FULL SUMMARY: "A couple years ago, he would always come to school with black eyes and bruises and stuff. Once his arm was even broken. He said he was just really clumsy, but I didn't believe him. The last year or so it hasn't really happened. But he also started wearing long sleeves…"

After fighting together in Germany, Tony didn't expect to see Peter Parker anymore. At least, not often. But when he decides to make the internship a real deal, something feels off. And he makes it his job to get to the bottom of it. With an ex-marine step-mom that works for a rival tech company, rumors of a forgotten HYDRA technique, and the fact that Peter never talks about his life at home, Tony's bitten off more than he can chew.

And if were anyone else, he would just drop it.

A/N: Hello there! If you're coming from my first story, nice to see you again. If you're new: nice to meet you. :)

Just some notes about the story before you begin:

This takes place right after Germany, but I'm not including the events from Homecoming. Peter did have a building dropped on him, but fighting a different bad guy. That should be it. I hope you enjoy!

Friday, August 9

4:01pm

When Tony first found out about a red and blue masked vigilante swinging around New York, his curiosity couldn't stop him from looking into it. After a couple weeks of digging his head where he probably shouldn't have, and sending Happy on a few drives, he finally found out who Spider-Man was.

Peter Parker, a seemingly normal 16-year-old, student at Midtown High. He lived with Angela Parker, his step-mom, in a modest apartment smack dab in the middle of Queens. After a news report about Spider-Man saving 12 people from a burning building, Tony had to meet him. He also needed a favor.

A short 15 minute drive later, Tony Stark was on the saggy leather couch in the Parker living room, politely making conversation with Angela until Peter got home. She was trying not to look astounded, but it wasn't going very well. Tony sat with a slightly amused expression; he had this affect on people sometimes.

"Mom? There's this crazy car parked out-" he stopped short, backpack thudding to the ground.

"Mr. Parker," Tony said, smirking.

"What-what is-I'm uh..." Angela gave him a pointed look and he flinched. "Hi… Mr. Tony... Stark. I'm Peter… uh Parker."

"Tony," he replied.

"I'm sorry… what is going on? What- what are you doing here?"

"It's about time we met. You've been getting my emails, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah… regarding the…"

Angela stepped in, a frown on her pretty face. "You didn't tell me about the grant."
"The-the grant…"

"The September Foundation," said Mr. Stark. "Remember when you applied?" Peter's head bobbed up and down, brown curls bouncing. "Well, I approved. So now, we're in business."

Angela gave him a fierce look. "We'll talk about this later, Peter." She smiled again, turning to the billionaire on her couch. "Why don't you have a discussion with him. Give all the details. He can relay them to me later, but I have to head to work." She stood and headed to the door.

When she reached Peter, she put a firm hand on his shoulder and leaned in. "You be good to Mr. Stark, ok?" The kid didn't look her in the eyes; he only nodded. "Good. I'll be back at 8." She left, heels clicking and purse swinging, with a slam of the door.

Peter's shoulders sagged for a moment before he realized he wasn't alone. He perked back up and looked at the man with bright eyes.

"Listen. I- uh. Definitely didn't apply for your grant-"

"Uh uh! Me first. Quick question of the torachal variety: that's you, right?" His phone lit up with a hologram of Spider-Man swinging toward the camera.

"Um, no. What do you- what do you mea-"

"Yeah. Look at you go." The picture shifted to him stopping a car. "Wow. Nice catch. 3,000 pounds, 40 miles an hour. That's not easy… you got mad skills."

"That's all-that's all on YouTube though, right? I mean, that's where you found that… be-because you know that's all fake. It's all done on a computer?" The way his words came out, it sounded like a question. "It's like that video-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… Oh, you mean like those UFO's over Phoenix?" Tony tapped the ceiling panel that led to the attic and a flash of red and blue fell down. "What have we here?" Peter snatched it out of the way and threw it into a laundry bin.

"Uh… that's uh…" he crossed his arms.

"So… you're the Spider...ling. Crime fighting spider. You're Spider-Boy?"

"S-s… Spider-Man.:

"Not in that onesie, you're not."

"It's not a- It's not a onesie…" he said, the first note of frustration that Tony had heard so far creeping into his voice. Before he had mentioned Spider-Man, the boy was mostly quiet and shaky… maybe even timid. Tony could hardly comprehend that Peter was also this quirky, strong, intelligent superhero swinging around Queens every night.

