Work Text:
It was Friday afternoon and Tony was sitting up in his living room instead of his workshop for once. Peter wasn't due to come over again until Sunday, and Pepper was out of town for the week. That meant the penthouse was quiet. Taking a deep breath, Tony had just gone into the kitchen to start the coffee maker and throw together a very late lunch when FRIDAY began to address him.
"Boss, Mr. Parker is in the lab and requesting your presence.", The AI informed, taking Tony slightly by surprise.
"Huh. I thought he had a date tonight.", the man said mostly to himself before deciding that the easiest thing to do would be to have Peter meet him where he was. That way he could go ahead and eat and if this was lab-related visit, then they could go back down after. "Just send him up here.", he instructed. It didn't take long for Peter to exit the private elevator looking decidedly... uncomfortable. Which was odd since he had been up to the penthouse multiple times at that point.
"Hey, Mr. Stark.", Peter said the moment he'd stepped foot into the familiar living area. Through, typically it was to watch movies or eat dinner and never his idea. He almost felt like he was intruding. Then again, that could have been his nerves eating at him.
Smiling in his mentee's direction, Tony waved the boy into the kitchen area as he slid a can of soda down the counter towards him. "Hey there, kiddo. I thought I wasn't going to be seeing you until Sunday. I thought you had some kind of big hot date tonight.", he teased. The kid had been talking about it all week and, up until this point, he'd been unable to tell if the kid was excited or anxious about it. Though the way the boy was rubbing his hands together, with nervous energy as he spoke, that answer was now very clear.
"Oh! I do. It's just not until later and so I thought I might come by here first.", Peter said with a smile as he popped the top on the can took a sip. He was thankful to have something else to do with his hands.
"Sure.", Tony replied as he pulled the plate of reheated curry out of the microwave and gestured for Peter to get something for himself. After that, they sat together at the counter picking at the respective plates. Tony talked about work and asked Peter about school but when the answers were reduced to one or two sentences he began to get concerned. Typically Peter talked constantly and at this point, he was determined to know what was going through the boy's head. "Alright, kid. What really going on? You've done nothing but sigh and fidget since you got here."
Having not really expected to be called out on anything, Peter froze. He'd actually come by to ask Tony a few questions before his date but now he was unsure if he should do that or not. The man wasn't his father, even if he wished that he was. At the same time, it was awkward talking to May about dating sometimes. She'd helped him through homecoming but this was a little different and he sort of wanted a man's advice this time. Realizing that Tony was still looking at him with an expectant quirk of his brow, Peter began to stutter out something of a reason but it ended up being more of a jumbled up mess than anything else. "I, um... well, I sort of wanted to... if it's okay, I mean--"
"--Whatever it is, it's fine, kid. What's on your mind?", Tony asked with a laugh and reached out to pat his tense mentee on the shoulder. He hadn't seen the kid this nervous since the first time they met. Even then he was convinced the boy had seemed less stressed than he did at the moment.
"I'm nervous, Mr. Stark.", Peter finally sighed out in defeat, pushing his plate back and dropping his head onto his folded arms.
Tony chuckled in a friendly manner as his hand fell from Peter's shoulder to his back. "About the date? I know you've dated before... You did the whole school dance thing, right?", he asked. He thought he remembered the kid talking about having a date to the dance and while he knew it had been interrupted due to... Spidey business, he assumed he'd spent some time with the girl. They'd never really discussed that part of the night. It had seemed irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
Peter sighed and sat up to look at the man in the eyes. "Yeah but this is different and I never got past the whole 'meeting her parents' part anyway. Tonight I'm meeting a girl for dinner and it'll be just the two of us.", he tried to explain. In his mind, these were two very different kinds of events. A school dance was pre-planned and more of a social event. Taking a girl out to dinner was a much more intimate and required and entirely different set of skills. Skills that he'd suddenly decided he lacked.
"Alright. No biggie. First real date, nerves.", Tony said with a smirk. Oh, to be young again. To have those first date flutters and the rush that came with the prospect of a brand new adolescent relationship. "I suppose you're looking for a distraction until it's time to go?", he asked softly. He knew Peter tended to be a little socially awkward.
"Sort of... I was also kind of looking for some... advice?", Peter replied hopefully. He didn't want to overstep but Tony was the closest thing he had to a male role model at the moment and he really hoped he didn't mind him asking a few questions. "I mean can I ask you something, Mr. Stark?", he asked with as much confidence as he could pull from within himself at the moment.
Tony looked at the teenager beside him and smiled. He was suddenly acutely aware the kid didn't have any other men in his life outside of him. The idea that he would come to him for dating advice made him feel oddly proud. Sometimes he still couldn't believe how much the kid looked up to him. "Of course you can. Any time, Pete.", he said with a firm nod of the head before deciding that maybe they should take this conversation to the couch. "Living room?"
