Growing Up

5 Years Old

Peter had been living with Tony for just over a year now but to Peter, it felt like his entire life. He had quickly adapted to his new home, often finding Tony down in the lab or talking to the strange voice in the ceiling whenever he got bored. The voice's name was JARVIS, apparently, and if Peter thought it was a weird name, he didn't mention it. After all, JARVIS was one of his best friends and was always willing to talk to him or play "I Spy" when Peter asked.

"Is it the couch?" Peter asked JARVIS after wandering aimlessly around the house.

"Right again."

Peter grinned happily, but was no longer in the mood for "I Spy". Instead, he made his way through the penthouse to Tony's room. Jumping up onto the bed, he rolled onto his bed and looked up at the ceiling to talk to JARVIS.

"When is Daddy gonna be back?" he asked.

"I believe he will be returning in fifteen minutes," JARVIS answered.

Peter huffed and sat up, looking outside. It was pouring rain outside on the New York streets, but Peter had an idea. Smiling to himself, Peter raced into his room with JARVIS's voice following him.

"What are you planning on doing, Mr. Peter?" he asked. Peter scrunched up his nose at the name.

"I'm going play outside," Peter told him, digging through his closet in search of shoes and socks.

He successfully pulled them on then jumped up to grab a jacket from the hook. No luck. Shrugging, Peter decided to go without a jacket. He wouldn't get too cold.

"I'm afraid I cannot let you do that," JARVIS argued as Peter walked towards the lift. When he pushed the button, nothing happened.

"Please, JARVIS? Just for five minutes?" Peter begged. JARVIS didn't reply and Peter pouted. "I'll just hop in a puddle then come back inside. Daddy won't even know I left!"

"Alright," JARVIS agreed.

With a victorious shout, Peter hit the button again then walked onto the lift. He went all the way to the ground floor then shot into the lobby. The people waiting stared at him as he ran past, but he was outside before they could say anything.

Peter didn't have to look very hard to find a puddle. Just outside the front door was a small puddle. With a giggle and a grin, he ran towards it and jumped. Water flew up his legs and soaked through his socks, but Peter didn't care.

Giggling more, Peter searched for another puddle on the sidewalk. One more wouldn't hurt and JARVIS would never know the difference if he jumped in two puddles instead of one. However, two became four and four became six and pretty soon, Peter was soaked head to toe due to both the rain from above and the puddle splashes from below. When he looked up to return to the Tower, he realised he had moved further than he thought. The Tower was almost a block away and he had crossed the street with the help of an older woman.

In a panic, Peter began running back. He bumped into a few people in his haste and was forced to stop at the crosswalk by a teenager who had managed to grab his arm in time. Peter fought back tears as he tried to pull away from the older kid, but the boy held on to him tighter and knelt down in front of him. As Peter sniffled and rubbed his arm under his nose, the older boy lifted his hood to get a better look at Peter.

"Are you alone?" the boy asked. Peter nodded and the boy frowned before unzipping his jacket. He pulled it over Peter and tugged the hood up as he asked, "Where are you headed?"

Peter pointed towards Stark Tower and the boy frowned.

"Stark Tower? Why there?"

"My Daddy's there," Peter whispered.

The boy nodded and held out his hand to Peter. Peter hastily grabbed his hand and together, they walked across the street with the rest of the crowd.

The walk to the Tower was further than Peter had thought it was and he was grateful for the rain jacket the boy had given him. The rain wasn't was fun anymore and he was getting cold.

"What were you doing all the way back there?" the boy asked as they stopped at another cross street.

"Puddles," Peter replied, "I like jumping in them."

With a smile, the boy pointed to a puddle near them. Peter grinned and let go of the boy's hand so he could jump into the puddle. When the crosswalk light turned green, the boy grabbed Peter's hand again and walked him into Stark Tower.

The lobby was absolute mayhem. Employees were talking over multiple channels of their radios and visitors were being asked (politely) to leave. Peter and the boy were almost pushed out as well, but the boy managed to push through the crowd and towards the receptionist. She was on the phone and after multiple attempts, the boy was able to get her attention.

"We're a little busy here, kid," the lady snapped.

"I know and I'm sorry," the boy said, "But I found this kid who got lost and said his dad is here."

The receptionist's eyes widened as she looked down at Peter, bundled up in the boy's rain jacket and holding tightly to his hand.

"Do you know who his dad is?" the boy asked, "Cause I need to get home, but I figured I should probably bring him here first."

Before the receptionist could reply, the boy felt Peter let go of his hand. He turned quickly to make sure the kid hadn't been swept up in the crowd only to see him racing towards none other than Tony Stark.

"Daddy!" Peter cried, jumping into his arms as soon as he was within reach.

"You're soaking wet," Tony said, pulling back just enough to see Peter's face. It was still tear-streaked, but Tony wasn't sure how much was from the rain and how much was from crying.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Peter cried, "I wanted to jump in the puddles and I promised JARVIS I would only jump in one but I found more and more and then I was lost and it was really scary, but then a nice boy helped me get back but I'm really sorry, Daddy."

"Who helped you?" Tony asked, brushing Peter's wet hair from his forehead.

Peter pointed towards the teenager standing by the receptionist's desk in shock and Tony turned to look at the boy.

"Thank you," Tony said. The boy nodded numbly. "Is this your jacket?" The boy nodded again.

Carefully prying Peter off, Tony set him down. He helped Peter take off the boy's jacket then handed it back to him.

"If you ever need anything, stop by," Tony told the boy as he picked Peter back up. "I owe you one."

The boy quickly shook his head.

"No—No, Mr. Stark," he protested, "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

Tony glanced at Peter who had shifted in his arms so he could see his rescuer better.

"I mean, I broke my skateboard the other day," the boy said awkwardly, "I could use another one if that's okay."

Tony nodded and pulled out his wallet. Pulling out two 100 dollar bills, he handed them to the boy who looked at him with shock and tried to argue.

"Oh just keep them," Tony said, "You brought me my son and he's worth much more than $200."

With that, Tony turned towards the lift with Peter in his arms and headed up to the penthouse.