Archive of Our Own

May 25th, 2001.

Mary screams, as she gives birth. Richard, holds her hand supportively as she does. She squeezes her eyes closed, gripping her husbands’ hand tightly. Richard takes exaggerated breaths, and Mary follows them, albeit shakier.

They’re in the CIA headquarters medical wing, with the medical staff there helping them; they are both CIA agents.

“Mary, you’re doing amazing. Keep going sweetheart.” Richard praises, pressing a kiss to Mary’s knuckles.

Finally, after what feels like hours, he is born. Nurses and Doctors busy themselves as Mary slows her breaths, and finally, she looks up to see a Nurse walks over with their child. Mary pushes herself further up the bed, Richard helping her, and the Nurse passes the baby into her awaiting arms.

“He’s beautiful,” She whispers, lightly touching the baby’s sleeping face.

“7.3 pounds,” The nurse says, “Perfectly healthy, and if you’ll notice his chest.”

Richard looks over his little family, and looks at the empty circle on his sons chest; a soulmate mark.

“He’s got a soulmate.” Richard mutters smiling, one hand resting on Mary’s shoulder, and the other tentatively touching the baby’s tiny hand.

Everyone, except the family and the one nurse, leave, giving them family privacy. The nurse tidies the room, and jots down some notes.

“Have you decided on a name?” He asks quietly, not wanting to ruin their peace.

“Peter,” Richard answers, “Peter Benjamin Parker.”

The nurse nods, and writes it down.

“Our little Peter.” Mary whispers, pressing a gentle kiss on Peter’s head.

-

Tony wakes up, as usual. He glances at the clock. The time reading 11:23, and he lazily pulls himself up and out of bed. He stifles a yawn, and trudges to the bathroom. He takes a shower, almost falling asleep under the warm spray, before finally getting out.

He wraps the towel around his waist, and stumbles back into his room, passing the large mirror. He barely glances in it, before moving on. Though, he momentarily pauses, confused.

He slowly walks back, looking in the mirror again. He studies himself more closely, noticing there are several black lines creeping on both of his sides, four on each. This wakes him up. He twists his body around, eyes never leaving his reflection, and stares at the marking on his back.

His back adorns the outline of a spider, and he gasps. The spider is simple, it has basic features of a head and body, with the legs encroaching on his sides. He touches his side, letting his hand run over the legs.

“Shit…” He mutters, trying to remember everything he can about soulmates. He changes quickly, pulling on the nearest ACDC shirt he can find, and loose jogging bottoms. He rushes into the chair by his desk, falling into it, before quickly turning on his computer. He immediately goes onto the internet, waiting impatiently for anything to load.

Webpages, Forums and Articles appear, and he starts reading about soulmates.

The topic is briefly covered in school, however, he wasn’t known for attending. He’s never done his own research on them either, he doesn’t have one, so he doesn’t need to know about them, until now. He knows they appear, when the other is born, so his must have been born today.

Most commonly, soulmates have been recorded to develop romantic relationships. Tony gags at the thought, before specifically searching for platonic soulmates.

‘I received my soulmate mark when my child was born, I’m still ecstatic.’ A user posts on a forum, and Tony scrolls down, reading the comments.

‘My child was born across the world from me, I only knew because a flower outline appeared on my foot.’

‘I discovered my soulmate was my best friend! We’re not romantically involved, and both have our own partners, but we share our special connection.’

He’s relieved to see accounts of platonic relationships, but then freezes. He must have a kid. Somewhere, is a baby, possibly fatherless, and Tony’s soulmate.

Should he go and find them, whoever they are?

He shakes the idea from his head. He’s not ready to be a father, that’s why he’s always so careful. He’s responsible enough to know he’s not responsible at all, this baby is already cursed with being Tony’s soulmate, he doesn’t need him to be his dad as well.

Could he just abandon his baby though?

Then, a comment catches his eye.

‘I adopted my daughter today, and we’re soulmates. After being tested as her soulmate, and it proved correct, I have legal right’s over her! I’m so happy!’

Maybe he’s getting ahead of himself. Maybe, it’s not biologically his kid. He sits there for a few minutes, looking at how happy these parents are, and he briefly wonders.

Could he be this happy too?

-

A week after Tony’s mark appeared, he told Rhodey.

“Tony? Please tell me you got a tattoo?” He asks, looking at the spider mark.

