Peter
Peter is woken up very abruptly on Saturday morning by a metal canister of bathroom cleaner clocking him in the side of the head.
He rolls over in surprise, shouting.
“Hey! What the fuck!” He screams, hand going to the back of his head where he was hit. He looks over towards the door to see Bill hovering in the doorway, smirking.
“If you got up when you were supposed to you worthless piece of shit then I wouldn’t have to come in here and make you.”
Peter scowls, so not in the mood for this today. “Maybe you should just make your own fucking breakfast every once in a while.” He growls at the man.
Bill is at his side in an instant, dragging Peter out of the bed by his hair and dropping him roughly on the ground.
“Ah, fuck!” Peter yells as he hits the floor.
Bill towers over him, holding him down.
“If you want to go to your precious date with daddy Stark, you better get your ass up and into the kitchen before I change my mind.” He grumbles right in Peter’s face. Peter has to turn his head away to avoid the spit spray.
He releases his hold on Peter’s hair and steps away, glaring menacingly down at Peter on the ground. Peter quickly rolls over and jumps off the floor, hustling out of the room. He’s definitely pissed, but getting his anger out isn’t worth missing his Saturday at the tower with his dad.
He’s making omelets this morning. He chopped everything up before he went to bed last night, so it doesn’t take him very long to throw it all together in a pan. He’s almost finished when Diane approaches through the doorway from the kitchen to the living room.
“Bill and I are leaving in a week. We should be gone for a few days.”
It was a short and abrupt statement. Peter isn’t sure how he’s supposed to respond, but he doesn’t want to get in any more trouble and risk getting hurt before he goes to the tower. He might already have a bruise on his head.
“Oh, um, where are you going, ma’am?” He asks politely, plating the omelets.
“None of your business. You’re not invited. Just know that we’re leaving Friday and we’ll be gone at least the weekend, and if there’s on single thing misplaced in this place, one speck of dust that shouldn’t be there, you’ll be the only one to blame. And you’ll be punished for it. Got it?”
“Y-yes ma’am.” Peter stutters nervously, handing her the plates loaded up with their breakfast. She eyes him up and down for a second, probably making sure he’s not doing anything that he needs punished, before giving him one terse nod and taking the plate to the living room where Bill is waiting.
He lets out a breath as soon as she leaves without hitting him. He got lucky that time. He quickly washes the dishes before heading back up to his room to hide away until it’s time for him to leave.
They’re going away for a few days. That’ll be really nice to not have to worry about sneaking out of the apartment to patrol or get food. He’s not sure how he feels about sleeping in the apartment alone though. He hasn’t had to do that in a while. The Pattersons have never taken a trip anywhere since Peter has lived with them. He tries to just forget about it and focus on the positive. He’ll have at least a few days of complete and total freedom. This will be great.
Peter ends up leaving a little early for the tower today. Since he started having regular internship hours every Saturday, his cleaning day was moved to Sunday, so he has nothing better to do. Besides, it gets him out of Bill and Diane’s way, which is the most important thing.
He goes through the back entrance like normal, greeting Friday before asking her to take him to Mr. Stark. He’s a little early, so he’s not surprised to find out that his dad is still in the penthouse and not in the lab already.
“Hey, Mr. Stark!” Peter hollers, skipping into the living room. He drops his backpack on the couch and looks around the room. “Mr. Stark?” He asks again.
After a moment, the man himself comes stumbling down the hallway in a T-shirt and pajama pants, yawning.
Peter just stands there, incredibly confused, as Mr. Stark stumbles through the living room and into the kitchen, heading straight for the coffee maker. Peter follows him in silently, wondering if the man even knows he’s here or if he should announce himself again.
“Uh, Mr. Stark?” Peter asks quietly, not wanting to disturb the man.
Mr. Stark holds up his pointer finger in a gesture that Peter understands as “be quiet,” so that’s what he does. He slides into a bar stool and waits until his dad seems ready to talk.
After a minute, Mr. Stark pulls the mug out from underneath the pour spout of the coffee machine and takes a sip. His eyes close for a minute while he drinks before he opens them again to look at Peter in front of him.
He nods once, then puts his coffee down on the counter and goes to the refrigerator, pulling out a gallon of milk.
“You’re here early.” He says, voice husky from sleep.
“Only by like, 30 minutes. Did I wake you up?” Peter asks, suddenly self conscious of showing up early. He feels so welcome at the tower, but maybe today he made a mistake.
