When Trauma Comes Knocking

A Small World

Welcome back everyone!! I hope youre ready for a slight intermission, no fight, no crippling devastation, just Tony and Peter having some quality time together and three guest appearances :) I hope you have fun!!

No TW!!

Have fun and stay safe🖤🤎❤️️🧡💛💚💙💜

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Upgrades are a lot easier said than done, especially when you haven't properly hung out with your idol in a while. Focusing hasn't ever been one of Peter's strong suits and that certainly hasn't changed post-spider bite. He wrote all of his current ideas down, including retractable and acid resistant webs, but he doesn't know where to start. It's one thing to say you want to change chemical composition and another thing to actually execute it. Especially when you want a specific outcome.

It doesn't take long for Tony to notice Peter's brewing frustration. The back-and-forth banter turns into chatter until it's reduced to the occasional comment. When the kid goes silent for a solid ten minutes, that's a dead giveaway. Hyperfixation. Tony doesn't want him more stressed over Scorpion than he already is, so he decides to intervene.

"Hey, kiddo," Tony starts as he meanders over to Peter, "need some help?" He doesn't want to make Peter feel incapable, so the choice is left up to him.

"No thanks, Mr. Stark," Peter politely responds without looking up. He's balancing equation after equation, trying to get the chemistry right. Tony nods to himself and silently wonders if this is the kind of stubbornness Pepper has to deal with when it comes to himself.

"What do you say we take that lunch break, then?" he attempts to propose instead. If there's any way he can get Peter to take a break, he'll try it. Peter presses his lips together in concentration as he scribbles out his thoughts. After a few moments of Tony's question hanging in the air, Peter groans and lets his head fall onto his open notebook.

"I'm tired and I'm angry and I hurt," his muffled voice complains. Tony rolls his eyes at the teenage melodrama, yet pats Peter's back encouragingly.

"I know, UV rays and scorpions suck. Would a milkshake make it better?" Peter slowly peaks up, half of his face still smooshed against his notebook.

"Vanilla?" he asks in a quiet, hopeful voice. Tony scoffs with a look of disbelief.

"Of course you'd be the only kid in existence who prefers vanilla. Yeah, sure, vanilla milkshake it is. Up we go." He nudges Peter's side, which he knows is ticklish, to get the kid moving.

"Hey, that's not fair," Peter whines as his muscles tense. Only May and Tony know he's ticklish and he'd like to keep it that way. Still, they know how to get him moving. As soon as he stands, he stretches out his back with a groan. "Do I look less red yet?" he asks hopefully. Tony looks him over, then shrugs.

"I'd say you're more of a pink now," he says with a smirk. All that does is make Peter groan louder. "Come on, I'm driving." That makes Peter sober up a bit, shooting Tony a skeptical look.

"How come Happy's not driving us?" he questions. Tony gives him the noncommittal shrug of his shoulders.

"Because I said so. And I'm giving him the holidays off," he answers with a blasé demeanor. However, Peter sees right through it.

"You literally had him pick me up yesterday," he reminds as they walk side-by-side out of the lab.

"Yeah, well." Following that halfhearted retort, they make their way down the elevator and out of the Tower. True to Tony's word, they go to one of his many cars in the parking complex and he beeps an Audi. Peter is about to make a comment about the Audi not being undercover per se, but then catches a glimpse of his segway.