Field Trips, Infinity Stones and oh mY GOD IS THAT SPIDER-MAN?

Chapter 1

A BRIEF DISCLAIMER TO START: 

Hi! I'm Visionsofus, the original author of this work over on Archive of Our Own where it was initially posted > https://archiveofourown.org/works/18847705/chapters/44730712

I wasn't going to put this story on Wattpad but due to unfortunate events and people thinking that it is ok to steal my work and post it without my consent on Wattpad, I have decided to upload it myself in order to have better control over where it is distributed. As such, this is a warning to those who see my work as something that you can just copy and paste on to another platform: maybe chat to me first? You want to put it into an anthology? Cool! I'm glad that you would think so highly of it but ASK ME first please! You want to translate it into another language? that would be epic but please, I'd appreciate it if you ask me first :) 

Sorry if that comes across as a bit aggressive but I just had to make my point very clear. 

Anyway, some context for this work. I wrote this a couple of weeks after I saw Endgame because I needed that mourning Peter content but ffh obviously hadn't come out. Anything that is written in this book was written prior to that film and so does not accord with its narrative :) 

That's all I have to say for now and as you go into this story I just want to mention that it does get sad at times but everything turns out ok in the end. I seriously hope you enjoy this story because I poured so much of myself into writing it and loved every word. 

Thank you so much for reading, 

visionsofus xx 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been 29 days since Peter Parker had died.

But for the rest of the world it had been 29 days and 5 years.

It had also been 29 days since Peter Parked had come back to life.

But it had been 29 days since Tony Stark had died.

Numbers had always been comforting to Peter in a way. Numbers, sequences, series, formulas. They all provided him comfort, helped him stay grounded even if the world was out of control. Sometimes, when his senses got the better of him and things got a little too much he'd run through the sequence of pie or rattle off all the square numbers as high as he could go. But as each day passed Peter started to hate the counting. Each day put him one day further away from the last time he had seen Tony Stark.

Peter swung his legs off his twin bed and let his toes brush the ground. His shoulders were slack, and he kept his eyes trained on the floor, looking at the grooves in the wooden floorboards.

Almost 1 month.

It was the 1-month anniversary at the end of the week. How had the day come around so quickly?

"Peter?" Aunt May called from somewhere outside his door. "You gotta get up honey."

"Yeah, I'm up." Peter called back eventually, rubbing a hand over his face and blinking his eyes sleepily.

It was 8am. He'd need to hurry up if he wanted to get to school on time. Peter struggled into some jeans from the day before and pulled on a sweater. He grabbed his watch from where he had taken it off the night before and paused. It was next to the framed photo he had of him and Mr. Stark – proof, Tony had told him, for if he ever needed to prove that he did in fact have the internship. It just wasn't what everyone thought it was, at least not completely. Tony had made them take a photo to make it all official. The actual document that was signed by Mr Stark was now somewhere hidden in his wardrobe.

Peter had turned the frame flat down on its face a few weeks ago. It was too difficult to look at Tony's face every day. Everything that reminded him of Mr Stark had been removed from his room and Peter was grateful that May either hadn't noticed or had chosen not to say anything about the stack of articles and flyers of Iron Man that had ended up in the trash. Even the ones Peter himself had been in as Spider-Man had gone in the bin.

Peter sighed and turned away from his desk as he finished fastening his watch to his wrist. He stopped by the wardrobe mirror to comb his hair through once and grab his backpack from his desk before heading out into the kitchen.

"Toast?" May asked when she heard him coming into the kitchen.

"Yes please," Peter said setting his backpack at the foot of the bench and running to the bathroom.

"I told Pepper that you're going to go to the official vigil on Friday night." May said once Peter returned and she set the plate of toast in front of him.

"Ok." Peter said around his food and nodding.

"Peter..." May said from where she was standing on the other side of the kitchen, her back to him. "I've been thinking-"

"Sorry May, I gotta head off I'm gonna be late!" Peter said, his mouth full of half chewed up toast. He grabbed his bag, kicked his shoes on and was out the door before May could say another word. "Love you!" He called out as he brought the door closed behind him.

Peter knew what May wanted to talk about. He'd been avoiding the conversation for weeks. May thought he wasn't processing his grief properly. She thought he needed to start seeing someone. Not that Peter didn't want to. He just didn't think he needed to.

