The Secrets We Keep

“So pirate, where are they?” Tony asked Fury.

Tony, Nat, Rhodey, and Fury were standing in Tony’s office early Monday morning after Fury insisted on a meeting. Fury claimed it was critical that the Avengers meet each other, but for Tony, he just wanted to get this meet and greet over with. Tony wanted to just give these guys a list of targets and send them on their way to get their jobs done.

In reality, Tony wasn’t all that interested in the Avengers initiative. There was no I in team after all. And he really didn’t like having to listen to others and take orders. Tony was the one to make orders, and he wasn’t about to take a demotion. He also wasn’t keen on making friends, especially not turning any associates into buddies. Too many of his crew had died trying to infiltrate other mobs, so why bother to get to know these guys? Tony didn’t have high expectations of Fury and his merry band of misfits. Fury was SHIELD after all.

“Ask your security, they are the ones who stopped them for a pat-down.” Fury retorted.

“That’s what I pay them for, how do I know you’re not bringing people to kill me?” Tony questioned as Nat rolled her eyes.

“Do you think I’m stupid?” Fury asked and Rhodey shook his head in annoyance.

“Well…” Tony started but was cut off by a knock on the door.

“Enter,” Fury called out.

“Hey this is my office,” Tony complained. Fury glared at him but quickly turned his attention back to the door.

“There they are,” Fury nodded as the 4 men entered the room.

Tony sized each man as they entered. The first to walk through the door was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, muscular dude. Off the bat, he realized maybe Fury did better than he expected. This man was built, really built. Tony figured he could easily win any fight and could take down anyone Tony asked him to.

Not too bad.

The second man that entered was just as built. His long blonde hair flowed freely, and he had a goofy grin on his face. Tony could immediately tell he might not be the smartest, but with him and the other blonde, they could intimidate anyone who thought about crossing him.

The next man was a smaller blonde. But he had a calculating look on his face. It reminded Tony a lot of how Nat would enter a room. While not as large, he might be able to do just as much damage.

Finally, the last man seemed the most out of place. His messy brown hair fell into his eyes, and he looked around like he was in trouble. He wasn’t particularly built, with clearly no muscles. He walked into the room nervously and looked like he was about to explode any second.

“Stark, I’d like you to first meet Captain Steve Rogers.” The first blonde man reached his hand out. Tony took his hand and was impressed by the firm handshake.

“Quite the handshake Cap,” Tony quipped.

“He’s enhanced.” Fury commented.

Tony had heard about enhanced individuals before. Tony vividly remembered his father talking about their potential in the mob. Howard had been obsessed. He wanted them, saying they were needed. Enhanced associates were the only way the Starks could ever have complete control over all of New York. Being stronger and faster than anyone else, they were perfect for taking down rivals and controlling their crew.

“And this is Thor,” Fury motioned to the long blonde-haired man who entered second. His handshake was just as strong.

“My name is Thor Odinson,” Thor boomed as he approached Tony. His handshake was just as strong as Steve’s. He figured he might be enhanced too.

“Thor thinks he’s a god,” Fury whispered.

“With his size, he could pass as one,” Tony commented but quickly regained focus and turned his attention to the third man.

“And this is Agent Clint Barton. He is an excellent marksman and archer.”

Tony nodded shook Clint’s hand. He could always use a skilled shooter.

“Finally this is Dr. Bruce Banner,” Fury motioned to the nervous brunette.

“You’re Bruce Banner?” Tony asked. He had heard of the legendary doctor, aka the science experiment gone wrong. Tony was fascinated by the man, and couldn’t believe he was finally meeting him.

“Yes, I am Dr. Bruce Banner,” Bruce held his hand out, and Tony eagerly grabbed it.

“It’s good to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled, and I’m a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.”

“Thanks,” Bruce nodded and looked down.

“Dr. Banner is only here to lend us his brain, meaning we won’t be needing that enormous green rage monster.”

“That’s surprising. No, I guess it’s not surprising,” Tony said with a great deal of disappointment.

“Don’t worry, there’s a lot we have in store,” Fury consoled.

“Gentlemen, and Nat, let’s discuss in a conference room,” Rhodey suggested.
--

“So let me get this straight,” Steve said.

