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Peter Parker was extremely, incredibly, unimaginably out of his element.
When Mr Stark had offered him an internship once again, he assumed it was code for secret superhero-ing business. Or something like that.
What he had not expected, however, was a mound of paperwork delivered to his apartment, along with an official Stark Industries hoodie and lanyard (though he assumed that part was a joke, considering the scribed ‘Spider-Kid’ along with a portrait-esque photo of him in his suit). Who even filled out paperwork by hand these days?
Later in the evening Mr Stark texted him (Holy crap, Tony freaking Stark had text him!) to let him know that Happy would be picking him up every Wednesday morning to take him to the tower for what he referred to as ‘Very Cool Interning Stuff’. Despite the almost ominous vibe Peter felt from that message, Peter was beyond excited. Recently repurposed as Stark Industries, the ex-Avengers Tower was not ultra-familiar to Peter, though he had been around a couple of times to work in Mr Stark’s lab. He was thoroughly stoked to be returning on a potentially regular basis.
After Peter reminded him, that yes, he was still sixteen and very much enrolled in high school, Mr Stark said his school ‘would just have do deal with it because an internship took priority over whatever schools are teaching these days’. He was later notified that Miss Potts had already gotten permission from his school, and to balance his workload from missing a full day of school he would be dropping his Biology class. Something-something school credits or whatever. On one hand he was a bit saddened at the idea of missing a class he somewhat enjoyed (plus the rarity of sharing a class with both Ned and MJ!), but on the other hand he was slightly glad he wouldn’t have to continue going over the stuff he had taught himself at age ten.
Karen was quick to be informed of his new internship by Peter himself. Though a slightly (dare he say) embarrassing habit, Peter just loved telling Karen about his daily activities. Did that make him a loser? In his defence, she was the perfect super hero partner and confidant (not Mother thank you very much). The Oracle to his Batman, but with less tragic origins.
“FRIDAY told me such this morning, congratulations Peter.” Her voice washed warmth over him as if he had just stepped out into the sun (despite the fact that it was 9pm and cloudy).
If Peter was nearly bought to tears by the approval of an artificial intelligence while swinging around New York City that was no one’s business but his own. Maybe he was a loser. Oh well.
The rest of the week dragged on for what seemed like eternity. Why did he have to receive such exciting news on a Thursday? In a rare instance that he caught May alone (without a glass of wine in hand – he wasn’t scared to bring it up but he certainly wasn’t going to) he let her know about the ‘changes’ to his Stark Internship. He had considered telling her about his double life for a while now but came to the conclusion she was safer if he left her in the dark. She just told him to stay out of trouble and make Uncle Ben proud, and with a strained smile he excused himself.
Telling Ned was a long exchange of lengthy texts. His English teacher would be proud as he was sure he had written the equivalent of a thesis in terms of length, even if half of the characters were exclamation marks.
Ned: “you better not replace me with your cool new college age friends lol”
Peter: “as if I would!??!!!”
Ah of course, there were other interns, people he would be working with. Co-workers? Colleagues? His amusement at that idea faded into anxiety. What would some cool, genius level intellect college kids think of Peter Parker? Peter Parker, the lame high schooler who didn’t even go through the proper application process in order to get in? The fake intern…
The anxiety built up inside him, tightly coiling in his stomach. All he could imagine was a room full of Flash Thompsons, except they actually had a reason to hate him. He was invading their space, taking up space that could’ve been given to a real intern who deserved it one hundred times more than he did.
Really Peter, you’re crying? Come on, be logical about this. He was able to settle his nerves a little. He was Spider-Man, it didn’t matter if some college kids didn’t like him. He didn’t care.
He did care. Wednesday came far too quickly for his own liking.
Happy had pulled up outside his building at 8:30 sharp, and with that they began the 40-minute drive to Stark Tower, his new internship awaited. What would have usually been a chatty (albeit one-sided) car drive was instead plagued by a tense silence. At a red light Happy made eye-contact with Peter in the rear-view mirror.
“Something the matter kid? I doubt you’ve spoken this little since you were born.” What was an attempt at breaking the ice so to speak was once again met with silence. After a while though, Peter finally broke it.
“I’m just nervous, or not really nervous just kind of worried to be honest – so much could go wrong today but I totally think everything is under control and everything! You just can’t account for everything and all that, better safe than sorry as they say,” The rambling had returned full swing, and Happy found he only slightly regretted Peter opening up. “As I was saying, it’s just super crazy that Mr Stark offered me this internship, you know? For real this time. I’m sure there’s someone more deserving than-”
“I’m going to stop you right there, kid.” Peter looked up in uprise at Happy, his eye firmly on the road. “Tony wouldn’t give you this internship if he didn’t want to, and if someone else deserved a place and Tony could put up with him they’d get one.” Another silence fell over the vehicle, but as they pulled up to the tower Happy didn’t miss the small “Thank you.”
