Chapter Text
“What’s all this?” Tony demanded, striding into the living room and raising his eyebrows at a frazzled-looking Peter. His apprentice was sprawled on the couch, surrounded on three sides by stacks of papers, his laptop, and two half-finished mugs of coffee.
“Studying for my driver’s test, Mr. Stark!” Peter gave him a small, sheepish smile. “I’m really sorry about the mess. I’ll clean it up as soon as I’m done!”
“Yes, you will. And also— kid, I don’t think anyone has ever studied so hard for a driver’s test before.”
Peter muttered something intelligible, quickly bending over a paper again.
Tony raised a hand to his ear. “What was that?”
“This is my second try,” Peter repeated louder. He still didn’t look up at Tony, his eyes fixed on a paper in his lap. He almost looked embarrassed. “I’m, uh, not the best at driving.”
“Hey kid, what did I say about the self-deprecation?”
“Not to.”
“Precisely,” Tony said, satisfied. “So what are you sitting here for? Let’s go!”
Peter looked up sharply, his eyes wide with surprise. “W-what?”
“We’re going out on the town. You and me.”
“Why?”
“For practice. You won’t learn anything by sitting here and memorizing rules.”
“But—”
“No buts. Meet me outside in five.”
“I’m not sure I—”
“I’m sorry, are you turning me down?” Tony raised one eyebrow.
“No, of course I’m not turning you down, Mr. Stark! I just… your cars are so expensive and I don’t want to mess up—”
“You won’t mess up my car.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’m a genius and I know everything. So do you want to go for a ride or don’t you?”
Peter was practically glowing, a bright grin making its way across his face. “Absolutely!”
“Then I’ll see you in a bit.” Tony strode on past, his hands clasped behind his back. “I trust you, Spider-Man. It’ll be okay.”
Ten minutes later
“This isn’t okay!” Tony and Peter lurched forward, caught only by their seat belts as the orange Audi screeched to an abrupt halt. The red stoplight glowed above their heads, giving them both a momentary, merciful reprieve from the terrors of their journey down the highway.
Tony huffed. “Buddy, I am about two seconds away from having FRIDAY take control of this car.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark! I told you I was bad.” Peter looked crestfallen, and Tony softened. He was just trying his best. “No, you’re not bad. Just… a little rough.” He let out a breath, massaging his forehead. He still didn’t know how to do this mentoring (parenting?) thing all that well, at least when it came to situations like these. His only rule of thumb was to consider what Howard would do, and then do the complete opposite. It seemed to be working well so far. “You maintain control of the car well enough, but you’re going to give me a heart attack with how fast you start and stop. And you drift over the lines a lot. Don’t do that.”
The light turned green. “Remember what I said,” Tony hummed.
“Right,” Peter responded, sounding thoughtful. The car nosed forward, taking its time. The world around them drifted slowly past. Behind them, someone abruptly laid on the horn. Peter jumped, and Tony half-expected him to slam his foot on the gas pedal, but, to his credit, he gradually sped up until he was cruising at a respectable speed down the road, staying safely within the lines.
Tony beamed proudly. “See? Look at that. A master already.”
***
“Okay, you’re coming up on a curve, so you need to— oh my God, SLOW DOWN—” Tony’s sentence ended in a wordless shout as the Audi went screeching around a hairpin turn. The vehicle roared onward down the two-lane road, its two shaken passengers scrambling to maintain their wits.
Tony felt queasy. “Peter, I swear—”
His apprentice looked upset. “I’m sorry, Mr. Stark, it came up fast! It won’t happen again!”
Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. “I hear you. But the next time you come up on one of those turns, slow down before you get to it. Don’t ever speed around a curve like that again. Did they teach you nothing in driving school?”
“Yeah, of course they did, but I just get nervous.”
He exhaled slowly, trying to soothe his unsettled stomach. “That makes two of us. Just slow down next time, squirt, and you’ll be fine.”
Peter nodded, and they settled into comfortable silence. Another sharp turn approached, and this time Peter handled it with ease. The car swung gracefully around the curve and continued seamlessly down the road, passing an orange, diamond-shaped road sign as it went.
Peter flashed Tony a mischievous grin. “Road work ahead? Yeah, I sure hope it does!”
Tony groaned, a pained expression on his face. “That. Don’t do that, either. You’re killing me, kid.”
***
As the afternoon began to fade into dusk, the exit sign appeared in the distance.
Tony glanced over at Peter, who had been concentrating hard on the road in front of him for a solid forty minutes. He had to hand it to him; he really was trying hard. “Okay,” Tony said “so here’s a pop quiz. What did I say earlier about merging?”
“You said to make sure no cars were there before I changed lanes.”
“And?”
Peter’s response was swift and sure. “If there are cars there, then they have the right-of-way, so there’s a chance they won’t yield. If they don’t, I have to either slow down or speed up depending on where they are in the lane and how fast they’re going.”
“Excellent. So you ready?”
“Yeah, I think so!”
“You think so or you know so?”
“I know so, Mr. Stark!”
“Here we go!” Tony held his breath as Peter turned into the exit lane, staying reasonably close to the speed limit. They glided steadily toward the merge, and Tony could see the anxiety all written across Peter’s face, clear as day.
“Can I do a drum roll?” Tony asked.
“Go for it!”
Tony began tapping rhythmically on the dashboard, not loud enough to be distracting to his protégée, but just enough to break the tense atmosphere. They emerged from the exit lane and roared toward the interstate. A silver van paced the Audi for a moment, not breaking stride. Before Tony could draw a breath to warn him, Peter had already slowed down and allowed it to roar past. They merged seamlessly, blending into the traffic and picking up the pace.
Tony grinned. “You did a great job, Pete.”
“Do you think I’m ready for my driver’s test?”
“Yes, I think you are.” He glanced over at him. “Think you can get us home? I can take over for you if you’re too tired.”
“No, sir, I’ve got it!”
Tony just smiled. I know.
***
Despite their road trip’s rough patches, Tony had no doubt that Peter was going to ace any and all curveballs that the driving school threw at him. And, if he didn’t, Tony would be more than happy to practice with him some more.
But, as it turned out, that would be unnecessary. That evening, Peter came bursting into Tony’s workshop, frantically waving a piece of paper around in the air. “Mr. Stark!"
Tony dropped the suit he'd been working on, whirling around in his chair to give him his full attention. "And? What's the verdict?"
The glow on Peter's face told him everything even before he'd spoken a word. "Mr. Stark, I passed!”
“Great job, kiddo!” Tony wrapped Peter in a quick side hug, affectionately ruffling his hair as he pulled away. “I’m proud of you, Pete.”
Peter looked as though he were about to burst with happiness. “You are?”
“Of course,” Tony said simply. “I always am.”