The day of the funeral, Tony Stark gave his life for the world. He brought back the half that got snapped away by Thanos. People everywhere started appearing once more and things were in disarray. Trying to get back into their lives again, getting used to the fact that nothing is the same. Five years. It was a long five years.
“He’s finally able to rest now. I know the five years have been hard for Tony. He brought himself out of his slump and carried on with his life, caring for his family. Now families everywhere are able to do the same.”
Pepper took a breath from reading the eulogy. She focused on the words instead of the feelings to get through the funeral.
“Sorry. Tony was rough around the edges, he made mistakes but he always came through in the end. We will always love him. No matter what.” Pepper stopped. She could not continue with what she had planned to say and decided it was time to move on. Looking at the arrangement of flowers in her hand, Tony’s arc reactor in the middle. The words ‘Proof that Tony Stark had a heart’ embedded on it. She let it down on the water, letting it flow with the currents. Letting go.
Everyone stood behind her. Offering her support. Morgan by her side, looking at the flowers flow downstream, keeping quiet. Sensing the solemn mood.
Pepper wondered if Morgan even knew what had happened. The idea of death is not always easy for children to grasp. Hopefully, she had enough memories with her father to remember him as the man he was.
One by one, people went inside the house.
Peter Parker had retreated into the Stark house eyeing the other attendees. Morgan came up to him and hugged him around his legs.
“Daddy talked about you. When he was sad he talked about you. I’m glad you’re here now. Daddy don’t have to be sad anymore.”
Peter felt his eyes brim with tears as he bent down and hugged Morgan. Held her close, not wanting to lose her. Peter was gone for five years, the girl was almost four. Being back, he can finally make up for the time he lost.
“I heard Happy is going to get you cheeseburgers. Can I come too?”
“Yeah! We can all go together. Harley’s here too.”
Peter looked to see where the girl was pointing. A teenager, about his age, standing in the corner of the room.
“Let me go talk to him. I’ll ask him if he wants to come.”
“Okay! I’ll go back to mummy.” As Morgan ran to find her mother, Peter stood up and walked to the boy.
The boy was taller than him by at least 3 inches. He was slender which made him look taller than he was. Peter having much broader shoulders and a more muscular form, felt like he was a whole foot shorter.
Honestly, Peter was intimidated. Peter Parker, Spiderman. Intimidated by social interaction.
“Hey.” Peter started the conversation.
“Hi.”
The awkwardness of the century.
“I’m Peter by the way. Peter Parker.” Peter said as he stuck his hand out towards the boy.
“Harley Keener.” Harley returned the gesture as they shook hands.
“I was wondering if you wanted to get cheeseburgers with us? I don’t know when. When all this finishes. Morgan wants you to come.”
“Sure. I don’t know if I’ll still be here by then. I have to go home soon.”
“Oh? Where do you stay? I assume it’s not around here?”
“A small town in Tennessee.”
“Cool.”
They stood looking anywhere but each other.
“So how’d you know Tony? He’s never mentioned you.” Peter wanted out of the conversation so badly. He just had to make a fool of himself.
“He saw me on the internet one day and came to find me to offer me an internship at Stark Industries.”
“Stark Industries? You must be smart then.”
“Yeah. I go to this science school for nerds. How did you meet Tony?”
“He broke into my garage and I helped him get his tech working again.”
“You a nerd too then?”
“A little bit.”
They both offered up a small smile. The tension between them fading. The stress of the day finally catching up to them, they both sighed in relief.
“I didn’t think there would be anyone my age here. It was awkward just being me around a bunch of strangers you know? I only knew Tony.”
“I understand. I’m kind of not used to this ‘social interaction’ thing.” Peter replied with his fingers making air quotes.
“There’s Morgan but she’s a little young. I don’t want to be around when she asks questions I can’t answer.”
Peter laughed at that, “I know that feeling. I don’t want to explain all the hard answers to her. She’s in the ‘why’ phase right now. She wants to know everything.”
The conversation carried on as the adults came in and started their own small talk. The day was slowly coming to a close and one by one people started leaving.
“Peter cab’s here. Let’s go.”
“It’s my aunt. I have to go. Text me?” Peter said as he wrote his number on a piece of paper and passed it to Harley.
Peter followed Aunt May out of the house and into the cab. Peter felt much lighter than when he came in the morning. Something about Harley that made Peter feel at ease.
Pepper and Morgan had moved into the Stark Tower a few weeks following the funeral. Pepper had wanted to stay in their little house by the lake but living there had felt more empty than ever with the loss of Tony.
She used work as an excuse to move. She filled her schedule but always made time to spend with Morgan. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime were times where she would spend her time with Morgan uninterrupted by the busy life of a CEO.
Peter had come over to watch Morgan after school, helping around the tower and in the labs. Always making time for dinner with May.
Harley went back to Tennessee without having that cheeseburger but had promised to come back in summer.
The months had carried on and slowly but surely, life carried on.
~
It was a Saturday four months later. Life carried on.
Steve Rogers had spent his time growing old with Peggy Carter, passing on the mantle of Captain America to Sam. Since the Avengers Compound was destroyed, some of the avengers found themselves back in the Stark Tower. Sam and Bucky now lived in the higher levels of the tower just a few floors below the Starks. Clint went back to his family, hanging up his bow until further notice. Scott left to live with Hope, trying to make up for lost time with Cassie.
