(so I took a screenshot of the ask bc I didnât want the st*rk*r mention to filter this into their nasty ass tag)
The spell isnât supposed to turn people into teenagers. Itâs meant to turn them into the people they were when they were at their loneliest point in life.
For Tony, this was when he was 15, after graduating from Andover and before heading to MIT where he met Rhodey in their shared freshman dorm. When he didnât have any peers to spend time with and before he started going out to parties to drown his feelings in sex and alcohol.
So after the Avengers get a passed out teenage Tony back to the tower, they try to figure out what their next steps are. Strange and Wong go off to figure out how to revert the spell, and the rest of the team is left to try and wrangle a teenaged version of Tony who theyâre sure would be rowdy and bratty as hell.
Except Tony starts to wake up after a little while, and they can see immediately that heâs distressed. He doesnât scream, he doesnât yell. Tony looks afraid, like he wants to cry, but he holds it in and softly says instead, âIf youâre hoping for my dad to pay the ransom, he wont.â
Thatâs when the team realizes that Tony doesnât have any of his adult memories and that he thinks heâs been kidnapped, which apparently has happened enough times that heâs resigned to it, which, what the fuck.
Immediately, they fall all over themselves to rush to Tony and let him know that heâs okay, he hasnât been kidnapped, theyâre the Avengers, he can trust them, theyâll take care of him.
They figure that since this isnât time travel, itâs safe for them to let Tony know what happened. Steve and Nat explain that Tonyâs been placed under a spell (âMagic is real?!â), that theyâre all friends with adult Tony (âIâm friends with Captain America?!â), that they all work together as Avengers (âIâm a superhero when Iâm older?!â) and that theyâre trying their best to figure out how to fix this.
Tonyâs a smart guy, of course, so he quickly figures out that theyâre telling the truth and goes along with it.
Which is great! But still, they donât really know how to deal with a teenager, especially one who doesnât act anything like they expect him to. Heâs just so quiet and he seems like heâs on edge all the time, as if he isnât sure how to act around adults.
So they figure, maybe Tony just needs someone his own age to hang out with so he can feel more comfortable in his environment. They call up Peter the next day and ask him to come over to the tower. Peter shows up and they hit it off immediately, because Peterâs smart and he knows how to get through with Tony no matter his age â with a science joke.
By then, Strange has already contacted the team and let them know that as long as they manage to keep Tony healthy and happy, the spell should wear off within 5-6 days. Peter suggests, hey, maybe Tony can come with me to school for a week! And the Avengers are like, oh thank god, yes, good idea, do that.
Peter gets a visitor pass for Tony and they spend the next week together. Tony goes with Peter to all his classes and sits next to him and itâs just so strange to him because heâs never actually had a real high school experience before. He never had a friend to sit with at lunch, never was part of an extracurricular where all the other students were happy to have him contribute. Throughout the week, Tony starts to open up more and comes out of his shell a little bit.
When theyâre hanging out together, Peter and Tony tend to bring out the troublemaker in each other. Suddenly, Peterâs having more âlab accidentsâ and he canât stop bursting out into laughter when heâs doing presentations. Tony and Ned team up to take out Peter during dodgeball in gym class. Peter and MJ trick Tony into volunteering to help at the charity holiday basketball tournament at the end of the week. They all skip decathlon practice one day and go out for froyo instead.
Friday rolls around and Tony and Peter have just walked into the elevator at the tower when suddenly Tony passes out cold. Peter panics and calls the rest of the Avengers, and together they get Tony onto the living room couch. Once heâs settled, they watch as teenage Tony slowly transforms back into adult Tony.
Tony wakes up and immediately gets rushed to the medbay for Bruce and Strange to check him out, make sure that heâs 100% okay and that there arenât any lingering side effects from the spell. He doesnât get a chance to say anything to Peter before theyâre ushering him through the door, but he can see the dejected way Peterâs looking down at the floor.
PeterâsâŠsad. He had forgotten for a while that Tony wasnât actually a teenager, and that this was only temporary. He and Tony had become really close throughout the week, bonded in a way that they werenât able to before. And now it feels sort of like heâs lost a friend. He goes home and tries to ignore how upset heâs feeling, drowning out his sorrows in homework and Netflix instead.
The next day while theyâre setting up their booth at the holiday tournament, MJ asks Peter, âIs Tony coming?â
Peter stumbles a bit and stutters out, âOh uh, he, uh, heâs notââ
Before he could finish, Tony Stark walks through the doors and makes a beeline towards MJ and Peter. He stops in front of them and he says, âAlright, you trickass bitches got me to volunteer. So what do I need to do?â
MJ doesnât even miss a beat. She shoves a packet of balloons and helium tank at Tony and says, âGet to it, weirdo.â
Tony sucks in a mouthful of helium and responds, âYes, maâam!â and he sounds so ridiculous, looks so proud of himself, that Peter canât stop himself from breaking out into giggles.
Peter thought Tony wouldnât remember, or that he wouldnât really care now that he was an adult again, but of course he should have known better than to underestimate the man he calls a hero and a mentor.
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areudirty
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