Peter
Peter awakens Saturday morning to the creak of a door opening. A sliver of light hits his dilated eyes and he tries to pull away from it, but he doesn’t have much room to work with. He’s been stuck in the dark of the Patterson’s hallway closet since he got home from school yesterday. It really wasn’t his best day.
He’s pretty good by now at riding the fine line of acting out at school enough to express his annoyance at those around him, but not enough to get in real trouble. Yesterday he went a little over the line. It was going perfectly fine until that fucker McDaniels decided he was in a mood as well, and dumped his lunch all over Peter in the cafeteria. Peter obviously had to retaliate by sweeping his legs out from underneath him and smashing what was left of his spaghetti all over McDaniels’ head.
They both got a two day suspension and a months worth of Saturday detentions. The suspension he didn’t really mind. Two free days off school? Sign him up. Unfortunately the detentions don’t start until next Saturday, so he doesn’t have any good excuse to miss his plans for today.
The toe of a boot nudges harshly into his side.
“Get up, Parker, and go be useful for once. You’re lucky Stark pays us well, or you’d be grounded until you have to go back to school on Wednesday. And take a shower first. You smell like shit.”
Ah yes, grounded. That’s what Bill calls it when Peter fucks up badly enough that Bill can’t stand to look at him, and so he locks him in their small hallway closet until Peter has some obligation that people would notice if he missed. It was usually school, but today it was his “internship”. At least Bill had given him a piss bottle this time. Sometimes he’s not that lucky.
Peter hauls himself up off the rough wood flooring, trying to ignore the sharp pains where fresh bruises were blooming all over his torso. After hobbling most of the way down the hallway, he figures out how to walk normally in this state by the time he reaches the bathroom.
He locks the door behind him and takes a quick inventory of his current injuries. It doesn’t feel like anything is broken, but he has quite a bit of dark purple marring the skin on his torso. Bill is always careful not to hit anywhere other people will see.
He takes the fastest shower he can manage. He’s already falling a bit behind. He dresses quickly before creeping silently through the hallway back to his bedroom. If he’s not doing chores, it’s best just to stay out of Bill and Diane’s way. If they don’t see him, they won’t think about how they want to torment him next.
Peter closes his bedroom door behind him and picks up his backpack, planning on just waiting outside the building until he was supposed to be picked up. After a moment of consideration, he listens carefully to ensure no one is coming into his room, then opens the small, hidden pocket on the inside of his bag.
He slides out the objects inside. The pocket used to just contain his cell phone, but as of Thursday, it also contains a brand new, shiny, red and gold credit card with his name on it. He’d found it sitting on his open windowsill when he got home from school on Thursday, along with a note that said:
“For food only. I’ll be watching. Also, I’ll need you for the internship on Saturday. 10 AM. I’ve cleared it with your folks
-TS”
He put it in his backpack as fast as he could and he’s only pulled it out a couple times since then to check that it’s still there. He can only imagine what would happen if Bill or Diane found it. He’s sure they would go on a huge spending spree and then blame it on him. And Stark would believe them because Peter is the delinquent, not them.
Peter isn’t actually planning on using the card at all. Stark was clearly trying to bribe him. Peter just didn’t know what the catch was.
He carefully places the card and his phone back into the pocket before leaving the apartment. He has a few minutes to spare, but he would rather spend them waiting outside. Especially because the less Stark and his entourage interact with the Pattersons, the better.
He sits down against the wall of the building, not really caring about the ground being dirty since his clothes are pretty much trash anyway. He’s still thinking about what Stark is getting out of their deal, especially with the credit card. He did blackmail Peter into this internship, but besides that, Stark actually has been kind of helpful. And Peter knows he hasn’t been easy to work with. He’s still upset about the fact that the man won’t give him his own pain medicine, but all the metabolism and strength testing, that was actually nice information to have.
He must get a little lost in thought, because the next thing he knows, he’s jumping slightly at the sound of a car horn right in front of where he’s sitting.
It’s the same care Happy usually picks him up in, so he doesn’t hesitate to open the door to the back seat and throw his backpack in. What he doesn’t expect is Tony Stark to be sitting in the back as well.
“Hey, watch it, Pete.” The man exclaims teasingly when Peter’s backpack lands on his lap. “I’ll dock damages from your pay.”
Peter huffs a laugh as he slides in next to Stark and shuts the door behind him. He notices Happy in the front seat, and nods to him in the rearview mirror as the man pulls away from the curb onto the road.
