Happy Saturday! The weekend is here so let's kick it off with an update.
We've got some solid Tony/Peter time in this chapter, and some Rhodey at the end as a bonus. I hope you enjoy xxx
Chapter Twelve
"Just there, Hap," Tony said. "It's the one with the white door."
Happy pulled the car to a stop and looked sideways at him. "There you go. I've driven you into the middle of nowhere so you can pick up whatever's so special. You going to answer my questions now?"
"First of all, it's Queens, not the middle of nowhere. Second, what we're picking up is very special. Third, nope, he's waiting for me."
"Who's waiting for you?" Happy asked.
Tony waved a hand, slipped on his sunglasses, and got out of the car. He opened the door, walked past the broken elevator, and up the stairs to the Parkers' apartment. He knocked twice, then stepped back and ran his hands through his hair, unusually nervous.
He was about to see his son again, he had a full day to spend with him in the tower, and he could not wait.
The door opened, and May Parker appeared. It was strange still, even though he had seen her only a few days before, to see her alive. Her death had affected him—and his son when he'd returned—but here she was, so full of life.
He knew Peter had offered to save her and Ben from their fated deaths, and they'd both refused. Though he'd tried to hide it, Tony knew that had been hard for Peter to accept. He went to see them often, more often than he told them Tony thought.
"Tony," she said, eyes bright. "Good to see you again. Come in. Peter is just getting ready."
He walked past her into the living room and took the indicated seat as she called, "Peter, your ride is here. Hurry up."
Peter hopped into sight, one sneaker on his foot and the other in his hand, which he was trying to put it on while wobbling like a drunk flamingo. He dropped his shoe and straightened up.
"Mr. Stark!" he said, color flushing his cheeks. "I didn't know you were coming. I thought you said you were sending a car. I'm not ready—I must have lost track of time. I'm really sorry. I'll just be a minute." He picked up his shoe, tried to balance on one foot, tilted to the side, then sat down on the floor and yanked it on.
"You're not late," Tony said. "I'm early. And I did send a car; I just happened to be in it" May laughed, as Peter stared in puzzlement a moment, then bent to tie his laces, then jumped to his feet, cheeks still blazing, and said, "I'm ready?" He formed it as a question.
"I'd say you are," Tony said, standing.
"Wait!" May said. "Where's your bag, Peter? And you need to take your lunch."
"It's in my room. I'll grab it." He darted away, and May picked up a paper sack from the table.
"You don't need to send lunch," he said. "We'll feed him."
"That's very kind," she said. "But you don't need to do that. You're already doing enough for him. This internship is… I can't thank you enough. He's so excited about it; it's all he's talked about since you came. Honestly, he's been driving me a little crazy."
Tony chuckled. If you were to ask Pepper and Rhodey, they'd say Tony had been driving them crazy talking about it, too. With the prospect of a whole day with Peter ahead of him, he couldn't quite settle to anything. The past days had been hard to get through; only the pressing political and tactical concerns had held his attention away from what he planned to do with Peter.
Peter came out, rucksack slung over his shoulder, and his cheeks a little less flushed now. May handed him his lunch, which he tucked away in his bag, accepted her hug and kiss, and promised to, "Be good and not get in Mr. Stark's way."
May patted Peter's cheek, thanked Tony once more, and then saw them to the door.
"I'm sorry about the elevator, Mr. Stark," Peter said as they walked down the stairs. "I thought I could fix it myself, I researched how to do it, but May won't let me try. She said I might mess something up and send Mrs. Donahue careening to her death when she goes out to buy her scratchers and cat food."
Tony snorted. "Probably better not to try then, kid."
Though he wondered if there was something he could do, perhaps a nudge to the building's manager so May didn't have to walk up all the stairs at the end of a long shift at the hospital. She had to be tired, and if he could make things a little easier for her, he would.
They got outside, and Peter came to a dead stop, taking in the sleek black Audi which Happy was standing beside, arms crossed over his chest and incredulous eyes on Peter.
"Peter, this is Happy," Tony introduced. "Hap, Peter Parker. He's my new intern."
Happy looked between him, his eyebrows furrowed with confusion, but Peter was smiling. He walked towards Happy, held out a hand, and said, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Happy."
Happy stared at his hand, looked back at Tony, who gave him a small nod, then ignored Peter's hand and said, "Get in."
Peter nodded eagerly. "Sure, Mr. Happy."
