Author's Note: Hello, hello, my readers! Welcome back to another installment of The Many Adventures of Iron Dad and Spider Son! We get some hurt/comfort in this one, so strap in! Tony cancels lab day on Peter telling him it's because of a migraine, but Peter wants to make sure that his mentor is okay! I hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own ANYTHING related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

A Simple Gesture (December 16, 2016)

Tony woke up that one Friday morning feeling like crap…absolute crap, and he wanted nothing more than to stay in bed. He looked over and saw that Pepper's side was empty aside from a piece of paper on the pillow. He smiled to himself as he reached over and opened the slip of paper to see Pepper's beautiful handwriting.

Have some meetings throughout the day, but I'm thinking of you today! Text me if you need anything! And have fun with Peter today! Maybe some time with him will help too later!

Love,

Pepper

Tony widened his eyes upon seeing the name of his intern. That was when he remembered that it was Friday, and he and Peter agreed the week before—while Tony didn't think much of the date—to make their Lab Days on Fridays…unless one of them needed to change it. He—at the time—forgot that December 16 was the anniversary of his parents' deaths…25th anniversary to be exact. It was exactly 25 years since the day Howard and Maria Stark died…were murdered at the hands of Bucky Barnes—the Winter Soldier, as he recently learned in Siberia. Knowing now that his parents were in fact murdered changed things, and what was even worse was that he learned it from a HYDRA lackey, Helmut Zemo and that Steve—his former teammate—knew for over a year and didn't tell him.

"I didn't know it was him."

"Don't bullshit me, Rogers. Did you know?"

"Yes."

The billionaire sighed shakily as he sat up in bed putting his face in his hands. He could feel his anxiety coursing through his body, and all he could think about was his intern potentially coming over for Lab Day, and seeing what a mess his mentor was on that particular day. He hated the idea of cancelling on Peter, but perhaps, he could reschedule with him with Saturday. Perhaps, on Saturday, he wouldn't be as anxious as he was at the moment, and he would be able to focus on Peter and their nanotechnology project without horrible memories and anxiety hanging around. He sighed as he laid back against the headboard as he grabbed his phone and opened his text exchange with Peter. He began to type after he looked at the clock. It was 7:30am, so it was early enough in the day. Peter should be on his way to school at this point.

"Hey, kid, I hate to do this on such short notice, but…I'm not feeling too great this morning. Bit of a migraine. Can we take a rain check and meet up tomorrow instead?"

It hurt him to press send, but he did it. Besides, he changed it to Saturday, and he and Peter agreed that that was a possibility if something came up for either of them on Fridays. Still, Tony couldn't help but miss the kid already. His phone vibrated, and sure enough, there was a text from Peter.

"No problem, Mr. Stark! Get some rest! We can definitely work tomorrow! Looking forward to it!"

Tony couldn't help but smile at how mature the teen was being, and he could feel a sense of pride for Peter. "Count on tomorrow for sure," he typed back before lying back down in bed.

"Mr. Stark cancelled on you?" Ned asked in shock.

"Yeah," Peter replied shrugging, "he texted me this morning that he had a migraine this morning, but he did say we would get to work tomorrow."

"Oh well, that's not bad," Ned said as Peter closed his locker and walked alongside him. "I mean, it sucks about the migraine, but it's good he offered tomorrow."

"Yeah, no, it is," Peter replied. "It's just…I don't know…I feel like there's something he's not telling me."

"What do you mean?" Ned asked. "You think he's lying?"

"What? No, of course, not," Peter quickly replied. "Mr. Stark would never lie." While it was too bad he wouldn't get to see Tony until Saturday, Peter knew that Tony was an honest person. The billionaire would never lie to him unless he had a reason to, but even then, his mentor was someone, who was always straightforward. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but wonder if there was something else going on, as he walked into his first period classroom and sat down in between Ned and MJ.

"Hey, losers," MJ said closing the book she was reading. "What are you talking about?"

"Tony Stark cancelled his lab time with Peter today," Ned replied from where he sat. "Said it was a migraine or something."

"And I can't help but wonder if there's…more to it," Peter added.

"Well, I'd imagine that there is considering what today is," MJ said with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sure it's still not easy."

"W-What are you talking about?" Peter asked nervously. Was there something he was missing?

"Peter…it's December 16…" MJ replied slowly, "the anniversary…the 25th anniversary…"

Peter looked at her like she had 10 heads. What anniversary was she referring to? What was 25 years ago on December 16? What did it have to do with his mentor? He quickly did the math in his head, and 25 years ago from now was 1991. December 16, 1991…and at that moment, the realization slapped him across the face. "Oh no…" he said aloud.

