‘ Don’t forget! The Career Fair is on Wednesday! ‘
And how could he forget they’d had those posters up all over every square inch of school precisely one week ago? The front office ladies must have had a field day in the printing room because they only used those bright neon printer papers for these posters. It was really godawful for his eyes; there were almost too many bright colors in one space.
But today was finally the Wednesday in question, meaning those god-awful posters would be gone tomorrow. Plus, he really had been looking forward to the College Fair despite his reactions to the posters. Last year, when he was a freshman, he didn’t get to participate because the freshman never participated in the College Fair. Instead, the school sends them on a class trip to a nearby museum and theatre for the whole day.
The junior and senior classes are the ones that actually get to go to the College Fair. Still, the sophomores got the representatives to actually come to their classrooms and give presentations throughout the day. Peter was really hoping that the MIT representative would line up with his classes that day because he really was looking forward to hearing, from a college student, no less, what it was like actually to go there. Tony told him all about his days at MIT, and he always makes it sound so freaking cool, but hearing from someone in his generation was reaffirming that this was, in fact, his dream school.
So far, the NYU student representative and the Brown representative had come into his first two classes that day to give their little spiels. While Peter listened to them talk, he felt no connection to the school. No desire to go anywhere other than MIT so far. Of course, he still had plenty of time to change his mind between now and then.
“Peter, do you think Mr. Stark is going to pull strings for you to get into whatever school you want?” Ned’s question snapped Peter from his own thoughts quickly, laughing off the absurdity of the question. Like how on earth could he ever think that Tony would do that for him… of course he wouldn’t, right?
And it just wouldn’t have been a typical day in life if Flash hadn’t happened to hear into a conversation that Peter really wished he hadn’t.
“When are you losers going to give that ridiculous lie up? I mean, c’mon, Peter, we all know that Tony Stark would never waste his time with someone like you.” The disdain for Peter was all but dripping off his tone. Peter didn’t care, though — tried not to care as he wiped it off and squared his shoulders. He didn’t care if Flash believed him or if anyone believed him. He knew the truth. So did his friends.
But, of course, Ned the Noble was sticking his neck out for his best friend — something he did that, sometimes, Peter wished he would stop.
“No, Flash! Peter really does work at the tower; he even works with Tony Stark sometimes!” Ned shot back in Peter’s defense. And really, he understood why his best friend said it; really, he did. And Peter appreciated it too… it just was certainly not helping in this situation at all.
“Is anyone here forgetting Peter is literally first in our class? He doesn’t need help from anyone to get into school,” everyone stared for a beat, “I mean, just like logistically.” MJ glared as she finished off her thoughts to Flash, and Peter shot her a soft smile for the help. Before Flash could say anything in response, another representative was knocking on the classroom door before pushing it open and walking into the space.
Wait — he’d know those red curls anywhere. The same rambling head intern over at Stark Industries. He’d met her two weeks ago when Mr. Stark had something come up and had to miss their lab hours. Since then, he has pretty much seen her every day he is at the tower. It was sweet that she called him Mini Stark, and while it had undoubtedly embarrassed him in front of Regular Stark, he hadn’t minded the nickname all that much.
He didn’t really know why he tried slinking back into his chair, trying to hide from her view. Really, his efforts were fruitless; he was only the second row back, and Gregory Mayhew was nowhere near tall enough to hide Peter’s body from the girl.
Cue Parker Luck.
“Oh My Gods! Peter, I didn’t realize you went here! I can’t wait to tell everyone back in the lab I got to see you in your territory today!” Birdie squealed in delight, grinning toothy and wide at him. All sets of eyes in his class right now were glued on him curiously.
“Y-Yeah, hah,” he gulped, “I bet Nate and Vinnie will get a good kick out of that.” Peter joked back timidly. He didn’t want to appear standoffish to the girl. He wasn’t saying anything that would really hurt him in the long run. No. Instead, he was only having a conversation that would totally solidify the truth: that he was an intern at Stark Industries.
“How do you know Penis Parker?” Flash questioned loudly, causing the class to erupt into giggles while the teacher called his name out in low warning. Peter just felt his cheeks grow hot and tried to slink further into his chair. Except then he looked at Birdie, who was frowning softly before looking for … for him.
When her green eyes settled on him, the question that hung unspoken between them had him shaking his head. He didn’t need her saying anything. No, this was fine. This was normal. And He hoped that he’d been able to relay that to her fully. The last thing she needed to do was bother with this.
