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“And you call yourself Tony Stark’s intern.”
The actual moment lasts, like, five seconds. Flash’s snarky comment. Their peers’ laughter. The teacher’s indifferent scold.
Except it lasts an eternity in Peter’s head. It repeats itself over and over again.
Peter doesn’t usually mind Flash’s taunts. He’s already used to being stepped on, to looking small to others. He’s more than used to Flash humiliating him with a crowd to back him up. The former is no stranger to laughter, to the whispers behind his back, least of all after getting his powers.
Sure, it stinks, but Peter can handle it.
He doesn’t know why it particularly bothers him today, though.
Maybe it’s because it happened in the Chemistry lab. Maybe it’s because Ned couldn’t come to school today, so Peter’s current lab partner is no one he really has any intimacy with. The arachnid didn’t sleep well last night, so he got distracted. Or maybe it’s because Peter has been going upstate on Fridays to help Mr. Stark. The latter actually wants to mentor Peter, so they update the Spider-Man suit, and Mr. Stark might even allow Peter to help him with the Iron Man armors.
Peter is ecstatic, obviously. After what happened between them, the last thing Peter wants is to let Mr. Stark down again.
But… he’s still letting him down.
And you call yourself Tony Stark’s intern.
Peter already tries to make himself invisible (too bad that’s not an actual superpower he has), but now? He doesn’t want to move. He doesn’t want to exist. He wants to cry right there, which would only increase the laughs and whispers and Flash’s taunts. Peter so desperately wants to get in his suit and quiet his mind. But Mr. Stark would get mad at him for skipping school, and for such a stupid reason. The Spider-Man suit isn’t about him being a loser at school. Pull yourself together, Parker.
The boy only does what he’s told, so his lab partner doesn’t do all the hard work alone.
Gossip. Gossip.
All behind his back.
He can hear all of them.
Mr. Stark probably does the same when Peter is not around. Imagine what he must say to Happy or War Machine AKA Colonel Rhodes. Oh, Mr. Stark definitely laughs at how pathetic or annoying Peter is. Why would he want a screw-up in his personal workshop he allows very few people in? It must be out of pity, right?
And you call yourself Tony Stark’s intern.
And you call yourself Tony Stark’s intern.
And you call yourself Tony Stark’s intern.
And you call yourself—
“… Peter.” A whistle. “Earth to Peter? Come back, kid!”
Someone is snapping fingers in front of Peter, jolting him awake. Even though he wasn’t sleeping.
He’s in the lab.
Mr. Stark’s lab.
“Been calling you for forever, kid,” the mechanic points out. “You alright?”
“Uhhhhhhhh…” Peter clears his throat. “Yeah! Just… homework, y’know?” He laughs nervously.
Mr. Stark glances at the paper and he frowns in confusion.
“… You need help with it?” He offers.
The paper is very much blank.
Peter shrugs. “Nah, I’m okay.” (He can sense Mr. Stark’s eyebrow raising in doubt, louder than any words he could say) “Do you need help, Mr. Stark?”
“No, not right now. In fact, I was gonna invite you to a coffee break. I could use some ol’ bitter coffee to fill my dark soul,” his mentor jokes. “You wanna come?”
“Oh. I… I think I’ll stay here and finish my homework.” You didn’t do anything, and you call yourself Tony Stark’s—
“Really? Not even cappuccino? Mocha? Hot cocoa? Tea? Juice? Water?”
Peter takes a while to process all of the options. “Nope. I’m fine.”
Mr. Stark stares at him for a good couple of seconds, making Peter go cold inside.
“… Yeah, you will drink water. I’m not asking.” The former widens his eyes to look more serious. Regardless, he looks kind of silly, so Peter can’t help the snort.
“Okay.”
Mr. Stark wastes no time grabbing a glass of water for Peter. He didn’t even make his own coffee for now – when Peter knows coffee is one of the hero’s top priorities.
“Alright, kid. Let me know if you want more water or anything else. If you can’t reach me for any reason, just tell F.R.I.D.A.Y.”
“Okay.”
Peter returns to his school notebook. He can sense an uneasy presence. Peter is unable to pretend to be doing homework right now.
Mr. Stark sighs, stepping closer.
“… Kid,” he whispers, “look at me.”
Peter does, as a hand grabs his shoulder.
