~Iron Family~

That's My Line

A/N: Last gigantic (and probably overwhelming) update before the climax!! I hope you're all ready and have your popcorn at hand...
Also thank you @HiroSensei07! It made my day to come back to so many votes :)

Enjoy the chapters!

***

Peter watched in frustration as Mr. Stark flew away like he could care less about Peter's life issues.

As soon as the suit of armor was out of sight, Peter ripped off his mask and wrung all of the water out of it, glaring at it in frustration. He stuffed it into his backpack and changed into his clothes.

He knew he had to hurry--as soon as that Scary Helmet guy discovered that he'd escaped, he might come after him again.

But where would he hide his suit? The school was bound to be closed now, and he didn't want to give it to Happy, since Mr. Stark could still access the tracker.

Only one other person came to him.

***

"Get in here!" Gwen Stacy hissed, grabbing Peter by the ear and yanking him roughly inside. She slammed the window behind him.

Their apartment was a nice, upper-class sort of building. When Peter had texted Gwen, begging her to take his suit for a few days, she had told him to come in through the window so her father wouldn't see him. She assured him it was just because he was the chief of police and was on the lookout for Spider-Man.

"I can't believe you're making me to this," she seethed, snatching the suit from him and throwing it into her closet like it was a pair of dirty socks.

"You don't have to," Peter said, rubbing his ear. "You're just the only other person who knows I'm Spider-Man! And you have these powers too, if you're going to be Spider-Girl, then we're going to have to start helping each other out."

There was a murderous, yet humorous gleam in her eye. Peter didn't know how that was possible, but there she was. "Spider-Girl? Really?"

"I--I mean--"

"Well, Mr. Spider-Girl, to make up for that comment I think I'm going to take the liberty of studying your suit to get ideas for my own."

"But I--"

"Oh, don't worry. It's not going to be an exact copy of that hideous thing. I'm thinking...white, with some pink, maybe throw some orange in there--"

Peter sighed and hugged his backpack to his chest. "Look, Gwen, I really appreciate this. I wasn't sure what to do, because if Mr. Stark found out about it, I don't know what he'd--"

"And if he found it at my place," Gwen started slowly, "what would he do then? I'm an only child, the only guy in my house is my dad. What would he think--the chief of police swings around every night? My dad could lose his job!"

"I don't think so," Peter said with a slow shake of his head. "I've built up an inexperienced sorta character around Iron Man, I guess, so now he calls me 'kid' and told me I should start thinking about college. I think he'll know it's not your dad. Or you."

"'Built up' the inexperienced character, or it is you?" Gwen asked with an eyebrow raised. Peter rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled.

"Well, I guess it's kinda me..."

"Whatever, Spider-Boy. It's a school night, I shouldn't be swinging around all over the place just yet. I need my beauty rest, so... Shoo-shoo!"

She waved him towards the window, which he opened. "Thanks again, Gwen Stacy. You're really saving my life here."

"Don't mention it," she said with an eye roll. "Doing favors for my only friend who just happens to have the same freaky spider problem comes with the territory."

She gave a confused Peter a sad smile before shooing him away again, but Peter stayed rooted on the fire escape.

"What do you mean, 'I'm your only friend?'"

Gwen shrugged. "Well, I've been branded as the eighth-grade class nerd, so no one wants to be friends with the weird kids going into high school. And I'm just all-around awkward, I guess."

"Hey." Peter gave her a grin as he perched himself on the ledge of the fire escape, deciding to use Gwen's own words against her. "What's wrong with being a nerd? The world needs nerds like us."

He jumped into the night sky, using his webshooters--the one thing he'd kept away from Mr. Stark's dirty trackers.

***

"Where have you been?" Pepper shrieked. "I've been worried sick!"

"Don't worry, Mrs. Stark!" Peter tried to console her as he stepped in through the door. "I texted you earlier. I'm sorry, we just went a bit late. We wanted to get as much work done as we could."

Pepper pointed a finger at him. "I sent Happy to pick you up ages ago. The school was already closed!"

"His mom took us to his house!" Peter said, knowing that if Pepper called Mrs. Leeds, he would be totally busted. "We just lost track of the time, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"You know what, I hear that every time," Pepper cried. It tugged at Peter's heart to see her so distraught over him. "Look, Peter, I know things are different now. You're probably used to going places and staying as long as your aunt and uncle let you! ... But you're not with them anymore, you're with us now--and there needs to be some ground rules!"

She took a deep calming breath, oblivious to Peter's blank stare of shock.

"Peter, I know we've tried to do this several times already when you've come home past curfew," she said in a dangerously calm voice. "But I can't keep doing this anymore. From now on, if you want to study with your friends, they can come over here. Got it?"

Peter opened his mouth, a stream of protests on the tip of his tongue, but Pepper silenced him with an even more distraught look.

"I'm just worried about you, that's all. Please go up to bed before I have to call Tony."

Peter trudged up the stairs, holding his breath as he walked by Steve, who had fallen asleep in the middle of the stairway. He cradled Cap Jr. in his arms, which didn't look very comfortable.

When he got up to his room, slamming the door in anger, he sat down hard on his bed and looked around.

Everything felt wrong here. The bed wasn't a twin metal bunk bed, the window wasn't tiny, there wasn't a clunky radiator under it, and the things in the room were not his. Worst of all, May hadn't come in to check on him yet. Every time they'd ever had a fight, May would be by his side in the next five minutes, claiming they should play a game to take their mind off of the argument.

Instead, the chalky lolipop he'd gotten for her still sat on his desk, untouched.

He grabbed his phone, wishing that it'd been dropped in the lake too so he wouldn't have to text Gwen.

Peter: I'm really sorry but my good old foster mom had grounded me. You might have to hang on to that thing for a little while longer

Gwen: I don't HAVE to do anything
Gwen: but ok

Peter: if you still wanted to do that tutoring thing she said you had to come to the compound

Gwen: fine by me as long as i get a picture with an avenger

Peter: ok
Peter: You aren't alergic to cacti by chance?

Gwen: wtheck no why

Peter: no reason

Gwen: 🤨