#irondad-fic-exchange

[irondad-defensesquad]

"good night, kid. don't let the bugs bite."

"i'm a spider..." peter yawns. "i'll eat them all."

"... okay, that's gross."

peter snorts.

[idk-bruh-20]

Attention attention Irondad writers!

ahem

I was just thinking

You know what would be cute as hell?

✨ An Irondad spinoff writing exchange ✨

Like, hear me out!

There are so many great fics out there! And there are lots of great writing exchanges already, I know. We have mix-ups and pirates and rewrites, but ... here's the thing,

For so many fics, I really just want to know what happens next!

Like, sure the story is finished and it wouldn't make sense for that fic to keep going. But why can't we have a spinoff fic based in that world? A fic of a fic, if you will?

I think it would be super cute if we could like, cobble together a list of fics that absolutely deserve a spinoff and y'all could pick straws and do your writing magic.

Just a few extra scenes from a different writer, letting us linger in the OG writer's creative world a bit more. Not quite canon to the OG fic but also not not canon. A spinoff. 🎤💥

(right off the top of my head, for example

I want to live in the world of @losingmymindtonight's "The Reinvention of Tony Stark" for so much longer it causes me physical pain

I want spinoffs of the new realities in @iamallyetnotatall's "Turning Tables" chapter 59 and 60 so bad it makes me feral

goldenambedo's "When Peter Forgot What Day It Was" what happened next, dude???

@fluencca's "Hi, Everyone" lives rent free in my mind! please someone tell me how that battle went down!

these are just examples. But I feel like this could be a thing!)

Could it be a thing? Thoughts???

[retro-memo]

For the @friendly-neighborhood-exchange and @iron-mum! I hope you enjoy this fic and I wish you a Merry Christmas!

Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker & Tony Stark

Characters: Tony Stark, Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man), Happy Hogan, Dummy (Iron Man movies), You (Iron Man movies), Friday (Marvel), Karen (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Pepper Potts, Other Character Tags to Be Added

Warnings: Swearing

Ao3 link

"H'y Kar'n." Peter paused, taking a moment to swallow the bite he'd taken out of his sandwich. "Can you crank up the heat a little? It's getting chilly up here."

"Of course, Peter." Not even seconds later after she said that, there was a low sizzling and Peter leaned back into the suspended hammock he'd strung up earlier, basking in the warmth.

It was times like this when he really appreciated Mr. Stark's suit. Especially now that it was the middle of December and temperatures were way colder than they had any right to be.

Peter was pretty sure if he had been wearing his old suit — and no it wasn't a onesie. Stop calling it that, Mr. Stark — he would've probably gone from Spider-Man, and this was in May's words, to 'Spider-Popsicle'.

Which was something Peter found a little ridiculous since it hasn't even started snowing yet.

He would've been fine.

Well, he wouldn't have gone into a coma like last year when he was waiting for Mr. Stark to fix his usual suit after the wiring got damaged in the fire and he was stuck with his old one. 

Maybe. 

Peter groaned and threw his arm over his eyes, cursing his stupid spider DNA. Why couldn't he just have gotten the cool powers without basically having snow as his kryptonite?

Was that too much to ask of the universe?

"Peter, there's a police report of a bank robbery two blocks down from us."

"Wait, really?" Peter perked up at that and lifted his arm; all thoughts on spiders and the overprotective adults in his life flying out of the window.

"Yes, there are reports of six armed individuals holding several hostages in the building." Karen paused. "They appear to be possessing extraterrestrial firearms."

"Wait, extraterrestrial?" Peter froze, his outstretched wrist hovering mid-air from where he aimed it. "As in alien?"

"It appears so." That was the last thing that Peter expected to hear today. Especially since Toomes had been in jail for the better half of this last year. It couldn't have been him that sold these.

So it wasn't him, that meant it had to be someone else that sold these weapons…

"Should I contact Tony Stark?"

Peter blinked. "Uh, no. No." He shook his head. "You don't need to do that, Karen. I'll be fine."

At this point, he'd gotten very much used to Karen suggesting to call Mr. Stark. He had a sneaking suspicion that she'd been programmed to do that but decided to not question it. It was nice to know help was there if he needed it.

"Are you sure, Peter?"

"Yeah, besides what's the worst that could happen?" Peter paused only for a moment. "Hey Karen, do you think Mr. Stark would like an early Christmas gift?"

"While I can't speak personally, I believe he'd appreciate it. May I ask why?"

Peter grinned. "Send Mr. Stark a message that I'll be swinging by to drop off a present."

Tony had been having a pretty good morning if he had to say so himself. 

For once, he actually got in a full night of sleep. And no; he didn't mean his usual two hour power catnap that came with ditching the other five in the lab way. 

This time, he clocked in all seven hours and was energized in a way that he hadn't felt since forever.

Hell, even the cheese burgers and coffee he had ordered had tasted better than it had in ages. It felt as if nothing could ruin this day. Not even one of those dreary meetings that Pepper had set up for him seemed to dampen his mood. 

That was until he got a message from Peter. 

Tony didn't want to think the worst of the kid.

But goddamn, Peter made it hard. The newly-sprouted grey hairs on his head - that certainly weren't there before the kid practically bulldozed into his life like a bull in a China shop - were enough evidence of that.

So when he got the notification from the kid's suit about Peter dropping off a 'present', all sorts of possibilities immediately started whirling through his mind.

With the kid involved, that 'present' could range from a 'minor' stab wound to being shot or even impaled.

Tony tried not to think about those 'worst-case' scenarios as he glanced at the workshop's window. It was the one of kid's favorite spots to crawl through when he popped in for lab days after patrol.

The kid had to be fine. If he wasn't, Tony would've already known from the suit which was programmed to send out an automatic distress signal if something had gone wrong.

This time around, he'd even made sure to put extra encryption so that the heart-attack-inducing kid wouldn't be able to hack into it again with his grubby fingers.

Unless the kid somehow managed to bypass the codes again and was bleeding out somewhere without Tony knowing. Too far away to call for any help.

Alone. Cold. Hurt and -

"Hey, Mr. Stark!"

"Holy shit!" Tony jumped, the soldering iron that he'd been holding clattering onto the metal table below as he whirled around to where the offending voice had come from.

"No, just me." The kid's head popped through the window, and even through the window, and even with the damn mask on, Tony could practically see the grin from where he was standing

The little shit.

"Oh, hey, kid." Tony crossed his arms, watching Peter as he crawled through the window. The kid seemed fine, his movements didn't seem jerky, there wasn't any visible blood that he could see and -

"What the fuck is that?" Tony knew what it was. He recognized it as soon as the kid landed on his feet and turned to face him but still.

"Uh." The kid shrugged as if the glowing alien weapon wrapped up in his arms wasn't a big deal. It was comically picture perfect to the whole damn turtle fiasco from a few months ago. "Merry Christmas?"

"Where the hell did you get that thing?"

"I found it on patrol." The kid answered like it explained everything and Tony stared. 

So much for a good morning. 

"What are we going to do with it?"

"We're not going to do anything." Tony leveled a glare with Peter. "I'm going to take this Happy and have him deal with it the way he wants to and you're going up to your room."

He should've known that with Peter, it wasn't going to ever be that easy.

"Why do I have to go to my room?" The kid looked awkward but determined as jutted his chin up and shifted on his feet the same way he always did when he didn't agree with Tony. 

In a way, it reminded Tony of May whenever they would get into an argument. Which didn't happen a lot even after finding out about Peter's alter-ego. 

"I didn't even get hurt this time and technically, I got the weapons here. Finder's keepers."

Kids these days and their damn loopholes.

Tony scowled. "One, because I said so and two, I know for a fact that you have one of those fancy language quizzes tomorrow. May called me earlier to make sure that you study for it if you swung by."

"Wait, you talk to my aunt?"

"Just give me the weapon."

"But—"

"No." Tony shook his head. "Kid, I value my life. I'm not going to risk it with your scary aunt."

Tony wasn't exaggerating there. May was terrifying in her own right. He'd been there to witness how May transformed from Peter’s usual sweet aunt into a pissed off mother bear who’d tear his head off if it meant protecting her cub. 

He wasn't going to go through it again. 

"Please?" Goddammit. The kid was on the verge of pulling out the big guns; those damn puppy eyes that made even the coldest of men melt into a warm puddle of goo. Tony knew if he didn't get this finished quick, it was going to be game over. 

"Come on, Pete." He was on the verge of begging the kid to throw him a bone. A small chance. He could feel himself crumbling, just as he had with the turtle. "Just hand it over. I promise later after you've finished studying, we can blow up some other stuff here in the lab."

The kid didn't miss a beat. "Can we work on it for five minutes, please?"

