Wowie, I'm on a roll! Hey, everyone, long time no see! Thanks so much for the continued support throughout the years. I can't believe this book is over 46k views! Just so you know, though I don't update much, I check up on this every so often and always take a look at new comments - so know your enthusiasm is still greatly appreciated! ^_^
So this is basically an AU within the Son of Stark AU, where Tony and Pepper are still Peter's parents, but they decide to keep that information private so he can have an ordinary childhood. Their good friend, May Parker, who Pepper has known since her own childhood, agreed to be the one to pose as Peter's guardian for parent-teacher meetings and other school events. The alibi for why they don't look alike is that May is his aunt.
This isn't going to be a full-fledged alternate AU. I just want to skip around and write about different people in Peter's life learning who his family really is. Hope you enjoy!
(This is in fifth grade btw)
~~~~
Peter stared out the window and sighed. It was so unfair that the weather could be this nice on a school day. He couldn't wait to go home.
"...Parker? Peter Parker?"
Peter snapped to attention and raised his hand. "Here, sir! Sorry."
The teacher gave him a look as he put a check mark by Peter's name, then moved on to the next kid. Peter bent his head and mentally scolded himself. He knew how important it was that he respond to 'Parker.' His parents had just explained it to him again, as they did before every new school year, the night before. But with his head full of summer memories, which were enhanced by the bright blue, sunny day outside, and having spent the last month of vacation on their private island, where he was solely a Stark day and night, the surname had become foreign to him again.
~~~~~~~~
"You sure space out a lot!" Ned commented as he unwrapped his sandwich for lunch.
Peter frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Um, hello? Do you not know how often you don't respond to your name, dude?"
"Oh." Peter forced out a laugh and plastered a smile to his face. "Yeah, guess I just daydream a bunch. Anyway, how was your summer?"
"Pretty great! I wish we could've hung out more, though. Where were you this past month, again?"
Peter's brows scrunched together as he tried to remember exactly what he had told Ned before. "Well, I was sick for a week, remember? Then Aunt May, uh, didn't want me doing much the next week because... she wanted to make sure I was fully healed before we visited family for the last two weeks."
Ned thought it over for a second, then said, "Oh yeah, that's right!"
Peter released a quiet sigh of relief.
"Anyway, wanna hang out tonight? My mom said she could pick us both up from school, and then your aunt could get you from our house when she needs to."
"That'd be great! Let me just ask," Peter responded eagerly as he grabbed his phone from his bag.
Ned's jaw dropped. He pointed at Peter's phone and exclaimed, "Dude, is that the latest Stark phone model? When did you get a new phone?"
Peter cringed. He hadn't thought about the reaction something as simple as a phone could bring. "I broke my phone during the trip. Aunt May decided that, if she had to pay for a new one anyway, she might as well pay a little more for the newest one," Peter said, frustrated with himself at how easily the lie rolled off his tongue. The truth, of course, was that his dad had simply upgraded the entire family because why wouldn't he when it was the phone brand he owned? Peter hurriedly typed out the request and sent it to the group chat he had with his dad, mom, and May, then tucked his phone back into his backpack before it could cause any more trouble.
~~~~~~~~
Peter was given permission to go to Ned's house after school. Though he was happy to spend time with his friend, Peter was quiet during the car ride, thinking about how much the lies were bothering him. He'd never had such an issue with keeping things secret before. Maybe it was just because he was getting older? Or because he had known Ned for so long? All Peter knew was that he was getting tired of lying to his best friend.
When they arrived at the house, Ned's mom offered them snacks, then left the two boys to entertain themselves. Ned showed Peter the new Lego set he'd gotten, and they spent some time putting it together. Then they watched the newest episode of a Star Wars cartoon. After that, Peter suggested they do some of their homework together.
They were in the middle of a math worksheet when Ned, after staring at the paper for a few minutes, said, "You know what I just realized?"
Peter hummed in response, focused on an equation.
"I've known you for five years and have never been to your house. I don't even know what neighborhood you live in!"
Peter squeezed his eyes shut. He took a deep breath before opening them again and smiling at Ned as he said, "Yeah, I know. Sorry about that. Aunt May's just really busy. It's already difficult sometimes for her to have enough time to take care of me, so having another kid over isn't really an option."
Ned sighed and rested his head on the worksheet. "That makes sense. Sorry. It just feels weird not knowing something like that about my best friend."
"Yeah..." Peter responded, frowning.
~~~~~~~~
Peter sat in bed with his knees tucked into his chest, deep in thought, as he waited for his mom to come in to say goodnight.
As soon as Pepper walked into the room, Peter looked at her and asked, "Mom, is it not okay for anyone to know who I am?"
Pepper took a seat on the bed and brushed a strand of hair from Peter's face as she said, "Well... it depends. Who did you have in mind, sweetie?"
"I want to tell Ned."
"That's your friend from school, right?"
Peter nodded. "He's my best friend! I don't want to lie to him, and I want him to be able to hang out here sometimes."
"I'll talk to your dad about it," Pepper said with a smile. She kissed Peter on the forehead and added, "Goodnight."
"'Night, Mom," Peter replied. He lay down and offered her a small smile.
Pepper stood, turned off the light, and closed the door with a soft click.
~~~~~~~~
Peter was sitting at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of cereal, when his dad walked into the room and sat down across from him.
Tony folded his hands and said, "So, your mother told me you'd like to bring a friend in on our little secret?"
Peter clarified, "My best friend."
A smile tugged at Tony's lips. "Right, my bad." He quickly put on a serious expression again. "Now, Pete, I know you think highly of him because he's your best friend, but I need you to answer this question seriously: Do you trust him to keep this a secret?"
