Tony's eyes flew open when his bedroom door opened, he hadn't quite been asleep but he had been just about there. His hand was hallway to his chest to activate his new nanobot armour before he realised it was just his son. It was the third night in a row and it was beginning to worry him. Since Peter began attending therapy his nightmares had fallen dramatically, where it was at one point every other night it had become once or twice a month until a few days ago. Peter was inconsolable, the last two nights he hadn't said anything at all simply cried himself to sleep in his arms, he had refused to let go of him even to go to his mom and neither himself or Pep knew what to do.

Peter stepped into his parent's room tears still running down his face, he smiled softly as his dad moved over slightly so he could slip in between them allowing him to curl up into the man's chest. He gripped his dad's shirt in his hand, he knew it was something children did for comfort but he couldn't help it, he rested his head next to the nanobot casing, he found the blue glow soothing.

"Pete, whats wrong, you know the nightmares won't stop until you speak about it."

The boy tensed trying to stifle his tears, he had kept quiet the last two nights but it was difficult. He was terrified of losing his dad, he had already lost four parental figures he couldn't bear to lose anymore. Every time he closed his eyes he saw his dad dying sometimes it was Captain America's shield coming down on his dad's chest but unlike in the video he had seen his dad died, other times it was both his parents taking the place of Howard and Maria Stark and being murdered by Captain America's friend. He couldn't concentrate on anything and combined with the guilt he felt for invading his dad's privacy he couldn't bear it. He couldn't stop another sob from leaving him as he tried to burrow impossibly further into his dad's chest. "m scared dad, I don't want you to go."

"Ssssh Petey-pie it's okay, I'm here, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. Daddy's here."

Tony felt his son relax in his arms as he ran his fingers through his hair soothingly, murmuring comforting words in the boy's ear always helped calm him down, it had worked when he was a toddler and he couldn't be more grateful it still worked now. Within minutes he knew Peter was asleep and he smiled softly as he looked down at the kid in his arms. He couldn't deny his son's words worried him, he had no idea what had sparked these recent nightmares. After May had died the boy had several nightmares about himself or Pep dying by they had stopped long ago. It could be the avengers coming back but why would that spark thoughts of them dying…unless…

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Peter was woken up by the smell of food, practically leaping out of bed as soon as he realised how hungry he was he made his way into the kitchen where his dad was standing at the stove making pancakes while his mom sat at the table StarkPad in hand.

Pepper smiled softly as he son walked in and took his usual seat opposite her. He looked pale he had done for a day or two actually but she had asked FRIDAY to scan him and he was perfectly healthy so what could possibly be wrong with him? "Do you want to talk about last night?" she murmured trying to catch the boy's eye but had to supress a sigh as he stubbornly shook his head…he truly was his father's son.

Tony shook his head as he heard his wife's question, having thought it over he was fairly certain he knew what the problem was but until he had time to go to the lab and find out for sure if Peter had been looking into things he shouldn't he was unwilling to make any comment to the boy.

"Have you finished your homework underoos?" At the boys nod he smiled, of course the boy had, he always had his homework finished these days, it was a requirement to be able to patrol so he tried to get it finished quickly. "How about you head down to the labs for a bit? You can have lunch with the other interns but be home for four yeah? Pep and I have meetings until then, we can keep the evening free for some family time before the rogues come back tomorrow." He saw Pep look at him eyebrow raised, neither of them had meetings today they had kept the whole day free for family time before the rogues came back but she kept quiet undoubtedly knowing there was a reason behind his actions. Luckily Peter missed the exchange between his parents and nodded before placing his dishes in the sink and leaving, phone in hand, probably texting the other interns Tony thought to himself.

"Want to tell me what that was all about?"

"Sssssh, superbaby has super hearing, wait until he leaves." Tony whispered flapping his arms at her comically.

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Peter had been gone about half an hour by the time Pepper returned to the lounge now fully dressed. "So what was that all about? He's distressed we should be spending time with our son not sending him away."

Tony rolled his eyes at her mothering tone. "Sure, but I think I know what the problem is, I'm fairly sure he knows about Siberia, I'm not certain it's just a gut feeling."

