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Peter loved his life. Loved, loved his life. Being the only child of a billionaire superhero will do that for you, and it was something he at least tried to be very grateful for. Peter had never truly met his mother before she passed, but it wasn’t something he often dwelled on.
His dad was enough.
Lots of things came easy to him, whether it be opportunity, the latest Star Wars Lego sets, or, of course, his dad’s famous penchant for science (though more so chemistry than engineering). There was one thing, however, that didn’t come easy to him, and couldn’t truly be bought with any kind of currency.
Friends.
Besides Ned and MJ, he… really didn’t have any. Zilch, zip, zada.
In fact, quite a few of the other kids at Midtown, rather than find him cool on behalf of his parentage, actively disliked him. Those who weren’t fond of Peter either thought of him as a spoiled brat, despite him really not doing much to earn that title, or a know it all, for being one of the few in his grade that consistently raised his hand in the harder classes. Neither of those things were really within his control- his dad or his smarts- so it didn’t make sense, logically. But teenagers often didn’t use logic, even at a school like Midtown.
So Peter was unpopular. Whatever. It was probably deserved, for all the other privilege boxes he ticked off, as MJ would say. He had a silver spoon in his mouth, and food in his stomach. It certainly wasn’t the worst thing in the world to be.
That doesn’t mean it still didn’t suck, though. That, after the day was done and the sun had set, he couldn’t silently begrudge his circumstances. A knock on the bedroom door interrupted his musings.
“Peter? Can I come in?” Peter grabbed one of his science textbooks from next to him on his desk and opened it to appear busy and not like some lunatic who had been dazedly staring at the wall. Which… well, he had been.
“Sure, dad. Uh, you can totally come in. I’m not changing, or being weird- or anything.” Peter cringed at his own words immediately after they came out of his mouth. No wonder he barely had any friends.
“Well, alright. I, uh, need to talk to you.” Tony replied in a muffled voice, sounding like he was having the same thoughts as Peter was. Peter frowned.
“About what?” He said. Tony took that as his key to crack open the door and waltz in, settling himself against the wall of the bedroom with crossed legs.
“I just got a private email from Mr. Harrington, the AcaDec team lea- oh, you know who he is. Anyways- he messaged me to tell you that there’s going to be a surprise field trip on Monday. Aaand that you might want to know about it beforehand, just so that you aren’t too blindsided and ask me to pick you up or anything.” Peter cocked an eyebrow.
“Oh really? How could it be that bad?” He said, knowing that it would probably, in some way, actually be that bad, considering his luck. Tony pursed his lips.
“Uh, well. The trip is to Stark Industries.” Peter’s jaw dropped. “Also I kinda knew before he even sent the email because I had to approve it?”
“No. Oh my god, no fucking-”
“Hey, no swearing.” He chastised, without any real heat. “And yes way. I've also signed up to be your guide for the second part of the tour as well, since I couldn’t find another employee to fill that time slot.” Peter gagged. “Listen- I think this could be a good opportunity to show off, hopefully make some friends-”
“Showing off is not going to make me friends, dad. That’s gonna do the opposite.” Peter explained, spinning slightly in his wheelie chair. Tony furrowed his brow.
“That’s not how it worked at MIT.” He said, slowly, as if trying to convince himself of the fact. Peter exhaled angrily.
“Well, Midtown isn’t MIT. Sorry to burst your bubble. The other sophomores already think I’m a daddy’s boy, I don’t think this is going to help that any bit.” He explained.
“But you are a daddy’s boy.” Tony pointed out, probably remembering how Peter slept with him until he was ten, along with the ridiculous amount of time they still spent together day-to-day. Peter never had anything better to do when Ned or MJ were busy, and Tony’s lab was always a good way to spend tens of hours at a time. Peter rolled his eyes.
“Well, I suppose I rely on you as a dad more than a normal teenager would considering you’re my only parent, but I meant daddy’s boy more in a Draco Malfoy “my father will hear about this” kind of way.” Tony shrugged his shoulders sheepishly.
“Listen, I know you were tired of all the private schools and wanted something a bit more… normal-”
“And less expensive. And less snobby. And more prestigious.” He said, lowering a finger for every point.
