And Then There Is You

When Tony wakes up, he rolls over on the bed to face the window, the side that Peter is sleeping on. Only when he rolls over, he doesn’t feel Peter on the bed which isn’t totally usual as Peter moves around a lot in his sleep. 

He opens his eyes, squinting at the light and seeing that Peter is in fact not in bed. 

Tony looks to the bathroom, seeing the light off but the door open a crack. “Pete?” 

When he gets no response, Tony sighs and sits up on the bed, reaching for his phone and practically jumping out of bed once he sees that it’s already 9:37am. How? How the hell did he sleep in until almost 10am. He quickly gets out of bed, grabbing some clothes and goes into the bathroom to pee, brush his teeth and get dressed. 

When he walks downstairs, a little too quickly, he looks around for Peter. 

Obvious that he’s looking for someone, his father snorts. 

“Hey, dad. Where’s Peter?” 

“Your mom took him for a walk around the block about forty minutes ago. They should be back soon.” 

Tony groans. “A walk? Where? What time did they leave?” 

His dad goes back to his newspaper and Tony wants to rip it out of his hands. “They left forty minutes ago. Every morning your mother goes for an hour-long walk around the block. She must have taken Peter on the same walk.” 

Tony accepts that he won’t be seeing his son for another twenty minutes and settles on making himself a coffee and taking it to the living room where he sits on the couch, answering some emails on his phone, not even trying to make small talk with his dad. 

After twenty minutes pass and they still aren’t back, Tony begins to get anxious but before he can do anything about it, Howard folds his newspaper and looks to Tony. 

“Tony, will you be including Peter with your meetings when he comes of age?” 

“When he’s 18 and technically an adult, no. He’s still going to be a child at 18 and I want him to go to college and hang out with his friends. Not sit in on four hour long board meetings every other day.” 

Howard doesn’t look impressed, as Tony expected. “You told your mother and I that he’s a genius. You even sent his IQ transcripts to us. There’s no reason for him to not go to college at 15. Follow in his old man’s footsteps.” 

“Dad, I didn’t want to go to college at 15. You wanted that for me and I didn’t have a choice.” 

“It was what was best for you, Antonio. Even if you didn’t know it at the time.” 

Tony groans. “I’m not having this conversation with you, dad. Again.” 

Howard doesn’t let it go however. “Tony. As your father, I knew what was best for you. You were bored in high school, that’s why you got sent to the principal's office every other day. MIT was the best decision. If you don’t believe me, how about you think of your first robot. Dum-E? Hmm?” 

Although his father does have a point there, Howard still doesn’t know just how hard going to college at 15 really was. “Peter’s not going to college at 15, dad. That’s not your decision, it’s mine.” 

“Not just any college. MIT.” 

“Dad. He’s not going to college at 15. That’s two years from now. Absolutely not.” He pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to not yell. “I was three years younger than everyone there. I wanted to fit in so I went to all the college parties I could get into and everyone else was drinking, so I did too. Then everyone found out who my parents were and what my last name was and they all wanted to be friends with me and I thought oh cool, I’m so popular. But of course I was too young to see that they just wanted to use me. Losing my virginity to a girl who was 21 while I was 16 probably wasn’t the best idea, but I didn’t know any better. And I’d be an imbecile if I let Peter go through that.” 

Howard stays silent for a few moments then reaches forward to grab the mug on the table. “Well, don’t tell your mother you were having sex at 16.” 

Tony rolls his eyes. That isn’t the point of what he was saying. “I’m pretty sure she knows. That’s why she was asking me to raise Peter differently.” 

Howard leans back, digging his eyes into Tony’s soul it feels like. “She told me. You better listen to her. I’m not going to read in the newspaper that my grandson is a playboy or getting into drugs.” 

It’s a threat. Tony knows that. 

He scuffs. “You won’t be because I’m his father. Not you.” 

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” 

“It means that I’m not going to send my underage son to college when he’s clearly not ready. If Peter grows bored in school, then he and I will discuss where to go next. But he isn’t even out of elementary school yet, dad. Stop trying to force him to grow up too.” 

“I don’t think you realize just how much pressure is on that boy’s shoulders, Tony.” Howard growls. “Why do you think I was praying so desperately for you to have a son? Then you tell me that you’re adopting a boy and I was over the moon.” 

Tony stares at him. “But…?” 

“But you aren’t taking this serious enough. That boy is a Stark now and that comes with a lot of responsibility that I don’t think you understand.” 

“He’s thirteen years old, dad! He literally just turned thirteen six days ago. I’m not going to talk to him about inheriting my company when he’s older when he’s dealing with the loss of his Aunt and now adjusting to this new life. I was just his mentor. I went from having him for a few hours a week at my house, feeding him pizza and ice cream as a treat because I didn’t have to deal with the hyperactive child since I’d just drop him off at his house later. But now, I’m his dad and he’s my responsibility and my responsibility only. So don’t talk to me about making him my next heir to Stark Industries and putting that responsibility on him now.” 

Tony runs a hand through his messy hair after that rant. Damn. It feels good though. He needed to say that to his dad. 

Howard surprisingly didn’t interrupt either but he definitely doesn’t look impressed now. 

“You adopted him. That was your decision-” 

“Fuck, dad. I’m not saying I regret adopting him. He’s my child. Making him my son is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I love him more than I thought was possible.” Tony sighs. “You keep missing my points of everything I’m saying.” 

“I just want you to consider talking to Peter about what this means for him. What it means for him now that he’s a Stark and the son of one of, if not the most powerful man in the entire world. That puts a target right on the top of his head and I hope you know what that means, Tony.” 

Tony does know and it scares him every day. He calms down a bit despite his heart beating so quickly now. “I do know what it means. I’ve already had that conversation with him.” 

It was hard. Having to tell his son that he can’t trust anyone he doesn’t know, and not even the people he does know, Peter didn’t understand why he couldn’t go to the bathroom by himself in the restaurant when he used to go by himself with May. 

It was difficult but Tony explained to him that that’s his life now and that it was going to be very different. 

Howard looks a bit sad too now. It’s just the life they live. “Well… I’m sorry that’s a conversation you had to have with him. I am. It’s really hard and I can’t imagine how hard it must be for Peter who may not understand everything yet.” 

Tony genuinely appreciates his father saying that. It feels good to hear him sympathize for once. “Yeah… he’s still learning to understand what it means now and still doesn’t know why people are so fascinated with us shopping in Target together but… he’ll get used to it. He has no choice but to.” 

“It’s unfortunate. But it comes with the life.” 

Tony hums. He’s relieved to hear the front door opening because he’s so done with this conversation now. He turns around to look down the hallway, waiting for Peter to run around the corner. 

“Peter?” 

Tony smiles when he hears running and then he spots Peter jumping into the doorway and freezes when he sees him. “Hi, buddy.” 

“Dad!” Peter runs over to him, instead of running around the couch, he hugs his father from behind and throws himself over the couch, falling into his dads lap. “I went for a walk with grandma.” 

Tony pulls away from the sweaty boy, seeing melted chocolate on his cheeks. “Yeah? How was it?” 

“Good! We-we walked all the way down the street! And at the end of the street, we talked to a really old guy who didn’t speak any English and grandma told me to say hi I’m Peter in Italian then I pet his dog. His dogs name was Bella. It’s the same name as one of the girls in my class, but I don’t think she’s Italian. Then me and grandma walked down a path to the beach and she said it’s a secret pathway that only she knows about. And I asked her if I can show you and she even said yes!” 

