The Arachnoids [A Starker Rock Band AU]

5: Denmark Daydream

Peter nearly presses his nose against the small plane window as he tries to take in every single detail of the beautiful horizon. It all looks so small from up here still, but he knows they'll land soon. He can't believe they're in Europe now. Europe. He never thought he'd ever make it here.

Of course, he wouldn't have been able to if it weren't for the fact that The Avengers' management is paying for their travel expenses and accommodation. He'll be forever grateful for that. If it weren't for that, they wouldn't have been able to join this tour. The costs would've been too high. Most of the venues do have a small fee for the opening band, but not all of them and it's not much.

"Peter, I can't see shit. Move a bit, will ya?" MJ teases and Peter chuckles, leaning back slightly so both she and Ned can look outside as well.
"Oh! That's The Blue Planet Aquarium," Ned informs them proudly. "It's supposed to be a fun one and it's super close to the airport."
"Do you think we have time for that?" Peter asks, frowning slightly. He's never been on a tour before, but he's pretty sure they're not going to have much time off.
"No clue, but if we do, I'm definitely goin'."

"Dear passengers, we're nearing Copenhagen airport. It's..." Peter doesn't listen to the rest of the announcement. He's too excited and distracted to focus.
"Do you think one of those buildings out there might be the Royal Arena?" Peter asks dreamily. He knows it probably isn't, but the venue is supposedly close, so who knows?

Not soon after the announcement, they set foot on the ground after a long flight. Peter looks up at the sky. It's a bit cloudy, but nothing too bad. The cold midwinter air wraps around him and he zips up his coat as he descends the airstairs. It's been a good six weeks since they sealed the deal with the management of The Avengers and now, here they are.
"Ugh, it's so cold," Ned mumbles as he too hides in his winter jacket. MJ pats his back.
"It's only gonna get colder from here on."
"What? Why?"
"We're headed even further north the next couple of shows. Brace yourself!" She laughs cheerfully and jumps off the last step.

They make their way towards the baggage reclaim area, laughing and joking as they pick up their bags, filled to the brim with clothes and stage gear. They decided to rent out drum kits on the go for Ned since dragging it along would be too much of a hassle, so thank God they don't have to carry that with them now. All he brought is his control pad and a handful of drum sticks.
After they've gathered all their belongings, they make their way towards the attached hotel. Tomorrow, they'll pick up the van to tour all the way through the continent for the other shows. For now, walking will do.

The walk is silent, each of them taking in the strange, new surroundings.
"What time's soundcheck again?" MJ asks. "I wanna take a nap, if possible. I'm thoroughly exhausted from that flight."
"What? How? Didn't you sleep on the plane?" MJ shakes her head and Peter sends her an apologetic smile. "Soundcheck's at three so you can definitely take that nap."
"Thank God."

-

MJ crashed the instant she dropped onto the bed. Peter and Ned went to see the aquarium Ned had talked about on the plane. It wasn't too big of a building, but especially the tropical species had been lovely to see. At each tank, there'd been lots of information about every single one of them. The presentation about overfishing, the effects of climate change and plastic waste on sea life and the coral reefs had been very eye-opening as well.

Now, they're leaning against the fences at the control booth, watching The Avengers' soundcheck. Tony isn't as much of an asshole today, but he still takes his sweet time. The young, red-haired boy in the control booth gives him an apologetic shrug.
"I'm sorry," he says, his thick Danish accent shining through, "-there's not gonna be much time left for you."
"It's alright," Peter says and then sighs. He already saw it coming. It won't be the last time it'll happen. Ned looks a little more worried. He'd been hoping to try out his new drum kit to get used to it.

"MJ, do you think there's time to practice by ourselves after soundcheck?" Peter asks for Ned, but the girl doesn't respond. Instead, she's smiling at the stage. Peter grins as he follows her gaze. While Tony is holding a monologue on how his voice overrules the sounds of his guitar, Harley is crawling around the stage to tape some of the cords to the floor. He tears some of the gaffa tape with his teeth and carefully sticks it to the ground. Tugging on the cables to make sure there's no more tripping hazard.
"Em?"
"-W-what?" MJ stutters, ripping her gaze away from the roadie. Peter nudges her playfully.
"Earth to Venus, Earth to Venus-"
"Oh, you!" She laughs awkwardly. Peter snorts, and right when he wants to make another comment, Tony's voice cuts through.

