Anyone who keeps up with my writing is probably thinking "wtf are you doing posting another story." That is a completely valid concern. However, I realized that whenever I get stuck during chapters for the stories that I should be updating, writing a oneshot for another fandom helps me loosen up and get back into the swing of things. Hence what this fanfic is going to be.

The way I've planned this is simple: whenever I'm in a rut (which happens far too often), I'll find a prompt and write an Iron Dad and Spider Son oneshot inspired by it. I highly encourage you all to leave prompts/ideas for me! Updates for this story will be rather sporadic, which makes sense because writer's block is not predictable.

As I said - it's not terribly complicated. I appreciate your understanding, and I hope you enjoy!

Note: Timelines will probably end up being rather irrelevant throughout the course of these many oneshots because they're not important to my purpose of easing writer's block, so keep this in mind for future updates.

Summary: Upon finding out that Peter has a hair appointment in Queens, Tony decides to take the Spiderling there himself. He likes hanging out with the kid, plus he always enjoys taking a break from work. Throw in Thai food, red hair dye, ice cream, and nosy reporters, Tony somehow ends up having more fun than he could have ever expected.

xXxXxXx

"You need me to take you to a what now?"

Peter groaned, the frustration in his voice not lost on Tony. "A hair appointment, Mr. Stark. And you don't have to take me, sir. I just need you to…" He trailed off. "Well, provide transportation."

While Tony was almost certain he had one or two or ten self-driving cars stowed away somewhere, he didn't see the point of the kid going all the way to Queens to get his hair done. "Pete, I can call up someone in half a second to do your hair. I have at least four stylists on speed dial." He pulled his phone out of his pocket. "That would be easier, plus -"

"But Mr. Stark, I really like my hairdresser," Peter interrupted, pouting in a way only he could. "Besides, May was the one who set up the appointment. She's expecting me to go and get my hair done in a certain way. You're going to be the one who faces her wrath if whatever hairdressers you have mess my hair up."

Tony winced. The thought of an enraged Aunt May was never a pleasant one, and was only worsened by the fact that the anger would be directed at him. He was still wondering why the hell she'd entrusted Peter to stay with him while she was away on some cruise, but the implication was that he'd been an extremely last-minute option. Nonetheless, he liked the kid and was fine with having him stay in the tower for a month or so. "Alright, fine. I'll have Happy take you there. I already know the address, but when is the appointment?"

"Mr. Stark, Happy doesn't have to waste his time taking me there," Peter insisted. "I can go on my own."

"Kid, you're not walking back to Queens, and you're too young to drive." Tony put his phone away. "But if you don't want Happy to bring you, that's fine. I'll do it. I'm sure Happy won't mind."

Peter's face turned a brilliant shade of crimson, and Tony had to wonder what was up with this hair appointment. "Mr. Stark, you don't have to -"

"Of course I don't have to," Tony scoffed. "But I'm going to. Deal with it, Underoos." He ran a hand through his hair. "Who knows - maybe I'll also get my hair done while we're there. Pepper's been complaining about the length lately."

Peter buried his head in his hands. "Ugh. Mr. Stark, you're the worst."

"Oh really?" Tony crossed his arms and stared Peter down. "Pete, is there something I should know about this hair appointment? You shaving your head or something? Getting a funky buzzcut?"

"Shaving my head?" Tony almost laughed as Peter's nose wrinkled in disgust. "No way, Mr. Stark."

Tony shrugged. "Alright then. So I'll be taking you. Time?"

Peter sighed but said with reluctance, "2:15."

"I assume it'll only take thirty or so minutes," Tony mused, "so I should still be able to attend the meeting Pepper's been bugging me about -"

"Actually, Mr. Stark," Peter interrupted, not making eye contact with him, "it's probably going to last longer than thirty minutes."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "How much longer?"

Peter seemed to wince before saying, "Maybe two or three hours?"

"Two or three hours?!" Tony sputtered. "What are they doing to your hair?!"

"Not two hours of them doing my hair!" Peter hastily amended. "I just mean that, um, the wait can be really long, even when you reserve an appointment ahead of time."

Tony sighed. The kid was very obviously lying to him, but he knew that pushing the matter would do him no good. At least, not now, anyways. Tony Stark may have been a technological genius, but dealing with people? Particularly teenagers? God help him. "Sure, Pete. Hey FRIDAY?"

"Yes, sir?" The female AI's voice seemed to echo in the room.

"Clear my plans for tomorrow. Tell Pepper to reschedule the conference." Tony winced. "She is definitely going to kill me."

"Affirmative, sir. What reason should I give her?"

"Something came up with the kid." He laughed. "You know, that's probably the best excuse I've ever given her for missing a meeting."

Peter frowned, seemingly disgruntled that he was Tony's 'get out of jail free' card. "Mr. Stark, is Ms. Potts going to be angry that I'm the cause of you not attending a meeting? Because if she is, then there's no way you're taking me to the appointment if it means you'll miss important stuff."

Tony waved his hand dismissively. "Nah. She knows it's not your fault. Besides, while Pepper would never admit, conferences rarely involve topics of actual importance. They're just a front for everyone to pretend that their businesses are running perfectly fine." He smirked at Peter. "Kid, this guy had better be one hell of a hairdresser. I need to impress Pepper with a hot new look so she'll be less angry at me."

"You're actually going to get your hair done, too?" Peter said in disbelief. "Really, Mr. Stark?"

Tony shrugged. "Why not? Maybe I'll have them style it like yours. That way we both look like Prince Charming."

Peter groaned. "I do not look like Prince Charming."

"Keep telling yourself that, Spiderling."

"FRIDAY, do I really look like Prince Charming?" Peter demanded.

