Peter stood there, jaw dropped, still as a statue for a solid minute just looking at the living area of what was supposed to be his floor.
He tried to speak but no sound came out of his throat. If you ask him, this was any teenage boy's dream. The sitting area was not like the other floors, instead of couches, there were bean bags, love sacs and cushions on the floor, soft carpet which really made him want to run his hand through the fibre, a small table in the middle because Peter loved doing his homework sitting on the floor.
Then there was the tv screen on the wall which was freaking huge and surrounded by cabinets full of games. He felt overwhelmed with so many emotions when he saw the different Lego sets there and all the books on science and research.
He was not at all aware of the rest of the team joining and Peter really needed to sit but somehow managed to keep standing on his unsteady legs.
"You...You are giving me my own floor to live in." His voice was hardly audible and full off disbelief that Tony grinned and happily slung his arm over Peter's shoulder.
"Yup." Tony had been somewhat worried when Peter went as rigid as cap's righteousness. He, for the first time in his life, was worried, if he did too much. Peter turned to look at him and swallowed the massive lump in his throat. He blinked back tears and whispered, "Mr Stark... Thank you, I... I don't know how to... umm..." a small sniffle set of the slight alarm in the group as Peter vigorously rubbed his eyes, trying really hard not to cry.
He didn't understand why was giving him his own floor. Not that he did not appreciate it, he did. But Peter was very much satisfied with a room in the tower and he thought only avengers got their own floor.
Gentle hands rubbed his arms and he opened his eyes to see Pepper who was smiling softly at him. " Its a gift from all of us Peter. We want you to know that, even when your aunt comes back, you will always have a place to stay at. And even if you declined the offer to become an Avenger, you are still a part of the team." Pepper knew that Peter had good control over his emotions and if he was openly crying, they must have really got to him.
The team watched with smiles on their faces as Pepper gathered him for a hug and Peter happy relaxed in her arms. Tony watched proudly and quite happily how happy both of his favourite people were. A voice at the back of his mind whispered 'perfect family.'
Pepper had suggested that she can show Peter around while the rest of the team discussed the situation in hand. And to be honest, Tony was expecting it when he saw how close the team had gotten to Peter.
But he was not expecting James to actually pull out the old suit and throw it on the table.
There was silence for a few seconds until Clint gathered the material in his hand and studied it carefully. All eyes turn towards him and he rubbed his face.
"Right. Before anyone says anything, let me put out a few things in front of you." sighing he ran his hands through his hair.
"Peter... can be as stubborn as Capital sometimes when it comes to saving other people over himself. So if anyone is going to point fingers at me for this... I actually took his suit and this is the one he wore before i found him." raising his hands in surrender, he was actually relieved to see the understanding look on everyone's face.
"What happened? I tried finding stuff and even asked FRIDAY but there was hardly anything on the internet or the news." Steve frowned at him and Tony clenched his jaw thinking about what all had happened.
He slowly started explaining everything from the beginning, about the ferry and the plane, and very regretfully about the warehouse incident to the team. Throughout the whole thing, there were looks of horror, a lot of concern for the teen.
"Look, Peter is... a very selfless kid who does not know how to fight and to be honest, is very very strong. Stronger than cap actually. I never did a test to see what all he was capable of because he refused to go under one. And now that you know what happened, just...just don't mention it to him. He gets... panic attacks sometimes or sensory overload." Tony sighed once again and rubs his forehead. He needs coffee.
"What about his parents?" Bucky asks suddenly, glaring at the table in front of him.
"What about them? They died in a plane crash when Peter was 6 (A/N-: 4 actually but i want it to be 6 in the story.) Peter's dad was a Geneticist for Oscorp and his mother was a cytologist. Why do you ask?"
"Because I am pretty sure they did not work for Oscorps. They were Hydra scientists working on making their own serum. They were killed by Hydra after all the failed experiments." Bucky gritted his teeth and looked up with a fierce look in his eyes.
Tony felt his heart drop in his stomach and cursed under his breath. Well...Shit.
Peter was still speechless thinking about the floor Pepper and the rest of the team designed for him.
His room had soft wall padding all over and it was quite comfortable to walk over. He even had a separate lift to give him access to Mr Stark's lab on his floor. But after an hour of exploring he had asked Pepper if he could help her with the remaining of her work for the day until the meeting was over.
So basically when Pepper told him to get certain documents from the R&D department, he almost fainted when he saw the head of research, Mr Harris test out a hoverboard. An actual hoverboard.
"Woah..." he whispered under his breath when the slim disk raised above the ground.
