Thank you so much to all of my reviewers! I promise I'm going to try and answer al of them next week! Things were just really busy for the last few day! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new chapter.
Arrival
The spaceship was...huge. Gigantic. The biggest ship he'd ever seen. Of course, the Quinjet was the only other real ship he'd really seen...and it wasn't even a ship. More of a plane. A really cool plane that looked sort of alien but wasn't. But this was a real live spaceship! Standing beside Mr. Stark on the back patio, he watched the gigantic ship lower itself onto the grass, feeling the man grip his shoulder comfortingly. On Mr. Stark's other side was Colonel Rhodes who stood almost at attention, back stiff, his jaw tight as he too stared at the ship. On Peter's other side was Vision who, like Peter, had not really met Thor...although JARVIS had and he wasn't sure if Vision still remembered all the stuff from when he'd been JARVIS. It didn't seem polite to ask, so he hadn't.
Miss Potts had arrived that morning before Peter had woken up...well, woken up the second time. The first time it had been the nightmare...metal on metal. Screaming. He'd woken up gasping, tears dripping from his eyes, and only a few minutes after waking, Mr. Stark had been there, knocking quietly on the door then coming in, sitting on the bed next to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're okay." The man had murmured, rubbing his arm. Peter had apologized, asking the man again to just turn off the alarm but once more, Mr. Stark had refused, insisting that it was fine and that Peter didn't need to worry.
He'd woken up again around eight in the morning when the light had come in through his balcony window. He had a balcony. He still couldn't quite believe that. Throwing off the blankets and dragging himself tiredly to the kitchen, he'd frozen in place when he'd seen the beautiful blonde woman sitting at the counter dressed in jeans and a sweater, eating scrambled eggs and bacon. He must have stood there for at least five minutes, wondering if he should just go back to his room when she happened to look up.
"Oh...Peter." She had smiled softly, standing from the counter and walking over to him, reaching out and putting a hand on his shoulder. For a second, with a hand on his shoulder and one on his head, it was like Aunt May was there...he swallowed hard, looking down at the ground when she pulled him close. For just a second, he closed his eyes, letting her pull him into a hug and rub his back. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to come on Sunday." She had murmured, and he'd managed to nod, jaw tight as he tried not to start crying before breakfast.
He liked Miss Potts a lot. At first, she had seemed kind of intimidating. Mr. Stark's fiance, the CEO of his company, and the only person that seemed to be able to reign his menor in, she was a beautiful, obviously brilliant woman who never seemed to need anyone's approval. But the first time she'd met him, she'd softened, quickly adopting May's habbit of dropping a hand on his arm or squeezing his shoulder. She was unfailingly kind and always seemed happy to see him, and he could understand why Mr. Stark loved her so much.
Then he wondered...was she okay with Mr. Stark taking him in? The man had mentioned adoption...how would Miss Potts feel about that? Sure, she liked him, but to have him living under her roof, a child to her soon-to-be husband? What if she didn't want kids? Or what if she wanted her own kids? He was a teenager...what if she thought he would be too much trouble? He didn't think she would tell Tony to get rid of him or anything, but what if it caused Mr. Stark problems? At the moment, though, she seemed perfectly happy to see him, so he took that as some comfort.
"I, um...thought you weren't coming until this weekend." He'd tried to change the subject, and she had led him back to the counter, gesturing for him to take a seat and placing a full plate of eggs and bacon in front of him. When he picked up the fork, she sat beside him, a hand on his back. It felt familiar...like his aunt was in the room. She'd always ruffle his hair or put a hand on his back when she would walk by...Miss Potts seemed to feel him stiffen a little and pulled away.
"I finished up with my meeting early and was able to get in this morning." She told him, taking a bite of her own food. For a while, they had eaten in silence, Peter picking at his own food as Miss Potts finished hers.
"Is Mr. Stark awake?" He had finally asked, uncomfortable with the silence, and she had smiled gently down at him.
"No. He was asleep when I got here a few hours ago. I think I'm going to go wake him up." With that, she had put her empty plate in the sink and had headed off toward Mr. Stark's room while Peter went to his own room to get changed. With no idea how long it would be before the Asgardians showed up, or if he was even supposed to be there for it, he pulled out his phone and texted Ned and MJ who both texted back despite both being at school. He could hear Mr. Stark and Miss Pott's quiet voices but tried not to listen. He didn't want to be rude. Instead, he had opened up his biology textbook again, staring blankly at one of the pages until there was a knock on his door.
