Chapter 6
Tony’s life should have been improving after the session with Peter in his personal lab three weeks ago.
Peter had written a piece based on the questions he’d asked in the practice session, and while he still didn’t let up in his criticisms of Tony’s inexperience, he no longer commented on his inability to answer the tough questions. When Tony had heard the New York Times had placed Peter’s article on the front page, he’d immediately gone to pick up a copy. He was desperate to know what the man thought of him, and if he’d mentioned any of the unprofessional things he had done and said that day. The headline told him everything he needed to know.
Stark Shows Some Promise Despite Inexperience, Lack of Clear Vision. By Peter Parker.
He wasn’t sure if he was pleased or disappointed to see that Peter’s opinion of him hadn’t changed much.
Peter had published several pieces on him by now: critiquing the plans he’d unveiled for research funding; covering his lack of interactions with voters, and subsequently reviewing the events he’d begun to host. He’d also begun writing articles digging skeletons out of Tony’s closet: a government contract that had fallen through because they didn’t trust the weaponry Stark Industries wanted to provide. He’d mentioned an interview with Obadiah Stane that he chose not to publish because the man was clearly heavily biased against Tony. Though he was skeptical of the billionaire himself, Peter had said he refused to publish such a vitriolic interview.
Tony had subscribed to the New York Times so he could keep up on the man’s work, reading every article like a starved man presented with a full Thanksgiving dinner.
Since that practice session, Tony hadn’t been able to talk to Peter again. Not one-on-one. The journalist still attended every event as he’d been assigned to do, and consistently asked the tough questions that had made the billionaire squirm just a few weeks ago. But after each event he was the first one out the door, and the way they’d made eye contact, matching smiles present on their faces, had disappeared. The witty banter was gone. Peter stared intently at the wall just to Tony’s right as he asked his questions, and almost never asked a follow-up and never snarked with him like he’d used to.
Even the kids online who had started commenting about what a cute couple they would make had picked up on the changes.
Why does Peter always look like a kicked puppy at these things now? Someone give him a hug. Preferably Tony.
Tony not flirting with Peter anymore is a goddamn atrocity.
What the fuck happened to these two?
Tony sighed, glancing at the time. It was almost noon, at which point he’d be hosting a group of high school students to talk about why STEM education was important to them. Pepper had thought it would be good for him to be connected to the kids whose education he was trying to improve, and being good with kids always helped a politician look good.
With only two weeks to go until the election, he knew he desperately needed to prove he was serious and look good doing it. Tony still had a lot of voters to win over, and he knew it. While he was faring well in the polls, only a few points behind the two big nominees, he knew he needed to be ahead if he stood any chance of winning as a write-in candidate.
Peter’s help had been a real turning point for his campaign. Everyone was commenting on how much better he was handling harder questions, how much he sounded like a real politician rather than a billionaire playing dress-up.
Tony and Peter had kept their mouths shut about that practice session, though it was an unspoken agreement. They both knew it would be disastrous for Peter’s career if word got out - it would look like favoritism at best, a cover for a hookup at worst.
“Ready to go?” Pepper said, knocking on the door. Tony startled out of his thoughts, looking down at the paper where Peter’s words stuck out to him.
He had to show more than some promise.
Not for the first time, Tony was overwhelmed with the urge to prove the reporter wrong. Peter’s critiques had turned into his encouragement, forcing him to think about why he was making certain decisions and the ramifications of every action and every word. He was glad to see their brief kiss all those weeks ago hadn’t changed how Peter wrote about him. Tony wasn’t one for sugar-coating, and appreciated the bluntness and honesty with which Peter wrote every piece. It was refreshing, and a reality check that he often sorely needed.
“Tony,” Pepper prompted. “It’s time to go, whether you’re ready or not.” Tony nodded, brushing his fingers over the newspaper and standing up from his desk. They entered the elevator in silence, Tony adjusting his tie and avoiding eye contact with Pepper.
“Is it Parker?” She asked after a few moments. “I know he’s tough, but honestly, what he’s been writing recently has been far more generous than he usually is. He’s honestly probably been helping you out.”
“Is what Parker?” Tony asked, ignoring the rest of what she had said. If only she knew just how much Peter had helped him out.
“The reason you’ve been moping for the past three weeks,” Pepper shot back. “I’ll admit you do a good job of convincing the press and the public that you’re totally fine, but I know that you’re not. You rarely come out of the lab anymore, you’re not excited about this campaign, and you don’t even attempt to look at my ass anymore.”
Tony chuckled, but there was no life to it. Sighing heavily, he looked down at his shoes and clasped his hands together behind his back.
“I kissed him.”
“You kissed Peter Parker? ” Pepper asked, clearly shocked. “And he let you?”
