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“Good Morning, Boss.The time is eight-fifteen and the date, Monday, November the thirtieth. The current temperature is fifty-three degrees and the sky is clear. Today’s forecast projects a high of sixty-two with a ten-percent chance of rain in the evening. Would you like for me to relay some of the highlights from the morning news report?” FRIDAY dutifully recited the moment, Tony’s eyes cracked opening.
“Nah. I’m good. Thanks FRI,” Tony replied before rolling onto his back and stretching out his limbs. He figured he could catch up with the news reports later. At the moment, he was far more interested in what his reluctant house guest was up to. “What’s the kid doing?”
“Mr. Parker is still asleep, Boss,” the AI announced, and Tony couldn't help but sigh in relief. Peter being asleep meant that he could have a few more peaceful moments before any kind of chaos could begin. “Would you like for me to wake him?”
“No! God, no! Let him sleep,” Tony nearly shouted as he shot up into a sitting position. “Actually, why don’t you make sure his curtains are drawn and that the sound proofing in his room is active. Maybe play some white noise or something. This is his last day on bed rest so let’s make an effort to keep him asleep for as long as possible.”
“Of course, Boss. Activating the ‘ Nighty-Night, Spidey Protocol,’ now.”
“Good girl,” Tony murmured, then fell back onto his pillows and closed his eyes “Let me know when he’s up.”
As Tony lay in his bed soaking up the blissful silence his mind wandered back to the reason the kid was there in the first place. It was Spider-man related, because of course it was. Peter had decided to jump head first into a bank robbery that was at least six tiers above his pay grade. He’d done okay for a while. He’d been able to sneak in and out, thus freeing the many hostages but rather than leaving it at that, he’d gone back inside to handle the heavily armed robbers himself rather than leaving them to the police.
Tony had tried to stop him. He had him on the line and was no more than ten minutes out when he’d heard a few gunshots, followed by a soft thud and a sound of Peter crying out in pain. Though, he had to give the kid some credit because even with a severely broken leg, he’d managed to web up every last one of the robbers and their weapons. Obviously he’d not said that. He’d merely made sure the hand-off with the police went smoothly, carried his self-sacrificing idiot of a mentee back to the tower for surgery and then released him to go home with his aunt. He’d hugged the kid on the way out the door, thinking about how much he was going to miss the kid’s constant presence, seeing as he’d been placed on a full ten days of bed rest. Then, not even a full two days later, May had called him.
“I know this is a lot to ask but do you think Peter could stay with you until he's released from bed rest?” May had asked, much to Tony’s confusion.
“Why would he need to stay here? The doctors said he was free to go home as long as he took his pain medication and stayed off the leg,” he had replied. Not because he didn’t want the kid to stay with him so much as he didn’t understand where the woman’s concern was coming from. Everyone had agreed hospitalization wasn’t necessary, and healing at home would be a more comfortable option.
“Yes, well, that’s the problem,” May had replied, sounding mildly exasperated.
“What’s the problem? The medication? Because I can have that adjusted without you having to haul him all the way over here,” he’d explained, already prepared to have a new medication delivered right to the Parkers’ front door. “Is he in pain?”
“No, the medication is fine,” May had hurriedly placated. “He’s feeling great and maybe that’s the actual problem because I can’t get him to stay in bed. I came home from work last night to find him standing in the kitchen making a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese just because he wanted it. I had made sure to load up his bedside table with a ridiculous amount of food and drinks before I left. I just-” she’d rambled before pausing to let out a deep sigh of regret. “I just thought he would be fine on his own for a while.”
Tony had sighed as well and reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, as he suddenly recognized May’s position. And seeing as Peter not following direction was what had gotten them into their current situation to begin with, he had agreed to let the kid stay with him and his ever watchful AI.
The first day or two had been great. He’d spent a good bit of time hanging out in Peter’s room, playing games and watching movies. Then, at some point, those things had stopped being enough to sustain the kid’s attention and that’s when the days had started to get a bit more challenging.