"You can just call him Happy, kid," Tony said.
"No, he can't," Happy grumbled, opening the car door.
Peter's face fell, and he climbed into the backseat.
Tony made to follow him into the car, but Happy stepped in front of him and slammed the car door. "Boss, what's going on."
"I told you—he's my new intern."
"No, he's a kid. How old is he, twelve?"
"Fourteen."
Happy seemed no more appeased by that. "Fourteen then. What exactly do you want from a kid? Is this some kind of experiment? I know your usual interns, and they're not kids. You take them out of graduate school—college if they're brilliant. You've never taken a kid out of high school." He frowned. "Is this your way of making things work with Pepper? Because that's not fair on the kid, Boss."
Tony was torn between offense and amusement. Sure, it hurt that Happy would think he'd use a child to improve his love life, but he supposed it was a fair assumption for this point in his life. The amusement came from the fact Peter had moved Happy into protectiveness already, even though Happy had refused to show any form of friendliness to him.
He wondered if they would bond any faster this time without Happy playing sole point-man for Peter.
"I am not using the kid, Hap. He's going to be my intern, even though he's a little young, and you're going to see a lot of him. Taking care of him is your responsibility as well as mine."
Happy scowled. "My responsibility? I thought you wanted a ride today to spend some time together. I'm Head of Security now! Not just your driver."
"I did want to spend time together! Tony placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "I'll explain, Hap, but it's a long story, and I can't do it now. He's waiting. Let's go."
He opened the door and climbed into the car beside Peter, who had slid to the opposite side and was twisting the hem of his hoodie in his fingers. For a moment, Tony remembered Peter's too-thin fingers stroking over the blankets Bucky placed on his lap, the sensation which became a thought to him in the dark days of his catatonia.
"You okay, kid?" he asked as Happy started the engine and steered them away from the sidewalk and into the flow of traffic.
Peter nodded quickly. "Yeah. Just excited."
Tony was sure that wasn't it; he knew Peter's moods and expressions, and this was not excitement.
"Or you can try the truth," he suggested.
Peter blushed and bit his lip. Tony had forgotten this facet of him. He was so used to the confident Peter he'd lived with since he went on his travels with the Stones, the Peter who rambled through his days with happiness and excitement, even when dreaming of his own death, with one notable exception—Morgan's diagnosed Peter Day.
"I… uh…" He ran a hand over his face. "I've got really good hearing, Mr. Stark, so I could hear what Mr. Happy was saying. I guess I had the same question. Why am I your intern? If this is something to do with Miss. Potts, I get it. I mean, she's amazing. She's like a feminist icon for my friend Michelle, and she's beautiful, and you looked really happy together in all the pictures I saw in May's magazines. If you think I can help with that, I don't mind, really. It would make sense because I am too young to be an intern—"
Tony placed a hand over his mouth, and Peter's eyes bugged.
Tony lowered his hand and held up a finger as an instruction to let him speak. Peter nodded and drew in a long breath, then held it.
"There's a couple reasons I want you as my intern. "One, you're brilliant. I saw what you're capable of when I came by your science fair, and yeah, I violated your privacy by looking at your school transcripts. Kid, you could have tested into college at the beginning of the year, no question."
"May and Ben didn't want me to skip grades," he said. "The teachers wanted me to jump from fifth grade to seventh, but they thought I should have a normal education experience."
"Yeah, your aunt told me. They were right," Tony said. "I went to MIT when I was about your age, and as good as it was to be challenged academically, it screwed me up in every other way—I wouldn't have survived it without Rhodey. You deserve better than that. That's not my point, though. My point is that you're brilliant, intelligent, and inventive, and I want to see that grow with the right opportunities and mentorship. That's something I can offer. That is my prime motivation in doing this—cherishing your gifts. The second reason is that I'm selfish. I'm drawn to genius. I don't find minds like yours often, and never in someone so young. I get to help you build that, teach you, and that's what I call a good time."
Peter looked disbelieving, but he licked his lips, nodded, and said, "Thank you, Mr. Stark. I'm not ungrateful, no matter why you're doing it. Believe me, I know what you're offering me is huge and amazing, and I'm really lucky."
Tony leaned back in his seat and smiled. "Yeah, you are, kid."
He was lying, though. He was hyperaware that he was the lucky one in this situation.
Though it was not his intention, Peter had given him an amazing chance to redo these two years with him before Thanos came, and he was going to make the most of all of his time with his kid.
