Being A Stark

Something is off with you. Peter can’t figure out what it is though. It’s only when you get to lunch that you’re off. However without fail, by the time he gets back with you to meet Happy to head to the cabin you’re usually back to normal. So something during your first four classes is making you upset and he needs to figure out what it is. Because if it’s making you upset, then it makes him upset. No person or thing should be allowed to make his girl upset. A shoulder rams into his, pulling Peter from his thoughts.

“Watch where you’re going, dickwad.” A tall, gangly boy with greasy hair sneers at Peter, and by default you since you’re walking with Peter, his arm wrapped tighter around your shoulder subconsciously. Peter wants to snap back about how it’s technically this other guy’s fault, but your arm lands on Peter’s chest.

“It’s not worth it babe.” You backing down from a fight? That’s not like you. You have your dad’s temper. Peter has seen you stand up to Flash more times than he can count. So what is it about this kid that makes you back down? It also doesn’t help that his hair is standing on end when he watches this kid walk away, the other part of him telling him something about this kid isn’t good.

“Since when does Y/N Stark back down from a fight? I thought you take after Tony in the way that you never back down from anything.” You flash him a light smile.

“It’s just a rando in the hallway who’s clearly having a worse day than us.” You shrug, knowing that saying anything to Keiron would have made the situation worse than it already was. His words from Chemistry today after getting your test back stick in your mind. Wow, you’re dumber than I though. Maybe Daddy should get a DNA test to make sure you’re actually his kid. With grades like that, no one is going to believe you’re actually related to Tony Stark. Tony Stark’s kid can’t actually be that much of an idiotic cunt. If Peter had actually said anything to him, what would Keiron have said back? Probably something that would have made today worse. You just need to ignore him a little longer and he’ll hopefully stop saying things about you. Like yes, clearly you’re not as smart as other kids at school. But did you deserve the cruelty that he said to you? No…? You don’t think you do. At least if it was Betty or Ned getting wailed on, you would stand up for them. But if it’s true… 

“...right Babe?”

“Sorry, I zoned out. What did you say?” You turn your attention back to Peter, forcing your thoughts to the back of your mind.

“I was saying maybe we could see if Happy doesn’t mind stopping at your favorite coffee shop since we haven’t been there in a while. Wouldn’t that be good?”

“I mean yes. But why? What game are you playing Parker?”

“Nothing, I just figured my best girl deserves something she loves.” You lean into your boyfriend’s arms and wonder why you deserve someone this amazing? He could have anyone and he chose you, more than once. He could have escaped after the Blip, so why didn’t he?

“Why me?”

“Why you what?”

“Why did you pick me?”

“What do you mean baby?” Peter asks, really not understanding where you’re going with this.

“You could have anyone as your girlfriend. Why me?”

“Because you’re wonderful. And perfect. And because I love you.” Peter pulls the two of you to a stop in the nearly empty hallway, figuring you need this more than you’re letting on. “Also because you don’t let the fact that you’re a Stark go to your head. There’s also the fact that you tease me when I deserve it. And there’s your sense of humor, how you show your love for the people who are important to you. There’s how you are when you're around your sister, or your parents, your grandparents, or the Avengers. But there’s also the strength you have dealing with everything you are forced to carry. Whether that’s being type one or being a Stark or having to take Chemistry for a second time.” He notices your face fall ever so slightly so he changes the topic. “But my favorite thing is this.” He motions to you in his arms. “How you fit perfectly in my arms, how you hold my heart so carefully, and how I know that I’ll love you for ever and ever. So even if I could have anyone like you say I could, I only want you.” You listen to the words he says and lean into him, peppering kisses on his lips.

“I love you.” You mutter between kisses. “Thank you for picking me.”

“Technically you picked me.” You pull away from him, your eyebrows pulling towards each other.

“What do you mean?”

“Did I technically voice my feelings for you first? Maybe. But you’re the one who showed up at my doorstep. Trying to take away my virtue since I was in a towel and nothing less I would say.” You roll your eyes.

“Technically you voiced your feelings to my dad first, but I voiced mine to Aunt Nat weeks before that.”

