A/N: Hey everybody! Still loving the reviews! Can't believe how much you guys seem to be loving it! Somebody new makes an appearance, so I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 10: Fitting In
Peter's POV:
School had been chaotic since Tony had personally picked me up on Thursday, and then had dropped me off on Monday. Kids had been swarming me wanting to know how I knew Tony Stark, and what I did for him, and what I thought of him. They wanted to know if I'd met the Avengers, or if I'd seen Tony in his Iron Man suit, and on and on and on. It got pretty annoying, but the highlight had been when Flash Thompson had pulled me aside at the end of school and interrogated me. He'd wanted to know what I'd told Tony about him, and when I'd asked him why he wanted to know, he'd just gotten all pale and nervous.
"Nothing, Parker, I just…you know I'm always just joking with you right," he murmured, not even able to look at me. "It's all fun and games. I don't mean anything by it." I just gave him a disbelieving look, at which he'd just sighed heavily to and walked away.
"What the hell was that?" I asked Ned in awe
He laughed while saying, "Didn't you see how Mr. Stark was glaring at him on Thursday?"
I looked at him in surprise, not having noticed. I'd honestly been more worried about my own butt to spend time watching what the man had been doing.
"So, how mad was he with you?" Ned questioned next, giving me a knowing look. I glared, but he just held up his hands as he said, "You did screw up again, and when Mr. Stark showed up, you should've seen how pale you got. You'd have thought he was there to kill you by the way you'd looked. Just be glad everybody else was too focused on him rather than you, or there would've been more questions."
I groaned in embarrassment. "He was pretty pissed," I admitted to Ned before launching into an explanation of how my weekend had gone. He and I had been best buddies since 1st grade, so I was honest about everything except the nightmares. I was going to keep that shockingly embarrassing tidbit between Tony and me. In all honesty, I hadn't allowed myself to digest what had happened.
Ned turned to me with wide eyes as he asked, "You're telling me that Iron Man spanked you?"
"Yes," I responded, "but I'd rather not talk about it." I gave him a mild glare as he continued to look at me with wide eyes.
"What was that like?" he then questioned with far too much awe.
"Dude!" I complained, giving him an exasperated look. "What do you think it was like? Same as when your parents do it to you! Can you drop it now?"
He laughed, still looking in shock, but thankfully he dropped it. "I did tell you not to go after that guy," he commented, and I sighed.
"Lesson learned," I remarked grimly. "I'm keeping my nose clean because I'm not about to get on Tony's bad side again. He's scary as hell when he's angry."
"He's scary when he's happy," Ned amended, and I snickered at him.
"He's a big softy," I countered. "He acts like a bad-ass, but he's really a nice guy when you get past all his arrogance."
"If you say so," Ned said doubtfully. "Just keep me out of any crazy ideas, cuz I don't need him getting pissed with me too. He might not kill you, but I don't think I'm safe."
I laughed loudly. "Don't be ridiculous," I stated with amusement. "Tony would never hurt you. You're my best friend. He just loves riling you up because he thinks it's funny."
"Well, hahaha," my best friend replied sarcastically. "I'm glad he gets a kick out of scaring me to death."
I snickered before saying, "I'll tell him to lay off, okay? He can go a bit overboard at times."
Ned just shook his head before we parted ways, he heading to his home and me to mine. When I got home I was surprised to see May was already there. She immediately enveloped me in a huge hug when I opened the door, pulling me in and fussing over me. She made me tell her about my weekend again, specifically wanting to know if Tony had been too hard on me. It'd been an uncomfortable conversation. After reassuring her, she hugged me again before asking if I wanted to go to the movies with her. I was surprised, as we rarely went to the movies; but I realized she must've missed me, so I quickly agreed. It was an awesomely normal outing. It'd been ages since my aunt and I had just hung out like this, and I resolved to make some time for her as well. I was all she had, and I couldn't forget that.
Tony's POV:
I wandered out of my lab and up towards the common room, looking to get something to eat. It was late, and Pepper had already gone to sleep. I was too restless to join her, despite having not slept well the previous two nights. I didn't know why, but something just told me it wasn't time to go to sleep yet. After arriving in the common room, I realized why I felt called up here. Casually sitting on a couch watching a movie, was one Natasha Romanoff.
I had no idea when she arrived, but as I slowly made my way towards her I noticed she'd already made herself quite at home. She was wearing Minnie Mouse pajama pants, and…yup, that was a sweater of mine I'd long since lost. I shook my head bemusedly. Natasha was known for stealing all of us guys' clothes, and we'd long learned not to question her on it.
I cautiously approached the assassin, noting how tired she seemed. I sat myself in an armchair, and without looking at me she began to speak. "I've been helping Laura and the kids. I had to make sure they were alright," she stated, and I just nodded my head, although I'd already known this. I'd been planning on checking in with Clint's family, but when I'd realized she was there, I'd let her handle things.
"Did you know about Hydra and my parents?" I had to ask suddenly, and Nat finally turned to look at me before giving a single nod. I let out a harsh sigh, rubbing a hand over my face before turning back towards her.
