Chapter Text
Tony didn’t know what was going on with Peter.
It had been two weeks since the sickness and ever since then, Tony had noticed changes in his kid. Peter wasn’t… Peter.
For starters, he was eating a lot more which Tony loved because he always tried to get Peter to finish his dinner and eat healthy to get his low weight up and now Peter was eating all his dinner and was still hungry after that. Then he developed an attitude which Tony was prepared for that since he was a teenager but Peter never gave him an attitude like how he had been giving him. It was almost scary because that wasn’t his Peter.
On top of all that, Peter was lying to him.
Tony knew he was. He knew his kid better than anyone else, better than Peter knew himself so Tony knew that Peter was lying to him but he didn’t know why or what about.
He tried to get Peter to talk to him but the kid had been staying out at Ned's house everyday for the past week and a half and then coming home and going straight into bed.
Tony knew something was going on but it was killing him that he didn’t know what it was.
Later that day, Tony planned on grabbing Peter and carry him down to the lab if he had to. His plan was to get Peter comfortable enough so that hopefully Peter would open up to him and get him talking.
“Hey hey, where are you going?” Tony asked Peter after he came racing into the penthouse and tossed his backpack onto the floor.
Peter skid across the floor and looked at his dad. “What? I’m going to Ned’s house but I have to get something first-”
“No Ned’s house tonight. It’s Friday night so you and I are gonna have a boys night.” Tony stood up to approach Peter.
Peter shifted from foot to foot. “But I already promised Ned.”
“Tell him I said no. You can make it up to him another time so go change and meet me in the lab.” Tony pressed a kiss to Peter’s head and gently pushed him off in the right direction of his room.
Peter whined but he knew he wasn’t going to win this fight so he quickly changed, grabbed a snack and met his dad in the lab. At least he got time to work on his web fluids.
“How was school, bud?” Tony asked, feeling like his own son was a stranger to him now.
Peter shrugged. “Boring. I have better things to do.”
Tony chuckled. “Like what?”
Peter shrugged again and realized what he just said. “I don’t know. Just stuff.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?” Tony asked him but he knew what the answer was. He knew Peter wasn’t ready to date anyone yet or barely showed any interest in any girls.
Peter looked up at his dad like he’d been punched. “No. Ew. I don’t… you know I’d tell you if I did but I don’t and I don’t want one.”
Tony smiled but it was sad because he was trying to figure it out. The only thing that Tony could have thought of was the fact that Peter had a secret relationship but even that thought was far fetched.
“Then what are you hiding from me?” Tony blurted out. He hated playing the guessing game. “I know you’re keeping something from me but I don’t know why. You can talk to me.”
Peter felt his heart drop. He looked down at his desk because he knew he was hurting his dad but he was in too deep now. “I’m- I’m not hiding anything from you, dad. Please. I just… I’m just a teenager and I have… feelings and stuff.”
“I understand that but you’re not being yourself and you’re being all secretive but I’m here for you, Peter. I always have been and I always will be.” Tony was desperate at this point. He could tell Peter was thinking a lot but he wasn’t sure if Peter would break.
“I,” Peter glanced up at his dad and quickly looked away. He felt his eyes burn with unshed tears because he wanted so badly to be able to open up but he knew Tony would take Spider-Man away from him and he couldn’t have that. It was too big of a risk to have his dad know. “I know, dad. And… I’m okay.”
Tony shook his head and sighed. “I didn’t ask you if you were okay.”
Peter shook his head and put his head down on the desk. He couldn’t keep lying to his dad how he was. He couldn’t live like this for much longer because the guilt was eating him alive.
“Oh baby. Come here.” Tony felt his heart breaking. He held his arms out for Peter even though Peter couldn’t see because his head was down.
Peter heard his dad’s request so he got off his stool and practically crumbled into his dad’s arms. He felt his father’s strong arms wrap around his tiny frame where he always felt most safe.
“It’s okay, Pete. It’s gonna be okay.” Tony whispered against his head while Peter whimpered into his chest.
Tony moved his arms so he could lift Peter up onto his lap but when he put his hands under Peter’s armpits and lifted him, he almost sent Peter flying into the air. He let go of his kid and had to grab onto his wrist to stop him from falling back.