Tony rolled his eyes. He might be a pretty boy, but he sure wasn’t as smart as Tony. Or Bruce, who looked equally frustrated.

“So this Loki, he’s your brother?” Steve asked Thor.

“He’s adopted,” Thor mumbled.

“And he is leading the Chitauri mob?” Steve asked.

“Yes,” Clint rolled his eyes.

“Why?” Steve asked. “Why cross you and your father, when your family has always sided with the Starks.”

“He wants power, and he thinks this is the way to get it,” Thor explained.

“And you think he has some plan to try and take control of the Stark mob and then the rest of New York?” Steve continued to ask.

“The Stark mob is the only one standing in his way. Stark has the weapons to keep him laying low. Word on the street is he has something better than Ironman.” Nat explained.

“And any threat to the Starks is not tolerated,” Tony said, his eyes dark. He hadn’t dealt personally with the Chitauri. He had heard reports of some of his men getting mixed up with them before, but they had always been relatively small events. Nothing Tony had ever considered a big enough threat to get directly involved with.

“And the Chitauri are worth more to SHIELD than Stark?” Steve asked.

“They are a threat because we don’t know what they are capable of or what they are planning. SHIELD knows what Stark is capable of. If we can take down Chitauri, SHIELD will be more than satisfied. It’ll prove that the Avengers are needed. And that the Starks are on our side.”

“Um, you don’t know what I’m capable of,” Tony argued.

“Yea we do man, I read the report Fury gave us,” Clint said.

“Let’s go to my training room, and you’ll see what the report definitely didn’t say,” Tony whispered to Clint. Tony grinned as he stood up.

Rhodey, Clint, Thor, and Steve all smiled too. This would be fun.

--

Everyone had brought their gear to practice. Tony was glad since he could show off and not just sit in a boring meeting. And, as another bonus, Fury left after the debrief in the conference room.

As Clint shot an arrow, Tony blasted the arrow mid-air with his repulsor. Nat threw a knife at Clint, who dogged it easily. Thor stealthily watched Steve practice his punches on a punching bag, and threw his hammer at Steve as hard as he could. But Steve whipped around and caught it, and threw it back. Thor grinned.

Rhodey flew in as War Machine and shot at Thor, who jumped out of the way. Tony blasted his repulsor at Rhodey which hit him in the shoulder knocking him back. The Avengers continued to practice, completely in their own world. Bruce stood off to the side, observing awkwardly.

Bruce watched, unsure of what to do. He was the Hulk, but he didn’t want to be. He wanted Hulk to never take his body over again. He never wanted to hurt people. He didn’t want to use the Hulk to do evil. Sure, he wanted some of the other mobs off the street, but joining a mob to do that? He wasn’t so sure. But Fury came to him ready to out him as the Hulk. If he didn’t join the Avengers, SHIELD would send him to The Raft forever. So here he was. Maybe he could do some good here. But did Stark even have a heart? He seemed cold. Frankly, he acted and looked exactly like what Bruce pictured as a mob boss. The man might be brilliant, but he seemed dangerous. As if the only thing he cared about in the world was money and power. That wasn’t the kind of person Bruce wanted to be associated with.

Bruce was so wrapped up debating whether or not Tony had a heart or not that he didn’t initially hear the door open. He only noticed that someone new entered the room when he felt a tug on his pants leg.

Bruce looked down to see the biggest brown eyes he had ever seen before. The little boy was staring up at him, his mouth agape.

“Um… hi,” Bruce greeted. The little boy pointed to Tony.

“I’nman!” The boy said.

“Yea that’s Ironman,” Bruce agreed, kneeling down to meet his eye level. “And…. Umm… who are you?”

“Peta!!!”

“Peter? Hi I’m Dr. Bruce Banner.” Bruce held out his hand, and Peter took it giggling. Bruce noticed how light Peter’s handshake was, but it was unsurprising for a little kid. Peter was quickly distracted from the handshake, staring at the shiny thing on Bruce’s wrist. With both of his hands, Peter started playing with Bruce’s watch.

“You like my watch?”

“Wach” Peter mimicked, completely focused on the shiny gadget.

“Yea it tells time, are you familiar with the concept of time and numbers?” Bruce asked, unsure of how to engage the child in conversation.

