It all started with the patrol and the assault. There was a bar fight that broke out, getting so violent that the employees were unable to break the group of men apart. Now, Peter was fifteen and didn't have any business going into a bar, but he saw that people needed help so he- or rather- spider-man swung in. Things were going well, Peter had successfully webbed up the more violent men up against the wall and he was trying to calm the rest of them down, while ensuring the safety of the other. Unfortunately, his spider senses went off a bit too late for him to dodge the bottle that was smashed over his head only to be immediately decked in the face by another guy. They would have kept punching him if not for the police cars that immediately pulled up. Three officers bust in, guns ready as they yelled at everybody. Some people ran, some of them accepted their fate, the men who were webbed into the wall were cursing Peter as they could do nothing but get arrested. One of the officers came up to him, looking down at his crumpled form on the floor.
“Hey Spidey,” he said, grimacing, “You okay?”
Peter simply mumbled, his head spinning.
“Ah, shit.” the guy cursed, as he knelt down and looked over Peter, “I’m going to have to take you in. You were involved in a bar fight and that constitutes for prison time.”
“No...no!” Peter grumbled, pushing himself up. His head was aching with pain and he felt dizzy, but he couldn't end up in jail.
“However,” the officer said, raising his hand to calm the boy down, “Since you’re our local superhero and have made the streets better, if you get up and run out the back door in the next two minutes, there would be nothing I could do to stop you.”
Peter grinned underneath his mask. Trying his best to ignore the pain, he jumped onto his legs and sprinted out, no one shouted or followed after him.
He webbed himself up into a building and started to swing away but the pain in his head increased ten fold which brought tears into the kids eyes.
Now, Peter knew he was reckless to a fault and he hated getting help from people. It made him feel weak and defeated as he was the one who should give out the help.
But even he knew when to throw in the towel and get to a hospital.
He successfully managed to make it to the spot where he left his backpack. Quickly changing out of his suit, his eyes widened at the amount of blood that had stained his mask. Trying not to panic, he quickly stuffed it into his bag and walked to the hospital that was five minutes away.
The receptionist panicked when she saw him and immediately got him a doctor, which was great because he was two seconds away from passing out. He had super healing, so no doubt the injury was already starting to fade, but Peter didn't want to take any chances in case he had a concussion on something. Despite what his parents think he isn't as irresponsible and reckless when it comes to more dangerous situations.
...Most of the time.
By the time the doctor finished checking him over, Peter was a second away from falling asleep. He didn't know that hospital beds were so comfortable. He was practically out of it even when the doctor bandaged up the wound on his head (Thankfully no concussion. Just a bruise and a pretty nasty black eye)
The doctor lightly tapped Peter’s cheek, not wanting the kid to fall asleep.
“Peter,” he said, “I’m going to have to discharge you now. Can you call someone to pick you up? A parent?”
The boys eyes snapped open. Oh shit. He completely forgot about his parents.
Iron Man and Captain America. The Earth's power couple.
He was the biological child of Tony Stark, his father raised him as a single parent for years, until several years ago, he met Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America.
The two of them got together, dated for six years before they got married, and the three of them were a wonderful little family. They smothered him with so much love and attention, willing to give him the world.
But sometimes....it was too much love and a truck load of attention. Being the son of two superheroes wasn't easy, especially if the two of them always have a target on their backs. It was clear that if the world knew about Peter, that he wouldn't be safe, so, nobody knew that the couple had a son (aside from a very select few people of course).
It was both a good and bad thing. It worked in his favor as he could enter local hospitals as ‘Peter Parker’ and not ‘Peter Rogers-Stark’ and get hounded by paparazzi.
But sometimes it wasn't as great as it dialed the already overprotective parenting up to an eleven, especially with Tony. If they found out that he was injured and got fixed up at some random hospital without calling them, he would be grounded indefinitely.
That, and also the fact that they don't know he’s Spider-man.
Peter felt a shiver go up his spine as he pictured what would go down if his parents found out about his superhero gig. When he first started off, he was going to tell them the truth, but as time went by and as Spider-man appeared more on the news, it was clear that his parents didn't approve of a vigilante going around and being reckless. They would wince and yell at the TV when they saw footage of the hero fighting off armed robbers and gang members. If they knew that the person doing all that was their precious baby boy...
But that wasn't going to happen. His suit was safely stored in his backpack which which he never, never lets out of his sight. All his parents would know, if they find out, is that he was hurt.
“N-No…” Peter muttered out, “Parents- Don't-”
“I’m sorry?” the doctor said, “I didn't hear you.”
Peter felt black spots obscure his vision. He was about to pass out, he could feel it.
