Chapter Two
Protection from the Dead
It was moving on into the sixth month since Mr. Stark's death.
He knew that he needed to leave the lab.
He knew that he should return to that little apartment with his aunt.
He knew that he should go back to being Spider-Man.
That didn't mean he was going to anytime soon. Not when he still had this gigantic ache in his chest that wasn't lessoning even a little bit. To survive that ache he worked in the lab, building and creating and coming up with things that could help people.
Pepper was forever thankful for the help in the creations, knowing that without Mr. Stark, that part of the company would fall drastically and the board would most likely pressure her to return to weapons to keep stocks up.
Peter wasn't about to let that happen.
He had allowed Pepper to take his creations, more like forced her, and present them to the Board of Stark Industries. He made sure that she wasn't harassed about anything from that end and had even taken over the R&D of the department, along with all of the interns and their growth.
It had taken Mrs. Stark intervening though to get the scientist to actually listen to him, even if he was technically a sixteen year old kid that hadn't even graduated from high school yet.
The high school part had been taken care of though.
Peter had had May arrange for him to test out of the Midtown by taking the GED test. There hadn't been a reason to even bother going to the school since Ned and MJ had graduated from the school while he had been dust. That and he really didn't want to continue high school after everything he had been through.
He had then made sure to get signed up for college at MIT online. Mrs. Stark had used the ties that Mr. Stark had had so long ago to get him in without a hitch and she was paying for his classes as well. It also helped that she had listened to the idea of the payment of all of his inventions would go into a college fund so that he could continue to pay for classes if she decided to discontinue paying for them. This way he would get a degree and Aunt May wouldn't have to break her back trying to pay for college.
With that all of that done with, he had put those Stark Scientists in their place and made sure they followed all the regulations of the company by bringing all their projects, theories, and ideas to him for approval.
From there though, he hadn't really left the lab in the compound, and if he did, it was to go to Stark Industries itself or to the lab in the basement of Mrs. Stark's cabin in the woods.
He didn't even go out as Spider-Man.
IT was too much for him to handle at the moment and he knew that if he tried, than he would suffer from a Sensory Overload or panic attack.
He wasn't ready to put himself through that yet.
He sighed as he looked down at the project he had in front of him. It was Sam Wilson's wings and goggles. He looked off to the side where he could see Clint Barton's bow and arrows, Bucky's arm, and several other pieces of equipment.
That was the other thing.
Those left of the Avengers had been coming to him for gear upgrades or fixes. He was honestly surprised that they weren't going to T'Challa as the man had had his sister upgrade most of this stuff before. He was sure they all trusted the king and his sister more than himself. Especially as he had been the one to pin down both Falcon and the Winter Soldier back in the Leipzig airport.
But no, they were coming him for upgrades and fixes and really, Peter wasn't sure way.
No, wait, he did know why.
They were using the brief interaction with him to try and convince him to come out of the labs. To get out and socialize with the other surviving members of the Avengers. To celebrate the defeat of Thanos and the loss of their loved ones.
He refused every time they had tried.
He had sent them off with a wave of his hand or with a quick Thwip of webs to their mouth or eyes. That always made them leave afterwards. They had to go to Mrs. Stark or May to get the dissolvent. Something they had done on purpose to make them leave him alone.
He looked over at the clock next and sighed. It was that time of the day where they were going to send someone to try and pull him out of the lab again.
He wondered who it was going to be this time.
Maybe they would get desperate and send Bruce in to drag him out forcefully. He doubted that though as the man was still suffering from his injuries from the fight and from using the Infinity Stones.
He shook his head to displace the thought. "FRIDAY, start up Mr. Stark's favorite tracks please?"
Only a second later did High to Hell come up and he returned to recalibrating the wings that Falcon used so often. He also made sure to add some upgrades such as faster release of the wings and folding of them. He also made the ends of the wings much sharper and easier to control while in the air. He'd also added on the magnets the man had asked for that were like Captain's own magnets to hold his shield. He wasn't exactly sure why the man wanted them but he did as asked anyways.
