Chapter Text
Peter can’t help the relief that floods him when everyone is getting ready to climb back on the bus to head back to school. As much as he’s enjoyed having his friends staying with him away from everyone else, the constant checking everything he’s about to say or do has exhausted him.
He’s looking forward to having his home back.
‘Getting kicked out so you have to join us on the way back, Parker?’ Flash taunts him, and Peter is getting whiplash from the way their conversations have been going the last few days.
‘Whatever you say, Flash,’ he only half pays attention to the other boy as he replies, before turning to Harry. ‘Where you staying now? You back at your old house?’
‘Yeah,’ his friend sighs, ‘we’re back there. Feels weird being there without…’
‘Yeah,’ Peter grips his friend’s shoulder in silent support. Norman and Harry haven’t been back to the house in New York since they lost Harry’s mother and moved away.
‘I’m trying to convince Dad to move us, but you know what he’s like.’
‘We’re thinking of going to catch a movie this weekend,’ MJ says, coming up to them with Betty. ‘You guys up for it?’
‘You’re going to make us watch horror, aren’t you?’ Peter groans.
‘Do we have to sit through another horror MJ?’ Ned asks.
‘Yes. Besides this one actually looks more comedy than horror,’ she answers.
Peter rolls his eyes, not believing her in the slightest but the three boys agree to go with them. Though the way Ned and Betty are looking at each other Peter wonders how long it’ll take for those two to ditch the rest of them.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’ Peter turns at Tony’s voice behind him.
‘Err…back to school?’
Tony snorts. ‘I’m not coming down to pick you up when I’m literally going to be following the bus down, champ.’
Peter lets out a sigh of relief. ‘Oh thanks, abandon us why don’t you?’ MJ raises an eyebrow.
‘Well, you lot are always welcome to join us any weekend,’ Tony tells them, slinging an arm around Peter’s shoulders, ‘especially if you bring stories of Pete as a tiny kid,’ he winks at Harry.
‘Oh, I can bring plenty of those,’ Harry laughs, and Peter glares at him, ‘did he tell you about when we went to the Stark Expo and he was wearing an Iron Man helmet and tried to take on one of the drones?’
‘I didn’t try and-’
‘Wait, that was you?’ Tony looks at him in shock.
‘I hate you,’ Peter tells Harry, ‘you are never coming here again.’
‘Whatever you say, Pete,’ Harry laughs, ‘you love me really.’
‘Alright everyone on the bus!’ Mr Harrington calls out.
‘See you tomorrow,’ Peter says goodbye to his friends as they finalise plans to meet for the movie.
As he and Tony watch the bus pull off, he hears the inventor laugh next to him. ‘I still can’t believe that was you at the Expo.’
‘I was really hoping I could take that information to my grave,’ Peter groans. ‘Trust Harry to tell you that.’
‘I mean, what the hell were you thinking? You were just standing there waiting for the drone to hit you and you thought a fake Iron Man helmet was going to save you?’ he asks as they head back inside.
‘No…I…I mean I was like five I wasn’t really thinking, just wanting to help…’
Tony shakes his head in disbelief. ‘Well, I guess it just proves you were always going to be a hero of some kind.’ He surprises Peter by pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. ‘And that you’ve always been a bit of a self-sacrificing idiot.’
‘Says you,’ Peter counters.
Tony laughs. ‘Yeah, you got me there. You coming to the labs?’
Peter shakes his head. ‘I was going to check on Wanda, her headache started getting worse again after the ballet lesson earlier. Any news from Strange on what can help her?’
Tony shakes his head. ‘None yet. I’ll ask Bucky to see if Loki knows of anything. Her magic is just so different to what any of them have encountered before they’re not sure what the best thing is to do. Whatever Agatha was teaching her when she was held by HYDRA seems to have only made things worse for her.’
He hesitates for a moment before adding. ‘Tony? Everyone keeps thinking Wanda’s calling my name when she’s having a nightmare but…it’s not me she’s calling for...it’s her brother’s name she’s calling. Everyone just thinks it’s me because our names sound similar.’
Tony’s arm tightens around him. ‘We’ll work it out.’
‘Promise?’
There’s a beat before the inventor nods. ‘I promise.’