Superfamily One Shots

Lab Coats and Licorice

**Requested by kayleekeystone04 where Peter is working in a lab with Banner and Stark and I threw in a personal head-cannon of mine that Banner loves licorice. I can't remember why, but at some point in one of the movies I was like "that man eats licorice" and it stuck so. Anyways, this was so much fun and cute, I'm thinking of doing an AU book later this year! Enjoy!!**

Peter tapped the ice along the bottom of his eyelid, hoping the dark circle would go away before he had to leave for work. It wasn't really working, but... Makeup always looked a little funny on Peter's skin, like it was caked on.

"It'll be fine," Peter said quietly, pulling back from the mirror and looking at his face at a distance. He dropped the ice into the sink. "Who's going to notice? It's not like we talk super close to one another."

Peter shook his head and grabbed his bag before he headed out. College was expensive, to say the least. Especially for a masters student who was already drowning in the debt from his undergraduate degree. MJ had made some off-color joke once about being an 'accountant' for a couple months to pay it all off, but Peter was too shy for that, and he would be mortified if May ever found out. No, instead, Peter was working multiple jobs. He was reshelving books at the library on weekends, he was working in a lab during the week, and on Thursdays and Fridays, he worked as a waiter at a local cafe. It was starting to take a toll, though, and Peter was starting to look a lot more torn up.

Hence the dark circles under his eyes.

Peter didn't have to go far from his apartment to the lab he was working in. It was the off-sight research center for Stark Industries, and Peter was hoping it could lead to something bigger at the company. He was pretty good at biology and engineering, and he'd done some really interesting tests on the newest prosthetic project the lab was taking on.

It was only two stops on the subway, then Peter was sliding his employee card through the security system and let himself into the building. The lab Peter normally worked in was on the third floor - not quite high enough to be considered a good view, but high enough that Peter had to squint to see the hot dog stand on the corner from the windows.

There was no one there when he let himself in. That was the first sign something was wrong.

The second sign was Dr. Banner, spinning in a lab chair, his back to Peter. As he turned again and Peter came into his sights, the doctor smiled warmly. "You must be Mr. Parker."

"Yes," Peter said hesitantly. "I am. I am- I mean- Yes. Dr. Banner. You're Dr. Banner."

Dr. Banner nodded. "You were the one who did the report last week, right?"

Peter nodded again, his mind whirling over the report as soon as it was mentioned. Had he somehow messed it up? He was positive he'd double checked all his work - he had units and clear equations in the results section - and the conclusion had been well-written. Hell, he'd even had Ned double check it, and MJ had edited it after that.

"It was really good, kid," Dr. Banner said happily. "It was inventive, too. We'd didn't even think of half the things you mentioned in the abstract. You're really brilliant with research. What have you been doing on your off days?"

Peter blushed hard, hoping his ice-treatment had worked this morning. "I'm a college student. I work half time here, and then I work nights and on the weekend, too."

Dr. Banner hummed. "You work a lot. Where are you going to school?"

"NYU. I wanted to go to MIT, and I even got in, but the scholarship wasn't going to- uh, it wasn't going to cover the cost. Costs of dorms and all that, so I just- I stayed here so I could... So I could save money." Peter tried to keep his stutter out of his voice, but he wasn't entirely successful.

Dr. Banner laughed a little. "Oh, he'll love this. You want to meet my colleague, kid?"

Before Peter could say anything, Tony Stark was coming through the door to Peter's left and Peter was fighting to not swoon under the enormous coolness that was Dr. Stark.

"Dr. Stark. I am a huge- I am such a huge fan of your work. Dr. Stark, wow. Just wait until I tell me friends- you are- you are so cool!" Peter was babbling a little, his enthusiasm showing. Dr. Stark looked a little amused and looked over at his friend.

"Not many people remember my doctorates." Dr. Stark strode towards Peter with a critical look. "You look like shit, though, no offense intended. You're working and going to school. And you turned in one of the best reports I've ever read, and it actually changed the direction of the project. We're going to be rewriting some of the testing plans because of your report."

Peter turned red again. "That- wow, that's really... I don't know what to- uh, what to say. Thank you. Thanks. That's really..."

Dr. Stark laughed. "You look exhausted, kid. I came here prepared to offer you a job, but now that I know you're in school, I think we should adjust that offer. How about this. You'll continue to work three days a week - I assume you only take classes on Tuesday or Thursdays?" Dr. Stark waited for Peter to nod before continuing. "Great. You'll continue to work three days a week, but I'm going to be tripling your pay. That'll cover your costs at school, right? What about at home? Are you doing okay with your rent?"

Peter was growing paler now, the weight of Dr. Stark's words finally washing over him. He was... This wasn't...

"I can't accept this!" Peter's voice was much louder than he had originally intended, and he quickly stammered to adjust. "I'm- I just mean this is- I cannot accept this. I'm an intern, I make an intern's wage. It would be- would be wrong to get more than the other students here."

Dr. Stark and Dr. Banner both let a small smile settle over their faces. "That's why you aren't going to be working here with us anymore," Dr. Banner said.

"I want you to come to the main building at Stark Industries," Dr. Stark said. "I want you to be my personal assistant in the lab, Peter."

Peter tried to keep his eyes open, but maybe it was the week of sleep deprivation catching up with him, or maybe it was the shock of Dr. Stark asking for him to work in his lab, but the next thing he knew, he was waking up in the medical bay of Stark Industries.

Dr. Banner was at his side, and Peter startled.

"Tony had to head back to his meetings, but we wanted to make one more rule clear to you."

Peter waved his hand for the man to keep going.

"You have to start sleeping more."