Happy Ever After
Since being abducted, returning home, and recovering from the numerous injuries he endured, Peter hadn't given school much thought. Even though Peter was by no means a popular person, everyone at the school still believed that he was Tony's real son, so he's confident that someone other than MJ and Ned might have noticed his absence. Though he never filled in much of a spot, he was the resident ‘nerd’. Bullies occasionally were upset when their target geeks weren't present. He knew this because Ned had texted him the previous evening that Flash had been almost silent since Peter's disappearance became public knowledge.
Peter thought he should go back soon. Even if had only been a few weeks tops.
He caught Tony in the lab that evening, rolling his eyes when he saw Tony slaving away on the Spider-Man suit to make it even more protective than it already was. At this point he’d be covered in bubble wrap, duct tape and whatever tech Tony might think of to make sure he was indestructible. Sure, the concern was sweet, but Peter didn’t need it.
He was powerful. If he had wanted to, he could have completely avoided the abduction, but he needed to comply otherwise who knows if those kids would've made it. That does not imply that those who were taken weren't capable of strength like he was. Peter was impressed by how strong they were. He would have gone insane if he had to remain there for much longer. They possessed strength he could never have imagined, and now they must behave as if nothing has changed as they enter the outside world. When in fact, things would never be the same. They now had to constantly check behind them to see if it would happen again. You never truly get over a horrible event once it has happened to you. Yes, the discomfort decreases and shrinks throughout time. However, it's still there, like a tic sucking on your leg. The pain may occasionally strike without warning, when you’re not sure if it’s there, and then you live through it all again. To go through that, and to still wake up every day… that’s strength. Not him catching some school bus.
Peter smiled as Tony hummed along to the music, his head bopping back and forth. In here, he was in his element. Engineering ran through his blood; it was his heart and his head, and he was brilliant at it. The way he’d work with his tools was a show to watch. Peter, as much as he loved to work alongside him, would be happy to sit and watch forever.
But, for now, he’d rather Tony knew he was stood there.
He coughed. “Hey,” he waved, enjoying the moment of recognition in Tony’s eyes when he realised it was Peter stood by the doorway. His eyes lit up as he spoke to Friday, stopping the music in the process. He walked over with wide steps, trying his best to lessen the time it took to wrap him into the biggest bear hug possible. Peter hugged back, enjoying the warmth. Tony was like the comfiest blanket you could imagine; one that you always chose to use in the coldest winters. “I missed you,” Peter said, although it had only been hours since they last saw each other.
He spent weekends at the compound now. May agreed to it with Tony. It allowed her to go out without any guilt, though she should’ve never felt that before, or work longer if she needed to. Tony offered her a flexible job that paid more, but she refused as she wasn’t one to ‘accept charity’, in her own words. She was happy, especially since rent had mysteriously declined dramatically in the last month. How on earth did that happen? It’s not because Tony brought their building. Totally was not the case. At all. That pesky hole in their ceiling had been fixed too. No more drowning during a storm. Which was good.
“Missed you too, buddy,” Tony replied, squeezing him tighter for a second before letting go and letting Peter breathe properly. A tight bear hug from Tony Stark did manage to cut off your airways… sometimes. “Was upgrading that suit of yours. I’ve added better tracking, more web combos. It’s more resistant now. Bullets will be bouncing off you. Well, I hope they go nowhere near you- but knowing you, that’s impossible. So, it’s better I put this in.”
Peter laughed. “Mr Stark,” he said, although it was more of a whine. Which Tony raised his eyebrow at. “The suit you made before is fine. I don’t need all that extra stuff,” he told him, looking over at Tony’s workshop. The suit did look cool, but Peter didn’t like that he was spending so much of his time and money on it. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine- you’re my kid and if I want to put bubble wrap all over you then I will,” Tony replied.
Peter shrugged. He didn’t bother arguing with him. Peter was stubborn, but Tony was more than that. He was impossible. Peter decided he’d move the topic onto the real reason why he came into the lab, although just hanging out with Tony was always reason enough.
