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“This is for emergencies.” Tony handed Peter the debit card, “I know you’re responsible and I don’t need to nag you about what that means.”
“Mr. Stark, no! I don’t need this.” Peter backed away from the card stretched toward him, “I don’t have any emergencies at fourteen that need a credit card.”
“And I hope that’s true and you never need it but I want you to have it just in case you’re wrong and something comes up.” Tony walked closer and put the card in Peter’s hand, “Don’t lose it either.”
Peter sighed, “Fine. But I’m never using this.”
“Good.” Tony ruffled his hair and walked toward the lab, “Coming?”
Peter grinned as he stuck the card in his wallet and then quickly followed his mentor.
~
“We’d have to pay for that upgrade.” Ned sighed as they played the Marvel lego game on the X-Box.
“Yeah.” Peter sighed, “But it feels like we should be able to upgrade Iron Man’s suit. I mean I work on that in real life so why shouldn’t I be able to in a game?”
“We’ll I don’t get any allowance until next week.” Ned shrugged, “Maybe we wait until then.”
Peter chewed in his bottom lip while in thought, “I have a plan but it’s a one time thing and we can never use it again.”
“Okay?” Ned raised an eyebrow.
Peter pulled out his credit card from Mr. Stark, “He won’t even notice a $4.99 charge, right?”
Ned grinned, “This is so cool. Maybe we should get the one for Spider-Man too. It makes sense! He is your mentor!”
Peter nodded and added the Spider-Man suit too.
~
Pepper heard the ding on her phone and glanced at it while she typed on her computer. She saw the notification for the charge for an X-Box.
She sighed and text Tony, “Stop wasting money on childish things.”
Tony frowned at his phone. How did she know that quickly that he had bought Peter a new lego set? He sent a reply, “That was for Peter.”
Pepper smiled, “Oh my bad. In that case—Spend more money. Tell him I love him too.”
Tony rolled his eyes, “Will do.”
~
Peter was at the mall with his friends. They went into Buckle and everyone encouraged him to try on clothes and everything he liked the customer service rep took to the register and before he knew it someone was giving him a total of $607.86. Peter glanced at Ned who glanced at Betty who glanced at MJ.
“You’re sure about this?” MJ asked him, “Where did you even get money for this?”
“It’s not that big of a deal…” Peter handed over his card from Tony. He wouldn’t notice this. He was rich. This was like $10.00 to a rich person.
~
Tony glanced at the charge showing on his phone and texted Pepper, “You’re shopping?”
Pepper glanced at her phone and text back, “At the mall. I needed a couple of things. Why?”
“No worries. Just checking in.” Tony locked his phone.
~
Pepper texted Tony a few days later, “Going to make a large purchase on the card. Don’t panic when you see it.”
“👍” Tony texted back as he walked into training with the Avengers.
~
Peter got the order confirmation. He had just purchased three pairs of Jordan’s because all of his shoes were worn out and he was tired of getting teased. He really hoped Mr. Stark didn’t watch this card too closely and that he just paid the bill without thought.
There was a part of Peter that knew this was wrong but he had never had access to money before like this and he really wanted some nice things. He had been getting a lot of compliments since wearing the new clothes he had bought. It wasn’t like he was causing any harm and besides—Tony had given him this card anyway. He might as well use it or it would just sit in his wallet for no reason.
~
Tony saw the large charge but Pepper had warned him about that so he just swiped the notification away. He was walking into a meeting anyway so he didn’t have time to look at it too closely.
~
Peter debated back and forth on this one but he really needed a new computer. The one he had built had just died. That was kind of like an emergency right?”
He shrugged and typed in the info for the new MacBook computer that had just released. $1800.00 later and all he had to do was wait for the computer to ship now.”
~
Pepper saw the charge from Apple. That wouldn’t make sense. They wouldn’t buy something from their competitor. She called Tony and he answered right away, “Apple?”
“It wasn’t me. I would never.” Tony told her, “Fraud?”
“I mean it has to be. Who else would have access to our credit card?”
Tony’s eyes got wide and he pulled out his phone and called the person who suspected was using their card.
“Hey, Mr. Stark!” Peter answered, “It’s not a lab day, right? I’m not getting my days mixed up again, right?”
“No, question—Did you use that card I gave you?”
Peter got quiet.
“Pete. Just tell me the truth.” Tony told the teenager.
“I may have used it.” Peter sighed, “But I really needed it.”
“A MacBook?” Tony sighed, “Go in and cancel that order right now if you can otherwise we’ll be returning it.”
“But Mr. Stark—“
“—Now.” Tony left no room for argument.
“It’s cancelled.” Peter pouted where he sat in his room.