"I'm afraid there is some resemblance, Peter," was the AI's response.

Tony burst out laughing as Peter's jaw dropped. "I told you so."

"Yeah, well, I bet she's only agreeing with you because you created her," Peter grumbled. "Programming bias."

Tony shook his head, still laughing as he clapped Peter on the shoulder. "Come on, kid. Let's go down to the lab. There a few upgrades to your suit I want to go over with you before they're fully installed."

He was pleased to note that Peter's eyes lit up instantaneously. "Awesome!"

xXxXxXx

"Hurry up, Pete!" Tony called, glancing at his watch. "If you want to have time to get lunch before your hair appointment we have to leave now." Upon not hearing a response for the third time in a row, he sighed. "FRIDAY, what's the kid doing?"

"He is currently in his room, sir," FRIDAY replied. "He appears to be looking for something."

Tony sighed. "Of course he is."

"You can't complain sir." Tony knew that if FRIDAY could smirk, she would have. "You're not exactly the most timely person, either. Ms. Potts has requested me to keep track of the numerous times you were late or waited until the last minute to accomplish something; shall I pull the list up for you?"

Tony winced. "Ah, no thanks." He glanced at his watch a second time. "Has the kid found whatever he was looking for yet?"

"No sir. I have offered to assist him in his search, but he has refused. Would you like me to contact him for you?"

"Yes, thank you."

"You're welcome, sir."

A screen was projected in front of Tony, showing him the inside of Peter's room. He cleared his throat, and Peter jumped before turning around. "You ready, kid?"

Peter was gawking at him, and Tony wondered if this was the first time he'd seen the hologram-type system set up throughout the tower. "Uh, almost," he finally stuttered. "I'm just trying to find something real quick."

"And what is that 'something,' Pete?" Tony sighed. "Look, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry." He paused before adding, "Actually, with your enhanced metabolism, you probably are hungry. So if you aren't in desperate need of whatever you're trying to find, I say leave it and get it later."

"If you were to inform me of what you are searching for, Peter, perhaps I could be of assistance," FRIDAY offered.

"No, it's okay," Peter muttered. "I can find it."

"Why not let FRIDAY help?" Tony asked. He was always having FRIDAY help him find things he misplaced, and before her JARVIS had done the same. "It'll take her less than ten seconds to scan the entire tower, Pete."

Peter didn't answer, instead continuing to go through his drawers.

Tony sighed, waving his hand and the hologram of Peter's room disappeared. "Guess that means I get to go play helper." He climbed into the elevator, pressing the button for Peter's floor, glancing at his watch as the doors closed.

Tony often wondered at what point in his life Peter Parker had joined the very short list of people he couldn't live without. A scary thought, what with the kid being someone who seemed to enjoy throwing his life on the line whenever he got the chance.

Then again, when he'd confessed this to Pepper, she'd crossed her arms and said, "That's how it feels, Tony."

No matter what, he didn't regret it. As awful as his fight with Steve had been, one good thing had come out of the ordeal: meeting Peter. Not that he'd tell that to the kid, of course. God forbid the legendary Tony Stark show emotion to anyone.

The elevator dinged as it reached the correct floor, Tony stepping out the moment the doors slid open. He crossed through the hall to Peter's room, not bothering to knock before going in. "If you won't let FRIDAY help you search, will my assistance perhaps suffice?"

Peter spun on his heel. "M-Mr. Stark!" He groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Sir, I'm sorry I'm taking so long, I could have sworn I left it in here -!"

"Whoa, slow it down, kid," Tony interrupted. "It's fine. Tell me what you're looking for and I'll help you find it. Okay?"

Peter sighed. There was a pause that seemed to stretch for an hour before he muttered, "My wallet. I'm looking for my wallet."

"Your wallet?" Tony repeated. "What do you need your wallet for?"

"You know," Peter mumbled. "So I can like, pay for my stuff. That way you don't have to."

"Kid, is this about money?" Tony asked, unsure of the message Peter was trying to get across. "I have an infinite supply of it. I can pay for whatever you need."

"Yeah," Peter admitted. "But you shouldn't have to! You're already taking time out of your day to drive me all the way to Queens even though it'll make Pepper angry, so it's only fair that I pay for my lunch and the appointment. Plus, I've been saving up for this, so -"

"Okay, I'm gonna stop you there," Tony interrupted. "I understand what you're saying, and here's my solution: I pay for everything upfront so we can leave now. Cool? Cool."

Peter opened and closed his mouth in a manner very similar to that of a goldfish. "But Mr. Stark -"

"I don't want to hear it. If you really insist on paying me back…" Tony shrugged. "We'll deal with that later, when we're done with everything. But for now, don't worry about it."

Peter sighed. "Fine."

"Perfect!" Tony clapped his hands together. "Let's go." He steered Peter out of the bedroom and into the elevator, clicking the button that would take them down to the garage. "So," he said, a grin dancing on his lips. "Anywhere you'd like to eat in particular, kid?"

xXxXxXx

"Prachya Thai?" Tony glanced over the dismal-looking restaurant, the fact that it was next to 'Cash for Gold' not exactly improving it's already pitiful first impression. "Are you sure?"

Peter nodded. "May and I eat here all the time. The food's delicious."

Tony shrugged, adjusting his sunglasses. "Well, if it's good enough for your unusually attractive aunt, then it's good enough for me, I suppose." He laughed when Peter glared at him. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Let's go in."

The place was relatively empty, which Tony didn't mind; that meant he and Peter were less likely to be swarmed by paparazzi or reporters. Pepper was going to kill him when he got back simply for taking the risk of going out in public with Peter. To be fair, she did have a point - which she always did - that it would be very hard to explain why he was treating his intern to lunch.

