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“I wanna go, Mr. Stark!”
Peter would’ve been ashamed of how high pitched his voice was if he wasn’t dead tired. His face, weary with eye bags, clanged against the table top.
“Well…” Tony trailed off, grabbing Peter’s attention. He sat up quickly and flashed his puppy dog eyes at him.
“Pleeeeeease,” he said, dragging out the word. He made his way around the table up to Tony, who was this close to being persuaded.
“No,” Natasha cut in, not giving in. She wasn’t as weak as Tony was. “Schoolwork, first.”
He pouted. “You’re supposed to be fun aunt,” he said, shrinking back. “I want to go so badly, though.”
Steve furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “It’s just one day, Tony. If he skips, what’s the big deal?”
“I guess you have a point—“ Tony was cut off by Natasha furiously waving her hand.
“Peter, we still value you as an Avenger. It’s okay if you don’t go on this one mission. It’s just recon, anyways. You wouldn’t like it.” Natasha wasn’t lying. It really was a scout mission.
Peter took it. “Yeah, okay,” he sighed, not completely sure. “Spidey would be a bad influence on the kids if he flunked out of highschool.” Natasha clapped him on the back.
“That’s the spirit,” she proclaimed, flashing a grin. “Plus it’ll be nice not to have crusty old men around you, right? Maybe throw a party or two? And…” she gasped dramatically, “don’t clean up afterwards!”
Tony grimaced. “Don’t give him any ideas. He’ll invite every supervillain in New York over for tea.” Peter scoffed. “Go on, youngin’. Get away from us old folk. Go do your math homework.”
“I’m not even in math this semester—“
“Go!” he said, pushing Peter off towards the hallway. Peter scowled at him but scampered off towards his bedroom.
4:30 a.m. the next morning
The Avengers (minus Peter, plus Pepper) finished loading their gear into the Quinjet. Tony stood at the bottom of the steps and paused.
“Um, hey, you planning on moving?” Sam asked, cocking his head to the side. The man in front of him halted in his steps suddenly with no explanation. He got no response. “Uh, tinman? Hello?”
“He’s a single mom leaving his kid alone for the first time. Leave him be,” Bucky snickered, elbowing Sam.
“We’re going to be late,” grumbled Bruce, sitting on his suitcase. This could take a while.
Natasha slid her sunglasses off of her face. “Tony, he’ll be fine.”
“What if he’s not? Last time we left him home alone, he poisoned himself. He’s not to be trusted! This was a terrible idea.” Tony began rambling and couldn’t seem to stop. A lot like Peter did when he was nervous.”
“This isn’t his first time home alone,” Pepper consoled him, stepping out of the jet to motion for Tony to come up the steps. “He was raised by a single working aunt.” She had to laugh. “He’s got the home alone thing worked out.”
Reluctantly, Tony boarded the plane. The sinking feeling in his gut wouldn’t disappear.
5:15 a.m. inside the compound
Peter Parker slept through his previous alarms. Through his window, he could see the quinjet take off. With a heavy sigh, his sleepy eyes watched his team take off without him.
Being a teenager sucks ass.
“Kare, turn on my morning mix, please,” he said, pulling his sheets over his head.
“Sure thing,” she chirped. The music flickered on instantly at a low buzz. However, it wasn’t enough to get Peter out of bed.
His alarm went off again, and this time he had to get up. He trudged himself into his bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. “City to save…” he trailed off, blinking sleepily. “Do it for the children. Come on, Pete. Save the orphans.” He pressed his forehead against the mirror and closed his eyes for another moment of rest. “Wait. That’s me. I’m an orphan. So by going back to bed, I would be saving an orphan. Win win for New York.”
“You’re not an orphan,” Friday chimed in.
“The opposite, actually. You have more parents than the average American,” Karen added.
Peter groaned. “Leave me and my tragic backstory alone.” He used the bathroom before slipping into his Spiderman suit. Throwing some clothes into his backpack, he slid up the window of his bedroom.
“Don’t forget your lunch,” the AIs said in unison. Peter had totally forgot. He shut the window and raced down to the kitchen to quickly pack a sandwich for himself. He opened the fridge to find an Avengers lunch box with a post-it labeled Peter on it. He grinned, shoved it in his backpack, and left for patrol.
