No More Lonely

Ch. 6

There is a description of a small panic attack. If you don't want to read that, scroll to this symbol # and you'll be clear of it.

Peter didn't know why Tony got up suddenly. One minute he'd been pointing to different numbers and the next, the papers were falling to the ground as Tony stood abruptly and walked away from Peter and his desk.

Tony didn't hear Peter asking if he was okay. Aside from the pounding of his heart and the echo of JARVIS's words, he couldn't hear anything. His hands shook and in an attempt to stop them, he tugged at his hand. It didn't help.

His breathing was shallow and he was getting lightheaded, but he realised too late that he was having a panic attack. His chest grew tighter and his head got lighter, but somehow he managed to hear Peter worriedly ask if he was alright. Through the midst of his panic, he knew he needed to calm down or he was going to scare Peter.

"JARVIS," he gasped, grabbing his chest. "Get Pepper."

He tried to even out his breath, but it didn't work. At the sound of Peter's voice again, he tore his eyes open to see where he was.

At some point, he had dropped to his knees as he was now level with Peter.

With wide eyes, Peter asked, "Tony? Are you okay?"

Tony focused on his voice and face.

"Tell me what your favourite colour is," Tony said, trying not to gasp too much. Peter nodded and told him it was blue. "Why?"

Peter explained how sometimes he had a hard time deciding, actually. Sometimes it was red, sometimes it was blue.

"If I'm happy, it's blue!" Peter told him, "But if I'm really, really happy, it's red!"

He continued talking about how his mom had blue eyes and how his favourite sweater had been red. By the time Pepper burst into the lab, breathless from running and visible worried, Tony had started to breathe evenly again. Shakily, he stood up and Pepper put her hands on his face.

#####

"What happened?" she asked, running a hand over his cheek soothingly.

Tony took a deep breath to try and stop shaking, but it did very little.

"The tests," he said, pointing to the papers in Peter's hands. "98 point something percent of a match. Pep, we found his dad."

Pepper looked between Peter and Tony in shock.

"Am I in trouble?" Peter asked with a small voice. Pepper quickly shook her head and left Tony's arms to pick Peter up.

"No, Peter," she assured him, gently running her fingers through his hair and kissing his cheek. "Do you know what your experiment revealed?"

Peter nodded and pointed to the papers.

"All-ellies!" he said excitedly. Pepper smiled.

"Yes, but it also showed Tony that he was your daddy," Pepper told him. Peter looked confused, then grinned, then looked like he was going to cry.

"But he didn't like that," Peter said, sniffling. Pepper saw tears pool in his eyes. "Does he not want to be my daddy?"

"No, no, of course, I do," Tony assured him, stepping forward to rub Peter's back. "It just surprised me."

Peter sniffled again and wiped his eyes.

"So you don't hate me?" he asked, his voice even smaller. Tony shook his head and took Peter out of Pepper's arms.

"I could never hate you, Peter," he said. He hugged Peter and Peter wrapped his arms around Tony's neck tightly.

"I've never had a daddy," Peter said in his ear. Tony smiled. "What's it like?"

"I guess you get to find out now," Tony said, kissing Peter's cheek.

Holding Peter in one arm, Tony He reached a hand out for Pepper and she took it. She squeezed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Can I call you daddy then?" Peter asked, pulling his head back so he could look at Tony.

At Tony's nod, Peter grinned. Instead of returning to comparing their test results, Tony took Peter upstairs and let Peter play with his Lego blocks while Tony and Pepper were left to process JARVIS's news.

* * * * *

Later that evening once Peter had gone to bed, Pepper and Tony sat on a couch in the living room and looked out over New York. After a long discussion about what to do now that Tony was Peter's dad, they sat in silence.

Tony knew if he revealed that Peter was his son, the kid would never have a moment of peace. He would grow up with cameras in his face and his entire life printed where everyone could see. At the same time, he knew he couldn't keep him without obtaining legal guardianship.

"We need to talk to your lawyers," Pepper said softly. Tony nodded. "They won't tell anyone. We can show them the results and adopt Peter privately. No one has to know."

"I don't know, Pep." Tony sighed. "Something could get out and Peter would never have a private life."

Pepper ran her fingers through his hair and Tony leaned into her touch as she said, "It's the best thing to do."

With a nod, Tony laid his head on her shoulder and she wrapped an arm around him. Kissing the top of his head, she closed her eyes and rested her chin on his head.

"Can you get it all settled tomorrow?" Tony asked. Pepper hummed a yes. "I'll have Rhodey watch him. They can meet."

"They'll both love that."

They stayed in the living room for a little longer before Pepper suggested they go to bed. It was early still, but they were both exhausted and an early night sounded good. JARVIS had hardly turned off the light before Tony collapsed on the bed and fell asleep with Pepper following close behind.