Chapter Text
Christmas passed, and Peter brought in the New Year with Tony and Steve by his side. They’d stayed up late watching the ball drop both on the television and in the distance from the tower's uppermost balcony. Midnight had been a flurry of affection followed by the clinking glasses and talks of everything they had to look forward to in the coming months.
It wasn’t until things had settled down and Peter was lying quietly in his bed that he’d even considered making any sort of resolution. That wasn’t something that he’d ever done before but for some reason, the concept was nagging at him. With a sigh, he’d rolled onto his side and looked between the Lobot action figure that had been standing on his bedside table since he’d moved in and the brand new R2D2 and C3P0 action figures that his fathers had gotten him for Christmas. As he did so, memories from the last few months flowed through his head like running water, pressing him to make a decision. “Accepting help,” he’d whispered to himself and resolved to spend the next year relearning how to ask for and receive assistance from others but mostly from his family.
It didn’t take long for an opportunity to test his resolve to arise. A few days later he woke up early and wandered into the kitchen before anyone else was up, took some pre-packaged pancakes out of the freezer, and went to the pantry to get the syrup. It took him a moment to find it because it had been tucked away on the top shelf, which was annoying because that meant that he couldn’t reach it. With a small huff, he took out the folding stool and attempted to climb up, but his footing was off making it tip beneath his feet. In a desperate attempt to steady himself, he grabbed ahold of the wire rack that was closest to his hand but as he continued to stumble backward his hand held fast onto the shelf, causing it, along with everything on it, to come crashing to the floor.
Startled not only by the unexpected fall but the noise that came along with it, Peter instinctually curled into a ball, gritted his teeth and covered his ears. For several seconds after, he lay there and tried to force his breathing to even out while trying to decide if he would be able to get the mess cleaned up before his parents woke up but of course, it wasn’t going to be that easy. He could already hear two sets of feet scrambling down the stairs.
“Peter! Are you okay?” Steve asked as he skidded past his husband and into the kitchen to where his kid was still half-laying in the middle of the floor, wide-eyed and shocked.
“I’m okay I’m fine-” Peter replied, scrambling to sit up as he surveyed the mess that he’d made. Food Packages were everywhere, a small bag of sugar had practically exploded, sending the fine grains in every direction and the syrup he’d been trying to retrieve was pooling near his feet. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry-”
Tony, having finally entered the kitchen himself, knelt down in front of his son and placed a gentle hand between his shoulder blades. “It’s okay, Buddy. Are you sure you’re alright?” he asked with concern. “You’re not hurt, are you?”
With adrenaline still coursing through his veins, Peter took a quivering breath and swallowed with difficulty. “I’m not hurt. I can clean it up,” he promised and was just about to push himself up off of the floor when he felt a hand pressing on his shoulder.
“Let's take a minute to breathe first, okay, Kiddo?” Tony said and Peter acquiesced, slumping back against the wall and taking several slow, extended breaths.
“You good now?” Tony asked when the boy had reopened his eyes and no longer looked quite so tense.
“Yeah. I’m good. I promise,” Peter replied, taking one more deep breath to keep his nerves at bay.
Having been adequately assured that his son was, in fact, okay, Steve knelt down beside Tony so that he too was at Peter’s eye level. “What happened, Champ?” he gently inquired.
“I was trying to get the syrup off of the top shelf,” Peter reluctantly replied. “The stool flipped over and I grabbed the shelf when I started falling. I didn’t mean to break it. It just- happened,” he explained, looking between the concerned faces of his parents. “I'll clean it up and fix the shelf though, I promise.”
Tony helped the kid to his feet and then pointed towards the pantry. “There’s nothing to fix, Buddy. The racks are meant to slide out, so you can adjust the height. It’ll take two seconds to put it back in place and then we can start putting some things away,” he explained, already leaning back down to grab the shelf.
“I’ve got it, Dad,” Rapidly replied and nearly smacked his head against Tony’s in his rush to get his hands on the rack first. “I can do it.”
“I know you're more than capable, Pete,” Tony said, smiling softly between his son and his husband. “But Papa and I are going to help you anyway.”
‘Accepting help,’ Peter thought to himself before slowly nodding his head.
Once the pantry was put back together, Peter began putting things away while Tony swept and Steve went to obtain a mop. He had to bite his tongue to keep himself from repeatedly telling the two adults that he could handle the clean-up on his own. But in the end, he decided the assistance wasn’t so bad and that maybe allowing himself to do it more often wouldn’t be so hard.
It only took another couple of days to find out. Ned had invited him over for the day and typically he would just swing there. However, his suit was in the lab, slowly but surely, updating its self. And Tony wasn’t likely to let him take it out until they had tested the settings. And that meant not only asking permission to go to his friend's house but also asking for a ride there and back. He considered putting the visit off, but Ned was excited to show him the video games he’d gotten for Christmas and, well, he was excited to see them.
He wasn’t surprised when he received enthusiastic permission to go to see Ned. He always did. His parents were constantly urging him to do ‘normal teenage things’ and apparently going into the city just so that he could sit in his best friend's bedroom, playing video games, counted.
“I think once I add my Christmas money to the tin, I’ll be up to at least one hundred dollars and if that’s the case then that means we’re practically there!” Ned said as he swapped one new game out for another. “Want to help me count it after we look at this?”
At the mention of the savings, Peter was abruptly reminded of the time he’d borrowed the tin and the money that was in it. But more so, he was reminded that he’d yet to repay the amount that he’d spent before returning what was left when he’d agreed to go live with the Stark-Rogers.’ “Shit,” he stated, dropping the control to tug at his hair instead. “Shit, I’m so sorry, Ned.”
