Steve was sitting on the leather seat of his motorcycle that he used for missions, he had his wife May sitting behind him, held to his waist thanks to the grip that she provided with her arms. The Rogers marriage had just arrived at their home, it had not taken them long since after receiving the call from Tony Stark and finding out that Peter had already appeared, Steve put his foot down on the accelerator of his motorcycle and drove as fast as possible to his house, passing some traffic lights that they touched him in red on the road and earning horns from the cars and motorcycles that circulated through the streets.
Steve would never have been able to do something like this under normal conditions, he had always respected traffic laws and not only that, he had always driven slowly, in fact too slow since sometimes Peter would complain telling him to drive a little faster because the cars that were behind them always passed them because of how slow they were going, Steve laughed and told his son that driving slow was more prudent, instead driving fast was dangerous and it was something usual in people who believed they were the great thing and they were conceited. The blonde also warned Peter that when he learned to drive and obtained the driving license, he would only lend him the car if he drove at less than 60, Peter did not object because he preferred to drive at that super slow speed that not to drive, simple as that.
The problem was that now Steve was not being faithful to his principles, he was violating many traffic laws and the reason that prompted him to act so recklessly was that he urgently needed to see his son, he had to clarify a few things of the utmost importance to him when he had him in front of him. Steve had drawn many conclusions after that long night of discussions with Peter but the definitive thing was that his son couldn't do what he had done again, he couldn't escape again, less at night, he shouldn't walking alone through desolate streets, even as Spider-Man, definitely not, he didn't have permission and he would let him know, in other words... Peter couldn't worry him like that again, Steve was on the brink of having a panic attack, something that had never happened to him. However, now that Peter had appeared and was safe and sound, the blond's fear had turned into anger and also... into determination, he would educate Peter so that he would learn to behave correctly, whatever the cost.
Steve parked the motorcycle on the street, in front of the sidewalk of his house, immediately a movement caught his attention and he discovered that it came from the roof, the blond directed his blue eyes in that direction and realized that it was Peter and Tony who were standing on the French tiles, however his surprise was great to see them embraced, that surprise turned into irrepressible jealousy in a matter of seconds, what was Tony doing hugging his son? It was strange since Stark was not one to give that kind of displays of affection so lightly, why was it different with Peter? when had they become so close? Suddenly Steve was worried, his fears were coming true, the only thing missing was that they were both father and son.
Steve felt hands sliding over his abdomen, he noticed that May's arms were no longer covering his torso, he looked to the side and saw that his wife had gotten off the motorcycle. The blonde looked again at the roof of the house, noticing that Peter and Tony were no longer embracing and both were looking at him, they had noticed his presence. Tony was with his arms behind his back and had a neutral face while Peter's face reflected nerves and not he stopped frantically playing with his fingers.
Steve wanted to face his son so he dropped the handlebars and hurriedly took his foot off the pedal, then got off the motorcycle, climbed onto the sidewalk, and walked purposefully towards the house without taking his eyes off Peter's brown eyes. The Cap had an extremely serious face because there were two things that had bothered him a lot since he had arrived, one was seeing Tony hugging his son and two... that his son was up on the roof as if it were the floor.
"Da... dad..." Peter stammered fearfully and took a step back, he wanted to go back a little more but he couldn't because he felt a hand rest on his back, stopping him, he looked to the side, discovering that it was Mr. Stark who prevented him from walking backwards, the teenager frowned, suddenly annoyed, that was betrayal.
"Hello again son." Steve greeted him with a severe tone of voice, Peter felt the hairs on his arms stand on end, he stopped looking at Tony to focus on his adoptive dad. "We'll have a serious conversation, you can't done again what you did." Cap informed him, he remained standing on the sidewalk that led to the entrance of the house and crossed his arms.
"That's right Peter, we'll talk very seriously." May told him, who was already next to her husband and had a very serious expression.
"But... but..." Peter began to say using a slight tone of complaint, he was not at all satisfied with what he was hearing, he had already talked enough with his parents, he didn't want to hear them anymore, at least for a whole day, maybe two. The brown-haired boy thought obfuscated "leave me alone, damn annoying, with that shitty attitude they have I won't forgive them", he felt that Mr. Stark's hand was still resting on his back, something that bothered him so he quickly moved away, moving forward. "Leave me, traitor." Peter said offended to his idol, he always sided with his father, even with the issue of sensors and it hurt him.
Tony raised an eyebrow at that accusation from the brat, he was about to rebut but Rogers spoke before him.
"And get off the roof right now." Steve told his son, pointing at him with his index finger, then he pointed to the floor and explained firmly. "Your mother gets nervous, don't do those things in front of her." The last thing he said upset Peter, who looked away from Tony's serious face to look at his annoying father.
"Well, let her get used to it once and for all because I'm Spider-Man and I'll do it often." Peter answered with a grim look as he crossed his arms defiantly, he wouldn't stop using his powers just because his mother was scared, beyond her, being Spider-Man was an important part of his person.
"Peter..." Steve murmured with a muffled voice due to the fact that he was massaging his face with one hand, seeking patience, he withdrew his hand, placed it on his waist and looked seriously at his son. "Don't test my patience." He snapped in a warning tone.