Blinking he quickly remembered the task at hand and cleared his throat. "Mr Harris? Ms Potts wants to know if you finished the BetaSeal documents?" Peter smiled nervously as every eye in the room turned to look at him in curiosity.
He quickly passed him the slip Pepper gave him, in case people doubted he was actually an intern here and shifted on his feet feeling a bit overwhelmed by the attention.
"Yes, they are done." turned to grab a clipboard and passed it on to Peter to mumbled a quite thanks and rushed to give it to Pepper. He did receive a funny look when he handed it to her and hurriedly explain something about a hoverboard.
Once he was back there in the R&D floor he saw MrHarris help someone get up from the ground with a sigh and look of disappointment on his face with a tired look on the others.
"Weight distribution is still a problem, " he mumbled and gathered the board in his hand before turning it off.
"You could use the weight as the source of energy." The words tumble out of his mouth before he could stop them. Once again the attention was on him and he saw quite a lot of raised eyes as if asking him to continue.
"I mean, The balance distribution is important to stay on the hoverboard, but if the weight is absorbed by the particles and compressed in the general vertical direction, like in Mr Stark's thrusters, using plasma and kinetic energy then you won't have to rely on energy source and the actual weight the hoverboard lifts is minimal." Peter rubs his neck as he finishes and almost felt like digging a hole and burying himself in it when no one said anything.
When finally spoke Peter blushed a little. "Kid...How old are you?" He folded his arms and Peter stuttered a bit.
"I am... uh...15." He smiled a little when the older man looked at him with amazement and amusement alike.
"Well, that is a very good idea actually. You have an Internship here?" He motioned for Peter to sit and Peter nodded his head happily. The next events were not at all anticipated by the R&D department.
Tony Stark walked in, a small frown on his face which turned into a relieved look when he saw the kid.
"Peter! There you are." He put on a paparazzi smile as he looked at the team of head scientists. "Mr Stark!" Peter grinned at him but didn't stand, instead, rolled on his chair a little.
"I see you met the top scientists of stark industries." Tony shook hands with Mr Harris and then raised his hand towards the kid.
"This is Peter Parker. He is my personal inter." Tony proudly smiled at the kid, missing the astonished look on everyone's face. Tony continued, without looking at them and motioned Peter to get up.
"Come on, We have to work on the BB-8 prototype." Before dragging him towards the privet elevator, leaving behind a group off seriously impressed scientists. Once alone Peter smiled at himself thinking about the hoverboard when an amazing idea came to his mind. Once he was done with the robotics club competition, he had lots of work to do.
"So... How did you like your room? I helped Pepper design it." Mr Stark grinned at him proudly and Peter himself smiled back at him. " I can't thank you enough Mr Stark. It is so awesome, i am almost scared to touch half the stuff there." He admitted honestly but the smile never left his face.
"I am glad you like it, Pete." Tony ruffled his hair and smiled at him softly, a look Peter knew was only reserved for him, Pepper and Rhodes. They stepped out on the lab floor and Peter skipped towards Tony's lab, grinning as he skidded inside, almost bumping into Dum-e. The robot whirled around, beeping and chirping as he nuzzled into Peter making his giggle a little as he hit a ticklish spot. Tony smiled at him from his desk and rolled his sleeve up and wearing his face mask before setting the microfiber metal sheet on the table, picking up the laser cutter and beckoned Peter over.
"Here, wear your mask." sliding the protective gear towards him, Tony waited until he had it on and then calmly started teaching Peter how to start up the outer shell of BB-8's body.
Both mentor and protege engrossed in their work didn't even notice the time pass by until Peter's spider senses tingled softly and his hands reached up automatically, catching the ball thrown in his direction. Sam groaned and Clint snickered at his friend but Tony glared at them as he wiped the grease on his shirt and huffed under his breath.
"Don't look so annoyed Stark. Nat sent us here. She said if you and Peter are not upstairs, clean, in the next ten minutes then she is going to call Pepper on both off you." Clint smirked at them but in the back off his mind, he really had to swear to god Peter really looked like Tony's kid when Both off them froze at the mention of Pepper and quickly took off their masks and wiped their hands. It was really amazing how their actions and behaviour matched so much.
"We are having dinner at Peter's floor by the way." Sam grinned and slung his arm over Peter's shoulders who grinned at him. "Awesome!" He exclaimed, feeling really happy at this moment.
He liked being around them so much, It was all natural, being in their company. Peter loved that they wanted him to be a part of their family, even if he was a kid.