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If asked, Tony Stark would put himself at the bottom of the list of ‘most fatherly people.’
He wasn’t particularly good with kids at all. In fact, he was the type of guy to make babies cry with a single glance. Whether that was because of his fucked upbringing (courtesy of his ass of a father Howard Stark) or if it was just Tony’s personality, didn’t matter. What mattered was that when it came to paternal things, it was best to call someone else. Anyone else.
At least that was how things were before Peter. A web slinging teen from Queens with a strong moral compass turned Tony’s life on its head. Peter Parker changed everything.
Something about the boy was pure and bright. Brighter than Tony’s thick sunglasses could block out. Peter was oh so similar to the billionaire, yet completely different at the same time. The longer Tony knew the kid, the more he came to love him. It was an emotion that scared Tony more than he would ever admit, but despite this fear he never pushed Peter away.
They had met because Tony needed Peter's strength to fight Cap. He hadn’t expected to get so attached. Things only changed after the incident with The Vulture. Out of equal parts guilt and interest revolving around the kid, Tony began mentoring Peter in his lab at the Avengers Compound.
The late nights they spent together in the lab grew in number as the months passed. It got to a point where Peter spent the same amount of time at his home that he did at Tony’s place. Of course that meant that Tony had a room built for Peter at the Compound, where else would the kid sleep when he spent the weekends with Tony?
The change from mentor to father figure was gradual. But if Tony had to pinpoint the time his feelings towards Peter fully shifted he would probably say it was when he woke up one night from a nightmare and to calm down he had F.R.I. pull up Peter's heartbeat for him to listen to. You don’t really do that with a mentee, Tony came to realize the next morning.
Accepting the change had been the hardest part for the billionaire. When Tony first realized he saw Peter as his son, he was scared he would mess the kid up similar to how Howard had messed him up. It had taken Tony a few weeks of deep self loathing to realize that Peter and his relationship was nothing like Howard's and his. After this realization, Tony really began embracing this new change in his life. He would be the best father he could be to Peter, biology be damned.
Two years passed in this fashion with Tony slowly taking on a bigger role in Peter's life. While neither of them labeled the relationship it was clear as day how they both felt. Tony was Peter's dad in every way that counted and Peter was Tony’s son.
The billionaire had never felt the need to tell his staff about his and Peter's relationship. Instead everyone knew Peter as Stark's personal intern. That worked just fine. At least, it had been working just fine.
It was one of the many days where Peter was coming over to the compound. Tony was already waiting for him in the lab, tinkering with upgrades for a new Spider-man suit. He was waiting for about an hour before F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s voice rang out.
“Boss, there appears to be a conflict with security at the front of the compound.”
Tony raised an eyebrow. “Is there a threat?”
“No threat. It seems that Peter Parker forgot his ID badge and is being denied entry.”
Tony huffed. It wasn’t uncommon for Peter to forget or full on lose his ID badge. Security was pretty tight at the Compound so when things like this happened, Peter would usually call Tony or Happy to come escort him up. That way he wouldn’t need his ID.
“Can you send Happy to go get him?” Tony replied.
“No. Happy is currently transporting Mrs. Potts to a conference.”
“Right…” Tony sighed and stood from his chair, heading to the elevator. He assumed this would be an easy trip with him going down to the lobby to retrieve his forgetful kid but when he arrived Peter wasn’t there. Tony stepped out of the elevator and glanced around before speaking. “F.R.I. where's my kid?”
F.R.I.D.A.Y. didn’t miss a beat. “It seems that security has escorted Peter off the premises.”
Tony groaned and waved off the security that attempted to follow him as he walked out the front doors.
“Pete?” Tony lazily called. He knew that Peter would likely wait around outside the building after being kicked out for Tony to come grab him.
“Mr. Stark!” Tony immediately recognized the voice and turned to see his kid leaning against the side of the building. Before Tony could say anything in reply, he noticed a large bruise beginning to form on Peter's right arm.
“What happened?” Tony asked as he closed the distance between them and grabbed Peter's arm.
Peter winced slightly, causing Tony to weaken his grip, though he didn’t let go. “What happened?” Tony repeated, voice icy.
Peter glanced at the ground. “It’s my fault Mr. Stark, they were just trying to do their job.”
“One of my men did this to you?” Tony’s eyes were wide and trained on Peter's arm.
Peter considered his answer before nodding. “Technically but again, they were just doing their job.”
“Pete tell me what happened.” Tony asked again, one hand raising to rest on Peter's shoulder.
With one last sigh Peter finally relented. “I came into the compound but I didn’t have my ID on me and my phone was dead so I couldn’t call you to pick me up. I told the security people that if they called you, you would vouch for me. I guess saying I personally knew Tony Stark made me look like a crazy person because they began to drag me out. I got scared and kinda pushed one of the guys, not hard! But I guess it was hard enough because the other dude latched onto my arm and threw me outside.”
Tony’s gaze darkened and he gently squeezed Peter's shoulder to ground himself. “Those pricks…You’re just a kid.”
Peter’s cheeks reddened with embarrassment. “Dad I’m 17 I’m not a baby.” It wasn’t the first time Peter had called Tony ‘dad.’ The two never really discussed labels but the term often slipped out of Peter's lips and neither ever said anything.
“You’re my kid, I won’t stand for it.” Tony’s voice was firm and he began guiding Peter back into the building. The security guards who had thrown Peter out paled slightly at the sight. When the pair passed them, Tony mumbled a quick, “I’ll deal with you later.” under his breath and led his son to the elevator.
At Peter's firm request, Tony didn’t fire the two guards who had manhandled his kid but he did suspend them and dock their pay.
The very next day after the incident, all of the security guards were called into a meeting hosted by none other than Tony Stark himself. During that meeting they were told that the teenage boy named Peter Parker never needed an ID because he was Tony’s kid. They were also informed that Peter should be treated with the utmost respect at all times. Tony didn’t elaborate even when he was met with confused stares and slack jaws from his employees.
When Peter found out about the meeting he nearly died of embarrassment but at the same time couldn’t help but feel his heart swell.
Needless to say that if asked, Peter would put Tony Stark at the top of the list of ‘most fatherly people.’