AN: *peeks out from behind barricade of pillows* listen. I'm sorry. I know you've been waiting a long ass time for this, but I couldn't make it happen and I've been suffering. It's here now, though! It's shit, but it's here!

So, as most of you know if you read my other fics, I've seen Infinity War. But, just like my other fics, this is a SPOILER FREE ZONE. If any of you want to SCREAM ABOUT IT, feel free to DM me on Tumblr or Instagram (my username is the same both places: losingmymindtonight). Please do not spoil the movie in the comments.

For those of you that have seen the movie (if you're afraid of a minor, tiny spoiler that we already kinda knew before the movie started, skip this bit): So both the Russo brothers and Tom Holland have confirmed that Peter is 16 in Infinity War, which means there's about a year (and maybe a half) between the end of Homecoming and IW. (Note: This is assuming that MCU Peter's birthday is in the summer, which is the general consensus among fanfic writers because of the comics.) Knowing this, I have decided, in the wake of finally seeing the film, that I'm going to write a sequel that takes place in that year-ish IN BETWEEN the end of this fic and Infinity War. I have the timeline generally planned out. For the sake of having a date, I'm going to claim that Thanos comes in late April (aka: the release date of the film) which means that there's going to be about a year between the ending of this fic and IW. So, as of right now, I plan about three installments in this series. The first is this one, then there will be a second in between AYBUAA and Infinity War, and then there will be a third that is my interpretation of Infinity War in this new universe. I'm almost certain that I'll get to that final, third fic before Avengers 4. So, if the timeline of this goes the way I anticipate, we'll be going HARD on the AU after the events of IW.

Anyway: here's some poorly written fluff. For those of you who have seen Infinity War, I know you need it.

Rhodey ended up pulling Tony out of Peter's bed and practically forced him onto the cot the nurses had put against the wall. The billionaire had only agreed, and even then very reluctantly, to his demands after Rhodey had threatened to let Pepper haul him to sleep in his actual bed.

He couldn't have that. He needed to stay with Peter. His room was on a different floor. It was too far. Too far.

Tony couldn't have been asleep for more than a couple of hours when a gentle shuffling roused him. He sat up in a panic, fingers fumbling to call the suit and a desperate call of Peter on his lips, when he recognized the figure standing at the edge of his cot.

"Peter?"

The kid was stretching out the hem of his oversized t-shirt with shaky hands. He looked tiny. Tony was overwhelmed rather suddenly by the realization of just how fragile Peter was. He wondered if this is how he would have felt if he and the kid had crossed paths about a decade and a half earlier. What would it have been like, to have had the chance to raise this kid? To see his first smile, his first steps, his first report card?

So many firsts that he didn't get to see.

But then again, there were a million more that he would get to witness. His first kiss, his first heartbreak, his first day of college. If Tony was lucky, he'd see this kid fall in love and get married and make his very own gaggle of tiny geniuses.

Right now, however, that future seemed very far away. It was difficult to imagine Peter having children of his own when he looked so much like a child himself.

"Want to tell me why you're not passed out in your bed right now?"

"Dad."

"That's me." Tony raised his arms invitingly. "You gonna come here, or keep standing at the foot of my bed like a shadow?"

Peter crawled onto the billionaire's mattress with a wince that Tony definitely didn't miss. The kid shamelessly tucked himself into his dad's chest as the older man wrapped his arms around him. As much as Tony was worried about Peter's sudden decision to go for a little midnight wander, he couldn't deny the way every inch of his body reveled in being back in physical contact with his child. He used one of his hands to gently turn the teenager's arm over and inspect the spot where the kid had ripped his IV out. There was a bright fan of blood smeared across his elbow. Tony winced in sympathy.

"You're gonna be a lot of pain pretty soon, buddy." He sighed, brushing a hand over Peter's hair. "There's a reason we gave you drugs."

"Wanted you."

"Could've had me. I left that button for you to hit. Don't you remember that conversation?"

"Wanted you now."

"Well aren't you impatient."

Tony reached over and pressed the portable call button that Helen had given him.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

The kid nodded against Tony's chest.

"Oh, Peter."

