Tony puffed out his cheeks in exasperation, clenched his jaw tightly and walked away from Peter towards the windows. He could hear Peter sniffling and hiccupping as the kid attempted to get himself back in control. Tony grimaced as he listened. He felt like the most despicable human being ever to walk the face of the earth. This was crazy. He wasn't the parental type. Who the hell was he to think he could even try to mentor a 15-year-old kid? Gawd, he was an idiot. Tony spun on his heel and stole a look at Peter. The teen was staring at his hands, sniffling and shifting around uncomfortably where he sat. Tears shimmered on the kid's cheeks and the pathetic sight smacked Tony right in the gut. Tony had done a lot of crummy things in his time, but spanking Peter had to rank in the top ten. That had truly sucked.

"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. I-I just…I only wanted…" Peter said as he hiccupped. He didn't look up to notice that Tony was staring at him. "Are you gonna keep the suit?"

Tony held his breath a moment. Gawd, kid, is that all you're concerned about after what just happened? He thought. He'd heard kids were resilient and bounced back quickly, but this was ridiculous. Peter should be livid with him for overstepping personal boundaries. He wasn't his father. Yes, they had made a deal, but dammit, why did the stupid kid make him follow through on it? Now he felt like dirt and the kid was rolling with it. Geez, the kid's aunt would kill him, demand God resurrect his sorry carcass and then kill him again.

Tony took a deep breath. "Are you okay, Pete?"

Peter looked up, obviously startled by the question. Fresh tears streamed down his flushed cheeks. He nodded curtly then dropped his chin again, fiddling with his hands nervously.

Tony walked over and sat across from him in an oversized lazy boy. He spun the ring around on his finger several times before reaching out and patting Peter's knee compassionately.

"I guess that really sucked for both of us, huh?"

Peter shrugged. "I vote it sucked more for me," he mumbled sulkily.

Tony snorted. "Yah, I suppose you're right." There was no way he'd ever be able to explain to the kid how hard that was on him and how much he hoped he'd never have to do that again. In fact, Tony planned to make sure it didn't happen again. He'd create a 24 hour a day babysitting robot before he's put himself through that again.

"C-can I have the suit back?"

Tony sighed. The kid had a one track mind. "I'm not going to answer that quite yet; we come to a little understanding first."

Peter groaned. "C'mon!"

Tony held up a hand. "Don't, Pete." His voice held a clear warning. Tony was tired. It had taken a lot of energy to have the balls to follow through with physically punishing Peter. The kid had no idea what it had taken out of him.

Peter's eyes widened slightly. "Look, I get it…"

"Kid, that's the problem. You don't get it. If you did, you wouldn't be asking about the damned suit."

Tony stood up and ran a hand through his dark hair. "You think it's easy for me to haul you over my knee? It's not. I hated doing that! But, Pete, what you did was dangerous. That is what you need to understand. I get you're enhanced. You're strong but hell, kid, you are not invincible. None of us are. Do you even remember Sokovia? It haunts my dreams daily. Hell, I haven't had a decent night's sleep since."

Peter chewed his lip blinking back tears as he took in Tony's words. "I'm not sure why you care so much," he muttered. "I'm nothing to you."

Tony pinched his nose, taking a deep breath. "I suppose I deserve that."

Peter was relentless in his glare.

"I care, Pete. I'm just not good at showing it."

Tony let the words linger in the room as he strode across the room to an expensive Rembrandt hanging on the wall. He reached out, pulled the canvass away revealing a hidden safe behind it. Tony entered a code and the door popped open. He pulled out a small box and walked over to Peter. He tossed it in the kid's lap.

"Open it."

Peter looked perplexed but he obeyed. He reached inside the box and pulled out a key fob hanging on a Stark Industries lanyard. "What is it?"

"It's your key to my lab. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of this façade we're playing with your aunt. She deserves better than that and so do you. So, as of today, your official Stark internship begins. You're a smart kid, Parker, so I expect I'm going to learn a lot of things from you."

Peter's eyes grew as large as saucers as he fingered the key fob in his hands. "You're kidding me, right?"

