It started when Peter entered the penthouse through the window as he was getting back from a late night patrol. He was staying with Tony over the weekend, and because of that, Peter had told his mentor that he would get to the tower on his own after he was finished with patrol.
"Hey, Mr. Stark!" Peter smiled as he pulled his mask off, and threw his bag on the couch. "Are we working in the lab tonight?"
Tony chuckled, finally looking up from his phone, "Hey, Kid. I was think- woah. Where'd that shiner come from?" His face transformed from a relaxed state, to a frown. The wrinkle line between the man's eyebrows appearing- making the concern Mr. Stark felt known to whoever cared to look.
"Huh?" Peter voiced, bringing his hand up to his eye. He winced when his fingers came into contact with the bruised skin around his eye. "O-Oh. Just something that happened on patrol."
"Something that happened on patrol?" Tony repeated skeptically, his eyebrow raised showing that he didn't believe the younger boy one bit. He put his phone back in his pocket and rested his elbows on his knees. "And what exactly happened on patrol?"
Peter shifted on his feet, awkward at the prospect of suddenly being in the spotlight. "Th-There was a kid who was getting tossed around. I helped out as Spider-Man."
"Uhuh…" Tony mumbled, "And did you manage to catch this kid's name?"
Peter frowned, twisting the mask in hands. He couldn't believe that Mr. Stark didn't believe him. Peter had opened up to his mentor about his… issue with Flash, so he didn't expect Mr. Stark to think Peter was lying! "I-I think his name was… his name was Jorge?"
"Think?"
"I know, okay? I know his name was Jorge," Peter huffs, running his hand through hair and looking down at the floor. What was Mr. Stark's problem?
"And what were the other kids doing?" Tony asked.
"They were older dudes! I dunno what they were going to do! I just know that they were trouble!" Peter huffed, and turned his eyes to the hallway. He let out a frustrated sigh, and ran his hand through his hair again, "Whatever. I'm gonna go get changed."
"Yeah, you go do that."
Peter rolled his eyes once he was sure Tony wouldn't see, and walked to go get changed. If Tony was going to use every detail Peter told him against him… maybe he should just stop telling him these kind of things.
It would sure be easier that way.
Showers after patrol were always a bit hotter than necessary. It was something from his bad days (the dark days after Skip, and what happened with Uncle Ben) that he never grew out of. Peter always saw… things during patrol, and the hotter-than-necessary showers always seemed to wash everything away.
After his shower, Peter slowly changed into his pajamas. Maybe it was because he wanted to put off talking to Mr. Stark. Maybe it was because he was tired. The world would never know.
He checked his phone as he walked back to the common room, and scrolled through the Decathlon group chat. Practice, practice, Flash teasing and then being put in his place my MJ, practice, memes, more practice, tea being spilt…
The usual. The normal.
Peter loved normal. He'd taken it for granted before, but he treasured the small moments of normalcy when he got them.
When he walked back to the common room, Mr. Stark was back on the couch. He elbows were resting on his knees, with his hands clasped and supporting his chin. The man was staring into the coffee table like it had hidden the answer to a question he had been working on for years.
"Mr. Stark?" Peter called out. He may have been upset with his mentor, but that didn't mean that he didn't care about the man's wellbeing. "Mr. Stark is everything alright?"
Mr. Stark jumped slightly, and quickly turned his head in Peter's direction. The billionaire must have been deep into thought to not notice Peter's appearance. "Yeah, Kid. Just-" He pursed his lips, and huffed before gesturing to the seat next to him. "Can we talk? Please?"
It was a question. Not one of those 'It sounds like I'm asking you, but this is actually an order and I will be upset if you don't follow said order'. Peter was being given a choice. a choice where he could say yes or no without any repercussions. On one hand, Peter really didn't feel like having any heart to hearts at the moment. But on the other hand, he could tell that if he said no to Mr. Stark it would only build up a wall Peter had just managed to get through.
So Peter nodded slightly, "Yeah. Sure." He made his way over to the couch and sat next to his mentor. He turned to give Mr. Stark his full attention, and folded his legs so he was sitting criss-cross.
It was silent for several seconds. Peter wasn't making eye contact with Tony, choosing to instead look down at his hands that were twisting his shirt nervously. He could see his mentor open and close his mouth a few times- trying to decide on what to say.
"I checked KAREN's footage," Mr. Stark finally admitted, looking sheepish. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you."
Peter nodded, but still didn't look up. Mr. Stark hadn't trusted him enough without using the Baby Monitor protocol? Cool. Great. Amazing. One hundred percent okay.
Not.
"Kid?" Tony spoke gently, craning his neck to look into Peter's eyes. "What's going on in that genius brain of yours?"
Peter hesitated. Would it bother Mr. Stark if he actually told the man what was wrong? Would it change something in the mentor/mentee relationship that they had going on? "Why…" Peter took a deep breath to calm his nerves, "Why didn't you believe me?"
Tony blinked, mouth pursing and eyebrows folding into that worrying motion once more. "I don't know," He admits, "I think- no, I know- that it's because I was worried. Yes, I know that doesn't give me an excuse not to trust you, and I do trust you, Peter. I swear, I do trust you. And I'm so sorry that I didn't take your word for it."
Peter had looked up to stare into Mr. Stark's worries eyes when the man had reassured that he trusted him. He saw the most raw honesty that he recognized from when he and May had the serious talks. The look of vulnerability of laying everything on the table, and trusting the other person with the knowledge they were handing out. It was a look Peter didn't think he'd see on Mr. Stark.
"Okay," Peter whispers.
"Okay?" The crinkle between Mr. Stark's eyes is still there, but know his eyes are wide.
Peter nods, "I- I mean. It's not okay. But I forgive you. You were just worried. I get it, May gets like this too sometimes."
Oh my God, did he just compare Mr. Stark to his Aunt May out loud? And to his mentor's face?
Mr. Stark just chuckled, his shoulders relaxing and a relieved smile making his way onto his face. "Thanks, Kiddo-" He pats Peter on the shoulder- "Good work on patrol by the way. How was that churro you got?"
Peter groaned, hiding his smiling face into the palms of his face. It had been a pretty good churro.
AN: Sorry for lack of updates everyone! I'll be back on schedule soon.
Next? Day Nine: Coma
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