As painful as the admission was, he'd been expecting this. It was fanciful to believe that Peter would talk away from the Raft without lasting repercussions. All Tony could really hope for was that the PTSD was mild and, at the very least, easily treatable.

Helen Cho bustled in and did a double take when she saw Peter's empty hospital bed.

"Peter decided to take a late night walk." Tony explained. "He also decided that the IV was an unnecessary hindrance."

Helen sighed as she waved a nurse into the room. "Alright. First things first, let's get him back into his bed."

As soon as the nurse tried to tug Peter out of Tony's arms, however, the kid whined.

"No!" He whimpered, tightening his hold. "Please, Dad."

And, yeah, Tony was pretty helpless in the face of Peter calling him Dad.

"Yeah, no." He pushed the nurse's hands away and fixed Helen with a pleading look. "Can't you just drag his pain meds over here? F.R.I.D.A.Y. can monitor his vitals."

There was a soft look on the woman's face as she watched the way Peter tucked himself back against Tony with a contented hum. Somehow, Peter managed to make everyone around him go gushy and maternal. If he kept up with it, Tony would have to give it a name. The Peter Effect had a nice ring to it, after all. "Alright. Chapel? Can you grab some supplies for a new IV line?"

They cleaned up the blood and inserted a new catheter into the back of Peter's hand to give his inner elbows a much-needed break. Tony could tell that the kid wasn't overly happy about the process, but he didn't do anything to disrupt the nurse's work as long as Tony didn't let his attention wander.

Was he spoiling the kid? Probably. Did he care? Not really.

"Alright. He's good to go." Cho checked his vitals on her StarkPad before she left, just to ensure all of the tech was in working order. "He seems fine, considering the circumstances. Honestly, I think it should be safe to release him in a day or two. The pleuritis and hypothermia have already resolved. His shoulder appears to be the only injury that's going to persist."

"How long until it's healed?"

"My estimate is a week. It'll ache a bit, but he should be off of the major pain meds by the time we release him. I'll give you some pain pills for that first week. They should help take the edge off."

"Thank you, Helen."

Cho seemed surprised by the use of her first name and the honest gratitude in Tony's voice. Her eyes flickered to Peter before re-centering on the billionaire. They glimmered with understanding. "You're welcome, Stark."

Not long after Cho and the nurse departed, the person Tony had been silently longing for came rushing into the room

"Hey, Pep."

Her eyes darted between Tony's banged up face and Peter's still form. The moment she realized Peter was asleep, she instantly quieted her movements. "Oh, Tony."

He didn't know how to react to the tears forming in her eyes, so he rambled. "I wish Peter was awake. He'd love to see you. I mean, I could wake him, but they've dosed him up on the good stuff so he's pretty sleepy and Cho says resting will help him heal quicker so I feel like that would be sort of-"

He was cut off by Pepper's lips colliding with his. He didn't mind the interruption one bit.

In fact, he'd never been more grateful to have been rendered speechless in his entire life.

Pepper. Peter. P must be Tony's lucky letter.

They kissed only briefly. Both of them were very aware of the delicate kid sleeping in between them, but their lips were together long enough to make Tony's stomach hum with delight.

"I'm so sorry, Tony." Pepper ran her fingers over his face and Tony felt tension he didn't even realize he was holding leak out of him. "I came while you were unconscious, but then I got so wrapped up in the legalities of everything that I was too busy to visit once F.R.I.D.A.Y. told me you were awake. I wanted to push it off on someone else, I really did, but I just couldn't trust anyone other than me to get it done right. As it is, I have to run in a minute if I want to make it to my meeting with the Vice President on the Accords in half an hour and-"

This time, Tony was the one to silence her with his lips.

When he pulled away, he pressed their foreheads together and ran his thumb over her cheek. Tony could feel foundation and blush stick to the pad, but he couldn't really bring himself to care about the state of her makeup. Pepper was here. Peter was safe. Everything was right with the world. "It's alright, Pep. I understand."

Peter shifted, and Pepper ran a hand through his hair while cooing to him gently. The kid was back out in mere seconds.

I am so in love with this woman.

"So," Tony said, smiling as Pepper settled on the edge of the bed and curled around Peter, cocooning the kid between them, "how are the legalities going?"

"Do we have to talk about that right now?"

