Marvel owns these fine folks
A/N: This is much longer than I thought it would be, so I decided to break it into 2 parts. Don't forget to review and tell me your thoughts!
Chapter 10: Winter Break, Part 1
Time surged forward quickly. Peter was pleasantly surprised by how MJ handled his secret. She was a really good ally, especially since she helped to keep Ned in check. Anytime Ned started to even get a funny look on his face, MJ was ready to perform any necessary damage control. It was a huge weight off Peter's shoulders. MJ even started to take turns with Ned as far as helping to keep his belongings off the street and out of the wrong hands. After the last incident with MJ, Peter started going out in shorter increments on most days. He always chose about 2 days a week when he would spend a longer time patrolling the neighborhood, and he altered the days to avoid a recognizable pattern. Most school nights, he finished his training by 5:00 P.M., so he would meet either Ned or MJ behind a restaurant to get food for dinner. Occasionally, both of his friends were there to meet him and listen to the stories about the day's adventures. Most of the time, they opted for take-out and took it back to the apartment to eat with May. Then, they would go to Peter's room to work on homework. If they weren't at his apartment, Peter would end up doing homework at one of his friend's houses. He enjoyed the routine, and both May and Tony approved of the way Peter was balancing his schedule. Things were finally looking up, and Tony told May that he hadn't heard anything from Ross. Life was comfortable, and Peter couldn't wait to spend his winter break back with Tony upstate.
He only had to wait a couple more weeks. It was early December, and Peter was finishing one of his shorter rounds. He planned to meet both of his friends that evening behind one of their favorite pizza places. MJ texted that she had already ordered a couple of pizzas to take back and eat with May. Peter was feeling super confident with his web combinations. Utilizing the different settings was second-nature to him now, and he was able to focus on hearing and seeing more of the happenings in the city below. It had been a quiet patrol; he returned a lost dog, stopped a grand theft bicycle, and helped an older lady with a walker cross a busy intersection. Life was good as the "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man."
As Peter made his way towards the pizza place, he could already see Ned (all bundled up) standing by the corner. It was getting really cold in the city, and Peter was almost sure that he heard Ned's teeth chattering with his enhanced hearing. Peter saluted his friend and made his way into the alley. It didn't take Peter long to change and meet Ned at the corner.
"Ready, dude?" He asked Ned. "Ned?" he said again when he didn't get a response. "You ready to go inside?"
"Frr…Frr-ozen." Ned chattered back. "I'm-I…uh…d-don't think I can m-move."
Peter laughed at him, "Come on, let's get you inside" he said, tugging on his friend's arm to get him moving.
They found MJ inside the pizza shop paying for their dinner.
"N-next t-t-time you w-wait in the cold!" Ned snapped at her.
She rolled her eyes, "Don't be such a sissy, Ned. Here…" she handed him the pizzas to carry. "…these will keep you warm as we walk back."
"Ahh…" he sighed as he felt the warm boxes on his cold hands. "Thanks, MJ." He followed them back outside and watched the other two share a sly smile. "Hey! Wait! You're not going to make me carry these the whole way, are you? Um…guys?"
He watched as the other two kept laughing to themselves and walked side-by-side ahead of him. They joked playfully, and Ned didn't miss the way MJ's shoulder brushed against Peter's. If he didn't know any better, he would think that they were crushing on one another. "Nah…" he thought to himself.
"It is pretty cold out here," MJ commented as she stuck her hands deep into her pockets. "Don't you get cold in that…" she coughed, "…that work uniform of yours?" She nodded her head towards the suit that was now tucked back into his school bag.
"Nope." Peter said easily. "Mr. Stark put a heater in the suit."
"Of course, he did," MJ stated, managing to sound less than impressed.
"I don't really need it when I'm swinging around, though." He added. "But it does come in handy sometimes." He smiled to himself recalling the first time he used it after being dropped in the cold lake.
"Maybe Mr. Stark can make me a jacket with a heater?" Ned remarked. "I'm not sure I can wait for you too long if it gets much colder. What if it snows or something?"
"I doubt May will want me out in the bad weather, Ned" he answered.
They made it back to the apartment and were all relieved to get inside the building where it was warm. They entered the apartment to find May setting the table for four.
