Spiderson Oneshots

Ch 06 - Dad?

"Hey, Karen." Peter slipped his mask on and greeted his AI. There was an awkward silence where
he didn't think she was going to respond. He was about to call out to her again when she spoke.
"Hello, Peter. How was school?"
There was something off about her voice, but Peter could pinpoint it. He shrugged it off and looked around at the city below him, scanning for anyone that needed help. "It was fine. Same boring classes learning the same stuff Mr. Stark's already taught me. Ned got a new Lego set, though, so we're gonna build it next time I'm over there. Flash was absent, so I got some reprieve from him today. Oh! I got my chemistry test back. Aced it."
"That's wonderful, Peter." A beat as Peter swung over the streets of Queens. "Is Flash bullying you?"
Peter frowned in confusion. "I thought I already told you about him? Maybe I imagined it..."
"I do not recall any such conversation."
"Huh... oh well. Yeah, Flash has it out for me for some reason. Ned says he just jealous because I'm smarter than him."
"What sort of stuff does he do to you?" There it was again. Her voice sounded off, almost genuinely concerned.
"Nothing too bad. Calls me 'penis,' accuses me of lying about my Stark internship, embarrasses me in front of the wholeclass."
"That doesn't sound like nothing, Peter. Have you reported him to a teacher or the principal?"
Peter stopped on a roof, wanting to pay as much attention to this conversation as possible.
"Nooo... why are you being weird, Karen?"
"I don't understand what you mean, Peter. You should tell someone about Flash."
"I'll think about it."
Karen hummed - actually hummed! Since when does she do that? - but dropped the subject. She alerted him to an attempted robbery down the street.
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After taking care of the robbery, some minor muggings, a cat stuck in a tree, and a lost child, Peter
stopped to eat a sandwich on top of a building. Karen had been quiet while he was working, which was weird because she would usually give him advice on what webs to use or something. He shrugged it off as Mr. Stark updating her to not distract him.
"Hey, Karen, do you think Mr. Stark would be angry if I didn't go to the tower tomorrow?"
"Why wouldn't you go? I thought you looked forward to your trips to the tower." Karen sounded a little distressed.
"I dunno. Got a lot of homework to do. Kinda feel like I'm just in Mr. Stark's way when I'm there.
Like he only invites me to be nice..." Peter slowly chewed his sandwich, sad now that he was thinking about being a burden to the man he looked up to. "I'm also afraid I'll slip up and call him 'dad' and that would just be embarrassing."
"You think of him as a father? I'm sure he'd be very happy to hear that. And he would be disappointed if you didn't show up tomorrow." Karen paused. "You're not a burden, Peter."
Peter blinked back tears and sniffled. "Thanks, Karen... I guess I'll go. Please don't tell Mr. Stark about the whole 'dad' thing."
The HUD blinked a few times before Tony Stark's face showed up in front of him. He was in his lab by the looks of it. "Don't worry, Peter. I'm happy to be your father-figure."
Peter blushed and almost choked on his sandwich. "M-Mr. Stark?! Were you listening to that?"
"I had Karen tell me when you put the suit on and I took over. We're definitely going to have a talk about that Flash kid later."
"Oh man, why is this my life?" He fell back to the roof and stared up at the sky. "You really don't think I'm a bother when I'm in your lab when you're working?" He shifted his gaze to his mentor.
"If I did, I would've kicked you out already. Kid, you're fine. In fact, I love it when you're here. I can bounce ideas off of you and know that you understand me. It's nice getting new input from fresh eyes."
Peter smiled brightly. "Thanks, Mr. Stark. That means a lot."
Tony smiled back, though not as big. "What happened to calling me 'dad'?"
"You actually want me to?"
"Hell yeah, kid. I'd be honored. I'm already your second emergency contact at school. This is kind of the next step, right?"
Peter chuckled. "I guess... Hey, why did you take over for Karen today? Can't you just watch the recordings later?"
Tony sat back in his seat, stretching his arms out. "I was bored. The suit upgrade is still downloading and Rhodey and Pepper aren't here."
"You were bored... Why didn't you just ask me to come over?" Peter looked at his father-figure in amusement. "This was more entertaining."
Peter huffed a laugh. "Whatever, dad. I'm coming over now."
Tony grinned. "Good. See you soon, son."
If Peter had a huge smile on his face the whole time he swung over to the tower, well, he and Tony were the only ones to know.