There came a day that Tony had to go down to a mandatory meeting. Before he had left he’d instructed FRIDAY to alert him if Peter tried to walk any further than the bathroom. However, despite his instructions he’d returned to find the kid’s bed empty. He’d not thought anything of it at first, and had simply looked towards the ensuite only to find it empty as well. “FRIDAY? Where’s the kid?” he’d asked in mild annoyance. He’d thought he had made himself fairly clear. Yet before the AI could respond he’d heard the kid clearing his throat from above him.
“I’m up here, Mr. Stark,” Peter had said, causing Tony’s eyes to shift upwards.
“What are you doing up there, Pete? You’re not supposed to be on bed rest” he’d indignantly questioned, While continuing to stare at his mentee. The kid had been sitting on the ceiling with his good leg pulled up to his chest and his casted one stretched out in front of him. He still didn’t understand how exactly the enhanced teenager had managed to stick himself up there but apparently being down by one sticky limb hadn’t been a problem.
“You said I wasn't allowed to walk around. This isn’t walking Mr. Stark. It’s crawling. Well, technically, at this point it’s sitting, which is technically a kind of resting. But the point is I didn’t have to walk to get up here so-” Peter had begun.
“-So, nothing!” Tony had shot back before the kid could overwhelm him with any more misguided logic. “Bed rest implies that you should be resting in a bed , not crawling around on the ceiling,”
“Sitting on the ceiling,” Peter had corrected and then the room had grown quiet after.
Tony had taken in a deep breath and tiredly rubbed his hand across his forehead while trying to decide whether or not he was supposed to be lecturing the kid. Though, he’d quickly decided he didn’t really have the energy to address the situation outside of telling the kid to get back in bed. And as he’d walked out of the room that day, he’d thought that would be the end of any and all ceiling incidents but it had only got worse from there.
The very next day he’d walked into the room to ask the kid what he wanted for lunch only to be, once again, met with a vacant bed. “Parker,” he’d growled lowly as he glanced towards the corner of the room where the boy was lounging in a hammock produced of webbing.
“What?” Peter had innocently questioned. “I’m laying down.”
“That’s not a bed, Pete,” Tony had groaned in reply. Then he was hit by the realization that his ceiling was covered in webs. “New rule, no web shooters in the house,” he’d instructed, wondering if it was normal for parents to have to spell out such obvious parameters. Then he’d realized he’d just referred to himself as Peter’s parent and that had set him into a whole new circle of thoughts. However, they had been interrupted when the kid had carefully lowered himself to the bed and crossed his arms over his chest.
“I’m in my own room,” Peter had stated, leading Tony to roll his eyes.
"Sure, but it's still my house,” he’d countered without any room for argument and gestured widely to encompass the entire area. “All four walls, the ceiling, and floor belong to me. Keep that sticky mess off of my things.”
That had put an end to the wall crawling shenanigans, but it certainly hadn’t stopped Peter from finding at least three dozen other ways to irritate him. It had started with what amounted to a lot of whining, followed by a good bit of begging and several valiant attempts to earn himself some extra time on his feet. Tony had given in at some point and allowed the boy out into the living room. Although that little field trip had ended rather quickly when he'd discovered that the kid had an even harder time staying on a couch than he did in a bed. However, the worst of it had probably been when he’d walked into Peter’s room to find the bathroom door closed.
Of course, that in and of itself hadn’t really been a problem. He’d just assumed the kid had gotten up to do his business and he’d resolved to leave and come back later. Yet before he’d been able to make it back into the hallway, a loud clattering noise had come from behind the door. “You okay, Pete?” he’d asked, and the boy had been quick to reassure him. Just not enough for him to feel comfortable leaving the room. Hence, he’d sat at the edge of the bed and waited until the kid had come slinking out of the bathroom, sopping wet from the waist up and sheepishly avoiding eye-contact. It was then that he’d noticed the bathroom floor had been equally saturated and had groaned at the sight. Because as much as he’d not wanted to know what exactly had taken place behind that door, he’d also been extremely aware that he was supposed to be the adult in that situation and that had left him no other choice but to ask.
