𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑫𝒂𝒅 (1)

A Lovely Surprise- Peter

(This video is so beautiful watch it or else^^ 😭)

Full of ice cream and sandwiches, Peter contently strode along the sidewalk on this beautiful Saturday.

Just the morning, true to his word in the letter from the previous day, he had taken Morgan out for some ice cream. But not only that. They hitched a ride on the subway down to his home city to get the best sandwiches in Queens- Delmar's. After that, they stopped by at an ice cream shop and Peter got coconut ice cream for Morgan, and chocolate-flavoured for himself.

Morgan was happy, so Peter was also happy. The little girl was like a sister to him- and he would make sure she was as happy as possible, everyday.

They then went back to the Avengers compound, where Peter dropped off Morgan and then spent the evening out with MJ and Ned.

Now, Peter was taking a quick stroll around in the neighbourhood before he would head back to the compound. The blazing sun was slowly making its journey down across the azure sky, small ivory puffs of clouds drifting peacefully. 

A buzzing noise from his pocket jolted him out of his relaxed daze, and he fished out his phone and glanced at the cracked screen.

Mr. Happy:

Stay where you are kid, I'm going to pick you up

You don't have to walk back

Peter:

Really Happy?

It's okay if you don't want to, I can still just walk-

Mr. Happy: 

Pepper wants me to pick you up. 

Peter: 

Okay... thank you then! 😄

Peter pocketed his phone, a big grin on his face. The long walk back wouldn't have bothered him much thanks to his amazing stamina and strength, but he was tired from the day out. He leaned against the brick wall of a store and popped in his earbuds, waiting for Happy. 

Soon enough, a sleek black car arrived along the curb. Peter opened his eyes from being lost in the world of music as the back door slid open, inviting him to enter. 

He slipped in and settled on the comfy seat, strapping on his seatbelt. "Phew, thank you so much, Happy." He looked up and sighed when he saw that the divider that separated the front and back seats was up.

Once they've reached the compound, Peter exited the car, smiling. "Thank you again for the ride, Happy! I hope I wasn't bothering-" he was cut off by the soft whirring of the driver's seat window rolling down. A man with a familiar goatee and wearing sunglasses peered at him.

Peter gaped like a fish out of the water. "Mr. Stark?!" 

Tony Stark smirked at the shocked boy over his shades. "Nice to see you too, Pete. Miss me?"

"I-I- where's Happy..? Um- it's really you-" Peter's hand flew to his mouth, choking up. "You- you're here and okay-"

"Oh, come here." Tony opened the car door and stepped out, folding the spider boy in a big hug. 

Shocked, Peter wrapped his arms around his father figure, biting his lip and tried to control the tears threatening to spill from his eyes. It took him several more seconds before his brain finally processed the fact that Tony really was in front of him. Hugging him. Then the questions started flying from his mouth. "Where's Happy? I'm pretty sure he was the one who texted me? Does everyone else know you're awake? Did you-"

"Whoa whoa whoa," Tony chuckled. "Slow down, and take it easy on the arm. Easy peasy, I hacked into Happy's account and texted you there, for a surprise. And no, not everyone knows I'm awake. Only a few selective hospital people and now you. I want it to be a surprise for the team, and hopefully I can get some peace and quiet from the press and citizens. But you know how it goes, the news will leak out eventually, so I better relax while I can." 

Peter pulled away, alarmed when his mentor had said "take it easy on the arm". And that's when he noticed that Tony's right arm, the one he snapped with, was still in bandages under the sleeve of the crisp suit he was wearing, and in a sling. The small half of his face that had been burned was now scarred a light pink.

"I look stunning, don't I?" Tony joked half-heartedly when he saw Peter's worried gaze. "It's fine. Could be worse."

"So..." Peter rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Did.. did you read..?"

"The letters?" Tony grinned. "Of course I did. I was supposed to be discharged yesterday, but your letters kept me in bed the whole day." His face took on a more stern look. "You aren't a bother, kid. I gotta say, thank you for the letters. They're quite entertaining, but horribly traditional." He shuddered. "You could've used tech, but never mind that. This Flash kid bullies you?"

"Er... yeah..." Peter winced. "Honestly, it's okay, Mr. Stark. Don't kill him!"

"Yeah, yeah." Tony clapped the doe-eyed boy on the back. "I'm proud of you, kid. You even got yourself a girl!"

Peter turned red as a tomato. "I-"

"And you called me dad," Tony continued cheerfully, seeming amused at Peter's embarrassment. 

"W-wait, what? I did?" 

"Yep, in one of the letters."

Peter was at a loss of words.

Tony's eyes softened. "It's okay, Pete. I don't mind." He patted Peter's shoulder. "I want you to know that I'm very proud of you. And thank you for taking care of Morgan." Peter shifted a bit nervously, not knowing what to reply.

Fortunate for him, before he had to respond, Tony headed to the other side of the car and slid into the seat on the other side, gesturing for Peter to get into the driver's seat. "Get in."

Confused, Peter tilted his head, resembling a lost puppy. "Mr. Stark..?"

"Get in the driver's seat," Tony demanded. "I'm going to teach you how to drive."

Peter nervously shuffled into the seat. 

As the doors closed automatically, Tony strapped in his seatbelt. "And please try not to kill us. While we're in here, you're going to catch me up on all the things you didn't tell me in the letters. And tell me about that AI idea too."

Peter gripped the wheel, and turned and gave Tony a smile, to which the billionaire returned with a genuine one too. He couldn't believe it- so much things had happened, but in the end, finally, finally, he was back with his father figure, who was awake and good as he can be. 

Peter placed his foot on the gas pedal. "I'll try not to kill us, Mr. Dad."

"What did you just say?"

"Er- I- sorry-"

"Relax, kid. How many times do I have to tell you to not call me Mister? It makes me feel old. Just Tony is okay, and dad too." 

"You are old."

"Parker-"

Chortles of laughter could be heard as the mentor and mentee continued their banter, the car wheels screeching against the pavement as father guided son across the compound parking lot. What a lovely surprise it had been. They have been through a lot, but in the end, they were united once more. 

 Things were slowly going back to normal.

Or are they?