Peter was thinking about all of this as he dashed down the stairs and wasn't concentrating when his foot flew out from underneath him. Without skipping a beat, he flipped and landed on the balustrade of the stairwell scaring the crap out of one of the other tenants who was hurrying up the stairs.

"Morning." Peter said smiling sheepishly at the older lady as he got off the stair railing and she hurried past him, sticking as close to the wall as she could.

Just another day Peter thought to himself as he took the stairs two at a time until he reached the exit of the stairwell and stepped out into the harsh light of the morning.




"So, do you think they'll finally get around to releasing the final Star Wars film now that J.J Abrams is alive again?" Ned asked from the desk to the right of Peter as they waited for Mr Harrington and the remainder of the students to file into the classroom.

"I guess so?" Peter said shrugging. "I still haven't had the chance to catch up on everything that happened in the last five years."

"Tell me about it." Ned said shaking his head. "Did you know they had to stop all these film franchises and tv shows because half the cast and crew were gone but somehow, they ended up bringing back the office because they were one of the only casts who hadn't been effected by the Snap?"

Peter shook his head in slight disbelief, "I... did not know that."

"Yeah crazy." Ned said shaking his head in amusement. "Well if it does get released, we have to get tickets."

"You bet." Peter said trying to force the enthusiasm into his voice, but he was sure it didn't come across as completely convincing. He wasn't sure he could think ahead far enough to the end of the year, he was just focusing on getting by one day at a time.

"Alright, alright." Mr Harrington said as he took his place in front of the board. "before we start with class, I have an important announcement."

A few excited whispers echoed throughout the classroom and Peter sat up a little straighter to hear what his teacher had to say.

"As you all know this Friday marks one month since the passing of Mr. Tony Stark -" Mr. Harrington made sure he punctuated each word for effect, as though everyone didn't know who Mr. Stark was, "-as part of the commemoration ceremony they've invited three schools to attend a tour. It'll give you all a chance to familiarise yourself with Stark Industries to see if you might be interested in applying for an internship once you start college."

Peter wasn't expecting the effect that even the mention of Mr. Stark would have on him, and his throat started to feel a little tight. Time seemed to slow down, and he could see Mr Harrington was still talking but none of the sound was reaching Peter's ears, or at least he wasn't processing it. Instead it was like he had been thrown back in time. In his mind's eye he was back at the wreckage of the Avengers compound standing by Mr. Stark as he... as he...

Peter's eyes were starting to sting, and he wasn't sure if it was from the memory of the smoke and dust or because he was actually going to cry.

"Mr Harrington could I please have a hall pass." He said raising his hand quickly, interrupting the teacher mid-sentence.

"Yes Mr Parker." Mr Harrington said curtly and picking the hall pass up from where it was sitting on his desk.

He cleared his throat ad began again, "As I was saying, at the end of the class you'll be able to collect your permission slip which I expect to be brought back to me no later than Wednesday morning. If you don't bring it in-"

Peter was out the door before Mr Harrington could say another word. He made a beeline for the nearest toilets but when he saw a group of students in sports clothes rounding the corner he stopped suddenly and walked in the other direction. His eyes were so full of tears he could barely see but thanks to his spidey senses he made it out of the school block without being seen by any other students.

The next thing Peter knew, he was up on the roof.

He wasn't entirely sure how he had got there. He'd stepped outside and then suddenly here he was, feet dangling off the side of the school building, looking out over the rooftops.

Once he had settled down Peter let the tears fall. He didn't try to stop them. Only when the sobs threatened to overwhelm him did he try to get a control of his emotions. Peter kept his eyes focused on the front of the school before him, focusing on anything that would take his mind off the harsh reminder that Mr Stark was gone.

Peter's eyes floated over number plates of the student and teacher cars down in the parking lot. He ran through numbers in his head, organising the cars by their first number or letter. He let his mind go and focus on the figures flashing before his eyes which gave his emotions a chance to subside. When his breath had reached a suitable level again and his heart wasn't beating as fast, Peter stood up, walked to the edge of the roof and flipped, landing on the sidewalk next to the side of the main entrance. He ducked inside the front door before anyone could see



"You ok?" Ned asked once Peter finally made it back. The class had just finished, and students were packing their things up. Many people glanced at Peter as they left the classroom and he wandered whether he had something on his face or if he was wearing a sign that now said 'I'm emotionally damaged'. Either way, no one met his eyes. Everyone seemed to know something was up with him, even if Peter knew there was no way that they could know the whole truth.

