peter parker [5+1 collection one shots]

2.6

5 things Tony Stark didn't know about Peter Parker (and 1 thing he did)

v. a year with the merc

word count: 3221
warnings: brief mentions of self harm

    Tony’s mind was racing.

    What the hell was that? How did Peter get over that so quickly?

    Ned had mentioned a recovery, so Peter had to have been going through this kind of thing for awhile now. Maybe this quick transition was a good sign?

    Tony had no idea how to interpret it, and he frankly didn’t have much time because Peter’s nerves were way too distracting to think about anything else.

    The teenager’s heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest because it was beating so fast. His breathing was a bit off, but in the giddy, anxious way that sent warmth spiraling through your chest once you felt it. He wouldn’t stop biting his lip as his feet guided him to a familiar apartment building to both Peter and Tony.

    The older man recognized it as Peter’s apartment building, the familiar brownish-red color sparking the memory of recruiting the kid in the back of his mind.

    Instead of walking in through the front, Peter walked around the side, careful not to step on the dirty white alley cat that he always saw or the empty tin cans that littered the walkway. Tony would’ve grimaced at the condition of the building if he had control of his face – it was disgusting. He often forgot the dramatic difference in his and Peter’s lifestyles. Another mental sticky note was placed in his mind to do something about that.

    The back wasn’t as littered and trashed as the side was, but it wasn’t the definition of clean, either. So when Peter looked around him to check if anyone was in sight (which was highly doubtful, since it was the back of a greasy apartment building in the middle of the afternoon, when everyone was still at work or just leaving school like Peter did) and started to climb up the wall, Tony could’ve sworn that he gagged.

    He felt the stickiness of the complex building up on his intern’s fingertips and could smell the drenching stench of trash that polluted the bottom half of the building.

    It wasn’t until he reached the roof of the building and Peter’s enhanced senses had calmed a bit that Tony began to wonder who the fuck Peter would be meeting on top of a building.

    There was no one there.

    The roof was much cleaner than the ground below them as the sun casted a bright light onto the curves and edges of the structure he stood on. It was mostly deserted, the only thing on the creaky ceiling being an air conditioning machine in the far left corner.

    Peter stood alone for a few moments, the thumping of his heart providing an unexpected metronome to the beat of New York. He strolled to the edge of the building, dropping his backpack down by his feet and leaning over the side to get a good view at his home.

    The roads were alive with the rush hour of the day, cars horns sounding loudly in the enhanced teen’s ears as the traffic lights guided them to their destinations. The buildings across from the old apartment complex glimmered in the light of the sun, some reflecting the scenes of the people below them and some allowing a shadow to cool down a pedestrian on their walk back home. Peter recognized this place because it was his safe spot. Here, he could be both Spider-Man and Peter Parker and not have to choose a side. He could sit with his mask pulled up while he ate a taco with –