Chapter Text
Hearts were everywhere. The teachers at Langley Prep really liked to go all out for the holidays. So, when February rolled around, the halls were filled with pink and red hearts. It made sense for the older students, but Peter didn’t know if it quite worked for him and his friends.
“Pete?”
“Huh.” Peter looked away from the decorations in the lunch room.
“Miles was asking if you could make it to his birthday party on Saturday.”
“Oh, right, I…I’ll have to ask.” Peter shook off the lingering Valentine’s Day question and smiled at Miles. Despite not hanging out a lot, he felt connected to the kid, and he really hoped Tony would let him go to the party.
“Man, you always have to ask to go to things.” Miles frowned and took a bite of his sandwich.
A laugh erupted from Gwen. “We all have to ask. It’s not like we can drive ourselves. Besides, we aren’t exactly teenagers. I’d be worried if Peter didn’t have to ask.”
It was a good point, and Peter found himself smiling gratefully at Gwen, even though she seemed to be stating it more as a fact than to make him feel better but…maybe it was a bit of both.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Miles waved it off. “But you have to come, we are going to have a paintball war, it’s gonna be awesome!”
Peter couldn’t help but smile at the thought of running around trying to splatter paint on each other, it reminded him of Thanksgiving, and that had been quite fun. “I’m sure Mr. St-ah my guardian will let me come.”
Miles frowned at his fast correction, and even Gwen glanced at him – Anya wasn’t at school due to a dentist appointment but he knew if she was here she would’ve done the same. But it seemed they had gotten used to him simply referring to Mr. Stark as his guardian, because they didn’t comment on it.
“Good. Plus, my mom is making ice cream cake, and hers is wayyy better than any store-bought cake, trust me.”
“Oh man, I’m sold,” Harry said, even though he hadn’t finished chewing his last bite yet.
“Harry close your mouth, that’s gross!” Gwen, handed him a napkin. “Or at least cover your mouth.”
Peter couldn’t hold back a laugh at that. He had the best friends.
Plans of birthday parties, and hoping Tony would let him go filled up the rest of Peter’s day. Only when he was outside waiting for Happy, did Valentine’s Day come up again.
“So, what was with you staring at the decorations earlier?”
Peter glanced up as Harry plopped down next to him, obviously waiting for Bruno.
“Oh…nothing…I just don’t get why they decorated here. It’s not like any of us have-” Peter waved his hand, trying to find the right word.
“Romantic interests?”
“Yeah, that.”
Harry shrugged. “I think it’s really more for the teachers.”
“I guess so…”
“Unless…”
Peter quickly looked over at Harry, who was smirking at him. “What?”
“Oh, nothing. I just didn’t know if there was anyone you liked.” Harry tried to smother his smile, but it wasn’t working very well.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Despite the words, and the truth behind them, Peter found his cheeks flushing.
“Ah yeah, it’s not like you totally gush on Gwen all the time or anything.”
“What!?! I…I do not!” Peter stuttered out, he didn’t talk about her that much…
“Dude, you bring up her projects almost every time we are discussing ideas for science class.” Harry smirked again and Peter really wished his cheeks would stop feeling so warm.
Sure, Gwen was great. She was super smart and nice, and she always had the coolest and most original ideas. And her smile was really nice, especially when Peter was having a bad day, but that was it!
“I just admire her ideas, that’s all,” Peter muttered, relief washing over him as Happy pulled up just then.
“Suuure.”
“Welp, gotta, go, see you tomorrow!” Peter jumped up, grabbing his backpack and rushing to the car, but he could still hear Harry’s laugh and his, “See you later.”
Tony didn’t know what to do. It was the first Valentine’s Day since him and Pepper had officially started dating and he could NOT blow it. He needed to let her know just how much she meant to him, but that was seemingly trickier than he thought. By the time Peter got home, he hadn’t come up with one idea that seemed to fit the bill, they either seemed too over the top – which Pepper might enjoy but…she might not – or too generic.
The door to the lab opened and without looking up, Tony smiled. “Hey kid, how was school?”
A thump on the floor – Peter’s backpack. “It was good. We learned about Ulysses Grant, he was my mom’s favorite.”
Tony quickly looked up, but as Peter set his work on his table, he didn’t look distressed. Good. “Any new projects?”
“Not yet. There is a big one next month though, but we haven’t been given the list yet. Something about it being a short notice project to see how much we’ve really learned or something like that.”
