Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Peter Parker has been known to sacrifice his happiness for the people he loves, and quite frankly, he would do it again and again just to see May’s prideful smile and Mr Stark’s happy expression.

Though, sometimes Peter wants to be selfish, to demand people just give him a break and let him do what he wants.

But it doesn’t always work like that, because Peter has never been one to stick up for himself, always choosing to play the role of the sacrificial lamb if it meant someone else ended up better of than he was.

So that’s probably why after the snap he lets Mr Stark get taken away from him to get help when all he really wants is to stay with him. It’s why he nods and leaves the hospital when the nurse apologetically reminds him that it’s family only.

So Peter walks, he ends up back at his apartment with May, who’s trying so hard not to coddle him but can’t seem to let him out of her sight. So when she falls asleep after a long talk, Peter takes to showering and taking an afternoon walk around Central Park.

He’s not awful however, he does leave May a note and takes his phone with him—just in case.

He walks slowly, letting the familiar environment wash over him. He wouldn’t be able to tell it’s been 5 years, everything looks the same as when he left, which Peter isn’t sure he’s exactly thankful for.

During his walk, he lets his mind wander. To Mr Stark, to MJ, to Ned, to everything that went down on Titan and when his breathing starts to get shakier, he lets himself focus on the here and now.

He tries to hone in on his spider senses, and it’s then that he picks up a familiar heartbeat across the park. A dark haired super soldier sits alone on a bench, watching aimlessly as families scamper around the park, dogs barking at their owners and leaves falling from the trees.

Peter makes eye contact with him, walks over with a hesitant smile as Bucky greets him with a solemn nod.

“Hi Mr Barnes,” Peter greets softly, his expression warm and comforting.

Bucky can’t help but soften at the sight of the kid, they haven’t spoken properly since Germany but there’s just something about Peter’s joyful youth that reminds him funnily enough about him and Steve when they were younger.

“Spider-man.” Bucky greets with a smile, motioning for Peter to take the empty seat next to him on the bench.

“Peter, sir.”

“Huh?”

“My name, it’s Peter.”

Bucky nods, “then call me Bucky kid, none of that ‘sir’ or ‘Mr Barnes’ thing alright?”

Peter nods, smile widening. He turns to people watch alongside Bucky and soon enough his mind starts racing again.

“It’s odd isn’t it?” Bucky breaks the silence

Peter turns to look at him.

“The discomfort of it all.” Bucky clarifies.

Peter hums, cocking his head.

“You come back to this place you’ve been all your life—thinking how much could have possibly changed, and turns out, a lot has.” Bucky murmurs softly, eyes never straying from the clusters of people in front of them.

Peter nods, sniffing slightly, “uh—I went to get a glass of water when I got home? And May, my aunt, she said she moved the glasses? And like—it’s not that big of a deal but I kind of just—broke down. I don’t know, it’s like everything’s changed since—“ Peter stops.

He chokes up, shaking his head and clearing his throat.

“I get you kid, I had that with HYDRA—it was surreal getting all these memories back that weren’t really even mine in a way, and Steve? He’d tell me all these things we used to do before—well before all the shit went down and I would just sit there and think…it’s this easy? People can just…think and remember?” Bucky huffs a laugh, though there’s no humor behind it.

Peter shuffles closer, laying his head slightly on Bucky’s arm.

“I’m sorry about what happened to you Mr Barnes, I didn’t know what was happening when we met in Germany, Mr Stark just said he needed my help so i—point is, I wouldn’t have fought you if I knew the truth.” Peter confesses.

Bucky tenses slightly, “not your fault kid, you were just following orders. I know that better than anyone.”

Peter hums again.

“Though I did tell you not to call me Mr Barnes anymore, we gotta work on that—you’re making me feel old.”

“Aren’t you like 100?”

Bucky pushes Peter off of his arm as the teen laughs softly.

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Peter can’t really hold it against Morgan, she’s 5 and she doesn’t really grasp the concept of sharing but honestly, Peter’s really tired of it.

He knows he’s not Tony and Pepper’s kid, he’s just a mutant teenager that they took in after Titan because of some self-imposed moral responsibility.

Which Morgan undoubtedly realizes too, she’s not afraid to very loudly complain about the ‘strange boy’ who’s living in her hour no matter how many times Tony and Pepper remind her that he’s her ‘brother’.

Peter’s not sure how he feels about that either, the only family he’s ever known is May and quite frankly—he doesn’t feel like building a sibling relationship with Morgan.

