silver and black cabinets and oak floors.

Tony opened the silver fridge and looked through it for some time, trying to assess what was fit to eat and what was definitely not. For a billionaire, he had a surprisingly empty fridge.

"I have this: ketchup, two eggs, cheese..." at this point he sniffed the cheese "or actually no, this cheese is definitely not edible."

Peter giggled. Tony was so funny.

"Are you allergic to something, Peter?" Pepper asked.

"Hm, I don't think so."

"Good. Can there be fried eggs?" asked Tony leaning out of the fridge.

"Yes, I'll have some, please."

Pepper smiled at the boy's well-bred.

"Alright" said Tony pulling out a frying pan.

***

After Peter ate, the two boys returned to the lab, where Tony lectured Peter on the rules of the lab.

"...You can't go in here without an adult present. Don't touch any substances without asking. It can be dangerous for you. If something happens to you or you feel unwell you must tell me immediately (although FRIDAY would have warned Tony anyway). Has anything so far been misunderstood or do you have any questions?"

"No," said Peter wearily.

He didn't know there would be so many rules. Just like at school.

"That's great. Let's get to work. Want to see some chemistry experiments?"

***

Peter had the best time of his life. Mr. Stark was so intelligent and funny. He was understanding and caring. He was the person May could not be.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end someday. It was already getting to 7 p.m. when Tony asked Peter if he had to go back. He didn't want to ask the kid to leave or anything. He was having a really good time with him.

For the first time in a very long time, he felt that someone was keeping up with him in the lab. But by the time the kid got home it would be late, and Tony wanted the boy to get some sleep.

"I think I really should go back now. Auntie will be worried."

This was not entirely true. May never cared if Peter was home. It was fine as long as Peter didn't bother her.

"I'll drive you back," said Tony grabbing the keys to his Audi.

They went down to the garage, and Tony opened the passenger door, waiting for Peter to get inside.

"Yyyy, Mr. Stark," said Peter timidly.

"Yes Pete? Why don't you get in?"

"My aunt says I can't sit in the front."

"You can't?" - asked Tony confused. But what did he know about children? "In that case, you sit in the back."

"I don't have a car seat either."

"Don't worry. This one time you will go without, okay? Next time I'll buy you a proper one."

"Okay"

The kid really needed a car seat, because he could barely see what was outside the window.

Tony drove very carefully, talking to Peter about his plans for tomorrow. Once they arrived in front of Peter's house (FRIDAY he had to check, because Peter's description didn't show the address) Tony said he would go in with him to discuss some things with his aunt.

During the car ride, Tony learned that she was the one Peter was living with. Peter was a little scared, but didn't let it show. He didn't know if his aunt was drunk. He was afraid that this was what might have happened.

"What floor do you live on?"

"On the seventh."

Soon they were at the door, and Tony knocked. After a while, Aunt May opened it for them with a fake smile on her face. At least she wasn't drunk.

"Peter! Here you are at last, how was your day darling?"

"Good auntie, but I'm going to bed."

"Sure honey, remember to brush your teeth!" 

"And you must be ..."

"Tony Stark," introduced Tony with a smile. "Peter is a very smart boy, and I choose him as my personal trainee," May let out an exclamation of delight. "Of course, if you don't mind. I would like also to discuss legal issues, and to determine which days Peter could come to the laboratory." 

"Of course, do you wanna come in Mr. Stark? I'll make a tea."

Chapter Text

"Well, let's recap. Peter comes to the tower on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays."

"That's right," said May eagerly.

"He comes at 1 p.m., after lessons. I help him do his homework for half an hour. After that, we work until 3:30 p.m., then lunch and an hour's rest. From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. we work again. A half-hour dinner, then I drive Peter home. Does such a plan suit you?"

"Yes, that would be great."

"My personal bodyguard will be waiting for Peter after class. He will bring him straight to the tower. I heard that Peter rides in a car seat."

"Yes, I'll give you his car seat. We don't have a car anyway."

"No need, I can buy a new one, it's no problem."

"Peter is attached to this car seat, I think it will be better for him."

"I understand..."

"What about the money issue?"

Tony looked at her with surprise. He didn't know that she was that greedy for cash.

"Two thousand will be transferred to your account every month."

"That much!?" May exclaimed exultantly. Her eyes lit up like never before.

"Yes, Peter is a smart boy, and I believe that in the future under the right guidance he will be a great inventor."

At that moment Peter ran into the living room. Tony smiled when Peter climbed on May's lap. May uncertainly put her hand on Peter's stomach holding him down.

"Mr. Stark!" the little one screamed "Do you want to see my toys?"

"Of course," Tony smiled at the child and took him by the hand.

Peter led, or rather pulled Tony to his room. It was a small room with blue walls, oak furniture and toys on the floor.

There weren't too many of them, but they were still impressive. Peter lightly pushed Tony onto the bed, and he understood the message and sat down.

"Here are the soldiers," Peter said proudly, sticking the figurines right under Tony's nose.

"Take it easy kid," laughed Tony. "Move them back a little, because I can't see anything."

Peter moved the figurines slightly away and Tony squinting said:

"Wow, these are really cool toys. Will you bring them to the lab sometime so we can play together?"

"Yes!" shouted Peter jumping up and leaning over for more toys. "And here I have Lego."

"Do you build according to instructions or do you create the sets yourself?" Tony got into character.

He really enjoyed such a simple conversation with a boy, he thinks that's what he was missing.

"Um, by myself. I recently built an Avengers tower!"

"Yes? And are you a fan?"

"The biggest," said Peter pointing how high with his hand.

Tony laughed at the kid's childish behavior.

"If you want I will introduce you to the Avengers someday."

Peter's jaw dropped.

"EVEN WITH CAPTAIN AMERICA?!"

"Especially with him. I'm sure you will be a perfect match. young children and old people have a lot in common. Naps, diapers...
- I no longer wear diapers. And have been for several years" Peter said proudly.

"I'm just teasing you kid. Then what other toys do you have?"

***

"Are you Peter Parker?" asked a man in a black suit and tinted glasses.

Peter had finished his lessons and, as promised, Tony's chauffeur was waiting for him. Whatever that means.

"Yes, it's me," muttered Peter shyly.

"I'm Happy Hogan, kid. Will you come in by yourself or I have to help you?"

"I can do it myself," said Peter, although he was sad that Tony did not personally pick him up.

Peter walked around the car, to the right, opened the door and looked inside.

Inside it was very nice, clean and modern. Bright seats lit up the room, and on the right seat was his car seat.

"Where did you get my car seat from?" Asked an exultant Peter jumping into the seat.

"Your aunt handed it over to Tony."

Peter tried to buckle himself in, but it wasn't working out for him. Always Aunt May buckled him in, and now he didn't know how to do it on his own.

Suddenly Mr. Happy appeared in his doorway lifting him from the seat with one hand and rearranging the straps with the other. Then he put Peter on the seat and said:

"Isn't it better now?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome kid," said Mr. Happy putting Peter's limbs in the right places.

Then he grabbed the strap between his legs and connected it to the top two so that Peter could not now slip out of the seat in any way.

When they arrived at the tower Peter gleefully wiggled his legs until Happy opened the door for him and unbuckled him from the seat. Tony was already waiting for him in the garage.

As soon as Peter jumped out of the car he immediately hugged the kid. They rode the elevator upstairs, where Peter began his usual day as an intern.

Chapter Text

Tony and Peter got used to each other fairly quickly. They had a steady routine in which Peter would fill the silence with conversation and Tony would smile affectionately at him.

Tony didn't know when he became so soft inside. He only knew that some inner instinct had awakened in him, through which Tony looked forward longingly to his laboratory days.

In this way, it had been a week since Peter started his internship. May was suspiciously nice to Peter at first, but that changed after a few days.

Peter came home from school tired, and instead of starting his homework immediately, he went to bed. After four hours, he was snapped out of his slumber by May, yelling at him because "he was lazy."

Rather needless to say, his sleep schedule was completely disrupted, causing him to stay up all night. May punished him for this by spanking him and beating him on the back.

She cleverly targeted places that were easily covered. Peter cried all night and was terribly tired at school. His only consolation was that today he would meet Mr. Stark.

Happy, as usual, picked him up after school and, seeing the boy's depressed mood, discreetly informed Tony that the boy was sad. Tony was a little concerned, but decided to find out what happened to his little boy by himself.

As soon as Peter stepped out of the elevator he immediately noticed the kid's watery eyes.

"Are you feeling well, Pete?" asked Tony in a gentle voice that was meant only for Peter.

"Yes" the boy nodded "I'm just tired."

"Tough night?" joked Tony.

The boy walked terribly stiffly, as if he was in pain.

"Sort of," sighed Peter putting his backpack down on the chair.

"How about cutting the work a little short today and playing with toys instead?"

Tony bought Peter a brand-new little toy car when he found out that Peter didn't have a single one of those. The boy was entranced, although at first he was ashamed to accept the expensive gift.

"Yes!" exclaimed an overjoyed Peter, and the smile returned to his face.

Tony congratulated himself inwardly and sat down together with Peter on the carpet that was the race track.

***

They played for another hour, until finally Tony decided to make Peter something to eat. The boy himself didn't say anything, but FRIDAY reminded him not to starve the child.

For that hour Peter's mood improved considerably and he was again a happy boy who was carried all over the lab.

Tony decided that he would leave Peter alone for a while, and maybe he would get tired, go to sleep, and then the kid would be 100% himself. It would have been a great plan if certain Avenger wouldn't be just heading their way...

***

Steve entered Tony's lab whistling. He heard loud ACDC music, so he knew the billionaire was here.

"Tony!" he called out from the doorstep.

No one answered him.

"FRIDAY, turn down the music please."

"Alright, Sir."

The music quieted, and Steve began to look around in search of the man.

"Tony! Are you here?"

Steve noticed out of the corner of his eye movement behind one of the tables.

"Tony, why are you sitting on the floor.... Wait, who are you?"

Steve saw a little boy with eyes wide open and a mouthful of surprise sitting on a carpet with a pattern of cars. The boy was holding a car in one hand and had a teddy bear in the other.

His clothes were a little too big, and his pants were all dirty from probably some oil. He stared at Steve not really knowing what to do. Steve thankfully broke the awkward silence.

"I beg you to tell me you're not Tony, who messed up the invention and got rejuvenated."

Peter giggled.

"No, I'm Peter."

Steve tried to be the adult in the room, but it was extremely difficult.

"Hey Peter, will you tell me what you're doing here?"

"I'm playing" the boy shrugged his shoulders and went back to playing.

Steve knew he wouldn't be able to do much, so he decided to find Tony.

"And do you know where Tony is?"

"He went to the kitchen."

That was already something. The blond combed his hair with his hand.

"And he left you here alone?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders again.

"Aunt May does it all the time," Peter muttered under his breath. He didn't know Steve had super-hearing.

"How old are you, Peter?" Steve wondered if Peter was Tony's unplanned pregnancy with some model.

"Eight!"

"Oh man!" thought Steve. It was highly likely that Peter was Tony's biological child.

"When did Tony leave?"

"Um, 40 minutes ago?"

"FRIDAY?"

"10 minutes ago, Sir."

Steve decided that Tony would go back to Peter anyway, so there was no point in looking for him somewhere. He might as well have stayed here and waited for Tony to graciously show up.

"Can I play with you?"

Peter started jumping up and down on his butt, as excited children did, and handed him one of the cars.

***

"Ready for a snack and a nap, kiddo?" Asked Tony as he entered the lab. "Later... STEVE?!"

"Hi Tony," said Steve from the position he was currently in.

