A/N: ... Because I don't have enough ongoing stories, amirite?
When Peter Parker was seven, his house was robbed. The only thing the thief took was papers from his father's office, but apparently those papers were important, because the next thing he knew his parents dropped him off at his Aunt May and Uncle Ben's house and left the country.
He never saw them again. Peter was told that they died in a plane crash on the way to wherever they were going, but something in the back of his mind insisted that it wasn't true, that something else happened.
But he pushed that nagging thought to the back of his mind and did his best to move on, settling into a routine and a life with his aunt and uncle.
When Peter was nine, Aunt May suddenly collapsed to the floor, eyes wide and full of pain as she gasped for breath. Later on at the hospital, Uncle Ben was pulled aside by a man with an eyepatch and a black trench coat. Peter couldn't hear them, but when his uncle came back he looked to be on the verge of bursting into tears.
"Peter," he said softly, "Your Aunt May... she had a heart attack."
The young boy vaguely remembered a heart attack being a bad thing. "Is... Is she okay?" he asked, his voice trembling.
Uncle Ben looked pained. He shook his head. "I'm afraid not. She... she died, Peter."
At that, Peter burst into tears, burrowing into his uncle's arms.
When Peter was ten, Uncle Ben was killed in a home invasion. Peter called the paramedics as quickly as he could, but it was a futile effort. Uncle Ben died ten minutes before the ambulance arrived, and the paramedics found him sitting in a pool of his uncle's blood, his body shaking with silent sobs and his knuckles white from gripping the soaked flannel shirt with a bullet hole through it. After the funeral, he was put into the foster care system, his only possessions being a bag stuffed with clothes and a letter from his late uncle, a letter about how he must always remember that with great power comes great responsibility. He didn't know what that means yet, but its the last thing his uncle would ever give to him, so he kept it with him at all times.
When Peter was ten years, three months, and four days old, he met billionaire genius Tony Stark, CEO of Stark Industries and his all-time hero (besides Captain America, but that hero was still frozen in time somewhere in the Antarctic). Upon meeting him, Peter promptly fainted.
When Peter was ten years, six months, and ten days old, he was adopted by his hero. He declared it the best day of his life.
When Peter was twelve, his dad was kidnapped by terrorists. Peter had never been big on God, especially after all that had already happened in his short lifetime, but he didn't know where else to turn. He couldn't handle losing another person, he'd already lost so many, Peter couldn't take losing his father too.
I don't know if you're listening, or if you're even there, but if you can hear me, then please, God, let my dad be ok.
A few days later, Tony Stark escaped from the terrorists. When Peter first saw the Iron Man suit, he said nothing until after he had dropped a quarter in the swear jar (Pepper's idea), which was when he uttered "Holy shit, Dad," before once again passing out.
When Peter was thirteen, Tony started acting crazier than usual, partying like there's no tomorrow, drinking even more than he normally did; when Tony gave Pepper control of Stark Industries, Peter started to worry.
When Tony asked Pepper to become Peter's new legal guardian, Peter immediately thought that Tony no longer wanted him, that he'd done something wrong. He didn't say anything to Tony after that, not even a goodbye when Pepper took him back to her place.
When Peter found out that Tony did all that because he was dying of Palladium poisoning, he broke down in tears. The next time he saw his father, he ran into his arms, sobbing.
"I'm sorry!" he had yelled, surprising his father.
"For what? You're not the one who was hiding the fact that he was dying."
"No, I..." Peter swallowed. "I heard you ask Pepper to be my new legal guardian. I... thought you didn't want me anymore."
The hero's eyes widened in shock as he released his son to look him in the eyes. "Peter, that's ridiculous! Why would you even think I'd ever want to give you up?"
"B-Because! If I wasn't around, then you could live the life you had before me! You could go to parties, a-and hang out with girls, and-"
Tony pulled the boy close again, silencing his upset rant, which turned to quiet sobs.
Once Peter had calmed down, Tony released him once more, though this time the young brunette wouldn't meet his eyes.
"Hey. Look at me, Petey."
Peter simply clenched his job, still too embarrassed about jumping to conclusions to look at his father. The older man sighed, gently grasping the boy's chin and turning Peter's face so his hazel eyes met Tony's deep brown eyes.
"Peter, you're my son, and I love you. And there is nothing- nothing, okay?- that anyone can say or do that will ever change that. No matter what happens, you are always wanted."
By this time, Peter had started crying again, so once more Tony took him into his arms, holding his son tightly.
Once the brunette had finished crying, the pair went out for ice cream, though Tony failed to mention this to Pepper before they left. She was not amused when they came back (she had been worried that they had been kidnapped).
When Peter had just turned fifteen, Loki attacked New York City with his alien army.
