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He should have known better than to enter the conversation, but they were talking about kids! How could he not brag about his own?
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Tony was relieved. Finally he was at an event that didn’t make him want to tear his hair out. He had been supporting Hospitals For The World since he returned from Afghanistan. They built and supported hospitals in impoverished areas all over the world.
Tony was glad that he knew the founders of the Alliance so well. They seated him with a bunch of unproblematic, low-drama people (which he appreciated a lot). Around the table was Senator Robert Lewis, Genealogist Maria Welhaven, and Anthony and Katarina Jacobs (the founders of Food for Thought, a sister charity that helped to provide food and education for families in poverty). To be around honest, likable people was a breath of fresh air for Tony.
Throughout the evening, Tony became more and more comfortable around the people at his table. He wished that Peter was with him, but Peter was away at a Decathlon tournament. It would be good for his son, no, the heir to his company to meet influential people who had decent morals. As the night went on, the conversations moved from politics to favorite movies to school age antics, and now, to children.
“We have two boys, Leo and Alex, and a daughter named Anika. They’re a handful, but I love ‘em to death.” Katarina smiled.
“The boys are in seventh grade, and Ani’s a senior. They’ve all surpassed our math skills, so we just let Anika explain things to them.” Anthony added, laughing.
Maria joined into the conversation. “My daughter Bianca is a tenth grader. I’m glad she understands her classes because I wouldn’t even know where to begin. What about you, Robert?”
“Oh, I don’t have any kids, but I have a little niece. Melissa and I love her as if she was our own.” Robert smiled. “She wants to be an astronaut when she grows up. Just like her Auntie Mel. She probably will, too. That little girl is the smartest six year old I’ve ever met.”
“My son is just like that. He’s probably smarter than me at this point. I’m lucky, though. I don’t think he’s grown out of the hero-worship phase yet.” Tony added.
Everyone stopped and stared for a moment before they shook themselves out of their stupor.
“Y-you have a son?” Maria asked hesitantly.
Tony realized his mistake. No one knew about his guardianship over Peter.
“Sorry, I misspoke. I was talking about my intern.”
“Huh…”
No one looked convinced by this, but they let it slide and began asking questions about him.
Robert recovered first, “He must be pretty smart if he was able to become your intern. How old is he?”
“Peter’s sixteen years old. He’s the top of his class, and he’s on his school’s Decathlon team.” Everyone around the table looked at each other and grinned as Tony began to ramble about Peter’s achievements. They all noticed that he had started acting like a proud dad rather than a proud boss.
As Tony finished a long winded explanation of Peter’s obsessive love of Star Wars, Anthony said, “Intern or not, that kid is your son. Based on everything you’ve said about him, he’s definitely going places in life. Next time you come to one of these things, you should bring Peter along with you. I don’t know about everyone else, but I can’t wait to meet him.”
Tony looked shocked for a moment but quickly pulled himself together, “Thank you. I’ll be sure to bring him next time. I think he would like you guys.” Tony smiled to himself for a second, but then groaned exasperatedly.
“What was that about?” Maria snickered.
“Ugh, he’ll never let me live this down. He’ll know that I brag about him now.” Tony looked slightly mad at himself.
Everyone laughed at his misfortune. This night turned out way different than they could have expected, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
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The next morning…
Tony woke up refreshed. This was the first time in a long time that he didn’t go to bed after an event feeling drained and irritated. He made his way to the kitchen where he found Pepper eating breakfast. Tony leaned down and kissed her cheek as he leaned over to grab himself a fresh cup of coffee.
Tony sat down on the couch with his coffee and a bowl of lucky charms (which he had stolen from Peter’s box in the cupboard) and turned on the morning news. Immediately, he was bombarded with pictures of his face as the newscasters reported about “The Secret Heir of Stark Industries!” and “Tony Stark’s Secret Son!” Tony groaned. He knew that he should have kept his mouth shut at last night’s event.
“Tony, why am I hearing your name all over the news?!” Pepper called from the kitchen.
Tony just groaned again and sunk into the couch. Pepper came into the living room, looked at the tv, and just sighed.
“I’ll go call the PR team while you give Peter a heads up.”
As Tony called Peter, he couldn’t help but feel excited for the next time he saw Maria, Robert, Anthony, and Katrina again. It was nice to finally be able to brag about his amazing son to people. He couldn’t wait to do it again.