Chapter Text
Tiger had been in a mood all day.
Not that it really bothered Peter all that much, he was well acquainted with Tiger’s mood swings. Tiger was not only a cat but a soul guide, it was pretty much assumed he’d have his moments. Whatever feelings his soulmate had, were reflected in Tiger’s attitude and action, so he was bound to be a little aloof sometimes.
Usually, Tiger was pretty well behaved when Peter was at school. He'd occasionally meow at Peter if he wanted his attention but mostly he sat close by, sleeping most of the entire school day. Instead of the cat’s normal sleepy self, Tiger spent the day staring out one of the windows, a worried tense expression over his face. Peter found it distracting, spending most of his school day looking at his soul guide, wondering exactly what was going on with his soulmate.
Acting a little more antsy and anxious than usually over the past two weeks, Tiger barely tolerated any of Peter’s attempts at comfort or affection. He’d sit, let Peter stroke his soft grey for a few moments before zipping off and finding a quiet place to lay down and sleep. It wasn’t the worst, Tiger seemed to be relatively okay, but Peter still couldn’t help but worry a little.
Whatever problems his soulmate was facing, he didn’t seem to want all that much comfort for it. That only made Peter feel bad, he could only hope when he finally met his soulmate, he wouldn’t be disappointed in him.
Walking home from school, Peter put on his earbuds to drown out his loud surroundings with his preferred music. Wanting to take his time and enjoy the sunshine of the day, Peter was walking at a leisurely pace. Tiger, on the other hand, seemed to want to get back to their apartment. Tiger spent the walk, frequently meowing and nudging against Peter’s legs as if he was attempting to herd Peter into going faster.
“Come on Tiger,” he said as Tiger not so patiently waited at a crosswalk for him. “I just want to check a few dumpsters and then we can go home.”
Tiger’s grumpy meow was all the response Peter got before the cat took off across the street, not bothering to even see if Peter was behind him. Once he crossed the street, Peter took a turn down a familiar alleyway, heading over to a large dumpster. The building was a local repair shop and a hot spot for all sorts of random items, most in almost working condition. Perfect for Peter to take home and tinker with, bringing a new life to the abandoned electronics.
Spending a few minutes searching through one of the dumpsters, Peter finally found something worth his time, a broken DVD player. Taking out his treasure he showed it off to the uninterested cat. “Look Tiger, a DVD player and it looks like it’s in pretty good condition. Totally worth it right?”
Another sharp and distinct meow came from the cat, one that Peter recognized as his annoyed and losing tolerance meow. He often imagined Tiger rolling his eyes at him if he could. Putting the DVD player in his backpack, he spent several more minutes going through the rest of the dumpster.
A sharp pain to his leg had him pulling his head out. “Ow, Tiger!”
The cat didn’t even bother to feign innocents, instead swiped his paw out again, striking Peter’s leg once more. It didn’t hurt, not really but Peter was feeling a bit dramatic. “Come on. You know I’m not going to have time later this week, especially if I’m going to go out and patrol. Lemmie finish this one and then we’ll head home, I promise.”
Not bothering to respond, Tiger turned tail and walked over to a pile of garbage bags on the ground, laying on top of the soft surface. “Really?” Peter mused. “You’re gonna smell terrible.”
Another 10 minutes went by, without Peter finding anything remotely as good as the DVD player before he decided to call it quits. The second he pulled his head from the dumpster and grabbed his backpack, Tiger was already running towards the end of the alley.
“Geez, what’s up with you today?” Peter asked when he caught up to the cat.
As usual, Tiger didn’t answer him, just continued to walk along with Peter. Not having a response from his soul guide hardly bothered him. He had been one of the lucky ones, Tiger had been with him since his birth. Growing up with the soul guide always at his side, it was only second nature to carry on a one sided conversation with him.
