Chapter Text
The kid said that he was lonely, so Tony did the only thing Tony could think to do in a situation like that: overreact.
He called MIT and, within 24 hours, had set himself up with a visiting professor position.
The administration wanted to keep the whole thing as hush hush as possible (and so did Tony, if he was being honest) so they listed the class without an instructor. Electrical Engineering and Robotics in the Modern World, Tuesday and Thursday 3:00-4:30, optional recitation on Fridays 3:00-4:30, restricted access to 3.7 and higher GPA.
Originally, Tony's plan had been to just surprise Peter with the fact that he would be on campus for a semester.
He’d never actually expected Peter to sign up for his class.
He’d been scrolling through the profiles of the students who’d applied for the lecture when he’d seen the name.
Peter Parker. Sophomore. 4.0 GPA. Chemical Engineering.
He shouldn’t have done it. He knew he shouldn’t have. It was a conflict of interest. He was 99% sure it was against MIT’s policy. It was just an all around terrible idea.
He clicked Accept anyway.
Needless to say, the first day of class was something Tony would never forget.
He watched the students file into the classroom through the security camera. Even though the feed’s quality left a lot to be desired (he made a mental note to donate for better security systems), he spotted Peter’s curls immediately.
The class was relatively small: about 15 kids. Despite the size, Peter blended in perfectly. Tony had to smother a grin as he watched him babble animatedly to the kid sitting next to him. They’d walked in together, so Tony assumed they were friends.
When he walked into the classroom, he did it with every ounce of pizzazz you’d expect from Tony goddamn Stark.
“Yes,” he greeted, reveling in the way a shocked silence washed over the room, “I’m exactly who you think I am.”
Everyone stared. Peter looked horrified.
“Alright!” He clapped his hands, rubbed them together. “Introductions.” He pointed at a blonde girl sitting at one end of the large conference table. “You. Go. Name, major, and rate your intelligence on a scale of the 1-10. 10 is me, of course.”
He could practically taste Peter’s glare.
“I-uh-I’m Kelsie.” She looked terrified. “I’m an Electical Engineering major. Uh, 6?”
“Your number is way too low.” He smiled at her. “Your GPA’s a 3.9, right? Internship in a robotics lab and significant contributions in community service. That’s impressive.”
Kelsie blushed. He moved on to the kid sitting next to Peter, the one he’d been talking to earlier.
“You. Go.”
“I’m Jackson. I’m a mechanical engineer. I guess I’m about a 7.”
“Still too low. Aim higher, guys.” He turned to Peter with what he knew was a shit-eating grin on his face. “You’re next. Chop chop.”
Peter met his gaze head on. His voice was a deadpan. “Peter Parker. Chemical Engineering. 11. You’re the worst person I’ve ever met.”
God, he loved his kid.
“You treat all your teachers with this level of disrespect, Mister Parker?”
“Only the annoying ones.”
He pointed at Peter severely, shoving down the urge to ruffle his hair. “I’m making a note that you’re a troublemaker.”
“Good idea.”
He forced himself to the next kid in line. “Alright. Go.”
“Uh, I’m Gwen…”
The rest of the class was a little uneventful for his tastes. Peter just brewed as they went through the syllabus. Tony held back from quipping at him, mostly for the sake of seeming at least a little professional.
He glanced at the clock. 4:29.
“Alright, class. This time again on Thursday. Same place, same me. Bring your brilliance and maybe a pencil. We’re gonna change the world.”
The clock turned to 4:30, and everyone packed up and rushed to shake his hand and express their shock and admiration. Peter, on the other hand, sat exactly where he’d been the whole time, arms crossed tight over his chest.
The last students filed out and he finally, finally got to meet the kid’s eyes with every ounce of his fondness shining through.
“Don’t you have a place to be, Parker?”
“Last class of the day. Although I’m sure you already knew that.”
He ignored the jab and held out his arms. “Well in that case, you have time to get over here and give your old man a hug.”
Peters eyebrow quirked up. He stayed exactly where he was. “I can’t believe you.”
“See, I’ve been informed that I have a lot of personality traits that are unbelievable. To which are you specifically referring?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I should’ve been more obvious. I’m referring to the fact that you moved states just to teach a class at MIT that I’m taking, Mister Stark!”
“To be fair, I didn’t expect you to sign up.”
“That-that’s not an excuse!”
“You said you were lonely!”
“Yeah! But I didn’t think you’d uproot your entire life just to come keep me company!”
“It’s just for a semester. I’ve taken longer business trips.”
“Yeah? And what does Pepper think of all this?”
“Well, if you must know, she told me I was an idiot.”
“She’s right.”
“Jesus. This is the last time I do anything nice for you.” He held out his arms again. “Seriously, Pete. C’mere. Do I have to beg?”
“Yes.”
“That’s cold.”
“So is crashing my class.”
“It’s not crashing if I’m the one teaching it.”
“Tony.”
“Peter.”
The stared at each other for a minute. Then, the tension released from Peter’s shoulders and he pushed his chair back with a sigh. “Fine. You can have a hug.”
“Fantastic. Came all this way just for that.”
Peter still fit right into his arms. He brought a free hand up to his hair, grinning when the kid sighed at the touch.
“I did miss you, by the way.”
Tony gave him a squeeze. “Oh, I know. I missed you too, snark and all.”
Peter’s chin was heavy on his shoulder. “Does this mean I don’t even have to try and you’ll give me an A?”
He laughed. “Nice try, Parker. I’m gonna be even harder on you than everyone else. I know what you’re capable of.”
“Goddamn it.”