Work Text:
Turning up his music some, Peter hummed softly as he focused on the task in front of him. His latest webshooters had recently broken when he was helping his Uncle Clint on a side mission not too far away from where the Avengers tower was located. Tony usually didn’t let him in his lab without him also in there, but him and Steve were off doing something, and Peter needed new webshooters before the next mission. Tony trusted him enough to not do anything too stupid while working. Admittedly, Peter was fully aware JARVIS was monitoring him, and would call his parents if he got hurt enough to require serious medical attention.
Wanting to make the formula a bit stronger, Peter grabbed a couple new chemicals, adding to the mixture he already had going. Due to an unaccounted-for risk, instead of mixing together the way Peter had expected it to, the mixture exploded, sending him flying backwards.
He could feel his head smack into something hard, causing black spots to dance across his vision and make his head swim. Peter tried making his mouth work, but the pain spreading across the back of his skull made it next to impossible for him to do anything but wish his dad was there to help him. Occasions like this happening were why Tony always said Peter had to use the lab with him, or with Uncle Bruce. While Tony and Banner were more aware of the consequences of mixing things incorrectly (Tony in particular), Peter was young and more inexperienced. It didn’t help any that he was an insane worrywart when it came to Peter being alone in the lab.
Peter could remember the first time he worked in the lab with his dad. Tony and Steve adopted the young boy in 2007 when he was three. It wasn’t until he was seven when his interest peaked in science, and Tony brought him into the area where he worked. Steve hovered in the doorway while Tony showed Peter everything the young boy would be safe working with. Including the robot Dum-E, which seemed to take a liking to Peter more than any of them expected. Whenever Peter wasn’t at school, or at Harry’s house, he would play with Dum-E in the tower.
Tony’s sister, May, always warned her brother about letting the young boy into the lab. But with Tony’s precautions and JARVIS monitoring everything that Tony couldn’t see, she was able to calm some about it. Of course, that didn’t mean she didn’t worry.
As the darkness started lifting from his vision, Peter noticed the bright light surrounding him had grown more natural than the artificial lights that were in the lab. He still ached all over, and the pain in his head had settled to an annoying throb. There was some scuffing near him, and he opened his eyes to see a kid his age standing over him.
“Are you okay?” he asked, holding a hand out to help Peter up.
“Yeah, I just...fell,” Peter said, looking around.
The Avengers tower was nowhere in sight, and he was standing in what appeared to be somewhere in the suburbs. The kid who helped him up looked like he was walking home from school, if his backpack indicated anything, and had stumbled across Peter laying on the sidewalk.
“I’m Rhodey,” the other kid said eventually, startling Peter from his thoughts.
“I’m Peter,” he replied, tentatively shaking the other boy’s hand. He looked an awful lot like his Uncle Rhodey, even sharing the same name. It weirded Peter out a bit, if he was being honest, but he wasn’t about to tell him that.
“You’re bleeding,” Rhodey commented, staring up at Peter’s forehead.
Peter reached up to touch where Rhodey was looking, wincing when he did and pulling his hand back. Sure enough, the tips of his fingers came back with blood on them. From the way Peter’s body ached, he was fairly certain he wasn’t cut anywhere else, just incredibly sore and likely suffering from a mild concussion. He didn’t know where he was, so he silently vowed to not mention the blackout and just keep himself awake for a while.
“C’mon. I was heading to my friend’s house anyway. I know right where his first aid kit is, if you want.”
Peter blinked a minute, trying to process what the other teen was saying before nodding slowly. Steve had always drilled it into his head to never blindly follow strangers, but with how familiar Rhodey looked to his own uncle, he followed anyway.
They made some small talk as they walked, Rhodey unable to get too much information out of Peter. He may have a familiar face, but Peter wasn’t about to tell a random person off the street his family life. Rhodey seemed understanding, if anything. Peter could tell he was still a bit suspicious, but he didn’t push it.
When they got to Rhodey’s friend’s house, Peter had to stop at the end of the driveway and gawk. If memory served him right, he remembered his Dad showing him a picture of this exact house in photographs. It was the house he grew up in.
‘That can’t be right,’ Peter thought. ‘Dad moved out of this house as soon as he graduated in 1995.’
Rhodey himself didn’t seem too put off by Peter’s staring, more than likely used to it. Shaking himself out of his stupor, Peter scrambled to catch up with him. The inside of the house was more beautiful than anything Peter had ever seen in photos. Sure, it was big, but the high ceilings and large windows seemed to make it bigger on the inside. It was elegantly decorated, and it made Peter’s heart ache at the thought of how it looked so impersonal compared to how Steve and Tony decorated their floor of the tower. After leading him into the kitchen, Rhodey gestured to the stools situated at the island and told Peter he’d be right back.
The uncomfortable feeling settling in Peter’s stomach only got worse when his eyes caught sight of the nearby calendar, all dates leading up to today crossed off. November 9, 1994. He wasn’t even sure how he managed it, but he had somehow thrown himself back into the 90’s, a time period when he knew his parents, aunts, and uncles had all been his age.
“Who the hell are you and why are you in my house?” a familiar voice, albeit younger, sounded, making Peter practically jump off the school as he whipped his head towards where the sound came from. Sure enough, there stood the sixteen-year-old version of his dad. He bit his tongue to keep the remark about his dad’s braces to himself. He remembered his dad saying he had braces as a teen, and even bad acne, but he looked like any other teen going through puberty. Swiping his tongue over his own set of teeth, Peter was certain that when he had braces, he would look almost identical to how his dad did standing in front of him.
“Relax, Tony, I found him lying unconscious on the sidewalk on my way over here,” Rhodey said, setting the first aid kit on the counter in front of him.
