Chapter Text
"... And so we believe, to continue this Father's Day celebrating event, that a good man is a man with a strong, healthy father figure..."
Enough. Peter had enough. Grabbing his backpack that was at his feet, he rushed out of the conference room without turning back. He knew it wasn't a good idea to come to this event at Uni, but he just wanted to feel integrated and forced himself to go. He regretted it very much.
He hurried his pace. Space. He needed space. Finally, he took an exit that wasn't connected to an alarm but a simple rope. He gulped the fresh air.
There were barely any light. He was pretty sure it was a back court no one ever used. Little stairs of 3 steps finished on cracked concrete and grass was growing through it. It reminded him of the trash cans he used to search in to find some electronic elements. God, what a fucking loser.
A shadow on his left moved suddenly. He barely prevented himself from cardiac arrest as he jumped on the side, ready to fight for his life.
"Woah, woah, easy there kid," the voice started, "I'm no enemy, just a pal wanting some peace like you."
Peter almost apologized when his night vision turned on in a click. He saw a 40 something man in a very nice suit -Peter smelled rich from miles afar- sitting on the ground.
"How the heck you've arrived here ?" he asked out of the blue. " My super secret knot was still there when I arrived. "
" Your super secret knot ?"
Peter suddenly felt silly. He felt his cheeks blushing.
" Yeah. I made a very specific knot just to know I'm the only one going here. So, how did you manage to come here ? It's a dead end. "
" By the air. "
Peter rolled his eyes.
" Yeah, of course, sounds legit to me."
The men stood and placed himself in front of Peter. It took him a second to remember his name, because it was always written in a large font on those magazines.
" I'm dead serious. "
Tony fucking Stark was in front of him. In this crappy place that smelling like oil so much you felt greasy. It took Peter some time to close his stupid mouth that stayed open.
" What's your name ? " Stark asked. He obviously didn't need an introduction.
" Pe-peter Parker" the younger said. Then even lower : "nice to meet you Sir".
" Are you old enough to drink, Pepeter Parker ?" he asked in a smirk.
God, the man knew how to be intimidating AND sexy. Tony Stark seemed to know everything.
" Yes, but I don't.... I don't drink. "
" It's okay. I just need company. "
Stark sat again and opened a can of beer Peter didn't even see. It was like he waited for somebody to come here and talk to him.
" Shitty event, huh? I would have left if I was you, too."
He sipped his beer, letting Peter answer:
" Yeah. Well, I didn't quite know my parents before they died, so..."
He could have blushed. No one needed to know he was a poor little orphan. But it was late, it had a bad day, and Tony Stark was drinking on some shitty stairs at his uni. He needed a break.
" Yeah, I checked that. Plane crash, right ? That's unusual. "
He didn't like his tone. In fact, he didn't like when somebody talked about them. That was all that looked like family outside aunt May.
" What are you doing here, anyway ?" asked Peter a little rudely. He was exhausted and didn't want Stark to victimize him.
"Just like you. I hate Father's Day. I hate anything related to it. I was passing by and decided to take a break. Here. "
Peter raised his eyebrows. Stark was known for being a party goer, but he abused substances too, apparently.
" My special knot was the same as the last time I came here. This is a dead end, Mr Stark. Unless you fly, no one ever could come here."
"Maybe I can fly ?" said Tony to his can of beer. " We all have our little secrets."
He looked at Peter right in the eye for the last part. His sixth sense told him to be careful.
He scratched unconsciously the spider bite that wouldn't come off his arm for the last 3 months. Shit, that guy knew something.
Tony continued:
" My little finger told me there's someone in town that has developed quite some nice powers. He jumps like ten meters up, sees in the dark, and I'm pretty sure it could be more than that. And this started right after he left the museum with his class. The same day a very dangerous spider escaped and bite some student. Pretty incredible, right ?"
" Yeah," said Peter, so nervously he gulped like a frog, 'that's quite some info you got there, ah ah."
Fuck fuck fuck.
" So Peter, how is that Spider-man thing going on in uni? You must know something. It was your class, that day. You may have seen something important, right ? Maybe you even know him."
" Hahaha yeah, world is small right ? Maybe he's my neighbour right next door and I don't even know. But sure thing is, I know *nothing* about it. Now if you'll excuse me..."
He turned around and was about to open the door when he heard a video being played. Tony used one of his incredible gadgets to show him that video of him realizing his powers in a dark alley days after the bite.
" Oh my god !" said the Peter in video, "It's damn incredible ! I'm becoming a goddamn spider !!!"
Present Peter shut the door in a hurry and pressed his back against it.
" Okay, right. That's me, Mr Stark. "
" Glad to know we're on the same page now" he smirked, shutting his device.
Peter was anxious. Stark was known for Stark industries, a rockstar behavior and to pay student loans for the best of the undergraduates in sciences. Him knowing his little secret wasn't good in any way. It would be pure blackmail.
" What do you want from me ? You're rich as Croesus and already have the best employees the world could ever ask for. Me jumping around like a kangaroo won't change any-"
" I'm Iron Man."
God, that was something. It shut Peter's mouth right away. Stark was looking dead serious, nothing like alcohol would do.
" What ?"
" I said: I'm Iron Man. That's how I came here, that's why I'm staying in this crappy place to talk 1 on 1 with you, and that's why I care. "
Peter knew he was smart. Well, people told him.
But right now, he felt like the dumbest idiot New York had ever seen. No coherent thought crossed his mind.
" O...okay. Wow, Mr Stark, ok. Ok nice. Yeah. "
He did two awkward thumbs up with an even more awkward smile. Stark seemed unimpressed.
" I'm not asking you to join me or anything. You're a teen, I can't put you in danger."
" I'm 21 years old ! I'm not a child ! "
Peter found his voice back. God, everyone told him he looked very young, but please ! He was a uni student now. And he never grade-skipped. Something came to his mind :
" And you asked me if I was old enough to drink. And I said yes. "
" I thought you lied. I wanted to know if you were a good liar before I asked you about your spider thing. Fuck, you're the worst liar I've ever seen. "
Peter's cheeks went so red he could light the place. He wanted to disappear.
" But I like it, kid. You may be clumsy and the worst liar ever, you have a good heart. That's why I can't let you all alone with those powers. JARVIS will call you tomorrow. Answer it and come to the Stark tower. We need to talk more seriously. I have to go. "
Then, before Peter could ever add something, he tapped his heel on the concrete and a metal armor started to form on his body. Peter watched it, completely amazed by the technology.
When the mask was finally placed, he turned around and said:
" Happy Father's day, Spider-Man."
And took off.