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Peter was fucking exhausted. School had been a pain. He wasn't going to even bother patrolling. He wanted to just go home and take a nap. His senses were being picky too, they always were when he was tired. Everything seemed brighter and louder. He put on his headphones and put on his music. It was loud enough to drown everything out, but quiet enough to not hurt his ears. He climbed the stairs to his apartment and hoped May wouldn't fuss. Hopefully she'd just let him go to sleep, it was a Friday, after all, he could do with some rest.
Peter unlocked his door and stepped inside. "Hey, May, I'm home. I passed that test in history, by the way." Peter walked to the kitchen. Snack first sleep later. He pulled off his headphones and...was someone else in the house?
-
Tony did everything he could not to frown. Perhaps he had done his child a disservice. May was probably a worse cook than he was and that was saying something. His palms felt sweaty as he made small talk with May. Though she couldn't cook worth a damn, he liked her. The way she smiled when she talked about Peter. He was glad she was his guardian, she obviously adored him the way any mother should love their child. Maybe Peter didn't have a nutritious upbringing, but he'd had a nurturing one. Tony was glad for that.
'This isn't about me, us, this is about making sure he doesn't kill himself out there.' Tony thought, glancing down at the case he'd brought with him. It was a prototype, of course, but he'd make better ones once he knew more about what his kid could do. The kid had to have an iron stomach to eat this though. Who even used dates in cooking?
Tony jolted upright when the door opened. God, Peter sounded tired. 'Serves you right for staying up all night, kid. Deal with it.'
-
"Is someone over, May?" Peter came around the corner cautiously.
"You didn't tell me about the grant, Peter." May glared at him.
Peter dropped his backpack when the man on the couch looked at him. Shit. Peter'd never really seen the man this close before, not since the expo. He'd never realized how much they looked alike. "M-Mr. Stark. Wha-What are you doing here?" 'Play it cool, Peter, he doesn't know you know...does he? Shit, what if he knows I know? What the fuck do I do? Is he going to be angry? I know he didn't want me to know...but shit. What do I do?' Peter's mind spiraled out of his control, trying to figure out what to do. His spidersense was silent, though, even as his anxiety climbed.
"I'm here about the grant you applied for. I saw your project, it was brilliant--and the color scheme, gotta say I like the style, all red and blue. I prefer gold myself though." Tony winked his eye furthest away from May.
'Red and blue. Oh, this is not about me being his kid...this is about Spiderman.' Peter wasn't sure which was worse. Tony had been pretty pissed in that video when he'd found out. "The grant?"
"Yeah, kid. I accepted, so we're in business. I wanted to hash out some details with you."
Peter's mouth wasn't working. He opened it, but no sounds came out.
"Sorry, he's probably just a little star-struck. He's been a fan of your work since he was a kid."
"Iron Man fan?" Tony asked May.
"No, Tony Stark fan. He'd live in a lab if we'd let him." May laughed.
Peter didn't miss the gentle smile on Tony's face. "You mind if I talk to him? One science geek to another?"
'One Stark to another?' Peter auto-corrected in his mind. He had to physically shake the thought out of his head.
"Go on, bud, but you're not off the hook. We don't keep secrets in this house."
"I-I just wanted to surprise you, May. I didn't think I'd get it, you know, there-there are just so many people who've got great ideas, you know?"
May got up and walked to him. "But you're the brightest." She whispered and kissed his forehead. "Go on, Pete. I'll get something started for dinner."
-
Tony froze when he entered Peter's room. It wasn't messy, nor completely organized. He took in all of the Legos and Star Wars. He tried to take in all the details. This is what Peter chose to keep in his life, these were the things he loved. Tony wanted to know all about them. He took in the picture of what looked like a friend and a group of teens holding a decathlon trophy. He took in the dumpster-dive tech and the weird half-done creations. Tony smiled at that, then locked the door once the kid was inside. May, obviously, didn't know about Spiderman.
"Bit of retro tech?"
"Y-yeah. U-um... What-what are you doing here? I didn't apply for any grant or..."
Tony looked up at the small space in the ceiling, an easy way to do maintenance, or a good place to hide something. "If I lift that up am I going to find your little red and blue project?"
"What-" Peter looked at the door and lowered his voice. "What project?"
"The underoos you call a supersuit, kid." Tony lifted the little door and the spidersuit fell free. "Yeah, thought so. It's quite impressive, what you're doing out there. I've seen you stop cars with your bare hands, very impressive...and stupid."
Peter's eyes narrowed. "It's not stupid."
Tony looked through the goggles. "You can see through these?" He worried for his son's condition. How could anyone focus through those goggles?
"Yes, I can." Peter stashed the suit. "My senses are freaking crazy and...it helps me focus." Peter opened his closet door and shoved his suit inside. He used too much force though, and something small and pink fell from the top shelf. Peter turned bright red, but snatched up Piglet and gently put him back where he belonged.
"He was my favorite." Tony commented.
"Don't make fun," Peter said as he closed the door. Peter didn't turn around, he seemed to be thinking very hard about something.
