Chapter 2
Tony is in the staff room when he finally works up the courage to talk to someone about Peter. He doesn’t have many friends who work here - definitely Tony’s fault, but it’s not his fault that attending work functions for pleasure is a lame waste of time - but he’s known Rhodey for a hell of a long time. If there’s anyone he trusts to tell about all of this, anyone he knows will be honest with him, it’s Rhodey. He works deep within the heart of the admin department, as Tony likes to dramatically tell their friends.
So, instead of calling the man to set up a meeting outside of school hours, he decides to corner him in the staff room when he’s innocently pouring himself another cup of coffee. Tony never said his plans were foolproof.
“So the Parker kid,” he starts, subtle as ever. Rhodey jumps, coffee sloshing over the edge of the mug. The man hisses and shakes his hand to alleviate the burn, glaring darkly at Tony over his shoulder.
“Was that necessary?” He raises an eyebrow cynically. Tony shrugs.
“Whatever, you haven’t answered my question.” He replies.
“You haven’t asked a question.” Rhodey points out. “Besides, why would I do you any favours? You just let me get burnt.” This may be true, but Tony knows for a fact that the man won’t be able to hold out long against Tony’s persistent questioning. He has a way of being so annoying that people tend to give him whatever he wants without much of a fight. Rhodey must be in a magnanimous mood today - or maybe he just wants to spare himself a migraine - because he takes one look at Tony’s determined expression and sighs.
“He’s a transfer student from a high school just outside New York. Straight A student, only one black mark on his record is from a fight a couple of years ago. The other student was expelled, so I assume it wasn’t Peter that started it.” Rhodey hesitates, taking a thoughtful sip of his coffee and eyeing Tony, suspicious, over the rim of the mug. “Why do you want to know?”
Tony shrugs one shoulder, the opposite of subtle, and makes grabby hands for Rhodey’s coffee. The man withholds it from him, narrowing his eyes further.
“Tones, what’s going on? He annoy you or something?” Rhodey guesses, cocking his hip against the sideboard right in front of the coffee machine. It’s a bold tactic but Tony has been known to crack under the threat of caffeine withdrawal; besides, Rhodey is his closest friend. If Tony were to tell him - and that’s a big ‘if’ - that his Mate also happened to be one of his students, the man would act disgusted or outraged with him. Knowing Rhodey, he’d probably make a proactive plan of action to tackle the problem and it would all be sorted out by lunchtime.
But Tony isn’t Rhodey, and Tony is well known for not dealing with his problems.
“He’s just smart, is all. I was talking to him earlier on about his old school, and his grades were well above average.” Tony placates Rhodey. This isn’t strictly a lie either: Tony didn’t actually talk to Peter about it but he glanced at the boy’s previous grade point average whilst he was trying to keep his libido in check and was very impressed.
Rhodey nods, not quite convinced but satisfied - or too tired to question Tony further - for now. He shifts so that Tony can access his long awaited cup of coffee and casts a glance over the other teachers gathered in the staff room.
“You should come over tonight.” He suggests. “I could invite Steve and Bucky. We could get really drunk and regret it tomorrow morning?”
Tony grins, remembering not so fondly his past hangovers during seventh grade physics lessons. Not something he’d ever recommend, especially since most seventh graders act like… well. Seventh graders on a sugar high at a disco. Tony was certain he was going to die that day.
He’s not sure it would have been a bad thing, considering recent events.
“Nah,” Tony turns down, genuinely regretful. “I’m gonna have a few papers to mark, plus the head likes to make the rounds the first week back. I don’t wanna appear too hungover this early on, gotta save up some of that luck for finals week.”
“Tests in the first week? Jeez, no wonder they think you’re the mean teacher.” Rhodey jokes, waving over his shoulder with the hand that isn’t holding coffee as he leaves the staffroom. Tony exhales heavily and leans his weight against the tabletop. So Peter is a good student as well a good person. Tony doesn’t remember the last time he was this lucky.
