You're Killing Me Smalls

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel characters

A/N: Okay, so this is a departure from what I regularly write, at least in terms of fandom, but I'm a huge iron man and spider-man fan, so after I saw the movie and read a few fanfics I just HAD to write this. As soon as I saw the movie, this idea popped into my head. I was hesitant, but after reading some fanfics looking into the Tony/Peter relationship, I decided to give it a shot! So, sorry to those of you waiting for another twilight story.

WARNING: This will contain disciplinary spanking at some point. It is not the main point of the story, but it will happen. I'll put up another warning on the actual chapter it occurs. If this bothers you, then don't bother reading or reviewing

Chapter 1: Perspective

Peter's POV:

"Hey Karen, what can you tell me about the Russian revolution, the Bolsheviks, and Lenin? I'm supposed to be writing a paper comparing how it influenced the book, Animal Farm," I questioned as I glared at the blank computer screen in front of me. I was wearing my mask, hoping she could lend me a hand with my homework. With the amount of time I spent doing my extracurricular activities, my grades were suffering, and my aunt was having none of it.

She knew about me being spiderman, and after many hours of tears and arguing back and forth she had accepted who I was and what I did. She was definitely afraid for me, but I could also see pride, which caused me to smile. Things were definitely easier now that she knew. I didn't have to hide anything from her…well, at least I didn't have to hide that I was a super hero. I did downplay the amount of danger I put myself in sometimes, but only because I knew she'd freak out even more. She wasn't happy about what I was doing, but she understood my intentions and knew me well enough to know that I wasn't going to stop.

After the events with the Vulture, Mr. Stark—I mean, Tony had given me back my suit and reinstated my "internship". Aunt May knew he was looking out for me, but she was also pissed at him, thinking he had dragged me into this superhero business. I suppressed a laugh as I recalled the tongue lashing she had given him after she'd found out my secret. She had called Tony, demanding that he come to our apartment this instant. I'd been mortified, but he had dutifully come and taken all my aunt's hostility with good grace. I'd been afraid he'd get mad or defensive, but he'd reacted with compassion and understanding, even apologizing for having dragged me to Germany before assuring her that he'd do his best to keep me safe. Who knew he could be so diplomatic? To my annoyance he also informed her that I'd agreed to being only a "friendly neighborhood spiderman", meaning I wouldn't be taking on any more monsters like the Vulture. I'd hoped he had only said that to pacify my aunt, but the look he'd given me and the brief conversation we'd had afterwards assured me that he was very serious. It was robbers, bike thieves, and lost cats for me.

I had thought the conversation would end there, but nooooo, Aunt May had gone crazy and not asked, but demanded that the Tony Stark come to dinner at our place at least once a week so she could get to know the man who was mentoring her "young, impressionable nephew". I knew Tony had to be laughing uncontrollably in his head, but all he showed outwardly was a mild smirk in my direction, mirth clear in his eyes. Whatever day Tony chose for dinner was a day I wouldn't be allowed to go out as spiderman because this would also be a day to catch up on homework. My grades were crap, and my aunt was going to make sure I passed my classes or there would be no more "playing hero". Playing hero, Aunt May? Really?

I'd tried to get her to change her mind about having Tony over every week. I mean, the guy was an Avenger, so he was busy, not to mention what the neighbors would think! May waved away my concerns, saying the neighbors didn't care about or notice anything out of their own lives (which was sadly true), and that if I wanted to continue to be Spiderman, then Iron Man had better be willing to come over and "hang out". Ugh. How embarrassing. But he'd agreed, and I still couldn't believe it. I thought he'd come once or twice before convincing my aunt that he didn't need to do this, or that he was too busy. That hadn't happened, though, and when I'd told him with a good amount of embarrassment that he didn't have to continue coming over because Aunt May said he had to, he just rolled his eyes before simply remarking, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be. Why? You getting tired of me?" I'd rapidly shaken my head negatively, marveling at the fact that he actually wanted to be here. He wasn't lying to me was he? But no. If he really didn't want to be here, then I knew no matter what Aunt May said, he wouldn't come.

