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"Hey, Mr. Stark."
Tony winced, but accepted the name. He'd called his father the same thing, but at least Peter's tone was lighter, filled with less resentment, though there was some there, hidden under the cautious curiosity and hope. Jesus, the kid had hope. 'Don't break it, don't break it.' Tony said to himself, over and over. "Hi, kid." 'What do normal parents ask their kids?' Tony didn't know. He'd never really had a relationship with either of his parents. "Uh, how was school?"
Peter looked a little uncomfortable for a second, but he shook himself a bit and smiled. "It was fine. Had a pop quiz today. That was not cool, but I passed it. English isn't always fun, my worst subject, but I passed."
"Awesome. English wasn't my best either." Tony nodded, feeling proud of his son. But... He desperately tried to think of something else to say.
"You don't have to be all awkward or try to find something to talk about. It's okay-"
"Kid...Peter, I've wanted nothing more than the chance to talk to you." Tony felt his eyes water. "And now, I finally get my chance and I don't know what to say."
"Me neither," Peter shrugged. "It's alright though. I think this'll just have to...be what it is until we figure this out. It'll take time though, right?"
"You're a bright kid."
Peter blushed and looked down at the table. "Well, they say there are some genetic factors to that." Peter put his bag down. "Speaking of genius, I've been trying to fix my phone and I have had absolutely no luck with it. I know I have this internship thing and that's awesome because I totally want to help build super cool things and you're like the best at what you do so I could learn a lot...but could we look at it? I kinda feel bad that I can't get ahold of May when I'm out and about, Spidermaning and all."
Tony smiled, his son was adorable, the way he rambled on when he was excited. But...was he really worried ove a phone? Tony could fix that. He could make Peter's day better. Isn't that what parents were supposed to do? Help? "You're phone is broken? How'd that happen?"
"JARVIS broke it." Peter held it out and Tony snatched it.
He began to fiddle with it. He needed to see what his AI had done. "Eek, you carry around this dinosaur? It's horrible, not to mention J fried it. I mean, I built him, but I don't think even I could undo this damage. He locked it down tight." Tony smiled sadly. The last act of his AI was to protect Peter. He knew JARVIS was his favorite for a reason.
Peter sighed. "May's gonna kill me. I broke my last phone when I first started as Spiderman and she about lost it."
Tony frowned at Peter. "Why?"
"Dude, do you know how much a phone costs?" Peter whined then froze. "Oh, wait, never mind. You don't. That's cool. But at this rate I'm losing my bags and two phones now, not to mention the laptop I nearly ruined and had to rebuild. Don't know how I'm going to explain this away."
"I'll get you a new one. It's fine."
"No, Mr. Stark, please don't." Peter shook his head, a light blush on his cheeks. "I couldn't take it. I'll just go without one for a while, save up allowance."
"No way, kid. My AI broke your phone, it's only common decency that I get you one that works. JARVIS broke it, I'll make it right. Besides, you're not going to put me out." Tony shrugged.
Peter's jaw tightened.
"I lost it with that last sentence, didn't I?" Tony tried to ask the question lightly.
"Yeah. This is not about money, Mr. Stark. And it can't be about money." Peter was obviously talking about more than just the phone. "It'd be all off balance that way and wrong... It's not supposed to be about money."
"Then it's about the principle. My creation broke your phone, a device that you need so you can communicate with important people, especially since you run around saving people. So, I'll get you a new one, to make up for the AI's mishap. Sound good?"
"That's better, I guess." Peter shrugged.
"Okay. So you want the new Starkphone or-?"
"Equal or lesser value." Peter protested.
Tony looked at the young man and nodded in agreement. His parents had used their money to convey meaning and thoughtfulness and it had always come off as false. Even though Tony knew there was a better, safer, more reliable phone...he could understand Peter's perspective. The cost didn't mean shit to Tony. He wanted to provide the best and he could, Tony didn't want to show off, he just wanted Peter to have the best and most reliable phone so that he would be safe, but he understood what it could look like and if it meant something to Peter then he'd just have to deal. "Square deal." 'Here's hoping he never finds out how much money went into making his suit...or about the Iron Spider project.' Tony thought to himself. "Equal value. I'll make it happen."
"Do you really understand though?" Peter asked after a few beats.
Tony nodded. "I don't want this relationship to be about money either, kid. Money can't by love or family, I know that, I went through that and it didn't build any bridges between me and my parents. I wasn't trying to suggest that."
"Then why?" Peter wondered.
"Because I can get you something reliable that can take the beating you get when you're out and about. I thought about getting you something that could go the distance...but I understand and I respect why you said no."
Peter took a few breaths. "I don't need money, Mr. Stark. My family has never had much of it and we've always been good. I don't need fancy things to make me happy."