When they got to the Tower, Tony led Peter into the private elevator and positioned him in front of the mirrored wall.
"Friday, this is Peter Parker," he said. "I want you to get his biometrics to create security access for him. He gets a free-range pass."
"Yes, Boss," she said. "It's nice to meet you, Peter Parker. Please hold your hands up in front of you and keep still."
Peter flinched at the voice and then held up his hands and froze as a red light swept from the ceiling, over him from head to toe.
"That's Friday," Tony explained. "She's the AI interface to the tower and my suit."
"Biometrics collected," she announced. "And palm imprint added to security scanners for the lab and penthouse. All other access will come from my biometrics testing, though I suggest you inform Mr. Hogan that Peter will need a security pass. You knew he likes people to be identifiable." There was a pronounced smirk in her disembodied voice.
"Send Happy a message for me, Fri," he said. "Peter gets Alpha Clearance. And take us up to the lab."
"Alpha?" Peter said. "That sounds kinda… I don't know. Are you sure that's right?"
"I'm always sure," Tony said. "You need this clearance. I know you're not going to abuse it, and you probably don't want to wander too much at first until people have gotten used to seeing you around anyway. One day I'm going to get you exploring in R&D, though, see what you come up with for us. Don't worry, I'm not getting free child labor out of you. If you invent something good, you'll be on the patent and get the profits."
Peter's mouth dropped open, and his eyes bugged. Enjoying his reaction, Tony grinned.
"This is too much," Peter said. "Really, Mr. Stark, even if I did manage to make something, it's with Stark Industries time and tools. It's probably illegal for me to take credit."
Tony squeezed his shoulder. "Kid, I know what I'm talking about. You're not going to get in trouble for using that brain of yours here. You're brilliant, and I am going to make the most of that."
Peter rubbed the back of his neck and then startled as the elevator came to a stop, and Friday announced, "Level eighty-three."
"Through here," Tony said, leading Peter out and down the hall to his personal lab. Friday unlocked the door for him without waiting for his palm imprint, as usual, and he gestured Peter in.
Peter stopped just inside, and his eyes roved the room, taking it all in with a look of awe. Against one wall were the latest Iron Man suits, ranged by stage of invention. The bank of holograms displayed Tony's specifications for the Mark XLVII.
Tony wanted to jump ahead to nanotech, but he'd not yet got the Wakanda connection to gather the required materials. The tables were strewn with tools and parts he'd been using. He had spent an hour preparing the space for this visit, tidying the scraps of paper, and trashing the takeout containers, spreading out the best self-invented tools, wanting Peter to get the full impact of what he could do here.
"Wow…" Peter breathed. "It's like Willy Wonka's Factory."
Tony chuckled as he remembered how he'd used the same words to describe Peter's own workshop at the compound.
"No, it's even better than that," Peter went on. "So much better. It's like… Wow."
Tony grinned. "Yep, it's wow, and you get to explore it all. Where do you want to start?"
Peter's smile grew, and he said, "I don't know. I can't decide. Can I look at the suits?"
"You can," Tony said. "You can take selfies with them, too, if you like. I know your friends will get a kick out of it."
His friends, Ned and Michelle—who would one day become MJ to him. MJ would probably use the opportunity for a tirade on capitalism and conspicuous consumption, but Ned's head would explode.
Tony had never had a chance to meet either of them last time, though he felt like he knew them from everything Peter had told him. He'd seen Ned at the science fair, of course, but he planned to spend actual time with them this time around. Not yet, it would be way too suspicious for him to invite Peter's friends over now, but one day… Maybe Peter's next birthday. He could throw him a party. No, that was only two months away. Maybe for his sixteenth. They could make it a real event. Peter would like that, wouldn't he?
Peter moved over to the Mark IX War Machine armor on one of the tables, the armor that Rhodey would have worn in Berlin for that battle, the suit that would have been damaged, sending Rhodey spiraling to the ground. That wouldn't happen, though. They'd changed that course of action. They'd all agreed to stand against the Accords together, to change them to something workable. There would be no Berlin, no Siberia, there would be no betrayal.
Tony opened his mouth to invite Peter to see the specs of the suit's new features, but the door behind them slid open then, and Pepper strode in. She had her eyes on the files in her hands, and her brow furrowed. "Tony, I need you to sign…" She looked up, seeing Tony's broad smile and Peter's open-mouthed gaze on her. "Oh. Hello?"