"There you are!" May greeted the trio. "Ned, I have the oven on warm. Why don't you stick those in there to warm up a little?"
He did as May suggested, and they all went into Peter's room to put down their belongings and take off their coats.
May loved nights like this. She was so happy that Peter could be 100% himself with his friends. Plus, it helped her to have someone to talk to about Peter's secret. "Well, someone other than Tony Stark," she thought. It didn't matter that they were teenagers. MJ especially was wiser than her years.
She smiled upon taking another look at the young girl. She had her hair in a pretty braid today, and May thought her sweater looked new. She couldn't help but wonder if Michelle Jones was trying to get her nephew's attention. She doubted Peter would really notice, though. He seemed less interested in girls or dating lately, especially now that Peter had told her more about Liz and her father.
They all sat down and listened to Peter's stories before the conversation turned towards something that had happened earlier in the day at school. Apparently, that Flash kid got himself into trouble after backing his dad's car into a dumpster.
"He tried blaming it on Spider-Man, but that excuse only worked once, after Homecoming," Peter laughed.
"Hey, I talked to Pepper today," May informed him. The other two knew all about Pepper Potts. Rumors about her wedding with Iron Man were all over the internet.
"It looks like things are set for us to go upstate on the 26th. Happy will be picking us up in the morning around 8:00 A.M."
Peter nodded and smiled. She could tell by his body-language that the 26th couldn't come soon enough. There was something off though. "Is that ok?" she asked.
Ned, MJ, and May were all studying him now, and Peter looked up sheepishly.
"It's just…" Peter spoke up. "I have no idea what to get Mr. Stark for Christmas. What do I get the man who already has everything? I know he doesn't expect a gift, but it's just…" he took a breath, "…I feel like I should give him something. You know…to thank him for all that he is doing for me."
The others looked thoughtful. "Maybe try something with more sentimental value?" MJ offered.
"I'm not sure he's the sentimental type," Peter answered. "Plus…I don't think I really have anything."
"Everyone is sentimental," MJ said with complete confidence in her words. "You'll think of something."
The kids helped May clear the table before heading back to Peter's room to finish their homework.
They had to draw angles with protractors for their math homework, but Peter couldn't find his in his backpack. He figured he must have knocked it out when he was changing in the alley. Ned offered for Peter to use his.
"It's cool." Peter said, "I think I have an old one in my desk."
Peter opened the bottom drawer and rummaged around for a while. "I know it's here. It probably just fell to the bottom," he thought. He pulled out some old drawings from elementary school and set them on top. When he found what he was looking for, he went to replace the pictures.
He stopped the moment he saw one of his drawings peeking out of the pile. "No way!" He thought to himself. "I can't believe I still have this!"
The drawing was a bust of Iron Man. He completed the picture for an art project after the teacher asked them to draw a figure of someone they admired. Peter had worked hard on this picture. He wasn't an artist, but he put extra effort to get everything just right…especially the arch reactor in the chest. He always found that technology to be particularly interesting. Peter turned it over, and found his messy handwriting on the back with the words, "When I grow up, I want to help people like Iron Man."
"Dude, did you find it?" Ned asked.
"Yeah!" Peter answered his friend quickly while he placed the drawing back in his desk carefully. He returned to his work with a huge grin on his face.
"Something exciting about math homework?" MJ asked.
"Uh…well, yeah…I love math." Peter answered with a grin. "Actually, I may have just found my gift for Mr. Stark," he thought. He kept that to himself, though. He didn't think that his friends needed to know that.
Michelle shrugged before turning back to her own paper.
By 8:00 o'clock, MJ and Ned were leaving. This was May's favorite time. The time when she could have Peter to herself before he went off to bed.
"You know, Pepper did say that you could pick a day to invite Ned and MJ upstate." May told him.
Peter looked up at that, and she didn't miss the huge smile on his face, "Really? Why didn't you say something when they were still here?"
"I thought I should tell you first and let you think about it. Maybe you can talk to Tony about what day could be best, especially since Happy will likely need to give them a ride." She smiled to herself imagining the disgruntled look the man would have on his face at picking up a couple of teenagers.
