Growing Up

5 Years Old: Part 1

Tony hung up the phone, dragging a hand down his face as he groaned. Pepper was still in Malibu, the babysitter for Peter had had an emergency, and Tony had to be at an Avengers meeting in one hour. However, Peter couldn't be left alone at the tower with just JARVIS to watch him and Tony didn't trust any of his staff enough to leave Peter with them. That left only one option and Tony wasn't very excited about it.

"Peter?" he called. He heard Peter's small feet racing across the tiled floor seconds later as the five-year-old came bounding into his bedroom.

Jumping onto Tony's bed, Peter looked up at his dad with a grin.

"What?" he asked, crawling over to where Tony was sitting and tossing his legs over the bed to sit exactly how his dad was.

"Emily had to cancel today, so you have to come with me to a meeting," Tony said. Peter frowned, jutting his lip out. Tony rolled his eyes. "Don't give me that. It'll be fun, promise," Tony told him. Standing up from his bed, Tony scooped Peter up and said, "Let's go pack some fun toys then we gotta go."

Nodding along happily, Peter bounced in Tony's arms as they walked down the hall to Peter's room. While Peter gathered up his five most favourite toys, Tony picked out some snacks. They put both the snacks and toys in a backpack and once it was zipped up, Tony helped Peter slide the straps over his shoulders. Fifteen minutes later, they were in the lift and heading down to the garage.

Unfortunately, traffic was worse than Tony expected and they ended up sitting in a long line of cars just on the freeway. Undisturbed by the traffic, Peter hummed happily in the backseat, swinging his feet back and forth.

"Daddy?" he asked, kicking Tony's seat lightly.

Tony glanced at Peter just as the traffic started moving. Before Peter could even ask his question, Tony had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting the person in front of him. Apparently they were stopping again.

"Where are we going?"

"I have an Avengers meeting," Tony answered in lieu of cursing. Peter's eyes widened.

"Will Captain America be there?" he whispered. Tony smiled and nodded, slowly starting the car forward again.

"So will Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Hulk," Tony replied.

From the backseat, Peter stared at him in awe and Tony smiled.

When they arrived at SHIELD, Peter unbuckled his seatbelt himself then clambered out of the car. Tony grabbed his little backpack and held Peter's hand to lead him inside. As they passed the front desk, Tony waved briefly at the receptionist who stared at him in shock. At his side, Peter's grip on his hand tightened as a swarm of agents appeared from down the hall.

"Stark, you're late," Agent Hill said, falling into step beside them. She glanced down at Peter then did a double-take. "Are you babysitting?"

"No, actually," Tony said as they stepped into the lift. He swung Peter up into his arms and Peter shrieked happily, wrapping his arms around Tony's neck and grinning at Maria. "This is my son Peter. Peter, this is Agent Maria Hill and despite how scary she tries to be, she's actually really nice and will kill any bad guys I can't," Tony introduced.

Suddenly shy, Peter just waved at Maria, keeping close to Tony. Maria waved back with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, Peter," she said. Peter smiled wider. "You know, your dad isn't actually allowed to bring you to his meeting, but while he's in his meeting, how about you and I go exploring?" Maria suggested.

Peter looked at Tony for permission who nodded.

"Okay!" Peter agreed, squirming out of Tony's arms to join Maria.

Maria smiled as Peter grabbed her hand and the lift doors opened. Stepping away from the doors, Tony squatted down in front of Peter.

"You'll be okay with Maria," Tony told him. Peter nodded, glancing up at Maria. "If you need anything, just ask her. And if you really need to find me, she'll bring you to me," Tony said, giving Maria a pointed look. She rolled her eyes. Ruffling Peter's hair, Tony handed Maria Peter's backpack and said, "If you get tired of exploring, here's some stuff to do."

Maria nodded and took the bag.

"Get to your meeting, Stark," she said, but he hesitated. "We'll be fine," she assured him.

"Go, Daddy!" Peter insisted, pushing his dad. "I want to stay with Miss Maria!"

"Alright, kiddo," he agreed. With one last wave to Peter, he turned down the hall and hurried into his meeting room.

As soon as Tony was out of sight, Maria looked down at Peter and asked, "How much do you like planes?"