I Was Joking

Most Important Meal

Tony's head rolled to the side, subconsciously kissing Peter's forehead as he woke up. The man opened his eyes, smiling down at the teen below. He should probably wake the kid, but...not yet. There was just something that felt right about waking up like that. With your kid cuddled close to you, warmth and heartbeat lulling them to sleep. It felt natural; it felt nice. 

He had that dream again. The one where he wasn't sure what it meant, and didn't have enough courage to talk to anyone about. Sure, he'd have to tell Pepper-it takes two to make a child-but he was still going to have to work up the courage. If it meant what the man thought it did, then it was going to be a pretty large step in his life. The teen shifted in his sleep, head rubbing against Tony's chest. Thank god Peter was helping him learn. And no, Peter wishing he had a sibling had nothing to do with Stark's train of thoughts. Not in the slightest.

"Hey, dearest? What time is it?", Tony whispered, looking at the ceiling. "9:45, Boss.", FRIDAY answered, disembodied voice hushed as well, with a tone of amusement. The man stared at the ceiling in thought. Huh, got a full eight hours. That's a first. 

"Ah well, day's not getting any older.", he muttered. "I have a Spider-Baby with an enhanced metabolism to feed. C'mon, kid.", Tony gestured, lightly shaking his kid awake. "Mmm.", Peter hummed, loosening his grip. The man stood up, making the still-hooked teen to do the same. "Get clean, get dressed. Your old man's making omelettes.", he ordered, wriggling out of the teen's grasp. 

"Sounds good.", Peter mumbled half-asleep, stumbling into his room. The man smiled before following his own directions. Can't set an example if he's a hypocrite. 

Hearing Peter say those words a couple of months ago seemed to be all the motivation Stark needed to finally start taking care of himself again. Not years and years of advice from close friends that have been with him through thick and thin or experts that have spent years and millions of dollars learning about how the human body functioned and decades of experience, nope. No effect, in one ear and out the other. One offhand remark from a snarky teenage superhero? Oh shoot, he SHOULD start taking care of himself. Out with all the hard liquor, cut back on the junk food and for god's sake, at least TRY to get a sleep schedule going. 

The man chuckled to himself, finding the irony he was in hilarious. But, on the plus side, he's felt better during that past month than he has in years. If that didn't make him realize how deep of a hole he's dug himself, then there was no hope. 

Feeling a little more refreshed, he started getting to work. Tony could cook-don't tell anyone-it had just been a while. Besides, if any of the others found out, they would constantly be putting him on meal duty. Peter, Steve and Bucky were the only ones who helped clean up. If that was going to be the case, it wasn't happening. 

He started pouring the egg mixture into the heated pan before reaching for the cheese and already cooked bacon. Peter walked into the living room, acting like he was in a trance by the scent of the breakfast meat. "Surprised you didn't go back to bed, kiddo.", Tony remarked playfully. "Well, I was going to...but then I smelled bacon.", Peter quipped back, pouring himself a cup of orange juice. "And got my second wind." 

Tony chuckled, grabbing the pan and partially flipping it. The man made a little sound of triumph as he set it back on the stove. "Well, it seems to have that effect on you." Leaning against the counter, he looked the teen up and down, gaze locking in on the papers in his hand. "Whatcha got there, Pete?", the man asked curiously, head tilted and eyebrow raised. 

"Papers. One's the permission slip for the field trip here next week, (Yes I am going there) and the other's for this biology project I have to do. Was hoping it could be done in the lab.", Peter explained casually, handing them over. Tony looked over them while flipping the omelette. "Where's a pen?", he muttered, pulling a random drawer. "Dadadada-there it is!", he muttered, pressing the bottom down. An unreadable but familiar signature graced the paper and it was pushed away. "Thanks Mr. Stark. You-you're not gonna try anything, are you?", the boy asked nervously, taking the paper. 

"Moi?", Tony asked, acting in fake offense. "Never! Wouldn't dream of it!" Peter gave an eye roll. "On second thought-", the teen muttered, folding it away. "Aw, hey.", the man dropped the sarcasm with a smile. "Eat up, bucko. Mine might be a bit.", he finally said, pushing the plated six-egg bacon and cheese omelette towards Peter, who gladly took it to the table. 

He started the process with his own, far smaller but still stuffing to the man. Tony softly smiled as Peter gave hums of satisfaction. "Thanks Mr. Stark. It's great. You even cooked the bacon just right. May never does that. Always says that if it's cooked any longer, there won't be any, 'cause it'll be burnt to a crisp. But that's how it's supposed to be.", he started rambling, making gestures with his fork if it wasn't shoveling the next bite into his mouth. Tony just continued listening as he watched his own breakfast cook on the stove. 

Not long after, the man plated his own omelette and grabbed the science paper on his way to the table. "DNA comparison, uh? Yeah, we can do that. Won't be that hard, with our equipment. Although Bruce might have something better for this field of work." "Nah, wouldn't want to bother him. Don't want to take something he really needs by accident.", Peter excused, shrugging as he kept eating. "Fair enough.", Tony agreed, doing the same. 

A few hours later, the rest of the Avengers went about their daily lives, narrowly missing Peter and Tony as the two whisked themselves off into the lab. They started talking science, and ideas for the suits, as Peter got the equipment he needed to complete his experiment. "Ah.", Peter gestured, as Tony jokingly repeated. The two got swabbed, and Peter took the two samples into his corner of the lab. 

"Let's get to work."