“What did I tell you about picking up strays?” Tony asked, his whole posture relaxing once Rhodey entered the room. “What’s your name?”
“Peter Parker,” Peter answered, using his Uncle Ben’s last name. “I, um. I tripped. And fell.”
Tony quirked an eyebrow, and that gesture alone made Peter miss his dad more. Even if he was standing in front of him, this version of Tony wasn’t his dad yet. “And you hit the concrete hard enough to get knocked unconscious.”
“I’m very clumsy,” Peter offered lamely, avoiding both Rhodey and Tony’s questioning stares.
Rhodey cleaned his wound quickly enough, and even gave him a bag of frozen peas to put on the back of his head where it was still throbbing hard enough to give him a bad headache. He’s had worse, however, so he just suffered through it in silence. Rhodey was pulled into the other room by Tony, leaving Peter still sitting at the island holding a bag of peas to the back of his head. His head seemed to ache more as he tried to recall what chemicals he had used differently to improve his webbing, but he couldn’t remember for the life of him. Whenever, however, he got back, he was sure his parents would yell at him and ban him from using the lab on his own ever again.
When the two teens reappeared, they still looked as suspicious as they did previously, but they also looked more on guard than before. The kid sitting in the Stark kitchen was someone they had never met before. It was only natural. Peter himself had resigned to playing along until he could figure out a way to get home. With it being ‘94, he knew the technology was all older than he was, and it would more than likely take some time getting used to. But it also meant figuring out where to stay and how to pay for everything.
One step at a time, he supposed.
“Do your parents know you’re here?” Rhodey asked, sitting up on the stool next to Peter. Tony walked around to stand in front of them both, grabbing an apple from a nearby fruit bowl and munching on it as he pulled out his homework.
“No, uh. I kinda...ran away?” he offered lamely, cringing at how bad it sounded.
This caught Tony’s attention, and he raised an eyebrow once more at Peter. “Why?”
Scrambling for a good reason, Peter felt his cheeks up at the two pairs of stares he was receiving. “Well,” he started, clearing his throat. “My parents have this sort of idealistic picture in their head of the perfect family, and they try to show it off in public. But it’s actual hell living there. I hate it, and I didn’t want to deal with it anymore, so I took off. It was a last-minute decision, and I doubt they even noticed I left, anyway.”
The two other boys were silent as they mulled over Peter’s story. It seemed to strike a chord in Tony (which is what he had been silently hoping for, anyway), and he backed off on the questions, instead focusing on the worksheet in front of him.
“Look, why don’t you stay with me until you can get something figured out?” Rhodey offered as he pulled out his own homework. Tony looked like he was nearly finished with what he had, while Rhodey still had a bit to do. “I’m sure my mom won’t mind once we tell her what’s going on.”
“Yeah, Rhodey got her ‘pick up strays’ mentality,” Tony said, sending a smirk in Rhodey’s direction.
Peter snorted, making Tony’s smirk widen a bit. Peter grew up listening to all types of stories Tony told of Uncle Rhodey helping others, and it was part of the reason Peter himself wanted to help. The other was having Tony and Steve raise him, and their hearts were too big for their bodies, even if Tony rarely showed it.
“You don’t go to our school, do you?” Tony asked, shaking Peter once more from his thoughts. “I haven’t seen you before.”
“No, I don’t. I don’t even know where I am, to be completely honest. I wasn’t paying much attention when traveling,” Peter said, cringing a little at how pathetic his story was starting to really sound.
“You should be able to attend. Our school’s pretty good about that once you tell them what’s happening,” Tony continued. Peter still had a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact the man in front of him would one day be his dad. “They helped Clint after he left home.”
Peter ended up staying there the rest of the night with them. At one point, Rhodey pulled out a board game and they all gathered around to play. Peter had to be explained how to play, but he easily kept up with them as he got the hang of it. All in all, it really made him ache for home, and to cuddle on the couch with either his dad or papa as they watched a movie, even if it wasn’t a weekend. Friday nights may have held the occasional movie nights for the team, but Saturday nights were always reserved for the small family. Peter had never grown out of the cuddly phase, much to delight of his parents, and he was often referred to as a human octopus.
Walking home with Rhodey felt familiar, too, even though old habits never died and caused Peter to scan surrounding areas as they walked. Rhodey could pick up on his scanning, but didn’t comment on it, making small talk when he could to ease the tension in Peter’s shoulders.
Rhodey’s mother was more than understanding, and Peter found himself laying on the couch that night, staring into the dark room in front of him. It was the first night since he had been adopted that he hasn’t told Tony or Steve he loved them before heading off to his room. It made an itch settle under his skin at the uncomfortable thought, and it took everything in Peter to not unnecessarily scratch up his arms. He wasn’t even sure how long he’d be in the 90’s, but with every passing hour, he wished more and more he was at home in the tower. Hell, he’d even take being scolded for exploding something in the lab over this.
He wasn’t sure when, but at some point during his worries, Peter had managed to fall asleep. He was woken up when Rhodey dropped some clothes on top of him to wear for school. With a quiet thank you, Peter went into the bathroom. There was a spare toothbrush sitting on the counter, and he quickly got himself ready before meeting Rhodey by the front door. It was weird not heading to school with MJ and Harry with Happy chatting with them from the driver’s seat. He wondered how they were doing, or if any time at all had passed since Peter left.
Tony was talking to someone who looked startingly like May (and it probably was, Peter hadn’t seen her the evening before) in front of the school before May went stomping away. Rhodey walked right up to Tony, smirk already on his face.
“Do not even say it,” Tony said, seeing the look on his best friend’s face.
