Iron Heart
Hey there! I decided to have a go at the '5 times _ and the 1 time _' thing! Five more chapters will follow this, and I hope you enjoy!
This is an AU in which May is dead and Tony has taken Peter in.
1. Peter accidentally refers to Tony as his dad while speaking to his teacher.
Peter didn't have a dad. Not one that he could remember, anyway. He'd been so young when his parents died, and after Ben and May had taken him in, those two were all he'd ever known since. They were his mother and father if anything; they fed him, clothed him, cared for him, loved him. He didn't disagree with the fact that his life had been pretty tough after Ben passed, but he kept going, because he still had May, and that was all he needed.
But then… what if May died? What then? Those had been thoughts which used to flow through his brain constantly, often messing with his mind. He'd never thought it would actually happen, though. He'd believed at first it was normal for someone who'd lost pretty much everyone in their life but one to think about the sudden endless things that could go wrong. He guessed not. Maybe Parker luck was all bad.
Of course, Tony had taken him in immediately. The two were already pretty close before, but this just sealed all uncertainties in an unbreakable box. They helped with each other's pain, and all they had to do was just be there. Peter stayed by Tony's side at all times, and Tony stayed by Peter's. That was how it went for the first few months the teen was living in the Avengers Facility – nobody ever saw the two apart. Peter had lost his aunt and mother at the same time. He was broken, and Tony had been determined to fix that.
And in many ways, he had.
Even now, he was still fixing him. And Peter was fixing Tony.
The two were lost without each other.
They needed each other.
And that would never change.
"I can't believe we get to go to Paris!" Ned whispered excitedly, leaning over the desk slightly so Peter could hear. He glanced up at their history teacher, who was rattling on about something or other, and then looked happily towards his best friend. His face fell at the look he was met with. Peter's eyebrows were furrowed, and he was biting his bottom lip. "Peter? Are you okay?"
Peter took a deep breath, trying desperately to push away the thoughts currently clouding his mind. He was a mess up there; worries and anxieties and fears were colliding into each other and-
"Pete?"
He looked up. Ned was staring at him, concern written all over his face. "I'm okay," he said with a smile, "just… it's a week-long trip. I haven't left Mr Stark at all in over two months."
Ned sighed. He knew what his best friend was talking about – Peter hadn't really been the same since May died. His anxiety and nerves had been sky-high, and he'd declined every offer to come around to his for dinner or to build lego. He'd be picked up by Happy – or sometimes even Tony himself – after school and taken straight back to the facility where the man Ned had only met once or twice would be waiting.
"I know, dude," Ned said, "but it's Paris!" He sat up as the teacher sent him a sharp glare for interrupting the class, quickly returning to his conversation – albeit a little quieter – afterwards. "How many times have we talked about going to France? Come on, it'll be great! You'll have me!"
Peter put his head in his hands and breathed deep, trying to make his mind up. On one hand, he'd only returned to school a little over three weeks ago and was admittedly pretty damn terrified of the thought of leaving Tony for seven days to go to a completely different country… but, on the other, everything Ned said had been true – the two of them had wanted to visit Paris since they'd met. It'd been a lifelong dream of theirs, and while he knew Tony could probably get them both on a plane to France whenever they wanted, it'd be extremely stupid of him to pass up on this trip. And, besides, if he really felt uncomfortable and wanted to come home, Tony would make it happen. "Okay," he said, a little shakily, "I'll go. But, please… I don't mean to sound needy or whatever, but-"
"I won't leave you, Pete, I promise."
"Thanks, Ned."
Peter was surprised to be asked to stay behind after class to talk with his history teacher. "I'll wait outside," Ned said, giving his best friend a little wave before following the rest of the students out the door.
"Mr Oakes?"
The older man glanced behind him from where he was writing on the white board, a small smile making its way onto his face. "Hey, Peter! Yeah, I just wanted to ask a quick question. I won't keep you long." He stepped away from the board and over to his desk, seating himself on the chair while Peter fiddled awkwardly with the strap of his school bag.
Mr Oakes clicked a few things on his computer before turning to the teen stood in front of him. The look on his face was a little more serious, now, though Peter tried not to let it worry him too much before he'd even heard what it was he had to say. "How are you today, Peter?"
Unexpected.
"I'm… fine? I think?"
"You sound unsure?" The teacher didn't sound nasty… he sounded concerned.
The teen put on a brave face and smiled warmly at the man, attempting to assure him he was perfectly okay. "I'm doing great, Mr Oakes. Better. I'm doing better." At least that part was true.
Mr Oakes smiled back a little sadly, but quickly changed the subject. "Right, so, this is about the trip to Paris. I expect you're thinking about coming with us?"
