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A Room
Tony eased the boy down on the pillows as his eyes drooped, his body limp on the bed as Tony covered him up, tucking the quit over his shoulders. Glancing up and making sure Helen was facing the machine and messing with her StarkPad, he wiped the boy's eyes with his thumbs, brushing away tear tracks. He hadn't wanted to drug the kid...but Peter was still in a lot of pain, and Helen was worried about him getting too worked up. "How's his head." Tony fought to keep his voice even, needing to know how to fix this.
"He had a pretty serious skull fracture when they brought him in. According to the hospital records, his brain was swelling, but we've got that under control. I upped his nutrition. They weren't giving him nearly enough. The healing takes a lot out of him, and if he doesn't get enough calories, his healing slows down and may even come to a stop. "I'll remove the IV tomorrow so it's important that he gets enough to eat."
"Make sure he eats. Got it." She nodded, lips pressed together in a tight line.
"His arm had begun to heal incorrectly. They took him into surgery and reset it. We spoke to the doctors involved and all have signed nondisclosures...Pepper went to the hospital herself to make sure of it." Tony felt himself smile, chuckling a little. It wasn't like they thought the doctors would tell the press or anything, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.
It was no secret that Pepper was fond of the boy she'd barely spoken to...she'd only been to the compound once or twice when he was there after the initial press conference when their engagement had been announced. She'd been planning the wedding ever since, and he wondered, between world savings, if they'd ever actually get to have a wedding. And now they would have to talk about how she really felt about him taking in a kid.
She liked Peter. A lot. Of course, it was hard not to. She was the one that kept lists of his favorite foods on Tony's computer and had his room at the compound redone. Tony had walked by it one day and had found that the walls had been painted a deep blue and covered in Star Wars and Avengers posters, and that a new TV completely with some kind of video game system had been installed. It looked like a teenage boy's room...and Tony had to admit, he had liked the idea of having Peter stay the night sometimes. But he'd never asked, figuring he had plans with his nerd friends or something.
Now it was his room. Peter's room. Because Peter was his kid. Tony was Peter's guardian. His...parent. He hadn't adopted the kid. Not yet. But he was sure he was going to...it was a conversation he wanted to have with Peter first, though. Not when the kid was drugged and exhausted and too grief-stricken to form a real sentence. He reached out, brushing some of Peter's hair back, the curly brown mess on his head making him want to take a real brush to it. The thought made him roll his eyes. The kid didn't need him to brush his hair for him. Teenagers didn't like that...he didn't think. Then again, what the hell did he know about teenagers?
Rhodey knocked on the Med Bay door, which was ridiculous since the room was huge. Peter's bed was one of twelve, all of them curtained off in their own private little cubicles. All were open, and he'd pulled the curtains around Peter's bed open as well. Helen excused herself and he waved his friend over. "How is he?" He wondered, waiting until he was right beside Tony to ask, his voice low like the boy was just sleeping.
"Um...he's been better." Tony murmured, hands useless in his lap. He'd moved to a chair beside the boy's bed, and Rhodey dropped a hesitant hand on his shoulder. Usually Tony would have brushed him off, but he didn't have the energy. He'd been by his kid's side for what felt like days, only eating whatever Helen gave him and barely leaving unless Pepper told him a meeting was mandatory. Even then, he'd blown off at least one of those.
"Tony?"
"Mostly healed. Just...the head injury is taking longer to heal than anything else."
"It's a miracle he survived." His friend murmured, glancing at the machine the kid was hooked up to. "Did you tell him…"
"I told him about his aunt, yes."
"How did he take it?"
"Helen had to drug him...he couldn't calm down." Rhodey sighed, running a hand over his face.
"What about the guardianship?"
"I didn't really get the chance to bring it up. He wasn't in any shape to have a conversation."
Rhodey was quiet for a second, then he squeezed the shoulder under his hand. "Come on, man. You haven't had a shower in days."
