Chapter Text
ZZZZT
“ Ow”
Peter popped his slightly singed thumb into his mouth. It was a vain attempt to get the stinging to stop, but he couldn’t just leave his current project with that wire exposed and sparking like that. Well, he could call Mister Stark over to help him out, but it was just the one wire, not even a big deal. He’d dealt with them countless times before, and that was without all the fancy equipment his mentor’s lab provided him with. Well, he’d only been coming to the Tower for lab days for like a month, and was still getting used to it all, but still! Anyways, the man was completely engrossed in his own work, and Peter himself was too absorbed to break his carefully crafted train of thought.
“Hey kid, you all right?” A concerned voice from right above him startled him anyways. He whipped around and glared at the man.
What he thought would be an intimidating stare down only resulted in Tony cocking an amused eyebrow at him.
“M’ther Thark-“ Peter started, before realizing to his horror that his finger was still in his mouth. Way to go Peter, embarrassing yourself in front of Iron Man, he thought to himself. His mentor snorted as he yanked it out and wiped it on his shirt. Peter scowled at him, all too aware of his bright red face, and tried to ignore Tony’s eyes flicking back and forth between his hand and the wire still spitting sparks. Stark leaned on the worktable, snatching the needle-nosed pliers from Peter’s good hand and making swift work of the exposed wire. As soon as he had twisted it around a neighboring strand, the sparking stopped and the wheels of the device whirred to life.
Peter switched it off, crossing his arms and letting out a huff.
“I had that under control, you know.”
Tony had focused his full attention on him, sitting on the bench beside him and raising his eyebrows at the kid’s grouching.
“Uh-huh, sure you did Underoos, which is why I heard you yelp from over there.” He snarked “Now let me see your hand, believe me when I say electrical burns can hurt like hell.”
Peter uncrossed his arms, reluctantly passing his hand and still stinging thumb to his mentor’s waiting hands. The man inspected it with surprising gentleness, hissing sympathetically as he turned the offending digit over and around. When he touched the area and Peter flinched, he dropped his arm and stood up abruptly with a clap of his hands.
“Alright, that’s gonna sting like a bitch, don’t say bitch, until we put something on it, so up and at em. Chop chop.” Tony offered a hand to Peter and pulled him to his feet.
“Mister Stark,you do realize telling me not to swear immediately after swearing does not negate the fact that you already said it? And it’s really alright, I’m perfectly fine. I’ve had much worse while Spider-manning anyways.” He whined, feeling rather annoyed at the interruption of his work. Sure, his thumb throbbed pretty bad but with his healing factor, it’d be gone by the time he went to bed.
“Nope,” Stark retorted, popping the p “ Spider-babies don’t get to not take care of themselves, healing factor or not. And it totally does, I’m a great role model.” He gripped the teen’s shoulders, steering him away from his desk and towards the lab doors.
“It’s not not taking care of myself, it’s just, taking care of other things first. ‘Cuz I’d really like to be working on my project right now.” the younger protested, though he didn’t resist his mentor’s steady pace towards the exit.
“Well, right now we are going up to the penthouse, you’re gonna put some aloe or something on that thumb, and since it’s,” Tony brings his watch up to his face dramatically, “seven forty five, we’re gonna order some dinner. Don’t even try to tell me you aren’t hungry,you haven’t eaten in hours and with your metabolism you must be starving.”
Peter, frankly, was too stunned to deny it, and let Tony push him down the hall without fuss. The penthouse? He’d been coming to the lab for a little while, but he never expected to be invited up to Tony and Pepper’s private quarters.
“But, uh, Mister Stark, don’t you have a first aid closet on this floor?” He squeaked out, hoping he didn’t sound too pathetic.
“Yeah, but Pepper has this fancy cream stuff, might help with the pain a bit more than what I’ve got down here.” His mentor responded nonchalantly. Oh no. Fancy probably meant that it was worth more than the rent for him and his Aunt’s apartment, not to mention that whatever it was belonged to the Pepper Potts.
They made it to the elevator, a different one than he usually rode up on, the doors closing before Peter can even consider walking back off.
“Take us up, FRI.”
“ Boss, need I remind you there are approximately ten floors above the one you currently occupy, would you like me to bring you to each and- ”
“No, FRIDAY, just, just the penthouse, damn,” Tony whipped Peter around, wagging a finger in his face, "Don't say damn."
“ Got it, Boss ”
Peter couldn’t help but snicker at Tony’s exasperated expression, earning him an amused shove as the elevator began to move upwards. The older man clapped him on the shoulder, grinning.
“You’re gonna love this, kid.”
He smiled nervously back, shifting on his feet as the elevator dinged, and the doors slid open.
Well, it was certainly breathtaking. The elevator opened into a huge space, split into a massive kitchen and sitting area. The light of sunset reflected brilliantly off the dark wooden floors from the gargantuan windows covering nearly every exterior wall. The rest were finished with shimmery grey hues and white accents. Beyond the kitchen, Peter could see a foyer with two other elevators, opening into a living area with multiple couches.
He couldn’t help stumbling out of the elevator, making a beeline for the nearest window. The New York skyline stretched out in front of him, cutting an angular line between the buildings and the sky on the horizon. He’d seen it hundreds of times, swinging around the city he loved, but it still took his breath away seeing it from so high up.
“Best view in New York, kid. Told ya you’d love it.” Tony chuckled, spooking Peter, who all but peeled himself off the glass. He didn’t even realize he had been pressing his face on it, but the face and hand prints were hard to miss. His mentor just laughed as he tried to wipe them off with his sweater sleeve.
“Sorry Mister Stark! I’ll get it-”
“Don’t sweat it, Pete, just don’t get too excited and crack it.” Peter knew he was kidding, but couldn’t help but wonder if he could actually do that.
Tony strode into the kitchen, pulling open a cabinet and tossing a small packet at Peter. It would’ve hit him in the face were it not for his reflexes. He studied the small bundle of takeout menus, before looking quizzically at Tony, who was now pouring two glasses of sweet tea. The man returned the look.
“Well? What are you feeling tonight, Pizza? Chinese? Your pick.” He said, picking up the glasses and sliding one across the marble counter-top towards the teen. Peter grabbed it, taking a big gulp of the tea.
“Uh, Italian?” He shrugged.
“FRIDAY, order us some Italian. Usual place, usual orders.”
“ Sure, Boss.”
Peter grinned. It seemed pretty cool to have a ‘usual order’. Honestly it was a pretty mundane thing to get excited about when he was standing in Tony Stark’s penthouse, but hey, it’s the little things that matter, right?
“Alright, that should take a bit, so let’s go ahead and deal with that burn. Come on, Underoos.” Tony said, setting down his tea and gesturing for Peter to follow him. Then he walked out of the kitchen, leaving the teen to shuffle awkwardly after him.