"He may have superpowers but that doesn't mean he knows how to throw a punch. Look at him! He's going to get squashed like a bug if he continues trying to fight like that!".
Peter Parker x male oc
Infinity war & Spider-Man homecoming
Book one in th...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
When Peter left school later that day, he found Tate leaning against the gate talking on the phone. He looked up as Peter nervously walked over and smiled. He held up a finger indicating that he will be a second and Peter leaned against the gate at his side as he waited. Bored, he took the opportunity to look Tate over.
Tate wasn't terribly tall, about the same height as Peter. He was still smaller round the shoulders though, which Peter noted interestedly. Tate was wearing his usual black ripped skinny jeans, converse and a graphic tshirt. Today he had a gray and blue tartan shirt over the top with a black hoodie tied round his waist. The tshirt today the movie poster for The seven samurai emblazoned across it in black and white. Black in black on black. Peter wondered if Tate owned any colour which wasn't black or grey. He supposed that the blue on his shirt counted, if it was only a little. Tate's backpack rested at his feet, a bright neon pink that was visible for across school. Peter guessed that it was to compensate for Tate's lack of colour in his wardrobe.
"Yeah Pepper", Tate was saying down the phone. "Sounds cool. Want me to pick anything up from a store on the way home? Oh you're asking a minion to do it? I can call them minions. Dad employs them to basically be our minions. No! I don't call Clare that. Shes nice and would probably put carrots in my lunch if I was ever mean to her. Yes carrots are evil". He laughed loudly, dark hair falling in front of his eyes and covering his face. He ran a hand through it. Peter watched him push it back over his forehead as he listened to whatever Pepper was saying.
"Oh okay. See you later. I'll call Happy to pick me up. Cool. Bye". Tate hung up and stuffed the phone back into his pocket. He grinned sheepishly at Peter. "Sorry about that".
"Was that a iPhone six?" Peter asked curiously. "Stark upgraded? Does it have satellite connection? I've heard about them! They're really expensive".
Tate winced, body language suddenly uncomfortable. "Um yeah. My dad works at stark industries. He was able to get one". Peter's eyebrows raised. He knew there were some rich people at midtown. Flash never shut up about it. But he didn't really take Tate to be one of them. With the boy's cheap clothing, easy going nature and down to Earth attitude, he came across as causal. Not exactly one to be pictured with a thousand dollar phone.
Peter decided to change the subject. "So you going to teach me to fight?"
Tate relaxed, smile returning now that they weren't taking about Stark industries. "Yeah. There's a gym a few block away. I go there on Wednesdays after school but the owner said that I could use it today. Come one". He shouldered his backpack and began walking out of the school gates. Peter keeping pace with him as they turned down the street.
"So tell me about yourself Peter", Tate spoke as they crossed the road. "I don't know anything about you. Why do you want to learn to fight? And why are you asking me?"
Peter rubbed his nose with a noncommittal shrug. "There's not much to say. I uh live with my aunt May in Queens. It's not the first time I've been mugged. So she wanted me to learn some self defence. I had heard from decathlon that you know how to box so I thought you can give me some advice". Peter didn't mention that it was because Tate was nice. That the boy was one of the first people to notice his injuries and not brush it aside, or blindly accept Peter's excuse. He had offered help. Even though Peter didn't really need it and the mugging excuse was fake, Tate had not pressed or made judgements. He just gave silent support. It made Peter feel warm inside.
Tate listened calmly as Peter explained how he lived with his aunt. That his parents had died when he was young and his Aunt and Uncle had taken him in. Peter's voice faltered when he mentioned his Uncle Ben and Tate sighed. "My dad and I aren't biologically related", he said gently. Peter fell silent as Tate shared his own story. "My mum and him met during college. Both geniuses and they stayed great friends. I never knew my real father. My dad is legally my godfather. My mum lost her family as a child and grew up in foster care. So when she died my dad adopted me. Pepper is my dad's girlfriend".
Tate stopped talking as they stopped at a nondescript black door at the bottom of a small set of stairs. He gestured to it triumphantly. "We're here". Peter looked at it distrustfully. The paint was peeling on the door frame and the door knob was rusty. It looked abandoned. Shady. Like the underground base of a gang.
Tate chuckled at the look on Peter's face. "Relax Pete. Trust me okay". He grinned at him teasingly as he skipped down the stone steps. Peter looked up and down the busy street before following. Tate waved at a small security camera mostly hidden in the alcove of the doorframe. Peter hadn't noticed it until then. A light on the camera blinked at them and there was a clicking sound. Tate twisted the door handle and pushed the now unlocked door open.
He stepped inside and Peter followed behind him. There was a short corridor with a long set of stairs doing down. Tate led the way down them and Peter's eyes widened as they opened up into a massive underground room. Gym equipment took up about half of the space and the other half was covered in mats. One wall was covered in mirrors and the whole place was lit up brightly by hanging lights from the high ceiling. There were about ten people busy in the space. Some waved at Tate as he passed.
"Yo Tate", a large dark skinned man called. He grinned at them in a welcoming, friendly way. "You're normally here tomorrow".
"Hey Ralph", Tate gave great man a fist bump as Peter stared. Ralph was almost twice their height and size. Next to him, Peter and Tate looked tiny. Tate gesture to Peter. "This is my friend Peter. I was going to show him a few self defence moves. Is room four free?"
"Sure go right on in. Boxing gloves all in there. Do your thing". Ralph waved them through and gave Tate a high five.
"Come on Peter". The two boys walked across the gym and through a door. There was a corridor and Tate headed straight for the door at the end. Room four was the same as the main gym, but smaller. The walls were all open brick and lights hung from the ceiling. The main space was taken up by a boxing ring in the middle of the room. On the other side of the room hung several punching bags.
Tate dropped his backpack by the door and untied his hoodie before stripping off his shirt. Now that his arms were bare, Peter could see discoloured burns whitening his skin. They looked like splashes, like someone had thrown chemicals at him. He had seen them before in gym classes but they were stark until the white lights against his dark tshirt. Tate dropped the clothing on his bag and grinned at Peter.