"Rhodey…"
"He's asleep. Helen's monitoring him. So is FRIDAY. He shouldn't wake up for a while. You need a shower, some real food, and you need to sleep. Plus, Pepper told me you weren't answering her calls and I need to talk to you about something. Something big."
Tony blinked. He had been ready to argue, but that last part got his attention. "Something big? Something that might interfere with the fact that I just took on the guardianship of a super-powered teenager who just lost the last family member he had left? Rhodey, I don't have time for something big right now…"
"It's Thor."
"Thor?" Tony frowned, looking around the room like the Asgardian might appear. "Thor...here?"
"Not yet. We received a message from him last night...him and Banner."
"Bruce…" That didn't make sense. The Hulk had disappeared...two years ago? More? He was gone. Dead? He didn't know. It was something he tried really hard not to think about. First, things with Cap had gone south, then Peter had come into his life and he'd been looking after the kid ever since. Looking at the sleeping boy on the bed for a long time, he tried to figure it out. Bruce. Thor. He hadn't heard from Thor for just as long. Was it Loki? Something else? Some other threat from space they'd have to deal with?
"I think you're going to want to hear this, Tony." Reaching out, he patted the kid's hand, squeezing for a second.
"I'll be right back, kiddo." He assured Peter, knowing Peter couldn't even hear him. That he was in a drug-induced sleep and that even when he woke up, he'd just gone through a traumatic event and had lost his entire family and it would probably be months before the kid was even remotely back to normal. If he was ever back to normal. What the hell did he know about being a father? Especially to a kid who'd just lost everything? But now Thor was trying to contact them and Bruce was alive...patting Peter's hand and telling FRIDAY to alert him as soon as Peter woke up, he followed Rhodey to the elevator and down into the lab.
The message was simple. Thor was on his way to Earth. With Bruce. And Loki. And a lot of Asgardians. A lot...apparently there had been an apocalypse or something. Tony was having trouble concentrating. He glanced over at the screen that showed Peter asleep in the Med Bay after it had played through once. "How is he, FRIDAY?"
"All vitals stable, sir."
That was his kid. Thor was coming. Bruce was alive. Thor and Bruce were bringing Asgard to Earth…and Loki. Loki was coming to Earth. And he'd just taken over the guardianship of a traumatized kid.
Tony let Rhodey shove him towards the shower, and after he'd changed, he ate the Chinese takeout Rhodey had ordered on Tony's credit card. Shower, new clothes, food. Coffee. He insisted on the coffee. If he was gonna figure this out he was going to need it. But the next order from his friend was sleep, so, despite the coffee, he lay down in his bed, ordering FRIDAY to turn off the lights. She did, and for a long moment, he stared at the dark ceiling. "FRIDAY?" He asked after a few minutes.
"Yes, sir?" The blue light on the sensor by the door brightened, a visual representation of his AI. The speakers filled the building, all of them invisible.
"Bring up the Med bay camera. Peter Parker." The hologram appeared, the screen showing him a slightly blue image of Peter asleep in the bed. He hadn't moved...Helen was going to remove the IV in his arm in the morning, and he would need to eat. A lot. She hadn't been kidding about his metabolism. His body was healing itself, but it would also starve if he didn't have enough food. And his temperature was a little elevated. Tony waved a hand, having the screen come closer as he flicked through the screens. Elevated temperature. "FRIDAY, has Dr. Cho..." Before he could finish speaking, Helen walked into view, glancing at something on a screen beside his bed, then she fiddled with a wire and the tubes at his side.
"Yes, sir?"
"Nevermind." He muttered, flicking through the kid's readings again. He was fine. Peter was going to be fine. Physically fine. And Thor was...coming to Earth. With lots of friends. Friends who would need places to live and maybe jobs and probably some kind of education on living on Earth...or something. He hadn't known Thor before the man...Asgardian...had basically adjusted to Earth, thanks to his girlfriend. Loki, on the other hand...he didn't even want to think about Loki, but soon he would have to. Estimated time to Earth was a week. He had a week. A week to talk to Peter and a week to figure out what to do with Thor and his insane brother and the rest of the people from Asgard. A week. He didn't have time to sleep.
