Peter's eyes snapped awake. It was his birthday today! He was sixteen. Old enough to get his driver's license. He bounded out of bed and raced to get showered and dressed in record time. Something smelled good. He wondered what Tony had made. Last year Aunt May had taken him out for birthday brunch to their favorite greasy spoon in Queens. They did it every year for his birthday. It was their little tradition. Aunt May. He realized with a pang that he hadn't thought about her much lately. It took the wind out of his sails. She was dead and here he was practically bursting with excitement over turning 16. He was a horrible person.
He frowned as he sat down on the edge of his bed, trying to swallow past the lump in his throat. He missed her. He wished she could be here to celebrate with him. He closed his eyes and tried to visualize her face and remember how she used to smile at him. But the picture in his mind seemed blurry and indistinct, like he couldn't quite remember every perfect detail of her face.
Peter yanked the drawer of his nightstand open and pulled out a small black leather photo album. He opened it and started paging through it. He hadn't looked at it since she'd died. It had hurt too much, but now it brought a small measure of comfort because here she was memorialized in photos. Peter would always be able to see her face.
He stopped at a picture taken from his birthday last year. The waitress had taken it. They'd been in the middle of eating the massive chocolate cake and ice cream birthday dessert the restaurant was known for. Peter had whipped cream on his nose and was laughing. They both wore dorky birthday hats. May was always into that, things that embarrassed him.
May smiled at the camera. She looked so carefree and happy. Completely worry free. She hadn't known he was Spiderman yet in this picture. There was no hint that she was destined to meet her imminent death in less than a year. No idea it'd be the last birthday they'd ever celebrate together. The picture blurred as tears filled his eyes. What kind of a mess was he? He'd been awake for less than 20 minutes and his emotions were already all over the map.
He heard a soft knock on his door and then the sound of it opening before he had a chance to respond. Peter sniffled and hastily wiped at his eyes before looking up, already knowing who he'd see.
"You know using F.R.I.D.A.Y. to spy on me really isn't fair." Peter rasped as he watched Tony walk towards him. "Maybe I want to be alone right now."
"You don't." Tony said without a hint of indecisiveness as he sat next to Peter and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He looked down at the photo album in Peter's lap, still open to the birthday picture.
"That's a good picture." Tony observed.
"It was last year." Peter explained softly. Peter already felt better with Tony sitting next to him, more grounded.
"It seems wrong to be happy when she's gone." Peter confessed. "Like I'm betraying her or something."
"She'd want you to be happy." Tony said.
Peter nodded. He knew it was true even though he still felt guilty.
"Especially on your birthday." Tony nudged him and it earned a small smile from Peter.
"Yeah." Peter agreed and closed the album slowly before setting it on his nightstand.
"Did you make me birthday brunch?" Peter teased as he turned to look at Tony.
"Of course." Tony smiled back. "You hungry?"
"Starving."
"Come on then birthday boy. Let's eat. We've got a big day ahead of us." Tony stood and led Peter out to the kitchen, arm still around him.
When Peter saw the spread he couldn't keep the laughter that burst free.
"You didn't make all this." Peter accused. The kitchen counter was literally covered in food. Any kind of food Peter could imagine. Muffins, bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, pancakes, sausage, fruit, waffles, bagels, pastries.
"I procured it." Tony clarified.
"Even I can't eat all this."
"Meh eat whatever you want. We'll give the scraps to Steve."
Peter laughed again and piled a plate high with food before taking a seat at the kitchen table. Tony sat across from him with a more modest plate.
"This is so good." Peter said after his first few bites.
"Glad you like it."
"What are we doing today?" Peter asked excitedly.
"Finish eating and you'll find out."
Peter smiled and dug in while Tony regaled him with some stories about his own teenage birthday antics.
"I can't eat anymore." Peter finally declared after he finished his third plate of food.
He set his head on the table. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this stuffed but everything had tasted so good.
