Chapter 27 - Desperate Times
Peter had been exceptionally wary with everything going on in his life. There had been a part of him that regretted running, skipping out on school, especially while he was sat in detention the next day. At the same time, he'd do it all over again. He had spent a few hours with Mr. Stark talking things through. His nerves had calmed down, his senses were alert but mellow. Of course he had felt bad. A creeping but very persisting sense of guilt over stealing Mr. Stark's time and energy. The man really had bigger fish to fry. But Peter just couldn't pass up on that sense of peace and safety that came naturally with the attention and care his mentor was giving him. Just the way Mr. Stark made sure that he was okay.
Yeah, he was a selfish ass like that.
"I can't get you out of detention," the man had told him. "Even under different circumstances, I'd rather not."
"I know. That's fine. I didn't even think you could or... or would. I don't... I don't really mind. I mean..." Peter shrugged. "It's not that I wouldn't be able to think of anything better to do with my time but I guess I can't really patrol right now anyway."
"Things have to cool down, Pete."
He swallowed, eyes on his plate. "Yes, I know. I get that."
"Then why are you pouting?"
Peter gave his head a little shake. "I'm not pouting."
Mr. Stark's eyebrows shot up and Peter shook his head again. He wasn't was he? He'd deal with the school. People there already thought that he was weird anyway. Sure it might be another thing for Flash to pick on him for, but really that wasn't what was on his mind. He was poking around his stir fry, pushing the pieces of chicken back and forth, eyes on the table in front of him, then blew out a deep breath.
"They'll send a notification to my aunt."
There was a stretch of silence before Mr. Stark cleared his throat. "Well, yeah. I guess they will." Then more silence.
Yeah, Peter had figured that Mr. Stark wouldn't be able to help much with that particular problem.
"Maybe... maybe it's time, Pete. Maybe it's time to tell her about all this."
Peter's eyes shot up at him, round and wide. He almost dropped the chopsticks. "No, I... I can't."
"She's gonna have to find out at some point."
Did she? "But not now. She'd freak out! Especially with everything going on right now. I might give her a stroke or something."
"Pete, I'm gonna be..." Mr. Stark sighed. "I might not be around as much with all of this. You might find that you'll need someone to talk to and I won't be here."
Peter looked up at him. "But.. but you said..." he frowned, then felt the heat rise to his face at what he had been about to say. Mr. Stark had said he'd keep him safe. That he'd have a place to go to, but, well, if his mentor wasn't around, if he was too busy to drop everything just because Peter was having a nervous breakdown... Of course he couldn't. He wasn't Peter's babysitter. He was freaking Iron Man and the world needed him.
"Come on, kid, don't give me that look."
"No, I... I get it. You have responsibilities and with everything I... of course I understand."
"It's not about me, Pete. It's not that I..." he cleared his throat. "I don't know how things are gonna progress after today and while you can always come here and stay safe in the lab if something happens, if you run into any issues, I just can't promise that I will be here for it every time, alright?
He couldn't look up at Mr. Stark. He just couldn't. He'd first have to get his heartbeat under control, not let his breathing get out of hand. His eyes did sting and if he would look up, Mr. Stark would know and Peter might not be able to keep it together. But he had to. He had to keep a lit on things, not be a burden.
"I get that you're scared of what she'll say or do if she finds out, Pete. And that you want to protect her. But telling her will always be easier than having her find out by accident."
Peter just nodded, eyes still on the table. "Yeah, I'll... I'll think about it."
"You do that," Mr. Stark sighed.
Peter had thought about it. Briefly and had then stuck with his first instinct: telling May would be a suicide mission. Hell, even without the international conflict that was growing more and more intense, threatening to break out in full force against the Avengers. He'd have to be crazy to tell her in that kind of political climate. And that afternoon when he had gotten back to the apartment, his assumptions had been proven right.