He just wanted to see Mr Stark, he’s been given a clean bill of health and Peter thought that would have meant he’d have some time to spend with him but instead he’s met with a 5 year old with a grudge that he had nothing to do with and an apologetic Pepper that shuffles him out of the tower.

Peter’s just tired, all the time.

He’s tired of pretending that he fits into this white picket fence family dynamic that Mr Stark has cultivated for him, as if just waiting for Peter to fall into place like a puzzle piece.

So when Mr Stark cancels their lab session to pick up Morgan from school…again, Peter just sighs, typing back a ‘no problem, have fun.’

He decides instead to go patrolling, letting the brisk Queens air fill his lungs as the tightness of his chests finally dissipates.

“You alright kid?” A voice breaks through the silence as he sits on a rooftop across the road from Delmar’s.

Peter’s eyes snap to look towards the voice, Steve Freaking Rogers stands across the rooftop, arms crossed over his leather jacket as he watches Peter in concern.

Peter’s already jumping up, “I uh Mr Rogers sir-I hello.” He stammers out, cursing silently as he stumbles over his words.

Steve’s lips quirk in a slight smile, nodding his head. “Hey queens, noticed you land here—thought I’d come and say hi. Bucky’s told me about you.” Steve says, walking over to swing his leg over the ledge Peter was sitting at.

Peter awkwardly shuffles to sit down next to him.

“Bucky told you about me?” He asks softly, cheeks flushing under his mask.

Steve hums. “Says you’ve been struggling adjusting back from the snap, we get that better than anyone else.” Steve says with a comforting smile as he turns to look at Peter.

Peter nods, before a wave of comfortable silence overcomes the two of them. Hesitating slightly, he tugs off his mask which has Steve widening his eyes.

“I hope you know I didn’t come here just to find out your identity,” Steve says with a panicked look, and Peter just shakes his head.

“It’s alright, Bucky already knows.” Peter says and Steve just nods, his expression welcoming and comforting.

“You hungry?” Steve asks, jumping up so fast that Peter whips his head to watch as Steve walks away from the ledge.

“Uh-” Peter mutters, looking at his mask before shrugging and grabbing his backpack before trailing after Steve.

They walk down the stairs from the rooftop and Peter debates putting his mask back on but ultimately decides against it when they reach a car which Steve unlocks.

Peter looks surprised, looking between the car and Steve.

“Didn’t think I knew how to drive?” Steve jokes with a smirk as he opens the door and Peter splutters before ultimately getting in.

“No I just—I mean, aren’t you from the 40s? How’d you even learn to drive an automatic?” Peter says with a slightly shocked expression.

Steve snorts, “the snap lasted 5 years, there’s only so much one can do to pass the time.”

Peter’s face breaks into a small smile as he giggles softly before shrugging in an agreeable motion.

“Where are we going?” Peter asks finally.

“To mine and Bucky’s apartment.” Steve answers

Peter pauses.

“Why?”

“To eat. And to talk—if you want.”

Peter turns to look at him, “you don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t have to do a lot of things Queens, I’m doing it because I care—and because Bucky makes good food.” Steve smirks.

Peter nods, wringing his hands together nervously.

“It’s just that, y’know. I’m not—I don’t need you to look out for me alright? I can handle myself” Peter blurts out, wincing at how brash he must have sounded.

“Hm.” Steve hums, “No.”

“No?” Peter asks incredulously

“No.” Steve affirms.

Peter just turns to him in disbelief.

“You’re 16 kid, you don’t need to take care of yourself, not if Buck and I can help” Steve responds, turning into an apartment complex parking lot.

Steve gives peter a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie that are too big for him as they both quickly scurry up to his apartment.

Once Peter walks inside, Steve following behind, he’s immediately comforted by the smell of spices that invade his nostrils.

The tension leaves his body and he unconsciously finds himself walking towards the scent, finding Bucky stirring what looks like pasta in a pan.

The portion size alone looks like it could feed a family of 6 which really shouldn’t surprise Peter considering Bucky and Steve are both super soldiers but he still gawks.

Bucky looks up as Peter enters the kitchen, a soft smile lifting his lips as he watches Peter walk around to jump onto one of the chairs at the island.

“Hey Pete, Steve convince you to stay for lunch?” Bucky asks, humming as Steve presses a quick kiss to Bucky’s cheek before joining Peter at the island.

“Mhm, thank you for having me over.” Peter thanks them gratefully, watching confusedly as Steve and Bucky seem to make eye contact, speaking some kind of secret language.

