Fall

It starts with the car. Or actually, Tony hearing about how Spiderman stole (and totaled, but they don't talk about that) Flash's parents' car and after laughing about it for a good twenty minutes, got serious. "Kid, you really need to learn how to drive."

Tony pushed down his red tinted sunglasses to get a look at Peter who was currently scuffing his shoes against the Tower's floor. Lip pulled into almost something of a pout, Peter looked like a deer, or maybe a kicked puppy. "I want to! But May doesn't have a car and lessons are too expensive and it's not like it's super important anyway. We live in New York, we just subway everywhere, or, you know, walk." He shrugged, "Plus, superhuman strength, I can't even say I'll get tired."

Tony rolled his eyes, "You can't just use your spider inclinations to get out of doing normal people things whenever you want."

Peter scrunched his nose, "I do not-"

But Tony cut him off, throwing his hands in the air like it was all quite an ordeal he wasn't paid enough to deal with, "Fine! I'll teach you. Come on bugboy we have a car to crash."

Tony turned straight on his heel, ignoring the shell-shocked expression of the teenager behind him. He could hear Peter stuttering to say something and shouted, "Pick your mouth up from the floor and let's go go go." He clapped his hands and Peter scurried after him.

"Mr. Stark, you really don't have to teach me, it's fine, honest. It's not even a big deal, I don't need my license right now anyway and-"

"Peter, half the fun of being seventeen is getting a driver's license. And letting you use one of my cars is definitely easier than magic man with the unfortunately good facial hair magicking you an Audi from a pumpkin or whatever."

"I don't think Dr. Strange would that for me honestly." Peter replied, actually looking a little thoughtful.

"Well that's just not right. We bonded on that hellscape, I feel like we're owed a magic Audi." Tony said, looking mildly offended.

"Mr. Stark," Peter rolled his eyes, sighing, "if you wanted to hang out with Dr. Strange, I'm sure he'd accept the invite."

The mild offense blew up into full blown indignation as Tony spun around poking Peter right in the forehead. "How dare you."

Peter snickered, walking right past his mentor. "I'm just saying Mr. Stark. You're not so bad. Maybe a little dramatic, not to mention sarcastic and clammy and you never want to talk about your feelings and of course, you might be a little, well," Peter grinned, brows raised like the little shit he was as he leaned in close measuring himself against Tony, "little, but I'm sure you guys would get along great!"

"You're a brat, do you know that? An actual fully grown brat and I have half a mind to hack into the system and get you blacklisted from ever getting a license."

But Peter ignored him, laughing hysterically.

"And don't go getting a big head over this, I'm still taller than you."

"Yeah, by an inch."

"Actually, it's two point six inches, eat my dust."

Peter beamed, throwing his arms around Tony in a bear hug, "It's okay Mr. Stark, I'll still like you even when I'm tall."

Tony snorted, firmly looking anywhere but Peter, but pat him on the head anyway. "Yeah, yeah, okay bud let's pick a car I won't mind getting scratched." He slung his arm around Peter's shoulders, leading him to the garage.

"I love how much faith you have in me, it's really great for my growing self-esteem."

"I'm really growing into this whole mentor thing. Just another thing I excel at I guess." Tony shrugged, looking nonchalant and checking out his nails, preening.

Peter snorted before relaxing against Tony, settling in a matching pace. "And thank you for teaching me." He was too cute honestly, dripping sincerity like that, was that even allowed? "Really. It honestly would be great to learn from someone who actually knows what they're doing…" he trailed off, face looking like he was caught between laughing and cringing.

Tony coughed, nodding jerkily, "Well watching you fumble around with the gears and the pedals will definitely be more fun than working so…"

At the garage, Tony let him go to gently push him inside, sweeping his arm around and announcing, "Alright kid, go nuts.

Peter gaped, walking past him towards the line up of cars with an open mouth. Holy shit. Tony's collection was unreal. Vintage cars, limited edition cars, super flashy how could you honestly drive those out in public cars. Hollyyyyy. And he wanted Peter to drive one of them? Honestly, they were all a little too fancy, which was the opposite of ideal because it would just stress Peter out the whole time, because sure, he crashed Flash's car, but like, it was Flash so…Sure, he felt bad about it, especially because his parents would have to pay for it, but if that wasn't karmic justice than what was? Plus, he was trying to stop a supervillain! Peter felt like that deserved some slack and sure he could've maybe steered better, but that really wasn't the priority you know!

So yeah, fancy cars were stressful.

But the problem was that Tony literally went out of his way sometimes to be as flamboyant and obnoxiously high-key as possible and his cars were no exception. Frustrated, Peter turned to Tony who had been flicking through something on his phone, "Mr. Stark, I really appreciate you teaching me how to drive but I can't use these, they're way too nice." He said, shaking his head.

"Peter, a car's a car."

But Peter fiddled with the hem of his shirt, looking like he wanted to say something but didn't know how. "It's just…you know I didn't agree just so I can like…you know, use your fancy stuff or whatever." He finished looking blustered and awkward and Tony, for once in his life, felt just a little speechless.

He really was too good for this world. Something already heavy grew even bigger inside Tony's heart, something already fond turning into something adoring. "Pete, the thought never even crossed my mind. But it's adorable that you care." He teased, not one to get too emotional about things like these.

Peter blushed, ducking his head. "But what if I crash it! They're all too nice!"

"Don't be ridiculous. Just pick one. You're not actually gonna crash it, I was just kidding about that."

Peter looked doubtful, his hand fiddling with the hem of his sweatshirt. Tony sighed, looking up at him with a smile though it was rooted in something much sadder. "Kid, you don't think I'd have every car I owned be redesigned by yours truly to make it as crash proof as possible?"

Peter's brows furrowed so imperceptibly that even Tony wouldn't notice and he could feel a frown forming across his face. Of course. Tony's parents supposedly died in a crash, though they both knew the truth now. Of course Tony would do something like that. He didn't really know what to say after that, didn't know what he could say honestly. But Tony, who was so good at filling awkward silences and throwing out his one liners, filled the space in the air for him. "So go nuts Pete, I went the whole nine yards so don't worry 'bout a thing. And as a little incentive, either you pick a car in the next thirty seconds or I'm going to pick the one Rhodey had outfitted for me as a joke and make sure your friend Ned gets a copy."

Peter blinked, turning around to see what Tony was talking about. He didn't even have to ask to know which one was the joke car. It was a shimmery gold with a spray painted Iron Man armor stripping around a pole along the side. "Oh my God." Peter whirled around, hands pressed together in a pleading gesture, "Mr. Stark you can't! Oh my Godddd."

Tony laughed, crisp and teasing. "That car's only good for pissing off uptight politicians during national security meetings, but since you don't have any of those, I suggest you start choosing now." He glanced at his watch, "Oh look, you have fourteen seconds."

Panicking, Peter's eyes darted around wildly, "Uhhh….uhhh, okay, okay. Let's go….in…." Tony tapped at his watch, an annoyingly amused glitter in his eye, "that one!" Peter pointed towards a more nondescript black sedan and Tony nodded in approval.

"Good choice kid. Alright, DUM-E?" Tony called looking around.

The robot whirred somewhere in the back, "Get me my keys would you? The right ones please. I can't do this whole back and forth thing again."

Peter listened to DUM-E bumbling around, the sound of something crashing and Tony sighing as he rubbed at his nose. "What a goof." He said, but it didn't sound like an insult at all.

Finally, DUM-E rolled over, a set of keys in its claw, "Give it to the kid, go on." Tony cajoled.

Cocking its claw like it was asking a question, DUM-E turned to Peter, whirring softly. Adoration practically exploding in his heart, Peter took the keys eagerly, petting the robot on its claw energetically. "Thanks so much DUM-E you're the best. The bestest robot." He cooed, behind him, Tony hid his smile.

"Alright, alright, enough chit-chatting, we have lessons to learn."

Peter unlocked the car, slipping into the front seat, marveling at the high tech display and presentation. "Holy crap, this is so cool."

"Yup. Really cool. You know what else is cool? Safety." Tony reached forward, tugging Peter's seatbelt over his chest.

"Come on Mr. Stark, I didn't even start the car yet."

"Seatbelt before everything else! It's the only rule I subscribe to in life, that should really point out how important it is."

"Okay, okay, I know. Seatbelts are important. Got it. But what about all the actually cool stuff? Like these? What do those do?" he asked, bouncing a little in his seat as he gestured to all the dash buttons.

"In due time young Padawan. First, we need to get into the gear shifts and the pedals at your feet and how to use the AC, then we'll get to the buttons."

"I don't think the AC is as important as the pedals Mr. Stark." Peter said wryly.

"Oh yeah? You want to go driving in this post climate change weather with nothing but the sweat from your pits keeping you cool? Be my guest Peter."

Nose wrinkled in disgust, Peter shot him a look, "Gross Mr. Stark. Fine, okay, teach me oh great one." He gave a mock bow and satisfied, Tony went back into teacher mode.

When Tony was content with his theoretical knowledge, though it took practically forty minutes of being quizzed and twenty of Peter just straight up begging, Tony asked FRIDAY to open up the garage and let him finally leave the tower. Peter's hands gripped the wheel, a big smile on his face, "Oh my God, oh my God, I'm gonna drive a Porsche. I'm learning to drive in a Porsche, Ned is gonna flip holy crap!"

Tony couldn't help but crack a grin in response to his excitement, patting his arm, "Okay, tone it down a little, let's give it a little gas, not too much, it's pretty sensitive, and let's just focus on getting out of the tower okay?"

"Yeah for sure, I totally got this." Peter nodded to himself, reversing slowly and turning the wheel straight.

"Okay, okay. This isn't so bad." He murmured to himself, maneuvering them out of the lot and into the open air parking lot. "Okay now what Mr. Stark?"

"How about you just try driving around the lot for now. You know, turns and braking and all that basic stuff."

"What?" he complained, "That's so boring! I'm totally ready to go out on the street." He pleaded, flashing Tony a pair of wide eyes and an overly keen smile.

"No way. Parking lot first. Then we'll talk about the roads. You gotta walk before you can run."

"You literally told me last week that sometimes you have to sprint before you can walk and that was your life motto." Peter deadpanned and with no response, Tony poked him in the cheek.

"Don't talk back young man, May raised you better."

So Peter rolled his eyes, but it was all in good nature and did as he was told, driving around the three tiered parking lot and working on signaling and not turning the wheel too hard or braking too suddenly. He was doing awesome if he said so himself, not to toot his own horn or anything, but sometimes a little self-preening was good for a kid. So, feeling all gung-ho and kumbaya about his connection to the wheels and the road, Peter announced, "Mr. Stark, I'm ready for real driving." And before Tony could really say anything about that at all, Peter swerved out onto the street and pressed on the gas.

Tony clutched at the top handle, mouth sputtering as Peter screeched to a stop, too close for comfort behind a red Mazda. "Red light Peter red light!"

"He stopped too late!" Peter protested.

Tony looked aghast, hand clutching his chest. "Peter. You have eyes. In fact, you have super sight. You can literally see better than anyone here." His voice getting consistently higher pitched.

Peter jut out his lip, "Sorry Mr. Stark, I'll be more careful, promise."

But, as it turned out, Peter Parker was a snot-nosed liar and the number of near misses and automated breaking mechanisms that had to be launched by the car itself probably whitened at least three hundred hairs on Tony's head. Peter for his part, lost his confidence somewhere between running a red light by accident and getting cut off by an angry driver when he was going too slow and was now full on panicking, steering practically with his eyes closed so he wouldn't have to see what he was doing.

"MR. STARK I REGRET MY LIFE DECISIONS!"

Peter glanced at Tony with wide eyes as he found himself squished between a truck and a tail-gaiting car behind him. Tony paused, making eye contact with his protégé to see the actual panic in his eyes and then turned to see what he was looking at. "Peter no. No, no, no. Abort mission. Abort mission!"

"I can't!"

Peter turned on the left signal to no avail, no one was letting him through and soon the two of them found themselves being pushed onto the ramp to enter the freeway and Peter was forced to push the gas to a hundred, making guttural pterodactyl noises. "Mr. Stark I can't do this I can't do this, Mr. Stark help!"

Full on parent mode kicking in, Tony steeled himself to be a calming presence and gripped Peter's shoulder tightly. "Kid, listen, it's going to be fine. Driving on highways is actually a lot easier than driving on normal roads, it's going to be okay. Start speeding up a little."

"Speeding? More?" Peter's voice cracked and Tony would have laughed if the kid wasn't so freaked.

"You need to merge into the other lane so you need to match that lane's speed okay?" his voice calm and low.

Peter took in a breath, glancing at him for just a second before nodding shakily, "O-Okay. Sure. Going faster, no problem. Sure, sure, sure."

"You're doing great kid." Tony encouraged, watching as the speedometer rose higher.

"Now turn on the signal and keep looking at your blind spot and just get into the lane okay."

Peter bit his lip, doing as he was told, his knuckles white around the steering wheel before he muttered a quick, "Come on Peter, just turn." And swerving the car into the left lane letting out a whoop of relief, "HAH! I did it! I'm driving on the highway!"

Tony collapsed against his seat, sighing, feeling drained of at least seventeen years of existence. "Yup kid. You're doing it. Now take the first goddamn exit you see and let's get back home to solid ground."

"I don't know Mr. Stark, I think I've gotten the hang of-"

The glare Tony sent his way was enough to send him in an awkward burst of laughter before shutting up. "Yeah, okay. Let's go home."

Not wanting to completely discourage the kid but also not wanting to die, Tony didn't force him to pullover so he could take over, but did direct him on a much longer route home, but one that took much slower and less complicated roads. They arrived back at the tower, Peter brimming over with a mostly unfounded sense of accomplishment and Tony feeling like a goddamned refugee who'd finally found asylum. "Oh thank God. Thank God." Tony turned to Peter, mostly kidding, but also kind of not, "Peter, you made an atheist a believer, are you proud of yourself?"

Peter snorted, putting the car in park and turning it off, "Mr. Stark, it wasn't that bad. We didn't even die."

"And yet we've come so close we might as well have." Tony quipped.

Peter deflated a little, looking down. "I'm sorry Mr. Stark, I know I'm kind of…well…not that great, but I swear I was trying to be good, I promise! But I know I stressed you out a lot so it's okay if you don't want to do this anymore, I completely understand, so I'm just gonna-"

Too tired to yell to out-talk him, Tony just clapped a hand over Peter's mouth, mouth twitching at the startled and slightly offended look in his eyes. "Peter. I don't trust anyone else on the planet to teach you. You're stuck with me buddy."

Peter, used to his allergy to emotions and his way of saying something and implying something so much more, looked up at him from the corner of his eye, looking adorable and shy. "Yeah?" he asked, quiet and hopeful.

Tony sniffed, looking away, hand already reaching for the door handle. "Yeah. Now get out of my car and go put on a movie or something I need to be immobile for at least ten hours."

Peter grinned, his normal exuberance bursting through. "Sure thing Mr. Stark! We're gonna watch The Iron Giant because it's kinda like an Iron Man AU."

"An A what?"

It's months into their friendship that May and Tony both realize they're half Italian on their mothers' sides. "Everything makes so much sense. I knew I got vivacious Italian vibes from you." Tony said, clapping his hands together.

May rolled her eyes, settling in further into the couch. The three of them are in the apartment having just got back from seeing Hamilton. Peter had been humming the music to it for the past two weeks and it was driving May and Tony insane. Thinking that just seeing the show would help him get it out of his system, Tony bought three tickets, drove to pick them up and threw them all in their seats to sit for a couple hours and see how the founding fathers were just so much more ridiculous than they really ought to be. May invited him up for some drinks and Peter was still too high-strung and high on the thrill of seeing his current hyper-focused passion of the week live to really say goodbye anyway.

"Can't say I'm a real Italian though. I only ever really learned how to make a good sauce. Never got the actual al dente part right thought." May lamented.

"Well that's a coincidence. I always mess up the sauce but I make a tender pasta." Tony waggled his brows and May snorted.

Attention caught, Peter turned on them, "Hey! We should host a dinner party! You can make the pasta and May can make the sauce and I can make the meat balls!"

"Since when do you know how to make meatballs?" May accused, swirling her drink casually.

"I can learn!" Peter defended, "There's Google and Vision- walking Google- and how hard can it really be?"

"I don't think Tony has time to be cooking everyone dinner baby."

