#partially to cause peter 'never tell anyone anything ever' parker problems

[peterbwatsonparker]

throwing my hat in the ring with (some of) my spidery-spider people thoughts

+ a bonus Felicia bc Peterfel week got her on my mind

(details under the cut)

1) I think other people other than Miguel also deserve spider-fangs. The type varies based on how they got their powers, but most, if not all, spider-people are venomous, and about half of them have some sort of retractable aspects to their fangs.

2) Structural colors! Spider-people get fun colors in some parts of their hair where the follicle shifts to refract light instead of containing pigment (based on the fact that spiders can come in many fun colors and not just. Brown. Red. Black. etc). There may be just a touch of iridescence going on in the UV spectrum, but the structural streaks at least reflect light weirdly if you can see UV. However, this mutation doesn’t occur until adulthood, so technically Miles and probably Anya are too young to manifest it yet. Peter dyes his hair compulsively to hide it, because he insists it would be out of character for him to do something so hipster.

3) Based on wolf-spider reflectiveness, spider-people have a type of tapetum lucidum, although the eye-shine color is a lot more varied. Actual acuity of their vision can vary, but jumping spider based acuity (and resulting lack of peripheral vision) is not uncommon. Additionally, they can see in the ultraviolet spectrum.

Bonus: Felicia has feline attributes, including fangs and a tapetum lucidum (and, at least, the ability to see light in the ultraviolet spectrum). Her hair is technically plain white, but has some mild but visible iridescence in the UV spectrum

[iamallyetnotatall]

Truth Be Told

Part 40 of ? in my ‘Turning Tables’ series.

Summary: Just another day in the life of Peter Parker...

AO3

"Thank you for joining me, Peter."

"It's no problem, sir," he says awkwardly, taking a seat opposite his teacher.

"I've got this research paper I'll be publishing soon. As my top student from the first semester, I was hoping you would give me some fresh perspective as a young, new student."

There's a lot of paperwork spread over the desk, a lab station that they're using rather than his own office. Rhett Leak is in his early thirties, per Peter's best estimate, and a new teacher after the Snap. It's the first week of the new semester after the holiday's and he's teaching a handful of the first year chemistry courses, and so Peter is going to be in two of his classes again this semester.

He's a good teacher; he wants his students to call him by his first name though Peter feels weird about it. He's enthusiastic about his lessons and Peter loves that it feels like he's actually learning. It's also humbling, of course, to be invited to review an actual research paper before anyone else.

"Yeah, of course. Where do you want me to start?" He gestures to the various papers around him.

"Here," Rhett says, pointing to a specific stack. "The rest is just some of my garbage," he says with a smile. "Let me get you some coffee. As old as you young folk make me feel, I actually haven't been out of school that long. I remember the desperate need for caffeine."

"Thanks," he says, already pulling the document towards himself. He feels uncomfortable with the entire situation, he doesn't like being alone with this guy though he's been nothing but kind. There's something tingling at the back of his neck that's making him uneasy though there's nothing to cause it.

He leaves the room and heads to the nearest teacher's lounge and comes back with two mugs and a couple of packets of sugar and milk. Peter drinks his coffee black and ignores the add-ons, taking a few sips as he settles himself for a long read.

"I don't know that I'll have much to tell you on this particular subject, I don't know much about it."

"Oh, don't worry, Peter. You're plenty smart, I'd say you're probably a genius if you ever got yourself tested. You'll find your way through it."

"Thanks," he mumbles, embarrassed. He continues to read.

"Say, I noticed you have those reading glasses with you all the time, but you never wear them. I know my handwriting is quite awful, but if you need them for long distances then you should at least make the effort to see the board," he jokes, pointing at Edith sitting safely tucked into his collar.

Peter touches them distractedly, still reading, "No, not really. They're more for decoration. They have sentimental value."

A lot of people say that - sentimental value. People carry around all sorts of things that remind them of loved ones, something more commonplace since the Snap. Gwen carries her father's badge no matter how illegal that actually is. Harry has his mother's favourite red lipstick tucked into his backpack for luck.

He tugs his phone partially out of his pocket to stare at Gwen's latest text, inquiring about his whereabouts. He shoots off a quick response promising to meet up to study once he's finished.

