#So nice of all these people to keep my kiddos fed and nourished for the competition! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hymn2000 · 4 years

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Ideal Confusion - MCU AU Fanfic - C5

(Title subject to change)

Story summary: Giving into the constant pressure from the press, Tony decides to put a rest to the rumours that Peter is his biological son - once and for all.

Previous Chapter(s): 1 2 3 4

Part of my Frostiron and Spiderson series.

Warnings/themes: family, family stuff, adoption, DNA test(s), pressure, peer pressure, social issues, mentions of alcoholism, mental health problems, potentially some minor medical inaccuracies, mentions of corporal punishment, hurt/comfort

You can also find me on AO3

Chapter 5 - Politics And Papers

Peter couldn’t help being annoyed that his parents had had a takeaway without him.

“How come I had to have soup and you two got a takeaway?” Peter pouted.

“You don’t like kebabs” Loki said.

“No, but I like chips. I would’ve still had something”

“You were in distress” Tony said. “You needed something nourishing”

“I could’ve had salad with my chips”

“Stop trying your luck. It’s done with” Tony said. “Now go and get dressed”

“I don’t want to”

“Tough. Do as you’re told”

Peter pouted and shook his head.

“Well in that case, I’ll get you dressed myself” Loki said, grabbing Peter and throwing him over his shoulder.

Tony chuckled at Peter’s indignant howls and struggling as Loki took him out of the room. It was a relief being able to laugh at something - even something as silly and mundane as that.

Peter put up a good fight, but he was no match for Loki, who was triumphant in his mission. Peter looked at himself in the mirror once it was over.

“I can’t wear this!” he protested.

“Why not?” Loki said.

“It makes me look... cute!”

“You are cute” Loki said. “If you hadn’t made such a fuss, you could have chosen your own outfit. I wouldn’t have had to step in if you’d just been sensible”

Peter scowled. “What am I doing today, anyway?”

“Well, that’s up to you” Loki said. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know” Peter shrugged. “I still feel weird because of yesterday”

“I know, chick. Well, perhaps you should take it easy for a while then. Do you want some breakfast?”

“I’m not really hungry”

“Well, a cup of tea at least” Loki said, putting an arm round him. “Come along, chick”

Peter sighed heavily but went along without any fuss. Somehow he felt avoiding another scuffle with his father was probably a good idea.

Tony lit up when he saw Peter.

“Aww, look at you in your little dungarees! You look so cute!”

Peter scowled at him, but Tony just laughed.

“I’m gonna pop into the office. Wanna come with me? We can get bagels on the way”

“I’m not hungry”

“You need to eat, kiddo”

“Fine, I’ll eat!” Peter said, sighing in an exaggerated fashion. “Can’t I just have breakfast here? I don’t want a bagel”

“Ok, ok” Tony said. “We’ll go out in a bit. Now get yourself fed”

Peter wanted to get changed before they went out, but Tony wouldn’t let him. Peter adjusted his outfit as best he could, undoing one of the shoulder straps of the dungarees and choosing an outrageous pair of metallic Dr Martens to go with them. He pulled on a hooded jacket too, hoping to give a bit of cover. Tony gave him a squeeze.

“You’re a cute little kid” he said. “Right, let’s get going”

Peter didn’t really want to be at the office, but he supposed it was better than sitting round the house with nothing to do all day. He still felt funny after the events of the previous day, so he was hoping for a welcome distraction from that little episode.

Being at the office certainly gave him something else to focus on, as everyone was making a fuss of him. Sadly, the hooded jacket and mad boots were not enough to throw off the cuteness that Loki had bestowed upon him during the wardrobe-based conflict that morning.

“You’re just darling!” one lady was saying, pinching his cheeks. “I haven’t seen you since you were one of Kindsprengen’s teenager-turned-toddlers. You were wearing dungarees then, too!”

Peter remembered being victim of Kindsprengen’s gun, but he didn’t remember this woman. Like all of the other people who had pinched his cheeks till they were sore in the past, she just blended in as another faceless hand - not exactly something he favoured in an acquaintance.

“Alright, that’s enough” Tony said, kindly but firmly. “You’re making him look like a little Russian doll”

“He’s a cute kid” Another woman said. “Just like his father”

Tony laughed, but it sounded forced. He put his arm round Peter.