He made sure to keep the music high but he had programmed it to shut off the moment the lab door was opened for someone to enter.
So when the music stopped on a Black Sabbath song, he wasn't surprised to hear footsteps. "I wonder who came to convince me to leave the lab this time." He said aloud, concentrating on finishing up on the Wings. He almost had the magnets fully installed and wanted to finish it before he turned to whoever was there.
There wasn't a reply. He listened though as those steps moved slowly before the sound of one of the rolling chairs was pulled closer and then the person sat down. There was a smell that wafted over to him, reminding him of the smell of some of the older individuals that he had saved in the past.
Someone that was in their golden years then.
Though he didn't really know anyone that old that could even try and convince him to leave the lab.
It didn't matter in the end because he didn't look up and the other didn't make a sound or move to interrupt him.
He had no clue how long it took to affix the magnets properly, but by the time he looked up from his work, he was ready to face his mystery guest.
Maybe it would be that one chick, the one that Fury had called Captain Marvel. Or maybe it was Clint or even Fury himself again. Though that smell of an older individual and something like metal and spice and the sense of a battle. It had to be someone that was older so all the ones he had listed didn't fit. None of them had that kind of scent to them, not even Fury who was getting up there in years.
"So, why did they send you?" He questioned as he turned his chair to face this person.
He blinked as his eyes came to rest on an older man in his seventies or eighties. His gray hair was swept back and out of his face, rather full for a man his age, along with wrinkly face and bright blue eyes that were much too clear and aware and full of energy. He were a brown jacket over a blue plaid button up shirt and wore brown slacks and brown loafers. There was a gold ring on his ring finger.
Peter stared at this man for a long time, wondering why he was here. He had never met this individual before in his life and to have him to just pop up now. Maybe he knew Tony or Sam was getting desperate and had sent in a veteran that could sympathize with Peter.
The old man didn't seem perturbed by the fact that he was getting stared at and instead gave a small smile and held out a hand to the teen. "It's nice to meet the boy that Tony fought so hard to get back."
He really didn't care who this man was now. Peter narrowed his eyes at the man before scoffing and turning back to his table, pushing the wings away and pulling Clint's bow close so he could go over the release mechanisms. The man had complained about them getting stuck but he couldn't see anything wrong with them and they released just fine when he closed and reopened it.
It had just been a way to get into the lab and talk to Peter.
He added arrows to the man's quiver that would release a bright pink smoke that would be blown backwards by a small fan. The smoke would then die all the hair it came into contact with.
Hawkeye would end up with bright pink hair as soon as he fired that arrow.
"You know, when he came back down to Earth, he tried to get to his lab just so he could find a way to save you." The man kept talking, apparently not offended about being blown off. "Just about killed himself that first week he managed to actually get in. He hadn't been in good shape when he got back to Earth from Titan. Malnourished, dehydrated, exhausted, and oxygen deprived."
Peter gritted his teeth and squeezed his hands so tightly that he snapped the wrench in his hand. Good thing he hadn't picked up the computer components in front of him or he would have just wasted a lot of money.
"And yet, all he could think at the time was to save you. To bring you home to your aunt and friends and to him." The man was quiet for a moment. "When he realized he didn't have a way to bring you back, he just built and built and invented and destroyed and built and invented and repeated it over and over." Peter could hear the man's hitch in his breathing before he gave a little huff and continuing. "It took almost a month before he finally left his lab to go to Pepper. They had Morgan nine months later."
"What do you want?" He gritted out as he turned back to the older man with a glare. "Why are you here? I don't even know you!" And it was true. This man had no reason to be here, no reason to speak to Peter, and no reason to act like he knew the teen when said teen didn't know him. Nothing about this man was recognizable and it was really starting to piss him off that this man was talking to him like he had any right to act like he knew him.
The old man didn't seem to mind the aggression that was starting to build up in Peter though and instead gave a low chuckle. It was raspy, like he had breathed in too much smoke at one time or another. "Come now Queens, you know exactly who I am."
Silence.
