Since he had been bitten by that radioactive spider (Thanks a lot Oscorp), Peter had found that he now had a few new...habits, and other things to get used to other than his powers.
For example, he found, much to his horror, that he was now repelled by peppermint. PEPPERFREAKINGMINT! And he loved peppermint so that led to a huge strop, lasting around 2 weeks, 3 days and 11 hours (yes May timed it, she's used to Peter's dramatics). Peter also found that anything acidic, even lemons, burnt his mouth and throat, so he avoided those types of foods two.
Now, it wasn't just allergies he had to get used to. One thing he found out was that he loved high spaces in corners that people couldn't reach, so he could often be found in the upper corners of a room, far from human contact.
Naturally, this caused some issues. You see, Peter doesn't share much. It's not that he's a private person, it's just that he never seems to be able to fit stuff into a conversation. I mean, how do you fit, ' Oh yeah, and Mr Stark, by the way, I like to hang out in ceiling corners, so don't worry about human shapes on your ceiling unless they aren't me, then you should be worried!', into a conversation?
So it shouldn't be surprising that Peter never mentioned his habits. Unfortunately for Tony, he found out about Peter's spiderly habit one night. Tony had had a long day, he was tired and those businessmen were absolute asshats. Stumbling blindly across the room, Tony made it to his bed, throwing off clothes as he went, leaving them in random spaces across the floor. He snuggled up under his soft, expensive covers, and was soon snoring away (yes Tony, you do snore, ask Pepper), bed clothes forgotten.
Now this would be fine, had Peter not been out on patrol. You may wonder how Peter being out on patrol could have anything to do with Tony finding out about his habits. Well, here's how.
Peter had been swinging around Queens, as is typical of a Spider-man patrol, when he passed by an alleyway notorious for the many crimes committed down that dark path, so naturally Peter decided he would make sure nothing was going on there.
Silently, he crawled across the walls into the dark alley. At first he didn't see anything and his senses didn't pick up anything, and he was thinking about turning around and heading home, it was quite late after all, but something told him to wait, so he did.
He wasn't waiting long, soon the alley was lit up by a car's lights from off the road, causing Peter to wince and raise a hand to cover his eyes. He heard doors slam followed by a couple voices. His ears also picked up the sound of someone's approach from the opposite end of the alley, said someone having an uneven gait, with one footfall seeming much heavier than the other.
The uneven steps came to a stop shortly after, but even with his enhanced vision, Peter could still only just make out the silhouette of a man amongst the shadows.
Before he could get a closer look however, the men from the car walked into full view. There were three of them, all dressed in matching 'men in black' style suits, and Peter certainly wasn't picking up any friendly vibes from them.
He watched as the tallest of the MIB men stepped forward, the man in the shadows adjusted his stance, and they began to talk.
Even with his enhanced hearing, Peter still had to lean in to hear what was being said, and he wasn't hearing everything, but enough for it to make sense.
"Do you have it?" The MIB guy spoke up, and already Peter was getting 'bad guy transaction' vibes.
"What do you take me for?...I would not let him...yes, all of it's there, see for yourself...not at all." Shadow man spoke quietly, so Peter didn't pick up everything he said. He watched as shadow man pulled out a case, opened the clasp and showed MIB guy the contents, 'of which Peter caught a glimpse', and when MIB guy seemed happy with what he saw, he motioned to one of the other MIB guys (MIB guy no.2) who came forward with another case, this one significantly smaller than shadow guys case.
When MIB guy no.2 handed the case to MIB guy no.1 who showed shadow guy the contents, Peter could see shadow guy adjust his stance.
"We agreed on 3 million. This isn't even half that! Do you take me for a fool?...I said payment upfront...unacceptable, this serum is of my own invention, I will not be underpaid!"
Whilst listening to shadow guys rant, Peter didn't notice as MIB guy no.3 left the scene, entering the building Peter was currently clinging to, nor did he notice the camera that had never been in this particular alley before, focused on him.