Tony had to wonder. Who did the kid think gave him the stuffed animal? Did his parents claim it? Did he think Mary or Richard got it for him? Could the kid even remember that time, especially given how sick he'd been? "Who gave Piglet to you?"
Peter shrugged.
'That's a no, then,' Tony thought. "So, how'd you get your hands on this, kid? The tensile strength is amazing." Tony tossed a cartridge at the kid and the boy caught it without even looking at it. 'His reactions are good and his senses have to be good too...' Tony already started considering ways to make updates to Peter's suit to better suit his abilities.
"I made it." Peter looked down and sat across from Tony at his desk.
"Why do you go out there?"
"If you can do the things I can do and you don't go out there and help and bad things happen. Those bad things are on you." Peter looked down at his hands.
Tony could see the resolve. He'd seen that same strength of character out in the field. 'My son is good...so much better than I could ever be.' Tony cleared his throat. "Alright," he said as he stood and put his hand on Peter's shoulder. Tony wanted to brush the curls off his forehead, to pull the kid into a hug, to tell him he was proud, to tell him he was his father. But damn, he was just so fucking good. "I saw the baddies you took down last night, you alright?"
"Huh? Yeah, they grazed me is all, I heal super fast." Peter shrugged.
There was an awkwardness in the kid that Tony hadn't expected. Tony had watched the kid patrol, he was full of energy most of the time, so why was he suddenly so reserved...cautious, even? "I've made something for you. I can't have you going around in your underoos and getting hurt. I feel like that'd be on me. Now, part of me wants to tell you to go to school and focus on being a damn kid, but...I can tell you won't stop, so I might as well make sure you're safe out there." Tony opened his case.
Suddenly, Peter Parker was the wide-eyed jittery teen again. "HOLY SHIT!" He leapt forward and looked at the suit. "I-bu-what-is that-um-?" Peter couldn't seem to figure out which question he wanted to ask first.
"It's a prototype. I'm not sure of all of your abilities, so I'll want you checking in so I can make sure we've covered all the bases, but it'll keep you safe as you can be without compromising your...stickiness."
"Wow." Peter gently touched the spider emblem on the suit. "Mr. Stark, this is..."
How far could Tony push this? Could he have his kid closer without putting that weight on him? Wouldn't it be wrong though, to pull the kid close and not tell him the truth? Tony could hear JARVIS' many protests throughout the years. JARVIS had always insisted that Tony just tell 'Master Stark' that he was his father. Tony hadn't listened. Part of him wished he had. Maybe...maybe he could have a little. "And that grant-thing...I mean, if you wanted an internship with me, that'd be cool. You're a very smart kid, Peter, I'd be happy to work with you."
"This is...I..." Peter was still gaping at the suit. "Wait, an internship? With YOU?"
"If you want, I'm not gonna push or anything, but I've wanted a second pair of eyes in my lab for a while now and DUM-E only knows how to work the extinguisher...and not very well, I might add."
"Yes." Peter nodded.
"Just like that?" Tony hadn't thought it would be that simple.
"Is there a reason why I shouldn't?" Peter asked.
Tony heard the tone. Were those words loaded or was it just him? Tony could give Peter a million reasons why he should stay away, but he was too damn selfish to speak them. "Nope. Genius kid like you should get to work that brain of yours, you're obviously talented." Tony nodded to the webshooters.
Peter blushed and ducked his head. "Thanks, Mr. Stark. Can I ask-?"
"Ask what?"
Peter shook his head. "Never mind. So...like should I be going to Stark Industries some time or something?"
"How about Monday? Happy'll pick you up from school. I'll talk to your aunt about it."
"Yeah! I'm in."
"Just don't get in over your head out there and it's a square deal." Tony put his hand on Peter's shoulder. "And if you're ever in above your head, call me, I'll show up, day or night."
Peter swallowed and nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Stark."
Tony wanted to stay there. Peter's shoulder was so warm. 'Can't I just this once hug my kid?' Tony pulled his hand back and shook his head. "See you, Monday, kid."
-
Once Tony had left Peter collapsed onto his bed. "Shit." Peter breathed. Tony was obviously concerned enough about his wellbeing to get close to him, build him a suit, and promise to be there if any fights went south. It even seemed he was going to use the internship to look out for him. But the billionaire still wasn't budging, wasn't telling the whole truth. Part of Peter understood exactly why Tony couldn't speak. And Peter knew he couldn't judge. Peter himself knew the truth and he was too fucking terrified to say it out loud, to ask Tony the big question or even just flat out say it: I know you're my dad, 'cause JARVIS wrecked my phone.
Peter groaned. He didn't have a functioning phone. How could he explain that one to Aunt May? Phones were expensive as fuck.
Suddenly, Aunt May burst into the room with a huge smile on her face. "PETER! You have an internship with you're literal favorite person ever!"
Peter nodded. Tony Stark had always been a hero and Peter had always looked up to him and his knowledge. Iron Man had always been someone to look up to. 'If I could tell my five-year-old self he's our dad...I probably woulda had a heart attack.'
"You may be in shock, but we're totally celebrating this victory. Thai or Indian?" Aunt May asked.
Peter shook himself and smiled. He'd get to work with THE Tony Stark. He'd be able to get to know his father. "Indian."