Pepper's jaw dropped at her husband's words, "how? We told everyone not to mention it, the press has no idea and despite having FRIDAY wrapped around his little finger I doubt she told him."

Tony coughed nervously as he admitted he didn't know how Peter knew about it just that he somehow did and he sent the boy away so he could take time to find out how he found out. "The information isn't written down anywhere either physically or electronically and we haven't mentioned Siberia around him as far as I know. He started being weird several days ago."

The pair sat in silence for several minutes before Pepper spoke "well, he has been having nightmares for several days sure but he's been acting funny for longer than that, he has been weird since Nick and Phil came over for dinner. But we didn't mention Siberia in front of Peter then, sure it was brought up but he was in the kitchen at the time. Could he have overheard? We don't even know if he knows about Siberia anyway, we can't just accuse him."

Tony nodded at her words "I really am certain he knows though I just don't know how, maybe he overheard that conversation, can you remember what was said?"

"Well, it was mentioned you could have died but that doesn't explain why he is dreaming of losing both of us." Pepper mused casting her mind back to the whispered conversation "actually….Rhodey mentioned we wouldn't have found you if not for the video on your suit. But surely Peter couldn't get into that information, our son is a genius, but I don't know if he would be able to hack FRIDAY without help and Ned is far too terrified of hacking your tech after you took him aside about helping hack the Spiderman suit and messing with FRIDAY the last time."

Pepper startled as her husband leapt to his feet "that little shit, I helped him! I fucking helped hack my own suit, I don't know if I should congratulate him or wring his neck."

"I'm not sure you should call our son's friends little shits honey, no matter how angry at them you are." Pepper commented amusement clouding her words.

Tony laughed humourlessly "it's not Ned, it's Peter I helped him last week with coding I told him how to best protect important data. I can't believe this, I'll check FRIDAY's files." He ran his hand through his hair in frustration "how do I even deal with this if it's true? Hacking multi-million dollar suits and AI's is not in parenting manuals Pep."

It was Pepper's turn to laugh as she mulled over what he had hypothesized, as much as she didn't want to think the worst of her son, she knew it was likely true.

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Peter felt awful, he knew he wasn't ill and the only thing he could think of was guilt. He was tired from the nightmares sure but he knew his churning stomach was a result of his actions. He usually felt this way just before a punishment was coming.

"Hey Chloe," Peter started turning to his lab partner of the morning "I know I said I'd be here until four, but I need to go home, straight after lunch."

Chloe nodded looking Peter over with a critical eye, he didn't look sick or anything and she couldn't think of any other reason he would be going home early….but then again….She eyed the boy who quickly blushed under her gaze and began to shift foot to foot nervously. "you in trouble with the big boss junior?" she asked grinning as he somehow blushed even more. She laughed as Peter didn't grace her question with a response.

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Peter was pushing his lunch around his plate barely paying attention to the conversations around him as he tried to formulate what he was going to say to his dad. He was about to make his exit when he got a text, he was going to ignore it and just make his way upstairs when he felt a twinge from his Spidey-sense and his stomach rolled uneasily as he read it.

You better get your spider-butt up here fast kid, you have some explaining to do – IronDad

Dammit!

Peter couldn't help but wipe his sweating palms on his jeans as he stood in the elevator, he was sure he looked a mess, Gregor had joined him to climb two floors and ruffled his hair in some sort of strange friendly yet pitying way before he had got off. He took a deep breath as the elevator approached the penthouse, from the tone of his dad's text he was fairly sure he had discovered what he had done. Even if he hadn't though he was going to tell him, he couldn't carry around the guilt any longer, he felt terrible. After what seemed like an age yet paradoxically no time at all the doors opened and he stepped out into the lounge where, as he expected his parents were waiting for him.

Tony had to supress a sigh as he laid eyes on his son, Peter looked terrible. He was pale and with the way he kept wiping his hands they were no doubt sweaty from nerves. "Sit down Peter" he told the teen gesturing for the opposite couch, usually when the boy was in trouble he would sit quietly waiting for either himself or Pep to speak so he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when his son started talking.

