Epilogue
Sometimes it felt like a weird dream. That whole year when he was completely alone was – well, it didn’t feel real. Peter barely remembered sitting alone at the old shipping port when it was below zero and he couldn’t hear anything besides his teeth chattering despite his super hearing.
But now he was sitting on the porch of Tony’s cabin – as everyone inside knew his name and everything about him. He scrolled through his phone as messages came through from old friends asking him where he’s been and if he was okay, since May was well known so her death was spread further than he could’ve realised. He put it down after replying for a bit and cuddled into his blanket as he stared up at the stars.
God, he missed May more than anything. He felt guilty to still be here when she died right in front of him because of him. Closing his eyes, he took a deep sigh. He was so happy to be back with his family but it was bittersweet, of course.
He looked back down at his phone. He didn’t realise it was two AM. He thought about going inside – getting warm – but instead, he just sat there and looked up at the stars. He heard the door open. Turning his head, he watched as Tony stepped onto the porch. They both smiled at each other as he sat down.
Tony didn’t even ask why he was up. Peter appreciated it.
“Hey, kid,” Tony said. His voice was like sweet whisky – it was a good memory. It was his. He couldn’t believe he could hear it again. Whenever he wanted. Peter scooted closer and let Tony wrap his hand around his shoulders. “I never got to show you your surprise – you were too busy making lovely-Dovey eyes at your girlfriend.”
Peter’s cheeks went red. “She’s not my girlfriend!”
“Oh?” Tony laughed. “It’s okay. I won’t push,” he said, but he raised his eyebrow at him that clearly saying he was lying. He’d bring it up again – over and over. Because he loved to tease his kids. “So... do you want your surprise?”
“Is it a good surprise? I can’t handle any bad news,” Peter said, resting his head on Tony’s shoulder. He mainly did it to hide his face but he wouldn’t tell Tony that. He’s sure Tony knew that but he didn’t say anything. “I think I’d just crumble.”
Tony shook his head. “It’s a good surprise,” he said, seriously. “Trust me, Pete. If I have anything to say about it – nothing bad will ever happen to you ever again.”
Something about the way Tony looked at him made him believe every word. Peter smiled peacefully. It was almost like he could see invisible leaves flying in front of him, carried by the breeze. It was like the feeling he had inside – peace. For so long his mind had been such an incredible storm bent on destroying him. Now – it was clear. Nothing exciting but just what he had been planning for.
“So? What’s this surprise then?” Peter asked.
Tony took a deep breath which made Peter sit up a little and straighten his back. That same puff of breath was something he heard all the time when horrible news followed. So right now it was an instant reaction to be fearful of it. He turned to Tony with a deep-set feeling of anxiety weighing him down. He tried not to show it.
“So... you know you mean a lot to me, right? The most. You and Morgan... well, you’re everything to me,” he said. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper. “This isn’t the official thing as I didn’t want to ruin it ... you know what I’m like. But it’s a copy. I want you to read it,” he said. He passed Peter the piece of paper. Peter noticed the shake of his hand.
He said this wasn’t bad news but all of the signs were pointing to it. Peter took the paper in his hand and unravelled it, reading the writing slowly like he didn’t want to find out what was at the end of it. But then he saw it –
Adoption.
Peter almost dropped it. He could’ve been sick. He stared at the word until it lifted off the paper and swirled around them. He bit his lip and tried hard not to let any tears fall because Tony might change his mind if he just sat there and sobbed all over the paper.
Tony was looking at him, waiting.
Peter wasn’t sure what to say.
“Am ... Am I not too old for this?” he ended up with. He heard Tony laugh beside him, but he was serious. He didn’t understand. “I’m not – Tony, this – I don’t. I want to accept it but I can’t – I can’t just push in your family like this. Adoption means I would officially be yours and I don’t want you to change your mind or anything. And every single one of my family members died and I know it’s not my fault but what if – what if it is some kind of bad curse?”
“You’re not a curse,” Tony said immediately, cutting Peter off from saying else. He frowned, rolling up the adoption papers and putting them back in his pocket. Peter watched as he pulled the zip, the silence so tense between them that Peter felt like he should bolt again. But, by now, he had decided that wasn’t a good idea, not now that his life was back on track. “Peter, a curse is something bad – something haunting you forever. You came back to me. Twice. We defied many, many, laws to be here right now. I know that you will always come back. If that’s really a curse then it’s the best damn curse I’ve ever heard of,” he told him. “So, please. You don’t have to accept this. I know you’re over eighteen so you legally don’t need a guardian... but I want to be that for you. Just consider it, please.”
“I don’t need to consider it,” Peter said, though his voice shook. He took a deep breath and watched the puff of air in front of him. It was so cold that his breath created steam. He watched it before locking eyes with Tony. Trying to muster up some courage, he bit his lip and reached out to Tony’s pockets to grab the paper from him. He opened it up once it was in his hands and he read it over... Peter Stark sounded so good. “I want to be your son. I just really want you to be sure about it. I can’t – I wouldn’t handle you changing your mind.”
Tony laughed so suddenly that it made Peter jump.
Peter frowned, crossing his arms as he held the papers tight in his hand. “I’m serious!” he said, which only made Tony laugh louder. “If this is so funny to you then -,” Peter said, pushing himself up from the bench. He threw the papers at Tony’s chest and stormed off, feeling weird in his stomach as he walked out to the lake at the bottom of the garden – right by Gerald the Llamas’ den.
Seconds later he heard the crunch of Tony’s shoes on the old snow. The sound was nostalgic, even if Peter hadn’t seen much of Winter storms. He could still remember one of the three winters he spent with his biological parents. His father makes a snowman in the corner of his own father’s old cabin. His mother held him as they ran underneath the snowflakes and laughed. Snow was synonymous with joy in his mind – and to hear it underneath the shoes of the man who brought happiness back into his life and wanted to adopt him felt like it had come full circle.
Though – he laughed in his face. Peter knew he shouldn’t have stormed off but something about Tony not taking this seriously made him feel stupid. Could it be possible that this entire time it was all a bit of a laugh for him?
Surely not.
“I’m laughing because the thought of me changing my mind on you? On being your dad? It’s the most outlandish thing I’ve ever heard,” he said, sitting down beside Peter who threw a stone across the water. It skipped three times before falling to the bottom of the lake. “I love you, kid. I wouldn’t ask you to be my son if I didn’t. I’m never going to change my mind.”
Peter scuffed the bit of snow by his foot with his shoe, slowly turning his head like he was embarrassed at his outburst. Tony was looking back at him with a soft look that matched the feeling of being wrapped in a soft blanket by the fire. He was so full of love that Peter had no choice but to believe every word he said.
“...Do you promise?” he asked because the belief wasn’t everything.
“I promise,” Tony said. He put out his pinkie finger which Peter rolled his eyes at. But he joined pinkies anyway and shook gently. “I can’t wait for you to officially be my son – legally. Not much will change, though. Since you always have been mine since the first day we met.”
Tony nudged Peter with his elbow to try and hide the fact that he was tearing up. Peter saw it anyway. The fact that Tony had red eyes and had tears coming down his face... set him off too and soon enough both Tony and Peter were sobbing in front of a lake underneath the stars.
A week later all the papers were signed and with the best lawyers in the world and a lot of photographers and reporters to document it, Peter Parker became Peter Parker-Stark. Son of the richest mogul in the world and the richest, kindest, CEO. He had a little sister and a llama (Gerald).
But most importantly...
He wasn’t alone anymore. He was remembered and he was here and he was going nowhere.