You Are Not Tony Stark

Aftermath 4/4

ALL OF THEM

"I talked today with the school principal and he said that Peter's absence did not affect his grades even a little," Tony said as he walked into the bedroom where Pepper was packing the last things.

"That's great! Going to Malibu for spring break was a good idea, I think we all deserve it," Pepper said with a smile, closing her small suitcase. They did not have to pack much, because they have a lot of things there.

"The departure is scheduled for two hours, but we should go, I want to stop somewhere along the way," Tony said, taking the suitcase.

"Okay, I'll go see if Peter is ready."

"You think just because you're Tony Stark that you can buy everything?" May snapped.

"Yes."

"Forget it, I won't sell you my land!"

"When you're talking about selling, Tony, I'd like to buy the ice cream shop from you," Pepper said.

"Guys, it seems to me that you understand the game badly," murmured Peter, but nobody noticed him.

"I gave enough money for the ice cream shop, I won't sell it to you."

"You know what? Maybe we should try pairs instead of Monopoly next time," Peter suggested.

"What are we doing here?" Peter asked as Happy parked at the cemetery.

"I thought we should all come here together. We always came here alone, we must not let May have the impression that we aren't getting along," Tony explained as they got out.

"Oh, Tony," Pepper said with a small smile, giving him a quick kiss. Sometimes she was surprised at how many emotions hid inside her husband.

"So the thing is. We know you love your job, but we've quit for you. We've arranged for you medical care here in Stark Tower and your room is ready next to Peter's room," Tony said firmly. He won't let May win in this.

"We know you won't like it and we can't force you, but we'd like you to accept it. We'd like to spend as much time together as possible. Everyone," Pepper said.

"Normally I would be terribly upset, but I guess it's not such a bad solution. What do you think, Peter?" May asked.

"I think that's the only solution," Peter murmured.

"So, we came to check on you and show you that we were trying to return to normal in some way," Tony began after a moment of silence as the three of them stood side by side, each immersed in their memories.

"It's been a month and a few days since you left us. There are still those bad moments, but we've all returned to our duties," Pepper said.

"May, we love you. I miss you so much, but I want you to know that I'm okay. You don't have to worry if I would come home every time I'm out there like a Spider-man. You can rest now," said Peter, and Pepper wiped away a tear that had escaped from her eye at Peter's statement.

Pepper woke up to a slamming door from their bedroom. She immediately sat up on the bed and saw from the corner of her eye that Tony had done the same.

"Friday, turn on the lights," Tony ordered, and once that happened, the couple was given a glance at Peter standing in the doorway of their room. His face was red and he was crying so much.

"S-h-e's g-on-e," he wheezed, trying to catch his breath. Pepper and Tony immediately got out of bed and trapped Peter in a hug, each side. They slumped to the ground, still in an embrace, but now all three of them were crying.

"We'll do it now," Pepper muttered to Tony.

"Very well. We wanted to do it in Malibu, but I think Pepper is right. We should do it here with May at our side."

"What?" Peter asked, confused.

"We have something for you. Before we give it to you, you must know that whatever you decide it won't change how much we love you," Pepper replied.

"Okay."

"May thanked us so much for giving you a family, but I think the truth was that she gave us a family," Tony said, handing him a roll of paper.

"We want to adopt you, Pete."

"How can one feel both sad and happy?" Peter sobbed.

"It's all right, honey," Pepper assured him, embracing him.

"We never talked to May about adoption, so we don't know her opinion, but we like to think she would agree," Tony said, joining them in their embrace.

"I also hope she would agree because I agree," Peter muttered inside their hug.