Chapter Text
Peter was having the best summer vacation he could remember in years. Not that anything exciting had really happened, but he got to patrol longer, and he was spending more time with Tony than ever. Most of the time when May was working, Peter wound up in Lenox Hill. Tony had even taken him to the Stark Industries headquarters a few times as his “personal intern” to see the labs there and tour the R&D department. They had been completely amazing, but Peter still thought Tony’s personal lab was better.
If he didn’t see Tony that day, they still texted daily, and he was now part of a group chat with Tony and Pepper. May had picked up a few extra night shifts as per usual for the summer, and she had given permission for Peter to stay at the penthouse on these nights.
“The nights it’s convenient for Tony and Pepper, at least,” she had qualified, as if they didn’t all know perfectly well that Tony would clear his schedule entirely for Peter.
Pepper’s schedule wasn’t quite so easy for her to clear, but she did take a little time off from her CEO duties so they could do things together, and even when she had to work, she was always home for dinner.
Home.
Sometime that summer, the penthouse did really become a second home for Peter, and he absolutely thrived. At least once a week, when May wasn’t working, the four of them would have dinner together- usually either at the penthouse or out somewhere, so that May didn’t have to cook. Dinner became their usual Friday night routine and Peter didn’t even mind switching his patrol to the afternoon instead of night to attend. If they ate at the penthouse and Peter was lucky, he could even convince them to watch a movie together after dinner.
That summer brought up something Peter hadn’t thought of until now- the press. It hadn’t been an issue until now, when Peter and Tony rarely spent time together out of the penthouse. But Pepper had put her foot down early in the summer, declaring that if they (read: mostly Tony) were going to take responsibility of Peter while May was at work, the boys would not be spending all their time inside.
“It is summer. Go outside,” she’d ordered them after they’d spent a whole weekend working in the lab building a new suit for Peter.
May had seconded this command, and even Tony had to admit they had a point. So, they had gone outside.
One morning after he had stayed over the night before, while he was debating whether or not he wanted to get up or sleep some more, Peter had overheard Pepper and Tony talking about it in the kitchen. Apparently, there’d been photos taken when Tony had taken the four of them to a Mets game a few days prior, and they’d come across Pepper’s desk before getting to the press and requesting comment.
Lying in his remarkably comfortable bed in what had become his room in the penthouse, Peter’s stomach clenched anxiously for a moment as he listened, and Tony had sounded stressed. He was going on about security details and protection orders and threatened to sue at least three different papers and media organisations that Peter overheard before Pepper calmed him down.
Pepper had dealt with it smoothly- simply describing Peter and May as “close family friends” that they were spending time with during Peter’s summer break, which apparently, wasn’t a very interesting story to the press. They didn’t have his name or any information about him, much to Tony’s relief.
Peter, for his part, was thrilled as being described as “a close family friend” of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. When he told May, she had just laughed.
“I guess it’s true,” she mused. “But God, who saw that coming a year ago?”
There had been a few whispers on the internet about Peter being Tony’s newly discovered secret son, naturally. And one source claimed Peter was Tony’s godson (it was The Daily Mail, but Peter still thought that would have been almost as cool as being Tony’s son). When Tony heard that rumour though, he just quoted The Godfather, and then threw a blueberry at Peter when he sheepishly admitted he’d never seen that movie either.
The return of the Rogues was going well, too. Tony had gone up to the compound a few times to fix things or for a training session with the team- although he was never gone longer than a day, and he’d even taken Peter with him once. Only Steve, Hawkeye and Sam had been there that day- Natasha and Barnes had been out on a mission, and Scott Lang was back in California.
Steve and Sam had been perfectly welcoming to Peter, but he still couldn’t warm up to them. Steve, he could only assume was because of what he knew about Siberia. He’d tried to fix Steve with a stare that said, ‘I know what you did, and I’m not ok with it, but Mr Stark’s willing to give you another chance so I guess I am too.’
Peter wasn’t so sure that the meaning came across, but Steve had definitely looked at him solemnly afterwards, and Tony had bought him ice cream on the way home, so maybe something had gotten across?