“Peter is an intern at Stark Industries with me. We work together sometimes on projects.” And that had Flash promptly shutting her mouth, arms folding across his chest. Birdie looked lost for a moment before laughing and muttering something incoherent under her breath.
“Okay, moving on! I’m Birdie Antoine. I’m the head intern at Stark Industries and a Senior at MIT, double majoring in robotics and chemical engineering. I’m here to talk to you guys all about what it’s like to be a student at MIT.” She started into her obviously prepracticed speech. Peter wasn’t brought back up again, and, really, no one even really glanced back at Peter. It was like it was all forgotten, thank god. Maybe his Parker Luck was looking up.
He should have known he thought too soon.
Halfway out the door, she stopped for a moment, poking her head back in to look at Peter. “Hey, see if your boss can let you come down to the labs for a bit today. I wanna show you this little robot we’ve been working on.”
Peter smiles, aware of the feeling of his classmates staring at him once again. “Yeah, I’ll see if I can talk him into it, Birdie!”
“She grinned in response, waving to him with a wink. “See ya later, Mini Stark!”
As soon as she was out of the classroom, Flash’s grating voice was scraping through the air once again. “Did you really tell that poor girl a sob story to get her to lie for you?”
And really, like truly and really, had Flash managed to jump to that conclusion?
Opting not to say anything at all, Peter shook his head and slumped back into his chair. Flash could, and would, hurl insults at him all day, but it wouldn’t change that he was wrong and Peter was right. And if it meant that Flash wasn’t bother other kids, kids who couldn’t handle it, Peter would take it.
For the first time in a while, a teacher was finally listening. Maybe it was a guardian angel moment, but Mr. Patterson was actually telling Flash to settle down and be quiet so he could start his lesson. That kept him quiet during the third period, and Peter only had two more classes, and one was at the end of the day. So, at least he’d get a little reprieve. Plus, today was a lab day! He wasn’t going to let Flash Thompson ruin his day for him.
Until he put quite a big damper on it all throughout the last period, the kid and his friends shot spitballs at the back of Peter’s head all throughout English class. By the time the final bell was ringing, Peter was all but sprinting for the door, only slowing his place once the familiar SUV was in sight. He didn’t want Happy prying into why he was speeding out of school.
Swinging the door open and tossing his bag in before sliding his own body across the leather bench seat, Peter did not expect to slam right into something firm.
Eyes widening, lips sputtering for the words that were right on the tip of his tongue. “I - I - Woah, S-Sorry, Mr. - uh, Iron Stark. No, I mean Mr. Stark, sir. I didn’t see you there. I didn’t mean to throw my backpack at you. Wait … wait, wait, wait! Am I in trouble or something?” Peter started to worry, assessing the situation he was in. Tony never came to pick him up. Plus, Happy was still driving, so what was up?
Tony’s hand found its way onto his shoulder, calloused fingers giving him a tight squeeze. “Pete, take a breath. You’re not in trouble,” He paused. “Well, unless you did something I’m not aware of — and if that’s the case, you better ‘fess up now.” Peter tried not to laugh or smile at the range of emotions he’d seen his mentor take on in less than thirty seconds.
“No, sir. The .. baby monitoring protocol would have alerted you by now if I did,” Peter said disappointedly. He really hadn’t meant for all of the birdman stuff to go down with Liz’s dad. He understood why Tony had reinstalled it back and at much higher protection coding as well. Peter just really disliked feeling like a baby.
“It wouldn’t be the first time you messed with my code, kid,” Tony reminded him. Touché.
Peter offered him a small smile, raising his hands up in surrender. “I learned my lesson after the first time, I promise, sir.”
Clearly pleased with how this conversation was going, Tony grinned, staring at Peter as if he were waiting for the boy to tell him something.
“So, uh, not that I’m not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?” Peter finally spoke up.
Tony popped his shoulders up with a shrug. “I had a meeting over in the area and figured I’d just come with Happy to pick you up instead of making him go back and forth. You know, reducing my carbon footprint and all that.” Peter nodded, and Tony kept going. “So, how was school? Is everything going well in there for you? Good friends? Nice Teachers?”
And what? Peter just nodded, assuring Mr. Stark that everything was all good on his end. That last thing he wanted right now was to tell his mentor about how Flash had made his day horrible at every moment he had the opportunity to. And really, there were two outcomes for how this went: Tony would ruin Flash’s life, or Tony would realize making Peter his intern was a mistake. So, unless Tony asked, it was deny, deny, deny.
