Work Text:
Peter swung into Tony's private lab through the window Tony had begun leaving open for him a few months ago. His mentor wasn't here yet, but Peter knew that Tony told FRIDAY to alert him whenever Peter arrived, so he would be there soon. Peter walked towards his lab station needing more than ever to start working on his new project. He was trying to figure out how to extend the reach of his webs but he was struggling with the logistics of it. Peter had only been working for a few minutes when he heard the ding of the elevator.
“Hey kid,” Tony called out as he exited the elevator “still trying to figure your webs”
“Yeah, ” Peter replied absentmindedly, barely even looking up from his project. Odd.
“Well if you need any help with that I'm just a lab station away” Tony offered playfully, ruffling the kid's hair slightly as he walked to his own project.
“Thanks, Mr. Stark, but I can do this” Peter said, still seeming not fully aware of anything else.
After about an hour in the lab and approximately five words from the kid, Tony started to get concerned; the kid was being unusually quiet. Peter normally never stopped talking, excitedly telling Tony about the cool things he did as Spiderman, how school was, or what he was currently working on, asking questions about improvements and if he thought it was good. But today, he had barely said anything, and two of those few words had been used to call Tony “Mr. Stark,” Tony hadn't been Mr. Stark to Peter since he had been brought back from the soul stone.
“Hey, kiddo, is everything ok? You’ve been eerily quiet all day?” Tony asked with a mixture of curiosity and concern.
“Uh… yeah, of course,” Peter responded without looking up from his web shooters.
“Yeah, yeah, sure,” Tony says sarcastically, “everything seems totally fine.”
Peter finally stopped working and looked over at Tony, worry filling his gaze "Everyone keeps asking what my top schools are and when I only say MIT, they tell me that 'MIT is hard to get into and I should have more options' or 'I should choose a less competitive school.' Peter rambles out, getting up and pacing around the lab as he speaks. “What if I’m not smart enough, otherwise why would they say those things? Not even to mention the money, I’d need basically a full ride to be able to go. Also, there isn't even another school I would want to go to, not to mention the fact that, MIT is by far the best school for chemical engineering anyway so I actually kinda need to go there.”
“Woah, Woah, Woah, calm down kid, let's talk this through, I’ve told you multiple times, that I will help you pay for MIT or any college you decide to go to, you and your aunt don't have to do that alone, ” Tony interjects, calmly, standing up and going over to Peter. “and I want you to look at me for this part because it's important, you are more than smart enough for MIT and I do have some pull there, I’d be more than happy to write a letter of recommendation for you, and Pete, anyone who says your not smart enough for MIT clearly doesn't know you as I do. Having multiple college choices is a security thing for people to feel good about themselves in case they don’t get into their dream school, but there is not an ounce of doubt in my mind that you will get into MIT, okay. So don't stress out so much”
“Yeah, thanks Miste-Tony” Peter replied, still slightly dejected, but more hopeful than he was when he got to the tower earlier that afternoon.
“Anytime kid, now come here,” Tony said, motioning Peter towards him. Peter immediately obliged and curled up next to his mentor, happy for the comfort. Tony pulled Peter deeper into his arms, causing Peter to immediately relaxes into his mentor's side. For a while, they just sat like that, in a comfortable silence, Tony running his fingers through peters hair until he had calmed down.”
“You good kid?” Tony asked looking down at the kid
“Yeah, I’m good,” Peter replied.