Chapter Text
Stupid Parker luck. My day had been great. I showed up to class on time, passed the English pop quiz with flying colors, even Flash backed off a bit. I was having a marvelous day. Until Mr. Harrington’s class. It started out fine, most of the class half asleep, I was among them. One of the few problems with living with geniuses is the fact that school is more of a review at this point, I could probably do this in my sleep. At the words ‘Field trip’ however, my attention was drawn back to the front where Mr. Harrington was writing on the board. Field trip. I groaned. I like field trips, don’t get me wrong. They don’t necessarily like me though.
“Where do you think we’re going? I’m so excited.” Ned whispered loudly from beside me, practically shaking in his seat.
“Calm down Ned, it’s probably nowhere interesting.” I mumbled.
Ned turned to me with a grin. “Oh, come on, don’t be so pessimistic.”
I shrugged and looked up at Mr. Harrington. The man seemed thrilled, like he won the lottery. He was holding a stack of papers and began to walk around the room, passing out papers as he talked.
“You’ll need to sign these papers and get them back to me tomorrow, a day later and you’ll be unable to join us. I apologize for the short notice; however, they need to know in advance how many students will be attending. If you are unable to have your parent or guardians' signature by tomorrow, please contact me and I will assist you in any way possible. There are also some NDA’s that need to be signed by you and your guardian. If you don’t sign it you cannot go on this trip, and trust me you don’t want to miss it.”
I rolled my eyes. I live in Stark Tower; nothing can top that. As Mr. Harrington passed my desk, he handed me a paper and paused for a moment.
“Please see me after class, Mr. Parker.”
I nodded in response and looked down at the paper. FIELD TRIP TO SI was printed boldly on top of the paper. I groaned and nearly slammed my head on my desk. My Parental unit had some explaining to do. The enthusiastic chatter in the classroom made so much sense now.
Once Mr. Harrington passed, Ned immediately turned toward me, excitement plastered across his face.
“We get to go to the Stark Tower! This is so awesome man! Do you think we’ll see Mr. Stark, or Captain America, or-”
“Ned, calm down,” I whispered to my overexcited friend. “You’ve been there before and met literally all the Avengers.”
“I know but this is different. Imagine the look on Flash’s face when he sees you know the Avengers. He’s going to be so distraught. Do you think-”
“Aww, look. Fatso and Penis are talking about their internship that you keep lying about. I bet they’ll kick you out once they hear you’ve been telling lies. Do you think they’ll-”
“Hey Flash, no one cares.” MJ glared at him.
“Yeah, shut up. Don’t ruin this for us.” Cindy Moon called from her seat near the front of the class. Her little group of friends snickered as Flash’s face turned an ugly shade of purple.
“Let’s not fight, class.” Mr. Harrington finally stepped in, effectively stopping the conflict.
I looked at Cindy in surprise. No one ever stood up to Flash before. Well, except MJ of course. I smiled gratefully at her and she gave me a thumbs up.
I gave a small jolt of surprise when the bell rang and the small classroom immediately was filled with noise as people began to talk about the upcoming trip. Speaking of, I will be having a conversation with dad about this. Taking extra-long to pack up, I motioned for Ned to go ahead without me. He shot me a concerned look but continued on to the door without much of a fuss.
Flash on the other hand smirked and muttered under his breath as he passed me. “I bet the teacher’s going to expel you for lying about your internship. Tony Stark would never choose you.”
I knew I shouldn’t let what he said get to my head, but this wasn’t the first time the thought has passed my mind. Things such as, its only because I’m Spiderman. He only adopted me because he feels bad. I’m just a burden to him.
Shaking the thoughts out of my mind, I threw my backpack over my shoulder and trudged over to where Mr. Harrington was shuffling through papers at his desk.
I stood at the edge of his desk until he looked up and acknowledged me.
” Ah. Mr. Parker.”
“Have I done something wrong, sir.”
He winced and seemed to gather his thought before responding. “Erm, no, you’ve done nothing wrong. You see, I don’t really want to do this, but with the field trip coming up I have too. I understand that you’re going through a lot right now, with your Aunt and all, and I’m sorry, but I don’t believe you have an internship at Stark Industries.”
My heart sank, although I should’ve expected this. “Mr. Harrington I-”
He held up his hand, cutting me off. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re a smart kid, dare I say smarter than even myself. I don’t doubt you could intern there and hold your own, however, I, on multiple occasions called the building and asked if a Peter Parker interned there and they informed me there was not. So, I’m sorry but I’d suggest coming clean and admitting that don’t actually intern at SI.”
