Work Text:
“Damn.” Peter had been trying to scrub at the offending green ring around his finger for the past ten minutes. He was beginning to think it was a lost cause.
He had been wearing the cheap nickel ring Tony had sort of gotten for him at Coney Island since their date and he was feeling shy about it. He didn't want Mr. Stark thinking he was childish or being too presumptuous by wearing it. If he daydreamed about being married and blushed to himself occasionally, he wasn't telling anyone.
Since their last date, Tony had been too busy with Stark Industries and Ms. Pepper for him to mentor Peter and he was feeling the distance. Of course Tony always made it a point to text or call or sometimes even FaceTime when time and space allowed, but that wasn't the same as being next to someone. He missed the way Tony smelled, how warm he was, how tightly he hugged him and made him feel so safe.
Peter caught sight of himself in the bathroom mirror, looking every bit as lovesick as he felt, rosy cheeks and dreamy eyes. Ugh, he needed to stop acting like such a kid or Tony might start treating him like one. More like one. He washed his face with cold water and slapped a band aid on to cover up the green stain, grabbing his backpack as he ran out the door to meet Happy.
Happy, of course, was anything but as he took him to the Avengers Compound upstate. Peter practically bounced out of the car as soon as it stopped and he's pretty sure Happy yelled something at him about not doing that, but he didn't care, he was on a mission.
He took the steps two at a time, having memorized the path to Tony's workshop so well he could probably get there with his eyes closed by now. Before he went crashing through the door, he stopped and calmed himself, smoothing his hair and clothes, took a deep breath then stepped up to the censor. The door opened with a whoosh right out of a Star Wars movie and he couldn't help grinning as he stepped through, feeling a little bit like Luke walking onto the Death Star.
The workshop was surprisingly quiet considering it was usually an overwhelming, orchestral arrangement of metallic clanging, machines whirring and Dum-E knocking things over. But today, it was almost eerily quiet. He walked further in, looking around corners for any sign of life, well, non-AI life. He turned the last corner and found exactly who he was looking for.
Tony was hunched over his desk, scribbling away at some schematics. His usual business casual look had been traded in for a black tank that should be illegal and jeans and Peter had to swallow hard to keep himself together. Tony's usual coif was a mess and there was a grease smudge on one of his cheeks that Peter really wanted to wipe away.
“Hey.” Peter said, trying for cheery but knowing he sounded squeaky.
“Peter!” Tony lifted his head and smiled, looking a little surprised but happy all the same. “Is it four already? I lost track of time...”
“Yeah, do you need me to-?” Peter jerked a thumb at the door suggesting he step outside for a moment.
“No, no, you're fine. Just let me get cleaned up.” Tony stood and started wiping his hands off as he walked over to Peter. His gait was so confident, his back so upright that Peter was fighting hard not to swoon as Tony swaggered up to him with that soft grin he saved just for Peter. “See something you like, Parker?”
“Huh? What?” Shit. He'd been caught staring. Who could blame him though? Tony was standing right there in a black tank that showed off the strong breadth of his shoulders and every single muscle in his thick arms and dammit, Peter was officially swooning. “N-Nothing...its, ah, nothing, I mean...” He ducked his head blushing hard.
Tony slipped a finger under his chin, tilting his face up to press their lips together. No matter how many times they did this, Peter's heart always skipped a beat and it felt like the first time all over again. He still got nervous, still got sweaty palms and he hoped Tony didn't notice. He hummed as the older man's lips slid across his in a way he could only describe as perfect.
“You are so cute.” Tony smiled again and Peter felt his knees buckle at that knock out combo. Everything about this man should be illegal. “I missed you terribly. Everything is so boring without you around.”
“I missed you too.” Peter smiled sweetly, blushing again as he reached out and gently grasped Tony's tank. He stepped closer and rested his forehead on his chest, catching a whiff of Tony's expensive cologne. He used to think it was too strong, but now it just smelled like home.
Tony wrapped his arms around him and Peter had never been permitted to come in contact with so much bare skin. Tony had always been very cautious and strict with drawing lines about what was acceptable between them. Kisses, cuddles and hand holding were fine, but he never allowed Peter to see him undress, even to change shirts, and likewise, he always made sure to look away or leave when Peter was redressing.
It was frustrating, but also very sweet.
But now, Peter could feel Tony's warm skin touching him, in high definition thanks to his abilities, and he couldn't help the soft sigh he let out as his eyes slipped shut and he melted into the embrace. Large hands pet at his back and he was fairly certain he could drift off to sleep standing up like this as long as Tony kept holding onto him.
“We should probably get to work.” Tony chuckled and Peter could feel the vibrations seep into his skin, but neither of them made a move to pull apart or put any space between them.
“Yeah, probably.” Peter shrugged, winding his arms around Tony's middle. “Don't wanna stop.” He whined rather childishly.
