Chapter 9

Please leave reviews about more things you'd like to see in this story! Reviews keep me motivated and even one word reviews are nice! Thanks for the support y'all!

"Well, I see that you've finally decided to join the rest of the world after hiding down in your lab all day. If you didn't have me, you would've starved to death long ago," Pepper commented as Tony entered the living room. Tony saw that Pepper was currently in the kitchen preparing dinner, while Peter and Harley happily played Mario Kart in the living room.

"Then it is a good thing that you are always here to take care of me," Tony replied with a smile as he leaned in to kiss Pepper.

"Hey, Thing One and Thing Two, get in here with me and Pepper, I've got something for all of you," Tony announced.

"But D-I mean, Tony, I was just about to kick Peter's ass!" Harley complained as he entered the kitchen, with Peter following close behind. Tony was thrilled that the two boys had quickly become brothers, and one was rarely seen without the other.

"You were not!" Peter retorted.

Tony chuckled to himself. God, I love my boys. "Well, I can guarantee that what I'm about to give you both is better than Mario Kart." Tony pulled out three watches. "Put these on, then click the button on the side," he instructed. "I present to you Rescue, Iron Lad, and Iron Spider," Tony declared proudly.

"Oh my Gosh! This is so cool? Wait, why did you make mine look like a spider? I actually hate spiders, but this suit is super cool Da-Mr Stark! This is so awesome! " Peter rambled.

"This is the coolest thing ever Dad, I mean, Tony," Harley blushed most likely due to his slip up. Not that Tony minded, of course.

"Tony, are you crazy? Why are you giving us all suits?! I hope you don't plan on putting our children in battle," Pepper scolded.

After Peter and Harley finished geeking out about the suits (and asking every possible question about them, of course) and Pepper finished chewing Tony out for giving their children weaponized armour, Tony finally managed to explain why he made the suits. The suits had JARVIS built into them, and were only accessible to the boys with Tony's permission, or in case of an emergency. Of course, Pepper wasn't a fan of the fact that they were becoming a "family of robots", in her words, but eventually, she relented.

XXXXX

"See the thing is, I really want to ask Pep to marry me right now. I mean, I'm finally stable...well as stable as I will ever be, and I don't think I can wait any longer. Hap's been holding onto that ring since 2008, so that's already been taken care of. But what if she says no? What if it's too fast for her? God, I've already done this before, why am I so fucking nervous? Not to mention, we've already adopted a kid together, marriage should definitely be in the cards," Tony rambled on nervously to Natasha as he made adjustments to his suits in the lab. The two of them hanging out in Tony's lab to gossip and complain about their lives had become a regular occurrence.

"Well, I, for one think it's cute that your iron heart can get so nervous when it comes to the woman that you love," Natasha teased. "And you guys have known each other forever, it's definitely not too fast. If dying has taught us both anything, it's that we can't waste our lives by sitting around and waiting too long."

"Wow, since when did you become a romance expert? You never even managed to find Cap a date," Tony said.

"For your information, I did manage to find him a date. I mean, when I set them up I thought she was a nurse that lived across the hall, but it turned out to be Agent Sharon Carter," Natasha responded.

Tony had chosen the wrong moment to sip his green smoothie as he instantly spat the liquid everywhere in surprise. "Wait...Sharon Carter, as in Aunt Peggy's niece? That's so fucked up! Imagine what Aunt Peggy or Dad would've said if they'd seen that." Tony burst into uncontrollable laughter, with Natasha joining in.

"Well, they didn't exactly date or anything, they just kissed. I think it was too weird for him," Natasha replied.

"Wait...does that mean Cap is still a 100 year old virgin?" Tony asked.

"I mean, I'm not an expert on Steve's sex life, but I did kiss him once when we were on the run from HYDRA...hey don't look at me like that! It wasn't like that, it was for distraction purposes only. Steve and I are strictly friends. Anyway, I don't think he ever got over Peggy. She was his one true love."

"What about you and Big Green? You two seemed awfully cozy in the quinjet," Tony asked.

"Honestly? I'm not really sure. There's always been something there, but then Ultron happened, and Bruce disappeared for two years. And after half the universe vanished, it just didn't seem like a great time to get back together. Also, why are we going on about my love life now? We were talking about Pepper. Just propose to her, you need her. You're a hot mess without her holding you together."

"Well, I would take offense to that, but it's true…"

"Sir, Happy Hogan is on the line," JARVIS interrupted.

"Hey, Hap, what's up?" Tony asked as DUM-E bumped into a table and spilled his smoothie on the floor. "Shit DUM-E, I swear I'm gonna donate you to MIT one of these days." Tony snorted as he saw that Happy was holding the StarkPad so close to his face that his forehead took up the entire screen. Some things never change. "Is this forehead of security?"