Peter continued his schooling, his house with May was someone else’s so they were welcomed in the tower as well. Peter was allowed to help out in the labs as an official employee and oversee changes. The employees that came back were given time off to settle and those that had found themselves homeless were welcomed in the tower as well. Peter had an entire floor converted to dormitories for anyone to be able to stay.
May spent most of her time in the Salvation Army, helping those whose lives were displaced during the five years. Peter popped in from time to time to help.
Peter was in the tower spending time with Morgan until Pepper came for lunch. They were playing a board game when Pepper stomped in.
“Hey Pepper, what’s up?”
“Just stuck up old men trying to take over how I run things. I’ve run this company for years when Tony was here. What makes them think I can’t do it now?” Pepper had a right to be angry and if they think they can take advantage of her, they are so wrong.
Pepper sat down at the table, putting her things down. Peter came to put Morgan at the table and went to the kitchen to serve lunch. It was a simple mac and cheese that Peter had put together with Morgan earlier that day.
They sat down to enjoy the meal. Morgan immediately took up her fork and stabbed the pasta and shoved it in her mouth. Silence ensued when they all started eating.
“Peter, I received news that Tony left a will. He included you in it.” Pepper started.
“Me? Why me?”
“Well, Tony always thought of you as a son. Considering you’re still underage, it might be put on hold for now until you’re 18 or until I deem you ready.”
“Hold on what?”
“Tony has decided to pass down 35% of this company to you. Of course with the business side, you have the technology side. He has given you free rein of his labs and any of the labs in the tower. You have a few years to learn what we do here, but I say you’d do great.”
“35%? Does it work that way?” Peter had never heard anything about wills until today. Sure his Uncle Ben had one and included him but he was too young. Aunt May probably took care of everything.
“It’s confusing but that’s how it works. Don’t worry. I’ll guide you guys. You won’t be alone. I’ll still be CEO until I retire.” Pepper smiled, taking another bite of food.
“You guys?”
“Oh yeah. Harley and Morgan too. Harley has 35 per cent and Morgan has 18 per cent. The last 12 per cent was given to me.”
“Morgan only has 18 per cent?”
“Tony wrote that he didn’t want Morgan to have a future planned out for her. Wanting her to make her own choices but it’s still there if she wants to continue working at Stark Industries.”
“More!” Morgan exclaimed, interrupting the conversation.
Peter laughed, getting the bowl out of her hands and went to get her more food. Passing the bowl back to Morgan, he commented, “I’m going to get in trouble overfeeding you.”
“Food is good! Food is life.” Morgan giggled as if she said the funniest thing in the world.
Pepper and Peter both laughed, enjoying the time they could spend together. The table was filled with life, laughter and love.
Pepper had made arrangements to train Harley and Peter to work in Stark Industries. The schedule would fit in with their school and Peter’s Spiderman activities. It was agreed with Harley’s mother that he would move to New York, into the Stark Tower with Pepper and Morgan. Harley would transfer schools to Midtown to make everything easier.
Pepper had done her magic and made him complete his current year in advance. He could have some free time in New York before the new semester started and get used to city life.
Harley had always wanted to move out of their small town so he jumped at this chance. He had requested for his mother and sister to move with him. His mother, fearing change, rejected the idea. Preferring to live in the comfort of familiarity.
Peter and Harley had been in contact with each other but it was the first time Peter heard about all this. Moving in, transferring to Midtown. Harley did not mention anything of it and come Monday, Harley would be in New York.
To Peter, Harley had been his anchor through everything. Peter felt at ease when talking to Harley. Anything and everything could be brought up. They spent a good portion of the day texting each other. With Harley providing all sorts of topics for conversation, it
could last for hours. It was a surprise that Harley could keep the topic of moving underwraps.
After finishing their meal, Peter messaged Harley about it. Pepper having to go back to work, he was left with Morgan until dinner time.
Some time in the afternoon, Morgan was put to bed, having a little nap time. Peter stayed with her in bed the whole time. Harley was keeping him company through text.
When pepper came back, she found them both sleeping, with Peter sitting against the headboard and Morgan on Peter’s lap.
“Peter,” Pepper whispered and she shook Peter’s shoulders, “It’s time to meet May at the salvation army.”
Peter got up and headed to the bathroom. Pepper carried Morgan out of the room, slowly rousing her from her sleep.
Buying some take-out, Peter reached the Salvation Army just after eight o’clock. He called for May and she took a well deserved break.
“So Pepper told you about Tony’s will?”
Peter nodded, “You knew?”
“Well of course I knew. Pepper told me beforehand. I am still your guardian afterall. I think it’s great. You can carry on doing all your techy business and help look after the company in Tony’s stead.”
“Harley too. Even though he didn’t tell me anything about it.” Peter pouted.
“Well, he’s a little busy.” May laughed.
“You know something. What is it?”
May shrugged as she stuffed her face with food to avoid answering the question. She had a glint in her eye as she tried to stop a smile. “You’ll just have to find out when it happens.”
The conversation continued lightheartedly as they conversed about their day.
~
The day Harley came to SI was a weird one. Peter had been in the employee labs all day and had not slept in three days. Pulling all nighters to finish his homework and making adjustments to the communication devices, in case there was a worldwide catastrophe again. It was basically a hero panic button but let’s just skip over that detail.