He got there later that he had promised he would. Had spend some time just walking around Queens. Not patrolling or anything. He had promised Mr. Stark to keep a low profile and hadn't tried anything. Well, there was this one thing. But he had only climbed a medium-sized tree and fished out a ball that had gotten stuck in the upper branches. It had made a couple of kids jump up and down with joy and Peter had made sure that he did everything in a very human fashion. No weird moves. No impressive jumps or anything.
May was home by the time he got to the apartment. She had tried to call 6 times and he had only sent one text message in response. Had told her he was fine and that he'd be home by 4 pm. Of course she would be waiting for him. Still, he'd taken his time. There was no rush. He'd get his lecture no matter if he was on time or not.
Sounds of clinking dishes came from the kitchen though those would have been hardly audible for a normal person for the TV in the living room was on, volume up high enough it so it could be heard in every corner of the apartment. The chatter of the reporters made Peter's skin crawl. The accusations against the Avengers, the speculations about what had actually happened and the giddy expression on their faces. To them, it was like Christmas had come early. They came up with one conspiracy theory after the other. And then of course the images. Grainy and shaky mobile phone footage of a fireball exploding in the middle of the market that was then catapulted into the air and hit the building. High resolution close up shots of the burning building. Footage of the Avengers themselves, their faces grim and visibly full of shock. The interviews with freaked out victims and onlookers. The news media was turning a tragedy into a perverse gawker's fantasy.
"Finally! I called you a dozen times! Where the hell were you?"
He flinched as May's yelled loud enough to be heard on top of the news report and tore his eyes away from the TV but careful not to look directly at her.
"Hi May..."
"Hi? That's all you've got to say?" She stepped up close to him. "Are you alright?"
Both her hands rose to his face, cradled his head softly, her eyes searching his, searching his face for clues, injuries, just something. Peter still couldn't quite look at her. She'd be mad. He had expected that. She'd be worried too and that would probably be worse.
"What happened, Peter? This isn't like you at all. You're not a kid that just skips school."
He shrugged and bit his lip. Her hands were still cradling his face and there was such a deep familiarity and such comfort in the gesture that it made him doubt his initial decision. Maybe he should just tell her, just to get it over with? She'd be mad, but she was mad already anyway. And she'd be worried but at least he wouldn't be lying to her anymore. At least he could stop keeping secrets and thinking up excuses to mislead the most important person in his life. Because that's what she was. There was nobody more important in his life than May and still, he couldn't find the courage to tell her, to come clean. It wasn't just about what he was doing though, the crime-fighting. It was who he was now. What he was now.
She'd still love him, despite everything he was now, right? Everything he had become. He might have changed. Some things about him might have changed but he was still Peter.
Right?
She sighed and shot a glance over at the TV before she let go of his face and picked up the remote. As she muted the gossipy screeching from the 24h news channel the apartment suddenly felt a little colder. The silence got under Peter's skin and he had to actively feel out for some white noise, some signs of normal city life penetrating the walls from the streets and the neighboring apartments.
"Ned said you left school when the kids in your class spread around stories about the Avengers. About.. about what happened today. Is that true?"
Peter cleared his throat. "You talked to Ned?"
"Of course I did. You wouldn't call me back. I called every single person I could think of who might know where you are."
Well, she didn't. Not everyone. She didn't call the Tower, or at least not the person at the Tower he had been with.
"Peter, what happened? Where have you been all day?"
He let the question sink in for just a moment and threw caution to the wind. "I was at the Tower, actually."
She blinked at him, lost for words for what felt like a whole minute but probably was closer to a few seconds. "At the Tower?"
"Yeah, I..." Peter ruffled a hand through his hair. His arms felt like a useless extension and only in the way. "After I left school I went to the Tower."
"Did they—did they call you? Did they ask you to come in? I... I called them, too."
"You called someone at the Tower?"
"I talked to someone at the front desk and they said you hadn't logged in. That you weren't in the building and I—"
"Nobody called me, May. I got out of school and I... I just went there to clear my head. Have something to do."