"Steve didn't tell you," she stated more than asked, and I shook my head.
"It was Barnes," I felt the need to say, needing to know if she knew this. The slight widening of her eyes let me know she hadn't known. "Zemo, the fucker behind the whole Barnes fiasco, told me. Showed me a nice little video of the Winter Soldier causing the car accident before beating in Dad's face and strangling my mom." I had to close my eyes at this point, the memories once more flashing through my mind. I didn't know why I was telling her this, but I just felt she needed to know. Opening my eyes, I saw Natasha's wall slide away as she looked at me with sympathy. Seeing her be so open caused me to relax, and I let my anger with Barnes and Rogers flow out of me.
"Do you know where they are?" Nat questioned, and I nodded my head, as I said, "Wakanda." She just nodded, looking unsurprised. She didn't ask whether I'd let Ross and his people know because she knew I hadn't.
"This is a mess," she remarked drily, and I let out a snort as I gave her another nod.
Just like that, whatever tension and anger there had between us just seemed to vanish. I wouldn't say it out loud, but I'd missed her. The Avengers were family, and she had become my sister, a very deadly sister who I didn't want to piss off, but a sister nonetheless.
"You forgot a few of my things in the tower," she informed me, and I laughed lightly.
"Damn," I said. "I looked as best I could, but can't say I'm surprised." She smiled slightly, and I decided to ask, "You staying?"
"It's home," she simply said, and I couldn't begin to describe the relief I felt at hearing that. It was good to know not all my family was gone.
"I see you have a new Disney movie," she then said, holding up a copy of Moana. "Wanna watch?"
I grinned widely, standing up and saying, "I'll get the popcorn." Disney movies didn't seem like the kind of movies the Avengers would like, but the fluffy, happily-ever-after stories were often all we wanted to see after the missions we went on. Movie nights were a favorite for all of us, and Disney movies a must.
I made the popcorn quickly, grabbed a couple drinks and sat myself down next to my spider sister. We stretched our feet over the coffee table, and she made sure to place one of hers over mine. As surprising as it seemed, Natasha could be very affectionate; but only to those who she completely trusted. I was glad to know I was still among that small few.
"I noticed a room labeled, Spiderman," she remarked, as she grabbed a handful of popcorn. "The kid living here?"
"No," I replied, "he visits once in a while. He's not an Avenger, but I've been keeping an eye on him. He just spent this last weekend here."
Nat gave me a frown as she asked, "How old is he, exactly?"
"Fifteen," I responded, and her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Which is why I'm watching him closely," I explained. "He's my responsibility, and I'm not going to let him get hurt. He's a great kid, Tasha, you have to meet him. He's got growing up to do, but he's gonna be the best of us all."
The look she gave me was of both surprise and dubiousness. "We'll see," she replied, turning her attention fully to the movie now. I too turned back to the movie, not quite surprised that before it was over, Nat had fallen asleep, her head leaning on my shoulder. Feeling a sense of contentedness, I gave in to my own exhaustion and fell asleep as well.
A couple weeks had gone by since that night, and Natasha had assimilated herself into life as though she'd always been here. She liked to keep busy with missions, though, so there were still times she was gone. Rhodey and Vision came and went, always together now. It'd started as Vision's guilt making the android want to help Rhodes in any way, but over time the two had formed a close bond, and were now good friends. Rhodes still did military work, even with his disability (that I was avidly working on fixing), and he was doing a better job of acclimating Vision into the real world than anybody else had.
Peter and Natasha had met a week and a half ago, and it'd been a tense affair, for the boy at least. I'd known what the spy had been up to, but the baby spider had not. Natasha had come down hard on Peter, dragging the startled kid down to the training room and wiping the floor with him. She'd kept him down there for only an hour, but when they'd both returned, Natasha had looked calm and satisfied while Peter had looked ragged and shell shocked.
"He'll do," Nat had stated as she'd sat herself down in one of the barstools. "He's wholly un-skilled, but he's talented; and you're right about what you said earlier," she informed me casually. I smirked at her while the kid just looked between us in bewilderment.
"I'll tell you when you're older," I said, and he'd just rolled his eyes before stalking off towards his bedroom, muttering about crazy old assassins.
After that incident, Nat had been nothing but kind to the younger hero, acting very much like an older spider sister. She took to him faster than I'd ever seen take to anybody, and I was glad. This was just one more person to look after the bull-headed youth.
Tonight, was one of those rare nights where everyone was here. Rhodey, Vision, Natasha, and Pepper and I were all enjoying each other's company, talking about everything besides work. For one night, we left our daily worries and stresses behind and just had fun. Working together, we managed to come up with a random assortment of food. Music was played, drinks passed around, and stories told. Rhodes, the two-timing jerk, had a blast telling old tales from my college days when I was still young and a tad bit too naïve.
