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khalixascorner · 2 years

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Kill Me Kiss Me

Summary: When Peter takes the hit on Tony Stark, he fully plans to follow through and actually kill the man. He doesn't expect to fall in love, nor does he expect anything that happens after that.

“100 Million, and I want 10 upfront to cover expenses,” Peter said. The man across from him frowned. “50 and 1 upfront,” he growled and Peter scoffed. “Yeah, no. I cased it already for you, and the only way I’m making it look like an accident is if I get close to him, which means going undercover for however long it takes,” Peter replied calmly. “100 million and 10 upfront to make sure I can backstop an identity and pay my expenses while I try to impress the man and gain his trust. Otherwise, find someone else.”

Tags: Hitman AU, hitman peter, iron man tony, Hitman falls in love with his target trope, Assassination attempts, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Angst, Happy Ending,the author likes to make new AIs just for fun so sorry about the acronyms, First Date, Aged-Up Peter Parker, but still age difference lol, just not as large

Read on AO3 Here

Special thanks to @sausageg for the beautiful art. Also special thanks to @the-mad-starker always being my beta.

“100 Million, and I want 10 upfront to cover expenses,” Peter said. The man across from him frowned.

“50 and 1 upfront,” he growled and Peter scoffed.

“Yeah, no. I cased it already for you, and the only way I’m making it look like an accident is if I get close to him, which means going undercover for however long it takes,” Peter replied calmly. “100 million and 10 upfront to make sure I can backstop an identity and pay my expenses while I try to impress the man and gain his trust. Otherwise, find someone else.”

The man stewed at Peter’s words but he wasn’t worried. They had asked him once and he had told them the same thing then. If they were back again, then they had tried someone else and either failed miserably or no one would take the job. This was Iron Man after all and Stark was notoriously paranoid. Getting close would take a lot of time and would only work for Peter because he had the brains to back up his plan.

“Fine, but you better not fail,” the man said angrily. Peter just smiled. Since becoming the Spider, he had a perfect track record. He might have idolized Tony Stark as a kid, but life had beaten any naivety out of him. No one was off limits anymore.

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It took Peter a month to get hired at SI in the R&D department. There weren’t technically any openings but he had managed to catch Mr. Stark himself at a conference and teased a version of his webs as a personal project. One email detailing the full project along with a few subtle comments about how much he appreciated Mr. Stark looking it over and how he had always dreamed of working at SI, and Peter was in.

Once there, he worked quickly to establish himself among the other researchers. He was quick to offer help when people were stuck and worked longer hours than nearly anyone else. Peter also took advantage of his past research to complete his initial project and then expand it. All to gain the attention of one Tony Stark. After all, how could the man resist meeting SI’s rising star who was creating ideas as fast as the genius himself.

It still took another few months but Peter didn’t mind. He’d always had plenty of ideas, so it was nice to take the ones that would actually help people and let SI run with them. When he first started as the Spider, it had been out of necessity. Every one he cared about was dead and he was enhanced with no protection from the people who wanted to use him. There was no time or resources to put to anything beyond his day to day survival.

After he finally stabilized, he had been busy and needed to avoid unwanted attention. Patenting half a dozen life saving medical devices or construction materials would have made him vulnerable, not to mention the business end of things had never really been his forte. Even now, he knew just enough to get by and that was it. So Peter took advantage of SI’s lawyers and had his profits donated to various charities in honor of his family. He wouldn’t be able to claim anything once he shed this identity anyway, and it just further built his good guy persona.

The day of his meeting, Peter dressed nicely and made sure to arrive early, every inch the eager to please researcher who was awed by his boss.

“Mr. Parker, Boss is waiting for you in his lab instead of the office,” a feminine Irish voice said as Peter entered the elevator. “I will take you there now.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Peter replied out of habit, though he was a bit surprised. He could only assume the voice belonged to Mr. Stark’s AI, Friday, but rumors had it that she didn’t talk to anyone other than Mr. Stark and a few close associates after the Accords mess had occurred. They had specifically targeted AI’s so Mr. Stark had made his disappear from the public eye, claiming they were turned off and replaced with more simplistic UI assistants.

The voice stayed silent but the elevator rose, taking him far above the public floors. When they opened, lighting on the floor started to glow. Peter blinked, then shrugged to himself and followed the lit pathway, finally coming to a stop in front of a set of doors that were currently frosted over. He looked for an intercom or camera that he could use but there didn’t seem to be any so instead, he stepped up to the doors and knocked lightly on them.

