Archive of Our Own ^beta

*Now*

“He’s grown up a lot.”

Tony perked up at Steve’s words as his co-leader of the avengers strolled up next to him. He was seated in his lawn chair he had brought out with him and watched as Thor taught Peter how to control his immense strength. Loki would pipe in every so often to add things his brother would forget when dealing with someone not as strong.

“You think so?” Tony raised a brow and relaxed further in his seat. “I feel like he’s the same pain in the ass he’s always been.”

“He’s not the same fifteen year that used to beg to go on missions with us,” Steve chuckled, his arms coming up to cross over his broad chest. Across the field, Peter stood up straight as he laughed at something Thor said. One moment, Steve is looking at a nearly 18-year-old Peter…and a blink later, he is looking at a gangly, freshly turned fifteen-year-old. “Remember that time with the rocket?”

Tony grimaced at the memory. “Ugh, how could I forget?”

*Some Years Ago*

“I get to go on a mission?!”

Tony winced at the excited screech from his protégé, Peter literally jumping in joy from the news Steve told him. To be honest, he wasn’t that keen on bringing the kid but his particular skills sets were going to beneficial to the mission. Tony had lost in a vote in the last meeting they held which Peter missed due to an important test.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get your spandex in a twist,” Tony huffed, putting his hands on Peter’s shoulders to stop him from jumping. “You are not going to be anywhere near live combat.”

“Aww, what?” Peter wilted, his puppy dog eyes coming out. Tony narrowed his eyes and bit his lip in a way that it was uncomfortable to not be caught in their trap. May had taught him as Peter would try to use his sad puppy dog eyes on unsuspecting victims and it took her using this trick before she grew immune to them.

“I’m not having aunt hottie get on my case because you wanted to fight someone and got shot. We've already one notch on your belt and I don't want you adding more,” Tony frowned. He pulled his hands back and propped them up on his hips. “I didn’t even want to bring you into a fight like this but I was out-voted.”

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence,” Peter grumbled, turning his gaze to the ground. Tony could see the look of sadness cross the teenager’s face.

“You know that’s not what I meant.” Tony pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to find the right words. “I don’t like the idea of bringing a teenager out into the field like this. HYDRA is bad news.”

“So are a lot of the other villains I’ve fought against,” Peter argued. His shoulders bunched up near his neck and Tony could seeing Peter’s hackles raising. “I’ve been fighting for a whole year now.”

“Wow, a whole year,” Tony said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

Peter grew irritated at Tony’s words, stomping a foot against the ground. “I’m not a little kid like you seem to think I am.”

“You are to me,” Tony stared him down. “I am trying my best to make sure that you see your 21^st birthday and you are making that quite difficult. You know what, I'm making that my goal in this whole mentor-mentee thing.” Peter rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue in distaste. “Don’t you pop that attitude with me,” Tony hissed, pointing his finger at Peter.

“Fine, whatever,” Peter threw his hands in the air and stomped away. “I guess I’ll stick to the sidelines like I always do!”

“That’s damn right!” Tony exclaimed at Peter’s back as the kid stomped away. “And you’re going to stay on those sidelines until I say otherwise!”

If Peter grumbled something, it wasn’t heard as the door to the conference room slammed shut. Tony groaned and brought his hands up to rub at his face. A shy clearing of a throat had Tony peeking out to look at Steve.

“Well…that went well,” Steve hummed, his hands tapping together in front of him.

“Oh, cut the act,” Tony groaned, dropping his hands. “Why can’t the kid understand that I am trying to protect him?”

“He’s growing up,” Steve shrugged with a soft smile. “Peter is bound to want to branch out and spread his wings some more.”

“Pete’s already spread his wings out far enough for now,” Tony frowned. “I don’t want him pushing himself too far and not having me there to catch him.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine, Tones,” Steve said as he clapped him on the shoulder. “I would apologize to him before we set off though.”

“Wha-what? Apologize? Me?” Tony sputtered and laid a hand on his chest. “I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“You kind of did,” Steve winced. “You told him that he wasn’t wanted and it hurt his feelings a lot.”

Peter’s sadden face after Tony said he didn’t want Peter on the mission flash in Tony’s mind. Groaning, Tony brought his hands to up again to scrub at his face. Sometimes, it felt like he was never doing this mentor thing right. “How bad did I mess up?” Tony asked.

“Nothing that can’t be fixed with an apology and a heartfelt reason behind it,” Steve smiled, patting Tony on the shoulder. “If it’s any consolation, I think you are doing great at this dad thing.”

“I’m not his dad,” Tony remarked quickly, pulling his hands away. “I am his mentor that is just making sure his student isn’t going to die before he can have his first legal drink.”

