Y/N 🍪

_

TONY STARK SCARES ME.

Not in a 'Halloween, Monster, Spooky-Spooky' way, but in an 'I am so rich, I could buy your whole family and also you if I wanted to' way. He carried his wealth like an aura, and sitting across from him was like getting hit with an expensive whiff of cologne.

"Speak," he commanded, waving his hand limply at me.

I wasn't sure how to explain. It still came as a shock that he knew my issue surrounded Peter, and besides, I wasn't sure if he could accept the idea of liking someone outside of your fated partner. I was sitting on a thin wire, struggling to maintain my balance.

"I...um," I began, staring at the floor, "it's really nothing."

Mr. Stark was skeptical. "If it was 'nothing', you wouldn't be in my office."

"Well, technically, you invited me in here?"

"Excuse me?"

I widened my eyes, sinking into my chair. My heart was beating so fast. I should be dead of a stroke right now. The billionaire was spinning a pen in his right hand, watching me with an unreadable expression in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, "I get defensive when I'm nervous."

It was true. Whenever I feel anxious, it's because I can't find a sense of stability. I don't have the answers. I'm confused. It's that emotion that makes me so tense when people question me, because I'd grown up with everyone expecting me to be the best at everything and to know everything.

"You don't need to be defensive," Mr. Stark said, "I'm here to help you."

I blinked. "You're just so....intimidating."

"I am, but I'm not threatening you. I'm just older and richer, but that shouldn't mean anything." He was complimenting himself as a reassurance for me. I assumed this was very on brand for him. "Maybe it would help if you called me Tony."

"Tony?"

"Just don't call me Mr. Stark, it makes me feel old."

Mr. StarkㅡTonyㅡreclined so far into his seat, I imagined it breaking and sending him falling to the floor. It was an innocent intrusive thought. I blame it on my raging anxiety at the present moment.

The silence in the office was both embarrassing and alarming, but Tony paid no mind. He seemed to be more smug about my being there. Perhaps he'd been expecting it (although I'm not sure why).

"I like to be reasonable in matters of the heart," the man began to say, "but sometimes you teens can be so stupid."

I felt slightly offended. "I'm sorry?"

"Oh, don't apologize."

"I wasn't, I just thought I misheard一"

"I'm screwing with you, Kid," Tony laughed. He set down his pen on his desk and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He seemed like he knew everything about everyone. He probably did. "Just be honest and tell me why you're really here."

"To find the perfect recipe for my project."

"No, Martha Stewart, I mean in my office."

"I don't know if I can really talk about it, Mr一uh, Tony."

He gave me a disappointed look, but he knew I was right. It made me almost think he already figured out what I was trying to say. He assumed it had to do with Peter from the start, and if I couldn't speak about it openly, he must have gotten the hint. One of our world's smartest minds.

I watched as he waved his hand again, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he made a request.

"Friday, what's Mcfly doing?" He asked.

From the speakers surrounding us, an automated voice emerged. I wondered why Tony had already come up with a nickname for my friend so quickly. Maybe they'd spoken more than I thought they had.

"Peter Parker is currently in the Kitchen," F.R.I.D.A.Y said, "would you like me to send a message?"

Tony shook his head. "No, just pull up the LiveFeed."

"Pulling up Kitchen LiveFeed now."

From a small hologram disc in the center of Tony's desk, a 3D projected screen appeared. At first glance, it looked like we were watching a YouTube video of some sort. After squinting my eyes, I realized we were watching real-time footage of Peter roaming around the kitchen downstairs.

From what I could see, he was laying with his back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling wistfully.

"He's not dead, is he?" I smiled, cracking a joke.

Tony didn't laugh. "No, he's not."

"Right."

"He could be, though," Stark said. He turned to face me, his expression hardening into complete seriousness. "Is he a problem, Agreste?"

I blinked. "What?"

"If he's stopping you from doing your experiments, do you want him removed from the premises?"

"No, I just一"

"I'm assuming the only problem you could possibly have with him, is that he's screwing around my tower and not doing his job."

"No, he's doing his job, it's me that一"

"You have three seconds. Tell me the truth, or I'm kicking him out of here."

