#starker fluff

[muse-of-gods]

Kitten Savior Peter & Bookshop Owner Tony

Peter is on his way home from work when he sees a little black kitten in the streets. He immediately goes to pick it up and carries it to the sidewalk where it is safe.

"Now where do you belong to, little kitty?", he says as he places the cat back on the ground. But instead of sitting down, the cat walks up to the door of the little book shop that Peter is standing in front of.

"Is this your home? Let's go in and check."

Peter pushes the door open and the sound of the bell makes the owner of the shop appear in the front area. "There you are Mr Jarvis, I was already looking everywhere for you! Thank you for bringing him home. Can I invite you for a coffee or a hot chocolate as a thanks?"

Peter doesn't know what to say to that at first because he just keeps starring at the handsome man that's is crouching down in front of him to pet the kitten Peter just saved. This amazing man is asking him out?

"Hot chocolate would be nice", Peter finally says, blushing when he realises how breathless he sounds. And it seems like the fact also doesn't go unnoticed by the bookshop owner, who smiles at him as he is standing up again.

"Good. I open the bookshop later tomorrow, so we can meet in the little bistro on the corner. 10am is fine for you?"

Peter only manages to nod, a shy smile forming on his lips at the kind and attentive look the man is giving him. "Sounds good. Let's see each other tomorrow then."

Before he can do anything stupid, Peter goes back to the door, casting a quick look at the small kitten that brought him here, before opening it. "My name is Peter by the way", be says before leaving the shop.

#starker #starker moodboard #starker fluff #ironspider #tony stark x peter parker #myedits

[starkerobsession]

Tony Stark has tried all of life’s pleasures. He spent most of his early adult life either drunk, high, gambling, driving fast cars, having hot one-night stands, threesomes, you name it and he’s tried it.

But at the humble age of 52, Tony has come to the realisation that the absolute best feeling in the entire world is to lie in bed with his boyfriend, Peter, and hold him close while kissing his hair and mumbling sweet things to him while Peter in a sleepy haze mumbles back quietly about how much he loves Tony, and shuffles impossible closer to Tony to get more cuddles, and Tony squeezing him tighter because this boy is his entire universe and more 🥺

#starker #ironspider #starker fluff

[late-to-the-party-81]

Avengers babysits Morgan or ben while Tony and peter go on a date during valentines day

AN: Hey nonnie - sorry this took so long! I hope you all enjoy this fluff. I decided to go with the new/younger avengers for this, as I thought they'd find babysitting more of a handful.

PSA - I envisage Ben at about 12 month's here and this is written very tongue in cheek - babies aren't capable of this kind of manipulation, but they do understand a lot more going on around them than most folk give them credit for.

Master list

Unbeta'd

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Word Count: 1k

CW: It's just fluff. Alternating POV.

Ben gurgled and smacked his sippy-cup against the side of his playpen. Three pairs of eyes turned to regard him and his mouth opened in a gummy smile at the attention. He was less happy when Dadda snapped his fingers at his new audience, drawing their attention away.

“So, we’re going to Rezdôra, and we should be back by 11pm. He has his bath at 7.30pm, water temp should be 98.6 degrees, and don’t forget Ducky. Then he can have his bottle whilst one of you reads him some stories.” 

Tony counted the points off on his fingers.

“Don’t forget to burp him, ensure his sleeping bag is properly fastened and then turn on his singing night light. If you’re lucky, he’ll drift off during the stories, but don’t worry if he doesn’t. He generally goes to sleep fairly quickly after. Oh, and…”

Peter walked up behind his husband, wrapping his arms around the older man’s waist.

“Tony, stop fretting. They’ll be fine. Ben will be fine. It’s only a few hours. And it’s not like it’s the first time we’ve left him.”

Tony turned in the embrace, raising an eyebrow as he regarded Peter.

“Yes, but the first time it was May who had him, and last time it was Clint and Laura. They know what they’re doing with babies.”

“Hey!” Yelena’s outraged cry had the two men turning. “I’m right here, you know. If you’re that worried that Kate, Joaquín and I can’t handle this, why did you ask us?”

Tony opened his mouth, but was stopped from speaking by Peter clapping his hand over his mouth.

“I don’t think you ought to answer that, honey. Come on. Let’s say goodbye to our Bubba and get going, or we’re going to be late, and I’ve been looking forward to this evening-out for months. Months, I tell you.”

Taking the lead, Peter pulled away from Tony and crossed to the playpen. Reaching down he heaved the wriggling and smiley little boy into his arms.

“Hey, Bubba. Dadda and Papa are going out for a while, but Auntie Yelena, Auntie Kate and Uncle Quín are gonna look after you and pop you to bed. You be a good boy, yes?”

Ben burbled and took hold of a handful of Peter’s curly hair and tugged on it. 

What was Papa wearing? He should be getting his bath ready.

Peter winced, but smiled at his son and pressed kisses to the chubby neck in front of him, blowing raspberries and making Ben laugh. Tony crossed the floor, tutting, and plucked the boy out of his husband’s arms.

“Peter, don’t wind him up so close to bedtime. He’s supposed to be calm and winding down.” 

He reclined the baby in his arms, running a finger tip down the small nose. With his caramel eyes, and messy chocolate locks, Ben really was the spitting image of his Papa. 

“Dadda will see you later, Benny baby. Miss you already.”  

Ben looked up at him, quizzically. Dadda was also dressed strangely. He didn’t like this…

Tony could feel the prickling of tears in his eyes as he looked down at his precious boy. Yelena walked over to him, and Tony reluctantly passed his baby over. He gave her a weak smile as she jiggled her precious armful.

“Don’t worry, Stark. We will take good care of this little one. We’ll see you in a few hours. Now, go. Scram.”

It took a further ten minutes for her, Kate and Joaquín to actually ‘shoo’ the couple out of the door, but finally Peter and Tony were gone. Ben watched with wide eyes. 

This was different…

Kate sat down on the plush penthouse sofa with a sigh, next to Yelena, who was bouncing Ben on her knee.

“He’s so cute!” Kate leant forward and tickled the adorable little boy under his chin, causing him to giggle.  Joaquín strode out from the bathroom, drying his hand on a towel.

“The bath water’s ready, and I’ve triple-checked the temperature.”

Kate stood, slapping her palms onto her jeans clad thighs.

“Right, let’s get on with it. There’s three of us and one of him. How hard could this be?

Ben babbled to himself. They had no idea…

At 11.15pm the elevator doors opened and Tony practically dashed out, followed by Peter, who had a wry smile on his face and was shaking his head in amusement. Tony stopped short in the main living area, expecting to see the three babysitters taking up residence on the sofas.

“Where on earth are they? I swear, if they’ve left him alone I’ll…..”

Peter took hold of Tony’s hand, uncurling the fist that had started to form.

“FRIDAY, where are our guests? I’d like to stop Tony from having an aneurysm.”

“They are all in Master Ben’s room, sirs.”

Tony hurried along the hall, Peter following leisurely along behind, his hands thrust in his pants pockets. However, as Tony rushed into his son’s room, he stopped short, taking in the chaotic scene in front of his eyes.

There was baby powder everywhere. Several clean, but screwed up diapers were strewn across the floor, in the vague vicinity of the nappy bin and three or four damp towels littered the path from the bathroom to the nursery. Ducky looked up from between the folds of one of them.

Ben giggled from his cot, beaming up at his parents, his chubby hands wrapped around his empty milk bottle. Peter bypassed his shocked husband, tip-toeing through the carnage, and lifted the boy from his cot.

“What did you do, mister? You broke the babysitters, didn’t you?”

A raspberry was the response from the little boy, but Peter thought he looked very pleased with himself.

He retreated from the room, Ben in his arms, and dragged Tony with him, quietly trying not to wake Kate, Yelena and Joaquín, who were dead to the world, surrounded by books and cuddly toys. Joaquín was crashed out in the nursing chair, a dirty burp cloth on his shoulder, and Yelena was leaning against the opposite wall, Kate draped over her legs. 

Ben giggled again. His plan had worked perfectly - he’d won the battle against the ‘not Dadda and Papa’, and he got to sleep with them tonight. 

Win.

