The Missing Chapter
Peter was bored.
He was sitting on the ceiling, throwing a tennis ball on the ground and catching it as it bounced back. He had been doing this for over ten minutes now, as he had previously been shooting webs at the wall until one of the neighbors had yelled through the walls for him to stop.
May looked up from where she had been reading her book on the couch, sighing at the sight of her nephew. She had been trying to suggest things for him to do all morning, but the teenager had just pulled a face at all of them. He had managed to damage his suit on his last patrol when someone had attacked him with a knife, and although the suit was already repaired again, May had forbidden him to go out again for at least a week. But the sight of her nephew hanging on the ceiling with the most miserable look on his face was something not even May was immune to.
She quietly put her book down and left the room, walking up the stairs to make sure Peter wouldn't think to eavesdrop and pulled out her phone. It didn't take long for the person on the other side to pick up.
"Hi, it's May," she said softly into the phone. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but can I ask you a favor?"
Peter quickly kissed his aunt goodbye before stepping into the car that was waiting for him outside their apartment.
"Hi, Happy!" He grinned over-excitedly. Happy just grumbled something in return and started the car. During the ride, there wasn't a single silent moment as Peter chatted the driver's ears off. Happy pretended to be, well... happy when they reach their destination. However, once the boy was out of the car and racing towards the entrance, Happy finds the silence rather uncomfortable. He realized that he really missed the kid when he wasn't here, chatting his brains out. The teenager seemed to be able to wriggle himself into everyone's lives with his sweet smile and doe eyes. Happy groaned, dropping his head against the steering wheel.
"That kid is a disease!"
Peter happily greeted FRIDAY as he entered the building, stepping into the elevator. FRIDAY welcomed him kindly, asking politely about his day.
"Really boring, I had absolutely nothing to do. Luckily, Aunt May called Mr. Stark and he told me I could come over! Cool, right?"
"Very cool, Peter," FRIDAY said fondly. FRIDAY might have been an AI, but she was not emotionless. And she too had grown fond of the excited teenager. At first, it was mostly because he seemed to make her creator happy, pulling him from his workshop binges and spiraling thoughts. But she quickly realized that he simply made everyone's hearts warm, even her own, mechanical one.
She let the young boy out of the elevator, kindly bidding him goodbye even though she was all around him at all times.
Peter burst through the doors that kept his mentor's workshop hidden, rambling happily.
"...so I thought we could have a look at it together to fix it and maybe even give it an upgrade-" he stilled as he looked around. The bots beeped at him happily in greeting, but Mr. Stark wasn't there. "Mr. Stark?" he called out, putting down the web shooter he'd been holding onto one of the workbenches. "Mr. Stark, are you here?"
Silence.
Peter looked around the entire lab, even checked under the cars, but he came up empty.
"FRIDAY, where's Mr. Stark?" he asked the AI, his voice sounding loud in the unusually empty room.
"Apologies, young Parker. Boss is currently in the living area,"
Peter furrowed his brows but didn't question it as he stepped back into the elevator. Surely Mr. Stark was aware that he was here, right? FRIDAY closed the elevator doors and soon Peter felt the box going up. It wasn't long before the doors opened again, allowing the teenager to step out. He didn't get much farther than that, however, as an unexpected sound made him freeze.
Beautiful piano music flooded his ears and when he closed his eyes he could even hear a faint humming along with it. He didn't recognize the song but it was absolutely beautiful. With soft steps, he rounded the corner to the communal floor before freezing in his tracks once more.
Because before him, Mr. Stark was sitting behind a piano, his fingers dancing elegantly over the keys, humming along softly. Next to him on the piano stool sat none other than Captain America himself, looking at Tony with a soft smile and something that looked like adoration in his blue eyes. But Peter didn't focus on that as he found himself slightly entranced, watching his mentor's fingers dance softly across the keys with practiced ease, the soft tune it produced like a lullaby.
However, he was snapped from his peaceful trance when he saw Steve's arm move. Tony didn't seem to notice, the music never faltering. But Peter did. And since Siberia (he didn't know what happened, but he'd seen part of the aftermath, and that was enough for him), well... it was safe to say that he didn't trust the captain completely yet. His brown, watchful eyes traced the man's every movement-- who knew what that arm could do? Peter's mind raced with horrible possibilities as he slowly walked towards the pair, his feet not making any sound on the soft carpet that decked the floor. What if Steve would try and choke him? Tony wasn't aware of the danger at all, completely in his element behind the piano. Now that Peter thought of it, Steve had been looking at Mr. Stark in quite an unusual way lately. He always had a look in his eyes that Peter couldn't quite place. The more he thought about it, the more he managed to convince himself that Steve was about to kill his mentor. His breathing and heartbeat sped up as he panicked. The arm was getting too close. He needed to be fast or--
Peter's eyes widened as Steve's arm rested harmlessly on Tony's shoulders, and they almost bulged out of his head when he saw Tony lean into the touch, his head resting on the blond's shoulder. His fingers didn't stop as he relaxed in Steve's hold. He seemed to do it with such ease, Steve couldn't resist a chuckle. Tony smiled too, turning his head into Steve's shoulder but not stopping his motion on the keys.
"Should I stop?" He whispered softly. "I could stop, do you want me to--"
"No," Steve quickly cut in before Tony could finish the hesitant question. "God, no. Please don't stop," he murmured the last part into Tony's slightly curling hair. The brunet chuckled, raising his head from Steve's shoulder to put his full attention into the music again. He changed it up this time, playing a way more complicated and happy sounding song. Steve watched him with wide eyes as the scarred and naturally tanned hands flew across the piano keys. Peter himself wasn't faring much better as he watched with wide eyes. The last notes rang through the air and seemed to hang around them like a warm blanket. Peter was pulled from his trance when Steve breathed out a breathy "wow". He snuck back to the elevator, the doors closing before him silently.
"Friday? Um, can you, uh, could you take me to the lab? Please?" He muttered.
"Of course, Mr. Parker. I will notify Boss that you're waiting for him there," she responded as the elevator started moving.
"Thanks, Friday."
When Tony greeted him in the lab, neither mentioned it. Tony seemed so relaxed, Peter didn't feel right asking about the moment he and Rogers had shared. He supposed the two must have become friends, despite their history.
Yeah, friends. That was all.