There was eight minutes left in the game and they were neck-in-neck. The opposing team was one point ahead, but if they could just rally together and get another point then they would go into overtime and they would have another shot. As it was though, everyone seemed pretty disheartened.
The opposing team had snuck their way towards the goal. Peter was too far away to try and get over there, and even if he could Erik and Scott should have been able to deflect it. Scott ran at the man with the ball but the other guy had some crafty footwork and it was raining heavy so Scott slipped and fell on his knees in the grass, leaving basically just Erik and Loki to defend the goal. Thor should have been over there too, but the other team was guarding him very closely.
Peter jogged over to try and get closer to the action, just a show of good spirit but he arrived just as the other guy made his shot. Loki lunged for it and the ball grazed him but soared back into the net.
Time was called, they lost.
There second game of the season and they lost, that put them at a solid fifty percent. Peter tried to rationalize to himself that the fall season didn't even really count, it was really just making your way up in the brackets and seeing your opposition for the spring state tourneys, but Peter still hated losing. He fucking hated it. He kicked a ball near him with a long sigh and made his way to the bench where Coulson was standing, no doubt ready to give them a pep talk.
Mr. Stark lingered in the stands until Peter made eye contact, he motioned with his chin towards the parking lot and the car, but Peter shook his head. He didn't want to work on the fucking car right now, he wanted to run until he collapsed.
"Guys, guys, don't get down on yourselves about one loss. It was a close game and it's only fall we don't have to start worrying about state until next semester. So don't get down on yourselves okay? No practice until next Tuesday, take some time to yourselves. Peter and Quill, talk more plays, something seemed off this game." He said and then quickly afterward called break.
"Things would have gone fucking great if we hadn't changed so much this time." Sam remarked after Coulson was out of ear shot.
Quill turned around from where he'd been talking to Drax. "You're blaming the loss on me? I mean I guess we changed some stuff, but none of us were playing out best today." He tried to reason.
"Oh right, because when we win a game it's all because of your awesome strategics but when we lose it's suddenly on 'all of us'?" Sam questioned, raising one brow at Quill. Steve put a hand on Sam's shoulder.
"Come on Sam, back off, we lost one game." Steve said.
"No, no, you know what we wouldn't have fucking lost if you were captain Steve. We all thought you should have been it last year man, and somehow this clown gets chosen." He argued, Sam was obviously angry, but Peter didn't really know why he was taking it out on Quill, they had all been playing shitty today.
"Let's calm down, this wasn't anybody's fault." Loki butted in.
"I just think it's ridiculous that you're the captain, you're not even our best player." Sam said, from the side Bucky a look that conveyed agreement.
"No, but he's won us like fifty games, and lost us what? Five now? You guys are being ridiculous." Scott said, siding with Quill immediately. Peter didn't know what to say, he didn't want to side with anyone, he didn't even really understand what they were fighting about. It was partly his fault too since he was vice, but no one seemed to care about that at the moment.
"That's five more than we should have lost." Thor said, joining in for some reason, Peter was trying to take everything in.
"Why don't we talk about this some other time when everyone's not super pissed off?" Quill suggested, he seemed just as confused by the recent turn of events as everyone else.
"Yeah no one's ever questioned him being captain before." Drax added.
"Pete, what do you think?" Scott looked over at Peter, obviously wanting him to take a side.
"I uh, I think I'm gonna go run some laps." He forced out quickly and immediately jogged to the track that they were standing ten feet away from. The stands had cleared out and the other team was gone, the only ones left on the pitch were his team still arguing among themselves. He lost sight of them as his back was turned, but as he came around for another loop they were walking off, a clear divide between the ones on Steve's side and the ones on Quill's side. Peter just shook his head at their antics.
He left his phone on the bench as he went around again, not liking the feeling of it bouncing around in his pocket. Coulson had stood by the bench for a moment, maybe just to make sure that Peter was okay, but he disappeared before he completed another lap.
It had been over a week since the incident with Erik, almost two, and they were fine again. They hadn't been intimate again since then, and Peter wondered if it was because Erik was pissed or he just didn't want to. The boys had found out that Peter was helping Stark restore a car, but had seemed almost completely uninterested in that and let him go about his life.
Erik was a little bothered that Peter was always gone, but Peter wasn't going to let him push him around. He car was important to him and Stark said if they really worked at it then they could get her running within the next couple of weeks.
Peter had fixed all of the body except for the hood, fixed all of the lights, hooked up what he could of the starter, and even meticulously recalibrated the gauges. He still had to change the oil, probably clean out everything related to that too since it had been sitting in their for a while.