"No, no, hold on. This might be good. Bruce's been strutting around the tower all passively aggressively being superior just because he made one lasagna-"

"- it was a pretty great lasagna though Mr. Stark."

"-which wasn't even that incredible or anything," Tony carried on as though Peter had said nothing at all, "so this could be good." He pulled out his phone, flicking through his calendar, "How does this Friday sound? Let's say seven?"

May pursed her lips in thought, "I should be okay with that. I'll swing by after work to get some stuff and then we can subway over."

Tony waved his hand, "Don't worry about any of the ingredients I got it covered."

May shot him an amused look, "I'll have you know that this recipe has secret ingredients even you don't know about. I got this Stark, don't worry about it. This is a joint dinner party and I'll be doing my part thank you."

"Yeah, Mr. Stark. We got this."

Tony got a flash then, of Peter looking awkward at accepting any of his financial kindnesses and smiled to himself. May raised a good one. "Alright, alright, I'm backing off." He raised his hands defensively in mirth.

Satisfied, May turned to Peter, "So you'll meet me at home?"

"I patrol on Fridays though, can I just meet you there?" he asked, trying to look as cute as possible.

"Alright, that's okay." May caved.

"Great." Tony announced, "But if you won't let me buy the food, then you'll at least let me tell Happy to come get you, I don't trust subways. Just text him where you're going to be. As for me, I'm going to get FRIDAY to send the most obnoxious invitations to those two." He paused, "Less obnoxious ones for Rhodey and Pepper."

"Oh, how is Pepper? I haven't seen her in ages." May asked.

"Oh you know, still holding me by the balls and whatnot."

"Mr. Stark!" Peter screeched, looking scandalized beyond repair. "I mean, it's true, but you shouldn't say it."

Tony laughed so hard the wine almost spurt out right through his nose.

Friday came along and Peter enjoyed burning through all his calories swinging around the city knowing he had a big meal to come home to. He had made the meat with all the seasonings and perfectly rounded each one the night before for May to take to the tower to add into the pasta and couldn't wait to scarf all of it all down. He asked Karen for the time, noting he had about twenty-fiveish minutes to make it on time and decided to call it a day patrolling. He swung between buildings, loving the rush of the air against his body before he saw a man towering over a teenaged boy with his hand bunched into his pocket in the tell-tale sign of hiding a gun. Or at least pretending to.

The kid looked terrified and Peter felt a swell of empathy. The terror of being mugged wasn't something he was unfamiliar with and he watched as the teen stuck his hand shakily into his back pocket to pull out his wallet. Determined to teach the mugger a lesson, Peter launched a web to the building across from him and directly behind the man and pushed his body through the air only to realize too late that he would hit the construction scaffolding of the building right next to him too late. Panicking, Peter choked on a scream as a piece of metal jutting out scraped into his side, tearing his suit and slicing through his skin with a scream. Caught by the pulses of pain, Peter's grip loosened from his web, knocking off his angle of entry. He smashed into the wall, tumbling to the ground. He wasn't sure if he was screaming. His head was full of sand. His body was inside the earth. Everything was grainy, he couldn't focus, why couldn't he- and like a holy grail brimming over with blood, the pain sharpened his brain where it was once mush and Peter leapt into action.

The mugger was staring at him in horror, looking like he was actually concerned but also knowing he was so far in the wrong. Peter pulled himself, fire licking at his belly. He pulled his fingers to the side and saw them stained copper. He looked back at the mugger, at the fear on that kid's face, and without even thinking about it, not even for a second, he shot a web into his side, hissing as the chemicals burned against him. His skin was pulled taut and it was horrible to move because he could feel each little cell trying to pull away and then being grabbed back, but it stopped the bleeding and his head felt a little clearer and he looked at the mugger, back straight and mask eyes ominously narrowed, "I'm giving you one shot to get out of here." And for once in his life, he didn't sound like a child playing make belief in daddy's clothes and the mugger nodded jerkily, pulling his hands from his pocket and sprinting away.

He never had a gun.

The kid looked at Peter- Spiderman- with wide eyes before stumbling over to him, shaking. "A-are you okay?" his hands fluttered around him like he wanted to touch him but didn't know if he could.

Peter swayed on his feet, trying to steady himself. "I'm good. Thanks man. You should probably get to wherever you're going to though."

"Are you sure? I can call someone." He fumbled in his pocket for his phone but Peter held up a hand to silence him.

"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it. I'm Spiderman." He tried to be lighthearted, but the adrenaline died and the pain pulsed brighter like a supernova, "Gotta jet man. Be safe!"

Using the better half of his body, Peter swung up onto the roof and started running. He knew that if he called Tony, he'd come flying to get him. But this was a special night and May had gone all the way to the tower and he was sure they were having fun cooking together and he didn't want to ruin it because he hadn't been paying better attention. Plus, the webbing was a good temporary solution and he'd heal fast and the wound wasn't deep or anything, just long and shallow. It was practically more of an aesthetic injury than anything, it'd be fine. So Peter ran to the tower despite the burning he felt from the inside out and when he arrived, he clasped his hands together and pulled off his mask to look more vulnerable, "FRIDAY, please don't tell May and Mr. Stark I'm here."

"That is…unusual Peter."

"I know, but I need to do something real quick and then I'll go right to them, I promise!" he tried to look as doe-eyed as possible though he knew it probably wouldn't matter but then he swore he heard FRIDAY sigh even though that definitely shouldn't have been possible.

"As you wish Peter. I'll keep this information to myself."

He beamed, "Thanks FRI, you're the best."

Peter zoomed to his lab, aiming to dab some of his dissolving formula onto the webbing and then go to MedBay and get some real bandages. Truthfully, he wasn't really sure if it was safe to put the fluid near a, you know, gaping open wound prone to infection, but he didn't really have a choice. It was either get it off now or have the webbing dissolve on its own in a couple hours and that was just…not ideal. No one was inside as Peter rummaged through his desk to find what he was looking for, letting out a satisfied, "Aha!" as he popped the vial open.

Pressing on the spider, his suit fell off of him and he lay down on the table to get a better look at the webs. Slowly, Peter poured the liquid atop of him, peeling the webbing off as he went. He was almost starting to smile because holy shit? It was actually working? And he wasn't convulsing from toxic shock? When he heard voices in the hall and immediately switched gears.

"Peter was actually making all that stuff inside his classroom?" May said, sounding torn between shaking her head and laughing, "That kid's gonna kill me, I swear."

Tony laughed, "You can't say he isn't innovative. But don't worry, now he does all his science stuff in a very contained, very safe space supervised by yours truly."

"I know for a fact you blow up your own labs so that's not as helpful as you think it is." May said dryly.

Peter panicked, caught between finishing his process or all out hiding because they were going to kill him but the decision was made for him as the door flew open and the lights all turned on one by one and Tony had his arms spread out like the extra host he was saying, "May, the lab." In an overly formal tone but then May was yelling and then Tony was turning around and he was yelling and Peter just let his head fall onto the desk because well, it was the endgame now.

"Peter!" May rushed towards him, "What happened to you?!"

Tony took one look at him, face twisted in a flurry of emotions before turning to the ceiling, "FRI, why wasn't I informed that Peter came back and came back looking like that?" and his voice was doing that tightly controlled thing that Peter knew only meant trouble and he looked at May to save him but one look at her and he knew she was throwing him overboard alongside Tony.

"Peter requested I keep his presence hidden. I'm sorry boss."

Tony shook his head, "I need to override that. You've lost your AI sweet-talking privileges kid, not to mention-" Tony paused, gawking at the webs still half stuck to his side and the gash they covered, "-hold up. Stop. Pause." he said, making all the motions with his hands looking two steps away from a breakdown, "Tell me you didn't spontaneously stick together a cut the size of Kansas with your web fluid."

Peter looked away guiltily. "I could tell you that. But it'd be a lie."

"Peter." Tony sounded strangled, "FRI get Bruce down here asap please."

May was holding his hand and rubbing at his curls, "Peter why didn't you call us? This is serious! We had a deal."

"I know, I'm sorry May, but I didn't want to cause a big mess and ruin everything, but all I did anyway was cause a whole thing. I'm sorry guys."

He couldn't look at either of them.

Tony sighed walking up to his other side and squeezing his nose so that Peter startled, looking up at him with offended eyes. "You should one hundred percent be sorry. But not for ruining our night. For not telling us that you were hurt and then pulling this stunt. How many times do we have to tell you that your safety is our number one priority?"

"Tony's right Peter. You have to come to us with this stuff. No matter what else is happening."

Peter shrunk inwards, lip curling into something like a pout. "I just…I just hate being a burden." He whispered, like he was too small to fit inside the world.

"A burden?" Tony's face scrunched, "How could you ever think you were a burden? You're the opposite of a burden, what's the opposite of that?"

"A pleasure." May interjected, letting out a puff of amusement at Tony's antics, "You're a pleasure to care about and think about and we're never going to stop doing those things so you might as well just tell us so we don't have to find out about the bad things like this."

Peter's eyes widened and he could feel them watering slightly. He hid his face away, wiping non-subtly at his eyes. Tony, now having entered fully into emotions territory, coughed gruffly and pat him on the shoulder maybe a little too jerkily, "Yeah, what she said."

Peter snorted, breaking out into a bout of laughter that got May laughing as well and even Tony to jerk his lips into a smile. Right on time, Bruce came into the lab, looking flustered. "What's the emergency!"

"Spiderkid got himself in some webbing trouble, can you help him out?" Tony pointed with his thumb and Peter waved awkwardly.

Eventually, they found themselves finally at the dinner table, a delicious spread of bread, salads, and pasta laid out before them. Debating between eating a meatball first or some garlic bread, May interrupted his musings, "You know Peter, that webbing idea you had really wasn't that bad. If I wasn't worried about the chemical interactions with your blood and the chance of infection, I'd say it was pretty revolutionary."

"I was thinking the same thing." Bruce ventured, twirling his spaghetti around his fork, "If we modified the formula a bit, maybe made it more malleable so you could move better and change the chemical composition, this could actually really move emergency medicine along."

Tony grinned, looking immensely proud. "Pete, I think you accidentally found a goldmine."

"What? No way. I wasn't even thinking about any of that, I just panicked and then," he waved his hand around, "you know."

"The best discoveries were all accidents." Bruce shrugged.

May smiled encouragingly, "I think you're onto something Peter, maybe you should explore it."

"Seriously? Because that would be so cool. Holy." Peter's excitement was picking up but the final blow came when Bruce turned his head at him, shy and soft.

"I'd love to help you out with it if you wanted to. With my biomed background and your chemical knowhow, we could definitely figure it out."

Peter could barely contain his whoop for joy, "Are you kidding? Inventing things with the Doctor Banner? Of course I'm down!"

Bruce, overwhelmed by the positivity, looked away, but not without a soft smile, Thor clapping him on the back in pride. "And May, you should totally help too since you're a nurse and you know all about that kinda stuff."

May started in surprise, "Me? I don't know…I'm not an inventor or anything."

"But you have something even more important than that," Tony said wryly, "actual emergency medicine experience."

May laughed, "Well that's true. Sure, Peter, I'd love to help you."

Peter cheered and the rest of the dinner party went down much the same, with jokes and laughter and happiness all around. A couple days later, Peter woke up to a text sent at 3 am from Tony.

I expanded your lab to accommodate your new extra-curriculars. Let FRI know if you need anything, but I think you'll find it pretty well-equipped

And don't go trying to say anything about not being necessary, I did it because I wanted to and because I want you to succeed, so nothing but the best

Remember the lab rules kid, Bruce's just as bad as me

And then somewhere at 3: 44

Really excited to see what you come up with kid. You're gonna surpass us all one day

Warmth flooded through Peter's entire body. Tony liked to pretend a lot, but Peter saw through it all.

Mr. Stark you're the best

Thanks for everything!

I hope I can make you proud

Immediately after,

Already am Pete

Tony's icon went offline just a second after and Peter snorted at his mentor's inability to confront emotions. But it was okay. They both knew what they wanted to say anyway.

They get the flyer in homeroom on Thursday. They're all in grade twelve, all of them set to graduate and go off and do amazing things in whatever universities or colleges or fellowships or internships they're applying to. The problem really, is that in a school of geniuses, everyone's good at everything and no one knows what they actually like doing.

Midtown's solution?

The infamous Career Fair.

There was something kind of snooty about going to a private school for technology and science. An implied sort of assumption that your parents were rich and successful. It wasn't odd for Peter to meet someone in his year whose mom helped discover a gene that could predict some insidious disease or meet someone whose dad helped redefine what the word quantum physics meant. And then there was him, Peter Parker, nephew of the best police officer the city had ever seen and the kindest nurse to ever grace a hospital. Peter was fiercely proud of his family and all they had accomplished but he also knew that all that didn't matter in a place like Midtown and all its competition.

The Career Fair was supposed to be a fun half day event where the school invited big companies to scout out the talent. Parents of students got priority pickings to represent their industry and it was mostly a fun way to show off and educate and encourage kids to dream big. For Peter though, it was just an excuse for Flash to be himself in all his dickhead glory.

"My dad's going to bring all of InterCorp's new prototypes to the fair, it's going to be the coolest booth there." Flash bragged, sitting atop his desk like he was a king looking down on his meagre subjects.

Ned rolled his eyes, turning to Peter with a can-you-believe-this-guy expression. "He's so full of himself honestly." Ned said, packing his stuff up into his bag, "It's honestly kind of sad."

Peter quirked a grin, but couldn't think of anything to say. "So are you going to bring your mom in to talk about her new project?" he asked instead, watching with an actual smile as Ned's face lit up.

"I hope so! I don't know if she's too busy right now but it'd be so cool to watch her go through her process."

"Is she getting any closer to figuring out how to use the nanobots?"

"I'm not sure honestly, she mostly-" Flash jumped onto the floor, cutting Ned off as he strolled over to them, a wide smirk on his face.

"Hey Penis, I heard Stark Industries still isn't participating in the fair this year even though they supposedly have an "intern" here." Flash sneered.

Peter jut out his jaw, "Just because I intern there doesn't mean the entire company needs to be in my shadow Flash."

Flash shrugged, looking dangerously nonchalant, "No, no, it makes sense. You can't even bring your aunt here, let alone bring your fake boss." He paused, leading to the finale, "I mean, I guess you could bring May, she could always bring in a couple bandages and a tourniquet in for show and tell? Because your aunt's just a nurse right?"

Peter felt his heart thud in his chest, his fingers curling around his books just a fraction tighter. "Being a nurse is one of the hardest jobs out there and you shouldn't be disrespecting people whose jobs it is to save lives."

"Yeah Flash, back off." Ned jumped in, stepping in front of Peter just a tad, just enough for Peter to know that he had his back.

Peter really loved the guy.

"Sorry, did your aunt become a doctor in the past week or is she still just the person who wipes people's asses."

Peter's eyes flashed and a small part of him, the part of him that was still seventeen and young and stupid, wanted to shove Flash into the wall. But the bigger part of him, the part that preached about responsibility and his super strength and being better than he was the day before, held him back. May would expect better of him. Ben would too. And Mr. Stark's been expecting better. "I don't know why you feel the need to say stuff like that Flash. You don't even know her." And holding his books with one arm, he pulled Ned's sleeve and walked away.

"Holy shit dude. You should see his face, wow. Man, Peter, I don't know how you have that kind of self-control, you're the shit man." Ned gushed.

Peter looked up from behind his curls and tried to smile. "I hate when he says stuff like that. It isn't true and May deserves so much better."

Ned changed tones immediately, hauling him in for a side hug. "Are you kidding? May's the best. Everyone knows that. Flash's just a dick."

Peter nodded, taking the stupid career day flyer and stuffing it in his backpack. May was also too busy to be able to do this kinda stuff anyway.

An hour or so later, Peter's phone pinged with a text, something warm bubbling in him when he saw who it was from.

Hey kid, Thor and Bruce tried making cookies today and because Thor's an overzealous idiot, they made 148

I need a kid with a high metabolism to eat them all

Wait, make that 137, Thor ate 11 in 1 go

Shit, now Bruce is yelling

I know you're in school, just swing by after, Happy'll get you

peace sign emoji

Peter scrolled through the messages, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of the situation. Ever since Thor moved into the tower bringing with him all his Asgardians, life had been quite the show. It made Peter really happy though, because for the first time in a long time, the tower wasn't empty anymore and it showed in the hustle and bustle that flowed through the halls, the shrieks of laughter you could hear from any floor, and the lightness of Mr. Stark's face that hadn't been there before.