Nodding his head, Peter followed his mentor to the couch, where he sat down and leaned heavily onto his knees as he looked beside him. "I mean, you know a lot about dating, right?", he asked stupidly. Of course, the man knew a lot about dating. It was all over the internet. Tony had experienced every aspect of dating. The good, the bad and the ugly but his mentor seemed to take the question in stride.
"Yeah, Buddy. I think I know my way around dating. Especially if you want to know what not to do. I could write an entire book on that alone.", he said with a smirk. "All the good stuff I learned from Pepper.", he added when he realized that Peter was looking at him with some sort of unreadable expression. "What do you want to know, kiddo."
Nodding his head, Peter leaned back on the couch and rested his head comfortably on the back cushions for a moment to think. He had so many things going through his head that he didn't know where to start. Eventually, he looked at Tony and tried to smile. "I guess I want to know all of it. I mean, what am I supposed to, you know, do and maybe not do. Like, what do you think she expects from me?"
Tony smiled to himself and took a long moment to calculate his answer. He didn't want to steer the boy wrong so he thought about Pepper. "Well, you'll want to hold the door for her, pull out her chair... offer her your jacket if she seems cold. That kind of stuff.", he finally replied with a shrug of his shoulders but Peter looked unconvinced.
"Are you sure?", he asked with mild trepidation. He'd read enough magazines while waiting for May to get her hair done to question that. "I mean are you sure that's not, like, outdated? I don't want her to think that I'm being, like, chauvinistic or anything."
Laughing lightly, Tony reached out to pat the boy on the knee. "Listen, kid. Being considerate never goes out of style. Respect is not sexism... but if for some reason, she asks you not to do those things for her...then stop. Your job is to make sure she has a good time. She can't do that if she's uncomfortable."
Chewing on his bottom lip, Peter nodded his head. "I can do that.", he replied because he supposed that made sense. May had said a lot of the same things on homecoming night but he'd not had a whole lot of time to put it into practice or even notice if the other boys were doing the same things.. Hearing it from a second source was reassuring. That lead to his next question. "What are we supposed to talk about? It's not like a dance where everyone is talking to everybody. What if I can't come up with anything to say?'
"Getting you to stop talking for longer than five minutes is the one thing I've never been able to accomplish. I think you'll be fine in that department, kid.", Tony said with a wide grin.
"I'm serious, Mr. Stark! I can't just ramble on and on about... legos or... I don't know... the fundamental laws of mathematics.", Peter groused after wracking his brain for a couple of subjects he knew he could happily discuss for hours on end. The number one thing on that list would have been Spider-man but that subject was off the table for obvious reasons.
For a moment all Tony could do was cock his head to the side and stare at the boy as he tried to wrap his brain around what he'd just said. "That's... quite the range of topics there, kiddo.", he slowly replied with something between awe and disbelief. The kid had managed to display how young and brilliant he was all one sentence. Shaking himself out of that line of thought, Tony straightened his back and cleared his throat. "Maybe ask her about her hobbies? ...Just find something you have in common and go with it. It's not that serious."
"I guess not. ...but what if I screw it up and she never wants to see me again, Mr. Stark?", Peter asked, sinking down onto the couch as if he's entire being had turned to mush at the concept.
Tony sighed and tried to think back to his first real break up. It had ended in two weeks of dramatics. He would have never survived without Jarvis and his advice. The idea that he could pass some that same advice to Peter felt nice. "Oh, kid. It's the first date... If she decides she doesn't want to see you again after then you move on and find someone else. She's not likely to be 'the one', Buddy. It might feel that way right now but hormones are really weird. They tend to jump the gun and make you think you're head over heels before you even get to know the person. There's someone out there for you though. I'm sure of it.", he said with a genuine smile. Peter was a good kid and would grow up to be a good man. He had no doubt that the kid would one day find a good partner. Peter, on the other hand, didn't seem as sure.
With doubt and nerves clouding his thoughts, Peter looked pleadingly towards his mentor. "What if there isn't? What if, what if I never find the right person?", he asked as he relentlessly gnawed on his lip. Prompting, Tony to reach over and pull it out from between his teeth with his thumb as he lifted his chin so they were eye to eye.
"Stop that...", Tony said, then waiting for a second to make sure he had Peter's full attention after. "You're sixteen, Buddy. You've got years ahead of you. Besides, you're so smart and kind and...", he replied but his words trailed off as he realized exactly how sappy he was starting to sound. Mentally rolling his eyes at his own words, he quickly changed the direction of the comment. Though the sentiment was still there. "...Well, let's just say, that if I could find a woman who willing to love me, the piping hot mess that I am, then I think the chances of you finding someone are extremely high."
Chuckling lightly at his mentor's words, Peter leaned ever so slightly onto the man's side. "Maybe.", he replied followed by a deep sigh. He still had something on his mind but he'd not yet decided how to ask it, so for the time being, he was content to sit there think things over.
"That's it? You feel better now?", Tony asked after a minute or so of silence.
