Peter could not stop staring around Tony's workshop. The place was beyond extraordinary. Peter felt like he'd been handed the keys to some kind of priceless vault. The technology contained behind the glass doors was incredible. As Tony immediately set to work, Peter wandered around the vast area in dumbfounded bewilderment. There were no words to describe how he felt in the moment. It made his elite private STEM high school look like a kid's play. There was just no comparison.

"Kid, hand me that DIMM?"

Peter spun around on his heel, looking startled. "What?"

"That memory module on the workbench; hand it to me. Geez, kid, how did you manage to deactivate Jocasta if you don't even know what DIMM is?"

Peter grabbed the module and handed it to Tony with a little bit of irritation in his step. "I know what DIMM is," he mumbled, more to himself than to Tony.

Tony chuckled and took the component, bringing up some large screens up in front of him. Peter's eyes grew large as he took in the technology. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before. He was awestruck as he watched Tony input data and then insert the module.

"What are you building?" asked Peter in awe, barely able to find his voice. He wanted to know everything. His brain was whirling in amazement and his heart was pounding with anticipation. It felt like he had been quite literally starved his whole life and was about to be fed for the first time. He was salivating at the possibilities.

"Classified," was all Tony said before swiping away the screen and staring at him. "So, you gonna tell me how you managed to disable Jocasta." Tony reached for Peter's wrist and released the tracker with an irritated look on his face.

Peter snatched his wrist back and massaged it. He couldn't help but feel disappointed in being shut out from Tony's work.

"You don't trust me, do you?" mumbled Peter, dejectedly.

Tony raised a brow. "Why do you say that?"

"'Cause you won't tell me what you're doing?"

Tony grabbed a rag from the bench in front of him and tossed it at Peter. "I trust you, Pete, but right now I'm still kinda pissed…"

"Why? Because I went on patrol?"

Tony shook his head. "No, because you don't seem to get what it means to be inconspicuous. Every time you patrol, you make yourself a sideshow."

"No, I don't, "said Peter indignantly.

Tony took a few steps forward and rested a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Yes, Peter, you do. You have to stop being so damned careless, or I'm not going to be able to protect you. You have no idea how the UN getting their hands on you is going to mess up life for you and your aunt."

Peter looked completely baffled by Tony's words and that only served to make the older man realize just how right Rhodey was and how little the young teen understood. Tony sighed and shook his head. He had no clue how he was going to make the kid understand; maybe he never would. Sometimes, adults just had to protect kids from themselves.

"Never mind. Look, kid, if you expect to be in the know, you're gonna need to earn it. You can start over there." Tony pointed towards one of his suits.

Peter followed Tony's line of sight and landed on some of Tony's old prototypes of his suits. As much as Peter wanted to be annoyed, he couldn't help but be captivated. Old technology or not, Tony's Iron man suits were impressive. Peter walked over and stared at Tony for direction.

"Meet Mark VIII. Extraordinary, isn't it?" Tony walked over and put a hand on Peter's shoulder. He stared at the suit with a look of nostalgia in his eyes. "Dismantle it for me."

Peter's jaw dropped. "What?"

"You heard me, kid. Dismantle it."

"But, why?"

Tony held up a finger. "Yours is not to question why, Pete. Yours is to obey. Hop to it."

Peter stood staring and holding the rag in his hand. He did not even know how to begin such an awesome task, and he still had no idea why Tony would ask him to do such a thing.

Tony went back to work, bringing up screen after screen and tinkering at things that Peter had no idea about. Dum-E and U rushed around after him like dutiful puppies while Tony yelled and scolded them. Peter felt like he was in some kind of lost episode of the twilight zone. He sighed and stuck the rag in his back pocket. Looking at the suit, he strategized the best way to begin dismantling it.

It seemed like only a few minutes had gone by and then suddenly several hours disappeared. Peter had grease on his face and under his fingernails, and the clean cloth Tony had given him earlier was completely grubby. Peter stood up and groaned as he stretched out his back. He took a few steps back and admired his work. The entire suit was completely dismantled and laying in pieces strew across the floor. It was completely and totally fascinating to see how intricate the suit truly was. Peter was so enthralled with his work that he didn't hear Tony come up behind him.