Steve looked at Tony for a second before shaking his head. “I think you’re lying to yourself Tones.”

“Listen capsicle, the kid isn’t my kid,” Tony tried to explain. “He is some kid that I found on YouTube one random day and decided I would take under my wing so he wouldn’t die in some sorry excuse of a suit underoos he made in his bedroom.”

"What about the time you helped him finish a project due the next day?"

"He needed the help and I was around."

"What about the mini fridge in your lab filled with his favorite drinks and snacks?"

"The kid gets hungry and I'm not about to let him follow in my footsteps with my eating habits."

"Or what about binge watching star wars with him?"

"I promised him I would if he aced his test - which he did," Tony answered with a proud smile.

"And designing him his own room on your personal floor?"

"The guest room was bland and boring," Tony shrugged. "I'm just preparing for, if one day, we go too late with tinkering in the lab and his aunt lets him spend the night." Tony shot Steve a flat look. "I'm just being a good mentor."

Steve hummed as he turned away and started heading towards the door. “If you say so, Tony.” Steve placed his hand on the doorknob and turned his head to look over his shoulder. “I just want to say, you may not see it but we all do.”

“Whatever, you fossil,” Tony rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

Steve turned away and left the room, letting the door fall shut behind him. Alone in the conference room, Tony let himself drop into a chair and cover his eyes with an arm. He had been stressed ever since the moment they recommended bringing Peter on this mission. Tony hadn’t been lying when he said he didn’t want to the bring the kid but he was really worried about bringing Peter. The kid had a track record with getting in over his head that did not help his heart in any form.

Sitting in the silence of the conference room, Tony dropped his head back and groaned. “…I need an apology present,” Tony muttered to himself.

He wasn’t about to let his precious mentor-student relationship with Peter shatter over an argument like this.

*Present*

“Did you know how many gray hairs I got from that mission alone?” Tony scoffed as he gestured to his hair that had been recently re-dyed. “Scratch that, do you know how many I’ve gotten just from worrying about my dumbass kid?”

“Your kid?” Steve smirked with a bounce of his eyebrows. Another blink, and that fifteen-year-old boy was back to his almost 18-year-old young man self.

“Of course, he's my kid,” Tony frowned, cocking his head to the side to look at Steve. “Is your memory going or something? Do I need to finally start looking at retirement homes for you?”

Steve chuckled again and just shook his head. “No, I’m just remembering a certain thing. It’s not that important.” He looked to see Thor beckoning Bucky over to act as Peter’s opponent so Thor could see how he fought. Peter smirked as he shot a jab at Bucky, making the super soldier scoff. “It’s so interesting seeing how’s he’s really grown into his own self.”

“You mean into the best person either of us are ever going to meet?” Tony smirked, taking a sip of his drink. “I still can’t believe that someone under my tutelage can turn out as good as him.”

“You aren’t that bad,” Steve chuckled. “Though, I would say he has the same lack of self-preservation you do.”

“The kid is worst than me,” Tony grumbled.

“Say the same guy that flew a rocket into a wormhole,” Steve shot back.

“Yeah, but at least I had a suit that could fly,” Tony defended himself. “The kid sticking himself to a rocket with no way down besides one flimsy parachute is worse.”

“If you say so,” Steve rolled his eyes.

*Some Years Ago*

“Tell us what that rocket is for already!” Clint demanded. He and Natasha towered over the Hydra agent laughing manically on the ground even as they used their special interrogation techniques.

Tony was suddenly very happy that Peter was currently sneaking through air vents on the other side of the Hydra base they were at right now. May would kill him if she found if Peter saw something like this under his watch. He was already on thin ice when it came to May’s patience with him and Tony would rather use his tiny bit of leeway on something else.

Maybe he could finally convince her to let Peter stay a weekend at the compound.

“Can you two make him spit it out already?” Tony groaned, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall in his suit. His face plate was lifted up and he could feel the cool breeze of the outside brushing against him. It made him hope that Peter had the heating on in his suit. He knew the kid couldn’t handle the cold at all since the spider bite.

“You think we aren’t trying?” Clint gritted his teeth, his fingers tapping against his bow in agitation.

“Want me to take a crack at it?” Bucky sneered, cracking his flesh fingers with his metal hand in a way that made the Hydra agent look the tiniest bit afraid.

There was a rumbling of the ground then, making everyone lose their footing. Outside the window near Tony, he could see a rocket launching out of a nearby building that was connected to theirs. Hydra’s symbol was brandished proudly on the side, make Tony groan as he figured he would be the one that would have to go chase after the rocket.

"Ugh...Mr.Stark?" Peter's voice crackled over the mic.

"In a minute, 'roo," Tony murmured, bemoaning internally having to chase another rocket. "Little busy."