“-But if things aren’t working out-”
“Nope! I am perfectly fine with Midtown, and Ned, and MJ. I love my classes and my teachers.” He shouted in one big breath. “The literal only thing that’s been slightly annoying is Flash Thompson, everything else has been hunky dory over here!” Peter said, suddenly on edge and defensive. Tony sighed.
“Peter, I’ve heard your rants about the guy, that’s not true-”
“Can I have some space? Please?” Peter asked, his persona finally breaking. “I don’t want to talk about this.” Tony raised his hands in surrender, standing up straight and turning towards the door.
“Alright, then. Dinner’s in half an hour. Spaghetti and meatballs. Be there or be square.” Was all he said before leaving. Peter got up from his desk and flopped down on his way-too-big bed, feeling overwhelmed and suddenly a lot more tired. He just wanted to be liked! And things weren’t amazing, but they were getting better! Spider-Man had definitely been a big confidence boost, and he was sure that if he tried a little harder, he could make some more friends.
This whole field trip was just going to ruin that.
Mr. Harrington cleared his throat, pacing his way back to the front of the room.
“Well, everyone. I do have some actual news for you before our early morning meet ends.” Betty raised her hand. “No questions before I announce it, thanks.” Slowly, her hand fell again. “Anyways, what was I saying?” He paused for a moment to think. “Oh, right. We’re going to be heading out on a field trip on Friday.” Immediately, the room burst into discussion.
“Where exactly are we going?” MJ asked, leaning back in her chair, chewing on a piece of gum loudly.
“Yes, I thought you kids might ask that.” He said, mumbling to himself and staring directly at Peter. Peter made a face. Mr. Harrington flinched and looked away. “Excitingly enough, we actually managed to get permission to tour the labs at Stark Industries.”
Silence. Dead silence. Even Ned couldn’t stop himself from sneaking a peak at Peter’s expression along with the rest of the class, which betrayed his inner turmoil quite well. Flash leaned over and clapped him on the back. Hard.
“So we get to see Peter’s crib, huh? Gonna be fun to see all the empty pizza plates and cans of Mountain Dew under his bed. Not going to be as fun for my nostrils, but still. Hey, how many used tissues do you think we’ll find?” The room snickered at that. Peter blushed furiously. His metabolism and large, greasy lunches weren’t his fault! It was just that his body needed tons of calories! He very much tried to ignore the implications of the last jab.
“That sounds way more like your bedroom, Flash.” MJ commented, shooting daggers at him. “Complete with the crumb-filled bed and dirty Calvin Klein boxers on the floor.”
“You gonna lead the tour, huh?” He said, ignoring MJ and poking Peter again.
“I have absolutely nothing to do with the tour. Take it up with my dad, please.” He whined.
“That’s right. Peter has nothing to do with this field trip. Please don’t bother him about it again, we’ll be going as a normal class on a normal trip.” Mr. Harrington warned. Peter knew his efforts at preventing the harassment he’d undoubtedly face were halfhearted, but it still felt good that someone in the administration had his back. Sorta. He looked up at the clock. “You all are dismissed. Grab a permission slip from my desk and bring it back to me anytime before the trip. There’s a $30 fee- well, I guess Peter doesn’t need to pay it.” The room laughed again. Peter sank lower into his chair.
“Did you know?” Ned whispered to him loudly as soon as they were back out in the hallway. Peter shrugged.
“Dad told me last night. Apparently he approved it much earlier than that and didn’t bother to tell me then.” Ned shook his head angrily.
“Dude. He should’ve told you as soon as he knew it would be happening. You’re not going though, right?” Peter said nothing. Ned’s jaw dropped. “Seriously? You’re going on a field trip to your own home? Like, the penthouse is literally in the same building.”
“Quiet down! Flash is probably already spreading the news well enough on his own.”
“Hey, Stark.” Flash said loudly, suddenly appearing behind the group.
“Speak of the devil.” MJ spit, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Did you really set this whole field trip up just to try and impress us? Because believe me, that’s not happening, loser.”
“No! I didn’t even know-” Peter protested.
