The Child Who Changed Tony Stark's Life

Memories And Explanations..

"No, he's not going to school tomorrow or the rest of the year." I shook my head as I crossed my arms and Pepper frowned.
"Tony, he's been so excited to go-"
"And what if something happens to him? In case you've forgotten, I almost just got killed by Stane-"
"In case you forgot, Obadiah almost killed me as well. Tony, you can't just decide not to send Peter to school. He's been talking about going nonstop. You can't take that from him." Pepper tried to reason and as I went to respond, a child's voice interrupted.
"Mommy? Daddy?" We looked over to the doorway and saw Peter standing there, worry painted on his face.
"Hey, what are you doing up?" I asked as I opened my arms and he came running to me.
"I-I couldn't sleep. Am I going to school tomorrow?" Peter asked as he looked into my eyes with hope and I glanced at Pepper who raised an eyebrow in response.
"Well, bud.." I started and his eyes lost hope, a frown coming to his face. "Uh, tomorrow's the fifth, right?" He nodded and I tried my hardest to give a genuine smile. "Then what are you doing up?" 
Peter smiled and hugged me. I looked at Pepper and she had a smirk on her face. I sighed and ran my fingers through Peter's head. I really didn't want to send him, but I did say he could go this year.
"Alright, bedtime. Don't want to be tired on the first day, right?" Pepper asked and Peter nodded, a wide smile on his face.
"Dad, can you tuck me in?" Peter asked and I nodded, a small smile on my face. 
I stood with him in my arms and walked to his bedroom. Once inside, I placed him on the bed and pulled the covers over him. I leaned down and brushed back the curls from his face and he gave me a tired smile.
"I don't have to go tomorrow if you don't want me to, daddy." Peter whispered and I raised an eyebrow.
"How much did you hear?" I asked and he let out a small yawn.
"All of it. I don't want you to be upset if I go, daddy." Peter whispered again as he looked down and my face dropped.
"No, no. It-it's okay, baby. I know how much you want to go, now get some rest. Big day tomorrow." I kissed his cheek and as I went to pull back, his arms wrapped around my neck in a hug.
"You're the best dad in the world…" Peter trailed off as his arms loosely hung around my neck and I smiled lovingly as I lowered him onto his pillows. I pulled the blanket up and kissed his forehead once more, taking a second to stare at the angel that is my son.
"I love you, Peter. You're everything and more than I could ever ask for." I whispered as I stood straight and left the room, leaving the door open a crack since Peter was still afraid of it being shut all the way. I walked to my room and took off my shirt, turning to Pepper who was already situated on the bed. I slid my jeans off and put on pajama pants.
"Keep it up, Tony and people will actually start thinking you have a heart." Pepper smirked and I smiled, crawling in next to her.
"If I'm correct, Ms. Potts. You were the one who made the memorabilia of my heart." I suggested and she smiled, shrugging.
"It was just a funny jo-"
"And you're also the reason I'm still alive right now.." I cut her off as I grabbed her hands and she looked into my eyes.
"Oh, it was nothing-"
"No, you know, I.... never thanked you.. did I?" I asked and she smiled, shaking her head as she let out a small laugh.
"Now you're thanking people? Peter really-"
"I mean it, Pep. I wanted to throw the thing away, get rid of it. Though it was a joke at the time, I kept it and when Stane.. took my reactor, I crawled to the lab and thankfully made it to the life source in time. You saved my life, Pepper." I said sincerely and she smiled, tears in her eyes. "Twice in the same day, by the way." I added as an afterthought and Pepper chuckled, a stray tear making its way down her face.
"I-" Pepper cut off as a slight chuckle left her lips, but her cherry lips were trembling and her hands shook lightly.
"Honey?" I asked as more tears started to roll down her face and she shook her head.
"I thought- when you were kidnapped, that I would never see you again. The amount of tears I shed.. I tried to stay strong for Peter, but… your kid-"
"Our kid." I interjected and a ghost of a smile was on her face, before it was gone. She took a deep breath and looked down.
"Our kid is too smart for his own good. He knew something was wrong and he- he hugged me a few times as I cried. I should've told him you were missing, reassured him that you didn't just abandon him…" 
She frowned as her eyebrows furrowed and I lightly squeezed her hand. She looked into my eyes and I offered a smile. Her tears and pain when I was gone.. I could only imagine what she went through. What Peter went through.. And Rhodey.. He was probably taking it harder knowing that I went missing when he was in the same country as me. 
"I couldn't.. If I told him that, it would've broken him. Tony, I thought you-" Pepper cut off and took a deep breath. "When you came back, I was relieved and overjoyed, but you were different. I could see it in your eyes and when you held Peter, you knew all along who was behind it, didn't you?" Pepper asked and I sighed.
"I had a feeling, but it wasn't much to go off of." 
"Anthony, he could've killed you!" Pepper yelled in a hushed tone and I looked down. I knew as soon as she said my full name, I was in trouble.
"I couldn't take action-"
"So you allow him to almost kill you and m-"
"No." I stopped her right there and she froze. My voice was cold and distant. "I wasn't going to let him touch you or anyone else I care for." 
"But-"
"I led him to the building on purpose. I figured he wouldn't have looked through all the bugs and used it to my advantage. I knew his power source would start faster than mine, but I had to make him think my guard was down." I explained with a sigh and looked up. She searched my eyes and she shook her head, disbelief clear on her face.
"When you told me to wait for you to clear the roof…"
"I knew I wasn't going to get off in time and couldn't risk him getting away." I finished her sentence and she shook her head, pulling her hands away. She looked over my face and her frown deepened. 
"You-you could've died-"
"I know-"
"You didn't have a plan after that, you-"
"I did what had to be done-"
"You could've died!" She exclaimed and I kept my eyes on the bed. 
She stayed silent for a second, before standing off the bed and looking down at me. I looked up and she had a look of disappointment. I opened my mouth to speak, but she was already getting dressed.
"I can't believe you, Tony. That's why you were so different when you came home, you were ready to get yourself killed and would've left me and-"
"He knew about Peter." I cut her off as she finished putting on her shoes and she froze.
"He-he-"
"He saw the picture when he came to the house to steal my reactor, Pepper. He knew Peter was with Rhodey, he knew where you were and what you did in his office. He was going to go after you three when he was done with me. I had to protect the people I can't live without most." I explained and when our eyes met, a tear started to fall.
"Oh, Tony.." She whispered as she walked over to me and I shook my head.
"When I was still in captivity… A guy I was being contained with, had saved my life and it wasn't only by putting this thing in my chest. While we were held captive, he opened my eyes to stuff that I had not thought about. He made me realize that I don't want weapons to be my legacy, to be carried down to Peter." 
As I explained, Pepper climbed back in bed after taking her shoes off and held my hand. She squeezed my hand and gave me a sympathetic look. I was having a hard time breathing right and tried to take some deep breaths before I continued my story.
"We, uh, built the suit as a way out and by the time the kidnappers realized what we were doing, the power was still uploading to the suit. We had a plan, I would go out first and kill whoever I saw that was an enemy. However, we were running out of time and Yensen had other ideas. He grabbed a gun and shot at the ceiling, running down the hall and straight into a ton of guards. 
"By the time I reached him, he was in bad shape and- and I tried- I tried to get him to hang on. To- to keep him alive, to see his family he told me about. That was- that was our plan, escape and see our families again. But Yensen… He had other plans. His family- they were killed by whoever our captors were. I-I tried to keep him awake, keep him- keep him alive. 
"I couldn't save him, Pep. I tried. I tried so hard to get him to go with me, to stay alive. I can't get his death out of my head. His last words to me.."