Although Tony's grilled cheese was a little black on one side and not toasted at all on the other side, Peter devoured it. It had hardly been finished when Peter said it was the best grilled cheese he had ever tasted. He then went on to explain how usually he and his mom found food in dumpsters, but it was still good. Some restaurants would even give them leftovers if they waited until they closed.
Once they were both finished eating, Tony loaded the dishwasher while Peter explored the Tower. He had quickly learned about JARVIS and the two had become best friends which was great for Tony. While Peter was out of sight, JARVIS kept him informed about where Peter was and what he was doing. What JARVIS did not inform him of, however, was that Pepper was arriving. The sound of the lift dinging and the doors sliding open were his only announcement.
Tony quietly cursed and quickly searched for a place to hide. Unfortunately, the kitchen didn't offer very good hiding spots and before he could crawl under the sink, Pepper was staring him down with her hands on her hips.
"You just missed dinner," Tony told her. He pointed to the freshly washed frying pan. "Grilled cheese. Made it myself. Wasn't that good, but the kid liked it."
He flinched when he realised he had been the one to bring up Peter and now Pepper had a good lead-in for what was about to be a very angry speech.
"Speaking of the kid,e" Pepper said, narrowing her eyes, "Could you please enlighten me on how you came across one and decided to bring one home?"
Tony gave her a tight smile and glanced out the window.
"Um, JARVIS pointed him out first," Tony said. Pepper didn't look amused, but she also didn't look surprised.
"If I may, sir," JARVIS interrupted, "You were the one escaping work to fly in the suit."
Tony grimaced and Pepper's frown deepened.
"Thanks, buddy," Tony mumbled before turning to Pepper and saying, "To be fair, I waited until I finished my work."
"Tony! You can't just take a kid off the streets," Pepper said, throwing her hands up exasperatedly. "That's kidnapping!"
"Is it, though?" Tony asked. Pepper looked at him as if to say 'really' and he continued hurriedly. "I mean, a superhero sees a kid being abused and rescues him. Said kid then reveals that his mother is dead and his father is not in the picture. What was I supposed to do, Pep? Leave him to die? He's four!"
If Pepper was surprised to discover the kid was so young, she did not show it. However, she also didn't have time to reply before Tony sighed and looked behind her. Turning around, she was faced with a very small child in ragged clothes standing behind her. He looked like he was about to cry and Pepper was not going to have that.
"Hey, kiddo," she said softly. She knelt down in front of him, but Peter just stepped back. "I'm Pepper. What's your name?"
"Peter," he said, barely above a whisper. "Am I in trouble? I don't want to stay here if you don't like me."
Pepper quickly shook her head and again reached out for Peter's hand, but he stepped back again.
"No, Peter," she told him, "This is not your fault. When adults like Tony take kids off the streets, people get upset, so I have to make sure he doesn't go to jail, okay?"
When Peter nodded, Pepper stood back up and faced Tony
"I'm going to contact your lawyers and see if they can find anything on him," she informed Tony, "We need to make sure his dad isn't around. He could press charges."
"Sounds good."
Pepper glanced back down at Peter who was staring at Tony. "What's your last name, Peter?"
Peter looked away from Tony and up at Pepper to answer, "Parker."
Pepper smiled and nodded before walking back into the lift. Before the doors even shut, she was on the phone with Tony's lawyers. Once she was gone, it was just Tony and Peter.
"So, that's my girlfriend Pepper," Tony told Peter, picking him up and walking into the living room with him. "She doesn't like it when I bring home surprises, but she's nice. You'll love her."
"Mr. Tony?" Peter asked. "Is—"
"Please just call me Tony," he interrupted. Peter nodded and started again.
"Tony?" he asked. Tony hummed, setting Peter down on the couch then turning on the TV. "Is JARVIS an angel?"
Tony turned to look at Peter to make sure he was serious. He looked like he was.
As if he could tell Tony didn't believe him, Peter said, "He comes from the sky and mommy said angels live in the sky."
"No, Peter," Tony said with a smile, "JARVIS is like a computer. I made him and he comes from speakers in the ceiling."
"So he's a robot?" Peter asked, scrunching up his face in confusion. Tony gave a half shrug, half nod.
"Of sorts."
Peter seemed happy enough with this answer, so Tony asked him what he wanted to watch. Of course, Peter had never watched TV before so Tony was left to try and find an appropriate movie for a four-year-old. Apparently 'Brother Bear' was interesting enough because as soon as he turned it on, Peter went silent and watched the whole thing with wide eyes. By the time to movie ended, Peter was clearly tired, but no less captivated by the TV.
"Tony?" Peter mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Are bears real?"
Tony held back a laugh as he gently picked Peter up off the couch.
"Yeah, Pete," he said, "They're real."
Peter dropped his head onto Tony's shoulder and yawned.
"Why haven't I seen one then?" he asked as Tony carried him down the hall.
"They don't live in big cities," Tony told him. He opened the door to a guest room but kept the light off. "They like the forest."
Peter nodded as best he could as Tony laid him down in the big bed. Pulling the blankets up to Peter's chin, Tony smiled when Peter snuggled down in them. He was still in the same filthy clothes Tony had found him in, so Tony made a mental note to take him shopping tomorrow.
"Good night, Peter," Tony whispered.
"Good night," Peter whispered, drifting off the sleep.
Tony had JARVIS turn on a soft night light then left the room. Leaving the door open if Peter needed him, Tony walked back into the living room to find Pepper waiting for him.
"What'd you find?" he asked, making Pepper look up from her tablet.
"From what they found so far, Peter Parker doesn't exist," she said, "With no living relatives, they suggested sending him into foster care or to an orphanage."
Tony frowned. He didn't know much about either, but from what he did know, he didn't like them. It was doubtful that Peter would stay very long in an orphanage, but he didn't like how high the odds were that Peter would end up in an abusive home if he was put in foster care. Being moved from place to place at such a young age was sure to be traumatising as well.
"Are there any other options?" Tony asked.
Knowing he wouldn't be fond of either idea, Pepper had asked about a third.
"We try to find his dad," she said, "Run some DNA tests on him, search for anyone with the last name Parker, and see if we can find out more about his mom."
"That last one would be hard," Tony said. He could do the other two downstairs in his lab, but the last thing he wanted to do was ask a kid about his mom when he suspected she'd been killed. "He probably won't want to talk about it and he likely doesn't remember much."
"I know," Pepper agreed, "That's why tomorrow morning, I'm sending someone down to all the local police stations to ask if they found a woman that was murdered within the last twelve months. However, we do need to know where it took place and how she was killed."
Tony sighed, but he knew Pepper was right.
"I don't like it," he said. Pepper shook her head.
"I know," she replied, "But it's the only way to do it if we want to find his dad."
Tony nodded then walked into the kitchen to get some water, promising to ask Peter in the morning. At the clear of to their conversation, Pepper put away her tablet and stood up from the couch.
"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" she asked. Tony smiled and nodded.
"That will be all, Miss Potts."
Pepper smiled back and before slipping into the lift, she pressed a short kiss to Tony's lips. As soon as she was gone, Tony emptied his water cup and hurried downstairs to his lab. Maybe JARVIS could give him information on Peter's mom.