ItsJustKai: This was made by @TheWouldBeKing on Wattpad. They let me feature their one-shot here.
So, thanks!
This is Peter Parker x Reader btw. But If you're like me and feel awkward with that kind of thing try to imagine an OC or some random character lol.
Edit: Can you guys not say "I'm skipping" because it's an x reader. If you're going to skip, just skip. You don't have to comment about it. You could be making someone feel bad about their work when you're not even giving it chance. Its fine If you don't want to read it but possibly making someone feel bad about their work when their work is probably good to a lot people is not okay, especially when you haven't read the story yourself. I don't know how the author feels about this but I'm just saying this because all of the comments I read make me frustrated. :/ Try thinking about how you'd feel If people said things like that about your stuff. Maybe you wouldn't care but nobody's that same. Thanks.
I'll might delete the comments and keep this edit up for future people.
And to the author of this, ThatWouldBeKing, I'm sorry If the comments bothered you.
There was technically nothing wrong.
You attended the Bronx School of Science as a senior. You were in several quaint clubs- chess, math, and art - but none were very competitive. You loved those clubs. They helped you make friends when you first came as a freshman, and the teachers were nice and sometimes brought snacks.
But that was child's play. You were also captain of your school's competitive Academic Decathlon team. Now if you were in a regular 'core' school [with no admittance test], this would have been all fine, but no. You went to Bronx Science, one of the top science schools in the state.
Of course, being so prestigious, naturally, there was competition with similar schools. In this case, Midtown Tech.
It was made clear by other students that no one could talk or interact with Midtown without being completely, utterly, and absolutely tossed from the school's social fabric. As in, don't talk to Midtown or your social life is effectively dead.
Now, there really was nothing technically wrong, it just so happened you accidentally applied for an internship at Stark. And after having received said internship, met a certain teenage scientific genius. And you accidentally became more than friends with a certain student from Midtown Tech.
It would seem Midtown had the same rule as Bronx, and the two of you were confined to meeting mostly in the privacy of Avengers Tower.
No one except those who worked at the tower knew. To the employees there, the two of you were common knowledge. Though not everyone knew how both of you had an internship with Tony Stark himself, everyone had enjoyed watching your relationship form and flourish into what it was today.
Now to the true problem.
Being the captain of the decathlon team, you naturally were included in plenty of planning-based emails for regionals this year. They had been pretty dull and you'd usually asked FRIDAY at the tower to skim and report only on the important details.
Until the chain blew up.
With no explanation why or how, Mr. Stark's work email had been added into the chain with a gloriously worded statement inviting the regional competition to take place at Avengers Tower. He also offered for an educational mini-tour highlighting SI's technologies.
Before you could come up with bullshit as to why the competition couldn't take place there, the teachers had started printing out permission slips and announcing to their teams where regionals would be.
Tony got an earful the next time you saw him.
~•~
Peter usually tried to avoid the topic of the competition so you wouldn't talk badly about each other's schools - though it would have been in good fun.
So here it was, regional competition. Only one team would move on to finals from the dozen that were here. The schools were scattered around New York, New Jersey, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, and Pennsylvania (or Pencil-vania, as Pete would say).
Bronx and Midtown were the only schools representing New York as a state.
As all 12 teams of nine students filed into the grand foyer, the teachers all congregated at the receptionist desk. When everyone realized they would take a while, Midtown came over to Bronx.
"We're gonna crush you so hard, even your own mom won't recognize you!"
"Yeah?! Well, we're going to beat you idiots 'cause we actually have a competent team!"
"What the hell do you mean by that, huh?!"
"It means you guys aren't worth shit, a donkey could kick your ass at decathlon... and literally."
"Well y'know what?! Your mom could never be proud of you-"
You felt a buzz on your wrist. You flicked it upwards to turn on and looked at it.
Pete; They're getting aggressive
(Y/n/n); Lol I know
(Y/n/n); Almost funny if it weren't so hurtful haha
Pete; We forgot to tell everyone not to talk to us...
(Y/n/n); Shit, can u text the group chat? Brb
[Stark Industries Notice Board]
Peter Parker, Level 9; Hey guys! I was hoping, with the academic decathlon teams here today, that you guys wouldn't acknowledge (Y/n) and my relationship, or preferably us at all. Thanks for understanding!
