Spiderman Oneshots

The Phone Call (1)

Tony Stark couldn't help but smile as he got the notification that Spider-Man was on patrol. He'd been issued the command to bring in the unregistered vigilante several months ago, but because he'd never actually injured anyone who wasn't an outlaw or caused any property damage, Tony wasn't allowed to use any force.

Tony would never admit it, but he'd grown a soft spot for the younger hero. Months of snarky comebacks and regular meetings would do that to a person.

Still smirking faintly, Tony stepped into his armour and let his autopilot take him to the sighted location of Spider-Man.

"Hey old man, thought you weren't going to show!" He couldn't see the vigilante's face but he could hear the grin in his tone.

"What, and leave you unsupervised? Never," Tony smiled, but this one was more weighted as he remembered Fury's reminder earlier in the week. "Look, Spidey, got a second?"

"For you, tin can? Always."

"Great. It's about... your identity." 

Spider-Man pulled away in mock horror, a hand over his heart, but when he spoke there was real hurt in his tone. "Really, Mr Stark? I thought we were over the whole bringing-me-in thing!"

"Yeah, well, my boss is back on my case, and he wants your identity. He said to do anything in my power that was legal to get it, so I want to talk deal-"

"Wait." Spidey held up a hand, tilting his head as if listening, then shot a web.

"Hey, where you going?"

"Armed robbery on the Main Street!" He yelled back. "You coming or not?"

Glad that the news hadn't damaged their camaraderie too much, Tony activated his thrusters and followed Spider-Man.

They dealt with the robbery fairly quickly, then Spidey disappeared for a while to interrupt a supposed mugging, and Tony was beginning to wonder how he knew what was going on even before his suit's sensors picked anything up. Then again, that was why he had been sent - they knew nothing about the guy.

Finally, Spider-Man landed back in front of Tony. 

"Surprised you're still here," he said. "I thought rich people had better things to do than wait around for little old me."

"Well, not this rich guy," Tony replied. "How would you feel about a deal?"

"That depends what the deal is," Spidey shrugged. His phone rang, but he ignored it.

"Okay, well, clearly you're doing good things here, so I'll put in a good word with Fury and hopefully he'll let you carry on. SHIELD is very secretive anyway, so I'm sure it wouldn't take much to convince him to keep your name to himself, and-"

"Woah, woah, woah," Spidey said, eyes wide. "You'd do all that... for me?"

"Well, yeah. That's what friends are for, right. Does that mean you'll tell me?"

"Thanks, but no thanks. Sorry, I thought that was pretty obvious. I have people to protect. But feel free to keep visiting!"

"I wasn't done yet!"

"By all means, go ahead." 

"Okay, well, you could come stay at the Avengers compound, and maybe bring your family or anyone else who needs protection to where we can keep an eye on them. I'm sure the guys would love a bit of a change." Whilst he was talking, Spidey's phone rang again. He pulled it out of a hidden pocket, checked the number, and declined, before looking up with wide lenses.

"Wait... You're inviting me to be an Avenger?"

"If that's what you want to call it, sure."

"I... wow, Mr Stark. This is going to sound so rude, but-" His phone rang again, and he groaned as he looked back at it. "Sorry, I should probably take this." He hit a button and raised it to his ear, pulling his mask up to his nose, the way Tony had seen him do when they got a cheeseburger together once.

"Hello? Sorry, this isn't a great- Oh. Um, yeah, that's me. Wh- ... Oh. What? No. That can't be..... no, thank you. Yeah. Yeah, no. Uh, I'm actually in the middle of something at the moment, can I call you back later? Okay."

Spider-Man hung up. For a moment he just stood there, his still-uncovered jaw fixed. Then he took a deep breath. 

"Where were we?"

"You were about to tell me that you accepted my offer?"

"Oh yeah. Okay."

"Okay?"

"I accept you offer."

"You... what?!"

"You''l let me stay at the Avengers compound? No matter who I am?"

"Well, as long as you're not a fugitive, sure. Does this mean you're going to tell-"

Spider-Man pulled his mask off, revealing a brown-haired teenager with damp eyes. "Um, my name is Peter Parker, I'm sixteen."

Tony swore. Sure, he knew the guy's voice was pretty young sounding, but he'd never thought... The number of dangerous situations this kid threw himself into... Tony swore again.

Peter blinked, fidgeted, then put his mask hesitantly back on. "Have you changed your mind about letting me stay at the compound? Its okay if you have, but can you not tell anyone other than-"

"Nono, you can still come if you want. But.. don't you have parents?"

"Um, no. I live with my aunt."

"Do you not want to stay with her?"

"Heh... that was the hospital." He indicated his phone. "My aunt just died."

"Oh lord, kid, I'm so sorry-"

"It's okay," he sniffed. "It's just, I need somewhere to stay and also I'm going to put into the system unless-" 

"Unless someone takes legal responsibility for you," Tony nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"I'll do it. I'll adopt you."

"Yo- WHAT?!"

"I mean, unless you don't want me to-"

"Thank you so much! I... I don't know what to say!" Spidey blinked rapidly. "I-wow."

"I'll arrange a meeting with Fury, then you can call me, okay?"

"I don't know-"

"Well, now you do," Tony offered him a business card with a smile, and flew away from the shocked teenager. 

How on earth was he going to explain this to Pepper?