"I don't want you to feel like I'm trying to buy you, Peter, I'm not. I was just thinking about trying to provide the best for you."
"That's a bit..." Peter looked at his feet.
"Too familial?" Tony winced, hoping that wasn't what Peter was thinking.
"Yeah... I just, don't think I can accept that yet. I want there to be a solid ground between us...before we add the...obvious disparities that hover between us."
It was fair and honest. Tony could deal with that. It wasn't going to stop him from pouring more money into Peter's suit though...suits. Those suits were going to be the top of the line, because only the top of the line would be good enough to protect his son. "Okay. I agree."
Peter seemed to appraise him for a moment before he grinned. "So, what're we going to do today?" Peter wondered.
Tony sighed in relief. "How about I teach you a thing or two about arc reactors?"
Peter's eyes lit up. "Yes! You know, I tried to figure out how they worked on my own. Like, I understood the principle, but trying to build one out of old laptops didn't really work. I was missing something."
"Palladium. Not easily found in dumpster dives, kid. Plus, now I've got better materials and a whole new element that takes it over the top. I'll show you, come on."
"Sweet!"
-
"So, how did you make the web fluid?"
Peter looked over at Tony. "Hm?"
"You heard me. How is it made?"
"How did you create a new element?"
"By being a badass." Tony answered with a smirk.
"Same thing, basically." Peter shrugged with a smile. He wouldn't tell Mr. Stark. He needed something that was his. Mr. Stark had lots of great ideas and creations all his own. Peter wanted something with his own signature on it. He wasn't sure he could hold much of a high ground on his father, but he had this one thing and he'd keep it.
"Are you deflecting? That is my signature move."
"You have your secrets, I have mine. Just because I'm better at biology and chemistry than you are doesn't mean you need to get huffy."
Tony narrowed his eyes. "Fine, kid. You win. But engineering, that's mine, agreed?"
"Sure thing, Mr. Stark." Peter looked up from the mini arc reactor. "Shit. It's late. I should be getting home. May has this dinner and everything."
"You can eat that stuff?"
"Well, not really, but she'll burn it and feel bad and we'll go out to eat something, like usual. Anyways, I gotta head home. She's real insistent about Thursdays." Peter pulled on his backpack, but didn't fail to notice the slight frown on Mr. Stark's face. "I had fun."
A small smile pulled at the older man's lips. "Me too. If you come up with any ideas on those arrows, you'll let me know, right?"
"Yeah." Peter nodded. He liked the internship. So far he got three days a week. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. They'd figured it out over the course of a few weeks. Happy'd pick him up after school and he'd spend a few hours at the tower, spending time with Mr. Stark and helping him with projects. "And I'll see you next week, right?"
"Happy'll be there to pick you up..." Tony agreed.
"Awesome. See you later, Mr. Stark." Peter rushed toward the door. He really couldn't be late for Aunt May, no matter how much he wanted to stay.
"Hey, Peter?" His voice almost seemed...pained.
He paused and looked back at Tony.
"Maybe sometime we could have dinner or something, something a bit less...intern-y?"
Peter smiled. "That'd be awesome, Mr. Stark."
-
Aunt May hadn't burned the food after all. "You're all smiley. Are you enjoying your internship?"
"Yeah..." Peter nodded. "It's good, real good."
"So, what did you do today?"
"I'm...actually not allowed to talk about it." Peter said truthfully. He was pretty sure he wasn't allowed to disclose superhero stuff, least of all his own. And part of him didn't want to open the whole 'By the way, Tony Stark's literally my father' bag of worms just yet. He didn't know if May knew and...well it was still a fresh thing. He was having trouble processing on his own.
"Top secret stuff of the super variety?" May asked, gesturing with her pinky like Dr. Evil.
"Something like that." Peter laughed. "Calm down, Dr. Evil."
"What? You know he could actually pay the ransom of 'ONE MILLION DOLLARS.'" She winked, giggled and then grew more serious. "I'm glad you're having fun. Are you learning things?"
"Yeah! It's amazing. There is so much to learn and try out and it's all so cool. Like, I'm good with Biochem, right, but his engineering is off the charts, like if I could take half of what he knows and combined it with what I can do, dude, it would be crazy cool!""
"Alright, science nerd, don't have too much fun." She smiled. "I'm just glad you have something you enjoy doing. After you dropped band I was getting concerned."
"I just...I don't know. Wasn't feeling it." Peter shrugged. Band practice hadn't allowed much time for Spiderman-ing.
"It's alright, things change, I just like seeing you getting out and doing things. We gotta look out for each other."
"I know. I'm doing good." Peter promised. He smiled as she ruffled his hair.
"Love you, now eat up."