Chapter Text
1.
For as long as Tony Stark could remember, he had always known how to make amends with money. He never apologized, really, but there were moments when he could admit he had been an asshole. It wasn't the money that served as his apology, but his most valuable tool to get whatever he deemed necessary to appease his current threats: an angered Pepper Potts and a letdown Peter Parker.
That wasn't how it started. Shockingly, the billionaire had done nothing wrong in the past few weeks, and Pepper was perfectly happy with his antics, thank you very much. Mostly because he was finally listening to her and attending meetings, and Peter no longer seemed uncomfortable around him. It had been a long journey to get there. Tony still felt at fault for the unwarranted panic he could see in the boy whenever he thought he had made a mistake.
And technically, he hadn't done anything wrong now. But that was not what his mind was telling him, and neither was his whole body that was currently tossing a wide variety of Japanese knick-knacks into his shopping cart.
See, to have his fiancée happy with him, she had requested his presence in Tokyo’s SI headquarters to show face and review their innovations. The problem was he was scheduled to be there for an entire week, where he would miss two days of dedicated lab time with a young, Queens-based superhero.
Never mix business with pleasure, they said.
He knew it was unrealistic for him not to miss one of his appointments with the kid, given the hectic lifestyle he’d chosen for himself. Tony just hadn’t expected this to happen so soon. The conversation that followed had been far from pleasant for both of them, with the boy giving his best efforts not to sound disappointed, which only made the engineer feel worse.
In truth, he had grown quite fond of the kid, eagerly looking forward to their Wednesday meetings. These weekly sessions had become the highlight of the billionaire’s life, now that Fridays had evolved into movie nights and warm interactions with a slightly anxious teenager. Just two months had passed since the Homecoming events, and Peter was still adapting to the changes it brought to his life alongside Tony. He was an actual intern now, dividing his afternoons between work and protecting his city.
Yet another reason the billionaire was reluctant to leave was that he didn’t want to be away from Spider-Man. If something were to happen, he wouldn't be able to offer assistance. It had been one easy fix, before, just to send an automated suit and get on with his day. Now, Tony was not comfortable with the idea, and he doubted Peter would appreciate it, especially after the Vulture incident.
“Aren’t conference calls good enough for you, now?” he said, packing his bag. “Seems kind of pointless to fly all over there where I could do the same thing a few floors down.”
“It’s only a few days, Tony. You’ll be back in no time,” Pepper rested her hand on his cheek like she knew he could cave if she did it.
“Or they could come here, same distance.”
“You’re going, and that’s the end of it.”
For the first time since they got back together, he considered defying Pepper, even when things had been going excellently lately. So he went and stayed for four days, all jet-lagged and grumpy. He attended his meetings, interacted with the employees, and even pushed himself to join them for dinner on the first night, all to make her happy.
By the fifth day, he had reached his limit. He decided to return against her orders, reflecting that she couldn’t be that mad at him, considering his best efforts to fulfill her initial request. But he knew it was a mistake not to complete it fully, and he did the very best next thing he could do; he went out to buy her something.
On his way, he walked past a tourist shop, fully illuminated and filled with colorful animated objects. It was a sight, and he entered immediately. The shelves were stocked with mugs featuring zodiac animals, board games, costumes, and all sorts of trinkets. Without realizing it, he picked up a Hello Kitty plush toy, reminiscent of the pajama pants he had bought for Peter when he had taken the suit.
Internally, he was still trying to come to terms with the aftermath of the whole Vulture moment. He now understood that taking the suit away was not the way to solve things, and if anything, it only caused more damage to his slowly building relationship with the young vigilante. He knew he was reckless for recruiting a child to fight his battle, but he was unreasonable for expecting the kid to know what to do with the power he’d given him. Tony had called himself a mentor but had essentially neglected him for three months after the Civil War.
Not to make excuses or anything, but he was going through some shit back then, having been recently abandoned and betrayed by the people he had considered his family, once again.
He carried the plush toy with him, grabbing from left to right souvenirs that reminded him of Peter. With him, he hadn't made any recent mistakes, but when it came to the teenager, he thought he was always going to feel a bit guilty.
For his girlfriend, he visited another mall and bought her a luxurious jewelry collection and an overpriced tea set. (Tony should know, Pepper doesn’t like tea.)
