Chapter Text
Michelle sighs as her and Harry stood by the side of the road, waiting for Harry’s driver to come and pick them up.
“This is ridiculous, we can just order an Uber or something.”
Harry snorts. “Yeah sure. That sounds smart,” he levels a look at her of total disbelief, “heirs to two of the biggest multi-billion dollar companies rolling up into a strangers car, trusting that they’ll actually take us where we need to go.”
“You’re getting paranoid in your old age, Har,” Michelle says with a smirk, pulling the cap she has on down as people walk by - getting the distinct feeling that they were being watched as she scanned her surroundings.
It was like a second skin, knowing how to interact with the public and to try - and fail - to blend in. Her dad was one of the most famous men on the planet, Michelle being famous before she’d even taken her first step - but she still lived in New York. People didn’t really care about who was around them unless they were in their way and even then, only enough to brush past them.
But Michelle felt like a sitting duck, standing on the side of the road waiting for this driver - especially with Harry who looked wildly nervous about the whole thing. It wasn’t his fault, for all his international “voluntourism” trips - Harry didn’t really spend time in the city if he could help it. Not the real city, the city that Michelle herself hadn’t had much of a chance to explore if it hadn’t been for Peter.
Well not explore , Michelle thinks with a rueful smile, folding her arms together as Harry loudly sighed.
Peter had told her about his upbringing in Queens, the public schools that he’d been to and all about his crappy job as some scientist in an equally crappy lab - Michelle always pressing for details about the most mundane things.
He gladly obliged, amused at the beginning and more understanding in the months that followed - understanding even before they’d talked about it that to Michelle, these details were the opposite of boring.
Telling her about the bagel shop he went to every Tuesday because there was a deal. Sharing stories about the kids he volunteered with at the local high school, watching in amusement as his eyes lit up when he described their jokes. Talking to her more about the weekends he’d spend with his aunt at markets growing up, bartering for a good sale and teaching him all the tricks of the trade.
Michelle had lived a life so far removed from the every day New Yorker and she knew it. Going to MIT had been her first real exposure to what it was like to be around normal people but it wasn’t as if she was fooled.
The MIT that Michelle went to wasn’t the same as everyone else, not when she knew for a fact that her father had paid a little extra to always ensure that she had a private room for her freshman year.
Moving off-campus into a beautiful studio apartment, getting the attention of professors solely for her last name and the whispers of people who knew nothing about her and yet had already formed an opinion about her - Michelle would give almost anything to have the kind of simple anonymity that Peter had.
Now, moving back to the city and having met him - Michelle wished for it even more so.
She knew his life wasn’t easy by any means, knowing that the fact that he had to scrape by for much of his life and his tiny apartment was less an aesthetic choice but more out of necessity wasn’t something she ever forgot.
But it was there all the same, a nudge in the back of her mind at wondering if he was okay. Michelle cursed the fact that Harry’s car wasn’t the only thing that had been crushed when that Rhino looking idiot had run through the intersection, her phone likely blown to smithereens.
She could at least be thankful that Harry had his, but it wasn’t as if Peter had Harry’s number - Michelle’s fingers itching for her pocket only to clench them at the reminder that she doesn’t have her phone.
The chances of Peter knowing that anything of note had happened a few blocks away from his apartment were anyone’s guess, Michelle knows that native New Yorkers were used to the superhero bullshit by this point, Michelle herself caring very little about what the Avengers got up to so much as it affected her dad’s well-being.
She could still remember the fights between him and Pepper, the sheer terror of watching him fly off into a wormhole and never knowing if he was combing. The fear that came from their house in Malibu being attacked, wondering if her dad’s new hobby would finally be the thing that took him away from her.
Michelle was wildly curious to know what could’ve brought him out today, neither the sand guy nor the Rhino being up to his pay grade normally.
But she pushed that away for now, her mind zeroing in on the loss of her phone - Michelle’s psych degree making her self-aware enough to know it was a fixation to prevent herself from falling into shock.
