Nothing I say can prepare you for the chaos of this chapter. Which is probably evident by the chapter title and why I love it so much :') I jus wanted to see them play Monopoly! Other than that, we get a bit of an interesting reveal and some very fun moments! Let's see what happens 👀
No trigger warnings! Just stay safe and have fun ❤️️ 💛💚💙💜
When Peter swings onto the balcony of the penthouse floor, he can already see May and Tony waiting inside with their arms crossed. Well, that bodes well. He waits until he's inside to slip his mask off, then gives them both a sheepish smile.
"Hey, guys," he greets awkwardly as he fiddles with the mask in his hands. "I know what you're gonna say, but-"
"Do you?" May challenges with a raised eyebrow. The room is silent for a beat.
"Okay, no, but I have a pretty good idea and-" Peter is once again cut off, this time by Tony.
"Ah ah, no arguing and no excuses. All we ask is a heads up," Tony counters in a firm voice. Peter huffs and waits for the inevitable.
"We had a deal, Peter," May picks up where Tony left off. "No swinging into danger without letting us know first. What if something had happened and we didn't know?" Her tone isn't necessarily angry, more so scoldful, but Peter can tell she's trying to be more understanding.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys. I got the police scanner alert and just wanted to get there as fast as I could. Plus! Plus, I had Ned and MJ backing me up. You know they always have my back. I'll call next time, promise. Wouldn't you rather hear about the new bad guy instead of disciplining me?" Peter laughs nervously.
"Not really, no," Tony grumbles honestly. They only beat Mysterio a few months ago, of course he doesn't want to talk about a new threat. Then again, Tony usually tends to sit in the denial portion of the spectrum. However, May's eyes soften.
"You did good. I'm proud of you," she says as she gently punches Peter's shoulder in support. She refrains from hugging him like she wants to, but she doesn't want to embarrass him either. Peter smiles.
"Thanks, May."
"But you still don't get electronics for the rest of the night," May adds without regret. Peter's eyes widen immediately.
"What?! Come on! What if, what if bad guys attack while I don't have my phone? Or, or that psycho attacks again?" Peter rambles anxiously, his eyes darting between the two adults. His paranoia is practically palpable.
"Alright, alright, cool your jets, kid." Tony places a firm hand on Peter's shoulder. "I think you're forgetting that I have the best security system on the planet. If anything happens, we'll know about it. Isn't that right, Fri?" He immediately regrets prompting F.R.I.D.A.Y. when she responds.
"Go back to sleep and starve," she comments unforgivingly. Tony just about forgot that F.R.I.D.A.Y. got a Millennial language upgrade thanks to Peter. He still doesn't understand the appeal of Vines, but he does see Peter cover a smile with his hand.
"You better not still be angry about the other day or I swear to all that is holy-"
"When will you learn that your actions have consequences?" F.R.I.D.A.Y. interrupts. Tony just rubs his forehead. Is this what his life is now? Should he even be surprised? Of course, Peter narrows his eyes before joining in.
"Um, I talk to Shuri all the time and I'm pretty sure Wakanda has the best everything," Peter argues, completely unconvinced. Tony gasps indignantly, looking at Peter with the most shocked face he can muster.
"I'll have you know that with the incredible UI I have, no one gets in or out without yours truly knowing about-"
"Hey, Tones." Tony jumps at the sudden voice and whips around, coming face-to-face with Rhodey.
"Jesus Christ," Tony breathes, clutching his heart. Rhodey only smirks and leans against the wall with his arms crossed.
"What was that about your incredible security system?" Peter inquires innocently. This earns him a halfhearted glare from Tony, which morphs into a smug smile.
"No sass from the peanut gallery. You're grounded, remember?" he hums triumphantly. On cue, May holds out her hand expectantly and Peter gives her his phone with a defeated huff.
"You're just mad 'cause Shuri's smarter than you," he jabs anyways.
"She's a genius princess, how am I supposed to compete with that?" Tony defends, practically agreeing with the statement. Then it dawns on Peter that Rhodey just appeared, along with Pepper who stands with an entertained look on her face.
"Colonel Rhodes! Hi! Sir!" He resists the urge to salute Rhodey. Based on how that awkward first interaction with Captain America went, he knows not to do it again.
"Hey, Pete. How were finals?" Rhodey asks casually with a slight smile.
"Good! Great." Peter nods, presses his lips together, and tucks his hands under his arms. May observes him fondly, very aware of how nervous her nephew can get in social situations. "How, how was your trip?" Rhodey nods a few times.
"Good, thanks. You do realize we've met before, right?" he asks with a chuckle. Peter tries to match his chuckle, but it comes out forced.
