"Boss, Peter is asking if he can have Mac and cheese for lunch."
"Yeah, yeah. What time is it, FRI?" Tony was currently elbow deep in the technology that his suit had brought back. Behind him, the centrifugation machine whirled at top speed.
He'd left Peter to play in his room with a bunch of Lego's that the kid had left behind from last time. He'd asked FRIDAY to watch him since the lab was no place for a child, especially one as trouble prone as a de-aged Peter Parker.
Peter had argued of course, promising that he wouldn't do anything stupid, but Tony hasn't budged. So he'd left one grumpy Spiderling under FRIDAY's watchful gaze and come down to the lab.
"It's currently twelve thirty four pm and Mr. Parker is hungry."
Tony figured it would probably be better if he headed upstairs now before the kid got into some sort of trouble again.
"Tell him I'll be right up."
When he went upstairs to Peter's room, he saw the kid sitting on the floor, surrounded by Lego's. He discreetly took a photo on his phone before alerting the kid.
"So FRIDAY told me you're up for some grub?"
Peter turned around and grinned at him toothily. He nodded and stood up. "Did you find anything, Mr. Stark?"
"Yeah, kid. I'm working on it. The suit returned with the remains a while ago and the chemicals are being analysed. The tech is pretty average, it's the chemicals that played villain. Once we get to the cause, I can start working on a solution."
"How long?"
Tony mentally grimaced. That was the hard part. "I'm not sure, kid. It's gonna take a while."
Peter's face morphed into one of pure dismay. "Mr. Stark!" He dragged the word out, getting ready to whine. "I don't wanna be a little kid forever!"
Tony refrained from pointing out that in that moment, Peter was indeed acting like a little kid. He figured that wouldn't be the best way to deal with an enhanced and de-aged Spiderling who was on the verge of throwing a tantrum.
"Easy, Pete. You're not gonna be this way forever. We'll work something out."
Tony didn't tell Peter that once the kid was back to normal, his Spider butt was gonna be grounded for a good two weeks. There would be time for the lecture later on.
"How's Mac and cheese for lunch? FRIDAY told me you were hungry."
Like a true six year old, Peter brightened up at the prospect of Mac n cheese.
"Boss, the items you requested for Peter have been delivered and brought up by Mr. Hogan."
Peter's little nose scrunched up in confusion and Tony couldn't hide his smile.
"Items?"
"Yeah. I figured it would be better if we got you into some proper clothes that actually fit. You wanna come outside and take a look? We can eat after that."
They went outside where Happy was waiting with the parcel. Although Tony had already warned Happy about the situation, his eyes widened in momentary surprise when he saw the Peter before returning to its usual impassiveness.
"Hi, Happy," Peter mumbled, suddenly feeling shy.
"Hey, kid. Got some stuff up for you here."
Tony's ego received an especially large boost when Peter pulled out an Iron Man T-shirt, denim shorts and Iron Man themed sneakers from the bag.
Great choice, Underoos.
When Tony noticed Happy's smirk, he realised he'd been grinning goofily for a while. "Don't you have work, Hogan?" He snapped without any real heat behind his words.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll get going, enjoy yourself, Boss."
Peter took his new clothes and went to his room to get changed. He was sorta embarrassed when his mind had inadvertently chosen the Iron Man merchandise, but he decided it was worth it when he saw Mr. Stark's smile.
There had also been an Iron Man plushie in the bag and it had taken every bit of Peter's self restraint and control to prevent himself from hugging that toy.
He was nearly sixteen. Just because he was currently forced to look like a six year old, didn't mean he had to act like one.
Peter took off the sweatshirt Mr. Stark had lent him and bit his lip. The right thing to do was return it, but in the short time he'd worn the shirt, he'd gotten attached to it.
It was nice and super comfortable and the best part was it smelt just like Mr. Stark: his cologne, a dash of freshly brewed coffee and a hint of motor oil.
Finally, he shoved the garment under his pillow and went outside.
Mr. Stark was in the kitchen making lunch. "Hey, kid. Nearly done here."
Normally, Peter would hop onto the island stool. Currently, he was as about tall as said stool.
Tony looked over to where Peter's seat and found it empty. Instead, he noticed brown curls barely just peeking up from behind the island.
Tony blamed his next actions completely on that damn dad-tingle that Rhodey kept going on about.
He walked over to Peter and in one fluid movement, he scooped the kid up and sat him down on the island stool.
He cleared his throat and went back to put the cheese into pan. Geez, when had he become so... paternal?
During lunch, the billionaire noticed that the kid's hand-mouth coordination had also been affected. His movements were clumsy, he got a bit of sauce on his face and spilt a little on the table as well. But Peter was blissfully oblivious to everything except the delicious mac and cheese that had captured his attention.
Once he was done, Peter patted his mouth with a napkin and grinned at him. Tony smirked back at the kid and shook his head fondly.
This kid...
Tony wanted to go back to the lab after lunch and start thinking about an antidote. But when Peter insisted that he wanted come as well, he decided that it would probably be better to watch a movie instead.
"What'd ya wanna watch, Underoos?"
"What's next on the list?"
"FRI, honey, you heard the kid."
A few months ago, when Peter had discovered that Tony hadn't watched Baby's Day Out, he'd been nearly offended. He had immediately drawn up a list for them to watch every week. You won't be living under a rock anymore, Mr. Stark.
"Lion King's next up, Boss. Shall I go ahead and play it?"
