Someone He Needs
"Oh! I didn't expect to see the two of you up so early. Well, not Tony anyway." Steve spoke up as he spotted both the named man and Peter coming into the commons, the teenager rubbing sleep out of his eyes as Tony yawned loudly. "Yeah, well I actually went to bed at a half decent time." "Really? When does that happen?" Sam teased and Tony rolled his eyes at Falcon, quickly moving to make himself a cup of coffee. "You want a cup, Peter?" "Yeah. Thanks dad."
Um...what?
"What did you say?" Clint asked and Peter looked around confused. "Huh?" "Kid, you just called me 'dad'." Tony clarified and Peter's cheeks went a little pink, quickly shifting his eyes to the floor. "...Peter?" Steve asked and Peter chewed on his lip. "...You really do see me as a father figure, don't you?" Tony asked as he moved out of the kitchen, setting the cup he had made himself down on the counter. "What, no! N-No, I--" "Peter," Tony started, cutting the teenager off mid-sentence, "you came to the lab and then my room looking for me because you were scared that something had happened to me."
"Really?" Natasha asked and Peter nodded his head weakly. "I-I...had dreamed that I had died, but I was so scared that it might have been a warning that something had happened to Tony, and I..." "You just called him Tony." Bruce spoke up and Parker realized that all of the pieces were starting to fall into place for everyone in the room. "Peter?" Steve softly asked and he waited until Spider-Man was looking at him before going on. "Do you look up to Tony as more than just a hero?" "...I...I do."
Peter shifted, feeling as his eyes started to pool with tears, and while he tried to fight against them, his mouth sorta...moved on its own. "I-I mean, yeah, he's a hero of mine, but he's also been there for me when I had to tell someone what was going on and I didn't want to risk putting my aunt or my best friend in anymore danger than they already are. He's given me great advice about things, and...I... I don't know, it just...feels, right I guess to see him as a father." Tony's hands were cupping his face, gently wiping away the rivers of tears with his thumbs as he locked his eyes with the younger man's.
"You lost both of your parents and your uncle pretty quickly; you were scared and felt alone, but you weren't going to let that show, so you still went to the expo I had hosted all those years ago." Peter looked shocked. "You wore a toy Iron Man mask, and even had the toy repulsors to go with it. You were just a child, but you were angry at the bad men who took away your parents and your uncle. You wanted to get back at them, no matter what. You faced that H.A.M.M.E.R. drone without fear." "H-H...How do you know that?" "Aunt May told me." Tony stated and he saw as Peter's lower lip started to tremble.
"I'm telling you this now, my father was an asshole and a jerk, but he taught me one of the greatest lessons ever: to not be like him." Tony gently pulled the teenager into his embrace, and swayed from side to side as he held the crying kid. "If you see me as your surrogate father, then I'm gonna do my fucking damnest to raise you as best as I can." "Y-You mean that, T-Tony?" "Yes, Peter, I do. I'm gonna take care of both you and aunt May, I promise." "T-Thank you, dad..!" "You're welcome, son."
The rest of the Avengers in the room didn't know what to say. Steve, however, cocked a brow when Bucky moved towards the duo. "And don't you dare forget that you've got the rest of us too." Bucky spoke, settling his metal hand on the small of Peter's back. Parker shifted his head a little and offered Bucky a weak smile. "I won't. How can I? You guys are like a second family for me." Peter confessed and he saw as a grin was painted onto each of their faces. Bucky was hesitant when Peter tugged him towards him and Tony, but relaxed when Stark offered him an open arm, getting pulled into the tender moment, though he didn't really mind.
Both men didn't care what they had to do, as long as it meant Peter was safe, and happy.