Phone hidden under the table, Peter tried his best to text back, shooting a quick reply of

Cookies!

And going back to paying attention to calculus and the glazed look in everyone else's eyes.

True to his word, Mr. Stark sent Happy over to pick him up and the two sat in companiable silence for the trip. "Thanks Happy!" Peter called as Happy pulled into the private driveway.

Happy waved him off, "Sure thing kid, now get outta here, I have a show to watch."

Peter strode inside the building, following his noise and the distinctive smell of slightly charred chocolate chip cookies until he reached the common room where he saw Thor, dressed in a much too small apron with frills all along the side holding an icing tube, lips scrunched in concentration. "How are you supposed to make such intricate designs with such terrible tools?!" he boomed, throwing down the offending tool in a huff.

Bruce sighed from next to him, patting him on the back, something like fondness in his eyes, "It's an art Thor, you can't expect to master it in twenty seconds."

"I am a god. I should be able to master anything in twenty seconds."

Bruce rolled his eyes, "Okay, go for it then you muscle-headed barbie doll."

Peter couldn't help but laugh, laughing even harder as both of them shot their heads up looking faintly embarrassed and caught in the act. "Hi Mr. Thor, Dr. Banner." Peter waved.

"Young Peter!" Thor smiled, brilliant like a lightning storm, striding over to him, "Did Anthony bring you here to sample our delicious creations?"

"Yup! I'm pretty excited to be honest. A god's never made me cookies before." Peter grinned sliding onto one of the barstools, "Is Mr. Stark here by the way?"

"I've made him aware of your presence and he's currently on his way down." FRIDAY answered.

"Thanks FRI!"

Peter helped himself to one of the unfrosted cookies, pleasantly surprised at the normalness of the taste. "This is pretty good guys. Like, really good!"

Bruce smiled, nibbling away at his own. "Well feel free to eat your way through them. Someone didn't bother to learn about measurement proportions before making all the dough."

Halfway through chewing, Peter let his face fall onto his hand, "Why didn't you just save the rest in the fridge for later?"

Thor and Bruce blinked. "Oh my God." Bruce said, looking slightly horrified at himself.

Thor turned to him poking him in the cheek repeatedly. "Where are you seven PhD's now Banner? Wh-ere."

Always with good timing, Tony chose that exact moment to stride into the room, looking chiseled out of marble as usual. "Spiderling." He greeted, "Idiots who can't bake."

Tony clapped Peter on the shoulder, leaning over him to grab another cookie, "So, how was school squirt. Anything mildly interesting happen?"

Peter thought about the career fair flyer and then quickly pushed the thought straight out of his head into the dumpster fire that lurked in the back of his mind constantly. "Nope. Absolutely nothing. How about you?"

Tony fixed him with a look, chewing slowly, but luckily, decided not to press the issue. "I learned that robots are actually terrible assistants and DUM-E tried to poison me again today. I don't think he realizes that I'm immune to death threats now." He mused.

Peter raised a brow, "That's…not ideal."

Tony shrugged, walking towards one of the cabinets and pulling out a Tupperware container. "Oh, great idea Tony." Bruce said, taking it from his friend and stuffing it full with cookies, "You can take these to your aunt."

Tony pulled out another one, "And one for your friend too. I hope he likes chocolate chip."

"Ned's actually a bit of a cookie snob. But I think he'll loosen his standards for the Hulk and Thor so."

Thor beamed, puffing out his chest, "Your friend has good taste in heroes indeed."

Eyes lighting up, Peter kicked his feet excitedly against the counter, "Actually! Something interesting did happen at school, Mr. Thor, you're a math question!"

Tony frowned, looking slightly put out. "Well that's just exclusionary."

"Don't worry Mr. Stark, we had to calculate the trajectory of Iron Man flying in a parabola when I was in grade ten. You're just not…advanced enough to be in this class." He teased, snickering at Tony's indignant expression.

Peter rifled through his backpack, finally pulling out a bright red binder, not noticing when his bag fell and spilled the rest of its contents onto the floor. "Look at this, 'if Thor's hammer has a mass of 1.5x10^4 kg and accelerates at 220 metres per second for twenty-nine seconds from an initial speed of 5200 metres per second, how fast will it be traveling at twenty-two seconds?" Peter pointed towards the little picture of Thor throwing a hammer in a cute cartoon style next to the question and Thor looked mildly impressed at the bulge of his biceps.

He turned to Bruce, "Doctor, what is the correct response?"

Bruce rolled his eyes, "Are you seriously comparing my doctorate to grade twelve math?"

Thor looked at him expectantly. Bruce sighed. "Eleven thousand five hundred and eighty."

Peter grinned, "Right!"

Tony crossed his arms, "So is the whole test like that?" peering over Peter's shoulder.

"Not really. But Mr. Harrison always makes the bonus questions funny like this one. It keeps us on our toes you know?"

Peter was so caught up with showing Thor the rest of his themed questions that he didn't notice when Tony's attention was torn away from him and towards the scattered papers on the floor. Tony bent down, rummaging through them to put them back in his bag when a bright orange flyer caught his eye.

MIDTOWN SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CAREER FAIR

Midtown is delighted to invite the parents of all students to represent their place of work and teach your peers about what they do and how students can apply to work with them. Representatives from the country's most esteemed and prestigious companies will all be present to be asked your questions and tell you more about their ongoing projects and opportunities for careers. Sign up to have a slot by November 17!

Tony furrowed his brow as he read through it, slightly put out that Peter wouldn't have mentioned it. He wondered briefly, if Stark Industries had gotten an invitation and made a mental note to ask Pepper about it later. From the crumpled state of the paper, it didn't look like Peter cared much about it, though a fair was precisely the kind of place Tony thought Peter would thrive in.

"Hey Peter, this sounds pretty neat." He said, deciding to just dive in for the plunge.

Peter cocked his head, looking slightly confused before seeing where Tony was pointing at and immediately freezing up. "Y-yeah, I guess so."

Tony narrowed his eyes, "What? Is it secretly an unorganized mess every year that no one comes to?"

"No…it's actually a really big deal and kids even outside of Midtown come to it to check out all the panels and booths and stuff."

"So the bad side is…?" Tony asked, dragging out the last word.

Face crumpling, Peter took the flyer and crumpled it tighter, shooting a perfect arc into the trash can. "Nothing. It's just that it's specifically made for a specific kind of industry and if you're not techy then…"

Tony didn't need to be a genius to figure out where he was going with that statement and his brows furrowed in irritation. What a bunch of pompous assholes. But Tony must've opened a flood because Peter suddenly couldn't stop talking, "And it bothers me so much because May is the most amazing nurse ever and she helps hundreds of people every day and being a nurse is such an important job but nobody there cares because she's not on some Top 100 discoveries that changed the world magazine and it's so stupid!"

"I know kid, the science world can be real elitist. May deserves a lot more credit than she's given."

"Exactly!" Peter gestured adamantly, riled up.

"Don't worry Pete, I think I've got an idea." Tony pulled his hand away from Peter's shoulder turning to his phone, fingers tapping away wildly.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter's head tilted in confusion.

But Tony just waved a finger at him, "Ah-ah. No questions, I got some work to do."

Peter gaped after him while Bruce and Thor just shrugged. "He gets that way sometimes." Bruce offered as explanation.

When he got home, May looked particularly giddy, like she just brimming with excitement. But when he pressed her on it, she mimed zipping her mouth shut and told him he'd know soon enough. It was three days later when Tony called him, crazy loud gusts of winds ruining Peter's hearing.

"Hey Peter." Tony more or less yelled and Peter had to plug his left ear to hear him better.

"Mr. Stark? What's all that noise?"

"Just getting in a helicopter, the noise practically defeats the usefulness though." He complained, "Hold on, I'm gonna switch you onto the headset and….there!" the noise disappeared until all he could hear was Tony's crisp voice and Peter sighed.

"Yeah, that's better. What's up Mr. Stark?"

"So, you know how you and Brucie are in the prototype stage?"

"Yeahhh?"

"Well I've been talking to some people and we think this could get really huge. So I'm bringing over a patent lawyer and obviously, as a greedy billionaire, I want to gobble you both up. But I think it's important as a youngin' to be given the real entrepreunrial experience, so May's set you up with a meeting with the board at her hospital chain to pitch the idea and get a backer."

Peter felt like he was swaying but he was sure he was lying down on his bed. "Wha-?"

"I know this is probably a lot to digest, but your idea has some huge impact possibilities and you're going so many places kid so it's good to start building those selling skills from now."

"Mr. Stark this is too much, I can't-"

"You definitely one hundred percent can."

"I don't even know what to say. This is…this is literally my dream you know? I don't…"

Tony's voice softened like the rain, "Kid, you have so much potential it's insane. And all those dreams? I want you to achieve each and every one, and if I can help you do them? How could I not? You deserve all of this Pete."

Peter bit his lip, overwhelmed. "Thank you Mr. Stark. You don't have to do any of this and I really appreciate it."

There was a lot more Peter wanted to say, so many more emotions he wanted to let gush into the world. But Tony would probably short-circuit and he didn't want that at all so Peter stuck to his thank you and hoped that Tony absorbed how genuine he was. How much love there was in those words.

"Of course I have to, you're my crime fighting accidental genius protégé. It's practically a movie." He joked and Peter grinned on reflex.

"Sounds like a pretty cool movie. Maybe RDJ can play you, you guys look so alike it's freaky honestly."

Tony sniffed, "I don't recall who that is."

Peter burst into laughter, "Don't be petty Mr. Stark. May didn't mean it."

"She said he had better facial hair than me! No one has better facial hair than me!"

Peter opened his mouth but Tony must have sensed his shit-eating grin because he immediately burst, "If you bring up the wizard I'm disowning you."

"So you admit that he's good looking!"

The dial tone rang in his ear and Peter still couldn't stop laughing. The text came a second later.

You are a terrible child

Peter cackled as he typed back:

3 3 3 3

The board investor meeting went pretty well for the most part. Peter was terribly nervous the whole time, but May and Tony's presences were enough to calm him down. Him and Bruce did their presentation like they practiced and by the end of it, they got a modest investment that would give the hospital 20% of the profits. Tony praised him in his usual twisted way and went on about what a genius he was and how he was going to take the world by the storm and May pressed kisses into his forehead and raved about her baby was growing up.

The thrill of creating a product that could help millions of people all over the world and being validated by some of the leading professionals in the field kept Peter on the kind of high that had him ignoring the preparations around him for the career fair. It wasn't until the day actually arrived that Peter remembered it at all. Sure, the entire concept was pretty classist and exclusionary, but Peter knew that May would want him to walk around and enjoy himself, not to mention how incredulous Mr. Stark would be if he didn't play around with all the prototypes and harass every scientist for their trade secrets. With Ned at his side, the two sped through the assembly hall playing with robots and beakers and vials before drifting off to the stage to watch some of the panel discussions and presentations.

Ned grabbed a pamphlet on their way to two seats right in the middle, skimming it thoughtfully. "Yo man check it out, there's a surprise guest! I hope it's something about aliens."

Peter laughed, leaning over his friend's shoulder to see. "I don't know about aliens…but that'd be pretty cool."

Even if it wasn't aliens, the rest of the line-up seemed interesting enough, he knew most of the big ones, companies likes Alphabet, Tesla, EnergyCorp, but then there were some he had never heard of, namely, EmerSpray. He pointed at it, letting his chin rest on Ned, "Whaddya think that is?"

Ned blew out a breath humming, "Hair spray?"

Peter snorted and was about to say something when the lights dimmed and the stage lit up. "Hello Midtown, my name is Kayla and I'll be your MC for today…"

The presentations went off without a hitch and Peter couldn't help but be impressed with the array of technological advancements and visions for the future the world was coming up with. Everything was crazy incredible and if he wasn't already hyped, he was definitely through the roof now. "Next up, we have a new company redefining emergency medicine."

Peter perked up, curious about an innovation in what he supposed was his field now. He sat straighter in his seat watching as a couple walked on stage before his jaw dropped, "No way. No waayyyyyy!" he whisper hissed, hitting Ned on the arm repeatedly.

Ned hit him back, excitement flush on his face. "Holy shit! Peter! Is that May and Dr. freaking Bruce Banner?"

"Holy shit Ned." Peter couldn't say anything more, eyes glued to the stage.

Briefly, he remembered Mr. Stark's knowing smirk and the way he ruffled his hair when he said he'd take care of it. He remembered May's secretive smile when she kissed him on the cheek goodbye this morning. His heart filled and filled until he thought he might burst but he kept a lid on his feelings so he could hear everything the two had to say. May looked beautiful in her work suit and even Bruce looked refined in what must have been clothes from Tony's closet. Behind them, a student wheeled in a demonstration table with a series of boxes hiding the contents atop it.

"Hi Midtown, I'm May Parker, Chief Medical Consultant for EmerSpray, the world's first spray on adhesive to temporary seal wounds of all types in time to take patients to a hospital to receive treatment. The product is effective, non-toxic, and cost-effective and is currently in its final stages of production. In fact, one of its co-producers is popular Avenger and holder of multiple PhD's, Dr. Bruce Banner." May gestured for Bruce to come up to the mike with her and the crowd roared in approval.

Bruce, bless him, waved shyly to the crowd, one hand rubbing at his lip. "H-hi everyone. Great to be here. Like May said, I'm currently working on perfecting this product, mostly from a medical biology perspective with my partner. A thing about this guy I'm working with," Bruce smiled, genuine and confident, "this was all his idea actually, he had developed the first prototype all on his own and had one helluva a proof of concept," May pulled her lip and Peter didn't know whether to laugh or hide, "all we did was help move him along. So while I'd love to take all the credit for this one, the bulk of it goes to Peter Parker."

The crowd went silent and Peter felt all eyes suddenly on him. He felt ridiculously lightheaded and vaguely, he could hear Flash hiss, "What the fuck?!"

But before the crowd could stare at him anymore, May cleared her throat. "The thing about innovation is that it's a collaborative process. People think that just because you didn't graduate with a degree in nanotechnology or gamma radiation, means you can't add a valuable perspective to the advancement of that field. When it comes to creating a product to help hospitals, you need to know what the needs of that hospital are, what are the current ways of doing things? Where are the inefficiencies? Science without societal input hinders science's ability to push society forward. I never graduated with a science degree, I didn't even graduate with an MD. I'm a nurse and I'm proud of that and I work with hospitals across the city to coordinate the best level of care for our patients."

Bruce nodded, "Without May's valuable insight, EmerSpray wouldn't be the product that it is. With that, we'd like to give a proper demonstration."

Peter watched as they went through the demonstration they did for the hospital and felt a swell at pride for May as she explained the process of how it worked and why and how it could really help paramedics, especially in rural areas far from medical sites. May was amazing, utterly incredible and now everyone was finally seeing it and everyone could take their stupid opinions about how smart a person was based on nothing but their assumptions about what their job meant and shove it. He was so happy for her. She deserved all the recognition and all the praise. Mostly, he wanted to hug her tight. Mr. Stark too.

Everything Tony had been doing lately made sense. Getting May involved, taking him to that meeting, spurring his research along. He was trying to set everything up for this moment. Just because he thought Peter wanted it. All of this, doing all of this for May and him it was…it was too much. Peter couldn't help the swell of emotions in his throat. Tony did so much for him. For everyone.

When May and Bruce finished, Peter threw himself up in a standing ovation. Kayla came back on stage, "Wow, that was a great presentation, thank you so much for coming Ms. Parker and Dr. Banner." Peter didn't really care to wait for the next presentation, he wanted to go congratulate the pair and call Tony, so he squeezed Ned's shoulder, squishing past people's knees out of the aisle.

"Now, I'm sure you're all excited over our secret guest. I'll admit, I was crazy surprised when I found out who it was and I know you all will be too." She smiled, her eyes glittering.

Peter finally pulled out from the cramped aisle, walking down the carpet when Kayla's next words kept him frozen in his tracks. "So without further ado, a man that needs no introduction, Tony Stark from Stark Industries!"

The crowd cheered even louder than before and Peter swiveled around unable to believe it. He stood, shock still as Tony, dressed in his usual designer suit and shades strolled onto the stage like he was a fashion model. Despite everything, Peter couldn't help but shake his head fondly.

That guy never changed.

"Hey Midtown!" Tony greeted, shooting kisses from his fingers bent into peace signs.

