A/N: This is yet another new story that I couldn't get out of my head! It's based off of one of my favorite songs, This Isn't the End by Owl City. If you come from my other current stories, I'm still working on them, promise. This just means updates are going to be even farther apart. Sorry!
CONCERNING THE STORY: This is purely AU, but follows the movies up to Civil War. Except, Tony doesn't recruit Spider-Man, because Peter is little in this story.
Disclaimer: I do not own the lyrics and melody to This Isn't the End.
Warnings: Mentions of suicide.
There was a wrench in the gears of a Billionaire's mind. And the wrench happened to be 6 ½ year-old Peter Parker, an adorable little kid who's last three living relatives all died in a week, within two days of each other. Everything was telling him this wouldn't be easy… but he knew that the moment he saw a curly haired boy reading in the corner.
Tony hadn't planned on the kid. In fact, he hadn't even planned to visit the orphanage that afternoon, it was just something Pep said would be good for the press. The truth was, he didn't like orphanages. That isn't to say he didn't feel terrible for the kids, but it seemed like a flawed system, and he hated to see hundreds of children without parents. So, he donated (weekly, in fact), but tried to avoid actually going inside of them.
He himself was actually an orphan. Tony realized this fact as he ruffled the little girl's hair and signed her Iron Man mask. Although he was an old man now, or at least he felt like it, he was still an orphan. No mom or dad. But, he had Pepper, and Rhodey, and the team… and that was enough for him.
The little boy in the corner caught his attention. While the other kids were flocked around him, gazing in awe, the little boy seemed to almost cower in the corner. He fiddled with his thin jacket and hid behind his curly brown hair. He couldn't have been more than six or seven.
Tony stood, strutting over and crouching down in front of him. "Hey, buddy." The kid shifted his feet and didn't say anything. "What's your name?" Still not getting a response, he held out his own hand. "I'm Tony."
"I know," the little boy said, barely audible. He glanced up shyly. "You're… Iron Man," he said before quickly looking back down.
The billionaire noticed a pair of plastic Iron Man gauntlets lying on the ground and nodded at them. "Well, it looks to me like you're better dressed for a hero than I am, kid."
"Mine aren't real. They don't even have real repulsors… and I don't have an arc reactor," he said quietly, blushing. He was small enough to struggle with some of the words. A loose tooth caused a slight lisp, and he couldn't quite pronounce the r's correctly.
Regardless, Tony was shocked. Most kids this young called it the "glowy chest thing" or something. This boy was smart, like genius smart (at least for a six-year-old). The fact of the matter was, he reminded Tony of himself.
"Yeah, I guess that's true." He was swept away by the lady who ran the orphanage, Mary Anne Lee, and in a flurry of pictures and press, he lost track of the little genius.
xXx
An hour later, as he was preparing to leave, he caught a glimpse of the boy again. He was sitting at a table, scribbling on some paper and sticking his tongue out. Tony was man enough to admit that it was adorable, and he smiled.
"Hey, who is that?" He asked Mary, pointing.
"Oh him? That's Peter Parker. Poor dear's father died last week, and his last living relatives, Aunt and Uncle I think it was, they died a day after in an mugging incident. Can you believe that? That poor, poor boy." She frowned sympathetically, placing a slightly wrinkled hand over her heart. "I can only hope someone adopts him. But that's all we can hope for any of these kids."
What a story. Tony had come across many bouts of bad luck in his day, but that was a whole new level of unfortunate.
"What happened to his dad?"
Mary's frown deepened. "Suicide."
xXx
"I'm telling you, Pep, this kid is special. And, I don't know… I just-"
Pepper smiled sadly, brushing her soft hair into a ponytail. The morning sun filtered in through the blinds, lighting it and making it shine like gold. She finished applying her makeup, basically ready for work now.
"Every kid is special, Tony. But come on, I don't think you're ready for… adopting him? I mean, you just learned how to take care of yourself. This is a child we're talking about."
She slid on her shoes, a sleek pair of black pumps.
