Iron Dad Does Career Day

Peter was nervous, Tony knew from the moment he had walked in the door. His kid was usually energetic and worry-free, so when he stayed quiet all the way home, Tony knew something was up. Whatever was on the seven-year old's mind must have been important, though, because when Tony asked him how the spelling bee went, he just shrugged. He always went on and on about the spelling bees. He loved those things!


The last straw, however, was when Tony asked Peter if he wanted fruit leather and he said no. When even strawberry flavoured fruit leather wouldn't do that trick, Tony decided to ask him what was wrong.


"My class is having a parent career day next Tuesday," Peter said quietly, nibbling on the fruit strip Tony had given him anyway. "We have to bring a parent to come and talk to the class."


"Why's that a bad thing?" Tony asked, sitting in the seat beside him.


He hadn't thought Peter was that embarrassed to be connected to the Stark family name. Even if he was, he could always ask Pepper and she would be thrilled to go.


"Cause you and Mama can't come," Peter murmured. Tony frowned. "You're always busy and Mama is away in Ven-nice."


Tony sighed. Yes, Pepper was in Venice for a conference and he was responsible for holding down the Tower while she was away. It would be near impossible to get to Peter's career day, but he was suddenly determined to make time for it.


"Tell your teacher I'll be coming," Tony told him decidedly.


Peter looked up hopefully.


"You'll come for sure?" he asked eagerly.


Tony promised he would, not sure how he would keep his promise, but knowing he would. Even if it meant leaving Happy in charge of going to all his meetings, he was going to Peter's career day.


"Should I come as Iron Man?"


Peter nodded excitedly. Finally, the other kids would see he had a dad too! They wouldn't be able to say he was lame anymore once they discovered Iron Man was his dad.


* * * * *


On Tuesday, Peter sat with Ned at lunch, kicking his legs underneath him at his table. Parents were starting to arrive for career day, each one sitting by their child or talking to each other, and Peter was waiting excitedly for his dad to arrive.


Ned's mom arrived first, saying hello to some of her parent friends before going over to Peter and Ned. With a warm smile, she pulled out two chocolate bars, one for each of them, and they both squealed gleefully. Mrs. Leeds had been the only one Pepper and Tony entrusted their secret to and as such, she'd taken Peter under her wing when it came to parent events. While it wasn't necessary this time, the habit was difficult to break.


"Thank you so much, Mrs. Leeds!" Peter said, watching eagerly as Mrs. Leeds helped him open the wrapper.


"You're welcome, Peter." Beside him, Ned thanked his mom too and she kissed his forehead before asking Peter, "Are your parents coming?"


Peter nodded happily.


"Daddy said he'd come!" he said excitedly, taking a large bite of his chocolate bar.


Mrs. Leeds smiled and bit back her worry about what would happen if the press got wind of the event. Instead, she asked, "Where is he?"


Peter shrugged.


"He'll be here," he said, trusting his dad to keep his promise.


* * * * *


Peter was getting anxious. His dad still wasn't here and everyone was already gathered in Mr. Jones's classroom. At the front of the classroom, Mrs. Leeds was talking to Mr. Jones, begging him to wait just a little longer for Peter's dad. Despite promising to wait five more minutes, Mr. Jones did not look thrilled about the delay.


"Hey, Peter," Flash said, walking up to Peter and poking his shoulder.


Behind him, Mr. Thompson was speaking on the phone.


"Where's your daddy?" Flash taunted. With a laugh, he asked, "Do you not have one?"


"I do!" Peter cried, glancing at the door.


Flash crossed his arms, staring at Peter doubtfully.


"He'll be here soon. He's Iron Man."


"No, he's not," Mr. Thompson said, looking down at Peter briefly. "Tony Stark doesn't have a kid."


"Yeah, he does!" Ned exclaimed, standing at Peter's side.


With a sigh, Mr. Thompson pulled Flash away and said, "Come on, Eugene."


Flash frowned at the name, but let his dad pull him across the room.


"You shouldn't hang out with kids like that."


Peter sighed and put his head on his desk. His dad wasn't going to come after all, was he? He knew he shouldn't have said anything in the first place. He'd just gotten his hopes up.


"Peter!" Mrs. Leeds smiled, patting his shoulder gently. "Guess who's here?"


Peter looked up as Iron Man walked into the room. Jumping up from his desk, Peter grinned widely and ran towards the door.


"Daddy!" he yelled, jumping into Tony's arms.


Tony picked him up, smiling happily, and said, "I'm not the only one here."


Tony shifted and Peter glanced over his shoulder to see his mom standing just outside the door.


"Mama!" Peter shrieked, reaching out for Pepper.


Tony passed Peter to Pepper who kissed his face quickly and hugged him tightly. After a week away, she was glad to have her son back in her arms.


"Hey, baby," she said, setting him on the ground and running her hand through his curls.


Beside them, Tony took his helmet off and handed it to Ned. Ned stared down at it in awe while Mrs. Leeds told him to hold it carefully.


"Oh, he could throw it off the roof and it would be fine," Tony assured her, picking Peter back up.


Mrs. Leeds still told Ned to be careful.


"Did you think I wasn't coming?" Tony teased Peter.


He smiled shyly and nodded his head.


"Well, I'm here now."


He set Peter on the ground and the suit opened up. Once free of the suit, he told JARVIS to go stand in the back corner and everyone watched as the suit did as was told. Tony swung Peter back up in his arms as Pepper turned to the teacher with an apologetic look.


"We're not too late, are we?" Pepper asked Mr. Jones.


Staring in shock, Mr. Jones shook his head dazedly.


"Good. We wouldn't want to keep you waiting."


Mr. Jones assured her it was perfectly fine then called the first parent according to the roll call.


Tony walked with Peter to the back of the classroom, Pepper following close behind, and the three of them took their seats in the corner. Only once Peter's name was called did Tony and Pepper leave his side.


When the last parent had finished, Mr. Jones closed out their class and Peter went with Pepper to gather his things from his cubby.


"I must say, I'm surprised your son was telling the truth."


Tony looked up at the man who had spoken and frowned. What was this greasy-haired man talking about?


"Peter is always honest," he replied as Peter and Pepper returned to his side.


Mr. Thompson looked down at Peter who was clinging to Pepper's leg warily. With people surrounding him on every side, he wasn't comfortable. Despite Pepper's best attempts, the crowd around her and her son was not disappearing.


"How am I to know?" Mr. Thompson asked, looking back up at Tony.


Tony frowned even more but his attention was pulled away as Pepper tapped on his arm.


"Peter wants to go," she said, nodding down at him.


Looking down at Peter, Tony saw tears starting to form in his wide eyes. Scooping him up, Tony carried him over to where the Iron Man suit was standing and away from the crowd that was following them.


"Want to fly?" he asked, sliding into his suit.


Peter nodded, so once the suit was fully back on, Tony picked him up carefully and grabbed Pepper's hand.


"Thank you for letting us come," Tony said, his voice metallic through the suit. "I'm sure you all understand that we'd appreciate this remaining a secret. If not, you'll all be sued."


Walking out of the room, Tony left many confused and worried stares.


Before following Tony and Peter, Pepper turned to the group and said, "I'm sorry, he's dramatic. Don't worry about it and have a good day."


She shut the door behind her and walked with Tony and Peter down the hall, listening to Peter talk excitedly about his morning before they showed up.

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