Chapter 1
"You're laughing."
"I'm not laughing-"
"You are laughing. I'm 17 now, not blind."
When Peter rolled out of bed yesterday morning, he had expected to face a normal weekend. Homework and LEGOs with Ned, lab time with Mr. Stark, patrol, movie night with May- the works. There was even some room in his definition of normal to include the standard weirdness one encounters when you're a spider-themed crime-fighting vigilante. He was not, however, expecting this.
He was rounding up a couple of muggers when the call came in. For once it was Happy who had to force the call through to get Peter's attention, as opposed to their typical routine. That in itself was alarming enough, even without the strange contents of the call. The older man didn't provide much info on the phone, only noting that Peter was needed at the Tower posthaste.
Peter wished Happy had given a little bit more info than that, especially because he'd almost had a heart attack thinking that someone was dying. The truth was much less concerning and much more funny if a bit unbelievable. He hadn't believed Miss Potts when she explained the situation up until he actually saw Mr. Stark.
Peter had to restrain himself from making a 17 Again joke.
Because that was the unbelievable truth. Mr. Stark was 17... again.
It was strange seeing him like this. He had lost all his laugh lines and the gray in his hair (that he denied having), not to mention the fact that he was clean-shaven. The arc reactor didn't glow through the Pink Floyd shirt, because he no longer needed to wear one.
It was like someone had removed every iconic piece of Mr. Stark's appearance and applied enough makeup to remove 30 years of age. 29 years, technically. It was unnerving.
In Mr. Stark's defense, he tried to look unbothered about this change. He was wearing the clothes he typically wore around the lab, but held himself in that aloof way that he uses out in public.
Peter really did try to stifle the laughter, he knew this might be weird for Mr. Stark, but some parts of the situation had moved from weird territory straight into hysterical territory. It was almost ironic, after all those lectures about staying out of danger because Peter was still 'just a kid'.
"Sorry, sorry. It’s just..."
"Yeah, we're all aware of how weird this is, kid," Mr. Stark said, leaning back against his desk.
Miss Potts took him straight down here, where Mr. Stark had been in the middle of tinkering with an Iron Man suit. He had to wonder if Mr. Stark could even fit in the suit. Sure, he hadn't grown much in the past 29 years, but he was a lot skinnier now. Peter knew it took strength to wear and operate an Iron Man suit.
"Can you still call me kid if you're 17 now?" Peter asked with a grin. Mr. Stark gave him a pointed look.
"First of all, you're 15-"
"and 7 months."
"-which means I'm still physically 2 years older than you," Mr. Stark carried on as if Peter never interrupted. "And second of all, I'm still mentally myself. All 46 years of me." He tapped his temple.
"Right..." Peter lapsed into silence, trying to wrap his head around it all. "How did this happen?"
"Did Pepper not explain this to you? Traitorous employee, magic curse, anything?" Mr. Stark said the words 'magic curse' as if it physically hurt him. Which checks out considering how much the man hates anything categorized under 'magic', fully believing that magic is just science he hasn't figured out yet. A belief that Peter finds himself agreeing with.
"I did."
"She did, it was a hypothetical question. I guess I'm just a little surprised."
Miss Potts laughed. "You shouldn't be. It seems Tony is adept in finding new and unorthodox ways to get into trouble."
"Hey!"
"Oh, please. I'm right, and you know it."
"Of course, Miss Potts. You're always right, it's something that I both fear and love about you."
Miss Potts' face turned with disgust. "Ugh. Don't flirt with me while you look like you can't even legally drink yet."
Mr. Stark pouted.
"So, why am I here?" Peter knew he wasn't even on the top 10 list of people Tony Stark would call if he was in trouble. In fact, Mr. Stark never called him if he needed help, it was always the other way around. There were probably a bunch of other adults and heroes in Mr. Stark's life that he would trust to have his back in situations like this. So, why Peter?
Miss Potts said that this had just happened earlier today, so Peter was probably one of the first people to know, and that fact just wasn't computing.
"Well, you remember that rogue employee I mentioned?" Miss Potts asked.
"Yeah, the guy cursed Mr. Stark for not hiring him to be Head of Legal or something?"
Mr. Stark huffed, moving away from his position at his desk. He waved his hand, activating the lab's holoprojector. The security footage from the lab appeared before them, paused on a close-up of a balding, older guy. "Something like that. It was hard to understand him, the guy was half manic. He said some stuff about me being so immature as to not recognize his potential, which I resent. I am so mature." Miss Potts rolled her eyes at that. "And then he cursed me, and teleported away."