“You guys are like—dating yeah?” Peter asks, brows furrowed.

Both of their gazes snap to him instantly.

Peter panics instantly, “I don’t like—have a problem with it or anything! Honestly I mean like—power to you guys and I mean that’d be kind of hypocritical of me y’know cause I’m also-” Peter hysterically rambles before slapping a palm over his mouth in shock.

Peter stares at the two super soldiers in front of him before they burst into laughter as Peter melts into the chair in mortification.

“Genuinely just kill me, what the fuck is wrong with me” He whispers into his hand, too encompassed in his own agony to notice Steve slapping a hand on his shoulder good naturedly.

“You’re alright kid, we won’t tell a soul—but it’s good to know you’re supportive, think Buck and I spent a bit too long hiding” Steve says with a comforting pat as Peter peeks through his hands to see them both watching him with warm expressions.

Peter still pouts, “that was single handedly the most embarrassing thing I’ve done.”

Bucky snorts, “dunno kid, getting dropped out of the sky by Redwing back in Germany was pretty funny.”

Peter levels him with a glare, “I was a kid!” He complains.

Steve stares at him, “that was like 2 years ago for you kid.” He says matter-of-factly.

Peter throws his hands up in the air in exasperation but there’s a smile on his face.

It’s the first sense of normalcy he’s felt for a while, he wasn’t sure he’d ever have this again but he’s so grateful he does.

The entirety of their lunch is filled with absent minded chatter as they recall their good memories and talk about Peter’s patrol. Funnily enough, both super soldiers perk up in interest about possibly starting to patrol with Peter instead of jumping back into whatever S.H.I.E.L.D had in store for them.

Peter enjoys lunch,and for the first time he feels like he’s exactly where he belongs.

Chapter Text

Peter can’t help but feel excited for his first decathlon practice after the snap, maybe it’s the sense of normalcy that comes with the bus ride there and the comfort of Ned’s rapid fire conversational skills but Peter can’t wipe the grin off his face even if he tried.

He’s even more excited since Mr Stark had promised he’d attend due to being an unfortunately absent mentee (father figure?) in Peter’s life as of recently.

Peter doesn’t hold it against him for the most part, juggling SI, a five year old and being Iron Man is sure to be a lot of work but Peter would rather have a completely absent mentor than one that continuously breaks his promises.

Which takes us to now, Peter sitting with a first place trophy next to him on the bus ride back home from a decathlon tournament that Mr Stark had failed to show up for.

Peter grits his teeth as frustrated tears pool in his eyes, he shouldn’t have gotten his hopes up. Getting your hopes up means letting yourself be disappointed and Peter Parker does not deal well with disappointment.

If the 63 silenced calls from Tony’s number is anything to go by, Peter isn’t ready to talk—or willing for that matter.

So he says a half-hearted goodbye to Ned as he makes his way up to his and May’s apartment where as soon as the door closes, Peter can’t help the sniffles he tries to subside as he shuffles morosely towards his room.

“Peter?” May’s questioning voice stops him in his tracks.

“Peter is that you honey? How’d the decathlon-oh. Honey” May’s sympathetic tone has Peter collapsing against her open arms, sobbing like the child he so relentlessly argues that he’s not.

Because at the end of the day, Peter Parker will always be that 5 year old kid at the Stark Expo ready to defeat a hammer drone with a fake gauntlet as his idol swoops in to save him.

And that’s maybe what hurts the most, that Peter has always idolized Tony, always thought that ‘wow, Tony Stark just invited me to fight the avengers in Germany and he made me my own suit’ and maybe somewhere along the line he thought maybe Tony thought more of him than some poor teenage orphan from Queens.

But it’s times like these that remind him why people would always says ‘never meet your heroes’.

So he cries until his voice is hoarse and May has to pick him up off the floor to bring him to her own bed.

He spends the night clinging to her like the first couple of months after his parent’s death, refusing for her to even shift an inch of space between them.

Peter Parker is 16 years old but he’s never felt more like that shattered and scared little boy finding out that his parents are gone.

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The next day, Peter wakes up with dry eyes and a congested nose which he groans slightly about but chooses not to think too hard about.

On his way down the stairs he catches the sight of a group of people huddled on the sidewalk, and not in the mood to make small-talk, Peter tugs his hood over his head and walks slightly faster out of his building.

He doesn’t even make it down the street before Peter hears a muffled curse and the sound of a car squealing behind him.