But did he ever listen to her?

Yeah, not as much as he probably should.

A bored-looking waitress directed them to a table in the corner of the restaurant, conveniently out of the public eye. She tossed two menus on the table while they sat down before getting out a small notebook and a pen.

"Hi, my name is Allison and I'm going to be your waitress for today," she said, a Southern drawl faintly noticeable in her voice. "What would you like to drink?"

"Water is fine," Tony replied before glancing at Peter. "No caffeine, kid."

Peter rolled his eyes. "I'll have water, too."

"Two waters," the waitress repeated. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Use the time to look over your food options while you wait."

Tony focused on the menu in front on him. "FRIDAY, give me some recommendations," he said.

"According to my searches, some of the popular options for 'first timers' of Thai cuisine are pad thai, khao pad, and tom yum goong," FRIDAY replied, various images flashing over his glasses as she spoke. "Pad thai is fried noodles, khao pad is fried rice, and tom yum goong is spicy shrimp soup."

"Mr. Stark, you've never had Thai food before?" Peter asked, his head quirked at a slight angle, like a confused puppy. "But it's the best!"

"I guess I never got around to it. Thailand is one of a few countries I haven't travelled to. Yet." Tony placed his menu down. "Tell you what, kid: you decide what I should order. I trust your judgement."

"Are you sure? What if you don't like what I get?"

Tony shrugged. "So what? At least then I'll know not to get it next time." He hadn't meant for the words 'next time' to slip out, but when he saw the way Peter's eyes lit up, he had a gut feeling that there was indeed going to be a 'next time.' "Besides, you said it yourself that you and May eat here all the time. You're probably an expert on the best food by now."

The waitress returned, a glass of water in each hand. "Here you go." She placed them down on the table before tossing straws beside them. "Have you decided what you'd like to order?" she said, turning towards Tony.

He gestured towards Peter in response. "The kid knows what I want."

"Right," Peter said, hastily scanning the menu. "Uh… Could we get an order of gaeng daeng and two orders of pad thai, please?"

"One gaeng daeng and two pad thai," the waitress repeated, jotting the information down on her notepad. "I'll be right back." She took the menus and returned to the back of the restaurant.

"What's gaeng daeng, exactly?" Tony asked, eyebrow raised. "Not poisonous, I hope."

"You know, Mr. Stark, if it was poisonous, I get the feeling they wouldn't be serving it. Correct me if I'm wrong - which I'm not - but I do believe it's illegal to sell poisonous or contaminated foods."

Tony placed a hand over his heart, pretending to be shocked. "Mr. Parker. Did you just sass me?"

Peter snickered. "And? Is that a problem?"

Tony shook his head, amused. "Pepper warned me that 'Stark snark' was contagious. Apparently you've spent so much time around me you've caught it."

"Yeah, and it's gotten me into a lot of trouble with May," he admitted, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"What, the attitude or spending time with me?" Tony said, sipping his water.

"Probably both." Peter laughed. "But I don't think she really minds it. She's just being protective, as always. It's both irritating and endearing." He shrugged. "Guess that's what it means to be a teenager."

Tony nodded, unsure of how to respond. Instead he decided to change the topic. "Remind me again of what gaeng daeng is?"

"Oh, right. It's red curry."

"Specifics, kid. What does red curry include?"

"I'm pretty sure it has some kind of meat in it," Peter said. "Also the red curry paste, coconut milk, and kaffir lime leaves or something."

"Huh," Tony mused. "Interesting."

"It tastes better than it sounds," Peter said, evidently trying to sound reassuring. "I've only had it a few times in my life, and none of those times have been recent, but…" He trailed off, biting the inside of his cheek. "Someone I knew used to get it all the time, and it was his favorite. May loved it, too, but she doesn't eat it anymore."

Tony didn't miss Peter's hesitation, nor did he miss the way the kid's gaze fell to the table, but decided it was not his place to comment. Besides - he was almost certain of who it was that used to get gaeng daeng. "I guess we'll find out then. I'm trusting you not to destroy my taste buds, Pete."

Peter laughed, much to Tony's relief. "Don't worry, Mr. Stark. I would never do that."

"Sure, sure," Tony said, taking a sip of his water. "Of course you wouldn't." He glanced at his watch, pleased to see that they were still on schedule. "Looks like we'll have plenty of time to get to our appointment."

Peter almost choked on his water, thankfully coughing into his elbow instead of spewing spit everywhere.

"Whoa, kid," Tony said, instinctively reaching across the table to help him. "Careful." He handed him a napkin and used his own to clean up some of what had spilled from the glass. "You okay there?"

Peter coughed a moment longer before clearing his throat. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He glanced up at him. "Mr. Stark, did you say our appointment?"

Tony smirked. "Why, is it a problem if I get my hair done, too?"

Peter buried his head in his hands. "You've got to be kidding me."

"You know I never kid, Pete."

"That's a lie."

"Not a lie. I was only kidding."

Peter glared at him, and Tony had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. The kid looked like an angry puppy - trying and failing to be intimidating. "Mr. Stark, why are you getting your hair done today with me?"

"Well, what else am I going to do while I wait?" Tony said. "Paperwork? Like a responsible adult? Not a chance. I made a few calls and they've agreed to squeeze me in." He grinned at Peter. "You embarrassed to get your hair done while I'm there or something?"

"Since you've asked - yes, I am a bit embarrassed to get my hair done with the Tony Stark there as a witness." Peter absentmindedly flicked at a hangnail. "You're a billionaire and probably one of the smartest people in the universe, and I'm just…" The corners of his mouth twitched downward. "Your intern."

"If it's any consolation, you're my favorite intern," Tony offered.