“Kid. What were you even doing in there?” he’d asked, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose as the boy casually explained that he’d been attempting to wash his hair in the sink. "Oh my God, Pete. I could have done that for you! I offered to do that for you yesterday!" he’d shouted in return and had been further annoyed when the only response he received was the kid shrugging his shoulders.
“Seriously, Kid?” he’d questioned with annoyance. “There’s water everywhere!”
“I can clean it up,” Peter had promised, already grabbing his crutches to make his way back towards the mess. However, Tony was swift to stop him.
“No you won’t! You’ll get back in bed!” he’d strained while running an exasperated hand down his face.
And that’s how he’d spent the last week and half. Chasing after his overly enthusiastic mentee, begging him to at least try to sit still and then threatening his life when he didn’t. In fact, he was somewhat surprised he’d not suffered an aneurysm from all of the stress. He vaguely wondered if herding kittens would have been an easier task.
“Boss?” FRIDAY inquired, abruptly pulling Tony out of thoughts. “As per your request, I’d like to notify you that Mr. Parker is awake and out of bed.”
“Thanks, Dear,” Tony groaned, lingering in his bed for just a few more precious moments before finally making his way down the hall. When he finally reached the kid’s door, he gathered a deep breath and prepared himself for whatever chaos he might end up walking into. However, his concern was mostly unwarranted. The kid was out of bed, but he was using his crutches and didn’t shy away or dart back towards his bed when the door opened. He took all of that as a favourable sign and took a few easy steps into the room.
“What are you doing up, Kid? I thought you would sleep until at least eleven,”he stated, once he was confident he wasn’t going to startle the teenager into falling. “And why are you out of bed?”
“Uh, to pee?” Peter replied with a quirk of his brow and a dramatic wave of his hand. “Unless of course we’re adding that to the list of things I’m not allowed to do now, too. In which case, we’re going to have a serious problem, Mr. Stark.”
Tony rolled his eyes but otherwise remained neutral as the kid continued staring at him. “Go to the bathroom,” he finally stated, thus sending the kid the rest of the way across the room. While he waited he sat at the edge of the bed, though he stood back up the moment he heard the toilet flush. “What do you want to do about breakfast?” he asked once the teenager had hobbled his way back into the bedroom.
“Can’t I just go make myself some cereal? I mean, come on, Mr. Stark,” Peter replied while gesturing towards his casted leg. “It’s not like I’m going to put any weight on it or anything and it’s the last day! I have an appointment to be released from bed rest in less than-” he began, pausing to peek down at the watch he kept on his wrist. “six hours.”
“Having an appointment to be released from bed rest isn’t the same as being released from bed rest, Pete. They have to actually look at you first,” Tony deadpanned. “Now, I repeat: What do you want for breakfast?”
With a deep moan, Peter laid down on his bed and briefly hugged a pillow onto his face. “How about freedom from tyranny,” he grumbled, glaring when Tony had the audacity to laugh at him.
“Eggs it is.”
“Can we go down to the lab?” Peter asked, the moment he’d cleaned his plate and set it to the side. He’d been awake for less than an hour, and he was already itching to do something.
“No,” Tony replied as he scooped up the discarded dishes so that he could carry them back into the kitchen.
“Can I go out into the living room?” Peter asked with a bit more vigour. If he was being honest, he knew the lab request wouldn’t work. However, he was really hoping he’d at least be allowed to leave his room. It didn’t matter that it was the last day he’d be forced to sit so still. He was tired of staring at the same four walls and was going absolutely stir crazy.
Tony pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes as he contemplated his options. On one hand, it would be easier to supervise the kid if he was in the living room, seeing as he had quite a bit of paperwork to complete. On the other hand, he was sure he could get the work done more quickly if he wasn’t having to constantly remind the teenager to stay off of his feet. “Depends. Can you stay on the couch? Because last time I let you go out into the living room you were up and walking around within ten minutes,” he sarcastically questioned. Although he knew that even if the kid agreed, it wouldn’t mean much.
