So this is a bit shorter, but the next chapter has a time skip so I thought I'd update it a little early.
Thank you all so much for the love and support this is getting. You're all amazing!
Tony sat on the steps outside Peter and May's front door, the door slightly ajar.
Peter had been yelling for about twenty minutes now, and May, while trying to explain her side, had no good answers. Tony listened as his son screamed his heart ache to the woman who's raised him; his disgust with her lies. May only said over and over that she was trying to do what his mother would have wanted and what was best. Peter reminded her she was not his parent. He shouted about the time she'd stole from him, time he could have grown up with a father. Tony could hear her crying, but he could tell Peter was too.
Every fiber of his being wanted to go in and get between them. To push Peter behind him and protect him from the hurt and betrayal he was feeling with this information. It killed him that there was not much he could do.
However, Tony had elected to stay out of their encounter, mostly for his own sake. He knew he would have trouble controlling his mouth and his temper if he allowed himself to be a part of the confrontation. But he also refused to leave his boy like this. He rushed to stand when he heard feet approaching the door once again. "I can't look at you anymore!" Peter screamed.
"Pete, please!" May called, following him.
"No! My dad has been out there this entire time, and you and Ben didn't even try to tell him about me! You couldn't even be bothered! Why? Because you couldn't have a kid of your own? So you saw the opportunity to keep your sister's?" Tony pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth and bit.
"Peter, no!" She cried after him. "It wasn't like that- We just..."
"Just what, May?" Peter said. Tony stepped against the door, in place if he needed to step between them, but listening.
"That Stark broke Mary's heart, Pete. She just, the way she talked about him- And she decided not to tell him about you before you were born. She felt like-" May tried to explain.
"I'm sorry... Is that supposed to be a better excuse? Because I feel like it's shit for her to do too! He's my FATHER, May! He should have known that. I should have known! Maybe it started as my mom's fault but you could have fixed it. You had every opportunity to make things right. You let me think I was orphaned..." He heard the door handle rattle where Peter had grabbed it. " You took so much from us both that can't ever be given back- I can't stay here anymore." He said quietly. He pulled the door open and May met Tony's eyes. She was obviously upset, makeup running down her cheeks. Tony blinked a couple times, and held an arm out, which Peter walked into and Tony wrapped around his shoulders.
"I guess you might want this..." Tony held out a business card for his lawyer's office. "They'll be in touch."
"Excuse me?" May said, her face disgusted.
"I'm not threatening you, Mrs. Parker. I just intend to exercise my full paternal rights- And that usually involves legal council when those rights have been withheld. I have no actual use in suing you. But, if you want a custody battle, or-" Tony trailed off as Peter stepped closer to him and further from May. She shrugged and looked at the floor.
"Tony..." Peter said cautiously. He seemed unsure of whether or not the name was still okay. "Can we go?"
"Do you need to get some clothes? Maybe your backpack?" Tony reminded him. Peter nodded and quickly darted back in and up the stairs. Tony stood awkwardly by, teeth clinched. He could feel his nails digging into the palms of his hands.
"Take care of him, Mr. Stark." She said quietly.
"I think you've already seen that I will..." Tony reminded her, bitter bile rising in his throat as he thought about Peter being nearly killed by the rogue droid at his expo.
"I don't want a big legal battle- Just take him with you for now. I'll sign whatever your people send, after all; Peter is fifteen years old. Plenty big enough to decide if he wants to live with his father or the woman who raised him." May said, her hurt and hate coming though.
"I wonder if kidnappers defend themselves as eloquently as you?" Tony snorted. "Because willfully holding my son from me is little better than just that."
May was given no time to reply, as Peter came shooting down the stairs, two dufflebags and his backpack in tote. Tony didn't hesitate to follow the boy back to the car, and he popped the trunk for Peter to put his things inside.
The drive was near palpable silence, and Tony was a bit relieved when they finally pulled into the driveway in front of his and Pepper's home. Peter finally turned his head from where he had been staring straight ahead and looked up at the house. His eyes grew wide. "Woah."