"I'm not. I key in a code but that little beauty will allow you entrance just by wearing it around your neck. Don't lose it, kid. It's the only one of its kind. No one else but Pepper knows the code and that's only because she forced it out of me in a moment of weakness. Gives me a whole new appreciation for Samson."

"Who?"

"You know; the guy in the Bible with long hair?"

"You read the bible? " Peter asked in disbelief.

Tony grimaced. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, kid, sheesh." Wise ass kid.

This time Peter laughed. The teen's tears were drying up and he looked lighter hearted and relaxed for which Tony was very thankful.

Tony chuckled quietly. "Anyway, go ahead, you know the way. There's something sitting on my desk in the lab. Grab it and come back here. You'll know what I mean when you see it. We have some details to work out."

Peter slowly rose to his feet staring at Tony with suspicion. "Now?"

"Yes, now. Geez, kid, not too sharp today, are you?"

Peter began to walk to the elevator in the room. As he walked, he put the lanyard around his neck. Tony couldn't see the teenager's face, but he imagined the stunned look was still plastered on it. As the kid hit the button to bring up the lift, his other hand casually went to his backside giving it a quick rub. Then, probably realizing he was doing it, his hand dropped to his side just as quickly. Tony smirked a little at the action. When the kid entered the lift and turned to face the front, Peter's eyes met his for a brief moment before the door closed. Tony smiled at him as the doors closed.

XxXxspidermanironmanxXxX

Peter's hands flew to his backside once the door closed, blocking him from Tony's view. His butt throbbed like he couldn't believe. He'd been punched, knocked around, tossed like a ragdoll to the ground, and fallen from places his aunt should ever know about; but he'd never been smacked so many times in the same small space in his life. Well, except maybe when he was a little kid but even then his uncle had taken pity on him. Tony had not. Enhanced, accelerated healing be damned, his rear-end ached. Tony had meant business and there was no way in hell Peter ever planned to make the man that pissed off again. It was humiliating and friggen unbelievable. If any of his friends, - and that included his best friend, Ned, - ever found out, he'd literally die of embarrassment.

Peter was still cautiously rubbing his rump as the elevator doors opened revealing the glass doors to Tony's lab. As Peter walked out of the lift, his jaw dropped and he stared in complete amazement and awe at the room behind the glass. Tony's lab was…well, there were no words for it. It was unfathomable. Peter reached for the door handle, and to his amazement, the door opened with ease under his grip. The key fob had done its job without any pomp or circumstance. Peter walked in, not noticing the door close securely behind him. He stopped just inside the door and his jaw dropped in wonderment. It was like no place he had ever seen. It was like no lab he had ever seen or would ever see again. Tony Stark's lab was beyond all known technology anywhere in the known world. The man was a genius.

Three or four AI-enabled robotic assistants worked diligently in the room on some sort of unknown project. They ignored his entrance but Peter noted that they were not cheesy-looking lame designs. Instead, they looked industrial, built for specific functions, and were slightly more plausible as a result. Peter continued to look around noticing Tony's computer-based design tools. He shook his head in awe. It was eye-popping not to mention completely unbelievable. A waist-high table projected 3D holographic images that were testing and tweaking virtual mock-ups of some kind. And in one corner, there was a projection of a gauntlet hovering above the table in suspended animation. Peter walked over and stuck his hand into it to see if it fit him.

"Whoa," he muttered out loud in amazement.

The lab was indescribable and Peter could not believe that Tony had given him unsupervised access to it after everything that had just happened.

Peter stared at his head inside the projection of the gauntlet for several minutes and then yanked his hand out realizing why the projection was still up. Tony Stark had altered the gauntlet so he could use it to…Peter felt his face grow warm. The gauntlet had shooting capabilities and they had obviously been removed. Otherwise, his butt would have been toast. Literally. Peter swiped at the projection in malice hoping to make it go away, and to his surprise, the projection shot across the room and disappeared into nothing.