“You need to stop being so overprotective,” Rhodey said anyway. “She was at a friend’s house last night, not Ben’s. You don’t need to worry.”
Tony suddenly looked at Peter. “Are you related to Ben, by the way? You two have the same last name.”
Peter was shaking his head before Tony even finished talking. “My dad’s an only child.”
Accepting the answer, Tony spun on his heels and started walking towards the school. Peter had to scramble a bit to keep up. “Principal’s office is that way. I doubt you’ll have any classes today, so I’ll see you whenever. Maybe.”
Rhodey shot him a sympathetic smile before following Tony to their first class. Sighing softly, Peter walked in the direction Tony had pointed before finding the principal’s office. Like Tony had said, he was rather sympathetic and said that he’d start on working Peter into the system. As Tony predicted, the principal didn’t have anything for him to do, but welcomed him to anything the school offered.
Which is how he found himself at the library.
The place was rather quiet, even for a library, and it made goosebumps raise on Peter’s arms. He shook it off, and wandered around the different bookshelves before ending up in fiction. Grabbing a book he thought sounded interesting enough, Peter made himself comfortable in one of the chairs to wait for the school day to end. Where he would end up going afterwards, he wasn’t entirely sure, but he was certain he’d figure something out. He couldn’t just keep crashing on Rhodey’s couch until he figured out a way to get home.
Loud voices suddenly permeated the air, making Peter look up to see two teenage boys walking in, and almost immediately be quieted by the old librarian behind the desk. It took some staring, but Peter was able to figure out the two boys were Uncle Bucky and his papa. It took everything in him not to fling himself at Steve and cry into his shoulder, begging to go home, but he managed to restrain himself. He was still staring, however, and Steve was quick to catch his eye before making his way over.
“I’m pretty sure everybody knows you’re the nicest person here even if you didn’t introduce yourself to everyone,” Bucky stated dryly, making Peter smile.
“Shut up,” Steve muttered, his cheeks lightly dusting pink before he turned to Peter. “You’re new here, aren’t you? I’m Steve. This moron is Bucky.”
“I’m Peter,” he replied, shaking Steve’s outstretched hand. It felt weird introducing himself to his papa, but he had to play along. “Yeah, I uh. I only just got here, and the school doesn’t have me in the system yet, so I’ve been in the library all day.”
Bucky was looking at him strangely, like he was trying to figure Peter out. Steve was making small talk with Peter, completely forgetting the reason they went to the library in the first place in favor of making Peter feel more welcomed. There was a warmth spreading through his chest as he talked to Steve. It seemed that at any age Steve was, he always found some way to make Peter feel more at ease. He wasn’t sure if that was just his papa’s personality, or how Peter perceived his actions, but he was thankful for it, either way.
“God, he’s just as nice as you are,” Bucky joked, sitting on the table near them. “I swear you all huddle together like a pack.”
“At least I don’t have a stick up my ass,” Peter murmured, causing Steve to laugh a bit too loudly. Bucky looked like he was trying to scowl, but couldn’t because a smile kept poking through.
“Fair enough.”
They talk for a bit more until the bell rang for lunch. Bucky was muttering under his breath about not doing what they went there for, but Steve ignored him as he invited Peter to join them for lunch. Not wanting to mention he had no way to buy himself a lunch, he nodded in agreement.
Steve and Bucky made a beeline straight for a table near the window where there were other people already sitting. He took a seat next to Clint and offered them all a shy smile as Steve instantly pulled Thor into a conversation. Peter watched as the three of them set their stuff down at the table before heading into the line to get food. Feeling eyes on him, Peter turned his head and met Natasha’s curious gaze. She did a quick once over before handing him her apple without another word. Peter went to protest, but it died in his throat when she gave him a look.
“Thank you,” he said politely, Steve’s disappointed look popping into his head at the insistence of him using his manners.
She gave him a small smile and it was quick enough that he almost didn’t catch it before she turned to Clint to talk about an assignment in English. Steve, Bucky, and Thor came back with their food, Bucky finding a spot next to Natasha and pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. Peter blinked at the affection before taking a bite out of his apple and looking around the cafeteria. He couldn’t find Sam or Rhodey anywhere, he assumed they must’ve been off working on the project Rhodey was talking to Tony about yesterday, but he did spot Tony and Bruce making their way over.
Peter still felt Natasha’s eyes on him, but he was looking everywhere but over in her direction. He smiled at Tony when the latter caught him staring, and almost choked a little when Tony ended up sitting down right next to him.
“Are you okay?” Clint asked, laughing a little. “I’ve never meant anyone who didn’t know how to eat an apple.”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Peter muttered, his whole face turning red as he stared down at the table.
“Hey, so, I’ve been thinking,” Tony started, ignoring everybody’s questioning looks as he focused on Peter. “We have an extra room, and it only took minor convincing of my parents, but you can stay with us. If you’d like.”
“Really?” Peter asked in disbelief, smiling a little. “You don’t have to do that, you know. I can easily find somewhere to stay.”
“Yeah, I know. Plus, I’m not entirely sure Jarvis would’ve let it slide knowing you didn’t have a place to stay when we have the extra space.”
“Thanks, D-Tony,” Peter stuttered, clearing his throat after. It still felt weird calling him by his name.
“Wait, what’s going on?” Natasha spoke up.
It was mostly Tony explaining, but Peter offered input every so often. Clint sat up a little before telling Peter there was an opening at the small diner he worked at, and he could help Peter get a job there. Not knowing how long he’d be staying and needing the money anyway, Peter easily agreed.
Peter caught up with Natasha after lunch let out and pulled her to the side. “Hey, uh. Why’d you give me your apple? Not that I’m not thankful, by the way. Which I totally am.”
