"Oh come on. Seriously!" Clint threw his hands up in exasperation. Rhodey and Bucky mirrored his frustration. Both whining to the god whose hammer sat atop the TV remote. Thor just laughed.
Natasha sipped her morning coffee leisurely, her novel sitting on the ottoman at her feet. It had been a calm, relaxing morning; until the rest of the team woke up. "You know that the more you complain, the more he enjoys it." She shot a glare to the archer as his whining grew more incessant.
"She's right, you know." Tony sat down on the couch opposite Thor and the whining men. He left enough room for Peter to sit while keeping his distance from Loki. The god of mischief may have changed his ways, but that didn't mean he had to be friendly with him.
"Who's always right?" Peter asked, plopping down beside his dad, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
Tony wrapped an arm across Peter's shoulders, instinctively pulling him against his side. He couldn't help but ruffle Peter's curls; his hair already fluffed up like a halo from a good night's sleep. A halo, Tony thought, how accurate.
"Your aunt." Tony placed a quick kiss on his son's forehead.
"Of course, she is." Peter grinned at his aunt. "Как ты, мама паука?" (How're you, momma spider?)
"Im штрафа мой ребенок паук. Как ваши дела." (I'm fine, my baby spider. How are you?) She set her coffee aside in favor of fussing over her nephew, cooing softly at Peter's adorably mussed hair and sleepy expression.
"тоже." (Me too.) He murmured, leaning into her touch. Ever the tactile one. "О чем они ноют?" (What are they whining about?) He nodded towards Clint, Bucky, Rhodey, and now Bruce that were chastising Thor over his hammer's placement.
"Они идиоты." (They're idiots) Tasha mumbled into Peter's curls, eliciting a small laugh from the boy.
"What's with you, guys?" Peter looked at Tony.
"Thor's trolling them," Tony smirked, his amusement evident. "He put his hammer, milnora, or mojohn or whatever it's called on the tv remote."
"Why don't you guys just move it?" He asked innocently, only to be met with laughter.
"Quiet." Loki snapped, his posture tense as he addressed the men then. "Spider child." His voice softened completely while addressing Peter. A rare, genuine smile, reserved only for Peter gracing his lips. "Lift the hammer. I know you can."
A hush fell over the room as Peter stood and cautiously approached the hammer. His hand wavered just above the handle, but he made no move to grab it. Tony nodded in encouragement, his calm demeanor masking how worried and curious he was.
Carefully, afraid of accidentally breaking it, Peter grasped the handle - taking no notice to the darkening clouds outside - and pulled.
Thunder cracked across the sky, and lightning danced through the clouds as he brought the hammer above his head. He cried out and quickly went to cover his ears - nearly knocking himself out in the process. But the storm vanished as soon as it had come. Fluffy white clouds and sunny blue skies returned as the storm dissipated.
"What the fuck!" Bucky looked from Peter to the now crystal clear skies. "You all saw that, right? Like, it wasn't just me?"
"No." Bruce nodded numbly, his shocked expression mirroring everyone else's. "I saw it too."
"This is a lot lighter than I thought it would be." Peter tossed the weapon from hand to hand, not fully aware of what 'being worthy of the power of Thor' entailed. Electricity sparked through him, purple tendrils of lightning arcing around his hands and onto the hammer. It didn't hurt. If anything, it was invigorating.
Loki looked on with a knowing smile as the others gaped. Tony was the first to recover, a broad grin splitting his face and pride swelling within his chest.
"My kid's worthy! Ha! Do you see that, guys? My kid is worthy."
Peter looked confused. "Uh... what's that supposed to mean?"
"Of course. Of course, you have no idea." Clint ran a hand through his hair, ginning. "You're just too pure, kiddo."
"Huh?"
Thor knelt before Peter - who was even more confused now - and firmly grasped his shoulders. "Man of spiders and son of Stark." He said, unusually serious, "from the very first time we fought together, I knew you were a powerful and noble warrior. Someone with a strong mind and a strong heart." He placed a large hand on Peter's chest. "So, it comes as no surprise to me that you would be worthy."
"Wow. Um... thanks, uncle Thor." He smiled shyly, not knowing what to say. "That's-that's really nice. Thank you."
"You are worthy" Without any warning, he hoisted the small teen onto his shoulders with a cry of joy and triumph. Peter squeaked indignantly as Thor took him for a ride. Jumping and twirling, all while shouting, "the man of spiders is worthy! You are worthy of the throne of Asgard!"
