Work Text:
The door slid open to reveal a dark room, the faint smell of metal and oil and something so unique one simply couldn't put it into words causing a warm shiver to run down the teen's spine.
Peter sighed in relief as he stepped into his mentor's workshop, his fingers tingling as he looked around because of the eerie silence. It was weird, being there like that, alone at night whilst wearing a fancy suit, his tie loosely hanging around his neck. His right hand was fidgeting with the small usb stick in the pocket of his dress pants, his heart nearly leaping into his throat as he turned on one of Mr. Stark's holo computers on the man's oval workdesk.
He couldn't help but smile as he saw the mess his mentor made during their previous tinkering session, a box of screws tipped over with its content being distributed all over the table. To be painfully honest, it kinda was Peter's fault that Mr. Stark accidently pushed it over; the teen thought it was a good idea to climb up the Tower in his Spider-Man suit in broad daylight, jump-scaring Mr. Stark by catapulting himself into the workshop through an opened window with a loud shriek, and laughing tears as the man threw a nanoball at him whilst pouting and hissing at FRIDAY to delete that footage.
The chuckle escaping his lips at that memory pierced through the thick blanket of silence, followed by his fingers tapping on the holographic keyboard before taking a deep breath and connecting his usb to the device.
Here goes nothing.
Peter leaned back as the file started to upload, impatiently looking at his watch. It was just past 11pm and with a little bit of luck he should be able to finish everything before the clock hit 12, marking the official beginning of another year.
He had to admit that his timing and overall management of his present for Mr. Stark was rather on the, well, late side, but his inspiration for this particular present fell into his hands a mere four weeks ago. Literally. That dumpster diver heart of his never stopped beating despite Mr. Stark's constant eyerolls, because kid, you've got my own workshop and my 3 story storage at your disposal and you're still digging garbage, but one chilly Wednesday afternoon, he accidently found an old HDD.
The faint and barely visible Stark Industries logo immediately spiked his interest and curiosity, the teen practically sprinting home to see what was on it. At first he genuinely believed that the thing was empty, yeet, but after taking a closer look he was able to reconstruct the deleted and sadly incredibly damaged files. It wasn't much he could have a look at, really, just a few uninteresting documents and pictures of construction sites. Until Peter tried to open the last one which, without further ado, killed his laptop.
It was awful. He spent three whole days trying to get that thing up and running again before giving up and sheepishly asking Mr. Stark for help who chestised him for murdering it in the first place.
The genious did grit his teeth and was swearing, like, a lot, but after Peter's second pizza and a whole AC/DC album, he got it working again with the threat that he would whoop the teen's arse if he had to do it one more time.
Which he did because Peter tried to open that nuisance of a file. Again.
Seriously, kid, what the flying fudge are you working on?
There was thankfully no ass-whooping involved, the only thing he got was a noogie and a playful jab into his ribs where Mr. Stark sadly discovered that he was indeed very, very ticklish, but that was a story to be told on another day.
The third time he tried he was much more careful, using an old computer he found in a dark alley a year or so ago, only to basically jump out of his chair as a weird orange coloured graphic of a cryptic code flooded the screen, making him think that he destroyed that thing beyond repair just as the code organised itself into a straight horizontal line.
He raised his eyebrows in confusion at that, keeping a cautious distance in case that thing decided to, well, he didn't actually know what it could do but he wasn't going to risk getting his face blown off.
"Good evening."
Peter would forever deny the high pitched scream that ripped through his whole body as the male voice adressed him with the help of the computer's speakers, the straight orange line moving in sync with the voice.
The teen didn't dare move.
"My apologies, I didn't mean to startle you."
Oh no way in hell. Nah-ah. He did not want to be a first five minutes of Supernatural meme and that was exactly how he felt at that very moment.
"Uhm," he mumbled, looking around his room in case some weird monster wanted to slit his throat but thankfully he came up empty, ignoring his closet all together because he was definitely not going there. "Who- uh, what are you?"
"Artificial Intelligence."
Oh crap. Mr. Stark was so going to kill him if he accidently started a robot invasion.
