Your new bodyguard squad

The weekend passed too quickly.

The next morning Peter woke up to Tony making waffles, as if that's what they'd done their entire lives, and then he took him to the lab to show him some projects he was working on.

They'd ended up staying in there the entire day, both completely immersed in the work, Peter declining twice when Tony offered to let him go and do whatever he wanted to to spend his weekend. He was clearly a brainchild of his dad. Tony ordered pizza halfway through via AI and Peter grabbed some snacks from the room's mini kitchen during the rest of the time.

They finally crawled out of the lab at 10:00pm, Tony insisting Peter get sleep. He hadn't enforced the curfew May gave him yet, but he was definitely watching out for how late he kept him up.

The next day, Sunday, was much quieter and more laid back. Peter woke up earlier and made toast and eggs for them for breakfast in an effort to pull his weight around the penthouse. Then he spent the day watching TV in the living room, lazing in his room texting Ned and catching up on homework, ending the night working with Tony again in the lab.

He thought Happy would take him home that night, but since he had all his school stuff with him and a change of clothes, Tony told him he was welcome to stay the night and that he'd drive him to school in the morning. And, most importantly, that it'd already been cleared by May.

Peter agreed, partly because he was getting tired and wanted to crash on his comfy bed, but mostly because he knew he wouldn't see his dad again till next Friday and he wanted every minute with him he could get.

Getting dropped off at school by Tony Stark was weird, to say the least. The windows were dark enough that no one actually knew that's who had driven him, but he still felt self-conscious stepping out of such a nice car. The crap Flash would give him.

Tony smiled and gave his shoulder a light squeeze before he got out. "I'll see you on Friday, Pete."

"Bye, Tony. Thank you for everything," he added.

"If you need anything, text me or call me, okay?"

"'Kay." With one last wave goodbye, Peter shut the passenger door and walked up to the school, a feeling of newfound security in his chest.

He never remembered feeling this much like he had a place.

—

PLeeds don't tell anyone

That day at school he decided Ned needed to know what was going on. He'd been his best friend for years, and he didn't know why he hadn't told him yet; he guessed he'd been waiting to do it in person. But now was his chance. After marching band practice early that morning, he pulled his friend aside across the football field where no other kids could overhear.

"Ned, I have some big news."

Ned was immediately interested. "Did you get a new Lego Star Wars set?"

"No. This is…insane. Like, you're not even going to believe me."

His eyes widened. "You met the Avengers?"

Not yet, Peter thought wryly. "Actually…bigger."

"What?"

"So last week after my internship, I fell and hit my head pretty hard at the tower and I ended up in Mr. Stark's MedBay, and they drew my blood, because I guess it helps them check for brain bleeds or damage or something…Anyway, and then Friday, Tony's AI, found out my blood was a match to an Avenger."

"What? Which one?! Peter!"

He was building up to the big part, and he felt his heart beat harder. "And then Tony brought me into his personal lab last week and told me that…he's my dad. Biologically."

"Are you serious?!"

"But one can know, Ned."

"Oh my gosh. Peter, you're—"

"So my dad is an Avenger."

"Wow…" Ned shook his head. "Your life is so cool."

Peter huffed a laugh. "It wasn't, till now."

"But either way you're one of Tony Stark's personal interns."

"I guess that's true." He shrugged.

"So, is Tony, like…gonna be your dad now?"

Peter clenched the straps on his backpack. "Actually, yeah. He's going to have me over at the tower on the weekends, and we seem to get along really well." Talking about it out loud made him nervous. It made him question that this was really going to work out. Maybe Tony would end up getting bored with him.

"That is so cool, man. Are you good with it? I mean why wouldn't you be, your dad's Tony Stark."

"Shh, Ned!" he hissed. It didn't matter that the closest student was a football field away. If word got out… "Yeah, I'm happy. I mean, I get to be with my actual dad."

"That's pretty awesome. Well, I'm happy for you, dude."

"Thanks." Ned was the best. Peter checked his phone, then started walking away. They had three minutes till the next bell. "C'mon, we gotta get to class."

—

Tony had told him from day one that he wanted him to meet the other Avengers. He hadn't brought it up since, and Peter didn't push it, giving himself time to settle in. But he was secretly very curious to meet them and see what their real personalities were like. See what they thought of him.

Maybe this weekend.

He chose to walk to Delmar's after school that day, celebrating his 100% on a precalc test. He had invited Ned to go with him, but his friend had a dentist appointment. So he walked alone.

He never made it to Delmar's, though.

When Peter was a block away, a sudden shout made him turn around. People started screaming as a man with what looked like an alien gun came running through the crowd, demanding people give up their wallets. One by one, with scared looks, they gave in.

Peter started walking the other way, trying to be discreet, hoping to get away before he was reached.

"Hey! Don't even try, kid."

Peter froze, hand gripping his backpack straps with white knuckles. At least he wasn't hurting anyone…

The mugger got to a tall, Asian man dressed in business attire and held out his hands. But the man didn't move. He stood completely still as the mugger got in his face, waving the gun around. "Give it up! C'mon, or I'll blast you somewhere you don't wanna go!"

The man was still in shock, or maybe it was just his own way of refusing. The mugger quickly lost his patience and leveled the gun at him. "That's it." With the push of a trigger, a bright beam of green light emitted from the alien gun and the man dissolved into a pile of smoldering ash. People's screams grew shriller, and Peter felt his stomach start to turn. Crap, crap, crap. A gun that could turn him to ash? No thanks. He thought about sending a text to Tony, but he couldn't risk upsetting the man. Instead, he fished out his wallet and had it ready for him to take when he got to him.

