Chapter Text
Peter had known of this field trip for weeks now, but it still made him nervous.
His class would be going to Stark Tower in three weeks for a special opportunity, and then be given a tour of the entire building. This would be exciting to just about everyone…except for Peter.
Stark and Peter had been close for years now. Ever since Tony approached him and asked to bring him to Germany, they realized they're quite like minded. Both of them were rather eccentric minds that people couldn't keep up with, and heroes who wanted to help as many they could.
It started small.
Tony would invite Peter over under the excuse of wanting a better look at his web-shooters. Then, it led to Peter being in Stark's lab multiple times a week, especially after a patrol.
Eventually Peter and Tony decided they should make some cover, as they didn't want people to start questioning why a teenager was allowed to work in Stark's personal lab, especially considering that he would have access to a wide range of dangerous tech. So they formally admitted Peter into the SI internship program. Technically it was only meant for college students, but a few more forms took care of that problem.
He now spent many hours working with Stark in the lab, some of that time devoted to actual internship responsibilities, the other amount going to Spider-Man.
This is what created Peter's dread of the upcoming field trip. Nobody at school believed he had a Stark internship, and he didn't really want to stick out more. During the trip, a few very annoying things could happen. Peter might just be made fun of the entire time, it could be worse, but still, he would prefer not to endure that. He could confirm his internship, but that would create curiosity, and he really didn't need people to look into him.
He was overthinking this. It would be fine, it's just a field trip—plus, it still wasn't happening for a while, and how bad could it really be?
The field trip was around 19 days away now, but recently, that had become the least of Peter's problems.
In past few days Mr. Stark had been more stressed out then usual, but whenever Peter asked, he would just say not to worry about it.
How could he not worry though? That man constantly went days without sleep or a proper meal, and now he was even worse. Peter didn't know why exactly, but overheard something about the Sokovia Accords.
Yep, those would create a whole heap of stress.
Recently, due to lots of public push back, the Accords had been revised many times, and now had softer restrictions. Peter also suspected it had something to do with getting the Avengers back together and ready to defend from threats.
Sadly, he couldn't do anything to help his mentor with this, expect being lenient with him missing lab time.
Today was another one of those days. Tony had sent him a text saying something came up, and that Peter could work alone if he wanted.
Originally, Peter thought maybe he could just go home and catch-up with some missed homework before going on patrol, but then his web-shooters jammed and he didn't have the proper tools to fix them. So in the end, he ended up going to the lab.
Stark Tower was busy today, still, that wasn't too abnormal. Peter walked in, said hello to FRIDAY, then made his way up to the lab.
The elevator dinged as it opened up, and the lights to the lab all turned on. Nothing had been moved since yesterday, which was a bit strange. Tony's favorite toolkit was laid across his workspace, along with multiple blueprints and a cup of coffee. Usually, Tony used that lab throughout the day. Peter guessed today must've been really important then.
Fixing the shooters didn't take long, and after just a bit of tinkering, they were ready for patrol tonight. His high metabolism demanded food before he left, so sighing, Peter spoke to FRIDAY.
"Hey FRIDAY, will Tony be okay if I go down to get some food?" Peter went to the kitchen all the time, but today might've been different, he didn't know.
"Boss hasn't expressed he doesn't wish for you to roam." FRIDAY reassured.
Peter nodded while he put on his web-shooters before going to the elevator. He would get quick snack before leaving. "Thanks FRIDAY, please take me down."
A soft hum came from the elevator, creating a comforting background noise as Peter descended. His attention shifted to his fixed shooters. He gently fidgeted with them, making sure there were no small problems left to fix.
The doors opened with a soft ding, and still looking down at his wrists, Peter absentmindedly walked in. He had only taken a few steps when a voice broke the silence.
"Who are you?"
He looked up in surprise. In the middle of Mr. Stark's common area were the Rogue Avengers, staring at him. They were all spread out across the room. Captain America was lounged on the couch alongside a man who had long brown hair, The Falcon was positioned at the counter with Hawkeye, and Black Widow had stood up to confront him. She was obviously the owner of the voice that had called him out.
Peter was frozen. Sure, anyone would be shocked to meet them all, but also, the last time Peter had seen them, they were fighting on opposite sides. They didn't know he was Spider-Man, but he didn't think they could be trusted—especially after he heard what they did to Tony.
Taking a small nervous step back, Peter noticed all eyes were on him. He awkwardly cleared his throat, and fidgeted with his sleeves cuff.
"I'm…I'm Mr. Stark's intern, and you are—well everybody knows you guys but, uh…" Smooth. Peter internally winced at how flustered he was acting. He didn't need to worry about them. They wouldn't be here if they weren't safe. How Black Widow suspiciously eyed him didn't help ease his nerves though.
Before Peter could continue his clumsy rambling, another, lighter voice, came through. "I didn't know Stark took interns!" Hawkeye stood up and walked over. His voice was calm and easy-going, and he was obviously trying to ease the tension.
"Oh, well I was just here to get…never mind. I probably shouldn't be here." Peter shook his head with a nervous laugh. "Uh FRIDAY? I thought you said I could come down here?"
"Boss didn't restrict any of your accesses today, or tell me too."
