Everyone thinks they know the truth, thinks they understand what's happening between Peter and the incredibly rich man - if that black porche that picked him up from the school had anything to say about it. The rumor spread like wildfire and most of everyone knew of it except for Peter himself until MJ is questioning where he's suddenly disappearing to and she let it slip.
"You know Susan Yang thinks you're an escort."
Peter didn't have time to think about it as the fate of the world was at risk but once everything calmed down, the words registered in his head. He laid in the hotel bed the night before they go back home as that sentence rings in his mind. An escort? No, Tony was his mentor. The man doesn't look at him any differently than he'd look at any kid his age or Peter assumed so.
Sure there were a couple tense moments in the lab like when Tony stood behind Peter, who sat at the desk - fingers working over a circuit board clumsily so the older man reached over to rest his hands over Peter's and guide them through the motions carefully. Peter's heart fluttered in his chest and he stared at the tanner hands gently moving his own and when they stopped, Peter turned his head to the side to catch Tony's eye but stopped when he realized how close their faces now were. He opened his mouth and let out a soft, "I-" before stuttering out a thank you.
Then there was that one time Peter and Tony were in the lab working on an upgrade for Peter's spidey suit when Tony made a lame joke and Peter snorted in response, a silly grin on his face as he played into the joke. Tony opened his mouth before he realized what he was doing, "You've got a pretty smile." and Peter's stomach did those flips and he stutters out how kind Tony was.
Peter tasted metal on his tongue and he rose a hand up to his bottom lip to see blood from where he'd chewed on the skin in the midst of his thoughts. He sighed heavily and stared up at the ceiling, would Tony ever look at him as something more? He remembers every time Tony had ever referred to him as a 'kid'. How every time the topic of sex came up between the Avengers, Tony is quick to cover Peter's ears and playfully taunt how he's still young. How Tony put that 'training wheels protocol' on his suit or how he had to teach Peter a hard lesson after he destroyed a ship. He remembers how childish he felt at the time, how the age gap between them was so present.
But then he remembers when Tony suited up to try out his new flight stabilizers and Peter watched eagerly, eyes tracked his every moment only for Tony to fly backwards and hit the column behind him. Tony let out a soft groan and Peter rushed to his side soft "Oh my god"s slipping past his lips but before Peter could worry too much - Tony is letting out a soft laugh that grew louder and grabbing his side. Peter looked at him as he heard that sweet sweet sound from where he knelt beside Tony's body laying on the floor. Peter couldn't bite back the smile that dared to slip onto his face and their laughter echoed on the lab walls. Peter let the compliment slip, "Your laugh is nice." Tony paused and looked at Peter as he processed his words before a light pink is tinting his cheeks and saying a "Thanks, Pete." and then before the subject can be dropped he adds, "I like yours too."
He remembers when they sat at their desks with the music playing through the speakers of the lab and Peter had shivered about three separate times before Tony is wordlessly grabbed his jacket that he'd shrugged off a while ago and tossed it in Peter's direction. Peter stared at the fabric that landed directly in front of him, on top of his work, and then glanced up at Tony who hadn't spared him a single look. Peter carefully pulls on the black zip up and he went back to work, trying his best to not focus on how he can smell Tony's cologne and something distinctly him. He didn't think much of it until he's getting ready to leave and as he goes to take off the jacket, Tony waves his hand and mentions how, "He looked better in it anyways."
Peter rolls over in his bed to lay on his side, facing the postered wall in front of him. He let out a deep breath through his nose as he thought of Tony, of his charming smile and the wrinkles besides his eyes. Of the way Tony was always quick to have some quip on his tongue and tries his best to keep the mood light with jokes - even if they're said in inappropriate times sometimes. He thinks of the quiet moments they share in the lab but at the same time he treasured the talkative moments, when they'd chat and talk the hours Peter stayed down there as they worked on their own projects. One of Peter's hands was tucked under the pillow and the other resting near it, fingers twiddling with a thread on his pillowcase as he broke down these feelings.
There's no way Tony liked him...no way those moments meant anything more than Tony being a good mentor and Peter should truly give up any hope of them being more. He's not sure why he holds onto that thin string maybe it's because he so desperately wants it to be real or maybe it's because some moments he can't deny that it meant something more.
Like when he and Tony were chit chatting in the comfortable lab, Peter perched on the desk as Tony sat in his rolling chair. Tony rolled over to Peter and they were a respectable distance away from each other at the beginning of the conversation but somehow Tony ended up slotted between Peter's thighs, the older man looking up at the other. His hands came up to rest on the boys thighs and stroked up and down slowly as they spoke. It wasn't anything sexual, his hands stayed down by his knees but it wasn't something you do with your friend...right? MJ and Ned had never put themselves between his thighs and began to gently stroke them. Nothing happened, Tony rolled away to grab something as if he hadn't turned Peter's world upside down.
Or when Peter was saying goodbye for the night, packing his belongings away as Tony watched him quietly, seemingly deep in thought. Just as he was making his way to the door, Tony grabbed his wrist and Peter turned to look at him - head tilting cutely in confusion. Tony didn't say anything until he stepped closer into his space and they were inches apart, "You're really pretty." Peter's heart raced and his stomach erupted with butterflies as Tony's hand came up to cup his cheek. Their faces were so close now, if Peter tilted his head up more then their lips would surely brush together but the moment is broken by Bruce walking into the lab to tell Tony something about a gadget. The two jumped apart and Bruce stared at them, questioning aloud if he was interrupting and Tony waved him off to answer the question the man originally had. By the time he finished up and turned to find Peter, the boy had left.
These moments left everyone confused. It left all his classmates thinking he was an escort for some rich guy, left the Avengers wondering if there's was something more between the two, and left him confused as to what his relationship with Tony even was. No one at school or the Avengers knew the truth, no one knew that when that black car picked Peter up and they disappeared into the lab, something far more sweeter happened than him being an escort.
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