Peter rolled his eyes. "Mr. Stark, I'm your only intern."

Tony chuckled. "And therefore my favorite by default." He clasped his hands together, unsure of how to phrase his next words at the risk of sounding overly emotional or, in contrast, completely void of emotion. "Pete, you're not 'just my intern.' Unless it's a reporter asking you, because then for your sake that's all you are." He adjusted his sunglasses, sighing. "Kid, I'm not even sure what you are anymore, but I do know that you're smart - almost as smart as me - and that I can and would trust you with my life. That's more than what can be said for pretty much anyone else I know. Don't downgrade yourself, okay?"

Relief flooded through Tony's body when Peter smiled at him. "Okay, Mr. Stark. Thank you."

"I'm just telling the truth, kid."

The waitress then returned to the table, a platter with three bowls on it in hand. "Enjoy," she said flatly, placing them down on the table before tossing two sets of utensils wrapped in napkins next to them. "I'll be back later to give you the check." She walked away, already pulling her phone out of her pocket and tapping away at the screen.

"Are all the servers here so monotonous?" Tony asked, eyebrow raised as he watched the girl leave. "Or is it just her?"

Peter shrugged. "I mean, I'm sure you've noticed that it's not exactly the most lively of places. But normally May and I always get the same server when we come here. A guy named Anurak or something."

"Really?"

"Yup." Peter rolled his eyes. "He only serves us because he likes flirting with May. Giving her free food and stuff."

"Well, I can't blame him," Tony said, smirking. He laughed as Peter crumpled up his napkin and threw it across the table. "Manners, Underoos. We're in public." Before Peter could fire back with a witty retort, Tony quickly took a bite of the food in front of him. "Wow," he said, unable to keep the awe out of his voice. "This is fantastic."

"Told you so."

Silence fell between them as the two focused on their meals, Tony asking Peter a question every now and then regarding the food. At one point he even tried to steal a bite of the kid's pad thai, but Peter's reflexes were faster than his by a hundredfold. The spidey sense probably helped, too.

After taking the last bite of the gaeng daeng, Tony sipped his water to ease the flavor away. Peter had long since finished finished his first bowl of pad thai and was nearly done with the second, so he decided to seize the opportunity to question the kid about the hair appointment.

"So, how exactly are you getting your hair done today, Pete?" Tony adjusted his sunglasses, lacing his fingers together as he leaned back in his seat. "I know you were lying to me last night about the 'wait time.' Hell, even if I hadn't figured it out then, when I called the place today they were happy to inform me that they had several openings for the time slot I needed. So what kinda style are you getting that's going to take two or three hours?"

Peter took the last bite of his pad thai before saying, "Would you believe me if I told you it's just a wash, cut, and dry?"

"Pete…"

"Okay, okay. I'll tell you the truth, but on one condition."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Alright, fine. What's your condition?"

"You're not allowed to laugh. Because you're going to want to."

"How do you know that?"

"Because it's you, Mr. Stark."

"Okay, good point." Tony held his hands up in surrender. "I promise not to laugh. There. I said it." He could have sworn he heard the kid mumble something about a blood pact 'to be sure,' but didn't have a chance to ask about it as Peter started speaking again.

"I'm dyeing my hair."

Tony froze. Of all the answers he'd been expecting, that was not one of them. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

Peter stared steadfast at his glass of water. "I'm dyeing my hair, Mr. Stark."

Tony gaped at the kid. "Like, your entire head? Did May give you permission to do this? What color are you even dyeing it?"

Peter appeared amused by his rapid-fire questions. "No, not my entire head, Mr. Stark. Yes, May gave me permission to do this. And it's gonna be red, like your Iro… Like my Spider-Man suit."

Tony sighed, Peter's slip-up going in one ear and out the other as he tried to comprehend the fact that in a short time the kid was going to be a redhead. "Dyeing hair marks the first stage of teenage rebellion. I don't know how I'm going to deal with this. Pepper's going to have to help me through it or something."

Peter laughed. "Mr. Stark, I'm not entering a rebellious stage. I just thought it'd be cool to mix things up a bit! Plus, May showed me old pictures of her with crazy hair colors, and I want to have photos of myself like that one day."

Tony leaned back into his seat, shaking his head. "Fire-engine red, huh?" FRIDAY had pulled up images of various shades of red hair and was showing them to him via projecting from his sunglasses onto the table to allow Peter to see as well. "That's gonna be a hell of a look, kid." He paused, a smirk slowly creeping onto his lips. "How do you think I would look with a bit of red in my hair?"

He almost laughed when Peter's jaw dropped. "Mr. Stark, you wouldn't."

"Never tell me I wouldn't do something, because that means I almost certainly would." Tony fingered his hair. "I think I'll do the front. Or those streaks. Highlights - whatever you call them. And maybe not the hot rod red you're going for; probably a bit more natural."

Peter sighed, then smirked at the older man. "You know what, Mr. Stark? I think you dyeing your hair red is a great idea. It'll help hide all that gray."

It was as if he'd been slapped. Tony frowned at the kid. "First of all, how dare you even insinuate that I have gray hairs. Second, even if I did happen to have gray hairs - which I don't -, they'd all be your fault because you're the most stressful factor in my life."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Ha ha, very funny." Then he offered the man a small smile. "I do actually think it would be pretty cool if you dyed your hair, Mr. Stark." His eyes widened, and a small gasp escaped his lips. "What if we went for matching colors?!"

Of all the reactions Tony had expected, earnesty was not one of them, much less the thought that they should match. He was sorely tempted to reject the idea, but when he saw the excitement dancing in Peter's eyes… God, he was getting to be such a sap. "Fine by me. But we'll need a compromise, because there's no way in hell I'm going back home to Pepper with fiery red hair."