“I couldn’t see the TV with the blinds open!” Peter adamantly defended. Because while Tony wasn’t mistaken, he had gotten up, he’d not really gone all that far. It was only two steps to the window, and he’d used his crutches to keep himself from bearing any weight on his leg. Tony was just being overly dramatic.
“FRIDAY could have closed them for you! All you had to do was ask, and I know you know that, Kid,” Tony pressed despite the fact that they’d already had that exact conversation. Though he supposed it wouldn’t hurt to repeat it.
Falling backwards onto his pillows, Peter whined and threw both of his arms above his head. “I'm tired of sitting still.”
Tony inhaled deeply and ran his fingers through the teenager’s knotted curls. “Trust me, I know, Kiddo. But we only have a few more hours until the doctor looks at you, and hopefully you’ll be free to move hither and thither at will after that. Just- can you please be at least a little bit cooperative until then? We’re almost done, Buddy. We’re this close,” he said, bringing his thumb and his forefinger together until they were nearly touching. “I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
“Was that a yes or a no to the living room, Mr Stark?” Peter asked, choosing not to acknowledge anything his mentor had just said. It wasn't like he was trying to be uncooperative. He just wasn’t sure what to do with himself under such restraints. He was built to move.
“You can go, but you’re not getting up from that couch for anything other than the toilet. FRIDAY and I will handle everything else. Yes?” Tony pressed, hoping he could get through at least a handful of emails before having to threaten the kid with duct tape.
“I’m bored, Mr. Stark,” Peter later announced from the couch.
Tony looked up from his computer and took in a weary breath. According to the clock on the wall, they had only been in the living room for a grand total of twenty-three minutes. Apparently it was going to be a very long, very trying day. “So, find something else to watch. Play some video games. Text Ned. Email the President of the United States. What do you want from me, Pete?” he asked with a lot less annoyance than he felt but he had a lot to do and an insufficient amount of time to get it done.
Peter blew a breath out through his nose and dropped his head onto the cushions. “Why can’t we go down to the lab? The lab is closer to the penthouse than the Med Bay and we’re going there in a little over four hours. So, don’t see the difference.”
“The difference is that the Med Bay is where the doctor is,” Tony replied, without ever looking up from the email he was still trying to skim through.
“All I’m doing is sitting on the couch, Mr. Stark!” Peter snapped in return. “I could sit on a workbench just as well!”
At that comment, Tony did turn around. “When in all the time I’ve known you, have you ever sat on a workbench for longer than three minutes, Pete,” he scoffed. “You run around that lab like a literal kid in a candy shop.”
“Ah, come on, Mr. Stark! Please? I swear I’ll stay sitting the whole time we’re down there,” Peter continued to plead even though his mentor looked far from convinced.
“Uh huh. And I’m going to bail Justin Hammer out of jail so we can go work for Norman Osborn together,” Tony blandly replied.
Knowing he wasn’t going to win that round, Peter rolled his eyes and huffed as he flipped through numerous channels until he landed on MythBusters. He’d seen the episode. He knew the outcome and usually that wouldn’t stop him from enjoying the show but he couldn't bring himself to sit through it. With a grunt of frustration, he turned the television off and eyed the Nintendo Switch that was across the room.
It was at about that same time that Tony had turned around to see what the kid was doing. The room had grown quiet, and that was never a good sign. So, when he turned around to find Peter hopping across the floor towards the wall he wasn’t all that surprised. He got up and quietly slunk up behind the boy before clearing his throat. He had to suppress the urge to smile when the kid tensed up and gradually turned his head to look at him “Going somewhere?” he cheerfully inquired.
Rather than answering, Peter hopped back over to the couch and immediately shot a web across the room. It attached itself to the game system, and he yanked it back towards himself, catching it adeptly with his other hand.
