Work Text:
The rogues have just been pardoned and have returned to the compound. They enter the common room to see Bruce, Thor, and Rhodey sitting on the couch. They have been back from space for only a couple of days and have been trying to catch up on things.
The others went and sat on the other couches.
“Friends, it’s good to see you!” Thor boomed.
“It’s good to see you too,” Steve replied.
“Hey, Bruce,” Nat said, smiling at the scientist.
“Nat, hi,” he smiled back.
“This is awkward,” Sam said after a few moments of awkward silence.
“So where’s Tony?” Steve asked.
“On his floor. He said about an hour ago he’d be down here; he just had to do something first,” Bruce told them.
As if on cue, Tony walked out of the elevator and made his way over to the group, sitting down on one of the couches.
“Hey, Tony,” Steve greeted.
“Spangles,” Tony replied.
“So, the Accords?” Steve started.
“Right. They have improved a lot. And with help and suggestions from you lot, we can make them better,” Tony addressed.
They discussed some things that would make them better and filled Bruce and Thor in on what had happened at the same time.
As they got to the end of discussing, Friday interrupted.
“Sorry to interrupt, boss, but it appears Mini Boss is in need of immediate assistance,” the AI told him.
Tony was on his feet in an instant and making his way to the elevator.
“I’ll be back later!” he called out over his shoulder as he entered the elevator.
After a few moments, everyone looked to Rhodey, knowing he was the closest with Tony.
“Who is Mini Boss?” Clint asked.
Rhodey sighed.
“Look, it’s not my secret to tell. But you’ll find out later. That is if Tony decides to tell you,” Rhodey told them.
Before anyone could start making conclusions, Friday spoke again.
“Doctor Banner, boss is requesting that you head to his suite right away,” Friday said.
Bruce got up and headed into the elevator, leaving the group.
Bruce gets out of the elevator and looks around. He doesn’t see Tony in the kitchen or near the living area.
“Tony?” he calls out.
“In here,” Tony calls out from down the hall.
Bruce walks into the room that Tony called from. Once entering, he notices that the walls are covered in posters, from Star Wars to science to other pop culture. He also sees Lego on some of the shelves and clothes scattered on the floor.
The room definitely belongs to a kid.
Bruce looks over to the bed. Once he does, he sees Tony sitting on the bed, holding a small teen to his chest and rocking back and forth slightly.
He looks to Bruce.
“What’s wrong?” he asks as he comes closer.
“I don’t know. When Friday told me he needed help, I came up here. I tried to wake him up, but I couldn’t. Then I asked Friday to run a scan, and apparently he’s hibernating,” Tony babbled.
Bruce’s brows crease for a moment. He then looks to Tony with his head tilted, making sure he just heard correctly.
Tony saw the look on his friend’s face and immediately explained to clear things up.
“He’s a mutant,” Tony supplied.
“Right,” Bruce said, nodding.
Bruce kneeled in front of Tony and the boy, taking the kid’s pulse, then feeling his forehead.
“What kind of mutations does he have? So I know how to help him,” Bruce asked as he stood.
“A spider. He’s basically a spider in a human body. Whatever a spider can do, he can do it. He just doesn’t have extra eyes and limbs. This is the first time he’s done this, though. Like, he’s never hibernated before,” Tony tells him.
“Okay, okay. I think the best thing is to take him to the medbay and run some tests to see what I can do,” Bruce said.
“Right, right. Friday, tell Helen to meet Bruce and me in the medbay,” Tony addressed his AI.
Tony stands while still holding Peter, positioning him on his hip, one hand under his butt and the other supporting the back of his head.
They walk out of the room and back to the elevator. While waiting for the elevator, Tony starts to bounce Peter slightly.
He looks over to Bruce, who is smiling at him fondly.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just that I didn’t know you had a kid. The dad look suits you,” Bruce tells him, keeping the smile on his face.
The elevator opens before Tony can answer. They exit and go over to a nearby bed. Tony goes to place Peter on the bed gently, but he pulls back up because Peter is still clinging to him.
Tony tries again, but the same thing happens. He chuckles, then sits on the bed himself, repositioning Peter so he’s on his lap with his head on Tony’s shoulder.
He looks over to Bruce, who looks very amused.
“He’s sticking to me. He won’t let me go,” Tony tells him, amusement in his voice.
Bruce comes over and hooks Peter up to some machines and finishes when Helen walks in.
“Friday told me what’s going on. The best thing is to take a blood sample and run some tests. The thing is, since he’s more spider than human, it would probably be best to let this run its course and let him wake up on his own,” she tells them while looking at her tablet.
Tony nods while he watches Helen take blood from his kid’s arm. He lays back and pulls Peter closer to his chest.
“And I think I have found out why he’s sticking to you—” Bruce starts, but Tony cuts him off.