He winced, but nodded. "Sorry, Pep, but I think I need to know."

She sighed. "I'm sure you can imagine, but it's chaos. The President is scrambling to select someone to take Ross' place. As far as you're concerned, no one has even suggested pressing charges of any sort. The tapes and surveillance footage from the Raft took care of that."

Tony's heart rate spiked. "Ross knew Peter was Spider-Man."

"That's been taken care of." Pepper gave him a smug grin. "Natasha and F.R.I.D.A.Y. ensured it. They edited to footage and all of Ross' files. The government only saw what we wanted them to."

"Remind me to thank Natasha when I finally get out of here."

His fiancé paused. "About that… I've also been working on the Accords. I think this final meeting should resolve most of it. Ross was one of the driving forces behind them. Now that his true intentions and nature have come to light, people are far less enthusiastic about adhering to any documents that are associated with his name. The prevailing suggestion as of right now is to scrap the Accords all together and start anew."

"What about Rogers?"

Pepper regarded him carefully for a moment. "If the Accords are annulled, then he and the others will be absolved of all charges."

"That's… good."

She watched him carefully. Tony didn't even try to hide his emotions. She'd always been able to see right through him, anyway. "Rhodey tells me you let Steve meet Peter."

"I did."

"Which means you talked to him."

It wasn't a question, but Tony answered it anyway. "A little."

There was another stretch of silence where Pepper seemed to search for the right words.

"Are you okay?"

Tony laughed softly. It was a sad sound, but not a broken one. "No." He looked down at Peter, sleeping peacefully in his arms. "But we'll get there."

Cho released Peter with strict instructions to rest.

She gave the teenager an extensive speech on taking responsibility for his own health before shoving a list of instructions against Tony's chest with a quiet warning to keep his "stupid kid" out of trouble. The billionaire gave her a tight salute before herding Peter into the elevator. He clutched the instructions and Peter's bottle of pain meds tightly in his fist. "Bed or couch?"

"Roof. Please?"

Tony briefly resisted the idea. What Peter really needed to sleep. What Peter definitely did not need was to go sitting out in the cold, night air. But then, Peter's words from the Raft came flooding back all at once. Which ones do you think are out t'night?

He caved. "Alright. But after that, you're taking your pills without complaint and getting a good night's sleep, okay?"

"Okay."

"F.R.I.D.A.Y.? Take us up."

They sat near the edge, just inches apart, and the billionaire was reminded all at once why he loved these excursions so damn much.

The sun was just dipping below the horizon. Tongues of orange and red licked at fading blue, swallowing the pastel hue with fire. It was beautiful, but Tony realized that it couldn't hold a candle to the way Peter's eyes lit up brighter than the entire universe as he watched the colors unfold.

The kid spent a few minutes just basking in the sky aflame with scattered light. When he finally spoke, he sounded breathless. "Thank you."

Tony stared at the kid, frozen by his disbelief. "What are you thanking me for?"

"For the Raft." Peter traced the curve of the sunset absentmindedly as he spoke. "For what you did. I-I don't remember much from the end of it, but I know you took care of me. I know you saved my life."

"I almost ended your life, kiddo, or did you forget that part?"

Peter tore his eyes away from the dying embers on the horizon to give his father a smile dripping with dopey adoration. "Nah. I knew you'd save me."

Stark men were never meant to have children. "Ross took you because of me, Peter. They tortured you because of me. I-I'll never forgive myself for that." He shrunk away from Peter on instinct. "You should never forgive me for that."

"Don't do that." Tony felt alarm flare through him, hot and vivid, when Peter's voice came out thick with tears. "Please don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Cut yourself off. Pull away because you're scared of messing me up. I need you, Tony. I-I don't have anyone else. And I'm-I need-I just…" Peter's hest was heaving by the time he trailed off. "I need you to stick around. Please, Tony. For me."

The billionaire scooted over until his hip was pressed against Peter's. He rubbed grounding circles on the teenager's inner wrist. "I'm not going anywhere, kid. I'm right here."

"I don't mean physically."

And that was just it. Tony had spent an entire lifetime running. Running from his insecurities, his fears, his flaws. As a child, he'd never really learned how to cope with his emotions. So as an adult, when he felt anything, from hate to fear to joy to love, and he flinched away. He ran.