“You’re wearing Rhodey’s clothes. I’ve seen him wear that top too much times not to recognize it. I had a feeling you ran away from something, so I gave you it so you had something to eat. It’s not a big deal,” she explained. She gave him another quick, small smile before heading to her next class.
“Thank you,” he said to the empty air before heading back to the library.
After school let out for the day, Peter started walking in the direction he assumed town was. Clint said he didn’t have any classes after lunch, so he always went straight to work. Peter was on his way to meet him at the diner to hopefully land a job when he heard footsteps running up to him. Peter tensed, but relaxed when it was only Tony.
“Don’t you have a driver?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow at Tony.
“Yeah, but I told him I’d walk home today.” Tony waved a hand before stopping Peter. “Look, don’t think of this as a handout, but until you get more money to your name, let me help you out.”
“You already are by letting me stay with you.”
“Yeah, I know. I just...I can’t explain how, but I feel like I know you,” Tony said, running a hand through his already messy hair. “Like I have this overwhelming feeling that I need to help you out.”
Peter blinked. “Oh. Well I appreciate all the help I can get. And I am paying you back once I get the money.”
“You really don’t have to, Peter. My whole family has more than we know what to do with. At least with this, I feel like I’m using it in a good way.”
Peter blushed. “Well thank you. I really appreciate it.”
~*~
Clint was able to get him the job at the diner, which Peter was forever thankful for. Uncle Clint had told him numerous stories about working there, and while he had gotten to live through one of them already, it was nice to see how much he enjoyed it there, and how nice the job really was. Peter didn’t have a job yet back in his own time, but he did know what the minimum wage it. His current paycheck made him cringe a little inside, but he wasn’t about to complain. Afterall, money was still money. Added with Tony being nice enough to let Peter stay there, it was certainly nice to be able to save it up.
He grew close to the entire group of teens over time. Clint from working same job; Steve because of their shared interest in literature; Natasha with her secret love of sci-fi movies (which he had to swear to keep a secret); Tony and Bruce for their shared interests in the sciences and making things explode (much to the school’s dismay); and Thor, Sam, and Rhodey he bonded over baseball with them. While Peter didn’t really play sports, Steve had always gone on and on about it enough that Peter knew a decent amount. Granted, he couldn’t tell them he knew who won what game already, but it was nice talking about it with people who weren't his papa. Sam, specifically, seeing as he was on the same baseball team as Steve. Steve could get a bit intense when he was on the field, and it was usually Sam who reminded him it was just a high school game.
Out of all of them, Peter naturally felt closest with Tony. He was dating Pepper who was in the chess club and trying to get Peter to join. The three of them usually walked together after school until Pepper reached her own street and went off her own way. A lot of their bonding involved science and Peter helping Tony with a robot that was in the works for a while. He had all the coding done, but he had to finish building it. Peter jokingly said to name it Dum-E, and Tony took it seriously. It made Peter wonder if that’s why the robot reacted to him so majorly when he met the robot as a young boy.
Peter had always been an intelligent kid, but when he realised he was easily keeping up with Tony in their schoolwork, it surprised him quite a bit. The group had a running joke that Peter would take Tony’s valedictorian spot, despite Peter not even going to be there for a full year. Tony would always brush off the joke, but after him proudly telling his adopted son about him being top of the class, Peter knew he was full of shit.
He was helping Tony with the last finishing touches on Dum-E before they met at Steve’s for their biweekly movie night. When he learned about them having movie nights every other Friday, it made something in his chest warm when he realised they tried to carry that into their adulthood, but Avengers work often prevented them from doing that.
“I’m bringing him with us tonight,” Tony announced, standing next to Dum-E.
“He has some bugs,” Peter pointed out. “We still need to finalize the last of his programming.”
“Yeah, I know. I don’t think we’ll be able to completely smooth things out, though, so this is the best we have.” Tony shrugged, still smiling to himself. “Always told Howard I’d build a robot before I graduated.”
Peter didn’t respond, instead giving the other teen a small smile as he finished what he was doing. They left not long later, hitching a ride in the family car to get to Steve’s. He lived a few streets over, and it would take too long to walk. While Peter didn’t mind the walk, Tony didn’t want to risk running Dum-E for too long in case his battery died during the trip over.
Everybody else was there by the time Peter and Tony arrived, already sitting comfortably in the living room watching a random show that was playing while they waited for the rest of the group.
“What the hell is that?” Sam asked, pointing to the robot standing in between Peter and Tony.
“Dum-E. Peter helped me build the little guy. Isn’t he cute?” Tony asked, patting the robot affectionately.
“Is he going to be a regular guest?” Bucky asked from where he sat, holding Natasha close on their spot on the couch.
“Nah, I just wanted to show him off.” Tony took the empty spot on the floor next to Steve and started chatting with him.
Smiling a little, Peter sat on the floor near the end of the couch. Tony and Steve where on the other side of the living room, and were in an intense discussion on what they should watch. Similar to every movie night, they couldn’t decide on whether to watch a Disney movie (Steve) or an action movie (Tony). The group as a whole enjoyed both, but the two of them always seemed to make it their personal mission to outwit each other every time.
“How did you deal with this?” Peter asked Bucky quietly, laughing a little. “I haven’t been here two months yet and I’m ready to separate them.”
Bucky fondly rolled his eyes. “They used to be worse, believe it or not. Tony can claim he hates Disney all he wants, but his favorite movie is Lady and the Tramp. And Steve likes whatever movie Tony decides on.”
Peter observed them for a while before turning back to the couple. “I think they’re into each other, honestly,” he told them, smiling a little. Back when Peter was younger, he had always loved hearing stories about the two of them getting together. Their relationship hadn’t changed much, if at all, since they were teenagers. It was different seeing them before.
