Work Text:
Peter loved Friday lab days. They were the highlight of his week; he got to hang out with Tony, build things, and had access to tech that his dumpster-diver brain still had a difficult time processing. But this lab day was going to be different. Peter had maybe been going out a bit too much as Spider-Man the previous weeks. That combined with homework piling up meant he was pulling all nighters left right and centre, and barely getting any sleep when he didn’t.
Maybe he’d gotten his eight hours of sleep, but it was spread over seven days. And that was being generous. So when Peter got into Happy’s car and woke up at the compound, apparently having slept the whole time, he knew he was fucked. Working while tired was a shit idea and he knew it, but he would persevere anyway. Even though he was starting to see rainbows swirling across his vision, Happy’s face looked like it was made of clay and someone had started punching it repeatedly, Peter told himself it was fine.
He made his way up to the lab as quickly as possible, saying hi to FRIDAY and trying not to pass out in the elevator. When the doors opened to reveal Tony’s lab, the man was there instantly, greeting him with a: “Hey, Pete, howsit?”
Peter grumbled under his breath and shuffled over to his workbench, plopping his brand new backpack down (Tony had bought it a few days ago after Peter had lost yet another one). “Hey, Tony,” he mumbled, too tired to tease Tony with his usual ‘Mr Stark’, that he used purely to annoy the man.
Peter sat down at his workbench and was grabbing some stuff out to start working (albeit very slowly) when a hand tapped him on the shoulder. Peter, whose eyelids had been fluttering shut, flinched and jumped up far too fast. He turned quickly to find his mentor staring at him with concern.
“Hey, kiddo. Are you okay? You seem… off. And you called me Tony. You never call me Tony. What’s up with that?” the man asked, worry seeping into his voice.
Peter grinned, though it probably looked fake (because it was). “I j’st call you Mr Stark to annoy you. Y’know that? ‘N I’m fine.”
Tony shook his head. “No, you’re not. You have raccoon eyes. Have you been sleeping?” Peter blinked a bit too long, and took a half-second micro nap which was interrupted by Tony snapping his fingers in front of Peter’s face. “Kid, focus.”
Peter expanded his fake smile, making it take up half his face. “Sleep? Sleep is a social construct created by the government to force us to lose a third of our life being unconscious.”
Tony tilted his head. “Yeah you haven’t been sleeping. And sleepy spiders don’t get to play in the lab with all the sharp dangerous objects.”
“What?” Peter whined petulantly. “But I wanna do lab day!”
“No,” Tony said firmly. “You are going upstairs and sleeping or else I’m gonna take the suit. Do you want that?”
Peter shook his head quickly. He needed Spider-Man. Tony couldn’t just take the suit because he didn’t sleep! But he had no choice, so he followed Tony to the elevator and up to the floor with his bedroom. He barely registered walking out of the elevator, and didn’t even change out of the jeans and science pun tee he’d been wearing all day as he flopped down onto his ludicrously soft mattress.
He vaguely noticed Tony demanding FRIDAY to do some things. Probably turn the lights off and the sound proofing on. In hindsight, sleeping sounded way better than lab day.
Peter drifted off.
He came too in a completely blacked-out, soundproof room. He wasn’t sure how much time it had been so asked FRIDAY. FRIDAY was apparently muted in his room, though. Stupid considerate Tony Stark.
Peter dragged himself out of bed and opened the door, getting immediately hit by a hum of background noise and bright light. He winced, but slowly adjusted to the light as he moved out to the main living area of the floor he was on. The area was actually quite dark. The windows were closed and Peter could tell the lights were dimmed a fair bit. Tony was sitting at the kitchen island, sipping a cup of something steaming. Probably coffee. The man had a caffeine addiction to rival anyone else's.
“Hey Mr Stark,” Peter greeted, and his mentor immediately looked up from his drink.
“Oh, look what the cat dragged in,” Tony teased playfully.
Peter just flipped him off, and walked over to the counter to sit on a stool next to Tony. “What time is it?” he asked.
Tony smirked. “It’s eleven in the morning. You’ve been asleep for nineteen hours. Wanna tell me again about how ‘sleep is a social construct.”
Holy shit. Peter had slept for nineteen hours. That had to be like a record or something. It was definitely a personal best. “Yeah, I am pretty sure I was seeing things. Happy’s face looked all mucked up. And there were swirly rainbows everywhere.”
“You know,” Tony started. “I consider myself the king of sleep deprivation, and I don’t even think I’ve gotten to that point.”
“Ha!” Peter half-yelled. “I beat you!”
“Orrr maybe you just have a lower tolerance to sleep deprivation. I am a pro.”
“And I’m an American high-schooler.”
“Fair,” Tony conceded. “You want coffee?”
Peter shook his head. “Caffeine makes spiders drunk.”
“Wha—” Tony cut himself off, shaking his head. “Every time I think I know everything about you, you manage to surprise me more.”
Peter blushed. “That’s just who I am, Mr Stark.”
“Oh yeah! What was with that, huh? You call me Mr Stark to annoy me? Politeness my ass.”
“Um, I can explain,” Peter stuttered, knowing very well there was no good explanation.
“I hate you,” Tony stated dully but jokingly.
“Gasp!” Peter exclaimed. “I am offended. How dare you.”
Tony gave him a side eye. “You want hot chocolate?” he said, completely ignoring Peter’s antics.
“Um…. Hell yeah!”