Spiderson and Irondad

The Runaway

Tony and Pepper are Peter's biological parents.

"Daddddyyyyy!" a six-year-old Peter whined. "Please let me come with you. I promise I'll be good. I want to help!"

"For the last time, Peter I said no," a stressed Tony Stark roared. Peter had been begging him for the past fifteen minutes to come along on the mission. Of course, Tony refused to bring his son with him, but that didn't mean it was easy telling his kid no. Peter didn't understand that Tony only wanted to keep him safe. Instead, Peter assumed it was because his dad didn't want him to have any fun.

"You're a big meanie," the upset child grumbled.

"I'm sorry, what was that, Peter?" Tony snarled. Tony was fed up of Peter talking back to him all day. He refused to obey Tony, and it was starting to get on his nerves. "That's it, Peter, I've had enough of this!  You're being a stupid brat!  Go to your room NOW!"

Peter's big puppy-dog eyes filled with tears. "I hate you, Dad!" Peter screamed as he ran to the elevator.

Tony's eyes widened at his son's harsh words. Tony knew Peter didn't mean them, but that didn't make it sting any less. "GO AWAY, PETER!" Tony snapped.

And Peter did just that, but before the elevator doors closed, Tony heard Peter tell FRIDAY to bring him to the lobby. "Oh, shit," Tony whispered, realizing what he had just told Peter. Tony ran to the elevator but was too late, the door closed and took Peter with it.

Tony summoned his suit and took off in pursuit of his runaway son. The famous billionaire scanned his surroundings, searching for Peter, but Peter had gotten too much of a headstart.

"Hey, Fri, track Peter's watch for me, please."

"I'm sorry, Boss, but it appears that Peter has removed his watch," FRIDAY informed Tony.

"Son of a bitch, that kid is too smart for his own good," Tony hissed.

******

Peter shot off the elevated the moment the door's slid open. He ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, which was surprisingly fast for how small he was. The tiny child bumped into people as he ran blindly with tears clouding his vision.

Tony's harsh words kept replaying over and over in Peter's mind. Peter didn't mean it when he told his dad he hated him. He was just so angry. His dad probably really hates him now if he didn't already before. Tony probably never wanted to see Peter again. Peter could never go home now, but where would he go? Now more than ever, Peter just wanted to be wrapped in the warm embrace of his parents.

It had begun to rain, the droplets mixed with Peter's tears and the cold sent shivers down his spine. Peter despised being cold and wet and decided he needed somewhere he could escape the downpour. He found a dumpster in a nearby alley that would have to do. Peter used some boxes that were lying next to the dumpster and stacked them on top of one another to reach the top of the bin and crawl inside. Luckily for Peter, the dumpster was nearly empty and didn't stink too bad other than someones' moldy sandwich and stale chips.

Now that Peter had nothing other to do than think, he wished he could go home, wished for his dad to find him and tell him everything was going to be okay. But his dad wasn't coming, Peter had told him he hated him, and Tony had told him to leave. His dad was probably glad that Peter was gone, relieved to finally be rid of the nuisance that Peter was.  He was just a stupid brat that nobody wanted.  Peter was full on sobbing now, snot and tears melting together on his face and the neck of his shirt.

******

Meanwhile, Tony was out scouring every corner of New York City for his lost son. Tony was beginning to lose hope, Peter was so small, and the city was so big. The rain did nothing to help Tony's search either. Pepper had called Tony, asking where he and Peter were. And to say the least, Pepper was pissed at Tony for what he had done.

After another hour of searching with no results, Tony started to break down.  What had he done?  He had just been trying to protect Peter by keeping him safe at home, but now he's the reason his son is missing and in danger.  What if he never found Peter?  Or worse, what if he was dead?  Tony wouldn't be able to live with himself if he never saw his child's bright smile or heard his contagious laugh ever again.  

Tony began to feel dizzy and sat down on the curb, his heart was racing, and he was having difficulty breathing.  He placed a hand on his chest, hoping to relieve the pain.  Breathing was becoming a nearly impossible task, and FRIDAY was alerting him that he needed to calm down before he passed out.   Tony just sat there, desperately gasping for air that wouldn't enter his lungs.  He heard FRIDAY mention a panic attack, but the AI's voice sounded so distant, almost as if he was under water.  

Tony was mid-panic-attack when he heard it.  The sound of a kid crying.  And not just any kid, Tony could tell by the way the kid was hiccuping and sobbing that it was Peter, his son.  Tony sat up so fast it made him dizzy and bolted into the cold and dark alley towards the sounds of Peter's sobs.  

Tony looked around the alley frantically for any sign of his son.  The cries of the frightened child appeared to be coming from the dumpster with boxes piled up next to it.  Tony peered inside and cried out in relief when he saw a teary-eyed six-year-old staring back at him.  

"Daddy?" Peter asked, not quite believing that his dad was really there.  

"Oh my gosh, Peter!" Tony exclaimed, scooping his son up in his arms.  "I was so worried. I thought I had lost you."

"I'm sorry I said I hated you, daddy, I swear I didn't mean it!" Peter sobbed.

"I'm sorry, too, Pete.  I'm so sorry for yelling at you.  I love you so, so, so much, more than you could ever know,"  Tony cooed with tears silently streaming down his face.  "Plus your mother would have killed me if I lost you," Tony added with a chuckle.

"What do you say we go home, kiddo," Tony mused.

"Yes please!" Peter said excitedly, snuggling into the crook of his dad's arms.  "I love you, daddy."

"I love you more, Pete," Tony smiled, nuzzling Peter's curly hair and kissing his forehead.  With Peter wrapped tightly in his arms, Tony took off towards the tower.

Thanks for reading!  I've been writing a lot recently because the past couple of days have been pretty hard and writing helps me feel better and relieve some stress.  Let me know if you have any ideas for my next story:P