“You must pay me pretty well if it’s enough to cover damages.” He replies jokingly.
Stark shrugs. “Not really, but I’ll give you a discount if you’re nice to the other today.”
Peter narrows his eyes in confusion. “Others?”
The man waves him off. “Yeah, the others. Didn’t I tell you we’re going to the Avengers compound today?”
Peter feels his eyes widen in surprise. “No! You gave me no information outside of a time, actually.”
Tony smirks. “Well, the team has been asking to meet you, so that’s where we’re going today.”
“The team?” Peter asks. “Like, the whole Avengers team?”
“Well, not the whole team.” Stark replies. “Wanda and Vision are on some vacation, and Scott and Clint have previous engagements elsewhere. Rhodey is stuck in DC for work for a while, but I’m sure you’ll meet him next time he’s in town.”
Peter takes a few minutes to process all the information. Not that he’s nervous or anything. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. Still though, it’s the Avengers.
“You said they’ve been asking to meet me?” He asks, finally.
Stark had pulled out his phone during the moment of silence, and he glances away from it back to Peter for a second. “Uh, yeah. They knew that SHIELD asked me to train you to keep you from violating the Accords, and I told them when you started your internship.”
“So…you told them about me?” Peter wonders aloud.
“You mean your identity? I didn’t name any names, but they’ll know after you meet them today. If you can trust anyone with a secret identity, it’s the team of literal superheroes.” Stark replies, slipping his phone back into his pocket and giving Peter his attention again.
“No, I meant, like, did you tell them about me?” He asks again.
Stark tilts his head in confusion. “What do you mean, Pete?”
“Like, did you tell them you hate me?” Peter asks, a little more aggressively.
Tony scoffs and rolls his eyes. “I don’t hate you, kid.”
“Well then did you tell them that I hate you? Especially when you call me ‘kid’ even though I specifically tell you not to.” He mutters the last part to himself, crossing his arms across his chest.
“No, Peter, I must’ve left out your deep hatred towards me when I was telling them about you. Feel free to tell them yourself when we arrive.” Stark pulls his phone back out and continues to scroll through his email or whatever it is that business people do on their phones all day.
“Well then what did you tell them?” He asks again, seeing that Stark was starting to get a little annoyed.
Stark sighs and looks away from his phone again, frustrated. “Fine. I told them that you’ve been rude and irritating. Is that what you wanted to hear? I would ask you to behave when we get there, but I’m sure that would just make things worse, right?”
Peter turns his head towards the window, dismissing the man. Of course he told the Avengers that he was difficult. Everyone says it about him. He should be used to it by now. It’s true after all.
He can’t let Stark be right though, so he’s going to prove the man wrong when they arrive. He’s going to be so polite that all the Avengers are going to think that Stark is the difficult one, not him.
“Well I’m guessing they don’t know that you’re an alcoholic, considering you haven’t had a drink yet today.”
Stark doesn’t look up, but his hand tightens around the cell phone in his hand. Peter wouldn’t have even noticed if he hadn’t been paying attention.
“And how, exactly, Parker, did you come to that conclusion?” The man asks him tersely.
Peter shrugs. “Enhanced senses. I can usually smell the alcohol on you when you’re around. Today I can’t. Leading me to believe that you usually drink before you see me, but you haven’t today because you don’t want your team to know. Also, you’re way easier to annoy right now.”
The man just sighs and rubs his hand on his temple like he’s getting a headache. He doesn’t respond, which says a lot more than a denial would.
They ride for a while in silence. Stark was already tired of his attitude, he guessed. Eventually, Stark spoke up again.
“You haven’t used the card I gave you.”
Peter shrugs. “I don’t want your money. It always comes with a catch, and I’m not willing to pay whatever the price is.”
Stark just looks confused and shakes his head. “There’s no catch, Pete. You don’t have a way to reach the calorie requirements that we calculated on Wednesday, so I’m giving you a way. It’s only for food.”
Peter squints in suspicion at the man, but he actually looked…genuine.
“There’s always a catch, Stark. People don’t just give you things without something in return. Especially money.”
Stark just gives him a sad smile. “Well, I am. Consider it an investment for the citizens of New York City. You can’t perform your best when you’re hungry. If I make sure you’re well fed, you can protect people more effectively. That can be the catch, if you really need one.”
