Work Text:
"Don't blow up the tower while we're gone," Bucky joked as he put a hand on Peter's shoulder.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine," Peter promised. The Avengers were supposedly going out on errands, and Peter was staying at the tower. Unbeknownst to Peter, the Avengers weren't going on errands at all. The Avengers, disguises on-a cap and sunglasses (even though Sam had claimed before that they didn't do anything, nobody had listened). They sat at a picnic table, and Tony pulled out his Stark Phone, and accessed the cameras in the tower.
"Tell me why we're doing this again?" Bucky asked.
Tony rolled his eyes. This guy really got on his nerves sometimes. "Yesterday, when I got back from my meeting, I swear I heard the kid singing. He stopped a minute later, probably realizing someone was in the tower before I even opened the door. This time, we're going to catch him in the act."
"Was his singing good?" Sam asked curiously.
"Pretty good."
They watched as Peter sat on the couch on his phone. He put it down, and it started playing a song Tony had recognized. He had seen Hamilton, twice. It was pretty hard to get tickets, but seeing as he was Tony Stark, it was easy for him. The first, he had gone with Pepper for her birthday. The second, someone gave him tickets for his birthday, and Steve and him had gone. Of course, that had been pretty strange for both of them, considering they didn't exactly get along. But, it had been Pepper that had begged him to ask Steve to go with him. She claimed it was the perfect opportunity for them to bond. He had never admitted this to anyone, but it wasn't a bad experience like he thought it was going to be.
Peter got out his homework, rapping as his pencil hit the paper.
"How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore…
"Language!" Exclaimed Natasha. And Steve rolled his eyes but smiled.
"And a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence, impoverished, in squalor grow up to be a hero and a scholar? The ten-dollar founding father without a father got a lot farther by working a lot harder. By being a lot smarter, by being a self-starter. By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter…"
They all watched with amused looks on their faces as Peter was really getting into the song.
"Moved in with a cousin, the cousin admitted suicide. Left him with nothin' but ruined pride, something new inside voice saying, Alex you gotta fend for yourself…"
By the end of the song, he was done with one of his worksheets, and he stood up and used the pencil as a microphone.
"When America sings for you, will they know what you overcame? Will they know that you rewrote your game? The world will never be the same, oh. The ship is in the harbor now. See if you can spot him. Another immigrant comin' up from the bottom. His enemies destroyed his rep. America forgot him. We fought with him. Me, I died for him. Me, I trusted him. Me, I loved him. And me, I'm the damn fool that shot him. There's a million things I haven't done. But, just you wait. What's your name, man? Alexander Hamilton."
Once he was finished, he sat back down in his chair. and continued to do his homework while listening to other songs.
"The kid is pretty good," Steve complimented.
Sam scoffed. "Pretty good? I say he's amazing. Get this kid on American Idol."
Where did he learn to sing like that?
They continued to talk and laugh about Peter's performance for a few more minutes before Clint asked, "So, what now? We walk in there and act like we haven't been spying on him?"
Tony shook his head while he stuffed his phone in his pocket. "Oh, no. We get answers."
Steve shook his head. "Tony, if the kid wants it to be private, we should let him."
Of course, Mr. Star Spangled was fair and righteous about this. Even though he knew he was right ( He would never admit it. Not even if someone stuck a gun up to his head).
Bruce nodded his head in agreement. "I think Steve's right. He probably has a reason for hiding his singing voice."
Great, now Bruce was agreeing with Cap. Bruce was supposed to be on his side. "Look, the kid has talent. He shouldn't be hiding it. We all have talents. If we chose to hide them, instead of use them I can guarantee the world would be damn chaos by now." That seemed to do the trick for the most part. A few still didn't look like they agreed, but just decided to go with it.
They walked back to the tower, and heard the music shut off. Tony opened the door, to find Peter doing his homework, acting like nothing had happened at all. "Why are you guys back so early?" He asked.
Tony shrugged. "No reason. Great singing voice, by the way."
Peter froze, and put down his pencil.
"S-singing? I haven't been singing." His voice seemed slightly higher than usual, a sign that he was nervous and lying. He had never been that good of a liar, anyways.
He sighed, and motioned to the Avengers to leave the room. Time for a different tactic.
"Look, you can cut the act, Pete."
He braced himself for what was to come next. He wasn't exactly used to telling the truth. "The truth is, we weren't running errands."
Peter's eyes grew wide. "You were spying on me?"
"It's a long story. You're an amazing singer, kid. Why hide it?"
Peter looked down at the desk for a minute, not saying anything.
"Pete?"
His voice was a little shaky as he replied. "Back when my uncle was alive, we would sing all the time. Sometimes, even May would join in. They were both really good, and I learned how good mine was, too. After my uncle died, we didn't sing anymore. The only time I ever sang was when I was alone. I've been hiding it-because…" He trailed off, letting tears fall. Tony let him take a deep breath before continuing. "Because, the singing felt like it was my family's thing. It felt wrong to sing publicly when Ben wasn't there to sing with me." Tony had no idea this would be the reason for hiding it. Once he finished, he continued to cry. Tony wasn't very good with feelings, but he felt like he might be getting better with having Peter around. He let Peter hug him, his small body hugging Tony's large one. Once he finished crying, he pulled away. "S-sorry, Mr. Stark. I got your suit wet."
Tony looked down, and sure enough where Peter had been hugging him, there were tears. "That's okay," he replied. They sat down on the couch, and he tried to prepare himself for the rest of the talk. "Well, I don't think you should hide it. I think your uncle would like it, if you sang for other people."
"So-it would be like keeping a part of him alive?" Peter asked.
"Exactly. But, in the end it's your choice."
Peter nodded, understanding. "How about we go get some ice cream?" Tony asked, wanting to change the conversation. "I heard they made an ice cream flavor dedicated to Spider-Man."
He grinned. "Alright, I just need to wash my face." He left for the bathroom.
When Peter came back, with a grin on his face Tony commented, "I didn't know you were such a big Hamilton fan."
Peter shrugged. "I only started listening to it a year ago. I wish I could see it in person."
"Maybe you can."
Peter's eyes went wide. "Seriously?"
"Yep. I can arrange for us to see it tomorrow."
"Wow. Um-thanks, Mr. Stark."
He dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Don't mention it, kid."
His real answer? Anything for him.