“Zip it. Everyone knows- or will know.” He said in a low tone of voice that was probably meant to be intimidating.
“Flash, dude. Peter doesn’t live in the labs, you’re seeing nothing of his actual home. And anyways, you’re way worse than Peter when it comes to being a show-off.” Ned commented. Flash sputtered, trying to come up with some sort of comeback.
“At least I have both of my parents.” He remarked, after much ado. Peter snorted.
“That’s the best you can do?” He said, in his most condescending tone of voice. Flash had tried to jab at his dead mother so often that he was completely numb to it.
“Uh, yeah?” Flash responded, suddenly sounding a lot less confident.
“You’re a joke, Flash.” MJ said, grabbing Peter by the forearm and dragging him away. “Leave him alone. Or else.” She threw her last words over her shoulder as they made their way to chemistry.
“I’m telling everyone!” He shouted back, and Peter flinched at the implications of that. Of whatever horrible, made-up story he’d sell as his own Penis Stark original, complete with tissue-embellishments.
It was going to be a very long lunch period.
“Hey Stark!” Flash yelled once again as the trio entered the lunchroom. “We all heard from a little someone that you organized a trip to daddy’s penthouse. You’re that desperate for people to come over?” Peter thinned his lips, whipping around and facing the other boy.
“Ned already comes over all the time. Nice try.”
“Yeah, to do homework or whatever you freak-ass nerds get up to. Not for anything actually cool or interesting, like me. Whatchu got for lunch anyways, pig?” Peter blinked.
“Huh?”
“I just asked you a question. Whatchu got for lunch?” He looked down at his patented Iron Man themed lunchbox. It was a Christmas gift from years ago, but Peter had become fond of it, and had refused to get rid of the thing, even when superheroes had grown out of fashion for his age group. Tony indulged him as well, sometimes leaving little notes on his meals.
“Uh, just some pizza I’m gonna reheat and water?” He said, holding up a bottle. The table burst into laughter.
“Seriously? Boxed water?”
“It’s better for the environment!” Peter yelled back, brushing past Flash and his lunch table in lieu of his own. Flash mocked him by repeating the statement.
“Boxed water is kinda bougie.” MJ murmured to her friend, staring down at the offending bottle. Peter sputtered.
“It’s only thirty bucks for a twelve pack on Amazon.” Ned rolled his eyes.
“That’s like, three dollars a pop dude. I mean, Flash is still a dick, but I’m playing devil’s advocate here.” Peter groaned.
“I don’t mean to say these things, really. It’s just-”
“We’re just teasing, Peter. We love you, even if you’re a rich kid who thinks a single banana is ten dollars.” She said, tugging on his right cheek. Peter swatted the hand away half-heartedly.
“I don’t even like bananas. Anyways, I just wish that people saw me and not my dad. This field trip is gonna suck balls so bad. Like, actual balls.”
“Thanks for clarifying.” Ned mumbled.
“We have your back.” MJ said. “Most of the time, anyways. Not when you asked me to go skiing with you on the presumption that I’ve done it before.”
“That was one time!” He protested, pushing her. MJ laughed.
“Or- or when-”
“We get it.” He whined. “Peter Stark sucks and is sometimes annoying even though he tries his hardest not to be.”
“You’re acknowledging it and you’re trying. That’s all we ask.” MJ said, turning the conversation into a statement she probably found on Tumblr.
“Thanks.” Peter said, knowing that she was being sincere. “I really do- try, y’know?”
“Hey, where’s the pizza from?” Ned mumbled, stealing a bite from one of Peter’s slices. “This shit’s good. Like, actually good.” Peter smiled.
“Yeah, it’s really good. Dad knows I love it. Oh, uh, it’s not on the menu but there’s this little place dad gets it delivered from called Ai Fiori-” Ned put the pizza down slowly.
“Dude.” Ned said.
“Dude.” MJ said, echoing his sentiment. Peter frowned.
“I’ve never actually Googled the place. Please tell me it’s like a Dominos or something.”
“It’s not.” MJ said dryly. He sighed, and MJ patted him on the back mock-soothingly.
