An-after the death of Aunt May, Tony takes Peter in, who receives an award for keeping his grades up, and there is an extremely emotional speech.

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When Tony walked into the kitchen for another coffee, he wasn't expecting to see Peter scribbling away at some paper, muttering to himself and crossing things out occasionally and re-writing it.

"You know Pete, computers are better for editing your writing," Tony said, maneuvering around the kitchen. Peter looked up at him in a daze and shrugged a little. Tony was about to leave, only to be stopped by Peter.

"Oh! Tony, I actually needed to give you something, I'm getting an award on Friday, and I'd like you to um, be there. Here, I have a note for you to sign and you just need to write how many people are coming so my school can reserve seats." Tony peered at the note Peter handed him, he was just going to sign it later, but the writing stopped him.

"It says here you're getting an award for resilience in learning and that you're doing a speech. The hell kind of award is that." Tony said Peter didn't look up to answer and just continued to write in the notebook.

"Its cause my grades didn't go down when my aunt died," Peter mumbled.

"How do you know that?" Tony said, gesturing for Peter to give him his pen, which he complied to.

"I got the same award when my uncle Ben died. Gives them brownie point for supporting kids going through loss. Before you ask, I've already got my speech, and I'll be wearing one of my uncle Ben's old ties." Tony just nodded in response, signing the paper with a flourish.

"Ok kid, well I'll see you there, do me proud." Peter just smiled tightly in response.

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Peter was currently standing backstage, while the principle introduced the award to the crowd, Peter wasn't really listening, he was currently trying not to have a panic attack, only to be interrupted by the principle calling him one stage. The room was silent as he walked up to the podium. The slacks Tony made him wear were getting extremely uncomfortable, and the belt felt too tight. The white button-down was definitely going to be somewhat damp afterwards, he adjusted the tie before speaking.

"Hello everyone. I guess it's no surprise I'm up here again receiving this award. Just three years ago I accepted the same award when my uncle was shot during a robbery, and now six months after my aunt's death, I'm getting it again. Except for this time, everything is different, I'm different. Last time I spoke about finding light in the darkness, and I considered speaking about the same thing this time cause I didn't really know what to write, but then I realised that there was so much more I wanted to do with this time. I spent a long time when my uncle died not knowing what to say at his funeral, as I was tasked with writing the eulogy, and the same with my aunt's funeral, but now I know what I want to say, and what I should have said. I wrote three letters. And here's the first one." Peter shuffled his papers a little, looking down at the crowd to find Ned and MJ's faces, who nodded encouragingly, Peter cleared his throat, taking a deep breath before starting.

"Dear Uncle Ben. Your death was the first that I actually remembered and that I actually had the emotional capacity to understand. When you died I felt so alone and angry. Angry because I blamed myself for your death, and angry because the felt like I wasn't good enough to hear your last words. 'With great power comes great responsibility'. I didn't feel like I was good enough, that I was strong enough. But eventually, I stopped blaming myself for your death, and I realised that nothing I could have done would have stopped you from dying." Peter paused to take a deep breath, steadying himself so that he wouldn't cry.

"I like to think that you would be proud of me, for being the young man I am today, and the man I'm becoming. I like to think that you would be proud of my accomplishments, and the friends I've made, and all the good things I've done. But sometimes I also think that you would've wanted to live longer. There are moments where I realise how young you were when you died, not only did you not get to do all the things you wanted, like becoming captain of the precinct, or move us into that house you and May had your eye on for years. But I also think about all the things that I missed out on because you were the only father figure I had for a long time. May did her best to teach me how to become a man, and don't worry, she did a really good job, but it wasn't the same, learning how to tie and tie off of youtube, and learning how to shave from my best friends dad, and how the hell to ask a girl out." Peter smiled a little, looking up at MJ you offered him a small smile.

