Chapter Text
Peter had, for once, been having a lovely dream. In the dream he had gotten back after a rather successful patrol, having saved some civilians and they had even showered him with praise as he swung by. Then when he crawled into the Avenger’s tower, MJ was curled up on the couch, holding two steaming cups of hot chocolate as she offered one to him and he curled up next to her, a blanket draped over them as a star wars movie was playing. She was leaning against his chest, and he noticed her attention seemed to be more on him than the movie, and their lips met as they started to ki-
“Good morning Peter, it is time for you to get up.” FRIDAY’s voice cut in as soft music started to play, slowly getting louder as the lights gradually got brighter and brighter.
Peter huffed, rolling over, with his pillow over his head as he tried to muffle the music, a futile task given his enhanced hearing too.
“If you stay in bed longer Peter, you’re going to have to shorten your shower by five minutes.” FRIDAY warned, which made Peter groan and finally throw the pillow off as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. He hated mornings. Especially mornings at the tower. Since his internship with Stark and the Avengers had ramped up a bit, he spent a few weekdays at the tower. Most nights he spent with May, but if he had a mission or he had been stuck over here late, he could crash in his room here. He also kind of liked giving May the chance to not have to worry about taking care of him every single day. She had raised him for so long, and both lost and sacrificed so much so it was nice for her to have the occasional moment to herself and to pursue what she wanted to.
The one bad thing about staying over at the tower was that there was an AI that wouldn’t let him get away with stuff, usually, and that most of the avengers were like actually responsible adults. At least when it came to Peter, they could be a bit of a mess around each other.
Summoning the utmost of his super strength, he managed the monumental task of dragging his half-asleep ass over to the shower to actually freshen up for school.
He found himself waking up around the time he was stepping into the kitchen, the smell of coffee waking him up already, along with the smell of fresh eggs and hashbrowns. He mumbled out a “mornin’” to whoever was around before he wandered his way to the cabinet where they kept his snacks. He opened it to grab a poptart when a red mist covered the door and it slammed shut, jolting him a little more awake as he saw Wanda still scrambling eggs, her other hand gesturing in his direction. She didn’t even look away from the pan.
“You need to eat a proper breakfast, not poptarts <em>peter</em>” she exclaimed with such an exhausted tone like it was tiring to deal with him. Which, to be fair, at times it could be. For all his loveable traits, many had said that his utter lack of skills at taking care of himself was the worst. Including his girlfriend. MJ actually emphasized that point a lot, usually when he wandered into class sleep deprived or very clearly in pain from patrol the night before.
“I don’t have time.” He offered with a yawn, ignoring the fact that wasn’t actually technically true.
“Happy doesn’t leave with you for another fifteen minutes.” Wanda countered as he slumped towards the table knowing that he wasn’t going to get that cabinet open without smashing it with Wanda around. As he approached the chair slid backwards for him. Grumbling he settled into it and put his head down on his arms, already almost half asleep. “I need to pack, I don’t have time for a meal.”
“You’re packed, already.” Wanda offered, turning her head to smirk at him. Confused, Peter looked over his shoulder and saw his backpack was floating, and all of his homework that he had left scattered on the coffee table from working on it last night was neatly floating and fitting itself into his backpack, before it closed and zoomed to him, resting at his side.
“Okay, that was pretty cool.” He confessed. “You’re getting very good with your powers.”
Wanda beamed at the compliment. “Thank you. I’ve been practicing.”
“Yeah, I know. Those tennis balls you keep chucking at me at practice are getting harder to dodge.” Peter complained lightly. So what if he was being a little petulant this morning, he was tired and not exactly in the mood to be heading to another day of school. Dropping his head into his arms he let out a long sigh. “School is dumb.”
His hand shot up, catching the muffin that had zoomed at his head without looking up.
“You should be grateful for the opportunity.” Wanda offered.
“Opportunity is dumb.” He replied childishly. Another one the deep sighs escaped Wanda.
“You know if you actually went to bed on time mornings might not be as rough for you… and everyone around you.” She offered as she approached him, setting down a plate of food and a drink. That was enough to make Peter draw his head up from his arms. The smell was amazing, Wanda really was the best cook out of them. Which was amusing considering how Vision was still the worst. Even Peter had him beat with his basic recipes he learned to cook while May was off at work.
“Thank you for the food.” He said with a smile before digging in.