Arriving back at the hotel, Tony took a moment to collect himself and organize the gifts. He carefully arranged the jewelry collection in an elegant box. Then, he placed the things he had bought for Peter alongside it, hoping they remained carefully in place for his departure.
He returned to New York utterly exhausted and in desperate need of sleeping for the next fourteen hours. He braced himself for Pepper's inevitable wrath, hoping he could at least take a shower first. It was a Friday, so he sent Happy a text, telling him to go pick Peter up after school for one of their (previously canceled) lab sessions.
He knew Peter well enough to realize that convincing him to accept the gifts wouldn’t be easy. It had been challenging enough to pay for his dinner once a week as it was. And if he was honest, he had bought the kid more stuff than what he planned to give him. For now, he thought a Hello Kitty plush toy, some snacks, and a hoodie were acceptable, so he placed them on the coffee table and stored away the rest to give him later, like a secret stash of apologies.
Peter arrived at the tower only a couple of hours after Tony had taken his nap. They met in the living room when FRIDAY notified the billionaire of his arrival. He couldn’t help but feel nervous about Peter’s reaction. Thankfully, Tony hadn’t come across Pepper, leaving their coming fight unsolved.
The kid walked into his penthouse, steps unsure.
“Hi, Mr. Stark! I thought you were supposed to be in Japan,” he looked happy to see him, his eyes scanning the room, widening slightly when they met the things on the table, but they went back to meet Tony with a smile.
“I was, came back a little early,” he said, his tone casual. “Missed me? I got you something while I was there.”
Peter perked up at that, hastening his way until he was standing next to the billionaire. He set his backpack down on the edge of the couch, opting for the more modest location instead of the nice and overpriced hanger Pepper had bought. Tony didn’t comment on it. Instead, he handed Peter the Hello Kitty plush, choosing to get the feelings out of the way.
Tony Stark didn't like to be handed things, which by default meant he didn't like to hand out things either. But he still felt guilty for missing a lab day, and Peter's unsure smile was sort of worth it.
Peter's fingers gently wrapped around the plush toy, and he held it up to get a better look.
“This is a Hello Kitty toy,” he stated.
“You don’t like it? I’ve been told my selection of gifts isn’t great, but if you hate it, I can send you whatever you want. Japanese made. Right now.”
“No, Mr. Stark. You didn’t have to bring me anything!” Peter looked at the toy excitedly, not minding the fact it was meant for kids. He held it tightly to his chest, his eyes drifting to the rest of the things on the table. “Are those for me too? Seriously, you didn’t have to do this.”
“I know, kid– just, accept it, alright? No biggie,” Tony picked something from one of the boxes. “I even brought you candies. Wasabi-flavored Kit Kats, don’t they sound fun?”
Shyly, Peter went to wrap his arms around Tony, not letting go of the plush toy. It was a brief and slightly awkward hug. It looked unwelcome on Tony's part at first, but it relaxed his nerves.
“Thank you, I love it.” Tony squeezed before he let him go, looking down at him with a small grin.
“Alright! Why don’t we go to the lab then? We got stuff to do.”
In the lab, surrounded by the bots and the familiar hum of machinery, Tony and Peter got to work. The hours passed, as they worked side by side, comfortably in silence and occasionally punctuated by one of Peter's questions.
On one of their short breaks, they decided to try some of the candy. The engineer reached into the container they’d brought down to the lab and pulled out a box with mango-flavored Pocky sticks. Tony recalled those, smitten by the yellow elephant on the packaging.
After wrapping up their work for the night, they left the lab, making their way back up to the penthouse. Once there, they fell into their usual routine: Peter took charge of setting up a movie, while Tony placed an order for takeout. As they watched the movie on the large screen, the teenager had yet to put down the Hello Kitty plushie, cradling it like a precious treasure.
It made the engineer feel warm, a tender reaction he hadn’t anticipated. It didn’t take long for Tony to notice that Peter had drifted off to sleep, his head slumping into an uncomfortable position. The billionaire carefully moved his head on a cushion, not trying to wake him.
It would take a few more hours before Happy came to pick him up, and his conversation with Pepper was coming, but at that moment, both could wait.