"Don't make yourself sick on your birthday." Tony smirked.
Peter groaned. "Too late."
"Maybe this will perk you up." Tony said and then pulled a small wrapped box out of his pocket and placed it in front of Peter.
"Happy birthday kiddo."
Peter examined the box and then looked from Tony's face and then back to the box.
"I have no idea what this is." He admitted.
"Open it." Tony encouraged.
Peter unwrapped the present to uncover a plain black box. He opened that to find another black velvet box. A box within a box. It almost looked like a jewelry box but he knew Tony hadn't gotten him jewelry. He opened it and was met with a set of keys.
"Oh my god." Peter whispered.
"Did you get me a car?!" He screeched and looked at Tony with wide eyes.
"I got you a car." Tony confirmed with an ear to ear grin.
Peter pulled out the keys and recognized the insignia instantly. "No way! This is too much! You got me Audi?! Oh my god this is so awesome!"
Peter flew out of his chair and almost knocked Tony over in his excitement to hug the man in appreciation.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" He said as Tony laughed in his embrace.
"Let's go for a ride." Tony suggested.
"Yes!" Peter practically skipped all the way to the garage.
Tony led him directly to his car. It was a sleek silver model. Peter thought it was perfect, the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
"This is really mine?" He asked as he ran his hands over it.
"It's really yours." Tony chuckled. "Now do you actually want to drive it or would you rather just keep drooling all over it?"
Peter rolled his eyes but climbed into the driver's seat. Tony got into the passenger side.
"You do actually know how to drive right?" Tony clarified.
"No I actually discovered teleportation technology and didn't tell you and that's how I got to New York that other time." Peter raised an eyebrow at him and pushed the start button.
"Funny." Tony said sarcastically.
"I know how to drive." He confirmed and put the car in gear. He drove it out of the garage and onto the road. There was no traffic around. The roads were completely deserted. Peter shot a quick glance at Tony and then slammed his foot down on the accelerator. Smiling wide as it quickly went from 40 to 60 to 80 to 100mph.
"This car is awesome!" Peter exploded with happiness.
"Uh huh time to slow down." Tony gripped the armrests.
Peter edged it further. The speedometer climbed up to 120mph.
"Peter slow down." That was Tony's serious voice. Damn. Peter glanced over at him as he laid off on the accelerator.
"Don't look at me! Eyes on the road." Tony reprimanded. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
Soon enough they were cruising along at 60mph, which seemed slow to Peter but Tony didn't look like he was in danger of having a heart attack anymore.
"Take the next left." Tony instructed.
"Why? Where are we going?" Peter asked.
"You want to get your license right?"
"Yeah!"
"Take a left."
Tony directed them to the nearest DMV not in the city and waited while Peter went through all the necessary hoopla and walked away with a driver's license. He held it out like a prize to Tony who examined it before handing it back.
"Good work kid." Tony smiled and they got back in the car.
They drove around for awhile, just talking and listening to the radio, until Peter was ready to head back. It was nice. If that'd been it, Peter would've been content. A perfect 16th birthday. But apparently it wasn't.
When they got back to the compound, Tony led him to the common room where the team was waiting for his birthday party. The room was covered in confetti and streamers and balloons. It looked like birthday had thrown up on it. And there was a huge cake on the breakfast bar along with another massive spread of food and a pile of presents. Wow.
Happy birthday's rang across the room from all the Avengers as he and Tony walked in.
"Hey squirt! Happy birthday!" Clint said as he placed a birthday hat on him and then on Tony. Most of the Avengers wore them. Clint blew on his noise maker and then held it in the corner of his mouth like a cigar.
"What'd he get you?" Clint asked as he nodded to Tony.
"A car!" Peter smiled.
"Stark got the kid a car! Who didn't see that coming? Raise your hand. Yeah everyone saw that coming." Clint joked as he glanced around the room to amused faces.