He slept anyway. Until ten in the morning, longer than he ever slept. Groaning as the alarm in his room went off, he made a gesture with his hand. The alarm shut off, and the screen appeared again. "Peter Parker is awake, sir." He brought up the display, showing Peter staring at the ceiling. The cast was gone, the IV too. The kid looked rough as Helen Cho left the room, leaving the tray of food on the table. It wasn't much, but Peter didn't even touch it. He watched for a long minute...watched Peter stare at the ceiling, watched Helen Cho type on her StarkPad until a message popped up on the display.
All vitals stable. It appears his head injury is healing very quickly. All other injuries have healed. It would be safe to move him out of the medical bay and may improve his morale. He appears withdrawn and depressed.
Tony jumped to his feet, throwing the blankets off and grabbing the first clothes out of the closet he could find. A Stark Industries T-shirt and jeans. Well, he didn't have any plans to leave the house that day, so it would be fine. Brushing his hair and teeth, then grabbing shoes, he hurried to the elevator, instructing FRIDAY to take him to the Medical Bay.
Peter was still staring at the ceiling when he reached the kid's bed. He barely looked at the man, just muttering a 'Hi Mr. Stark' before turning his attention back to the ceiling. Tony sat on the bed beside the kid, taking a deep breath and folding his hands together. "You gonna eat that, kid?" Peter just shook his head. Grabbing the jello cup, Tony peeled off the plastic lid and took a bite. Swallowing, he looked down at the boy that had barely looked away from the ceiling. "You've got to eat. You know that right?"
"I'm not hungry." That wasn't going to work. Peter had to eat. He might not know how to be a father or even a very good mentor, but the doctor had told him that the boy had to eat, so he'd focus on that for the moment. Tony took another bite of the jello, trying to figure out what to say. He could force it...tell him he had to eat or else. But he could already tell that wouldn't work. Not with Peter. He knew his kid better than that.
"How about we get you out of here? Head up to the kitchen and get you some real food, huh?" He didn't wait for Peter to respond, holding out a hand that the boy took after a second, letting Tony pull him up. Steadying the boy with one hand, he tossed the empty jello cup into the trash. "How's the head?"
"Fine."
"Good. Tell me if it's not, okay? Helen already tell you that?"
"Yeah."
"Good." Peter stumbled a little, the blue pajama bottoms too long as they caught under his foot. "We've got some real clothes for you upstairs, too," Tony told him, putting an arm around him to help steady him. Peter didn't object, following along dumbly into the elevator, then up to the living area which was, thankfully, empty. Passing the kitchen, he led Peter down the hall, past his own room and to the bedroom Pepper had set up for him right next to Vision.
Peter just stared at the floor when they reached the bedroom. "This is your room. There are clothes in the closet and the dresser...we had all of your stuff brought over too." Peter frowned at that, looking around the room and then up at Tony, then back at the room. "Clothes. In all the normal clothes places. Feel free to rearrange them later. Change clothes, then join me in the kitchen. Okay? He clapped a careful hand on Peter's shoulder and the boy nodded slowly, obviously taking longer than normal to process. "Kid? Verbal confirmation required." He spoke directly, his tone almost as snarky as usual, but he was being gentle too.
"Yeah...change. Then meet you in the kitchen." Peter had been to the compound plenty of times...he could find the kitchen. Right? Well, FRIDAY would tell him where to go if he got lost.
"Good. Alright." He patted the kid on the shoulder again, then headed to the kitchen to wait.
Mentally, he went through a list of things he knew how to make. Hot dogs. Pizza pockets. Actually, any kind of pizza product you just threw in the oven. Surprisingly, Thor had always been the best cook. Steve, too. Even Natasha was better than him. He braced his hands on the counter, pushing the others out of his mind. He needed to focus. Breakfast foods. Bagels. He could put bagels in the toaster oven. And...maybe pancakes. Surely they had frozen waffles. Opening the freezer, he hunted for them and finally found a box. Checking the box for an expiration date, he threw four in his toaster, pushing down the lever and hoping it popped back up eventually.