And there they were. Those puppy-dog eyes that not even Tony on one of his best days he could say no to.

His mouth dried as he stared at the kid, who was clutching the weapon against his chest. Like it was a stuffed animal rather than something capable of massive destruction.

He groaned, throwing his hands up, finally waving the white flag of defeat. "Fine! But if your aunt asks, say that you were doing boring non-dangerous shit."

The kid grinned, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as if he didn't con Tony into risking his life on the line. "Thanks, Mr. Stark! You're the best!"

"Uh-huh." Tony waved Peter off. "You better remember that next time when you're grounded."

The kid giggled and Tony rolled his eyes as he turned back to the table and picked up the soldering iron that he'd dropped before.

He faced the kid again, gesturing to the table behind him. "Okay, gently, place here. We don't want to accidentally blow that thing up. For all that we could know, just sneezing the wrong way could make it go off."

Tony took a small step back, making room for the kid but keeping an eye on the weapon as Peter moved past him.

Once it was on the table and he was satisfied that it didn't look like it was going to blow up anytime soon, he felt the tension in his shoulders loosen. 

"Alright." Tony tore his eyes from the weapon. It was fine. Nothing bad had happened. They were fine. Peter was fine. "Alright, I'm going to get a few tools."

He paused, giving Peter a pointed stare. "Do not touch that thing while I'm gone."

"Yeah, mom." The kid snarked back. "I'll be fine, don't worry. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Famous last words," Tony grumbled under his breath, stalking away and passing Dum-E on the way. He pointed a stern finger at the bot, who had for the past hour been trying to find the screwdriver that Tony 'lost', and asked the bot to find. "Don't let the kid get into any trouble, you hear? If he does, I'll be donating your parts to MIT."

The bot whirled at that and Tony shook his head. However, he'd barely taken another step when it all happened at once.

He felt the blast of heat hit his back before even hearing it. He was blown forwards, his insides feeling as if they were ricocheting against his skeleton as he hit the ground.

And just like that, as quickly as it had started, it was over.

Everything was silent as Tony pushed himself up, having been blown forward hard enough to have lost his balance in chaos.

It was quiet. Way too quiet. Even straining past his ringing ears, Tony couldn't hear anything. All he could hear was his thundering heart beating against his chest.

Oh God. Peter.

"Kid!"

Tony scrambled to his feet, whirling around to where the kid was, his heart in his throat at the cloud of smoke covering the whole lab.

"Pete!" He ran, a million possibilities running through his head. Distantly, he heard the lab sprinklers turn on but paid little to no attention to them. "Buddy, you there?"

He didn't get any reply and Tony was almost scared as he came to a stop where the kid should've been. Where he left him with that damn weapon. He should've known better, shouldn't have turned his back and now Peter was -

That was when Tony heard it. The smallest of coughes but it was enough to jumpstart his heart faster than a V8 roaring to life, but something stopped him from running forward.

Terror gripped Tony so that he stayed rooted in place as it overwhelmed him. Fearing that he'd just heard the kid's final breathes. 

"Kid?" Tony took a hesitant step forward, almost too scared to peer through the smoke and - 

He blinked once. Twice. And then a few more times because there wasn't the burnt-to-a-crisp corpse or pile of ash that he'd conjured up from the darkest depths of his worst fears. 

No, no, no. It wasn't that but rather, there was a baby.

A baby, who barely reached to Tony's knee and was waist deep in the Spider-Man suit with hair soaking wet from the sprinklers. It was rubbing its eyes, letting out the smallest of coughs and whinning, its little chest heaving with the action.

Tony stared. He was a genius. He could put two and two, together. Heck, he could do even more than that.

That didn't stop him from freaking the fuck out. 

This had to be some sick part of his imagination or he'd finally gone crazy from the blast hitting the back of his head too hard. Because there was no way that this was possible. 

Still, Tony swallowed and opened his mouth. "Kid?" 

If it wasn't possible for Tony's heart to beat faster than it had before, it certainly was now. The baby tensed at Tony's voice, its head turning up to him, blinking up at him with those oh-so-familiar brown eyes. "Mr. St'k?"

It was muffled, choppy, and barely coherent but it was enough. The final nail in the coffin. It confirmed everything. Any sliver of hope that Tony had that the baby in the middle of his lab wasn't who he thought it was, vanished with that single word.

"Oh God." Tony stumbled back, gripping onto the table nearest to him to stop his legs from giving out from under him.

He stared at the very small and fragile baby a few feet in front of him while his heart throbbed in his chest. It felt ready to jump out from his throat and throw itself out of the nearest emergency exit. 

"Shit, Pete." Tony closed his eyes and shook his head, letting out a small giddy laugh that felt as if it quaked his heart with it. "You're a baby."

And May is going to kill me. 

[spideypoolficexchange]

Rules, FAQ and Timeline

It has come to my attention that the rules page is not mobile friendly, sorry about that! I’m putting it all here and will pin this post to the page for easy access for the future. ♥️

Basic Rules:

Participants must be 18+.

Fics must be a minimum of 1,000 words.

Fics must be Spideypool-centric.

Please follow the spirit of the event and the requests as much as to the letter. If it’s only technically or incidentally Spideypool, or if it’s not technically what the listed squick was, please request/write something else.

That’s about it! No event-given limits beyond that, go nuts!

Timeline:

Sign-ups open: Sunday, November 12

Sign-ups close: Saturday, November 18 at 6pm Eastern Time

Prompts go out: Saturday, November 25 (or earlier, if the matches are done before then!)

Deadline to post: Tuesday, January 2, 2023 at 11:59pm EST

Rules and FAQ (extended):

What is this event?

Essentially, you receive a person to write a fic for, along with up to 3 prompts. You write one of these prompts and then gift it to them, on AO3 and/or Tumblr. And it’s all anonymous until the fic is posted! If you’ve heard of a Secret Santa event, this is the same idea, just with an attempt at a more inclusive name.

How do I sign up?

Fill out this Google Form (closed until November 12). You’ll receive an email with your responses and voila, you’re all done!

This event is now reserved for those 18+, so please be sure you’re at least 18 before signing up.

Do try to keep the prompts open! Remember, this is a gift, not a commission. You will not have precise control over what is made, and that’s part of the spirit of the exchange! 

How long does my fic need to be?

1,000 words. There is no word limit, but if your giftee has stated they are not okay with receiving a WIP, please do keep in mind your time limit and adjust your length accordingly.

Do my prompts have to be holiday-themed?

Nope! Prompts can be for any holiday or completely unrelated to one.

Is [blank] allowed?

The only requirements are to keep it Peter Parker/Wade Wilson, and to work off the prompt(s) and DNWs (do-not-wants) given. So long as you’re trying to give your giftee something they will enjoy, the fest has no other limitations on what content is allowed.

*Note: prompts must be Spideypool-centric. E.g.,  you can request Spideypool with background Irondad, but please don’t request Irondad with background Spideypool. It’s not what the event is for, and makes it much harder on the mods to pair people up.

There are three prompts. How many do I need to write?

Only one! If you have the time and energy to fill more, then go right ahead! Though I suggest finishing one before starting on another, so you don’t risk leaving your giftee with nothing.

[finitepeace]

december reads: tony fics

read some tony stark fics

L'Hopital's Rule by FriendlyNeighborhoodFangirls | ironstrange, 14.320 words, T, post endgame | Or, five times Tony Stark was Stephen’s emergency contact, and one time he was someone else’s. 14320 words, T

The Northern Cascades by resurrectedhippo | stevetony, 81k words, E, kind of road trip au | A post-Infinity War fix-it set three years after the Snap where Steve tries to outrun his grief. This time, Tony runs after him.

Father and Son by Anonymous | irondad but also stevetony, 5291 words, G, part of 2023 Captain America/Iron Man Holiday Exchange | Peter should have seen it coming. All hell breaks loose when his secret identity as Spider-Man is revealed. His parents take the news about as well as you'd imagine, and it escalates all too quickly. But his family wouldn't be his family if they didn't work through it. Together.

[imyoursavinggrace]

✨Irondad Fic Exchange 2023✨

For the wonderful @littlemissagrafina for the @friendly-neighborhood-exchange ❤️

Summary: “What the hell is that?” Tony demanded.

“Uh, a dog?”

Tony raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. “I can see that. You got a dog?”

“Um, not exactly,” Peter stuttered, shifting on the spot. “You got a dog.”

"I'm sorry, what?"

Or: Peter starts bringing stray animals home, much to Tony and Mays horror, but luckily Tony always has a way to help his Spider-Baby.