"Good work, kid. Don't think I've ever seen anyone do it quite that way."

Peter startled a little and frowned. "What do you mean?" Peter didn't think there would be any other way to dismantle a suit other than tearing it apart.

"Did you pay attention to how you took it apart?"

Peter ran his dirty hands through his hair and scowled. "Well, no, not exactly. I was more fascinated by figuring out the design capacities. This thing is incredible!"

Tony chuckled. "Let me see your hand, Pete."

Peter furrowed his brow and reached out his hand. Tony captured his wrist and firmly attached the tracker to it once more. Peter glowered at him but remained silent.

"I dare you to figure out that one, genius."

"You serious?" Peter glared at the tracker on his wrist.

Tony put his hands on his hips. "Yeah, I'm serious. Jocasta won't be fooled this time; however, we need to get a few things straight here, Pete."

Peter groaned in anticipation.

Tony ignored the moan and walked across the room, grabbing a couple of water bottles out of the fridge and tossing one towards Peter. The teen caught the bottle of water and drank greedily from it. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was in all his excitement of actually being with Tony Stark in his workshop of all places.

"I meant what I said, Pete. You are officially my first and only intern beginning today. Unless otherwise told, I want to see you here every Saturday for the foreseeable future."

"Every Saturday? Are you kidding me? Tony err, I mean , I have a life, you know."

Tony smiled at the fact that Peter had referred to him by his first name for once. It had been a long time coming and perhaps a shot in the right direction for their relationship.

"Tony is fine and yes, every Saturday. If you show me how responsible you are and if you do well, perhaps Spidey and Ironman can do some patrolling together…"

Peter's eyes widened with excitement. "You mean it?"

Tony chuckled at the kid's enthusiasm. "Yes, I mean it, but there is a catch, Peter."

Peter's eyes darkened. "I knew it," he mumbled and wiped his filthy hands on what used to be a pair of blue jeans.

"You might not understand some of this stuff going on with the Accords, but it's pivotal for the future of persons with enhanced abilities. If we don't cooperate with the powers that be now then they will give us a hard time in the future, and it will become increasingly difficult to work together. We have to be a team. We have to work together for the betterment of society. There are some really powerful and mastermind criminals, Pete, and your generation needs to be the ones that we can count on. Cap and I and the rest of the Avengers aren't going to live forever."

Peter took a long, long gulp of water. "What about Cap? He doesn't agree with the Accords. You told me he's wrong but he thinks he's right. You told me that makes him dangerous. Why is that?" Peter hadn't had a lot of time to chat with Capital America when they were going head to head. He'd always admired the man and had been stoked to have a chance to spar with him.

Tony heaved a loud sigh and walked towards the nearby sofa. The furniture in the workshop was extensive and stylish. Peter wondered why Tony would have stuck such elaborate furniture in a workshop where it was bound to get ruined.

"Pepper has good taste. Not sure why she thinks I need things to sit on in the shop but I guess she could foretell the future. Have a seat, kid." Tony pointed to the large, welcoming oversized chair across from him. Peter glanced at his dirty clothing and his face paled. "Don't worry about your clothes. Pepper tells me this stuff has been sprayed with the best in stain technology so we might as well test that out. As scientists, it's our duty." Tony smirked at him.

Peter sat down.

"Before we get into Cap and his rogue idealism, let's get back to us and the catch."

Peter chewed his bottom lip thinking he wasn't going to like the catch.

"That tracker is there so I can keep an eye on you. If you manage to silence Jocasta again that doesn't mean you get to go, rogue, yourself. If you do, I will bust your ass. Get me, Parker?"

Peter's eyes darkened. "I didn't go rogue."

"Then why did you feel the need to silence the tracker?"

"It was on principle. I wasn't breaking any rules."

Tony crossed his legs and leaned back. "So, you're telling me that you disabled the tracker because of principle?"

Peter fidgeted, "Well, yah. I don't need a babysitter."

Tony threw back his head and laughed. "Kid, if anyone needs a babysitter, it's you. I don't need some stupid adolescent vigilante out there doing whatever he damn well pleases. That's not how things work. And," Tony pointed a finger in his direction looking pissed, "You disabled Karen and then you cast some kind of spell on her…"

"Wait. What? I didn't…"

Tony held up his hand. "Don't worry about it, kid. It's a flaw in my design. For some reason all my AI's end up with a personality all their own. You can't help being who you are. It's all good."

