A/N
Hiii and thanks for checking out this ridiculously random fic! Anyhoo, here's the stuff ya need to know.
In the months following the fall of Thanos, Peter's world was surprisingly normal. He slipped back into his old routines and figured the world must finally be giving him a break. He figured wrong. Midtown is putting on a play about the Avengers and Peter gets a leading role. Not to mention the Avengers themselves are going to come see the show. That's fine, right? (Spoiler alert: It's not)
Weird AU but basically: Post Endgame, Civil War never happened and the Accords were sorted out (translation: completely irrelevant) because people weren't stupid. The events of Infinity War mostly happened for plot reasons but Endgame was different (don't question it, there will be explanations...probably). The Avengers are all a weird but happy family. Peter made friends with the Avengers as Spider-Man but never revealed his identity. Tony, Nat, Vision, Gamora, and Loki are alive. (Tony didn't die for reasons that will be explained, the others came back when Bruce snapped) Steve also didn't do a stupid at the end of Endgame and be old.
Irondad and Spiderson, no intended ships besides pepperony.
Character names written as 'Name' indicate their character in the play.
I do have some very basic knowledge of putting on productions like this and this is mostly based on the shows my school puts on (to be clear: giant puppets, not trapdoors and people flying around on wires) but I am by no means an expert and half of this stuff is probably not even possible. I'm also saying this is a school wide show thing and I am relying completely on the fact that there are probably fewer kids at Midtown than at a regular public school. Don't hold me to that tho. Sooo we're all just going to ignore the many, many inaccuracies, mkay?
oh and heads up for two pov switches but they should be fairly obvious.
Midtown School of Science and Technology was exactly what it sounded like. It was a STEM school and offered advanced math and science classes. Not much was to be said about the performing arts classes because there really weren't any. Yeah, there was a band and orchestra, but those were treated like clubs and most of the people in them just did it for the credits and extracurricular bonuses when applying to college. There was also a very tiny theater department, but you can only do Newsies so many times before no one ever wants to hear Seize the Day again.
So really, Midtown didn't do performances, so naturally Peter was quite shocked when it was announced there was going to be a mandatory school play. He wasn't just shocked- he was slightly horrified at the idea. A school full of nerds, acting on a stage? Yikes.
When Mr. Harrington had announced the news, Peter stared at him for a moment, completely gobsmacked, before glancing at his friends to see what they were thinking. MJ was her usual stoic self, but Peter noticed the corner of her mouth twitching like she knew more than everyone else and was greatly enjoying it. She usually did though, so that wasn't very surprising. On his other side, Ned's eyes were wide and held a twinkle of excitement. He eagerly turned to Peter and started to whisper. "Dude! Do you think this could make up for the elementary school thing?"
Peter's eyes also widened as he realized what Ned was referring to. When they had been in elementary school together, there had been a school play and Ned had gotten one of the lead roles. But then he had gotten the flu and didn't realize it, so he came to rehearsal, and on the day of the show, no one could come because everyone was sick. Peter only had one line, which he had been pretty happy with, to be honest. Still, it made sense that Ned still remembered that and wanted a chance to "redeem" himself.
Peter opened his mouth to respond but before he could, Flash shouted out, "What will the play be?"
The rest of the class murmured and nodded, sharing ideas with each other. Peter heard at least three people guessing it would be some Shakespeare play, making Peter brace himself. Mr. Harrington's smile did not help.
"As many of you know," he began, "footage of the Avenger's victory against Thanos was recently released. Well, I am pleased to announce that the Avengers have given our school permission to use that footage to create a script! The play will be called... Infinity War!"
The class erupted into noise but Peter didn't move. He felt the color drain from his face as shock- and terror- swept through him. If people he knew were going to be watching that video… If anyone recognized his voice… He immediately reassured himself: none of the Avengers knew his identity, and they had let him review the footage before releasing it. There was absolutely no way anyone could guess his identity just from him screaming in battle. And bantering with Mr. Stark. And meeting other heroes. Totally.
On either side of him, his friends were buzzing with excitement. Well, MJ was smirking, but close enough. Ned, on the other hand, was practically vibrating. He had enough energy for all three of them.
Mr. Harrington loudly cleared his throat and waited for the noise to die down. When it finally did, he smiled and started to speak again.