"Holy shit." Peter's eyes were wide and his heart was pounding in his chest. What had just happened? "Oh, Gawd, what did I do?" Peter cleared his throat, looking at the industrious robotic assistants. "Uh, could you make that come back or something? I'm awfully sorry. I didn't mean to uh toss it away uh…"

Peter's face reddened further when he realized he was talking to machines. What did he expect to happen anyway?

"Voice recognition please," said a loud voice from above him.

Peter jumped, feeling his heart nearly leap from his chest.

"What the hell?"

"Peter Parker, age 15. Tony Stark's intern for Stark Industries. How may I assist you today, Mr. Parker."

Peter's mouth was dry. He attempted to lick his lips to no avail. "Holy hell, Friday. You scared me to death!"

"I apologize, Peter."

"Can you see everything in the whole building, Friday?"

"That is correct, Peter."

Peter willed his racing heart to slow to a canter. "Can you fix that projection thingy of Tony's I swiped away?"

Before Peter's eyes, the projection of the gauntlet reappeared in suspended animation just as it had been when he entered.

"Uh, thanks, Friday."

"You are welcome, Peter. Mr. Stark would like me to remind you to take the item off his desk and return to the common room immediately. There will be time to explore his lab at a later date."

"Uh, yes, ma'am…umm, I mean, ok, Friday."

Peter continued absorbing every nook and cranny of the lab, forcing himself to look at Tony's cluttered desk in the middle of the room. It didn't take him long to spy what the man intended him to fetch. There in all its glorious splendour was his Spiderman suit. As Peter rushed to the desk, he took his suit from the desk and clutched it to his chest. At that moment, everything that had happened in the last 24 hours fled his mind. He had his suit back. Finally.

XxXxspidermanironmanxXxX

Tony grimaced and gritted his teeth as the bitter tasting liquid hit the back of his throat. It burned going down but it felt good. He needed a stiff pick me up after how the evening had gone down. He hadn't allowed himself much, just enough to get him through the next part of the evening. Glancing at his watch, he groaned at how late it was. He'd done some tough love and now he had to finish it. Setting his glass on the bar top, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a watch. It was a gorgeous piece of machinery, and he was proud of its workmanship. The technology was beyond anything of its kind. Peter Parker was about to find out just how pissed off he really was and the kid was not going to be impressed. The 24-hour babysitter was about to become Peter's best friend and the kid was not gonna like it.

A loud sound rang out in the room announcing the elevator's return to the top floor and common area of the tower. Tony popped a piece of mint candy into his mouth, hoping to mask the smell of liquor on his breath. He was by no means drunk, but he didn't want the kid to think he was under the influence in any way. He was stone cold sober sadly enough. It would have been easier to continue this conversation if he was at least a little inebriated. Stone cold sober just made it more painful to imagine the fallout.

The doors flung open and a completely different kid emerged.

"Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark! Your lab is so cool! I'm so pumped. I'm stoked…like, that was the most amazing thing I've ever seen…well, except for the whole gauntlet thing. Geez, you could have at least hid the fact that you…"

Tony walked up to the kid chuckling. "Calm down, kid before you burst a gasket or something."

"I can't even…do people even realize the tech you have in that place? Like, does Nasa know because wow, I don't think…"

Tony took this opportunity to grasp the excited teen's wrist and attach the watch to it. Peter stopped mid-sentence and gaped at what his mentor was doing. Once in place, the mechanism in the watch locked and flashed a symphony of lights before going dormant.

Peter blinked in bewilderment but looked at Tony, excitement still in his voice. "Is that ever cool, Mr. Stark!"

"Thanks," said Tony standing back to admire the workmanship. "I'm mighty proud of that contraption, and you'll be glad to know that THAT there watch is the only one of its kind in existence."

Peter's mouth formed an awe-inspiring "O". He brought his wrist closer to his face to admire it. "And you're giving it to me, Mr. Stark?"

"Yep."

"Cool," reiterated the teenager in astonishment still staring at the 'gift'. Then, gaining his awareness, he looked up at Tony, "What does it do?"

Tony took a deep breath before continuing. "Introduce yourself, Jocasta."