Now I had no idea what to say. Had he called the building asking for a Peter Stark he would've found one, but how can I tell him I’m actually Peter Stark now, without telling him that Tony Stark adopted me. If it we’re up to dad, the whole world would know I was a Stark, but I wasn’t ready. The press would have questions and people would want to be friends with me because of my father.
"I’m sorry Mr. Harrington sir, but I truly do have an internship. However, I promise that on the field trip I will not lie about anything.”
Mr. Harrington nodded. “Alright than, you may go.”
Nodding numbly, I turned and walked out of the classroom, heading towards the front of the building where Happy was waiting.
I know people talk behind my back trying to figure out why the poor, puny Parker was being picked up in a fancier car than the rich, popular, cool Flash. I ignored them though, and got into the car, greeting Happy as I did so.
“Hey kid, “he grunted as he began to drive away. “How was school?”
I brightened up and began to tell Happy all about my day. Except for Flash. I don’t tell anyone about him. I started talking about what I was working in with dad in the labs and before I knew it, we we’re there.
“Bye Happy.” I yelled at the divider and jumped out of the car. When did he put it up? Probably when I started talking about work. He always says it bores him, but that doesn’t stop me from telling him all about it. I heard the “Bye kid, “as I closed the door and I smiled to myself as I walked to the lobby.
“Hi Junior.” Alice, the receptionist greeted me as I walked in.
“Hi Alice, how’s Jenny? Did she get the classes she wanted?”
Alice perked up at the mention of her girlfriend. “She did get the classes, thanks for asking.”
I gave her a smile and walked in the crowd, through the security scanner, and into the Avengers elevator. I let out a sigh of relief as the doors closed, cutting out most of the chatter and people.
“Hello Peter, where too?” FRIDAY'S cool voice questioned.
I let out a small grin. “Take me to dad please.”
The second the words were out of my mouth, the elevator quickly and smoothly rode up to the common room floor, which surprised me and dad was usually in the lab when I got home. The door silently opened and I was greeted by Wanda.
“Hi Peter, how was school?”
“It was pretty good we-”
“HAHAHAHA TAKE THAT! YOU LOST! HAHAHA”
I was cut off by Uncle Clint who had beat Sam in Mario Cart and was gloating about it, dancing on the couch. What he didn’t notice was the game in the background, still going, and Sam crossing the finish line.
“Goal!” Sam yelled.
I sniggered as Clint slowly turned around in confusion. When he saw the game, his face dropped and he fell to his knees crying out. “NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!”
Now Sam was dancing on the couch in victory, dancing over Clint who was laying dejectedly on the floor in defeat. In one smooth moment, Clint jumped up and lunged at Sam. Sam yelped in surprise and ran away as the archer chased him out of the room. With a loud yell and a bang as they slammed a door it went silent, the only sound being the Mario Cart music playing softly in the background.
Me and Wanda looked at each other awkwardly for a moment before bursting out in laughter.
“Well than, that was quite a show.” Wanda said between giggles. ‘’My bets on Sam.”
“What! No, Clint for sure. He’s got the vents.” I playfully argued.
“Sam's faster.”
“Speed is nothing on being able to travel through the vents.”
“Fine, I’ll bet twenty dollars on Sam. Do we have a deal?”
“Deal.”
“Okay. Anyways, what’s new with you?”
I winced slightly. “I’ve got a field trip this Friday, need mom to sign something.”
Tony popped his head out of a door down the hall. “Do you really need mom to sign it? Why can’t I?” He pouted slightly and walked toward us. “Hey kiddo,” He gave me a hug and ruffled my hair. “So, what do you need me to sign?”
I melted into the hug that made me feel so protected, with my father's arms wrapped tightly around me, before I reluctantly pulled away. “I don’t need you to sign anything, imagine what my teacher would say.”
“He knows you’re my quote unquote, intern, so it shouldn’t be an issue. Come on Pete, I never get to sign any of this stuff that dad’s get to sign.”
I nearly gave in, but remembered what my teacher had said. “The school doesn’t think I have an internship.”
He looked at me in confusion. “They don’t? We turned in all the required paperwork. Hell, we even gave them a phone number to call.”
I shrugged in resignation; my eyes downcast. “It’s whatever, I’m fine with it.”
