An-Peter's been taking care of his cousin since May died and Tony finds out, by extension the team find out as well

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Yes, maybe Tony should have thought about it before he used the nanites to open Peter's front door when he didn't answer. Perhaps he should have thought about if Peter was out on patrol, maybe he had a girl over, or if Peter was just sleeping. What he didn't think about was Peter chasing after a four-year-old with pants.

"I'm gonna get you! I'm gonna get you Rich!" Peter shouted, the four-year-old giggling madly as he continued the circles of the living room, running around the coffee table, the couches and the plant pots.

"No! Pants are for losers!" Richie shouted. Peter feigned horror, dramatically flopping onto one of the couched, the back of his hand against his forehead.

"Woe is me! I am a loser!" Peter exclaimed dramatically.

"I agree." Tony said in amusement, hands tucked into his pockets. Richie froze then ran over to Peter, getting into his pants without any further protest and clambering up onto the couch, burying his face in Peter's chest in embarrassment.

"How about you go get some of your toys. Bring them back and we'll have a play." Peter whispered, Richie looked up at him hopefully. Peter smiled widely, nodding his head and smiling wider when Richie jumped off of him and ran to his room.

"Babysitting?" Tony asked, shoving Peter's legs off of the couch and sitting there. Peter shifted nervously, swallowing audibly.

"Uh, no." He said, glancing at the open door and frowning, "How'd you get in?" He asked incredulously, standing up and closing the door with a soft click, locking it.

"Nanites." Tony supplied, glancing around at the apartment. Since May had died Peter had moved into an apartment, at nineteen he already owned an apartment, mostly from the paycheck Tony gave him for working as his lab tech.

"Curse them," Peter said quietly, tidying up random things, face screwed up in thought as Tony watched him closely.

"If you aren't babysitting, who'd the kid?" Tony asked finally. Peter sighed, pausing his wiping off the kitchen counter, leaning against it and closing his eyes.

"He's my cousin." He said quietly, Tony narrowed his eyes in thought.

"I didn't know you had any other aunts or uncle's." He commented. Peter sighed again, turning his back towards Tony.

"He's May and Ben's son." Peter said, so quiet Tony almost missed it.

"He's, he's what?" Tony asked in confusion. Peter sighed, turning back to Tony and walking slowly then falling into the couch next to Tony.

"When you came and recruited me for Germany May was only three months pregnant. She wasn't showing and when she started getting symptoms we didn't even consider pregnancy because Ben had been gone for three months. And when he was born I didn't tell you because we weren't talking and by the time we were it didn't feel right." Peter started to explain, glancing at Tony who was holding his chin in his hand.

"So he's in the foster system?" Tony asked. Peter sighed and shook his head.

"No, when May died I got custody. And I guess for a while it was me trying to protect him if you knew about him other people would too. But then it was me being scared of what you would say, because I'm nineteen and I'm raising my cousin." Peter said, nodding his head to himself, sniffling and wiping his nose. Tony stared at Peter, reaching for him and placing a hand on his shoulder. Peter looked up at him with tears in his eyes.

"You're really something kid," Tony said in awe. Peter sniffled again, smiling slightly in Tony's direction.

"I guess." He said quietly.

"What's his name?" Tony asked after a long beat of silence.

"Richard Benjamin Parker." Peter said with a wide smile. Tony nodded.

"Lots of nicknames from that." Tony said, his grin widening when Richie came racing back into the room with several action figures backing zooming noises. Tony smiled even wider when Richie shoved an Iron man toy into his hands and a Spiderman into Peter's. Richie was holding a black widow action figure, zooming around the room happily.

"He doesn't know I'm spiderman." Peter whispered. Tony chuckled and dropped to his knees on the floor.

"Sure kid."

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Peter bristled lightly, not enjoying the feeling of the top button and tie pressing on his throat. Tony glanced around him and sighed, loosening the tie slightly so it was more comfortable. Tony was in a simple grey suit and Peter was in a navy blue.

"Just take some deep breaths Pete. You're safe in the tower and you're with me. They'll respect you, I promise." Tony soothed, flattening the arms of Peter's suit.

"That's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about Richie. He's never been to daycare before. When I dropped him off my senses were going haywire." Peter said irritably, falling in step beside Tony as he started walking again. Tony chuckled lightly.

"I think that's your helicopter dad coming out Pete. Now, you ready to meet the Avengers for real." Tony asked, stopping in front of the meeting room door. Peter shrugged his shoulders weakly.