Now it’s Peter’s turn to not respond and leave them in silence. Why was Stark being so nice to him? He’s gone out of his way to be a total asshole because Stark is a total asshole, but the man keeps doing nice things and proving him wrong. It’s getting annoying. Maybe he should just use the card and actually eat to his hearts content for a while. He’ll have to think about it some more.
“So, uh, how’s school?” Stark asks, after presumably getting bored or tired of the awkward silence between them.
Peter huffs. “Really? School? That’s what you’re going with?”
“What?” The man asks indignantly. “I can’t even ask about school? It’s not like you’ve volunteered any information, and all teenagers go to school.”
Peter just shrugs. “School sucks. There’s not much else to it.”
“Why does it suck?” Tony asks curiously.
Peter shrugs again. “I don’t know, school just always sucks I guess. People are jerks to me so I’m a jerk to them and then I get in trouble for it. That’s about all that happens there. Why do you care?”
“I don’t know, Pete. Maybe because we’re forced to spend time together so we might as well talk about something.”
Peter let the car stay silent for a moment before giving the man what he wanted: something to talk about.
“I got a two day suspension and a month of Saturday detentions yesterday.”
Stark lets out a low whistle. “Someone was a jerk to you so you were a jerk back?”
Peter nods. “This kid dumped his lunch on me so I knocked him over and shoved spaghetti in his face.”
Stark snorts. “Damn. Did he get suspended too at least?”
“Yeah he did this time.” Peter replies.
“This time? This kid bother you often?” Stark asks, sounding almost concerned if Peter didn’t know any better.
Peter just shrugs. “I guess. There are always a few at every school I move to. This one is just taking longer to learn than the rest.”
“Did you get in trouble with your foster parents?”
Peter almost winced even just at the question. He can feel the bruises lining his sides every time he breathes.
“Yeah,” he responds. “They, uh, grounded me for the weekend. They only let me out of the house to come with you.”
He stays quiet for the remained of the drive. He has to be careful what he says. He can’t let anyone find out. He can handle Bill and Diane. Sure, they beat on him a little bit, but it’s nothing he can’t deal with. So many other homes have been so much worse. He can’t risk getting moved again.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
After about an hour, they arrive at the Avengers compound upstate. Peter jumps out of the car before Happy could open his door. It’s so weird having someone open his door for him. He doesn’t like it.
He expected the compound to be big and grand and spectacular, but it was honestly a little underwhelming. Not like Stark tower, though he would never tell Stark that. The compound was just a regular building. It was a pretty large building, sure, but still just a building.
He starts walking towards the building, when Stark clasped a hand on his shoulder to steer him a different direction. He jumps away as soon as he feel the man touch him, unable to prevent the flinch. His spider sense usually warns him about people coming up to him like that so he can dodge out of the way. He must not have been paying enough attention since he was looking at the building. Yeah, that must be it.
He looks back to see Stark staring at him, concerned, his arm still out where Peter jerked away.
Peter rubs the back of his neck with a hand, a little embarrassed. “I’ve…uh…gotten a little flinchy since I started doing Spider-Man things. You know, always gotta be ready for anything.”
Stark does not look convinced, but he kindly doesn’t say anything else on the subject and leads Peter around the side of the building to what is probably an Avengers only entrance.
He follows Stark into an elevator and down a few hallways before they reach what appeared to be a regular living room with an attached kitchen.
“This is the main Avengers living area. We all have separate spaces with bedrooms and such, but this is the living space where people can go if they want to be with the rest of the group.” Stark explains as they walk in.
There is only one person in the room right now, a man reading in the corner in a lounge chair. He looks up when Peter and Tony enter the room, and Peter recognizes him instantly.
The man sees him and smiles and waves his direction. He gets up and walks towards them, putting his book down on a side table.
Stark motions towards the man with his hand and starts to introduce him. “Peter, this is-“
But Peter doesn’t let him finish his sentence.
“Dr. Bruce Banner?!”
Peter has it in the back of his mind that he has to be extremely polite to prove Stark wrong, but he doesn’t even think he needs to fake it for a legend like Dr. Banner. He rushes forward and grabs the man’s outstretched hand.
“It’s such an honor to meet you, sir. I’ve read some of your work, and it’s so incredible to meet you in person.”
Bruce shakes Peter hand, smiling warmly at him. He sees him glance towards Tony and make questioning eye contact with the man. Clearly Peter is not what he expected. Just what Peter wants.
