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Peter Parker hastily straightened his clothes, glancing around the dim alley way he had been abruptly yanked into. At the far end of the alley way, New Yorkers went about their daily lives, unaware that Peter was being mugged.
Peter glanced down at his would-be mugger, now laying slumped against the damp wall, head lolled to one side. Peter had been on his way to his Stark Industries Internship when he had felt a familiar tingle run down in spine. Before he could react, he was yanked by his backpack. Peter had flailed but dressed as a civilian, when a knife had been pressed to his throat and a voice hissed in his ear to shut up, Peter had done what he had been told.
He had allowed himself to be dragged into the alleyway, out of sight before he had been roughly shoved away. Peter mentally cursed himself that he hadn’t worn his Spiderman gear under his clothing. But Peter couldn’t risk bringing it to SI as nobody knew that it was him who was under the mask. Especially Tony Stark.
When Peter had first applied to the SI internship, it had been a long shot. He wasn’t in college, but it had always been his dream to work at SI. Working under Tony Stark was his ultimate dream and he had been working on his application since he had learned about the internship as a young boy.
When his Aunt May had caught him working on his application, she had encouraged him to apply.
“You may not be in college yet, but it doesn’t hurt to let them know that you are interested now,” she had said. “Apply. You never know unless you try. You may not get it but at least you gave it a go.”
Neither had been quite expecting that congratulations email. After pinching himself to make sure it wasn’t a dream, May had helped him accept the internship and read through all the paperwork with him. Accommodations had been made since he was still in high school, but Peter had accepted two days a week after school to work in the SI labs.
To his shock and delight, he even got to work with Tony Stark. The genius had been there when Peter started his first day and had introduced himself with a charming, but warm, smile.
“Your application was impressive,” Tony had told him. “I’m looking forward to seeing what you can do, Mr. Parker.”
Peter had almost died right then and there (and Ned had almost fainted when Peter had recounted the whole interaction to his best friend.) Tony had stayed for a bit before leaving them with his head of R&D. The next lab day, Tony had come back. Slowly the star struck feeling faded and Peter no longer thought his heart would beat right out of his chest at being in the same room as his hero. He had been working there for over a month now and Peter still couldn’t believe that this was his life.
And that for the first time he was going to be late.
The would-be mugger had demanded Peter to hand over his backpack and any money he had.
“I -I don’t have any money,” Peter protested. “And my backpack just has my schoolbooks!”
“Hand it over,” the mugger had growled.
“Come on, dude,” Peter had whined. “Textbooks are expensive! My aunt will kill me if I lose another backpack.”
The mugger had lunged for Peter and instinct had taken over. They had gotten into a scuffle and Peter forgot to hold back his strength and pushed the mugger too hard. He slammed into the wall of the alleyway and had slumped down, unconscious.
“Sorry,” Peter apologised to the unconscious mugger before he turned on his heel and fled. He darted back onto the sidewalk, walking swiftly towards the Tower where the SI labs were held.
Peter winced as he looked at the time. He was already late, and everyone would notice. They all knew how much Peter loved his internship and that he was never late. Peter wished he had at packed his web shooters, but he didn’t dare bring them with them.
While over the month Peter had become close to Tony (the genius becoming Peter’s mentor in a way that made him miss Ben) the genius had no idea that Peter was Spiderman. Something that Peter didn’t plan on sharing any time soon either.
Picking up his pace, Peter was panting by the time he reached the tower. He fumbled for his ID badge as he hurried through the doors, wincing at the small pain in his shoulder. It gave an annoying throb, a flash of heat following it. He forgot about it as he hurried through security and made his way to the lift. As got in, he fidgeted as he waited for the lift to go to his floor.
He let out a breath as the doors finally slid open and he hurried towards the labs. Through the glass walls he could see that he was the last to arrive, Tony already there. Peter swiped his badge to the lab and pushed open the door, apologies already spewing from his lips.
“Mr. Stark! I am so sorry I’m late,” Peter rushed as he headed towards his desk.
“Kid! I was about to send a search party,” Tony teased as he grinned at Peter.