Mr. Stark had stepped inside after a few seconds of silence, and from where he'd sat, he'd heard the older man sigh softly. "Give it up, kiddo. We both know you haven't actually done any homework." His voice had been gentle, but Peter had flinched a little anyway.
"I need to."
"And you will. Give yourself some time, kiddo. Were you able to get back to sleep?" Peter had nodded, and Mr. Stark had taken a seat on his bed, hands clasped on his lap. It had taken a minute, but he'd finally given up on pretending to do homework, swiveling in the chair to face his guardian. That word still seemed strange to him. "Pepper said you already ate. You want anything else?" He'd shaken his head, and Tony had stared down at the floor for a minute, seeming to gather himself. "They should be here sometime today. Didn't exactly get a time frame. Do you want to wear your suit?"
Peter had blinked at him in confusion. "My...my suit?" He'd asked, thinking about the one he'd worn to his aunt's funeral. "I mean...if you think I should...he is a god or something…"
Mr. Stark had snorted just a little, seeming to fight a grin. "Not that suit, Pete. Your Spider-Man suit. You know, secret identity?"
Peter hadn't forgotten about his superhero alter-ego. He hadn't forgotten his responsibility...he was Spider-Man. He saved people and gave old ladies directions and helped kids find their lost pets...but he hadn't saved Aunt May. He hadn't saved the one person that mattered more to him than anyone in the world. And how was he supposed to be Spider-Man from upstate? He didn't even know the way back to Queens from the compound. "You don't have to." Mr. Stark had continued, obviously trying to reassure him. "I can just introduce you as my kid. We don't have to tell them anything about your secret super-heroing. They can keep a secret, though. Well...Thor and Bruce can."
The boy had been too taken aback by the words 'my kid' to respond for a moment. Mr. Stark had just called him his kid. Not son...that would have been weirder. But still. His kid. That...that meant Mr. Stark thought of him as...well...his kid. It just didn't quite compute.
He'd done it before when he'd told Peter that he loved him, which had been a whole different level of surprise. Sure, he'd hoped that Mr. Stark was somewhat fond of him. The man had taken him in, after all. He'd hoped that they were...friends? But for Mr. Stark to just come out and say he loved Peter...and now he was going to tell other people that he was Mr. Stark's kid...and he'd mentioned a press conference. And maybe adopting him.
It wasn't that he didn't want any of this. Mr. Stark was amazing and smart and he obviously cared a lot about Peter. And that was awesome. Peter knew that. And he was grateful. "Kid? You okay? You with me?" Mr. Stark had asked, and Peter had no idea how to express what he was feeling without possibly offending the man, so he had just nodded.
"Yeah…um...can I just wear regular clothes?"
"Sure thing, Pete. You can tell them you're Spider-Man whenever you want, okay? I won't say anything." Reaching out, Mr. Stark had ruffled his hair, resting that hand on his head for a second. It was nice. He really liked Mr. Stark...probably loved him. He was like a father figure even before all this...a mentor. A friend. But this was different. This was...more. And Peter didn't know how to handle that considering his aunt had only been gone for…a week? Had it been more than a week yet? He didn't want to go back and count.
Peter wondered if the other Avengers knew about this. He knew that Black Widow had fought on their side, but Mr. Stark hadn't said anything about her. King T'challa was supposed to be coming the next week according to Mr. Stark, and as for the others, he had no idea how things were going with the 'rogue' Avengers. He knew that Mr. Stark had been trying to get the Accords amended and that he and Colonel Rhodes were fighting with that Ross guy that Mr. Stark insisted he never meet.
He wasn't sure why he didn't want Peter to meet Ross. Mr. Stark didn't seem too scared of him. Usually, when the man called, Mr. Stark would just put him on hold. Still, he hadn't heard anything about Captain America or the others. He knew they'd gotten out of jail or wherever they'd been but wasn't sure if they knew that Thor and Dr. Banner were coming back to Earth.
The first one out of the mouth of the huge ship was Dr. Banner. He'd seen the man in photos before, but not too many. There weren't a ton of pictures of Dr. Banner online...mostly they were pictures of the Hulk destroying New York. But Dr. Banner headed straight for Mr. Stark who caught the man by the shoulders, both of them grinning. "Tony…" Dr. Banner shook his head, laughing a little incredulously. "I never thought I'd see you again."
Peter had to admit he was surprised when Mr. Stark put his arms around Dr. Banner, patting him firmly on the back. He knew, of course, that the two of them were friends, but he hadn't really seen Mr. Stark around many of his friends. Just Colonel Rhodes and...well, Miss Potts, but Miss Potts didn't count because she was his fiance. But he was hugging Dr. Banner and then two more people were exiting the spaceship.
