Chapter Text
October 29th 2016, Directly after the events of Spider-Man: Homecoming
May sits next to Peter, tapping her foot. Peter hasn’t had the courage to look her in the face for the past hour, not after she walked into his room and caught him in his Spider-Man suit. Her initial reaction gave him the impression that she was not, in fact, very happy about the new discovery. The first thing she did was call Tony Stark and yell at him for a good ten minutes, then demand he drop any goddamn thing he could possibly be doing in that moment and prepare for them to come and ‘talk shit out’ because ‘my nephew is Spider-Man, and you dragged him to GERMANY, and you built him a SUIT, and you didn’t BOTHER to INFORM ME???’
The second thing she did was throw a hoodie and jeans at Peter, instructing him to get dressed and go wait in the car. She drove them to Avengers Tower, gave Happy a death-glare so terrifying he didn’t even pester them about nametags, then promptly dragged Peter directly to Tony Stark’s office. Now there they are, waiting.
The thick, wooden door finally opens, and May stands up immediately. Pepper walks out, dissapointment clear on her face, although Peter can deduce pretty easily that it’s not directed at them. Her hair is tied back into a bun, white dress shirt crisp and tucked into her knee-length pencil skirt. Despite her usual composure, though, Peter can tell Pepper is tired.
“Tony’s inside,” she says.
“Did you know?” is all May asks, arms folded over her chest. She and Pepper hadn’t talked much up until this point— Peter thinks they might not even know each other, actually— but May knows who she is. She stares at Pepper, not angry but not particularly thrilled, either.
Pepper purses her lips. “I knew Tony recruited Spider-Man. I knew he took him to Germany. What my dear fiancé failed to tell me, however, is that the Spider-Man in question is a High School student, and his legal guardian has no idea about most of this. Trust me, I’m rightfully pissed at him, too.”
She turns to Peter, nodding a ‘hello’. “Nice to finally meet you, kid. About time we get this thing sorted out, huh?”
Peter bites his lip and sighs. “Yes, ma’am.”
The blonde sends him a small smile. “Pepper, dear.” She faces aunt May again. “Ms. Parker, I’m truly sorry. Believe me when I say Tony and I are glad to discuss everything you called him about.”
May rakes a hand through her hair, a bit calmer than before. Pepper Potts’s presence alone tends to work that way for anyone she has positive intentions with. She’s soothing, reliable— carries herself with dignity, radiates a sense of ‘don’t worry, I’ll take care of this. Your issue is in safe hands.’
“I’m glad,” May says, and Peter notices her shoulders relax as her stress ebbs away. She’s not angry, he understands. She’s worried. May turns to him and motions with her hand. “Come on. We’re going in.”
Tony Stark’s official office doesn’t stand out. Peter’s a bit disappointed with it, to be honest. It’s nice, sure— all contemporary, with a spacious bookshelf, desk in the center of the room, and a glass table tucked into a corner. It’s all clean— too clean. It lacks personality. Without the few stray photos on the walls, including a copy of one of Tony Stark’s many diplomas, and the man himself situated at the aforementioned desk, Peter couldn’t possibly guess who the space belongs to.
Upon seeing the three walk into his office, Mr. Stark gets up from his chair and turns to aunt May. She doesn’t give him a chance to open his mouth before shoving a finger at his chest.
“Anthony Edward Stark,” Peter’s not even that surprised she knows his mentor’s full name, “Would you mind explaining what the fuck it is that I have witnessed today? My nephew is Spider-Man! My nephew is Spider-Man and neither of you bothered to tell me! He’s been battling actual villains for months! He could’ve gotten properly injured! He fought Captain America and shit! What the hell?”
Tony stays quiet, his hunched posture making him look like he just got a stern talking-to by his mother. May glances to Peter, who recoils a bit. Her gaze softens ever-so-slightly, and she rubs a hand over her forehead. “I saw the videos, Peter. The older a-and the new ones. I just— why didn’t you tell me? Why feel the need to- to lie?”