Peter bit his lip, thinking. "Well, we could go for red that's more orange." He laughed. "You know, like Ms. Potts."

"Nope. No way." Tony sipped his water. "Not only would I never hear the end of it from Pepper and Happy, the media would have a field day."

"Mr. Stark, the media is going to have a field day no matter what, because it's you dyeing your hair."

Tony paused with his drink halfway to his lips. "Damn. You're right."

"But," Peter continued, "I don't really like orange, anyways. Since you don't want a bright red, how about a darker shade?"

"Dark red?" Tony placed his glass on the table. "I can work with that."

After much debate and several images of red hair provided by FRIDAY, the two decided on a shade called 'mahogany.' Peter liked how bright it would look in the sun, Tony liked how it would blend relatively well into his dark hair.

The waitress returned to their table and handed Tony the check, with the total of '$26.71' circled on the bottom. "My manager requests that you pay in cash, because our chip reader was recently broken and the new one isn't expected to arrive until tomorrow."

"Not a problem," Tony replied smoothly, pulling out his wallet and handing the woman a crisp hundred dollar bill. "Split the change between you and the chef, will you?"

The waitress seemed frozen as she stared in shock at the amount of money that had just been placed in the palm of her hand, but finally nodded. "R-Right. Thank you, sir. And, uh, have a nice day."

Peter gave her a cheery wave before she turned around and walked away, disappearing into the back kitchen.

"Well, kid," Tony said, clapping his hands together, "as much as I've enjoyed our little luncheon, we have a hair appointment to get to." He gestured towards the door. "Shall we?"

xXxXxXx

"Cute salon," Tony murmured as he glanced around the room. There was a couch and two chairs for people to wait on, one chair for the stylist to use for the current customer, two dryers, three sinks in the back, and a set of drawers with a large mirror atop. "Small, but cute."

"It's small because it's a private salon, Mr. Stark," Peter explained. "May and the owner - her name's Minh Dupont - went to college together and managed to keep in touch after they graduated. She's really nice and gives us big discounts because…" He trailed off. "You know. Financial troubles."

Tony winced at Peter's words. He often forgot the issues the Parker family had when it came to money. He'd offered assistance many times, but no matter how inconspicuously he tried to phrase it, May had rejected him every time. "She sounds like a lovely woman. I can't wait to meet her."

As if on cue, a petite woman with dark brown hair and hot pink streaks emerged from the back of the salon, practically running over to Peter before she pulled him into a tight embrace. "It's so good to see you, em yêu! It's been a while, huh?"

Tony pushed down the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach upon seeing someone else wrap their arms around the kid, particularly with the use of a nickname to go along with it.

Peter laughed and returned the hug. "I'm sorry, Ms. Dupont. I've just been really busy lately."

Tony let out a quiet snort. Yes, the kid had definitely been busy managing school, decathlon, and his internship - all whilst being Spider-Man.

Peter pulled out of the hug and gestured towards Tony. "Ms. Dupont, this is Mr. Stark. I think he called you and made an appointment for the same time as mine or something…"

"Yes, I remember," the woman - Minh, was it? - said. "Although I wasn't expecting him to bring you, Peter. Where's May?"

"She's on a cruise," Peter explained. "I'm staying with Mr. Stark while she's away."

Minh nodded. "I see." She reached out and firmly shook Tony's hand. "Well, a friend of May and Peter's is a friend of mine. My name is Minh. It's good to meet you, Mr. Stark."

"Likewise," Tony said, smiling. "And call me Tony. Mr. Stark was my father."

"Of course, Tony." Minh frowned. "Hmm. Tony Stark. I know that name." She snapped her fingers. "Do you host a late night talk show, by any chance?"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "No, but I have been a guest on quite a few of them."

"Ah, that must be it."

Tony shot Peter a questioning look, receiving a shrug in response. Well, it was always a nice change of pace when someone didn't recognize him.

"So, what I have written down is a red dye for Peter and a wash, cut, and dry for you, Tony," Minh said, skimming over a notebook she had resting on the vanity. "Is that still accurate?"

"Actually, Peter and I would both like our hair dyed. The red we've decided on is a shade called 'mahogany.'" Tony offered her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about this last minute change. I'll be sure to provide compensation."

Minh waved her hand dismissively. "It's no problem! You two are my last customers for today. And you said mahogany…?" She opened a door, revealing a closet, and started rummaging through the shelves on the inside. "Aha!" She pulled a bottle with a flourish. "Last thing of mahogany. Plenty for the both of you, of course."

Tony made a mental note to send the woman several new sets of dye as thanks.

"Before I begin, I'll give a short breakdown on how this is going to work." Minh placed the bottle down on the vanity. "The first step is bleaching the hair, then a wash and trim, blow dry, then the dye will sit, and then a final rinse. Simple, but not quick. Understand?" Upon seeing them both nod, she beamed. "Wonderful. Peter, I'll start with you."

Tony found himself tuning out as Peter and Minh starting chatting away at typical conversation topics, like school and how May was doing. FRIDAY pulled up a few news stories on his sunglasses that she thought might be important, her voice low as she read them to him, but there seemed to be little of note, which was an unusual occurrence that he was always grateful for.

What did snag his attention, however, was Minh starting to wrap strips of Peter's hair in aluminum foil after putting some weird white paste on it.

Minh must have noticed his attentiveness, as she chuckled at his expression. "I'm bleaching his hair. The natural color is too dark for me to put the red on top of, so I'm simply pulling a bit of color out."

"It's perfectly safe, Mr. Stark," Peter reassured him. "Although it does mean my hair is going to be more brittle. And I'll probably have more split ends."

