Chapter Text
Peter Parker
Peter Parker has never thought about killing himself before. Even through high school bullies, the nasty words of hateful cops, and through the deadly scene of being your friendly neighborhood Spiderman. He was known to be a kindhearted and upbeat soul, as if nothing could dim his sparkle or tear down his spirit, he was like that through his inner monologue too, not once thinking things would be easier if he just…went away.
And even after the Blip, he was still the light in everyone’s life. Especially Tony Stark’s. After facing near death, Mr. Stark needed some kind of distraction, and with the sheer amount of talking Peter did, it was simply natural that Mr. Stark asked Peter to spend more time at the tower and Tony’s new home. Eventually, Mr. Stark seemed to heal, and asked for Peter less, knowing he had school. Important school, to get into MIT. And Mr. Stark was scared—scared of losing Peter again. He tried to push the kid away some, so that if he did end up losing Parker again, it wouldn’t hurt as much. But Peter Parker was impossible to get rid of.
Though after the Blip, Peter couldn’t find stability, and struggled to regain his academic intelligence. So during Peter’s excessive visits to Mr. Stark, Tony helped the kid regain himself academically. He was back on track, his life was back on track. He was getting stronger everyday and stopping more crime than ever as Spiderman. Peter felt like Tony cared, despite the older man never admitting it. Never checking in on him besides after school or if he was injured. Maybe it was still just a professional, intern-like relationship and Peter should let go of the view he has on Mr. Stark, even though he desperately needed a father figure.
Things were going good, and suicide was the last thing on Peter Parker’s mind.
—
Peter was zoned in—working on a particularly challenging piece of homework. He always loved a challenge, so he hadn’t left his room in hours, not since getting home from school. Happy had been taking him home since the Blip, and Peter assumed Tony was behind the arrangement. Peter tilted his head slightly in confusion to a problem before his thoughts were rudely interrupted–
“Peter!” Aunt May called, seemingly with a joyful and ‘hurry up and get in here’ kind of tone. Peter was slightly annoyed due to the interruption, but complied with Aunt May, getting up from where he was sitting and exiting his room.
“Yes?” Peter answered, eyes glimmering with anticipation as he looked up to see another man. Parker tilted his head, before raising a finger pointing at the stranger in his house. “Is that guy here for like…matinence?” Peter said, concern lacing his strained tone. He definitely wished he was in his room right now.
“No,” May took a deep breath. “This is Marcus.” Peter’s Aunt wrapped a hand around the arm of the man, she seemed proud to show him off, to say that this was her boyfriend. “We’ve been seeing each other for 4 years…Two years after you..” She trailed off, not wanting to remember. “Anyway, we decided it was time he moved in with us. And.. Time he got to meet his step-nephew.” May smiled, glancing up at Marcus for approval. He met her with a kiss on the forehead.
Oh. Peter felt like his whole world had just collapsed, and as excited he was to meet someone new, he just wished it didn’t feel like Aunt May was trying to replace Uncle Ben.
“Okay.” Peter muttered, nodding. “Welcome, Mr. Marcus.” Peter said warmly, offering a gentle smile, despite the sadness coursing through the teenager’s head. Marcus smiled, offering a handshake. Peter stepped closer, and Richard grabbed Peter’s hand and caught him a firm, unforgiving handshake. After Peter stepped back—taken slightly off guard—but he smiled again.
“I should go study.” Peter said, finding a way to excuse himself. Aunt May nodded, and he took that as a cue to leave. He couldn’t shake the feeling of caution, but if Aunt May trusted this Richard, so did Peter. It took him by surprise, that’s all. Probably because to him, Uncle Ben had been gone 5 years shorter than he really has been.
A few hours later, Peter is called down for dinner. Peter sighs, hating being torn from the comforts of his room. Though, he was curious to learn more about Marcus. He obliged to the call and ventured to the dining room.
“Wow, May, this looks great!” Peter compliments, looking for any excuse to be a polite, friendly kid. That’s what made Peter happiest, being kind to others and helping them with whatever they need.
“Actually, son, I made it.” Marcus corrected politely, a small look of pride dancing on his face. Peter lit up, his face beaming. This was even better, easier to make a great impression. And even easier to make Mr. Marcus happy.
.
“Oh-ho-ho! Wow, Mr. Marcus, this is absolutely amazing!” Peter gushed as he took a bite. Peter ate happily, trying his best to make a good impression on Mr. Marcus. And Mr. Marcus looks pleased with the reactions, alongside Aunt May who appears joyful that Peter has taken such a liking to her boyfriend.