“You are too late!” the Hydra agent cackled as the rocket shot up high into the air behind them. “Once our satellite gets into space, we will be able to take control of all the information the world has to offer!” Natasha blew out an air of frustration before punching the guy swiftly in the face to knock him out.

“Well, this got a whole lot harder,” Steve sighed, running a hand down his face.

“How are we supposed to get up there in time to stop it?” Clint complained as he watched the rocket get smaller and smaller. Narrowing his eyes, he caught the glimpse of something red crawling up it. “What the hell?”

“What is it?” Natasha asked. She held her hands up to shade her eyes against the sun that the rocket was facing. “Do you see something?”

“There’s something red on the rocket,” Clint informed the group.

“Wait a second, what building was Peter in?” Tony asked suddenly. No one seemed to have an answer as they looked around. By the way Natasha pressed her lips flat together, she was the first one to put the pieces together. “Friday, track Peter’s suit.”

There were a couple beeps before a ding sounded in his ear. “It seems like the mini boss is currently on the rocket.” Tony’s screen zoomed in towards the leaving rocket to show the red-and-blue costumed figure clinging to the side of it.

“He is what?!”

*Now*

“What are you two talking about?” Peter asked as he approached. Thor had called for a momentary break so he could pull Loki away from Clint as the god of mischief was living up to his namesake and annoying the archer.

“Your first major HYDRA mission with us,” Steve answered. Tony reached to the side and opened the cooler he brought out with his earlier and grabbed a water bottle for Peter. He tossed it over to the teenager who caught it with hardly a blink.

“The one where I hitched a ride on the rocket?” Peter asked, twisting the cap off the water bottle and raising it up to his lips to take multiple large gulps.

“That’s the one,” Steve nodded.

“That was so fun,” Peter smiled as he finished drinking, wiping excess drips of water off his chin where it dripped down. "Like the world's scariest roller coaster."

“You almost gave me a heart attack,” Tony deadpanned.

“I lived,” Peter shrugged. “Y.O.L.O., right?”

“No, not Y.O.L.O.” Tony scolded. “No more rocket surfing.”

“Darn, that really messed up my winter break plans,” Peter teased with a chuckle.

“Kid, I swear on all the gods I don’t believe in,” Tony sighed and roughing rubbed his face.

“Ah, you know I’m just messing with you,” Peter laughed, propping a hand on his hip and lazily holding his bottle at his side. “I think I’m good to have my limit be the top of the empire state building. It was so freaky being that high up.”

*Some Years Ago*

“This is so dumb,” Peter muttered to himself. “Why did I do this?” He was bracing himself close to the surface of the rocket with his head ducked down. Peter had barely been able to grab onto the edge of the rocket as it suddenly ignited.

Peter had found where the rocket was when he was sneaking back to the rendezvous. It had startled him when he passed a cover in the vent shaft and heard the loud countdown of the rocket. All the Hydra agents had rushed out of the room so no one heard Peter when he dropped in.

He didn’t have to be told that this rocket was bad news if Hydra was behind it. Peter didn’t understand the countdown that was in another language but he did know how to rework circuitry. Maybe his Parker Luck was decided to take the day off and he could stop the rocket from taking off before the count down was over. With a deep breath of confidence, Peter had jumped up and stuck to the smooth metal of the rocket.

Which was exactly when the rocket took off.

That damn Parker luck coming into play again.

Peter risked a look down and paled when he saw how far away the ground was already. He was used to being high up from swinging all over the tall buildings of the city but here, there was no place for him to shoot his webs to break his fall. If he were to fall, all he had was the small parachute in his suit that he doubted would help out that much from his rapidly increasing height.

Let’s not forget about the rocket that was currently climbing into the atmosphere.

“Peter, please tell me that you are not on that rocket right now,” Tony’s voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

“I’m not on the rocket,” Peter answered as he moved one hand up to start climbing.

“…”

“What? I’m telling you what you wanted to hear,” Peter smirked. Comedy and sass were his coping mechanisms in stressful situation but it probably wasn’t going to be well reciprocated in a situation like this. “Anyway, what is this rocket?”

“Peter. You need to get off of it right now.”

“Well, now you’re scaring me,” Peter gulped, climbing higher. The ground was getting very small underneath of him.

“You’re scaring me!” Tony screeched, the feedback ringing in Peter’s ear enough to make him wince. “You are not supposed to be on there!”

“Peter, listen to me,” Natasha’s voice took over. “That rocket is heading towards space with a satellite. If that thing gets into orbit, it will allow HYDRA to access whatever communications or hack any secure network it wants to.”

“Nat! Shut up!” Tony yelled.

“I know this is going to be tough but we need you to stop the rocket from reaching its destination,” Natasha continued as if she didn’t hear Tony.