Soon everyone had joined in. Laughing and cheering for their youngest teammate and family member.
"Did you guys see that storm?" Steve asked, padding over to the group, his clothes dripping as he attempted to dry his hair with a dish towel he grabbed off the counter. "I was jogging then all of a sudden this thunderstorm just came out of nowhere and-"He looked up from his soaked joggers and saw Thor, mid-step with a giggling Peter on his shoulders. His teammates were cackling happily. "Uh... what did I miss?"
"I'm worthy!" Peter cheered, holding the hammer high above his head.
"Of course you are." Steve couldn't help but smile. That kid always lifted his spirits.
******
"Hey, dad?"
Tony's chest warmed instantly at the word, dad. Hearing Peter call him that filled him with such love and warmth that he couldn't begin to describe or express with mere words. He knew he'd never get tired of hearing it.
"What's up, kiddo?" He tossed his wrench down and set his new project aside, diverting all attention to his kid. "You okay?"
Peter was standing back at the entrance to Tony's personal lab. Usually, he'd just walk in - already knowing the code - and would settle into an individual project he was working on, something for SI, or assist Tony with whatever he happened to be tinkering on.
But right now, he was hovering awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot as he fiddled with his sleeves. Clearly, something was bothering him, which set off Tony's paternal instincts.
"Did something happen? Are you hurt?" The mechanic left his chair spinning in his haste to get to Peter. But before he could fully go into 'protective irondad mode' - as Clint had dubbed it - Peter stopped him.
"I'm fine, dad." He playfully shoved his dad's hands away before any poking or prodding could take place. "I just..." He bit his lip, his cheeks turning red. "I uh... I need some advice."
"Oh. Well, you've come to the right guy." Tony clapped his hands together. "What can I help ya with? An annoying investor for Stark Industries, Sam and frosty two-point O being idiots, some new science at school?"
"Uh it's actually... I need help with-with um... girls."
"Oh." Tony grinned. "Finally ready to admit your feelings for that scary MJ character?"
"Wha- how did you-" Peter sputtered.
"Kid, Pete," Tony cut him off before he could embarrass himself more. In truth, he thought Peter was even more adorable when he got flustered, "it's like... super obvious."
"It is?" Peter squeaked.
"Only to me," he was quick to reassure, resting a placating hand on his son's shoulder, "and the team. But we're your family and are around you the most. I'm sure MJ doesn't know."
"Okay. That, that's good." He furrowed his brow. "But um... how do I get her to like me. I mean, she's way out of my league. Like way, way, way out of my league. I'm asexual. And I can't have kids, and I don't want any. Would that bother her?"
"First off, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. If someone can't accept you for who you are, then they aren't worth your time. You drop their sorry ass." Peter rolled his eyes good-naturedly but didn't argue. "Second, sex can be the most superficial aspect of a relationship. A stereotypical relationship anyway. Lots of people just date because of their appearance and sex appeal; you take sex out of the equation, and most relationships are meaningless."
"Oh, yeah, I guess I never... I never thought of it that way. People are so interested in what they look like and how popular they are that they don't look at personalities or characteristics of the people they hang with."
Tony smiled proudly. "Exactly, kid. And getting a girls attention depends on their personality. Like their interests, hobbies, whatever grabs their attention."
"Well, MJ is brilliant but more with politics, literature, and social aspects rather than sc-science. She's candid and sarcastic and doesn't take anyone's crap. But she's reserved and rather quiet like she's scoping everything out. She also likes to read; a lot. Darker literature too. The more depressing, the better. Oh, and did I mention she's p-pretty? Her eyes are so dark but in a captivating way. And her hair is so curly but always smells so good, like vanilla. I guess it's her shampoo. And she-" His eyes took on a new light the more he talked about MJ. A slight blush crept onto his cheeks when he realized he'd gone off on a tangent, and Tony was just standing there, patiently waiting.
"Sounds like you really care about her."
"Yeah, I do." There was no stuttering that time.
"Eye contact. Look at her when she's talking, so she knows you're actually listening. Repeat back what she's told you. That tells her you were paying attention. Talk about things she likes to talk about. That shows her that you're interested in what she likes. Try to have a meaningful conversation. Not stupid small talk about the weather or pointless things like that, but a real conversation. You said she likes to read and is into the more depressing aspect of things. So ask her about her favorite book, why our culture is formed around social class and looks, how prejudice transforms the workplace. Grab her attention."