“Oh yeah, he let me. And then he promptly freaked out, apologized more times than I care to count, and ran out,” Tony explained.
“I’m not surprised. He could lose his job for that.”
“Don’t remind me,” Tony said with a sigh. That guilt had been eating at him ever since Peter fled the tower. If anyone ever found out about the two of them, they’d have enough leverage to keep Peter from ever working as a journalist again. Tony would likely be fine, but the danger to the young Pulitzer winner was enough to make the older man incredibly careful with what he said and who he said it to.
“That explains a lot, actually,” Pepper mused. The pair fell silent after that. The elevator doors opened and she grabbed onto his shoulder. “Just...try to put it out of your brain. Once this is all over, we’ll figure out what to do.” Tony gave her a smile, patting her hand.
“I’m Tony Stark. I always figure out what to do,” he said confidently. With that, he strode confidently into the flashing cameras, smiling brightly and waving to the people gathered there.
---
Seeing Tony walk out with that beaming smile, the easy confidence Peter had taught him, and to the cheers of the students who had been invited to the event hurt way more than Peter had ever anticipated.
The past three weeks had been incredibly stressful for the journalist. Every time someone called his name, his heart rate leaped so high that his smartwatch gently reminded him to take deep breaths. He was paranoid someone was going to find out about him and Tony, about their private practice session and about the kiss.
The deep, passionate, perfect kiss.
The kiss that was like something out of a movie - not that Peter would ever, ever admit that aloud.
Ever since then, he’d done his best to distance himself from the billionaire. He refocused on his original assignment: to figure out why Tony Stark was running for Senate in the first place. Peter still attended the campaign events, but Ned was now a permanent fixture at his side. He planned his questions carefully so as to minimize his interactions with Tony, and he knew the other man had noticed. The flicker of disappointment in those eyes, the way Ned nudged him repeatedly when Tony looked over at him, all pointed to a man who was pining after Peter. Peter was pining just as hard for Tony, but knew he couldn’t act on his feelings.
His career was everything to him, he’d meant what he said in the labs that day. He couldn’t risk blowing up everything he’d built just because Tony was a good kisser.
...but was it just a good kiss?
Peter was terrified of the answer to that question.
“Dude, he’s staring at you,” Ned hissed in his ear, and Peter was jolted back into the present. The event was starting, and even though Tony’s full attention should have been on the young girl explaining her love of biochemistry, his gaze was locked on Peter. The reporter couldn’t help but stare back for a few moments before dropping his gaze to his notepad.
Ned knew about everything that had happened three weeks ago, but was smart enough not to make any comments when they were surrounded by people that could overhear.
The event proceeded flawlessly, likely thanks to Pepper Potts’ planning. Each child had the chance to tell Tony what they were passionate about in STEM education, whether it be climate change, cancer cure research, or a type of calculus Peter had never even heard of. Tony was engaged with the kids, asking them questions and making witty comments that had everyone in the room laughing along with him. As the kids filed out, Tony turned to the press pool.
“It’s been great having you all here, thanks so much for joining us today. I have a few minutes to take some questions, so hit me with your best shot.”
Peter flinched at the repeated phrase from that day in the lab.
“Hit me with your best shot,” Tony said, jumping from side to side slightly.
“Mr. Stark, would you consider broadening your focus from STEM education to education in general?” One woman in the back piped up.
“Great question,” Tony started with a nod. “I had given that some thought, yes, but I think it best for me to stick with my area of expertise. I wouldn’t appreciate it if an author started telling me how to invent, and I doubt the teachers of America would appreciate me telling them how to teach.” A ripple of laughter sounded from the gathered group, and Tony gestured to a man closer to Peter.
“What were you hoping to gain from speaking to these students today?”
“I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: kids like those are our future. We need to listen to what their interests are and stand up for them so they have every opportunity to pursue their passions, wherever that may lead them.”
“Do you support only STEM-related passions?” The reporter asked, not shy about following up.
“Of course not,” Tony said, his brow furrowing. “I support today’s youth following whatever dreams make them happy. Be it engineering, music, math, or art, everyone has something different to call their own. Their passion. Their place of happiness. I’d be thrilled to support bills in Congress supporting other programs, but my focus is on STEM because that’s what I know best and where I feel I can do the most good.” A few people nodded their heads in agreement, and for a moment only the sound of pens scratching furiously on paper filled the room.
“Mr. Parker, did you have a question?”
Peter slowly looked up from his notebook, his grip around the item tightening until his knuckles were almost white. Honestly, couldn’t Tony just leave him alone?
As soon as he thought it, Peter mentally took it back. He didn’t really want Tony to leave him alone.