He stared at the orange line, not daring to move in case something happened, his whole body tense and ready to fight whatever he had to in order to not get killed by his mentor.
"My name is J.A.R.V.I.S. In case you wondered."
And that was the moment where Peter froze because he knew that name and voice, has laughed because of it whilst eating popcorn in the workshop whenever Mr. Stark got whisked away to a meeting, FRIDAY letting him watch his mentor's old test runs for educational purposes. He didn't quite get why Mr. Stark considered him being thrown into walls, nearly being vaporized by a repulsor beam or getting hit by various pieces of the Iron Man armor as educational, but Peter didn't complain, rather enjoying the funny recordings which never failed to make him laugh, especially if the old AI’s commentary could be heard in the background.
As you wish, Sir. I've also prepared a safety briefing for you to entirely ignore.
Cool it, will ya, Jarvis?
As always, Sir, great pleasure watching you work.
Thinking about it now, he did get why Mr. Stark thought of them as educational. Peter has always seen the man for what he was: a mechanic and genious who happened to be rich whilst also becoming a hero in the process because of his brain. But seeing how Mr. Stark worked and how many times he failed calmed Peter down, knowing that even Tony Stark had to try more than once in order to make something work.
Nevertheless, watching those clips and therefore recognising the name and voice was the only reason why Peter didn't faint back when he found his mentor's lost AI.
That was how his christmas present for Tony Stark was born. He was also getting the older man a mug which said: Best. Mentor. Ever.
Okay, long story short, he was too much of a scaredy cat to actually get him a #1 Dad one.
The teen sighed as Jarvis was still uploding himself into the servers of the workshop, with FRIDAY's permission, of course, otherwise he would've already triggered some kind of weird alarm Mr. Stark definitely had against foreign AI's trying to hack his stuff, and moved towards the giant windows.
He felt like his white dress shirt was suffocating him, his cold fingers scrambling a bit to loosen it up before opening his usual window, taking a deep breath as the cold air hit him in the face.
The sounds from the annual Stark Industries New Years Gala were suddenly all around him, the chatter of happy people and glasses of champagne clinking together making him smile. Peter had to admit that it was a nice gala even though he had his concerns at first; Aunt May and the teen always had a comfy new years with home cooked meals and a movie marathon, basically quite the opposite of a gala with fancy suits and dresses. But Peter kinda promised Mr. Stark that they'd come and surprisingly he didn't have to convince Aunt May at all which was highly suspicious.
It all made sense later as they finally arrived, both of them dressed in embarrassing science pun shirts for the private dinner before the beginning of the gala, and his aunt let out an adorable squeak whilst hugging Pepper Potts who was beaming as well, leaving the two boys hanging, their mouths wide open in shock.
Kid, our women united. We're screwed.
That comment earned his mentor a playful whack upside his head by Pepper.
Convincing said woman to keep Mr. Stark distracted so he could finish his present after spending hours of being introduced to SI employees who didn't have a family or friends to celebrate the new year with, which was the sole purpose of the annual gala, wasn't difficult at all. The CEO simply gave him a wink before joining her fiancée, lovingly wrapping her arms around his shoulders which turned Peter into complete and utter goo.
He went passed Aunt May who gave him a small thumbs up, still talking to Happy who was actually smiling, something Peter hasn't seen in, like, ever. For a second the teen thought that that glass of champagne Mr. Stark secretly gave him with a mischievous smirk was at fault and his eyes were betraying him, but two seconds later the grumpy head of security was belting a laugh and not even a drunk Peter could ever make up that weird of a sound.
Besides, his mentor poured half of Peter's drink back into his own glass after the teen scrunched up his face at the awful taste, filling it up with sweet orange juice instead so he could at least partially act like he was a grown up.
Peter's heart still clenched at that particular memory, not able to stop the smile from forming on his lips. He really was a lucky kid, wasn't he? Despite everything he had to go through, he somehow found an amazing patchwork family. But with that thought came the guilt, the knowledge that he was alive unlike his parents and Uncle Ben, and sometimes he had to look at old pictures in order to remember his Mother's eyecolour or the way his Father's nose wrinkled whenever he grinned.