But Hawkeye- or Clint, as he had insisted Peter call him- had surprised Peter. He had apologised separately to both Tony and Peter, and within minutes he and Tony were joking together about something Peter didn’t understand.
When Tony had been called away by Sam to look at something, Clint had smiled at Peter and handed him a bottle of juice.
“I just want to make it clear,” he said. “That even though I’m retired, I’ve got your back, kid. If you ever need it. I wish you were older, but I respect what you’re doing.”
Peter nodded slowly. “My aunt and Mr Stark wish I was older too,” he said. “But it’s not like I decided to get bitten by a mutant spider, you know?”
Clint grinned. “Fair,” he acknowledged. “Like I said, respect. And you’re good for Stark, too. You keep doing what you’re doing kid.”
Peter wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that, but he did decide that being called “kid” by Hawkeye wasn’t so bad either.
It wasn’t Tony, or Pepper and it wasn’t even Happy, but it wasn’t bad.
Tony had even taken Peter driving a few times, so that Peter would be ready to get his license once he was sixteen. When he’d offered, Pepper and May had seemed a little reluctant, but May didn’t have the time and Happy had flatly refused. Tony trusted no one else to teach Peter. He may be a somewhat reckless (his own words) driver at times, but he never let Peter go a mile over the speed limit. As with everything else Tony had taught him, Peter found him to be a thorough and patient teacher.
Peter’s sixteenth birthday was on August tenth.
So, May wasn’t totally shocked when she opened her front door one Sunday afternoon at the beginning of August to find Tony standing on the other side.
“Hi,” she greeted him.
“Hi,” he replied. “The kid out Spidermanning?”
May laughed as she ushered him inside. “Please. As if you don’t get at least one notification every time he puts on the suit. And I know, because I get the same notification, remember?”
Tony had the decency to look faintly sheepish.
“Is everything alright?” May asked, putting on the coffee maker.
Tony paused. “Would you believe I was just in the neighbourhood?” he asked, and May rolled her eyes.
“Right,” he said. “Well, actually, I wanted to talk to you. About Pete’s birthday.”
May nodded slowly. Nothing was said as she made the coffee, and brought it over to the living room, where they sat on the couch.
“Peter’s birthday,” she said, as though there’d been no pause.
Tony nodded, looking a little awkward to May’s eyes. And more than a little nervous. Neither was a sight common on Tony Stark’s face. At least, not that most people got to see.
“May, I- I don’t want to overstep,” Tony said slowly. “Because I know it’s not my place. And I don’t know what you have planned... but I’d like to get Peter something for his birthday. Well, it’d be from Pepper too, but it’s my idea.”
May took a sip of coffee. “What exactly did you have in mind?”
Tony rubbed at his jaw. “Well, traditionally, the gift for turning sixteen is-”
“A car,” May cut him off.
Tony nodded and May lapsed into thoughtful silence.
Tony was right, it wasn’t his place to gift Peter a car. But nor was it his place to take him under his wing and teach him about the superhero life- even though that’s what she had initially asked of him. It wasn’t his place to build her nephew a multimillion-dollar suit with every safety feature one could think of (and many more only Tony Stark could possibly think of), with every effort to keep Peter safe and protected. It wasn’t his place to give Peter a bedroom in his penthouse, to ensure his home had a fully stocked medical wing at all times- just in case. It wasn’t his place to stock that bedroom with clothes, a new laptop and things Peter loved to make him comfortable. It wasn’t Tony’s place to help him with his homework, or to offer to be his emergency contact at school.
It wasn’t Tony’s place to love her nephew, love her child. But he did all these things, and more. Without a second thought.
The week after the Accords had been signed, Pepper and May had met for dinner one night when Tony was up at the compound, and Peter was out patrolling and then sleeping over at Ned’s.
There, Pepper had told May about her and Tony’s breakup, and the conversation they’d had last fall.
“It was right before we got engaged, so everything was happening with the Vulture. We weren’t talking about getting married,” Pepper mused. “We just knew that we missed each other.”
She sighed. “Tony told me about the Accords, the revisions they were working on. He told me about the third option.”
“The one Vision and Wanda took?” May recalled.
Pepper had nodded. “Yeah. The thing is… we broke up because Tony couldn’t stop.”
