School was about 10 minutes away from ending and Peter couldn’t stop bouncing his leg. It was a Friday and he was going to dad’s lab afterwards. They were working on the nanotech on the latest Ironman suit’s gauntlet and dad wanted him to be the one to do it. He said it would be ‘a good learning experience’ but Peter was convinced that dad just wanted to see him smile more. It wasn’t like he was jumping around the lab last Tuesday, talking a mile a minute about how it would be so cool to modify it and possibly make the nanotech assemble faster or anything. It currently took about 10 seconds for the nanobots to cover his dad’s entire body and that’s fast, but Peter was sure he could cut the time in half. It wasn’t a necessity since the assemble time is already so short but Peter just wanted to challenge himself. That and his dad said that there was no way he could so naturally he wanted to prove him wrong. Peter glanced up at the clock. Only 3 minutes left…
“Dude, what’s wrong with you ? You look like you drank 5 cups of coffee.” Ned whispered to him.
“What ? Of course I didn’t. After what happened last time, Pepper wont even let me near the coffee pot anymore. I’m just excited for today’s lab session. We’re working on the time ca-“ Peter was cut off by the bell ringing.
Stuffing his things in his bag in record speed, he started bouncing on the spot, waiting for Ned to pack his books.
“Come on dude, hurry !” Peter’s smile was contagious. Ned couldn’t help but laugh at his friends antics.
“Coming, coming.” Ned chuckled.
They walked down the crowded hallway talking about everything and nothing. Ned just got a new lego set and they were going to meet up on Sunday to build it. It was a limited edition to the newest Star Wars set that just came out. Ned’s cousin got the last set at the store he worked at and offered it to Ned.
“That’s so cool dude. I cant wait to build it with you. How many pieces are there ?”
“2765.” Ned told him in an excited hushed whisper. It was a habit they picked up when Ned found out about Spider-Man. Peter was just closing his locker when his spidey senses went off. He tensed and held still against his instincts. The shove came twice as hard today.
“Honestly, what 16 year old plays with legos anymore ? I know you didn’t get a childhood Penis but this is beyond pathetic. I bet your uncle was glad he died so he didn’t have to deal with you.” Flash sneered in his face. “Even your aunt couldn’t stand being with you any longer. Why don’t you just die Penis. Nobody wants you here.” Flash said his last piece, shoved him against the locker again and walked off.
Usually Peter would brush off flash’s comments but he hit a nerve today. Flash didn’t usually talk about his dead family. He would call him names and compare what he had to what meagre, second hand belongings Peter had but that was about it (that was before he was taken in by the Starks so Flash couldn’t exactly say anything about his new clothes now). So for him to bring up his late aunt who passed only a few months ago hurt. He wasn’t over her death. When dad had told him that she wasn’t the half of them who blipped but had died during the 5 years he was dusted, he was inconsolable. Mum and dad had arranged her funeral and it was a beautiful one. She even left a letter for him apologising for not being able to hold on until he came back.
When dad snapped the world back in place and miraculously survived, although he lost his right arm and was in a coma for 2 weeks, he had adopted Peter and broke the news to him. When his dad was finally able to get out of the hospital, he stayed with Peter while he cried to the point of puking and held him tightly until he fell asleep. He drove Peter to visit Aunt May’s grave whenever Peter wanted. Well, Friday did the driving but Mr Stark always accompanied him to the cemetery. He even established a routine for Peter so that his life wouldn’t seem so hectic, Tuesday and Fridays are ‘Lab days’ (although Peter is in there everyday. Tuesdays and fridays are for heavier projects where they do the cool stuff), patrolling on the rest of the days and family day on Saturday. He even started taking Peter down to the other R&D labs where the employees and interns are so that Peter had a fuller schedule and won’t mope around the penthouse during his free time. He was absolutely grateful to them for giving him a family, a home and all the support they could give.
He wasn’t over his aunts death tho so flash’s taunts stung. He felt his chest physically hurt and his eyes started stinging. Discretely wiping them, he turned to Ned and mustered a strained smile. Ned was looking at him with worry in his eyes. Peter knew that his best friend knew he was hurting and the concern was appreciated but he didn’t want to talk about it in the semi-full hallway of his high school.
“It’s fine Ned. Let’s get out of here.” Peter convinced his best friend to drop it for the moment.
They walked to the exit in comfortable silence (high school could never be silent but you get it). As they exited, Peter easily spotted the black Audi. He said his goodbye to Ned and performed their handshake and headed to the car. Just as he opened the car door, Flash decided to shout out one last remark for the day.
“There’s no way that you can afford that car Penis ! Tell me, who did you get on your knees for to fetch you from school ? You’re pathetic Parker. I hope you crash !” Peter pretended not to hear him, getting into the car and slamming the door closed.
He greeted Happy, albeit without his usual excitement. Happy for his part looked unfeeling to those who don’t know him well, but Peter could see his eyebrows furrowed together and concern in his eyes. Before he could ask Peter about it tho, Peter had already stuffed his ears with his Starkpods and had closed his eyes. Happy made a mental note to text Tony about it when he dropped Peter off.