And now, those deeply rooted instincts were screaming for him to do just that with Peter. To shove his love for the kid in a box and run and run and run until he could barely remember what these intimate moments felt like. Until stargazing and movie nights and anchovies on pizza faded into oblivion. Until he could look into the kid's soft brown eyes and not feel so terrifyingly vulnerable.

But there was a new instinct there, too. The instinct to protect. It had been growing steadily ever since he had seen Peter get knocked out of the sky in that airport in Germany. By now, the feeling had morphed from a gentle buzz into an ever-present surge of isPeterokayhaveIcheckedonPetertodayPeterPeterPeter that seemed to eclipse and erase all other thoughts.

So for the first time in Tony's life, the urge to run was smothered by the urge to stay.

"I won't, Peter. I swear. And I swear I'll do better, too."

"You don't need to do better." Peter didn't look at Tony, but he did push ever so slightly into his side as he spoke. "You're already doing great."

Warmth swelled through the billionaire's entire body. "Thanks, kiddo."

Peter watched the stars silently for a while and, in turn, Tony watched him. After a few minutes, a tear slipped down his face. The kid jerked in surprise as it reached his mouth. It seemed like the teenager hadn't even realized he was crying until he tasted the salt on his lips. Peter swiped at the sudden wetness with a congested sniffle.

Tony caught the kid's wrist as he moved to brush away the second tear. The genius used a gentle finger to complete the action for him, letting his fingertips linger along his cheekbone. "Talk to me, buddy."

"I just…" Peter's voice broke. "I miss May. I miss her so, so much."

"I know."

"I barely even thought about her on the Raft. And now… I forgot how much missing her hurt."

Tony understood the suspension of grief. The moments where you push aside your own pain and inner turmoil to address something larger. Something more important. He also understood just how suffocating it could feel when the peace finally came. That first, crushing moment when the grief came tumbling back in and you finally had to confront just how much you'd lost.

And Peter's just a kid. A kid who's lost everything and still gotten back up.

The bravest kid, the bravest person, Tony had ever met.

"That doesn't make you weak."

"I know it doesn't." Peter rubbed his knuckles against the roof with a sigh. "It just sucks. I wish she was here." The teenager seemed to realize that his words could be taken the wrong way and hastily added to them. "It's not that I don't want you, obviously, it's just that…"

Peter didn't finish the statement, so Tony did. "You want us both."

"Yeah."

It dawned on Tony that it had only been about five months since May died. In many ways, it seemed like a lifetime. But at the end of the day, Peter had only had a finite amount of time to process his grief. And he hadn't even reached the stage of acceptance before Ross tore into their lives and disrupted the entire process.

Now the kid would have to grapple with grief and PTSD.

"I guess I'm not over it yet, huh?"

Peter's voice was so apologetic and miserable that Tony's heart constricted. "Oh, buddy. You're not supposed to be over it. My mom's been dead for almost thirty years and there are still days when I'm not over it."

A lot more days than I'd like to admit.

"What about your dad?"

"My dad…" Tony grabbed his wrist, twisting the skin in his grip with a shaky breath. "My dad is everything I don't want to be." He tugs at his sleeve. "But, yeah, I miss him too."

The last rays of daylight gave into darkness, and the stars hovered peacefully above them.

"Hey, look," Peter pointed upwards, completely glossing over the vulnerability of Tony's last admission, "I think that's Canis Minor. Do you see it?"

It didn't take a genius to understand what Peter was doing. If Tony didn't watch out, the kid's deflection skills might end up surpassing his own. Still, the billionaire indulged the change of topic with a flash of gratitude. "Yeah."

"And I think that one might be Cancer, but I'm not sure. Do you know?"

If you told the old Tony Stark that, in ten years' time, he'd be sitting on a rooftop next to a kid, his son, pointing out constellations, he would have laughed in your face.

That Tony Stark had no idea what he was missing.

"Alright, buddy." Tony stopped outside of Peter's bedroom and set a hand on his good shoulder. "You need help with anything before we both hit the hay?"