“You know you can talk to me about anything, right? Not just the science and technology things.” Tony all but blurted out, glancing up at Peter before darting his eyes away, instead focusing on the cuffs of his suit jacket.
Knitting his brows together, Peter nodded slowly, wondering if this was some test or something. “Yeah, I know, Mr. Stark.”
A silence blanketed itself around them, Tony’s eyes searching his face for a beat before looking out the window with an exasperated huff.
“Happy, head over to the Blue Ribbon Diner, please,” Tony called up to the driver, who’d been awaiting further instruction.
“W-Wait, are we not going to the lab today?” Peter asked, the disappointment quietly laced into his tone. He’d been looking forward to this all day long.
“Nope, kiddo. I had sort of a shitty day, and I needed out of that tower,” Tony shrugged, dropping such a personal sentiment almost casually. It threw Peter off for a moment, trying to make sure he’d heard the older man correctly the first time. “You cool with a hooky day from the lab? I’m starving!” So, Peter did the only thing he could and nodded.
🕸️
That’s how he found himself sitting across from Tony at the Blue Ribbon Diner, a stack of pancakes bigger than his head placed in front of him, practically drowning in sweet, sticky maple syrup. Maybe he wasn’t that disappointed about missing out on the lab work today. Getting to hang out with Mr. Stark without doing any work … was nice. It felt peaceful.
The diner was a quaint place, a throwback with its blue vinyl booths and the low hum of conversations mixing with the clinking of cutlery. They sat in a corner booth, the atmosphere buzzing with a blend of nostalgia and the smell of coffee. Tony almost looked like he didn’t belong in the homely place, his designer… well, everything, clashing.
Tony leaned back, sipping his black coffee, his eyes scanning the room before settling on Peter. He smirked, his goatee lifting slightly.
"You know, Pete, I was once your age. Hard to believe, right?" Tony's eyes gleamed with mischief.
Peter glanced up from his plate, a pile of pancakes significantly lower. "MIT days?" He asked, mouth nearly full.
Tony chuckled, swirling the remains of his coffee in the mug. "Ah, the good old MIT days. You know, genius doesn't always come with a VIP pass to the popular club."
Peter quirked an eyebrow. "You, not popular? Impossible."
Tony pointed a finger at him. "I was more of a target than a celebrity. The other kids didn't quite appreciate my charm and intellect. Surprise, surprise."
Peter grinned, "So, you were the kid with the pocket protector and thick glasses?"
"Let's not exaggerate, kid. I was a trendsetter. Anyway, my point is that being smart didn't make me the prom king. I got my fair share of shit and snarky comments."
Peter took a sip of his milkshake, trying to play it cool. "Yeah, well, high school's not exactly a cakewalk either."
Tony's eyes softened, the mischievous glint replaced with a knowing look. "Kid, I've been around the block a few times. I can spot a fellow genius miles away. You're probably dealing with your fair share of… let's call it adversity?"
Peter shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "It's nothing. Just typical high school stuff."
Tony raised an eyebrow, smirking. "You're not the only one who can detect when someone's not being honest. Spill."
Peter sighed, realizing he wasn't going to get out of this conversation unscathed. "Okay, fine. Flash and his friends don't exactly roll out the welcome mat for me."
Tony's expression hardened for a moment before softening again. "Bullies, huh?"
"Yeah, but it's not a big deal. I can handle it," Peter said, trying to downplay the situation. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle.
Tony leaned forward, a seriousness in his gaze. "Pete, if it gets bad—"
"It won't. Seriously, Mr. Stark, I've got it under control."
Tony's eyes bore into Peter's, a silent understanding passing between them. "Alright, Underoos. But remember, if you ever need backup, you've got the Iron Man on speed dial. Deal?"
Peter grinned. "Deal. But let's hope it never comes to that. I've got my own moves, you know."
Tony smirked. "Just promise me you'll use the suit responsibly. No vigilante justice."
"Scout's honor," Peter said, mimicking the salute.
Slapping a $100 dollar bill down on the table, Tony slid out of the booth, motioning towards the car. “You have your suit with you?” Peter nods, brows knitting together quizzically.
“Good. If you wanna hitch a ride back to the Tower with me instead of Happy, we can spend an hour and a half in the lab before you get home. We can work on fully stabilizing the Web Wing code in your suit.” It only took seconds for Peter to nod, smile growing on his lips. Mr. Stark wanted to be in the lab just as badly as Peter did.
It was so nice to have someone he could relate to finally.