A sudden deep rumble, combined with the darkening of the sky, made them all look up toward the sky. Flashes of light started striking, like bolts of lightning, and Peter felt a sense of calm he couldn't explain.

What was it?

The mugger seemed scared enough of whatever it was that he took off at a run, pushing past people and shoving Peter hard enough he fell to the ground, scraping his arm on the cement. A second later, a sizzle and crack jolted the air as a bolt of lightning struck out like a whip. The stroke of energy reached the attacker as fast as Peter could blink, and when it hit him he collapsed to the ground, body black and unmoving. "Ooh," Peter winced. He looked burnt to a crisp.

He could see now a figure standing on a rooftop, hammer in hand, the unmistakable outline of Thor. He grinned. Down below on the street, a redheaded woman in a black outfit—Natasha Romanoff, his brain supplied—started checking if people were okay. Another normal-looking man who Peter instantly recognized as Bruce Banner stood nearby. Probably waiting to go all Hulk if needed.

Well, he'd have to tell Tony he'd already met the Avengers next time he saw him.

Natasha got to him and smiled. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Uh, thanks."

She moved past him to a middle-aged woman who was crying, and Peter stood watching the heroes, in awe. What was usually a picture on the internet was a person standing in front of him. It sorta wigged out his brain.

"Hey, kid. What're you doing over here?"

He knew that voice. He turned around to see Iron Man touching down on the sidewalk.

"Were you called into this too?" Peter asked as vanishing nanotech unveiled Tony's face.

"Yeah, there was a prison break nearby. That guy—" he pointed to the charred heap, "Was one of four. I just took out two others on my way. Hey, are you okay?" His eyes narrowed.

Peter nodded. "A little in shock, but I'm good."

"Good."

"I was uh, getting a sandwich." He pointed down the street. "Delmar's is the best in Queens."

Tony's lip turned up.

"This one's a goner," Natasha confirmed, coming over to report to Tony. "Thor's bolt took him out. The other three are on their way back to prison."

Tony looked to Peter curiously, then looked up at the heroes. Thor and Bruce had gathered in too. He made a sudden decision.

"Peter, meet Natasha, Thor, and Bruce. Nat, Thor, Brucey, meet Peter. My son." The heroes simultaneously went wide-eyed, all eyes on Peter, and he flushed with self-consciousness. Bruce let out a sudden cough. "I only just met him myself a few weeks ago."

"Oh, wow. You…" Even Natasha looked surprised, which was a rare sight to see on the spy. "O…kay, well hi, Peter. Nice to meet you." She shook his hand, recovering impressively quickly. It was in her training to take sudden new information in, file it where it belonged, and keep going.

"Nice to meet you too, Ms. Romanoff. And-and Thor—woah." The god's hand nearly crushed Peter's when he shook it. "This is cool," Peter said.

Tony couldn't hide his smile.

"A miniature Tony Stark," Thor examined him. "Good to meet you. You look a lot like your father."

"I hate to break up the intros, but can we actually do this somewhere less…public?" Tony said, steering Peter away by the shoulders and into an alleyway.

As they walked, Bruce gave Peter a wave. "Bruce Banner. Good to meet you, Peter."

"Hi, you too. I heard you and my dad are the Science…Bros?"

At the word dad, Bruce looked to Tony with an awestruck expression. "You're a father, Tony. Why is this so surprising and not surprising at the same time?"

"Tell me about it."

"Tony," Natasha gestured for him to come over, lingering near the back of the group, and he left Peter and Bruce to go walk alongside the redhead. She spoke in a low voice. "Does anyone else know?"

"No," the man answered. "Only his aunt May and his best friend Ted. Or Ned, I forget which."

"Good. It needs to stay that way or your kid will become a target for the rest of his life."

Tony winced. "Don't remind me."

"Hey. But I also want you to know I would kill for him."

His face softened. "Already have a soft spot for him, huh?"

"He's too likable." She cracked a smile.

"Yeah…it's kind of scary."

"Fatherhood looks good on you, by the way." She walked off to take a call on her cell phone.

They reached a secluded area away from prying eyes, and Tony turned to Peter, who was grinning from talking to Bruce. Nerds. "Let me give you a lift home," he told Peter. "I'd feel better after what's gone down."

"Well since you caught them all, I'm sure it's fine. But if you want."

"I do, yes. Good, it's settled." He set a hand on Peter's shoulder, not missing the others' fond expressions. "We'll have you all over for dinner sometime. You can drill the kid, have some fun."

"No way this kid's yours Tony, he's way too polite," Bruce commented, and Peter blushed.

"Well he wasn't raised by me," the man pointed out.

"Obviously." Thor smiled.

"Ever thought about joining the Avengers, Peter?" Bruce asked him, and Peter's shoulders shrugged.

"Um, I don't have any powers. And I have asthma, so that kinda seals the deal." He let out a laugh.

"He's wicked smart though," Tony put in, and Peter felt warmth in his chest.

"Sounds like we'll have to have a lab day. Get the Science Bros back together."

"Would be fun," Tony admitted. "Alright, I gotta get Peter home. Good work, team."

"Bye, young Stark," Thor said, and Peter was taken aback. He guessed he was.