Stark Crossed Lovers

Chapter Ten

Peter woke up the next morning with the biggest smile on his face. Sam was the only thing on his mind all evening the night before. He had even spaced out while May was talking at dinner, remembering the way her hair just naturally fell into perfect curls. Getting up he took a shower, threw on some clothes, and sat at the table to eat a bowl of cereal. “You are in a great mood this morning! Did you work everything out with Stacy?” May said coming around the corner to see her nephew already dressed. “Yeah I did and her name is Sam, May” Peter responded knowing he could get away with telling her she had misheard when they first met. “Thought you said it was Stacy, oh well guess I am hard of hearing. Next thing you know I will need hearing aids,” Peter laughed at May. She always tried to be funny and even if she fell short he laughed just the same. “What was up with her the other day anyway? I felt bad, she was rushing out so quickly I didn't get to ask her if she wanted to stay for dinner” May questioned. “She was late for her curfew,” Peter wasn't completely lying to May. “Well I hope you didn't get her into too much trouble Peter, what does Ned think about her?” Peter had almost forgot, until May asked, that Ned had developed a case of protective best friend syndrome. This meant that after Sam left and all day yesterday Ned had been telling Peter that Sam was odd and possibly not good for him. This attitude also came with loads of theories made up by his dear friend. “Maybe she is some super secret agent that has implemented herself at Stark Tower, but no one really knows her and she is just trying to win your trust so she can take you down slowly,” Ned had claimed to him over the phone, right before the mall attack. “Or maybe, she is some creepy mutant that can turn into a animal and Mr. Stark is helping her control her powers and she was running out of time before she transformed again.” Ned hadn't exactly gotten a great impression of Sam that first day they met. While Ned knew about Spider-Man, Peter was unsure that Sam being Iron Man's daughter was his secret to tell or even one Ned was ready for. But maybe he could work it into conversation while they played video games at his apartment today.  He grabbed his phone, and decided he would text Sam and see how her day was going. “Hey its Peter, I was just wondering how your day is going? If you get away from everyone for a minute or two maybe I could swing over and see you for a while, after I am done playing video games with Ned. P.S. I realized that neither you or Stacy have an Instagram or any social media, is that another rule? Just wondering.” Peter sent the message and headed down the hall to Neds. Peter thought about what she might say. After last night he felt at ease talking to her. Though she hadn't exactly attached a label to their relationship, he knew where he stood with her. When Ned opened his door, he immediately extended his hand out. Peter and Nedd had this extremely complicated handshake they did instead of hug or fist bump. They felt like it was a more personal greeting. After Peter was inside Ned immediately said “So have you heard from special agent Stacy recently?” Peter more than rolled his eyes as he began to put Call of Duty into Neds Xbox. “Dude, she is not after me,” Ned stared at Peter as he spoke. “So you have?” Ned questioned. Peter sighed and just shook his head. He was trying to avoid this conversation at the moment as he hadn't exactly thought of a good way to to explain it all to him. But Ned persisted. “So what is her deal, she lied to you about going to Midtown and all and she definitely acts like someone who is hiding something.” Peter paused the game and put the remote down. “Look Sam is just special,” Peter said starting up. “So she lied about her name too? Peter I think you need to leave this girl alone. What if she is dangerous?” Peter knew that Ned was just trying to be a good friend but it agitated him. “Ned trust me, she isn't dangerous she has just lived a different life,” Peter said slightly grumpy. “So is that supposed to mean she has some really cool powers too? Because if that is what you meant I am really jealous. Like, why was my friend the only one allowed to get bit by some super spider? I could make a good sidekick too you know! I am just saying it would be unfair for me to both be the third wheel in the relationship but also in the superpower department..” Ned was interrupted by Peter finally spitting out what he had wanted to say all along but didn't know how. “NO NED! SHE IS MR. STARKS DAUGHTER!” Ned stared at Peter before bursting into laughter. “That is a great joke Peter! So what you had her act weird the other day and set this all up for this punchline? I have to say I am real impressed,” Ned said as he stared back at a slightly angry Peter. After Ned realized that Peters face wasn't changing emotion he realized that it wasn't a joke. “Dude no way, the Iron Man has a daughter?” Ned was understandably shocked. “Yes, and as you could imagine it's not exactly public knowledge apparently he has kept her in hiding her whole life to keep her safe and out if the public eye. So you can't go around saying anything about her. No one and I mean NO ONE can know she even exists. This is even bigger than Spider-Man,” Peter said staring right into Neds eyes so he knew the importance of what he was saying. “So Tony has this secret kid he doesn't want anyone knowing about and just decided that, and no offense when I say this, he would just link her up with some nerdy kid from Queen's he works with to keep the city safe?” Ned asked very confused. “Not exactly….” Peter again was interrupted by Ned. “So he doesn't know?” Ned asked. “He sorta can't know. He told me to stay away from her and all after he realized where she was the other night. But it's fine because we are gonna be together just on the down low.” Ned was staring at his friend with a concerned face. “What if he finds out, and he takes the suit away from you? What then?” Peter looked at Ned and realized he hadn't exactly put much thought into that before. Peter took a moment to think through what might happen if Tony were to figure out, he finally opened his mouth to answer Neds question. “I don't think any of that matters he isn't gonna figure out,” Peter said trying to reassure not only Ned, but himself. “But he is Tony Stark, he has people everywhere,” Ned said urgently to Peter hoping he would see his end of the argument. “So what, if he does no big deal, I lose the suit but it doesn't matter I still have my powers. Nothing matters without her Ned. It's like my whole world spins on another axis when she's around, like everyone else moves in slow motion around us. I would gladly sacrifice anything including the suit if it meant I could be with her Ned.” Peter realized how vulnerable he sounded as he finished spilling his heart out to Ned. Though Ned didn't exactly think lying to Mr. Stark was the smartest idea in the world, he could read the look on Peters face. He liked seeing his friend happy. Peter had been through a lot with his parents and being picked on at school he knew that Peter deserved to be as happy as Sam made him. Maybe he had given her to hard of a time. Ned looked back at Peter finally understanding how much Sam really meant to him and responded the best way he saw fit with the biggest smile on his face “That's awesome, man just don't do gross couple stuff with me." Ned was still smiling, Peter took the joke and gave his buddy a playful punch on the arm. They spent the rest of their time playing video games and joking around, but Peter's mind still strayed to the curly haired girl at the top of Stark Tower.