I love you to the galaxy and back
Tony places the dirty dishes onto the counter. He doesn’t want to start an argument with his father but he needs to have this conversation with him as to why Peter was asking him those questions at dinner.
He sighs, bracing his hands on the counter and closing his eyes, letting himself take a few moments to calm down so he doesn’t overreact. Also not wanting to talk too loud since Peter has bionic ears.
“What did you talk to my son about, dad? And don’t try to avoid the question.” He asks, turning around, his arms crossed over his chest.
Howard doesn’t seem affected by the question. “I just want to know how much he actually knows about you and your company. That’s it. He’s a smart boy, you’ve told me that. But he’s very immature.”
Tony uncrosses his arms and throws them up in the air at the absurd comment. “He’s thirteen. One-three. Thirteen, dad. I’d be concerned if he was mature. I’m pretty sure the word thirteen translates to immature in some language.” Tony tries to joke, trying to not get upset at his fathers desire for Stark children acting like adults.
“I think it’s important for you to talk to him about his role in your company. I don’t think he or you realize how important this is.”
“No.” Tony holds a finger up. “No. You don’t get to say that. Don’t talk to me like I’m the child here. Just because I’m not raising my son the way you’d like, doesn’t mean that I’m an idiot and don’t know what I’m doing.”
“I don’t think you’re an idiot, Tony. Stop putting words in my mouth.” Howard stays still, staring down at Tony despite being a few inches shorter than the man, while Tony needs to keep himself busy by scraping food off the plates and putting the dishes into the sink. “All I’m saying is that the younger he is, the easier it’ll be for him to adjust to this new life, so hiding him from SI isn’t going to help in the long run.”
“And by the younger he is, you mean the easier it is to mold him into what you want him to be.” Tony corrects, stopping to glare at the man before going back to doing dishes.
His dad remains uncharacteristically silent.
“I’m not shoving my son into this life. Not yet. He doesn’t need to be exposed to board meetings filled with old men at thirteen years old. Hell, he’s still grieving the loss of his aunt.” He lets out a sigh, drying his hands on a dish towel to run it through his hair.
“He’ll be grieving the loss of his aunt for the rest of his life.” Howard puts it bluntly and as stupid as it is, Tony didn’t even think of it like that. Fuck. “But he’s a Stark now. That means something.”
It’s Tony’s turn to remain silent now.
“You have know idea how happy I am that you have a son. A boy. To carry on the family name. To be the heir and to take over everything one day when he’s older. That’s all I’ve ever wanted from you, Tony.”
Tony actually laughs. “What? To have a son?” He scuffs now. “You’re the reason I never wanted kids. Hell, I never wanted to be a father before Peter. And even before he came into my life, it still took me longer than I’d like to admit to actually know how to take care of him and everything that comes with that.”
“I know I haven’t been the best father to you. But I had to be hard on you. You need to be tough in this world or people will walk all over you and take advantage of you. You have to be feared to be respected.”
Although Tony half agrees with what his father is saying, he knows there’s other ways to go around that. Like showing respect to earn it type thing. He rolls his eyes. “Yeah. But there’s other ways it to do that, raising a child isn’t raising a soldier, dad. It’s okay to cry, if you haven’t already learned that and taken your head out of your ass.”
Howard lets out a laugh but it annoys Tony more than anything. “Tony. Just listen when I tell you, Peter un giorno dovrà partecipare alle riunioni del consiglio di amministrazione. Anche se si siede con te su uno o due ora, non sarà uno shock per lui in seguito.” (Peter will have to join in on board meetings one day. Even if he sits with you on one or two now, it wont come as such a shock to him later on)
Tony doesn’t care if he’s right. He does not want his son subjected to sitting in a room for three hours with a bunch of old creepy men talking about politics, investments and porn. Absolutely not. He knows how those meetings are run, the sexual side and inappropriate comments that are made. No way.
“Forse un giorno quando sarà più grande. Non adesso. Non mi importa se questo ti turba.” (Maybe one day when he's older. Not now. I don't care if that upsets you)
Howard nods. “Okay. You know best. You’re a dad, after all.”
“Damn right I am.” Tony’s glad this didn’t turn into a full on argument but he’s still not happy with the outcome but he has to understand that his father is stuck in his ways. He eventually walks into the dining room again, expecting to find Peter and his mom gone from the table but he’s surprised to find them still sitting there. He picks up more plates and walks behind Peter. “Can you hand me your cup.”