"Using Karen to cheat, little spider?" a voice spoke from my doorway pulling me from my musings, and I jumped, giving Tony a mild glare before sputtering out, "N-No, of course not! I was just—she was just"…I trailed off, ripping the mask off my face.

He just smirked, raising a disbelieving eyebrow at my stuttering before shrugging and plopping himself onto my new, ultra-soft bed. "Yeah, this bed is so much better than your old one," he sighed. "Have I told you that already?"

I rolled my eyes as I replied, "Yeah, like a million times already." He just hummed in response. It'd been weeks already since he'd gotten me this new mattress. He claimed it was so that he could be comfortable when he was over, but I kinda felt that that was just an excuse to get me something. He was weird like that, and well, yeah, I maybe felt a little, no, alot touched by his actions. It was like he cared about me, which was cool cuz he didn't have to.

"So, what's the reason this time?" I asked him with a knowing grin.

He piled my two pillows on top of one another and lay himself down fully before answering, "Your saucy aunt sent me in here to make sure you're doing your homework, so you should get on that. Honestly, I think she just wanted me out of her hair until dinners ready." He gave me a cheeky grin at this, and I laughed. For a guy who'd scoffed at my homework excuse when he wanted me to go to Germany, my aunt had turned him over to the darkside by getting him to get on me as well about my grades. It was funny and annoying at the same time.

"I take it Peppers not here then?" I asked. Aunt May always preferred it when Pepper came along because she was able to control the billionaire's mouth and actions and well, pretty much everything about him. The few times she didn't manage to make it (and even a few times when she did), Tony always seemed to find himself directed (banished) to my room for one reason or another. I'd been embarrassed and shy at first having him here in my dinky little room, but as the weeks went by I'd found myself relaxing. I wasn't nervously twirling in my chair talking a mile a minute about anything, and he wasn't awkwardly standing there with his hands in his pockets just staring at me or my messy room in amusement.

I liked it. No, I loved it. Being spiderman was the coolest thing in the world, but days like this where Tony and I just hung out like-like we were, or he was…well, I loved these days. We didn't always talk much, sometimes I'd just work on my homework and he'd play with his phone or tablet, the only interruptions being me when I mustered up enough courage to ask for some help ("I wondered when you'd get around to asking me. You've been fidgeting and throwing me these weird looks for hours," he exaggerated). Other days he'd talk away, telling me about stuff he was working on, or I'd regale him with my awesome tales of stopping some bank robbers or even about school stuff. Somehow over this time Mr. Stark, the almighty Iron Man had become just Tony, and the times where I felt intimidated and overwhelmed by his mere presence were fewer and farther between.

There were topics that were avoided, though. I learned from day one not to bring up anything to do with the accords or the missing Avengers. He shut me down, plainly stating that he didn't want to talk about it, like ever. I was somewhat surprised, and a little hurt seeing as he'd dragged me into the mess in Germany, but after pressing a little, the snapped, "Drop it!" and the cold, haunted look in his eyes quickly told me to let this go. I didn't want to piss him off. Like he had his secrets, I had mine. I didn't tell him about my nightmares when I accidentally mentioned how tired I was and he asked why, and I didn't mention the bullying I endured at school when he noticed my broken phone, courtesy of Flash Thompson. It had been too easy to just chalk up the broken device to a spiderman thing, so he hadn't pressed. Instead he'd just given me a new, more durable phone, insisting that it'd be able to handle my web slinging activities better than any phone I'd find on the market. He was right, of course, as it had survived "accidentally" being run over by Flash.

"Nah," she's got business meetings to go to, he replied, "boring stuff, y'know. I'm so glad I'm not in charge of the company anymore," he mumbled before looking away from his phone to me. "So, you need any help with that stuff? I figured we could skip the whole awkward you looking between me and your homework before asking for my help thing." I felt my cheeks mildly heat up, so I turned away and pulled my mask on before resuming my homework.

"No thanks, Tony. Karen is better help than you," I teased, grinning when I heard him sputter in outrage.

"Did you forget who made Karen for you, kid?" he retorted. "Me, that's right, me, the genius."