He stared at the old man, at Captain America, with wide eyes. There was no way the man could have done what he was showing Peter he had done. There just was no way. "You are lucky that it was apparently something that was going to happen or you could have completely screwed us all over from that crap you pulled." He ended up saying as he covered his eyes with his hands.
His mind was running a hundred miles per hour about what this idiot had done and the consequences that could have happened from it all. He could have messed it all up but apparently this was something that was going to happen no matter what. It was part of their time line, to have two Steve Rogers in the same time even if they weren't in the same place.
He had thought Mr. Wilson and Mr. Barnes had been joking when they had spoken about Mr. Rogers having stayed back in time. He had thought they were making a joke and kidding around and they had made it up. This…this was a disaster that had been avoided by pure luck.
"Yes, well, I finally took advice and took a chance to be selfish." Steve stated with a smile. "Even if it was rather selfish on my part."
"You could have ruined everything!" Peter shot up from his chair, glaring down at the old man now. He didn't care that this man had been a hero and had saved thousands if not millions of lives. He had just selfishly put all those lives he saved in danger. "Everything that Mr. Stark died for could have been in vain! It would have meant nothing!" The image of a little girl he had started allowing into the lab when he wasn't working on dangerous things came to mind. "You could have cost that little girl her life, a life that Mr. Stark fought so hard to save." He growled.
Mr. Rogers stared at him with a raised brow, legs crossed as his hands laid settled against the arms of the chair. "And yet you seemed intent on wasting the life Tony worked so hard to bring back here in this lab." He returned calmly. "That little girl sees you down here more than up there at the dinner table."
Peter wanted to scream.
Why was it that only May and Mrs. Stark seemed to understanding that this was him grieving. That this was him going through the process of figuring all the feelings out. He had done this when his parents died and when Ben had died. This was just him working out everything that had happened to him.
It didn't help that he was still trying to get over turning to dust. HE remembered it vividly and he remembered the pain and terror and agony he had gone through. He even remembered bits and pieces of what had happened to him afterwards as well. Most of the people that came back didn't and just assumed they had died and gone to heaven or the blackness of nothing or maybe even got reborn.
No. That's not what happened at all.
Peter remembered the bright orange color that had surrounded him. The sounds of discontent voices and moans and groans.
He remembered the ever constricting pain of being surrounded by that orange glow.
It hadn't been until after the battle and that first night that he had figured out where they had been held. They had been held in the Soul Stone and the pain Peter had suffered had been from his Spidey-Senses trying to tell him about the danger.
Now he dreamed about it all when he closed his eyes.
"I'm not wasting my life." He snarled at the Captain. "You don't get to judge me for my grieving when you couldn't ever move on yourself." He waved a hand at the man's body. "You and Mr. Stark were and are hypocrites. So don't try and tell me I'm wasting it all when I'm just grieving, trying to process, coming to terms I'm alive! Again!" He shouted.
Steve's brows furrowed and he frowned. "What do you mean 'again'?"
Peter stared at the man with his own confusion. Did the man come in here to lecture him when he didn't know anything about him? Even Mr. Stark knew about it as he had taken the time to both research and talk to him about it. "I…" He gulped before shaking his head. "You came here with no information and you're lecturing me when you have no clue how I feel. I suggest you leave now." He nodded towards the door and then sat back in his chair. "FRIDAY, pull up schematics for project WSG41."
He knew that Steve was still there, watching him as he went over the schematics, adjusting and changing things with the weapons that he was currently working on for Bucky. It also included adjustments to his arm and the possible construction of a new lazy arm for the man to use around the facility.
He huffed in irritation as he listened to the raspy breathing of the man and the steady heartbeat that spoke of perfect health for a man that was in his hundreds. That damn serum worked too well, especially since Peter was the one stuck dealing with the man behind him.
"Why don't you explain to me about what I don't know then?" He questioned, making Peter scowl angrily. "Explain what I don't understand so I can see where you are coming from. So I can understand what you're going through and what you're feeling."
He wanted to flip the old bastard of and tell him to get out. To leave him alone so he could grieve like he always did. It was no one's business but his own on how he dealt with his emotions.