"Mr. Parker? I successfully gained control over the workshop," Jarvis interrupted his dark thoughts, making him roll his eyes at the AI's wording.
"Jesus, Jar, don't say it like that. One really could think you're an evil mastermind."
The teen, and now part time AI babysitter, quickly made his way back to the computer, his eyes glinting with wonder as JARVIS projected himself into the room, a giant orange ball of code illuminating the workshop.
"Is everything working just fine? Do you need any help?" he asked, taking a look at the holo screens to see if there were any other bugs in need of a fix. He didn't get an answer, though, disapprovingly raising an eyebrow as Jarvis suddenly decided to disappear again, leaving him alone in the dark without a heads up.
Alright, okay, he could fix this. Hopefully.
"Peter, Peter pumpkin-eater, what are you up to?"
Peter jumped at the familiar voice, scrambling to hide the computer he was using with his body even though Jarvis has long since vanished without a trace. His heart was about to beat out of his chest as he swallowed, looking at Mr. Stark who was casually leaning against the entrance to the workshop in an expensive suit, his arms crossed behind him.
"You do know that nursery rhyme is about murder, right?" Peter tried to seem nonchalant,
mirroring his mentor's posture which only resulted in making the man chuckle.
"I was enjoying a nice evening with my employees," he started, moving forward until Peter had to slighty lift his head in order to look Mr. Stark in the eye, the teen's hands as cold as ice as the man gave him a somewhat knowing grin. "Until a little bird told me that my intern is nowhere to be seen."
The next thing he knew was that his mentor threw a greasy towel into his face, successfully making him laugh.
"C'mon, squirt, let's go to the roof and watch the fireworks, eh?"
Mr. Stark was nearly out the door as Peter finally pulled himself together, his heartbeat too frantic to be considered normal. "Mr. Stark, wait!"
The billionaire turned around again, giving Peter his usual no bullshit, Parker face, which apparently was a lot softer during the holidays. "I, uh, I've got something for you and- "
"Pete, you can show me after the fireworks."
"But- "
He felt stupid for wanting to give Mr. Stark's present to him now, but Peter was already so incredibly late. Like, nearly a whole week late and yeah, okay, he shouldn't blame himself because frankly, repairing Artificial Intelligence in his bedroom without the proper tech was a real struggle and he did his best to make it work. Sadly, he couldn't make it work until the 25th, which resulted in him only having that stupid mug to gift after they spent Christmas Eve at the Tower in the most hideous christmas sweaters to exist.
Peter would say the sweaters were Aunt May's idea but he wasn't a good liar.
Mr. Stark didn't seem to mind the mug, though, ruffling his hair in a thank you before nearly making Peter drown in presents. After the clock hit 12 of course, it isn't exactly defined when one gets the presents on the 25th.
Mr. Stark's words, not his.
Still, Peter desperately tried to assure him repeatedly that his actual present wasn't finished until Mr. Stark kindly told him to stop being a broken record player.
All things considered, Christmas Eve at the Tower was nice. Like, really nice. Pepper and Aunt May hit it off right away as if they had already known eachother, and according to his mentor's conspiracy theory they have definitely met up before because kid, Pepper doesn't gossip like that with strangers, but Peter couldn't care less, grinning like a fool until his lips hurt from happiness.
Said grin only widened as Mr. Stark got Aunt May's present, a christmas sweater that was even more hideous than those worn by him and his aunt. It only took one look from Aunt May and Pepper for his mentor to hastily put it on, looking like the grinch himself. Peter couldn't blame him, though, because a look from Aunt May alone was already scary enough but that paired with the most skilled business woman to walk the earth? There was no other way out for his mentor of he wanted to stay alive.
Peter was a little traitor, as Mr. Stark put it, because he laughed until he cried, clutching his stomach in pain.
