Superfamily One Shots

When To Shut Up

**Hi! Hello! It's been a hot minute! I'm working on the new book a lot, mostly because it's something I've wanted to do for a while, and I got super invested in it. Here's an update! I hope you like it!! Enjoy!**

Peter paced around the room, wringing his hands restlessly. He was so nervous. God, he was crazy nervous.

Tony and him had a press conference today. A big one. A massive, change-the-world one.

"Peter, you are being asked for downstairs," FRIDAY said, stopping the teen in his tracks. He took a few breaths, running clammy palms down his shirt and trying to calm himself. The trek downstairs was full of random waves of nausea and sudden anxiety, making Peter uneasy.

"Hey, kiddo, you ready?" Tony took in Peter's pale face and sweaty forehead with concern. He knew press conferences were stressful, but this seemed like a pretty extreme response for what was about to happen.

"Nervous."

Tony pulled him in for a hug. "It'll be okay. I promise, we just need to get through the next hour and you'll be fine."

Peter shrugged, making eye contact with Pepper from the doorway. "Hey. Is everyone here?"

Pepper nodded, her face drawn up in a comforting smile. "Whenever you're ready, bambi, no need to rush."

The teen took a deep, calming breath. "Okay, let's go."

The little family made their way down to the press room, the muted noise of the paparazzi and press on the other side of the doors almost deafening, even from a room away. Peter winced, his shoulder jerking up and knocking Tony's arm from around him. Tony shot his wife a look and she hurriedly pushed her way into the room. In a few moments, the noise quieted, and Peter relaxed.

"Hey, no need to worry. Pepper took care of the noise. You're doing great."

Peter nodded at his father's words, mentally hardening himself. It was time.

The two made their way into the room, ignoring the flashes of cameras and shouted questions. Pepper softly cleared her throat, effectively silencing the room. It was a testament to how much power Pepper wielded over the building and everyone in it, press included. Everyone settled in their seats, waiting for the teen and billionaire to make it up to the podium.

"Hello, everyone, thank you for being here. We are excited to be having this conference today, and excited to announce the good news. As you all know, I have been stepping away from the company board for years now, and for the last 6 months, have only been overlooking development and research. Ms. Potts here has been a phenomenal CEO, and her leadership has really kept this company running smoothly.

"That being said, Ms. Potts and I have been talking about retirement lately. Our daughter will be starting kindergarten soon, and we would like to take some time to ourselves. Which is why we have named an heir to the company."

Everyone held their breath. Was it the teen standing awkwardly next to the famously cool-tempered man? Could this be what they were announcing.

"Please welcome my son, Peter, to the podium. He will be taking over not only direction of research, he will also being shouldering some of the responsibilities held by Ms. Potts as a co-CEO."

Peter stepped forward, nearly falling over the podium as flashes went off all around.

"Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark!"

"Excuse me!"

"Peter!"

The teen held up a hand and lifted his chin slightly. It was a trick he'd learned from his mom.

"Hello, I will be taking questions one at a time. Please raise your hands."

He pointed to a quiet reporter in the back. "You."

"Mr. Stark, what is the timeline for you taking over the company?"

Peter smiled. "My parents are hoping to retire by 50, so I will be taking over completely within the next 10 years." He pointed at another reported.

"Will you be taking over for your father as a head of development and research, or for your mother as CEO? Follow up, have you already who will take over the branch that you do not?"

"I will be taking my father's place as primary share-holder, and as head of research. I have 2 others in mind, one to take over as CEO and one to facilitate development. Michelle Jones is my CEO pick, and Ned Leeds will be head of development. With them, I will be hiring a few of the interns who work here currently, and-"

Tony, who had moved to the back of the room to observe his son's first solo conference, was drawing his hand repeatedly across his neck as if to say 'knock it off."

"And, uh-" Peter faltered, looking over at Pepper.

"We will be working on a new team of head scientists and directors over the next few years, but no one will be laid off or replaced because of this turn over.," the red-head supplied, stepping forward. She gave Peter an encouraging smile.

"Yes. Any other questions?"

Hands went up. "Will you be going back to weapons development?"

Peter furrowed his brows. "Weapons like the ones the Avengers use?"

"No, I mean the weapons this company was known for creating about 10 years ago."

"Oh, no," Peter started. "No, we will not be reinstating our weapons division. Avengers weapons will be handled by me personally, and-"

"He means that Avengers equipment will be handled by our family. Currently, Stark Industries has no involvement in the Avengers equipment," Pepper interrupted, her eyes going wide. If press printed that they were doing Avengers weapons after the whole Obadiah thing, it'd be a PR nightmare!

Peter coughed a couple times, his calm and collected demeanor slowly melting away. "Yes, that. You." He pointed to another reporter.

"Do you plan on taking over for your father as Ironman as well?"

Peter let out a shaky laugh. "Absolutely not. For one, my father doesn't let me anywhere near the Iron suits, he says I am too clumsy, and for two, I'm already a hero so to take on a second secret iden-"

"And that's the end of this!" Pepper cut the teen off, clapping her hands together. "Please make your way out to the lobby, and any further questions can be directed to my office. Thank you!"

Peter closed his eyes, frustrated with himself for letting so much slip. He was only supposed to say one thing: I am Peter Stark. Nothing more.

"Well," Tony said, slinging an arm around his son and wife. He watched the press push out of the room in a frenzied crowd. "That went... well, let's just say Peter needs to learn when to shut up."

**Complete side note, this has nothing to do with anything, but I was listening to Welcome to Night Vale while writing this today, and this is a quote from it, I truncated some of it so there's no spoils if you haven't finished the podcast yet, or if you hadn't started it, but it was so freaking cute, I just had to share it to make y'all smile.**

"I said once that a home is just a grouping of objects connected by a shared personal experience of time, which was just a fancy way of asking you to move in with me, and it worked. But I wasn't wrong, and I know now that a relationship is just a grouping of moments connected by that same shared personal experience of time. What it means to make a life together is to take the experience of two different lives and chose to interpret them as a single, shared narrative. So, in other words, changing the story of 'you', or the story about me, into a story about 'us'... Having a quiet breakfast together is neat. Calling someone over to experience a particularly noisy sunset is neat. This town is neat. Love is neat. Love is very neat, actually, and you are neat... Love is a hunch at first, and then later its a series of decisions. That's love... So I say I am glad again, for this decision and for all the decisions that will come every day after. Which is to say, scientifically speaking, of course, speaking from the point of view of near-fact and logic, and you know, what with science and all. I love you."