He was lying on his side on the soft carpet supporting his head with his hand. In his other hand was a toy car, and right next to him sat Peter joyfully waving to Tony.

"Tony, why don't you explain to me who your young friend is."

"He's my intern, Cap."

Steve raised his eyebrows. This time Tony turned to Peter:

"Petey, do you know who this is?"

Peter shook his head sadly.

"This is Captain America."

Peter looked up to Steve.

"Call me Steve, kid."

He extended his hand and Peter shook it. At least he was well-mannered, Steve noted in his mind.

"He doesn't look the same."

Tony snorted.

"What they show on TV is not always true. If you'll be polite, maybe Cap will let you see his suit someday. Truly ridiculous is this suit. Did you know that if Steve wants to pee he has to take off..."

"Tony, enough of this!"

"Right, eat Peter," said Tony putting a plate in front of the boy.

When Peter ate the food prepared for him (under the watchful eye of both men, since he was much too thin for his age), Tony led him to the couch, where he took off the kid's shoes, which were increasingly rubbing his eyes, and helped him lie down.

Peter sighed contentedly, to which Steve and Tony smiled. Steve handed Tony a blanket, which would keep Peter warm and cuddly.

"Sleep well, little one. I'll wake you up in two hours." Peter smiled and fell asleep.

***

Tony summarized Peter's story to Steve while the kiddie was sleeping. Steve glanced anxiously at Peter from time to time.

"And he just falls asleep like that? Isn't he excited about the place?"

"Steve, Peter is still a little boy. His brain is taking in a lot of new information and his body is growing, so it's normal for him to have a nap sometimes."

"But why you take exactly him? He is only 8 years old."

"He was the smartest of all the trainees. You should have seen the faces of the others when they saw who took their place."

Suddenly FRIDAY interrupted their conversation.

"A call from Thadeuss Ross, Sir. He seems to be very irritated."

Tony and Steve looked at each other uncertainly.

"Answer FRIDAY."

"Tony Stark" began Ross without greeting.

"I am also sorry to hear from you," said Tony gruffly.

He couldn't help it, this man was annoying him just by breathing.

"We need to talk, because apparently you seem to think that you can make a circus on the streets with impunity without any consequences..."

"If you haven't noticed yet I don't think anything. I am doing what I want to do, and you are not able to stop me."

"Do you want to find out Stark!?"

***

Peter was awakened by screams, which made him think he was home and started crying. The screams stopped immediately.

"Hey, Petey. It's all right," said a familiar voice.

Peter opened his eyes and noticed Tony. He breathed a sigh of relief knowing that he was not at home and was safe.

"I'm sorry we woke you up," cooed Tony picking up Peter and sitting down on the couch, holding the boy in his embrace.

"It was scary," wept Peter wiping his tears on Tony's shirt.

Surprisingly Tony was not disgusted at all. He himself was surprised.

"I know Petey, I'm terribly sorry, hug your teddy bear for consolation" Tony sent a murderous look at the combination with Thadeuss Ross, who raised his voice waking the boy.

Yes, he was looking at FRIDAY, not the real Ross.

"Hey, Peter," said Steve approaching the couch with a smile written on his face, "do you want to see my shield?"

"May I ?!" exclaimed the happy boy.

"Sure."

Steve left the lab for a while. At that time Tony ended the call and kept cuddling Peter to his chest, drawing circles on his back for reassurance.

It worked. Peter relaxed and by some miracle warmed up, making him feel much better. Tony also whispered some words of comfort to him in Italian. Something that sounded like "Tesoro," but Peter wasn't sure.

Finally, Steve returned with a shield. Peter got off Tony's lap and ran up to the Captain. Steve held out the shield toward Peter so he could touch it.

Peter squealed with happiness and took it in both hands. The shield was so large that only Peter's head was visible from behind the shield. Tony and Steve burst into laughter at this sight, and Tony told FRIDAY to take pictures.

A few hours later, unfortunately, Peter had to go home. Tony didn't know why, but he had to bribe the boy to get out of the car.

Why was he so reluctant to go home? Tony thought it was because he really liked the tower and with that thought he drove away.

Chapter Text

A day later, when Peter came home from school he immediately noticed that something was wrong.

The house was suspiciously quiet and Aunt May didn't open the door for him when he knocked. Fortunately, he had the keys.

"Aunt May, are you home?" called out Peter from the doorstep.

"Where have you been? I thought you were in bed," May looked at him with bloodshot eyes, and held a beer in her hand.

Tears came to Peter's eyes at this sight. Mr. Stark never drank with him, and his aunt always brawled after alcohol.

"I have internship, remember auntie?"

"Ah yes, that whole internship thing of yours."

After a moment of silence, Peter spoke up:

"Aren't you going to ask how my day went?"

"Eh, I'm sure it went well. You are a child, what could be wrong with your life?"

Peter felt like answering, "you," but refrained in time. He knew that he would be punished for it.

"Never mind, get off already. And that I won't see you here again today."

When Peter was about to leave for his room and cry into his pillow May stopped him and said:

"Tomorrow is Friday, but I have to stay at work overnight. Can you manage on your own?"

"I'm afraid to stay alone," howled Peter mournfully.

"Don't be a baby, you can handle it."

"And can't I stay at Mr. Stark's? I'll be there on Saturday anyway."

"Mr. Stark must be tired of your presence. Don't be pushy, give him a break from you."

"Fine" deep down Peter was pained by the fact that he was imposing on Mr. Stark. He thought the man liked him, but as it turns out it was different.

Peter dragged himself to his room, grabbed his Iron Man pajamas and went to wash up.

He had to wash his hair today, so he needed May's help, which was a problem because he really didn't feel like dealing with her. After a while, he overcame his fear and called out to May.

As you can guess May was not thrilled. She entered the bathroom staggering and looked at the boy with pity.

"Can't even wash your hair? What will become of you? Will you always be such a cripple?"

At these words Peter began to cry. He was so tired after today and just wanted someone to comfort him and let him sleep.

"Don't sob anymore, because in a moment I will give you a real reason to cry."

It only made the sobbing worse.

"I SAID ENOUGH!" May shouted and approached Peter in the bathtub.

Peter automatically backed away. At that moment he was so afraid of aunt May. As it turned out later: rightly so.

May grabbed Peter by the hair and pulled him back.

"Ow!" Peter screamed through his tears.

Aunt May held him so tightly that he felt her pull out some of his hair.

"I'll wash your hair, but just so you know, this is the last time. Grow up!" After these words, May pushed Peter forward until he dipped his head under the water.

For a while he drowned, but soon May pulled him out.

"There. Washed. What is being said?"

Peter, through crying, couldn't put a sentence together.

"Thank you, thank you..."

"You are such an ungrateful brat," May grabbed the boy's wrist in a crushing grip.

She held him tightly enough that he would surely be left with bruises, but weakly enough not to break anything. Then she grabbed the boy under his arms while pulling him out of the tub, wrapped him in a towel and handed him his pajamas.

When Peter entered the room May was already ready to give him a decent spanking for disturbing her. This went on for a good 20 minutes.

May put Peter over her knee and gave him as many spankings as he deserved, viz: 15 for stupid questions, 30 for having to help him with such a simple activity and another 30 for crying like a baby.

Peter was exhausted both mentally and physically. He had been up all night because he couldn't sleep on his stomach, and if he lay on his back or side his butt hurt.

***

He had a bad day at school because Flash teased him and he fell asleep in class. The teacher was not thrilled.

After class, Happy picked him up and drove him to the tower. Fortunately, Peter put on a fake joy on his face, so that Happy didn't skimp on the fact that Peter was devastated.

"Isn't that my favorite little trainee?" exclaimed Tony cheerfully as Peter stepped out of the car.

Tony could have waited for Peter to come in the elevator, but he was too excited about meeting the kid to wait.

Peter wrapped his arms around Tony's neck, and Tony lifted Peter onto his hip, holding one hand under the boy's buttocks and massaging his back with the other hand.

At the gesture, Peter laid his head in the bend of Tony's neck and sighed contentedly.

Tony carried the kid to the lab, sat down on the black couch and planted Peter in his lap, facing him.

"How was your day, kiddo?"

"Good," Peter replied, to which Tony muttered unconvinced.

Perhaps he noticed the kid's blackened eyes or how weak he sounded. Tony started bouncing his leg in a comforting gesture.

"Are you hungry?"

Peter nodded at which Tony rose slowly from the couch, still carrying the child, and led the boy into the kitchen.

"Can there be Lasagne, Petey?" asked Tony while planting Peter at the kitchen island.

"Yes!" Peter exclaimed joyfully and raised his hands in the air.

He loved Lasagne, and Tony had the original Italian recipe. Yummy.

"Wait, what do you have on your hand?" Asked Tony suspiciously, as something caught his attention.

"Hm?" asked a confused Peter looking at his wrist.

"Not this one, the other one," Tony grabbed the wrist and exposed the sleeve of a frayed sweatshirt, under which was a huge bruise in the shape of a hand. "Who did this to you?"

"No one" Peter swallowed saliva, which made Tony know that the boy was hiding more than he appeared to be.

"Tell me, or else I'll call your aunt and tell her everything."

"No," wailed Peter mournfully. "I'll tell you."

"Well, tell me then."

"There's a kid at school named Flash who's jealous of my internship, and sometimes he gives me a hard time."

"Do you hand him a beating back?"

"Y-yes," howled Peter, not very convincingly. "We had a fight yesterday."

"I know you're lying. I'm calling your aunt," said Tony pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"NO! Mr. Stark, I am telling the truth. As proof, I can show you that aunt May knows about it!"

"How?"

"I got grounded and spanked," Peter hung his head defeated.

It wasn’t entirely true, but it was a believable excuse.

“FRIDAY, scan the kid. We’ll see in a moment if he’s telling the truth.”
While he spoke, Tony handed Peter lunch and cutlery.

“Don’t cut yourself,” Tony joked. “That’s the last thing we need.”

A moment later, a voice from the ceiling spoke:

“There is indeed a bruise on the boy’s wrist and redness on both buttocks. A soothing and pain-relieving ointment is recommended.”

“Hm, order it, please.”

“You already have it in the building, Sir.”

“Yeah? Where?”

“Captain Rogers has one in his first-aid kit.”

“Wonderful, we’ll swipe the old man’s ointment and send it home with you. Ask your aunt to put it on the redness.”

“That cannot wait, Sir,” FRIDAY replied.

“What? What do you mean it can’t?”

“When the child returns home, it will be uncomfortable enough that even the ointment won’t help. It is recommended to start as soon as possible.”

“Alright, alright, I’m going. Can you manage two minutes on your own?”

“Yes.”

Tony stepped into the elevator and went down to Steve’s floor. He didn’t like that May had spanked Peter. Personally, he would never raise a hand against the boy, but it wasn’t his place to judge others.

Steve wasn’t on his floor, so Tony took the ointment without asking. He was a little grossed out that half the tube was already gone. How much injury could Steve possibly have on his backside!?

When Tony returned to the penthouse, Peter was already standing by the elevator.

“Uh, do you know how to do this?”

Peter shook his head.

“That’s what I thought,” Tony sighed. “Alright, I’ll help you, though this is not something I’ll be proud of in the future.”

“Okay,” Tony said once he had led Peter to the bathroom and gotten to work—until a male voice interrupted him.

“Tony, are you here?”

“In the bathroom,” Tony called back.

A moment later Steve appeared in the doorway.

“So that’s what you needed my ointment for.”

“Steve!” Peter called out happily.

“My favorite kid!”

“Honestly, Steve, it’s kind of gross that half the tube is already used.”

