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Finally, it was Thursday.
And on top of that, it was the last class of the day.
Peter was completely exhausted.
Between patrols, projects, and Thor's snoring, Peter hadn't been able to sleep more than five hours in the last two nights. He was basically running on willpower and half a packet of crackers.
But it was finally the last period. Unfortunately, it was art, the class Peter hated the most, since he didn't understand why a school full of geniuses, focused on mostly scientific fields, had to learn to make abstract drawings of feelings that were difficult to describe.
Sometime early in the school year, Peter remembered hearing a talk about the need to “think outside the box”, which art would help them do, but right now he was using his last ounce of strength and the three brain cells he had left awake to keep from falling asleep on his charcoal drawing of a mare riding a tricycle.
Peter couldn't even remember what assignment had led him to create this work of art. That's how tired he was.
To his right, Ned was drawing his own replica of Spider-Man's costume, with plans for his web shooters, obviously modified to be unusable for safety reasons, and a hot dog in the corner of the drawing, probably to make it more realistic.
As Peter tried not to fall asleep, Ned nudged him.
“Dude, don't fall asleep. We're almost done. Did you stay up late with Spider-Man stuff last night?” he asked in that whispering tone that only made him speak louder.
Peter rubbed his eyes to try to ward off sleep.
“I wish. I had to study for today's biochemistry exam. Plus, Thor just arrived from New Asgard today, and even the soundproof walls can't completely block out his snoring”
Ever since Aunt May had to go to that nursing conference in California, Peter had been staying at the Avengers Tower.
At first, he tried to tell his aunt that he was fine, that he was a responsible teenager, and that he could stay home alone for a week. But the moment his aunt spoke to Tony, the man practically dragged Peter to the tower.
Which wasn't that strange. For the past six months, Peter had had his own room in the tower. Especially since he broke his arm trying to stop a moving train from crashing off a bridge, and immediately after leaving the infirmary, he tried to take the metro to go home with a broken arm.
Tony grabbed him as he tried to walk out the door and dragged him up to his own floor in the tower, half of which was decorated with Spider-Man posters and the other half with unassembled Star Wars Lego sets, courtesy of Tony, so that the little spider wouldn't get bored.
By the end of the first week, Peter was feeling lonely on his own floor, so Tony made him a room in his attic, so Peter could be closer to him. Just in case.
But now, sleeping in Tony's attic meant being right under Thor, and while that was cool, Peter was dying for a night's sleep.
“Can't you ask Mr. Stark for some noise-cancelling headphones or something?”
Ned seemed increasingly concerned about his friend's complexion, but Peter shook his head.
“I don't want to bother him with this. Besides, if it bothered me that much, I could go to my floor, but I don't want to be away from Mr. Stark”
Peter said this as he nodded off on his desk.
The bell suddenly rang, signaling the end of class and causing Peter to wake up with a start.
He quickly grabbed his things and stuffed them into his backpack, eager to get back to the tower for a nap while Ned chattered about how cool it was to meet Thor.
But before they could walk out the door, the teacher interrupted them.
“I know the bell has rung, but I want you to remember that tomorrow you must hand in the papier-mâché sculpture I asked you to make at the beginning of this month”
Peter froze. He couldn't remember anything about that project.
But Ned didn't realize his friend's predicament.
“Dude, I finished this project two days ago. It took me a whole week to do it. I have an exact replica of the Death Star at home. I'm sure I'll get an A”
Ned couldn't stop jumping up and down with excitement, while Peter could only think about his imminent death.
“Dude, I didn't remember this assignment at all. I don't even know what we had to do” whispered Peter as he grabbed his hair.
Ned, seeing the disaster of sleep and stress that his best friend was currently, began to comfort him.
“Peter, don't worry, it's not that big a deal”
“It's not that big a deal? I'm terrible at art, and if I don't turn in this project, my average is going to drop”
"Okay, good point. You're supposed to make a copy of a famous object, real or not. It's not that big a deal. I mean, you're in the Avengers Tower. You can borrow any weapon, like Captain America's shield, and make a copy tonight. It's not impossible."
