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Just like any other kid, Peter has his quirks. He pulls at his clothes when he’s nervous, he can fall asleep pretty much anywhere if he’s tired enough (that one time he was on the ceiling scared the crap out of Happy), he has this thing for Broadway musicals and when it’s his turn to pick the music in the lab Tony has to spend the entire day listening to whatever soundtrack he’s obsessed with currently, and probably one of the weirdest ones, when he eats his pop-tarts he peels them apart and eats the filling out like an oreo.
But this is a new one: the itching.
Tony noticed it last week, but he didn’t really think much of it. Now that Peter is working by his side again and is scratching his chin every few minutes, Tony can’t ignore it.
“Did you fall face first into a bush of poison ivy?” Tony asks him with raised eyebrows.
Peter’s hand flies off his cheek and he stutters out an explanation, “N-no. I, just, I’ve been itchy lately.”
Tony frowns. “Weren’t hit with any suspicious chemicals or blasts of energy during patrol, right?”
With a shake of his head, Peter says, “No.”
Tony puts down the StarkPad he was holding and takes Peter’s cheeks in his hands. He pulls Peter’s face closer to him to search for an answer; maybe there’s a rash he has? But, he laughs when he realizes what it is. He drags the pad of his thumb over Peter’s upper lip softly. “You’re sporting some serious peach fuzz, buddy.”
Peter swats Tony’s hand away with flushed cheeks. “Mr. Stark,” the kid actually whines.
“Now, now, this is nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s natural for any growing boy to go through changes .” Tony has too much fun making this kid blush. Really, it’s too easy.
“Mr. Stark, I don’t need this talk. I saw the video in health class,” Peter mutters, staring down at the table. He refuses to meet Tony’s eyes.
“Then, you should know the scratchiness is facial hair. Buy yourself a razor and you’ll feel better.” Tony rolls his eyes as he turns back to his work.
The scratching stops. Or at least it stops when Peter is in front of Tony. Because the kid didn’t shave it off. A few weeks after that first day Tony confronted Peter about it in the lab, he still hasn’t shaved.
Tony notices it when they’re eating lunch one day. He can’t keep his eyes off of Peter’s upper lip where he has a disappointing excuse for a mustache. He tries to ignore it, but he just can’t. He interrupts Peter’s sentence about something he hasn’t been listening to and says, “Kid, I can’t do it. Please, for the love of JARVIS, take a razor to that depressing caterpillar on your lip before I do it myself.”
Peter’s smile disappears immediately and he slumps in his seat. Tony feels like an asshole. Peter feels insecure enough at school; he comes to the tower to confidently (finally) to be himself. Tony doesn’t want to ruin that for him. He doesn’t want Peter to curl back into his shell.
“Kid, c’mon…” he sighs because he’s not sure an apology will cut it. He knows what it’s like to be a teenager with a sensitive self-esteem, and then it’s 10x worse with Peter Parker. “I’m sorry. If you like the mustache thing, then I like it too.”
Peter doesn’t say a word and he doesn’t pick his head up.
Tony tries again. “I’m just not used to you with facial hair, kid. You’re supposed to be 12-years-old. 12-year-olds do not grow mustaches.”
“I’m 16,” Peter grumbles, sounding sad.
“Tell me that when you lose your baby cheeks,” Tony jokes because the kid still has the face of a child. Even if the mustache was impressive (and it really isn’t), it would look completely wrong growing on the kid’s lip.
“I don’t like it.”
“Your babiness?” Tony asks. “Why not? The girls love it and by the time you’re in college, you’ll grow out of it into a handsome young man.”
“The facial hair.” Peter shifts in his seat. “Flash has found yet another thing to tease me about.”
Exactly what Tony has been doing.
“It’s...embarrassing. I can’t even grow facial hair right.”
Tony drops his usual snarky tone and says, “Why not shave it? If you don’t want to ask May to buy you a razor and shaving cream, I can have FRIDAY ship it to your apartment.”
Peter’s response doesn’t come until a long moment later. And when he speaks, it sounds like he’s straining to not break down. “I don’t know how.” He finally looks up at Tony and that poor excuse of a mustache look so wrong on his face. His wide brown eyes are welling up with tears. “But it’s just one of those things, you know?”