“You’ve read some of my work? That’s pretty advanced stuff. How old are you?” Dr. Banner asks him.
“I’m 14, sir. I did some reading a few years ago. My best friend Ned, he’s like your biggest fan. We read some of your papers together in middle school for a project in our science class.” Peter responds sheepishly, glancing away with embarrassment.
“Wow, you two must be pretty smart kids. I’m honored to have been the subject of your science project.” Dr. Banner looks like he is genuinely impressed with Peter, but he didn’t think it was that big of a deal. Dr. Banner’s papers aren’t really that complex.
“Thank you, sir. I haven’t really read any of your recent things. My current school doesn’t have access to stuff like that.” He replies.
Dr. Banner motions to Stark behind Peter, who was watching the interaction with suspicion. “I’m sure Tony could get you copies of anything you’d like to read. Right, Tones?”
Stark snaps out of his confusion. “Uh, right, Pete. Just say the word.”
Right then, another man Peter recognizes walks though the door.
“Hey Tony. Friday told me that you had arrived, so I came to introduce myself. Hi, Peter, it’s so nice to meet you.”
Captain America holds out his hand and Peter shakes it firmly. Dr. Banner was easy, but he gets the feeling he has something to prove here.
“It’s really nice to meet you too, Captain Rogers, sir.” He replies, making eye contact with the man.
Rogers smiles at him, and Peter feels like he’s passed some sort of test.
“Just call me Steve, Peter. That’s a nice, firm grip you’ve got.”
Peter smiles up at him. Captain America was pretty tall. He supposes he should’ve expected that.
“Thank you, sir. I’ve, uh, got enhanced strength as a part of my enhancements as well. That’s probably what you’re noticing.”
Captain Rogers looks pleased to hear that. “Oh really? Finally I might have a sparring partner that I don’t have to hold back with. This should be fun.”
“Not so fast, Rogers.” Stark interjects. “No damaging my intern as soon as he walks through the door.”
His words are friendly, but his tone doesn’t seem so. Peter wasn’t paying attention to Stark when Steve walked into the room, but now that he’s looking at the man, something seems off.
Stark’s hands keep clenching and unclenching, and he seems really tense and on edge. There’s a slight tremor to his hands. Peter can pick out his heart rate from the rest, and it’s gone up significantly since Rogers came in. Huh. Something is definitely going on here. Stark actually seems…nervous. Around his teammate? Odd.
More people start filing in as Friday announces their arrival to the rest of the team, so he decides to file the information away for later.
Sam Wilson isn’t too far behind Steve. Peter thinks he remembers Falcon sided with Captain America during the Avengers civil war, so they’re probably friends. He shakes Peter’s hand and introduces himself as Sam.
Next, a red-haired woman walks in the door.
“You must be Peter.” She says coolly, not extending her hand for him to shake.
“You must be Natasha Romanoff, the black widow.” He replies back in turn, giving her a small smile. “It’s nice to meet you ma’am. I’m a big fan of yours, and all you do for representation of women in the superhero world. It’s pretty badass.”
Romanoff chuckles, breaking her cold exterior. “I like you, kid. Call me Nat.”
Lastly is Thor, who saunters in like he was in no hurry to get to the rest of the group.
“You must be the man of spiders! We have heard Tony has taken you on as an apprentice. I am Thor, God of Thunder, heir to the throne of Asgard.”
The man’s voice is booming, his presence taking up the whole room.
“Wow, Mr. Thor. It’s, uh, just Peter. And yeah, I’ve been working with Mr. Stark for a few weeks. It’s a really great opportunity, and I’ve been learning a lot. It’s really wonderful to be able to come here and meet all of you. I’m a huge fan.”
Thor looks confused for a second before throwing an arm around Stark’s shoulders and turning them both away from Peter.
“Tony, I think you may have been mistaken. You told us that young Peter was very rude and arrogant, but this young man has been very kind. Are you positive you’ve brought the correct boy?” Thor’s projecting voice could be heard easily throughout the whole room, leaving everyone looking very uncomfortable. It’s clear they were thinking the same thing, but they had stuck to just subtle looks towards Stark when they thought Peter wouldn’t notice. This was so blatant that Peter couldn’t help but laugh a little bit.
“Thor, buddy, you know everyone still can hear us even when we turn around.” He hears Tony respond, also not attempting to be quiet.
“Oh, so I probably shouldn’t have just said that.” The larger man responds before turning around and addressing Peter.