Just as the conversation below was getting more heated, and Peter was getting ready to enter the scene, he felt a sharp prick in the side of his neck, immediately losing his grip on the building, and he would have fallen, had it not been for MIB guy no.3 gripping him round the wrist and dragging him back inside the building.
Peter tried to struggle but found he had no control over his movements at all, being dragged unceremoniously across the floor and down two flights of stairs before being dragged outside towards where the other men were standing.
"Boss!" MIB guy no.3 called out as they reached the light cast by the car. MIB guy no.1 looked up before a cruel smirk reached his lips, causing Peter to involuntarily shudder...well he would if he could move anyhow.
"Look who I found listening in, turns out you were right." This had all been a set up! Of course it had been. Peter mentally kicked himself for falling for it. Now all he could do was wait and see how this turned out.
"My, my, if it isn't the spider-menace. You must forgive us for the...rough treatment, but with your skills we really aren't willing to risk foregoing these precautions." MIB guy no.1 said, clearly the leader, as he slowly made his way up to where Peter was being held on the floor. Peter watched as he came closer, his breath hitched as he felt cold fingers on his neck, lifting up his mask.
He started to struggle, and actually managed to move clearly caught MIB guy no.1 off guard, as he snatched his hand back before narrowing his eyes.
"It seems that dose wasn't high enough, Walters, another dose would be much appreciated." MIB guy no.2 made his way to the back of the car, where he disappeared for a minute, all the while, Peter was struggling against his bounds hoping for whatever they had injected him with would soon wear off, which it was, but slowly.
Peter's eyes widened as he saw MIB guy no.2 (or Walters as he had been called,) come back round the side of the car with a needle in hand. Peter knew if they injected him, it would be game over for him, so he renewed his struggles and miraculously managed to get up on his feet.
MIB guy no.3 noticed and took a swing at him, but Peter managed to duck before hitting him back, over the head, knocking him out. Peter had never been so grateful for his fast metabolism as he had been in that moment.
He watched as MIB guy no.1 realised that he was up and had just knocked one of them out, before Peter fired a web at him, sticking him to the wall behind him. Walters came charging at him, wielding the needle, but just as he was about to reach Peter, he tripped over Peter's carefully placed leg, and fell on his face, needle discarded at the side. Peter fired at him with another web before turning his attention to the quickly vanishing sounds of uneven footsteps.
Giving chase swiftly, Peter soon had the shadow man cornered. "Look man, I don't know what that was, but it definitely wasn't legal, so if you could just come quietly, and we can call it a night."
A chuckle left the man's lips, but not the type filled with mirth and joy, but the kind to send chills down your spine, the kind that just oozes danger.
"You really did me a favour kid, those guys were getting on my nerves, I won't be going anywhere though, boy." His voice was cutting, and reminded Peter of a snake ready to strike.
Suddenly his spider-sense practically screamed at him to dodge, so he did, ducking low and rolling to the side, a ringing sound left going on in his ears. When he looked up he saw the outline of a gun in shadow man's grip, and could tell he was poised to shoot again. Ducking again, Peter made his way towards shadow man, but before he could reach him, the man just disappeared into the shadows, literally becoming one with the shadows.
Peter, naturally, was freaked out, because well, that guy just BECAME A SHADOW, no warnings, he was there and then he wasn't. Looking around, Peter couldn't see him anywhere, so he swung back over to where he left the MIB wannabes. Once he checks that they were all secure, he called the police to let them know, then took off, taking the case that the shadow man had brought with him.
Once he got home he chucked the case into his wardrobe to come back to later, removed his suit, brushed his teeth and was asleep before his head even hit the pillow.
Some time during the night, his dreams became darker. He heard uneven steps, saw sinister smirks and felt utterly helpless. He woke with a choked scream stuck in his throat and rushed to his bathroom to wash his face. Once his hands had stopped shaking he looked up into the mirror above his sink to see his tear streaked face staring back at him.
The day before he hadn't had the chance to come to terms with what had happened, running on adrenaline till he got home then fell asleep almost immediately, but now, at some unknown hour before the sun had even risen, his mind plagued him with what if's. What if the serum hadn't worn off when it did, what if things had gone so simply in that alley?
