"Hey." Tony poked his head into Peter's room at the Tower, where Peter was working on homework. "Aren't you done with that yet?"
"It's literally my last regular math set of the year, Mr. Stark. Impatient, much?"
"But why is it taking so long? You can do that stuff in your sleep."
"It's possible that I got distracted," Peter said, grimacing at his mentor. "I'm almost done, though. Do you need me?"
"Yeah, I'm just down in the utility room, and taking the dryer apart is easier with two sets of hands. Come down when you're done?"
"Yeah, that sounds like an excellent use of internship hours," Peter joked. He pursed his lips. "Why in the world are you—" Peter cut himself off, shook his head, and turned to focus on his Calculus. Tony was already leaving, but he heard Peter yell, "Don't do it without me! With our luck, you'll smash your hand or something!"
Tony huffed a laugh and headed back to his project of the day.
Within five minutes Peter had followed him to the utility room, looking down at Tony suspiciously. It was an entertaining look on a teenager, especially one whose hair was adorably ruffled from what must be a windy day outside.
"Why exactly are you taking the dryer apart?" Peter asked, his confusion apparent. "Also, why do you even have a dryer? I thought you sent most of your laundry out."
"We do send a lot of it out, but only once a week. It's nice to have the option of doing it here in the penthouse when we want to. And it's not working, so I'm fixing it," he said patiently.
"That seems very… responsible of you," Peter said, reaching down to brace the part Tony was unscrewing.
"Just because I can afford to just buy a new one doesn't mean I should," Tony said. "It's up to all of us to reduce, reuse, recycle," he said without passion.
"That sounds like something Ms. Potts would say," Peter said with a grin.
"Yep. And I agree with her."
Peter tried to hide his amusement, but failed.
"In theory, at least," Tony amended. "I needed a project today, and Pepper was annoyed that it keeps making a rumbly, banging sound, and stops before its cycle is over sometimes. What use is my doctorate in Engineering if I can't fix a dryer?" he asked, distracted by the parts he was removing.
"Well, she's not wrong, I guess. Do you know what's going on with it?"
"No. I'll figure it out as I go."
Peter rolled his eyes. "Or we could 'work smarter, not harder.' That's something my crazy old mentor told me."
"Watch it, kid," Tony said, "or you'll find yourself in the dryer."
"I'd fit; I'm pretty bendy," Peter said, unperturbed. He seemed to be searching something on his phone. Punk. Tony smiled into the wall as he jiggled the front of the dryer, carefully pulling it off.
"Hold on, Mr. Stark. It says the drum on the dryer might be getting off track. Does that seem likely?"
"Maybe. What's the fix?"
"It says to take off the back on this model and see if you can tell where it might be getting off track."
"Well, crap."
"Yeah. Want me to hand you screws while you put that back on?"
"I was researching, too, Boss, and I agree with Peter, that you should try that first," FRIDAY said.
"When did I get surrounded by so much snark?" Tony asked under his breath.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Peter protested with a grin. I'm just offering to help here."
"Sure you are," Tony shot back. Then, his expression cleared as he remembered something. "Hey, May forwarded me an e-mail about some kind of awards ceremony tomorrow?"
"Uh… yeah, I guess so."
"Did you want me to come to that? What kind of award are you getting?"
"Oh, just normal, boring stuff. You don't need to come. I don't… why did she send you that?" he said, his brow wrinkled in confusion.
"Maybe because I asked her to let me know about stuff like that."
"You… you want to come to my awards ceremony?"
"Sure, Pete. Why not?"
"Won't people like… recognize you?"
"Mostly, no. If I don't look that much like myself, and they're not expecting to see me there. Everyone's going to be focused on their own kids."
Peter mulled that over as Tony finished putting the cover on and stood back up. His hips protested the whole endeavor, and he could see the Spider-kid trying to hide a smile when joints popped that shouldn't have.
After Peter pulled the dryer out so they could get to the back, they took the case apart and found out that there was indeed a bolt that had come loose. Tony found the missing piece in the bottom, under the drum, and Peter held the innards of the dryer together while he replaced the bolt.
