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"He seems like a good kid."
"He is a good kid. A very good one."
Tony and Clint are sitting on the jet, heading to Mexico. Natasha will meet them there; actually she's been there for three days now to assess the situation.
Tony is absentmindedly gazing out of the small window, staring at the empty black sky around them and eating a candy bar that he stole from Peter's stash. He's eaten only half of the bar when he gives up and throws it away. Geez, how much sugar is in this stuff? Not to mention the tons of artificial ingredients based on the weird taste. Could this be the reason why the kid is always so twitchy and can't stop talking? Is he on a constant sugar high because of his shitty snacks? When he gets back, he'll teach him how to make a proper smoothie. Something that is healthy and actually has a normal taste.
"And how are you two getting on?" Clint tries again. Tony knows the archer wants to know everything about Peter and he doesn't blame him. He remembers how shocked Clint was when he revealed that he had taken in a kid and asked for Clint's advice.
But then he remembers another thing. There's another Avenger who knows about Peter and just a very short time ago he asked Tony the very same thing. How he and Peter were getting on. And what did Tony answer? That everything was okay. And then it turned out that Peter had been in serious trouble for days and he had been successfully hiding it from Tony. Yeah, it was really okay.
"Honestly?" he shrugs. "I don't know, man. I really don't know. Sometimes it seems everything's fine and then something happens and it turns out there's trouble in paradise."
Clint snorts. "That's parenting for ya, dude, you can never rest, trust me. Your life as you know it is over. For good." He grabs Tony's bag and searches through it until he pulls out a candy bar in a neon pink wrapper.
"Sure, be my guest, please," Tony grimaces. "And thanks for the encouragement. You make parenting sound like a life sentence. You don't seem that much stressed, though."
"Because being a dad isn't only about worrying all the time and putting out fires 24/7," Clint explains with his mouth full. "There are also joys. Tons of happiness. Love. So you wouldn't change it for the world. Just think about it, man. You're saying Peter's trouble sometimes, but would you ever get rid of him? To make your life less difficult?"
"Of course not! Never," Tony claims without hesitation. The mere idea is ridiculous. Absurd.
"There you go," the other man grins and grabs another candy. "And you've known him for what? A few months? He's already grown on you. And it's a really nice feeling."
"It really is," Tony agrees smiling. "But Peter makes it easy. I mean yes, it's not always perfect but he's a wonderful kid. So smart and kind. All that shit that happened to him didn't break him. It's a miracle. He has such a good heart. And he has no idea how strong and brave he is. He thinks it's only Spiderman, but no, Peter Parker is just as strong and brave. Maybe even more so. Because he went through so much and he's still standing. He's still a great kid no matter what life threw at him."
They sit in silence for a few minutes and Tony turns back to the dark sky and relives his time with Peter at the Tower. The lazy breakfasts. The tinkering in the lab. The movie marathons. He's lost in his memories and the only thing that reminds him that he's not with the kid at the Tower but on a jet heading to a mission is the irritating sound of Barton munching on Peter's candies.
"You know," Clint starts again between two bites. "I feel really hurt that you didn't let me meet the kid, Stark. I want to get to know him. After everything you told me about him. And the others will want to meet him too. You can't keep him locked up at the Tower forever."
"I know. I just don't want to overwhelm him."
"Why would meeting us overwhelm him?" the archer asks staggered.
Tony lifts an eyebrow and gives him a disbelieving look.
Clint raises his hands in defeat. "Okay, okay, I see your point. But. I still want to meet him."
"Later, okay? Just a few weeks ago when he thought things were changing too fast for his liking, he ran away."
"He did what?" Barton asks in shock. He even stops chewing.
"It wasn't that bad, I mean of course it was bad, I freaked out, kid disappeared into thin air. Thankfully, I quickly realized he was hiding in the creepy warehouse he had been staying before. And we had a nice talk. Turned out changes usually equaled loss in his life and moving to the Tower scared the shit out of him."
The archer furrows his brow in an attempt to understand what Tony has just said. "Hold on for a sec. Huh. He freaked out because he had to leave the streets behind to move into a luxurious penthouse?"
Tony gives him a small smile. "I told you. He's a great kid. And money literally means nothing to him. Which is really weird, right?"
"I understand why you want to protect him at all costs, Stark, I really do. You're in full parent mode as you should be now that you actually have a kid," Clint grins leaning back in his seat. He lets out a big breath, eyeing the half a dozen candy bar wrappers on his lap.
"Well, but I'm not doing a very good job, I'm afraid," Tony frowns peeking out the window again.
"What do you mean, dude?" the other Avenger asks narrowing his eyes.
"You told me to create a safe environment so that Peter could trust me, he could turn to me whenever he needed help," Tony reminds him still gazing out of the window.
Barton waits for him to continue but when he doesn't, the archer grows impatient. "Yeah, and?"
Tony turns back to him and shrugs his shoulders. "And he ran away when he didn't feel good. And when he damaged his suit the other day, he decided to fix it himself instead of asking for my help. He doesn't feel safe with me, man, he doesn't feel that he can trust me."
He shakes his head in defeat and turns back to the window.
He always knew that it wouldn't be easy, raising a kid is a little bit more complicated than having a pet or something and he has never done that either. Peter is such a precious kid and Tony has always been afraid that he would fail, that he would mess up the kid's life, this was the reason why he didn't want to make this huge decision for such a long time. He has always known he's not good at family. It might have been Howard's fault, it might have been his, probably both. But fact is he sucks at the family stuff. And that's why it might haven't been such a good idea to take Peter in. Kid needs a home where he actually feels safe and where he can trust people. And maybe that home is not at the Tower.
