The next afternoon, Ned was, unfortunately, visiting his Lola, so Peter had kind of been stuck at home. That was fine, if a little lonely, at least until his parents came home earlier than they normally would on a Saturday. That's when he wished he'd gone to the library instead.
Mary's dark blonde hair was already in a severe up-do, and they were both holding dry-cleaning bags as they entered the house, sniping at each other in an unusual way. They normally got along. It was Peter who didn't fit in.
"If you hadn't turned up the positive levels, it wouldn't have errored out," Mary said, obviously still annoyed.
"Well, how else were we going to get to completion before we left? We were going to be late, and I know you don't want to get to bed late. We have that team video conference quite early tomorrow morning." Richard sounded just as frustrated as his wife.
"So you thought it was a good idea to mess with the proven parameters?" Their voices were getting louder now that they were home, and Peter began to gather up his project, hoping to slink off to his room and not be noticed.
"Peter?" Mary said abruptly, bringing him up short.
"Yeah?"
"Why is all that junk out on the coffee table?"
Peter's eyes darted down to the old DVD player he had disassembled, fixed, and was now putting back together.
"Um, I was just about to clean it up."
"I thought we talked about you not bringing garbage home any more."
"It's… it's not!" he protested. "It's going to work perfectly well now, and—" Mary cut him off with an annoyed sigh, eyes narrowed first at the parts on the table and then at him.
"Was there an issue with your suit?"
"No," he said, eyes darting to his room again, eager to escape.
"Well, go put it on! We leave in 20 minutes."
Peter sighed as silently as he could, and moved quickly to his room. No reason to annoy them further. He'd practiced tying the included tie yesterday with a YouTube video, and it never felt quite right, but he thought he could do a passable job. His father would have had zero interest in helping. Peter was smart; he could figure things out for himself, like they expected. What good was all his intelligence if he still needed help with dumb things like that?
Mary and Richard talked quietly after leaving their keys with the valet. Peter trailed closely behind them, trying not to look as unsure as he felt. He got brave enough to speak up and ask why his parents wanted him to accompany them, only to feel stupid when his father looked at him, well, like he was.
"Because it's Stark Industries' 'Young Intern' program kick-off tonight. For the first time, they're inviting high school students to apply for internship positions at SI, and you're a conversation piece," he said simply. "An excuse for us to attend." Right. Peter should have looked up the gala and figured that out for himself.
"Also," Mary said, "though it's meant for older students, we'll have you apply, of course. We have some projects coming up that might require some of Stark's tech, and an 'in' never hurts."
"True," his father sniffed. Then they went back to ignoring him as they discussed their work.
Didn't they ever get tired of that? They had entered the building, and made their way to the ballroom, and Richard and Mary were still discussing recent cross-species cell splicing. Peter looked around the room anxiously as they stepped inside. His parents immediately started moving towards someone they wanted to talk to. He scrambled to keep up, feeling a little bit like a dog at heel, but not willing to lose track of them in the mass of people.
Also, the sheer amount of lights, sounds, and even smells in the room were quickly pushing his new senses to their limit. Crap. This was going to be a problem. It didn't help that he hadn't had dinner yet, and the food smells were nearly overwhelming.
After following Richard and Mary around for 20 minutes and three conversations, Peter knew he needed some air. Just a little break from everything. He was learning how to handle all the input, but his skills were still so new and unsteady.
"May I get something to eat and come back and find you in a bit?" he finally asked his mother quietly, when she seemed distracted from the conversation his father was having with someone.
She looked at him in surprise, as if she'd forgotten he was there. "Oh! Did you not eat before? Of course. Run along. Don't get lost."
Peter nodded gratefully, and made his way quickly to the buffet table. He stood aside and watched a few people go through so he could see how much of each different kind of food he might be expected to take. He didn't want to draw attention or make it obvious that he didn't know what he was doing.
He found a few recognizable items in the line and gathered them on his plate. It wouldn't fill him up, but it would definitely take the edge off, and maybe help with the nausea and headache that was developing. He left through an open door, and slipped over to the side of the outdoor garden, hoping to find a little solitude. Thankfully, it was chilly out, which meant most people were staying inside. Peter sighed in relief as the onslaught of sound and smells eased and dimmed, and he headed towards the far corner of the green space.
Tony Stark ran a hand down his face and took a deep breath. He wondered how long he'd be able to hide from his guests out here. Hopefully he'd at least get 20 minutes of solitude before he had to put his public mask back on and schmooze some more. He didn't have a lot of interest in anything that was happening tonight, but he was kind of a one-man show these days when it came to trying to regain the public's good graces after the whole Ultron fiasco, and he owed it to Pepper, at least, to do what he could on the SI side of things.
Things with Pepper had been strained for over a year, but they were starting to improve. She'd said she missed him, and wanted to try getting back together, but insisted that he be more careful with his own safety, and spread his energy and efforts around to more than just his suits if she was going to move back in.
And he was trying. He missed his team. Things were so tense now, and politics dominated too many of the short conversations they managed. He missed Bruce, and was low-key worried about him. He even missed Thor. He'd been doing some Avengers-level work with Cap and Nat at least. He did have Pepper back, which was… well, everything. And Rhodey came by, when he could. He'd been busy going to bat for them with all the government fall-out as well. Cleaning up Tony's messes, as usual. If only he'd—
"Oh! Excuse me, sir! I, uh… I was just trying to, um… sorry, I'll leave you alone!"