Taglist: @marvelstarker-mha98 @mrsmischief209 @sidepartskinnyjeans

#starker fanfiction #starker fluff #Ben parker-stark #baby starker #late writes #asks answered #fic request #marvel fan fiction

[goindownshipping]

Bunny + starker please (can be nff if you want) 💕

No warnings, pure Easter morning fluff

“Ralph! No!”

“Ralph?” Tony blearily rubbed at his eyes as he came around the corner into the living room. “Who the hell is Ralph, Peter?”

Peter scrambled down the narrow hallway toward the kitchen, quickly pulling doors shut in his haste. Tony stared after his husband, utterly lost as to what was happening at this awfully early hour. On a Sunday no less.

“Hey babe?” Tony called. “Want to fill me in on what’s happening here?”

“Nothing!” Peter called from the kitchen. 

Tony shook his head fondly. “Yeah, sure it’s nothing Pete,” he whispered.

When he finally made his way to the kitchen, he found Peter on his belly under the kitchen table, in a standoff with a tiny ball of fluff.

“Um,” Tony trailed off.

His voice seemed to distract the fluff enough that Peter was able to snatch it before it made another run for it.

“Hoppy Easter!” Peter said brightly, a wide smile on his face as he approached Tony. 

Tony’s face softened. “A bunny from my bunny, hmm?”

Peter blushed and looked down at Ralph’s little face. “I figured this place needed a little more trouble.”

Tony just smiled and shook his head. How could he ever say no to Peter?

#starker #tony stark x peter parker #starker fanfic #mine #starker fluff

[pantastic-peach]

Hot Pink: Starker edition

(tap/click for better result / must not be reposted or re-uploaded on any platform)

#starker #starker moodboard #carols creations #starker fluff #starker smut #ironspider #ironspider moodboard #my moodboards

[lemonpeter]

Day 2 - Putting Up the Tree (Tony/Peter)

Putting up the Christmas tree has always been important to me and personal ornaments and their stories always make me happy. So here’s a little piece with that, showing Peter and Tony doing this for the first time as a couple 💙 I hope everyone enjoys

Warnings: Christmas mention (not in a religious way), Peter’s age isn’t mentioned (but he’s around 20/21)

————

Tony looked at all the boxes around him, eyebrow raised. “Are you sure we have to do this? We’ve got all the trees downstairs...and we didn’t have to set any of those up.”

Peter stared at him, lips pursed. “Did you just ask if we have to put a tree up ourselves?” He whined softly. “Tony. You can’t be serious. Of course we’re putting his tree up. It’s part of the season! And I want us to have a cute personal tree with all our ornaments.”

“Your ornaments,” his boyfriend pointed out. “I don’t have any of those.”

“Maybe so. But still. We’ll get ornaments! We can go out and get one later for our first Christmas together! Doesn’t that sound great?”

Tony watched him, smiling weakly. He hadn’t had a personal tree in his place in...god, probably since he was a kid. There were always trees in his building, but those were put up by other people. He hadn’t had anyone to put one up with since he was a kid. He and his mom used to do it together.

Now he had Peter. And the thought that his boyfriend would want to do one with him hadn’t even really crossed his mind.

Until Peter had brought over a bunch of old boxes filled with artificial tree pieces and ornaments, that was.

“Tony?” Peter asked gently, snapping the older man out of his thoughts. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

Tony hated the disappointment in his voice. He couldn’t let that happen. “Honey, I definitely want to do this. I just haven’t in a long time. I didn’t know you’d want to. With me, I mean.”

“Of course I want to do one with you. You’re my boyfriend.” Peter grinned like he always did when he said it out loud. That always made him happy. “And putting up a tree is something really special to me. Of course I want to do it with you.”

“Then let’s start opening these boxes, shall we?”

Peter nodded quickly, laughing.

He started with the first box that contained the actual tree, finding the base and second piece. The third and top pieces were in the box that Tony started opening.

“Where should we put it? We could do it right there at the window,” Peter pointed as he talked. “Or in that corner there?”

Tony hummed, looking at the spaces available. The living room was fairly empty, so there were quite a few places it could go. But the two places Peter offered did seem to be the best. “I’m thinking...in front of the window. That way the whole city will be able to see it.”

The younger man smiled up at him, eyes bright. “I think that sounds perfect.”

———

It didn’t take long to get the actual tree up. All the pieces were fit together easily thanks to helpful labels on each that showed where they fit together.

But Tony quickly became aware that fluffing the scratchy branches took much longer than he realized.

The tree was a bit...scraggly.

Tony was used to huge, full trees that went to the ceiling.

This tree was about eight foot and a bit on the thinner side. So fluffing the branches was a must so that it didn’t remind him of the sad tree from a Charlie Brown Christmas.

But eventually it was decent. There weren’t any huge gaps on any side of the tree.

And so it was time for ornaments.

Peter kneeled next to the first box, opening it and smiling sadly. It was his first Christmas without any of his family. And so many ornaments reminded him of them all.

His finger traced over one that was a pressing of his own hand. It was tiny and he bet it would have his exact age listed in tiny writing on the other side if he looked. He knew in the back of his mind that his mom and dad had done it with him.

His heart ached as he thought about them, a dull feeling in his chest that clenched his heart. He took the ornament out of the box gently and hung it on a lower branch on the tree.

Tony watched him, smiling softly. “That’s cute,” he murmured. “Want me to help?”

The younger man nodded. “Yeah. This is for both of us, even if it’s my old family stuff. And I can tell you about all the ornaments if you’d like. The ones I can remember, anyways.”

“I’d like that, honey.”

Peter smiled. “Okay. Which one do you want to hear about first?”

Tony hummed, looking into the box before slowly plucking out an iron man one and grinning. “I’m sure I’d like to hear the story behind this one,” he teased.

His boyfriend blushed, hiding his face. “I forgot that was in there.”

He wasn’t sure how he had forgotten. It had been his favorite ever since he had gotten it when he was nine. Now it was a bit embarrassing.

“I think it’s great. In fact, we should have an entire tree dedicated to ornaments of me,” Tony joked, going to hang the iron man one front and center.

“Sure, baby. If that’s what you want. Although I’m not sure you’d be able to find enough to fill a whole tree.” Peter laughed, playing along.

“I’ll get them custom made. We could have it right by the entrance in the lobby. I think that would be some really tasteful decor.”

Peter laughed harder, covering his mouth. “Tony....”

“You know you love me.”

“Oh, I do. But I have a feeling this is going to take a very long time.”

“It definitely will,” Tony agreed, grinning. “And it’ll be great the entire time.”

Peter had no doubts about that.

#bri speaks #starker #starker fluff #bri’s december event #peter parker #tony stark #tony x peter #peter parker x tony stark #tw holidays #holiday mention #christmas mention #christmas tree

[starker-fluff]

Starker Headcanon Blurb Thing #I can’t remember

When they start their relationship it’s like a bull out of the gates. It’s hard and fast. There’s sparks so many emotions and it’s like being high up on cloud nine.

They both easily fit into a routine together. Smiling and bouncing around each other like clockwork. It was like a beautiful little dance they did together each day that ended with cuddling in bed as they fell asleep together.

Ever so slowly the dance would change.

No more shares coffees in the morning. Tony would of made Peter a coffee but it would be cold and stale because it was made at two am.

The laundey was rarely done as Peter always did it when Tony went to fetch the mail and take out the trash but now Peter was taking out the trash.

The sticky notes that they left around the complex for each other started to twinkle and become one sided. Only peter putting up messages and he’d often find them untouched even if tony said he had seen them.

Their two pm calls started being delayed and missed until peter stopped asking. Finding himself feeling guilty and stupid for even asking for such a silly thing in the first place.

Their little cuddles on the terrace when peter had a bad day became peter cuddling a pillow as it stormed over head. Passing out on the deck chairs from crying and panicking.

The little brunches they would have in the lab when tony needed an extra hand or some company came to a stop as tony stopped asking for him. Sometimes peter would bring him sandwiches and would later find them discarded with a grumpy tony mad at him for not having brunch with him even though he had tried and been ignored.

Peter would snap after and tough battle and would scream at the top of his lungs from the bath tub. Tony would barge in with his repulsors and peter would have to explain what happened and the man would just be mad at him for screaming. Peter would be left to cry in the bathtub as Tony returned to his lab.

