Peter Parker was a born and raised New Yorker. He didn’t know much about outside of New York and especially not the South. But one thing he could appreciate about the region was the food. It was hearty and it made him feel a warmth inside that made him feel loved.
He flipped through the pages of one of the first cookbooks he had gotten after Ben died. He flipped until he got to the recipe he was looking for. Peach cobbler. He had never made it before, but there was a first time for everything.
He was going to be meeting Colonel Rhodes, Mr. Stark’s best friend. He had gotten to know Tony Stark since the cannoli incident. The man invited him to work in his lab with him on a weekly basis. It was terrifying at first. Being in the presence of someone you have admired your whole life is not easy. He was very self-conscious about his words and behaviors at first. But as time passed, he realized that Tony Stark was just as human as he was. The man was not going to sneer at him if he rambled too long about a topic or fidgeted with his hands too much. Maybe he would have a long time ago. But not as he was now.
He had only been a child when he first started to look up to the man. But even he could tell the several life-threatening, trauma-inducing incidents had made the man change his outlook on life and the people around him. Peter wondered how a younger Tony Stark would react to the fact that he took a teenager as his intern. Probably not with excitement.
But he didn’t have to worry about that. The current Tony was great to him. And Peter loved spending time in his company. Because Tony wanted to spend time with him, even outside the lab. Which was why he was making peach cobbler today. Tony wanted Peter to meet his best friend.
He knew the man must be feeling down with his injury. Going from having perfect motor control over your body to being paralyzed would be shocking and depressing to anyone. And now the man could hardly do any of the things he did before. His career was in jeopardy. And Peter could see the guilt radiating from Tony as he struggled to find a solution. He believed this whole situation to be his fault. And Peter was a bit of a hypocrite to find that thought ridiculous when he had been feeling guilty over Tony’s injuries. He supposed they were alike in that way. Feeling responsibility in situations they couldn’t control. But neither of them could build a time machine so the only way to move was forward.
Throughout his time with Tony, Tony talked about his best friend a lot. He talked about how he used to go to the Rhodes homes on holidays because he had no one else to celebrate with. And he talked about Mrs. Rhodes’s peach cobbler. Her simple dessert that could bring out the best emotions from anyone when they sat at her table.
Peter knew he wouldn’t be able to live up to that, but he wanted to give the man a taste of home in this difficult situation.
He was alone in the apartment, the only noise that filled the room was the chop, chop, chopping of the fresh peaches he had picked up from the store on the way home. He always liked the mix of sweetness and tartness of the fruit. It was okay on its own, but in desserts, it really came alive.
To a bowl, he added the peaches, a mix of brown sugar and white, cinnamon, nutmeg, and the juice of a lemon. He mixed it until the ingredients all stuck to the peaches. He loved the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg, it reminded him of the holidays. He poured the peach filling into the prepared pan and placed it into the preheated oven.
While they were cooking, he got started on the crumble topping. Butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and milk. He set the mixture aside until it was time to pull the peaches out. Three minutes. When the timer was up, he pulled the peaches out and began spooning the topping over them.
He placed the dish back in the oven and set another timer. Now that the doing was out of the way, he was back to stressing. More calmly than he had been before he baked but he was still stressing. He had to make a good impression.
He spent the majority of the 30 minutes pacing around the apartment. He practically ran to the oven when the timer dinged. He packed the dish up and placed it in his thermal bag and got ready to go. He could only hope Colonel Rhodes liked the cobbler or else he would be extremely embarrassed.
James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes’ life had been turned around in Germany. He went from being fully able-bodied to being paralyzed in his legs. It was a major change, one that devastated him when he woke up in that hospital bed without feeling them. He honestly felt pretty numb about it at first. With his career, it was a miracle he had no serious injuries up until this point. And he wasn’t even injured in the military, no he was injured in a superhero civil war. One that should have never happened. He didn’t blame Tony at all, it was his decision to get involved in the Avengers. And his decision to sign the Accords. He had found it to be not ideal but fairly logical. He was a soldier first after all.
He knew Tony thought he was at fault. And threw himself into helping with his recovery. He had made James leg braces and paid for his physical therapy, driving him to and from every appointment. He let Tony do these things because he knew it helped the younger man cope. Tony had learned not to give him expensive frivolous gifts a long time ago. But this was different.
Tony had picked him up from his physical therapy and was taking him back to the Tower. Apparently, he would be meeting the Spider-kid behind the mask. When Tony had come clean that the spider-themed superhero was actually a teen, he wasn’t impressed that Tony recruited a child. Surely there were other superpowered adults around the world that would have agreed. But that was in the past and Tony had been talking his ear off about this ‘Peter,’ lately. So he was glad he was taking an active role in the kid’s life and properly mentoring him. Because James knew superheroes and knew how stubborn they could be about their health and ‘duty.’ He doubted Spiderman would stop if they tried to make him. And he looked into the news about what the kid was doing. Besides the slander, he seemed to be dealing with the type of stuff that police often missed or couldn’t get to fast enough. It was admirable, cleaning up the crime in his neighborhood and saving lives. He could appreciate that.