“My apologies, young Spider-Man, it was not my intention to create an awkward situation. You seem like a very polite young warrior.”
He then marches over to join the rest of the group mingling in the living room.
“I’m gonna order some takeout for lunch.” Tony announces to the crowd, effectively silencing everyone. “Anyone got any preferences?”
Immediately, there’s an uproar as everyone starts speaking their suggestions, before Bruce yells to shut them up again.
“Hey!” He screams. “Why don’t we let Peter choose since he’s new to the group. Peter?”
Everyone looks towards him. “Umm…is there a good Thai place nearby? I haven’t had it in a while.”
And so it was decided. They all hang out together in the living room until the food arrives, and then they all sit and eat lunch together. It was kind of nice, domestic. Peter hasn’t had that in a while.
“Well,” Tony claps his hands once to get everyone’s attention once everyone had finished eating, standing up from his chair. “I’m going to show Peter around for a little while, but if anyone wants to meet us down in the training room in a bit, I’m sure Peter would be up for a little challenge.”
He then starts walking out the same way they came in, motioning for Peter to follow. As soon as they were down the hallway and out of earshot, Tony rounds on him.
“What the hell was that? Are you sick or something? Did a Peter clone replace you when I wasn’t looking? I know I said be on your best behavior, but I didn’t even know you were capable of that level of bullshitting.”
Peter is actually sort of offended. Sure, he could be really rude, but that didn’t mean he was incapable of being polite. His aunt and uncle raised him right, but when he’s around assholes, there’s no reason he can’t also be an asshole back.
“Hey!” Peter responds. “I can be polite. I’ve got nothing again the Avengers. Maybe I would be nicer to you too if you hadn’t tried to bribe and blackmail me. Or maybe if you’d even apologized for blackmailing me, or taken it back. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about any of that.”
Stark looks like he’s about to pull his hair out. “What are you trying to pull here, kid? Is this some elaborate ploy to make me look bad?”
Peter laughs sarcastically. “Like I need to do anything to make you look bad. You’re doing that all on your own. What was going on there with you and Steve? You got all nervous and your heart sped up. You got a crush on him or something?”
As soon as it left Peter’s mouth, he could tell he’d struck a nerve. Stark goes silent, and Peter can see the fury in his eyes. It actually kind of scares him a little bit, and he flinches when Stark raises his hand towards him, thinking the man is going to hit him. It’s not like it would be anything new, and he deserves it after what he said.
Stark ends up just pointing towards his chest harshly. “Don’t make jokes like that about things you don’t understand, kid.”
When Peter looks up at him again, the fury has left his eyes, and he just looks sad.
Stark turns away. “I just…I can’t deal with you any more right now. Friday can show you around, or lead you down to the gym if you want to practice with the others.”
He leaves Peter frozen in silence, watching him hurry away down the hall.
He takes a moment after Stark leaves to think about what just happened. He has a bad feeling. Almost like….regret? He’s really not even sure. He just knows it doesn’t feel good. He decides he just needs to ignore it and continue on.
“Uhh…Friday?” He asks into the empty hallway, feeling silly.
“Hello, Peter. It’s good to see you again.” Comes the familiar reply.
“Hello, Friday! It’s so cool you’re here at the compound too.”
Peter can almost feel her amusement.
“What can I help you with today, Peter?” She asks.
“Well, I’m not really sure.” He replies thoughtfully. “Mr. Stark said you might be able to show me around or to the gym or something.”
“This is your first time at the Avengers compound. There are a few areas that might be of interest to you. I’m detecting some injuries to your torso. Would you like to visit the medbay, or have me notify someone?”
“What?!” Peter exclaims. Bill gave him those last night. There’s no way he can let anyone know about that “No, no, no Friday. I don’t need anyone. Those are just…Spider-Man injuries. Nothing is even broken, right? Just bruised.”
Friday takes a moment to respond, like she’s thinking. “You are correct. No bones have been broken, but there is very deep bruising. I have been asked by Boss to report any injuries that you possess.”
“It’s really okay, Friday.” Peter responds hurriedly. “You don’t need to report anything. I can handle this myself, and anything I can’t, I’ll let Mr. Stark know, okay?”
Friday takes another moment. “Okay, Peter. I think that will be acceptable. If you don’t want to see the medbay, would you like to begin with your room?”
“Wait, my room? I have a room?” He asks.