"Details are still being finalized, but I've heard that the Avengers themselves just might see the play!"
Well.
Crap.
Ned squeaked and grabbed Peter's arm. "Dude! This is the coolest thing ever!" He noticed Peter's distinct lack of joy and his eyes widened dramatically as realization hit him. "Your identity..."
"It's fine, I'm fine, this is fine." was all Peter had to say for himself.
Ned gave him the deadpan look that said he was not at all convinced but didn't say anything else.
Mr. Harrington went on to explain that everyone would be participating and helping out in some way. Instead of traditional auditions, teachers would be watching everyone and would cast students themselves based on personality and who would best fit each role. Everyone else would be working backstage on sets, props, costumes, makeup, special effects, lighting, and more. Students could also sign up to help with the creation of the script.
Peter took a deep breath and forced down any remaining anxiety. He would probably be cast as Screaming Civilian #3, or he could help with the costumes. Maybe he would even be able to work on an Iron Man costume! He definitely had enough experience with the real thing, and more importantly, many years of Halloween costumes under his belt.
It would all be fine.
It was in fact, not fine.
Only a week later, Mr. Harrington was giving another announcement.
He began to name off everyone who would be working stage crew. MJ was part of the scriptwriting team and was also helping with lighting, which made perfect sense to Peter. He had read a few short stories she had written for English class and there was no way a script would be a problem for her.
He forced himself to focus as Mr. Harrington started to read off a list. "Tony Stark, Iron Man, will be played by... Flash Thompson!"
Peter and Ned made identical wheezing sounds as the class erupted with chattering while Flash smirked.
Well, that was that. Being Tony Stark was not about to help Flash's ego and there was no way he would pass up an opportunity to rub in everyone's faces. But they would simply have to live with it for now and really, nothing bad was going to happen as long as Peter and Ned didn't get big roles. Now that would be a recipe for disaster. Flash was a main lead, but he was also popular and had a rich, influential family. That meant the little unpopular nerds Peter and Ned wouldn't get very big parts, right?
"And the role of Happy Hogan, Tony Stark's head of security, will be... Ned Leeds!"
Well, so much for that idea. Ned's face went slack, colored with disbelief. The rest of the class muttered and Peter was sure his face would start to hurt from smiling so much. He was certainly surprised, but he knew Ned wouldn't have been content with being a random civilian who would probably die. Though it meant Ned would have to spend time with Flash, he was happy Ned had gotten a good part.
The list of names went on, with Cindy being cast as Pepper and Abe being cast as Dr. Strange.
Everything was going smoothly until Mr. Harrington read out the name "Spider-Man".
Peter straightened in his seat. He would be lying if he said he wasn't curious about who the teachers thought would be best to play his own alter ego.
"The role of Spider-Man will be played by..." Mr. Harrington paused for dramatic effect. There were agitated mutters around the class as he drew out the pause.
"Peter Parker!"
Peter's jaw dropped as he tried to process what he just heard. MJ was smiling at him and Ned was gripping his shoulder in excitement. Shy little Peter Parker, playing a witty and confident hero. The irony of the situation was almost laughable. But if it was the teachers who had made that decision, they thought that he was the right person... Peter shook himself back to reality, collected himself, and started to smile.
At least, that was before the panic set in.
At lunch a few hours later, Peter buried his face in his arms and loudly groaned. Ned was sitting across from him and MJ was sitting at the other end of the table, close enough to join the conversation but far enough that she wouldn't be immediately associated with them.
"You sound like a dying whale," MJ graciously informed Peter, as she cracked open a thick book.
"Thanks, I try," Peter muttered back before sitting up.
"What am I going to do?" he said, mostly to himself as he poked at a stale tater tot sitting on his tray.
One might think that a fancier school would have better food, but that couldn't be further from the truth. MJ had once calculated how hard you would have to throw one of the stale tater tots to injure a person and the results were not exactly comforting.
Ned stared thoughtfully into the middle distance before shrugging. "Teachers, man. I mean, who would look at me and think, "That kid reminds me of Happy Hogan"."
Peter considered Ned and nodded in agreement. Happy had more of a resting bitch face than Ned.
"I guess Flash being Iron Man makes some sense," he admitted. "He's got the whole 'rich asshole' thing. I mean, not that Tony Stark is an asshole, not anymore, but he had that public persona thing."
