Notes: It's been a long time since I delved into fanfiction, forgive me if things are a bit choppy at first! I saw a prompt to someone else somewhere and felt the complete and utter need to write this. It's going to be multi-chapter and I'm not sure how long it will be yet. I do have an idea of where it's going though, so we'll see!
Prologue
Peter was under the watchful eye of his favorite baby-sitter, Darcy. He had been for a couple days now, though the six-year-old didn't find that at all unusual. His parents were superheroes, sometimes they had to be gone a long time, but they would always come home. Always. In the meantime, Darcy, or Aunt Jane, or Aunt Pepper would watch him. Darcy was the most frequent caregiver and his favorite. She'd watch television with him, play just about any game he wanted, let him eat breakfast for dinner and ice cream for breakfast, and let him stay up a whole hour after his bedtime.
The third morning after his parents and the rest of the Avengers had gone off to save the world, Darcy got a phone call. There had been shrill worried words and harsh whispers, and Darcy closing herself in the bathroom so Peter couldn't hear. After that she'd come back with a strained look on her face. Though she tried to continue to be his fun babysitter, everything was falling short, and Peter was a smart enough kid to know something was wrong.
It was the night of that morning that everyone came back. The first through the door was his Uncle Clint, who looked worn and who Darcy went to immediately to check over. Behind him was Uncle Thor, then Uncle Bruce [Darcy was checking him over right after Clint. Peter didn't quite understand the relationship shared between the three adults, but he knew it to be some kind of love, even if it wasn't typical], and finally his Aunt Natasha. Peter waited, sure he would see his Dad sauntering in at any moment, helmet off and a big smile for his son, no matter how tired and aching he was. And his Papa would be right behind, ready to sweep the child up into a hug.
No one else came in though. Peter looked over to his aunt and uncles and Darcy, who all had various degrees of serious and regret filled looks on their faces. "Where are they?" he asked in a small voice, already scared. They always came back, always. Even if they were injured, the resisted going to medical before they could see their son. Peter was always their first stop.
Natasha knelt down, gesturing for him to come to her. He did, wrapping his arms around her neck as she lifted him into the air. She walked them across the room the one of the couches, sitting, situating him in her lap. The others followed, taking various perches.
"Everything is going to be okay Peter," Natasha started, and that was all it took to make tears jump to his eyes. Even Peter knew 'everything is going to be okay' meant that right then and there, things weren't okay already, and that something was very, very, wrong.
"I want Papa." he tried, because maybe that was all he needed to do. Maybe he just had to demand one of his parents and they would show, and then everything really would be okay.
He only got a sad smile from his Aunt and he would swear for the rest of his life that she'd been crying, only at that moment it didn't seem possible, because at six, he'd always thought Natasha too strong for tears. She smoothed the boy's messy hair, speaking gently. "I know you do, Солнышко. But, we're not quite sure where your Papa or Daddy are right now. We're looking for them, I promise."
Now the tears, which had been few, were flooding. Not even Natasha's gentle tone, the one she reserved only for Peter, could soften the blow of her words to the small boy. He looked around at his uncles, at Darcy, wanting one of them to say something different, to say that his aunt, who was always right, was wrong for once.
No one had a thing to say though. Finally, Thor stood, walking over to where Natasha and Peter sat, kneeling so he was on eye level with his adoptive nephew. He cupped Peter's cheek in one large hand and spoke solemnly. "I know, young Peter, that this is a hard thing for you to learn. However, we all swear that we will find your fathers. Until that day we will be here for you and will care for you."
Peter threw his arms around his uncle and Natasha let him go so that Thor could hold him. He was full on sobbing now, and there was nothing her could say while he was in that state, not that there was much really to be said yet, not with the situation new and raw. He at least had the rest of the Avengers there to comfort him, and less than an hour later, his Aunts Pepper and Jane too.
The large extended family didn't make up for the loss of his parents, but it gave him something to hold onto.
The internet tells me that Солнышко means 'little sun' in Russian, and in the Roman alphabet is 'SOlnyshko'. If the internet has taught me wrong, feel free to correct me! =]