"Um, yes, yeah. Just… yeah, I am."
"Good! That's great, Peter. As you probably know, it's mandatory that we send permission slips home for parents or guardians to sign, of course letting us know who's allowed on the trip and who isn't. For some reason, the school wants us to email the slips this year – something about saving paper – instead of printing them ourselves. Now, I have, uh…" He trailed off, and Peter mentally prepared himself for what he knew was inevitably about to come out of his teacher's mouth.
"-I've got your Aunt May's email address here, and… ah. God. I'm sorry, Peter, would you like me to stop?"
Peter shook his head, biting his lip. "No, Sir, it's alright. Carry on." Mr Oakes looked unsure, but sighed and continued. "I need your current guardian's email address. The school hasn't gotten around to changing it from your Aunt's, yet, and I'd like to have it for myself anyway, if you wouldn't mind, just to keep in contact with whoever is looking after you and be there in case you need me. Is that too invasive?"
"No, that's fine. Thank you."
"Great. Do you, uh… are you staying with anyone right now?"
Peter nodded. "Yeah, I'm staying with Mr, um… a family friend." "Right. Could you-" he reached across his desk and grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen, "-just scribble down the email right there?"
"Sure." Peter picked up the pen and bent down to write Tony's personal email on the paper, thinking it would be better than one of the emails fans usually sent messages to that never got answered. He didn't mind the idea of both his teacher and Mr Stark keeping in touch… maybe it would help him out a little more.
He snapped the lid back on the pen and smiled faintly, handing the sheet back to Mr Oakes. The man smiled back and briefly glanced down at the writing. He quickly did a double-take, an almost bewildered expression finding its way onto his face in no time. "Peter… 'tonys '? This- this is Tony Stark's email?"
The teen really should have expected something like this, if he was being honest. Jeremy Oakes was a new teacher to the school, and he'd been laying low with his internship for several months now, therefore the older man would've had no clue at all that Peter even knew the guy. He sighed and shrugged, a half-hearted smile gracing his lips. "Yeah. I'm living with him."
The teacher stared, mouth hanging open the slightest bit. "You know- how do you know him?"
A quick glance to the door told Peter that Ned, who was currently bouncing outside in the hallway, was getting fairly impatient, and the look on Mr Oakes's face told him he really wasn't going to be going anywhere any time soon what with the inevitable onslaught of questions he was about to be asked. Suddenly, without any control, he blurted out the first words that came to his mind. "He's my dad, Mr Oakes. Can I go now, please?"
The room went silent. The only sound came from the ticking of the clock on the wall. Mr Oakes was leaning against his desk, dark eyes pinned on the student stood in front of him. His mouth was a gaping hole, and Peter bet he could shoot a string of web in there without him knowing. The teen's cheeks were quickly getting red, the hotness of the blood rising to his skin making it obvious that he was probably looking like a tomato right now. The quietness of the room immediately broke, however, when Ned knocked on the door and poked his head inside. "Hey, uh, sorry to interrupt, but-" he looked at his best friend, "-Happy's here to pick you up. I think he's getting impatient."
Peter nodded, hiking his bag up a bit further before staring at his teacher a little embarrassingly. "He's- he's not my dad, Mr Oakes. I'm sorry, I dunno where that came from. He's just… he's just my mentor. I have an internship at Stark Industries… so, yeah. He gave me a room there. He feeds me, takes me to school, whatever. But, that's it. Nothing else. I barely know him."
The teacher looked a little unsure, but he nodded anyway, letting out the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding in. "Right… yes, right, of course. Well, count yourself lucky, Peter! My kids would die to even catch a glimpse of Tony Stark! This is his personal email, correct?"
"Yeah."
"I'll be speaking to him… directly?"
"Uh… yes."
"Right." He gulped. "Not intimidating at all," he mumbled quietly, and Peter couldn't help but smile slightly. Tony really was a genuine guy, and he'd probably (definitely) show Mr Oakes that he was most certainly more than 'just a mentor' to Peter in no time.
A huge beep of a car startled the teen, and he turned his head towards the door, seeing Ned with an almost desperate look in his eyes. Mr Oakes seemed to get the gist. "You can go, Peter. Sorry to keep you waiting. I'll get to sending this email to Mr Stark as soon as I can."
Peter nodded and waved a little before jogging towards the door. "What took you so long?" Ned asked as the two walked across the hallway as quick as they could without being reprimanded for running.
Peter sighed. "Never mind."
Had he really just called Mr Stark his dad? He mentally groaned. Why? That was just… it wasn't like that!
… right?
