Tony and his Kids

Three Different Halloweens

I know it's not halloween anymore but shhhhhh- let it be.

Warnings: grief/mourning and a whole lotta sadness

Avengers Compound
October 31st, 2017

"Mr. Stark!"

Tony was slid up under his precious orange Audi, giving her a good tune up and brainstorming upgrades when he heard the familiar and overly cheerful voice. A small, involuntary grin spread across his lips as he tightened the last bolt. Fast footsteps were making their way toward him, the lab door coming open with a 'whoosh.' He knew exactly who it was: Peter B. Parker, a certain spider child who always managed to get himself in trouble and was the brightest teen he'd ever met.

Friday turned down the blaring AC/DC music as soon as the kid entered his lab, something that only happened for two people on the planet. Peter and Pepper. It didn't turn down for Rhodey or Happy, which caused a lot of annoyance from them and snickering from him. Tony stayed up under the car for a minute longer, listening as Peter's steps slowed from a jog to a walk. He could see the kid's sneakers as he weaved around tables and equipment, calling his name repeatedly.

"Under here, kid!" He finally responded, tapping his wrench against the innards of his car. The man watched as Peter paused briefly, then hastily made his way over toward the car.

"Mr. Stark! Are you upgrading the Audi again?" He asked curiously, bouncing on his toes. The kid was hyper on a normal day, but Tony couldn't even see his face and he knew he was even more energized than usual. Intriguing. He decided to stay under the car a little longer, if just to make his kid squirm a little.

His usually fast-moving brain grinded to a halt. His kid? Tony blinked a few times, rerunning the thought in his head. Yes, that was definitely what he'd thought. But why? He was just his intern. Tony was here to make sure he didn't get killed and maybe offer up some advice along the way.

He was getting too close, wasn't he? His original plan had been to keep Peter at arms length, only talking to him a handful of times and watch over him through Karen, Friday, and Happy. That plan had gone to the shredder when Peter went after the Vulture. Something about him made Tony want to protect him from everything, tuck him under his wing and keep him away from the cruel world outside. He knew he couldn't do that, though. Instead, he opted to give what advice he could along with offer him an actual internship where he came over on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons to work in the lab and he sometimes stayed over the weekend. And maybe sometimes they don't just work in the lab, maybe they'll watch a movie on the couch with pizza and gummy worms while debating making real life lightsabers.

His friends had been commenting that he seemed happier ever since Peter came into his life. Tony couldn't lie - the kid made him happier. He always felt joy when he came to visit and sometimes he found himself wondering if this was what it was like to have a son. Pepper adored and fawned over him like a mother and Rhodey would not stop making dad jokes around him, but he wasn't the kid's dad, right? They just had a really good mentee and mentor relationship.

He hadn't realized that he had yet to answer the kid's question until Peter said his name with a bit of concern. "Mr. Stark?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry kiddo. Got too much into my head there for a second. Upgrades and all that jazz. Yeah, I've been working on it for a few hours now," he responded, shaking his head a little to get himself out of his stupor. "Do you think Pep would kill me if I added a hot cocoa machine? It's getting that time of year."