Preface
Happy AccidentsPosted originally on the Archive of Our Own at /works/18060086.
Rating:
Explicit
Archive Warning:
No Archive Warnings Apply
Category:
M/M
Fandom:
Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Relationship:
Peter Parker/Tony Stark
Character:
Tony Stark, Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man)
Additional Tags:
Truth Serum, Vulnerability, Angst with a Happy Ending, Declarations Of Love, First Time, Anal Fingering, Hand Jobs, Oral Sex
Collections:
Smut Swap 2019
Stats:
Published: 2019-04-21 Words: 4978
Happy Accidents
by thinlizzy2
Summary
Peter felt his mouth fall open. He had no idea what was happening, but he knew he had to do something to fix the situation. "I'm just trying to tell you that I'm not hurt. I mean, you somehow get more gorgeous every single time I see you and so it hurts like crazy not to be able to touch you all the time. But I'm used to that. So as long as you never find about it, I'll be okay. And, of course, I'll never tell anyone."
Peter accidentally knocks over a vial with an experimental serum while visiting Stark Industries.
Notes
See the end of the work for notes
Happy Accidents
Almost everything worthwhile that ever happened to Peter Parker started with an accident. He had accidentally wandered into the wrong room on a school field trip to a government science facility, which had been followed by the accidental release of a very unique spider. He had accidentally been caught on camera during his very first days as Spider-Man, which had led Tony Stark right into his home. And so on. For whatever reason, accidents were important in Peter's life. And this one was no different.
It was also all his fault. Of course, he did know that he was in a proper grown-up lab, and not just any lab but a lab in the Research and Development Department of Stark Industries. So it was just common sense to be extra careful and he really had been trying. But he'd caught a glimpse of Bruce Banner - Bruce freaking BANNER! - out of the corner of his eye, and it was just an unstoppable impulse to spin around and wave. And then his elbow had just barely nicked the vial but it had been enough to knock it over and send a drop – the littlest, tiniest drop – splashing onto the back of Peter's wrist.
But it was enough.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark!" Peter could feel his cheeks burning as he quickly returned the test tube to safety. "I think I saved most of it; only a little bit got out. I swear I'd offer to pay for it but everything in here costs about a billion dollars a dose and you already know about my dumpster diving. Plus I'm pretty sure Aunt May has started skipping lunch to save money ever since the school raised the cost of my textbooks, even though she denies it. I sneak bits off my plate onto hers at dinner just to make sure she gets something then, but I guess what I'm saying is I don't think I'll be able to cover the cost of this stuff any time soon."
A new wave of embarrassment crashed over him. He hadn't meant to say any of that. Mr. Stark didn't need to know the specifics of how his family needed money and his aunt would have been so embarrassed if she'd heard him. But he'd been so worried about her lately and then the words had just come rushing out, before he'd even had a chance to think about them.
Luckily, everyone around him seemed to be more concerned about the spill. A technician descended with a huge arsenal of cleaning products just as Tony Stark hurried to Peter's side and checked the serial number on the spilled vial. He consulted his notes and visibly relaxed. "Don't worry about it, kid. It's not dangerous. And it's still in the very early stages of development, so it probably won't do anything at all." He looked closely at Peter, checking his face for signs of pain. "You're okay, right? No weird urges to lay eggs or take over the world or anything? Does anything hurt?"
Peter shook his head. "I feel really good. You're close to me, so it's hard for me to feel anything else but good when that happens."
Pure, undiluted horror.
Tony Stark blinked. "What? I mean... what?"
Peter felt his mouth fall open. He had no idea what was happening, but he knew he had to do something to fix the situation. "I'm just trying to tell you that I'm not hurt. I mean, you somehow get more gorgeous every single time I see you and so it hurts like crazy not to be able to touch you all the time. But I'm used to that. So as long as you never find about it, I'll be okay. And, of course, I'll never tell anyone."