He waits for the car to reach him before he lifts his head, only to be met with the sheepish expression of one Tony Stark in his Audi.

Peter groans silently.

“This is not happening.” He mutters to himself, sparing an embarrassed glance to the group still outside of his building who now gawk on in surprise.

“Need a ride?” Tony asks with a strained smile and Peter can’t help but feel a little vindicated by the slight desperation in his expression.

Peter frowns, “why are you here?”

Tony blinks, “uh, to take you to school?” He says with a puzzled look.

Peter crosses his arms, “No, you’re smart enough to know I was ignoring your calls and messages, you know I didn’t want to see you. So why are you here?” Peter snaps.

He regrets it slightly, he’s trying his best to be accommodating but he really can’t help but feel resentful over all of the amalgamation of missed meetings and canceled plans.

Tony winces, “alright, I deserved that.” He blows out a breath.

“Look kid, I’m not the best with apologies, but I care about you alright? And if you’ll let me, I’d like to drop you off at school and just…talk.” Tony bargains, smiling hopefully as his eyes crease.

Peter slumps.

“And, well—If you don’t want to talk, the offer to drop you off still stands.” He offers again, this time sounding a little more panicked.

Peter pauses before nodding, silently getting into the car and trying not to notice how the tension slips from Tony’s soldiers as soon as the doors close.

“So…” Tony starts, looking between Peter and the road.

Peter frowns, “you asked to talk Mr Stark, not me” he reminds the man.

Tony nods, biting his cheek as he breaks at a red light.

“I’m sorry Pete.” Tony says softly and Peter finds himself embarrassingly emotional again.

He clears his throat, shrugging. “It’s whatever.” He brushes the apology off.

Tony shakes his head vehemently, “No. Not it’s not”

“I promised you I’d be there and I wasn’t, and I know I’ve not been the best da-mentor, around but I promise I’m gonna start trying harder okay? I care a lot about you kid and I don’t want you to think I don’t” Tony pleads.

Peter just looks out the car window.

“Kid, say something. Please.”

Peter shrugs, “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“Whatever you’re feeling would probably be a good place to start.”

“I dunno Mr Stark, you come here with all these big promises and you say you want to try but how am I supposed to believe you? I mean c’mon, you book our lab days only to miss them to pick up Morgan which—I get it okay? She’s your kid but you treat me like I’m the greatest thing that happens to you and then like I’m just some random kid you couldn’t give less of a fuck about” Peter rants out in frustration

Tony’s silent for a long time.

“That’s how you feel?” He whispers into the silence of the car, only disrupted by the peak hour school traffic.

Peter shrugs again, “that’s how you make me feel.” He admits

He ignores the slight sniffling of the billionaire, instead fiddling with the drawstrings of his hoodie.

“Kid-I-” Tony chokes up.

“When I lost you on Titan, that was the worst feeling I’ve ever felt. I’m sorry I don’t show you enough how much you really do mean to me but god Pete—you’re my kid alright? You didn’t just stop being my kid in those 5 years, nor did you stop being my kid when Morgan was born. Dammit I mean-I created time travel to get you back so I need you to know—I love you Peter, and I’m so sorry you feel like I don’t.” Tony whispers brokenly, voice rough.

Peter doesn’t know when the tears started falling but he quickly lifts his hoodie sleeve to quickly wipe at his face.

They’re about 5 minutes away from the school when Peter straightens up, “you’ve gotta prove that. I can’t—I won’t let you hurt me like that again Mr Stark, I tried so hard to be good and you—you kept treating me like I wasn’t good enough”

Tony nods, jaw clenching as pain flashes through his eyes.

“Can I—can I pick you up from school? We can do an impromptu lab day?” Tony asks, grasping at straws desperately to keep Peter.

Peter thinks for a moment before shaking his head, “I think some time apart might do us some good, I’ll come around for our scheduled lab day next week?” He asks, biting his lips into at Tony’s crestfallen expression.

Tony nods solemnly, accepting the grace for what it is and Peter smiles comfortingly before jumping out the car as it reaches Midtown.

Maybe there’s a chance they’ll be alright, Peter Parker is a hopeful man once again.

Chapter Text

Peter is a nervous ball of energy when he returns to Stark Tower the following week.

Standing in front of the ominously tall building, he’s faced with a feeling of uncertainty that he is unaccustomed to. Stark Tower was once Peter’s second home.

It was his place of refuge when May would have back to back 12 hour shifts and Peter could no longer stand that the only sounds that used to filter into the lonely apartment were that of the sewer rats scurrying around for food outside.