“I know Steve is,” Bucky stated nonchalantly. “He’s so obvious about it. Too bad Tony’s with Pepper and Steve probably won’t ever make his move.”
Tony and Steve had quit their bickering over what genre to watch and instead turned to argue over what Disney movie to watch. Peter couldn’t help but roll his eyes fondly. That argument only seemed to get worse with each Disney movie that was released.
“Tony isn’t that into Pepper,” Natasha muttered suddenly, capturing Peter’s attention again. They were all wrapped up in their own conversations, seeming to have given up at ever getting to choose a movie with the other two in the room. Peter had honestly thought Natasha was talking to Rhodey. “He’s dating her more to deny the fact he likes boys.”
“Really?” Peter asked in a bit of surprise. “Well, I mean that makes sense. Didn’t strike me as something he’d do.”
“Yes and no.” Natasha shrugged a little, stealing a sip of Bucky’s beer. “He’s better than he used to be. Especially after Steve moved into the neighborhood.”
“You wouldn’t have a problem if the two knuckleheads worked it out, would you?” Bucky asked Peter suddenly, his tone turning serious.
“No,” Peter answered, chuckling a little to himself. “I want them to be happy. Plus, I’m into...you know, both girls and boys, too. Don’t tell anyone, though.”
“Don’t worry, we won’t.” Bucky gently squeezed Peter’s shoulders. “Those two aren’t very vocal about themselves, not even to us, so we all keep our mouths shut about it.”
After giving them a thankful smile, Peter turned back to watch as Steve got up to put in Aladdin. It was the only movie to calm Peter down when he was sick as a child, so he could easily quote along with the movie if he wanted to. Instead, he chose to focus out and let his mind wander to the two teenaged versions of his parents sitting not far away from where he was.
If Peter was remembering correctly, Steve had told him a story of someone from their friend group setting them up when they were seniors. The friend ended up disappearing just before graduation, and they were never able to contact them again and thank them. Neither of his dads ever went too into detail with what happened, but he did remember that they needed help getting together since they were both the most stubborn of their group (which was definitely saying something, seeing as each team member was as hardheaded as the last).
There was light chatter amongst the group, seeing as they had all seen the movie a handful of times each, so it was relatively easy for Peter to sit in his thoughts. Dum-E had settled next to him on the floor, instead of near Tony like he thought, and made the occasional beep like he was enjoying the movie playing. Steve and Tony were huddled close to one another as they talked, and it made Peter ache for home.
“If you want them to get together, you’re going to have to give them a push,” Natasha told him quietly, giving him a wink as he turned to look at her. She then focused back on the conversation with Bucky and Sam, leaving Peter sitting there reeling.
His aunts and uncles had always been open about their high school days, especially when Peter was starting it himself and was filled with so many nerves, he practically vibrated the couch the night before his first day as a freshman. Living these moments would always be different compared to just hearing about them, but he also felt like he was closer to all them because of it. While he was already ridiculously close to each and all of them, it was also nice to see them when they were struggling over homework or relationships.
One story in particular, was the one of when Pepper dumped Tony a week before Valentine’s Day.
“Tony, are you okay?” Peter asked, coming home from work to see Tony moping on the couch.
“Pepper broke up with me after school today,” he said, sitting up a little to make room for Peter to sit down. “Next Thursday is Valentine’s Day, too, which makes it all the more sucky.”
“Oh, shit. I’m so sorry.”
“The sad part is, I’m not too bothered by it.” Tony ran a hand through his hair. “Pepper and I weren’t as close as we used to be, so I was kind of expecting it, to be honest. Doesn’t mean I’m happy about it, but still.”
Peter bit his bottom lip and let out a soft sigh. “Have you told anyone else?”
“Not really. Wasn’t really planning on it unless someone asked.”
“I don’t think Natasha was all too fond of your guys’ relationship anyway.”
Tony let out a snort, which brought a small smile to Peter’s face. “Natasha doesn’t like me dating who isn’t- never mind.”
“You can tell me anything, you know that, right?”
Tony studied Peter’s face a moment before letting out a laugh that sounded more like a huff and sat up. “Yeah, I know. Which makes admitting it all the more difficult.”
“You know I won’t force you to tell me anything you’re not ready for. Just know I won’t judge you for anything.”
Peter knew he was walking a fine line with the conversation. If Peter wasn’t any less subtle, he’d practically be admitting he was already aware of Tony’s internal conflict with his sexuality. Tony seemed to pick up on it, but didn’t point it out to Peter. He was fairly sure it was mainly because Tony just didn’t want to talk about it.
To save either of them from more awkwardness, Peter changed the subject, not missing the way Tony’s shoulder slumped in gratitude.
~*~
If he’s being completely honest, Peter wasn't entirely sure he knew what he was doing anymore.
Playing along had been fun, he wasn’t going to lie. Spending time with his family wasn’t going to be something he’d ever pass up on. But...with each passing day, he felt like he was further and further from figuring out how to get home. Whenever he was in the lab with Tony, he’d mix different chemicals that Tony had access to to see if he could get a similar reaction as before. Each trial ended the same: he was still stuck there. After about the third explosion, Peter was quick to learn that he probably shouldn’t keep blowing stuff up there. Tony’s lab was located in the basement, and the air system Tony had rigged up only did so much before they had to flee upstairs and wait for the air to clear.