FRIDAY broke their efficient silence: "Boss, Mr. Odinson and Mr. Laufeyson have entered the Tower and are requesting an audience."
"That's a strange way to phrase that, but I'll allow it," Tony said, eyeing the pieces of dryer casing and screws scattered across the floor. This was the least glamorous room in the penthouse, and probably the smallest. But he didn't really feel like stopping in the middle of his project, and he knew Thor's time was probably short. He'd been working his tail off trying to get the Asgardian settlement equipped and… well, settled, this last week.
"Do you wish me to direct them here?" FRIDAY asked.
"Yeah, why not?" Tony said.
Peter squeaked.
Tony turned his head in response to the very un-Peter-like noise. "You okay there, Spider-bite?"
"Thor is coming down here ? Now ?"
"Sounds that way," Tony said, holding out a hand for the part of the drum assembly that they needed to replace.
Peter handed it to him, then looked around the room in consternation. "Why would you ask him to come down here? It's like a mess, and tiny, and—"
Bemused, Tony tried to comfort the kid. "I realize you haven't met him, but it's just Thor. I've known him for years, buddy. He doesn't care if he has to come talk to me in the utility room."
"But FRIDAY said Loki's with him, too?" Tony had turned his attention fully to the kid. Peter looked nervous, and was (seemingly unconsciously) putting himself between the door and Tony. "Is it safe to have him here? What if he—"
"Peter, settle down. I wouldn't allow Loki in the Tower if I thought he was a danger to you, or to Pepper, or to anyone else. Your aunt and I have also had this discussion, at length, believe me."
Peter's eyes widened at that, but then his brow furrowed again. "But the Battle of New York…"
"I know, it looked bad. Believe me; I had a front row seat. But since then, I've discovered that Loki was a little bit of a victim, too. He wasn't completely in control of his actions. And I accept Thor's word that he's got him under control. Okay?"
"I… okay." Peter's head jerked up, and his eyes unfocused slightly, which probably meant he heard something. Or someone; they must be getting close.
Tony reached over from his seat on the floor next to the dryer and nudged the boy's leg. "Hey, relax. I'm sure they'll be happy to meet you." Peter still looked nervous, but he did manage to smile down at Tony before Thor and his brother arrived a moment later.
"Tony!" Thor greeted enthusiastically, the two Asgardians immediately making the room feel even smaller than it was.
"Hey there, Spartacus. How's it hangin'?" Tony said, looking up from his task with a brief grin. He was very happy to have his friend back, and glad he'd been able to help finance the Asgardian settlement. He couldn't imagine counting what was left of his people in the hundreds. He and Thor hadn't had much time to chat yet, but he hoped there would be more of that once Thor's responsibilities decreased.
"And you too, Adams Family. Welcome, more or less."
Thor looked confused, and Loki looked impassive, but they both quickly turned to acknowledge the unknown person in the room.
"Oh, hello," Thor said with a surprised but friendly smile. Loki just raised an eyebrow, but Tony noticed even he had modified his body language to match Thor's, so both men appeared less threatening. Loki had said less than ten words in Tony's presence so far, and he really wished he knew what was going on in that devious head.
"Stark," Thor said, conspiratorially, "did you know there is a youngling in your washing room?"
Tony smiled at the affronted look on Peter's face. The kid liked to think he was so grown up, at almost seventeen, and because he regularly acted as a full-blown superhero, but in reality he was still just a kid. And he looked it, especially to someone with Thor's age and experience.
"Thor, Loki, this is Peter, my intern. He's with me a lot, so I'm sure you'll be seeing more of him, especially since he's about to be out of school for the summer.
"It's wonderful to meet you, Peter!" Thor said. Loki merely nodded. "He's quite young for an intern position, is he not?" Thor asked, smiling kindly at Peter. "And I don't remember you having interns before. What kind of work does he do for you?"
Tony considered. "Intern, apprentice, protégé, my overly-chatty shadow, my kid. I'm basically teaching him to be me," he said with a smug grin.