"Yeah, just, y'know." Peter fails to create a cohesive thought and mentally kicks himself for being so embarrassing. May rubs his back encouragingly. Then his eyes slowly widen. He looks down at himself, still wearing the Spider-Man suit, and looks up to Rhodey. "Um, I was just, there was, uh, a comic con! Down the, down the… It's a cosplay!" Even Peter knows his attempts at a coverup are less than impressive. Rhodey raises an eyebrow and chuckles. That's when it clicks. "You…already knew."
"Oh yeah," Rhodey confirms. "I already had my suspicions after Germany. Tones taking care of a high school intern? Wasn't that hard to put together." Peter breathes a sigh of relief.
"For a second there I thought I just gave away my sec-"
"That and you came swinging into the penthouse after your fight with Mysterio," Rhodey adds with a knowing smile. Peter's cheeks immediately flush with embarrassment and shame.
"How did you- You didn't say anything!" he recalls, his pitch raising slightly.
"Didn't need to," Rhodey easily provides.
"Now that we have reintroductions out of the way," Pepper joins in with her amused voice, "why don't you two stay for a bit? We haven't been able to relax together for a while." Tony's eyebrow quirks up at her proposal.
"The more the merrier," he agrees with a noncommittal shrug. Though, May seems unconvinced.
"I'm not sure. I don't want us to take over your night, especially with Rhodey just getting back. We don't want to intrude," she explains with her eyebrows drawn in concern. Pepper is quick to wave her off and Tony snorts.
"You haven't seen intrusion," Tony assures. "This used to be Avengers Tower, remember? It was like a B-movie version of Full House," he recalls bitterly. What he doesn't say is how much he misses those days. That team was part of his family.
"So…Fuller House?" Peter provides with the tilt of his head.
"Don't cuss at me, Parker," Tony warns without heat. Peter laughs and shows no sign of regret.
"Honestly, we don't want to take your time. We have game night planned and-" May starts, but she's cut off by Peter's gasp of epiphany.
"Can we have game night here?" Peter asks with hopeful eyes, turning to face his aunt. May looks reluctant, but Rhodey speaks up.
"It'd be fine with me. Anything where I get to beat Tony into the ground, I'm down for." Tony scoffs at his best friend's comment.
"What makes you think I wouldn't beat your ass into the ground, huh?" he fires right back. Pepper rolls her eyes and shakes her head.
"Sure, let's encourage their competitiveness," she mumbles with a slight smile.
"We could play poker again!" Peter proposes. "We have more people this time and Rhodey can be the dealer like last time and we can all bet gummy bears! Or, or something less childish like-"
"Uh-uh," May denies as Peter's words tumble out in rambles. "It's my turn to choose the game." She's not wrong, last week they didn't have their game night because of finals and the week before that Peter chose the game. Peter gives her a wary look. "And I choose Uno." Rhodey laughs, already planning the ways to get underneath Tony's skin.
"Oh that'll be fun," he agrees. Tony instantly catches on to Rhodey's pleased tone and raises his eyebrows.
"Something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?" Tony inquires. However, Peter focuses on May.
"May," Peter tries to reason, "the last time we played Uno you threatened to ground me for playing a Draw Four card." May narrows her eyes playfully.
"Don't do it and I won't have to ground you," she supplies simply. A lightbulb goes off in Peter's head and he bounces lightly on his toes with barely contained excitement.
"Hey, what about that, that really old board game Monopoly? Do you guys have one of those?" Everyone stares at Peter with mixtures of shock, bewilderment, and pure disbelief. "What?" Peter asks when they all continue to stare and no one responds.
"You have to be doing this on purpose," Tony concludes before looking to May. "He's doing this on purpose, right?" he verifies. Unfortunately, May shakes her head. "Alright then, I'll go look for the really old board game Monopoly next to my really old VCR." Tony emphasizes, turning on his heel to go search for the game. Rhodey whispers to him discreetly as he walks by,
"You don't really have a VCR here, do you?" Tony makes a face of disgust.
"Lordy no. I'm furthering tech, not running a prehistoric museum." With that, he shakes his head and saunters to his room.
Somehow, despite his haphazard searching, Tony manages to dig out a classic version of Monopoly. The group sits around the table; Rhodey helps Tony set up the board, Pepper sets up the bank and deals everyone's starter money, May stacks the Community Chest and Chance cards, and Peter lines up the game pieces as well as sorts the houses and hotels.
"Okay, so now we have to pick our pieces," Peter announces as they finish setting up.
"I call the car!" Tony and Rhodey shout simultaneously. They both glare at each other.