When Peter's body caught up to his mind he realized that he didn't know how many laps he'd run. It was over four, but he had stopped counting since then, and he also noticed that there was someone sitting on the bench who was wearing black shades and a smart tweed suit.
Peter was across the pitch from Mr. Stark but he didn't want to stop running yet, his body wasn't exhausted yet, he would go around a couple more times. Stark looked like he'd been waiting, he could wait some more. He passed Stark who simply followed his with a turn of his neck as Peter started around again, not saying anything. And then once more Peter went around, wordlessly passing Stark, and then finally, he stopped and sat on the bench next to him.
He was dripping sweat, rolling down him in slow rivulets. His hair was sopping and he was so hot that he had to strip his track suit jacket off, tossing it on the ground and looking up at the sky. No doubt his red shirt was turned a maroon by the sweat coating it.
Stark pulled a bottle of water, seemingly out of nowhere, and passed it to Peter who poured it over himself. It was only probably 60 degrees, but Peter felt like a furnace.
"You done?" Mr. Stark asked, pushing his sunglasses back on his head and bunching up his hair like Peter liked it. He almost told him then, told him that he thought it was cute when his sunglasses ruined his perfect hair, but he didn't.
"Done with what?" Peter panted out and sucked in a few more breaths.
"Venting your frustration." Stark extrapolated and Peter sighed. Stark always knew what Peter was up to. Whether he was picking at his fingernails because he was anxious regarding a test, or he was running laps because he was pissed about a game. Stark knew, Stark understood.
"Yeah, I'm done." He finally said, wiping the sweat from his brow and pushing his hair back. It was probably only five in the afternoon since they'd had an early game, the sun was still bright outside. The boys were probably making plans for the night. It was Friday night, of course they would have plans.
"You gonna go get drunk with your team?" Mr. Stark asked coolly. It wasn't an accusation and it wasn't something that he could deny. Mr. Stark was simply stating that his team would be getting drunk, the only variable was Peter.
"Rather get drunk by myself." He said honestly. Peter would like to just sit in his room with a feminine bottle of wine at the moment. Drink until he vomited, or drink until he passed out, either one. Drank until Erik cared about him.
"You could do that." Stark said, looking out over the pitch, not judging Peter for his choices. "Or you could come help me piece by piece replace everything that has to do with the oil in the Toyota." Stark offered.
The oil, they needed to fix that soon because it was corroding some of the lines in the car. Stark had ordered all of the parts they needed, the only other component was Peter's help. "Let me go get changed. I'll see you in an hour." And Peter stood off the bench, stretching his arms above his head.
Mr. Stark stood too and put a hand on Peter's shoulder. "You don't have to Pete." He emphasized.
"Yeah but I want to." He assured and ducked out of Stark's grasp, using his last bit of energy to jog to the main building.
Received: The Avengers 5:30 pm.
captain america: not sure what happened earlier, but I think we should forget about it
starlord: that's my vote as well. [5:31]
ant man: i think we were just angry [5:32]
winter soldier: sorry quill, wasn't ur fault tonight [5:32]
falcon: yeah quill i'm sorry. i missed a pass and i was just pissed [5:34]
loki: I think you all missed ~every~ pass. [5:35]
thor: and you couldn't deflect a single ball [5:36]
loki: I can't say no to balls in my face :/ [5:36]
starlord: ahaha alright i'm gonna head into town and see if these fake ids are for shit [5:38]
black panther: sounds like a plan [5:39]
thor: loki ur not invited u look like ur 12 [5:40]
loki: You look like your head got smashed in, eat shit brother. [5:42]
ant man: if we're uninviting small people, i think that pete and buck both look like they're 12 also [5:45]
killmonger: pete probably won't come, pretty sure he's running a marathon outside [5:47]
ant man: anyone been out to check on him? [5:48]
loki: I think he just has to work off some steam. He seems really touchy recently. [5:49]
starlord: i think we should back off the kid a lil. he makes some good goals but he isnt a fucking wizard or anything [5:51]
spiderman: u remember the kid is part of your group chat [5:53]
captain america: just worried about you, pete [5:55]
spiderman: I know. Stop it. [5:56]
Peter silenced his phone and left it in his room while he was changing. He pulled on a pair of khaki shorts and a tee shirt, bringing the flannel he'd stolen from Mr. Stark with him just in case they were out late and it got cold. The evenings were bitter this time of year in Virginia. He wore the big shirt most nights that they were out working, Peter didn't really have any jackets he could afford to get dirty, and Stark hadn't mentioned it.
