**Request for Lucy1078 (which I had a blast working on!) where the team frets about their friend on Father's Day, but finds out there's no need to be worried at all. Thank you for the request, I hope you, and all the readers, enjoy it! Sorry for the slight delay, some stuff came up."

It was no secret that Tony and Howard's relationship was strained when Howard was alive. It was no secret that ever since the man's death, Tony had been cold about the whole topic, always changing the subject when someone brought up his late father.

Father's Day was worse of all, though. A whole day- no, a whole season when Tony had to be reminded that everyone else had father's who loved them. Who loved them. Who didn't constantly make them feel like shit.

Long story short, Tony hated Father's Day.

Which is why Natasha, Bruce, Steve, Clint, Thor, and Rhodey were rushing back to the Tower in the early morning hours of Father's Day. They weren't going to let their friend be alone on the worst day of the year, and if that meant flying 14 hours straight through the night, then that's what they'd do.

"How long?" Steve asked, poking his head into the cock pit. "Knowing Tony, he might have spent all night in the lab, so we should really be back before Pepper gets up and goes down to get him."

"We're only an hour and a half out, we'll be there by 5:30," Bruce said, checking the center console of the plane.

Steve thanked the scientist, then headed back into the body of te plane where the rest of the team was sitting.

"5:30," the supersoldier announced to the rest of the team. "We'll make it."

"Do you think he even remembered that it was Father's Day?" Clint asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Rhodey laughed dryly. "Tony may be an idiot when it comes to keeping track of time, but he doesn't forget dates. He'll know. Besides, it's not the day that makes it shitty, its the fact that for the entire week leading up to it, everyone is talking about their dads."

The jet jolted, jostling Thor from his nap and nearly spilling Natasha out of her seat. The decent had started, even if it was still going to be a while till they got home.

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The Tower was quiet when the team stepped through the main doors. Business didn't really start up until 7, so the only people in the entire building would be security, Pepper, and Tony. And now the team, obviously.

The elevator ride was smooth and calm, despite the growing sense of dread in the cramped space. Each of the superheroes was imagining what they might be dealing with when Tony got up. Each one was thinking of what they might be able to do to make the day brighter.

The elevator dinged and everyone stumbled into the living room, the fatigue and exhaustion from the mission hitting them like a ton of bricks.

"I'm taking a shower," Natasha said, dragging her feet down to her room. "Can someone make coffee while I'm gone?"

Steve didn't say anything, just got up and put on the coffee pot. Bruce, Clint, Thor, and Rhodey collapsed on the couch, each one mumbling a small request to Steve, like "a little cream" or "just black is fine".

"Do we have a game plan?" Bruce asked, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment.

Rhodey shook his head. "This isn't a game plan kind of thing, we just have to be a good distraction for him."

Everyone half nodded, Thor already beginning to nod off again and Clint not too far behind. Steve carried over some mugs, each one precariously balanced on one another and steaming with warmth.

Rhodey helped the supersoldier set all of the drinks down, grabbing the two off the top, and Bruce took his in both hands.

"So what are we-"

Bruce was cut off by the sound of a door closing down the hall.

"Your back," Tony said simply, walking through the living room and into the kitchen. "How are you guys feeling? It was a pretty long mission."

Steve and Rhodey shared a quick look at one another.

"Pretty tired, honestly." Bruce filled the silence, then took a sip of coffee. "We just got back about 30 minutes ago. These two baboons fell asleep and Natasha is taking a shower."

Tony nodded, filling up his mug with fresh coffee. As he turned, Steve thought he saw that it was a new mug, a bright red mug with a flash of gold on one side.

"But it went smoothly?"

Bruce nodded, and Rhodey took the lull in conversation to ask Tony about his night.

"Were you working in the lab?"

"No, actually, I had plans this morning so I wanted to be well rested."

There was surprise on everyone's faces, but it only flashed across their eyes for a second before they masked it.

"What plans are those?" Steve asked, trying to come off as casual.

Tony smiled softly and it almost looked like he was thinking of a fond memory. "Science museum, Lego store, and one of those pottery painting places."

Steve furrowed his brow. "Legos and painting? Are you taking Pepper out or something?"

"Oh, no. Actually, I'm going out for Father's Day." The billionaire set his coffee down and went back into the kitchen. Rhodey set his eyes on the red mug and squinted at the gold words scrawled on one side.

#1 Best Dad

Nearly chocking on his coffee, the military man coughed and jerked his head towards the cup. Steve and Bruce looked over and nearly chocked themselves.

"Oh, good morning," Natasha said suddenly, coming down the hall in her bath robe. "What are we all talking about?"

"Plans for the day," Rhodey said, raising his eyebrows at the red-head. He pointed discreetly at Tony's mug and Natasha looked over.

"#1 Dad, eh?"

Tony looked over his shoulder, a piece of toast clutched in his hand loosely. "Oh, yeah. It was a Father's Day gift!"

The way the man's eyes lit up, or the way he smiled real soft and sweet, was entirely new. The team had never seen him so light and happy.

Pepper chose that moment to head into the kitchen, her hair tied up in a bun and her face bare. "Good morning, all! How'd you sleep, Tones?"

The short man smiled and shot his wife a look. "I slept well, I'm excited for today."

"When's Peter getting here?"

"Any second, actually, I told-" The sound of the elevator cut the billionaire off, and woke Thor and Clint with a start.

"What?"

"Who?"

"Hi, Dad! Ready to go?" A teen, no older than 15, bounded into the room, his brown curls bouncing over his forehead and highlighting Doe eyes.

"Of course! Let me put on some jeans, k?"

"Okay!" Tony headed down to his bedroom while Peter made his way towards Pepper. "Hey, momma."

"Hey, bambino, how are you?" Pepper ruffled her son's hair affectionately.

Peter bounced on the balls of his feet. "Excited. I wanna make a fingerprint plate later, I watched this whole Pinterest video on cute fingerprint pictures!"

Pepper smiled, noticing the team's confused looks out of the corner of her eye. "Team, this is Peter. Tony and I's son."

"Son?" Clint gasped. "Since when?"

"Since 6 months ago. We adopted him shortly before his Aunt got sick."

Peter shuffled his feet, feeling awkward. Luckily, Tony was back in a flash, fully dressed and ready to go. He slung an easy arm around the teen's shoulders and smiled down at him as the two made their way to the elevator. Right as the doors were about to close, the team heard Peter turn to his father and say four words.

"Happy Father's Day, Dad."

Alright, so maybe the real secret was that Tony loved Father's Day, but only when he got to spend it with his son.