Peter raised his eyebrows. "This guy can curse people and teleport?"
"Shapeshift too, apparently," Miss Potts interjected. "We went back over the security footage and used facial recognition." A professional-looking photo of the same guy in the security footage came up on the screen. He looked sweaty. "The only issue is, the person we found works in HR, not Legal, and has a solid alibi considering they were Live on Instagram at their apartment during the time of the attack. Whoever cursed Tony doesn't want us to know who they are."
Mr. Stark swiped away the footage and photo, crossing his arms once more.
"Wait, so they want revenge, but they don't want you to know they were doing it? What kind of logic is that?"
Mr. Stark shrugged. "Who knows. They might not be in a position to lose their job, which would explain why they were so desperate for the promotion. It's completely ridiculous for him to target me, considering I have no say in who gets hired for what since I stepped down from CEO, but that's for us to figure out, not you."
Peter frowned. If they didn't call him here to help out as a superhero, then why call him at all? As much as it stung, it was pretty much his only use to Mr. Stark.
"What do you want me for then?"
Mr. Stark and Miss Potts gave each other a look and suddenly Peter became very concerned.
Mr. Stark sighed, suddenly looking a lot more like his real age.
"Thing is, kid, this creates a lot of potential security issues. This guy was able to break into my lab, the most secure place in the tower, and curse me using magic that we have no way of countering. We don't know who this guy is if he's going to reappear, or how to reverse this curse.
"To make a long story short, I can't stay here."
That still didn't answer Peter's question.
"We are working to contact Thor, who can provide some insight into this type of stuff, but we have no reliable way of sending a message to Asgard. So, until Thor decides to make a return trip, we have to make other arrangements," Miss Potts explained. "He can't stay at the Tower or Compound, and he can't stay with any known associates like Happy or Rhodey."
Peter looked at her blankly, not understanding her point.
"Or for the love of- kid, I'm asking if I can crash with you."
Peter's eyebrows shot up in shock. He stumbled over his words. "W- what?!" This is absolutely not what he was expecting Mr. Stark to have called him for.
"Yeah, sleepover. Pillow fights, braiding each other's hair, the whole deal," Mr. Stark said, sarcasm leaking through. Miss Potts shot a glare his way.
"What I mean to say is that I don't have anywhere to go, and Pep won't let me stay here for my own safety or something like that. Apparently, she's still upset over the last time a criminal got our address-"
"-After you gave it to him on live television-"
"-and I'm being kicked out. Which leaves us in our current predicament."
Miss Potts picked off there. "Peter Parker has no public or official ties to Tony Stark, and you have the bonus of superpowers, which means you're less likely to get hurt in the circumstance that anything happens."
That raised the alarm in Peter. "Wait, so something could happen? What about May?"
Miss Potts was quick to explain. "No, it's not likely anything will happen. This guy has shown no additional knowledge from what the public knows, so we have no reason to believe you'll ever be connected to all this. We're just considering things from a precautionary standpoint."
Miss Potts paused her explanation to watch Peter. There was something in her expression he couldn't quite quantify.
"Peter, I know this is a lot to ask, and I'm sorry to spring this on you. You can always say no if this isn't something you're comfortable with."
Mr. Stark cleared his throat. "Yeah, kid, this isn't something you have to do. I won't blame you if you say no."
Both of their expressions were serious, with no more room for jokes. Peter knew that they were serious about the request, and if Peter turned them down they would respect that. But he didn't think he would.
It didn't happen often, but he has crashed at the Tower once or twice. Often when lab days ran late and Mr. Stark didn't want him swinging home tired. Sometimes because Peter had gotten injured and they wanted to keep him near the med bay just in case. It certainly wasn't a weekly thing, but it has happened enough times in the past few months when Mr. Stark has set aside a room for him.
It was a bit of development, going from not even having the man's phone number to having a room in his house. Peter knows it doesn't mean as much to Mr. Stark as it does to him. All of the Avengers, even the absent Rogue ones, have their own floors, and people like Happy have their own rooms on Mr. Stark's floor. It should say something that Mr. Stark specifically gave him a room on his floor, but Peter figures it probably means he didn't feel comfortable having Peter encroach on another Avenger's space.
Regardless of all of that, Mr. Stark has been happy enough to provide Peter a place, should he need it. So who is he to not do the same? They might not have a free guest room, but he has a bunk bed and a couch. Besides, it probably won't be long. Peter's sure they'll catch this guy in no time, and then things can go back to how they were.
