It didn't come as a surprise when May walked into the apartment she shared with Peter to say she got the job. It did come as a surprise though when she revealed her new job was in Hong Kong. Peter loved his aunt. She had always been good to him and cared for him like a mother.

But he couldn't move to China.

While he would love to go, he couldn't. Peter had school and Ned and MJ and LEGO Death Stars to build and Spider-Man and his internship at Stark Industries and an acceptance letter to MIT. He couldn't leave Queens.

After a long discussion, they reached an agreement. They didn't shake on it just yet. First they needed someone else to agree. And Peter had the perfect opportunity to do so at his job.

—————-

Tony Stark had always been a parental figure in Peter's life ever since they first met. Maybe it was just because the billionaire noticed the obvious lack of actual parents in the teenager's life or maybe it was traits he had seen in himself growing up without Howard to praise and love him. But for whatever reason, Tony had taken Peter under his wing.

It started out as a mentorship. Tony gave him better suits and taught him how to be a better superhero in addition to advanced chemistry and technology.

But it soon turned into something else. Peter would walk into the tower for movie nights and dinner with the Avengers instead of just working in the lab. He would be given rides to and from school by Happy and even Tony if his schedule allowed it. If Peter stayed the night at the tower, Tony would make breakfast in the morning and pack him a lunch for school with the good snacks. If Peter was picked up from school, Tony would ask how his day was and help with homework if he could.

It took some time, but Tony became a father to Peter.

So who better to watch after Peter while his aunt moved halfway across the world than Tony?

————

"Yes"

May gave him a look. "I didn't even finish asking you the question"

"It doesn't matter because the answer is yes. You said 'can you adopt Peter because" and I say yes. It doesn't matter your reason. I love that kid like my own."

The aunt was silent for a moment, pondering. "I'm moving to Hong Kong but Peter needs to stay. I can't uproot him just before college. There is no one else I trust with him."

Tony smiled genuinely. "That really means a lot. Peter is a special kid. I just want what's best for him."

"And that's why I chose you"

It was quiet in Tony's office for a second, both adults smiling. Unsurprisingly, it was Tony who broke the silence. "When can we get the papers signed?"

"Don't you need to talk with your wife first?"

Tony waved his hand in dismissal. "I don't need to. She loves Peter. Besides, I know she would be okay with it. And this wouldn't be the craziest thing I've done either so it's all good"

May considered his words for a second before standing from her deep leather chair and stretching her hand towards the billionaire. Tony stood from his own seat and leaned across his ridiculously expensive cherry wood desk to shake her hand.

"I'll get the papers to you as soon as possible"

-------

It took three days to get the papers and another four before they were notarized in front of a judge. It probably would have taken longer but someone must've noticed 'Tony Stark' on the document and placed it at the top of the pile. But it didn't really matter because Peter Parker was now Peter Stark.

When Peter learned Tony agreed, he had ran up to him and jumped in his arms for a hug. One which Tony was very happy to give. There had been a lot of tears and hugs but it was all okay. The small family had decided Peter would fly out to China at least twice a year to visit his aunt and May would try to return to Queens as often as possible. Even if they couldn't make it in person, they still had FaceTime and other technology gifted by Tony and Peter's new friend Shuri to stay connected. Everything would work out in the end.

Tony had wanted a big party to celebrate the adoption but Pepper didn't know and to be honest, he didn't want the rest of the team to know. It wasn't that he was ashamed of Peter. He just wanted some time to celebrate his new son all by himself. After all, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did that with Archie so he figured he could too. They may be royalty but Tony had more money so take that.

Instead of an outlandish party, Tony took his new son to a night on the town minus the alcohol and strippers. They went shopping, saw a movie, ate fro-yo, and skipped out on a lavish dinner for McDonald's. After all that, they made it back to Stark Tower for a late night in the lab. In all honesty, that was Peter's favorite part. While he enjoyed all of their other fun activities, working in the lab was more personal and allowed for the two to talk to one another and bond over their love of science and technology while upgrading their suits.