"That would be so cool! They would love that. I could tell them about it as like a Christmas gift or something! I'll talk to Mr. Stark and then talk to them about a day at school tomorrow." Peter walked over and kissed his aunt on the cheek. "Thanks for telling me, May!"
The last thing she heard him (and sometimes saw him) do in the evening was put on his mask and send a video report to Tony through KAREN. She had no doubt that tonight's report would include some ideas about having his friends visit the compound over break.
May smiled before walking over to the door and putting the deadbolt in place. She turned out the lights and looked forward to a good night of sleep ahead.
It was settled that Peter's friends would take a day to visit the compound on the 29th of December. Tony was actually looking forward to taking the opportunity to meet the famous Ned and MJ. He was impressed with the way Peter's friends looked out for him. "If only I could find more friends like that," Tony thought. He tried not to think about Steve Rogers and his betrayal, but the wound was still fresh. He didn't think he would ever forget the image of his parents' brutal murder at the hands of James Buchanan Barnes.
Tony supposed another reason his parents' death was on his mind was due to the fact that the anniversary of their death had just taken place. 26 years later, but their death felt all the more recent due to learning the truth. The accident hadn't been an accident at all. It bothered him that Steve could take the side of the man responsible, brainwashed or not. "He didn't even have the decency to tell me that he knew they were murdered!" He often wondered when or how Steve discovered that fact for himself. The man had been frozen for 70 years, and yet he knew the truth before Tony. He supposed he would have to start talking to the man again if he ever wanted to find that out, but he had no intention of making up with the star-spangled knuckle head any time soon. Truthfully, he suspected Nick Fury passed those details along to Cap somewhere along the way.
Tony shook his head as if to shake away those memories. He wanted to think of something more pleasant, like getting ready to see Peter after Christmas. He and Pepper entertained the idea of having them celebrate the with them on the holiday, but May and Peter apparently had traditions. They liked to do things similar to how they celebrated the holiday when Ben Parker was alive. It wasn't a problem. He would have Pepper all to himself and that suited him just fine.
He was eager to show Peter the most recent modifications to his web-shooter design. The materials were expensive, so Tony figured that would be the kid's Christmas present.
Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to spend New Year's Eve with Peter. Tony and Pepper were expected to make an appearance in Time's Square. He offered to have Peter and May join them, but Peter made a face and told Tony that he would prefer to stay upstate and watch the ball drop on the TV with May. He smiled as he recalled the story Peter told him. Apparently, Ben took May and a young Peter into Time's Square when he was around 8-years-old. Peter pulled a disgusted face and told Tony about a drunk man who urinated on the new sneakers Ben and May had given him for Christmas that year. After that, Peter had no interest in being anywhere near that insanity in Times Square ever again.
He and May would be heading back to Queens on New Year's Day, so Tony only hoped he could be back to the compound in time to bid them farewell.
Today was the 20th of December. He would see Peter in less than a week. He smiled at the thought before going to busy himself and tinker with his armor.
Peter sat up slowly in bed, scrubbing his hands over his eyes. He sat there for a few moments and allowed his body to become full alert. He glanced out his window to see the wreaths and ribbons decorating the doors and windows all down his street. He smiled, "It's Christmas morning!" Peter realized!
He jumped off his bed and stretched. He had spent all of Christmas Eve with Aunt May. They had started a tradition with Uncle Ben where they would go for a walk around the city, taking in the decorations and listening to carolers as they sang the usual Christmas songs. They would stop at a Starbucks where Aunt May would get a Gingerbread Latte and Peter would get the largest cup of hot chocolate that was available. They liked to take their beverages and finish walking around as it got dark. They would judge the lights that were put up on the various homes and businesses before heading home to watch A Miracle on 34th Street (the older one that was in black and white) and eat fresh popcorn.
The day before had been perfect, and he was excited about what this day would hold as well. He and May would exchange gifts and then head over to have brunch with Ned and his family. Mrs. Leeds insisted that they come. They would usually just enjoy some toast and jam after opening gifts and head to their favorite Chinese restaurant for an early dinner, another tradition started by Uncle Ben. Peter smiled at the memory. Ben had insisted on going out to eat every Christmas. May had tried to make him a Christmas dinner for their first Christmas after getting married, and she had nearly set the kitchen on fire. He decided that it was much safer to just go out.
