Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

What happened so far:

• May died

• Peter got an abusive foster family

• ran away and became homeless

• won a one week internship at SI

• his genius got discovered by Tony and he became his personal intern

• Steve and Tony found out about his situation and took him in

• they found out he’s spiderman, freaked out, are okay with it now

• happy ever after

A splitting headache, nausea, vomiting. The past six days of Peter Parker’s life had been a fairytale. No, for real, it had been everything he used to wonder about. What would it be like to have someone constantly check if he was okay? To take his temperature and panic over what foods were safe to feed him? Someone to watch movies with him and whisper stories and jokes to him when his headache got too distracting to keep watching? Would it still feel the same like it had with Aunt May?

Now Peter didn’t have to ask himself anymore what it was like to be sick in Avengers tower. His dad and Papa, as well as his aunts and uncles had made sure the week spent in bed was more like a dream come true than a nightmare. It had only been a few months since Peter had given them those titles, but they had been working hard to earn them every day.

Peter hugged his parents goodbye and did a back flip. Out of a window. Followed by the angry yells of his dad. Ahh… Life was good. Nothing could bring him down today.

Wrong. Oh, foolish innocence! Peter’s day was about to take a rather abrupt turn. You see, when the teenager arrived at school, there was a bus waiting in front of the building. And all of his decathlon team were getting into it. What?

“Ah, there you are Peter!”, Mr. Harrington greeted him. “I was wondering if you would show up today, but I guess no one could resist an opportunity like this. I hope you are feeling better?”

Again, what? “Uh, yes sir,” Peter nodded, breathing out in relief when he spotted Ned and MJ. “Just fine.”

Before he could reach his friends, a hand fisted in the back of his shirt, pulling him back. “Penis.”

“Interesting thing to hear first thing in the morning,” Peter grumbled, wondering what Flash wanted now.

“Don’t even try to get smart, Penis. Today is your last day of lying. They will all find out,” his bully sing-sanged.

Huh. Peter had no idea what the guy was on about, but the glee in the asshole’s voice made him fear the worst.

“Well, this is a place of learning,” Peter said simply as he pulled away, quickly making his way over to Ned.

“Dude, what the hell is going on? Where are we going?”

“What? Have you not gotten the email? You must have, there was a permission slip required.”

Permission slip? If his parents had signed it, why… Oh. Oh no. The reboot. A few days ago, Peter had rebooted his computer. Which must have reactivated his automatic answering system he had used while he was homeless. Which meant, not only did he have no idea where he was going, but neither did his parents. This was not going to end well.

“Where, Ned?”, Peter asked again.

“Stark industries? As in the tower? Your home?”

Oh. This was… okay? Had he had time to prepare, Peter would have wanted to brief the staff, but there were protocols in place to protect his identity as the adopted child of two Avengers, so… It was probably going to be fine?

Wrong again! Nothing was fine. Peter had forgotten Flash’s threat. Foolish, indeed.

……

Ned was acting like he wasn’t at the tower at least twice a week. Peter tried his best to be annoyed, but seeing his best friend so happy and excited was great. MJ was acting all cool and collected of course, but then again, she was at the tower just as often as Ned.

The bus ride could have been so much fun, if Peter’s spider sense hadn’t been tickling so much. Not like when there was physical danger, it was just… uncomfortable. Gross? Maybe that was the right word? Peter felt like he should take a shower or something.

Then, his hearing picked something up.

“Dude, I think that chick over there was looking at me earlier.” Ugh. One of Flash’s friends. The guy had somehow managed to get two of his rich friends who weren’t even on the team to be allowed on the trip.

“Cindy? I think she has a crush on Abe.”

“Well, then let’s make sure he knows to stay in his place.”

Peter’s blood was boiling. It was one thing if Flash wanted to make fun of him, he was used to it at this point, but his teammates? No fucking way in hell. A plan formed in Peter’s head, and with a triumphant smirk, he pulled his phone out to send a quick message to Friday. Flash was about to enter Peter’s realm, he didn’t stand a chance.

……

The team’s reaction to the tower was predictable, yet fun. Peter had always wanted to share his fortune with his few friends, and this was an amazing opportunity.

“Okay team,” Mr. Harrington shouted over all the uhh’s and ahh’s. “I’m sure you are aware how special this day is, but please remember that there are people working here, who deserve our respect. I expect you to listen to instructions, pay attention and overall have a good attitude. We will meet our tour guide in a minute, one of the interns from the robotics lab.”