"He… he reminds me of myself. He's alone, and- and a genius, and he needs someone to believe in him. And, I don't know. Maybe I thought that person could be me…" Tony trailed off, looking out of the window. "I guess I was wrong."
Pepper smiled again. "If you really want to do this… I won't stop you. But it's a big responsibility. And, after everything, I just want you to make sure you're absolutely certain you're ready."
Tony stood and hugged her. "This is why I'm marrying you."
She kissed his cheek and smirked. "I know. You'd be lost without me."
xXx
"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, I'm having a hard time understanding." Mrs. Lee pulled on her glasses and stared down her nose at the papers Tony had just handed her.
"I'd like to, uh. Adopt him." He folded his arms, uncomfortable under her incredulous gaze. She thought he couldn't do this, which made sense. His reputation over the years had… varied.
"Yes, but it's not that simple. There are various layers of-"
"I know. I've got the best lawyers this side of New York. I'm prepared to undergo the process, Mrs. Lee."
She looked surprised at his enthusiasm for the subject. "Very well. Let's have a chat with Peter before we get down to the nitty gritty, shall we?"
He noticed she had a slight accent… maybe Australian? Either way, she stood and moved out of the room, down the hall, and into a bedroom with about 10 sets of bunk beds. A few boys were playing with a hacky sack, laughing and joking. Peter sat apart from them, turning the pages of a book.
Tony smiled.
"Peter!" The short woman called, capturing the attention of the entire room. They all turned and gaped, seeing Iron Man in the doorway. Peter's mouth dropped open and he hesitantly followed them back to the office, sticking close behind Mrs. Lee.
They arrived and sat, Tony and Mary facing the boy. He appeared very small in the chair, adding to the effect by shrinking in on himself and staring intently at his hands.
"Peter, dear, Mr. Stark has something to discuss with you." She indicated Tony. "He would like to… to adopt you."
Peter's eyes went as big as disks, forgetting his shyness and directing his full attention to the billionaire.
"Now, this'll be quite a process, dear. And only if you'd like to live with him, of course. It's all up to you."
"So," Tony said, as casually as he could. He was trying not to show how fast his heart was pounding and the few drops of sweat that formed in his palms. "Whaddaya say, kiddo?"
The boy sat in shock for a moment longer, then nodded vigorously. His brown curls bounced up and down. In a small voice, he asked, "C-could I really?"
"Yep." Tony replied, popping the 'p'. His dark brown eyes shone as he grinned at Peter's excited smile.
He was going to have a kid.
xXx
4 parenting books, 3 weeks, two lawyers, and one mental breakdown later, Tony Stark was on his way to pick up a kid. His kid. His hands tightened on the steering wheel. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe he wasn't cut out for this. I mean, building a couple multi-million dollar super-suits was easy, but parenting? He wasn't so sure. And, on top of this bull from Secretary Ross and the Accords...
Rhodey bumped his shoulder from the passenger seat. His metal leg braces whirred and clicked softly. "Hey man, you good?"
"I don't know, Rhodey. Two months ago I was fighting my best friends in an airport, one month ago I saw a little kid who reminded me of myself, and for some reason I decided to adopt him and here I am now… on my way to take him home, and I- I don't know. What if… what if I turn out like my dad?"
Rhodey stayed still for a solid five seconds, before sighing. "I can't tell you how you will or will not be… as a- a. A dad. But I can tell you that you will not turn out like him. The fact that you're so concerned proves that."
Tony heard the asphalt crunch through the open window as they pulled up to the orphanage. This was it. He turned the car off, hand hovering over the door handle.
"You gonna open it?" Rhodey called from outside. Tony rolled his eyes, took a deep breath to calm his nerves, and got out.
"I don't know if I can do this," he muttered as they made their way to the door. It didn't really look like an orphanage. At least, not the kind you see in movies. It was pretty small, just two stories, square, and beige. The windows were cloudy and the doors were slanted. He made a mental note to call someone about that.
"Hey," his best friend said. "You got this. Just… roll with the punches."
"Yeah, yeah… the punches."
Peter was waiting for them, dressed in his ratty blue jacket and baggy jeans, and holding a small backpack. He looked the pair up and down, hiding behind Mrs. Lee's legs a little.