Peter was already starting to hyperventilate because, between sleep deprivation and stress, his life wasn't going well at the moment, but they had already left the school grounds, so Peter knew he had to say goodbye to Ned quickly.
“Thanks, Ned. I'll let you know what I'm going to do when I get to the tower”
Before Ned had time to respond, Peter saw Happy parked on the pavement, so he ran towards the car, listening to his best friend's quick farewell, and got into the vehicle.
“Hi, Happy”
“Hi, kid. How was your day?” he asked in his usual carefree voice.
“Bad” replied Peter, still exhausted and still thinking about what he would do with his art project.
“Can I help you with anything?”
“No, don't worry, Happy, I'll think of something”
The rest of the journey to the tower was spent in silence, with Peter thinking about his project and Happy discreetly sending Tony a message to let him know how Peter was feeling.
By the time they arrived, Peter already had half a plan in mind, and Tony was waiting for him upstairs with cookies.
“Hi, Underoos, how was your day?” said Tony as he handed Peter the plate.
Peter quickly popped three into his mouth before answering.
“Terrible. I forgot we had this art project due tomorrow, and on top of that, I'm super tired. Thor snores”
Tony shook his head. Peter was as absent-minded as they come, but he always managed to get things done in the end. He was more concerned about the latter.
“Haven't you been sleeping well? If the soundproofing isn't enough, you can always go sleep at your flat” Tony suggested, although he always preferred Peter to sleep near him.
“No, no, I prefer to sleep near you. It's just that my powers have been a little crazy lately. I'll get used to it” Peter replied quickly.
Tony smiled at his boy's quick response. “Don't worry, kid. If you have trouble sleeping, I can make better insulation for your room”
Peter was thrilled by his mentor's words. “Really!? You're the best, Mr. Stark” he shouted before hugging the man.
Tony immediately returned the hug.
“I told you to call me Tony”
Peter laughed at this.
“Yes, Tony”
Pulling away from the hug, Tony ruffled Peter's hair.
“So, about that project. Do you need me to send a note to your teacher? You look like you need some sleep, kid”
Peter shook his head.
“Nah, I've got an idea, so I'll finish it soon and go to sleep while I let it dry overnight·
“As you say, kid. Now, finish your cookies”
Peter smiled as he ate them.
----------------------
As soon as he finished eating, Tony went to the lab, while Peter went to put his plan into action.
He took a bunch of old magazines from the 43rd floor of interns, which he sometimes visited to steal jelly worms and hydrochloric acid, and glue.
He quickly took his loot to the Avengers' common room, which was now empty, as most of them had better things to do than spend the afternoon watching television.
Finally, he went to find the historical object he wanted to copy, or rather, its bearer.
“Mr. Thor!” Peter shouted, watching as the now Asgardian king makes Pop-Tarts in the kitchen. “Could I borrow your hammer for a bit?”
Thor turned away from the toaster with a Pop-Tart in his mouth.
“Oh, Tonyson. Sure, but what do you want it for?” Thor asked, chewing on his pre-baked treats.
Peter debated whether or not to steal one but decided he had eaten enough sweets for one day.
“You know I'm not Tony's son. And I want you to leave your hammer on that table so I can make a papier-mâché copy of it for a school project” said Peter, pointing to the table covered in newspaper to prevent it from getting dirty.
Tony wouldn't mind if Peter made a mess on the table, but it still cost more than Aunt May's annual salary, so Peter preferred to keep it pristine, if possible.
Thor looked at the table and then at Peter before picking up his hammer, which he had left in the bread bin, and placed it on the table.
“Here you go, man of spiders. I'll pick it up tomorrow, and I want you to know that even though you're adopted, the man of iron is still your father” said Thor, placing a hand on Peter's shoulder in a sympathetic manner, before returning to his snacks.
Peter decided to give up on correcting Thor about his adoption, so he just thanked him and went back to his project.
But not before sending a message to Ned, of course.
