Peter had almost never heard such affirmation from anyone outside his family, and he seemed unable to process what he had just heard.
When his brain finally caught up with the meaning of those words, the shy, stubborn teenage boy's eyes instantly filled with tears.
"Mr. Stark..."
"Stop, stop, stop!" Tony quickly warned him. "Don't start throwing a bunch of sappy soap-opera scenes at me. This is Avengers Tower, not a film set."
Tony turned his head away with a show of disdain and folded his arms, his tone as cocky as ever. But with Miaomiao's keen eyesight, she could clearly see the faint redness at the tips of Uncle Nini's ears.
Peter hurriedly raised a hand and scrubbed at his face, wiping away the moisture in his eyes. His voice still caught a little. "I-I understand! Thank you, Mr. Stark! I'll definitely work even harder from now on!"
Tony waved a hand in feigned impatience. "All right, all right. Lose the tears of gratitude. Keep getting sentimental, and I'll take back your Battle Armor and put you on errand duty."
"Battle Armor?" Peter froze.
This was his first real, close encounter with Mr. Stark, so the armor he had mentioned... The boy stood rooted to the spot, his eyes still red, his face filled with stunned disbelief.
Peter's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and his voice took on a tentative tremor. "Mr. Stark... do-do you mean it? Battle Armor for-for me?"
Tsk. Let that slip.
"Don't get all emotional yet. It's only half finished, still under development." Tony instinctively gave a light cough, reining in the warmth he had shown. "I just happened to mention it ahead of time. There are still plenty of steps left before it's finished. After all, I only had videos of you before. The performance