The lab went silent. Peter could feel the blood draining from his face. He actually felt dizzy with the shock of what he'd said. Although he was staring hard at the floor of the lab, he knew all of the eyes in the room must have been fixed on him. He would have sworn he could actually feel the weight of Mr. Stark's gaze.
He heard a snickering in the corner. "Well, I guess the truth serum formula works after all." There was an answering murmur of laughter.
Truth serum. Oh shit. Peter clapped his hands over his mouth to prevent any more secrets from spilling out. Desperately, he wondered if any of the creations in the lab around him had the ability to turn back time or erase people's short-term memories.
"Shut up, Beckett!" Peter heard Mr. Stark's voice snap. "Shut up, all of you. Get back to work." Peter could feel the warmth of his mentor's hand on his back for just a second, and then it was replaced by a more tentative prodding finger. "Come on, kid. Let's get you out of here."
The pity in his voice was almost worse than anger would have been. Peter stumbled along behind him, unable to make himself look up. In his stunned state, he didn't realize that Mr. Stark was leading him to his office instead of the exit until the door closed behind him and they were alone.
"Here." Mr. Stark handed him a hand towel and a bottle of water. "It's probably too late, but wash your hand anyway. And then drink as much as you can. It'll help you flush the serum out of your system."
"I'm so sorry." Peter rubbed furiously at his hand. "For the spill, and for all the rest of it."
"What, for having a crush? It's flattering. And kid, you aren't the only..." Mr. Stark stopped himself from verbalizing whatever it was he had been about to say and Peter was so jealous of his ability to do that. "I've been a teenager; I remember. But all of them in there will forget all about it and by next week you'll be gaga over the Falcon or Scarlet Witch or whatever little hottie happens to walk past you on the street, and you'll forget this too."
"It's not a crush." Peter felt his eyes stinging and he blinked the sensation back. He might not have been able to stop the flow of words, but at least he could hold back the tears. "And it's not fair for you to decide to call it that."
Mr. Stark sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "Listen, Peter. I know that at your age everything feels really serious and important but-"
"I'm in love with you."
The words exploded into the room with the force of a hydrogen bomb.
When Mr. Stark spoke, his voice was quieter than Peter had ever heard it before. "No. You're not. You can't be."
"I am." There was no stopping the torrent of speech. "I'm in love with your brain, and your bravery and your genuine goodness and your stupid pride. I love how strong you are, the way you not only survived being betrayed in the worst way possible but also used that survival to become a better person. I love how much you care about people and the brilliant ways you find to keep them safe and the idiotic ways you try to hide that." Peter wished so much that the floor would just open up and swallow him whole, but he wasn't that lucky. He barely managed to snatch a quick breath before his ridiculous monologue started back up again. "And before you try to suggest it, no. It's not hero worship and it's not wanting a dad. I love your eyes, and your shoulders and your butt. I never even knew I could love a butt until I met you, and now I'm crazy about yours. I am properly, totally in love with you." Peter forced himself to make eye contact with his mentor. He figured he at least owed them both that. "It's literally impossible right now for that not to be true."
Tony Stark's mouth opened, but nothing came out. It looked like it was up for Peter to fill up the silence, and he would have loved to have been able to say that everything was going to be okay. That actually Mr. Stark was probably right after all about this being just a crush or that he was joking or that he'd manage to get over whatever this was in time. But he couldn't seem to make the words happen, and it was pretty easy to figure out what that meant. He couldn't fool himself into believing they were true. So he did the only honest thing left that he could think to do.
He turned and left.
*
Peter supposed he was lucky to get home without any major incidents. MJ didn't text him to ask what he really thought of her latest experiment proposal and Aunt May hadn't chosen that afternoon to wonder out loud how Peter truly felt about her tuna noodle casserole. Nobody had made the innocent but horrific mistake of asking him how his day was going. So Peter was able to get himself home and into bed without causing any other disasters.
One had been enough.
