We are having guests for dinner, can you be home by six please? – IronDad

Well duh, Uncle Rhodey and Uncle Happy always come on Friday's, it's like the law - Spiderbaby

They aren't guests, they don't count, be back by six – Irondad

Who's coming over? Tell me and I won't tell them you said that – Spiderbaby

Dad, are you ignoring me? Who is coming for dinner? – Spiderbaby

Dad, seriously who is coming? Please tell me - Spiderbaby

Tony grinned as he read his son's texts, He would never mute the boy obviously what if he actually needed him for something, but it was perhaps better to keep the teen wondering. Peter's timekeeping was horrendous though no matter how many times they reminded him when his curfew or dinner was, so by not telling him who was coming over hopefully he would be so eager to know he would be home on time for once.

The engineer ran his hand through his hair, SHIELD had been reinstated with Fury at the helm once again after a thorough screening and interview of every employee, that had been about two months ago and now the man was coming for dinner. Nick had been at their wedding of course and he had spoken to him briefly then but a wedding was no time for business so here they were. He had been expecting the call to be honest, he knew Fury wanted the Avengers back together and to be honest a part of him did as well but he had Peter to think about now. He didn't care what the other Avengers said to or about himself, but he didn't want his son getting mixed up in it all. Peter was just a boy no matter what the teen claimed, he didn't want to expose his son to the messed-up relationships of the Avengers. His own feelings for the Rogue Avengers as the press had dubbed them were mixed, he had begun seeing a therapist months ago just as he promised Peter he would and they had discussed the topic extensively. He could understand Roger's point of view but he would never forget what the man had done, he could forgive him he supposed but he had been so sure he was going to die in the bunker in Siberia and that haunted him. Well death didn't haunt him, he wasn't afraid of death it was everything he would have missed. If he had died he would never have experienced family life as he did now, he would never have understood what it was like to have someone rely on you and look up to you the way his son did, he wouldn't have understood unconditional love, he would have died as half the man he was now. And if he died Peter would be lost in the foster system by now, he knew how bad it could be, he had seen the statistics. His son would be unlikely to go to university or if he did he would have had to work to support himself throughout putting himself under so much pressure and that was without factoring in Spiderman, and that was something he would not forgive Rogers for.

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"shouldn't you be somewhere right now Pete?"

Peter swore quietly to himself as he looked at his watch, it had just hit six. His dad was going to kill him.

"I wouldn't let your dad hear you say that kid." The voice said again as Rhodey walked into the lab.

Peter grinned as he looked up from the computer in front of him signing off and shoving the papers he had been looking at into the desk drawer. "Sorry, Uncle Rhodey I'm trying to make improvements to the remote-control Iron Man."

Rhodey chuckled as he looked down at his nephew ruffling the teen's hair affectionately, "it's fine, I saw you in here and thought I'd pick you up, I'll keep quiet about the language if you can make me a War Machine one soon but the lateness is on you."

"Thanks" Peter said grinning as he fell into step beside the man and immediately launched into telling him about all the work he had been doing. He liked these moments with his Uncle especially as the man had missed last week's dinner.

Tony sighed as he looked at his watch, he was glad he had told Peter six and not half past which was when their guests were coming. He really should nip this in the bud though, it was getting ridiculous, he would have to reinstate the 'sort out your fucking life Tony' protocol…well under a different name of course, Rhodey had developed it years ago and it was the worst. Somehow the man had got a hold of a recording of him singing…he was sure it was from in the shower which definitely broke some boundaries by the way, but whenever he was late for something whether it be a meal or a meeting the recording would blast over the speakers in the room he was in and not stop until he went to do whatever it was. It was embarrassing, it had gone off when he had a woman over once during his playboy days…mortifying. He was positive it would work for his son, especially if it went off while he was in the intern lab, the embarrassment alone would send the kid running home…then again maybe too embarrassing, that was the entire reason the protocol had been shut down after all, he could handle a lot of things but the embarrassment of that recording was excruciating. On that note maybe he'd give the kid one more chance.

Peter swallowed nervously as the elevator opened and he was met with the stern gaze of his dad. "Sorry?" He couldn't help but cringe under the glare he received, "I just got really into what I was doing."

"You didn't think to set an alarm? Or ask Fri to remind you?" Tony softened slightly as his son blushed embarrassed to have not thought of something so simple. "Last chance Pete. If you're late again without a good reason I'm setting up the singing protocol…I'm sure Rhodey has told you about it."

"What…." Peter started before his mouth fell open as he realised "you mean the 'sort your fu…" He stopped speaking as his Uncle's hand covered his mouth before he could finish.

"Yeah, that one Pete. Now go get changed…wear something nice." He grinned as the boy sprinted past unwilling to stand around in fear of further scolding. "Good save Rhodey, so what have you been up to, we missed you last week."