In the parking lot, most of his team was heading out the front gates, free to go since it was Friday night. He made a bee-line for the car though, raising a hand to Quill who waved him good bye before they made their way out. Peter didn't even have a fake i.d so he couldn't have gotten any drinks, but the rest of the team had made them last year.
Erik jogged over to Peter quickly before he left with everyone's else. "Hey Peter, you feeling okay? I mean, I know you hate that question. But you went for one of your stress runs, so I'm just wondering what has you stressed." Erik asked, resting a hand softly on Peter's shoulder.
Pete gave him a small smile and leaned up to peck his cheek. "I'm fine, just didn't like everyone fighting. See you tomorrow, I'll bring you some tea for your hangover." He said cheekily, assuming that Erik would probably get just as drunk as the rest of them, and they could get pretty damn drunk.
"Keeping me straight Petey, alright yeah see you tomorrow." He promised and brushed a thumb along Peter's cheek bone before turning around to take off with the rest of the team.
Stark was bent over the hood of the car, the band of his Calvin Klein boxers peeking above his jeans. His shirt was pulled tight across the muscles of his back and his hair was slicked back with sweat. He glanced back at Erik over his shoulder, and then to Stark. He shook his head, clearing any haze and came up beside Stark.
"Gonna get started on the oil Mr. Stark." Pete said and grabbed the skateboard that was leaning against the side of the car.
"Actually I need your help with something else. You know that torsion bar we were gonna replace underneath the car? Yeah well the old one just cracked so we really need to get it replaced. You get under the car and get the old piece out, I'll try and brace everything up here." He instructed and Peter nodded, laying his back on the skateboard and sliding under the car.
The bar was easy enough to find since it was pretty huge. He could see Stark from underneath the car, still leaned over the hood and working on it from the top. Peter got to work with a screw driver, trying to undo all the parts and get the piece out without letting it all drop on his face and crush him. He used his knee to awkwardly stabilize one part of it while his hands worked to get the rest of it.
He had to put another knee up to keep a piece of the chassis from coming loose. The bar was basically spreading two parts of the car, and by taking it off he was putting other parts of the car at risk. Thankfully, a lot of big parts weren't in the car yet or else this would have been a much more major operation, but Peter was at a very awkward angle. He was basically doing a crunch, with both his legs in the air and having to still work with his hands.
"Hey Mr. Stark! Some pieces are falling and I can't get all of them." Peter called out finally, he probably could have stayed in that position forever but another part seemed like it was coming loose.
"Alright, yeah I'm done up here, give me one second." Not a minute later Stark was sliding under the car on yet another skateboard that Peter hadn't seen around before, just like Mr. Stark though to have a multitude of expensive tools but rely on old skateboards to get underneath the car.
He slid under next to Peter and took in the situation with a small chuckle. "Little help?" Peter asked, turning to give him a smile as well.
"Yeah, yeah. These parts shouldn't be falling anyway. Just get that bar in and then we can fix the side by your head that's slowly falling in." Peter looked up and noticed that there was a large piece of metal that was sagging closer to his head. Stark pushed himself closer to where Peter's legs were and pushed one away, resecuring the part that was falling. Stark's elbow brushed against Peter's calf and he scrunched his nose up a little at the feeling, it was weirdly intimate.
Peter tried to forget about it by focusing on his work, but then Stark had to move his other leg and if Peter didn't know better he would have thought that Stark's hand hesitated on his leg for just a moment longer than necessary.
With everything back in place Stark scooted up next to him, and Peter sucked in a breath. They were shoulder to shoulder, Stark working on something right next to Peter's hands. Peter went stiff, but it wasn't because he was afraid or uncomfortable. "Sorry, kinda cramped Petey." Stark said and Peter sucked in a breath. "Uh, sorry, Peter." He corrected himself.
"It's cool, everyone calls me Petey." He reassured, he wanted to tell Stark to keep calling him that, but held his tongue.
"I'm gonna reach over you real quick." Stark said and then suddenly Stark's shoulder blade was on Peter's chest and Peter had to tweak his lips to the side. "Alright I think that should be it." Mr. Stark said as Peter finished up with the bar.
Peter looked over at him right as Mr. Stark was looking over and their noses brushed against one another. They both didn't move for a moment, staring into each others eyes and sharing breath. Peter, oddly enough, broke the contact first, sliding out from under the car and breaking the trance they'd been in. Peter had to move, or else he would have closed the distance and kissed Mr. Stark, and he couldn't do that. He couldn't. Neither of them mentioned the moment after that.