"I can't believe this, you know, I was actually having a really good day today, Mr. Stark. Didn't miss my train, this perfectly good DVD player was just... sitting there, an-and algebra test. Nailed it." He dropped onto the couch.

"Who else knows? Anybody?" Peter paused, a slight sliver of what Tony could only describe as fear flashing through his big brown eyes "Nobody."

"You know what I think is really cool? This webbing." Tony threw a glass of white gooey liquid he had collected at Peter's head, but his quick reflexes caught it before it whacked his face.

"Tensile strength is off the charts. Who manufactured that?"

"I did," Peter said casually, like that was normal. Tony had to work hard to keep the surprise off of his face. Where the heck does a High School student go to create web fluid?

"Climbing the walls? How you doing that? Adhesive gloves?"

"That's a-a long story. I was already-"

"Can you even see in these?" The man interrupted, raising the suit's goggles to his face.

"Yes! Yes I can. I can-I can see in those." Peter grabbed it back from Tony. "It's just that when whatever happened happened it's like my senses... have been dialed to 11. There's- there's way too much input so they-they just kinda help me focus."

"You're in dire need of an upgrade."

Thursday, September 12

6:04pm

1 month later

Tony had to admit, he had figured that he would hear more from Peter after Germany. But all the kid had done was called Happy twice, leaving two messages. Then there was radio silence. Tony was getting a little worried… he liked the kid. A little energetic sometimes, but a good person.

He made a decision, maybe 30 minutes ago, that he was going to ask Peter to come for an actual internship. Tony knew that he had to convince Angela first… which could present a few problems. It already took hours of phone calls to convince her of the Germany trip.

He knocked on the apartment door, putting on one of his winning "Tony Stark" smiles. If this was going to work, he had to lay it on thick. It was actually Peter that opened the door. He was so startled that he slammed the door back in Tony's face.

He heard muffled yelling from inside and when the door swung open again, it was Angela who faced him. Her mouth was set in a firm line that matched her eyebrows, and her dark brown eyes were ablaze. Behind her shoulder the kid stood with his head down, ears a dark red.

She forced her face into a calmer expression, asking with faux politeness, "Mr. Stark. What brings you here?"

"Angela," he said. "I can come in for a bit, right?"

Her cheek twitched, but she agreed, opening the door wider for him to enter.

"Anything to drink?"

"No thanks, Mrs. Parker, I was just at In-N-Out. Now, I'd like to talk to you and the kid about something, if you don't mind." The tension in the air was thick. Peter was leaning against the wall, head still down, shifting from foot to foot. He scratched his neck.

"Of course," she smiled, but it looked more like a grimace. "Please, have a seat."

Once they were seated, Tony glanced at the kid, who was still against the wall. "Why don't you come and sit with us, Pete." His head flopped up, with an expression of What, Me?

"I-I mean I really… shouldn't-"
"Peter," Angela said and turned to look at him. "Come sit down."

This time he rushed over, plopping down next to her on the couch. Tony stared between the two of them for a moment, then refocused and began his speech.

"Peter's internship. I want to start making it a more regular deal. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays. After school until 6:30. I need some help, and Pete here is exactly what we need up at the tower."

The shock on their faces was almost comical. "Now wait just a minute-"
"Before you protest. The internship pays. 12 an hour."

Angela was quiet for a moment. "Mr. Stark. Can I speak with Peter for a moment. Alone." She stood and grabbed her child's arm, dragging him to another room.

He heard hushed whispering. This went on for a few minutes, and he started to get bored.

"Mrs. Parker? I really have to get going!" She strode back in, black hair swishing behind her. Peter trailed behind her, looking kind of like a kicked puppy.

"Mr. Stark," she started. "Peter would love to help out any way he can, but I really think-"
"Perfect!" Tony stood and clapped his hands together. "15 an hour, starting tomorrow." He figured raising the wage would keep her happy… at least for now. He didn't want to stay to find out.

Friday, September 13

2:38pm

When Peter saw the sleek black Audi pull up to the school, his stomach dropped. Cringing, he walked over to it, but everyone was staring. He didn't like it when people stared. Why couldn't have Happy just brought a Subaru or something?