“Excuse me? Mr. Stark?”

The doors slid open, and Peter’s sensitive ears were suddenly blasted with loud music. He quickly covered them and ducked into the lab. Distantly he noted how impressive the soundproofing must be to keep that all locked in but more pressing was finding Stark and hoping the older man would turn the music down.

Luckily, it didn’t take long, and Stark immediately had his AI cut the music when he saw Peter covering his ears.

“Ah, Mr. Parker, not a fan of classic rock?” Stark teased.

“Sorry, sir, sensitive ears so the volume was a bit much,” Peter replied with a grimace.

“Not to worry. Come, sit,” Stark said, gesturing to a stool next to one of the tables.

“Thank you, sir,” Peter replied, eyes darting around briefly before turning back to Stark. “How can I help you, sir?”

“I like to get to know the up and comers,” Stark replied, grabbing his own stool to sit. “Especially ones like you. Gotta say, I’m a bit worried though, kid. You’re pushing yourself really hard.”

“I’m just trying to earn my check,” Peter replied, letting his eyes drop to the floor. “You guys made room for me when the lab was technically full.”

“We always have room for brains like yours, Parker,” Stark said with a laugh. “We just don’t advertise openings unless we’re really desperate. A company like SI headhunts through the colleges and such normally.”

“Still, I’m just really grateful for this opportunity, sir,” Peter said, trying to be sincere without laying it on too thick. It was even true, though not in the way Stark probably assumed. He’d be set for life after this, and his reputation would be legendary. The man that killed Iron Man.

Stark just sighed and then waved his hand over the table, bringing up the specs on Peter’s latest project.

“Tell me more about this.”

Peter dove into the explanation for his latest application of medical webs including the new fine control dispenser he was developing. Stark asked thoughtful questions and made a few suggestions before sending Peter on his way again with a request for an update the following week or if he figured the mechanism out.

As he left, Peter felt lighter than he had in a long time. He hadn’t connected with anyone at an intellectual level in so long, and Stark was so attentive. It left a warm feeling in his chest, but Peter just brushed it off. He had a job to do and he needed to stay focused.

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Time seemed to fly after that, with Peter diving further and further into his research. The first week, he had sent an email to update Stark, only for Friday to hijack the elevator the next time he was on it alone to drop him off at Stark’s lab again. After some teasing, Stark stated very clearly that he expected Peter to report in directly unless he was told otherwise. Peter simply apologized and delivered his report, then spent the rest of the afternoon working alongside Stark on the latest project.

There were a few times that first day where he could have sabotaged something, but with Friday watching, Peter opted to wait. It would be suspicious if something happened the first time they worked together too.

The pattern repeated each week, with Peter spending at least one afternoon in Stark’s personal lab. Again and again, he’d see opportunities to cause an accident, but each time, he hesitated. He told himself it was because of Friday’s all seeing eyes and the risk to his own body, but that excuse started to wear thin very quickly.

A month in, the pattern changed and Stark asked him to spend the afternoon instead.

“Are you sure, sir?” Peter asked, eyes wide. They had only even met four times and now he was getting access to the man’s lab. Supervised of course but still.

“I don’t do anything I don’t want, Parker,” Stark said with a laugh. “You’ll learn that pretty quickly if you stick around.”

“I do think I’ve heard something like that from the other researchers,” Peter said with a small laugh of his own. “But I try not to believe things I hear without proof.”

“A wise philosophy, Mr. Parker,” Stark said. Then he clapped his hands and gestured to the workshop. “Now, I figured we could have some fun for once and test out your latest project properly.”

“Wait, which one? Because the latest one was the conductive glue and that is nowhere near ready, plus it needs lot of materials,” Peter argued, worried that they were about to cause serious damage among other things.

“Pete, may I call you Pete?” At his nod Stark continued. “Look, I’m a billionaire despite my best efforts, and this is a genuinely good idea. So we’re going to workshop it properly instead of you just tooling around with it in your spare time. And if we blow some stuff up while we do it, well, that’s just part of the fun.”

“If you say so, Mr. Stark,” Peter said, eyeing the man dubiously. Yet underneath the calm exterior, he felt the stirring of excitement like he hadn’t since he had first gained his powers and developed his webbing. The high of experimentation and discovery, of rushing head first without fearing where you’d land. A leap of faith.