"You had something to do at school, Peter. School."
He looked away from her. "I'm sorry, May. I just couldn't... I couldn't stay there, I... Everyone was talking and they have no idea what they're even talking about and I couldn't... I was just... scared. Scared I might say something I shouldn't." He swallowed hard and pressed out the lie like he was almost used to by now. "With the NDA and everything. I thought I might... I might say something I shouldn't."
May had her eyes on him, clearly studying him suspiciously. Throwing the NDA out there as a deterrent had been Mr. Stark's idea for how to deal with his teachers actually.
"You... you know things about this?" She waved at the muted TV next to them. "About all this? They told you about the Avengers operation in Africa?"
Peter shook his head. "Well, no. Not those things. Stark Industries things. People were just talking shit about Mr. Stark and... and people at the Tower and they are all so wrong. They know nothing about how things really are at the Tower. Nothing at all!"
She looked at him a bit sideways, quietly digesting what he had just brought up as somewhat of an explanation for his rather out-of-character conduct that day.
"You can talk to me. You know that. That NDA doesn't matter. Not for us, alright? If there's something they asked you to keep quiet about, something you're uncomfortable with. You can always—"
"It's nothing like that, they... Honestly, they... they've been great. Really, really great."
"Peter, I called them. I asked them if you were there and they told me no."
Her tone was harsh and it wasn't all that clear if she just didn't believe him or if she questioned the morals of Stark industries. Of course, the receptionist would tell May that he wasn't in the building. After all, Peter hadn't exactly used the front door to get in.
"They wouldn't know. I... I was with Mr. Stark, not in the... in the intern lab," he said, his voice lower than he was comfortable to admit.
"You were with Tony Stark today?"
"I was."
"He knew you were skipping school and he just what, let you hideout there?" Her tone had turned sharp. That really wasn't the reaction Peter had been going for.
"Come on, May..."
"Come on what? I don't care if your classmates are mean to Tony Stark! That's not an excuse for you to run off, you hear me? It's unacceptable!"
Peter looked away from her, down to the floor, arms crossed in front of him.
"I get that you look at those people like they are the world's mightiest saviors, Peter, but the reality is a little different. Look at what they did!" She pointed at the TV. The channel was still airing footage of the burning building in Nigeria. "Their actions got people killed. They need to take responsibility and you do not get to run out of your classroom in a huff because people are calling them out."
"And how many people would have died if they hadn't been there, huh?" he blurted out. "What if that bomb had gone off in the market? What if the terrorist had gotten their hands on another chemical weapon?"
"Is that the excuse Tony Stark will be using?" She just shook her head. "Those hypotheticals don't matter. People died." May looked over at the TV, then back at Peter. "Maybe it's time. The year's almost over and you'll be on break. You could, you could just find a summer job that's a little less, well, exciting."
Peter frowned at her. "A summer job? I already have a summer job with Mr. Stark." Okay, the job part might be a bit of a stretch, but he never said anything about getting paid. He got a multimillion-dollar suit but that was hardly gonna be something to sway May with.
Her face slack. "Wait, you'll continue with the internship while you're on break?"
"Of course I will!"
"Stark offered you a paid summer job?"
Urgh, there it was. "Well, we haven't really talked about the money part of it," he shrugged and with an afterthought added "Yet."
Mr. Stark wouldn't pay him. That was not even a pipe dream Peter had, not even something he was hoping for. If anything he was doing his part in working off some of the money that went into his suit. At least in his mind, that's what he was doing.
"You haven't even told me about that."
He shrugged. "Well, are you planning to forbid me to work there?"
"You know I don't want to do that." She sighed. "But it's not like we're rolling in money, Peter. I would never expect you to put finding a summer job that pays well over one benefiting your education, but honestly, Stark Industries not paying their intern does not really sit right with me."