Her phone is likely crushed to a million pieces, mixed along the metal of Harry’s destroyed car. It’s not as if she couldn’t get another one or if Peter’s number was lost forever - the seamless integration from her laptop and cell phone making her thankful that her dad was a tech geek and not a biological one like Harry’s.
But the instinct to reach for it is still there, fingers nervously drumming along her thigh as she hopes that for whatever her dad was currently wrapped up in that he didn’t notice Harry’s car among the wreckage.
Harry was her cover, but even Michelle wasn’t sure if he would believe their excuse at being in this part of town together.
Harry’s driver rolls up just before Michelle can further set herself into a panic, hearing Harry’s annoyed “ finally ” under his breath as he does.
Just before she steps in, Michelle gets the feeling of being watched again - instinct forcing her to keep her head down as she ducks into the car, Harry not far behind her.
As soon as Harry closes the door, the driver turns into the street and starts the drive towards the tower, Michelle thankful for the Osborn’s staff discretion even if her and Harry hanging out should be an open secret by this point.
It’s that thought that sinks down into her stomach, hearing Harry sigh as she turns to him - watching as he sinks back into the seat and closes his eyes.
“You good?” She asks with a smirk, Harry putting a finger to his lips in a shushing motion.
“I’ve had a very long day. It’s hard work saving your ass,” Harry says dramatically, Michelle snickering as she rolls her eyes.
“Please. As if I haven’t—“
Harry shushes her with a wave, opening his eyes only to have the audacity to wink at her as he says, “MJ, I’m exhausted. ”
She goes to argue once more only for Harry to pointedly look towards where the driver is - a reminder for Michelle that the ears surrounding them were not only listening, but not always loyal.
She takes the cue, shifting away from him as she says, “Fine. Take a nap then you big baby.”
Harry grins, closing his eyes again before he settles into the seat - partly for the bit but also likely cause he was going to take her advice, Michelle glancing out the window on the other side.
Her heart is still beating a little faster than normal, New York passing by in a haze from the tinted windows as she thinks back to the fight.
It was interesting if not a little confusing, why her dad had elected to fly in today - not when the last time she’d known he suited up had been because of some intergalactic threat a few months ago, remembering his annoyed rant about it.
Spider-Man was one of several vigilantes in the city, none of them really crossing her radar in all the years she lived there. Unlike Pepper, Michelle refused to engage with that side of her dad’s life at all - secretly terrified of what it could mean for her.
It had played a not insignificant part of why Michelle had rebelled so fiercely growing up, closing her eyes to try and chase the memories of the blur of those years - the anger and resentment that had fueled her for so long.
Michelle wasn’t that person anymore, hadn’t been in years. But as the city passed by, the car getting closer and closer to the Tower, Michelle couldn’t help but wonder what could possibly have been so important to her father today that he put himself in harm’s way.
An hour later, home and freshly showered - Michelle’s still thinking of it, sitting down on her bed with her laptop in hand.
Peter was likely working, if his phone going off when she left had been any indication but Michelle wanted to text him all the same - knowing he was good hearted enough to worry about her if he thought she was somehow caught in the crossfire, considering how close that fight had been to his place.
She’s powering up her laptop when she hears a knock at the door, glancing up as Friday announces, “Boss is right outside, MJ.”
“Let him in,” she says, the doors sliding open as he steps in.
“Hey kid, Fri said you got home a little while ago,” he says carefully, as if he was in trouble - Michelle watching him carefully as he fiddles with his hands.
He knows all too well how she feels about him flying around in a metal suit, more adamant and more furious than Pepper ever was. She may have forgiven him time and time again, a patience that Michelle doesn’t have as she raises an eyebrow saying, “Oh yeah? What have you been up to?”
Tony just looks at her, studying her for a moment before he sighs. He walks into the room, wringing his hands together as he says, “So you know.”
Michelle says nothing, waiting for him to continue as he says, “Look, I know I said I’d cut the whole thing down. Let Steve and the others deal with all that bullshit but today was…” He trails off, sighing once again as he says, “I had to intervene.”