Peter often wondered what his actual soulmate was like and more specifically when he’d ever get the chance to meet him. It wasn’t too unrealistic not meeting your soulmate until you were older, but having Tiger was a constant reminder that there was someone out there who was Peter’s person only made him anxious to find them. Loving Tiger so much, it was only natural that he craved having the actual person there too.
The fear of never getting a chance to meet his soulmate always sat with him, bubbling under the surface but he had faith that they’d find each other someday. The world was only so big, it was bound to happen.
Somewhere, out there, his soulmate was waiting for him.
-
By the time Peter arrived in front of his apartment, Tiger was meowing impatiently at him, barely giving him any time to fumble with his keys and get inside the building. Walking into the building’s lobby, he immediately caught sight of a golden retriever sitting patiently by the mailboxes.
Stopping, Peter cooed. “Awe, hey buddy! I wonder who you belong to.”
The dog looked happy and eager, even when Tiger scowled at it. “Come on, leave the doggy alone,” Peter said, leaning down to scoop Tiger up from the ground, but the cat dodged his reach and instead headed towards the elevator. It hardly mattered, the dog couldn’t see or interact with Tiger, Peter didn’t have to worry about either of them hurting each other.
Never passing up an opportunity to pet an animal, Peter bent down, holding his hand out and allowing it to be sniffed. The dog barely waited before nudging his head into Peter’s hand. The dog was beautiful, with golden curls and the very definition of puppy dog eyes, dark brown and very, very adorable. He couldn’t have been very old either, not quite a puppy but not an adult.
“Aren’t you a pretty boy?” Peter asked of the animal, who was now licking his hand. “I hope your owner knows you’re here.”
There were no tags on the animal but it hardly meant anything. He belonged to someone, most likely a tenant or someone visiting. The dog looked well groomed and taken care of. Since the dog was sitting politely and not bothering anyone, Peter wasn’t going to make a fuss about it.
A loud meowing sound, echoed by the empty corridor drew his attention away. Tiger was standing by the elevator, blue eyes narrowed at Peter. “Alright, I’m coming. Geez, jealous much?”
Giving the dog one more pat on the head, he received another lick of appreciation. “Alright buddy, I’ve got to go upstairs now. I hope I get to see you again. Be a good dog and wait for your owner, okay?”
Giving him a clawed swipe when he arrived at the elevator, Peter rolled his eyes at the cat. “You are totally jealous that I pet another animal, aren’t you? I’m allowed to pet and interact with animals that arent you Tiger.”
Tiger sat quietly, seemingly satisfied they were finally going up the elevator to their floor. The cat beat him to the front door, waiting not so patiently for Peter to once again fumble with his keys. “You know you can just phase through the door if you’re that impatient.”
Opening the front door, Tiger hurried in, not waiting for him. No matter how impatient he was, he never really went that far from Peter. It was both endearing and a little annoying too. Throwing his keys in the bowl next to the door, he called out. “Hey May.”
“Hi, Peter.” Her reply came just as he pulled one of his earbuds out of his ear, letting the cord dangle. “How was school today?”
Arriving in the living room, Peter opened his mouth but immediately snapped it shut when he saw that May was not alone on the couch.
Most definitely not alone on the couch.
Tony Stark, the Tony Stark, Iron Man, Avenger, genius, billionaire himself was sitting next to her on the couch.
In his apartment.
Tony Stark was sitting on the couch of Peter Parker’s apartment, pointedly not eating the gross looking loaf of bread May had set on the table.
At a complete loss for words, Peter could only stare at the man he’d idolized since he was a kid.
“Ah, there you are, Mr. Parker. We’ve been waiting for you.”
Tony Stark slid his glasses down the bridge of his nose and stared directly at him. All thought seemed to completely disappear from his brain and he couldn’t for the life of him think of anything to say. There wasn’t a single reason he could think of for Tony Stark to be sitting in his apartment, on the couch, next to May.