“We talked about this, Kid. It’s for emergencies. That means life or death. But I’ll drop off a new computer for you sometime this weekend—One that isn’t trash.”
“Okay. Sorry. Mr. Stark. I promise to do better.” Peter told him.
~
Peter sat in his room surrounded by Amazon packages. He didn’t know what had happened. Somewhere it had all gone so wrong so fast. And Tony only seemed to notice the higher purchases so he had just kept going. He sighed. He had made a mistake.
Peter pulled out his phone calling Tony.
“Hey Roo.” Tony answered right away.
“In the words of Taylor Swift I did something bad.”
Tony stepped away from the dinner he and Pepper were at for Stark Industries, “Injured?”
“No.”
“Ill?” Tony asked.
“No.”
“What’s going on then?” Tony asked.
“Can you come over?” Peter didn’t want to admit his mistake but he needed an adult to help him because had a lot of packages to return.
“I’m on my way.” Tony disconnected the call. Peter had never asked him to just come over for no reason. He assumed it had to be important enough to leave a work dinner.
~
Peter opened the door for Tony who hugged him right away and started checking him for injuries, “I told you I wasn’t hurt or sick.”
“Yeah but you lie about that a lot.” Tony reminded the teenager.
“Mr. Stark, I’m fine.” Peter rolled his eyes.
“Then why am I here?” Tony asked him.
“I have to show you something.” Peter moved toward his bedroom and opened the door and Tony saw all of the packages.
“Peter Benjamin Parker.” Tony’s voice wasn’t angry. It was full of disappointment.
“I know. You gave me the card for emergencies and I’ve been using it every day. I’m sorry. I’ve never had that type of financial freedom and I just messed up. I think the power went to my head.” Peter shrugged.
“Is it just the Amazon packages?” Tony moved some things out of the way so he could sit on Peter’s chair by his desk.
Peter shook his head and opened his closet to show him all of the clothes and shoes he had bought recently.
Tony nodded, “Okay. Thank you for telling me the truth about this, Pete.”
“You aren’t mad?” Peter made his way to his bed and sat down.
“No. I’m a bit disappointed because we talked about the purpose of the card not once but twice. We’re going to go through everything you brought and we’ll decided together what is worth keeping and what we’re returning though.”
“That’s fair. I’m so sorry. You should take the card back.” Peter grabbed it from his wallet but Tony shook his head.
“I still want you to have it but I’m going to go into the app and add some restrictions now. You’ll have a maximum $200 usage per month. If you need something more expensive than that you’ll need to call and talk it out with Pepper and I and we’ll decide on raising that limit or not. Deal?”
Peter nodded, “Deal.”
~
“Decline.” The man told Peter.
“Declined?” Peter sighed. This couldn’t be right. He had worked hard to stay in his $200 budget. Tony didn’t care what he spent it on but he never raised that limit.
“How else are you going to pay?” The man asked him.
“Give me a minute.” Peter pulled out his phone and called Tony.
“Hey, Kiddo.”
“I need you to raise the limit.” Peter cringed a bit asking. It had only been a couple months since they had come up with this new plan.
“What’s going on?” Tony’s voice held no judgement.
“I don’t know. I just didn’t budget very well and I just got my hair cut and it declined and I told May she didn’t have to worry about it and now I don’t have the money to pay for it and they can’t very well put the hair back on.” Peter rambled.
“Okay, Roo. Breathe.” Tony went into the app to adjust the amount Peter could spend in a month, “I just adjusted it but short of an emergency I’m not moving it up any further this month, okay?”
“Okay. Thanks!” Peter hung up and handed the card back over, “Try it now, please?”
~
“Mr. Stark.” Peter sat on the chair across from him in his home office.
Tony glanced away from what he was working on, “What’s wrong?”
“MJ and Ned are going to the movies but I can’t go because I don’t have money for it.”
“I’m not raising the limit.” Tony went back to his work.
“But—“
“—I’m not, Pete. End of discussion.”
“It’s just $18 dollars!” Peter argued.
“I know how much a movie costs. You should have budgeted. Most kids don’t get $200.00 a month and you’re already over that. I’m sorry you can’t go with your friends but hopefully next month you won’t spend it all at the beginning of the month.”
“So you just want me to miss out on things?” Peter crossed his arms over his chest.
“Why don’t you invite them here for a movie instead? You guys could rent something and that I would be fine with.” Tony suggested.
“Ugh. This is dumb.” Peter got up and walked out.
“DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT ASKING MAY FOR THE MONEY. I’M TEXTING HER RIGHT NOW.”
~
“But May—“
“—No. Tony and I talked. I told him $200.00 is too much so you really don’t want to pick this battle with me tonight. He gave you another option. You chose not to use it.”