Tony closed his eyes and brought his hands up to his temples as he took a deep cleansing breath. “Kid, I was standing right here. I could have gotten that for you” he tiredly pointed out. “And what did I say about web shooters in the house?”
“You said not to get that sticky mess all over your things,” Peter recited without hesitation. Then he set his jaw and cut his eyes towards his mentor. “This isn’t your thing. It’s my thing,” he explained as he brushed a few residual webs off of the device.
“Fine. Whatever,” Tony surrendered and lowered his hands defeatedly by his sides. “Are you settled now? Can I go back to these contracts and emails without you getting up or do I have to sit here and babysit you?”
“Yes,” Peter grumbled under his breath.
“Yes, you’re settled? Or yes, you require a babysitter?” Tony asked, raising a single eyebrow in question.
“I’m fine,” Peter clipped and then turned on the video game.
Tony got back to his computer and opened up a new document. Though he was only three paragraphs in before his phone started to ring. He glanced down at the caller ID and sighed profoundly. It was Pepper and given his current status of teenaged-super-kid wrangler, she’d only be calling him if it was critical.
He answered the phone with a wary greeting and listened as his girlfriend ranted about the state of his lab, deeming it a ‘formidable death trap.’ She seemed to be in a hurry, so he didn’t verbally disagree but he did roll his eyes. Then, since no one else had access to his personal space, she requested he retrieve the prototype she needed and deliver it to her office. Initially he hesitated. He’d only left the penthouse a handful of times during the last ten days. And whenever he did, Peter inevitably seemed to get into some sort of trouble. But knowing she was right and there was no one else available to collect it for her he agreed. It would only take ten minutes, and what could the kid possibly get into in ten minutes?
“Alright, Kid,” he said with a deep sigh. “I need to go to take care of something for Pepper. You’re going to sit right there until I get back. Capisce?” he questioned and when the boy dutifully nodded his head, he glanced towards the ceiling. “FRIDAY? You’re in charge. The kid only gets up when he needs to. Otherwise, I want to hear about it.”
What was meant to have been a short errand ended up taking well over the estimated ten minutes time. He had to search for the correlating schematics, got lured into a conversation in the hall and then Pepper wanted a full rundown of the prototype’s working capabilities before was able to head back to the penthouse, nearly an hour later. “I’m back,” he called into what he instantly realized was an abandoned room before following the sound of crinkling packages and shuffling jars into the kitchen. And that’s where he found Peter, standing on one leg while leaning awkwardly into the refrigerator “What part of ‘sit right where you are’ did you not understand?” he incredulously inquired.
“I was hungry,” Peter mumbled through a mouthful of leftover fried chicken, not at all surprised by his mentor's sudden appearance.
“And how exactly did you sweet talk FRIDAY into not notifying me of your vertical position?” Tony asked next, his arms folded tightly over his chest.
Unsure of how to answer that question, Peter shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the way the action made his mentor’s eye twitch and casually shoved an entire roll into his mouth.
“If I may, Boss,” FRIDAY chimed in, “Your instructions indicated that Mr. Parker wasn’t to get up unless he needed to. And according to your research, Mr. Parker has an enhanced metabolism that requires him to consume an exorbitant amount of calories in order to maintain his health and wellbeing.”
Tony took a full two minutes to attempt to process what he’d just heard before dramatically flinging his arms up into the air. “What does that have to do with him hopping all over my kitchen when he’s supposed to be on bedrest?”
“He needed to eat, Boss,” the AI responded without missing a beat.
“I’m checking your code later,” Tony grumbled as he waved the still munching teenager out of the kitchen so that he could throw together a proper lunch.
Once they had both eaten their fill, Tony collected all of the dishes and returned to his computer, hoping to complete things for the day. Meanwhile, Peter sat on the couch, trying to come up with a good way to pass the time. When no other interest immediately came to mind, he leaned back on the couch with a huff and stared vacantly towards the wall on the opposite side of the room. “Hey, Mr. Stark?” he asked after having devoted several minutes scrutinizing his mentor’s living room decor. “Did you know those pictures above the TV aren’t lined up evenly?”