“Me either...” Tony grinned.
Tony reluctantly pulled back first, a lopsided grin on his face and moved around the table that had Peter's newest suit laid out across it. The bold red and gold motif had Peter smiling ti himself and blushing a little because now when he wore this suit, he and Tony would look like a pair. It was super mushy, but hey, its the small things. “Alright, let start working on those re-calibrations for you suit. I promise we're almost done going over the maintenance and systems for your suit and will be moving on to other, more fun things soon.”
“Its alright. The suit is incredible, Mr. Stark.” Peter always made sure to call him Mr. Stark when they were in public, always had to make things look like they were on the up and up. He couldn't wait to be just a few more years older so that maybe he and Tony could be a little more open. He'd love more than anything not to have to hide their relationship from their friends. “The programming is very complex. I had to have Ned hack the last suit that one time I turned off the 'training wheels protocol.' Which I still do not appreciate by the way!“
“Hey, you said it yourself, Underoos, the suit is complex. I wasn't about to hand you what is essentially one of my iron suits meshed with some flashy spandex and let you go full throttle.” Tony arched an eyebrow at him which only made Peter want to pout more. “That would be irresponsible.”
“When have you ever been responsible?” Peter snorted and rolled his eyes, earning a reproachful glare from his boyfriend.
“Listen here, young man, I will have you know this one time, I did this one thing, and it was very responsible.” The older man pulled himself to his full height, nose slightly in the air. “Very adult.”
“Oh you mean that time you picked up your own take out without having to call Ms. Pepper?” The teen couldn't help giggling as he moved closer to Tony, bumping him with his hip. New York had actually been the first thing on Peter's mind, but he didn't want to be the one to set off one of Tony's panic attacks. He'd only seen it once and it made him want to cry seeing someone so strong buckling under the pressure of a few words. Tony had been a hero that day and Peter wished he could just enjoy it and count it as a victory.
“Someone sure is sassy today.” Tony laughed lightly and bumped Peter back.
“What can I say? I learned from the best!” Peter gave him his best little boy sweet smile.
“Maybe I am a bad influence on you.” It was Tony's turn to roll his eyes and sigh. He made quick work of peeling back the outer layer of the suit to get down to the fiber optic wiring enmeshed with the under layers. He carefully separated the two and Peter watched closely so he would know how to do it properly.
Tony started in on the lesson, things finally settling into something serious between them. As they worked together, moving around one another, Peter couldn't help but notice the flow between them. He wondered if Tony worked this well with anyone else or if this was something special and unique to them. Maybe Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner worked well together? He somehow doubted it considering how meek and quiet the doctor seemed.
Peter didn't mean to, but his head began to feel heavy, bobbing a few times as Tony continued to speak, his voice a calming white noise to his sensitive ears. He never slept well the night before he came to the Compound, always too excited to see everyone, especially Tony. To top it off, he'd been swinging around the city the last three nights trying to track down a local drug dealer, which he finally apprehended, so he was running on fumes at this point. With his crazy new metabolism, it was hitting him like a freight train out of nowhere. He hadn't even realized Tony was talking to him until he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder.
“Mm, what? Sorry.” Peter slowly blinked his eyes open, barely containing a yawn as he looked up at his mentor.
“You alright, itsy-bitsy? You look like you're about to pass out.” Tony's hand slipped from his shoulder to run soothing patterns across his back and Peter arched into the touch, soaking up the attention.
“Yeah, sorry, just not been sleeping much lately.” He felt his eyelids growing heavier with each gentle caress. He tried to shake himself awake, feeling like a such a toddler for wanting to take a nap in the middle of the afternoon. “Been tracking down this bad guy.”
Tony made an odd sound Peter didn't recall ever hearing before and it made him turn his wavering attention up to his boyfriend's face. Tony's brows were furrowed and he was looking off into the distance and Peter knew that was the look of his brilliant mind at work. He knew by now just from the set of his brow, when Tony was thinking hard at something.
“How about we take a nap then?” Tony pointedly did not look at him as he spoke, obviously at war with his better judgment. “Its been a little while since my last siesta, so I could use the break myself.”
“R-really?” Peter knew his eyes were impossibly wide and his mouth gawping at the offer. Was Tony serious? It felt too good to be true, especially with how careful he always was.
“Yeah. Just a nap though.” He warned with a stern look, wiping himself off more thoroughly.
Peter nodded his head enthusiastically, cheeks already flaming at the prospect of getting to curl up with Tony. Maybe they could cuddle and Tony would let him rest his head on his chest. Peter's face slowly turned redder and redder as the thoughts compiled on top of one another.