Thor's eyebrows shot up for just a moment, but he hid his surprise quickly. Loki didn't appear to react other than tilting his head to the side slightly.
Peter, who'd been distracted by Tony's description of him, turned back to Thor and offered his hand. "Peter Parker. It's very nice to meet me… I mean you, um… Sorry. You are so cool." The kid had geeked out over meeting Bruce, but there were a different kind of stars in his eyes now. As Peter politely (but nervously) greeted Loki as well, Tony worked through just a tinge of jealousy, and reminded himself Peter had been similarly stumbly with his greeting when he'd first met Tony. For a few minutes, anyway, before he started sassing and going against pretty much everything Tony advised, that is. But hey, it was Thor. He was pretty impressive.
"Okay, okay. Enough hero worship. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Tony asked as he gestured to Peter to help him put the big back panel in place on the dryer.
"I have a request. We will be staying at the New Asgard settlement for another week. Maybe two. I have talked with my people, and will be turning their leadership over to the Valkyrie, Brunnhilde."
The who now? Tony opened his mouth to ask, but then decided against it.
Thor continued. "I think my brother and I will be more useful at the Compound, as we all form a plan and a team to protect Midgard," Thor said gravely. "That is, if you will allow us to reside there, friend Tony."
Tony stood up, wiping his hands on his pants, and faced their visitors.
"First of all, this could have been a text, Fly Boy. What happened to that phone I gave you? You didn't need to come all the way here to ask permission for that. Of course you can stay there," Tony said. He inspected some lint dust under his fingernails. "That's kind of what it was built for, after all," he muttered.
Thor looked abashed. "I have… tried to communicate with the phone. It is different in subtle ways than the one I had before, and I have not completely discovered its special rules yet."
"Oh. Well, we can help with that. Peter, here, loves his phone," he said, squeezing the teenager's shoulder. "I'm sure he can give you some pointers or a tutorial if you're around next weekend."
Peter looked terrified, but nodded enthusiastically.
"Second. Did you just imply that you want to make Reindeer Games an Avenger ?"
After the awards ceremony at Midtown the next night, Tony watched Peter standing with Aunt May and Ned, receiving congratulations from his friend's parents. He had his tinted sunglasses on, and a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes, and the only recognition he'd noticed was from one or two of Peter's teachers. He, however, recognized the Thompson kid as he walked past Peter, and his muscles tensed slightly when he stopped and spoke. He wouldn't be rude around all the adults surrounding Peter, surely.
"Geez, Parker. Leave some awards for the rest of us," Thompson said. He sounded mildly annoyed, but it also had a teasing tone of congratulations.
Peter looked surprised, but smiled tentatively at him. "Uh, I'll try?" Flash nodded at Ned and continued walking. Tony noticed that the kid was by himself. Where were his parents? He had gotten an honor roll award for that quarter, Tony had noticed, and several participation certificates for extracurriculars, he thought.
After a moment, Peter noticed Tony standing in the background.
"Hey!" Peter said, obviously surprised that Tony had come, despite their conversation the day before. "You made it!"
"Of course I did, bud. But you neglected to mention that this was a sweep. I feel like I should have brought a giant check to award you at the end or something," he joked. Peter had received academic awards in almost every subject (except English, of course), and had even been chosen as "Most Improved Student" in Art.
Peter flushed and muttered, "Mr. Stark, it's just normal end-of-the-year awards stuff."
Tony turned to Ned, who was grinning wildly at finding their own personal superhero actually in the auditorium, and asked, "Samwise, would you consider this a 'normal' amount of awards?" He had noticed the other boy had gotten his fair share, or he wouldn't have asked such a question.
"Well, for Peter, yeah," his friend said happily. "But he got the full-year honor roll this year, too, which means he didn't even get any C's, even in English, and he got the Principal's choice award this semester, too!"
Tony didn't know what that was, but it sounded prestigious.