Tony glanced over his shoulder to see what the kid was referring to and brought his brows together in confusion. “What are you talking about? They’re even,” he said but the longer he looked the more unsure he was. He couldn’t remember if it had been himself or some hired hand who had hung them. But he did know that had there been anything blatantly off with the arrangement, Pepper would have already demanded it be corrected. But Peter was insisting it was ‘off’ and eventually he was forced to cross the room to get a better look.
“Where is it uneven, Kid?” he asked, after eyeballing the level and distance between each frame several times over.
“Right, here,” Peter pointed out. “The gap between the second one and the third one is bigger than the others.” He subsequently used his hand to prove there was an additional finger’s width in the larger gap. “See?”
“Huh,” Tony replied as he too placed his fingers between each of the spaces to calculate their distance. It was subtle but the kid had been right. There was definitely a discrepancy. Then, all of sudden he realized the bed-ridden teenager was standing directly beside him. “Hey! Get back on the couch!”
“Geez, I’m going,” Peter grumbled as he traversed the space between himself and his plush prison. However, he stopped short of his intended location and pointed himself towards the kitchen instead. “Hey, I’m going to grab another soda first.”
“Uh, no, you’re not. You just had one, and you definitely don’t need another one right now,” Tony said, catching up with the boy just in time to nudge him in the correct direction.
“What?” Peter exclaimed because Tony had never limited any kind of food or drinks before. They’d been known to sit down with a gallon of Chocolate Peanut Butter Ripple ice cream between them and finish it in one sitting. He couldn't wrap his brain around why one more can of soda would be considered a problem. “Why can’t I have it?” he finally asked out of pure confusion.
“Because if I let you have more soda then you'll have to pee, and if you have to pee you'll have to get up, and if you get up then there's no telling what else you'll try to do, given your track record,” Tony replied all in one breath. “That's why."
“But I’m dying of boredom, Mr. Stark!” Peter shouted.
“And how is drinking another soda supposed to help you with that?” Tony returned, meeting the boy at his volume. Then he ran a hand roughly down his face and groaned. “Look, Buddy, you only have an hour and half left until your appointment. That’s just enough time to watch two more episodes of Riverdale,” he attempted to placate, anything to get them through the final stretch.
Peter opened and closed his mouth several times while trying to come up with an appropriate response. “I don’t watch Riverdale, Mr. Stark,” he finally uttered, throwing in a roll of his eyes for good measure.
“Hate to break it to you, Kiddo, but FRIDAY says otherwise,” Tony grinned. “According to her, someone binge watched an entire season in less than two days and I can assure you it wasn’t me.”
“FRIDAY’s a Snitch,” Peter quietly murmured. He’s been so cautious to not get caught and of course the AI had to go and rat him out.
Tony shook his head and chuckled. “Look, just pick something to watch and chill out until it’s time to go,” he suggested with a flourish of his hand. “Just not the news. You’re still banned from watching the news.”
Peter glared at the reminder but Tony felt one hundred percent justified. He’d walked past the kid’s room one night to hear the local broadcast playing low in the background and Peter on the phone with his best friend. ‘Just this once Ned! People are looking for Spider-man and I swear Karen will tell you exactly what to do. No one will ever notice! ’ he’d said, and Tony had nearly broken an ankle trying to get through the door fast enough. Peter had been angry, but he was fairly sure Ned had been utterly relieved by the interruption.
“Can we play a game, instead?” Peter asked, drawing Tony out of his thoughts.
“What kind of game?” he skeptically inquired.
Peter pretended to give it some thought, then waved his hand haphazardly through the air. “I don’t know. How about truth or Dare?” he suggested, trying to sound as casual as possible.
Deep down, Tony knew it would be a terrible idea to accept. He could tell by the kid’s eyes alone that it was a trap of some variety and contemplated dismissing the request with a quip. More than likely something about being too old to play slumber party games. However, curiosity won out and he sat down in the chair adjacent to the couch. “Okay, sure. Let’s play it. You can go first. I chose Dare.”
