Chapter Text
"Hey, Sweetie. How was class?" May asked as Peter came, literally dancing into the apartment with a smile so wide that it was almost comical. "I'm guessing that the casting list was posted?"
"Yep!" Peter chirped as he flopped himself down onto the couch beside his aunt. "I got the part!"
"The part?" May asked sounding more surprised than she meant to. Over the summer, when he'd decided to audition for a more prominent role, they had both known that it would be a long-shot. Peter was talented but he lacked the experience that some of the older students would be bringing to the table. Having gotten a call-back alone had been a huge honor. Neither of them ever imagined that it would go any further than that. "As in your first choice?" she then asked, just to clarify.
"Yes! Isn't that amazing!" Peter practically screeched leaning in to squeeze his aunt around the neck. "I would have been okay if I'd ended up as a soldier or something but this is so much better. And even though it's not super professional or anything, it's still like a dream come true!" he dreamily stated, still riding the high that came from such unexpected and thrilling news.
May squeezed Peter once more, kissing him on the forehead, and squealed happily. "I'm so proud of you Peter! You've been working hard for the last, what? Nine? Ten Years?" she asked as she thought back to all of the many, many recitals and performances she'd sat through over the years. She could clearly picture every single one. The difference between the very first tone and the most recent one had been significant. Little Peter had leaped and twirled in unison with his class to 'You are my Sunshine' while a much older and more skilled Peter had worked with a partner to choreograph and perform a routine set to the song, 'Clocks.' "That's a lot of dedication. I think you've earned this. Don't you?"
"Eleven years," Peter corrected with a smile. He'd been awarded his scholarship when he was five and had been attending the same performing arts school ever since. "-and yeah, but usually the Cavelier for the Sugarplum fairy goes to a more experienced dancer. Mrs. Alistar says that I'm the youngest dancer the school has ever offered that part to," he said, once again setting off sparks of excitement and anxiety in his chest. Eleven years of dancing aside, he was still only sixteen and that was nearly unheard of. Even in a non- professional, large school setting. The previous year's caviler had been four years his senior.
"That's exciting!" May exclaimed.
"It is!" Peter agreed before bringing his thumb up to his mouth to chew on his nail. "But it's also kind of scary. Like, what if I screw up, miss too many rehearsals, or get hurt while on patrol? Not only would I be letting everyone down but I'd also be ruining the chances of anyone else under the age of nineteen ever getting the part again," he said with a deep sigh. It wasn't like he could take it easy as Spider-man until after the last performance. Queens counted on him to keep them safe and he took that responsibility just as seriously.
May hummed neutrally and tipped her head towards the certificate that was framed on the wall beside them. "Speaking of missing rehearsals," he said with a curious tilt of her head. "How are you planning on balancing all of those extra practices with both Spider-man and your 'internship'? Are you going to tell Tony?"
Peter paled at the question. He didn't know why but he really, really didn't want to tell Tony. It wasn't that he was insecure about his dancing. If that was the case, he would have quit years ago when Flash had taken pleasure in asking him about his non-existent tutu and calling him 'Twinkle Toes.' But he didn't. He took the taunting in stride because he liked ballet. Even as he grew older and became the only boy in the class. He was good at it and that made him feel good about himself.
Though he supposed that his classmates growing up knowing that he danced was very different than telling Tony Stark- Iron Man- that he spent an awful lot of his free time practicing ballet. Despite knowing that the man cared about him, there was still a tiny voice in the back of his head whispering that he should keep quiet about it. "I don't want to tell him," he finally uttered under his breath.
"Why not, Peter?" May laughed. "He'd be proud of you too."
"Maybe," Peter waveringly replied, bringing the side of his bottom lip between his teeth. "I'm just not ready for him to know that about me yet. Please don't tell Mr. Stark," he pleaded, knowing that his aunt and his mentor periodically spoke on the phone about him. Like some of the more annoying patrol restrictions that had been put into place once May had found out about his alter-ego, periodic meetings between the two prominent adults in his life had suddenly become a semi-regular event. It was both interesting and annoying all at once.
"Alright," May conceded with a sigh. "But I really think that you should."
__________
The conversation had taken place just after school had started and at first, it had been pretty easy to balance everything. Dance wasn't really taking up any more time than it usually did. He was able to work his lab days in between his regular classes and practices without a problem. However, as fall approached, his ability to keep his extra extra-curricular activities a secret became more difficult. By November, additional studio time was being required and it was as though Ballet was slowly starting to take over nearly every moment that wasn't spent in school. Even still, he was meeting up with Tony on a regular basis. Patrols were growing shorter and there were days that he never made it into the suit at all but it was easy enough to claim that he was having to study more as the end of the semester approached.
However, he wasn't sure how he was going to keep that up as the performance grew closer. Eventually, there would be rehearsals, costume fittings, and last-minute practices being called with little to no warning. And due to his role, he would be expected to be there for the bulk of them. May had continued to press for him to just come clean to his mentor, promising that he would be happy for him but he still couldn't bring himself to start that particular conversation. It was fine though. December was right around the corner and in just a few short weeks, the show would wrap up and things would go back to business as usual. All he had to do was show up at the studio on time, keep his grades up, make sure to see Tony on a regular enough basis that he didn't worry, and try to squeeze in some patrolling in between.