Peter pulled on a shirt, sweater, and jeans before combing his hand through the mess of curls on his head. He wouldn't worry too much with his hair until it was time to go to Ned's house. Peter walked over to his desk and grabbed the gift that he bought for May. Next to his aunt's gift was the one that he had ready for Tony. He had put his old drawing in a clear, plastic frame that would allow Tony to see both the front and back. Peter looked at the gift and frowned.
"He'll think this is stupid." He thought. "I don't know what I was thinking. I'm 15! This picture was drawn by a 10-year-old for a homework assignment! It doesn't even look that nice. Ugh! Why did MJ put it in my head that it should be something sentimental?"
Peter drummed his fingers on the desk for a minute. He pushed the picture aside and picked up the small white box that contained the gift for his aunt.
Walking out of his bedroom, he found May making toast and setting out some jam. She was wearing a Santa hat and had a huge smile on her face. "Merry Christmas, Peter!" she practically sang the greeting when she saw him.
"Merry Christmas, Aunt May!" he smiled back at her.
He went over and snagged a piece of toast. It was a special cinnamon bread from the bakery a few blocks over, and it was only available this time of year. He liked spreading it full of an apple jam that was made by one of their neighbors.
May's eyes sparkled at him as he took a bite. "Slow down!" She scolded playfully. "We want to try to make that last, you know!"
Before long, they were sitting on the couch with their small artificial tree nearby. Peter and May only ever exchanged one gift. They felt it was irresponsible to spend too much money on numerous gifts, so they opted to try and get one meaningful gift for one another.
"Me first!" Peter proclaimed, handing the small box to May. He was especially proud of his gift for May this year.
May slowly reached forward and took the little white box. Peter didn't bother wrapping it since he wasn't really good at that. Therefore, it didn't take May long to see the PANDORA name on the box. Her eyes went wide, and she looked at Peter in shock. "Oh, Peter! You didn't…" May gasped, "…how did you? I mean…this is too much!"
May didn't even need to open the box to know what was going to be inside. She knew that Peter had seen her gaze longingly at a pair of earrings on display. When Peter asked her about it, she told him they reminded her of the earrings that she wore on her wedding day. The earrings were borrowed from an aunt, and she had to give them back. Yet, she always loved those earrings. Peter had tried to convince her to buy them, but she refused and told him she couldn't justify spending the money.
She opened the box to see the beautiful earrings gleaming back at her. They weren't real diamonds or anything, but that didn't matter. PANDORA jewelry was still out of their price range.
"Peter…" she breathed his name, barely audible. Tears were making their way into her eyes as she looked up at him. "How did you manage this?" she asked with concern in her voice.
Peter gave a small laugh. "It's a little funny, actually," he explained. "As people saw Spider-Man around town, they started offering me money to do tricks or take a selfie with them. At first, I refused, but then I realized that it might be a good way to earn the money that I needed to get those for you. It really didn't take long. I had what I needed in less than a week!" Peter said proudly.
May laughed heartily. "Seriously? Wow…ok. I'll keep that in mind if we're ever behind with our bills in the future."
She held the box in her hands and removed the earrings with care. "Help me put them on?" she asked.
Peter smiled from ear to ear and complied with her request.
"You're beautiful, Aunt May." He complemented her once they were in. "But you don't need the earrings for that," he added.
"Aww, Peter!" May stood and walked to a mirror on the wall. "Gosh! They're perfect!" She returned to the couch and gave Peter a long hug. She pulled away and reached for his gift. "I feel silly. I'm not sure my gift is as nice as yours." She looked embarrassed. "I struggled for a long time about what to get Spider-Man for Christmas. I eventually settled on taking MJ's suggestion for you…something sentimental."
With that she handed him a beautifully wrapped gift (she had no trouble with wrapping). Peter studied her face for a moment and gave her a smile, "I'm sure I'll love it, May."
Peter ripped through the paper and found an expensive-looking frame. The picture inside the frame took his breath away. He had no idea this picture was still around. He recalled the day it was taken:
Peter was so excited to hear that the renovations to Stark Tower were complete. It had been torn apart in the attack. His Uncle Ben surprised him by taking him to see the new Avengers Tower together. They couldn't get inside or anything, so they just hung around to see if they could see anything interesting and took a few pictures. Peter was almost 12-years-old at the time.
