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The team’s suspicion started when Peter got a call in the middle of a carrier ride back to the compound that he couldn’t seem to ignore. Sending them a panicked look that perfectly conveyed the message of shut the fuck up, he answered his phone in a slightly high pitched voice.
“Hi! No, I’m not busy. Just helping Aunt May with some chores. You know how she is.” He laughed, and Tony understood who it was as soon as he saw that smile turn genuine. Wide and glowing and absolutely smitten. “I think it’ll keep me for a while. Can I call you later? What? I don’t sound weird, what are you talking about.”
While the person on the other end spoke, Peter bit his lower lip, glanced up briefly and met Tony’s eyes. Tony knew what he was trying to say.
“Drop the kid off in Queens,” Tony told Rhodey, who’d taken over the control of the carrier. “We’ve kept him enough for one night.”
“I’ll call you in a bit, okay?” Peter was saying. “I can come by yours, if you want. Sure, meet you there? Great.” He hung up, and Tony had to feel for him when he glanced up to find every single Avenger eyeing him curiously. “What?”
“You never pick up your phone during or after missions unless it’s your aunt,” Sam remarked. “At least that’s my impression.”
“Well, usually it can wait,” Peter said, squirming where he sat.
“This couldn’t?”
“It’d look suspicious if I didn’t answer.”
“That’s never stopped you before.”
Tony did his best to hide his grin. He really did, but watching the kid panic was too fucking hilarious.
Rhodey’s voice could be heard from the front. “Maybe this person just means a lot to him.”
Tony snorted, and Peter shot him a glare. “Understatement of the century.”
“Wait, do you know something?” Sam was looking at him now, eyebrows raised.
“Of course I do.”
“Spill, Stark.”
“Nope, it’s Pete’s secret to share.”
“Oho, wait a minute.” Bucky’s smirk was lethal. Tony almost felt sorry for the kid. “Is this someone special?”
“Mr Rhodes, are we there yet?”
“It’ll be a while, kid, sorry.”
“Stop changing the subject. Who is it?”
Tony cleared his throat. “Hey, leave him alone and focus on today’s battle. Cap, shouldn’t you be going through every single detail we did wrong?”
Peter shot him a grateful look when they dropped him off later, but little did he know Tony just wasn’t a fan of people stealing his things. Teasing the kid to death was his job dammit.
Rhodey pulled him aside later to ask, “Has he told you anything?”
“Not with words just yet, but I’m like 99 percent certain they’re official now.”
Rhodey grinned. “Should we force a proper answer out of him later?”
“Ohy absolutely.”
Peter seemed to know it was an ambush the moment he stepped into the compound the next day. Tony wasn’t cruel enough to do this around the others, so he’d only allowed Rhodey into his workshop before he’d called for Peter, but the sight of the two of them seemed to be enough to make him stop in his tracks.
“What’s this?”
“A workshop. Some might call it a lab. I call it my room, but it might be confused with my bedroom.”
Peter rolled his eyes. “You know what I meant.”
“I do indeed, but you’re fun to mess with. Rhodey, you wanna explain?”
“Gladly.” He cleared his throat in an exaggerated manner. “We just want to know if you and your guy are official.”
“More like why you haven’t told us.”
“That too.”
Peter was blushing, just like they knew he would. Seriously, how was he ever able to compose himself if simple questions like these made him flustered? “Why do you want to know?”
“Uh, because I had to practically beg you to make a move? And Rhodey was the one who put the idea of your crush into my head. He deserves to know too.”
Peter shrugged. “Yes, all right, we’re officially together. There.”
Tony pointed at him. “You’re allowed to smile like a fool about it, you know.”
“You’ll only tease me.”
“Joke’s on you. I’ll tease you anyway.”
“Don’t let him fool you, Pete. He gets lovesick too.”
Tony turned to Rhodey with a frown. “Uh, excuse me, but whose side are you on?”
Rhodey slapped his back. “Relax. I’m sure you’ll give Peter hell afterward. Might as well give him some relief while I can.”
“Fair enough. Hey, Pete?”
“Yeah?”
Tony pointed at him. “This isn’t over.”
Which was apparently the entirely wrong thing to say because Peter refused to be alone with him after that. He even decided to endure the team’s questions about this mysterious person who had called him just to get away from him. Tony was almost offended, but he remembered what crushes were like at that age well enough to let it go.
Not the teasing, of course. He’d always keep up the teasing.
“Can you come here for a second?”
Peter obliged, visibly reluctant to be pulled away from the safety of the living room. “What’s up?”
“New upgrades in the lab. You interested?”
Peter perked up. “How big are the upgrades?”
“You won’t need a power point to remember them, but big enough. Come on.”
They walked to the elevator; nerves and giddiness and a familiar comfort keeping them in silence. They both knew Tony would bring up Peter’s boyfriend, and they both knew Peter both wanted him to and not at all, but for now they were content in entering the lab to look at Peter’s suit, and if Tony was to throw in some extra things just to show he cared, then so be it.
“So,” he finally said, clearing his throat. “I didn’t just bring you here to show you this. Or to tease you, mind you. I think we need to have a talk.”
Peter licked his lips. “That sounds kinda serious.”
“Well, I think it needs to be. I… I know your aunt means a lot to you, but I have no idea if you guys talk about these things.”
Peter’s eyes widened. “Oh, no. Don’t tell me this is what I think it is.”
Tony’s lips twitched. “That depends on what you think.”
“We’re gonna have the talk, aren’t we?”
“Essentially.”
“I-I know how sex works, Mr Stark!”
“Oh my god, never call me Mr Stark in a sentence like that again. And good. That you know, I mean. I figured you could ask me if you had any questions. Whatever the gender of the person you sleep with-”
“Please, just- don’t. Please.”
“I just wanted to let you know I’m here if you wanna talk, s’all.”
“Thank you, but- god, Mr Stark, we’ve only been dating for a few weeks.”
“So you’re not there yet?”
“Definitely not.”
“Well, like I said. Ask me if you need to.”
“Got it.”
“And use protection.”
Peter covered his bright red face, not even peeking at Tony through the fingers. “Got it.”
Tony poked his belly. “Stop hiding. I’m not even being embarrassing about it. It could be so much worse.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“That doesn’t mean I won’t be embarrassing you right about now. First thing on the agenda: get you to agree to bring your guy here so I can meet him.”
“No way! He can’t know about you.”
“Well, okay, at least tell me his name.”
“Not gonna happen.”
“You asked for it.”
Peter recoiled before Tony had even reached out, and it was sort of nice to see that this had become normal among them. “Tony, no-”
“Too late.”
Sometimes Tony wondered if he treated Peter like he’d longed to be treated as a teen. With care, playfulness, never doubting his worth. All he knew was that he’d looked at the kid, who was getting older by the day, and seen the same longing he’d felt. He had his aunt, of course, but Tony knew what the lack of a father figure was like. He knew it all too well.
But, being Tony, he didn’t know how to word it all, so he used actions instead. At this point Peter knew tickling equalled care, so Tony hoped his intention was coming through.
Tickling Peter meant love. Peter letting it happen meant trust.
“Wait!”
Which of course didn’t mean the kid wasn’t doing everything in his power to get away as Tony’s fingers danced over his midriff. He couldn’t really blame him.
“Just tell me one thing,” he said much later, after Peter was left a breathless mess on the couch. “Are you happy?”
Peter’s grin grew. “Happier than I can explain.”
That was enough for Tony.