And whilst Peter wasn’t necessarily a stranger to loneliness, it was nice knowing that if he wanted to—he could pick up the phone and drop Happy a text and within less than 30 minutes, he’d be in the lab with Mr. Stark.

All in all, Peter’s not sure he wants to walk through the front doors to Stark Tower. He’s been around long enough to know that FRIDAY will alert Mr Stark as soon as he bypasses the scanners and his mentor-turned-pseudo-father-figure-turned-back-to-mentor would be waiting for him with little to no patience.

Happy seems to notice the hesitation that must be showing on Peter’s expression because he sighs, looking only slightly perturbed as he not so slyly nudges his outstretched arm in a motion for peter to get walking.

Peter smiles shakily, somewhat torn between asking Happy to take him back home and braving the family he might have once called his. He straightens his posture, tugging on the straps on his backpack as he makes the walk through the familiar glass doors.

FRIDAY welcomes him back pleasantly as he gets into the elevator to be taken up to the penthouse and Peter continues to make idle conversation with the comforting AI to try and distract himself from the pit that seems to be forming in his stomach.

The doors open and Peter is greeted by the sight of his mentor, dressed in his usual lab attire—a worn out AC/DC t-shirt with dark washed jeans. Peter smiles back hesitantly when he notices Mr. Stark’s face light up.

He also notices that he scans for the overnight bag that Peter usually packs for lab days on the off chance that they run past Peter’s curfew in which May usually lets him stay the night rather than take the subway.

Peter watches as Mr. Stark loses some of his previous excitement as he notices its absence before he plasters a faker version of the smile he previously had. “My favourite young adult!” Tony cheers, walking up to Peter with his arms outstretched.

Peter’s only slightly more awkward than usual when wrapping his arms clumsily around Tony, which he hopes the older mechanic fails to notice. “Hi Mr. Stark” Peter murmurs into his shoulder, cheeks warming as he feels himself slip comfortably back into the iron superhero’s hold.

Peter feels the tension melt away from Tony’s shoulder’s the longer they stay in the hug, which really isn’t that long at all because Tony has a thing about touch and Peter is never one to stay where he is unwanted.

“I’ve got some upgrades for your web shooters kid, thought we could take a look at them today.” Tony remarks with a glint in his eyes and Peter feels the familiar bubble of awe and excitement he used to feel when he first started working alongside Tony after Germany.

Peter nods hastily, tugging his suit out of his backpack as they make their way down to the lab, “That’d be great Mr. Stark, I’ve been meaning to take them apart for a while now but I just haven’t had the time with school and debate and Ned and I started building this new Star Wars Lego that we’ve been wanting to get forever…” Peter babbles on consistently until they reach the doors of the lab.

He's so engrossed with his own story retelling, not even taking a breath that he doesn’t notice the small smile that grows on Tony’s face as the familiar chatter of Peter’s voice fills the emptiness of the lab.

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Tony knows he’s not a great person, if Afghanistan taught him anything—it was that. He’s been trying everyday since then to be better though, some days are better than others but Tony has sworn since getting back to start making an actual better difference.

Which is why he takes a lot of pride in his work, the work he’s done in creating renewable energy, in being part of the Avengers, in being the best husband to Pepper and being a good dad.

Morgan may think he’s the best thing in the world, but that’s because she’s 5 and well—Tony is the best thing in her world. She is undoubtedly a daddy’s girl and Tony isn’t sure what he could have possibly done in another lifetime to deserve that little girl.

So yes Tony Stark is narcissistic—give him a break, he deserves it. He’s a damn good dad, showing up to Morgan’s recitals, doing story time every night, waking up and putting her to sleep after nightmares, cookies and ice-cream after a bad day, the list goes on and on.

But as he said, some days are better than others. Peter Parker, some 14-year-old kid that Tony somehow convinced to fight alongside him in Germany against Captain America who then turned into his mentee before feelings and protectiveness and all that jazz found Tony Stark with a kid that was his in every way excluding biologically.

And given the man’s past, that’s a feat in of itself.

Although, by the time Tony had realised he’d had a kid, that kid was gone. Taken from him in the cruellest manner, laying in his arms as he turned to dust before his very eyes. As Tony tried to grasp at his fading form, the grief that had ripped his heart out could only be described as a parent grieving the loss of their child.

So Tony spent 5 years grieving his firstborn, the son he could have had. All the missed chances to say I love you, to tell his bright-eyed kid that he was proud of him, that he was doing so much better than what Tony ever though he could.