Not Wendy. For the love of god, not Wendy, Peter thought. He loved all the interns and often went to the lab to hang out with them, but Wendy just always managed to blurt out the wrong things. Like secret identities, for example.

Peter let out a relieved breath when he spotted Paul walking up to them, carrying a paper box. “Hello Mid Town!”, the intern greeted cheerfully. “My name is Paul and I will be your guide today.”

After giving a quick speech on lab safety and other security concerns, being far less scary than uncle Happy had been the first time Peter had come tower, he started calling out their names and handing over security badges.

“These badges will allow you to go to certain parts of the tower and certain parts only. Should you be found where you don’t belong, you will be removed from the building immediately. Your parents, and in especially bad cases the police, will be contacted.”

Paul frowned when the students stared at him in fear. “Guys, don’t worry. You can’t just accidentally do that. It’s like going to a bank and being told you are not allowed to break into the vault.”

The students relaxed and calmly collected their badges.

“The colors mark the department. Mine is silver for robotics, yours are white for visitors. Some people have several colors, and black badges mean general access to all departments. All labs and levels have different security clearance. Mine is level 3 for interns, but I have special permission to go wherever Mr. Stark is, as long as I am holding a coffee.”

“So even at SI interns are doing coffee runs?”, Mr. Harrington asked, but his question was drowned out by the excited whispers of the students.

“You get to talk to Tony Stark? In person?!”

“Did you meet the other avengers?”

“Why you?”

Paul chuckled. “Let’s just say he likes my coffee best. Wanna know a secret?”, he added whispering.

The team shifted closer.

“The extra shot espresso he always asks for? I use decaf.”

“You lie to Tony Stark?”, Betty asked, her eyes wide.

“Order from the true boss of SI,” Paul answered, throwing a quick wink at Peter.

“True boss?”, Flash asked.

“Let’s just say there is someone in this building who could overthrow Stark any moment. Thankfully I consider him a friend, so I should be fine once he takes over."

“Hey! Why didn’t they get one?”, one of Flash’s friends asked.

Paul looked around in confusion, until he spotted who the boy was pointing to. “Maybe there was a mistake, I… Oh! Hi, Peter!” A lot of conflicting emotions flickered over his face, but thankfully, it settled on understanding. “This is your class. Right. Uh… Peter doesn’t need one because he’s already in the system from his internship. Ned and MJ… also help out sometimes. It’s all good.”

The other team members nodded, but Flash huffed angrily. He was still trying to convince everyone Peter was lying about that, even though Peter had submitted the correct paperwork to the school.

“That one short week won’t fool anyone into believing SI could actually want a loser like you,” he hissed as the group began to move.

Paul explained how to scan the badges and the students formed a line to enter the building. All eyes turned to Ned when it was his turn, eager to see I he’d actually just be allowed in.

“Ned Leeds, welcome back. Shall I inform Aragorn?”

Ned smiled, but shook his head. “Not here for the book club, just the tour for now.”

Peter let out a relieved breath. He knew he could count on Friday. Ned being marked as level 10 clearance and asked if he wanted to hang out with Bucky Barnes would have been suspicious as hell.

Next it was MJ’s turn. “Ah! Ms. Jones!”, Friday greeted cheerfully. “According to my calculations, you absolutely slay today.”

“Thanks, Fri.”

When Peter tried to walk through the gate, it slammed shut in front of him.

“Password?”

“Uh…” Damn, had she given Peter any clues that morning? “Please?”

“That is the magic word!”, she cheered. “Welcome back, favorite human.”

“Aww, Fri! Love you too,” Peter answered, skipping through the open gate.

“I’ll never understand you two,” Paul chuckled, while the other students and Mr. Harrington stared at Peter, Ned and MJ in awe. Even Flash was keeping his mouth shut for once.

When Paul tried to walk in, the doors slid close again.

“Password?”

“Uh… Please?”

“Incorrect!”

Paul frowned and threw a quick look at Peter. “Little help?”

“Try compliments?”, Peter shrugged.

“Your… cameras look very… shiny today?”

“Reducing me to my appearance,” Friday scolded him, but the doors opened anyways. “Typical.”

“You are a bad influence,” Peter told a grinning MJ.

……

The group went to the robotics lab first, where Peter, Ned and MJ were greeted by the other interns. Flash was getting more and more pissed off, which worried Peter. There was no way the bully was just going to leave him alone, he was most likely planning something.

