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Peter had been disappointed a lot in his life.
His first remembrance of a huge disappointment was his 5th birthday. It was a year after his parents died and he went to live with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Since it was a big milestone and because they felt bad after the accident, they decided to pitch their money together and host a birthday party for him and his school friends.
No one showed up in the end and not a single RSVP came through. Peter was sung ‘Happy Birthday’ by the staff of the venue and they ate cake with him instead.
There was another time when he got his first F on a test in middle school. He had studied hard and thought he would ace it, but unfortunately the study guide was nothing like the test in person. Peter ended up having to retake it three times before he was satisfied with his grade.
But this one definitely takes the cake.
It was Tony’s birthday and Peter had spent days on end trying to pick out the perfect gift for the older man. I mean, what could a billionaire want that he couldn’t buy? Peter decided to make him something homemade. He put together a small stuffed animal made out of his old baby clothes.
Ever since he had Morgan, Tony had turned into the more sentimental kind. Peter wasn’t complaining. It made him seem more approachable and he loved the recent affection he was getting as well. He decided it would be perfect, especially since Tony had made it clear that he was now a part of their small little family.
Peter stayed with him on the weekends while May had the weekdays. With Tony not having to commute the younger boy to school, it worked out for all of them.
So when Peter held the carefully wrapped box close to his chest and stood on the front porch of the Stark household, his heart was beating with nervousness and excitement. It was Tuesday, so he wasn’t supposed to see Tony until Friday evening, but he wanted his arrival to be a surprise for all of them.
He wouldn’t wait a whole 3 days after his father’s birthday to see him! May was in the car (bless her soul for driving all the way out here) while Peter rang the doorbell for the second time. His Aunt rolled down the window and stuck her head out,
“Try giving him a call, sweetheart! They might not be home.”
“Oh! You’re right!” Peter balanced the box in one hand while he fumbled for his phone in his pocket, sighing in relief when he finally pulled it out.
He quickly unlocked it and pressed Tony’s contact, waiting for the call to go through. Except...it went straight to voicemail. It never goes straight to voicemail.
Peter knitted his eyebrows in confusion and tried again. And again. And again.
He eventually accepted the fact that he wouldn’t answer his phone. The teen jogged back to the car, “He’s not answering, May. Maybe you can leave me here and I can wait until they come back? They’re probably grocery shopping or something.”
“Nope, the sun is going down and it’s going to start to get cold. You’ll just have to wait until Sunday.”
Peter sagged his shoulders in disappointment but nodded his head, “I’ll at least leave the gift on the front porch! He definitely won’t miss it when he comes back.”
“Good idea, sweetie.”
He ran back to the front porch, set the gift down, and patted it for good measure before sprinting back to the car with a smile on his face. Little did he know, he would regret making the gift at all.
It was posted 4 hours ago. How did he miss it? Peter and May got home pretty late since the drive was so long, but after he showered and had dinner, he decided he was going to go to bed early. He checked his Instagram and that’s when he saw it.
No wonder the Stark’s didn’t answer the door. They were in Thailand. His heart sped up and clenched in pain when he saw Pepper’s caption of the family photo,
“Happy Birthday to the silliest man I know. I can’t wait to share more memories with my small family!”
Tony, Pepper, and Morgan were standing in front of a beach off the coast of Thailand from the looks of the location tag. Tears came up to fill his eyes and his looked at the picture in anger and jealousy.
He thought he was a part of the family. Why wasn’t he invited? And to think he spent all of his spare time on a stupid gift that Tony probably wouldn’t even care about. He was off vacationing with his real family in tropical countries while Peter stayed behind in a shabby apartment in Queens.
His palm came up to rub his tears away. May had driven all the way over to their home just so Peter could surprise him. And the worst part is that Tony didn’t even tell him that he was leaving. He just left him behind and probably wouldn’t have even brought it up if Peter hadn’t seen the picture.
In a burst of anger, Peter growled and threw his phone at the opposite wall, watching as it cracked and clattered on the scratched hardwood ground. His voice cracked as he sobbed into his hands and buried himself under his covers.
“What was that?! What’s going on?” May burst into the room, but upon seeing Peter shaking and crying under his blankets, her face relaxed as she tentatively sat down on the small bed.
“Peter, what’s wrong?” May asked softly as she rubbed his back through the blankets. She could hear Peter start to hyperventilate and stutter horribly over his words.
“M-M-M-Mr. Stark l-left me.” He cried, bursting into more tears after saying it out loud. “What do you mean? I’m sure he didn’t leave you anywhere, sweetie. Try to calm your breathing and explain the whole thing.”
Peter tried taking deep breaths in and out, but it was clear that it wasn’t working too well. Whatever had upset the boy seemed to have been no small feat. May was trying to control the rising anger for Tony when it seemed that he was the root to Peter’s problem.
“H-H-He didn’t a-answer the door b-b-because they’re in T-Thailand for his b-birthday and they l-l-left me behind. I t-thought he was m-my dad n-now, May. A-And I m-m-made him the bear o-out of m-my baby c-c-clothes but that was s-such a s-stupid idea because h-he didn’t even i-invite me. P-P-Pepper said she couldn’t w-wait for more v-vacations with her s-small family. Her r-real family.” Peter sobbed and heaved with every other word he was struggling to get out. May’s eyes widened as she immediately went to wrap her arms around her nephew.