He opened the door and hopped in, as quickly as possible, tossing his backpack to an empty seat. Peter realized too late that the seat wasn't actually empty. Thankfully, Mr. Stark caught his backpack, but that didn't stop his face from going aflame.

"Heck of a throw, kid."

"I'm s-so sorry, sir." He hung his head.

"Whoa there. First of all… Sir? I'm not old enough for you to call me that. Second of all, it's fine, I caught it, didn't I?"

"I just d-don't mean any, uh, d-disrespect, sir. Or, um, Mr. Stark." Peter's head shook back and forth.

Disrespect? Tony thought. What? He made eye contact with Happy in the rear view mirror. "It's really ok, kid. I mean it."

"Thank you si- Mr. Stark."

The rest of the car ride, Tony explained how everything would work at the Tower. Peter was mostly quiet. He really didn't want Mr. Stark to pay him, but Angela said that they needed the money right now. Granted, she had also said that Tony was a dirty, lying-

"Does that make sense?"

"Uh… y-yeah, I guess."

"You don't actually have to remember all that, I'll help you figure things out." Peter liked Tony. He really did. And every second with his childhood idol was amazing… but the things that she had said. Was Angela right? He wasn't sure.

It took them five more minutes to get to the Tower, most of those minutes Peter spent gazing out the window while Tony fiddled with his phone. If he wasn't Tony Stark, it might have been awkward.

Peter was like a kid in a candy shop, bouncing around the lab and studying everything. He couldn't keep the large smile off of his face.

"This is amazing!" Tony stood at the door, amused.

A small robot arm buzzed from the corner. Peter saw that it was moving up and down, like a wave. He waved back.

"That's Dum-E. He breaks practically everything he touches," Mr. Stark rolled his eyes.

The machine clicked and beeped happily before rolling away.

"So, Pete. Do you like it?"

"Like it? Are you kidding me! This place is-" he stopped himself. "Uh, sorry. It's really nice, Mr. Stark."

"Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You just got really excited about something. And then stopped yourself from being excited."

"Oh! Uh," he ran a hand through his fluffy brown hair. "I don't know. Angela says it's not- It's not really polite to yell. Especially indoors…" he trailed off.

"Hmmm. Well when you're here, kiddo, feel free to shout whatever you want. Whenever you want. Especially indoors."

Peter grinned. "In that case: This place is awesome!" Tony returned the smile. "I'm serious, Mr. Stark, I mean where do you even find computers that size! I bet the processor socket is huge…" he leaned down, examining every inch of the hologram computer.

"What can I say? A billionaire gotta do what a billionaire gotta do." There was a pause. "So kid…"

"Yeah?" Peter's soft brown eyes were as big as disks. He kind of looked like a deer in headlights.

"Come sit with me," Tony said, strutting to a little couch area in the corner of the room.

"Yes sir."

"Don't call me that," he called playfully over his shoulder. "Tony is fine."

"Sorry, Mr. Stark. I won't do it again," Peter said solemnly. Tony shook his head. This kid bounced from a complete spaz to serious like a freakin' pinball machine.

"So," Tony said when they were seated. "Tell me more about... you." He had to tread carefully.

Peter considered for a moment. He wasn't sure if he could completely trust Mr. Stark yet. If what Angela said was true, then he should be afraid right now. But he just couldn't muster up that emotion.

"I uh… I'm in the Academic Decathlon at school with my friends Ned and M.J… my favorite food is Larb, I um… I like the color red…" he trailed off. "Is that what you wanted to know?"

No, that was not what he wanted to know, but Tony didn't say that out loud.

"How about home?"

Peter instantly closed off, crossing his arms and slouching a little. The look in his eyes was guarded. Tony could kick himself. He shouldn't have asked that yet.

"You met my… m-mom. Angela."

"Yeah, I did. She seems nice." The kid only nodded. There was an awkward silence. Tony was the first to speak.

"Let's get to work, kid. First, we need to complete some designs…"

They went on after that, discussing math and engineering, drawing blueprints. Peter didn't talk about himself again.

"Happy, you were there. Doesn't something seem… off about him?" Tony paced in front of his friends. They all looked up at him, concerned expressions on their faces.

"Yeah… he did seem a little… quick to assume," Happy replied, scratching his chin.