After what felt like hours but in truth couldn't have been more than 10 minutes, Peter came out of his bathroom. He looked at his bed and gulped, knowing he wouldn't be able to get to sleep again, so instead, he did what any normal 15 year old with spider powers would do, he climbed his walls up to the far corner, tucking himself as far into the shadows as he could, and drifted off to sleep.
For the next week, Peter struggled to get to sleep in his bed, so every night after patrol, (which was much shorter for the time being after his confrontation with the MIB wannabes,) he would climb up to the darkest corner in his room and go to sleep. He also found that he liked to be around people, so on some of the nights he found he still had nightmares, he would crawl into Mays room and sleep in the darkest corner of her room.
May didn't even notice, what with how early she had to get up sometimes and how late she got back for work, she was always too tired to notice the oddly human shaped shadow in the corner.
Roughly two weeks after the mishap in the alley, May had to go away for a few nights as one of her friends was getting married, so plans were made for Peter to stay with for the week.
Peter had his own room at Avengers tower, meaning he was over at the tower quite a lot, and Tony was all for him coming over.
Normally Peter would be really excited about getting to spend a whole week with his favourite genius, billionaire, philanthropist (Not play-boy anymore !) In the labs, but he was still suffering from nightmares and really didn't know what to do. He hadn't told May or about what happened the other week, nor had he told either of them about his nightmares, and he was not planning on telling them either, knowing that both of them would go into full on parent panic mode, so Peter resolved to suffer in silence.
The morning soon came that he would go to the tower. Happy picked both himself and May up, baggage in tow, they first drove to the airport dropping off May, where teary goodbyes were shared, then they made their way over to the tower.
No matter how many times he saw it, Peter could never get over the sheer size of the building, let alone the architecture and designs. To Peter whenever he came, it always felt like Christmas had come early, even if this time he wasn't getting the best sleep.
Happy drove the car over to the underground private parking, which was only used by Tony, Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, and when he could drive in a few years, had said that Peter would be able to use it two.
Peter stepped out of the car and made his way over to the lift, whilst Happy mumbled some kind of excuse and moved over to the stairs. Stepping into the lift, Peter was greeted by F.R.I.D.A.Y.
"Hello Peter, is in his private labs. He said you're welcome to come in and join him at any time." Her soft Irish accent was always welcoming to Peter, and really, for some unexplained reason, felt like home.
"Thanks Fri, please could you take me up to the penthouse? I need to do some unpacking first."
F.R.I.D.A.Y gave her affirmative and Peter felt the lift rise up through the building till it reached the top. Once at the lowest level of the Penthouse, the doors slid open and Peter was greeted by the sight of the living room and kitchen, where Wanda was cooking up some kind of dish with Vision watching closely, and Clint and Sam were on the floor, playing Mario kart on the big screen.
Peter greeted them all before slipping off to the stairs and climbing up to the third floor of the penthouse where his room was positioned.
He rolled his suitcase and hauled his duffel bag in through the door and placed them both at the side of his wardrobe. His room had been designed for him to suit all his needs, and Peter was eternally grateful for Miss Potts (soon to be Mrs Stark) as he knew that had Tony decorated, it would have been a mess of flashy and expensive, though if truth be known it probably was flashy and expensive, just styled nicely.
There was a double bed pushed up against the furthest wall, with blue star wars themed covers, a double desk by his window was covered in a SI laptop and dejected pieces of paper from projects and homework that wasn't working for him. Across from the desk was a giant wardrobe and chest of drawers made of a dark oak, which Peter unpacked all his clothes into. In front of the bed was a large white sofa with star wars themed cushions, and opposite that was a massive tv screen mounted on the walls.
A soft white and blue rug took up most of the floor space, and oak shelves took up most of the wall space, covered in inventions, awards, books and completed Lego sets, as well as a few photos here and there.
Next to his wardrobe was a door that led into his attached ensuite, which held a large bath(with jets!) A walk in shower, a toilet, sink and vanity as well as a large mirror.
The window in his room took up most of the left wall and looked out across the landscape of New York, a breathtaking site.