“Wow.” 

“And then-then-and then,” 

“Take a breath.” 

“And-and then we walked down to the beach! And I saw three fish in the ocean. One was blue and the other were green.” 

Maria hands Peter some water in his blue cup which he takes a sips on the straw greedily. Tony uses this time when Peter’s too busy to speak, to wipe the chocolate off his face. He turns to his mom. “How much chocolate did you give him, mom?” 

She smiles. “Oh… it’s Italian chocolate, honey. He loves it.” 

“How much chocolate did grandma give you, Pete?” 

Peter pulls the straw from his mouth and gasps for air. “A whole bar.” 

“Mom.” 

Maria shrugs. “What? He looked at me with the cutest puppy dog eyes, Antonio. I can’t say no to him.” 

Tony shakes his head. “Mamma, è già abbastanza iperattivo senza un'intera tavoletta di cioccolato.” (Mom, he's hyperactive enough without a whole bar of chocolate) 

Peter grins at him. “cioccolato.” (Chocolate) 

Whereas Maria coos, Howard cheers. “Ah, that’s my boy! Can you say, gestirò l'azienda di mio padre e sarò inarrestabile.” (I will run my father's company and I will be unstoppable)

Tony rolls his eyes at what his father said, knowing it’s a smack at him from their earlier conversation. 

Peter opens his mouth to speak then stops, smiling shyly. “Go slower.” 

Tony just kisses him on the cheek. “No. Drink your water. Your face is all red and you’re all sweaty.” 

“It’s super duper hot out.” He points out, letting Tony brush the curls off his face. 

“Did grandma put sunscreen on you?” 

Peter nods and Maria slaps Tony’s arm. “Of course I put sunscreen on my baby. I’m not going to let him burn. While you were sleeping in, Peter and I made waffles for breakfast and ate them on the beach. Then we got dressed, put sunscreen on and went for a walk.” 

Tony does appreciate that. The look he gives him mom lets her know that she knows it too. 

“So,” Maria says, “how about we drive into town and go to the farmer’s market there? There’s even a barn with fresh fruit and veggies and even cakes.” She says, tickling underneath Peter’s chin. 

Tony checks the time. It’s just after 11. “That sounds like fun. What time was he awake at, mom?” 

“Half past seven.” 

Wow. Tony really did sleep in. 

He kisses Peter’s temple and stands up, letting Peter slide off him. “Alright. You need to go pee and then we’ll get going.” 

“I don’t need to go.” He tries to walk away but Tony scoops him up. “Ahhhh!” He laughs, getting turned upside down. 

“The farmers market is a forty minute drive away. You need to at least try.” He explains and walks Peter into the hallway bathroom, placing him on his feet. “Did you go poop today at all?” 

“No.” 

“Okay.” Tony was a bit worried since as of today, it’s been five days since he’s gone and he knows he’s constipated but the last thing Tony wants to do is take Peter to a doctor here. But might just have to though. “Can you tell me if you need to go? Even if we’re out.” 

Peter nods. “But I don’t need to.” 

“Okay. Just go pee.” He straightens up and shuts the door to give Peter privacy then goes into the kitchen to prepare some snacks for the car ride. “Did you take off his pull-up this morning or did he?” 

His mother dries her hands on the dish cloth, looking at him. “He did after we ate breakfast. I peeked into your guys’ bedroom this morning and saw him sitting up in bed. I wanted to let you sleep so I snuck him out.” 

“Okay. Thanks for spending time with him. I know he really loves it.” 

“Don’t thank me for spending time with my baby, Antonio.” 

Tony chuckles. “I’m your baby. He’s my baby.” 

“Hmm. Yes. But I miss chubby baby legs and innocent conversations that mean nothing but are so important to them.” 

Tony smiles. Even though Peter’s so skinny, he still does have some of that baby chub on him. “And his cheeks… so squishable.” 

Maria laughs, leaning against Tony. “I think I might just have to take him from you.” 

“Nice try, mom.” He puts some snacks into a bag with some waters and juice then sees Peter walk into the kitchen, walking straight up to him. “Hey. You ready to go?” 

Peter nods then lifts up his shirt, turning around to show his dad the back of his pants that are wet. “I accidentally peed on it. Just a bit.” 

“Oh.” Tony sees the top of his pants are wet. “That’s why you have to push yourself down in the toilet when you’re sitting.” He takes his hand in his and leads him away. “Let’s go change then we’ll go.” 

After they go upstairs to change, Peter runs down before Tony even manages to get halfway down the stairs then he sprints out the front door, not even grabbing his shoes so Tony picks them up for him, getting on his own shoes. 

“I had to bribe him with chocolate to get his shoes on today for our walk.” 

Tony looks to his mom. “Oh. That’s why he had chocolate for breakfast.” He isn’t actually upset, but it does make Peter extremely hyper then he passes out and sleeps. 

“It was after breakfast.” She let’s him know and they both walk outside. “Does he not stand up to pee, Antonio? I know you used to be scared to stand and pee until you were about seven-” 

“Mom.” Tony laughs at the memory he forgot about until now. “No. He’s not scared. He hasn’t pooped in five days so he probably just tried to again. But his aim is awful, so I’d prefer it if he sits if you ask me.” 

He walks up behind Peter and ruffles his hair. “Hop in.” 

“Are you going to sit in the back with me?” He asks, climbing into the truck and sitting in his booster seat. 

“Buckle up.” He encourages him. “And yeah, I can if you want m-” 

“Sorry, Antonio, but I beat you to it.” 

Tony isn’t surprised. He chuckles and shakes his head fondly then walks around the truck to get into the passenger seat, grabbing a package of goldfish and handing it back to Peter. “Here, bud, let me know if you’re thirsty.” 

His father pulls out of the driveway and looks down at the bag Tony packed. “Did you pack the whole kitchen and wardrobe in there?” 

“No, just some snacks and some extra clothes for Peter.” He doesn’t think it’s too much but if fatherhood has taught him anything so far is that you can never be too prepared. He leans back to look at him, seeing the goldfish poured into one of the cup holders and him holding out one to his grandmother. “Are you sharing, Petey?” 

“Uh huh. Here?” Tony takes two goldfish from him. “Ones for grandpa.” 

“Wow, thanks, bubs.” 

Peter kept them entertained for most of the car ride, telling stories about nothing in particular and even making them play a game of eye spy with them that he won every single round by cheating. 

However when they were ten minutes away, Peter suddenly grabbed between his legs and whined. “I need to go pee, dad. Badly.” 

Turning around, Tony sees his pose. “Can you hold it until we get there? We’re…” He looked at the gps. “ten minutes away.” 

“Noo. I need to go. It’s an emergency.” 

“Okay.” Sighing, Tony looks at his father. “Can you pull over up ahead? The roads aren’t busy so I’ll just take him to the grass over there.” 

One minute later, the truck pulls over and Tony gets out first and opens the back door on his moms side. “Pete, no. Don’t open your door because the cars are on this side. Climb out this way.” 

Getting out of his car seat, Peter climbs over his grandma and reaches for Tony who lifts him onto his feet and leads him into the grass. “It feels like a scavenger hunt.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Do you think there’s snakes in the grass, dad?” 