“I've got the perfect idea. See you tomorrow in art class”
—---------------------------------------
The truth was that Peter had never tried to lift Thor's hammer.
Tony had told him the story of how the whole team had tried to lift it that night, and how Captain America had only managed to move it a little, while Vision lifted it as if it were nothing.
Peter had read the story of Mjolnir in his Norse history books. He knew that only someone worthy of ruling Asgard would be able to lift the hammer and wield Thor's power.
So, he never thought he would be able to lift it. That's why he didn't even consider that he might be worthy, nor did he ask Thor to let him try.
So, when Peter woke up the next morning, still tired, he didn't even look as he took his proyect from the table and quickly stuffed it into his backpack, ready for school. After all, if it were the real thing, he wouldn't have been able to take it with him. Right?
Peter had spent the entire afternoon of the previous day buried in newspaper, glue, water, and paint. In the end, the hammer had turned out quite realistic, but he had gotten almost no sleep, as he had taken short naps while waiting for the glue to dry so he could apply the next layer of whether paper or paint.
In the end, Peter had woken up just in time to change his clothes and grab a piece of toast from the kitchen before running out to the garage where Happy was waiting to take him to school.
His artwork was safely tucked away in his backpack, which Peter kept on his lap to avoid crushing it.
When he arrived at school, he quickly said goodbye to Happy and ran to his first class, which happened to be art class.
As soon as he arrived, Peter saw the rest of his classmates admiring everyone's sculptures, which were displayed on a table in the center of the classroom.
Ned waved to him from his side of the table, right next to his Death Star.
On the other hand, Flash was on the opposite side, talking heatedly with the teacher while standing next to what appeared to be a poorly made Spider-Man mask.
Peter didn't even look at Flash as he made his way over to his friend, who had left him a free spot to put his sculpture on the table.
“Hi Peter, see Flash's sculpture? He's been trying to convince the teacher for ten minutes that Spider-Man is an object of historical importance. It's hilarious”
Peter laughed subtly as he put his backpack on the table and unzipped it to take out his project.
The moment he grabbed the handle of his papier-mâché hammer; he realized that the hammer in his hands was not as papier-mâché as it should have been. The handle was wrapped in leather, and the texture was clearly distinguishable.
The moment he took it out, Peter stared at his reflection in the polished metal on the side of the hammer.
When Ned saw it, he started to panic.
“Peter, Peter! Is that Thor's hammer? The real one?”
All Peter could do was nod in amazement as he stared at the hammer, which he wasn't supposed to be able to lift... and which Thor was supposed to pick up this morning.
“SHIT!”
Immediately after cursing, Peter covered his mouth and turned to see if anyone in the room, including the professor, had heard him, but apparently, everyone was still busy with Flash's poor artistic skills.
When Peter saw that their attention hadn't been diverted, he took his mobile phone out of his pocket and dialed Tony's number.
“Please, pick it up” he muttered as he nervously bit his nails.
Ned was too busy taking photos of the hammer to reassure his friend.
Ten seconds later, Tony answered the phone.
“Peter, aren't you supposed to be in class? I can't talk right now. Thor can't find his hammer, and this time it's not in the bread bin”
Tony's voice sounded mostly weary, with just a hint of concern.
“You're not going to find it. I accidentally brought it to class with me”
The silence at the other end of the line was deafening. But quickly, Tony found his voice.
“What do you mean, you brought it?”
Peter, as always when he was nervous, began to speak at top speed.
“Well, I was recreating the hammer last night in papier-mâché for my art project, and this morning I was really tired because I hardly slept, so I didn't look, and I didn't even notice when I picked up the wrong one...”
Tony interrupted him.
“Slow down, Underoos. What do you mean, you took it? You know no one can lift it, right? That's the whole point of the hammer”
Peter began to lose his patience.
“Yeah, well, I don't know how it happened, but now it's here, and my art project isn't, and I'm going to fail. Can you please bring it back and take this thing away?”
By the end of his rant, Peter was almost begging.
