Hey guys!
So, this small oneshot is just about a diferent idea I had after watching Spiderman: Far From Home.
As always, thanks for reading. I hope you like it!
Twenty years later Peter thinks about the weight of those words on his life before and then.
For The Next Tony Stark
~.~
Peter entered his new office and closed the door behind him. Standing at the entrance, the thirty-five-year-old man looked at the place around him with shyness, still not believing that it was really happening to him. Even after having gone through many things that ordinary people would never dream of or even endure, even though he was strong and had maturity that came with his age and experience, there, in that room, Peter felt himself small as rare occasions could make him feel in the current years of his life.
His feet propelled him forward and the man took numb steps to the middle of the room, feeling the elegant black suit he was wearing tightening on his body, although it was tailored especially for him; the man loosened the red tie around his neck slightly to breathe better.
His eyes roamed the dark marble floor, the walls in cream and gray coloring that matched harmoniously with the mahogany furniture scattered in the room, there was five couch on the left side arranged around a small table for private meetings and close to a large wall-mounted television, pictures were hanging showing various decoration scenarios and the few potted plants gave the environment a feeling of warmth and welcome. A wide carpet was spread in the middle of the room and on the far side next to the glass wall where it was possible to see the whole city of New York, there was a glass elegant desk with a notebook on it, a pile of documents neatly arranged next to a group of pens, and resting in the corner were four photograph portraits of him and his family. Behind it was an executive armchair that seemed to be absurdly comfortable and right in the middle of the table, facing the office's door, there was the personal touch of Pepper, who extremely observant and detailed, wanted to make it clear to whom that place belonged and his importance to the company.
Peter stopped by the desk and took the decorative metal plaque in his slightly shaking hands, reading the words that were written, still barely believing Pepper had actually offered it to him and that he was convinced to accept it.
Peter Benjamin Parker - CEO
Stark Industries
The man laid the object back in its place and exhaled the air from his lungs; hadn't even realized that he had held his breath in the first place. He averted his eyes from the plaque to the environment that was still the same as it had been all those years ago; he had lost count of how many times he had been there in the past, coming to that room just to see him or Pepper.
Peter looked at the pictures on the desk, his desk now, he thought, still finding it weird to call it that. His gaze flickered over his portrait with Michelle and their son, the one of him, his aunt May and Happy, the other one of him with Morgan and Pepper, and he rested his gaze at the last of the row to watch the only picture he had of him and his mentor, and when he did, his memories took him back to that moment as vividly as if it had just happened yesterday and not so many years in the past.
"Kid, hold the damn certificate right!" Tony scolded, more amused than annoyed; Peter beamed at him, his smile so wide that it almost cracked his face in half.
"Come on, Mr. Stark! Upside down looks great too! Either way it suits that purple cabbage blazer you're wearing!"
The man glared at his protégé, offended.
"Did you know that this here cost ten thousand dollars?"
"Really?" The teenager snickered. "It is the most expensive purple cabbage I have ever seen then!"
The engineer reached out to grab him by the neck, but FRIDAY interrupted them.
"Look at the camera!" The AI warned.
Tony only had time to hold one side of the certificate and automatically smile while Peter grinned and quickly raised his hand and made rabbit ears behind his mentor's head before the flash came on.
The man sighed softly while still watching the engineer's face, and thought about how sometimes life could be funny and also surprising.
Since he was just a little boy he had known the name 'Tony Stark'. It was a word that was known anywhere in the world and spoke of fame, wealth and power, and, as he had also heard from less friendly opinions, it was associated also with playboy, weapons, eccentric, selfish, and what he understood only long afterwards, the Merchant of Death. Over time the name Tony Stark become associated with Iron Man and avenger, improving to genius, philanthropist, savior, hero and the World's Greatest Defender.
For Peter the name Tony Stark had only been attached to a person's face the first time he had watched a interview on television, which, by coincidence, had been exactly on that day.
"I am Iron Man." Tony Stark declared to the world, shrugging; the press immediately went crazy and several camera's flashes snapped into the billionaire's face while all the reporters started pouring out a whirlwind of questions at the same time.
The little eight-year-old boy's eyes widened; leaning forward, he almost glued his face to the apartment's small television screen, watching the images that alternated between recordings of Iron Man and the billionaire's interview that took place in real time.
He was sooooo awesome!
His aunt's voice called out in warning from the kitchen.
"Peter! Don't stay so close to the TV!"
The new CEO of Stark Industries directed his gaze to the glass wall and the city beyond; at that moment the sun was rising over New York with promises of a beautiful day, showing a very blue and cloudless sky, and he wondered how many times the billionaire had been there, standing in that same spot watching the scene ahead as he was doing now.
Not even in his wildest dreams that little boy imagined that one day he would personally meet that man who seemed a star so distant in the interview, or that he would come to like him and care so much.
