loosely inspired by @irondadbingo‘s cliche prompt “people think peter is tony’s kid”
They had every right to assume, now that Tony thought about it.
Peter and Tony were together most of the time the teen was in the tower, Tony called him ‘kiddo’, and Tony treated him like his son. Rhodey made a joke about the two being so closely related, telling Peter to call Tony his father, so whenever the man was in proximity, the teenager called Tony 'pops’. It doubled as a jab at Tony’s age.
In general, they had a close father-son relationship, no matter how they both denied it. Rhodey had caught Peter asleep on Tony’s shoulder on their every-other-weekend movie night. Of which they hadn’t had lately due to Tony being so busy with the accords. They had one scheduled this weekend, or the same weekend everyone would be moving back into the tower.
Bucky had been picked up from Wakanda, or wherever the fuck he was and pardoned, Steve had been released from wherever he was being held, and even Clint accepted a room in the tower, despite his farm. It pissed Tony off, but he didn’t want to argue with the law anymore. He’d learned from that.
The group huddled in the elevator. Tony, Natasha, Rhodey, Bucky, Steve, and Clint. Tony spoke, facing the elevator doors. “So, we need to go over the ground rules, which have changed. We all eat dinner together if everyone’s home, and if not we can still sit down but it’s not necessary. Nothing inappropriate and watch the language. Training is only allowed from four to five on weekdays and on Saturdays, it doesn’t matter as long as you don’t wake someone up. FRIDAY has all your commands set up and your handprints help you to get into most rooms, otherwise, just say your name. Clint, signing 'deaf’ will come up with a screen to help you. Questions?”
“Yes, Bucky, it’s your right hand,” Tony replied, not missing a beat.
Tony, Natasha, Rhodey and the rogues- god, Tony had to stop using that term- followed him into the living room. They were moving back in and Tony was sure Peter would hate it. Tony sighed. “This is the living room, we got a new couch and new TV, so don’t spill shit on it or download anything inappropriate on it. I’m looking at you two.” He pointed at Bucky and Steve.
“You never care about we make even sex jokes, so why now?” Clint interrupted. He didn’t get in a whole lot of trouble with the accords, but he wasn’t on the greatest terms with everyone. “You make the jokes most out of everybody, why are there now rules?”
Before Tony could answer, Peter slid out of his room, one of his shoes untied, his hair hastily brushed. Tony grinned, but the boy was rushing down the halls. “Sorry, Pops, I’m late to meet up with Ned and MJ and freakin’ Ned threatening to send me old 2011 memes if I’m any later, but I’ll be home by dinner, I swear.”
I was going to introduce you later, but… “Do you need cash?” Tony stopped him, putting a hand in front of the teen. Peter usually forgot, and they were in the pricier part of New York, so those two factors wouldn’t be all that helpful. Peter’s rushing halted.
“Oh, shoot.” He stopped and turned. His face burnt red. “Um, yes sir.” The teen seemed somewhat embarrassed asking for money, but Tony didn’t care.
“For the three of you.” Tony handed him the card. “Don’t lose it, don’t talk to strangers, don’t spill any Avenger secrets, and have fun.” Tony named the rules off on his fingers.
“Thanks, old man. I’ll tell Ned all about your prototypes!” Peter started to back towards the elevator. Before Tony could protest, the boy was in the elevator, snickering.
Tony turned back to the group, who stared at him like he’d grown another head. Rhodey was smirking like a dick. The engineer frowned. “What?”
“You have changed.” Steve seemed… mad. “You didn’t tell us?”
Tony frowned. I can let anyone I want have a room in my tower. "Okay, hypocrite. Anyway, let me show you the rooms.“ He started to walk down the hall the teen had just emerged from. All the doors automatically opened but one, the one closest to the living room. Bucky pressed his hand to the sensor, which had newly been installed. It beeped red, denying his entry.
“That’s Peter’s.” Tony replaced Bucky’s hand, showing the semi-tidy bedroom. It had muted blue walls, a black bed, and his desk. He had minimal decorations, but clothes sprawled on the floor near the bed and homework all over the desk. Before anyone could speak, the door shut. On the wall the group couldn’t see, there was a trans flag over the closet. Ironic. “Alright, it goes to Pete, Rhodey, Natasha, Clint, Wanda, Sam, Bucky, Steve. Nobody gets to share. No pets. The kid’s allergic to fur.”
“Are you going to tell us about him yet?” Bucky piped up.
“He’s none of your business, guys. Let him be. I’ll be in my suite, where none of you are allowed. I’ll be making dinner when the kid gets home. Ask FRI if you have questions and don’t break anything.” He went into the elevator, checking his phone to make sure Peter had made it to the cafe safely.