"Shut up Katniss." Tony said without any real bite.
It turned out the Avengers knew how to throw a party. The food was amazing and they really seemed to like their booze, drinks ranging from beer to scotch. If Peter thought they were kind of rowdy at baseline it was nothing compared to a couple drinks later. Peter actually wasn't sure who was having more fun, him or them.
Before cutting the cake they all sang happy birthday to him. Peter could feel the blush heat his cheeks as he blew out the candles. Afterwards they made him sit down and open presents while they all ate cake. He told them over and over it was too much and they didn't need to get him anything but it all fell on deaf ears and he ended up with a lot of awesome gifts. How many people got to claim the Avengers sang happy birthday to them and bought them presents? Peter worried his face would be sore in the morning from all the smiling.
Once the cake was gone and the presents had been opened, Clint roped Peter into a card game.
"Damn are you sure you've never played this before?" Sam asked as Peter won his 5th hand of blackjack in a row. Peter took his chips as Scott dealt out another hand to Clint, Peter, and Sam.
"It's not that complicated." Peter said matter of factly.
"Tony I'm taking your kid with me to Vegas when he turns 18!" Clint called across the room to Tony where he stood talking with Steve and Rhodey. The comment drew his attention and he walked over to the group playing around the coffee table.
Peter won again while Sam and Clint both busted.
"It's beginners luck." Scott said.
They played five more rounds and Peter won four of them. After an hour of playing, Peter's pile of chips had grown to three times the size of anyone else's.
"Seriously how are you so good at this?" Clint asked him.
"I don't know. How are you so bad at it?" Peter smirked.
"You're just on a streak. Just wait. Luck's about to turn my way." Clint bantered.
"It's not luck." Peter argued. "It's analyzing the odds."
Steve let out a surprised laugh from where he, Rhodey, and Tony watched, garnering everyone's attention.
"What's so funny?" Scott asked.
"I know how he's winning." Steve declared.
"How?" Sam asked.
"He's counting cards." Steve smiled.
"Well it's not that hard. We're only using two decks." Peter motioned to the stack.
It was Tony's turn to laugh now.
"Isn't that what you're supposed to do?" Peter frowned.
"What the hell." Sam said.
"You little genius cheater." Clint threw his cards at him.
"Ok. Who wants to play poker?" Scott asked.
Rhodey, Steve, and Tony joined in.
Turns out Peter had a horrible poker face. It came as a surprise to absolutely no one.
The evening passed quickly and all too soon it was over.
"Time to call it a night kiddo." Tony decided and patted him on the knee.
Peter frowned but didn't argue. It wasn't that late yet. Only ten o'clock. And no one was complaining about them leaving early, which was somewhat atypical. Peter caught a few significant and not so discreet looks the Avengers shared amongst each other at their exit. Weird. Peter didn't really know what to make of it.
"Good night guys." Peter said before they left. "Thanks again! This was an awesome birthday!"
The Avengers bid them good night and he and Tony went back up to their suite.
"Why don't you get ready for bed and then come join me on the couch?" Tony suggested.
"Ok." It wasn't that odd of a request. He and Tony frequently watched a movie before bed, but usually that was if they weren't already hanging out downstairs. He washed his face, brushed his teeth, changed into his pajamas and then came back.
Tony sat on the couch, fidgeting with a manila envelope. Peter sat down next to him. The man almost seemed oddly nervous as he placed the envelope on the coffee table and turned his body to face him more directly.
"Peter there's one other thing I wanted to give you today. Offer you. Ask you." Tony stumbled over his words awkwardly. He seemed to notice it and smiled mockingly at his own discomfort.
"Um ok?" Peter had no idea what this was about.
"These past couple months have been…let's just say life changing." Tony continued.
Peter frowned, but he agreed. Yeah they'd been fairly life changing for him too. Life changing was an interesting word choice, though. It could be used to describe something good or bad.