"Well you told me to keep an eye on everyone meeting with Pepper and report anything suspicious to you. Well she's meeting with Aldrich Killian right now, and I did some digging, and we met him back in the 90's. He's showing her his big brain right now…"

"Wait...Killian? That isn't supposed to happen for another couple months at least! It's too early…the Mandarin attacks haven't even started yet!" Tony replied anxiously. "Shit, I'm sorry Hap, I gotta go. Listen to me carefully, I don't care what you have to do, get Pepper out of that room and do NOT follow anyone that looks suspicious. They're dangerous, and I don't want you getting hurt. Just get the hell out of there and get back to the tower immediately, do you understand?"

"Okay, Tony. But I'm telling you I could really hel-" Happy began before Tony hung up the phone and cut him off.

"Tony…" Natasha motioned to the TV screen where a bold headline read, MIDTOWN SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNDER ATTACK BY TERRORISTS. Tony ordered JARVIS to turn the volume up just in time for the two of them to hear a message by Trevor (the fake Mandarin).

"What the hell? How is this happening so soon? J, are you still connected to Pete and Harley? Are they okay?" Tony asked anxiously.

"Mr Parker and Mr Keener are both fine. They managed to activate their suits as soon as the explosion occurred. Their heroic actions ensured no students or staff were harmed. The Media has dubbed them 'Spider-Man' and 'Iron Man Jr'. Mr Keener was quick to correct the reporters and told them his name was 'Iron Lad'. Peter on the other hand preferred the Spider-Man name the media had chosen. Fortunately, the boys were both in an empty computer lab, skipping class at the time, so nobody saw their faces as they put on their suits. The media currently is oblivious of their identity," JARVIS said.

Tony breathed a sigh of relief. "Wait, skipping class? What the hell were they doing in the computer lab?"

"I believe they were attempting to disable the Child Safety Protocol on their watches," JARVIS replied.

"Son of a bitch...those two are grounded forever! Skipping class to hack into weaponized suits that I strictly told them were for emergencies only? If I weren't so relieved, I would be a hell of a lot angrier. J, get me and Widow to Midtown immediately," Tony instructed.

"Yes, sir."

XXXXXXXX

After Tony had finished chewing out Harley and Peter for attempting to hack into their suits, Tony hugged them both tightly. "Don't you two ever scare me like that again! I swear, I've aged ten years since I've met you both."

"Sorry, Dad," Both Peter and Harley replied simultaneously. After all the lecturing, neither boy had realized that the word 'dad' had slipped out of their mouths. Tony sure noticed though, and he couldn't help the lone tear that fell down his cheek.

They called me Dad…I mean, they are my kids but to hear them say it? Better change the subject so I can distract myself and stop crying. "So you guys are officially superheroes now, huh? Iron Lad and Spider-man!"

"Does this mean we're both Avengers now?" Peter asked hopefully.

Tony chuckled, "Sorry, kid, not right now, you're both too young. And if I have anything to do with it, you two will never have a job as dangerous as mine. And the only reason I'm letting you keep the suits, is to keep you guys safe. I'm upgrading the security measures tonight, so there's no way in hell you two will be able to hack them."

"Awww," Peter and Harley complained in disappointment.

XXXXXX

"Hey, Pete, I'm so sorry, but I'm gonna have to cancel our lab session tomorrow," Tony said sadly.

"Oh, that's okay, what's going on? Is it 'Avengers Business'? Peter asked, using exaggerated air quotes.

"No, that Asshole Norman Osborn from Oscorp Industries keeps bothering me about some stupid serum that he's created. Apparently he wants to somehow combine it with my Iron Man tech to come up with something 'superhuman' or something. Honestly, I don't trust the man, and that alone is why he will never work with me. Apparently, ignoring his phone calls isn't enough to get him to leave me alone, so I thought I'd tell him to fuck off in person," Tony responded.

"Oh my gosh, Norman Osborn? He's a genius! The man is a literal scientific legend! I mean, of course he's second to you, but he's still awesome. Can I come? Please?" Peter pleaded.

"While I don't appreciate you calling that asshat a genius, your presence would make this meeting slightly more bearable, so yes, you can come," Tony said.

"Thank you, Mr Stark, you're the best," Peter said excitedly.

"So, we're back to this 'Mr Stark' crap, huh?" Tony asked.

"Well, it is the polite thing to do. Aunt May and Uncle Ben always told me to address adults by Mr, Mrs, or Ms. Also, I know it annoys you, so I will keep doing it for as long as I live."

"Jeez, kid, you are like me. Okay, you can come with me. But please don't wander around the place. I really don't like the guy, and I don't like the idea of you going off by yourself and getting yourself into trouble," Tony responded. Ugh, I don't really like the idea of Peter being anywhere near that creep. But...it's just a quick meeting at Oscorp Industries to tell Norman to fuck off, what could possibly go wrong?