Thor was bigger than Peter had expected. With short hair and without his hammer, the man looked...different. But he was grinning when he reached out a hand, gripping Mr. Stark on the shoulder. "Stark! It's good to see you again."
Miss Potts left his side for a moment and hurried over to greet Dr. Banner, who's shoulder she squeezed, and Thor, who pulled her into a surprisingly gentle hug, his smile soft and fond. He had never really thought about Pepper knowing Thor...but he supposed they'd all met before. The Avengers had worked together for a long time before Dr. Banner and Thor had disappeared. The four of them huddled together for a moment before Rhodey joined in, shaking Dr. Banner's hand, and Peter found himself alone on the back patio before meeting the eyes of a man dressed in green, the long black hair familiar. The man was giving him a strange look, lips pulled into an almost-smile before Dr. Banner spoke up again.
"I'm sorry...who's this?" He asked, and Peter realized the man was talking about him. Tearing his eyes from the man that he'd realized was Loki, the god of mischief, he was suddenly aware that everyone was staring at him, Dr. Banner looking confused and Thor looking friendly if not also confused. Mr. Stark headed back over to where he was standing, reaching out and putting a friendly arm around Peter's shoulders.
"Right. This is Peter." He squeezed Peter's shoulders and then turned back to the three new men, the third of whom still hadn't spoken. "Pete, this is Dr. Bruce Banner, also known as the Hulk but he doesn't like to talk about it…" Dr. Banner rolled his eyes with a half smile but still seemed confused. "And that is Thor, minus the hair. And the hammer. What's the story with that?" Both Dr. Banner and Thor still looked confused, but Peter realized that they weren't going to ask. At least, not in front of him, and he felt a wave of gratitude toward Mr. Stark. He didn't want to explain who he was to Mr. Stark...he wasn't even sure how he would.
"Nice to meet you, Peter." Dr. Banner held out a hand that Peter took, wide-eyed as he realized that he was shaking hands with the Bruce Banner. Before he knew it, he was speaking, stammering a little as he tried to explain to the man how big of a fan he was.
"You...you too, Dr. Banner. I'm...I'm a huge fan! I've read all your papers and especially the ones on gamma radiation and Mr. Stark even let me borrow your last book because they didn't have it at the regular library and it's super expensive and...um...it's really nice to meet you." Peter managed to cut himself off when he heard Mr. Stark snort behind him, his cheeks going a dull red. Dr. Banner was smiling though, not like he was laughing at him the way most adults did when he couldn't stop talking. It hadn't happened in a while, but this was Bruce Banner! Instead, the man just looked friendly and somewhat flattered.
"Wow...it's hard to find people your age that actually enjoy reading my work...actually it's hard to find people any age." He chuckled a little, although Peter noticed that something was wrong. He glanced back at the ship, wondering how many people were on it...if they were okay. What had happened on Asgard that made everyone evacuate? Where had Dr. Banner even been for the last couple of years?
"So, how many people are we talking?" Mr. Stark asked, stepping in and crossing his arms. Thor took a step forward, and everyone turned serious at once. Peter fought the urge to take a step back and fade into the background. This was big stuff...over his head kind of stuff. What was he even doing here?
"Nearly six hundred." Tony blinked a few times, then nodded, running a hand over his face, sighing softly. "Mostly women and children, orphans, some wounded, although Banner was able to help most of them on the way over...nothing critical. Most of our warriors are...gone." He told them, his voice dropping a little at the end.
"What happened?" Rhodey asked, his voice soft and incredulous, and Thor looked between all of them, jaw tight.
"How about we try to get everyone situated first." Miss Potts asked, joining the conversation for the first time. "We set up the gymnasium, and there are more tables set up outside around the side of the building. The catering company just finished setting up, so there should be enough food. The trailers should fit...maybe a hundred...if some of the children can share beds. We bought out two hotels nearby, so that's another four hundred, and we have room for maybe fifty here at the compound." Thor nodded, looking grim still.
"Thank you, Pepper. Stark." He didn't look like the Thor Peter had been expecting, although, with all that had happened, he hadn't been thinking about Thor much. The Asgardian looked...tired. Sad. But he smiled, obviously putting on a brave front. Peter knew a little about that.