“One of those things?” Tony repeats cluelessly.
“Yeah. Things your dad teaches you when you’re finally old enough. Or in my case, my uncle. Like how to throw a baseball, or dress for your first date, or drive a car, or share your first beer with, or learn to shave…”
The wind is knocked from Tony’s lungs. He knows Peter’s parents died when he was younger and his Uncle Ben died only a year ago, leaving only May with Peter, but he never truly thought about what that meant. It meant there was no ‘dad’ for Peter to go to. May was his mom and dad, which understandably could get very awkward if Peter needed some advice on...boy things.
Tony had spent the past few weeks picking on Peter for his mustache while Peter is struggling with yet another thing his uncle is missing out on. Tony doesn’t feel any different from Flash.
“Peter,--.”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Mr. Stark,” Peter replies.
Maybe he would have wanted to if Tony hadn’t been such an asshole about it. He doesn’t have the right to make it all better right now. So, he drops it.
Until the next day.
Peter is on time; they usually don’t meet today, but Tony had called him this morning and asked Peter to come over. Peter has no idea why. Tony is waiting in his bedroom when Peter finally comes out of the elevator. He takes a look around the room he hardly visits.
“Uh, FRIDAY told me to come up here?” He says as he walks in like he’s afraid Tony is going to wonder why he’s there.
“I know. I told her to bring you up.” He jerks his head towards his ensuite bathroom. “Come on.”
Peter follows slowly behind him. He stops when he sees the mess Tony made on his counter. It’s covered in shaving gels and creams, aftershaves, towels, and razors. “Mr. Stark, what is this?” His eyes are wide.
“Please tell me if I’m out of line here, but someone needs to teach you how to shave and this isn’t something you can learn by watching YouTube videos. Shaving is an art and who has better facial hair than Tony Stark?”
“You’re going to teach me how to shave?” Peter asks in a quiet voice.
“Yes...unless you don’t want me to. I can find someone else. If you want, I’ll share my secrets with May and she can help--.”
Peter is quick to stop him. “No! Not May. You’re fine. You’re great.” He has a small smile on his face and Tony feels himself smile as well.
“Then, let’s get started. We don’t have all day.”
Peter hurries over to the sink where Tony is standing. He tries to conceal his jittery excitement, but Tony can see right through it. “Thank you, Mr. Stark.”
Tony ruffles his hair. “No problem, kiddo.” He turns to the sink. “Okay, we’re going to start with disposable cartridge razors. I could give you an electric one, but we should start little. And every man should learn to do it this way first.”
Peter nods his head as he watches Tony pick up two razors.
“Does that one feel comfortable?” Peter nods. “Hold it. It’s okay if it doesn’t,” Tony says, knowing Peter nodded his head without checking. He waits for Peter to adjust his grip and hold it, but it’s completely wrong. Tony leans over and fixes his grasp. “No, like this.”
Peter is quick to follow Tony’s guide and his fingers fall into place. He smiles as he looks down at the razor. “I like it.”
“Okay, good. Now we pick out our shaving cream.” He gestures to the cans he has lined up.
Peter looks a little overwhelmed as he tries to take them all in. “Uhh…”
“These are all the best of the best, so don’t be worried about performance. It’s basically just deciding between cream or gel and the smell.”
“I don’t like strong scents,” Peter says instantly. “Uh, I, mean, I prefer cream that doesn’t smell too much. If you have something like that, of course. I don’t want--.”
Tony hands him a can that fits with his requests. “Here, kid.”
As he’s about to open the bottle, Tony stops him. “Woah, slow your roll. We need to wash our faces with hot water. It’ll open pores and make your hair follicles softer, therefore easier to shave. Usually, shaving after a shower is good.”
Peter turns on the sink and lowers his head to start splashing his face with water. Tony does the same in the other sink. He’s finished before Peter, but he knows Peter is trying to be careful and wet every part of his face. He picks up his head and has a little smile on his face he’s trying to hold back.