“One, two, tree, fo’, five, sis, sehven, eigh, nine, ten, eweven, twelwe...” Peter rambled.

“Wow you are pretty smart, how old are you?” Bruce asked.

Peter held up 1 finger, but then added, “I big boy. I two in Augus.”

“Wow okay wow,” Bruce commented, unsure of what to say. Bruce had not spent much time studying the intricacies of child development, but he knew this boy was definitely ahead for his age.

“You play wif I’nman?” Peter asked.

“Yes… we are friends?” Bruce explained, but it sounded like a question.

“We bes frens,” Peter commented, rubbing Bruce’s watch.

“You know Tony?” Bruce asked, but noticed the confusion on Peter’s face. “I mean Ironman?”

“Yea bes frens!” Peter giggled.

Bruce glanced up, to see Tony and Rhodey were still fighting. But he noticed Clint and Thor staring at the young boy, and Bruce watched the pair come over.

“And who is this young man?” Clint asked.

“Peta,” Peter said, reaching out to touch the bow in Clint’s hand.

“I’m Hawkeye, but you can call me Clint. You like my bow?” Clint asked.

Peter nodded excitedly and reached for it again, his hand lightly grazing the cool metal.

“What do you think of my hammer young Peter?” Thor asked, setting the hammer down next to the boy. Peter immediately turned his attention to the hammer, studied it, then tried to lift it up. He wrapped his two small hands around the handle and lifted with all his strength. He scrunched his nose in concentration. His little body shook as he tried as hard as possible to lift the hammer, but he couldn’t. Peter frowned in disappointment.

“That’s alright young Peter, one day you will be stronger than me!” Thor reassured, picking up Peter and throwing him in the air. Peter screamed in excitement. Thor caught Peter in the air and put a giggling Peter back on the ground.

“ ‘Gen!!!! ‘Gen!!!” Peter giggled, reaching his arms up making grabby hands. Thor threw him up a few more times, but when he tried to set him back on the ground, Peter clung on.

“You have quite the grip there, young man,” Thor commented, threw him once more, and set him down again. This time, Peter let go.

If anything, Bruce noticed how short of an attention span this kid had. He ignored Clint and Thor as he wandered into the training room more, walking towards the fight. Bruce didn’t let him walk any further into danger though. Bruce caught up with the kid before he could walk any further into danger. He tapped Peter on the shoulder, and when he didn’t turn around, Bruce tried another tactic.

“Hey Peter, come sit next to me and I’ll explain what they are doing, and umm… we could play?” Bruce suggested awkwardly.

Peter turned with a grin, and ran over to Bruce and took his hand. Bruce led Peter back over to Thor and Clint.

“You guys go back to training, I’ll stay with him,” Bruce said as he passed Thor and Clint. They didn’t need to be told twice as Thor threw his Hammer at War Machine and Clint shot an arrow at Captain America.

Bruce sat down on the floor where he was originally standing, and Peter plopped down next to him. Deciding it wasn’t close enough, Peter crawled over to sit on Bruce’s lap. Bruce didn’t stop him, but he seriously wondered who this kid was and why he was so trusting. And why he seemed so fascinated by Bruce. He was just… Bruce.

“I’nman!” Peter pointed again to Tony, who was swooping down to attack Thor, completely obvious of the young boy in Bruce’s lap.

“They’re training to catch bad guys,” Bruce explained as Peter shifted in Bruce’s lap to get a better view of the fighting.

“Tony… err Ironman… is pretty smart, but Steve, we call him Captain America, is super strong. So is Thor. But Clint and Nat are good at strategy.”

“Wha’s sra’egy?” Peter asked.

“Well, it’s like planning. Basically, they know what they want and they think up ways to get exactly what they want.”

“Wan toys?” Peter asked.

“Yea exactly, they want toys and they’re trying to think of ways to get new toys,” Bruce said. Really, the Avengers wanted power, and to do that, the strategy included threats and murders. But the kid didn’t need to know that.

“Help?” Peter wondered.

“Yea they want to help by getting bad guys off the street.”

“I help!” Peter exclaimed and pointed to himself.

“Maybe when you’re older you can help take down bad guys.”

“I gonna help,” Peter agreed and leaned back onto Bruce’s chest.

Bruce didn’t know what else to say, so he didn’t say anything else. They just watched the group train in comfortable silence.

