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Peter looked up at the lab clock in anticipation. It was only fifteen more minutes until it was time for him to go. He really did thoroughly enjoy his time with Tony in the lab. He looked forward to more than anything else in the world but this time he was ready to dart out the door the moment the clock hit six. He really needed to pee. Normally he was fine. He was only there for a few hours after school, so this problem had never come up before. However, today, Tony had insisted on making him a smoothie instead of giving him his typical bag of chips for a snack, and Peter had been too polite to decline it, so here he was, waiting. In fifteen more minutes, then he could announce that he had to hurry home for dinner with May and rush out of the building to the corner store. Sure, he could just ask Tony where the bathroom was but for whatever reason Peter just couldn't get the words out of his mouth. He had always been shy when it came to his needs. Even asking simple things like, 'Can I have a snack?', 'Is it okay if I get a bottle of water?' or 'Could you point me towards the bathroom, please?', were near impossible say out loud to most people. Aunt May and Ned seemed to be the only expectations. He had no idea why something so simple as just speaking up was so difficult for him, a side effect of his generally anxious nature probably, but it was still frustrating.
So a week or so later, when the opportunity arose for him to spend the night at the Tower, you can imagine his hesitation. The two of them had been working on a project together that was becoming more and more complex and Peter was getting more and more irritated every time they had to put their work on hold because his time was up. "Ugh! It's six o'clock already!? I guess I need to head home. Aunt May is ordering in tonight, so that's bonus I guess.", he sighed and complained as he began to clean up the workspace and repack his book bag.
Tony was suddenly struck by an idea and before he had time to think it through it was out of his mouth. Typical. "Tomorrow's Friday. Why don't you ask Aunt Hottie if you can just spend the night here? I have plenty of room." At first, he wasn't sure what he had been thinking -or not thinking- when he asked the kid to stay with him for a full twenty-four hours... but then it slowly started to dawn on him that this might actually be a good idea... he had grown to hate how quiet it felt whenever Peter left and this was a perfect reason to spend more time with him.
Then he noticed that the kid looked a bit antsy and thought maybe they just weren't there yet. Crap. So he tried to backtrack. "Unless of course, you have something else planned, teenage antics, vigilante-ism and all that. We can always pick up where we left off again on Tuesday." He tried too sound aloof but in reality, he was sort of disappointed that Peter didn't look at all excited by the idea. He couldn't help but sigh just a little bit, he hope Peter didn't notice. Another time.
"No, no that's not it Mr. Stark--"
"--Tony. My name is Tony.", the man corrected for the umpteenth today alone.
"Yeah, yeah, Tony. I, I think spending the night here w-would be great... a-and we could get a lot done. It, it's a good idea. I'll, uh, I'll ask May... and let you know."
Tony could tell something was up with the kid. It had taken weeks for the kid to stop stuttering around him and yet, there it was again. He hated that he had made the kid feel uncomfortable and hoped he didn't feel pressured, but he let go. The kid already had a perfect built-in out. All he had to do was say that his Aunt May told him 'no'. Which if he was being honest, that was a real possibility anyway. He was pretty sure that woman hated everything about him despite Peter's reassurances that she didn't. "Alright Kiddo, If you're sure this is something you want to do, just let me know what she says."
"Oh, I want to. I'll ask her. See ya Later Mr. Stark!!", and then he was out the door so fast that the man didn't even have time to correct him about his name... again.
Once home and settled into dinner with Aunt May, Peter decided it was time to bite the bullet and talk to her about the prospect of him staying the night with Tony. "So... You know that big project that Mr. Stark and I have been working on? Well, um, it's gotten sort of... complicated? He, uh, he asked me if I wanted to spend the night tomorrow night... so we can get more work done on it. Three hours at a time doesn't seem to be getting us very far. What, um, what do you think?" He didn't look up from his plate as he continued to take small bites, anxiously awaiting her reaction.
She looked at him with soft eyes and an understanding smile, "I think that's totally up to you. Is that something you're comfortable with? I know how you can be..."