"Alright." Mr. Stark clapped his hands together smartly, nodding. "Pep, can you show them where the food is? They can take it and eat it on the ship if they want. Or we have tables set up...not sure if we'll have enough. Then our people can start taking some of them to the hotels. Thor, Banner, come with us inside to the kitchen. We can figure out what our next steps are. Thor, you can even bring your crazy brother if he promises not to try and kill anyone for at least two hours." The man with the long black hair sighed, closing his eyes then rolling them.
"You have my word, Stark." Mr. Stark grunted, turning to Thor with a lifted eyebrow.
"You have my word as well." The huge blond man assured him.
"That I'll take."
From there, there was a flurry of activity. Miss Potts and Thor, along with Loki, went back to the ship, maybe to tell everyone what was going on, and Mr. Stark led Peter inside. Colonel Rhodes came along, him and Mr. Stark talking softly, but Peter could feel himself phasing out. Before long, he found himself at the dining room table between Mr. Stark and Rhodey, both of whom were talking in soft, serious voices, and then, it felt like he blinked and there was Thor...and Loki. And Dr. Banner. All three of them were sitting at the dining room table and there was a plate in front of him. Lasagna. He usually liked lasagna, especially since Mr. Stark always ordered from the best places.
He picked at his food while the conversation went on around him. Normally, he would have been in fanboy heaven. He was sitting at a table with Thor! And Loki! And Dr. Bruce Banner! And they were eating dinner together! How lucky was he? Ned was going to go nuts when he found out, especially since he was barely paying enough attention to catch any of what was being said. They were probably talking about cool space stuff, and no part of him really cared. Sure, meeting them was cool. But everything felt wrong. Empty. Blinking hard, he stared at his plate, one hand clenched in his lap as he tried to make it stop shaking. This was awesome. He was so lucky to get to meet these amazing people and he was almost an Avenger and this was his dream come true...but in the back of his mind, the words were like a mantra. 'May's never coming back.'
He would never get to tell her about this. Never introduce her to the other Avengers. After finding out that he was Spider-Man, she'd been pretty upset. Well...really upset. But after a lot of long talks and some crying and a lot of lectures, she'd seemed...well, not okay with it, but resigned. And he knew that she'd been proud of him. She'd told him so plenty of times. She'd also been scared out of her mind. But one thing she'd joked about was getting to meet the Avengers, especially Captain America, who she never believed was a war criminal. And Thor. She thought Thor was 'very handsome.'
Now, seated at a table across from the god of thunder, he had to admit, the guy was handsome. And big. His biceps were bigger than Peter's head. But Peter couldn't feel anything but deep, painful grief when he looked at the man. May would never get to meet him. He'd never get to bring her to the Avenger's Compound and watch her chat with Miss Potts and meet the heroes she'd admired so much.
Someone was staring at him. His spidey sense was good at telling him that, so he glanced up and found himself meeting the eyes of the god of mischief. Strangely enough, he didn't look all that mischievous. Or dangerous. More...mysterious. Forcing a weak smile, he nodded to the man, remembering those manners, and then went back to staring at his food, taking a bite every now and then, despite the fact that everything tasted like sawdust and ash in his mouth. He wanted to feel lucky. Happy. Excited. Inspired. Something. Anything! Anything would be better than this numbness that just barely covered his grief. He was witnessing history from the front row, and all he could do was stare at his plate and tune out the adults around him.
"So, Peter. What grade are you in?" Peter blinked at his plate once more, taking a second to realize that the Dr. Bruce Banner was talking to him. Looking up, he met the man's friendly gaze, wondering if he looked as awful as he felt. Judging from Mr. Stark's worried expression, he did.
"Um...I'm a sophomore, Dr. Banner." He told the man, and in some part of his brain, he was awed. Amazed. Beyond grateful to have this opportunity to meet one of his idols. 'May's never coming back. You'll never get to tell her any of this.'
"A sophomore?" Thor repeated the word, head tilted, smile soft and curious.
"Second year of high school. So he's only got two more years left until he graduates." Dr. Banner explained. "How do you like it, Peter?"
"It's...um...it's fine." He managed, forcing a polite smile. 'May's never coming back.' Loki was still staring at him, differently than the other two.
"Where do you go to school?" Dr. Banner seemed hellbent on including him in this conversation and Peter wondered what they'd been talking about before.
"Midtown Science and Technology."
Dr. Banner whistled, nodding his head. "That's a good one. Tony, didn't your dad donate a lot of money to that school?"
"Sure did. Pretty sure they named the cafeteria after him." Peter managed a weak smile while Dr. Banner and Colonel Rhodes chuckled.