Peter would just be sitting in beg at three am in the morning with his hand where Tony’s body is meant to be. Silent tears running down his face as he wondered where his future husband was. He knew nothing about him. He was closed off now and unwilling to spend time with him. It was like the train was coming to a hault. Tony had won him over so why would he have to keep crying.

Peter would then become closed off himself. Having to turn to others for support. Like a random person on a discord server that they would talk about Supernatural for hours. Or on tumblr where they’d joke about starting a big ass family in a mansion together. Or on a lgbtq minecraft server where he vented to the only other person on the server about how alone he was even though he was surrounded by people.

“I’m not alone but seeing them not wanting me there makes me feel alone. Like I shouldn’t exist. That it would be better if I stopped showing up.”

And that what peter would do. He’d make himself scarce to protect his fragile heart. He’d slowly move his things back to his old room and tony wouldn’t notice.

He would stop turning up to meeting, stop carrying his phone with him, stop responding to Jarvis, Friday and Karen.

He’d dck behind walls, hide around corners, sneak into empty rooms and climb onto the roof or into the rafters to avoid everyone.

He’d become a ghost to the point that people would forget he was there. The only remind was the little sign on his door that said his name.

He’d end up on the roof somewhere sobbing his eyes out. Just laying on his back with his arms spread out screaming and crying about how his perfect life became a nightmare of his own making.

But he would never leave tony. He was there for whenever the man realised he was gone. For when tony decided to love him so passionately again.

Peter dreamt at night of tony running to him and hugging him for a thousand hours.

He just wanted his man back in his arms. He didn’t need the perfect life back. Just his man and he would be happy.

#starker #tony x peter #happy starker #starker fluff #sad starker #peter stark #im in a sad mood #clueless tony #tony stark x peter parker #tony stark

[petercherryparker]

Early relationship, domestic, Starker fluff thoughts are running through my head...

Tony and Peter have been hooking up for a couple of months maybe.  Mostly casual, but at that transition point where Peter has been spending the night a little more frequently.  Then one evening after a really long, crappy day at the office full of meetings with people he can’t stand Tony comes home to find Peter waiting for him with a home cooked meal.  Although they won’t say their “I love you”s til a little further down the line, that’s the moment Tony knows. Because that’s the moment he realizes he wouldn’t mind coming home to this for the rest of his life.

(If anyone ever feels compelled to flesh out my little sporadic and random blurbs into a full fic, I’m always open to this.  Just tag me please so I can enjoy it)

#starker #starker prompt #starker fluff #tony stark x peter parker #peter x tony

[muse-of-gods]

What if the spider bite messed up Peter's heat cycle and instead of hot with fever, he now gets really cold with shivers.

And so every time his heat approaches, FRIDAY makes sure to gradually raise the temperature in the tower and check the stock of blankets and sweaters. Because once his heat hits, Peter will spend his time exclusively in bed, wrapped in several blankets at a time and surrounded by heating pats.

But of course, his favourite heater is his doting and extremely hot alpha Tony. His alpha, who is sweating all day because the room is so hot, making sure to be close to Peter as much as possible and wrap his body around him all day. And it's that closeness (and the sex ofc) that keeps Peter cosy and happy during his heat. Plus, the sight of Tony only wearing boxers or nothing all day, his body glistening in sweat because it's so hot in the room, also helps to make him feel warmer.

#starker #ironspider #tony stark x peter parker #omegaverse #starker fluff #starker moodboard #myedits

[starkerobsession]

Love the thought of Tony waking up after his first full night’s sleep in years thinking “wow, I’m waking up and it’s…. light outside?” and not understanding how he slept so peacefully, and then turning his head, seeing Peter fast asleep and remembering it’s the first night Peter slept in his bed and of course that’s why he slept so well because Peter is the most comforting, adorable person in the world and Tony will cherish him forever and 😭😭😭 I’m soft. I’M SOFT. Like Peter’s soft little curls 🥺🥺 and his puffy morning cheeks when Tony caresses them with pure adoration. TONY LOVES PETER SO MUCH I CAN’T-

#starker #ironspider #starker fluff

[stuckonstarker]

adorable

Peter’s giggling uncontrollably, his face is red and there’s tears prickling in the corner of his eyes. He’s holding his stomach from how hard he’s laughing.  

Tony stares at Peter for a moment. He just can’t take his eyes off his young lover.

It strikes Tony, just then, how beautiful Peter really is. His curls bounce with every emphatic movement and his eyes are big pools of melted chocolate.

Tony feels a soft feeling in his heart. It’s a fluffy warmth that flows through his veins and calms him in a way that nothing ever has. Butterflies swirl through his stomach; it feels like he’s about to vomit, but in a good way.

Tony whispers, “You’re so fucking adorable.”

Peter’s giggles slowly die down.

“What?” He asks.

“You’re so fucking adorable,” Tony repeats.

Peter smiles, hiding his flushed face in his shirt collar. He has an uncontrollable smile, Tony’s words going straight to his heart.

“C’mere,” Tony beckons, “give me a kiss.”

Peter giggles and presses a kiss on Tony’s forehead.

Tony smiles and plants a firm kiss on Peter’s soft, flushed lips.

“Love you,” Peter whispers.

Tony smiles, “Love you too.”

#starker #starker fluff #fluffday #max writes

[honeyimthedevil]

Love, longing, desire 💐🌺🥀🏵️🌸🌹

Pairing: Peter Parker x Tony Stark Mood board

@starkerfestivals​

#starker fluff #tony stark x peter parker #tony stark #starker #peter #peter parker #tony x peter #starkermayflowers #starkerfestivalsevents #fluff #ironman #spiderman #ironspider #spideriron

[whenstarkerwillbecanon]

“Babe, this is-“

“I’m Peter, May’s cousin”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Tony, May’s boyfriend”

“Yeah, I guessed”

Starker!AU, where May introduces her new boyfriend to her lovely cousin, but don’t even realize that Peter and Tony had dated before.

#cr. underoosstrkr in twitter #starker #ironspider #ironman #starker fluff #tonyxpeter #starker au #peterparker #tonystark #spiderman #when starker will be canon #fluff #angst

[pantastic-peach]

Valentine's Day: Starker edition

(tap/click for better result / must not be reposted or re-uploaded on any platform)

#starker #starker moodboard #starker fluff #starker romance #starker edit #carols creations #my moodboards

[sassy-starker]

Five Times Stark Industries Employees Saw Peter Parker

(And One Time They All Found Out Who He Was)

Word count: 9128

CW: none

Notes: I promised @tony-is-my-daddy that I would tag them in my fluff fic and that was literally almost 2 weeks ago so I’m really, really sorry. I got caught up with finals and everything, but, I finally present to you, A Self-Indulgent Fic Where Peter and Tony Act Sappy And Confuse Employees

1.

Peter couldn’t focus.  His eyes were bleary and his mind was wandering.  His attention was completely taken up by the hollowness in his chest.  The workshop felt all too empty and quiet, but he knew that background noise wouldn’t help.  He needed someone there.  He needed people— hell, even just a person— to be with him.  His mind felt distant, yet all too aware at the same time and it was driving him insane.  He hated the winter.  He hated seasonal affective disorder.  He hated this.

In a rash decision, before his brain could even think, Peter pulled out his Stark Phone and tapped into messages.  He tapped on his most recent contact and began to type.

Peter: hey, do you think i could go down to the intern labs and just work down there?

Peter: like the ones with the individual workspaces?

Peter: i need to be around people

Tony: Of course! I should be done with my meeting at about 5 so then we can go binge shitty rom-coms and cuddle and eat Chinese food

Tony: Pepper saw me on my phone. Gotta go

Peter: <3

Tony: <3

Peter, now with confirmation, gathered up what he was working on in his backpack and shoved his phone in his pocket before getting up and moving to the elevator.

“Where to, Peter?” FRIDAY asked him.

“Fifty-fourth floor please.”

The elevator moved relatively quickly down the floors, and it wasn’t long until it dinged and the doors opened, revealing rows and rows of worktables with interns scattered around and working on individual projects.  Peter knew that they moved on and off the floor, depending on whether they were working in groups with their department or solo.

People looked over to the unknown young man while he set his stuff down on a table.  He paid no mind, feeling comforted by having people around.  He always felt nice when he knew that he wasn’t all alone, that the world was still there and time was still moving on.  Just as he sat down, though, a lab director from some floor below them walked right up to the desk.