That was not the answer Peter was looking for. Then again, he wasn't sure what answer he was looking for so he couldn't really complain. Instead, he tried to think it all the way through before responding. "I mean, I really want to and we would get a lot done. I'm -I'm just not completely sure that I'll be... I don't know... okay?" He threw his hands up in a frustrated gesture before continuing. "Uhg. That's not really the right word. I just... it feels, awkward maybe? I don't know...but I also really, really want to." By the time he was done he had his face hidden in his hands, food now abandoned on the table.
"Oh, Honey. If this is something you really want to do then you should do it! Actually, I think it would be good for you. I know how much you admire that man and I know I'm not his biggest fan but, I can tell he really cares about you. In fact, if I didn't think the idea was just completely crazy, I might even go so far as to say that sometimes he seems almost... fatherly... towards you... and I really can't believe I'm saying this but, I think that might be a good thing. You need someone else in your corner and I think he's just the guy for the job. You can trust him, Petey."
Peter looked at her dumbfounded, a million thoughts going through his head as he tried to process everything she had just told him. It took several minutes before he could finally get words other than 'uh' and 'um' to come out of his mouth in response. "uh... yeah... so.... um... I guess I'm gonna tell him I'm coming then? Yeah, uh, let me just text him real quick."
But before he could get his phone out of his pocket, his aunt had put her hand softly on his and before he knew it she was all of the sudden standing beside him. She then leaned over and kissed the top of his head before placing her other hand on his cheek gently coaxing him to look at her. "You'll be fine. Worst case scenario you tell him you aren't feeling well and I'll come to get you."
Peter leaning into her touch sighed. "May, it's not an elementary school sleepover. I can't just call you to come to get me. Besides, I'm Spider-man. Spider-man does not need his Aunt to come to pick him up in the middle of the night. You're right, I'll be fine." Then after one more reassuring smile, he texts Tony to let him know that he'll be staying. Laughing to himself when man replied so quickly that Peter almost wondered if he had been holding onto his phone in anticipation. He couldn't help but smile at the notion.
7:04 Spider-kid: May said it's fine so I'll see you tomorrow.
7:04 Mr. Stark: That's great Kiddo! I'll have Happy pick you up after school.
7:05 Spider Kid: Sounds good. TTYL
The next day at school, Peter was disappointed to see that Ned was out sick, though he wasn't surprised. His friend had looked like death warmed over by fourth period the day before. It would have been nice to have someone to talk to and help him ease his tension regarding his evening plans but it couldn't be helped. At least Flash was pretty much leaving him alone today.
Time passed slowly before the final bell rang. Peter made sure to use the bathroom one last time before going to his locker and then heading out the front doors with his backpack and duffle bag in tow. It was easy enough to spot his ride. He quickly walked over and climbed in the back. After a quick greeting and short exchange with Happy, he took out some homework and a pencil.
For some reason, the twenty-minute ride to the Tower didn't seem to take any time at all. Once there, Happy insisted on taking his duffle bag from him. Presumably to drop it off in the room he would be using for the night. Peter wasn't exactly keen on that idea. He had really wanted to get an idea of where he would be staying before heading to the lab. Sure he had stayed and watched movies with his mentor before, but they had watched them on the couch in the workshop. He had never been in any of the living quarters and hoped that by being shown where he would be sleeping would give him an idea of where the bathroom was... for when he needed it. Oh well, On to plan B. At some point, they would have to eat dinner. Maybe Mr. Stark would show him where the bathroom was so he could wash up and if all else fails surely he would be shown where it was before bed. Right? He could do this.
He could not do this. By the time seven-thirty had rolled around Peter had already finished off two bottles of water and he really had to pee. He was losing concentration on the project and he could just feel Mr. Starks eyes on him. He had to focus. Surely they would be stopping for dinner soon or maybe he should just suck it up and ask. That's all he had to do was ask. It wasn't that big of a deal. Spit it out, damn it. "Mr. Stark? Um, could you maybe show me where the b-- I mean... where you want me to connect these wires?" He couldn't bring himself to do it. Every time he thought about it or tried he just clammed up and talked himself into waiting a little bit longer.
