Back to the Future

1995-

Peter was never a person to give up. He remembered, distinctly, how he lifted a building off him. Therefore, the small obstacle he faced with a less trusting, alcohol dependent, younger Mr Stark wasn’t going to stop him.

He knocked on the door again, smiling wide when an annoyed Tony opened it up again. “Listen, kid,” he said, putting a hand through his hair. “I’m not interested.”

“Please!” Peter sighed, “I came all the way from New York!”

“Not bothered,” Tony mumbled, looking behind Peter. “Do your parents know that you’re here? I really don’t want to catch a case.”

Peter ignored him. “I think that you secretly do want to help me, otherwise you would’ve called security to get me away from you.”

A little smirk pulled at Tony’s lips but, he refused to give the kid the satisfaction he wanted. “I will if you don’t go away.”

“But will you?” Peter pressed, smirking a little at the annoyed (yet, amused) look on the other man’s face.

“Just leave me alone, you heathen,” Tony groaned, slamming the door once again.

Tony laughed to himself a little, rolling his eyes as he turned around from the door. The kid was persistent and had a glint in his eye, one that suggested he wasn’t giving up, but Tony didn’t really have the time or patience to be dealing with a teenager. He walked back over to his kitchen and took a seat at the bar, tucking the barstool in underneath the marble worktop.

He turned his head ninety degrees, hoping to see that the weather was good to relax in his pool. What he saw instead made him jump out of his seat. The kid was stood there, looking as innocent as he could be, with his bags down on Tony’s perfectly crafted wooden floor. The teenager had a smile on his face, staring at Tony.

Unbeknownst to Tony, he was dealing with a kid with sheer determination and spider-powers. As soon as he had the feeling Tony was going to shut the door on him again, he planned his ascent up the roof. When it happened, Peter was able to climb the roof. He got into the back garden and slipped into the mansion’s kitchen through the open doors.

“Holy shit!” Tony exclaimed.

“You really shouldn’t swear in front of children,” Peter smirked. “Wow, this place is so much cooler than I once thought.”

Tony lost his cool, taking two steps towards Peter. He placed his finger on Peter’s chest and pushed him slightly. “And you really shouldn’t be here kid! I wasn’t serious about calling security before but, now you’ve broken the law. I’ll ask you one more time!”

“But, wait!” Peter whimpered, fishing the magazine (from the store he brought when he first landed) out of his bag. “I can help!”

In the corner of the magazine, positioned underneath some random celebrity gossip (some that Peter knows the outcome to), is a headline about Tony. He’s struggling to create new tech, tech that’s affordable and profitable. ‘Is Stark Industries collapsing underneath new heir?’. Peter practically threw it in Tony’s face.

“You think indulging me in my own celebrity drama is going to make me want to keep you here? Get. Out!” Tony shouted, his glare staying on his face.

“I can help!” Peter said, repeating it over and over again. “Look, I’m good with tech! I swear! I can help you if you help me!”

“I recall that you called me ‘the smartest person in the world’? If I can’t do it... What makes you think that you can?” Tony said, moving back to the bar. He grumbled when the kid walks behind him, taking the spot next tp him.

“I might have... but being the smartest person in the world doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have someone to help you! Everybody makes mistakes, Mr Stark!” Peter said, cheerfully. “Give me an hour, please! I swear I’ll make it worth it!”

Tony sighed, grabbing the kid’s arm. “Fine. We’re going down to the lab. Let’s see if you can help me figure out how to code a phone.” He surprised himself at how small his resolve was around this kid.

Peter thought about the StarkPhone, the most illusive phone somebody can have. The phone has a monopoly on the market. Thinking about its history, the first phone landed in 1995. He started to get excited. He had torn that phone to pieces for projects with Ned. He knew exactly what it took to fix. Tony couldn’t have picked a better project for Peter to show his intelligence on.

Peter didn’t need the full hour. Within twenty minutes, Tony was holding a functioning first edition Stark Phone in his hands. The man was staring down at it as Peter played with DUM-E in the background, giving the robot more attention than it ever had. Somehow, it looked happy.