"I see. Suppose girls have a thing for nerdy guys," he teases. "What's that blonde's name you're always with?"

"That's my friend Gwen. We're just friends."

"Mm." His nails tap anxiously against the countertop. He reads but the words don't make much sense and this time, he doesn't think it has anything to do with whether or not he knows the material. There's something off about this that he's not grasping. It's 2 pm on a school day in the middle of campus, there's nothing threatening here.

He reminds himself that he'd been shot at during his high school graduation and has never received much of an explanation for it.

"Would you mind if I try them on? I've always wondered if I should try for that style. My reading glasses at home are getting old."

"Sure," he says distractedly and hands them over.

He feels...weird. His vision's getting blurrier as the seconds pass and his skin's starting to feel itchy.

"How do you activate the security protocols on this thing?" Rhett asks and Peter's head flicks up, eyes wide.

There's two of him in front of him and something is definitely not right.

"What?" He asks. His tongue feels like cotton.

"Tell me before you get useless." His voice is suddenly darker and his expression is no longer kind. "How do you connect to the drones? The missiles? A password? Abracadabra, alohomora. Come on, Parker. Spit it out before I make you."

His stomach hurts, and he blinks to still his doubling vision. He has no idea what this guy's given him, but he shoves the coffee cup off the desk in anger and it smashes loudly against the tiled floor. There's no one close enough to hear it. His body is hardly reactive, muscles tense with pain and nerves burning. It was a heavy concoction; he's surprised he couldn't taste it in the coffee.

"Edith, send a drone," he manages. "Code purple."

The teacher frowns, but his attention is now fully on the glasses. "Is that this thing's name? Edith, ignore Parker."

He manages to keep on his chair even though he feels like laying down and passing out. He hears Edith's response and wants to smile even if the pain prevents it.

"You are not authorized to make commands. I would suggest you return me to my master."

"I'm your new master now, bitch."

A Stark drone smashes through the window, shattering the glass panel. Before Rhett can make any sort of remark or curse, the drone shoots out a tazer line and immobilizes him, sending him crashing to the ground.

Peter slips out of his chair, using the table for support, and makes his way around. He falls to his knees beside him and takes back Edith, placing the glasses on his face.

"Drone, go back," he orders with the wave of his hand. It flies out through the broken window. He pulls himself to his feet and heads to the nearest sink; luckily there are many of them in a lab.

"Edith, text Gwen, tell her to come here."

He manages to get the words out before he's throwing up. His healing factor's already kicking in, expelling whatever drug he'd tried to give him. He doesn't want to know what condition he'd be in currently if it weren't for his powers.

"Yes, sir."

After the contents of his stomach are emptied, both his huge lunch and the tainted coffee, he drops down to the floor and leans back against the counter. He keeps an eye on the teacher, though it's unlikely he'll be moving for a while.

"Call Pepper," he mumbles.

He feels suddenly heavy and weak and tired. He also has no idea what to do from this point onward. It rings twice before she answers cheerfully.

"Hi, Peter! How's your first week coming along?"

"Hey, Pep. Hey, um, question for you."

His soft-spoken words have her drawing away from Morgan and whatever movie they're watching and going somewhere more secluded. The noise from her end dims down and it's only her voice coming through. "What's wrong?"

"If a teacher tried to steal Edith and murder me, maybe murder me, I'm not sure, what should I do? Do I call the cops? What if they take Edith? I don't.. don't wanna..." He swallows thickly and tries to take in a deep breath. "I don't want to lose her."

There's a pause of a few seconds and then, "I see you sent out a drone. Are you okay? Are you safe?"

"Yeah, he's unconscious."

"Good, okay. That's what's most important. Give me a name. Which teacher?"

"Mr. Rhett Leak."

"Okay, thank you. Now I want you out of there, get back to your room. Do you think you need a doctor? And don't lie to me, Peter, I swear to God-"

"I'm fine. He drugged me, I think, but I threw it up. Just gotta nap."

"I don't want you alone. I'll send Happy-"

"I don't-"

"I'm sending Happy, Peter. Stay in your dorm until he gets there. And I'll get some police down to get this sorted out and look into this guy. No one is going to take Edith from you, okay?"