“Remind me to come over on the days you two order takeout.” Ned remarked, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as the clock hit 1:30pm and the bell rang. Peter moved to throw out the remaining crusts, when Ned stopped him. “I’m stealing these.” He said, taking the plate, curling it up, and putting it in the front pocket of his backpack. MJ wrinkled her nose. “No judgment from you!” He hissed, as they all walked to APUSH.
“I’m judging alright. I’m judging real hard.” She said, slowly, whilst looking him up and down. Peter laughed.
He could always count on those two.
The morning before the field trip was set to happen, Peter sat his dad down at the breakfast bar and began to lay out the few rules he had pre-planned for the trip.
“Firstly, if I must be acknowledged by you at any point during the trip, you will only refer to me as ‘Peter.’ Not bambino, not buddy, and definitely not bubba. Just no nicknames in general- don’t come up with anything new.” Tony grinned.
“Alright, kiddo.” Peter frowned.
“Don’t say that. It’s Peter for now.”
“Alright, Peter, then. What else?” He asked, sounding fairly amused. Peter exhaled.
“Just- don’t embarrass me, please. And again, I’d prefer if you ignored me as well. No quips about how I live here or, y’know, how we’re related...” He explained, his voice trickling out into silence. Tony softened.
“I can do that for you.” He said, miming his lips shut. “You can rest assured I’ll try my hardest not to single you out, alright?”
“That’s all I wanted to hear.” Peter mumbled, taking a bite from his scrambled eggs. Tony walked around the counter until he was behind Peter, giving his kid a hug from behind and a kiss on the forehead.
“I know you don’t like me talking about this, and I know it’s hard.” Peter opened his mouth to interrupt, already knowing where this would be going, but was promptly shushed. “I want to say that I know you’ll make it through Midtown just fine, alright? I’m sorry for questioning it earlier when I know how much you hated all the other schools I’ve sent you to. You can choose your own destiny. And I do like Ned.” He finished. Peter didn’t know how to respond verbally, so instead he turned around in his chair and hugged Tony back.
The drive to school was in silence, as both were acutely aware that Peter would be taking the bus right back to where they came from. Tony did tentatively ask if Peter wanted to stay home that morning and just meet the group in the lobby beforehand, but was quickly shut down.
“Have a good day!” Tony shouted after Peter as he slammed the car door shut. Peter responded by not responding, walking quickly and with his head down to Mr. Harrington’s classroom. He was glad that the paparazzi had quickly grown tired of making him going to a “normal” school into a story fit for early-morning, non-consensual photography.
“Hand your permission slips to me, please!” He yelled as students began filing in. Peter marched over and thrust his own in the teacher’s hands, complete with the unnecessary $30. Mr. Harrington raised an eyebrow but said nothing, instead electing to grab Flash’s from where it was shoved into his face. Betty was the last to arrive, and she gently handed a neatly sealed envelope to him.
“Alright, now that that’s out of the way- we’re going to walk out to the bus provided. Please use inside voices once we’re on, it’s still early in the morning and I don’t want a headache.” Peter had a feeling the team wouldn’t acquiesce so easily to that demand.
Peter fought to be the first person to step onto the bus, fast walking across the pavement to the open vehicle door. Once on, he carefully arranged his backpack to prevent anyone who wasn’t Ned or MJ from sitting next to him.
Not that anyone else on the AcaDec team would want to.
The bus took off soon after, filled with chattering that most certainly didn’t consist of people’s “inside voices.”
“Is your dad going to join the tour?” Ned asked, turning to his friend. MJ nodded as she checked her Twitter timeline to second the question.
“He told me that he already agreed to lead the second part of the tour before I protested.” Peter replied, rolling his eyes. “I don’t know why he couldn’t have just faked being sick, and paid overtime for some rando staff to show up in his place, like any sane person. He already does that with all his really boring meetings.” MJ shrugged.
“It won’t be that bad.” She supplied. “I mean, Flash will probably be an ass-”
“Hey! I heard that!” Flash yelled out. MJ pocketed her phone, turned around, and yelled back.
“So what? It’s true. You, Eugene Thompson, think that if you harass Peter enough you’ll outsmart him out of being an alternate.” Flash’s jaw dropped.