“Wait really? The Black Widow knew you had a crush on me? That’s awesome.”

“Technically she knew I had a crush on my dad’s intern who was bragging about his friendship with Spider-Man.”

“Wait that day when you ran out of the cafeteria because Ned told Liz and Betty about him in gym?”

“I might have texted Aunt Nat and had her kidnap me from school.”

“Wasn’t she on the run because of the Accords at that point?”

“Yeah but Dad was out of the country and she did have a room at the compound. It’s not like the other Avengers were really wanting to turn the other’s in.”

“So you had Black Widow kidnap you-”

“Technically she just signed me out of school. She was legally allowed to.”

“Fine she signed you out of school and then you what sat around watching Rom-Coms and talked about crushes?”

“Swap Rom-Coms for horror movies and you basically have it right.”

“So the Black Widow knew about us before there was an us? That’s so cool.” Peter opens the door for you to slide into the car. You roll your eyes as you climb in.

“Happy, can we go get coffee before heading to the cabin?” You ask, ignoring your boyfriend’s realization, focusing on something else that will make today better.

“I guess so kid. Normal place?” Happy asks, looking in the rear view mirror. You nod, turning back to Peter, who hasn’t gotten over what you told him.

“The Black Widow.” He repeats.

“She was just my aunt, keep in mind.”

“What did Romanoff do?” Happy asks as he turns onto side streets, taking you both towards your favorite shop.

“I just told Peter how I used to hang out with Aunt Nat watching horror movies and talking about my crushes on certain people and he’s star struck that the Black Widow knew I had a crush on Peter Parker.” You can’t help but roll your eyes yet again at your boyfriend’s antics.

“I wouldn’t be impressed with that kid. That just means you had a death threat out on you.”

“What?” Peter squeaks.

“Happy’s kind of right. I wasn’t too happy when I told her about it. She did offer to make you disappear.” Peter’s face pales. “But I wouldn’t let her do that if she was around now. Trust me. I like you too much for that.” You take his hand in yours and squeeze it. Happy pulls up outside the coffee shop. “We can run in Happy-”

“Not a chance kid. Your dad will have my head if I’m not with you.” You can’t help but roll your eyes before responding.

“I guess this is practice for Europe.”

“Exactly like that.” Happy says as the three of you make your way into the coffee shop, him holding the door open for you and Peter. You smile to see Marcie at the counter, even if she is five years older than the last time you saw her.

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” She asks, her own smile matching yours.

“I could say the same thing about you.” Her hair has grown past her shoulders, and the pink streaks are gone now. “No more pink?”

“Got bored with it. I need to pick a new color.” She shrugs. “I know your boy here got blipped. I’m taking it from the five years you stayed away, you did too?” You nod. “But it’s taken you this long to come in?”

“I had someone bringing me coffee all the time?” You say with a smile as you motion to Peter. Peter has been surprising you with coffee every few weeks to surprise you. “Plus my dad and mom moved during the Blip, so we live outside the city proper. I’ll have to convince Happy here that stops after school are ideal.”

“We’ll see kid. Your dad doesn’t love that you’re drinking caffeine as is.” Happy says with a slight frown.

“Dad’s list of what he doesn’t like me eating or drinking could be dropped from the top of the Eiffel Tower and would probably still have excess left over after it hits the ground.” You tease Happy.

“What all can I get for you then?” Marcie asks, knowing what you’re going to get, but needing to know for the two people that are with you.

“I’m going to get my normal-”

“Iced or hot?”

“Iced. It’s still hot enough for that.” You admit.

“Iced latte with sugar free hazelnut and almond milk. Got it. What else?”

“Hot chocolate with whip cream and marshmallows.”

“Is that for the kid?” Happy asks, motioning towards Peter. You nod.

“Babe, I don’t need anything.” But you ignore him and keep ordering.

“And then a large black coffee.”

“With room?” You shake your head.

“$12.23.” You go to pull out your wallet, but Happy beats you to it and hands Marcie a black card, that you surprisingly have a matching one in your wallet, so it doesn’t really matter who pays. “I’ll have them at the end of the counter in a moment.”