Peter huffed, she could have at least warned him. "Maybe should've." He mumbled under his breath. That would've saved him from this situation. "Um, sorry for bothering you guys. I'll just head out—" Peter motioned to the elevator behind him, and just as he did, it opened.
Of course Tony Stark had to walk through its doors.
The second he saw Peter nervously standing with the rogues, his eyes hardened. He didn't rush over, but as he came to Peter, there was obvious tension in his body.
He looked over Peter with a conflicted expression, before huffing and quietly speaking. "Pete what are you doing here?" Peter tensed, that was not the voice of some pleased to see him.
"Sorry Mr. Stark, you said I could come to the lab, and I actually wasn't going to but then my…" He had to be careful with what he said. "One of my projects broke, so I stopped by for a moment and then—" Tony cut him off with a raised hand.
"Hey kid, calm down." He had a small smile on his face, as his tension had been briefly broken by Peters rambles. "That's my bad. I should've clarified it would be better if you stayed in the lab. I've just had a busy day."
The rogues had been watching this the whole time, and Peter became very aware of how embarrassing this was when Hawkeye let out a small snort. A embarrassed blush crossed Peters face. He really was acting like a child in front of all of them.
Come on Peter…not a good first impression.
"So Tony, when were you gonna tell us you got a kid?" Hawkeye teased and leaned against a wall.
Stark sighed, and rubbed his temple like he already felt a headache coming on. "Didn't really have the time," He then gave Clint a small glare. "and, hes not my kid, hes my intern."
"Sure, whatever you say." Clint smiled mischievously.
Tony turned away from them and back to Peter, the tension from before slowly seeping back into him. "You shouldn't be here right now." He gently placed a hand on the kids shoulder. "Sorry, I've been busy preparing for this all week."
"It all okay Mr. Stark." Peter gave him a strained smile. He clearly wanted to talk about this later.
Tony understood Peters subtle messaging and gave a nod, they'd talk, but later. "I'll be more free from now on." His eyes gave a quick glance to where Peter had been playing with his cuffs. "Get everything fixed up?" Stark raised an eyebrow, and Peter nodded.
"How about you head home now? Tell May I say hi."
He nodded and waved to Tony, who waved back, before saying a quick goodbye. After Peter left with a ding of the elevator, the room was quiet for a few moments, and then Tony turned to the rest. Despite being farther away, Peter's senses could practically feel the awkwardness that filled had the room. After a few silent seconds, Tony cleared his throat before speaking up.
"Okay, so I got a few more thing you guys need to sign…" A collective groan echoed in the room.
Later that night, Peter swung up to the tower, knowing Tony would be in his lab. He clung to the glass, and then knocked on it. Tony, who had been engrossed with a project on his work bench, gave a small wave of and and the window opened. Peter slid in, and walked over.
"Hey Mr. Stark."
…
"Hey kid."
A small silence washed over them, before Peter cleared his throat to speak. "This is all pretty crazy you know. Stumbling on the rogues when trying to get a snack." He then spoke a bit quieter. "Are they actually back?"
Tony sighed, and finally looked up from his bench, then leaned against his hand. "Yep. The accords have softened a lot in the past few months, and most countries want the reassurance of the team being back together."
"But—"
"It's a good thing Peter," Tony cut off whatever he was going to say. "We should've never been broken up this long," His gaze met Peters worried one. "and anyways, I'm the adult here, you aren't allowed to worry for me."
Peter scoffed at that. "So you can act like a mother hen when I get a scratch, but I can't stress over the fact that you let them into the tower?" He scowls. "Rogers and Barnes left you stranded in Siberia!"
"Peter." Tony's voice was firm as he looked him right in the eyes. Peter straightened up, he knew that Tony didn't like when he mentioned that. "It's not that simple, you know that."
His eyes left Tony's as he looked away guiltily. He knew Mr. Stark was right, but that didn't mean he felt okay with this.
After a few moments, Tony's eyes softened, and he chuckled. "Plus, I didn't exactly give them any other options." Peters shoulders slumped, he knew Tony was still hurt by all that happened, but if he wanted to move on, Peter had no right to stop him.
"Okay…I'm sorry." Peter rubbed the backed of his neck.
Tony smiled. "It's all good kid, I get where you're coming from." He took in a deep breath. "Nobody can expect tension to resolve overnight."
After that, Peter decided to stay in the lab for a bit, and helped out with whatever Tony needed. They did this comfortably for a while, but despite what they talked about, Peter could tell Mr. Stark was still pretty nervous. He had gotten good at reading the genius in the years he knew him, and no matter how much he tried to act okay, the tension is his shoulders and conflict in his eyes gave made it all to obvious.
Peter decided he'd stay away from the rogues for the time being. Tony didn't need that added stress right now, especially considering how it was obvious he wasn't comfortable with Peter being around them anyways. He'd let him work out whatever problems he had with them, as it was clearly a lot.
Standing up, Peter put his mask back on and went to the window. "I'm gonna go home and get some rest." Tony nodded and gave him a dismissive wave as he focused back on his work. Peter raised an eyebrow. "I think you should too, Pepper won't be happy if she finds you here in the morning."
At that, Tony turned and rolled his eyes. "Didn't we just talk about you not worrying about me?" He smirked as he said that. "Go home kid, I'll be down soon."
Peter sighed, but returned the smile before leaping out the window to swing into the night.