Chapter Text
The Friday before Thanksgiving, Tony and Pepper came to Queens for dinner. May and Peter had been invited to the penthouse for Thanksgiving dinner itself, so May had thought it was only fair to host dinner the week prior.
May opened the door to them and sighed with relief at Tony. “Good timing. Pete is literally banging his head on the desk over some homework, and I cannot listen to his rant about how calculus is the bane of his existence anymore!”
Tony rolled his eyes and immediately headed for Peter’s bedroom while Pepper offered to help May with dinner.
“How was your day?” May asked Pepper.
Pepper grinned. “Convenient that you ask.”
May raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Pepper nodded, her grin falling. “I’ve got some business I need to deal with in our London office,” she explained. “There’s also some business there I need Tony to deal with in our London office. We’d be gone for about ten days.”
“Ok?” May frowned. “So, what’s the problem? Tony doesn’t like London?”
“Tony likes London. But Tony doesn’t want to leave New York,” Pepper retorted.
It took May only a second to hear the underlying message- Tony didn’t want to leave Peter.
“Oh,” she breathed.
Pepper’s gaze turned apologetic. “He won’t go further from Queens than the compound now. And even then, if Steve needs him to come up, he practically has to beg. May, I know this is a huge ask, but there’s only one solution I can think of right now.”
“Take Peter to London?” May guessed heavily.
Pepper nodded. “Yeah. I know he has school and exams, and it’s a huge hassle. But there’s some really important meetings I need him to go to- in person- and he is just refusing to go. I can’t imagine how I’m going to win this argument with him, and I don’t really want to have the argument if I don’t have to.”
May couldn’t fault either Tony or Pepper there.
May had never been more terrified in her life than the night about a week after Tony had returned from Kenya, when Peter had woken from a nightmare so bad that he’d made himself sick. May had woken up when the bathroom door flung against the wall in his hurry to get to the toilet at three o’clock in the morning.
“Peter?” she’d asked, stumbling out of bed to the door. “Honey, are you alright?”
Peter hadn’t been able to speak, as he retched into the toilet gasping for breath, but May had been able to make out a single word.
“Tony.”
Without missing a beat, May hurried to her room, grabbing her phone from the nightstand and calling Tony. He picked up before it had even finished ringing once.
“May?”
“It’s Peter,” she said. “Get over here.”
The sound of movement on the other end of the line was immediate. “On my way,” Tony said and hung up, as May hurried back to Peter.
She’d only ever seen him have nightmares this bad once before- after Ben’s death. Seeing her nephew so distraught and crying for her husband had broken May’s already splintered heart. It was only a small comfort that this time, she could bring Peter the person he was crying for.
The trip from Lenox Hill to Queens at that hour of the morning still should have taken Tony at least twenty minutes. But it was barely five minutes later when there was a knock on the front door and May opened the door to Tony, dressed in rumpled sweatpants and t shirt, his feet still bare and hair mussed.
“Bathroom,” was all May said, pointing the way and Tony hurried past her.
May was overwhelmed with a rush of gratitude for Tony, hitting her so strongly that she had to take a moment as she shut the door behind him, blinking back tears.
When she slowly returned to the bathroom, Tony Stark was sitting on her bathroom floor (and oh god, when was the last time she’d cleaned the floor??), practically cradling Peter in his lap like a small child as he sobbed desperately and gasped for breath, clinging to Tony with his head buried against Tony’s neck.
Tony gripped him just as tightly, one hand cupping his head and his nose pressed into Peter’s hair so that May couldn’t see his face. She suspected if she could, she’d see the same agony in his eyes that she felt.
“I’m here, Underoos. I’m here,” Tony murmured, rocking back and forth. “Just breathe for me, bud.”
There was another knock on the door fifteen minutes later.
“Pep, probably,” Tony murmured, seeing May’s puzzled frown as he rubbed Peter’s back comfortingly, who was now slumped tiredly against Tony’s chest.
It was Pepper, May discovered upon opening the door, and Rhodey.
“I’m in the city for a few days,” Rhodey explained apologetically. “I didn’t want Pepper driving herself this time of night. I hope that’s ok.”
“Of course,” May said immediately, ushering them inside.
It only just occurred to her then that Tony had flown to Queens in the Iron Man suit, and May couldn’t even compute that mental image.
“How is he?” Pepper asked concernedly.