“Phone…” he said, patting his pocket, “Pops-Dad…” he was about to say ‘Don't call’ but by then, he was out.
~~~~~
Peter woke up and instantly regretted it. His head felt like it was splitting open and it was so painful, it was difficult to open his eyes. He brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. It felt like he'd been through hell and back.
He took five minutes to gather himself before he pushed himself off the bed and onto his feet, his headache reducing to a constant throbbing. He went to the bathroom to freshen up but froze when he saw his reflection in the mirror.
He was sporting a big, black eye. And it all came flooding back.
“Young Peter,” the Jarvis suddenly said, breaking Peter out of his trance, “Your father wanted me to inform you that once you’ve woken up, you are to immediately find him as he wants to have a talk with you.”
“...which father?”
“Tony, Sir.”
Peter grimaced. His Dad was going to wring him out and pin him on the wall. He was so screwed. Tony was always the more protective one of the two and Peter knew the man was going to be furious.
He considered for a second if he should pretend to be asleep for longer, just to prolong it, but Jarvis caught on.
“Young Peter, I should inform you that your father has been notified that you’re awake and he said, and I quote, get Peter to bring his ass down to the kitchen this instant.”
With a defeated sigh, Peter got off the bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. No use delaying it.
“Good morning.” His father said when Peter entered the kitchen area, no emotion in his tone.
“...morning”, Peter mumbled, his shoulders tense, heart beating rapidly.
His dad wasn't saying much, busy in the kitchen as he made himself a morning cup of coffee but Peter could tell he was pissed. His posture was rigid and tight, and Peter could see the way his jaw was clenched.
Boy. He was fucked.
Peter sat by the living room table, frustrated. The silence was more painful than the scolding.
Tony finally walked towards him, having downed his coffee in a second. Peter shrank back at the intimidating aura his dad had as the older man stood at the opposite end of the table, staring him down.
“Explain,” the man said, “Now.”
Peter gulped, trying not to seem too nervous, “I fell down the stairs at the subway station,” he lied, (Wasn't the first time he explained one of his injuries falsely) “and I got a bit banged up. Some kind people took me to the hospital to get checked up, but it wasn't that bad.”
Tony raised an eyebrow and didn't say anything.
“...I’m guessing the hospital called you. Did you pick me up?”
“Is that all you have to say?” his father said, not answering the question.
“Um…yes?”
Tony nodded, still expressionless. The man suddenly bent down and picked up...Peter’s backpack.
Uh oh.
Ripping out the Spider-man suit, Tony tossed it onto the table in front of the boy before he dropped the bag onto the floor again.
If Tony looked pissed before, now he was beyond enraged.
“OK, OK, I can explain.” Peter tried to reason, getting off the chair. He was so dead. Surprisingly his father stayed silent, folding his hands and leveling him with a deadly glare.
So, Peter did the only thing he could think of.
Was it to explain? Was it to calm his dad down?
No. He ended up bolting away.
The second his dad paused, Peter’s hightailed it out of there. There was something comedic about him sprinting away so quickly, but he would laugh at it later.
“W-Peter!” Tony yelled before he chased after his son. The kid was so screwed.
Peter simply ignored him and ran towards his escape. At the end of the hall there was a spiral staircase that led to the living room area. He quickly hopped on the railing and slid down, landing on the bottom floor with ease.
Peter heard the squeak of terror from his father. Tony was still at the top and grabbed onto the railing to stop his running body.
“Peter Rogers-Stark, you get back up here, right now!” he scolded, sternly.
“See, I would,” Peter said, looking up at his father, “But you have that vein popping in your forehead which usually means you’re going to kill me so-”
“You’re Spider-man!” Tony snapped, gripping onto the railing tighter, “How the fuck did you think I was going to react?”
“...fair point”
At this point, Tony lost his patience and ran down the stairs to continue to chance his idiot boy.
Peter sprinted away towards the living room couch, keeping it as a barrier between him and his enraged father. Now, he knew his dad wasn't going to hurt him, but boy, could he yell. Peter knew that once he got caught, he would have to listen to his dad scream at him for hours before he was grounded forever. So maybe he just felt like prolonging the inevitable.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Tony snapped once he reached the sofa as well. He moved to the right, wanting to catch his kid, but Peter moved towards his right at the same time. Tony moved left and Peter mimicked his actions. The older man was taken back to when Peter was a toddler, around five years old, when they went through this exact same thing. He remembered chasing a tiny little Peter across the hall, darting around the sofa until Tony eventually caught him and showered him with kisses.
Only now, Tony wanted to catch Peter and give him the grounding of a lifetime.