"So, does that mean you want to sit with me and help me write this essay for English?" I shot back, and he opened his mouth before waving a dismissive hand. "No, I think Karen has your back." I snorted, shaking my head.

Silence descended upon us as I blocked out Tony's silent murmurings in order to converse with Karen. I needed to get this paper done tonight as it was due two days from today. Everything I got done today meant the more free time I'd have tomorrow.

I worked diligently for an hour, blowing through the paper with ease because of Karen. I next moved onto math, which I decided not to use Karen for help. Help from Karen for a paper was one thing, but I kind of felt that using her for help with solving some math problems was a bit of a cheat. I worked through a few problems before I found myself stuck. Sighing, I glanced back towards my mentor to find him actually sleeping. I blinked in surprise. His phone lay on his chest, one arm hanging off my bed while the other was above his head. He'd never fallen asleep before. Huh.

I shook my head, giving myself a mental smack. He was a human, after all, and humans slept. As I looked closer, I frowned noting the dark circles under his eyes. He looked pretty tired, and I suddenly felt guilty that he was wasting his time with me. He shouldn't have to be coming here every week because my aunt was overprotective. I mean, he was Iron Man. I'm sure he had more important things to do than hang out with a loser high school kid like me.

I decided to leave him be, and I turned back to my never-ending homework. Aunt May checked in on me at this point and stared at the billionaire with a surprised look. I noticed the way her expression softened, and now I was the one to be surprise. I knew she wasn't the biggest fan of Tony, and that she really only put up with him because of what he was doing for me. She also seemed to get along real well with Pepper, which was a plus. Pepper was a really nice, smart, and funny woman though, while Tony could be a bit, uh, abrasive. I think he was growing on her, though, if her expression was anything to go by.

"Dinner will be ready in 10 minutes, so you might want to get him up," she suggested.

"Are you sure we should wake him?" I questioned. "I mean, it looks like he could use the sleep."

May gave a half nod before saying, "He could also use the meal. Pepper has told me that he's not the best at taking care of himself."

"She said that?" I asked in surprise, feeling embarrassed on Tony's behalf.

"Yes, so make sure he gets up or I may just get to urge to pour a bucket of ice water on him," she remarked with a devious look in her eyes. I gave her a wide eyed look before snickering at the mental image of that. I was half tempted to let her do that, but one more glance at the older man's weary expression and I pushed it from my mind. I also didn't want to imagine how'd he react if I did that. Probably blast me with the gauntlet he had hidden in his watch, which would ruin my room, piss off my aunt, and no doubt freak out my clueless neighbors. Yeah, I so didn't need that.

I was just approaching the man when he suddenly flinched, jerking awake with a loud gasp. Did he just have a nightmare? I marveled at the mere idea that Iron Man would have nightmares. I mean, I sure did, but that was me. He groaned, rubbing a hand over his face and through his tousled hair before gracing me with a suspicious look. "Jesus kid, were you just standing there watching me sleep? That's a bit creepy."

"What?" I responded, my cheeks heating up as I shook my head and took a step back. "No, no, no, no! No way, I swear I wasn't! It's just that Aunt May said dinner was going to be ready in 10 minutes and that if I didn't wake you up she was going to wake you up with a bucket of ice water," I explained rapidly, nervously shifting from one foot to the next.

"She said that?" he responded with wide eyes before letting out a laugh.

"Wow, Pete, your aunts a wild one. Guess she just wanted to see me with a wet shirt," he commented with a cocky grin. I flushed, mortified by what I was hearing.

"Jeez, Tony, that's my aunt you're talking about!" I nearly screamed.

"Sure is, a very smoking-hot aunt," he replied with the same grin, smoothly getting up, straightening his clothes and making his way out of my room. I followed, face still red as I gave the back of his head a disgruntled look. I knew he wasn't really after his aunt, but damn, did he really have to act like such a flirt. I swear he did it just to get a rise out of me.