The two of them were looking at each other, confused.
Peter rubbed at his eyes since he didn’t know why his dad just dropped him like that. “Why did you drop me?”
Tony didn’t know what just happened. Peter was extremely light. Abnormally light. He has picked Peter up many times, especially in the last few weeks so he knew how much strength to put into it when lifting Peter up and now, Peter weighed just as much as he did when he was a young child.
“Peter.” Tony said in disbelief. “You’re… light.”
“What?” Peter asked, confused. He had no idea what Tony meant.
Tony stood up and lifted Peter up again and this time he barely had to put any real strength into it. “Dad. What’re you doing?”
Tony placed Peter back on his feet and ran a hand through his hair. “What the fuck, Peter. How is that possible?” Tony whispered that last part to himself and then grabbed Peter by the wrist to pull him onto his scale, ignoring Peter’s protests.
“Stand on this.” Tony said but he didn’t wait because he lifted his kid up and placed him on the scale just because he physically could. Tony read out the numbers. 76 pounds. Tony looked on in disbelief and pulled Peter off then put him back on again. “What the-”
“Stop it. You’re scaring me. I don’t-”
Tony stood up fully and looked down at his son because everything was starting to fall into place. “You got bit by a spider.”
Peter felt his face pale. “W-what? No I didn’t.”
“You probably don’t remember but you told me you did when you were sick. I didn’t believe you. Now it all makes sense. Oh my god.” Tony could not believe he didn’t realize this sooner. It all made sense.
The extreme sickness. The sudden super strength. The increase in appetite. The not needing glasses anymore. The secrets and lying and now the whole weight thing.
“I-I wasn’t. I don’t… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Peter was backing away from his dad but Tony was trying to think about how this happened.
“The spider? Was it poisonous? But it couldn’t have been if you’re… it was radioactive. Wasn’t it?” Tony asked and stepped towards Peter but Peter turned and ran up into the elevator, shutting the doors behind him. “Don’t let him leave the tower, FRIDAY.”
Tony got in the elevator after Peter got out and he went to Peter’s bedroom where he assumed his kid went. He tried to open the door but it was locked. “Peter. I’m not mad. Why would I be mad? Please let me in so we can talk.”
Tony knocked on the door again but Peter wasn’t opening it and there was no answer from the inside. “Peter. If you don’t open this door in five seconds, I’ll have FRIDAY do it.”
Tony waited five seconds and was about to ask FRIDAY to open the door but then he heard movement and the door being unlocked, revealing Peter on the other side.
“I am not mad at you.” Tony reassured Peter and stepped into the room to sit on Peter’s bed.
Peter didn’t move. He looked down at his feet in guilt and shame.
“How long did you know?” Tony asked him and put his hand on Peter’s knee when Peter walked over and sat on the bed. “Have you known since you got sick? Or was it a bit later?”
Peter didn’t answer. He didn’t want to admit anything or say anything about the bite and the spider.
Tony sighed. “Alright. My phone has been ringing nonstop in my pocket so I’m gonna go answer that and leave you alone for a bit.”
Peter just nodded his head and watched his dad leave. He tried to listen to the conversation in the hallway but he only heard his dad answer the phone then walk down the stairs.
Tony headed down to his lab, a bit annoyed because he wanted to get somewhere with Peter but also even more annoyed since Fury was calling him.
“Stark. I have been calling your phone for the past two hours.” Fury sounded mad but Tony didn’t care.
“I was with my kid. I’m not gonna run every time you call.” Tony told him and sat himself down in his stool in his lab.
“Well you’re gonna wish you did this time.” Fury began. “Look at the file that I sent you. There appears to be a new vigilante swinging around the streets of Queens.”
Tony always got a tad excited for new potential superhero’s. He loved to do all the research on them and figure out who and what they are.
“Do we know who they are?” Tony asked as he pulled up the file and waited for it to load.
“We don’t have a clear picture. Whoever they are, they move fast and they’re small. Mostly all the videos and pictures are blurry.” Fury told him.
“What do you mean they’re small? Like they’re tiny as in a potential Ant-Man?” Tony hoped that wasn’t the case. The last thing he wanted was another Ant-Man on their hands.