Ned nodded along as he pensively chewed his food. Peter let his head bump the table again.
"But seriously, how am I supposed to play myself with the Avengers watching? And everyone else too! Eventually, someone will recognize my voice and then that will be the end of actually keeping my identity a secret."
Ned hesitated before responding. "Well," he started slowly, "you can deny it all you want, but you really do become a different person when you have a role to play."
Peter narrowed his eyes at Ned and started to open his mouth, but was interrupted when MJ interjected, "He isn't wrong. Just ask anyone on the decathlon team about the last time you were on a stage."
She was smirking and Peter flushed at the memory. Someone had decided that the decathlon team would have a lip sync battle instead of the usual competition. Flash had been surprisingly eager to compete, but Mr. Harrington had decided that it would be fairer to randomly draw someone's name. Getting out of your comfort zone, or something. Peter had been chosen purely by chance and no one had really been expecting much. But then Peter had chosen the song Umbrella and that in itself was… a thing. At least he had won, though Peter would do without the reminders of how exactly he had won.
Peter ate his lunch, resolutely ignoring MJ and an impending sense of doom.
Somehow, it wasn't as bad as he had thought it would be. Rehearsals were after school three times a week. They had been a bit awkward at first as everyone read their lines for the first time and interacted with people they knew but whose names they had forgotten and it would be way too insulting at this point to ask.
The first act of the play would start with Loki's death and end with Thanos snapping. That would surely make intermission interesting, something Peter was sure MJ had intended. The second act started with Tony Stark and Nebula in space and ended with the final snap that defeated Thanos and his forces.
It was definitely really, really weird pretending to save Flash of all people from certain death multiple times, but it was even weirder that after a few months, Peter didn't mind it. It was almost not that bad working with Flash. Sure, he made rude comments but couldn't really do anything else with so many teachers around. The most unsettling part was how comfortable Peter, Ned, and Flash became. Yeah, there were still insults and taunts, but they felt less serious and almost more like everyone was just going through the motions.
Peter slipped into his own role with ease, reciting words he had already said at some point. (He may or may not have given MJ more than a few details, seeing as how he was actually there for many of the major plot points, and she had slipped them into the script.) Even his fear of revealing his identity didn't stop him from 'improvising' lines. Just little things, like comments on the smell of the 'nanotech' suit, or old movie references. They made other people laugh and that was what mattered. Soon enough, even the fight scenes were like a well-choreographed dance.
The only real problem was the end of the first act. Many of the people around Peter had also dusted, and even though they were only gone for a year, it had left its mark. Everyone else might have dusted faster than Peter, not to mention painlessly, but they still remembered those few seconds of feeling themselves slipping away. Practicing the dust scenes always made a few people choke up, but they fought through it and kept going.
The same could not be said of Peter.
The video that was released to the public only had his voice saying the words "I don't feel so good" because anything more than that was a total invasion of his privacy. He hadn't really wanted even that much released to the public, but the team had figured it would be better to provide the people with proof that he had dusted and didn't just abandon everyone. Peter had agreed with that.
The first time Peter said those words standing on a stage, Flash in front of him wearing cheap plastic armor, he completely lost it. He found himself sitting and gasping for air while his lips continued to say the words "I don't want to go" over and over like a broken record. He was aware of Flash standing by him, confused and wary, but all he could see was red and gold and the sky was orange and he couldn't feel his legs and his limbs were prickling and he felt like he was being ripped apart from the inside. Everything was spiraling away from him and why couldn't he have done something anything anything that could have made things end differently why-
But then warm arms were wrapping around him, holding him together. Peter was later told that Ned had come running to help him, MJ hot on his heels. He was also told that MJ had smacked Flash but no one knew if it was on purpose or an accident. MJ didn't say anything either way.
This wasn't a one-time occurrence. Every single damn time, Peter couldn't stop the change in his breathing and spike in heart rate and why wouldn't it just stop already?
But every single damn time, someone would be there, an anchor to keep him grounded. Apparently, nothing brings together a group of people like helping someone get through his regularly scheduled panic attack.
Months of rehearsal went by and ever so slowly, it got better. He couldn't stop his heart from pounding or his breath from heaving, but he stayed present and the moment the scene was over, he dropped through a trapdoor and into the waiting arms of his friends, old and new.