"Yeah, it keeps the rain out." Tony said as he gathered the bags from the trunk.
"Sorry, it's just- I was really focused on getting away from Aunt May, it didn't even occur to me that you'd have a mansion." Peter said, marveling up at the house. Tony shrugged as he led Peter to the door.
"I've lived here so long, honestly, I don't think about it being a 'mansion' either." He froze before the door for the retinal scan of his eye to unlock the door, then they continued inside.
Peter stood looking around, suddenly appearing to be very uncomfortable. He didn't come much farther than the few feet past the door he'd made it where he froze. Tony took his bags to a couch in the lounge and came back over. "Hey," He said softly. "You alright, kiddo?" He said, placing a hand on each shoulder and bending slightly to be more at eye-level with Peter. Peter, however, did not meet his eyes. He simply shrugged.
"I don't know." He said.
"You don't have to be okay, you know." Tony said. "You can fall to pieces if you want. I'll sweep them up." He tried to venture a small bit of humor, and Peter did give a small laugh. He finally looked up when Pepper slowly entered the room and stood by, waiting to see if she needed to come back. Peter blinked for a few moments, as if he was trying to remember where he was.
"Hi!" Pepper breathed, and she gave a small, emotional smile. Tony held an arm out and she came over, taking his hand.
"Peter, this is Pepper." He said gently. "My much, much better half."
"Yeah, 'The Woman Who Is Building The Future', right?" Peter ask, awkwardly accepting Pepper's small greeting hug.
"Popular Mechanics- Wow..." Pepper said, "That was like three years ago."
"It was a good article." Peter said, shrugging his hands back into his pockets.
"I'm very glad to meet you, Peter." She said in a gentle voice. "Tony has been talking about finally getting to meet you for weeks." This comment made Peter smile.
"Thanks, you too." He said, finally seeming to relax a bit. Pepper hesitated for a moment, then put her arm around the boy.
"We have like... eight bedrooms for you to look at. Why don't you come with me and look them over and see which you like best? A couple of them connect, so you can have a rec room, or computer room, or..." She kept rambling as she paused and they gathered his things, then she guided Peter up the stairs. Tony watched them walk away and he closed his eyes and braced against the wall.
The past few hours were like a cyclone hitting him full force. Not only had he officially met his child, but he'd somehow ended up having the boy with him in his home. Now, he did realize this was his end goal, but it was so fast. They didn't know each other well, and Tony really didn't want to be just a place to go to get away from May. He wanted his son to genuinely want to be with him.
He flopped down on the couch beside where he had put Peter's things earlier and leaned back into the cushions, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes. He was still in that position when Pepper came back down nearly half an hour later and gingerly sat on the armrest next to Tony. He slowly peaked from behind his hand. Pepper smiled sadly and stroked his cheek.
"He's the sweetest kid, Tony." She said quietly. "So respectful and nice."
"I like him." Tony agreed. "Which room did he take?"
"The pale blue set at the end of the hall. With all the windows." Pepper said. "He liked the idea of a computer/ invention room of his own, and I thought those two would work. Plus that way he has his own bathroom."
"Was he-"
"Shaken up, but he seemed pretty settled. I helped him hang the clothes he brought in the closet and he told me what sort of things he likes so I'm going to order some things for his room tomorrow." She said, sighing as Tony slid over on the couch and pulling Pepper down to be next to him before he slid into her comforting embrace.
"How are you even real?" Tony questioned, his voice muffled against Pepper's chest. She stroked his hair.
"Mmm." She hummed of what else to say. "He said he wanted to try to sleep, but he did ask me if you thought it'd be okay for him to maybe ditch school for tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I think so." Tony agreed. "I was going to skip work also. Spend another day with him."
"Great idea." Pepper said. "Except, you have stuff with the team out at the complex..."
"He can go with me." Tony said quickly. "They need to know too. This is too big not to let my team in on." He said. "I have a feeling that not everyone will be quite as sweet and supportive as you are, though." Tony sighed. He allowed Pepper to take his hand and lead him up to their own room so he could try and sleep himself.
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