As he lay under the covers that night, finally having exhausted his capacity to panic and cry, he thought about all the other things he could have and should have said. He should have told Mr. Stark that he didn't expect anything from him, and that he hoped this whole mess wouldn't affect the way they worked together. He should have mentioned that he was still so grateful for the opportunities that Mr. Stark had given him and that he was sorry to have embarrassed him in front of his staff. He could even have said that he was used to being hurt, and that he knew he could survive it, so he didn't want Mr. Stark to worry about him.
He didn't know why he hadn't said any of those things. All of them were true, after all.
But in the moment, he guessed he hadn't honestly been feeling them. He'd been feeling honestly in love. So that was what had come out.
Fuck, that serum was going to make Mr. Stark a whole new fortune. Peter supposed he could at least be happy for him about that.
It was still a couple more hours before he could look himself in the mirror and declare with supposed sincerity that there was no part of him that secretly kind of enjoyed Nickelback. He figured that was as fair a test as any that the serum had finally worn off. If he ever worked up the nerve to contact Mr. Stark again, he probably should let him know how long it took to leave a person's system.
He climbed back in bed and tried to lie to himself that everything would be okay so that he could just get some sleep.
*
Peter woke up the next morning to quiet voices from somewhere else in the apartment and a sense of dull panic in his chest. It took him a second to remember where the latter was coming from, and then he sat straight up in an instant. He hurried to his desk and searched for his phone. He had to explain; he had to make things okay. He had to call Mr. Stark-
He froze as one of the voices floated through his bedroom door.
Mr. Stark... was apparently in the living room.
Peter forced himself to calm down and listen to his aunt and his mentor speaking. "Sorry again to just drop in, but I was passing by and I remembered that you lived here so I thought-"
"Really, it's fine. It's great, actually!" Peter hadn't heard Aunt May sound so upbeat in ages. "Are you sure it'll work for you though? Wouldn't you rather hire a professional?"
Even after his awful humiliation, Mr. Stark's low laughter still made Peter's skin tingle. "Miss Parker, I've hired four pros so far and they all quit once they realized what a mess the uninventoried stock in the labs is. I'd rather just have someone I know I can trust. Do it whenever you have time, fit it in around your other work, and just log your hours with the receptionist. I'll make sure your pay gets deposited the very next day, every time."
"I can't thank you enough! Lately money has been a bit... well... it doesn't matter now! I can get started now, if you like." Peter could hear the relief in her voice and it made his heart turn over a bit.
"I was hoping you'd say that. My car is right outside, and the driver can take you straight to the Tower. He knows why I'm here, so he can get you all set up."
May sounded further away the next time she spoke. She must have already been getting her jacket from the hall closet. "You're sure it's okay if I take your car? How will you get home?"
"I've got some business to take care of around here." Mr. Stark, on the other hand, sounded like he was just on the other side of Peter's door. "I'll get myself sorted out, don't worry."
May called out her thanks again, and then Peter heard the front door slam shut. It was safe to say that he was now alone in the apartment with Tony Stark. A sharp knock at the door confirmed it. Peter groaned and slid onto the floor.
He wondered, for a wild moment, if he could just pretend not to be there.
"Kid, you've got exactly one minute to make yourself decent, then I'm coming in."
Well. So much for that. Peter groaned and quickly tugged on a shirt and jeans. He contemplated the window but decided against it. If Tony Stark wanted to talk to him, he knew that eventually he was just going to have to be talked to.
As if to confirm that, Mr. Stark opened the door. For a moment, the two men stood in silence, contemplating eachother. The whole thing was just too awkward to last long so Peter dropped his gaze. "Mr. Stark. Hi."
An affectionate half-smile flitted across Tony Stark's face. "Hi Peter. Can I come in?"
Peter mumbled out permission, and the older man stepped into the room, closing the door gently behind him. When he turned around again, Peter could see for the first time how tired he looked. He had to physically stop himself from reaching up and smoothing the lines from Mr. Stark's brow.