They arrived at the tower, while they were on the elevator to the penthouse, he noticed that Tony seemed to be nervous. Wow, was he really anxious to introduce them? That must mean this was important to him. This kid was important to him. And what a thought that was. His liking of one random kid was enough, but two? Insanity. And this one, he regularly interacted with in person.
The moment they stepped into the penthouse, James was struck by a scent that reminded him of home. The warm nutty scent of spices with a hint of sweetness. He turned to look at Tony. “Did you bake something before you left?”
“No, that’s probably Peter. He got here early.” His eyes were twinkling with mirth, he looked younger when he was happy.
They entered a kitchen to see a teenage boy with fluffy brown hair bending into the oven to lift a dish out. Once he set the dish down he turned around. And oh. He was adorable. He had big brown eyes that reminded him of Tony’s and was wearing the most sincere nervous smile on his face. He was wearing an old worn-out MIT hoodie that James recognized. Damn, perhaps Tony should have a DNA test done.
“H-hello Colonel Rhodes, I’m Peter Parker, uh Spider-Man, you know?” He nervously stuttered out, bouncing anxiously on his heels.
“Nice to meet you, kid. Tony’s been talking about you for ages, it’s about time I get to meet you beyond the mask.”
His eyes lit up, James didn’t know they could get wider, but they did. “He talks about me? Wow. I… He talks about you a lot too.”
“Yes, I haven’t seen him take a liking to anyone so quickly.” Even if Peter wasn’t biologically his son, Tony seemed to act like a proud father anyway. Family didn’t always mean blood.
“Rhodey, you’re making him nervous,” Tony lightly scolded. “So what do you got there? You bake something here?”
“No, I baked it at the apartment. Just heated it up because Friday said you would be here soon. It’s uh…” his eyes darted between Tony and James, “peach cobbler. Tony said it was your favorite. Physical therapy must be tough and I thought I could make you something to cheer you up afterward. I’ve never had it, but I’ve been told I’m a decent baker so I thought I could handle it. It will at least taste okay.”
God, the kid was endearing. No wonder Tony was attached. It warmed his heart that the kid went out of his way to make his favorite dessert.
“Pete, you’re not a decent baker. You’re amazing. You’ve literally blessed my life with your baked goods.” Tony pulled Peter into his side, showing causal affection. Tony didn’t just do that with just anyone. James didn’t even think the kid knew how much Tony cared about him.
Well, Tony wasn’t one to exaggerate, he was pretty honest. Sure, he would sugarcoat it for a kid, but he wouldn’t go overboard with the praise so it must be true. And Tony elaborated, telling James about the cannolis Peter had brought him while he was on bed rest. His eyes were ablaze with emotions and nostalgia while Peter was a blushing mess. A baker who could bring out someone's emotions whether it was a smile or tears, was the best kind of baker.
James hadn’t had peach cobbler in years. It was difficult for him to make family dinners. And now that his mother was older, she didn’t host as often. So when he made it, she was never the one cooking. She would of course bring a dish but his cousin insisted on making dessert. He usually made pies or cakes. Probably because he knew he couldn’t match up to momma Rhodes.
“So uh, are you guys hungry?”
“I could definitely eat.” He was excited, the cobbler smelled wonderful. He didn’t think anything would match up to his mom’s but he was sure it would still taste wonderful. It smelt good.
Peter grinned at that and started to maneuver around the kitchen for plates with practiced ease to get plates and utensils. He allowed them to plate themselves a serving, he set a container of vanilla ice cream on the counter for them to help themselves while he fetched his own serving.
The first bite was heavenly. Tony had not lied. Peter was an exceptional baker. This cobbler matched up to his mother’s. If he had been given it blindfolded, he would have thought she made it. Fuck, his life had been such a mess lately. He was avoiding admitting that his legs had pulled him into a funk. The feeling of being transported home was comforting.
It made him feel like a child again, sitting at the kid’s table with all his cousins, being in their own world from the adults. Laughing and enjoying food without worry. Back when their only worries were trivial matters that he could hardly remember now. Now his worries were much more consequential.
The cobbler reminded him of warmth, home, family, and happiness. The simple things he loved in life. Things that made him want to keep going even when he was down.
His mother’s food always seemed to have a healing effect. It would metaphorically wipe away tears, bandage wounds, and alleviate the hurt. Peter’s had the same effect.
“So do you like it?” Peter asked anxiously, looking down at his plate.
“It’s amazing, it tastes like home. Thank you so much for this, it made me feel a lot better.”
Peter beamed at him, his entire body relaxing at the compliment, finally meeting his eyes with a bright smile. With passion in his eyes, he declared, “that is the best type of food.”