“You chose to,” Michelle replies, seeing his grimace as she asks, “Why?”
“It’s complicated,” Tony immediately answers, Michelle giving him a look as he puts his hands up.
“Yeah, yeah I know. But it was, it is . He’s just--” Tony cuts himself off, Michelle raising an eyebrow as she studies him once more.
Iron Man hadn’t flown around the city any more than was majorly necessary - the Avengers being little more than figureheads since the Accords had been passed when she was in high school, Captain America and whoever else part of the team off on diplomatic missions wherever was needed.
For better or for worse, the fears that the creation of the Avengers would invite more threats had all been for nothing as of now. Though Michelle knew better than anyone that her father wasn’t one to rest, not when there was the chance of greater threats out there.
It’s the only thing she can think of for what could’ve motivated him to go out there today, though joining up with Spider-Man of all people wasn’t someone she ever would’ve guessed.
“I know you don’t like to know about all of this,” Tony says, throwing her out of her thoughts as he motions to the housing unit still attached to his chest, “but there’s been some… issues lately.”
“Geopolitical? Or elsewhere?” Michelle asks, watching as her father smiles and folds his arms together.
“A little of both, still keeping an ear to the ground.”
The words he doesn’t say go unspoken but she hears them all the same.
“What does helping Spider-Man with his C-grade horror villains have to do with these issues ?” She asks, waiting to see just how much of this part of his life that he’ll share.
It wasn’t just her own disinterest that stopped him - Michelle knew her father well enough to recognize that his emotional inability to discuss these things had harmed him more than helped over the years.
“Nothing you have to worry about,” he says carefully, Michelle eyeing before letting it go for now - not when she didn’t want to give away the fact that she was there to see him fight herself, only for him to say, “Though I am a little curious of what you have been up to.”
“Hm?”
He grabs his phone out of his pocket, tapping something out before showing her a snapshot from the Bugle, Michelle grimacing when she sees that it’s a snapshot of her and Harry crowded together on the side of the street.
“Care to tell me what exactly you and Harry were doing on that side of town?”
“There’s a great bagel place over there,” Michelle says lightly, holding his gaze as his eyes search hers.
He didn’t believe her, just as she didn’t believe him - knowing in her gut there was more to the story with him and Spider-Man. Neither of them are willing to budge, Michelle can see that in the way that his eyes crinkle - forcing a smile on his face as he says, “Tell me you at least got an Everything bagel.”
“Plain, just to fuck with you.”
He scoffs, Michelle smiling as he unfurls his arms and throws them up dramatically. “That’s it. That’s the end. Taking you out of my will.”
“I’ll live!” Michelle calls out, Tony waving to her as he walks out the door. She smiles, waiting for the doors to slide close as he does - an uneasy feeling rolling around in her gut.
The pictures from the Bugle put her closer to where Peter was, a spike of fear in her heart at the idea that some enterprising journalist or worst yet a teenager would do a deep dive on social media and try to piece together any sightings of her in the past few months.
Yet even the best scenario - the press believing that her and Harry were rekindling their relationship - wasn’t exactly something she was looking forward to explaining, recognizing that for as good of a guy that Peter was and as much as he trusted her, it still had to bother him how she was all but linked to him publicly.
It should at least. If Peter was that secure in their relationship that it didn’t matter, Michelle wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
She sighs, grabbing at her laptop again to turn it on and send him a message to let him know she was okay only to hear a tap against her balcony door.
Michelle freezes - heart leaping up into her throat as she says, “FRIDAY?”
“Yes MJ?”
“Who’s out there?” She asks, grabbing the taser from her bedside table that Pepper had bought her years ago as she stands.
“Spider-Man,” she says, Michelle freezing as her mind reels.
Why the hell is he here? Michelle thinks, taking a cautious step forward as the balcony door slides open.
Michelle sees him immediately, Spider-Man awkwardly pacing back and forth - wringing his hands together as if he was nervous.
