The Devil With The Face of an Angel | Irondad, pepperony

Chapter 60

"And since then he has stopped talking to me about everything that is going on. He wasn't like that after Pepper left, and that's something to say," Tony finished in a heavy voice, watching Bruce walk around the lab. At first, they worked and at the same talked about everything they missed, but once they got to more serious topics, they had to stop working and focus only on the talk.

"I can't believe he really thinks Pepper's cheated on you," Bruce shook his head, clasping his hands behind his back. Tony nodded gruffly.

"I don't know what's going on in his head, but he must have a lot of chaos there. He tells me that he saw Pepper, but Natasha was with her all night and Pep has a lot of witnesses that she was really at work. I really don't understand," Tony sighed, regretting for a moment that he didn't have at least a bottle of Scotch. "By losing Pepper, he finds it easier to open up to others because he longs for understanding and love. Maybe if I paid more attention to him, he wouldn't be seeing Mary now."

"Tony, that isn't yours -  wait, he is seeing Mary?!" Bruce asked in disbelief and sat down across from Tony. "But how is that? He knows about everything she has done to take Pepper's place! How can he trust her?"

"I'd like to know that, too," Tony growled, clenching his fists. "She just confused his head. She told him everything he wanted to hear, and he began to relate to her. Peter is a smart boy, but he's still just a kid that needs mom."

"Maybe it wouldn't hurt to talk to him," Bruce suggested cautiously, and Tony chuckled gloomily.

"Yeah? And what should I tell him? He wouldn't listen to me anyway, and we would argue. I can't ground him and put on Mary's neck a ban on getting close to our family."

"Why not? You're Tony Stark," Bruce grinned.

"Mary is not threatening him in any way. Yet. This has to be solved differently, and I need Pepper to start trusting in us again. But I don't know how to get there," he sighed heavily and rubbed his face.

•••

"So what are your plans for today?" Tony asked, immediately jumping to his feet when Peter appeared in the living room.

"Well, we wanted to meet at Ned's and finish building the spaceship," Peter replied, then raised a questioning eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

"I was interested. Can I join you? You can invite Ned here," he suggested, and Peter became more and more suspicious.

"All right, tell me. What's the matter?" he asked in an uncomfortable voice, and Tony blinked a few times. Peter had never been like that to him. What happened?

"Okay, I'll tell you. I think you're lying to me and you're not going anywhere with Ned," he said and his son stopped.

"I'm not lying to you!"

"Really? Will you tell it in front of Aunt Nat? I know you're seeing Mary, Peter, and I am really wondering why is that. What can that woman offer you and Pepper can't?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest. Peter winced.

"Pepper is a thing of the past," he replied evasively, rolling his eyes. Pepper has never been and never will be a thing of the past.

"No, she's not!" Tony snapped. "Mary is just playing with you, Peter, and I don't want you to get burned as I did back then. You never know what to expect from her. She's manipulating you. You don't even realize and suddenly you jump as she whistles."

"Stop it! You don't know her, she's changed and she explained everything to me! She just wants to meet me because I'm her son!" Peter shouted, and his words ached Tony. He thanked God that Pepper wasn't here, because then she would leave them again, and he really didn't need that.

"She's changed, yeah? So what did she tell you? That she regrets it all? That she didn't mean it that way, and she wants to fix it?" Tony growled, and they both glared at each other for a moment.

"She's my biological mother, and that'll never change," Peter finally said in a calm voice, walking away, leaving Tony alone. He stood still, and Peter's last words lingered in his ears.

•••

"I started seeing my biological mother," Peter admitted as Beck ejected what was bothering him. "We have something to say, but that's not it. It's not what it was like with Pepper. It's not a problem to meet Mary once a week and talk for a while, but then I go home and forget about it. She's not Pepper and I keep thinking about her, despite what happened."

"So you saw Pepper with a stranger, I get it right? And no one believes you?" Beck asked.

"I'm not lying to them, why would I do that? And especially about Pepper! They know how much I love her. But I... I just didn't want Dad to be lying by her. But Aunt Nat tells me she's been with her all night. I don't understand, I know what I saw," he insisted, and he seemed to be talking to himself now. "Dad believes Nat and shines like the sun. But it devours me more and more and I can't forget Pepper. No matter how hard I try."

"It must be really hard for you, Peter," Beck reassured him, then frowned a little. "What about Mary, or what is her name? Is everything really okay? She was pretty mean to you."

"I gave her a chance, and for now, it works," he rubbed his temples, then looked up at Beck. Despair shone in his eyes. "But I really need Pepper for me to be happy."