"Pepper, this is Peter Parker, my new intern," he said. "My personal intern. Peter, this is Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries and general superhero."
Peter waved awkwardly and said, "Nice to meet you, Miss Potts."
"You too, Peter," she replied with a gentle smile. "Tony, can I speak to you for a moment?"
"Sure," Tony said easily. "Kid, go nuts. I'll be back in a minute. Friday, initiate Silent Night protocol."
"Done, Boss."
Pepper jerked her head towards the door, and Tony followed her out and closed the door behind him. With the Silent Night protocol in place, the workshop was soundproofed, so Peter couldn't hear what might be said concerning time travel.
"How's it going?" she asked.
"It's going amazing," Tony said effusively. "He's amazing."
She looked through the window at Peter, who was examining the left foot thruster of Rhodey's suit. "He really is cute, and he looks like he's having fun."
"I think he is." Tony glanced back at Peter, smiling fondly. "I know I am."
She narrowed her eyes, looking at Peter, who was examining the gauntlet of Rhodey's armor.
"Is that safe?" she asked.
"It's not hooked up to its power core. He's perfectly safe. Really, Pep, I would never endanger him like that. He's way too important to me. I know you can't understand that yet, not really, but that kid in there is my son. I love him. You'll feel the same when you have a chance to get to know him."
He believed that would happen. In 2023, Pepper was wholly focused on Morgan, protecting her from the pain that sometimes came with loving Peter, and she'd not been able to get to know him properly. They had time now in which Pepper had different priorities, and he was sure that, given a chance, Pepper would love Peter, too.
Pepper smiled slightly. "Okay. Sign these papers, and I'll leave you both to play."
Tony took the files, scrawled his signature at the places she'd marked with colored stickers, and handed them back.
"Thank you, Miss Potts," he quipped.
She smiled fondly. "Thank you, Mr. Stark."
She walked into the elevator, and Tony opened the door to the lab and went back inside to where Peter was bent over with his nose pressed to the elbow of Rhodey's suit.
"Uh, what are you doing?" Tony asked, then grinned. "Were you sniffing the War Machine armor?"
Peter jolted upright. "No! I, uh…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I was just trying to see the connection to the joint. I wanted to see if I could tell how you maintained the integrity of strength with the freedom of movement."
"Did you work it out?" Tony asked.
"I have theories."
Tony grinned. "Then let's open up the schematics and see if you're right. If you are, you get to pick where we order lunch from."
"I've got lunch, Mr. Stark," he said. "May sent me with a sandwich."
"She did," Tony said. "And you can eat that if you like, but I'm getting pizza, and you're invited to join me."
Peter smiled. "Pizza sounds great."
Tony clapped him on the shoulder. "Great. Now, those schematics… Friday, pull them up…"
The hologram appeared, flooding Peter's excited face with light, and Tony just stared at him for a moment, relishing his presence and filled with love.
He felt like he'd waited forever for this.
When Tony and Peter headed up to the penthouse for lunch, Tony was surprised to see Rhodey sitting on the couch, scrolling on his phone. He looked up and beamed at them when they entered, and Tony felt himself smiling in return.
He'd been looking forward to this day, being with Peter, and the last couple days between seeing him at the apartment and picking him up for their first day together had been some of the longest he'd ever experienced. He expected to have the day alone with Peter, selfishly excited about it, but he didn't feel a pang of annoyance that Rhodey was there, as he wanted to share Peter with his best friend.
He knew how much Rhodey loved Peter in the future and how much Peter loved him in return. Neither of them had that connection now, and it would take time to develop, but he was pleased that he could see it start.
Peter looked startled to see Rhodey, and he stopped dead a moment then said, "Colonel Rhodes. Hi."
"Make it Rhodey, please," he replied. "When people call me Colonel, I feel like I've got to start throwing up a salute."
Peter chuckled. "Okay… Rhodey."
Tony remembered the first time Peter was asked to call him Rhodey, and how quickly he'd corrected, and how he'd later said Tony had remained Mr. Stark for so long as he was scarier. Tony had hated that, even though Peter had said he wasn't scary anymore.
He wondered if he was now. If he was, how could he fix it? He wanted Peter to be comfortable with him, but it had taken two years of knowing him—followed by five years of mourning him—for Peter to call him Tony.
"You hungry, Rhodey?" Tony asked. "Me and Pete are getting pizza."