After eating, Peter retreated to his room. He had finished his homework through his thoughts, so he was left to work on a concept suit for Spiderman or…
Peter: mr. stark, r u up?
Tony: Great timing, kid. I am. You are coming here tomorrow. -Tony
Peter giggled, Mr. Stark always signed his texts off with his name. Peter hadn’t bothered correcting Mr. Stark, it was a good quirk.
Peter: cool! wut r we doing tmr?
Tony: English, Underoos. -Tony
Peter: sorry. what r we doing tomorrow, mr. stark?
Tony: We are going to work on training at the tower. -Tony
Peter: ill ask may :))
Tony: What is that? Semi-colon and parenthesis? -Tony
Peter: its a smiley face, mr. stark. the semi colon is eyes and parenthesis is the mouth
Tony: Why are there two mouths? -Tony
Peter: it looks more friendly lol
They continued to text until Mr. Stark decided it was Peter’s bedtime at 8:30 P.M. and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Peter secretly thought Tony was looking for an excuse to go to bed himself.
The kid stayed up for 2 more hours on his phone before hitting the hay. He was excited to see Tony tomorrow, and he knew Mr. Stark was excited too, even though he wouldn’t admit it. Come to think of it, Mr. Stark didn’t admit a lot of things. Peter didn’t know much about the man at all.
—
Tony Stark
Tony would never consider himself worried about Peter Parker killing himself. Tony actually didn’t worry about the kid at all—so he says. He was in the living room, watching TV in his new home. He started to ease into the idea of retirement, but he would always go into the basement to stare at his suits every now and then. To reminisce, to mourn the man he used to be. Tony always referred to himself as a closed off, tough man. But knowing the kid turned him into a softer version of himself. He still hung onto his sarcastic remarks and snappy attitude, but toned it down around the kid. Especially after losing him.
And after the events of Thanos, he decided he needed to retire, for his own sake. And partially for Underoos, though Tony was still closed off enough to never admit that part. Pepper did catch on to the sudden closeness of the two, but didn’t say anything. She gently admired the way Tony relaxed when Peter talked non-stop, almost like a father listening to his child. Tony didn’t want kids. He didn’t want Peter Parker—though Pepper would argue differently.
Tony still sends Happy to take Peter to and from school everyday and asks for a report on his day, texting Peter at exactly 2:45 P.M. “He’s just been through a lot.” Tony argues. “He needs some kind of…man in his life.” Tony deflects. “He needs someone who seems like they care or something.” Tony grumbled. He won’t admit he does care for the kid, that he loves the kid as his own. Pepper gave up on trying.
Even though Ironman is retired, Tony still considers the kid as his intern, bringing him over every now and again to teach him a new skill or just tell him a story on how Ironman was the greatest. It was routine, not something Tony enjoyed doing or anything. At least that’s what Stark insisted.
Things were going pretty okay, and Tony Stark didn’t even think about Peter Parker being upset.
—
“Tony, are you watching the TV or drilling your eyes through it?” Pepper remarked, glancing at Tony from the kitchen table. The man grunted in response, feeling unwilling to muster up a genuine reply. Pepper sighed, Tony hadn’t been to the tower in weeks, and she had noticed.
“I’m watching.” Tony finally grumbled, sighing not long after Pepper. How in-sync.
“Do you want Peter to stop by after school tomorrow?” Pepper asked, tilting her head at her sulky husband.
“Yeah, that’d be great. We can head up to the tower or something…” Tony trailed off. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea—perhaps detaching from the kid would be best, just in case he lost Underoos again. Just in case. “Wa-”
“I’ll let Happy know.” Pepper decided before Tony could change his mind. Welp.
“Uh—hold that thought on telling Happy. The kid texted me.” Tony held a finger up, adjusting his glasses to see better with his free hand.
“Alright, Tony.” Pepper said gently, admiring Tony unknowingly for a few breaths. She turned her head and continued to read, letting Tony text the kid.
A few minutes later, Tony piped up. “Pepper, what does ‘lol’ mean?” Tony asked, adjusting his glasses once more. He was definitely the type to text with one finger.
Pepper chuckled at her husband. “It means laughing-out-loud.” She answered politely. “What are you two talking about?” She asked.
“I don’t know. Parker is using internet bullshit.” Tony groaned. “Deciphering his texts is the hardest part of my life.” He shook his head. Pepper laughed.
