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When Peter first came into both Tony and Pepper’s lives, his impact on their living space was small at first. Sure, there was an extra workspace set up in the lab that was constantly overflowing with anything that Peter could ever need to make his web fluid. Then, afterwhile, his things started spreading into Tony’s workspaces as well. More tools were left scattered across the tables for the bots to put away at night. There was a new addition of a couch and a small coffee table placed in the center of the lab. Tony would deny that it was the perfect place for a teenager to do their homework whenever anyone asked about it and instead insisted it was for the nights when he stayed late in the lab. Yet, everyone could still see the correlation between the arrival of the furniture and the increasing amount of time in which Peter spent at the Stark residence. Soon, even Tony’s fridge and cupboards in his workshop that was once filled with junk food and endless amounts of caffeine now, instead, contained vegetables and other healthy snacks.
Peter’s presence quickly seeped into the living room as well. The extremely fancy, pure white couch that Tony paid a small fortune for was the first thing to go. Peter had made an offhand comment once saying it was kinda lumpy and wasn’t ideal for naps so Tony personally went on a mission to find the softest couch there was. When Peter asked him why he bought a new couch when the old one was still basically brand new, Tony had chalked it up to an interior design decision. Peter was skeptical at first but one day when he accidentally fell asleep on it, he proclaimed it as the most comfortable nap spot in the world. True to its original purpose, soon the couch gathered a pile of blankets and pillows on it at all times when both Tony and Pepper realized Peter’s proclamation was true. Despite the numerous blankets already on the couch, a large fluffy blanket littered with small Iron Man cartoons always remained draped across the back. Tony had given it to Peter as a joke but it became the boy’s favorite and it was the only one he liked to use both when napping and during movie nights. The end tables next to the couch were finally put to use when framed pictures began to fill them. Yet, what really gave the room a lived-in look was the numerous food stains that Peter had quickly managed to get on the new couch and on the rug.
The kitchen was the next room to drastically change. The cupboard next to the microwave which once housed all of Tony’s plain coffee mugs was infiltrated by the obscure selection of coffee mugs that Peter had replaced the old ones with. Now whenever either Tony or Pepper would want to drink coffee, they had to drink it out of a weird novelty mug that never failed to brighten up their mornings. Suddenly, the pantry was always filled with things such as Peter’s favorite cereal instead of the almost bare shelves that had been there before. That cascaded into other foods entering the pantry shelves as well because Pepper insisted they couldn’t order take out all the time. The fridge was soon always stocked with healthy snacks and drinks which was a huge change from the scarce items that had sat in the fridge alone. Even the front of the fridge was changed. A huge dent was visible on the shiny surface from when Peter snuck up behind Tony and scared him during their prank war. Tony didn’t bother getting it replaced because he claimed the dent only added character. The front of the fridge also showcased the many different assignments that Peter had received good grades on and was proud of. On the side of the fridge, a new weekly calendar was set up so everyone could write their scheduled events on it. Numerous different sticky notes that contained both hastily written out reminders and small conversations littered the rest of the surface of the fridge and random spots around the kitchen. A whole slew of sticky notes surrounded the stove and they all contained different warnings and reminders of how Peter was to not cook alone. The white marble countertops along with the backsplash on the wall, the stove and somehow even the ceiling was littered with stains from when Peter exploded a pot of spaghetti sauce that he was trying to cook which resulted with him being banned from ever cooking anything alone again.
Peter’s influence slowly trickled into the dining room as well. The dining room table soon changed from being a surface covered in paperwork to the spot where dinner was usually eaten. The once mostly unused room was now constantly filled with laughter. The previously pristine floor was now all scuffed because Peter liked to lean his chair back on two legs and try to keep himself balanced. Somehow, it became a sort of game between him and Tony where they compete to see who could keep the chair balanced for the longest without falling over. The majority of the scuffs mostly litter the floor behind Tony’s chair as his chair would usually slip backwards first. Peter would always shoot out a web and catch him with a laugh before he could truly fall but the tableware was always knocked off the table in the process. Both the plates and glasses were soon chipped and covered in cracks. The silverware were all oddly bent out of shape. Slowly the expensive, breakable tableware was being replaced by colorful, plastic novelty versions when the originals became too broken for use. The previously immaculate surface of the dining room table was littered with scratches and stains from the extensive use it began receiving as both an eating spot as well as a homework one.