Peter crossed his arms and looked away from her, back turned to the muted TV. How was he gonna get out of this one? He had never considered that May actually wouldn't like Mr. Stark. Maybe that shouldn't surprise him as much as it did. Peter had kept his talk of what happened in the Tower to a minimum, for obvious reasons. Sure, he had told her about how much fun he had working on the projects, not giving much detail on the projects themselves and filling up space in the story with engineering jargon. He couldn't tell May about all the things Mr. Stark had really done for him. The times Peter had been freaking out about his senses or god forbid, how he had taken care of Peter's injuries. But even the little things, how Mr. Stark would put him in a car when it was late and dark outside so Peter would get home safely, even though he was Spider-Man. How he'd let him stay way into the night so Peter could watch and help with the big projects he wanted to stick around for. How Mr. Stark would let him stay over at the Tower or even the Compound when it had gotten really late and ordered in breakfast even though the man hardly ever had anything else but coffee before noon. Even that May couldn't know about because it would mean telling her that he was staying hours upon hours longer at the Tower, technically working when he had told her he'd really been hanging out with Ned.
So it shouldn't be a surprise how she didn't like Mr. Stark. And what was more she didn't seem to like any of them. Just the way she shot glances at the TV, her arms crossed, eyes narrowed. She was judging them The way she talked about the Avengers, the whole thing about their responsibilities. It wasn't about that, was it? About who was responsible. It was about assigning blame.
And it was clear who May blamed for all of this. That meant... that meant he couldn't tell her.
He tore his eyes away from her, away from the TV and took off to his room. "I'll figure it out, okay?"
"Wait, where are you going?"
"Shower," he shot out over his shoulder just before he closed the door to his bedroom. He leaned against it, head fallen back, hitting it with an unsubtle bang.
How was he gonna get out of this one? He needed the internship. Not just for Spider-Man-ing but also his own sanity. And he couldn't ask Mr. Stark for money, that was ridiculous. Maybe he'd find something else. Just a few hours a couple of times a week. Couldn't be another engineering spot or anything technical with a different company. That NDA wasn't something he had made up. It was a very real thing and he wasn't gonna risk anything when it was Stark Industries. There was a whole floor filled with lawyers at the Tower. Maybe a job in a café or something. It didn't have to be anything fancy, just something that paid a bit so he could contribute. It was a comprise. She couldn't say no to a compromise.
##
Tony had had some bad days in his life. The "trip" to Afghanistan came to mind. Pepper falling from that rig into the flames had him wanting to rip his heart out of his chest. The wormhole over New York City. Ultron. Sokovia. His Malibu house being blown up. Stane. The Expo. And of course, above all else, losing Aiden. He'd had enough bad days, bad weeks to fill multiple lifetimes.
Still, that last week was up there.
The backlash from Lagos had been greater than anything they had had to deal with before. New York had been bad. Sokovia had been bad. It all culminated in Lagos. Tony had gone to D.C., had tried to soften the blow while the team was on their way back to the US, but he hadn't been able to move the scale in the Avengers' favor. Ross had insisted to be taken to the Compound, to the team. Tony managed to delay him for a couple of days but, well, he was the Secretary of State. There was only so much Tony could do without risking even greater blowback.
The legislation Ross proposed was hardly something that the UN had come up with and drafted in just a couple of days, let alone the part where they had 117 countries agree on it. Things like that took time, but the mess in Nigeria presented the perfect platform, the perfect opportunity for them to turn the world and say:
Look at them. Look at the mess. We won't allow this.
Tony would have to lie to say that the Accords had come out of the blue. There were signs. He had known that they were on thin ice. The way they had spent the last years fighting Hydra as well as intergalactic threats had ruffled feathers all over the place, threatened certain people's monopoly on power. Had left people downright pissed off when the Avengers had made them look incompetent. Tony himself hadn't been shy about telling certain politicians or law officials to fuck themselves when they had wanted to use his tech, wanted to use him. None of that was much of an issue for them until they started making mistakes. And they had made some very public mistakes. It wasn't just the crossing borders without other countries' permission, or even just notifying them. The people didn't trust them anymore. They didn't trust that the Avengers were fighting for them and not just fighting to be fighting. Worst of all, they had a point. There was truth in the people's fears that were being used against them. If there were no rules for them, if they were boundary-less, then they were no better than the bad guys.
