Hi guys! Here's a new chapter for you. I gotta tell you I've been struggling with this story in the past few months. I think I've lost my inspiration, I don't think there are too many chapters left. I'm trying to figure out a way to finish this story, beacuse our beloved characters definitely deserve a beautiful, really happy ending. I don't know when and how exactly I will finish this story, I just wanted to let you know that we're getting closer to the end.

Anyway, have fun reading this chapter, in which we're going back to the latest events in the story from Tony's POV.

Disclaimer: no, I don't own Marvel.

When Tony's eyes reluctantly flutter open and he takes a look around to see what has woken him up. He is surprised to see that he is sprawled out on the couch and not in his bed. Then he remembers. After dinner, he offered Peter to watch a movie together. He was extremely tired but he was so happy to be back at the Tower with the kid that he didn't mind to stay up a little longer. But apparently, he fell asleep.

The TV is on and Peter is gone. Tony thinks the kid didn't want to wake him – he even draped a blanket over him, that sweet boy – but he didn't want to sleep on the couch either, so he opted for his bed. Good for him, Tony will definitely have a terrible backache tomorrow from sleeping here in such an uncomfortable position.

Before he could convince himself to get up and retreat into his bedroom, his glance flickers to the TV. It's the news and a reporter says the word Spiderman over and over again. That must have woken him up.

And Tony's heart stops. Because there he is: a red and blue blur swinging into a huge fire and after a few terrifying seconds, showing up again with an unconscious woman in his arms. The superhero hands her over to the waiting paramedics and then runs back into the flames.

His exhaustion long forgotten, Tony is already on his feet and he's about to summon his suit, when the reporter says all this happened an hour ago. So it's not live then. The correspondent also tells Spiderman's rescue mission was successful and while she's talking about the rescued people, the footage shows the superhero leaving.

Tony sighs relieved. Huh. Peter must be already home. He should check on him anyway. Just to make sure he's okay. It's not like Peter or Karen contacted him calling for help, kid seemed to handle it just fine. But those flames seemed pretty intense. And yes, the suit is fireproof. Of course, it is. It's a Stark design after all. But it was his kid in that fire, so obviously he's going to check on him.

He doesn't blame Peter for going out tonight. He remembers the boy promised him to stay in until he'd return. And Tony did return. Of course he would like the kid to stay home every night. So that Tony knows he's always safe and sound. He hates worrying about him, worrying if he gets injured or worse… But. Peter is Spiderman and he can't take that away from him just to make sure he doesn't have to worry anymore. That would be selfish. It was Peter's decision to become Spiderman and he should respect that. Just like everyone respects that he's Iron Man.

It doesn't mean it's easy though.

Sometimes he thinks it would be much better if Peter was just a normal kid. A kid who doesn't go out to fight criminals at night. If only Peter could be an average kid who doesn't have to face with bad guys and violence and blood every night. If only his biggest problem could be his Spanish test and not a new drug ring in Queens. If only he could be just a kid.

That's why he said no to Barton when he invited Peter down to the gym. He wants Peter to be this kid who does homework after school and not a baby Avenger who has sparring classes with Hawkeye.

And yes, Tony knows the kid will never be only Peter Parker. He will always be Spiderman, too. And Spiderman fights bad guys and could train with the Avengers. But he just wants to keep at least the illusion of a normal childhood as much as possible.

Yeah, raising a young superhero is not easy.

And it's definitely not easy to open the door of your kid's room and find him lying unconscious on the floor, blood dripping from a long gash on his leg.

Because that's exactly the sight that welcomes him when he enters Peter's room.

An hour later Tony drops on the small couch in the corner of the Peter's room and he watches the kid in the bed. Peter is safe. Tony stitched the cut and now the kid is sleeping peacefully. It's okay. Everything is okay. If only Tony's heartbeat could go back to normal now.

"Friday," he whispers. "I thought I was clear when I told you to alert me when Peter gets injured."

"Yes, boss, but he assured me it wasn't that bad and he would personally tell you if he felt worse."

"And then he passed out on the floor… don't you think that would have been a good time to call me?" he grumbles through gritted teeth. "New protocol: don't believe Peter when he gets injured and says he's fine, okay? Always tell me, even if it's just a paper cut. I don't care. When it comes to his health… don't let him deceive you, okay? Don't ask, don't even talk to him, just. Call. Me. Immediately."

He lets out a big breath and lies down. He frowns when he remembers that he didn't want to spend the night on the much bigger and comfier couch in the living room, but now this couch, from where he can keep an eye on the kid seems just perfect.

He's asleep in a minute.

When Tony opens his eyes, he checks the time. It's 6.28am. He might as well get up and make his first coffee of the day. He grunts as he slowly rises to his feet. Geez, this couch has been awful, his back will kill him. Maybe he should get a comfier couch. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea with a superhero kid in the house. Patching him up in the middle of the night and sleeping here to keep an eye on him might become a tradition.

He walks to Peter's bed, move the blanket a bit to examine the bandage. Thankfully, it still looks good; it will be enough to change it later, when Peter wakes up.

He looks at the kid's peaceful face and shakes his head. He thanks every god and the universe that he's kid is here, sleeping tight after last night's events.

He exits the room silently and heads into the kitchen. First, he makes breakfast: waffles for the kid and coffee for himself. Then he grabs a tablet and asks Friday to show the footage from last night, the time when Peter returned home. He already knows what happened, he heard Friday's excuses but he wants to know what exactly Peter told her. How could he convince the AI that he was fine when he obviously wasn't?

And when he watches how vehemently Peter protested when Friday offered to call Tony, his heart breaks. The kid was obviously in pain, he was bleeding all over the floor but he didn't care. There was only one thing he cared about, one thing he worried about. That Tony wouldn't come into his room, he wouldn't find out what had happened. The kid was lying on the floor, unable to get up, unable to do anything about the wound and when Friday told him once again that she would tell Tony, he still refused.