“You don’t think it’s just for buttocks, do you!? Did you even read the instructions!?”

“Possibly.”

“Tonyyy, you’re killing me.”

“Well, done,” Tony announced as he washed his hands in the sink.

“So, how about we watch a movie?”

***

After the movie "Cars", which the three boys watched, it was time to say goodbye. Peter fell asleep during the movie on Tony's lap.

It was so cute that Tony immediately had FRIDAY take a picture. Now, unfortunately, Tony had to drive Peter home.

He decided not to wake the boy, because who knows when he slept well last time. He only woke him up when they were outside Peter's apartment building.

"Hey, Petey, it's time to wake up. Auntie is waiting for you."

"She's not waiting," said a sleepy Peter.

He couldn't help it, he was so tired that he had no control over what he was saying.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm staying alone tonight."

"Until tomorrow morning? For the whole night?" Tony wasn't an expert on children, but he knew that Peter was far too young to be left alone for the whole night and morning.

"Mhm, I'm scared."

Tony didn't know what to do in such a situation. This was something he completely didn't expect.

"How about we take some of your things and you stay in the tower?"

Chapter Text

"Mh" muttered a sleepy Peter.

"Shh, this will only take a moment," said Tony unbuckling Peter from his car seat and taking the boy in his arms.

Tony quickly closed the car and went to Peter's apartment to take everything the boy might need for a night in the tower. He had taken the keys out of Peter's backpack earlier, so he entered the apartment without a problem.

He closed the door behind him with his foot and looked around the apartment. It was somewhat cluttered, but hardly surprising considering that a child lives here.

"Hey, Pete, can you wake up for me for five minutes?" the man lightly massaged the boy's back.

"No, I'm still asleep," howled Peter.

Tony giggled slightly and began to gently toss Peter up and down, which after half a minute caused the boy to open his eyes.

"Tell me Pete what clothes you want to take and where you have them," asked Tomy entering Peter's room still with the child in his arms.

"In the dresser, bottom shelf."

"Sure. Here you have T-shirts," Tony looked inside. "Two are enough for you for tomorrow?"

Peter nodded in confirmation, so Tony grabbed the third one as well. Sorry very much, Peter got dirty suspiciously easily, and Tony had no other clothes to change for the boy.

"Now the pants."

"The penultimate drawer."

"Okay, which ones do you want?"

And so they packed the whole bag together. Tony turned off the light, left the apartment and closed the door behind them.

***

Tony knew he shouldn't take the kid to the tower without asking. But what else was he supposed to do! May had left the little boy alone all night and morning!

As soon as he left, Tony made sure Peter was asleep in his car seat before telling FRIDAY to call May Parker.

By now Tony was so angry with the woman that he could barely concentrate on driving. May answered only the second time.

"Hello?" She said in a tired, rough voice.

"This is Tony Stark speaking."

"Oh, Mr. Stark," May revived. "Is Peter all right?"

Tony felt he had to bite his tongue to avoid saying something he would regret. He would have a moment of satisfaction, but then May would take Peter away from him, and that was the last thing he wanted.

"Actually, it's not right. I found out that Peter stays home alone for more than 12 hours. This is unacceptable, considering Peter's age."

"Peter is very mature for his age, Mr. Stark" she said. "I assure you that this would not be a problem for him."

"I'm sure it is otherwise. Anyway, I'm taking Peter to the tower. Do you have anything against it?"

"I don't want to impose," gasped May.

"Nonsense, I'll drop him off tomorrow at 7:30 pm and you'd better be home" Yes, Tony just threatened her.

May wanted to yell at Stark, because what the hell was he thinking deciding about Peter as his son! She was the one who had custody of the boy!

"All right, I agree, you can take him," she said after a moment's thought.

May knew that if she wanted part of the billionaire's cash, she had to make concessions sometimes. But Peter will answer for all the fuss! What an ungrateful brat...

"Wonderful, have a good night," said Tony sarcastically and rudely hung up.

"Who was that?" asked sleepily Peter rubbing his hand over his eyes.

"Nobody important, go back to sleep, because we have an amazing night ahead of us..."

***

"Here we are," said Tony, exiting the elevator with the boy on his hip.

What was disturbing was how much Peter fit against his chest. It was as if he was the one missing there. Tony shook off the thought and put Peter down on the couch.

He figured it was still early, so he would let Peter sleep for another half hour and then wake him up for two hours, because he was selfish and wanted to spend as much time as possible with the boy.

His peaceful half hour had to be interrupted by his own artificial intelligence.

"Boss, it seems that Ms. Natasha Romanoff wants to see you."

"She? What is she doing in the tower? No, FRIDAY, tell her I'm busy."

"It's too late Sir, Mrs. Romanoff is almost on your floor."

Tony bolted from the couch. After all, she couldn't see him with the kid in his arms, she would still think it was his! He quickly picked Peter up and ran with him up the stairs to the bedroom. He put him on the bed, covered him with a blanket and hurriedly returned to the living room.

However, it was too late. Natasha Romanoff was already exiting the elevator, her eyes narrowed suspiciously and her brow furrowed.

"Hello, Romanoff!" exclaimed Tony too happily to be considered normal.

"Why are you panting, Stark?"

"I was exercising."

"At home? After all, you have your own gym downstairs."

"Hm, yes, I exercised before, but..."

"Spare me the nonsense. What did you do?"

"Why does everyone immediately assume that I did something? A person can't just go from corner to corner out of boredom..."

"You never get bored, Tony. And if you do, it's bad for humanity, because then you usually build something radioactive. So, what's the point?"

"It's really not important, Nat. Besides, it's none of your business," Tony knew he was being a bit unkind, but on the other hand Nat was terribly nosy, and Peter was none of her concern.

Just as Nat was about to let go, she suddenly heard quiet footsteps on the stairs. She looked up and to her surprise there was a little boy standing at the top of the stairs looking at her curiously.

"And who are you?" Natasha asked in a soft voice.

At these words Tony turned on his heel and looked at Peter. Of course, he just had to walk in at that moment. Peter slowly made his way downstairs looking then at Tony then at the Black Widow.

"This is Peter, my intern," said Tony putting his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"Hello," said Peter shyly.

"I'm pleased to meet you. You're a bit young for an intern. How old are you?"

"8!"

"Oh boy, then you must be a genius to get Tony's attention."

Peter blushed, but didn't deny it. They chatted for a while more, until FRIDAY told everyone that Steve had made dinner and invited them to share the floor. Peter hurried to the elevator, so the adults had a moment to chat in private.

"You're somehow suspiciously quiet, Nat."

"What do you mean, Tony? I understand your decision."

"Wait, you don't think he's mine?"

"Come on, who would want you?"

"Thanks a lot Nat, really," said Tony rolling his eyes.

"Are you coming or not!" screamed Peter nudging the elevator door, so they ended the conversation.

***

"Steve!" shouted Peter and literally jumped on Steve.

"Pete!" Steve instinctively reached out to grab the boy and plant him on his hip. "How is my favorite little guy?"

"Hey, I'm not little!" exclaimed Peter with indignation.

"Hey Nat, Tony."

"Wait a minute. Why weren't you so happy to see us?" asked Tony jokingly. Steve rolled his eyes.

"I made dinner, so sit down at the table."

***

After dinner, Tony decided it was late, so Peter must get ready for bed. Tony barely dragged the boy upstairs. Peter and Steve apparently became friends, not wanting to leave each other's side.

"Sorry Petey, but you have to go to bed. If you want we'll come back tomorrow."

After much persuasion, Peter agreed to go upstairs. 

"Okay, but carry me" 

Tony chuckled as he carried the already half-asleep boy to bed, tucked him to sleep, read him a story and kissed his forehead."

"Good night, Petey. FRIDAY, watch over him."

Chapter Text

It's that day that turned out to be the turning point. As soon as Peter fell asleep, Tony went to his lab and changed FRIDAY’s coding. From then on, Peter became the priority. If FRIDAY ever had the option to save only one person, he would always choose the boy.

Tony hadn’t realized until now how much he needed a child in his life. Now, with Peter sleeping safely in the Penthouse, Tony could head to the Avengers’ common floor.

The moment he stepped out of the elevator, he noticed the chatter had died down. Standing in the lounge were Bruce, Bucky, Sam, Wanda, Rhodey, Clint, and of course Nat and Steve.

“Stark! Tony!” voices called out.

“Yes, yes. I’ve finally graced you with my presence. No need to thank me.”

A few people snorted.

“Where have you been?” Wanda asked.

“I’m a busy man. I don’t have all day for you.”

“You have certain responsibilities as Iron Man, Tony.”

“What are you getting at? What happened?”

“It’s about our next mission. This time we’re heading to Canada to destroy another HYDRA base. We need everyone, so you have to come.”

“When, Rogers?”

“We’re leaving in 20 minutes so we can be back home by morning.”

Tony didn’t like that. He had a kid upstairs he needed to take care of. He couldn’t disappear for the whole night and leave the boy alone. He wasn’t May.

“I’m out. I have other priorities.”

The mission could’ve been on any other day, but it had to be today. Typical Tony luck.

“I know it’s not the best timing, Tony, but—”

That’s when FRIDAY spoke up.

“Boss, young Peter woke up and it seems he needs you, Sir.”

“Tell him I’m coming, FRIDAY,” Tony sighed and headed to the elevator.

The moment he stepped out, he heard the boy crying, and seconds later he saw him. His hair was sticking out in every direction, his face was red, tear-stained and smeared with snot.

“What happened, sweetheart?” Tony asked softly, lifting the child into his arms.

“I had a nightmare,” Peter sobbed, wiping his eyes with his tiny fist.

Tony held him with one arm and gently rubbed his back with the other. Peter whimpered for a moment in despair, and Tony said:

“Shhh, I know, I know, Petey. Do you want to tell me what it was about?”

Peter shook his head.

“That’s the only way I can help you,” Tony crooned.

“Everyone died, a-and when I w-woke up, y-you weren’t there!”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. But everything’s okay now, you’re safe. Nothing happened to anyone. Do you want me to call your aunt so you can hear she’s safe?”

“NOO!” Peter wailed even louder.

He didn’t say it, but his aunt was the source of his problems.

“Alright, alright. How about I make you some warm milk and we watch a movie?”

At those words, Peter began to calm down, and Tony bounced him gently a few times. He set Peter on the couch, told FRIDAY to put on some cheesy cartoon, and went to heat up the milk. It always worked for Tony when he was a child.

After five minutes, the milk was ready. Tony poured it into a Winnie-the-Pooh mug (yes, he’d ordered it especially for Peter about a week ago).

Tony smiled internally at the adorable sight before him. Peter looked so tiny on the big couch in his cute white-and-blue checkered pajamas.

Tony sat next to him, adjusted the blanket, and handed him the milk. With animated Star Wars playing in the background and Tony running his fingers through Peter’s hair, the boy relaxed instantly, his eyelids growing heavy.

When only a quarter of the milk was left, Peter completely drifted off. Tony lifted him—one arm under his knees, the other supporting his back.

Quietly, he carried the boy upstairs and laid him in bed. As Tony crossed the threshold of Peter’s room, the boy stirred awake.

“Shhh, it’s okay, sleep, I’m here.”

The words worked like magic—Peter’s eyes closed again, and he was out. When Tony left the room, he addressed his AI.

“FRIDAY, next time notify me immediately about something like this.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Tony took the elevator back down to the Avengers’ floor expecting chaos. To his surprise, everyone was sitting calmly, as if they hadn’t been preparing for a mission forty minutes ago and Tony had hallucinated the whole thing.

“You’re not in a hurry?”