“Stop… being Iron Man?”
“He always said he would, and then didn’t. And it’s hard to watch, it always has been. At the breaking point, he finally admitted that he couldn’t stop. And it took me all that time we were apart to realise that what he meant was that he didn’t feel he was able to stop. That it was safe for him to stop.”
Pepper blinked away tears. “When he told me about the third option, I thought for a moment that he was going to take it. But then he told me, he said ‘Pep, honey, there’s this kid. And he’s going to be great one day. One day. But today, I can’t leave him unprotected, and if I take this option, that’s what I’m doing. I love you, but I’ll understand if you can’t live with that.’”
Despite the shining diamond on Pepper’s left hand, May’s heart had been in her throat, enthralled by the story.
“What did you say?”
Pepper grinned broadly. “Not much, if you know what I mean,” she said with a wink, making May laugh.
“Honestly, in that moment, it was like I fell in love with him all over again,” Pepper said softly. “The fear and danger, all the things I hate about Iron Man… it was worth it if Tony saw something in this kid, that I’d never met that before that he wanted to keep safe.”
It wasn’t just what Tony did for Peter, either. It was the coffee maker that Tony had gifted May (claiming if he was going to be a frequent visitor, there needed to be decent coffee on hand); it was everything he did to give May peace of mind where Peter was concerned; and it was knowing that if she even hinted at any difficulty or trouble, Tony would be the first to offer her any kind of help in any way he could.
A year ago, if May had heard Tony Stark described as kind or generous, she would have laughed. Now, she knew better.
“You can get Peter a car,” she said softly, drawing Tony’s attention.
He looked at her hopefully.
“But,” she continued quickly. “Nothing ridiculous. Something practical, something simple.”
Tony was nodding earnestly, digging out his phone from his pocket.
“This is what I had in mind, actually.”
He found a photo and handed the phone to May. What filled the screen was more old parts of a car than an actual car.
“What is it?”
“Well, it will be a 1986 Mercedes-Benz. It’s the parts of it. Honestly, it’ll probably take us until the kid goes to college to get it done. But it’s a good car. Old, but good.”
A smile tugged at May’s lips. “Your first car?”
Tony blinked. “How’d you know?”
“I know how old you are, and I can do the math,” May laughed.
Tony looked sheepish again. “My sixteenth birthday,” he confirmed.
“From your parents?”
Tony snorted. “No. From Jarvis, our butler. He raised me more than Howard did.”
Tony looked hesitant once more. “I just thought… Pete likes building stuff. I know that because of all his former dumpster diving tendencies. And every kid should know a few things about cars.”
May smiled. “He’ll love it, Tony,” she reassured him.
What Peter would love most about it, she knew, was just spending the time working on it with Tony.
They chatted about Peter’s birthday some more and what May was planning- nothing fancy, just a small dinner- until there came the distant clattering from the direction of Peter’s room, the sound of someone landing on the fire escape and clambering through the window. A minute later, Peter himself stumbled into the living room, still in his suit but sans mask.
“Graceful as always, Mr Parker,” Tony greeted him teasingly.
Peter actually giggled faintly, scurrying to the kitchen to get a drink.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, bouncing onto the closest chair with a bottle of water.
“Rude,” Tony scoffed. “I can’t just stop by to visit my favourite intern?”
“I’m your only intern,” Peter pointed out.
Tony shrugged. “Technicality. How was patrol?”
“Pretty quiet,” Peter shrugged. “I guess it’s too hot to commit crime?”
Tony frowned. “The cooling system working ok?”
Peter rolled his eyes knowingly. “Yes, Mr Stark. I’m fine. An old lady bought me an ice cream.”
It was Tony’s turn to roll his eyes. “Of course she did,” he said, shooting a look towards May, who grinned.
Peter’s plans for his sixteenth birthday were simple. A visit with May to the cemetery in the morning to visit his parents and Ben, going to the DMV to get his license and then heading to the penthouse for dinner with May, Ned and MJ. The original plan was for dinner to be at the Parkers’ apartment, but when May had asked Peter what he wanted for dinner, the first thing that came to mind was Tony’s homemade pasta.