By the time Mr. Harrington said they were ready to perform, Peter believed it. A bunch of science nerds might not have been the best actors, but they could certainly use their skills to create a hauntingly realistic experience.
The stage already had trap doors as well as tons of catwalks and fancy lights. Before this, the stage was mostly used for assemblies and scientific presentations, but it was made for performances.
The set builders had created amazing yet simple set pieces that could be lowered onto the stage as well as smaller pieces that could easily be rolled on. The costume teams had outdone themselves. They had managed to create an almost-functioning suit for Flash. The repulsors were just fancy flashlights and it certainly couldn't fly, but it was still an incredible feat of engineering. Everyone else had amazing costumes as well, from the hidden strings on the Cloak of Levitation (now known among them as Levi) to make it move, to Asgardian armor, to Falcon's wings and the Winter Soldier's metal arm. Of course, the Hulk and Thanos were not exactly human size so instead of costumes, the actors had giant puppets in their character's likeness. It was an unexpected solution but surprisingly simple and only served to create a more realistic effect.
Peter was stunned at his own costume. The suit was just spandex, but it perfectly matched the real thing in color and pattern. There were even web shooters that shot silly string. After putting it on for rehearsals, so he could get used to the feel of it, Peter was startled by how confident he felt. During the last rehearsal, Peter could tell the others were feeling it too. Everyone slipped into their roles and the lines and steps they had practiced a thousand times.
Then it was opening night and all of Peter's confidence punched him in the gut and abandoned him.
There were going to be four shows in total, but none of the rest mattered quite like this one. Besides being their first real show, Mr. Harrington had "let slip" that the Avengers would be there.
Peter stood backstage with everyone as the lights dimmed, the crowd became quiet, and the curtains parted as Voldemort and Squidward's secret love child began to speak.
Tony was annoyed. Obviously. He could have been doing other things, like finish repairing one of his suits or chatting with Bruce about his latest experiments with microbes.
But no, instead he was trapped in a crowded high school auditorium, about to watch children put on a play of their fight against Thanos. It would no doubt be highly embellished and nowhere near accurate, especially since they had been given almost nothing to work with.
Really, Tony had more important things to worry about. Things like Spider-Man.
Before the blip, he would stop by several times a week for hours at a time. He would join them for movie nights and talk science and engineering with him and Bruce. But recently, he only stopped by once a week, staying no more than an hour. He had spent less time patrolling too. The last time Tony had seen the little spider was when he had dropped by almost two weeks earlier. He had said he had some stuff going on and had less free time.
Which was fine. Tony was fine. The kid who he most definitely did not see as something like his own kid was free to do whatever he wanted. Tony was not worried, shut up Sam.
But he couldn't stop himself from thinking about him, wondering what he was up to, what he would do or say if he had seen Sam and Bucky fencing with spatulas. Probably make some reference to an "old" movie or quote one of those "vine" things.
They hadn't sat down and just talked for so long. They had never even talked about the dusting or anything related to it.
Tony was pulled out of his thoughts as the auditorium became dim and quiet. He shifted in his seat and prepared to face boredom.
Tony was, in fact, not bored. He instead watched with morbid fascination as 'Loki' died in the first ten minutes. A few seats over, he thought he could hear Thor's heavy breathing as he watched. But then, someone rested a hand on his shoulder and his breathing evened. Tony kept watching.
It was one thing for someone to tell a story, but another thing entirely to see some version of it happen right in front of you. Disconcertingly realistically too. Not that that was the point.
The metallic set pieces were promptly wheeled away by slight people in black as others pulled on bookshelves. Less than ten seconds and the scene was set. 'Strange' and 'Wong' stepped in, bantering, and Tony settled back for a moderately amusing couple of hours.
He smirked as his own character finally made his appearance. His actor was quite good, almost nailing his swagger and witty lines. Tony was also privately relieved that no one had gotten their hands on his very private conversation with Pepper about children.
His eyebrows shot up and a few gasps and oohs and ahhs were heard as some kind of light projection was used to create a golden "portal" and Strange's character reappeared.
