No More Lonely

Ch. 3

Peter pointed behind the car and Tony glanced back. Sure enough, a group of cameramen had gathered outside a local store and were taking photos of them.

"Just ignore them, Peter," Tony murmured, turning back to Peter.

Peter nodded and hopped off the curb as they crossed the street. As they approached the next curb, Tony pulled Peter up when he jumped and he squealed.

"I'm Superman!"

Tony smiled and opened the door to the store, leading Peter back to the young boys section.

While Tony looked for things in Peter's size. Peter ran around the racks and admired all the clothes. As he found things he liked, he would tug it off a hanger and race over to Tony with the clothing in hand. Even though it was never in Peter's size, Tony took the time to help him find the exact same shirt or pants that would fit.

Despite Tony having very little idea what kids needed, he felt pretty confident they were finding enough. Peter picked out cartoon socks and brightly coloured underwear while Tony searched for more formal clothing. After stocking up on pants and t-shirts as well as swim trunks, they took their full cart up to the front register. As the cashier rang up their purchase, staring at Tony and Peter with wide eyes, Peter chattered happily and asked if he could wear everything tomorrow.

"No, Peter," Tony said, handing the cashier his card. "You can only wear one shirt and one pair of pants per day."

Peter frowned but was easily distracted when Tony handed him the smallest clothing bag to carry.

"Do you deliver?" Tony asked the cashier, glancing at the dozen bags they now had.

The woman shook her head, still wide-eyed, and Tony sighed. What was a dozen bags of clothing anyway?

As quickly as he could, Tony looped the bags through his arms and managed to leave one of his hands free. Pushing the cart back to where they'd found it, Tony grabbed Peter's hand and led him out of the store.

It was a bit of a struggle to get the bags into the back of the car—especially with Peter bouncing beside him—but they got the car loaded and Peter buckled without any accidents.

"Are you hungry?" Tony asked as he slid into the driver's seat.

Peter nodded.

A quick glance at the clock revealed the farmers market was still in full swing so he decided to head there. It wouldn't do to take the kid to McDonald's right away and he needed some fresh fruit anyway, so that's where they headed.

After finding a parking space several blocks away, Tony helped Peter climb down from his new car seat and onto the sidewalk. With Peter's small hand in his, they walked through the crowded street and darted across the road to the market. The moment they appeared on the other side, a band of paparazzi swarmed them.

Peter clung to Tony's hand, but it was only a matter of seconds before Tony had picked Peter up and forced his head down. He didn't object. Burying his face in Tony's neck, Peter wrapped his arms around Tony tightly while he shoved through the crowd.

"Mr. Stark, is this your son?"

"Tony, who are you with?"

"Hey, kid! Who are you?"

Questions were hurled at them and Peter was terrified. Nothing good happened when people swarmed him. He didn't like it at all. Tony, though, he was Iron Man and he could keep him safe, couldn't he?

The paparazzi was unrelenting. As Tony battled through them, they only seemed to grow and Peter was shaking in his arms. Noticing the crowd, two nearby police officers came running and helped Tony get rid of the group. With the officers directing the paparazzi away, Tony leaned back to look at Peter.

"Hey, kiddo," Tony said softly, rubbing his back. Peter sniffled and pulled his head away from Tony's neck. "Are you okay?"

Peter nodded, but tears trickled down his cheeks and Tony knew better.

"How about we go back home?" Tony suggested as Peter's lower lip trembled.

Peter nodded again so Tony turned around and walked back to the car. The officers followed until they were safely in the car and Tony thanked them before driving to the Tower. Although Tony stopped at McDonalds and got a happy meal for Peter, he didn't touch it. He wasn't hungry anymore.

When they arrived at the Tower, Peter was still quiet. His tears were gone and he wasn't shaking, but he still wasn't hungry.

While Peter stood at his side, Tony pulled all the bags of clothes from the trunk of the car and stumbled into the lift. Being careful not to hit Peter with the bags, Tony led him through the penthouse and to the guest room that would now be his.

"Do you want to help me put your clothes away or eat on your bed?" Tony asked, dropping the bags haphazardly by the dresser.

Peter hugged his happy meal box to him and Tony nodded.

"Alright, kiddo," he said. He hoisted Peter up on the bed then took a seat on the ground between all the bags to begin folding and sorting.

Although Peter was quiet, he ate his happy meal entirely then slid off the bed to help Tony put his clothes in the dresser. By the time they had finished, Peter was blinking slowly, so Tony put him down for a nap, promising that he could call JARVIS if he needed anything.

"No more scary people?" Peter asked, buried under the duvet blankets.

"No more scary people," Tony promised. Pointing to the ceiling, he said, "JARVIS will take care of them, alright? You sleep."

With a sleepy nod, Peter closed his eyes and drifted off the sleep. Angel JARVIS would keep away the scary people even if Iron Man couldn't.