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Peter wouldn't say it out loud but he was intimidated. Mr "just call me Nick kid" Fury was terrifying, he knew it was childish but he had unconsciously moved closer to his dad when the man had walked in and had relaxed immensely when the man placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Sure he had met him briefly at his parents wedding but that was different there hadn't been any real focus on himself but now he couldn't help but shiver under the mans stare. The other guy though he seemed nice, his parents were being quite stiff with him however so he wasn't sure what the deal was there but he seemed cool…he was a secret agent so that alone was enough. They were all lounging on chairs in the lounge, they wouldn't be eating for another hour or so which did make him wonder why his dad wanted him to be here but it did seem like they were still waiting on more people so maybe he wanted him to meet them. He listened politely trying not to let his mind wander as his dad talked to Mr Fury about SHIELD and his mom….well his mom seemed to be scolding Coulson about something…Uncle Rhodey and Happy it is then.

Tony looked up as the elevator opened once again letting in their final guests. He placed his hand on his son's shoulder steering the boy around the couch as he did so quite literally pulling him from the conversation he was having with his Uncle.

Peter couldn't help but grin like an idiot when he realised who else was coming for dinner. "Thor! I didn't know you were coming. I've not seen you in ages….how's Loki? Is he here? How long are you staying? Can we train together again?"

Tony chuckled at his son's enthusiasm but tensed slightly at the final question. "Yeah, no training without someone else there to supervise, why you two thought electrically charged web grenades was a good idea to try out inside is beyond me. Hi Brucey bear, Nat sorry my son saw fit to ignore you, come sit down."

Peter blushed, it wasn't quite a telling off but still. "Sorry Bruce, sorry Nat, how are you? And those grenades were awesome, you were just being overprotective dad, if you hadn't gone all Iron Man on us that wall would not have ended up with a hole in it." Feeling his dad's hand tighten on his shoulder he frantically changed the subject. "I managed that move you showed me last month Nat, I should totally show you it's so badass." One more look at his dad and he backtracked immediately "well no not badass, cool. It's so cool and I'll show you later, because yeah…dinner."

Pepper swooped in and saved her son seeing as he husband didn't seem inclined to help him out of the hole he was digging himself into. "Pete go set the table would you? Use the nice plates."

"Yes mom." He murmured thankful for the reprieve but rolling his eyes internally, the nice plates were first of all horrible and he had no idea why they even had them, Peter had used them a grand total of twice before now and he was sure his dad had only used them a few times himself.

He set the table hardly paying attention when he heard what they were saying in the next room, he froze straining his ears to listen to the mumbling. Usually superhearing was a nightmare but when he wanted to eavesdrop…not so much.

"Tones, are you sure about this? Don't say it's okay because that's what they want to hear. Think about what he did to you, he left you there, Tones…you could have died in Siberia." Peter could hear his uncle's voice break at the end of his sentence and tensed. What on earth were they talking about? Siberia….Siberia….his dad had been in Siberia just after Berlin, he remembered the black eye he had sported and the stiff way he had moved for a while afterwards, he knew something had happened with Captain America but not what had happened exactly.

"Emotions were high Rhodey-Bear, I've forgiven him. It's about more than that, Clint and Scott have families, I couldn't bear being away from Pete for as long as they've been away from their kids."

"Tony…emotions being high is one thing but he left you in a broken suit…if Vision hadn't been able to get into the camera of the suit we would have had no idea where you were."

Peter tuned out as conversation was swiftly changed and a normal volume resumed. He would need to look into this, he knew there had been murmurings of the Rogues coming home but he wanted to know what happened between his dad and Captain America. He rolled his shoulders and schooled his expression as he re-entered the room being careful not to act strange while being deep in thought.

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"Pep, is anything wrong with Peter? He was quiet during dinner."

Pepper smiled at his question patting his leg soothingly as she replied "I'm sure he's fine, it was probably nerves and you know he still gets a little star struck over Thor."

"Yeah I suppose you're right. I'll maybe see if he wants to do something this weekend as a family, god knows it's going to be a busy month with getting them home."

"Honey…are you sure you're ready for this?" Pepper sighed as she received no response from the man next to her in bed, it was going to be a tough few months that was for sure.

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It had been weeks since Peter overheard his parents conversation, he knew it was wrong and that he would undoubtedly be in trouble if his parents found out but he had to know why his mom and uncles kept asking dad if he was ready to see Captain America again. The Rogues were due to arrive in four days and he was running out of time, he'd spent the last few weeks working on his hacking skills and even got his dad to give him tips which he did feel kinda bad about now because the man was giving him help to invade his own privacy…but still he wasn't sure he felt guilty enough to not do it.

He was slightly nervous, hacking into his dad's personal files was thought to be impossible and to be honest he was sure if the man hadn't spent several hours telling him the best way to keep data secure two days ago he wouldn't have a chance. Taking a deep breath he set to work, he knew he was looking for a video from the Iron Man suit his dad had worn in Siberia but that was all.