Tony says nothing, as he lowers his shirt, and turns to face Rhodey.

“So, you have soulmate?” Rhodey says hesitantly, “How long have you had the mark?”

“A week, it appeared on the 25th.” Tony replies, “Apparently, my soulmate is a week old.”

Rhodey’s eyes widen, “Do you think this means…”

Tony shrugs, “It’s possible that I have a kid out there. But, the more I think about it, I don’t feel like they’re mine, biologically.”

“How can you be sure? It wouldn’t be surprising, given your reputation.”

Tony narrows his eyes at Rhodey, and Rhodey smiles innocently.

“I can’t be sure, it’s just my instinct.” He says, after glaring at his friend.

Rhodey considers this, before nodding. “Okay, this is manageable. We can deal with this.”

“We…?” Tony asks, and Rhodey scoffs.

“Of course, we, I’m not going to let you go through this alone. We’re going to have to be careful, we don’t want the press getting hold of this information.” Rhodey starts planning, “Okay, well, for the moment, don’t take off your shirt around anyone. That includes, inviting anyone over for ‘certain activities’.”

“But Rhodey, you already know about my soulmate now… so you can help me with these ‘certain activities’,” Tony says suggestively, although, clearly joking.

“Shut up.” Rhodey interrupts, “God, I hate you.”

Tony laughs, and Rhodey let’s a smile slip as he continues, “Also, you need to put that brain of yours to good use. Try and find a way to cover it up.”

Tony let’s his mind drift away from Rhodey, and back to his soulmate. It’s the only thing he thinks about anymore. He’s never found babies cute, but he would bet everything, that his soulmate is. He also feels like his soulmate is a boy, already referring his soulmate as a ‘him’ in his head.

“Tony, are you with me?” Rhodey says, snapping his fingers in front of Tony’s face.

“When do you’ll think we’ll meet?” Tony asks, and Rhodey’s face softens. “I wonder what his name is?”

“You think it’s a boy?” Rhodey says, and Tony nods.

“Yeah, I do.”

“You seem happier now.” He comments, and Tony practically glows.

“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”

-

Pepper finds out, 2 years later, in 2003. Tony created a concealer like substance, that he almost always wears. It saddens him to cover his mark, but knows that he can’t let anyone find out about his soulmate. Only Rhodey knows.

Tony lays on his bed, face down, and thinks about getting up. He’s nursing a headache, as the last of the alcohol from last night taunts him.

His phone vibrates, and he pulls his pillow further over his head. It continues to buzz, until it stops, and he faintly hears heeled footsteps echoing across the room.

“You have a board meeting waiting for you, Tony.” Pepper says, sighing at Tony still lying in bed.

“Miss Potts, it’s lovely to see you.” Tony mutters, and Pepper after deeming him decent, ventures further. He’s wearing long pyjama bottoms, without a shirt.

Pepper walks over, already prepared with a glass of water, and some pain relief. She doesn’t stare at Tony’s back, but still notices the faint black lines.

“What’s this on your back?” She says, and Tony blearily realises he hasn’t covered his mark yet, or have a shirt on, and is lying on his back. This wakes him up.

“Oh, uh. You know how sometimes, you-“ He starts, willing his brain to wake up and think of an excuse. He takes a second to curse at himself, for not having a cover story ready. “It’s a tattoo?”

“No, it’s not.” Pepper says, “I’m not stupid Tony, you have a soulmate?”

Tony sighs, and rolls over, so he’s staring up at Pepper. He can trust her. He planned on telling her soon anyway.

“Yes, I’ve had the mark for 2 years. There’s a little 2 year old boy, running around out there, who’s my soulmate.”

“You’ve kept it hidden all this time? Does anyone else know?” She asks, trying to not sound too concerned.

“Just Rhodey. I’ve kept it secret, because the more people who know, the higher the chance that this kid will be found.” Tony explains. “I don’t want him growing up like I did.”

Pepper nods understandingly, “Okay, you can trust me. But make sure to never sleep without a shirt again.”

Tony smirks, “How else will you see me like this though?”

Pepper sighs, rolling her eyes, and tips the glass of water on Tony.

“You still have that meeting, and you’re already 20 minutes late.” She reminds him, and walks off.

“Yeah, I probably deserve that.” Tony chuckles, before reluctantly, getting out of bed.