Wanda just stared at him fondly for a moment, messing up his already unkempt hair before dishing herself a plate of food. His smile worked as well on her as it did on everyone else, and over the time they’ve known each other he did become a bit like a little brother to her, a reminder of a younger Pietro. Even if he was also as insufferable as Pietro could be sometimes too, she was glad to have met him.
They ate for a minute more, Peter devouring his plate despite his earlier protests about not needing much food. Steve had wandered in a minute later, sniffing at the eggs. “Are these for everyone?” He asked, glancing at Wanda for approval.
Wanda nodded. “Might not be enough for you after this black hole’s stomach but you’re welcome to whatever is left.”
Peter made some comment in protest, but it was muffled by a mouth full of food.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” Steve scolded through his smile as he started dishing up some eggs, leaving a little for whoever else might wander in before he added two muffins and some hashbrowns to fill out the plate.
“Thank you Wanda.” He said, sitting next to them and starting to dig in himself. “So Peter, anything you’re looking forward to in school today?”
Peter looked up like a deer in the headlights, having been distracted solely by his quest to devour the plate of food Wanda had graced him with. He thought for a moment as he chewed his food, before his eyes lit up. “Oh! Yeah we’re supposed to figure out where our science trip is going to be this year.” He said before pausing. “Though maybe I should skip it.”
Both Wanda and Steve furrowed their brows. “Why?” They said at the same time, making Peter snicker despite his somber sudden mood.
“Because I have, like, really bad luck with them. First the spider bite, which I guess kinda worked out in the end. Then my classmates almost blew up in DC. Then we went to Europe and Mysterio almost killed me.” He listed off casually.
They both winced at the last one. They had been busy deep in a mission across the world with AIM when they had found out about Mysterio’s betrayal and by the time they had finished up their fight and rushed over, Peter had already ended things alone. That was what had made Spider-man an official avenger, but they still felt guilty they had been unable to help even if it had just been unfortunate circumstances. But Peter had continued on without really noticing their guilt.
“I'm sure it’ll be cool and all but at some point I feel like I’m just a hazard to my classmates with how much I attract danger.” He offered with a shrug. There was a layer of underlying pain and insecurity there, but he tried to keep the tone light.
“You know that’s not fair, son.” Steve offered, not liking that Peter, even as a joke, was taking the blame for bad things that happened to him.
Peter shrugged, scrapping the last bits of the eggs from his plate directly into his mouth. “Fair doesn’t matter.”
“Do you really wanna tell MJ you’re abandoning a trip with her? For her safety?” Wanda asked, snickering as he froze, plate held up and fork mid scrape. He finished it and set it down, shaking his head. “No way in hell. I can already hear her lecture about how she “gets to decide what is too dangerous” and “not every bad thing happens because of me” and “she’s not suffering through it without me”. Peter admitted, slumping in his seat for a moment. “If this trip goes bad I’m moving to the woods.”
Wanda grinned triumphantly. MJ had him wrapped around her finger, and the best part was Peter had her wrapped around his finger too, he just didn't see it. “I know a lovely mountain called Wundagore you could probably find a nice spot to live in.” She teased.
Peter looked at her confused for a moment, before he checked the clock. “Oh my God, I have to leave in a minute.” He said up, grabbing his bag. He looked back to the plate but Wanda just smiled and with a flick of her hand, it flew itself, along with his utensils, bits of food, and cup and settled into the sink.
“Do you have all of your homework?” Steve asked. “Anything you need from your room?”
Peter quickly fished through his bag. “Nope, got science, lit, math… I’m good. Thank you for the food Wanda!” He said as he sprinted to the elevator, slamming the button multiple times despite knowing full well that didn’t actually change how fast the elevator would arrive. It just made him feel better.
“Hey Fri, how fast can you get me to the garage level?” He called out, bouncing in place.
“As fast as I always do, Peter.”
He paused. “Think we can try moving the elevator faster?”
“I’m afraid if I increase the speed of the elevator any more it becomes more dangerous and more at risk for mechanical failure.”
Peter shrugged. “I’m feeling brave, try speeding it up!”
“Fri, do not speed up the elevator.” Steve warned, glaring at Peter who just pouted.
“Of course, Mr. Rogers. I can however give you priority access to avoid other stops along the way.”
“Thank you Fri, you’re awesome!” He said as the elevator finally opened. He stepped in, before peaking out again and shooting a web and snagging a muffin and pulling it back to him.
“Stop playing with your food!” Steve called out, only to hear echoing laughter as the doors closed and the elevator sped downwards.
