Acting Shifty
Well, here we have another instalment of the Facebook prompts. I hope you all enjoy it!
Shifty. That was the only word Tony could find that would explain Peter's behaviour recently. As soon as the sun rose Peter was either off to school, meeting friends or in training. Any excuse the kid could find to duck out, he took it. At first, Tony let it slide, figured maybe he had a girlfriend and was getting hounded by the team. And when it had gone on for a month Tony began asking the others if they knew if Peter was seeing someone and had they been teasing him. But they all swore they knew nothing about Pete dating anyone and the only teasing that had gone on was when the kid proudly announced he'd finally grown enough chin hair to warrant shaving.
But, as the second month passed and Peter was still acting shifty, Tony was at the end of his tether. Truthfully, it was really pissing him off. He knew full well that Peter was avoiding him because the kid couldn't lie for shit and if Tony even got close to whatever it was he was hiding he'd know straight away. So, it looked like Peter was keeping himself squirrelled away where Tony wouldn't be able to question him. Therefore, in Tony's mind, drastic measures were required if he wanted to get to the bottom of it all.
It began with Tony having FRIDAY team up with Karen to cause 'faults' with Peter's suit – and in a moment of genius Tony had installed Karen into the Iron Spider suit as well, making sure that Pete couldn't just switch out his suit's instead of getting it repaired. Faults with the suit were immediately reported to FRIDAY who in turn informed Tony that the suit required repairing, resulting in the mechanic being able to tell Peter to bring the suit in for an upgrade that would 'fix' the issues. Except, well, it didn't quite work out like that.
In Tony's infinite wisdom he had completely forgotten that Ned was the guy in the chair and had hacked Peter's multi-million dollar original suit with zero issues, and had even managed to do it without Tony being alerted until long after Peter had done his little lone ranger routine. And that was precisely what he had done this time as well. The little shit had gotten Ned to hack the suit once again and run a full diagnostic, and asked Karen to install any upgrades on the Stark server.
He knew what was happening because Tony could see it all on the screen in front of him, all the commands Ned typed flowing across the display, and FRIDAY was keeping him updated along the way. Poor Karen couldn't refuse to do the repairs because Peter would know something was going on, leaving Tony no alternative but to give Karen the go ahead to do as Peter, or rather Ned, requested. Tony needed a new plan.
A new suit! He was absolutely certain that if he made Peter a new suit the kid would come drooling to play with it. It took him a solid week to sort out schematics, fabricate and made it even better than both the Stark suit and the Iron Spider – and the best result yielded the birth of the Hybrid suit. As soon as it was tested and ready to go, Tony had called Peter with the exciting news but the teen had been reluctant to come down to the lab to see it. He'd even gone so far as to state he was going to stay with May for a few days because she missed him, but he eventually managed to grind the kid down until he agreed.
The seventeen year old breezed in and straight away Tony could tell Peter was high strung. "Heya, Mr. Stark, I'm sorry I couldn't get down here any sooner."
Tony looked the teen over and decided to put his mission to find out what Peter was hiding on the back burner. Whatever had Peter looking so upset was a thousand times more important than some shifty behaviour.
"It's fine, Pete. You wanna talk about what's wrong? You aren't your usual exuberant ball of energy."
Peter rolled his shoulders in a shrug. "Nothing wrong, really, Mr. Stark – I'm just tired. I'm doing my entrance exams and it's taking it out of me."
"Are you still doing patrols? Any one of us would be willing to take up some for you, Pete."
"No, it's fine. Deadpool has been helping me out. Like I said, I'm just tired, Mr. Stark, I promise."
Not believing him but also not wanting to pressure him, Tony let it go and showed him the suit. Peter had gushed over his previous two suits and yet he barely glanced at the new Hybrid suit, just mumbled a 'thanks' and ran a finger over it.
"Petey?" Tony called gently, using his pet name for the kid. "Talk to me."
Sad brown eyes met his and Tony felt his heart clench painfully. "I just…I try so hard to keep it quiet, the Spider-Man thing, but…I dunno, I'm just tired of it all, and I sometimes wish I didn't have to."