“Now we can start.” Tony taps the can and Peter dispense some in his hand. He hesitates as he stares down at the plop of cream. Tony puts some on his hand and starts to spread it across his face. “Just like this, Peter.”
Peter follows suit until his face is covered with shaving cream. He looks over at Tony and laughs slightly. Tony grins as he looks in the mirror reflection at the both of them. He’s never shaved next to someone like this before. He used books and magazine articles to show him how to shave when he started in college. He doesn’t want Peter to have to learn that way.
Antsy to start, Peter lifts the razor to his upper lip, but Tony grabs his hand before he can start. “Woah, you don’t start there.”
Peter frowns. “But, that’s where most of the hair is. There’s not a lot anywhere else.”
“It doesn’t matter. You start by your sideburns.” Tony holds Peter’s hand in his and brings it to his left ear. “Start where your sideburn ends. Can you see that?” Peter looks in the mirror where Tony has placed the razor.
“Yeah,” Peter says. “Can I do it?”
Tony nods but keeps his hand on Peter’s. He guides it down his cheek. Peter tries to continue the stroke, but Tony stops him. “Only to the cheekbone.” He takes the razor from Peter’s hand and says, “Watch.” Then he moves it an inch from where they started and brings it down to his cheekbone again. Peter’s eyes follow his hand closely. “You got it?” Tony asks. Peter nods. “Okay, you try.”
Peter takes the razor back and places it on his face. Tony reaches out to quickly cover Peter’s hand with his and help him shave. Once they finish that stroke, Tony moves their hands to do it again.
“Mr. Stark,” Peter says before Tony can move his hand. “I can’t learn how to do it if you do it all.”
“I’m just trying to show you how to do it,” Tony argues but doesn’t move his hand.
“I know, but you won’t always be there to help. I need to do it on my own.”
With a sigh, Tony releases Peter’s hand and takes a step back. “Fine. Remember, keep it one stroke nice and slow until you reach your cheekbone.” He watches as Peter starts to shave downward, but when he starts to curve the razor to shave along his lip, Tony stops him. “No, you’re doing it wrong.” He goes to grab the razor from Peter’s hand to do it himself, but Peter moves his hand away.
“Mr. Stark! Just tell me how!”
“I’m telling you how! You’re not listening!” Tony says and wow, is this what it’s like to have a kid?
Peter sighs. “But, if you keep showing me then there’s going to be nothing left for me to shave.”
“Okay, then watch me. Watch me closely.” He picks up the other razor and brings it to his ear. He slowly starts to drag it down his cheek, stopping where he told Peter to.
“Mr. Stark!” Peter shouts. “What are you doing?”
Tony jumps and he’s glad he wasn’t in the middle of shaving when Peter shouted. “What?”
“You’re shaving your beard!”
With furrowed eyebrows, Tony frowns. “Yes, Peter, that usually happens when you use a razor on your face.”
“But, it’s your beard!”
“Kiddo, it’s facial hair. It’ll grow back and I’ll do it again,” Tony assures him with a smile.
Despite what he said, Peter still looks guilty. “You don’t have to shave it because of me, Mr. Stark.”
“You’re talking like this is permanent.” Tony rolls his eyes. “Now watch.” Tony continues until he’s finished with the left side of his face. “Your turn, you should be almost done with that side.”
Peter nods and finishes his last stroke. He stops when Tony tells him to. “That wasn’t too hard.”
They repeat the same process on the other sides of their faces and it goes well. Until Peter cuts his face. “Ow!” He shouts halfway through his last stroke. “Shit,” he curses as blood already starts to pool from the cut.
“You’re okay,” Tony soothes. “That’s normal for your first time.”
“I jinxed it,” Peter hisses in pain. “It stings.”
“You’ve been stabbed before and you’re whining about a shaving cut?” Tony asks incredulously.
“I’m not whining,” Peter says as he finishes off the last stroke.
“Okaaay,” Tony says with a roll of his eyes. “Now rinse off your brush and I’ll show you how to do your chin.”
Peter nods and they both rinse their razors before starting their chins. Tony actually hesitates this time when he brings the razor to his face. He knows what he told Peter is true: it’s facial hair and it’ll grow back, but he hasn’t been shaven like this in years . He’d do it for the kid though. “Simple strokes here.”