But at the same time, he knew that he needed to talk to someone. He didn't want to talk to Mrs. Stark or May because it would just burden them more than they already were. Mrs. Stark had Morgan and the company to run and May had gone back to work and was trying to hide the bottles of heart medication from him.
He didn't need to add on to their own troubles.
He didn't want to talk to any of the other Avengers because they couldn't understand or didn't understand him and his relationship with Mr. Stark well enough to understand. He wasn't close with any of them, not even Colonel Rhodes who he had spoken the most with before shit hit the fan.
So really, he should talk to someone but should it really be the one that he had kicked in the face?
"My parents died when I was six." He didn't even think much more about it and just started, keeping his eyes on the screens in front of him. "I was close to my dad before he and mom left for their trip. The airplane they were on crashed and no one survived." He swiped a hand over his cheek, ignoring how sweaty he was getting. It didn't matter if the room was a cool temperature as that was sweat he was wiping away.
He remembered his parents. Both of them. Maybe not vividly but he remembered how his mother would sing him to sleep and hold him close during thunderstorms. He remembered how his father would let him sit in his lap and they would both go over chemical compositions and equations for his father's work. They had loved him and had been so warm for the time he had had with them.
"I was given to my Aunt May and Uncle Ben after that. They took me in and raised me. They were like my parents after a time even if I didn't call them that. I loved and love them still." He swiped a hand at the screen and wiped away some of the equations there, they had been too weak and he needed to come up with a stronger equation to make sure the firing would be powerful to pierce titanium. "Then, I got bit by the spider that gave me my powers and about a month later, my Uncle Ben was shot."
He remembered that night vividly. It had been just before Christmas and it had been snowing. He had gone out after a fight with his Navy Seal Uncle that had gotten on him about a fight he had gotten into at school. His uncle had gone out looking for him.
He hadn't been too far from Peter, and so they had both heard the screaming of a woman from an alley that Peter had ignored the sounds of whimpering from earlier. They had both ran into the alley, Ben had been closer and had shown up before Peter.
It had been a woman with a gun held to her head and being forced to remove her clothes. Ben had lost it at the déjà vu moment and had ran straight for the two, hands coming to grab at the gun.
Unfortunately the man hadn't been as caught off guard and as soon as he had managed to turn the gun just enough and fired.
Peter had held his uncle in his arms as he bled out while the shooter had been knocked out cold after the teen had slammed his fist full force into his head.
Last he had heard, the man still hadn't woken up.
"Now, Mr. Stark died saving the world." He ignored how sweaty his cheeks were at the moment as he swiped the screen away and an image appeared instead.
It was the picture of him and Mr. Stark, bunny ears behind each of their heads and his Internship certificate held upside down. He smiled sadly at the picture.
It was quiet for a long time, but Peter soon got enough courage up to turn to the old form of Captain America with tears running down his face and a wobble to his bottom lip. "Tell me Mr. Rogers, have you lost three father figures all in one lifetime?"
Steve could only stare in sorrow at the child in front of him for a long moment before sighing and shaking his head. "I can only really say I've only lost one father in my time. Other than that, I was able to get a second chance to get to the people I loved greatly. So I can't say I understand your pain." He admitted. He made sure he was making eye contact with those watery brown eyes though when he spoke next. "But hiding in a lab won't do anything. From what Sam and Bucky have told me, you hardly eat and drink or interact with anyone but Pepper, your aunt, and Morgan."
"I'm working on it." The boy sighed as he wiped at his face and then rubbed his eyes. "This takes time and it just gets harder every time I lose someone." He leaned back, keeping his hands against his eyes as another thought came to mind. "My Aunt doesn't have much longer either." Her heartbeat had been erratic and would stutter every now and then. It was getting worse and he could hear her struggling to breathe at night.
He was trying to prepare himself to walk up those stairs one of these nights to go and cover her face with a blanket. He already knew it was going to be him doing it as she had taken to sleeping in one of the guest rooms instead of with Pepper. It also sucked that he could hear all of their heartbeats even from way down here in the lab. Though he wondered if Happy would find her before he could get up there since he had taken to sneaking into her room lately.