“I have a question,” Peter said, ignoring Tony’s previous comment.
Tony raised the other eyebrow that wasn’t raised before, because he does that- weirdly- he likes to alternate between the two. He’s a creative person, he wasn’t limited to only one eyebrow raise. He sat down at his desk, tucked some paper into a journal and then looked back up at Peter expectantly. He rolled his wrist, a signal to say, ‘go on then’. Peter ate the ‘use your words’ comment he was going to say. He needed to be in the good books if Tony was going to let him go back to school. Even if it wasn’t his choice, Peter wanted to get his blessing. He’s not sure why.
“I want to go back to school,” he said. He puffed his chest as to look more confident. He was ready and he was healed, and he missed his friends. He wanted to hug Ned and tell him he was fine, considering Ned and Cooper were stood right there when he was taken. He’d had plenty of time to hang out and hug Coop, but Ned was a different story. He hadn’t seen him yet. “Tomorrow?”
“Woah, tomorrow?” Tony says. “I’m all for you going back, kid, but tomorrow seems a bit soon… doesn’t it? I was thinking more like a week at least,” Tony shrugged. He got up and sighed at Peter’s defiant face, and those eyes were big and too hard to resist. Tony shivered. “Only if you’ll let me drive you. We can be a bit late, so we don’t get mugged but all your little friends.”
“You do know that will just drive the rumour that you’re my dad even more, right?” Peter asked, but he was already sold. Back to school and more time with Tony? What more could he ask for? It’s not like he liked school, not at all really, but he missed going out and seeing the people he loved. That’s what he wanted. He couldn’t care less if he missed English… he knew how to read already. He just wanted to see people.
“That’s what I was planning for,” Tony grinned.
Peter was glad there was little to no resistance. Though, he did wonder why not. Tony usually wasn’t this easily swayed. But Peter was glad to get out, so he didn’t think much of it. Tony didn’t look sad, or annoyed, so he knew everything was okay. He tried not to think about it too much. He did that a lot. Overthinking was a curse he’d never get lifted.
The next day, Peter was eager to get up and get ready for the day. He didn’t like mornings normally, but this one was different. He was dressed in a record time as he splashed some of Tony’s aftershave, not knowing how much money he was holding in his hand, over himself and even shaved slightly. He was going through puberty, and nobody wanted to see his excuse of a ‘beard’ that had grown out of control since he was taken.
He didn’t manage to cut himself this time, thanks to Tony’s guidance. He was Peter’s fairy-God parent. Omniscient and omnipotent, he always knew when Peter needed him, and he always knew how to help. Tony had to have a bit of magic, otherwise it would be impossible to be as great as he was. Although Peter knew not to inflate his ego. Rhodey said it was big enough, and sometimes, only sometimes, Peter found it easy to agree.
Speaking of Rhodey, Peter saw him as he came running out of bed thanks to the smell of bacon on the grill. Tony was stood by the oven, wearing a ‘kiss the cook’ apron, facing Rhodey and chatting. Peter tried not to eavesdrop, but he couldn’t help it! He heard the end of the conversation, hearing news that Tony had been sober for so long that resisting the urge was starting to become second nature to him. Peter couldn’t have been prouder.
He tried not to let them know that he heard every word. But thanks to ‘Parker’ luck, Peter knocked a nearby console table over, making a bunch of old ornaments fall to the floor. Luckily, nothing broke. Apart from Peter’s space awareness and dignity, of course. He sheepishly picked them up, hoping they’d be too into their conversation to realise.
He’d be an idiot to think so, however, as Rhodey was already walking over to help him the clean the mess. Rhodey looked at him like he knew his every secret. It was creepy. But he knew it was because he saw Tony in Peter. Meeting Tony in college, Rhodey was his first friend. He looked after him since the beginning, and fessed that he always would. He’s been Tony’s greatest supporter, and Peter can’t help but secretly thank him for keeping his ‘’dad’’ in this world for so long.