Tony stops by a bush. “I sure hope not. Go pee.” 

Peter pulls himself out, looking up at his dad. “How will I wash my hands after?” 

“Seriously?” Laughing, Tony says, “buddy you never cared about washing your hands when there is a sink, now you care? Just go. It’s okay.” 

Tony looks back at the road, hoping no one recognizes him and snaps a picture so he turns to look down at Peter then feels bad for literally just watching him so he awkwardly looks towards the forest, only looking back down at Peter when he tells him he’s done. 

“Perfect. Let’s get going before everyone buys all the cookies.” 

“But then we can make more cookies at home even, dad.” 

Ruffling his hair, Tony waits for him to climb into the truck then shuts the door and climbs into the front seat again, looking back. “Sit in your car seat.” 

Peter shakes his head. 

“Peter. Sit in it and put your seatbelt on or we’re not going.” 

“I want to sit in the middle seat.” He says, trying to tug his car seat over but it won’t budge. “Grrrrrr!” 

“Peter. No, it’s hooked up to that seat. Sit in it.” 

Peter and him stare at each other for a few moments then Tony makes a move to get out of the car but Peter is already in his seat, getting his seatbelt on. 

“Stay in there now until I tell you to get out.” He says in a firm voice then turns back around to face the road. He doesn’t want to ruin the trip by being strict with Peter but Peter’s therapist had said how important it is for Tony to be strict with him when he needs to, even if Peter doesn’t respond well to it. 

Tony’s always still scared, deep down, that Peter will hate him but his therapist had reassured Tony that being strict and telling him no makes a child feel cared for and loved and in return makes them feel safe as well. 

Plus if there’s anything Tony’s learnt too, is that Peter bounces back in seconds from a bad mood or a tantrum. At least that’s the good part of it. 

Once they pull into the market, his father parks the truck and shuts it off. Usually, Peter would run out but he stays seated, looking at Tony. 

He gets out of the truck and walks around, opening up Peter’s side door. He feels bad for the pout on his face. 

“Am I gonna stay in here the whole time?”

Tony shakes his head. “No, you’ll suffocate from the heat.” 

“Oh.” 

“I want you to come with us and have fun. But I also need you to behave and listen.” He pauses to make sure Peter heard him and actually is listening. “There’s a lot of strangers around and most if not all only speak Italian so you need to make sure I can see you at all times. Do you understand that?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Okay.” Tony looks at him for a moment, really praying that Peter was telling the truth. “Then let’s go find some fresh strawberries. Maybe grandma will make some jam with you later. She’s really good at it.” He reaches over him to unbuckle him from the car seat, lifting him out. 

Peter looks around. The farmers market is quite literally on a farm with a large barn house in the middle with the cakes, chocolates and pastries inside. Tony remembers it exactly how it was when he was a child and came here. 

Peter takes his hand, pointing to something in the distance. “What’s that?” 

“What?” 

“There? It looks like… a giant apple. But what’s it say?” 

Tony sees where Peter is pointing, spotting the giant fake apple sitting outside the front of the barn. “It says mercato degli agricoltori dei prati moo moo, which says,” 

Peter starts laughing as soon as Tony says moo moo, “That’s silly. But what’s it say?” 

“I was getting there. It says moo moo meadows farmers market.” He tells him, walking them around the truck to join his parents on the other side. 

“Peter, honey, help me find the strawberries. I think they’re inside.” She grabs Peter’s hand from Tony and pulls him ahead, grabbing a shopping cart at the front and disappearing into the store before Tony can even say anything. 

He just shakes his head, smiling fondly. He had some doubts that Peter would find it difficult to open up to his parents. Given the fact that Peter’s a shy boy and was still calling him Mr. Stark up until a month before May passed away then it was Tony for less than a month before moving onto dad. Tony loves being called dad the most. But watching the relationship grow between his mother and son is so special to see. 

Although his dad had yet to make an effort after yesterday's incident, Tony didn’t even expect too much from him to begin with.  

He steps foot into the barn turned into a store and spots Peter climbing on the shelf to reach a bag of carrots. Of course his kid would do something like that. He joins them in the corner and plucks Peter off the shelf, placing him on his feet. 

“Don’t. I need to reach up there.” He goes to climb again but Tony just puts his foot on the spot Peter was using to climb up. “Dad. Move your foot.” 

“Peter, you can’t be climbing in the farmers market. This isn’t a playground.” He grabs his arm to pull him down then leans over him from behind, bending over him. “Can you please listen?” 

“I am listening.” He walks away when Tony unwraps his arms from around him and spots the strawberries, running up to them. “Dad! I found them. Can I eat one now?” 

Tony tries to resist grabbing Peter and telling him once again to listen, which includes not running away in the busy store but he doesn’t want to ruin his excitement. At least not until he absolutely has to talk to Peter again. 

He walks up beside him and opens up one of the containers. “Tell me these are the best strawberries you’ve ever had.” 

Taking one out, Peter takes a bite, grinning. “Yummy! Yeah, I think they’re better tasting than the New York ones.” 

Tony takes one out and shoves the whole thing in his mouth. He has to figure out a way to take crate loads home without them rotting. He turns around and places the container in the cart then grabs two more. “Pete, can you put four in?” 

“Actually I’m going to need six to make jam. After you help me make some, honey, you can help me drop it off at our neighbours house.” Maria says to Peter, tickling under his chin. “You should come as well, Antonio. I’m sure seeing the Giordano’s again will be nice. And I know they’d love to see you as a father now.” 

Tony hums, putting another strawberry in his mouth but turns around when someone walks up to him. 

“Tony Stark! Wow, non posso credere che sei davvero tu. posso avere una foto?” (I can't believe it's really you. can I have a photo) The man says, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He must be around Tony’s age and even wearing a shirt with an Iron Man symbol on it. What are the chances? Weird. 

Peter turns to look over, not understanding what he was saying but able to pick up on ‘Tony Stark’ and ‘foto’. He looks at his dad, knowing how much it angers him to have people come up to them in public but sometimes it just can’t be stopped. 

“Cosa certa.” (Sure thing) He smiles for the selfie, turning around so Peter isn’t in the background of the picture. That’s the last thing he wants, some random person having his son's face on their phone to do god knows what with it. 

The man looks at the picture on his phone and turns to walk away but then his eyes land on Peter and he marches towards him. “Tony Starks figlio! Stai facendo una vacanza in famiglia in italia? Come è stato finora?” (Tony Stark's son! Are you taking a family holiday in Italy? How has it been so far?) 

Peter looks to Tony for help. He hates when random people come up to talk to him in a language that he can actually understand but he has no idea what this man is saying. “I-I don’t know. Umm…” 

The man turns to Tony, eagerly. “Non parla italiano? Puoi tradurre, Iron Man?” (Does he not speak Italian. Can you translate, Iron Man?)

Tony reaches forward and pulls Peter’s arm closer to himself, putting himself between the man and Peter. He can already see a few stares coming their way and whispered talking. “No non sto traducendo, siamo qui con la nostra famiglia, quindi puoi lasciarci essere.” (No I'm not translating, we are here with our family so you can leave us be.) 

He doesn’t give the man time to respond and instead pulls Peter out of the way and walks over to more produce, feeling less excited to be here now with all eyes on him and especially Peter. Of course it isn’t as busy as New York, he can’t even go anywhere without someone approaching him, especially when he’s with Peter but it has died down. 