Peter spoke to his hands clasped in his lap, he was to ashamed to look his parents in the eye as he spoke. "I've done something bad, I'm sure you know…I was about to come up and tell you though. Honest! Ask Chloe I told her as I ate lunch I was going to come home straight after so I could speak to you." Peter stopped speaking there trying to find the courage to continue.

"We believe you Peter don't worry. Now look up and tell us about what you think we know you did. You've disrespected your dad enough you should at least have the courtesy to look us in the eye." Pep told her son her tone turning from placating to stern as she did so.

Peter nodded jerkily and lifted his head to look at the two opposite him, he knew tears were pooling at the corner of his eyes but didn't bother wiping them away, he was positive he would end up crying regardless. "When Director Fury and Agent came over for dinner…"

Pepper couldn't help but roll her eyes fondly at her son's name for Phil, although to be fair when Peter said it the man didn't mind it was just Tony that bothered him.

"…yeah so when they came over and I went to the kitchen, I heard Uncle Rhodey ask about Captain Rogers, I heard him say he left you to die. So I tried to find out what he was talking about. I tried Google but didn't get anything so I thought I could try and see the video from your suit, the one Vision saw." He took a breath but soldiered on, he was sure if he stopped speaking he wouldn't be able to start again. "I hacked FRIDAY" he rushed out flinching slightly as his dad's glare impossibly became even more severe at the admission "I bypassed the first few walls to get in then just kept guessing dates. I can't believe you have the day we met protecting Iron Man videos by the way dad" his voice cracked there as his guilt came back full force, he really had betrayed his dad using his love for him against him. He pulled his knees up and resting his chin on them hugging his legs as he did so. "I knew what suit you had at the time so I just kept flicking through the videos until I found the one from Siberia." He stopped talking finally as tears ran down his face freely.

Tony sighed, audibly this time, "right Peter, we need to discuss this, I want you to go and find a corner in my office."

Peter nodded shakily but did as his dad told him wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his hoody as he went.

"Fri soundproof my office." Tony demanded, their son had eavesdropped on them before he didn't want it to happen again. He turned to look at his wife "I don't know what to do Pep, I can't spank him, he didn't put himself or anyone else in danger really, it seems wrong, he's fifteen I can't spank him every time he steps out of line."

Pepper nodded at his words, she had been thinking the same. "We can't let it go unpunished either though, we need to nip this in the bud, a lot of important things are discussed here, we cannot let him think eavesdropping is okay. We should probably also take into account that he came clean about what he did, he was on his way to tell us, we can't forget that."

Tony nodded, he agreed wholeheartedly with her, their son was terrified of what he had seen, his nightmares made that clear as day. He had read countless parenting books when his relationship with Peter had started to become more familial than that of a mentor and protégé but nowhere was a situation like this mentioned. "He's grounded, that goes without saying." He declared he knew Pepper was probably thinking the same but it was always best to make sure they were on the same wavelength especially concerning their son. "although what he did was wrong and disrespectful he didn't intend it to be, sure he stuck his nose in places he shouldn't but he didn't do it with malicious intent, so I think…"

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Peter sniffed softly once again wiping his tears with his sleeve. He did feel slightly better after admitting what he had done but he still felt awful, he knew his dad had soundproofed the room somehow and that made him feel even worse. Usually he could hear murmurings or something when people were in the next room, not actual conversations unless he actively tried to listen but dull murmuring was like background noise at this point, he was unaccustomed to complete silence and it unsettled him. He shifted slightly as his legs became sore from standing still for so long…why on earth were his parents taking so long? They never left him standing in the corner this long it had been almost half an hour already. What were they discussing? Were they blocking his access to FRIDAY? Were they checking if he had looked into anything else? Were they going to call SHIELD and tell them he knew about Siberia?

