Chapter Text
Tony finished making popcorn and turned around to face Peter. The spiderling was staring at the big sofa in the common room like he was debating something in his head. Tony, who was well acquainted with Peter’s tendency to overthink quickly thrusted the bowl of popcorn into the now confused teenager’s hands.
Peter, who caught the bowl purely out of instinct, was so surprised by this that he just blinked at the bowl before sending Tony an inquisitive look.
Tony could see his mission to distract the kid was a success, and he quickly motioned for Peter to move towards the sofa.
Peter did as Tony indicated, but as he reached the sofa he paused. His earlier inner debate rising up as he yet again debated on how he could get his mentor/father-figure to sit close to him. Sitting too close to Tony might be perceived as weird, whereas sitting too far would make it impossible for Peter to reach his ultimate goal - to get cuddles.
The boy was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice how long he’d been standing still in front of the sofa until Tony flopped down in the opposite corner of where Peter was currently standing. He cursed himself as he realized it would be weird to sit nearer Tony when he’d been standing there so long, so with a sigh he resigned himself to sit in the opposite end of the sofa from Tony. So far his plan was a total failure, but at least he could enjoy the fact that his mentor wanted to watch a movie with him, which showed him that Tony cared enough about him to spend time with him just because. At that thought Peter perked up again.
Tony, who had been observing the warring of emotions and expressions visible on Peter’s face, was relieved to see that Peter’s usual perkiness had won. He had no idea what was going on inside the teen’s head, and he had to admit that he was worried about it. One thing about the scene struck him as odd though.
“Are you trying to keep all the popcorn to yourself or do you just not want to sit next to me?”
Peter’s head shot up at the question. He blinked as he processed the meaning.
“Do… do you want me to move closer so we can share?”
Peter’s voice was so soft and unsure. It awoke something in Tony. Something paternal.
“Yeah, what are you waiting for?” Tony send him a smile and placed his arm on the back of the couch, indicating that Peter should sit right beside him.
Peter just stared at him for a second before breaking into a huge smile. He moved as fast as he could without spilling all the popcorn. He sat down as close to Tony as he could without being weird, which meant they were close, but their sides weren’t touching. Peter would like nothing more than to just snuggle into the side of the man he considered his father-figure, but he didn’t dare push his luck.
F.R.I.D.A.Y. started the movie and they ate some popcorn. Peter relaxed just enough to lean on the back of the couch. Tony’s arm was still resting there and it quickly found it’s way into Peter’s hair. Tony was just massaging his scalp, but Peter felt like he was in heaven. His hero, mentor, idol and father-figure all in one, was cuddling him. Peter practically melted under the affection.
Tony shamefully admitted to himself that he actually enjoyed watching Peter being his adorable self, more than he enjoyed the movie. The only thing he’d done was to start absentmindedly plying with Peter’s hair and suddenly all the stress seemed to leave Peter’s body. The kid looked so small and tired as he yawned, and Tony almost laughed out loud as the teen tried to hide the yawn by suddenly coughing.
Peter’s mission was most definitely a success, but for how long? The movie was coming to an end much quicker than Peter would like and he knew what that meant. If the movie stopped then so would the cuddles. His new plan was to somehow convince Tony that he wasn’t tired and that they should watch another movie, but he didn’t get that far.
By the time the credits started rolling Peter was fast asleep. Tony looked down at the boy. Said boy’s head had landed on Tony’s shoulder, and instead of moving it or waking him, he decided to let him sleep. Tony was tired too after a long but enjoyable day with his favorite spiderling, so he just moved a little so they both were in comfortable positions before grabbing a blanket to keep them warm.
“G’night F.R.I.D.A.Y.” Tony whispered before yawning.
“Goodnight Boss” came a whispered reply from the A.I. in a voice which Tony could have sworn sounded almost fond.
¤ ¤ ¤
Pepper was certainly not in a good mood when she finally arrived back to the tower at 4:30 in the morning on a Sunday. Her mood was certainly not improved by the fact that she had gotten little sleep on the plane due to turbulence and work. She was hungry and exhausted, but none of that mattered when she stepped out of the elevator to observe what was surely the most adorable thing she’d seen in ages. Right there on the couch in the darkness she spotted the outline of two of her favorite people. Tony was sleeping on his back and his head rested on a decorative pillow. He was snoring lightly as he often did when he slept well. One arm was keeping the blanket in place while the other was around Peter’s back. Peter was squished between Tony and the back the couch. His head rested on Tony’s shoulder and his mouth was open. He was drooling slightly on Tony’s shirt. His arms were hugging Tony lightly.
Pepper smiled softly at how domestic and peaceful they looked. She quickly took a couple photos which she sent to May and Rhodey, before picking up the empty bowl. She didn’t want to disturb them, so she followed their example and went to bed.
¤ ¤ ¤
Peter woke at 7:39 am to discover to his horror that he’d been drooling on his mentor's shirt. Even worse was it that he couldn’t do anything about it since Tony was also waking up. Tony didn’t seem to notice though, much to the teen’s relief.
They got up and both of them realized at the same time that they’d slept surprisingly well considering they’d been sleeping on a sofa. Peter and Tony both went to get ready. When Peter entered the common room again, he was greeted with the sight of Tony dressed in a Spider-man themed apron. Tony grinned at him as he noticed the teen’s arrival and Peter couldn’t help but grin back.
After a big and hearty breakfast Tony went to serve breakfast in bed for Pepper as he thought he would appreciate it after her tiring night of travel. Pepper certainly did enjoy it, but was too tired to get up and join them in whatever plans they had for the day, so like a normal healthy human being she listened to her body and went back to sleep.
Meanwhile Peter was updating Ned on the happenings of the weekend. He smiled and laughed at Ned’s eagerness and support.
Tony was entering the kitchen again when F.R.I.D.A.Y. notified him of an important message.
“What’s so important you have to interrupt my Sunday with it?”
“I’m afraid May Parker wishes to be informed of her nephews progress with his homework.”
Peter, who couldn’t help but overhear the A.I., sighed. He had hoped to procrastinate on the homework until after he had left the tower. That way he’d be able to spend as much time as possible with Tony without wasting time on something as trivial as homework.
Tony sent him a questioning look and Peter knew he wouldn’t get out of doing them. He sighed as he picked up his bag and pulled out his laptop to work on the English assignment, he had to hand in on Monday. Tony sat down on the couch not too far from Peter and started working. It was weirdly comforting. Neither of them said a word, but with just a look they communicated how much they would like to avoid their current tasks. They sat in silent solidarity for a couple hours until Peter was done with all his homework. Tony had gotten a surprising amount of work done, so they both considered it a job well done.
After lunch they went to the lab where they discussed more improvements to the nano-suits. Peter was trying to ignore the fact that he would have to leave soon. He’d had such a great weekend and he wished it could go on forever, but suddenly the clock said 4:30 pm and Pepper came in to remind him to pack. They both hugged him before Happy drove him back to the apartment.
He’d missed May a bit, so it was nice to be back home, but he was really looking forward to his next visit at the tower. He and May discussed the whole weekend over dinner and he showed her his completed homework before heading to bed. All in all it had been the perfect weekend, and he was already looking forward to spending time there again.