The Spider and The Witch (Wanda Maximoff x Spiderman!Male Reader)

Chapter 2: The Visitor and The Proposal

The last person you expected to see spinning in your desk chair was Tony Stark.

"Holy shit!"

"That would be 'holy shit, Mr. Stark' to you," Tony answered as he grabbed your desk to stop himself from spinning.

"Sorry, Mr. Stark," you mumbled, dropping your backpack to the floor.

"I'm kidding. Just kidding. Ask Peter, he'll tell you about my sardonic sense of humor." He extended his hand to you. "You must be Y/N."

"Yeah," you gulped as you shook his hand. Your hand was sweaty. Hopefully he didn't notice or care too much, but the Tony Stark was standing right in front of you, shaking your hand, in your bedroom.

"Peter told me about your little...mixup in the lab the other day." He shoved his hands in his pockets, wandering around your room as he looked at everything on your shelves. "Guess that's one way of testing your experiment." You chuckled weakly, watching him as he picked up a science fair trophy you'd won in high school. "First prize, huh?"

"Junior year. Natural occurrence of bioluminescence in various ecosystems." You felt wildly inferior telling the head of Stark Industries about the science fair project you spent hours working on back in high school. But you figured Tony wasn't here to discuss your high school endeavors. "Mr. Stark-"

"I get it. You're a busy man, I'm a busy man, let's cut the bullshit and get right to it. You can do things now, things some people only dream of. I've been looking for someone to take over for Peter for a while now. The job's yours if you want it."

"Mr. Stark-"

"It's a lot, I know. One minute you're studying for...what are you studying?" He snapped his fingers and cocked his head as if he was trying to remember a long forgotten conversation between the two of you.

"Biochemistry. Studio art minor."

"One minute you're studying for your bio midterm, the next minute you're hanging from the ceiling and shooting webs out of your wrist-?" He looked down at your arm hanging by your side, almost asking you to show off. You flicked your wrist in front of you as a web shot wildly from your wrist, landing on the window over to your left. "Aim's a little off," Tony noted, "but we can work on that."

"Mr.-"

"Peter's old room is free. You can take that. It's right next to Vision's. He's got a bit of an issue with phasing through walls, but that'll get better the second he sees you naked for the first time."

"Mr. Stark, thank you for the offer, but I'm not interested."

Tony studied you. You felt like he was trying to unravel the deepest depths of your brain. He looked you up and down, his eyebrows raised as he tried to figure out what was really going on behind your eyes. "You sure?"

"Yeah. I mean Peter's told me enough stories to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground."

"Can't say I'm surprised. Peter told me you'd say no." He stared at your Back to the Future poster, his hands once again shoved in his pockets. "We can't all be heroes now, can we?"

The room suddenly felt too hot as your face tinted red with shame. His unspoken disappointment hung in the air. While you knew you weren't under any obligation to join, you knew that Peter's loss left an indelible hole on the team. It was a sensitive situation. Logistically they were just fine without a Spider-Man, but the lack was felt all over the compound and in the City of New York as well. It had been a long time since the neighborhood web-slinger fought off the local urchins. Sure, there was the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, but he stuck to more of the vigilantes and the underground crime rings.

"Look, Mr. Stark," you explained. "I appreciate the offer, I really do. I just, I don't know...I want to go to med school, you know? I want to be a normal guy doing normal college things. I know Peter loved being an Avenger, but the things he's told me...I mean, that last accident, Mr. Stark-?"

Tony averted his eyes as he picked up the Rubik's cube on your nightstand. He fiddled with it, turning sides absentmindedly. He shook his head, chuckling as he tossed the toy from one hand to another. "Yeah. That was a shitty night. I, umm...I blame myself. I shouldn't have put him in that situation. Look at him now. Bright kid, hell of a future ahead of him, just sucks his life went this way." He trailed off as he placed the Rubik's cube back down. "I get it. Less danger when your feet are firmly planted on the ground, right? You're not going to break your neck performing surgery. But if you ever want it, the offer stands."

"Thanks," you replied, extending your hand. Tony grasped it firmly, looking you in the eye as he shook your hand.

"You ever need an internship or something, just let me know. I'll hook you up."

"Thank you, Mr. Stark. That means a lot."

******

"Still can't believe you turned him down," Peter griped as Kirby smashed Pikachu.

"In what universe did you think I'd say yes, Pete?" you quipped as Kirby jumped up to the next level only to be flattened by Donkey Kong.

"I think you should do it. Just give it a try at least."

"Dude-"

"Y/N, it'll be good for you. Look, if anything it'll help you get used to living with these powers. It's fucking weird. I've known that for a while, but just being in an environment where you can experiment and train will help you a lot in the long run."

The two of you sat in an awkward silence for a while, the only sounds in the room coming from the game on the TV. As much as you hated to admit it, part of you knew that Peter was right. Ever since you gained the "Peter Tingle" as Peter's Aunt May lovingly called it, you felt you were going through the world slightly slanted to the left. Everything was ever-so slightly off. Tony had experience working with both Spider-Man and designing the technology for his suits; he was a great resource for you.

"Do you think Mr. Stark would be okay with a part-time commitment? I don't want to drop out of school for this."

"I don't see why not," Peter shrugged. He threw the Switch controller down on the couch next to him. "See if you can go over winter break. That's about a month. Plenty of time to train and get a basic handle on things. If you like it, great. If not, then you come back and keep going with life. That's a fair trade-off."

"Yeah, I guess," you reluctantly agreed.

"Plus you can put down that you had a Stark Internship on your med school applications. Harvard Med would totally kill to get someone who worked at Stark Industries." You smiled at that thought. Harvard was your dream medical school. There wasn't anything you wouldn't do to help boost your chances of being accepted.

"Lemme see your phone. You've got his number right?" Peter tossed you his phone. You scrolled through his contacts list until you found the number that filled you with both excitement and dread. Placing the phone to your ear, you waited for a familiar voice to say hello.

"Mr. Stark? It's Y/N. I have a proposal for you."