On A Snowy Day
Tony Stark had a complicated relationship with the word “Father”. His own, the famous and known genius, Howard Stark, who was said to be one of the greatest men to go down in history, was a horrible father. The nights he would lash out at Tony with an empty glass bottle in one hand were too many and too vivid. Howard would rather litter Tonys back with bruises than give him a single word of encouragement. His father, with his rigid rules and complete lack of warmth, had no business raising a child. No, clearly Howard Stark wasn't raising a child, he was raising a business associate and heir.
Tony's relationship with the word “Mother” wasnt all that better. Although Maria was so much better in comparison, she was passive in moments when a mother should speak up for her child and would rather spend her days pretending everything was fine. And although she was his only source of warmth besides sweet Jarvis, that warmth turned bitter the older he had gotten and the more he realized she never went against Howard. Growing up in that kind of environment was bound to mess him up, bound to leave scars that would never fade and affect him for the rest of his life. Even the love that Jarvis had given him wasnt enough to completely erase such things away.
It was evident in how Tony was living now. The number of people he had in his life was less than the fingers on his hands. The people he trusted were even less. He had one best friend whom he never truly exposed any of his deepest thoughts to and a bodyguard who followed him in whatever he did without question. He was once close to being in an official relationship with a woman, his former secretary, Miss Potts. But when it mattered, Tony just couldnt let down his walls for her. She had broken down crying to him one day, after a full year of them dating, that he had never truly opened up to her like she had to him. Then she had given him an ultimatum, that if he didn't think he could open up to her more in the coming year, it was best for them to end it. The next day he had left a voice message with an “I'm sorry Miss Potts”, and the day after, she had resigned from her position and he had never seen her again. Perhaps in another life where he wasnt as broken they could have worked out, but not in this one.
But there was one good thing his parents imprinted onto him. Tony knew that if he ever had the crazy notion of being a parent himself some day, he would have the perfect examples of what-not-to-do. He would be everything Howard and Maria wasnt. He would be attentive, warm, loving, encouraging and protective. However, no such wild desires of having a child came to him and he was well into his 30s now so he had decided to bury such thoughts for good.
That was until he came upon Peter Parker.
It was early in the morning, when fresh snow was settling on the ground, waiting to be greeted by the early risers of New York City, that Tony first saw Peter. The tiny figure engulfed in his red puffy jacket hobbled around in excitement, his hand outstretched and presumably trying to catch the snowflakes as they fell.
Tony would usually not pay any attention to him, after all, kids playing in the snow was a common sight. He had only done a double take when he noticed just how young the boy was and how alone. He wasnt safely inside a fenced front yard of a home and there wasn't an adult figure to be seen the entire wait for the green light Happy had to do at the traffic light. Tony had even stretched himself, looking left and right out his window, to see where the kids' parents were.
“No Happy, park here.” he said as he felt Happy inch his limousine forward. And again, Tony didn't usually do things like this, but the road they were on and near where the kid was playing was huge and busy. Surely no decent parent would allow their… what looked like a three year old, play outside in the cold when it was still slightly dark out, like this unsupervised? A few more minutes passed until finally, a woman came sprinting toward the child, with an exasperated “Peter! I told you to wait!”. Tony let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding.
Good.
Now that he wasn't feeling anxious, he took a clearer look at the child. His fair skin stood out in contrast to his pinked puffed cheeks and lips. His button nose was so small in contrast to his big brown, Bambi-like eyes. Brown curls bounced across his forehead and a smile that was so pure lit up brighter than the snow falling around him. He reminded Tony of a cherub in the oil painting that used to hang in his fathers office or of a porcelain doll his mother used to have in her china cabinets. But the light in his eyes was so much brighter than the doll or the painting, so much more real. Tony could feel himself soften just a bit and as he nodded to Happy to join the rest of the traffic, he could only hope the kid… that Peter would grow up with that smile and light in his eyes, always.
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AUTHORS NOTE:
I wont be updating this consistently until Im completely or almost finished with my other Irondad fics. I just found myself writing this on a whim and figured I would post it for you all to enjoy. But again, please don't expect an update soon!