“Holy shit,” He mumbled to himself. He pocketed the phone and placed his hands in his pockets. He now had to keep up his end of the bargain. “So, kid?” He coughed, making the sure the boy was looking over at him. “You proved me wrong. I’ll help you but, for that, I need to know what you need?”

“Materials!” Peter grinned, walking around the lab. “I doubt they will just be lounging around here but, I can handle that! I’ll have to do detective work for some of them. They might not work but... if my theory is correct then they should!”

“What exactly are you working on?” Tony asked, leaning back in his chair. “Because if you’re about to make an atomic bomb... I will have to report you to the authorities.”

“It’s classified! I seriously can’t tell you but, I can assure you that it’s not related to any weaponry!” Peter said, looking around Tony’s lab like he knows the place. The lab is the exact same layout as the one in the Avengers tower. Tony of Peter’s time didn’t want to figure out a different lab, blaming it on muscle memory. Therefore, Peter knew his way around like it was his second home.

“You freak me out but... I can handle not knowing. Can I at least know your name?” Tony said, not bothering to push the kid.

“My name is Richard Parker,” Peter lied.

Tony liked to look up people’s profiles. If he looked up Peter Parker... it would be a blank space as he didn’t exist in their time. His dad would show up instead, diverting any suspicions. He didn’t want to tell Tony the truth anyway, worried about disturbing the time continuum. It’s why he didn’t spill on his project.

“Okay Richard. I’ve had enough for one day so, it’s time for you to go back home for the night. We’ll start up tomorrow.” Tony said, walking up to the living room.

Peter followed quickly, back to where he left his bags. “I can’t. I don’t have anywhere. I mean, I’m homeless. So, uh, no home to go to. I’ll sleep in an alley or something, I’ve done it before... but.. can I ask you to keep my bags in your house. I have important things in there which I don’t want anyone to take.”

Peter closes his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. He couldn’t be on the streets again. Him and May were sleeping in a tent, just after Ben’s death. We lost everything, including the man we loved so dearly. He had nightmares every night about the darkness, how the cold made him blue. He had to do it again. What was he going to do? He started to freak out. Tony’s hand reached for his shoulder, pulling him out of his mind and calming it down. It’s just funny how all Tony’s know exactly how to calm him. He might have been seeing things but, he swore that he saw some endearment in Tony’s eyes.

“Kid, uh, you can stay in the guest room. Do I have to report you to the authorities? Should I really take in a random kid? How do I know you’re not setting me up?” Tony was mostly speaking to himself at that point. He looked up and saw big brown eyes (he never knew that puppy dog eyes from cute kids made him so vulnerable). He always thought he hated kids. He always thought that he’d be better without them. However, something in him was yearning to protect the teenager in front of him. Something was weird about the whole situation.

“Thanks Mr Stark!” Peter grinned, grabbing his bags. “I’ve always wanted to see the beach house!”

His Tony used to speak about it. He used to reminisce about all the memories he had with Pepper and Rhodey. Revelling his location had to be the worst mistake he ever made. He did miss the house but, it was nothing like the Avengers tower.

Peter realised how weird he sounded, rushing to change the subject. “I mean it, thanks so much! My parents won’t worry. I’m not sure they can. I mean, they’re dead. I’m alone here.”

“Oh. Wow. Okay, kid. Not what I was expecting.” Tony shrugged. “Join the club, Parker. It sucks and it’ll get better.”

“Indeed it will!”

The blind optimism the kid had baffled him. Tony had never seen someone so pure and happy before in his life. Peter’s smile had to be infectious. Tony hadn’t stopped grinning all evening. How the kid could continue to be himself after a tragic event that proceeded becoming homeless, baffled him...

Taking the kid to his room, for now, he made sure all the bed sheets were clean. He watched the kid out of the corner of his eye. As soon as Tony left, Peter placed some paper down on the duvet cover. He really needed to figure out how to get home. He really enjoyed this Tony’s company but, he needed his own one back. His dad (father figure, mentor, friend... whatever he was) was probably worried sick. He might not even know that Peter was trapped.