“Can I… help you?” She asks, Spider-Man freezing when he sees her.
It’s as if he lets out a sigh of relief, something that just baffles her when he says, “Um hi, sorry. I just-- I was just wondering if everything was alright. You know. With… you.”
He’s using a voice modulator, something that strikes Michelle as odd though she doesn’t know enough about Spider-Man to know any differently as she takes a step forward.
“Yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?” Michelle asks with an undeniable edge of sarcasm, curiosity and caution flowing through her simultaneously as she looks at him up and down.
The suit leaves little to the imagination, Michelle wishing now that she knew more about Spider-Man and whatever his connection to her dad was as he lets out a short, small laugh.
“You’re right, you’re right, sorry. I just--” he cuts himself off, Michelle struck with such an odd feeling of familiarity as he does so as he says, “Sorry. I’ll uh, I’ll go.”
“Wait,” Michelle says, Spider-Man looking like he wants to jump off the balcony in more ways than one when she says, “What’s going on between you and my dad?”
“What do you mean?” He asks, the voice modulator sounding ridiculous but Michelle hearing the trepidation in it all the same.
Michelle considers her options - her mind working in rapid-fire as Spider-Man stares back at her.
Her dad was clearly hiding something from her, something big - his all too easy tactical retreat from a conversation that they’d had time and time again feeling less like it was his avoidance of feelings but something far more dangerous.
Whatever it was, Michelle was limited in her options in finding it out - not least of which because of her own secrets that she was keeping about Peter. If there really was something on the horizon, something that someone that a chronic overplanner like her father could be worried about, Michelle wouldn’t forgive herself if she ever did anything to put Peter in harm’s way.
But she also needs to know what’s happening, refusing to be saddled off to the sidelines like her and Pepper had been so many times before - hearts constricting in their chest as her dad flew off into the unknown.
“Nothing yet but it is kind of… suspicious that you’re here. You never have before. What’s going on? Does my dad know?”
“No. No, no definitely not,” Spider-Man stammers, Michelle narrowing her eyes only for him to quickly say, “Um, you’re not-- you’re not going to tell him right?”
And there it is , Michelle thinks - skills she’d cultivated all her life coming back in full force as she says, “No. If you can do something for me.”
Spider-Man says nothing, his body tensing and his head tilting in what Michelle can only imagine in confusion as he asks, “What?”
“I don’t know what’s going on between you two but whatever it is,” Michelle says, “keep him out of it.”
Spider-Man rights himself, eyes of the mask widening as he stutters.
“Uh, I don’t know if—“
“I know something is happening. Something big,” Michelle interjects, “and when it does, I need him to be safe.”
Spider-Man straightens up, the white eyes of the mask just staring blank at her as she continues, “whatever it is you need to do or say, whatever it is, just— just shut him out.”
“That’s easier said than done,” Spider-Man said with a huff, Michelle just staring at him and folding her arms together.
“You’re Spider-Man right? You’ll figure it out.”
Spider-Man stares then laughs, the sound nudging at something in Michelle’s mind even if she can’t figure out why as he nods.
“Alright Ms. Stark, I can do that.”
“Good,” Michelle says with a nod, looking out to the city before turning her attention back to him. “You better go before FRIDAY decides you’re hostile or something.”
“FRIDAY loves me, I’m fine,” Spider-Man says with a wave, Michelle just squinting her eyes at him as he says, “but I can take a hint.”
He does a little salute. “Have a nice night, Ms. Stark.”
Michelle just nods as Spider-Man backs away, climbing up the balcony then falling backwards.
Michelle’s heart leaps up to her throat at seeing him fall so casually, rushing forward only to see him free fall before sending out a hand - swinging to God knows where.
She shakes her head, hating that this kind of weirdness was just a part of her life before turning back to her room.
She hopes Peter is okay and if she had any luck, he hadn’t even realized anything major had happened down the street - much less that Michelle was involved.
Michelle sighs, pushing away the stress of the day - looking forward to talking to the one person in her life who is normal.