Dinner thankfully went quickly and uneventfully, Tony somehow managing to make no move to flirt with my aunt. It could've been the evil eye I was throwing him, but I was probably giving myself more credit than I deserved. I barely repressed laughter, though as my aunt kept shoveling food onto his plate. Tony's appalled look at the sheer amount of food on his plate was priceless. He didn't manage to eat even half of it, so May packed his leftovers along with all our leftovers into Tupperware for him to take. Tony just shook his head bemusedly, knowing better by now than to argue with May, before giving us both a wry grin. I followed him down to his car, feeling the need to apologize for my aunt's craziness. He waved it away, saying, "Don't worry about it, kid."

He dropped the leftovers into his passenger seat before starting to head towards the driver's side. Before stepping out onto the street, though, he suddenly stopped and walked back towards me. He seemed suddenly uncomfortable, and his hands were stuck in his pockets. I became nervous, wondering what it was he wanted to say. Was he really upset by my aunt? Was he tired of doing these weekly dinner things? Did I do something wrong?

"Peter, I swear to god, stop whatever it is you're thinking because you're no doubt wrong," he stated, giving me an odd look. He then took in a deep breath before giving me a serious look. "Look, I just wanted to say that, uh—well—damn, I suck at this. Stupid dad," he murmured, more to himself than me. He ran a hand through his hair, looking anywhere but at me. I was confused now, wondering what could be making him nervous. I mean, he was the epitome of confidence all the time, so what the heck?

"Good job lately," he finally got out, giving me a small, hesitant smile. "Happy, Karen, and not to mention you have been keeping me up to date on what you've been up to, and uh, good job," he repeated, giving me a squeeze of the shoulder. I stared at him in shock, a warm feeling swelling up in me. "You've been playing it safe, helping the little people, and-and I uh, I'm proud of you," he finished quietly, a small, embarrassed smile adorning his face.

"Uh, I'm, uh, thanks," I stammered, internally wincing at the sudden high pitch of my voice. Tony let out a short laugh, nodded his head and then hopped into his car. "Keep it up, hero," he stated with his trademark cocky grin before speeding off.

Wow, I couldn't help but think as a huge grin adorned my face. Wow, wow, wow, wow! Tony Stark was proud of me! Me! Peter Parker! He thought I was doing a good job, and he had called me a hero! I felt giddy as I skipped up the stairs to my apartment, feeling the intense urge to go out tonight. He was proud of me, and I wasn't going to let him down! I was going to be a superhero just like him! I disregarded the scolding he'd given me ages ago, and how he wanted me to be better than him. There was no way I could be better than him.

Tony's POV:

I was down in my lab fixing the leg of my Iron Man suit when Pepper strolled on in.

"You're still up?" she asked, and I looked up at her distractedly.

"What're you doing back so early?" I asked back, and she raised an eyebrow before saying, "Friday, tell me the time, please."

"It is 6:54 AM, Ms. Potts," my AI announced, and I frowned minutely, not having realized the time had gone by. I had intended to actually go to sleep today, but I guess I just got carried away like usual. Giving the love of my life a grin I remarked, "How do you know I haven't been sleeping and just decided to get up early?"

She responded with a knowing look while allowing me to pull her into my arms. "If you had, you wouldn't still be wearing the same clothes as yesterday, you wouldn't smell so bad, and you'd actually look rested."

"Huh, that's true," I quipped back, pecking her on the lips. "I'm glad you're back."

"Me too," she replied, giving me the loving look that even now made me go weak at the knees. I wasn't sure if she knew it, but Pepper had a way of making me feel like a love-struck teenager. Every time I looked at her it was like my heart rate would speed up, and my focus would zero in on only her. My thoughts would be about her, and all I wanted to do was—

"No, you can stop that train of thought right now," she declared, gently pushing me away before leaning back against one of the tables. I couldn't help but pout as she gave me an innocent look.

"How's Peter doing?" she asked, and I tore my eyes away from her extraordinarily beautiful, long legs to answer the question.

"Huh? The kid? Yeah, he's good, as usual," I informed her, moving over to stand next to her. "Didn't really talk much today, but I kind of fell asleep, so…," I trailed off with a mild shrug.

"And this is what happens when you don't sleep, Tony," she chided with some exasperation. "I hope you're not encouraging Peter to stay up at all hours of the night. He's a boy, a teenage boy, which means he needs his sleep to stay healthy."

