Tony sprinted through the airport like a mad man. He hadn’t bothered to get on his personal plane; that would have taken too much time. No, he couldn’t wait another second to see Peter, and had quickly bought two of the last tickets in the economy section. Pepper towed behind him, attempting to corral him while apologizing to the innocent people he almost bowled over.

“Tony,” She finally caught him as he was about to run into the tunnel that connects the airport to the airplane, “that’s not our flight, hon.” He smiled at her, then began to run again.

Everywhere around them, people were staring. Some took videos on their phone cameras, while others just pointed and laughed. It was definitely a sight to be looked at. A disheveled, half-dead looking Tony sprinting through the airport with the energy of a small child? It was one of the most unprofessional things that Tony had done in his career, and needless to say, the people were beginning to wonder if it was some sort of trick.

When Pepper had finally gotten Tony to sit down in their boarding area, she began to rifle through their things. Tickets, passports, foreign currency, and a small book with phrases translated into Italian. Leave it to Pepper to be the best prepared for anything.

“Do you think he’ll be happy to see me?” Tony wondered aloud, staring at Pepper. She didn’t know if she was supposed to reply, but before she could open her mouth, Tony continued to talk.

“What do I do if he’s happier with May? If he refuses to come with us?” With a small tilt of his head, Pepper can see the terror behind his eyes, pooling together. “I don’t think I’d be able to take it.”

“You’re talking crazy talk, Stark.” Pepper says lightly. “He loves you more than anything else in this world, and you know that. I can tell just from the way that he looks at you. The second you see him, I know that he’ll be more than ecstatic.”

“Yeah.” Tony nods slowly, as if he’s trying to convince himself with each movement of his head. “I don’t know why you’re so smart, Pep.” He grabs her hand in his and smiles at her. Pepper moves her head and rests it on his shoulder, smiling and closing her eyes. After months of having a withdrawn and quiet Tony, this was the best thing in the world to her.

A few minutes later, the boarding call for their flight crackled over the airport’s dusty old speakers. Quicker than humanly possible, Tony was both running and dragging Pepper behind him to get to the front of the line. He danced in the line like a small child waiting to use the restroom. It wasn’t his fault that he was acting so spastic; he had months of energy settled deep in his bones.

“You know being first in the line doesn’t make the plane take off faster, right?” Pepper looked at him with a small smile. It was refreshing to see Tony care so much about something, especially since it also meant that she could have her son back, too.

“I know, but it does put me that much closer to Peter.” Tony smiles widely.

A few minutes more, and the people are finally let through the tunnel and into their seats. Because neither of them have luggage, Tony and Pepper just take their seats. They were lucky enough to get the last two seats, and have them next to each other. It was an eight hour flight, nonstop, but Tony wouldn’t complain. How could he, when he was about to see his son?

**********

Meanwhile, in Italy, Aunt May was doing some research. She was determined to keep Peter in her custody, and that meant keeping up to date on Stark’s whereabouts. Obviously, since he is a famous celebrity, that meant she couldn’t know where he was all the time. On the other hand, he is a famous celebrity, and if he went out, she could know where he was. Thank you, obsessive and privacy ignoring media!

And May knew exactly where Stark was, and where he was going. Currently, #crazystarkinairport was trending across every social media website. #starkonmyflight was also trending, and appeared in several posts. After reading through them, Aunt May knew that Tony Stark was on an airplane flying to Milan, Italy. The airport was only twenty minutes from where she and Peter lived.

Surprisingly, May wasn’t nervous. Or scared. She knew exactly what was going to happen when Stark got off that airplane. Peter was her nephew, and no self-centered billionaire would be able to take that away from her.

**********

The plane landed in Milan at 8am. While everyone else had been sleeping, Tony Stark was leaping out of the plane and running through the airport. Again. Pepper followed him sleepily, as it would have been 2am back in New York. The city was already alive, with people moving through the city and beginning to see the beautiful sights.

“What’s the plan, Tony?” She yawned.

“I was thinking we would ask around the city and see if anyone has seen them. They would probably make a scene, and I know Peter would attempt to leave clues behind for me.” Tony starts looking around for natives that he could ask.

“Why don’t we start by asking people at the airport?” Pepper suggests.

“Good idea.” Tony heads for the desk where the people checking passports are sitting.