In just a few hours, the Avengers got more comfortable with one another. They learned from each other’s different fighting techniques. Sometimes they would huddle up to discuss ways to improve form or discuss how rival mobs tend to fight so they could try to simulate the future fights they anticipated. But they were so focused, they never glanced towards Bruce and Peter.

After what felt like forever, the Avengers were finally running out of energy to practice. Ironman and War Machine had teamed up and were beating the crap out of Captain America, Thor, and Hawkeye, while Nat lurked in the corner. She was observing the room when her eyes landed on Bruce and Peter. She knew how protective Tony was over Peter, so she immediately went over to the two.

“Hey Nat,” Bruce greeted, looking up at her. Peter also looked up but didn’t say anything.

“Hey Bruce, hey Peter,” Nat replied.

“You know Peter?” Bruce asked curiously.

“He’s Tony’s kid, and he definitely shouldn’t be down here. What are you doing creeping around here you little spider?” She asked, reaching down to tickle him. Peter giggled and squirmed in Bruce’s lap, looking for protection in Bruce’s arms. Bruce’s jaw dropped. He had no idea Tony had a kid.

“Wach wif Bruce!” Peter said through the giggles.

“Where’s mommy? Does she know you’re down here?”

“I sneak ‘way,” Peter whispered mischievously.

“That’s what I thought, common Peter, I’ll bring you upstairs before Tony sees you’re down here. He won’t be happy.” Nat explained and reached for Peter’s hand.

Peter took her hand, and she helped pull him to his feet. As they started to walk away, Peter stopped. He turned back to look at Bruce, and let go of Nat’s hand. Peter ran back over to Bruce and jumped back into Bruce’s arms. Bruce hugged him back, and oddly enough to Bruce, Peter made direct eye contact while they hugged.

“Bye-bye Buce!” Peter giggled as he pulled out of the hug and ran back to Nat, who was holding her hand out for him to come back. As Nat took his left hand, he waved back to Bruce with his right hand.

“Bye Peter,” Bruce said and waved back to Peter. He watched the boy leave with Nat.

The second the doors closed behind Nat and Peter, Bruce turned around to see Tony and Rhodey staring down at him.

“Whatcha doing on the floor Dr. Banner?” Tony asked.

“Oh, you know… watching?” Bruce said like a question. Bruce wasn’t sure if he should mention the fact that Peter, who turned out to be Tony’s secret child, was here for the past hour watching them fight. Probably sitting too close to the action for someone so young. Bruce figured it was probably for the best that he kept the secret of his newfound friendship between him and Peter. And Nat.

“Being a spectator is hard huh?” Rhodey jokingly asked.

“Yea, you’ve been at it for what? Three hours?” Bruce asked, checking his watch.

“Hey that’s a cool watch Dr. Banner,” Tony commented as he looked at it. “Is it Swiss?”

“Uh yeah it is,” Bruce said and looked up to see Tony staring at his wrist. Huh. Bother father and son gravitated towards his watch. Bruce could only wonder what else was similar between the two.

“Any recommendations Dr.?” Tony teased, thinking he wouldn’t get any.

“What?” Bruce inquired, realizing he zoned out contemplating Peter and Tony’s similarities.

“Any ideas based on your three hours of observations?” Tony explained.

“Oh, yeah. Well, I think we can make some upgrades to everyone’s suits. For example when you and Rhodey fly you notice how noisy it is? I think there’s a way we can make your flight stealthier.”

“And how would you do that?” Rhodey asked with clear interest. Even Tony perked up.

“You know how some birds have really loud flight patterns while others are silent? I think we can use that concept to our advantage. If we can cut down on the air turbulence, we can make a stealth mode. Maybe include a chameleon effect to your suit when in stealth mode.”

Tony grinned.

“Let me show you the labs, Dr. Banner. I think we are going to make a great team.”

--

The rest of the week went by rather normally. To an outsider, it would seem as though the couple had a relatively normal life for, well, a powerful couple.

Pepper went back to working as the CEO for Stark Industries. She did her best to accept her fate. For the time being, there was no escaping. Her guards were watching her 24/7, and with the help of Friday, she knew every breath she took was monitored. She figured Tony was being paranoid, but she realized it was somewhat rightfully so. She did after all try to escape. And she would try again the next time she got the chance.

