Chapter Text
“Thanks, FRI, but I’m good on the snow forecast for the day. I swear, you were a weather reporter in another li–”
“ Mr. Stark? ”
“Oh, hi, Pete. I wasn’t sure if you were gonna answer.”
“ Are you and F.R.I.D.A.Y. arguing about the weather again? ”
Peter’s voice is quiet on the other line, and Tony can hear a hint of frustration, or maybe annoyance, in his words.
“F.R.I.D.A.Y. was just being a dear and letting me know that it’s still lightly snowing, but it sounds like you’re outta luck for a snow day tomorrow.”
There’s a long sigh, and then silence.
“Kid?”
“ Please don’t remind me that I still have to go to school tomorrow, ” Peter groans.
“You doing okay over there?”
More silence.
“You need me to come break you out of there? I’m sure Aunt Hottie won’t mind.”
Another long sigh. Tony leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. “Really, Pete. What’s going on?”
“ I’m just a little stressed, ” Peter replies softly. “ I kind of procrastinated on a project. It’s due tomorrow and I really wanted to go out and patrol tonight, but then I don’t think I would have enough time to do the project if I did. I still have chemistry homework to finish, too. And, uh, I might have an essay that’s only like…a quarter of the way done. ”
“Okay, first of all, you’re not going out on patrol when it’s snowing. And second–”
“ People still need help when it’s snowing, Mr. Stark! ”
“Do I need to send you the footage from last time you patrolled in the snow? Do you really want to turn into a Spider-Sicle again?”
“ I’ll use the heater this time, ” Peter grumbles dejectedly. “ It wasn’t that bad. ”
“Pete, your body temperature was all over the place. You were hypothermic and hyperthermic in the span of twenty-four hours!”
“ It wasn’t my fault! I was just trying to warm up as fast as possible! ”
“Nope. That’s off the table for tonight, okay? We can do the chemistry homework first. What’s the assignment?”
“ We? ”
“Sure, why not? I’ll help keep you on track. Now start reading the first problem to me, or I’m coming over there.”
This time, there’s a long sigh, then a yawn, and then more silence.
“Do you want me to come over there?”
Another yawn, followed by a wet, muffled noise that sounds suspiciously like sniffling. This time, it’s Tony’s turn to sigh.
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Don’t fall asleep before I get there.”
Tony ends the call and pulls up his messages so he can text Happy, but pauses before hitting send. Probably better to drive himself tonight, since he isn’t sure how long he’s going to be working with Peter. The kids had sounded way too stressed and way too tired for this to be only an hour or two of homework.
The Parker’s apartment is dark except for the light coming from Peter’s bedroom down the hall. Tony makes his way there, stopping short in the doorway when he sees the sight before him. He crosses his arms and leans against the doorframe, a mixture of fondness and concern swirling in his chest as he takes it all in. Peter is sound asleep, lying on his stomach diagonally on the bed, cheek resting against his closed chemistry textbook and surrounded by notebooks and various other papers and school supplies. There’s a poster board propped up against the headboard and his open laptop is perched precariously on the edge of the bed, one slight movement from toppling onto the floor.
Tony is impressed with himself when he manages to trade the textbook out for a pillow, save Peter’s laptop from certain death, and drape a blanket over the sleeping kid all without waking him up. He turns out the light, then closes the door as quietly as the creaky hinges allow, then makes his way back out to the living room.
He sends a quick text to May in case she comes home at some point, sets an alarm in case he falls asleep, and then settles down on the couch and turns on the TV to a riveting rerun of Grey’s Anatomy .
They can always tackle the homework in the morning.