Stark Men Are Made of Iron

Making It Up As We Go

"Hey, Peter? Can you please keep this weekend free? Natasha and I wanted to go out for a bit all together." Tony was making his son a lunch for school as he talked. Natasha had become a regular face around the penthouse since Tony had told Peter that they were together. Peter hadn't had any problem with it - it wasn't like he had any memory of his birth mother to hold onto. And, for the most part, Natasha was kind-hearted and a comforting presence around the apartment, but she also posed a pretty big threat to Peter's secret. A spy was more likely to notice all the little lies and inconsistent stories than Tony was.

"Okay, Dad, I just-" Peter thought for a moment. "I have some tests on Monday, so Ned and I wanted to study on Sunday. Could we hang out on Saturday?"

"Sure, Saturday works. Let's still do dinner on Sunday though."

Peter nodded and grabbed his lunch box, gritting his jaw. Peter hated that he lied. He hated that when he lied to his dad, Tony just took it as truth. He hated being trusted when he didn't deserve it.

The teen headed off to school, leaving his dad in the kitchen alone. Tony poured himself a mug of coffee, then poured another one for Natasha. She'd slept over the night before, but Peter didn't have to know that.

"Good morning," Natasha whispered, coming around the corner of the hall. "Is he off to school?"

Tony nodded and passed her the mug of fresh coffee with a smile. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine," Natasha said, brushing messy hair behind her ears. "I hope you don't mind - I stole one of your band shirts. I didn't want to make the trip downstairs and wake everyone up."

Tony looked down at Natasha's shirt, surprised to see if was one of his favorites. "Well, I'll let it slide this time but... it is my favorite."

Natasha laughed, breathing in lungfuls of the coffee's steam. She cut herself off and took a sip of the coffee, practically moaning at how good it was.

"The right amount of sugar."

"How you like it," Tony said, taking a sip of his black coffee.

Natasha smiled. "You're a very thoughtful person, Tony, I don't think people expect that."

Tony just shrugged. "Whatever. We have that meeting in a few hours, we should go get ready."

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Peter swung through the city, enjoying the sunny breeze. Ned was watching the police scanner carefully, even from where he was on the walk home. Peter was supposed to be at Academic Decathalon right now, according to his father, but it was his newest cover story for why he was going to be late home from school. He was out patrolling now for nearly 2 hours after school.

"Seeing anything?" Peter asked Ned over the ear piece.

"Not really. It's the middle of the day, there aren't exactly robberies and car thefts going on."

Peter swung between buildings, barely grazing the hard asphalt before pulling himself up and over the next wall. He could just look for people who needed help, he didn't need a scanner to do it for him.

"Do old women crossing the road count as people who need superhero assistance?" Peter asked, looking down from the building he was currently sitting on.

"I mean, if they need help..."

Peter sung down and offered his arm. The old woman gladly took it, albeit a little nervous about the way Peter was dressed. It was something. Another tick in the "wins" box for the day.