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When Tony found out that Peter had never been camping, he was appalled (read: very dramatically shocked in his Tony Stark™ way).
If even he, the classic rich boy, had been camping as a kid (okay, Jarvis may or may not have been the one to take him but the point still stands, yes?), how could Peter not have?
Voicing a similar question, Tony couldn't help but feel like a massive asshole when he heard Peter's response.
The kid was supposed to go camping with his parents a week after their trip to a science convention in Sweden. The trip they had never returned from because of the plane that crashed with them in it.
"Oh, Pete. I'm sorry, Bud, I didn't know." Tony said to him, remorse obvious in his tone but Peter was happy and relieved to hear that it wasn't paired with the usual pity that people spoke with when his parents or uncle were brought up.
"It's okay, Mr. Stark." Peter shrugged. "I know you didn't mean anything by it. 'Sides it's not something that I could have really done with May and Ben anyway." He knew that they had struggled enough with money after they took him in. He couldn't ask for something as trivial and wasted as a camping trip with all they did for him already.
As if reading his thoughts, Tony perked up and gave him an uncharacteristically wide smile. "So let's go camping then!"
"What?"
"Let's go camping. I only went with Jarvis when I was pretty young, and you've never been. Let's go now. We can make plans and do a whole trip of it. It's your summer break soon anyway, we can go then."
Peter had a puppy like look of confusion, his brows furrowed slightly and his head tilted a bit to one side. His chocolate curls flopping over his forehead, only helping the uncanny resemblance to a labrador puppy.
"For real?" Peter asked him, a hopeful lilt to his voice. "You'd take me camping?"
"Course I would, Kid!" Tony ruffled his curls, laughing when Peter tried to pull away and "fix" his hair.
Peter couldn't believe that Tony was willing (and actually wanting to) take him camping. He would have thought that from his obvious inclination to technology and the lifestyle he lived that the older man wouldn't have wanted to be around in nature.
But apparently he was wrong and Peter couldn't have been more happy about his mistake.
It was going to be the best trip ever!
---
When Tony had suggested making a trip of it, Peter had thought only a few hours out of New York.
He hadn't thought that Tony would take them a whole 37 hours away to the freakin Grand Canyon of all places! Although maybe he should have expected it, he was dealing with Tony Stark after all.
They set off in one of Tony's more discreet and comfortable cars, a trailer with their camping equipment pulled behind them.
The trip, albeit long, was pretty good. They played loud music, fought over who picked the next song or album, they passed snacks and drinks between them, and took pictures both of the scenery as the drive and a few of them together.
After around 12 hours, and a few food, gas, and bathroom stops, they stayed over for the night in Indianapolis before leaving early the next morning again after breakfast.
The next 15 hours of their trip was much the same as the first portion of their trip the day before but this time, Peter was more noticeably fidgety and energetic. As much as he was having fun there was only so much time an enhanced teenage boy could spend sitting still in a car.
Eventually they came to a stop somewhere in Texas that Peter hadn't caught the name of since he'd fallen asleep an hour before they got to their motel. Tony shook him awake, his own eyes a bit bleary as he hadn't gotten to sleep like Peter had since he was driving.
They stumbled up to their room before passing out on their beds, not bothering to eat since they had grabbed some dinner at a roadhouse an hour or two earlier.
The next morning found them following the same routine as the day before. Breakfast was finished before they were on the road again.
10 hours later, they stood breathing in the fresh air of their campsite a safe distance from the edge of their destination stretched out in it's glory before them.
"What do you think, Pete?" Tony asked, an arm slung over Peter's shoulders as he stood next him. The obvious awe on the kid's face made the hours of travel more than worth it.
And it wasn't to say that he hadn't enjoyed it, he loved the time he could spend with Peter, but Tony still had to admit, he wasn't as young as he used to be. Spending so many hours in a car definitely wasn't good for his back.
But that was beside the point. The point was that Peter was able to experience something he hadn't had the chance to and Tony had the honour to be the one with him as he did.
"This is amazing, Mr. Stark! It looks so much more beautiful than in the pictures and videos I've seen!" Peter answered, his eyes still on the broad canyon before them.
"It really is, Kid. Now, c'mon and help me set up the tent and then we can find some wood for our fire."
Peter practically bounced over to Tony, his enthusiasm and excitement once again reminding Tony of an overeager puppy. It was adorable.
Setting up the tent was surprisingly fast and easy between the two of them, and it was up and had their bags, pillows, and sleeping bags stacked inside of it.
They marched around the edges of the trees bordering one side of their campsite, the pile of sticks and bark slowly growing in their arms. They were both happy to discover that almost all of their pile was dry enough to burn nicely. Not so green that it wouldn't burn but not too dry and old that it wouldn't last in the fire.
As they built it up carefully in a stack that would burn for a good amount of time, Tony taught Peter bits of what he could remember Jarvis and Peggy teaching him when he was younger. He told Peter about different ways to build a campfire so that it could either burn hotter, or cooler, for longer, or for shorter. He told him a few facts about the creatures that they heard out in nature that he recognized.
Peter soaked it all up like a sponge. It was all so different and exciting. He loved the city but there was something so freeing about being here with Mr. Stark.
It just made him happy.
Tony turned to Peter. "What'cha feeling for dinner, Pete? The meat is still cold in the cooler for the fresh ice, I can take it out and we can grill it? How's that sound?"
"That's good!" Peter smiled. "Can we use that baguette you got at our last stop? Maybe we can mix some garlic butter and let it bake in the bread over the fire?"
"Garlic bread and grilled sausages coming up!"
They gathered what they needed, got the meat out and wrapped the garlic bread in tin foil. They had to wait a while for the fire to cool enough to cook their food without burning it, so Tony sat back and watched as Peter explored the area around them, taking pictures of the things that he thought May, Ned, or MJ would like to see. It made Tony's heart warm to see Peter just having fun and not worrying over school or Spider-Man.
Checking the fire, Tony decided it had cooled enough and he started setting the meat and foil wrapped bread over the little grill. It wasn't too long until it was ready so he called Peter over, asking him to grab their plates and cutlery on his way.
They sat side by side as they ate, a warm silence around them that was only broken by the crackling of the fire and twittering and chirping of various little creatures around them.
Peter would remember the smell of the smoke, the garlic, and unique freshness of nature forever. He would smell a blend of the aroma at barbecues in the following years and think back on his trip with Tony with a fond heart.
He would always have a part of him that wished he could have had the chance to do this with his parents, with Ben. Similar thoughts would appear over the years but he would be happy because he knew that would want him to.
Peter looked up and caught Tony's eyes, the flames of the fire making the warmth in them seem even brighter than normal. He smiled and Tony echoed it.
He was happy.