Clint Barton, Altered Level 3; why lol
Peter Parker, Level 9; Our peers don't really need to know...
Clint Barton, Altered Level 3; 😈
Peter Parker, Level 9; Please don't...
Clint Barton, Altered Level 3; Fine, but you owe me
You glanced up at your watch as you finally broke up a fight between two kids, with the help of MJ, the captain of Midtown.
You went up to her with the intention to shake hands and apologize but she quickly disappeared into the crowd. You went back to your team with a sigh as the verbal sparring continued.
(Y/n/n); They're so childish
(Y/n/n); I just broke up a fist fight
Pete; Btw not sure if u noticed, clint's up to something...
(Y/n/n); It's fine, he's supposed to be doing community outreach today
You saw bubbles pop up signalling Pete was typing but an event organizer screamed over the crowd. "Everyone! May I please have your attention!"
The mob finally quieted to murmurs.
"Thank you. Welcome to the Academic Decathlon Regional Competition! As I'm sure you are all aware, we have been granted this special opportunity to utilize this building, and even get a small tour from some of the researchers employed here.
"But, for this to work, there will be tight security, you all need visitor passes. Your teachers will bring you visitor passes with your names on them, you must be wearing them at all times. After everyone gets their passes, we will be moving to a few rooms so you can put your backpacks down. Two teams will share each room. From there, an organizer will come to call your team down to the competition area. If you have any questions, ask your teacher or captain. Good luck to you all and have a fun day!"
The crowd erupted in chatters, with even the rivalries disregarded by everyone's excitement.
Your teacher came back to your team and started handing out visitor passes. When he came one short, yours, you gave a small smile to him and pulled out your Level 9 pass.
You quickly decided to be proactive and started rounding your team and teacher into line for a security checkpoint. Your teacher was the first to scan his badge.
"Henry McCann, Level 1. Welcome, Bronx School of Science," FRIDAY greeted.
Everyone else went ahead and scanned their badges, and you were the last one left.
"(Y/n) (L/n), Level 9. I noticed Peter's notice on the company group chat. I think you should know Clint is in the vents of the 51st floor."
"Thanks, FRI, but not talking kinda applies to you too."
"My apologies, have a nice day."
No one really knew of your internship with Mr. Stark, they only knew you were busy all the time, so the look of shock when they realized you had high security clearance was priceless.
You got in the elevator and one of your teammates, Mia, spoke up. "Why did the voice know you?"
"I- I guess I work here. A lot," you shrugged.
"You work at Stark? Isn't that amazing?!" Mia continued.
"Yeah, I guess. We should focus on the competition though," you stated more confidently.
'What? No way," another, Thomas, interjected. "That's so cool, why didn't we know about this?"
Everyone looked at you expectantly.
"I'll tell you guys after the competition if we win. How's that?" you bribed with a smirk.
Thomas looked at the team with determination. "Okay guys, we have to win this."
You looked at him with amusement. "You didn't have motivation before? Maybe I should keep more secrets from you guys."
Everyone chuckled.
"If you need motivators, ice cream and pizza's on me if we win," Mr. McCann joked.
The elevator doors slid open and FRIDAY spoke, "3 doors down on your left. Good luck at your competition, Bronx."
The class filed into the room. The other team hadn't gotten here yet so your team chose to line their backpacks up against the far wall. You decided you'd practiced enough and instead, everyone else played a big game of 'coax secrets out of (Y/n) about working at Stark'. You laughed off the questions without answering any and quickly began texting Peter to discourage everyone.
(Y/n/n); Are u guys in ur room yet?
Pete; On elevator
(Y/n/n); They found out i work here and they won't shut up
Pete; 😂
(Y/n/n); Peterrr
(Y/n/n); This isn't funnyyy
Pete; Im sorry bby
Pete; but it is
Just then, the door to the room opened. Everyone looked up to see who they'd share the day with. Everyone's expressions from both teams hardened when they realized their biggest rival was in the same room, but you could only offer a soft smile. One that was reciprocated by Peter.
As the quarrelling began, you excused yourself to the bathroom, texting Peter to join you on the floor above them.