Tony sighed, shaking his head. "Just what I need. A teenager who sheds."

Peter rolled his eyes. "You're going to shed, too. Don't complain."

Much to Peter's annoyance, Tony shook his head a second time before picking up a magazine and starting to skim through it. He had a lot of time to kill.

xXxXxXx

"Damn, Mr. Stark. We look good."

Tony frowned. "Watch your language, kid. Cursing is for adults only."

"I'm fifteen."

"And? What's your point?" Tony ran a hand through his newly red hair as he studied his reflection in the mirror. "But you're right. We do look good."

Peter beamed at him. "This is so going on my story."

Tony watched as the kid pulled his phone out of his pocket - he was pleased to note that it was the Stark Phone they'd built together one day in the lab, albeit with a large crack running across the screen - and opened an app labelled 'Snapchat.' He vaguely recognized the name as some social media platform, but he couldn't recall much else about it. He had a press person to take care of that for him.

"Smile, Mr. Stark!"

Tony blinked in surprise and managed to put a smile on his face just as the kid's camera flashed.

"Ooh, it actually looks really good," Peter said, grinning happily as he showed the older man the photo. "You should smile more often, Mr. Stark. Ms. Potts would probably appreciate it."

"Ha ha," Tony retorted, rolling his eyes. "Very funny, Mr. Parker." Although, he had to admit that the kid was right - the photo did look nice. "Send me that picture, will ya?"

Peter seemed stunned. "Really?" he finally said. "You want it?"

"Of course I want it. Why else would I have asked?"

Peter flushed. "Right, right."

A moment later Tony's phone buzzed in his pocket. He wasted no time signing in and saving the photo before setting it as his background, smirking as he showed it to Peter. "Your Aunt Hottie's going to be jealous that we got matching hair without her. Should I break the news, or should you?"

"Mr. Stark, you can't have that as your background!" Peter sputtered.

"Why not? You said yourself that it's a good picture."

"Because. You just can't."

Based off the embarrassed look painted on Peter's face, Tony chalked up his opposition to 'having adolescence.' "Well, I'm the adult here, and I say that I can. Get used to it, kid."

Even though Peter groaned, Tony had a feeling that he didn't really mind all too much.

"I'm glad you like it," Minh said, beaming at both of them.

Tony snapped his fingers as he remembered that he had to pay the stylist. He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, removing five hundred dollar bills and placing them in the woman's hands. "Keep the change, Minh."

The woman gaped at the amount of money she now possessed, but quickly recovered. "Thank you very much," she gushed. "I - I don't know what to say.

Tony waved his hand dismissively. "No need to say anything. It's just a little way for me to show how much I appreciate you squeezing me in at the last minute." He winked at her. "Don't ask how I got the money - if I told you, I'd have to kill you."

Minh laughed and tucked the bills into her back pocket. "Then I suppose I'll have to keep my curiosity to myself."

"Perfect." Tony glanced at his watch. It was nearly five, meaning their overlapping appointments had indeed lasted between two and three hours. That also meant there was only about ten minutes until Minh's salon closed. "How about we get going, Pete? We can stop and get ice cream before we go back home."

Peter snickered. "You're just stalling so you don't have to deal with Ms. Potts."

Tony shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Are you saying you don't want any ice cream?"

"No, no!" Peter hastily amended. "I do. Let's go."

Tony couldn't help but laugh as he followed the kid out the door.

xXxXxXx

Tony smiled as he watched Peter eagerly devour his three scoops of 'Stark Raving Hazelnuts,' having already finished the single scoop he'd gotten for himself. "I take it you're satisfied with the flavor, Spiderling?"

Peter beamed at him, and Tony bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing at the smear of ice cream across the kid's cheek. "It's the best, Mr. Stark."

Tony threw a napkin at him. "Uh huh. Now wipe your face. No intern of mine will be seen decorated with chocolate."

"I'm your only intern," Peter reminded him, but did as instructed.

"All the more reason for you to make good impressions on people," Tony retorted, though he couldn't quite wipe the smile off his face.

Peter rolled his eyes and went back to eating his ice cream, scrolling on his phone every now and then, not even an ounce of attention on the world around him.

Tony returned his focus to a document FRIDAY had pulled up on his sunglasses for him - or rather, the few sections she'd highlighted and was reading aloud to him. It was simple stuff regarding stocks in a company, and normally was something he would have passed on to Pepper had it not been for the fact that she was currently not… Pleased with him for skipping the conference.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a few people whispering and pointing in their general direction. On any other day he would have ignored it - he was Tony Stark, after all; stalkers came with the name - but today he had Peter with him. That alone complicated matters, and the fact that they now had hair with matching red streaks wasn't doing him any favors.

Tony could have sworn that one of them looked familiar, too. A blonde woman, with a permanent look of distaste in her eyes. If he had to guess… Probably a one-night stand from his 'playboy' days. But at the same time something about her implied more than someone he'd only met once. He just couldn't identify what, exactly.

He didn't have to continue contemplating, however, as she left the restaurant with two people in tow. Even so…

"FRIDAY, run facial recognition on that woman," Tony murmured. Dozens of images flashed in front of his eyes before stopping on one. "Read me the profile."

"Her name is Christine Everhart," FRIDAY said. "A reporter for Vanity Fair Magazine."

"Copy that. Explains why she kept looking over here. Do I know her?"

"Yes sir, you do. She has tried to interview you numerous times before, and you spent the night with her once."

Tony sighed. "Of course I did."

"It was her who initially prompted you to reveal your alias as Iron Man," FRIDAY continued. "At least indirectly. During the conference surrounding the events regarding Obadiah Stane."

That made it click. "Right, I remember her. Wasn't she also involved in the whole Hammer Industries fiasco, too?"