"What does that mean?" Pepper asked.

"I don't know… Most kids would laugh or something if they realized they hit Tony Stark in the gut with a backpack. But he acted like Tony was gonna yell at him."

"That's generally not a good sign," Rhodey said.

"And his mom! She looked like she was one breath away from shooting me in the chest!"

"Also not a good sign."

Pepper sighed. "Well what are we supposed to do? What do you think is going on?"

"I don't know Pep," Tony said. "It's just weird… and, when I looked at his school records, Angela pulls him from school for like three days each month."

"So?"

"So, they don't go anywhere. Spider-Man also isn't seen for those three days. What would they be doing in that apartment for three days straight?"

Pepper stood and grabbed his hand. "Tony… you don't think that-"

"I don't know. If something was going on… he'd never tell me about it."

"We have to be careful here, Tones. You've never dealt with anything like this before."
"I know…" he rubbed his temples. "I think… I think I'm going to have a chat with his friends."

M.J. was largely unimpressed with Tony Stark when they first met. Ned was the complete opposite; he nearly fainted at the sight of Iron Man in the car right in front of them. Mostly she was just confused. Why would someone like Mr. Stark come to them? And why now?

She knew Peter had an internship with him, but he didn't ever talk about it. He didn't really ever talk about anything that had to do with his personal life… but that was just Peter. She got used to it.

"You're M.J." The billionaire stated as he leaned out of the tinted car window.

"Since birth." She replied, narrowing her eyes at him.

"And you're Ned," he said, pointing beside her. Ned made a noise that was similar to a mouse squeaking. He nodded vigorously.

"Yes. Yes. Yes I am Mr. Iron Man, sir. Can I just say it is a pleasure-"

M.J. elbowed him in the side, which shut him up quickly. "Why do you care?"

"I need to talk to you… alone. It's about… it's about Peter. Get in."

A guy in a suit came out of the car and led them to the other side, opening the door. M.J. couldn't help the eye roll.

"I can open it myself." The man said nothing.

She stepped in without enthusiasm, again opposing Ned's actions. Once they were situated and the door slammed shut, she turned to Mr. Stark.

"Alright, we're alone. What do you want?" She tried to play it cool, but M.J. was really worried. What if Peter was hurt or… worse.

"How much do you know about… Peter's home." That is not what she was expecting to hear.

"I only know what he tells us… which is pretty much nothing. Ned?" They all looked at him. He shrugged.

"I know that when his mom passed away a while ago, his dad was really screwed up. He remarried a year later, and then died in a break-in about 6 months after the wedding. Peter was 9 when he died. They had to move, and now… it's just him and his step-mom Angela."

"What do you know about her?"

"She works as a receptionist at some big tech company downtown. I don't think he ever told me what it was called."

M.J. knew most of this too, but she didn't want to be the one to say it. It didn't feel like her place to tell. She stayed quiet, eyes trained on Tony.

"Is there anything else about her? Have you ever met her?"

"She came to one of our meets once," M.J. said. "But she left after like five minutes."

"Why do you want to know about Angela?" Ned leaned onto his knees to see Tony better. M.J. had an idea why Mr. Stark would have these questions, but she doubted Ned had noticed. He was clueless.

Tony sighed. "Never mind, forget about it. You guys can leave."

"Ned," she said. "I'll catch up in just a sec. You go find Peter; he'll wonder where we are." He nodded happily and left.

"Mr. Stark. There's something about him… that you should know."

Tony tilted his head to listen.

"A couple years ago, he would always come to school with black eyes and bruises and stuff. Once his arm was even broken. He said he was just really clumsy, but I didn't believe him. The last year or so it hasn't really happened. But he also started wearing long sleeves…"

She twirled her curly hair around a slender finger. "I'm worried about him. Peter's my best friend, and I hate to think about him getting hurt. But if you ever tell him that I swear I'll-"

"Easy there, I won't. You can tell him yourself. But thanks… for the input."

She glared at him. "You better tell me if anything is going on."

He raised a hand and saluted her. "Yes ma'am."

M.J. snatched her backpack from the floor and left, shooting him another scowl over her shoulder. Tony liked her.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed! The chapters will not usually be this long, but I'll try to write as much as I can. Leave any comments/suggestions in the reviews!

See you next time!

-katilange =)