Comfortember Day Thirty: Light at the End of the Tunnel

"I can't believe you managed to drag me into an attraction like this."

"Aww, come on, Mister Stark! It'll be fun."

Tony stared at the entrance of a corn maze. Maybe at one point it'd be fun but it was chilly tonight even with his proper fall coat and gloves. That and it was dark and Tony wasn't sure if he wanted to go in circles surrounded by corn.

He could use a tracker to keep their trail but Peter said that was cheating and Tony relented. He couldn't use his technology to help them on their way out. Lovely. How did Peter manage to drag him into these things?

Who was he kidding? He knew how. So did everyone.

"Are you scared, Mister Stark? Is that what this is?" Peter smirked like the little shit he was.

Tony huffed and bopped him on the top of his head. "Me? Scared of a corn maze? No."

"So, let's do it!"

Peter grabbed his hand and ran in not listening to any of Tony's complaints. The kid was way too excited about this. It was just a maze. He didn't want to ruin his fun though so he stopped complaining. Besides, there was a possible chance he might enjoy the walk later.

Peter was humming a random tune and looking around at all the corn surrounding them. Tony kept his hands in his pockets and stared up at the sky instead. The two of them came across a couple of dead ends, but Peter seemed to find that amusing so they could wander around some more.

Tony just enjoyed walking with his kid.

Peter eventually stopped at a crossroads and stopped Tony from walking by grabbing his sleeve.

"Let's split up. Let's see where these two paths lead," Peter said, a bit too eager for Tony's liking.

"I thought we were supposed to do this together."

"We are. We'll meet back here in...ten minutes!"

"I don't know, kid." Tony shifted awkwardly.

Peter smirked. "You're just scared that I'll find the exit before you."

Tony narrowed his eyes. Peter puffed his chest out and placed his hands on his hips. Tony rolled his shoulders and huffed.

"Bring it on, Underoos."

"Yes!" Peter whooped and gave a little jump. "Okay, ready, set, go! See you in ten minutes knowing where the exit is!"

Peter took off faster than Tony saw him move in a while. Tony went his own way, not as fast as Peter but at a quicker pace than before. Naturally he wanted to prove this little shit wrong. He'd be back in five minutes knowing where the exit is. Definitely.

Tony kept glancing at his watch now and then but soon found himself at another crossroads. Left or right. That was always the question. Tony shrugged and turned to the left, he was hoping the exit was at the end of this path so he could see his kid again.

There was a strange rustling coming from his right but there were no paths there. God, he hoped there was no one else in this maze right now who got lost. Especially a small child. He didn't know if he could deal with that at the moment.

The rustling stopped. Tony wondered if he was imagining it. He had been in this maze for a while and now with his little race with Peter, he wondered if he was just getting dizzy from all the twists and turns.

Tony was suddenly tackled from behind and arms wrapped around his shoulders while legs wrapped around his midsection. Tony struggled to get up, the weight keeping him down. He debated on activating his repulsor but then he heard a tell tale laugh.

"Surprise!"

Tony huffed and tried to look over his shoulder at the Spider-baby. He glared half-heartedly.

"Okay, you surprised me. Now get off me," Tony said, pushing himself onto his hands and knees. Peter still didn't let go.

"What did you think, Mister Stark? Did you think I was an enemy or something?" Peter teased.

"No, I thought someone got lost in the corn," Tony deadpanned. "Are you going to get off?"

Peter hummed innocently. "I guess."

"I guess?" Tony repeated, pretending to be annoyed. "Pete. You're a lightweight but you just tackled me. I refuse to carry you after that."

"Aww, daaaad, c'mon!"

Tony's heart skipped a beat. Then he felt warmth spread through him. He always did whenever Peter pulled out the dad card. There was just something pleasant knowing that the kid reciprocated the familial love that Tony had for him.

There had been times where Tony was insecure and didn't want to overstep. But then Peter would always prove him wrong. Their love was mutual and Tony couldn't be happier.

Even if Peter was currently being a little shit again.

"Fine," Tony relented. "At least loosen your grip. It's hard to breathe."

"Oh, crap! Sorry, my bad." Peter loosened his arms and legs. "Better?"

"Yup. Better."

"Good."

Peter rested his chin on Tony's shoulder and the two of them continued their way through the maze. Peter went back to humming a tune like he did when they first entered.

Ten more minutes passed. Finally the exit was in sight with two lanterns hanging from wooden poles. By that point, Peter had fallen asleep, still on Tony's back, and Tony couldn't bring himself to wake him.

Even though this corn maze was a bit of a weird experience, it was also nice to spend some quiet time with his kid. Excluding the part where Peter suddenly jumped on him. That's just how Peter was sometimes.

And if his Spiderling kept clinging to him? Well, Tony had no problems with it.

Everything was peaceful.

Author's Note: And this is it! The final day of Comfortember. I took the name of the prompt literally instead of figuratively lmao. Except a corn maze not a tunnel. Tbh I just needed a fluffy one-shot after the other day's prompt. I also don't mind that this one is shorter even if it's the last day. Like I said, I just wanted something fluffy and sweet.

Now, I hope ya'll enjoyed Comfortember. It was fun to do. Stressful at times but still fun.

I'm not sure what I'm gonna write next but I think I have a couple things in mind. They might take a little time to come though. Tbh I need a bit of a break after all this writing.

That's all for now. I'll see ya'll in the next one.

Thanks for reading!

~Kurosaki