Ned's parents said their goodbyes to Peter and May and nodded politely to Mr. Stark, their eyes just a little bit wide. "Gotta go, Peter, sorry!" Ned said. "We have a family dinner tonight with all my cousins," he said with a little eye roll.
Peter laughed and waved him away, then turned back to Tony and his aunt.
Tony tipped his tinted sunglasses down and gave Peter a look of disappointment. "No 'Perfect Attendance' award, huh? Well, there's always room for improvement," he teased.
May, who had her arm wrapped proudly around her nephew's shoulders scoffed, and Peter rolled his eyes, shooting a mock-glare at his mentor.
"You called most of my 'excessive' absences in yourself, sir," he reminded Tony.
"Right, I must have forgotten," he said, grinning. Taking the chance that everyone else would be focused on their own families, Tony slipped his glasses off completely so he could make better eye contact with his amazing kid.
"Seriously, Pete, I'm impressed. I'm so glad I could be here."
Peter's hand came up to rub at the back of his neck in embarrassment, and May released him, shoving him gently towards Tony.
Tony caught the teenager in a rough hug, tousling his hair as he released him, causing Peter to yelp in indignation.
"What? May already got all the pictures. Who do you need to impress?" Tony asked.
Peter just sighed, glaring at him weakly as he tried to smooth down his previously gelled hair.
"Hey, May, I was going to ask you," Tony said, "Can I borrow Pete this weekend to go to the Compound with me? I may have promised a certain Asgardian that he could help him figure out his new Starkphone. Internship hours, of course."
"Now that school's out, his 'summer job' is first priority," May pointed out. Other than a few days or trips we have planned, you can have him pretty much whenever you want."
Tony rubbed his hands together in a good approximation of a cartoon villain. "Excellent."
"Um, should I be worried?" the teen asked.
"Definitely," Tony said with an evil grin. The kid was still so fun to mess with sometimes.
They were starting to usher people out of the auditorium, and the three of them turned and started to walk towards the exit again. A few people gave Tony unsure or knowing looks as they did.
"Hey, May?" Peter said, eyes flicking between her and Tony. "Would now be a good time to ask about…" his voice trailed off, and he looked a little nervous. (from the side view Tony had of his face) What was that all about?
"I guess," May said, uncertain. I was going to call you about this, but next month I was looking at doing some travel nursing for six weeks, which pays really well, and involves traveling to a few cool places I've been wanting to see, and I wasn't going to actually do it, just kinda looking, for after Peter graduates, but he keeps trying to tell me I should do it now, if it would maybe work for him to stay at the Tower." The last part came out in a rush. Tony hadn't observed it much before, but apparently Peter got more than a little of his quick-talking rambles from his aunt.
"I also told you even if I can't, I could totally just stay by myself, and check in with you every day, and—"
"Yeah, no," Tony said, at the same time as May protested. "Of course he can stay at the Tower, May. Just text FRIDAY the dates, and we'll get it in the calendar. Even if Pep or I both need to be gone, Happy can be there, or even Rhodey—"
"Oh my gosh," Peter interrupted, covering his face in annoyance. "I'm almost seventeen, I'm not a little kid, guys. I can stay by myself for a couple days. You don't have to bother anyone to come stay with me!"
Tony tipped his head to the side. "It's not a bother, Pete. Especially with your extra-curricular activities, you need to have someone else on back-up. It's not that we don't think you can handle yourself, we care about you enough to make sure you don't have to."
Tony slung an arm around his shoulders. "I got you, bestie."
"Mr. Stark. What the heck? Where did you even hear that?"
"What? Isn't that what all the kids are saying now? FRIDAY told me it was."
"Some of them. But you are not a kid."
"Blasphemy. Age is just a number, buddy."
"Yeah, but my number and your number have decades between them."
Tony just laughed. Summer usually dragged for him. There were lots of R&D deadlines, and Pepper traveled a lot, and it was so hot in the city, he almost didn't want to go out. But this one was shaping up to be a good one. Even if he had the Ross and the Accords, and dealing with his former teammates looming, the prospect of having Peter around so much of the summer cheered him greatly.