He had never even thought before what Tony had felt that day, when he admit that he was the golden red hero who flew across the skies of the planet, taking over himself the heavy responsibility that came along with it.
"Tony was my best friend. And he was a mess. He second-guessed everything he did..." Happy's words came back to him.
Had Tony also been nervous or anxious that day in the interview? Had he even been afraid of the magnitude of what he was about to do? The strong image of self-confidence that he always conveyed had stayed firmly in place, but Peter thought the answer was yes, as he himself had gone through the same thing when he was forced to publicly admit he was Spiderman to later prove his innocence with Pepper and Shield's help and undo all the mess Quentin Beck had made.
Without realizing it he had followed the same steps of his mentor. He had been nervous, he had been anxious and afraid, and it was with the help of his friends that he had managed to overcome that phase of his life. He had never been alone and Tony had never been either, no matter how ugly things turned out to be sometimes.
For the next Tony Stark, I trust you.
Peter remembered those words again; even after so many years he still kept the old paper yellowed with the time inside his wallet, which at that moment was kept in his suit pocket. The small piece of sheet with Tony's unmistakable handwriting was one of the few things that had belonged directly to his mentor on a more personal level, and it was one of the most precious things he kept of him.
At that time the engineer's death was felt by all, but for him it lasted even longer; sometimes he still felt it in his heart when his mind rambled and he remembered. While he was still a confused teenager, filled with pain and mourning who was just learning to stand in that vast world, he felt on his shoulders the weight of the charge to take over the place that Iron Man had left, and finding that simple message, but so full of meaning, had scared him more than any super villain he had fought against.
He had been afraid, believing he wasn't worthy to take upon himself the responsibility for the high technology that his mentor had entrusted to him, in his naiveté choosing to run away and let the decisions be made by someone else. Even though he recovered EDITH after giving it to the wrong hands, it still took him a long time to really understand the meaning of the words that Tony had written to him.
"I just wanted to be like you." The teenager spoke in a faint whisper, feeling himself shrinking before the billionaire.
Tony still watched him with a unwavering gaze.
"And I wanted you to be better."
Peter put his hands inside his pants pockets, still watching the city ahead.
As much as he had gained part of the technology from Stark Industries and today he was the company's current CEO as the engineer had once been, he considered that the greatest legacy that Tony left him were his memories. That day at the Harbor he learned that behind a hero's mantle there was a real person with flaws who could also get hurt, and it was their character and not the suit that defined them. Be someone better, Tony had asked him, because no matter the situation, anyone can be a better person if they really wanted to.
"Pete." The engineer sat next to the teenager sprawled on the couch of his Penthouse looking absolute dejected. "You have to raise your head; don't let any idiot's words diminish you. If you are sure of whom you are, what you like and what you believe, just stay close to it. The real strength to change the world around us is within ourselves and the first step to be taken to make this happen needs to be ours. Quit that sniveling face, raise your head and be damn proud of it."
A smile slowly formed on the man's lips as another memory involuntarily returned to his mind.
Tony laid the screwdriver on the workstation and massaged his temples, feeling the headache coming.
"... And when I realized, everyone at school was talking about it, you know? I mean, it's okay that family is very important and that we have to think about how we would like it to be in the future, but to have this pressure to write a paper and read it aloud to the entire classroom is very annoying, Mr. Stark!"
The engineer looked at his protégé across the table; the teenager was pacing back and forth with his current project dismantled and forgotten several minutes ago.
"And it's extremely embarrassing! I mean, I don't even remember how my dad was like and my uncle Ben was my uncle and not my dad! Is not that I didn't like him a lot, but he was my uncle and I don't even know how I'm going to start to write about what I would do if I were a dad, it's stupid!"
Peter threw his arms up in distress and the billionaire sighed deeply. At least he could try to help, couldn't he?
"Look, kid, I'm not the best person to give that kind of advice." Tony started talking, putting aside his tools and momentarily pausing his project to fully give his attention to the teenager. "My relationship with my father was a big shit; we fought a lot, I rarely saw a gesture of affection coming from him and when I turned ten he gave me alcohol to start learning how to drink, so I can't say that I am a good living experience of what to do, but at least I can tell you what to not do."
The engineer shifted on his seat.
"When I was six years old my father sent me to live in a boarding school; don't throw your children away as if they were one of the objects in the laboratory that you won't be using anymore, make time to stay with them. If you want to get drunk, don't do it at home or you'll end up throwing the shit all over your wife and your kid. Before I turned ten, I knew more about guns and the cost to make them than about the primary and secondary colors, really, don't teach that kind of stuff to a child. Don't teach your kid that they have to clean their hands after anything they did, at least not using war and death as an example."
Peter was static, watching him with eyes so wide that they almost popped out of his skull. Tony sighed again. At least he tried, didn't he?