“He was sick again a few minutes ago,” May said tiredly. “His breathing still isn’t normal. I keep expecting him to have an asthma attack even though that hasn't been an issue since the bite.”
She led them back to the bathroom, and Pepper’s face softened as she took in the sight before her.
“Hey,” she said softly, gaining Tony’s attention.
“Hey,” he replied wearily. “Rhodes, come give me a hand. I want to get him off the floor.”
Rhodey immediately crossed the tiny bathroom to help Tony get Peter to his feet. As soon as he became aware of what was happening, Peter’s grip on Tony tightened.
“Don’t go,” he said brokenly.
Tony flinched, either from his grip or his words, who knew?
“I’m not going anywhere, Underoos,” he said soothingly. “We’re just going to get you somewhere a little bit warmer, ok?”
Peter nodded reluctantly and Tony and Rhodey got him to his feet, Tony wincing as he stretched out his legs.
“Put him on the couch, Tony,” May told him. “If he doesn’t want to sleep, he can put the TV on. I’ll grab the blankets from his bed.”
Tony nodded.
“I brought you a sweatshirt and some socks,” Pepper told him, following him to the living room. “He just bolted out of bed and into the suit once you called,” she explained to May.
“Scared me half to death,” Rhodey muttered audibly. “Thought we were under attack for a moment.”
That didn’t surprise May in the least, honestly.
Peter sat down on the couch reluctantly. Only when Tony sat next to him did he relax, immediately shifting closer. May covered them both with the blankets from Peter’s bed, tucking them around Peter firmly. He was lying with his head on Tony’s chest, arms wrapped firmly around him as he took a deep, shuddering breath. He was lying so he could hear Tony’s heartbeat, May realised. Suddenly, she wondered if Peter had been dreaming not about Kenya, but about Siberia. Peter hadn’t been very coherent just yet about what the dream had been about, only that Tony had been gone.
Tony just rubbed gentle circles on Peter’s back, his other hand steadily threading through his hair as Peter’s eyelids slowly grew heavier.
“I’m going to keep him home today,” May whispered as Peter’s eyes finally shut. “I don’t want him going to school like this.”
“Are you working today?” Pepper asked her.
May sighed. “I’m supposed to, but Peter…”
“I can stay with him,” Tony offered immediately.
“Are you sure?” May asked.
Tony gestured to Peter’s sleeping form, slumped heavily across his torso. “I don’t think I have much of a choice,” he said dryly, but May knew him too well by now.
Tony wasn’t going anywhere, and they all knew it.
It had taken a month after Tony’s return before Peter’s nightmares had eased to a less frequent volume and he was back to his old self. And if May hadn’t been impressed with Tony before, she absolutely would’ve been by now. Tony had been there for Peter without fail every time. If May got up in the morning to find Tony sitting (or sleeping) on her couch with Peter when he hadn’t been there the night before, she didn’t even blink anymore. She just made sure he was covered with a blanket and started an extra-large pot of coffee.
Peter had spent the night of his homecoming dance having a movie marathon with Tony, Pepper and May in Queens, after refusing to even consider turning the dance. None of them pushed him on it.
Peter was spending more time with Tony than ever these days, and May knew he wouldn’t take kindly to being separated from Tony again either.
“What are the dates?” May asked hesitantly.
“We’d fly out on the fifteenth and get back the day before Christmas Eve,” Pepper replied.
May turned to the calendar on the fridge where Peter’s exams were marked.
“His last exam is the morning of the fifteenth,” she said slowly. “I suppose they won’t be doing much between exams and break…”
Pepper hugged May. “Thank you,” she said gratefully. “You are saving my life.”
May smiled reluctantly. “If Tony needs to go, I can’t do that to Peter,” she sighed. “I can’t bear to see him get so upset about being away from Tony again. It’s not worth the stress. And he won’t miss Christmas, which is the important thing.”
“If it was over Christmas, I wouldn’t have even asked,” Pepper reassured her. “If I didn’t know how busy work is for you this time of year, I would have just brought you too,” she laughed.
“God, I haven’t been to London since college,” May sighed wistfully. “I did love it. I know Peter will too.”
“We’ll definitely do a trip soon with the four of us,” Pepper promised. “Tony wants to take Peter to Disneyland, I know. Probably this summer.”
May laughed. “Ned always tells Peter ‘what even is your life?’ and it makes me roll my eyes. But here I am, discussing family vacations with Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. I get what he means now.”
Pepper beamed at her.
Over dinner, May casually turned to Tony. “So, Pepper says that you’re going to London for business next month?”