“Peter!”, Clair called out when she walked in. “Good to see you. Can you help me work out this equation? I’ve been stuck for like three days!”

“Sure thing boss!”, Peter replied with a quick salute.

“Yeah, let’s not pretend like you aren’t the one running this place,” she laughed, giving him a small slap on the shoulder.

“Isn’t he supposed to stay with the group?”, Flash asked, a mean twinkle in his eyes.

“Nah,” Clair shrugged. “Pete already got the tour a year ago! Besides, we need our little genius!”

Flash started to look really angry now. “Isn’t that decision up to the lab head or something?”, he asked, crossing his arms.

“It is,” Clair said sharply. “That’s why I decided to let Peter do as he pleases.”

“You are the lab head?”, Batty asked. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful Ma’am, but how does that work? You seem so young.”

“Well, one day, Mr. Stark messed up, big time.”

“And you fixed it?”

“Nah, I called him out.”

“For real?”, Seymore wondered.

“Yup. Basically called him an asshole in a very well worded, eloquent way.”

“And you survived?”

“Got a promotion. Always stand up for what you believe in, especially if someone else might not be able to,” Clair concluded, already dragging Peter away.

……

The next few hours were a weird mix of everything the tower had to offer.

The group went to the food court, where they were given a 25 dollar limit and told they could also get some packed food to take home. When Paul mentioned how this was a new rule, Peter felt like crying. Thinking about all the nights he had gone hungry still hurt, but knowing his pain would maybe help other kids coming to the tower made him feel new hope.

People in almost all labs recognized Peter and his friends, causing Flash to look like he was about to explode. Peter knew something was coming. Of course he did.

“Psst, Pete,” Paul whispered, pulling him to the side. “There is this really cool project I sometimes get to work on and I’d love to show you guys.”

“Okay?”

“It’s level 4.”

Ah. “You need my permission?”

Paul nodded sheepishly. “It’s really cool!”

“Okay, we can go.”

Paul told the group the good news and they went to the elevators. Only when the doors slid close behind him, Peter realized his mistake.

“So,” Flash said, only inches away from his face, framed by his friends. “Let’s talk, Penis.”

Chapter Text

Peter stumbled out of the elevator, feeling a little… disorientated. He had not expected to get through the day without something happening, but this had been far more painful than usual.

The place where one of Flash’s friends had gripped his arm stung a bit and his throat was sore from his bully cutting off his air, but he had endured so much worse injuries many times, he didn’t really care about the pain.

What hurt far worse was that it had happened here. In his own home. Peter was supposed to be safe here. And the things Flash had yelled at him… Lies. Of course Peter knew they were lies, but hearing them was still deeply unsettling.

The teen quickly returned to Ned’s and MJ’s side, standing a bit behind them to avoid questions should they see his face. At the moment, the whole group was looking at Paul anyways, which gave him a moment to collect himself.

“As you can see here,” Paul started his presentation, “We have already-”

“Petey-pie!” Everyone turned around when a familiar voice cut their guide off. Everyone but Peter. Peter was busy staring straight ahead, trying not to panic.

“You’re already back from school?” Peter finally turned around, just in time to see Tony check his watch with a slight frown. “Anyways, I need your help in the workshop. I was going to work on a new cooling system for the iron man suit and need your input on the chemical components.”

“Uh…”, Peter mumbled, trying to ignore the gasps and whispers emerging from his teammates. “Mr. Stark, I-?”

“Mr. Stark?”, his dad repeated dramatically, clutching his chest. “Why my last name, are you mad at me? How many cookies do I have to get you?”

Instead of answering, Peter just moved his head towards the staring crowd, trying to signal to the man that they had an audience.

“Oh!” Yes! His dad was getting it!

“Ted! Michelle!” Or maybe not.

“Do you have anything specific planned today?”, Tony continued, still not acknowledging the other teenagers in the room. “You could just go up to the labs too. Teddy can work on Karen’s coding and Pepper 2.0 could help Brucie, he seems a bit stuck right now.”

“Stark!”, MJ hissed, finally getting Tony’s full attention. She gestured to the group, who were still staring, mouths hanging open, and Paul, who looked like he wanted to sink into the floor.