Tony could tell something was up. The kid was acting weird. Well, weirder than usual anyway. After the boy had asked him for the second time in half an hour, where to connect something he knew the kid knew how to connect he decided it was time for a break. Seven-forty five. That sounded like a time that normal people would eat dinner. Maybe the kid was just hungry. "Hey kid, you hungry? I can order us some pizza. You like Pepperoni and mushrooms right?"
"Yeah. That sounds great Mr. Star--"
"--Tony. It's still Tony.", the man said without any real heat in his words.
"RIght. Tony." It still felt odd to be on a first name basis with the Tony Stark. He was really going to have to work on that.
Tony excused himself from the lab. Peter assumed it was to go order the pizza. While the man was out of the room Peter considered checking out some of the closed doors. Maybe one of them was a bathroom but before he could decide if that was impolite or not the man returned, beckoning for Peter to follow him. "Pizza will be here by eight-thirty. I thought we could just head on up to the penthouse, get washed up and queue a movie to watch while we eat. We can always head back down here later if we want to."
'Finally' Peter thought as he followed the man to the elevator. He was sure this was his saving grace and that the man was about to direct him towards the bathroom. This, however, was not the case. Once inside the, frankly, extravagant penthouse, the man gestured towards the kitchen sink as he began to lather up his own hands. Peter joined him at the sink and began to scrub his own grease laden hands but the sound of the water running was just too much. He tried to be discreet as he placed his right foot on top his left bringing his knees together to partially cross his legs. The warm water flowed over his hands taunting his already overfilled bladder. He needed to ask. He needed to ask now but he just... couldn't. Instead, he found himself being lead towards the couch where he was handed a remote and told to pick something. He flipped through the channels for a bit before giving up and just asking his mentor what he wanted to watch instead. He didn't care. All he cared about at this point was mustering up the courage he needed to ask about the damn bathroom.
Once the pizza arrived, Tony set them out in the kitchen. Seeing the kid not making a move to come and serve himself, he piled up two plates up with a variety of slices before placing them on the coffee table. "Go ahead and start eating, Kid. I know your super spidey stomach must be starving by now. What do you want to drink?"
Peter picked up a slice of pizza and took a small bite. It took him a second to register that the man had asked him what he wanted to drink and the thought made him shudder. He was absolutely sure he did not want to put any more liquid into his body but he was also absolutely sure that the man wasn't going to take 'nothing' as an answer. "Um... j-just water?" His words sounded shaky even to him. He was running out of time. The rational part of his brain was telling him that he could not possibly hold it any longer and that pissing himself would be way more embarrassing than asking where the nearest toilet was, while the anxious part of his brain unhelpfully supplied that bursting bladder be damned, he could hold it in forever if he had to. He was Spider-Man and Spider-Man does not wet his pants.
Except as it turned out, while Spider-Man does not wet his pants, apparently, Peter Parker does, because at that moment, a spurt of urine came out of him causing him to jump up off the couch and cross his legs to stem the flow. Shit. He managed to get it under control but he didn't know for how long. His eyes frantically searched the room for any indication of where the bathroom might be but he found nothing but closed doors. At this point, he realized that Tony was talking to him but he was already starting to panic. Tears were now streaming from his eyes and he was pretty sure he had forgotten how to breathe properly because he couldn't seem to get enough air.
Tony had stood at the counter and studied the back of the teenagers head for a moment before finally grabbing two water bottles and heading towards him. What the Hell was up with this kid? Was he sick or something? Seems like he had mentioned something about his friend being sick. Maybe the kid was getting sick too? "Hey Squirt, you feeling alright?" but the only answer he got was the kid jumping up off the couch like it was on fire. The man stopped dead in his tracks. "Kid?", he asked but there was no reply. He watched as the kid's eyes wildly searched the room like he desperately needed to find something. Then it hit him. "wait... Are you gonna throw up!?"
Peter vaguely heard the man asking him if was going to throw up and he wished that was the case because that would have been way easier to explain. Instead, he turned his head to meet his mentor's eyes. He shook his head vigorously in the negative to answer the mans previous question before his embarrassment finally made room for the panic and he could talk again. "...help... I need... I need Help. Please.", he managed to get out between pants. Then he saw the older man finally heading towards him worry lines clearly visible across his face.