Peter had no idea that Harley was in New York, much less the tower. His mind was all over the place, filled with delirious thoughts and random ideas. Some of them were good, others, not so much.
Harley had been in his room all day, organising and redecorating, coming out to take snack breaks.
Harley had asked FRIDAY about Peter’s whereabouts and was told that Peter would not want to be disturbed and so he left it be. Before dinner, Harley asked again and the same answer would come from FRIDAY.
Worried, Harley had asked for Peter’s location and went down to the labs.
Going through the lab doors, one of the scientists closest to him took a glance and raised his eyebrows.
“Who are you and how did you get in here?” The scientist questioned as the others in the room turned their heads to look.
“Chill dude, I’m here to pick up Peter.”
“Peter has requested that no one disturb him.” The man had a serious tone, obviously not wanting any nonsense.
“I know. Where is he?”
As if hearing the sprouting argument, Peter popped his head out of his room. He looked at his colleagues and followed their line of sight.
“Harley! I didn’t know you were here.” Peter said as he walked towards them, wiping his hands on his pants.
“You would know if you didn’t bury yourself in work for the last three days.”
“Three?” Peter shyly looked around the room, not wanting to meet Harley’s eyes.
“Yes. So now let’s go up and have a nice dinner.”
“All right. Let me just clean up my workstation and I’ll meet you upstairs.”
“You better Parker.” Harley warned as he turned around and left, going back into the elevator.
Peter apologised to everyone for the disturbances as he told them to continue with what they were doing. Peter did not like acting like he was above everyone, being one of the future owners of the company they are working at, so he tries to make it up to everyone for his bad attitude sometimes. He would get into a bad headspace and be unable to get out for days on end and he appreciated everyone who puts up with him. The scientists, lab assistants and generally everybody he has to interact with, all deserved the world. He had told them to treat him like everyone else in the room. They had this job longer than he has, they know what they’re doing and Peter trusted them.
“Who was that kid?” one of the scientists asked.
“He’s the other person Tony entrusted Stark Industries to. I have not really talked to him, but from our messages, he’s a cool guy.”
“Cool.”
“He’s cute though.” One of the younger scientists commented.
“I know.” Peter blushed, not used to openly admitting his attraction with people.
“Ooooh you like him don’t you?”
“What? No way.” Peter denied, a bit too quickly and everyone in the room smirked.
He was doomed.
Going up the elevator, Peter tried to get his heart to slow down. The embarrassment from earlier and the anticipation of sitting with Harley for dinner weighing on his mind.
Going into the shared living quarters, Peter saw Harley setting the table and serving up some food on the plates.
“Where’s everyone else?”
“They ate earlier. It’s just you and me.” Harley gave Peter a smile and a wink, causing Peter to look away from him with redness in his cheeks.
Petrer sat down and they both started on their meal, a comfortable silence encompassed them.
“So, I was wondering,” Peter started unsure of whether the topic was appropriate to bring up, “You say you’re from Tennessee, you’re accent isn’t that strong.”
“I don’t really like my accent. It’s weird. I’m just self-conscious about what I sound like to people.” Harley gave a small smile to Peter as he continued, “I told you that my dad left when I was little, what I could remember from him was that he didn’t have a southern accent. My mum said that I have the best voice, that I was the loveliest thing she ever laid eyes on. But I guess that wasn’t enough for my dad to stay. So I tried becoming less like how I was, and changed so many things about myself that I thought people wouldn’t like and kind of in the process stopped liking the things my mum said about me.”
Peter opened his mouth to reply but words left him. He didn’t know what to say. What can he say? The guy that is tall, handsome and possibly one of the kindest people he’d ever met, hates himself.
“I’m sorry. That got depressing. I’m over it now. It’s fine. It doesn’t bother me as much anymore. I guess in my act, I lost my accent along the way. It comes out once in a while but I’m not really conscious of it anymore.”
“I’m sorry I brought it up.”
“No no it’s fine. I’m talkative anyways so I’d probably blab about it at some point. My mum told me I have never been able to keep a secret for long.”
Peter laughed at that, “I’ve been told I whisper too loud.”
Harley started giggling “I see you can’t keep a secret too then?”
“Hey I can keep a secret. Not too well but I can!” The conversation steered away from the sad things and they laughed all through their meal.
Finally after dinner, they were chilling on the couch watching some shows on Netflix.
“So what were you working on that took up so much of your time?” Harley asked, not paying much attention to the show.
“It’s a communicator for the Avengers. I’m sure using phones would be just as useful but it’s more like a panic button. If anyone is in danger, or something big happened and they don’t have their phones on them. It’s made to be inconspicuous. I’m thinking of making it into accessories, after I get the basic tech down.”
“That’s cool.” Harley took a breath before continuing, “So why in the employee labs? Why not in Tony’s lab. If it’s for the Avengers then wouldn’t it be more confidential?” Harley thought that since he talked about something personal previously, Peter would be more open to sharing his thoughts.
Tony was not a good topic to bring up, Peter was still grieving after all this time. If he kept his thoughts all to himself, he might find a time when all his stress just explodes out in a fit.
Peter thought about his answer carefully. He did not want to bring the mood down again, or give too much information that he was not ready to share.