Bucky, Steve, and Natasha all murmured together. The elevator dinged and the teen opened, holding three drinks. A muted orange-colored smoothie, a Pepsi bottle, and a vibrant orange soda. He set them all down on the kitchen counter. “Miss Romanov, this one’s for you.” He handed her the soda bottle.
“Which one’s mine?” Bucky asked. Peter’s face flushed with color. The man didn’t shout 'just kidding’, only giving the boy an absent stare. The teen panicked quickly.
“Um.. you didn’t ask for one. Sorry, I, uh-”
The elevator dinged again. The billionaire exited, a smirk growing across his voice once his eyes fell on the kid. The teen’s anxiety melted away, his shoulders visibly relaxing. “Hey, bubba. This my smoothie?”
“Mango?! I asked for strawberry!” Tony threw his hands in the air. He had a small grin on his face, trying to show he was kidding, but Peter’s expression contorted to worry. “Woah, woah, kid, I’m kidding. Have you met me? I lived in malibu for years, I love mango.”
Peter nodded, shifting foot to foot. Something’s wrong. Tony thought. The boy was bad at hiding it.“I’m gonna go work on my homework.”
“Alright, bubba. We’re gonna dinner soon, so don’t fill up on junk food or whatever you have in your room.” Tony waved him off, a smile growing on the teen’s face.
“I don’t keep food in my room!”
“We both know that’s a lie. You’re forgetting the time I caught you with that big pack of Twizzlers. I should’ve grounded you.” Tony fell onto the couch next to Bucky, Peter disappearing into his bedroom. Tony looked at Natasha. “Something’s wrong. I bet it was that Flash kid, he always gets like that when Flash’s done something. It’s like my dad senses are kicking in.”
The two on the couch shared a glance. “Steve’s pissed at you,” Bucky informed him.
“Good for him, Buck.” He didn’t ask any further. They put on a show and let it slide, Tony’s worry kept silent. He’d ask later.
Dinner had arrived late, so as people got hungry, they all made their way into the kitchen. Steve, Natasha, Clint, Bucky, and Tony all sat at the table. They were digging into the food, and small conversations started about their day and plans.
Peter padded into the room, silently taking the empty chair next to his mentor. He dug in, helping himself and the conversation went on seamlessly. The only difference is that Steve had stopped speaking, now shooting small glares into Peter, making the boy curl in on himself a bit.
“Did something happen at the cafe?” Tony asked. “You’re just quiet.” Ton’s conversation with Peter was quieter than most of the others so he wasn’t spilling the kid’s secrets to the entire table.
“Yeah, uh, we saw Flash of all people.” Peter shrugged, not making eye contact. Peter had always told his mentor about how much Flash bothered him.
“That kid’s a brat. I could tell, you just seemed upset. Is there anything specific he did?” Tony put a hand on his shoulder.
“He just said some uh…” He lowered his voice significantly. His eyes darted around the table to make sure nobody was staring. “Transphobic stuff.”
“What?” Tony asked a little too loud.
“You should’ve told me sooner if he does anything I’ll be at the school in nine minutes. That’s how fast the suit takes me. No kid named goddamn Flash picks on my kid.” Which made Peter start to giggle. Tony ignored the daggers Steve was glaring into his back.
“And I’m going to fly to Serbia next week.” Nat finished. “What’s up with you two?” She gestured to Steve and Tony. Tony looked up in confusion, Steve’s eyes darting away from the kid.
“It’s nothing.” Steve murmured, going back to his food. Alright, dickhead.
“Anyway,” Tony continued. “We’re gonna put on Doctor Who. Who’s in?” The entire table raised their hands, minus Natasha and Steve. Tony grinned and elbowed Peter. “We’ve got a crowd. The sofa can’t fit all of us.”
“We can take the floor.” Bucky shrugged. He raised to put away his and Steve’s plates. The term we was odd. “We aren’t picky. What season?”
“Season two!” Peter announced. “I love David Tennant!” He grinned ear to ear. “And the little robot Dalek guys!”
“Petey-Pie Doctor Who fan here hasn’t seen anything besides season two,” Tony announced. Peter didn’t answer because it was true. He just snickered, shrugging. The boy launched into a ramble about David Tennant’s entire filmography.
Clint dove into the recliner, calling dibs. Tony took the couch and Peter sat next to the man in the middle. The right was taken by Steve, who didn’t seem all that happy to sit next to the boy. But Bucky had his head in Steve’s lap, so the soldier was obligated to stay until Bucky fell asleep or went to his room.