Tony stood up; eyes ablaze. “Aw hell no. This will not slide Peter. We turned in all the legal paperwork and even gave them a number to call, which they did not.”
“Are you sure dad? Mr. Harrington said that he called the building and-”
“Well, no wonder Pete. The building is under strict NDA’s and all the people here know you as Peter Stark. They did not call the number I gave them I can assure you of that.”
“Yeah but-”
“Ah, ah, ah, no but’s. Now come on, I need a pen. Don’t you worry, I’ll leave room for your mom to sign it as well.”
I sighed and was about to argue but once dad has put his mind to something there’s no changing it.
>Time Skip<
“Peter, if you don’t wake up soon, you’ll be late for school.” FRIDAY’S voice woke me along with the opening of the blinds to let the sun in. “Mr. Rogers would like me to inform you that he has kept the others away from your portion of breakfast, but if you take any longer, he’ll give it Clint.”
That got me up and out of bed faster than anything else could. Well except for Morgan of course. That child has so much energy, it’s literally impossible to stay asleep when she wants you awake. Anyways, I hurriedly got dressed, grabbed my backpack, and raced out the door into the kitchen. What greeted me was a truly domestic sight. Steve was in the kitchen making pancakes for the team while Bucky sat on the counter watching Steve with pure adoration in his eyes. Auntie Nat and Uncle Clint were sitting on the couch quietly drinking coffee while dad and Uncle Bruce were sitting at the table, leaning over some project, discussing something between themselves.
“’Morning Uncle Steve.” I grabbed a paper towel and loaded it up with the pancakes set aside for me.
“Good morning Peter, I made a lunch for you. Does this satisfy our deal?”
I gave him a smile. “Yes, it does, thank you.” I turned away and said bye to Bucky before turning to the table. “Bye dad.” I began to walk to the elevator when dad called out.
“Wait one second.”
I did, rather reluctantly though. I was going to be late enough as is. I knew it was worth being late though as dad gave me a hug.
“Bye kiddo. Have fun at school. If you have any problems with your teacher, just give me a call and I’ll be over in seconds.”
I smiled into his chest before saying. “You can't just go to my school, dad. The press would have a field day. Now I’ve got to go or I’ll be late.”
He let go of me and shot me his protective dad look. “I don’t care what the press says. If you need saving, I’ll be there no matter what. Now go on. Don’t keep Happy waiting.”
“Of course. Bye guys.” I yelled out to the room and a chorus of, “bye Peter”, “Have fun”, and “Kill someone for me while you’re out for me” responded. You can guess who said that one.
“Bye dad.” I said again as I walked into the elevator. “Love you.” The words slipped out before I could stop them. Nervously I looked up at my dad’s face as the doors started to close and saw a big smile on his face. The last thing I heard as the elevator closed was a heartfelt, “Love you too, Peter.”
>Time Skip<
“I don’t see why it's such a big deal.” MJ said during lunch. I had told Ned and MJ what had occurred earlier, and while MJ was chill and rolled with it as they usually do, Ned was understandably staring at me in amazement.
“Dude, you told the Tony Stark ‘I love you’ and he said it back. What is your life man.”
“I didn’t even mean to say it. I mean, I love him like the father I never had, but what if he doesn’t feel the same? What if I crossed a line? What if-”
“Peter, first of all calm down. He said it back, didn’t he? Honestly, it’s good for the both of you. You’ve never had a father figure and taking on a parental role is good for him. I don’t see why you’re making a big deal out of it.”
“I guess you're right, but-” I was interrupted by a certain someone talking loudly from behind me.
“Hey Penis, talking about your ‘internship’ again.” Flash sneered at me. “guess we’ll see on Friday, huh.”
“Buzz off Flash before I make you.” MJ glared at the demon spawn who had decided it was up to him to make my life a living hell.
Flash wisely walked away, but not before he called out, “You’re lucky your girlfriend here to protect you.”
MJ and I started to laugh, leaving a confused Flash scurrying off. It was never a good thing when MJ laughed. Although this time they were genuinely amused.
“The moment when your gay.” MJ whispered to Ned and I. Ned shrugged in a ‘I can’t relate way’, while I nodded in agreement.
Before I knew it the bell rang and we rushed to our next classes.
>Time Skip<
“Please place the slip on the edge of your desk and I will come around to collect them.” Mr. Harrington announced as the last of the students sat down.