“I can’t stand being in there. Where Tony was. Acting like I own the place or acting like Tony. Tony was someone who I have always aspired to be. He told me he wanted me to be better than him and I just want to be someone he can be proud of.”
“Peter, I know nobody can replace Tony, but no one is asking you to. We want you to be yourself. To be honest, Tony was a mess when I first met him. He wanted you to be better, it doesn’t mean you can’t make mistakes. It doesn’t mean that he isn’t proud of you. I’m sure if he sees you now, he’d smack you for thinking that.”
“Thanks Harley. Means a lot to me. I hope I live up to everyone’s standards. Owning a company! Like that shit’s not easy.”
Harley chuckled, “I’m sure you’ll do great. How about tomorrow, we clean up Tony’s lab a bit. Make a little space for both of us to work on those communicators together. What do you say?”
“Sounds good.” Peter’s mouth opened wide without his consent and let out a big yawn.
Peter went from sitting upright, to his butt sliding further down into the cushions. His eyes drooped as he fell asleep, leaning on Harley.
Harley, not having the heart to wake Peter, just moved his position so none of them get cramps when they wake up. Peter needed the sleep and Harley loved the attention that he was getting.
Peter has been some sort of the constant during the past months. He was used to talking to Tony, now that space is filled with Peter. Someone who is more his age, understanding his teenage problems, giving support and solutions meant for, well, teenagers. Not a billionaire. Someone who became the light in the darkness that is his mind. He loved every minute of it.
~
After the blip, the students that were blipped back were in a class together to avoid confusion with the technically younger students. It was near the end of the day and Peter stopped paying attention to the teacher in favour of looking at his phone. He should probably be listening as finals were in a few weeks, but Harley was messaging him non-stop even though he was supposed to be in class as well.
A voice cut through his thoughts as Mr Harrington made an announcement, “Before I release you, we have exciting news! We have been allowed to go on a field trip this year. To, drum roll please, Stark Industries!”
Murmurs exploded in the class as the students started talking amongst themselves.
“Quiet, Quiet! We have been told that this trip is the first time the Stark Industries are opening their doors to the public since the snap. It is on a trial basis so if we behave, other schools would be allowed field trips to Stark Industries as well. We will not be the only class visiting, so I hope that everyone is on their best behaviour.”
Mr Harrington stood and held out a stack of papers, “This is the permission slips, please ask your parents to sign it. I want every one of you to read it carefully. They are non-disclosure agreements and thus also need your signatures as well.”
As Mr Harrington passed the papers around, the last bell rang, signalling the end of the school day.
“Mr Parker. A word please?”
Ned went to wait outside as Peter approached the teacher’s table.
“Peter, I have been informed of the situation at Stark Industries. I hope you pay close attention during the field trip.”
“Yes sir.” Peter furrowed his eyebrows and took the form, heading outside to meet up with Ned.
“What was that about?” Ned asked.
“I have no idea.” Peter replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
“Hey! Penis Parker!”
“What Flash?”
“Can you believe that we’re going to Stark Industries? I’m sure you know all about it don’t you?”
“What do you want?”
“Oh I don’t know. I just can’t wait to go. I’m sure you are too.” Flash sarcastically said as he brushed past him, bumping him with his shoulder.
Peter turned to Ned wanting to leave as soon as possible, “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow. Internship today. Happy’s waiting.”
Peter and Ned did their super cool, super secret, best friend handshake and they parted ways.
Reaching the car, Happy turned around to greet him, “Hey kid, how’s school?”
“It was all right. Boring as always Mr Harrington was weird though. He told us that we are going to Stark Industries for a field trip and he told me specifically to pay attention during the tour. Do you know anything about that?”
“What- No? Well, it’s not my place to say.” Happy turned away as he pulled away from the pick-up point.
“So you do know something. Come on! Tell me!”
“No no no. Pepper would kill me.”
“Fine.” Peter pouted as he looked out the window, admiring the view as he was brought back to the tower.
Happy focused on driving as the scenery passed them by. Looking occasionally in the rearview mirror to check up on Peter, his hands fidgeting on the steering wheel.
Going through the visitor’s drop off point, Happy stopped at the main entrance to the Stark Industries. As Peter opened the door, Happy spoke.
“Hey kid, May and I are going on a date. You have dinner with Pepper and Morgan today all right?”
Peter looked at him in surprise, “Are we going to have to have the talk?”
“What? No. I’ll take care of her. Don’t worry about it.”
“Bring her back by ten.” Peter winked as he stepped out of the car.
Happy drove away as Peter walked into the main lobby. Multiple people in business suits were conversing, others were just waiting in the reception. There were people wearing lanyards with cameras in their hands. Reporters. Trying to get a scoop on the company while everything was settling in the dust of the war. It has been months and official statements have already been publicized but someone out there always wanted the dirty secrets.
The receptionist was a kind young lady who always had candy in her bag. Peter does not usually take the main entrance so he does not see much of the lobby staff, much rather preferring to take the more hidden private elevator straight from the private parking lot.
He took it to himself to be kind to everyone and he took the time to get to know people. The lady had introduced herself as Ida, and was an intern. She was in her last year of a business degree and just needed an internship to raise her grades. What better way to earn extra credits than to work at the highly esteemed Stark Industries.