If he hadn’t, Peter would have to live with a hole in his heart without knowing what took it.
“You’re too much like him,” Rhodey finally said, when the two of them had got everything in the right place. Tony was still looking at the bacon. This time, when Peter looked over, he’d put on a chef’s hat. He’d always been a tad dramatic, but he always knew that was one of the best things about Tony Stark. “Honestly. I look at you, and suddenly I’m in college again. Keeping a leash on Tony was impossible. Looks like it’s even harder to keep you back. I don’t envy Tony, but at least he knows how it feels now.”
“I’m not that disobedient, Mr Rhodey,” Peter shrugged. He’d admit that he was annoying to keep track of, and maybe sometimes he wouldn’t tell Tony that he got injured. Maybe he went home after being shot and bled into his sheets because he knew he’d feel fine. Although, he didn’t know for sure that he’d feel fine- he just didn’t want to bother anyone. Maybe he got himself kidnapped on purpose too. But still! That doesn’t mean he was hard to worry about…
…
….Okay, so maybe he wasdifficult to manage.
Rhodey looked at his face, clearly one of contemplation as he thought of how he annoyed Tony by sneaking out, by not wearing the protective suit more than the one he made, or even by disabling his training monitors. He laughed, knowing Peter realised he did cause Tony quite a bit of panic.
“You might make him panic, Peter… but I haven’t seen him this happy in years. You make him laugh, and you make him smile, and I think you might be a big driver for the reason why I haven’t seen him drink in ages. I used to tell Tony when we were in college that if I didn’t want to take care of him, then I’d leave. He’d mess me around, scare me when he’d run off and take whatever drugs someone gave him… but I always made sure he was okay. I love him, so I’d do anything for him. What I’m saying is, don’t feel bad about giving him a bad time now and again. Just make sure you always come back to him, because he’d never leave you behind. He loves you, and he will always make sure you’re safe.”
Peter’s body responded with a shiver. His heart felt too big for his body. He could feel every pulse. He knew Tony cared, and knew how much he did, so Rhodey explaining what he just did shouldn’t make him feel this overwhelmed. But, he guessed, hearing it from someone else affirmed it. Not only did Tony care this much, but he cared openly. If someone else could see how strong it was, then it had to be God damn strong.
Peter looked over. He gestured to the once knocked over, now fixed, console table. “Even when I knock his table over?”
Rhodey grinned. “Even then,” he said, before walking off and waving goodbye. Peter heard him mumble ‘it’s like having two Tony’s, it’s scary.’ into his phone. Thanks, super hearing. ‘I can see why Tony loves him,’ he then hears. He grins widely to himself. He’s never had this much love inside him before.
He decides to go and share it with Tony.
“Ready for school?” Tony asked, shoving a plate of bacon sandwiches in front of Peter as soon as he sat down.
Peter had no idea how many he had made, but he assumed it was for a group- but, nope! Tony only cooked for him. Peter counted. He made at least ten sandwiches and built a tower of them on a small plate. Peter’s grateful, of course, he could eat anything. And everything. Even then he’d still be hungry. So, he eats them all. Not before he replies, however. He’s been taught manners. “Yeah, I’m excited,” he said.
As Peter scoffs down all of his sandwiches, Tony finally gets rid of the apron and hat and washes his hands. He’s already dressed to take Peter in. He’s gone for a casual look, not wanting to bring too much attention to himself… if possible. He ruffles Peter’s hair as he walks past, sniffing the air and realising Peter’s used his aftershave. He smiles to himself, doesn’t mention it, and grabs his keys from the kitchen counter. “If you want to come home early just give me a call. I’ll come and get you.”
“Okay,” Peter nods, though he’s not sure he’ll need Tony’s help. But for Tony’s peace of mind, he reckons he will have to nod and agree. He finishes his breakfast, leaving one sandwich for Tony to grab otherwise he knows Tony will go without. Without saying a word, Tony picks up the leftovers and starts eating.
