SYNOPSIS: After a tabloid scandal costs Tony’s daughter her spot at MIT, she begins to unravel, and to make matters worse, her dad’s intern, who she hates, is now sat next to her at dinner. What can go wrong?
PAIRING: TH! peter parker x stark! reader (vaguely)
WARNING(S): mentions of sexual content, female reader, use of y/n and lots of angst.
We are sorry to inform you -
Those six words had been playing on a loop in Y/n Stark’s head ever since she first opened the letter. She paced back and forth across her bedroom, rereading it for what had to be the hundredth time. It didn’t make any sense.
She was a Stark. Not that her last name should’ve gotten her in, even if Tony Stark donated millions to MIT every year, which he did, She had earned it. Straight A’s, a perfect 4.0 GPA, student body president, countless extracurriculars, glowing recommendations the list goes on.
This had to be a mistake. They’d mixed up her application with someone else’s. Sent the wrong letter. Because why else would she not get in?
Y/n Stark, Hot, Legal and Ready!
That was the gross headline of the article that had come out the week prior, featuring an interview with Spencer Aston a rich trust fund asshole she’d drunkenly slept with after the last Stark Gala. It wasn’t supposed to happen that way, She’d always imagined her first time being special the whole thing, candles, rose petals and someone she loved.
Instead, she’d gotten into a big blowout fight with her dad’s intern, Peter Parker, at the last stark gala ending with him telling her she was impossible to love. That he didn’t know a single person who’d touch her with a fifty foot pole, along with some more hurtful words. Sure, she’d definitely started it, but there was something about Peter’s words that got under her skin.
So she made one of the worst decisions she’d ever made, which is really saying something. Spencer hadn’t just told his friends, he’d gone to the press. He gave a full on record interview describing their “steamy night together,” painting Y/n as some spoiled party girl with daddy issues who’s desperate for attention.
To say Tony was furious would be an understatement. He called the entire story complete bullshit, saying his little girl would never do something like that and that he’d never even met Spencer Aston before in his life.
Stark Industries immediately released a statement calling the article entirely false, defamatory, and deliberately damaging to y/n’s reputation. He threatened lawsuits and sat for a whole article about ‘ the real story behind Y/n Stark’s fall from grace’. He even held a whole conference for the press about it, blowing it all way out of proportion.
Of course, she’d denied it. Who wants their dirty laundry everywhere, especially when their ‘dirty laundry’ includes a rich trust fund dick that is publicly talking about what you wanted in bed. It would be easier to deny and never think about it again, right?
MIT hadn’t rejected her grades. They’d rejected the girl from the headlines.
God, Parker would just love this.
From junior year onwards, he’d somehow wormed himself into every aspect of her life. What began as her dad’s painfully awkward intern had somehow turned into Tony Stark’s favourite person, and her rival. Tony would spend evenings stuck in the lab teaching him everything he knew.
She wanted that, so why did Peter get it?
She couldn’t even escape him at family dinners, every conversation inevitably turns into Peter and his remarkable achievement of the day. One of these days he will fix climate change just to spite just to prove hes better, she’s certain.
“Y/N! Dinner’s ready!” Pepper’s voice cut through her thoughts.
She looked down, the rejection letter was still clenched in her hands, the edges crumpled where her fingers had been gripping it too tightly.
With a frustrated sigh, she tossed both the letter and envelope onto her comforter before forcing herself toward the bedroom door. The smell of roasted garlic and rosemary drifted up the hallway, mixed with the sound of laughter.
Her brows knitted together in confusion, Were they having guests? She rounded the corner into the dining room and immediately understood, Nearly every Avenger was there.
Normally, she would’ve enjoyed the company but tonight she barely noticed them.
Mostly because standing at the head of the table, laughing at something Tony had said, was the golden boy himself, Peter Parker. Bruce stood beside him, with a smile on his lips while Peter rubbed the back of his neck, looking almost embarrassed by whatever compliment Tony had obviously just thrown his way. Y/n felt her jaw tighten.
Of course, the one day her entire world came crashing down, Peter Parker had somehow found his way into her house like some little roach that wouldn’t go away. Did he not have a home or something? Why was he always here, her frustration growing with each new thought.
“There she is!” he beamed. “Perfect timing. Come here, kiddo.”
Y/n forced something that vaguely resembled a smile trailing over to them. Peter looked over, and for the briefest moment, their eyes met. The smile slipped from his face ever so slightly, replaced with a nervousness, but he didn’t take his eyes off of her.
“We’re about to sit down, we saved you a spot,” Tony said with a grin as they headed to the table, his arm guiding her. Of course, it was right next to Peter. Today had to be solid proof that the universe had a sadistic sense of humour.