“No. Small as in a small frame. Maybe they’re young.” Fury answered just as the file showed up.
Tony began looking at the pictures of this new vigilante. It was hard to make out what exactly it was but he could see that they were wearing a red and blue outfit as they swung from building to building. It impressed Tony. The way this human moved through the air so gracefully as if they weighed nothing…
Tony looked closer. He couldn’t see their face but he clicked on a video and paused it so he could get a closer look at what he was dealing with. He zoomed in on what looked like a white type fluid coming out of their wrists. Tony zoomed in a bit more and saw that it looked like…spider webs.
“I have to go.” Tony said into the phone, not waiting for Fury to say anything.
He ran into the elevator and raced up to Peter’s bedroom because he needed to know. His heart was racing and his mind was going a mile of minute with a million thoughts.
He didn’t knock and just opened Peter’s bedroom door. “Tell me it’s not you.”
Peter jumped at the sudden noise and door being ripped open. He looked over at his dad with wide eyes. “W-what?”
Tony looked at Peter’s old backpack that was sitting on his desk. Peter had been bringing it everywhere with him for the past two weeks so he snatched it off his desk.
“Dad, no. Wait!” Peter tried to reach for the bag but Tony pushed him away. He unzipped the bag and pulled out the exact same thing he saw on that video that Fury sent him.
A red and blue onesie with what looked like web shooters and a jar that read web fluid.
Tony held the items in his hand and looked at Peter. “You lied to me.”
“Dad, no.” Peter shook his head in denial.
“You looked me straight in the eye and you lied to me. More than once, Peter.” Tony was hurt but more than anything he was terrified that his fourteen year old son was doing what he was doing.
Peter continued to shake his head. “I-I…”
“You what?” Tony pushed forward. He felt like a failure of a dad for not noticing sooner. He thought he was giving Peter his space but he made things worse and Peter could have gotten seriously hurt.
Peter felt the tears burn his eyes but this time he let them fall because he couldn’t hold it in anymore. “I’m- I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean to.”
Tony scrunched up his nose to try and remain patient and not yell. “Sorry doesn’t cut it this time, Peter.”
Peter let out a whimper and looked up to meet his dad’s eyes. “I-I just wanted to be like you, dad. I-I wanted to help people.”
“I don’t want you to be like me. I want you to be better. I need you to be better than me.” Tony couldn’t stand the thought of Peter turning out like him. Turning to drugs, alcohol and sex to try and numb the pain of losing his parents and being left with so much responsibility.
Peter wiped desperately at his eyes and looked down. “Please, dad. I-I need to keep doing this. Please.”
Peter hesitantly reached forward to take his suit out of his father's hands and Tony let him. Peter held the fabric against his chest and took a steady step away from his dad.
“After all the lying and sneaking around that you’ve been doing, I don’t know how I’m supposed to trust you again, Peter.” Tony hated the way Peter broke down but he couldn’t comfort him.
He watched his son completely lose it in front of him but he didn’t do anything. He held his hand out, ignoring Peter’s crying and mumbling of ‘I’m sorry’.
“This isn’t going to continue. Give me the suit.” Tony held his hand out, not giving Peter the option to say no.
Peter shook his head and took another step away from Tony so Tony reached out and grabbed Peter’s hand to try and get the suit but Peter fell to the floor and tried to curl in on his suit. “Please don’t.”
“I’m not playing with you, Peter. Give me the suit.” Tony bent down to try and grab the suit from Peter’s hold but he couldn’t. He kneeled down to get a better angle since he could tell Peter was using some of the strength that came with the spider bite.
There was simply no way Peter was stronger than him. “Peter. I’m giving you five seconds to let go or so help me god.”
Peter shook his head and looked up at Tony desperately. “Please, dad. I-I I’m trying to help people! I’m trying!”
Tony wasn’t going to have his child continue on doing what he’s doing.
“One,”
“No! Please!” Peter cried out and grabbed onto the suit tighter.
“Two, three, four… five.”
Peter let out a loud scream followed by more crying and handed Tony the suit. “Here.”