“Not really. We know you’re busy today, so we’ll go on Tuesday instead. Be ready, Tony.”

“Sure thing.”

“How’s Peter?” Steve asked, concerned.

“He’s fine now, out like a light. I just don’t know what exactly caused his nightmare.”

“He’s a kid, Tony. Probably saw a horror movie and now he’s dealing with the consequences,” Wanda said.

“Maybe,” Tony said, not thinking much of it—but eventually, he should’ve taken it more seriously.

***

“Wake up, Tony!”

“Oh, don’t jump on me, you little-.”

It was 7:00 a.m. Tony was brutally awakened by the 8-year-old who decided to land on his stomach.

“Jesus, kid, trying to break me in half?” Tony started tickling Peter, who burst into hysterical giggles and rolled onto his back.

“Tony, stop!” Peter laughed again.

“Oh, continue? Gladly!”

“No, Tony!” Peter squirmed from laughter.

Tony gave him a mischievous smile but stopped tickling. He was happy Peter called him by his name—it had taken long enough.

He looked around the dim room and told FRIDAY to open the curtains. With blurry eyes Tony looked at Peter’s joyful face and thought he’d like to be woken up by this boy every day. Well, maybe not as violently, but he definitely wanted Peter to stay permanently.

“Well, young man,” Tony said, picking Peter up and flipping him upside down with one hand, “since we’re both up, time for breakfast. Waffles?”

“Yes!” Peter giggled as he was carried upside down toward the stairs.

“Alright then, let’s get to work,” Tony said, placing Peter on the counter and reaching for flour.

***

Tony was exhausted. He’d slept three hours. Now he sat on one of the blue couches in the Avengers’ lounge sipping his fifth coffee of the day. Peter ran around playing with the Avengers while Tony tried to fight off a migraine.

“Tony, look!” Peter called again as Steve tossed him up near the ceiling.

“Careful, Steve,” Tony growled warningly, though he wasn’t angry—just worried. “If he slips even a little, I swear—”

“Relax, Tony,” Clint said, walking into the room with a coffee cup.

“Oh, you’re my savior,” Tony muttered, trying to snatch the cup.

“It’s for me,” Clint snorted, pulling it away.

Tony pouted and muttered something about ingratitude.

“Aah!” Peter squealed when Steve threw him even higher.

This time Tony smiled warmly. He knew that from the moment he brought Peter here, the Avengers loved him. Understandably—no one could resist that adorable face and sweet eyes.

Half an hour later, when Tony was more awake and aware of his surroundings, Peter sat beside him playing a PlayStation game with Clint, Steve and Bucky, while the others watched.

Peter was winning, though everyone was clearly letting him.

“I won!” he cheered, looking at Tony, whose eyes shone with genuine happiness.

*** 

All good things must end, unfortunately. That evening, Peter had to go home.

“I don’t want to!” Peter cried when Tony tried to lift him into the car.

There had already been pleading, attempts at bribery—nothing worked. For some reason, Peter didn’t want to go home.

“Petey, your aunt misses you. You have to go home.”

At those words, Peter cried even harder. Tony wanted to screw everything and keep the kid forever, but he knew the boy’s aunt wouldn’t like that.

“I’d love for you to stay, but you can’t. You have to go to your aunt.”

“No!” Peter went into a frenzy. He rolled on the cold garage floor, flailing desperately.

Tony tried very hard not to raise his voice and scare the child. He needed to stay in control.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart? Why don’t you want to go home? I promise you’ll come back here. You’ll come on Monday, remember?”

Peter sobbed even harder. Tony stood there awkwardly for a moment until Peter tired himself out and stopped kicking. Tony seized the moment, lifted him, put him in the car seat, and buckled him in.

“No!” Peter felt betrayed, but Tony quickly shut the door with the child lock, so Peter couldn’t do anything.

Tony’s heart hurt just watching the boy’s despair. He felt like a monster, but he knew he had to do this. As he got in the car, he ignored the screams and cries from the backseat, though it broke his heart.

After ten minutes on the road, once Peter calmed down, Tony decided they could talk. He explained gently why the boy had to go home and made many promises to make it up to him when he visited the Tower on Monday.

Only then did Peter agree to return home. As Tony walked him to the apartment—this time peacefully—he didn’t even realize the boy was stepping closer and closer to his abuser. 

Chapter Text

"Who has finally graced me with his presence?" Asked an exasperated May, the moment Peter entered the apartment.

Peter swallowed his saliva in fear. At least it wasn't that bad, since May was sober, so she would probably insult him this time mostly verbally rather than physically.

"I'm sorry, auntie, I didn't mean to misbehave, I was just really scared, and Tony suggested...

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING GOING WITH HIM WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!" May finally exploded. "I told you to stay home, and suddenly I get a phone call from damn Tony Stark "informing" me that you're not coming home!"

"I'm sorry..." Peter began to cry out of fear of his aunt's fury.

"That whole Stark is going to pay someday... You could have done more Peter! You could have refused to go with him! Because of you I came home yesterday tired after work, and there was no dinner waiting for me! Why do you think I keep you here, you useless...

Suddenly a knock sounded at the door. May looked suspiciously at Peter, as if it was his fault, and whispered to him that he should be quiet and wipe those fake tears.

May opened the door uncertainly, and there stood Tony Stark. Of course, who else could it be?

"Good evening May," Tony said in a rough voice.

He was still angry with May for her thoughtlessness in leaving Peter alone. And it's scary to think how the boy would have coped on his own with the nightmare he had during the night. And all the reinforcements? Who would help Peter wash up? Tony inwardly shuddered at these thoughts.

"Hello, Tony." May said in a surprised, slightly too coy voice. "What brings you here?"

"This" Tony pulled from behind his back a teddy bear he had recently bought Peter as a gift. It was a small brown teddy bear mascot with a blue shirt on it. "Peter must have left it in the car. Can I come in?"

May wanted to reply that this was not the best time, but she was interrupted by Peter, who threw himself into Tony's arms and wept loudly into his neck. Tony surprisingly picked Peter up and began whispering reassuring words in his ear.

"Take it easy kid. What happened? Did you miss your teddy bear? Is that why you are crying?"

"N-no! I missed you!" Peter wept even louder.

Tony's heart had just exploded from the rush of so many feelings. Now the man only knew that on his own he would not be able to let go of his little boy.

"Let's go to your room, I'll put you to bed, okay? You must be tired." Tony said from his current position in the stairwell hallway.

This statement was actually a question directed at May. Tony was asking for permission. All his life Tony has taken what he wanted, and now it turns out that on the one thing he cares most about he has to ask permission.

"Alright" May said, letting Tony pass inside, though she did so reluctantly.

In May's mind, Tony was now a brazen rich man. He was literally wearing a blazer now, although he didn't dress in any particularly elegant way. But on the other hand, she'd have a brat taken care without lifting a finger.

Tony entered the apartment with the child in his arms only sending May a forced smile, and otherwise not looking back. He immediately walked through the living room and from the hallway entered Peter's room closing the door behind them.

As the door closed Peter began to sob as hard as he could, while trying not to be too loud so May wouldn't hear him.

"Shh, it's all right buddy. We are the only ones here. You are safe" oh, how far from the truth that was." See, the teddy bear missed you. That's what he told me.

At this Peter laughed. Point for Tony.

"Teddy bears don't talk, Tony," laughed Peter through his tears.

"Yeah? Then what do you call it? Do you want to tell me that I'm delusional in my old age?"

Peter laughed and wiped his face of tears with his hand. Now at least he had stopped crying. Tony smiled at the kid and gently rubbed his back. When he was a little kid it always comforted him, so he thought it would help.

"All right kiddo, it's time for bed, come on, I'll help you wash up," said Tony getting up and taking the boy off his lap.

Tony took Peter's navy blue pajamas from the dresser and led the boy by the hand to the bathroom. The bathroom was close by, opposite Peter's room, so to both of their relief, they didn't have to see May again.

Tony quickly helped the boy get cleaned up and took him back to his room. Tony wanted to put the kid to bed, but Peter had other plans.

"Can we play, Tony?" asked the boy turning his sweetest gaze towards the man.

Tony couldn't say no to that sweet face.

"Well, okay, but only 10 minutes," said Tony after a moment's thought. Then he sat down on the floor by Peter's toys, from where he pulled the boy onto his lap causing the child to laugh. "What do you want to play with, buddy?" Tony started hopping the leg Peter was sitting on and leaned over to see the boy's face better.

"Hm, toy cars."

"Sure thing, kid."

Tony grabbed two toy cars. The first - the red one landed in the boy's hand, and the blue one fell to Tony. Before they knew it they had been playing like this for half an hour.

***

Tony realized they had been playing for too long when Peter started yawning and rubbing his eyes with his fist.

"Are you tired Pete?"

Peter nodded, so Tony lifted the boy from his lap and put him to bed. Once Peter was lying down, Tony covered him with a quilt and sat down next to the boy, grabbing a book from the bedside table.

"Do you want me to read you a story?"

"Mhm."

Tony looked at the title of the children's book. "Andersen's fairy tales." To Tony his mother always read them when he was a child, so he smiled at this memory and began to read " The Little Girl with Matches".

Tony was so engrossed in the reading that he didn't even realize that Peter was long asleep and he kept reading.

After some time, Tony finished reading the story and closed the book.

"How did you like it, kiddie?" He asked turning to the boy.

In response he received a quiet snore, at which he giggled.

"Sleep well, buddy" said Tony turning off the lamp, then did something unexpected. He leaned over and gently kissed the boy's forehead.

***

Peter woke up the next day as sleepy as ever. Suddenly memories of the last day came back to him. He remembered Tony reading him a fairy tale, and then.... he must have fallen asleep.

Peter slowly got out of bed, stretched and put on gray sweatpants, red socks, navy blue boxers and a red T-shirt.

He then dragged himself to the kitchen to make himself some cereal. Unfortunately, he didn't manage to avoid May as he had planned.

"Peter!" cried out Aunt May leaning against the kitchen counter, and Peter immediately regretted not staying in his room. "Don't you think that we won't go back to our yesterday conversation! That damn billionaire is sticking his nose into things that aren't his own, as usual! What did you say to him!? How do you think one of the richest people in this country will suddenly care about you!? Who would want you? He probably feels sorry for you because you are such a poor child," May said sarcastically.

Peter began to sob. He was used to insults from Aunt May, but she had never said it all in one breath before.

"You are such a manipulator! If I'll find out that you told Stark that I was beating you, I swear you will get such a beating that you will never walk straight again. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME SHITHEAD!?!

" Y-yes," wept Peter and turned to run to his room.

"Not so fast! First you have to pay for your behavior yesterday," said May and pulled out her belt.

***

It's hard to describe what exactly happened to Peter. Let's just say that he decided that he would never disobey Aunt May again and would try not to anger her. At the moment he was lying on his stomach on the bed, as his entire back, butt and legs were beaten. May was careful not to hit him in the face, so that no one at school would notice signs of domestic violence on him. Smart.

At the moment, Peter was crying as quietly as possible so the neighbors wouldn't hear him. He felt like running away from home and staying at Tony's forever. How could it be that good people like Tony didn't have children, but bad people like May did? Peter was left with only the hope that tomorrow he would go to the man's place, where at least for a while he would have the opportunity to experience normalcy.

Chapter Text

Peter looked forward to Monday after school with impatience. In fact, it was the only thing that kept his spirits up. In class, all he thought about was what he was going to do with Tony in the lab.

The last time Peter was in the lab, Tony showed him a chemistry experiment in which phenolphthalein dyed raspberry in alkaline.