"Let's take a selfie, Uncle Ben," Peter exclaimed.
"A what?" his uncle asked in confusion.
"You know…a picture that we take together of ourselves. You hold your arm out far enough to get us in frame and snap the picture," Peter explained.
"Sure, kiddo," Ben said.
Ben had brought his small digital camera along. Peter had teased him about cameras becoming obsolete and told his uncle to just get a phone with a nice camera. However, Ben refused to use a phone for anything except phone calls
Peter and Ben stood close together with their backs to the tower. Ben tried to make sure that they were both in the frame with the tower in the background.
"Ready?" Ben asked.
"Ready!" Peter answered.
"1…2…3!" Ben called and pushed the button to take the picture on 3. At about the same time, they heard a sound from the tower behind them.
"It's Iron Man, Uncle Ben! Do you see? There he goes!" Peter shouted with excitement.
"Will you look at that!" Ben said.
Peter thought he was talking about the man taking off into the sky, but Uncle Ben was looking at the preview on the camera. "We caught him in our picture, Peter!" Ben said. "He's just a small spec, but there he is!"
"Really? That's so cool!" Peter said running over to take a look.
"This is awesome, Uncle Ben! We need to go show Aunt May."
"We will" Ben smiled at his nephew. "Let's go." Ben gave a laugh. "You'll have to help me get this off the camera, Peter. I always have trouble with that part."
"Sure!" Peter was staring at the picture as they walked towards the train station. They both had these goofy grins on their faces in the picture, but Peter didn't care. He thought it was the best picture ever!
Back in the present, Peter held back tears of his own. "I thought Uncle Ben lost this picture file when his laptop broke. I never thought I'd see this again. I love this picture!"
"I found the old camera card," May explained. "Ned helped me get it printed out. It seemed appropriate…it's almost like an omen. Maybe some part of Uncle Ben knew the Avengers would be part of your future."
May looked down at the photo cradled in Peter's lap. "I guess Stark was always lurking in the background," she joked but then grew more serious, "or rather he was there…ready to look out for you."
A tear slid down Peter's cheek. "Thank you so much for this, Aunt May!" He gave her a hug before standing to take the picture over to the table for display. He would treasure it forever.
The rest of Christmas day had gone by smoothly. Before Peter knew it, Happy had them at the compound upstate and settled into their rooms on the 26th. Peter was thrilled to see Vision, and he was more than a little surprised to see that he looked more like a regular man, except for the yellow stone in his forehead. May seemed a bit more cautious of Vision. She wasn't sure how to behave around something that wasn't exactly human. Vision seemed patient enough with her, though; somehow, he seemed to understand her apprehension.
Tony gave Peter a card to wear around the compound, for the sake of appearances. It identified him as an intern for Stark Industries. May got one as well, and it identified her as an assistant for Pepper. Tony wasn't sure that it was necessary, but he felt the need to be cautious.
On the evening of the 26th, May and Peter had a belated Christmas dinner with Tony and Pepper in their home on the fourth floor. It was no surprise that the food was delicious. Peter had brought his gift for Tony, be he wasn't sure when the right time would be to give it to him. There was even part of him that thought he shouldn't give it to him at all.
Pepper had complimented May on her earrings, and Peter noticed that she beamed while telling Pepper the story behind them.
Tony had told Peter about his web-shooters/gift not long after he arrived that morning. After finishing dessert, he got an idea. He thought it might be best to get Tony alone in order to give him the picture.
"Do you think you could show me those web-shooters now, Tony?" Peter asked hopefully.
"Now?" Tony asked with surprise. "I don't know…it's getting late. I'd hate to leave the ladies alone to fend for themselves," He joked.
"Oh please," Pepper scoffed. "You've been dying to show Peter what you did. Go on! May and I will be just fine."
Peter and Tony shared a look, smiled, and quickly made their way to the elevator.
Peter picked up the bag containing his gift for Tony.
"Hurry, kid!" Tony joked. "Let's go before they change their mind!"