“Oh, my sweet boy. Your gift wasn’t stupid. I thought it was a very important present and I know Tony will love it when he gets back from his trip. Now, you look at me,” May uncovered Peter and was met with a red and wet face, his long eyelashes matted together with his tears. Her heart lurched at how upset he was, “Just because Tony went on a trip with his wife and daughter doesn’t mean he forgot about you. I may not like him all that much, but I can see that he loves you with everything he has. It must be some kind of misunderstanding. Maybe he went on a business trip?”
“B-But he didn’t even tell me he was leaving! And he didn’t even invite me!” Peter cried, trying to pull the blankets back to cover himself, but May held a tight grip. “That was extremely rude of him Peter, I understand. But I need you to calm down, take a deep breath, and we’ll figure this out together.”
Peter nodded, trying to calm himself down again. Thankfully, he succeeded and looked at May with the saddest eyes she had ever seen on her boy. Even if it was a misunderstanding, she would secretly never forgive the man for making her nephew look so helpless.
“Okay. I’ll try to call him in the morning and see what’s up. Whatever the case was, I’m not liking the whole thing about not inviting you. You’re just as much family to him as Morgan and Pepper, but don’t ever think that he forgot you. He loves you a lot.” May said as she ran her fingers through Peter’s soft curls. He closed his eyes contently and leaned into her touch, not saying a word. He was probably exhausted from all of his crying.
“Go to sleep, sweetie. I’ll figure this out.”
“Okay. Good night, May.” Peter said with a small voice.
“Good night, Peter.”
When Peter fell asleep, she picked up the phone he had threw at the wall. She couldn’t afford to get it fixed and she definitely couldn’t afford to buy him a new one. May stared at the photo of the Stark family through the many cracks of the screen, her stomach twisting in anger at how happy they looked without Peter there.
The boy had already lost a lot. She wasn’t about to see him lose another father.
“Can I get the kanom khrok for dessert? I think that should be it.” Tony said as he looked at his family who had just finished eating dinner, Morgan rubbing her belly happily. “Yes, right away.”
“Tony, after dessert—”
His phone started ringing loudly which earned him a sharp look from Pepper. She had made a deal with him that there would be no phones present during family vacations. Tony knew he shouldn’t be worried, his watch would alert him of any emergency, but still slightly annoyed him. Besides, he still had one of his kids back home in New York that was probably wondering where he was.
He rolled his eyes and took the phone call anyway, “What?”
“Your way of answering the phone is almost as bad as your personality.” An unmistakable voice came through the speaker. That’s when the older man knew he was done for.
“May! What a pleasant surprise. How are you?”
Pepper shook her head from across the table and went to entertain Morgan while they waited on dessert. “Cut the bullshit. I want you to explain why our kid is crying his eyes out because he was left out of a very important family trip. The only reason I agreed to co-parent him with you was because I saw how happy he is when he’s around you, but if you’re going to keep up with this clown circus, then I don’t want him coming over to your place anymore. He can do the Spider-Man stuff with what he has right now. He doesn’t need you.”
Ouch.
“Listen, May. I didn’t know I was going to be going on a trip until Pepper surprised me Sunday evening after Peter left. She had only bought three tickets and Peter was with you! Please, let me talk to him.”
“Why was your phone off? We drove all the way out there because he wanted to surprise you with the gift he made. He tried four times. Four times, Tony! I’m done playing games! You’re not going to speak with him until you get your privileged ass over here right now. Until then, I’m going to keep playing the supportive Aunt. When you decide to step into your role as his father, we’ll be waiting. He broke his phone last night so he won’t be calling. Bye.”
With that, May Parker hung up the phone. Tony smiled a little bit at how protective she was over her nephew, but he was also beating himself up at the fact that he left his son behind. He knew coming here without him was a bad idea. Hell, that was the first thing he had said when he opened up the plane tickets that Pepper and Morgan handed him.
With a little convincing, Pepper had made it seem like it wouldn’t hurt Peter as much. He was with his his Aunt and he was still in school, he probably wouldn’t have been able to go anyways. In hindsight, that was the stupidest decision he had ever made.
Tony got up from the dinner table and made his way towards the hotel. “Tony! Where are you going?” Pepper said with a bewildered look on her face. “I’m going home to Peter. It was wrong to leave him there by himself and it was wrong not to invite him. I didn’t even have enough time to tell him I was leaving because of your stupid ‘no phone’ rule!”
“He wouldn’t have been able to come anyway!” Pepper argued back in a hushed tone, mindful that they were in a public place and in front of their 5 year old daughter. “It’s the fucking thought that counts, Pepper. Jesus.”
Tony shook his head in disappointment and went back to the hotel room. He had a son to make it up to.
Peter didn’t get up from his bed the whole day. He woke up, remembered what had happened last night, cried, and went back to sleep so he could forget. The cycle continued until it was about midnight when May knocked on his door. “May, I love you, but I’m not in the mood.” Peter sniffed as he buried his face in his pillow.