Pushing all of that aside, he nodded. “Yes, I do. The latest polls show you trailing the Democratic nominee by just five points. Are you confident in your ability to pull ahead and win at this stage in the race?”
Tony hummed softly. “I think polls are overrated. I’m not too worried about it.”
What?
Peter was shocked at the answer. He knew Tony could do better than that, so why was he blowing it? He should have had that in the bag.
Slowly, Peter recognized what the man was doing. He was deliberately giving a bad answer, one that would likely piss people off, just to get Peter to keep interacting with him.
How sweet.
Stupid.
He meant stupid.
“Mr. Stark, those polls are a reflection of the voters’ preferences at this point. Are you saying you think the voters’ opinions are overrated?” Peter shot back, a little bit of anger rising to the surface. They were in this position because of Tony kissing him in the first place, and now the other man had the audacity to make it worse.
Well. It hadn’t entirely been Tony’s fault.
“You know, Mr. Parker, I’ll need to review those poll numbers before I answer the question. If you hang back, I’ll get you your answer. Everyone else, it’s been great to see you. Miss Potts will be sending out the details for the event later on this week.” Tony clapped his hands together, and everyone started to disperse.
Peter was frozen.
Once again, the suave billionaire was one step ahead and Peter had played right into his hand.
“See you at the office, dude. I’ll let Jameson know what’s up,” Ned said, clapping Peter on the shoulder and making his way out.
Once the room was empty save for Tony and Peter, the reporter exploded.
“What the fuck was that, Tony?! Calling me out in front of journalists from every major news outlet in the country? You might as well have screamed ‘I kissed Peter Parker’ to the entire room!” Peter yelled, gesturing to the closed door before crossing his arms.
“I wish I had!” Tony yelled back, clearly feeling the same pent-up frustration as the other. “I wish I had told them all! I want everyone to know!”
“No one can know!”
“I know!” The two stood in silence for a moment, breathing hard with flushed faces and clenched fists.
“Tony, I told you. I can’t-” Peter started, voice cracking as he struggled to keep tears at bay. This was too much - being in a room with the man he desperately wanted but couldn’t have was proving to be overwhelming.
“But you can. We can try this, keep it a secret, and if I win then we’ll figure it out,” Tony said, taking a step closer. The younger man didn’t move away.
“And if you do win, then what? I stay your secret?” Peter asked in a whisper.
“I-I don’t know,” Tony admitted. “But between the two of us, we’ve got the combined IQ of, like, thirty Stephen Hawkings. We’ll figure it out.” Peter cracked a little smile, almost daring to hope for a moment before shaking his head.
“I can’t,” he repeated. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince the other.
“You can’t,” Tony repeated, voice raising slightly again. “I’m putting myself out there, Peter, and you won’t even meet me halfway!”
“Halfway is too far!” Peter yelled back. “You wouldn’t lose anything but I could lose everything, and I’m not going to take that chance!”
“What, I’m not worth it?” Tony asked, voice practically dripping with venom.
“Of course you’re worth it!” Peter practically screamed, shocking them both into silence. “Of course you are,” he repeated softly after taking a second to breathe. “But it’s too much, it’s too fast, and there’s too many unknowns. I can’t roll the dice on my career when I don’t even know if we’d have a shot at a real relationship.”
“We’d have a real relationship. Trust me.” Tony looked at him pleadingly, taking another few steps closer and reaching out to hold Peter’s hand.
“It’s not real if I’m a secret, Tony.”
“You think I’d want to keep you a secret?” The older man asked in a hushed tone. “I don’t. I want to take you out on dates in Central Park. I want to meet your friends, your Aunt May with the killer chocolate chip cookies. I want to buy every copy of the New York Times and plaster your articles all over my damn building. I want to brag about my boyfriend being a Pulitzer prize winner.” Tony hesitated. “I want all of that. You just have to trust me, and meet me halfway.”
Peter stared at him, gripping the man’s hand like a lifeline.
“Do you trust me?” Tony whispered.
In lieu of an answer, Peter used his free hand to tug him in and kiss him deeply. Tony wrapped Peter in his arms eagerly, holding on tightly like he was afraid he might vanish.
Sweet, lazy kisses quickly turned fiercer and more desperate. Three weeks of almost no contact between them had each man aching for the other, desperate to hold onto, kiss, and touch every part of each other. Tony broke the kiss first, trailing his lips down Peter’s neck and smiling against the skin when the younger man moaned softly.
“Something tells me we should move this to my penthouse,” Tony breathed against soft skin, and Peter didn’t hesitate to drag Tony in for another heated kiss to signify his agreement.
The two stumbled to the elevator, so lost in each other’s lips and hands that neither one noticed a slim figure holding out an iPhone around the corner, the camera pointed in their direction.