Iron Dad One Shots (mcu)

Familiarity

From the beginning, there was an odd sense of familiarity with Peter. They just clicked, like two lost puzzle pieces coming together. There was an effortless flow that ran between them, both of them had their sharp tongues and quick wit that complimented each other perfectly.

It was almost suspicious how well they clicked.

Tony didn't really 'click' with people. Rhodey hated him their first semester at MIT, Pepper pepper-sprayed him in the eyes during their first encounter (hence the nickname), Steve and him butted heads more often than bulls. So for him and Peter to just... immediately fall in line together, it was exhilarating.

It was suspicious.

Tony loved Peter like a son. He didn't realize the accuracy of that statement.

—

May had become somewhat close to him in the coming months. She was still weary of him, which was understandable. Tony had enough blood on his hands to fill the Grand Canyon. But she was warming up, slowly but surely, and they learned to bond over their shared love of one Peter Parker.

"I'm glad you have him." May confessed to him one night as she sipped from her wine. "He needs a father figure."

Tony bit his lip. "Sure."

She glanced at him and smiled, shoving him playfully. "I mean it, hot shot. I mean... ever since Richard and Mary died, and then Ben, he's only ever had me..."

Tony smiled.

Then froze.

"Pause."

May looked up at him in confusion. "Hm?"

"Mary? His mom's name was Mary?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Yeah? Is that a problem?"

He looked at her nervously. "Mary Parker."

"Tony, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Tony sat back. "I... nothing." He muttered. "It's no big deal."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Weird."

Tony nodded.

Very.

—

"Do you remember Mary Parker?" Tony asked Rhodey the next night over video chat.

He tilted his head. "Your ex? Yeah, I remember."

"What ever happened to her?"

He snorted. "Why do you care? You dumped her ass after she cheated on you."

Tony wasn't laughing. "Do you know?"

Rhodey blinked at his serious, almost stern tone. Tony was never serious about anything like this. It was off putting.

"No. I have no idea. We cut her off after what happened, remember?"

He nodded. "Right, right."

"Why? What's going on?"

Tony bit the inside of his cheek.

"I think I dated Peter's mom."

—

Tony did the research. And by "research," he meant he hacked into a copious amount of government files to confirm his suspicions.

What he found out was a little disconcerting.

Mary Parker — his ex — had died in a plane crash in 2006.

Mary Parker — Peter's mom — had died in a plane crash in 2006.

Tony and Mary broke up in 2001.

Peter was born in 2001.

But there's no way they were the same Mary. They couldn't be. Cause that would be... weird.

And nothing weird ever happened in Tony's life. For sure.

(Sarcasm.)

Okay, who was he kidding? They were definitely the same Mary. But that wasn't totally crazy, was it? It's a small world, or whatever Disney says.

And it didn't change anything between him and Peter. At all. So if he told Peter about this revelation, the logical conclusion is that Peter wouldn't care.

So why did he dread telling him so bad?

He'd just had this pit in his stomach ever since he figured it out. Like there was somehow more to this.

But obviously that was just paranoia.

—

"Have you ever noticed Peter kind of looks like you?"

It took nothing but those ten words from Pepper, spoken casually like a random conversation started, for Tony to run to his lab in fear. He just needed to prove it to himself. This was a crazy fucking coincidence. There's no way. No way that Peter—

"It's confirmed, Boss." Friday's tinny voice flooded his ears, saying everything he didn't need to hear. "Peter Parker is your biological son."

Fuck.

Tony sat back, slack-jawed, staring at the matching DNA holograms numbly. There was no way to deny it. Everything crashed on top of him in this moment.

Peter Parker was his biological son.

He looked up at the ceiling, hands covering his mouth.

"Fuck."