Irondad & Spiderson

Secret Adoption

When Peter learned Tony agreed, he had ran up to him and jumped in his arms for a hug. One which Tony was very happy to give. There had been a lot of tears and hugs but it was all okay. The small family had decided Peter would fly out to China at least twice a year to visit his aunt and May would try to return to Queens as often as possible. Even if they couldn't make it in person, they still had FaceTime and other technology gifted by Tony and Peter's new friend Shuri to stay connected. Everything would work out in the end.

Tony had wanted a big party to celebrate the adoption but Pepper didn't know and to be honest, he didn't want the rest of the team to know. It wasn't that he was ashamed of Peter. He just wanted some time to celebrate his new son all by himself. After all, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did that with Archie so he figured he could too. They may be royalty but Tony had more money so take that.

Instead of an outlandish party, Tony took his new son to a night on the town minus the alcohol and strippers. They went shopping, saw a movie, ate fro-yo, and skipped out on a lavish dinner for McDonald's. After all that, they made it back to Stark Tower for a late night in the lab. In all honesty, that was Peter's favorite part. While he enjoyed all of their other fun activities, working in the lab was more personal and allowed for the two to talk to one another and bond over their love of science and technology while upgrading their suits.

The hours passed by as the two worked in the white tiled lab. Peter had helped redesign it after it was destroyed by an intruder. There was a large green chalkboard that spanned one wall from floor to ceiling complete with a wooden rolling ladder since Peter loved spinning around. The long wall looking into the hallway was made entirely of bulletproof glass so people could see in and out of the lab complete with blinds for privacy. There were beige filing cabinets filled with blueprints and formulas and metal shelves full of gadgets and smaller inventions. Larger inventions were stored in the basement that were easily transported by a service elevator off to the side. Pristine white tables ranging in sizes filled the majority of  the room and were cluttered with anything and everything. In one corner of the room sat a mini fridge and coffee pot with plush egg chairs and bean bags for breaks. Next to that was a red loveseat and a gold couch, mostly used for sleeping but occasionally for socializing and brainstorming.

Tony's lab was easily Peter's favorite place. Even though he was given his own space as a birthday present, Peter preferred to work side by side with his dad.

Soon, the clock hanging against one wall struck midnight. Peter stifled a yawn while Tony rubbed his eyes. The two looked at each other and laughed. They really were exhausted. Instead of exerting energy to walk to their own rooms, the father and son collapsed onto the large gold couch and fell asleep in each other's familiar embrace.

It was only after the two fell asleep that Pepper walked in. She had been fully prepared to argue and drag the pair to their rooms to sleep but that didn't seem necessary. The badass CEO smiled at the sight of the two curled against each other and quickly snapped a photo. Just for extra measure, she had FRIDAY take a few as well. As Pepper turned to exit the lab and go sleep in her soft bed usually shared with her husband, she noticed a fancy piece of paper freshly framed and hanging on the wall. Upon closer inspection, Pepper saw it was an adoption certificate.

"I should've known" she whispered, turning back to face her husband and new son. With a smirk, Pepper walked out of the lab. Let's see how long he can keep it a secret

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As it turns out, it didn't seem that Tony was going to tell his wife anytime soon. When Tony and Peter arrived in the kitchen the following morning, Tony told his wife May was on a last minute business trip and needed someone to watch over Peter. Pepper just smiled and said "Peter is welcome here anytime" before taking a sip of her black coffee.