Peter let the question sink in. He was well aware that Ned was very excitable, which meant he'd probably freak out when brought into the secret. But Peter also knew Ned was very loyal. Peter had full trust in Ned to listen carefully when he explained the importance of keeping this information secret. "Yes," Peter confidently replied.
Tony's eyebrow raised as he stared across the table at his son. When he was convinced that Peter had no doubts about his answer, Tony shrugged and said, "Alright, when do you want to let him know?"
"Can he come over Friday afternoon?" Peter pleaded.
"Sure," Tony answered as he stood. "I'll let Mom know."
~~~~~~~~
"I can't believe I'm finally getting to visit your place!" Ned exclaimed. He was skipping toward the front doors of the school.
Peter had to pick up his pace to keep up with him. He laughed. "Crazy, right?"
Ned came to a sudden halt when he arrived at the doors. He turned to Peter with a concerned expression. "Are you sure it's okay, though? Your aunt really is fine with having another kid over for the afternoon?"
"Yeah, Ned. Everything's fine," Peter replied, grinning. He pushed the door open and let Ned go first. Ned picked up where he had left off and skipped down the concrete steps.
When the two boys climbed into the backseat of the car, May turned around and greeted them. "Hey, boys! How was school?"
"Great, Aunt May," Peter said, relishing the fact that it was one of the last times he would address her as such in front of Ned.
"Yeah," Ned echoed. "Thanks for letting me come over!"
"Of course. It's my pleasure," May responded, sharing a knowing glance with Peter.
~~~~~~~~
As they neared home, Peter's heart rate picked up. He couldn't believe he was actually getting the chance to share his secret with someone!
When May pulled up to the curb and parked the car, Ned leaned forward and looked at the building in front of them, confused. "Isn't this... Stark Industries? Why are we here?"
Peter faced him and, over his pounding heart, said, "Ned... I have something to tell you. May isn't my aunt."
Ned stared at him. "What?"
"I live with my parents, and you're going to meet them here."
"But why would your parents be here...?" Ned asked, pure confusion evident on his features.
Peter offered him a nervous smile. "You'll see. C'mon, let's go." He hopped out of the car, beckoned for Ned to join him, and waved to May. She waved back, mouthed 'good luck,' and drove away. Peter glanced at Ned and found him already looking at him with a mixture of confusion and fascination.
Ned followed him into the building and, just like anyone else stepping into the SI lobby for the first time, looked at it all in amazement. Peter led the way toward security and, to Ned's surprise, was let in by the guard without having to go through the body scanner. Peter once again beckoned him to follow and Ned, too, was let in without going through the scanner.
They stepped inside an elevator, where Peter whipped out a badge and swiped it too fast for Ned to see anything more than Level 10: Peter S-. What he could observe clearly, though, was Peter pressing the button for the very top floor afterward.
As soon as he pressed the button for the penthouse, Peter grinned. His excitement about the event was finally outweighing his nerves. His eyes remained glued to the elevator screen as it slowly counted up, before it finally came to rest on the number he had selected. Peter looked at Ned and asked, "You ready?"
"For what?" Ned exclaimed, struggling to decide if he should be nervous or excited for what lay ahead.
"For this..." Peter replied as the elevator doors slowly opened.
On the other side of the door stood Tony Stark, dressed in one of his business suits, as he had just gotten back from a meeting a few minutes before. He looked at the boys and smiled. "Hey, Pete! How was school?"
"Great, Dad," Peter answered, beaming as he stepped out of the elevator.
Ned was in shock. He managed to stumble out of the elevator before the doors closed, but merely stared, with eyes round as saucers, once he did so.
Tony eyed the boy with concern and mumbled to Peter, "Is he okay?"
"Give it a moment," Peter replied. He lifted his hand and counted, "Three, two, one..."
"Your dad is Tony Stark?" Ned screeched. He kept looking between the two, unable to deny some resemblance.
"That's my name. Ned, was it?" Tony said, stepping forward to offer his hand.
Ned's mouth hung open as he slowly reached his hand out to shake Tony Stark's. He then turned to Peter with twinkling eyes. "Best day ever," he whispered. But then Ned's expression became perplexed and he said, "I don't get it, though. Why haven't you told everybody? Why wouldn't you want people to know? Think how popular you'd be! All the attention you'd get!"
"That's the thing, Ned. It would bring too much attention," Peter replied.
"And most of it would be unwanted attention," Tony added. He rested a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Far more than any kid needs to deal with. Trust me, I know."
Peter nodded in agreement. "That's why it needs to remain a secret," he said. Peter stood in front of Ned and raised his fist, letting it hover in the space between them. He gave Ned a pleading look as he added, "I can trust you with this, right, Ned?"
Ned mulled it over for a moment then, with a smile, lifted his fist to bump Peter's waiting one. "You've got it, dude."
Peter broke into a grin and led his best friend further into the penthouse.
The visit began with Ned rambling to Tony about how much of an Iron Man fan he was and what his favorite combat moves were, until Pepper came in, introduced herself, and rescued Tony from the situation by asking him to help with some SI business. Peter then took Ned through a tour of his (pent)house, which included the particularly exciting stop at Peter's room. It was decked out in Star Wars decor and housed all the types of things the boys enjoyed playing with at Ned's house - just more of it. There were the full action figure sets for Episodes IV, V, and VI, several completed, half-finished, and still boxed Lego sets, and the TV mounted above the dresser where the gaming system sat.
Ned freaked out over all of it, and Peter was thrilled to finally be able to enjoy his years worth of birthday and Christmas gifts with another kid, especially one who he knew appreciated these items as much as he did.
"Peter, this is amazing," Ned exclaimed. "You were cool before, but now you're mega-cool!"
Peter laughed and replied, "Thanks, Ned. I'm glad you're here." And he was. He really, really was.