Pepper was loaded with meetings, resulting in Happy turning into a babysitter. At least Peter adored him and generally listened to Happy. There were only a few instances where he snuck away from Happy to look for Pepper. With the help of Friday, he would usually find Pepper in her office and would sit on her lap and help her with all of her work. Peter fully believed he was helping run the company, and Pepper was happy to keep him close, and away from any mob business.

If he couldn’t find Pepper, he would look for or Tony or Bruce. He rarely found Tony, but when he did, Peter would play in the lab trying to getting his father to chase him or he would sit in on mob meetings. In Tony’s mind, Pepper didn’t have to know about that.

If he found Bruce, he would sit on his lap and watch Bruce work. Bruce wasn’t sure whether or not to mention his newfound friendship to Tony, but he figured there was no harm since Peter was a happy and easy kid to spend hours with. Peter was fascinated with anything and everything Bruce did. Everything Bruce did, Peter watched with amazement. Bruce would simplify and explain most of what he was doing to the best of his ability, and Peter seemed to understand. Peter seemed to gravitate towards Bruce, much to the astonishment of Bruce.

Peter’s fascination was Bruce was mirrored by Tony. Tony would occasionally come down to the lab just to talk to Bruce about ideas. Tony dubbed them ‘science bros’ and Bruce nervously chuckled and agreed. Who was he to say no to a mob boss? At least Tony turned out to be nicer than Bruce hypothesized. Luckily, Peter was never there when Tony would spontaneously show up.

Tony and the Avengers continued to meet every day. They would train together for hours, debrief and plan their next attack. On Friday they went to scope out some rival mobs, but did not attack. They were waiting for the right moment, which Steve assured them it would be soon.

At least Pepper, Tony, and Peter had the weekend together. As a family, they had a relatively normal weekend. They slept in as late as they could until Peter shook them awake. He insisted they play with him all day Saturday; which Tony was happy to do.

And while Tony had been busy all week, he didn’t forget about his lesson for Pepper. All week he thought about it. Planned it meticulously. It was Sunday now and Tony had finalized his plan to fix everything with Pepper, to rebuild their trust.

His plan?

To take Peter with him to Malibu for a few days. Without telling Pepper. And without taking her.

To Tony, if he could show Pepper how much pain she caused him by taking away his son before he was even born, Pepper would finally be able to understand his point of view. He knew she would be upset, hell, she’d definitely yell at him. But he could point out how that’s exactly what he felt. But look at him! He was able to put their son first and forgive Pepper for everything. Therefore, Pepper needed to accept Tony and his life. He couldn’t change who he was, especially not his mob ties, so Pepper had to acknowledge that and take him for who he was.

So on Sunday, Tony thought over his plan as they played with Peter until it was time for his nap. Peter at first refused to take a nap, crying that he wanted to keep playing even as he yawned. But when it was clear Peter was too tired to even stand up, Tony scooped him up and hugged him close to his chest while telling Peter a story. Peter looked up at his father with his big eyes, listening intently. He tried to stay awake, but his eyes quickly drooped and he fell asleep in Tony’s arms.

Even when Pepper suggested putting Peter in the newly assembled crib, Tony refused to let go of his son.

“Tony let him rest,” Pepper complained.

“He is resting,” Tony whispered.

“You know what I meant,” Pepper said, rolling her eyes.

“If I put him down, he’s going to cry.”

“No, he won’t,” Pepper insisted.

“Fine,” Tony surrendered and walked into Peter’s room. But as he went to lower Peter in his crib, Peter began to whimper. Tony immediately stopped lowering him, and brought him back up to his chest, with Peter’s head falling in the crook of his arm.

“See,” Tony grinned walking back into the main room.

“Good luck holding him in your arms like that for an hour,” Pepper smirked.

And she was right. Because after 20 minutes, Tony’s arm hurt like hell. But he would happily suffer through the pain if it meant holding his son. He sat down on the couch, relieving some of the strain on his arms. He looked down at his son, who was drooling on his chest.

“How’s your arm feeling?” Pepper gave him a once over, clearly seeing his discomfort.

Tony shifted his arm with a grunt and accidentally jostled Peter a little too much. He whined and blinked his eyes open.