Wrapping his arms around him, Tony dragged Peter into a hug and held him tight. "Listen, none of us have a secret identity, either we're in the history books, were outed during the info dump, or told the world ourselves. If you decide that you want people to know then that is your decision to make, and yours alone. Doesn't matter what Cap or May says, it's your life, Peter. What brought all this on?"
"Flash," Peter mumbled into his neck.
"That kid who's been bullying you?"
Peter nodded. "Yeah, him. I'd really like to shut him up. He's a bastard to me but loves Spider-Man."
Carding a hand through Pete's messy curls, Tony sighed. "Okay, lets look at it from another perspective. For arguments sake, lets say you let Flash find out you're Spider-Man, would that make him respect you, or would he find a way to spin it so he benefits from it?"
There was a very pregnant pause before Peter responded. "I never thought about it like that. Probably the latter."
"I agree," Tony said. "I reckon Flash would make it so it looks like he knew all along and that he's amazing because he was friends with Spider-Man all along."
Peter huffed into his neck then pulled away. "So, you're saying that I shouldn't tell anyone?"
"No, Petey, I'm saying that getting one up on this guy shouldn't be your reasoning. It's still your decision and I'll support you no matter what you decide. Just make sure you're doing it for the right reasons."
They talked for a little longer and Peter actually tried the suit on. Before leaving, Peter hugged Tony hard and promised he'd come back soon. "Thanks, Dad."
It was only after the kid had left that Tony realised two things: Peter's wallet must have fallen out of his pocket because it was lying on the floor, and Peter had called him 'dad'.
-oo0oo-
After speaking to Peter later that night, Tony could rest easier knowing the kid didn't need his wallet right away. He also learned that Peter had given some thought to what they'd discussed and he wasn't going to tell anyone except for maybe MJ because she was already close to figuring it out. Tony suspected the bit about May missing him and wanting him back for a few days was only a half truth. She still saw plenty of him even though he'd moved into the Compound full time.
Once he'd gotten off the phone, Tony logged into his banking and transferred the kid some more money. The settings he'd created when he'd opened Peter's account with his bank had alerted him that the funds available had dropped below five hundred dollars. An older alert told him that Peter had made an abnormally large withdrawal and his concerns over the teen's shifty behaviour returned full force.
He lobbed the wallet over to the desk he wasn't working on and scowled in annoyance when the offending item fell short of it's target area and thumped to the floor. Tony debated just leaving it there until he next got up but he knew full well that it could be hours before he stirred again and the likelihood of one of the cleaning bots getting to it was high, and there really was no telling what would happen to it.
Crouching down, Tony reached out to swipe it up off the floor when something caught his eye. The wallet must have landed open because Tony was looking at the photographic ID card inside, a very messy-haired Peter displayed on the front. Problem was, Tony knew for an absolute fact that Peter had been born on August 10th, 2001. But Pete's ID card showed his date of birth as August 10th, 1997. Which would make him twenty-one.
He had FRIDAY scan the ID and sure enough, the damn card was a fake. Which, of course it was, Tony knew when Peter was born, knew the ID would be fake, but there was something to be said for knowing for sure. All the odd behaviour suddenly made sense, especially when factoring in the fact Peter really couldn't lie to save his life.
Tony would often ask Peter what he'd been up to and rather than risk a terrible attempt at lying the kid had just avoided spending any time with him. It irked him a little that Peter had bought a fake ID to go out clubbing when Tony owned several where the teen could have gone out drinking safely. Even more irksome was Peter using such a large chunk of his money to buy something like that when there were a number of things Tony would help with that Peter was underage for – depending on what it was, of course. It wasn't ideal parenting but if it was being done with Tony's knowledge then a situation could be monitored and he could keep Peter safe.
It wasn't that the money he gave Peter came with any kind of conditions or restrictions, the money was his to spend as he pleased. But the kid was usually so careful with his money and gave a large proportion of it to May to help with her bills. It surprised him that Peter would use so much money on something that wasn't a necessity.
