Tony could barely recall the kid in the Iron Man mask. He only recalled bits and pieces of that day; even when he sat down and really put a lot of thought into it. The boy was just a little boy behind a mask. Someone he would have passed on any day, and probably would have done his best to avoid. So then, why on earth did he find that same boy sitting in his lobby, wearing the same mask months later? The only sign that it was the same child was the brunette curls that seemed to stick up in random directions, and the battered mask that covered his face.
"Why is he here?" He asked the woman who had approached him after Pepper had called him down from his own tower. He found himself crossing his arms over his chest and he glowered down at the young boy swinging his legs to and fro on the chair.
"Well, apparently, you've been designated his guardian, as requested by the state." The lady sighed pushing glasses up the bridge of her nose. "How that was decided, I have no idea. Quite frankly Mr. Stark, if you wish to give up whatever parental rights you have, I would advise it. But seeing as it is a holiday, and the offices won't be open until thursday...You can't really do that right now."
Tony pursed his lips, and clenched his jaws. This was certainly an unforseen incident. He had never pictured himself being a fatherly type, especially at the young ripe age of thirty six.
"The government gets one hell of a thanksgiving break." He snapped allowing his arms to drop to his side momentarily. The case worker simply grunted in response, before shoving a small Iron Man suitcase into his arms.
"That's all of his stuff. I recommend cataloging it, that way we won't have to bother you if he claims to leave anything behind." She stalked over to the kid, and ran a dark hand through his hair. He stoped his minstrations, and looked up cocking his head curiously. "I've gotta go baby," She whispered softly to him, being sure to squat down to his height. "C'mon, gimme a hug." She held her arms open for the young boy to leap into.
It was an endearing sight. The kid looked pleased with the woman, and had obviously not been paying attention to anything they had been talking about. When the woman stood, the kid latched onto her hand, as if he were planning on leaving with her.
"No-uh, baby," She smiled down at him. "You're going to stay here, with Mr. Stark. Remember what we talked about on the way over?" The kid nodded, shooting Tony a glance from behind the mask. "You gotta show him you're a super hero too, right?" She winked at him soothingly, before sending a glare over the brunette man.
Tony found himself looking everywhere but at the woman standing in front of him. Pepper snorted from beside him, before turning back towards the office. A child had not been in her future either.
"Now go on, Mr. Stark will show you to your room. Ain't that right Mr. Stark?" The woman's voice (how had Tony not gotten her name yet?) left him no room to argue.
"Yeah, yeah," He sighed waving his hand nonchalantly. After all, it wasn't as if he had gone out to purposely take the kid in. It had been random chance that she would show up at the tower with a little human attached to her hands.
"Good. Now go introduce yourself." She pushed the little one forward. Small hands wringing themsleves in anxiety as his feet forced him to approach.
"H-hi." The young boy squeaked waving up at the older man. Large green eyes stared out at Tony from under the red and gold mask. The amount of just pure awe in the kid's voice was enough to fully inflate Tony Stark's ego—not that it wasn't necessarily hard to do in the first place.
"Uh, hey." Tony muttered squatting down to be level with the kid. "What's your name kiddo?" Tony had never been unsure about anything he did—unless it involved his dad. He knew early on that he couldn't be the father that a child would need. Had made plans to avoid it; going so far as to have a condom or four on him at any given point. And yet still, someone in the state had decided it would be a damned good idea for him to play father to some brat.
"Peter Parker." The voice was squeaky and breathy behind the cheap plastic mask. There was nothing amazing about the name, other than an odd familiarity. Tony nodded standing and turned on his heel hand still holding onto the small Iron Man suit case.
"Alrighty then Peter, come this way." Tony muttered starting towards the elevator.