Peter had been hesitant to ask, so May had done it for him. Tony hadn’t hesitated to agree to cook, or to host the evening, as was the more practical option. Peter and May were going over that afternoon so that Peter could help Tony make the pasta, and then Ned’s mother would drop him and MJ over, while May would bring them all home.
Peter was pretty sure that Ned was more excited to be eating dinner at Tony Stark’s penthouse than he was to be celebrating his best friend’s birthday. MJ was playing it cool, as always, but Peter was willing to bet that even she would be impressed when she got here.
Peter passed his driving test with flying colours, and had sent enthusiastic texts to Tony, Ned and MJ before they’d even left the DMV. May still refused to let Peter drive to Lenox Hill from the DMV however, much to Peter’s chagrin.
Tony and Pepper met them in the garage when May pulled in, Tony beaming.
“Happy birthday, Underoos,” he greeted Peter, ruffling his hair. “Congrats on the license!”
Peter ducked away with a laugh. “Thanks, Mr Stark.”
Pepper hugged him briefly, wishing him a happy birthday herself.
“I didn’t realise I get a welcoming committee for my birthday,” Peter laughed.
Tony’s grin spread, his eyes twinkling. “Well, actually, I thought it made the most sense to start with presents.”
Pepper raised her hand. “I would like it noted on the record that I disagreed with this plan, knowing how likely both you boys are to get immediately obsessed with this and forget that there is dinner to cook and people coming over.”
Peter looked at her, puzzled. But Tony waved a dismissive hand in his fiancée’s direction, grabbing Peter’s arm and leading him over to a corner of the garage where there was a sheet covering a large item.
At Tony’s silent urging, Peter hesitantly grabbed the sheet and pulled it away. His eyes widened as he took in what, to May, looked like nothing more than various sized pieces of metal.
“Whoa,” he said quietly.
He stared between the metal and Tony in awe.
“What- what is it?” he asked.
Tony laughed. “Eventually, kiddo, it’ll be this.”
Peter’s phone buzzed at that exact moment, and he pulled it out of his pocket and brought up the picture of the finished car.
“Wait,” Peter breathed. “I get- I mean, we… we get to build a car? Together?”
“That was the general idea,” Tony shrugged. “It’ll take a while, but hey, you live in New York, right? Who needs to drive in New York?”
Peter’s whole face lit up, and before anyone could blink, he’d stepped over to Tony and hugged him tightly. Tony faltered for a heartbeat before he slowly returned the hug, one hand coming to rest on Peter’s back, the other cupping the back of his head.
“This is so awesome, Mr Stark!” Peter said, his voice muffled by where his face was pressed into Tony’s shoulder. “Thank you.”
“Happy birthday, bud,” Tony said quietly.
Pepper was beaming, and May felt tears pricking at the corner of her eyes as Peter stepped back, his gaze returning to the car, practically bouncing with excitement. She could see that he was twitching to start right then and there, which Pepper noticed too.
“Alright, boys,” she announced. “Pasta time. The car isn’t going anywhere, and I’m hungry.”
“Fine,” Tony said reluctantly. “What are exactly are you going to do while I cook?”
Pepper reached over and linked her arm through May’s. “Clearly, May and I are going to sit on the couch and drink wine and watch you cook.”
“Sounds good to me,” May agreed immediately. “It’ll be like watching a live episode of MasterChef.”
“May, no one watches MasterChef anymore,” Peter rolled his eyes.
“Kid, there’ll be no judgment of pop culture references until you’ve seen The Sandlot,” Tony told him, steering them towards the elevator.
May looked to Pepper quizzically. “What am I missing?”
Pepper laughed. “Wednesday night, Tony quoted it- ‘you’re killing me, Smalls’. Peter didn’t get it.”
Tony shook his head. “Seriously, May. What movies is this kid watching?”
“Star Wars,” May replied dryly. “A lot of Star Wars.”
Peter rolled his eyes. “It’s my birthday,” he almost whined. “You can’t be mean to me on my birthday.”
“Meh, I think your birthday is the best time to be mean to you,” Tony teased him.