Tony stood centre stage, feet spread apart and hands clasped behind his back. "I'm sure you're all wondering why SI came this year of all years. What's different? What happened to make today unique?" he paused, staring into the crowd, "Well I'll tell you what's new. For the first time in its history, SI will launch a high-school and university internship program for each of our departments including the Avengers Initiative." Furtive whispers and shoulder smacking spattered through the crowd and Tony grinned, "I've always been a futurist, but it wasn't until I met one particular young man that I realized what more I could be doing to help cultivate that future."

And like Tony could pinpoint exactly where he was, because Tony would always find him, no matter where he was or what he was doing, Tony would be there when Peter needed him, and that Peter knew without a doubt, Tony pointed at him. "Peter come up to the stage please."

Peter gaped at him and Tony just quirked his lip in a half smile, "Yes you Peter, what other Peters do I know?' he paused, cocking his head, "Well high school Peters. Come on, my arm's starting to cramp." He beckoned him over and Peter felt his legs move on their own accord.

"That's the spirit." Tony grinned.

When Peter walked on, he could feel everyone's stares boring into him but all the half thoughts of anxieties that might have crawled into his belly dissipated when Tony threw his arm around his shoulder and pulled him in. "Let me reintroduce you to Peter Parker. He is currently the only intern at SI and has helped me work on a variety of projects, most notably the Iron Man suits, the Spiderman suit, Avengers tech and of course, the renewable energy city projects. And it's because of his incredible work that I've decided to open up the program to one hundred other students just like yourselves."

Tony squeezed Peter's shoulder flashing him a smile meant just for him, "You good Pete?" he whispered away from the microphone.

Peter nodded, "Yeah, all good Mr. Stark, just really surprised."

"What? You think I'd let you down? You know I can't pass up a chance to stand on a stage and show off." He teased.

"You'd never let me down Mr. Stark." Peter said, sounding so genuine it made Tony want to cry.

His mentor coughed, "Peter my heart condition." He wheezed and Peter laughed softly patting him on the back.

"You're alright."

Straightening, Tony turned back to the crowd, "So as a treat for you all, I'm going to do a demonstration about the newest and greatest Iron Man suit made completely out of nanotech."

Peter helped him run through his products, listing all the characteristics and relevant fun facts about each one and at Tony's insistence, where he helped out. When they were done, their time coming to an end, Tony gave a gaudy bow, throwing his sunglasses into the crowd where a trio fought over who had been the one to catch it. "That's all for today folks! Be sure to grab an application form from the SI booth where Thor's probably just flexing his biceps or being equally useless and good-looking." He flashed one more peace sign before gently curling his fingers around Peter's arm and leading him off stage.

"Is Mr. Thor really at the booth?"

Tony shrugged, jutting out his lip, "He came to support Brucie and I told him he'd probably be back at the booth so it's just an assumption honestly. But," he paused, posing, "let's face it, how often am I wrong?"

Peter rolled his eyes, "Jeez Mr. Stark at least pretend to be like the rest of us."

Tony laughed and looked like he wanted to say more before he had a chest full of spiderkid. Peter burrowed against his mentor, wrapping his arms around him as tight as they would go. "Thank you Mr. Stark." He mumbled against his collar, "I was so happy when I saw May being up there with Dr. Banner and thanks for coming too, I know you're busy with bringing back the others and work and everything."

"Busy? Kid, I'm never too busy for you. You're one of the few things in my life that isn't a hassle." Tony said gruffly, fingers combing through his hair.

Peter knew he would say that. It's what he always said. And hearing it over and over never made Peter stop loving it less but he didn't thank Tony just to hear his reply. For a long time after he saw that video, the video that had Captain America's eyes flashing in his dreams when he smashed his shield into Tony's chest, he wondered about all the thank you's Tony never got. A part of him wondered if he felt like he had to constantly give things to receive love in return. That if he didn't buy Peter the world, Peter would leave. He wondered if after he had given the Rogue Avengers his home and his resources and his love and they all still left anyway that it left a hole in his heart like a well that screamed validation for his thoughts of worthlessness that had once been silenced.

Peter said thank you so that Tony Stark would hear it. And then believe it.

Peter said thank you because he was trying to say I love you.

He hoped Tony heard that too.

"Still." Peter says, "Still. You're the best."

"You too kid."

Winter

Application season was probably the worst thing ever invented. Scratch that, it was the worst thing ever. Peter threw his head back, sprawling his body across his chair and groaning for all he was worth. This was the worst. How many essays could he possibly write about why he wanted to be a biomedical engineer and what inspired him. How many more letters of interest could he write or emails requesting another academic reference. It was just- too much! Not to mention the internal debate in his head between asking Tony for an employer's reference, but he didn't want to look like he was name dropping.

Grinding his teeth, Peter straightened, his eyes glancing over to where his phone sat innocently. Looking away and then staring at it a bit more, Peter gave in and unlocked it, calling Tony like it was second nature. He could hear the remnants of AC/DC fading off into the background, guess Tony was working then, as Tony did his usual, "Hey kid." bit.

"Hey Mr. Stark." Peter said. With extra despair.

He could almost hear the frown, "What's got you down Underoos?"

And just like that, all of his frustrations came rushing out. "It's just these stupid applications! Why is it so hard just to go to school? I'm trying to get a degree not become the president, sheesh! And there are so many different criteria and it's so time consuming and how are we supposed to be getting good grades if half our time is spent doing this and it's just! It's just really frustrating Mr. Stark." Peter finished in a rush, slightly out of breath and feeling better at having let it all out.

Tony hummed in sympathy, "I know kiddo, it's really a process, but it'll be worth it once all those acceptances come pouring in. And I know it's hard now but you can do it, I know you can." And Tony sounded so sure it killed his doubt before it could even grow.

The real root of his anxieties come out of his mouth before he can stuff them back in. "What if I don't get in?"

Tony sounded like he was choking, "Not get in? Peter are you crazy? You're the smartest kid I know, you're definitely smarter than most other kids and you work hard and do a bunch of extra-curriculars, not to mention you invented a revolutionary medical technology, how could you not get in?"

And normally all that praise would have given Peter a heat stroke and he'd be jumping up and down right about now, but his insecurities ate at him and Peter felt that usual crawling inside his belly like his body was full of snakes. "MIT is the best school for my program in the country, even with all that I'm barely even competitive." He mumbled.

"Peter," Tony sighed, "I don't know where you're getting all this self-deprecating nonsense, but it's just that, nonsense. I don't know how much more competitive you could be unless you went public as Spiderman and at that point it'd just be overkill. Plus, there are other schools too, not that you won't get in, but Stanford and Berkeley are great too."

"But I want to go to MIT like you!"

Tony went silent, the only sign of him not having hung up was his sharp intake of breath. Peter wanted to die. This was so embarrassing he probably just embarrassed him, oh my god- "Peter." And Tony sounded way too emotional so now Peter was getting emotional oh my god, "Peter, I'm flattered you want to follow in your old man's footsteps, honoured even, but you know…" he paused, like he was gathering his thoughts or something harder, like courage, "you know I'd still be proud of you no matter where you went right?"

And Peter was too overwhelmed to speak, his fingers gripping the phone tightly against his ear so Tony plundered through like he had to fill the gaps. "You're smart and talented and full of so much potential, any university, including MIT, would be crazy not to see it. You're going to get in everywhere you apply Pete and no matter where you choose I'm going to still think it was the best choice."

In a small voice, "You really think so?"

"I know so kiddo."

Peter smiled softly, "Thanks Mr. Stark. I really needed to hear that. You're the best."

"Don't thank me, I'm just stating facts like Vision does when you accidentally ask him a googleable question."

Peter laughed, "Yeah he's kind of super boring sometimes." He clapped a hand over his mouth, "Don't tell him I said that!"

Later, in the comfort of his own bedroom, Peter suddenly realized Tony had inadvertently implied he was his dad and promptly self-combusted.

Between working on EmerSpray, doing actual intern things, Spidermanning, being a student, and hanging out with Ned and May and Tony, Peter was spread pretty thin. And that was just a euphemism for this freaking close to burning out like a candle on a toddler's birthday cake. So when Peter arrived at the lab for his usual 5-8 shift, he wasn't that surprised that Tony only needed to take one look at him before turning him right around to the common room.

"Why do you look like a zombie?" Tony accused, fussing over him, trying to puff up the pillows he was placing behind Peter's head and smooth down Peter's cowlick.

"M'not a zombie." Peter mumbled back.

"Uh huh, okay, sure sure, tell that to the massive bags underneath your eyes." Tony snarked, throwing a blanket over him.

"You're evidently not sleeping enough. So go on, take a nap spiderbaby, the lab will still be here when you wake up."

"Noooo, we were gonna work on the Hulkbusterrrr." Peter whined, trying to sit up before being pushed back down.

"FRI, lights please. And you," Tony turned to Peter, "no arguing. Working in the lab when you're this tired is a safety hazard."

"Says you." Peter shot back before getting his nose pinched.

"Hush you. No talking back to your elders. Just…just rest a little okay. It's okay to just rest." Tony said, quieter.

Peter didn't say anything, looking at his mentor from lidded eyes instead. He really was tired…and if Tony wasn't gonna be mad then maybe it wasn't a big deal…As if sensing his oncoming submission, Tony sat down next to his head, running his hand through his hair, "That's it, go off into Lego dreamland."

Peter wanted to say something sarcastic back, but Tony's hand through his curls was warm and even and his eyes felt droopier by the second. Maybe it was okay to have a quick nap. Just twenty minutes…

Peter woke up to Tony still beside him, arm resting near his head. He must have moved though, because there was a tray of food and some water and juice on the coffee table across from them still under wraps to keep it warm. "Hey kid, do you still say morning if it's the middle of the night?" Tony mused, fixing him with a fond smile.

Peter blinked, rubbing at his eyes and flipping onto his stomach to better look at his mentor. "What tim'izzit?" he yawned and Tony pinched his cheek affectionately.

"Has anyone ever told you that you look like a goddamn deer when you wake up?"

Peter pouted pushing away his hand half-heartedly. "Don't be mean Msser Stark."

"Can you call making you a five course meal mean? Also don't worry about the time, I already texted May, she's cool."

Peter sat up slowly, stretching his arms out behind him. "You made me dinner?"

"Don't sound so surprised, I do know the basics of cooking. And it's healthy too. I'm the full package." Tony waggled his brows and Peter's laugh burst out like waterfalls. "Eat up kid, there's more if you want."

Peter pulled the tray into his lap, gesturing for Tony to dig in. "Nah, I'm good. Ate while you were sleeping."

Peter tried to enjoy the meal, doing his best not to just scarf it all down like a savage. It was actually pretty good, at the very least he could taste the effort and the image of Tony trying to follow a recipe to cook him dinner left him warm like the lemon chicken in his plate. "This is pretty good Mr. Stark, I'm proud of you." He teased.

"I'm a man of many talents." He responded shamelessly before turning serious. "Kid, you need to take better care of yourself. With your heightened metabolism, you need to be eating way more and sleeping more too. I know you're responsible, so what's got you so distracted?"

And his tone was so gentle. Not accusing or frustrated, just quietly patient, and Peter felt a lot of gratefulness then. A lot of love. His hands stilled over the plate, head slightly bowed. "It's nothing Mr. Stark, you don't need to worry about it." Tony made a disagreeing rumble in his throat, "I mean, I know I haven't been really energetic lately but it's just because I'm trying to balance so many things and it's getting a little hard now because finals are coming up and there's the paper Bruce and I are trying to write and Spiderman and home and here and sometimes it just," he waved his hands in the air, face twisted in frustration, "it just gets all tangled up. It's just…really hard to be everywhere at once, you know?" he looked up, eyes wide and searching.

Tony let out a breath, his hand moving to rest on Peter's head again. "Kid, if you were feeling this stressed out about your life why didn't say something?"

Peter shrugged, looking miserable. "It's stupid. You're Iron Man." He mumbled, fiddling with his hands. "You're the best superhero and you're the innovator behind one of the biggest companies in the world and you're doing all the Avengers stuff and the UN stuff to get the Rogues back and you still have time to listen to me complain about dumb stuff."

Tony sighed, "Peter, this may sound crazy to you, but I don't do any of those things alone. It's all about teamwork and lucky for you, you have the best team." Tony stood up, clapping his hands, "Until the break we're putting the internship and the spray on hold."

"Mr. Stark! That's not what I meant! I can handle it!" Peter shot up hating himself for saying anything at all.

He was weak and now Tony knew it.

"Peter, this isn't a punishment. I know you can handle it, you've been handling it. But those things used to make you happy and now you're in a place where they're just stressful. I want you to really take advantage of the process not see it as a chore." Tony's face softened, "If you really want to, then I'm not going to stop you. But you need to take it easy Peter. Life isn't a race. No one's going to send you to the guillotine if you don't accomplish every single one of your life goals before you turn eighteen."

Peter looked to the floor, feeling oddly called out. "You're a great kid Peter. Smart, dedicated, perseverant. You have the brightest future ahead of you and it isn't going to go away just because you took a short break."

Tony stopped, looking mortified. "Oh my God. This is what Pepper must have felt like all those years. Oh my God I need to take her to Paris, this is the worst."

Peter laughed and looked almost surprised that he did.

"Pepper's been trying to get me to take care of myself for years and it's only when I started doing that that I began to actually like life again. Don't make the same mistakes I did kid. You're better than that."

Peter knew Tony had a point. It was only for a month and a bit honestly and neither of those things were urgent no matter how passionate he was about them. And he really could use the sleep and the study time. It was just…

"Does that mean I can't come to the tower until exams are over?" he asked quietly.

Tony, for his part, looked scandalized, "Excuse me? You said I wasn't allowed to finish The Good Place without you. You have to come over."

Peter grinned, feeling relieved and a little dumb. He thought he was past his whole relationship insecurity thing. "Maybe I'll try taking a break…just to see how it goes. But no promises!"

"I can live with that. Now come on, Rhodey said he was coming over and I have a great idea for a prank to get him back for that toaster thing."

A month and five days later, Peter arrived at his apartment, elated and tired and relieved at having written his last final to see Tony's familiar car parked on the road. Confused, but smiling anyway, Peter unlocked the door with a thrum of anticipation in his toes to see Tony and May both standing in front of him looking giddy of all things. "Peter!" May practically yelled, "Congratulations on finishing! I'm so proud of you!" she pulled him in for a hug and still confused, but mostly fond, Peter hugged her back.

"Well kid, you did it. Always knew you could." His words may have been lacking but the pride in Tony's eyes was unmistakable and Peter beamed.

"Thanks Mr. Stark. But you didn't just come here to tell me that did you?"

"What? A mentor can't come visit his mentee once in a while? How dare you doubt my intentions." He complained, miffed.

May rolled her eyes, but her smile softened the blow, "Peter, we have a surprise for you. We know how hard you've been working this semester and all the work you've put in for EmerSpray and your internship and Spiderman and school, not to mention your university applications, so we decided that you deserved something really special this Christmas."

Peter blinked, looking between them and their still plastered on smiles like they were on a red carpet. "Something special?"

Tony's grin turned into a smirk as he whipped out three thick tickets, "Kid, we're going to Disneyland."

Peter's jaw dropped, "What? No way. Oh my God, May, Tony, that's- that's too much. I don't even-"

"This is exactly what you deserve Peter, I don't want to hear another word of this too much nonsense, capiche?" Tony declared, May nodding beside him.

"You're okay with this?" Peter asked, turning to his aunt.

"Well you know I haven't used a day of my vacations since…well for a while. So it turns out I've collected quite a few." May laughed, soft and only just tinged with mourning. "I think this will be good for us."

Peter stared at her and then opened his mouth again, looking all shades of concerned before Tony cut him off before he could even begin. "Peter, let me do this for you." He sniffed, looking all sorts of uncomfortable, "You know I don't like the whole heart to heart thing, gives me hives, but you and May," he shook his head smiling slightly, "you two deserve this and I can make it happen and it's a token of appreciation more than anything." He looked like he wanted to say more but just couldn't form the rest of the words.

"You're coming right Mr. Stark?"

"Of course he is." May said, "This is a family vacation."

Peter loved aunt May. Loved her more than absolutely everything and loved her even more than that in that exact moment. Tony froze, something like a flood in his eyes that he hid with a cough and a quick quip of, "Great, there goes my allergies." As he tried to hide how touched he was by the sentiment.

