"Hey there, kid," Tony smiled as Peter ran ahead of him and Mary, "don't go off too far."
The two barely heard the boy's excited reply as he jerked his head around to take in all the sights of Madison Square Garden on the night of the NBA playoffs. It was like a type of heaven for him.
"You didn't have to do this, Tony," Mary started, "We would have been happy just watching the game from the TV somewhere."
"Nonsense," Tony batted his hand. "I was going to get a ticket anyway, why not invite my two favorite people?"
Mary smiled at him, leaning up to kiss his cheek and reach her hand into his as they walked inside, Peter now firmly at her side.
Tony showed them to their seats on the front row before he left to get snacks that Peter would no doubt be asking for any second. The child was like an endless pit when it came to food, another thing Pepper said they had in common. Tony smiled at the thought as he waited in line for food, his right hand patting his jacket pocket to feel the weight that was there. Oh, God, what was he thinking?
After getting their food and walking back to their seats, Tony faltered slightly at the sight of Peter curled up on his mom's lap with large tears rolling down his cheeks. His heart stopped -for some strange reason- and he started to run back to them to see what was wrong, ready to completely destroy whoever made the boy cry - when he heard their conversation.
"But why can't he be?" Peter's words were muffled against Mary's chest as he clung to her for dear life.
"Sweetie," Mary sighed, rubbing his back, "we can't force him, that's a decision he has to make on his own."
"But Flash said-"
"Flash is a bully that just wants to hurt you and make you feel sad. He's jealous of you, that's why he said those things. And while no one truly knows what's inside a person's heart or why they do the things they do, I believe that Tony is here because he really wants to be, not because he just takes pity on us and wants to pass his free time. Do you think that's what Tony would do to us?"
The child shook his head slightly, Mary smiling down at him and brushing his hair back from his face as she pulled him away from her. "Good, now smile for me, please? I want to see my favorite little man smiling on this big day."
Peter smiled up at his mom before moving back to his seat on the bench, back to normal as he excitedly watched the famous basketball players around him as Tony took his chance and went back to them.
The weight in Tony's pocket grew heavier throughout the whole night, barely giving him a chance to concentrate on the game. Listening to Mary and Peter talk seemed to strengthen his resolve, harden it and keep him from backing out. After all, emotional attachments weren't something he really liked creating and he was about to permanently tie himself into two. What on earth was he thinking?
"Tony, are you okay?"
Tony blinked out of his thoughts, looking at the woman in front of him as they stood in her living room. "I'm sorry, come again?"
Mary frowned as she placed her hand on his arms and gently pushed him to sit down on the sofa. "Are you okay? You've been spacing out all day. Do you feel sick or anything? Should I get you some medicine?"
"N-No," Did he just stutter? "No, I'm fine, I've just been thinking about a lot of stuff lately."
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Regret seemed to fill her face, "you're a CEO of a major company, of course you're busy. You've been spending so much time with Peter and I these last few months that I forgot all about your other responsibilities. You don't have to come over every other day if you don't need to, Tony, please take care of any other business you have that's more important."
Tony stared at her for a second before letting a chuckle out. He loved this woman so much...
"Alright then, if you insist," He pushed himself off of the sofa, standing in front of her. "There is one thing that's actually kind of important - just kinda, sorta - that I've been stuck up on for the last few days. Maybe you could even help me out with it? It does involve you in a way."
"Ah, well, sure. I don't know how much help I could be though."
"It's nothing major or anything, all you have to do is give me a yes or no answer."
She nodded slowly as she watched him from her seat, her eyes narrowed in confusion slightly. Those narrowed eyes grew wide as she saw him go down on one knee, his hand pulling a small black box from his pocket.
"Mary Fitzpatrick Parker, it's only been a few months now, and some people would think that that's too early but I've never listened to most people anyway, but I love you so much. I never thought that I would ever do something like this and Obadiah, Pepper, and Rhodey laughed at me when they saw me buy the ring and that was understandable because, hey, I'm me. Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, I'm supposed to stay as the most eligible bachelor for the rest of my life." He started to chuckle nervously as he realized he was going off course, "But I don't want that anymore. I don't know how you did it, but I want to be a family with you, you and Peter. I want you to have a husband and I want Peter to have a dad and I really hope that you'll let me fill both spots for you."
Mary was left speechless as she stared at Tony as he opened the box to reveal a diamond ring, not expecting any of these emotions to come from him, at least not without Pepper's help and notecards in front of him. And for him to even mention Peter in there... This was exactly the kind of man she had always dreamed of finding for her and Peter after Richard died.
She soon remembered that Tony was waiting for her answer and the silence between them was becoming awkward. She smiled as she nodded, kneeling down with him and wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Yes, yes, of course I'll marry you!"
Tony let out a sigh of relief as he wrapped his arms around her as well, glad that his rambling didn't screw anything up. He was known for that after all...
"Great, we can go down to Las Vegas tonight and be back before the kid even knows we were gone," Tony grinned, chuckling as Mary shook her head with a smile.
"You may have some trouble with that plan of yours."
"And what would that be?"
Mary shot a look towards Peter's bedroom door, that was cracked ever so slightly with the outline of part of a face visible in the dark. Once he realized he was caught, Peter slammed the door shut and the sound of little feet running and jumping into his bed were heard.
"Well... At least now we don't have to think of a way to tell him about the news." Tony chuckled and looked back at Mary.
"I don't think he's going to go to sleep anytime soon, and his smile will most likely be plastered on his face for the rest of the year."
"And then some." He looked back to her, gently taking her soft hand in his calloused ones and slid the ring onto her finger. "Now, like it or not, you're stuck with me, Mary Stark."
She hummed as she leaned in and gently kissed his lips, "I think I like the sound of that. Mrs. Mary Stark."
"It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
"A very nice ring," Mary looked at the diamonds that were scattered around the ring and chuckling at how extra it was. It was obvious that Tony was the one to pick this out, Pepper would never be able to pick out something so flashy -even while buying for her boss.
"Peter's watching us again, isn't he?" She looked up at Tony as he chuckled and nodded, starting to stand up.
"I'll go talk to him, he's no doubt excited as well now."
"More like ecstatic," Mary called after him as Tony shot her a smile and disappeared behind Peter's door.
"Hey, ki-" Tony was cut off by Peter slamming into his legs and nearly knocking him down.
"Thank you so much..."
Tony had to strain to hear what the boy said, the words muffled by his pants. A smile slowly crept onto his face as he worked his way down into a kneel - something much harder than expected with Peter hugging him so tightly. "You don't have to thank me, kid."
Peter didn't reply; he simply buried his face deep into Tony chest and refused to let go. Tony hesitated slightly before lifting him up and walking over to the boy's bed, laying them both down on it. Peter snuggled into the man, curling into a small ball against him as Tony wrapped his arms around the boy. He assumed that he would need to get used to affection like this, he was going to be a dad now.
That's definitely something he never thought he would say before.
But he didn't hate it.
A/N: Not much Tony/Peter Father/Son here, because I felt like I needed to put in some Mary/Tony. Next chapter will be better though, we get to see some Iron Dad! Woo Woo!