Howard himself didn’t seem too terribly fond of these explosions, either. But if Tony’s expressions were anything to go by, he was far too used to those reactions to stuff that happened in the lab. At first, the usual thrill of getting to meet both his grandparents and the original Jarvis had been exciting, but it had quickly worn down to only enjoying Jarvis’ company. It took meeting him for Peter to fully understand just how much Tony adored him as an adolescent. Peter even got to meet Sarah, which was definitely a nice bonus on this impromptu trip into the past.
Still, though. As nice as it was to meet these people that he didn’t get to before, he still was aching to get home. The longer he stayed, the more he wondered how much time had passed back in his time. All the possible questions that resulted from this trip just made him want to know more about time travel. He would have to make a mental note at some point to look up as much as he could once he was back home in the tower.
Picking at his lunch, Peter felt more mopey than normal. There was chatter surrounding him, but he couldn’t find it in himself to add to any of it. The others left him alone for the most part, which was a relief. He wasn’t entirely sure he’d be able to explain his homesickness.
Looking up, he notices Steve and Tony huddling closer together than they normally do. There’s a smile on Steve’s face as Tony goes on and on about some project he’s been working on for school. Steve may not be the best student in science class, but he looked like he was easily following along to everything the younger male was saying. It made the pang in Peter’s stomach grow heavier.
“Hey, Peter, can I talk to you a minute?” Natasha asked suddenly, startling Peter.
Since he wasn’t eating it anyway, Peter dumped out his food before following Natasha into the empty hallway. Students were either at lunch or in class, so the little nook under the stairway was as private as they could get in the school for the conversation. Peter wasn’t sure what it was about, but he couldn’t keep anything from Aunt Nat. He was fairly certain that wouldn’t change at any age.
“Why do you look like someone killed your cat?” she asked bluntly.
“Just having an off day, sorry,” Peter muttered, leaning against the wall. It wasn’t a complete lie.
Natasha was silent for a moment. “What’s really going on with you?”
“You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”
“Try me.”
Peter let out a sigh, sliding down to sit on the ground, Natasha joining him not long after. “I never was able to keep anything from you,” he started jokingly. “Look, I’m...well, I’m not entirely sure I can explain it? In all honesty, I don’t even know or understand how it happened. But...basically, I was born in 2004.”
Natasha’s eyes widened a fraction as she did the quick math in her head. “You’re from 2021?”
“Yeah. I was in my dad’s lab when some sort of miscalculation caused an explosion and caused me to black out. When I woke up, I was here.”
“Is that why you’ve been spending so much time in Tony’s lab? Trying to get home?”
“Yeah. I don’t know what I did to cause the explosion. I’ve been trying to figure it out, but I have a feeling that if I try causing anymore explosions, Mr. Stark may not be as willing to let me stay in the guest room.”
“Wait, so,” Natasha interrupted, her confusion evident on her face. “Well, first of all, Clint owes me $5. We bet who would end up with Tony: you or Steve. I bet Steve.”
“Ew,” Peter said before he could stop himself. He blushed hotly when Natasha just stared at him.
“If I didn’t know better already that you’re rooting for Tony and Steve, I’d say that ‘ew’ was for something else.” Natasha shrugged. “Anyway, Clint figured you were spending so much time with Tony because you liked him.”
Peter looked away and let out a sigh. He knew he was acting weird around Tony, and he tried not to be so obvious about it. Even though the thought of hooking up with his dad was gross to him, he was thankful that seemed to be what their friends were thinking. “I do not want to be with Tony,” he said after a moment. “Not romantically, anyway. He’s...that’s a whole different can of worms that I don’t really want to get into.”
“You know who we all are, though, don’t you? When we said our names, you didn’t seem too surprised to hear them. Like you already knew,” Natasha pointed out.
“I do, yeah. That’s part of the complicated thing I was talking about. Basically, I grew up with all of you in my life. So seeing you at my age now is definitely weird.” Peter chuckled a little bit before sighing. “I miss my parents. They would know how to fix this. Especially my dad, he’s a genius.”
“Well I don’t know how to help you in that department, but does it help any to have someone in the know about this now?”
“A little, yeah. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Peter was able to work through his slump after that and set his sights on setting up Steve and Tony. Since he wasn’t sure who the person his papa was referring to when telling the story, he figured he would just have to fill in their shoes. Besides, Peter couldn’t figure out who it may have been, seeing as everybody in their friend group never disappeared later on.
As he was coming home from work, he made the plan to slip a suggestion to Tony before he went to bed, leaving the other teen staying awake to mull over the suggestion. Either he would follow through on it, or chicken out. Peter hoped it was the former. Instead of doing just that, Tony stopped him before he could walk into the room where he’d been staying.
“Hey, wait. Can I, uh. You remember that talk we had that one afternoon, right?” Tony asked, shifting from foot to foot.
“Yeah, why?”
“Good.” Tony grabbed Peter’s wrist and dragged him the rest of the way into the room. “May is at Ben’s, and Jarvis is busy doing something else, so it’s basically just us two home.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. Well.” Tony let out a huff as he rubbed his palms on the thighs of his jeans. “I remember you telling me that you were willing to talk to me about whatever, with no judgement, right?” At Peter’s nod of confrontation, Tony continued. “Well. I like Steve. Like a lot. And ever since Pepper and I broke up, I’ve been...in this weird sort of limbo that I’m missing something that should be there. Obviously, you know, I try to figure out what it is.”
“Tony, breathe.” Peter put his hand on Tony’s shoulder, watching as the sixteen-year-old seemed to melt at the simple touch. “So...you like Steve? That’s okay. Feelings are okay.”
Tony peered at him out of the corner of his eye. “So you’re not like...grossed out or anything by the thought of me liking a guy?”
“Of course not. I want you two to be happy, Tony. Why should I be bothered by who you guys choose to be happy with?”
