Chapter Text

[Outside Flughafen Leipzig-Halle, We see Iron Man, War Machine, Captain America, Black Widow, and Black Panther confronting each other.]

“There’s footage of this?” Steve asks. “I thought we had all of it erased.”

Bucky crosses his arms. “You missed some.”

“I don’t miss things,” Tony refutes. “If he has this footage it’s because I let him keep it. Not sure why, though.”

Peter : (whispers) Okay, there’s Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow. Whoa. Who’s that new guy?

“I think you’re the new guy, dude,” Abe says to the screen.

Tony inclines his head. “There were a few new guys.”

Tony: Underoos!

[We see Peter, now dressed in the Spider-Man suit that Tony gave him.]

Peter: Oh, that’s me. I gotta go. I gotta go.

[Peter puts down the phone and proceeds to snatch Captain America’s shield with his web.]

Bucky snorts. “You had your shield stolen by a toddler.”

“A superpowered toddler,” Steve argues. “That Tony brought to an adult’s fight.”

[Later.]

Peter: Hey, everyone.

Steve runs a hand down his face. “How did we not realize he was a kid? He doesn’t even use a voice modifier.”

“He does sound like a baby,” Tony agrees, feeling a bit uncomfortable at the thought. May was watching the screen through her fingers, now.

[He is holding his camera and flying through the air to find a safe spot. We see and hear explosions everywhere.]

Peter: Okay, so the craziest thing just happened, right? I just had a fight with Captain America and I stole his shield and I threw it at him-

“Is he really doing this as the fight is happening?” Charles asks. “That seems unsafe.”

“Well, he’s only like, twelve,” Bucky says. “He’s going to make some dumb choices.”

Betty’s nose wrinkles. “Actually, I’m pretty sure he’s our age. This happened, what? Five years ago? So he would’ve been fifteen, I think.”

Tony shakes his head. Still just a kid. No reason to be involved in Tony’s fight.

[We hear a metallic noise. Ant-Man grows into a giant in the background and grabs War Machine by his ankle. Peter turns to see this.]

Peter: What the hell? He’s big now. I gotta go. Hang on.

“Empire Strikes Back,” Tony murmurs, remembering the spider-boy’s idea from that day.

[The phone is put down and for a moment, all we see are the sky and the clouds. Then we hear the battle commencing and see Peter being flung through the air.]

Peter: Whoa!

“Oh, god,” May breathes, covering her eyes as she takes a deep breath,

[Back in Peter's hotel room. Peter is facing the camera, now dressed in a grey NASA T-shirt. It is obvious that he is still high on adrenaline.]

Peter: It was the most amazing thing that’s ever happened! So Mr. Stark was like, “Hey, Underoos!” and I just sort of flipped in and I stole Cap’s shield. I was like, “Hey, what’s up, everybody?” And then...

[There’s a knock on his door.]

Peter: Hey, just a second! Coming!

[He backflips to the door, but before he can open it, Happy enters in a bathrobe.]

“So cool,” Ned mutters, looking a little giddy.

Peter: Hey.

Happy: We have thin walls here.

The kids in the room giggle. Tony smiles to himself.

[Camera starts rolling. We are now inside Tony's car. A hand reaches for it and we tilt up to find Tony Stark in a suit and sunglasses ensemble.]

“Oh, hey, wait, that's you,” Abe says. “You know him?”

“Guess so,” Tony murmurs. He hated not driving. He had since the desert and the cave and the young man who hadn’t made it. So why was he sitting in the backseat of his car with this kid?

Tony: What are you doing, a little video diary?

Peter : (embarrassed) Yeah.

Tony: It’s all right. I’d probably do the same.

God, when was the last time he spoke to someone like that? Gentle, almost. Tony didn’t sound like that. He was all sarcasm and barbed wire and defensive jabs.

Happy : (from the driver’s seat) I told him not to do it. He was filming everything.

Tony: It’s okay.

“Is it?” Sally asks. “Like, real question, what happens if this footage gets leaked? Spiderman’s identity will be out.”

Tony shakes his head. “If he’s working with me, he’s using one of my phones. The footage is safe.”

Happy: I’m gonna wipe the chip.

Tony: Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. You know what? We should actually... We should make an alibi video for your aunt anyway. You ready?

Tony knew that he had let the kid keep the footage. He wasn’t sure why he’d let it happen. Why he had apparently taken this kid under his tutelage. Tony Stark was no mentor. There was a reason he turned down offers to appear at schools. 

[Tony takes off his sunglasses, revealing a badly bruised face.]

Steve sucks in a breath next to him. “Don’t,” Tony tells him before he has a chance to start. He doesn’t say anything, neither does Bucky, but he feels their gaze burning into the side of his head all the same.

Peter: Yeah, hold on.

Tony: We rolling?

Peter: An alibi? Sure.

Tony: Get in the frame.

Peter: Okay.

The kid wiggled into the spot next to him on screen and Tony felt something behind his ribs crack. In the depths of his gut, his heart, his head, this kid felt like his.

Tony: Hey, May. How you doing? What are you wearing? Something skimpy, I hope.

[Peter turns to Tony with a frown on his face. Tony chuckles and pats Peter’s shoulder, whose face now wears an uncomfortable smile.]

May turns to frown at him. Tony holds up his hands. “I don’t remember this.”

“Don’t let it happen again,” she says sternly. He nods. An easy enough promise to keep.

Tony: Peter, that’s inappropriate. All right, let’s start over. You can edit it.

Peter: Mm-hmm.