“I’m sorry. I don’t think you’re allowed to be here,” he said in a sickly sweet, obviously fake voice.

“Excuse me?” Peter asked politely, looking up to the man.

“This space is for interns and employees. You don’t appear to be either,” the man elaborated.

“No, I’m allowed to be here,” Peter shot back simply before looking away from the man and reaching for his bag to pull out his project materials.

“Who do you think you are?” the lab director interrogated. “I’ll get you kicked out of this building!”

“I’m Peter-” the young adult started, but was cut off by FRIDAY interrupting.

“No last names, Peter,” the AI warned. “We don’t want anything to happen to you.  I can assure that Peter is allowed to be here.”

Peter simply looked up and gave a shrug to the lab director before continuing to pull out the materials from his bag.  The man looked up to the ceiling fearfully before retreating back to his own workspace.

That was the first time they saw Peter.

2.

The next time Stark Industries employees saw Peter could only be described as chaotic.

The door to the stairs opened and somebody rushed out, weaving their way around people and workstations with practiced ease, all while laughing so hard that there were tears falling from their eyes.

Upon closer inspection, the employees realized that it was, in fact, the mysterious young man from only a week earlier.

Moments after Peter rushed in, the elevator dinged and the doors opened, and out ran the Tony Stark, covered in red and blue glitter. Not to mention that he looked furious, but not the type of furious where he was genuinely angry. It was more like that fond kind of furious, where you’re annoyed and upset, but can’t help but find the situation a bit funny and the person responsible is somebody you care about.

Tony ran out of the elevator, also weaving around his employees and their projects, obviously chasing the young man. By that point, though, the young man was laughing so hard that he had slowed down considerably. Thanks to that fact, Tony caught up and tackled him to the ground. All the employees were frozen in shock and just watching as their boss stood up and rubbed glitter off his skin to get it onto the man he was now standing above.

“No!” shouted the younger, getting up from his spot on the floor and giving the engineer a light shove. Both of them were still smiling and laughing about it though. “This is gonna take forever to wash off!”

“How do you think I feel?” Tony retorted, sprinkling some glitter into the other man’s curly hair. Once again, the younger man gave him a light push.

That’s when the two of them became acutely aware of the attention they had garnered.

“Sorry for disrupting your work,” Peter apologized to the crowd of employees sheepishly.

“We’ll send somebody to clean up the mess we made,” Tony told them, eyeing the trail of glitter he had left on the floor, “but get back to work.”

Hesitantly, they all began to go back to their workstations, but kept their eyes on the two men as they talked quietly and walked back to the elevator. Nobody said a word until the elevator doors had closed, obscuring their view of their boss and the mysterious man.

“Who the fuck is that kid?” Ashley questioned, turning to the coworkers she was in an experimenting group with.

“I have no idea,” Dylan answered, slowly tearing his eyes away from the elevator doors.

“He’s definitely a weird one,” Jenna piped up decisively. “I mean, have you ever even seen a picture of Tony Stark smiling that fondly?”

“And he talked back to him!” Dylan added on. “Like, holy shit, that kid shoved him and Stark only laughed!”

“I’ve seen a lot of strange things while working here,” Ashley told them, sparing a glance at the elevator, “but this is definitely one of the strangest.”

3.

“Please?” Peter begged.

“No,” Tony answered for what felt like the hundredth time. “Gossip spreads across the building quickly and basically every employee is already trying to figure out who you are! I don’t want them finding out and leaking it to the press!”

“But they already know, so what does it matter? It’s not like the rumors will go away if they just don’t see me again!” Peter argued, jumping up from where he was seated in order to stand in front of his boyfriend.

“The rumors will die down if they don’t see you again. They’ll eventually move onto talking about something else,” Tony replied, grabbing Peter’s hand and pulling him close. Peter embraced the man and the two just stood there for a few moments.

“I just want you to be safe,” Tony told him quietly.

“I’ll be fine,” Peter responded, pulling away but still holding onto his boyfriend’s hands. “All your employees sign NDA’s, so even if they did leak something to the press, which I doubt they would, legal would be on their ass and sue them for all they’re worth.”

Tony sighed, realizing that Peter had a good argument that he just couldn’t counter.

“Fine. You can come help me with the presentation.”

Peter pumped his fist in the air and let out a whoop in victory, causing Tony to roll his eyes fondly.

+++

When the employees working in R&D walked into the small auditorium on the 16th floor, they knew Tony Stark was going to be there, but they didn’t expect the infamous mystery man to be there.  On the stage, Peter was talking animatedly about something or other while Tony just listened, a fond smile on his face and his eyes sparkling.

The crowd walked in hesitantly, everybody’s eyes on the two men up front, who still hadn’t acknowledged them.  When everyone was seated and the clock struck the exact time the presentation was supposed to start, the two finally turned to them to get started.

“Hello, R&D department! I hope you’re all doing well!” Tony greeted with his press smile on. “You all know who I am, but I have somebody else here with me today.”

“What’s up? I’m Peter,” the younger man introduced himself, hitting the woah as he said his name.

“Did you just-” Tony started with a sigh before cutting himself off. “You and your fucking tiktok dances.”

“You say that as if you didn’t ask me to teach you the Renegade last week!”

“That was different! That was for the Stark Industries tiktok! I need to be relatable so I stay relevant!” Tony defended.

“And yet you still won’t let me teach you the dance to ‘Say So’ even though it’s iconic!” Peter shot back.

“You and I have different ideas of what counts as iconic,” Tony said dryly before turning back to the crowd of employees. 

“Anyway, today Peter and I will be telling you all about the new prosthetics line that your department will begin developing!”

Despite the importance of the presentation, the employees were only half listening as they were more focused on whispering about the mystery boy.

“Okay but what the actual fuck happened at the beginning of this?” Jenna asked quietly as she leaned over to her coworker on the right of her.

“No fucking clue. I can't believe this dude is just casually talking and joking around with Tony fucking Stark!” Dylan whispered in reply, not taking his eyes off the stage.

“And apparently he taught Stark how to do the Renegade. That’s fucking insane,” Ashley added from Jenna’s left.

The three turned their attention back to the two men on stage, finally listening to what they were saying again.

“Street smarts!” the younger man exclaimed, jumping in about something they were saying before.

“Stay alert out there,” both Peter and Tony quoted with large smiles. As if nothing happened, they jumped right back into the presentation.

“This is the weirdest fucking thing in the world,” Dylan declared quietly.

“I second that,” Ashley muttered.

“I third that,” Jenna added on without taking her eyes off the stage.

The presentation went on a bit longer, but it didn’t drag on.  It helped that the entire time the two men were joking around and making the employees progressively more and more confused.

Peter and Tony wrapped up the presentation soon enough and the R&D employees began to file out, most of them keeping their eyes on the two men talking quietly on stage.  Jenna, Ashley, and Dylan walked out together, some of the last to exit the auditorium, and the three made it to the elevator before Jenna realized she left her jacket behind.  She told her friends that she would catch up to them and way back to the now empty seats.  Not paying attention to the world around her, she looked for where she had sat and made her way through the row until she reached her seat and found her cardigan.

“See, I told you it would be okay,” said a voice from the stage.  Jenna turned around and saw Peter talking to Tony, the men standing close together.

“You know I just get worried,” the billionaire replied, his voice more sincere than Jenna could’ve ever imagined. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I can take care of myself, Tones. You don’t need to worry so much.”

Jenna felt like she was intruding on a private moment, so she started to make her way out of the rows of seats and back to the door as quickly and quietly as possible.

“Just because I don’t need to worry doesn’t mean I won’t. I care so much about you, Peter. You know I love you.”

Jenna froze in place, right at the end of the row of seats and about to step into the main aisle that led to the doors.  Against her better judgment, she found herself staring up at the two men on the stage, her gaze stuck on them.  She just couldn’t look away.

Peter and Tony were basically right up against each other.  They only were a couple inches apart with both their hands intertwined.  She couldn’t see it earlier, but, now that they were right next to each other, Jenna could tell that Peter was about half a foot shorter than Tony.  The younger man was looking up at the billionaire with a bright smile that was returned.  It was like nothing she could’ve ever imagined; a ball of sunshine and pop culture references right next to a man known to be scuffed up and rough around the edges.  It was like this boy brought out a completely different side of Stark.