The excitement started to bubble inside Peter as he bounced on his toes, "Okay, holy crap. We're going to Disneyland. That's crazy. I can't believe it. Thank you guys so much this is literally the best gift ever I can't."

Finally back in his comfort zone, Tony grinned. "That's more like it. Pack up Underoos we're heading out in two days."

"Two days?! I have to tell Ned! And do laundry! Oh my God May we need to bring out our summer clothes again. We just packed those!"

May laughed, throwing her head back. "Peter you're honestly too adorable for your own good."

"Hey! I'm not adorable! I'm seventeen!"

"I love it when babies say seventeen like it means something." Tony teased, snickering at Peter's pouty glare.

The three of them moved on to talking about logistics and what to do and what to wear until the clock inched its way until it was late enough that May started to yawn and Tony stood up to take his leave. "Happy'll pick you two up at ten okay?"

"Sure thing Mr. Stark! I'll make sure May packs the day before too. She's horrible in the morning."

"Watch it Peter, or I'll leave you behind and take a nicer nephew."

"I'm your only nephew."

May waved a hand in the air, "Details."

Needless to say, a week and a half later, the Parkers tumbled into their apartment just a little jetlagged and overloaded with souvenirs that hindered their balance. Carefully, Peter put up his new Star Wars trio figurine, a mouse ears headband Tony had bought to tease him and an Iron Man gauntlet replica right next to his bed. The little circle on the palm glowed a comforting blue when the lights went out and Peter thought that nothing could be more reassuring than that.

The stress of waiting for college admissions to roll around drives Peter towards finally picking up a hobby he'd been meaning to explore more as a distraction. Tony always said that the best way to calm an overly energetic mind was to direct the energy into something more useful than just worrying. So, Peter dug out one of the old cameras May and Ben had used years ago, the digital kind that had fewer pixels than the average smartphone, and started snapping pics. Mostly, he liked high rise photos. Everyone was so used to looking upwards, but Peter felt so much more grounded looking down. There weren't infinite possibilities, just roads he knew from childhood and the constant thrum of people and lights. Plus, being sticky meant he got to take pictures from angles no one else could, and if that wasn't a boost to the ego than he didn't know what was.

Of course, Peter loved taking photos of people too. Candids of May spinning pasta on the stove, snapshots of Ned, his head thrown back with laughter, MJ with a soft expression in her eyes as she read a particularly good passage from a book. He loved capturing the little moments that made up a relationship and going over to the tower left Tony as no exception. And there was no way Peter wasn't going to take a photo that day. One of his absolute favourite Tonys was the Tony who always, without fail, looked up from his work in the lab, his whole body leaning towards the door like he was genuinely excited for Peter's arrival, a warm crinkle around his eyes, his lips in a genuine smile as he'd call out, "Hey Pete."

It was an open Tony, one who was unguarded with no facades and nothing to dance around. One that was comforting and strong and gave Peter strength and support. It reminded him of the feeling he'd get when he'd come home from school and Ben would be there to greet him or how May looked when he'd come back home from camp and she'd be waiting in her friend's car to pick him up, waving through the window. It was the feeling of coming home and feeling like you belonged and feeling so secure in every aspect and it made Peter happier than he could ever convey that Tony felt the same way. So of course, Peter dashed into the lab with his camera already up and as usual, Tony turned around in his seat, his usual greeting at his lips before the flash of the camera went off and he just turned confused.

"Peter, did the paparazzi finally break you? Are you trying to make some extra cash on the side? Because you know I'm more than happy to increase your stipend."

Peter made a face, "Mr. Stark, I'd never sell photos of you for money, I'm offended."

Tony shrugged, "I've seen people do more for less."

"Yeah, well I'm not most people." Peter stuck out his tongue but Tony dropped the banter, looking at him fondly, almost sadly, instead.

"That's right you're not."

But breaking the moment as quickly as he made it, Tony gestured to the camera, "So, spill the beans, what's the camera for?"

Peter rubbed the back of his neck, looking almost bashful. "Well, uh. Remember how you said I should try to do a hobby to uh, make me less anxious?"

"Go on." Tony settled into his seat, leaning his head into his palm, giving Peter his full attention.

Feeling just slightly too scrutinized, Peter ducked his head, "Weeeellll, I thought I'd try my hand at photography. And it's…it's pretty fun to be honest."

"Yeah?" Tony didn't sound skeptical, just curious, making grabby hands in Peter's direction, "Lemme see."

"Mr. Stark! They're private!" Peter scurried back, clutching the camera to his chest.

"What do you mean private? I'm in one! Come on, I'm your dear old mentor, shouldn't I be mentoring you in the art of photography?"

"Did you suddenly get a PhD in photography too?" Peter quipped dryly.

Tony smirked, "Why? Do you want me to?"

"Mr. Stark!" Peter whined, even as he moved closer to the man to sulkily hand out his camera.

Tony grinned victoriously, flipping through the photos on the little display, his lips pinched. Peter leaned nearer, caught between looking at his own photos and Tony's reaction and was feeling increasingly stressed that he couldn't! Get! A! single! Read! On! His! Mentor! What was he? Some kind of poker master?

Finally, Tony had gone through nearly all of them and with his normal dramatic flair, swivelled around to present the camera back to him and announced, "You're good kid. Really good. I love them."

Peter felt his heart explode. "Wait- you love them? Like, for real?"

"No, for fake." Tony rolled his eyes, "Peter, these are really cool. You should open one of those photograph Instagram things, like the ones you always show me."

"Oh my God, no way that's so embarrassing. What if I don't get any followers? Plus, what if I'm not good enough?"

Tony laughed, "Kid, you're going to get followers. People follow everything. And you're actually good!"

Peter ran a hand through his hair still looking shy, "Do you actually think so? Because if I got a better camera, these would definitely turn out better."

"Well yeah, the camera quality could use an upgrade, but your actual talent is pretty promising. Do a bit of editing, some cropping, other fancy photo things I don't know yet, and voila. MoMA worthy." Tony flashed him some jazz hands and Peter couldn't help but snort.

"If you say so Mr. Stark…"

"I do say so. And I'm usually right."

"Actually, Ms. Potts says you're usually wrong. About like, almost everything."

Tony winced, "Okay well maybe in my own life I'm a little, let's say…" he waved his hand in the air, "all over the place. But when it comes to you, trust me, I know what I'm talking about. I'm working real hard on it. Ultimate good interest in mind and all that."

It came out of Peter all of the sudden really. He had been thinking it obviously. Thinking it for a really long time. But he never really said it often, but this time, he thought Tony needed to hear it. Especially when it wasn't in a context of near death experiences or saving him from school humiliation or something else dramatic and big and public. This was just a kid and his mentor and a camera. "You're a really good mentor Mr. Stark. The best actually. You don't even have to try hard, you're great just the way you are." He blurted, looking him right in the eye, sincere and also a little horrified.

Tony's eyes widened almost imperceptibly before he coughed, pushing up from off his perch and clapping Peter on the shoulder, "Thanks kid. That means a lot. Now do you want some juice? I think I want some juice."

Peter shook his head, smiling almost exasperatedly. "Yeah Mr. Stark, some juice sounds great."

"Okay, to the kitchen then and then back here for some tinkering."

The next morning, as Peter was rushing to make it to school, he threw open his apartment door, almost missing the cardboard box with his name printed in big block letter sitting on the mat. Jerking to a stop, Peter pulled out one of his earbuds for no real reason other than the drama of it all, bending down to rip open the box. In hindsight, he probably should've been more careful of weirdly addressed packages arriving at his doorstep, but you know, curiosity killed the cat.

And hot damn, did satisfaction bring it back. Peter pulled out the clearly custom made camera from it's safe container like it was a holy grail, tracing over the engraved 'Peter Parker' in the side, feeling his finger shake. This was…this was amazing. Too amazing. Like, he couldn't possibly believe it amazing. Peter crouched down, rifling through the box to find different lenses and accessories and at the very bottom of the box, a small handwritten note. Plucking it out with barely contained excitement, Peter couldn't help the smile that got bigger with every line he read.

Hey kid,

Welcome to your new camera with better pixels than one that could've been an iPod's grandma. I know you have a whole thing about buying you things- which is ridiculous by the way- so I spent last night building this for you. Hopefully, it should survive your clumsier tendencies, even if you're using it as you-know-who.

Have fun with it kid, send me some of your stuff so I can pin it on the fridge suburban wine mom style

Tony signed off with a crudely drawn peace sign and a quick T.S and Peter wouldn't have had it any other way. Running back inside, he shouted for May and snapped a picture of her startled face giggling all the while. "Peter!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

Quickly, Peter pressed on the gallery button and marveled at the quality of the photo. He could even see that one grey hair May had that she refused to admit existed. "Holyyy sh-"

"You better not finish that sentence young man. And what's that?" her curiosity taming her innate need to yell, May peered over Peter's shoulder, knowing immediately what it was by the engraving.

She sighed, a fond smile at her lips, "That man never knows when to quit huh?"

"He's the best." Peter agreed, "May, quick, be my model, I want to see what all the settings do."

May laughed, "I'm flattered Petey, but you need to go to school and I need to get to work so let's put the photography on hold okay?"

Peter sulked, begrudgingly putting his camera on the table like it was made of glass. "That's no fun at all."

May shrugged, "But it's life."

Later, as Peter was walking from the subway to school, he pressed 3 for Tony's number (it had been on his speed-dial since the second he got it but no one needed to know that) and listened for the usual two rings before, "Hey Pete, aren't you supposed to be in school right now?"

"Why does everyone think I'm a delinquent who never goes to class?" he complained.

Tony's tone was dry, "Because you're a delinquent who tends to not go to class?"

Peter groaned, "You ditch one day and suddenly everyone thinks you're this close to being a drop-out. That's stereotyping Mr. Stark and it's unethical."

"Pretty sure it's not and I better not see any Spidermanning until you're back home kid." But Peter could hear the smile in his words.

"Yeahhh, I got it Mr. Stark, no need to worry about me. I don't have time to get in trouble anymore anyway. I have something a little more interesting to take up my time."

Tony sounded like he was shuffling some papers around, but the amused lilt in his voice was unmistakable, "That right?"

"Yeah, I got a pretty cool gift today. Super awesome. Like, top ten gifts of all time."

"Even better than the suit?"

Peter snorted, "No way. Nothing could top the suit. But it comes pretty close."

There was a moment of silence between them, both on the brink of acknowledging feelings or choosing to move on with their usual banter. Peter decided to take the plunge. He wasn't a good swimmer for nothing. "When I come over, can you show me how you made some of the internal mechanics? It doesn't look like my other one at all and it's super cool. The wiring is so delicate and there's all sorts of parts I don't even know the names of."

"You're gonna love this stuff kid, in fact, it might even be helpful to your little robot dog project. The optics of it all anyway." Tony seemed relieved about the turn of the conversation and his excitement at Peter's excitement made his heart swell.

"Great! I almost want to deconstruct it but I love it too much."

"It hasn't even been two hours Peter." Tony deadpanned.

"I can't help it! I get attached easily! It's a curse!" Peter bemoaned, laughing at Tony's excessive sigh.

"No, your penchant for trouble is a curse. Now stay in school and be good kid. I'll see you at the usual time."

Mostly, Peter was glad there wasn't a question mark at the end of that statement anymore. Long gone were the days of hesitancies and maybes.

Peter's smile was soft. "Sure thing Mr. Stark. Can't wait."

Quickly, as though Peter didn't have super hearing and also an unquenchable need to be validated, Tony mumbled, "Me too kiddo." And then promptly hung up.

Snorting, Peter stared at his phone, the fading image of Tony cracking up over a meme Peter had shown him, making him shake his head before he stuffed it back into his pocket. Tony'd never change. But Peter never wanted him to.

It was at that moment that the beginnings of Peter's secret project began to form in his head. A lot of times he wondered about why Tony did the things he did. That if he gave and he gave because he thought it was the only reason people would ever stay. Behind the façade of confidence and bravado hid a plethora of insecurities that Peter only began to see once he started to know Tony the man and not Tony Stark the hero. And when he thought about all that, about how much Tony wanted, needed so desperately, to keep the people in his life he reduced himself to the resource guy just so people would have a reason to keep him around, Peter felt something like an ocean battering against his chest. When the Avengers left, they had fought against Tony with his own inventions. He had designed those suits and weapons to maximise lethality and effectiveness and protect its users the best he could. When the Avengers left, they had used a home Tony had built just for them, to keep them together, and they had torn it all apart. Tony had given everything he could and still was left with nothing and Peter couldn't think about it, couldn't deal with it. Because it wasn't fair. It just wasn't.

He'd read the leaked documents. When SHIELD got exposed, the internet blew up with news and theories and controversies and someone had made an entire database to filter searching through the thousands of documents easier. While everyone had been busy on the conspiracy tag, Peter had gone straight into searching everything he could about Iron Man. Everything that was on public record Peter had already seen before. News articles of his heroism and successful missions, clips of him defeating bad guys or stopping actual armed conflicts between militias and armies. And then he saw the SHIELD reports, the one by Natasha Romanov, the one about assessment for the Avengers and Peter remembered being dumbfounded and then incredulous.

"Iron Man yes, Tony Stark not recommended."

What?

Iron Man was just a suit, a suit Tony built because he was a hero who just needed an opportunity. Iron Man wouldn't be a superhero if Tony wasn't one himself. Peter remembered the tightness of his jaw as he scrolled through the file, trying to find one good reason why Tony, whose genius was unparalleled in the entire country, whose heart was never in the wrong place, whose thoughts were constantly preoccupied with others that he neglected himself and couldn't find anything convincing. Tony would be a hero to Peter even if he didn't have a suit. Saving the world wasn't just about stopping alien invasions or overzealous villains. Saving the world was about leaving the earth better than you found it for the people who come after you and nobody, not even SHIELD, could say that Tony didn't try his best to do that every single day.

The thing though, was that when everyone else thought those things about Tony, eventually, Tony must have thought all that about himself and Peter Parker was 100% no way in hell absolutely not going to let that slide. Not on his watch. No way.

But he needed to wait until June.

Spring

Spring arrived and the entirety of Midtown was stressed. Every day, another letter came in the mail and students cried into each other's shoulders or ran to their friends shrieking. The gossip for the entire season was about who got in where and who was choosing what. Everyone worried about their future and hoped for the best and the constant anticipation was starting to wear down on everyone. Peter hadn't received any of his letters yet and, obviously, was slowly disintegrating from the anxiety of it all. Despite the reasoning from both May and Tony that it was fine and that it didn't mean anything, Peter couldn't help but always think of the worst and he had begun to try and accept the fact that he'd have to be working at some lame desk job filing papers for an asshole boss forever until he came home to see May with the biggest smile on her face and an even bigger envelope in her hand.

Peter saw the logo before she even had to say anything, "It came?!" he yelled, throwing his bag onto the couch and careening into his aunt.

"MIT finally got back to you, see I told you it'd just take time." May said with a smile.

She handed him the envelope and Peter held it with shaky hands. His entire future was inside this envelope. His fingers lifted to rip the seal but he stopped, looking at his aunt with wide eyes. "What if I didn't get in?" he asked, annoyed at himself for still thinking about it, but desperately wanting validation.

"Sweetie, you're never going to know until you open it." May said gently.

Pulling his lip into a determined line, Peter carefully opened it up, pulling out a slew of letters and pamphlets, but it was the first paper that demanded his attention. May looked at him intently, biting her lip and crossing her fingers. Peter read the first few lines and nearly fainted.

"M-May." He started.

"Did you get in!?"

Peter beamed.

"I GOT IN!"

"AHHH!"

May pounced on him, wrapping her arms around him as they jumped up and down yelling. "I got in! I got in! I got-" Peter stopped, pulling away from his aunt, "I gotta tell Mr. Stark! Oh my god I got in! May!"

May pressed a kiss against his temple, looking at him with all the adoration of a mother, "I'm so proud of you Peter, I knew you could do it."

Peter's smile bigger than it had ever been as he pulled out his phone, calling Tony. He picked up on the first ring and without even waiting for a hello, Peter started yelling, "MR. STARK I GOT INTO MIT! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?"

There was a two second pause before Tony erupted alongside his enthusiasm, "Believe it? Kid I've been telling you for forever you would, this is fantastic. You did great Peter. Really. You deserve this."

"I'm so excited you have no idea, oh my God I can't get over it."