“Oh, a school class,” Tony nodded, his signature grin taking over his face. “Didn’t even know we allow tour groups up here. Usually you wouldn’t get to see me, but I’m already here and being nice gets me extra points with that one,” he added, pulling Peter to his side. “So, from your amazed staring I can tell you already know who I am, so why don’t you guys introduce yourself next.”

“Uh,” the teacher’s eyes were darting between Peter and his dad. “Harrington, sir.”

When no one else dared to speak up, Tony rolled his eyes and pointed at the student on the left end of the small circle that had formed around them.

“Cindy,” she squeaked.

“Seymour.”

“Abe.”

Tony raised a hand to stop them. “That sounds familiar?”

Then he looked back at the teacher and MJ and Ned. “Oh, you are Peter’s team! He talks about you guys all the time! You must be Betty Brant, then!”, the billionaire exclaimed triumphant, beaming at the girl.

“Y-yes sir,” she stuttered, visibly amazed by the fact Tony Stark knew her name.

Tony nodded, before his gaze wandered to the remaining teens in front of him. “And you three? Are you on the team as well?”

“I am, Mr. Stark. Flash Thomson,” the boy said, puffing out his chest and taking a step forwards.

Tony frowned at that, almost looking a bit guilty. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember Peter mentioning you? Are you new?”

Flash’s eyes narrowed as they settled on Peter, who suddenly felt a strong urge to hide behind his dad.

“If I may, boss,” Friday interrupted them, “Eugine Thomson has been on the decathlon team for two years. I have a file about him in Peter’s personal records.”

Tony looked between his son and Flash, his posture becoming more tense by the second. “That’s strange… I’m guessing there is a reason for you telling me this. What’s the file called?”

“Evidence,” Peter answered before Friday got the chance.

Tony’s hand settled on Peter’s shoulder. “Play it, Fri.”

The whole room turned towards the window, where a screen was now covering up the view. The first thing that showed where the date and time. Ned’s gasp that echoed through the room was almost covered up by MJ’s shocked “But that was just twenty minutes ago!”

Flash swore when a recording of the elevator appeared, he and his friends already inside. Next, Peter entered, pulling back when he noticed who else was inside. The boy tried to step back out, but the door had already slid close and the elevator was moving. When Flash slammed the stop emergency stop button, it came to an abrupt halt.

Peter watched himself glancing up to the camera, giving it a small nod. A sign for Friday that he was fine.

Then things started not being so fine. Despite his strong belief Flash was wrong, Peter winced when he heard his insults again. At least this time, his dad’s arm was wrapped around his shoulders. The man’s grip tightened when one of the other boys actually reached out for Peter to hold him in place as Flash pressed him against the wall. The whole room gasped as the bully’s hand reached for his victim’s throat. Peter had to reach out to squeeze Tony’s side to stop him from jumping Flash right then and there.

Finally, the elevator moved again, making Flash jump away from Peter. Then the footage cut out. The room was very, very silent. Peter heard Tony take a deep, shaking breath, undoubtedly getting ready to scream, but before he could, a different voice broke free.

“Mr. Thomson! How dare you speak to not only another student, but also a fellow team member like this?”, Mr. Harrington yelled, crossing the room in quick steps. “While some rivalry is to expected, this was just cruel! And to go as far as to physically attack him? This will have serious consequences!”

The man shook his head, visibly struggling to calm down, then his gaze fell on the boy still clinging to his father. “Peter, we will have to have a talk to,” he said far gentler. “Don’t worry, of course you are not in trouble. Flash is off the team, you won’t have to deal with him anymore.”

“But sir-”, Flash tried, but now Tony had recovered from the shock and was ready for the kill.

“Zip it,” the billionaire hissed. “Friday, get Happy.”

“I agree with you, Mr. Harrington, but I have A LOT of things to add,” he added, before turning his burning gaze on Flash. “So, Eugene, you really think you have the right to walk into my home and insult my SON?!”

Flash’s eyes widened as he looked between Peter and the fuming man in front of him.

“The future owner of Stark industries?”, Tony kept going, pulling his child to his side.

“The apple of my eye and heir to my kingdom?”, he paused, giving Flash a disgusted look “Well, of course you didn’t know he was all that, because he is a HUMBLE and NICE person. But accusing him of faking his internship? How do you think I found my wonder boy? Peter Parker is smarter than all of you combined, so humble yourself. And I know he is not completely hiding it at school,” Tony added, his voice softening the tiniest bit. “I’ve got that kid’s report card on my fridge.”