The hours passed by as the two worked in the white tiled lab. Peter had helped redesign it after it was destroyed by an intruder. There was a large green chalkboard that spanned one wall from floor to ceiling complete with a wooden rolling ladder since Peter loved spinning around. The long wall looking into the hallway was made entirely of bulletproof glass so people could see in and out of the lab complete with blinds for privacy. There were beige filing cabinets filled with blueprints and formulas and metal shelves full of gadgets and smaller inventions. Larger inventions were stored in the basement that were easily transported by a service elevator off to the side. Pristine white tables ranging in sizes filled the majority of the room and were cluttered with anything and everything. In one corner of the room sat a mini fridge and coffee pot with plush egg chairs and bean bags for breaks. Next to that was a red loveseat and a gold couch, mostly used for sleeping but occasionally for socializing and brainstorming.

Tony's lab was easily Peter's favorite place. Even though he was given his own space as a birthday present, Peter preferred to work side by side with his dad.

Soon, the clock hanging against one wall struck midnight. Peter stifled a yawn while Tony rubbed his eyes. The two looked at each other and laughed. They really were exhausted. Instead of exerting energy to walk to their own rooms, the father and son collapsed onto the large gold couch and fell asleep in each other's familiar embrace.

It was only after the two fell asleep that Pepper walked in. She had been fully prepared to argue and drag the pair to their rooms to sleep but that didn't seem necessary. The badass CEO smiled at the sight of the two curled against each other and quickly snapped a photo. Just for extra measure, she had FRIDAY take a few as well. As Pepper turned to exit the lab and go sleep in her soft bed usually shared with her husband, she noticed a fancy piece of paper freshly framed and hanging on the wall. Upon closer inspection, Pepper saw it was an adoption certificate.

"I should've known" she whispered, turning back to face her husband and new son. With a smirk, Pepper walked out of the lab. Let's see how long he can keep it a secret

---------

As it turns out, it didn't seem that Tony was going to tell his wife anytime soon. When Tony and Peter arrived in the kitchen the following morning, Tony told his wife May was on a last minute business trip and needed someone to watch over Peter. Pepper just smiled and said "Peter is welcome here anytime" before taking a sip of her black coffee.

Tony's face didn't reveal anything at her kind words. Instead, he just picked up a piece of crisp bacon and began to eat away. Peter grabbed a plate and began stacking waffles on it. He laughed silently at something he though of, probably a vine. But he didn't seem interested in sharing what he found humorous and continued on his quest for breakfast. Due to his enhanced metabolism, he needed a lot more food. Thankfully, Tony was super rich and Pepper was a good cook so there was always a large pile of delicious food available for the genetically mutated teenager.

Breakfast between Tony and Pepper was typically silent as they drank their coffee and prepared for any upcoming meetings and galas and paperwork they had. There was usually small talk and quiet conversations too but they didn't need to talk to each other all the time, just each others' presence was enough.

With Peter though, breakfast was lively and loud but in a good way. While the teenager would chat about his friends and school and spiderman and anything in between, Tony and Pepper would sit and listen intently, smiling at his vibrancy and energy and youthfulness. It was domestic moments like that in the ridiculously expensive tower that made the married couple realize just how much they wanted a kid.

But both of them were too old to have biological children so either surrogacy or adoption were their only choices. In all honestly, they both preferred adoption. Pepper knew Tony knew she wanted to adopt a child. She didn't know why Tony wouldn't tell her though. Was he afraid she would say no? She loved Peter like a mother loves a child. She had made sure to tell Tony that. It didn't make sense for him to hide the adoption like that.

But whatever. Pepper had more pressing matters to attend to. Like seeing if the press knew.

-----------------

The rest of the day was spent training and upgrading. For the most part. it was just Peter and Tony. Every hour or so, another hero or two would walk in and chat with them or spar or give pointers both in the gym and in the lab. Clint personally visited the lab five times to make sure his new arrows were made correctly. He bugged Tony so much that he was banned from the lab for a week. The archer made sure to sulk outside the glass wall in Tony's view. So Tony lowered the blinds. Thankfully, the lab was soundproof so Tony and Peter didn't have to listen to Clint;s exaggerated groans.

