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Chapter Text

She had been twelve when the spider bit her.

The Avengers Tower was having a small event where children around New York could come and tour some of the labs and offices of the huge building. The children were shown the Iron Man suits and the "top-secret" labs. Harper knew right away that she and the other kids there would probably never see the real top-secret labs.

In one room, a young scientist handled a small, red spider. It ran across his hands, and onto the children's. The scientist explained something about how powerful the spider's webs were and how strong its fangs were, but how only the females of the genetically altered species were poisonous. Unfortunately, a female skittered out of the plastic box that the male had come from. There is crawled from the desk, to the hand that Harper was leaning against said desk. Harper had screamed and tried to shake it off, and of course, the spider sunk its fangs into the back of her hand.

The bite wound barely hurt at all, and for a second, Harper was optimistic that maybe the spider that bit her was a harmless male.

Then the poison suddenly set in. In a moment, Harper's veins were on fire, and she fell to the floor, still screaming. Uncle Ben had gone on the trip with her, and he was the first person to her side, followed quickly by the young scientist, and a few minutes later by paramedics.

They rushed her off to the hospital. No one had ever been bitten by these spiders. Only small animal subjects had ever suffered the poison, and they had all died. No one could know how the little girl would fare.

She spent weeks in the hospital. If she wasn’t screaming in pain, she was unconscious from shock. Doctors constantly had pain medication flowing straight into her veins, but nothing was strong enough to dull the burning just under the surface of every inch of her body.

After three weeks, she woke up, and the pain was gone. Over time, she was gradually taken off of pain medications, and eventually, she was cleared to go home. All the poison had left her, according to the doctors, and she was in perfect health.

Tony Stark had paid for all the medical expenses, which was really nice for Aunt May and Uncle Ben, because lawyers could be expensive, and neither of them really had the time to spare to go to court. Harper knew that Ben was ready to sue Stark for every dollar he had, though, if given the opportunity.

A month after the bite, Aunt May received a call from Stark himself, asking to meet with Harper whenever possible. While her aunt and uncle were hesitant to let Stark see their niece after the events of two months prior, Harper insisted that it would be a good idea and that Mr. Stark must have a good reason.

So began the "Stark Internship". To Aunt May and Uncle Ben, Tony Stark was giving Harper an amazing on-the-job learning experience and something amazing on a resume. With the Stark Internship, Harper was about as set for life as you could be at twelve years old. She could go to practically any college she wanted with that on her application. Ben and May really couldn’t turn that down.

But, to Harper, Mr. Stark wanted to study the effects of the spider bite on her.

"Hello, Mr. Stark." Harper had stuttered nervously. The elevator had taken her (and Happy) straight to the top floor, where Tony worked.

"Hey, kid. Here, sit down." Mr. Stark smiled and gestured to a computer chair next to a lab table. The table was covered in notes, machinery, and tools that Harper was sure she was not supposed to touch. "Just want to say sorry again about the whole lab accident."

"I'm sorry too." Harper lowered her head. "It was my fault."

"I wouldn't have paid for your hospital bills if you had come into my lab trying to get yourself hurt." Stark dismissed her apology. "I know you're a smart kid. Debate team, band, and straight As? Surely a girl as smart as you knows not to apologize for something that isn't her fault."

"Oh, Mr. Stark, that's all nothing." She argued. "Debate team only meets once a week, and I'm the worst French horn in the brass section."

"What about the nearly perfect grades?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

"I study hard. It's not like I'm naturally gifted or anything."

"So modest." Tony laughed. "Well, kiddo, it may come as a shock, but even smart people study hard."

Harper opened her mouth to argue, but she really didn't have an argument for that. How could she argue with one of the smartest men in New York telling her that she was a good student?

"Well, I didn't give you an internship for the two of us to sit around all day arguing the meaning of intelligence." Stark stood up. "We've got to talk about that bite of yours."

"It's already healed up, Mr. Stark, so I don't think you'll be able to see much of anything." Harper stood up as well.

"I didn't say anything about seeing it." Tony spoke dully. "I don't care about the back of your hand."

"No, I care about what that venom could've done to you." He continued.

Harper felt as if she was going to be sick all over the white lab floors. What did Mr. Stark mean? Did she have an incurable disease? Was she going to turn into a mutated freak? She immediately thought of what Aunt May and Uncle Ben would do without her. They had been like parents to her for so long, and...

She realized Mr. Stark was talking again, so she tried to shut off her rapid thoughts.

"Have you noticed any physical changes?" Stark continued on. "Like increased muscle mass?"

"I guess I have." Harper looked to her own scrawny arms, which were a bit more muscular than before the bite. "I thought it was just from gym class."

"What about accelerated healing?"

"Ummm, does a paper cut that was gone in a few minutes count? I just thought I was going crazy..."

"Have you been able to climb on walls?" Tony asked.

"Wait, what?" Harper stuttered. "You're telling me that..."

"Well, considering that our pig test subject can now climb walls, I came to a conclusion." Tony was as casual as could be about the absurdity. "Have you tried to climb any walls?"

