Chapter Text
The school bus showed up to Stark Tower on a Friday morning, full with a very rowdy academic decathlon team. It was only 8:45, but everyone looked like they’d been awake and running off adrenaline for hours. Abe figured if anybody was as thrilled as he was, then they probably had been.
He’d barely been able to sleep because he’d been so excited to visit the renowned building showcasing what he hoped his future would be. Personally, Abe wanted to work in the engineering compartment—hopefully something with aerospace. The thought reminded him of Peter and his rumored internship, and that prompted him to look at the scene Flash was making.
Ever since the team learned of the trip a few weeks ago, Flash became even worse about his teasing. It was in every class they had together, the hallways, lunch, hell—Abe had even seen Peter getting harassed after class one day. Admittedly, Abe had walked away, and of course he felt bad but what could he do? He wasn’t keen on becoming another target as well.
“Ready to see your entire life crumble apart in a few minutes, Parker?” Flash sneered.
But Parker didn’t even glance away from his phone. Waving his arm half-heartedly to Flash, annoyance clearly plastered on his face, he sighed before returning to his phone. Sighed at Flash Thompson. That was the opposite of anything Peter had done in the past.
Typically, he’d just mumble something and hunch in on himself, and on occasion glare at Flash if he was particularly not in the mood. He’d never ignored Flash like this. Even a few days ago, Peter had just grimaced when Flash passed him with a muttered insult and jab to his ribs. Sure, he’d seen Peter glare daggers into the back of Flash’s head all period after, but he never truly stood up for himself.
Abe then recollected on how he’d been acting all morning, and it became clear something had changed. Peter was suspiciously smug, whispering to Ned even more than normal. And his posture was straighter, no longer instinctively shrinking into his seat. He’d boarded the bus without any of his usual wary glances or stumbling. And when they then arrived at the tower, he had barely glanced up despite the cheering from everybody else (save MJ).
Something wasn’t adding up, and while Abe wasn’t one to pry, he wanted to know what was going on. He hoped the answer would come sometime today. But in the meantime, he could only glance between the towering skyscraper and the kid who was suspiciously calm for being in front of Stark Industries.
Flash was clearly put off by Peter’s sudden indifference, and sputtered a nonsensical reply before sitting back down. Abe was glad about that for Peter's behalf.
The minutes ticked by until Mr. Harrington had finished his unnecessary roll call, and finally everyone was allowed off the bus. People practically shoved over each other shouting to get to the front doors, but stopped and stumbled into themselves at the glare of Happy Hogan standing in front of them. Everybody knew who he was, as he was involved in every press conference or public appearance of the Avengers.
He stayed still, looking but not seeing the students standing in front of him. Only when everybody was off the bus, he stepped aside and ushered them in. Abe glanced back, saw Peter grin and wave at Happy as he walked by, and he saw the nod in response. It lacked any visible emotion yet Peter clearly didn’t mind, the smile settling as he practically waltzed into the lobby.
They waited while Happy went behind a security booth to grab a bin of passes and set them out on the table. He explained, short and efficient, the uses of the passes. All Abe cared about was getting his hands on his own badge and effectively ignored him.
Everybody grabbed their passes as soon as Happy dropped his menacing stare, and it was comical how similar the kids' expressions of awe were. Save for Peter, who looked at the ceiling with an indistinguishable expression. Abe distantly noticed how he hadn’t grabbed a pass, but was currently too involved in tracing every detail about his own pass with his eyes to really care.
Flash, of course, did care. He didn’t even raise his hand as he called out, “Hey, Pen-Peter doesn’t have a pass!”
“It appears he doesn’t need one.” A short but commanding woman who looked not much older than they were walked in out of nowhere, which Abe didn’t know was possible in the wide open room. She glanced at her tablet, then back at Peter, with a puzzled expression. Nonetheless, she smiled at him and pointedly ignored Flash’s indignant whine.
“Hello, Midtown’s AcaDec team! I’m Clara Wilson, a new marketing intern for Stark Industries. I was only hired a few weeks ago, so this is my first ‘real’ assignment. I'm going to be your tour guide today. I’ll be showing you around various departments—some labs, the Avengers museum, and more that I don’t want to spoil just yet.”
She gives a wry smile, and gestures to the vaguely airport-security looking dividers ahead of them. “Now, take your badges and scan them on these”—she pointed to a glowing blue screen—“And walk through the dividers. One at a time, please.”
Abe was in the middle of the line, but his turn came soon enough. He tapped his card on the screen, suddenly nervous. What if he accidentally grabbed a knife or something irrational? Luckily for him, the screen just flashed green and a quiet beep was heard as he passed through without problem.
He was zoning out, staring across the ridiculously large lobby when a much louder and embezzled-sounding beep sounded from the check-in. Him, along with everyone else, turned to see Peter Parker standing with an exasperated look on his face.
“Welcome back, Peter. Would you like me to inform boss you’re here?” A voice sounded from the ceiling. Someone shrieked.
“No, that’s alright Fri.” Peter responded, clearly not surprised in the slightest. More just confused as to why his team stared between him and the ceiling with shock written across their faces.
Clara filled them in quickly. “That was FRIDAY, Mr. Stark's AI assistant. She runs the building, takes constant surveillance, and is always available for help. I wasn’t expecting a greeting from her, especially if I don’t know…what’s your name again?” This question was asked to Peter, but he didn’t seem surprised or worried in the slightest.
“Peter Parker,” He stated lazily, and before she could ask, added, “I work here.”
Her eyes lit up and her jaw dropped, recognition flooding her features. Most of the kids still looked puzzled, torn between believing Peter or what Flash has said about him. Mr. Harrington, who stood behind Clara and couldn’t see her face, stepped forward to try and reprimand him. But before he could open his mouth, Clara spoke again.
“You’re the kid everybody talks about! Dr. Ward and practically every supervisor I have raves about you!” She gushes, joy replacing her confusion completely. “I asked him why, if you’re so amazing, you don’t just come to the lab to help out more. He just groaned and told me that he’d been trying to but Stark keeps hoarding you.”
It was like only the two of them existed at the moment. Peter’s face colored slightly, and he dipped his head at the praise. “I’ve been trying to come down there for a week, and he always comes up with a reason to stay in the lab with him. Sorry, I’ll definitely visit sometime soon and check in. I’d love to see what you’re working on down there.”
She nodded enthusiastically before remembering she had a group of very surprised high schoolers, and their equally as confused teacher, behind her. She frowned, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she just grinned at Peter again before ushering everybody to the elevators.
Without pressing a single button, the elevator began rising. She told a few fun facts about the tower as they rose upward. Nobody was really listening, and instead stared at Peter who pretended not to notice. Flash, of course, looked at the floor.