Peter Parker One-Shots

WHATS A SPIDER-MAN? • SHEWRITESALL ON AO3

Peter was a little nervous.  Mr. Stark had suggested they tell Bruce he was Spider-Man so if he ever got seriously injured, Bruce could fix him up and he wouldn't be too shocked at discovering the boy was a superhero.  Peter trusted Bruce, of course.  The scientist had become one of his closest friends even though he'd only known him for a short while.  Nonetheless, it was always nerve-racking to tell someone a secret identity whether or not you wanted to.  That was why when Peter came to the Tower after school, he wasn't too surprised to see Mr. Stark waiting for him with Bruce in the lab.

"Hey, Peter,"  Bruce said, turning to look at him.  Peter noticed he seemed a little concerned and wondered what Mr. Stark had told him.  "Tony said you had something important to tell me."

"Oh,"  Peter said.  He nodded shyly and looked at Mr. Stark for encouragement.  Mr. Stark just nodded and smiled, motioning for Peter to continue.

"What is it?"  Bruce asked worriedly, glancing back at Tony.  "Should I be this concerned?"

"It's not that big of a deal,"  Peter answered, trying to calm Bruce down.  Mr. Stark seemed like he wanted to debate that statement and Peter glared at him.  Clearly Mr. Stark was not helping calm Bruce's worry.

"Well?"  Bruce trailed off.  Peter fiddled with his hands and glanced down at the floor.

"It's just, in case I ever get hurt or something,"  Peter began, glancing up at Bruce who looked horrified at the thought of Peter getting hurt.  "Cause, you know, superheroes get hurt sometimes and need someone to fix them up and you seem pretty good at that, so I would rather you fix me up than some other doctor so I just wanted to tell that, um, I'm Spider-Man?"  Peter looked up at Bruce, trying to read his expression.  For the most part, Bruce looked confused.

"You're what?"  he asked.  Peter shyly said 'Spider-Man' again, but that only confused Bruce more.  "What's a—What's a... Spider-Man?"  Peter frowned in equal confusion.

"Me,"  he replied.  "I'm Spider-Man."  Bruce nodded, eyebrows still scrunched together.

"Yeah, I know that,"  he said.  "But what is it?  Is it like a band name?  Are you in a band?"  Peter pulled his head back, face scrunched and eyes wide.

"No, I'm not in a—I'm Spider-Man!"  he exclaimed.  He pulled his sleeve back and showed Bruce his web shooter.  "See?  I'm Spider-Man!"

"Okay, but what's that?"  Bruce asked, looking to Tony for help.  Mr. Stark just smirked and watched as Peter struggled to explain that he was Spider-Man.  "Tony, don't laugh at me!  I've been gone for two years, now tell me what a Spider-Man is!"

"Spider-Man's a superhero,"  Mr. Stark said simply.  Bruce blinked, his face going blank as he looked between Peter and Tony.  "He would be an Avenger, but Peter said no, he'd rather just be a local hero."

"You're a superhero?"  Bruce asked Peter.  He nodded, thankful Bruce finally seemed to understand.  "But that's—you're 17!  Superheroes get hurt, like, all the time."

"That's why I'm telling you,"  Peter said.  He repeated the part about wanting Bruce to be able to fix him up if he ever got injured too terribly and Bruce just nodded.

"Don't worry, kid,"  he replied, putting his hand on Peter's shoulder.  "If you ever get hurt, I'll fix you up to be better than perfect.  That's a promise!"