Wanda and Steve shared a look that was a cross between exasperation and amusement. “Breakfast sure is different when he’s around.” Steve muttered.
Wanda shrugged. “I like it. Better a bunch of old men reminiscing about the ‘good ole days’.” She offered, raising a challenging eyebrow.
Steve rolled his eyes. “You know what, Maximoff…”
Around then Bucky had wandered in, yawning as he grabbed a muffin off the counter. “I swear the best invention that happened while I was frozen was whatever the hell memory foam is.”
Steve groaned as Wanda laughed, floating her book over to herself as she started to read and felt victorious.
By the time Peter got to the garage layer, he bounded out of it quickly. His spider-man reflexes were the only thing that had saved him from running straight into a young woman. Her eyes had widened at the sudden near-attack from a teenage boy bolting from the elevator. She brushed the raven colored bangs out of her face, taking a step back as a smile slowly settled onto her face. “Morning there, Peter. In a rush already? Someone must be late for school.” She teased.
Peter swung around, mid-step. “I’m sorry, Ashe! Blame Wanda, she made me eat breakfast.”
“The horror!” Ashe muttered, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she stepped into the elevator, smiling at Peter as the door closed.
“Sorry again! Tell Pepper I say hi!” Peter waved by to the personal assistant as he sprinted towards where Happy usually parked. He ripped open the door, very careful to not accidentally rip it off the hinges as he slid in and stared at the clock. A second after his butt had hit the seat, it had ticked over to 7:31.
“Safe!” He said with a big exhale, dropping his bag onto the seat next to him.
Happy offered him a thoroughly unamused look as he started up the engine. “I saw you almost take out Ashe on the way over.
Peter winced and flushed red. “It’s not my fault! Wanda made me late.”
Happy rolled his eyes as they pulled out of the garage. “I’m sure it had nothing to do with you sleeping until the last possible minute.”
Peter had nothing to say to that and looked out the window. When his eyes flickered back to the rearview mirror, he saw a faint smirk on Happy’s face as they started the trek to Midtown.
The trip was mostly filled with a one sided conversation as Peter rambled about possible locations for the upcoming trip, Happy chiming in when he mentioned Smythe industries saying that Oscorp had proved that any other tech places was probably a bad idea as well given his track record.
Eventually they showed up at school and Peter had called out a thanks before heading up the steps. Ned was waiting, just next to the door as he texted someone, probably Betty. They still had their weird on again off again relationship, that Peter never actually understood what caused them to break up or reconcile. Last he checked they were back together, but he wasn’t super confident in that.
As he walked up, they did their handshake before heading inside.
“Dude, are you ready for this trip?” He asked.
Peter nodded, pulling the straps on his backpack a little tighter. “Yeah dude. I just want like, one normal trip. That’s it. We could go to a dairy farm and I’d be happy.”
“That’d be a bit weird for our science class.”
“You know livestock are responsible for about 15% of greenhouse gas emissions? Our mass production of meat is killing our planet.” MJ chimed in, stepping up next to them in the hallway, sliding her fingers through Peter’s as they held hands.
Peter turned to smile at her, which she returned in a softer smile. “Didn’t you eat a burger at dinner last week?”
MJ shrugged. “It’s not a black and white issue. I’m not against the consumption of meat, just the unfair treatment and commercialization of animals.” She countered, thinking for a moment. “Also blue cheese burgers are really good.”
Peter laughed, looking at her like she had made his whole week already just by being there, and MJ could only squeeze his hand in response. “You’re right.” Peter conceded.
MJ nodded. “Naturally.”
As they all settled into their english class, Peter dropped his bag down and rested his head on his arms. Despite the rush of energy he had during his mad dash to school, he still was pretty tired. He had been up late with Tony in the lab, working on trying out a combustible form of the web from his web shooters that might give him access to fire if he needed it, but the result had quite literally gone up in flames. Thankfully he wasn’t attached to the web shooters when they were testing it. This time. Then he had been up even later working on homework to the point that he had actually fallen asleep on his math textbook until Natasha, ever the night owl, had basically forced him to go to bed.
“Late night?” MJ asked next to him, her tone casual but with the subtle concern Peter had gotten really good at detecting from her.
“Tony’s a bad influence.” He muttered out.
MJ sighed. “Yeah, I’m sure he was the one keeping you up working in the lab.” Her tone thoroughly disbelieving him. Still, she laced her fingers through his soft brown hair and gently played with it, massaging his scalp and gently tugging on the hair periodically.
