The Scattered Stories of Spider-Son and Iron Dad

The 'Father' Dilemma - Avengers

Tony had talked to so many people in the last month, specifically about Peter: Rhodey, Pepper, His therapist! May. That day had turned into such a long conversation, that Tony had still been there when they both got a text from Peter saying he was heading home from Patrol. They had talked about everything: How afraid he was of hurting Peter, how terrified he was to mess up, to over step, or take some liberty to which he had no right. But, by that point in her life, May Parker was too used to dealing with moody geniuses.

By the time Tony left-shortly before Peter actually got home-They had discussed how to possibly bring this up with Peter, and maybe having him stay the night at the tower more often-along with actually planning it ahead of time, of course. May had been honest about her own fears about Peter: How she didn't know how to parent a teenage boy, how she couldn't always understand him-his interests, or his fears, or his abilities. At some point, one of them-neither of them really knew who-one of them brought up the topic of adoption and that was also thoroughly discussed. And if May spent the next morning on the phone with Pepper Potts, Tony was none the wiser.

In the two weeks that followed that conversation, Peter actually had stayed over at the tower a few times; once for the weekend, and then in the middle of the week when May had to work a few nightshifts in a row. Tony had been stunned to experience most of the things he had described: Helping Peter with his homework (albeit in the lab instead of the kitchen), making breakfast for both him and Pepper that Saturday, Peter falling asleep on him when they watched a movie. The only thing Tony hadn't really imagined was the heart-stuttering fear that consumed him for a moment, when-after he had fallen asleep-Tony had lifted the boy to bring him to bed, and been stunned by how light he felt.

One impromptu day of genetics studying later, and Tony had assuaged that fear only to be hit by others. For instance: While Peter felt much lighter than he looked like he should be-and that was due to his enhanced metabolism-he would also probably have a lot of trouble thermoregulating! He can dodge bullets but could end up hibernating if it gets too cold. Yippee!

But even with all the worrying, Tony had soaked up the experiences. He had tumbled through a constant rollercoaster of emotions where the young superhero was concerned: from heart stopping fear as Peter threw himself off a balcony only to catch himself with a web, to unbelievable pride as he watched him swing away to patrol in Queens. And, on top of it all, Peter seemed blissfully unaware of the tumultuous changes he had wrought on his mentor's life. And on his Mentor's brother's and fiancée's life. And his aunt's. When Tony really thought about it, He knew that Peter had to suspect something was up, but He was pretty sure that Peter wasn't going to guess the cause on his own. Small mercies... But now, Tony had other things to worry about.

For the first time in months, all of the Avengers were at the compound, and baring any world ending travesties, they would be there all weekend. Peter would be joining them Friday night through Sunday afternoon. But Tony had miraculously managed to gather everyone in the common room the Thursday evening before. And he had no idea how to bring all of this up. He had discussed the future possibility of adopting Peter with Rhodey and Pepper, separately and together. And He had come to a decision that could genuinely change the dynamics of the team. So, with a little voice in his head-that sounded a little too much like Merlin, honestly-saying something about open communication, Tony was sitting in a room full of Superheroes.

"I want to adopt Peter."

No matter how long he had spent imagining their reaction to this news-ranging from a cacophony of questions, to elation, to outright anger-He had not been prepared for the heavy silence that followed. There was quite the selection of emotions, and looks ranged from stunned to deep consideration. But Tony quickly decided that His least favorite reaction was Merlin's. The Warlock sat, stoically on the other side of the room, and had yet to meet his eyes since uttering those words. But Tony could not make himself be the one to break the silence.