“No! We are supposed to encouraging him to jump off before it gets too far!” Tony screeched in fear. “Kid! I’m following right after the rocket! Just let go and I’ll catch you!”

Peter looked behind him and he saw the Iron Man suit flying up towards him but he was very far away. The rocket was beating out Tony in speed as instead of getting closer, the red and gold suit was becoming more and more of a dot.

“Wow, Mr. Stark, I didn’t realize how high up we were already,” Peter marveled. He gave himself two seconds to look before resuming his mission of getting closer to the control panel of the rocket.

“Kid, you gotta let go,” Tony begged. Far behind Peter, he could see the dot that was Tony’s suit as it followed. “I’ll get whatever Lego set you want or watch all the star wars movie with you again. Please, I’m begging here, please let go.”

“No can do,” Peter said back to him. “You heard what Miss Black Widow said. If this gets to that satellite, they are going to hack anything they want in the world.” Peter finally got to the panel and opted to just punching his hand into the metal to tear the cover off. He shook off the metal siding and it disappeared into the sky below Peter. “Besides, I’m already here. I can finish this in a jiffy.”

“You don’t have a jiffy! Don’t you feel how thin that air already is?!”

Yeah…Peter definitely realized that little fact. He could feel how much harder it was to get a lung-full of air as he climbed higher. There was a bit of ice that was trying to form on his shoulders and head that he had to keep brushing off.

“Then stop arguing with me and let me finish this quickly!” Peter shot back. “I got this!”

“Kid, I would love to optimistic mentor here, but I am really worrying about your safety.”

“If I prioritize my safety here, so many other people’s is going to be put in jeopardy!”

“I could care less about that right now! You are the one I care about! We can worry about them once your two feet are back on solid dirt!”

“…Mr. Stark, I am shutting down this rocket,” Peter said with a hard voice. Making sure that his feet with in position, Peter let go with both hands and reached elbow deep into wires and circuitry. He ignored the screaming pleas to let go that rang in his ears from the mask's speakers as he worked. There was no indicator that whatever Peter was doing was working but he figured that if he pulled enough things out, it would shut down whatever program was running it.

Peter felt the rocket’s thrusters sputter to a stop underneath of him. He threw his hands in the air with a cheer as his work paid off, the rocket coming to float lightly. In front of him was a blanket of darkness broken up by the bright stars. 

Looking down, the view of the world below made his already lacking breath escape from him in an exhale of awe. He didn’t see Tony in his suit racing after him nor did he hear the desperate calls from his mentor in his ear. From the side, the light from the sun shined on Peter. It was strange to Peter with how close it was to the sun’s beams but the cold of the upper atmosphere chilled him to the bone.

To be honest, Peter’s head was feeling pretty stuffy. He felt like he couldn’t get a full breath no matter how much he tried breathing. Peter knew that the must be really thin up here but it felt like there was no oxygen at all. His stifled gasping couldn’t seem to suck in enough oxygen to fuel his brain.

But the view…it was nothing he had ever seen before. Peter gave a small laugh at the sheer beauty of it…which probably wasn’t good as it used more of Peter’s barely there supply of air in his lungs.

“Hey, Tony, I don’t feel so good,” Peter muttered breathily before his eyes rolled up in his heads.

With that, Peter let go of the rocket.

*Now*

“And do you know how much it freaked me out when you let go of the rocket?” Tony shot back.

“I didn’t let go – I fell off,” Peter corrected.

“Really helping your case here, Pete,” Tony deadpanned.

“Wait, you didn’t let go of it on your own accord?” Steve blinked in surprise. “I thought that was a last action of desperation.”

“Not at all,” Peter shook his head as he answered. “There wasn’t enough oxygen to my brain so I was knocked out due to suffocation. I guess my stickness decided to turn off the same time I did which led up falling.”

“And what a roller coaster of emotions that was on top of everything,” Tony grumbled.

*Some Years Ago*

“No!”

Tony screamed when he saw the lithe form of Peter’s body fall away from the rocket. Back first, Peter fell and his limbs flailed wildly. “Peter?! Can you hear me?!”

There was no answer as Peter’s body came closer. “Friday, deploy the emergency Iron Spider suit!”

“May I remind you that it is still in development?”

“Just do it!”

“Gotcha, boss,” came Friday’s swift reply as something popped off the back of the suit. It shot ahead of him with parts of its payload falling away before reaching its target. Peter's body jerked in the air as contact was made. Friday zoomed in Tony’s display to show him as the attachment released the nanobot to attach to Peter’s back. They crawled over every inch of Peter to envelop him completely in a prototype suit Tony was making.

“Can you tell if Peter is breathing?” Tony asked, stopping his ascent to wait for Peter to come hurtling past him.

