Chapter One
Tony had dreams, sometimes. Sometimes, they were good dreams. He'd dream of Peter's big brown eyes, the way he would cling to you like a little octopus. He'd dream of the times they built blanket forts, of the times Peter would fall asleep curled into Tony's chest. He'd dream of the good times he shared with both Peter and Pepper. When he woke up, he'd cry. Cry for his lost child. Cry for the life he lost. Other times, though, they were bad dreams. He'd dream of that gala, that stupid gala. He'd relive it in his dreams. The way he turned around for one second, one second, to speak with Rhodey. The way he turned back to Peter, only to find him gone. He dreamed of the panic, the way he ran through the crowd, shouting Peter's name. The way he put the building on lock down, refused to let anyone out for hours. He'd dream of the hours spent in police stations, of driving all over the city. The posters that were put up, the news articles. And when he woke up, he'd cry. Cry for his lost child. Cry for the life he lost.
Sometimes, Pepper would wake him. She'd calm him, and she'd sit with him in the lab while worked. Other times, she'd cry with him.
When Tony was in Afghanistan, and Yinsen asked if he had a family, Tony told him no. He had to protect Pepper. And he no longer had Peter.
Every time Tony went out as Iron Man, he thought of Peter. He thought of the way Peter, in his little, four-year-old way, told Tony that he wanted to help people. He'd stated, during a little game he played with his father, that he wanted to be a superhero. With every person Iron Man saved, Tony thought of Peter.
---
The boy, Spider-Man, reminded Tony so strongly of his lost child. Tony looked into the eyes of Peter Parker, and saw the eyes of Peter Stark. And it hurt. It hurt so bad. But now was not the time to think of that, because they had a Civil War to fight against one of Tony's best friends.
In the end, Tony supposed, he had that bug-guy to thank. The Ant-Man. Peter Parker was injured during that battle in the airport. Tony took him to the MedBay in Avengers Tower, took him to Helen, and then he left. He had his fight with Steve. Steve left, left with Bucky, ran from the law, but he left behind a flip-phone, in case Tony ever needed it. Tony swore he would never use it. As it turned out, he'd be using it pretty soon.
As he was coming home from that battle with Steve, Tony's phone rang. Helen was calling him, and he answered, because if anything was wrong with that kid, it was his fault.
"Mr. Stark?" Helen asked. "I need you to get back here right now."
"What is it?" Tony asked, fear gripping him. "Is something wrong with the kid?"
"No, it's not that- well, it is the kid, but he's alright," Helen said. "I can't tell you over the phone. Just get back here as soon as you can."
The moment the car pulled up to Avengers Tower, Tony took off at a sprint up to the MedBay. When he got there, he found Helen waiting.
"What is it?" he asked immediately. "What was so important you couldn't tell me over the phone?"
"We had to take DNA tests of the kid," Helen explained. "To find out what sort of medicines we could use on him, because of his mutated DNA. His DNA matches up almost perfectly with previous samples we have of your DNA. We need newer samples of yours, just to make sure."
Tony stared at her. He thought he understood what she was saying, but he couldn't bear to get his hopes up, not after the past four times someone had thought they'd found his son, only for it to have been a false alarm.
"What?" he coraked.
"I think that could be your son in there," Helen said, her eyes understanding. "But I need current samples of your DNA to make sure."
Tony thought his heart might have stopped.
---
Tony stood awkwardly in the MedBay, staring at the teenager unconscious on one of the beds. Helen was taking forever. Tony couldn't help but get his hopes up, but at the same time, he was certain the tests would reveal that all this fuss had been for nothing. He hadn't said anything at all to Pepper. He couldn't bear the thought of her regaining hope, just to have it crushed.
The door to Helen's office opened, and she emerged. Her expression was unreadable, and she carried a small stack of papers. Tony strode over to her.
"Is he-"
"It's a boy," Helen said, her face breaking into a smile. "It's him."
Tony stared at her. "You're telling me, you're honestly telling me, that-that kid , Spider-Man, that teenager, he's-he's my kid, he's my Peter?"
"He is," Helen confirmed. "You found him."
Tony stared at her for a moment more, before he collapsed into a chair, his composure falling completely to pieces as he began to sob. "Get Pepper," he managed. "Get Pepper, bring her down here. I have to- I have to tell her."
Helen nodded, patting his shoulder gently, and left to retrieve Pepper.
Tony lifted his head, staring at the kid, his kid, when a thought struck him.
How on Earth were they going to tell him and May?