Peter scowled.

"The point is unless you're in danger, I've figured out that Karen isn't going to tell me anything. And it seems like Friday isn't any better. I'm doomed. Maybe I need to create more masculine AI's or ask Vision to watch you, but for now, this works and Jocasta reports to me alone. So, go ahead and try. You won't disable her this time."

Peter rolled his eyes making Tony laugh again. He sat forward and looked more seriously at Peter. "Any questions?"

"What if I do?"

"You won't kid."

"Okay, but let's pretend I do. Are you going to kick my ass?"

Tony shook his head in amusement. "You won't but I'll play along. If you do, I won't kick your ass unless you break the rules or piss me off. Anything else?"

"Yah."

"What?"

"When do I get to meet Cap and the rest of the team?"

Tony stood up. "Whoa, kid. Slow down. You're my sidekick, not the Avengers."

"Who's on your side? And I'm not anyone's sidekick!" He was annoyed at the insinuation.

"There are no sides, Pete." Tony was getting exasperated, not necessarily at Peter but more because he didn't want to have to explain the whole convoluted story to a kid. It was far too painful and truth be known, he already had his own misgivings about everything. Cap was his friend, and he missed him.

Peter stood up as well. "I know I don't know everything about the Accords, but I know you and Cap are still friends. Good friends. I don't believe that this dumb stuff is going to stop you from staying in touch."

"Kid," Tony's voice sounded strained.

"I fought side by side with you, Mr. Stark. I'm not stupid, Cap could have killed me, but he didn't. He was playing with kid gloves, and so were you. I know there is more to this fight than just the Accords."

Tony scrubbed a hand across his face. He was finished with the discussion. "Okay, kid, I'm done talking about this…"

Peter kept pushing further. "Do you know where the rest of the team is? Are you in contact with Cap? I won't tell anyone, Mr. Stark. Please, you've got to tell me."

Tony's last nerve was getting shorter. How he wished Pepper was around. She always managed to keep his temper in check. The last thing he wanted to do was lose it with the kid. The teen had no idea about his parents or Bucky Barnes, and he didn't have the emotional fortitude to explain it. Time had passed and plenty of it. The Rogue Avengers were getting tired of hiding, but they weren't going to back down on the issues. Tony knew that now, and he'd come to respect them for their stance. Surprisingly enough it was Natasha who had managed to change his mind. She missed Clint, and Clint's family was suffering without him. Cap's team didn't know it, but Tony was working damned hard behind the scenes to get the Accords amended, so they all could return home. Tony had long since forgiven Steve Rodgers. Really, all he really needed to do was suck up his pride enough to make the damned phone call. He hadn't had the balls to do that yet. Steve had left messages numerous times. Of course, he had. That was because Steve was friggen perfect which further annoyed Tony. How many times had he just wanted to smack his perfect face and kick his perfect ass? Only trouble was, Tony respected the guy and loved him as his friend.

Tony walked towards his workbench once more and Peter was on his heels. "It's complicated, kid, and I don't really want to discuss it."

"No way; you don't get to shut me down like that!" snapped Peter, his aggravation coming out of nowhere. "You came to me, Stark, remember?"

Tony growled under his breath. There was that attitude again. Peter was able to switch it on as fast as a light switch. What was it about the kid that made him so volatile so quickly? Tony turned and stuck a finger in the kid's face. "Hey, you need to understand something about me, Pete. When I say I don't want to discuss something, then we're done." He waved his finger between him and Peter. "This isn't a peer on peer relationship. We're not team equals. You are a kid. I am an adult. You do what I say and not the other way around. Get me?"

Peter's face reddened and he took a step back. Tony watched several emotions flicker across the kid's face as he took in Tony's words. Tony waited for a response and he was ready. Tony fully expected a fight. It was all Peter had given him since the beginning and he didn't expect anything less.

Peter glared at him but remained quiet.

Tony pointed at his dismantled suit. "Okay, now that we have established the rules yet again, put my damned suit back together."

Peter's brows flew up to meet his hairline. "Wait. What?"

"You heard me, kid. You dismantled it not put it back together."