"I'm in a suit, my hairs done and I have nice shoes on, so, yes. I guess I am." He said nervously. Tony nodded curtly and opened the door for Peter to step into the room, stepping in after him and then closing the door with a soft click. He turned on his heel so he was facing Tony, his hands on his hips.

"You said everyone would be in suits." Peter said, narrowing his eyes. Tony shrugged his shoulders.

"I may have lied." Tony said quietly. Peter groaned, unbuttoning his blazer and pulling it off before Tony could protest.

"Why am I not surprised?" Peter said, unbuttoning the top button and loosening the tie.

"Sue me, I wanted to see you in a suit." Toky said, raising his hands in defeat.

"You've seen me in a suit before." Peter said.

"I don't mean a super-suit," Tony said.

"How many nineteen years olds do you know that actually own their own suits?" Peter asked.

"I know one now." Toky offered. Peter made a face and waved a hand.

"Good for you," Peter said.

"Is this normal?" Steve asked quietly from the table. Peter and Tony turned, glancing at each, then walking to the two free seats left over.

"Very." Toky said shortly, pushing Peter into his seat.

"Wait if you're nineteen that means you were fifteen in Germany." Clint blurted out.

"I dropped an airplane terminal on a fifteen year old?!" Steve shouted. Peter winced, ignoring Tony's glare at Steve.

"I was fine." Peter said in dismissal.

"Enough of your self sacrificing behaviour. As Peter is now over eighteen he's a part of the Avengers which means that he is entitled to being in this meeting." Tony said. Peter glanced at him, biting his thumbnail, his leg bouncing under the table. He zoned out for the majority of the conversation going on around him, practically staring a hole in the table.

"-Deroos, Pete, you with us?" Tony said, breaking Peter out of his daze.

"What? Oh yeah." Peter said, blushing madly.

"Spidey senses?" Toky asked. Peter nodded slowly, rubbing a hand through his hair and then over his face.

"Yeah, can't shake the feeling that something's going wrong," Peter said tiredly. Tony nodded in understanding.

"In the building?" Tony asked. Peter shook his head.

"No, not even close." Peter said in thought. Tony nodded and went back to his original conversation, Peter making points every few moments and joining in on the conversation. It was almost two hours later when FRIDAY interrupted.

"I apologise for my interruption but I have an urgent message for Mr Parker." She said. Peter stopped his sentence shirt, his blood running cold and face paling.

"Go ahead, baby girl," Tony said for him.

"Richard Parker is currently being taken to the hospital after an accident occurred at his daycare involving him and another boy. Peter is being requested on sight." FRIDAY said. Peter's heart just about stopped, jumping up from his seat and picketing his phone and wallet frantically, not even saying anything as he ran out of the room at full speed. Tony's face was pale as he stared after Peter, his mouth opening and closing in shock.

"Who's Richard Parker?" Clint asked curiously. Tony sighed, putting his head in his hands.

"That's not for me to tell," Tony said quietly, holding a hand over his mouth.

"And why did peter run out of the room like he was burnt?" Natasha asked. Tony sighed.

"That's not for me to tell either. Look we were just about done anyway, come up to the penthouse a have some snacks or something while we wait for Peter to get back."

———————

Tony looked up from his glass of water when the elevator door opened, out stepped a very ruffled and upset Peter who was crying quietly while holding a sleeping Richie. Tony jumped up from his seat and rushed over to Peter and Richie.

"Tony I, I c-can't do this. I can't do this." He cried in a whisper. Tony shook his head, turning to the team who were all already on their feet, watching Peter who was cradling Richie's head to his shoulder, chest to chest with him.

"Clint or Nat, you two know how to hold a kid," Tony instructed. Both of them rushed over and helped extract Richie from Peter's arms, settling him in Clint's, who shushed him lightly, rocking him. No one missed the massive gauze pad over Richie's right eye. Peter was trembling, his sleeves rolled up, tie hanging undone around his shoulder, belt slung over his shoulders, shoes untied and hair messed up by his hands.

"Tony I don't, I don't think I can do this." Peter said, Tony screwed his face up, leading Peter to the lounges and pushing him into one of them. Peter automatically tugged off his shoes, Tony letting him curl up in his side.

"Do what Pete?" Tony asked gently. Peter was still shaking violently.

"Richie. He, he deserves better Tony. Someone who can take care of him and keep him safe, and, and love him more then I can. He deserves better Tony." Peter cried desperately. Tony shushed him, cupping Peter's face in his hands, forcing him to look up at him.