What's the worst that could happen?
"I'd have to ask May, but I'm sure we can work something out," he replied, scratching the back of his head.
Right... May. He's sure she would say yes. She would never turn down the opportunity to help someone out. But Peter isn't sure how long his own nerves will last in the same house as both May and Mr. Stark. Both of them worry over him far too much in the superhero department, but in the personal department... well, May has never had the most glowing opinion of Tony Stark. And Mr. Stark is well known for having somewhat of an antagonistic personality. He's sure he would never say anything to piss May off on purpose, Mr. Stark is far too scared of her to do that, but Peter knows the man can often be callous with his words.
Mr. Stark winced at Peter's words, likely reminded of May's feelings towards him.
"Thank you, Peter," Miss Potts said, relief plain in her voice. "We really appreciate you helping us out here."
Peter waved his hand. "It's no worries, Miss Potts. It's the least I could do."
She gave him a kind smile. "Right, well, we'll make sure to compensate your Aunt for any and all extra expenses that arise during Tony's stay-"
Peter was quick to interject. "You don't have to do that-"
"Non-negotiable, kid," Mr. Stark said.
Miss Potts continued on. "And once we can get everything cleared with your Aunt we can discuss the finer logistics such as school."
This caused both Peter and Mr. Stark to stare at Miss Potts in alarm. If Mr. Stark's jaw was any lower, it would be touching the ground.
"School?" Peter asked curiously.
"School!" Mr. Stark shrieked, his voice cracking.
Miss Potts smirked at the voice crack, but wisely chose not to point it out.
"Yes, school. We don't know how long it will take to find this guy. Happy is already coordinating with internal security, but we're hesitant to draw too many people in and risk letting this get out. Who knows how many of Iron Man's enemies will target him when they know he's weakened.
"In the meantime, if Tony is staying with you, then people, your neighbors, might start asking questions if he's not in school. Doctor Cho confirmed he's 17, but Tony has a bit of a baby face, and we can't just claim he's taking a gap year or people will get curious."
Mr. Stark was too busy getting angry about the school thing to take offense over the baby-faced comment.
"Now, hold on. When was this decided?" He asked, throwing his hands out wide. Miss Potts didn't seem deterred by his dramatics.
"On my phone call with Director Fury. He suggested it to help maintain your cover."
Mr. Stark huffed. "That old pirate is just trolling me, this isn't necessary-"
"Tony," Miss Potts cut him off with a firm voice. "We are going to be taking every move necessary to keep you safe while you're like this. I understand you enjoy disregarding your own personal safety, but if you do that while staying with Peter and his Aunt, you are endangering them as well."
That argument seems to shut Mr. Stark up pretty well. He wore a pout on his face like a petulant teenager (which Peter supposes he was now), but didn't say anything further about it.
"Besides, won't it be fun going to school with Peter?" She suggested. And despite the joy in her tone, Peter felt a chill go up his spine.
"I'm sorry, what?"
Midtown Tech wasn't the closest school to their apartment. In fact, Peter wasn't even zoned to go there. He applied in 8th grade because it was a school that specializes in STEM and was lucky enough to be accepted with a scholarship. Geographically, it makes more sense for Mr. Stark to attend the high school Peter was originally zoned for in Queens.
Plus, he just doesn't want the other man to come to school with him. He's sure Mr. Stark can handle the classes with ease, but Peter doesn't want him to see the rest. He knows the man will find him and his friends nerdy and annoying, and he doesn't want the shame of Mr. Stark ever meeting one of his bullies. He would literally rather jump off the Empire State Building with malfunctioning web shooters.
Mr. Stark already thinks Peter's an immature kid who shouldn't be out there fighting anyone above a petty thief, he doesn't need that opinion to sink any further.
Miss Potts waved off Peter with a simple. "Well, where else would he go other than the home of New York's best and brightest?" She was teasing him, but Peter couldn't match her lighthearted energy.
"Ha, yeah..."
"Besides, it doesn't make much sense for Tony and you to go to two different schools if you're living in the same home. It wouldn't be very subtle."
Peter grimaced at that, letting a little bit of Spider-Man's snark through. "Yeah, subtlety. Because that's what Mr. Stark is known for."
"Check the sass, kid."
Peter changes his mind about what he thought before. This was expected, and it was normal. Because of course, the universe would find a way to make his life just a little bit suckier. That's just his luck.
