Resilience | Marvel

Chapter 2

The sun filtered in through the window of Peters small bedroom. The alarm clock blared, but Peter was already up, in fact, he didn't get much sleep at all. He smacked the top of the clock. The noise stopped. He breathed a sigh of relief, the screeching was irritating to his ears, he was going to have to tinker with that later to see if he could muffle the volume. He sighed and slid his backpack over his shoulders. Walking to the front door. Aunt May cleared her throat behind him. He rolled his eyes, he knew he was caught.

"No, you aren't going anywhere without proper food." She stood, with her hands on her hips authoritatively. Her hair may be gray and she may have crows feet, but her sass was at an all-time high.

"I'll just eat breakfast at school." He tried to convince her.

"I already made eggs, sit, eat." She pointed to a plate of steaming eggs and toast sitting on the table.

He sighed and stomped over to the table, his arms crossed. He unhappily shoveled the eggs into his mouth, secretly grateful for the hot meal. He finished the last bite and hopped up from his seat, dashing out the door. May Parker shook her head.

The train pulled up its stop near the school. The teenager made his way into the building just as the bell was ringing.

The school day went by slowly, the usual taunts from Flash and his crew barely phased Peter. He kept his head down and did his work without issues. He skipped lunch to catch up on homework in the library. When the final bell rang, Peter was more than happy to run out the door and suit up as Spider-Man, he was prepared to forget about the day.

Tony Stark soared over New York City in his Iron Man suit. He had been checking how his renewable power cell was holding up. It was all Peppers idea, but he couldn't argue the benefits. He was only several blocks away from Avengers Tower.

He saw a red-suited figure climb into a rooftop and do a handstand on a ledge before sitting with his legs dangling from the side. He recognized the figure as Spider-Man. The spandex clad hero had been all over the news lately. He wondered how the two had never crossed paths during their time as protectors of New York. Maybe it was time to actually break the ice with the guy. He descended through the air and hovered nearby. Spidey's head turned.

"Hey, Spider-guy." Tony landed on the roof. His metal mask retracted to show his face. 

"Oh, wow, Iron Man." Peter blurted. He realized he was in the presence of an Avenger. He stood up as tall as he could. feeling inferior in every conceivable way.

"Look. I was just passing by and thought I should, ya know... say hi." Tony couldn't see Spideys face but he could tell it was full of confusion. 

"Well. I suppose. It's nice to...um...meet you...Iron Man?" Peter stumbled over his word vomit and stood awkwardly with his hand extended to shake. Tony finally returned the shake warmly. 

Tony was surprised at how Spider-Man could be so flustered. He got a really naive vibe from the guy. He didn't know what to make of it, or how to make the situation less awkward.

"So, you've been saving people apparently. Sort of a hero."  He gave a small grin. Peter froze. It took him a moment before he responded.

"Yeah. I-" Peter stuttered. "I suppose."

"Tell you what, if at any time, you want to, I dunno, come over for a drink, or...team up or something, you're welcome to drop by Avenger Tower. But, it's probably a good idea if you knock first, J.A.R.V.I.S doesn't take kindly to strangers just waltzing in." Tony smiled. Spider-Man nodded understandingly.

"Thanks? I guess." Peter wasn't exactly sure how to play along, but he felt he needed to say something to make this conversation less awkward. 

Tony thought a moment before changing the subject.  "Hey, how do you do that? Shoot webs?" 

"I, um... built the web shooters myself. actually."  Peter pointed to his wrist. 

"Really?" Tony was visibly impressed. Peter suddenly felt really proud of himself. He felt his cheeks redden.

"Yup." Peter was grinning from ear to ear.

He pointed the shooter at a satellite dish a few yards away. He pressed the button with his fingers. A ball of web fluid shot out and hit the dish with a pang. Tony whistled turning back to Spider-Man and gave an approving nod.

"Brownie points for accuracy. That's some invention." Peter smiled sheepishly under his mask, Did Tony friggin Iron Man Friggin Stark just give him a compliment?

"Thanks. It's no big deal, though." Peter said coolly, trying to stay calm. Even though it was TOTALLYABIGDEALTONYSTARKJUSTSAIDHELIKEDTHEWEBSHOOTERSOHMYGOD!!! 

Tony was going to respond, when an urgent message from Natasha popped up. He read it and the message disappeared.

"Well, I kind of... have to get going. Hope you take me up on that drink, big fan of the web shooters." He gave a thumbs up and his face mask closed, he rocketed into the sky.

Peter was left by himself on the rooftop, pondering the exchange. How could he tell him he wasn't even old enough to drink yet? 

As Tony landed on the de-suiting pad, he decided this Spider-Guy was pretty cool.