"Okay."

That's when Gwen shows up, opening the door without a knock as if she owns the place and smile bright until she takes in the room.

"I gotta go, Gwen'll help me to my room. You sure it's okay to leave?"

"Peter!" His friend calls, taking a wide step around the teacher and kneeling by his side.

"I'll call you soon, okay? Happy will be there in less than an hour. He'll call you when he's there."

"Yes, ma'am," he jokes and it falls short.

"Let your friend help, be good."

The line closes and he turns to Gwen with a forced smile.

"Long story, help me up?"

As odd as the situation might be; a knocked out teacher, a broken window, and her friend sitting on the floor, she doesn't ask questions right away. She helps him to his feet and then helps him back to his own dorm, the two of them trying to act like there's nothing wrong to anyone who glances their way. He moves Edith back to the front of his shirt.

She sets him in his bed and he lays back, sighing as his aching head hits the pillow. The worst is passing, he thinks. Maybe. She sits by his feet and watches him with a frown.

"Long story?" He repeats hesitantly and knows this time it's not enough. He explains as much as he can with the little energy he has left, keeping most of Edith's true use a secret but there isn't much else he has a reason to keep from her.

"Guess you never know who's a psycho," she says thoughtfully once he's finished.

"Guess not."

She gets him some water and crackers and she's still there when he gets a call from Happy exactly fifty minutes later.

"Hey," he mumbles, slowly sitting up.

"You good to make it out or want me to come get you?"

"No, I can get there on my own. Did, um, what happened to my teacher?"

"Don't worry about it, it's taken care of. Come on, the boss is waiting."

He hangs up and Peter gathers a few things with Gwen's help and makes his way out on his own.

"You sure you don't need my help getting to the car?" She asks.

"I'm sure. I'm okay. Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it."

"Do you know what's going to happen to Mr. Leak? We should have called the cops, Peter."

"Pepper and Happy, that's SI's head of security, they both said it's fine."

"Alright..." she says hesitantly. "Text me?"

"I will."

A lot of people aren't used to the idea of 'it'll sort itself out' and Peter had been one of those people for a very long time. Then when he'd met Tony and then Pepper, he'd learned exactly what it meant to have both money and influence and the ability to have law enforcement pretty much at beck and call. Rhett Leak is definitely in custody and getting both the third degree and a full background check all at once.

What Peter wants to know is how his teacher had known about the AI in the glasses in the first place.

He has some books and clothes in a backpack and he throws that in the backseat and takes the front seat next to Happy. It's Pepper's car, and he won't be surprised to find Happy had taken a jet to the cabin and then taken her car up to his campus.

He leans his forehead against the cool window and lets out a steadying breath. His body is sore and he's fighting through the drugs well enough, but he thinks it'll be at least a day before he's a hundred percent.

"The guy's on his way to the station and he'll be far, far away from you for at least the next decade. Hopefully, by then he'll have learned his lesson."

"Do they ever?" He quips tiredly. "How did he know about Edith? He didn't know her name, but he knew about the glasses."

"I'm not sure," Happy says, but Peter can tell that's not quite true. He's too tired to push it right now.

He sleeps for the fourty-five minute drive and Happy gently nudges him when they arrive. Pepper's standing on the porch and Morgan must be distracted somewhere inside. He grabs his back and meanders over to her. She pulls him into a tight hug, only letting go when he starts to squirm in her arms.

"Oh god, Peter, I'm so glad you're okay," she whispers.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he mumbles tiredly. "I'm going to sleep a bit."

"That sounds good. Let me know if you need anything."

He nods and heads up to bed, stopping to greet Morgan and getting stuck there for five minutes before she lets him leave her side. He falls face-first into his bed, not bothering to change, and takes a nap.

When he wakes up an hour or so later, he's finally starting to feel better. He heads down to see Pepper and knows he needs some answers to what's going on. Morgan's outside with Happy and he sits beside her on the couch.

"How are you feeling now?"

"Better. Pepper, Mr. Leak knew that the glasses had access to security protocols. How is that possible?"