Tony laughed, "Don't. You deserve to bask in the glory of your victories. In fact, if you two are free, let's go out tonight to celebrate."

"Really?" Peter rocked on the balls of his feet, already excited.

"Are you kidding? This is a huge milestone, this calls for pulling out all the stops."

"Mr. Stark it's fine, just celebrating with you guys is enough."

"Hush Spiderling, kids don't know how to party, but veterans like me? We've got it all figured out."

Peter snorted, "Sure Mr. Stark, whatever you say."

"Be ready at seven. And look nice!"

Needless to say, when the waiter at the restaurant asked what the occasion was and Tony raised his glass saying, "The kid got into MIT!" the waiter smiled and said, "You must be very proud."

And Tony looked right at Peter and smiled that smile that was reserved just for him and moments with no mask and said, "Prouder than I've ever been. He's gonna blow us all away."

Peter did his driving test in May. He had spent the better part of the year doing driving lessons with Tony and they eventually got to the point where he could drive and Tony was so comfortable he even did a bit of texting instead of being his usual over-reacting hypervigilant self. On the day of their last lesson, after Peter had efficiently parked the car back in its spot in the garage, Tony had turned to him in his seat and looked very grave. "Peter. I think you're ready." He said solemnly.

Catching on, Peter flattened his expression, "Are you sure Commander? Am I ready for solo missions?"

Tony quirked a lip, smacking Peter's leg, "That's the spirit. You're one hundred percent ready. I have total faith in you Peter. You've come a long way from accidentally swerving onto the highway screaming."

Peter winced, "Mr. Staaaaark," he whined, "that was one time, let it goooo."

"Never." Tony snickered, an evil glint in his eye.

"But seriously, you're going to be great. Just book your test and Happy will take you in this car so you can use it for the test."

Peter's eyes widened, "Mr. Stark that's too much, you don't have to."

"Don't be ridiculous. This is the only car you've ever driven, you don't want to get used to a whole new car the day of your test. It's stressful. Trust me, I've been there."

"If you say so…"

"Trust me kid, you're going to be just fine. Happy'll take you out for ice cream either way anyway." Tony grinned, pulling at Peter's cheek until he started to laugh, batting his hand away.

"Alright, alright. I'll book it at home, okay?"

Tony sat back in his seat, making an okay sign with his hand, "Perfect." He said, popping the 'p.'

So there Peter was, a couple weeks later, sitting in the car with a stranger in the passenger seat with his judgemental clipboard and his small judgier eyes and gulped. "H-hi, I'm Peter."

The man didn't seem to acknowledge what he said, "Start the car and when you feel it's safe, pull out of the parking lot."

"Okay." Peter said, shifting the gear and nervously checking the mirrors, "Sure, pulling out of the parking lot. Easy peasy. I totally got this."

The man seemed unimpressed with his rambling and Peter tried to keep his mouth shut. The examiner led him through the route he and Tony had already practiced before and though Peter couldn't stop himself from talking, he was pretty sure he was doing everything more or less well. When they looped back to the lot, he was asked to parallel park and reverse park and though he kind of butchered the reverse parking, he turned the car off pretty much in the spot and he fidgeted, looking at the examiner with wide, waiting eyes.

The man examined him before scribbling on his clipboard and handing him a slip. "You pass."

Peter blinked. "No way. Seriously? That's great! Thank you!"

"Go inside to get your picture taken and temporary license and then you're done."

"Yes, for sure, thank you sir, so much sir!"

Peter scrambled from the car, sprinting back into the building to see Happy on his phone sitting on one of those uncomfortable waiting chairs. "Happy! Happy!" Peter bounded up to him, smiling uncontrollably.

Happy caught sight of his green slip and stared, "You passed?"

"I passed!"

Happy looked almost, well, happy, before schooling his face back into its neutral expression. He coughed, "Good. Glad to hear it. The boss'll be happy."

Peter couldn't stop grinning the entirety of the trip back to the tower to return the car. For once, he was the one driving while Happy sat in the passenger seat, gripping the sides of the chair like Peter was still a novice. "Happy, you know I got my license right? That means I'm good at this whole driving thing."

"No, that just means you passed the minimal standardized test that even idiots pass." Happy retorted.

"Oh come on Happy, admit it, I'm pretty good." Peter boasted, grinning rakishly.

Happy rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, just keep your eyes on the road hotshot."

"Aw you're no fun Happy."

Eventually, the two pulled into the tower and Happy waved him off, "You go and see the Boss, I'll park the car."

Peter hesitated, his lip twisting, "You sure Happy? I don't mind."

Happy waved him off, "Yes I'm sure, now run along, you're giving me a headache."

Peter smiled, "Thanks Happy! You're the best!"

Happy coughed again, looking away, but he had the tiniest of smiles on his face.

Taking his advice, Peter bounded in the direction of the kitchen were FRIDAY alerted him Tony was currently drinking his third cup of coffee. "Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark!" Peter yelled, throwing open the door brandishing his license like a trophy.

"Peter you passed! I knew you would!" Tony's joy poured out of him as he strode up to his protegee, examining the license like it was a treasure.

"Look at that, legal proof you're growing up." Tony mimed wiping a tear from his eye, "And I thought I'd never see the day."

"Oh my God Mr. Stark I wasn't that bad of a driver."

"You have not lived my lived experiences Peter Parker. I almost had a heart attack. Three times." He deadpanned.

"You're always almost having heart attacks." Peter snarked.

Tony's face twisted in offense, "Sarcasm is not a good look on you kid."

Peter made a face, "Well I learned from the best didn't I?"

Tony groaned, "Great. This was exactly I was afraid of. Couldn't you copy some of my better qualities?"

"Hey, I think your sarcasm is your best quality. Certainly makes your press conferences interesting." Peter teased.

Tony rolled his eyes but smiled. "Yeah, tell that to Pepper."

"But seriously kid, you did good. I'm proud of you." Tony leaned over to ruffle Peter's hair and Peter couldn't help but relish in the affection so rarely given.

Peter had a lot he wanted to say, so many things to follow up that statement. But he couldn't find the courage to say it all just then and wanted to save it for his present anyway. It'd be better that way. He still wasn't sure on all the details yet, but he knew what he wanted Tony to feel when he saw it. He knew there was no way Tony could miss the point, not when the date he chose was so deliberate.

As Peter spent the rest day of his mentor, chatting over a quick bite, tinkering in the lab, getting into impassioned debates over the feasibility of time travel and finishing off with an episode (well three, but no one needed to know) of The Good Place, Peter hoped that even without the gift, Tony would know what he felt about him. That even if he hadn't been going out of his way to make tangible something only real in his feelings, that Tony would know anyway. He knew everything else after all.

Summer

June comes around and Peter's plans are ruined when Tony calls him late at night when Peter's on the brink of sleep.

"Hey Peter." Tony says, almost like he's whispering.

Rubbing his eyes, Peter leans up in his bed, his phone light too bright for the night, "Misser Stark? Is everything ar'right?"

Tony takes a breath like he's hesitating before a forced cheer takes up his voice, "Yeah Pete, everything's good. Great actually. I'm sorry for calling you so late, it's just- I wanted to call to let you know I'll be a little unreachable for the next couple days. I know we had plans for the weekend but I don't think I'll be able to make it in time. I'm sorry kid."

Tony's trying hard to be nonchalant but Peter can hear the strain in every syllable he says and his heart clenches. "Mr. Stark?" he asks again, more alert, "What's going on?"

"Nothing. Nothing interesting anyway." He amends, "Just some top secret government stuff. They're flying me out and cutting me off from all contact until it's all over, I just didn't want you to worry when you try to text me and don't hear back." His words come out smoother and Peter feels some of his worry start to ebb away.

"That sounds super lame Mr. Stark."

Tony laughs, tight but relieved, "Sure is kiddo. I'd rather be home with you." It comes out before Tony can think about it but he doesn't regret it.

Peter's expression falls into something soft and sleepy and he closes his eyes, snuggling with the phone. "Ya me too. It's okay Mr. Stark, we can reschedule for when you come back, it's no problem. Just come home soon."

"I'll do my best." Tony whispered.

Peter yawned and burrowed deeper into his pillow. "Thanks for telling me, I hope you have a good meeting Mr. Stark, see you soon. Good night."

"Night Pete," a pause, "you're one of the best thing that ever happened to me, I hope you know that."

The dial tone rung in his ear. Peter gaped in the silence, staring at his phone in shock. He knew Tony cared about him, loved him really, but he had never said it, never so much as hinted at it. Why did he say it now? What was really happening at that secret meeting? Worried now, something bad and malign and leeching coiling in his stomach, Peter called Tony back but the connection wouldn't make it through and Peter realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach, that Tony had already gone farther than he could reach.

Settling back down in his bed, Peter tried to play it cool, rationalizing that nothing bad could happen in a meeting and Tony always said more emotional things when his guard was down at night or when it was easier to say things because they weren't face to face. Talking himself down from panicking, Peter repeated over and over that Tony was Iron Man and Tony never lost to anyone so why would he start now. He'd be okay. He'd come back home.

He had to.

Tony had called the night of the twelve and not once since. Peter called him every day, just to see if the call would go through. There was no connection on the thirteen. Or the fourteen. Or the fifteen. The sixteenth came and Peter looked around at all the holiday's paraphernalia and at his own gift still sitting in the corner of his room all ready to go and felt a hole in his chest that felt emptier than it had been in a long time. Loss was no stranger in his heart, it lurked in its depths and taunted him in his sleep but Peter didn't know how much more he could take of it anymore. How much can you break a person before they shatter irreparably?

Peter didn't want to find out.

The sixteenth passed and he couldn't call Tony. The seventeenth passed just the same. The eighteenth, Tony came home. But he didn't. Not really. Does it count as coming home if they were bringing back your body?

He was pretty sure the news was supposed to be under wraps. But someone must have leaked it because as soon as it released it caused an uproar from security officials accusing the media of being a security risk and of revealing classified information. The footage of Tony, his Iron Man suit melded to his body, his face a mess of blood and bruises being hauled onto a stretcher into a medical helicopter was an image Peter would never forget. He looked gone. Empty. So awfully still for a man who always kept moving. His chest barely moving, his face completely slack, eyes closed, ignorant of the world. Peter had been in school when the story broke, when everyone began whispering as the news trended on their social media and every broadcasting station. Before he could blink, the footage was everywhere, screencaps trying to identify what happened all over the internet and theories blasting on his feed.

While everyone around him burst into chatter, Peter couldn't breathe. There was a buzzing in his ears, a trembling in his fingertips. For once, it wasn't sensory overload that got him but the overwhelming feeling that his thoughts were a tidal wave and he was being battered. They were so loud, they were so loud. His head wouldn't quiet Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark. His mentor's face flashed in his mind on a loop and Peter slapped his hands over his ears, hunching over his desk as he struggled to force air into lungs. Breathe, breathe, he needed to breathe. But Mr. Stark didn't look like he was breathing, oh God, what if he stopped breathing, then Peter really would just suffocate oh God, oh God, how could this have happened. How could-

"-Peter, Peter, hey you're going to be alright, hey man, you need to breathe." Ned locked eyes with him, full of concern.

"Ned." Peter whimpered and his best friend sprung into action.

"Mr. Styles, Peter isn't feeling well, I'm going to take him to the nurse's office."

Mr. Styles looked at the pair sympathetically. By now, everyone knew Peter actually did know Tony, and quite personally. He wouldn't begrudge a teenager for mourning. "Of course Ned."

Peter found himself in an empty classroom instead, hunched over his knees on the floor while he tried his hardest to calm down. "He'll be okay Peter. Don't even worry about it. He's Tony Stark, he's not that easy to take out."

"He's just a human. At the end of the day. He's not even enhanced. He's just a guy in a suit. Anything could happen." Peter cried, wondering where all his faith went when confronted with all consuming fear.

"Hey. That guy in a suit saved the world a hundred times. You think this one thing's gonna get him down?" Ned gripped his knee, "And you know what he's probably thinking about right now? To get him through all this? You probably. So where's your faith Peter?"

Peter's eyes watered and Ned moved his hand to grasp him by the shoulders and bring him in for a hug. "He needs to be okay Ned, he needs to. I don't know how- I don't know how he can't be. I don't care about Iron Man or CEO Stark, I just want Tony." He choked on a sob, "I just want Tony."

"He's going to be okay Peter." Ned repeated over and over until Ned's phone vibrated with his twitter notification for tracked hashtags and he pulled it out with shaky hands.

Eyes widening, Ned smacked at Peter's shoulder, "Dude, look! Look! I told you! Tony Stark's unkillable." Reading from the screen, "Tony Stark confirmed to be mortally injured but still alive. Currently in the Avengers Compound Medical Bay for treatment."

Peter stared, barely daring to hope, barely daring to breathe, though he had tried so desperately to before. "Med bay? He's in Med bay?" he whispered, his heart thumping in his chest.

"They'll definitely save him. They have Dr. Cho and Dr. Banner. Together, they're the best medicine has to offer." Ned said, trying to sound supportive despite his own shakiness.

Peter swallowed hard, trying to stand up, his legs shaking. "I gotta- I have to go. To the compound. I have to see him." His eyes were unfocused, his thoughts elsewhere.

He needed to leave. He needed to get out of here, he couldn't- he couldn't- how was he supposed to go back to English class knowing his mentor's life, the life of the man he thought of like his dad, the life of the man who he never even told that to yet, was on the line. "Peter how are you-"

But Ned was cut off by Peter's phone ringing and when he saw it was May, Peter nearly burst into tears right then and there. But hearing her voice did it and as soon as she said, "Peter, I saw what happened are you okay?" he couldn't stop himself as the tears that just dried streamed down his face again.

"Oh baby. Oh Peter." May sniffed, sounding close to crying herself, "Don't cry, it'll be okay. I'm coming to pick you up right now. I just knew you would try to go yourself and I don't want you trying to figure that all out on your own. Just stay at school until I come okay? It'll be okay I promise."

Peter could barely make it through his tears to say okay and with Ned at his side, he waited until May texted him to meet her outside.

Ned squeezed his hand on the way out. "Peter, he'll be okay. If you need me for anything, let me know."

"You're the best Ned. I mean it. You already helped me a lot today. Thank you." Wide eyed and sincere, Peter gripped his hand hard.

Ned blushed, ducking his head, "That's what best friends are for."

And despite all the fear and worry that swirled within him, Peter still felt that spark of love for the one guy he knew always had his back.

May jumped out of the car to collect him in a hug he felt right to his bones. Together, they drove in silence to the compound. There was nothing to say. All Peter could think about was the state Tony would be in when they arrived and all of May's comforting words had already been spent. Her promises could either come true or fail and no amount of talking about it would influence the outcome either way. Peter just wanted to arrive already. Wanted to hear Dr. Cho say he'd be making a full recovery and would wake up any second.

The reality was worse.

When Peter ran into Med Bay, May not far behind, he found the usual suspects; Rhodey, Pepper, Thor, and Happy, all waiting in the hall. Rhodey and Pepper hugged him when they saw him, Rhodey gripping his shoulder for an extra minute when he noticed his red eyes and puffy cheeks. "Hey kid, why the long face. Don't you know idiots are too stupid to die?"

His attempt at a joke only elicited a half-hearted smile and Peter felt himself shrink beneath his worry. "Did they say anything yet?"

Rhodey sighed, shaking his head. "We've been waiting ever since we got here. Cho and Banner and the team are still in there operating."

Peter felt his legs tremble and it was only May's solid presence behind him that steadied him. "How did this even happen? He was supposed to be at a meeting." Peter whispered, looking lost and desperate for answers.

Rhodey's eyes narrowed before something overwhelmingly pitying shadowed his face. "Peter…there was never a meeting. Tony was on a mission, something only he could do, or so the government said anyway. But it turned out it was a set-up and Tony…" Rhodey looked away, couldn't bear to see the heartbreak on the kid's face, "Tony wasn't ready."

Peter stepped back, lip wobbling. "W-why would he lie to me like that? Why would he-?"

"I'm sorry kid. But if you would have known the truth you would have just worried and Tony didn't want that. I don't know exactly, but I'm sure that's what it was. He never wants to burden you with anything he thinks he can handle himself. He's like that with most of his relationships." He sighed, rubbing his forehead with his fingers the way only an exhausted man with a heavy heart could.

