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Peter was scared out of his mind. It was as if Aunt May had disappeared off the face of the planet. He had looked everywhere. And finally, he decided he needed to call Tony.
He had a great day at school. He had a good lunch with Ned and MJ, killed it at decathlon practice, and Flash even managed not to bother him as much as usual. Today was one of the days he walked home from school. Usually, he rides the bus home, but on Tuesdays and Thursdays, he walks home because May is usually home early. When he unlocked the apartment and stepped inside, he knew he had about an hour until Aunt May would come home, so he tried to finish up homework right away and then tidied up a bit. After an hour and a half had gone by, he assumed the hospital was busy, and he knew they were already understaffed.
He nervously chewed on his nails. While he understood it was most likely nothing, losing his parents and uncle before the age of 15 gave him doubts. He often worried about May and Tony. And now Pepper too. He knew it was ridiculous because obviously, she was at work, and he was old enough to be alone. But he wasn’t the type who liked being alone very much. If he was alone, he preferred someone to be cooking right outside his bedroom door or someone in the room next door. He loved the people he got close to so much and couldn’t shake the feeling that he needed them. He had always been clingy ever since he was a toddler. It made him self-conscious, so he avoided actually acting on it, but sometimes it showed.
After 8 hours had passed, it was nearing 11:00 p.m. Peter started to genuinely worry. He had called the hospital because May hadn’t been picking up. They said she wasn’t there. In fact, she had left at 4:00 p.m. saying she needed to get home to her nephew, but she never showed. He shakily pulled out his phone and selected Tony’s number. This was definitely an emergency. He felt childish calling him, but did it to calm his nerves.
“Hey, kid! What’s up? It’s late for a school night. Shouldn’t the spider-baby be in bed?” he said as he answered the phone.
“H-hey, Mr. Stark. I know it’s late. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called, but uh- I was worried because Aunt May hasn’t gotten home. Which isn’t unusual except for that it’s a Tuesday, and I called the hospital and they said she left at 4:00 p.m. and now-” he rushed out.
“Hey, hey, whoa, kiddo, it’s okay. Okay, um, that does sound a little bit concerning.”
Peter whimpered when he heard the worried tone in Tony’s voice.
“It’s bad. I knew it was bad; I should have never waited this long. I just was so sure I was overreacting and-“
“Hey, bud? I’m getting in the car now. I’ll be there to pick you up in 15 minutes, okay? Pep has already got a whole team of people checking security cameras up and down, and once we get back to the tower, we’ll figure it out. Just hang in there, Pete.”
“Okay. I’ll see you then, Mr. Stark.”
“What did I say about calling me that, kid?”
He asked jokingly.
“It makes you feel old, but you kind of are.”
Tony gasped with indignation and let out a chuckle before hanging up.
When he finally got there, Peter ran to him at the door. “Hey, kiddo.” He greeted warmly, but Peter could see a glint of worry in his eyes. His eyes filled with tears, waiting to drip down his face.
“Tony. I’m so scared. I’m sorry I called you so late.” He sobbed as the tears finally fell.
“Hey, hey, it’s what I’m here for, okay? In fact, if you hadn’t called me, I would have been upset. I care about you so much, buddy. You know I love you, right?”
“Y-you do?” He asked shakily.
“Oh, of course, bambino.” He held out his arms to Peter, and Peter stepped forward and clung to him. Tony kissed the top of his head and tucked his face in between his neck and collarbone.
“Let’s say we head back to the tower, yeah?”
Peter just nodded from his spot in the crook of Tony’s neck. Happy was waiting outside in the car for them. On the way to the tower, the drive was silent, consisting of only Peter lying with his head on top of Tony’s lap and Tony’s hand brushing gently through his curls.
When they got there, Pepper was waiting for them by the elevator in the penthouse. When she saw Peter, she quickly pulled him into a hug. “Oh, honey, I was so worried about you. May is safe. Our people found her. Rhodey is on his way to pick her up now in the suit. Two men kidnapped her at random, but did a messy job and were easy enough to find. She’s okay, sweetheart.” She reassured him a second time. He let out the biggest breath he didn’t even know he was holding in, and then his heavy crying turned into silent tears running down his face.