"Come on Pep, you know I wouldn't do that," I argued, giving her a frown. "I tell the kid to make sure he sleeps and stuff like that."

"And stuff like that," she repeated, shaking her head in amusement. "You need to set a good example for him, Tony. You know he looks up to you, right? You have to have been able to tell by now."

"Yeah, I guess," I murmured, ruffling my hair with a grease covered hand. "I mean, I know he does, but, jeez, he really should pick a better role model than me," I declared, giving a nervous laugh. "You know me better than anybody, Pepper. I'm not meant to be anybody's role model or mentor or whatever. Peters a good kid. He doesn't need me to help him be that."

"Tony," she sighed sadly as she placed herself in front of me rather than at my side. "You're right that I know you better than you do yourself, and because I do," she explained, "I know that you're a good person. I know that Peter is lucky to have someone like you around. And, yes, he does need someone to mentor him. He's a child, and like all children he's going to make mistakes. You already know that, and I know you'd never lead him astray."

"I already did," I felt the need to admit, guilt forming in the pit of my stomach. "I dragged him into this stupid super hero mess. I brought the kid to Germany, I've given him a suit, and I've just enabled him to go out there and put himself in danger every day. I offered him the position with the Avengers because I figured he was capable, but moreso that I'd also be able to keep a closer eye on him. I'm happy, I guess, maybe even proud that he turned me down. I'm glad he's decided to focus on regular bad guys rather than enhanced or super powered aliens, gods, and crazy billionaires like me." I looked down towards the floor, ashamed of these thoughts and actions. I'd dragged a fifteen-year-old kid into a mess he never should've been aware of. Because of me he'd felt he could take on a man like the Vulture, and he'd nearly died.

Pepper wrapped her arms around the back of my neck and leaned in close as she vehemently informed me, "Peter is lucky to have you and don't you dare forget that! He was Spiderman before you met him, and now with you he's more protected and safer than ever. He's got you to help him where before he had no one, not even his aunt. You've been there for him when he's made mistakes, even giving him a bit of tough love when you thought he needed it," she remarked, giving me a raised eyebrow. I shook my head in amusement, all the while thinking my tough love didn't do anything but put him in more danger. Taking the suit had been a stupid plan. Not that I admitted that to the kid, of course. "You are the best thing that could've happened to him, and I know Peter feels the same," Pepper finished, placing her hands on either side of my face.

I listened, finding it difficult to believe her, but doing it all the same. Letting out a soft laugh, I looked her in the eyes as I asked, "And how do you know he feels the same way? Has he actually told you that?"

She snorted now, shaking her head before answering, "I don't need him to tell me anything, I just need to look at him. I just watch the way he is with you and the way he talks about you. Tell me you haven't noticed the way his face lights up when he sees you? It's really adorable," she commented with a wide smile.

I rolled my eyes at the adorable remark, knowing the kid probably wouldn't appreciate it. "I guess I have noticed," I then responded. It was true. I had noticed the way the kid would grin widely when he saw me, his eyes lighting up. It was so weird to be looked at that way. It was so weird that he'd be so happy to see me. What was even weirder was that I was always just as happy to see him. I didn't know why, but hanging around Peter was just so easy and carefree. I didn't have to pretend around him or be on the defensive so much. I loved being with Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy, but with Peter it was different. Maybe it was his age and that he was just so damn good and innocent. It was refreshing to be around someone like that. It was nice to be around someone who wanted me, because let's face it, I could count on one hand the number of people who felt the same way as him.

I internally flinched at the reminder, hurt welling up inside me as memories of the Avengers, or who we used to be flooding through me. Another family come and gone because of my mistakes.

"Come on, let's take a shower and then get some sleep," Pepper stated, taking my hand and leading me out of the lab. "I'm exhausted and I know you are too, so come on, Iron man." I smiled widely at her, pushing away my dark thoughts as I allowed her lead me away.

A/N: I've never written anything for this fandom, so I'm nervous about your reviews. I tried to nail their personalities as best I could, but since I know it's not perfect I still hope you've enjoyed this first chapter