______
After some deliberation, they decided to just share the bunk beds. If this went on any longer than a couple of days it would be miserable for whoever got stuck on the couch. Besides, May reasoned that this would be a good way for Mr. Stark to check that Peter wasn't heading out for patrols when he wasn't supposed to. Which is... great. Just great.
She had taken to the situation with surprising grace. As if it was completely normal for a billionaire superhero to show up 29 years younger than he was supposed to be on her doorstep and ask to crash there while his team of people hunted down a wizard who had cursed him.
She had ushered them both inside, thanking Happy for dropping them off. May had quickly instructed Peter to give Mr. Stark a tour of the place and help him put his stuff away while she talked to Happy. Mr. Stark looked a little miffed about being treated like a kid who couldn't listen into adult conversations but didn't press the point. Apparently, he didn't want to test May's generosity.
Peter was able to use his enhanced hearing to listen to Happy give May a rundown of everything Miss Potts hadn't mentioned to her over the phone. It wasn't anything they hadn't filled him in on while at the Tower, if not for the few extra lines thrown in outlining their worries over the situation.
Focusing back on the task at hand, Peter turned to Mr. Stark. He was staring at the bags at his feet as if he couldn't quite believe this was happening. Peter didn't blame him.
He chose not to bring it up, instead clearing a bit of space in his closet. It wasn't hard, considering half the clothes were strewn across his bedroom anyways.
"Sorry for the mess, by the way. I would've cleaned up if I knew someone was coming over."
Mr. Stark's head jerked up. He took a second to respond as if he was just processing that Peter was talking to him.
"Yeah, no big deal. My college dorm was much worse than this. Rhodey complained about it constantly," he said, shrugging. Mr. Stark picked up the smaller of the two bags and brought it over to the closet.
Peter was a little surprised that he hadn't packed more. A man like Tony Stark seems like he has a lot of stuff to keep around. But then again, he is now 17 again. A lot of his clothes don't fit as well.
The bag was filled with the typical stuff: clothes fit for the spring season, a toothbrush and other amenities, Mr. Stark's phone and tablet. Peter almost expected him to have packed a full Armani suit and the keys to a Lamborghini.
Once they finished packing everything away, Peter gestured to the second, bigger bag. "What's in there?"
Mr. Stark hesitated, as if he wasn't sure whether or not he should tell Peter, but eventually decided to. He unzipped it to reveal pieces of his iconic red and gold armor.
"You brought the Iron Man suit?" He said, trying to keep his excitement tampered down enough so May and Happy wouldn't hear him. The suit was a work of art, a mechanical representation of Mr. Stark's genius. Peter has never been allowed to touch the suit during lab days, but sometimes Mr. Stark lets him look through the schematics.
Mr. Stark shrugged, zipping the bag closed again. "I figured I might have some time to work with it while I'm here. I won't have access to the lab, but I could try and work out a way to alter the suit enough so I can wear it like this."
Peter nodded, far too excited about seeing the suit to come up with a proper response.
Mr. Stark had just pushed the bag into the corner by Peter's desk when May knocked on the door.
"Dinner's in 5, Happy's going to be eating with us," she said, giving Peter a smile and Mr. Stark a suspicious glance before she left once more.
"I get the feeling she doesn't like me very much."
Peter laughed. "What gives you that idea?"
Mr. Stark rolls his eyes, making him seem even more like a real teenager.
When Mr. Stark doesn't respond, Peter takes the opportunity to speak again. "She's just concerned about me. May doesn't like how you helped me lie to her about all the Spider-Man stuff."
"Yeah," Mr. Stark sighed. "I know. I don't blame her. She had a right to know."
Peter frowned. "It isn't all on you, Mr. Stark. I shouldn't have lied either."
"Yeah, but you can't even legally drive yet. It's not like anyone is expecting you to be making the best decisions for your health. That's where I should have stepped in. I'm the adult."
Peter laughed at that. "Yeah, you're looking real mature right now, Mr. Stark."
Dinner wasn't as bad as Peter expected. Other than Happy's obvious flirting with May, of course. One of these days Peter was going to shovel talk that man 6 feet underground, but until then he would continue to enjoy the free rides around that he got.
May and Mr. Stark didn't make any unbecoming remarks toward one another; in fact, they pretty much just hashed out the full cover story.
Mr. Stark’s cover was May's nephew from California, whose parents are going on an extended business trip, and she'd offered to look after him. If Peter didn't know the full story, he wouldn't have questioned it.