[rob1ndad]

looking for irondad multuals who like writing ficsss <3

if you want to do some sort of fic exchange PM me !!! (No X reader pls)

[silently-waiting-for-you]

Marvel

Trope: irondad fluff

boogie woogie woogie

Peter doesn’t call Mr.Stark dad out loud, that’d be weird. He doesn’t even call him Tony out loud very much. He’s not even on first name basis out loud. It’s just, you don’t have to say things out loud when fate- or some exploding evil nazi science equipment- decides you should hear each other's thoughts.

(I haven’t seen many fics about the moment ‘the kid’ turned into ‘my kid’ for Tony, so I wanted to write one from Peter’s pov)

. . . . .

carrer day

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” Peter’s enhanced senses picked up the familiar voice from outside the door. “I had a meeting this morning, and then I got lost looking for the class… anyway, I’m here for Peter? Peter Parker?”

He frowned at hearing his name, still unsure what exactly was going on. He watched as his teacher continued to stand and stare out the door for a minute before seemingly remembering herself and taking a step back.

“Of course! If you could just go sit next to him until your turn, he’s in the back on the right side.”

The man stepped through the door and Peter gaped with the rest of the class as Tony Stark, in his signature suit and goatee, sporting a pair of red sunglasses and carrying a suitcase walked through the door.

~

Prompt: Okay but what abt Tony going in to Peter’s school for career day? Like where the parents talk abt their jobs?

. . . . .

flu shot chronicles

Morgan Stark does not like shots. Neither does Peter Parker.

. . . . .

happy halloween, mr. stark

The first time Peter and Tony spend Halloween together, it isn’t exactly planned.

Tony just sort of...shows up, knocks on the door and grins wide when Peter opens it.

''Mister Stark? What are you doing here?''

. . . . .

hours of horror, black and white edition

“That’s not—” he’s instantly protesting. “You’re a liar! A dirty, dirty liar, Miss Potts.”

“I thought our philosophy is we aren���t going to lie to our children?”

“It is! Yet here you are spilling all my secrets faster than—”

Pepper puts out her palm, silencing him. “Please refrain from pop culture references, there’s only so much I can take in a day.”

“Aah, Pepper; you’re no fun. I had a hunch he was gonna quote something from Buzzfeed Unsolved.” his kid pouts.

***

Or, an October tradition where Peter and Ned and MJ watch old horror films and it's the Starks' turn to host

. . . . .

i will soften every edge

“You’re telling me,” he swallowed, “that my body thinks I’m Peter’s dad?”

“And it has prepared itself for parenthood in response, yes.”

--

After a simple brain scan, F.R.I.D.A.Y. reveals something that Tony already knew, but may not have been ready to accept. Luckily, Peter's always there to help him re-find his footing.

. . . . .

in an empty moral space

“Bring Spider-Man to us, Mr. Stark,” High-heels says and rattles off an address. “If that bug isn’t here in the next twenty four hours, then your intern gets it. We are not going to ask a second time.”

There’s a pause.

Then, “You want Spider-Man?”

“In exchange for your intern,” High-heels affirms.

“Spider-Man,” Mr. Stark repeats. He sounds more amused than worried for Peter’s apparent safety.

also known as: Peter Parker is held hostage…in order to get to Spider-Man. Throw in some Accords reconciliation and, well, Peter’s life just got a whole lot weirder.

. . . . .

lifesize

Morgan’s little fists are shaking in front of her, grasping at nothing. She quickly moves aside as Tony is now standing directly in front of the tent. Morgan's small jumps where she is standing are overflowing with anticipation. Pepper stands next to her as Tony eyes the tent in front of him, newspaper in hand.

“Alright, little miss," he says with a breath, looking down at her, "what’s the drill? How do you want us to handle this?”

“All the tea party guests have to survive.”

“10-4. Pep,” he says as he looks up at her, “you ready?”

“Oh, no. You’ve got this one.”

Tony stares at her for a moment, his deadpan expression way funnier than it should be.

--

Morgan tells Tony there's a spider in her tent. Newspapers, surprises, and uncontrollable laughter ensues.

. . . . .

mutants

All teachers dread parent-teacher night. This one's worse than usual.

Feat. Boundaries? I don't know this word. He's not my boyfriend! Flash Thompson's A+ parents Tony and Peter are enormous nerds Gym class is important Oh my God, what's that in the bio lab

and many more

. . . . .

not really an intern

Field trip trope - yeah.

After the near-end of the universe, Stark Tower reopens to tour groups. Midtown is invited to be the first.

Includes: fluff, mostly fluff let's be real. Irondad. Peter and Morgan bonding because I love them.

. . . . .

stark’s home for wayward animals

“Peter?” he calls. “That you looming around in the dark and falling on your ass?”

“Uh.” Peter’s voice. Two more meows.

“Are you meowing at me?” Tony asks, weaving around the wet spots on the ground. “Is this happening? Is there something you wanna tell me?”

“I’m—I’m not.”

Tony narrows his eyes and turns the corner. Peter is splayed out on the third stair, in his Spiderman suit sans the mask, soaked to the bone. His hair is plastered to his forehead, he’s shivering, and he’s holding a gray cat clutched to his chest.

Tony stares at him. Both Peter and the cat are looking at him, wide-eyed, and then the cat meows again, breaking the silence.

“What’s happening right now?” Tony asks.

. . . . .

that's how you and i will be

Tony cuddles babies.

Tony Stark cuddles babies.

Iron Man is good with babies.

No matter which way Peter tries to spin this newfound knowledge in his mind, it still doesn’t make sense.

. . . . .

the moon and stars (and gummy worms where they shouldn't be)

Peter has a problem. Mr. Stark is his father. Not his surrogate father, but his actual legitimate father. Peter wants to tell him, but he’s afraid of being rejected because he’s not really ‘heir’ material. He’s just an intern. He’s just Spider-Man. He thinks he could tell Mr. Stark if he was certain Mr. Stark already loved him like a son, but Peter just can’t be sure, that is, until Ned comes up with a plan.

OR

Peter brings Tony crazy things to eat so he can evaluate his reactions.

. . . . .

tony stark needs sleep squad

Once this became a habit, Rhodey had created a very exclusive club that only the people closest to Tony were a part of. He called it the ‘Tony Stark Needs Sleep Squad’. It was an illustrious group with only three members. The name was wordy but the purpose was clear. The dang idiot needed to sleep.

. . . . .

trope: hair playing

Tony Stark may or may not be upset about having to 'lay low' in a shitty motel of the interstate. Peter Parker may or may not be upset about having to drastically change his appearance.

Red-coloured fluff ensues.

. . . . .

two left feet

“Mr. Stark?”

“How many times do I have to tell you that it’s okay to call me Tony?”

Peter at least has the decency to look sheepish at this and shrugs. “Sorry... Tony. Anyway, I know your wedding to Miss. Po—Pepper—is coming up soon and I know you told me Michelle can come as my date, which I’m super thankful for, like super-super thankful, but I was wondering... like... I dunno, could you...?”

“Peter, I have absolutely no idea where you’re going with this or what you’re asking me to do. You gotta give me something here, kid.”

“Canyouteachmehowtodance?”

. . . . .

resurrection

Thanos wins, for a time.

One year later, Peter wakes up in the woods.

. . . . .

sick days and other lies

Midtown High is going on a field trip to Stark Industries and Peter Parker will not be attending. That is, he thinks he won't be, but everything in the world seems to be against him. It's hard leading a double life before you're old enough to vote!

. . . . .

a symphony of color

The first thing Peter does once he can effectively maneuver the compound with his crutches is find a notebook that can fit in his pocket. He grabs a pen from one of the many junk drawers and starts a list of everyone he’s talked to so far.

Mr. Stark - Brown, the filling in cinnamon buns, the teddy bear in the baby photo hanging on the fridge.

Aunt May - Dusty pink, Grandma Parker’s old couch.

Pepper - Silver, fancy necklace chains, handcuffs.

He taps the end of the pen against his chin. He needs to talk to more people.

---

Peter wakes up with synesthesia after a fight.

. . . . .

we're not trying to reinvent the backpack here (mark 1-9)

When Peter sheepishly asked if Mr. Stark would buy him a new backpack, he did not expect his mentor to spend weeks on end trying to make the best backpack in the world for a superhero-kid.

He didn't expect that much effort, but he definitely should have.

. . . . .

what’s up, grandpa?

On the off chance Tony is out and comes across someone who doesn't recognize him, it's not too out of the ordinary for someone to mistake him and Peter for father and son. It's a mistake that he loves, a mistake that warms his heart. Because as far as he's concerned, Peter is his kid and always will be.

And when he has another kid, a small and tiny baby girl, the mistake keeps happening. People still think Peter is Tony's son.

He just isn't prepared for people to think Morgan is his granddaughter.