“Not. True. Y’know, I worked hard for this-” Peter looked to the front of the bus, where Mr. Harrington was cradling his head in his hands. MJ and Flash would continue to bicker back and forth over whether or not being an alternate on Midtown’s AcaDec team was something to be proud of or not, right up until the bus stopped in the Stark Industries parking lot.
“Young adults! We’re here. Oh, I forgot to mention- please leave your phones on the bus for privacy purposes. There’s lots of tech inside that hasn’t been unveiled to the general public, and Midtown doesn’t need a lawsuit on its hands.” Mr. Harrington called out, as the doors to the bus opened. The class collectively groaned, but dutifully stashed the items in their backpacks.
Ned scooched over to file out into the aisle, stopping when Flash brushed past him and gave him a mean look. Once everyone was out into the damp underground lot, Mr. Harrington began herding them to the elevator they’d be taking up. The elevator that Peter knew had FRIDAY in it. He preemptively cringed remembering what protocols Tony had set up for his presence.
Welcome back to the tower, Petey-pie.
Immediately, the elevator filled with giggles as they were led up into the lobby. An embarrassed Peter blushed. He had been trying to change it for so long, yet every time he did, his dad immediately reversed it back. “You’re still my little boy.” He’d say, prompting Peter to fake-gag in response.
“Is that an AI?” Abe asked, staring up at the roof of the elevator.
“What do you think?” Cindy deadpanned. FRIDAY ignored both of them.
Are you going on the tour with your classmates, Peter? The AI asked.
“Yeah, I am, FRIDAY.” He responded, as they stepped out into the tower foyer. A woman that Peter recognized as the usual receptionist lady, Angela, waved them over. She specifically smiled at Peter, apparently not having gotten the memo about discretion.
“How is everyone doing today?” She said, still smiling at Peter, who was, in turn, frowning. Nobody responded, but her grin didn’t slip a millimeter. “Now, if you come with me-” She began walking towards the turnstiles, swiping her card and holding the door open for Peter and the rest of his class to shuffle through. Once everyone was on the other side of reception, she began her walk toward the elevators, three-inch high heels clicking on the marble flooring. “FRIDAY? Take Peter’s class up to the labs.” Flash snorted from somewhere in the back.
“We’re not just Peter’s class. We’re the group from Midtown.” Still smiling, Angela held the elevator as she responded.
“Apologies, Eugene.” She said, referring to the ID around his neck he was given with his legal name. Peter, on the other hand, was not given one at all. This time, the class was laughing at someone other than Peter. Sally coughed and muttered ‘Eugene’ in an obnoxious British accent under her breath.
“Can we just get on with the tour?” Flash pleaded as they filed into the small space.
“Peter? You probably know more about the intern labs than I do, don’t you? Well, when you’re not using your father’s, of course.” She said, sounding sickly sweet.
“Angela-”
“Yeah, Peter. Why don’t you explain daddy’s company to us, if you’re so smart?” Jason spat, obviously becoming just as annoyed as Flash was.
“Boys…” Mr. Harrington started, already beginning to waver on his decision to submit a tour request. The elevator doors finally opened, and he let out a sigh of relief.
“Since you all already left your phones behind, I won’t tell you to put those away. But keep in mind that we take security very seriously here, and if we find out later that any information has been leaked: it won’t go well for you or your parents.” Angela forewarned, before leading them into the main lab. Well- the visitor’s section, which was warded off.
It did, honestly, make sense that they wouldn’t be allowed around the dangerous S.I. equipment without more forms signed than a measly permission slip, but Peter was still disappointed that he couldn’t help some of the diligently-working interns. The same interns that he’d be in charge of one day, if Spider-Man’ing didn’t take him out of this world beforehand. Angela took them around the space slowly, letting Peter and his classmates observe some of the tech and the engineering being done to create it in silence. Interns kept turning around and waving at Peter, one of them even coming up to him.
“You didn’t tell me you’d be down here today! What gives?” An intern named Cassidy asked, walking up to the barrier.
“I’m here on a field trip.” He whispered back, trying not to draw too much attention to himself. Cassidy’s mouth widened in shock.
