AU where maybe May isnât actually a very good guardian for Peter after Ben dies. She loves him, but sheâs wrecked with grief, and sheâs sad and angry and needs someone to blame. That someone is Peter, even though rationally she knows itâs not really Peterâs fault.
She becomes neglectful at most. She doesnât actually hurt him. But it makes it very easy for Peter to be Spider-Man without her ever finding out.
Things get worse when she starts dating again. Her new boyfriend doesnât like Peter, that becomes abundantly clear right off the bat. Itâs just little things at first. Telling Peter to scram when they want to have a night in together. Not getting anything for Peter when he brings takeout for himself and May. Being quick to raise his voice if Peter does something that irritates him.
But the longer this guy is around, the worse he gets. The yelling gets louder and more frequent. The arguments start. May hesitates a bit at first, but then she starts taking her boyfriendâs side in every argument against Peter.
Then he kicks Peter out one night, but itâs fine, Spider-Man will just have a long patrol.
(Rest is under the cut bc this got a little out of hand lol oopsie)
Spider-Man has been recruited by Tony at this point, but Tony doesnât know who he is under the mask yet. He, and all the other Avengers, assume he must be a young college kid.
Mayâs boyfriend just keeps getting worse and worse, though. Peter is getting kicked out of the apartment at least three nights a week. Then, the guy moves in with them.
Then, during a particularly loud, angry argument, the man hits him. Hard. But because of how quickly Peter heals, no one will ever believe him if he tries to tell anyone.
Peter has had enough. He doesnât want to live here anymore. He canât live here anymore. So he comes up with a better solution.
âHey, Mr. Stark,â Spider-Man calls, swinging up to where they agreed to meet when Spider-Man called him earlier. Heâs laughing nervously, and if he wasnât wearing a mask, heâd be running his fingers through his hair. He doesnât know why his heart is pounding so hard against his chest. He has several other backup plans if this doesnât work.
He just really wants this to work.
âJust cut to the chase, kid,â Tony says, stepping out of the suit.
âItâs just, well, Iâm sort of an Avenger now, right?â
âKey words being sort of,â Tony stresses.
âAnd the Avengers live in your tower, right?â
âWhere are you going with this?â
âWell, itâs just, Iâm sort of between places at the moment,â Peter says, waving his hand around, trying to sound casual. âAnd I was just wondering ifââ
âSure, kid, you can have a room at the Tower,â Tony says, scoffing. âWas that all? What happened, get kicked out of the dorms or something?â
âOr something,â Peter says, letting out a strained laugh. This was way too easy. Why was this so easy?
Tony tosses him a card and tells him to use it to get into the Tower, what floor to go to, and to look for the room with a blue and red spider on the door.
âYouâre kidding,â Peter scoffs. âWhat am I, five?â
Tony just smirks at him, then twiddles his fingers in a wave and gets back in the suit to take off. Peter just huffs, watching him fly away.
âWhat a dick,â he mumbles, turning the access card over in his hands, running his fingers over the edges.
He doesnât really mean that. Tony is being super nice, letting him crash in his tower without even knowing who he really is. Except, he thinks Tony has some idea as to what his secret identity is. Otherwise he wouldnât be so trusting, right? He wouldnât have just given Peter a card to access Avengers Tower if he didnât do at least the most basic of background checks, right?
Tony probably knows hes just some dumb kid. It will be fine. This is fine. His plan is going swimmingly.
He shows up in the middle of the night with his backpack and a gym bag both stuffed to the brim, still in his Spider-Man costume. He grabbed everything he needed, everything that was sentimental, and he left. Heâs really doing this. Heâs really running away.
He wonders if May will miss him. She probably wonât. He doesnât think about it much longer, instead hurrying out of the elevator in the Avengers floor and looking around for the spider-themed door.
And sure enough, there is a door with a blue and red spider emblem. The room itself is pretty spartan; thereâs a bed, a desk, a walk in closet, and an en suite bathroom. Itâs nice. The sheets on the bed are clean, if not a bit stale-smelling. He wonders how long this room has been ready for him.