Thankfully May came to the rescue. “Mr. Stark came to talk to us about the…”
“Grant,” Tony Stark supplied, eyes still locked onto Peter. It was clear the man was trying to send him a message, too bad Peter had zero clues as to what that message was.
Mouth opening and closing several times, Peter finally managed to think of something to say, too bad it wasn’t very smart. “Yeah, yeah. Hi, I’m Peter. Peter Parker but I guess you already knew that because you’re here for the grant….thing.”
“You have been getting my emails, haven’t you?” Mr. Stark supplied, seemingly way too smooth at straight up lying to people.
The look on the man’s face suggested he play along, so he nodded his head, maybe a little too dramatically because May let out a little laugh. Not knowing why he was playing along with Tony Stark’s lie, Peter tried his best to seem confident.
“Um, yeah, I just, well, I didn’t think I’d… get it or anything, so yeah. I, wow, Mr. Stark, I didn’t think you’d ever just… show up here.”
Palms getting a little sweaty, he wiped his hands against his jeans. He was sure his face was the very definition of deer caught in the headlights. Mr. Stark kept his gaze on Peter, seemingly trying to stare right into his soul, which did not help the situation one bit. When he was like this, nervous and unsure, he usually rambled a lot, stuttered around every sentence, and couldn't think his way out of a paper bag.
At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to feel Tiger at his feet, a calming and reassuring presence but the traitors cat ran off, leaving Peter to suffer alone.
“Well, your application to the September Foundation was exquisite, Mr. Parker. I wanted to come to tell you in person that I’ve approved, so now we can get started on our business.”
For a single moment, Peter considered telling him he had no clue what he was referring to. Maybe Tony Stark got him confused for a different Peter Parker. One that actually applied to a grant thing, not the one currently floundering in his living room.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” May cut in, seemingly obvious to Peter’s distress. “I thought we didn’t keep any secrets.”
Swallowing roughly, Peter nodded his head, probably looking like a bobblehead of sorts. “Yeah, no. I mean, no secrets. I just uh, it was a long shot anyway and I thought it’d be a nice surprise if I did… win or… whatever…” He turned his attention back to Tony Stark. “Um, so what is this exactly now?”
“That’s what I’m here to hash out, you know, all the details.”
Mr. Stark sounded way too sure of himself, a complete contrast to Peter’s awkwardly lying and babbling. The man stood up at that, gestured towards Peter before turning to look at May. “Mind if me and your nephew talk for a bit? Want to give him all the boring details.”
May agreed and then suddenly he was standing in his bedroom with Tony Stark shutting the door quietly behind him. Awkwardly standing in the middle of his room, bed unmade, things all over the place, and Tiger, perched on the table, looking completely unbothered, Peter had no idea what to do next.
Thankfully Mr. Stark seemed to know exactly what to do. He took out a phone and with the flick of a wrist brought up a hologram video. Peter instinctively backed up when he saw what was being played on the screen, the backpack slipped off his shoulders and landed with a thud on the ground.
“Ah,” Mr. Stark said as the video played. “I can tell by the look on your face that you know what I’m about to show you.”
The video started to play and it was exactly what Peter thought it would be, it was Spider-man, swinging around and stopping cars with his bare hands. Who also happened to be Peter, who was very much hoping to keep his identity a secret from everyone. Except now it seemed that Tony Stark knew exactly who he was.
“Uh,” Peter started, hoping his brain would finally reboot and come up with something to say.
But before Peter could speak, Tiger jumped down from his spot on the desk, landing on the bed next to Tony. The cat meowed softly and butted his head against Mr. Stark’s outstretched arm.
And then Mr. Stark reached over and petted him.
Peter’s brain was completely short circuited, his heart stopped, all the oxygen disappeared from his lungs. He was having an out of body experience, he felt disconnected, pulled away by some force. This couldn’t be… this was some fever dream. Maybe Peter hit his head when dumpster diving and this is some kind of coma dream or hallucination.
