Chapter 4
The elevator door opened to Tony's personal lab with a crisp ding. Harley leading the class out of the elevator with more grandiose gestures, Morgan clinging to his back like a little Spider-Girl.
"Right this way, class. I now invite you to take in the wonders of Stark's personal laboratory," he announced. Peter looked over at Ms. Gaites and saw that her expression perfectly conveyed that of a frazzled teacher with a haywire field trip. Peter could only guess at how she managed to execute the look so flawlessly.
Harley led them over to an overflowing lab table and picked up a little bottle filled to the brim with bright pink liquid. It was a project that Peter and Tony had been working on together, a solution that, when poured on discarded glass, would melt it into a mushy, biodegradable substance. That’s what they were trying to make it at least. Harley looked at the bottle for a few moments, clearly trying to figure out what it could be. He apparently decided to just take a wild guess.
"This right here is oil for Iron Man's suit," he said.
Harley looked at Peter for a second to see if he was right and Peter shook his head 'no' dramatically, not really expecting anything to come of it. Predictably, Harley ignored him as he continued to spout bullshit.
But the class seemed satiated. Everyone but his friends who actually knew what it was and Ava who seemed to be rethinking every single decision she had ever made in her life up until that point was perfectly happy with the description.
The next thing Harley picked up was a small model desalinator that was supposed to make the desalination process quicker and less expensive. It was still a work in progress. And Harley, once again, could not figure out what it was.
"This my friends...is...a...gun?"
"Nope," Peter replied.
"Okay...it's a...squirty thingy," he tried.
"Wrong.”
"Alright...it's a fancy pen, that's my final guess," Harley said.
"Not even close," Peter said, chuckling as he walked towards Harley. “It's a desalinator, now put it down before you break it."
Harley led them around the lab for a little while longer before Ava tried to retake control of her tour.
"Harley, It's almost time for the tour to end, so I think that we should leave the lab before we get in trouble," she said. She walked up to Harley and pushed him to the side. Right into Peter. Making them both stumble.
Peter grabbed Harley's arm and tried to look inconspicuous as he used his boyfriend to steady himself.
Ms. Gaites agreed with Ava that the class should head back to the lobby when the elevator dinged with another arrival. Peter went up on his tiptoes to try and see who the arrival was over his class, already fearing the worst.
Predictably, it was the worst.
Tony stepped out of the elevator. He looked taken aback for a moment. He stared at the class for a few seconds before checking the drink he was drinking. After he confirmed that there was nothing suspicious about it, he looked back up at the class. He located Ava and a look of relief flooded his face. He was then overwhelmed by Morgan jumping down from Harley's back and running to hug her father.
"Dad, guess what, guess what?" She cried.
"What, sweetheart?"
"Harley is here, and Peter is too, isn't that great?"
"It sure is," Tony said, smiling warmly at her. The warmth mostly drained out of his smile when he looked back at the group of teens.
"Ava, what exactly happened here?" He asked as he walked up to them.
"Harley happened, sir." Ava pointed at Harley who was clutched to Peter's side. All eyes turned to them and Peter jumped away from his boyfriend.
"Hey old man," Harley said, grinning at Tony. Around the room, the silent surprise at Harley calling the infamous Tony Stark an 'old man' was almost visible.
"Of course. Harley." Tony approached the two, choosing to ignore Peter. A small mercy. Tony put his hands on Harley's shoulders, "How are you, Harley? Good? I hope you're doing good, can you explain to me how the field trip got sidetracked enough to end up in my lab. In fact, explain to me why I invited you for Christmas at all."
Harley looked unimpressed by the sarcasm that was practically dripping from Tony's words. "We have a connection, remember. Also, I figured that Peter's class deserved something exciting at Stark Towers, something other than the boring shit show that this place usually is," Harley was smiling lazily at Tony.
"That's so kind of you," Tony replied with a forced smile.
"Isn't it though?"
Tony looked like he wanted to ship Harley back to Tennessee for a few seconds. Harley seemed bored after a moment, turning away from Tony to find Peter and pull him into his side.
Harley was being especially obnoxious when he kissed Peter on the cheek with an arm wrapped around his shoulders.
“Ha, penis is such a fag. I guess that’s all you can expect from a guy who’s initials are literally PP,” said a whisper that was a bit louder than Flash had probably meant it to be. Everyone in the room had heard him.
Peter felt his heart speed up a couple of hundred beats per minute as Tony paused and looked at Flash. He half expected Tony to fly at Flash any moment. He did not expect MJ to run at him. She managed to punch him in the face and spend him spiraling to the ground before Shuri and Ned had pulled her away from him.
“Fuck you, Eugene. No one will ever fucking love you and I hope you fucking die. In fact, I’ll be the one to fucking kill you if you ever say that shit again,” she said.
“Yeah, get fucked man. I hope you burn in hell,” Harley agreed.