Peter lifts it above his head to give it to his dad.
“Thanks.”
“Antonio, sta scoreggiando. Penso che finalmente abbia bisogno di fare la cacca.” (he's farting. i think he's finally needing to go poop) Maria tells him, finding it a bit amusing. Tony cracks a smile.
“Va bene. Prima vado a portarlo in cucina.” (Okay. Let me go bring this into the kitchen first) He grabs the last plate and drops it off on the kitchen counter then walks back into the dining room and standing behind Peter, grabbing his cheeks to force him to look up at him with a gentle touch. “Are you ready to go poop now?”
Peter shakes his head, moving away from Tony. “No. I don’t need to.”
“Can you go try?”
“No.”
“Okay. Well, if you- hey. Stop it.” Peter attempts to slide off the chair, going under the table to hide so Tony moves the chairs back and squats down. “Peter. Come out.”
“I don’t need to go.”
“Okay. But I need you to sit on the toilet anyways. Because if you don’t go in the next two hours, I’m giving you a laxative.”
“Noooo!” Peter kicks his legs out. “What’s that?”
Tony stops the laugh from escaping his lips. “It’s medicine that’ll clear everything out of your system.”
“No.”
Tony stands up. “Two hours. Better go sit on the toilet now.” He tucks the chairs back in and looks at his moms amused face. He knows she’s loving this, watching him be a father which includes the actual parenting aspect of things, prime example, Peter hiding under the table and refusing to go poop.
He walks towards the window and looks outside, seeing that the rain is still pouring down yet the suns out at the same time. “Pete. Do you want to go play outside in the rain?”
He looks back to see Peter’s head peak out. “Why?”
“Because it’s warm rain. Go outside and run in it. Go collect worms or something.” Tony says, mainly to get him out but also because he wants him to actually go poop since it’s been a week now.
Peter crawls out but continues to sit down. “Come with me.”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
He hesitates. Tony sees that and walks over to him, holding out his hand to help him standing up but Peter doesn’t take it. “I need to go.”
“Okay. Stand up. Run run. Go.” He pulls him up by his arm, gently pushing Peter off towards the bathroom. Peter stands to look back at him then races to the bathroom.
“I’m going! I’m going!”
Tony just smiles, shaking his head amusingly. God, he loves this kid.
“Fear of pooping?” His moms voice breaks him from thoughts. He sits on Peter’s abandoned chair, looking at her but facing the hallway where Peter just disappeared into the bathroom.
“No. I don’t think so. He’s just… constipated.” He half shrugs. “He’s fine. He fell in the toilet at the Compound two weeks before we came here.” Tony says quickly with a shrug. He doesn’t think that has much effect on Peter not wanting to sit on the toilet but with his kid, who knows.
“I can make some herbal tea for him. He’ll love it and it’ll clean out his system.” Maria says, standing up and walking through the entryway, out of sight. Tony knows Peter won’t drink tea. He practically gags at the smell of it.
So he stands up and follows his mom into the kitchen. “Ma, he won’t drink tea.”
“Antonio, that boy doesn’t eat anything. You’re going to have to put your foot down eventually.”
The comment annoys Tony. This is the reason why he second guessed coming to Italy with his son. His parents seem to still be stuck up in their ways and their refusal to accept change. “As I’ve told you before, mom, his Aunt didn’t have a lot of money so it wasn’t like she could buy him elaborate dinners and lunches like steaks and Yubari Kings.”
His mother shakes her head at him, sensing his elaborate sarcasm. “Of course not. I didn’t expect that.”
“But seriously, mom, he grew up on chicken fingers and instant noodles. So yeah, he’s picky.”
Tony will never forget the day he found out that Peter has a faster metabolism than normal kids his age, so not only is he a growing boy, but the spider bite makes him need extra food, and the boy's Aunt just couldn’t keep up with it. Tony made sure to help out as soon as he found out, but little did he know at the time that a short two months later he would be adopting the hyperactive child.
“Dad? Dad? I need help!”
He hears Peter call from down the hallway and sees the look his mom gives him.
“Have fun,” She calls out to him as he walks towards the hallway.
“Pete?” Tony asks, knocking on the door and pushes it all the way open. He sees the kid sitting on the toilet, a roll of toilet paper unraveled in front of him. “What’s this?”
“I don’t like this toilet paper. It’s too scratchy.”