Because of the alternative? That was not possible, it just, it simply couldn’t be.
There was no way Tony Stark was Peter Parker’s soulmate.
Only his soulmate should be able to see and interact with his soul guide. Which he was currently doing, petting Tiger’s head, a little awkwardly but Tiger didn’t seem to mind.
Could Mr. Stark tell? Did he know? Is that why he showed up? Could Mr. Stark feel something towards the animal?
He made no indication that seeing Tiger was out of the ordinary.
He had no clue.
He must only be here because he knew Peter was Spider-man.
Mr. Stark was talking again, the video playing on repeat but Peter didn’t hear a word of it. His brain just kept playing on an endless loop of Tony Stark’s in my house, Tony Stark knows I’m Spider-man, Tony Stark is my soulmate. Each statement seemed less and less believable as they played in his brain.
Mr. Stark stood up, Tiger jumped down and walked back over to Peter. Looking around the room, Mr. Stark spotted the small door to the attic and pushed it up, allowing his not so hidden Spider-man suit to fall down and into his knowing hands.
“It’s nothing,” Peter started, his brain still not completely online but his mouth started going. “It’s a Halloween costume.”
Mr. Stark laughed, inspecting the suit. “It’s June, Pete. A little early don’t you think?”
There was really no point in lying anymore, not that Peter’s brain was going to come up with anything believable. The broken record player that was his brain was still stuck on the loop of Tony Stark in my living room, Tony Starks knows I’m Spider-man, Tony Stark is my soulmate.
“Fine, yeah that’s me,” he said defeatedly, slumping a little against the desk. Admitting it was probably his best bet anyway.
“Ah, glad we’re both on the same page.” Sitting back down on the bed, Mr. Stark was still holding his suit, looking over it. “So, what makes you get out of his twin bed and go swinging around the city in your pajamas? What’s your mo, kid?”
Talking about what happened to him was not very appealing to Peter. Mr. Stark was inspecting his suit, looking at all the parts with interest, so he didn’t catch Peter’s face of trepidation. It was an odd feeling, knowing his soulmate was sitting right there, someone who he has a connection to, and yet, he couldn’t get himself to speak the truth, to tell him what happened to him, what happened to Ben only a few months ago.
When he was younger, he would imagine the meeting often. A special moment that his soulmate would just take one look at him and maybe just know. Their souls connect within seconds, a feeling of overwhelming love and protection.
But that wasn’t the case. Mr. Stark didn’t look at him like he was anything important. Mr. Stark barely looked at him, more interested in his homemade Spider-man suit than the boy who used it.
Peter was nervous, scared, and just confused. And Tony Stark was just here for Spider-man, not him. Tony Stark didn’t feel anything for him, didn’t even realize he had petted an animal that was an extension of his soul.
Swallowing roughly, Peter tried to reel his thoughts in. “It’s complicated,” Peter finally answered, settling on that simple explanation.
“Uncomplicate it for me then. Really, kid. I want to know why you’re out there doing your thing.”
Sensing something was bothering Peter, Tiger jumped on the desk again, leaning over and butting Peter’s arm. “I’m just out there to help the little guy, y’know? Helping people who maybe can’t always help themselves. If you’ve got powers like I do when something bad happens and you do nothing, then it’s on you.”
“Very noble of you, kid.”
Absent-mindedly Peter reached over to Tiger, the cat purred graciously. His hand ran along his soft fur, grounding him to the moment.
“I’m thinking it’s time for an upgrade. 100%, top to bottom.” Tony held the mask up, looking at the goggles, bringing them to his face. “Good lordy, how do you see out of these things?”
For some reason that snapped Peter out of his stupor, he moved forward, grabbed the suit from Mr. Stark’s hands, and tossed it towards his closet. “I can see fine with those, I need them. My senses are dialed up to eleven.”