“Ah, amazing.” she began pulling out her chair and settling in. “Just where I wanted to sit.” Y/n muttered as everyone began settling down and the wine started getting poured.
The team settled into small talk across the table about a recent mission. Something about a woman declaring her love for Steve after he had saved her? Honestly, she wasn’t paying attention. Y/n kept her eyes firmly on her lap, picking at her freshly manicured nails. She could feel Peter’s gaze flickering back and forth between her and the table.
“Y/n, did you get your admission letter yet? Peter was telling me he’d received his. Two prodigies. MIT is one lucky college,” Tony gloated, taking a sip of his glass, looking to pepper with a proud smile painted across his lips.
Y/n looked up at the whole table, staring expectantly with small, polite smiles. Her stomach sank. She coughed before letting out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding in. She opened her mouth to speak, but her words suddenly failed her. She let out a small, breathy laugh as the air grew slightly awkward before shaking her head with a smile.
“Well, actually, it’s funny,” she began, a dry laugh escaping her lips. “I’m actually not going to MIT. I got rejected.”
As the words left her mouth, the room suddenly got pin drop silent. Steve quickly picked up his wine glass, taking a few sips avoiding all eye contact, Tony’s face was suddenly devoid of all humour, his brows furrowed as he processed her words and Peter eyes were wide like he had just witnessed a murder.
“What?” Tony asked, tilting his head like he’d just been told the world’s worst joke.
“Yeah, yeah, not even waitlisted, just rejected.” She added bitterly, picking up her wine glass, taking a sip, before raising her eyebrows and adding, “Oh, and the cherry on top, that article, yeah, all true! I lost my virginity to that jackass, I mean, talk about bad judgement.”
Tony’s expression was completely unreadable, Natasha’s jaw dropped slightly, side eyeing Clint who shared in her expression while Bruce awkwardly looked away from the table, suddenly finding himself deeply interest in an abstract vase near the door, actually scrap that maybe he was just eyeing the door planning his escape.
Steve looked around the table before opening his mouth to speak, putting on his best supportive uncle face, “Well, upwards and onwards, as they s-” before he could finish, Tony interrupted him.
“Hold on, I’m sorry. Let me get this straight you didn’t get into MIT, you lied about that article that I publicly defended you against. You do realise the repercussions this could have for our family, right? And seriously, MIT, why?” Tony spoke coldly, his eyes never leaving Y/n’s face, his expression a mix of confusion and anger. “I’m not mad you didn’t get into MIT, I’m mad you could possibly be this stupid. You were a shoe in, Y/n. I mean, Jesus, I raised you better than this.” He continued.
the whole dining room was completely silent, Peter awkwardly coughed before slumping in his seat.
Y/n’s mouth fell agape at Tony’s words. She cocked a brow in confusion. “Oh, our family’s reputation. What about mine? Dad, I wanted this college too, just because I’m not some perfect virgin prodigy like Peter.” She argued angrily, throwing a hand towards Peter as if to present him. He suddenly covered his face with his hands leaning on the table, trying to hide from this whole situation.
Natasha let out a small chuckle at Y/n’s words, which was promptly followed by a cough, trying to cover the amusement she was finding in this whole situation. She got a prompt shove from Clint’s elbow, which was followed by him quickly shaking his head as if to say, ‘Not the time.’
“Right, I think we should all take a moment and- “ Pepper begun, politely folding her hands in her lap, offering a tight lipped smile.
“Also, you didn’t raise me better than this. You didn’t raise me at all. You were away wetting your dick with random women for half my childhood, but sure, yes, you raised me better, Dad.” Y/n spat out bitterly.
Bruce audibly choked on air and quickly looked around at the rest of the team, who were sharing in his tense awkwardness. Y/n took a look at them all before her eyes landed on Tony, who was staring at her, shaking his head like she had just spat on his shoes. Then her eyes landed on Peter, who had this sad pitying look on his face, and that somehow made her feel worse than her father’s reaction.
“Excuse me, I’m going to my room,” she muttered before turning and leaving the dining room. As she headed to her room, she could hear awkward conversation starting up again. Guilt ate away at her stomach, that was not the way she assumed that would go at all.
Y/n closed the door and immediately fell backwards onto her mattress, landing onto the stupid letter that uncomfortably stuck into her back. She groaned, sitting up to throw the letter away from her immediate sight, but as she did, a small, timid knock came from her door.
“Come in.” she called as the door opened to reveal Peter Parker. Oh great, he’s here to gloat, she thought cynically. “You know, if you’re here to gloat, you can just leave. I’m really not in the mood for you.” She added, sitting up, her eyebrows furrowing at him.