Tony took it from Peter and stood up to leave the bedroom but right after he shut the door, Peter yelled out.
“I hate you!” Peter yelled at his dad and for the first time, he actually felt like he meant it. Tony was taking something away from him that he couldn’t control and was a part of him now.
Tony quickly turned back around and walked over to Peter who was still lying on the floor. “You do not talk to me that way, Peter. I am your dad and I will not have that.”
Peter turned his face away and shoved it into the carpet. He shut his eyes and heard his dad leave but he didn’t care to open his eyes. He hated his life.
Back in the hallway, Tony looked down at everything he took from Peter’s bedroom and made his way down to the lab to try and cool off.
Despite how right he felt for taking Peter’s suit away from him so he couldn’t continue to be this vigilante, he still felt like he was making the wrong decision.
Peter’s heart was in the right place but his brain was not.
He sighed and tossed everything onto his desk then glanced over at Peter’s desk. He should have picked up on what Peter was up to. His secret little projects that he had been working on. The little giddy smile that appeared on his face when he would be concentrating hard on something.
Tony loved seeing Peter work. He stood up and made his way over to Peter’s desk to look at what he was working on.
He knew his kid was smart but after seeing all the equations and math that Peter was doing, it amazed him how Peter figured all of this out so quickly and with no help.
He did it all by himself.
Tony sighed again. The reason why Peter had been so quiet, distant and lying so much wasn’t because of Peter’s vigilante things, well, it was but the main thing was the fact that Peter didn’t feel like he could come to him which was true, in a sense.
Tony just wanted his kid to be safe and happy and if letting Peter continue on being the little crime fighting spider that he was helped that, then so be it.
.
.
.
It took Tony a week to design and build what he planned out.
He was spending hours in his lab. Day and night. Day and night. His and Peter’s relationship was definitely on the rocks. It was awkward between the two but both of them were too stubborn to say anything to the other.
Tony knew that he had to be the adult and say something and he did try. He wanted to keep what he was making for Peter a secret but he did try to talk to Peter and get him to open up but it didn’t work.
Peter was still extremely mad at him and although Peter did apologize for saying that he hated him, Tony knew that Peter still held some anger towards him.
“Can you come over here for a sec, Pete?” Tony asked him after Peter got home from school that day.
Peter ignored him and kept walking towards the stairs. “I have to go change.”
Tony stood up to follow Peter to the stairs. “After you're done changing, I want you to come sit on the couch and talk with me.”
Peter shrugged his shoulders and continued to walk upstairs. “Okay.”
Tony sat and waited for Peter on the couch. He was a bit nervous just because he so desperately wanted him and his son to be best friends again.
When Peter came downstairs, he went into the kitchen to grab a snack and sat on the opposite couch from his dad. Tony patted the spot next to him. “Are you scared of me? Come sit next to me.”
Peter stood up and reluctantly sat next to his dad. “Yeah?”
“So,” Tony began. “I don’t know how to talk to you about this because I know you’re still mad at me but I want you to know that I took the suit away from you because I love you and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Peter stuck out his bottom lip and leaned forward on the couch, getting ready for an argument. “And you-”
Tony held his hand up. “No. Let me talk first. I’m not trying to start an argument with you. I… I love you, Peter. And if something happened to you then that would be my fault because it’s my job as your father to protect you and keep you safe.”
Tony resisted the urge to hold his son. “I know that you want to continue doing what you’ve been doing so… I’ve been working on something for you but I have a question,”
Peter sat up straighter, a curious smile appearing on his face. “What is it?”
“What’s your superhero name?” Tony asked him, not able to keep the smile off his face.
“Are you serious?” Peter asked him, grabbing onto his leg and trying to contain his smile.
“I’m just asking you, kid. What is it? Underoos? Crime fighting spiderling?” Tony teased. He was loving seeing that smile back on his kids face.
“Um… it’s Sp-Spider-Man. Like… Iron Man.” Peter was embarrassed that his dad might think he was being childish and trying to copy him.
“Spider-Man.” Tony repeated to see how it sounded. “I like it. It has a nice ring to it.”
Peter peeked up. “Really?”
“Yeah.” Tony shrugged. “Of course Spider-Boy would be better fitting but what are you gonna do about it.”
