Cuddly Spider
The sun hung low over Manhattan, casting the city in a wash of soft amber. It was late afternoon, the city’s noise dulled to a gentle hum from the top of a weathered rooftop. Here, crouched like a gargoyle in his oversized hoodie, Peter Parker sat, just a shadowy figure blending in with the concrete. Beneath his hoodie, his usual cartoon spider T-shirt made him smile a little, a tiny in-joke only he and a few select people would understand.
From this height, the city looked small. People bustled on the streets below, each of them wrapped up in their own world. Peter watched with a sort of detached curiosity, a feeling he often experienced when he pulled himself out of the usual chaos of being both a high school student and Spider-Man. It was peaceful up here, even for a so-called “cryptid.”
A faint hum of repulsors broke through the evening quiet, growing louder until a figure descended onto the rooftop nearby. Tony Stark—Iron Man, tech mogul, and Peter’s self-proclaimed mentor (and, maybe, guardian)—touched down lightly. His suit was sleek and minimalist today, which somehow made Tony seem almost normal, like he was just any guy stepping out of a car.
Tony raised his faceplate, and his expression immediately shifted from his usual casual smirk to something more…awkward. “Hey, uh…kid,” he greeted, sounding just a little unsure. “What’s, um, what’s up? Just hanging out, or are you planning to scare off a bunch of pigeons again?”
Peter felt a grin tugging at his lips. He couldn’t remember a time when Tony had ever sounded so unguarded. “Maybe. Or just enjoying the view. You know, typical cryptid stuff,” Peter shrugged, trying to match Tony’s nonchalance.
“Right. Cryptid stuff.” Tony nodded, the picture of a man who was trying too hard to be casual. He rubbed the back of his neck, something Peter had seen him do exactly once before: the first day he’d taken Peter around the labs at Stark Industries. Tony had walked through the rooms with his usual swagger, only to stumble through explaining anything that didn’t involve words like “exothermic” or “vector analysis.”
Peter let Tony stew in his awkwardness for a moment longer, but he couldn’t resist poking fun. “You know, I don’t usually see Iron Man just…hovering over rooftops to chat. Something on your mind?”
Tony made a show of looking at the Manhattan skyline. “Oh, you know. Just, uh, thought we could spend some time. Out in the fresh air. With…all this nice pollution.”
Peter chuckled, hiding it behind his sleeve. He wasn’t sure if Tony knew how much his awkwardness was showing, but Peter found it endearing. Here was the guy who could save a city with his bare hands, and yet he looked completely out of his element just standing beside Peter on a rooftop.
“Fresh air, huh?” Peter replied, nodding seriously. “You sure it doesn’t have anything to do with me accidentally setting off the lab’s security alarm last week?”
Tony’s brows shot up. “Wait, that was you?”
“Oops?” Peter offered with an innocent shrug.
For a split second, Tony looked almost exasperated, but then he broke into a laugh, shaking his head. “You really are a little troublemaker, aren’t you?”
“Wouldn’t be any fun if I weren’t,” Peter replied, a grin spreading across his face.
Tony chuckled again, looking more at ease as he pointed back toward the city. “Actually, I was, uh, thinking we could go do something. Like a field trip.”
Peter’s curiosity piqued. “Field trip? Where to?”
Tony’s smirk was back, though there was an undeniable hint of that awkward uncertainty lingering in his eyes. “Just the lab at Stark Industries. Got a little something I’ve been working on that might interest you.”
Peter’s eyes lit up, and for a second, he couldn’t contain his excitement. “You made me a new gadget?!”
“Well, not exactly.” Tony looked away, scratching his neck. “More like…a little robotic…spider. Thought you might find it interesting.”
“Are you serious?” Peter practically vibrated with excitement. “You mean like a robotic spider that can actually, like, do spider stuff?”