"The gym, actually." Peter corrected, not wanting Mr. Stark to worry about his silence too much, and the man ruffled his hair.
"Even better." Peter took another bite of lasagna, then Dr. Banner was quizzing him some more.
"You said you'd read my stuff. So are you interested in genetics and gamma radiation?"
"Genetics, gamma radiation, robotics, engineering, physics, what isn't this kid interested in?" Peter felt a wave of gratitude as Mr. Stark took over his part of the conversation, despite the fact that the man sounded more like a proud father than...well...whatever it was the man was now. His guardian. "He even helps me with the Iron Man armor sometimes." Peter managed another bite, then decided he'd better quit. His stomach was rebelling, and he didn't think he could swallow anymore. 'May's never coming back.' The conversation kept going around him and he wondered if the world would ever be back to normal.
"Peter?" He blinked down at his lap then jerked his head up, finding the concerned gaze of Dr. Banner on him again. And his eyes were wet, tears dripping down onto his cheeks. 'May's never coming back.'
"I...I…" He felt his cheeks flush, humiliation washing over him in a hot wave as he looked from the renowned scientist to the two Asgardians and finally to Mr. Stark, the former three all staring at him in surprised...worry? Concern. Or something like it. He was embarrassing Mr. Stark in front of his friends, all because he was crying like a baby over lunch. And suddenly he couldn't do it anymore...couldn't sit at that table with his heroes and talk with Dr. Bruce Banner about how much he loved science when he'd never get to tell May about it. "I'm so sorry." He murmured, pushing himself away from the table and all but running down the hallway, shutting his door behind him and dropping onto the bed. Staring down at his hands, he fought the tears. He was fine. It had been long enough. Why couldn't he stop?
The knock on his door didn't even surprise him, but he made no move to answer. It didn't matter, as the door opened after a second anyway. He wondered if he even could lock the door. Not that he saw himself ever trying to lock Mr. Stark out of his bedroom. This whole place belonged to the man...besides, FRIDAY would probably just override it if he tried.
Mr. Stark stepped into the bedroom, and Peter heard him shut the door behind him. Then the man was sitting on the bed next to Peter, an arm wrapping gently around his shoulders. He bit down on his lip, feeling his face heat up again. "You know, kiddo...it's only been a couple of days." Peter felt himself tense, eyes heating up again, but the arm around his shoulder didn't move. "And already you've managed to break my only rule how many times now?" Peter put a hand against his mouth, shaking his head and fighting the sob that eventually won. Squeezing him tightly, Mr. Stark pulled him over to lean against his side. "It's alright, Pete. You don't have to be sorry, or embarrassed...no one's upset with you." He murmured, all teasing put aside.
"I didn't mean to be rude to Dr. Banner." He choked out.
"You weren't. Hell, he gets it, kid. We've all lost people. You should have seen me after my parents. I don't even remember it...so you'd have to ask Rhodey. But to hear him tell it, it was bad."
"She said Thor was handsome...she wanted to meet him. And the others...I thought...I just...I always thought one day…"
"He would have loved to meet her." Mr. Stark told him softly, patting his back. There was nothing more to say...nothing the man could do. And Peter knew that. Mr. Stark was already doing so much.
"You can go if you need to...I'm fine," Peter told him, clasping his hands in his lap. He didn't want Mr. Stark to stay in his room, cooped up, while he had so much to do.
"You sure, Pete?" The man didn't sound like he believed him, but Peter just nodded, not up to trying to convince him. For a moment, he thought the man would argue. Then he sighed softly, squeezing his shoulder. "Alright, kiddo. I'm probably going to be in the lab with Bruce if you need me. Okay? Just come on down if you want. Or tell FRIDAY to get me if you need anything." Ruffling Peter's hair, he stood. "You can come out anytime you want."
Peter couldn't help the way his cheeks heated up, tears pooling in his eyes again. "They all probably think…"
"They think you're a kid who just lost someone, which is all that I told them." Mr. Stark interrupted, speaking firmly. "And they all understand."
"Even Loki?" Peter asked, managing a smile. Mr. Stark seemed relieved at the sight of it, snorting.
"Sure, kiddo. I'm sure he understands too, though why you care what he thinks is beyond me." Patting him on the shoulder, Mr. Stark stood, heading for the door. "Get me if you need me. Okay?"
"Okay."
"You promise?"
"Yeah, Mr. Stark. I promise." With one last nod, the man opened his bedroom door, disappearing and closing it softly behind him, leaving Peter to try and pull himself back together.
Thank you for reading!