Some time passed, and Tony was getting sleepy. “It’s 8:30. Why isn’t Peter asleep? I’m going to tell him to go to sleep.”
“He’s what, 16? 17? Teenagers are the closest thing to nocturnal people.” Pepper replied.
“Ugh. He said fine. That means I can go to bed now.” Tony groaned as he got up from the couch. “FRIDAY, turn the TV off please.”
“I’ll be back there soon.” Pepper said, not looking up from her book.
“Okay. Goodnight. Love you.”
“Love you too, Stark.”
——————
Peter Parker
When Peter woke up, he still felt groggy. It was 6, meaning he had 30 minutes before Happy was involuntarily at his apartment to pick him up for school. Peter forced himself out of bed—and he caught a whiff of something. Aunt May didn’t typically make breakfast, her and Peter actually avoided breakfast. Still in his pajamas, Peter opens his door to find Mr. Marcus making breakfast.
“Ah, kid! You’re up.” Marcus seemed to be a morning person.
“Yes, sir. I am.” Peter said, his voice hoarse from sleeping. God, his throat was dry, too. He rubbed his eyes, hoping it’d make the whole waking up transition easier.
“Come on kid, eat up.” Marcus set a plate down at the table. Peter felt guilty, he didn’t exactly have time to sit down and eat with Richard.
“I-I… Okay.” Peter stuttered before reluctantly sitting down, still wanting to make that impression. “Thank you for the food, Mr. Marcus. I appreciate it.” Peter smiled sheepishly before basically swallowing his food whole.
“Jeez, hungry kid.” Marcus joked as Peter finished before the older man sat down. Peter mustered up a smile.
“Yes sir—and I can’t be late.” Peter shrugged, rushing to his room to change. Marcus didn’t say anything back, just turned around to finish cooking.
Peter stripped his clothes off and put fresh ones on, spritzing some cologne scarcely and fixing his hair. He rushed and brushed his teeth before emerging to the main space once again.
“Happy is here to take me to school now, Mr. Marcus. Thank you again for breakfast, it was great. See you later.” Peter said, grabbing his bag off of the floor before tripping over his shoelaces trying to get out the door.
“See you later, kid.” Marcus said as Peter was halfway out the door.
—
After breezing through school with ease, Peter had to stay an extra 10 minutes to help Mr. Harrington organize something. Peter thought nothing of it, but when he opened his phone, he had 5 messages and one call from Mr. Stark. Parker giggled, thinking the concern from the retired man was amusing.
Tony: It is 2:45 P.M. Are you out of school? Has Happy picked you up? -Tony
Tony: It is 2:47 P.M. Are you okay kid? Please text me back. -Tony
Tony: It is 2:50 P.M. Peter. You are on your phone all of the time. Text Ironman back. -Tony
Tony: It is 2:54 P.M. Underoos I will have Happy go in there himself. Text me back. Hurry up. -Tony
Peter: yes mr. stark im fine. had to help a teacher do something. im otw.
Tony: Cut the short words. English, Underoos. Please. -Tony.
Peter: yes sir. im on my way, how was your day mr. stark?
They continued texting until Peter arrived at Tony’s home.
“Thank you for the ride, Happy!” Peter thanked as he exited the car.
“I don’t have a choice.”
Peter smiled, Happy was back to normal after all. Climbing the porch steps, Peter couldn’t help but admire the home that Mr. Stark lived in, he did it every time he visited. His knuckles rapped against the door, in his usual pattern. Though he didn’t get to finish it before Mr. Stark swung the door open.
“Kid.” Tony said flatly.
“Mr. Stark.” Peter said with a bright smile. Tony motioned for the young teenager to enter and Peter did so, trying to downplay his absolute joy.
“I have a few things to do here and we can head to the tower.” Tony said gruffly, scratching his beard. “Sit on the couch.” Tony pointed at the couch.
Peter nodded, making his way. He watched Tony move around the house, changing clothes and tidying small things up. Tony eventually picked up an old picture. One of him and Peter, holding an upside-down Stark Internship certificate. Peter gets a peek, and notices the tension in Mr. Stark’s jaw. Peter wondered why the photo made Mr. Stark feel tense.
“Erm, Mr. Stark, are you alright?” Peter’s voice is quiet, but calm.
“Ah, yes, of course Peter. Just…Good memories, Parker. Good memories.” Tony sets the picture down, turning to smile at the kid. Peter lights up. “Alright, let’s go Underoos.” Tony motions for Peter to follow him, and the kid nearly leaps out of his seat to follow his mentor.