“I love you too,” Peter replied softly before leaning up on the balls of his feet to give Tony a soft kiss on the lips.

Jenna, sucked in a breath of air harshly, the sound being enough to alert the men to her presence.  The two men stared at her with wide eyes for a moment and she stared right back.

“Shit.” Tony broke the silence of the room, his voice conveying the concern written across his face.  Peter put a hand on his forearm and schooled his features into a comforting look.  The man looked over at him and tried to take solace in his lover’s gentleness.

“I told you something was gonna go wrong,” the billionaire said with a mix of concern and fear on his face.

“We’re not getting into this argument again,” Peter responded decidedly, his tone making it sound final.

“I- I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize I was walking in on anything. I just came in because I forgot my jacket! I . . . please don’t fire me, Mister Stark,” Jenna stammered once she had broken out of her shocked stupor.

“He’s not going to fire you,” Peter reassured her with a kind tone.

“Well . . .” Tony said, but his tone was a bit humorous.

“You’re not gonna fire her because we decided we couldn’t wait until we got back to the penthouse to be all sappy.” Peter gave the man a stern look and it occurred to Jenna once again that this soft, delicate-appearing brunet clad in pastels had somehow reined in the man who had spent so many years being known as a playboy.

“I’m not going to fire you, but you can’t tell anybody, not even anyone within the company. If you do, my legal team can and will sue you for all you’re worth. Understood?” Tony had a dangerous edge to his voice, letting the girl know that he was completely serious. There was no way that this was an empty threat.

“Understood,” Jenna replied with a curt nod. “But I just have one question.”

“Shoot,” Peter told her.

“How old are you? Because . . . well, you look pretty young.”

Tony started laughing and Peter gave him an annoyed look.

“Stop laughing! You do this every time!” Peter exclaimed, lightly slapping his arm.

“Everybody thinks you’re, like, sixteen! You look barely old enough to have your license!” Tony shot back, his laughter dying down.

“I’m twenty-one,” he told Jenna. “I’m not underage, if you were wondering. Tony may be a bit of a mad scientist, but he doesn’t date people who are underage.”

“Okay, good. I was just worried for a second. Um, thank you for not firing me and I swear I won’t tell anybody. I should get going,” she rushed out with a relieved smile.  Without another word, she made her way out of the auditorium, holding her jacket close to her chest.

When she got back to her floor, Dylan and Ashley bombarded her with questions about what took her so long, but she just told them that it took her a second to find it.  Of course, they weren’t satisfied with that answer, but Jenna didn’t let anything slip.

That was the third time Stark Industries employees saw Peter.

4.

When Jenna walked into work the next morning, early as always, she found an envelope sitting on her designated area of her group desk, which separated into four sections for her project team to sit at. Across the front, it had her first name written out in a neat, cursive scrawl. She furrowed her brows as she looked at it, questions racing through her mind as she wondered who it could’ve been from.

Without another thought, she ripped it open and pulled out the contents. She unfolded the paper that was inside only to find a letter written in the same handwriting.

Dear Jenna,

I wanted to write you a letter, but realized that I never caught your name yesterday. I hope you don’t mind, but I asked FRIDAY who you were. Thinking back on it, that definitely makes me sound like a creep, so I apologize.

I wanted to thank you for not completely flipping out on Tony and I in the auditorium yesterday. I know that the whole thing was definitely crazy and it would’ve made sense if you freaked out. I also wanted to thank you for not immediately telling anybody. Seeing as no news stories have come out and nobody in the building has confronted Tony, I’m assuming you didn’t leak it, which is relieving.

I hope you’re doing well and if you need literally anything, just drop off a letter in the company mailroom in box 106.

As a thank you, there’s a Starbucks gift card also in the envelope! I wasn’t sure if you liked coffee, but seeing as you work in R&D and most of the employees in that department survive off coffee, I’m going to assume you do. Enjoy!

I’ll (hopefully) talk to you soon!

-Peter

P.S. Tony might not say it, but he’s also grateful that you haven’t leaked anything! I can promise that you’re good in his books :)

“What’s that?” Ashley asked, sneaking up behind Jenna and startling the woman.

“It’s nothing,” Jenna replied quickly while shoving the letter back into the envelope and cramming it into her bag. Ashley gave her a suspicious look but let it go, sitting down at her area of the group desk that was beside Jenna’s.

“I have a prediction!” Dylan announced as he entered the almost empty floor and waltzed over to Jenna and Ashley. He collapsed onto his stool and dumped his bag onto the floor beside him.

“This should be good,” Ashley muttered sarcastically, crossing her arms.

Jenna just looked away.

“So, we’ve established that it’s strange that nobody has ever heard of Peter and how, out of nowhere, he shows up!”

“Yeah, that’s kinda why we all think it’s weird,” Jenna shot at him, hoping that it covered up her panic.

“It’s also odd that he’s got a bit of a resemblance to Stark,” Dylan continued, decidedly ignoring her.

“I don’t see it,” Jenna interrupted once more, but the man didn’t stop.

“Maybe, just maybe, Peter is Stark’s son who he didn’t want in the spotlight until he was old enough to handle it!”

Ashley gasped while Jenna glanced away from them with a look of both panic and amusement. 

“Or Peter is Stark’s illegitimate child and he doesn’t want to have a scandal!” Ashley built on the theory with an excited smile and wide eyes.

“What do you think, Jenna?” Dylan asked, and both of Jenna’s teammates had their eyes on her.

“I think you two are full of bullshit,” Jenna told them, trying hard to keep her voice steady. “He’s probably just Stark’s intern. Maybe he’s a super genius or something.”

“Bor-ring!” Ashley replied with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah, our theory is way better,” Dylan bragged, a bit of humor in his tone.

Jenna stayed oddly quiet for the rest of the morning.

+++

When lunch rolled around, Dylan and Ashley went off to the food court floor of the building, but Jenna decided that she wanted to make use of the Starbucks gift card she’d been given. When she opened the envelope back up to get it, she discovered that it was a two-hundred dollar gift card, which left her in shock for a few moments. Still, she shook herself out of it and went to go get a sandwich and a coffee.

After lunch, she found herself back with her teammates, working on their project, but sipping on a venti white chocolate mocha this time around. Around half an hour after they’d come back from lunch, the elevator doors opened to reveal Peter, wearing a sunny yellow sweater that matched the smile on his face. He walked out of the elevator and seemingly ignored all the eyes on him. He made his way over to a table working on prosthetics and began to help them out, the team there looking a bit surprised but extremely grateful for the assistance.

When Peter looked up and spotted Jenna, he gave her an even brighter smile, which she returned. She shook the coffee cup in her hand a little, bringing his attention to it, and he gave a silent chuckle. Jenna took a sip of her mocha and turned back to her project.

“What the fuck was that?” Ashley asked, drawing both of her teammates away from where they were designing arm prosthetics.

“What?” Dylan and Jenna replied in unison.

“That little interaction you just had with Peter,” the blonde woman elaborated, looking at Jenna accusingly.

“What interaction?” the man piped up before the brunette could respond.

“She and Peter made eye contact and smiled at each other and then Jenna held up her coffee cup and Peter chuckled!”

Dylan gave Ashley an incredulous look before shifting his gaze to Jenna.

“It was nothing,” Jenna defended with a level voice before getting back to work.

“Does this have something to do with the letter from this morning?”

“What letter?” Jenna and Dylan asked in unison.

Ashley sighed. “Jenna, come on, just tell me what’s going on? Is there something you know that we don’t?”

Before the brunette could even respond, Peter passed by their table.

“Hey, Jenna!” the young man greeted cheerily.

“Hey, Peter,” she responded, a smile on her face.

When he was gone, she went right back to her work, ignoring the looks from her teammates.

Jenna knew it was going to be a long rest of her day.

That was the fourth time Stark Industries employees saw Peter.

5.

By the next Friday, the questions from Dylan and Ashley had died down, but the suspicious glances were definitively not stopping, nor becoming anymore secretive. Luckily, though, Jenna was becoming better and better at ignoring the looks from her coworkers.

There were no more appearances from Peter, but Jenna had been enjoying exchanging letters with the brunet. The letters would sometimes be accompanied by pictures, mostly of Peter and Tony, and the woman had fun printing dumb pictures of her own and sending them back. The two would share funny stories and talk about themselves, though Peter still never shared his last name, but the brunette didn’t blame him for that; she knew he wanted to continue to keep himself on the down low. Tony would sometimes put in a few sentences on a letter, mostly a short quip about something his boyfriend wrote, and Jenna couldn’t help but find her boss’s dry wit rather humorous.