"So, it turns out I'm in love with you too." Mr. Stark perched at the edge of Peter's desk, nudging some of his old science fair trophies off to the side to make room. "And I thought we should probably talk about how to manage that."
Of all the ways that this conversation could have gone, Peter never would have imagined this. " What? No you aren't! Don't be ridiculous."
Mr. Stark laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Okay, you officially can't be mad at me for calling your feelings a crush anymore now."
The memory still made Peter flinch. "Mr. Stark, what's going on?"
"I think, all things considered, you can probably call me Tony now. And yeah, I'm in love with you. I made sure of it."
"You made sure of it?" Peter couldn't help but wonder if hallucinations might have been a previously undiscovered side effect of the Stark truth serum. He pinched his own arm. If this was a hallucination, it was a convincing one.
His mentor nodded. "Kid, I tell all kinds of lies. I lie to my friends, my teammates, my exes. I lie in business. I lie to the press and there have been times that I've even lied just for fun. But what I'm best at, by far, is lying to myself. Hell, I'm so good at it that sometimes I even convince myself that I'm not lying at all."
Peter gaped at him. "Mr. Stark – Tony – what did you do?"
"To tell you the truth, I'd suspected it for a while. I tried not to think about it. Sometimes I even succeeded. But after what happened yesterday?" A small glass bottle clinked down on the desk. "I had to make sure."
Peter felt his eyes growing wider.
Tony shook a few drops out and rubbed them into his skin. "I did this last night. And then I stood in the very middle of the room and I said it, right out loud."
Peter stared at him, stunned. Tony wasn't showing any outward signs of fear, but Peter knew from experience how terrifying it had to be for him to stand there and know there was nothing between his deepest secrets and the entire world except the benevolence of a heartbroken boy. But he didn't have anything to worry about. Peter would have died rather than betray him.
He heard his own voice shake as he spoke. "What did you say?"
"I'm in love with Peter Parker." Tony's voice was quiet, but the words were still clear. "I'm in love with his unbelievable courage and decency and strength. I'm in love with the way that, no matter what, he can't not try to make people's lives better and with the way he brought so much light into my life just by being in it. I'm in love with all the incredible things that he's going to be, and the incredible person that he already is. I'm in love with his sweet smile and his buttery skin and the ridiculously perfect curve of his back. And I'm too old and too broken and too much of a lot of things to be any good for him. But I love him, more than I ever imagined I could love anyone, and if he gives me another chance to prove it to him then I'm not going to be strong enough to say no."
He stood up and walked over to Peter, standing close enough for Peter to smell the sleepless night on his skin. "Also, I want you to know the job that I gave your aunt isn't dependent on this. I'm going to let her work for me as long as she likes, even if you decide to do the sensible thing and send me as far away from you as it's possible to go. But I'm such a selfish fuck that I'm desperately hoping that you won't." He took one of Peter's hands in his and lifted it to his lips. Peter felt the slightest brush of lips over his knuckles and it was the most beautiful sensation he could imagine. "You know it's the truth."
It took everything ounce of strength that Peter had not to kiss Tony right then and there. But instead, he forced himself to step back, moving around Tony to the desk. The confusion and hurt on Tony's face mercifully faded away as he saw what Peter was doing.
A couple of quick shakes of the bottle, and then Peter was rubbing the serum onto his own skin. He couldn't keep the smile off his face as he walked right up to Tony, so close that they were nearly touching, near enough to feel the other man's heat even through their clothes. "I'm in love with Tony Stark, and I don't think he's too old or too anything else. I want to be with him, for real and maybe even forever, and if he's willing to try to make that work then I'm in."
And then he reached up and pulled Tony down against him, bringing their mouths together. He still wasn't entirely sure that any of this was truly happening, but then Tony's mouth opened against his and Peter could taste him for the first time. His heart started pounding with joy and the very beginnings of belief. He felt Tony's arms tighten around his back and one of them – he wasn't sure who – deepened the kiss until Peter's head was swimming.