Almost simultaneously, Tony lowered his fork warily, while Peter stiffened as he looked to Tony.
“You are?” he questioned hesitantly.
“No,” Tony refuted firmly. “Nope. I’m not going anywhere.”
Peter looked between Tony and Pepper confusedly.
“So… Pepper’s going to London?” he asked.
“Actually,” Pepper said casually, smiling at Peter. “I was thinking that we all might go.”
Peter’s eyes widened and Tony leaned back in his chair silently, staring at his fiancée.
“All of us?” Peter repeated incredulously.
He looked to May, who chuckled. “I, unfortunately, am stuck at work. But you’d only miss the last week of the term and it’s after your exams, so…”
Peter’s face lit up. “Seriously, May?! What about Christmas?”
“We’ll be back Christmas Eve,” Pepper reassured him. “You won’t miss Christmas.”
“This is so cool!” Peter breathed. “We seriously get to go to England?” he asked Tony excitedly, who couldn’t not smile at him.
It was the use of ‘we’, Pepper suspected. It certainly affected May, who shared a knowing look with Pepper.
Peter had to hug all three of them, before dashing to his room to text Ned and MJ. Tony had still said nothing, but once Peter was gone from the room, he leaned towards Pepper.
“I know exactly what you’re doing, you know,” he told her.
“Well, sweetheart, that’s because you’re a genius,” she smiled sweetly at him.
Tony sighed, rubbed his face and looked over his shoulder in the direction of Peter’s bedroom. When he turned back to May, there was a glint of excitement in his eyes.
“Thanks May,” he said quietly. “I’ll keep him safe.”
May waved a hand. “I know,” she reassured him. “Just make sure he has fun.”
When Peter returned to the table, Tony pointed a finger at him.
“We’re taking Peter Parker to London,” he said sternly. “Spider-Man stays in New York. Understood?”
Peter nodded earnestly. “Understood. When do we leave?”
“The fifteenth,” Pepper replied.
Peter sighed in relief. “Oh good, we won’t miss rep tour tickets going on sale.”
Tony rolled his eyes. “That is the important thing,” he said sarcastically.
Peter, Ned and MJ had made plans to attend a Taylor Swift concert in New Jersey next summer with some of their friends on the Decathlon team. Tony rolled his eyes every time it came up, although he had to admit that her new album was alright. “Lab-worthy” was his verdict, which somehow Peter took as permission to play it on repeat whenever they were in the lab the last few weeks since its release. Tony complained about it, but not as much as one might expect.
Once Peter was coming, Tony was much more enthusiastic about the trip. Within a day he had a list of everywhere he wanted to show Peter during their trip. When Tony mentioned it to Rhodey, he promptly invited himself along.
“Why?”
“Why not? I like London,” Rhodey shrugged. “And it’s been a while since I travelled somewhere that’s not for work.”
“We’re taking Pete to Disneyland sometime this summer, probably,” Tony offered. “Come to that one.”
“Oh, I will,” Rhodey accepted. “But I’m still coming to London.”
Peter, for his part, was thrilled. He got to spend a week in London with Tony and Pepper and miss a week of school? Even if Tony and Pepper had work to do, he still got to be there. Not to mention, flying on Tony’s private jet with Tony. Peter had never left the US, except for Germany, which both Tony and May stressed absolutely did not count.
The school insisted on providing him with some work to complete while he was away, but even that couldn’t dampen Peter’s excitement. The work packet was some math questions, and a history report on the Tudors that wouldn’t be too bad. His English teacher however, had not only assigned him a book to read, but asked him to do a report on William Shakespeare, much to Peter’s displeasure. Although Pepper seemed excited about it, saying that it gave them a reason to visit Stratford-Upon-Avon. Tony was more on Peter’s side.
Ned and even MJ were jealous when he told them the news about the trip, and it took all of Peter’s focus to get through his exams. May had to threaten a few times to keep him home when he kept getting distracted from studying.
His last exam was English, right before lunch and Tony and Pepper would pick him up when his exam ended so they could head to the airport. The exam was a breeze, which meant Peter finished nearly half an hour before the end of class, and he was forced to sit there staring at the clock, his foot tapping impatiently.
The moment the bell rang, Peter shot out of his seat, handing his paper in to the teacher and hurrying for the door.
Ned and MJ caught up to him at his locker as he was piling books into his bag and pulling out his coat.