Tiger jumped back up on the bed suddenly, meowing and rubbing his head against Mr. Stark’s arm. It was a little jarring watching Tiger interact with another human, he’d never had the chance to see it before. Tiger seemed to like Mr. Stark if his happy purrs were any indication. Mr. Stark scratched the top of Tiger’s head and then under his chin. “I’m usually not much of a cat person but this little guy’s friendly.”
“Yeah.., that’s uh, Tiger. He’s not usually this friendly with strangers but uh, I guess he likes you.”
As if trying to prove Peter wrong, Tiger suddenly reached out and smacked Mr. Stark’s arm before jumping back off the bed and moving away, ignoring Peter completely.
“Okay,” Mr. Stark answered nonplussed. “Anyways, I need you to come to Germany with me.”
“I’m sorry?” Peter questioned, trying to rationalize what he’d just heard. He couldn’t have heard Tony Stark asking him to come to Germany with him. There was just no reason for it. “I… I can’t just go to Germany, Mr. Stark.”
His brain was only just now catching up to the situation at hand, he couldn’t come up with a plausible excuse so he went with the first thing that came into his mind. “I have homework.”
Mr. Stark laughed. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.”
A beat of silence happened, in which Peter let a million backlog of thoughts process through his brain. Should he tell Mr. Stark he’s his soulmate? Where was Mr. Stark’s soul guide? Why did Mr. Stark want Spider-man? Why did he want Peter to go to Germany? Should he say something now? What if he doesn’t say anything?
“Mr. Parker.” Mr. Stark snapped his fingers in front of Peter’s face a few times and he realized he'd been staring off into the distance, mind too overwhelmed with the thoughts to even hear what else Mr. Stark had said.
“Uh, sorry. Um, why do you want me to go to Germany with you?”
“I need Spider-man to help me out with something, just a day or two. We’ll tell your Aunt you’re going to a retreat thing. I take it she doesn’t know about your alter ego?”
At a loss for words, Peter merely nodded his head. “Yeah, she uh, doesn’t know and she can’t know. It would… it would freak her out.”
“Understandable. I can be discreet,” Mr. Stark said, standing up and heading towards the bedroom door. “Get your things packed, you're leaving tomorrow morning, my driver will be around to pick you up, 8 am sharp. You’ll know him when you see him, a big guy, named Happy but doesn’t look anything like it.”
And then, with a simple wave of his hand, Tony Stark was gone.
+
Peter was nervous when the car came to pick him up the following morning. He didn’t know if Mr. Stark would be there if he’d see Tiger following behind Peter and make the same realization that Peter had. He was relieved when he got into the car and Mr. Stark was nowhere to be seen.
“Is Mr. Stark coming with us?” He asked the driver, who had introduced himself as Happy.
Looking at Peter through the reviewer mirror, he shook his head. “Tony’s already there, left yesterday.”
Tiger jumped up on the seat next to him, walking in a few circles before settling down. The partition went up between himself and Happy, leaving the two in peace and quiet. Peter’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts still, the first and foremost one being the fact that Tony Stark was his soulmate.
Looking back, it almost made too much sense for Mr. Stark to be his soulmate. It answered a lot of questions about the random injuries and panic attacks Tiger would sometimes have.
He was reminded of the time he thought Tiger was dying, the cat crying out, bleeding, and scared. He’d run from Peter, tried to hide somewhere he couldn’t be found. When Peter did find him, the cat scratched him, tried to get away but Peter held on tight. Holding Tiger all night long, as the cat whimpered and cried, even when he fell asleep. He was young back then, never connected it to Mr. Stark’s kidnapping, never had a reason to suspect it.
But now, well, it fits all too well, there was simply no denying it.
The thought kept him up all night, staring at the ceiling of his bedroom, Tiger resting beside his legs. All the times Tiger was hurt and scared, did Peter help him enough?