"Still! Still I- I wanted to know! I…" angry tears spill over his eyes and Peter was frustrated that he was still crying and mad that Tony never trusted him but mad at himself for being mad because he would've done the same given Tony's place and he was mostly just mad at the world for letting this happen and just desperate for something good to happen.

Rhodey pulled his lips, "I know Peter. I know."

Together, they waited four hours and twenty six minutes, Peter knew, he'd been watching the clock, the constant ticking the only thing keeping him sane, until Bruce walked out looking drained and aching. "Is he okay?" Pepper lurched upwards, looking two steps away from shaking him.

Bruce opened his mouth, looking to Thor like he needed support before squeezing his eyes shut and opening them again. "It's…not good. But it's not bad either."

Peter's heart hammered in his ears.

"He's in a coma right now. And we're not sure when he'll wake up. But his other injuries are on their way to healing and with the right medications and rest regimes, he should recover almost good as new."

Peter felt his breathing slow. "A coma?" he asked, like he had never felt the word on his tongue before.

The medical jargon and everyone's frantic concern faded as the world drowned out of Peter's perceptions. He felt like he was in a bubble with static everywhere and all he could hear was his heartbeat hammering in his head and the constant loop of you should've told him you should've told him how you felt you should've asked him to stay he was waiting for you to ask him to stay why didn't you ask him why didn't you tell him? Why didn't you do more? Why didn't you do more?

Peter pressed a hand to his mouth, trying to suppress his cries, his shoulders shaking though he begged them not to. May was at his side in an instant, pulling him into her side, running her fingers through his hair. But all that did was remind him of the time he had been crying after the panic attack during the bank robbery and Tony had sat next to him doing the same thing and the tears came down harder. How could this have happened? Hadn't he suffered enough? Hadn't Tony been through enough?

Peter's heart couldn't take more of this.

It couldn't.

It couldn't.

Caught up in his bubble, Peter missed the entirety of the conversation between all the adults in the room. All of them wanted to stay, but all of them had important things to attend to. Pepper had to host a press conference now that the information leaked, Rhodey was being harassed by his commanding officer to return to work, May was being paged, Bruce desperately needed to rest while Helen kept watch until it was time to switch shifts, and Thor was tasked with forcing him. None of them wanted to go, but Peter stood up, wiping his eyes. "I'll stay with him, in case…in case he wakes up now. He wouldn't want us to abandon everything we have to do. We can take turns, you know…sitting with him." He rubbed at his face, feeling like if he looked any of them in the eye he would collapse in a pile of emotions again.

Pepper's expression softened, reaching over to squeeze his arm. "That's a great point Peter. I'm sure Tony would be happy to know you were here right now."

Peter tried to muster up a smile for her, but didn't know if it worked out at all. May hugged him again, promising to come back as soon as her shift was over, everyone else promising the same. Eventually, everyone dispersed and Peter was left staring at the door to Tony's room feeling like there was a stifling weight atop him. He had been inside MedBay a million times, mostly for his own injuries and scuffles, but he had never been inside for something like this, something so momentous as Tony maybe never waking up. His hand shook as it reached the doorknob and with one solid push, he walked through like he was expecting someone to jump out at him.

Tony lay in the gurney, IV's draped over metal stands and pricked into his wrists, his chest rising and falling, constant like the rain. Peter's legs stopped working. His hands tightened into fists and his breath hitched as he struggled to reconcile the vibrancy of his mentor and the terrifying stillness. With something achingly sad in his heart, Peter couldn't even find comfort in his face. He didn't look peaceful, or serene or any of that stupid bullshit they had in the fucking movies. He looked flat. Without expression. His features all straightened in lines that conveyed nothing but emptiness and a lack of presence.

Like every step was him fighting against a battle tide, Peter scraped over a chair next to the bed, grasping for Tony's hand without any hesitation. Shoulders heaving, Peter fell onto the chair, his body collapsed onto Tony's stomach. Breath coming in little gasps, Peter pressed Tony's hand to his face and closed his eyes. He was silent for a long time, just listening to Tony's breathing, every breath a miracle. A sign that he was alive.

His words came out like a waterfall bursting afresh. "I'm so thankful you're alive." Peter squeezed his hand, pressing it so hard against his face like he hoped it would fuse against him, "I've never been more thankful for anything like that before. Not once. When I saw the footage I-I couldn't think straight. I don't even know what happened. I can't even remember. I was so messed up about it, I'm still so messed up about it. I thought you were dead." He whispered, a scratchy horror in his voice.

"I thought you were dead and all I could think about…" he took a staggered breath, miserable and wet, "you died," his voice cracked, "and I wanted to die too. I wanted to- but, but obviously that's…that's so stupid, but I felt a piece of me die, and I can't- I can't Mr. Stark. I can't because- because, after my parents and Ben, how much more of me can die with the people I love until there's nothing left? How much more can I lose?" and though he told himself he wouldn't, Peter crumbled, his tears dripping down Tony's wrist.

"I thought you were gone and I couldn't bear it, I couldn't deal with it. How could I? You're my hero and my mentor and- and I wanted to say it to you, I wanted to tell you, before, on Father's Day, I had this whole thing planned. I think you would've loved it. I had this whole plan and this gift and I wanted to tell you that I- that I never thought I'd have another father figure in my life but then you came in and I-" Peter sniffed, wiping his eyes profusely, "I wanted to tell you that I love you and that I want to make you proud but now I might be too late and I don't know how to deal with that."

"I don't know how to do this without you Mr. Stark." His mouth twirled in a fake smile, his eyes red and puffy, "Please don't make me do this without you. Please. Please."

"I was so grateful when they told me you were alive. And I swear I'll never ask for anything ever again just please wake up. I won't break my curfew or deal with things out of my league or eat all your fries even when you tell me to just buy my own and I promise I'll be more careful and I'll tell you all the time that I appreciate you and that I never wanted anything more from you than your company and I don't care about the cameras or the cars or the suits or anything, I don't care, I just want you back. I just want you to be awake and be you, that's all I ever wanted."

"Please." He whispered.

Peter squeezed his hand, "Please."

A couple hours later, maybe less, maybe more, Peter didn't know, Pepper texted him telling him she was on her way. Now slightly less upset, still worried and fretful and anxious, but he had stopped crying, which was good, Peter tapped Tony on the chest. "Miss. Potts is coming soon and even though I don't want to leave you, I think she'd probably like the privacy. I should probably shower too…anxiety sweat you know?" he tried to laugh but it came off sharp.

"I'll be back soon! As soon as I can be! I want to be here when you wake up because of course you're going to wake up soon. You're just waiting a little for the drama right? You always liked a good entrance."

His dialed up hearing picked up the unmistakable clacking of Pepper's heels on the floor and Peter knelt down, cradling Tony's head against him as gently as he could. "Just please don't wait too long okay? There's fashionably late and then plain rude."

Peter held on for a few more seconds before pulling away to greet Pepper at the door. "Did the press conference go well?"

Pepper sighed, for a split second looking less than perfect, "As good as expected. There are a whole bunch of conspiracies going on right now, but hopefully we put an end to them. How's Tony?" she asked, looking at him with concern.

"No change." Peter wrapped his arms around himself, looking away.

"He'll wake up soon. He always gets back up. Don't worry." Pepper smiled, looking warm like a sunrise and Peter nodded.

"I know. You're right Miss. Potts. I'll…I'll leave you to it. Let me know when you need a shift change. I'm just going to be in my room okay?"

Pepper smiled fondly, "Sure thing Peter. Go get some rest, it's been a long day."

On his way to his bedroom, Peter paused, looking back at the closed MedBay door and felt an unmistakable sickness at leaving. What if something happened? What if someone broke in and tried to finish the job? What if he woke up? What if he flat-lined? What if what if what if? "FRIDAY." He called, trying to rationalize and bring down the bubbling anxiety, "Please alert me if anything changes in Mr. Stark's condition or if there's anything suspicious happening around there."

"Of course Peter."

"Thanks FRI."

He walked through the kitchen and common room to get to his room only to stop, frozen in his spot as he took in the changed décor of the room. Gone were the giant abstract paintings lining the common room's wall above the couches, three blown up photographs in sleek black frames were hung in their places instead and Peter knew them intimately. Those were his photos. His favourite ones.

Since using the Stark Camera, which was now being sold in retailers across the globe, Peter had gotten used to sending Tony some of his favourites as a kind of progress report and a subtle request for praise. Tony never failed to deliver, always telling him what he liked about his perspective and how unique his photos were. The three Tony had chosen were pulled directly from the ones Peter had sent him, ones he had never posted on social media. He must have installed them after their last lab meetup, after Tony had told him he was talented and going far. Always a man of action, Tony put his money where his mouth was, showcasing Peter's work on the wall like some kind of dialed up fridge art work. Emotion welled in Peter's throat and he all but ran to his bedroom, throwing himself on his bed and trying not to cry.

Tony never had to say I love you. He said that in everything he did. From constantly upgrading his suit to be safer, to picking up on his interests and fostering his talents, to listening to him ranting about everything that went wrong in his day, and what had Peter done? He had never even said the words. Never told him anything at all.

Peter wanted to die.

Bruce told them that it was good, beneficial even, if they all talked to Tony like normal and tried to get him to engage with his surroundings. The next time Peter went inside to hold his hand, he rambled like he always did when the two of them were working in the lab and tried not to hurt so bad. He refused to leave the room except when forced by everyone around him to complete basic tasks to survive and give Pepper and Rhodey some time to themselves. But otherwise, Peter gripped Tony's hand like a lifeline praying he would hold it back. By the third day he could hear May whispering about how it wasn't good for him to be stuck there in that room like he was caught in time, he had a life to live, school to go to, finals to study for, but he couldn't leave. He couldn't. And the desperation must have poured out of him, flooded the room so much that even Tony picked up on it because like he always did, Tony rescued Peter.

On the fourth day, just before Peter knew his aunt would try and have a talk with him, Tony woke up. Peter had his hand in his as usual and couldn't stop talking. The silence was stifling and he couldn't bear to hear it anymore and his mouth wouldn't stop moving. "Everyone's getting worried now Mr. Stark, this is where you could swoop in and be the hero you know. Not that you're not already a hero. You're the best hero, the greatest. But still, there's always room for improvement."

"I don't even know if you can actually hear me you know. Dr. Banner says you can. But if you can, what do I have to say to get you to wake up? I'll say anything. I'll do anything. Just, please Mr. Stark. I don't want to go, but May's gonna make me and I don't want to go, please. Please." But Tony didn't respond and Peter felt his heart tumble.

Peter pulled out his calculus book, doing some of the homework Ned texted him about, leaning the binder against the mattress. Math helped him calm down somewhat, the formality of the equations, the straightforwardness of the method. It was soothing. He was engrossed in integrals when he swore he saw Tony's hand twitch. Not even daring to breathe, Peter grabbed for his hand, holding it tight to feel for any sense of movement. "Mr. Stark? Mr. Stark are you waking up? Mr. Stark please, if you can hear me, squeeze your hand."

But his hand didn't move, not even a fraction of an inch but Peter refused to be disappointed, he refused. "Come on Mr. Stark, I know you can do it. I know you're in there. Come on, come on, just squeeze my hand so I know you're there. Please, please, please."

Ten seconds. Twenty seconds. Thirty seconds and nothing and Peter felt his grip loosen when, shaky and weak, Tony's hand squeezed back. Peter's heart went erratic, he wanted to whoop, he wanted to do fucking cartwheels, "Mr. Stark, can you hear me?"

Seconds that felt like eternity passed.

And like a miracle, Tony's warm, warm eyes fluttered open, his expression softening. "I hear you kid."

And his voice was raspy with disuse but Peter didn't care because Tony was awake and he was alive and he had never been more grateful for anything in his entire life. "Mr. Stark." Peter sobbed, throwing himself against the man, wrapping him tight. "Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark." He repeated, face pressed against his neck.

Slowly, like he was trying to go faster but just couldn't, Tony hugged him back, sighing into his shoulder, "It's alright Peter. We're alright. I heard you. I heard it all."

And suddenly the room was full of people all yelling Tony's name and everyone was hugging him and crying tears of joy and Peter's heart broke at the surprise on Tony's face when he saw everyone gathered around him. "Don't you all have day jobs?" he asked, badly hiding how overwhelmed with emotion he was.

"And miss your dramatic re-entry into the land of the living?" Rhodey joked, though his eyes remained red rimmed, "Not a chance."

And it was only later, after they all came down from the high and could breathe easier, that it hit Peter that Tony had said he had heard it all. Panic burst through him at the thought that he had blown his own surprise before it happened but determined to do it right, Peter sought Tony out in his gurney after having been forced to go eat by Pepper and May to set the record straight. Tony was strangely alone, sitting upright in the gurney after having been given strict orders by Bruce (to be enforced by Thor) that he rest more despite all the rest he'd already had, though Bruce was quick to point out coma rest was not rest, rest.

Tony looked almost afraid when he saw Peter walk in but waved, with an affectionate smile, "Hey kid, what's up?"

"Mr. Stark," Peter began, deciding to just get right to the point, "Were you awake the whole time? Like, in your head awake?"

Tony seemed to deflate, leaning back against the headboard, "You mean did I hear everything you guys were saying to me?"

Peter nodded seriously.

"I don't know if I heard all of it to be honest. Everything's hazy. But I heard enough." Tony closed his eyes, "I heard enough."

"Well I want you to forget about what I said. All of it. Because I- I wanted to say all that at a better time and I kind of ruined it I know, but- but I still want to do it right," Peter caught Tony's strained expression and faltered, suddenly feeling like the biggest idiot in the world.

What if Tony didn't want him seeing him as a father figure? What if he thought it was weird or a hassle or oh my God Peter hadn't thought this through at all. But sensing his panic, Tony reached out, grasping Peter's arm. "Pete, I need you to dial down the overthinking would you? You're giving me a migraine."

"I'm sorry Mr. Stark I'm sorry, I didn't- I didn't-"

"Hey." Mr. Stark caught his eye, strong and steady, "Peter, anything you have to say to me, I wanna hear it, regardless of whether or not I think I deserve it." His self-deprecating smile was too much for Peter, who wanted to spring into action, but Tony kept his hand on his arm and silenced him with a look, "I heard a lot of things when I was asleep and I don't know how much credit I can take for waking up, but I never tried so hard at anything than when I heard you talking to me that first time."

"I never want to hear you like that ever again." Tony's voice shook so imperceptibly Peter barely even caught it, "I never want to put you through that ever again. I'm sorry Peter. I'm so sorry. Especially because I can't promise you that something like this won't happen again. But what I can promise you is that I'm always going to do my best to come home, that I'll move heaven and earth and the entire goddamn universe to make it back. And I know you don't want me to mention it, but you're the son I never had, and we can both forget about this until whenever you want to bring it up again, but that's the truth and as someone who was in a coma for four days I think I'm entitled to say it."

Peter ducked his head, feeling everything inside him swell with too many emotions to bear with. Tony laughed a little at him, wet and relieved, "Don't get all emotional on me Parker, I might catch something." He joked, pulling the boy into him for a hug.

Peter sniffed, "You can't catch feelings Mr. Stark, that's just a saying."

He paused before, "And we're definitely forgetting about this because I had a whole thing planned and your need for dramatics is not gonna ruin it."

Tony laughed, hugging him tighter. "Okay kid. Whatever you say."

Tony makes him go to school on Monday even though he's still technically bedridden and Peter doesn't want to leave. But with his insisting and May's cajoling, Peter reluctantly dragged himself out of the Tower, promising repeatedly that he'd come back as soon as he could and that if Tony got bored he could totally text him because Peter was a master at texting in class. And Tony fixed him with his patented exasperatedly fond smile and ruffled his hair goodbye and told him to focus for the love of all things good and holy.

For some reason, Peter felt weirdly nervous to be going back. It was the last two weeks of school and everyone was supposed to be feeling stressed for exams but also delirious with anticipation that it was all almost over. He felt nothing much about either of those things and just two tonnes of relief. But when he walked through Midtown's doors, for the first time in his life, he was bombarded with kids rushing at him all shouting questions and trying to grab his arms.

"Is Iron Man okay?"

"Did he die?"

"Have you seen him? Is Tony Stark okay?"

"Peter!"

Overwhelmed, Peter stumbled back, mouth sputtering as he tried to think of something to say. God this was just high school, the paparazzi must be a million times worse, how did anyone deal with this? But like freaking Jesus, Ned pushed his way through the crowd, reaching for Peter's hand and tugging him through. "Guys what's wrong with all of you, leave him alone."