Tony walks in, shutting the door behind him. He starts to pick up the toilet paper, attempting to ravel it back up. “Too scratchy? Did you poop?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” Tony lets himself feel grateful for a moment now that he doesn’t have to worry about getting his child to poop anymore. Such a weird train of thought now that he thinks about it but the fact that it became so normal just proves how quickly his life changed, for the better that is. “Do you feel better?”
“No!” Peter leans forward, making his uncomfortness known now. “I don’t wanna use that cause it’s scratchy.”
Tony grabs the wipes from the bathroom vanity, pulling two out. “Here. Use these. They're the ones I brought from home. Okay?” He holds them out but Peter doesn’t take them. “Here. Take it.”
“Noo. You do it.”
Tony lowers his hand. This isn’t the first time they’ve been in this situation. “I’m here if you need help but you need to do it by yourself.”
“Why not?”
Tony doesn’t even know why he has to explain this to Peter but he remains patient with him. “Because you don’t need my help, what happens if you’re at school? Or at a friend’s house? I won’t be there so I wouldn’t be able to help you.”
“But…” Peter tries to search for any excuse he can come up with. “Aunt May used to…” He rubs at his dry eyes, glancing up at his father briefly to see if he’ll feel bad for him enough to help him out.
Tony doesn’t know if that’s the truth or not. And it’s sad but he won’t ever know unless Peter tells him honestly. “Alright. But I know she didn’t all the time. And you’ve done it before with me. So just try again.”
It takes another long ten minutes of being in the bathroom before they walk out. Peter is happy he got his way and Tony feels slightly defeated for giving in but he can’t feel all that bad since it’s Peter’s way of trying to feel safe, loved and taken care of. He watches Peter skip ahead of him, going into the living room and towards the back doors. There’s a cat sitting by the open door and two cats outside underneath the cabana, taking shelter.
“Grandma, two of your cats are outside? Can I bring them in?” He asks, falling onto the couch next to her, peaking a glance at the book she’s reading but he can’t read the title since it’s in Italian.
“They actually enjoy the rain, honey. Let them be. But you can join them if you want to.” She reaches over, patting Peter on the head. She smiles, he’s a cute kid and not for the first time she wonders what the boy’s biological parents looked like. She wonders if Peter even knows…
Peter gets up a second later, running back over to the cat sitting by the door, he picks it up and carries it outside to put him with the rest. “There you go.” The cat runs back inside as soon as it’s placed down. “No! Get back here!”
“Kid. Leave the cats alone.” Tony shakes his head, finding the situation amusing. Peter loves animals but he’s never had one growing up. Tony wanted to get him a dog after May died, but he didn’t think it was the best idea.
Maybe in a year, but right now, Tony doesn’t think he can look after a child and a dog.
He needs to get the hang of this whole parenting thing first.
“Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I have a cupcake now?”
Shit. Tony totally forgot about the promise to order cupcakes to the house after he denied Peter that cupcake. “Absolutely I can. What did you want again? Sugar free? Plain? No icing?” He teases, pulling out his phone and sitting down on the couch.
“Nooo.” Peter catches onto the teasing easily. “A red cupcake. Actually chocolate. With red icing. Please.”
“Okay. Coming right up.” Tony finds his favourite bakery and orders a dozen cupcakes for them, putting in a special order for Peter’s preferred dessert. He turns his phone around to show the boy who is now sitting on his stretched out leg. “Proof. Now go run around and burn some energy off so you aren’t too hyper when the cupcakes arrive.”
Peter tilts his chin down, grinning up at Tony. Tony wonders if Peter knows he’s being cute when he does that or he just does it for simply no reason at all. Either way, it’s fucking adorable. He grabs those chubby cheeks, squeezing them so Peter’s lips puff out. “My favourite boy, Hmm? Go play. Or run. Or something.”
“Fine. I’m gonna go search for all the cats.” He slides off Tony’s leg and walks to the back door, stepping outside into the drizzle.
Tony watches him walk outside and then he eventually disappears from his view but he isn’t worried because his parents’ property is guarded by gates and security to get in. Plus Peter knows better than to go down to the ocean and Tony can see the pool from where he’s sitting.
“Oh, Howard, il lavandino fa un orribile rumore stridente in cantina. Puoi andare a dare un'occhiata?” (the sink is making a horrible grinding sound in the celler. Can you go check that out) Maria grabs the book mark off the table and pulls out her iPad instead.