"Having fun down there?" His voice is cold and irritated. Whatever the slightly good mood was that Tony was in, it's gone now.
"Uhm," Peter stumbles.
"Tony, it's alright, don't-" Steve tries from behind his drums, but Tony doesn't listen.
"Listen, funny guy," he threatens. "You might be talented, and unique, but this isn't your tour. Remember that, or we will send you home."

Peter presses his lips together and nods curtly. The worst thing is that Tony is completely right. It's rude and disrespectful to laugh through their soundcheck. Peter feels absolutely mortified and he wishes he could vanish.
"Good. That's settled then. Now that the spiderlings are quiet, let's continue. Nat, play the intro of Endgame again?"

-

After The Avengers were done with their soundcheck, the guy in the control booth apologized once more for the lack of time. He did tell them there should be around thirty minutes left before the doors open, which was just about enough for Ned to become accustomed to his new drum kit.

Once they're asked to leave the stage, Peter's nerves come crashing down on him.
"God, it's really happening isn't it?" He mumbles quietly as they leave the stage.
"Sure is," a familiar, rumbling voice answers him. Peter freezes and looks up, only to find Tony laying on top of a set of large transport cases for all the equipment. His left leg's dangling from it and he cranes his neck to watch the three musicians.
"Europeans," Tony says and he scoffs. "They always show up for the support act too. Seems you got yourselves a big crowd tonight, kiddos."

"Are you purposefully trying to make us more anxious?" MJ asks and squints her eyes at him.
"No, not really." Tony sits upright and grins at them smugly. "Just stating truths here. It's fairly different from US shows. Figured I'd give you a heads up."
"Well, it's great Tony, thanks," Ned says sarcastically and Peter looks at his friend in surprise. Ned doesn't easily speak up like that, and Peter can't help the proud feeling spreading in his chest.
"You're welcome," Tony hums with a smile, very much not oblivious to the sarcasm but purposefully ignoring it.

"What are you even doing up there?" Peter asks to change the topic of this already weird conversation. Peter swears he sees a hint of insecurity cross the man's face. But then, he can't see it very well from down here.
"Oh," Tony shrugs. "Not much, actually. Relaxing before the show starts. I can actually see the entire space from up here. Nice job on the drums man, though, Peter your guitar playing was a little off."
"What?" Peter huffs out a breath. He knows damn well how he plays and he doesn't recall messing up. He shakes his head. "I don't have time for this, let's go-"
"No! Wait."

Peter sucks at his teeth and raises his eyebrows at Tony. Why does he seem so desperate for the conversation to keep going?
"The solo. In that song you played, what's it called... Homecoming?"
"Yeah?"
"If you play the F on the D-string rather than the A one, it'll be much easier and flow better. Especially 'cause you play it so often." Peter swallows and narrows his eyes.
"Right," he takes a deep breath. "Good one."
"I can teach you some more if you wanna."
"Not a chance."

"Guys! Guys, have you seen Tony, I-" Harley comes running in and stops dead in his tracks when he spots Tony on top of the cases. He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "Of course."
"Oh! Hi there, Harls!" Tony says cheerfully. It almost makes Peter smile. Almost. Is this Tony Stark opening up and showing a deeper layer of himself?
"You know you have an interview right now, man! Why aren't you there?" Tony's face darkens at that right away.
"You know why," Tony pushes out grimly. Harley's expression softens at that.
"I do, but we talked about this. Please?" Tony's face completely changes after that. The slight openness that had been there seems to have never existed at all. Tony's face is harsh and unreadable. Peter wonders if maybe, all of Tony's rude behavior is simply a mask he wears to protect himself from something. Anything. What could it be?
Tony jumps off the cases and walks away without saying another word.
"I'm sorry," Harley apologizes to them before quickly rushing after the man.

Peter slowly turns towards his bandmates.
"What just happened?"