{edited 8/12/24}

to say that the avengers were shocked would be an understatement.

after finally having finished a four month long mission half-way across the world, they were returning home to stark tower, dreams of hour-long showers and warm dinners the only thing keeping them on their feet. the elevator ride felt like hours, and as the doors finally slid open to the avengers floor, the team stepped out, ready to-

"dad! ohmygod- hahaha, dad! dad please!"

the avengers stopped in their tracks. clint turned towards natasha, raising his eyebrows as if to say "did you hear that?"

"JARVIS, help me out! hahaha, JARVIS!!"

"my sincerest apologies, master peter, but there is nothing i can do to help you in this dire moment of distress. however if you ask nicely, perhaps there is a possibility that boss will end your suffering."

steve's hand came down and away from his shield, and with careful steps, he began to advance down the hall. he beckoned his team to follow him.

"dad, please! hahaha- please!"

"fine, fine, kiddo," tony's voice came, once again making the avengers pause. "why don't you go and grab some ice cream, and i'll put a movie on for us to watch until your mother gets home."

footsteps were heard advancing towards where the avengers were gathered, and suddenly, a teenager rounded the corner, only to abruptly stop at the sight before him.

"ohmygod," the teen breathed out, eyes wide as he took them all in. "oh. my. god. dad? dad!"

the avengers watched as the boy began to panic, and just and steve was about to reach out in attempt to console him, tony appeared, concern written across his face. they watched as he took hold of the boy's shoulder and leaned over to meet his eyes.

"peter, kid, it's alright. you've got to breathe, okay? in and out, just like that." tony's voice was gentle in a way nearly every single one of them hadn't heard before. "c'mon, come back to your old man."

slowly but surely, 'peter' began to calm, his shoulders releasing tension and hunching in on himself. the avengers watched as he drew in shaking breaths, and he tossed his head a few times, blinking rapidly.

"s-sorry," the teenager rasped out, face beginning to color itself red with obvious embarrassment.

tony patted his back. "it's alright, kid. there's nothing to apologize for." he glanced back towards his fellow avengers. "well, this is awkward," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "welcome home?"

the avengers stared.

well, except for one.

"h-hi aunt nat," peter mumbled softly, offering her a slight wave.

steve's eyes widened in surprise as natasha waved back, a gentle smile on her lips. "hi peter," she replied.

silence filled the corridor, and after a few moments, tony cleared his throat.

"well, this isn't exactly how i planned for you all to find out," he began, a slight laugh following his words, "peter? meet the team, and my wonderful fellow avengers, meet my amazing, talented, intelligent son, peter."

steve's jaw dropped. "a son?" he asked eyes as wide as saucers. "you have a son? where- er, when- tony, what...?"

"i adopted him officially a few months a go," tony explained, throwing an arm around the boy's-peter's- shoulders. "i've been mentoring him for about two years now, and his aunt passed away about a year ago, so i decided to take him in. we've got official documents and everything!"

"mentoring... as in, stark industries? like an internship?" bruce asked. "i thought the internship program was only for the R&D and communications departments?"

"it is," tony replied. when the avengers continued to stare at him with confused looks, he sighed. "peter here didn't really have an internship, per say, but after we met he did start swinging by to work on tech with me in his free time, so i guess you could say he was like an... assistant?"

steve's eyebrows furrowed. "okay, so he was an unofficial intern then? how did you two meet in the first place?"

"well..." all eyes swiveled to peter, who cleared his throat. "dad recruited me for a... project? and afterwards i kind of just... stuck around, and we got closer. when aunt may died, he was my support system, and eventually it just made sense for him to adopt me since we were already so close, and i already saw him as a father figure."

"have we met before, peter?" sam asked as he crossed his arms. he peered at the kid, who looked like a deer caught in headlights at the question. "your voice... i feel like i've heard it before- and your inflections are eerily familiar. care to explain?"

peter and tony shared a glance, and after a few moments, tony nodded. peter, visibly nervous, brought his hands up, pointing his wrists towards the avengers.

"pew... peww..." he whispered, mimicking shooting something from his hand. "you might, uh, know me from leipzig...?"

steve gasped, one hand coming up to clutch at his chest. "you're the spider-man!" he exclaimed in shock. "oh my, i dropped an airplane terminal on you- you're what, fifteen? sixteen? you're just a kid!" he turned to tony, disbelief on his face. "tony! you brought a child to the airport to fight?"

tony threw his hands up in defense. "hey now, he's more than capable," the inventor argued. "and before you ask, yes, i knew his age, but this kid is phenomenal, now and then. besides, i kitted him out with upgraded tech before the fight, so he was well protected, i swear."

"it's alright, mr. rogers," peter added, rocking on his feet. "i've had much worse than an airplane terminal dropped on me, so there's no hard feelings! promise!"

sam raised an eyebrow. "and what was that?' he asked, clearly skeptic.

peter grimaced. "well... after leipzig and everything, there was this guy- the vulture, he called himself- and well... he knocked out all of the support pillars in this parking garage we were in, and it kind of... fell on me?"

steve looked ready to pass out then and there, and only with natasha's steady hand on his arm did he not collapse.

tony grimaced at his team's expressions, and pulled peter a little closer to his side. he grumbled at the tension.

"well, how about we shelf this for another day, and get on with our lives. top gun and ice cream, anyone?"