Tony just shakes his head, putting a mug of milk into the microwave. “No, you’re fine, kid. I’m usually up way earlier than this. I just had a late night.”
Peter scrunches up his face in disgust. “Ew, Mr. Stark. That’s disgusting.”
Mr. Stark just rolls his eyes. “Not disgusting, and also not what I meant. I was in the lab late. I finally made some progress on the nanotechnology for the Iron Man suit that we’ve been working on.”
“What?” Peter accidentally shouts, feeling guilty when Tony winces at the volume of his voice. “Sorry.” He says quieter. “You really made some progress? That’s so cool! Can you show me?”
Mr. Stark nods before sliding a mug across the island in front of Peter and picking up his own full of coffee.
“Drink first, then lab.” He says, taking another long sip of coffee.
Peter looks down at his own mug that definitely doesn’t have coffee in it. He takes a sip and is pleasantly surprised.
“Hot chocolate?” He asks giddily. It’s been ages since he’s had a hot chocolate. He doesn’t think he’s had one since May made him some last.
“There’s no way I’m giving you caffeine, so that’s what you get.” Mr. Stark tells him. The man sits next to Peter at the island and holds his coffee close, like he’s worried someone is going to take it from him. Peter just shrugs and goes back to enjoying his coco.
“Fine by me. Coffee is nasty.”
Mr. Stark just glares at him like he’s insane, but he’s still too subdued from tiredness to chastise him.
“Soo.” Peter says, nudging Tony’s foot with his own. “How did it go last night?”
Tony glares at him again, rolling his eyes. He puts the mug down for a second. “Maybe I’ll consider telling you when you can tell me how your first date with Michelle goes.” He says with a smirk.
Peter blushes furiously, looking away quickly so Mr. Stark can’t see.
“Come on, Mr. Stark. I’ve told you it’s not like that.”
“Oh, yeah, sure it’s not.” The man responds, poking Peter in the ribs.
Peter smacks his hand away before going back to burying his embarrassment in the mug of hot chocolate.
“If you must know,” Mr. Stark says with a sigh. “It went just fine. We’re going out again next week.”
Peter smiles widely, and decides he done with the teasing for now. “That’s great, Mr. Stark. I’m really happy for you.”
“Yeah, thanks kid.” Tony responds. “I’ve been instructed to tell you that your cake was delicious.”
“She really liked it?” Peter asks excitedly, smile growing even wider.
Tony nods. “Oh yeah, she loved it. She probably only agreed to a second date so she could have another slice.”
Peter snorts. “I highly doubt that, but I’m glad it was good.”
Mr. Stark nods as he stands up to refill his mug and stick Peter’s in the sink. Once he’s ready, he claps Peter on the back and starts walking towards the elevator.
“Come on, kid. It may not be a compound day but we still have to get some training in.”
Peter groans loudly before getting up and following the man to the elevator.
“Fine, I’ll run through some drills. But afterwards, you’re showing me the nanite project.”
“Sure, whatever you want. I’ll probably have enough caffeine in me at that point to keep up with your boundless energy.”
They spend a couple of hours in the gym. Mr. Stark runs him through some exercises and drills until he feels like enough of Peter’s “boundless energy” has been expended. This is a pretty typical routine for them. Sometimes Mr. Stark gets in his suit and joins in for a while, but definitely not today with how the man has been trudging along constantly sipping at his coffee cup.
“Okay, kid. I think I’m finally awake enough for lab time.” Mr. Stark calls over to him. Peter jumps off the treadmill that the man stuck him on for cool down time and skips over to him.
“Yes! Let’s go!” Peter exclaims, rushing to the elevator only to have to wait inside for Mr. Stark to catch up.
They get up to the lab floor only for Mr. Stark to excuse himself to go put on jeans since he never changed out of his pajama pants earlier. He leaves Peter in the lab alone for a few minutes with the strict instructions not to “touch anything that you could break or that is capable of exploding.”
So lame.
Finally after what feels like ages, Mr. Stark comes back in to show Peter the project.