"If anyone deserves the car after the abuse I've gone through, it's me," Rhodey reasons, picking up the metal piece protectively.
"No no no, you get to be the boot 'cause you stink," Tony counters and snatches the piece back.
"You know what? Fine, Hot Shot. Me and my battleship are gonna blow you to smithereens," Rhodey states as he plucks up the ship. Still, Tony smirks triumphantly.
"Damn right I'm hot," he agrees, causing Rhodey to roll his eyes. The amount of pure egotism that's radiating off of Tony isn't surprising. "Challenge accepted, Honeybear. I distinctly remember a little bird whispering in my ear that overconfidence is a bad thing." As the two argue, the rest of them quietly choose their respective pieces. May chooses the dog, Pepper decides on the thimble, and Peter instinctively picks the hat. Tony and Rhodey sit on opposite sides of the table, eyeing each other carefully. Pepper and May sit next to each other while Peter sits at the head of the table.
"Time to roll for who goes first," Pepper says as she passes a die for May to roll. She and May roll, getting three and five respectively. The dice then go to Tony and Rhodey. Tony throws his immediately whereas Rhodey shakes his in his clasped hands for a few seconds before rolling. Tony also rolls a three, but Rhodey gets a one. Once he sees the dice land, Tony cackles. Peter is the last to roll, earning himself a four. May and Tony have a roll-off, May winning with a six and Tony receiving a four. Therefore, the order is Pepper, Peter, May, Tony, then Rhodey.
"Don't forget, the free parking mushpot rule applies," Peter reminds the group. Tony gives him a curious look.
"What's that?" Rhodey asks for him. May is the one to answer.
"Whenever someone lands on Free Parking, they get whatever cash is in the middle of the board," she supplies. Pepper shrugs her shoulders, easily complying while the guys are more hesitant. They've never heard of that method and they don't like being at a disadvantage. Still, neither of them object.
The game starts smoothly enough, Pepper getting Vermont Avenue as her first property with her roll and Peter…having to pay $200 income tax right off the bat. Peter huffs as he puts two slips of fake one hundreds in the mushpot.
"Sucks to suck," Tony comments smugly.
"I hope karma hits you," Peter mumbles. Next, Tony rolls a six and lands on Oriental Avenue. Much to Pepper's annoyance, he doesn't hesitate to buy the property. May silently takes her turn and moves her piece nine spaces to Connecticut Avenue.
"I'll pass." She figures she might as well save her money since she can't monopolize the light blue properties at this point.
"Oh, sorry Darling, were you trying to get all the baby blues?" Tony asks with a smile as he takes the Oriental Avenue. Pepper shakes her head and vows to get back at him eventually. Rhodey completes his roll with an eight, unfortunately landing on Vermont Avenue.
"Come on, man," he mumbles before paying Pepper.
"Thank you," Pepper chirps and takes the dice back. She rolls a six to land on none other than Virginia Avenue.
"What are the damn odds?" Tony questions rhetorically. Pepper simply smiles and pays the amount.
"Must be written in the stars," she answers in a pleasant tone. As they banter, Peter takes his turn next. Thankfully, he gets to move to the Electric company space.
"Yes!" he exclaims as he purchases it. His favorite way to win is by getting all the Utilities.
"Already? At least give the rest of us a chance," May halfheartedly complains, elbowing Peter in the side. She grabs the dice and rolls a six, moving to Pennsylvania Railroad.
"Well that's not good," Peter notes as he watches May pay.
"Thanks Captain Obvious," Tony says sarcastically. "Any other wise words?"
"Yeah: stay away from Water Works or I'm suing you without remorse," Peter warns, sickeningly sweet. Tony snorts.
"You forget I'm a billionaire, genius."
"Not in Monopoly you aren't." The kid…has a good point. Still, Tony keeps up his confident façade.
"Not yet." By the time they finish bickering, Tony has rolled a ten which gets him all the way to St. James Place. He throws down the money without regret and takes his new property.
"Oh look, you're farther away from being a billionaire," Rhodey observes to get his friend riled up. It kind of backfires.
"Says the only one without a property," May cuts in, making a good point. Rhodey chuckles and picks up the dice.
"Alright, alright, I see how it is. Just you two wait." He confidently rolls an eight, getting him to…St. James Avenue.
"Well? We're waiting," Tony prompts with a comfortable grin.
"I knew this dumb game was rigged." Rhodey purses his lips as he throws the money at Tony.
"Play nice, boys," Pepper cautions halfheartedly. They continue the game, Pepper purchasing the most properties and managing to complete both the magenta and red sets. Peter gets both of his Utilities, which immediately ups their value. This causes Rhodey to get caught up on them a few times and, by his fourth turn, only has one green and one orange property. The only accomplishment to him is stealing Tony's ability to complete the orange set. However, Tony somehow lands on Free Parking, earning him all the money in the mushpot.