The morning Tony had spent with Peter at the Tower, listening to all the things that had been said at the kid's school, on the streets, only underlined that. Well, it had actually intensified the situation. People were past disgruntled and doubting them. The Avengers had lost the support of the public completely. That was a lot worse than Tony had actually thought things stood.
The weirdest part about all of this had been that Natasha had agreed with him, rather than with Steve. Had backed him up and actually signed the Accords. Had helped convince Wanda to just stay at the Compound for now where they could keep her safe until the dust settled. That was something. Though it hadn't changed much about Rogers' or Wilson's stance on the Accords. Or on anything really.
So he found himself in a military complex in Berlin after Rogers and Wilson went on an unauthorized Bucky-hunting-trip. Ross had been chewing him out on the phone. Like this was somehow Tony's fault. Like he had some kind of special subpoena power over what Rogers did.
"I'm sorry, Tony. If I see a situation pointed south, I just can't ignore it," Rogers had said. "Sometimes I wish I could."
Tony could only stare at him, the Captain so transparent in that lie. "No, you don't."
Rogers's lips curled up in a smile and he gave a little shrug. "No, I don't."
"We can't be doing this," Tony sighed. "I need you, Cap. I need you in this fight."
"I'm not saying it's impossible." The Captain had his eyes on the set of pens Tony had brought as a symbolic olive branch that was lying on the table in front of him. Rogers would have to sign. There was no other way out of this. Not after their chase through Bucharest. The man shrugged and looked up at Tony. "There would need to be safeguards."
"There will be. I've been telling you we can amend this, but only if we have a seat at the table."
"What's gonna happen now then? What consequences does Ross want to see?"
Ross' list of consequences would be a hard sell, that much was clear.
"You and Wilson sign. We make everything that happened yesterday official. Barnes is put into an American psych center instead of a Wakandan prison." He had his arms crossed, eyes firmly on Rogers. "We reinstate you and Wilson when the PR battle is dealt with. As well as Wanda."
"Wanda? What about Wanda?" The look on Rogers's face was all Tony needed to know that he was fighting a losing battle. Rogers would never make concessions when it came to the team.
"She's fine. She's at the Compound. She just... well, she'll just have to stay there for a bit."
"You locked up Wanda in the Compound?"
"I didn't lock anyone up. Vision is keeping her company. She just needs to keep her head down until things have settled down."
"That's internment, Tony!"
He took a step closer, losing his temper at last. "Give me a break! I'm trying to keep her safe!"
Rogers had turned away from him, the set of pens disregarded on the table. "Let me know how that works out for you."
They hadn't talked since. Hell had broken loose shortly after and Rogers and Wilson were gone. Had left chasing after Barnes. When what happened in their chase in Bucharest had been bad, this was an absolute disaster. A disaster that left Tony all out of option. Well, all but one. One very desperate one.
##
There was a certain moral dilemma Peter had found himself in. The news coverage of what had happened in Europe, the terror attack at the United Nations in Vienna and the involvement of the Avengers - or some of them at least - that had followed was dominating everything, including every conversation around him. The side effect of that was all the attention that was no on him. It was like his little escape from class had been wiped from everyone's memory. Well, he still had to sit through the detention of course but considering the shit, he had expected to get...
It was a horrible thing to think. His face heated up every time he found himself cherishing the peace and quiet it had brought him personally. People had died. Things looked even worse for the Avengers now and that definitely wasn't good news for Peter either. Their public image wold definitely affect him in due time. It already was considering he hadn't patrolled at all, had kept his head down. It had actually given him some time to properly hang out with Ned. Some Lego Death Star building and pointless chatter that wasn't about the Avengers had kept Peter somewhat sane.