Right now it’s not anything tangible, it’s all just numbers and digital projections, but it’s still amazing to Peter. Mr. Stark pulls up all his work on the hologram and he really has made quite a bit of progress. He walks Peter through how he came up with the solution they’ve been working towards for a couple weeks now, and Peter is just in awe at this man’s genius. Like, obviously he’s a genius. He’s Tony Stark. But sometimes he explains something he did to Peter, and he’s just completely amazed at his father’s mind. He’s not even close to that level. He’ll be lucky if Mr. Stark isn’t ashamed to have him as a son since clearly he didn’t inherit the man’s brain. He’s good at some things, he supposes, but not like his dad is.
“I really don’t think I’m up for working on this specific project any more today after last night. Are you alright if we work on something that takes a little less effort?” Mr. Stark asks after he’s done explaining everything he did last night.
“Sure thing, Mr. Stark.” Peter says, trying his best not to be disappointed. He looks really tired, so Peter doesn’t want to make him work on a tough project if he doesn’t want to.
“I need to make some more web fluid if that’s okay.” He suggests instead.
“Yeah of course, kid.” Tony says, sounding thankful. He waves in the general direction of the supplies closet. “You know where the stuff is.”
Peter hops up and starts gathering supplies. He tries to make a lot at a time so he doesn’t have to waste precious lab time on this often, but he really is running low.
He gets a few batches started, and then realizes that if he going to ask Mr. Stark the question that’s been weighing on his mind for days, now is his best chance.
“Hey Mr. Stark?”
“Hmm?” The man hums, focused on the repulser in front of him that he’s adjusting some wiring on.
“Do you think you’ll ever want any kids someday?” Peter asks, trying to keep his focus mostly on his web fluid creation so Mr. Stark won’t see how nervous he is.
“Oh, uh, no I wasn’t really planning on it. Why do you ask?” Mr. Stark replies, sounding surprised by the question. Peter tries his best to play it off as nothing.
“Why not? You’re kind of getting up there in age, Mr. Stark. You don’t want to lose your chance while you’re in your prime.” His says, flashing a mischievous smile towards the man.
Mr. Stark snorts. “Why do I even invite you into my lab if you’re just going to insult me? And I don’t want kids for a few reasons. They scream, touch things with their grimy little fingers, they get bodily fluids everywhere. Plus, Stark men aren’t exactly meant to be fathers.”
Peter all of a sudden feels like he can’t breathe. Mr. Stark just said he doesn’t want to be a father. He doesn’t want kids. He doesn’t want Peter. Peter tries to pull it together for long enough to finish the conversation.
“Why do you think that?” Peter asks before adding in quietly, “I think you’d make a great dad.”
Tony gives Peter a small smile, thankful but not believing him.
“Thanks, Pete, but I wouldn’t have any idea what I was doing. My own father didn’t want to be one, and he definitely wasn’t any good at it.”
“Oh.” Peter says sadly. “I’m sorry about that Mr. Stark. I didn’t know. They always taught us in school that Howard was such a great guy.”
The older man sighs deeply before turning his attention away from the repulser and completely towards Peter.
“It is what it is.” He says sadly. “Most people don’t know that about Howard. He was a great man, truly. He was a total business and scientific genius, the best inventor of his time, but he definitely wasn’t a family man. He was cold, calculating, and I’m fairly certain he only had me so he could train me from birth to inherit his company.”
Peter doesn’t even know how to respond to that. That’s just so upsetting. Mr. Stark didn’t deserve that. He’s one of the kindest and most generous people that Peter has ever met. He deserved to have parents that loved him and cared about him. Peter may not have anyone right now, but he at least had May and Ben when he was a kid. If he’s sure about anything, it’s that they loved him.
Mr. Stark looks up at Peter’s lack of response and must notice his expression, because his face immediately softens.
“Hey, enough of this sad stuff. That was all like 20 years ago anyway.”
He walks over and sits back down next to Peter, pulling in a few beakers of his web mixture in front of him.
“Let’s get these finished.”
“Okay, sure, Mr. Stark.” Peter responds. He finishes making is web fluid in silence, unsure of how he’s supposed to go on like normal after getting that kind of news. Mr. Stark doesn’t want kids. Is it because he hates kids or because he’s so convinced he would be a terrible father? Could Peter convince him that he’s already an amazing father without telling him first that he’s his son?
“Hey, stop thinking so much.” Mr. Stark tells him, flicking his arm to snap him out of the fog. “You like Star Wars, right, kid? You seen any of the newest ones?”
“Um, no, sir. Not yet.” He responds hesitantly. Mr. Stark stands up from his stool and motions for Peter to follow him. He wraps an arm around Peter’s shoulders and leads him onto the elevators.