“Negative, boss,” Friday answered. “Health sensors not online.”

Tony’s anxiety rose to levels he never thought were possible as Peter flew right past Tony, the eye lens of the suit half lidded. “Hang out, kid! I’m coming to get ya!” Tony called as he dived down. “Friday, deploy his ‘chutes!”

A beeping before a buzzer sound. “Parachutes not deploying.”

“Why the hell not?!” Tony growled, sending more power to his feet thrusters.

“System error due to the suit still being in development. I did warn you.”

Tony ground his teeth at his AIs answer. “Give me more power!” Tony commanded as he ignored Friday’s comment.

There was a shift in movement as his feet thrusters increased power. Peter was getting closer to him but Tony could see how Peter wasn’t responding to anything around him. His limbs swayed in the air as he fell back first towards the surface that was approaching.

With an arm raised out, Tony tried grabbing Peter. His hand brushed against one of Peter’s, missing by an inch. Trying again, Tony reached as far as he could before he fingers hooked around Peter’s. With a quick pull, Tony’s hand grabbed onto Peter’s wrist in a firm grip. In a single moment, Tony was pulling Peter towards him and hugged his kid against his chest.

The two of them spun in the air, Tony letting the suit take control to right themselves. Friday changed the force of his boots repulsors so that he was now upright before turning them all the way up. Changing his grip, Tony carried Peter in a bridal hold to secure him before shooting down towards the ground.

“I gotcha, kid,” Tony breathed in relief but there was no answer. “Peter? Peter, can you hear me?” Tony demanded as he peered down at the still teenager in his arms. There was no response and Tony had to swallow past the lump in his throat. It was unnerving to have Peter so quiet, the kid always a chatterbox that Tony had come to love.

Tony didn’t let up on the speed of his suit towards the rest of the group on the ground. The ground came up too rapidly and Tony stumbled a few steps with how fast he came in but didn’t let Peter drop. Bucky took Peter right out of Tony’s arms as he settled on the ground. Tony was stepping out of his suit as Peter was laid down but his kid wasn’t moving. “Tony, I can’t check him with the suit in the way!” Bucky yelled.

“Friday, disengage Iron Spider! Double time!” Tony ordered in a hurry. The suit peeled back to display the regular Spider-Man suit underneath, the nano-bots returning home to the housing unit currently attached to Peter’s back. Bucky reached under the end of Peter’s mask and pulled it mask in one movement to expose his face.

Peter’s face was completely slack and his eyes closed, his head tilting to the side slightly. There was a tinge of blue to his lip’s that had Tony paling. Leaning down, Bucky listened closely to unconscious kid’s breathing.

“Shit!” Bucky cursed, moving his hands on top of Peter’s chest to start CPR. “Natasha! Come help me!”

Watching Bucky desperately pressed against Peter’s chest in CPR is a sight that Tony thought he would never have to see. It froze him to the ground, seeing Peter’s lifeless body shake with each press against his sternum. Natasha took to giving the two rescue breathes as Steve tried to get the genius out of his stupor. Clint was jogging onto the scene having just finished handing the last of the captured Hydra soldiers over to Fury and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had arrived while Tony and Peter were in the atmosphere.

“Tony, come with me,” Steve murmured as he tried to block Tony’s view. His friend didn't need to see such a sight.

No one did.

“C’mon kid, don’t do this,” Bucky muttered, pressing down. “Not you. Not now.” Tony just stood in his spot, face pointed downwards as he watched the scene and unable to react past his numb horror. There was a sickening crack of bones that finally got Tony to do something. Grabbing onto Steve’s arm as his other hand covered his mouth, Tony felt an intense nausea rush over him. 

“Peter,” Tony gasped, pulling his hand away from his mouth to reach out towards Peter. “No…please, Peter...”

“Tony, you shouldn’t watch this,” Steve murmured, positioning his body in front of Tony’s. Like a crazed man, Tony drew back and screeched as Peter was cut off of his view.

His kid was laying there, dying.

His kid.

His.

His Kid.

Oh, shit.

Peter is his kid.

“No! Peter! Kid! He’s my kid!” Tony wailed. He tried pulling away from Steve but the super soldier’s strength far overpowered Tony’s. “He needs me!”

Tony’s screams broke into screeching rambles as Steve just held him close, blocking the view of the efforts to bring Peter back. The entire area besides Tony's screams became quiet as everyone watched Bucky and Natasha tried bringing the young hero back to this side of the mortal plane. The agents that had been bustling around the area came to a stop, everyone silently praying.

“Peter!” Tony wailed.

A strangled gasping broke the silence as Peter took in a breath on his own. Bucky was quick to turn Peter onto his side in recovery position. Steve whipped his head around and his hands relaxed from where they were holding the genius in place. Tony staggered his way around Steve and towards Peter before dropping to his knees, grabbing one of Peter’s hands.