“If you need anything, anything at all, you can count on me, okay?” Mr. Stark tells him.
The teen, admittedly, is taken aback. He doesn’t know what to do other than crack a smile.
“Okay, Mr. Stark.”
The man returns the smile, still not fully convinced. Regardless, he squeezes Peter’s shoulder and shortly lets it go. Mr. Stark leaves the room and, soon after, Peter grabs his own shoulder, wanting that touch desperately.
Peter wants to make Mr. Stark proud. So, he must do his homework. He must.
And you call yourself Tony Stark’s intern.
It’s finals week. Already a mess, and Peter makes it worse for everyone.
Although Ned is around this time, Peter still fucks up, mixing the wrong chemicals. Everyone gets mad, rightfully so, because there’s smoke in the Chemistry lab and now no one will be able to use it in the next hours.
“Penis does it again! Everyone’s gonna bomb Chem,” Flash claps his hands.
And when Peter thinks it can’t get worse…
“Wow, imagine if Iron Man heard that his golden intern blew up the lab again?” Obviously, Flash has no idea Peter actually knows Mr. Stark, but… yeah, imagine that.
…
Despite it all, Ned is far from angry at Peter.
“You okay, dude?”
“Y-Yeah. Just smoke in my eyes.”
Ned didn’t even ask about Peter tearing up and perhaps might not have even noticed if Peter weren’t such a dumbass.
“I’m sorry, Ned, I’m so sorry—”
“Hey, I’m just glad you’re not hurt, Peter. Besides… I noticed you haven’t been well lately.”
Peter sighs, “Yeah.”
“Is it the internship?” Ned whispers. Good thing they’re not around Flash anymore.
“Sorta.”
“Yeah, and with finals… it’s too much, huh?”
“Yeah.” Peter dries his eyes.
Ned hums, contemplating for a few seconds before suggesting, “You wanna come over today? We could study together, eat some snacks, maybe watch a movie or play videogames later…”
“Sorry, Ned, Mr. St- I mean, my friend Tony called me, so I’ll go to his place instead. I usually see him on Fridays, but he thought he could use the extra help.”
“Oh, that’s okay. Man, that’s so awesome! I envy you so hard.”
“Yeah…” Peter doesn’t share his best friend’s enthusiasm.
“Maybe he can help you with Physics?”
“Ugh, I’m not asking him that!”
“Why not?”
“Why not?! Ned-!” Peter realizes people could hear them, so he lowers his voice. “Why would he help me with school?”
Ned is genuinely confused. “Uh, because he invites you to his personal workshop once a week? And sometimes he picks you up himself?? You really think he wouldn’t help you with anything that isn’t your internship?”
If you need anything, anything at all, Mr. Stark’s words return to Peter’s head, you can count on me, okay?
Peter shakes his head and looks away from Ned.
“… I just don’t want to bother him,” he replies simply. “That’s all.”
He resumes walking, but Ned doesn’t accompany him at first, perhaps hurt by Peter’s quiet and painful words.
Upstate, Mr. Stark assigned Peter the right arm of Iron Man. It’s still a prototype, so Mr. Stark lets Peter mess around with it to see how it works and if he has any suggestions.
Peter has no idea what to do with this arm, without fearing a crowd to laugh at his every move. Besides, he’s scared Mr. Stark might notice something is up, so Peter, once again, pretends to know what he’s doing.
He’s always pretending.
“Wow, imagine if Iron Man heard that his golden intern blew up the lab again?”
Fuck off, Flash, Peter tries, mentally.
“They should not allow him to be in the labs ever again.”
A penis drawn on his locker that he always has to erase, nearly every single day. He’s had penises drawn and stamped on his notes. That one leg that always “accidentally” trips Peter and all of his food. The times Peter fell off the stairs and could barely walk home. Or when Flash has almost run over Peter and Ned multiple times. Or when Flash and his friends trapped Peter in his locker and he had no powers at the time, and even if he had, people would get suspicious. Peter giving up on sports, on photography, on everything, not only because of his powers, but also because Peter would not have one moment of peace at school, because Flash is always fucking there, and he already has to put up with him at the Decathlon, and everyone thinks Peter is the bad guy, because he is, he screws everything up all the goddamn time—
AND YOU CALL YOURSELF
TONY STARK ’S INTERN.