“Yes.” She replies. “The compound contains living areas for all members of the Avengers team. Boss ensured one was furnished for you after you were recruited for the internship with him.”
Peter thinks for a second before deciding he could use a minute to himself before going to the gym. “Yeah that sounds good, Friday. Show me my room, please.”
She starts giving him directions through the hallways. The halls of the compound were pretty basic, white with no decorations, but all the rooms he sees have all been very homey. The living room was definitely lived in. It was nice.
They pass by some other doorways that lead to other living quarters that are labeled with symbols for the different Avengers. A hammer for Thor he assumes, Steve’s shield, Hawkeye’s bow and arrows, etc. Eventually, they get to the one Friday says is his. It’s labeled with the symbol of the spider that he drew on his suit.
He opens the door, and is stunned back into silence by what he sees. The space is huge, and is separated into a few different sections. The room is painted and decorated blue with red accents just like his suit. There’s a Spider-Man comforter on the bed. He didn’t even know they made those, but it was awesome. There was an empty bookshelf against one wall and a dresser against another. There was a desk with a computer on it in the corner. There was a separate area branching off the main room that Peter could see had beanbag chairs and a tv, with what looked like game consoles sitting underneath, but he couldn’t see what kinds.
Friday snapped him back to reality after a minute of staring in silence at the room.
“Boss designed this for you after he recruited you at your home. You’re free to personalize this room as you see fit. All you have to do is ask me to order something for you, and it will be delivered. Is there anything you notice so far that you would like to request be changed?”
“Uhh…no thank you, Friday. Everything looks great….you said Mr. Stark designed this?” He asked hesitantly.
“Yes, Peter.” She answers. “He based it off what he believed a typical teenage boy would be interested in. He appeared to have a difficult time determining your interests based off your bedroom at your current apartment.”
Peter chooses not to reply to that. He knows his room at the Patterson’s is pretty barren. It’s not like he has any decorations or money to put anything up, even if the Pattersons would let him. He doesn’t exactly want to claim the room as his either. Who knows how much longer they’ll put up with him before they shook him off to the next place.
This room though, this room is amazing.
He starts looking around. He finds a mini fridge and a snack cabinet in the room with the TV, fully stocked with water bottles and different kinds of sodas and lots of food. The dresser has some clothes in it that seem like they would fit him. Friday tells him that he’s welcome to order any more that he likes, all funded by Tony.
Honestly, after seeing the room that Mr. Stark set up for him, he feels worse. That feeling he had earlier, it’s definitely regret. He actually feels bad for what he said to the man. Maybe he didn’t actually deserve it.
He flops down onto his ridiculously comfortable bed with a water bottle and a granola bar that was labeled for enhanced metabolisms only, so he assumed it was really high calorie.
“Hey Friday, did you see what happened with me and Mr. Stark earlier?” He asks the AI.
“Yes, I did, Peter. I see everything in the compound except for the restrooms.” She replies.
“Do you think maybe I took things a little too far?”
“Are you referring to the altercation you had right before you requested directions?”
“Yeah, that.” Peter replies sadly.
“I understand why you’re angry,” The AI answers smoothly, “but I believe your anger is misplaced.”
Peter thinks a moment. “But, you’re Mr. Stark’s AI, so don’t you have to agree with him?”
“Boss did not program me to agree, he programmed me for honesty. It is my assessment that you are upset with boss for blackmailing you into your internship, but it does not appear to me that this was his intention.”
Peter cocks his head curiously. “What do you mean?”
“When Boss came to your apartment to recruit you, he had no intention of revealing your secret identity to your guardians. He originally volunteered to mentor you because SHIELD had threatened to take you and train you to be an agent, since you were actively violating the Sokovia Accords. Boss was worried they were just training you to send you into battle. He used the phrase ‘child soldier’ multiple times throughout their interaction. Therefore, he asked to mentor you to prevent this outcome as he believed it to be the best alternative for you. What you interpreted as blackmail was Boss simply stating the consequences if you chose not to train with him. He is willing to keep your identity a secret, but he believes SHIELD does not care.”
…huh
Stark was still a total dick sometimes, and an alcoholic, and he still could’ve apologized for making Peter think that he was being blackmailed, but maybe, just maybe, he didn’t deserve quite as much shit as Peter was giving him.
“Peter, it seems Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers are requesting your presence in the training room. Would you like me to direct you there?”
Peter hops up out of the bed. “Sure, Friday. Lead the way.”