Peter lowers his head. “I’m sorry, May. It’s… I was scared that if you knew, you’d be in danger, or something. The people I fight— the bad guys— they could’ve come after you, you know?” And I didn’t want to worry you.
May’s brow furrows. “You shouldn’t have to care about that. You’re still just a kid. Your Sophomore year barely started, Peter— I don’t want you out there, fighting criminals with guns, damn it.”
“You couldn’t have stopped me,” Peter says, voice a bit harder than before. It was true— even though the powers he has are the result of a freak accident, he still feels he has a duty to New York and its people. He tells May that much.
May shakes her head. “You endanger yourself every day, protecting people from crime. You have homework, and school— no kid should have to carry even more weight on their shoulders than that.”
Peter shrugs. “I can’t sit by and watch as bad things happen if I have the power to do something about it. Mr. Stark helped me, May— without him and the suit he gave me, I would still be doing all that stuff I was doing before we met him. Now I’m just safer.” He turns to Mr. Stark, who nods.
“I very much took Peter’s safety into account when making his suit,” he speaks up, “It’s equipped with a bunch of protective tech, including a tracker, parachute, and an Artificial Intelligence assistant with the ability to scan and detect potential danger. The suit also records everything—“
“The ‘Baby Monitor Protocol’,” Peter mutters, and the corners of Pepper’s mouth twitch upwards in amusement.
Tony clears his throat, still under May’s watchful glare. “Yeah, that. In addition, it can identify Peter’s injuries and contact help when needed.”
Tony heads for the chair at the head of the desk, but Pepper beats him to it. She shoots him a pointed look— ‘you’ve done enough’— and takes the seat herself, leaving Tony to settle for a smaller, wooden chair by her side. He motions for Peter and May to sit down, as well, which they do.
Pepper raises a hand and pulls up two holographic screens. She taps away at them and clears her throat.
“FRIDAY,” she says, “Create an itemised list detailing all protective qualities installed in Mr. Parker’s suit. Send it to his aunt’s cellphone, please.”
“Of course, Ms. Potts,” FRIDAY replies.
May startles, glancing around the room to look for the source of the voice. “What the hell was that?”
“That’s FRIDAY,” Pepper supplies, still typing and pulling up different holographic files. “She’s our AI assistant. Very helpful, I must say.”
“We had JARVIS first,” Mr. Stark comments, “But he got a bit murdered so then we transferred his consciousness into our android friend Vision, and I made FRI instead.”
May blinks, trying to wrap her head around that concept. “O-kay. Anyway, about Peter,” she points to Tony again, “So the internship was fake?”
Tony tilts his head. “It was fake, at first. But, y’know,” he turns to Peter and waves a hand in his general direction, “I got to know this guy, and honestly? He’s really smart. I’ve got his grades somewhere…” he pulls up another holographic screen, this one projected from his wristwatch. “Here. Straight A’s— Well, except for that B in English, but y’know. He told me himself he doesn’t try that much, but his scores are still exceptional. I’d love to have Peter intern here— he could work both on his suit and on his own individual projects.”
Peter grins at the man. “Really? You think so?”
Tony scoffs. “This kid,” he points at Peter and addresses aunt May, “Designed and manufactured web fluid on his own. He made his web-shooters from scrap metal he found in dumpsters. Give him a bit of funding, some better materials? We have an early acceptance letter to MIT on our hands.”
Peter blushes as May turns to him, smiling. “I-I’m not that great,” he chokes out.
Tony waves a hand at him again. “Nonsense! May, your kid is seriously one of the smartest I’ve ever seen.”
May ruffles Peter’s hair, earning a small squawk from him. Pepper chuckles lightly from behind her holograms. “Always knew you were great, Pete.”