-

“I can’t thank you enough,” Mary gushes, rushing around their house. Ben shakes his head.

“It’s not problem, we love having Peter around.” He says, standing inside the living room, waiting for Peter to come downstairs.

“Still, this is very last minute, thank you for dropping everything to come and get him.” Richard says to his brother, pulling him into a hug. They pull back, and Richard ruffles Ben’s hair, before handing him some of Peter’s belongings.

“Here’s the kids’ stuff, should be enough for the week. But you have a key in case we forgot anything.” Richard says, as Mary beckons Peter downstairs.

“Come one sweetheart, we’ve got to go now.” She calls upstairs, and Peter’s little footsteps start running down stairs. His steps pause, as he makes a leap into his mum’s arms.

She catches him easily, and brings him over to Richard and Ben.

“Uncle Ben!” Peter yells happily.

“Hey Pete, have you got everything you want to bring?” Ben asks, and Peter instantly nods.

“Okay son, me and mummy have to go now, we’ll be back soon.” Richard says. Peter turns to Mary, and tightly hugs her.

“Bye, have fun at work.” Peter says, and his mum kisses his head, before passing him to Richard. Richard spins him around a bit, and Peter laughs. Richard also kisses him on the head, before Mary points to her watch.

“Thank you so much Ben, tell May we said thank you too.” Mary says, as Richard puts Peter onto the floor. They grab their hastily packed suitcases, and rush out the door. Mary jumps into the drivers seat, and starts the car. Richard waves goodbye at Peter through the window, and get in the passenger’s seat, before they go zooming off.

“Okay buddy, let’s get going ourselves.” Ben says, holding Peter’s hand, and grabbing his suitcase with the other.

“Is Auntie May cooking?” Peter asks, letting go of Ben’s hand so he can lock the door. They hold hands again, as Ben leads them to his car.

“Probably,” Ben says, “We’ll have to persuade her to order pizza.”

Peter laughs, and Ben opens the car door. He already has a boaster seat for Peter in the back, so plugs him in. He deposits the case in the back, before getting in himself, driving them home.

A week goes by since they picked up Peter.

“Ben, we haven’t heard anything. This is suspicious, what if something happened?” May whispers, not wanting to wake up Peter, who’s asleep upstairs.

“They’ve been late before whilst on a mission,” Ben says, although not convincingly.

“Yes, but they’ve always called before to let us know. We’re heard nothing.

“Look, let’s give it a few more days before doing anything stupid. We’ll have to go to their house tomorrow to pick up more clothes for Peter.”

May nods, “Okay, but what if something has gone wrong. We can’t afford to have a kid, I’m not ready to be a parent.”

“We can’t just abandon him, he’s our nephew.” Ben says.

“I never said we should abandon him, just, realistically, we need a plan.” May says, looking around their small apartment, suitable for them, and Peter’s visiting a temporary stays, but not for all of them to live.

“It’ll be okay, we’ll work it out. Staying together is all that matters.” Ben says, “If I need to, I’ll get a second job. We can move, find a more suitable house, it’ll be alright.” He brings May in for a hug, and she tightly hugs back.

Mary and Richard Parker never return.

-

Peter’s never put much thought into his mark. He’s had it all his life, so it’s normal for him. He likes having it though, he’ll sit there, absentmindedly tracing it. His finger going round and round the circle.

The Stark Expo is, kind of boring, initially. Peter loves the science and machines on display, and loves hearing, Tony Stark talk about them. Ben is just as excited as Peter, he loves thinking about the future, and the possibilities that come with it. He’s an optimist, and it’s one of the reasons Peter loves him.

But, the crowds, the waiting, the ‘atmosphere’, isn’t what Peter likes. May follows Ben around, Peter close to her, occasionally suggesting something to see. Ben starts walking towards one of the many shops. Peter looks at May sceptically, knowing that shops mean money, and money needs to be prioritised.

“Go on Honey, it’s okay. Go buy something cool with Ben.” May encourages, pushing Peter to follow Ben. Peter runs over, and grabs Ben’s hand. She watches as they go, and stays outside, knowing how excited Ben was to treat Peter. So, decides to let them have their time.

The shop is large, and busy. Ben tightens his grip on Peter’s hand reassuringly, and starts walking down one of the aisles. There are some amazing toys lining the shelves, and other children grab them, waving them around to show their parents; wanting every toy they can find.