Received: 456-8734-0922 4:18 pm.
Peter Parker?
Sent: Peter 4:19 pm.
yeah, who's this?
Received: 456-8734-0922 4:22 pm.
It is May!
Sent: Peter 4:23 pm.
No way! You got a cellphone without my help? awesome
Received: Aunt May 4:25 pm.
I still have some tricks up my sleeve Peter. I have another surprise for you too.
Sent: Peter 4:27 pm.
oh man, two surprises in one day?
Received: Aunt May 4:29 pm.
I will be at your game tonight. And then we will go to dinner.
Sent: Peter 4:30 pm.
woah May you didn't have to come all the way out here! But that's awesome
Received: Aunt May 4:32 pm.
See you after your game mister.
Peter left his phone in the locker room and made his way out to the pitch with a huge smile on his face. He looked out to the stands, and sure enough, May was sitting in a seat, just two down from Mr. Stark.
"Alright, everyone huddle in!" Quill called and Peter got into the circle, right next to him. It was just a week after their last game and they'd been training pretty seriously for it. There was no chance they would loose since they were in peak shape and the opposing team wasn't usually very great. "This is probably going to be an easy game, but don't let you guard down, alright?" He asked and everyone nodded. It was too early in the season for them to get cocky, and their record still wasn't good enough.
"Hey what about that thing that Peter did the first game? That goal he made? Think we could do that again?" Steve suggested.
"What do you think Peter. Can you pull it off?" Quill asked looking over at him.
"Oh, uh I mean it was kind of a stroke of luck but I can try it." Peter promised.
"Sounds good, let's break and get out on the field." Quill said and the team broke their circle, jogging out to their spots.
The game was just as long as always, but as they all suspected, it wasn't a challenge at all. Peter scored two goals, one for Stark and one for Aunt May. They ended up winning the game 4-1, which is about what they'd expected. It was still nice to win one though, after their loss last weekend.
The past week had been full of practices and running, Peter barely had time to work on the car more than his usual few hours a day, but it was coming along really nicely. The only weird thing was that Mr. Stark had been a lot more professional towards him. Hadn't called him Petey again and had barely even gotten close enough for them to brush shoulders. Peter understood why, he just didn't like it.
"You're just so good at that game. I don't understand why you haven't gotten a college scholarship for it yet." May mused over her dinner. It wasn't a fancy restaurant, just a diner that they found in the middle of town. Peter was just wearing jeans that he'd changed into, had barely even showered off so that he could get going with May, who had driven all the way from Alexandria to Richmond. Peter didn't like her driving by herself, but she often liked to remind him that she wasn't that old. Peter just couldn't help but worry about her, she was the last thing he had.
"I think i'll have enough academic scholarships to get in somewhere good." He assured her. He'd already been given a few scholarships, but he was really hoping to get a full ride somewhere. He and May had virtually no money, he couldn't work while going to Cantu, it would just be impossible to swing any really good colleges without almost a full ride.
"Well, I know you'll make it. My Peter's the smartest kid in Virginia." She said and Peter let out a laugh, choking on his soda a little which made her laugh as well. "So how's your boyfriend? Erik? He seemed so nice." She asked. He'd brought Erik around for dinner twice during the summer. It was hard since they didn't live in the same town, but Erik's family was loaded enough that they were able to meet a few times over the summer. Most of it he'd spent hanging out with his old friends from Alexandria.
"I-uh, things are fine. Good, things are good." He said. Usually Peter would tell May everything, but he just didn't want to think about Erik and Stark, didn't want her to worry about him.
"Peter." She said shortly and raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't lie to me." She wanted.
How the hell does everyone know when I'm lying, he thought to himself, frustrated that she saw right through him. He felt like everyone could see right through him, apparently he wasn't as good of a liar a he thought.
"Uh, I guess things aren't all that good. Kind of thinking of breaking things off." He said with a slight shrug of his shoulders and tried to distract himself by taking a huge bite of his burger, stuffing his mouth so he couldn't answer any more questions.
"Have you found another boy you like?" She asked, not caring that Peter was currently chewing and would have to take a moment to answer.
He took some time to think about his answer as he finished eating, wondering just how much about Stark he should tell her. He definitely shouldn't say he's a teacher. "Yeah actually, there's this one guy I uh, I really like him." Peter emphasized.
"Why don't you tell me about him? I want to know all the juicy details." She encouraged him.
