Like Father Like Son | Irondad + Spiderson

father & son.

i saw venom last saturday and two days ago yeet

••

Peter Parker stared in the mirror, tugging at the collar of his suit. His suit was a dark navy color, with a white undershirt and blue polka-dotted tie. His dress shoes were a dark brown, and just recently shined. His brown, wavy hair was held back with a small bit of gel. A smile grew on the eighteen year old's face as he stared at himself. He looked up and to the left at Tony Stark-Rogers, whom was dressed in a black suit with dark gray stripes. His tie was pale yellow with blue stripes as well, and a white undershirt. His hair was neatly combed back and he'd shaved his goatee so that it was perfect.

"You ready, Pete?" Tony asked his slightly pale-faced son, wrapping his arm around him. Peter took a deep breath. "How much time do we have?"

"About.." Tony looked down at his watch, and then back at Peter. "Three minutes." Peter nodded, looking down and exhaling.

"I'm kinda nervous," The teen awkwardly laughed. Tony nodded, understandingly. This would be a big day for Peter. It's the day where his identity would be revealed to the public. He'd be known from this moment on as Peter Parker Stark-Rogers, or Spiderman. He'd been using the Spiderman identity more often from this point, ever since Tony made him a new suit. He had some bad memories with it, ever since.. it happened. But, he thankfully made it out alive after a year of crying and missing his dad. Tony had had nightmares about that day, although they were rare considering he hardly ever slept. He absolutely hated himself, and regretted the fact that he let Peter just disappear in his life. But that's besides the point.

Tony smiled slightly at Peter. "Kid, you know you don't have to do this, right? I know this is a big moment for you. If you're too anxious, I get it, you don't have to come out."

Peter too a deep breath, closing his eyes. "No, I'm okay," He said as he opened his eyes. "This is okay, it's okay! It's okay it's okay it's okay it's okay-"

"Pete," Tony laughed. "You're gonna do great. These things are really dumb and unnecessary. Reporters are just gonna get up in your face and ask a bunch of personal questions. It'll be fine. You ready?"

Peter bit his lip, nodding hesitantly. "Yup." He stated, grabbing Tony's hand tightly and smiling. They went out to be greeted by tons of reporters. Tony made an announcement about Peter and their relationship and the identity of Spiderman. There was a lot of loud hollering and shouting after this, and the reporters got really close. Too close. Peter tried to stay next to Tony, but the man was soon swept away by the crowd. A bunch of reporters flashed their cameras and yelled questions at him. He stuttered as he tried to answer them all at once, but he couldn't keep up. It was all too much. Lights were too bright. Everything was too loud. Static. Bright. Fuzzy. He felt like he couldn't breathe. He couldn't see anything, and his ears were ringing. He couldn't just leave though, right? That would be embarrassing. Then again, freaking out on live television is pretty embarrassing too.

Peter flinched as he felt a warm hand grab his wrist. He anxiously freed himself from the grasp, looking up to see who it was. He let out a sigh of relief as he realized it was just Tony. "Kid, just breathe, okay?" He said softly into Peter's ear, and he nodded though he didn't listen. He hardly could. "Alright, this is over. Goodbye." He shoved a few reporters out of the way so that they could get back inside the tower.

Peter stumbled inside, gripping onto Tony. He was slightly panting, but was attempting to take slow deep breaths. "That's it," Tony told the vulnerable teen, rubbing his back.

"Kid, I'm sorry about that, I didn't know it would be so chaotic."

"I- I'm good," Peter breathed, truly beginning to calm down. "I'm good. Don't apologize, I just freaked out. I shouldn't have done that, we can go back out-"

"We're not going anywhere, Pete," Tony told him. "You're staying in here, okay?"

Peter agreed, not really wanting to go back out and beginning to regret his request. He took a deep breath, finally stabilizing himself.

"Hey Friday?" Tony called out, to which the female voice responded, "Yes, boss?"

"Play 'Father and Son by Cat Stevens."

A soft sound filled the room, the sound of a guitar. It was delicate and gentle, and the volume wasn't too loud. It was loud enough for Peter to enjoy without it hurting his ears. He ordered Friday to dim the lights as well.

"Woah, isn't this song from like, the 1800s?" Peter joked, to which Tony chuckled. "Hey, I'm not that old."

Tony took Peter's hand in his own, resting his hand on his son's hip. "Dad-" Peter awkwardly laughed, unsure as to what was even happening.

"Yeah?" Tony raised an eyebrow as Peter reluctantly placed his hand on Tony's shoulder. "Why?"

"Because, I wanna dance with my kid. Is that so bad, or am I too old for this?"

"I think I'm too old for this." Peter laughed, although he continued to slowly dance to the song. Their feet shuffled back and forth to the beat of the song, and Peter began to truly take in the lyrics.

"It's not time to make a change
Just relax and take it easy
You're still young
That's your fault
There's so much you have to know
Find a girl
Settle down
If you want you can marry
Look at me
I am old
But I'm happy
I was once like you are now
And I know that it's not easy
To be calm when you've found something going on
But take your time
Think a lot
Why, think of everything you've got
For you will still be here tomorrow
But your dreams may not."

Peter softly smiled to the song, listening more to the lyrics than the tune. He stared down at his feet, his smile beginning to fade.

"How can I try to explain
When I do he turns away again
It's always been the same
Same old story
From the moment I could talk
I was ordered to listen
Now there's a way
And I know that I have to go away
I know I have to go."

Peter started to take the song too literally. He got flashbacks of New York and space and wherever he was, he didn't exactly remember. His dad was willing to sacrifice for him. He knew Peter was stubborn, wouldn't give up for the universe. But Tony would. He would give whatever it took to have Peter back. Even if that meant he had to go away. If it meant he had to die. Thankfully, they were both alive, but Peter couldn't help but think he didn't deserve Tony. He didn't want anyone to sacrifice their life for him, and Tony would have. He didn't want that at all, especially not from Tony, the most important person in his life.

"Kid?" Tony asked, hearing a pained sniffle which just barely penetrated through the music. Peter looked up with glossy eyes. It was obvious he was straining himself so he wouldn't cry. He quickly pulled Tony into a hug, and the man gently hugged back as they swayed to the music.

"Pete, what's up?" Tony asked. "It's just-" Peter mumbled simply. "This is a really nice song." Tony sighed, nodding. The two stood quietly in the room, their bodies slightly shifting in a pattern which matched that of the song.

"Kid?"

"Yeah?"

"..I'm so proud of you."

"..."

"I love you, Mr. Stark."

"I love you too, Mr. Parker."