Luck

If someone had told him a few months ago, not only that he would spend entire afternoons in the company of a child, but that he would enjoy it so much that it would become his favorite activity, Tony would have called that person crazy. And yet, he did. The series of meetings he and Pepper had scheduled to promote the Maria Stark Scholarship had lasted no more than three weeks. The results had been excellent, and the board had gladly authorized a large increase in the scholarship funds after meeting Peter. No wonder, of course, because the little boy was able to win anyone's affection with just a smile.
Initially they had committed to fostering the boy for a month, but days before the deadline they found themselves building a drone with which they intended to take pictures of the meteor shower that was scheduled to take place in a few more weeks and then perform a holographic recreation of it. All this would take at least six weeks and when the boy realized it, he couldn't help but be disappointed and Tony felt his heart —the one he wasn’t sure of having— break a little.
"Could I... Mr. Stark, do you think I could come see you when everything's ready? I think Gladys would let me come again just to see it. Could I? Please? Or maybe, if you go to New York someday, you could show me. If... if it's not too much trouble, maybe..."
"I think we can work something out, kid." He said to him, messing up his hair while he watched the little boy's brown eyes get their shine back. "Now go to wash your hands and let's get something to eat before Pepper comes looking for us. We don't want to see her angry, do we, bud?" Peter shook his head and ran to obey. He was the most docile and intelligent little boy Tony had ever met. Of course, he didn't know many of them, but he was sure that even if he knew thousands of them, Peter would stand out.
The boy cleaned the table with that strange obsession of being useful, and while he and Pepper were washing the dishes, he took the opportunity to talk to her.
"We arranged with the social worker to take Peter to her on Friday." He commented in a casual tone.
She sighed for a long time before giving the boy a fleeting glance and a smile that Peter reciprocated with sincerity, it was surprising that despite all that had happened in his short life, he was always in such good spirits.
"I was starting to get used to having him around. He was our best ambassador with the scholarship funds; no one could have done better. I hope Gladys can find him a good family."
"I was thinking... yesterday we started a project and the boy is very excited, but it will take some time to finish it so I thought we could talk to the social worker and ask her to leave him with us for a couple more months, just while we finish. The kid's earned it, don't you think?"
"Are you sure Peter is the only one excited about that project?" she asked, smiling, after kissing his cheek. "Sometimes I think that one day you two will weld the door of the lab shut and it will be impossible to get you out. Looks like you finally found an assistant who can keep up with you."
She was of course right. Throughout her life he had worked with thousands of people, very few - really, only one or two - had not turned out to be torture. Incredibly, he had never been so comfortable and relaxed as he was with that little boy. The brat was a true little genius, no doubt about it, he could be as smart or even smarter than he was, although sadly the kid had not had a tenth of the opportunities he had had since birth.
There was something almost magical in the way the boy's eyes sparkled when Tony explained something to him and he managed to understand it and then put it into practice; something that impelled Tony to teach him more and more things that his prodigious brain absorbed like a sponge that seemed to have no limits. In addition to an agile mind, he had skilled hands and was tireless. He was, in short, the perfect assistant.
As fascinating as his abilities was his kindness. He never asked for anything; he thankfully accepted what was offered to him and did his best to help with the duties of the house. It was no great surprise when the first and only time he asked for anything was not for himself, but for an orphanage whose representative was raising funds at the reception while Peter waited for him and Pepper to leave a meeting.
"So, you're okay with it?" Tony asked, trying to sound disinterested.
"Of course. I think it will do him good, he has already gained some weight and seems more confident, don't you think? Besides, with all he's been learning with you I wouldn't be surprised if he could even skip a grade or two."
"No, if I can help it." He assured with determination. From his own experience he knew what a hell it was to attend a class where everyone else was older. "The best thing for him is to be with children his own age. If he gets bored, he can take extra lessons with private teachers. I don't want him to be exploited like a circus freak."
Pepper just studied him for a few moments, intuiting that his little outburst had much deeper roots that he didn't want to dig up. To divert attention, he called Peter's attention to announce the decision they had just made. Needless to say, the boy was delighted with the news.
The routine they had begun to create during the first few weeks was consolidated with that extra time. During the week they ate breakfast in a hurry, but they made an effort to do it together, as long as Pepper's constant trips allowed them to do so, then she went to the office, Peter took classes with the private teacher they decided to hire for him and Tony worked for a few hours in the lab or went to some meetings at Stark Industries, the afternoon was dedicated almost entirely to the boy, either working on his project with the drone, building Lego sets that the kid was fond of or watching some movies. Sometimes they would surprise Pepper with a self-made dinner and end the day talking or reading in the living room, until Peter would fall asleep with his head on one of the adults' knees.
