Tower of Secrets

Tony Stark

I was, admittedly, a bit frantic. After all, Peter would be coming back that Sunday, and we needed to make sure that the tower was perfect for his arrival.

Percy had done his part in cleaning after he came back on Saturday. He somehow managed to removed some dried stains, and mopped the ceiling's footprints... somehow. But, it was his task to retrieve Peter and relocate him to the tower, and he'd already left, which meant that we had an hour, tops, before he was back with the sixteen-year-old birthday boy.

"Clint, you got the cake and treats, right?" I asked as I peaked my head in the kitchen.

"Yep!"

"Cap, you're still okay with cooking?"

"Of course I am, Tony."

"Banner, did you hang the-"

"Yes, I got the birthday banner up."

"And Nat-"

"The decorations are all finished, Stark. Don't worry."

"And," Wanda added, "I've set up his table of presents."

I ran a panicked hand through my goatee. "Sorry guys, it just-"

"Has to be perfect?" Thor asked. "We get it. Do not fret, Stark. Young Tonyson will have a wonderful day."

I froze. Tonyson? I glanced at Thor. Part of me was convinced that he'd been trolling us regarding his ignorance, and this really only seemed to help my case. The Asgardian was very aware that Peter definitely didn't live at the tower pre-Percy.

"Mr. Parker will be here soon. Everyone ready?"

"Of course we are, you worry wart," Natasha smirked. "No need to go full 'Dad Mode' over the party. Besides, it's not like he'll be hanging around to enjoy it for too long since you insist on some one-on-one time."

"He's my personal intern, Nat. He needs to learn a rich person hobby so he can seem interested when someone brings up non-work stuff at board meetings."

"We both know you don't attend those."

_/\_

"Hey, Mr. Stark!" Peter greeted me at ground floor.

"Hey, boys."

"Hey, Tony," Percy smiled. "I've delivered the birthday boy all safe and sound, just as promised." He turned to Peter. "Would you believe this guy was actually worried that I'd, like, lose you on the way home or something?"

Peter laughed. "Well, we did have to fend off a monster. Although, technically that was all you - I just kinda watched awkwardly." I blanched. The kids had been attacked on their way home‽ They seemed fine, but it might be for the best to have Bruce check them out later...

"I'll have to hook you up with a celestial bronze weapon sometime soon. Maybe after this first mission is over and done with."

"That'd be so awesome! Thanks a ton, Percy!"

"Of course, no problem."

"Well then," I said, clasping my hands together to grab their attention, "how about we head up? We need to get through cake and presents before we can head out."

Peter furrowed his brows. "Wait, where are we going?"

I just winked as I stepped into the elevator with Peter. "You'll see." Percy gave me a nod before heading off to the stairs. "You know where, J. Thanks." I set a hand on Pete's shoulder. "So, how was the big day?"

"It was pretty great! We had these amazing cupcakes, and we watched a movie! MJ wasn't going to stay over, but she fell asleep on our couch, and her mom said not to wake her up. Percy really gets along with Aunt May, too! He helped her cook a lot, which was a huge relief for the rest of us," he laughed. "Speaking of Aunt May, when do you think I'll be able to go back to living with her again now that Percy knows?"

My heart sunk. Did he not like the tower? I mean, it made sense that he'd miss his family, but I wasn't ready to go back to him living full-time with May.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, I love it at the tower! But, I wanna spend as much time with May while she's still around. You never know when something could happen. I still love hanging out here though. Maybe we could do an every other week sort of thing?"

I smiled. "I'll bring it up with Fury, Kid."

"Thanks, Mr. Stark!" he beamed as the doors opened.

Percy was leaning on the wall, breathing completely normal, like he was waiting on us. "It's about time, slow pokes," he grinned devilishly. "The party can't start without Pete."

_/\_

"Okay, Pete, ready to go?" I asked after we'd finished up eating the delicious peanut buttery cake.

Spider-Kid perked up. "Yeah, where to?"

"We're getting a crash course on rich people's number one hobby." I beckoned for him to follow me, which he did.

"Bye, guys! Thank you!"

A chorus featuring variations of "you're welcome" and "bye, Pete" rang out behind us as we headed down to the garage. I picked out a red sports car and double-checked that the trunk still held all the necessary equipment while Pete took shotgun.

The drive itself was fairly silent aside from the radio. Not that it was a bad quiet, it was comfortable, in fact. There just wasn't much to say unless I wanted to spill the beans about where I was taking the teenager.

"Is this considered kidnapping since I don't know where we're going?" Peter wondered aloud at one point.

I laughed.

Soon, we arrived at a golf course. Peter stared at me with wide eyes. "Uh, Mr. Stark? I don't know how to golf."

"That's why I'm teaching you," I said as I began to unload the clubs from the back. "One day you'll have to get in good with some sort of snobby rich guy, and this is how you'll do it. It doesn't matter if you're really good as long as you look like you know what you're doing. It's basically instant respect." I slung my bag over my shoulder, and Peter mirrored my actions, a mix of excitement and nerves playing on his features. "Hey, don't worry about impressing anyone today, okay? I just want to show you how to swing. If you like it, we can come back - maybe even play some holes. If you don't, then we can put a pin in it until Pepper inevitably gets on my case about it. For the record though, she doesn't know that I'm showing you. So, she'll be really impressed with you the day she decides to bring it up."

Peter smiled and nodded with a small laugh. "Yeah, okay. I'll give golf a shot. Just, don't expect too much from me, okay? I wasn't exactly born a natural athlete, and I've not tried to pick up a sport yet post-spider bite."

I ruffled his hair. "You'll be fine, Kiddo."