Peter looked up at him with wide, nervous eyes. "Can I-uh-can I maybe... sleep with you? You can say no. I-I don't know if Pepper wants to, uh, join you or if you just wanna be alone for a bit because if-"

It took Tony less than a second to consider the request. He set a gentle palm over Peter's lips to end his anxious rambles. "Absolutely, kiddo. You wanna go throw on some PJs and meet me in my room?"

There was so much pure gratitude on the kid's face that it made Tony's head spin. "Yeah."

"Leave the shirt on. Just change your pants. We don't wanna jostle that shoulder just yet."

"Yes, Dad."

Tony ignored the snark in the kid's voice and gave him a gentle push into his room. "I'll see you in a sec, Spider-baby."

"Don't call me that."

"Sure thing, Spider-baby."

He left before the kid could formulate another sarcastic response.

Tony was settled comfortably under the covers by the time Peter tiptoed into the bedroom. The teenager hovered uncertainty in the doorway for a moment, silhouette shifting back and forth, before the billionaire finally had enough.

"Come here, Peter."

The kid didn't have to be told twice. He shot across the room and crawled under the duvet, injured shoulder only barely hindering the movements. The teenager buried himself into Tony's side with a quiet sigh.

It occurred to the billionaire that the motions were effortless. In the beginning, Peter's constant need for physical contact had collided violently with Tony's far more reserved nature. Their initial embraces had been stunted and tense. The first few times Peter had tried to curl into Tony's chest like this had resulted in bumped heads and elbows to ribs and a great deal of awkward shuffling.

Now, though, Peter slotted right into place. The teenager tucked his face into his father's neck and curled his good arm around the older man's chest. One of Tony's arms snaked around Peter's waist, pulling to kid even closer, while his other hand took up its customary position in the teenager's curls. And as the kid's weight settled against Tony's side, the billionaire could feel something deep in his being hum with contentment. Peter was right where he belonged, and Tony's purpose was fulfilled.

He was always meant to hold this kid.

"How did I last so long without you, buddy?"

"Dunno. Pepper, probably."

"Probably."

Peter's breath came in soft puffs against Tony's throat. He absently traced his fingers across the teenager's ribs as he watched the Compound's lights filter through the curtains and paint patterns on his ceiling.

"Hey, Tony?"

The kid was busting out Tony's first name. Whatever he wanted to say, it must be important. "Yeah, Pete?"

"I love you."

Tony was, quite suddenly, immeasurably grateful for the protective darkness of the room. It meant that he would never have to admit to anyone that his eyes burned hot with tears at Peter's gentle declaration.

Because he'd heard Peter say those words before, but this time it was different. The last time he'd said them, the teenager had been dangling on the precipice of death. It was gasped out in a haze of adrenaline and fever. And, either way, Tony had initiated it.

There was something sacred about hearing those words from the kid's lips when his voice wasn't laced with pain and fear. Because the kid didn't have to say it. There were no stakes here, when the pair was tucked away in the sanctity of their quarters.

It struck Tony that those words were true. Peter loved him. Peter Parker, the purest human being Tony has ever laid his eyes on, loved Tony Stark, despite everything he had done.

I love you.

The words felt fragile. They felt peaceful. But more than anything else, they felt right.

Tony had spent so much of his life feeling wrong. Like he was an imposter in his own skin. Like he was a puzzle piece jammed into the wrong slot. But everything about Peter made him feel secure. It was as if he'd been waiting his whole life for a purpose. And now, he had found it.

All he had needed was Peter. All he ever needed was Peter.

"I love you too, Spider-baby."

The kid didn't even protest the nickname.

Maybe Stark men were never meant to have children, but there are outliers in almost any dataset.

And I've been an outlier my whole damn life.

AN: Haha. This chapter is so bad. I'm sorry. I tried.

Did anyone catch my Star Trek reference? If ya did, you get a virtual cookie.

Is this version of Tony WAYYYY softer than our MCU Tony? Yes. Do I write WAY too much sleepy fluff? Absolutely. Do I give two shits? Nope. LISTEN I NEED THIS GRATUITOUS DAD!TONY FLUFF RIGHT NOW OKAY SO DON'T SPOIL MY FUN. I WASN'T GOING TO DO THE SLEEPY FLUFF BUT THEN I WAS SAD SO I SAID FUCK IT. SLEEPY FLUFF.