Bruce's kid followed and in a minute, the set seamlessly transitioned back to the Sanctum. All things considered, Tony noted, the kids ended up doing a very good job explaining Thanos and the Infinity Stones while staying in character. Minutes later, the first true fight scene started. Tony grudgingly had to admit to himself that these kids were more impressive than he had originally thought.
And then 'Spider-Man' made his entrance. The kid swung onto the stage with wires and sarcasm and saved 'Tony's' ass. The kid then chirped, "Hey man! What's up, Mr. Stark?" and Tony let himself shift forward in his seat.
Whoever this kid was, he had certainly spent a lot of time watching Spider-Man videos on YouTube to copy his attitude so closely. Of course, his lines didn't exactly match the actual conversation they had, but there was something about the rhythm of the banter and just something about that kid swinging around so confidently that bothered Tony. He just couldn't figure out why.
And then a smaller replica of the flying donut ship descended above the stage, because why wouldn't it? Yeah, Tony had seriously underestimated these kids.
But then 'Spider-Man' was pulled towards the ship and in a panicked voice said, "Uh, Mr. Stark? I'm being beamed up!" and Tony twitched. Wasn't that exactly what he had said? Maybe... Or maybe not. He must have remembered it wrong, being in the middle of a stressful situation or whatever.
Either way, the kid had the perfect personality. That was totally normal, right? Tony kept watching, paying closer attention now.
Soon it got to the scene with Spider-Man clinging to the side of the ship. Tony found himself tensed up, which was ridiculous because he already knew what was going to happen. Really, what did he have to be nervous about? He was just watching a kid who was really good at acting with a voice and attitude to match his own kid's as he frantically gasped for air, clearly panicked, and dammit he should have been prepared for that situation, this wouldn't have happened if he had just-
He forced those thoughts away and concentrated on the special effects. A skyscape projected on the back of the stage moved to show the ship flying faster and getting farther away from Earth. And then somehow, Tony was definitely going to ask later, the kid's suit transformed into the Iron Spider suit.
The kid stood in a Heroic Pose and then had to ruin the moment by saying the suit smelled like a new car. Laughter rippled through the audience while Tony muttered a quiet "What the..." under his breath. That was something he definitely remembered the kid saying. But no one else besides him knew about the kid saying that so how did it end up perfectly placed in a high school play?
Well, now wasn't the time to ponder that and Tony made himself pay attention as the scene changed and the Guardians of the Galaxy were introduced.
Everything after that was more inaccurate, but something about the sniping and banter involving his character made Tony slightly uncomfortable. It was nowhere near what he had actually said, but it was so close to something he would say... There was no way this was a coincidence. Natasha was sitting next to him, so he leaned closer to her and muttered, "Keep an eye on the Spider-kid. Too many of his lines are word-for-word accurate."
Nat's eyes narrowed but she gave a tiny nod and Tony settled back in his seat. Either they had a serious security breach on their hands, or else this random kid happened to know Spider-Man. Tony wasn't going to take any chances. If anyone could get to the bottom of it, it was Natasha.
The play just kept going and that kid's cheerful voice echoed in his head as the Avengers and Wakandans on Earth battled Thanos.
And then 'Thanos' snapped.
The sound echoed in the auditorium's tense atmosphere.
The first to dust was 'Bucky'. A spotlight fixed on him as the stage dimmed. He called out for Steve as he stumbled and fell behind a fake bush, dust rising in a poof.
Another light illuminated 'T'challa' as he reached out to pull 'Okoye' to her feet. He stumbled and fell backward, out of the light, and all that was left was 'Okoye' crying out in anguish as dust swirled through the still air.
Then it was 'Wanda'. She clutched 'Vision's' body as a spotlight fell on her. She closed her eyes and leaned out of the circle of light, ash rising.
'Sam' was next. He swept across the stage followed by another light until he hit the ground behind a fake rock and another spray of dust filled the air.
Tony was shaking. He glanced down and saw his quivering hands before ripping his gaze away and back to the stage.
He could hear other people in the audience sniffling, a few openly crying.
And the rest of the team... Steve had sat between Sam and Bucky to keep them from poking each other but now he was holding onto them as though they would vanish if he let go. Nat had an arm around Clint and was rapidly fingerspelling something; Clint had probably turned his hearing aids off. Wanda buried her face in Vision's shoulder while he gently stroked her hair. Bruce had taken his glasses off and was swiping at his eyes. Thor kept flexing his hands, open and closed, looking very much like he wanted to reach out for something- or someone. Pepper, on Tony's other side, leaned against him, eyes closing. Rhodey was next to her and rested his hand on her back. It hurt differently this time.