It was about 15 minutes before they entered the underground carpark of Stark Tower which they had decided to buy back after the whole ‘Endgame’ battle. Dad had said that he didn’t want to upheave Peter’s life more than he had to and thought that a familiar school wouldn’t be as daunting as a new one, and since the tower was the closest to Midtown High, they moved back into the tower. Peter took his Starkpods out and said goodbye to Happy before making his way in. He didn’t notice Happy sending a text to Tony about the comment he heard and how dejected Peter looked.
Peter got into the elevator and leaned his back against one of the walls. “To the penthouse please, Fri.” Peter sighed.
“Of course, Peter. Is something wrong ? You seem to be upset about something.” Friday asked him with concern, as far as an AI can be concerned.
“It’s nothing, Fri. I’m just tired.”
“If you say so Peter. Boss has been informed of your return and wishes for you to go down to the lab.”
“Tell him I’ll be there after grabbing a snack.”
When the doors to the elevator opened, he stepped out and was instantly hit with a running missile in the form of Morgan. “PETEY !” her shout of delight was accompanied by the biggest smile on her face.
“Hey there, Maguna.” Peter greeted her with a soft smile. He hoisted her up on her hip and carried her to his room while she told him about her day at school. Peter ‘mm’ed and ‘ahh’ed occasionally to let her know he was still listening. Apparently they were learning addition and subtraction now and honestly Peter was impressed. Morgan could add and subtract in hundreds now. Even Peter couldn’t do that until he was 7. Peter deposited Morgan on his bed and placed his backpack on the floor beside his study table. He went over to his closet and picked out a hoodie and sweatpants, going for maximum comfort. Since it was a walk in closet, he just closed the door halfway and changed so that he could still listen to Morgan talking.
“That’s great, bambino. I need to go down to the lab now. Come on, I’ll walk you back to the common room and you can continue watching the tv.” Peter held out a hand for her to grab. She hopped off the bed and grabbed his hand willingly. Once there, Morgan ran off with “bye petey !”. Shaking his head with a smile, Peter turned towards the kitchen to grab an apple or two to eat on his elevator ride to the lab. Once he found them, he entered the elevator and told Friday to take him to his dad. Crunching on his apple, he mentally braced himself for the next few hours of lab time. Honestly, all he wanted to do was go back upstairs, watch a movie and cuddle with his family but Tony really wanted to see if he could cut the expansion time in half and Peter didn’t want to disappoint him.
When the door opened, he knew something was up. First, music wasn’t being blasted and second, his dad wasn’t elbow elbow deep in whatever new project he had on or any of his suits. In fact, he was sitting on his chair with a worried look plastered on his face while staring at him as if he was waiting for the moment the elevator doors were gonna open.
“Hey, dad. Is everything alright ?” Peter couldn’t help but feel like he was being scrutinised. Has he done something wrong ?
“Pete, kid, come here.” His dad said almost in a sad voice.
Okay, Peter was really worried now. His dad only did sad or angry feelings when it involved Morgan. But this didn’t seem like a Morgan problem. Walking over to him, Peter was surprised when his dad got up and hugged him tight. Peter couldn’t help but melt into his embrace and give out a soft sigh. He buried his face into his dad’s neck and just enjoyed the comfort, although he was confused as to why his dad was hugging him.
“What is it, dad ? You’re acting weird.” Peter asked.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were getting bullied ?” His dad bluntly asked, never one to be subtle about anything.
Peter tensed up. What could he possibly say to that ?
“I-I’m not getting bullied dad. Where did you hear that from ?” Peter couldn’t help but stutter. Nobody in his family was supposed to know about Flash. His family shouldn’t have to worry about his small problem. He could take it. He was Spider-Man for gods sake. He had faced Thanos, he could surely face Flash.
Tony gently pushed him back and looked him in the face with a ‘are you kidding me’ look. “Bambino, I love you but you are one of the worst liars I’ve ever met. That and I hacked into your school CCTV cameras. There’s tons of footage of you being tripped, shoved and harassed. Now are you going to tell me why you’ve never brought this up ?” Tony asked with hope in his voice.
Peter tried to think of a reason for not telling them. “Uh- it’s-it’s just a bit of teasing dad. It wasn’t anything serious. Flash is just joking around.” Peter lied through his teeth. Even to him, the excuse sounded fake. And according to his dads face, he thought so too.
“Peter, please, tell me you did not just say that. Why are you giving excuses, kid ? I could’ve helped you know ?” Tony actually looked a little hurt at that.
Seeing no way out of it, Peter conceded. “I can handle it dad. He’s just a high school bully. I can take it. I’m Spider-Man.” Peter said it as if that made all the sense in the world. Maybe to Peter it did, but it just made Tony even more confused and a tad bit sad.
“You may be Spider-Man, tesoro, but you’re still Peter Parker-Stark. You’re still human and humans get hurt. Just because you’re Spider-Man doesn’t mean that the words of a bully can’t hurt you.” Tony tried to explain.