He tried not to remember his parents as he had the time of his life, tried not to feel bad because they could never experience a Christmas Eve like that together anymore. Instead, he focused on Aunt May’s bright smile.
The teen fell asleep shortly after they put on Home Alone, miracelously waking up in his own room the next morning.
So, yeah, Peter was totally ready to finally give Mr. Stark his well deserved present.
The one thing he did not consider whilst planning all of this, aka repairing his mentor's old AI, was that his nerves would go through the roof.
What if Mr. Stark didn't like it?
Peter had no clue what happened to Jarvis and Jarvis didn't either; the AI only had memories up until 2012 where the Stark Mansion in Malibu has been destroyed, leading the teen to believe that somebody went through the remaining tech that hasn't been blown up to sell online, including the HDD he had found in Queens.
Conclusion: he didn't know why Mr. Stark got rid of Jarvis, and maybe he really did install a malicious AI into the workshop, but he's been working on Jarvis for a month now until he was nearly fully functional again and that AI didn't seem to have a single bad bone, uh, code in his metaphorical body.
"Hey, kid, there's no need to be nervous. Deep breaths."
The teen didn't realise that his breathing turned frantic at the thought of somehow screwing the pooch for the hundredth time, Mr. Stark's hands steadying him by his shoulders. "We don't have to go outside. You don't like the crowd? We can stay here if you want and join the others afterwards."
"No, no, Mr. Stark, I don't mind the others, they're actually amazing people and all but I- I, uh, I'd like to give you something before we- "
Before they're not alone anymore and join the hustle on the roof because Peter needs it to be the two of them so that if something goes terribly wrong Mr. Stark was going to be the only one to know about it.
Also, if it went wrong, he was so going to kick his own ass for being stupid.
And what if it didn't work at all? He had absolutely no idea why Jarvis disappeared. Maybe FRIDAY forgot about some kind of security measure that elliminated the old AI. Oh, god, did that make him a murderer?
His mentor sighed, leaning against Peter's workdesk before motioning for him to go on. "Alright, squirt, you have my full attention."
He was going to hate it. Oh god, he was so going to hate it and Peter would lose him once and for all and why did he think that repairing an ancient AI was a good idea again? Nay, why did he think that repairing said AI and giving him to his literal hero as a christmas present was a good idea? Cause it wasn't.
Man, he didn't even have a bow.
The teen was too deep in his thoughts to realise that Mr. Stark was rummaging around in a drawer before pulling out a neatly wrapped package, shoving it into Peter's stomach with an eyeroll. Caught completely off guard, he instinctively stuck his hands onto the box so he wouldn't accidently let it fall, big doe eyes looking at his mentor with confusion.
"There. Consider it an ice breaker." Peter couldn't help but stare at him, his previous confusion turning into childlike wonder.
"But- Mr. Stark, you already gave me my presents."
He got an exasperated eyeroll as a response. "Yeah, well, thought I'd save you from completely embarassing yourself for giving me my christmas present on New Years Eve.“
Peter stared at the box in his hands, noting how it was wrapped in a different paper than the one's he got on christmas, a bit messy and with way more glue to keep it all together.
His heart clenched with gratitude, seeing the gentle smile on Mr. Stark's face.
"Christmas is turning you into a softie, Mr. Stark."
The smile widened, turning into a chuckle before his mentor clutched his chest in mock hurt.
"How dare you! Do I look like Ebenezer Scrooge?"
"There is a certain resem- "
"Do not finish that sentence."
Peter couldn't help but laugh at that, his chest being filled with warmth and happiness as he took in the present in his hands, a huge smile nearly splitting his face in half. "C'mon, kid, open it up."
"Like, right now?"
"No, next year, dingus. Of course now," Mr. Stark said, turning away in order to close the window the teen has opened earlier. He didn't turn around again, rather looking over New York City instead.
That was his que to open it, huh?
He carefully began to unwrap his present, gently sliding the bow off before making sure that he wouldn't rip the paper, chuckling as he ended up with a blank box.
Very funny.
Grabbing an exacto knife from his mentor's workdesk, he quickly cut it open, an awed gasp leaving his mouth as his still cold fingers fumbled with what was inside.