It did, right as Peter emerged from the hallway, wearing NASA t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. "Right on time, kid. How do you like waffles? And don't tell me you aren't hungry. Spider metabolism and super healing mean you need to eat more if you don't want to pass out. No one wants that. Got it?" Peter nodded, dropping onto a stool by the counter and staring at the plate in front of him. They were only slightly black on the edges, so Tony took it as a victory. Pushing over the syrup and butter, he made his own plate. "Eat first, then we'll talk. Okay?" Peter nodded, taking a bite of waffles without saying anything.
The kid practically inhaled the two waffles on his plate, then the next four that Tony put on his plate without speaking. Tony thought about making a comment about him not being hungry but decided not to jinx it. The kid was eating. It was a start. So he waited for a few minutes while the kid ate the waffles and drank a glass of chocolate milk, then urged him to leave the dishes in the sink, leading him to the living room and sitting on the ottoman in front of where Peter had dropped onto the couch, his eyes dull and hazy as he stared at his own lap.
"How's the head, kiddo?"
"Fine." Tony wasn't sure if he believed him, but decided not to push it.
"Okay. Remember, you gotta tell someone if it's not. Okay?" Peter nodded, wringing his hands in his lap. "Alright…" He sighed, clasping his own hands and leaning in, elbows on his knees. He didn't know where to start...how to bring this up in conversation. But he had to. And the kid was gonna be upset, but he wasn't sure if it was just grief, or if he wouldn't want to live with Tony. There were so many logistical issues, not the least of which was his schooling. Also the fact that Vision still hadn't quite grasped the concept of 'doors.' He'd have to have a serious conversation with Vision about that.
"Okay…um, first things first. Is your room okay? Pepper had the walls painted and did all the decorating, but we can change anything you want. Got enough clothes? Books?" He didn't give him a chance to answer, just kept talking. "I had your old laptop brought over, but there's a new one in there too...if you need help transferring the files...never mind, you build computers. You know how to transfer files. Anyway, it's top of the line...I even installed Karen. I know you love her. And…" He snapped his fingers, searching for the other thing he needed to tell him. "...your phone! Your phone was destroyed so I went...ahead...kid?"
Peter was crying. Not sobbing or anything...just...tears dripped from the corners of his eyes and down his cheeks, lips trembling just a little. When he took a breath, it shuddered. "Shit...I mean...eh, I heard you in Germany. You already know that word. What's wrong? What is it? You don't like the room? That's fine. No sweat, kid. We'll change it. Whatever you want. Or...clothes? Did we miss something? I...I don't...talk to me, okay?" He put a hand on the kid's knee. On his kid's knee. Peter met his eyes, looking...bewildered.
"I...I don't...I don't understand, Mr. Stark." Peter admitted after a second, not seeming to notice his own tears. "I mean...I don't…" He shook his head, eyes pleading with Tony to explain. Ignoring a twinge of alarm at the fact that the kid who had worked on his Iron Man suit and who built computers couldn't understand the concept of redecorating (had there been some kind of brain damage?) he nodded, forcing his voice to stay even and patient.
"Okay...okay. That's fine. What don't you understand? The room? Pepper painted it and decorated it, but we can change it."
"You brought...my stuff?" He asked, and Tony nodded again.
"Yeah. Happy and a couple of my guys went to your apartment and got everything. All your stuff...all your aunt's stuff too. Everything but the furniture. I paid the landlord to keep it empty so if you want any of the furniture we can go get that too. Or have someone bring it. I just wasn't sure what all you'd want to keep. Everything's in boxes in an empty room. No one will bother them. Not that many people are still around…" He trailed off when the tears didn't stop. "You with me, Pete? What's wrong?"
"You brought my stuff?"
"Okay, I'm getting worried, kiddo. Fill me in. What am I missing? Do you not want your stuff? We can get rid of it. That's fine."
