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All his life people have told Peter that he’s gonna be someone. That he’s this special amazing person, or whatever.
And for all his life, he refused to believe it.
It started with his mom. Though he doesn’t remember this one. (He’s heard enough stories.)
She gasped when she saw him, after he was all cleaned up. The nurse handed him to her gently, and the first touch, the first hold, was all she needed. His eyes were squinted shut, as if the world was just too much for a small little baby.
She caressed his face and murmured, “he’s perfect. You’re perfect.” She leaned down and kissed his forehead. “You’re really gonna be someone.”
“What are you gonna call him, Mary?” The nurse asked, hovering with a clipboard and a soft smile.
Mary’s eyes glistened. “Peter.”
—
It continued on with his father, the first time he actually remembered anyone telling him. They stood on Aunt May and Uncle Ben’s doorstep, suitcases surrounding them.
Richard kneeled down his level, or the best he could of a five year old boy. “Peter. I need you to listen to me.”
And Peter, still ever trusting in his daddy, looked up at him with hope in his eyes. “Yeah?”
“We’ll be back soon, okay? And if we’re not…” he pursed his lips and paused. “If we’re not. Don’t ever change. Not for Ben or May or me or anyone. Don’t let anyone take your spark away, Pete. You’re gonna be someone amazing.”
Peter blinked, unforgettable tears filling his eyes. “What? I’m not- why are you leaving me?”
Richard blinked and looked away, suddenly unable to look him in the eyes. “I don’t- I don’t wanna do this, Peter.”
Peter reached out and grabbed his arms. “Do what? What’s happenin?”
Richard finally turned to face him again. His face red with anguish and his eyes dark with tears. “I’m sorry, Peter. I love you.” He pulled him close and kissed him on his curls. “We love you.”
But of course they loved him! Peter knew that. If they loved him, which they do, why would they leave? It was all confusing and annoying and made him want to cry. Why would his daddy leave him? Why wasn’t his mommy saying goodbye?
“Goodbye Peter.”
That was the last he saw of his dad.
—
Peter grew close to Ben over the course of 8 or 9 years. Ben was his dad’s brother, and he reminded Peter of him all the time. Which was funny, because Ben said the same thing to Peter.
He took him to the police station once to meet his coworkers. He was about 10 years old back then, and it was a holiday at school. Aunt May had a long shift and Ben didn’t wanna leave him home alone, so here they were.
Ben clapped him on the shoulder with a wicked grin. “He’s amazing, this one.”
“What school did you say he went to again?” Ben’s captain tilted his head in slight amusement, waiting for a response.
Peter, young and nervous, rocked on his heels. “Uhhhh..”
“He goes to a STEM school, but he’s on his way to Midtown,” Ben supplied.
“Isn’t that the big school you have to test to get into?” Someone says.
“Or you pay a ton,” someone else added.
“Peter will be just fine,” Ben asserted.
“Well if he’s getting into these STEM schools he certainly didn’t get your genes,” the first person says.
Ben just laughed loudly, “of course he didn’t! Kid’s just like his mom. He’s the best of all of us.”
Peter didn’t manage to learn anyone’s names in the precinct. He didn’t seem to care really. He knew he’d never see any of these people again.
He did however know, that for the first time ever, the weight of those words started to sink in.
—
Then Peter was bitten by a radioactive spider. And a very long and unnecessary long and unfortunate series of events, including getting sick and almost dying and flying to Germany to fight the Avengers, led him to become the protege of one Tony Stark.
Which then led to him formally meeting the Avengers. Which, at the time being, were dubbed the ‘rogues’. Even though Tony was obviously still a little uncomfortable around Rogers, he seemed to have no problem introducing Peter and talking up a storm about him.
“This is Peter, my intern,” Tony said with a grin.
The Avengers, or what was left of them, stood in a U shape on the compound’s landing pad, looking at him. They all had casual clothing on, prepared to spend the next few weeks of their lives on house arrest.
Hawkeye tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. “When did you have a kid?”