. . . . .

who's the baby now?

after an accident in the laboratory, Tony Stark finds himself aged down to roughly a year old. Which wouldn’t be so bad, except he quickly discovers that his brain hasn’t entirely been taken over by a drooling colorful mush and shards of his grown-up conscience leak through. Which makes it all the more boggling when Pepper invites Peter over, ‘to babysit’.

”Mr. Stark’s a baby!” Peter squeaked, mouth gaping. At the sound of his protege’s voice, Tony dived over to the door of the playpen. What the hell was Pepper playing at?!

[joyful-soul-collector]

What was the most fun you had while writing?

Happy FFWF!

Oh gosh I'm not sure! I know fic exchanges have always been fun, so maybe the Irondad fic exchange? I wonder if the MK fandom will have one someday. Maybe for the holidays??

[shoyzz-art]

This is my part for the @irondad-fic-exchange 2020 :D

This is for @hobbitbruce (I hoped I tagged you correctly)

I hope you enjoy it!!

[imgoingtocrash]

First Chances

Chapters: 1/1

Word Count:

Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)

Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark

Summary:

While he's sure Peter's telling the truth—Peter has never been to the MIT campus despite living close by, and has had a tantrum or two about wanting to go with his dad instead of staying home with the sitter—Tony’s also sure he never wanted to go like this.

“See? Kid’s great.” Tony doesn’t believe the words as they come out of his mouth. Rhodey clearly doesn’t believe what Tony is saying, but puts his hands up reluctantly in surrender. Peter tries to smile convincingly, but a trickle of snot runs down his nose and onto Tony's collar at the same time and it comes off as more of a grimace.

Perfect.

Bio!Dad AU wherein Tony Stark fell into parenthood a little earlier than most, and ends up having to take his sick five-year-old with him to class or risk not finishing his Master's degree at MIT. Post-Endgame, Tony and Peter happen to run into a familiar MIT professor.

Read on AO3

Written for @a-l-ias for the IronDad Fic Exchange 2019 (@irondad-fic-exchange)!

[winter-turtle]

The Morning Will Come (and the dream stealing your sleep will end)

@friendly-neighborhood-exchange

By: @winter-turtle for @superherotiger

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Ben Parker & May Parker (past)

Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan

Summary: After a tragic incident, Peter Parker is left orphaned for the second time in his life. With no one else to take him in, Peter decided not to take his chance on foster care. Living in an abandoned building and the crows as his only company, the young hero is doing his best to maintain the illusion of a happy kid in front of Mr. Stark - one of the two remaining links to his past, happier life.

Look, technically, Peter wasn’t lying. It was just that Mr. Stark has never asked specifically.

Chapter One:

“Bye. Mr. Stark! Bye, Ms. Potts!” The kid called out as he skipped out of the lab, a smile plastered on his face.

“Bye, Peter!”

“Bye, kid. See you next Friday.”

Once the kid was gone, Tony’s own smile slipped from his face, replaced by a thoughtful frown. He liked it less and less. No, scratch that, he didn’t like it at all. He knew he’d promised everyone around him and himself that he would stay out of the kid’s business, but it was becoming seriously difficult to do so.

A gentle hand touching his shoulder pulled Tony out of his musing. “What’s on your mind?” Pepper asked. “You were all smiles and jokes until a moment ago.”

Tony shook his head. “I don’t like this, Pepper.”

“The meeting?”

“No! Well, yes, that too.” He sighed. “Kid had another bruise today. On his wrist,” he said, pointing to the spot for emphasis. “Second one this month.”

That I’ve seen.

The kid gave him the usual variation of ‘I tripped and hit my arm on the counter’, which, with how frequently it was being used, was losing its credibility faster than Hammer’s stocks before the 2010 Expo. Tony shouldn’t have accepted that answer. He should’ve called out the lie, should’ve pried more—

Except he couldn’t do that, could he? Peter talked about his foster family, the Crows, only when he wanted to. Which… wasn’t that often, to be honest. All Tony gathered were some names, but the mentions were so sporadic that he couldn’t tell who were the parents and who were the kids – biological or former foster.

Peter was doing better than he did months ago, but the subject was still touchy and he was quick to shut down if someone else than him brought it up or inquired further about his passing comments.

He’d learned that the hard way.

Tony couldn’t just walk up to the kid and voice his suspicion on negligence, or worse, abuse. So that’s why he, trying to be as respectful of the kid’s privacy as possible, had Friday take a quick peek at the files regarding the foster family Peter got placed into after the death of his aunt and uncle.

Long history of fostering, good track record. Not a single hint of something shady about the family.

He was worried, yes, and judging by lines on her face, Pepper was too. Peter was a good kid, kind of reminded Tony of his past self. Unfortunately, just like Tony, Peter was stubborn. He would rather bleed out than ask for help.

Where was the line? To what degree was it acceptable to get involved in the kid’s private life? After all, he was just a mentor. Nothing more.

But he’ll keep an eye on the kid while he will be here, looking for anything odd.

Just in case.

***

Peter seamlessly weaved his way through the sea of people as just another face in the faceless crowd.

Another session over. They’ve managed to get quite a lot done for the change actually, and if it wasn’t for Ms. Potts making an appearance to drag Mr. Stark to some meeting, they would’ve done even more.

Throwing the hood of his jacket over his head, Peter blended into the crowd even more. He was close to the alley now. Letting his sense guide him, he gracefully made his way through the seemingly endless stream of people.

Nobody noticed him slipping into the alley.

Quickly changing into his costume, he swung the rest of the way to his destination, stopping a petty crime here and there. The tall buildings of busy city gave way to more quiet, secluded area. Or, to use a better word, abandoned.

With practiced ease, Peter scaled the graffiti-covered wall to enter through the second story window. He stopped. Listened.

Upon no sign of any intruder, Peter walked towards the stairs that only lead up; he’d made sure of that with the impenetrable barricade of concrete and metal junk he’d put there.

The door of the top apartment squeaked as he pushed it open, revealing his humble living space. Slinging the backpack from his shoulders, he deposited it next to the wobbly chair, careful to avoid the pile of increasingly smelly clothes on the other side.

He dropped unceremoniously on his mattress pushed into the corner, the position giving him a clear view of the room. The box of scraps and a metal cabinet with a first-aid kit and his laptop on top in one corner, the water dispenser he’d found and fixed in another.

Peter let out a sigh. His heart sank a bit… like every time he’s made a count of his belongings. Of what remained of his hom-

No.

Peter blinked the tears away before they could fall, choking back a sob. He wouldn’t use that word. He couldn’t use that word. Not with Ben and May gone.

Yeah, it wasn’t the h-word; just a shelter that was made livable.

After the accident, he’d been devastated. Who wouldn’t be after being orphaned twice in fourteen years? There were no other relatives who could taken him in, nor another trusted guardian, which meant only one thing for him.

Foster care.

He’d been in foster care once before. Back when his parents had died, when he’d been nothing but a helpless little boy who didn’t understand why mommy and daddy hadn’t come to pick him up from kindergarten like they’d promised on the call from the day before. He hadn’t known any of those people or why he was in this foreign house. He’d kept asking and asking, growing more and more distressed because he just didn’t understand and nobody would take him in their arms and soothe him—

It had been only one day, but to Peter, it was enough to not want to take a chance on another emotionally unavailable home. That also wasn’t the only reason. Taking into consideration his Spider-Maning and his physical needs, it wouldn’t have taken people all that long to realize that something was wrong with him was reason number two.

Peter was well aware of the steadily rising anti-mutant sentiment. Spider-Man, a hero vigilante, was safe because he was known for using his powers for good. Peter Parker, a regular teen no one knew nothing about, on the other hand…

In Peter’s case, it would be guilty until proven innocent.

There had been only one option.

Run.

To not raise any suspicion, Peter had hacked into the system and faked all necessary documents, assigning himself to a random family in hopes that once the ruse was up, nobody would search for him.

Packing had come next. Old photos and the most valuable mementos into Ben’s old suitcase, summer clothes into one bag, winter clothes into another bag, some money, food, phone, laptop and his suit into his backpack.

And then he’d found this place and has been living here since.

Strangely, his luck was holding up pretty well so far. Hanging around Mr. Stark posed a certain danger to him, but Peter couldn’t bring himself to severe one of the two remaining links to his past, happier life.

True, Ned and MJ used to be there too, but taking into consideration what happened first to his parents and then to his aunt and uncle, Peter had realized what both of those tragedies had in common.

Him.

Both pairs had spent almost every day with him. Both pairs had died. Ned and MJ had spent almost every school day with him. If he’d stayed, it would be only a matter of time before something happened to them. that was reason number three.

And Mr. Stark… well, Mr. Stark was relatively safe since he and Peter met only for a few hours once a week.

