Chapter 1: Mrs. Parker-Stark

FIVE MONTHS EARLIER

May walked down the aisle alone. Months ago, she'd asked Peter if he would walk with her, take on the role that would've gone to her late father, but he said no. It felt disrespectful to Uncle Ben to "give her away" to another man. Even if that man was Tony Stark. May started dating him less than a year after Uncle Ben died, and a few months later they were engaged. When Peter questioned the expedited timeline, May just said that he'd "wooed her." Peter internally gagged. He didn't want to think about anything that might be considered a part of "wooing" his aunt.

He wanted to hate Mr. Stark. He tried to hate him, when he first started dating Aunt May, but didn't succeed for very long. The only thing Peter could find to complain about was that he wasn't Uncle Ben. He was charming and funny, and so sweet to May and Peter both. He was also a billionaire, which automatically excluded him from one of the most common ulterior motives for dating someone. Peter was happy for May, truly, but he still felt weird about the entire situation.

Throughout the entire ceremony, Peter forced himself not to think of Uncle Ben. After everything she'd done for him, May deserved to be happy. Widows got remarried all the time, it didn't mean that she didn't still love Uncle Ben or that she didn't miss him anymore. Peter knew that grief often felt more stifling when coupled with loneliness. He knew this because he'd been lonely pretty much his entire life. Before Mr. Stark came around, May was lonely too.

Now he'd be lonely alone.

Peter sat along the aisle on May's side of the church, right in the front row. Neither she nor Mr. Stark had a particularly large group of invitees. Around Peter sat May's nursing colleagues, some friends from college, and a few of Uncle Ben's friends from the police force. On Mr. Stark's side sat his parents, his assistant, his bodyguard, and Colonel James Rhodes. Peter found it rather sad that he only had one person in his life besides family and employees that came to his wedding. Maybe these were the only people he trusted not to leak the time and location of the wedding to the paparazzi. That was still sad.

May didn't stop smiling the entire time. Peter focused on her face. Except when they started kissing. He'd seen it before, but it still made him uncomfortable. May's friends started cheering, while Mr. Stark's folks merely clapped politely. Peter sat silently. His stomach rumbled. Luckily, the conclusion of the ceremony meant it was party time.

Mr. Stark sure knew how to throw a party. Within an hour, everyone was noticeably intoxicated—except for Mr. Stark, and Peter for obvious reasons. In fact, Mr. Stark stayed at least twenty feet away from the drinks table and kept his back to it. Peter wondered if he was a recovered alcoholic, and whether May knew about it if that was the case. Without anyone to talk to, Peter hovered by the food table and tried to look busy so nobody would try to talk to him. When he grew so full he couldn't stomach another bite, he stopped by the trashcans to toss his napkin and tried to calculate how long he could hide in the bathroom before someone noticed.

"Nice cufflinks."

Peter startled at the voice behind him and immediately grabbed at both of his wrists to cover the little Iron Man faceplates. They'd been a gift from Uncle Ben for his first band recital in middle school. He'd been so nervous to play in front of a crowd for the first time, but having a little piece of his favorite superhero with him had helped immensely. Peter turned around, smiled sheepishly, and thanked Mr. Stark.

"I've always thought Iron Man was pretty cool. The whole secret identity thing is pretty cliché, though."

"It's probably for the best," Peter defended. "If no one knows his name or face, they can't threaten him outside the suit. Or threaten his loved ones." He clenched his teeth shut before he could say another word. The last thing he needed was for Mr. Stark to know that he idolized a superhero like a six-year-old boy.

Mr. Stark flashed that suave billionaire smile that Peter saw him use so often with Aunt May. "You make a good point."

Peter didn't know what to say to that. So he just stared, mortified. Mr. Stark clapped him on the shoulder and took a step closer. He glanced around and then looked directly into Peter's eyes. Peter got the message loud and clear—what I'm about to say stays between us. "Listen, kid. I know me marrying your aunt has got to feel strange. I don't expect you to adjust immediately to this new dynamic we've got going on, but May and I have been talking about it, and we both agree that the best next step for us to take as a family is for me to legally adopt you."

Peter couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You're old enough to have opinions of your own about this sort of thing, so I wanted to ask how you felt about it. If it's not something you want, then we won't do it, but I hope you'll at least consider it. You won't have to call me Dad or Uncle Tony or anything, it would just be on paper."

Mr. Stark seemed to realize he was rambling. He stopped and took a step back, scrutinizing Peter's expression. "Peter? Can you let me know what you're thinking?"

He was thinking about how absolutely outrageous it was for Mr. Stark to ask permission to become Peter's legal parent mere hours after becoming May's legal husband. About how—if he allowed it—Mr. Stark would be the third legal father in Peter's lifetime, a lifetime which hadn't even lasted sixteen years. Peter barely knew this man. They'd spent maybe a few hours of time together without May. Hardly a model father-and-son relationship.

"Pete?"

"Don't call me that." It was a knee-jerk reaction. Uncle Ben used to call him that, and Peter wasn't ready to hear the nickname from anyone else's lips. He probably never would be.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to answer right now. You can think on it. Maybe talk to May. Whatever you decide, I'll be okay with it."

He said that, but it was kind of obvious that he'd prefer if Peter said yes. "I'll think about it," Peter begrudged. He wouldn't think about whether to say yes or no, though, he'd just dig a deeper and deeper hole of reasons he wanted to give Mr. Stark a vehement no.