Now everyone was staring at Peter, undauntedly trying to put the pieces together.

“M-Mr. Stark, I am so sorry. It just seemed so unrealistic-”

“SO WHAT?!”, Tony boomed, making even Peter flinch a little. His dad squeezed his arm as an apology and continued a bit quieter. “You didn’t have to believe him, but saying something like that?”, he asked, gesturing to the now dark monitor. “Unacceptable! No one deserves that, especially not Peter! He is the best kid there is! He is smarter, richer and stronger than any of you, but he’d never use any of that against his fellow students. Quick question, who here had ever Peter Parker help them with homework?”

Peter blushed as everyone slowly lifted their hand. Accompanied with an awkward cough, even the teacher.

“Good to know,” Tony smirked. “Encourage you on a bad day?”

Ned and MJ were the first ones to react, followed by the rest of the team.

“Protect you from a bully?”

A few hands lifted in the air. Ned’s the highest, a proud smile on his face.

Tony nodded, crossing his arms. “Okay, last question. Has Peter Parker ever displayed this kind of cruelty or done anything to deserve it?”

Shaking heads this time. After a moment, even Flash looked down and shook his head, and so did his friends.

“Good,” Tony sighed, “You three, rest assured I will deal with you later. Right now, your fellow students would like to continue their tour.” Now an evil grin crept onto his face. “Sadly the next part is just for members of the team, so you three will have to wait in the lobby until your parents can pick you up.”

Right on cue, Happy entered the room, looking equal parts alarmed and annoyed.

“Ah, there he is!”, Tony said, waving the man over. “This is Mr. Hogan, the head of security. He will escort you down and refer you to a guard who will make sure you don’t step out of line again.”

“You called me to babysit a bunch of brats?”, Happy grumbled, glaring at the three teens, who were shrinking under his gaze.

Tony’s face fell, his voice becoming quiet, yet dangerous. “They dared to touch Peter.”

Happy’s eyes flew to the boy in question, taking in his stressed face and the way he was holding on to his dad. “I see. Follow me.”

Tony nodded at the teacher when the bullies and their new guard were gone, telling him to stay put for a moment. Then he pulled Peter to an empty storage room.

“You good kid?”

“Yeah… Thank you,” Peter sighed, falling forward to let his head press against the warm chest waiting for him.

“My pleasure. How’s your arm? Your neck?”

“C’mon dad, you know he can’t actually hurt me. I get worse every time I go patrolling.”

“Don’t remind me,” Tony groaned. “But this is different. You don’t deserve to be attacked like that. Not here. Not in your own home. Not again.”

“Dad...”, Peter breathed out, wrapping his arms around the man. “Don’t worry, I know I’m safe. You are here.”

They stayed like that for a minute, until Tony pulled back to look down at his kid. “So, evidence?”

“He never did anything in front of the teachers and even held back in front of the other students,” Peter explained. “I was scared no one would believe me…”

“I would have. I’m always on your side, and so is Steve.”

“I know. Thanks, dad.”

“I love you so much,” Tony said, kissing his forehead. “So do these kids. You saw all those hands going up. You are amazing, Peter.”

“You said the next part is only for the team? Why? You didn’t even know we were coming…”

Suddenly Tony’s mood changed and he grinned down at Peter. “Oh, you kids are gonna love this!”, he exclaimed and dragged his kid back to the team, who were now bombarding MJ and Ned with questions.

“Okay, team!”, Tony called out, immediately getting their attention. “Let’s move on! As many of you might know, Peter here is turning 16 in a month. What I am going to show you now was supposed to be ready by then, but it looks pretty acceptable already,” he said, leading them to the elevators.

“Uh, dad?”

“Yes Petey?”

“Can Paul come?”

“Who’s Paul?”

Peter rolled his eyes and pointed at the very lost looking intern.

“Oh, coffee guy! Of course he can come, he’s yours anyways.”

“Sir?”, Paul asked confused.

“You’ll see. Friday, to the team lap!”

“Friday?”, Peter whispered. “Thanks for the help.”

“You are welcome, Simba,” the AI hummed.

“Simba?”

“Didn’t you hear your dad? Everything my cameras touch will be yours one day!”

The elevator doors slid open, revealing a huge room. Well, actually it was more like several rooms, separated by glass walls. There were several fully stocked lab areas for all different kinds of scientific fields. There was a kitchen area, several tables, and a room with carpeted floor, beanbags on the floor and a sofa pushed against the wall.