Peter frowned and showed him the middle finger in response, in an act of bravery or perhaps... stupidity, both Steve, Tony, May and Rhodes widened their eyes, surprised by his rebellion. Rhodes wanted to save Peter of the imprudence that he had just committed and the best way was to distract Steve before it occurred to him to punish the boy.
The colonel jumped off the roof, then fired up the repulsors on his War Machine suit and flew down, landing neatly on the sidewalk in front of Steve and May, who never noticed his presence since he arrived because they were too busy with their adoptive son, so their surprise was great to see Rhodes standing in front of them, the expression on their faces showed it, they had raised eyebrows and slightly open mouths.
"Hi!" Rhodes greeted with a smile as he waved his hand, lowered his arm and focused his attention on Steve. "I guess you didn't see me Steve because you were too busy scolding your son." He shrugged at the incredulous look of the Cap and then he gently patted the side of the chest of his armor, where he kept the sensors. "I let you know that I came to bring the sensors that Tony asked me for." Rhodes crossed his arms and looked at Steve's wife, he thought doubtfully "what was her name? Tony told me", he suddenly remembered. "Oh... hi... May Parker, right?" He consulted with a small smile, doubtful, he hoped he was right with the name, in his defense he didn't know Cap's family, until that day.
May nodded confused, she knew Rhodes because she was aware that he was the best friend of the famous Tony Stark so she had seen him more than once on social networks, she also knew that although he wasn't part of the Avengers team, he saw Steve quite often because he frequented the Tower, however she was surprised that Rhodes knew her name, Steve had been in charge of keeping the family a secret for years, they had both agreed that way so that Peter wouldn't get involved in the world of the heroes.
May knew about the Avengers, Pepper, Rhodes and Happy thanks to what Steve told her but they didn't know her, neither Peter, it had always been like that but now things were changing and May didn't like those changes but she was aware that she couldn't stop them from happening, that Peter was Spider-Man had changed the course of everything, May felt that nothing would ever be the same as before.
Steve felt somewhat uncomfortable by the presence of Rhodes, when Tony told him in the call that he would ask the colonel to bring the sensors, Steve didn't object because he was desperate to have such advanced devices that he was unable to build to be able to managing his rebellious son, Cap didn't think about the little... okay, the great detail that Rhodes didn't know his family before because he had taken it upon himself to keep it a secret.
In any case, introducing Peter to the Avengers team, to Pepper, to Rhodes and to Happy was something that Steve had already planned since he agreed with Stark that Peter would go to train at the Tower, however he didn't imagine that Rhodes would already be aware of details as intimate to him as the existence of his adoptive son, much less that he would know that he was married to May, did Stark have something to do with it? "Surely, Rhodes is his best friend, he must have told him everything" the blond thought as he frowned, suddenly annoyed, it wasn't Tony's place to go around giving details of his family to whoever he wanted, not without his prior consent, although... being frank it didn't seem strange to him, Tony was always on his own when it came to important things, he never consulted what he planned to do, an attitude that had always annoyed Cap.
Tony realized that it was the opportune moment to intervene in the conversation, Rogers's serious face said it all, he hadn't liked Rhodes knowing about his family, it was obvious that he was upset and it was the tycoon's duty to defuse the tense situation since he had created it in the first place by talking too much. Tony jumped off the roof, ignited the repulsors on his Iron Man suit and flew towards the front garden of the house, landing gently on the sidewalk, next to his best friend and in front of Steve and May. The blonde looked at him with an arched eyebrow, waiting for explanations. Tony gave a small smile directed at Rogers, not wanting to argue.
"Relax Cap." The millionaire asked with a pleasant tone, put a hand on Rhodes's shoulder and clarified as if nothing had happened. "I spoke to Rhodes in the afternoon and explained that Peter is your adoptive son, yours and May's, he also knows that he is Spider-Man."
Peter closed his eyes for a moment and hit his forehead with one hand, he thought resignedly "Mr. Stark and his direct way of saying things... they don't help in this case, you can tell that dad is upset", the teenager withdrew his hand from his face and observed the scene, nothing good was seen coming, his dad's expression had become even more serious after Mr. Stark's explanation. The boy put a hand to his head, tossing his wavy brown hair a little tousled, he sighed, lowered his arm, crouched slightly for momentum and took a great leap, rolled in the air, doing a nimble pirouette and landed deftly on his feet, next to Tony, his mother's eyes widened and she put her hands to her mouth to contain a cry of fright after seeing that, her spoiled son had jumped off the roof as if nothing had happened. May was not used to that kind of thing that now they were normal for Peter, she didn't know if she ever would.
"What? Why did you tell him all that?" Steve questioned Tony immediately reproachfully as he crossed his arms.
The blond looked away, concentrating on his son for a few seconds, he was finally in front of him, he was holding himself back from scolding him, he hadn't liked that he jumped off the roof because he had made May nervous with that reckless action, it's true that he had to get off, in fact Steve had ordered him to but it wasn't necessary for him to do that risky pirouette, with what need? However the blond had more pressing issues to deal with at that moment, such as the fact that Tony was a nosy and brazenly meddled in his life, so Cap stopped looking at Peter and fixed his blue eyes on Stark, to waiting for an answer that would justify his actions, although he doubted there would be any, nothing justified what Tony had done, period.