He had hoped that no one would recognize or even care about who he is here but apparently not. 

Peter looks annoyed and uncomfortable so Tony pushes the curls out of his eyes, knowing the physical touch always helps. “Don’t worry about him. You know he can’t hurt you.” 

Peter nods. “What did he say?” 

Tony doesn’t want to lie but it’s also not important. “He just wanted to ask you a few questions and wanted me to translate for him.” 

“Oh. Why?” 

Tony tries to ignore the fact that he’s having this conversation with Peter in a farmers market. Thankfully barely anyone spoke English here so he doesn’t have to worry about people listening in. 

Peter is still having such a difficult time understanding why people come up to them. It’s hard to explain without scaring the boy. “Because some people want to know everything about some people’s lives. He just wanted to know how you are liking Italy and probably a few more questions after that.” 

“Oh. But-but then why can’t I answer him?” 

“Do you want to?” He asks, surprised at the fact that Peter seems almost willing to talk to him. 

But he shakes his head. “No. I don’t know him. His face looked funny.” 

“Peter.” Tony can’t help but laugh softly. “I’m glad you don’t want to. It’s none of his or anyone else’s business, alright? Just mine, yours and grandma and grandpas. And then you can tell Pepper all about it when we get back home.” 

Seemingly okay with that answer, Peter nods and hugs him, pulling away and walking over to his grandmother as she waits a few feet from them. “Are you ready to continue shopping? I need you to help me find broccoli, lettuce and some tomatoes.” 

Tony follows behind them, keeping a close eye on Peter and adding some fruits to the cart as he walks along. He smiles at his father when he walks up to him, turning back to grab some more tangerines. “Pete loves these. It was the only thing I could get him to eat after his Aunt died.” 

“Seems like it’s the only thing you’ve fed him since, he’s skin and bones, Tony.” 

Tony rolls his eyes. “I feed him. You think I’m just starving my son. He eats. He’s just naturally skinny and being small for his age doesn’t help either but he’s healthy so that’s all that matters.” 

“Maybe get some extra tangerines. He can nibble on it at dinner.” 

Tony ignores his fathers remarks and places them in the cart, joining Peter’s side. Kneeling down next to him, he sees the cookies that Peter is eyeing in the glass box. “Did grandma say you could get one?” 

“Uh huh. She says I can pick out four.” 

“Four? Wow, aren’t you a lucky boy.” He wraps an arm around Peter’s waist, pointing at one of the cookies with red icing. “That one looks yummy.” 

“Yeah. I’ll get that one for you. What one do you think grandma will like?” 

Tony hums, “I don’t know. Do you know her favourite colour?” 

“Ummm… purple?” 

“Yeah, clever boy.” 

“But… there’s only a purple cake.” 

“Do you want to get that for her?” 

Peter nods. “What should I get grandpa?” 

After helping Peter with his choices, Tony stands up and gets the attention of one of the workers who must be in her early twenties, with long blonde hair tied in a tight ponytail. “Posso ordinare?” (can I order) 

She smiles, walking over to Tony behind the glass. “Cosa posso fare per te, Mr. Stark?” (What can I do for you, Mr. Stark) 

Tony isn’t surprised that she knows him but he is grateful that she doesn’t seem to care and just looks happy to serve him cookies. Peter lifts his arms up for him so Tony picks him up, settling him on his hip. “Want to tell her?” 

Smiling shyly, Peter points at the purple cake first. “That one please. It’s-it’s for my grandma. She likes purple.” 

The girl at the counter looks to Tony, a shy smile on her face as well. “Mi dispiace signore. Non lo capisco... il mio inglese non è molto buono…” (I'm sorry sir. I don't understand it... my English is not very good…)

Tony smiles. He understands that. “Pete, I’m going to order because she doesn’t understand you.” He kisses Peter’s temple when he puts his pointer finger in his mouth to chew on. “Prenderò la torta viola. E un biscotto blu a forma di dinosauro, un biscotto rosso, poi uno di quei biscotti che sembrano una palma. Grazie.” (I'll take the purple cake. And a blue dinosaur cookie, a red cookie, then one of those cookies that look like a palm tree. Thank you) 

She happily gets everything that Tony asks for and puts them into a paper bag, holding it out for Peter to grab. Tony leans closer so he can reach it. “Pete, can you say grazie to her.” 

Peter smiles. “Grazie.” (Thank you) 

“Good job, Petey. Hand it to grandpa and say, “indovina qual è il tuo.” (guess which one is yours) 

He walks over to his parents, hoisting Peter up a bit higher on his hip when he starts to slip. Then he urges Peter to say it again, whispering it into his ear. Peter grins, holding the bag out. “Indovina… qual è il tuo.” He turns to his dad. “Is that right?” 

Even though Peter has the most adorable accent when he speaks, it’s almost perfect. He kisses his cheek but Howard looks as if Christmas came early. 

“Yes, it was perfect, Peter. Perfetto!” (Perfect) He leans forward and ruffles the boy's hair, causing Peter to blush and lean his cheek against his dad’s. 

“What did I say?” 

Maria laughs, her eyes sparkling when she looks at Peter. “So adorable.” 

Tony hates himself a bit for getting Peter to speak Italian to get his father to give the boy some positive attention but as long as Peter knows that’s why he did that. 

“Hmmm. Penso che sia la... sedia a sdraio. Ho ragione, Peter?” (think it's the... beach chair. Am I right Peter) 

Peter wraps his arms around his dads neck. It’s frustrating not understanding what they’re saying but he loves all the attention he gets when he speaks Italian. “I don’t know.” 

Sensing a bit of his discomfort, Tony bounces him a bit. “You choose a beach chair for him. Because he always sits on it… he guessed right. Say si.” 

“Si.” (Yes) 

Howard takes the cookie out and takes a big bite, smiling brightly at Peter but Peter looks away, leaning his head against Tony’s shoulder and looking at the woman taking a picture behind Tony. He looks into the camera, knowing how upset his father would be if he knew. 

Then, Peter yawns and his eyes look to the doorway, seeing two men taking a picture of him with a professional camera. He turns his head to look the other way. 

They go to the cashier to pay, Peter leaning his head back down on his father’s shoulder, listening but not understanding the conversation held in Italian the whole time. 

Once they’re back outside, Peter squints his eyes at the light and feels that Tony’s going to place him on his feet so he whines, wrapping his arms around his dads neck. “Noo. Carry me.” 

“Let’s go into the shade and eat our cookies. Are you hungry?” 

Peter snaps his head to see the two men again. They’re both dressed in casual clothing but they’re clearly more interested in him and his dad rather than actually shopping at the farmers market. He sees them lift their camera up again then he turns his head around, looking at his grandma. “Are you going to eat your cake?” 

“I will. I think they’ll taste good with strawberries, do you think so?” 

Peter nods and when he’s placed on a picnic bench, he doesn’t protest this time and instead looks back at where the two men just were but sees that they’re gone so he takes his cookie out of the paper bag and takes a bite, humming at the taste. “That’s the best cookie I’ve ever had.” 

“It’s that good, huh?” 

Peter nods, taking another bite and looking at his grandma who is eating a piece of her cake. She smiles at him, patting the seat next to her but instead of getting up to walk around, Peter climbs on the table and sits on it. 