“Huh? What are you talking about Peter?” Ned asked, perplexed by his friend's sudden distress.
“The money! The money I borrowed when I was- when I needed it,” Peter strained through gritted teeth. “I still own you twenty-three dollars and sixteen cents.”
Ned visibly relaxed and shook his head. “You know you don’t have to pay that back, right? I gave it to you because I wanted you to have it,” he said and then turned his attention back to the television to set the game up for two players.
“I know, but I told you I would pay it back one day and-” Peter shot back without missing a beat but his friend was quick to talk over him.
“-and I told you that it’s fine,” Ned insisted, subsequently dropping his own controller so that he could turn towards Peter. “I mean, I get it that you want to reimburse me one day but, Dude, it doesn’t have to be right this minute. You can just- buy me lunch one day after we’ve graduated from college or something,” he said because, honestly, he’d never genuinely wanted to have that money returned to him at all. Agreeing that the cash was a loan rather than a gift had been semantics. He’d known that his friend wouldn’t have accepted it under any other circumstances.
“But you’re so close to being able to afford that Lego set you want. And if I can get you your money back then that might be enough to do,” Peter pleadingly spoke.“It’s what, a hundred and thirty plus taxes, right? Why don’t we count the money now and go back to games after?”
Ned sighed and looked between his Peter and the tin that was sitting atop his dresser. “You know what? Let’s count it later,” he said, wishing that he’d never brought it up at all. But he’d not expected his friend to react that way and was eager to change the subject. “I’m kind of hungry, and I'm pretty sure we still have some pepperoni pizza rolls in the freezer.”
Peter reluctantly followed Ned into the kitchen and helped to gather up a few more snacks to add to the pile while the pizza rolls cooked. When the microwave dinged, he started towards the hall and was thrown off when it was suggested that they stay in the living room instead.
“I got a new movie for Christmas too. It’s some really old sci-fi flick that my uncle sent me. I’ve never seen it and thought maybe we could watch it together,” Ned said and Peter agreed but he was intelligent enough to know that his friend was simply trying to avoid any further discussions regarding the money he’d borrowed. That didn’t mean he was done thinking about it, though.
“Hey, Kid. You and Ned have fun today?” Tony asked at the end of the day when Peter had climbed into the front seat beside him.
“Yeah. It was a lot of fun,” Peter eagerly replied and it had been. Even after Ned’s deflection had left them abounding the new video games in favor of what turned out to be a pretty lame movie. He absolutely couldn't stop thinking about that twenty-three dollars and sixteen stupid cents. It was as if that one small debt was consuming him and he wouldn’t be able to think of anything else until he had it paid.
He knew he could ask Tony for the necessary money and that it would be given to him without a single question or a moment's hesitation. But it was nagging him that asking for cash to pay wasn’t the same as accepting a new backpack or asking for a can of soda while they were out somewhere. Paying Ned back was his responsibility alone and not something he should need any help with. He knew his dad would never fully grasp that. However, it did enter his mind that his papa might.
“Hey, Papa?” Peter asked once Tony had disappeared down to the lab ahead of him. He was meant to be running upstairs to get a hoodie because he was cold but that had been an excuse more than anything else. What he really wanted was a couple of minutes alone with Steve. “ Do you think I could do some extra chores or something before school starts back?” he nervously inquired. “I, uh, I owe Ned some money from- before and I want to pay him back so he can buy the Legos he’s been saving up for.”
“We can give you the money, Champ. You don’t have to earn it,” Steve said with a genuine smile. He could appreciate the dedication but the kid had been through a lot. And even though things had improved significantly since the adoption, there were still days that it was clear how much Peter struggled with the concept of being taken care of. And even though he understood the sentiment behind the request, but it felt like a slippery slope. He was genuinely concerned that if he gave in and allowed the boy to work for the money he needed to pay back his friend, he would later argue he needed to work for other things as well. He wanted his son to understand they had his back, no matter what.
“You share in the household responsibilities because you live here and are a part of the family. We don’t expect you to do extra things to earn anything. If you need or want something, all you have to do is ask. And as long as it’s reasonable we’ll take care of it,” Steve carefully explained, making a point of evading the boy’s soft pleading eyes. “How much do you owe him?”
“I owe him twenty-three dollars and some change and I know I can ask you for stuff but this is different. This is my responsibility, and I need to earn it,” Peter said all in one breath, feeling overly disappointed that the man hadn’t seen it his way after all.
Steve looked at his son and clicked his tongue a few times in thought. “What about an allowance then, huh?” he asked. “My ma used to give me a little pocket money every now and then. I’m sure Dad would be thrilled to set you up with a bank account.”
“I don’t want a stupid allowance or a stupid-” Peter began shouting but snapped his jaw closed when Steve crossed his arms over his chest and gave him a warning look. “You know what? It’s fine, Papa. Never mind,” he stated once he was confident he could do so without getting himself into any trouble and then hurried towards the door mumbling,“Thanks anyway” over his shoulder.
Later that night, while lying in bed staring at the ceiling, Peter began to formulate a plan. He made plenty of money in the past by doing chores around the neighborhood, and even though it had been months, he was sure the local shopkeepers would be just as willing to pay him for completing odd jobs as they had been in the past. All he had to do was to get to Queens and that would be easy. He’d tell his parents that he was going to Ned’s house, as he often did and they would never question it. Then he could pay his friend back and be done with it. It was perfect. All he had to do was to pick a day.