How would he ever tell Mr. Stark he was his soulmate? Was it even worth it? Tony Stark was a superhero, a genius, a man who could do anything and Peter, was, well Peter Parker, orphan, nerd, dumpster diver, and part time vigilante. He was nothing compared to Mr. Stark, would the man even want Peter to be his soulmate?
If he just never told Mr. Stark, the man would never actually find out. Tiger would be there for him until Tony Stark wasn’t there anymore.
Was that something he could deal with forever? Would the knowledge of knowing Mr. Stark was his soulmate forever change this relationship with this soul guide? There were just too many questions, too many thoughts that sat jumbled up in his head.
Initially, he wondered where Mr. Stark’s soul guide was, but quickly realized it was most likely the happy looking dog downstairs in the lobby. He knew he felt something different about the dog, the way he seemed to smile and lean into him. He could only hope the dog was a good soul guide to Mr. Stark was able to be there and comfort him.
Not realizing he’d dozed off, Happy’s hand on his shoulder woke him up.
“Come on, kid. You can sleep on the plane if you want.”
Getting out of the car, Peter’s eyes landed on the private jet awaiting them. Having never flown before, he didn’t know what to really expect. Seeing the jet was just another reminder of how different his and Mr. Stark’s lives were from each other. How could a man who has everything want a kid who has nothing to his name?
Once he was on the plane, he sat across the seat from Happy. “Is this where you’re gonna sit?”
“Um,” Peter started. “I guess?”
“Hmph.”
Happy got up and left for another seat, down and away from Peter. It was almost a relief in a way, not to have to carry on a conversation but Peter was feeling anxious enough to want someone around.
Drumming his fingers against the armrest, Tiger looked equally as nervous and Peter wondered what was going on with Mr. Stark.
When the plane started its take-off, Peter had to close his eyes tightly. The memories of his parent’s death were in the forefront of his mind. When he felt pressure on his arm and then, in his lap, he opened one eye to see Tiger. The cat put his front paws on Peter’s chest, laying so his head fit under Peter’s chin, his body in his lap. “Thanks,” Peter said softly, bringing up his hand to rest on Tiger’s back.
As soon as they were in the air, Peter relaxed a fraction, he buried his hand in the soft fur feeling the rise and fall of Tiger’s breathing and the rumble of his purrs. It was always a grounding experience when he could just hold Tiger like that, it always helped bring down his anxiety to a manageable level.
+
The trip from the airport to the hotel was uneventful, he had little time to look around and his nerves were starting to get the best of him again. They were even worse when Happy showed him the brand new, expensive suit Mr. Stark had made for him. The cost of which was likely more than then Peter would see in his lifetime.
There wasn’t much time in between arriving at the hotel and being brought to the airport again. Happy had relayed information to Peter about his “job”, which mostly stayed out of trouble, try not to get hurt, and don’t engaging in any actual physical combat with anyone.
It didn’t sound like Mr. Stark had actually brought him out here to fight, which was really, really weird.
As he crouched low behind a stack of shipping boxes, Tiger sat down next to him. “You need to stay hidden okay? Don’t let Mr. Stark see you. He doesn’t need to worry about anything else right now.”
A soft meow was Peter’s only reassurance but it was hardly an agreement. Tiger had a mind of his own most of the time, listening to Peter wasn’t always his highest priority. Especially if Peter was in any danger, he knew Tiger would come running.
Looking around, Peter easily spotted the dog he’d seen before, staying several feet away from where everyone had started to gather. The dog was laying down, but his ears were still up, clearly keeping an ear out if Mr. Stark needed him.
“Mr. Stark’s soul guide listens,” Peter whispered. “I bet he does exactly what he’s told to do.”
If Tiger could roll his eyes, he would have most definitely done it at that point.
A sharp whistle caught Peter’s attention, followed by Mr. Stark yelling, “Underoos!”
“That’s my cue,” he said to Tiger, before heading into what he hoped was a quick and easy chat.