They get in the car and drive towards Peter’s school. Tony’s unusually quiet, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel when the music doesn’t fill the emptiness enough. Peter’s a bit worried, looking over to see Tony chewing on his bottom lip as he stares at the open road in front of him.
Tony doesn’t look like himself. He’s hunched over, not laughing and smiling, and Peter wants to shake him and ask him what’s going on- but he’s driving, and Peter’s not that irresponsible.
When they stop, Peter decides he’s not letting it go. Like he said before, he’s stubborn. “What’s wrong?” he asks, looking over and frowning as Tony hides his face.
“Nothing.”
“Mr Stark,” Peter sighs. He reaches over and taps his side until he looks at him. He pouts. “Please tell me.”
“I’m just...” Tony trails off. It looks like his words are hard to say for him, like he’s holding onto them with the hope that he won’t sound weird or too clingy. He sighs. “Kid, I’m just scared. I don’t want anything to happen to you. I would never wish the feeling of not having you around on my worst enemy. I was terrified, and letting you come here- I-…. I know you’re ready, but I’m not.”
Peter looks over at him sadly. He didn’t want Tony to feel worried, or that he wasn’t ready. He wasn’t about to do something to aggravate or annoy him on purpose. That wasn’t who Peter was… now. He used to enjoy that, way before when Tony didn’t like him. But it was different now. He looked over at the school longingly. He really did want to go, but he didn’t want to do that if it would make Tony sad. He was at a crossroads, and he had no idea which one to walk down.
He looks down at his bag, imagining walking around the halls with Ned and MJ beside him. To hug them, to laugh with them, to just be with them- when he was kidnapped for those few days it felt like an unattainable dream. To be normal, to attend school, it would finally mean everything was normal again.
But… at the expense of making Tony look like this? He wasn’t sure if it was worth it.
“We… we could just go for some ice cream instead,” Peter offered. He took one last glance of the school. At least he hadn’t told Ned he was going. He wouldn’t have wanted to give him false hope. “I’m not that bothered about going.”
Tony looked over at him with a small, knowing, smile. “Sweetheart, you don’t have to not do something just because it makes me worried. That’s not who you are. You don’t avoid getting stabbed as Spider-Man just because I’m panicking. I’m not going to stop you from having a good day at school, but I’m also not going to be carefree about it,” Tony explains. “You just gotta promise me you’ll call if anything feels weird.”
Peter nods, smiling. He really does love Tony.
Peter walks into the school halls with Tony beside him, his arm wrapped around his waist. They sign in at the reception, only twenty minutes late from the start of the day. The receptionist looked alarmed when she saw who she was talking to, but the rumour had already spread throughout the school about Peter’s ‘parentage’, so she wasn’t too surprised to see Peter standing beside him.
Tony insists to walk him to his class, despite Peter’s soft resistance. The class isn’t far away, but Tony’s grip gets tighter, and his eyes look around every corner of the hallway to make sure nothing is wrong. Peter lets him, knowing nothing’s there as his sense would tell him otherwise. But he’s scared, so Peter won’t bother to try and tell him it’s fine because he knows he’ll likely not listen.
They open the door and tens of eyes come their way, widening when they see who’s stood there. His teacher welcomes him in, just as shocked as the kids in the room. Peter smiles when he sees his usual seat empty beside Ned. Ned’s grin is wild, and matches Peter’s, as he runs over and takes his seat.
“Love you, Peter,” Tony calls, waving.
Peter blushes a deep red, embarrassed to show the whole class how strong their relationship is. He’ll have a hard time denying that Tony is his dad now, but he doesn’t want too anyway… because it’s true, isn’t it? “Love you too,” he says, just loud enough for him to hear.
Tony puts a fake phone up to his ear, and Peter nods. He knows what he means. This is the third time he’s told Peter to call if something was up. He watches as Tony leaves, giving him a soft wave and then grabbing his books out of his bags for maths class, not before also waving to MJ who had turned around and smiled at him- which was rare!
