I'm baaaaack! This story starts with the last scene of Spider-Man: Homecoming and I don't own any of it (otherwise I'd be rich and famous). Please let me know what you think in the reviews or send me a PM!
"There's about fifty reporters behind that door, real ones, not bloggers, and when you're ready, why don't you try that on?" Tony Stark double-tapped his watch, opening a secret compartment in the wall that revealed a brand new Spider-Man suit, even more detailed than the one he had created before. There were streaks of gold lining the spider design in the middle of the suit that he had meticulously designed, as well as a gleam about the entire suit, betraying the hard armor that was stitched inside. After the whole Vulture-blowing-up-a-plane incident, Tony decided Spider-Man's next suit needed to have much more exterior protection. The sight of Peter bruised and bloody made him sick to his stomach.
"And," Stark continued grandly, "I'll introduce the world to the newest official member of the Avengers," he said as he strode up to the new suit, then turned to look Peter in the eye. "Spider-Man."
Peter's mouth dropped open. "I- uh, I, heh heh, wha- uh, I..." he stuttered, in absolute shock. Peter had never dreamed Mr. Stark would even let him come near the Avengers, what with the ferry mishap, getting dropped in a lake, accidentally crashing a plane, et cetera. But now Iron Man was asking him to join the Avengers? Peter's brain was going a mile a minute.
Tony smirked as he watched the kid's reaction. "Yeah, take a look at that."
He stood back to allow Peter some space with his new suit, and metaphorically with his new title. Being an Avenger was no small feat; it was an honor that had never before been given to a child. Tony wasn't even sure whether he technically had the authority to make the kid an Avenger, but hey, he was Tony Stark. He could do whatever the hell he wanted and no one would dare say a single word otherwise.
After giving Peter a moment to drink it all in, Tony moved on to more mundane details. "So after the press conference, Happy will show you to your room, your new quarters."
Happy approached the two, still a little mad at being told to keep his distance while Stark gave Peter the good news. His scowl softened a little though, as he saw the pure joy on Peter Parker's face as he stared at his new costume.
"Where's he between, uh, he's- he's next to Vision?" Tony gestured at Happy to confirm. Peter's back was still towards Tony and Happy as he stared at the new Spider-Man suit. His brain wasn't even processing that there was another conversation going on behind him. Peter was too busy trying to figure out what in the world was going on. He hadn't even told Aunt May that he was Spider-Man, much less that he could be an Avenger!
"Yeah," Happy confirmed, adding, "Vision's not big on doors."
"It's fun." Tony said distractedly, noticing that the kid blanked out.
"...or walls."
"You'll fit right in!" Tony finished, waiting for Peter to come back down to Earth. Tony Stark was not a very patient man, not until this kid came along. Old Tony would've grabbed the kid by the shoulder and hauled him into the press conference without even waiting for a response, but he suppressed the urge and just let Peter have a moment with his new status as an Avenger.
Peter's face, still hidden to Tony and Happy, started to fall as he thought about the consequences of becoming an Avenger. Even if May was in any way ok with Spider-Man, there was no way in hell she would be ok with the whole Avenger bit. He also would have a much harder time maintaining his secret identity; either Peter Parker disappeared from New York entirely, or he would have to constantly be in two places at once. Which meant that staying at Midtown High was probably out of the picture, and so was seeing Ned all the time, and MJ...
Peter finally regained enough brain function to move the cinder blocks that were masquerading as his feet, and turned around to face Tony. "Thanks Mr. Stark," he began, forced happiness in his voice and on his face, but his eyes betrayed his true feelings. Peter had never been very good at hiding how he felt (and he was an awful liar). "But I'm- I'm good."
There. It was out. Maybe Mr. Stark would understand? He could be an understanding guy sometimes-
"You're good? G- how are you good?" Tony was incredulous.
"I-I'm good," Peter stuttered, terrified out of his mind. He was turning down Tony Stark. Of all the people in the world to say no too, Peter would have rather had this conversation with the President of the United States than freaking Iron Man.
"I'm really really sorry Mr. Stark. I just want to be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, stay close to the ground for a little while. I'm not ready for the Avengers yet; I'm not even a junior in high school! I would miss Ned and MJ and I want to get my drivers license and there's absolutely no way May would be ok with this, and-" he rambled on about Spanish quizzes, a school trip to Europe, and squashed sandwiches from the guy at the deli before Mr. Stark stopped him.
"Kid!"
Peter's mouth immediately snapped shut and he hesitantly looked up to meet Tony's eyes. "Yeah?"
"I've heard a lot of bullshit in my life, but this, this takes the cake." He held up a finger to Peter to pause the discussion, then spun around to face Happy, the fierce glare on his face causing Happy to gulp. "Hap, give us some space. We need to have a conversation."
"But-"
Tony's glare intensified.
"Alright, alright," Happy grumbled and took several paces back down the hall.
Watching this exchange, Peter internally winced. This wasn't going to go well.
"What have you been doing these past few months as the 'friendly neighborhood Spider-Man'? Saving stolen bikes and helping old ladies with directions? What you did with the Vulture, now that was a real threat, maybe not Avengers level, but something that was absolutely too dangerous for your level of experience." Tony's voice started to rise. "But if you let me train you, you'll be more equipped to handle all the dangerous situations you somehow get yourself into! Not to mention being an Avenger gives you some degree of protection from the crazies; the smaller ones don't bother messing with us."
"-but May, and my friends-"
"Aren't going anywhere, kid! By keeping your distance, you'll be protecting them more than you ever could as plain old Spider-Man in Queens. Every time you go in and out of your apartment as Spider-Man, every time you talk about Spider-Man with Ned, every time you get involved in something dangerous near the people you love, you're putting them in danger. Trust me Peter," Tony's eyes glinted, "I know the consequences."
Peter shifted uncomfortably. "Mr. Stark, I just don't think I'm ready for this."
"You thought you were ready a week ago when you deliberately disobeyed my orders to stay out of the whole weapons mess!" Tony sighed heavily. Teenagers. "Just give it a trial run. Try it for six weeks, and at the end we can reevaluate. You're out of school for the summer so that shouldn't be an issue, and," Tony couldn't believe he was saying this, but he needed a carrot to dangle, "Ned and May can visit the Compound."
"Occasionally!" he added quickly, seeing Peter's eyes get as wide as dinner plates.
"Would I get to meet Thor? And Hulk? And," Peter's voice dropped to a whisper in case he was listening, "Captain America?"
Tony rolled his eyes. "Yeah kid, you'll meet the rest of the team. But seeing as you've already met the coolest Avenger, I think the rest of them will be disappointing in person."
Peter's fingers tapped the side of his leg impatiently. When he got nervous, his senses started to get all out of whack. The fight or flight response was helpful in battle, but it could get awkward when talking to girls or people like Tony Stark.
"I-I guess I could try it…"
"There we go Pete!" Tony clapped Peter's shoulder strongly and grinned. "This is gonna be a blast."
Peter wasn't so sure.
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-Em