“Mommy,” Peter whimpered.

Peter rubbed his eyes, sat up in his father’s arms, and looked around. When Peter’s eyes landed on Mommy, he reached out to her. Pepper got up from her spot on the couch and sat down next to Tony. Peter crawled over to sit on her lap. He snuggled into her arms and rested his head against her chest, his legs dangled over Pepper’s legs onto Tony. Pepper wrapped her arms around him, one hand running through his curls. Peter leaned into the touch, burying his head into her chest, listening to her heartbeat.

When she heard Peter’s breathing leveling out, she sighed and rubbed his back. She finally looked up to see Tony staring. She could see the wheels in his brain turning.

“He just…” Tony whispered. “Prefers you.”

“Tony,” Pepper sighed. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

“All he’s ever known is you. I’ll never be as close to him.” Tony choked up. It was his worst fear. Tony noticed a lot of little things this past week about Peter. When he was cranky or sad, he picked Pepper over him 100% of the time. Peter’s eyes lit up way more for Pepper when she came back from working downstairs as SI’s CEO. Peter always wanted Pepper to give him a bath. Peter always cried for Pepper, and never for Tony.

“You can’t think like that,” Pepper said.

“It’s hard not to,” Tony mumbled.

“Hey,” Pepper rubbed Tony’s shoulder. “You were the one to help him fall asleep. He feels so safe in your arms. You can’t be too hard on yourself; it’s only been a week.”

“It shouldn’t be this hard.”

“I think you’re making it out to be harder than it actually has to be.”

“Hmm,” Tony mumbled, but he did not agree. He only spent a few hours with Peter during the week, mainly in the evening. He barely saw Peter during the day, only the two times he showed up in his lab and the two times he showed up at one of his meetings with his crew. Tony wished he could spend more time with him. But that was what next week was for.

They sat in silence, listening to Peter’s light breathing. When the elevator door dinged, the couple looked up, wondering who would show up in the penthouse on a Sunday.

Tony wasn’t fully surprised to see all the Avengers standing in the elevator.

“Security breach,” Tony quipped.

They poured out, and Tony stood in front of Pepper and Peter to effectively block Peter from their view.

“Relax Tony, they all know about Peter,” Nat said.

“What if I didn’t want them to know about Peter?” Tony questioned, the anger flaring in his voice.

“We would never do anything to hurt your son,” Steve promised.

“Yeah man, we’re on your side. And besides, what kind of sick fuck would go after a little kid?” Clint asked.

“Guys that’s not why we are here,” Rhodey interrupted. “Tony we gotta go. Some of Hammer’s remaining men are trying to take back territory in Queens right now.”

“Seems like an easy fight. Hammer’s men are all a bunch of idiots.” Tony commented.

“It will be simple, so suit up metal man,” Thor commented.

“Meet at the Quintjet in 5. Bruce your flying.” Steve proposed. The Avenger’s nodded. Bruce looked flabbergasted at the mention of him flying. But they all and followed Steve back to the elevator.

“Aye-aye Captain.” Clint joked and jumped into the elevator with the rest of the team.

As the doors closed, Tony turned back to Pepper who was watching him.

“I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Tony –” Pepper started but was cut off by Tony leaning down and kissing her deeply on the lips. She was startled at first, but she returned it.

“I’ll be safe, all that jazz. It’s a good thing, we’ll get rid of more guys like Hammer who hurt random men who take care of my son.”

“Ben was not random and you know it.” Pepper complained, but Tony ignored it. Instead, he knelt down in front of Pepper’s feet and planted a kiss on the top of Peter’s head. Peter didn’t even stir.

“Interesting that is what you focus on,” Tony commented.

“Hmmm,” Pepper responded, clearly annoyed with his comment.

How dare Tony assumed Ben wasn’t important? Just another reason she couldn’t find it in herself to forgive Tony. All she saw was that Tony always made everything about him. He put himself first. Whereas Pepper, she put Peter first. Always. Pepper truly believed that Tony would put his own desires before Peter, no matter what.

“I’ll see you both later. Love you.” Tony said, standing up.

“Don’t do anything stupid.” Pepper rolled her eyes, happy to have some alone time with her son.

“I never do,” Tony admitted.