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Tony ran his hand down his face exhausted. There was only four days left until the Rogues returned but there was still so much work to do, it was made worse as he wanted nothing more than to be with his wife and son but the endless meetings kept pushing into family time. He couldn't wait for their vacation to be honest, both himself and Pepper had booked a week off from work just before Pete was due to return to school. He knew the teen had never been away before, other than to Berlin but Pep had made it extremely clear that did not count, he didn't know why though the kid had seen some of the sights…sure he wasn't supposed to have but he still did. He had yet to decide where they were going he had never been on a proper family vacation himself, Howard had always put his work before his family and most the vacations he himself had been on were during his playboy days…maybe he should ask someone with kids for advice on where to go. He knew Peter would be thrilled no matter where they went but he wanted it to be a trip they would all remember for the rest of their lives, it would be their first family holiday so he had to make it memorable. He had considered Disneyworld but it was far too public especially while their adoption of Peter was still not common knowledge, he hated growing up in the spotlight and he was desperate to shield his son from that kind of life. He would have to look into it when he had the time, he vaguely remembered reading years ago about a British Prince…William perhaps…the Royal family made a deal with the press so he would not be harassed by the paparazzi while he was at university. At the time he had wished he had been given such an option while at MIT but he was sure even if he had asked Howard to do something nothing would be done. "Stark men are made of Iron Anthony" would surely be his only response.

Just the thought of his dad made his lip curl in disgust, he didn't understand how a man could treat his son how he had treated him. He couldn't stand to see Peter even slightly upset, it broke his heart, he was sure being the one to cause his son unnecessary anguish would finish him. Whenever he punished the boy it was as if he was punishing himself just as much and it would break him if their relationship ever got to a point where Peter didn't like him anymore. Now he thought about it, Peter had been extremely well behaved lately, he didn't want to jinx it but perhaps too well-behaved…

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Peter sighed for what must have been the one hundredth time as he took a sip of his Gatorade. He had asked his dad if he could try coffee a few weeks ago but had been shut down, apparently, he was too young and it would make him overexcited. Him overexcited…whatever...he could be totally chill, last time Thor was over he only asked him six questions before saying hello and letting him inside. Anyway, he was at he assumed was the final wall before he could get access to the videos from the Iron Man suits but he had no idea what the password could be, he had managed to work out it was eight numbers separated into 2-2-4 but that was all. What would dad make his password? It was the final one, he had already managed to bypass the other ones but this one was impossible to skip so it had to be something no one would guess. Or maybe something so obvious no one would bother to try it? It was clearly a date but of what? He immediately typed in 29-05-1970 but was denied. Maybe mom's birthday? He grabbed his phone and googled when his dad's parents had been born but neither of those worked, he then tried when they died but still nothing.

Half an hour later and Peter was about ready to pull his hair out. He had tried everything, he would be so annoyed if he failed at the final hurdle, he had tried his Uncles birthdays, the day of the Battle of New York, his dad's graduation day, the day his parents got engaged, the date they got married…but nothing. He spun on his chair aimlessly and then it hit him, maybe the password had something to do with himself? He typed in his birthday and the day his adoption went through but got nothing, so he sat back and thought. What would be a big event in his dad's life? He had tried all his friend's birthdays and when he had met them but nothing worked…maybe…maybe it was that day his dad first came to Queens to recruit him.

Peter jumped out of chair whooping as he finally got into the server. He felt a twinge of guilt his dad's final password for very important files was the day he met Peter and he was still going to poke his nose in but he ruthlessly pushed said twinge aside…he needed to know why everyone was being so weird. Looking at his watch he knew he still had about two hours until his parents would be home from their meetings for dinner so he started to scroll through the videos immediately. It didn't take him long to find the Mark he was looking for he knew the date he was looking for after all and only one suit fit. When he opened the file for Mark XLVI he grinned. There were only five videos, which to be honest was slightly strange his dad had shown him some videos from Mark II months ago and there were over fifty of those, so only five was a little weird. Shrugging it off he opened the first one, sliding the bar along he could see it appeared to just be a test flight so moved to the second one. It was clear from the first three videos they were not what he needed but the fourth looked promising, it was the fight in Berlin, it was surreal watching himself fight, in fact just seeing the fight from his dad's point of view was weird. By the end of that video he still hadn't found whatever he was looking for as the last time Captain America had been in it the man was fleeing in a Quinjet with the man with the metal arm. He sighed to himself, maybe he misheard or there was another video somewhere, the one Vision had seen. He opened the final video anyway while scrolling through the texts he had ignored from Ned that afternoon due to being so engrossed in what he was doing.

"Stand down soldier"

Peter's head whipped up to stare at the screen at his dad's words, he had never heard him speak in such a way, he sounded weary. He didn't move as he watched everything from his dad's point of view, what was going on? When the CCTV video started playing he had to bite his lip to keep quiet, yet he still couldn't look away. He watched in horror hardly breathing as his dad fought Captain America, he felt numb. It was terrifying watching his dad being hit again and again, he choked back sobs as his dad fell to the ground and he watched Captain America leave him there on the ground with a broken suit.

After god knows how long of sitting staring blankly at a now black screen his phone beeped telling him his parents were due home in half an hour so Peter mechanically removed any traces of his hack from the system and took out his books so it looked like he had been doing homework, but he knew no matter how hard he tried he wouldn't be able to focus on anything other than the image of that shield coming down for a good while.