It doesn’t surprise him that there would be a catch.
___
Tony has Peter’s class right before lunch. Peter looks just as beautiful as he had the day before, hair falling temptingly over his forehead and lips so pink and soft looking that Tony just wants to rub his thumb over them. His Mate really is exquisite.
The hour passes torturously slowly, each second that drags past like the prick of a needle. As he stands at the front of the class attempting to explain thermodynamics to the students that didn’t drop out after his little tirade yesterday, he wants nothing more than to be alone with Peter, able to talk about real things. Tony enjoys physics, sure, but when it’s the only reason he has to be talking to his Mate it’s understandable that he’s started to resent it a little.
The final bell can’t come soon enough. Tony has been watching the clock for the past fifteen minutes, choosing to magnanimously ignore the couple in the front row playing footsie under their desks. He’s shooting us out of his seat before the bell has even finished ringing, ushering everyone out faster than they can collect their belongings together and sliding smoothly around his desk to stand by the door. Just as Peter is about to leave Tony places a trembling hand on the boy’s shoulder, uncertain about touching him for too long lest he’s unable to stop, and murmuring something about him staying behind. Peter nods eagerly, wide eyed and gorgeous as ever, and slings his backpack back off his shoulder.
Tony closes the door once everyone has left, just managing to surprise the urge to sigh with relief. Peter is watching him with a curious, open gaze and Tony finds that making eye contact when he’s unable to touch is like looking directly into the sun. A Bad Idea.
“Is there anything wrong, Mr Stark?” Peter asks innocently, his fingers tapping distractingly at the desk in front of him. Tony inhales deeply, draws up a chair and sits on it in front of Peter. He’s so close and Peter’s smell is all around him, thick and sweet and intoxicating. Tony leans forward on his elbows just to get closer to the boy, just to be closer to that mouthwatering scent. It would look a little odd if Tony crowded Peter’s personal space and sniffed his hair, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting it desperately.
“No, no, of course not Peter. Actually sort of the opposite.” Tony tells him, wondering how it’s possible for Peter not to smell what he’s smelling. He understands the biology of it, understands that for Omegas the scent becomes more prominent after Bonding whereas for Alphas it’s the opposite. Still, it stings to know that right now Tony might just be another Alpha to Peter.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I had a look at your files.” Not strictly true, but he figures it sounds better than ‘I begged my best friend to tell me everything about you.’ “Your grades were… above average, to say the least.”
Peter flushes a pretty pink colour, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly in a little smile that Tony just wants to kiss. He laughs self depreciatively and shrugs. “Thank you. I was actually set to take the exam last year at my old school but… things came up. Obviously.” A nervous laugh here, like if he plays it off as nothing Tony might forget his sincere, solemn tone of voice.
In an act of unexpected kindness - Peter is his Mate, after all - Tony shuffles a little closer and drops his pitch so that he’s speaking in a low, calming voice. “If you ever want to talk about it Peter, I’m more than happy to listen.”
Peter looks up then, and Tony really hadn’t been aware how close their faces were until just then. Peter’s eyes widen marginally in surprise before flickering down, however briefly, to Tony’s lips. The boy exhales shakily and Tony feels the breath across his own face. Peter’s addictive scent is all around him, so close and so sweet and Peter’s pupils are so wide and his eyes are so dark, Tony’s going to kiss him he can’t hold back any longer he—
A loud, clattering noise from down the corridor shatters their illusion of privacy and Tony jerks back like he’s been electro shocked. Peter is blinking slowly and his scent has changed somehow, a wisp of arousal mixed with his usual smell. Tony’s treacherous mind wonders how close Peter was to going under, wonders what would have happened if he had done.
“My uncle died.” Peter blurts out, sounding alarmed, and Tony has never felt the mood shift so suddenly. He feels a rush of sympathy flood over for his Mate and he can’t help but let that show in his expression. “That’s why we moved, my aunt and I. That’s why I didn’t take the test.”