Somewhat relieved to hear the kid say that he wasn't going to puke, Tony searched his brain for alternative answers as he quickly closed the distance between them. By the time he had made his way over, he was pretty sure the kid was having some sort of a panic attack but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what could have triggered it. Then again the kid had been acting off for a while now. With the couch no longer blocking his view, he could see the boy's uncomfortable stance. It looked like the kid was about to piss himself... but that wasn't right, was it? The kid was fifteen. He was almost sure that by fifteen kids no longer needed to be reminded to go pee. Then again it had been a long time since he had been that age... but when he was that age, he was already at MIT. This was... not making sense. "Do you need to... pee?", the man asked cautiously.
Peter hadn't known what to do once the man had finally made his way over to him. He was already beyond humiliated that he had allowed himself to even get into this situation. Then the man seemed to figure out exactly what was going on and asked him if he needed to pee like he was a toddler. What was worse is that Peter didn't know if he should be more grateful or ashamed that he no longer had to speak up. Without many options, he just closed his eyes as tight as they would go and nodded in the affirmative. The man took no time taking action and grabbed him the elbow and started to harshly move him towards what Peter could only assume was the closest bathroom. It didn't matter though. The second his legs came uncrossed the stream of urine started back up again and there was nothing he could do to stop it causing him to just freeze in his tracks, not daring to open his eyes yet. Despite his mortification, he felt his body sag with relief. However, the euphoric feeling of finally letting go was short lived because by the time his stream had finally slowed to a trickle his breathing was already picking up again. He had just pissed himself in Tony Stark's house. The man was going to think he was a baby. He was going to send him home and tell him to never come back because he didn't have the time to deal with a literal preschooler.
When the kid had started wetting himself, Tony wasn't super clear as to what he was supposed to do. This development in their evening was... unexpected. So he just stood there mouth agape. It was truly a good thing that Peter kept his eyes closed because he probably would have died from further embarrassment knowing that his mentor had literally just stood there and watched it happen. It didn't take long for Tony to realize that the kid must have been beyond bursting to pee because the puddle that was growing around the kid's feet seemed ridiculously disproportionate to the size of the kid himself. How someone that small produce that much urine in one go was beyond him.
Once Tony was done standing there like an idiot, he noticed the kid's harsh and uneven breathing and decided it might be a good idea to get the child out of the rather large puddle of urine and get him to breathe properly. Placing his hand on the small of Peter's back, Tony was able to get him in front of the door that led to the hall bathroom. Once there, he started trying to guide Peter's breathing, "Breathe Pete. You need to breathe. In 1, 2, 3, 4. Out 1, 2, 3, 4. Come on Kiddo, Breath with me now. In ... and out...." He continued the exaggerated breathing exercises until the kid's panicked breaths became soft sobs.
Now that Peter was no longer in danger of passing out, Tony left to quickly grab the boy's bag so he could send him to shower and change clothes. It took him less than three minutes to return and hand the bag to his extremely miserable looking mentee. Then as he was about to open up the bathroom door he heard the kid start to speak.
"I'm sorry Mr. Stark. That, That has never hap-happened before I swear." and it hadn't. Usually, the rational part of his brain kicked in and he was able to get what he needed before the situation became dire. For whatever reason, tonight it hadn't. He didn't truly understand what had happened. What he did know is that being handed his bag by his mentor left him feeling heartbroken and defeated. "I- I understand. It- It's okay. I- I get it", he managed before placing the strap over his shoulder and turning to walk away.
"Peter," The man said with more care than he either one of them knew he possessed. "Where are you going, Bud? There's a shower right here. Why don't you go take care of yourself, I'll put the pizza in the oven to keep it warm, we can eat it when you get out okay?"
"You're, you're not s-sending me home?", Peter asked, eyes going comically wide.
"No, of course not Kiddo. We haven't finished our movie or our project for that matter. Now go ahead and get yourself cleaned up and I'll get DUM-E up here to clean up everything else." He watched as Peter made his way back to the bathroom, "There's a laundry chute in the wall, just put all your clothes in there and you can get them next time you're here alright?"
"Next time?", Peter asked, apprehension clear in his voice.