“So I’m just supposed to be bored while you’re out of town with Pepper?”
“No, you’re supposed to hang out with your mentor.” May teased.
“Fine. Fine.” Peter hung up the phone.
~
The next morning Peter had numerous texts from Ned and MJ about the movie and how awesome it had been. He found something for breakfast and sat down to eat it.
“You’re still mad at me?” Tony asked coming into the room.
“Yep.” Peter nodded, “Ned and MJ won’t stop texting me about how great the movie was.”
“Hmm. I’m sure it was a great movie. You want to work in the lab today? It’s Saturday. A whole day off from school.” Tony offered.
“I don’t understand. You have plenty of money. Why couldn’t I go last night?” Peter crossed his arms over his chest.
Tony sat down, “I do have plenty of money. I could have easily raised the limit or given you cash.”
“So why didn’t you?” Peter asked.
“What would you have learned from that? It’s important that you learn how to budget as a teenager because it will prepare you to be an adult. You didn’t budget well this month. I doubt you’ll make that mistake again but if I had given you the money you would get used to someone bailing you out financially. What if there is a day I can’t bail you out? I want to know you’re prepared for what life throws at you. So I’m sorry you’re upset but I’m not sorry and I’m not going to change the amount I give you in a month to spend.” Tony explained.
Peter just pouted in response.
Tony ran a hand through his curls, “Meet me in the lab if you want to hang out but leave the attitude somewhere else, please.”
~
“I know you’re upset about this, Peter. Mr. Stark doesn’t have to give you anything though and he helps you a lot. Maybe you should check yourself because you’re not sounding very grateful.” Ned told him, “There were times in your life when you didn’t have enough shoes or clothes that fit you and May would struggle to replace them. Now you have $200.00 for whatever you need for the month. That’s a big deal.”
“You’re right. I should probably apologize.” Peter flopped onto his bed, “I guess I just got caught up in it all.”
~
Peter wandered down to the lab a couple of hours later, “Sorry I was being a bit spoiled before. I know you don’t have to give me anything.”
Tony gave a soft smile, “Thank you for the apology.”
“I’m going to do better at budgeting from now on so I don’t miss out on things like that.” Peter smiled.
“Good plan, Bub. Let me know if I can help you with figuring things out.”
“What are we working on today?” Peter asked his mentor.
“I was thinking about seeing if we could adjust your web fluid to stay sticky longer? What do you think?”
“Yes please!” Peter grinned.
~
Peter was shivering in the cold as he and Ned walked to the subway.
“You need a better coat. This one isn’t doing anything for you.” Ned told his best friend.
“I can’t afford a better coat. Coats like that would take my whole budget and then some and Mr. Stark’s been clear he isn’t budging on that limit.”
“Unless it’s an emergency!” Ned reminded.
“But I have a coat.” Peter told him.
“I guess so but it’s really thin and you can’t stay warm. I still think you’d better call him.”
“I’ll think about it.” Peter rolled his eyes.
~
Peter had decided he wasn’t going to call but after walking to and from the subway with Ned every day this week as the temperature was dropping and it had even been snowy and windy one morning—He had decided he was wrong and Ned was right. A new jacket was important.
He found himself walking into the tower shivering that Friday and made his way to the lab. He pulled off his hat and mittens and frowned when Mr. Stark was no where to be found.
“Friday? Where is Mr. Stark?” Peter asked the AI.
“He is and I quote, “Running behind because of all of this damn paperwork Pep needs me to sign.” Friday responded.
“Okay. I’ll just work on my homework then. Tell him not to rush.”
Tony walked into the lab 45 minutes later, “I’m sorry, Underoos. I kept trying to leave and everything kept getting in the way of actually leaving.”
Peter nodded, “No worries. I just finished my homework.”
Tony noticed how warm it was in the lab, “Why is my lab a sauna?”
“Oh, umm. I was freezing so I kept asking Friday to turn up the heat.” Peter’s face blushed pink.
“You’ve been here an hour.” Tony frowned, “You’re still cold?”
“Yeah.” Peter shrugged, “It’s not a big deal. I just have a really tough time staying warm.”
“I know that—Which is why we talked about ways to stay warm like wearing your jacket, mittens, and hat outside.” Tony reminded him.
“I am!” Peter nodded, “But it’s not enough.”
“What do you mean?” Tony sat down across from his mentee.
“My jacket is really thin and it doesn’t really do a good job of keeping me warm.”
“Then get a new one.” Tony told him, “You can’t be freezing every day.”
“I looked at the types of coats I would need and they are expensive.”
“I don’t care, Pete. That’s the kind of thing you spend money on.” Tony grabbed out his phone and started googling, “Really warm coats.”
“It’s way over my $200.00 budget though.”
