The day Peter Parker learnt about Iron Man:
Peter Benjamin Parker was born to Mary and Richard Parker in 2002. In 2006, when Peter was only four years old, he said goodbye to his parents forever as they left him in the care of his Aunt May and Uncle Ben.
Whilst Peter didn't remember much about those years, he had only been four years old, he did get faint flashes of his mother and father smiling down at him. He was a good kid, he never got angry about his parents leaving, he never took any anger out on his aunt and uncle, he always did as they said and he always tried his best.
He went to elementary school and was a good kid there too. He worked his hardest, always trying to be the best that he could. He wasn't sure why he tried so hard, he wasn't sure why he wanted to learn so much but it was something he'd always enjoyed. He'd been a quicker learner than most kids in his class, even beating out Flash Thompson when it came to reading.
By the time he was six years old, he had learnt how to read and write and was on his way to figuring out maths. His aunt and uncle had been very proud of him and, even though they weren't there, he knew that his parents would've been very proud of him as well.
Now, Peter was only six years old, so he'd never really understood much about business. Sure, the name 'Tony Stark' sounded familiar, but it wasn't something that he'd instantly recognise. He wouldn't have been able to tell you what the billionaire did or was like. To Peter Parker, Tony Stark was just a famous man that he needn't be bothered about. He was only a six year old.
He knew a few other famous people too. Every kid knew about Captain America, even if he had only fought during World War Two. He was still a superhero and every kid wanted to be a superhero. He was the world's first and, as it seemed at the time, very last superhero.
That was until that fateful day in 2008 when Peter had only been six, he remembered walking into the living room whilst his Aunt May and Uncle Ben were watching the TV and talking about what was going on as if it were important.
Peter hadn't really been paying much attention; he was busy playing with his toys, like any six year old.
That's when he saw it.
There had been a big explosion on telly, presumably a clip from something that had happened earlier that Peter hadn't been bothered about. He watched in wonder as two big figures flew around and punched each other, he'd never seen that before.
He looked at his aunt and uncle, "what's that on Tv."
"It's the news, honey," May had told him.
"Why are robots fighting?" He questioned, "is it a movie?"
"No," Uncle Ben turned to him, "it's two men fighting each other."
"With explosions and stuff?" Peter pestered excitedly.
"Yeah," Ben had nodded.
The little boy had been very thrilled at this thought, it was like a movie in real life!
"Why are they fighting?" He questioned again.
"Because one of those men was trying to steal something that wasn't his," Ben told him.
"Careful, Ben," May said sternly, "he's only a little boy, he's too young to understand."
"Come now, May," Ben had ruffled Peter's hair, "he's a smart kid."
"Yeah," He puffed out his chest, "I'm smart!"
Peter loved his aunt and uncle. He loved Aunt May because she was always looking after him and making sure he was okay. But he also loved Uncle Ben who was always telling him cool stories and letting him do stuff that May would usually scold him for.
"So is he a baddie?" Peter continued to pester away, "the man who was trying to steal stuff?"
"Yeah," Ben nodded.
"Did the police stop him?"
"No, it was another man."
"Who? Who?"
"We don't know," his uncle shrugged, "but everyone seems to be calling him 'Iron Man.'"
"They're treating him like some superhero!" Snorted May.
"Superhero?" Peter was amazed, there was another superhero?
"Shush," Ben said, "I want to hear this."
A man was on the news now. He was wearing a posh looking suit and had hair neatly tidied and his beard neatly shaved. There was a nervous look in his eye as he stepped in front of the camera like this was the biggest moment of his life.
Peter didn't really understand what the man was saying, at least, not the context. The way he talked quickly seemed to imply that he was anxious about something or maybe even hiding something.
He seemed to be sloppily answering a question when a man beside him whispered something into his ear.
That's when Peter recognised him, that was Tony Stark! What was he doing on tv, did he have something to do with Iron Man?
"The truth is," Mr Stark said.
Peter watched in confusion as he lowered the cards he'd been holding and looked directly across the crowd of reporters in front of him.
"I am Iron Man."
And Peter Parker didn't think he'd ever experience as much amazement in his life as he did in that moment.
A/N: What d'ya think? Okay? Not okay? I'm not really experienced in the 'one-shot' industry but I'm too in love with Peter Parker's character to not do something Spiderman related.