"Because he's my best friend and I can trust him." Tony answered with a neutral face as he hid his hands behind his back, he wouldn't let himself be intimidated by Rogers.
Steve clicked his tongue, annoyed.
"You shouldn't have done it, we're talking about my family." The blonde reproached him with an extremely serious expression, he had placed a hand on his chest when he said "my family" to emphasize his words, he crossed his arms and gave the tycoon a bad look. "I don't know with what right you think you can go around ventilating everything..."
"Enough, don't get dramatic." Tony interrupted him, trying to keep his tone calm but the truth was that he had a hard time hiding the annoyance in his voice because he was starting to get impatient. "In any case, Peter will start attending the Tower for the training so you had no choice but to tell everything." He said harshly, shrugged his shoulders and clarified with a serious face. "Not only to Rhodes, but also to Pepper, to Happy and to the Avengers team, Pepper for example knows that Peter has powers but she doesn't know what kind of powers and she doesn't know that he's your adopted son, while Happy, Banner, Romanoff, Thor and Barton don't know anything and by anything I mean absolutely anything."
"Well..." Steve mused, still maintaining his serious expression, he scratched his chin with the fingers of his hand and specified. "I'll talk to them, I was planning to do it after solving all this mess my son was involved in, but I didn't do it before because I don't have to talk about my private life and I also wanted to keep Peter away from the world of heroes." He ended in a bad tone as he placed both hands on his hip.
Tony let out a sarcastic laugh.
"I know, you don't need to repeat it to me." The millionaire rebutted with annoyance.
"But I need to remind you not to meddle in my family's business." Steve growled aggressively, becoming possessive but well... they were talking about Peter, his son. Tony raised an eyebrow at this, feeling puzzled by Cap's attitude, what had stung the dramatic blonde? Steve stared at his son, Peter swallowed, intimidated by his dad's intense gaze on him, then Cap looked back at Tony, stepped forward and pointed at Peter before clarifying vehemently. "Peter is my son, only mine, do you understand Stark? stops acting like you're his father because you're not."
The last thing Steve said, which was very unexpected, unpredictable, and like a shock of cold water, surprised everyone present too much. May looked wide-eyed at her husband, what was he talking about? Stark was acting like he was Peter's father? she hadn't realized it but what she had actually noticed was that Tony had a special affection for Peter, something that had seemed suspicious to her because he had only known him for a short time and for knowing ahead of time that Tony didn't like teenagers very much. May frowned and thought "why is it different with Peter? What is so special about my son that he has won the affection of Tony Stark so easily?".
Thanks to this suspicion May had already thought about facing the tycoon when the time was right, she wanted to ask him when he had become so close to her son, that quick rapprochement between the two was what was striking to her but from there she noticed that Stark acted like Peter's father... it was a lot, where did Steve get such absurd conclusions?
May rolled her eyes and thought that surely her husband was delirious due to the pain that Peter was causing him to remove him from his life after finding out about the lie, yes, it had to be that, it was the most logical and coherent explanation for such nonsense that he had just said, what's more, he was probably also jealous because Peter treated Tony well and not him.
May thought about it a little more and suddenly wanted to laugh, Steve's words were repeated in her head and they seemed ridiculous to her, she thought mockingly "Tony Stark, Peter's father... hahaha, of course", the chestnut put her lips in a fine line, trying to contain the laughter that threatened to escape from her throat, when she thought she had calmed down, she adopted a serious expression and decided to talk to her husband seriously about the subject when they were alone.
For his part, Rhodes looked at Tony and Steve successively, to be honest he wasn't surprised, it's that he already anticipated that this would happen, that a rivalry would be generated between Tony and Steve to see who would take control of Peter's upbringing, again... Rhodes wasn't surprised but uncomfortable, was it a good time to give his best friend the sensors and return to the Tower? after all he had nothing to do there, this discussion was personal and he was unnecessary.
The most surprised after what Steve had said were Peter and Tony, they both looked at each other for a few seconds, with raised eyebrows and an expression of astonishment on their faces, thinking exactly the same thing, did Steve suspect that they could be father and son? and if so... since when? Peter swallowed hard, averted his brown eyes from Mr. Stark's face and looked away, specifically a flower pot that was in the garden for decoration, while Tony looked straight ahead, directly at Steve, with an unreadable expression.
"What are you saying?" Tony asked Cap and let out a giggle, he had gotten nervous with that accusation because it was true, he acted as if he were Peter's father but he couldn't handle it, it went beyond him, that attention, affection and overprotection that he showed towards the brat was part of his paternal instinct, the bad thing was that Steve had already noticed it, despite that Tony would deny it, he wouldn't admit it, a great conflict would be generated if he agreed with the blond. "I don't act as if I were his father." The tycoon lied shamelessly as he crossed his arms, showing that he was defensive.
"Of course yes." Steve firmly contradicted him, Tony opened his mouth to refute but the blonde anticipated him. "Which I don't understand because he's just your student." Cap commented contemptuously while looking at Stark with an arched eyebrow, shrugged his shoulders and corrected himself with a mischievous smile. "Or well... he will start to be, he it's not even yet." He clarified, being cruel in the extreme.