Black Widow elbowed him in the side, “he clearly just said that’s his intern.”
“They look identical! Not my fault he took a page out of my book,” he crossed his arms.
Peter shifted on his feet. “Uhh, he’s not my dad.”
“I thought you didn’t do personal internships. Much less… kids?” Sam Wilson questioned.
“We met a… different way,” Tony said warily.
Peter blinked slowly with realization. And then it all went to hell.
Captain America, who hadn’t said a word until now, pointed at him. “This is Spider-Man!” Black Widow sighed in disappointment, as if he wasn’t supposed to say that. And Sam and Hawkeye both dropped their jaws.
“Not he isn’t!” Tony said, at the same time Peter spoke.
“How did you figure that out?” Peter gave him a hard, questioning stare. Tony face palmed. Peter threw his arms up, “what? It’s my secret!”
“I thought we agreed they had to earn our trust first!”
Peter’s eyebrows furrowed. “It was only a matter of time before they figured it out, Mr Stark.”
“I figured it out the second I saw him,” Natasha said with a hand raise. Tony rolled his eyes.
Steve looked at her and nodded. “Yeah I think it was the voice for me.”
There was a stretch of silence, and finally Clint said, “so is he an Avenger?”
Tony: “No.”
Peter: “Yes.”
Peter and Tony shared a look. Then Tony, “you turned my offer down!”
“I’m honorary!”
And then they both rolled their eyes.
“Whatever, kid,” Tony clapped his shoulder. “You’re too good to be an Avenger.”
Peter scoffed. “Says the one who built me a room here.”
Natasha grinned at Clint, “he’s definitely Tony’s kid,” she whispered.
“Oh for sure. Tony would never let a kid talk to him like that.”
Peter, hearing their quiet voices when Tony couldn’t, blushed. “He’s not my dad,” he huffed.
“Yeah we’ll believe when we see it,” Clint said with a wink.
Tony just blinked in confusion. “What?”
—
Flash Thompson, the most annoying kid ever at Midtown Tech, raised his hand. “Uh Mrs Johnson! Did anyone get a 100?”
Peter wanted to roll his eyes. He saw Flash’s test when they got handed back, sitting right behind him, so he knows that he got an 80. Peter looked down at his own paper. Ned nudged him with his elbow and grinned. Peter couldn’t help a small smile.
“Yes, Eugene.” Mrs Johnson looked around the room, eyes landing on Peter.
Flash whipped his head around to glare at him. “Seriously Parker? There’s no way you didn’t cheat!”
Ned huffed. “You’re just jealous, Flash.”
“Everyone turned their phones in before the test and had no access to any outside sources, Euegene. Perhaps instead of mocking your classmate you’d study?”
The class went silent. A few stray giggles, including Ned, rang throughout the room. Flash sank lower into his chair. Peter almost felt bad. Almost.
“I can’t believe you’re the smartest one in here, Peter.”
Peter blinked at his friend. “What’s that supposed to mean? And I am not the smartest one. Have you seen Michelle’s grades?”
Ned rolled his eyes. “This was supposed to be the hardest test of the year. In an honors class.”
Peter waved a hand in the air, like it meant nothing. “A sophomore honors class.”
Ned stared at him, giving him a look, “you’re too humble. You’re the best out of all of us and you know it.”
—
Then Peter fought with the Avengers. Not against them, but with them.
“Spidey!” Tony yelled indignantly, once he spotted Peter swinging into the scene.
“Oh Spider-Kid is here!” Clint smiled from below, where he stood with Natasha.
“Kid this is recon. What are you doing here?” Tony huffed, hovering in the air while Peter plopped down on a light post. “Are you skipping school for this?”
Peter tilted his head away, “uhhh no?”
“That was a yes,” Steve said from below, smacking flying debris with his shield.
“This doesn’t look like just recon, Mr Stark. I can help! Those robots aren’t gonna shut themselves down.”
Tony glared at him, and then at Steve. “It was supposed to just be recon. We got a tip that some nerd was planning something, and it turned out they were. For today.”