She snickered slightly as she saw his shoulders slump as the tension left his body and a soft groan escaped him. She was pretty sure he had actually fallen asleep after a minute, which only served to make her more worried for his sleeping habits. She might actually have to confront him about it. He had gotten better about taking care of himself, letting others know when he needed help, and stopped trying to shoulder everything alone. Which made her proud. But it was the subtle lack of responsibility that really chipped away at him. Not that she was much better, she had also been up late reading pretty late, but she had a feeling not as late as he had been since she had fallen asleep texting him and his last response had been thirty minutes after hers.
She shared a glance with Ned who seemed a bit concerned about Peter too. She continued to play with his unfairly soft hair, grinning as he shifted his head a little closer to her in his sleep. She grinned at Ned. “He’s literally a golden retriever personified.” She whispered just loud enough for Ned to hear.
Ned just snickered, taking a photo of them which MJ had promptly flipped off the camera in.
Eventually though class was starting up and she gently shook his shoulder until he woke up, staring up at her with his sleepy brown eyes before he let out a tired lopsided smile and she thanked the universe that it let her end up with an adorable hero. She wasn’t sure how she got so lucky, but she was sure as hell going to hold onto him.
He managed the heroic task of sitting up and paying attention to class. If she had to nudge his leg a few times to make sure he stayed awake in class, it wasn’t a problem. If they ended up playing footsie under the table because of it too, that sure as hell wasn’t anyone else’s business. Even when their game escalated until Peter accidentally kicked the leg of the table with a loud thump, causing half the class to turn and look at him. MJ had kept a poker face while Peter had buried his face in a book to hide his blush.
“Ah, young love.” Ned had commented, acting like the wise old man he thought he was ever since he had started dating Betty.
Peter had kicked Ned’s leg under the table at his comments. But still, he couldn’t believe MJ had actually liked him back. Unfortunately she didn’t have the class before lunch with him so he had to manage to stay awake on his own. But he didn’t want to disappoint her so he just busied himself with sketching out a possible new suit design to keep his mind engaged during a math class he was thoroughly unchallenged by. He had picked up quite a few habits from his mentor, and one of them was actually his penchant for developing new suits. So Peter had actually made a few different ones. None of them quite as reliant on tech as the ones Tony had made for him, but more specialized for different missions. A sleek black stealthy one, similar to night monkey but one that fit his theme properly. He was currently working on a model that offered a greater option for gliding.
Still, by the time lunch had arrived, Peter really just wanted to go home and take a nap. He wouldn’t find out about the field trip till his last class of the day though so he had to stick around for it, then he also had Acadec which meant he still had a long day ahead of him. He had gotten his tray of food, along with a special granola bar Stark and Banner had developed for him that helped supplant his body’s need for nutrients without having to consume copious amounts of food every time. But he just pushed his tray forward a little and rested his head on his arms again. He’d eat in a second, after a lil nap.
He heard the footsteps of someone approaching, and the sound of something being set on the table next to him. Looking up, he saw a cup of coffee as he turned and saw MJ pulling out a book and started to read it without looking at him. He also saw she had two other cups in a holder for Ned and Betty when they showed up. He grinned at her, taking a sip from the drink and letting out a happy sigh as he knew the caffeine would help him wake up at least a little.
“When did you grab these?” He asked. “Cause you’re actually the best.”
Mj turned a page in her book, shrugging. “We were watching the movie version of The Great Gatsby, and I decided I cared more about caffeine than DiCaprio.”
Peter snorted out a laugh and took another sip, feeling the caffeine actually starting to work on his system and sat up enough to start eating his lunch properly. “Thank you, this should get me through the day.”
MJ flashed him a brief smile over her book before she nodded and kept reading. “Two shots of espresso in it because I know your body is weird.”
“So observant.” He teased her, earning a light kick to his leg under the table, before her foot gently rubbed against his leg. He glanced up as Ned walked over with Betty, and they were holding hands. Yup, definitely back together again.
As they settled into their normal lunch routine, Peter couldn’t help but sneak glances at MJ occasionally, and he swore he caught her looking at him too once. Then something dawned on him. Eyes widening, he reached up slowly grabbing the top of her bookmark she wasn’t using at the moment. He hesitated, waiting for a slight nod of approval from her before he pulled it out of the book. Her smirk had told him everything he needed to know even before he revealed it. It was a red and blue spider-man bookmark. A soft “aww” escaped him and she rolled her eyes fondly.