Tony met him in the entrance, sharp suit and tinted glasses to match (what the heck Mr Stark, it’s like 9am). The building was somehow larger than he remembered, making him feel small. The lanyard was heavy around his neck, though obscured by his layers of clothing. So what if he wore it?
“Glad you could make it kid! Now the fun really begins, have you met our lovely receptionist Sarah?”
~
Peter could practically feel the stares he got while Mr Stark gave him a tour of the main facilities he would be working in, or maybe it was his Spidey-sense alerting him of anyone and anything that could be a threat in what it deemed a dangerous situation. He would have to work on that.
Somewhere amongst the many floors of the building (twenty-third floor, west wing, he had committed it to memory) sat what Mr Stark referred to as the ‘Intern Zoo-Pen’. What Peter had first assumed were regular rooms were revealed to be a set of labs. Some were full of work Peter had no way of distinguishing, while others sat idle and bare. All were devoid of (human?) life.
After a round tour of the floor, including the break room, kitchen and general collaborative work area, Peter couldn’t help but wonder where everybody was. The space was well lived in, for sure, with a small assortment of snack wrapper both on the floor and in an odd-looking waste-bin, and notes pages scattered over almost every surface. He also noticed some pictures on the walls. Some showed a group of five twenty-somethings in various locations, while some were printouts of articles from various prestigious scientific journals or newspapers, a couple of which Peter recognised. The modern art and décor that plagued most of the other floors that Peter had seen (the only room he could recall without such décor was Miss Pott’s office) had been replaced with furniture (bordering on worn out in some cases but comfy looking regardless) and posters, some new and some vintage.
“Is that Star Wars?” It was a redundant question, as the signature logo could be seen under a large print of what could have only been the iconic Death Star, but Peter was none-the-less surprised. He could hear Mr Stark chuckle quietly at his question, but he was too absorbed in his surroundings to really care. This wasn’t just a workplace, this was a home. A home he was invading.
“I usually wouldn’t let a bunch of kids ruin the decorative charm of my building, but who am I to say how they live? No one seems to appreciate my creativity,” Despite the obviously sarcastic nature of the remark, Peter could hear the fondness leaking through. “College accommodation is expensive, or so I’ve heard, so any intern is free to stay here.”
Peter couldn’t say he was surprised at the superhero’s generosity. After all, he had built him (two?) Spiderman suits after barely knowing him for a few weeks. He still found the gesture touching. Who wouldn’t kill for such an opportunity?
Mr Stark did not seem concerned at the deserted nature of the floor, and instead walked Peter back one of the labs and took him inside.
“Welcome to your lab, kiddo.”
Peter was in absolute awe, it was everything he had ever hoped for. Right away he noticed the formula for his classic web solution displayed on an orange hologram on the far left of the room, and upon further surveying the room he saw every material he would ever need to make it in glass cabinets that lined the walls. He wandered around the room, unable to keep his attention on a single thing; it was all so awesome.
“Hello, Peter.”
“Karen?!”
If an AI could be amused (could it?) he was certain the way she was speaking would signify it. A desk with the newest Stark computer? Holographic displays all around the room? A swivel chair? He was in heaven.
Peter turned back to Mr Stark watching him, partially in amusement and partially something he could not identify. Before he could stop himself, he had pulled the man into a hug. A second passed before he had realised what he had done suddenly pulling back.
“Mr Stark I’m so sorry I just got so excited-”
“Peter. Relax, it’s okay, I don’t mind.”
Peter’s head whipped up in surprise. That was certainly not the reaction he had been expecting. “Anyway, don’t worry about it Pete, I’m the one who threw you into all this, the least I can do is give you a place to nerd out without setting your kitchen on fire.” Peter considered arguing further, the best thing that had ever happened to him was no one’s fault, but the look Mr Stark was giving him did not look like one in the mood for rebuttal. “Also, it’s Tony. I’m not that old.”
If the lab had been considered personal to him, the bedroom was something else entirely. It was as if Peter had designed it himself, with the addition of a billion-dollar budget. More Star Wars posters could be found lining the red walls, and oh my god are those Spiderman bedsheets?
“Now Pete, I’m not going to force you to live here but—” Tony assured him, with a hint of defensiveness in his tone. “Just in case you need to crash, this place is all yours.”
Tony knew Peter well enough by now to know another hug was inevitable, but it still warmed his heart none-the-less.
They spent the next hour or so setting up Peter’s workspace, as well as tinkering with Peter’s webbing formula. Peter assured the superhero that he didn’t have to babysit him, but Tony assured him there was nothing else he’d rather be doing.