"One step closer to fame and fortune," he brags as he counts all his Monopoly money.
"I wanna change the rules," Peter pouts. "That was supposed to be my mushpot."
"Sounds like the complaints of a sore loser," Tony points out as he tosses the dice to Rhodey.
Everything continues to go relatively well until Tony lands on the Boardwalk space. The room goes silent.
"Don't you do it," May warns in a dangerous tone. Tony perks up and leans towards her.
"Sorry? What was that? I couldn't hear you over my overwhelming amount of money," is all he says before buying the Boardwalk.
"Oh god, we're doomed," Peter realizes with wide eyes. Boardwalk is bad enough, but Tony also has Park Place.
"Doomed indeed," Tony agrees as he dishes out practically all of his money to place a hotel on each spot.
"If anyone lands there…" May starts.
"We go bankrupt," Pepper finishes with a sigh.
"Hey, Rhodey." Tony ignores their worries and batts his eyelashes at Rhodey. "How about we make a trade? I'll pay you five hundred for New York Avenue." Peter gasps overdramatically at the offer and does the mental math.
"That's, like, a one hundred and fifty percent increase!" he realizes. This only further proves why it's in Rhodey's best interest to agree to it; he's practically broke. But he shakes his head anyways.
"Hell no, I'm not givin' you another monopoly." Tony shrugs his shoulders as if it isn't a huge loss. Instead, he reaches into his pocket, pulls out his wallet, and pulls out five one hundred dollar bills.
"You were saying?" he prompts again as he sets the real money down. Rhodey's eyes widen and Peter devolves into panicked ramblings.
"You, you can't do that Mr. Stark! That's cheating! You can't just, just use real money! That's not fair!" Peter argues in a high pitched voice. Tony quickly waves him off, not breaking eye contact with Rhodey. He bounces his eyebrows as he waits for an answer.
"Money can't buy you everything, Tones," Rhodey easily declines.
"Suit yourself. Enjoy bankruptcy," he hums before handing the dice to his best friend. It takes one more trip around the board for Rhodey to land on Boardwalk. "My, how the tables have tabled," Tony sings.
"Yikes, that sucks," Peter points out, peering over the board. "Nice known' ya."
"Looks like that'll come out to," May looks on the box, "two thousand dollars. Good luck with that." She sets down the box and lets the scene unfold as she rests her chin in her hands.
"Would you like to take out a loan?" Pepper practically dares with her arms crossed.
"Nope, I'm out," Rhodey resigns.
"Ha! Who was overconfident now?" Tony inquires as he crosses his arms victoriously.
"I'd rather go bankrupt than give him more money and ego." Tony nods in understanding.
"Fair, fair. Doesn't make you any less of a loser." He laughs at Rhodey and so the game continues with one less player.
The next one to bite the bankruptcy bullet is May, but she doesn't go down without a fight. When she lands on Indiana Avenue, one of Pepper's red properties, and can't pay, her eyes shift to Peter. He knows that look. A truly mischievous look with a sparkle in her eyes. He nods discreetly.
"Before declaring bankruptcy, I'd like to propose a trade," May announces with a knowing smile. Both Tony and Pepper narrow their eyes in suspicion.
"I don't like where this is headed," Tony mutters, quick to catch on. Social cues are his element, afterall.
"As long as you lose, I'm fine," Rhodey directs at Tony as he leans back in his chair.
"Traitor," Tony accuses casually. May, however, remains focused.
"Peter, I'll give you all my property if you give me a single dollar," she offers innocently. Tony and Pepper immediately cut in, talking over each other, while Rhodey laughs.
"Woah woah woah," Tony holds up his hands, "let's not make any rash decisions here, May."
"Think about what you're doing. Are you really one to give up?" Pepper says louder than Tony. If May goes through with this trade, she doesn't get the money. But May isn't listening to either of them.
"Go get 'em, baby," May encourages. They exchange the cards, which means Peter finally has all the yellows for his monopoly. He wastes no time in placing as many houses as possible. Now he has a chance to win.
After a few more tense turns, Tony lands on the Community Chest space. Unfortunately for everyone else, it only boosts his ego.
"'You have won second prize in a beauty contest. Collect ten dollars,'" he reads allowed. "Ha! Damn right I did. I'm gorgeous. The only inaccuracy is that I'd come in first." Pepper rolls her eyes at his ego.
"You're so modest," she commends sarcastically. Tony pretends to flip his lack of long hair.
