Surrogate Son

From Mister to Professor Stark (to Tony)

Peter would be lying if he said he didn't miss New York.  MIT was great and he was having an absolute blast dorming with Ned and being at his dream school, but he missed Mr. Stark.  As soon as he'd gotten accepted to MIT, May had transferred hospitals so she could live close by and see him every weekend and whenever he had free time during the week.  He saw her often enough he didn't miss her even if he saw her less than usual.

Mr. Stark, on the other hand, he only ever saw over long weekends when he had time to fly up to the Compound or during breaks.  He called him every night unless he was too busy with homework.  Even then, he called and would just work on his homework quietly with Mr. Stark still on the phone, asking questions every now and then to make sure Peter hadn't fallen asleep while working.  But that wasn't enough and Peter missed him more than he was willing to admit over the phone (he was not going to be responsible for Tony missing anymore meetings).

"Are you done brooding yet?"  Ned asked.  Peter peered over the edge of their bunk bed to see Ned sitting at his desk, looking up at Peter expectantly.

"No,"  Peter replied, swinging his legs over the bed and sitting up.  "Why?  Is it interrupting your homework?"

"Yes,"  Ned deadpanned.  He closed his laptop and spun in his chair to look at Peter.  "Actually, I have to go meet up with Emily, Theo, Alex, and Sophia to study and didn't want to leave you in a self-destructive state."

"I'm not being self-destructive!"  Peter objected.  Ned shrugged and stood up, grabbing his backpack.

"Not yet,"  he replied.  Peter rolled his eyes and laid back down on his bed, listening as Ned gathered his things.  "Promise not to go on a self-pity, self-destruction rampage while I'm gone?"

"Let me consult the stars then get back to you,"  Peter retorted.  He stared up at the ceiling and heard Ned twist open the door.

"You better be alive when I get back,"  Ned said, stepping out of the room.

"You got it!"  Peter said, saluting him from his position on his bed.  Ned shut the door and Peter was left alone to brood about how much he missed New York.

* * *

Peter hadn't started his week out very well by spending all Sunday missing Mr. Stark and feeling just generally upset.  His grouchy Sunday had led to a pretty bad Monday—worse than normal—and he spent the night at May's sobbing about the pop quiz in Advanced Coding 112.  Somehow May had figured out there was more behind his distress than just the pop quiz which is how he ended up telling her how much he missed Mr. Stark.

Tuesday was better with the surprise of Mrs. Leeds homemade cookies arriving in the mail for him and Ned, but it was still a tough day.  Peter didn't cry his heart out that night at May's apartment, but he did spend longer than normal talking to Mr. Stark, coming up with various topics that had no relevance to their conversation just to keep talking to him.  Eventually, Mr. Stark had to leave and Peter was left with homework and his thoughts for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday wasn't much better than Tuesday, but he did stumble across a flyer for a new class.  It would be held every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 6:30PM-8:30PM and would focus solely on running technology businesses.  It sounded interesting even if there wasn't much information other than which room it would be held in.  Peter figured he could use the class seeing as he'd probably take over Stark Industries one day, so he took the flyer with him and went to register for the class.

When he came back to his dorm and showed Ned the flyer, he seemed less excited, but still happy for Peter.

"It's weird they're just starting that now,"  Ned said.  Peter shrugged and set the flyer on his desk.  "It's been two months since school started, why's it just now beginning?"

"I don't know, but I bet Mr. Stark will be happy I'm taking it,"  Peter told him, pulling out his phone to call Mr. Stark.  "It's perfect for running SI once I'm out, I just hope it isn't a large workload."

* * *

Peter arrived to the class early the next day.  He wanted to meet the professor and since he had a free time before, he figured it was as good a time as any.  He left May's apartment at 5:45PM and arrived at the classroom at 6PM.  The lights were on inside but the room was empty.  He slowly opened the door and peered in.  His super-hearing picked up on footsteps from the adjoined office so he set his things down at a desk then walked to the office.

He knocked on the door and heard a familiar voice call him in.  He opened the door and stopped short at the sight of Mr. Stark standing at the office desk sorting through some papers.  Mr. Stark looked up when he walked in and grinned at Peter.

"I wondered if you'd come early,"  he said.  Peter blinked twice, looking around the office to figure out what was going on.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Stark?"  he asked.  Mr. Stark rolled his eyes and stepped around his desk to approach Peter.

"No 'hello, how are you, Mr. Stark' or 'wow, you're my new professor'?"  Mr. Stark teased.  Peter's eyes widened.

"You're teach—you're the actual profes—don't you have to be certified to teach?"  Peter stuttered.  Mr. Stark's eyes narrowed at the last part.

"I'm gonna let that last part go 'cause I know you're surprised,"  he said.  Peter just stared at him and Mr. Stark rolled his eyes again.  "Do I really have to ask for a hug this time?"

"No!"  Peter blurted.  Mr. Stark had barely opened his arms before Peter was squished against him and hugging him tightly.  Mr. Stark wrapped an arm around Peter's back and the other went to the back of his head.  He smiled as Peter hugged him tightly.

"I heard you missed me, kiddo,"  he said softly.  Peter nodded against Mr. Stark's chest, hugging him tighter but making sure not to hurt him.

"How'd you know?"  he mumbled, voice muffled by Mr. Stark's chest.

"May told me,"  Mr. Stark told him, carding his fingers through Peter's hair.  "You know, you could have just told me you wanted me to come down.  I wouldn't have hesitated to visit."

"I know,"  Peter said.  "That's why I didn't."  Mr. Stark frowned and pulled back to get a better view of Peter's face.  "I didn't want you to miss more meetings because of me.  Miss Potts would be upset."

"She'd also be upset you're still calling her Miss Potts,"  Mr. Stark said.  Peter's face turned red and he buried his face in Mr. Stark's chest again.  Mr. Stark just sighed and rubbed his back.  "She was very willing to work with me and MIT so I could come out every other evening.  Now I'll see you all the time.  You'll get tired of me."

"Not possible,"  Peter told him.  Mr. Stark smiled and kissed his head.  "Thanks for coming out, Tony."

"No problem, kiddo,"  he replied.