"Oh my god, Mr. Stark, this- "
Peter couldn't finish his sentence, a nearly inaudible Wow filling the air as he took in the shiny black camera with a unique Stark Industries logo.
Stark Industries didn't produce anything related to photography. Peter would know.
"How- Why- Mr. Stark?"
It was only then that the man looked at him again, an indifferent expression adorning his face.
"Did you know that the cameras on the market are real garbage?" his mentor asked, mindlessly walking around his workshop and randomly fidgeting with tech he got his hands on.
Peter still couldn't help but stare at his present, his eyes searching Mr. Stark's for a second before going back to the sleek black camera in his hands.
"That idea was born out of pride, really. Can't have you running around with a shitty camera."
The teen was stuttering around for a bit, not able to form a single grammatically correct sentence, probably looking like a fish out of water like he so often did whenever his brain decided to shut down in the presence of Tony Stark.
Who apparently made him a camera from scratch because said man wasn't satisfied with what the market had to offer.
What was his life?
"But- Mr. Stark, how did you—"
"I have to repair your sad excuse of a smartphone's screen every second week, you punk," he said, and Peter could catch a hint of a smile on his face as he looked at the flabbergasted teen whose mouth was still hanging open. Mr. Stark gave him a playful flick against his jaw so he would finally close it with a snap. "Took a look at your gallery once and hey, the pics you take as Spider-Man? They're good."
He was going to faint. Oh god, he was so going to faint because Anthony Edward Stark thought that the ratty pictures he took on top of skyscrapers in NYC were good. Nobody knew about his little passion called photography, not even Aunt May. Peter didn't want to talk about it in case she decided to go out of her way to buy him a camera because he knew his aunt and she would've done so in a heartbeat even if he insisted that he didn't need one.
An impatient hand waving in front of his face ripped him out of his thoughts.
"Woo, there you are. Thought I broke ya."
Peter couldn't help but be in awe, knowing that even though Mr. Stark was playing it cool and as if it was nothing, making a camera that probably, nay, definitely excelled in everything wasn't an overnight project at all. Not even for a genious like his mentor.
He automatically took a step forward, arms twitching at the prospect of a good old hug before he caught himself again, his whole body freezing.
Not really there yet.
"I- Thank you, Mr. Stark. This, uhm, this means a lot, you know?"
It was only then that he realised how tense Mr. Stark has been, the man's shoulders sagging a bit before giving him an earnest smile, ruffling the teen's hair despite his protests. "So, wanna show me what you got?"
The teen swallowed nervously at that, gently putting the camera back into its box. His hands immedietly came up his mouth, cold fingers picking at his lips whilst he tried to keep himself calm, his heart about to beat out of his chest, the sound of it ringing in his ears.
"I- I don't," he stuttered, thinking of a thousand excuses to save himself from the embarrassment of giving Tony Stark a present that will either not work at all or totally disappoint him.
"Mr. Stark, I don't know if you'll like it and- and it's not that awesome and it has, like, lots of bugs because I tried to fix it at home and just, uh, don't be mad or anything if-"
His quick rambling was interrupted by well known hands on his shoulders, calming him enough so that he could finally take a deep breath, not having realised until then how much he worked himself up again.
"It's alright, kid. You don't have to give me anything else, you know that, right?"
Peter shook his head at that because it was so, so wrong. He had to give his mentor something special because Mr. Stark was the most awesome person ever and he deserved to get tons of presents for everything he did for not only Peter but for everyone that works at SI, or all the charity organisations and fundings he did for smart students or all the people he has saved ever since becoming Iron Man. If someone deserved a giant christmas tree with a Mount Everest of meaningful presents, it was Mr. Stark.
With that in mind he quickly stepped away, determined to go through with his original plan.
Oh man, he desperately hoped that Jarvis was at least sort of working.
"Alright, okay, so, uh, you know I like dumpster diving for tech, right?"
"Wish you wouldn't."