Despite the simple experiment, the boy was delighted, and Tony enjoyed the child's laughter. If Peter had been a normal trainee Tony would have gone straight to the specifics, but frankly for now he was afraid to show the 8-year-old boy experiments with acids, explosives or flammable substances.

Tony made the boy wear protective goggles, gloves and a coat for safety anyway when they worked on chemicals. Just in case. Well, okay, maybe also because the boy looked adorable in such an outfit.

At the sight of Happy's car, Peter started hopping on his toes excitedly, then let himself run across the parking lot to the black Audi.

The boy opened the door, jumped into the back seat, closed the door behind him, dropped his backpack and raised his eyes. To his surprise, behind the sterring wheel was not Happy, but it was...

"Tony!" shouted the delighted boy squeezing between the seats and hugging Tony from behind.

"Hey kiddie" laughed Tony and pulled Peter forward so as to pull him into his lap. Peter giggled.

"What are you doing here? Did Mr. Happy get sick?" Said Peter and snuggled into Tony. Not that the boy wasn't happy. He was just surprised.

"No, I thought, I'll pick you up today."

Peter smiled happily.

"Does that mean I can ride in the front?" Peter asked hopefully.

"Nice try, kid, but I'm afraid regulations are regulations. How about stopping at an ice cream shop on the way instead?"

"Yes!" exclaimed an exultant Peter.

Tony began to feel the boy's joy, so he turned on the radio, put Peter in the back and set off in the direction of the ice cream shop.

"How was school, Pete?" Tony asked while glancing at the kid with his mirror.

"Fine, the Spanish teacher complimented me on my good accent, and the math teacher said I had potential. Whatever that means.

"Congrats buddy, my pride is bursting."

Peter beamed at these words and joyfully started waving his legs. Tony smiled feeling love for the boy. He didn't know why, but he loved this kid more than anyone else, even though he had known him only a short time.

***

"It will always remain a mystery to me how you manage to get all dirty from top to bottom," laughed Tony as Peter ate his ice cream and they rode the elevator to the lab.

Peter shrugged his shoulders, but smiled.

"I guess it can be considered a talent," Peter said innocently, which caused Tony to laugh.

The elevator doors opened and Tony put his hand on Peter's shoulder leading him out of the elevator.

They approached the lab table. Tony pushed back a chair so Peter could sit down, then sat down next to him himself.

"So what, let's get to work. I'm not paying your aunt to just you sleeping here," joked Tony, but Peter shuddered at the mention of his aunt. After a moment, seeing that Tony was joking, the boy reciprocated the smile.

***

"Petey" Tony broke the silence in the lab. They had been working for two hours putting the parts of the new engine together, and Tony felt that they both needed a break.

"Yeah?" Asked the boy glancing curiously at Tony.

"We could use a break for a while. How about going down to the interns labs?"

"Yes!" exclaimed an exultant Peter jumping up on the spot and running to the elevator to press the button.

The elevator doors opened immediately. Tony stepped inside behind the boy with an affectionate smile and ruffled his hair.

"It's been a long time since you've been there, huh?" asked Tony while arranging the boy's hair after he ruffled it.

"Mhm," confirmed Peter trying to escape Tony's hands, which were only making more and more pitiful on his head.

The elevator doors opened, revealing dozens of interns.

"Give me a hand. You probably don't want to get lost here." Said Tony warning the boy. He knew he had to be strict about safety.

He didn't want to lose the boy, because on this floor FRIDAY he wouldn't help him find him, and he knew that Peter had a tendency to move away when he was interested in something. Peter obediently grabbed his hand.

"Let's perhaps go there first," Tony pointed to a group of several students who were working on some kind of project.

As they came closer the murmur quieted. The silence was uncomfortable until Peter spoked up.

"Rob? Is that you? Hey, remember me?"

One of the interns leaned out.

"Peter? Hey! I was wondering how you were doing!"

"Hm, well, Tony and I are building an engine," he said, flexing his arm muscles to show that he was doing everything with his own strength.

The situation was comical, so everyone laughed. Peter didn't have much muscle development which also added to the comedy of the situation.

Tony rejoiced that Peter had such a good bond with these few trainees, so just by coming here he wanted to nurture it.

***

The next 1.5 hours were spent by the guys in the interns' labs in a cheerful group. After some time, Tony was tackled by his subordinate, who had a problem with the electrical wiring in one of the rooms, pulling the man away from the boy. Tony made a mental note to FRIDAY to call a professional.

Just as Tony was about to take a closer look at the problem Peter ran into the room.

"Tony, I have to pee!" threw out Peter pulling the man by the hand.

"We'll go in a while" said Tony with compassion looking at the child.

"But I have to now!" Peter stomped angrily, which proved to Tony that Peter was absolutely serious.

"Okay buddy, let's go now" Tony understood the urgency, so he grabbed the kid's hand and they ran towards the elevator.

They could have gone to the bathroom on this floor, but Tony wasn't sure where the toilet was located here. Instead, he chose the Penthouse, which would guarantee privacy.

"How is the situation FRIDAY?" Tony didn't ask the boy because he already knew the answer.

"The chance of making it on time is 42%."

Tony knew that if they hurried, they had a chance of making it in time. As soon as the door opened Tony didn't look back. He picked up the boy with his one hand and ran as fast as he could toward the restroom.

Fortunately, they made it in time. Tony breathed a sigh of relief sinking onto the couch. Who would have thought that a child could provide such entertainment.

***

"And for dinner, young sir, we'll go down to the Avengers floor, because Cap made a meal for everyone," said Tony coming over to Peter after they stayed in the Penthouse and played with toys for the rest of the day, picking up a boy.

Tony would never admit to even liking some of the toys.

He put his hands under the kid's armpits, then supported his butt with one hand and hugged his chest with the other. Peter threw his arms around the man's neck, and that's how they made their way to the Avengers floor.

As soon as they got there Peter kicked Tony lightly, thus letting him know to put him on the floor.

"I get it, restless boy," laughed Tony.

The moment Peter was on his feet, he immediately rushed towards the other Avengers.

"Steve!" He shouted hugging the man.

"Hi Petey, we missed you a lot," said Steve spreading his arms wide to hug the boy.

"Hey Pete," said Natasha from the couch where she was cleaning knives.

"Seriously Nat? Are you going to clean them now? Put them away before the kid gets them."

Nat rolled her eyes, but carried the knives out of the room.

"All right," said Tony, once they had greeted everyone. "We can eat, what's for dinner Cap?"

"What you see on the table Tony," muttered Steve with a wince.

"Let's get down to eating before it gets cold."

With that, Tony sat down in a chair. Next to him sat Peter, and everyone else sat down where there was an empty seat.

"So how is school going for you Peter?" asked Bruce. Classic Bruce, he always thought only about studying.

"Good," said Peter under his breath.

"Oh, don't be shy, tell everyone what the math and Spanish teacher said, if memory serves me right." Tony combed his fingers through the boy's hair. As usual, it was soft and fluffy.

In this way, dinner passed. After the meal, the Avengers sat in front of the TV watching Bucky, Sam, Clint and Peter playing some kind of racing game. The three men sat on poufs, while Peter sat on Tony's lap, resting his legs on Steve's thighs.

Tony rocked the boy lightly, because he knew the boy didn't want to go home, and that way he would be sleepy and wouldn't fight so much. This had wondering Tony for some time now. Why didn't the boy want to go home? What was going on in Peter's house? Tony knew he had to find out as soon as possible. Was May being strict? Maybe she wasn't letting him play with his toys? Tony didn't know.

Fortunately, 5 minutes later Peter began to shut his eyes, so showing the rest of the Avengers a sign to shut up Tony picked up the boy and hugged him to his chest. Peter began to moan quietly, so Tony tried to calm him down and repositioned his hand awkwardly poking at a particularly painful spot between his ribs.

"Ouch" cried Peter in his sleep.

"Shh, it's okay," whispered Tony bouncing the boy slightly. "You are safe."

"Tony, I think he's hurt," said Bucky, who noticed the grimace on the boy's face.

Tony leaned Peter slightly away from him to look at his face. Indeed, the way the boy crinkled his eyes and forehead left no doubt. Just what was wrong?

Tony began to watch the child turning him around in search of the cause of the pain. Suddenly, Tony lifted Peter's shirt revealing a series of bruises, the sight of which made him want to vomit.

Unexpectedly, Peter opened his misty eyes. So Tony spoke to the child.

"God, baby, who did this to you?" Tony wanted to cry. Peter was so small and delicate. How could someone hurt a child like that?

Suddenly Tony went pale, as he pieced together the facts and everything came together in a twisted way.

"Peter, is May physically abusing you?"

Chapter Text

"Peter. It's very important, that's why you have to tell the truth," Pepper said in a calm voice, leaning over the boy.

Currently, the three of them together with Tony were in the living room of the Penthouse. Peter sat on the couch while both adults leaned over him. When Tony discovered bruises on the boy's back he immediately took Peter upstairs to talk. He also called Pepper, who immediately arrived. They decided to approach it calmly so as not to frighten the child. They just needed confirmation from Peter to accuse May of child abuse.

Tony sat down next to the boy and put a reassuring hand on Peter's back, but didn't touch it too hard because the boy was bruised. He asked FRIDAY beforehand if immediate medical attention was needed or if it could wait. The AI replied that it was not that urgent, so they would only get down to it after the conversation.

When it was clear that the boy didn't want to say anything, Tony left for a while and returned with Peter's blanket and teddy bear. He handed the boy the teddy bear, which he gratefully accepted by cuddling into it. The adults exchanged glances. They both knew it wouldn't be easy. Tony covered Peter with a soft blanket and returned to his previous position cuddling him from the side.

When Peter was taken care of they could get to the point.

"Sweetie" Pepper began again, "this is the only way we can help you. I promise that you will be safe. You won't go back to May, we just need to be sure what happened. Do you think you are able to tell us?"

Peter nodded harder hugging his teddy bear and at the same time snuggling into Tony's chest.

"Aunt... she did some terrible things," began Peter in a low voice.

"Yes?" encouraged in a soft voice Tony, although internally he was boiling. He felt like strangling with his bare hands anyone who would ever hurt his child. Yes, his child. Tony, at this stage, was not afraid to admit that he recognized the boy as his son. "What was she doing?"

"She was hitting me and screaming."

"And did this happen often?" Pepper retrospectively took the initiative.

"Yes."

"Is that why you did not want to go home?"

"For me, the home is here" Peter began to cry and hugged Tony sitting down with his arms around the man's knees.

"Oh, baby" Tony's heart broke. Peter was such an innocent little creature. If Tony could, he would hide the boy from the whole world.

"That's enough for me Tony, I'm calling the police" Pepper straightened up and walked away pulling a phone from her pocket.

Meanwhile, Tony had the boy scanned FRIDAY and pulled out a previously prepared first aid kit.

"Report, FRIDAY," Tony ordered.

"Reported injuries: bruised back, bruised kidney, bruised buttocks, back of thighs and left thigh injury."

"Write up the report and send a copy to the lawyers associated with the case."

"Yes, Sir."

"Okay buddy" Tony turned to the boy. The injuries were more numerous and serious than he expected, so he decided to go for professional help. "Now I will carry you to the hospital wing so that a doctor can examine you. I'll be by your side the whole time, so don't worry, everything will be fine," at this point Tony was comforting himself more than the child.

Peter nodded and reached out his arms to cling to the man's neck. Tony gently lifted the boy, being careful not to hurt him, adjusted the blanket and teddy bear, then headed for the elevator.

Peter liked that Tony took care of him, but he was afraid of how Aunt May would react. Peter knew it was only a matter of time when he would return to May. The woman had custody of him, not Tony. The man could not keep the boy, no matter how much he wanted to.