Friday leads him back down the hallway that he came from and onto the elevator. He’s really glad he has Friday here to show him the way, because this place was a maze.
She takes him to the correct floor, and the elevator opens up into the most amazing gym Peter has ever seen. It’s even better than the one at the tower. There’s tons of equipment labeled for enhanced strength, including punching bags. There was a huge room encased in glass behind the equipment that looked like a combination between an adult sized jungle gym and scaffolding. Either way, it looked very climbable, and Peter couldn’t wait to try it out.
He was so busy staring in awe at the room, that he almost forgot that there were people there waiting for him, until he heard Captain America start to chuckle.
“Like what you see?” The man asks with a friendly smile, Natasha sitting next to him on a bench, eying him contemplatively.
Peter nods enthusiastically, practically jumping over to the glass wall separating him from his climbing fantasy. “This place looks incredible! I can’t wait to get in there and try it out.”
“Hold your horses there, young man.” Steve replies. “We’ve got some work to do before you can have your fun in there.” Steve takes a moment to look around. “Where’s Tony? Did he run off and send you in here alone?”
Steve’s tone was slightly accusatory at Stark. It seems like whatever Peter noticed between them earlier wasn’t one sided. Well, it looks like Peter’s going to have to do it. He’s going to have to defend Stark.
“Oh, no. He just had something come up that seemed really important. He offered to stay with me, but I told him I would be okay with you guys.”
Peter tried to sound really nonchalant about it, but Natasha still seemed suspicious. That woman seems like she’s suspicious about everything. Maybe it’s a spy thing. Or maybe it’s just Peter. He gets the feeling he’s not going to find out.
“Sooo what are we doing today? You said we had work to do?” Peter asks the two in front of him.
Natasha speaks up. “Tony told us what you two have been up to the last couple of weeks, and we thought it would be a good idea to do some sparring practice. Have you had any formal fighting or self defense training?”
Peter shakes his head. “No, I kind of just get by on reflexes. I try not to hurt people when I can avoid it. I usually just try to just tie up the bad guys with my webs and then call the cops to come get them.”
Steve nods his head in approval.
“That’s very noble of you Peter, but sometimes there will be instances where you’ll have to fight back to protect yourself or others, or there will be things that you’ll deal with, hopefully joined by the rest of the team, that the police won’t be able to handle for you. Like when the Avengers had to defend New York City from that alien invasion year ago. Do you remember that?”
Peter nods. “Yes, sir. I was pretty young, but I remember they put our school on lockdown and we were watching the news on TV. We all saw Mr. Stark fly into the wormhole, and we weren’t sure if he was coming back.”
Peter didn’t like to think about that event too often. At the time, Peter idolized Tony Stark. He was devastated when he thought the man was gone. Obviously now he knows better.
Natasha’s voice brings him back out of his thoughts.
“What do you say we get over to the punching bags and give you some pointers?”
Peter is suddenly a little nervous. He’s never been trained. What if he actually sucks at fighting and they make fun of him?
Luckily for him, his two teachers are incredibly patient with him. They don’t make fun of him. Steve hold the bag while he punches, and compliments him on his strength. He says Peter’s strength might even rival his own.
Natasha helps him with his form. She teaches him how to hold his fist while he’s punching so he doesn’t hurt himself, and shows him proper form to have the most power. Steve gives him some pointers too on how to pull his punches so he doesn’t hurt ordinary people too badly with his super strength.
After they decide Peter has had enough practice with the punching bag, they help him practice dodging. He’s very good at dodging since his reflexes are so fast, but they help him with his form and teach him some pretty cool self defense moves that he didn’t know.
“So, Peter.” Steve begins after he thinks Peter has had enough practice. “How about to end the day we have a little practice fight, you and me.”
Wow, a real fight with Captain America? That would be insane. Unfortunately, all the exercise has reinvigorated the pain from the bruising on his torso, and he doesn’t know if he would be able to handle himself in a real fight. Especially since he’s never fought another person with enhancements before. He’s used to always being the strongest and fastest one in a fight.
“It would be so amazing to spar with you Captain Rogers, sir, but I’m actually a little banged up from going out on a Spider-Man patrol last night, and I don’t want to fight you for the first time when I’m not at my best.” Peter regretfully turns the man down.
Steve’s forehead wrinkles in concern. “You’re injured? You should’ve said something, son. We didn’t have to train at all today.”