Her internship had started before the blip so when the receptionist before her came back, they were able to continue their jobs together. She had a few months left before her internship ended, Peter hoping that she could come back as a full time worker when she graduates.
He waved at her and smiled as she noticed him. Peter walked to the private elevator, hidden away from the eyes of the public, behind the main elevators. As soon as he stepped in, Friday’s voice rang out.
“Welcome back Peter. Where would you like to go?”
“Bring me to the living room and remind me to get the permission slip signed.”
“Yes Peter.” FRIDAY’s monotonous voice answered.
Reaching the living quarters, Morgan ran out of the room and tackled him, hugging him around his leg, “It’s dinner time! Mummy’s still working but Bucky made food today! He wanted to practice cooking so he made lots of food!”
Laughing, Peter crouched down and picked the little girl up into his arms, “Let’s go to the dining room then, I’m sure you’re hungry.”
The kitchen was filled with the bickering of two avengers, Sam and Bucky. Their argument was about whether corn was a fruit or a vegetable.
“I’m saying it's a vegetable!” Peter heard as he walked in, Sam was adamant about his stand.
“I searched on Google. Google has all the facts.”
“And I’m telling you I don’t believe it. It’s a vegetable. End of story.”
“Well apparently it isn’t the end of the story if you’re still talking about it.”
“Touché. Hey! The kids are here.” Sam realised as he stopped squabbling with Bucky, holding off on starting a food fight.
The rest of the dinner was filled with friendly banter and the sounds of an argument forming. Back to the topic of whether corn was a vegetable. Peter had no idea how it started, but the two adults had made up their minds and were too stubborn to admit the other right.
After the first piece of food got flicked across the table, Peter took Morgan to the room and decided to hide out until the chaos stopped.
He was playing superhero with Morgan, lifting the girl up into the air as she pretended to fly around the room. Her dolls were hidden somewhere in the room and she needed to rescue them. They were in danger! There was a robber! A fire! Someone needed help getting out of rubble! Morgan crawled under her bed and saved her plush bear from the collapsing building.
Peter played along, sometimes as her sidekick or as a victim.
As the clock hit 9pm, FRIDAY’s voice sounded in the room, “It is bedtime kids.”
Audible disappointment could be heard in the room as Morgan started to pick up her toys.
Just as she kept her last few toys, Pepper came into the room. She told Peter he could go rest as she took over putting Morgan to bed. That could be the hardest thing to do in the day as her imagination runs wild at night. Wanting to read a story but also wanting to tell it. Peter left Pepper for some mother-daughter time as he went to get to bed himself.
A little after 10, May had not come back to the tower so he assumed she went back to the Salvation Army. He would have to swing by to check on May the next day. The past few days have been rough, with the Army full to bursting, May trying her best to provide enough blankets and mattresses for everyone.
May is a nice lady, but sometimes she takes things too far and forgets her own health. Speaking of someone’s health, Peter has not seen Harley the entire day. Knowing him, probably in the lab working on something.
Peter and Harley were basically the same person. A dorky teenager that stays up way too late and doesn’t stop working until his mind is satisfied.
Peter decided to leave him be for the night, but if by morning Harley isn’t in bed, he’ll go get him.
The next morning, Peter woke up to Harley crashed out on the couch. The television was on Netflix ‘are you still watching’ message and he had a pack of chips open in his lap.
Peter groaned and took the chips and put it away, cleaning up the mess. After turning the television off and laying Harley flat on the couch, Peter went back to his morning routine. Making breakfast, checking up on Morgan, getting ready for school, realising he was late and rushed out of Stark Tower.
~
A few days passed and Peter was sitting in class, waiting for dismissal when Mr Harrington told everyone to pass the signed permission slips to him.
Peter froze. Permission slip. That needed to get signed by May. Which he totally forgot.
“Once you hand it to me, you can go. Safe trip home!”
When he came to Peter, he saw the unsigned paper.
“I can get it signed and get it to you by tomorrow.” Peter tried to negotiate.
“I’m sorry Peter, there are regulations and we need them all by today so that the company could get all their paperwork finalized. I’m sorry.” Mr Harrington turned to walk back to his desk.
“What if I just hand it to Stark Industries myself? By today? Will I still be able to go?”
“I suppose so, but I don’t know how it would work. You know more about the company than I do, so why don’t you try it.”
It was not like Peter couldn’t get a tour of Stark Industries by himself, he could always join any other tour or get an employee to do it. But this is the first tour since Stark Industries reopened to the public. Plus, he gets to be with his friends.
He nodded and turned to leave the room. Telling everything about his stupid mistake to Ned and MJ who were waiting for him.
Three of them were going to visit May at the Salvation Army to lend May a hand. Spiderman’s strength also helped in moving heavy boxes of rations and consumables that would be too heavy for a single person to manage alone.
Getting May’s signature, he quickly swung to Stark industries and went to the receptionist. It was Ida today, thankfully. Peter always felt an air of awkwardness when talking to the older employees. At least Ida was nice.
“Hey, I forgot to get my permission slip signed beforehand, so I’m gonna pass it to you first. My school would probably send the other students’ ones soon. So can you help me put it in the pile?”
“Sure Peter. Isn’t it weird? To tour your own company?”
“Not really. It doesn’t feel like it’s mine yet. I still have so much to learn. Pepper probably wants to hold it all until she is 100% sure we can handle it. I haven’t even started my training yet to be honest.”