"Ouch, that must have hurt Mr. Stark" Peter thought, stopping looking at the pot to look at Tony. The brown-haired boy scratched his arm, an action he did frequently when he was nervous, he looked at his dad and Tony successively, both were angry and they did not take their eyes off each other, they maintained a battle of glances that neither was willing to lose, you could notice the tension in the environment.
Peter swallowed hard, that discussion between his dad and his "possible" dad was getting very uncomfortable, the worst? It was because of him, he... without wanting it of course, he was the cause of that rivalry that was being generated between them. Peter felt as if they were both competing for his attention and the feeling wasn't pleasant, he didn't feel flattered at all, "this sucks" the brown-haired boy thought and made a face.
Peter took a look at the surroundings, observed the trees, bushes, plants and so on, concluding that the bush was a good place to hide. The teenager was tempted to run away and hide behind that bush so as not to have to listen to that talk between his adoptive father and his "possible" biological father but he knew that if he tried, Mr. Stark would catch him in a matter of seconds since he was still wearing the Iron Man suit, Tony would go after him because he would mistakenly believe that he was planning to escape when he was not, Peter just wanted to get away from there so he wouldn't keep listening to them argue.
The brown-haired boy was internally debating what to do but he immediately discarded the idea because he realized that he couldn't escape from that discussion even if he wanted to due to his super hearing, the bush was close enough for him, thanks to his developed sense, to even listening. Unfortunately Peter had no choice but to stay there, in the middle of that scene in which they talked about him, pretending he wasn't there.
"Why do you come to me with these stupid statements?" Tony asked Steve with annoyance, the blonde's harsh words still echoing in his mind "I need to remind you not to meddle in my family's business, Peter is my son, only mine, do you understand Stark? stops acting like you're his father because you're not." "The only thing I told you was to tell the truth to the others because they'll find out anyway." The millionaire defended himself with crossed arms, he frowned and added. "However, you went anywhere and from the way you talk it seems that you resent me or something like that." He blurted out his opinion on the matter.
Steve was speechless, suddenly regretting what he said, not for Tony, but for himself, he shouldn't say things like that to Stark when he suspected that he might be Peter's biological father, it was something stupid and very risky of his part. Due to his imprudence Tony could also become suspicious, especially if he was so desperate to be a father, if that happened he would want to have a DNA test done, and if it tested positive... then Steve would be complicated because he would have no other option but to sharing his son, the blonde didn't want that, he was Peter's dad, he wasn't thinking of sharing paternity with Tony, not even there.
The problem was that Tony was capable of calling his best lawyers to obtain Peter's custody if Steve went against him and did not allow him to spend time with the boy, the blonde didn't want to start a war with Stark but at the same time it was hard for him to give in and let him get close to Peter, he was in the middle of a dilemma, the most difficult dilemma he had lived in his life, why had Stark had to appear? why? ah yes, because he had wanted to recruit his son behind his back, that fact had triggered everything.
Steve fixed his blue eyes on Peter, worried because he knew that the subject of his origin had always been difficult for him, what if he had hurt him with his indiscreet words? he wouldn't forgive him, he was supposed to protect his son, not hurt him, what kind of father was he supposed to be? The blonde was very sorry, he immediately noticed that his adoptive son's look denoted how uncomfortable he felt about the whole situation, this made Steve feel even more guilty, also ashamed, he had to start controlling his impulses, he couldn't say anything thing just for the stress of the moment.
Cap put a hand to his forehead, plunged it into his blond hair and arranged it back while letting out a sigh and thinking dejectedly "I am stupid, I must learn to keep quiet", it affected him not being able to keep what he felt, the words had escaped from his mouth, he hadn't thought carefully about the consequences before speaking but... he hadn't been able to help it, his jealousy had been too powerful to control, thanks to that jealousy he had released what he thought.
"Ac, am..." Rhodes cleared his throat with his fist near his mouth, attracting the attention of everyone present. "This discussion is a bit strong and uncomfortable, I think I'll leave now." He announced waving his hand and pointing with thumb finger behind his back, then patted the side of his suit's chest, small pieces of iron moved out of place, leaving an opening showing the super-advanced sensors Tony had made for Peter. Rhodes reached inside, pulled out the sensors and the iron suit closed again. "Here, Tony." The colonel said, holding out his arm with the sensors deposited in the palm of his hand, offering them to him. "They are all the sensors I found in your messy laboratory." He explained simply and shrugged.
Tony glared at the sensors, pursed his lips in a thin line and cocked his head away.
"Don't give them to me, give them to the Cap-pallette." The millionaire snapped, offended, Rhodes raised both eyebrows, his best friend continued with spite. "After all, he wants to use them to keep his son under control." He commented, saying "his son" with a mocking tone.
Steve gave Tony a dirty look, however he didn't waste his time arguing, instead he walked over to Rhodes and grabbed the sensors in his hand, then stuffed them into the front pocket of his tan pants, sensors fit perfectly because they were small, about the size of a coin.
"Thanks Rhodes." The blonde thanked him in a cordial tone, Rhodes nodded his head and then looked at his best friend.