Growling and crushing metal in his fingers, Peter screams and throws away whatever he was holding. It’s louder than his rage.
Panting, with burning tears in his eyes, he doesn’t take long to realize what he’s done.
He fucking wrecked the wall.
And the Iron Man arm Mr. Stark assigned him with.
“Peter?!”
The boy panics as soon as he hears Mr. Stark rushing to the scene.
“What happened? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” The man asks.
“Oh, no, no, no,” Peter starts crying more. “M-Mr. Stark, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry—”
“Peter, what- what happened? Talk to me, kiddo.”
“I-I can fix it, I can- I can fix it, I promise—”
“Peter, I don’t care about the wall or- or the arm, let’s just sit, okay?”
“But Mr. Stark—”
The man is trying to guide him somewhere else. “Come on, kid, let’s just—”
“DON’T YOU GET IT?!” Peter breaks free from the other’s grip. “FLASH WAS RIGHT ABOUT ME!”
His words echo all over the lab, and it might crack the wall further. It stops everything – DUM-E, U, F.R.I.D.A.Y., and especially Mr. Stark, who stares at him in utter shock.
Now, Peter has made a fool of himself again, right in his mentor’s personal workshop, and now everyone is laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing, they were all right—
He runs away, sobbing, like a little kid who threw a tantrum after breaking a vase.
So much so that Peter locks himself in the restroom, dropping to the floor and hugging his own knees, trying to silence his hurtful sobs. And yet, he cries the loudest he’s cried in a long, long time.
And you call yourself Tony Stark’s intern.
Now Mr. Stark knows.
Perhaps he’s always known.
And now he cannot deny it.
…
Slow footsteps come.
“Kid?” Mr. Stark calls him rather softly.
Peter doesn’t answer, but he might quiet down a little.
“What’s going on?” He insists, but not angrily. “I noticed you were off lately, and I didn’t want to pry, but…”
Peter sniffs. “I-I’m sorry.”
Mr. Stark sighs. “Peter, you don’t… you don’t have to apologize, okay? I understand you’re angry and- and sad, and I want you to know that you don’t have to hide it from me.”
“You don’t get it! I- I can’t do anything right, I’m just- Penis Parker!”
There’s silence between them after those words. Peter hates exposing how much Flash does get to him.
“You’re Peter Parker,” Mr. Stark corrects. “You’re one of the smartest people I know, which doesn’t mean you’re flawless, because you aren’t. But you’re always willing to learn, to grow. That’s why I call you over. You give me a lot of hope, you know that? Hope for this world.” He pauses. “You don’t need to be a perfect genius; you’re allowed to make mistakes. And you’re allowed to ask for help.”
You can count on me.
You can count on me.
Okay?
It’s like Mr. Stark can hear all the laughter at Peter’s expense. He’s not there to laugh. He’s there to rescue Peter.
So… Peter decides to open the door.
To accept help.
Mr. Stark may smile, but he looks hurt. He looks angry, too, but definitely not at Peter. Who did this to you, Mr. Stark’s eyes ask, who the fuck did this to you. Instead, the man squeezes Peter’s shoulder and rubs it with his thumb.
“The wall and that arm can be fixed later,” the mechanic reassures him. “Right now, I just want you safe and sound and leave you all the room to say everything in your mind. Everything. Only if you’re up to, of course, but don’t hesitate to be angry.”
Peter sniffs and nods. “T-That sounds good.”
Mr. Stark pats his shoulder. “Let’s get outta here.”
They leave the workshop, while Peter mentally apologizes to DUM-E and the other bots for scaring them. He settles in the bigger living room which is much closer to the kitchen. Therefore, Mr. Stark grabs some water for him and sits next to him.
“Alright, go wild if you want. I’ll be here,” he says.
Peter takes a sip of water first. It’s a bit hard to swallow with all the tears clogged up, but it’s still necessary.
“… So, there’s this kid—”
“Flash. The stupidest name I’ve ever heard.”
Peter can’t help laughing at his brutal honesty and anger on his behalf. “Yeah. Well, he’s been a pain in my ass since I got into Midtown. He’s been calling me ‘Penis’ for years. And he loves rubbing his grades on my face. Oh, and he makes sure everyone is there to see. And… yeah, they enjoy it.” He recalls Liz’s party. Penis! Parker! Penis! Parker!