He gently slipped the bookmark back into the book. He noticed Betty giving him a confused look. “Ah, just a big fan of Spider-man.” Betty nodded.
“Me too.” MJ said, making Betty turn to her in shock.
“Wow, Peter and Ned must be rubbing off on you if you’re geeking out over superheroes.”
MJ shrugged. “There are plenty of powerful women among them. Who wouldn’t like Black Widow? Plus the Black Panther is helping lead Wakanda’s relationship with the world now and sharing it’s technological marvels with us. There’s plenty of people I can respect among them.” She reasoned.
Betty nodded. “But Spider-man? He doesn’t seem your type.” Betty explained with a furrowed brow.
Ned winced and Peter let out a soft. “Ouch.” Hunching over slightly. He felt MJ’s fingers entwine with his under the table though.
“What can I say? I have a soft spot for him. He helps out the little guy, and takes care of New York when it seems like others are too busy to. It’s hard to dislike a guy who gets cats out of trees for fun.” MJ offered, squeezing his hand gently. Peter blamed the flips his heart was doing on the caffeine and not how utterly in love with this girl he was.
“Plus have you seen his ass in that suit?” MJ added after a moment. Peter turned beat red, Ned snorted and started choking on his soda and Betty looked scandalized for a moment before she started bursting out laughing. “MJ!”
MJ just smirked. “I’m just kidding. I heard some girls talking about it in the gym the other day. Objectification is bad, regardless of who it’s towards.” As she went back to her book. Peter made eye contact with her for a moment and she just winked at him and mouthed “it’s true.”
Peter covered his face with his hands for a moment, ears burning red at MJ. She was impossible to get a read on.
Meanwhile MJ was snickering behind her book. Silently she needed to remember to thank Betty later somehow for giving her the perfect set up. Peter’s flustered reaction was almost as good as how his ass looked in that suit. Almost. But no one else really needed to know her opinion of that. Except for Peter, maybe. He could afford some confidence, Lord knows he was humble enough.
“Where do you think we’ll be going for the trip?” Betty asked after a moment. MJ squeezed Peter’s hand when he tensed up.
Peter shrugged. “No idea. Maybe a medical lab? It’d be cool to see some bioengineering work.”
Which wasn’t a lie, he would enjoy seeing that. Tony and himself had been looking into bioengineering lately, tackling the prospect of prosthesis.
The rest of lunch had passed without much else happening, but Mj saw Peter’s gaze constantly wander to her bookmark and it brought that adorable smile to his face every time and it was definitely a good purchase. The next class the trio had together was their final class, which was their science course. Which also happened to be when they would finally learn about their destination.
Peter wandered into the room, oddly feeling a sense of nerves that probably weren’t warranted. Most kids seemed to be bouncing in their seat with anticipation and Peter just stared at the window, debating how mad the teachers would be if he just jumped out of it and left early.
“Why do you always look out the windows when you want to run?” MJ asked, setting her bag down next to him.
Peter shrunk in on himself slightly. “Am I that easy to read?”
MJ shrugged. “To me? Yeah. I know you perfectly, Parker.” She offered with a smirk. Which wasn’t that much of an exaggeration. She had spent plenty of time observing him, then getting to know him once they finally managed to start dating. Sometimes she thought she knew him better than she knew herself, which scared her a bit.
But Peter, bless him, seemed oddly endeared to have been figured out by her.
Peter’s leg was bouncing with anticipation, and MJ knew why. He had confided in her before about his fear of field trips, which honestly wasn’t the most unwarranted thing in her opinion. But she was firmly with him now, and she wouldn’t let anything else bad happen to him. Not when she could help it.
Still, seeing him so nervous was making her anxious, for a variety of reasons. Replacing her bookmark with a pencil for a moment, she fished around her bag before she slid the bookmark and a pen to Peter.
He looked at it, then her, then back down at it confused. “Um?”
“Sign it, you dork.” She said, as if it should have been obvious.
His eyes widened in surprise, as he took the pen. “Is.. this a test?” He asked, before narrowing his eyes slightly as if to read her. It was a fair question, MJ had definitely set up some easy traps for him before to tease him.