Tony smiles at Peter and May. “Look,” he says, “I get the worry about the Spider-Man thing. A super-powered teenager running around Queens, beating up bad guys?” He shudders. “Terrifying. Can’t imagine being the kid’s parent. I almost had a heart attack myself, watching him climb the Washington Monument—“
“I had to remind Mr. Stark that Peter can stick to walls seven times,” FRIDAY’s voice rings out, a hint of amusement in her tone.
“Shush, they don’t need to know that,” Tony hisses at the ceiling. Peter can imagine the shit-eating grin FRIDAY would have sent him in that moment if she had a face. May laughs a bit at that, although she still looks like her brain is melting. Peter supposes that’s fair.
“Anyways,” Tony continues, “We can help provide even more security for him while he oh-so-recklessly helps people. I have friends in Wakanda, I’ve been thinking about implementing vibranium fibres in Peter’s suit to amp up the defenses. He could recieve training— we can teach him proper fight tactics, all the while he realises his scientific potential. We can help you financially— I know how much rent costs in New York.” (Peter knows there’s no way Mr. Eccentric Billionaire had any idea about the working class’ hardships. It’s obvious that he either looked it up a bit ago, or Pepper told him. Based on her little smirk when he says it, Peter assumes the second option. He shoots her a smile.) “It’s a really unreasonable number, honestly. And Peter’s school tuition.”
May pinches the bridge of her nose. “Okay, wait. One thing at a time. First. If I forbade you from being Spider-Man, would you stop?” She asks Peter.
Peter shakes his head. “Sorry, but no way.”
May sighs. “Alright, I could’ve guessed that. You’ve always been so stubborn, Pete.”
“Reminds me of someone,” Pepper comments, glancing to Tony. She waves a hand through her holograms, dispersing them. May lets out a small chuckle.
“Second,” May continues, now a bit more serious, “The fact is, Peter’s in near constant danger, has been for... god, months. What if a bad guy follows him home or something? What if—” she waves a hand and sighs. “I just… I’m just one woman. How am I supposed to keep a super-powered kid safe?”
“We’d be happy to provide you guys with additional security measures at your apartment,” Pepper smiles at her, and nods her head to the side. “Although there might be a second option.”
“Which is?”
“Avengers Tower’s top three floors are residential. They’re not really occupied that much now,” Pepper clears her throat. “We’re still working with the UN to clear up the Accords situation. But anyway, you two could move into either your own rooms, or we could edit part of the floor-plan to construct an apartment for you. The Tower is arguably the most secure building in New York. You could live here— you can pay rent if you want, but that’s absolutely unnecessary. Living here would make things very easy for you two, If I may say so myself. Peter could intern here, go on patrols— we have an advanced Med-Bay in the building, led by our very own Dr. Cho. She could take care of Peter’s injuries— her state-of-the-art tissue regeneration technology is truly spectacular. And, as Tony said, Peter could receive proper martial arts training. Not just from Tony and I, but hopefully, when the Accords get sorted out, from the rest of the Avengers as well.”
Peter himself is almost ecstatic after hearing what Pepper said— could he really live here? It sounds too perfect to be true— he would still be near Queens, he could continue his Spider-Man duties, train and work with Tony Stark and possibly the Avengers (If everything gets sorted out properly, of course)? Somebody pinch him.
May sighs. “That offer is very generous, Ms. Potts. I don’t know if we can take it with a clear conscience.”
“Don’t think of this as a handout thing, please,” Tony interjects. “We just want to take some strain off of your back, May. Caring for a teen on your own is hard, especially on one person’s salary in New York? Suuper hard. Not only would Peter benefit from this, you would, too— you could kick back and relax once in a while, take a vacation. When was the last time you took time off to simply enjoy life?”
May huffs. “Like, six years ago? I’m a nurse. We’re always understaffed and underpaid.”
Tony clutches his heart in a melodramatic gesture. “Dear God. We’re so signing you up for a cruise or something. FRIDAY, look up ideal vacation spots for December—“
“Tony,” Pepper warns. “One thing at a time. We don’t mean to, um, bombard you with all of this,” she turns to May, “But we wouldn’t offer if we didn’t believe this to be a good solution. If you prefer to stay at your old place, we totally understand, but please consider this. All we want is to make your life easier.”