“Here you go, honey.” Maria holds a fork full of cake out for him and when Peter leans in, she feeds it to the boy. “Better than your cookie?” 

Peter chews it, nodding but snaps his head around when the hairs on his neck stand up, sending a shiver down his spine. 

Tony places a hand on his back, causing Peter to flinch. “Hey. You okay?” 

Peter’s eyes search for the potential threat and when they land on the same two men from before, he locks eyes with one of them and looks into the camera as they snap a bunch of pictures then he looks at his father. “They’re taking pictures.” 

“Who is?” 

Peter points straight at them. “They are.” 

Looking in the direction Peter points in, Tony immediately spots the two men who just so happened to be carrying around a professional camera. That means that someone either called them to tell them he was there with his family, or it just so happened to be a coincidence… 

Tony tries not to let it ruin their outing. He drags Peter off the table and sits him on his lap so his back is towards the two men and since the only thing that’s in front of them is cows, Tony thinks they’re fine. “Don’t worry about them. They won’t come over here.” 

“I don’t like it.” Peter admits, a pout forming on his face so Tony pinches his cheeks, forcing his lips apart then kisses his temple. 

“But you know what? We can go inside the actual farm and see some animals. Would you like that?” Tony knows Peter will, he’s an animal lover after all. 

Tony can’t count the amount of calls he got from Happy about Peter excitedly rambling about some cat he saved from a tree, found in a dumpster or rescued off the streets. It was adorable so Tony gave the kid his number and only regretted it slightly at the time when Peter started calling him almost every hour throughout the day, trying so hard to have a conversation and get attention from him. Tony hates himself for who he was back then, feeling awful for how distant he was from Peter. 

He brushes the curls from his eyes, looking at his perfect side profile and his button nose with tiny freckles lining his cheeks and nose, perfectly sun kissed. Oh, how things worked out so perfectly for them. 

He kisses his cheek again when Peter screeches. “Let’s go then. Up you get.” 

Maria puts the cake and half eaten cookie back into the paper bag and quickly races ahead to walk beside Peter who somehow already knows the way into the farm and doesn’t feel the need to cling onto Tony’s side anymore. 

Tony walks behind him in the distance, keeping his eyes on Peter but also everyone around them, always looking for potential threats. His father appears at his side, bringing up their earlier conversation. 

“He needs to be used to people taking pictures of him and approaching him, Tony. You can’t hide him from the public eye forever.” 

Tony gives his father a challenging look. “No? And why can’t I?” 

“Because, Tony, with who you are, everyone wants to know more about Peter. I read the articles,” He tells him. “I know that there’s… speculation about Peter being your actual son that you either just found out about or you kept hidden until recently.” 

“I already gave a statement on that, saying that Peter is my adopted son. If they choose not to believe that, I don’t care.” He scuffs. What’s the big deal about it, his father is just picking at straws. 

“I’m just saying, Peter needs to get used to being in the spotlight. That’s going to be his life now, as the son of Tony Stark.” 

Tony hates how right his father is. “He… he just doesn’t understand yet, dad. I grew up with paparazzi, reporters, having random people come up to me, I never had to get used to it. He’s a child, dad, this is all so new for him so it’s not surprising that he doesn’t like it and isn’t used to it.” 

“Getting used to it and not liking it are two different things.” 

“I’m used to it but still don’t like it. How can anyone like getting followed wherever they go and have unconsented pictures taken of them.” He rubs a hand over his eyes, looking behind him and spotting the two men following them. As expected. “It doesn’t matter. They won’t approach Peter and the pictures they took of us, they can’t post it without blurring his face. I have a lawsuit ready for any media outlet who does.” 

Howard doesn’t say anything for a few moments. Tony thinks they’re done talking about it but then he speaks again. “You still need to teach Peter to be used to the spotlight that shines on him when he goes out. What happens when he wants to go to the movies with his friends alone?” 

Tony shakes his head. “Whether I was famous or not, I’m not letting my thirteen year old son go to the movies alone. I’ll drop them off and pick them up and have Happy stay close by the whole time. But he’s not going alone.” 

“You keep him on a short leash.” 

“No. No, you don’t get to say that. We live in New York City. I know you know all the creeps that live there. He’s a child. My child and I’m not going to risk anything happening to him.” 

Tony hates that he even has to tell his father this. It just proves how wild his father let him run as a child. Although times were very different back then, with the only media being in the newspapers or on the actual news. Now it’s just a click of the fingers away. 

He walks up behind Peter and places his hands on his shoulders, leaning down to talk to him. “Do you want to feed the cows or pigs first?” He asks, wanting a distraction. 

“All of them.” 

“We have to order food pellets for them first, buddy. Which ones?” 

“Ummm…” Peter turns around to look, chewing on his finger that Tony pulls from his mouth. 

“Please don’t do that. Your hands are dirty.” 

Peter ignores him. “Cows!” 

Tony takes his hand and walks over to the stand, pulling Peter to stand in front of him. “Can you say, cibo per mucche per favore.” (cow feed please) 

Peter gives his infamous shy smile before speaking softly. “Cibo per mucche… per favore?” He turns to Tony to make sure it was good enough and he gives him a hair ruffle, making him grin proudly. 

The old man winks at him. “Carino capretto, un mangime per mucche in arrivo. hai mai dato da mangiare a una mucca?” (Cute kid, a cow feed on the way. Have you ever fed a cow) 

Peter looks up at his dad, feeling a bit uncomfortable when someone speaks to him and he doesn’t understand. 

Tony thankfully answers for him. “No, prima volta.” (Nope, first time)

The man grins, licking his lips and handing the bucket over. “Allora meglio prendersela con calma, le prime volte sono sempre scomode.” (So better take it easy, the first few times are always uncomfortable) The man says, causing a shiver to run down Tony’s spine. What a weird fucking thing to say. For once, he’s grateful Peter can’t understand him. 

Tony gives the man a weird look then takes the bucket and places his hand on Peter’s shoulder, guiding him away from the stand and over to his parents. 

Not wanting to dwell on it, Tony doesn’t bring it up and instead, he hands Peter the bucket of cow feed and guides him over to the gate. 

“How do I call them over?” Peter asks Tony, looking up at him as he digs into the food bucket, playing with the cow feed in his palm. 

“I think if you just hold it out, they’ll come to you. Put your hand through the fence.” 

Peter hesitates. “Do… do they bite?” 

Tony has to remember that Peter’s never seen a cow before in person. It’s not his fault, he was born and raised in New York and it isn’t like there’s cows roaming freely. The only time Peter has seen a cow was on the drive up but then again, that was from a safe distance. 

But Tony honestly doesn’t know the answer to Peter’s reasonable question. “If you hold your hand flat out, then they’ll just lick it off.” 

A bit reluctantly, Peter does as he’s told and holds his hand out, pulling away and dropping the pellets when a cow walks over to him, trying to stick his face through the fence. 

Peter jumps away, laughing nervously. 

“Tuo figlio vuole entrare a dare da mangiare alle mucche?” (Does your child want to go in and feed the cows) 

Tony looks at the man then leans down to translate for Peter. “Do you want to go inside to feed them? Look, there’s some other kids in there too.” 

Peter still looks hesitant but he grabs Tony’s hand and nods. “Will you come?” 

