Spider and Snake [REQUESTS CLOSED]

Where Were You?

A/N: Characters may be OOC here... I've been awake for 16 hours now and this story is as more for me than anything else...

There were a few things in life that Peter was good at; he was a top student at school, he liked to think he was a decent superhero, after all the messes May made in the kitchen he was great at cleaning, likewise he could also make a few meals without burning their apartment down, he was even pretty confident in his money management skills...

But his one true weakness... Time management.

Peter honestly hadn't meant to stay out all night... He really tried to be back at the Compound by three and hope that Friday wouldn't rat him out. But it was just one thing that lead to another and next thing he knew it was long past three-am when he finally made it back to the Compound.

This wasn't the first time he had stayed out all night either. Working with two hours of sleep on a school night was not ideal... At least he was able to get three hours on the weekends! His body had been dragging lately though, slowing down and responding sluggishly. Even he knew that it was dangerous for him to keep going like this, but he just couldn't find a way to stop. How could he stop when he knew that people were getting hurt every second he wasn't out there?

Climbing up the side of the Compound and towards his bedroom window, Peter had a brief thought of why Friday hadn't ratted him out to Mr. Stark yet? Surely she could tell that he was crawling on the outside of the building at an hour that was long past his curfew... Maybe Karen had talked her into the whole 'snitches get stitches' thing.

Smiling to himself, he pushed open his window and hopped inside. He pulled off his mask and turned around to toss it on his bed, but ended up muffling a scream as he jumped into the air and stuck to the ceiling - eyes wide and breathing heavy as he stared at Tony Stark leaning against his desk.

"M-Mr. Stark," Peter panted, letting out a shaky breath as he lowered himself back to the ground slowly. "What - What are you doing here? In my room? At-" Taking a quick glance at the clock as if he didn't know what time it was, "-Five in the morning?"

Tony's arms were crossed over his chest, a single eyebrow raised in a look that Peter could only describe as instant death if he said the wrong thing. While Peter didn't see this look often, he definitely knew it wasn't good. This look could mean countless bad things for him... Groundings, having his suit taken away, new protocols in place; horribly bad things.

Taking a deep breath, Tony glanced down at Peter's desk in feigned innocence as he picked up a pen. "Peter, do you know what time your curfew is?" 

"...Two-AM."

"And remind me what time is it now?"

Peter gulped slightly, "Five."

"I see..." He twirled the pen in his hand before placing it back on Peter's desk and looking up at the teen with slightly narrowed eyes. "So where were you?"

Peter's brain whirled with all the things he could say - should say. He should tell the truth - but then he'd get grounded or have the suit taken away... He could say that he heard something outside - but that would cause a panic to go through the Compound. He could always mention someone else, that would take most of the heat away from him... Thinking fast, he grasped onto the first name that popped into his mind. "I was with Loki."

Tony nodded slightly, seeming to consider it. "Hm. I suppose that could make sense. What were you doing with Loki?"

The joy that his excuse was believed was short lived, having to fight off a frown as he quickly said the next thing that came to mind. "He wanted to go... see... fireflies."