Tony inhales steadily. There’s really nothing anyone can say in this sort of situation to make it better - Tony knows that better than anyone - but he wants Peter to know that he’s not alone. He’ll never be alone again now that Tony has found him.
“I’m sorry that happened to you, Peter.” Tony says softly. And then, “My parents died when I was young. There’s nothing anyone can say to make it better.”
Peter nods, eyes cast down. Tony has a feeling that was the right thing to say.
“If you still want to take the test early, Peter, I think you’d be entirely capable. You’d have three months and I’d be more than happy to offer after school tutoring for you if you wanted. What do you say?” Tony holds his breath. Obviously he wants Peter to choose what’s right for him - if taking the exam early would be a bad idea then he shouldn’t do it - but he can’t keep the selfish part of him from wanting Peter to accept just so they get to spend more time together.
“I’ll, uh, have to think about it?” Peter answers, a slow smile spreading across his face. Tony mirrors the expression and nods his head once, decisively. Pushing back from Peter’s desk, Tony circles round the room to sit in his own chair, half hard and extremely self satisfied. He leans back in his seat and grins openly at the boy opposite him. Peter blushes again.
“Have a good lunch, Peter.” Tony tells him.
“You too, Sir.” He replies.
***
Peter has a crush.
This is a problem for any reasons. The last crush he had had was on some random Beta back in middle school, when the juiciest gossip going around was who kissed who under the bleachers at lunch time. This is entirely different; this is a man, not some other kid his own age. Not only is Mr Stark a man, but he’s an Alpha, and Peter’s teacher to make matters worse.
Peter has never been attracted to an Alpha he knows personally. Sure, he’s jerked off to big, tough looking Alphas in magazines or in the few porn videos he’s dared to look up, but going from that to knowing and seeing one everyday is a huge leap. Mr Stark is gorgeous, all sharp angles and dark hair and searching, inquisitive eyes. His scent alone had been enough to get Peter a little bit turned on, and the worst thing is that Mr Stark knew about it. How could he not? Peter has practically been salivating in that classroom.
And he had been sure Mr Stark was going to kiss him earlier, when they both leaned in and his eyes went wide and, just for a second, Mr Stark had smelt just as aroused as Peter’s sure he must have smelt.
Ugh, Peter is so stupid! It’s only his first week in a new school and already he’s getting unhelpful crushes on inappropriate role models. He kicks the floor, scuffing his new shoes as he does, on his way through the school cafeteria. He’s holding one of their signature blue plastic trays but the only thing on it is a lonely slice of greasy looking pizza, probably not the nutritious meal May had in mind when she gave him a five dollar bill this morning. Still, it was the cheapest option and Peter knows they’ve been struggling lately.
He only takes a break from his internal misery when he sees Michelle on the opposite side of the hall. After only a moment of hesitation Peter takes a breath and heads in her direction. Thanks to Peter’s previous experience in the classroom he’s extra sensitive to scent, and so Michelle’s Alpha smell makes Peter’s nose twitch, uncomfortably delicate.
Like the other day, she doesn’t acknowledge him when he first sits down. After side-eyeing her for a good few minutes to no avail, Peter decides that he’s too hungry to waste his lunch period and gingerly picks up the pizza. He has to hold it between two fingers and examine it for a moment before he deigns it safe to eat. He’s down to the crust before he realises Michelle is now staring at him, and he chokes on his pizza in the face of her intense glare.
“Um,” he stutters between coughs. She narrows her eyes at him and doesn’t say anything. “Do you— do you not like me or something?”
Michelle cocks her head to the side, evaluating. Even in silence she radiates dominance, and Peter fidgets uncomfortably. She rolls an apple between her palms, biting it and chewing messily.
“What makes you think I don’t like you, Peter?” She asks, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand.