They rode the elevator up to the penthouse- where even FRIDAY wished Peter a happy birthday, who beamed in return. After Peter took a moment to gawk over the decorations that filled the room, Tony whisked his protege off to the kitchen, while May and Pepper seated themselves on the couch with a glass of wine each.
The television was on in the background, but watching Tony and Peter make the dough for the pasta together was far more captivating viewing for both women.
“He’s never had this,” May murmured to Pepper, abruptly changing the subject.
Tony had ordered FRIDAY to play music in the kitchen, so May wasn’t worried about Peter overhearing them.
“His mother cooked, but Peter was really too young to do anything but get in the way. Richard couldn’t boil water, and Ben wasn’t much better. Not that I’m Julia Child, you know, but no one’s going to die from eating something I make- despite Peter’s jokes. Peter’s never shown any interest in cooking before, and if he had, he wasn’t going to learn much from me.”
Pepper nodded knowingly. “Tony learned from Jarvis, and his mother… mostly Jarvis,” she allowed. “I think his mother only cooked when his father was away on business. I’m pretty sure he associates his mother’s recipes with his father not being there. After he was on his own, he only cooked when he could be bothered, which wasn’t often.”
“So, what changed?”
“Once we started dating, I told him he needed to take better care of himself. Which he’s done with varying degrees of success over the years,” Pepper grinned. “But now, he wants Peter to take care of himself. Which means, teaching him how to do that and being a good role model.”
May glanced over to the kitchen, watching how Peter’s brow was furrowed in concentration as he watched what Tony was doing, nodding earnestly as Tony said something to him that May couldn’t hear.
Peter said something and Tony smirked, flicking flour into Peter’s face and making him laugh.
When Peter had first gotten his “internship” with Tony, back when it wasn’t really an internship and May had no idea her nephew was spending his free time fighting crime, May had known that Peter looked up to Tony, was desperate for his approval. She’d sensed that Peter was looking for Tony to fill the void in his life left by Ben. That had hurt May bitterly, and probably caused a large part of her misgivings about Tony in the beginning. Still reeling from grief, she’d hated Tony for that, and she’d had to swallow back accusations to Peter about trying to replace his uncle.
But watching them now, May didn’t know how she could have resented Peter for looking up to Tony. Tony hadn’t replaced Ben, just as Ben hadn’t replaced Richard and she hadn’t replaced Mary. There was room for them all in Peter’s heart, and in these moments, she saw just how much Tony had brought to Peter’s life- not just for Spider-Man, but for Peter Parker.
“God, I could watch this all day,” she said to Pepper.
Pepper’s eyes lit up. “Hold that thought,” she promised and hurried out of the room.
She was back in a moment, holding her StarkPad.
“I’ve had FRIDAY set up a secret folder,” Pepper admitted in a whisper. “She records everything, you know. But I’ve asked her to store any video or photo footage with Tony and Peter together in a secure server, which so far, only I can access. But I’ll add you to it,” she promised, opening the folder.
“You really have been holding out on me,” May gasped softly, watching the folder open to spill what had to be hundreds of pictures and video files onto the screen.
Pepper giggled. “Sorry. Here, this is one of my favourites.”
She opened a photo of the boys sitting at the dining room table. Peter had a textbook open before him and was staring at it intensely. Tony was sitting beside him, his eyes on Peter. The pride and fondness on his face was unmistakable and so vibrant it took May’s breath away.
Pepper kept bringing files up for May to see until Tony and Peter left the dough to rest and came over to join them.
“What are we talking about?” Tony asked.
“Wedding ideas,” Pepper answered promptly.
“Do you have a date yet?” Peter asked immediately. “Because it’s been like, forever.”
Tony shoved Peter’s shoulder playfully. “Hey, we are very busy people, kid.”
“Also, someone keeps procrastinating making decisions,” Pepper retorted.
“I’m not procrastinating, honey. I just don’t care,” Tony reassured her.
“That’s romantic,” May laughed.
Pepper grinned and turned to Peter. “We do have a date,” she confirmed. “Next August.”
“Why so far away?” Peter frowned.
“It allows me time to plan in between work and any end of the world situations that may come up,” Pepper explained. “But keep next August free, anyway.”
Peter blinked between her and Tony. “Wait, I’m invited?”