“Ruined my plans,” Clint glared, shooting an arrow, which did absolutely nothing. “Fuck! I’m out of explosives!”
“We could really use your guys’ help down here,” Natasha called. “If you’re done lecturing him.”
“I was not-“
“On it,” Peter swung down, landing next to Steve and using a web to block a rock from hitting the man in the back of the head.
Steve nodded. “Thanks, kid.”
“There’s gotta be a way to shut them all down somehow. Like a main switch,” he said, using his webs to attach to the small robots and pull them to the ground.
“He’s right,” Tony said, blasting away. They flew, or swung, alongside each other, working together to stop them. But it was a lost cause, they just kept coming. “Alright this can’t work for this long. They’re either regenerating or they got a million of them.”
“I’m voting, it's the latter,” Sam said, flying into a robot and smacking his head. “Ow! Shit!”
“Wilson you okay?” Natasha yelled.
“Yeah. Fucking shithead,” he said, blasting the robot.
Peter took in his surroundings. They were in an empty street, Wanda was holding off a crowd, Vision alongside her. He looked toward the horde of robots. They were small, and easy to destroy. But they had to be coming from somewhere. They were spread out, but it definitely wasn’t like this at first.
“What was it like when you guys got here?” He called to Steve.
“It was empty. I spotted the first one over at that building,” he pointed to a street corner next to Peter. “And then they just kept coming.”
He stared at the building. Unlike the others, which had people inside, hunkered down. This one was empty, or at least it looked that way. The windows and door were tinted so dark he couldn’t see anything, and if he focused on his senses, he could hear a low buzzing from inside.
“I’m going in!” He yelled, before swinging down.
“Spider-Man no!” He heard Tony yell, but he ignored him.
He couldn’t help but feel very sure about this. This was definitely where they were coming from. He pushed the glass door open, and just as he expected, it was very huge and very open.
And there was a very big machine, with a conveyor belt, pumping out robots. This was so very stupid.
“Kid if you don’t get your ass back out here!” Tony yelled through the comms.
“Ow, Tony don’t yell. Hurts my ears,” he complained.
“He might be onto something, Tony,” Natasha chided.
“Yeah I found something. Some huge conveyor belt thing. They’re definitely coming from here.”
Just then, a few of them seemed to come to life. Noticing him, they hopped down and stormed toward him. “Man this is just like Star Wars!” He grinned and used his webs to pull them together, crushing them.
“What the hell was that noise?” Sam asked.
“Kid you okay?”
“Fine. I’m gonna look for a switch,” he whispered
He rounded the machine, making sure he was quiet enough so their senses didn’t notice him. Much to his delight, there was a massive red shut down switch on the back of the machine. He would need a lot of manpower.
“Score,” he grinned.
“Kid?”
“Found it. I’m gonna shut this baby down.”
He shot a web just above the switch and hauled himself upward. He planted his feet against the side and pushed backward, shooting himself in the air, but holding onto his web. He got a flashback to DC and knew exactly what he had to do.
Pushing himself back a few more times, adding more strength, he swung himself into the button. But then he registered where the buzzing was coming from. “Fuck-“
The room began to shake. And then everything went dark.
~
He blinked slowly, coming to what he immediately recognized as the medbay. “Fuck,” he croaked, he also recognized the pain in his ribs.
“Fuck is damn right, Pete,” Tony stood over him, shaking his head.
“Can’t you wait until he’s healed to lecture him?” Helen chided, checking the bandages on his ribs.
“How bad is it?” He managed to ask.
“Better than it could have been, that's for sure,” she smiled. “Just a couple bruised ribs and a minor concussion. You’ll be okay in no time. Just some bed rest, is all.”
Tony and Peter stared at each other, and Peter could already feel it coming. The long, drawn out lecture or argument. Because he should’ve waited for help. Or he shouldn’t have taken on so much.
Helen Cho looked between them, and then shot Peter a sympathetic look. “I’ll give you two the room.”
“Kid-“
“I know, Mr Stark,” he sighed. “I’m sorry.”
