Chapter Text
Tony's POV
Later on, Tony realized he should have known something was wrong the second the phone rang. He should have sensed it. He should have never let Peter pick up the phone. Then maybe, none of the rest would have happened. But he didn’t.
Peter and Tony were at the compound on a Saturday, for training, as usual. Nothing was out of the ordinary. They were in the kitchen, taking a break. Tony tossed Peter a Powerade from the fridge, which he took with a nod, catching it just a little too well. But then again, that was Peter. Tony had grown used to the boy’s fast reflexes by now. No one else was there, so when Peter’s phone rang, he jumped a little at the sudden noise.
“May?” Tony asked.
“Nah. Shouldn’t be her yet.” Peter pulled out the crappy phone, cracked screen and all. “I don’t recognize the number.”
“Pete, I am begging you to let me replace that thing.”
“No,” he said, pulling the phone to his chest. “She has character.”
“Sure,” Tony said, and rolled his eyes. “Just pick it up. That ringtone is obnoxious.”
Peter grinned and pressed the button, ending the chorus of Never Gonna Give You Up, and put the phone to his ear. Everything was normal for a second. Peter nodded at the person on the other end, looking a little confused. Then his face lit up like the sun.
“Harry?” He cried. “Harry Osborn?”
Tony turned from the fridge to look at Peter.
“Um, did you just say—”
Peter put up a finger and jumped off the stool. “Sorry Harry, gimme a sec.” He put the phone to his shoulder and said, “Harry was like my best friend in middle school. We haven’t talked in forever.” He pulled the phone back up. “So what’s up? Oh, you got a new phone? So that's why I didn't know it was you.” He walked out of the room, talking animatedly to the other kid, leaving Tony confused and frustrated in the kitchen.
“Osborn?” he whispered to himself, closing the fridge. “Really? Fucking Oscorp is everywhere.” He began working on he and Peter’s lunch, making himself one sandwich and Peter several. Kid needed to eat, after all. Still, his mood didn’t improve, and he was relieved when Peter walked back in several minutes later, grinning. “So wanna tell me why you’re talking to the Oscorp kid?”
“I told you, he was like my best friend in middle school.”
“I thought that was Ned.”
“Well, yeah.” Peter put a hand to the back of his neck. “I was friends with both of them.” He put his hand down. “But Harry’s dad took him out of school cause he wanted him to learn about company crap, or something. He pretty much dropped off the face of the Earth after that. I haven’t seen him in a couple years. I’m surprised his dad even let him call me.”
“Yeah well, dads are jerks,” Tony muttered.
“So Harry wants to hang out. I said sure, cause I mean, why not?”
His phone beeped, and as he turned to look at it, he groaned.
“Business calling?” Tony said.
“Yeah,” Peter said, leaning an elbow on the counter. “It’s that goblin guy again. I don’t know why he picked such a stupid name. I mean, Green Goblin?”
Tony nodded. “Yeah, not that catchy. Still, you should go. It’ll take you awhile to get back to the city, won’t it?”
“I’ll just jump on the back of a truck,” Peter said, putting his phone in his pocket. “So uh, see you next weekend?”
Tony gave a nod and a wave, letting Peter rush out the door.
The Green Goblin, as he’d named himself, had been terrorizing the city of New York for about a week now. Peter had done a good job of dealing with him, so Tony saw no need to step in. The kid could handle it himself. Still, he had yet to catch the guy. But despite never saying so, Tony knew Peter would get him soon. He was good. Tony still wondered who the Goblin was, but didn’t think much of it. He’d leave that to Peter. Surely it couldn’t be anyone important.
What was important was the fact that Peter was friends with Norman Osborn’s son. Norman Osborn, Tony’s sworn enemy, the head of Oscorp. Granted, Oscorp was more adept at dealing with genetics, and Stark Industries was more about arc reactor technology, but still, the rivalry was there. And then there was the small matter that Oscorp was to blame for what had happened to Peter.
Tony was happy that Peter was Spiderman. He was. But every once in awhile Peter would let a little bit of his insecurities show. He couldn’t be like the other teenagers, ever. Even when Tony had met the kid, he’d told him he wanted to play football, but shouldn’t. And of course, he’d heard all about the week after the bite. Apparently it had been the worst pain Peter had ever experienced. Worse than getting a building dropped on him. Tony would never truly be able to forgive someone who did that to Peter, unintentional though it may have been.
Tony sighed and looked at all the sandwiches he’d prepared. Well, Peter wasn’t going to be eating them today. Tony thought about it and wrapped them up, putting them in the fridge for another time. After all, Peter would be back.
Peter did come back, late the following day. Tony wasn’t alone this time, either. He, Bruce, and Rhodey were all in one of the common areas when Peter walked in, slumped his backpack on the ground, then proceeded to fall face-first onto one of the couches with a long groan.
“Ouch,” Rhodey said. “Rough day?”
“It’s this stupid Goblin guy,” Peter said, voice muffled by the couch. “He won’t leave me alone. I mean, can he not wreck the city for like one day? Maybe I could actually have a life then.”
“What’d you miss this time?” Bruce said.
Peter pushed himself up to a sitting position and crossed his arms. “Extra decathlon practice. We don’t really need it, but MJ thinks we can do better.” He sat back. “And I can’t miss any more. You know what she threatened to do to me if I miss another one? She’s gonna rip out my liver and feed it to her cats. I like my liver.”
Tony rolled his eyes and smirked.
“Plus I was gonna hang out with Harry after that. But that got ruined.”
“Harry Osborn again?” Tony said, raising an eyebrow. “You two sure reconnected fast.”
“Well duh, he’s like, one of my best friends,” Peter said, as if that explained everything.
“Osborn?” Bruce’s eyes widened. He turned to Peter. “You’re friends with Norman’s son?”
“Well, yeah.” Peter shrugged. “We used to be best friends in middle school but his dad took him out of public school. But he called me yesterday and we’re talking again. It’s pretty awesome.” He grinned, then sobered. “Though he does say his dad’s being super controlling. That sucks.” He shifted. “But at least Mr. Osborn’s letting him talk to people again.”
Somehow Tony felt the attention in the room shift to him. He did know a thing or two about bad dads, after all.
He cleared his throat and looked at Peter. “So…have you two rescheduled?”
“Yeah,” Peter said with a nod. Tony let out a breath as everyone looked at the boy instead of him. “We’re gonna hang out tomorrow after school.”
“You think the Green Goblin will let you have a day off?” Rhodey asked, half-joking by his tone of voice.
Peter sank into his seat. “He’d better.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Tony said, rising. “Why don’t we get to your training for the day, though?”
Peter grinned. “That’d be great.” He flipped off the couch, landing on his feet.
Tony rolled his eyes and said, “All right, show off. Let’s get to it.”
With that, he beckoned Peter out of the room.