“Peter!” he yelled, when the boy narrowly dodged him again, “The more you do this, the worse it will get for you, young man.”
“I know but I can't stop!” Peter defended, “Especially when you glare at me like that! Let’s just talk.”
“Oh no, you had your chance to talk.” Tony spat out that last word like an insult, “Now you stop running away before I lose my shit.”
“More than you already have?”
Tony simply lunged for the kid once more. Peter squealed and ran away, leaving the couch area. Suddenly, they heard a noise.
The sound of familiar jingle of keys wafted the air, before the front door was unlocked and Steve walked in.
“Pops!” Peter exclaimed, happily. Steve was always the peacemaker and on most occasions, would take Peter’s side of the argument (usually because of his dad’s overprotective parenting). He would protect him, right?
He ran towards the man and his behind him, grabbing onto his sleeve.
“Pops, help,” he said, gripping tightly, “Dads punishing me for something that honestly isn't that big of a deal.”
Tony skidded to a halt a few steps away from them. His mouth formed a grin and he folded his arms over his chest.
“Hey, boy genius,” he said, snarkily, “Steve was the one who got you from the hospital and found the suit in your bag.”
Peter froze and slowly looked up and met the angry gaze of Steve. Now, Steve was a lovely man. He was kind, gentle, a perfect opposite to his father's more extravagant and exaggerated behavior (which was honestly why Peter thinks their relationship worked so well).
But the Stark's knew that when Steve got angry, the world would end. The only thing worse than the apocalypse was to be at the other end of Steve’s anger. The man was ruthless and terrifying when he was enraged. Surprisingly, Steve had never gotten upset with Peter over the years, and the kid thanked the stars that was the case.
But that wonderful, perfect streak was over.
Peter wondered if he could bail out the front door but the blonde man moved much quicker and caught the young boy by the ear, twisting it.
“Ow!” Peter exclaimed as Steve started to drag him into the house by his ear, “Ow! Ow! Okay, i won't run, let me go!”
Steve ended up depositing him on the couch. If there’s one thing that can instill the fear of God into Peter, it's the image he was looking at now. Both of his parents, towering over him, both of them incredibly pissed.
“So, let’s recap,” Tony said, “You wound up in a bar fight, got severely injured and took yourself to a hospital without calling us, ended up passing out and for one of us to get you, only for Steve to find that Spider-man suit in your bag. If I wasn't eager to figure out your thought processes for even considering that being a superhero vigilante was even remotely a good idea, I would have throttled you by now. Anything you want to add Steve?”
“You owe me money for the hospital bill.” was all Steve said.
“And you’re lucky,” Tony said, “I was this close,” he pinched his fingers together, “to telling Steve to just leave you there.”
Peter frowned and slumped down, trying to burrow himself into his hoodie.
Tony sat down at the small table opposite the couch and leveled Peter with a heated glare.
“Explain. Everything. No details spared.”
Peter took in a deep breath, accepting defeat as he told his parents the story of his Oscorp trip, getting bitten by the spider, winding up with his powers and eventually becoming Spider-man.
“Why didn't you tell us?” Steve asked, his anger slowly dying down. He was still upset, but unlike Tony, was able to bring himself under control long enough to have a rational conversation.
“If I did, would you have let me be Spider-man?”
Both of them remained silent which made Peter give them a look like, ‘told ya.’
“That doesn't matter!” Tony said, dismissing Peter’s argument, “What if it didn't give you any powers? What if it was poisonous? You could have died, Peter! Why didn't you tell us the minute you got bitten?”
“I don't know.” Peter mumbled, “I thought I could handle it.”
“You thought you could-” Tony let out a frustrated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Steve put a hand on his husbands shoulder and took over the reigns, “Peter, this all stops. Now. OK? The lies, the secrets, your Spider-man-”
“Spider-man!?” Peter exclaimed, “You can't stop me from being Spider-man! People need him!”
Tony looked up, “People need- what i need is for my Son to be alive and not throw himself into dangerous situations! I’ve seen Spider-man jump in front of a bus, fight armed robbers and be involved in fucking bar fights! It all stops Peter.”
“...No.”
“No?”
“No!” Peter repeated, a fire in his eyes, “Look, I'm really sorry I kept this a secret from you guys, and this is why! I knew you two would freak out and make me stop. What I do isn't even that bad! Most of my days involve catching petty robbers and getting kittens down from trees, nothing dangerous!”
His parents raised their eyebrows.
“...OK sometimes it is, but that’s like, a one in a hundred.”
“One is still more than zero.” Tony said.
“Tony,” Steve said, “hear him out.”
