An hour later.
Ding dong.
The doorbell rang.
Peter opened the door to find a handsome, well-dressed middle-aged man standing there.
"Hello, Mr. Parker," Tony Stark greeted him with a warm smile. He looked approachable, far from the arrogant capitalist figure Peter had imagined—or the aggressive, shady version Shadow Spider-Man had warned him about.
"Hello, Mr. Stark," Peter blinked in surprise, then quickly stepped aside to let Tony in.
Tony glanced at Peter with a hint of curiosity.
He had been keeping an eye on Peter for a while now—ever since Peter first started donning his homemade "baby pajamas" and swinging through the streets as Spider-Boy.
Finding out who he really was under the mask had been almost too easy.
After gathering Peter's information and realizing his actions stemmed from simple hero-worship and a teenager's dream to become a superhero, Tony had decided not to intervene.
In fact, he had even erased a few digital footprints to keep Peter off the radar and out of trouble.
So while he hadn't been actively monitoring Peter, Tony had kept tabs.
And based on all the data, "mature" was definitely not a word he would've used to describe Peter.
No, Tony's assessment of Peter had been simple: immature. Not even naïve—just plain childish.
"You doing okay lately?" Tony asked out of the blue, studying him closely.
"Uh, yeah, I'm good, Mr. Stark," Peter replied, a bit awkwardly. "You can just call me Peter."
"Alright, Peter. And you can call me Tony." Tony clapped a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Wow, solid kid you've got there."
"Mr. Stark, why don't you come in and have a seat?" Aunt May spoke up warmly.
Peter gestured again to welcome him inside.
Tony stepped into the living room, took a quick glance around, and sat on the couch.
Aunt May headed off to make some tea, while Peter sat down beside Tony.
"Mr. Stark—"
"Tony."
"Right, Tony. So... what brings you here?" Peter asked quietly.
Tony narrowed his eyes, clearly measuring him. "Looks like you already have an idea."
Peter nodded slightly. "The Sokovia Accords?"
He didn't bother asking silly questions like Why would the Accords involve me? or How do you know my identity?
If Tony Stark himself was standing in his living room, it meant he definitely knew.
"Yes. And no," Tony said, lowering his voice. "I do want you to sign... but more importantly, I need your help."
"You need... me?" Peter blinked, thrown off. Had he guessed right—that Tony needed reinforcements because of Captain America's rebellion?
Peter opened his mouth to ask more, but Tony coughed lightly and raised his voice.
"I've already approved your September Foundation application," Tony said brightly. "So Peter, once you're ready, we can discuss the details of our collaboration."
"September Foundation? Collaboration?" Aunt May returned with a tray of tea and snacks just in time to hear that.
"Uh... sorry, May," Peter stammered, playing along.
Tony rose to help Aunt May with the tray, flashing her a winning smile. "Peter's an exceptional young man. I'm excited to work with him."
"I'm excited to work with you too, Mr. Stark," Peter said with formal seriousness—switching back to Mr. Stark deliberately.
From Aunt May's point of view, it just sounded like Peter had secured a grant or internship with Stark Industries.
But between Peter and Tony, the real conversation had just taken a very different turn.
Peter's words were his subtle way of agreeing to sign the Sokovia Accords.
"Mr. Stark, could we maybe sit down and discuss the specifics of this 'collaboration'?" Peter asked.
Tony smiled slightly. "Of course, Mr. Parker."
"May..." Peter glanced at her.
Aunt May gave him a thumbs-up and mouthed: "Good luck!"
"Mm!"
Peter and Tony both stood and headed to Peter's room.
"Is this... retro tech?" Tony asked the moment he stepped inside, eyeing a bulky, clunky computer on Peter's desk.
Peter followed his gaze—it was a bit of a monster, cobbled together from parts he'd scavenged from junkyards, mainly for debugging his web-shooters. He had modified it with so many custom ports and attachments that it looked downright overweight.
"Yeah... you could say it's pretty retro," Peter admitted, a little embarrassed that his idol was seeing his messy DIY setup.
Tony chuckled quietly. Finally, he saw a flash of the real teenager beneath all Peter's awkward attempts to act serious.
Yeah, Tony thought, this kid's just pretending to be all grown up.
Because honestly, people didn't just grow up overnight—not unless something massive, some earth-shattering event, forced it.
And Peter's life? As far as Tony could tell, it had been perfectly ordinary lately. No sign of any "accelerated maturity" moments.
"Even though you seem to have agreed, I still have to ask—this kid running around in baby pajamas... that's you, right, Peter?" Tony teased, pulling out his phone and showing him a video clip.
"...Yeah, that's me. But it's not baby pajamas!" Peter protested. "It's my... suit! Like your Iron Man armor!"
"You call that a suit?" Tony burst out laughing, slapping his knee.
Peter glared at him, deeply offended.
"Okay, okay," Tony said, quickly regaining his composure. "I'm not laughing at you—hahaha—well, maybe a little."
Peter sighed. "Tony, can we please move past the... suit issue and get to the Sokovia Accords? And whatever help you actually need from me? That's why you're here, right?"
"Right," Tony nodded. "The Sokovia Accords are basically—"
Tony launched into a summary of the Accords, laying out the essentials.
Peter listened carefully.
While he agreed that superheroes needed some oversight, he was wary of too much government control—especially given everything he'd learned from the Shadow Spider-Man's experiences.
He had no desire to become someone's pawn without realizing it.
—End of chapter—