Because of his work schedule and constant traveling, Pepper spent less time with the boy and Tony was the one who lived with Peter the most, so it was not surprising that the child felt a little more attached or confident by his side. He was sure that this had nothing to do with the fact that he was Iron Man, because since the first time they had the opportunity to talk, the questions that the boy asked him were always of another nature, and if they were related to his famous second identity, they were always about the technical aspects of the suit, its operation, its construction, that really fascinated the boy.
There were very few people in his life who were with him because he was only Tony, and not because of his money, his power, his relationships or Iron Man. If there was one thing he was convinced of, it was that the reverential look with which Peter always looked at him was due solely to all the things he learned from him. It was something similar to the pleasure he felt when he noticed that the knowledge he shared was so well received. Nothing more.
Then something happened that brought down that theory so loudly that it rocked his whole world.
The first thing that made him suspect that something was wrong was the silence that reigned in his work area. Although Peter had been reserved, shy and silent for the first few days, it took him only a couple of weeks to feel confident enough to let go of his flood of questions without holding back at all. Sometimes he would tell a little story of what his life had been like in one of his other foster homes, at school, or from something he had read somewhere. It was hard for him to be quiet for more than a couple of minutes no matter how focused he was on his work; in fact, it seemed that talking helped him concentrate. He was quite a peculiar child, so when more than ten minutes passed and he didn't say a word, Tony began to worry. A few minute after, he heard him trying to muffle a complaint. He went over to his side to ask Peter what was wrong and when he noticed how he tightened his stomach he did not need other confirmation to know the cause of his discomfort. Without thinking twice, he carried him to his room and put him to bed, the kid’s forehead was much warmer than normal, and he seemed sleepy.
Without thinking much about it, he did the little he remembered his mother did when he was sick, and she was at home. He made him a cup of tea after calling the doctor and could not conceal his relief when he was assured that it was not serious; although that, of course, did not prevent him from feeling helpless because he could not end the child's pain instantly.
No matter how hard he tried to hide it, the child was not having a good time; however, far from complaining, every time he could say a couple of words, they were dedicated to apologizing. And when minutes later the little boy ended up involuntarily emptying his stomach contents onto him, he seemed almost frightened. He didn't want to go into the way the poor creature should have been treated earlier when he was sick, to make him react that way. He tried hard to calm him down, but no matter how many times he repeated that it didn't matter what had just happened, the boy didn't calm down until after a while of having his head on his chest. A few minutes later, when he tried to change his position, Peter, probably thinking he was about to leave, clenched his jacket in his fist without even opening his eyes.
There was something in that almost instinctive movement that made him understand that the bond that had already been created between them was more than temporary. As he stroked his hair trying to put him to sleep, he realized that he could no longer kick him out of his life, so the words he heard next shook him again.
"Tony, I can't do this anymore. I can't do this anymore. We can't. I want to get it over with."
"It's about Peter, isn't it?" She nodded.
"We promised him we'd spend Christmas together. It's only a few more days..." It didn't take a genius to conclude that this was the least opportune moment to mention that after the holidays he had thought of asking for Peter's time with them to be extended a little further.
She shook her head in determination to refuse.
"After what happened today, I understood that I cannot do it. It can't be a few more days. We need to get this over with."
He knew well that tone, cold and slow, that hid an iron determination. Any decision she had made would be almost impossible to change. But he had made a promise to the boy, and part of him, which was already impossible to keep quiet, was insisting more and more stubbornly that Peter belonged in that house, that this child was his, and letting him go would be one of his biggest mistakes. However, saying it aloud frightened him, he was afraid that anyone who heard him would confirm that he was crazy and that the child would be better off with someone else than at his side. If Pepper didn't agree, he would lose the child forever. Weeks earlier he had made sure that the child's education was covered and was of good quality. Peter would want for nothing, but while that might be enough for the kid it was not for him, because he wanted to always be a part of his life.
"Pepp, go to sleep. I'll take care of him. Tomorrow he'll probably be better, and things won't seem so complicated." He wanted to believe that after a good rest he could convince her to wait a few more days, but the traces of vomit on her silk blouse and her own pants did not bode well.
"No. Tony, I couldn't sleep if we didn't talk about this now."