One of the most unforeseeable changes that Peter had caused was in the master bathroom. The plain grey shower curtain that Pepper had especially chosen as it complimented the other neutral tones of the bathroom was replaced in favor of a joke one Peter had bought Tony as a gift. It sported a huge cartoon drawing of Iron Man taking a bubble bath while wearing a shower cap and holding a rubber ducky. Somehow, that shower curtain was the driving force that turned all the bathroom decorations and items into Iron Man themed ones during a different round of Peter and Tony’s continuous prank war. The towels and washcloths in the cabinets that were once the best money could buy were now replaced instead by ones that had Iron Man cartoons and pictures on them. A huge sticker that depicted the Iron Man armor wrapped in a towel was plastered on the wall. The previously plain toothbrush holder on the counter was instead Iron Man themed and even held Iron Man themed toothbrushes. The set was complete with a tube of toothpaste that claimed to be arc reactor flavored, even though Tony was very unsure what the company was thinking when they named it that. Even all of Tony’s body wash and shampoo was exchanged for Iron Man themed ones. Though, Peter didn’t dare to mess with Pepper’s products. Despite that, everything else was switched out. The whole entire bathroom looked like it belonged to some crazy fan and though Tony secretly loved the effort that the kid had put into the room, he was sorta glad that only he and Pepper ever used the bathroom as the room would absolutely come off as narcissistic, even by his terms.
The biggest change of all though was the spare bedroom by Pepper and Tony’s room that was once used for storage now, instead, occasionally hosted a teenage boy. The previously tan walls had been painted a dark blue and the room was filled to the brim with anything and everything a teenage boy could ever want. A huge king sized bed was showcased in the middle of the room and was overflowing with both pillows and blankets as well as stuffed versions of all the Avengers. The bed set itself was Iron Man themed and was hand picked by Tony. Framed pictures of the funniest Spider-man moments took up most of the space on the walls. The rest of the space was filled by shelves that showcased finished lego creations, completed inventions, as well as movie memorabilia. A desk was tucked into one corner of the room and a huge couch and entertainment center that was filled by a tv and different video games took up another one. The room was filled with objects indicating that a teenage boy resided there. It was a stark contrast to the boxes filled with old paperwork and spare parts that had once piled up in the room.
A small on suite bathroom connected to Peter’s new room and it was decorated accordingly. What was once a blank canvas was transformed into what could only be called the bathroom of Spider-man. Tony was the one in charge of decorating the bathroom and he decided to take the opportunity to repay Peter for making his bathroom Iron Man themed. He transformed absolutely everything in the bathroom to match the Spidey theme. He even ordered a custom-designed toilet and shower to complete the look. A large picture of Peter in the suit was painted on the wall just because he wanted Peter to feel how awkward it was to try using the bathroom while being stared at by a large picture of yourself. Though the bathroom was redone as an elaborate joke that Tony was eventually planning on ending, Peter ended up actually really loving the bathroom design so they decided to keep it. Afterall, not everyone could say they had an entire bathroom designed after them.
Even the hallway was changed when Peter entered their lives. The once designer paintings that hung on the walls were taken down and instead replaced with homemade ones. They were still one of a kind all the same and every time Pepper looked at them, she was instantly flooded with the memories of the painting classes she had attended with Peter to further bond with him. She could still fondly recall how he’d laugh whenever he somehow managed to once again spill his paints and the happiness that would shine in his eyes whenever someone would compliment his artistic skills. The paintings might not be worth thousands to collectors but they were priceless to her. Adding to the uniqueness of the hallway was the footprints that covered the ceiling. Peter would often use the ceiling to hang upside down from so he could scare Tony as he’d leave the various rooms that exited into the hallway. These little details truly made it a hallway like no other.
Peter infiltrated himself into the once somber living space the same way he entered Tony and Pepper’s hearts; slow in a way that they hadn’t completely recognized it happening but yet when they did, he had already forever solidified himself in place. Neither Tony nor Pepper had ever thought of a house and a home as two different things. Afterall, they both just meant the place you lived. Yet, they never realized how completely wrong they were until Peter Parker entered their lives in a whirlwind of messiness and happiness which forever altered their viewpoint. Before, they were living in a house. It was a house that was void of so many little details that truly embodies a home. The little things from the stains on the counters to the chips in the plates are what truly breathed life into the space. It was proof that someone actually lived there. It showed that the space was one filled with love, happiness and a lot of laughter. It was no longer the perfect replica of a fancy, designer showroom. Instead, it was a place where people were truly living.