Peter looks around, although flinches at the price of all of the toys.

“See anything you like?” Ben asks, stopping to look at some of the items. Peter looks around, noticing a pack of stickers. They are of Iron Man in action poses, some of him flying, others with him poised with a blaster - ready to fire.

He looks at the sign, $5. They look alright, and are cheap. So, he wanders over to inspect them further. They’re very shiny, making Iron Man look more real with the fake metallic look.

“Hey, are you a fan of Iron Man?” A man asks, slowly crouching besides Peter.

Peter nods, he seems trustworthy enough.

“I’ll let you into a secret,” The man says, “I work for Iron Man.”

Peter eyes widen, and he looks over at his uncle, who’s looking at the exchange. Ben notices the security badge, and seems to relax.

“My names Happy,” He says, holding out his hand for young Peter to shake.

“Really?” Peter asks, “I’m Peter.” He takes Happy’s giant hand, his small hand only managing to grab a few fingers and shakes it, like he’s seen adults do.

“So, Peter. I’ve not seen any kid choose the stickers, over the Iron Man helmet.” Happy starts, “I’m just curious why you didn’t? And,” He leans in closer to whisper to Peter, “So I can tell my Boss that not everyone wants a helmet. He was so sure the helmets would sell the best, I’d like to prove him wrong.”

Peter laughs, before looking over to the helmets, with kids running around with there’s on, before looking back at his stickers.

“There just expensive.” He says, and Happy sympathetically smiles.

“Don’t worry kid,” He stands again, and Ben walks over. “Would you mind, if I got the kid a helmet?”

Ben looks taken aback, but shakes his head. “If he wants it.”

Happy offers Peter his hand, Peter takes it, grabbing Ben with his other. Happy leads them over to the display, and grabs one of the helmets.

“You like it?” He asks, and Peter nods.

“It looks so cool, just like Iron Man’s!” He says, admiring the details, and Happy slides it over his head.

“And a perfect fit.” Happy says, and takes them over to the cashier. Peter pulls his head out the helmet, and places it on the counter.

Ben immediately pulls out his wallet, and Happy shakes his head, pulling out a card.

“Nope, I said it’s on me.” He insists, and pulls out a card. Ben looks guilty, and Happy laughs. “Don’t worry, I’ll make it a company expense. Tony Stark can pay for this.”

Happy pays, including a fancy Stark Expo bag and pack of the stickers for good measure. He puts the helmet in the bag, along with the stickers, and hands it to Peter.

“Thank you very much Mr Happy.” Peter says, holding the bag close.

“You’re welcome kid, have fun.” He says, and leaves them.

“That was, weird.” Ben says, and pulls them outside to find May.

“He was nice!” Peter laughs, and runs over when he sees May, telling her all about Happy and the shop. “And his name was Happy! That’s so cool!”

Later, the suits attack, and Iron Man flies in to help everyone. Security are guiding everyone away, and May, Ben and Peter get shuffled along with a crowd. A girl seems to be lost, and crying, stood next to a security guard.

A suit flies to close though, and the girl jumps, running away from the group. Peter looks to the security guard, seeing that she hasn’t noticed. The girl keeps running, so Peter runs after her, going as fast as his little legs can take him.

She’s hiding under a bench, when Peter catches up, and he crawls next to her.

“Are you okay?” He asks, and she shakes her head.

“I’m lost, and I can’t find my parents, and Iron Man won’t save us.”

Peter frowns, and is quick to defend the hero. “He will, he’s out there saving us now.”

“But he’s not here now.”

Peter shakes his head, “That’s why we should be with everyone else. You can stay with me and my Aunt and Uncle if you want. Until we find your parents.”

Peter crawls out from under the bench, and the girl hesitantly follows. Peter opens his bag, and grabs the helmet, pulling it on.

“See, now I’m Iron Man.” He says, and the girl laughs. Her parents then call her from across the empty path.

“That’s them, thank you!” She says, as a rogue suit lands in front of them.
It stares at them for a second, seeming to calculate its next move. She immediately runs away, and Peter knows, that if he follows, the drone will likely hurt her too. So, he decides to distract it.

He raises his palm, and takes a breath. He then feels something land next to him, and he looks up, to see the real Iron Man. He blasts the drone, imitating Peter’s position.