"But if I've learnt anything from all those movies you made me watch as a kid, is that if I had a time machine I can't bring you back because you were meant to die. But if I could go back, I would tell  you how much I love you, and how much I miss you." Peter hastily whipped a tear off his cheek, his voice wavering. "Because I was so angry that you were leaving me that I forgot to tell you that I love you before you closed your eyes for the last time. I miss you Ben, so damn much. And I know you'd be telling me to shut my mouth and that I shouldn't be using that language, but I feel like right now it's appropriate because there is so much I miss about you, Ben. Like that horrible casserole you used to make that May and I never had the heart to tell you we hated, or the annual fishing trips we used to take during summer break, where we couldn't catch a fish to save our lives. Or all the dumb movies you made me watch because 'The eighties is an important part of modern culture' and it turns out I have an unhealthy obsession with eighties music and movies now, so there you go. But most of all, I miss you, because I still remember everything about you, your voice, the awful colon you used to wear, and the way you used to hug me." Peter whipped his nose on his sleeve this time, sniffling. "I love you uncle ben, never forget that." Peter shuffling the papers again so the next was at the front.

"Dear aunt may." peter paused to look back up at the audience who looked shocked, or scandalised, MJ and Ned just looked proud of him, he was glad for that. "When uncle Ben died you were there for me, through the police questioning, through the hospital stay, and helping me wash the blood out of my clothes from that night. You were there for me at the funeral where I couldn't even cry because I refused to believe that uncle Ben was dead, you were there for me when I went back to school, where no one looked at me the same for weeks. But you were also there for me when I started growing up. When I got those braces and couldn't stop crying cause it hurt so much those first few days," Peter paused to smile tightly at the podium, "when I started high school, when I got beaten up for the first time, when my glasses got broken cause I fell down the stairs looking at my physics results, and when you would put all my test results on the fridge with those iron man magnets I was so embarrassed about loving so much. But most of all you were there for me when I couldn't be there for myself when my eyes hurt so much from crying when my cheeks hurt so bad from laughing at your captain America impression you used to always do. You always bought me new clothes every growth spurt even when we couldn't afford it. You always managed to make me while even when I thought I never would again." Peter paused again to clear his throat.

"You were always there, and now you're not. It's so scary thinking about the fact that I'll never go home after school to find a note form you in your loopy handwriting saying you'd be back late cause you took an extra shift at the hospital and that I could order all the larb I wanted." Peter bit back a sob, looking back up at Ned and MJ who now had tears in the corners of their eyes. "Or that I won't wake up and come downstairs to you dancing to the eighties radio one more time. And it's hard to believe I won't get to scold you one more time for calling me Petey-pie, even though I secretly loved it when you called me that. It's hard to believe I won't get to hear your voice one more time, or hug you till my arms are numb, or gush about my newest crush." Peter's smile faltered, his eyes dimming momentarily.

"I never thought I'd be saying goodbye for the last time, or I love you for the last time. When I went to the hospital because they said you were in a coma, I sat there for day after day until you woke up. And you knew you were dying, so you said goodbye, and I had to tell them to pull the plug. I tried not to be angry that you were going too, but I was. But at least I got to say goodbye this time, and tell you how much I love you." Peter was desperately trying to keep his breathing steady. "When you died I felt so incredibly alone that I couldn't help but go into that dark place I did when Ben died. You made me promise I wouldn't hurt myself and that I wouldn't try anything stupid, but I did, and of course, Tony found me before I flatlined. I did something stupid, and I regret it, more then you know." Peter searched the crowd for Tony's face, and when he couldn't find it he felt more alone than ever, but the glint of those sunglasses made Peter grin a little.

"We always used to say that my mum and dad were up in the stars and that Ben's up there with them. And now you are too, are they as beautiful up there and they are from down here? Cause I'm not gonna be there for a long time May, but I have one thing you need to do for me, give Ben that hug we talked about." Peter was definitely crying now, the tears flowing freely down his face now, sniffling so the snot didn't join them. "I won't ever forget you, because they say that you die twice, the first time is when your heart stops beating, and the second is the last time that somebody mentions your name. I won't ever let the world forget you May, because you changed my life when you took me in, even though we aren't related by blood. You died too young, way too young. And the world will never be the same without you. I larb your aunt May."

Peter drew in another deep breath, shuffling the papers again so the last one was on top. Ignoring the hand of the principal who was trying to usher him off the stage, he just shook the hand off him. "To the man who adopted me. You know who you are, who wouldn't. Knowing you and the others you're all in horrible disguises that any sane person can see through. I honestly thought you wouldn't want to come, and if aunt May were here she'd tell me that my insecurities are coming through." Peter looked up at Tony, who had a smile on his face and obvious tear tracks running down his face, and if Peter brought it up later, then Tony would say he wasn't crying, just having an allergic reaction.