"Look, kid, when you have a little brat of your own, and I know that he or she will be insufferable as you because that's what you are-"
"Hey!" The teenager reacted, protesting indignantly.
"-just be there for them, okay? And if you can't, just let them know why, don't keep them in the dark and definitely don't give them alcohol when they turn ten years old. Just be there and talk to them and listen to them whenever they need to let something out, alright? At least that's what I wished my father had done when I needed."
Peter sighed again and closed his eyes; he missed him, he missed those days and those conversations a lot.
For the next Tony Stark.
His mentor's name had become synonymous of hope for many people after he saved their world, but for Peter, it became a reminder of who the engineer had really been to his family and close friends. To him, Tony's small message become an invitation to continue his legacy, his work, not only being the super hero that people expected him to be, but mainly being the person he was and who still had many things to learn, live, innovate and also to teach to other people.
I trust you.
"Peter." EDITH's voice interrupted his thoughts, summoning him back to the present, and the CEO of Stark Industries looked at his watch automatically.
"What is it, girl? Got anything interesting for me?" He inquired gently to the AI that has been a faithful companion in his life during those twenty years.
"Your son has just arrived at the tower; he is coming straight to your office."
After EDITH's warning, Peter waited; sure enough in five minutes the door suddenly opened and the hurricane that was his son entered the place. The fourteen-year-old paraded around, tossing his backpack across the room towards the couch, narrowing missing one of the decorative plant pots, and sprawled his body on the CEO's executive armchair, popping up his feet on the glass desk under his father's disapproving gaze.
"Hey, dad." He greeted lazily, burying his back into the seat. "Congratulations on your promotion! By the way, this chair is so damn comfortable! Can I sleep here when you and mom are turning the house upside down?"
"Anthony, please have manners." Peter scolded him soberly and the teenager's brown eyes met the man's with mock boredom.
"How many times am I going to have to ask you to call me Tony? Anthony makes me look as old as you." He complained making a face, but obeyed, taking his feet off the desk to cross his legs on the seat.
"Shouldn't you be at school?" Peter questioned him instead.
"I got kicked out finally, God bless! They got tired of me." At his father's unamused stare, Anthony shrugged. "Alright; I annoyed them so much to take the level test that they finally gave in. I was dismissed because I passed."
"This is great news, son." Peter spoke genuinely surprised. "Have you told your mother yet? In which grade will you be placed?"
"I told her, I'm coming from home. I'm going straight to college next semester."
The teenager stood up, amusement filling his countenance when he saw his father's jaw drop in shock.
"College?!" Peter repeated, incredulous and stunned, watching his son walk quickly around his desk towards the office's door.
"Hell, yeah! Isn't awesome? Aunt Morgan is in the labs, right? I'll tell her that I did it!" Anthony spun around to look back at his father; he stretched his arms far wide around himself and grinned excitedly. "What can I say, dad? I'm a genius!"
Peter's eyes widened then; for a very brief moment that didn't last more than a second, he thought he saw on his son's countenance the face the man that had occupied his mind for the last minutes and that he hadn't seen for so many years. Anthony reached for the door and the CEO of Stark Industries acted on instinct; under the sleeve of his suit his watch transformed into his webshooter and he threw a web at the teenager, pinning his right hand to the handle.
His reaction was immediate.
"Aww dad! Come on! It's not funny! Get this thing off me!"
Anthony glared at his father and Peter approached.
"Don't you think you're forgetting something?" The man inquired, his voice quivered slightly.
Peter couldn't say why the fierceness of his glare looked so familiar. He couldn't tell whether if he was just seeing things or if what had crossed his mind, that small and absurd possibility of life surprising him in that way was really real. The man didn't share his thoughts aloud; what he knew was that they were both there together, that each moment was too unique, precious and made to be lived intensely. He hugged his son tightly, wrapping the teenager in his arms and Anthony stiffened initially surprised, but soon his irritation subsided and he hugged his father back with his free arm.
"Dad ... huh ... you can let me go now ..." The teenager patted the man's shoulder awkwardly after one full minute of silence. "You know ... huh ... my personal space."
Peter chuckled lightly and released his son, removing the web from his hand; Anthony noticed that his father's eyes had darkened slightly by emotion, and grinning a little, even without understanding the reason for it, the teenager said softly.
"Don't worry, dad; even with you starting to get a few white strands in your hair, you are still the best dad ever."
"Brat." Peter said fondly; reaching out he messed his son's short brown hair and his kid squirmed around his fingers and escaped out of the office, running down the hall.
"You promised that we would work on your spider suit tonight, dad! Don't forget it!"
"I won't." The CEO called out in promise; his eyes watched his son walk away excitedly to the labs, wondering once more how funny life could be, and also so wonderfully surprising.