Long Days

Chapter 15

Adopt Peter?

That was Stark's plan?

Sure, the man was rich, but he was a stranger nonetheless. May hardly knew him. He seemed to genuinely care for Peter, but how could she be sure? Billionaires have secrets. What's Stark's? Why did he care so much about her nephew?

What would Ben have thought about this? Together, she and Ben had taken Peter in and committed to caring for him. Without Ben, she couldn't carry on. Not only was she disappointing Peter and Ben, but Peter's parents, too. May felt like a horrible parent; she couldn't even care for the one person in the world who she loved the most.

What would happen after she handed over guardianship? Would she go back to the apartment to try and salvage what's left of it on her own? Would she need visiting rights mandated by a judge?

What would happen to Peter? He would be living an entirely new life without May. He would want for nothing if he lived with Stark. Peter was still impressionable: he could change.

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Adopt a kid?! A teenager?!

Why didn't Tony tell Pepper earlier?

What makes him think he can handle the responsibility of a teenager? Sometimes, Tony can be frustratingly spontaneous, and at other times, he thinks things through for days on end. It was hard to tell which scenario this was. Did he say it to make May quiet down, or has he been thinking about adoption this whole time?

Living arrangements would need to change. Would Peter live in this apartment? Probably. Would he transfer schools? No, completely uprooting him might be a bad idea.

The thought of Tony driving Peter to school was hilarious to Pepper. It was fun to imagine: career days with Tony Stark, Tony Stark as a field trip chaperone, lunch-mom Tony Stark, soccer-dad Tony Stark!

Actually, the more she thought about it, the cuter the idea became...

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Like, adopt?

Well, that would take mentoring to a whole new level.

Would he leave May? Peter imagined living at the compound upstate with all the Avengers. That would be so cool! He could train as Spider-Man all the time!

Peter felt guilty for feeling a little bit excited, but he knew the kind of life Tony lived: fancy parties, international conferences, expensive cars, big houses... Tony Stark got anything he wanted as soon as he waned it with a simple, "Hey, FRIDAY!"

It would definitely be different than living at the apartment with May.

Plus, Peter could spend more time with Stark, one of his favorite people in the whole world.

Eventually, Peter's thoughts drifted as he thought of telling Ned. What would his best friend think?

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Tony cleared his throat when no one had responded. "Well?"

Still no one spoke until finally Pepper admitted, "It's definitely a possibility that I hadn't considered before."

May sat down next to Peter on the couch. She asked, "Hey, bud, what're your thoughts?"

"What would you do?" Peter asked his aunt. Despite how much he wanted to live with Tony, Peter wouldn't leave May in the dust.

"We can still help May get a job and fix the apartment. You could see her as often as you want," Tony interjected.

Peter nodded. "Okay. I mean, I don't think this is the worst option. It definitely beats going back to the group home."

May pulled Peter into a hug while they sat. Peter's words were a deal-breaker. It was selfish of her to think so much about herself anyway: she needed to do what was best for Peter. He needed her to be the adult and sign the legal documents so that he could get back to being a regular kid again. She whispered, "Okay. Look up what paperwork we need. Let's do this. For Peter."

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A/N: Okay soooo this story is pretty much over. I'll probably add an epilogue sort of chapter for this because there was like zero irondad fluff in this chapter, but that's it.

However, I do want to write about Peter adjusting to being Tony's adopted son. I'm currently thinking of just some unrelated one-shots that I can upload as chapters to a story, but I prefer to write plots with rising/falling actions so I'm brainstorming.

Let me know what you think about this possible plan of action for this story, or if you have any suggestions!