MJ shrugged. “Nah, it’s an investment. I figured if I hold onto it, it’ll only go up in value and someday I can sell it for a pretty penny when I’m starting up my own company.” She offered, and her plan worked because Peter was laughing and then suddenly looking at the bookmark, flipping it around and turning it as he took her little task too seriously. He was honestly trying to figure out the best way to sign it, and his earnesty was so endearing it wasn’t fair. She wasn’t sure if he believed her lie about selling it some day, because there was no way she was going to sell her new favorite bookmark, her new secret weapon for earning a certified “Peter Smile” that she could carry around with her.
Eventually he slid back the bookmark, signed with a simple “Spider-man” with a little spider replacing the dot of the i and it was so dorky, it was <em>perfect</em>.
She offered him a nod of approval as she set it off to the side to let the ink dry so it didn’t smudge or ruin her pages. She made a mental note to get it laminated later, to preserve it, and her books, safely.
Her little trick worked though, because soon he was chatting about a new formula he had developed with Tony about how he could make his webs a little more conductive for his electric webs. She offered brief replies when appropriate to keep him engaged as the class started up.
The teacher set down his bag. “Okay class, we’re going to try to get through the lesson, before we talk about the trip. To at least have a hope of getting some work done.” Mr. Harrington said immediately, addressing the elephant in the room. There was a wave of hushed conversations as he started to go through their lesson plan with even less vigor than usual because it was clear most people weren’t paying attention.
At least aside from Peter, who seemed to be paying a rapt attention to it, grateful for the distraction. Even if it was something he had learned just by working with Tony in the labs before. After he had already learned it while trying to develop his first web formula.
By the time the class was almost over, pretty much no one was paying attention as they all stared at the clock. Finally, it seems they broke Mr.Harrington as he closed his notes and moved to stand in front of his desk. “Okay! So now the part you all have been waiting for. Yes, it’s true. We’ve finalized plans for our science trip this year. Drumroll please!” He declared, but no one made any effort until Betty took pity and started a drumroll on her desk, which a few other people joined in, if only to get the announcement to actually happen.
“I am proud to inform you, that after much deliberation and a long application process, we will be spending a two day trip to the Avenger’s Tower!”
There was a beat while the words sank in, before the class exploded into a loud wave of excited shouts and conversation. Mr. Harrington was standing at the front of the class, beaming like he had personally persuaded Tony Stark into letting him host this event.
Peter slowly just dropped his head to the desk with a muffled “Are you kidding me?”
MJ snorted out a laugh, before reaching over to rub his back. She found it hilarious, even if she did feel bad for her boyfriend. Of all the things that seemed extraordinary about her boyfriend, his bad luck was honestly near the top of the list.
She had been to the tower a few times, even met all of the avengers at least once. So she wasn’t particularly enthused either, but there wasn’t really a destination she could have hoped for. Still, she knew that Stark industries did have bleeding edge tech, and a flair for the dramatics so she figured there would at least be some cool stops on the tour. She also usually ended up going straight to the living quarters since she was there to be with Peter, or the one time she interviewed Pepper for school.
“You have to make sure to show me all the cool secrets.” She said, attempting to coax him out of his spiral of self pity. Peter rolled his head to look at her, a slight pout that made her think of one of her less used nicknames, “Puppy Parker” because usually when it was an appropriate time to use it he was actually sad and she was more concerned with helping him than teasing him. That didn’t mean she didn’t call him that to Ned when they talked about him occasionally.
“Don’t give me your ‘Puppy Parker’ eyes just because you’re not excited for the trip. Those don’t work on me.” They <em>absolutely</em> did but she wasn’t going to confess that. His nose scrunched up at the name, earning another laugh from her as she patted his back. “Come on, you get to show off and impress me and the others on the tour.”
Peter sat up, running a hand through his curls a few times out of frustration. A habit she knew he did when he was trying to wrestle with something in his head. It made his hair look soft and want to touch it. So she did. His eyes closed as she played with his hair again, making her snicker. Another tally in the puppy column.
“I don’t want attention there though. I don’t want students talking about me like I’m special. You’re the only person’s attention I need.” He said with an annoyed sigh, like he hadn’t just said a ridiculously sappy thing that made her heart pound in her chest.
“Aww.” She said after a moment, because that was genuinely sweet. This seemed to make him realize what he said, blush red, but he didn’t take it back. Feeling perhaps just a little too playful, she leaned in. “Well you have it, Tiger.”
She laughed as she saw him turn bright red as he thumped his head down on the desk again, out of embarrassment. Which she was fine with because it meant he couldn’t see her blush.
Mr. Harrington seemed to finally get most of the attention back.