“They got the lab safety talk over with?”, Tony checked with a very stunned looking Mr. Harrington.

“I- Yes?”

“They did,” Paul confirmed. “Took them to all the intern labs earlier.

“Brilliant!”, Tony said, clapping his hands. “Go explore kiddos, ask those two if you have any questions, they helped design it,” he added, gesturing to MJ and Ned.

“What?!”, Peter gasped, whirling around to his friends. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“It’s a surprise, loser,” MJ shrugged. Then she and Ned started encouraging the equally confused and excited team to check out everything they had prepared for them.

“Paul,” Tony said once everyone but Peter was spread out through the lab. “You often do tours, don’t you?”

“Yes sir,” the man nodded. “I like working with students.

Good,” Tony hummed. “Clair tells me you do good work. And Peter likes you, which is the highest seal of approval you can get in this building.”

“Thank you?”

“I think it’s time you take on more responsibility. Therefore, you’ll be responsible for this lab. Obviously safety will be the main concern, but I also need you to make us look really cool in front of Peter’s little friends.”

“Dad!”, Peter complained, but Tony just chuckled and ruffled his hair.

“I- I will. Thank you for this opportunity, Mr. Stark,” Paul nodded and hurried off to join the students.

“Dad?”, Peter whispered.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. This is amazing.”

“I know you couldn’t wait for your birthday to finally tell your friends about me and Steve. I wanted to make it extra special.”

Peter nodded. “This will distract them for a while, right?”

“Probably, why?”

“I want to get Papa.”

“I’ll go with you,” Tony said grimly. “He won’t be happy about this.”

……

Steve was very quiet after the video ended, but Peter could see his fists trembling.

“Where is he? Where is that slimy little-”

“Papa.” That immediately cut him off and he rushed to his son. He pulled Peter in a tight hug, kissing his hair.

“Papa, it’s okay. He got kicked off the team.”

“That’s not enough,” Steve hissed. “This isn’t supposed to happen to you. You were supposed to be happier than I was. I was supposed to protect you.”

Peter pulled back, a frown settling over his face. “You did. This was all my plan. I knew you’d have my back, so I had the strength to do something about this.”

Steve took a shaky breath and pulled Peter close again. “What that boy said...”

“I know. Dad took care of that too. We just wanted to tell you in person before you hear from someone else.”

“I love you two so much.”

“Love you too,” Peter and Tony said in unison.

“So…”, Peter said after a few moments. “Wanna see my new lab?”

“Uh! More teenagers under our roof? Perfect!”, Steve cheered.

“You are fucking crazy,” Tony told him, but took his hand and pulled him to the elevators.

……

“Peter’s back!”, Betty called out, making all the students rush to the elevators.

“Peter, this place is so cool!”

“I can’t believe you never told us!”

“Are you okay? Flash is so dead right now!”

“Mr. Stark, can you hit his house with a laser or something?”

Peter raised his hands to stop them. “Guys. I’m fine! And look who I got with me!”

Everyone but Ned and MJ gasped when Steve stepped out into the lab. “Hello. My name is Steve Rogers and I am Peter’s father. I hope you all know Flash was lucky I wasn’t in the room earlier,” he told the room with a glare.

The students nodded shyly, and Steve immediately dropped his frown. “Brilliant! Now, would you guys show me your lab? Tony never lets me in on his crazy plans!”

Peter decided to follow them, curious what exact items his insane father had gotten for them. In the Biochemistry lab, he stopped dead in his tracks.

“Oh my god! Dad, I asked for one centrifuge and one microscope for my birthday, not three each!”

“What? Oh no, must have gotten it wrong,” Tony grinned. “Sorry team, Pete only wants two things, so I guess you won’t get a whole lab...”

“NO!”, everyone gasped. “Peter! Take it back!”

“Too late,” Tony shrugged.

“Don’t worry guys, Peter just has to do the thing,” Ned reassured the team.

“I’m not doing the thing!”

“Do it!”, MJ ordered.

Peter sighed and took his father’s hand. He concentrated on making his eyes as big as possible, before sadly looking up at Tony. “Please dad,” he said quietly.

“Fine!”, Tony groaned, covering his son’s face with his other hand. “Just stop that! This won’t work forever! You are getting older and less cute by the second!”

“Please,” Peter chuckled. “I bet this will still work when I’m all grown up and have my own kids.”