You got in the elevator as he jogged out of the room. You held the door open for him and soon, the two of you were alone.
"We're screwed," you began. "I hope you realize that."
He hummed in agreement. "At least Clint's not here, we don't have to worry about him."
"Oh, but we do. He's somewhere in the vents again."
"I thought he was doing community outreach," Pete argued.
"Technically, high school students are part of the community."
Peter whispered a swear under his breath. "He's still mad at me for eating the last cookie Bucky made."
You made a face at him. "That was well over a month ago."
"Yup, the man can hold a grudge."
"It's probably fine."
The two of you stood in silence.
"Peter? (Y/n)? Is there a floor you guys want to go to?" FRIDAY suddenly asked, and you realized the elevator hadn't moved.
"We should go," you quickly concluded and gave Peter a peck before pressing the button to open the door. "You should wait a bit so it doesn't seem like we were talking to each other."
You stood at the doorway of the room to still hear the same voices going head to head.
"Our team's smarter than yours!" Thomas screamed at someone from the other team.
"Oh yeah? Prove it!"
"Our captain works here, take that!"
"Yeah right, that's a lie, 'cause our team's Parker works here!"
"Well he probably just gets coffee for everyone!"
"Then what about your captain?! I bet they just sweep the sidewalk!"
"Not a chance, our captain has a Level 9 badge!"
"Yeah? Well so does Parker!"
You were then jolted forward as a body crashed into yours. But before you felt the ground, familiar arms wrapped around your waist and kept you upright. When you were balanced again, he let you go.
"Thanks, Pe- stranger," you quickly corrected, pushing yourself away from him and retreating back into your team's side of the room.
He went to his side as well.
(Y/n/n); Thanks
(Y/n/n); Sorry for being rude, love u💕
Pete; Np, its fine ;)
You started talking to Mia and Claire to waste away the time while you waited to go to the competition.
"Hey, (Y/n)!" Thomas called.
You looked up and nodded for him to continue.
"Can you come over here?"
You nodded again and walked to the border of the two teams.
"How do the Levels work? Like, we're 1, but you and that guy from Midtown are 9," he said. You noticed a few kids from Midtown were listening in as well.
"There are 10 levels. Visitors get Level 1. If you work here, you get higher. I'm sure the tour explains it," you stated simply.
"Fine, then how's Parker a 9?" a kid from Midtown asked forcefully.
"Flash, lay off him for a bit," another kid from Midtown remarked.
"Simple, someone important thought he needed lots of clearance."
"So what does Parker do then?" Flash sneered.
"Important work? How should I know?" you faked not knowing him.
"How do you guys have jobs anyways? There's no high school internship program here," Flask challenged.
"I don't know about him but I got in by accident. My mom has no ideas of what is socially acceptable or any morsel of an idea what personal privacy is so she snuck into my room, took a picture of my designs for some classified things I was working on, and sent them in with an internship application at Stark. Then, the AI found it, sent it to Mr. Stark, and here I am today, with a paid internship-type thing."
By then, both teams had started listening in, and the room was practically silent.
"Hey, don't we have a competition to worry about?" you tried to distract them.
The door opened and a volunteer wearing a USAD shirt summoned you downstairs.
"Perfect timing," you muttered as the room became empty.
USAD officials collected phones at the door, and both teams got ready to compete.
~•~
"We have now entered sudden death. The next correct answer wins the regional championship."
Everyone was on high alert, and at that moment, you felt bad about how nervous and stressed Peter would feel, coupled with the bright lights and loud speakers. You knew he would have a migraine by now. You glanced over at him and caught his eye. You offered a small smile, just enough so he would pick up on it.
His face relaxed and everyone focused on the speaker.
"In honour of Mr. Stark's generosity in allowing us to utilize his tower, the final question is 'Who controls Stark Industries along with CEO Pepper Potts?"
Your hand shot out at the buzzer, and you quickly looked across to see Peter doing the same.
The speaker checked which school had buzzed first. "Bronx Science?"
"FRIDAY, the AI."
You waited for the speaker to validate your answer. She looked puzzled, as if she was thinking. Maybe it was actually Mr. Stark. Or Happy. Or someone you'd never met. The board of directors was big and you'd never taken the time to get to know them. You started to panic.