"We are already here," Tony addressed the boy, but Peter was tired and just wanted to sleep, so he did not register what was being said to him.

"Hi Peter, I'm your pediatrician, what brings you here?" said a nice man in his 30s. Peter just sent him a tired look.

"It's okay" said Tony placing the boy on the bed. "I have a list of injuries for you..."

With that, Tony took the initiative as Peter fell asleep exhausted. Tony noticed that the child would fall asleep, so he started playing with his hair to make it easier for him. When the boy fell asleep Tony whispered an explanation of the situation to the doctor, who compassionately took to treating his patient.

Half an hour later, on his way out, Tony got a lollipop for Peter, which he will give him when he wakes up. Considering the torture the boy endured, he was a very brave patient. Tony carried Peter to his bed and told FRIDAY to inform him when he woke up. Tony himself could not go to sleep, he was fighting a war he had to win.

***

"Mr. Stark, we have submitted all the necessary documents, now the boy's aunt should be informed."

"Of course," Tony said to one of the lawyers, rubbing his bloodshot eyes.

"Sir, there are police waiting in the lobby who would like to talk to you."

"Let them in FRIDAY," Tony sighed, gathering up the documents and squeezing the lawyer's hand, thus leaving them, in favor of meeting the police officers.

Tony entered the Penthouse ten seconds before the officers arrived.

"Feel free to come this way," Tony directed them to his office. There was no need to say "good morning." The day was not good at all.

The policemen (a woman with blond hair and a tall man) followed Tony into his modern office. Tony indicated the visitors to a seat, then sat down behind the desk himself.

"Mr. Stark," the man spoke up first, "We have already received statements from both Ms. Potts and a recording in which the boy admits that he is a victim of domestic violence. Other officers have already arrested the boy's aunt, however, we would like to speak with Peter in private." Seeing that Tony was about to interrupt them he immediately added: "This is crucial in this case. Without this procedure, we will not move on. Besides, your artificial intelligence is so enhanced that we need to be sure that the recording has not been tampered with."

"All right," agreed Tony, albeit reluctantly. He would have to wake Peter up, but he had already been asleep for three hours, so it wasn't so bad" but I have a few conditions. First, I'll talk to Peter and explain everything to him so you don't scare him. And if Peter says enough, it's over."

"Of course, Mr. Stark," assured the woman, smiling understandingly.

So they headed to the boy's room. Tony ordered the policemen to stay in front of the door, going inside himself and closing the door behind him. The sight he found melted his heart. The 8-year-old was entangled in a quilt, his belly was exposed, his cheeks were pink from the heat and his hair was disheveled. A thin trickle of saliva dripped from his gaping mouth, and his long eyelashes rested on his cheeks. Tony felt bad at the thought of having to wake the kid, but he had no other choice.

"Petey," Tony whispered.

This had no effect, so he called out to the boy again, this time louder. Finally Peter began to wake up by turning on his side, facing Tony.

"Hm?" muttered the boy rubbing his eyes.

Tony sat on the edge of the bed pulling Peter up to a sitting position.

"The policemen came here to talk to you. Don't be afraid, they will only ask you about your aunt and I want you to tell the truth, okay?" Tony knew that Peter was afraid of his aunt.

"What if she hurts me even more?" Peter's voice trembled. Tony hugged him rubbing his back to reassure him.

"I'm Iron Man, remember?" The boy giggled. "I promise May won't hurt you again. You will never see her again, but you must tell the truth, even if it is unpleasant. When you're done I promise I'll be waiting outside the door, okay?"

Peter nodded, so Tony kissed him on the temple and stood up opening the door for the policemen.

"I will wait at the door."

"Thank you Mr. Stark," the man said, letting the woman pass the door and closing it behind him.

***

"Alright," the policewoman began, "I heard that you are Peter. My name is Alice, and this is Henry. Could you tell us what happened?"

Peter was frightened at first, but his fears passed with each passing minute. Both officers were friendly, making him feel safe.

Peter told them truth.

"Very well," said Henry writing down something after the boy's story. "And now I have this drawing of a boy, just like you. Could you point out in the drawing where your aunt beat you?"

Peter showed with his finger where exactly in the strange drawing.

"She avoided my face so no one at school would notice," Peter added carelessly. The officers exchanged glances.

"And could you show us the marks of a beating on your back?" Alice asked.

Peter rolled over onto his stomach exposing his shirt. Alice took some pictures.

"Oh dear," slipped out Henry. "We have one more question. The last one. Are you sure she was an aunt, no one convinced you to say so?"

Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Who else would do it?

"Yes, it was her."

"Thank you Peter, you are so brave. That would be enough, we will now talk to Mr. Stark. Bye Peter!"

"Goodbye!" cried the boy nudging the bear. It was not as bad as he thought. He only answered questions and was praised for really nothing. Now he was waiting for Tony to come to him.

"Mr. Stark, we no longer have any doubts. All the evidence and testimony we have, so that must be enough for today. There is only a small problem, because Peter, according to the law, should now go to a foster home. Unfortunately, you have no legal custody of the boy at the moment."

Tony felt as if someone had stabbed him in the heart. They couldn't take the boy away from him!

"Wait a minute" Tony tried to think rationally. "I have a document according to which Peter is doing his internship here. This means that his aunt agrees to Peter staying here, and since her parental rights have not yet been terminated, her decision is still valid." Tony was so happy at the moment that he had May sign the slip. Now all he has to do is file for custody of Peter to legally make him his son."

"It seems that the document is legitimate" Henry smiled "In that case, Mr. Stark, for the time being you receive custody of the child."

With these words they left the Penthouse, and Tony found himself in seventh heaven.

Chapter Text

Peter woke up the next day very early in the morning. It was 4:00 in the morning. Tony was just about to go to bed, so he wasn't too happy that the kid was awake. However, he didn't let it show by making them breakfast - delicious scrambled eggs and brewing coffee. So much for breaking the unhealthy habit of not sleeping for two nights. Suddenly Tony came up with a brilliant idea.

"FRIDAY, is anyone on the Avengers floor up yet?"

"Yes Boss, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes have returned from their morning run."

"Wait, wait, wait did they leave the tower to go for a run?"

"That's right."

"Pff, stupid," snorted Tony, "after all, we have a treadmill in the gym."

"It seems that fresh air has a good effect..."

"Never mind FRIDAY, tell them we're coming for a visit."

At these words Peter began to jump up and down with happiness that he would meet the Avengers. Tony told the boy to finish his breakfast, after which they went to Peter's room to get dressed.

"Which shirt do you want, Pete?" asked Tony holding a blue T-shirt with a shark drawn on it in his left hand and a green one with a drawing of the Hulk in his right.

"This one," Peter pointed to the blue T-shirt.

"That's fine. And the sweatpants?"

"Hm, the red ones."

"Boxer shorts?"

"Green ones... Or no. Blue ones."

"Socks?"

"White."

"All right," said Tony. "Get dressed and call me when you're done. I'll do the laundry in the meantime."

The boy nodded, so Tony went to the bathroom to put the laundry in the washing machine. 5 minutes later, he left the bathroom and went to the kid's room. He knocked and was met with a sight he didn't expect. Peter was standing by the closet in just his boxers trying to climb up to the top shelf.

"What's going on?" Asked a confused Tony. "Why didn't you get dressed Petey?"

"Young Sir was in the process of getting dressed when he was distracted by a toy on the top shelf. For safety reasons, I closed the closet blocking access."

"FRIDAY! Don't snitch!"

"Thanks FRI." Tony looked at the boy in disbelief. "Peter. You could have fallen. All you had to do was ask me. How do you even come up with such ideas?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders again trying to get into the closet.

"Okay, enough of that" Tony was tired and didn't feel like urging the boy to get dressed. "Come here, I'll dress you by myself."

"No. I'm a big boy," Peter stomped.

Peter was the complete opposite of a "big boy," which made Tony laugh a little.

"Oh no. You had your chance. Now I'm going to dress you and I don't want to hear a word of objection. If you're not polite, you'll go to bed early tonight." Tony tried to be understanding and patient with the boy, but lack of sleep was doing its job.

Finally Peter approached Tony raising his hands so that the man could put on his shirt.

"Smart boy," commented Tony. He was happy that he didn't have to argue with the child.

***

Peter let himself be dressed, after which they descended to the floor of the two super soldiers.

"Steve? Bucky?" called out Tony without immediately finding them.

"Tony?" called out Steve from the common kitchen. "Here I am. I wasn't expecting you... Ouch!"

Peter fell into Steve's embrace accidentally pulling a few hairs out of his head.

"Oh, Petey! How good to see you, we were so worried... "

"Do you want to see my new toys?" He was interrupted by the boy.

"Sure" Steve let himself be led by the boy to the carpet in the middle of the living room, while Tony explained the situation to him.

"Indeed Tony, you look awful. Go get some sleep, we'll take care of Peter, right?"

"Yeah!" Peter waved cheerfully to Tony as a goodbye.

"Thanks Steve. If anything happens, wake me up. Feed him and take care of him, or you know what, maybe, I'll stay..."

"No Tony. Go to sleep. I'll take care of everything, don't worry."

After prolonged persuasion, Tony let himself be persuaded. Of course, determining every detail, at which Steve rolled his eyes.

When Tony left, Bucky and Natasha entered the room.

"Hey, kid." called out Bucky. "Do you want to play chess? Have you ever played?"

Peter shook his head.

"I haven't played, but I want to!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"In that case, I'll bring chess. I'll teach you the basics."

***

Playing chess turned out to be a terrible idea. Why? Peter totally did not understand the rules.

"And can I go here?"

"No, as I said, the tower goes straight, not diagonally."

"Well, I'm going with this one."

"Peter, the black figures are mine. Yours are white."

"I don't like this game," said Peter in a weepy voice. "I don't want to play anymore!"

They just lost an hour of explenation.

"It's okay, you don't have to if you don't want to. Why don't we take a walk?" suggested Natasha.

"I want Tony!" exclaimed Peter wiping his eyes, which had begun to tear.

"Hey, honey, you are here for not too long. Are you sure? We can do something cool..."

"Toonyyy!" Peter stomped angrily.

"Okay, we'll take you to Tony," said a resigned Clint, who had arrived half an hour earlier.

"No, Clint. Peter must learn that he can't get everything he wants..."

At this point Tony stepped out of the elevator. He looked even more tired than before. He didn't say anything, just walked over to the crying boy, picked him up and gestured to the child.

"Thank you for taking care of him. We'll take a short nap and come back."

"Are you sure, Tony?" began Steve.

"Sure, Petey didn't sleep very well last night. Both of us could use a little sleep."

After these words, Tony left the room with the boy in his arms.

***

"Come on, baby, lie down and I'll cuddle with you," Tony tried to persuade Peter to fall asleep.

They were currently sitting on the couch, where Peter picked up every now and then because he needed something. First he was thirsty, then he was cold and so on. Tony tried to stay awake sitting down out of exhaustion.

Finally, the boy gave in and lay down hugging the teddy bear. Tony hugged the boy from behind so that Peter's back was against Tony's chest and covered them with a blanket.

"Tony..."

"Shh, go to sleep," Tony interrupted him. To calm him down, he started stroking Peter's hair, which caused him to relax.

Tony couldn't imagine how one could not love such a cute little kid. May screwed up and Tony hoped she would rot in jail for her actions. At the moment, however, Tony tried not to think about bad things. He had the boy in his arms, safe, able to protect him from the whole world.

