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"Mr. Stark?" The secretary's presence in the hallway surprised him. She was either new, or he'd never spoken to her before...either was equally likely. He typically took the private entrance to the compound anyway, while the secretary's job was mostly to field various officials who wanted to meet with the Avengers...or, what was left of them. Honestly, he could have let them go at this point. It was just him, Vision (sometimes), and Rhodey left.
But he didn't want them to be out of a job just because the Avengers couldn't keep their shit together. They'd caused enough damage. So he kept the full housekeeping staff, not caring that they sometimes brought their kids to work and not caring that they didn't technically have enough to do anymore. The floors always sparkled and the windows were cleaned every week, so the fact that they sometimes spent hours chatting, working on night school papers, or blatantly playing Candy Crush didn't escape his notice, but he didn't really care.
"Good morning…." He felt a twinge of guilt when he didn't know the young woman's name...usually he was pretty good at that.
"Um...Valerie, sir." She swallowed, glancing back at the reception area behind her, and immediately he was on alert.
"Everything okay, Valerie?" he asked. She gave him a weak smile.
"Um...yes, sir. Um…" She glanced back at the reception area again. "There's a woman here to see you. And...I told her that you don't have any openings in your schedule for meetings today but she insisted that she wasn't leaving until she saw you. I told her that I would have to call security and she said…" Valerie hesitated, then sighed. "Tell that rich asshole that if he doesn't come and talk to me I'll sell his phone number to TMZ."
Tony nodded, heaving a sigh, pretty sure he knew what was going on. "Right. Lead the way, Valerie." The woman sitting in the reception area sat with one leg crossed over the other at the knees, arms crossed, red glasses perched on her nose. "Mrs. Parker." He greeted, nodding and giving her a charming smile that she ignored.
"Mr. Stark."
He'd managed not to think much about Peter Parker.
It had been about a week since he'd taken the kid's suit. And...okay, so he might have overreacted. A little. Maybe. He remembered the kid's face. He remembered seeing the kid's face...how Peter had accused him of not caring.
Is that what the kid really thought? Did Peter think that he didn't care? He brushed that thought away, shaking his head a little. Peter was a good kid. He had a lot of potential. And maybe in a couple of years, they could try again. He wasn't sure how that would go...would he just call up the kid and ask for a do-over? Ask if the kid wanted his suit back? Of course, he'd also considered the idea that the kid might pull out his old suit and try patrolling in his onesie. And what would Tony do then? Forbid it? Tell May? Was he really in a position to tell the kid he couldn't be a friendly neighborhood superhero? The kid had superpowers!
The kid was also only fourteen.
No...fifteen. Tony had to flinch a little at that. He was pretty sure he hadn't given it away during the argument he'd had with the boy, but...he hadn't even known that the kid had had a birthday. He'd wanted to keep his distance. Had needed to keep his distance. Peter Parker was a good kid. A really good kid. What kind of kid got superpowers and then immediately went out and started fighting crime in sweatpants? And Tony had wanted to break the cycle. Had wanted to be a mentor to this kid. And then Peter had nearly destroyed a ferry. Nearly gotten a whole lot of people hurt.
Nearly gotten himself killed.
He'd seen the boy strung between the two halves of the ferry. Had seen him trying so hard and failing. That child would have let himself get torn in two before letting go. And Tony couldn't bear that thought. Couldn't bear the thought of watching that kid try so hard to fix things and get hurt anyway. Besides, he'd hacked the suit. (Tony stubbornly ignored the knowing voice in the back of his mind that reminded him that, had he received a super cool super-suit as a teenager, the literal first thing he would have done would have been to figure out how it worked and hack the hell out of it.) None of it mattered, though. Even if Tony wanted to try and figure things out with the kid...what good had that ever done him? Him working with other people...it never worked. What had made him think that he could be a mentor? Him? The kid would have been better off with Steve Rogers.