A man in a pristine suit stepped up to the podium as the speaker stepped away.
"That is correct. Congratulations Bronx, you have qualified for the national championships," Mr. Stark stated, turning to you with a bright smile. He started to clap and the small audience erupted into excited cheering.
You turned to your team to celebrate as everyone got off the stage. Mr. McCann told the team to go back to the room. When Midtown came in behind you, Thomas was sure to rub it in Flash's face.
"Thomas, we still have a tour of this tower with them. Don't get on their bad side." Mr. McCann scolded.
"Too late for that," you muttered.
~•~
Both teams had to eat lunch in the room. You'd almost forgotten the rule not to speak to Midtown, but a quick text from Peter warning you not to talk to him reminded you to stay away.
After lunch was the scheduled tour, which you were pretty excited about. With all the work you had to do when you were at the tower, you'd never taken the time to explore the lower levels, especially those designated for tours showcasing some declassified old tech. If you wanted to see it, you could just pull up the specs on one of the computers or the holo-tables. Plus that way, you could play around with the image rather than look at it through fingerprint-stained glass.
A tour guide came to pick up the group after lunch passed. You guys stayed in your room while she went over the ground rules.
"Hello everyone, my name is Emily. I'm gonna lead you through some of the exhibits here today. As I'm sure you've noticed, there are security checkpoints around the tower. Everyone needs their passes or you'll be left behind, and we don't want that.
"In case of emergencies, keep calm, I'll get everyone to the closest exit with the help of FRIDAY. If you get lost, either ask someone who works here, or if there's no one, ask FRIDAY, and she'll be happy to help you back to the group.
"There are some activities planned I believe, but otherwise, please don't touch anything. This place is like a museum except experiments and prototypes are 'live', it could explode in your face for all you know.
"Any questions?"
No one raised their hand.
"Great! Let's get going."
You all crammed into an elevator- all 18 students, 2 teachers, and Emily.
The crowd whispered quietly among themselves until the elevator stopped and everyone got out. There was a security checkpoint there, and everyone had to go through the scanner individually.
Emily went first, and she began talking as everyone else slowly passed through. "As you can imagine, we need to keep unauthorized people out of the tower, so there are 10 clearance levels in the tower. Visitors, reporters, and food delivery get Level 1 access. Interns range from Level 2 to Level 5 based on experience. Researchers, engineers, and most full-time employees get Level 5 to Level 7 clearance. Administrative personnel get Level 2 to Level 7, depending on their postings. Most Avengers get Level 8, with some getting altered level 3 'cause they aren't trusted into labs-"
"Like who?" Flash cut off.
"I believe Mr. Barton and Mr. Wilson - both of them - have altered level 3 status. Level 10 is reserved for Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts only," she finally finished, and the hall went almost completely silent.
There were only two people left to go through the scanners. Peter and you.
"We should have planned this out better," you whispered so only Peter could pick it up.
You walked through and scanned your pass.
"(Y/n) (L/n), Level 9."
You could feel all eyes on you and Pete.
"Peter Parker, Level 9."
"Do you know each other?" someone from Midtown asked.
"Nope!" you answered, almost too quickly.
"Not a chance," he said with a frightened face.
You could see Emily almost interject, then remember the text on the company chat.
"Thought I was the only one with Level 9," you added on with what you hoped was a convincing face.
Your group walked down the hall to the first exhibit, which showed the history of Stark. Some photos of the early Stark Expos, some of the smaller inventions by Howard Stark, and some history of its affiliation with the SSR and SHIELD. Then it moved to the history of Tony Stark, showcasing his childhood sketches of Dum-E, and a model of his first compact Ark Reactor. You knew the real one was on a shelf in Pepper's office.
As Emily was about to lead the group into the next room, Mr. Stark rounded the corner into the room. He whispered something to Emily.
"Oh, well this is great! You've all been given temporary access to a very impressive lab by Mr. Stark himself!" she chirped. "Follow me, everyone, this is so exciting!"
She led the class back through the exhibit and through the scanner. It took everyone a little less time, and everyone soon packed back onto the elevator.
18 students, 2 teachers, Emily, and now Tony Stark.
"FRIDAY, Lab 82."