“Yeah, let’s go together.” Tony thanks the man and leads Peter in, stepping over the mud puddle and guiding Peter over it as well. 

He stops a bit off to the side, squatting down to be closer to Peter’s height. “Look, they’re hungry. Put your hand in and hold it out for them.” 

Peter does that, standing right beside his dad. “They’re big. Are they boys or girls?” 

Tony stands up fully now, gently encouraging Peter to step forward. “I don’t know, buddy.” 

Peter steps forward a few feet, looking back at his dad to make sure he’s still there and watching him then he looks over and sees two cows approaching him, looking eager to eat the food off his hands. 

One cow walks up to him and licks the food off his hand, causing Peter to giggle and reach into the bucket to grab more. The cows are towering over Peter and it gives Tony a bit of anxiety as he watches on. Sure, Tony has no doubts that Peter could lift the cow up but if that thing fell on top of him, it would surely crush him. 

“Look, dad, he’s eating it.” Peter excitedly says, reaching in to grab more but the second cow pushes the first one over, trying to get to the food and pushes forward, hitting Peter with his head and knocking him over, onto his butt, straight into a mud puddle. Peter screams, turning onto his stomach to crawl away, successfully getting covered fully in mud. 

Tony quickly rushes forward and picks Peter up by his arm but thankfully the cows just wanted the feed bucket since they no longer care about Peter. “Oh, buddy,” Tony tries not to laugh. “Are you okay?” 

Peter tries to brush the mud off of him but it doesn’t help. Then he laughs as he tries to move away from the cows. “Yeah… they knocked me over. I was just trying to feed them.” 

Tony laughs even harder now that he knows Peter isn’t hurt. “Yeah, I guess they were just super hungry. Come, let’s go find a hose.” He only half jokes as he takes Peter out of the cow pen, reassuring the worker that Peter’s fine and they aren’t mad. 

Howard seems to be finding it just as funny as Tony but Maria caresses the boy's face, the only clean part of him. “Oh, honey, are you okay?” 

“Uh huh. But… now I’m all dirty.” He says, as if it isn’t obvious then he shakes his arms, wanting to get clean. 

Although most of the mud is on his backside and hands, Tony still wants to change all his clothes. He brushes the curls off his face. “I’m going to go get his clothes from the car. Can you guys wait here with him.” 

Tony’s grateful that he packed so many clothes and even a towel. 

Peter watches his dad leave, sighing. “It’s gross feeling.” He leans down to try and clean his hands in the grass but it doesn’t do much so he stands up and begins to pull down his pants but his grandma stops him. 

“Peter, let’s just wait for your father. There’s too many people around for you to change now.” 

Peter doesn’t care. “No one’s looking anyways. It’s gross feeling.” He says again and tries to tug his pants down one more time but it’s sticking to his skin and it’s making the feeling of the dirty mud mixed with the hot sun shining down on them extremely uncomfortable so he stomps his feet, whimpering. 

“Honey. Your dad will be back soon. How about we go wait in the shade.” 

Instead, Peter throws himself to the ground, laying on the grass and begins crying, not liking the feeling on his body and the fact that he couldn’t even feed the cows. “I wanted ‘dem to be nice.” He cries, rubbing his eyes with a closed fist. “But ‘dare mean!” 

“Who is?” 

“The cows!” Peter sobs, laying on the grass and refusing to move for anyone. He looks up at his grandma and cries harder, wanting some comfort from someone. 

“Oh, ragazzo, (baby) I’m sorry. I think the cows were hungry. Do you want to go feed them again?” Maria asks, sitting down next to him on her knees and caressing his young face. 

“No!” 

Tony sees Peter lying on the ground and immediately sighs, knowing he’s crying before he can see or hear it for himself. He takes the bag over to them and kneels down next to him too. “Hey. What’s wrong?” 

Peter sucks in a shaky breath. “The cows… h-hate me.” He explains, rubbing his eyes and Tony immediately knows that he’s tired. When the rubbing of the eyes starts, that means Peter needs to go to sleep. He nods and takes the towel out of the bag. 

“Let’s get you cleaned up and go from there. How about you stand up?” He encourages and holds his hands out for Peter, helping him to his feet. 

“It’s stuck on me forever.” Peter cries. 

“What is?” 

“My pants!” 

Tony hands the towel to his mom. “Can you hold this up so I can change him?” 

“Of course. Do you need water to get the mud off?” 

“I have wipes and some water.” He brings Peter over to the shade as well as up against the wall so they’re now covered from all angles then he pulls off Peter’s shirt first. “Lift your arms.” 

“My arms are too tired.” 

“Peter. Lift them.” He sighs, finally pulling it over his head and tossing it on the ground for now. He then unbuttons his shorts and tugs them down, struggling since the thick mud has started to dry. “Step out now.” Using the wall for support, Peter steps out of his pants and underwear and looks between his legs. 

“It looks like poop. There’s too much mud.” 

Tony can’t help but laugh. “You’re lucky you didn’t get it in your hair then. That would be yucky.” He says, pulling out a water bottle and opening the lid then pouring it over Peter’s stomach and legs, causing him to yelp and back away. “What?” 

“That’s cold!” 

“Sorry. But we have to get the mud off or it’s going to be sticky.” He explains. “Turn around.” Peter doesn’t move so Tony takes his arm. “Turn around, Pete.” 

“Don’t put water. It’s cold.” 

Tony sighs and puts the water down then picks up the package of wipes. “Alright. Then I’ll use these. When we get home, you can go jump in the pool.” 

Maria peeks over the towel. “Or we can all go swimming in the ocean. The waves at this time of the day are perfect.” 

“Yeah, we can do that too.” Tony uses two wipes to clean his back, not finding it funny anymore. He only feels bad for the poor boy who all he wanted to do was feed the cows. He’d have to make it up to him. Tony grabs another wipe and uses it to clean his butt next, “Pete, stop clenching your butt, I’m trying to clean you.” Tony laughs, unable to help himself. 

Peter tries to move away however. “It feels weird.” 

“Why does it feel weird now? It’s the same wipes you have at home that we use.” He says, putting his hand down. 

Peter shrugs. “Cause it’s muddy not poop.” 

Tony laughs, laughing harder when Peter laughs with him. He loves being a dad, even if he’s currently wiping the mud out of someone’s butt, being a dad is the best thing that’s ever happened to him, and he wouldn’t change it for anything. 

He finishes up, taking a pull-up out of the bag, showing it to Peter. “Do you want to put one on so you can have a quick nap in the car?” 

Peter pushed it away. “No. I don’t need it. I’m not even tired.” 

Tony looks at him blankly. “Peter. Baby. I’m thinking that it’s a long car ride back so you might want to sleep.” 

Peter looks like he wants to protest but he doesn’t. He grabs onto the wall for support then lifts up his other hand to rub his eye but Tony grabs it before he does. 

He pulls a wipe out of the package and cleans his hand. “You were just touching yourself. Don’t touch your eye after.” He tosses the wipe on the floor after and opens the pull-up, holding it out for him to step into. 

“But… my hand was clean.” He whines, stepping into the pull-up. “Do-do you think the cows hate me now?” 

“No, buddy. I don’t think they hate you at all. I think they’re very happy that you fed them.” He reassures him as he grabs shorts from the bag, holding those out for him next and then a shirt. 