Granted, he was all alone, but it was better than having another loved one die or being locked up in some research facility – because that’s where people like him got sent.

Rhythmic tapping on the door leading to the wide balcony penetrated the room. “Oh, right,” Peter nodded to himself. He was almost late. He opened the cabinet where he kept his food supplies and took out the bag of peanuts before heading to the balcony. Two black crows backed away from the door as he opened it.

Whistling, he reached into the bag and threw a fistful of peanuts on the ground. In a flurry, the two crows got joined by several more.

“Hey, guys,” Peter greeted as the crows began to peck on the shells.

Cameron, Christopher, Allison, Trevor, Cathy, Trisha, Ellie… Peter frowned. Where is Russel?

Flapping of wings reached his ears. He looked at the perch above, spotting the latecomer. “Hey, Russel,” Peter smiled. “There you are.”

The crow tilted his head to the side, then released the shiny object in his beak and proceeded to join the others.

The object rolled across the floor, coming to a stop at Peter’s feet. Peter moved his foot. “Nice,” he said as he picked up the coin and pocketed it. A whole quarter.

See, this was the perk of developing a kind of bond with the family of crows living nearby. You help one of the little ones back into the nest after it fell out (and almost get your eyes pecked out), then you regularly feed them some, slowly but steadily getting their trust, they watch you and they eventually pick on the importance of the shiny coins and paper notes.

So, maybe he wasn’t all that alone. Sure, the family he was “staying with” weren’t people, but…

Look, technically, Peter wasn’t lying.It was just that Mr. Stark has never asked specifically. And even when he did, Peter always had an excuse.

“What family are you staying in?”

“With crows.”

“How are they?”

“They’re nice.”

“Why did you stopped going to Midtown?”

“They live too far away, so I’m homeschooled now. Besides, anything I need to learn, I can learn here.”

“Where did you get that bruise?”

“I tripped.”

Which reminded him – Mr. Stark has seen the bruise Peter had gotten earlier on the patrol. He’d decided to limit the patrols on Thursday as much as possible to prevent these exact situations. Unfortunately, he couldn’t just ignore the distressed call when theycame.

“With great power comes great responsibility,” Peter quoted under his breath as he watched the crows eat. He couldn’t stop putting himself into danger even if he wanted to. He had to somehow make up for the destruction and suffering his curse had caused.

***

How ironic. When Peter remembered how he and May had used to watch those shows about people bringing couponing to the extreme, he merely shook his head in disbelief, not understanding why anyone would do that. And yet here he was, doing the exact same thing.

Just so he would survive another week.

“Okay,” he hummed himself as he counted the coupons and budgeted the money. Ten dollars to the gym membership so he could keep himself clean for next month were set aside, fifteen dollars for the groceries that wouldn’t be enough to keep him full, which left him with two dollars and seventy-five cents. With the quarter Russel brought him earlier, he had three dollars.

Peter glanced at the mountain of dirty clothes. “Well, looks like I finally have enough to pay a visit to the laundromat.”

***

Living in the building with no electricity or running water wasn’t exactly easy. Yes, it had its perk of safely storing his belongings somewhere where the cover from some elements of nature like rain or wind was provided.

Cold on the other hand…

Spring was creeping in when Peter left, which was bearable. It got warm quickly and he didn’t have to worry about anything during following warm months. Yet the world kept spinning and the cold weather was becoming more and more noticeable.

And Peter wasn’t sure if Ben’s old coat would be enough to keep him alive during the winter.

A presence leaned over his shoulder. “Hey, that look pretty good. What is it?” Mr. Stark asked.

Peter leaned into his seat to allow better view of the hologram. “Uh, it’s a heater. Low-cost for homeless people to survive the winter.” Why not help others while he was trying to help himself? “It won’t need electricity to work… for obvious reason,” he added.

Mr. Stark hummed, rubbing his chin. “From scraps?” he asked, pointing to the notes.

“Well,” Peter shrugged, “I said it was low cost.”

“Kid, I’m a billionaire. I know you love dumpster diving for old tech, but I can literally get you all of these.”

Yes, Peter was aware of the fact since Mr. Stark kept reminding him. Despite the continuous assurances, he couldn’t bring himself to just asking for more stuff. He was already taking out chemicals he needed for his web fluid. Mr. Stark wasn’t particularly interested in what Peter was taking out of the lab to continue the experiments at “home”, as long as it wasn’t flagged as potentially dangerous by Friday.

“When will you be done with the prototype?”

“I would like to get it done in two weeks,” the nights becoming more cold kind of pushed him, “then I’ll take it out for a test run to catch any bugs.”

Silence. Peter realized he said something wrong when Mr. Stark’s face set into something unreadable.

“Take it out for the test where?”

“Like,” Peter stammered, gesturing with his hand, “like, I’ll set up a tent outside and see how it goes.” Half-truths weren’t technically lies, right?

“No,” Mr. Stark said firmly. “I’m not letting you test it on yourself. Too many dangers to that.”

Peter frowned. “Didn’t you inject those microchips into yourself a few years ago? You know – those you used to call the suit to you?”

It was Mr. Stark’s turn to stammer. “That- that was different!”

“How?” Peter raised one eyebrow, amusement twinkling in his eyes. “Are you really the right person to lecture me about personal safety?”

“Little shit,” the man huffed, playfully shoving Peter’s head to the side. “How about we do some test runs here to make sure it won’t go up in flames and then you can test it yourself. Deal?”

Hm. Now this, Peter could accept. But- “Do you really have that little faith in my creations?”

“Modified coffee machine,” Mr. Stark deadpanned as he placed a pack of crackers next to him.

The reminder of the incident wiped the smile off Peter’s face.

Okay, fair enough.

They fell into their routine after that, some AC/DC song playing in the background. Peter stayed in his corner, working on the blueprints of the heater and eating away at the crackers, while Mr. Stark tinkered with something on his own workstation.

Hmm, maybe if I rewire the circuit and add two more batteries…

“Kid.”

…yeah, that could work without blowing up in my face…

“Kid?”

…well, not like there’s anyone who would miss me since it was his own fault he had no one left…

“Earth to Peter!”

Snapping of fingers brought Peter back to reality. His eyes darted around in search of the source of the snapping.

Mr. Stark was looking at him. “You with me?”

“Uh, y-yeah, yeah,” Peter nodded. “I just… got lost in thoughts for a moment.”

“Good. Now stop being a hoarder and pass me that monkey wrench on your table you’re clearly not using.”

“Right,” Peter said as he grabbed the wrench and stood up. This was an opportunity to gain some credibility for his claims of tripping. He had to make it convincing, but how—

He was on the floor before he could finish the thought.

“Jeez, kid. You’re alright?”

Eh, that works too.

“Ow,” Peter moaned as he pushed himself up. Mr. Stark helped to steady him, his touch sending sparks of electricity down Peter’s spine, though not unpleasant.

It’s been so long since someone held him close—

“Anything hurts?”

Peter ran his hands down his legs, wincing and hissing when his hand brushed over his left knee. “That will leave a bruise.”

“Let me get you an ice pack for that.”

As it turned out, the untied shoelace resulting in his fall was all it took to bring the rare, caring side out of Mr. Stark. Peter resisted the urge to lean further into the touch, reminding himself it was for the best.

He couldn’t allow himself to get too close to Mr. Stark.

Not with his curse.

***

After the kid left, Tony paced his workshop like a caged animal. Maybe it was nothing, maybe it was everything, maybe he was seeing red flags where red flags weren’t.

Aside from the typical wolf hunger the kid displayed at lunch, there were no noticeable bruises. Just to be sure, he had Friday secretly scan the kid for any injuries and the results were… not quite what he was expecting. There weren’t any injuries. Still, he couldn’t claim that malnutrition was any better.

Feeding him second whole meal would be too obvious, so Tony had to settle for giving Peter a pack of crackers.

Like he said, it might be nothing and the kid was just still dealing with the loss by not properly eating (which wasn’t making it any better, wasn’t his foster family paying attention?), but he couldn’t shake off the feeling that something shady was going on.

He’ll have to keep even closer eye on the kid.

***

Gunshots.

There were gunshots all around him and, oh God- Ben, May! Please, no!

Peter’s eyes snapped open, a cold sweat running down his back. It wasn’t rare for him to have vivid nightmares about the night of the accident, but what was rare was the sounds of gunshot prevailing after he woke up. Why weren’t they fading into echoes retreating back into his memory?

They were still so loud and… wait.

That wasn’t in Peter’s head.

Creeping to the single window, he squinted into the darkness where he spotted a group of teenagers laughing among themselves as they lit up another firecracker.

