A/N: Different version of how Tony recruited Peter in Civil War. I'm sure a similar fanfic has been written somewhere before, but since I was a little late to obsess over the Tony/Peter mentorship, I unfortunately haven't read one. Not a lot going on, but the idea came to mind and I decided to write it to cope with Endgame. I'm hoping to write a longer fanfic with these two in the near-future as well, so I'm trying to get used to writing their characters. Hope you enjoy!
Peter Parker was perched on top of a roof, looking down at his city. This rooftop in particular was one of his favorites, allowing him to cover more area. He could see a few alleyways that criminals seemed to frequent, and he could also keep an eye on a few gas stations and small shops that occasionally had robberies. The sun was already starting to set, which meant that, unfortunately, he would have to head back to the apartment soon. Before he could think about heading home, however, he saw a man in dark clothing shove a woman into an alleyway. A gun was in his right hand, and aside from those two, the area was vacant.
Peter stealthily yet swiftly made his way down to the alleyway, landing softly behind the two. With the gun pointed at her, the frightened woman was in the process of handing the man her purse.
"Hey, I wouldn't do that if I were you."
The man whirled around. When his eyes locked on Peter, his fierce expression changed to confusion.
"What the hell are you wearing?"
"C'mon, man. I can't save the city from idiots like you without a suit!"
His explanation apparently didn't amuse the criminal, and the man raised the arm holding the gun. The man didn't even have the chance to aim at Peter before he was webbed up to the wall.
"I believe this belongs to you," Peter said, returning the purse the criminal had dropped to the woman.
"Thank you!" the woman said gratefully, and she hurried off into the night.
Peter returned to the roof. A thwarted mugging seemed like a great way to wrap up his patrol for the night. Yet there was a weird sound, like a machine, getting louder and louder. Peter caught sight of a red and yellow blur as it zoomed over to the very roof he was standing on. Peter tensed up, his web shooters ready for action, until he realized what it was.
"Not bad, not bad. Although he has a point about the suit. You could definitely use an upgrade. Which I can help you with."
"Oh my God. You're-you're Iron Man! Um, hey…what're-why are you here?"
The suit opened up, and out walked Tony Stark. The Tony Stark. As in Iron Man. Billionaire. Genius. One of Peter's role models. And what was he doing here, in Queens? He was snazzily dressed in a suit, so he must not have been fighting anyone. Although he did have a pretty good black eye. Tony walked over to a bench and took a seat while Peter cautiously followed him.
"I heard about you, watched a few of your videos online. Really impressive stuff. Where'd you find that web serum?"
"Oh I made that myself."
"And the strength? The weird, sticking to walls thing?"
"Uh…it's a long story."
"So. It's Peter, right? Peter Parker?"
"What? No! No-I…" Tony gave Peter a look that he knew he was lying, and Peter fell silent.
"So if I make a visit to Peter Parker tomorrow, his voice won't sound exactly like yours?"
There was no use denying who he was, Tony knew his identity for sure. Peter took off his mask in defeat; he might as well enjoy the fresh air. He took a seat next to Tony. "Fine. Yeah, that's me. How'd you know who I was?"
"I did my research. I'm not going to travel all the way to Queens for nothing you know. Does anyone else know your identity?"
"No one. And listen, you can't tell Aunt May, she can't know. Not with everything else she's going through right now."
"Relax, I'm not here to expose you. Why take up this superhero gig anyways? More stress, more secrets, more danger…why add that on top of the stress of being a teenager?" Tony looked at the kid with interest, and Peter paused for a moment, tugging on his web shooters in thought before answering.
"I don't know. It's just…with my abilities, I can't just not use them. There had to be a reason I got them, you know? And it doesn't seem fair to use them for normal things like sports, because well, I was never any good before, so why now? I've always been better when it comes to science and that type of stuff. And…when you can do the things that I can, and you don't….and then the bad things happen…they happen because of you. I-I can't just sit back and let things happen when I might be able to stop it."
Tony put his hand on Peter's shoulder. "So being a superhero seems like the responsible thing to do." Peter nodded solemnly. "I get that. Look, I came here because I need your help. Want to go on a trip to Germany?"
"Wha-? But I don't have a passport, plus there's school and homework and Aunt May and-"
"I can take care of it. How about a 'Stark internship retreat'? Does that sound like a fun, educational thing your aunt would go for?"
"Um…maybe? I'm not sure if she's your greatest fan after we went to that expo when I was a kid…you know, where everything blew up? I mean my aunt and uncle were super worried, but aside from the evil robot things it was so awesome!"
"Ah. That. Well, I'm much more convincing in person, and with your enthusiasm, I'm sure she wouldn't say no."
"So like, what are we going to be doing on this 'retreat'? Fighting supervillains? Robots? Aliens?"
"Not exactly. See, Captain America is on the run harboring his fugitive friend, and we need a crew to stop him. And their allies."
"Captain America?! We're fighting other superheroes?"
"Well best case scenario, Cap surrenders and comes with us peacefully. No fighting involved. Worst case, we'll have to force them to come along."
"Who else is on our side? Who else is on their side? Are all the Avengers gonna be there? Do they know who I am?"
"Alright hold on. Before you get too excited, let's go talk to your aunt. You'll still have a long plane ride and some free time where Happy will fill you in on everything, okay?"
"Okay, Mr. Stark!"
"And don't worry, no one else is going to know your real identity except for me. And Happy." Tony suited back up into his Iron Man gear as Peter watched in awe. A suit that effortlessly formed around someone like that? It was amazing to see in person. "I'll meet you there, kid."
"Do you know-" Before the kid could finish, Iron Man zoomed off in the direction of Peter's apartment. Peter shrugged and pulled his mask back on. "I guess he knows my address. Cool."
Peter swung down from the roof and in the same direction the other hero had went. Stopping a mugging, meeting Tony Stark, getting invited to go to Germany to fight alongside Iron Man and other superheroes…it was a good night, and the adrenaline from swinging through the night sky had never felt better.