"Nice work, kid." He says, fly’s off again. Peter’s eye widen from under the mask, and he feels a warmth in his chest.

He slips of the helmet, and returns it safely into the bag. He runs over to May and Ben, who witnessed the end of the event.

“Peter! Oh honey, are you alright?” May says, pulling Peter into a giant hug. Ben joins them for a tight hug. Once they pull away, he notices the girl looking at him.

“He saved you…” She gasps, holding her father’s hand.

Peter doesn’t reply, and looks at the sky. He’s proud of Iron Man, and smiles to himself. Tony Stark is a great man.

When he gets home, May and Ben send him to bed, it’s late, after all.

Peter starts changing into his pyjama’s, which is when he notices it. His circle, is blue.

“Aunt May! Uncle Ben!” He shouts, and they run upstairs.

“Peter, what’s wrong?” Ben asks worriedly, “What’s the matter Buddy?”

Peter, in his pyjama bottoms, slowly faces them, before pointing at his chest.

“It’s blue…” He whispers, and they’re eyes widen at the familiar mark. Peter’s once empty circle, has filled in, and is clearly imitating an arc reactor.

“What the fu…” May starts, and Ben slaps his hand over her mouth.

“Was it blue this morning Pete?” Ben asks, and Peter shakes his head.

“What does this mean?” He asks, and May slowly removes Ben’s hand from her mouth.

“It means,” She says, still not believing it. “That you’ve met you’re soulmate.”

“Wow…” Peter whispers, looking down at his chest, feeling a happiness spread through him, remembering his compliment from Tony Stark.

-

Today didn’t, ‘go to plan’, to put it lightly. Tony just wanted a shower, and his bed. His armour is in a desperate need for repair after the ordeal with Hammer and Vanko.

He gets home, and immediately heads straight to the shower. Slipping of his clothes, he cleans himself, smiling at the concealer that fades away, revealing his mark, although, it’s different from normal.

There is a faint colour to it, a light grey colour appeared on the inside. He tries to look at his back, turning around in the shower, before giving up. He quickly finishes, and rushes to the mirror, turning around to get a better look at it.

The whole of the spider is coloured the faded black, and he feels the familiar shock that occurred when he first saw his mark, on the 25th May 2001.

He, much like the last time, immediately started researching soulmates.

“JARVIS, pull up everything you can find on faded soulmate marks.” He asks, and a monitor appears, listing off pieces of information.

“There is not much information regarding faded marks,” JARVIS replies, “But apparently, it can occur if you briefly interacted with your soulmate.”

Tony listens to JARVIS, still mesmerised by the change to his mark.

“Colour appears when you feel an emotional connection to your soulmate after meeting them, it is a faded colour if you don’t engage with them fully.” JARVIS continues, and Tony runs a hand through his hair.

“I missed them?” He says is disbelief, “I’ve been waiting years to meet them, and when I do, I didn’t realise I had. Dammit!”

He pulls on some pyjama’s and crawls into his bed.

“I haven’t missed my opportunity, have I?” He asks.

“No, Sir. Everyone who has experienced a faded mark, will meet their soulmate in the future.” JARVIS replies, after searching through more information.

Tony breathes a sigh of relief, that he hasn’t missed his opportunity, but wishes he knew who it was.

-

The gun shot ricochets throughout the street, Peter’s senses dialling the sound up to 11. If he concentrates, he reckons he could hear the faint echo, but he’s distracted.

The blood is bright red, almost neon in Peter’s vision. He watches each drop slowly fly into the air, gracefully, but terrifying. The street light reflects of the shiny liquid, blinding Peter’s sight, although he can’t seem to tear his eyes away.

The smell hits him next. He gags at the stench, the blood so overwhelmingly strong. The scent is so strong, he can taste it, and it settles in his stomach uncomfortably.

His legs start moving, as the figure slowly collapses. He grabs onto the body, pulling it close. Feeling blood droplets hit his face, as he jostles the body.

He feels the tears build up, and final painful gasp from the man below him causes them to fall.

“Uncle Ben,” He wails, sobbing into the man’s shoulder. He clumsily moves his hands to cover the bullet wound, feeling every cell on his hand cover with blood.

Ben’s eyes are closed, the pain already causing him to pass out. Peter doesn’t know if he’ll wake up.