"Yeah..." Peter said slowly, "I'm fine."

Ned didn't say anything. There was nothing to say. Instead he gave Peter a fond clap on the shoulder and went to wait outside whilst Peter collected the rest of his things.

"The hall pass Mr Harrington." Peter said holding the board out to his teacher who was now sitting behind the desk at the front of the classroom.

"Ah yes Mr. Parker." He said taking it and returning it to its spot. "Try not to miss any more classes like that, I know you're smart, but attendance still matters."

"Yes sir." Peter said nodding reverently in agreement. May would not be happy if she heard he was skipping classes. Peter started edging towards the door hoping that that was all Mr. Harrington had to say to him.

"Forgetting something?" Mr Harrington said holding up a slip of paper.

"Sorry?" Peter said, feigning ignorance. He knew exactly what the piece of paper was.

"Your permission slip for Friday's field trip."

"Ah, about that sir, I'm actually super busy that day and-" Peter began but he was promptly cut off by Mr Harrington standing up.

"Look Peter." Mr Harrington said taking his glasses off and bringing out a cleaning cloth from his pocket. "You and I both know the only reason that Midtown got selected for this opportunity was because of your internship." He said rubbing at his glasses with the cloth.

"Uh..." Peter said glancing at the door and wondering if he could make a dash for it or if that would only cause more trouble. "No... I actually didn't know that."

Mr Harrington continued as though he hadn't heard what Peter had said, "This is a really great opportunity for the other students in the class so it would be great if we could have you on for the ride," he replaced his glasses atop his nose, "for the whole ride this time, no disappearing if possible."

"Sir I really-" Peter said trying and struggled to pull together any excuse that would allow him to be excused from this trip.

"I've heard from Stark Industries that the CEO has sent you an email, explicitly asking you to be there so please just take the permission slip and get to lunch." Mr. Harrington said in exasperation and Peter could tell he was nearing the end of his patience.

"Yes sir." Peter said trying not to grumble too much as he took the permission slip that his teacher had extended.

"My desk, Wednesday morning." Mr. Harrington said turning his attention away from Peter, adjusting his glasses and sitting back down at his desk.

Peter sighed and folded the permission slip up and tucked it into his jean pocket as he headed out the door.

"You're still coming to the Stark Industry field trip, right?" Ned blurted out, he had been waiting outside the door for Peter and had clearly heard everything.

"Well it looks like I have to now." Peter said shrugging as he and Ned started off down the corridor towards the cafeteria for lunch. "Apparently Ms. Potts sent me an email saying I have to go."

"That's so crazy." Ned said in excitement and then seemed to realise the implications of the trip and added, "Is it going to be hard for you though?"

"Yeah." Peter said taking a deep breath and trying not to think too hard about anything.

He'd killed the mood and so they both remained quiet until they reached the cafeteria, took their meals and went to their normal table. MJ was already there, a seat closer to them than she had been the day before. It looked like she was taking the process of warming up to them excruciatingly slowly, that or perhaps she was just trying to convince everyone, Ned and Peter included, that they weren't actually friends.

"So, Mr. Stark Internship." She said taking a bite out of her sandwich as Ned and Peter set their trays down at the table. "What's the deal at this place, do you have your own lab or something?"

"Oh no." Peter said firmly, "no way, I just kind of help out with some of the projects you know." He said generally. It wasn't quite a lie. In the last two years, well it was six or seven years ago technically, he had been helping out with projects that Mr Stark asked him to. Once a month or so he had been called up to spend a few days at Stark Industries, learning as much as he could and sometimes getting to experiment with a few things himself. While Mr. Stark had improved his suit tenfold, and Peter had decided to lay off the 'iron spider' suit until he was ready, there were a few tweaks that he wanted to make to his regular suit. Sometimes while he had been up there Tony had recruited him for smaller missions - there had been one time when Peter had even gotten to work with Vision which was crazy awesome!

"Really? Do you like have your own work space or something?" Ned asked in surprise, "I thought there was talk of you maybe going to work there part time during college?"

"Wow." MJ said and Peter wasn't sure if her surprise was an insult or a compliment.

"No." Peter said through his teeth as he caught sight of Flash heading in their direction.

"Pfft." Peter closed his eyes in annoyance. "Are you kidding? Stark Industries isn't going to hire an amateur like Parker." Flash chided, having somehow overheard their conversation as he walked towards his own table.