“Like I said before, it is a two day trip, meaning an overnight stay will be happening. They will provide lodging in the towers.”
The class erupted into another wave of murmurs.
“Class, settle down. The sooner I get through the briefing, the sooner you can all talk about it.” He said with a sigh. “So everyone will have to sign these wavers, ensuring no private information accidentally leaked on the tours is given out. You will also need a permission slip signed by your parents or guardians that you are allowed to go on this trip. I have packets of the papers up here for you to sign, and you have until the end of this week to get them in. Our trip will be next Friday and end Saturday evening. For now, be sure to grab a packet and I will see you tomorrow.” He said, giving up the reins on the class as they exploded into more conversations.
Peter just leaned back in his chair, covering his face with his hands. “This sucks. This actually sucks. I’d accuse Tony of setting this up, but we all know he doesn’t actually look at paperwork anymore.” He complained, before shoving his stuff in his bag and standing up. “Maybe I-”
“You’re going, Parker.” MJ said, slowly packing up her stuff.
He looked at her, a betrayed look on his face.
She just ignored it and continued on. “It’s a two day trip with your friends. You’re going to laugh and have fun with us. You’re going to show me all the secrets of the tower that you know as we go through it, and which food is the best in the cafeteria. You’re going to impress me, and remind me how cool you actually are sometimes too. Then you’re going to help me make sure Ned’s heart doesn’t explode from seeing whatever cool stuff I’m sure will be there. Ned and I will be right by your side, and we won’t let anything too bad happen, alright?” She said as she stood up, knowing when Peter panicked like this, it was sometimes better to just give him a little push to make sure he stayed on track. She intertwined her fingers with his, squeezing his hand to remind him she meant it and she was here for him.
His shoulders slumped in defeat. “They’re going to show up and tease me. I know it.
MJ shrugged. “Probably.” She knew his tone though, he had already accepted her plan and was in the acceptance stage of grief. “But they’re not that bad. You know that.”
He just shrugged and led them to the front as they collected and stowed their permission slips.
Ned caught up to them in the hallway.
“DUDE. Did you plan this?” He asked, tapping Peter’s shoulder too many times.
Peter gave him a dry look. “You really think I planned a class field trip to my second home?”
Ned paused. “Probably not. Dude can you arrange us to meet with the Avengers?”
A humorless laugh escaped Peter. “One, you’ve already met them. Multiple times. They know your name even. Two, I wouldn’t worry about that. I’m sure they’ll show up to bug me.”
“You’re the best.” Ned said with sincerity.
MJ stopped them near the bathrooms. “I gotta go real quick, hold my bag.” She said, shoving it into his arms as she stepped inside. Ned set him down next to Peter. “Watch mine too? I’ll be right back.”
Peter just leaned against the wall, one foot in front of Ned’s bag to protect it as he held MJ’s in his arms.
“Sup, Penis.” Flash’s voice cut in, making Peter sigh. Today had been so good until that last period, why did it have to end with a bang.
“What do you want, Flash?” Peter asked, opening his eyes to look at him. Flash was currently approaching with a few of his “friends”. Jocks, from the football team who seemed to enjoy tormenting Peter even more than Flash did. The massive man Kong being the worst among them.
“Are you still saying you’re an Intern at Stark Industries?” He asked, crossing his arms.
Peter nodded. “Like I’ve said before, yeah. I’m an intern there.”
Flash rolled his eyes. “So you don’t have any problem with us showing up at the tower, where no one will recognize you.” He continued.
Peter shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you, Flash. Just because you can’t believe I work there, doesn’t mean you’re right.”
Flash glared at him, but it seemed Kong took that as his cue. Kong shoved him rough against the lockers, making his head slam back into it from the jostle. Peter winced as his vision blurred for a moment, but he had his arms locked like a steel cage around MJ’s bag to prevent anything from being squished or jostled.
“I swear, Peter. Do not mess up this trip for us by trying to act like some hot shit or pretending to know people and getting us kicked out. This is cool, and even if you work in the mailroom I don’t want my chance to meet Tony Stark ruined.”
Peter just winced. “I’m not lying.”
Kong’s hand slammed into the lockers next to his head. “I’m serious, Parker. You can lie all you want to feel good about yourself at school but don’t drag us down with you. Don’t ruin shit for us again.”
Peter’s shoulders slumped and really just wished Flash and his crew would leave him alone. He was tired, and not in the mood for this.