“I’m sorry! It won’t happen again, I promise,” Peter apologised, letting his backpack fall from his shoulders. He felt a tug between his shoulder blades but ignored it as his backpack hit the floor. He crouched down, unzipping it to grab his notebook. “I promise I’ll stay late to make up for the time I missed.”
“Kid!”
Peter looked up from where he was crouched over his backpack, brows furrowing at the strangled tone Tony had taken. The man was looking at him, eyes wide and horrified. Peter glanced at the other interns, taking in their horrified looks too.
“Mr. Stark?”
Slowly, Tony approached Peter. “Pete. You feeling okay?”
Peter blinked slowly. “Um, yeah?”
“Okay. Good. Good,” Tony said. He came closer, moving to take Peter’s elbow and slowly helped him stand up straight.
“Mr. Stark?” Peter frowned. “Everything okay?”
“It will be,” Tony said firmly. “I don’t want to freak you out.”
“I think that’s too late,” Peter admitted, and he saw Tony’s lips twitch before they fell again. “Mr. Stark? What’s going on?”
“You have a knife in your back,” Tony said bluntly.
Peter froze.
Peter had forgotten about the knife the mugger had held to his throat. And in their scuffle, he had forgotten all about it. Hadn’t even noticed that the mugger had planted it in his back. That explained the pain in his shoulder. He thought the mugger had just gotten good punch in.
“A knife?” Peter squeaked out.
“Yes,” Tony said.
That wasn’t good.
“It’s going to be okay,” Tony said. “I’m going to take you to my med bay, and we’ll get you all fixed up in a jiff.”
“Uh, no. No, that’s fine,” Peter said quickly. No. he couldn’t got to a hospital because then they would know that the wound was healing far too quickly. That would lead to more questions and then Peter’s secret would be out. “I, uh, I should just go home.”
Tony’s grip on Peter’s elbow grew tighter, stopping him from moving. “Peter. I can’t let you go home.”
“It will be fine,” Peter said quickly.
“Hey, Pete.” Tony face got closer to his. “Do you trust me?”
“Wha – of course I do!” Peter spluttered. “You’re Mr. Stark! Ironman! They coolest person ever. I mean, aside from George Lucas because he created Star Wars.”
Tony’s face softened. “Can’t beat that.” His hand squeezed Peter’s elbow. “I may not have created Star Wars, but do you think you could trust me on this?”
Peter took in the earnest, worried expression of the genius and felt his shoulder’s slumping. Pain flared at the knife entry and his grimaced. There was no way he was getting out of this. “Yeah. Okay.”
Tony squeezed his elbow again. “Thank you, Peter. Come on, I’ll take you to the med bay.”
Peter kept his head low as Tony led him out of the lab, trying to ignore the rush of whispers that flooded out of the interns as they left.
“Any idea how you got a knife in your back?” Tony asked lightly as he led Peter down a hallway.
“I got mugged on my way here,” Peter said glumly.
“Oh kid,” Tony winced. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
Peter shrugged and then immediately regretted the action. “He didn’t take anything.”
“FRIDAY,” Tony called out as he pulled his phone from his pocket.
“Already on it, Boss,” FRIDAY’s voice came from the small speaker. “Checking security cameras in the area and forwarding it to the police.”
“Please don’t,” Peter rushed out. “No, Mr. Stark. It’s fine. Really.”
“Peter. You have been stabbed and robbed,” Tony said, giving Peter an incredulous look. “I can’t let that go unpunished.”
“He didn’t take anything,” Peter pleaded as Tony led him down another hallway. They walked to the end where there was another elevator tucked into the wall.
“He still stabbed you,” Tony pointed out.
“I just – I don’t want this to be a big deal,” Peter pleaded.
“Kid. I’ll take care of everything. I promise,” Tony said. “And you know your aunt would come after me if I let you leave here with a knife sticking out of you.”
Peter had to agree with Tony there. When May had met the genius when Peter had come in for his interview, she had made it very clear that the Avengers wouldn’t be able to save him if anything happened to Peter under his care.
They got into the lift and Peter fell silent. Worry gnawed through his stomach as the elevator carried them upwards. Tony’s hand was a steady presence on his elbow. When the doors reopened, Tony guided him out and towards a door.
