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Tony barely notices where he's going, eyes glued on the new little ball bearing assembly he's been fidgeting with for the last forty five minutes. It's ingenious really, though he wouldn't expect anything less from Peter. The kid is modest and never admits how smart he is, but Tony knows that one day Peter will be inventing great things. Hell, he already has invented a number of great things, this new ball bearing assembly included.
Ball bearings are a simple thing really. There wasn't really a need for innovation in the ball bearing world, though Peter had gone and turned Tony's perception on that matter on its head. He stares down at the little fidget spinner with the interesting ball bearing assembly inside, just barely visible. Peter had even told him how to take it apart without breaking it when he'd given it to him earlier that day in the lab, knowing that Tony would be interested in seeing the internals. He hasn't taken it apart yet, though that's on his to do list later in the evening. If this works how he thinks it does, then it might just be the answer to an issue he's been having in the new Mark 47 Arctic Armor. It's just a fidget spinner… a completely random gift that Peter had given him, but it's clear that his intern put a lot of time and effort into designing and crafting it.
The elevator door opens up and Tony steps into the penthouse. He doesn't realize that Pepper is there until she calls out, "What are you working on?"
He looks up and searches the living room and kitchen until he spots her, and then holds up the little red and gold metal fidget spinner. "Pete gave me a fidget spinner. Not sure why. The internals are interesting and are about to solve at least two problems I've been having with one of the suits."
"Did he give it to you to pull apart for feedback?"
He looks up at her again briefly and makes his way over to her, before spinning the device again, stopping it abruptly, and then bringing it closer to his face to peer inside. The way it's built, he can see the ball bearings through little holes in the device. He thinks Peter did that on purpose. The new assembly relies on airflow.
"No. Just as a gift. My birthday isn't even until next month."
Pepper frowns lightly, pulls out her phone, taps a few times and says, "It's Father's Day."
Tony stops cold, fingers freezing the device in place. He blinks at her like a deer caught in the headlights for a moment. "Huh?" Father's day? Surely not. He looks back down at the intricate fidget spinner again… thinks about all the iterations of it that Peter had told him he'd made and tested before settling on this design. "Must just be a coincidence."
"Is it?" Pepper asks.
"Kid can't give me something for Father's Day if I'm not his father, Pep." He says it like it's the most obvious thing in the world, though in his chest he's starting to feel panic creep up. "He wouldn't." He wonders if Peter ever gave something like this to his uncle Ben on Father's Day. Ben was the closest thing Peter had to a father after his own had died when he was just five. Peter rarely talks about Ben, but when he does it's always about the things he and Ben used to do together… going for walks to the park, seeing a baseball game, fixing up Ben's car. Father stuff. Dad stuff. If Peter had ever thought of someone as a father again after his dad had died, it would have been Ben.
"Is it so hard to imagine that you're close enough that he might think of you like that?" Pepper asks. It's like she's read his mind… pinned down every thought racing through his mind as if he's said them all aloud, though he knows he hasn't.
Tony looks up at her and then stares back down at the fidget spinner. He can see all the little tool marks from Peter hand crafting it. With all the designs, the trial and error, the sixteen failed models that weren't just right according to Peter, this 'random gift for no reason' took a lot of planning, thought, and effort on Peter's part.
He looks up at Pepper again. "Can't be."
She frowns lightly at him. "You could ask."
He could ask and make a fool of himself. If he asks, and Peter didn't mean it to be a Father's Day gift, then it will look like Tony is trying to take on a role that doesn't belong to him… trying to insert himself into Peter's life in a way the kid probably doesn't want, and that May won't appreciate. Then again, if he doesn't ask, he'll be thinking about it for weeks, wondering. He's too impatient for that, and he's pretty sure Pepper knew that when she planted the suggestion to ask into his head.
Tony pulls his phone out and taps out a message to Peter. The kid had gone home an hour ago and is probably back in his apartment. 'Kid, did you give me this fidget spinner for Father's Day?' Peter is usually quick to respond to him, but this time Tony is left staring down at the message window for more than a minute. He holds his breath and thinks that maybe Peter won't respond at all. Maybe he'll think Tony is being weird. Peter will cancel lab days, and stop responding to Tony's calls and messages altogether. That thought unsettles him more than he ever thought it would.
Peter does respond a couple of minutes later with, 'Is that ok?'
Is that ok? Is that ok? Tony doesn't know what to think about the whole thing. He's glad to have Peter around, but he'd never thought he'd be a father or a father figure to anyone. He's always been afraid of being too much like Howard and screwing a kid up if he ever had a child. Did you give me this fidget spinner for Father's Day - - - Is that ok?
He taps out a message before he fully comprehends that that's what he's doing and hits send. 'More than ok.'
This time Peter's reply comes right away. 'Happy Father's Day Mr. Stark.'
He smiles down at the message. He doesn't know what he did to deserve this kid, but he's glad to have Peter in his life… glad that he's different enough from Howard that Peter wants to stick around… glad that he's enough like Ben that Peter wants to give him a gift on Father's Day.
'Thanks buddy. See you in the lab tomorrow?'
'I'll be there.'
Tony smiles down at the screen for a moment more, and then looks up to find Pepper pouring herself a glass of water in the kitchen. He walks forward and holds up the fidget spinner with a smile. "Hey, want to see what my kid made me for Father's Day?"
Pepper looks up, surprised, but then smiles at him and holds out her hand for the device. An hour later the same scene plays out with Happy, who tells Tony that Peter has been rambling about this project for weeks and wondering if Tony would like it.
Before bed that night, Tony video calls Rhodey and holds up the device for him to see. "Hey, look what my kid made me for Father's Day."
"What kid?"
"Peter."
Rhodey scrutinizes the smile on Tony's face for long moments, and then turns his attention to the red and gold spinner. "That's great man. Am I gonna get something for uncle's day?"
Tony scoffs. "No such thing." He starts describing the new ball bearing assembly in detail, and Rhodey listens, eyes focused on his best friend's smile and the happiness in his eyes.
Ball bearings are simple things really, but somehow, when Peter makes them and paints them red and gold, they become less of a simple thing, and more like something that Tony wouldn't trade for the world.