Even at 6pm, Peter wanted nothing more than to snuggle up under the warm covers of his cosy bed, but he didn't want to worry , and he knew that if he went to sleep at any time before 11pm, Tony would worry, since Peter never slept.(#sleepis4theweak)
Mourning the fact he wouldn't be able to get any sleep yet, Peter trudged back out his room and made his way to the lift, where he was quickly brought down to the floor where private lab was situated.
He walked into the lab and saw bent over one of the iron man suits in the far corner. Peter went over to the billionaire and started helping him out, and they both easily fell into a comfortable silence as they worked together, AC/DC playing in the background as loud as Peter could handle.
Tony realised that Peter hadn't made any noise for a while, not even the sound of him messing around with different components for the suit. He looked up and saw Peter fast asleep on the end of the table. A small smile crept over Tony's face, before he picked up the spiderling and carried him out and to his room, knowing full well FRIDAY would have taken a picture of the spider baby.
After tucking Peter in, Tony decided he would go get some sleep two, so he headed back to his room, stumbling along after the day caught up to him, stupid business men, got changed and ready, then slipped into bed.
Peter woke up in a cold sweat. His dreams were haunted by shadow men and FREAKING GUNS!
Peter didn't want to go to sleep so naturally he climbed up onto the ceiling in a far corner. Even though before he was able to 'sleep' somewhere like this over the last two weeks, the nightmare shook him. He knew he wasn't getting back to sleep, and he didn't feel safe.
The only person that made Peter feel safe was , and although he didn't want to disturb the billionaire, he knew he couldn't keep sleeping like this (well not sleeping.) So Peter made the well informed decision to go into room and sleep on the ceiling, just listening to the man's heartbeat lull him to sleep.
Bear in mind that Peter had never told that he sometimes slept on ceilings.
Tony woke up. He'd had a lovely dream about his and Peppers wedding, a wedding yet to happen yet he already knew would be perfect. That wonderful dream however was ruined by the dark memories of his past that intertwined with his dream, a dark cave, a magnet surgically attached to his chest, Stane, and it was memories like that that made Tony wonder why he should deserve happiness. Why should he deserve to marry the love of his life? Why should he have a kid he sees as his son? Why should he be happy when he caused so many others pain?
So Tony woke up. At first, he was just calling down from his night terrors. Then he realised something was off. He didn't know what, before he looked up and yelled (no Peter I dIdNt scream tHaNk YoU vErY mUcH.)
His 'manly' yelp caused poor Peter to nearly fall off the ceiling and look down sheepishly at the man he saw as a father figure.
"Heyyyy ? Heh"
"...PeTeR, gEt OfF tHe CeIlInG!" Tony shrieked.
Peter jumped down and rubbed his neck nervously.
"I'm sorry , I couldn't sleep." Peter mumbled.
"So you decided to sleep on my ceiling?!" Tony asked incredulously.
"Look, kid, if you can't sleep, let me know. Jeez kid, you gave me a heart attack!"
Tony sat back down on his bed after leaping up in surprise at seeing a figure on his ceiling. He patted the spot next to him and Peter climbed into bed. That night they both had a peaceful sleep, content in the safety and family they found in each other.
Pepper arrived at the tower at around 3am after a tiring business trip to China. She kicked her shoes off and left her bags by the entrance to deal with later.
Sleepily, she made her way to the room she and Tony shared. Upon reaching it, she was greeted by a heartwarming sight. Her two favourite boys were peacefully sleeping snuggled up to each other. Quietly she asked FRIDAY if the AI had taken a photo, and once given the affirmative she gently closed the door and made her way to a guest room for the night, not finding it in her heart to wake the other two.
A/N: Hey guys, sorry I'm so late with this update. I don't really have an excuse other than the fact that schools back. I did make this a longer chapter though!
I hope updates will be faster than this but with school I can't really promise anything, just that I will continue this story.
Just saying, these are all strictly irondad and spiderson, I do not ship starker or whatever it's called but yh.
So sorry about the long update, I hope others won't be quite so long so yh. Cya next time!
Also if you have any ideas for this story, pls let me know :)