Tony rolled his eyes. “Duh. What kind of question is that, Underoos?” Tony demanded.
Peter winced. “Oh my God, Mr Stark. Please don’t call me ‘Underoos’ when Ned and MJ are here,” he begged. “I will never live it down.”
Tony grinned and Pepper sighed.
“Peter, honey, that’s the absolute worst thing you could have said.”
Peter’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah, I realise that,” he grumbled.
When FRIDAY notified them that Mrs Leeds had arrived with Ned and MJ, Peter went down to meet his friends in the lobby while Tony returned to the kitchen to finish cooking dinner and May helped Pepper set the table. It was longer than expected before Peter returned with Ned and MJ in tow.
“I had to show them my present,” Peter explained to May’s questioning glance.
Tony broke into a grin as Peter hurried back over to the kitchen to help him.
May rolled her eyes faintly and turned to Ned and MJ.
“Hi, Ned. Michelle,” she greeted them.
“Hi Mrs Parker,” MJ replied.
Ned looked too awestruck to say anything, but he nodded.
“It’s just May,” May corrected her.
MJ smiled. “Cool. OK, May,” she agreed.
There came the sound of Peter indignantly crying “Hey!” from the kitchen, and they all turned to see Peter holding his arm with wide eyes, as Tony glared at him, wooden spoon in hand.
“Do you see how easy that is?” he demanded of Peter, gesturing towards May and MJ.
Peter ignored him, his eyes narrowing. “You know, I was nice to you on your birthday,” he pointed out.
“Actually, I’m pretty sure you broke and entered my house on my birthday,” Tony retorted, but he looked rather amused.
Peter grinned. “It’s not breaking and entering when FRIDAY lets me in.”
“FRIDAY is not a person and does not count,” Tony argued.
“Well, that’s just going to hurt her feelings, Mr Stark,” Peter said flatly, and Tony swatted his arm with the wooden spoon again, making Peter laugh.
Pepper turned her back on the kitchen and came over to introduce herself to Peter’s friends.
“Hello, I’m Pepper. It’s nice to finally meet you both.”
“Thank you,” MJ said, sounding appropriately awed as one should when meeting the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world, who had risen from assistant to executive and taken the company from strength to strength.
Ned managed to croak out a “Hello, thank you for having us,” to Pepper; but his voice failed him when Tony came over, placing the food on the table before turning his attention to Peter’s friends.
“Hey, Ned. Michelle. Glad you could make it,” he said.
Peter was right behind him, placing the remainder of the dishes on the table, staring between Tony and his friends with bright eyes. Whether or not he wanted Tony to approve of his friends or vice versa was anyone’s guess.
MJ, who had many thoughts about Tony Stark and was not shy about letting Peter know them, was reserved, merely saying hello. She was watching Tony rather warily though, which Tony either didn’t notice or ignored. Ned could not speak, which Peter had expected, but was still exasperating. Yes, this was Tony Stark and Iron Man. But this, tonight, was just Tony. And Peter’s favourite Tony, no sunglasses, jeans, faded band t shirt and bare feet, who affectionately ruffled Peter’s hair and squeezed his shoulder, and who made him giggle as they bantered about whether FRIDAY had feelings or not.
They sat down to dinner, where Ned finally managed to talk to Tony after Peter managed to work in a reference to Joe Versus the Volcano, and Tony had playfully ordered him from the penthouse “for daring to reference such a terrible movie in my house.”
Ned and Peter, now having seen it, agreed it was a terrible movie but as Ned said, “still probably not as bad as Twilight.”
Tony wrinkled his nose thoughtfully. “No, I think it’s definitely worse than Twilight,” he replied, and Ned and even MJ’s faces had been priceless.
“You’ve seen Twilight?” MJ had finally asked.
“Unfortunately, yes,” he replied, glaring at Pepper, who shrugged.
“I was curious.”
“The books are better,” Ned blurted out and Peter could only shrug helplessly as Tony glanced at him with a slightly raised eyebrow.
After dinner, presents were presented. Peter had already opened his from May- a brand new stereo- that morning, but Ned had gotten him a new Lego set and MJ had bought him a book, which he thanked them both for enthusiastically. But when Tony tossed him a parcel, Peter looked at him with a frown.