Rhodey nodded. "Why do you think I managed to get myself a weekend off to come into New York if not for the pizza."
Peter laughed. "Is it really better? I've never had pizza from anywhere else."
"Well, Chicago pizza is famous for a reason," Rhodey started.
Tony cut him off with a hand raised and said, "New York pizza is the best. Chicago is a loaf of bread with cheese and tomato sauce on top."
Rhodey rolled his eyes and walked towards them. "Ignore him, Peter. He's a pizza snob. I'll fly you to Chicago one day so you can try it."
Peter's cheeks flushed. "Yeah, I'd like that."
"And when I say fly, I mean, I'll fly you," Rhodey went on. "Sure, Tony is fancy and all with his private jets, but he's got nothing on the wings I can get you on."
"Alright, Rhodes," Tony said. "Quit showing off. What do you want on your pizza?"
"Usual," Rhodey said easily.
"Friday, add Rhodey's pepperoni to the order. I want Swiss chard, sausage, and mozzarella. Peter, what do you like?"
"I… uh… can I get bacon and pickles?"
Tony rolled his eyes. "If you've got no tastebuds, you absolutely can."
He knew Peter's love of pickles and didn't understand it. They were slimy, tangy things that he hated. Still, if that was what Peter wanted, it's what he'd get him."
"I have tastebuds," Peter said, cheeks a little flushed. "Bacon and pickles is great."
"I'm with Tone on this one," Rhodey said. "It sounds gross. But if it's what you like, more power to you, I guess."
Peter smiled, the color fading from his cheeks.
"Got the order down, Friday?" Tony asked.
"I have the order, Boss. Is there anything you'd like to add?"
"Yeah, a pint of cookie dough and some garlic dough balls."
"Now, you're talking," Rhodey said, rubbing his stomach. "You like dough balls, Peter?"
Peter grinned. "Love it. My aunt is Italian, and she's not a great cook, but the amount of garlic she cooks with makes most things edible."
"Sounds like Tony," Rhodey said.
"It sounded like me," Tony corrected. "I can cook now, Rhodey—you just haven't had a chance to enjoy it yet."
Rhodey's brow pinched, and then his eyes widened, and he nodded. "Yeah, forgot about that."
Rhodey had no idea Tony could cook as he didn't live through the years in which Tony had learned. He knew nothing about the house by the lake Tony had built for his wife and child, which was the best home he'd ever known. He knew none of that because he hadn't shared that place and those experiences, and Tony couldn't tell him in front of Peter.
And Morgan, Tony could talk to no one but Steve, Bucky, and Natasha about how much he missed her. The only thing that kept him from despairing with his longing for her was the knowledge that this was for Peter and that he would have her one day. In the meantime, he had this chance to know his son all over again.
They sat down on the couch, Peter sitting on his hands and looking anxious. Tony wished he knew the words to make him relax and feel comfortable here, but he was at a loss. This was not yet the Peter he knew well.
"What did you two spend your morning doing?" Rhodey asked.
Peter brightened, his hands coming up to gesture expansively as he spoke. "We looked at your armor. Mr. Stark showed me the schematics of how you maintain movement with power. It's incredible. I've never seen anything like it. I had my theories, but they were way off base."
"Not way off," Tony corrected. "You were just thinking small, Pete. That's understandable and exciting for me as it means I have lots to teach you still."
Peter nodded, beaming. "Yeah."
Rhodey watched Peter a moment, and Tony was sure he was trying to reconcile all he knew about what Peter would be at sixteen-years-old compared to what he was now at only fourteen. Tony marveled at the difference, too. It was like he was a completely different person sometimes, and then he would see a glimpse of him and feel a rush of happiness and what he was going to have—hopefully, soon.
Rhodey asked Peter a question about school, and Tony listened to them talk. It was good to see his best friend bonding with his son, and he would enjoy seeing it happen all over again.
As jealously as he guarded his time with Peter, it was easiest to share with Rhodey as he knew what they would be one day.
So… Was that fun? I enjoyed writing this, challenging as it was. These moments between Peter and Tony are precious to me, and I can't wait until we reach the point of the story in which I can feature them prominently. The Rhodey time was a late addition. I realized, after getting your feedback for the science fair chapter, that I'd neglected Rhodey. I gave so much time with Peter, Tony, Steve, and Bucky, that I missed out on building other bonds. I'm working through the story again now to include more time with them.
Until next time…
Jadey xxx