As I pulled it out of the folder in my backpack, my mind raced with everything that could go wrong. I placed the slip face down at the edge of my desk, hoping Mr. Harrington wouldn’t look too closely.
I could practically imagine luck laughing at me as Mr. Harrington grabbed my slip and turned it over. A flurry of emotions passed his face as he looked at the signature. Confusion, shock, and finally . . . . . . disappointment.
“Please see me after class Mr. Parker.” He murmured, just loud enough for me to hear him.
I mentally thanked him for not drawing attention to me, while at the same time I was panicking. Luckily for me, mom, who was my registered guardian under Virginia Potts, signed the sheet as well. Mr. Stark had been upset that he wasn’t my guardian and he pouted until mom relented and let him be my emergency contact. The memory almost made me laugh and lightened the anxiety in my chest. That is, until class ended.
I sat in my seat, waiting for the second day in a row, for everyone to leave.
“You wanted to see me Mr. Harrington.” I said as I walked up to his desk.
He sighed and rifled through the stack of permission slips until he found mine and brought it to the top. “I don’t know why you thought it would be a good idea to forge the signature of Tony Stark but I don’t want to hear it. I will let it slide this time only because your guardian has signed the page as well and I don’t want you to miss the field trip. I merely want you to know that I don’t want this to happen again and if it does, a form of punishment will have to be put into place. Do you understand.”
“Yes sir.”
“Very well, you may go.”
At his words, I immediately trudged out the door and to my luck Flash was leaning against the wall.
“Well Penis, got in trouble for forging a signature I see. What, your parents couldn’t do it.” He paused for a moment as if he was thinking, something that was hard for him no doubt. “Oh yeah, you don’t have any. Bet that’s your fault too.” He shoved me into a locker harshly before stalking off.
My already bad day got worse. Maybe . . . maybe it was my fault. I could've stopped the car before it hit Aunt May. I was nearby and out patrolling. If only I had been closer, I could’ve done something. If only- No! I can't wallow in self-pity.
Opening my eyes, I stood up. When did I fall? I winced as I walked toward the door. Normally the stuff Flash does never hurt that much unless it's a lot. He’s weak and my healing always takes care of it before it hurts for too long. However, this time he slammed my already bruised rib into the locker. It had been broken two days ago, and had almost healed fully. I don’t think it's cracked or anything but it hurts a lot that’s for sure.
Limping slightly, I flopped into Happy’s car, greeting him quietly before leaning against the window. I could practically feel Happy’s worried gaze on me and I noticed that he never closed the divider. For some reason that made me happy and with that thought in my mind, I drifted off.
“We’re here kid, time to go.” I dragged myself out of the car and into the building. Wordlessly walking through the lobby, I passed through the security scanner and to my disappointment I heard FRIDAY announce. “Your rib seems to have been agitated. Activating Helicopter Parent Protocol. I recommend going to your room to rest.”
I groaned in embarrassment, hoping no one was paying attention to me. Mr. Stark had created the protocol after I had been shot multiple times and never told him. FRIDAY only announces large injuries and depending on how severe the injury, would tell me what to do and informed dad. If the injury was severe, she simply had the nearest person who knew my identity get me and take me to the medical wing.
“Thanks FRIDAY, I’ll go do that.” I said to the AI as I walked into the elevator and it shot upward sending me to the common room where no doubt dad was waiting.
As expected, dad was waiting at the elevator.
“Hey kiddo, FRIDAY told me your rib was worse than it was yesterday. What happened?”
“Someone accidentally pushed me into a locker, you know how busy school hallways are.”
He looked at me doubtfully before nodding. “Alright. Well as long as it was an accident. If I find out someone did it on purpose . . .” He trailed off.
“Alright dad, I get it. I’m fine. Plus, murdering children is illegal remember.”
He nodded. “Unfortunately.”
“Dad, promise you won't murder a child, even if I'm being bullied.”
He shrugged. “No promises kiddo, now go lay down.” He pulled me into a hug, careful of my rib. “I'll send someone when dinners done, Nat’s making dinner tonight. You don’t want to miss out.”
I immediately perked up. Auntie Nat’s food is to die for. Literally. If it came down to it, I’d fight Clint for the rest of the food. Auntie Nat knows this of course, and always makes enough food for a few armies yet we never have leftovers.
“Alright dad. Make sure you actually send someone this time.”
He groaned. “One time Pete, one time, and you never let me live it down.”
I smiled and scampered off to my room favoring my rib.
I love my family.