“Come on, kid, lighten up. And call me Tony,” Stark said, practically pushing Peter further into the lab. “Now, let's get to work!”

“Alright alright, let’s go,” Peter said with a light laugh. He could let himself remember this, for just an afternoon. Surely, it would be ok.

That afternoon was the most fun Peter had experienced in over 5 years. The whole time, Stark stayed close, whether keeping an eye on him or just enjoying his presence, Peter didn’t know but he didn’t care. For a moment, Peter was 15 again and completely enamored with the Tony Stark . But it wasn’t that simple anymore. He was older now, and life had left him jaded. So he stuffed those feelings back down and just let himself enjoy the moment without taking it to heart.

“Good work today, kid,” Stark said as they wrapped up, and Peter grinned back in response. They had gotten a lot further than he had expected and had only blown a few things up.

“Thank you, sir.”

“So, tell me if I’m reading this wrong, but that was a really enjoyable afternoon and your brain gets my brain, so what do you say we get to know each other a bit better? I know this great place that’s not too far from here,” Tony asked. Peter considered it for only a second before pushing away the idea. Getting involved with a target like that never ended well.

“I really appreciate the offer, sir, but I don’t want to get in trouble, with you being my boss and all,” Peter offered as an excuse instead. “I’d love to work in the lab with you more though, if you’re ever free.”

Tony waved him off and didn’t mention it again, but he continued to invite him back to the lab. Every now and again, Peter would catch Tony looking at him with this soft look, like he was honestly amazed by Peter, and he had to look away every time he saw it. Because soon, he’d be making sure those eyes never opened again.

After 3 months of working side by side with Tony, it all came to a head. Peter was in the lab again, watching as Tony worked on some new project he was excited about. The man had been deep into it when Peter had arrived for their weekly lab time so the younger man had just settled himself on a stool to wait patiently.

It was going smoothly until it wasn’t, and Peter reacted without thought when his spider sense went off.

“Tony, wait! Don’t!”

Peter jumped off the stool and had pulled the man back just as the device in front of him fizzled and exploded. His brain caught up with his body as he realized Tony had crossed a few wires somehow, overloading the power core and causing the device to overheat in a spectacular fashion.

“Ah, thanks, Pete,” Tony said with a chuckle. “Probably should remember I’m not 20 anymore so inventing binges don’t end as well.”

“Yeah, maybe let the interns check your work or something,” Peter teased, not hiding the slight waiver in his voice. For once, it was an honest reaction and not just part of his cover. Because he could have acted there, by not acting. It would have been so easy to let that explode in Tony’s face then hide a poison when he ran over to “check” him before calling medical.

But he didn’t. He didn’t even think about it. The only thought going through his head was to protect. Peter didn’t have time to think on it more as Tony was already up and moving again.

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With shaky hands, he helped Tony clean up the accident area. Rather than keep working, Tony sent him home early after promising to go get some rest himself.

At home that night, Peter tried to figure out what had happened. Why had he lost his cool and given up his best chance at taking down the man?

The thought of Tony dead in his arms gave Peter a sick feeling in his gut and pain in his chest.

“Fuck. I’m so fucked,” Peter laughed harshly. Because of course the one time it really mattered, the one job he absolutely shouldn’t fuck up, he did. His perfect streak was done because he couldn’t do it.

Somehow, week by week, as Peter had learned more about the eccentric yet kind man, he had slipped in through Peter’s defenses. From his over the top gestures to his overprotective nature, Tony filled a gaping hole that Peter hadn’t even realized he had. His heart skipped a beat when Tony would give him that gentle smile and his stomach would flutter when he caught the man stealing glances. For the first time since he had become the Spider, Peter was actually tempted to just hang up his poisons and webbing. He had backstopped this identity to hold up to scrutiny, so he could just exist again as Peter Parker, for as long as his luck held.

Yet, it was his luck that was holding him back. Bad things happened to the people he cared about. So no matter how much he loved Tony, Peter knew he should keep his distance and get out while he still could. With a heavy heart, Peter set a mental end date, giving himself enough time to wrap up all of his projects and say goodbye.

On his final lab day, he savored every moment with Tony. At the end of it, he turned to the man shyly.

