Complications Chapter 1

Peter stared up at the tall building nervously.

‘You’ll be fine,’ he told himself and opened the door before he could chicken out.

He approached the receptionist at the welcome desk and offered her a shy smile which she returned, albeit a little more cheerfully.

“Welcome to Stark Industries, how may I help you?”

“I’m Peter Parker, I’m, uh, here for an interview,” Peter replied while trying to hide his nervousness.

He failed miserably since the receptionist smiled kindly and patted his arm before nodding. Peter wasn’t sure why woman seemed to want to comfort him; Gwen had said that he wasn't very good at hiding his emotions, and thinking about her still hurt so he pushed that thought away.

“Have a seat Mr. Parker and someone will be with you shortly.”

Peter took a chair and lose himself in thought; it made the waiting easier. He had originally planned on working at Oscorp; they had specialized in the sciences that he was most interested in, but then Tony Stark came back from his kidnapping and cancelled all of the weapon building to start working in other areas. Oscorp hadn’t been able to handle the competition; the corporation managed to stay afloat, thanks to Norman Osbourne’s stubbornness, but barely.

“Mr. Parker?”

Peter jumped to his feet upon hearing his name. There was a middle aged man studying him and Peter shook his hand.

“My name is Dan Cossock and I’ll be interviewing you.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Peter replied politely and followed Mr. Cossock to an office room.

The older man had a copy of Peter’s resume on the table and he picked it up as he sat down.

“Have a seat Mr. Parker,” he said and Peter hurried to obey. “You don’t have a lot of job experience but your grade are good and your teachers have quite a bit of praise for you.”

Peter nodded nervously. The only real job he had ever had was at the Bugle and that wasn’t particularly useful for on a resume. There was some standard interview questions that he tried to answer as honestly as he could and finally Mr. Cossock placed his resume back on the table.

“You’re aware that you would be starting off as an assistant? You will be performing odd jobs for anyone who asks and you won’t get to work in the labs.”

Peter nodded earnestly.

“I understand.”

He did too; they wouldn’t want some new kid in a lab but he hoped that with a lot of hard work he would get there.

“Good, your first day is tomorrow; you start at nine. There isn’t a uniform but wear something professional.”

Peter nodded again and stood up when Mr. Cossock did; he shook the man’s hand again with a large smile.

“I look forward to working with you.”

XX

Peter actually managed to show up for work five minutes early. This was a result of him leaving home two hours earlier then he normally would; being Spiderman could take up a large chunk of time if he wasn’t careful. Once he got inside he was put to work immediately, and he found himself running all around the building, which was very large by the way, transferring files and notes from one person to the next, cleaning up the occasional mess, and other odd jobs. He even got to go down to a lab to give a scientist some information. He was very grateful for the extra stamina the spider had given him as any normal person would be exhausted by now.

Over the next couple days Peter noticed someone else that was always on the move; a tall woman with red hair. He found out her name was Pepper Potts and that she was Mr. Stark’s assistant/secretary/everything. The young man couldn’t help but feel a little worry for the older woman; sure he didn’t know her but she was always moving and never seemed to have time to eat or take a break. What she did manage to have she took with her on the go. Everyone he asked said she was constantly busy and very efficient.

“She doesn’t have her own assistant?” Peter asked curiously.

“No,” someone responded. “She’s too snobby; no one else could do the work well enough for her standards.”

“If you ask me she just wants Mr. Stark all to herself,” someone else muttered.

Jealous woman could be scary, Peter reflected as the woman continued talking. As the days went by he noticed that Ms. Potts always took a break around one; granted it was only a 15 minute break but it was a break. The next day he stopped by the table and placed a cup of coffee in front of her. When she looked at him quizzically he placed some sugar and cream down too.

“What’s this?” she asked and Peter shifted his weight awkwardly.

“You’re always working so hard that you never really have the time to get something to drink,” he responded.

Well she had water but that was all he ever saw her drink.

“Do you like coffee?” he asked worriedly, he hadn’t thought about that. “I can get you some tea instead.”

“Coffee is fine,” she said amused and Peter sighed in relief.