Peter blushed and looked down at his lap.
“Stand up. I want to show you something.” Tony stood up and gestured for Peter to follow him into the elevator and down to the lab so he could show his kid what he was working on.
“Why are we down here?” Peter asked, looking at his dad.
Tony sat in his stool and pulled Peter so he was standing in front of him. “I want to show you something but before I do, I need you to understand that what I’m about to give you comes with a lot of rules of responsibilities.”
Peter nodded his head, eagerly. “Yes. What is it?”
Tony stared at his son for a few seconds before he stood up and walked over to a case. “Open it and see for yourself.”
“... okay.” Peter looked down at the case and then up at his dad for reassurance. “How do I-” Peter pressed the button and the case immediately opened up. “Woah! No way! What! This is the greatest day ever! Are you serious, dad?! Is this actually… oh my gosh!”
Tony smiled proudly. “Do you like it?”
“Like it?! I love it!” Peter ran a gentle hand over the mask and then looked up at Tony. “Is it mine?”
“Well it doesn’t fit me.” Tony chuckled and pressed the side button to get the suit out. “Take it. It’s all yours.”
Peter carefully grabbed the suit from his dad and held it up in awe. “I can’t believe this is actually happening. Thank you, dad. Thank you so much. I love you.”
Tony hugged Peter back, so happy to know that they were getting better and that he was seeing that smile appear on his son's face once again. “I love you too, bud, but before you put it on, I want to talk to you about the rules.”
Peter nodded his head and the smile fell from his face a bit. “Okay. Y-yeah.”
Tony gently took the suit from Peter’s hands and put it down then led him back over to his work desk. “So, if you are going to continue to be Spider-Man and if I am going to let you, you will follow the rules I set up. Do you understand me?”
Peter nodded. “Yes.”
“Okay, good.” Tony began. “So first, Spider-Man will not get in the way of school. If I see that your grades start to slip or you’re not sleeping enough and you have too much on your plate, Spider-Man comes down to my lab. When you come home from school, you will finish all your homework before you go out. On school nights you have to be home by eight and weekends you can stay out till eleven.”
Peter looked a bit disappointed by the early time’s but he didn’t say anything so Tony continued.
“I gave you a comm so you can talk to me without having to carry your phone on you. When I call, you answer. No matter what. If I tell you to come home, you come home. Don’t take on anything too hard, save that for the real Avengers.” Tony had a lot more rules but those would come in time. These rules were the most important.
“Okay. Is that all?” Peter asked, bouncing on his toes.
“For now.” Tony answered him. “I want you to know that these rules aren’t going to slide by if you decide not to follow them. I will take that suit away from you without a second thought.”
Peter nodded his head. “Yes. I know. I’ll follow all the rules. Thank you. Can I try it on now?”
“Go for it.” Tony watched Peter run off and grab the suit then he started to strip down to his underwear and hesitate before putting it on.
The suit hung loosely on his body and it looked funny. Peter held his arms out awkwardly and turned to look at his dad. “Uh… does it get smaller?”
Tony laughed and got up to walk over to his kid. “Press that spider on your chest.”
Peter looked down and pressed the spider then the suit tightened around his whole body. “Woah. This is so cool. Woah!”
“You look good, Pete. It suits you.” Both of them laughed at that, Tony was so glad to have his happy kid back. “To take it off you press the spider as well. It’ll only work for you and me. So if someone tries to get your suit off, they can’t.”
Peter examined the suit on him with a huge smile. “Woah. You even put my web shooters into my suit. I love it so much.”
Tony pulled Peter in for a hug. “I’m glad, buddy. You look good.”
Peter beamed up at his dad. “Thanks. Can I go out and test it?”
Tony hesitated but he knew he had to say yes, it was only fair. “Alright. Let me suit up so I can come.”
Peter started bouncing in excitement. “Okay! Spider-Man and Iron Man.”
Tony smiled at Peter. He had a superhero as a son now which would make life a lot more crazy and change a lot of their daily routine but there was one thing that wasn’t going to change and that was the fact that Tony loved his son more than anything and that he would always do what he had to do to keep Peter safe.