Shadowplay | Tony Stark

SIXTEEN - VISITORS

"Mommy help please!"

Mila had just finished brushing out her curls when Tristan came thundering into her bedroom full of haste. He was half dressed with a Spider-Man costume the wrong way round with the zip undone, a stressful look in his eyes.

"Come here sweetie, your suit is a little twisted, let's sort this out."

She smiled at him and began to help him step out of the costume before letting him step back into it the right way around, zipping up the neck and doing the fiddly button.

"There. You look just like a real superhero, look."

Mila picked up her son and held him on her hip, standing in front of the mirror and watching his little face break out into an ecstatic smile, his eyes wide with sparkle and happiness.

"Downstairs, quick!"

Baffled by his unusual eagerness, Mila carried her son down the hallway and to the stairs, the two of them whispering silly things between them as they laughed their way down the staircase, only for Mila to stop dead in her tracks when she finally looked away from Tristan.

"Oh!" She gasped, shocked to see two men she'd never met before stood talking to Tony. She recognised one of the from the television and the other from the pictures dotted around the lake house.

Tony immediately rushed over to the staircase, the two other men following close behind him. Tristan squirmed out of his mother's arms and dashed over to the teenager who was dressed in a suit identical to his, pride beaming in his face as the man crouched down and opened his arms for the boy to run into.

"Wow! You look just like me! That's so cool, man!"

Clearing his throat, Tony gave Mila a half smile before turning his head back to the two visitors.

"Mila, this is Clint Barton."

"Nice to meet you, m'aam."

The gentleman stepped forward and held out his hand for Mila to shake, which she did, accompanying it with a bright smile that mirrored his own. She'd seen Clint many times before on the news and would've found it fascinating to have a superhero in front of her had she not already been living with one for over a month.

"It's a pleasure, Mr Barton."

"And this is, uh, Peter Parker. You probably recognise him from the pictures and stuff around the place," Tony looked over at Peter who was currently laughing at something Tristan had said, the two-year-old clinging onto the teenager's back, "Kid, this is Mila."

After Tony grabbing his attention, Peter carefully put Tristan back down on the ground before brushing his hair from his face and walking over to Mila, offering her a handshake, too.

"It's so nice to meet you, we've heard tons about you and your son."

Mila smiled at him before glancing at Tony who's cheeks were a shade redder than usual at Peter's admission, both of them exchanging a small smirk.

"Anyway, they're here to watch Tristan while you and I go out for a little while."

Clint and Peter's attention was instantly turned away by Tristan, both of them sitting down on the couch while the boy began to mindlessly chatter away to both of them before showing them his collection of toys.

Mila grabbed Tony's wrist and pulled him subtly out of earshot of everybody else into the kitchen, glancing over her shoulder to check that neither Clint or Peter were paying any attention.

"I don't know about this, Tony. I've never left him alone with anyone but my parents."

"It'll be fine, I promise. Clint has three kids of his own and I wouldn't leave Tristan with anybody I didn't think was capable of taking care of him, and-"