Peter's face paled and Tony could tell he was taken aback; all thoughts of the Avengers flew from his head. "But, but, I can't. I-I don't remember enough to assemble it again."

Tony frowned. "You're telling me that you took it apart without taking the time to pay attention to how you did it?"

"Well, yah. You never said I had to reassemble it. You just said to take it apart so I did."

Tony put his hands on his hips. "Huh. Okay. Well, so are you religious, kid? I mean do you go to church or something with your aunt on Sundays?"

Peter tilted his head sideways, his face taking on a puzzled expression. "No, why do you ask?"

Tony pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialled. He put the phone to his ear and waited. "Hey there, May. This is Tony Stark calling. Yes, I am standing here with your wonderful nephew and the internship is coming along fantastically, so much so that I'm calling to ask your permission for the kid to stay with me another night."

Peter's jaw dropped as he listened to the billionaire sweet talk his aunt into allowing Peter to stay another night. Tony laid it on thick and from the sounds of the conversation, his Aunt May fell for everything the man said hook, line and sinker, even promising to make sure Peter ate all his greens for dinner and not to let him have any junk food. Peter shook his head in defeat. He knew his aunt was a brilliant woman in every sense of the word, but somehow, she didn't see through Tony's bullshit and neither did anyone else.

Tony ended the call and winked at Peter. "Looks like you have all night, kid. Might as well get started."

Peter looked at the thousands of pieces of dismantled metal on the workbench and floor. There was pretty much no way he'd be able to rebuild the ironman suit to spec. In fact, he'd be lucky to even put it back to together and have it resemble the suit. Taking things apart to see how they work was much easier than reassembling. Peter ran a dirty hand through his hair and looked at Tony with determination.

"Okay, I'll do it, but let's make a bet."

Tony raised a brow, intrigued.

"If I put it back together then you get to tell me what went down between you and Cap."

Tony growled under this breath and puffed out his cheeks. As much as he didn't want to tell Peter anything about things, he wasn't opposed to seeing if the incentive would challenge the kid to reach deeper within him. Peter Parker was intelligent, and when he wasn't being so damned difficult and ruled by his teenage hormones and emotions, he had a lot of potential.

Tony held out a hand. "Okay, kid. Put my suit back together and we'll talk."

Author's note: Thanks for all the fabulous reviews. So, I've been thinking about this fic, and I'm thinking I want to expand it a little. I'm a busy guy so I don't often have too much time to watch movies. I think I'm behind on Avengers flicks by YEARS! My son recently forced me to have a little Avengers and Captain America marathon...I think I'm inspired to go a little rogue myself in my writing. All that to say that I may be leaving this fic here and taking it into another story. I plan to keep building the relationship with Tony and Peter...that father/son dynamic still needs building and closure but I think I want to bring in a few of the other Avengers as well. I'm not too clear on the storylines yet so I plan to make it AU...make up my own storyline for them. It will take place after Civil War and the Infinity War won't happen in my universe. (I don't have the time to figure out those Infinity stones)

Civil War, though! Wow, what a ride that movie was! I'm intrigued by so many characters...like what happened to Clint? (love Hawkeye...family man...my type of guy!) Natasha? What happened to Wanda? And why the heck did they cast her character so old? That bugged me! From my idea of the storyline, weren't those twins supposed to be teenagers like 15 or 16? Why on earth is the actress an adult close to 30? Captain America called her a kid...and from my idea, she was supposed to be a kid, like not much older than Peter Parker. Did I miss something?

Anyway, stay tuned for a new story from me...not sure of the title or full plot line., but it's a brewing. It's going to continue to centre around Peter and Tony's relationship (because its fun to write!), and I'm going to add a teenage Wanda (because I can) to the mix and maybe some other OC's plus some other Avengers. Tony and Steve need some closure and well, I want to try my hand at patching up the Avengers and fixing these Accords so Cap's team will maybe sign them. I like action but I'm also a "happily ever after" kinda guy. Plus...Tony and Pepper on a break? Are you kidding me? Maybe a little part of me is a romantic too. Shhh...don't tell my wife!

Hope you will stick around...follow me as an Author if you don't want to miss out on my next story.

Don't worry, it will continue from here...

Thanks for reviewing.