“Come on, kiddo: you can give me a hand with some of these papers”

Being in Tony’s office gave them some much needed privacy.

“Your cheeks’ll be safe for a while in here” Tony said. “Relax, kiddo! You look so tense”

“I am tense. I’m going through some stuff, remember?”

“You brought half of it on yourself, you naughty little bastard” Tony grinned. “You take after your parents”

“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not”

“Well, you can make up your mind while we get some work done”

There was a lot to do, and a lot Peter could help with - which was good, in a way, because it meant he didn’t have time to think about any of his problems.

“You’re good at this already” Tony said, checking Peter’s work. “You’ll make a great successor one day, chick”

Peter didn’t dare say that maybe he didn’t want to be a successor to Stark Industries. Tony was stressed enough as it was (and so was Peter). Starting an argument wouldn’t do any good for anyone.

While they were at the office, everything was fine. It was a different story, however, when they went outside. As always, word had got out that Tony was at the office, and the paps had shown up, ready with their cameras and notebooks and tape recorders.

“Jesus, that’s a lot of reporters” Tony said, putting an arm tight round Peter. “You know the drill, kiddo”

Peter nodded. Just stay quiet and walk. It was always the same.

There really were a lot of people there - much more than Peter had expected. They were loud too; shouting and asking questions, cameras flashing, people pushing and shoving, trying to get their microphones as close as possible. They really were close too: boxing them in, some of them inches away, some of them very almost grabbing them.

Just stay quiet and walk.

Peter’s heart was thumping hard. He felt overwhelmed; hot, scared. He tried to stay close against Tony, hiding as much as he could. It’d be over in a minute.

Just stay quiet and walk.

Something about the continued lack of response and Peter’s obvious apprehension just seemed to make the reporters more insistent.

“Mr Stark, you’ve yet to release a statement about the ongoing story!”

“Mr Stark, is it true that you planned to hide your biological son behind a fake adoption story forever?”

“Mr Stark, if you’re so insistent he’s not your real son, who won’t you do a DNA test to prove it?”

“Mr Stark, I'm a spokesperson for Benchmark DNA Testing, and-”

“Mr Stark, do you-”

“Mr Stark, is it true that-”

“Mr Stark-!

“Mr Stark-!”

“Mr-Stark-!”

Peter stopped walking. Everything sounded so loud, but so blurry, like he was underwater. He felt sick, and tried to bury his face in Tony’s chest to block everything out.

“Alright, kiddo, alright” Tony said, softly. “Come on; just keep walking”

“Mr Stark, your press manager said you wouldn’t be commenting on this story. What do you have to say to everyone about these rumours?”

Tony held tight to Peter and carried on walking, making Peter walk with him. He tried to ignore all of the shouted questions and statements directed at him. He tried to focus on getting his son to safety.

“Peter, have your always known about your true parentage, or is this information news to you, too?”

Tony stopped dead, turning to stare at the reporter.

“Don’t you dare talk to him! Don’t you have anything better to do than hound a little kid?!” he shouted. “Get away from us! All of you! You’re scaring my boy and I’ll sue each and every one of you if you don’t get out of our way!!”

Miraculously, the crowd parted, although there was still a lot of shouting. Tony sped through with Peter, and within a matter of moments they were in the car and on the road home.

Peter flopped back in his seat, breathing deeply and trying to calm his thumping heart.

“Here” Tony said, handing him a bottle of water.

Peter took the bottle of water and took a few mouthfuls.

“Are you alright? You were shaking like mad back there, and you still look pretty shaken now”

“...I guess I got a bit scared”

“Those bastards. Who do they think they are?” Tony growled. “Coming to my office, shouting in my face, shouting at my son, taking all those photos”

Peter just nodded. Tony looked at him.

“Maybe it was a bad idea taking you out today”

“It was ok at the office” Peter said. “It gave me something else to do. It was just the outside bit that got to me”

“Yeah...” Tony took his hand and kissed the back of it. “Bloody paparazzi. I can deal with them coming onto me: I’ve never really known any different. But I can’t stand them talking to you and pressuring you. Celebrities kids should be strictly off limits, in my opinion”

“Mm... Hey, um, dad?”