5 minutes later, they were both asleep as if they had been killed. Apparently, the events of yesterday had made their presence known, but they could deal with it, because they stayed together afterwards and nothing could separate them.

***

"Good morning," Tony greeted the Avengers in his kitchen. He got up half an hour ago, while Peter was still asleep.

"Hey Tony. Is Pete asleep?" Clint asked.

"And what does it look like to you?" asked Tony sarcastically. "The one who wakes him up won't get dinner today," said Tony half-jokingly half-seriously.

The other Avengers occupied the couch talking in hushed voices or went to the kitchen to help with something.

Suddenly, Natasha stepped out of the elevator hooking the umbrella stand. In doing so, she made such a noise that Peter immediately woke up.

"Fuck," she cursed.

"Nat!" exclaimed Steve disapprovingly.

"Damn it, Nat," cried Tony from the kitchen. "We already know who is cooking for herself today."

Natasha rolled her eyes, but you can see that she felt sorry for the tired boy.

Tony walked over to Peter lifting him up. He couldn't help it, the boy was so cute.

"In a little while there will be dinner. How about we go to the lab later?"

"Yes!" Peter was fully awake.

When they sat down at the table everyone started chatting merrily about their business. Suddenly Clint began to delight in the food.

"Mm, Tony, this soup is so good."

"Sure it is, after all I made it by myself."

"Seriously, better than an orgasm."

"CLINT!" everyone shouted at the same time.

"What? It's good."

"You are so immature, really. You would think for a moment. Do you want Peter to start imitating you?"

Clint shrugged his shoulders, but reddened with embarrassment.

"Hm?" asked Peter hearing his name.

"Nothing, nothing, stay innocent," said Tony covering his ears for a joke.

Peter furrowed his eyebrows sensing the tense atmosphere.

"Tony, I'm done. Can we go to the lab?"

"Sure," Tony breathed walking away from the table.

Avenges could be immature animals sometimes.

***

The rest of the afternoon went quietly until the evening. Tony and Peter were sitting at their desks designing a new invention when Tony's phone rang.

"Tony Stark," Tony introduced himself, as the number was unknown.

"Good evening, Mr. Stark. This is Henry Grayson, the police officer assigned to the Peter Parker case. I wanted to sadly inform you that May Parker has escaped from arrest. She may want to contact the boy in some way, so please be careful. So far we couldn't track her down, so she could be anywhere at the moment. Please be very careful," he said.

Tony felt the phone fall out of his hands and shatter on the floor. Now Tony has to find May before she gets the boy.

Chapter Text

"Put this on Peter."

"But I don't want to!"

Tony sighed. For 2 minutes he had been trying to persuade the boy to put on a bracelet specially constructed by Tony. It contained a tracker and a button so he could call Tony at any time. In addition, it monitored vitals and contained FRIDAY for safety.

"You know very well that your aunt escaped from prison. We've already talked about it..."

"This is uncomfortable!"

"You haven't even tried it yet! Besides, that's the only way I'll know you're safe. Do you want me to worry?" Tony knew it was a manipulation, but he ran out of ideas on how to persuade the boy.

Apparently it worked, because Peter furrowed his eyebrows in thought, and finally agreed.

"Thank you," said Tony hugging the boy. He would never have thought that he would thank someone for something so trivial, but life likes to surprise. "What do you think? Do you like it?"

"Yes, it's fine" Peter moved his left wrist a little, the bracelet did not fall off or put pressure, so Tony did a good job.

"So what? Why don't we go down to the Avengers floor? The team misses you, and last time you spent how much with them? 1.5 hours?

Peter nodded his head.

"Yeah, I want to go" Peter jumped up several times in place, then ran to the elevator.

"Slow down" laughed Tony at the boy's antics. Tony didn't know where he had so much energy in him.

The elevator doors opened, so they went inside.

"Listen Petey, there is something else. You don't have a phone, do you?"

"No, Aunt May always said I would get one for my Communion."

"Well. That's what I thought," said the man, pulling out the latest Starkphone from his leather jacket pocket. "I'll give it to you, but know that it has a parental control on it, so no 18+ sites, we understand?" Tony raised his eyebrows.

Peter giggled at Tony's facial expressions.

"Yeah Tony."

"Okay, you have a daily limit of 2 hours set, so don't overdo it and get addicted," Peter laughed again. "You already have my number and all the Avengers' number entered, as well as Happy's and Pepper's. If there's anything that would bother you, that you need us or anything, call us."

"This is so cool!" Peter reached out for the phone. When he had it in his hands he started pressing on the icons of various apps to test them. The elevator doors opened on the Avengers floor, so Peter put his new phone in pocket in his pants.

"Petey!" shouted Clint at the sight of him. "How nice to see you, you too Tony."

Tony waved his hand, ruffled the boy's hair, then went to the kitchen to brew coffee.

"Hey," called out Peter hugging each Avenger.

"Peter, would you like to take a walk with us in the park" suggested Steve.

"Umm, sure. And can we get ice cream?" asked Peter hopefully.

"Sure, as long as Tony doesn't mind."

"Hm, yeah, sure." Tony was already pulling 3 hundred dollar bills out of his wallet and handed them to Steve, who accepted gratefully. "Take me a vanilla one."

"Aren't you coming with us?" asked Peter putting his arms around Tony's belly.

Tony looked down.

"I'm sorry Petey, I have some things to do. "Tony stroked the boy's back in comfort. "But when you come back we'll spend the rest of the day just the two of us. How does that sound?"

"Good," Peter smiled.

When Peter went to put on his shoes and jacket Tony took Steve aside to talk.

"Steve, watch out for him. I'm going to the authority to arrange Peter's adoption and finally end our problems. May will have her parental rights terminated.

"That's great Tony..."

"As you know, May has escaped from prison. Which means she might want to kidnap Peter. Keep an eye on him, I'm already taking a risk by letting you go out in such a public place," Tony was clearly worried.

"We will keep an eye on him, nothing bad will happen."

Tony looked at Steve, and the concern in his eyes diminished a bit.

"If anything happens, call me. Don't let me regret this decision."

Tony then approached Peter to talk to him.

"Listen Pete" Tony crouched down in front of Peter so that now the boy was higher than him." Listen to the Avengers, don't run from them, don't go with anyone, especially Aunt May. Always hold someone's hand, okay?"

Peter nodded his head as a sign that he understood. Tony hugged the boy, then stood up still with the boy in his arms so that he lifted Peter. Peter giggled and kissed Tony on the cheek in a loud: Muah!

Tony froze. Peter had never kissed him before, but it turned out that Tony loved it. He kissed boy in return in the boy's hair, at which Peter laughed.

"I love you Petey," muttered Tony into the child's hair.

"I love you too, Tony." Peter smiled at him so radiantly that Tony felt as if his heart would explode. What did he deserve such a treasure?

"Can we go?" asked Bucky interrupting this magical moment.

"Sure" said Tony putting the boy on the floor.

At that moment Tony felt that he had to go to the damn authority as soon as possible, so that Peter would be his legally. He wouldn't leave the boy for anything in the world.

*******************

"Can we go there?" Peter asked Natasha, whom he was holding by the hand. In fact, he was now pulling her toward the ice cream stand.

Together with the Avengers, they walked at a leisurely pace through the park. It was a sunny day, so it was quite crowded.

"Of course" said Natasha and they moved towards the stand.

"I want chocolate ones!" exclaimed Peter.

"What is the magic word?" asked Steve.

"Please."

"All right, everyone, say what do you want, and I'll pay."

Once everyone got what they wanted (they didn't take Tony's vanilla, because if he wants ice cream, he has to move his ass) they sat down on a blanket on the grass.

"Hey, look, there's a playground!" exclaimed Peter already getting up to run there.

"Peter!" warned him Steve grabbing his arm before he could run away. "What did we tell you? You can't walk away from us. What if you got lost?"

Peter made a frightened face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think," cried the boy, and tears began to gather in the corners of his eyes.

"Don't cry buddy, nothing happened, but you must listen to us, okay?"

Peter nodded then grabbed Steve's hand and the two of them went to the playground while others watched them.

"Look Steve how I climb."

"I can see." Steve watched the boy's antics, attracting confused looks from others on the playground. After all, it's not a common sight to see Captain America come to the park with a child.

Steve continued to watch Peter slide down the slide, swing on the swing set, spin on the merry-go-round, and then climb the high ladders. He climbed like this for a while until his foot slipped.

"Ah!" Peter let go of the ladder and fell.

Steve watched in slow motion as Peter fell on his hands and began to cry. The man immediately ran over to the child, checking to see if he was okay.

"What hurts, Petey?" Steve asked sympathetically. He felt that he had screwed up. He should catch the boy.

"My hands!" cried Peter through crying. They were indeed torn off and a little bloody.

"Come on, let's go home" Steve lifted the boy with ease and carried him to the rest of the Avengers on a blanket.

"What happened?" Clint asked.

"Peter fell off the ladder, so we have to go back to wash his hands with hydrogen peroxide.

The Avengers quickly rolled up the blanket and headed toward the tower with Peter in Steve's arms.

"I want Tony!" cried Peter through tears.

"I know, buddy," Steve tried to comfort him, but he knew that Tony wouldn't be in the tower yet. He wondered if he should call him, but in the end decided that it was a rather trivial matter, and Tony had more important things to do.

When they reached the tower, they went to the medical wing to get some hydrogen peroxide and plasters. They didn't need a doctor for these scrapes, so they sat on a couch on the Avengers' floor, and Bruce took care of patching up the boy. Peter still wanted Tony, so they had to distract him somehow. Finally, they turned on the movie, made popcorn and sat on the couch. After an hour Peter fell asleep, so they stopped watching the movie, covered him with blanket and waited for Tony.

********************

"Hey, how's my favorite boy?" called out Tony entering the living room.

"Shh, he's sleeping," whispered Sam pointing to the little ball on the couch.

"Hm, no wonder. You must have wear him out. How long has he been sleeping?"

"Maybe about 1.5 hours."

Tony nodded and gently stroked Peter's head to wake him up.

"Hm?" asked a sleepy Peter. "Tony!"

"Yep, it's me kid." Tony smiled. "Sam, leave for a while please, I need privacy."

Sam moved to his room without question. He only winked friendly at Peter.

"Listen, Peter. I was in the authority today and I want to adopt you. I love you from the moment I saw you. You are a light in my dark life. Never before have I loved someone so much, so unconditionally, with my whole self. I immediately saw the son in you, and I hope to have the honor of calling you that. I am sorry that this is happening under such circumstances, but know that I will never leave you. Do you agree? Do you want to be my son, Peter Stark? Will you let me be your dad?" Tony had tears in his eyes.

Peter looked at him, and nothing could be read from his facial expression. They sat in silence for 8 long seconds until Peter spoke up.

"Yes, Tony. I want to."

These words made Tony hug the boy with happiness. His son! Peter was his son! Peter reciprocated the hug, and his eyes also began to tear up. Tony would be his dad. He loved Tony, his dad, so much! Dad gave him a document to sign, then signed it himself.

"So can I call you dad now?" asked Peter hugging the man again.

"You can baby, my son."

Chapter Text

Peter quickly got used to calling Tony dad. Sure, sometimes he still called him by his first name, but more and more often he called him dad.

A week had passed since the day of the adoption, and everything was going their way. Peter and Tony were still getting used to their new roles, and the Avengers were helping them. When Tony had to leave for an important meeting Steve or someone else took care of Peter until Tony returned. That's what happened today, too, with Peter playing video games, Natasha, Clint and Bucky watching, while Steve cleaned and cooked. At first the boy wanted to help, but after he spilled a bag of flour, set fire to the pasta and fell climbing on the countertop he was banned from the kitchen.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you, Steve?" called out Peter, because he felt guilty watching Steve clean up without doing anything himself.