Peter glanced around at all of them. MJ was still breathing heavily with anger, Shuri and Ned having to physically restrain her from attacking Flash again. He had never seen her so outwardly passionate about anything. He had also never loved and appreciated her more for being brave enough to do what Peter couldn’t.
Tony walked towards him, "Hey, Pete, you okay?"
"I'm great. Yeah, I'm definitely fine. My life's not rapidly going downhill at all," Peter replied.
"Is that the only kid?" Tony asked, pointing at Flash.
Peter nodded and Tony's expression darkened way beyond normal. He was definitely putting on a show.
"Well, I think we have a bit of a problem here then, I'm not going to have a homophobic little bitch, certainly not one who’s messing with my son, in my lab or my tower. And neither are any of the other Avengers." Tony grabbed Ava's clipboard and located Flash's name and picture. "Eugene, I'm gonna have to call in the other Avengers and have them escort you out to the parking lot." Flash's face was overwhelmed by fear as Tony finished his sentence, "Friday, please notify the Avengers that I need them in their suits in my lab to escort the boy picking on Peter outside."
"Yes, sir," Friday replied. They waited for a very tense moment before the elevator dinged once again, this time signifying the Avengers entering.
Captain America and The Winter Soldier were the first two out. They were followed shortly by Black Widow, Vision, The Scarlet Witch, Falcon, Ant-man, The Wasp, Black Panther, Thor, and Captain Marvel. Peter didn’t know when Thor had arrived, but he was glad that he was here.
The Avengers all looked absolutely terrifying. They looked like they were about to fight a villain instead of deal with a punky teenager. Tony pointed at Flash, and they surrounded him, each brandishing their weapons as if they would use them at any second. Flash had picked himself off the floor in the meantime, but he was sporting a mark that would definitely turn into a black eyes from where MJ had punched him.
Tony activated his nano-suit, becoming Iron Man in front of everyone's eyes.
“I would like all of you and all of the people that will see the videos you are taking right now to know that neither Tony Stark, Stark industries, or the Avengers support homophobia,” Tony announced.
Tony then turned to Ms. Gaites, who seemed far too pale to not be on the edge of fainting, and smiled. "Ms. Gaites, I'm sorry about all of this, we'll be escorting Eugene to the bus where he can wait till the end of the field trip. And Peter can stay here after the field trip."
Ms. Gaites regained her voice for a second, "But that's not protocol, it's not allowed-"
Tony stopped her by raising his hand, "Trust me, it's allowed," then he smiled and closed his mask. He stood behind Flash, telling him to walk to the elevator. Tony, Steve, Bucky, and Thor went down the elevator with him first, leaving everyone else to wait with the flabbergasted class.
Nat turned to Peter and smiled as she approached. She wrapped her arms around him in an annoyingly comforting hug. "Ohh, sweetie, don't worry, you're papa’s got this. He won’t bother you anymore," she pulled him into another close, dramatic hug as the class started whispering again.
"Can we not do this right now," Peter whispered in her ear. She pulled back and Peter thought that luck was on his side, until she kissed him on both cheeks then his forehead.
"Alright my малыш, I'll be going now," she pulled away after making sure that Peter was blushing as brightly as possible. She liked to call him her малыш cause it meant little boy in Russian.
Wanda and Vision approached him next.
“What happened, Peter? Why was Tony talking about homophobia?” Vision asked him softly as Wanda reached up and ran a comforting hand over his cheek.
“Oh, Flash just called me a fag. It’s no big deal, I’m fine,” Peter replied, not looking up.
Wanda gasped, “Peter, oh my God, that is unbelievable. I am going to beat the shit out of that guy.” She actually turned to leave before Vision held her back.
“Wanda, love, as much as I agree with you, Flash is a minor and a civilian. The government would not think it was justifiable,” Vision said.
"I'm fine Wanda, you can go back to the others,” Peter said.
“Would you like a hug, love?”
Peter found himself nodding and Wanda wrapped him in a warm hug that Peter melted into. She pulled away after a moment. “We are both here for you Peter, remember that,” she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek before stepping away.
Peter saw Harley out of the corner of his eye and walked over to Shuri instead. He couldn’t stand the thought of a big deal being made out of him and his sexuality again.
Shuri was making fun of her brother when he got there, teasing him for bringing his suit when they were on vacation.
T'Challa was looking at her with his mask still on. "The fact that you wouldn't have brought your suit is the reason that you aren't a superhero."
Suddenly, a loud voice squealed, "That's where I know you from, you're that princess from that African country, Wakana or something like that."
Shuri smiled and bowed, "that's me, Princess Shuri of Wakanda. Say it with me now kids, Wa-kan-da. Don't forget that or I won't hesitate to steal your kneecaps. I'm serious, I have the technology to do it," Shuri sounded dead serious and the girl looked horrified, "and they can't even arrest me for it because I'm a princess." Her face broke out in a smile as Ned, and MJ laughed a little bit.