The ride there, Peter ensures Tony gets an earful of his life. He talks about school mostly—then he remembers about Mr. Marcus. Peter remains quiet for a few moments, then expresses his concerns with Mr. Stark. He was going to anyway, just didn’t know if now was the right time.
“Um, Mr. Stark?” Peter sounded unsure. Tony glanced at Peter briefly.
“Yes, Spiderling?” Tony prompted, his eyebrows knitting together in concern.
“Aunt May has a new boyfriend. Well, not new, but new to me. They started dating when I Blipped.” Tony tensed. He didn’t want to remember how he lost Peter. “But anyway, I don’t…I have a bad feeling about him, Mr. Stark. He shook my hand all funny.” Peter rambled, not noticing the tension Mr. Stark held after Peter brought up the Blip.
“Most adults shake hands funny.” Tony said flatly, acting disinterested. “I’m sure he’s a fine man for your sexy Aunt May to be so committed to.” Tony joked, smirking. Peter’s cheeks warmed as Tony made the inappropriate joke towards his Aunt. Though, he was truthfully glad Tony was well enough to be making inappropriate jokes.
“I hope so, Mr. Stark.” Peter’s chest swelled with pride. He was proud of his Aunt for finding someone, so he had to trust this guy. Even if he didn’t want to. And he really didn’t want to.
Peter continued to find random things to talk about, he felt like he couldn’t shut up around Mr. Stark. He didn’t discourage Peter or make him feel annoying, unlike most other people. Peter was eternally grateful for the grouchy old man, even if Tony didn’t reciprocate—semingly didn’t reciprocate.
As they pulled up to the tower, Peter Parker noticed someone else there. Perhaps it was Bucky? He recognized the silhouette of the man.
“Mr. Stark, is Mr. Barnes here?” Peter asked, trying to get a better look at the man.
“Yes, Underoos. Mr. Barnes offered to spar with you directly.” Tony replied, pulling into a parking space. “He’s a very good teacher.” He reassured quietly. Peter nodded, excited to meet Bucky again after a few years.
The Avengers had split up after the final battle, mostly to mentally recover and because most of the avengers were getting older—which meant it was slightly more dangerous to be risking their lives daily. Even those who had Blipped were still cautious of fighting, so Peter hadn’t gotten to know the others very well outside of aggression.
Getting out of the car, Peter noticed Bucky approach him and Mr. Stark. Bucky held a hand up high, waving enthusiastically.
“Tony! Spider-Man!” Mr. Barnes exclaimed, jogging.
Peter grinned. “Mr. Barnes!” He returned the energy gratefully, waving back.
“Bucky.” Tony nodded, shaking hands with the other man. Peter stood there with a stupidly wide grin, watching the old friends interact. “This is the kid you’re training today.” Tony gestured to Peter, who still had a grin on his face.
Bucky analyzed the teenager, nodding. “You got experience, I can tell by the way you hold yourself.” He gestured with a hand, up and down. “But you aren’t what I would call experienced. Make sense, boy?”
Peter nodded. “Yes, sir. I understand.”
Tony led Peter and Bucky into the gym. “I will be observing, anything I see wrong with either of you I will verbally correct the issue. I’ll be focusing on the young one here, obviously, but Bucky I assume you aren’t doing too hot either in the fighting realm.” Tony explained as the two stretched.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever Tony.” Bucky mumbled as he cracked his knuckles. “Let’s just get this kid ready.”
—
“No, no, no.” Tony separated Peter and Bucky. “You,” he pointed at Peter. “You dodge too much. You can’t beat someone’s ass if you’re too busy dodging. Throw a damn punch.” Tony sighed. “And you,” he turned to Bucky. “God where to start. Um, first things, you’re being sloppy. You’re treating him like a kid, which he is a kid, but he’s also Spider-Man. Fight him like you mean it!” Tony stepped back, watching their responses.
“Yes sir.” Peter obliged. He wasn’t sure how he wasn’t going to not dodge, his spidey sense was unbearable if ignored. However, if Peter was going to get better at simply fist-fight, he needed to take and throw a few punches.
“Of course, Tony.” Bucky rolled his eyes, but readied himself.
Peter smiled. Things were still goi–Peter just got punched. Square in the nose. He stumbled back and shook it off. He curled his fists and punched Bucky in the jaw. Yeah, things were still going good.