He glanced at the clock on the wall before nodding to her politely.

“I have to get back to work. Have a good day Ms. Potts.”

XX

The next day he brought her a coffee again and then turned to head back to work.

“Stay for a moment,” Ms. Potts said before he could escape and he paused.

“Yes Ma’m, what can I do for you?” he asked.

“First, you can call me Ms. Potts. Ma’m makes me feel old. What’s your name?”

“It’s Peter Parker, Ms. Potts,” he answered while trying not to fidget.

He nervously took a seat when she motioned for him to do so. He didn’t find it hard to work with the other people in the building but Ms. Potts was his superior in many ways and she made him a little nervous.

“How long have you worked here for Mr. Parker?”

“Not long,” Peter admitted. “Only a couple of weeks.”

“And you like it?” she asked.

“Yes, I’ve been very busy and have learned a lot; plus everyone is incredibly friendly and easy to work with,” he responded honestly.

“I’m glad to hear it,” she replied with a smile and Peter relaxed a bit.

She wasn’t as scary as the other workers had made her seem.

“Are you going to keep bringing me coffee?” she asked amused while he nodded firmly. “Then you can bring it black; I don’t use sugar or cream.”

Peter got to his feet with a nod and a smile; he recognized a dismissal when he heard one and headed back to work.

XX

He continued to bring her coffee every day and a week later he paused after setting her coffee down.

“I’m grabbing a sandwich from the café across the street. What would you like?”

She raised her eyebrow at him while he kept his eyes firmly placed on the wall over her head. He had the feeling that she would have declined if he had asked her what she wanted; which meant that he had to demand it but that didn’t make him feel any less nervous. He stood there in silence while she eyed him and only relaxed when she uttered a sigh.

“Get me the cranberry turkey sandwich.”

Peter nodded and left quickly. It was funny how he could face down the Green Goblin without breaking a sweat, yet talking to one of his superiors had him feeling incredibly insignificant. He returned with her sandwich as soon as he could and then departed just as quickly; he still had work to do.

The next day she stopped him when he returned with her sandwich; a BLT this time.

“Sit with me.”

Peter glanced at the clock a little unsure and Ms. Potts raised her eyebrow.

“Are you going to turn down a higher up Mr. Parker?”

Peter blanched and sat down quickly which made her laugh.

“Am I that terrifying?” she asked with a smile and Peter quickly shook his head.

“It’s less that and more that I should treat my bosses with respect.”

‘Though she is a little intimidating,’ he admitted in his head.

“A good policy to have,” she nodded in approval. “Some people could learn from you.”

Peter decided not to respond to that since he wasn’t sure who she was referring to; he had an idea but it was safest not to assume anything.

The next day when he joined her for her break, it was more of a lunch now as he had managed to have her sitting down for at least half an hour which he was very proud of, he placed some containers on the table with a sheepish smile.

“My Aunt made lunch for us,” he explained.

Peter fidgeted in embarrassment when Ms. Potts just looked at him.

“She likes hearing about my job and when she heard how hard you work, she insisted on making something for us. She said it would be better than any store bought stuff.”

The other woman studied him for a moment before opening a container.

“You talk about me at home?” she asked before taking a bite.

Peter felt his face heat up in embarrassment as he helped himself to some food as well.

“Only good things,” he hastened to say, “Like how you’re the hardest worker around, and the most efficient.”

Ms. Potts studied him for a moment and he bent his head to focus on his food and avoid her eyes.

“Flattery doesn’t work on me Mr. Parker," she finally said and Peter jerked his head up quickly.

“It’s not flattery though, it’s true,” he objected.

When he met her eyes he found her smiling which caused him to frown.

“I know; you’re very open Mr. Parker. It makes it easy to see your sincerity.”

Peter ducked his head again, this time in embarrassment.

“People tell me I’m a terrible liar,” he admitted.

It was kind of funny actually. When he put the mask on he could bullshit with the best of them; but he was so easily embarrassed without it.

“I can see that,” she agreed.

Nothing more was said until they had finished eating and Peter was cleaning up.