“Yeah?”

“I...”

Tony glanced at him. “What’s up, chick?”

“I... I wanna see Li Allen”

“Ok” Tony said. “I can give her a call and see if she can come over some time soon”

“Thanks...”

“You know you can always ring her” Tony said. “I know you’ve got her number. And I know you’ve done it in the past”

“Yeah, I know. But sometimes it’s nicer talking to her in person” Peter said. “...I like Li Allen”

“Me too” Tony said. “She’s been brilliant all the time we’ve known her. What a woman”

Peter looked at him. “Do you fancy her?”

“What?” Tony burst out laughing. “Nice one, kid. No, I don’t fancy her. Come on! You’re almost as bad as the papers”

“Sorry...”

“Don’t be” Tony said. “Well anyway, I think it might be best if we kept you inside for a few days”

Peter pouted.

“Don’t give me that look! It’s for the best”

Tony focused on the road. He knew he’d get another ‘you can’t keep the poor thing cooped up all the time’ lecture from Loki, but he also knew it was the right thing to do: He had to keep Peter safe.

Loki confronted Tony when he got home. Tony looked at him warily.

“...What?”

“Please tell me you didn’t actually punch a reporter today”

“Well. Not physically”

“Tony, just give me a straight answer!”

“No, I didn’t punch anyone! Why would I?!”

“Because you were angry?” Loki suggested. “You’re all over social media already. Jo Jo sent me some links”

“I’m not in the habit of punching people when I haven’t got my suit on” Tony said. “Especially not in front of the kid”

Loki looked at Peter. “There’s some apple juice in the fridge”

Peter took the hint and went off to the kitchen. He didn’t want to get in the middle of that kind of dispute anyway.

Loki and Tony had a spat, and then went their separate ways to cool off. Tony went to find Loki late that afternoon.

“Hi”

Loki looked up from his book. “Hi”

“Where’s the kid?”

“Having a bath” Loki said. “If you listen carefully, you can hear the musical stylings of Peter Parker-John”

“What?” Tony listened hard. “I can’t hear anything”

“Mm, well, your ears aren’t as good as mine”

“Yeah... Oh” Tony said. “...Is he alright?”

“Well, if you go and listen outside his room and hear what he’s singing, you’ll find the answer”

Tony blinked at him. “Right. Well. Maybe I will”

“Then do” Loki said, looking back at his book. “We both know you’re his favourite”

Tony knew what Loki meant when he got to Peter’s room. He sighed and knocked on the en suite door. Peter fell silent.

“Peter, is the door unlocked?”

“Yeah”

Tony pushed the door open. “Hey, kiddo”

“Hey” Peter reached across and turned the stereo down.

“What are you listening to?” Tony asked, grabbing the folding chair and sitting down.

“...It’s from Peachtree Road”

“Oh right” Tony said, as though he knew what Peter was talking about. “...Are you alright?”

Peter shrugged.

“Hey, don’t go shutting me out, chick. What’s up?”

“I don’t know. I guess today just kinda threw me off a bit” he said. “...I don’t feel too great, actually. It’s been one of those days”

“One of those weeks, I think. Maybe even one of those months” Tony sighed, resting a hand on Peter’s head.

Peter didn’t move, or say anything. They were both quiet for a moment or two, listening to the stereo. Tony knew what Loki meant now.

“Do you want me to leave you to it?”

Peter nodded, pulling away from him. “I’ll come and find you later if you want. I think I might go to sleep for a bit when I’ve had my bath”

“Good idea... I’ll see you in a bit”

Tony made Loki jump when he stormed into the living room.

“I’m cancelling the paparazzi”

“Ok” Loki said. “Wait, what?”

“I’m cancelling them. Cancelled, finished, done with, I hate them. I’m getting rid of them”

“I think you’re being a little bit too ambitious, darling”

“Whatever, I’m not having it! How dare they upset my little boy like that?! How dare they? I won’t stand for this any longer! We both know there’s one surefire way to get them off our backs”

Loki looked at him. There was a small silence.

“Oh” he said. “I see”

“I see indeed!” Tony said, taking his mobile phone out of his pocket. “I’ve gotta make some calls”

Peter sat down next to Loki late that evening. There was silence for a while, but Loki could sense himself being watched, and it was off-putting.