Tony’s eyebrows mysteriously furrowed. “For what?”
Peter blinked. “Uh? Almost dying?”
Tony sat down in the chair next to his bed and rubbed his brow with his pointer and thumb. “Kid… I’m not mad.”
Peter smirked, “just disappointed?”
He glared at him, “no. I’m a little upset I didn’t do it myself but I should’ve known you’d figure it out the second you got there, kid.”
“What are- what are you saying?”
“I’m saying I’m proud of you, twerp. Just take my pride okay? Geez kid, your guilt complex is bigger than Canada. You did good today. And you only need a couple days bed rest, which is a plus.”
Peter smiled sheepishly, a strange feeling filling his chest. He was reminded of uncle Ben, which made him want to cry. But he wasn’t going to cry. Not over this. “Thanks Mr Stark.”
“And you have got to stop calling me Mr Stark.”
“So he can start calling you dad right?”
Tony glared across the room, and Peter followed his eyes. The Avengers stood in his doorway, all smiling at him, much to his surprise. It was Clint who made the comment, of course.
Peter would’ve grinned, if it didn’t hurt right now.
“You did amazing, Peter,” Steve said, entering the room finally. “I don’t think any of us would’ve gone in there if you hadn’t shown up.”
“I mean I think eventually-“ Natasha elbowed Sam in the side.
“Is anyone else injured?” He asked.
“Sam has a headache but we’re all fine,” Natasha answered.
“Are you sure it isn’t a concussion? Headaches can be-“
“Stop worrying about us, kid. You’re the one in the hospital bed,” Tony scoffed.
“I am sorry you got hurt, Peter. We should’ve gone in there with you. Take some more of the damage,” Steve added.
Peter shrugged. “I’m the one with enhanced healing.”
With a raised eyebrow Steve said, “you’re not the only one.”
Peter’s eyes widened. “Really? What’s it like for you? Eating and healing and stuff?”
Steve’s eyebrows went up, and then he laughed. “You really are something else, kid. We’ll talk when you’re less injured. Get some rest.”
—
“I think I love you.”
Peter blinked rapidly, pulling their faces apart. “You- I-“
Mj blinked in response. “Is that-“
“No. No, I love you too. I just can’t- sorry. That caught me off guard.”
They were sitting on his bed in the compound, staying there for the weekend. May was out of town and Tony insisted that he finally bring his girlfriend over for everyone to meet.
They stared at each other for a good minute until Peter broke the silence. “So uh, what brought this on?”
She tilted her head, “hm?”
“The very sudden love confession.”
They’d been dating for only two months. Peter was sure she’d wait longer to say it. “Oh,” she said. And then she blushed. “I just… I’ve never been good at relationships. Betty says it’s because my standards are too high. But I don’t know. I just think you’re perfect. For me, of course. And I just think if I ever lost you I’d lose myself. So maybe.. yeah I love you.”
Peter could feel his face growing hotter at every word. That’s definitely not what he expected. And then, like the dork he is, “you think I’m perfect?”
She rolled her eyes and pushed his face away playfully, “you need. Of course I do. Am I not perfect for you?”
He smiled ear to ear. “You’re more than perfect Em.”
—
The ground shook, waking Peter up in the middle of the night. Earthquake, his mind supplied. But why?
Then he got a text at 2am from Tony, “get your ass over here now.” Tony was lucky May had a late shift. So he swung to the tower in the middle of the night, blinking blearily and questioning silently what the hell could possibly be going on this late at night.
He landed on the roof and took the elevator down to the Avengers floor, where Friday told him Tony would be. Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t alone. Surprisingly, Thor and Hulk were there. Or, Thor and a passed out Bruce Banner on the couch.
“He is very tired from the trip,” Thor explained to a worried Tony Stark, who hovered over Bruce.
“How long did you say he was the hulk again?” He asked.
Thor rubbed the back of his neck. “I am unsure. Possibly months.”
Tony, for what definitely wasn’t the first time, checked his old friend’s pulse.