Tony didn’t find the show all that interesting, but he knew Peter did, so he didn’t comment. Peter’s doe eyes were fixated on the TV. He had a small smile on his face, content. After three episodes though, it had gotten late. Bucky was the first one to fall asleep, Steve running his hands through Bucky’s hair from the couch. The brunette closed his eyes, probably falling asleep to the rhythm.
In the middle of the second, Peter put his head on Tony’s shoulder, closing his eyes. By the end of the third, Tony glanced at Steve. “I’m gonna put him in bed, you can stay out here and change the show.”
“Were you ever going to tell us about him?” Steve gestured to the boy. Tony made a face.
“Of course I would’ve. It’d be pretty difficult to keep that from you guys- Rhodey knew, though. He would’ve wanted to meet you, anyway. He’s a good kid. He always has been.”
Steve avoided eye contact. “Would he, though? Want to meet Buck and me, that is. After everything-”
“He would’ve loved it. Well, he tells me he watches your educational videos in class, so maybe not as excited for you.” Tony laughed. “You’re making this a big deal, Capsicle.”
“Yeah, well, if Natasha had a kid, you’d want to know, wouldn’t you?”
“That’s a bad analogy.” Tony rolled his eyes. I just let an intern live here, you’re being dramatic.
“It’s not. He’s what, fourteen years old? That’s before you were Iron Man. You never told us?” Steve frowned, crossing his arms. “I thought we were family.”
“What?” Tony frowned. What did Peter’s age have to do with anything?
Steve looked down at the boy, his lips curling downward.“Who’s his mom? It’s not Pepper, is it? She-”
“What? Steve, he’s not my son!” Tony announced. Have they been messing with Peter this entire time? For fuck’s sake. “Steve, his name is Peter Parker-”
“Then why do you call him your son?! 'Kiddo’? For fuck’s sake, Tony, if he isn’t your son, then why do you say he’s 'your kid’?” Steve threw his hands up. “You aren’t going to pretend he isn’t your son, blood or not?”
“He’s not my son, Steve! He’s an intern who, yeah, I care about, but he’s not my son. If he sees me as a father figure, I’m okay with that, but I’m not going to force that on him. You guys all thought-”
“Dad?” Peter asked, half asleep. “Whuh’s goin’ on?”
“Nothing, Pete, let’s get you to your room.” He helped the sleepy teen up, the boy confused at the sudden harshness. Tony had a hand on Peter’s back, bringing him to his bedroom. The teen fell onto his bed, curling up under the blankets.
Tony sighed. I’m sorry, bubba.
The elevator opened. He entered the living room to see Steve, Bucky, Clint, Natasha, and Wanda on the couch. Tony entered. “What’re you guys congregating about?”
“Peter,” Bucky answered. Steve hit his arm. Tony groaned loudly, rolling his eyes.
“Seriously? I told you guys, he’s not my son.”
Bucky started a list on his palm. “You two look alike, you’re both… kinda smart, and you kept calling him 'your kid’. Steve said he called you dad.”
“He was half asleep, okay? Leave him alone. I’m not his dad, okay? You guys need to chill out. We don’t even look alike.”
“You two are the same person,” Clint interjected.
The conversation fell silent as Peter walked into the room. The teen was in his pajamas, as he was the night before. A black water bottle in one hand, the other in his pocket. He raised an eyebrow at all the eyes on him.
“See?” Steve gestured to the two.
“See what?” Peter asked, unscrewing the cap and taking a drink. Silence hung in the air. Tony tried to wave him off to get him to go back into his bedroom.
“Steve, don’t get him involved. Pete, don’t listen to them, they’re just-”
“Are you Tony’s son?” Bucky asked. The silence hung in the air. Nobody spoke until Peter snorted, about to start laughing. He shook his head quickly.
“No, sir. My last name’s Parker. My dad’s Richard Parker and my mom’s Mary. Died in about ten years ago, so I moved in with my aunt and uncle.” Peter shrugged. He started to make a bowl of cereal. “Like, six months after my uncle died Mr. Stark and I met, and I helped out a lot in the lab to the point we had weekly ones here and, I dunno,” He took in a mouthful of cereal. “I guess he tolerates me.”
Steve shut up. Tony spoke for him. “Sorry kid.”
“It’s no biggie. I did accidentally call you dad. I’ve done it to Ben like hundreds of times.” He took another bite. “But the only reason I called you pops is 'cuz it makes Mr. Rhodey laugh. But you do act like a dad sometimes.” He turned to Tony. “You make sure I do my homework, you called me bambino once.”
Tony shrugged. “That’s true. So no guys, he’s not my kid. Any other questions?” Nobody asked. Tony shrugged. “Well, Pete, I’ll be in the lab, come and join me when you want.” And Tony exited.
Steve looked up at the teenager. “Peter, I’m so sorry, I had no idea-”
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