Ooh. Thank you for the prompt, I think I’m gonna enjoy writing this one.
Tony gently set the flowers in the backseat. He’d bought them on a whim, thought that since he was going to pick up Peter, they might be appreciated.
Peter loved flowers. He loved them all -- ranging from the big, colorful ones that seemed to swallow him whole, to the ones with petals softer than silk, and the ones with thorns that pricked him and made him bleed all over himself.
Tony would’ve thrown out any flower that stabbed him, but not this time. He glared forlornly at his bleeding finger, bringing it to his mouth to soothe the slight throb.
He parked in the parking lot of the campus, relaxing in his seat and observing the college students milling about the lawn. There were people all over the campus, talking and laughing brightly amongst themselves. On one side of the lawn he spotted a group of friends tossing a frisbee back and forth. On the other he saw a group crying into their flashcards.
Tony snorted, sliding his phone out of his pocket to text the one person he had eyes for on this campus.
Tony: Where are you? I’ll die of old age sooner than you get here.
He stared ahead listlessly. Finally, after seven minutes (which really felt like an eternity), he noticed the familiar head of curls making its way through the crowd. As soon as he emerged, Tony felt his heart skip, and rolled his eyes at his own reactions. He was about to step out of the car and greet Peter when he noticed an unfamiliar boy walking next to him.
Tony observed them carefully. They both looked excited about something, gesturing wildly with their hands and bumping into each other with each step they took.
Tony shrugged. Peter always looked excited, so, nothing out of place there. He continued to watch the two talk, smiling fondly when Peter tripped over a slippery patch of grass. The other boy caught him and pulled him up easily. They stopped walking at the parking lot and wrapped their arms around each other in a parting hug.
Tony was glad that Peter had managed to make a friend. College was hard enough without also having no one to speak to.
He wasn’t feeling so glad when the boy leaned down and pecked Peter on the lips.
Tony’s jaw dropped, and he couldn’t do anything but stare at the boy as he turned away from Peter and climbed into a discreet black car. He was still dazed when Peter tugged on the locked door, bouncing on his heels as he waited for Tony to unlock it.
He took a deep breath and pressed the button that released all the locks, allowing Peter to slide in and buckle up.
“Hey, Tony!” Peter exclaimed, turning to face him, “You’ll never guess what happened. So, you know how I was stressing about that test for Chemistry? Turns out I shouldn’t have worried so much, ‘cause the test isn’t even today, it’s next week.”
Tony hummed along to his words, offering him eloquent responses such as, “Really?” and “Wow”. He couldn’t pay attention to anything Peter was saying. His mind kept playing the same scene in his head over and over: the boy, leaning down with zero hesitation and brushing his lips against Peter’s in a brief kiss.
He couldn’t take it anymore and interrupted Peter in the middle of his tangent about crunchy peanut butter.
(Peanut butter? How did we get there?)
“Who was that boy?” Tony asked sharply.
Peter stopped talking, glancing at him weirdly. “What boy?”
“The one you were walking with. Him. Who was he?” Tony tapped his foot anxiously against the clean carpet in his car.
“Oh!” Peter brightened, “That was Harry. We met a while ago ‘cause we have some classes together, and now we’re friends.”
“Friends? Seemed like something else to me.” Tony scoffed.
Peter frowned quizzically. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb, Pete,” Tony sighed deeply, “I saw him kiss you.”
Tony raised his brows. “So, friends don’t do that.”
“This one does,” Peter said honestly, “It’s his rich people quirk. You have those too.”
“Rich,” Tony repeated, “And how is a college student rich enough to have a quirk?”
“I mean, I guess being heir to Oscorp helps.” Peter shrugged.
The car protested loudly when Tony slammed on the breaks, coming to an abrupt halt as he whirled around to face Peter.
“Oscorp?” Tony hissed dangerously, “My fucking competitor? And you’re friends with him?”
“I don’t see why it’s a big deal,” Peter said warily, rubbing his arm in an attempt to calm him.
“It’s a big deal because this is my enemy. What if he gets details about SI from you?” Tony snapped.
Peter blanched, hurt pooling in his eyes. “What, do you not trust me to keep my mouth shut? I know your work is confidential.”
“This isn’t about trust,” Tony explained, rushing to rid of Peter’s hurt even through his anger, “He could see any designs or plans you leave out, stuff like that. Or steal from you.”
“I trust him,” Peter said stubbornly.
“Damn it, Peter,” Tony grunted, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
Without pausing to debate the pros and cons, he grabbed the collar of Peter’s shirt and yanked him forward and onto his lap, mashing their mouths together roughly. It wasn’t a perfect kiss, teeth clashing and tongues moving where they shouldn’t, but Tony liked it.
He channeled his anger through the kiss, barely allowing himself to breathe, just continuing to rove his lips desperately over Peter’s.
Eventually, Peter pushed him away to suck in a few deep breaths, his eyes wild and confused as he watched Tony do the same.
“What was that?” Peter asked breathlessly, chest heaving.
“Uh,” Tony gulped, “Be my boyfriend?”
Peter blinked at him. “Yeah, sure. Okay.”
“Okay.” Tony agreed, a sheepish grin forming on his face.
Peter looked around the car awkwardly, and noticed a bouquet of wine red roses.
“Are those for me?” Peter cooed, tension immediately melting away to be replaced by adoration.
Tony reached back without looking and pulled out the flowers with a flourish, grumbling when they pierced him again with their thorns.
“Not too cheesy, are they? Roses.” Tony wondered.
“No. Some people say roses are too cliche, but I love them. There’s a reason so many people like them. Thank you, Tony.” Peter said gratefully, tentatively gripping Tony’s chin to plant a small kiss on his mouth.
“Yeah, no problem,” Tony grinned, “Especially if that’ll be your reaction each time I get them.”
They cuddled uncomfortably in the driver’s seat until Tony remembered something.
“No friendly kisses with Osborn, though,” Tony cringed, “I can’t make you stop being friends, but... please.”
“No more friendly kisses.” Peter agreed, laughing.
So, that didn’t turn out very well :/ but I hope you like it anyway, anon!