“Training? Don’t you just try to get work experience first?”
“Well normally, but we’re in the fast lane right now. Everything’s moving so fast, too fast sometimes. I just want some time to breathe, you know?”
“I get that. University work sucks too. I was never the best student either. Spent all my time studying material I didn’t even get. Well for the business part of things, I could probably help you don’t understand anything. The engineering side I think you got it covered.” Ida laughed, knowing full well that some of the machines that she used daily belonged to Peter, such as the coffee maker that detects the amount of caffeine in your bloodstream and limits how much one person drinks.
“Thanks. I feel better knowing you have my back. Well, I got to run. Busy doing stuff. See you around.”
He got back to the Salvation Army just as a new truck full of supplies was dropping off their shipment. He helped bring it in and organise it all into their respective locations.
It was a quiet day filled with just plain manual labour. After Spiderman’s job was done, Peter came back to talk with the occupants of the mess hall. Hearing about things that impacted people’s everyday lives gave him inspiration on new inventions or upgrades to make for life to be easier for the general public.
He had many projects at Stark Industries in the works for helping the community one step at a time. Stark phones were made for the rich, wanting the latest gadgets, but an alternative version was also made for people who could not afford it. It is advertised less than the Stark phone and was under a different brand name. It had basically the same functions as the Stark phone, besides some customizable options.
He looked around the room and saw a few people using the first few that were in production. The first line. Dubbed as the trial bunch. The phones, about a hundred in total, were passed to May to give it to people from the Salvation Army as testers. They get to use the new products in exchange for honest feedback.
Small things from the size of the gadget, to the button sensitivity to bigger problems such as bugs and glitches in the software.
Every piece of information is processed to improve the product.
Ned and MJ walked around to gather the information and took their findings back to Peter. Ned, Peter’s chair guy, made some adjustments to the code, giving the suggestions to Peter.
~
The day of the field trip arrived. Everyone was early, not wanting to miss the school bus. Peter had opted out of taking the bus and just waited in the lobby for the class.
When the bus pulled into the designated parking area, the class filed out. Most of them are gaping at the spectacle that is the Stark Industries. Most of them had never been so close to the building before.
Mr Harrington ushered them into the building, making them wait while he signed them in. They had a few minutes while waiting for the guide to meet them and everyone took out their phones to document this moment.
The guide came and introduced herself as Leah. She was in charge of a new department specialising in tours of the Stark Industries.
“All right. Now a few rules. This is a privilege given to you so please take precaution. Stay with the group. If anyone is found straying away will be brought back down to the lobby to wait for the end of the tour. Second, listen to instructions. Labs are filled with dangers, no one wants any accidents. Lastly, respect people. Be it the employees, or your classmates. Everyone wants to have a good time, don’t ruin it.”
Everybody nodded at the rules and started whispering among themselves as they were passed visitor badges.
“These are passes that allow you to follow someone into the higher levels of the tower. This needs to be returned to us after so please take good care of it. Everybody pin it on your clothes and we can proceed.”
The class was bursting with excitement. People taking instagram pictures of their pass, taking selfies and Flash was even live streaming.
“Unauthorized videography detected. Please turn off your phones.” FRIDAY’s voice echoed in the lobby.
“Oh right. Another thing. Phones are allowed but you can’t take photos or videos in certain areas. I’ll make sure to tell you when you can take pictures but other than that, please keep your phones to yourself.”
“Who’s voice was that?” Betty asked from the crowd.
“That is FRIDAY. She is an AI that the late Tony Stark made. She was originally made to help him with his technology, so that he did not have to do it himself. With the birth of Iron man, FRIDAY was made to work with his Iron man suit. FRIDAY is actually the second A.I. that Tony has used. The first had become who you would know as the Vision. Who is sadly, also no longer with us.”
“What happened?”
“We’ll get to see it later on in our tour. We have a floor made to showcase the Avengers and their missions that protected the world.”
The tour officially kicked off and they were going to one floor of every department. The tour, Peter realised, was like an advertisement showing off the different jobs available. Getting people interested in the behind the scenes of all businesses. There was basically any job people would be interested in.
Peter knew why Pepper wanted him to take the tour now. He got the basic run down of the entire Stark Industry, short of the hero business.
They were brought to the intern labs. Leah walked them around, telling them about the various projects that had been worked on. Some Stark phone upgrades and even some self-defence equipment.
They were given the opportunity for a lecture of how one of the equipment was made, thinking of both the affordability of the product and the usability. Made of less expensive material, yet needed to be sturdy enough to withstand shock, it needed to be discreet enough that future attackers would not notice it.
They were all given a prototype to try out, the ‘self-defence’ part still in the works. The prototypes were basically a distress button to alert the police. They were all only connected to the Stark satellites for testing. Allowing the device to ping successfully would mean that the device could be able to contact the authorities.
The Students were all aboard with testing and they were playing around pressing the buttons. The different designs of the equipment led to different ideas of the type of tool it was. There was one shaped like a key, but the shank was longer and the tip was pointier. Making sure that the sharpness of the tip would not cause injury accidentally. A regular key could already be used as a self-defence weapon, but it would need more force to drive the key to injure.
