Take Off The Mask // Son of Stark 2

Chapter 2

Peter squirmed in his sleep, pushing the mountain of plushies off from his bed. His old nightlight (one of Tony's previous arc reactors, which had had been recycled and repurposed into a gift for his son) was switched off for the first time in years. He usually couldn't sleep in the darkness, however after the incident with Hydra, the light was starting to make his night terrors worse.

Tony tiptoed into the room, leaving the door wide enough for a small ray of light to appear on the bed. Luckily, it wasn't in Peter's eyes as the young boy was sure to wake up at the first sign of a glimmer or a glow. The brunet let out a deep breath, which he didn't even know he was holding, as Peter rolled over onto his side. The teen had been asleep ever since they let him out of the medical ward. Despite his many months asleep, he was still extremely worn out.

Sitting down on the navy beanbag beside the boy's bed, Tony yawned. His sleeping schedule had never been great but Peter's accident had only made it worse. Now that he was out of the coma, the genius would finally be able to get a peaceful night of sleep. He leant his head back against the wall, careful not knock it against any of the shelves, and closed his eyes... drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

When he awoke, Peter was also beginning to stir: with the boy occasionally sitting upright and rubbing his eyes, before lying back down. "Morning, Pete," the billionaire said softly, pulling himself up from the seat.

"D-dad... m-morning," slurred the young boy, his eyes blinking rapidly. "What time is it?" he added, after he felt slightly more awake. His brown curls were sticking out all over the place, and his Star Wars: The Clone Wars pyjama shirt was drenched in sweat.

Tony glanced down at his Rolex before replying with a simple, "Nine thirty." This was the time Tony usually woke up at, unless of course Peter had school - which wasn't a problem now, however the teenager seemed distraught. You see, Peter wasn't one of those 'imma stay up all night on tumblr and wake up at eleven' kids. Sure, he had stayed out pretty late on the few occasions him and his Dad had gone out patrolling: but that was different. He would always wake up early. He had alarms set from 5:30am every morning, and stuck to them every single day.

"You should've woken me," Peter exclaimed, pretending to be annoyed at his father. Yet, the teen was partially relieved by his late awakening; he did feel a little better after a long night's rest. He began pushing his Doctor Who duvet off of himself, when he realised all of his plushies had began to fall with it onto the floor.

"It's fine, kiddo, we can pick them up later," Tony reassured his son, picking up the Iron Man build-a-bear and laughing. "You actually kept this thing?"

"It's you... Of course I'd keep it, Dad."

That made Tony's heart shatter into a million pieces... Why was his son so precious? He and Steve had made an amazing decision in deciding to adopt him. Talking about Steve... the old man had said he needed to discuss some stuff with him over lunch. "You have two options today, Petey. You can come to lunch with me and your Pops, or you can stay here at the Tower with Vis and Wanda."

"Does this lunch have to happen?" whispered Peter, his tone sounding very serious, and making Tony struggle not to laugh. His eyes were wide with a mix of fear and terror - something a parent never wanted to see in their child.

"I'm 'fraid so, bud."

Surprisingly, Peter then said, "I'll come to lunch, but I want to sit next to you."

"Of course, Spiderling."

* * *

Tony strode into the restaurant, Peter's hands clasped around his own. The boy was shaking - his nerves getting the better of him. He didn't quite believe his Pops that Bucky was hone. What if the man tried to kidnap him again?

"You alright, buddy?" the philanthropist asked Peter, stroking the boy's hair out of his eyes. He could see Steve sat down at the booth in the far corner, a glass of alcohol placed in front of him.

"Yeah..." lied Peter, his answer not at all convincing enough to comfort Tony. They walked over to the table and sat down opposite them. "H-hi Pops..."

"Hey, Peter, how are you?" Steve said, trying to start a conversation. After a few seconds of silence, Tony nudged the boy's shoulder, hoping to get his attention.

"What? Oh, I'm okay..."

He didn't look okay. He was trembling. There was sweat rolling down his face. His breathing was shaky. Steve was positive he was lying. "How have you been after all-"

"Just don't talk about it," Tony said, glaring at the soldier as he combed his fingers through Peter's hair. "If this is what you wanted to discuss then we're leaving."

The man began to stand up, before being interrupted by Steve. "Wait. Tony. I need to say something else. Avengers related."

"If it's Avengers related, why is it just us two? Don't you need the whole team for this kinda stuff?"

"I wanted to tell you first... For Peter's sake."

Tony sat back down, letting Peter lean against him. "What is it, Rogers?" he hissed, "You haven't gone and ratted him out to Shield have you? Or the UN? For once in your god damn life don't be such a patriot. You don't have to tell them everything."

Steve was shocked at his ex's outbreak. "I haven't told them anything... not yet. But we won't have a choice soon. And it's not entirely my fault." The blond pushed a document across the table and towards Tony.

The brunet picked it up, quickly skimming through a few of the pages. "The Sokovia Accords? They want the team to sign it? All of us? They want us to work for them and them alone..?"

Nodding, Steve replied, "I'm afraid so. I don't agree with it. I think we should be able to save whoever needs saving, not whoever the UN deem worthy."

"I think it's a good idea."

"You've barely read it!"

"The UN are already pissed at me. They've wanted this for ages... and this could be good for me. I need to take a break from superheroing and do some stuff for Stark Industries."

"I don't believe you..."

Tony didn't respond to the Captain. Instead, he stood up - Peter copying him, and they walked out of the restaurant before ordering anything. "Come on, Peter, we're going."