A/N: Should i start a one-shots book??

Dad.

He called me dad.

An hour had passed and Tony still couldn't process it. He sat at the foot of Peter's bed, running the remains of the ruined Spider-man suit between his fingers. As soon as the kid had uttered that one word, the room had flooded with doctors, shocked and crazed doctors wondering how on earth Peter had woken up so soon, and Tony and Rhodey had been ushered from the room.

So, here he was. Sitting in Peter's bedroom. And trying to hard to get used to that word on the teen's tongue.

But no matter how many times it played in his head, over and over again, it still sounded foreign to him.

Tony wasn't a dad. No, he was anything but. He was a genius, a billionaire, a playboy, a philanthropist, a superhero, but not a father. He didn't know the first thing about being a father, and maybe that was because he barely had one growing up. And the last thing Peter needed was a shit father. He'd already lost two.

Tony cursed under his breath. He held the red and blue suit up to his nose, breathing in the scent of Peter Parker and smoke and blood and earth. It was calming somehow, like standing in the eye of the storm. All around him, chaos reigned, with Peter bedridden for who knows how long, the rogues returning along with his own anxiety, and everything else from stark Industries to Ironman.

Tony wished things were simpler.

"Boss, Ms. Romanoff is requesting your presence in her room," Friday said, and although Tony wasn't keen on leaving the kid's bedroom, he was grateful for the distraction. He gently placed the spidey suit down on the bed and stood up.

"Tell her I'll be right there," The billionaire said and took one more long look at the room. Not only was it quiet without the kid, but it was weirdly bare. Peter had been living with him for what? Almost a month now? And the room looked the same as it had when it was just a guest bedroom. He'd have to work on that...

But not now. Natasha was waiting, and it was not wise to keep her waiting.

  Tony made his out of Peter's bedroom and across the Tower to the medbay. He knocked on Natasha's door before entering.

  "Come in!" Came the assassins voice from inside.

  Tony pushed open the door to find Natasha Romanoff lying in a hospital bed, propped up with many pillows, twirling a glock between her fingers.

  Not intimidating at all.

  The redhead looked up when Tony approached her. "How you feeling?" She asked, voice slightly shaky.

  The genius cocked an eyebrow before taking the seat by her bedside. "I should be asking you the same thing."

  Natasha shrugged. "I'm more concerned about how you're dealing with your son."

  "Not my son."

  "From what I've heard, he is."

  "How did you find out?"

  "Word travels fast."

  "In a legit tower?"

  Natasha smirked. "I'm just teasing, don't get your panties all in a bunch. How is he?"

  Tony heaved a sigh, not prepared to answer that question, though he knew it was coming. "Okay, i guess?" He tried. "I mean, how okay can you be when you just got a building dropped on you?"

  The assassin cocked her gun and pointed it at the wall, causing Tony to flinch. She dropped the gun in her lap. "I just got a building dropped on me and I'm fine."

  Tony eyed the weapon in her lap wearily. "Is that why you're playing with guns in the medbay?"

  Nat glared at him.

Tony stood his ground.

  The pair had a silent face-off before Tony broke the silence again.

  "So, why'd you call me in here?" He asked.

  Nat ran a hand through her red locks. "You want the truth or the lie?" She asked in a quiet voice.

  Tony frowned slightly. "I don't think you called me in here to lie to my face," he gave her a pointed look.

  Nat nodded and picked at the blankets nervously. "Couldn't sleep," she confessed. "Knew you'd be awake."

  Tony sighed and nodded his head in understanding. "Nightmares?"

  Natasha nodded. "Every time i close my eyes, all i see is Peter's body and that fucking building on his back."

  "He saved your life."

  "And almost ended his own in the process!"

Tony winced. "Don't remind me," he muttered and rested his head in his hands. "For a while there, the machines were keeping him alive."

Nat pursed her lips together. "It's all my fault," she said quietly.

At this, Tony's head shot up. "Bullshit!" He called.

Natasha's usually expressionless eyes screamed guilt, her body practically wilting with it.

"He knew they were bombs before i did and he didn't even have one. I didn't do my job right and it landed us both in the hospital," the assassin said.

Tony grasped Nat's hand. "Everyone makes mistakes," he reassured. "Hell, i got drunk before coming to visit the kid!"

Natasha was floored. "You drank?!"

Tony nodded glumly. "I don't remember deciding to go to the bar but that's where Rhodey found me," he sighed. "I was just so worried about the kid, then fucking Rodgers over here just had to be the one to find him-."

Nat slapped him. Hard.

"What the hell was that for?!" Tony exclaimed, clutching his bloody nose.

When the billionaire looked up, Natasha had tears in her eyes.

"Steve saved us," she said, voice as cold as ice. "If it hadn't been for him, both of us would be dead right now."

Tony looked offended. He wiped his blood with sleeve. "Steve nearly killed me."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "He didn't do anything to your kid."

"But I'm afraid he might."

The room grew quiet. The air was heavy with sorrow and regret, both superhero's felt it with every breath they took.

Nat picked up her gun and resumed twirling it in her fingers. It was like a stress coping mechanism for the assassin. "You know, it was my idea to go on patrol. Don't be mad at him when he wakes up."

Tony offered a tiny smile, although it was forced. He stood up and dusted himself off, wanting and taking an out for the conversation.

"I know," was all he said before he left the assassin alone in her grievances.