"You know this how?" Steve questioned and Peter was forced to explain his thoughts at the moment, though he kept the Happy tidbit out of it. "I see. What will you do? Do you have a place you can stay when she does?"
Peter shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really know. I don't think she's expecting to die anytime soon, especially since I've come back from being dusted." He wanted to go and curl up in a tight ball and ignore everyone around him. He wanted to ignore that Mr. Stark was dead and that soon, his Aunt would be too. It didn't matter what they did at this point, there was no avoiding it even though that was all he wanted to do.
Steve sighed and nodded his head in understanding. "If you need anything, do call me." He laid a card on the table near Peter and stood up. He even held himself like he was anything but an old man and Peter really wanted a blood sample to do some tests on. "If you need help, just remember I'm not the only one here to give a helping hand." With that, Peter watched the soldier leave.
He was alone and now Peter didn't bother to hold back the sobs that had been ripping through his entire body for a while now.
He was surprised he could cry anymore after all the times before.
PM
It was about four more months after his visit from the Captain, eleven months after Mr. Stark's death, and the rest of the Avengers trying to pull him from the lab.
He couldn't say that he had left the lab more than he hadn't, but he was able to eat more and had no problem with May or Mrs. Stark or Morgan coming down to visit. He also would go up to eat dinner with them every night and read a bedtime story to Morgan most nights than not.
He made sure to go to the corporate buildings for meetings with Mrs. Stark and the Board members over his creations and some of Tony's old ones. He was making bounds in college and acing all of his classes easily. He was hoping to graduate from MIT soon, within the next year or so.
So he was getting better even if it was a slow going type of thing. It helped that he could be near Morgan most of the time as it comforted him and her both. It also allowed Mrs. Stark a break when she was overwhelmed at trying to raise a child and run a multi-billionaire company on her own. Even with Aunt May and Peter himself helping out as much as possible didn't mean any less stress for the poor red haired woman.
Happy helped where he could but there was still so much he couldn't do to help. He wasn't equipped to help little kids like Peter and his aunt were. More often than not he would get one of the women or take her down to Peter.
He was thankful that his aunt had agreed to let their lease fall and move all their things into a storage unit so that they could live with Mrs. Stark full time. Living with the woman reassured Peter more than anything. Mostly considering the condition of his aunt.
She tried to hide it, tried to reassure Peter that she was okay, but he could hear and see her decline. It wasn't so much she got super pale and skinny really fast, but he could see her lose some weight here and a little paler there. It was slow and most people wouldn't notice.
Most people weren't Spider-man with an IQ that could rival Richard Reeds and Tony Stark.
Peter didn't say a thing though. He just made sure the cooks made more heart healthy food and that she never ignored her phone when her alarm went off for her medication. There really wasn't much else he could say or do without her trying to lie about her condition and give her more stress.
It was just a waiting game for him at this point. Just wait for that erratic and slowing heartbeat to come to a stop.
At least she had had a good last year, he thought, as he twisted the screwdriver into the device that would be used to house actual hearts. It would be used to make them pump and keep them from decaying before they could be put into a new body to help another human live. He had decided to give his hand at this after he had found out his aunt's condition.
She had gotten to help in the care of Morgan, who had taken to the woman as quickly as Peter had. May had always wanted children of her own but hadn't been able to carry to term. She had lost so many children that she and Ben had decided to just give up. The pain hadn't been worth the effort in the end. So when Morgan had been offered to her one night when Mrs. Stark had needed a break and Peter was working on a dangerous experiment, she had leapt at the chance.
The child and woman had bonded quickly and easily. May got joy out of being with Morgan and Morgan had gotten joy of being with May.
Then there had been the dates.
Peter had dragged Happy outside when he had found out.
"You're dating my aunt." He stated with a glare at the man, arms crossed over his chest, and his back straight.
"Uh…" The man, for once, stared at the teen with a bit of fear. "Yeah, I'm dating your aunt." He got out as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
"You do remember I'm Spider-Man, right?" At this Peter had uncrossed his arms and hit the little insignia he had been covering up, allowing his Iron Spider suit to cover his body but left his head uncovered. He wanted to intimidate but also make sure Happy could meet his eyes.