After three hours of training and ten hours in the lab, the father and son made their way to the living room to watch a movie. Unsurprisingly, they settled for a Disney movie. Even though it had only been released in movie theaters a few days ago, they watched the live action Aladdin. Perks of being insanely rich, you can watch pretty much anything you want at almost any time.

It was very domestic and homey. Tony was leaning against an armrest on one side of his incredibly large couch made to fit the whole team and more comfortably. Peter laid his head against his father's chest, just next to the glowing arc reactor, and curled his feet up onto the couch. They had a soft blue blanket covering the two of them and peaceful smiles on their faces as they watched one of their favorite Disney movies come to life before their eyes in a blur of bright and vibrant colors. Tony began to thread a hand softly through Peter's curls and in just a few moments, the teenager was snoring softly. The billionaire smiled at the sight of his son sleeping and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead before turning off the movie and falling asleep as well.

Once again, Pepper walked into the room at midnight, expecting the two to be binge watching a TV show or having a movie marathon only to find her two boys sleeping on another couch. She smiled at the sight and took a few more photos before heading to her own bed. It honestly wasn't hard to see the fatherly love Tony felt for Peter and the son- ly(?) love Peter gave in return. Pepper loved seeing them together like that. All she wanted was for Tony to tell her and explain why he hid the adoption from her. But she wasn't going to tell him she knew. He would have to figure that out himself. She gave one last glance to the sleeping heroes before exiting, a smile overtaking her face.

----------------

It continued like that for some time. Tony and Peter would continue to hang out whether it be around New York City, in the gym with the other heroes, in the lab by themselves, or lounging about the tower. Pepper would continue to walk in silently and observe them and maybe take a few photos. How Tony thought he was keeping the adoption a secret, Pepper would never know.

But three weeks had gone by and May was returning from her 'business trip'. This would probably be the best time for Tony to tell his wife that he adopted a teenager behind her back. After all, May was staying for three days. No company would continuously send their employee between two countries so far away on a weekly basis.

Aunt May arrived at John F Kennedy International Airport on a Thursday. She would leave from the same airport early Sunday morning. Peter was disappointed his aunt was only staying for such a short amount of time but said nothing. He was just glad she was back in New York City. With Happy at the wheel of Tony's cream colored Audi (Peter's favorite), Tony and Peter set off to retrieve the latter's aunt from the airport. Traffic was horrendous but Happy was an expert driver so it took less than half the time the GPS said it would take.

"Take that, bitch!" Happy had shouted at the device.

Of course it was at that moment that Peter returned with his aunt as Tony and Happy had elected to remain in the car. Peter gave Happy his signature look of disappointment while May simply ignored the outburst and greeted Tony warmly.

The drive back to the tower was filled with lively conversation as May regaled her nephew with stories from her 'trip'. Tony laughed at all the right times and interjected a comment when necessary but for the most part remained silent as he watched his son interact with May. The billionaire wanted to warn May against mentioning the adoption in front of Pepper but stayed quiet. May would probably have a few choice words to say about the secrecy. So Tony decided it was best to just not say anything.

As the car pulled out of the special elevator Tony had installed just for his cars, Pepper stood waiting in the garage. To say Tony was surprised is an understatement.

"Pepper!" He greeted his wife a kiss, trying to mask his worry of being found out. "I thought you had a meeting"

Pepper smiled at her husband. She knew. She totally knew. "Dr. Garcia had to cancel. Her wife broke her leg and so she wanted to be there for her. I'll make sure to send her a card and a fruit basket later but I need to welcome May back from her trip and show her where she'll be staying."

"How did you know I moved?" May asked as she hugged the CEO.

Pepper smiled at her, deliberately avoiding eye contact with her husband. "I know everything. Now, let's get your bags to your room. Happy, if you don't mind" As the group moved out of the garage, Tony caught her eye. Pepper just winked and continued on her way.