He wasn't clear on how he made it to the bed. It was safe to assume that Tony had maneuvered him there, judging from the practiced ease with which the older man was spreading him out and stripping away articles of both of their clothes. Peter's shirt was gone before he knew it, and he almost hissed with pleasure when he felt Tony's hands roaming over his chest and belly as if trying to learn him by touch.
"You're too skinny, kid." Tony bent his head low so he could lick at Peter's prominent ribs. "Too skinny by far." He spread his fingers wide across Peter's belly, as if he were trying to protect him against the idea of hunger. "When you said there wasn't even enough food around here, I thought I was going to..." He shook his head. "I want to take you all over the world and feed you all kinds of amazing things." He kissed one of Peter's nipples, and then pulled at it with his teeth. Peter's resulting cry echoed around the room. "I want to watch you eat them, with that beautiful mouth of yours, and I want to hear the sounds you make when you taste how good they are." He undid Peter's jeans and slid his hand inside them. "And then I want to take you back to some of the finest hotels in the world, and fuck you against every available surface."
His fingers closed around Peter's cock, and Peter felt it in every single nerve of his body. The fierce burst of pleasure, the long, strong fingers wrapping around him and the man those fingers belonged to, it was all so sudden and so perfect and so much. He was dangerously close to the edge already, his control fraying and cracking. So all it took was a few strokes of Tony's tongue, just the sensation of that hot wet mouth sealing itself around him and Peter was coming, hard and unstoppable down Tony's throat, loving the sensation and hating himself for letting this end so soon.
"Mr. Stark, I'm sorry." Peter couldn't stop himself from babbling. "I tried to wait, but you were touching me and then there was your mouth and I'd wanted it for- and it felt so good! And-" Helpless to restrain the tide of speech, Peter was deeply relieved Mr. Stark's finger against his lips brought him to silence. Half to keep his mouth busy and half just because he wanted to, he drew that finger in between his lips and sucked on it gently.
His lover moaned and there was a gratifying tremor in his voice when he spoke next. "Tony, remember? And it's okay. I mean, it's generally good to ask first but... I do like that. So that's lucky."
"Oh." Peter blushed as he took that in. "That's pretty hot, actually. I'm, uh, pretty sure I'll be happy to come in your mouth whenever you want."
Tony smirked. "I never would have thought about marketing this serum as a relationship tool, but this is proving useful as hell. Kid, you can come in me or on me any damn time you want. Fuck, you'll probably be able to do it again a few times tonight; I remember being a teenager. It's almost good to get one out of the way first at your age - it makes it easier to take your time after." He kissed Peter lightly, and then again more deeply. "And I've got lots of ideas for that. But tell me something, Peter – honestly, of course. Have you ever done anything like this before?"
Peter shook his head. "I'm a virgin." He wished he had been able to think of a less embarrassing way to phrase that.
But Tony didn't seem phased. Peter realized he'd probably been expecting it. "Okay, good to know for sure. Want to try out a few things?" He kissed the side of Peter's neck. "While we wait?"
Peter nodded and got a gorgeous grin in return. He tugged off his spoiled jeans and boxers as he watched Tony strip off the rest of his own clothing. The sight of the man's naked body made him catch his breath. Tony Stark's tapered waist and long back, the muscles in his legs and arms, his trim waist and even the fateful injury on his chest – all of it seemed so beautiful to Peter. He could feel his body already beginning to stir again in response, and he knew Tony had been right about everything working out okay.
At Tony's urging, Peter rolled onto his side, making some room on his narrow twin bed for Tony to lie alongside him. They kissed deeply again, and Peter kept his eyes open so that every sense he had could be filled with Tony. He loved the golden tones of the man's skin, the dark ash of his hair with the lighter silver strands just beginning to appear at his temples.