"Yup."
Peter curled up against the armrest of the couch, hugging a cushion. This was standard procedure. He would initially lean against the sofa before his head would eventually come to rest on Tony's shoulder with a sleepy yawn.
The movie began to play. Between scenes, Peter would give little comments and Tony would merely hum indulgently at the Spiderkid. Once again, standard procedure.
It was all going fine until the scene where Mufasa died. It appeared little Simba wasn't the only one who was crying. Tony heard soft, tiny sniffles coming from the small form beside him and turned to look at Peter.
"Pete? Buddy, what's wrong?"
Peter pressed his palms into his sockets. "Simba's dad is gone. He's all... he's all alone now."
Tony was at a loss. He knew that Peter was a sensitive kid. Apparently, that trait of his had been turned up a couple of notches ever since he'd turned into a child again. Plus the whole losing your parents thing hit a little too close to home for the boy.
The genius gently brushed the kid's curls off his forehead, simultaneously working on the tiny knots in them.
Telling an emotional six year old that it was just a movie, probably wasn't a great idea. So Tony tried a different approach.
"Simba isn't alone, Underoos. He's got people to look out for him. There's those two adorable weirdos right? I'm pretty sure they've got his back."
"Really?"
"Yup. He's the hero of the story, kid. He's not alone."
After a moment's hesitation, Tony held out his arms, silently asking if the kid wanted a hug.
He hadn't expected Peter to all but crawl into his lap and wrap his short arms around Tony's neck.
The billionaire curled a protective arm around the boy's middle, only then understanding that Peter Parker really was a child at present. Physically as well as psychologically.
"I've got ya, Pete."
Eventually, Peter cheered up but didn't move from his spot. Instead, he adjusted himself so that he was resting against Tony's chest and continued watching the movie.
Tony knew that the kid was gonna be beyond embarrassed when he was back to normal and the genius would no doubt enjoy teasing him later on.
But for now, he gave in to those instincts—not a tingle, Platypus— that Rhodey teased him for and slowly began playing with Peter's curls. When the boy only snuggled back against him more comfortably, he took it as a positive sign and continued, occasionally smoothing his thumb over the kid's temple.
About a half an hour later, Peter was asleep and Tony hadn't moved from his spot lest he woke the child up. The deaged Spiderkid's nose was pressed against Tony's neck and one hand loosely clutched the billionaire's sweatshirt.
At that very moment, Tony's phone vibrated in his pocket. Thankfully, Peter didn't stir when Tony pulled out his phone.
May Parker.
Right.
He'd totally forgotten to tell her what their Spiderling had gotten into in the last twenty four hours.
He answered the call. "Hey, May."
"Uh oh. I know that voice. What's happened this time?"
Nothing ever got past May Parker. He owed her the truth. Ever since Tony had started mentoring the kid regularly, he and May had developed a mutual respect and dare he say friendship. He didn't wanna lose that.
"Why don't you take a look for yourself? Try not to let the shock get the better of you. Kid's literally sleeping on top of me right now."
He transferred to video call and carefully waited for May's reaction.
Her jaw dropped and her hand shot up cover her mouth, barely suppressing the shocked gasp which escaped. "Oh baby."
Tony smirked a bit. "That's one word for it."
"What happened?" The fear in her tone instantly dropped his smirk. "Is he... is it permanent? Was he hurt? How... how did this happen?"
"It's not permanent, May. I'll find a way to fix this, I swear." Tony absently carded a hand through Peter's chocolate mop. "Thankfully, he wasn't hurt. Unless you count being hit by stupidity."
He then proceeded to explain everything that had happened, although he did underplay the danger that had been involved.
By the time he was done, the concern on the woman's face had only magnified. "That's it. I'm taking the next flight back."
Tony shook his head immediately. "No, don't do that. You've earned this time and I daresay it's overdue. We're gonna be fine, May. I'll watch the kid and work on getting him back to his dorky, reckless teenage self."
May purses her lips, trying to decide. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely." Tony mentally told himself he was crazy.
"Fine. But if anything happens, promise you'll let me know."
"I swear."
"Thank you." Her expression softened into a gentle smile as her gaze shifted to Peter. "God it feels so unreal, seeing him so little again. He'd just turned six when his parents died. He barely said a word to us in the beginning. He's sensitive, you know?"
"Yeah, I know." And truly he did. Months of interacting with the kid consistently had made him accustomed to Peter's little quirks and traits.
"I'll call again in the evening when he's awake. Give him a kiss from me and tell him I love him. Also that he's grounded. Seriously grounded." She then ended the call.
Tony glanced at Peter who was still blissfully asleep. His hair was still the same, the curve of his cheek was rounder, with that tiny amount of remaining baby fat. With great care, he brushed the kid's cheek with his thumb and pressed a kiss to the top of Peter's head.
He was getting dangerously soft.
Tony was about to fall asleep himself when FRIDAY's voice startled him into alertness.
"Boss, the test results are ready."
Tony thanked the AI softly and stood slowly with Peter still in his arms. He laid the kid down on the sofa, making sure that he didn't stir.
"FRI, keep an eye on him, will you?"
"Always, Boss."
With that, Tony left Peter in FRIDAY's care and went downstairs to the lab, bracing himself for whatever was in store for him and the Spiderbaby.
And that's chapter two for you. Let me know how it was.
I've already started working on the next update and hope to have it ready soon.