As expected, the criminals were extremely active, even this early in the morning. While the Avengers are out of town, villains like to step it up. Doesn’t matter if they’re A-list, B-list, or even regular petty criminals. Almost everyone’s out.
Therefore, the Avengers keep it on the downlow about leaving. Doesn’t mean no one finds out.
“Spiderman?” Ah. Doc Oct. Has Peter ever mentioned how much he loves Doc Oct? No?
The amount of times this man has dragged Peter into his underground lair…
They’ve spent too much time together.
“Hello, Doc,” he chirped. “Good morning!”
“The rest of the hero crew didn’t take you with them?” he snarled, tendril flying through the air to catch Peter. His first caught the claw and tore it off. “They find you annoying too, I suspect.”
“At least I don’t smell like fish,” he cringed, wanting to plug his nose. “You still residing at the bottom of the ocean?”
It was only a quip, but Otto was silent. “No,” he said after a long silence.
Peter stopped for a moment. For a supervillain genius, he was predictable.
Especially for a man losing his mind. “You really need to get a new place.”
“I’ve had enough of you!” Temper rising quickly. That’s the Oct Peter knows and loves. He would’ve said that too if it wasn’t for the next tendril wrapping around his throat.
On the Quinjet
Tony’s hands gripped the airline seats until he was pale. Pepper continued to try and console him, but he couldn’t shake the worry.
“What if he’s getting hurt?” Tony asked, biting his nails. “He’s dying, and we’re abandoning him.”
“He’s not dying. Tony, he’s fine.”
“What if he’s not?”
Across the jet, Steve ripped off his headphones. “He’s fine, Tony. He can handle himself.”
“Yeah, relax,” Sam said, kicking his feet up on top of Bucky. “He’s probably giving an old man directions right now.”
New York
In a vague sense, he was right.
“You could probably find a nice home down in Hazel Wood,” Peter gasped as the tendril tightened around his neck. He tried to pry it off of him, but when that didn’t work, he shot a web to a nearby light post and brought it to him. He thrashed it’s against Otto’s head and released his hold.
Panting, he landed on the floor in his stance. “Or that retirement cent—” Another roar surfaced from the man.
Yeah. Peter was having a rough morning.
At 8:01 a.m., Peter ran flat against the school doors. So, so close.
His spidey suit was stuffed into the top of his backpack. He wore a button down shirt, severely misaligned, and ripped jeans (that were not bought ripped). He was missing a shoe.
“Pssst!” Ned hissed, leaning outside a nearby window. Peter knew just where he’d be.
This wasn’t his first rodeo. Quite a few times Ned had to let him in after he missed the bell.
“You’re a livesaver,” he said, crawling through the window into the Decathalon meeting room. “Seriously, Ned. Bless you.”
“You look disgusting,” he said, eyes wide. Peter shut the window behind him and frowned.
“Well, good morning to you too,” he remarked in a meek voice.
Michelle cupped hands around her mouth. “Hey, losers, come join the group.” She had a textbook in her hands. “Name the first ten digits of pi.” She raised an eyebrow. “Also, Peter, you have one shoe.”
“I know,” he scoffed, sliding into a seat, joining the rest of the class. “Obviously. I know.”
One shoe aside, Peter made it through the day. After a quick fix in the bathroom, he resurfaced with a clean face and a properly buttoned shirt. Nothing could be done about the shoe situation, however.
All that matters is he made it through the day. He lived. Nevermind the bruises beginning to form across his neck.
He should’ve brought a turtleneck. Thankfully, they only started forming at the end of the day. He was in the clear.
After fourth block, the trio headed towards the closest strip mall. It was such a stereotypical teenage hangout place, but none of them knew what the norm was like.
Michelle probably knows the most out of the three. She spends a lot of her time people watching.
The three of them sat on a bench in the garden. Peter and Ned sipped at their boba while MJ peered over the bench at some passerbyes. A child was crying. “Spoiled kids,” she grumbled.