It wasn't over yet. The stage was completely darkened until a single spotlight shone on Tony's character. He stood alone for several seconds until another spotlight abruptly turned on to show first 'Mantis', then 'Drax', then 'Quill' as each said their last words before their lights went out.
On the other side of the stage, another light illuminated 'Strange'. He uttered the words, "Tony, there was no other way..." before his spotlight went out.
Silence dragged on as 'Tony' stood alone on the stage, until a small voice said, "Mr. Stark?"
Tony's heart plunged as he was suddenly there again, hearing his kid say the words he knew would come next.
"I don't feel so good..."
A spotlight revealed the kid, not wearing his mask for the first time. He was so... small. And young.
"I don't- I don't know what's happening-"
His curly brown hair and large eyes gave him the appearance of an innocent little kid who had done nothing to deserve everything the universe just kept throwing at him.
Then the kid started to stumble across the stage and fell into 'Tony's' arms.
He was sobbing now, saying "I don't want to go, I don't want to go-" and Tony could feel tears running down his face.
"Mr. Stark, please-"
He distantly noticed he could hear sobs all around him.
"Please, I don't wanna go-"
On that stage, gone was the confident hero swinging around making puns and wisecracks and all that was left was a broken kid who whispered "I'm sorry." before disappearing and leaving Tony with a handful of ash.
'Nebula' made her way across the stage and kneeled next to 'Tony'. They sat in silence together before their lights dimmed and everything went dark. The curtains closed and the lights rose and a voice announced intermission but Tony couldn't move. All he could see was an orange sky as the kid he loves, whose name he doesn't even know, dies in his arms and vanishes into a cloud of ash and dust.
But then he felt warm arms wrapping around him and Pepper was there, and Rhodey and Steve and Clint and Natasha and Bruce and Thor and Wanda and Vision and Sam and Bucky were all there.
There wasn't a dry eye among them but they knew they weren't alone with their pain. Minutes of silence passed and slowly the tears stopped and everyone wiped their eyes and breathed and collected themselves, unaware that the actors backstage were doing the exact same thing.
Eventually, Tony straightened and flipped through the program he had been given. There- Spider-Man, played by Peter Parker.
Tony cleared his throat, pulled out his phone, and told Friday to pull up Peter Parker's records. Rhodey squinted at his suspiciously and Pepper frowned.
"Tony, what are you-"
"That's what he said, Pep." There was silence around him as he softly repeated, "That's what he had said. Every single word, right down to that damn "sorry" before dying."
Nat was nodding along. "Those tears were real," she bluntly told them. "That kid wasn't acting. He was showing signs of having a panic attack." Her face was blank and her voice was hard, but her eyes were pained.
Tony barrelled on in his observations. "All of those movie references and smart-ass comments. They all happened. And since no one besides Nebula was there at... the end, that only leaves one logical explanation."
He held up his phone, showing the others a photo of Peter Parker.
"You seriously think," Sam said slowly, "that a 16-year-old is our teammate."
It wasn't even a question. Tony ignored him and looked over Peter's basic information. "His parents are dead, so he moved in with his aunt and uncle. The uncle died about two years ago, right when Spidey made his first appearance."
It made sense. The kid had once slipped and mentioned having to get home before his aunt worried. It would also explain his odd obsession with Star Wars and Legos and how he was so smart, considering he went to a STEM school and got good grades.
"So what do we do?" Wanda finally asked.
"Do we have to tell him we know his identity?" Sam jumped in, clearly not wanting to have that conversation.
Vision frowned slightly and responded, "That is not a wise course of action and it is likely to backfire later."
"We confront him after the show," Steve decided and everyone nodded.
Then the lights dimmed again and the curtains opened but Tony couldn't concentrate and his head swirled with thoughts.