As the weekend approached once more, Jenna found herself feeling glad to get away from her teammates’ conspicuous looks and probing questions. When it reached midday, she was beyond happy to escape to the food court, rushing in order to get ahead of Ashley and Dylan. 

When she walked into the food court, she knew there was something going on. The chatter of the floor was quieter than normal, despite the normal amount of people being there. It was less conversation and more pointed whispers. When she followed where everybody’s eyes were looking, she discovered Peter sitting at one of the round tables on his own.

The young man had a couple slices of pizza on a plate in front of him, with one slice in his hand. He had wireless earbuds in and his phone was propped up using a pop socket attached to the back. It was obvious that he was watching some show or another.

Jenna simply shrugged and went to grab her own food, paying no mind to the whispered gossip spreading across the floor. She got a container of Chinese food from one of the stations and looked around to find a place to sit before realizing that she didn’t know where to go. She usually sat with her teammates, but she had been trying to escape them until she had to get back to work, which left her with nobody to eat lunch with.

In a strange and unusual burst of confidence, Jenna walked across the floor and toward Peter’s table, decidedly brushing off the eyes that followed her. She put her food down and sat in the chair across from her boss’s boyfriend, attempting to act casual as the quiet chatter toned down in order to hear what happened next.

Peter looked up when she sat down, seemingly confused that somebody was joining him at his table. When he saw that it was Jenna, however, he cracked a bright smile. He took out his earbuds and put them back into the carrying case before shutting off his phone and setting it face down on the table.

“Hey, Jenna!” His tone was bubbly, an air of familiarity to it. Just hearing him talk made Jenna feel calmer; the boy had a way of doing that.

“Hey, Peter,” she greeted back, less excitedly but still conveying that she was happy to see him again. “What’s up?”

“Not much! Tony’s in a meeting and I decided to come down here for lunch. I didn’t like how quiet it was.”

“I think you mentioned that once. That you don’t like being alone in spaces, I mean.” Jenna paid attention to every word in every letter she received from the young man. She felt like she connected to him in a way that she’d never connected to anybody before; it wasn’t like any friendship she had in the past.

“Yeah. It just feels nice to know that the world is still turning and I’m not completely alone.” He looked sad for a moment, eyes glazed over and distant. It was a somber kind of happiness, a mix of emotions that weren’t supposed to be mixed in case of an explosion, but not a loud one; it was more of a combustion, internal and quiet, soft and powerful. “But, anyways, what’ve you been up to?”

“Not much,” Jenna replied, trying to move on from the delicate moment. “Been working on the prototype for the prosthetics and I think it’s going well. There’s a few bits and pieces that me and my teammates have gotta work out before we send the design to our lab director, but I think we’ll get there soon.”

“That’s really cool! I honestly can’t wait for the prosthetics line to go into production! I think it's really gonna change the game since it’s gonna be a high tech line but also more affordable than the competitors!” Peter’s eyes were shining, the gleam replacing the far off look from only moments earlier.

“I’m excited for it too!” Jenna admitted. “I know it’s gonna help so many people and I can’t wait for it to go on the market!”

Peter opened his mouth to respond, but his phone buzzed before he could speak. He picked it up and read the notification, giving a small chuckle and typing out a response before looking up at Jenna.

“Was that . . .?” Jenna trailed off, unsure of how to finish the sentence but sure that the brunet caught her drift.

“Yeah,” Peter responded easily with a fond, but exasperated, look. “He finished his meeting and asked if I saved him some food from my lunch. I did, but I’m tempted to eat it myself and tell him to go get his own food.”

Jenna snorted.

“I’m not that mean, though, so I’m gonna take him the last two slices.” He slid his phone into his back pocket and his earbuds case into his front one before standing up and grabbing the plate with the two slices of pizza.

“I’ll see you later, Jenna!” he called as he walked away, heading towards the private elevator.

“See you, Peter!” With that, the woman went back to eating her lunch, as if nothing had happened at all.

When two people sat down at the table, Jenna looked up at them, only to find her two teammates, who had bewildered and suspicious looks on their faces. Dylan’s brow was furrowed and Ashley’s eyes were narrowed, the blonde obviously more dubious than him.

“What the actual fuck, Jenna?” she asked, voicing everybody’s thoughts.

“What?” the brunette replied as if she didn’t know.

“Don’t act all innocent! How are you so friendly with him?! This shit doesn’t add up!” Dylan nodded along to Ashley’s words. 

Jenna gave an exasperated sigh.

“Sorry, but that’s confidential information. NDA’s and all that, ya know?” She was trying everything she could to weasel her way out of it, but it was the first time she’d given her teammates a semi-straight answer, even if it wasn’t that revealing.

“Oh, come on, Jenna!” Dylan finally spoke up. “It can’t be anything that serious! Just tell us what’s going on?”

“I’m afraid that Ms. Locke is right, Mr. Hoffman. This is confidential information that Ms. Locke does not have the authority nor the necessity to reveal to you,” FRIDAY interrupted, garnering the attention of the people watching.

Jenna only shrugged under the intense gazes of her coworkers, but it still shut them up about it.

That was the fifth time Stark Industries employees saw Peter.

+1

It was relatively quiet for the next few weeks after the food court incident. While the suspicious glances remained, the questions had died down, though whispers still followed Jenna around as her coworkers spread rumors about how she knew Peter.

Speaking of the brunet, he hadn’t shown up since the incident, but he and Jenna had continued to exchange letters, becoming closer friends as time went on. The next time news about Peter came, it was only news for Jenna, as nobody else had any clue of how the young man was involved.

It had happened when Tony Stark had come to the R&D floor to talk to the employees there about the progress on the prosthetics line. Everybody had been trying extra hard to look busy as the man went around, all of them hoping to seem like they were valuable employees who actually did work.

Jenna’s team was the last that the billionaire came to, but as soon as he started talking to them, the brunette noticed something.

He had an engagement ring on.

The woman mentioned nothing, though she did freeze for a moment when she noticed it. Still, she pushed through and continued with the discussion about the progress they had been making.

When her boss later stepped away to answer a text, she quickly told her coworkers she had to use the restroom, rushing away and going down the hallway that Tony had gone down, which happened to lead to the bathrooms.

When she got there, she found him smiling down at his phone and typing quickly.

“Did you guys get . . .?” Jenna started, but trailed off at the end, startling the man a bit. He looked up at her, eyes a bit wide, but immediately recognized her. He looked confused at the question for a moment before realizing that her eyes were on his ring.

“Yeah, we did,” Tony answered, looking a bit sheepish as a blush painted his cheeks.

“How did it happen?” It was obvious that the girl was excited to find out.

“It’s actually pretty funny. I got down on one knee to propose and he looked so exasperated and I freaked out because I thought he was gonna break up with me or something. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box. He was planning on proposing that night too.”

“That’s absolutely incredible!” Jenna told him excitedly, but still kept her voice quiet.

“When we told our friends, they all looked so unsurprised that something like that would happen for him and I.”

The two both laughed before the billionaire’s phone buzzed again.

“I’ve got a meeting in, like, five minutes, so I should probably go.”

The two said their goodbyes and he started to walk back out to the main area to head to the private elevator, but stopped and turned around before he could.

“Just do you know, you’re invited to the wedding.”

Without another word, he walked away, leaving Jenna standing there in shock. A million thoughts were racing through her head and her eyes were still trained on the end of the hallway where the man had disappeared from.

“I’m invited to the wedding,” she whispered to herself. Taking a moment, she shook herself out of it and began walking back to her team’s table to get back to work.

Before she could get there, though, Ashley rushed at her and grabbed her arm, pulling her back the way she came. The blonde pulled her into the women’s restroom and checked every stall to make sure they were empty before turning back to her coworker.

“What the fuck it this?!” She held up a letter and  Jenna immediately knew who it was from. She snatched it from her co worker's hand and skimmed through it, praying to Thor that it wasn’t one of the letters that explicitly mentioned Peter dating Tony. She then proceeded to thank Thor when she realized that it was one one of the notes that mentioned a relationship, but not outright who it was with.