When the attack began, Peter had been at the library, helping Gwen Stacy tutor pretty much the entire football team. In truth, he had no interest in helping out the football team, they could all flunk out of school and become burger-flippers for all he cared, but helping out Gwen was another case entirely. When the blonde girl had asked him if he wanted to assist her with preparing the jocks for their upcoming math tests, Peter took one look into those bright green eyes and melted. "I'd love to," he'd replied, though there was a lot more blushing and stammering involved. He may or may not have freaked his Dad out when he came home with a stupid grin on his face whilst humming Disney songs, but then again, he didn't actually care, he got to spend time with Gwen Stacy.
Okay, Gwen Stacy and the football team, but Peter chose to focus on the former rather than the latter.
He was in the middle of reteaching Flash Thompson how factoring works when the attack started. The entire study group fled the library, running out into the clogged city streets to see what the commotion was.
"...Holy fuckin' shit on a corndog." Flash said after a moment. The entire team nodded in agreement.
"L-Language..." Gwen chastised weakly, but she too felt that the statement summed up the situation nicely.
Peter himself said nothing, only stared into the sky, praying he wouldn't see him, praying that he wasn't caught up in all this.
His heart sank when he saw the red and gold suit rushing through the sky. Without another word, Peter took off, dodging people and parked cars left and right.
"Peter! Where are you going?!" Gwen called. When he didn't answer her, she started to chase after him. "Peter! Come back, it's not safe!"
The brunette was unfazed by her words, his common sense and self-preservation superseded by the terrifying thought of his father not surviving this battle. Peter pushed through the crowds, running as fast as his scrawny legs could take him.
No no no, not my father, not him too, please, no!
The police had formed a barrier, blocking off the battle from civilians. With relative ease, though, Peter was able to dodge them, fitting his scrawny body past them and screaming "DAD!" out into the battlefield.
"PETER! COME BACK!" He heard Gwen's voice, but didn't look back. Fearful tears filled his vision just as a figure grabbed him and pulled him off to the side.
"Let me go, let me go! My dad's out there!"
"Son, please calm down! Your father is fine, the police rounded up all the civilians!" The man who had grabbed him pleaded. At that moment, the young boy noticed the star-spangled spandex and the shield, but he couldn't bring himself to care.
"My father's not a civilian, Captain! He's the one in the red and gold suit!"
The hero's baby-blue eyes widened. "Wait, what? You're Tony's- Tony has a kid?!"
"Hey, I'm not a kid! I'm fifteen!"
The argument could've gone on for a while had someone not run up to the Captain.
"Steve, what the hell are you- PETER PARKER WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
The brunette grinned weakly at the newcomer. "Hi, Natasha." His grin dropped. "You wouldn't happen to know where Dad is, would you?"
The assassin's expression softened, but still was stern. "Peter, it's too dangerous out here. Go back behind the police, your father will be fine."
"No! I won't lose my Dad! I can't lose him!"
"You won't lose him, I promise! Please, Peter, just go back and-"
The captain's comm buzzed loudly, cutting Natasha off. "Iron Man to Captain America, can you hear me?"
"Captain America to Iron Man, I hear you. What is it, Tony-?"
"Dad!" Peter cried out in relief.
"Peter?! What the hell are you doing with Captain America in the middle of a battlefield?!
... Wow, that is not something I ever thought I'd ask you."
"Dad, please don't get into this mess! You almost died just a year ago!"
"... Cap, give your comm to my son."
"What?! Tony, that's hardly appropriate-!"
"Just for a minute, Steve. Please."
Something in the billionaire's voice surprised Steve, something that almost resembled pleading. Without questioning him further, the soldier handed the teen the device.
"Dad!"
"Hey, Petey. I want you to do something for me, okay?"
The boy nodded. "Okay."
"I want you to tell Pepper that I'm sorry. Rhodey, too."
Peter's eyes widened as he glanced toward the sky. A huge portal had opened over Stark Tower, over his home.
And a red and gold suit was flying towards it with a missile.
"Dad, no. Don't you dare do what I think you're about to do."
"I'm sorry kiddo."
"Sir, you are down to five percent power."
"If you've ever cared about me, you won't do this!" Peter tried desperately.
"I love you, Peter. Remember that."
"DAD!" Peter cried out as the comm cut, the missile exploding in the portal. Seconds later a red and gold figure fell out as the portal closed.
"No..." He said with a small voice. Before his father could hit the ground, though, a giant green creature- the Hulk, Peter remembered- snatched him out of the air, bringing him to the ground with a really tall guy with long blonde hair and a hammer and a guy with a bow and arrows following him.
The second that his father was on the ground, Peter ran over to him, tears blurring his vision slightly. The man laid on the cracked pavement, lifeless and still. Upon reaching him, Peter collapsed to his knees, unable to stand anymore.