Kong straightened his shoulders, like he was getting ready to do something else, but surprisingly, Flash was the one who rested a hand on his arm. “Dude, he gets the message.”
“Hey! Do you mind trying to control yourself and stay out of my boyfriend’s personal space?” MJ’s voice cut in like an angel, even if the tone would make a devil dread. “I’m sure you have someone else you could be disappointing with your presence right now.” MJ snapped at Kong before turning to give a glare to Flash.
Kong just stared at her, before shrugging her off and walking away with another slam of the locker near Peter’s head. Flash opened his mouth as if to say something, but his shoulder slumped and he turned and left quickly.
Peter winced at the sound from Kong, his ears still ringing. His sensitive hearing really wasn’t enjoying the loud crash so many times.
MJ looked him up and down once, as if checking for injuries even if she knew he had taken much worse from actual villains. “You know, I know you’re too nice of a guy but I really wouldn’t blame you if you fought back.” She said, knowing it was useless anyway.
Peter shrugged. “It’s fine. Better me than someone else, right? He can’t actually hurt me. Plus he just wants a good trip too, doesn’t want me ruining it. Which is fair.”
MJ crossed her arms, debating how heavy she wanted to get into this with Peter at the moment. Judging by Ned’s bag still down there, she figured she had a spare moment anyway. “Bullying someone is not the same as wanting a good trip. Also no, it’s not better that he’s being an ass to you and someone else. He shouldn’t be an ass to anyone. You’re just too nice to stand up for yourself.” MJ said, staring him down.
Peter sighed and held out her bag. “What do you want me to do then? Throw him against the lockers? Get expelled for fighting? Or go to the teachers who clearly couldn’t care less that he’s an asshole to me because this is high school.”
Sighing, MJ took her bag and stepped closer, running a hand up through his hair knowing the slams were probably hard on his ears. “Yet another failure of the system.” She muttered, knowing Peter was at least right about the school not doing enough to deal with students like Kong. She also knew he couldn’t fight back without risking his identity. That didn’t mean it didn’t make her blood boil everytime that entitled asshole decided to pick on probably the best person in the school, if not New York City. What was even more frustrating to her was seeing Flash go along with it, when she knew Flash was better than that.
A moment later Ned returned, staring at them. “Were you two making out in the hallway?” He asked, grimacing.
Peter shook his head and said “no” the same time MJ said “so what if we were?”
Peter turned to look at her, slack jawed. “What?”
Raising her brow, MJ smirked. “You don’t want to?”
“Uh… I mean… I don’t… I wouldn’t… not want to.” He fumbled out after a moment.
Moving forward, MJ placed a quick kiss to lips before her courage could fail her. His flustered panic was too adorable for her to control herself, even if it had just been a bluff at first. Plus she had noticed the way he had been shielding her bag from Flash when he didn’t even bother shielding his freaking head.
“Gross, not in front of my bag.” Ned complained as he reached down and grabbed it.
Soon they said their goodbyes as Peter began his walk back to his apartment, thoughts of MJ dancing through his head. He really felt lucky she was by his side, and how much lighter he felt around her. He was humming a tune as he stepped into the apartment. May leaned back from the kitchen.
“MJ texted and said you have a permission slip for me to sign?”
Peter sighed, shoulders slumping. Of course she would think that far ahead. Not that he would go back on his word, but she didn’t even leave the chance of him genuinely forgetting. He knew they texted, especially after she found out his secret and he was pretty sure her, Ned, and MJ all had a group chat about him and keeping him alive, but MJ had told him he didn’t need to be a part of it. Which was odd, but he wasn’t looking to fight her on that front. She had said he’d just get in the way of keeping him alive.
Fishing out the slips, he handed it to May who read it before she burst out laughing. “Are you serious? That is amazing.” She said as she signed them quickly, double checking them before handing them back. “I’m telling MJ I signed them so you better turn them in tomorrow.”
He just let himself slump on the couch. “Can’t you just say I’m sick so I don’t have to deal with that?”
May walked over, rubbing his shoulders reassuringly. “Hey, it’ll be good for you. I know you like the tower, and if you get out of your own way, you can actually impress your friends and help them have a really good time while there. You can have fun too, you know?”
Peter stared at her, letting the words sink in.
“Peter, don’t forget you’re still just my teenage nephew. You’re not just a superhero. It’s okay to have fun on an overnight trip with your friends.”
Nodding at his aunt, he smiled. “Okay, May. I’ll try.”