Chapter Text
Wednesdays were Peter’s favourite day of the week, all because of academic decathlon practice. The team was easily the most tolerable group at Midtown. Well, except for Flash, but Peter would take what he could get. Mr. Harrington, their usually mild-mannered teacher, had been unusually stressed out this week, mumbling to himself constantly. He even snapped at Flash for asking a dumb question, which was out of character and pretty funny, especially since Flash sulked for the rest of practice.
It was Friday now, though, and Peter was exhausted. It was lunchtime, and instead of relaxing and listening to Ned ramble on about coding, Peter was being dragged into a “moment meeting.” To make things worse, the mouthpiece his dad had made for him to hide his fangs was starting to ache, and he really wasn’t in the mood for talking. He tuned out Mr. Harrington’s field trip announcement until Ned nudged him, snapping him back to attention. The table buzzed with excitement. An overnight trip to Stark Tower? Peter’s heart sank.
Ned shook him lightly, clearly concerned by his silence.
“Pete, you okay?"
Peter forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Ned gave him a skeptical look but continued chattering about how cool it would be to see an Avenger in real life. Peter just nodded along, inwardly cringing at the irony. Technically, Spider-Man wasn’t an Avenger, but being Iron Man’s son had to count for something, right?
The noise from students in the hall felt grating. Peter wasn’t in the mood for it. Mr. Harrington had mentioned that he wouldn’t be chaperoning the trip, which only made things worse. Instead, a new teacher, Mr. Simon Reddington, would be leading the group. Peter had never met him and had no idea what to expect.
Ned, on the other hand, was practically bouncing.
“Dude! Can you believe we’re going to Stark Tower?” he said, nearly vibrating with excitement. “I mean, I know you’ve got your internship and all, but still!”
Peter snorted. “Yeah, crazy. And overnight too? I mean, I’ve been there, but never overnight.” The lie came easily, but it still felt bad. He practically lived at the Tower.
“I know! Now we get to experience it together!” Ned grinned. Peter nodded awkwardly.
“What class have you got next?” Ned asked.
“Spanish,” Peter said, with a sigh.
“English for me,” Ned replied. “See you in math later?”
“Yeah, see ya.” They did their handshake, and Peter headed to class.
Spanish class was a disaster. The lesson was fine; Peter enjoyed learning the language. But Flash Thompson, as usual, ruined it.
“Hey, Penis Parker!” Flash’s voice cut through the air, grating on Peter’s nerves.
“What do you want, Flash?” Peter asked, already exhausted.
Flash smirked. “I can’t wait for your lies to blow up in your face, Parker.”
Before Peter could respond, the teacher, Ms. Dinarly, interjected.
“Mr. Thompson, unless you have something useful to contribute, I suggest you stay quiet.” Peter shot her a grateful glance as Flash glared at him, making a throat-slitting gesture. He rolled his eyes and turned back around, catching the amused smile Ms. Dinarly gave him.
Math class was a relief. The quiet was almost soothing, especially with Flash absent. Ned was there, and they had a geometry test, which meant silence—perfect for Peter’s overworked senses. He spent the period mulling over the field trip. Ned’s excitement made it impossible to back out now, though part of Peter desperately wanted to. The new teacher worried him, too. He had a bad feeling about Mr Reddington.
When the school day ended, Peter practically sprinted to Happy’s car, ready to throw on the mask and start swinging through the city. Happy noticed his rush.
“What’s the hurry, kid? Something happened today?”
“Nah, just itching to go on patrol,” Peter said, waving him off.
Happy chuckled. “I’ll get you there soon enough. Oh, by the way, your dad got an email about some field trip to Stark Tower?”
Peter groaned and slumped in his seat. “Yeah, I know. I don’t want to go. Something’s gonna go wrong. I can feel it.”
“With your luck, kid, you’re probably right.” Happy grinned.
Once they arrived at the Tower, Happy headed to his office, and Peter made his way to the elevator.
“Man of Spiders!”
Peter yelped, not realizing he wasn’t alone. “Thor! I didn’t know you were here!”
Thor clapped a hand on Peter’s shoulder, nearly knocking him off balance. “Stark invited me yesterday. A last-minute visit!”
Peter smiled despite the pain. “Good to see you, sir.”
They stopped at floor 37 when a familiar figure stepped in.
“Brother!” Thor swept Loki into a bear hug, much to the dark-haired god’s annoyance.
“Brother,” Loki muttered, clearly less enthusiastic. As he pulled away, Loki’s sharp gaze landed on Peter.
“You’re that spider kid, aren’t you?”
Peter blushed. “Um, Spider-Man, sir.”
Loki snorted. “Whatever.”
As soon as Peter reached the penthouse, he bolted for his room, but his dad snagged him by the hood of his sweater, pulling him back with an easy tug.
“Whoa, where’s the fire?” Tony asked, eyebrows raised.
Peter groaned, his voice taking on a whining edge. “My teeth hurt.”
Tony’s expression softened, and he pulled Peter in for a hug, careful not to mess with his hoodie. “You know, for a kid with super strength, you whine an awful lot.”
Peter leaned into his dad’s chest, letting out a grunt. “Not in the mood.”
“I know. I got the email from your school about your decathlon trip.” Tony’s voice was gentle, his hand resting on Peter’s back. “You’re not excited?”
Peter let out a long sigh, tilting his head against Tony’s shoulder. “More like dreading it. You know my luck with these things. I just wanna stay here, in the penthouse, away from… everything.”
“You never do catch a break, huh, kid?” Tony asked, a little smile tugging at his lips.
Peter didn’t respond—just another noncommittal noise as he pulled away from the hug. Tony let him go, and Peter trudged down the hall toward his room, mouth aching, exhaustion settling deep into his bones.
He hurried down the hallway, discomfort gnawing at his mouth. The device he used to hide the fangs he’d developed after the spider bite usually wasn’t an issue, but he’d forgotten to take it off the night before. His teeth weren’t in agony, but the device had started to overheat from overuse, leaving him with dull aches and minor burns—nothing his healing factor couldn’t handle, but still uncomfortable.
Once in his room, he slipped off the device with a relieved sigh. They didn’t even have a name for it yet; it was just another one of those experimental projects Tony had whipped up in a spur-of-the-moment panic when the fangs appeared. Peter ran his tongue over the sharp edges of his mutated teeth, wincing at how foreign they still felt. He’d never get used to them. At least he wasn’t venomous… right?
Peter pulled on more comfortable clothes, hoping for at least a few minutes of peace. But the second he stepped back into the common area, Tony was waiting for him on the couch, sipping tea and typing furiously on his phone. He glanced up as Peter flopped down beside him, smirking as he scooted over to make room.
“You look rough, kid.”
Peter just grunted in response, slumping into the cushions.
Tony snorted, clearly amused. “So, you’re not looking forward to your little overnight trip, huh?”
“Can’t I just stay here? Like, in the penthouse? Safe from embarrassing myself and Mr. Reddington, or whoever that guy is?” Peter groaned, already dreading the experience.
“No chance,” Tony replied, grinning as he took a sip of his tea.
Peter threw his head back against the couch cushions with a loud groan, and Tony just laughed, giving him a reassuring pat on the back. Even though he’d have to face the trip soon enough, right now Peter just wanted to melt into the couch and pretend it wasn’t happening.
For now, at least, he could enjoy a quiet moment—no masks, no decathlon stress, no field trips. Just him and his dad.