Everyone was enthusiastically participating in brainstorming ideas. Honestly, it was the most energy Peter had seen in his class since the beginning of high school. With everyone in their teenage angst phase, this spirit would be a teacher’s dream.
“Hey Parker! Did they test this on you? That’s why you look like that?”
Peter sighed, just when he thought Flash would keep a low profile on the trip.
“Look like what Flash?”
“Like you ate a bee. Or is that frog face natural?”
Peter tried hard not to react to the insult. Flash is an asshole but he only talks big.
When Peter did not pay attention to him, Flash backed off and talked to his friend about the gadget in his hand.
Stark Industries had stopped creating weapons, but Peter and Harley decided that if aliens were to attack again, normal civilians should have a form of defence. Something to hold off until authorities came to help. Still, the project is in its beginning phase and not a publicized product as of yet.
Finally, after two hours touring the labs, the part that everybody was waiting for, the Avengers museum.
They were given 20 minutes to go around the museum, given permission to take photos.
Peter had a feeling in his head and he narrowly avoided being pushed aside by Flash. Flash was excited to say the least, trying to get a picture with every mannequin and artifact. He was saying something about how his followers would skyrocket knowing that he was in such close vicinity to real Avengers stuff.
Most of the items displayed were real, just that the weapons were deactivated.
There were statues of different avengers and their backstories. The idea of the Avengers and what they stood for. Their achievements in the short time they worked together, their fallout, the invasion by Thanos and the final battle.
There was a cordoned off area under construction. It was made for the future of the avengers. It was to ensure the public that in the future, there will still be the Avengers to protect the peace in the galaxies. Added members might include the Guardians, Ant-man and Black Panther but all purely situational. Spiderman had rejected the offer to join the avengers at first, but he will always be a protector of the neighbourhood.
Peter was shocked to actually see a small section for Spiderman. Things that he thought he lost, like his original suit, or pajamas as Tony would say. Turned out, it was put up on display. Tony had taken his first suit and gave him an upgrade, but still kept the original just as memorabilia.
They were about to end their tour when a loud siren went off, catching Peter totally off guard. His eyes closed and he quickly brought his hand up to cover his ears, trying to stay calm. He pressed his hands tightly against his ears, trying to muffle the sounds. He opened his eyes and realised that the dim lights were now overlapped with red emergency lights. The siren eventually stopped as FRIDAY’s automated voice called out.
“There has been a breach in the fifty-seventh floor. Please remain calm as the threat is being taken care of.”
Despite FRIDAY’s instructions, the class panics.
“That’s only three floors above us! We’re going to die!” yells Flash, waving his hand hysterically about.
“We’re not going to die. I’m sure the tower has lots of safety precautions.” reasons Ned, trying to get him to shut up or calm down.
“Yes yes. Everybody settle down.” Mr Harrington took the lead as he got over his shock, “Everybody gather around. Let’s stay calm as the problem gets handled.”
Slowly, the students came to crowd around Mr Harrington as he was doing a head count.
Ned turned to Peter and asked in a hushed tone, “Things are being handled right?”
“It should be. We have security but I don’t know the protocols for handling intruders.”
The ceiling shook from the explosions coming from the floors above them. From the sounds of it, the terrorist attack system was active and FRIDAY has the tower in lockdown. Meaning, the doors and windows were locked shut and there was little way of escape for the intruders but also the occupants of the tower. Each level has a panic room which could be accessed in emergencies.
“Peter! Help! What should we do?” Ned exclaimed hurriedly.
Peter was at a loss. He did not know the building too well besides the living floors. The field trip was supposed to show him around the business part of the tower. His mind was reeling with all the information that has been said throughout the tour.
“All right everyone!” Leah shouted over the noise, “We are going to head into a safe room at the end of the hall. Please keep as quiet as possible to not alert the intruders.”
The class was corralled into a line and went through the museum towards the back, into a normal looking room. Once the doors were closed, the safety feature was activated and the doors were locked.
He looked to his phone, hoping for something to do. He saw that he had a few messages from Harley. Mostly about the projects they were working on for the Avengers but the recent messages were panicked.
He hit the call button and Harley picked up by the first ring.
“Peter! Thank god. I’m so worried. I’m told there’s an intruder. Where are you? Are you safe?”
“For now we’re fine. I’m still with my class. We’re in the museum floor’s safe room.”
“Thank god. We’re working on it so just sit tight. I’ll get you guys when it’s safe.”
Everybody was tense, quiet. Waiting, anticipating for something to happen. The safe room was more soundproof than the rest of the level. The difference from the echoing hallways of the museum to the muffled interior of the room was unnerving.
The ground shook a few times during their wait. Everybody was getting anxious. The minutes passed slowly, seemingly dragging out the day.
In a soundproofed room, even breathing was loud. After a while of waiting, people started talking in hushed voices. Peter’s heart was beating loudly in his chest. He was sure everybody could hear it. His hands started shaking, feeling the room close in around him. He had a mild case of claustrophobia since being crushed by a building, and being in a quiet room with his spider senses going off, and his heightened senses picking up every little breath people took, it was too much.
“Peter?” Ned looked worriedly at him.
Ned knew that he gets sensory overloads since he got his powers but it has not happened since he got a hang of it.
“Peter! You got to breathe with me!” Ned purposely made big gestures and exaggerated breathing but not touching Peter.