“How’re your siblings?” Peter asked, eyeing her suspiciously as he drang from his strawberry milk tea. He slurped a ball to quickly and almost choked on it. MJ quickly pulled Peter on her lap and wrapped her arms around his midsection. “N-not choking, MJ!” She squeezed anyways. “You’re supposed to ask for permission.”
“Can’t do that if you’re dead,” she said, shrugging. “I just saved your life, Parker. Kids these days. So spoiled.”
“They’re great,” Ned replied at last, feeling awkward as the third wheel between this interaction. “Miss you, though. You should pay them a visit. How’s your family?”
“Oh, they’re on vacation,” he said, sipping his drink. He couldn’t say mission in case anyone was listening.
No one was, though. No one suspected Peter of anything. He was a simple teenager. No big deal here.
“Without you?” Michelle asked, surprised. Peter only shrugged in response. “So you’re… home alone?”
“Yup.” He held up two fingers. “For two whole days.”
Ned’s face lit up with a grin. “You know what I’m thinking.”
“Hell yeah.”
Switzerland
“He could literally be dead.”
The Avengers were scattered around a SHIELD base’s lounge room. Empty bottles and pizza boxes littered the table.
Rhodey slapped his own face and covered his eyes with an exaggerated groan. “If you’re so worried, check on him.”
Disturbing the peace of the couch, Tony sat up quickly. “You’re right!” He climbed over the huddle of resting Avengers and called Peter. “He’s not picking up.” His heart sunk.
Something was horribly wrong. He might not have spidey sense, but he has to be hurt. Something bad happened. It had to. Why else would he not pick up?
Exhausted, Bruce suggested, “Just check the feed. He’s probably studying or on patrol.”
Right. But if he was studying, wouldn’t he pick up?
Tony didn’t waste anytime pulling up the holofeed. Friday pulled up the living room, Peter’s location, instantly.
His jaw dropped. “See?” Bruce said, rubbing his eyes. He stood up and walked over to Tony to clap a hand on his shoulder. “Told you he was fi—… What… What is he doing? ”
The rest of the Peter Protection Squad stirred. Clint stayed snoring (and would be for a long while) as the rest got up to see how Peter was doing.
For once, he was fine.
Way, way more than fine.
“She’s got electric boots, a mohair suit. You know I read it in a magizineeeee—” Peter’s voice reached an extremely high pitch. Wearing Darth Vader PJ shorts and a loose gray tank, he danced on the top of the table. “Bennie and the jets!”
Ned clapped his hands with a wide grin on his face. “Encore!” Ned cheered.
MJ sipped from her root beer. “Don’t quit your day job.”
Peter took a bow before sinking into the couch between his two friends. MJ passed him her drink to share, which he gratefully accepted. He worked up a sweat during his performance. “Quit my day job? What would the sad orphans do without me?”
“Get adopted by the Avengers,” she said, earning a light hit from Peter.
“I’m picking song next,” he said, snatching the controller. “You have to dance to something embarrassing for that rude comment.”
She leaned in close, brushing against his ear. “I accept your challenge, Parker. Fair warning: you’re up against a woman with zero shame.”
“It’s true,” Ned said. “She really doesn’t.” He shivered.
“MJ, what’d you do to him?” he said, giggling nervously.
She put a finger over her lips. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.” A sly wink. “Pick your song, Peter. Take your time. Choose wisely.”
Tony blinked in surprise.
A normal teenager. Peter was being a normal teenager.
Kind of.
He may not be out partying, but he’s with his friends, not getting strangled or kidnapped or mutilated by supervillains.
Being a kid, all on his own. Without being told.
“He’s okay,” Tony said.
“Yeah, stupid,” Sam cursed, throwing a pillow. “Now let the kid have fun, and get some rest!”
He said that, but somehow they all wanted to watch Peter sing just for a little more.
Happy, safe Peter was a rare occurrence. They needed to soak up all they could while they can.
Even dead tired, the watched him laugh, sing, dance, horrifically embarrass himself before he fell asleep on the couch sandwiched between his two friends.
With a smile matching Peter’s, Tony cut off the feed and went to bed.
Even Parker Luck takes days off.