"Listen Tony, I'm going to the Tower now, it's better for you to come with me, maybe you'll get there before Pepper realizes that you left because she was still in her office organizing some papers when I left, Happy told me in passing." Rhodes commented, Tony didn't think it was strange, Pepper often stayed up at night finishing work, it was usual for her, she was very responsible and she didn't like to be at fault. "The thing is that she's probably about to vacate and if she realizes that you're not..." The colonel made a short pause, grimaced and added sadly. "Well, you know better than anyone how she usually gets so I hope it's light for you." Said that, he patted Tony's arm gently, as a sign of consolation, that gesture generated a metallic sound from the clash of one iron suit with the other.
"Hum... good idea Rhodey, let's go back." Tony quickly decided, his friend didn't have to suggest it twice, he had wanted to go back to the Tower for a while but hadn't been able to, the millionaire made a face and commented with a little scared. "I don't want to see Pepp angry, I think she's capable of throwing her wedding ring in my face."
The tycoon looked at Peter and smiled warmly, he was tempted to wrap his arms around him to give him a big and affectionate hug but he stopped himself because it was not convenient for him to do that in front of Rogers. Tony had noticed the bad look that Cap had given him as soon as he arrived at the house, after seeing him hugging Peter, of course Tony had noticed, he wasn't stupid, at that moment he had thought of telling him something but in the end he had decided to behave maturely, keeping his hurtful comments to himself, those comments were... "you are not Peter's biological father", "you have no more authority or rights than I do" and others similar.
"Bye Peter, try to behave the rest of the night if you don't want to make your father even more angry." Tony suggested and winked at him.
Peter laughed, when he stopped laughing he smiled back at Mr. Stark, Steve crossed his arms and frowned at that exchange of smiles, he hated that his son and Tony had become so close, he really hated it because he was very jealous and possessive of Peter.
"I'll try but I'm not promising anything." The teenager let him know, then he gave his dad a not very friendly look. "It depends on my father too, lately he's been driving me crazy, he's insufferable..." Peter fell silent suddenly noticing the serious face that his adoptive father had after hearing his words, he smiled nervously and looked at Tony again. "Bye Mr. Stark." The brown-haired boy said goodbye with a wave of his hand, Tony also waved his hand to say goodbye.
"Bye kid." Rhodes said goodbye to Peter with a kind smile as he waved his hand, he was glad to have met him, he liked him, he was a bit... okay, too rebellious for his liking but he definitely liked him, he seemed to be a good boy, but... in his opinion Tony would have a hard time educating him, even though he had F.R.I.D.A.Y. on his side, the colonel wished him luck internally.
"Bye sir." Peter answered politely.
"Please, that sounds very formal." Rhodes complained between giggles and made a gesture of indifference with his hand, then suggested amusedly. "Call me Rhodes, or Rhodey, with confidence."
Peter laughed, at first sight Rhodes was one of those people with whom you could loosen your inhibitions since he wasn't serious or strict, just funny.
"Okay." The brown-haired boy agreed with a small smile. "Bye Rhodes." He said goodbye, he had decided to call him "Rhodes" and not "Rhodey" because from his point of view, calling him "Rhodey" shortly after meeting him wasn't right, it seemed like a gesture of too much confidence, too much. "And since we're in confidence as you said..." Peter whispered while scratching his cheek with the fingers of his hand, he shrugged and clarified without a filter. "I don't like being called a kid, I am a teenager."
Rhodes laughed out loud, he couldn't help it, Peter was a carbon copy of Tony, that boy's uninhibited attitude was very typical of his best friend, you could see that Peter could be a Stark.
"Good point, you're already 15." Commented the colonel when he stopped laughing and smiled, agreeing with Peter.
"That's right, thanks." Peter said happily, ruffling his brown curls with one hand and adding with satisfaction. "Finally someone remembers my age."
"Hey, I remember your age." Tony clarified with a frown, why did Peter only give credit to Rhodey? he felt a little jealous, he hoped he hadn't shown it with his claim, more than anything for a matter of dignity.
Peter rolled his eyes, then looked at Mr. Stark with an annoyed expression as he placed his hands on his waist.
"Yes, but you treat me like a kid, not only that... you told me that I don't look 15 years old, which is offensive to me." The chestnut unloaded helplessly and made a pout that the tycoon found adorable but wouldn't say out loud, of course.
This time the one who rolled his eyes was Tony.
"It's just the truth, you look like you're 13 or 14, you have the face of a puberty and even more so when you pout." The millionaire opined with a neutral face, without a filter.
Rhodes was about to burst out laughing but stopped himself just in time, basically out of respect for Peter, surely Tony's comment had been a blow to his pride, he felt a little sorry.
"Thanks?" Peter said to his idol wryly and raised an eyebrow.
Tony ignored him, then directed his brown eyes at the Rogers marriage.
"Rogers, May." The millionaire said goodbye with a cordial tone and nodded his assent.
"Stark." Steve and May waved back in unison, formally.
Rhodes waved goodbye to Steve and May, they waved their hands in response, having already all said goodbye, Tony and Rhodes put on their suit helmets and turned on their hand and foot repulsors, ready to take flight, Steve quickly grabbed Peter's arm, before they left to prevent his son from escaping as if Stark or the colonel weren't around in their suits, Steve would find it impossible to catch up with Peter due to his out-speeding.