He let himself be lead as Tony took his hand and directed him back to Peter's room at the Compound. Tony reclined back onto the bed first, letting out a deep sigh as he settled into the pillows, arms tucked under his head. Peter was definitely not going to mention how that position put his massive lats on full display as he crawled onto the bed and made himself comfortable beside the older man. He made sure to keep a small distance between them in case Tony thought them in bed plus snuggling was too much.
“Come here.” Tony opened one arm up in invitation for Peter to come lay on him, practically reading his thoughts. Peter edged carefully over to him and laid his head right over Tony's heart, listening to the strong, steady drum. The arm encircled him, holding him close. “There we go. Much better.”
Peter glanced up through his curled fringe to see Tony's eyes closed, looking so peaceful. He decided to chance bringing a hand up and softly resting it beside his head, wanting to explore the expanse of Tony's chest with his fingertips. He bit his lip, eyes on Tony, when he eventually decided to move. He traced over ribs and the flat plain of upper abs and the shallow dip of a sternum. Tony's breath caught when he brushed over the bumpy scar tissue left behind from the skin graft after the arc reactor had been removed and Peter quickly withdrew his hand.
“Sorry.” He whispered soft, reverent.
“No, its okay.” Tony grasped his hand gently and laid it back over the center of his chest, the scarred edges a small relief beneath Peter's palm. “Just—no one's touched there before.”
Peter was struck by the delicate intimacy of the moment. They weren't doing anything remotely sexual, but he could feel Tony allowing himself to be vulnerable around him and Peter felt honored to be allowed so close to him when Tony was feeling his weakest.
“You're...you're, uhm, really handsome.” He looked down and away as he said it, but it felt a necessary thing to say. He wasn't sure of anything in this moment, unsure of how to react to this new situation, but that must have been a good response, because Tony is smiling down at him and his arm tightens just that much more around him.
“You are going to give me cavities, kid.” The older man interwove his fingers with the teen's on top of his chest. “You're not half bad looking yourself.” He lifted Peter's hand once he noticed the band-aid on his ring finger and placed a gentle kiss over the bandage.“What's this?”
Peter's reaction was instant and undisguisable. His shoulders went up and he tried to hide his face further in Tony's chest. “N-nothing. I just cut myself on patrol last night.”
“Mm?” Another raised eyebrow let Peter know he wasn't fooling anyone. Despite his young boyfriend's protests, Tony unwrapped the band-aid to reveal a perfectly fine, albeit green stained, finger. An amused smile played at his lips. “Have you been wearing your wedding band?”
“I-uhm..I, well, you see—ugh.” Peter wanted to die. Wanted the floor to just open up and swallow him whole. His cheeks were hot pink he was so embarrassed as Tony looked over both him and his finger with a teasing smile.
“Why, Mrs. Stark, you are positively glowing.” Tony brought the hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to the green ring like he had that night, making Peter squeak in surprise. Peter didn't want to admit how being called Mrs. Stark made his heart pound in a sickeningly sweet, school girl with a crush kind of way.
“Don't tease...” Peter grumbled shyly as he propped himself up to lean over Tony. He smiled as he bent down and pressed his lips to his boyfriend's, hoping he wouldn't be pushed away.
Tony smiled into the kiss. His stubble tickled at Peter's nose and chin as they kissed gently, closed mouthed. Peter let out a quiet sigh of content and Tony slipped his tongue into his mouth. Peter felt like he was being sipped at, tasted and savored, with the languishing movements of the kiss. Tony's hand slid up to cup the back of his head, giving his curls a gentle tug to direct Peter right where he wanted him and Peter couldn't stop the breathy moan that slipped out between their lips at the new sensation.
That seemed to shake the older man from the haze of their little make-out session and he quickly pulled back, catching his breath. “Sorry. Sorry...we gotta stop.”
“What? Nooo~ ” Peter's brows furrowed as he whined. He had just been given a taste of something fantastic and he didn't want to stop.
“No, I overstepped. We need to stop.” Tony said more firmly.
“Pleeeeeease.” He breathed against Tony's lips. “Please,” he begged again, looking up at the other with hazy eyes.
“Dammit, stop that, Peter.” Tony looked away quickly, sounding exhausted. He peeked back over at Peter and sighed resignedly. “Who am I kidding, I can't tell you no. One more, then sleep.”
Peter grinned a little self satisfied and scooted in close for one last mind blowing kiss. With Tony now aware of himself, he controlled the kiss, keeping it from getting too heated. He only let his tongue dip into Peter's mouth a couple of times, removing it almost as quickly as it entered. Peter wanted to groan in frustration, wanted Tony to kiss him as deeply as he had a moment ago, but he knew Tony was doing this for him, keeping them both just a few steps below the moral high ground instead of on the basement floor of 'morals? What morals?'.
“Nap.” Tony murmured against his lips making Peter shiver.
