If They Knew All About You

Cocktail Hour

The windows of the kid's room were darkened. The high August sun still shone strong on the cloudless sky but the boy needed rest and FRIDAY had made sure to keep the light low, to shield the kid's senses. The boy had been asleep when he entered the room and hadn't woken up since. He almost preferred it this way, for now. The kid needed rest and his senses still seemed to be dampened enough that Tony's appearance didn't wake him from his nap.

It was nice, the silence. It gave him some room to think. Some time to look at the boy without seeming creepy. To look at Aiden. At Peter. At his son.

Fuck, what a mess they had gotten themselves into. There were so many different scenarios he had dreamed up over the years, so many ways he had imagined finding Aiden. This wasn't one of them. Not by a long shot. This mess was so tangled Tony didn't even know where to begin with all the problems and complications they were facing. The mystery around May Parker. How the boy had come to live with the Parker's in the first place. His powers and every consequence that brought. Ross. The Accords. The NYPD's feud with Spider-Man. Spider-Man—

The watch on his arm vibrated once and with a short gesture from Tony it projected FRIDAY's alert right in front of him. Natasha was on the move. Had just entered the medical wing. No. This wasn't going to happen. She wasn't getting in here. Not now.

He quietly got up off the chair and stole out of the room. It was only one corner away from the boy's room, down the corridor when he ran into her.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Natasha's eyebrow arched. "See how the boy is doing?"

"Stay away from him."

"Tony—"

"I mean it, Romanoff. I don't want you anywhere near him."

"It's a couple of questions. Nothing more."

"No. He's asleep. Resting. Healing. Leave him the fuck alone."

She sighed. "I'm not going to tell him, Tony. I understand that you need time but I need some more information so I can get the best—"

"Information on what? You think he knows what happened? He was two years old!"

"Does he know he's adopted?"

Tony crossed his arms. "Obviously. He knows May Parker isn't his mother."

"Why does he think she's his aunt? Why does he call her that if he was only two and a half years old when he came to live with them?"

"I...." He blinked, eyes darting away from her. He hated it when she had a point. Why indeed? One of those many questions Tony still had to figure out.

"I'm trying to help you. You and the boy."

"He's sleeping. He needs the rest. This... yes, we need to find answers to all that but those things can wait till he's doing better."

"Fine." She blew out a long breath, clear annoyance in her tone. "I'll get ready to drive into town then. I got the equipment. I'll go live before I walk in the building."

He bit his lip, eyes still on her. "I could just hang out at one of the tables. She'd never even know I'm—"

"No."

"Nat, come on. This is about my son."

"Exactly."

It would kill him to sit on the sidelines for this. His head was already swimming with questions and frustration and more questions.

"Tony, you'd never be able to hold back. You don't need me to tell you that. You might have her pinned to the wall by her neck if she breathes the wrong way."