“Get a stretcher from the jet!” Steve commanded in the background. “Have the medic on standby!”

It was a flurry of activity at the orders of the captain, everyone who had previously been stationary now rushing around. Bucky sat down on the ground and rubbed at his face with both hands, releasing a shuddering sigh of relief. Natasha stepped away to go help Clint with some final items, the two spies knowing that they weren’t needed for Peter’s health at this point.

The world faded from around Tony, his entire focus on Peter. On his kid as he took breath after precious breath. Puffs of warm breathes in the cold air escaped out of Peter’s mouth, giving Tony a visual confirmation that Peter was alive.

“God damn it, kid,” Tony sniffed, wiping his eyes. There was a smile on Tony's face as he thanked whatever higher power out there decided to return Peter to him. “You’re going to give me a heart attack one of these days.”

*Now*

“Young Starkson, come along!” Thor called for Peter, waving an arm in the air. “I have convinced my brother to help teach you a very important plan we made!”

“Really?!” Peter perked up. Chugging the last bit of his water bottle, he tossed the empty bottle into the cooler with barely a glance before running off.

“Of course!” Thor beamed, propping his fists on his hips. “It’s called ‘get help’ and it is the most successful of all our plans!”

“What a joy that is,” Loki grumbled.

Steve chuckled at Loki’s dry response, already knowing the plan as he had seen it in the past once. As much as Thor and Loki could fight and bicker, they had long since but aside their differences and have become as close as brothers could be. Glancing over, he could see Tony pulling his phone out to record Peter.

“Recording his fight for stats?” Steve asked.

Tony hummed, his attention on recording the moment and laughing at how Bucky and Clint pointed and laughed at Loki being bodily thrown across the clearing by Peter. Laughing himself, he stopped the recording and put the phone down. “Sure, but I also just wanted to get a video of my kid messing with reindeer games. I'm so putting a freeze-frame picture of Peter mid-throw of Loki over his shoulder on this year's Christmas card.”

Steve smiled wider, hearing Tony calling Peter his kid. It had been like a switch those years ago when Peter went from the kid to Tony’s kid. Ever since that day, it was like all the paternal instincts that Tony had been shoving deep down finally broke out and poured out of every fiber of his being. The team had teased him for it but Tony wore his new paternal figure position with pride.

“Mr. Stark, that was awesome!” Peter called for Tony with a shit-eating grin. Loki was sitting up from the ground with an unamused expression, especially considering how he had to start picking grass out of his hair. “Did you see how far I threw Mr. Loki?!”

“That I did!” Tony laughed, holding up two thumbs up. “Good job! I’m proud of you!”

If possible, Peter beamed brighter at Tony’s words of praise. Steve’s heart warmed at the sight, especially remembering how strained their relationship was at the beginning. The incident with the rocket was what he would say what first true start to their father-son relationship that Tony always tried to deny.

It’s what finally allowed Tony to stop lying to himself.

“You’re a good dad, Tones,” Steve told his friend. “You’ve got yourself a good kid. You’ve done a really good job with him.”

“Nah, I can’t take credit for that,” Tony shook his head with a grin. “He was already like that. I just got lucky.”

*Some Years Ago*

Peter didn’t wake up right away.

It would have made Tony feel so much better if the kid had opened his eyes before he was loaded up into the jet. But…he didn’t. Peter was asleep the entire flight back to the tower, strapped down on a gurney with Tony right at his side. The S.H.I.E.L.D. medic checked periodically but there wasn’t too much they could do out in the field. They had to wait until they got back to the tower before Peter could have a full check-up in the med bay.

Peter woke up a few hours after he was settled into his own bed in the med bay. Tony had been staring at the walls and been debating on what he should do to redecorate the walls. Since Peter was in the med bay a lot, unfortunately, and had his own room that was outfitted especially for the web-slinging hero, Tony spent a lot of time staring at those walls. Part of him was tempted at hiring a company to paint something with hidden object that he would have to look around to see. Something like those I-Spy picture books that he saw in a doctor’s office a while ago.

Tony was about to set a reminder to look later when Peter shifted in his bed. His eyes immediately shot their way to Peter as the teenager smacked his lips together and shifted his head. Tony jumped out of his chair at Peter’s side and grabbed Peter’s hand. “Come on, ‘roo, open those eyes and lower the chance of me having a heart attack.”

“Heart ‘tak…bad,” Peter murmured, his hand moving under Tony’s.

“Yeah, it is,” Tony chuckled. “So please stop taking so many risks that are going to give me one.”