“Yes, sir.” Peter teased, his voice breathy and his lips kiss swollen. His body was tingling with a pleasant warmth that had him sinking back into the exhaustion he had felt earlier. He barely managed to mumble “sorry if I snore” before falling asleep.
Peter woke up a few hours later, judging by how the sky had darkened since he'd laid down. He rubbed his eyes and stretched, turning to say something to Tony, only to find him gone and his spot cold. His brows furrowed slightly at that, kinda having wanted to wake up next to his boyfriend. But he pushed those thoughts aside and climbed out of bed to go find where Tony had wandered off to.
Tony was right where he figured he'd be, pouring over his notes and scribbling things down in the lab, almost exactly where he'd found him the first time. He didn't bother with a greeting, instead walking directly behind Tony and wrapping his arms around his waist and laying his head on his back.
“Good morning, well, evening, Sleeping Beauty.” Peter could feel the smile in his voice. Tony rested a hand over his on his stomach. He'd thrown a hoodie on over the black tank and it made Peter want to pout a little. “You have a good nap?”
“Mmhm.” Peter hummed, still soaking up Tony's body heat. “Sorry I slept so long.”
“Don't be.” Tony unwound Peter's arms from his middle and swiveled on the stool to face him. “You obviously needed it. We should get you on a set sleeping schedule and meal plan. Can't have your metabolism crashing while you're being the Friendly Neighborhood Spiderling.”
“I'll follow a set sleep schedule as soon as you do.” Peter grinned mischievously, knowing Tony stayed up until all hours of the night. Sometimes he didn't sleep for days on end and Peter had to beg him to go get at least a few hours of shut eye before he collapsed. He wondered if maybe Tony had someone to share his bed with, if he might find sleeping more pleasant or easier.
Tony raised an eyebrow and huffed a laugh through his nose. “Did you want to pick back up where we left off?”
“Uhm, do you think maybe lessons could be over for today?” He twiddled with the edge of his shirt, looking down. “Could we maybe...just go sit? And eat dinner and watch a movie?”
“Sure. We can pick things back up tomorrow.” Tony sat his pen on the table and took Peter's hand into his, tracing the lines of his palm with his thumb. “Still needing some cuddles?”
Peter didn't think his face could get any redder, but somehow it managed. “Y-yes...maybe...” He looked up at the older man through his lashes, now knowing what effect it had on him. “Please?”
“Hey, no need for the puppy eyes.” He playfully covered Peter's face with his hand. “I was going to give you what wanted either way! Take out menus are in my desk over there. Pick anything you like.”
“Okay.” Peter smiled and walked over to the desk, which was more mess than desk at this point, and started rummaging through the drawers. The first drawer is full of schematics and odds and ends that Peter doesn't even want to begin to go through, so he moves to the slim drawer at the center of the desk. Various brightly colored take out menus sit in a haphazard stack to one side along with pens, pencils and thumbtacks.
As he goes to pull the menus out, something small and shiny sat on top of a picture of Tony's dad catches his eye. He pauses and picks up the cheap little ring from Coney Island. It warms his heart all over again to see that not only did Tony wear it, but when he took it off, he kept it near him. He knew he was blushing, all starry-eyed and lovesick, but he couldn't help it. Though he didn't like to admit it, Tony was a bit of a sucker for sentimentality, so it felt like something noteworthy to Peter that this was one of the things he deemed worthy of remembering.
“Don't get too excited.” Peter jumped and turned to see Tony right behind him, visibly blushing.
“You...you kept it.” The corners of Peter's lips lifted into a disbelieving smile as he breathed a laugh. He'd never thought in a million years that Tony would've kept the little cheap ring, kind of assumed it was going to be slipped off and set aside and lost in the mess after Tony got home, but this. This was touching and had Peter's chest feeling too tight to contain what he was feeling in that moment.
“Of course I did.” If Peter didn't know any better, he would say Tony sounded shy, maybe a little embarrassed. But he was Tony Stark. Shy and embarrassed weren't in his vocabulary. “I took our fake vows very seriously.”
“Me too.” Peter ducked his head as Tony placed his left hand over Peter's where its still resting over the photo of Howard Stark.
“Someday...someday, maybe...they won't be pretend...” The tip of his ring finger brushed back and forth over the ring mark and Tony's voice is so soft, so quiet, Peter isn't sure if he was supposed to hear that or if Tony even realizes he said it out loud, but his heart is pounding and he's fighting back crying like the main character in a lovey dovey Hallmark Christmas movie.
He turned and wrapped his arms tightly around Tony's waist, burying his face in his chest and giving him a squeeze. A large hand cupped the back of his head and a chin came to rest on top of his head.
“Vinegar works wonders for getting that green stain off.” And the way Tony said it, sounded like he was speaking from experience. Had he worn it long enough to be walking around with a matching green ring?
“I love you.” He whispered under his breath.
“I love you too, Peter.”