His kid… was actually a kid. Only sixteen, and he would have been fourteen when they met, and he really gave a high-tech suit to a child and let him run around the city, stopping crime and getting injured. He had gone into battle with them and trained with them and if Tony had known Spider-Man was a child, he would have… done what? What would he have done? Taken the suit away? Something told him Spidey- no, Peter- wouldn't be stopped by something so simple. After all, his first suit was little more than a onesie. But he had trained with them and had been given a better suit and really, he was safer now than he was before. He was part of the team now. He had wormed his way into the Avengers and nothing could ever change that. Still, it seemed so obvious in hindsight. The cracking voice, the sudden growth spurts, the love of all things Star Wars and Lego… he had been a kid all along. And he was Tony's kid. It was as simple as that.
Tony snapped out of his thoughts as 'Thanos'' voice echoed through the auditorium as he said the words "I am inevitable".
But then 'Tony' was holding the Infinity Stones and 'Steve' was gripping his other arm and 'Bucky' was holding onto him and then 'Natasha' and 'Clint' and so on until everyone was holding onto each other.
Then 'Tony' faced 'Thanos' and said, "And we are the Avengers." and snapped.
Thanos's forces turned to nothing and only 'Thanos' himself was left. 'Gamora', 'Nebula', and 'Loki' all charged him, disappearing offstage.
From there, there wasn't much else to do. The play wound down and the curtains closed and the applause was deafening. Tony found himself rising from his seat with everyone else as he softly clapped.
Then all of the actors came out and bowed and Tony couldn't fight the smile that was slowly spreading across his face.
And then the spider-kid bowed and the audience roared. He wasn't wearing his mask and he was grinning and then as he stepped to the side, his eyes met Tony's and just for a second, they maintained eye contact. His smile faltered but it didn't fall as 'Strange' and 'Wong' bowed and he hurriedly looked away. Oh yeah, that wasn't suspicious at all.
Everything was a blur for Peter. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he had just played his alter ego in a real show that was seen by the Avengers. He had ignored the audience for the entire show, but as he bowed, he had taken a moment to just look. It was breathtaking, seeing so many people on their feet cheering for him. Him, not Spider-Man. And then he ended up seeing the Avengers staring at him.
Well, obviously they were looking at him because it would be weirder if they weren't, but they all looked like they were studying him, sizing him up. Specifically Mr. Stark.
That was probably cause for concern.
After all of the costumes and mics were finally put away, Ned and Peter ran out to find Ned's family. They had made plans to go out for ice cream and had invited Peter, but he declined and told them didn't want to intrude. So they decided on ice cream after the final show. May wasn't working then, so she could see the show that night. But May was working extra hours so she wasn't able to come for opening night, which was fine. Peter wasn't sure he could handle an overjoyed May as well as the Avengers.
So, Peter found himself lying on the stage. May insisted on picking him up and he didn't want to wait outside because it was cold and Peter hated being cold. So. Lying on the stage. Yes, it was kinda gross. Yes, he ignored the glitter someone had spilled months ago that wasn't ever going to go away. But it was also empty and a pretty neutral meeting ground.
The auditorium was completely empty, but with his enhanced senses Peter could hear a few teachers chatting somewhere backstage. His spider sense sent a prickle down his neck as their talking cut off, replaced with stammered greetings. They were here.
Peter had known this time would come for a while now. Well, he didn't think this time would happen now, but he had known that at some point, his identity would be figured out. He had really been hoping he could at least tell them on his own terms. But obviously, that wasn't going to happen. He was just going to have to do his best with what he was given. And if everything went to hell… Well, there was a reason he had encouraged Ned to leave and why he didn't complain too much when May said she wouldn't be there for almost half an hour.
He could hear footsteps, a few leaving, probably the teachers, but most coming closer. A very flustered-looking Mr. Harrington stepped onto the stage, famous superheroes on his heels.
Mr. Harrington stopped short when he saw Peter flopped on the floor. "Ah- Mr. Parker, what are you doing?"
Peter scrambled to his feet, feigning surprise at the sudden appearance of the Avengers themselves. He eyed them for a moment before turning his attention to his teacher, a chill running down his back as a reminder that he was being studied by a dozen pairs of eyes.
"My aunt just got off work and she's coming to pick me up. I was just waiting for her." Short but sweet. Mr. Harrington accepted his answer without any questions, though he probably should have been just a little more wary. Then again, he was probably distracted by the very dangerous people breathing down his neck.
