Chapter Text
Let's just say, Peter was not the favorite kid.
He could tell ever since he was able to notice the signs. Between the three of them, Morgan had to be the favorite; Harley being a close second. Peter on the other hand? There was no way he was in the running for first. He felt like the black sheep of the family all his life. Maybe it was because he was the only child that came from a one night stand.
Harley’s mother Keeley had been dating Tony Stark for about six months before she got pregnant with him. Tony had been very much in love with her and was determined to do anything for her and his future son. They were a happy family for the first six months of Harley’s life until a fatal car accident had taken Keeley’s life. She had been on her way back home when a drunk driver drove straight into her car.
It took Tony a year before he started trying to date again. He was set on being a good parent to Harley, even if that meant being a single father. However, he thought it would be nice if Harley still had a mother figure. No one could ever replace Keeley, but Tony thought it would be nice if Harley had another role model.
One day Tony Stark met Mary Parker. She was a scientist who had recently got fired from Oscorp. She had applied to work for Stark Industries and caught Tony’s eye. He took her out for dinner and things went a bit further than planned. However, the next morning Mary was gone. She did not show back up to work after that night.
About eight months later Mary Parker repeated from her sudden absence. She came to Tony with the news that she was pregnant. Tony was shocked by the news. How come she hid it from him for so long? After Peter was gone, Mary did not want anything to do with him or Tony. Tony took in Peter and began to raise him as his own. A year after there was news of Mary Parker’s death. She had been in a plane crash.
Tony and barely one year old Peter attended the funeral. That was where they met Ben and May Parker.
“Mary was my little sister,” Ben had said, shaking hands with Tony, “After college she stopped keeping in contact with us. I had no idea she had a son.” He admitted, looking down at Peter who was sitting in a stroller. Baby Peter had a huge smile plastered on his face. His arms were reaching up to try and grab Ben.
Tony sighed, “She was hard to stay in contact with. She left and came back eight months later expecting Peter. After he was born she was gone.” He explained.
May crouched down to hold Peter’s hand. “He is so precious,” She smiled, “Do you mind if we keep in contact so we can be part of his life?” She asked, looking up at the billionaire.
Tony nodded his head, “Of course. You are his family after all.”
May and Ben assisted with raising Peter. Tony had grown more busy with running a company and raising his two sons. He hired Pepper Potts a little after Mary’s funeral. She had done more than just be Tony’s assistant, she had also helped with taking care of the boys.
And then Tony was gone. For months Tony Stark was missing. Peter remembered the morning that Tony had said goodbye to his boys, promising to be back in a couple days. A couple days turned into a couple of months. Pepper had tried to keep an eye on both of the boys, but it was becoming too much for her. May and Ben had watched Peter for most of the time Tony was missing. He stayed at their apartment; they had even set up a room for him.
“When is daddy gonna be home?” Peter had asked May one night. Ben had been out at work on a night shift, leaving the two of them at home. They had been watching TV when the news had turned on. The news reporter had mentioned that there had been no update on Tony Stark's disappearance.
May had pulled Peter close to her side, wrapping an arm around the boy, “Don’t worry baby. Your daddy is strong. I am sure he will come home to you and Harley before you know it.” She had tried to assure him.
She was not wrong.
Not too long after that night Tony had been found. Once he was home Ben and May booked a flight to take Peter back to Malibu to see his father. Once home, Peter had run into the living room, excited to see his dad. He stopped when he saw Harley and Tony asleep on the couch.His father did not look like himself. He looked tired and thin.
Ben appeared by his side, placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, “Let’s let him rest alright?” He suggested, “I’m sure he will be excited to see you too once he is up.”
Since that day Tony began to act differently. Peter was not sure why his father stopped wanting to see him as much. Harley got to hang out with his dad all the time, but Peter was not as much included.
After some event such as Tony becoming Ironman and the battle of New York, the family had moved to New York. Eventually Pepper and Tony became official and even had a small wedding. Peter was now growing up at Avenger’s Tower, home to the Starks and most of the Avengers. The best part about it was that they were close to Aunt May and Uncle Ben so he could see them as much as he wanted!
When Peter was nine Pepper gave birth to Morgan, making him a middle child. The forgotten child. That was how it felt anyway.
Peter was already showing signs of being smart. Not just smart in general, but genius smart. He had even skipped a grade and was top of his class. He was now a sophmore at Midtown high. Harley was smart too, but not like how Peter was. Even though Peter was special like that Tony still chose his time with Harley or Morgan over him. Peter was not sure what he was doing wrong. He did not understand why his father did not like him. This led him to stay at his Aunt and Uncle’s apartment whenever he was able to.