“No, no.” Peter rushes to correct him. “Its just a few bruises. I’m fine to punch a bag a few times. I just think a full sparring session might be a bad idea.”
Steve agrees, but still looks concerned. Natasha looks more curious.
“Must’ve been some fight to bruise you that much. I’ve seen videos of you in action. It doesn’t look like you get hit too often.”
Peter just shrugs noncommittally. “Yeah it was pretty crazy. There were a few guys, they clearly had some experience fighting.”
“Well, hopefully after a few more sessions with us, you’ll be able to avoid stuff like that in the future.” She replies, giving him a small smile.
Peter looks up at the clock on the wall, and realizes he needs to go pretty soon if he’s going to make it back in time to cook dinner for Bill and Diane. He definitely doesn’t want a repeat of last time he didn’t make it home in time to cook.
“I need to get back to my guardians before dinner, so I better go find Mr. Stark. Thank you both so much for teaching me. I hope I can come back soon and we can do this again.”
“Of course, Peter. Anytime.” Steve replies.
“We’ll have to keep bugging Tony about bringing you around for more team bonding weekends.” Natasha tells him with a smirk.
With a wave behind him, he jogs out the door. He realizes when he gets down the hallway that he still has no idea where he’s going. He has another realization that he’ll have to see Stark again, since he’s assuming they’re riding home together again. Which is making him oddly nervous. He’s been trying so hard to irritate the man, but now that Stark is actually angry with him, Peter feels bad about it.
He doesn’t exactly have time to stand there and wallow, so he calls for Friday.
“Hey, Friday, where is Mr. Stark?” He asks into the empty hallway. She responds quickly.
“Boss is currently in his lab, where you currently do not have access. Would you like me to deliver a message?”
“Yes please, Friday.” He answers. “I kind of need to get home for dinner. I don’t know if Happy is still here to take me or what I should do.”
Friday takes a minute before she responds again, leaving him standing alone in the hallway, waiting.
“Boss says to meet him in the garage. I will direct you, if you’d like.”
“Yes please.”
Friday starts to direct him to the garage, and Peter fills with nerves. He shouldn’t be this nervous to see Stark. So what if he’s angry? Peter shouldn’t care what he thinks of him.
All too soon, Peter reaches the garage, which is totally awesome by the way, but he can’t focus enough to look around and enjoy. He sees Stark leaning against a very expensive looking car.
Stark waves him over before getting in the front seat. It doesn’t look like Happy is going to be driving them home. What a bummer. He was hoping he would have Happy there to act as a buffer.
He slides into the passenger seat, and Stark immediately pulls out of the garage and starts speeding down the road, still silent.
Peter takes a second to take the man in. He looks like he’s trying very hard to appear casual, but Peter and his enhanced senses can see right through his facade. He still doesn’t smell like alcohol, so Peter is assuming he’s been sober at least since last night. His eyes are slightly bloodshot, and his hands have a slight tremor. Peter isn’t worried about him driving, but he’s seen enough people detox from alcohol that he knows Stark should get a drink when he gets home if he doesn’t want to be violently sick tonight.
The man doesn’t look like he wants to talk, so Peter lets the car stay silent. He wants to say something, but it’s only when Stark is pulling into his neighborhood to drop him off that he finds the courage to say something. Better to break the silence right before he gets out of the car just in case it goes badly.
“Umm…Mr. Stark?”
Tony sighs and responds tiredly, without looking towards him. “Yes, Peter?”
“I just…well…I guess I wanted to say that I’m sorry for what I said earlier. About you and Steve. I know I like to rile you up, but I didn’t mean to upset you that much.”
Tony looks over at him thoughtfully for a moment, while the car is idling on the curb in front of Peter’s apartment.
Finally, he responds.
“I’m sorry that I kind of blackmailed you. I’m not going to tell anyone about your identity if you don’t want me to. Legally, though, you have to be trained by someone affiliated with SHIELD, so if you really don’t want it to be me, we can ask one of the other Avengers.”
Peter thinks about it for a moment. All of the other Avengers seemed pretty cool….
He pushes the car door open and steps out onto the curb, swinging his backpack up over his shoulder by it’s one good strap.
“So, I’ll see you Wednesday after school then?” He asks Stark through the open door.
“Yeah, I’ll see you Wednesday, Pete. Don’t be late. I’ve got a surprise for you.”
Peter thinks he sees a small smile on Mr. Stark’s face as he shuts the door and watches the man drive away.