He heard her come in anyway and softly close the door. Peter didn’t move, sniffing into his pillow some more until he felt the bed dip from the weight of his Aunt sitting down. Except, it felt heavier than his small Aunt when she would sit on the edge of his bed.
Peter’s eyes slowly opened and he turned around, gasping softly when he saw Tony sitting there with a small smile on his face. His room was only illuminated by his bedside lamp, but he quickly reached over to turn it off, leaving them in complete darkness.
“Hey, what was that for?”
“I don’t want to see you. You’re a jerk.”
He felt Tony reach over him and turn the lamp back on, but Peter shoved his pillow over his face to block his view. “Get out.”
Even though Peter was stronger, Tony ripped out the pillow from his fingers which left the boy with nothing. He looked up at his father-figure with red and puffy eyes.
Tony’s heart melted at the sight, “Hey, baby.”
“No.”
“No, what?”
“You don’t get to come in here and act like you care about me all of a sudden. You hurt my feelings, Mr. Stark.” Peter mumbled, turning over on his belly to hide his face again. He heard Tony click his tongue before the bed shifted and the older man was more comfortable on the twin sized mattress.
“I know, and I’m trying to apologize here. Are you going to get up and talk to me like a big boy? Or are you going to keep hiding your face?”
Peter made a grunting noise before he felt a playful slap on his bum. “Stop.”
“Then get up.”
The boy whined before rolling back over and making eye contact with the very same hazel eyes that were causing him pain. With an overwhelming realization of confrontation, Peter’s throat started to get tight and his eyes starting filling with tears.
“Hey, hey, hey. Come here.” Tony slid Peter onto to his lap, despite the fact that he was a 16 year old boy, and rested his chin on top of his son’s head. “As soon as May called me, I got my private jet to take me back here. I shouldn’t have left without you, kid. And more importantly, I should’ve told you that I was leaving. I should’ve asked you to come with us.”
“I t-thought you didn’t want me around anymore.” Peter sniffled as he fisted Tony’s shirt in his hands, leaning into his chest, and relishing in the fact that he left his family in a foreign country to come and apologize to him. Tony squeezed him tighter.
“I always want you around. You’re my best friend, kiddo. My underoos, my bambino, my baby. I wanted to decline when Pepper got me the tickets, but I was stupid and gave in. You’re just as important to me as they are.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
“Hm.” Peter hummed contently. He felt the older man bend down towards the ground and bring back a familiar looking box. “Look what I got my hands on.” Tony said playfully, absentmindedly rubbing circles onto Peter’s hipbone. The boy gasped quietly, “My gift!”
“Should we open it together?” Tony asked, gently pushing Peter off his lap so they could both see. Peter nodded eagerly, untying the bow at the top, “You do the rest. I want to see your reaction.”
Tony unwrapped the rest of the present and got to the white box underneath the wrapping paper, uncovering the top to reveal a pretty sorry looking teddy bear. It was obviously hand made, but Tony could tell that a lot of hard work and love was put into it. He took it out of the box and cradled the bear in his hands, “Wow, Pete. Did you do this all by yourself?”
Peter smiled, “Yeah! And it’s made out of all my baby clothes...so you don’t forget me,” He shyly looked away, obviously insecure now that Tony was actually holding it, “Do you like it?”
Tony grabbed Peter’s chin and forced them to make eye contact before he settled a big kiss on his kid’s forehead, “I love it so much, kiddo. And I love you.”
Peter’s eyes fluttered close in contentment, “I love you too, Mr. Stark.”
“I’ve got a gift for you too. I know it’s not your birthday, but considering how bad I messed up, I figured it didn’t matter,” Tony said as he reached behind him and pulled out his phone. Peter tilted his head in confusion before crawling over to see what he was doing. He saw that Tony had pulled up a list of countries in one tab and a random number generator in another tab.
He leaned the phone closer to his kid, “Press the button and we’ll see what number it lands on.” Peter nodded and did as he said, coming up with the number 43. They checked on the list of countries and saw that Sweden held the 43rd spot.
“Up to going to Sweden? Just you and me.”
“Really?!” Peter yelped, “B-But what about Pepper and Morgan? Won’t they be upset?” Tony rolled his eyes, “We just went to Thailand together, they’ll be fine. Besides, I have to get in some one on one time with my favorite son.”
“I’m your only son.”
“Exactly!” Peter giggled and hugged Tony tightly, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, bambino. Do you forgive your old man?”
“I suppose...but I think I need more hugs to be completely sure.” Peter joked, but Tony pushed him down on the bed and pulled him to his chest, “How about cuddles instead? I don’t know about you, but jet lag is not something that I look forward to.”
“Okay. Good night.”
“Good night.”
May peeked her head in once she heard her nephew’s giggles cease, a smile on her face when she saw Tony spooning the boy and the homemade stuffed animal against Peter’s chest. For as much as she hated the man for making her kid cry, she knew that he was a good father who was bound to make mistakes.
Because at the end of the day, Peter needed Tony, and Tony needed Peter.