"And I found something and it was a bit damaged but I think I managed to- " He took another deep breath, shaking his head in order to cut the rambling short for once before quickly grabbing Mr. Stark's arm and pulling him over to where Jarvis should appear. "I'll just show you."
He expectantly looked at the ceiling, motioning with his head towards his mentor whilst mouthing a silent ready
Nothing happened.
Oh crap.
"Uh, Mr. Stark's very, very late christmas present?" he asked, giving his mentor an embarrassed smile. "Now would be a very good time to, ya know, appear."
There was still nothing at all, not even a little flicker of the orange holo image that should've been there. Great. This was so great. He dared another look at Mr. Stark, noting that the man seemed to be rather amused than angry that Peter was wasting his time. Which he totally was. Again. Like always. Even if his mentor made it seem like it wasn't the case, Peter knew.
"I'm sorry, it's gonna work, promise, I just have to- " He quickly went over to the computer, hoping against all hope that trying to re-upload the programme would solve the problem, fingers nervously typing away on the keyboard whilst keeping Mr. Stark in his peripheral vision in case the man got too bored with his antics.
"Jeez, kid, slow down a sec. We've got time."
"No, yeah, I mean I'll just-"
"Want me to take a look at it? Maybe I can- "
"Merry belated Christmas, Sir."
They both froze, Peter not daring to take a much needed breath in order to stay as quiet as possible, his eyes never leaving Mr. Stark's blank face. Was that a good sign? Oh god, he hoped it was a good sign.
The sudden silence and weird energy filling the workshop caused Peter's skin to break out into goosebumps, a shiver running down his spine as Mr. Stark swallowed, neither of them able to move as the orange ball of code suddenly appeared between the two of them, his mentor immediately staring at it without blinking.
"Jarvis?" the man whispered, and Peter has never heard Mr. Stark's voice breaking before. Sure, there were times where he has been rather pissed and angry at the teen, or where he's been sort of happy and in a good mood because they had spent a whole day in the workshop and it's been a good day so his voice tended to become a bit raspy, but that was different.
He screwed up, didn't he?
"It's good to see you, Sir."
Peter nearly jumped as Mr. Stark started to laugh, his hands coming up to pull at his hair before a real, honest to capital G grin broke out on his face, eyes sparkling in a way Peter has never seen before.
"But, how? There wasn't anything left. I double, triple and quadruple checked."
"No offense, Sir, but Mr. Parker seems to be more qualified when it comes to finding lost things."
It was only then that his mentor looked at him. Really, really looked at him and Peter's heart clenched as the joyful smile disappeared, eyes now filled with an emotion the teen couldn't name. The silence made him feel uneasy. It wasn't the good kind of silence whenever they worked on their respective projects, casually muttering to themselves or mouthing the lyrics to whatever song from their playlist was blurting through the speakers. Peter felt tense and his fingers cribbled as Mr. Stark's gaze pierced right through him as if the man was seeing him for the first time.
It was scary. He didn't dare move, or breathe, or even blink, too afraid to destroy the weird bubble they both were in, too afraid of what the consequences might be because Mr. Stark looked delighted earlier, but now? Now Peter felt like his whole world was going to crush and break around him, its shambles forever resting on his shoulders.
Peter couldn't hold his mentors intense gaze anymore so he lowered his head, nervously fidgeting with the cuffs of his dress shirt instead. He suppressed a flinch as he heard how Mr. Stark moved, breaking the silence as his shoes hit the concrete floor, stopping an arm's lengh away from him. He still didn't dare look.
The teen could feel how Mr. Stark raised his hand, letting it hover above his shoulder. Peter was pretty sure he'd get the familiar tap on said body part again, his heartrate calming down at the prospect of something he was used to, which meant that he hopefully didn't screw up too bad. He was confused as the hand gently cupped his cheek instead.
Slowly raising his head at that, he finally saw Mr. Stark's shimmering eyes as he stoically looked straight ahead, not meeting Peter's gaze.