She sighs softly, "Yeah, that's... well." She runs a hand through her hair, not quite meeting his gaze. "I didn't expect it to get this far. I thought you'd be safe at school."

"What's going on?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Peter, but we thought we had it handled."

"What are you talking about?" He asks, a bit more forcefully this time.

"It's come to our attention that some information about Edith has been leaked. It's not public, exactly, but people are paying good money to get details about what she is or how she works, a good handful of people have bits of information. Unfortunately, some knowledge about Edith also means some knowledge about you, since you're her current primary admin."

"How long have you known?"

"Since your graduation," she admits. "Those guys had some info and from what we managed to get from them, they wanted to hurt you to hurt the business. I've had Happy working on it ever since to try and find the source, but at this point, the information's out and there's no stopping it. I never thought someone would pretend to be a teacher to get to you or Edith, I'm so sorry."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asks hotly. "Those guys tried to kill me, I had a right to know why."

"I didn't want you having this on your shoulders when you were just about to start college. Peter, Yes, you had a right to know, but it wasn't right that this was happening to you in the first place!"

He breathes out slowly.

"If I leave Edith here or at the Tower, will that solve the issue? People will leave me alone?"

"I wish I could say yes, I really do, but... Your name is tied to the business now. People know that you have certain accesses and permissions, they know certain roles you might get into later on and even if I take that all away, that won't stop them from trying to get to you."

"But I don't have anything to do with the business. Edith is just a-a protection thing! I mean, I've been to some meetings, but that's not... anything."

"This isn't how I wanted to tell you this. I wanted to wait until you were older and out of college and ready for this sort of thing. I don't want to do this now, Peter. I don't!" She takes in a deep breath to calm herself. Peter says nothing, only waits her out. "I'm sorry. Listen, Peter... Tony had a lot of hope about the part you might one day have in the company. He never wanted to pressure you into anything, but if you were willing and ready, he wanted you to, well, to follow in his footsteps, so to speak."

Peter sits quiet, watching her as he absorbs her words.

"I brought you to those meetings to get an idea if you might be interested. You have a lot you can do for Stark Industries, and Tony trusted you. After I retire someone has to take my spot and Tony wanted it to be you. I want it to be you."

"Uhhh," he says smartly, brain not keeping up with her words. "What about Morgan?"

She smiles and holds back a laugh, "Morgan is turning two in two months, not sure she's quite ready for CEO yet. I'm not talking about next year, Peter. This is farther down the road and only if it's something you want. It's just that some people have been able to tie in Edith and what happened at graduation and other little things to the idea that you're the heir to the company and that's why you're being targeted. I didn't know this myself until your graduation."

"I can't... what?"

"I'm going to need you to take a deep breath, okay?" She takes his hands and locks their eyes, guiding him for a few inhales and exhales. "No expectations, no rush, no worry, alright?"

He nods but can't quite meet her gaze.

It's a lot to take in, all at once.

"I want you to stay over for the next few days. Hopefully, by Monday the school will have replaced him and you can go back to normal."

"Is there a normal anymore?" He asks tiredly.

"Of course there is, sweetheart. Right here, with me and Morgan. That's not changing. I'm not going to ask you to do anything you aren't ready for. We'll do everything one step at a time, I promise. And while you're at school, make sure to keep Edith close by. Apparently these kinds of people will pop out when you least expect them."

"Yeah, for sure."

"Are you okay?" She asks gently.

"I think so. Do you think it'll happen a lot? For people to want to hurt me, or...? I'm used to that as Spider-man, a bit at least. I never thought I'd have that problem as Peter Parker."

"I hope not, but..."

"Yeah."

It's his new reality. Although not by name or blood, he's a Stark now. Even if he never chooses to take over the company and fill in Tony's shoes, or Pepper's, people will always associate him to the company.

He'd never thought, even for a moment, that he'd end up in this sort of position. It was naive to think, looking back. There's no working with Tony Stark or Pepper Potts without assumptions being made. He doesn't know what he wants to do, it's too soon to think about all of this. He's not ready to make any decisions, and he's going to take her up on the offer to take it one step at a time.

Right now he needs to focus on college and also apparently potential murder attempts. At least he's learning to trust that nagging feeling in his spine a lot more.