It wasn’t the robber. Just a group of kids that could be his age, probably looking to stir up some trouble. There was a possibility of new graffiti appearing.

Releasing a shuddering breath, Peter unzipped the suitcase with shaking fingers. He fumbled for the plastic bag inside and retreated back to his mattress. He pulled out a lavender-colored sweater, shoved his hands into the sleeves, reached for the coat and threw it over his shoulders before hugging himself.

It still smelled like her.

Closing his eyes, Peter curled into a ball, imagining it was his aunt and uncle hugging him.

He was hungry again. He was cold.

He cried.

[retro-memo]

oho ask and you shall receive

questions about your fanfic "Hold You Close" (one of my faveeessss)

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

2: What scene did you first put down?

11: What do you like best about this fic?

14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?

<3 what a cute idea! and I'm very curious for your answers ^_^

Ah thank you so much for the ask!

Well, I was actually having trouble coming up for an idea in the first place ngl when it came to this because it was part of the exchange. I was back and forth with some ideas, at one point, I was gonna write a multi-chapter Hydra Tony fic instead.

I eventually settled with Hold You Close because I always love the 'distance to protect' but I rarely see any with Peter. It also just happened to fit two of the prompts I was given so it was perfect (and it wasn't a multi-chapter cause I suck at updating multi-chapters lol)

I mostly wrote it in order, but I sometimes jumped ahead to the end then back to the middle part

The part I liked best was probably the hugs cause, well, they're hugs

I don't really write messages in my fics, or not that I know of. I'm just here to write irondad lol

[spideypoolficexchange]

Rules, FAQ and Timeline

It has come to my attention that the rules page is not mobile friendly, sorry about that! I'm putting it all here and will pin this post to the page for easy access for the future. ♥️

Basic Rules:

Fics must be a minimum of 1,000 words.

Fics must be Spideypool-centric.

Please follow the spirit of the event and the requests as much as to the letter. If it's only technically or incidentally Spideypool, or if it's not technically what the listed squick was, please request/write something else.

That's about it! No event-given limits beyond that, go nuts!

Timeline:

Sign-ups open: Sunday, November 13

Sign-ups close: Saturday, November 19 at 6pm Eastern Time

Prompts go out: Saturday, November 26 (or earlier, if the matches are done before then!)

Deadline to post: Monday, January 2, 2023 at 11:59pm EST

Rules and FAQ (extended):

What is this event?

Essentially, you receive a person to write a fic for, along with up to 3 prompts. You write one of these prompts and then gift it to them, on AO3 and/or Tumblr. And it’s all anonymous until the fic is posted! If you’ve heard of a Secret Santa event, this is the same idea, just with an attempt at a more inclusive name.

How do I sign up?

Fill out this Google Form (closed until November 13). You’ll receive an email with your responses and voila, you’re all done!

Please do not request NSFW content if you are under 18. On the other side, if you’re told your giftee is under 18, please keep the fic SFW.

Do try to keep the prompts open! Remember, this is a gift, not a commission. You will not have precise control over what is made, and that’s part of the spirit of the exchange! 

How long does my fic need to be?

1,000 words. There is no word limit, but if your giftee has stated they are not okay with receiving a WIP, please do keep in mind your time limit and adjust your length accordingly.

Do my prompts have to be holiday-themed?

Nope! Prompts can be for any holiday or completely unrelated to one.

Is [blank] allowed?

The only requirements are to keep it Peter Parker/Wade Wilson, and to work off the prompt(s) and DNWs (do-not-wants) given. So long as you’re trying to give your giftee something they will enjoy, the fest has no other limitations on what content is allowed.

*Note: prompts must be Spideypool-centric. E.g.,  you can request Spideypool with background Irondad, but please don’t request Irondad with background Spideypool. It’s not what the event is for, and makes it much harder on the mods to pair people up.

There are three prompts. How many do I need to write?

Only one! If you have the time and energy to fill more, then go right ahead! Though I suggest finishing one before starting on another, so you don’t risk leaving your giftee with nothing.

[friendly-neighborhood-exchange]

Master List (Friendly Neighborhood Exchange #5)

Here are all of the stories that were created for the Friendly Neighborhood Exchange 5!

Things Start Splitting At The Seams And Now It's Tumbling Down by MelissaBosquez for cassiecayl

Robbery And Rubble by Girlinpink44 for marvelousbutterfly

The assistant by TooMuchCaffeine for DancingInTheSliverGlow

Those We've Lost and Those Who Remain by DancingInTheSliverGlow for krystalpomme

Everything's Fine by Averin for LBIGreyhound13

this lonely world is wasted by sandyk for Averin

Frozen by TonyStankandPetieBoi for Retro_Memo

It's Too Cold for a Kidnapping by Pogokitten for opal_earrings

Something Borrowed, Something New by Nicolemoon8 for cold_nights_summer_days

Keeping a secret is harder than it seems by marvelousbutterfly for Velnetta

Family is what you make it. by EmmaElsa0000 for Pogokitten

Looking For Light (holding so tight) by ironxprince for MagicaLyss

I Promise You're Enough by SuperHeroTiger for ironxprince

My Wish (Is For You) by SheabeePrime for TonyStankandPetieBoi

Supervillain Playlist by KirbyLane for Winterturtle

are you really joking at a time like this by cassiecasyl for Girlinpink44

out of trouble by cold_nights_summer_days for romeoandjulietyouwish

Christmas Grievings by Velnetta for KirbyLane

The Best Gift That I Could Receive by kingdomfaraway for EmmaElsa0000

Itsy Bitsy Spider by MellarkandArt for kingdomfaraway

The Morning Will Come (and the dream stealing your sleep will end) by Winterturtle for SuperHeroTiger

i'll be home for christmas (if only in my dreams) by romeoandjulietyouwish for MellarkandArt

Partners in Crime by LittleMissAgrafina for lost_lunar_wolf

his eyes the stars by krystalpomme for TooMuchCaffeine

To Capitalist Christmas and a Pretty Awesome Irondad by lost_lunar_wolf for WaywardFairchild

On So Many Levels by opal_earrings for Forthenightisdarkandfullofterror

How to Become a Family by WaywardFairchild for sandyk

Hold You Close by Retro_Memo for MelissaBosquez

Peter Parker’s Accidental Guide On How To Give Tony Stark a Heart Attack by Forthenightisdarkandfullofterror for Nicolemoon8

the particle dispersion effect by imeanthatsprettysnazzy for SheabeePrime

All I Want For Christmas Is You by LBIGreyhound13 for imeanthatsprettysnazzy

5 Times Tony Acted Like Peter’s Dad by Forthenightisdarkandfullofterror for LittleMissAgrafina

[lyssismagical]

i know how much it matters to you

@friendly-neighborhood-exchange for @call-me-coley !!!

Irondad Fic Exchange for Call-Me-Coley !! Sorry it's so so late, life got in the way I'm very sorry, hope you enjoy anyway!!

Peter Calls Tony “Dad” & Avengers Think Peter is Tony's Son

Hurt/Comfort

TW: None idk daddy issues, arguing, swearing a little, miscommunications

It’s a miscommunication.

Somewhere along the lines, Peter started thinking of Tony as his… father-figure. It’s not his fault, really, it’s Tony’s. Why would he do things like check over his homework, take him out for ice cream, invite him to stay at the tower every other weekend for takeout and movie nights, if he didn’t want to be thought of like that.

He’s over at the tower for one of his weekends, for father-son bonding as May had said when he’d said Tony wanted to watch Scream that night, but it would be the fourth weekend in a row in which he lost to Peter’s movie suggestion.

Nothing’s out of the ordinary. They’re eating pizza on the couch, Peter’s already in his pajamas, Ferris Bueller is playing on the TV – Peter had originally suggested Clueless but Pepper couldn’t join them until the second movie and she wanted to see that one with them – and Peter’s rambling about his and Ned’s most recent Lego set they’d completed. It’s the perfect Movie Night.

And then Captain America steps out of the elevator.

Of course, Peter knew that Tony was talking to Steve, trying to mend their mistakes. He even knew that there was supposed to be a meeting on Monday. Tony hadn’t wanted to keep it from Peter, despite wanting to keep him out of it.

Tony straightens, setting his slice of pizza down in the box. Within a fraction of a second, his expression goes from the soft, proud, happiness he’d had looking at the photos Peter had taken of Ned and their Lego, to calm, cool and collected.

Peter isn’t so graceful, fumbling for the remote to pause the movie and running a hand through his hair, further mussing his curls, eyes going unbelievably wide like a deer caught in the headlights.

Captain America looks just as flustered which makes Peter feel just a fraction better.

“I’m sorry, this is a bad time,” Steve says slowly.