"To a certain extent, yes."

Tony bit back a groan. "In other words, Miss Everhart is one of the many people who enjoy making my life miserable."

"Excellently put, sir."

"However, that does not mean she gets to make Peter's life miserable," Tony muttered. "FRIDAY, what's the date?"

"July 26th, sir."

"I need you to make today a holiday. Something catchy. An excuse to fall back on about why I'm with Peter if that Everhart woman or any other reporters try to corner us."

"Understood. How does National Intern Day sound, sir?"

Tony almost laughed. "Perfect. Thank you, FRIDAY."

"My pleasure."

Tony turned his attention to Peter. "You almost done, kid?"

Peter nodded, taking a final bite of the ice cream before placing the spoon back in the cup and tossing it into a garbage can opposite their table.

"Before we go, I want to give you a small debriefing on how to deal with reporters. FRIDAY alerted me that there may be a few outside waiting for us. The first thing you do is -"

"Actually, Mr. Stark," Peter tentatively interrupted, "there's something I want to tell you first."

Tony blinked in surprise. "Uh, okay. Shoot."

"Remember how earlier I said I wanted to dye my hair red because it would match my Spider-Man suit?"

Tony shrugged. "Yeah, sounds vaguely familiar. Why?"

"Well… That was a lie." Peter flushed, staring down at the table. "I wanted to match the Iron Man suit." He laughed, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "When I told May, I was worried she was going to have an aneurysm. I'm not sure if you've noticed, Mr. Stark, but she's not exactly your biggest fan."

Tony snorted. "Believe me, kid - I've noticed." A soft smile danced on his lips. "I appreciate you being inspired by my suit, and I'm thanking God that you didn't say you wanted to match Cap's shield or something equally absurd."

Peter snickered. "I should have said it, just to watch you explode." He fingered the edge of his sleeve. "You really don't mind that I wanted to dye my hair because of you?"

Tony grinned at him. "Pete, I've never been more flattered in my life."

Peter's shoulders visibly relaxed. "Oh. Good."

"Glad you feel better." Tony glanced at his watch. "Alright. Kid, there's more than likely going to be press people lurking outside this place. Here's what's gonna happen: you are not going to talk at all, unless you're saying 'no comment.' I'll handle everything. Okay?"

Peter nodded. "Roger that, Mr. Stark."

"A new holiday has been created, sir," FRIDAY said.

"Thank you, FRIDAY." Tony stood from his seat, pushing his chair under the table. "Let's roll, kid."

"A new holiday?" Peter repeated, confused. "What new holiday, Mr. Stark?"

"Don't worry about it, Underoos," Tony replied, throwing his arm around the kid's shoulders and steering him towards the back exit. "Maybe if we're lucky we can make it around to the car without being caught. FRIDAY, what are our chances?"

His sunglasses darkened as his sightline was suddenly unimpeded by the walls around him. However, certain objects in the distance were blurrier than they should have been. He made a mental note to alter a few sections of the code for 'x-ray vision.'

"Most of the reporters seem to be waiting out front for you," FRIDAY replied. "There only appears to be six of them, however. Therefore there is a possibility you could leave unnoticed."

"Then let's make the most of that chance."

Both Tony and Peter left the ice cream parlor through the back door in as inconspicuous of a manner as possible, neither making eye contact with anyone as they passed around the front. They'd almost made it, but unfortunately for them, one of the reporters had decided to lurk by the car.

"Tony Stark," Christine Everhart said, an overly sweet smile on her face as her voice oozed with false pleasantry. "So wonderful to see you again. Mind if I ask you a few questions?" She glanced up at his hair, then down at Peter's. "Interesting dye choice."

"Actually, we do mind." Tony retorted. "Please step out of the way, Miss Everhart."

The blonde just sighed. "If you won't willingly answer my questions, then I guess I'll have to provide you with a little encouragement." She clapped her hands together, garnering the attention of the small crowd of reporters. "Hey, guys! He's over here!"

Tony winced, instinctively moving Peter behind him as the reporters practically swarmed them.

"Mr. Stark, who is this child and why are you at an ice cream parlor with him?"

"Matching hair colors, Mr. Stark? You must have been busy today."

"Is there anything you'd like to release to the press about the engagement of you and Pepper Potts?"

Tony tuned out the bombardment of questions, focusing on keeping his arm around Peter and ensuring that the reporters didn't get near him. He held up a hand to silence the noise. "I will answer three questions. No more, no less."

Immediately hands went up.

"You," Tony said, pointing at a short man with curly black hair, relishing in the look of irritation on Christine's face.

"Mr. Stark, Captain America and several other former Avengers are currently on the run. Have you been part of the efforts to track them down?"

"No," Tony replied, which was of course a lie. He knew exactly where the 'rogue Avengers' were - he just didn't care enough to report it. Or perhaps it was the fact that he did care that he didn't report it. Either way, he wasn't planning to rat them out anytime soon. "If I was, they would have been apprehended already. Next question." He pointed at a tall, slender woman with dark skin and rich auburn curls.

"Many people are beyond ecstatic about your engagement with Pepper Potts," she said. "Is there anything you'd like to share about the wedding? Perhaps how you knew she was the one?"

Tony shrugged. "Pepper has always been by my side, even when I was thrice the asshole I am now. I don't deserve her and I never will, but I know I'm happiest when with her, and the fact that she agreed to marry me makes me the luckiest man in the world." His love for Pepper was one of the few things he didn't mind talking about to reporters, mostly because the public adored his fiancée and rarely found fault in her. "Final question." He pretended to look through the crowd of reporters, as if thinking deeply about who he was going to select. Finally he turned towards Christine. "Miss Everhart."