"How can I help you, Mrs. Parker?" he asked, already tired. The woman pulled herself to her feet, arms crossed. But she didn't look angry. Not like he'd expected. She looked upset. Almost afraid.
"I was hoping I could talk to you, Mr. Stark." She looked tired too, just like he felt.
"Right. Of course." Tony gestured for her to follow him. She'd already come all this way, after all. He had no idea what to tell her, but he guessed he'd taken her underage nephew out of the country to fight Captain America and had given him a super-suit and then encouraged him to continue being an underage superhero. Without telling her any of it. So...yeah. Maybe he owed her a conversation.
He led her to a small room off to the side, making sure to shut the door behind him. "Friday, soundproof the room, please, dear." Unimpressed, May took a seat on one of the sofas, and he sat across from her, hands in his lap, one leg crossed over the other. "What can I do for you, Mrs. Parker?"
"Peter told me he lost the internship."
Tony nodded slowly, lips pressed together. He wasn't sure exactly what Peter had told his aunt. But apparently, he'd stuck with the 'Stark Internship' cover story. He could work with that. "Yes. Unfortunately, things didn't work out. With the internship." May nodded, eyes lowered. "Did he send you here?" Honestly, Tony couldn't imagine that, but how well did he really know the kid?
And whose fault was that, a voice in his brain whispered. That kid would have loved to get to know him. Tony shook it off. Getting to know people rarely worked out for him anyway. "No." May laughed a little, distracting him from the voice in his brain that apparently hated him. "No, Peter would, as he would put it, die of embarrassment if he knew that I was here." Tony smirked a little, well aware of how dramatic teenagers could be. "I just...he was so excited about this internship, Mr. Stark. And I...please don't think I'm here to try and...and convince you to give it back to him. I'm...I'm sorry that I barged in like this. And I wouldn't have sold your phone number...I just...I didn't know how else to get past your receptionist." She flushed a little, looking embarrassed.
Okay. So this wasn't at all how Tony had pictured this going. Like...at all. He swallowed, shaking his head. "It's not a problem. What can I do for you, Mrs. Parker."
"May." The woman insisted. He nodded.
"May, then."
"I just...something's wrong with my kid, Mr. Stark."
"Tony." He murmured. He was pretty sure he'd introduced himself as Tony when they'd met before. Still… 'Mr. Stark' made him think of the kid and...okay, so thinking about the kid was unavoidable considering his aunt was right in front of him, but he didn't want to think of the boy calling him Mr. Stark or about how he'd looked stretched out between two halves of a boat.
If that kid died at fifteen years old, it would be on him. And he was so utterly exhausted...so completely tired of being crushed by failure after failure. Things with Pepper were a little better but not perfect. Otherwise, everything seemed to be crashing and burning around him. He was selling the tower...it reminded him of old friends and old enemies, of Ultron and his failure to hold it all together. To protect the world after messing it up so badly.
"He won't talk to me anymore. He...he'd been sneaking out for...for months. He thinks I don't know but...he's getting detention and sneaking out...Peter doesn't...he never snuck out before. But then, after his Uncle died...after Ben…" She took a moment, wiping a hand over her face. "I'm sorry. This isn't…" She cut herself off, clutching her hands in her lap. "When he lost the internship...when my kid came home in the middle of the night, crying and telling me he'd lost the internship...I was worried. More worried than I was before. I mean, the internship was helping but..." She waved a hand, sighing softly and shaking her head.
Crying. The kid had been crying. Okay...that hurt. Tony didn't want to think about the kid crying because of him. Not Peter...the smart kid who had been so, so excited to meet him. He couldn't bear the thought of letting him down too. But maybe he already had. He'd taken his suit away...but the kid had been so reckless. Too reckless. He'd almost gotten a lot of people hurt...not that Tony had the whole story.