“What the fuck,” Peter said, because that was all his brain could manage. He stood awkwardly by the elevator, still in his pajamas.
Steve regarded him first, “Peter! Join us, Thor and Bruce just got back from… where were you again?”
“Fighting an awful war on Asgard. Many died. Who is this?”
Peter blinked. Suddenly he wasn’t tired. “There was a war? Also hi. I’m Peter. Or Spider-Man, if you know who that is.”
“I don’t. But it’s nice to meet you man of Spiders. I am making a new Asgard here on Midgard, but I had to drop Banner off first.”
“I still don’t understand why I am here for this,” a sullen voice said.
Peter looked behind him to see Loki. Standing to the side with crossed arms. He jumped, startled that he hadn’t noticed him before.
“Yeah I’d like to know too,” Clint said, glaring at the man.
“I’m not here to hurt you! Obviously.”
“Yes, I think he’s good now. Probably,” Thor offered. “Maybe.”
“Well my spidey sense isn’t going off, so I’m either tired or he’s fine.”
“You mean your Peter tingle?” Natasha asked with a smirk.
“No!”
“What is Peter Tingle?” And honestly, Peter couldn’t be more embarrassed.
His face flushed, his childhood heroes were embarrassing him in front of his first childhood crush. Who was also a god. He blushed. “It’s nothing. Just a dumb nickname.”
Thor nodded. “Ah, I understand. I have a few nicknames from dear Stark.”
Tony looked up, “what about me?”
“Uh, are you okay Mr Stark? You look like you haven’t slept in a year.”
Tony waved a hand, “yeah I’m fine.”
“Why exactly did you call me here?”
“I figured you’d wanna meet Thor and his fuckboy brother before they run off to New Asgard.”
“What on Asgard did you just call me-“
“What the actual fuck is going on?” Bruce asked. And now everyone was looking at him.
“Bruce!” Tony grinned. “You’re alive!”
“Woah. Tony. Hi. What is… oh everyone is here.” He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. “Who is the kid?”
“This is Tony’s son, Peter!” Thor boomed with a smile.
Peter’s eyes widened. Clint barked a laugh. “I don’t think that’s how I was introduced.”
Thor’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. And Sam said, “yeah I think that’s a pretty good description .”
“I’m Spider-Man,” he explained, not very thoroughly.
Bruce rubbed his eyebrows. “I’ve been off planet way too long.”
“Doesn’t matter. He’s my intern, if that’s more helpful.”
Bruce stared at Tony, “if anything that’s less helpful.”
“Oh he’s amazingly smart. You’ll love him.”
Peter flushed. “Mr Stark.”
“He’s read all your work,” Tony continues. “Big fanboy if I might say,” as an afterthought.
Peter’s eyes go comically wide. “Oh my god Tony!”
Tony whipped his body around and pointed at him. “Aha! You called me Tony!”
“Seriously?”
“So is he yours biologically or…?”
—
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” Tony repeated, stumbling toward Peter and yanking him into a hug. “You’re okay, you’re okay.”
Peter just exhaled, melting into the hug. “I can’t believe that just happened.”
They were on Titan. And they just destroyed a giant purple alien with a gauntlet full of stones. Peter’s life was not real. He wanted to cry. He missed his family and the Avengers and his girlfriend and his best friend and this was not real and-
“I’m so proud of you.” Tony kissed his head. “So so so proud.”
Peter had the gauntlet, he remembered, he was the one who got it away, while the others went after Thanos. He almost died, he remembered that too.
“We’re alive,” Starlord, stupid name, said, like he couldn’t believe it. He collapsed into the arms of Mantis, who struggled to comfort the crying man.
Drax stood still next to her, as if he couldn’t care less that any of this was happening.
Doctor Strange rubbed Tony’s shoulder as they pulled apart. “We should get back to Earth. You did great, Peter. Although you should not have been here.”
“He’s right. You’re never following me to space again. And I’m never coming to space again. Jackasses should’ve believed me,” Tony ranted, shaking his head. “Give me another hug.”