“Sure, Pete. Just tell me where your sculpture is and point break and I will bring it to you in 10 minutes”
Peter sighed with relief.
“Thanks, it's in the living room. And make that five” Peter said before quickly hanging up.
Just as he put his phone away, the teacher stopped talking to Flash. Apparently, they had reached an agreement that, even though the teacher considered the Spider-Man mask to be a historical object, Flash would still get a low mark for the poor execution of the project.
Peter couldn't criticize her; the mask was very ugly, and that was coming from him, who made his first mask out of scraps of an old T-shirt.
That aside, it was finally time to evaluate the rest of the projects, and Peter was still holding his very real Mjolnir, instead of the fake papier-mâché one.
When the teacher reached him, she looked at the hammer for a second and turned to Peter.
“Peter, I hope you don't think I'm going to accept this as your project?” she said, looking at him expectantly.
Peter just wanted the ground to swallow him up.
“Of course not, Miss Smith. I made a mistake when I picked up the sculpture this morning and ended up bringing the real one”
At Peter's words, Flash laughed.
“You don't want us to think that's the real Mjolnir, do you? How could a loser like you get your hands on it?”
Peter was about to reply that it was just a copy, just to get Flash off his back, but Ned, being the defensive friend that he is, jumped in before Peter could respond.
“Peter has an internship with Tony Stark; I'm sure Thor lent it to him”
The teacher didn't seem to believe Peter either, so she didn't do much to stop Flash.
“Well, if that's the real hammer, how did you bring it here? You can't be worthy of it, Penis” Flash said, laughing as he approached the hammer and put his hand around the handle.
“But hey, if you can lift it, I'm sure I can too” he said, before pulling.
The hammer didn't budge, so he pulled harder.
The hammer still didn't move.
After that pathetic attempt, Flash's eyes were wide with shock, and Ned was taking out his mobile phone to record everything.
Just as he pressed play, Iron Man appeared at the classroom window, flying in his red and gold suit and carrying Thor in his arms.
When Peter saw them, he ran to open the window so they could land.
Tony immediately took off his suit.
“Sorry I took so long, Pete. Point Break didn't want to fly without his hammer, so I gave him your papier-mâché one to make him feel safer” he said, pointing to Thor, who looked a little shaken from the trip and was clutching Peter's sculpture tightly.
“It's okay, thanks for coming” said Peter, giving Tony a quick hug.
Thor stepped forward.
“Here's your fake hammer, Tonyson. I must say it's a good copy, but where's my hammer?” he asked as he looked around the classroom.
Peter vaguely pointed to Flash, now with his mouth open and his hand still on the hammer.
Thor didn't seem to mind as he walked over and took the hammer that Flash had been trying unsuccessfully to lift.
“Well, I must be going now. New Asgard awaits me.” said Thor before heading for the window.
“Goodbye, Tonyson, Man of Iron. I'll see you when I return. We will talk about your inheritance then, Peter, now that you are worthy” he shouted before jumping out the window, flying away with his hammer.
Peter always waved goodbye as he left and turned to Tony.
“Sorry I made you come for this”
Tony shrugged.
“It's okay, you got me out of a meeting I didn't want to be in. Plus, carrying the god of thunder himself on an aerial trip was pretty fun” he said with a laugh.
Peter shook his head at his mentor's nonsense.
“See you this afternoon in the lab?” Peter asked.
“Don't even think about it, kid. You're going to take a nap today when you finish class. We'll do science at the weekend. Besides, we have to talk about you being worthy’
Peter had the decency to blush at Tony's words.
“Okay” Peter complained, although Tony knew he didn't mean it.
Tony ruffled Peter's hair one last time before putting on his suit and leaving through the window.
The whole class didn't even flinch when Peter turned around.
“So, this is my real project” he said, placing his fake Mjolnir on the table with a smile.
The teacher didn't even look at the artwork, only at Peter, as if she were meeting him for the first time.
Cindy Moon asked.
“So, it's confirmed that he's Tony Stark's son? Can we make it official on social media? Or at least the school newspaper?”
Peter just wanted a nap.