“I already know that one. It’s because he’s vulnerable right now, and he’s seeing warmth and safety, kinda like a wolf spider. Not the first time he’s clung to me,” Tony says.
Bruce nods while he reads the machines that the boy is hooked up to. He then takes a seat next to the bed.
Tony looks over to him.
“What’s his name?” Bruce asks while looking at the boy.
“Peter,” Tony told him while looking down at his boy, starting to run his fingers through his curls.
“How old is he?” Bruce asks, keeping his voice soft.
“Fourteen.”
Bruce’s eyes widen at that.
“He’s small for his age,” Bruce comments.
“Yeah, he is. That’s part of his mutation. He’s smaller and lighter for the average fourteen-year-old,” Tony said without taking his eyes off Peter.
“So is he more spider than human, or more human than spider, or is it like 50/50?” Bruce asks.
“He’s more spider than human. He loves crawling on the walls. Loves making webs in the corner and sitting on them, stalking me, Pepper, and Rhodey. He’s just an adorable little spiderling,” Tony says, smiling the whole time he’s telling Bruce.
“So he acts like a spider a lot, huh?” Bruce is also smiling.
“Yes. He chirps every now and then, hisses, flashes his fangs when people get too close to a web he’s on, and other weird spider stuff,” Tony chuckles as he finishes talking.
Bruce himself lets out a little laugh.
A few minutes of silence later, Helen walks back in.
“Alright, good news,” she said, looking to Tony.
“What is it?”
“According to my tests, he should wake up either later today or tomorrow,” she tells him.
“Oh, thank God.” Tony puts his head back and holds Peter a little tighter.
“Now, when he does wake up, I suggest he eat light foods for a day, just so his body can adjust again,” Helen tells him.
“Right, thanks, Helen.” Tony offers her a smile.
“No problem. He should be fine to leave the medbay. The only problem is you might have trouble getting him to unstick from you,” she said with a smile, then left.
Tony rolls his eyes, and Bruce laughs.
“Okay, okay. I think we should go back to the common room before they come looking for us,” Tony said as he stood, putting Pete back onto his hip.
“Yeah,” Bruce agreed as he stood.
They get back into the elevator and head back to the common room. Again, Tony slightly bounces Peter on his hip and rubs his back.
The doors open, and everyone looks over to them walking back in. The only thing is, Tony is carrying a child with him.
They go sit back down on the couches, and everyone is looking at Tony. Rhodey is looking at him with a look of confusion and a small tint of worry on his face.
“He okay?” Rhodey asks.
“He’ll be fine, Rhodes,” Tony assures his friend.
“Tony,” Steve said.
Tony looks at him as he moves Peter into his lap, his head resting on his chest.
“Yes, Steve?” Tony looks at the captain now.
“You have a kid?” he asks.
“I do.” Tony gives a small nod.
A flash of guilt crosses Steve’s face. The others were silent for a moment. That was until Clint spoke.
“I thought I was the only one with a secret family. Gotta say, out of anything we could have had in common, I wasn’t planning on it being that,” he said with a smirk.
Tony smirked back and pulled Peter closer to him.
“How come I didn’t know about him?” Natasha questioned.
Tony thought about correcting them. But if they think Peter is his biological child, why not go along with it? Oh, this is going to be fun, he thought to himself.
“Well, I didn’t want him to be in the public eye, and being a poster boy like I was. I want him to have a normal childhood and grow up away from the spotlight.” He stops for a moment and takes a breath.
The others can tell there’s another reason.
“There’s another reason, isn’t there?” Sam asks.
“He’s also a mutant. And we all know how the world treats mutants. I just want to keep him safe,” Tony tells them.
Everyone that didn’t know that about Peter was silent for a moment. The silence was broken by Peter, who let out a groan as he started to wake up.
Tony’s eyes instantly snapped to the boy. He noticed that he was struggling to open his eyes.
Tony brushed hair out of Peter’s face and rubbed a thumb over his forehead.
“Take your time, kiddo. Just focus,” Tony coached.
Peter tried again and again, and about a few seconds later, two big brown orbs were looking at Tony. Tony smiled; he loves Peter’s spider eyes.
“Hey, bug. How are you feeling?” Tony asked softly with a smile.
“Dad? Wha’ happened?” Peter slurred as he unstuck his hands from his dad and rubbed his eyes.
“You started hibernating, kiddo,” Tony told him gently, helping him sit up fully while still on his lap.
“I did?” Peter cocked his head to the side while letting out a huge yawn, flashing his fangs and other sharper teeth to all in the room.
“Yeah, Pete. Your spider side thought it was a good idea to take a long nap,” Tony said as he patted Peter’s hair.