Tony froze, his mouth hanging open.

“What?”, Peter asked confused.

“Oh my god… grandbabies!” Tony whirled around to Steve, who was watching their exchange with a soft smile. “Stevie! I never even thought about it.”

“Don’t put pressure on him,” Steve warned, but he sounded just as excited as Tony. “He might not want-”

“So? I just found us a bunch of kids!”, Tony interrupted his husband. “We’ve already got MJ and Fred trapped here. We’ve still got a few years of high school to get the rest of the team. Then we wait for a few years and boom! Grandbabies!”

“You can’t steal their hypothetical future babies, Tony,” Steve tried to lecture him.

“Are you trying to tell me I can’t steal children?”, the man mocked him. “Then explain this!” He grabbed Peter’s face in one hand, squeezing his cheeks.

“Daaaad!”, Peter whined. “You are embarrassing me!”

Before Tony could answer, he was cut off by a collective gasp from the students, Paul and Mr. Harrington. Peter turned around, immediately spotting the tall figure in dark clothes standing in the elevator doors.

“Met Happy. Told me there was a tour. Are you done?”, Bucky asked.

“Sorry, we are still checking out the lab,” Ned told him.

“But I got us three more books...”, Bucky whined.

“You know Bucky Barnes?”, Betty whispered.

“Avengers book club,” Bucky told her, and she paled when she realized she hadn’t been quiet enough.

“See?”, Tony pointed out. “He’s stealing children too.”

“I’m not stealing Ned,” Buck said with a frown. “If I wanted to efficiently steal a child I would get-”

“Alright!”, Steve cut him off. “Let’s not discuss this in front of Peter’s friends. I’d rather not scare them.”

“We are fine!”, Abe said. “It’s fine, you can keep us, this place is amazing.”

“Good to know,” Tony grinned. “Tell you what, if your parents agree, you can stay all day and have a team movie night, what do you think?”

The team cheered. “Let’s watch the Hobbit,” Seymore suggested.

“Oh no,” Peter sighed when Bucky’s face dropped.

“Guys, I can’t watch that without Bucky,” Ned told the team. “I promised.”

“Mr. Stark?”, Cindy asked, pointing at the Winter Soldier. “Can we keep him?”

“Yeah right, let’s the assassin hang out with the kids. I said team movie night. Your team, not mine.”

“He can join!”, Abe insisted.

“I don’t think Buckeroo is up to date with all the modern technology,” Tony pointed out.

“He can be the mascot!”, Betty said.

Suddenly the whole room was chanting. “Murder mascot! Murder mascot!”

“I hate this generation,” Tony groaned, leaving Paul and Mr. Harrington to calm down the kids.

The team did have a movie night in the end. Wich lasted three hours. Bucky had a lot to say about the differences between the movie and the book, even though he had watched it at least ten times already.

In the following weeks, the team met at the tower at least twice a week, but the students could come and go as they pleased, their new, black, level three with special access to the team lab passes allowing them in. Once more than four members would find themselves there in the evening, the others quickly showed up as well, wich in turn resulted in a movie night, sometimes joined by an Avenger or two.

“This is so perfect, thank you,” Peter told his parents once his actual birthday arrived and the team got to eat cake and pizza in their very own hang out space in Stark tower.

“We love you, kiddo,” Tony told him.

“So much,” Steve added.

“Love you too,” Peter answered with a careless, easy smile.

Chapter Text

Flash’s breath washed over Peter’s face as he spit bitter words into his victim’s face. There was a hand tightening on his throat and another one on his arm. Peter’s original plan had been to just zone out until Flash was done, but the things he was saying… Something in him just snapped.

“Okay, that’s it!”, Peter declared as he removed Flash’s hand with ease, making the boy wince at the tight grip around his wrist.

“P-Parker?”, Flash stuttered after Peter pushed him back and also freed himself from the touch of Flash’s friend.

“Shut up!”, Peter told him, making all three of his attackers share confused looks when the elevator began to move again without any of them pressing any buttons. “Friday, get HIM. Right now!”

“Of course Peter,” the AI answered smoothly. “I am assuming this is of the highest priority?”

Peter took a deep breath to calm himself. “Tell him, I don’t care if he’s showering, in a meeting or what else. I need him here. Now.”

“He’s just a minute away, Peter,” Friday reassured him, just as the elevator stopped.

