Going Through Changes -> Peter Parker

32.

Tony waited a whole week to reveal his decision to Liam. The boy was deeply convinced he did that on purpose, to make him suffer longer. To make that longing for making things suitable with Peter eat him alive. Of course, Tony didn't know about that part. But he was still adding anything he could to his adopted son's misery, like making him stay with him while he was adjusting the new interior of the Avengers compound.

Liam hated being here. Everything was too big, too flashy, and due to the move still going on, there was absolutely nothing to do. Sure they had the outline of a shooting range and a little training area that was left from their time training Wanda, but it was all just fun and games until the teen had internalized every single mode there was. Tony clearly enjoyed making him suffer. At least he'd always had that happy little smirk on his lips whenever he was around. It was also there when he entered the training area on Thursday morning where Liam was hanging upside down from the ceiling like the little bug-boy he was missing so dearly. It was actually a shooter from one of his suits, and Liam understood why Peter had liked it so much. It made him feel closer to the boy. Also, hanging and spinning were somehow more fun than watching Tony and the workers.

"Are you now turning into a bug yourself? You know that cockroaches don't use the web, right?", Tony grinned and Liam let out a pissed hiss that almost sounded like a cat due to his vocal cords being upside down. Tony chuckled. Oh yes, he was enjoying every minute of this. For the first time in their relationship, he had actually power over the boy. Liam didn't like that. Tony loved it. So Liam chose to give him a slight scare for that by letting himself fall from the ceiling to make a cartwheel just in time and land on his feet dangerously close to the man.

Tony blinked. That he still thought Liam would fail a little acrobatic like that was just ridiculous. He had learned to flip like that long before he had finished the first ten years of his life. Not knowing how to land correctly was just sloppy. But it was so effective to startle people.

A mocking grin spread on Liam's lips as he took the web-shooter from his wrist along with the white bandages he used for better support. But Tony wouldn't be Tony without taking to cover up his tiny heart attack. "You wouldn't be such a bad Spider-Man yourself. Maybe you should take the suit. You're not sticky, but your slimy. ", he pointed out. "Peter's Spider-Man. And that's sweat, Tony. People sweat when they do sports." Liam rolled his eyes, gesturing at Tony's body that had once been in better shape. He had gotten lazier with each innovation his suits had made. Liam couldn't blame him for that. Tony was probably just as bored as him without the avengers. And the one thing standing in the way of starting the new adventure of having children with Pepper was that he already had one he couldn't handle.

"Peter's not Spider-Man anymore. And I still don't understand why you want to go back. You never wanted to go to school in the first place." Tony crossed his arms over his chest, looking at the boy in expectation of a plausible explanation he couldn't think about himself. And he was right. Liam never wanted to go to a regular school. And he was still not a big fan of the lessons. But he liked not being on his own anymore. Ever since the events of Germany, he had been as lonely as he had been before he had met his family. Without them, he was just nothing. But he was planning to build himself a new one. And for that, he needed Tony's permission to get back to work.

Liam sighed, then turned to face him. "For the first time, I have friends my age. And technically, you owe me to support that. After all, you're the one who started a war that criminalized my best friend" "You should have never spent that much time with that woman." "That woman is family. You loved her just as much as I do. You're just too god damn stubborn to admit it.", Liam huffed.

"She chose the wrong side.", Tony argued. "Nat chose to do the only right thing. She always does. ", Liam shot back. "She left you." Tony's gaze was piercing right through him. As usual, he was aiming for what he expected to hurt most. But Liam wasn't mad at Natasha. He could never be. And that was what Tony underestimated. "Love means letting go. I let her go. ", he shrugged, unarming the man's sharp tongue with a lie. Tony acknowledged the boy's point with a  small nod. That meant he had nothing more to say about that. "So what about Midtown now? Can I go back to my friends?" Liam changed the topic back to what was really important to him. Tony squinted his eyes while thinking. "That girl you talk with every other day... You like her." That was a test. Somehow Tony was still thinking he had to monitor Liam's love life. But as usual, he missed the point. Michelle wasn't the one he should worry about in that department.

"She's a remarkable young woman, and I am proud to call myself her friend.", Liam vaguely replied. Tony nodded but remained quiet. "Also, you know that I prefer older men. You should know that best.", Liam added with a smirk, triggering an unpleasant memory in Tony's brain of him catching his teenage son screwing his twenty-year-old intern. That was also why Tony wasn't hiring any intern to hang around anymore. He flinched at the picture in his head, exactly what Liam wanted him to do. It was his best point of argumentation, after all. He knew he had won when Tony ran a hand over his face in disbelief.  "Fine. Get back to your friends. But if I catch you with any young teacher, I will send you to Mars."

Happiness floated Liam's body, and he bounced in joy. If he were taking a shortcut, he would might be able to catch Peter's last period. He was overjoyed that he even gave Tony a brief hug before leaving for the parking lot where his car was already waiting. Finally, something good happened. And with the obstacle of having to deal with those weapons removed from his life and moved into Happy's area of responsibilities, there was nothing that could hold him back from apologizing to Peter and starting things over.