“So, I ah, I know it’s been awhile since you asked but I was wondering if maybe you’d still want to get dinner? With me, that is,” Peter asked, not daring to look. “Maybe tomorrow? You said you knew a nice little place?”

Tony was quiet for a minute, and Peter’s heart was pounding in his ears. He hadn’t really considered what he’d do if Tony turned him down, the letter with Tony’s name on it waiting at home for him to give. Luckily, he didn’t need a back up plan.

“That’d be great,” Tony said softly, and Peter finally looked up to see the gentle look Tony was giving him. “I’d really like that.”

“That’s ah, great. Yeah great, awesome, just text me the address and time and I’ll meet you there,” Peter managed to get out. Tony gave him a dopey grin and nodded even as Peter tried to make his escape.

------------

Returning the advance and letting his employer know that the job was off was easy enough. Peter timed it with the day of his dinner date with Tony, that way he could at least warn the man before disappearing again. It was a bit selfish, to dump the warning on him and run, but Tony would have questions that Peter didn’t want to answer, which was why Peter had written him a letter instead. He’d say goodnight, slip it in Tony’s pocket, then move on to his next identity. And if that identity took offense to the hit put out on a certain eccentric billionaire, that was his business.

He dressed to impress, settling on dark gray slacks and a rich blue button up that clung to his waist and shoulders while flaring at his wrists. On top of that, he layered a matching charcoal vest that was equally fitted. Lastly, he ran product through his hair, scrunching it and running his fingers through it until his curls had that artfully tousled look. Peter grumbled the whole time, because he hated wasting extra time getting ready, but it was their first and only date, so it was important for once.

Tony was meeting him at the restaurant, so he double checked everything one last time then grabbed an Uber.

Seeing Tony’s face when he walked up to their table made all of it worth it. The man looked like he had been hit with Thor’s hammer.

“Hey, hope you weren’t waiting long,” Peter said as he sat.

“Just my whole life,” Tony replied and Peter snorted.

“Ok, no, that was just terrible. Take it back,” he teased.

“Nope, no returns, exchanges, or refunds in this partnership,” Tony quipped back.

“And here I thought you liked me enough to make exceptions.”

“Rules exist for a reason, Petey-Pie. Can’t just let you break them willy-nilly,” Tony said while shaking a finger at him. Peter just rolled his eyes and grabbed the menu.

“So what’s good here?” Peter asked.

“Eh, all of it is edible but I have favorites,” Tony replied with a grin. Peter glared at him before rolling his eyes again and dropping the menu.

“Fine, you order for us both then.”

“Happily.”

Tony flagged the waiter down, and Peter watched as the man ordered their food rapid fire and then shooed the waiter away.

They immediately fell into their habit of talking shop while they waited for their meal, though for once it was Tony talking about his projects instead of them talking about Peter’s. He had just wrapped up the last one and had intentionally not started anything new. When Tony had asked, Peter had deflected, saying he was just easing off like Tony had wanted. The older man had accepted it and assured Peter that he could just help out with a different project until he was ready.

Dinner came, and Peter was so caught up in Tony’s enthusiasm that he barely tasted any of it. For just this meal, he let himself pretend that he didn’t have to leave and that he could stay at Tony’s side for as long as the man would have him. He tried to memorize the teasing smirks, sharp grins, and untroubled smiles that he was privileged enough to see. In return, he was open with his admiration, not holding back for once as he told Tony how brilliant he was and how much Peter loved working alongside him.

All the while, he ignored the letter in his pocket while wishing it were as easy to ignore all the reasons he had to do this.

Dessert was brought out, and Peter felt his stomach sinking as his time with Tony was ending. He fought to keep it off his face though. These memories should be happy, not tainted with regret.

Peter started to say something when he felt a tingle at the base of his neck, causing him to freeze as his eyes darted around. Tony was giving him an odd look but Peter didn’t care, he just knew he needed to find the danger.

He caught sight of the gun and barely had a second to realize it was pointed at Tony. Without thinking, he threw himself over Tony, knocking them both to the ground but not before he heard the gun go off twice. Pain hit suddenly, and his only thought was that as long as Tony was alright, it was a fair trade.

#khalixa writes #starker #tony stark/peter parker #hitman Peter Parker #Iron Man Tony Stark #sfsummerbingo22 #Falling in love #dorks in love #angst with a happy ending

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