Being the son of Tony Stark was hard, but little to no people believed him.
~
“Oscorp? Really?” Peter sighed, mumbling to himself. He rested his head on his desk as his class erupted in excitement. His teacher had just announced their upcoming field trip and it was just Peter’s luck that it was at Oscorp, the rival company of Stark Industries.
Tony Stark and Norman Osborn hated each other. Peter did not really know why nor did he care why. He just assumed it was for business reasons and left it at that. However, now he was supposed to attend it in a couple days.
Ned - Peter’s best friend - turned to Peter, shaking him, “Dude! This is going to be so cool! We get to see the labs!” He exclaimed.
Peter raised his head a little, looking over at his friend, “Yeah so what? My place has labs too. You have seen them. It’s nothing special.” He declared.
Ned’s excited expression faded from his face, “Does that mean you are not coming?” He asked, “Come on dude, I don’t wanna go by myself and MJ is still sick. She has the flu and is going to be out all week. I don’t want to have to put up with Flash all by myself.”
Peter shrugged, “I’ll go, don’t worry. I just gotta get my dad to sign that form without him giving me a speech about not letting them brainwash me.” He said, sitting up properly in his chair. Mr. Harrington had made it to his desk, handing Peter the permission form. Peter took it in his hands, looking it up and down.
That afternoon Happy had picked up both Harley and Peter from school. Peter had shoved his earbuds in his ears, trying to drown out his brother and Happy’s conversations. Once at the tower, the two brothers got in the elevator. Peter only had one earbud in now, shuffling through songs.
“So how was your day?” Harley asked, tilting his head as he looked at his younger brother.
Peter adjusted his glasses, shrugging, “Boring. It was just school.” He answered.
“Oh,” Harley hummed, turning to face the elevator doors, “Do you think Uncle Thor is back from Asgard?” He wondered out loud.
“I don’t know and to be honest I don’t really care.” Peter admitted, shoving his phone in his pocket, “It can get a little cramped when a lot of people live here.”
Before Harley could reply the elevator beeped and the doors opened. The two walked out into the room before them. Peter headed to the kitchen, trying to get a quick snack before he disappeared into his room until dinner.
Harley had followed him, dropping his back pack by the counter. Pepper had made her way into the kitchen, smiling when she saw them, “Hey boys!” She greeted them, “How was school?” She asked, coming over to Harley and placing a kiss on the top of his head.
“Hey Pep!” Harley returned her smile, “I had a pretty good day! I got an A on my English paper and my friend Kyle gave me an extra cookie at lunch which was nice!” He said, “Peter said he had a boring day.”
Peter sighed, wishing Harley did not speak for him. He quickly grabbed a bag of chips and started to head down the hallway to his room, "I'm gonna go do my homework.” He claimed, leaving before he could be asked any more questions.
Once in his room he turned on his TV and played an old disney channel show as he sat on his bed and tackled his physics homework. It was not hard, physics just came easy to him along with everything else. Once done with his homework he relaxed under his covers, watching the show until Morgan had knocked at his door announcing dinner was ready.
Peter pushed himself out of bed, praying in his mind that this dinner would go by quickly. Before he forgot he reached into his back pack and pulled out the permission slip for his field trip that Friday.
Peter walked into the dining room where everyone was waiting for him. Steve had noticed him first saying: “Took you long enough! I thought dinner would be cold before you got here!” Peter knew that Steve was trying to joke with him, but he did not find it funny. Instead of responding he found his seat between Morgan and Wanda.
Wanda had to be the only one in this tower he had a good relationship with. She was eighteen, only five years older than Peter. Maybe the age difference was a help, or maybe it was because the two enjoyed watching sitcoms; whatever it was they had become pretty close since she had moved in. Wanda had let Peter rant to her about his family. She had to admit, she felt that she could also see the favoritism when it came to the Stark children.
During dinner Sam and Steve were talking about their mission they had coming up. Peter did not give a care in the world about this mission. He just wanted to eat his food, have his dad sign his permission form, and then go back to bed.
“Alright. Enough of your yapping,” Tony spoke up, silencing Sam and Steve, “No one here wants to hear about your mission anymore,” He rolled his eyes, “does anyone here have any good stories to share?” When no one had anything, Tony turned to his children, “Harley, did anything interesting happen at school today?” He asked.
“I got a 92 on my essay!” Harley announced, “But other than that nothing too special happened.” He admitted, turning back to his food.