“Wh-” Tony shot Steve a glare, “You can't be serious.”
“I’m sure our Son has thought this through Tony, he’s not a complete idiot.”
“Could have fooled me.” Tony mumbled.
“Thanks guys.” Peter snapped.
“All I'm saying is, it’s not the worst thing in the world that he wants to help people. I was exactly like that when I was his age!”
“Yes, but you were in the 1900’s where I couldn't stop you.”
“Well, if someone did stop me, I wouldn't be here scolding our Son with you, now can we please get to the topic at hand?” Steve looked back at Peter, all playfulness gone, “Peter, what do you want to get out of this?”
“...What do you mean?”
“I mean, what’s your end goal? Why do you put on that suit everyday? For fun? As a hobby? Why are you doing this?”
Peter took a second to think. He knew what he wanted to say, but his parents were upset enough as it is and he was just going to add fuel to the fire…
But screw it. He needed to be honest with them.
“...I want to join the Avengers.”
Both of his parents' jaws dropped and Tony was the first to scream.
“What?!” he exclaimed, eyes wide.
“I want to join the Avengers!” Peter repeated, standing his ground, “I want to do what you guys do. I want to help people, make lives better!”
“No. No, absolutely not.”
“Tony-”
“Dad-”
“No! Listen here!” Tony snapped, shooting up to his feet, “I already worry everyday that myself or my husband might not come back home one day, no way in hell am I letting my child go into that line of business.”
Steve got a sad and upset look on his face which Tony ignored. They could talk about that later, “But dad!” Peter protested, “This is what I want to do!”
“You’re fifteen, Pete, trust me your mind will change.”
“No it won't!” the boy protested, clenching his fists.
“Fine, you know what?” Tony said, folding his arms, “When you turn twenty-one and if you still feel like becoming an avenger, then we’ll talk about it.”
“Twenty-one? But that’s like-”
“Zip it, kid.” Tony said, sternly, “You either take that offer or push the whole thing off the table, it's your call.”
Peter simply pouted and folded his arms too. Like father like Son.
“Fine.” he muttered, “but I'm not happy about it.”
“Yeah, well, get used to it because it's going to be a long time before you’re ungrounded and that includes your Spider-man act! Your father and I will have a talk about if you ever get to put that suit back on, understand?” Tony said, “Now go to your room.”
Peter got up and left, dragging his feet in protest which Tony ignored.
Once the kid was gone, he finally let out a loud sigh. Whoever said parenting was a treat was the biggest idiot on the planet.
Steve placed a comforting hand on his arm, “You okay?”
Tony nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose, “That kid is going to be the death of me.”
Steve chuckled, “You love him.”
“Of course I love him. I love him so much and it’s so hard when he does such stupid shit.”
Steve nodded. Peter really did cross a line, even if he had good intentions.
“Well,” the blonde man said, shrugging, “It could have been worse. He could have been you.”
“Low blow Rogers, low blow.”
“I’m just teasing.” Steve kissed him on the cheek, “...but you know, Spider-man has done a lot to help people.”
Tony shot him a glare, “I believe you’re taking the little tykes side.”
“I’m not taking his side.” Steve corrected, brushing a hand through Tony’s hair, “I totally agree that he needs to stop his Spider-man charade, but only for awhile. Just think, with the right training and guidance, he could end up being an outstanding hero that looks out for the little guy.”
Tony simply frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Plus with training he can look after himself a lot better.”
“...I do like the sound of that.”
Steve smiled before pulling the man in for a hug, wrapping his arms around his smaller frame.
“We’re going to get through this Tony.” he consoled, “I also think we need to give Peter a little bit more credit. He’s not a baby anymore.”
“He’ll always be my baby.” Tony immediately said, hugging his husband back.
Steve chuckled, “I know. But maybe we should ease back on the overprotective parenting? I hate that he kept this from us.”
“Yeah, me too.” Tony admitted, “...Fine. I’ll consider training him, but only if you’re the one doing it.”
“Of course. You think I'd let someone else teach our boy?”
“Knock some sense into him while you do, don't hold back.”
“Don't think you should be promoting that, honey.”
“Don't think my son should have a side gig as a superhero, but here we are! Speaking of which-”
Tony broke the hug and stormed off towards the staircase, “Did you see his suit? I’m pretty sure it’s just a hoodie and red cowboy boots Steve, it’s like the kid wants to get killed! He’s going to need a major upgrade and-”
Steve smiled as he watched his husband angrily rant while he stormed up the stairs. In a few hours, once everyone had calmed down, they’re probably going to have a talk with Peter again.
But through all the difficulties that will come their way, they’ll get through it together.
They always do.