All of it, ripped away from his hands in the blink of an eye.

Tony was then forced to move on, he spent so long thinking of what ifs, punching holes through the walls and drowning his sorrows in liquor until he couldn’t see one foot in front of himself.

Pepper was there, she was the one who held him when he couldn’t unsee the vision of Peter disappearing, she was the one who wrapped his knuckles and cleaned his hands, she was the one who put him to bed and took care of him when he couldn’t stand.

So Tony felt like he owed it to her to try. She stood by him when he ran himself into the ground time and time again and Tony decided he couldn’t let another second go by where he didn’t let her know how appreciated she truly was.

Tony wouldn’t let himself lose her, not like he lost Peter.

Step by step, day after day. Tony got sober, he went to therapy— and to his shock and horror, it actually worked, and he cleaned up his act. He chose to put one foot in front of the other and make the conscious decision to move on.

And if he laid awake at night, repeating to himself that Peter would have wanted that for him? That was his own business. Eventually, the agonizing pain and longing dulled to something sharper and hollower.

A gaping hole filled his chest, something that he hadn’t felt since he had taken out the arc reactor. Peter was everywhere but nowhere at the same time. Every time Tony went down to the lab and the music would lull as a new song would start—Tony’s eyes would mist over at the lack of humming from Peter or the sound of Peter talking to himself.

And then Pepper had broken the news that she was pregnant, that they were having a baby—a baby! Tony couldn’t believe it, he spent five minutes spluttering and blinking with his mouth agape when Pepper had handed him the pregnancy stick.

He spent 9 months in overprotective dad mode as Pepper would say, baby proofing every corner of the house, throwing out anything he thought could be a choking hazard and creating hundreds of new security protocols every day to the point that he had to build a new storage server just for the baby protocols.

All for when Morgan H. Stark graced the world, for Tony to crumble into a mushy pile of tears and scattered kisses onto her full head of hair. That—Tony can recall, was one of the only times he felt that gaping hole in his chest diminish slightly.

His Babygirl. Granted, Tony obviously never had the chance to really be a parent to Peter, so doing it all with a newborn was a wake-up call. Tony spent many sleepless nights just watching the rise and fall of Morgan’s little chest in fear of it stopping.

And in those moments, Tony sat in the silence as his mind ran over each and every regret about treating Peter as if he was expendable.

And then Scott Lang showed up, proposing time travel of all solutions. Selling Tony this big picture of a fairytale happy ending when Tony had thought he had everything he needed.

Tony wanted nothing to do with it, why ruin a perfectly good thing? He had his family—Pepper and Morgan. They were happy, they had built something—a life worth living.

He’d left all of that shit behind when they moved into the lake house, he promised to cut back his work hours and he did, he promised to show up for Morgan and he did. So all this talk of time travel as a concept alone—that could put everything he had worked so hard to keep in jeopardy.

Until that picture of Peter, with his bright smile and Bambi eyes—smiling into the camera like he had just won the lottery when all he had was Tony’s arm on his shoulder with a press perfect smile.

Tony hated it as much as he loved it. He loved seeing Peter happy, seeing him being a kid like he should have been. Tony hated that he brought him to Germany, told him that he wanted him to be better—God what he would do to take that all back.

And really, that was reason enough. Tony could fix things, he could bring Peter back and tell him just how much he means to him, bring him to the lake house to meet Morgan and Pepper and—yeah...yeah.

Everything could be okay again.

So, they did, Tony created time travel, they fought Thanos, and they killed Thanos and Tony goes back to the lake house to heal after he snaps and thinks about a way to get in touch with Peter.

Then things start piling up, all the higher ups are back and wondering what’s happened to Stark Industries in their disappearance. Morgan’s school no longer becomes an option when people start to realise her dad just saved the universe and Pepper is exhausted from travelling to New York and back to the lake house every day.

So they move, back to Stark Tower where it all began, they settle back into the penthouse quite nicely and get Morgan enrolled in a very prestigious private school in which she absolutely hates the uniform and Pepper is back to her old ways of running the company and its like they never left.

Except, Peter. Peter falls through the cracks, he keeps reminding himself to call, to check in but with all the excitement of half the population being back on earth, there just isn’t enough time.

And soon enough, it’s been 3 months post-snap and Tony is struck with the idea that he hasn’t seen Peter. He’s heard tidbits here and there from other fellow Avengers since they moved back in—which what? And from Happy on the odd occasion that the kid calls him to pick him up or drop him off somewhere.