“It’s okay!” Peter says, tugging his sleeves over his hands. “I can go to my room for a bit and you guys can talk, it’s okay, I’ve seen this movie like a thousand times before and I was more excited about Clueless, anyway, and Pepper won’t be back for another hour. I should probably call Ned, too, so we can talk about the upcoming English presentation.”

Tony catches his elbow as he goes to stand up. “You sure, kid? This is your weekend.”

Peter looks over Tony’s expression carefully, trying to find any hint of desperation, a reason to kick Steve out, but all he finds is an apologetic calm.

“It’s fine, really.” He tries for a smile. “Is it cool if I take…”

He trails off, one hand gesturing awkwardly at the pizza box.

Tony huffs out a laugh. “I might be a billionaire but you’re going to eat me out of house and home, kid.”

Peter pouts childishly. “I’m a growing teenager.”

“Take it, go, we won’t be more than half an hour, promise.”

He hops to his feet, picking up his phone and pizza box. He turns to the captain. “FRIDAY’s listening, so if you say something stupid, I will kick your ass.”

Steve doesn’t know he’s Spider-Man, but his eyes go wide, like he really is scared of a scrawny teenage boy hurting him. “Sure thing, son.”

It’s not his fault that he overhears. It’s not his fault that he has superhearing. It’s not his fault that Steve doesn’t know that.

So, around the corner and halfway down the hall, he hears Steve say, “How old is he?”

Peter freezes, fearing he’d been caught in his Spider-Man secret, but Tony’s voice give away any nerves. “Sixteen.”

“Wow,” Steve says. “How long have you…”

“Just over a year.”

“You didn’t say that you had a kid.”

Tony chokes. “I- What?”

“A kid. He was yours, right?”

“No!” Tony gasps. “God, no. It’s not- He’s not- I… He’s an intern, that’s all.”

Peter’s chest tightens. That’s all.

And as though he hasn’t already dug himself a hole, Tony keeps going, “You think I could be parent, Cap? That’s funny. I don’t want kids, never have, never will.”

God, he sounds like it would be the worst thing under the sun to be Peter’s dad. He’s been kidnapped, tortured, nearly killed time and time again, and yet he makes it sound like being Peter’s dad would be worse than all of that.

Peter closes himself in his room before he can hear anymore. He shouldn’t have assumed Tony would want to be thought of that way, it’s clear he blew things out of proportion, he’s just an intern, a superhero-in-training, a liability. He knew that from the start, he just figured with how much their relationship has grown, maybe there would be the possibility for more.

A liability. An intern. That’s all.

*

“Hey, kid, sorry about that, there’s going to be a proper Avengers meeting tomorrow and Cap had some questions, but it’s all been sorted. Pepper should be back in- Hey, you okay? You’re looking a little pale.”

“I think I might turn in early, if that’s okay. I’m really tired.”

Tony frowns, hands twisting. “What’s going on, kid? Was it Steve? I know it’s weird for him to-”

“It’s not him! I’m just not feeling well. I think I ate too fast.”

Tony doesn’t look convinced but he nods anyway. “Okay, Roo, but if you need anything or if there’s something on your mind, you know where to find me, okay?”

And for a moment, he can picture it. Picture Tony actually thinking of him as his kid, like he’s family. Picture Tony coming to parent-teacher nights at Midtown, being proud of Peter’s half-decent grades and Academic Decathlon standing, boasting to the other parents that his kid is going to go far.

But he remembers the disgust in Tony’s voice at the thought of being Peter’s dad, and his shoulders curl in a little further.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll see you in the morning. Night.”

He turns away before Tony can saying anything more. He’s a bad liar and every second talking to him is another second Tony gets closer to finding out the truth. If anything could ruin their precarious relationship, it’s Tony finding out how Peter feels about him.

*

“I don’t need a father figure!” Peter says, mid-rant to Ned the next day. He needed an excuse not to spend time with Tony all day, so he invited Ned and MJ out for coffee. He had spent the whole night tossing and turning, unable to stop thinking about what Tony said, how he said it, what that meant.

Ned coughs to try and cover his laugh, and Peter pouts at him.

“You have massive daddy issues, Peter,” MJ says with a nonchalant shrug. “I say that from a place of love as someone with similar mommy issues.”

“That doesn’t mean I should drag Mister Stark into my problems.”

“I still can’t believe he said that!” Ned gasps. “Say it again, word-for-word.”

“He said I hate kids, I would never be a parent, especially not to Peter.”

Ned and MJ roll their eyes in sync, they’ve both been around Peter long enough to have identical reactions to his behaviour. Peter huffs into his hot chocolate.

“Peter, dude, listen, you’re completely blowing it out of proportion. He probably only said that because Captain America was there. You can’t say that you haven’t lied because you’re flustered.”

Peter huffs again. “I don’t need a father figure! I don’t need him to be anything more than he’s already been for me. He’s Tony Stark. And I’m, you know, me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ned says. MJ’s drawn a tic-tac-toe board on her napkin, he has no idea where she got a pen from, and she’s passing it to Ned.

“I’m… I’m a nobody. Without the mask, I’m just a kid with good grades and no money and who gets bullied by a kid with the name Flash.”

MJ rolls her eyes again. She’s winning the game of tic-tac-toe. “I’m not here to listen to you fish for compliments.”

“I’m not!” Peter whines. “I just need to know how to stop thinking of him as anything more than a begrudging mentor.”

“You can’t,” she deadpans. She finally looks up from the tic-tac-toe game she’s won. “He wouldn’t have personalized a room for you down the hall from his own if he didn’t want you around. If he were just putting up with you, annoyed with the liability, he wouldn’t be your friend, he’d be like a manager.”

Peter finishes off his hot chocolate. “He’s going to be at an Avengers meeting tonight so I have a while to mull it over, I guess.”

“Dude! You’re an Avenger!”

Peter freezes. Oh shit.

*

“You’re freaking out.”

“I’m not freaking out.”

Tony levels him with a disbelieving look, straightening his own tie before turning back to Peter. “You’re just going to be there as my intern who helps with Avengers weaponry and other things, so that’s why you’re there. You can offer drinks, you can’t drink anything with alcohol and you’re limited to one carbonated drink, you can snack all you want but if you’re uncomfortable, I will be ordering take-out after it’s all done. I just want you there so you can hear what’s discussed, there’s no pressure to tell the team about your identity.”

“That’s not why I’m nervous.” He doesn’t mean to say it, but he doesn’t want Tony to ramble about accommodations for the party.

“What’s making you nervous?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

Peter blurts, “I’m a big fan of Doctor Banner’s work and I want to make a good impression.”

Tony lifts an unimpressed eyebrow. “Right.”

“I’m serious! He’s my second biggest idol.”

Tony’s mouth twitches. “Second?”

Before Peter has to face that embarrassment, Pepper knocks on the door. “Time to face the music, boys.”

Peter trails behind as Tony marches down a floor and into the conference room where the Avengers have congregated. Peter doesn’t have any fancy clothing and it was on short notice so Tony didn’t have time to get anything altered for him, so he’s wearing jeans with rips in the knees, a t-shirt that he tie-dyed when he was in middle school for Ned’s sister’s birthday party that’s a little too short for him to still be wearing, with his duct-taped sneakers. In comparison to Tony with one of his fanciest suits, Peter looks like a stray he picked up off the streets. The nerves seem to have overridden the exhaustion so he’s halfway to bouncing off the walls.

Peter knows they’ve seen each other in person since the incident but it still feels weird to see them all acting like friends and not like a high school reunion.

Eventually, conversation turns to him.

“This is my personal intern, Peter. He helps with Avengers tech, so he’s just here to learn who he’s making tech for, that’s all.”

That’s all.

And he knows Tony doesn’t mean it in a malicious way, but it feels like he’s been stabbed – and he would know, he gets stabbed just about every other week. He keeps his face as neutral as he can and he shifts nervously from foot to foot, one of his shoes squeaking.

He lifts a hand as a wave and his wrist trembles noticeably and when he shifts back on his feet, the duct tape holding the bottom of right shoe on peels a little. It’s entirely a reflex to lift his foot up to put the tape back in place and then everyone’s staring at him with wide eyes because his shoes are held together with tape.

“It’s, um, an honor to meet you guys.”

“How old are you?” Black Widow asks, narrowing her eyes at him.

“My friend’s a big fan of yours. Well, half-friend. I think. And I think she’s a fan. She’s very confusing when it comes to that kind of thing,” Peter says instead. He’s so nervous, fuck. He tries for a smile. “I’m sixteen.”

Natasha looks at Tony. “Tony Stark doesn’t have personal interns.”

“Well now I do. Anyway-”

“Did you know while this whole mess was going on?”