"No. Peter do not say that to yourself. You have sacrificed everything for Richie. You give him everything. Your time, your love, your everything. You have done everything to make sure that he has clothes, a bed to sleep in, a roof over his head, food to eat, toys to play with, water to drink. You give him everything Peter, you give him you. You have never stopped at anything to make sure that he is safe and sound, that he sleeps without nightmares and that he has good dreams." Tony said firmly, wiping away the tears spilling out of Peter's eyes.

"Ben and May would be ashamed," Peter said softly. Tony shook his head.

"Peter, they would be so proud of you. There is no one better to take care of Richie then you. They wouldn't be proud to have their son raised by you, because you could never go wrong. That boy is going to grow up just like you, strong, smart, caring, intelligent and unapologetically himself." Toky said. Peter sniffled, wiping his face hurriedly.

"I just don't want him to go through everything I did. If I hadn't gotten bitten by that stupid spider he wouldn't be at daycare and he wouldn't have gotten hurt. I would have been there, I should have never let him go and listened to my senses." Peter said desperately. Tooy shook his head again.

"Peter, you couldn't have predicted what happened and you couldn't have stopped it. He's alive isn't he?" Tony said. Peter nodded his head.

"Yeah. He is." Peter said. Tony nodded his head, knowing peter had calmed down now.

"What happened anyway?" He asked.

"He and another boy were playing with sticks. Richie slipped and cut himself open. There's no damage to his eyes, just his eyes lid and his eyebrow. It's gonna scar and he'll have to have the gauze on for a few weeks until it heals enough. Tons of stitches." Peter said in explanation. Tony nodded, he was going to say something just when Natasha ran back into his room.

"Peter, we don't know what to do. He woke up screaming and Clint can't get him down." She said urgently. Peter jumped up from the couch, walking around the couch just as Richie and Clint came into the room, Richie wiggling and fighting in Clint's arms.

"I want my daddy!" He shouted. Peter paled, fresh tears slipping down his face as Clint dropped a Richie to the floor who came running at Peter.

"Rich, daddy isn't here anymore," Peter said as gently as he could. Richie shook his head, ramming into Peter's legs.

"But you're my daddy." He said quietly. Peter was frozen, his hands hovering just above Richie's head, who was hugging Peter's legs as tightly as he could. Tony watched as Peter slowly sunk to the floor, sitting cross-legged infront of Richie and holding his jaw in his hands.

"Why do you think that?" Peter asked quietly. Richie shrugged, letting Peter wipe his eyes and nose.

"Cause you pick me up from daycare. And you make dinosaur nuggets on Saturdays. And you tuck me in at night. And you play action figures with me. And you help me with my ABC's. And you give the best hugs. And, and you play lightsabers with me, and, and watch Star Wars with me, and you give me kisses." Richie rambled, finishing with a hesitant smile. A wide smile grew on Peter's face as fresh tears spilled down his cheeks, only to be wiped away by Richie's small hands. Peter chuckled, pulling Richie into his lap, hugging him hard and swaying them side to side as he closed his eyes firmly and cried into Richie's shoudler, his shoulders shaking. Richie has a serious look on his face as he wrapped his arms around Peter's neck.

"Don't cry. You aren't allowed to cry when you're getting hugs." Richie said. Peter sniffled, pulling back and pressing a very wet kiss onto Richie's forehead.

"You are so right. Let's annoy Tony instead. He made me wear a suit today. Can you believe that Rich?" Peter asked playfully. Richie looked to Tony, Peter's arms still around him.

"Suits are for losers." He said seriously. The team couldn't hold back their laughter as Peter's face reddened.

"I'm sorry he has this thing of calling people losers," Peter explained weakly. Tony nodded seriously.

"No. I understand. People who wear suits are indeed losers." Tony said. Richie giggled, tugging on Peter's arm for him to get up and drag him over to the couches.

Hours later Peter was back down on the couch with a Richie sprawled out on top of him. Tony smiled to himself with tears in his eyes as he pulled a blanket over them.

"What's got you in tears?" Clint whispered. Tony sighed, pulling off Richie's shoes and putting them beside Peter's.

"He's not fifteen anymore. He's just, he's so much better then I could ever be. And he's so much better then he thought he could ever be." Toky said softly, brushing Peter's hair out of his face.

"Brave kid." Steve said quietly.

"Bravest. He took Richie in as his own when Ben and May died, and he loves him like his own kid. And I guess Richie loves peter like his dad." Tony said, shifting Richie on Peter's chest so he wouldn't wake up with a sore neck.

"Kids everything we are and more," Natasha said, looming over the couch with the rest of the team. Tony nodded his head.

"Too much love for one kid."