Ned certainly hadn't forgotten about Peter skipping class, about his outburst, but he was sensitive enough not to bring up the topic. Peter grimaced at the thought. Ned wasn't the subtle sort, more the falling-in-through-the-door type. For Ned not to question him at all meant that Peter had come across as truly crazed. He could only hope that with the summer break approaching everyone would just forget, including Ned.
The summer break was another issue he'd have to deal with. Or rather that summer job he had talked to May about. She wouldn't make him stop interning at Stark Industries if he found an additional regular job. That had been the compromise. The dumbest compromise ever but he was in no position to argue with her. One word from her and he'd lose his internship and thus his cover for Spider-Man. Not that much was happening in the Spider-Man department. He hadn't been out in days and it got harder and harder to quell the itch for a bit of action.
A distraction was needed so he went on the search for that dreadful summer job. The job listings in the area were pulled on the laptop in front of him. A cashier job with a certain supermarket chain was the only thing that offered the kind of hours he was willing to do. He'd have to call them soon. The longer he waited the more likely it was that they would fill that position with someone else. Not that he was secretly rooting for that or anything.
The phone vibrated in his pocket and it made him almost jump out of his chair up to the ceiling of his room in surprise. It wasn't his android, that one was always in silent mode. Why would the Stark phone be ringing? He quickly fished it out of his pocket. That. Oh. That was Mr. Stark calling him. Peter's mind went into overdrive. Shit, what had he done? What had he done that with everything going on Mr. Stark was calling him? Had he messed up somehow? Why else would Mr. Stark call him? He shook himself out of his panic. Ignoring the call wasn't going to help him one bit. He swallowed and took a deep breath before he answered the phone.
"Oh, erm, hi... Mr. Stark."
"Kid, I need you to get on a plane to Germany. ASAP."
Peter blinked a couple of times. Had he just heard that right? "Wh— Germany? Sir, are you alright? The news has been running footage from—"
"Yes, Germany. There's... the situation here is a bit... I need you here. Just, get to the Tower." Mr. Stark sounded on edge and Peter couldn't really blame him. Still, this was...
"Wow!" Peter's eyes widened as he heard the sound of his own voice. Oops. Had he just said that out loud? He cleared his throat. He really needed to keep the trembling out of his voice and sound a little more sure with himself. "I... Mr. Stark, I... I have school. I can't just—"
"What? Shouldn't you be on break?"
"Not for another 2 weeks." Dang, was he just ruining this for himself? Peter desperately needed some Spider-Man-ing time and if he was with Mr. Stark that should be safe, right?
"What could you possibly be doing in the last weeks that you'd be missing?"
Peter actually snorted at that. "I mean, you're barking up the wrong tree with that one, Sir." But there was no laugh on the other end of the line. Alright, maybe not the best situation to be joking, Parker. "I... Sir, they are pretty strict with attendance especially in the last few weeks because a lot of people take advantage of the fact that—"
"Don't worry about that. I'll draft something. Just... I need you here. You need to get on a plane like 3 hours ago."
Peter's mouth fell open. He just... he had just said it again. Mr. Stark needed him? That... just... "Yeah, sure. I mean, of course, Sir." Peter really needed to stop hyperventilating. He needed to play this like so much cooler than he was.
"Just grab your passport and get to the Tower."
"My—Sir, I... I don't have a passport."
"What? That was like... number 2 on the internship to-get list!"
"The... the internship to-get list?"
"Yeah, all the shit I need you to get so you're ready for whatever superhero stuff I throw at you. I'm sure I gave you a list."
"I—Sir, I don't... I don't think so. I... I'm not sure—"
He did hear a small chuckle on the other line at that. "Relax, Spiderling. Just get to the Tower. I'll sort everything out. But make sure you tell your aunt that you won't be home for a couple of nights."
"Alright, Sir." Great. There was that. May would love this.
"I..." Mr. Stark hesitated before he finished his thought. "Maybe don't mention the Germany part. You know, unless.—" He stopped speaking and sighed.