“Tell your Aunt the food was great and I appreciated it.”

Peter nodded with a smile; Aunt May would be very happy to hear that her cooking was appreciated.

“And Mr. Parker,” she continued.

He glanced up to see her holding out a flyer and he took it confused.

“Deliver that to Mrs. Morris right now and tell her that I need the data right away.”

Peter gawped at her; Ms. Potts never had people do errands for her. She raised her eyebrow at him and he swallowed.

“Of course Ms. Potts,” he said nervously before running off.

Mrs. Morris looked at him shocked when he handed her the folder and told her Ms. Potts sent it.

“She wants the data now,” he added.

The women continued to stare at him for a moment before handing him some papers and he rushed back to Ms. Potts. She took them and then promptly sent him somewhere else. Peter wasn’t sure how it had happened but he somehow ended up running errands for her all day.

XX

Peter was Ms. Potts gofer for a couple months and he was enjoying every second of it. She kept him incredibly busy and was a stern taskmaster but it made him happy that he could take some of the stress off her shoulders.

“I need you to fetch me a file off of Tony’s desk.”

Peter actually stopped in his tracks to stare at her.

“It’s green and should be on the right hand side of his desk,” she added.

“You want me to go into Mr. Stark’s office?” he practically squeaked and she rolled her eyes.

“Tony is on house arrest so you don’t have to worry about meeting him,” she said dismissively.

Peter continued to stare at her and she sighed.

“Now Mr. Parker.”

He jumped at the stern tone and rushed off. He unlocked the door with the key she had handed him and then nervously stepped inside. Upon spotting the folder, he hurried over to grab it. He wanted to get out as soon as he could; being in Mr. Stark’s office was a huge honor but it was also kind of intimidating. The room itself was huge and impressive and he took a small moment to admire it, just a couple seconds really.

“Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve had an attractive young man waiting for me in my office.”

Peter whirled around upon hearing the voice and stared. Tony Stark was leaning against the door frame casually. He pushed off and then sauntered forward causing Peter to back up a step till his back hit the desk. He had never been around someone so rich or powerful; the man practically oozed charisma so he was a little grateful for the tiny bit of height he had on the billionaire. He was standing a little too close for Peter’s comfort but there wasn’t a lot he could do about it without offending the man.

Mr. Stark smiled and Peter felt a chill go down his spine; there was something dangerous in his gaze and Peter felt a bit like a deer being stalked by a predator. That feeling worsened when the older man placed his hands on either side of Peter’s body to pen him in.

“So what’s your name handsome? And why are you in my office?”

He smelled a little like alcohol Peter noticed as he leaned back a little to try and gain some space.

“I’m Peter Parker Sir,” he answered nervously.

He couldn’t escape the man’s gaze and firmly planted his eyes on the wall across from where they were standing. It didn’t help much since he could still feel the brown eyes lingering on him.

“Ms. Potts sent me to get this folder for her,” he added while moving the folder between their bodies as proof and a small barrier.

He had no experience with guys coming onto him and it was making him a little uncomfortable. There was a small part of him that was excited though as Mr. Stark was a very handsome man and Peter had been single since Gwen.

“Pepper sent you?” Mr. Stark asked in surprise while, to Peter’s relief, taking a step back.

He nodded and slowly moved around the man towards the door.

“She said you were on…uh…”

“House arrest,” the man continued amused. “Yeah; I got bored with that so it didn’t last long. Peps doesn’t know I’m here though.”

He smirked at Peter, moving to follow him; there was a predatory feel to the way he walked and the younger man swallowed dryly. He wasn’t sure if he was intimidated or turned on; or maybe it was a combination of both.

“Let’s keep this our little secret,” the man said with a wink.

Peter, to his horror, felt himself blush. He managed a nod in response before escaping out the door.

XX

Tony watched him leave with a thoughtful expression. Pepper had never trusted someone to do her work for her unless she absolutely had too. She had definitely never sent someone to his office before. The young man had also reacted in a highly entertaining way to Tony’s advances and wasn’t hard on the eyes either.

“JARVIS look up everything you can find on Peter Parker,” he ordered.