Chapter Text
Peter rubbed his palms against his jeans, staring at the building in front of him. He wasn’t quite sure he was ready for this yet. He shifted the cheap back pack slung over his shoulder, certain it wouldn’t last long even if he didn’t manage to lose it while out on patrol. And he dreaded that, knowing May was doing the best she could. They had managed to find a temporary place, a studio barely big enough for one person, let alone two people. He’d seen her wince when she had received the school supply list. He knew money was tight as she struggled to make enough to restart their lives.
He’d convinced her to buy the bare minimum for the time being; had assured her that he would speak to Happy about it. Accepting help from Mr. Stark was something that May had only just begun doing grudgingly before…it. She was willing to do it now only because she knew that Peter needed help that she could not provide. But Peter still hadn’t talked to Happy, not wanting to disturb the Stark family while Mr. Stark was recovering. He knew he couldn’t put it off indefinitely. May would definitely mention something, and his omission would be brought to light. For right now, though, he’d try to protect the man from his neediness as long as possible.
“Are you going in or just going to stand here all day?” an amused voice came from beside him. Peter whirled around to see MJ standing beside him and relief coursed through his body. He’d reconnected with Ned but had not yet learned the fate of the rest of his classmates.
“You’re…you’re…” he stammered, gesturing helplessly at her.
MJ smirked and supplied, “Still alive? Still sixteen?”
“Yeah, that,” He mumbled, feeling his cheeks flush at unexpectedly seeing her again. Mr. Stark and Ned would both be tormenting him if they could see him now.
“So, going in, loser?” She questioned as she began walking to the entrance.
“Yeah, yeah,” He jogged to catch up with her, slowing his pace once he was beside her. Once inside, several very harried looking school counselors were handing out schedules and directing students. Peter and MJ separated to go stand in their respective lines.
“Name?” The counselor questioned as he reached the table.
“Peter Parker,” he replied. She shuffled through some folders before shoving one at him. He flipped through the papers as he moved to join MJ across the entryway.
“I have to figure out how to get to my locker,” he grumbled. On the surface, he realized he had been gone for five years, but it’s not like it seemed like that to him. In his mind, his locker, apartment, and entire world had changed overnight.
“Same,” MJ replied as the two began to move through the halls.
“There you both are!” Ned’s voice came from behind them. They whirled around to see the other boy weaving through the crowd towards them. He greeted MJ with a nod before turning to Peter to begin their elaborate handshake. The three made their way to their lockers, relieved to notice that they were all in the same area. Evidently the school had decided to place all the returning juniors in the same area, because both Betty and Flash were there as well, along with several other students Peter recognized from his years at Midtown.
“Nice bag, Parker. Did you get it from a discount store?” Flash said mockingly.
He did actually. Not that Flash needed to know that. He ignored the other teen and moved to place the bag with his packed lunch in his locker. Beside him, Ned frowned at the almost empty backpack.
“Dude,” He whispered, “Is that all you brought? I thought May asked you to give Mr. Stark your supply list.”
Peter grimaced, “I don’t want to bother him. He’s still recovering.”
“What about Mr. Hogan?” Ned persisted.
“Mr. Stark has a wife and kid now. Someone needs to be taking care of them so he can recover,” Peter argued, “A random kid from Queens doesn’t need to be distracting them right now.”
MJ had been passively listening to their conversation as she organized her supplies, but at those words she turned to Peter with a serious expression, “From everything you have ever said about him, I don’t think Mr. Stark considers you to be just a ‘random kid from Queens’.”
“Yeah,” Peter mumbled, hoping his agreement would drop the subject. He shouldered the fairly empty bag and followed the two to their first class. Any hope that his lack of the required supplies would fly under the radar was dashed almost immediately. In every single class, teachers asked for confirmation of who had been able to purchase supplies and who had not. To top it all off, by the time he reached his end of the day PE class, his bag was already beginning to strain at the seams from the weight of his textbooks.
In a reprieve, Coach Wilson didn’t mention supplies, and after everyone changed, instructed the class to do some warm-up stretches and run a few laps.
“Mr. Parker,” the man called to him as he finished the first lap. Peter ran over to where the coach stood.
“Yes, sir?” He questioned, trying to look the appropriate amount of winded for a student who supposedly had no athletic ability.
“Principal Morita needs you to come to his office,” the coach informed him, motioning him off and looking back at his checklist. Peter’s eyes widened. It was the first day of school. He hadn’t even had time to skip any classes.
“Oh, Parker is in trouble!” Flash called mockingly from across the gym. Peter swallowed and raced to change, grab his bag, and head to the office.
“Hello?” Peter paused at the doorway, looking between Principal Morita and the woman seated next to him.
“Peter, please come in,” the principal motioned for Peter to join them.
“Peter, I'm Ms. Gutierrez. We just have a few questions for you,” the counselor smiled kindly at him
“Ok,” Peter said, drawing the word out as he slid into the chair. The secretary popped her head into the door just as Peter settled.
“Mrs. Parker is here,” she informed the adults. Peter’s eye widened as he shot a panicked look from the the principal and counselor to the doorway.
“Mrs. Parker,” Principal Morita greeted, standing as she entered. He motioned towards the counselor, “Our school counselor, Ms. Gutierrez would like a few minutes to talk with you and Peter.”
He slipped out of the room, leaving the three alone as May took the seat beside Peter.
The counselor shifted, nervously, as May stared at her intently, clearing her throat as she began, “How are things at home, Mrs. Parker?”
“What?” May questioned.
“How are things at home right now?” The other woman repeated.
“I don't understand what you mean,” May stated, her brow wrinkled in confusion.
