False Expectations

Tony picked up a few more discarded tech pieces and shoved them into a cabinet, making a mental note of where they were in case he needed them. Why was he cleaning up again? Well, some of this stuff could be dangerous, right? He didn't need a kid, who may not have the self control to keep his hands to himself, injuring himself on something. Child-proofing was a thing, right? While he was at it, he threw away all the old take-out containers, and gathered up about 8 used coffee cups and ran a rag over a few surfaces. There, that looked more presentable.

Today was the kid's first scheduled internship. May had asked for two afternoons a week, and they had set it up for Wednesdays and Fridays after school until 5 or 6. Tony still wasn't sure what he was going to do with the kid, but he was strangely eager for him to get there. After stitching him up Saturday night after a patrol gone wrong, then seeing him Monday briefly to check the wound (basically healed) and take the stitches out, he was actually looking forward to seeing him today.

He wasn't sure what to think about Peter's changed attitude in the last few weeks since everything had gone down, though. Was the kid dealing with too much trauma? Did he need to get him set up with a therapist? Probably. But it was weird. There were a few moments he still seemed excited to talk to Tony and he saw that enthusiastic, bright-eyed kid he'd met at first. But mostly he had been muted and withdrawn. Maybe if they spent some time together he would snap out of it. Or talk about it? Yeesh, that sounded all kinds of awkward. But if it would help the Spiderkid perk up again…

He glanced at the mini fridge and the basket of snacks he'd had an assistant stock. He wished he could just tell his aunt the kid needed way more calories than he'd been getting, but feeding him when he was at the Tower and making sure he used that card Tony had given him was probably the best he could do for now. He knew Peter didn't want his aunt to feel bad that he had basically been hungry all the time since the spider bite. The boy had self-sacrificial down to an art, Tony thought with an eye roll.

"Mr. Parker has entered the building," FRIDAY reported, as requested.

A few minutes later, the teen showed up at the door of his lab, in all his teenage glory, from ratty tennis shoes to ruffled hair. Was it windy outside? Tony hadn't been outside since Monday. He should probably fix that. Sunshine and vitamin D and all that. Circle back, Tony, he told himself. The kid.

Peter had an inscrutable expression on his face. He looked almost surly, but his eyes were still flicking around the room, lighting up as he noticed different projects and equipment.

"Well, come on in, kid. How was school?" That was something you asked kids, right?

"Uh, it was good, Mr. Stark, thank you." A pause. "How was your day?" The kid definitely had better manners than he'd had at that age. Well, Tony knew how to work a room already at 15, but the kid's manners were more genuine than the niceties he'd learned.

"Well, honestly, I've only been up since about 10, so it's been short," he said, smiling at his own joke. The kid quirked an eyebrow, but didn't respond otherwise.

"How's the leg? Healing okay?"

"Yeah, you can hardly see it now."

"So," Tony clapped his hands together. What do you want to do? Do you want a tour of the labs? Do you want a snack first?" Tony thought either of those might be appealing to the kid. He swore he saw his eyes gleam briefly at both options, but then he'd reeled his expression back in and brought a hand up to scrub at the back of his neck. He almost looked angry.

"You know you don't really have to do this, right? I mean, I know Aunt May is making you, and I do have to come be here if I'm going to be Spiderman. And I know you kinda need Spiderman, at least on back up, or when I get older or something. But me, Peter, I-I don't wanna inconvenience you. You don't have to babysit me. I'm happy to work on anything you need done. Cleaning, or filing, or coffee, or fixing stuff you don't want to do. Or if you just want me out of your hair, I can just come and work on homework. I don't wanna… I don't wanna be in your way." His voice had gotten quieter and less belligerent as he went on, and he finished with his head down, looking at the toe of his shoe that was scuffing against the floor.

Oh. The kid thought he didn't actually want him here? Well, that explained a lot. And he could see how the teen could come to that conclusion. But he was wrong. He probably needed to handle this carefully.

"Kid?" The boy raised his eyebrows, obviously listening, but didn't raise his gaze from the floor. It's like he'd already accepted being shuffled off somewhere, so Tony didn't have to deal with him.

But Tony had done just that before, hadn't he? In his own misguided attempts to keep the boy safe, and to keep from… from messing him up, he had kept his distance.

He didn't feel like he was keeping his distance at the time, since he listened to every one of those long rambling reports. Since he had bugged Happy for details about his extracurriculars, and since he'd continually worked on a newer, safer version of his suit. But he knew Peter probably hadn't seen it that way. The only interactions they'd had had ended in frustration or fireworks, and Tony knew that was mostly his fault for trying to keep the kid at arm's length so he didn't turn into his dad and ruin him. Obviously that had worked really well.

"Kid. Peter." The boy finally looked up and met his eyes with his own anguished gaze. Something squeezed in Tony's chest, and he vowed it was going to be so different. He didn't care that the kid had turned down a spot on the Avengers. He didn't care that he was reckless, and headstrong, and so much like Tony at that age. But also so much better. Maybe smarter, and definitely more selfless. But how to help Peter realize that?

"I don't know if you noticed, but I am Tony Freaking Stark. I don't do anything I don't want to do. If I didn't want you here. You - Peter Parker, not you - Spiderman-which, by the way, are the same person-then I can promise you wouldn't be here." The kid didn't look quite so hangdog, but he still looked doubtful.

"I'm not used to working with other people much. I can promise you it's gonna be a little awkward, and I'm going to be a jerk sometimes, and we're going to annoy each other." The kid smirked just a little bit at that one.

"But I can also promise that there's a lot you can learn here, and I'm pretty sure you're smart enough to keep up enough that it'll be worth both of our time. We might even have some fun. Maybe." The kid's expression had improved to hopeful, which was a definite step in the right direction.

"Takeaway is I want you here. Just because I don't know exactly what we're going to do yet doesn't mean I'm unhappy about it. Capiche?" Tony looked expectantly at Peter until he nodded.

Tony raised his eyebrows. "I need vocal confirmation that you understand that, kid."

"Yes, sir."

"Now what did I say about the 'sir' thing? You going to start with the annoying me part already?" He smiled to make sure the kid knew he was teasing him.

Tony finally did what his hand had been itching to do since the kid walked in and reached over and smoothed his hair down, ending with a quick grip to his shoulder. "So. Toss your stuff on that couch there, grab a snack out of the fridge, or the basket, or both, and let's take that tour yeah?"

"Yeah." There it was. The excited smile and animation was finally back. Tony wasn't sure if he had ever worked so hard for a smile, or if he'd ever been so satisfied to finally earn one.