Peter’s itching for the class to end as soon as it starts, only wanting to speak to Ned and hug him and let him know what happened. Ned knew he was okay, Tony had called him as soon as he was back, but they hadn’t seen each other since that day. Peter knew that, for Ned, he always worried until Peter was right in front of him again.
As soon as its over, and the bell rings, Peter jumps up and is immediately brought into a hug by Ned. Ned squeezes him, much like Tony had, and doesn’t let go. Peter hears him sniff and realises that Ned’s crying. Peter hugs back, tears up himself, but eventually let’s go.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m here,” Peter whispers.
Before Ned replies, Flash touches him on the shoulder. Peter turns to make eye contact with his ex-bully. Ex- meaning that he hadn’t bothered to say much since ‘Peter Stark’ became the most talked about gossip in the whole school. Flash tugs at the end of his bag, doesn’t bother to make eye contact like a scared deer. He says, softly and barely loud enough for anyone to hear, “I’m glad that you’re okay, Parker,” before he runs off like he said something that would’ve got him in trouble.
Ned, who’s now laughing and crying from the shock of Peter being in front of him and the fact that Flash was nice, hugs him for one last second before he picks up his bag from the floor. MJ, who was stood to the side, welcomes Peter back. She also says, ominously, “Can I talk to you at lunch, Peter?”
He agrees… but subsequently freaks out.
The day is good, though. It’s not great, or horrible. People welcome him back and ask him where’s he’s been. He lies and says Tony took him on vacation and home schooled him for a few weeks. It’s not a good lie, nor a believable one (in his opinion), but people eat it up. MJ, however, sees right through him and even rolls her eyes whenever he tells someone that it’s the truth. Maybe that’s why she wants to talk to him at lunch. Though, her constant staring gets a bit creepy.
Lessons fly by, because Peter reckons time is nothing but a construct. Lunch is a blink away and MJ’s pulling him into an empty room and shutting the door behind them before he has a chance to realise what was going on. She stares at him, like she knows every single secret he has stored up in his head. Or maybe just one of them- the most secret one of all the many secrets he has. Maybe his mind just likes the word ‘secret’ now, because suddenly it’s all he can think of.
“…You’re Spider-Man, aren’t you?” she says, and Peter blanks.
He zones out. How the hell did she find out? He knew she was a genius, in both science and English and everything- really! She knew everything about everyone- but, for some reason, Peter felt like he had been good at keeping this one to himself. He blinks at her, not knowing what to say.
His hands suddenly feel sweaty. He runs them against his trousers. MJ stares at him and doesn’t blink often. It’s creepy. Peter gets scared that she’s under mind control. But that’s just her, isn’t it? Peter still says nothing.
“I mean- it’s obvious. Wherever we go, Spider-Man always sees to be around. I mean- Washington? How come Spider-Man was at the monument? Plus, you’re athletic. You can do some crazy stuff without putting any effort into it, especially when nobody is watching. Also, Spider-Man hasn’t been active at the same time you go missing. I don’t think it’s a coincidence, Peter,” MJ continues.
But… if ‘nobody’ was watching, how did she know? Or… was she watching him because she thought he was Spider-Man? Or… for a different reason?
“Uh, no. I’m not. How could I be Spider-Man? Who even is Spider-Man?” Peter rambled, but from the way she looked at him… he realised he was done for. She knew, and she wasn’t going to accept ‘no’ for an answer. “Fine,” he huffed. “I am. Please don’t tell anyone.”
“I wouldn’t!” she says, smiling. She looks happy for herself that she figured it out. Peter wasn’t sure why she looked so ecstatic, but she sure looked pretty when she smiled. She tucked her hair behind her ear, “I knew it, though. You weren’t exactly hiding it.”
“Were you watching me because you thought I was Spider-Man?”
“Uh… why else- I mean- I-,” she stuttered, which wasn’t like her. Peter felt a bit woozy, realising that maybe she liked him like he did. Which was a huge win. Who cares if he was kidnapped, or that she knew his biggest secret? She totally liked him, and for a fifteen-year-old kid- that was the most important thing he could think of.