Tony went up to his bed, grabbing a bottle from the case. It really had been a long day. Before slipping off to bed, he sent his engineers the plans for the StarkPhone. If they worked hard, the phone could be out by December. All because of Richard Parker. The smartest kid he’d ever met.

He fell asleep, not bothering to think about the fact that a random kid is sleeping in his guest room. He couldn’t trust the kid, it was hard to trust anyone with the childhood he had. He told Jarvis before bed to alert him if anything weird is going on.

Waking up in the morning, Jarvis comes back immediately with some ‘alarming’ news. ‘Richard’ kept calling Jarvis ‘Friday’, he hadn’t slept a wink and he had some unrecognised tech with him. Tony took a deep breath, he wouldn’t call them alarming (weird, maybe). He’d just have to try and trust somebody for once.

When he got downstairs, dressed in his pyjamas, he was surprised to see that Peter was up and changed and sitting in the living room. If the kid was a morning person, this really wasn’t going to work out.

“Morning!” The kid said.

Too loud, Tony thought. He couldn’t deal with this without his morning coffee. Before he could go over to the kitchen to make it, Peter walked up to him and handed him the cup. “Beat you to it.”

“Um, thanks?” Tony mumbled. He didn’t take the cup straight from the kid’s hands, his mind telling him that he shouldn’t. Instead, he stared at the table.

Peter realised what was going on. Tony never used to be able to take things from Peter. He could now, however, which almost made Peter forget that was a thing. He placed the coffee cup on the table next to them whilst flashing Tony a smile. “Fresh coffee for you, sir!”

“Have you poisoned it?”

Peter frowned. He let out a little laugh, shaking his head. “Course not! I still need your help, remember?”

“You could take my materials from me once I’ve gone,” Tony said, squinting his eyes at the cup. “Fuck it, I’ve probably drank things worse for you.” He grabbed the cup, taking a sip. The coffee was exactly how he liked it. The kid either got really lucky or was actually a Tony Stark stalker. He decided not to ask him if that was the case.

“Should we get started for today then, kid?” Tony asked, finishing off the drink quickly.

“Yes please!”

Peter smiled to himself, happy that he got the young Tony Stark on board with his plans. He knew it wouldn’t take much convincing. Tony could never say no to him in his time, he shouldn’t have thought that it would change in the past.

2018-

Pepper checked on Tony, again. Usually he found her partner with his head buried in books, trying to figure out how to get Peter back. This time, however, was different. Tony was laid on the floor, his head in his knees. A smashed glass was next to him. He hadn’t been drinking, luckily. The glass used to be a beaker, Tony was obviously trying to get something to work. He was unsuccessful.

“I need him back,” Tony said, climbing into Pepper’s arms. “I love you, I love everyone in the tower but... Peter’s my kid. I feel empty without him.”

“I could tell that he was like a kid to you, Tones. Exhausting yourself to try and find him wouldn’t be what he wanted,” Pepper sighed, brushing a hand through his hair.

“He wasn’t ‘like’ a son. He is my son, Pepper. Not biologically but, he is still my son. I love him,” Tony said, scrambling his words. He took a deep breath. The only comfort he had was Pepper’s soft hand through his hair, the other stroking his palm. “I know he wouldn’t want me to stress but, how can I not? He’s probably scared. He’s in a time in which he doesn’t even exist. He won’t be able to get help for food and shelter. What if he dies?”

“He’s a smart boy, Tony,” Pepper told him, “He’s going to be okay. You’re not if you keep acting like this. We’ll get him back.”

He went to sleep, cuddling into Pepper. All he thought about was his kid. He dreamt that he figured out the code. Quickly, he jumped out of the bed. It was 4am. He went down to the lab and ran his dream through Friday. It wouldn’t work but, it was 80% accurate. He’d get to him eventually. He stared down at the picture on his phone before talking into thin air. “I’m looking for you, Pete. I’ll find you.”