It'll Be Good For You

Peter couldn’t help but be nervous when Monday morning arrived. He woke up about 300 times during the night, fitfully checking the clock because he was terrified of waking up late. I mean, it was a big deal, right? Such a big deal that he was nervous to tell anyone. He didn’t really want the word to get around, because he didn’t want the attention and glorification that either Ned or May would throw him into.
So terrified that he set his alarm for 2 hours earlier than what he actually needed to set it for. 5 am rolled around, and Peter drug himself to the shower, turning it fully on cold in hopes it would wake him up.
And he was right. It sure did. He hissed at the cold water, and after about a minute of teeth chattering he turned it back to the warm side. It was September anyways, starting to cool down. He didn’t really know why he thought that was a good idea. He stayed in the shower for quite a while, mostly because he was overthinking things. Was he really going to be working directly with Mr. Stark? I mean, that’s what the papers said… Maybe he would be working with Pepper Potts. Probably not, though. God, that woman could run the world and not ask a single person for help…
A half hour later he stepped out of the shower, trying to fix his wet hair in the foggy mirror. It always curled up during the summer, and the lingering pavement and September heat was making it a wavy mess recently. And to top it all off, he had run out of hair gel last month.
He had May press his slacks last night. He wanted to look nice, since most of the clothes he had didn’t even compare to what Mr. Stark wore. He found his khaki slacks from last year’s class pictures. He put on a white button up and a red tie he found crammed in the sock drawer. This was okay, right?
“Hey, May…?” May was awake, sitting on the couch, watching the news a drinking a far-too-big cup of coffee.
“Oh, Peter! You look great!” She quickly stood up, enveloping him in a big hug. “Be safe, okay?”
Peter nodded, pulling away from the hug. “Always am!”
She gave him a stern look. “Text me when you’re there. I’m serious, Peter.”
Peter grabbed his bag by the door, nodding, “I know, I know… Don’t worry about me. Have a good day, May.” And May couldn’t say another word, because he was out the door.
---
Tony slept surprisingly well given that his weekend had gone to shit. One drunken night ended with him calling Pepper and saying god knows what. He didn’t even want Jarvis to replay the call feed when he woke up the next morning. And then he saw the angry messages from her with no reckoning on how bad what he said truly was, especially because Pepper was cussing, and she never did that. And the hangover… God, he swore he still had it. Then, Rhodes had called. And he gave him the longest lecture of his life, telling him it was time to man up and get some help, and ending it with “I want my best friend back.” Needless to say, Tony hung up without a word. And then had an anxiety attack on the scale of the one he had a few years back on the side of a highway, thousands of miles away from home.
Jarvis woke him up, and Tony definitely could tell it was a Monday.
“Sir, Peter Parker is sitting outside on the park bench. He is here a whole hour early. Should I let him in?”
Tony groaned. Dear god, the kid was already getting on his nerves. “Just let him in the lobby, talk to him.”
“Yes, sir.”
While Tony climbed in the shower, Peter heard the door beep, and a voice come across the loud speaker.
“Peter Parker, I am Jarvis. Mr. Stark will be with you shortly, please make yourself at home.”
Peter stood up, wondering where the voice was coming from. Did Tony already have an assistant? Maybe not. He made his way inside the lobby.
The avengers tower was the one of the most architecturally advanced in New York. Peter wrote a paper on it his modern architecture elective his junior year. It was completely clean energy. And the top ten floors were only used for research. Not many of the avengers stayed here anymore, though. There was the new facility upstate that was currently being built. But it wouldn’t be done for the next few years.
It was incredible, looking around in the lobby. He had come for a school trip to tour, but they were only able to view the first five floors. And now? Peter was going into the heart and soul of the building. His hands shook slightly as he took a seat in one of the leather chairs.
He fumbled with his phone for about ten minutes, waiting patiently. The elevator dinged and Jarvis spoke again.
“Mr. Parker, if you would please enter the elevator, I will take you to Mr. Stark, now.”
Peter simply followed the directions. The elevator did all the work for him, and when he saw the floor number he knew he was in for a longer ride. His hands were still shaking, and he stuffed them in his pockets to hide it. He bit his lip. C’mon Peter, get it together! How the hell was he supposed to work if he was already this nervous?
When the elevator doors opened Peter was greeting with the lab. It was everything he expected it to be, just slightly disheveled.
Peter walked in slowly, looking around.
“Over here kid!” Tony was sitting at a work station, and Peter walked over quickly.
“M-Mr. Stark,” he held out his hand for Tony to shake, cringing as he saw it shaking, “I’m so glad to be here. Thank you aga-“
In a second, Tony spoke up, shoving a scrap paper list in his hand. “No formalities, kid, right? I told you this back in Queens.”
Peter nodded, taking the list and reading through the short list of tasks written while Tony continued to speak. “It’s not much. Uh, so I need some stuff to work on the new suit. It should all be there. Pepper is on floor 13. She has some papers for you, and some for you to bring back…”
Peter was on it before Tony could even finish. He shrugged, continuing on. But not even thirty minutes later Peter was back, with a crate of everything on the list he asked for.
“Here you go, Mr. Stark.”
Tony could help but try and hide his surprised grin. “Great job, kid. I- Well that’s everything I really needed, so why don’t we sit down a chat.”
Peter nodded, taking a seat beside him.
“So, how was the commute?”
Peter shrugged, setting his bag on the floor. “It wasn’t too bad. I usually just listen to music and it passes by pretty quickly.”
“Oh, yeah? What do you listen to?” Tony looked up, intrigued. He might as well get to know the kid. He obviously had good work ethic, there was no denying it. And if he was going to be around for the next year, it wouldn’t hurt to have a little light conversation. He could tell Peter was nervous, anyways. He wasn’t surprised. It was a big change, especially for a 17 year old kid from Queens.
“Anything, really. Usually older rock, 70’s and 80’s. I don’t really like modern music.” Peter trailed off, watching Tony as he worked meticulously.
The conversation continued. Tony asked him about school, and where and what he wanted to do for college. The kid was smart. He had goals that Tony would have never even thought of at 17. Tony always had the means, but never really the drive. That didn’t come until after his father’s death, and even then, he had no choice and he wasn’t crazy passionate ideas. Peter was different, and Tony saw a little bit of himself in him. He saw the intelligence, the drive, and the ideas that, to others, came out of thin air with no premise. But he didn’t have Tony’s temper, at all. The kid was cool as a cucumber.
And as the first week went by, Tony noticed Peter start to open up. He started to give Tony ideas on the projects that he was working on. They were damn good ideas, too. He began to talk more about himself, and it was relaxing. To have someone else around, and to talk to them on a daily basis.
The weekend was coming around, and there was a benefit in Tony’s name. A charity event for the local children’s hospital. Pepper had dealt with all the financial aspects, and when she called she simply said “I need you to just show up and be nice. And bring Peter. It’ll be good for you.”
Tony had debated going at all, but after Pepper’s threats to start sending all the management paperwork straight to him…. Well he changed his mind.