“R-really? They didn’t hurt her, did they? She’s coming home? She’s not d-dead?” Tony pulled him into his arms again and squeezed him tighter. He responded this time.
“No, baby. She’s not dead. She's okay. She’s okay, bubs.” He reassured him. Peter let out a few more tears, but he was so exhausted. “Okay, Pete, how about you go sit on the couch while you wait, and I’ll make dinner?” Tony felt Peter clutch onto his shirt tighter.
“N-no! Please don’t leave me! I need you to hold me!” he whimpered because he knew he was being irrational, but so much built-up anxiety within him had made him want to never let go of Tony, and he wasn’t up to hiding it right now.
“Hey, hey, okay sweetheart, let’s go sit on the couch together. Pep, you okay with getting Pete some dinner? Ordering in?”
“One pineapple pizza coming up.” She said with a smile. Tony dramatically shuddered at the pineapple part, and Peter giggled. Tony internally pumped his fist. They walked over to the couch, and Peter practically climbed on top of him and nuzzled his face into his shoulder. Tony laid a blanket over both of them and asked F.R.I.D.A.Y. to play Empire Strikes Back.
An hour later, the elevator dinged and Peter’s head shot up. “May!” He yelped. He untangled himself from the blanket and ran to her at the elevator. “I was so worried about you,” he sniffed.
“I’m okay, sweets. See? Not even a scratch.” She pulled him into a tight hug. He let out a deep breath and then hugged her tighter.
“Aunt May, I’m so, so glad you’re okay. I would have been so devastated if I had lost you.” She hugged him like that for another few minutes, and then he let go. He turned and saw Rhodey standing near the elevator.
“Uncle Rhodey! Thank you, thank you, thank you.” He said with reverence. “I’ve missed you so much!” He hugged him quickly.
“How’s my favorite teenager??” He said with a grin.
“Amazing now," he said with contentment.
After they were done saying their thanks, May said she’d stay in the guest room because it was so late. Peter was so glad they could stay with Tony and Pepper, too. He needed all of his parents. May went to bed, but he couldn’t sleep, so he wandered to Tony’s bedroom. He found him sitting up in bed by himself, but the bathroom door was cracked with light shining out, so he assumed Pepper was in there getting ready for bed. He slowly walked up to the bed. Tony glanced up quickly. His eyes crinkled happily when he realized it was Peter.
“Hey, bud. Can’t sleep?” He asked knowingly. Peter just nodded sheepishly. Tony smiled and patted the bed next to him. Peter didn’t need to be told twice. He skittered onto the bed and burrowed under the covers next to Tony.
“Hey, I need to tell you something I can’t really get off my mind. Like if I don’t tell you, I’m pretty sure I’ll never be able to sleep again because with what happened to May tonight, I now know I can’t wait forever to tell you this because you’re too important to me and-” he began to ramble nervously, and Tony stopped him before it got out of control.
“Hey, no big deal, okay? You can tell me anything. I won’t be mad or laugh at you or anything like that, okay, Pete? What is it?” He asked sincerely.
“Okay, uh.. You know how you’re kind of like my mentor? And well, we both know we love each other, and I wanted to tell you I view you kind of like a father-figure. And I don’t want to call you Mr. Stark or Tony if you know what I mean.” He blushed. “Of course, only if you’re comfortable with it I don’t want to make you feel awkward or anything like that!” He rushed out.
“Whoa, whoa. No, you’re not making me feel uncomfortable, bud. Truth is, I’ve been hoping you slipped up and called me dad now for a while.” Tony rubbed the back of his neck and ducked his head in embarrassment.
“Really?! I had no idea! That’s….” He trailed off with a grin.
“Yeah, buddy, the feeling is mutual,” Tony murmured.
“I think I’ll finally be able to sleep now. I’ve been so exhausted today, and I’m gonna be whooped tomorrow at school.”
“Sounds good, kiddo. Go to sleep.” He said with a soft smile. Peter let his eyes flutter shut, but then remembered something important he needed to say.
“Hey, Dad?” He said softly. Tony looked up sharply.
“Yeah, bud?” He said.
“I love you.” He whispered.
“I love you too, tesoro,” he said with the most fondness Pepper had ever heard from him.
The end.