“Thanks Marcie.” As you walk to the end of the counter, Peter pulls you into his arms.

“You didn’t have to buy me anything.” Your hands come to rest on his chest before you speak.

“Technically Dad bought you a drink not me. I don’t come into the money until I’m eighteen.” You shrug off. “And the card is his, so again he bought it, not me. You’ll have to take it up with him if you have issues with it. But he’s pretty convincing so…” You trail off and smile at him. “Also you bought me coffee how many times since I started back at school? I’m pretty sure I owe you a few drinks.”

“We get it, you two think you’re cute.” Happy says, his voice monotone. 

“We don’t think we’re cute. We know we’re cute.” You say before kissing Peter on the lips.

“You know I’m coming to Europe to keep you from doing that right?” Happy says, reminding you of the trip that your dad and Happy are coming along. 

“You can’t keep love apart Happy. Then you wouldn’t be keeping your namesake. You would be nicknamed Sad, instead.”

“Whatever you say kid. But I’m pretty sure your dad will agree with what my job description for the trip is.” 

“And he knows I will argue with him all the way to Europe and back. Plus Mom will take my side if he’s going overboard. You’re coming to be a safety precaution. Not to keep me from being with my boyfriend.” You lean into Peter, feeling him silently laugh at the interaction between you and Happy.

During the ride to the cabin, you look at your phone, showing Peter different memes and pictures you find on social media, the forty five minute drive passing with ease. You finished almost all of your coffee, knowing your dad isn’t going to be super happy about you drinking a ton of caffeine after school finished, but at the same time, he can’t really take what’s already in you out. Morgan won’t be home until Happy goes to pick her up, or maybe it’s your mom picking her up today, you can’t really remember. So for right now, it’s just going to be your dad, Peter, and you at the cabin. But Peter and your dad will be working on whatever their project is while you work on homework. 

“My two favorite young adults.” Your dad says as he leans against the door frame, Finn by his feet, trying to escape and get to you. Not at all surprising, he spies the coffee cup in your hand right off the bat. “Isn’t it a bit late for coffee?” 

“It was Peter’s idea so…” You trail off before calling towards Finn. “Finn, come here boy.” Finn finally escapes around your dad’s legs and runs to you. “Hi baby. I missed you too.” You run a hand over his head, down his neck, and into the fur of his side. Tony raises an eyebrow at Peter who just shrugs. Tony thinks he sees something in Peter’s eyes that wants to say something else, but he doesn’t call him out on it in front of you. You and your boyfriend make your way towards the cabin.

“I thought you didn't drink coffee Mr. Parker?”

“I don’t-”

“You bought him a hot chocolate. Way more sugar than my coffee.” You plant a kiss on your dad’s cheek as you walk into the cabin, Finn on your heels.

“Well, Peter isn’t my kid to say what is too mu- Wait, I bought it?”

“You said to use the card whenever. But Happy also stepped in and paid before I could.” You drop your backpack by the couch.

“Well if I’m paying for it then that’s a different story. Way too much sugar. Next time I’m telling Happy to skip the coffee joint and take you for a green juice.” You groan. 

“Never should have mentioned you paid for it.”

“You sure you want to bring up Europe then?” Peter teases you.

“What about Europe?” Your dad asks.

“Nothing.” You shake your head at Peter. “I’m going to get started on homework. Have fun building or whatever it is that you do.” You tease, before making your way upstairs.

Once down in the lab, Tony decides to ask about the look he thought he saw in Peter’s eye. “So why did you go get coffee after school? That’s not part of your typical routine. Delmar’s, I would understand. But coffee?”

“I think something is bugging Y/N but she won’t talk about it.” Peter says, not looking up from the project in front of them.

“Bugging her like what?”

“I’m not sure. Something in her morning classes is getting to her though. She comes to lunch and she’s… off. By the end of the day she’s normally back to her normal self, but today it was like whatever was bugging her was still bugging her. I don’t know if it’s just that she’s having to take Chemistry and Biology over again, but…” Peter trails off, fidgeting with the screwdriver in his hand.

