Home isn't just a place

Chapter Twelve

"Twelve years ago, our son, Peter Benjamin-Edward Stark went missing," Tony said, his gaze hardened to the flashes that went off around him. "I know that there have been rumors that our son was found. We are here today to address those rumors."

Pepper then stepped forward. She was wearing a professional skirt and suit jacket, and her strawberry-blonde hair was pulled up in a tight bun. "Before we say anything, please be reminded that we want our privacy. Anyone who takes photos or videos will be prosecuted to the fullest by our lawyers," she said firmly. At this, the reporters in the room became excited, and murmurs were heard throughout the hall. "Almost a year ago, our son Peter was, in fact, found."

Chaos erupted in the hall, as people began shouting at the couple. The Starks remained indifferent to the noise, and Pepper only continued once silence returned. "Peter had been kidnapped however, managed to escape his kidnappers. He was mistaken for an orphan and taken to an orphanage where he was adopted by a couple."

"It is only by pure chance and the incredible NYPD that we were able to find our son." Tony said, for once actually reading what was on the cards, not willing to risk his son's safety for his dramatics. "As you can imagine, this was quite the shock and we ask that you do not pester our son."

"Peter is still a minor and if any of you attempt to harass, take pictures or videos of him without his explicit permission---which you will not have---we will sue." Pepper said, her eyes hard with determination.

"We will now be taking questions, however we reserve the right not to answer them." Tony said, and his glare was practically daring someone to say something rude so that he could tell them off.

Shouting reigned over the room, and it took a few minutes before Pepper was able to point at a reporter. She stood up, her badge showing the name of her paper company and held out her recorder to the couple. "Where was Peter staying? Who were his adopted parents? Are you sure they didn't have anything to do with his kidnapping?"

"Peter's adopted parents had no knowledge of Peter's true parentage, and that is all the information we will be giving out about them at this time." Pepper said. "Next?"

"Does Peter remember his kidnappers? Will we get to see him?" a man called out from the back.

"Peter was too young to remember his kidnapping," Tony said. "And you will not get to see him until we are ready. We are taking things slow. You can, however, see a picture of him." A picture of Peter then flashed on the big screen behind the Starks. It was one of Peter's better school pictures, and the only one Peter was willing to let be on TV.

"Is Peter a genius too? What are his accomplishments?"

"Peter is smarter than I am," Tony said, a proud smile spreading across his face. Flashes of cameras going off filled the room. "And his accomplishments are going to remain private. We do not want any exploitation."

"Mr. Stark! Are you and Peter doing anything special for Father's Day?"

A sad tint shone in Tony's eyes for a second before it was gone and Tony answered, "That is private. Thank you so much for coming." he then waved and the Starks left the stage.

Peter clicked the power button on the remote, and the press conference disappeared from the screen. That had happened two hours ago, and Peter had been forced to turn off his phone lest it crash from the excessive notifications he was receiving.

Sighing, Peter leaned back against the couch and let his mind wander.

Father's day.

Previously, the holiday had made Peter sad---it always did. But everything was different now. Before, Mother's day had been lost amongst the countless other things that were going on, and Peter never had the time---or, to be honest, the mental stability---to celebrate it with Pepper properly.