Peter felt fingers tighten on his arm, he arched an eyebrow, puzzled, looked to the side and saw that it was his father, "how not, I'm sure he's afraid that I'll run away, that's why he grabbed me" the brown-haired boy thought with annoyance and he frowned, he heard a sound, looked back to the front and saw that Tony and Rhodes were already flying through the sky that was beginning to lighten, since it was dawn.
"Well Peter..." Steve mused in a serious tone, without consulting he gave his son a little tug, placing him in front of him, then he bent down slightly, wrapped his arm around Peter's legs, straightened up, holding his son and picking it up, he immediately tossed him over his shoulder and tightened his grip on the back of his knees.
"What are you doing dad?!" Peter yelled indignantly when he realized that his dad was carrying him, over on his shoulder, it was pathetic since he couldn't see his face, he could only observe his muscular back. "Put me down!" Demanded the teenager loudly and started kicking, throwing a tantrum, it was not necessary for his dad to pick him up, holding his arm was enough.
"No, first I have to install the sensors Rhodes brought." Steve informed vehemently, Peter kept kicking, a capricious attitude that was starting to annoy his father so he pressed his arm on the back of the teenager's knees, forcing him to to stay still, Peter got angry about this and slapped him on the back. "Stop it, Peter." The blond ordered, standing firm, Peter ignored his warning and slapped him on the back again, as a sign of impotence and anger because he couldn't get free, Steve sighed and continued. "As I was saying to you... I have to install the sensors, once I'm calm with those artifacts placed in your room and I know that you won't be able to escape..." He outlined a smile malicious and concluded. "I'll just put you down there."
"You must be kidding." Peter complained in a bad tone as he rested his arms on his dad's back, he had decided to stop hitting him since he didn't get anything from it, he wouldn't put him down, his father was very determined and stubborn when he wanted to, in conclusion... he was a real bummer.
"Of course not, I'm very serious." Steve let him know with authority, Peter snorted.
"Is it a joke?" He protested, it wasn't fair, why did he have to be raised? The brown-haired boy raised both eyebrows and asked incredulously. "So I'll have to stay leaning on your shoulder until you finish installing that shit?" He remained silent for a few seconds before adding in a low voice but perfectly audible to his dad. "I don't know if you know how to do all this."
"Language." His father scolded him firmly, Peter put a bad face, he had lost count of how many times he had heard the word "language" that day. "I don't want to hear you say bad words again and as for the sensors, it shouldn't be that hard." Steve said, confident because he thought he could place them, he had faith on himself.
"It's Tony Stark's technology, obviously it's difficult." Peter commented obviously, he smiled mischievously and clarified cruelly. "At least for you."
"It takes me as long as it takes me, I'll install them." Sentenced Steve determined, he wouldn't let himself fall for what his son was telling him, he would show him that he could place those sensors.
"It can't be..." Peter grumbled with a hand resting on his forehead and his eyes closed, clearly frustrated, he withdrew his hand from his face, opened his eyes, sighed and commented with regret. "I'm already seeing that it will take hours to you, you don't know anything about technology, you're a dinosaur..."
"Peter!" His father interrupted him, angry, his scream made Peter startle since it had taken him by surprise, not because he was afraid, the brown-haired boy would never be afraid of his father, no matter how angry he was with him, he knew his dad wouldn't do anything to him, that little slap he had given him on the mouth when they were in Ned's garden had been the exception. "Stop disrespecting me like that!" Ordered the blonde firmly, he inhaled a breath of air, trying to calm down, when he thought he did, he explained in a serene tone, he was a little offended because his son had called him "dinosaur". "You know I come from another era."
"Yes, from the Cretaceous period." Peter teased mischievously, alluding to the time of the dinosaurs, Steve raised an eyebrow, Peter cleared his throat and said. "I mean... you had years to catch up so don't blame the ice you were frozen in Cap and answer the fucking question I asked you before." The teenager snapped disrespectfully and rebelliously, frowned and asked his question again. "Do I have to stay lying on your shoulder until you finish installing the sensors?"
"Enough son, I just told you not to disrespect me, I don't want you to call me Cap and even less using that mocking tone, don't say bad words either." Steve demanded with a severe tone, becoming authoritative, he smiled mischievously and added with an air of smugness. "And yes, you'll have to stay lying on top of my shoulder, that way I'll make sure you don't escape from me." He smiled even more and commented mockingly. "If it's uncomfortable for you, I can give you a pillow to make you more comfortable, only if you want, you could also take a nap, like you did at Ned's house, it's a suggestion to make time go by faster for you."
Peter raised an eyebrow at that, was his dad making fun of him? Yes, definitely yes, he wouldn't allow it, enough to be the laughing stock at school and the focus of Flash's teasing throughout the week.
"Go to the..." Peter began to say angrily, ready to send his father to hell, of course, if Steve hadn't interrupted him.
"Let's go inside." The Captain stated and began to walk along the sidewalk, towards the front door of the house, he didn't want to hear a bad word from Peter again. May followed him, she had remained silent because her son was too rebellious, she preferred that Steve take charge of the situation since he had more authority than her. "After I put those sensors on the door and on the window of your room..." Steve finished climbing the steps of the entrance porch, he grabbed the handle with his hand, opened the front door, released the handle, entered the house and snapped with a serious tone, giving his son no room for objections or complaints. "You and I are going to talk seriously, did you hear me?"