Maybe he needed to try and fix that...get the whole story. Maybe he needed to actually sit down and talk to Peter. Ask him what had happened on the ferry. But first, before he even thought of figuring out a way to talk to the kid, he needed to talk to May. He needed to try and untangle this mess. Because, looking at the boy's worried aunt, it struck him. Peter Parker was Spiderman, with or without the suit. And soon enough, the kid would figure that out. Tony could all too easily imagine him figuring it out in the middle of a fight he wasn't ready for.
Tony couldn't let that happen.
He'd managed not to think too much about Peter since taking the suit and getting him new clothes to wear home. The kid had said no to a ride home according to Happy...so he'd just walked home, apparently. Tony knew that Peter had his own webshooters. Still had his web fluid. It was his, after all. Tony had no right to take those things. So was Peter still going out as Spiderman? He should have been keeping a closer eye on that, he thought with a sigh.
"I know that you were just his boss. I know that...that he might not have even been working with you that often. He never told me much about his internship. But I just...I was wondering if you...if you had any idea…" May shook her head. "I'm sorry. I...shit." She swore under her breath. "I just wanted to know if you had any idea why he would be sneaking out at night. I thought that...that since you guys worked together he might have mentioned...anything. A girlfriend? A boyfriend? Hell, parties. I'd take parties."
Tony swallowed, clenching his hands in his lap and trying not to look out of his depth. "Is he still sneaking out?"
She shook her head. "I don't think so. But now he's, well, it's like after Ben passed. He won't talk to me. His grades are up but a lot of the time it's like he's not even...there. I don't know if I should force him to talk to someone again or…" She trailed off again, giving him a weak smile. "I'm sorry. I just thought that you two were getting close and after his uncle he…"
May stopped talking but she didn't have to finish her sentence for him to understand. Peter had just lost his uncle when Tony had come into his life. And Tony had seen how Peter had looked at him. He'd seen that look in his eyes the last time they'd talked...the hope. The disappointment. The frustration and pain. Peter had hoped…
Tony didn't want to think about what Peter had hoped. But how could he avoid that when the boy's aunt was sitting here, asking for answers that he wasn't allowed to give her. Peter had hoped that Tony would be a mentor to him. An….adult male figure. And what had Tony said to him? That his dad hadn't given him a lot of support. That he was trying to break the cycle of shame. He hadn't been attempting to sound cavalier when he'd said that. He'd meant it. He cared about the kid. Cared about him like…
Like his father had never cared about him.
"I mean, ever since that expo, he's idolized you." Tony frowned at that, looking sharply up at her.
"What?"
"The expo. With the...flying robots…" She waved a hand, smiling a little. "Peter was wearing a plastic Iron Man mask and he said that you saved him. You probably don't remember but…"
"No." He whispered, voice suddenly hoarse. "No, I remember." And he did. He remembered spotting the little boy in a toy mask, hand up uselessly as he was targeted by one of Justin Hammer's drones. He remembered blasting the thing away, terrified that he wouldn't make it in time. Terrified that he was about to watch a child die because of him.
And years later, he could have watched that same child die.
"You're right," Tony spoke softly, leaning forward in his chair and looking a little more closely at May. She looked tired. Maybe she needed a vacation, he thought. He could take care of that. Send her somewhere warm and sunny, maybe with a friend. The kid could stay with…
Tony was stunned at how light that thought made him...how his heart seemed to unclench a little. Muscles he hadn't even though were tense relaxed as he let his mind finish that sentence. The kid could stay with him. Peter could stay with him while his aunt went on vacation. Tony could sit down and talk with him. Peter wasn't Steve. Peter would sit down and listen. And so could Tony. He could ask what had happened on the ferry and he could talk to him about using the suit. Carefully. With every thought, he grew lighter. More relieved, as if he'd already fixed things. He didn't know if he'd be able to fix things with Steve. But he could fix things with Peter.