“Penthouse, please, Friday.”
He keeps Peter tucked into his side until they reach the living room. He lets Peter go and lightly shoves him towards the couch.
“Go sit. I’ll get snacks.”
Peter makes himself comfortable on Mr. Stark’s large and surely expensive couch, and a few minutes later the man comes back with sodas and two bowls of popcorn. He hands one to Peter and sits down next to him before grabbing the throw blanket off the back of the couch and tossing it over Peter’s legs.
“Thanks Mr. Stark. Are you sure I should be eating on your nice couch?” He asks, suddenly very concerned about making a mess.
His dad just waves away his concerns. “What’s the point of a couch if you can’t enjoy using it? Besides, you know how many parties I’ve thrown in this place? You think Thor cares if he spills food on my couch? This thing has been deep cleaned a few times.”
Peter is feeling a little sick to his stomach, but he doesn’t want Mr. Stark to know anything is wrong, so he picks at his popcorn anyway.
“Friday, put on the force awakens.” Tony says, and a second later, it pops up on the very large living room TV.
It doesn’t take long before Peter has completely forgotten himself and is completely enthralled.
The movie keeps his entire focus away from his own situation until almost the end.
“No! What the hell! They killed Han?!” He screams. He can hear Mr. Stark chuckling at his reaction from next to him, but Peter isn’t really in the mood for joking. A wave of emotion hits him thinking about how Kylo Ren had a father who loved him and wanted him, and he just threw all of that away. If his dad actually wanted him, there’s no way he’d ever give that up.
He shrinks down into the cushions, crossing his arms and trying to make himself small and hoping Mr. Stark doesn’t notice how distraught he is.
Clearly he fails because a second later, he feels Mr. Stark’s hand in his hair, brushing it with his fingers. And Peter just lets him do it. More than that actually. He leans into his hand a bit, encouraging it, not that he would ever admit that out loud.
“Cheer up, Underoos. It’s just a movie character. I’m sure you’ll survive.”
Mr. Stark pulls his hand away again, attention going straight back to the movie, and Peter has to stop himself screaming or crying or he doesn’t event know what. He’s just so sad. He’s never felt like this before. He feels like a stupid little kid. He just wants so badly. He wants to be Mr. Stark’s kid. He wants the man to love him and care about him like a father should. He wants Mr. Stark to keep touching his hair just because he knows Peter likes it. But he can’t have that because while Peter desperately wants Mr. Stark to be his father, Mr. Stark doesn’t want Peter to be his kid. He doesn’t want anyone to be his kid. He said so.
He moves a little bit farther away from the man on the couch like a little more physical distance can make the sting of rejection any less painful. He curls up in the blanket he’s been given and tries to pay attention to the rest of the movie, but it’s just not the same as it was before. He can’t concentrate. He just stares blankly at the screen for the remainder of the film until finally the credits start rolling.
“So what did you think?” Mr. Stark turns towards Peter to ask after the movie.
Peter just shrugs. “It was okay I guess.”
Mr. Stark just nods, oblivious to Peter’s distress. “Yeah, I agree. Not like the originals.”
Peter looks over at the clock, glad to see it’s almost time for him to leave. He doesn’t feel very good any more. He wants to be alone for a while.
“Thanks for the movie, Mr. Stark.” He says, standing up and putting the blanket back where it belongs. “I should probably get going so I can be back in time for dinner.”
“Sure thing, kiddo.” The man responds, standing up as well. “Do you want me to take you home?”
“No thank you.” Peter answers with a shake of his head. “I’ll swing home.”
“Alright. Stay safe. I’ll see you on Wednesday.” The man passes by, ruffling Peter’s hair again on the way. Peter quickly hustles to the elevator, suddenly feeling very claustrophobic in the penthouse, despite the square footage being more than any home Peter has ever lived in.
He takes his time getting back to the Patterson’s apartment, glad to have some time to think. By the time he’s finally at the front door, he’s made a promise to himself. He can’t give up his time with Mr. Stark. He’s too attached, and the man would be suspicious. So he decides to go back to his previous rules and give up that Mr. Stark would ever want to be his father. He’ll just accept the mentor/mentee relationship they have and stop expecting more. Expectations are the easiest way for him to get hurt. His father doesn’t want him, and he’s just going to have to learn to be okay with that.