Steve shakes his head. “There’s no way.”

“Really? He just found out?”

“It’s a sensitive topic apparently.”

“Why would he bring him in here if it was sensitive?”

Natasha and Steve seem like they’re ready to discuss Tony and Peter’s relationship in front of them for as long as their hearts desire and Tony’s just watching, completely unamused but quiet, so Peter rolls his eyes and says, “He’s not my dad. I’m just his intern. That’s all.”

Tony frowns, turning on him. “What’s with the tone?”

“I was just stating a fact. I’m your intern, I’m not your kid, that’s all.” He fights to keep his face impassive.

“Listen, son,” Steve starts in his high and mighty tone.

“I’m not your kid either!” If Peter knew he’d start raising his voice at Captain America, he would’ve found a way out of this. He tries to shake off his anger, but it’s the only thing protecting him from being upset and he doesn’t know what he’ll do if he cries over this.

“Woah, okay, kid, let’s go,” Tony says, taking Peter by the shoulder and guiding him from the room. Peter goes willingly, pouting at the floor as he goes.

They go into a separate conference-type room, something like a living room except there’s a bunch of small targets scattered around the room. A few has arrows in them, all bullseyes.

“What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing’s going on with me.” He gets defensive so much faster than he wishes he had, arms crossed over his chest and eyes stubbornly stuck on the floor. “I’m just a little tired.”

“Bullshit.”

“Nothing’s going on,” Peter repeats resolutely. He lifts his foot to reattach the duct tape again, he’s going to have to redo the duct tape eventually.

Tony frowns at his shoes. “Will you let me buy you a new pair? Jeez, kid, how long have you had those?”

The truth is, probably three or four years now, but he’s not about to tell Tony that.

“I don’t need your money.”

“That’s not what I… Is that what this is about?”

“What?”

“Money. I can pay you for your internship, you know. I can figure out the paperwork with Pepper. You spend so much time here working anyways, you might as well get paid for it.”

Peter’s jaw drops open. If he were just putting up with you, annoyed with the liability, he wouldn’t be your friend, he’d be like a manager.

“I’m not your employee!” Peter practically shouts. He doesn’t want to be upset about this, but every word out of Tony’s mouth just seems to make it worse. “I don’t want to be your employee.”

“I’ll be honest, I’m unbelievably lost right now, kid.” Tony does look genuinely upset and frustrated by his own confusion, and Peter would feel bad if it weren’t for the fact that Tony should understand, should see why his nonchalance to their relationship hurts him so much.

Peter crosses his arms, pouting down at the floor. “I’m not going to spell it out for you. If you don’t understand why I’m upset then clearly we’re nowhere near the same page and that’s my fault. I’m sorry.”

“Kid, listen, clearly something about me calling you my intern is upsetting you, but I don’t see why. You are my intern, aren’t you? I wasn’t about to tell the Avengers you’re in the Avengers Little League without your permission. What else was I supposed to say? That you’re just some kid?”

“Some kid,” Peter repeats. He swallows thickly, heart so heavy in his chest. “I’m just some kid to you?”

“You’re… I don’t know, Pete. You’re Spider-Man. I’m your mentor, isn’t that what I said? You’re my padawan, my ward.”

“I’m your responsibility,” Peter says. “I’m your liability.”

Tony frowns, eyebrows knitting together and forehead creasing. “That’s not what I said.”

“But it’s what you meant. I’m just… Some kid and I get it. I’m sorry for making this into more than what it was and being upset when it wasn’t. I’m just some kid. I’m just. Without the mask, I’m just nothing. And I get it.”

“Where the hell is this coming from?”

Peter takes a deep breath and adjusts the webshooters on his wrists. “Nothing. Nowhere. I’m fine. I just- I’m going to ditch the rest of the meeting. I don’t want to ruin this whole reuniting moment of the Avengers. Not when I’m just some kid. I’ll see you later.”

Peter tries to push past him, ready to change into his suit and disappear before Tony can put the pieces together, but the older superhero grabs him by the elbow, stopping in his tracks.

“Peter, kid, you’re not just anything. I don’t know where you got it in your head that you’re nothing without the mask, but it’s not true. Is this about the jackass from school?”

“It’s not about Flash! It’s about you!” Peter says, letting out a breath. Even if he’s completely wrong about their relationship, the least he can do is explain why. It would be cruel to leave him in the dark if this is it, if this is what ruins everything between them. Tony’s not exactly a stable person, he’d overthink and destroy his mentality and esteem if Peter didn’t explain. He can’t do that. He shakes his head, pulling away from Tony’s hand. “It’s about you.”

“I need you to spell it out, Roo. I’m so confused. And I’m a genius.”

Peter cracks a sad smile before letting it drop. “When this started, I was just a liability. I was a dumb kid and you needed me for the fight in Germany and then you didn’t have a choice but to look out for me. But why take me out for ice cream and celebrate good grades and help me study for tests and have me over for the weekends and make a room for me and have movie nights together? Why do all that if I wasn’t…”

“Oh.”

One syllable and Peter knows it’s over. It’s done. He’ll have to say his goodbyes to his third father-figure. He’ll lose everything again.

Will Tony still let him use the lab to repair his suit? Will Tony still come save him if he finds himself bleeding out in an alleyway? Will Tony still write the letter of recommendation for MIT? Will he let Peter keep the suit? Will Peter lose everyone else too? The Avengers? Happy? Pepper? Karen?

“I’m sorry,” Peter says, crossing his arms over his body protectively, like giving himself a hug. “I just…”

“It’s not your fault, kid. It’s complicated.” Tony’s frowning in that way he did when he found out about the collapsed warehouse.

“You don’t want kids, you don’t see me that way, and I get it. If there’s anyway we could still be, you know, mentor and padawan as you put it, then I’ll forget about it, and if not… I get it. I can pack up the stuff I’ve left around here and get lost.”

“No! God, no, kid, that’s not what I want at all, either of those.” Tony huffs out another sigh. He sits in one of the chairs, head in his hands for a few moments. Finally, he looks up. “You are my kid, Peter. I just can’t be your dad.”

Peter frowns in confusion. “Why not?”

“It’s complicated?”

“Daddy issues?”

Tony laughs, shoulders relaxing a fraction. “Something like that, yeah.”

“You’re talking to the King of Daddy Issues, so if anyone would understand, it would be me.”

“My father wasn’t exactly a good person, Roo,” Tony explains quietly. “What’s considered a father to me is very different to what you’d consider a father. I’m… I don’t want to be him. If I consciously take on that role in your life, I’m scared I’ll turn into him without realizing it and you’re too good of a kid to go through something like that.”

Peter shakes his head emphatically. “You could never be him, Mister Stark.”

“You don’t know that. You’ve had some incredible parental figures in your life so far, kid, and there’s no way I could ever live up to them. I don’t know how to be a parent. I don’t know how to do the right things or be a role model or take care of myself let alone you.”

Peter laughs and then immediately feels bad for laughing. “Even if you didn’t think you were, you’ve been acting like a father-figure to me for months now. And not to feed into your ego anymore, but you’ve been doing a good job.”

“Yeah?”

Peter’s never seen him quite so insecure before.

“Yeah. Last week, you picked me up from school, listened to me ramble about everything and actually listened, bought fast food and ice cream, let me eat it in your crazy expensive car, helped me with my history homework, let me pick the movies for movie night, and let me put my cold feet under your leg. I don’t know how much more you think you need to do to be considered a good dad.”

Tony smiles softly. “It’s not hard when I have such a good kid.”

Peter laughs for a beat and then his smile drops and he swallows thickly, a wave of shame washing over him. “I’m really sorry for freaking out.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s- Daddy Issues, you know?”

“I do know, kid,” Tony says, another sad smile on his face, eyes somewhere far away. “And, listen, I need you to promise me that if I ever do something stupid like I did before, if I’m ever a jackass or oblivious or careless, I need you to just communicate with me. I’m clearly not very good with emotions and I’m new to this whole thing, so just talk to me, tell me what’s going on in that big brain of yours.”

“I will. And if you ever do anything stupid and don’t fix it, you’ll have both May and Pepper to deal with, so if that doesn’t keep you in line, you’re a lost cause.”

Tony winces dramatically. “God, kid, you have a lot of scary parents on your side.”

There’s a knock on the door and Pepper’s standing in the doorway, smiling fondly at them. “You boys ready to return to the meeting?”

“Ready,” Tony says.

They stand and Tony slings his arm around Peter’s shoulders, pressing a kiss to his head. They follow Pepper back down the hall to the conference room where the Avengers are lounging.

Nat grins when she sees them. “Was I right?”

“You were right,” Tony says, ruffling Peter’s curls who smiles shyly. “My kid.”