"You're right," Tony said again. "We were getting close. And Peter was...he was trying really hard. But he made a couple of mistakes. I think he was overwhelmed. And…" He tried to think of a way to say it without giving the kid away. "I'd like to talk to him. Maybe try and figure out what happened. Peter's a good kid. And he was doing a great job before...well before he made those mistakes. Maybe we can work this out."
"Tony, that isn't why I came here." She hurried to assure him. He nodded, smiling a little.
"I know."
"I just wanted to see if you knew anything."
"I don't. I mean, I don't think I do. But...I'd like to see if Peter wants another try at the internship." May nodded slowly.
"Please don't tell him I came to see you. I don't want him to think…"
"I won't say a word. I promise." Tony hesitated, looking at the dark bags under her eyes. "Do you have plans today?"
"Um...I'm working a double at the hospital tonight. Honestly, that's probably why Peter was able to start sneaking out. I'm barely ever home." He shook his head. He couldn't let May think that. Peter would never want her to think that this was her fault.
"I'm sure that has nothing to do with this. Would it be okay if I had Happy pick him up from school today?"
She blinked a few times, then nodded, wiping a hand under her eye. He looked away, not wanting her to be embarrassed. "That...I think that he would really like that."
In the end, Tony was left waiting in the living room of the compound. Pacing. Sitting. Scrolling through his tablet. Tinkering with the kid's new suit...the one he hadn't stopped working on since coming up with the idea. A suit like his own...one to give the kid more protection. Happy hadn't been thrilled about his new assignment, but Tony was sure that deep down, he really did like the kid. Tony went back to pacing after a while, going over and over what he'd say to the kid. He would fix things. This was Peter, the kid that looked up to him and practically idolized him. The kid he'd saved years ago.
When Happy pulled into the drive, Tony had to admit, he was nervous. He stopped in front of the mirror, brushing his hair back, making sure it was in place, then toyed with the idea of putting sunglasses on but ultimately vetoed it. This wasn't the press. It wasn't Steve or the Avengers. This was Peter Parker.
The boy hesitated as he stepped out of the car, and Tony stepped away from the window, hating how worried Peter looked. But the kid followed Happy up to the building, and Tony took deep breaths as the elevator approached his floor. Peter hadn't been up here...hell, he'd never been to the compound. Maybe Tony could give him a tour after they talked. But he'd chosen his personal floor for a reason. He wanted to do this right. He wanted to start off on the right foot...show the kid that he didn't just want to be Spiderman's mentor.
The elevator opened and Tony took a deep breath, then found himself smiling as Peter stepped into the living room, a step behind Happy. "Here you go, boss." Happy told him, gesturing toward Peter, and Tony took a step forward.
"Thanks, Hap. Go ahead and take the rest of the day off." He'd drive the kid home himself.
Once Happy was gone and Tony was left with the kid, he felt himself soften. Peter looked scared. "Why don't you take a seat, Pete?" Tony invited, gesturing to the sofa and stepping into the kitchen. Peter remained where he was for a moment, then walked over to the sofa, perching there so stiffly that Tony wondered if he'd topple over if Tony pushed him. The thought made him smile as he pulled a bottle of orange soda out of the refrigerator and offered it to the boy. He stared at it for a moment before taking it.
"Thanks, Mr. Stark." He murmured. Tony took a seat on the sofa across from him, sitting back and trying to look non-threatening. It didn't work...Peter was still as stiff as ever, holding the soda without drinking it.
Tony didn't know how to start. Not really. But he knew that he was glad to see the kid. Glad to see that he was okay. "How have you been, kid?"
"Um...I've been...fine, Mr. Stark. Thanks. Um...how are you?"
Tony smiled. "I've been fine, kid." He took a deep breath. "I thought we could talk. If you want."
"Oh….okay." Peter nodded, eyes not quite reaching Tony's. "Um...what...what did you want to...to talk about? I mean, I haven't been...I know you don't…" Tony held up a hand, keeping his smile in place to soften the words.