“You’ll send me a postcard, right?” Ned asked as they hurried to the front office.
Peter shot a bewildered look at his best friend. “A postcard?”
MJ rolled her eyes. “Ned, he’ll be gone for like a week. He’ll be back before you get it.”
“Yeah, but it’ll still come from England, right?” Ned pressed.
Peter rolled his eyes. “I’ll see what I can do, man,” he promised.
When they entered the front office, Tony was standing there chatting with Kelly and Anna.
“I’m here!” Peter cried breathlessly, skidding to a stop.
Tony grinned at him from behind his sunglasses. “It’s my plane, kid. It ain’t leaving without us,” he smiled.
“I’m just excited,” Peter said sheepishly.
Tony chuckled. “Alright, kiddo. Let’s go, before you explode.”
Peter turned to his friends.
“See ya, loser,” MJ said, patting him on his shoulder. “Bring me back a present. Something not lame.”
Peter frowned. “That’s… really not helpful, MJ.”
Ned stepped forward and placed his hands on Peter’s shoulders. “I want. A postcard,” he said firmly.
“For reference, that’s lame,” MJ informed Peter.
“Still not helpful,” Peter complained.
He and Ned did their handshake, while Tony rolled his eyes.
“Pete, the plane’s not gonna leave without us, but I’d like to get there sometime this year,” he said dryly.
He slung an arm around Peter’s shoulders as they finally left the office, and Ned and MJ headed for the cafeteria.
“Why does Ned want a postcard?” Tony asked him. “You’ll be back before it even left the country, knowing the postal service.”
Peter laughed. “He just thinks it would be cool to get something in the mail from England.”
As they left the building, they passed Flash and his friends lingering on the steps out the front of the building. Flash stared stonily at Peter as they passed him, but Peter ignored him. Flash was hardly going to do anything more than glare with Tony right there, but Peter knew that Flash was seething with jealousy.
Ned and Peter hadn’t exactly been quiet in their excited discussions about the fact that Tony and Pepper were taking him to England and everywhere Peter wanted to go while they were there.
Happy was behind the wheel of the car, and Peter waved at him as he climbed into the backseat, grinning at Pepper.
“Hi, Pepper!”
“Hi, hon. How was your exam?” she asked.
“Super easy,” Peter said confidently, buckling himself into the middle seat between Pepper and Tony. “Aced it.”
He looked to Tony. “Is Rhodey still coming? Where is he?”
Tony grinned. “If tradition is anything to go by, Rhodey is already at the airport, waiting for us and getting annoyed.”
“Why would he be annoyed?” Peter wondered.
“Probably because I told him we were leaving two hours ago,” Tony smirked.
Pepper rolled her eyes. “It’s a really long story and is not as funny as Tony thinks it is,” she told Peter.
Peter snorted. “Sounds about right.”
Tony poked Peter in the ribs, making him giggle.
“Not too late to leave you behind, Parker,” he threatened.
Peter grinned. “Yeah, but you won’t,” he said confidently.
When they arrived at the airport, driving up to where the Stark Industries private jet was waiting on the tarmac, Peter’s foot began to tap impatiently again.
As Tony had predicted, Rhodey was waiting for them, looking unamused.
“Really?” Rhodey greeted him exasperatedly. “You still find this funny?”
“I’ll find it funny until you stop getting annoyed,” Tony replied. “Or until you realise how dumb it is to get flight details from me instead of Pepper.”
Rhodey glared at him. “You’re corrupting your kid,” he said, gesturing to Peter, who grinned broadly.
Being referred to as Tony’s kid, as Rhodey, Happy and Clint had taken to doing, always sent a thrill through him.
“That’s the point,” Tony smirked.
Peter bounced on his heels as he spun to face Tony and Pepper.
“Do we board now? Are we leaving?”
Tony laughed, placing his hands on the back of Peter’s shoulders, squeezing them as he steered Peter towards the plane.
“Alright, Underoos,” he said. “Let’s go. Take a breath, huh? It’s a seven-hour flight.”
The plane was just as amazing as Peter remembered from Germany, surprisingly spacious. Peter faltered for a moment, wondering where he should sit. He remembered what had happened with Happy on the flight to Germany. But Tony gently steered him into a seat and then sat beside him.
“You alright, bud?”
Peter nodded, feeling a little overcome suddenly. But in a good way. The best way.
Pepper had once told him, during the time when Tony had been in Kenya, that “you just have to learn how to speak Tony” and Peter felt like he had become fluent in “Tony” during the past few months.