"I know. Can't help that I'm the best." Peter can't help but chuckle.
"Sure, that's why you got second place," he points out with arms crossed comfortably.
"No sass or I'll put you in timeout," Tony scolds, to which Peter just sticks out his tongue.
"Alright, children. No fighting," May reminds with a hint of humor. They get back to the game and, within fifteen minutes, Pepper practically has all of the properties, Peter has the most money with nothing to spend it on, and Tony has no more money but a good amount of property. Now it's a waiting game of who lands on a property and goes bankrupt first.
"Sorry, kid. No mercy, even for you," Tony says without much regret at all. Peter smiles confidently.
"Who said I need you to go easy on me?" He rolls the dice. Instead of landing on a property, he ends up in jail. "Me?! Jail?!" he demands in disbelief.
"Tough luck, kiddo," Tony says with fake pity. "Told you all your dumpster diving would catch up to you."
"It's not illegal to steal garbage!" Peter defends with a squeaky voice. "Mostly," he adds, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I'd bail you out if I weren't broke," May offers with her hands behind her head.
"It's fine I'll just bail myself out." Peter's about to pay the measly fifty bucks when an idea pops in his head. "Or…"
"Or?" Pepper prompts.
"I can stay in here while you two battle it out. Who knew being in jail would be so rewarding," Peter states happily. If he's stuck in jail, then there's no way he can land on a space and go bankrupt.
"Shit," Tony mutters in realization. And just like that, Peter is stuck in jail and forced to roll on each of his turns until he gets doubles to leave jail. Not that he wants to. Finally, Tony lands on North Carolina Avenue and has to pay $1275 that he doesn't have. He first attempts to sell all his hotels and takes out mortgages to stay in the game, but he's fighting a losing battle. After Peter, unfortunately, rolls doubles and has to leave jail, it only takes one turn for Tony to run out of cash.
"There! There's my victory in spirit!" Rhodey cheers when Tony goes bankrupt, pumping his fist in the air. Tony rolls his eyes.
"Cheering for others' demise isn't very becoming," Tony quips with a disgruntled huff.
"Who would've thought," May chimes in, "the business legend Tony Stark loses at Monopoly. I bet that'd make the front page." She smirks and loves the way she can get under Tony's skin. Tony scoffs.
"In your dreams. Who's the one with the real monopoly?" he questions.
"Um, Pepper?" Peter provides as if it's fairly evident. "I mean, she's the CEO."
"Thank you, Peter," Pepper says, a slight smirk aimed in Tony's direction.
"Still my name on the company," Tony counters with a disinterested sniff. But Peter doesn't have the luxury to be distracted. He's now face-to-face with a fearless, knowledgeable businesswoman who isn't afraid to beat him into the ground.
Which is exactly what Pepper does.
Peter does his best to avoid bankruptcy, but he can't exactly control the dice. He watches his pile of cash dwindle away with each roll. It wouldn't be so bad if Pepper hadn't absolutely dominated the board. He didn't stand a chance. Pepper wins by a landslide, ending with over half the properties and a pile of multicolored Monopoly money.
"I'm sorry, May." Peter overdramatically reaches his hand towards his aunt. "I hath failed you!" With that, he collapses on the board, thoroughly messing it up while playing dead. May laughs and ruffles his hair.
"Easy there, Shakespeare tragedy," she teases. Rhodey laughs at the sight and eyes a very disgruntled Tony. Still, Tony's scowl slowly shifts into a smirk.
"I knew I made you CEO for a good reason," he relents, his tone impressed.
"Like I always say: you can't do it without me," Pepper agrees. Tony has never heard a truer thing in his life.
"That's for damn sure. You deserve more than 12%," he agrees.
"Yeah, I can't imagine what Stark Industries would be like considering you lost to me. Maybe I should take over the company," Peter jokes. But, in a way, he hits the nail on the head without even realizing it. Tony would be lying if he said he hadn't been considering Peter as an heir, especially when it's this time of year… That's a complication for another day, though.
"Sure, I'll believe that when you actually decide to go to jail to avoid your taxes," Tony fires back, referring to Peter's strategy.
"I'll remember that next time you need a supporter for your beauty pageant," Peter shoots right back at him. Tony shakes his head with a smile and lightly pushes Peter's face away. He loves that quick wit of Peter's. With that, they clean up the Monopoly scene and get ready to eat.
Okay I had WAY too much fun with that afdkjhfhs and hopefully you did too! I had to bring back Fri quoting vines :') Next week we get some Tony and Peter bonding time PLUS Peter and May bonding!
Thank you for reading! ❤️️ 💛💚💙💜
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