“What?”

“Is dad angry with me?”

Loki lowered his book. “Why would you say that?”

Peter shrugged. “He’s been all weird. Like, I said I’d find him after my bath and sleep, and I did, but he just said he was busy, and he was all quiet at tea, and then he went down to the lab and told me to go and amuse myself when I tried to follow him”

“I think he’s just a little stressed” Loki said. “I wouldn’t take it personally. Give him a little space. He’s not angry with you, I assure you”

“...Are you angry with me?”

“No. Why would I be?”

Peter shrugged. “I guess I’m just feeling a bit paranoid or mixed up or something”

Loki sighed. He set his book aside and put an arm round Peter’s shoulders. Peter leant into him.

“There now. You’re too young to worry this much. Go and have some fun. Why don’t you sneak out your bedroom window and come back drunk off WKD?”

Peter looked at him, a little shocked. “I don’t think dad would be happy about you encouraging underage drinking”

Loki laughed. “That’s just what the kids your age do, isn’t it? The ones at the Home in Scotland do. Did. My point is; act your age. Try to enjoy yourself. Let me read. Ok?”

Peter nodded slowly and slipped off the window seat. He got the message.

Peter did a little search of the house, even though deep down he knew there wasn’t a drop of alcohol in the place. Even the mouthwash and hand gel were alcohol free nowadays. His parents involvement with the AA wasn’t exactly a secret, and although he’d never been given the full facts, he’d overheard a few conversations when he was living with Thor, so he had a pretty good grasp of the situation.

Still, maybe it was just as well: Peter had had a few run-ins with alcohol in the past, and they hadn’t all ended especially well. But, that did leave him at a bit of a loss of what to do. Not being one himself, he wasn’t really sure what normal fifteen year olds did. He didn’t believe the way fifteen year olds were portrayed on the television, and he wasn’t sure he had the best example of teenagers in his real life now either.

He could think back, of course, but the Midtown lot weren’t exactly typical either: there was Ned, who was essentially just a gamer, there was Flash, who was essentially a twat, and there was MJ, who was essentially just strange... There weren’t many other people who could remember very well. The St Hendrick’s lot weren’t typical either. Most of them acted the way you’d expect a toff to act. But there was Macy, who was essentially a bitch, and perhaps a bit of a class rebel, and there was Malaki, who spent most of his time in a teachers office being shouted at. So not exactly a good indication of what he could do - unless he maybe wanted to get arrested.

Hm, that was a thought. Peter knew exactly what he’d do if he wanted to get arrested, and it mainly consisted of stealing Loki’s motorbike and driving through a shopping centre before flipping over the handlebars when he reached the escalator. Not exactly the crime of the century, sure - but effective, he supposed.

Peter wandered into the living room. Truth be told, it wasn’t a room he often had to himself. Not properly, anyway. But now, Loki was busy reading (nothing new, but he had explicitly asked to be left alone), and Tony was busy down in the lab (ditto Loki’s request). So as far as Peter was concerned, he may as well have the house to himself.

He picked up the remote, but decided he wasn’t in the mood for television, and set it aside. Instead, he turned on the stereo and loaded his playlist. Listening to music sounded like a better idea. Despite listening and singing for a while the previous day, it felt like he hadn’t listened to music properly for weeks. Generally, no one minded how loud he played his music, and they’d never complained about his singing. And besides, it was a good outlet...

Something had certainly thrown the household off-kilter, because Peter found himself waking up on the sofa on Friday morning - something that would never happen when things were going well.

He hauled himself up from the sofa, listening hard. The house was silent. Strange, considering the time, but he supposed his parents were still asleep. He went to the kitchen and fixed himself something to eat. He sat at the little table, scrolling on his phone while he had his breakfast, and rather enjoying the peace and quiet. He felt ok. Better than ok. Good, even. He only wished the kitchen had windows so that he had the morning sun shining in on him, like he always did back at the flat, but he knew it couldn’t be helped. Other than that, he couldn’t complain. Even knowing he was grounded wasn’t off-putting: given the circumstances, a day indoors sounded like a fine idea.

#my writing #fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #frostiron #irondad and spiderson

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