He leaves again early the next morning, but he feels safe enough to leave his things behind while he goes to school.
For several days, Peter doesnât run into anyone as he comes and goes from the building. Itâs almost like no one else even lives on this floor. Heâs had time to explore the common area, the kitchen, the gym on the floor below. Itâs awesome. Itâs incredible. After a couple weeks, he finally feels comfortable enough to walk around with his mask. Mr. Stark must know who he is by now. Heâs been living in this tower for almost a month. Thereâs no way he doesnât know.
So naturally, itâs when heâs chewing on a Twizzler as he gets off from the elevator one day after school that he comes face to face with the Avengers for the first time without his mask. Theyâre staring at him. Half of them look confused. The other half look annoyed.
So he holds out his left hand and offers, âTwizzler?â as he gives the bag a little shake.
No one laughs. No one takes him up on his offer.
âWhat are you doing here?â Tony asks, moving forward. âHow did you get onto this floor?â
âUh,â Peter stammers. âYou gave me a key?â
âWhy would I give a 12 year old a key to my tower?â
Peter bristles, frowning before he snaps back, âFuck you, Iâm fourteen!â
That does help the situation.
After nearly getting manhandled by several different Avengers, heâs clinging to the ceiling, now staring despondently at the bag of Twizzlers spilled across the floor.
âNo way,â someone huffs. âYouâre not actually the spider kid?â
âSpider-Man!â Peter emphasizes, frowning.
âDid you recruit a 12 year old?â Steve asks, turning to Tony.
âOh crap, I recruited a 12 year old,â Tony mutters to himself.
âIâm fourteen!â Peter shouts at them.
No one is listening to him, and theyâre now all bickering amongst themselves over what to do with him. Still annoyed, he takes the chance to skitter away and go hide out in his room. He also starts packing up his stuff again, and he closes off all his emotions as he stuffs a pair of shoes in his gym bag. He has his Spider-Man suit back on, a jacket over it, his mask ready to pull down over his head once heâs done.
âWhat do you think youâre doing?â Tonyâs voice sounds throughout the room as the door slams open, and Peter doesnât bother turning towards him.
âPacking,â he huffs.
âWhy?â
âIâm clearly not wanted here either, so Iâll just get out of your hair,â he snaps, zipping up his bag with probably too much aggression. At least the zipper didnât break.
âLetâs slow down, kid,â Tony starts, trying to move towards him to take the bag.
âThanks for letting me stay here,â Peter says, shoving him away and tossing the card back at him.
They try to stop him, but heâs already rushing towards the open window, pulling his mask down, and diving out the window to swing away.
He crashes in an abandoned building a few blocks from school for a few nights, until heâs walking down the steps after the dismissal bell rings and sees a too-fancy car being swarmed by other teenagers with their phones out, taking photos, recording videos.
âPeter Parker!â Tonyâs voice calls, and he can see him getting out of the car with a smirk on his face. âIâve been looking for you!â
âNed, kill me,â Peter begs.
âWhy does Tony Stark know your name?â
âI donât wanna talk about it.â
âKid, hurry up!â Tony calls again. âI donât have all day!â
âDo you think I could just walk the other direction?â
âI donât think so, dude.â
Peter groans, throwing his head back, and then he drags his feet towards Tony.
âMr. Starkââ
âGet in the car, kid,â Tony says, his voice pleasant. âHappyâs gonna drive us back to the tower.â
Peter feels like heâs gonna be sick as he ducks into the car and is followed by Iron Man himself. Thereâs really no escaping. Heâs fucked.
âTwizzler?â
Peter snaps his head towards Tony, staring at the hand outstretched in front of him holding a bag of Twizzlers.
âSince you dropped yours the other day,â Tony teases him.
Peter frowns, but he snatches the whole bag and holds them close to his chest as he takes a bite.
Heâs fucked. Heâs so fucked. But at least he got his candy back.









