Tony sighed. Today was a lab day, meaning that Peter was supposed to come to the tower and tinker in the lab with him until nighttime. Keyword: supposed.
Contrary to popular belief, Tony Stark did not, in fact, do what he wanted. No. Tony was the recessive allele of the couple, meaning that what dominant-allele-Pepper wanted, dominant-allele-Pepper got.
And today, dominant-allele-Pepper wanted recessive-allele-Tony to do an interview for a documentary on science-fiction. Tony thought that was entirely useless but still called his lab buddy to postpone their mentor-mentee scheduled quality time since he knew he couldn't talk his way out of this with his wonderful but scary fiancé.
That's how he found himself on a rather uncomfortable chair with a blinding light aimed at his face to answer an admittedly kind lady's questions.
For the umpteenth time, Tony checked the time. He'd already been there for an hour and a half and although he found the interview surprisingly interesting and intellectual, he would still rather be spending the day with his kid.
"Do you think science-fiction shows a fair representation of the future of science and technology?" The interviewer asked, pulling Tony out of his thoughts.
"Of course not." He scoffed. "Half of the things they show you in those movies is scientifically impossible. If you're looking for realism, sci-fi is probably not the best pick."
"Are you saying sci-fi movies are misleading?"
"Not necessarily. Sci-fi is just an excuse to make characters do things which aren't possible. Then again, things are often considered impossible until they're done."
"Can we expect Stark lightsabers in a few years' time, then?" The interviewer asked jokingly.
"Well, if you expect me to design lightsabers with some kind of laser, I'm sorry to crush your dreams by saying that it's entirely impossible." Tony turned in full science-genius mode, all traces of annoyance suddenly gone. He was in his element. "Unless the light is somehow scattered, a laser is essentially invisible as it passes through the air. Light also having no mass, there's no way a laser could ever have the same properties as, say, a sword. It would be very difficult to swing around without cutting off your own limbs.
Now, imagine if the power of the lightsaber came from the heat it emits. It would certainly explain why lightsabers can slice through pretty much anything, but it wouldn't allow people to fence like we see in Star Wars. Making an actual lightsaber is simply not possible.
If you were to make it with plasma, it would be very much solid and would cut effortlessly through anything. But even 'cold' plasma has too high a temperature for humans to withstand. Anyone trying to use a plasma-saber would roast like a chicken on a spit.
So really, there's no ideal material to make the blade of a lightsaber similar to the ones in Star Wars. And even if we did manage to find such a thing, it'd still need a power source. And I'm talking about an arc reactor type of power, which would be insanely dangerous and weaponizable. Sorry for being a party-pooper but I refuse to provide maniacs with any more weapons than I already have."
The interviewer looked surprised. "Wow, you really have thought this through!"
"What can I say? My son's a big fan." Tony said without thinking.
The word son came out so easily he didn't even realize he had said it. Not that it was surprising, because that's what Peter was to him. Happy and Rhodey liked to tease him about it, which Pepper and May found very amusing. Tony secretly liked it though, and if peter red cheeks and light smile were anything to go by, he liked it too.
The interviewer, however, did take notice. Tony Stark's life was highly publicized, what with him being a superhero, genius, billionaire and owner of the largest tech company of the world. (Not to mention the man's overflowing charisma and strong personality.) But to the public's knowledge, Tony Stark lived with his fiancé Pepper Potts and had no descendants whatsoever.
"…oh?"
"Yeah. You should've seen his face when I broke the news to him. The kid cried his eyes out for a solid ten minutes and wouldn't speak to me for hours."
"Ah, children like dreaming. It's part of growing up."
"Kid's fifteen, though. And sciency. He goes to a nerd school. How he didn't figure it out on his own is beyond me."
"Ah but isn't the whole point of dreaming to make the impossible possible?" The reporter asked with a gentle smile. "Albus Dumbledore once said 'In dreams we enter a world that is entirely our own'. I think lightsabers are very much part of your son's world."
There it was. That word again. But that was nothing Tony hadn't heard before, it's not like it was the first time someone referred to Peter as his son, so he remained oblivious as ever.
"Yes, well that same crackpot also said 'It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live'. Can't say I don't agree."
The woman laughed. "Mr Stark! I wouldn't have thought you to be a Harry Potter type of person."
"I'm not, but my kid is. He lives for pop culture, I swear. Blabbers about Star Wars all day, it's exhausting." A very subtle smile appeared on his face and he thought out loud, "It's kind of endearing, though."
The reporter smiled and clasped her hands together. "Well, I believe our time is up. Thank you, for joining us Mr Stark! It was a pleasure to have you."
Tony's paparazzi smile made its great comeback. "So I'm often told."
The interviewer announced the commercials and Tony left the set. Happy was parked right outside the building, waiting for him. When they got home, Tony expected to find Pepper alone in the kitchen, most likely preparing dinner. But to his surprise, he found a certain Spider Kid sprawled on his couch, watching… well of course. Watching Star Wars.
"How many times have you watched it kid? Don't you know it off by heart already?" Tony sat next to the kid, putting his arm around his shoulders.
