Like father, like son

Whatcha say, spider baby?

The next day, friday, Peter wakes up with a throbbing in his leg and side. He looks down at the wounds as he sits up and grimaces at the sight. It's not pretty.

He takes his time to treat them properly this time before heading to the cafeteria. He finds Wendy, Penelope, Oliver and Damian already eating and chatting. He gets himself a tray before sitting down on his usual spot.

"Morning sleepyhead. We thought we'd let you sleep but you better don't forget that we're going out tomorrow! We will dump cold water on you if you pull this tomorrow." Damian jokes, and Peter smiles back brightly before responding with a snarky comeback.

They go on like that for a while before Peter swallows his last bite and they head up to the labs. They were still working on their prototypes, Peter was already half way done but Wendy, Oliver and Damian were a bit slower, so they would probably be working on the prototypes for a while.

Penelope was almost as far as Peter was, so at least he could spend some time with her if they were both done. Today he was planning on getting those advanced parts and make start with that. It would probably take two days to make that particular part so at least he wouldn't be bored.

After listing out everything he needed and in which amounts he needed them, he asked Mila (their guide and superior) if he could head to the tech room. She approved and on he went.

While he was grabbing his stuff (this time without bumping into Pepper Potts) Tony Stark entered the summer intern lab again. This time without being forced by Pepper, he actually came up with the idea himself.

The two birds from last time were gone, but just like last time he didn't have to announce his presence. Heads shot up as a blanket of silence fell over the room.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Chop, chop, get to work. I'm not some statue in a museum. Come to me if you have questions, yada yada yada, same old, same old." He smirked at the wide eyes and gapes.

Slowly, chatter filled the room again as some teens stepped forward. He looked at some interesting projects, some clever, some simply dumb, but he didn't say that.

After he'd helped around 6 people (wow so productive, he knows.) he looked around the lab, looking at some projects.

A familiar head with brown curls then caught his eye. His jaw hung slightly open and his eyes were just a little bit wider than usual as he spotted Peter, his son, working at one of the lab tables, bowed over a paper and sometimes looking up as he talked to the girl across him.

He recognized the girl, he thinks it was Petale? Penelepo? Penlope? Whatever. Realization hit him that he'd been so close to his son all this time, and the boy had most likely known. (How could Peter have missed his presence?)

Was he just really that bad of a father? Don't answer that. He knows he is.

Ever since Peter's last visit, some sort of feeling of guilt and regret had stuck with him, which he pressed back in the depths of his brain.

But now, seeing his son so happy, not like he had been in Tony's presence, made his heart clench almost painfully. He didn't even know the kid.

He wanted to.

But Peter looked so happy, and the kid hadn't exactly stepped toward him, so Tony decided against all his urges to leave the kid be. He had chosen to step out of Peter's life, he didn't have the right to bother him 6 years later.

Tony turned away and wondered if Pepper had known about this.

-

"And mr. Stark is back again! He-" Penelope's voice fell away as Peter's head shot up just to see the man with his back to him, stepping away from the desks and heading to the elevator.