The blood keeps spewing, and Peter’s heart pounds loudly in his ears. The thumping agonisingly painful, pushing against his headache. He brings his hand to Ben’s neck, praying to anyone that’s there’s a pulse.

He’s never been lucky.

A lump form’s in the back of his throat, and he can’t breathe. He chokes on a sob, before exploding into more tears. He wipes them away, and Ben’s blood smears on his cheek.

He’s shaking violently, desperate for his lungs to fill with air.

“Uncle Ben…” He chokes out, hiccupping as he does.

He tries to curl up next to his uncle, pressing his head deeply into his stomach, next to the wound. The blood soaked into Ben’s shirt presses uncomfortably onto Peter’s face, but he doesn’t care.

He hears ambulance sirens in the distance, the screech of tires moving at full speed. It’s painful. He cups his hands over his ears, getting blood everywhere.

When the medical team arrive, they immediately pull Peter away. He screams.

“NO! LET ME GO!” He shouts, easily ripping himself out of the man’s grip. He flings himself back to Ben’s body. The staff try and speak to him, but he physically can’t concentrate on their voices.

He listens to the blood, slowly trickling down a nearby drain, his own laboured breathes, attempting to bring oxygen into his body, then, his Aunt crying.

He snaps his head over to her, as she watches from a distance. Her hands are over her mouth, and she cries. Her eyes staying on Ben’s lifeless body.

Peter stands up on his shaky legs, and slowly makes his way towards her, and her eyes flick to him. She takes in his state, drenched in blood. The blood on his cheeks mixed with his tears. Trembling. Young.

She pulls him in for a hug, pressing herself tightly against him. She strokes her hand through his hair, her fingers pushing through the wet clumps of blood. And they mourn.

Tony’s working in the lab, mindlessly improving his suit, when his heart is ripped from his chest. He gasps painfully, and he tumbles to the floor, clutching the workbench to keep himself from falling to painfully.

He looks at his hands, and his vision flickers, seeing blood covering them. The blinks, and the blood vanishes. He blinks again, and can see the red stains.

He wipes his eyes, attempting to fix his vision. He hands come away wet, with salty tears. He starts shaking on the floor, and starts fully crying. The sadness is intense, and he aches, just thinking about it.

He starts dry heavying, desperately taking in heavy breathes. He crawls over to the couch in his workshop, and manages to pull himself up. He lies on it, closing his eyes tightly. His senses are overwhelmed with the thought of blood. There’s blood everywhere.

He stays there for hours, slowly calming down. He breathing returns to normal, and his tears eventually stop. His hands have stopped shaking, and he slowly sits up.

What just happened?

He goes over to the sink, and washes his hands, double checking to make sure they aren’t covered in blood. He moves back over to the couch, and lies down again, more calmly this time. The ache in his heart hasn’t gone, but it has settled into a manageable amount. Exhausted after the episode, the falls into an unsettling sleep.

-

Agile, was the first word Tony thought of as he watched the videos. The red and blue blur, was swinging around Queens, using a weird white string. Tony did a little research on a substance that could be used to this affect, but found nothing.

Then, this guy, caught a car, traveling at 40 miles an hour. Strong was an understatement. Everything describing this vigilante, was an understatement. Tony was impressed.

He pulled up articles from Queens, and everyone was writing about this ‘Spiderman’. That would explain the web.

“FRIDAY, gives me this guys route, specifically, where he’s first seen and last seen.” He says, and watches more videos.

“Here are the locations where he’s typically first seen on security cameras.” FRIDAY reports, and Tony looks over the map.

“Good girl, give me the times of his sightings.”

“3:30, only Monday to Friday.” She answers.

“Ah, so our Spiderman’s likely a kid then.” Tony says, “Now, list nearby schools and colleges, don’t include elementary.” FRIDAY pulls up a list of places, and moves them aside.

“Bring up footage from yesterday, I want to see every student enter the area between 3 and 4.”

Immediately, footage starts playing and lots of students walk though. FRIDAY runs facial security on each of them.

“Narrow it down FRIDAY, watch the students who leave the area, and give me a list of ones who don’t.” Tony asks, and FRIDAY speeds through the footage. 3 names appear, and Tony glances at them.

Thomas Davids.

Alisa Wicker.

Peter Parker.

“Okay, now see who appears minutes after Spiderman is last seen.” Tony asks, FRIDAY minimising the previous files, and searching through various security cameras.