No pr’ses,” Peter said in a way that made Tony roll his eyes. His eyes finally cracked open and took in the tired face of Tony in front of him. “You nee’ s’eep.”

“Don’t be snarky,” Tony rolled his eyes and gripped Peter’s hand tighter. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired,” Peter smacked his lips together. That’s when he noticed the nasal cannula in his nose. He reached up to pull it out when Tony gently stopped his hand.

“Leave that in there for a bit longer,” Tony told him gently, pulling his hand back. “Helen will tell us when you’re good to go without it.”

“Ugh, I hate the feeling of it though,” Peter pouted.

“I know,” Tony smiled apologetically. “So…how much do you remember about the reason for this most recent trip to the med bay?”

Peter looked up at the ceiling as he remembered, humming a single tone as the thought. “I think…yeah, I remember everything.”

"And you're sure you are feeling fine? Anything hurting?"

"Nah," Peter shook his head. "Head's a little stuffy but other than that and feeling tired, I'm good."

“Good, good,” Tony nodded his head, pulling his hand away from Peter’s. “So, I won’t feel bad when I do this.” In a swift motion that Peter didn’t expect, he got slapped upside the head by Tony.

“What the hell?!” Peter exclaimed, holding a hand to the sight of attack that didn’t actually hurt at all. It was more of the principal of the action.

“That should be my question,” Tony narrowed his eyes, pointing a finger at his kid. “And watch your language. Your aunt will kill me if she thought you started swearing like sailor because of me.” Peter rolled his eyes at Tony and stuck his tongue out at the scolding of his words.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, yes, you do,” Tony scoffed. “Why didn’t you let go of the rocket when I told you to?”

“Ah, that,” Peter blinked. He dropped his hand and sunk back into his bed. “You heard Miss Black Widow. I had to—”

“You had to let go of that rocket,” Tony interrupted with cross arms and a hard look. “I don’t care what Natasha said. I'm your mentor, not her. I told you to let go and let me get you to safety which you ignored.”

“I had to save people,” Peter defended himself. “I was there and if I prioritized myself, then I’m as bad as the villains.”

Tony groaned and rubbed a hand down his tired face. Of all the possible kids the universe could give him, he had to get the one with lack of self preservation that was equal or worse than his. Pulling his hand away from his face, he took a deep breath and leveled Peter with a flat look.

“Kid, I am not happy about today at all,” Tony admitted. Steve and Rhodey had told him that the first step to having a good mentor-mentee relationship was communication which was something that he struggled with – cheers to Howard for that - but he could start now. “I was really scared and I thought I lost you.”

“I’m sorry,” Peter apologized. His head hung down at the fear he put his mentor through. Tony’s heart panged at the motion, something he had been denying since he met the kid rearing its head.

Gulping, Tony decided to take the plunge.

“Kid…” Tony trailed off, making Peter look up. “I have to apologize, too, for how I was. I held you at arm’s distance emotionally for a while and I haven’t been the mentor I should have been. This last mission made me realize something that the others have been trying to make me realize for a while.”

“Yeah?” Peter asked carefully, looking apprehensive. “What is it?”

“Kid, you…you’re my kid,” Tony said with an air of finality. “For all intents and purposes, you are my kid. You may not be biologically mine, but I love you like you are.”

Peter’s mouth dropped open, Tony’s words rushing over him. Tony could practically see the kid’s brain stalling at the admittance before his lips turned up in an excited smile. A part of Tony inwardly cheered that Peter was excited at the thought and wasn’t put off by it. Motioning his hands to have Peter scoot over, Tony perched on the edge of the bed and wrapped an arm around Peter’s shoulders in a show of paternal affection that he always wished Howard showed him.

“From now on, I promise to be more present and be the actual mentor I said I would be,” Tony swore. “I’m sorry I was doing such a shitty job before.”

“I never thought you were,” Peter responded. “You’re my role model – I don’t think you do anything wrong.” He let his face drop as he remembered the day. “Unlike me who just seems to mess things up or upset people.”

“Pete, you did a good job,” Tony muttered as Peter laid his head on Tony’s shoulder. “I’m not saying you didn’t do something heroic. You held out for a long time and saved us from HYDRA's latest scheme. Just…please, stop doing things like this that will give me a heart attack.”

“You’re not going to have a heart attack,” Peter laughed, leaning more into Tony’s side.

“I sure am,” Tony huffed. “You know I have a bad heart. Your death-defying stunts are definitely not helping it get better.”

“I’ll try to not give you a heart attack,” Peter rolled his eyes. “I need you around to watch star wars with me.” A yawn broke its way out of Peter’s mouth, the boy rubbing at his eyes.

“Crashing already, bud?” Tony asked and ruffled Peter’s hair. “You should go back to sleep. Let your healing factor finish up everything.”