Mr. Stark keeps listening attentively. Peter drinks more water, and it’s easier to swallow it now.
“Well, people say ‘oh, he’s just jealous of you’, or ‘don’t let him get to you, or you won’t be any better’. I mean, I don’t like fighting anyone at school, I just want to focus on myself. But Flash makes it… hard, sometimes.”
He can sense Mr. Stark sitting a bit closer, but respecting Peter’s space. He does not take his eyes off of Peter, either. He’s focused entirely on his mentee.
“Like… I can handle it most of the time. And if I’m not the punchbag, then other kids will be, and they’re not enhanced like I am. So that, at least, comforts me. That I’m helping the little guys at school. ‘Cause kids like Flash and his friends are cowards. I don’t want anyone else getting bullied,” Peter argues.
“But who’s looking out for you, then?”
“Well… I don’t need to be looked out for.”
“You have powers, sure, but I don’t think that makes it any less serious. It doesn’t make you any less of a victim of bullying.”
Peter lowers his gaze to the center table.
“That’s a lot of responsibility, kid,” Mr. Stark clarifies. “And it shouldn’t be on you. It should be on the adults.”
“Yeah, but would they bother? They won’t believe me – they’ve never believed me; they just think it’s a dumb rivalry. And boy, they sure love telling me, ‘waaah but Flash has a difficult home life’, and I wish I could say, ‘I don’t care! I really could not care! He’s not a fucking baby!’.” Peter spills the poison. “I’m not out here using my background as an excuse to be shitty! But no, I’m always the bad guy! I have to be better than him, and yet it feels like I will never be better than him, because they’re always on his side!”
Peter’s breaths are hot like fire. Mr. Stark doesn’t filter him.
“… The thing is,” he resumes, “is that he loves mocking my ‘internship’. Y’know, what we do here. I obviously want it to remain that way, no one really believing it…” he hesitates. “But when I blew up the Chemistry lab, more than once, Flash just touched on that – ‘oh you’re Tony Stark’s intern? Blowing stuff like that? Imagine if he knew you were a total screw-up?’. I usually ignore it. Except this time… with everyone laughing at me, with Flash pestering me nonstop…”
Peter doesn’t continue. He can’t look Mr. Stark in the eye now.
“Is that what you were afraid of telling me?” The latter questions.
“I…” Peter swallows. “I didn’t want to let you down. Because what if you saw who I really am in the lab?”
“… But I do see the real you in the lab. I see that excited kid who likes everything I show him, even the smallest of things. I see that kid being so engaged, making suggestions, learning from his mentor, and teaching his mentor too,” Mr. Stark says. “And kid, you really think I am this tidy in the lab? I still blow up shit every now and then. Hell, when I was your age? I was a menace at MIT. I think I have photos from that era. I do not regret any of it,” he laughs. “But seriously, kid, you absolutely did not let me down, and you are not letting me down now.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Peter blushes, so he finishes his water quietly.
“Listen, kid,” Mr. Stark begins, “you’re not made of iron. No one is. And bullying, it gets to you, it gets to all of us. I don’t know which stupid adult said that we’re weak for ‘letting it get to us’, because damn, bullying absolutely wrecks us. It makes you want to disappear. They would rather put all the responsibility onto us and refuse to help. I hate that you’re out there being a martyr while the adults sit comfortably in their chairs and do nothing about their students being bullied. That should not be the norm.”
Mr. Stark gently takes one of Peter’s hands, their fingers intertwining.
“It’s not your fault, do you hear me? It’s not your fault, and it will never be your fault. You don’t deserve to be bullied. You do not deserve to be hurt,” he insists.
Mr. Stark seems to speak from experience. It sounds like it happened decades ago, and it still gets to him.
“Peter.” He pauses briefly to smile. “I’m proud of you.”
That.
That makes Peter tear up again.
Those simple words.
“Aw, come here,” Mr. Stark says the moment Peter starts sobbing.
The middle-aged hero is all too ready to wrap Peter in a hug. The teen cries years of bullying and grief and loneliness. Mr. Stark embraces all of it, not at all scared by the rage and pain.
Whatever they’re going to do tomorrow, it can wait. Now, now all Peter needs is this.
And you call yourself Tony Stark’s intern. Yeah, he is Tony Stark’s intern. A lot more than just a plain intern. Tony Stark is proud of him and that’s all Peter could ever need.