“Okay, Peter and I have been talking through letters. So what?” she replied, attempting to keep her voice steady so it sounded like she wasn’t fazed by the whole thing.

“Are you fucking with me?! You’re friends with this mysterious dude who’s all buddy-buddy with Tony fucking Stark and you’re expecting me to just let that go?! You’re out of your mind!” Ashley was obviously worked up about the whole thing and the brunette didn’t know what to say, but, luckily, her coworker started talking again before she could get a word out.

“You’ve been so secretive these past couple months and it’s been annoying as all hell! You’re not telling me anything and it feels like I’m so disconnected from you! Just tell me what’s going on!”

“I can’t! I can’t tell you what’s going on! I’m sorry that I don’t wanna lose my fucking job just so you can know every aspect of my life! Just let it go and leave me and my letters alone!” Jenna blew up, which was something she didn’t do very often.

Unsurprisingly, Ashley looked taken aback, shock written across her face. Jenna immediately regretted it.

“I’m sorry,” she told her friend softly. “I just can’t tell you.”

Jenna turned around and left the bathroom, the letter in her grasp. As soon as she was out, she went to her lab director and asked if she could leave a little early, giving the excuse of feeling sick. Of course, her lab director was understanding as always and let her go. She quickly gathered her stuff, ignoring the looks from Ashley and Dylan, and hightailed it out of there.

+++

“Dylan!” the R&D lab director, Kelsey, called from her office.

The man shot up from his team’s table, where the silence was as dense as molasses and the tension was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

“Yes?” Dylan asked as he made his way over and placed himself in the open doorway. The director stood up and handed him a couple files.

“I have to go to a meeting, but these files need to be turned in. Could you take them up to the boss’s office for me?”

“You- you want me to take these to Mr. Stark?” His voice was a bit shaky.

“It’s not that big of a deal. You go to floor 89, you find the office with his name on it, you knock on the door, you tell him that I sent you, you give him the files, and you leave. I promise it’s not as stressful as you think it is.” Kelsey’s tone was comforting, but it did little to ease his anxieties.

“Okay,” he muttered, turning around and heading towards the elevator.

When the doors opened and Dylan stepped in, he found himself alone in the elevator. The silence was filled up by his anxious thoughts about what could go wrong. He spent the entire ride up trying to take deep breaths and remember that it was a simple job; just go in, give him the files, and leave.

The elevator stopped and he stepped off onto the eerily quiet office floor. It seemed that nobody was there and it freaked him out; it felt like a horror movie. He crept along the halls until he made it to a door with his boss’s name on it. He raised his hand to knock until he heard voices coming from inside.

“I don’t get why it’s such a big deal.” That was Tony Stark’s voice, and Dylan recognized it immediately.

“It just is!” A voice replied. It took Dylan all of three seconds to realize that it was the mysterious Peter who seemed to show up at the most random of times.

Against his better judgment, Dylan peered through the semi-open blinds that covered the windows of the office. When he did so, he found Peter sitting on the edge of the desk and Tony a couple feet in front of him.

“It doesn’t seem like that hard of a decision. If you don’t like this guy, don’t invite him to the wedding! It’s so simple!” The billionaire looked confused at the dilemma at hand, though Dylan had no clue what they were talking about. He was getting married?

“But it’s not! I don’t want to invite him, but it would be rude if I didn’t!” Peter looked worked up about the whole thing, face slightly flushed and fiddling with his hands.

“It might be rude, but if you don’t want him there, then don’t invite him!”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Except that it is.”

“Maybe for you!” It wasn’t a yell, but it wasn’t quiet. Peter had stopped fiddling with his fingers and was now pulling slightly at his hair.

“What do you mean?” Tony spoke like he could accidentally shatter the young man in front of him if he wasn’t careful.

“I mean that you’re Tony Stark. You’re a famous billionaire that can do whatever you want. If you don’t want to invite somebody, you don’t invite them. You don’t care if it’s rude because you’re Tony fucking Stark and you can do anything you’d like. I’m not like that, I can’t just do whatever I want. I’m Peter Parker, an average guy from Queens, and I’ve always been just that. If I’m rude, there’s consequences and it can actually affect my life. I have to think things like this over, even if you see it as trivial.”

Tony paused for a moment, letting the words sink in.

“Except you’re not just some average guy. You’re Peter fucking Parker. You’re incredible. You’re gonna change the entire world. Maybe I don’t get these kinds of things because I was raised in such a different world than you, but all I want is for you to be happy. Whatever choice you make here, I’ll be fine with, but that isn’t what I care about. I care about you, because you’re the most amazing person on this planet. You’re Peter Parker, the man I fell in love with.”

Dylan’s jaw dropped as he finally found the closure he’d been seeking for months. He knew what Peter’s last name was, he knew what relationship he had to Tony Stark, he knew who Peter was. He had never expected this, though. He cringed as his mind went back to that theory he had about Peter being Tony’s son.

He watched as the two shared a short kiss and finally moved back in front of the door, feeling the need to give his boss the files, run back down to his floor, and tell his teammates everything.

Dylan knocked on the door and he could almost feel the two men inside freeze in shock. It only took a second before the door opened, though, and revealed Peter Parker standing there with Tony Stark slightly behind him, both of them looking worried.

“Uh, I’m from R&D and my lab director, Kelsey, asked me to deliver these files,” Dylan stuttered out, failing at his attempt to remain casual.

“Oh, uh, yeah, yeah, thanks,” Peter replied, seemingly relieved as he took the files.

“I, um, bye, I guess,” Dylan stammered before turning around and booking it out of there. He could feel the two men’s eyes on him as he left.

When Dylan got to the elevator, he pressed on the button a few times, praying for it to arrive faster, and jumped on the moment the doors had opened wide enough to get through. He then adamantly pressed the button for the R&D floor. The elevator ride down felt much longer than the one up.

When Dylan did get to his floor, he raced through the doors and to his teammates, grabbing each of them by the upper arm and dragging them into the men’s restroom. He checked every stall to make sure they were alone before locking the bathroom door and turning back to his teammates.

“You guys aren’t gonna believe this!” Dylan announced. “I found out some crazy shit!”

“Why am I here?” Jenna asked him in a deadpan voice. “Can I leave?”

“Jenna, you’ll actually wanna hear this! I found out who Peter is!”

Ashley and Jenna both froze, but for different reasons.

“You gotta tell us!” Ashley exclaimed excitedly.

“No, you better fucking not!” Jenna said over her.

“What?! Why?!” Dylan looked genuinely confused.

“Because we’re not supposed to know! It’s obvious he wants to keep his identity a secret! You can’t go around telling people! You need to tell him and Stark that you know so they can feel sure that his identity won’t get leaked!”

“God, you’re such a buzzkill, Jenna,” Ashley shot at her.

“No, I’m a good person.”

It made her teammates go silent, the words piercing through them like knives.

“If you wanna go and tell and lose your job, then go ahead, but I want no part of it.” Jenna turned around and started to leave.

“Do you know?” Dylan asked her, making the woman stop in her tracks.

“What?” Jenna slowly turned back to him.

“Do you know?” he repeated, voice cold and serious.

Jenna stayed silent for a few moments, mulling over what she could say.

“Not on purpose . . .”

“And you didn’t tell us?” Ashley questioned, betrayal written across her face.

“Sorry I respect their privacy!” It was obvious that she was very much not sorry.

“Wait . . . did you find out when you went back to get your jacket after the presentation?!” Dylan exclaimed, looking like he had put all the puzzle pieces together. When Jenna stayed quiet, he knew that he had gotten his answer. “Holy shit! What happened?! Did you, like, see them kiss or some shit?!”

“Kiss?!” Ashley shouted.

“Jesus Christ,” Jenna muttered, putting her head in her hands.

“No fucking way! They’re in a relationship?!”

“Yeah!”

“That’s it,” Jenna declared decisively and turned around.

“Where are you going?” Ashley asked her, bewilderment shining in her eyes.

“I’m going to go tell them that Dylan figured it out and that you know,” Jenna told the blonde, voice laced with venom.

Jenna unlocked the door and left, not letting her teammates get another word in, but the two followed her out and watched as she stormed past all her coworkers and to the elevator, disappearing as soon as the doors opened.

“I might lose my job,” Dylan muttered, eyes wide and trained on the now closed elevator doors.