“Oh, but that’s silly, isn’t it? No offense.” She quickly added, trying not to offend her boss’s son. Peter rolled his eyes.
“You’re telling me.”
“Class! Time for the next section of the tour.” Angel suddenly announced, waving everyone back to the elevators. Flash squeezed himself next to Peter, before periodically stepping on his foot deliberately the whole way.
Great.
Once they were up to the thirty-fifth floor, the moving elevator stopped. “I have to leave early for a meeting but your new guide will take care of you just as well, alright?” She said, glancing nervously at her watch, though Peter had a feeling that wasn’t why she was stressed. Peter also had a feeling he was not going to be a fan of the “new guide.”
“Welcome, Midtown’s Academic Decathlon team.” Tony announced, waltzing up from the right corridor. “It’s great to meet you all, after watching so many meets from afar.” He said, possibly referring to the disguises he normally wore when watching his son from as far back in the auditorium as possible. Peter had no idea how the team would react, but the reverence in their eyes certainly wasn’t anticipated, after all the smack Peter had heard. He supposed they were still at a nerd school, after all. Angela scurried to shut the elevator doors behind her.
“Nice to meet you, sir.” Abe said, holding out his hand for Peter’s dad to take. Tony looked at Peter with an unsure expression as he stood stock still. The silence became stifling after a moment, and Tony quickly reached out and grabbed it before things could become too awkward.
“Shall we move to the main R&D labs?” Tony asked, gesturing outwards with a weak smile. Immediately, things were once again interrupted.
“Peter!” A muffled voice sounded from inside one of the frosted glass cubicles. The figure ran to the door between them, hitting the keypad before it swung open. Peter rolled his eyes.
“Hi, Uncle Bruce.” He muttered. Bruce ruffled his hair in return.
“Your father mentioned that you’d be here on a trip! How’ve you been? I need to catch up with my favorite kid one day, we haven’t talked in-”
“Days, I know. We’ll figure something out. Can I please go back to the tour?” Bruce laughed.
“Teenagers. Gotta love them.” He said, looking fondly at Tony. Meanwhile, Flash was smirking in that horrible obnoxious way of his, and even Ned and MJ looked pretty done with how everything was panning out, though not necessarily at Peter himself. Dr. Bruce Banner reluctantly let go of Peter, who immediately rejoined the group, shuffling himself beside his friends.
“Remember our chat!” He yelled, waving them off as they awkwardly went back to the elevator.
“Nice one, Penis. You couldn’t help but interrupt our tour again with some mingling.” Peter groaned.
“He’s my uncle. I can’t stop him from wanting to see me.” Flash raised an eyebrow, as if he knew something that Peter didn’t.
“Something tells me you two aren’t actually related.” Peter stiffened.
“What's that supposed to mean?” He said, slowly, trying to parse a response to Flash’s statement. Tony had begun to grow red in the face.
“Hey. Knock it off. You guys are all on the same team, aren’t you?” He said, darkly. Peter flushed. His dad wasn’t supposed to be acknowledging him!
“I’m just saying what’s true…” Flash murmured. By now, Tony was more than angry. Peter gulped. This was not going to end well.
“Listen, kid. I don’t care that your parents don’t love you enough and that you have nobody close enough to you to consider family despite blood. That’s not Peter’s problem. That’s a you problem. Get over yourself.” He said, sounding more nonchalant than his words betrayed. Flash’s jaw dropped open.
“You can’t say that to me!” He yelled. MJ stepped forward.
“You’ve been harassing Peter all week because of this stupid field trip, Flash. It’s karma.” Mr. Harrington, who had been silently watching for a while, flinched.
“Let’s all settle-”
“Flash. You’re the Flash, Eugene? The one who’s been making my kid’s life at school a living hell?” Flash sputtered, now not knowing what to say.
“Peter’s the one who orchestrated this whole field trip with Mr. Harrington just to try and prove that he’s better than me.” He countered, after a moment of silence. Tony leveled the teen a look.
“That was me, kid. I was the one who set up this trip. Peter didn’t even know about it until earlier this week.” He sighed. “FRIDAY? Cancel Angela’s meeting and send her back up here. Me and Peter are going upstairs. Oh, and set up a meeting with- what’s his name? Oh, Principal Morita. Set up a meeting about this trip. Thanks.”