This situation escalated to the height of space. I widened my eyes, glancing back at the screen of Peter in the kitchen. He wasn't the issue. I was the issue. It was because I found myself thinking about him in a way that shouldn't be thought of. I didn't want him to get thrown out.

But, I also didn't want to admit that I'd started to like (?) someone who wasn't my soulmate. I didn't know if Tony could accept that, or if he was one of those pillars of society that enforced the norms. I didn't want to risk him getting disgusted at my disloyalty and withdrawing me from my project.

I was stuck in a war between possibilities.

"Three," Tony said.

I dedicated so much time to this project, and I finally had a sponsor. A good one. A smart one. Someone I'd dreamed of working with for years.

"Two."

But the situation with Peter was more than I was letting myself think it was. There had to be a reason I'd so quickly disregarded Spider-Man. There had to be a reason I felt those strange feelings when I touched him.

"One."

I had to choose.

"He's not my soulmate," I blurted out, my eyes widened in fear. The room fell dead silent. "He's not my soulmate, but I like him."

There was no going back. The words had already left my mouth, and they were now ringing inside of Tony's head like a death bell. His expression didn't change. If anything, he seemed unsurprised. Why? There was a moment of silence, and then the man waved his hand and the LiveFeed disappeared.

He adjusted his seat in his leather chain, leaning forward and resting his hands on the desk. He paused. Then he spoke.

"How do you know he's not your soulmate?"

I hadn't considered that question before. It shocked me slightly, to say the least, because I was surprised I hadn't even suggested it as a possibility. It would explain a lot. The way I'd started to like him in one single day (which should be unreasonable), the way I get all tingly when we touch, the way we often act like the same person.

But no, Peter Parker couldn't be my soulmate.

My soulmate was Spider-Man: a sarcastic, friend-zoning, house-invading, egotistical superhero. He was the complete opposite of Peter. Peter was kind, caring, and super smart.

And Peter wouldn't lie to me.

There's no way Peter would make me look like a fool, stringing me along and making me feel like I'd never end up with someone who made me happy--that's what Spider-Man did. My friend would never cross a line like that.

And besides, Spider-Man is an actual spider.

I didn't hesitate explaining that to Tony, because it was clear he already knew the identity of my soulmate-superhero. They worked together. Peter said Spider-Man probably lived here.

"My soulmate is Spider-man," I explained, exhaling out my nose, "and Spider-Man is an actual spider-mutant. Peter's just a regular teenager."

Surprisingly, Tony looked confused. "Who told you Spider-Man was a spider?"

"Thor," I blinked.

The billionaire sighed, rubbing his eyes in disappointment. I couldn't tell if he was disappointed in me or in Thor for telling me secrets about one of his Hero-Coworkers.

"You've got to be kidding me," he exhaled, leaning back into his seat. He regained his composure, staring at me with blank eyes and changing his tone into one of great seriousness. "Until you see the end of your string, you don't know who really lies behind it. Just go with your gut, Agreste."

He was right, I guess, but still---Peter isn't a possibility. He wouldn't do that to me. And he's not a Spider.

"What about Peter's soulmate?" I said, "what if they're looking to find him too? I don't want to be a homewrecker."

"If he finds them, he finds them. I don't see the harm of keeping him company while he waits."

"I guess."

The silence settled into the space light a heavy blanket, and it was clear the conversation had come to an end. Regarding Peter, that is. I didn't really want to talk about it anymore (raging anxiety does that, I guess), and Tony seemed to have spurred as much wisdom as he could already.

I gathered my wits, standing from my chair and preparing to make my exit. He stopped me, clicking his pen closed.

"By the way," he said cooly, "how's YANA?"

In the height of our conversation, I forgot the reason why I was really invited to Stark Tower. It wasn't for soulmate advice. It was for my science. Stupid love-things always got in the way of my research.

I exhaled nervously. "I'm still struggling to get the recipe right."

"Have you tried asking for help?" he asked.

"Well, not many people understand."

And not many people know me, I wanted to add, but it was already apparent how socially awkward I was.

But all Tony had to do was give me one look. One expression that answered the unspoken question that surrounded me. I stared at the floor, wishing I could just be normal and like everyone else. I wished I could just love my soulmate and not like someone who wasn't.

To top it all off, the one person who could really help me with my work was (infuriatingly)...

...Peter.

This is going to be a disaster.