"Yes, next time. Now go on, hurry up. I'm hungry and this movie isn't going to watch its self."
Once showered, Peter left the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Walking down the hall, he found his mentor sitting on the couch waiting for him. True to his word, Tony had kept the pizza warm and the movie was still paused on the screen in front of him. He all of the sudden felt horrible for not being able to be open with the man. Though, fatherly is not the word Peter would use, even he could admit that the man was different with him than with anyone else. Softer, more patient. He decided the man deserved an explanation and this time he was not going to let the anxious part of his brain get the better of him. "Mr. Sta...I mean, Tony?"
The man spun around on the couch to look at the kid and couldn't help but smile. He had never seen the kid's hair wet before. It was a wild, curly mess and the most adorable thing he had ever seen. wait, adorable? Since when does he use the word adorable? "Hey, Kiddo! Come. Sit. I'll grab the food." He then watched as Peter made his way over towards him and plopped himself down on the cushion directly beside where he was already sitting. boundaries? Who needs boundaries? Apparently not Peter.
The two of them sat in a comfortable silence as they ate their dinner and as soon as the credits started rolling Tony turned off the television. "It's almost midnight. You should probably get some sleep. We can work tomorrow.", but Peter made no effort to move. Instead, he leaned into Tony, pressing his face into the man's arm. Tony's first reaction was to stiffen but the moment the kid said his name he relaxed as if on command.
"Mr. Sta-Tony?" Peter asked with trepidation.
The man looked down at the bundle of curled up teenager pressed into his side, "Yeah Pete?"
Peter hesitated, taking a deep breath as he searched for the right words to use. He didn't want to mess this up. "I-I get anxious."
Tony wanted to laugh at the way the kid had made his proclamation like it was a secret. He had realized that from the moment he'd met the kid. Yet, looking at the way Peter had his face completely buried away in his shirt, he understood how hard that must have been for him to say. So he didn' speak. He just nodded his head, a motion to indicate that he was listening.
"Aunt May says it's just my nature. It's, um, it's sort of hard for me to...like, ask for things? I don't like that kind of attention. It makes me feel, I don't know, bad. So, I don't. And, and sometimes the anxious part of my brain tells me to do, or, or not to do, stupid things and, and for some reason, tonight, I listened t-to it. Usually, The, uh, the rational part of my brain? It just sort of kicks in before anything horrible happens but t0-tonight it, it didn't. I needed to go to the bathroom so bad but I just, I just couldn't seem to say anything or, or even ask where it was. Th-then it, it was just t-too late and I just couldn't hold it anymore. I'm sorry. I know I'm a m-mess and you sh-shouldn't have to deal with that."
As Peter spoke, Tony just nodded along in what he thought were all the right places throwing in the occasional 'mmhmm' here and there, encouraging the kid to keep going. Immediately upon noticing that the kid had started crying, he reclined further on the couch before moving his arm so that it was now wrapped around the crestfallen child's body pulling him into his chest, allowing the kid to continue hiding his face.
Once it seemed like the kid was done talking Tony's decided it was time to put in his two or three cents. "Alright buddy, I want to get one thing straight right off the bat here. You listening?" The kid nodded into his chest, "Good. Because you are not and never will be a mess and I don't 'deal' with you. I like having you around and I don't mean Spider-Man. I like having Peter Parker around. You're a good kid. Smart too. So you get a little anxious. We can work with that."
"Okay", Peter croaked before lifting himself up so he could see his mentor's face. He needed to make sure the words were true.
Seeing that kid was no longer actively crying and was pulling away to make eye contact, Tony decided to take the opportunity to drive his point home. "Kid, you can ask me anything and I mean anything. I'm not going to laugh at you or judge you... and first thing tomorrow morning I am going to point out every single bathroom in this building."
This elicited a small laugh from Peter. "It's a big building Mr. Stark. Can we just start with the Lab?"
"Sure thing Kiddo. Now, Let's get you to bed." Then as they walked down the hall together Tony made a point of opening up the bathroom door and flipping on the light before walking the kid the rest of the way to his room.
"Good Night Underroos"
"G'night Mr. Stark"