Peter’s focus was brought to Ned and he slowly followed his instructions, slowly calming down.
“Sorry.”
“Nah man it’s all right.”
Everybody was staring at him now, Flash looked like he was going to say something but shut his mouth when Mr Harrington gave him a sharp look.
“Don’t worry kids. Just a little while more.” Leah said to ensure the class and keep everyone calm. Don’t need two kids having mental breakdowns in one day.
It seemed like the lockdown lasted for hours but it was barely an hour and they were out. The situation had been dealt with and they were released from the safe room.
Someone ran up to the class as they were piling out, barrelling right into Peter. Arms wrapped around his neck and the momentum sent them both falling to the floor.
“Peter! I’m glad you’re safe.”
“Harley!”
“Sorry we couldn’t get it sorted sooner. But the intruders were dealt with and were handed to the police.” Harley tightened his arms and leaned his head into Peter’s shoulders. “I’m so happy you’re safe. I heard you had an anxiety attack from FRIDAY. Do you need time?”
“I’m fine now. Ned brought me back.”
Harley eventually let Peter go as he heard a cough from behind him. Mr Harrington was not amused. Harley had a mind to look sheepish and he waved at the class.
Leah took the reins as she introduced Harley as ‘the other owner of Stark Industries’.
“Who’s the other one?”
“Well It is not common knowledge yet as three out of four of them are underage, but with permission,” Leah looked over to Peter for a confirmation, “The other is our own Peter.”
“What. No way!” Flash shouted. “Then how come he didn’t know what to do during the lockdown!”
“I’m still in training. Plus finishing school is top priority for me right now.”
“Yep. My darling here is going to help me after he got all his certificates. No but , we both are finishing university before officially starting to work at Stark Industries.”
“Yes well under NDAs that everyone signed, this information should not be shared outside this compound.” Leah clapped her hands together, “Well what an eventful day. I’m sure everyone is tired. Let’s all head to the lobby and wrap up this tour.”
They all heeded the instructions and went to the lobby for their last debrief of their time.
“I’m sure everyone has been anxious about what happened. Let us all relax. We can all get a drink from the cafeteria before we leave.” With drinks in hand, Leah passed out some candy.
Mr Harrington took one last roll call and told the children to start boarding the bus, he turned to Peter and asked, “Hope the tour was informative. Are you staying here?”
“Yep. Thanks Mr Harrington.”
With one last look, Mr Harrington boarded the bus and it drove off.
Peter turned to Harley beside him, “Darling?”
Harley turned beet red as he looked away, “Did I say that?”
“Yes you did.”
“I don’t remember.” Harley started walking away back to the elevator.
“I’m sure you did and I’m sure FRIDAY has footage of it.”
“Yes Peter.” FRIDAY’s automated voice came through.
Harley groaned.
“So what happened today?”
“Nothing much. Someone tried to steal some equipment but got the floor of the museum wrong. Apparently someone paid him good money to steal it. We’re probably going to have to update the security. ”
“Well thankful for that. I’d freak out if I had to spiderman in front of my class again on another field trip.”
“Yep. I took care of it. I tried out the new suit and everything.” Harley stood straighter and puffed out his chest in pride.
“The Iron Lad suit?”
“We are not calling it that. And yes.”
“Come on, it’s nice.”
“Nope. I’ll figure out the name later.”
They travelled up the elevator, their banter filling up the silence. When they reached the living floor, Morgan ran towards them and gave them both a big hug.
“Peter! I was worried about you. Harley was too! He was like ‘Oh my god what if he dies!’ but I was like ‘no. You’re strong’ and he was running here and there trying to think of what to do.”
“Was he?” Peter asked with a smirk, “What else did he say?”
“He said that you would hate him if he let you die and then you won’t like him anymore and that you are important to him.”
“He did, did he? Well he’s important to me too and as you can see, I am perfectly fine.”
“How about me?” Morgan asked as she looked up at Peter with her doe eyes.
“I love you too. You’re super important to me.”
Morgan screamed in excitement as she got picked up and brought to the couch.
“Well what does this princess want to do now that we’re all free from danger?”
“I want to watch Tangled!”
“All right princess. Oh dear prince, would you be so kind as to get Tangled on the TV please?” Peter teased as he looked at Harley.
“Oh darling. Only if you get the popcorn.”
They all laughed as they got ready for a small movie night.
Pepper came into the room halfway through the movie and checked up on them. Morgan ran straight into her arms.
“How was the tour?”
“Well it was nice to know things going on around the tower.”
“I wanted you to get to know the company a little bit better and also give your opinion on the new tour.”
“Well it was informative for people with no clue about the tower. It also gives information about the different jobs we have for people. It’s good overall.”
“How was this little one?” She nodded to Morgan.
“Asleep through the whole thing. She took a long nap. She might be up later tonight.”
“That’s good. Well I won’t keep you kids from your movie any longer. I’ll be down in my office.” With that, Pepper let Morgan sit back onto the couch and left them.
They all watched with interest, even though they watched it a million times before. They sang the songs and danced to the music, all in good fun.
Peter let his gaze fall to Harley and stared for a little too long. Harley in turn looked back and smiled. Something clicked in their heads, that maybe there was something between them. Maybe.
Morgan laughed and the moment was over. It was a thought for another day it seems.