The man drops the tablet and swallows hard.

This has proved what he's been afraid for so long. Peter doesn't trust him. Whenever the kid feels bad, whenever he gets in trouble, he never calls Tony and he tries to make sure that the man doesn't even know anything. They've been living together for more than two months and Peter still doesn't trust him. He'd rather bleed out in his room than ask for Tony's help.

He remembers that Peter once asked him about this. What would he do if the kid made a mistake, if he got into trouble? Peter asked him if Tony would kick him out. And the man assured him that he wouldn't. He would never do that. And he was damn serious. He really meant it. But it seems like Peter didn't believe him.

Yes, Barton told him that parenting is a long-term job, but if he hasn't been able to earn the kid's trust yet, then what's the point? If Peter doesn't want his help when he's in pain and bleeding, will he ever come to him? No, probably never. Tony just needs to accept the truth. He'll never gain the kid's trust and they're just wasting time here.

Yeah, he has to deal with it. And he should figure out how to make sure the kid's alright without him. He should find him a place to stay and someone he could trust. And that's not gonna be easy.

He sighs and folds his head in his arms. He would love to call Bruce now and tell him that he was wrong when he said it would be a good idea if Peter moved into the Tower. Tony remembers how many times he explained to Bruce that he would screw up because he wasn't the right person to take care of a kid. And Bruce always waved him off.

Well, here they are now, a few months later and it turns out Tony has been right all along. He's not good at this. He's not good at taking care of Peter. Because the kid just can't trust him!

Maybe he should convince Barton to take home Peter with him. He already has kids and Peter could live with a real family with two parents and siblings. Tony would cover the costs, of course. Yeah, this would be the best. Maybe not for Spiderman, there can't be too many bank robbers and bike thieves on a farm but whatever. This would be the best for Peter.

He is about to ask Friday to call Clint but the AI tells him that Peter is waking up. He grabs his coffee mug and walks into the kid's room.

After breakfast and after their very emotional conversation, Peter is lounging on the couch again, staring at the TV. Tony told him he didn't have to go school today; skipping one day is easier than explaining the leg injury that will be gone by the end of the day anyway. Plus, after that heartfelt discussion he's not quite ready to let the kid go.

"Mr. Stark, it's getting creepy," Peter complains, not taking his eyes off the TV.

"What is creepy?" Tony raises an eyebrow. He's sitting in an armchair next to the couch.

"You staring at me for about, I don't know, for half an hour now," the kid whines, but there's a tiny smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Well, excuse me, I'm just happy that you're here to stay," he shrugs grinning.

Just a short time ago, he promised Peter he would always tell him how much he loves him. And he was serious. If he needs to regularly remind the boy how important he is, how much Tony cares about him, well, that's a very small price to pay to make sure the kid feels safe and happy at the Tower, right? And it's the truth anyway.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark," Peter replies and blushes.

Okay, discussing emotions openly makes the kid a bit uncomfortable. Well, he needs to deal with it, because it will happen more often in the future. Tony is determined. He won't let Peter suffer anymore just because he believes he know what Tony thinks. It's easier if he tells the kid what he thinks. Like now for example. That it makes him really happy that Peter is here and not on his way to Barton's family.

But. It doesn't mean that they don't have to work on the kid's trust issues anymore. Because he might say that he trusts Tony and the man thinks Peter actually believes that. But if he really trusted Tony, he would have turned to him for help and wouldn't have thought that Tony would kick him out. He should have known that Tony would never do that.

The man isn't sure whose fault is that. Should he have said or done something to convince Peter he would never send him away? He decides it's not worth dwelling on that, he should focus on the present. He needs to do things and say things to make the kid believe that he can trust him. Always.

He remembers when Peter asked him if he would kick him out if he had made a mistake. It seems like that conversation happened a long time ago. After Barton had told him to discuss a few rules with the boy. And Peter asked what would happen if he had done something wrong. Tony assured him he would never send him away. But now it seems he couldn't convince him. Which means he needs to work harder to gain his trust, to prove him he would never want to get rid of him.

And that gives him an idea. He knows what he should do. And that… well, if he does that, he can be always sure that Peter stays here at the Tower. None of them will ever think it would be better if the kid left. Tony could guarantees that he stays for good. Perfect.

He is about to get up when Peter suddenly turns to him. "I'm also very happy that I'm here, Mr. Stark," he says smiling.

"Great. Then maybe we should make it official," Tony replies. He stands up and leaves, heading to his bedroom.

"What do you mean?" the kid asks behind him confused.

He quickly returns with a bunch of papers in his hand and he holds them up triumphantly. He ignores Peter's puzzled look as he lays the papers on the coffee table. He waits until the kid leans closer and reads the documents. At least, the first few words.

"Are these…?" the boy mutters and he seems unable to take his eyes off the sheets. As if he couldn't believe what he's seeing in front of him.

Tony sits down beside him and grins. "Yes, they are. I've been meaning to show you these, kid, for a long time now. I've been waiting for the perfect time but I think there's nothing more perfect than today because I don't wanna wait any longer."

Peter finally turns away from the papers and looks up at the man. There's absolute confusion in those big, brown eyes and that confusion refuses to leave, though Tony tries to give him the most assuring smile he can make.

"Are you sure?" the boy asks, no, he whispers as if fearing the answer.

But there's an even bigger smile spreading on Tony's face. "Yes, I'm absolutely sure. One hundred percent. I have never been surer in my life. I swear. Kid, I want to adopt you."

I hope you liked it!
BTW, keep an eye out for another Irondad story, because I have a shorter one that I'd like to publish soon.