As he pulls his razor through his goatee, Peter winces but then starts copying his actions. He shows him how to shave under his chin with upward strokes now. He shows him how to shave his neck as well, even though Peter insisted he didn’t need to.
“Be very slow,” Tony cautions as he watches Peter carefully shave his hairless neck. “Especially around your Adam’s apple.”
Peter goes even slower than he was before, but he finishes it without nicking himself once. He lets out a breath of relief when he’s done. “Is it time now?”
Tony laughs. “Yeah, kiddo, say goodbye to that mustache.” Peter gets giddy with excitement again. “You need to pull your lip over your teeth so you can stretch your skin.” Tony shows him how and then starts shaving.
Peter does the same thing and is happy to get the hair off his lip. When he’s finished, he rinses off his razor and puts it down on the counter. He smiles widely. “I did it!”
Tony nods proudly as he hands him a towel. “Wash off the rest of the cream and admire your job well done.”
Peter rinses his face and neck and smiles up at his reflection. He leans in close and touches his lip with a softer smile. Tony puts an arm around Peter’s shoulder. “There’s our Peter.”
“Thank you for showing me how to shave. I really can’t even thank you enough for this.” Peter turns to face him.
Raising an eyebrow, Tony says, “We’re not finished yet.” He grabs his bottle of aftershave. “Last step and then you earn your Shaving For The First Time Badge.” He puts some on his hands and rubs it into his skin. “I’d let you use this one, but it does have a scent. Most do, but I can try to find a more subtle scent.”
Peter sniffs the air and says, “This is the one you always use?”
Tony nods. Even when he’s not going out and he’s just working in the lab, the scent of his aftershave clings to him. He enjoys this smell more than any cologne.
With a slight blush, Peter asks, “Can I use yours? It smells good.”
Of course, this kid would like the smell. Tony knows he likes him for a reason. “‘Course, kiddo. Here.”
After putting some in his own hands, Peter rubs it into his own skin. It takes a moment, but then Peter is hissing in pain. “Is it supposed to be burning?”
Tony laughs. He forgot to warn Peter about that. “Have you never seen Home Alone ?”
Turning wide eyes on him, Peter says, “You didn’t even flinch!”
“Kid, when you’ve shaved as much as I have, you barely notice it. I can find you a different one that doesn’t sting. But, I actually like that feeling,” Tony admits. “It makes your skin feel nice and cool after.”
Peter shakes his head. “No, it’s okay. I like it.” He looks down at the small bottle in his hands.
“That bottle is almost 300 dollars.”
Tony swears that Peter’s eyes almost bulge out of his head. “ What?” He tries to hand the bottle back to Tony. “That’s too much money, Mr. Stark. I can’t believe you wasted it on me.”
He rolls his eyes. “Peter, it’s fine. You can have it. When you run out, let me know and I’ll order you another bottle.”
“No, no,” Peter refuses immediately. “May and I can cover this stuff. I don’t need the expensive stuff.”
“Peter,” Tony says seriously. “I don’t mind getting this stuff for you. I know it’s something a father does, but if you would let me…” Let him what? Buy him aftershave? Be his dad? Fill that hole? Tony doesn’t clarify. “I would like to help you with this. And any other problem you need a man’s help with, you can always come to me.”
Peter has tears in his eyes, but before Tony can ask him what’s wrong, he’s wrapping his arms around him in a bone-crushing hug. “Thanks, Mr. Stark.”
Tony hesitates before wrapping one arm around the kid and rubbing his back with the other. “You’re welcome, Peter.”
Peter sniffles but then lets out a small laugh. Tony opens his eyes to see Peter staring at him in the mirror. Tony narrows his eyes and Peter says, “You look weird without your goatee.”
“Quiet, kid, or the next thing I’m shaving off is your eyebrows,” Tony says. But he looks at his reflection and the kid has a point: he looks like an idiot. He’s already imagining the backlash he’s going to get from not only the public but also Rhodey and Happy.
But then he looks at the kid, clean-shaven once again, still squeezing him a tight hug and knows it’s all worth it.