[Looking at Tony, Peter chuckles.]

“He kinda looks like you,” Bucky mutters.

Tony scowls. “Lay off, I don’t have a kid.”

Steve makes a noise. “I mean, you might. None of us remember him.”

“You think I wouldn’t notice that I forgot my own child?”

Steve doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to. The kid sitting next to him on the screen, smiling goofily and leaning into Tony’s shoulder was as good as his. It was plain to anyone who’d ever spent any time around him. Tony had claimed this one, wrapped him in protective technology and practically slapped a label on him. And he’d forgotten him all the same.

Tony was starting to resent the wizard. 

Tony: Three, two, one. Hey, May. My gosh, uh, I wanted to tell you what an incredible job your nephew did this weekend at the Stark internship retreat. Everyone was impressed.

[Tony is putting on a solemn face. Peter offers the camera a wide-eyed, tight-lipped smile, trying to look innocent. Suddenly, we hear a loud honk.]

MJ squints at the screen and then at Tony. He was starting to wonder if he would need to have a DNA test done. 

Happy : Come on! It’s a freaking merge. (to Tony) I’m sorry.

Tony : This is because you’re not on Queens Boulevard. (to the camera) See, Happy is... is hoping to get bumped up to asset management. He was forehead of security, and before that, he was just a driver.

The kids giggle again.

[Still driving, Happy gives Tony a sidelong glance.]

Happy: That was a private conversation. I don’t like joking about this. It was hard for me to talk to you about that.

Tony: No, seriously, was he snoring a bunch?

[Happy slams on the brakes, making the car screech to a stop.]

Happy: All right. Here we are. End of the line. Whoops.

Tony smiles at his head of security. One of his longest friends. He should give him a raise.

[Tony laughs and films Peter, who looks a bit pale.]

Tony: Happy, can you give us a moment?

Happy: You want me to leave the car?

“Does he usually stay in the car?” Abe asks.

Tony swallows. “When I am. If I’m out of the car, so is he. He’s like a really grumpy shadow.”

Tony: Why don’t you grab Peter’s case out of the trunk.

[Peter’s film finally stops rolling. He slowly lowers his phone, shocked.]

Peter: I can keep the suit?

Tony knew himself. Sure, he only remembered being Spiderman’s generally uninvolved benefactor, but if he cared for this kid the way he clearly did, he’d made the suit with the intention of giving it to Peter. The suit was his, made with him in mind.

Tony: Yes, we were just talking about it.

[Tony puts his sunglasses back on and clears his throat. Through the rear window, we see Happy struggling with Peter’s case.]

He winced as he saw himself pull up his walls again.

Tony: Do me a favor, though. Happy’s kind of your point guy on this. Don’t stress him out. Don’t do anything stupid. I’ve seen his cardiogram. All right?

Peter : (enthusiastically) Yes.

Tony: Don’t do anything I would do, and definitely don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. There’s a... There’s a little grey area in there, and that’s where you operate.

“Yeah, because that’s not confusing at all,” Seymour scoffs.

Peter: Wait, does that mean that I’m an Avenger?

Tony: No.

“What?” the kids all protest in unison.

Tony waves his hands at them. “Calm down,” he snaps. “He’s a kid, I’m not going to turn him into a government regulated superhero.”

“One fight doesn’t make you an Avenger,” Steve says.

“It made you one,” MJ replies cooly. None of them have a response for that. Technically, yes. One fight had cemented them as a group, as the Avengers. But they’d all be heavy hitters before that and the fight had been against a global threat. It wasn’t the same. But these were kids and the complications of the situation weren’t what they wanted to hear.

[Happy knocks on the window and holds the case up.]

Happy: This it?

Tony: Seventh floor.

Peter: I can take that. You don’t have to take it.

“Sweet boy,” May murmurs.

Happy: You’re gonna take it?

Peter: Yeah, I can take that.

Happy: Thank you.

[Happy drops the case by the car.]

Eugene makes a face. “He’s gonna mess up the suit.”

“No, he’s not,” Steve disagrees. Mr. America was right, of course. Those cases were damn near indestructible and the suit inside it was nothing to sneeze at either.

Peter: So when’s, when’s our next... When’s our next “retreat,” you know? Like...

Tony: What, next mission?

Peter: Yeah, the mission. The missions.

Tony: We’ll call you.

Peter: Do you have my numbers?

Tony: No, I mean, we’ll call you. Like, someone will call you.

“God, Tony, give him something,” May says. “Look at him, he worships you.”

Tony’s throat feels tight. He could see the disappointment growing, the hope dying. He hated being the cause of that but he knew that he’d made his choice after Siberia. Spiderman wasn’t ready for this, not yet. Peter Parker was perhaps less so.

Peter: Oh.

Tony: All right?

Peter: From your team.

Tony: Okay.

[Tony reaches for the door. Peter mistakes the gesture as a hug and brings his arms around Tony.]

Tony: It’s not a hug. I’m just grabbing the door for you. We’re not there yet.

“Jesus fuck, Tony,” Steve groans and Tony feels like maybe he doesn’t have the right to judge him for this. He and Cyborg still hadn’t worked their shit out.

[Peter awkwardly climbs out of the car. Almost as an afterthought, Tony calls out:]

Tony: Bye.

“This is painful,” Liz murmurs. Charles nods.

[Tony and Happy drive off. Holding his bag and the Spider-Man suit case, Peter grins.]

Peter: They’re gonna call me.

[He heads to the apartment entrance. There is a definite spring in his step.]