"Oh like you don't get enough gossip at the hospital?" He asked her and she playfully slapped him on the shoulder. "Fine, fine. He's uh, he's handsome. Like really handsome, insanely handsome. Always dresses nice, he has such a nice bu-body." He corrected himself with a small flush and May just grinned.
"And what's his name Peter?" She asked and he scrambled to think for a moment. What was his name? He had to have seen it written out somewhere.
"It's uh, Tony. Yeah Tony." He finally said, a small grin creeping to his face at having said that man's name out loud. He's never said it before, and he liked it. Tony Stark.
"Well sounds like you really like this boy Peter. You should go for it. I mean, if you're sure, I know you really liked Erik too, don't rush into anything, but do what's best for you." She said and Peter nodded along, May always gave the best advice.
"Yeah, got it May. Now what were you telling me about this nice man getting hip surgery?"
"So that was the Aunt May you told me about?" Stark asked. He was in the back seat of the car leaning over where he was putting in new speakers right behind the back seats. Peter was in the front of the car working on the stereo part of it. If he turned his head just a little Stark's ass, covered in denim jeans that were just a little too tight, would be right there.
"Yeah, I was super surprised. She's only been to like three of my games. Used to come all the time but now the drive is hard on her." He explained and put the flashlight in his mouth so that he could better see all the small wired he had to hook up. It was not an easy process putting a new stereo in a car from the 60s, but Stark was basically determined to get it done. The car was cooking along. Peter just had to paint it, then Stark would finish up everything with the engine, they would complete redo the interior since it was gross, and then hopefully, she would be street worthy.
"Well she was seriously cheering for you. Maybe the loudest old lady I've ever met." Stark joked and Peter laughed a little.
"She's pretty passionate about my soccer. Well everything I do really. She's always there for me. I just wish that she didn't have to keep working. She's only on call, but still I wish she could retire." He mused. She's lived such a crazy life that Peter thought she ought to have the right to retire, but she just wouldn't make enough money for the apartment, and she didn't want to get rid of it because Ben had lived in it.
"That sucks. Hey one day you'll be making the big bucks though and she won't have to do anything." Stark promised and then slid out of the back seat. "Alright, that is in there about as well as it's gonna be. Want a soda Pete?"
Peter got out of the car as well, it was unseasonably warm outside and so they were both just wearing white tee shirts. Stark's was a little see through but Peter looked away. "That sounds great sir."
Stark grabbed his bag from the ground and handed Peter a luke-warm coke that he opened and drank about half of in the first sip, not realizing how dehydrated he was until it was in his system, should probably have some actual water at some point.
"So do you actually skateboard or do you just have them?" Peter asked, taking a seat on one of them and absentmindedly pushing himself back and forth with his feet on the ground.
"Oh kid, you're talking to a skateboard pro." Stark said and gave him an innocuous wink before setting down his soda and grabbing the other board. He set it on the ground, gave Peter yet another wink and then did basically the most flawless kick flip that Peter had ever seen.
"Okay seriously, where did you have time to learn how to do that?" Peter asked and Stark did an ollie, seemingly just showing off with fancy board work at this time.
"I graduated from MIT but I didn't go to most the classes." He joked. "Here get on that board I'll show you some stuff." He said.
"Uh, I don't know, I've never even ridden a skateboard." He admitted. He never had the type of friends who would go to the skatepark or anything, and it kind of intimidated him. Skateboarders seemed so cool and Peter was so not.
"Come on it's easy. Get on, here I'll hold your hands." And then Mr. Stark was gripping both of his hands as he stood on the skateboard and got himself balanced. Peter had a hard time focusing on the actual skateboard when his hands were locked in with Starks. Both of them were clammy, but Peter didn't care, not at all.
Finally, Stark pulled his hands away and let Peter balance himself. "Look you're a natural. Then you just put down your front foot and push yourself forward. Kinda hard on the asphalt but not impossible." Stark got on the other board and demonstrated.
Peter looked down at his feet, trying to position them exactly like Stark had his and then he slowly lowered his front foot to the ground and pushed, going maybe half a foot and not putting his front foot back on the board.
"See you're ready for the big leagues!" Stark encouraged and Peter tried one more time, bringing his front foot back on the board this time, but falling spectacularly onto the ground. "Oh damn, you okay kid?" Stark asked and walked over to where Peter had fallen.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Maybe I need a little more practice." He joked and Stark held out his hand. Peter took it naturally and stood up.
Stark had an easy smile on his face and looked at Peter, studying him almost. Peter focused his own eyes on Stark's lips, their hands still clasped loosely.
"Uh, alright then. Let's get back to work." Stark said, breaking their contact.