"Yes, thank you," Steve smiled at the boy, while sending virulent glances to the others, then continued scrubbing the sink.

Some time later Peter was bored with the game, so he got up from the couch stretching his limbs. He thought he could test the new phone, since he hadn't actually even used it yet, and maybe he would text Ton.... Dad. He turned on the phone admiring it for a moment, then moved on to contacts. In fact, he had never used a phone before, so he didn't quite know how to use it. He only relied on what he picked up from Aunt May. Finally, he clicked Dad's contact and texted:

"Hi Dad, what are you doing?"

He then sent a picture of himself with a silly face. He hoped it would make his dad laugh during a boring meeting.

There was no response for a while, until a stranger texted him.

"Hey honey, it's me, Tony. My phone just died :(."

Peter was a little surprised that his dad introduced himself as: Tony, because the man tried to use "dad" when referring to himself. Hm, maybe he forgot.

"How long will you be at the meeting?"

Peter asked in a text message. He immediately got an answer.

"I'm already done, waiting in front of the tower, but I have some heavy boxes for you with a surprise ;). Could you come out in front of the tower for a while and help me? Come alone."

Peter was already getting up to leave. He attracted a few watchful glances with this.

"Where are you going, young man?" Natasha asked.

"Nowhere," said Peter, but his squeaky voice and blush betrayed him.

"Oh yeah? Then why did you get up?"

"I'm going to the library," lied Peter. Dad asked him to come alone, he couldn't let him down.

"Should we go with you?" Clint asked him from the couch.

"No, that's okay," Peter pressed the elevator button. He was lucky that the library was on another floor. He could pretend that he was going there, in fact going all the way down to the lobby.

"I don't believe it. Show me the message after which you stand up so quickly." Peter entered the elevator and was about to close the door when Natasha held it with her hand.

"No!" cried Peter stomping his foot like a child. "It's daddy. He reminded me that today I have to extend the period of borrowing a book."

"Peter, Tony is the owner of the library. You won't have any trouble."

"Daddy told me to pretend to be a usual boy. He has not publicly announced that he has adopted me yet" Peter himself was surprised by his excuse.

"In that case, I'll go with you," Natasha said, entering the elevator, and the door behind her closed automatically. Her tone of voice indicated that she would not argue with him. The mission had failed. Peter screwed up.

They rode down in complete silence until Natasha spoke:

"Are you aware how crowded it is downstairs? When we get out of the elevator hold my hand, okay?"

"Then they'll pay attention to us, and Dad didn't want that," Peter had a plan to escape Natasha in the library, but as usual the Black Widow had to foil his plans.

"Well, Tony certainly prefers this to you getting lost. Trust me, it's a really big library."

Peter nodded his head. The library was only eight floors down, so they got there quickly. They got out of the elevator, and Peter grabbed Natasha's hand. Natasha did not rebuke him, which means he did a good job. Natasha wanted to go straight to the librarians, but Peter convinced her to look at the books on the shelves some more.

"The children's section is over there," the woman pointed to the left.

Peter snorted.

"I don't read children's books from the age of 3. Sometimes only dad reads to me at bedtime, but that's..."

"In that case, what kind of books do you read?"

"Science. Usually chemistry, biology, sometimes physics..."

"Well, let's go," Natasha pulled him a little too fast.

"Ouch, not so fast! Your legs are longer than mine!" Peter complained to her.

"What, should I carry you?" Natasha looked ready to lift the boy. It was as if they no longer attracted attention.

"No, just go slower."

After 5 minutes they found themselves with the right subject. Peter slipped Natasha more books so fast that she had to let him go. Peter took advantage of the crowd and ran away as fast as he could.

Peter was afraid of later consequences, but for now he had more important things on his mind. He had to get out of the tower to Tony. He ran as fast as he could every now and then looking back and nudging the readers. He could see Natasha in the distance running after him, but if he hurried, he had a chance to reach the elevator and close the door before the angry woman catch him. It's so close now, just a bit further and he'll be there. There it is! He quickly pressed the button, and fate so willed that the door immediately opened. He rushed inside pressing the button to close the door and noticed that Natasha was already rushing after him. But she was too late. It worked!

Peter pulled out his phone to text his dad that he was on his way, when he noticed the messages from his dad.

"Hey kid, Capsicle says you tried to burn down the house. Next time do something 100% or not at all 😉. THAT WAS A JOKE! I'm just teasing you, don't follow in my footsteps or my hair will turn gray. I can't wait to be home 😍."

Peter was confused. Dad was texting from two phones? This one had been dead, so what's happening?

"Wait, then you're not waiting in front of the tower? And what about your phone, it hasn't been dead?"

Tony wrote back after 10 seconds.

"What do you mean, what's going on Petey? I'm still in the meeting. Where's someone adult?"

At that moment, the elevator doors opened in the lobby, and it occurred to Peter that he had been fooled. It wasn't his dad who had written to him! He wanted to go back upstairs, but suddenly a man in a black suit grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted him carrying him across the lobby.

"Ah!" Peter tried to scream, but was silenced by some cloth in his mouth. Peter felt like crying. Was he just about to be kidnapped? He squirmed as much as he could, tried to punch and kick, but to no avail. They came out of the tower, and standing outside was no one else than... Aunt May?

"Honey, I missed you so much," May said in a cute little voice that heralded trouble.

Peter still tried to escape, but the man was too strong. Peter began to cry from helplessness. Now he regretted running away from Natasha. What if he never saw Tony again? Peter again tried to pull out of the embrace, but the result was similar.

"Come on baby, no one can take you away from me anymore..."

Suddenly Natasha fell out of the tower, followed closely by Steve, Bucky, Sam, Bruce and Clint. They rushed towards them, although they were slightly hidden behind a neighboring building.

Suddenly the man grabbed the gun with his right hand, with his left still holding Peter. God, how strong this man was! He pointed the gun at the Avengers and fired several shots. Peter shouted: "No!" Which through the cloth sounded more like: "Ooou." May hid behind a car standing nearby, trying to save her life. She knew the Avengers would have no mercy on her. Fortunately, this was not the first time someone had targeted the Avengers, and so they were prepared and dodged bullets. The man pointed his gun at Peter's temple out of helplessness, causing everyone to freeze. Everyone except May.

"No!" shouted May pushing the gun away from the boy's temple. Whatever it is, but she didn't want his death. With that, the Avengers fearlessly attacked the man and May, taking Peter along the way so that he wouldn't get hurt. Peter was planted on Natasha's hip, who maternally picked him up and calmed him down by massaging his back.

"Calm down," she said reassuring the sobbing boy. She tossed him a few times and hugged him tightly.

Peter didn't remember what happened exactly, but he knew that he was carried to the Penthouse and Bruce checked him for injuries. Steve held him on his lap rocking him and humming a lullaby. Peter barely heard anyone ask how he was, to which Steve said: "not now" and hugged him tighter wrapping him additionally with a blanket. Finally, just as he was about to fall asleep Peter started crying from exhaustion and asking for his dad. Peter didn't remember what his answer was, but 20 minutes later Tony appeared in his Iron Man armor. He flew as fast as he could to his boy to take him in his arms and comfort him for the rest of the day. Peter only felt safe in his father's arms until he allowed himself to fall asleep to his dad's quiet comforting.

Chapter Text

"Peter, we need to talk about what happened yesterday," Tony said in a strict tone. He wanted the boy to take his words seriously.

At this moment Tony was leaning against the kitchen counter holding a cup of coffee in his hand when Peter entered the kitchen dressed in pajamas, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion. The boy whined quietly, knowing that he would probably receive a punishment.

"I didn't mean to," Peter's eyes welled up with tears. "I was sure it was you!"

Tony sighed and put down his coffee to hug Peter. The boy was just reaching his belly, so he picked him up, and Peter automatically wrapped his arms around his dad's neck. Tony rubbed the boy's back lightly as he said:

"You shouldn't have run away from Aunt Nat, and you certainly should have told someone where you were going. You put yourself in danger. However, I think you learned a lesson yesterday, didn't you?"

"Mhm," muttered the boy into the hollow of his father's neck.

Tony knew that it was mostly his fault for not being there when his boy needed him. Peter was still so young, naive and gullible, and it was Tony's job to protect him. And as usual, he screwed up. He couldn't even think what would have happened if the Avengers had gotten there too late. Would he never see his child again? Tony pushed those thoughts away, focusing on the fact that Peter was safe in his arms.

Tony set the boy back down on the tiled floor, which was cool underfoot.

"Can I trust you to be more careful in the future?" asked Tony looking down at the child.

Tears of shame shone in Peter's eyes and he nodded. He would not be fooled a second time. Not after this horrifying experience.

"I'm glad," Tony sighed contentedly. "Now we can move on to breakfast. What do you feel like eating?"

***

The next few weeks passed quickly. Tony and Peter got used to the daily routine, the Avengers helped Tony take care of Peter when he couldn't.

Tony announced to the world that he had adopted the boy. He only gave the age and name. Without any photo. Public opinion went wild. Rumors ranged from Tony's secret child to the fact that Peter was an agent who had taken over Tony's mind. Reporters tried at every turn to get a photo or interview, but Tony made sure they stayed away from his son.

In this way, they lived as if things had always been this way. It was as if Peter was Tony's biological son, and Tony had raised him from infancy. They were both happy and that was all that mattered.

***

Peter, all sweaty from the nightmare he had just woken up from, walked into his dad's room, whose door was slightly repealed for things like that.

"Daddy, I had a nightmare," whispered Peter walking up to Tony's bed and waking him up.

The man turned on the bedside lamp. And looked at his child quickly blinking to wipe the sleep from his eyelids.

"Again about aunt May?" Peter nodded, at which Tony mused. "Hm, and do you know what helps me with nightmares?"

Peter shook his head.

"What is it?"

"Come with me, you'll find out. Just dress warmly," Tony winked at the boy while standing up and shaking his hand. They both threw on their hooded sweatshirts, put on boots, hats, Tony additionally took blankets, then headed for the elevator.

"Where are we going?" asked an excited Peter still holding his father's hand.

"You'll see," Tony smiled mysteriously, and you could see the love for the boy in his eyes. His boy.

Fifteen seconds later they were already...

"On the roof?" A surprised Peter looked uncertainly at Tony.

"Yes, let's get closer to the edge, but not too close."

They sat down 3 meters from the edge of the roof on a soft blanket. The night was pleasant, a light wind was blowing, and the moon was shining enough for them to see each other. Tony lay down on his back, and Peter did the same following his example.

Tony put his outstretched left arm under the boy's head to form a pillow for his son. Peter snuggled into the man's chest, and Tony covered them with a blanket. They both watched the beautiful white stars in the darkness.

"Do you see Petey that shape? There, on the right! It's a big bear."

"Yeah, I see it!" exclaimed the exultant Peter. "It's so pretty!"

The stars against the dark blue sky looked magical. Both of them could not look away from them. They lay like that in silence for maybe 2 hours, until Peter spoke up:

"Daddy?"

"Hm, what baby?"

"I love you."

Tony smiled broadly, and a tear of emotion welled up in his eye. His boy was so adorable.

"I love you too my son. You are the best thing that ever happened to me."

Tony meant what he said. For his son, he would give up all of Iron Man's armor, all of his multi-billion dollar fortune, and sacrifice his life. There was nothing in the world he wouldn't do for him.

Tony hugged Peter tighter. They lay in each other's embrace for several more hours.

They had their whole lives to spend together. And nothing could prevent them from doing so.