Ms. Gutierrez clarified, “We know times are hard for many families right now. Several of Peter's teachers have expressed concern about his preparation for school and whether or not he is able to access supplies. We just want to make sure that Peter is able to have the things necessary for a successful year.”
May sighed, looking over at her nephew, her expression a mixture of fondness and exasperation, “I thought you were going to call Happy.”
Peter slouched in his seat, crossing his arms and frowning, “I was going to call him…later.”
“You didn't think you might want to get the supplies you need for school, I don't know, before school started?” She retorted, rolling her eyes.
“I just didn't want to bother him!” Peter threw his hands up. He paused when his hearing picked up a commotion in the front office, almost groaning when he tuned into a very recognizable heartbeat. His eyes widened and he gaped at his aunt, “You called him?”
“Oh, is he finally here?” May turned to face the door as it was thrown open and Tony Stark came sauntering into the office. The counselor's eyes widened as she realized who had entered.
“Tony Stark?” She stammered, gaping at the hero.
“In the flesh,” the billionaire said as he strolled into the chair, coming to a stop behind Peter. Ms. Gutierrez jumped to her feet, nudging the seat Principal Morita had vacated towards Tony.
“Thanks,” the man grabbed the seat and plopped into with an air of confident carelessness Peter desperately wished he could emulate. Tony then leaned forward, rubbing his hands together and addressing the counselor, “What seems to be the problem with Pete?”
“Someone neglected to send Happy the school supply list like he promised he would,” May sighed.
It was Tony’s turn to look confused, turning to ask the teen, “Why didn’t you? And also, why didn’t you ask me? What part of ‘tell me what you need’ was unclear?”
Peter flushed, staring at the floor to avoid the intense gazes of the adults. He squirmed and then whispered hoarsely, “I didn’t want to be a bother.”
“Pete-” Tony began.
The teens eyes flew up to meet the man, and he rushed to continue, “You’re recovering. You literally saved the universe, and you’re still recovering from that. I didn’t want you to have to think about some random kid in Queens on top of everything.”
“Well,” the man said slowly, “That’s a lot to unpack there, kiddo.” He studied Peter intently, yet tenderly, his look almost reminiscent of the expression he had when Peter had found him on the battlefield.
“Why didn’t you tell me how you were feeling?” May spoke up.
Peter looked back at her and whispered, “You’re already so stressed about everything. I didn’t want you to have to worry even more.”
“Peter,” his aunt sighed, leaning close and taking his hands into hers, “You don’t need to protect me. I know you are strong, but I am too. More importantly, I’m the adult. Let me do the worrying for us.”
“And, kid,” Tony rubbed his hand up and down Peter’s arm, “I don’t do things I don’t want, and I want to help you. But I can’t if you don’t let me know what is going on. Capisce?
Peter swiped at his eyes and nodded, whispering hoarsely, “Yeah.”
Tony squeezed him gently, and May leaned back in her chair, clearly ready to be done with the meeting.
Ms. Gutierrez looked between the three, saying slowly, “So, Peter will be able to get the rest of his supplies?”
“Absolutely,” Tony confirmed.
“And maybe a new backpack?” the school counselor questioned, eyeing the rip in the seam that was already forming on Peter's current backpack.
“Or ten,” Tony replied.
“Well, ten probably isn't necessary,” she stammered.
“If only you knew,” May sighed, standing. She looked over at the billionaire, “I need to get to my shift. Make sure he gets home?”
“Will do,” the man grinned, ruffling Peter's curls. Peter glared at him as he attempted to smooth his curls. He jumped to his feet as his aunt approached and hugged her goodbye.
The billionaire stood as well, “Well, if that is all, we'll head out now. I'll see that the Kid returns tomorrow with everything necessary.” The three walked out together.
“We’ll talk later,” Tony promised as May turned to leave. The woman sighed and nodded reluctantly. She waved goodbye and headed to the bus stop.
Tony rubbed his hands together and looked at the boy, “Right, so it seems we have some back to school shopping to do, Spiderling.”
“Seriously?” The teen groaned, feeling that he would rather do anything else besides shopping.
“Seriously,” the billionaire responded firmly, steering the boy towards his car, “Just think, we could have already done this if you had mentioned it as soon as you got your supply list.” Peter huffed, climbing into the car as Tony pointedly opened the door. He slid across the seat, and the man sat down beside him.
“Hey, Kid,” Happy greeted from the river’s seat.
“Hey, Happy,” Peter answered, not looking up from where he had his eyes trained to the floor.
Beside him, Tony gave Happy directions to head to the nearest shopping center and the rolled up the partition.
“Kid,” Tony murmured softly, “Still ignoring me? Don’t think I noticed how you’ve been leaving me on read and not answering my calls.”
“Didn’t want to bother you,” the teen mumbled.
The man sighed, “Kid, for the millionth time, you are not a bother. I want to talk to you. I want to see you. I’ve spent the last five years missing you and invented time travel for you.”
“And half the universe,” Peter retorted.
“No, they were the bonus. Believe me, I’m selfish and only do what I want. And I wanted to bring you back. If I didn’t want you in my life, I wouldn’t call or message,” Tony snorted.
Peter looked over at him tentatively, “Still?”
The billionaire chuckled and reached over to ruffle Peter’s hair, “Still. But you gotta quit hiding from me, Pete. If you don’t start coming to the cabin once in a while, your little sister is going to stage a mutiny. And, I gotta be honest, Kid, she terrifies me.”
“My sister?” Peter repeated, gaping at his mentor.
Tony’s look softened, “Yeah, kiddo. Sister.”
Peter grinned and said, “Well, if it’s for my sister, I guess I can come to your cabin on weekends or something.”
The man smiled at that. He then rubbed his hands together and nodded, “Great. Now that we have that settled, off to back to school shopping.”