“Mr Stark, you already got me a gift,” he reminded him.
Tony rolled his eyes. “It’s like you don’t know me at all, kid,” he complained. “Open it.”
Peter obeyed, and May’s gaze flickered between Peter and Tony quizzically. She knew nothing about this gift, and she was sure it was going to be something ridiculously expensive Peter didn’t need.
But instead, Peter unwrapped a book. He took in the title and then grinned at Tony broadly.
“1001 Must See Movies?”
“If it kills me, kid, you are going to understand all my references. I’m not wasting golden pop culture references on you if you’re not going to get them. Otherwise, I may as well be talking to Rogers. Or Thor. Or oddly, Bruce. Why is everyone I know hopeless?” he complained to Pepper.
Peter laughed.
After presents there was cake, as was essential at a birthday party, and then May rounded up the three teens to go home.
Pepper hugged Peter warmly, brushing aside his thanks for hosting the evening.
“It was our pleasure, honey. We’ll see you on Wednesday,” she smiled.
Peter nodded and turned to Tony. Without hesitation, he hugged Tony too. Tony was more confident in returning the hug this time.
“Thank you for my car, Mr Stark. I love it,” he said sincerely.
Tony swallowed hard. “You’re very welcome, Peter,” he said.
Peter hurried into the elevator to join the others, turning to wave at Tony and Pepper one last time.
“See you on Wednesday!” he grinned.
Tony grinned too, a glint in his eyes. “See you then, Underoos.”
Peter glared at him.
“Underoos?!” Ned repeated incredulously.
Peter’s chin dropped to his chest dejectedly. “So close,” he muttered.
He heard Tony laughing as the elevator doors shut.
Trying to explain to his friends why Tony called him “Underoos” was in many ways harder to explain than being Spider-Man. Not the reference itself, and Peter still had his video diary he’d filmed in Germany to show them, but he stalled at MJ’s question of,
“Why do you like it, though?”
Peter turned around in the passenger seat to look at her, staring blankly. “Who said I like it?”
May snorted, and Peter glared at his aunt before returning his gaze to the backseat.
MJ crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow at him.
“You have the worst poker face in the world, loser. Quite frankly, I have no idea how all of New York doesn’t know that you’re Spider-Man.”
Peter wondered if he should be insulted by that.
“Still took you months to figure it out,” he finally muttered, turning around again.
“I am a little offended I don’t have a Tony nickname,” May complained.
Peter snorted. “Don’t worry, May. He called you ‘Aunt Hottie’ for like, the first four months I knew him.”
May considered that for a moment. “Should I be insulted that he’s stopped?”
Peter half laughed; half groaned at his aunt.
They dropped MJ at home first, and then Ned, before heading for home themselves.
“Good birthday, honey?”
Peter grinned. “Yeah. I can’t believe I get to build a car. How cool is that?!”
Then his eyes widened. “But I also really love my new stereo,” he added hastily.
May laughed. “Honey, it’s ok. You’re allowed to have a favourite gift. And I knew about the car, I kind of figured this was going to be the case.”
He looked to her. “You knew?”
May nodded, slowing for a red light. “Yeah. Tony came by and asked me if it would be ok.”
“Oh.”
She glanced over at him. “You know, that was Tony’s first car too.”
Peter startled. “What do you mean?”
“A 1986 Mercedes Benz. Tony got the same kind of car for his sixteenth birthday,” May nodded. “Of course, he didn’t have to build his and it was brand new at the time, but still.”
Peter gaped at her. “How do you know?”
“He told me, silly. Well, I guessed that was the case and he confirmed it.”
Peter’s brow furrowed. “Did he get the car from his parents?”
“From their butler,” May replied, rolling her eyes just slightly in disbelief that she knew someone- was friends with someone- who grew up with a butler.
Peter’s heart warmed, however. Tony didn’t speak about his childhood much- the good or the bad- but Peter knew that he and Edwin Jarvis had been close, and that Tony had cared for him much more than his own father.
Even if it wasn’t the same car, the significance of Tony passing this gift onto Peter… even Peter couldn’t miss that.