Tony smiled, “A 92? That’s awesome buddy!” He exclaimed. He then looked over to Morgan, “What about you Morgoona?” He asked.
Morgan was bouncing in her seat, “I got a sticker because I was able to get all my math problems right!” She said, more than excited.
Tony’s smile only grew more, “Good job!” he tilted his head, “We might just have another genius in the family.” He claimed, earning a giggle from Morgan. Finally he looked at Peter, “What about you?”
Peter shrugged, “It was a boring day.” He answered, no enthusiasm in his tone.
He was about to pull out the permission slip before Tony asked: “What did you make on your calc test?”
Peter avoided eye contact as he answered: “A 95.” He mumbled. Most people and their parents would be happy or thrilled to have such a high grade. Not Peter and Tony though. Peter usually got nothing less than a 98, usually getting extra credit on his tests. However, last week he had the flu which he had unfortunately passed on to MJ.
“What happened?” Tony questioned.
What happened? Peter hated when his father asked that. “I was sick last week, remember?” He asked, finally looking up at his father.
Tony shrugged, “Those things happen. Just try not to let your average slip alright?”
Peter nodded his head, “Okay..” He mumbled, poking at the piece of chicken on his plate with his fork. “Oh uh.. I need you to sign my permission slip for my field trip.” he said, reaching into his back pocket for the paper and pen.
Peter reached across the table to hand them to his father. Tony held out the paper, squinting as he read it. Peter could see the moment on his face when Tony realized where this trip was too. “Oscorp huh..” He looked at his son, “Why is your school going there?”
“It’s a science school and I'm pretty sure Oscorp has science labs,” Peter said as if it was obvious - because it was - , “I’m pretty sure we are going for their biology labs.” He elaborated.
Tony sighed, “Alright,” He clicked the pen, beginning to sign his name, “You better not come home with any Oscorp merch or a new job there.” He grumbled as he signed it.
“I was not planning on it.” Peter muttered, taking the form back from his father once it was signed. A little after that Petr excused himself to his room claiming he was tired and wanted to go to bed early.
The teen flopped on his bed, resuming his show. He rested his head on his pillow, letting out a long sigh. He wished he was staying the night at Aunt May and Uncle Ben’s apartment instead of this tower. He felt more at home there. He felt as if he could be himself.
“Peter?” A voice asked as a knock sounded from his door, “Can I come in?”
Peter sat up, pausing the TV, “Come in.”
Wanda opened the door, allowing herself in. She shut the door behind her, coming to sit at the foot of Peter’s bed, “How are you doing?” She asked.
“I guess not good enough for some people,” Peter muttered, “I find it odd how Harley can make a 92 and get an awesome while I get a 95 and he asks me what happened.” He rolled his eyes.
Wanda nodded her head, “Yeah, I find it weird too,” She admitted, “Personally I find that impressive,” She told him, “I’m not the best at math and there is no way I could pull off that good of a grade while being sick.”
A small smile formed on Peter’s face, “Thanks,” He sat up a bit more, “How was your day here?” He asked.
Wanda sighed, “Nothing special. I am still not being let out on any missions.” She said.
“Sorry,” Peter told her as he pulled his knees to his chest and rested his chin on his knees, keeping his eyes on her, “I can understand how it can get pretty boring in here.”
Wanda shrugged, “It is pretty nice but after a while things can get boring.” She agreed. She then looked over at the TV, noticing the show he was watching, “Oh! I love Good Luck Charlie!” She turned to look at him, “We should watch it together.” She suggested.
Suddenly Peter’s mood shifted into a happy one, “I would love that!” He agreed, “How about Friday night we try and binge it?”
“Sounds like a good plan to me!” Wanda nodded her head. She then got to her feet, “I’m going to go get ready for bed, I’ll see you tomorrow okay?”
“Okay,” Peter hummed, “Good night. Love you.”
Wanda smiled, walking to the door as she said: “Love you too!”
~
Friday came quickly. The bus ride to Oscorp was almost torture but Peter still prefered it than listeing to Harley go on and on about the same stories in the car. He and Ned shared a seat on the ride there. Ned had been predicting all they would see while at the labs. While Peter did not care much for the field trip he was still happy he got to spend it with his friend. Plus he was excited to get to watch TV with Wanda all night tonight.