"You cancelled on him?" Pepper asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I know," Tony said pinching the bridge of his nose. After staying in bed for a little while, the billionaire changed into some sweats after showering and found himself on the couch. "I know I'm an idiot. I just…didn't want him to come on today of all days and deal with my bullshit, you know? Or snap at him or something…besides, I told him we could move it to tomorrow?"

"Hon, I understand that," Pepper said as she moved closer to him running her hand through his hair, "but why would you tell him it was a migraine? Why didn't you just tell him about today? I'm sure he would've understood."

Tony sighed yet again. Pepper was once again right. Yes, he and Peter hadn't known each other for too long, but the kid was surely mature enough to understand that it was the anniversary of the day his parents died. He didn't have to make up some excuse about a migraine. "You're right," he finally said looking at Pepper with a smile, "as always. I'll…talk to him about it tomorrow."

Pepper nodded. "Don't be afraid to let him in a little," she said kissing him on the cheek. "You told me that he's been through it with his parents and his uncle. He understands from what I'm hearing."

"I know," Tony said sadly. "I just don't want to bog him down, you know?" His phone suddenly vibrated, and he took it out of his pocket only to see that it was a text from…Peter.

"Hey, Mr. Stark! Sorry for not texting earlier, I finally got a free period. I'm sorry about this morning, I had no idea about today. I really hope you're okay."

"Doesn't seem like you are to me," Pepper said with a smile.

Tony couldn't help but smile as he texted back. "Don't worry about it, kid. I didn't expect you to. Thank you though; I appreciate it! We'll make up for today tomorrow and talk then, I promise. Maybe even FaceTime later?"

"Okay, good, I have some errands to run after school, so I'll FaceTime when I come home."

"Looking forward to it, kid! Now get back to class, okay?"

"Okay! "

"See, dude? You're fine, and he's fine," Ned said as they sat in the cafeteria eating lunch. "You'll make up for it tomorrow."

"Yeah, that's true," Peter said as he put his phone back in his pocket. "Still though, I want to do something…a simple gesture, you know?"

"Like what?" Ned asked curiously. He wasn't trying to shoot down his best friend's intentions because he knew Peter would understand better than anyone what it felt like to go through the anniversary of a loved one. "I mean if he wants to be alone and doesn't want to work, you really should respect that."

"No, definitely not," Peter said shaking his head and chuckling. "I wouldn't do that, but he should know that he can level with me. Plus, May's routine to days like this never fails."

Fortunately, Ned knew exactly what Peter was talking about.

School continued on as normal for the rest of the day until the final bell rang allowing the students to disperse for the weekend. Peter felt a small pang in his chest as he walked out with Ned and MJ and didn't see a certain Audi sitting somewhere waiting for him. He understood why Tony cancelled for today, but that didn't mean that he didn't already miss going to the tower to work with Tony. However, he felt better knowing they would see each other tomorrow, but at the same time, he wanted to do a little something for Tony…to help him feel a little better. As soon as he got home, after texting May that he was home, he got his homework done in about 2-3 hours. Once May came home, they enjoyed a small pizza dinner before Peter would go on patrol that night.

Once the pizza was eaten and cleaned up, Peter changed into his Spider-Man suit stuffing regular clothes into his backpack and went off from his apartment to patrol. It was somewhat quiet as he stopped a few bike thieves and walked a teenaged girl home. Once he was sure no other random crimes would come up on Karen's scanner, Peter found himself in his Spider-Man suit going straight to Manhattan while texting May.

"Heading over to see him now, I'll be home in an hour or so."

"Okay, don't force him to do anything, okay? Everyone is different when it comes to grief. It's a nice thing you're doing, but respect his space and boundaries."

"Of course!"

After making a stop at a late night Starbucks, Peter swung from the buildings while making sure to not drop the tray in his hands. It would've been awkward to show up at his mentor's home without the hot chocolate. Once he got to the huge tower…he climbed up the building all the way up to the landing pad ducking in the darkness to avoid being seen.

"FRIDAY?" Peter whispered. "Can you hear me out here?"

"Of course, Peter," FRIDAY replied. "Boss has me programmed in every room of Stark Tower with the exceptions of the restroom facilities."

"Cool," Peter replied, "where's Mr. Stark?"

"He's currently in his room getting ready for bed," the AI replied.