"Right. Well. Mr. Parker, why don't you finish giving the Avengers a tour of the theater department. I have…places to be." Mr. Harrington all but fled from the scene. And it was no wonder: Natasha's stare alone was enough to make an adult cry.
Peter stared at the familiar faces around him and they stared back. This was... more awkward than he had thought it would be.
Peter glanced from one person to the next in an effort to avoid the horrors of prolonged eye contact. The heroes were all in their civilian disguises, consisting of hoodies and hats. Clint just happened to be wearing his own merch, which wasn't inconspicuous at all.
And there he was, leading the way. Mr. Stark. It was hardest to meet his gaze.
The tension grew with each passing second until Peter couldn't stand it anymore. Someone had to start talking. He had to say something, anything to break the oppressive silence.
"You can't make me stop," he blurted. Each of the Avengers- the team- his family- jerked a little at his voice breaking the quiet. Or maybe it was just hearing his voice in general. Putting a face to the mask.
"You can't make me stop," he repeated softer. "Look, this isn't how I wanted this to go. I mean, I knew this would happen eventually but I thought- Well, I thought I would have more time." He pauses and rakes a hand through his already-ruffled hair. "You can't get rid of me. You can't. You know how strong I am. And I have powers. I'm valuable to the team, you know this. And even when you kick me off the team, I won't stop. You can't make me. I will do everything I can to keep helping and protecting the people I care about for as long as I can. You- You can try. You can take the suit back. I don't need it. I can drop it off anytime you want. But that won't stop me. I'm Spider-Man and you can't take that from me. I- I know you don't want a kid to deal with so I can get the stuff I left at the Tower and-"
That's when Mr. Stark breaks the stillness and rushes forward to wrap Peter in a hug. And then Ms. Pepper is hot on his heels, pulling them both against her. And then Mr. Rhodey is next, with Mr. Steve and Mr. Sam and Mr. Bucky and Ms. Natasha and Mr. Clint and Dr. Banner and Mr. Thor and Ms. Wanda and Mr. Vision.
"Oh. This is nice."
Mr. Stark just pulled him closer and pressed a kiss to his head. Peter wiggled enough to wrap his arms around him too and completely melt into the warm embrace. It was nice.
And they stayed like that until shaky legs forced them to let go before they all tumbled into a heap on the floor. All of them together, complete.
Bonus scene:
Peter cast his eyes over the group. "Hey, where's Dr. Strange?"
The man in question had been manhandled into unofficially joining the team, even grudgingly joining them for game night and movie night. Surely he would be forced to come to this thing too.
Tony heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes dramatically. "He was adamant about not coming, even more so than Brucie over here. Finally, he just threw himself through a portal and refused to come back."
Peter considered that and yeah, the man didn't exactly scream 'I love watching children put on plays'. But still...
He raised an eyebrow at the group and his lips twitched upwards. "Think he'd be so sure if I asked him...?" Because yeah, he'd have to tell the guy his identity eventually. May as well have some fun with it.
Tony caught his meaning and smirked back. "Don't worry kid, after tonight he won't be alone in seeing the show. I think I speak the truth when I say we plan on coming back."
"Wait- we?"
"The whole team of course. Who did you think? Of course we're all going to come back."
Peter glanced at the others sitting around as they nodded and made noises of agreement. Peter promptly flushed at the thought of more people who knew him personally coming to a show he was performing in.
"I think my kids would enjoy seeing it too," Clint pitched in very helpfully.
"I've got some family in town too," Sam added, "and I know they would love to see this."
"Maybe some of the folks over at the community center would like it," Steve said and he was definitely smiling slyly, a mischievous light in his eyes.
Natasha nodded very seriously. "But you know who would love this show more than anything?" She waited a beat to see if anyone would take the bait. When no one did she broke into a grin. "Fury."
Everyone laughed and Peter smiled softly. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
A/N
Thanks for reading!
Also not that anyone wants to know but I'm bursting to tell someone... this is the longest continuous thing I have ever written! Also fun fact- it took almost exactly a year and a month to type up this whole thing. And that's not even counting the original draft that I wrote by hand. Took almost a month because my pen ran out of ink. So. I just had to tell someone.
Also that line at the end of pete's first pov abt "Voldemort and Squidward's secret love child" was put there bc i forgot the guy's name and didn't care enough to change it lol
:))))))