“It’s okay if you’ve got a crush on me,” he says, though he has no idea where that came from. But he did want to go out with her. She was beautiful.
“I- I don’t know what you mean!”
Peter winked, running away before she could prove him wrong.
A few hours later
And, just like that, the day went by in a ‘flash’ (get it) and Peter was running over to Tony and giving him a hug. Tony’s whole body deflated as soon as he held him. It’s like he was finally okay because Peter was in his arms which comforted Peter’s heart. Apparently, much to Peter’s excitement, he also had a surprise waiting for him at the compound.
That surprise?
Tony and Miles had been working on his own Spider-Man suit since he’s been at school. Miles, wanting to be different, made a black and red suit and looked super cool. Tony even taught him how to make the webs.
Miles had recovered well, and fast, and had been texting Peter all day at school, without Peter knowing he was working in the lab. When Peter had walked in, Miles was sat up on the ceiling. Peter grinned. That was his favourite spot too. Perhaps most spider-people (if anyone else was out there) were attracted to similar points, or maybe all spiders were. It could be in their genes. It wasa good spot, after all.
“I thought that you could show him how to swing,” Tony said, stood by the doorway. “I know you’ve been wanting to do so for a while, so we’ve been here all morning waiting for you.”
Peter and Miles both grinned at that, with Miles’ smile seen from behind his mask.
Peter walked over to the nearby trees later that day with Miles trailing slow behind him. Miles has his own, new, web shooters over his wrists. Peter has his original ones. He’s nervous to show Miles, scared that he could get hurt, but he’s also extremely excited to get going. They climb up, needing some height, and then they get going.
Miles does fall a few times, but Peter’s quick to attach a web to him to ensure he doesn’t hit the floor. Miles’ laugh could easily be heard from miles away, and its magic to anybody’s ears. It’s soft, sweet, and carefree- a harsh contrast to how he acted back when they were both stuck together.
But he’s a natural! He’s swinging from tree to tree in only an hour. He gets too close to the floor now and then, which does make Peter’s heart skip, but at least he doesn’t smack into any trees. Peter did that a few times when he first started out.
Peter swings alongside Miles and thinks, as the wind hits him and rushes through his hair and clothes, that now… his life is finally okay. He’s got such a loving family that would do anything for him. He’s got a ‘dad’, an extended family alongside that, and his aunt who’s safe and happy in their apartment. All of which felt like a distant dream back when they lived with a broken roof and not enough money for anything else. He’s happy. And now, he’s got a little brother that he’ll protect with his life. Miles will never have to go through what he went through ever again.
Cooper and the rest of Clint’s kids eventually get to move back home, since Lonnie and his crew are in jail. But they still hang out all the time, since Cooper has easily become one of Peter’s best friends. Unfortunately, he does have to move schools. But facetime is easily accessible.
Nine months later he gets a baby sister too. Little Morgan Stark.
She’s precious, and already has the same attitude as their father but with her mother’s eyes and smile. They’re sure she’ll have her confidence too. Her birth is a new chapter for Tony, and he feels okay closing the previous one behind him. He’s been through horrible things but has also seen so much good. He’s excited to move on and realises that he’s much more of a man than his father ever was.
Pepper, Tony, and Morgan move to a lake house, yet Tony keeps an apartment closer to Peter so he can easily visit whenever he wanted to. Tony gives up the suit. Which is something nobody ever thought would happen. Peter stays where he is, continues as Spider-Man, but visits all the time when not staying at Tony’s apartment. He’s a good big brother too, according to Pepper and Tony.
Tony comes up a year sober. They celebrate by throwing a party. Everyone Peter loves was there. Peter totally doesn’t cry. Peter and MJ go on a date. Tony’s the one that totally doesn’t cry this time. He definitely doesn’t let May wipe away his tears as she explains that their boy is growing up now and they’ll have to deal with it because it’s inevitable.
He wishes he could stop time.
Yet, even as Tony wishes it could all slow down so he could enjoy every second… All together, they lived happily ever after.