"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of I would talk and you would listen." Peter nodded, mouth closing so quickly that his teeth clacked together. "Alright." Tony rubbed his hands together, nodding to himself. "Okay. First things first. I really fucked up." The kid blinked in surprise, jerking his head up and meeting his eyes for the first time. Tony wasn't sure if it was because of the language or the admission. "I told you before...I don't know how to do this. My dad never gave me any kind of support...like, at all. Sent me away to boarding school, made our butler look after me...then he sent me away to college. Thank god for Rhodey or I would have turned out even worse."
The boy didn't smile. Barely seemed to be blinking. So he went on.
"I want to break that cycle, kid. I want to give you the support that my father never gave me." He let the implications of that sink in, then felt a stab of horror when the boy dropped his eyes, biting down on his lip and sniffing a little. "Kid?"
"I'm sorry." The boy whispered, shaking his head, and Tony was reminded of the kid's aunt. The way she'd wiped her hand over her face, trying not to let him see her cry. "I just...I thought...thought you wouldn't want…" Tony heaved a sigh, pushing himself up from the chair and moving to sit beside the boy. After hesitating for a moment, he lifted a hand and rested it on Peter's shoulder.
"Look, I overreacted, kid. Well...maybe that's the wrong word. What you did was dangerous."
"But I…" Peter cut himself off before Tony could, dropping his eyes and shutting his mouth again. Tony sighed, drumming his fingers on his leg for a second, trying to pick the right words. The ones that would fix this.
"Okay. Let me rephrase. You freaked me out. You lied to me about band practice, hacked the suit, and then I show up only to find you about to be literally split in half by a boat filled with people." Peter swallowed, and Tony squeezed his shoulder, lowering his voice and going against every instinct as he admitted the truth. "I was scared, Peter. I was scared that you'd get hurt...hell, I was scared that you'd get yourself killed. And you could have. If I hadn't gotten there in time, you could have been seriously hurt." Peter still didn't look at him, picking at his fingers as he hunched over in his seat. "But...I shouldn't have yelled at you."
Now the kid was looking at him, wide-eyed and, dare Tony think it, hopeful. Good. He wanted Peter to be hopeful. He wanted the kid to forgive him so that they could move on.
"I should have given you a chance to explain what happened on the ferry. I should have given you my phone number from the beginning. And…" He turned, looking a little closer at the boy who had looked up to him for so long...who he'd saved once and who he was sure he'd save again. "I should have given you a real internship. Because you deserve it. You're a great kid, Pete. You're smart and you've got a good heart and you're a great superhero." Peter blinked, biting down on his lip and lowering his eyes.
"You think...that I'm a superhero?"
Tony swallowed, shifting closer and putting an arm around Peter's shoulders. "Kid, I know you're a superhero. Hell, you're going to be the best of us one day. With some training. Which I'll be doing." He gave the kid a quick squeeze, relaxing when Peter finally smiled. "Alright, Pete. First things first." He reached around the side of the sofa, pulling out a paper bag and placing it on the stunned boy's lap.
"Is this…" Peter started, staring down at the bag with so much hope that it almost broke Tony's heart.
"It's your suit. Yours. It was a gift, and I shouldn't have taken it like I did. Maybe this weekend I can show you the extra features."
"Mr. Stark, I...thank you. Sir, I don't…" Tony waved him off.
"You said that you were nothing without that suit. You were wrong. You're still Spiderman, no matter what you wear. You were Spiderman before I came along and you'll be Spiderman after I'm gone. Just like I'm Iron Man, with or without the suits. Understand?" Peter nodded, and even though Tony wasn't sure if he really believed him, Tony knew that he would one day. "Alright, kiddo." He sat back against the arm of the sofa, turning serious. "Your turn. Walk me through what happened with the ferry and we'll see if we can get this Vulture guy."
And, hesitantly at first, then with more confidence, Peter did.
Tony might not be able to fix things with Steve just yet. But he could fix things with Peter.