But Tony still hasn’t held his kid since that hug on Titan. So, he calls, schedules a lab day and can’t help but tear up when Peter excitedly confirms immediately and tells him he can’t wait.

Except, Morgan contracts chicken pox from the playground at her school which has Tony halfway to a panic attack and forgetting to tell Peter he can’t make it as he rushes Morgan to the med bay as soon as they get home.

By the time they’re done, it’s already 6:30pm and when Tony opens his phone, it lights up with missed calls from Peter and messages wondering where he is, if he’s okay and if he needs help.

Tony texts back a short explanation, exhausted from the stress and promises himself that he’ll make it up to him. It comes up in the form of a promise to the Avengers compound, but this time Tony forgets that he has a meeting with the finance department head that he can’t miss.

He does, however, tell Peter beforehand that he won’t be able to make it and frowns when there’s no reply after the meeting. He texts the kid again, asking him if he’s alright and when the response comes through, he frowns.

‘I’m fine Mr. Stark, I hope the meeting went well.’

To any normal person, that message probably wouldn’t look all that suspicious. To anyone who knows Peter Parker, they’d know he was upset. That kid uses at least one smiley face or exclamation point in every text.

That response was carefully cultivated, one that would tell Tony that he’s upset but polite enough that Tony would feel bad about asking him to elaborate. So, Tony leaves it alone—let's just add that to the lists of mistakes he’s made with Peter.

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The next time, Tony invites Peter to stay for the weekend. He clears his calendar and tells FRIDAY to block any non-life-threatening calls. It starts off well enough, Peter gets introduced to Morgan who takes a liking to him immediately and is also coincidentally stolen by Pepper under the guise of helping out in the kitchen which quickly turns into Pepper trying to steal Tony’s place as preferred parental figure.

They spend a lot of time in the lab, which Tony guesses is also Pepper’s doing because if Peter wasn’t there—Morgan usually finds a way to get him out every couple of hours. So they tinker, they laugh and play music, and Tony feels that hole growing smaller each day that Peter stays with them.

Until the second day. Morgan wakes up with a cold and Pepper and Tony are already on high alert. Morgan gets very emotional and clingy when sick and Tony is always inclined to coddle her even if she had never perfected her puppy dog eyes.

They spend the morning tending to her which leaves Peter in the lab alone until lunch in which he joins the family of 3 for some soup and toasted sandwiches. It’s good for a while, Peter and Tony joking and laughing as they sit next to each other until Tony lays his arm around Peter’s shoulder.

Morgan screams as if someone has cut off her head, thrashing in her seat as she leaps off her chair to swat her father’s hand off Tony’s shoulder. “NO!” she wails, eyes welling with tears as she climbs onto her father’s lap.

She glares heatedly at Peter, “Hey, Morguna that’s not nice—we don’t yell. Shhh, what’s going on?” Tony says hastily, scooping up Morgan with a panicked look at Pepper who watches the two of them in concern.

“My daddy!” Morgan’s sob is muffled as she shoves her face into Tony’s shirt who grimaces at the wetness growing. Tony hums softly, still rubbing her back, “Yeah, I’m your daddy honey, but that doesn’t mean we hit Peter, okay? You have to learn to share.” Tony says consolingly, casting Peter an apologetic glance.

“Don’t like him.” Morgan complains, still hiccupping slightly as she pulls away to look up at her father with a pouty expression. Tony stiffens and notices Peter’s tense form next to him and knows he has to tread lightly.

“That’s not a nice thing to say Morgan, Peter’s been nothing but nice to you and you’re being very mean to him right now okay? I want you to apologize to him now please.” Tony gently scolds his daughter and watches firsthand as her face screws up as she bangs her little fists against his chest in anger.

“Don’t want him here! Don’t like him! I don’t want I don’t want I don’t want!” Morgan kicks and screams and Tony scrambles to pick her up as he stands, rushing to the lounge but not before he catches the sight of Peter’s distraught expression.

He hears Pepper consoling Peter quietly and he sighs in relief that he’s not left alone, he spends an hour trying to calm Morgan down from her tantrum, trying not to take it personally because she’s only 5 and sick.

It’s understandable that she would need a little adjustment time,  but he can’t help but feel frustrated that he’s sure she’s now made Peter feel unwanted in a home Tony was hoping he’d find solace in.