“How do you know my name?” Michelle smirks a little condescendingly at Peter’s startled outburst, like she wants to reach over and pat his hand and call him ‘sweetie’. There’s nothing maternal about it though.
“There isn’t a lot that goes on in this school that I don’t know about.” She answers, and levels him with a look so piercing that Peter’s cheeks flush involuntarily. He knows there’s no logical reason for him to be embarrassed - it’s not like he’s got anything to hide, nothing happened - but the thought of Michelle having seen him and Mr Stark in the classroom just half an hour ago makes Peter shiver.
He manages to stop himself from blurting out a half assed defensive reply, but that just seems to make Michelle even more amused. She snorts and shakes her head.
“Seriously!” Peter snaps eventually. “Did I do something to offend you? ‘Cause you’re acting like I have.”
She stands up suddenly and, even though Peter is taller than her anyway, she’s towering over him. She’s never seemed like more of an Alpha and Peter bites back a whimper; he’s almost certain she noticed the way he lowered his head subconsciously. It’s probably why she’s looking down at him with, for the first time, mild interest in her eyes.
“See you tomorrow, Parker.” She tells him after a few tense seconds. Peter isn’t sure whether it’s a threat or a promise.
______
“Hey May!” Peter shouts as soon as he kicks their front door shut behind him. He lets his bag fall from his shoulders to land on the floor and pokes his head into the kitchen to look for May.
“Hey, Honey.” She replies, pulling off an oven glove with her teeth. She places a kiss on his forehead and ruffles his hair, much to Peter’s dismay. “How was school? You make any new friends?”
Peter swallows, thinking about Mr Stark’s face so close to his, the man’s smell so strong… the man’s suggestion that he take his physics final a year early.
“Um, well. I actually have to talk to you about something.” Peter starts uncertainly. May glances over her shoulder at him.
“Can you talk and chop at the same time? I’m making lasagna.” Peter grimaces jokingly and May flips a tea towel at him, grinning. He catches the onion May throws in his direction and pulls a knife out of the draw. He’s still getting used to the placing of everything in this apartment— it’s so different to their old one. It’s going to take him a while to be able to find a glass without rifling through a cupboard of plates first.
“My physics teacher took a look at my grades from last semester.” Peter dices the onion rhythmically, focusing on the task rather than on all the persuading he’s going to have to do in just a second. “He was really impressed.”
“Well he should be.” May replies. “You were the best in your class.”
“Yeah, right.” Peter agrees, laughing a little nervously. “Well… he kind of asked if I wanted to take the final early? He’s offered extra tutoring and everything! I told him about how I almost took it last year and he said he’d help me if I still wanted to try.”
May has stopped chopping tomatoes and is now facing Peter, leaning back against the counter with her mouth pulled down into a frown. She sighs and pushes the hair out of her face.
“Peter…” she sighs. “Haven’t we talked about this?”
“Not really!” Peter insists. “I know you think I can’t cope after everything that happened, but I can! I really just want to go back to normal, and this is normal for me. I know I can pass this test, and it’ll give me loads more frees on my timetable so that I can study for all my other classes. May, please?”
Neither of them mention the fact that things can’t go back to normal, not really. Normal would be the three of them listening to the radio whilst preparing dinner in their old house, not May and Peter cooking lasagna in a tiny Queens apartment.
“I just don’t want to see you get stressed again, Peter. I just think it’s too soon.” Peter can tell she’s giving in.
“Shouldn’t that be my decision to make, though?” Peter pushes onward, speaking softly. May sighs and holds her arms out for him. Peter has always loved May’s hugs - she knows all the tricks for calming him down, making him feel safe and loved - and this is no exception. He relaxes in her arms, all the stress and confusion of the day seeming to melt away.
“You know I’ll support you, whatever you choose to do Peter.” May murmurs as she pets his hair. He nods into her chest. “Now come on. Let’s get this lasagna in the oven before I change my mind and take us out for Chinese food.”