"I didn't screw up, right?" It was nothing more than a soft breeze, the teen still not daring to disturb whatever it was in the air surrounding them. Mr. Stark shook his head. The motion was rather jerky, actually, reminding Peter of a broken vinyl whilst he could still feel the calloused hand on his cheek.
Mr. Stark sniffed, something he usually did whenever something pissed him off and he was about to give a monologue, but it didn't suit the whole picture, confusing the teen even more right until he heard a sigh, his mentor embracing him in a bone crushing hug. Oh.
Oh.
His face was pressed into Mr. Stark's suit, the teen immediatly wrapping his arms around him because he was not letting this opportunity go to waste. He could feel how Mr. Stark pressed his face into his curls, taking deep, rattling breaths and Peter could smell rather than feel what was happening as his mentor's frame trembled, a salty tang hitting his nose, something he has never been able to identify in the usual scent of motor oil and expensive cologne that followed Mr. Stark wherever he went.
"So, uh, you like it?"
That question was followed by a wet laugh and Peter smiled, the sudden happiness that was blooming in his chest making him dizzy for a second.
"You are something else, kid," Mr. Stark said, and if it wasn't for his super sensitive and dialed up to eleven senses, the teen wouldn't have picked it up. "Go figure."
He let him go, then, playfully ruffling his hair like he so often did, and there was that something in his eyes Peter still couldn't put a finger on.
"Hey, boys? There's a firework we need to catch."
They turned around just in time to see Aunt May and Pepper leaning against the door, a knowing smile on their lips.
"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt the bonding time you two oh so desperately need." Pepper said, her words soft instead of mocking, raising her eyebrows as Mr. Stark started to splutter.
"We don't do bonding time, Pep."
"With all due respect, Sir, your oxycotin levels have risen considerably over the last few minutes."
Peter couldn't help but burst out laughing, noting how Aunt May couldn't keep her chuckles down either, her eyes soft as she took the two of them in.
"As much as I appreciate your commentary, Jarvis," he said, immediately going back to fidget with something on his workdesk whilst trying to avoid looking into Aunt May and Pepper's direction. "There are definitely lots of bugs I need to fix before you're fully functional again."
"Hey! I tried my best, okay?" Peter chuckled, giving the ceiling a cheeky grin before joining his mentor, grin widening as said man rolled his eyes at his antics.
"It's good to have you back, Jarvis."
"Indeed, Miss Potts. May I congratulate you on your engagement?"
"Wait a second," Mr. Stark furrowed his brows, not bothering to put the screwdriver down. Pepper only smirked in response, crossing her arms in front of her. "You knew! You knew he got Jarvis and you didn't warn me!"
Peter’s face scrunched up at that, confusion written all over him. "No, I didn't tell- "
"I figured it out. Wasn't very difficult; Friday isn't exactly subtle."
"Kid nearly gave me a heart attack! I had to reboot my brain!"
"There isn't much to reboot, though, is there?"
Mr. Stark stared at her. Pepper gave him a self assured wink whilst Peter's face heated up in embarrassment, Aunt May looking at them all like they were the most exasperating people to ever grace the earth.
They probably were.
“You’re lucky I like you.”
“Yes, how convenient that my soon to be husband likes me.”
“Are these two always like that?” Aunt May asked whilst walking over, her gentle fingers brushing his hair out of his face whilst Mr. Stark and his fiancée were bickering in the background, both of them trying not to smile.
Peter’s eyes softened as he looked at them, not wasting a second before grabbing his camera, fiddling with it until he managed to turn it on before taking his very first picture.
It was slightly blurry if he was being honest, but he caught the perfect moment right as Pepper flicked his mentor’s side, making him jump back with a giant grin on his face which was mirrored on her own.
“That’s a nice one, baby.” He couldn’t help but beam at his aunt’s praise, taking a couple more for good measure, relishing in the feeling of being whole and happy and safe.
It was followed by the usual guilt.
“You know they would’ve wanted this, right?” Aunt May whispered in his ear, pulling him close with a soft smile. “Would’ve wanted you to find new people to love and to be happy.”