“Penis Parker, what did you do?”, Flash asked, sounding rather confused and scared. Good. He had reason to.

Peter exited the elevator first. No one seemed to notice them, the team was busy looking at Paul who was about to start his presentation. However, soon as all eyes turned to the man bursting into the room, his eyes frantically scanning the faces of the students.

“Tony Stark,” Peter greeted calmly, making his dad’s head snap around.

“Peter Parker…?”, Tony asked confused as he came closer. “What’s going on? Are you hurt?”

Peter felt a bit bad for scaring the man like this, but he needed to do things his way right now. “I just need you to confirm some statements for me.”

Tony still looked worried, but Peter’s calm and collected behavior seemed to reassure him a bit and he gave his son a sharp nod.

“Listen up, everyone!”, Peter said loudly, as if all eyes in the room weren’t already on him and Tony.

“So, is it true that I have been working as your intern for almost a year now?”

“Yes,” his dad answered immediately, still nervously looking around to find the danger Peter needed help with, not realizing it was the three teenagers standing next to his son.

“Have I been accepted for that position because of my skills?”

“Absolutely,” Tony snorted. A few people began to whisper at that, but they were immediately silenced by Peter’s next question.

“Have I proven myself many times since then?”

“All the time,” Tony told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You are the smartest kid there is.”

Peter looked him in the eye for a long second, then his eyes went past him to the onlooking crowd again. Tony threw a quick look behind him and then to Flash and his friends who were now staring at Peter with narrowed eyes.

“Do I live in Stark tower?”

“Yup,” Tony said a bit louder than before, apparently beginning to understand what was going on. “Your room is right next to mine.”

There were a few gasps at that, making Peter smirk to himself.

Even though he knew the answer, he asked the next question a bit more shyly. “Do you see me as your son?”

Tony’s eyes widened at the unexpected question. “You ARE my son. In everything but blood.”

“What?”, someone whispered loudly, making Peter blush a bit.

He thought for a second, deciding he might as well keep going. “Do you love me?”

The look on Tony’s face was heartbreaking. “Peter… Of course I do. I am so proud of you,” he told his son, taking the boy’s face in his hands.

“Love you too, dad,” Peter said as he covered one of his father’s hands with his own. “Is this my place? With you and the other Avengers? Do I belong?”

“Oh Petey… Of course you do.”

“Cool,” Peter said awkwardly, removing his dad’s hands from his face and going back into battle mode.

“You said I don’t belong? I am not loved? Because I have no parents? Think again, dipshit,” he hissed at Flash, who suddenly looked very pale.

“He said WHAT?”, Tony gasped. He tried to step forward, but Peter stopped him with a hand on his chest. “I’ve got this, dad. Friday, get me-”

“Captain Rogers is already waiting outside this room, Peter,” Friday informed him, sounding slightly smug.

“Thanks, girl.”

“Not a girl,” the AI sing-sanged as the door slid open, revealing a very stressed looking Captain America.

“Peter? Are you alright?”

Peter shot him a quick smile, before whirling back around to his bully. “Look at him Flash. This is the man who is saving you. You have been stupid enough to pick on Captain America’s son. While he might not like bullies, he’d also not approve of an unfair fight. His moral code is the only thing stopping me from tearing you apart.”

“Hold up, did you just say he has been bullying you?”, Steve asked, sounding far from pleased. “I might overthrow my moral code in this case.”

“Don’t worry, Pa, I’ve got this,” Peter told him with an easy grin, knowing no one could touch him with his parents having his back.

“I- I- I didn’t know-”, Flash stuttered, making Peter roll his eyes impatiently.

“That is not the point,” he sighed. Peter was so done with this bullshit. “It doesn’t matter who my parents are or how much money I could throw around if I wanted. This is about something you can’t buy or acquire through powerful contacts. This is about the simple concept of compassion and kindness. Have you ever even thought about the things you have said to me? To anyone?”

Before the bully could answer, Peter turned around to face a completely stunned looking Mr. Harrington. “Sir, I can provide evidence that Flash and his friends have physically and verbally attacked me.”

“What?!”, Tony and Steve said in unison, making three teens cower under their angry stares.

“Go right ahead,” the teacher told Peter.

After the video had played, the bullies had been taken away by Happy and Peter had received some very firm hugs from his parents, Tony turned to the rest of the team, who were still looking on in awe and shock.

“Hey guys,” the billionaire said, “You wanna see something really cool?”