Tony's heart broke as he stepped into his office quietly. Usually Peter would have heard him enter due to his enhanced senses but that was clearly not the case this time, he doubted Peter could hear anything over his heart-wrenching sobs. His son's shoulders were shaking as the boy cried into his hands still standing in the corner. "Peter" when he got no reply he tried again but his son was clearly too worked up to pay attention. He took a few steps forward and gripped his son's shoulder so he could turn the boy and pull him into his chest. Peter's hand came up to grab his shirt and he couldn't help but smile softly at the gesture despite the damp feeling quickly spreading across his front. He ran his fingers through the boy's curls just as he did when he had a nightmare and stroked soothing circles on his back to soothe him. "ssssh Pete, no need to cry. I'm here, it's fine. Dad's here." It was another five minutes before his son calmed down enough to pull away.

Peter didn't want to pull away from his dad but he knew he had to eventually. He couldn't believe the older man would soothe him like that after he had broken his trust in such a way.

"Pete, I will always be here to calm you down. Always." Tony promised hiding a smile as his son jumped slightly, he clearly hadn't realised he had spoken his last thoughts aloud. "Let's sit down, we need to talk about this underoos." He led the boy to the two comfy chairs in the corner and once again hid a grin as he saw the boy relax slightly. He had learned early on that it was important to keep punishments separate from everything else to avoid confusing his son which was why whenever he punished the boy it was in this room and why whenever he spanked him it was in the chair behind his desk, clearly Peter had realised this too. Once the boy was sitting comfortably and met his eyes he began talking. "Peter, I want you to know how proud we both are that you came forward and told us what you did, but that does not negate the fact you did it, okay?" at his son's nod he continued "what you did was extremely disrespectful, you would be hurt if we looked through your personal things and that's exactly what you did to me. Even if I had never expressed you couldn't look at them the presence of so much security would have told you clearly enough. Also, you tricked me into helping you, I helped you because I wanted to teach you something new, something I thought you were interested in and you used me. That hurts Pete, that's what hurt the most in fact."

Peter started crying once again as his dad spoke, his words were cutting deep and he had never felt more shit in his life.

Tony knew his son was hurt by his words but he continued, Pepper was right they had to nip this in the bud. "Your eavesdropping was what started this Pete, I know you have enhanced senses but Rhodey whispered what he said that day and I know you must have strained to hear his words, your listening in was no accident. This cannot happen again. Important things are spoke about here, both here at home and in SI in general, things you don't need to know or don't need to worry about, you cannot just listen in to other people's conversations. I never thought that was something I would need to be telling you, you're fifteen now kid, you should know better. Even if you had just overheard what was said, you should have asked me or your mum about it, if we thought you should know we would have told you. Your meddling just resulted in you being in trouble and you have terrified yourself. We don't keep things from you to be mean, we do it to keep you safe, whether from harm or nightmares."

"I'm sorry dad, really I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to use you like that, I didn't think…"

"That's exactly it Pete, you didn't think, if you had spent even five minutes thinking how your actions would affect others you wouldn't be in this position now. The rogues are back tomorrow and this is not how I wanted to spend our last day before they returned."

Peter nodded sadly at his dad's words hiccupping softly.

"Now your punishment, you are grounded, that goes without saying. For the next five days you cannot leave the penthouse, also you are banned from your internship and all labs for two weeks, I know you earned your right to be there but you used what you learned there wrong, if any other intern had used what SI taught them to hack into someone's personal files they would be fired Pete, this is serious. Also you cannot use your laptop for anything other than school work while you're grounded and you can only do so if myself, Pepper, your Uncles, Bruce or Nat is there to see what you are doing. And finally to keep you busy I want an essay, 1500 words on why eavesdropping is wrong and the consequences."

Peter nodded sullenly at his punishment, he couldn't really argue with what his dad said especially when he had been so horrible. "Yes sir."

"Pete, I know what you saw scared you and that was why I never told you about it, but do you have any questions?" When the boy shook his head he sighed softly, he decided to just let it go but knew it would probably come back to bite him in the ass at some point. "Okay, if you're sure. But remember you can come to me anytime and talk to me about anything, if I can tell you the answer I will."

"I know dad, I'm sorry, really." Peter said imploringly his eyes impossibly wide as they looked up into his dads.

"Good boy, now I heard Pep say something about movie night, how about you run and get into some pyjamas and we can watch a film and get a takeaway."

"Thank dad, love you" the boy said falling into his dad for a quick hug before running out of the room to change.