Christine smiled at him as she flicked her recorder on, though the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Mr. Stark. I'm sure the main question on everyone's minds here is this: who is the child you have with you? An illegitimate son? Your own little 'Annie' you've adopted to improve your public persona?"

Tony raised an eyebrow at her comments, offended but also not surprised. "How nice to know that you have such a high opinion of me, Miss Everhart. But you're incorrect on all accounts." He pulled Peter closer to his side. "I'd like you all to meet my personal intern at Stark Industries. He's a brilliant kid on every front, and is a real asset to the company when it comes to a fresh perspective. Today is National Intern Day, which you can look up if you don't believe me, and I decided to take him out for ice cream." He chuckled. "I know, I know - I must be getting soft in my old age." He glanced at his watch, pretending as if he had places to be. "All further questions should be directed to my work email, thank you and have a nice day."

"But what about the matching hair?" Christine demanded. "Isn't that a bit unusual for 'just an intern'?"

Tony made a 'tsk' noise. "I believe I said three questions only, Miss Everhart. But feel free to email me." He winked at her. "Considering it's you, I might just answer."

Christine begrudgingly moved out of the way, allowing Tony to help Peter into the passenger seat before he walked around the back and got behind the wheel. He pulled out of the parking lot quickly, not bothering to glance back at the reporters.

It was quiet for a while, with only the noises of traffic keeping them company.

Finally, Tony said, "You okay, Pete?"

Peter hesitated for a split second before nodding. "Yeah."

Tony sighed. "I'm sorry about that, kid. I should have thought things through. I didn't want you to have to deal with paparazzi - at least not while you're still a teenager. It's not fair to you." He remembered all too well what it was like to be a kid and have dozens of flashing cameras in front of his face while random people shouted questions in his ear. Peter already had trouble with his hypersensitivity to sensory details; reporters swarming him every possible second would only make that worse.

Peter shrugged. "It's not your fault, Mr. Stark. You shouldn't have had to drive all the way out here to take me to my hair appointment, anyways, so this is really on me."

Tony resisted the urge to pull over to the side of the road so he could properly lecture the kid. "Pete, in no way at all can you blame yourself for paparazzi showing up. Besides - I was the one who insisted on bringing you myself."

"But Mr. Stark -"

"No," Tony interrupted. "The adult has not finished talking. Keeping reporters away from you was my responsibility, and I screwed up on that front. Not you. You handled everything perfectly. You stayed quiet and allowed me to deal with it. Only the information we wanted released about you was given out." He chuckled. "Pepper actually planned to have a press conference about the matter of your internship in a few weeks, so really the news just got out earlier than expected."

Peter bit his lip. "So you don't regret going out today?"

"Regret it?" Tony rolled his eyes. "Kid, today was the most fun I've had in a long time. I tried Thai food, I have a hot new look, I enjoyed ice cream named after me, and most importantly - I got to hang out with you, Spiderling. Can't get much better than that, even if there were a few pesky reporters at the end."

Peter smiled, and Tony didn't miss the relief dancing in his eyes. "Yeah. Today was really fun, Mr. Stark."

"Dare I say we should do it again sometime?"

Peter laughed. "We'll dye our hair blue."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Kid, you are going to be the death of me."

xXxXxXx

Bonus:

Pepper glanced at the clock on her dresser, frowning as she read the time. It was well past midnight, and Tony was nowhere to be seen. While it wasn't unusual for him to pull all-nighters, as of late he'd been trying to go to bed at a reasonable time to set a good example for Peter. Needless to say, she hadn't minded that at all.

However, despite it being nearly one in the morning, Tony had not yet returned to their bedroom. She'd attempted to give him an extensive lecture when he and Peter had returned on why he couldn't cancel conferences last-minute and that it was dangerous to expose Peter to the press without careful planning, but the look of pure elation in Peter's eyes caused her to sigh and simply warn them not to do it again. There was something special about that kid, and she was pleased to note Tony understood that fact perhaps even better than she did.

Tony also looked more attractive than she'd care to admit with dark red streaks in his hair, and the fact that he and Peter matched admittedly was adorable.

The three of them had all eaten dinner together before Pepper had gone back to her office, leaving Peter and Tony to entertain themselves.

She briefly wondered if they'd gone down to the lab, but quickly dismissed the notion. She probably would have heard an explosion at least once if that had been the case.

Pepper sighed, pushing the sheets off of herself before swinging her legs over the side of the bed and sliding her feet into a pair of slippers. "FRIDAY, do you know where Tony and Peter are?" She didn't feel like searching through the entire tower.

"My scanners detect that they are in screening room number eight," FRIDAY replied. "Apparently they are 'binge-watching' the entire Star Wars franchise."

"Of course they are," Pepper muttered, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around herself, the cool air having easily pierced her thin pajamas before she'd done so. "Thank you, FRIDAY."

"My pleasure."

Pepper took the elevator down to the fifth floor, often called one of the 'fun floors' in the tower. After turning a few corners and having to backtrack once or twice, she found the correct room. She tiptoed in, spotting the duo sitting together in the front row while credits rolled on the screen.

Closer inspection, however, revealed that they'd both fallen asleep, with Tony's arm around Peter and Peter's head resting on Tony's shoulder.

Pepper shook her head at the sight, but a warm smile danced on her lips. She removed the blanket she'd wrapped around herself and gently placed it over them before quietly leaving and returning to her bedroom.

Yes, there was something very special about that kid. And she knew Tony wouldn't change it for the world.

xXxXxXx

Thank for you reading the beginning of what I'm sure will be a long compilation of many oneshots (because I get writer's block way too much), and I hope you stick around for more. Please feel free to leave me prompts/suggestions!