“L'ho risolto il mese scorso. Si sta comportando di nuovo?” (I fixed that last month. It’s acting up again?) Howard complains.
“I’ll check it out for you, mom.” Tony doesn’t glance his fathers way, still upset about the conversation he had with his son behind his back.
“No. Abbiamo bisogno di un riparatore che venga a ripararlo. Se non posso aggiustarlo, nessuno può farlo.” (No. we need a repairman to come fix it. If I can't fix it, no one can) Howard insists and Tony barks a laugh.
“Dad, you know I made my Iron Man suits, right? Once in a cave,” He sees his mom tense beside him so he immediately regrets bringing up his kidnapping, otherwise known as the fire that brought Iron Man to life. “Besides, I fixed Pepper’s sink once or twice before. I’ll take a look at it, Mamma.”
“Thank you, Antonio.”
She has a sad look on her face, Tony already knows why. Why did I have to bring that up, he thinks.
“Does Peter know you were held hostage in that cave in Afghanistan?”
Tony looks away, trying not to let the memories come flooding back. He takes a deep breath. “Yeah.” He remembers that one time, a few days after May had died and Peter was glued to his side, Peter had just woken up from a bad nightmare and migrated to Tony’s bed for the rest of the night.
Peter lay on Tony’s bed, his head on the man’s chest with an arm thrown across his stomach, fisting the man’s sleep shirt.
Tony’s exhausted.
He hasn’t gotten much sleep since Peter came to live with him. Every night is plagued by nightmares and bedwetting. So far the pull-ups are helping to keep him asleep even after wetting them, but there’s no temporary cure for nightmares that Tony knows of.
So he just holds his kid in his arms, rubbing a soothing hand up and down his back.
Peter has stopped crying thankfully. But Tony can tell he’s still traumatized from the nightmare.
They both lay there for a few minutes. Tony isn’t expecting the boy to speak so when his small, tired voice fills the room, Tony’s a bit surprised by it.
“Do you get nightmares too?” Peter asks, his voice barely above a whisper.
Tony nods then realizes that Peter can’t see his head from his position. “Yeah, kid. Sometimes.”
Peter shifts around so he’s now facing Tony and Tony suddenly feels put in the spotlight.
Peter’s face is sad but his voice steady when he asks, “Because of Afghanistan?”
God, Tony hates how smart Peter is sometimes. He gives a slight nod now that Peter can see him, not trusting his voice to speak.
“I’m sorry, Tony. That really sucks.”
It’s so simple yet so reassuring for Tony. Here this broken child is, lying in his arms, he already lost his parents and uncle and now his aunt is dead just under a week ago and he’s comforting the adult.
What ever did I do to be lucky enough to end up with you, Tony thinks to himself then caresses his soft cheeks. “It does suck. And I’m sorry you have to deal with nightmares too. If I could, I’d take them from you so you didn’t have to deal with it.”
Peter blinks slowly. He’s about to fall asleep again. “No. Cause then you’ll be scared.”
This perfect boy. Tony brushes a gentle hand over his eyes, letting them fall close. “I’m the adult. I can handle it.”
Peter yawns, he’s seconds away from falling into unconsciousness.
“But… don’ wan’ you to… suffer..” He mumbles, half asleep.
“For you, I’d do anything, Peter.” He brushes the kids curls off his forehead, watching as he falls asleep. “I love you.” He whispers the words, almost like a secret once he’s sure the boy’s asleep and won’t hear it.
“Sweet dreams, Peter.”
Tony finds himself smiling sadly at the memory. It was a bittersweet moment between him and his child, it was way before they grew so close and yet looking back, Peter had always seeked him out for comfort.
He feels his moms hand on his leg which breaks him out of his thoughts. He looks over at her.
“It can happen again, with you being Iron Man and all, imagine how Peter would feel, losing his father. You have a child now, Antonio. It’s time to act like it.”
“I do act like it, mom. How don’t I?” He asks, completely flabbergasted by the statement. The very untrue statement that is. “I am Iron Man and everyone knows it, no one is going to try and come for me again. I promise you.”
“You have a lot of enemies, Tony.” His father says, his tone low. “That means that Peter has a lot of enemies. People will try to use him to get to you.”
Tony hates how right his father is. But it’s not news to him. “I know, dad. Believe me, I know.” And he hates that for his son but unfortunately, it comes with the name. He rubs a hand through his hair and stands up to look outside. Where was the kid?
