The Stark Internship // Spider-Man [Book 1]

twenty-eight {Arya's POV}

"So, you're eh... you're something now?" Happy spoke up as we entered the newly renovated Avengers Compound. Peter and I exchanged a look before nodding.

"Is that a problem, Hap?" I asked. 

Happy almost smiled. "No, not at all."

"There they are!" Tony's cheerful voice sounded through the hallway. A smile broke through on my face before I walked over to greet my father. He put an arm around my shoulder, giving my arm a squeeze. "Hello, favourite daughter of mine." 

"I'm your only daughter," I shot back with a grin. 

"And even if you weren't, you'd still be my favourite." He grinned before turning to Happy"Give me a minute with the kids." 

"Seriously?" Happy asked. 

"Yep. I gotta talk to the kids," Tony replied. 

"I'll be close behind." 

"How 'bout a loose follow, huh? Boundaries are good." Tony put an arm around Peter's shoulder too. "I'm sorry I took your suit- I mean, you had it coming. Actually, no, it was the perfect sort of tough love moment that you needed, don't you think?" 

"I uh-" 

"Let's just say it was." 

Peter nodded. 

"You two screwed the pooch with this one. Hard. Big time," Tony continued. "But then you did the right thing. I was wrong about you, I was wrong about you both." He pointed a meaningful finger at Peter. "I'm a bit new to this whole father-mentoring thing but you two would be real assets to the team," he said casually as the glass doors parted to let us through. 

"To the- To the team?" Peter sputtered. 

Tony tapped his watch. "There are about fifty reporters behind that door. Real ones, not bloggers." A door slid open in front of us and two suits rose from the floor. My jaw dropped.

One of them was red, gold and dark blue with a large spider emblem covering the torso. The other was black and light blue, with dimly glowing lightning bolts down the arms. Both looked like they were made of some type of metal, except for the hood on what I assumed was my suit, which was made of black fabric.

I looked up at Peter, who couldn't take his eyes off the suits. "I want to introduce the world to the newest official members of the Avengers," Tony said. "After the press conference, Happy will show you your rooms, your quarters. You're next to Vision?" he asked Happy.

"Yeah, Vision is not big on doors," Happy said. "Or walls." 

"You'll fit right in," Tony added. 

I thought about his offer and what that would mean. All I ever wanted was to be a normal high schooler, at least for a little while. I eventually wanted to be something bigger, but not yet. Not when I was finally starting to fit in at Midtown.

My mind shifted to Peter's Aunt. If anyone were to find out about him being Spider-Man, she would be in danger. I couldn't do that to her. Peter could not lose his aunt. She was the only family he had left.

Peter appeared to be thinking the same thing because he looked up and said, "Thank you, Mister Stark, but I'm good." 

"Yeah, me too." I intertwined my fingers with Peter's and looked at my father with a small smile. 

"You're good? How're you good?" Tony asked with raised eyebrows. 

"We'd rather stay on the ground for a while," Peter spoke for me. "Friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, you know. Someone's gotta look out for the little guy, right?"