"And I just want you to know I'm not…I'm not trying to replace your Aunt."
"I know." Peter said. He had no idea where Tony was going with this but for some reason it seemed important to offer him that reassurance.
Tony smiled wryly at him before his expression turned serious again.
"Before you came to live with me, I definitely never imagined myself in this sort of role. Having to take care of a tiny human."
"I'm not tiny." Peter automatically objected.
Tony smirked as he held his hand up, and he still looked nervous so Peter listened.
"But then you were here…and I did the best I could. And…I think I've done ok."
Peter nodded. It was true. Tony had been great.
"The thing is…I never could've guessed how much you'd grow to mean to me." Tony took a deep breath before he continued on. "And I…I like being your guardian but lately…I don't think that's what I want anymore."
Peter's heart fell to his feet.
Tony seemed to see the sudden fear in his eyes because he clarified quickly, "Because it's not enough. It doesn't encompass how I feel about you. I want to be more than just your guardian."
Now Peter was just confused. What did that mean? More than his guardian?
"You don't understand what I'm getting at." Tony observed.
Peter shook his head.
Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair anxiously. "Peter you…you're…"
He seemed to be searching for the right words. Peter couldn't remember a single time he'd ever seen Tony struggle to speak.
"You know I love you kid." Tony said decisively as he looked into his eyes. "And I don't want to just be your guardian anymore. I…I want to adopt you Peter. I want you to be my son. What do you think?"
Peter gaped. What? Tony wanted to adopt him? Why? It kind of seemed like this was coming out of left field. But as the idea percolated maybe it didn't seem all that crazy. Since Tony had taken him in, he'd bent over backwards for him time and time again. He'd spent night after night losing sleep to help Peter with his nightmares. He'd blown off the president to chase after him. He'd yelled at the Avengers for taking him somewhere without asking. He punished him when he misbehaved. He worried about him. He spent time just hanging out with him. He took the time to teach him in the workshop. He carried him to bed when he fell asleep on the couch. He was just always there for him when he needed him. In the deep secret recesses of his mind he'd already started to think of Tony as his Dad. He just never thought the man would ever feel the same way. But now that Tony had given voice to the desire, it seemed right. Obvious. He wanted to be Tony's son. He wanted Tony to be his Dad.
"You don't have to answer right now. You can think about it." Tony said when Peter didn't respond right away.
"No I…" Peter paused and swallowed nervously. "I'd like that."
"You would?" Tony sounded surprised.
"Yeah."
"Are you saying yes?" Tony asked with barely restrained excitement.
"Yes." Peter answered.
Tony reached out and hugged him.
When they broke apart Tony grabbed the manila envelope on the table and opened it. He pulled out a stack of papers that were earmarked in several places.
"This is the adoption paperwork." Tony explained to him. "It just needs your signature to be finalized and then we can submit it tomorrow."
Wow this was moving fast. Peter thought it'd take weeks or months. Not this same day. Tony noticed his surprise as he handed him a pen.
"Are you sure?" Tony asked. "I don't want you to feel pressured."
"No. I'm sure." Peter reassured him as he uncapped the pen. He really was. He hoped Tony didn't notice his hand shaking slightly. It was excitement not nerves. Okay maybe it was half excitement, half nerves. Or a third excitement, two thirds nerves. Whatever. What did it matter? Why was he even nervous at all? He wanted this. He did.
Tony pointed at the line he needed to sign on. Peter hesitated, pen hovering right over the paper.
"Are you sure?" Peter echoed back at him, looking up at Tony with wide eyes. He couldn't quite believe that Tony Stark wanted him. To be his son. He was just Peter Parker. Some nobody kid from Queens. This all felt kind of surreal. Like he'd wake up tomorrow to find out it'd all been a dream.
"Very sure." Tony answered instantly.
"Ok."
Peter took a deep breath.
And signed.
A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful feedback! Let me know what you think of this chapter!