Peter jaw dropped as he was taken into the fanciest hospital he had ever seen.
“Bruce!” Tony called out as he guided Peter to a bed. He helped him sit, not once leaving Peter’s side.
“Holy crap,” Peter gasped as Doctor Bruce Banner came wondering over, glasses perched on his nose and a white lab coat. “That’s Bruce Banner.”
“Nice to meet you,” Bruce said, offering Peter a smile.
“This is Peter Parker,” Tony introduced. “My intern I was telling you about.”
Peter gawked at Tony’s easy admission.
“Ah! And what brings you down here?” Bruce asked with a small smile.
“The knife sticking out of Peter’s back,” Tony said with force casualness.
Bruce did a double take. He hurried behind Peter, letting out a hiss. “How did this happen?”
“He was mugged,” Tony answered for Peter. “Any chance you can get that out and stich him up?”
“Don’t worry, Peter,” Bruce assured him, coming back around the bed so Peter could see his face. “I’ll get that out of you and stitched up in no time. First, I’m going to take some x-rays, make sure it isn’t hitting anything vital. Then we’ll start getting that knife out.”
“Thank you,” Peter said.
Bruce gave him a soft smile. “No problem. Let’s get you lying down on the bed.”
With Tony’s help, they made the bed flat and helped Peter lay on his stomach.
“FRIDAY. Do you mind taking some x-rays and putting it on the screen,” Bruce asked.
“Of course, Doctor Banner. Scanning now,” FRIDAY said.
“Mr Stark?” Peter asked, voice miserable and muffled by the fabric of the bed.
Tony appeared by his head, a hand coming to card gently through Peter’s curls. “Yeah kid?”
“I’m sorry,” Peter whispered.
“You don’t have to be sorry, kid. None of this is your fault,” Tony assured him, voice soft and gentle.
“I – I’ve been lying to you,” Peter sniffed, casting his eyes down.
Tony’s hand stilled in his hand before it started carding through his curls again. “Yeah? About what?”
Peter swallowed thickly. Take a deep, trembling breath, Peter let’s his secret pass his lips. “M’ Spiderman.” With his left hand, he reached out to snag Tony’s jacket and let his power stick to it. He gave it a tug to demonstrate.
Tony’s hand stilled in his hand again. Silence followed.
“Scan complete,” FRIDAY said. “It appears the blade has not penetrated anything vital. However, the wound does appear to have started healing around the blade.”
“That’s…that’s not possible,” Bruce said, and Peter could hear the frown in the doctor’s voice.
Tony cleared his throat. “Bruce. I think we might need Steve’s drugs for this one.”
Peter couldn’t see but he could feel the pointed look that Tony was giving Bruce over his back. Peter heard Bruce walk away and then Tony face was hovering in front of Peter’s.
“So, Underoos. You’re the webslinger, huh?” Tony asked, eyes dancing across Peter’s face.
Peter gave a miserable nod.
“That’s a big secret to have,” Tony said gently. “Thank you for telling me.”
“Didn’t have a choice,” Peter gave a small huff. Peter waved a hand towards his back. “This kind of blew it.”
Tony chuckled. “Little bit. But thank you for telling me.”
“You’re not mad?” Peter asked, eyes wide.
“Only at myself,” Tony said. “I’ve been trying to find Spiderman to reach out, offer him some training.” He gave Peter an amused look. “Never thought you’d be right under my nose or one of my interns.”
Peter gave a small grin.
“I meant what I said,” Tony said. “You can trust me, Peter. And I still want to help you.”
“You do?” Peter asked. When Tony nodded, Peter let out a breath. “That would be so cool.”
“Cooler than George Lucas?” Tony asked.
Peter snorted. “Mr. Stark. Nothing will ever be cooler than him.”
Tony laughed, shaking his head. He grinned at Peter. “Let’s get this knife out of you and then you can tell me all about how you became Spiderman.”
This isn’t how Peter wanted to have his secret told, but he was (in a small way) grateful for the mugger. Being a superhero was hard and it would be nice to have Tony in his corner. And maybe, together, they could do something great.