"No, of course not!" Harper was absolutely shocked by the development of this conversation. "Why would I ever have any reason to try and climb a wall?"

"Chill out, kid." Tony Stark held his hands out in mock defense. "Let's maybe just try it."

Turns out that she could climb walls.

Chapter Text

He had been thirteen when he came out.

Oddest thing was that he came out to Happy first. It wasn't completely on purpose. He had just been rambling about school, and stress, and suddenly, "I think I may be a boy." just came out.

Happy, as usual, kinda didn't give a shit. Peter wasn't offended, though, because Happy never really gave a shit about anything he said.

Oh yeah, and he had decided on Peter. Ben had once mentioned to him how his father, Richard, had always loved the named Peter, and if he were to have a son, he would name him Peter.

The second person he came out to was Ned, of course.

Ned had taken it extremely well, besides being a little hurt that Happy had known about this before him. He asked a hundred questions; all that Peter was happy to answer. Of course, Ned, being awful at keeping secrets and very excitable, wanted more than anything to tell other people about this new development. Peter had to smack his hand over Ned's mouth when May came in to check on them, because Peter knew that if he didn't, Ned would tell May right away.

Next, he came out to Aunt May and Uncle Ben.

Over dinner, he could feel his heart hammering in his chest. The usually appetizing lasagna looked repulsive to him, on account of his weak, nervous stomach.

"What's up, pumpkin?" Uncle Ben smiled at him, immediately able to tell that something was wrong.

"I have something extremely important to tell you." Peter spat out his words as quickly as possible. He felt his throat closing up, and he knew he was breathing faster than usual. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes, and he was sure that May saw him scrub his face violently.

"We're all ears, Harper." Aunt May put her fork down and looked at Peter expectantly.

A few seconds of silence passed.

"I'm a boy." He said quietly. "I-I want to go by P-Peter."

There was more silence for a long minute.

May burst out into laughter, breaking the silence. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed, it's just that I expected something way worse. Like I expected you to tell us you had gotten expelled or something."

Uncle Ben chuckled as well. "Yeah, Har – sorry, Peter – I thought you were going to say that you had killed a man or something!"

They spent the rest of the dinner describing complex or horrific scenarios that Peter could've gotten himself that he would need to confess to May and Ben in such a serious way.

By the way they called him "Peter" or "Pete" the rest of the evening, Peter knew that his aunt and uncle accepted him wholly. He went to bed that night with a warm happiness nestled In his chest.

May and Ben messed up sometimes and they didn't always understand him perfectly on the subject, but Peter didn't really mind.

Going to Ben's barber shop almost made him cry in joy. His hair wasn't very long before, but the fact that Ben took him to the shop and introduced him to his barber as his nephew brought a few involuntary tears to his eyes. Soon, he had a fresh haircut and a new bonding moment with Ben. Though, this one was definitely his favorite.

Unfortunately, surgery or testosterone would be too expensive for May and Ben, so Peter didn't even ask. He couldn’t bear to remind them that money was tight in the little family.

But, they did buy him two binders. One was a pretty sky blue, and the other was cream colored. When they handed him the package after school that day, Peter had to wipe his face constantly to prevent getting snot and tears all over his new binders. He thanked Ben and May all evening.

Now, the big one: Tony Stark.

What if he lost his internship? What if Tony never wanted to see him again? He didn't take Tony to be a xenophobic man, but you never know.

So, around rolled Friday, when Peter and Tony's next meeting was. They had been making progress on figuring out just what Peter's powers were, called the Spiderling Program. So far, Peter had been able to bench press four hundred pounds, which was practically unheard of for someone his age and size. Well, unheard of without super powers, that is.

"Hey, Harper." Happy greeted when he stepped into the car.

"Peter." He corrected.

"Whatever. Hey, Peter." He turned back to the road.

Of course, Peter didn't notice that Tony was sitting right next to him in the limo.

"Peter, huh?" He piped up.

"Mr. Stark!" Peter's eyes widened in horror. He didn't want Mr. Stark to find out this way! He wanted to tell his mentor on his own terms. "I'm sorry, I didn’t want to tell you like this."

Tony nodded, signaling him to keep talking.

"It's just that... I'm a boy." Peter squeaked out. "I want to be called by Peter, but I understand if you don't want to work with me anymore, or-"

"Kid, slow down." Tony put a hand on Peter's shoulder. "It's alright. You're not going to lose the internship or anything like that."

"I'm not?" Peter finally looked up at Tony, expecting to see anger or disgust on the man's face.

"No, you're not." Tony smiled.

There was silence for a moment, but it wasn't hostile or awkward. Tony was just trying to be as reassuring as possible to the trembling boy under his hand.

If he was being honest, Tony had no idea how to react to this. Was he supposed to congratulate the kid? Pull him into an awkward hug? Tony knew that his reaction seemed half-assed, and that it was probably making Peter more nervous, but what was he supposed to do?

"I'm sorry, sir." Peter spoke quietly. "If this is an inconvenience..."

"It's not a problem, Peter." Tony put his hand to his Arc Reactor. "I swear on my suits."