But before Tony could sink deeper into his depressive thoughts, he hears an odd sound. Clint chuckles. Is the archer laughing at him? Does he find it funny that Tony screwed up? He took a kid in, he just wanted to help him, to end his suffering, to make his life at least a little bit better and he failed. Royally. Does Barton really think it's funny? Fuck him.
"Screw you, Barton," he hisses at him.
"I'm sorry, man, sorry, I shouldn't laugh, I know," the archer apologizes but Tony can still hear him giggle, so he doesn't bother to turn back to him. At least, the black sky doesn't make fun of him.
Then Clint clears his throat and speaks up. "Sorry, really," he says and this time he sounds calm.
Still, Tony prefers the window and remains motionless.
"Stark, you should understand that parenting isn't a short process," Barton explains not minding that Tony doesn't look at him. "I gave you advice, yes, I told you to make the kid feel safe. But if you thought you could do it in a few days or weeks, you were seriously wrong. I mean raising a child is a lifelong job; it never ends, not even when the kids grow up. If you think one day you can just lean back satisfied, saying, "yes, my job here is done, the kid is all good now", you're mistaken. Yes, you need to create a safe environment. And you need to work on that every single day. And I'm not saying it to freak you out, no, I'm saying it because I want you to understand you haven't failed because you're not finished. And you will never be. So relax, man, chill. You're not done yet."
Barton must be right. He has kids; he has much more experience in raising children than Tony. He should believe him, trust his opinion. That's why he called him when Peter moved in, right?
He sighs and pinching the bridge of his nose, he glances at the other man. "I hate that since I took Peter in it's always you who calms me down. And Bruce. Still. As if you have some kind of freaking power over me and I hate it."
Clint snorts and grabs his water bottle from his bag. "Anyway, you mentioned a suit, right? I saw Spiderman on the news and that suit is awesome, Stark. Is there any chance that you adopt me and make a cool suit for me, too?" he asks and takes a sip from the bottle.
Tony laughs and waves him off. "Don't hold your breath, Robin Hood. And I didn't adopt the kid."
"You didn't?"
"No, I'm his guardian. I want to adopt him, I do, that's the plan, but I want to discuss it with him, I want to involve him and I don't want to decide this over his head."
"That's a great move to prove him that he can trust you," the archer praises.
But Tony shakes his head. "No, I'm not doing this to make him trust me. I'm doing this because this is the right thing to do. That's all."
"Hey, kid, did I wake you up?" Tony asks with a big smile on his face and a mug of steaming coffee in his hands.
"No," Peter answers, but in the next second, a huge yawn gives him away.
"Sorry," the man chuckles, glancing at his watch. It's only 8pm in New York, but after his eventful week, the boy must be still very tired. "How are you?"
"Fine, Mr. Stark. Like I said, mostly asleep."
"What, no movie marathon with Happy?"
Peter snorts. "Happy should really change his name to Grumpy or something."
"Don't take it personal, kid. He really likes you; he's just… not so good at showing it."
The boy laughs and his laughter turns into another yawn. "Anyway, I guess you're calling because you're not coming home tonight, right?"
"Correct. I'm so sorry, Peter. Romanoff believes it would be better to attack these idiots tomorrow morning. And as she has made it clear that the mission requires only the incredible powers of my suit and not my even more incredible brainpower, I have no say in this."
He takes a look around in the safe house where he's currently staying with the other two Avengers. It's practically a crappy shed at the end of someone's backyard, someone who Natasha finds trustworthy enough. There's a table with four chairs, a small kitchen with a tiny, old refrigerator and two cots in the corners. Why do safe houses always have to be like this? Dirty, old places without proper furniture and basic hygiene? Why can't it be a hotel suite or something? Tony would certainly blend in much better at the Four Seasons because here, in this slum he definitely stands out.
But this is undoubtedly Natasha's mission, she's the boss, she made that clear, too. And now that he's here, Tony has decided to obey. The sooner they get over with this stupid job, the sooner he can get back to Peter, right?
"So. I'm sorry, kid. It's gonna take one more day," he states, folding his head in his arms.
"Don't worry about it, Mr. Stark. It's okay, I'm good," the boy promises. "But are you okay? I mean the mission. Those crazy big robots. Are you gonna be alright?"
Tony smiles. "It's nothing we can't handle," he assures Peter. He remembers the Battle of New York. This is going to be a piece of cake compared to that.
There's a strange sound in the background and it takes him a few seconds until he figures it out. It's Peter typing on a keyboard and suddenly, a scary thought hits him. "Kid, I know you're worried about me, I appreciate it, I really do but please, please, don't hack Friday to gather info on the mission."
"What? No, no, Mr. Stark, no, I'm not… I'm not doing… that," the boy stutters. Even though they're on the phone, Tony is absolutely sure that the kid's face is turning bright red right now. Peter couldn't lie to save his life.
"Seriously, kid. Don't. I'll tell you everything I can when we get back. Tomorrow. I promise. Please, don't make me turn off the power at the Tower," he says but his voice lacks any strictness.
He can hear the boy sigh in defeat. "Okay, Mr. Stark."
"I know, I know. No Spiderman, Happy as a babysitter and now you can't even play hacker. What a boring childhood! I feel really sorry for you, Peter," the man says teasingly, sipping his coffee. Then he frowns because this drink– whatever it is – is nowhere close to the coffee he usually drinks at the Tower. It might have something to do with the sad truth that this time there's no fidgety boy rambling on the other side of the table while he's drinking it.
"Haha, very funny, Mr. Stark," Peter answers and probably rolls his eyes, too. Then he yawns again.
"Go back to sleep, kid," Tony says smiling.
"I think I will, Mr. Stark," the boy agrees, sounding sleepy. "Come home soon. Please."
"I will, Peter, I will."
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