“Kid, there is no budget for things you need to keep you alive. I’ll order a couple of different ones and we’ll test them out to see which one works best for you.” Tony told him.
“Oh, okay. Cool. Thank you.” Peter smiled.
“These are the things you call and discuss with Pepper and I, by the way. I want you to stay in your limit but not if it puts your well being at risk. Anything else you’ve been needing but avoiding because of said budget?” Tony raised an eyebrow.
“I could make use some socks for winter. Mine are all older and some even have holes. I also need a good pair of winter boots.” Peter saw
Tony nodded his head and quickly said, “But I can live without those things.”
“No, those sound like needs. Those are things you ask the adults in your life to buy you.” Tony told him.
“But May can’t afford all of this.” Peter explained.
“Pepper and I can. It’s why I said adults as in plural.” Tony rolled his eyes, “Needs come to us right away and if you don’t know if it's a need then we can have an open conversation about it.”
“Okay. Thank you.” Peter smiled finally accepting the help.
“You’re welcome, Roo.”
~
“Hey Pepper! Is Tony around?” Peter walked into the tower one day after school.
“No, Sweetie. He went out of town, remember? You didn’t have a lab day scheduled, right? I told him to reschedule with you if he did.”
Pepper paused the show she was watching.
“Oh no. I just needed to talk to him about something.” Peter explained.
“What’s wrong? Maybe I can help?”
“Oh. It’s not that big of a deal.” Peter didn’t know why but he didn’t want to ask Pepper Potts for more money. He knew Tony had said he could and should discuss these things with her but he was nervous.
“If you want you could try and call him.” Pepper seemed to sense his hesitation, “He should be in between meetings right now because he called me not too long ago to chat. Go ahead and use the office if you want.”
“Thanks, Ms. Potts.” Peter nodded.
“Pepper, Peter!” Pepper corrected gently.
“Thanks Pepper.” Peter turned back with a smile.
He pulled open Tony’s laptop to start a video call.
“Roo? It’s weird when it says I’m calling myself.” Tony teased him.
“Oh, sorry. I just thought you wouldn’t mind if I used your computer but I can call you back on my phone—“ Peter anxiety spiraled.
“—It’s fine. I’m teasing, kiddo. What’s going on?”
“I have to talk to you about something that might be a need.” Peter wouldn’t meet his mentor’s eyes.
“Peter, you can look at me. I’m not going to be mad even if we decide it isn’t. What’s going on and what do you need?”
“You know how I bought myself those jeans not too long ago and you said I should keep them because I need nice clothes?” Peter asked.
“I remember going through all the Amazon purchases and the clothes that day vividly.” Tony teased.
“They are too short now. And I need new jeans and I can’t ask Aunt May because she already told me bills are tight this month.”
“Okay. No worries, Pete. You have to have pants. That’s a need. I can order you some or Pepper can help but I don’t want to raise your limit for that. Can you either send me what you need or maybe Pepper can just take you to the mall?” Tony suggested.
“What if she gets mad at me?” Peter asked his mentor.
“Unlikely. I’ll text her what’s up though if you’re too nervous…?”
“No, then she’ll think I’m too scared to talk to her.”
“So you’re going to talk to her?” Tony asked glancing at the time.
“Yeah.”
“Call me back if you chicken out.” Tony told his mentee, “Love you Peter.”
The call disconnected. His mentor had told him he loved him. Peter felt a smile on his face. It was like having a dad. He really liked that feeling. It was cozy.
~
“Umm Pepper?” Peter came into the living room again, “I need your help with something.”
Pepper paused her show again, “Anything.”
“You see how my jeans are too short right now?” Peter motioned to his current clothing situation.
“I do. I wasn’t going to mention it but now that you bring it up.” Pepper nodded.
“Can you take me to the mall and get me some new jeans?” Peter asked.
“Oh I love shopping! Absolutely yes.” Pepper grinned.
As they were walking out of the mall later Pepper had an arm wrapped around his shoulders in a hug as she listened to the story he was telling. Everything about this day had felt like having parents and he realized that he loved it. He had a whole family again. May, Tony, and Pepper. It was small but perfect.
He paused as he got into the car, “Pepper?”
“Did we forget something? I think we bought the whole mall?” Pepper teased.
“No, just—I love you.” Peter didn’t meet her eyes.
“Love you too, sweetie! Let’s talk food though. I’m starving.” Pepper started the car turning on the heat right away.
“Oh, me too!” Peter started listing off ideas of places to eat until they settled on one.
“Call May and ask her to meet us there.” Pepper told him.
“Sure.” Peter smiled. He couldn’t stop smiling lately. What was up with that? He wasn’t going to question it more though. He was just going to sink into that feeling—Happiness.