Pete had agreed to come over to the Compound after school on Tuesday to pick up his wallet so he would deal with it then. Besides, he knew Peter couldn't get up to anything that he was underage for because he had the kid's fake ID. And, just to get perspective, Tony asked Captain Righteous if he was overreacting in his ire to Peter going out clubbing in places Tony had no idea if he was safe in.
Steve assured him that as Peter's sort of surrogate father Tony was reacting normally. No one in their right mind would roll over and be fine with finding out their teenage son had a fake ID that allowed them into all sorts of places that were not meant for a teenager to be. He was worried about his kid – typical good dad behaviour.
It took a considerable amount of will power for Tony to last until Tuesday without going to May's apartment and demanding answers, if for no other reason than to put his mind at rest. But he didn't, he wanted to let Peter have the chance to explain himself. Not to mention that if he revealed Peter had a fake ID in front of May, she just might move Peter back into the apartment and not let him back to the Compound again. He thought a lot of May but when it came to helicopter parenting, she really could be the worst one for it at times.
Besides, with the wait came time to really think it all over and Tony hoped that maybe the reason for the fake ID wasn't nearly as bad as his brain was making him think it would be. It allowed him the time to calm himself and face the issue without losing his head and tearing a strip off Peter, all that would do is make sure the kid never came to him about anything ever again. So, when Tuesday afternoon rolled around Tony completely kept his cool. Well, for a while anyway.
The wallet sat innocently on the kitchen island worktop where Tony was also sat, munching on a bag of M&Ms. The rest of the Avengers had strategically placed themselves within earshot of his vicinity so that they could overhear the conversation without making it seem like they were eavesdropping. Tony had no doubt that bets were already placed on the reason Peter had a fake ID.
Peter strolled in just after four, his dark eyes darting about the gathered adults, and grabbed his wallet. Tony watched, face carefully blank, and made small talk with his mentee. An excuse was made that Peter needed to get back to May and do his homework, but Tony stopped him, eyes locked on Peter's and fighting a smirk as the teen squirmed under the intense stare.
"I suggest you make sure all your cards are there, your wallet fell on the floor and DUM-E got to it before I could stop him," Tony said, fibbing, watching Peter to see if he reacted.
Peter flipped open the black leather and Tony saw the moment the teen realised he'd been rumbled. "Nope, all there. Good job you were faster before the motorised menace did any damage."
Rising to his feet, Tony threw his empty packet into the garbage and pulled the ID card from his slacks pocket, holding it in the air between them, eyebrow raised. He'd expected nervous laughter, daft explanations or even just outright running away, but what Tony had not expected was to see all the colour drain from Peter's face. The look on the teen's face said he was waiting to be chewed out and Tony was reminded of his own teenage years. Howard had always yelled at Tony, didn't matter whether his transgression was he'd left a cup on the side or strolled in pissed at three in the morning.
He was pleased that he'd taken the time to actually calm himself before dealing with this because if there was one thing Tony didn't want, it was for Peter to ever be afraid of him. Even after the incident with the Stanton Island Ferry, Tony had made sure Peter knew he was angry, but not enough that the kid couldn't come to him for anything anymore.
"I'm not gonna be mad, just tell me why you have a fake ID."
Whatever Peter said was unintelligible, the words mumbled so softly that Tony caught nothing from it, but the kid looked thoroughly embarrassed. Either it was really bad or really stupid. Neither filled Tony with much confidence.
"What?" Tony said, eyebrow raised again.
Peter scuffed the floor with the toe of his shoe, cheeks so red Tony was certain they'd be scorching to touch. "You have to be over eighteen to hold the puppies at PetCo."
The room was so silent Tony swore he could hear his own heartbeat and several others around him. His first reaction was to laugh, but he smothered it, seeing the vulnerable look in Peter's eyes. Someone did snort in laughter and Tony sent Clint a death glare so fierce, the archer squawked in terror and dropped out of sight on the sofa.