“None of them, Boss.” She relays, and Tony scrunches his eyebrows.

“Right, where is Spiderman last seen?” He asks, and she brings up a map, a few streets highlighted in red. “Can you tell me if any of these kids are seen in his area, any time.”

She immediately starts flickering through various cameras, zooming through all hours of the day. She pauses the video, and zooms in on one student.

“Peter Parker, Boss.” She says, and he stares at the slightly blurred picture of the kid.

He’s wearing an overly large jumper, with headphones in. He has a backpack securely on his shoulders, head slightly ducked, as he walks down the street.

“Peter Parker,” Tony mutters. “FRIDAY, bring up every piece of information you can on this kid, and give me a run down.”

“Peter Benjamin Parker,” FRIDAY starts, “Estimated to be 15. Student of Midtown School of Science and Technology. Birthday, 2001, day and month, unknown. Parents, unknown. Medical Records, unknown. Family Records, May Parker, Aunt, alive. Benjamin Parker, Uncle, deceased.”

“Woah, why’s this kid got no information?” He asks, “Just, send me his address.”

FRIDAY sends him the address, matching to an apartment building near Spiderman’s last location.

“Also,” He adds as an after thought, “Make sure no one else can track this kid. Tamper with the footage, add some fake details on him as well, looks suspicious otherwise.”

FRIDAY does this, and Tony gets up. He stretches his arms above his head, and continues his previous work, reading through the accords.

-

Peter’s listen to music, relieved that school’s finished. He flicks his key’s out of his pocket, and quickly unlocks the door.

“Hey May,” He says, walking straight down the hallway, dropping his rucksack and the DVD player he picked up on the table.

“Hey,” She asks, “How was school today?”

“Okay,” Peter replies as usual, more interested in telling her about the expensive car parked outside. “There’s this crazy car parked outside.” He walks into the kitchen, and looks over at his Aunt in the living room. And, then he sees him. Tony Stark. His soulmate. Sitting in his house.

Should he tell him they’re soulmates? Would he believe him? Does he already know? What if he knows about Spiderman, if anyone could work out his secret identity, it would be Tony Stark.

“Oh, Mr Parker.” Tony says, amused as Peter’s flustered reaction. Peter takes out his earphones immediately, knowing this upcoming conversation will require his full attention.

“What? What are you… Hey. I’m, I-I’m Peter.” He stutters out.

“Tony,” He replies, trying to make Peter feel more at ease. After a brief introduction, Tony leads the conversation away into Peter’s room, somewhere they can talk more privately.

Peter takes Tony into his room. Peter stands around awkwardly, as Tony immediately starts looking around at the tech on the desk.

“Ah, what do we have here.” Tony says, admiring the kid for getting the old machines back into working condition. “Retro tech, huh?”

He moves on, not wanting to waste any time, and holds his phone for Peter. The video on the phone projects onto a holographic monitor, and Peter watches himself swing around Queens.

“That’s you, right?” Tony says, staring at Peter to gauge his reaction.

“Um, no? What do you mean?” Peter says quickly, stuttering a bit. He’s a bad liar, so it’s a little endearing. Tony refrains from laughing.

“Look at you go,” He compliments, “Wow, Nice catch.” He recites one of the calculations he made whilst researching the kid. “3,000 pounds, 40 miles an hour. That’s not easy.”

“That’s, that’s all on Youtube though, right. That’s where you found that? ‘Cos, you know that’s all fake.” Peter hastily explains, and Tony pushes aside Peter’s rambling to focus on the room again.

He grabs the long wooden pole, for access to the upstairs storage, and gives the hatch above his head a poke. A red and blue blur drops out, and Peter quickly runs into it, hiding it in his wardrobe, pushing the outfit out of Tony’s vision.

He turns to lean casually against the wall, although seems to have given up hiding it at this point. He pushes off the wall, and nervously walks over to his desk. Tony goes over to inspect the suit. He immediately pulls out, a little cartridge, that must be the webbing.

“You know what I think is really cool,” He asks, “This webbing.” He throws the small canister at Peter. Now that his identity is out to Tony, he lets his natural reaction catch, not even looking at the object.

“Tensile strength is off the charts.” He comments, “Who manufactured that?”