Peter swallowed at that, his hands starting to sweat at the memory of his parents and Uncle Ben, heart aching at the loss he felt whenever they popped up in his mind.
“It’s unfair.” Because he was still there.
“Yes, but that’s how it is, you know? And they’ll forever be in our hearts,” she said, continuing to untangle his curls. “You don’t have to feel guilty for loving that insane genious over there.”
Silence.
“He probably thinks I’m annoying.”
“What?”, Aunt May exclaimed, looking at him like he’s grown a second head. “Sweetheart, he adores you. Take a look.” She took him by his shoulders, gently forcing him to take it all in.
He didn’t say anything, looking around the workshop. The couch in the far corner was a mess, blankets and pillows laying around because he often fell asleep whilst Mr. Stark was still working on his stuff before driving him home. Their mugs were in their usual places, red and gold paired with blue and red, staring at him mockingly. His physics homework was somewhere underneath the scattered screws on his mentor’s workdesk, finished because Mr. Stark insisted.
There were his hand drawn sketches, some of his pens and post-its sticking to weird places like DUM-E’s robotic arm, take out boxes still piled in a corner.
He knew that as soon as he’d turn on the TV, his favourite episode of B99 would be playing.
A loud bang ripped him out of his observations, making him stare out of the giant windows just in time to see the fireworks going off, signalling the beginning of a new year.
“Sir, it appears the fireworks have started.”
“You don’t say.”
They all laughed, standing at the windows in order to enjoy the view, the teen bundled up in Aunt May’s embrace. “Want me to show you?” she whispered, and he didn’t quite get what she meant before she took the camera out if his hands, stepping away.
“Hey, Tony, wanna have a picture in front of the fireworks with Peter?”
It didn’t stay at one because they went completely bonkers and Peter has never been more thankful for a SD card made by Tony Stark because holy shit that thing had capacity. The fireworks were long since over as they all made themselves comfortable on the couch, blankets and pillows thrown on top of eachother, looking through the pictures whilst U made them hot chocolate because DUM-E wasn’t allowed to anymore.
Peter has squeezed himself between Mr. Stark and Aunt May, Pepper nearly sitting in his mentor’s lap in order to be able to look at the pictures.
“Oh god, Tony, your face!”
“Poor DUM-E, he looks like a kicked puppy.”
“Parker, you have the cheeks of an infant. Either that or you’re hiding a frog in your mouth.”
“I don’t!”
“Yes, you do, sweety.”
“I swear to everything, Pep, your freckles are taking over.”
He got a slap against his chest for that one, causing Peter to suppress a smile because Mr. Stark was right, Pepper’s freckles were taking over.
The teen swiped to the next picture, looking at how he and Mr. Stark were both grinning at the camera, the older man’s arm nonchalantly draped over his shoulders. They were a few like that, though, and some of them were blurry beyond recognision because Aunt May wasn’t exactly skilled at handling a camera, but there was one that made his heart flutter.
It was the very first picture that his aunt took after she practically stole his camera and started the impromptu photo shooting, and Mr. Stark was fixing the teen’s loose tie whilst Peter was already grinning like a maniac.
He expected a concentrated or even annoyed expression on Mr. Stark’s face because Peter couldn’t keep still, but that wasn’t the case at all. Instead, he saw the same something in his mentor’s eyes like he so often did lately, a sentiment he never could or dared to put a finger on.
Peter realised that it was the same look the man gave DUM-E whenever the bot did something endearing or U spilled their drinks. It was the glint in his eye right after he finished a new project successfully, followed by a whole hearted laugh and a clap in his hands. It was the same softness whenever Pepper reminded them to take a break, leaning against the door to the workshop with a notepad in her hands. It was also the hint of insecurity and vulnerability whenever Aunt May let him stay over for dinner, inviting him into their home and their life.
“Hey, kid, you alright?” Mr. Stark asked in a whisper, not wanting to break the fragile moment of peace.
Peter looked at him and saw that something from the picture in Mr. Stark’s eyes again.
Aunt May was right, he didn’t have to feel guilty. Not for being happy.
He smiled.