Tony pinched the bridge of his nose to stave off a headache. "You paid six hundred dollars for a fake ID so you could hold puppies at the pet store?"
To his horror, Peter's eyes filled with tears. "Yeah, Mr. Stark, I'm really sorry."
"I'm not mad, Petey, I promised I wouldn't be, and I'm not. I just don't understand. But, it is better than all the things my brain was cooking up not knowing why."
The others dispersed and Peter left quickly after that, embarrassed. Tony destroyed the ID card and replaced the six hundred dollars into Peter's bank account. Steve said he shouldn't, that Peter should learn that spending insane amounts of money on something so daft was irresponsible, but at some point the team's leader realised who he was talking to and promptly shut up. Besides, for all the things Tony had been worried Peter had bought the fake ID for, this was far better. And, the more he thought about it, the more he really did understand. May wasn't allowed a dog – apartment rules. So, he guessed that it did make some sense that Peter got his fill of animals down at the pet store. It definitely went into the book of stupid shit Peter did that was equally adorable.
-oo0oo-
Peter didn't come back to the Compound until that weekend and he was still very awkward around everyone. He'd been down to the lab a couple of times to tinker with stuff, but no matter what Peter did, Tony could tell that his heart wasn't in it. Thankfully, his delivery had arrived just moments ago and FRIDAY had softly informed him through his comms that everyone had gathered on the common floor and was waiting for them. Tony had discussed it at length with the team before making any decisions and they all agreed that they would help out.
A large brown box sat in the middle of the floor, centred between all the chairs and sofas, a little blue bow on one of the corners. Tony waited until Peter shuffled into the room and smiled warmly at the teen. "It's for you, Pete, go ahead and open it."
Peter eyed them all warily, obviously expecting it to be some prank for his foolish act of buying a fake ID. Pete fingered the blue bow while Tony held his breath until Peter opened the box, a thick lump forming in his throat at Peter's soft cry, dark brown eyes filling with tears as he stared at Tony.
"Mr. Stark! Is…is it-"
"-he, Peter. The puppy is a boy."
Peter burst into full sobs and grabbed the puppy close, burying his face in the warm fur at the pup's neck. Tony knelt beside him and rubbed his back, oofing when he suddenly had a lapful of teenage boy, the puppy in his arms yipping.
"I don't understand," Pete mumbled into his chest, voice thick with tears.
Tony ran a hand through the puppy's fur, lips pressed to Pete's messy head. "I rang every PetCo between here and Queens until I found the one you'd been going to. They said you were in there almost every day and even though you held all the puppies so no one was left out, you always saw the one first and always asked if he had been adopted yet."
Peter sniffled and snuggled himself closer to Tony's chest. "All the puppies need love but this one needed extra. Every time someone picked him up they always had something negative to say: he's not pedigree, his eyes are different colours, the heart on his nose is a birth defect. No one wanted him."
It still amazed Tony how easily Peter could surprise him by the kindness and generosity in the kid's heart. "I know, Petey. The staff at PetCo told me everything. So, I adopted him, and made a ridiculously generous donation, anonymously, of course."
Clint snorted loudly. "I'm surprised you didn't just buy the whole company."
Tony chuckled, blushed, and rubbed the back of neck awkwardly. "I tried to but Pepper found out and stopped it."
The team erupted into laugher and Tony's blush darkened, recalling in detail the thorough scolding Pepper had given him.
Peter stroked the puppy and peered up at Tony through his lashes. "I love you…Dad."
Grinning from ear to ear, Tony kissed his head again. "I love you too, Pete."
"I think I'm gonna call him Short Stack."
Tony blinked in confusion. "What? Why? That's a terrible name for a puppy!"
A mischievous smirk curled Peter's lips while behind Tony, Bucky made several 'shut up' moves. "Because that's what Bucky calls you."
The puppy, Short Stack, barked in excitement as Tony dumped Peter on the floor and tore after the former assassin, shouting obscenities in several languages and demanding retribution. Peter laughed and pulled out his phone, sending off the request for adoption papers. He finally had the family he'd always wanted.