Tony shifted from one foot to the other, clearly trying to downplay the whole thing. “Something like that. Just thought you might want a buddy who gets the whole ‘eight legs and danger sense’ thing. You know, in a strictly scientific, professional, guardian-kind-of way.”
Peter grinned, half from excitement and half from watching Tony Stark—the Tony Stark—fumble over his own words. “Let’s go!”
The lab at Stark Industries was buzzing when they arrived. Tony led Peter through a series of halls, giving brief, awkward nods to various employees as they passed. Peter could tell that he was trying to play it cool, though the occasional sideways glances told Peter Tony was paying attention to his reaction.
They entered a smaller lab, and Tony walked over to a cluttered workbench covered in tools, gadgets, and wires. He cleared his throat. “Alright, prepare yourself for the coolest spider you’ve ever seen,” he said, pulling a cover off a metallic spider perched on the table.
Peter stared in awe. The spider was sleek, with metallic legs that gleamed under the fluorescent lights, and tiny, intricate joints that looked as if they could handle every kind of movement a real spider could. “Whoa…that’s amazing.”
Tony shrugged, clearly pleased with Peter’s reaction but trying not to show it. “Yeah, well, I thought it’d be, you know, a good…project. I mean, you spend so much time web-slinging that I figured…why not have a buddy? An AI spider who can, uh, keep up with you.”
Peter picked up the spider, watching as it responded to his touch, its legs flexing with lifelike precision. “It’s perfect,” he said, genuinely touched.
Tony shifted uncomfortably, crossing his arms. “It’s not, like, a big deal or anything. Just figured you could use a little—”
“Thank you,” Peter interrupted, giving Tony a look of genuine gratitude.
Tony cleared his throat, seeming caught off guard. “Yeah, no problem, kid. It’s just tech. You know, spare parts.”
They spent the next few hours testing out the AI spider. Tony tried his best to explain each feature, only to stumble every time Peter looked up at him with wide-eyed admiration. Peter knew Tony was a genius, but it was in these moments—watching him ramble about things he was passionate about, even while trying to sound nonchalant—that Peter felt most in awe of him.
They laughed together, especially when the spider, in a fit of over-enthusiastic programming, started to follow Tony around like a lost puppy. Tony tried to shoo it away, grumbling about “unintentional clinginess,” but Peter could tell he secretly enjoyed it.
“Hey, Dad?” Peter said, the words slipping out before he could stop them.
Tony froze, his usual confidence evaporating. He cleared his throat, looking anywhere but at Peter. “You, uh…you said something?”
Peter shifted, suddenly unsure of himself. “I, um…I meant Tony.”
There was a beat of silence, and then Tony shrugged, avoiding eye contact as he fiddled with the edge of a blueprint. “No, no, I mean…‘Dad’ is…you know, not bad.”
Peter’s heart swelled a little, but he quickly masked it with a casual shrug. “Cool.”
They went back to tinkering, Tony noticeably more flustered than before. But there was an unspoken warmth between them now, something that made the quiet moments feel a little fuller. Suddenly, it looks like he's going to win the bet, and he can't be any more than happier.
As the evening wore on, Tony finally admitted, “You know, I never thought I’d…do this. Be…responsible. Or whatever. But here we are, right?”
“Yeah,” Peter replied softly, feeling a deep sense of contentment. “Here we are.”
When they finished, Peter lingered a bit, reluctant to leave. He felt at home here, in this strange world of tech and awkwardness and Tony’s odd, quiet attempts at affection.
“Alright, kid, don’t get sappy on me,” Tony teased, although his voice was unusually gentle. “Go home. Eat some real food. And don’t go scaring any pigeons on your way out.”
Peter gave Tony a quick salute, unable to hide his grin. “You got it, Dad.”
Tony chuckled, shaking his head, and watched as Peter darted out of the lab, leaving him alone with the little AI spider, who now seemed to be sizing him up with unblinking metal eyes.
“Alright, don’t get any ideas,” Tony muttered at the spider, but he was smiling as he said it. He really is a lucky man.