"So what do I do now?" Peter asked, trying to hold back his tears.

"I can take care of everything," Tony promised. "You know I'm here for you, Pete."

"But- I- I have no one left! Where will I go? How can I still be part of the team? I won't be able to be Spider-Man, and-"

"Peter," Tony said, moving to sit beside the teen. "I'm not going to let you go anywhere. You're stuck with me, kid."

"But you have Corsair's kids, and I'd just be a burden. And you guys haven't been together long and I don't want to mess anything up, and-"

"I do have Chris' kids, and I'm quite fond of them. But you're my kid, Underoos. You're not a burden. And Chris and I are mature enough to handle some kids and a new relationship. You don't need to worry about that."

"You really want me to stay?"

"I really want you to stay." Peter launched himself into Tony's arms and sobbed.


The Summers family, Tony, and Peter stepped out of the elevator onto Tony's floor in the Tower. Peter and Chris quickly tugged off their ties.

"I hate these things," Chris muttered as he tossed his tie on the table. Scott put his hand on Peter's shoulder.

"We're here if you need anything," he said softly.

"I think I just want to be alone," Peter said.

"It sounds nice," Scott said knowingly. "But it makes it worse because then all you do is think about it. The more you do to keep yourself busy, the more you can process it in a healthy way."

"School's on a break. What am I supposed to do to keep my mind off of things? Play dolls with your sister? Build things with Mr. Stark? Or-"

"Boys," Chris warned. Scott stepped away from Peter and looked at Chris.

"Am I ok to go run with Cap for a bit?"

"No."

"Dad," Scott complained. "You talked to him and he's backed off. I'm going to Midtown next semester. I don't understand why I can't-" Tony cleared his throat.

"Your dad said no and that's the end of it," he said.

"So we're all stuck here to wallow in Peter's-"

"Scott!" Chris snapped.

"Sorry," Scott immediately said.

"Can I change outta my dress, Daddy?"

"Of course, Annie." Annie left and Chris sat down, exhaustion written all over his face.

"Why don't you go get some sleep, Papa Bear?" Tony suggested. "You were tossing and turning all night." Chris shook his head.

"If I do that, there'll be no sleeping tonight."

"Will you play Mario Kart with me?" Alex requested.

"I can do that. Let's get out of our dress clothes and head up to the common room. Pete, you wanna join us?"

"Not really."

"You shouldn't be alone, Peter," Tony said softly.

"Ned said he'd hang out," Scott said. "And MJ."

"They were there?" Peter asked.

"Yeah. Your whole decathlon team showed up. At least the real members."

"Oh…"

"Would you like to see your friends?" Tony asked. Peter nodded. "Then give me half an hour to get them here."

"Thanks, Mr. S- Tony."

"Of course, Spiderling. Go change into some less scratchy clothes and your friends will be here before you know it." Peter nodded and went into his room, the door closing with a soft click.

"Scott Christopher Summers, get your ass over here now." Scott groaned but went to Chris' side.

"Yes sir?"

"I don't want to hear you talk about your friend's grief like that again, understood? He just lost the woman who raised him- months after losing the man who raised him. He is hurting. You remember that pain, right?"

"Yes sir."

"Then what the hell, Scott?"

"It won't happen again. I'm sorry-"

"And then the back talk because I won't let you go running with a man who was just poisoning your mind against being in public?"

"I'm sorry."

"When Tony or I say no, that's the answer. No amount of whining or pleading will make us change our minds. I expect this behavior from Annie and Gabe, but not from you."

"Great. Can I go now, or are you going to keep berating me in front of everyone?"

"Your dad and I are the only ones in the room with you," Tony said, his arms crossed. "Cool it, Slim, or it's not going to be a pleasant night for you." Scott closed his eyes and took several breaths.

"I am struggling," he said through clenched teeth. "All I can see right now is Mom lying on the bed. And I wanted to run before I got sucked into that any longer, but it's fine. You clearly don't want me to take care of myself, just everyone else. Now I'm going to my room- unless I'm not allowed to do that, either." Scott stalked to his room and slammed the door shut. Chris stood up, and Tony gently pushed him down.

"Let him calm down before you both make it worse, Bear."

"He-"

"He was traumatized by finding her. I'm not surprised he's struggling today. I'll get Pete's friends here and then I'll go run with him while you play some video games with Alex."

"He needs-"

"He needs to see we're still here for him like we are Peter. You've never lost a parent, or a parental figure, Bear. You don't know… So let me handle this one, alright?"

"Alright," Chris agreed. "But that doesn't mean I'll stand for the disrespect, T. He did this when Kat first passed and acted out until I spanked him."

"I understand. Now how about I help you into some more comfortable clothes?"