Peter has the kindest heart but that also means that he overthinks and gets anxious if someone might be upset with him… even if that someone is a cow. 

Something he had way before they met each other. 

Tony stands up and ruffles his hair. “Thanks, mom, we’re good now.” He takes the towel from her and picks up Peter’s muddy underwear and pants then wraps it in the towel, putting his shirt in the bag over it. 

“Do you feel better, Peter?” Maria asks, going to Peter’s side and pulling him in for a hug that Peter melts into. 

“Yeah. But-but I really wanted to feed the cows… now… now I can’t even do that cause they’ll try to eat me.” 

“Wouldn’t that be a turn of events.” Howard says from where he’s standing off to the side. 

“Dad.” Tony shakes his head at him and swings the bag over his shoulder, kneeling down in front of Peter. “Buddy, how about we go inside and get something special that you can pick out? You can get whatever you want.” 

“A present?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Okay!” He takes his dads hand and leads the man back to the store, jumping up the steps. “Where are they?” 

“We have to go upstairs. They’re kinda hidden but if you turn left and go straight, you’ll see it.” Peter goes right. “No. Other way. Left.” 

Going in the other direction, Peter lets go of his fathers hand and looks around. When his eyes land on the stairs, he runs towards them and points to a sign. “What’s that say?” 

“It says toy shop upstairs.” Tony translates for him. “Hold the railing please but let those people come down first.” 

“Oh.” Peter swings on the railing, watching the mom and a boy around Peter’s age walk down with a bag in his hands. 

“Vai al negozio di giocattoli?” (Are you going to the toy store)

Peter blinks at the boy. “I don’t know.” 

“Tell him si.” Tony tells Peter, smiling at hearing his cute accent every time he tries to speak Italian. Growing up, Tony’s parents made sure he was fluent in both English and Italian, making him speak strictly Italian in public in Italy but only English at home. Then when he was older, moving between Italy and New York and then eventually Malibu really helped him perfect his accents so maybe Peter can still learn Italian at his age. 

The truth is, Tony truly doesn’t care whether Peter speaks Italian or not, it really doesn’t make any difference to him. But Tony knows it’s a big deal to his parents. So when Peter responds to the boy in Italian, Tony’s father walks up to him, looking extremely pleased. 

“See? All you have to do is teach it to him. And he’s got the hang of it.” Not giving Tony the chance to respond, Howard leads Peter up the stairs and they disappear before Tony could even say anything. 

“Oh Antonio. Don’t look so grumpy. You know your father loves it when Peter speaks our language. That’s why it’ll be best if you move here.” 

“What?” 

She runs away too before Tony even gets the chance to ask. He walks up the stairs, the same exact stairs from when he used to come here as a child, and walks over to join his parents and son. 

“Peter, con cosa vuoi giocare?” (what do you want to play with) Howard asks Peter, leaning down a bit to be closer to his height. 

“Dad, speak English with him. You know he doesn’t understand.” 

Howard straightens up and turns to him. “Tony. How will he learn if we don’t speak to him in Italian.” 

Tony groans and looks down at Peter then back at his father. “He’s not here to learn Italian, dad, he’s here to meet his grandparents. Quindi smettila subito.” (So stop now) 

Looking like he wants to protest, Howard raises his arms up and takes Peter’s hand to lead him away from Tony. “Peter, do you want to look at the toys? What do you like to play with?” 

“Ummm…” Peter yawns, lifting a hand to rub his eye. “Umm… lego. And… dad lets me work on Iron Man sometimes.” 

“Interesting.” He picks Peter up, using more strength than he needed. “Woah. You’re lighter than I thought. I think we need to get more food in you.” 

Comfortable with being lifted up, Peter wraps an arm around his shoulder and yawns again, resisting the urge to lay his head on his shoulder and sleep. 

“Peter, do you want to speak Italian? Then you can understand us more. What do you say? Un ragazzino così carino, sarebbe un peccato se non parli italiano, Hmm?” (Such a cute little boy, it would be a shame if you don't speak Italian, Hmm)

“I don’t know.” 

“Do you know what I said?” 

Peter yawns again and rubs his eyes. “Umm… you said… that I don’t speak Italian.” 

“Hmm.” 

Howard sets him on his feet and Peter stumbles a bit. He then spots a cow stuffie and walks up to it, grabbing it off the shelf and hugging it to his chest, wanting to sleep now so he walks over to his dad, lifting his arms up. 

“Did you find what you wanted?” 

“Up up.” 

“What’s wrong?” He feels some suspicion after seeing that his father just picked Peter up. So much for them not feeling how light he is. Although it’s not that much of a surprise considering his size, Tony still would have preferred that since he knows what will follow. He kisses Peter’s cheek then immediately knows what’s wrong when he lays his head on his shoulders and let’s out a content sigh. “Are you tired?” 

He doesn’t get a response in return but he knows Peter is in fact tired. 

“Let’s pay and head home. Okay?” 

“Yeah. Cause-cause my eyes are tired.” 

“Okay. Close them then.” He takes the cow from Peter to pay at the cash, then walks down the stairs, turning around to hand his mom the bag when she offered to take it. “Thanks, mom.” 

“Now I know why you carry him everywhere. He’s light. Not what I was expecting. After we get home, I’ll make him a steak.” 

Tony sighs and walks out of the barn, squinting at the light and feeling Peter turn his face into his neck. “Dad, he doesn’t like steak.” 

“Has he ever tried one?” 

“He tried some of Peppers when we went out for dinner a few weeks before we came here.” 

“Pepper, hmm? Why didn’t she come? You know we love her. She’s a very beautiful woman, Antonio.” 

Tony opens his mouth to answer but the two men from before appear from behind a car and snap a bunch of pictures of Tony and Peter. 

“Mr. Stark, why are you in Italy? Are you going to move here with your new son?” 

Tony stops walking. Mostly because they’re blocking his path, but also because they caught him off guard. “You’re American.” He states. 

“Yes, sir. Born and raised in New York, Queens. That makes two of us, huh?” He gestures to Peter who doesn’t even flinch at their presence, telling Tony that he’s passed out. “Unless he’s actually your love child… in that case he was probably born and raised in Manhattan. Or here. Is that why you brought him here, Mr. Stark? To bring him back to his origins? Does he speak English?”

Tony doesn’t even know how to answer that. Usually he flips them off or gives a witty comment and keeps walking, but he doesn’t like doing that with Peter around anymore. He feels like he puts Peter in danger by doing so. 

It’s not really a secret where his parents live. It’s in a very heavily gated community with only registered visitors allowed in as well as the residents so even if they do follow them, which they likely will, they won’t be able to get through the gates and security. 

It still makes Tony uneasy. 

He hoists Peter up higher and walks around him. “Believe what you want. Just know that if any pictures of my son's face show up on any media outlet, I’ll know who to come after.” 

He keeps walking towards the truck, despite them following and trying to get him to answer questions. 

“Mr. Stark, how long will you be in Italy for? Can we get a few words from Peter? It’s hard to get a shot of him when he keeps moving around so much.” 

Tony tries so hard not to scream at them. He opens up the back door to the truck and places Peter in his car seat but that immediately wakes him up, causing him to whine for him, arching his back off the seat. 

“Peter, it’s okay. I’m right here. We’re going home now, buddy.” Tony can hear the camera clicks going off behind him but he doesn’t question it. “Mom, can you sit beside him so he doesn’t get upset?” 