The man had paled almost instantly and gulped. Peter could smell the sweat coming off the other man now and hear his heartbeat speed up. Good, he needed to be scared, needed to know that harming his aunt in anyway was a very bad idea. "Yeah." The man took a step back as he watched the teen warily.
"Good, because that means you know exactly what'll happen to you if you harm her." He growled at the end as his hands fisted at his sides and his entire stance changed to shout danger.
Happy was almost shaking in fear at this point and was nodding his head quickly. "Yeah, kid, I won't hurt her on purpose." He agreed.
Peter narrowed his eyes more as he looked the man over, assessing what he had said before nodding and standing up fully once more. His suit retracted back into the little holder as the teen turned to leave. "No sex in the house either Happy, this place isn't soundproofed against super hearing." Was the last thing he said as he entered back into the cabin, leaving behind a terrified man.
And Happy had stuck true to his word. He had made his aunt happy once more. As far as Peter knew, they didn't have sex in the cabin while he was there, but he knew that wouldn't stop them entirely. That worried him greatly due to her heart condition and that amount of pressure could end up stopping it.
He shook his head as he let that thought go and tried to concentrate on the project once more but something was off. Something wasn't right in the cabin at the moment.
He huffed as he stood from the table and walked out of the lab. Maybe a shower would help him relax. He ran a hand through his hair and scrunched his nose at the greasy feel he got from it. Yeah, a shower would be a good idea.
He walked into the living room where the stairs were just off of and looked at a passed out Happy. The man was sprawled out in front of the TV with Nanny 911 playing.
Peter just threw a blanket over the sleeping man before moving to walk upstairs where all their bedrooms were with all of their things. That and a bathroom and office.
He paused in the middle of the hallway once he got there and closed his eyes, listening closely.
He could hear all the heartbeats in the house this way, normally he would listen to them from down in the lab but he could hear them much clearer up here. It calmed him to hear all the heartbeats, knowing that everyone was alive and okay and well.
He could hear Happy's resting heartbeat downstairs that had a slight arrhythmia every minute or so from his slightly overweight physique.
Mrs. Stark's strong and steady heartbeat that was normal and showed no signs of disease or irregular behavior. She was the epitome of a healthy heart.
Then there was the fast and quick little heartbeat of a child. Morgan, even when asleep, had a fast heartbeat that was normal for all children and would eventually slow as she got older.
Then there was Aunt May's that was…his body stiffened as he tilted his head and clenched his eyes closed. May's heartbeat had been highly irregular that day, going from strong to weak to fast to slow.
There was nothing now.
Peter gulped back a sob as he opened his eyes and walked over to the room that May and Happy had been sharing as of late. He didn't bother to knock and instead walked into the room and walking over to the bed.
It didn't matter if there wasn't a light on for him to see where he was going, he had better night vision due to the bite and had no problem moving around. He could see his aunt clear as day because of that.
She lay on her side, facing the door and her head laying on a folded arm and on her pillow. Her hair was sprawled out around her while the blankets was pulled up to her shoulders. Her face was calm and peaceful, eyes closed as if in sleep.
Peter knew better.
He crawled on the bed and laid in front of his aunt, taking in the peaceful face and the still chest. No breathing and he could feel the warmth from her body already draining. It hadn't been too long since she passed but he knew that performing CPR would not bring her back.
So he just laid there and stared at his aunt, taking in the shape of her jaw and the softness around her eyes. The color of her hair and how peaceful she looked.
He could already feel the tears on his face falling into the pillow he lay on and he didn't dare hold back the sob that built in his throat. "Oh, aunt May." He sobbed out as he reached out and laid a hand on her face. "Please, no Aunt May." He cried as he closed his eyes and curled up towards her, feeling the warmth that was still there. "Please…Please do-don't le-lea-lea-ve me to-too." He begged, already knowing it wasn't going to work. Her heart just hadn't been strong enough.
He was so consumed with grief and exhaustion that he didn't hear the little footsteps that wondered into the room. He didn't recognize the little heartbeat that was closing in on him.