"You're beautiful", Peter told him, not knowing or caring if it was the truth serum making him say it. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
Tony swallowed hard. "Peter." He cupped Peter's face in his hands and kissed him again. "Love you so much."
Peter let his hands wander down Tony's body, wanting to touch him as he had been touched. He ran his fingers along the lines of Tony's throat, feeling the warmth of his skin and his pulse beating. Before long, his fingers encountered the edges of Tony's chest wound. "Is this okay?"
Tony smiled. "Everything's okay."
Emboldened, Peter slid further down Tony's body, using his fingers and hands to make out every part of him. He found himself fascinated with the small trail of hair that began just under Tony's navel, following it lower and lower for a few precious spaces until it led him to what he wanted most at that moment.
Tony Stark's cock was hard and already weeping against his belly. He hadn't rushed Peter, not even a little bit, but when Peter finally brushed his thumb over the head of Tony's erection, his lover's strangled cry made it easy to guess that Tony was desperate. Peter looked up. "You didn't tell me", he said, apologizing. "You didn't tell me that you needed it so bad already."
Tony shook his head. "I didn't want to scare you away."
Peter closed his fingers around Tony's cock, keeping his rhythm deliberately slow at first. This was how he liked to start when he did it to himself, and he could see from Tony's face that he wasn't alone. "I think we need to promise, now, to always tell each other what we want, honestly, in and out of bed. And we should say it now, so we can know it's true." He used his other hand to gently caress Tony's balls and was rewarded with a deep groan. "I promise to always be honest with you, Mr. Sta... Tony. About everything. I wish I'd told you how I felt months ago, and from now on I'm going tell you every day. Can you promise me the same thing?"
"I do. Yes. I do. And I want more. More of your hands, please, just like that." Tony's voice sounded raw and wrecked and Peter loved it.
He tightened his hand and moved faster, so thrilled to know, finally, what Tony Stark truly wanted. He did his very best to make all those honest desires come true, complying as Tony begged him to lick his palm, stroke him harder, put his one of his fingers inside him and then another and yes please keep twisting them like that. And no, he didn't need lube, he just needed Peter, more of Peter inside him and all of Peter forever. Peter could barely bring himself to believe that this was Tony Stark - the self-possessed, larger-than-life figure that he had hero-worshiped since the first time he had heard his name - writhing around on Peter's boyhood bed, fucking himself hard on Peter's fingers and pleading for more. But he tried his best, with his hands and his inexperienced but eager mouth and his whole heart, to give Tony everything he wanted. And when Tony finally came, with a sharp cry and a hoarse moan of Peter's name, and he swore that only thing left that he wanted was for Peter to please – love of God, please - get back up there and kiss him again now, Peter was so happy to be able to give him that too.
"Give me thirty minutes to sleep, kid", Tony said softly, his lips against Peter's jaw. "And I'm sorry; I thought I'd have more self-control than that." He bit down on Peter's earlobe lazily. "But when I wake up and we're both ready, I promise I'll gather my what's left of my strength and make everything you've been wishing for happen."
"Take an hour." Peter felt like he was somehow drunk on the smell of Tony's skin and what they had just done together. He buried his face against Tony's shoulder, breathing even more of him in. He tongue poked out to lick a single droplet of Tony's sweat, and he mentally added wanting to know what every single part of this glorious man tasted like to his collection of desires. "It's a long wish list."
Tony laughed softly. "Thank God for lab accidents, huh? We might never have known, otherwise."
Peter curled against him, fighting sleep in order to spend a couple more moments in Tony's company. As his eyes closed, he thought about all the strange twists his life had needed to take before he could be right there. "I'm glad for all the accidents," he said, entirely honestly. And then he let himself go.
Afterword
End Notes
Written for Tuesday, for Smutswap 2019. Happy smuttings, Tuesday! Hope you enjoyed this!
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