Still standing behind Shuri, T’Challa turned to Peter, taking his mask off for a moment. The king rested a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Peter, I vaguely heard what happened. Though I am not gay myself, my sister obviously is, and many members of the Dora Milaje are. You should not feel insecure about your sexuality, and if you ever need protection, I am gladly here to support you,” he said. He was so genuine that Peter almost started crying.
Instead, he bit his wobbling lip and bowed his head slightly to T’Challa in acknowledgement, not trusting himself to speak. T’Challa nodded back at him before pulling his mask back on.
The elevator dinged again and the rest of the Avengers filed in, disappearing with Natasha blowing him a kiss and Carol mouthing "sorry" at him.
Ava scowled at the interruption. She tapped Peter on the arm twice to comfort him before assuming a customer service voice. “Alright, continuing on with the tour.”
Ms. Gaites looked at her as if she couldn’t believe that she was able to brush stuff off so easily. “What are you doing, how can you ignore what just happened?”
“When you work here, it’s just another Tuesday,” Ava grumbled.
“Well...what? I can’t believe this? I’ll have to call the school board. No one will ever be able to go on a field trip to this tower ever again. Eugene’s parents are going to be so angry. MJ, you are going straight to the principal’s office when we get back,” she was hysterical. And breathing too heavy. And a bit wobbly. Probably about to faint or have an anxiety attack.
Ava’s eyes widened, she must have realized that she would have to escort Ms. Gaites to the medical room. One that Tony had built after one too many lab accidents.
“Umm, okay, Ms. Gaites, I’m going to take you to the medical room. Peter, you’re in charge. Take the class down to the lobby and wait for me to get back,” Ava ordered as she gently took Ms. Gaites arm and lead her to the elevator.
After they had left, all eyes gradually turned to Peter. Again. He felt his face go red. He tried to stay calm, he tried to think “What would Spider-Man do?” But Spider-Man had never been in this situation before, with Spider-Man, everything was simple, Spider-Man never had to use his social skills. Spider-Man would make a funny quip, Peter could do that, he was Spider-Man. “Well, that was awkward.” What the heck! He screamed at himself, that wasn’t even a quip, that was a statement. He was a fucking idiot.
He tried to laugh awkwardly. To dissipate the tension. It didn’t work.
Harley, noticing that his boyfriend was in desperate need of saving, quickly took control.
“Well, don’t all laugh at once, it’s not every day that you meet a comedic genius like this guy,” he exclaimed.
“Oh, so that’s what we’re calling awkward idiots nowadays,” Ned said.
“I appreciate what you guys are doing, but it feels like you’re just making fun of me,” Peter said.
“No, never, I, Harley Elizabeth Keener-”
“That’s not your middle name-”
“Would never make fun of you.”
Shuri rolled her eyes. During that awkward interaction she had once again ended up with Morgan on her back. The kid was really living up to her monkey shirt. “Come on class, I’m in charge now, and we’re going down to the lobby,” Shuri announced.
Shuri led them to the elevator and sent the first group of kids down to the lobby and then got on the second ride down with Peter.
When they arrived at the lobby, they sat on benches or the floor scattered around a small part of the lobby.
Most of the class was looking at their phones or talking quietly about how crazy the day was from what Peter could hear.
Peter and his friends were all leaning against a side wall. MJ was sitting against the wall with Shuri lying down, her head in her girlfriend's lap. They were talking quietly, so quietly that Peter could barely hear what they were saying. Peter and Harley were both sitting against the wall, Morgan sitting in between them. She was talking to Harley and Peter wasn’t really listening. Ned was sitting in between the two couples playing Minecraft on his phone as Peter watched him throw villagers up into the air with a fishing pole.
About ten minutes later, the Avengers walked back into the lobby. They all looked dead serious, and Cap was obviously in a very righteous mood.
“Listen up kids,” he announced loudly, getting everyone’s attention, cause when Captain America speaks, you listen. “If you ever, and I mean ever, bully someone you will be found. It may be by the Avengers, or by good old fashioned karma, but something will always come back to bite you if you are ever mean to people. Also, don’t be homophobic. That had never been cool. If you want a queer person to make fun of, then make fun of me. Yeah, that’s right, welcome to the twenty-first century, Captain America is gay. Get the hell over it and be nice to people,” he said.
“Language,” Peter said to himself, loud enough that his friends, and cap, would hear.
“Peter, shut up,” he said. “Lecture over.”
Bucky glared at the kids. Scare tactics were definitely more effective when they were employed by a bunch of super strong freaks brandishing weapons.
Peter saw MJ smile at him when their eyes met and Bucky’s cold exterior melted when he smiled back. The guy was practically a teddy bear. After reintroducing themselves after the second fight against Thanos, and knowing him for over a year, Peter couldn’t imagine actually being scared of Bucky.
The Avengers left the lobby shortly after.