Of course, boss.
“Dad, what-”
“We’re done here.” He said, glaring directly at Flash. “C’mon, Pete.” He said, herding his kid back into the elevators once again. He nodded at MJ and Ned each in the corner once before the doors closed.
“I was handling it.” Peter whined, as they reached the penthouse.
“No, you were not.” He said, definitively. “If I wasn’t going to stop him for you, I would’ve done it for your uncle. And that’s that.”
“You promised not to interfere.” He complained once again, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Yeah. Unless necessary. That was necessary.” Tony recounted. “Again, I wasn’t going to hear him spew sh- stuff about my family without doing anything, teenager or not. He needs to learn some respect.” Peter sighed.
“Everyone’s going to hear about this at school tomorrow.” Peter lowered his head into his hands as he walked out into the living room. Tony, on the warpath, relented.
“Jeez, kid. I’m sorry it had to come to this. I wish you had told me how much he was harassing you earlier so I wouldn’t have to intervene so publicly.”
“So now it’s my fault?” Peter asked, rhetorically. “I’m the one to blame?”
“That’s- that’s not what I meant, Peter. I just wish that-” Tony exhaled. “Well, I wish that we were closer. Now that you’re older and off at Midtown I feel more distant from my little boy.” He admitted. “You used to tell me everything about school, but now I barely get anything from you about it. Including the bad parts. It’s probably my fault, though, since I turn everything into an argument lately.” Tony said, sadly. Peter turned around and lowered his hands, eyes widening.
“Oh.” He said, breathlessly. “I didn’t… I didn’t know that was how you felt. I thought you’d just gotten tired of hearing my stories.” Tony shook his head, and sat down on the large, plush couch in the middle of the space.
“Never, bambino. Especially if something’s been bothering you. And- and even if something hasn't, even if everything’s alright- I want to hear about your latest tests, your friends, your Ned and MJ. I don’t want to be in the dark anymore. That’s honestly why I’ve been so wary of Midtown.” Peter’s dad snorted. “Well, that and this Flash guy.” He said, ending his speech on a sour note.
“It doesn’t really affect me. I know he’s just jealous and bitter. He’s just an annoying sophomore.”
“You’re also a sophomore, that’s not an excuse.” Tony pointed out. “And whether or not a bully has a bad home life or whatever- that’s also not an excuse, like I told the kid earlier.”
“Did you really have to say all that to him?” Peter groaned, remembering the specific words his dad had used. Tony shrugged.
“He has to learn about the real world at some point, why not let dear ‘ol dad do it for you?”
“But-” Peter hmmph’d, then after a long moment, sighed. “Thanks, dad. I guess.” Tony raised an eyebrow.
“You guess? Angela’s going to have my head tomorrow, if Pepper doesn’t get it first.” Peter giggled, and walked from the corner over to his dad’s spot on the couch, before slouching down next to the man.
“I’ll let you get Thai food from that place you love and I hate.” He bargained.
“You’re trying to win me over by making me order expensive takeout? Maybe you are a brat.” He said, leaning over and ruffling Peter’s hair. “What am I gonna do with you?” Peter laughed harder.
“Okay, okay! I’ll just have more of those expensive pizza leftovers from last night.”
“Nope. I want my Thai, and you never let me order it. We’re getting that.” He said, pressing a kiss to Peter’s forehead as he leaned over to grab his phone from the side table.”
“Can we watch a new episode of The X-Files?” He asked, already having turned on the TV and navigated to Amazon Prime. Tony grumbled.
“Fine. But no scary episodes like last time.” Peter rolled his eyes.
“Old people. S.M.H.” Tony, who was still on the phone, stuck out his tongue.
“Just put it on already.” He whispered, before repeating his order again.
“Great! ‘Cause MJ recommended this one episode called Paper Hearts, she said it was really interesting, and her favorite, and-” Tony looked down at his kid. His bright, bubbly, funny kid. His son. And he knew that everything would be alright. He’d made, and would continue to make, sure of it.