After putting Morgan down for a nap, he travels to the room he designed for Peter to find him on the bed, scrolling on his phone. He closes the door gently and smiles comfortingly when Peter scrambles to sit up straight, wringing his hands nervously.

“Is she okay?” he whispers, biting his lips worryingly. Tony nods, blowing out a breath as he sits next to Peter.

“She’s fine, are you okay?” Tony prompts and Peter tenses.

“’M fine.” He shrugs, looking down at his hands.

Tony’s heart constricts, “She didn’t mean it Pete.” Tony pleads but it seems to fall on deaf ears.

Peter shrinks into himself, “She did.” Peter says.

“It’s fine!” Peter affirms, probably noticing Tony tensing. Tony shoots him a bewildered look to which Peter sheepishly admits, “I’m some random kid she barely knows who her father invited to stay over for a weekend and spend most of his time with—she’s not wrong to feel upset, she’s your kid, I’m just…” he lets the sentence die off.

Tony frowns, shaking his head. “You don’t deserve to be treated like that, you’re family too. I know I didn’t tell you this enough when you—before the snap, but you’re my kid too Peter—if you want to be.” Tony breathes out hopefully.

Peter tenses slightly before turning to look at Tony, “I don’t, I mean I—” He stutters out, brows creasing in confusion and Tony smiles.

“You don’t have to decide anything right now, I’m just letting you know. I’m gonna do better by you Pete, those five years—they were so hard. I don’t want you to think you’re just some random kid to me okay?”

Peter nods, smiling softly and Tony pats his shoulder, standing up before walking out the door.

That night they decide to do movie night when Morgan goes to bed, they all sit on the couch, snacks on the coffee table as Tony concedes to watching Lord of The Rings. They make it an hour in before they’re interrupted by the sound of shuffling feet.

Morgan shuffles into the lounge, catching sight of the TV still being on before her gaze wanders to Peter and Tony sitting tightly together and Pepper lounges out on the other side of the couch with her feet on Peter’s lap.

She frowns before scrambling towards Tony, hands on his knees as she pouts. “Daddy, wanna sit with you.” She pleads. Tony smiles softly, shifting closer to Peter to make place for Morgan who frowns and shakes her head.

“I want to sit on that side!” she complains, sounding close to stomping her foot. Tony feels Peter tense as his eyes leave the screen to meet Morgan’s heated glare.

Before Tony can decide, Peter launches himself off the couch, yawning fakely. “S’alright Mr. Stark, I’m pretty tired—I’ll probably just head to bed.” Peter excuses himself, walking towards the stairs.

“What? No, Peter—C’mon it’s your choice kid!” Tony pleads but not moving as Morgan situates herself where Peter once was with a content smile.

Peter shakes his head, “It’s alright, you can change it.”

Pepper watches the two of them with a small frown but otherwise doesn’t intervene. Peter decides to walk to his room without any further comment but hears as Tony and Pepper talk in hushed whispers as Morgan loudly proclaims to watch a Disney movie.

Peter falls asleep feeling as if he’s still under that building after homecoming, the aching pain in his chest feels as if he’s just lost something he never knew he had in the first place.

He doesn’t even realise he’s crying until his pillow starts to soak from the saline, his body shaking in small sobs as his hearing picks up the sound of Tony, Pepper and Morgan laughing as they continue to watch the film.

That same night, Tony opens Peter’s door to say goodnight and frowns deeply when he notices the tear tracks on his skin. Pressing a small kiss to Peter’s forehead, he walks out of the room with a heavy heart.

The following morning, Peter leaves. He had planned to stay until noon but under the untrustworthy gaze of a certain five-year-old and the hesitant looks of his mentor, Peter feels unwanted.

He makes up an excuse that Ned and he have plans and that he had forgotten until now, trying so hard not to notice when Tony’s shoulders slump in disappointment (relief?).

He says his goodbyes to Morgan as quickly as he can and Pepper announces that she and Tony will walk him down until Morgan starts to say she feels sick, like she’s about to throw up and Peter can only watch as they both hastily tell him goodbye before dropping everything to dote on Morgan.

Peter knows he probably doesn’t have a right to feel angry, he’s not their kid. He barely even knows Pepper but for some reason it still stings, he’s dreamed about Mr Stark telling him that he’s more than just a charity case but what are words without actions to back them up?

So, Peter leaves and whatever goal Tony had in mind about him and Peter getting closer after the aforementioned weekend had left them both feelings further apart. Tony with a longing look towards the elevator that took Peter back to Queens and Peter with a sorrowful look at the building he once thought he would call home.