“But…?” Tony asks, wanting to know what’s up with his kids, even if he shouldn’t think of Peter like that since he’s his mentee more than a child.

“Has Mrs. Stark ever asked you why you picked her?” Peter looks up at Tony. Tony’s eyes go wide, his mind already guessing where this was going.

“Not quite. But I’ve asked her probably a thousand times.”

“Y/N told me today I could have anyone as my girlfriend, which is the farthest thing from the truth. I know that. I’m super lucky to have her.”

“That you are.”

“But she seemed almost surprised or unsure that I would pick her, which makes zero sense.” Peter says, finally looking up at Tony. The confusion of the conversation he had with you finally hitting him. “It’s like she thought I was going to leave her or something. Or like she didn’t deserve to be with me? Which is so false. If anything, I don’t deserve her.”

“Kid, I think she would disagree with that.”

“Maybe, but I just don’t get it. Everything was fine I thought, and then this kid came out of nowhere and rammed into me. He tried to blame it on me and I was going to call him out on it, but she stopped me.”

“My daughter, the total hot head, stopped you?”

“I know, that’s what I’m saying. It seemed so out of the norm. And then she got like super in her head, like zoned out you know. So I suggested going to get coffee, because I know that it makes her happy. And that’s all I wanted, for her to be back to her normal happy self. But then she was asking me why I picked her when I could have anyone as my girlfriend…” 

“Maybe she’s having an off day.” Tony says, not believing his own words.

“Maybe. I just was worried. But after we got closer to leaving campus, she started getting back to normal. By the time we arrived at the coffee shop, it was like nothing happened. I don’t know. I’m probably overreacting.” Peter should probably mention the spidey senses going off, but all it would do is make Tony overreact which is the last thing he needs.

“I’ll check in with her. Keep working on this.” Tony motions to the workbench in front of them, before making his way towards the internal part of the house. Walking through the downstairs and then up the stairs is nothing. When he gets up towards your room, he can hear your playlists playing over FRIDAY. It must be Tony Stark Can Rot, because some upbeat Taylor Swift song is playing, one of the ones he normally skips over when listening to your playlist. “Knock knock.” He says, opening the door. You look up from the books and binders laid across your bed.

“What’s up? Bored of Peter already?” You tease.

“Nope. He’s working on stuff, and I just wanted to check in on my daughter before the afternoon gets away from me.”

“I’m drowning in homework, but fine besides that.” Tony watches as your shoulders rise and fall.

“What no new drama from school? Betty doesn’t have new projects she’s working on or that MJ kid or, uh, Ted?”

“His name is Ned dad and I’m pretty positive you know that. I’m fairly certain you only tease about his name because he happens to be my boyfriend’s best friend.”

“He is? I must have forgotten about that.” 

“Sure you did.” You sass back. Your face falls as you realize you have to tell him about your Chemistry test eventually.

“What?” Your dad asks as he sits on the end of your bed.

“We got our last Chemistry test back today.”

“Ah. How did that go?” He asks, not pushing, knowing you’ll tell him in your own time.

“Not great.” You open your Chemistry binder and pull the test out. Holding your hand out, you hand him the test with the forty three in red ink on the top of the page. “Apparently I’m stupid or something.” You make your voice keep a slightly joking time so that the words that Keiron has said to you over the past few weeks don’t slip out.

“Not stupid. You just don’t test that well.” Tony says as he flips through the pages of your Chemistry test, noting where there were problems you had aced on the homework but missed on the test. “I’m still proud of you for what you did well on here. Maybe we sit down with Mr. Dell and see what we can do to improve your scores. Maybe there’s some extra credit or something you can do.” Maybe Daddy will make a big enough donation that you’ll pass this year, but what happens next year?

“No!” Tony looks up at you with your outburst. “Uh, I mean I’ll talk to him. I’ll figure it out.”

“Ok, if you’re sure kiddo. I’m here for you if you need someone to help you back your plays. Always.”

“I know.”

“Peter and I are both totally free if you need help with your Chemistry homework.”

“Thanks Dad, I’ll let you know if I do. Or well, when I do.” You admit after a few minutes.