"And Ms. Potts?" Peter asked. Not that he minded his mentor's fiancée, but if they were in the middle of a date night, then Peter would need to backtrack and head back home. He would hate to interrupt them like that.

"No need to answer that, FRIDAY," a female voice suddenly said causing Peter to jump up and turn around only to see Pepper Potts right behind with a smile on her face.

"Oh, Ms. Potts," Peter began taking some deep breaths to calm his pounding heart, "w-what are you-? I mean, I-I'm sorry, I didn't…I didn't mean to interrupt you and Mr. Stark. It's just—It's just I figured out what today was, and I know Mr. Stark cancelled, but I thought…I thought I could do something for him. So I—"

"Peter, Peter," Pepper said chuckling and holding her hands up to calm the teen down. "It's okay, you weren't interrupting anything. Tony told me that he cancelled your lab day today, so I had a feeling you would pop over."

"How?" Peter asked as he took his mask off.

"I'm Pepper Potts," she replied with a smile. "I know all."

Peter couldn't help but chuckle and smile. "Well, you're right," he said. "I…I got worried when he cancelled, and then a friend of mine mentioned today. So, I wanted to make sure he was…you know…okay."

Pepper widened her smile. "Well, I'm sure he'll appreciate it," she said. "Come on, let's go inside. I know Tony put a heater in that suit of yours, but I'm freezing."

With that, Peter followed Pepper through the door that led into the penthouse, and the heat inside felt so much better than the heater in his suit.

"Hey, honey, look who I found outside," Pepper suddenly said as they walked up to the couch with Peter in tow.

Sure enough, on the couch, Peter's eyes went to his mentor sitting there with a confused look. He could see Tony studying him closely as if checking to see if he was injured.

"Peter, w-what are you doing here?" Tony asked as he walked over to his intern. "Are you hurt or something?"

"No, no, Mr. Stark," Peter replied quickly. "I'm fine, really. It's just…well…I found out about what today was and felt bad."

"Right, you texted me," Tony retorted. "We texted back and forth."

"No, I know, it's just…I was—you know—in the neighborhood and found Starbucks, and well…I thought I'd make a pit-stop." He held up the tray of two hot chocolates. "Is that okay? If it's not, I can come back tomorrow. It's no big deal."

Tony couldn't help but look at Pepper and then back at Peter with a huge smile on his face. The kid standing in front of him with an amazingly huge heart never ceased to amaze him. The fact that he went out of his way to make his mentor feel better made his heart swell with happiness and pride. He placed a hand on Peter's shoulder, and he smiled even more.

"Of course, it's okay, kid," Tony said. "I really appreciate it. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Peter replied.

"Now, what do you say you go get changed into some regular clothes in the guest bedroom…assuming that's what you have in your backpack?" Tony asked as he took the hot chocolate. "And then we sit on the couch together, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan, Mr. Stark," Peter said before going into the guest room to change.

"So, why hot chocolate?" Tony asked curiously as Peter sat down next to him on the couch and handed him a cup.

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure," Peter said. "After my parents died, my uncle told me about how I used to have nightmares, so he and May would bring me into the kitchen and give me some hot chocolate. From there, it just sort of became a thing we did when it was my parents' death anniversary or one of their birthdays. Then…when Ben died…we did it after his funeral. It's kind of…a thing we do to just…be together, you know? To…remind ourselves that we have each other."

Tony smiled as he took a sip of the hot chocolate. "Oh, that's good stuff," he said. "Thank you, Peter…really. I…I'm glad you're here."

Peter smiled. "You're welcome, Mr. Stark," he replied. "I…I'm glad I'm here, too. I…I know it doesn't get easier, but…I just wanted to make sure you…you knew that you had me in your corner, you know?"

"Well, I'm truly grateful, kid," Tony replied patting him on the back. "I'm sorry I wasn't upfront with you, but I didn't want to bog you down."

"I know, but don't worry about it. If you need to vent or something, I'll listen. I'll be there…in your corner."

"And I'll be in yours," Tony replied. "You…uh…you up for watching a movie?"

"Absolutely!" Peter replied happily.

Author's Note: Annnnnnnnnnd that's all for now, boys and girls! I really hope you all enjoy it! I was originally going to have Peter not realize at all what today was, but then I figured that with someone as famous as Tony and Howard, the deaths of Howard and Maria would be somewhat common knowledge. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed! Up next is CHRISTMAS 2016! Let's see what holiday shenanigans Peter and Tony will get into! Don't forget to leave a review, thanks, guys!