seventy-one.
Tony'd had enough experience with doctoring his own wounds throughout his life that he made quick work of Peter's. The boy asked him not to mention it yet, so he didn't, and somehow they just went about business as normal... Well, as normal as business could be right now.
Tony made small talk with Peter, who kept up easily. He made sure to ask Peter about his studying and if he still wanted to look into getting a tutor for a while. Peter agreed, thinking it would be nice to have someone trying to teach him so he wasn't struggling to figure out everything he'd forgotten. He asked Peter if he liked everything in his room still or if he wanted something new, and the boy quietly asked about some small bookshelves and maybe a cool looking vanity.
Tony asked quietly about the makeup that was sitting out and asked if Peter was into that now. Peter, worried that he was being judged, said nothing at first. Not until Tony promised him that he was in no way making fun of him or judging him, and was just genuinely curious.
Peter said that yes, he was kinda getting into it now, and despite some things still missing from his collection, Wade had gone above and beyond to spoil him. Tony nodded, listening intently for a few minutes before speaking.
"We can see what we can do about getting you a good set up. Do you want a mirror one? We can do a mirrored one."
Peter just laughed a little, then let Tony continue.
"As for the missing makeup, I don't know much about makeup, do you know a lot?"
Peter shakes his head and wonders where the old man is going with all of this.
"Well, Miss Potts is really good with makeup, maybe she wouldn't mind coming with us and helping us out, hm?"
And so, on they went, stopping by Miss Potts' workplace to see if she'd be interested in hanging out and helping out. She didn't mind and was actually a little excited to finally get to spend some time with Peter.
Peter asked how they were doing, but the answer surprised him a little. He knew that Tony and Bruce had split, but he hadn't heard anything about him and Miss Potts getting together, and now he felt like being a little nosy... He'd resist the urge though, just happy to see them being happy and holding hands in the front seat.
See, Tony Stark is not broke. Not even remotely close. If being broke was an island, Tony Stark would live on the moon.
That being said, as soon as the three of them walked into the makeup store, Tony pulled one of 15 credit cards from his wallet and handed it to Peter, saying nothing more than "I'm just happy to learn."
So, Pepper led both boys through the store with a smile and helped Peter check off the things he was missing. Foundation, concealer, pressed powders and the like. Peter kept looking at the cheaper stuff, but Tony kept reminding him that he was allowed to get whatever was the best, even if it was expensive. Tony had a lot of money that he could spend on Peter, and he wasn't going to let the boy forget it.
In just a short time their small basket had a nice size amount of stuff including concealer, foundation, color and spot correctors, bronzer, luminizer, and other things that Tony couldn't remember the name of. He didn't really care what Peter and Pepper picked up, he was just happy he'd get to shop for them both.
He sorta prefers their company to Bruce's now. Especially after what'd happened between them.
When Peter was missing, finding him was Tony's number one priority, which meant that he didn't have a ton of time to hang out with anyone, and everyone but Bruce understood. He complained that Tony wasn't making time for him anymore. After the third month of Peter being missing rolled around, Bruce began to insist that they were never going to find him and even suggested giving up the search.
Tony made time for him after that. Time to fight with him and argue that he couldn't just give up on the boy just because they hadn't found him yet. He knew the boy would be found eventually, no matter what Bruce thought.
And when they fought, Bruce got angry and the big guy almost got loose, but Tony didn't care. He kept fighting and arguing and eventually, he broke up with Bruce, and almost physically threw him out of the lab.
That was the last time he saw him, storming out of the lab, eyes half glowing and full of rage.
And he wants to badly to be wrong.