“I’m going to portal us home. You guys can come along, and we’ll figure out what to do with you down on Earth.”
“Maybe you can check out Missouri while we’re at it,” Tony offered to Quill halfheartedly.
He shook his head, managing to stand. “I don’t- I don’t care. I need to- Gamora.” And then he burst into another sob.
“Yeah he is not in any place to make any decisions,” Peter said, rubbing his neck awkwardly.
“Yeah you guys are coming with us,” Tony sighed. “Open up that portal, wizard.”
—
Everyone screamed and yelled. And Peter swooped in just in time, catching Morgan just before her small one year old body was crushed into the coffee table.
Pepper exhaled sharply, and Tony breathed deeply, clutching his chest like it was about to run away. Peter moved them into a sitting position, putting her in his lap cross-cross style.
She was still managing the skill of walking, and everyone was on high alert to make sure she didn’t fall.
“Nice one Peter!” Ned called from the couch.
Mj laughed and moved to sit next to him on the floor. Little Morgan giggled and flopped over onto both of their laps. “Em Em!” She yelped, too loud for Peter’s ears. He winced, but smiled still.
With his senses, he could hear Pepper and May conversing over his friends if he focused. He heard Pepper sigh, “only your kid, May.”
May laughed softly, “he wouldn’t have let her get hurt. He’s too good for that.”
“You and Ben raised a good son, May.”
And May, Peter pretended not to notice, nearly teared up. It had been 2 years since the Titan incident, and every year they threw a barbecue to celebrate the fact that they were still alive. They all came together, the Avengers, Thor and Loki, the Guardians, Ned, May, and Mj, and whoever else they decided to invite.
Peter Ned and Mj had just graduated high school and were waiting on their dorm assignments from MIT. Because somehow, they managed to all end up going to the same college.
Peter pretended not to notice Tony obviously pulling strings for them. He pretended not to notice Tony wink at him from across the room while he held Morgan.
He grinned.
—
Peter was finally going off to college. May kissed his head about a thousand times, hugging him so tight and refusing to let go. “I’m so so so proud of you, Peter. I couldn’t be more proud. I’m at the very top of my proud scale.”
Peter laughed, managing to get out of her hold. “Thanks, May. Really I’m shocked I even got in.”
Ned rolled his eyes. “Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”
“My mother is dead, thank you very much,” Peter retorted.
“I’m so glad we’re all going to college together,” Mj said, squeezing his hand tighter.
Peter blushed, and grinned at her. “You’re pleased? I thought you expect disappointment and don’t end up disappointed.”
“That’s a crude way of thinking,” Tony noted.
She rolled her eyes. “I make exceptions.”
Tony, and the rest of the Avengers, were helping unload the van at the MIT dorms, much to the dismay of everyone around them.
“I still don’t think we needed this much help,” Peter groaned. “People are gonna think we’re weird.”
“People are gonna think you’re cool, kid. You have Iron Man unloading your stuff.”
“You think too highly of yourself.”
“I can agree with that one,” Bruce said, dropping the last box on the sidewalk. “Alright time to get this stuff up there. Which floor again?”
Peter grinned sheepishly. “Uh. 10th I think?”
Everyone groaned in unison, besides Thor, who seemed ecstatic, for some odd reason.
—
This time, Peter didn’t need them to say they were proud of him. It was so obvious on all their faces. He wished his parents were here for this. And Uncle Ben.
He was the only person at this college with the Avengers in the audience, so maybe that was enough. As he accepted the diploma in his hands on the stage, everyone in his family stood up and cheered. Louder than they needed to of course, considering they had Thor and Clint with them.
He felt like crying. He finally made it, at least on his scale. Graduating college was one of the goals he never thought he’d get to. Growing up poor, of course, but then Tony entered his life.
And then he realized he didn’t need anyone to make it this far in the first place. He got so many scholarships and opportunities that he couldn’t get through them all.
“You’re really gonna be someone,” he mom had said.
And there he was.
And there she was, in the back of his mind.