May sighs. She looks down to her hands, twists the gold band on her right ring finger— her old wedding ring.
“Since Ben’s passing, we’ve been struggling financially, for sure,” May says. “We moved to a smaller place, I took up extra shifts. Peter never gave me much to worry about— he’s always been a great kid, very smart. This? You guys?” She gestures to Pepper and Tony. “Your offer would basically fix most of our problems. Keep Pete safe and give him a chance at an amazing future. I genuinely don’t know how to…”
May swallows hard, and Peter can see the gratitude on her face. She’s always tried to give him the best life possible, cared for him. Peter, of course, knew of their hardships— he hated to ask whenever he needed to buy a new pair of shoes or backpack, wished he had a job of his own so he could help contribute to rent. Unfortunately, Spider-Man isn’t a very high-paying occupation.
“We can arrange everything— the move, the billing address— we could get you two a PO box— just say the word.”
May sighs again. Peter just stares at her in anticipation, waiting for an answer.
Finally, she speaks up. “I’d like to be included and updated very thoroughly on Peter’s training, health and safety. There will be a patrol curfew, and if your grades start slipping, Pete, you’ll be taking time off of superhero-ing and lab time. Are we clear?”
Peter blinks. “Are— are you saying yes?”
“Absolutely,” Pepper agrees, “That’s all very responsible. Does that mean you two want to move in?”
May smiles. “How could we possibly pass up such a generous offer? I genuinely have no idea how to thank you.”
Peter’s eyes widen. They’re moving into the Avengers Tower! He never would’ve thought this could be his life.
Pepper reaches out a hand, and May shakes it. “Let’s talk details.”
A week later, May and Peter step into the elevator leading from the Tower’s private garages. Happy and a few other personnel follow them, pushing boxes situated on platform carts. Peter himself insisted on helping, and Happy gladly gave him a few to carry.
May turns to Peter, peering around the three boxes in his arms. “This is it, kid. How’re you feeling?”
Peter laughs. “It still doesn’t seem… real, you know? I mean, we’re just… packing up our whole life and moving in with billionaires.”
May shakes her head, disbelieving. “I know, right? This is kind of crazy.”
Happy and the three other guys walk into the elevator, essentially filling it to the brim. “FRIDAY, floor 91, please.”
The elevator takes off. Peter gazes through its glass walls, sneaking a look at the labs before him. They’re filled with employees— both interns and higher-level, and Peter focuses on the minuscule people, trying to make out details.
“FRIDAY,” Aunt May asks, still unsure about talking to a disembodied voice, “Why are there so many labs and offices here? I thought SI’s base of operations was somewhere else.”
“Stark Industries’ official headquarters is located in Los Angeles,” FRIDAY informs. “However, due to the fact that Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts reside in New York, and Stark Industries discontinuing production of military weapons, the Avengers Tower, formally Stark Tower, is treated as the company’s base of Research and Development along with other, administrative functions, employing thousands of interns, scientists, and other staff members.”
May nods. “Thank you.”
“It is my pleasure. If you have any more questions about the company’s functionality, as well as other matters, feel free to direct them to me.”
“This is so cool,” Peter nudges aunt May. She smiles at him. “You’ll have to get used to her, I guess, but if i’m going by how much Karen helps me with my, uh, other stuff,” Peter glances to the three unknown employees, seemingly uninterested in their conversation, “FRIDAY is going to be a lifesaver.”
“Floor 91– Residential & Living Area, Private Labs, Personal Training Rooms 1A-1D,” FRIDAY announces over the speakers.
As the elevator doors open, All Peter can do is gawk.