Tilting his head, Tony frowned, but shrugged. Learning was learning he supposed, and if the kid needed help he’d help him.
“Oh and uh…”
Hesitant. That always meant something. Putting down his screwdriver, Tony sat back. “Something happen?”
“No, well…yeah, but that’s not, um. Miles is having a birthday party this weekend and I was hoping…ummm, I could go?” Peter fiddled with his pencil as he spoke, but then he looked up hesitantly at Tony.
A small spark of uncertainty grew in Tony’s chest, but he tried not to think about it as he weighed the question. “How far away is it?”
“Umm…I’m not sure, he said something about paintball.”
That got Tony’s attention, paintball could be quite…painful. But then again, he was used to going with Rhodey, who took the whole thing very seriously along with his other military friends. Kid’s paintball couldn’t be that bad. “Okay…I’ll ask Happy but…I think it should be okay.”
“Really?!?” Peter grinned.
Tony smiled, but something the kid has said earlier stuck in his mind. “Did something else happen?”
“What? Oh…it’s nothing, really.”
Leaning back, Tony crossed his arms and quirked his eyebrow.
Peter sighed and fiddled with his pencil again. “I just don’t get why they decorated our building for Valentine’s Day. It’s not like any of the kids actually…care about anything like that, you know?”
Oh, thank goodness it wasn’t anything traumatizing, the kid had been through enough as it was. Tony could’ve laughed in relief. “It’s just the norm. Culturally and what-not. And hey, Pep’s told me when she was little she always just celebrated with her friends.”
The kid frowned for a moment. “So, I could just give them to my friends and that be it?”
A shrug. “If you wanted to. Or you can treat it like any other day…unlike me.” The talk of the holiday brought up Tony’s predicament with Pepper again.
“Is something wrong with Miss Potts?”
Tony laughed. “Pete, we’ve been over this, you can call her Pepper. But…yeah, I can’t figure out what to do, nothing seems right.”
“Chocolate and flowers?”
Biting back another laugh, Tony shook his head. “Too generic.”
Peter frowned. “My parents always did that…”
Crap. “Hey, I’m saying that for me. It’s totally fine for others to do.”
“Oh.”
Man, Tony really messed that up didn’t he. “But I appreciate the suggestion. I’ll figure out something, don’t worry about it.”
He didn’t have it figured out. It had been a few days, and Tony was still drawing a blank – though he had made reservations at a nice restaurant as a backup in case he couldn’t come up with anything else.
“Maybe you could…get ice cream?”
Tony looked up from his list of ideas at Peter and would’ve laughed if it weren’t for the ice pack on the kid’s arm. Apparently, kid’s paintball resulted in a lot of bruises too. If Tony had known that, he wouldn’t have let Peter go…but then again, the kid had been grinning ear to ear when Happy brought him home, so maybe it was a good thing Tony hadn’t known. Either way, now he was letting Peter help him think of ideas. So far, all of them were silly things, but Tony made a mental note that maybe Peter would enjoy doing some of the activities in the future.
“Pepper is on a no dairy kick lately, so probably not.” Ever since his comment about chocolate being generic, Tony made sure not to shoot Peter’s ideas down. They might not work, but they weren’t bad.
“Oh.” Peter lifted up his ice pack and frowned before returning it. “What about a trip to the beach?”
Amusement was Tony’s first reaction. Getting sand in your shoes, very romantic. But then a small idea started forming in his head. “…you know…you might be on to something there Pete…”
The days leading up to Valentine’s Day were filled with planning. Peter was thrilled that Tony liked his idea, and as the plan continued to develop, he liked it even more. He was also excited that Mr. Stark was letting him help out – making decorations, helping pick out chocolates, and other various things. By the time the day rolled around, Peter was more excited about that evening than anything else – despite not even being a big part of it. However, he did do a little something for his friends too.
“What’s this?” Harry asked as Peter handed him a bag at lunch, pulling out the bags for his other friends too.
“Uh…well, I thought I’d get something for you guys since Valentine’s Day is kind of…a day to appreciate people?” Even as he said it, Peter felt awkward, he didn’t want anyone to get the wrong impression.
“Aww, that’s so sweet Peter! I wish I would’ve gotten something for you guys, well aside from those tacky cards.” Gwen had given everyone a little store-bought card with a cheesy saying on it, but Peter thought it was still sweet of her. And it had helped give him the courage to pull out his own presents.
