Chapter Text
Before Tony Stark met Spider-Man, he met Peter Parker.
Specifically, he met Peter Parker because of a grant fund, a piece of perspective, and a text.
Tony had been touring colleges, offering his September Foundation grant to any STEM students he could find. He had toured many colleges and had seen many starry eyes. He met many fresh faces he could definitely say would be the future of technology. He looked at all the good he was trying his best to do, even with all hell breaking loose around him, and for once, he felt proud of himself.
Then, one night, he had a kind of revelation.
A pretty big one, too.
And it had started with him, at about 11 pm, scrolling through his news feed. He was flicking through headlines about colleges he may have missed, new updates on what his money is going into, and good places to stop for takeout, when he stopped.
Because he found himself on an article about a high school. A Daily Bugle article, written right in the city.
Honestly, he was about to just scroll ahead. But a little voice in his head piped up when he began to read.
The article was something about some kind of team going into a final. The kids faces looked alive as they stood on stage, spelling bee style. One kid in specific stood out, a kid with short brown hair and this glowing pride in his eyes as he spoke into the mic. The freeze frame didn't say much, but it said enough.
Midtown High School. Midtown School of Science and Technology.
Tony clicked the link to their main page.
This opened his eyes to a whole new world he hadn't even thought of. Their offering of college level courses, their extensive lab equipment and budget, their scholarship opportunities, it was all exactly what Tony had been reaching out for. A place where kids with ideas go to build on themselves and their projects.
Located right in Manhattan.
He found the office number, and wrote it down on a post it.
Call in the morning — September Grant for AP students
He stuck it on his desk and stifled a yawn. He finally got up and went to bed, whole new opportunities fresh in his mind. It took him a while to actually get to sleep, but as long as he kept his mind on the grant and nothing else, it wasn't too difficult.
—
It was a long day of phone calls, schedule rearranging, grant statistics, and ignoring the crumbling world around him, but he finally got a date to go to Midtown.
He'd go in three days, at noon sharp. He'd do a talk in the auditorium, and any kids taking any AP Technology classes were invited to apply for the grant. It would be a simple call and accept, and it would be no different for the high schoolers than the college kids. All expenses paid, no weird catches, just funding the future.
He went back on the first article he saw, and he was greeted with the face of that proud kid. Underneath, it said,
P. Parker, answering the final question, leading the team to the finals. 4/9/16 © Midtown Archives
Tony couldn't help but smile. This Parker kid looked so happy to be alive. The future was going to be great, if this kid was one of the faces to lead it.
—
"You guys can thank yourselves for this opportunity, actually. I was planning on sticking with colleges, but there was such an untapped resource in schools like this. I found you guys, specifically, over an article on a team of yours going to a final. Funny how things work out like that."
Tony Stark stood atop a stage. It was a much smaller stage than he usually found himself on, but it wasn't a problem. The lights were a little bit messed up, so he couldn't see very far to the back of the crowd, but it was all fine. At least the heater was working, as it was a weirdly cold day for April.
He scanned the crowd as he spoke, something he always did to keep himself focused, and at one point, he spotted the very kid who led this whole project.
He was front and center, looking up at him like he had never seen something so inspiring. The finicky lights were very bright at just around his row, so he could be seen very clearly. He had headphones around his neck, but also earbuds sticking out of his shirt. He held something in his hand that Tony couldn't see. Maybe a phone? but it was a little too small.
He continued. "Every student this room is eligible for the September Foundation grant fund. No strings attached. It's as simple as ask and ye shall receive."
Right before he finished his sentence, he saw the kid get up, stumble, and crouch-run out of the auditorium, trying not to block the rest of the crowds' view.
Weird, Tony thought. He couldn't dwell on it, though, so he kept talking. He spoke for a long, long time, and he was starting to worry about keeping the crowds' attention, so he began to wrap it up.
"Any of you have projects you've been sitting on? Anything, from fully formed models that just need that little bit of this or that, to a spreadsheet you made at four in the morning that just might work out if you had the money. Whatever money can fix, it will fix. And now, you are all being extended the gift. Alright, that's my shpiel. Go on, go design the future."
The crowd began to cheer. Everybody looking up at Tony had such a fire in their eyes, like their dreams were coming true. Some people stood. Everybody clapped. Nobody could contain their excitement.
At the exits, tables were set up with pamphlets about the fund, numbers to call, and a few facts and trivia. We're catering to the nerdy kids, Tony said when he and his team were designing these pamphlets. You gotta have some fun.
He got off the stage as everybody began to crowd around the tables. He walked backstage and down the steps, exiting into a pretty empty hallway.
"Thank you, so much, Mr. Stark, sir." A gaunt and shivery woman with a lanyard came up to him from behind and began to speak.
"It's really nothing. You know these kids, right?" He said, turning to face the woman. He began loosening his tie, ready to go home.
"Of course. I've had almost all of them, as head of intro to technology." The woman said proudly. She had patchy makeup on, with way too much blush, and her cardigan was too small.
"Who was the kid, front row, who ran off?" Tony asked her, finally deciding to investigate further.
"Oh," Her face lowered slightly. Was she scowling? "Parker. She's a 'prodigy', most people say." She sounded annoyed, with a thin veil of kindness.
"I want to meet with that kid." Tony said with a certain finality that you only hear from someone who is rarely told no. "Everyone needs to get this chance."
The woman looked a bit shocked, but obviously she was wary of arguing with a man who was funding thousands of people's scientific research. "I'll.. call her down to my office. You can meet with her there."