“Dad look!” Peter was standing by the large floor to ceiling windows that the tower sported, waving at them. Well not necessarily at them but more at the dark abyss that led beyond it.
“Kiddo, for the past year we’ve lived here you’d think id have seen New York at night. You know we see it every night” Tony had said with a little chuckle in his voice and a large smile plastered on his face. He loved how energetic Peter was. Before he had the kid with him, he’d always worried that having a very energetic kid around would irritate him and drive him insane. Wishing for a moment of silence. Now the silence seems too deafening when Peters not around. He’s started to walk over to him from where he was cooking in the kitchen.
“What where you going to show me kiddo?” Tony said softly whilst standing by the boy, they were both facing the window.
“Dad come on, don’t you see them?” Peter said almost placatingly, like the way he’d talk to Tony when he would be asked to run through something he knew Tony knew he understood.
“Alright, alright where are we lookin Pete? Seriously, it looks like every other night” he was examining the skyline like it was the only thing that matters in the world, because his son was interested in it. It did mean the world to him. He then saw it. There were gentle lights flickering all over the city, different intervals, different colours-some multi, some white, some yellow. They were all there, they looked like the tiniest fairy lights possible. Little pin pricks of light, stars almost.
“Oh” was all Tony could manage before pulling Peter to his side and giving him a side hug, “ I see what you mean son, they’re beautiful” he honestly meant it too. Who would. Imagine it, Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, would be standing with his son looking at lights over the city. If you had told Tony 3 years ago that’s what he’d be doing, he would personally pay for your therapy. But now...
He thinks back to all the moments in his life that would have lead him to this very moment. The times he had invited Peter to the lab with him, which soon after turned into a regular thing. From once a week to twice, from Mr Stark to Tony. He started to spend more and more time with the teen, he was constantly checking in on him no matter what. ‘Hey kid, how was your Spanish test?’ And ‘Remember to breathe durning that presentation, you’ve got this :)’ evolved to, ‘Rhodey has dubbed him self your ‘uncle Rhodey’ and hap got jealous.. you have two new uncles?’ And ‘I swear if honeybear asks one more time if you’re coming to the compound this weekend without asking you first, i will show him where that honey pot goes.’ The little things like that really made a difference. Tony’s heart was clearly big enough for a gangly teen to fit. Then even eventually getting custody of the 14 year old after some.... not so pleasant experiences and events. But none the less. They were still standing and battling through everything life threw at them. He was pulled from his thoughts by said teenager..
“Hey dad?” Peter said softly from where he was against Tony’s side.
“Yeah tesoro?” Tony pretty much just hummed whilst carding his hands through peters hair.
“Umm, what’s for dinner? Sorry i-“ he was cut of by Tony before he could continue “Pete its okay, you can ask. I was going to make some pasta, is that alright with you?”
“That’s good with me, thank you” Peter just replied in the same gentle tone as before, Tony knew he probably wouldn’t decline anything but he knew what the kid liked which was always easier.
“Do you want to help?” Tony asked and instantly felt peter nodding his head against his collar bone, “come on then kiddo, we’ve got some prep to do!” He just heard Peter giggle.
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“This is why you’re normally on tomato duty, how the hell did you do that?!” Tony was just laughing with Peter at this rate. He’d managed to get the flour everywhere, the counter, the floor ,and to both of their surprise, peters hair. “It looks like the pilsbury dough boy just exploded on my head!” Peter was just wheezing at this rate. Utterly in shock of himself, he was making the pasta fine...
“I swear you’re the smartest kid I know and you will forever cease to amaze me with how you do this.” Tony was just wheezing along with Peter at this rate. “I turned around for a single minute” he managed to get out before another round of laughing and wheezing began. Tony was just hoping Friday was recording all of it. Little did Tony know peter was aiming flour bombs at him then whole time but they were failing. Landing all over peter.
They continued making their pasta with the soft sounds of one of Tony’s playlists playing in the background. He was humming along too, it didnt happen often but when it did. Peter always felt right at home, perfectly safe where he was.
So that’s how they spent their night, Peter with flour in his hair and Tony had some powdered down his shirt from the flour that was shook off like a dog. They were both sat at the counter eating some of the ‘Starks famous pasta’ as Tony’s Nona had once dubbed it. Both just appreciating life, appreciating the little family they’d formed, appreciating the little twinkle of the lights of New York and most of all appreciating the fact that nothing would have to change.