Peter sat up triumphantly and smirked. “Awesome. I dare you to let me go down to the lab and play with your Formula One racing simulator!“ he enthusiastically proposed.
With an unamused look plastered across his face, Tony stood up with one hand on his hip while the other held up a singular finger. “Firstly, it’s not ‘playing,’ it’s an immersive experience,” he said with seriousness ahead of lifting a second finger. “Secondly, and maybe more importantly, when have you ever been allowed to mess with any of my simulators?” he scoffed, tilting his head in curiosity when the boy continued to beam at him, despite his denial.
“I triple dog dare you, Mr. Stark! You can’t back down from that. School yard rules!” Peter giddily shouted.
“We’re not in a school yard, and I already said no,” Tony replied, chuckling lightly when the boy immediately deflated. Though he couldn’t blame the kid for trying.
Peter huffed and aggressively grabbed his crutches from where they were propped up against the side of the couch. “This game is stupid. I’m going to go back to my room to watch Riverd-” he griped, snapping his mouth shut when he realized what he was about to admit to. “I’m going to go watch How It’s Made or Undercover Boss, or something,” he amended. Then he hobbled towards his bedroom where he could indulge in whatever drama he wanted to indulge in without judgment.
“Sure, Kid. Have at it,” Tony smirked and watched to make sure the kid actually went into his room. He was relieved when FRIDAY confirmed the teenager was laying in his bed with the television on. Knowing that Peter was stationary and marginally content would offer him plenty of time to finish his things up for the day. As such, he made his way back to his computer and just as he’d finished applying his digital signature to the last necessary document, FRIDAY alerted him of the time.
He stood up and stretched out his arms and legs before heading towards Peter’s room. He gently tapped on the door before twisting the knob. When he stuck his head in, the kid squealed in surprise and quickly shut off the television, making Tony laugh. “Hey, Kiddo. Enjoying your teenage soap opera?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mr. Stark,” Peter shot back, still clutching the fabric of his shirt where his hand had come up to his chest upon his mentor’s entry.
“Sure you don’t,” Tony grinned. “You ready to go down to the Medbay?”
Peter perked up immediately at the question. “Can I walk there?” he asked.
“Absolutely not,” Tony replied. “But we can do whatever your little heart desires this evening to celebrate your newly acquired freedom.”
“Anything?” Peter asked with a sly grin. He could already think of several things he wanted to do once he was allowed to move about more freely.
“ Almost anything,” Tony amended before the kid could come up with anything too wild. “What exactly did you have in mind?”
After situating the crutches under his arms, Peter smiled towards his mentor. “Can I immersive-ly experience your Formula One racing simulator? You could teach me how and, like- supervise and stuff,” he begged but when it looked like Tony was about to tell him no, he ramped up the pleading. He widened his eyes and looked up through his lashes the way he knew neither his aunt nor his mentor could resist. “Come on, please, Mr. Stark? Just this once? I’ll never ask again!”
“Yes you will,” Tony smiled, followed by a dramatic roll of his eyes. “But I suppose you’ve earned it. So I’m going to go ahead and say yes anyway.”
“Yes!” Peter shouted, dropping his crutches to the floor and leaped towards his mentor to hug him tightly around his middle. “Thank you, Mr, Stark! You’re the best!”
“Yeah, yeah. I know, Kiddo,” Tony said as he carefully reached down to pick up the discarded crutches without knocking Peter off balance. However, the moment he had them in hand, he smirked and began to wriggle out of the enhanced teenager's grasp. “Now get off of me before I change my mind!”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Stark!” Peter happily replied, smiling when he felt his mentor’s hand land gently on his back. As much as he’d loathed being on bedrest, he had to admit he’d enjoyed all of the extra time with Tony. Finally being allowed to drive the Formula One simulator was just an added bonus. And figured if he was lucky, he might be able to talk Tony into letting him try out the flight simulator too.