“But I can take it, dad !”
“Then why did Happy text me about how dejected you looked today after school ? Not to mention the god awful comment this Flash kid said.” Tony asked.
“It’s nothing. It’s my respons- it’s just nothing dad. Drop it already.” Peter was getting sick of talking about it but he knew his dad was stubborn, a trait he passed down to Morgan too.
Tony only stared at his son, lips pressed in a thin line and eyebrows furrowed in frustration and worry. Why wouldn’t he just give me a reason for not fighting back or going to the teacher’s ? Why didn’t he tell him ?
“How is it your responsibility, Peter ?” Tony just wanted to understand his son’s warped thinking.
Peter breathed in a lung-full of air before heavily sighing.
“Ben always said ‘with great power comes great responsibility’. I have all these powers, I can heal quickly, i swing around New York fighting crime so how could I not allow him to bully me. If I fight back, he’ll just bully someone else, someone who’s weaker than me, someone who doesn’t have super strength and super healing and I can’t let him do that, dad. It’s better if it’s me that someone who would actually get seriously injured.”
Wow. Tony didn’t know how to reply to that. He could understand why Pete did it but he also thought he was an idiot.
“Why didn’t you go to the teachers then ? Or me ?” Tony still couldn’t get all the hurt out of his voice.
Peter looked at him in the eye. His eyes widened at the amount of guilt and sadness on his dads face.
“I-I couldn’t ? Flash’s parents fund the school and so the teachers and principal are scared to do anything to offend him. They didn’t want to lose the money.” At this Tony snorted. He was easily 10 times richer than whoever this Thompson is but he didn’t interrupt Peter yet. “And I would’ve told you dad. I would, I trust you with everything but I was handling it ! And if I told you, you would’ve stormed up to my school and rip the staff apart for allowing Flash to get away with the bullying and I just want to be on the down low for now.” Peter explained.
Okay, Tony could understand that. But he still thought his son was an idiot for not coming to him.
“Better you than someone weaker. But don’t you think it’s better if he doesn’t bully anyone at all ? Do you know what bullying does to the bully, Pete ? It gives them a superiority complex. They walk around acting as if they’re the best and Dash or whatever his name is may be able to pay his way out of it in school but it sure as hell won’t pass when he starts working. What will happen after high school ? Will be enter college and find someone else to bully and pay his way out of that too ? What about when he starts working ? Will he continue to be cruel to his colleagues ? When is he going to stop Peter ?” Tony saw the moment Peter realised this.
Tony continued on. “He won’t. He’ll be out there bullying other people, someone other than you because nobody has made the effort or nobody was brave enough to call him out on it. One day, when you’re not there to ‘take it’ for the rest of them, he will find a new victim. You’re not helping him, bambino. You’re just delaying the inevitable. Flash will continue being a bully even after you’ve left high school. You’ve told me that Ben said ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ numerous times but you’re not being responsible with this, Pete. You have power, you could’ve fought back, stood up for yourself. And if you didn’t want thing to get physical, you could’ve told me. You have the power of the Stark family behind you and you could’ve helped Flash become better. He could’ve went to counselling and he would’ve realised how horrible his attitude was and that would be one less bully in this world. Do you understand, Pete ? You’re not helping anyone like this. You have great intentions bubba, but it won’t help anyone in the long run.”
Peter stared at him with watery eyes. He couldn’t help but feel ashamed. He thought he was doing something good for the other victims if Flash just focused on him. But he was wrong and his dad made him see that. He may have helped the students if midtown escape his bullying but he didn’t help Flash, did he ? He didn’t think about the long run or about how others will suffer because he didn’t do anything to stop Flash. He felt horrible for Flash’s would-be victims and he felt bad for Flash himself. What if he was a product of his parents ? What if Peter had helped him see that bullying was wrong ? What if one day Flash bullies someone so bad that they decide to kill themselves ? Peter has seen it happen. He has read news about bullying victims who couldn’t take the constant abuse and had taken their own lives. He could’ve helped Flash and Flash would maybe help another bully realise that they were wrong too. He could’ve done so many things differently if he had just told his dad about it. But he didn’t.
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that. I guess I just wanted him to stop hurting others and I didn’t think about the consequences.” Peter sniffed and Tony pulled him close.
“It’s alright, petey. You just wanted to protect them. We’ll get this sorted alright ? Come on, let’s go watch a movie with Morgan and I’ll order food from the Thai place you like so much. We can sort this out on another day.” Tony comforted Peter while rocking him side to side.
Tony placed a kiss on Pete’s forehead before pulling away. They made their way to the penthouse where they got pulled into the Disney movie Morgan was watching. Their food came and Pepper arrived not long after to join them. Peter looked at his family and smiled softly. He knew his dad was going to bring up the topic again another day but he didn’t mind. He didn’t mind that his dad would probably go down to his school to talk to the Thompson’s or that it may get out to the school that he was a Stark. He didn’t care because as long as he had his family, he would be okay.