They walk into a large common area— all wall-height windows, potted plants, steel and luxurious textiles complemented by wooden accents. The word ‘large’ doesn’t really describe the common area— it’s absolutely gigantic. There’s a long dining table on one side of the room, the other containing various seating options— two large sofas, a loveseat, and three armchairs. Peter also notices a stray beanbag or two, which makes him laugh a little— who knew the Avengers liked beanbags? By a windowless wall, in front of all the couches and stuff, hangs a giant TV. Peter would guess at least 80-inch. There’s a spacious hallway opposite to the elevator, leading, most probably, to the private rooms. Peter glances to the side, and notices an equally large entrance to what looks like a kitchen— dark brown cabinets, marble countertops, two professional grade fridge-freezers, two stovetops and two ovens. In the corner near the dining table, a spiral, steel staircase descends, and Peter guesses it leads to the higher-situated residential area.
“FRIDAY, can you pull up the floor-plan for floor 91?” Happy requests. He turns to Peter and May, a slightly begrudging smile on his face. “It’ll make your life a bit more easier.”
“On it,” FRIDAY says, and a hologram pops up in the middle of a large, glass desk near the windows. Peter heads to it and taps a few of the rooms, their functions appearing as he does so.
May frowns over his shoulder. “We do have private bathrooms, right?”
“Honestly, who do you take me for?”
May and Peter turn to the kitchen, from which Tony Stark emerges, wearing a grin on his face.
“You obviously have your own, private bathrooms, along with pretty large closet spaces,” Tony explains. He sips from a mug he’s holding in his right hand, and Peter can smell the scent of coffee wafting off of it.
The billionaire glances at the boxes— around a dozen and a half mid-sized ones. “You guys don’t have as much stuff as I anticipated.”
“Thank you, Tony, for your astute observations,” Pepper says dryly, a few steps behind her fiancé. May chuckles at her comment.
After the staff members that helped them leave, May and Peter sort through their boxes, separating the ones labeled with his name from his aunt’s. As they do so, Pepper sits down on one of the empty couches, pulling up holograms from the coffee table. Her brow furrows slightly as she swipes over the screens. Tony sneaks a glance at Pepper and stands behind her to look over her shoulder.
“Bad news?” He asks.
Pepper purses her lips. “Not exactly. We’ve been expecting that.”
Peter puts down the last of the boxes and turns to them. “What happened?”
Pepper sighs. “We’ve been trying for the last two months to sort out the Sokovian Accords. Change them for the better, so we can hopefully reunite the Avengers. Mostly make it so they don’t police and restrict what they do. Most of the UN is… willing enough,” she rearranges files on the screen, deletes one and opens another, “But we still have Ross and a few others to get through. Although he is our main concern.”
May doesn’t even try to comprehend half of that, which is understandable. She just shakes her head and heads to the kitchen. “Is there more coffee?”
Tony throws a thumbs up in her direction, and she goes. Peter walks over to the two of them and sits down next to Pepper. “Is that classified?”
“It’s fine. We have to write up another proposal, get it approved, only for it to probably get rejected…” She wipes her forehead, “We also need to get another hearing with UN officials, preferably without Ross present. All the while we don’t have the rest of the Avengers with us. Dr. Banner is god-knows-where, Thor, the same, T’Challa is helping us with Wakanda’s best diplomats, but he has things to attend to on his own, as well.”
“I still think we should find dirt on Ross,” Mr. Stark, now draped over an armchair, speaks up. He seems dejected, Peter thinks. He hasn’t actually seen the guy interact with the Avengers when they were on good terms, obviously, but from the looks of it he must be missing them a lot. Peter knows Mr. Stark would never actually admit it or anything, but he understands. He sees the way Tony’s eyes scan over the living room, emptier than he’s probably used to. May joins them again, now with a mug of her own, and glances between the three.
Pepper shoots him a look. “You know we’re working on it,” she says. “Why don’t you give May and Peter a tour? You have a lot of stuff to show them, don’t you?”
“Oh, yeah!” Tony perks up a bit. “C’mon. No, leave the boxes, it’s fine,” he waves a hand as Peter moves to the carts. “You have plenty of time to unpack later. Let's go."