"Hi buddy. You ready to go?" Tony bent down a little to look at the kid in the eyes. Large, brown, curious eyes that stared at him with a mix of excitement and fear. He's scared. I can't do this.
The little boy nodded and quickly fled from Mrs. Lee's leg to Tony's. He clutched the man's suit pants in his tiny fist and grabbed his backpack tighter. Rhodey smiled at his friend's surprised face.
"Oh," Tony said. He recovered by ruffling Peter's hair and resting his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Uh, here is the final paperwork." He handed the woman across from them a small file. She glanced through it briefly, then looked back up at them.
"Congratulations, Mr. Stark. You're a father."
xXx
"What do you think, kiddo? You like it?"
He nudged Peter past the threshold into the living room, making the child release his grip on his pants. The boy inched forward, mouth open.
"You live here?"
This had to have been the biggest room Peter had ever seen. There were several plush couches and complimentary TV's facing a huge stone fireplace. On the opposite side, large windows looked out across New York, hundreds of feet from the ground. He ran over to them, pressing his nose against the glass in wonder. Peter had always thought about flying… he guessed this was as close as he was going to get.
"Yeah," Tony chuckled. "I do live here. And you do, too."
"Wow, Mr. Tony. This is so high up…" he waved slowly to the streets, doubting the people could see him, but too in awe to care.
"Just call me Tony, kid." He had been too afraid to even think about if Peter wanted to call him Dad. The whole idea was crazy… and his Dad was dead, recently. It would probably hurt the boy this soon after.
Peter moved back to him, reaching up and grabbing Tony's hand. "Ok," the boy said. "Do you sleep on the couches?"
This time, his guardian laughed, closing his hand over Peter's. "No. We have rooms, bud. You have your own room here."
His kid looked up, eyes wide. "Really? I don't… I don't have to share?"
From the elevator, Rhodey leaned against the wall. He was unable to keep the smile from his face. Dang, this kid was cute.
"That's right, little man. You got your own Casa de Peter," he said. "Right next to mine."
Tony looked grateful, and Peter looked delighted. "Yeah. We can go check it out, and then watch a movie. Sound good?"
Peter nodded. "Is Mrs. Pepper coming to visit?" He had only met Pepper a few times, but she loved him instantly... like Tony did.
"She lives here too. But, she's really busy so we won't see her a lot."
"Ok."
Tony led the boy to his room, which was the smallest one in the penthouse. It had a bunk bed pushed against one wall, with bookshelves and a dresser against another. One wall held a door to the balcony (which Tony made sure FRIDAY kept diligently locked).
He offered Peter three different options he had chosen for bedsheets: Cars, trucks or Avengers, trying not to feel a little pride when his kid chose Avengers. Peter looked a little puzzled after they made the bed, pointing at Cap's face.
"Is he a bad guy now?"
Tony tried to ignore the bubble of hurt and irritation at his former friends million-dollar-smile. He sat next to Peter on the bed, trying to figure out a way to explain.
"No, Pete, I don't think he's a bad guy. I think he was just…" Betraying his friend and covering with a false sense of heroism. "Making a bad choice."
"Jason said he hurt you in a fight. Is he going to hurt you again?"
Jason? Who's Jason? "No, I don't think so," he said, trying to convey confidence. In reality, he had no idea what Cap was going to do next. He didn't think Steve would fight with them again, but he also didn't trust the man anymore. Not after Siberia.
In a small voice, he asked, "Would he hurt me?"
"Not while I'm around."
Peter seemed satisfied with that answer, so he shoved himself off of the bed. "Ok."
They made their way to the living room and watched Men in Black, which apparently was the kid's favorite movie, inviting Rhodey to join them. He declined, as it was time for his "work-out". That's what he called physical therapy.
As the movie went on, Tony couldn't get the kid's face out of his head when he asked if Captain America would hurt him. Looks like I'm not the only one wondering that anymore.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed and please leave your thoughts (good or bad) in the reviews!
See you next time,
-katilange :D