“Increasing security measures is a must. But have you ever considered giving him self defense lessons?”
Tony peeks his head outside, still not seeing Peter. “Uh… what? No, yeah yeah. I’ve given him some lessons and so has Natasha.”
“Black Widow?” His mom seems almost hurt by the news that Black Widow gave her grandson fighting lessons.
“Yes. Black Widow. Ask Peter to show you what he learned, he’s pretty good.” He says, knowing his mother probably hates to hear that. She’d have an aneurysm if she finds out Peter is Spider-Man.
“Are you sure that’s safe?”
Tony moves to sit back down next to his mother. “I trust her with my life, of course it’s safe.”
“But do you trust her with Peter’s life?”
Tony doesn’t know the answer to that question. He wants to say yes but the truth is that he only trusts Peter with himself and Pepper. Of course the Avengers will fight to protect his son but it’s not like they’d know how to actually take care of Peter if Tony godforbid died, he’ll do everything in his power to stay alive for his boy.
“The Avengers care for Peter, I know you don’t like them all that much but just know that they do care for him.” He says in truth. “If you decide to come visit us. You can see for yourself.”
“The only person I want to see is Pepper.” It’s no surprise to Tony his mother says that. Tony feels the same way. “How about you stay an extra week and she flies to Italy to join us?”
Tony looks at his mom, no expression on his face. “Mom.”
She moves closer to him, showing him her screen. “Look how nice the weather is here next week. You guys can stay for one more week. Or you can go back home a few weeks before Peter’s school starts and spend the rest of summer here. With us.”
Tony feels bad having to turn his mom down every time. “Mom, we’re keeping our flight. Peter needs stability and returning home at the last second before he starts school won’t be good for him. I’m sorry, mamma
“I’m sure if I ask Peter, he’ll want to stay longer.”
Tony lets his frustration show. “Yeah. I’m sure he will. I’m also sure that if you ask him if he wants to eat a whole cake before bed, he’ll want that too. But it doesn’t mean it’s what’s best for him. I know what’s best for him, he doesn’t.”
Maria nods but Tony isn’t sure she really agrees with him. “I’m just going to miss him so much. He’s so young and innocent and tiny and I know I won’t see him for a while after you take him back to New York.”
Tony can understand that. He really does. “You will. You can fly to see us. We’ll stay at the Compound even, that way you won’t be in the busy city.” He puts, what he hopes, is a gentle hand on her knee. “We can’t stay any longer. Peter needs to see his therapist for one thing. And his friends.”
“Does he have good friends, Antonio? You know the people he hangs around influences him heavily.”
Tony did in fact know that. He smiles. “Yes, ma. They’re amazing. He doesn’t have a lot of friends but the ones he does have are pretty cool. Ones name is Ned, the other is Miller and Liz.”
“Liz? Is that a girl?”
Tony already knows where this discussion is going. “Yes. But she’s moving away before school. So I don’t know if they’ll stay in touch or not. We’ll see.”
Tony’s never met the girl but he’s seen a few pictures of her and Peter together and some of the stories Peter’s told him. He thinks they’ll stay in contact but it won’t be a big deal if they don’t. Peter isn’t as close to her as he is to Ned.
“So, how will you keep my grandson safe now that he’s going to public school and he’s known as Tony Stark's son?” Howard breaks his silence. Tony wasn’t even sure if he was listening but he guesses he was.
“He goes to a private school, dad. And I’ll drive him to school and pick him up. If there’s paparazzi or reports outside his school, then I’ll make a statement, telling everyone to leave my child alone. They’ll have to listen.”
“Does Peter know how different his life will be going forward?” Maria asks.
Tony runs a hand over his eyes. “I’ve had some conversations with him. But I’ll talk to him again before school starts back up in a few weeks.” He looks towards the back windows, realizing that he hasn’t seen Peter run by in a few minutes.
“I’ll talk to him.”
Tony turns his attention to his father. “No, you won’t. It’s my responsibility as his father to have that conversation with him.”
“Tony. You’re stressing me out.” Howard complains. “It’s like you’re trying to hide him under a rock to protect him. The world is an evil place.”
Tony wants to facepalm. “You’re telling me that like I don’t already know. He’s safe, dad.” Tony stops to think about what the argument is about. His parents obviously care about Peter and Tony loves that they do but they talk to him as if he’s letting Peter go to random friends' houses and stay out until midnight every night.