You quickly looked at Peter, who was against the other wall of the elevator.
It was the lab the two of you shared.
"Mr. Stark, I don't think it's a great idea to go there, y'know, classified projects are everywhere in there," you tried.
"That's fine, I got Barton and the Wilsons to clean everything up. They were more than happy to help." Tony smiled. You knew that he knew the two of you couldn't really have your covers blown. He didn't understand the social implications if anyone found out you were dating a kid from Midtown.
"Mr. Stark, please. There's so much, uh, classified things there, no way would they have cleaned it all up," Peter tried.
"I'm sure it's fine. All the projects are packed up in boxes in the penthouse. You can grab them when you come in tonight. Besides, I'm doing you two a favour."
"What favour?!" you both screamed at the same time.
"You guys can talk about it now," he said as the doors slid open revealing your half-lab half-living room.
There were two holo-tables and some lab benches, as well as rolled up blueprints, pencils, measuring tapes, the works on the left side. On the right, you had a long couch, a mini fridge, a box of lego for when you guys felt bored, a stack of movies on the shelf, and half a dozen framed photos of you and Pete. Your favourite photo, the two of you laughing together at Disney Land on a company trip, was proudly displayed next to the two of you sharing a kiss.
"FRI, pull up a list of declassified projects. You guys can choose a couple to present," he said as the teams swarmed into your lab and left him in the elevator. "Bye," he quickly waved and the elevator doors shut.
It was Flash who first spoke up. "Parker, you're dating someone from Bronx?!"
The teams erupted into mad chatter and you stood mortified in the middle of your shared lab.
You couldn't move. You couldn't breathe. You stood there as people talked about you and Peter.
Your vision was quickly blocked by something and arms wrapped around you. You felt his body heat bring you back to reality, and breathed in his scent. You calmed down when Peter started running his hands down your back soothingly.
"Hey, it's fine. They're not mad. You're safe, see?" he whispered slowly.
You nodded.
"You can go up to the penthouse for a bit and I can do the presentation," he offered.
You shook your head. "No, I should do it with you."
Your breathing returned to normal and you noticed the teams had quieted down. You pulled out of Peter's grasp and kissed his cheek, before turning to the group. Everyone had been looking at you with a smile. Everyone but Flash, but you could live with that.
You took a shaky breath and pulled Peter by the hand to the list FRIDAY had displayed.
You decided on the newest generation of the StarkPhone.
You clicked on it and began, with Peter by your side and a captivated audience.
"So- So I'm, uh, I'm sure you've all seen the ads for the new phones-"
~•~
"- and that's how we helped develop Mr. Stark's personal holo-table," Peter finished.
Everyone clapped with bright smiles on their faces.
"Any questions?" you asked.
By then, your hand was holding Pete's under the holo-table.
"When did you two start dating?" Mia asked.
"Let me rephrase, any questions about what we've developed here?" you corrected.
"When did you two develop a relationship?" Mia asked again.
"Fair enough, I still could've worded that better. A year and a half ago," you answered.
"Any questions not about us dating?" Peter clarified.
No one raised their hands. Not even Emily.
"Any questions about us dating?" you tried.
Every hand shot up, including Emily. The only three who hadn't were the teachers and MJ.
"Thomas?"
"Why'd you guys keep it a secret?"
"Because he's from Midtown. You guys would've secretly hated me, and a good captain needs to form trust with their group," you answered.
Everyone's hands went down.
MJ's hand raised up.
"You both know we wouldn't actually hate you guys, right?" she asked blandly.
You both looked at each other and thought for a second.
"I guess we never considered that," Pete awkwardly said.
"I mean look at all the fighting you guys did today," you added. "If that happened because I was dating Peter, I don't know what I'd do."
"Then I'm sorry, I feel like I should take at least some responsibility for that," Thomas said.
"Yeah, me too," Flash confessed.
Murmurs of agreement spread throughout the crowd.
You smiled, the two teams seemed to agree on something productive.
The ceiling started to rattle, and before you could warn everyone of a certain birdbrain about to appear, Clint dropped down from a vent, showering the floor in dust and photos of the two of you.
"Surprise, they're dating!" he shouted.
Everyone stared as realization dawned on him.
"I'm late, aren't I?"