"I don't know.", Peter replied honestly. Then when Tony raised an eyebrow at him he blushed slightly. "I mean... what if... nevermind.", he started before deciding that this was not a question he was ready to ask at the moment.
Being more curious than ever about what on Earth the boy wanted to ask him about that would make him blush and stutter like that, Tony nearly laughed. "No, no. None of that. What if, what?", he asked, hoping that Peter would calm down and ask whatever it was that was on his mind. He could assume the subject but he wasn't the least bit daunted. He was open, honest and had very little shame. Whatever it was, it couldn't possibly phase him.
Peter twisted his nose in thought before leaning further into Tony, presumably so that he didn't have to see him as he spoke. "What if she wants... more...", he asked and Tony nodded his head seriously before having to stop himself from giggling at the kid's innocence once the inquiry was complete. "Like, what if she wants to hold my hand or wants me to kiss her or something and I'm not ready to do that?"
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, kiddo.", Tony said once he was sure he could answer without allowing any of his amusement to seep in. "Just be honest about it. No one is allowed to force you into doing anything like that under any circumstances. It's okay to say 'no' or 'not yet'... just remember it goes both ways. She gets to say no too and you don't push it. Ever. Mutual respect.", he added with seriousness, knowing that advice would cross over to anything the kid might not be saying out loud. When Peter nodded his head and smiled, he wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gave him a gentle squeeze. "You good?"
"Yeah.", Peter replied.
Suddenly curious about the details of this date, Tony nudged the kid off of him and stood up. "Where are you taking her, anyway?"
Standing up as well, Peter turned to face his mentor. "Oh. We're just going to a little taco shop that's around the corner from the school.", he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. He wasn't swimming with money but that particular restaurant was within his price range and a fairly popular hang out.
Raising his eyebrows at the choice, Tony reached into his back pocket in search of his wallet. "You want some more cash? You could take her to the really nice Italian place that we go to sometimes...", he suggested. Serious conversations aside he knew Peter wanted to impress this girl and he could help with that.
"I like tacos.", Peter replied. He had no intention of taking the man's money. He wanted to pay for this himself. That was the responsible thing to do and he liked that. It left him feeling accomplished.
Having half expected the declination, Tony gave the kid a teasing grin. "You want to borrow one of my cars?", he asked for the sole purpose of riling the teenager up. Studying for his driver's exam had been an ongoing conversation for the last few months.
"Mr. Stark! I don't even have a license yet and you know that! You can't just loan me one of your cars!", Peter nearly shrieked, sounding completely flabbergasted at the invitation. Tony laughed and laughed and eventually Peter's shock turned to mild annoyance. "What?"
"Nothing... I just knew you were going to say that... and it was funny.", Tony returned with glee. The look on the teenager's faces when he'd said that was exactly what he'd pictured beforehand. It was great. Peter continued to glare at him while he took several deep breaths to stop himself from laughing. Once he was back to his usual cool and collected self, he made one more proposal. "What about a shirt and tie?"
Looking down at his simple polo and khaki pants, Peter sighed. He'd forgone the tie because he only had the one and tying it was a pain. Now that he thought about it, it would look far more impressive to be wearing one than not. Even if they were only going to a little hole-in-the-wall taqueria. "Okay.", he finally replied with a small nod of his head.
Slightly surprised that he'd accepted, Tony grinned. "Okay? Really?", he asked and when Peter again nodded his head in acceptance they went down the hall toward Tony's closet to find one of his smaller shirts and a nice tie. He was oddly excited about helping the kid get ready for his first date. It was a task he'd never expected to be presented with but he was more than happy to take it on.
Inside of his closet, he let Peter run his fingers along all of the numerous ties until he found one he liked and then Tony pulled out a shirt to match it. It wasn't likely to fit perfectly but it would look nice all the same. Then as he was watching Peter haphazardly attempt to tie the knot he smiled. "You need some help with that, Kiddo?"
"I know how to do it.", Peter mumbled under his breath as he tried to think back to when he and May had tried to learn together. Then with a slight huff, he yanked the material from around his neck and wordlessly handed it to his mentor who had it expertly tied in seconds. "Thanks. It would have taken me forever."
"You just need practice.", Tony replied with a shrug of his shoulders before turning the boy around to face the mirror. "Looking, Sharp there, kid."
Feeling a sense of pride welling up in him, Peter smiled at himself before allowing his eyes to drift upward slightly to meet Tony's. "You think so?"
"Yup.", Tony replied with finality before glancing at his watch. "You better, head out, Pete. Don't want to keep your lady waiting.", he added with a smirk as he followed his mentee back out into the living room and towards the front door. "Just relax and have fun, Buddy. You've got this."
"Yeah, I do.", Peter returned with newfound confidence. Then just before he took off towards the elevator he gave Tony a hug and thanked him one more time.
"Anytime, kid.", Tony sighed out in earnest because he was willing to be whatever the boy needed him to be and if sometimes that meant being the man in his life... he was okay with that. "I'll always be here when you need me."