May and Mr. Stark didn't look too much alike, but they shared enough features and an Italian heritage that they could pull it off. It's not like they could pretend he was from the Parker side of the family, considering... everything. Plus, Mr. Stark was actually from California.
Peter had asked how much he was allowed to tell Ned, considering he knew about all the Spider-Man stuff. May had set down the rule that Peter was allowed to mention it was connected to superhero business since Ned knew May doesn't have any siblings, but could not tell Ned he was going to school with The Tony Stark. Peter was a bit bummed out about that, but as much as she loved him, May was well aware of Ned's inability to keep things a secret.
After dinner, Peter and Mr. Stark put away the dishes while May walked Happy out. Peter was pleasantly surprised the billionaire actually knew how to wash them, considering how many times he's said he would be dead without Pepper or modern appliances.
Peter let Mr. Stark have the shower first, giving him a moment to talk to May.
"I'm sorry. I know this is a lot to spring on you," he apologized. He didn't try to put May into any rough positions, it's why he hid Spider-Man for so long. She had gone through enough with Ben and everything else, and he didn't want to stress her out even more. Peter knew this was a lot more than anything she had signed up for when she and Ben had agreed to take him in 9 years ago.
But May, as resilient as she was, just gave Peter a smile. "You don't have anything to apologize for, Peter. You've always been too selfless. Stark being here puts you in an awkward position, but you never hesitated to help. How can I be mad when I'm the one always harping on about helping others?"
Peter laughed. "I'm not sure this is what you meant by that."
May waved her hand as if shooing away the technicalities. She then paused, before pulling Peter into a hug. He readily accepted the embrace, leaning into her warmth.
Out of everyone in his life, May had always been the most reliable. She stood by him, regardless of the circumstance. They weren't even related by blood, but that never changed how she felt about him and Peter couldn't be more grateful for that.
"I'm proud of you, you know that, right?" She asked, her voice slightly muffled by his hair.
All Peter could do was nod.
"Even though Stark gets on my nerves," Peter snorted. "You're doing the right thing."
"Thanks, May."
"Of course. But Peter?"
"Yeah?"
"You gotta let me know if it gets to be too much, alright? I won't hesitate to pull the plug the moment you say the word," she said, and Peter knew that was nothing but 100% the truth.
"You too, May. I know you don't have the highest opinion of Mr. Stark, but I don't think he's as bad as you think. If he truly does get on your nerves though, I'd understand if you wanted to figure something else out."
May scoffed, leaning away from Peter to give him an incredulous look. "Please, I can outlast Tony Stark. He doesn't scare me, especially now that he looks like some kind of lanky deer."
Peter almost wanted to disagree with that. Even now Mr. Stark carried an effortless confidence and grace that Peter couldn't match. He would be jealous if he wasn't already aware of how different Mr. Stark was from the rest of them.
"Although, you do need to drop the whole 'Mr. Stark' thing."
Peter looked up at her with furrowed brows. "Huh?"
May shrugged, moving away from Peter so she could lean back against the table. "You'll be going to school together. It'd be weird for you to call any of your peers Mr. or Mrs. even if that wasn't followed by the most famous last name in the Western world."
"Technically he'd be Mr. Reilly now," Peter huffed, ignoring the point May was trying to make by bringing up Mr. Stark's cover name: Anthony Reilly. They had decided to keep it simple, Mr. Stark's real first name and May's maiden name. She had looked a little bit nauseous at the idea of being related to Tony Stark but agreed it would be best.
"You know what I meant."
Later that night, after things had settled down and May went off to bed, Peter was left staring at the ceiling. The silence in the room was almost suffocating, especially because Mr. Stark's heartbeat told Peter he was still awake.
Peter always opted for the top bunk. Ever since the spider bite, there's been something instinctual in him that liked being up high. Mr. Stark didn't complain about being stuck on the bottom bunk.
That didn't change how awkward the whole thing was. Sure, Mr. Stark looked 17, but the fact that Peter was sleeping in the same room as his adult mentor didn't escape him. He knew Mr. Stark was likely pretty uncomfortable too. Peter was starting to wish he hadn't chosen to forgo patrol tonight. Mr. Stark might've been asleep by the time he got back.
Just as Peter was debating whether or not to break the silence, Mr. Stark spoke.
"Kid?"
His voice cracked a little at the end of it, and if the situation was any different, Peter might've made a joke about that.
"Yeah?"
It was quiet for a few seconds.
"Thanks."
Peter was taken aback by the sincere tone. He didn't really know how to respond, except with the whole truth.
"Of course. You would do the same for me."