"You mean out of these," Chris said chuckling. Tony just smirked and led Chris to their room.


"I'm actually in the Avengers Tower," MJ said as she looked around. "And you've been taken in by Iron Man." Peter shrugged as he leaned against the wall.

"I'd rather go back to how it was," he told her.

"I didn't mean it like that, Peter."

"Yeah, well…"

"Where is Mr. Stark?" Ned asked as he tried to make himself comfortable on the couch in the apartment Tony shared with the Summers family and Peter.

"Running on the training floor with Scott."

"I saw Scott's dad earlier at the funeral," MJ said as she looked at the books on Tony's bookshelf. "I'm surprised he moved with Mr. Stark." Peter snorted.

"Yeah. Tony gave all of them rooms on this floor." The elevator dinged and the doors opened. A red faced and sweaty Scott stepped out and gave Peter a look.

"Can I talk to you? Just for a second." Peter rolled his eyes.

"I'll be back in a minute," he told his friends. Scott gave them a small nod and led Peter to his room. Once they were both inside, Scott closed the door and took a breath.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I know some of what you're going through, and I should have been more supportive. Instead, I made it about me and my own loss, and that was wrong of me."

"I…"

"I don't expect you to forgive me, because I was being a really crappy friend. But I still wanted to apologize and let you know that I'm here for you, even if it's to spar with to get out some frustration. I might even let you win this time," he said, ending with a slight smirk. Peter grinned and shook his head.

"I'm sorry I've been difficult to deal with," he said.

"You really haven't," Scott said. "I punched a teammate out on my baseball team, so really, you've handled this a lot better than I did."

"I don't see Corsair taking that well." Scott winced and rubbed phantom pains out of his backside.

"Not at all." Peter rubbed the back of his neck.

"I accept your apology. And I do forgive you, Scott. I'm just… You at least have your dad, you know?"

"I know. If I lost him… But we've got Tony, too. He's really great to talk to when you're hurting because he gets it. My dad doesn't. I mean, he gets it with us and the loss of the same person, but not as someone who's lost a parent…"

"Boys!" Scott winced.

"I think Tony's summoning us." Peter nodded and they left Scott's room.

"There you are," Tony said. "Scott, I thought you were going to change and meet us upstairs."

"Yes sir. I just had to talk to Peter first and…"

"Got it. Go ahead and change now, then. Gabe is itching to play Go Fish and I might have volunteered you."

"Yes sir." Scott hurried back into his room and Tony looked at Peter, Ned, and MJ.

"You three are welcomed to come up to the common room, too. Alex is kicking Chris' ass at Mario Kart and his ego needs a break." MJ and Ned looked at Peter.

"If they want to, then that's fine," he agreed.

"Sounds like fun. Who's Alex?" MJ asked.

"My younger brother. The twelve year old," Scott said as he came out of his room.

"Did you shower?" Tony asked.

"Yes sir. I just needed a few seconds." Tony nodded and gestured to the elevator.

"Go on, Slim. Papa Bear wants to talk to you." Scott paled and Tony shook his head. "He wants to apologize."

"Thanks, Tony." Scott went to the elevator and left the floor.

"You two," Tony said, turning to MJ and Ned. "Please remember that this is the home of the Avengers and we like our privacy. If anything that happens here gets out, I'll make your lives miserable."

"Tony," Peter said with a groan after seeing Ned practically frozen in fear.

"Like anyone would even believe we were here," MJ scoffed.

"That's the right attitude. Then let's go up." Tony led them to the elevator. "Take us to the common floor, Friday." The elevator rose and stopped on the top floor.

"The common room, Boss. Might I also suggest ordering out? It has been an emotional day for many of you."

"I'll get an order for something together," Tony told his AI. The doors opened and the teens and Tony stepped off. Tony immediately zeroed in on Chris hugging Scott and walked over.

"Tony," Scott greeted, wiping his face.

"You two better?" Scott nodded. "Good. Go play with Shortstuff, Slim."

"Yes sir." Chris took Tony's hand and the couple sat on the couch.

"Thank you for whatever it was you did with him," Chris said.

"I'm in this for the long haul, Bear. I'm happy to be there for your kids."

"Long haul, hm? We've barely been together for two months, Tin Man."

"My second longest relationship," Tony said, smirking. "That should tell you how serious I am."

"Tony, you're not asking-"

"No," Tony said quickly. "But I don't necessarily want to take it off the table for a future discussion."

"T-"

"Just think about it, Bear." Tony leaned over and kissed Chris. When Chris' hand reached up to cradle Tony's face, there was a loud crash. They quickly pulled away and saw Pepper Potts staring at them with wide eyes and a platter of deli subs scattered on the ground.