Work Text:
One month later.
June, 2013
“Tony,” Bruce says for the fourth time.
“Almost done, I swear.”
Bruce turns back to Peter, who is sitting on his bed, legs sticking out. He pulls his Converse on, laces them, and then scoops him up, settling him on one hip. “Do you want Ollie?” he asks when he notices the elephant still on the bed.
“No, he wants to stay home.”
“Okay. Still hungry?”
“Starving!” Peter exclaims, and Bruce laughs, ruffling his hair before heading out into the kitchen. He sets Peter down in a tall chair at the island before turning away to make breakfast.
“Tony,” he says minutes later when he’s setting the table.
“I’m walking to the elevator right now.”
“Liar.”
Tony arrives after Bruce has sat and they’ve begun eating eggs, mushrooms, and hash browns. “Liar,” Peter says through a mouthful as Tony approaches.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” he chides as he sits down, “So, what’s on the schedule for today?”
“Playground!” Peter yells.
“Picnic,” Bruce says.
“Picnic?” Tony repeats, leveling him with a glare of disbelief, “Are you trying to domesticate me?”
“It’s been an ongoing process.”
Tony rolls his eyes, Peter tries to mimic him and fails, and they finish breakfast before heading down into the garage. “Daddy,” Peter mumbles while Bruce buckles him into his car seat.
“What’s up?”
“I think Ollie wants to come with us, actually.”
Bruce sighs and taps him on the nose, watching his freckles dance when he scrunches his nose. “Ollie changed his mind,” he says to Tony before kissing him.
“Hurry back, dad.”
He gives Tony a little shove before leaving, and Tony finishes packing up, setting the cooler and blanket in the trunk, and then grabbing Peter’s jacket from the garage closet. “We need to get you cooler clothes, little man.”
“Like what?”
“Definitely a leather jacket.”
“Like yours?”
“Sure. Look, there’s Ollie and daddy.”
Peter cheers and makes grabby hands until Bruce gets into the passenger side and hands back Ollie. Jarvis plays a rock mix on the drive, to which Peter sings and hums along. Once at the park, though, he squirms around until Tony gets him out. “Hey,” he says before Peter can run off, “Be careful, okay? We’ll be close, so no getting lost.”
“Can you hold Ollie, dad?”
“I would be honored,” Tony says, smiling as Peter runs off, little legs pumping.
He and Bruce go find a stretch of grass near a tree to set up on, and, once settled, Bruce kicks off his shoes and pushes at Tony, who laughs at him and relaxes against the tree so Bruce can rest between his legs against his chest. “Where do you think he should go to primary school?” Bruce asks as they watch Peter zip down a slide.
“Xavier’s?”
“I don’t think his powers are like that. We haven’t even seen anything of them except when he ends up in the hammock or the ceiling. Where did you go?”
“Some private school. What about just public? We can try to give him a normal childhood.”
“That sounds nice. Funny that we’d say that, though.”
“Honestly, I don’t know whose childhood is more fucked up. We—” Tony’s cut off as a scream erupts, high-pitched and childlike, and Bruce tenses against him, sitting up.
A heartbeat later, Peter’s shrill voice cuts through them, “Daddies!”
Tony pushes at Bruce even as Bruce hauls to his feet, and they’re off as soon as they’re vertical, sprinting toward the playground, where Peter’s still screaming for them until the word breaks off into terror, and they come around a slide to find him hanging upside down from the monkey bars, the edge of his pants on fire. Tony emits an incomprehensible swear as he hurries over, patting out the fire before trying to get Peter down. “I’m stuck!” Peter sobs, and then there’s another voice joining him, and Tony looks over in alarm to see a little boy about Peter’s age with parted blonde hair that reminds him of Steve and brilliant blue eyes.
“I—I didn’t mean to!” he cries, hiccupping.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Bruce says, kneeling as Tony turns back to Peter.
“What do you mean, you’re stuck?” he asks even as he lifts Peter up so the blood’s not rushing to his head.
“I don’t know! Sometimes I get stuck to things, but I can let go, and then it’s okay, but I caaaan’t!”
“Peter—” he tries, but Peter just keeps crying, and Tony sighs, leaning his head against his little one. “Try to calm down,” he whispers, “Be brave, and maybe you’ll be able to get unstuck.”
“O-o-okay.” Tony rubs his back, humming softly until Peter’s crying starts to subside, and his legs slip off from the monkey bars, and he tumbles into Tony’s waiting arms.
“See, all better,” he soothes, bouncing him a little and rubbing circles into his back as Peter hides his face in Tony’s chest, clutching at him.
“I am so sorry,” a woman’s voice says, and Tony turns to find the little boy in her arms, looking at them warily. “Oh.”
“Sue, is everything al—oh my goodness. Mr. Stark, Doctor Banner,” a man says as he approaches, “Is—is your son alright?”
“He’s fine. Your son—”
“My brother,” Sue corrects, “Might we speak somewhere more private?”
“Of course,” Bruce takes over, casting a glance at Tony, who mouths he’s okay, before he leads them away. They go over to where the blanket is laid out, and Bruce collects Ollie, handing him over. Peter grabs at his elephant, tucking it close to him and popping his other thumb in his mouth, still snuggled up against Tony.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Doctor Banner,” Reed says, holding out a hand, which Bruce shakes before Reed turns to Tony, “As well as you, Mr. Stark. Johnny’s still working out his powers.”
“How did he get them?” Tony asks, frowning, “I read that you guys got hit by a radiation storm while out in space. I doubt he was with you.”
“He wasn’t,” Reed admits, looking over at Johnny, still in Sue’s arms, “Ben and I were trying to recreate the storm, and Johnny snuck into the lab one night. Sounds a lot like what happened with Peter, actually, if I’m assuming right.”
“Yeah,” Bruce says, nodding, “Snuck into the lab where his father used to work only a short while ago. When did Johnny get his powers?”
“Just over a year ago, but he’s still unstable sometimes.”
“I was only trying to help,” Johnny mumbles, looking on the verge of tears again.
“It’s okay,” Bruce assures, “Peter knows that, Johnny. He was just scared.”
“We were having fun before that,” Peter mumbles, surfacing, “Can I get down, dad? I want a snack.” Tony shifts him until he can set him on his feet, and Johnny quietly asks Sue to do the same, coming over to Peter with a sad expression.
“I’m sorry, Peter,” he says softly, “I didn’t mean to.”
“I know, it’s okay,” Peter says, shrugging, “Want some of my goldfish?”
“Okay!” Johnny exclaims, plopping down next to Peter.
Bruce ruffles his hair before turning back to Reed and Sue, and the adults chat while Peter and Johnny snack and plan out their next adventure on the playground.