Biting his bottom lip, Tony just nodded. “You’re right. And I want to ask him out or something, but...I’m terrified of his reaction, you know? He could be grossed out.”
It was weird seeing his dad like this. Especially when it came to Steve. Peter was so used to seeing them be affectionate whenever they could, especially in the morning when Tony still wasn’t fully awake and nursing his first cup of coffee. Seeing him be nervous to even ask him out sent his mind spinning.
“Well. Why don’t you ask him to do something simple and see how he reacts to it? Like catching a movie or something, you know? Everybody likes movies.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t sound bad.” Tony stood up from where they were sitting on the bed to give Peter a small smile. “Thank you.”
He was out the door before Peter could even open his mouth.
The next time Peter saw Tony, he still looked as nervous as he did when Peter saw him last. It had only been about a day since they saw each other last, since Tony had a busy day yesterday, and Peter had a longer evening shift. Peter had been certain Tony had at least talked to Steve.
“You chickened out, didn’t you?” Peter asked, quirking an eyebrow.
“I didn’t chicken out. I panicked. There’s a difference.” When Peter just raised an eyebrow at him, he just slumped in the library chair. “I went to talk to him, seriously, but...you have to understand how crushed I would be if he didn’t reciprocate. I couldn’t do that to myself.”
“You won’t know unless you don’t try.”
Letting out a soft huff, Tony just shook his head. “Forget it. I’m not doing it. No matter what anybody says.”
Peter opened his mouth to reply, but then Steve was sitting down next to him and the conversation was dropped. Briefly, Peter wondered Steve heard anything, but the way he was talking animatedly about an upcoming book they were being assigned in English, Peter doubted it to be true.
Later on, Peter and Natasha were hanging out in the nook under the staircase again, debating on what to do about the two boys.
“Seriously, if sexual tension could kill you, I’d be six feet under,” Natasha stated dryly, eating an orange slice. “Neither of them realise it, either, that’s the bad part.”
Peter idly doodled on a blank page in his notebook. “What if we, like, I don’t know, staged an intervention?”
“How would that help?”
“Well obviously they both like each other and need help admitting it. So, what if we sat them down and then happen to have dinner plans for them ready. We can even have it at the diner since we’re always there anyway. It wouldn’t look suspicious to anyone who wasn’t paying attention. Pretty sure I’ve gone there enough times with Rhodey and Thor for them to not even second guess it anyway.”
“Not a bad idea,” Natasha said, finishing the last of her fruit. “You’ll have to get Tony to the diner. I’m fairly sure Bucky can figure out a way to trick Steve into going.”
“Awesome. They’re probably going to kill us at first, and then thank us.”
Natasha rolled her eyes, but didn’t bother arguing the point any. They both knew he was right.
“What about we tell them instead of doing a movie night this week, we’re meeting at the diner?” Peter suggested after a moment. “While they may be suspicious, they’ll both show up anyway.”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll let Bucky know as soon as I see him.”
A couple nights later, and they set their plans into action. Much to his surprise, the plan did indeed end up working, and left the two boys to eat dinner by themselves. Both Clint and Peter had the night off, so they crammed themselves into Natasha’s living room with the others for their own movie night. It was weird not having the other two bickering over what movie to watch, but at least they settled on one quicker.
When Tony came home that night, he was smiling wide and there was a light blush on his cheeks. After Peter had caught him and shot him a smile of his own, Tony’s blush darkened and he was hurrying into his room.
~*~
Peter was starting to really panic now.
With Steve and Tony’s relationship secure now, Peter wouldn’t have to worry about the timeline being messed up any (or too much, anyway). Graduation was a month away, and it made Peter a bit paranoid about what would happen with him now that he didn’t have to worry about anything else.
In all honesty, he had been so focused on getting them together that he stopped trying to find a way home. And because of the slack on that, he was now rushing to figure it out. Page after page of equations had been messily scrawled into a notebook with no answer in sight. Safe to say, he was pretty frustrated with the lack of results.
Thankfully, he had the night off, so he took his time leaving the school. He didn’t have to rush anywhere, and he could walk as slow or fast as he wanted to get back to Tony’s. As he was leaving, he heard a noise from the back of the school. While he had, admittedly, not been doing too much outside of gym to keep up with the lack of Spider-Man work he was doing, he would be able to handle one or two guys in a fight if the need arose.
Unfortunately, it was one of those times.
Rounding the corner, Peter took in the sight of Tony laying on the ground with a couple of the football players standing above him, either wailing on him or standing there shouting harmful things at Tony. Catching some of them, Peter realised the secret about him and Steve had been found out.
“Excuse me,” Peter spoke up, catching their attentions. “What do you think you’re doing? Don’t you know you could get kicked off the team for this?”
“What do you want, nerd? Saving your boyfriend from the fight? Always figured the little slut wouldn’t be able to stick to one person,” one said, kicking Tony in the stomach.
Before any of them could react, Peter had already punched one hard enough to send him flying to the ground with a bloody nose. With the other one, he just did a quick move and swept the guy’s feet from under him, causing him to hit the ground hard. While they were both laying there trying to catch their bearings, Peter helped Tony up and they walked away as quickly as they could. Tony was limping slightly, but overall in not too bad condition.
“Jarvis, can you help him a minute while I call Steve?” Peter asked the butler as he helped Tony sit on the couch.
“Why are you calling Steve?” Tony protested, pouting a little.
“Because he needs to know what happened. I’ll be quick, I know he’s home by this time.” Peter hurried into the kitchen and used the phone in there. Steve was with a few others since they were going to study as a group for the upcoming exams, so by the time Peter made his way back into the living room, word was already spreading to the other people in their group.