"No..." the brunette whispered once more, before laying down on his father's body. All is silent for a moment, save hushed whispers from the crowd and Peter's sobs.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
Without warning, the Hulk let out a deafening roar. Peter glanced up at him, startled, but immediately looked back down when he heard a gasp.
"Oh, god, what just happened? Please tell me no one kissed me."
"DAD!" Peter shouted, wrapping his arms around his father.
"Gah! Peter, Dad just came back from being mostly dead. No hugs!"
"Don't care."
Tony sighed, but still he couldn't keep the smile off his face. "So, like I was saying, what just happened?"
Steve, who was still a bit shell-shocked from what had just occurred, managed to reply "We won."
"Alright, hey! Hooray! Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just... take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I dunno what it is, but I wanna try it."
"We are not quite finished yet, Man of Iron." The hammer-wielding man said, his tone not quite joyful.
"Aww, but I don't wanna get up!"
Peter snickered at his father's laziness, but soon sobered when he heard a very familiar and very angry female voice.
"PETER BENJAMIN PARKER!"
"... Ohhh crap."
Gwen stormed through the police barricade, the look on her face furious enough to put the Hulk to shame.
"Why are they letting her through?" Steve asked incredulously.
"Her dad is their boss," Peter answered as he moved in front of the Avengers.
"Gwen, I can explain-"
The blonde gave him no time to do so, as she slapped him across the face the moment she was close enough.
"OW!"
"That's for being stupid and running off into a battlefield with giant space aliens and superheroes!"
Gingerly placing a hand on his stinging cheek, Peter gaped at her. "I told you, I can explain- mmph!"
Once again, Gwen cut him off, though this time, rather than with a slap, she had pulled Peter's lips firmly to her own, giving him a hard kiss. After a few seconds, she released the brunette, who resembled a stop sign in terms of color.
"And that," Gwen started, her own face flushed but her expression firm, "Is for being too stupid to pick up on the hints I've been dropping for a month now. Christ, Parker, how can you be so oblivious?!"
"I... uh... guh..." The brunette stammered stupidly. In response, the blonde girl sighed, pulling Peter into another, though a bit more chaste, kiss.
"For a straight-A student, you're kind of an idiot, Peter." She grinned hugely. "But now you're my idiot, so I think I'll just learn to live with that. We are in agreement that you're my idiot, right?"
Peter simply nodded, dumbstruck and slack-jawed.
"Good!" Gwen winked at him as she turned to walk away. "See you on Monday, Peter!"
The police officers moved apart as the blonde approached, nodding to her.
"None of this will ever reach my father, will it, boys?"
"No, Miss Stacy. Have a nice day, ma'am."
"You too, officer."
With that, the teenaged girl disappeared into the crowd, leaving the Avengers and Peter staring back at her.
"... She seems nice." Tony said after a moment. He grunted a bit as Steve helped him get up, letting the billionaire sling an arm over his shoulder.
Peter didn't respond, simply stared out into empty space.
"Er... I think he might be broken, Tony." The man with the bow and arrows said.
Tony simply chuckled. "Eh, he'll be fine! One of you, grab 'em and we'll go recapture a God of Mischief!"
That statement caused Peter to quickly snap out of his post-kiss catatonia. "Wait, what?"
A few minutes later, the Avengers (and Peter) were back at Stark Tower, surrounding a man who looked to be embedded into the floor, who apparently was the Norse god of Mischief, Loki. The man with the bow and arrows, who Peter now knew as Hawkeye, had one of his arrows pointed directly at Loki's throat.
"... If it's all the same to you, I think I'd like that drink now."
"... This is by far the weirdest day I've ever had. Even weirder than the day you came back with the suit, Dad."
It was, indeed, a very weird day, made only weirder by the fact that, once Loki was successfully detained, they all actually went out for shawarma.
Of course, that was nothing compared to the weirdness that began when Peter was fifteen years, two months, and six days old, the day on which he returned to his newly rebuilt home from a field trip to Oscorp to find the Avengers in his living room. Again.
"Oh, god, what now? Is another crazed god trying to take over the Earth?"
Thor scowled and started to get up, but Tony waved him off. "Come off it Thor, you said yourself that Loki went a little nuts. And Peter, no, no gods are trying to take over the world."
"Then... why are the Avengers in my living room?"
Tony grinned sheepishly. "Uh... well..." The genius threw his hands up in the air. "They live here now! Surprise!"
For a moment, Peter just stared at him, slack-jawed. "... Your surprises suck, Dad." With that, the brunette turned away.
"Where are you going?"
"To beat my head against a wall!" Peter scratched at the back of his next. "And to see if spider bites are supposed to itch..."
A/N: Well, here you have it! The first installment of this new series is here!
This shall be fun...