“What? No, no, I’m not here to gloat. I mean, I know how I would feel if I- “ before he could even finish, Y/N cut in.
“I don’t want your pity either, Parker,” Y/n began, standing up and making her way to Peter, who stood by the door still. “You won, congrats. Want a medal?” she bitterly said, looking him up and down.
Peter stood in disbelief, letting out a sharp breath. “What? None of this is about winning. What’s the prize here, MIT? I mean, God, we both know you deserved a spot at that school.” He argued, talking with his hands rapidly, hearing his words make tears prick at her eyes. She shook her head before looking down to avoid his gaze.
“No, Peter, this is about Dad. My Dad. Of course you got into MIT. Of course, you’d never do anything to risk that and he knows that. You won. So, well done, now you’ll always be perfect to him, and I’m the fuck up that ruined everything.” Tears flowed as she kept talking. It quickly turned into broken sobs before she could process it. Peter walked over to her, unexpectedly wrapping his arms around her, hugging her tightly as her chest heaved.
What was happening right now? This is Peter Parker, the same Peter Parker who she fought with on the Daily, but before she could pull away, he spoke again.
“I don’t want your Dad, Y/N,” he muttered softly into her hair. “If you heard the way he talks about you while working, he’s so proud of you.”
His words only made her sob harder, relaxing into his chest, making his shirt wet with tears. He didn’t seem to mind, though.
“I just wanted to feel loved.” She admitted, gripping onto Peter. She didn’t know why she was admitting this all, but she felt safe. He made her feel safe.
“You are loved,” Peter said so softly that she almost missed it.
Y/n didn’t reply. She couldn’t. She hated that he was seeing her so weak. This wasn’t her, but he didn’t make her feel bad. If anything, she felt better that he was holding her. Begrudgingly, he let go of her, stepping back slightly, still only inches apart.
“I never understood why you hated me, but I think I finally know now, Y/n. I am not your competitor. You’re so incredible, you’re like the smartest person I know, not to mention I’ve never seen anyone more compassionate and passionate when around people they love,” he whispered, his eyes not leaving hers.
Something stirred in her chest at his words. His face was so close and he looked completely genuine. Silence settled between them, and she couldn’t even remember what she hated him for less than twenty minutes ago. Her gaze fell from his eyes to his mouth then back up again as the stood in comfortable silence.
“Peter, I- “ Y/n began before being interrupted by a slightly aggressive knock as the door opened. Peter immediately took a big step back from her, awkwardly like he was caught in the act. Tony lent on the doorframe, looking between the two for a moment before Peter let out an awkward cough.
“I’m gonna.. go?” he said like it was a question. He looked at Y/n as she gave him a tight smile and quickly left the room.
Tony stayed in the doorway for a long moment after Peter disappeared down the hall.
“I’m going to reach out to the admissions board first thing tomorrow mor-,” Tony started walking towards her. Y/n shook her head, taking a step back as he approached.
“No, no, don’t do that, Dad, please,” Y/n interrupted. “I don’t want to be the girl who only got into MIT because Tony Stark made a phone call. If I get in now, that’s all anyone will ever think.”
“They rejected you because of that article.” His voice was firm, almost matter of fact. “That’s discrimination. They judged you over your personal life instead of your academic record.”
“And whose fault is it that the article even mattered?” she shot back.
“You went on every news channel you could find, called it fake, threatened lawsuits, made this whole massive spectacle.” Her voice cracked despite herself. “You turned it into international news when if we left it, it would’ve been old news within a week.”
“I was protecting my daughter,” Tony said sternly. “I was trying to prove that article isn’t you and doesn’t get to define you.”
“Well, it kind of does when it’s now the first thing that comes up when people search my name.” Y/n replied coldly. “I’ve got nothing to defend me. I’m not an Avenger like you. I’ve done nothing to make me a ‘good person’, so now by default I’m just a nepo baby with daddy issues who also happens to be a massive slut.”
Tony’s face softened as he listened. Y/n sighed, shaking her head and walking over to her bed, wiping her eyes and sitting on the edge.
“I don’t care about stupid MIT or the articles. Well, I do, but.. I care about proving myself to you and making you proud more,” Y/n added quietly, avoiding eye contact with her dad.
Tony made his way to her bed and crouched down in front of her, forcing her to look at him. “You could never disappoint me. You’re smarter than I ever was at your age. I am so proud of you.” He whispered. Y/n sniffled and gave him a small smile. “But you are very grounded for lying, kay?” He added, smiling at her, before getting up with a groan and muttering something about getting old.
Before heading out the door, he paused. “Oh, the kid definitely has a thing for you. Let him down gently, yeah?” And with that, he closed the door.
She let out a sharp laugh, Peter Parker like her? yeah, right.