"You've done a lot for me, and in my opinion too much. Pepper says it because you like to spoil me, but I think it's because you have too much money. It's no secret I don't like accepting help offered my way. You've done so much for me, you took me in in a heartbeat when you found out May died and left you as my guardian in her will. And when you found me that night after I'd made the worst decision of my life, you weren't angry at me like I expected me to be, you were just disappointed, but not in me, because you thought it was your fault that I tried to kill myself." Peter had ever actually said the words out loud, and it felt like something was coming off his shoulders.

"But it wasn't your fault, it never was, you always took care of me. When you offered me that internship I never thought I'd get so many opportunities or a family. You never knew, but my first paycheck from the internship went to May. We called it parker luck, cause the worst things always happened to us. May would lose her job the day before rent was due, and I'd break my glasses just as we lost the prescription for them. We weren't better off after Ben died, his job was the only thing keeping us stable. May had three jobs, and I did paper runs just so we could get at least two meals on the table every day. When you started giving me a paycheck and finding reasons to slip money into May's account you saved us from the homeless shelter, May and I hadn't cried that much after that paycheck since Ben died. That apartment was our last chance, it was the eighth lease we'd signed that year, and it was only August. Not only were you happy to help us, but you also did it with a smile, and I think that's all May and I needed, a smile." Peter was looking straight at Tony, who looked like he could just about die right now, but he was still offering Peter a soft smile, like always.

"You always have this air about you, that makes it seem like it is so effortless to do the great things you do. People always ask me who my favourite superhero is, and I always say Tony Stark, and they always think I mean ironman, but I mean you. Because the man behind the mask taught me that it's ok to be me and that it's ok for me to be angry, and cry so hard I can't feel my face. You also taught me to do better, because striving for better is what saved me. It took me months to call you Tony, and I want to tell you why. I've lost a lot of people in my life, and I can't help but feel like it's my fault sometimes. And I can't lose you, I can't lose another person who I care about, and who believes in me. I can't lose another father figure. Because the truth is, I love you, dad. I love you so much, sometimes it hurts because I'm not used to expressing love because I get so scared of it. Thank you for giving me the chance of a lifetime, and being you, because you're the greatest." with that Peter gathered his papers and stepped off the podium, frantically wiping the tears off his face and he walked his way off the stage, crumpling the papers in his hands. When he got backstage he squatted, burying his head in his hands, the look Tony gave him made him want to curl into a ball and die.

He was startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder, he only calmed down when he realised it was only MJ. She offered him a small smile, tugging him to his feet o she could envelop him in a hug. "You did good Pete." She whispered, making Peter smile.

"I think that's the first time you've called me something other than Loser." he mumbled into MJ's hair, making her chuckled a little, Peter Pulle back, and let out a sob. MJ held his hands in her own, rubbing the tops of his hands with her thumbs.

"You did them proud. They're smiling up there you know, in the stars." Peter let out another sob like sound, but nodded, a small smile rested on his face.

"Yeah, I think they would be. Do you think they're pretty stars MJ?" She was surprised by the amount of vulnerability he was showing her, it wasn't like him. She didn't quite know how to answer, and she was gratefully Tony chose that moment to walk into the room.

"The prettiest Pete. They're the prettiest stars, Pete." Tony said softly. Making Peter snap his head up to look at him, his bottom lip quivered as he collapsed into Tony's waiting arms.

"Why do the best ones have to go, dad?" Peter said, making Tony want to never let him go again.

"Because Pete, when you pick flowers, which ones do you pick?" He whispered into Peter's hair.

"The prettiest ones," Peter whispered, nodding.

"You know, that's the first time you've called me dad, and I love the ring to it, but I wish it was under better circumstances. God kid, they'd be so proud of you. So proud of you for getting up on that stage and speaking your heart out, and crying your eyes out. The rest of the audience looked like they were going to have a heart attack." Tony said, making peter smile a little.

"You're a gift kid, and you have no idea how happy it makes me that you trust me and that you love me back. You've always been my kid, that's what I thought anyway. I thought you'd get up there and say a couple of words, not create the most tear-jerking speech in the world. but if you repeat that I'll be forced to shoot you. You hear me?" Peter just chuckled and nodded a little, wiping his nose on his sleeve. Tony just smiled and linked his arm with Peter's.

"Come on kid, let's go home."