"O-on your suits?" Peter stuttered out, his eyes as big as moons. "For real?"

"For real." Tony put his hands down. "Now, Spider-Man, I have a special surprise for you."

"Wait, really?" Peter was still surprised by Tony's acceptance, but now, he had something else for him?

"Yeah, kid." Tony pulled out a laptop. "You've got a suit now. Just finished it yesterday, but now you have to test it out. Wear it in, y'know?"

Just a glimpse of the suit made Peter burst into full on crying. A few times while coming out, he had gotten a little teary-eyed, but Tony's approval plus the new suit equaled Peter hunched over, crying into his own lap. He couldn’t have been more mortified, crying so hard in front of Mr. Stark (and Happy, but as previously stated, Happy couldn’t care less).

He expected Tony to laugh at him or make a joke, but he just awkwardly patted Peter's back as the younger boy was overcome with emotion.

Once Peter lifted his head, Tony looked at his red eyes and snotty face, and a silent agreement passed between them never to talk about this again, even when Peter wiped his eyes the first few times Tony called him by his name.

Chapter Text

He was fourteen when Uncle Ben died.

It had been sudden. There were only moments of time that separated thinking that Ben was just running to the store for dinner and the knock on the door that would present the awful, scalding truth to the two.

Peter would never forget how Aunt May's mouth gaped when she found out. The way the TV remote fell out of her hands and onto her toes, and the way she didn’t even flinch.

A police officer stood at their apartment door. He had taken his hat off in respect or something. Peter hadn't really cared. All he could do was think rapid-fire thoughts, unlike his poor aunt, who couldn’t seem to process anything from the shock of it all.

'If I had been there, I could've stopped the car.' He couldn't help but think. He and Tony had been testing the lengths of his powers for years now, and Peter knew that he could've stopped the car that had killed his uncle.

Peter also knew he shouldn't have been thinking that way. He tried to rationalize that there was no way he could've known about what would happen, but still the thought nagged at the back of his mind.

Tony had said that in a few weeks Peter would probably be ready to start fighting on the streets, helping the little guy. The little guy could've been Ben. He should've been there to help Ben.

Peter didn't realize that he had been crying until May sat down on the couch next to him. She was completely silent, staring off into space with a hand covering her mouth.

Peter reached over to hold her free hand.

A few days later, Peter found himself standing in front of a grave, in a position he knew he'd never want to be in again.

Tony and Pepper had come to the funeral. It was a gesture that both Peter and May appreciated greatly. Pepper had also taken it upon herself to make meals for the two of them, since she knew that they wouldn’t want to make food themselves in the tough time.

"I will not let you two eat take-out every night." She had said as she loaded boxes of meals into the backseat of May's Honda. If the whole event hadn't permanently killed his appetite, he would devour those mounds food without hesitation.

Tony had stood next to him, unusually silent. Peter wanted so badly to listen to any sound but the occasional birdsong, but he couldn't open his mouth to speak, and Tony certainly wasn’t about to start a conversation.

Peter knew about Tony's parents' death. It was public knowledge, especially after word came out that the terrorist called the Winter Soldier had been their murderer.

Peter couldn't tell if it was comforting to be by someone who understood or if it made it worse.

Tony fidgeted with the hem of his expensive jacket, while Peter rang his hands together.

"Thank you for coming." Peter said after the sermon for Ben was over. "It means a lot."

"Of course, kid. Just tell me if you need anything." He patted Peter's shoulder, lighter than usual.

Later that day, Ned brought over Peter's missed schoolwork as well as some kind of pudding his mom had made for May and Peter.

'Seems like the whole city knows.' Peter thought bitterly before trying to dispel it.

He didn't go to work on the internship that weekend. Tony nor Happy called him. They already knew why he hadn't shown, of course, which just made Peter more bitter.

He almost wished that everyone wasn't being so nice to him, but he couldn't exactly tell anyone that.

Two months passed without much event. Peter didn't go to the internship, and his school attendance was less than perfect. But with finals coming up, he knew that he really needed to pull together, even if for just a moment, to do as well as possible at these tests. He knew he'd need a tutor to catch up with it all.

May wasn't up to helping just yet. She had occasionally started smiling and joking again, but as soon as the corners of her mouth would turn upwards, something would remind her of the sad truth that hung over her.

So, he was forced to ask Tony.

Well, he wasn't really forced to ask his mentor. He could've hired a mentor, or gone to his teachers after school, but he honestly wanted a reason to reconnect with Mr. Stark. Peter felt bad for speaking to him so little over the past few months.

"Sir, I need your help catching up with school." Peter said as quickly as possible over the phone.

"What's that, Pete?" Tony asked. "Couldn't catch it all."

Peter was about to get mad, but then he realized that Tony wasn't teasing him, and even if he had been, Tony had the right to be angry. Peter didn’t.

"I'm behind on my school work. I need a tutor." Peter said slowly.

"Well, I have easy access to the best tutors in New York. I can hook you u-"

"I'd like you to do it, sir." Peter interrupted. "If you have the time, that is."

"Well, I can make the time." Peter could almost hear Tony's smile over the phone.