“Excuse me?” Pepper taps the woman’s shoulder, who turns to see them. Her eyes widen when she sees Tony.

“Come posso aiutarla? (How can I help you?)” She asks, her eyes still wide.

Pepper flips open her book to try to find a phrase to say, but Tony steps in front of her.

“Stiamo cercando un ragazzo e sua zia. (We are looking for a boy and his aunt.)”

“Molte persone si adattano a questa descrizione. (Many people fit that description.)”

“C'è qualcosa che ti sembra strano? (Are there any that seem odd to you?)” Tony asks desperately. The woman thinks for a moment. “Non erano affari miei, ma c'erano un ragazzo e sua zia che erano venuti fuori pochi mesi fa. Continuava a dire il tuo nome e una singola frase in italiano. (It was not my business, but there was a boy and his aunt who came through a few months ago. He kept saying your name and a single phrase in Italian.)”

“Qual era quella frase? (What was that phrase?)” Tony asks eagerly.

“Lato soleggiato 4B, digli che ero qui. (Sunnyside 4B, tell him I was here.)” The woman looks solemnly at Tony, then turns back to her work.

Tony drags Pepper away and they start to head out of the airport.

“I didn’t know you spoke Italian!” Pepper’s mouth drops open slightly. Tony smiles. “I didn’t. I learned it on the plane. Now, let’s find Sunnyside 4B.”

After hopping in a taxi, Tony instructed the man to find Sunnyside apartments. It turns out, it was only twenty minutes from the airport.

They drove for a while with italian music playing in the background. Tony nodded his head along to it, never losing the grin that split his face. The car finally pulled in front of some small, cozy-looking apartment buildings. After paying €13.81 (roughly $15.53), they both got out of the taxi and looked up at the buildings.

A nervous anticipation rose up in Tony. His stomach started to turn, and his brain became fuzzy with excitement and fear. All the things he said while waiting to board the plane hadn’t left his mind since he had decided to go after Peter, and they tumbled through his mind now, clutching his senses and plaguing them with a anxious energy.

“Ready?” Pepper put a hand on his arm. He looked at her, nodded, and said, “I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life.”

They climbed the stairs until they were on the fourth level of apartments. They started at the end, and had to walk down the rows until they reached apartment 4B. With a deep breath, Tony raised his hand and knocked loudly on the door.

**********

Inside the apartment, Peter had been in his room doing his homework. He had enrolled in online homeschooling, and had started to like it. He had definitely gotten behind after a while of not going to school, but he managed to make it up in just a few days. He was about to start on advanced material, and was excited for the chemistry and math portions of the work.

Just as he was about to start on his first advanced math lesson, a loud knock came at the door.

“I’ll get it!” He yelled excitedly. It was rare that someone ever came to the door, and it was usually the only time he was able to feel a little free from the confining apartment. Other than the appointments, but those didn’t really count.

He ran through the apartment, ignoring Aunt May’s reminder to not run in the house. He almost slammed into the door, but managed to catch himself just before. He twisted the lock, turned the handle, and pulled inward. He stared out of the apartment, his eyes looking directly at the people standing on his front doormat.

**********

The door was quickly opened and Tony stared down into the large eyes of Peter Parker. Unable to contain his tears, he immediately grabbed Peter in a huge hug.

“Oh, Peter!” He cried, smiling into Peter’s shoulder. But, something was wrong. Peter tensed against his touch, and his arms shot out the second they made contact, like he didn’t want to touch Tony. Tony backed off, staring at Peter with a confused look. Peter returned a bewildered and terrified look back at him.

“A-A-Aunt May?” Peter called nervously over his shoulder.

“Peter, it’s me!” Tony tries again with a smile, his heartbeat slamming against his chest. “It’s Tony Stark, don’t you remember?” He’s beginning to get out of breath, and he recognizes the oncoming anxiety attack. He starts to control his breathing, but his lungs freeze when Peter talks.

“I’ve never met you before in my life.” Peter goes to shut the door, but Aunt May appears at his side, holding the door open.

“Oh, Peter this is my old friend Tony Stark.” She smiles down at her nephew. Peter’s face crumples once he hears the name, as if he’s trying to remember a word that is on the tip of his tongue.

“I’ve never heard that name before.” Peter looks uncertainly at Aunt May again. Her smile seems to get even bigger as she locks eyes with Tony. “Don’t worry, he’s no one important.”