-----------

As it turns out, Tony still didn't realize his wife knew. Or if he did he just didn't say anything. His secrecy was bugging Pepper to no end but she refused to yield.

So she left hints. For example, she told Peter to call her 'mom' instead of more formal titles and stayed up until the early hours of the morning to ensure he returned safely from his patrol. There were a few times she feel asleep waiting for him but Peter didn't mind; he would just grab a blanket and curl up against her on the couch or wherever she was resting. Pepper commented multiple times on separate occasions about how Peter was like a son to her and Tony, each comment made within hearing distance of her husband. When playing scrabble, she chose words like 'secret' and 'adoption'. During Pictionary, she was given 'family' so she drew Tony, Peter, and herself.

Either Tony didn't know she knew or he did and was waiting for her to say something about it.

And then a stroke of pure genius struck the CEO. Something that would definitely make Tony tell her about the adoption.

"I want to adopt Peter"

Tony whipped his head to face his wife. "Come again?"

Pepper adjusted herself on the couch to face Tony better. "I want to adopt Peter. He's like a son to me and I know you feel the same way. I didn't want to say anything but May has been going on so many business trips lately and I don't want Peter to be taken away by CPS."

The billionaire was silent for a second, obviously debating on what to say. "I-...I think it's a great idea."

Now it was Pepper's turn to be shocked. "Really?"

"Of course. I wouldn't be surprised if May is sent out of the country permanently in a new position and it's not like she can take Peter with her. He's graduating soon. I'll get the papers drawn up and we can get them signed tomorrow."

"Don't we need more time than that? Adoption takes a while."

Tony waved his hand in dismissal. "I'm Tony Stark. I'll find a way." He smiled at his wife before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

"I know" Pepper blurted.

"You know what?"

"I know" she hesitated "about the adoption. I've known since the day you had it finalized. I walked into the lab to check on you and when I was walking out I saw the certificate. Why didn't you tell me?"

Tony mumbled "I was afraid"

Pepper placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Afraid of what?"

He took a deep steadying breath, looking down at his hands as he twiddled his thumbs. "I was afraid you would say no. I thought you wouldn't want to adopt Peter"

"Honey, look at me, please." When Tony's eyes met hers, she continued, speaking in a soft voice. "I would've said yes. What do you think all of these hints have been? I wasn't lying when I said I thought of Peter as my son. I really do."

When Tony spoke again, his voice was rough and cracking. "I thought if you said no I would lose him. I can't lose him, Pep, I can't." Tears began to flow down his face freely. "I thought it would be better to make him mine legally so that you couldn't say no. Please don't be mad"

Pepper smiled as comfortingly as she could. Looking him in the eyes, she began speaking truthfully. "I would never do that to you. Peter means to much to you. And I know you means just as much, if not more, to Peter. He loves you. I can't take that away from you two. And I'm not mad." She pulled her husband closer, resting him against her chest and began to slowly stroke Tony's hair, calming him. "I am a little disappointed you didn't tell me but I'm not mad at you"

"Wow" Tony chuckled lightly. "You pulled out the 'I'm-not-mad-just-disappointed card."

"I guess I did, didn't I?" she laughed

"You're a great mom" Tony said seriously, all joking aside.

Pepper stilled for a second. "You really think so?" She asked, pulling his head away just slightly to look her husband in the eyes.

Tony readjusted and nodded with a smile as genuine as his words. "I know so"

"I do have a question though. That's a lie. I have two questions"

"Shoot"

"Okay. When were you planning on telling me?"

Tony pretended to think for a second. "Next question" He smiled cheekily.

Pepper tried to glare at him but ended up smiling at her goofy husband. Poking his cheeks, she joked "You're lucky you're cute"

Her husband just smiled all silly and giddy. "I know"

She laughed once again. "Second question: when did you know I knew?"

"About the adoption? When you told me you knew."

"You have got to be the most clueless person in existence"