Once on the elevator, Tony noticed the bag Peter was carrying. "Whatcha got there?" he asked.
"Oh..erm…uh," he stuttered. "This is just something that I want to show you. I'll-I'll show you in the lab."
The two made their way into the lab, and Tony went straight towards the back table in the corner. He wasted no time pulling up the schematics and started showing the upgrades to Peter.
"See this?" he asked. "They're smaller and more lightweight. I'm thinking we could even modify a watch of some kind so that you can access your webs outside of the suit in case of emergen…" he trailed off as he noticed Peter wasn't really paying attention. He seemed to be fiddling with the bag on his shoulder, deep in thought. "Earth to Pete…" he called. "Expensive new tech…you wanted to see it?" Tony studied him a moment. "You alright, kid?"
Peter fidgeted some more and gave Tony an embarrassed look. "I don't know what I'm doing, Mr. Stark. I just…it's silly…you're going to think that I'm just a dumb kid," Peter blurted out.
Tony raised his eyebrows and looked confused. He had no idea what the kid was talking about. "You're anything but dumb, Peter," Tony said. "I got the ideas for this from one of your own sketches.
"No…I mean," he let out a breath, "it's not about the web-shooters. I wanted to give you something…away from the others, but now I just think it's stupid!" Peter spit out his words quickly.
"You talking about the thing you wanted to show me? The thing in that bag?" Tony asked. Peter didn't answer, and Tony noticed he had a deep blush on his face. "You're making me nervous, kid. Do I need a drink for this?"
"What?" Peter asked. "No…I don't think…ughh." Peter set the bag on the table and pulled out the clear plastic frame, without fully letting Tony see it yet.
"I found this in my desk at home," Peter explained. "I wanted to give you something…something for Christmas…to say thank you, I guess. I didn't know what to get you, and my friend MJ suggested something sentimental. I found this, and I thought…I thought you might like to see it." Peter put a hand to his head. "It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I think you're just going to think it's stupid. You made these awesome web-shooters, and I have this picture I drew when I was 10."
Peter finally revealed the picture to Tony. He didn't day a word. He just waited and watched Tony's face carefully for his reaction.
Tony took the framed drawing from Peter. He thought for a moment about teasing him and asking if the kid made him a picture for his refrigerator, but he thought better of it seeing the look on Peter's face.
He was surprised to find a decent drawing of the Iron Man armor from the chest up. It looked like the artist put great detail into the helmet and the arc reactor in the chest. It wasn't the best drawing of Iron Man that he'd ever seen, but there was something about it that really touched his heart. The words on the back made a flutter go through Tony's chest, and for a moment he thought there was still some shrapnel trying to make its way into his heart. "When I grow up, I want to help people like Iron Man" was written in a child's handwriting. Then he noticed the artist's name in the corner.
There was a lump in Tony's throat, and he didn't quite understand where it had come from. "You did this?" he asked.
Peter just nodded his head quietly.
Tony coughed to talk over that damn lump, "It's pretty good. Your detail with the arc reactor is especially noteworthy. I'm a little concerned about the sentence on the back, though."
Peter looked at Tony with concern, "You think it's stupid…I knew I should've just left it in the…"
"You misunderstand me, kid." Tony said. "This is…umm…ahem…it's one of the nicest gifts anyone has ever given to me. Kids have drawn pictures and given them to me, but this is from you. Ahem…it-it means a lot." Tony looked Peter in the eye. "I'm just not always sure that I make the best decisions. There are plenty of people that I haven't helped…people I haven't saved." Tony spoke honestly.
"You saved me." Peter said simply.
The silence in the room spoke volumes, and a lot was said in the way the two men looked at one another. There was a respect for one another that passed between them. Neither one really knew what to say exactly.
Tony laid a hand on Peter's shoulder, moved it up to his cheek briefly, and lowered it to the shoulder again with a friendly patting motion. He finally held the hand still on his shoulder and broke the silence, "Ahem…when I grow up…" Tony smiled, "I want to have a heart as big as Peter Parker's."
Peter beamed at his mentor and gave him a sheepish grin.
"Thank you, Peter," Tony said. He cleared his throat and broke the uncomfortable atmosphere in the room by saying, "This is totally going on the fridge!"