It took about ten minutes, but soon the others were stumbling into Tony’s house, Steve heading straight for Tony. “Are you alright?” he asked, brows furrowed and hands hovering like he didn’t know where to put them.
“I’m alright. Jesus. I didn’t need everybody knowing that a couple football players caught me after school,” Tony grumbled.
“It was hard not to,” Peter muttered, sitting on the other side of Tony. Tony wasn’t too badly scraped and Jarvis was able to clean and bandage them all while Peter was on the phone.
They settled into a comfortable conversation as the two of them recounted what they knew. Apparently, someone had caught them leaving Steve’s house the weekend prior holding hands. The two of them had always managed to be rather discreet until then, so hearing that was a bit discouraging. Both of them weren’t sure how people would react to the news of them together, so they wanted to keep things quiet. Especially considering today’s events, it wasn’t that bad an option.
“You should’ve seen Peter. He didn't hold back,” Tony said, causing Peter to blush a little. “Gave Hammer a bloody nose and sent his buddy tripping to the ground.”
Natasha sent him a questioning glance before focusing back on Tony. “Are you going to report them to the school?”
“Probably not. There aren’t any cameras back there, and I don’t think Peter and I’s word will hold much water.” Tony furrowed his eyebrows before looking at Peter. “You know, I always figured you were a bit stronger than you let on, but how did you learn those moves?”
“I, uh. I took self-defense classes before I came here. Dad wanted me to protect myself, you know?” Peter rambled, chuckling nervously.
“Peter,” Tony said, and the tone of his voice made Peter shrink a little. It seemed even at sixteen, he had his ‘I’m disappointed in you so tell me the truth’ voice down pact.
In the end, Peter ended up telling the rest of the group everything he told Natasha. It took a while for them to process the fact that, no, Peter didn’t run away from home, he just somehow stumbled into the past. Tony seemed deep in thought, more than likely trying to figure out Peter’s predicament much the same way Peter had been for the past few months.
“I hope for your sake your parents are looking for you,” Steve said suddenly. “I can’t imagine they’re taking the fact you’re missing lightly.”
“I imagine they are.” Peter shrugged. “If they weren’t, Papa would never let Dad hear the end of it.”
“So, wait. When I asked if you were related to Ben, you were lying?” Tony asked, trying to figure everything out.
“Not technically,” Peter said carefully. “I’m not blood related to Uncle Ben.”
“Uncle Ben. The same Ben dating my sister?”
“The very same one. Aunt May is always lecturing me to be more careful because she likes to say I inherited your carelessness in the lab,” Peter stated with a grin.
“So...you’re Tony’s kid?” Rhodey asked, pointing at Tony.
“Adopted kid, technically. My biological parents died in some freak accident,” Peter explained.
“Your real name is Peter Stark?” Steve asked, shifting a little on the couch.
Peter was quiet for a minute. “Well, um...my full last name is actually Peter Stark-Rogers.” He took a shaky breath before letting it out. “You have no idea how difficult it’s been calling you guys by your names since you’ve been my parents since I was three.”
“That explains why you wanted them together so bad,” Bucky spoke up.
“Yeah. I wasn’t too entirely sure just how much of the timeline I was potentially messing up already by being here, so I was trying to keep things as normal as possible. I remembered Papa telling me you guys got together during your senior year, so.”
“You mentioned to me that you grew up with all of us around, right?” Natasha asked. “Do we still have movie nights?”
“You try to,” Peter admitted. “Stuff...a lot’s changed since, well, this time period. You don’t get to do is as often as you’d like to, but when we do, we go all out. Typically, we watch about a movie and a half before something happens. I don’t get to see Uncle Thor or Uncle Sam too often. And Papa almost banned me from seeing Uncle Bucky since I fell out of a tree when he was babysitting me when I was six. I broke my leg.”
Bucky snorted. “Steve loves me too much to ban me from seeing his kids.”
“Keep it up and I’ll ban you now,” Steve remarked dryly, but there was a smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
“Honestly, if anything, this whole thing gave me infinite teasing material whenever I do manage to get back.”
Steve went to reply when there was suddenly a blue portal opening in front of them and a familiar figure was stepping out.
“Dad!” Peter yelled before flinging himself into a hug.
Tony let out a startled huff before hugging Peter back. “Shit, kid. Your pops and I have been worried sick. You’ve been gone for like five hours.”
“Five hours? I’ve been here five months?” Peter stated in shock, his eyes wide.
“Ah, well. An hour for every month, I suppose.” Tony looked around the room before laughing quietly. “Seems I came at a good time, then. You didn’t tell them anything about you-know-what, right?”
“No! I do know how to keep some things in the timeline intact.”
“I’m as surprised about that as you are. By the way, you’re grounded. No solo lab work until Steve or I tell you it’s okay,” Tony said. He gave a quick wave to the dumbfounded teenagers before opening the portal again and dragging Peter back through it.
“I didn’t mess things up too badly, did I?” Peter asked, sitting on one of the stools in the lab. Steve walked in a moment later and pulled Peter into a tight hug.
“Not at all, kid. In fact, you did exactly what you were supposed to.” Tony said on the stool next to Peter, smiling at him as Steve let go of him.
“What?”
“You remember when I told you some kid helped bring us together and disappeared just before graduation? That was you,” Steve explained.
“What ever happened the diner job and the money I made?”
“I took ownership and then put it into your college fund after we adopted you. Figured you’d want the money you made back. As for the job, well you just outright disappeared, so they hired Steve as a fill-in.”
“Cool,” Peter breathed out. “Oh, by the way, Dad, you were a massive dork in high school.”
“Watch yourself, kiddo. Your ortho appointment is next month.”