“I understand that you’re worried about him, but I’ll never let anyone hurt him. Trust me on that.” Tony would wrap Peter in bubble wrap and lock him in the tower for the rest of his life if he could. He looks outside, getting slightly concerned now.
“I’ll feel better if I can talk to him-”
Tony cuts his dad off. “Hold that thought. I need to go check on him.”
He steps outside, he needs to lay eyes on his son to see that he’s okay. He hasn’t seen him in awhile. “I’ll be right back.”
Tony walks outside and immediately looks towards the beach. “Peter?” He calls out, trying to hear for him but he doesn’t. He’s about to walk down to the beach but he ends up turning back around walking around the side of the house, seeing four cats lying in the grass, underneath the shade.
“Peter?” He calls again. Still nothing. Now he’s panicking a bit.
Tony doesn’t know if it’s because of the conversation he just had with his parents or if it’s the fact that every time he doesn’t have his eyes on Peter, he loses his mind, but his heart is racing and if he doesn’t find Peter in the next five minutes he’s actually going to go crazy.
The thought of a neighbour taking him away or leading Peter into their house… as much as Tony hates it, but Peter is gullible and would unfortunately fall for any lie someone told him. Tony knows it’s not something he can learn but something he can only grow out of once he matures a bit. He hates that though.
He walks to the front of the house and looks towards the fountain in the front, his eyes immediately landing on Peter. He lets out a huge sigh of relief as he quickly makes his way over to him.
Peter has climbed into the mermaid fountain that’s up to his knees in water and he’s soaked from head to toe.
Tony’s just glad he’s safe though.
“Peter. I’ve been calling you.”
Peter turns to wave at him. “I’m playing mermaids.”
“I can see that.” He walks over to the stone and puts his hand in to feel the water. It’s pretty warm, no doubt from cooking in the sun all day. “Next time can you tell me where you’re going so I at least know where you are.”
Peter puts his head under the fountain, drinking the water.
“Eww. Don’t do that. That is so disgusting, Pete.” Tony pulls his arm towards him, wiping the water off his face the best he can. “Come out. How about you go change into a bathing suit and we’ll go swimming in the actual pool.” He suggests as he lifts Peter out of the fountain and places him on his feet.
“Are my cupcakes here yet?”
“They will be after you go change.”
Peter starts running around the side of the house, turning the corner and running inside. He probably would have slipped on his butt if he wasn’t Spider-Man and had fast reflexes.
“Careful, honey.” Maria warns. “Why are you all wet? Where’s your father?”
Tony walks inside at that second. He walks up to Peter and gently nudges him to go upstairs. “Go change. Into a bathing suit. Then your cupcake will be here and we’ll eat it by the pool.”
“I want to eat it in the pool.”
“That works too.” Tony pushes him again. “Go change.”
“Come with me, dad.”
“Alright. Let’s go.” He starts walking ahead of Peter, knowing he’s going to follow behind him eventually and isn’t all that surprised when the boy runs ahead of him, racing him to the top of the stairs.
“I beat you!”
“You always do.” Tony gets to the top a few seconds later and rushes into the bedroom, purposefully beating Peter. “I win.” He teases him, shutting the door as soon as Peter walks in.
“Hey! Not fair. You didn’t even say ready set go. Do over!”
“Nope. No do overs. Take off your wet clothes.” Tony opens the drawer and pulls out bathing suit briefs and a pair of his own bathing suit. “Peter. Clothes off, what’re you waiting for?”
“It’s stuck on me.” Peter says, barely making an attempt to tug his wet pants down. “Help.”
“Come here.” Tony tosses both bathing suits onto the bed and undoes the tie on his track pants then tugs them down but it doesn’t budge and Peter almost falls over. Tony grins. “Where’s your balance, Spider-Boy.”
“Spider-Man.” Peter corrects. “You better not call me Spider-Boy again or else I’m gonna tell grandma and grandpa I’m Spider-Man and they’ll be mad at you and give me so much candy.”
“Oh you really think that’s how it’ll play out?” He grabs Peter’s arm when he almost falls over again. “Lie down on the floor.” He instructs him, grabbing the waistband of his pants and peeling them off along with his underwear.
“I do. Cause then they’ll want to give me all the candy.”
“Cute story.” Tony pulls Peter’s underwear out from his pants so he can hang them to dry. “I’ll tell you a more realistic one, grandma and grandpa give me a lecture on why it’s dangerous and you get grounded by them. With no candy.”