He smiled in return but then he caught Harry smirking and quickly handed a bag to Anya, wishing he didn’t feel so flustered.
“Well, my present is that you guys can come over and have ice cream cake sometime, my mom made too much and I’m sick of it.” Miles stuck out his tongue, but he was smiling and everyone laughed.
“Count me in,” Anya said, popping one of the candies she had just opened into her mouth. “That cake was good!”
“Say that again when you’ve had it for five days in a row.” Miles groaned, but there was still a smile on his face and Peter was pretty sure he was okay with getting to eat that much cake.
The rest of the day passed quickly and as Peter hoped into the car, excitement for the night built, but he also had one other thing he wanted to do.
“Hey Happy, could we stop by the store? I wanted to get something.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“It’s a surprise.”
Happy chuckled, but he didn’t say anymore as they made one stop before going back to the mansion.
Tony felt lighter than air. Who knew that Peter’s idea would be so perfect? A dinner date on the beach – complete with a breathtaking sunset, a box of chocolate, and a pair of earrings that anyone else would’ve had to pay off for months. At first, he had been nervous – he wanted Pepper to know just how much she meant to him – but as the evening wore on, he relaxed. This was Pepper after all, she knew him better than anyone. If he slipped up, she would just laugh. The secrets between them were few and far between. Plus, her smile was like medicine to a nervous heart, especially his.
They may have stayed out a little longer than planned, but it was worth it – looking at the stars and just talking, the waves of the ocean crashing in the background – the perfect soundtrack. But despite being fine with staying out all night, the lack of sun slowly made the beach a little chilly, and even after offering his jacket, Pepper continued to shiver.
“Ah, that’s better.” Pepper said as Tony slid into the driver’s seat. It was considerably warmer in the car than outside.
“I really should’ve brought a blanket,” Tony said as he turned the car on, quickly turning off the AC as that wouldn’t be of any use at the moment.
“It’s fine. I have a meeting in the morning so I probably should get some sleep.”
From the corner of his eye, Tony saw her smile and he couldn’t help but smile too. “I’ll drop you off then?”
“Well the mansion is closer than my apartment. Maybe I could bunk over?”
Tony couldn’t hold back a smirk. “Well, my parents are out of town so…”
She laughed at that and a chuckle escaped his mouth. Man, she was so perfect.
The rest of the drive went quickly, and soon they were at the house – Tony helping Pepper out of the car and greeting Jarvis as they walked in.
But as they reached the living room, Tony froze. A movie was playing, and Happy quickly looked around as they walked in. And then there was Peter, asleep on the couch.
“He insisted on staying up for you guys.”
All of the thoughts from the drive disappeared as Tony looked at the kid. If he had known Peter was going to stay up, he would’ve made it a point to come back sooner. But then again, he probably would’ve insisted that they not rush and have a good time.
Looking at Pepper, Tony grinned a little sheepishly, and she just smiled. “How about we both tuck him in?”
Unhooking his arm from hers, Tony walked around to the front of the couch and carefully scooped Peter up, trying his best not to wake the kid. For a moment, he thought he failed as Peter moved his head, but when he didn’t say anything, Tony figured it was safe and he made his way to Peter’s room.
Pepper pulled back the cover and Tony gently placed him down before pulling the blankets over him – Iron Man blanket included.
Stepping back, Tony found himself wanting to stay while simultaneously wanting to leave. Peter looked so peaceful, there was something about it that warmed Tony’s heart - more than anything else had.
“We should let him sleep.” Pepper said quietly.
With a nod, Tony let himself be lead out. When they reached the living room again, Happy was holding up two bags.
“Forgot to tell you. He was going to give you these.”
Tilting his head, Tony grabbed the bag that has his name on it as Pepper grabbed hers. And as he opened it, a smile grew on his face. There were chocolates and candies, but there was also a card.
Happy Valentine’s Day to the best hero ever! And next to it was a little drawing of Iron Man.
As he read the card, Tony heard a small gasp and looked up to see Pepper touching her heart as she looked at a card as well. She glanced up and saw Tony looking at her. Her smile matched his own.
Holding up his card, he couldn’t keep himself from grinning. “The is going up on the fridge.”
Pepper held up her card, which had a drawing of her in a dress and read Happy Valentine’s Day Miss Pepper! “So is mine.”
For a moment, their eyes locked and then Tony found himself saying the same thing he thought at least twice a day. “He’s a good kid.”
Looking down affectionately at her card, Pepper smiled again. “He is.”