The kid was scrawny and nervous, completely out of his element. He seemed the opposite of most of the rich brats Tony had been shaking hands with all night. Everyone and their parents wanted a shot at the internships he was offering, and they all thought throwing their hat in (or their children at him) at the gala was going to give them a leg up. All the kids had exuded confidence, and had smiled in that over-the-top way Tony had learned to do by age 12, too. This one seemed different. Whoops, he was turning to leave, probably scared off by Tony's awkward staring.
"Hey, kid, come back," Tony said, just a touch of command in his entreaty. The boy paused and turned back around, cocking his head to the side curiously.
"Hey, you're him." The kid's mouth froze for just a minute, and then a delighted smile lit up his face, completely transforming it from awkward don't-look-at-me into an engaging, intelligent expression. "I mean, you're Tony Stark! I was hoping to see you tonight, but I—I mean, I'm sorry, sir, I'm just such a big fan!"
Either the kid was one heck of an actor, or he was completely genuine in his hero worship. How intriguing. An Iron Man fan, at that age? He usually just pulled the under-12 crowd these days, and many of them didn't even know his actual name.
"Yeah? And why's that?" Tony asked, a small smile twitching at the side of his mouth as he leaned back against the low shrubbery-heavy wall with his drink. (Ginger ale, unfortunately. He was working on that, too.)
"I mean, the strides you've made in the fields of AI and clean energy alone; you've completely revolutionized several fields, and helped others jump forward just as residual effects! I've… I've read every paper you've ever contributed to, I think! But you haven't published much in the last couple years; I was kinda wondering if you just…"
"Just what, kid? Super-heroing leaves less time for clean energy work, unfortunately." The kid was a fan of… him? Tony Stark the scientist, not of Iron Man?
The boy ducked his head a little, and his tone turned deferential. "I didn't mean anything by it, sir. I mean, Iron Man is obviously impressive, as well, I just… noticed, about the papers, thing—"
"No problem. You got a name?"
Now the boy did flush. "Um, Peter, sir."
"Peter, huh? Well, it's nice to meet you, Peter. Tell me, hypothetically: if I were to do some research this year, and publish it, what would you like to see?"
The boy froze, his gaze turning inward as he considered the question. Then he smiled again, seeming to bring some light to the dark garden, as he launched into a diatribe on the arc reactor (which he seemed to understand, surprisingly—most of Tony's R&D department couldn't talk about that tech with half the grasp that this kid seemed to have) and the possible uses in providing clean, reliable energy to at-risk communities in third-world countries.
Admittedly, Tony's eyes started to glaze over a little after a few minutes, but unlike most of the sciencey types Tony had been caught in similar conversations with, the boy seemed to notice instantly, and wrapped it up.
"You did, ask, sir," he said shyly, a twinkle in his eye. Oh, he had a sense of humor, too, did he?
"That's true, I did," Tony said with a quick smile. "Now, I wanted to ask you—"
"There you are!" The love of his life looked a bit perturbed, but relieved to have found him. "Tony, it's time for your speech; where have you been?" she said urgently, taking his elbow and steering him expertly back towards the door, with an apologetic smile at the kid in the suit. Who was still holding a plate full of food.
"See ya around, huh, kid?"
Peter smiled again. "Uh, that'd be awesome," he managed, before Tony was (gently) tugged out of earshot.
"What in the world were you up to?" Pepper asked curiously, without slowing their steps.
"You did tell me to try to get to know some of the younger guests, Pep," he pointed out.
She rolled her eyes. "I figured you'd do it somewhere I could find you; I was about ready to send out the bloodhounds."
"You know Happy isn't fulfilled if he doesn't have to look for me at least once a week," he teased, rearranging her arm so he looked a little less "dragged" as they both stepped confidently through the doorway.
Thirty minutes later, Tony was surprised to be reintroduced to Peter. Unfortunately, this time the kid was being pushed forward by two scientists he didn't think very highly of. Richard and Mary Parker were this eager boy's parents? That was…odd. The only interactions he'd had with them had been stilted and felt off, and he'd heard from reputable sources that their research ethics were questionable at best. Which is why he wasn't surprised to hear they were currently partnering with Oscorp.
"Peter Parker, huh?" Tony asked, eyebrows raised.
"Yes, sir."
Strangely enough, Peter seemed much more withdrawn at this second meeting. He didn't speak unless spoken to, and had a harder time meeting Tony's eyes. His handshake was firm, though, and he managed a pained smile.
The Parkers bragged about him automatedly, as if they were highlighting features on a new car, hoping Tony would be interested. He was, but not for the reasons they listed (which were impressive). The kid was obviously very intelligent. His understanding of the arc reactor tech alone intrigued him, but Tony was also curious why the kid was acting so fundamentally different with his parents than how he'd been alone, earlier in the garden.
They parted after a few minutes, and Tony made a point to catch Peter's eye.
"You applying for our internship, kid?"
Peter looked startled, and he glanced nervously at his parents, getting their firm nods before replying.
"Uh, yes, sir. I was hoping to."
"Good. I'll look forward to seeing your application," Tony said. This drew another smile from the lanky teen, and Tony watched the family turn and leave with slitted eyes. He didn't trust the Parkers or their motives, but somehow couldn't get that "off" feeling to extend to their son. Interesting. As curious as he was about Peter, he'd want to be careful how he handled any connection with Richard and Mary Parker.