Peter gasps.
Tony doesn’t tell him how he’s pretty sure his own parents would disown him and fight to get full custody of Peter or something ridiculous. He doesn’t know but doesn’t need to know since they won’t find out…
Tony tosses a bathing suit at him. “Put this on.”
Peter rolls onto his stomach and sits up on his knees, lifting his arms up. Tony knows what he wants so he leans over him and pulls his sticky wet shirt off of him, tossing it with the rest.
“I don’t want to wear that one.” He says, standing up and leaning against the bed. He spots his dad’s bathing suit and takes that one. “I want to wear this one.”
“Then what will I wear?” Tony asks, amused by his kids' antics. Peter sits in the bed and begins to put it on, standing up as it falls right down to his ankles. Tony chuckles. “Told you.”
“No. You wear mine. I’ll wear yours.” Peter crawls to the middle of the bed, attempting to bunch up the extra material so it doesn’t fall off him.
Tony finds it amusing. He takes Peter’s bathing suit and holds it out, not even going to bother trying to get it on himself since he knows full well that it won’t fit him. “This won’t even make it past my big toe, kid.”
“Just try it.”
Tony sits on the bed and grabs Peter’s ankles, pulling him towards him. “It won’t fit but guess what, I think I hear the delivery guy pulling up so we better hurry.”
Peter gasps and sits up, crawling to the other end of the bed. He’s about to open the bedroom door to run outside but Tony grabs his arm before he can. “Kid, put your bathing suit on first. You don’t need to be flashing the cupcake man your naked bum.”
“But… cupcakes.” Is all Peter says as he tugs weakly at the door. Tony knows Peter is fully capable of getting past him, he’s strong enough to do so, he’s proven that much. But Peter knows he’s not allowed to use his Spidey powers if he’s not in his suit, unless it’s life or death of course.
“Na uh. Bathing suit on.”
Peter gives Tony a dirty look then walks back over to the floor where his bathing suit is lying. He picks it up, tugs it on and looks up at his dad after. “I’m done.”
“Do you want me to put sunscreen on you now or in five minutes?” Before Peter can argue, Tony adds. “Because you’re not going outside unless you’re wearing sunscreen.”
“Urggggggg. Fine. Now.” Peter drags his feet, purposefully walking slowly into the bathroom. He grabs the sunscreen and holds it out to Tony’s hand. “Can I pour it?”
“Yes but only a bit. If you squeeze too much, I’m not wasting it so it’s all going on you. Got it? You don’t want to look like a snowman.”
Peter laughs. “Or like you cause you’re so pale.”
“Exactly.” Tony laughs at the total exaggeration. Tony’s actually quite tanned and is lucky enough that his skin doesn’t burn too easily but Peter on the other hand is pale and burns as badly as Pepper does. “Okay okay. That’s enough.”
“Is that too much?”
“A bit. It’s fine.” Tony rubs his hands together and starts doing Peter’s shoulders and back first, making sure to get everywhere. He makes his way down to his legs and then works his way up to his stomach, Peter immediately flinching when he touches him there.
“Stop! It tickles!”
“I’m not trying to tickle you.” Tony lifts up his arm, poking his armpit. “This is me tickling you.”
Peter squeals, jerking away from Tony. “Dad!”
“What? Stop squirming. I don’t want you to burn.” Tony goes back to rubbing the sunscreen on his neck now, not paying attention to Peter pouring the sunscreen down his bathing suit until he hears a loud gasp. “What? What’s wrong?”
“It’s cold.”
“What?” Tony doesn’t know why he’s saying that now. He stands in front of Peter and follows his gaze down. He already knows what the kid did and he can’t help but laugh. “Don’t tell me you just poured sunscreen down your bathing suit?”
Peter shifts, uncomfortably. “Maybe…”
“Peter.” Tony takes the bottle from him. He’s not mad or annoyed, quite the opposite actually. It’s never a dull moment with his kid. “Just why? That’s all I’m asking.”
Peter’s face scrunches up, clearly uncomfortable now. “Dad.” He pleads, looking to Tony for help.
“Hey. I wasn’t the one who put sunscreen down your pants.” Tony makes eye contact with him, not able to stop himself from laughing before he feels bad and decides to help him out.
By the time they’re both ready, it’s fifteen minutes later and Peter is running downstairs in search of his cupcakes.