A girl jut out of the mob, hand on her hip, "What's the big deal Ned, we just want to know if knows anything."

"Doesn't mean you should harass him." Ned glared.

"We're not harassing him, we're just-"

But Peter interrupted her, "Mr. Stark's fine. He's getting better and should be released from care today. Now please leave me alone. I don't want to talk about it."

And mustering all his bravado, Peter turned around, and walked away.

True to his word, Peter texted Tony sporadically throughout the day just to check in on how he was feeling and if he was okay. He could practically see Tony rolling his eyes through the screen as he gave him a quick one liner to say he was okay and a command to focus on school. But try as he might, which, admittedly, wasn't very hard, Peter's thoughts always wandered back to MedBay and the idea running through his brain.

Twenty minutes before school ended, Tony texted him saying Helen and Bruce had finally agreed on discharging him and that he was as good as new. That had to be a sign. So when the bell rang for dismissal, Peter said a quick goodbye to Ned and shot out the doors, detouring back to his apartment before going to the tower to pick up a few special things.

Tony seemed to be expecting him, looking unsurprised when Peter burst into the common room to see him drinking a cup of coffee and going through some emails on his tablet.

"Mr. Stark! Today's the day!" Peter announced, swinging his backpack down onto the floor to open it up.

Tony raised a brow, "Yeah? The delayed day?" he teased.

Peter twisted his lip, "Haha, Mr. Stark, very funny. But first, are you sure you're okay? I don't want to drain you or anything."

Tony stretched his arms behind his head exaggeratingly, making a face, "I've never felt younger or sprightlier in my entire life Peter, how dare you."

Raising his hands defensively, Peter laughed, "Okay, okay, just checking."

Peter pulled out a box wrapped in obnoxiously orange wrapping paper and plopped it on the coffee table. "Okay, so let's pretend it's the sixteenth okay, and I've just walked in and I said Mr. Stark! Do you know what today is? And then you'd say, Saturday? And I'd be like wrong! But this'll help you figure it out."

Peter gestured for Tony to unwrap the gift and Tony shook his head, laughing slightly, his fingers shaking ever so slightly as he ripped into it. Inside were two of those cheap robots for kids that you had battle in the schoolyard when teachers weren't looking. At Tony's confused expression, Peter burst into a fit of giggles. "So we bond over a lot of things like tv shows and basketball and superheroing and Happy being mean to us, but most of all, we bond over making things and I thought we could have a robot battle match to the death!" Peter grinned, "After upgrading them ourselves of course."

Tony whistled, "You think you can beat me in robot wrestling? I'll have you know I was an MIT champ."

Peter shrugged, a shit eating grin on his face, "Yeah, maybe. But times definitely have changed since then, how long has it even been? Seventy years?"

Peter burst into laughter at Tony's indignant "How DARE-" as he pinched his nose.

Peter gathered the toys in his arms and they walked to the lab together, each of them going into their own corners and pretending to be overly protective of if the other person saw what they were doing. Tony kept yelling "Cheater! Spy! SHIELD AGENT!" every time Peter so much as looked in his direction and the poor kid kept laughing too hard to even focus on his bot.

The time limit was one hour and when FRIDAY started beeping to signal the end, Peter looked at his monstrosity of a creation and burst into giggles again. He had given it wings and two hammers for hands and had spray painted it a bright fushia for kicks. On the back he wrote Stank Industries to honor Rhodey and had installed one secret weapon right in the chest in the shape of an arc reactor.

Tony's, of course, was painted red and blue with big baby eyes painted on. Peter rolled his eyes. Spiderbaby indeed.

Clearing a space on the floor, Tony drew a large red circle and placed both contestants in the middle. "This is a fight to the death, are you prepared for the consequences?" he asked gravely.

Peter nodded, matching his seriousness, "I accept these terms and only wish you have already gotten your affairs in order."

"Oh, when I'm done with you, you even have anything to offer."

Their eye contact sizzled with intensity before they both pressed hard on the X button and their robots came to life and immediately set about beating the absolute crap out of each other. Peter's rose into the air to dive bomb into Tony's, it's hammer hands clattering against the other's shoulder plates. Tony's retaliated by trying to slice through Peter's wiring but he jerked the bot back, pulling at his lip in concentration.

The two clashed and clashed, both of them having plates falling off and scratches ruing the design, but Peter could feel his slowly dying and in one last ditch effort, he lurched his bot into Tony's direction, pressing the button to set off his secret weapon. An electric pulse surged from his bot into Tony's and both robots convulsed before, together, they plummeted to the ground in a sad hiss.

"Oh my God. I killed myself!" Peter wailed as Tony looked caught between being horrified and guffawing.

"That was your secret weapon? An overloading blast?" Unable to take it, Tony burst into laughter, "Genius!"

"Oh hush." Peter sulked, "It's still technically a tie."

"Yeah, but you had off your bot to do it, oh man."

Peter's lip quirked without him meaning it to. "Hah. Yeah, poor guy, he never even ke what was coming." And suddenly they were both laughing together and Peter felt the kind of lightness in his heart he hadn't felt in a long, long time.

After they had gotten everything cleaned up and they were celebrating their valor and honor in battle over brownies, Peter glanced at the clock and sighed. "I have to go back home now to study for my stupid exams, but there's one last part of my gift I have to give you."

Peter rummaged through his bag to pull out a much smaller box and hesitated before handing it over. "Mr. Stark, I had a lot of fun today and um, I always have a lot of fun whenever we work together or just hang out and whenever something good happens, I want to tell you and May first and whenever something bad happens, you're always the first one I think to call."

Peter ducked his head, Tony's struck expression a little too much for him, "And I just wanted you to know that um, well, I never want anything more from you than just you know, you, and um, I appreciate everything you give me and every opportunity you make for me, like I appreciate it insanely a lot, you have no idea, but I never want you think that that's why I, uh, well, why I love you I guess, and um yeah! So here's this! I made it for you! And I hope you like it! But I gotta go, like right now, so um, bye Mr. Stark! I'll see you later!"

And Peter turned high tail out of there and bolted, his face redder than it had ever been.

Tony watched him go, for once robbed of a witty comeback or quick joke to lighten the mood. He had never thought his life would have come to this. Never in the past fourty odd years had he thought he would become a mentor, let alone a father-figure, to a kid who was so bright he made the sun look like a matchstick. He didn't know what he done to deserve ths, what he had done to keep that admiration in Peter's eyes or the faith Peter had that Tony would keep him safe or the love in Peter's smile when he waved hello. Tony didn't know what he done in his years of mistakes and regrets and should've-known-betters to be seen as someone who could guide the next generation and be a pillar of support when everyone around him consistently told him he drew up short.

To be enough, in the eyes of a child, was more than enough redemption, than Tony ever thought he would have.

And he loved Peter. Loved him more than he thought he could ever love someone after everything his heart had suffered. Betrayals made him distrustful despite every fibre in his being wanting not to be. But Peter defied all the odds- like he always did- and now Tony can't even remember what it was like to not constantly be worried about Peter when he patrolled or not refreshing on high school English to help him on his essays or just watching a tv show just to watch it. Tony wanted to be there. Wanted to see Peter graduate with his bachelors, get his first job, launch his first start-up, get a masters, travel the world on his own, get his first girlfriend, get married, have his own kids someday.

Tony never thought he wanted the domestic life. But the older he got and the more his heart warmed with the love of those around him, the more he wanted to retire and host dinner parties and have big family Christmases and Thanksgiving dinners. He wanted to watch Peter grow up and be there along for every step of the way. He wanted to be the dad he never had when he needed it.

With too many emotions in his heart, Tony unwrapped the gift to find a sleek USB. Twisting it in his fingers, Tony got up from the couch to find a computer. Tony inserted the USB into the slot, waiting for the icon to show up before opening the only file on it: Love, Peter. The screen opened up black, soft music playing in the background until the text began appearing and Tony felt floored to his chair, his heart battering, overwhelmed and fit to burst.

What makes a dad?

Peter's first ever video diary with Tony in it shows up, the one of them in the car where Tony waves to May and Peter, who looks so much younger, grinning in that awkward way of his.

"Is that a video diary?"

Encouraging

Tony's holding a camera as he films Peter smacking the button to answer the final Decathlon question, shooting up from his seat, the perspective blurring as he whooped for joy, Peter turning to stare right at him, beaming.

The video pans out to capture Peter's framed photographs on Tony's wall and then shifts into a snapchat video of Peter trying to put a filter on Tony and May while the two chatter not noticing. Tony glances over at him, turning back to May before snapping his neck towards Peter rolling his eyes. "Kid, come on. For someone so talented you think it'd take you less than ten years to put a puppy dog filter on us."

"Hey!" Peter protested, "I'm just waiting for the tongues to sync! And I'm still just an amateur."

Tony spread his arms over the couch, leaning back. "Are you kidding? You're better than most of those pretentious art nerds I meet every time Pepper drags me to an opening. Your photos are way more evocative, definitely superior. Maybe we should get you into a gallery…"

"Mr. Stark!" Peter screeched.

"Wait, you weren't filming that were you!"

The shot goes into a news segment, Tony wishing his helmet away as he stares into the camera, a proud smile on his face. "Spiderman? That guy's gonna surpass all of us. He's the best of us and one day you're all going to see it."

Guiding

"This is test number three of RoboDog starring RoboDog, Mr. Stark, and me!" Peter's cheery voice is behind the camera as he zooms in on the robot in the centre of the room.

"Testing in three, two, one…" he presses a button and the dog whirs to life, wagging its metal tail. "Oh my God, it's working, Mr. Stark it's working! Come here boy, come here!"

The dog tries to wander its way over but its circuits start to smoke and it convulses before collapsing onto the ground. "ROBODOG!" Peter wails, the camera drifting its focus lower in grief.

Tony comes up behind him, his voice closer to the camera. "It's okay bud, we probably just need to stop overloading the circuitry. We can rewire it and try again. I'll show you how, but that was a good effort."

"Youtube is the worst teacher." Peter sulked.

"Youtube? You have a genius in your presence whenever you want and you learn from Youtube?"

The scenery changes to the apartment where May is giggling behind her phone, "A wild Tony Stark has been captured and tamed by the little Peter Parker as the child coerces him into doing his physics homework for him."

She zooms in on the dinner table where Peter is sitting, nose scrunched and pencil tapping against the tabletop as Tony scribbles formulas down on the page, his expression kind as he talks him through the steps.

The next video is a close up of Peter's beaming face as he waves a test sheet in the air, "Mr. Stark, I got an A!"

Down for shenanigans

Peter is bouncing in his seat, "Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark! Do the thing!"

Tony groans, "Tell me this isn't going all over the internet."

"Noooo just Ned. And MJ. And May. And maybe Colonel Rhodes, and Thor and-"

Tony held up a tired hand, "Okay, okay. Teenagers are the worst. Just give me the line."

Peter huffs in a big breath, "How did you take down Captain America?"

Tony, looking dead inside, "We shot him in ze legs because his shield is the size of a dinner plate and he's an idiot."

Peter cackled and Tony couldn't help but quirk a grin.

A scene change and, "Peter, are you in position?" Tony asked from the opposite end of the hallway.

Peter shot a thumbs up.

"Okay pranking Rhodey starts….now!"

A shriek followed by a "TONY!" sent his mentor into a fit of giggles as he gestured for Peter to run.

"Quick! He doesn't know you're here, save yourself kid!"

The last clip definitely came from FRIDAY judging from the perspective and before it played Tony knew exactly what it would be. True to his guess, it showed him glancing up to Peter as they were both caught up in working, saying, "I'm bored. Wanna blow stuff up?"

"YEAH."

What a little arsonist.

Caring

Landscape shots of all the Spidermango Blast ice cream in the freezer played on screen, followed by a shot of Tony working on the Spiderman suit, a plate of food Tony had left for him and a montage of photos snapped throughout the two years of Tony laughing into Peter's hair, arm thrown around him and of so many moments where Tony looked at him with a softness he had never thought possible.

Another clip from FRIDAY of Peter falling asleep on his shoulder during a movie, Tony at the counter drinking coffee, smiling as Peter walked in from the elevator. He raised his mug in greeting, "Hey kid, test go well?"

Peter perked up, "You remembered?"

"Of course I did. I helped you prep didn't I?"

Protective

A photo May took of Tony trying to beat a seagull away from Peter's fries at Disneyland, a picture of Peter with three scarves thrown atop of him and double mittens when there was a cold front warning and Tony thought his "spider sensitivities" would make him colder. A picture of Tony on his phone with the caption "helicopter mom" blaring in bright pink letters.

Always there to catch you

The screen faded to black, a familiar audio recording playing.

"Hey Mr. Stark? How fast do you think I'd land on the ground if I fell from up here?"

There was a pause and a thoughtful hum, "Fifty-eight seconds." Tony finally said.

"What? That math is all wrong, if you take in my weight and the height-"

"Kid, you really think I'd ever let you fall? The math is twenty seconds for the suit to form and ten for me to catch you and twenty-eight for us to land on the ground."

What makes a dad?

It's the man I look up to more than anyone else, who inspires me to be better than I was and gives me a goal to work towards. It's the man I call when I need help or advice or someone to talk to or even show a meme I know he wouldn't understand. It's the man who's there for you when no one else is and who's on your side no matter what.

And it doesn't matter what kind of car he drives or what he does for a living or anything else because it's about all the little moments that make up a big feeling of a bigger truth that's love. It's spending time with that person and it doesn't matter where or what you're doing, because everything's fun when you're doing it with them. A dad is a rock you rely on, a constant.

A video of Peter appears, looking awkward but brave. "I never thought I'd get another father-figure again. And now that I have, I'm so glad that it's you. You're one of the best things that ever happened to me too." He smiles before the screen fades to black again.

Happy Father's Day

Pulling out his phone immediately, Tony knew that he didn't have the words to express the love that he felt, but he hoped this one voice note would be enough.

"Hey Pete, I know this is the only father's day gift I've ever gotten, but it's definitely the best one I've ever received and every other gift I get from this point out is just never going to be able to compete. Inferiority complexes for life. We may not be bound by something as arbitrary as blood, but you're my kid Peter. Always will be. You can count on it."

Two and a half weeks later, Peter walked out of his last exam and felt freer than he'd ever felt. He'd done it. Graduated from the school system, with all the bells and whistles, confirmed his acceptance to MIT, already had a grad trip planned with his friends, and had finally entered a brand new chapter of his life. So of course, in typical Tony fashion, he invited Peter up with his usual coy secretiveness and Peter felt the small twinkle of excitement thrumming through him. After he had given Tony his gift, he thought things might get a little awkward, at least for a little bit, but if it was possible, the opposite happened. He felt like a whole other layer of depth had been unlocked and his relationship with Tony had never felt more concrete and certain.

Tony's text told him to meet him in the garage and curious, Peter poked his head in to see Tony scrubbing away at a pretty dusty car that looked like it came out of the 2000's. Hearing his approach, Tony waved, "Hey Peter, congratulations on the new car."

For Peter, Tony would unlearn the negative conceptions of love his father taught him by throwing money at his son whenever his coldness got too much even for Howard. For Peter, he would be better at expression and understanding and being there as just Tony. Quality time with Peter was something Tony would never get bored of and would always crave. So building a car together instead of buying one was the perfect way Tony could think of to show Peter he loved him in a way Peter would understand and appreciate. Plus, it never hurt to see his ridiculously cute confused face.

Peter blinked, "Wh-what?"

"So I know this is like, the most cliché thing a father son duo can do, but I thought it would be a good summer project before you head to university to build your own car to take you to your next step in your very, very long life."

"Mr. Stark I- I holy shit. We're gonna build a car? And I get to keep it?" The excitement rose exponentially with every word he said.

Tony shot him his usual I've-won-at-love grin and spread out his arms. "It's all yours kid. Granted we get it to drive and put some cool specs in there for kicks."

Shooting like a rocket, Peter barrelled into Tony in a hug, squeezing tight. "Thank you! Thank you! This is the best surprise ever! It's gonna be so much fun!"

Wrapping his arms around him, Tony smiled into his hair, "You bet it is. Now hand me that wrench we have some disassembling to do."

A/N Gosh this was a goliath but I'm so glad I finally got around to finishing it. I hope you enjoyed all the irondad fluff and check me out at ironfamjam on tumblr for more of my writing stuff!