“Is it true?” one of the other employees, Amelia, asked as she walked up to Dylan and Ashley.

“Is what true?” Ashley replied.

“That Peter and Stark are in a relationship? You guys were implying it in there, and you aren’t exactly good at being quiet.”

“I’m definitely gonna lose my job,” Dylan whispered, correcting his earlier statement.

“So it is true!” Eric, another employee, shouted.

Everybody started talking, the floor turning into a storm of chattering.

“We’re so fucked. We’re absolutely, completely, utterly fucked,” Ashley murmured, only loud enough so Dylan could hear, and the man only nodded in agreement.

The two slowly walked forwards, looking around at their gossiping coworkers as they made their way back to their desk. They looked completely horrified, and guilt was quickly eating away at Dylan.

Before they could sit down, the elevator doors opened and Jenna walked out with Tony and Peter in tow. Everybody stopped, staring at the three of them. Peter looked nervous and tears were glistening in his eyes, but Tony just looked furious, his expression mirroring Jenna’s.

“Okay, which of you knows?” Tony asked the room, his voice deadly calm. He didn’t yell or scream, but that steady tone was almost worse than him blowing up at them.

One employee raised their hand, and everybody else followed, the last people to put their hands up being Ashley and Dylan.

“All of you, go to the auditorium. Now. All the other employees will meet you there. Do not say a word of this to them before I get there to talk to them about it. Do I make myself clear?��� 

If looks could kill, all of the R&D employees, minus Jenna, would be dead. All of them mumbled their confirmations or nodded and slowly shuffled off to the elevators, heading to the auditorium floor.

Ashley and Dylan had fallen into the back of the crowd and were the last to get onto an elevator, meaning they could see the floor before the door closed. The two watched as Tony turned back to Peter and Jenna, who were looking regretful and heartbroken respectfully. The last thing they saw before the elevator started moving was Peter beginning to cry and burying his face in Tony’s shoulder as the man embraced him and Jenna putting a comforting hand on his back.

By the time the R&D employees reached the auditorium and began to make their way into the seats, other employees were either already there or just getting there. There was chatter, a mix of people confused why they had been called there and those who knew praying that they wouldn’t be fired. The chatter seemed to die down a bit as everybody was seated, all of them waiting in anticipation for whatever was going to happen.

After a few minutes, the doors of one of the entrances to the auditorium, which had been closed, slammed open. Everybody turned, though plenty of them couldn’t see the doors, and watched as Tony Stark stormed down the aisle towards the stage, Jenna Locke behind him and looking slightly less, but still plenty, furious. The two made their way up the three stairs that led up to the stage.

All the employees gazed up at the two standing center stage, and they were glaring back at them with serious faces. After a moment of silence, Tony finally spoke.

“I’m sure the majority of you are wondering why I called everybody to the auditorium. Today, somebody found out something that they shouldn’t have about my private life and, instead of coming and talking to me about it in order to keep it confidential, they went and told somebody, and those people’s department overheard. That person who found out and told will be fired and the person who was first told and was complicit in revealing information about my life will be put on probation.”

In the back of the auditorium, Dylan and Ashley sank down in their seats.

“You may also be wondering why I have one of your coworkers up here with me today. If you weren’t already aware, this is Jenna Locke.”

Jenna gave the audience a curt nod.

“Jenna also found out about this information a couple months ago. Instead of telling anybody, she talked to us and promised to keep it to herself, and she has kept that promise. She was also the one who told me about the information leak.”

The employees, minus the R&D department, were on the edge of their seats, eager to find out the information but scared of their boss and what he could do to them if things got out.

“Seeing as nothing can seem to stay a secret here, I have elected to talk to you all about it. Keep in mind that what happened in terms of this information being revealed was a serious breach of confidentiality and disrespected not just my own privacy. Take this as a warning. If any of you are to tell anybody outside of this company about this, your employment will be terminated and my legal team will sue you to kingdom come. This is not a three strikes you’re out situation. Do not tell a soul about this. Keep in mind the fact that you all signed non-disclosure agreements when you took this job. This counts as a company secret, and you will treat it as one.”

Everybody seemed to nod or give a murmur of confirmation. It wasn’t much, but it appeared to satisfy the man.

“Moving on, I’m sure you’ve all either seen or heard about Peter. Only a select few of you know who he is, though without his consent, and others have seen us interact but never known who we are to each other. This information about our private lives was discovered and we have no choice but to let you all know in fear of rumors and gossip being spread around and taken outside the company. Everybody, please meet my fiancé, Peter Parker.”

The room was shocked into silence, the only sound being the clacking of Peter’s shoes as he softly walked out from the wings and to Tony’s side. None of the employees uttered even a sound as they looked up at the boy, whose eyes were still slightly red and puffy from when he had cried only ten minutes earlier.

“Hey, everybody. I’m Peter. You’ve all probably seen me around,” the young man introduced himself, voice only loud enough to hear. “Like Tony said, we weren’t planning on telling people yet, but we don’t get that choice anymore.”

They were still silent.

“Since this will be your only chance to do so, we’ll be answering questions about this,” Peter continued. Nobody spoke, until one person in the third row raised their hand and the young man motioned to them. “Yes, go ahead.”

“How, uh, how old are you?” the woman asked quietly, looking slightly concerned.

Peter sighed as Tony looked to him with a humorous smile.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” he told the billionaire, who didn’t have a chance to respond before Jenna started laughing a bit. “You too?! I can’t believe you would betray me like this! This happens every fucking time!”

The employee who asked furrowed her eyebrows, seemingly mirroring the confusion of the rest of the audience.

“I’m twenty-one,” Peter told her. “Tony likes to make fun of me because I look like I’m not old enough to drive. Jenna’s laughing because she asked the same question when she found out.”

The woman nodded along with the explanation and everybody went silent again before another person raised their hand and Peter pointed to them.

+++

Eight Months Later

“And this is your team!” Kelsey told the new employees excitedly. “Meet Jenna and Ashley! They’ve been here for a while and are definitely excited to show you the ropes!”

“It’s nice to meet you!” Jenna greeted. “What’s your name?”

“I’m River,” the new guy replied quietly, cheeks flushed.

“I’m glad to have you on the team, River!” Ashley exclaimed.

“I’ll leave you all to it!” Kelsey gave River one last smile and walked off to talk to some teams about their projects.

“We’re finishing up some last touches on the update to the prosthetics line,” Jenna explained to the new recruit as he sat down. He nodded along as she began to explain the project.

Jenna was cut off by the elevator doors opening and Peter walking onto the floor.

“Excuse me for a second,” the woman told her team before jumping up and running over to the brunet.

“Who’s that?” River asked Ashely as he watched Jenna excitedly embrace the man and begin to talk to him.

“Have you signed all your NDAs?”

River nodded.

“Peter!” Ashely called. “Come meet the new kid!”

Peter bounded over eagerly, a large smile on his face as he approached the two employees, Jenna trailing him.

“Uh, hi, I’m River.”

“Nice to meet you, River! I’m Peter Parker. It’s always great to see new faces around here!”

“It’s great to be here,” he replied awkwardly.

Peter nodded and was off again, going around to teams and helping with projects, but, more importantly, just talking to the employees in general.

“Is he a director or something? Everybody seems to know him,” River questioned his team.

“He’s even better than a director,” Ashley told him with a grin. “He’s Tony’s Stark’s fiancé.”

Shock painted itself across River’s face.

“There’s no way that’s real!”

Ashley and Jenna glanced at each other before turning back to River. They didn’t say anything else to him, which was unnerving to the new employee.

As if on cue, the elevator doors opened once more and the Tony Stark walked out, a small smile adorning his face. Peter worked up from where he was helping a team and flitted over to the man happily. The two shared a short kiss before Peter turned back a bit.

“We still on for lunch on Friday, Jenna?”

“Of course!”

Peter shot her a smile and the couple entered the elevator, talking quietly as they disappeared behind the metal doors.

“Okay, so maybe it is real.”

Tag List (Let me know if you would like to be added or removed):

@darkerstarker @dim-ships-johnlock @haylove5

#axiwrites #starker #starker fanfic #tony stark/peter parker #starker fluff #starker fanfiction #theres a little hint of angst but its barely there #this was an excuse to write cute scenes #anyways i hope yall like it