Peter swallowed hard, then laid his cheek on his dad's muscular back, he was exhausted, he thought "fuck."
✨✨✨✨
May was sitting in an individual sofa in the living room, having a cup of coffee while Steve and Peter were upstairs, in the teenager's room. The blonde had asked his wife to leave him alone with Peter, May had gladly agreed, she didn't want to continue arguing with her rebellious son, if Steve could take charge of the situation and managed to make him see reason... better, although May saw it as difficult, Peter was intractable. The chestnut let out a tired sigh and raised the cup with the hot and steaming drink to her lips.
Peter was in his room, sitting with his arms folded in the leather chair with little wheels that he had in front of the desk, the brown-haired boy was looking in a bad way at the stupid sensor that his father had installed on his door, he had also placed another one in the wooden frame from the window, in the end the blonde had managed to install the sensors but it had taken him an hour and a half to install them, that is to say... an eternity. Peter had put his pride aside and had recommended him that he call Tony to ask him how it was done but his father had refused, he wanted to put them himself, without help, he was stubborn and proud, anyway... Peter had to be patient and wait, he was about to fall asleep on his dad's shoulder, he was tired because he hadn't slept at all but he held back out of pride, he didn't want to please his father, who had mockingly suggested that he take a nap, of course he wouldn't do it, he would sleep later, in his bed, comfortable, period.
Peter turned from looking at the advanced device that Mr. Stark had made against him and directed his brown eyes to the serious face of his father, who was standing in front of him, hands resting on his hips.
"How do you think of escaping?" Steve asked in a clear demand, when he noticed that his son was looking at him.
"I didn't think about it that much, I just wanted to be away from you." Peter answered simply and shrugged.
"Oh yeah?" Steve asked with an arched eyebrow, Peter nodded defiantly, the blond let out an incredulous laugh and asked another question. "And where were you planning to go?"
"What do you care." Peter answered with a frown, evasive and disrespectful.
"Talk to me well." The blond snapped, standing firm, he was tired of Peter barking at him.
"And you treat me right." Peter retorted angrily, resting his hands on the armrests, leaning forward, getting up from his chair, walking two steps in his father's direction, placing a hand on his chest and continuing. "Not like a prisoner, I can't believe you installed those shitty sensors in my room and I can't believe that tomorrow you want to install improved sensors throughout the house." The brown-haired boy crossed his arms, grimaced and continued to complain. "I feel humiliated and watched."
"In first... language." Steve indicated with a serious expression as he raised his index finger. "I've told you a thousand times today and in second..." The blonde raised another finger before clarifying the second point. "I don't treat you like a prisoner, but like a son with super powers."
Peter clucked with his tongue.
"Well, this son with super powers is fed up with his strict father." The teenager said, pointing to his chest with his thumb finger and then pointing to his dad with his index finger.
"Enough Peter, I don't want to argue anymore." Steve sentenced as he walked a few steps, approaching his son, who frowned upon seeing him approach. The Captain stopped, ruffled his blond hair with one hand, let out a sigh and he clarified tiredly. "I was thinking of having a long chat with you but I changed my mind, you're intractable so I'll tell you one more thing and that's it, I want to end the conversation because it's already dawned and I didn't sleep at all, I spent the whole night awake, I'm really tired."
"Me too and I'm not complaining, and you know what?" Peter shrugged and glared at his dad. "You're to blame for going looking for me so fuck you." He snapped sounding very disrespectful, Steve raised both eyebrows at this, Peter ignored him, crossed his arms, lowered his head, fixing his eyes on his blue converse sneakers and commented in a tone of complaint and pity combined. "I was planning to have a short sleepover, then sleep and go tomorrow to school."
"Wait a minute..." Steve murmured, lowering his blond eyebrows to form a frown. "Did you say to me "fuck you"?" He asked, starting to get angry, his son raised his chin and looked at him defiantly.
"Yes, do you want me to repeat it?" Peter asked with a fake smile.
Steve put his lips in a thin line, disgusted by his son's response, Peter's rebellion had crossed the limits but now he would show him that his actions had consequences.
"No, it's not necessary, I'll tell you what will happen, you're grounded." Steve informed him severely.
"Pff..." Peter mused, making a gesture of indifference with his hand. "It's nothing new, I already knew that."
"What you didn't know is that the punishment will last a week." Steve announced with a mischievous smile, surprising his son.
"What? You said 3 days." Peter murmured in a small voice and with his eyes wide open, a week? nah, it was a joke, right? it couldn't be.
"Yes, but you deserve more days, you're disrespectful." Steve clarified with a firm tone, disappointed with his behavior, Peter had gone too far, the blonde noticed that his son was about to complain so he continued, with a tone of voice still more serious, if that was possible. "It will be a week and don't even think about complaining because if you do, the punishment will last longer." He warned with a serious face, hearing this, Peter closed his mouth, Steve smiled mischievously and continued. "Your penance will consist of the following, you will not have any electronic device, by that I mean cell phone, computer, television and playstation, you will not have your tools either, you cannot use your powers inside the house, I want you to behave like a normal boy, that is you can't do big jumps, you can't do pirouettes in the air, you can't hang from the ceiling, you can't climb the walls, you can't shoot targets with your webs, in fact... you can't have your web-slinging artifacts, I'll take them from you too, I'll take your suit..." Steve was listing an endless list of forbidden things to do in Peter's opinion but when the boy heard that his dad was planning to take his Spider-Man suit, he couldn't help but yell angrily.
