• Peter is super proud of being from Queens
• Like you don’t even understand, this boy will get into arguments defending Queens
• Once, when Tony and Peter were working on the Iron Spider suit together, Tony jokingly said that Manhattan was the best borough
• He instantly regretted it when Peter dropped his screwdriver to send his mentor a glare which Tony secretly thought was as vicious as a tiny kitten’s glare
• For 15 minutes Tony was forced to sit there as Peter ranted at how Queens was obviously the best borough with the best cold sandwiches around while Manhattan was just an overrated tourist trap
• Tony will never admit it to anyone, but when he’s having a bad day he’ll shut himself in his lab and watch footage from Peter’s patrols
• He has a couple of favorite moments from Peter’s patrols, like the time Peter had to help a little girl find her lost bunny in Flushing Meadows that ended with him taking a dip in Meadow Lake
• Or when Pete helped a college aged student with his med chem homework after saving the student from being mugged
• But Tony’s all time favorite moment from Peter’s patrols was the time that the kid stopped a robbery during a little boy’s birthday party
• The robber had turned out to be the hired magician for the party, and the little birthday boy had been crushed to see his party ruined
• So Peter, being the precious hero that he was, stayed for an hour at the party, showing off tricks to the little kids and even taking the birthday boy on a joyride with his webs
• The parents of the little boy had offered to pay Spider-Man for both saving their home from being robbed and helping to save their son’s party, but he turned the money down (he did accept a piece of cake, however)
• For a solid week the media had been positive that Peter was Tony’s secret illegitimate son
• It took a press conference from both Pepper and Tony to quell those rumors, and to specify that Peter was just Tony’s personal intern which raised even more questions, some more dark than others that Tony made sure to squash down quick
• When Tony’s birthday came around, Peter had no clue on what to get him
• I mean, what do you give a billionaire that he already doesn’t own? Plus it’s not like Peter has a job
• So instead of buying something, he spent a whole weekend locked in his room putting together Tony’s gift
• When the day arrives Peter nervously heads over to Tony’s apartment 
• The older he got the less and less Tony enjoyed parties, so instead of a giant party he instead just wanted a quiet movie night with his favorite people
• So that meant it was just Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, and Peter
• After dinner and a movie, Rhodey had left, Pepper went to do some quick paperwork, and Happy went to get the car ready to drive Peter home
• Since it was just him and Tony in the apartment, Peter bashfully took out a flat, textbook-sized gift from his backpack 
• “You didn’t have to get me anything, kid,” Tony had protested. Peter just shook his head and pushed the gift towards his mentor
• “Just open it,” Peter said, watching as Tony curiously unwrapped what he realized was a book. 
• Except Tony quickly saw it wasn’t just a regular book, but a scrapbook that Peter had obviously made.
• Tony flipped through the pages and realized they were some of the best pictures he had ever seen
• Some of the pictures were of him alone, working in his workshop on the Iron Man suit or training in the gym
• Other were of him and Pepper, some being regular portrait shots while others were silly windows into their everyday lives; in one picture, Pepper was in the middle of laughing as Tony in the picture smiled lovingly at her
• There were even pictures of Tony and Rhodey playing ping pong, and him and a drunk looking Happy at a bar
• The last page was just a single picture, a selfie that Peter had taken with Tony in one of his labs
• Tony had his arm around the kid as the two smiled at the camera
• Under the picture was a simple note: Happy birthday, Mr. Stark! Thank you for everything you’ve ever done for me, you’re the best mentor in the world. You’ll always be my favorite hero. Hope you like all the pictures, I took all of them. -Signed, Peter Parker (PS, you’re also kind of like my dad now, so thanks for that too- you’re the best dad ever)
• By the time Tony looked up Peter was fidgeting where he stood, a blush on his cheeks as he stared nervously at Tony
• “So, do you, uh, like it?” Peter asked.
• Instead of answering Tony put down that scrapbook on the coffee table carefully and walked over to Peter
• Before Peter could ask again, Tony wrapped the kid in a hug
• “I love it, I love you,” Tony said, squeezing the kid tight. “Thank you, son.”
• Peter hesitated only a moment before returning the hug.
• “Happy birthday, dad, love you too.”

Post-apocalypse AU where Peter has become mute after losing everything and everyone. Only managing to find his words when in the comfort of Tony, the somewhat conceited leader of the biggest safe haven still left thriving in the U.S and who is incredibly protective over what’s his. And if examples must be made out of those who upset his favorite silent lapdog then so be it.