Once arrived at Oscorp the class shuffled out of the bus and into the building. A girl with short blonde hair and a lab coat came up to the class, holding a clip board. “Hello Midtown high. My name is Gwen Stacey and I will be your tour guide for today.” She announced. “Today we will get to see many labs where our scientists have been busy developing cures for illnesses and developing possibly new technology we could soon be using in our day to day lives.”
‘Oohs’ started to arise from the group. Gwen smiled as she continued, “I don’t ask much besides not straying from the group or touching something you are not allowed to. Now, if you follow me we can begin our tour.”
The class trailed behind her as Gwen showed them to a couple of the labs. While she talked, Peter watched her. She looked to be around his age. What was she doing leading a tour instead of at school?
Gwen showed them to a lab where the scientists got to weld things together. The class - including Ned - surrounded the table where one of the scientists explained how it worked and offered to do a demonstration. However, Peter stayed back. He had one at home. Sure, his father never really let him mess with the stuff in his lab but it wasn’t something he had not seen before.
Gwen noticed him, walking over to the boy. “Is inventing and science just not your thing?” She asked.
Peter looked over at her, a little shocked, “What?” He asked, confused.
“I’ve been noticing you today,” Gwen admitted, “You have not seemed as interested as the rest of your class. Every stop you don’t seem to care much for it.”
“Oh,” Peter relaxed, “Well this is not exactly new to me.” He admitted. Before Gwen could ask for clarification, Peter said: “I’m Peter Stark. Son of Tony Stark.”
Gwen’s eyebrows raised slightly, “Oh!” Her head tilted, “Are you here spying on us?” She joked, “Are you gonna report back to your father or something.”
That earned a snicker from Peter, “Nah,” He shook his head, “To be honest I don’t really care much for this feud my dad and Norman Osborn have.” He admitted. “How old are you?” He asked.
“I’m fifteen,” Gwen answered, “My school is out today. I intern here,” She explained, “What about you?”
“I’m fourteen,” Peter answered.
Gwen looked over at the presentation, seeing that it was almost up, “It’s been nice talking to you,” She said, “If you would like we could exchange numbers?” she offered.
Peter smiled, “Yeah, I would love that.” He then pulled out his phone, handing it to her so she could quickly type her number in it. Once she was done she handed it back to him. “Thanks,” Peter said, “Also.. which way is the bathroom?” He asked.
“Down that hall and to your left,” Gwen answered, pointing in the direction, “We will still be in this area by the time you get back.”
“Thank you.” Peter thanked again, walking in the direction she had pointed.
A girl gave me her number! Peter could not stop the smile that was growing on his face. A girl had actually given him her number and wanted to at least be friends! Gwen seemed pretty nice. He started to hope and pray she would answer when he texted later.
Peter walked down the hallway, not really paying attention as he pushed open a door he assumed as the bathroom. He was still stuck in his mind when he bumped into a shelf. “Ow..” He hissed, rubbing his head. Finally he looked up, realizing he was not in the bathroom. “Crap..”
He was about to leave, but something caught his attention in the corner of his eye. He looked over to see a bunch of paper work laid out on a table. He looked over, seeing drawings of spiders and formulas. Peter’s nose scrunched, “Who would ever want to study spiders?” He wondered to himself. He then left the room, finding the bathroom soon after.
While washing his hands he felt an odd sting on his upper arm. “Ow!” He hissed through his teeth. “What the hell?” He then raised his arm to look at it. He noticed a spider crawling around on his arm. His eyes went wide as he brushed it off of his arm. The spider landed on the ground and he crushed it with the heel of his foot. Peter rubbed his arm, trying to ease the pain but not really succeeding. He joined the group again, smiling at Gwen when he saw her. She returned the smile, then went back to leading the group.
As the tour came to an end, Peter started to get a headache. He rubbed the side of his head, trying to soothe it. On the bus the headache only grew more. Soon it turned into a migraine. He groaned, holding his head in his hands.
Ned looked over, concerned for his friend, “Hey, are you alright, man?” He asked, “You don’t look so good.”
“I’m not feeling the best,” Peter admitted, “My head is killing me.” Suddenly he started to feel rather dizzy and sweaty.
Once they made it back at school Ned had informed Mr. Harrington about Peter’s condition. Ned walked him to the nurses office where he threw up immediately. The nurse stepped back a little, “Okay..I’m gonna give your parents a call.” She said, going to her computer to search for the number.
Peter was slumped on the bed, leaning against the wall. He closed his eyes, and suddenly the lights from the ceiling were too bright for him. He slowly sank further into the bed, resting his head on the small pillow. He groaned, holding onto his stomach, taking in deep breaths. What was wrong with him?