“Oh. I didn’t know I could hibernate,” Peter said, stretching out his limbs and letting out a small mew from the back of his throat.
Peter finally looked around the room for the first time and noticed the other heroes in the room. His eyes widened, and he shrinks in a little on his dad. Tony wraps his arms around his boy.
Clint was the first to speak, noticing the nerves of the boy.
“Hey, what’s your name, kid?” Clint asked nicely with a smile.
Peter peeked out from his dad to look at the archer.
“Peter,” he said quietly.
“Hello, Peter. I’m Clint.”
“I know, you’re cool,” Peter said, giving a small smile.
Clint smiled at the boy. Peter then looked more around the room, locking eyes with Bruce.
“Holy shit!” he said in awe. But Tony flicked his ear.
“Hey! Language!” Tony chastised.
Peter ducked his head and blushed.
“Sorry, Dad,” he mumbled.
The others chuckled at the interaction because it was usually Tony teasing Steve for telling people off for swearing.
“Now, you want to try that again?” Tony quirked an eyebrow.
“Dad. That’s Bruce Banner. He’s the most renowned scientist of this generation. Of course that’s how I’m going to react if I see my favourite scientist,” Peter said, then stuck his tongue out at Tony.
Tony rolled his eyes, then looked to Bruce.
“He’s a nerd, Brucie. Get ready for him to talk your ear off about your work,” Tony told the man.
Peter then looked up to his dad and lifted his lip to show his fangs. Tony couldn’t help but grin.
“Yes, you’re very scary, kiddo,” Tony said, still grinning.
Peter just crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. Tony ruffled his hair and chuckled.
“And plus, you’ve already technically met Bruce. He helped figure out that you were hibernating,” Tony told him.
“So, Peter, how old are you?” Steve asked.
“I’m fourteen, Mr. Captain America sir.”
Steve smiled.
“You can call me Steve.”
“And you can call everyone else by their first names too, kiddo. They don’t like the titles,” his dad tells him, and Peter nods.
Peter then wiggles out of his dad’s lap and stands, stretching some more.
“Your eyes are very brown, little one. I like them,” Thor comments.
Peter smiles at Thor.
“Thank you. And I, uh, I like your power,” Peter returns the compliment.
“So, Peter,” Bruce starts. Peter looks over to him.
“I heard about your mutation, and I think it’s quite remarkable.”
“You wanna see something I can do?” Peter says with a toothy grin.
“Sure,” Bruce says with a smile.
Peter then jumps to the ceiling and starts spinning a web. After spinning his web, he looks down at everyone and is smiling so big it looks like it hurts his face.
“Huh, you’re basically a spider, huh?” Clint looked up at the boy with a tiny grin.
“Uh huh!” Peter replied, still smiling.
“Hey, Nat, you have a spider friend,” Clint said, smirking at Natasha.
Peter then dropped down, landing on Tony and making him let out an audible “oof.”
Peter then giggled while he watched his dad turn a little red and straighten back up.
Peter was still in the middle of giggling; he didn’t even see Tony’s smirk as he was looking at him.
Peter then burst into harder giggles as Tony started to tickle him.
“Gah!” he spluttered as he giggled harder.
Tony just grinned and continued to tickle him.
“St-op, d-ad,” Peter managed to say between giggles.
“I don’t know, kiddie. Might have to keep going for a few minutes,” Tony said, loving the sound of his son’s adorable giggling.
“Pl-ease, sto-p, Dad,” Peter begged through his giggles.
Tony eventually let up and allowed Peter to catch his breath, his face red.
“Why did you do that?” Peter asked, his face still red, but it was from embarrassment rather than needing to catch his breath.
“Well, maybe think next time before using me as your personal trampoline. I’m not as young as I used to be, kiddo,” Tony explained.
“Oh, come on. I’m not that heavy!” Peter huffed.
“I know, buddy, but still can’t just drop on an old man like that,” Tony said with a little amusement in his voice.
“Ugh, fine. Sorry,” Peter said as he rested his head on his dad’s chest. He still felt pretty tired.
“You hungry, bubs?” Tony asked.
“Uh huh.”
“Okay. You wanna go up to our floor and get something to eat?” Tony asked as he wrapped his arms around Peter.
Peter nodded his head, feeling the exhaustion starting to creep back into his body.
“Okay. I’ll catch up with you guys later. I’m going to take this one to get something to eat, then to bed,” Tony said as he stood with his precious cargo.
They said their goodbyes as the others went into the elevator. Tony managed to get Peter to eat something, then put him to bed.
Once Peter was fed and in bed, he went back down to join the others. They asked more questions about Peter and answered all of them with a smile on his face.
Tony would still have them thinking he’s Peter’s biological dad. He smiled at the fun he could have with that knowledge. He also knew Peter would have some fun with it too.