“But I just woke up,” Peter whined.

“And now you’re go back to sleep.” Tony slid off the bed and gently pushed Peter back onto his pillow. “When you get up, we can order thai and watch star wars and you can tell me all about your crush again.”

“I don’t have a crush!” Peter squawked, his cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

“Sure, and gushing about that scary Michelle girl isn’t having a crush,” Tony snorted.

“She’s not scary,” Peter pouted.

“Then what is she then?”

“She’s pretty,” Peter said with a dopey smile.

Tony snapped his fingers and pointed at Peter. “Case in point,” he chuckled.

Peter grumbled, his crush being the topic of their conversation again. Yawning again, he felt his eyes growing heavier and decided to listen to his mentor. A hand ran through his hair before readjusting the nasal cannula that seemed to have slipped. He whined at the feeling of it.

“Just during this last nap of yours and then you can be done with it,” Tony promised and he made sure the mask was in place on Peter’s face.

Peter yawned again, settling into his pillow. Sleep was pulling him back down and he was deciding to follow it. He could hear Tony sit back down in the chair next to the bed and felt his mentor putting his feet up on the bed. "Thanks for catching me," Peter mumbled.

Tony gave a heartfelt smile. "Anytime, kid."

*Now*

Tony stood up, pointing a finger at Loki. “Reindeer games, you better not be trying to convince my kid to join the dark side!”

Loki rolled his eyes and dropped the ball of magic light he had been showing Peter. “I am just showing your son a trick, Stark,” Loki responded.

“That’s how you start,” Tony grumbled, stomping towards the group and leaving Steve. “First you start with something small and then next you are pulling him by showing him how to imitate using the force.”

“I can use the force?!” Peter beamed, jumping on his toes. “Oh, Ned is going to love this!”

“See, look what you did,” Tony scoffed and gestured at Peter.

“I did no such thing!” Loki squawked in offence.

“I’m on to you, you hot topic reject,” Tony narrowed his eyes and pointed at Loki.

Loki sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, waving a hand at Peter. “Young Starkson, please make your father stop being so annoying.”

Peter didn’t get to say anything as Tony wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in close. “That’s right,” Tony nodded in agreement sharply. “He’s my kid so go get your own somewhere else.”

Steve shook his head in amusement at Tony’s actions. Seeing that the training was going to dissolve into one of their usual get-togethers with friendly jabs and light hearted competition, he turned to go inside to get some food. Behind him, he could hear Clint ribbing Loki as he showed off his own mini-me kid.

“Young Starkson, would you like to my child?” Thor asked in a teasing voice as he knew this was a great way to rile Tony up.

“Don’t answer that,” Tony interjected quickly.

“Hey, I wouldn’t mind having a sidekick of my own,” Bucky smirked. Steve laughed out loud at Bucky's declaration.

“Or maybe Peter would like to join the other spider of the team,” Natasha purred from her lounging spot in the sun. There was no way she was going to miss an opportunity to mess with Tony.

“Not you two, too,” Tony groaned, dropping his head back. It made Peter laugh as he knew everyone was just messing with Tony. It was common knowledge that while Peter got along with everyone on the team, Tony was his mentor and father-figure.

There was no way that Peter was going to ever replace him.

No matter how tempting it was to be Thor’s sidekick.

Steve let the sound of bickering be his background music as he made sandwiches for everyone. He made sure to make plenty with two super soldiers, an enhanced teenager, and the Norse god of Thunder who had a bottomless stomach. Piling the platter high with the sandwiches, Steve left the kitchen to be welcomed by the sight of Peter smirking at Bucky.

“And this is why you aren’t my second favorite avenger,” Peter sassed, making Tony wheeze with laughter behind him.

“Even after I’ve saved your life multiple times? Punk,” Bucky scoffed.

It was like looking in a mirror watching as Peter sassed Bucky and Clint, just like Tony. Despite what Tony said earlier, Steve was adamant that Peter had definitely picked up many traits of Tony. Whether it was the good or the bad, Peter had become a mini-Tony.

Like father, like son.

BONUS SCENE

*A few years ago on Titan*

“Mr. Stark, I don’t feel so good,” Peter groaned a moment before his eyes got a far away look and he crumbled to dust right in Tony’s arms.

Tony fell forward, stumbling with his arms in the air as he tried grasping at the ashes that had once been Peter. They slipped between his fingers just like the hope that Tony’s heart once held. Sobs bubbled out of his mouth as it truly hit him that they lost.

They lost.

And Peter was gone.

His son was gone.

Tony bowed his head as he wept on that desolate planet with only Nebula with him, somehow spared despite everyone else that was there had turned to ash like Peter.

It didn’t matter anymore though.

Peter was dead.

And Tony wished he died too.