“I did.” Peter replies, tossing the webbing back into his wardrobe. Tony looks at Peter for a second, admittedly impressed. This kid’s got brains.

“Climbing walls, how are you doing that? Adhesive gloves?” He asks, although the goggles catch his eyes. Practically black. “Lordy, can you even see in these?”

“I can, I can see in those. Okay.” Peter replies, “It’s just that, when whatever happened, happened. It’s like my senses have been dialled to 11. There’s, there’s way too much input, so, they just kinda help me focus.”

Tony contemplates this, feeling sorry that this kid is dealing with this himself, only managing to use darkened goggles to help with the input.

“You’re in dire need of an upgrade,” He says, “Why are you doing this?”

Peter takes a second. Tony sits on his desk chair, and Peter takes the bed. He then thinks back to Ben, and how he could have prevented his death.

“Because,” He starts, “Because I’ve been me, my whole life, and I’ve had these powers for 6 months. I read books, I build computers, and yeah. I would love to play football. But I couldn’t then, so I shouldn’t now.”

Tony listens to this, how this kid is doubting himself, because he couldn’t do these things before. He’s fair, and Tony realises that he holds himself back, because he knows he’ll win. It’s admirable.

“Sure, because you’re different.” Tony adds.

“Exactly. But, I can’t tell anybody that, so I’m not.”

Peter takes a breath, and Tony can see something in his eyes falter. Peter looks off to the side, to avoid eye contact. Tony then feels a stab of pain through his chest, but pushes it back to focus on Peter.

“When you do the things that I can, but you don’t. And then the bad things happen, they happen because of you.”

Tony listens to this, now understanding who Peter really is. The innocence he’d shown Tony, up to this point, vanished. He looked tired, and sad, Tony can feel it radiating off him.

“Sounds like a guilty conscience.” Tony says, attempting to lighten the mood.

Peter scoffs a laugh, “You could say that, I lost my Uncle, a few months ago.”

“Kid, I’m sure it wasn’t your fault.” Tony says, resisting the urge to go over to Peter and pull him into a hug. He quickly discards the thought, that would be weird. He has no right to hug this kid, he only just met.

“He was shot, by some robber.” Peter explains, “We had an argument, I left and walked into a shop to clear my head. I saw the guy stealing, and decided it wasn’t any of my business. I could have stopped him, but I chose not too.” He lets out a shaky breath, and Tony’s heart clenches.

“The guy ran out the store, and I heard Ben shouting. I went outside, to see the man had a gun. Ben chased me when I left the house, and ran into the criminal at the wrong time.”

Tony’s memories flash to his breakdown a few months ago, experiencing the panic, and seeing the ghost blood on his hands.

“He didn’t deserve to die.”

Tony remembers the crying and shaking, the desperate ache in his chest.

“I don’t want anyone else to experience this, so I became Spiderman.”

Suddenly, Tony’s back feels like it’s blossoming, and everything clicks into place from there. The feeling, of wanting to hug and console Peter, the strange experience of emotions a month ago, the sudden sadness he felt just now, the mark of a spider. Peter Parker is Spiderman, and Tony’s soulmate.

Tony confirms this by lifting his shirt, desperately twisting to observe the mark on his back. It’s completely filled in, the faded grey replacing the black. Tony let’s go, and he looks over at Peter, staring with wide eyes. Peter knew that Tony was his soulmate, and it’s been confirmed, and Tony knows too.

Tony looks at Peter, and wonders what his mark is. Peter seems to read his mind, as his slowly lifts his own shirt, revealing the arc reactor imitation.

Tony stands up, and Peter copies, letting his shirt drop. Tony hands hover over Peter’s shoulders. He’s waited years, around 15 years for this moment. His soulmate is stood in front of him. The boy, who will change his life forever.

Peter smiles, and pulls Tony into a hug.

“So… Hi, Mr Soulmate.” He says, and Tony wraps his arms around the kid. Tony almost feels numb, all the years he’s waited have led him to this moment, and it’s overwhelming. He looks down at the kid in his arms, his soulmate in his arms, and smiles. He squeezes him, before letting him go. Peter let’s go and takes a step back.

Tony grabs his shoulder, giving it a solid pat.

“Okay, let’s go to Germany.” He says, remembering the reason he was here initially.

Peter looks shocked, and whispers. “But, I’ve got homework.”

Tony rolls his eyes and smiles. He loves this kid already.