He did notice when there was a dip at the end of the bed. "Peter?" Morgan called as she moved to be in between the teen and the cooling body. "Peter, why are you crying?"
The teen didn't waste a movement as he shot up and grabbed the child under her armpits, settled her against his side, and ran out of the room. He didn't try and stop his crying but he got himself together enough to hold the now startled child close to his chest.
He couldn't let her see May like this. He couldn't let her realize that another person in her life had disappeared and there was nothing that she could do about it. He had to protect her from seeing May like this and hope that eventually, just like the pain she felt from Mr. Stark leaving, that the pain of May leaving would become bearable.
He already knew the pain wouldn't be bearable for Peter. He had already lost too much and now he had lost more, but there was nothing he could do to lesson it. He would be stuck feeling like this the rest of his life.
But he could try and keep Morgan from feeling like this. Protect her from the pain of death that inevitably took away those they loved.
He ignored the startled cries and the tears she was giving at the moment as he moved out of the room and towards Mrs. Stark's instead. "I'm sorry." He murmured to the child in his arms, trying to calm her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He stated as he gave a hard knock and entered the room.
"Peter?" Mrs. Stark called as she reached over and turned the light on. "What's going on?" she asked as she took the young girl into her arms as soon as Peter held her out to her. "Why is Morgan up?"
Peter choked on his words for a moment. He had to be strong, had to be strong for himself and for Morgan and Mrs. Stark and Happy and everyone else that had ever known May. He had to.
"Pepper, I have to go and wake Happy." He told her. "I need you to stay in here with Morgan while me and Happy take care of a few things." With that he turned and left the room before she could say anything else.
He didn't sleep the rest of the night and he knew that Pepper and Happy didn't either.
PM
The funeral was short and sweet.
Every single one of the Avengers had shown up. Along with Ned and MJ, who he almost didn't recognize as they had grown over the years of him being dust. They all gave their condolences and then they watched as the casket was lowered into the ground next to where Ben was buried and next to his parent's graves.
He had held Morgan through the funeral, keeping her head in the crook of his neck and making sure that she didn't have to see the coffin lower. Even now he was trying to protect her from seeing Aunt May dead and buried, even though he knew that Mrs. Stark had already explained to the child that May wasn't coming back.
He had sat through that conversation with the little girl, blankly staring at the wall and keeping a hold of the little girl's hand in his own. He listened to her cry but he didn't dare cry with her there. He would have to suffer by himself later when no one was around.
He gulped heavily as the coffin began to be covered. He kept a tight hold on Morgan as he heard her begin to sniffle. He rubbed at her back for what seemed like forever, but was only until the grave was fully filled in.
At that point, it was only him, Morgan, Mrs. Stark, and Happy left. Ned and MJ both had flights to catch if they were going to make it back to their colleges and classes. Peter had told them not to miss anything as that wasn't what May would have wanted.
They stood their long after the grave had been filled and Peter only moved when the red headed woman placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go home Peter." She said quietly.
He knew she was talking about that little cabin in the woods that he had been living at.
But was it really home?
No, not really. Not when Mr. Stark and May weren't there.
A sniffle echoed in his ear from the exhausted little girl and he closed his eyes, hugging her close.
No, it wasn't home without May or Mr. Stark, but it could be with Morgan there. So maybe, one day, it could be.
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A.N. OH my god! What the hell did I just write! I'm a horrible person for doing this! Peter suffered enough during Endgame! He doesn't' need this too! That poor baby! Oh my god! What the hell was I thinking when I wrote this out!
Oh, right, this story is about Peter and Morgan. Even though this didn't have a whole lot of the two in it right at the start, I needed to write this out like this. I had to get Peter to talk.
Also I know Peter in here is OOC a bit but I think our emotions and the way we deal with them can change our attitudes a bit. Sorry if you don't like that but that's really not your choice. I'm also going to tell you now that this story should get happier a bit, though there will be dark times with the good as well. SO no worries, this'll all work out in the end. I promise. Now, review and tell me what you thought! I can't wait to hear from you all!