"I am Jocasta," said the melodious female voice projecting from the wristwatch.

"WOW!" said Peter in complete wonderment. "And you made this for me, Mr. Stark?"

Tony nodded. Now came the more difficult part, he thought. "Jocasta is going to make sure that you stay out of trouble, Pete. She is designed to keep an eye on you 24/7 and report back to me should you do something I would otherwise not approve of."

The colour drained from Peter's face. "W-what? But, Mr. Stark, Karen reports back to you all the time…"

"Karen, as you so affectionately call her, is wrapped."

"Huh?"

"She likes you too much, Pete. I don't know what it is about my A.I's but they always seem to develop an attitude."

Peter looked at his wrist again. "What makes you think I won't take it off?"

"Try it."

Peter walked across the room and dropped his Spiderman suit on the sofa, forgotten for now. He began to attempt to take the watch off to no avail. The longer he tried, the redder his face became.

"What the hell…" muttered Peter, yanking at the watch.

"You might as well give up, Pete. It's not coming off until I take it off and Jocasta does not respond to you, my young friend. She has been programmed to give me updates on your whereabouts anytime I ask her. She will tell me how much you sleep, if you did your homework, if you skipped class and how much you eat."

Peter's face was showing his irritation now. "You can't do that!"

"Oh, yes, I can and believe me, Pete, this is better than the alternative of me kicking your ass every time you step out of line. Frankly, that takes too much out of me. Now listen up, this game is simple. Do what you're supposed to do. Follow the rules and in time, I will replace Jocasta with something similar that you can remove when you want. Piss me off further and you and Jocasta become permanent friends until you're 18. Capische?"

"This is crazy! You can't do this! I have rights, Mr. Stark and this crosses the line."

Tony slowly walked over to the sofa close to where Peter was standing. He reached for the suit casually and flung it at Peter. "Do you like this suit, kid?"

"Well, yah," sputtered Peter catching the suit on reflex.

"You want to keep it?"

"Mr. Stark, that's not even fair."

Tony crossed his arms. "It might not be fair but it's the way it is. I can't trust you to use discernment so I'm taking things up a notch. Jocasta will make sure I know where you are whether you like it or not. Our little agreement still applies and tomorrow you start your internship."

Peter glared at Tony but remained quiet.

"Ok, kid, it's late and I'm tired. C'mon, I'll take you home. I'm sure your aunt must be worried."

"She has a night shift,' mumbled Peter, his voice sounding defeated and weary.

Tony walked towards the lift expecting Peter to follow him but stopped suddenly to face the kid.

"It's not good you're alone so much."

Peter shrugged.

"Okay, change of plans. You crash here. I'll contact your aunt in the morning. Follow me, Pete."

Tony switched gears and led Peter down a long corridor to a guest room. It was the same one Peter had stayed in before. It was loaded with everything a teenage boy could ask for but Tony knew Peter hadn't touched a thing last time. Tony had left it the same. He wasn't offended. Peter was a proud kid, and there was no harm in that. He just hoped that with time the two of them would become friends and not rivals. It used to be that the kid idolized him but something had changed. It certainly didn't help that Tony had kicked the kid's ass earlier.

Stopping outside the door, Tony opened the door and ushered Peter inside. Peter sighed, shaking his head glumly, still clutching his suit.

"I'd rather go home, Mr. Stark, if it's all the same to you."

"It's past 2 am, kid, and you said your aunt isn't coming home tonight. Stay here and we'll eat breakfast together and I'll show you around the lab."

Peter rolled his eyes and dropped the suit on the bed. "Fine."

Tony ignored the attitude and went to leave the room. He stopped briefly. "Are we okay, kid?"

Peter narrowed his eyes but didn't answer.

"Hey, I know you're not too happy about the watch, but I'm talking about earlier. You still pissed at me about that?"

Peter shuffled his feet, a dusty hue flooding his face. "I guess not. I had it coming."

Tony bit back a smirk. "Good night, kid. Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite and all that kind of jazz."

With those final words, Tony exited the room and shut the door.