"I don't…" Peter just shook his head and Tony sighed, standing and moving to the couch beside his kid, putting a hesitant arm around his shoulders. Physical contact might help...might calm him down.
"Talk to me. Explain. I once heard you talk for forty-five minutes straight without taking a breath, Pete. Go ahead and talk." That got a small smile out of the crying boy.
"You did not."
"Did too. I clocked you. You were talking about the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek. Ask FRIDAY. Right, FRIDAY?"
"No, sir. You are exaggerating to make a point. In fact, Peter spoke on the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek for fifteen minutes and paused often enough to breathe normally."
"Traitor." He grumbled, making Peter smile through the tears again. "Alright, Pete. Tell me. Is something wrong with the room?" Peter shook his head. "Okay, what's wrong?" Apart from the obvious, he wanted to add but didn't. This seemed like something else.
"I don't understand."
"What don't you understand?" He asked, wondering if he'd ever escape the labyrinth of this conversation but willing to talk in circles all day if it kept his kid engaged and talking. Tony couldn't stand that dead look in his eyes...the way he'd stared at the ceiling for almost half an hour without seeming to notice. That wasn't his kid. Peter was alive...he was endless chatter and laughter and constantly trying to impress Tony and he couldn't stand the picture of him just laying there, silent.
"Why do I have a room?" Peter finally asked. Tony blinked at that.
"You've always had a room. Remember? When I offered you a spot on the Avengers and…"
"No, why...why is my stuff here?" The kid cut him off, and Tony could have shot himself in the face with his own repulsor. Of course, the kid was confused. He hadn't started with the most important piece of information.
"Because I'm your legal guardian. Signed the papers at the hospital and everything, so, uh...guess you're all mine now." He flinched at how that came out, but Peter was just staring at him, dumbfounded. "I mean, you're my kid, legally, so you'll live here."
"You...you adopted me?"
"Not yet." That came out before he had time to think about his answer, and Peter just kept staring. "I didn't want to sign anything like that before I got a chance to talk to you. So, um...that's a discussion we can have later. For now, I'm your legal guardian, you're my kid, you'll live here, and all your stuff is here."
He was crying again. Tony thought about throwing himself out the window for a moment...obviously, he sucked at this. What made him think he could be a father to this kid when the first conversation they had after he took over his guardianship made him cry? Repeatedly. "I don't have to go?" The boy asked, and Tony flinched a little at his lost tone.
"No. You don't have to go anywhere, buddy."
"You didn't have to do that," Peter whispered after a second, shaking his head. Tony frowned at that, putting a hand on his shoulder again.
"You're right. I didn't." He wanted to be incredibly clear about that or the kid would start some kind of shame cycle on top of the depression and trauma. "I did not have to take you in. No one forced me or even asked me. I found out what happened and asked my lawyers to make sure I was able to get custody of you. I didn't want you going to some strangers. Hey..." He put a finger on the kid's cheek to get him to turn his head, finally facing Tony head on. "You're my kid, okay? Hell, you've been my kid for a while, since I kind of built you a multimillion-dollar suit and make sure you get home on time and feed you and got custody on Fridays…" Peter snorted a little at that. "Now it's legal, okay? You're my kid. I know there are a thousand things you're worried about right now, but where you're gonna live...that doesn't have to be one of them."
Peter nodded, biting down hard on his lip, the tears coming again, and Tony put his arms around him, pulling him close and rubbing his back. He was out of his element...sure he'd been spending more time with Peter. And yeah, he'd gotten to know the kid. But Peter never came to him with any kind of emotional problems. He'd never cried in front of Tony...never sobbed in his arms, gripping his shirt so tightly that it ripped...that was the second shirt Peter had ripped, not that Tony cared.
Leaning back against the sofa, he held the teenager silently while the boy cried. There was more they needed to discuss, but he had a feeling Peter wasn't up for any more serious conversations, so instead he had FRIDAY turn on the first mindless sitcom she could find and let it play quietly in the background while his kid let it out.
Thank you for reading :)