"Okay." He finished jotting down his last note on a sticky pad that appeared to contain only scribbles Tony knew only his genius son could understand. Anyone else would be lost. "Eye contact, listen to her and have meaningful conversations. Got it. Thanks, dad." He gave his dad a quick squeeze - lifting him off the ground slightly - before rushing out of the lab with a skip in his step.
*************************
"So, how are things going?" Pepper asked, situating herself in Tony's office. She smirked as the billionaire read through a file that was at least two inches thick. "You seem to be having fun."
"I'd have even more fun if you didn't keep sending me all this crap. Paperwork is sickening."
"If you took one day out of the week and filed through everything, it wouldn't be so bad."
Tony just rolled his eyes and collapsed back onto his plush office chair. It was too early in the morning for paperwork. Actually, it's always too early for paperwork.
"But how are you doing? Not the company. I know it's doing fine. What about Tony?"
"I'm... great. I'm really doing great." His statement and smile were genuine. He hadn't felt so at peace in years, and it truly was the best feeling. "The team is getting along well. There haven't been any Avenger level threats in two weeks, and Peter's fully adjusted. Even gave him girl advice. I feel happy."
"I'm so glad for you, Tony." Pepper reached across the desk and squeezed her friend's hand, her smile just as genuine. "I really am. You deserve this."
He squeezed her hand back, his eyes flicking to her face then back to the floor. "How are you and that blond dude... um, Mitch? You've been together for six months now?"
"Its Michael. And it's been seven months." She rolled her eyes playfully. "We're good. Nowhere near living together, but soon. He's a great guy."
"I'm glad you could find someone," he sighed, "and I'm sorry that person wasn't me. But it wasn't right. We just aren't-"
"The right people for each other. I know, Tony." She chuckled and gently squeezed his hand. "We did the right thing."
"I know, Pep, thank you for understanding."
The atmosphere wasn't awkward, as one might have expected it to be. The agreement had been mutual and for the benefit of them both. They were no longer lovers but old friends. And that's all they really needed.
*************************
Tony left his office around five - having decided that six hours of signing, filing, and mailing paperwork was enough. He could do the rest in the privacy of his lab, where he was much more comfortable.
Pepper and Happy, along with most of the SI employees, had finished up hours ago, as it was a Friday, which meant work ended at one instead of nine at night. It also meant family movie night with the team and, most importantly, Peter.
"Friday, remind me to go through the biotech files later." He stepped into the Avengers private elevator.
"Of course, Boss."
"And how'd Peter's meeting go with the NYPD? Did everyone show up?"
"He did very well." She sounded very proud for being an AI, "Colonel Rhodes went with him per your request."
"Good, that's good."
The elevator opened up on the Penthouse floor. It was clean, quiet, and private, things the mechanic needed right now. Before going back to his room he stopped at Peter's door. He barely had the chance to knock before a spider teen ambushed him.
"Hi, dad." Peter nuzzled into Tony's silk shirt, "how was your day?"
"If doing boring old paperwork counts as getting stuff done," he held Peter against his chest, one hand immediately going to pet the kid's curls, "then I'd say my day went pretty well. How'd that meeting go? Captain 'my shit don't stink' and inspector 'I'm an imbecile' didn't give you any problems, did they?"
Peter snorted. "No. Captain Watts and Inspector Glen were well behaved today." He pulled a pair of sweats and a science pun t-shirt from his closet as he recapped the meeting.
"Because you called them both out." Friday added. "Colonel Rhodes found it very amusing."
"Friday!"
"You got that on tape, right?" Tony ignored his son's glare, a shit eating grin on his face.
"Of course. Both Colonel Rhodes and Mini-Boss wore earpieces as a standard precaution. I also have access to every precinct in New York."
Tony huffed out a laugh. "I have got to see that footage. Later though," he turned back to Peter - who was trying to look intimidating but failing miserably, "tell me how everything else went."
"Lieutenant Cora up through Chief Bogo was there, even a few detectives. And they all loved the idea of our drones." His face lit up in excitement. "Less police casualties while tracking and taking in criminals or scoping out suspects. Chief Bogo really appreciated that the drones are solar-powered. They already agreed to invest. All in all, I think it went well."
"That's awesome, Pete!" The two high-fived. "I knew you could handle it. Now change and meet in the lounge. It's movie night." He ruffled the teen's hair once more before heading off to his room.