“Of course.” Maria scoots into the middle and caresses Peter’s face while Tony gets him buckled in. “It’s okay, honey. Cuddle your cow. It’s very soft. You made a good choice.” 

Tony shuts the back door right after, making Peter cry out for him. 

“Tony. Tony. Is Pepper Potts Peter’s mom? Is it true that you and her hid her pregnancy and had a secret son together?” 

Tony holds in a laugh. It’s absolutely ridiculous. 

“How about you stay the fuck away from my family! We’re just trying to enjoy an outing with our son and grandson and you vultures have to come and ruin it! Stay away from us!” Howard shouts at them, getting into the truck and driving away quickly. 

Tony’s surprised, he must admit. 

“Wow, dad, do they bug you often?” He laughs. 

“How can this not upset you? We were having a good time.” 

Tony leans sideways to look back at Peter, seeing him passed out again, his head against the seatbelt. “I’m used to it, dad. You guys live the simple life in the hidden hills of Italy.” He laughs. “Everyone knows I live in Stark Tower. And that I have a son. They’re everywhere.” 

Howard shakes his head. “You should provide more protection for yourself and Peter. He trusts too easily. I can see it.” 

“Okay, dad. Relax.” He sits forward, feeling content with Peter sleeping and his mom there to make sure he stays asleep. “Don’t wake him up.” 

“I’m not-” He lets out a loud sigh. “Alright. I’m just saying, if you’re so used to it, then you need more protection around Peter.” 

“I do. I have Happy.” 

“Happy? Hogan?” 

“Yes, dad. You met him multiple times.” 

“Well,” Howard grumbles. “Happy is just one man. And Peter… well he’s a crazy child, Tony. He vibrates with energy then passes out.” 

Tony rolls his eyes. “He’s thirteen, dad. That’s just how they are.” Plus Tony’s sure the spider bite added to that energy. And he’s 99% sure Peter has adhd but he doesn’t want to get him tested, too afraid to know the answer. He knows it’s not a big deal and that many children and their parents go through it, it’s not something he has to deal with but he’s just… scared. 

“Alright. Even more reason to have more trusted security around him.” 

“Dad. Happy is enough. Even though Peter makes his hair curl, I know the man loves him. And I’m always with Pete when we’re out anyways.” 

Howard hums like he always does when he’s not happy with the response, something Tony picked up from him. Will Peter pick up that from him too? 

“You know someone can kidnap Peter and hold him for ransom? Everyone knows you’ll do whatever it takes to get him back. Imagine the kind of power having Peter in their possession can give to someone.” 

Tony thinks about it everyday. “It won’t happen. He’s safe when we’re in public.” 

“You can turn your back for one second. I watched him today. He runs away. He’s completely oblivious to his surroundings and he’s too naive, Tony.” 

“Howard, if Antonio says Peter’s safe in public then listen to him.” 

“Don’t tell me you’re just as naive as the little boy sitting next to you, Maria. I’m just being honest here.” 

“Mom isn’t naive, dad.” Tony says, feeling uncomfortable by the conversation because his dad is 100% right. “I’ll keep Peter safe. Are you saying I can’t?” 

“I’m saying that Peter’s young. He’s a cute little kid and someone with the wrong intentions can easily snatch him up.” He says, adding to Tony’s anxiety over this conversation. “Ransome is one thing. Then you got the creeps out there who want to hurt Peter just to get back at you. Even going as far as raping him. I know you don’t want to hear it, but it’s the hard truth and-” 

“Stop it.” Tony feels his chest rising and falling way too quickly. “No one’s going to- no. Dad, Peter’s safe. Okay? Just drop it. I’m not having this conversation in the car with Peter sleeping literally right there.” 

“Howard. Don’t be ridiculous. Someone taking my baby off the streets and… taking his innocence… why would you even say that?” 

“Mom, I’m not talking about this.” Tony snaps. “Peter is sleeping right there. You’re not taking about… about anyone stealing his innocence and-and- just drop it. Both of you, would you?” 

He zips down his window and tries to breathe but it doesn’t really help. He wishes he was sitting back there with Peter. He zips up the window and turns around to look at him. “Mom. Can you move his head so it isn’t bent like that? If we get into an accident, his neck is going to snap.” 

“Oh, I don’t want to wake him up.” 

“Just… you won’t. Just move his head so it’s straight.” 

Maria tries to but Peter whines and rubs his eyes then changes positions completely. “He moved at least.” She chuckles but no one’s laughing. “You should get him a proper car seat.” 

“He does have a proper car seat, mom.” Tony says, closing his own eyes as he pinches the bridge of his nose. 

“It’s not safe enough. You should get one with a backrest. At least then he can lean his head against it.” 

Tony considered it when buying Peter a new car seat but if May didn’t have one like that for Peter, Tony didn’t want to get him one like that, not wanting to change things up too much. Plus at the time, he had no freaking idea what car seat to buy or the importance of each one. 

All he knew was that booster seats are the last step before sitting in the actual seat. 

“Yeah. I’ll think about it.” He says just so he doesn’t have to argue then looks in the car mirror and sees the same car following them since they left the farmers market. “The guys are still following us. We won’t lose them until we get to the gates.” 

Howard doesn’t reply but Tony just rolls his eyes. He doesn’t care. 

When they finally approach the gates, Howard types in the code and drives up to the gate, stopping in front of the security desk. “La macchina dietro di noi sono paparazzi che ci seguono non farli entrare.” (The car behind us are paparazzi following us don't let them in) 

“Ovviamente no, Mr. Stark. Avete bisogno di altro?” (Of course not, Mr. Stark. Do you need anything else) 

“No grazie.” (No thank you) 

He drives in and drives down the streets, driving up to their house and pulling in the driveway. Tony’s just so grateful to be home now. Once the truck shuts off, Tony gets out and walks around it, opening up the door. 

He reaches in to unbuckle Peter but his mom grabs his hand. 

“Oh, baby. Please don’t be upset. We had fun. Wake him up and we will go swimming together. Si?” 

“How can I not be upset, mom? Dad is implying that my son is going to be… raped… if I’m not what? Careful enough. How would you feel if he said that to you when I was thirteen? It’s a scary thought that I don’t want to think about.” 

He says and lifts Peter out, shushing him when he wakes up a bit to see what’s going on then promptly falls back asleep, dropping his new cow in the process. 

“Antonio, I didn’t mean anything to upset you. I understand how this hurts you, trust me, I do.” She picks up the cow for Peter. “Your father is just concerned, that’s all.” 

Tony knows that, of course he does, it’s just how his dad brought it up. As if he’s implying that Tony can’t protect his own son. 

“I’m going to go lay Pete down. I’ll be back.” Tony walks inside the house, kicking off his shoes and awkwardly managing to get Peter’s off then he heads upstairs, going straight for the bedroom. He shuts the curtains and turns on the sound machine then lays Peter down. “Shhh shhh shh.” He cringes internally, hoping Peter doesn’t wake up as he takes off his jean shorts in the hopes that he’ll be more comfortable to sleep. 

Tony was originally going to lay him down and go back downstairs but he really needs some alone time, not wanting to continue arguing with his father or listening to what he has to say. 

Tony knows it’s the hard truth. 

And that scares him.