Tony had to rinse Peter down in the sink until he was satisfied and Tony promised himself never to let the boy lay hands on sunscreen unsupervised again. Yet Tony was standing right behind him and didn’t even notice him do that. Sneaky boy.
Tony walks downstairs, walking into the kitchen to find himself something to drink after that bathroom fiasco. He pops open a water bottle and downs half of it just as the doorbell rings and Peter runs past him, towards the door.
Peter unlocks the first lock and goes to open it but it’s still locked. He groans and looks up, seeing a lock at the very top of the door. He stomps his foot in frustration, knowing it must have been put there for him. He jumps but can’t reach it.
After looking around to make sure no one is watching him, Peter uses his Spidey powers to climb up, grabbing onto the lock but it still won’t budge.
“Hey.”
Peter immediately jumps down and turns to the voice who spotted him.
“I don’t want to see you doing that again. Do you understand me?” Tony says, his voice low. Instead of agreeing, Peter points up at the lock.
“I can’t reach it. The lock.”
“I don’t care. What I want to hear is whether or not you understand me.”
Peter stomps his foot. “Yes. I understand you.”
“Good.” Tony easily reaches up and unlocks the lock by pushing, twisting and then pulling. Peter watches carefully. Good to know. The door opens and reveals one of the security at the front with a pink box in his hands.
“Signor Stark. Ho una consegna di cupcake per te.” (Mr. Stark. I have a cupcake delivery for you)
“Grazie.” (Thank you) Tony takes the box from the man and feels Peter peek his head out from behind him.
The security looks down at Peter and waves. “Ciao, piccolo uomo. Come stai? Questi cupcake sono per te?” (Hello, little man. How are you? Are these cupcakes for you?)
Peter grips the back of Tony’s shirt tighter.
“Sono per lui. Ne sta chiedendo uno da stamattina. Ragazzo fortunato.” (They are for him. He's been asking for one since morning. Lucky boy) Tony says to the security, patting his son's head with the hand that isn’t holding the cupcake box.
He thanks the man again and shuts the door behind them, locking it again, knowing he has to even when Peter’s looking at him like he’s locking him in a prison.
Tony hands the box to Peter. “Want to carry it outside for everyone?”
“Si.”
Tony feels his heart flutter. Adorable. He can’t think of any other way to describe it.
The two of them walk outside to join Tony’s parents by the pool. The rain has stopped and the sun is shining brightly but it’s not as hot since thankfully the rain cooled it down just a bit but there’s that delicious rain smell in the air that Tony loves so much. It’s rare to smell it in New York since it mostly continues to smell like dirty streets and garbage.
Maybe Peter will be better off living in Italy? No, Tony shakes his head at the thought. He wants to raise his son in New York.
“Special delivery for Peter.” Peter grins and sits on the same pool chair as his grandma. He opens the box and pulls out a cupcake, handing one to his grandmother, then he picks up another one and stands up, handing it to his grandpa. “Here. Take a bite. Do you like it?”
Tony takes a seat on the pool chair next to his mom and Peter takes that as an invitation to go sit next to him with the cupcake box. He pulls out two cupcakes and then moves to straddle Tony’s lap, putting a cupcake right in front of his face. “This one is for you. It has a special heart on it for you cause you’re my favourite person.”
Tony was never one to tear up and get emotional but man, being a father has melted him and made him so soft. He grabs Peter with the hand that isn’t holding the cupcake and hugs him. “You’re so amazing, Peter. I love you to the moon and back, Il mio piccolino.” (my little boy)
Peter wraps his free arm around his fathers neck, nuzzling into him. “I love you too. To the moon and all the stars and galaxies and back.”
Tony pulls away, smiling at him like Peter is the most amazing person in the world, because he is, to him, “Wow. That’s a lot.”
Peter grins then takes a bite of his cupcake, the red icing going all over his face. “Mmmmm.” Tony can’t help it, he pulls out his phone and takes a picture of him, sending one off to Pepper with the text, any guesses as to why he wanted a red cupcake? Missing you but we’re having a great time here!
He places his phone on the chair and takes a bite of his own cupcake, purposely getting it on his face so he can kiss Peter’s cheek, making a mess of his kid's face.
Overall, it was an amazing end to an amazing day.
Tony just wishes they had more time in Italy before moving back home to the craziness that is their life. There’s a lot less tantrums here, Tony found. He was a bit worried that his parents would witness a pretty bad tantrum but that hasn’t happened… yet. And hopefully not at all.