The Devil With The Face of an Angel | Irondad, pepperony

Chapter 15

Peter stared at the giant stuffed rabbit and began to worry about his father's sanity. Three months ago he celebrated his twelfth birthday, so he was no longer a little kid. And lately, he noticed that it was occasionally tense between his dad and Pepper. He didn't like it. He was afraid that Pepper would leave them, so when she came with idea to go to Malibu for Christmas, he stood to her side. Perhaps changing the city will benefit them.

"So, what do you think?" Tony asked, and Peter gave him a critical look.

"Is this normal?" he asked cautiously. He didn't want to offend him. He was just worried about how Pepper would react. The purpose of this holiday was to make both adults remember how much they love each other. Peter wasn't going to lose Pepper. And he knew his dad didn't want that either.

"Yes, it's normal!" Tony replied sharper than he wanted.

"She won't like it," Peter informed him calmly.

"Why shouldn't she like it? It is a beautiful three-meter rabbit made of plush!"

"That's why. It won't even go through the door, Dad," he pointed out. He didn't want to be critical, but it was better he said it now than Pepper said it later.

"I'll get him inside some way," Tony insisted. Peter sighed and looked back at the giant stuffed animal. From time to time he was really interested in where his father went to these ideas.

•••

Peter was standing outside. Alone. Terrified and tried to catch his breath. This was definitely the worst Christmas he ever had. At one point, a strange lady rang at their door, and immediately after that Dad shouts at him to run. And he did it. He wasn't a fully-fledged athlete, but he ran as fast as he could, assuming others were following him. But now he was all alone outside, and something exploded inside the mansion.

Inside the mansion where both of his parents were. His eyes quickly clouded with tears that accumulated in his eyes. He didn't know what to do, so he just stood there waiting for what happened next. This was undoubtedly his worst nightmare.

The glass door shattered into millions of pieces, and Peter caught the outline of Iron Man's suit holding the woman. He quickly thrashed his tears and ran to them. "Daddy! Thank God, you're all right!" he blurted relievedly. His gaze slid behind them and a small frown appeared on his face when he didn't saw Pepper. "Dad, where's Pepper?!" he asked with a slight panic. Before he could get an answer, however, the individual parts of Iron Man's suit gradually began to return to their mansion, and he was not given a look at his father, but at Pepper.

"Peter, are you okay?" she asked worriedly as she was finally free and examined him carefully. When she found no visible wounds, she wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm fine," he murmured. He was a little shaken by a sequence of events, but nothing hurt him, so he was fine.

"Are you sure?" she asked again, kissing him on the forehead before letting him go.

"Yes, I was just worried about you," he replied, looking back at their mansion. He felt an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach as his father still didn't go out. It's been too long.

There was another explosion. Pepper and Peter watched how basically their entire mansion was swallowed by the ocean. There was no sign of Tony.

"Mom!" he slipped, "Mommy, where's Dad?" he cried, grabbing her hand.

Pepper was so shocked that she didn't know what to react to first. That Peter called her mother, or that Tony disappeared along with the wreckage of a mansion in the ocean? All she wanted, was a quiet and family Christmas. "I don't know, darling, but he's definitely fine. You know him. He always returns home," she replied, finding her lost voice. The truth was that this time she wasn't so sure. But she couldn't tell that to Peter.

"But where is he? Where is my daddy?" he asked, and Pepper's heart tightened with anxiety. If only she could give him a better answer...

"I really don't know, Pete."

Peter didn't know what was going on. He just focused on holding Pepper's hand all the time. He was afraid that if he released her, even if only for a few seconds, she would disappear just like his father did. He knew Pepper was handling some phones, she said a few words to an unknown lady who came to them just before someone attacked them, then sat on the floor trying to talk to him, but Peter couldn't understand the meaning of her words, no matter how hard he tried. His thoughts ran toward his father. Peter didn't believe he was gone. He couldn't be. What would happen to him then? He couldn't lose him.

He vaguely registered the arrival of craftsmen who had come to clear the remaining debris. Pepper told him she was going to look, but he could stay sitting outside if he wanted to. Peter stood up without a word and followed her, still holding her hand. What if she leaned too far over the edge and fell into the ocean too? Then he would be all alone.

"Peter, honey, I think you'll want to hear this," she said with a faint smile. Peter fixed his empty eyes on her. It hurt her so much to see him that way. "He's fine," she said, handing him a helmet from one of his suits.

Still refusing to let go of her hand, she helped him put the mask on his head. For a moment, everything seemed to be all right again. They had no idea what the unknown girl was, who honored them by visiting them.

•••

"So, three delicious hot chocolates with a mountain of marshmallows," Tony told them as he walked into the living room. Peter sat on the couch snuggled up with Pepper, with whom they waited for the hot chocolate and Tony's company before starting the Christmas film marathon.

His father kept his promise and together with Uncle Bruce solved the problem of extremis and cured his mom. On that occasion, Tony decided to finally get rid of the shards at his heart, so his chest was no more decorated by a small reactor.

"It was about the time," Peter snorted.

"Well, kid, be careful, so you wouldn't be without chocolate," Tony warned, then finally sat down on the couch.

"Merry Christmas," Peter said, wishing to stop this moment and never leave again. In the hug between his parents, he felt the happiest in the world.

•••

I know they are just pieces, but that's what we wanted. In this chapter, it was important that Peter finally called Pepper a mom. The next chapter will be the last one for a better understanding of the story, and then let's move on to the main plot.