"What?! that not! you will not touch my suit! I made it and with a lot of effort! I also bought the fabrics with my savings! it's mine! I deserve to have it!" Peter exclaimed loudly, very angry, he wouldn't let his father take away his suit, he would continue participating.
"I'll take it from you, Peter, whether you like it or not." Steve told him in a calm but authoritative tone, unfazed by his son's misplaced behavior. "And don't yell at me again because I'll add more days of punishment." He warned with a serious face, Peter gave him a dirty look and refrained from showing him the middle finger because if he did that, he wouldn't have more punishment days, he would have a week, easier. "Ah... I missed to name the last punishment on the list." The blond commented while holding his chin with his fingers, remembering. "You won't leave the house, you'll just go to school and then you'll come back here, understood?" He finished firmly and placed both hands on his waist.
Peter snorted, he was upset, he suddenly realized an important detail.
"And what's up with the training sessions I have scheduled with Mr. Stark?" The brown-haired boy asked with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.
"I'll postpone them, you won't attend any of them, during the week that your punishment will last you won't go to the Tower." Steve answered his question, the determination he showed annoyed Peter.
"I think you're going too far." The teenager complained, looking at his dad with a frown.
"Of course not, it's the least you deserve." Steve said with a very serious face, he took his hands off his waist, letting his arms fall to his sides and walked resolutely towards his son. "You got this for running away from Ned's house, you made me worry too much, I had a very bad time, I couldn't stand not knowing where you were, what you did was very dangerous, walking alone through desolate streets..." Steve continued walking towards Peter, who swallowed hard and stepped back a bit. "I almost had a panic attack which I never had, for making me worry like that you'll be grounded for a week." The blond explained, letting his son know how bad he had felt during his absence.
"You're an idiot dad, you shouldn't have worried so much, nothing was going to happen to me." Peter said to calm him down, he pointed to himself and added. "I'm Spider-Man, not a little boy, understand it."
"You're my son, therefore I'll always worry, understand it." Steve retorted, stopping in front of Peter, he had already shortened the distance that separated them. The blond replaced his serious expression with one full of affection, he outlined a warm smile and without prior notice he imprisoned his son in a hug. The teenager was surprised but didn't complain, he didn't want to admit it but he needed his dad, he was tired of arguing with him so he decided to enjoy the moment. Peter laid his cheek on his father's chest and allowed his arms to wrap around his back, instead of pushing him away, because that affectionate hug was necessary for both Steve and Peter. "Now rest." The blond asked, bowing his head slightly, placing an affectionate kiss into his son's brown curls and said kindly. "You won't go to school, you must sleep, me and your mother also need to sleep, it was a long night, even so..." Steve gave Peter another kiss on the head and clarified. "I won't sleep, I'll stay on guard in case you try to escape."
Peter put a bad face, that last comment from his dad had ruined the moment, he didn't want him to keep hugging him anymore so he leaned his forearms on his chest and pushed himself back, trying to free himself from the hug his father was giving him.
"It's not necessary dad, this time I won't escape, I'm sleepy, I want to sleep until nightfall again." Peter complained, still struggling to escape from his father's arms.
"I don't trust you." Steve snapped sincerely and opened his arms, allowing his son to get away from him, Peter took the opportunity, backed away and gave his dad a dirty look.
"Okay, do what you want, it matter to me like shit, I'm going to bed and I'll try not to dream about your stupid Captain America shield." The brown-haired boy commented, sounding extremely disrespectful but in his defense he was angry, he really wouldn't try to escape but if his father didn't want to believe him... there he was.
Peter avoided his father's intense gaze, walked to his bed, grabbed the covers, pulled them back, unwinding the bed and leaving the mattress topper in sight, he lay down, not caring if he was still dressed and with his sneakers on, he was too lazy to put on his pajamas, he held up the quilts and covered up to his chin, he turned on his side, cheekily turning his back on his dad and proposed to sleep, he needed it, it had been a long day and full of emotions of all kinds, Peter wouldn't start to make a summary of everything he had lived because he wouldn't finish anymore.
Steve grabbed the back of the black leather chair with little wheels, slid it across the parquet floor until it was in front of his son's bed, then he sat comfortably in the chair, leaning his back against the back, he rested his ankle on his knee and crossed his arms. Steve stared at Peter, lost in thought, when would he forgive him? he hoped that soon, that hug that they had both given each other had given the blonde hope, he had felt that his son was no longer so angry with him, otherwise he wouldn't have let him hug him and he had. Steve assured that Peter had enjoyed that hug as much as him, a big smile formed on his lips "there is less time left for him to forgive me" the blond thought happily.
Minutes later Steve was asleep, with his arms resting on the armrests of the chair and his head slightly to one side, despite his intention to stand guard, fatigue had won him, Peter was not far behind, several minutes ago he had succumbed to the sleep, both father and son slept peacefully, their rhythmic breathing was the proof and they were heard in the room.