"You want me to purposefully omit a certain part of the story, Sir?" He hadn't been planning on telling May he was going to Germany, because duh, but Mr. Stark asking him to keep it quiet was another level of secrecy that they hadn't really delved into yet.
"Pete, I shouldn't ask you to do that. I know that. We're dealing with a... I shouldn't even ask you to come. I shouldn't. In fact, I don't want you to come. This is..." His mentor's heavy breathing echoed in his ear, how the man actively tried to control the air rushing through his lung. "This is not something I want you involved with. If I'm honest, I'd prefer you'd be as far away from this as possible, because if something—" The man stopped himself again. "I wouldn't ask if there was another option but if you... If you want to stay put, stay out of this then you should. Absolutely and if you want to tell your aunt, of course you should."
"Oh god no, Sir. I'd be grounded until I'm in my 30s." He wasn't even joking with that one.
"Pete, that's not..." Another set of deep exhales rang through the line. "You're not helping."
"It's gonna be fine, Mr. Stark. I mean, that's our thing, right? You help me out, I help you out..."
Mr. Stark groaned, "I'm really trying to make a habit of this not becoming a thing..."
Peter couldn't help but giggle quietly. He was craving his suit. He was craving something to do, just anything to feel normal again. "Come on, Mr. Stark. It'll be fun!"
Mr. Stark was quiet for another moment. "I don't know if fun is the right word. I..." He let all the air out of his lungs.
Peter bit his lip. The man's reluctance finally clicked with Peter. It wasn't just going to be Mr. Stark in Germany, was it? "There'll be trouble if I show up there, won't there? With... with the Avengers? They'll know then, right."
His mentor's tone was somber and heavy. He was worried about that, no question about it. "That doesn't matter right now, Pete. They're not gonna... listen, this is not gonna be anything spectacular, alright?" The soft echo of Mr. Stark's footsteps from him pacing back and forth on the hard floor of wherever he was, rang through the line. "You might have to web the odd person up, but really I just need you as a number. That'll probably be enough. If there should be any real... resistance, I'll be there to deal with that. Most likely we'll have a chat and then we'll all go home, okay?"
Peter bit his lip. That was all good and well, but he couldn't just pop up in Germany without people asking questions.
"But if I show up, won't they... they'll know then that you and I, you know... That we know each other?"
Mr. Stark stayed quiet for a moment. "Listen, Pete, I should have told you about this sooner, but Natasha, she already knows."
Peter's jaw dropped. "Wh—what?"
"She figured it out as soon as she saw the suit."
Peter felt his throat close with panic. They knew? Had they known all this time?
"Listen, Pete," Mr. Stark sighed. "I know this sucks and I know you had a right to know about this. She kept it to herself though. It's only Natasha who knows."
"You... you don't know that," he whispered. "She might have told them. Maybe... maybe they all know who I am by now."
"She doesn't know who you are, alright? She knows that we, that you and I have had a bit more than a casual meeting on a rooftop somewhere in Queens. She knows that I built the suit and she also knows that I wouldn't have done that if I didn't trust you."
With that, Peter's mind went blank. He... he what now? "Did you just say—"
"Just get to the Tower, alright?" Mr. Stark's voice had turned heavier. "She figured it out when she saw you in the suit. The others will as well when you're there with us, but that doesn't matter now. I know it worries you, Pete, but right now... right now, there are other things they'll focus on, okay?"
Peter stayed quiet for a few seconds and mulled that revelation over. Mr. Stark was probably right, most likely was right. After all, he knew his teammates a whole lot better than Peter did. Things right now were difficult and they had to stick together to get through it. This might open a path for Peter to reconcile with them, to have them trust him, that would happen under no other circumstances.
##
(author's note: Thanks as always for reading and all the lovely comments!
Sorry for the wait, but I'm hoping for a bit more free time over the Christmas holidays and might get to update a bit more often again then :) )