He knew now, that when Tony called him “Underoos” or “bud” his voice had the same tone, and his eyes had the same glint, as when Tony said, “Love you too.” (Tony was yet to say “I love you” to Peter first, but that didn’t matter. Peter knew it anyway). As much as Peter loved hearing those words, it made the nicknames even more meaningful to him.
He knew that Tony was making an effort to be more open too- more relaxed and casual with his hugs, and more communicative with Peter. Tony’s hugs, it turned out, were pretty much the best thing in the world. Who knew?
Pepper and Rhodey seated themselves opposite Tony and Peter, and once the luggage was loaded and they’d been cleared for take-off, they finally left New York behind. They wouldn’t land in England until a quarter to one in the morning, so Tony had urged him not to sleep on the plane. That seemed easy enough, but Peter was suddenly at a loss for how to occupy himself for the next seven hours.
“What did you do on the plane to Germany?” Rhodey asked him, ignoring the look Tony shot him.
Peter wrinkled his nose. “Er, I’m pretty sure I annoyed Happy a lot.”
Tony snorted with laughter, and tugged Peter against his side.
“Oh, trust me, kid. You definitely annoyed Happy a lot. I had to hear all about it.”
Peter smiled sheepishly.
He did some of his schoolwork on the plane- Pepper’s idea, so it was over and done with- but he spent most of the flight time just sticking close to Tony. He hadn’t said anything about it, but Peter was well aware of the fact that the next day was the anniversary of Howard and Maria Stark’s deaths. Tony seemed to be his usual self, but Peter was sure he was thinking about it too. He just wasn’t sure what he could do to help. Tony always helped him, especially in the past few months; Peter just wanted to do something to help him in return.
While Pepper worked, he and Tony watched movies, played games and even roped Rhodey into a few games of “Who’s the Asshole in this Reddit post?”
Peter hadn’t expected that he'd be that tired by the time they landed. A quarter to one in the morning in London was only a quarter to eight at night in New York. If Peter had been at home, he would have been out patrolling at that time of night.
Yet by the time they reached where they were staying, Peter was slumped tiredly against Tony and fighting to keep his eyes open, too tired to even muster up excitement about being in London. He could barely appreciate the lavish executive apartment they were staying in.
He fell into a bed fully clothed and was only faintly aware of Tony pulling off his shoes and coat before pulling the covers over him and turning off the light.
“Night, Underoos,” Tony whispered, running a hand over his head.
Peter didn’t respond, already asleep.
He shut the door behind him as he left the room. Pepper had set up his laptop while he was getting Peter settled, and she handed it to him as he returned. Tony immediately began setting up the needed code to get FRIDAY installed in the apartment during their stay.
They were staying in an executive apartment owned by Stark Industries, where VIPs were put up during their stay. Tony could get along without FRIDAY for a time without concern, but while Peter was with them, his first priority was security. And for that, he needed FRIDAY. And his Iron Man suit, which he and Pepper were both pretending that he hadn’t brought with them. Just in case.
“I’m going to give May a quick call, let her know we’re here,” Pepper said as he worked.
“I’m going to bed,” Rhodey tiredly. “I’ll see you guys in a few hours.”
Tony nodded but said nothing as Rhodey headed for the third bedroom in the apartment. Only when FRIDAY was up and running did he let out a breath, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
“You there, FRI?”
“I’m here, Boss,” came the familiar voice.
“Great. Watch over Peter for me, will you? You know the drill.”
“On it, Boss. Peter is currently sleeping soundly, but I’ll alert you if that changes.”
“Thank you, dear.”
Tony closed the laptop and headed for the main bedroom.
“May says hi,” Pepper said as he entered. “I said we’d get Peter to call when he wakes up.”
Tony nodded. “Sure.”
“FRIDAY set up?”
“Yeah, she’s all good. Monitoring everything on a secure server,” Tony nodded.
Pepper was smiling softly as they changed and climbed into the bed.
“I’d tell you that I think you’re being a little excessive here, but I know that you know this and that you don’t care.”
“That about sums it up,” Tony agreed.
Pepper leaned over and kissed him. “Goodnight, hon.”
“Night, Pep,” Tony replied softly.
With a content sigh, Tony nestled down into the bed. Peter was safe and sleeping soundly. And come morning, he’d have one excited Spiderkid on his hands wanting to explore London. He’d need all the sleep he can get.