Peter rolled his eyes and shook his head, there was just no winning with Flash. Peter kind of wished that Flash had survived the Snap, then he'd have graduated already, and Peter wouldn't have to keep dealing with his crap. But Peter stayed quiet, no point picking a fight. Besides, the Snap had messed everyone up in some way, whether that be siblings that were now older than you, fitting back into a family that's aged five years or finding that your friends have grown up without you.

And who knew, maybe one day Peter would actually get to see the look on Flash's face when he found out that the guy he had teased for years was actually the Spider-Man. Peter smiled at the thought. One day... but not today, and so he turned back to Ned and MJ and continued to eat lunch.



Later that night, once Peter had finally made it home, he sat down in his room and pulled his email account up on his phone. Sure enough, amongst a flurry of emails from various subscriptions there was an email from the CEO of Stark Industries, Pepper Potts, or was he supposed to refer to her as Pepper Stark now?

Peter scanned the email quickly. She was checking in and wanted to see how he was going, she talked briefly about inviting him and his aunt to have dinner at some point with her, Morgan and Happy. Peter's heart tugged at the thought of Mr Stark not being there, so he quickly moved on. Then he got to the part talking about the field trip, Pepper said she knew that Peter would be apprehensive to go, she'd heard from Happy that things had been difficult. Peter read through it all quickly, trying not to think about anything too hard because then he'd probably start crying again. He wondered what she could possibly tell him that would convince him to actually go on this field trip and have to face through all the memories of the past times he had been to Stark Industries.

"He'd want you to be here, Peter. I know it's hard right now, trust me I do, but if we don't go on with our lives then what was the sacrifice all for? There was something that he wanted to show you here. I know he didn't get the chance, and now he never will. But it's important you see it."

And there it was. Peter was won over immediately. His curiosity was on edge and so he pulled up a reply and wrote a quick and sincere note thanking Pepper for her email and assuring her that he would be in attendance. Shutting his phone off Peter went out into the kitchen to where May was sitting at the kitchen table, sorting through some work.

"Hey honey, how was school?" She asked, not looking up from the paperwork.

"Oh y'know, this and that." He shrugged nonchalantly and then slipped the permission slip under her nose.

"What's this?" She said picking it up and scanning it. "A field trip... are you sure? You know those never end well for you. And to Stark Industries? I don't know if you're ready for this."

"I know." Peter said, she was probably right. "But Ms Potts asked for me to be there especially and I really don't want to let her down... I've let too many people down already." 

"Oh honey." May said reaching out and wrapping an arm around Peter when he come to her side. "If you think it's a good idea and you really want to go then of course I'll sign."

"Thank you." Peter said quietly and watched as she filled in the relevant information and handed it back to him.

"You aren't going out tonight?" May asked as Peter took the form back from her and made off for his room.

"I wasn't planning on it." Peter said quietly, stopping in the hall way.

"Ok honey, get some rest." May said and Peter could have sworn he heard the faint tinge of disappointment in her voice.

Peter hadn't been on a patrol since being brought back after the Decimation. He'd considered it a few times, knowing that now more than ever there were probably going to be issues and skirmishes happening around the city. It was the perfect time for the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man to come out and set a few things straight. But Peter didn't feel like the 'friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man anymore. Everything he'd experienced and done during the battle, going to space, fighting Thanos. That changed the way Peter thought about what he was doing. It shouldn't have... but it did.

May had been oddly accepting of his night time activities. Given that he was home by 11:30 and always had his phone GPS on, she didn't mind it. Mr. Stark had even hooked her computer up with his suit lady, Karen, so that May could check in on Peter if she was really worried. It had worked well for the few years when Peter had been out patrolling the city every night.

Once Peter made it back to his room, he shut the door behind him and returned the permission slip to his bag so that he wouldn't forget it. He went about getting ready to sit down and study, picking up some of the clothes he had left lying on the ground early that morning. He pulled the sweater he had been wearing over his head and ditched it into the washing basket.

Peter opened up his closet and, as always, tried to avoid the suits that were hanging there. There was his regular suit hanging on a coat hanger and next to it on a separate hanger was the little backpack-like device that expanded into his 'iron spider' suit. Peter turned his eyes away and instead pulled out a clean t-shirt and some sweatpants to make his studying more comfortable.

He paused as he went to close the closet door and gave the two suits one long look...

"Not yet." He said, perhaps to himself, perhaps to the suits, perhaps the words were directed at Tony Stark.

Not yet.