"You can never watch Star Wars too many times, Mr Stark." Peter's eyes never left the screen, though he did lean into his mentor's side. "It's a classic. The-"
"Best movie of all times, I know. You've said that only a hundred times already."
"Well it is."
"Never said it wasn't."
"Rightly so."
Pepper watched the whole exchange with a smile on her face.
"How did the interview go, honey?"
"I'd rather have spent the day with Petey here"
"But?"
"But I guess it wasn't as nincompoop as I thought it would be."
Pepper wore her usual satisfied I knew it expression which Tony ignored, instead gazing contentedly at his kid while playing with his locks. They stayed like that for quite some time. Tony could see the teen was growing more and more tired.
"How was your day, buddy?"
"Good"
"Any test you nailed that I need to know about?"
"Calc."
"Of course you nailed your calc test, little genius. Any new Star Wars facts to ramble about?"
Peter just hummed in response, burying his head deeper in Tony's chest. He'd somehow shifted so that he was lying on his mentor.
"Pepper, I think we should eat before the kid goes into hibernation."
"M awake."
"Sure you are, buddy." Tony chuckled. He gently stroked Peter's back, right between his shoulder blades. With a small pat on the head, he said "Come on. Time to feed that super metabolism."
Pepper had made lasagna, much to Peter's delight. However, as soon as he'd finished eating, the teen started falling asleep on his chair. He had to stop his head from dropping several times before giving up and resting it on the table.
"Peter, sweetie you should go to bed. You're going to have a sore neck tomorrow if you fall asleep like that."
"Mmmmm"
Tony chuckled and went to gather the kid in his arms. He carried him to his room and and laid him gently on the bed. Knowing Peter's slight thermoregulation problem, Tony made sure to pull the covers all the way up and to tuck him in so that the comforter wouldn't be kicked out during the night.
Combing his fingers through his kid's hair, he whispered "Night, kiddo."
"Night, Tony."
It was a month later that the documentary Tony had participated in was finally broadcasted. Needless to say, Peter was very excited about it. His three favorite things in the world featured in a single documentary: Star Wars, science and Tony.
For the occasion, Peter spent the evening at the Tower. When it was time, Pepper turned the TV on while Peter settled in the couch under a thick Star Wars blanket Tony had bought him. Said man wasn't too thrilled about having to watch his own interview, but he'd do anything to please his kid so there he was.
Peter drank every word that came out of his mentor's mouth , even though they'd discuss most of the topics many times already.
"So really, there's no ideal material to make the blade of a lightsaber similar to the ones in Star Wars."
Peter made a cute sad face. "It's too bad lightsabers can't be real. It'd be super cool to have one and fight aliens with it."
"It would, wouldn't it?" Tony smiled fondly.
"Wow, you really have thought this through!"
"What can I say? My son's a big fan." Tony said without thinking.
Tony froze. Wait. What? Had he actually called Peter his son on freaking television?
Peter was in a similar state, gaping at the TV like a fish.
Pepper, though, was quite amused. She found it adorable that Tony would so casually refer to Peter as his son, even during an interview. Of course, she knew the media would have a field day. But in all honesty, she was kind of pleased that Peter and Tony's relationship was finally getting out. That meant they could go out in public without having to hide anymore. The poor boy would probably be stalked at first, but she knew Tony would threaten to sue anyone who dared hurt his kid, and everything would die down eventually.
As expected, people went wild on social media. Five minutes after the word had left Tony's mouth, #Starkson and #irondad were trending on Twitter
So the next day, the Stark family called a press conference to introduce the world to Tony's protégé and pseudo-son. They loved him, of course. Who didn't love Peter? He now had the whole world wrapped around his little finger and didn't even seem to realize it.
This also meant that the world got to see a side of Tony Stark that they had never seen before. A paternal Tony Stark. The man was gentle, protective and loving. It was clear to everyone that he loved the kid very much, and said kid loved him back with all his being. They made the perfect duo and Peter was soon dubbed Mini Stark. Tony found it awesome, of course, so he got he and Peter matching suits and pairs of sun glasses so that they'd look identical when going out.
Naturally, everything could not be perfect. Many were those who accused Tony of trying to pull off a publicity stunt for the sake of his company. Others believed Peter to be the product of many years of fooling around. Peter's personal life was rudely invaded as people went digging for his family history. Everything died down when Tony and Peter agreed to take a DNA test, proving that they were not biologically related whatsoever.
Peter wasn't really comfortable with being swarmed by Paparazzi every time he went out, but his father's presence at his side was reassuring. As Pepper had expected, the man let it be known that anyone who hurt his son would face Iron Man's formidable wrath, which worked wonders.
But what really mattered was that Peter and Tony finally got to be the father and son duo they'd always secretly dreamed to be. Tony took great pleasure in embarrassing his son by making dad jokes every chance he got, and Peter got used to hearing the man refer to him as his son, even starting to call him dad on occasions.
When Tony thought back to this interview Pepper had all but forced him to give, he was convinced of one thing: listening to dominant-allele-Pepper really was the best decision he'd ever made in his life.
The end.