The festive night's mood ended for me when I received a text from Ned with just an address. I frowned, knowing the kid wouldn't have sent this unless it was important. Worry coursed through me as I excused myself and headed down to my lab. Pulling on the Iron man suit, I quickly called Ned's number as I flew towards the direction I'd been given. Ned didn't pick up, which annoyed me; however, the annoyance turned to concern when I began tracking the phone and the tracker suddenly disappeared. I dialed Peter's number at this point, but only received his answering machine. Searching for his location, I was confused to find it at his home. Something was up, and I pushed my suit even faster.
As I neared the destination, I realized it was the address to a house in the neighborhood, a house that was currently lit up and filled with kids. What the hell? This was clearly a party, but why would Ned have given me this address? And why would his phone location have disappeared here? What kind of help did he need? And where was Peter in all of this?
"Friday, reconnaissance mode," I ordered, "Searching specifically for Ned and Peter."
I moved a little closer, landing on top of a neighboring roof. I activated my retroreflectors. I didn't need the media getting hold of the fact that Iron Man was crashing high school parties in Queens. When I got closer, even without the help of Friday, I located my two missing teenagers.
"Sir, it appears that Peter is currently fighting three young males," Friday informed me, "and Ned is calling out at him to stop." I watched Wonder boy fight, and watching how he was easily fighting off the group of boys, I immediately stepped out of my suit and began to make my way over. I had Friday place a call to the police that a party had gotten out of hand, and waited nearby for the chaos to start. Being as well known as I was I couldn't just go charging in to grab the reckless kid, but that didn't stop me from yelling out, "Hey! You punk kids! You better start running because I've called the cops and they'll be here any second!"
You'd think I'd yelled bomb at how fast the kids began to move. I watched as Ned grabbed Peter, who was clearly unconcerned by my yelled warning. He was just laughing loudly, and I cursed, knowing I'd have to step in. I wasn't going to let the idiot get himself arrested. Ripping off my jacket, I wrapped it around my head, allowing myself to see. I looked absolutely ridiculous, but I didn't care. I could hear the sirens, so I rushed towards my protégé, and picked his scrawny butt off his feet.
"Who the hell are you?!" Pete screamed, while Ned looked at me in alarm.
"It's Tony, you goddamned idiots!" I hissed angrily, and while Ned looked relieved, Peter seemed to grow angry.
"What the hell, Ned?!" he roared, breaking out of my grasp easily. "I told you not to call him!"
"You broke my phone, Peter," Ned yelled back, clearly more hurt and scared by Peter's actions than angered. "How could I have called him?" he lied. Well, that was one mystery solved.
"Yeah, the cops will be here in less than a minute," I spoke up. "Come with me, or you'll be arrested. It's up to you." Ned immediately came to my side while Peter scowled. I marveled at this uncharacteristic behavior, but at the same time I also smelled the alcohol, and if I wasn't mistaken, weed. Really, Peter? I almost considered letting the kid get himself arrested, but realizing the problems that would cause, I quickly activated the Iron Man hand from my wrist watch, and grabbed hold of the Spiderling's arm.
"Hey!" he protested as I dragged him across the street. The police arrived at that moment, and I quickly got into my suit, grabbed hold of the two teens and took off. The noise attracted attention, but with my retroflectors, and it being dark, nobody noticed us.
Both boys were yelling as we flew, and I cursed the both of them over and over. Searching up Ned's address, I quickly dropped him at his front door before taking off once again. I'd have to thank the kid later, but right now my focus was entirely on the struggling hero in my arms.
"Let me go!" he roared, but thankfully he couldn't beat the strength of the suit. He kept yelling at me and complaining, but I completely ignored him, intent on just getting him back to base.
"What's his BAC, Friday?" I asked, and I couldn't believe it when she replied, "0.11%" How the hell is he still awake, I thought in surprise. I doubted he was a regular drinker, so he should've been knocked out. It had to be part of his enhanced metabolism. The kid struggled the entire flight to the base, and I knew he'd had to have bruised by how tightly I'd been holding him.
Landing at the balcony outside the common room, I dropped the kid down, noting how he stumbled, looking as if he was going to be sick. It would definitely serve him right. I stepped out of the suit and glared. Peter completely ignored me though as he marched into the common area furiously.
"Where do you think you're going?" I yelled after him, and he just whirled around to glare at me. I noticed that we had an audience. Pepper, Vision, Rhodey, and Natasha were staring between the two of us in surprise, confusion, and concern. Peter didn't seem to notice, or he just didn't care.
"Why'd you do that?" he asked angrily. "You called the cops, didn't you? I can't believe it," he scoffed, shaking his head. "I was having a good time, and you had to come and screw it up!"
"A good time?" I asked sarcastically. "Really, kid? Because what I saw was you in a freaking brawl with a bunch of guys who should've been able to kick your scrawny butt. What I saw was kids with their phones filming as the supposed nerd of the school, Peter Parker, just took on a couple of jocks single-handedly. What I saw was a stupid, drunk kid letting his abilities show so he could look cool! What the hell were you thinking?!" I shouted, furious that he was arguing as though he was in the right.
"I was just having a bit of fun, is that too much to ask?" he snapped. "I was just being a normal teenager like everybody else! Is that not allowed now? Does the great Tony Stark not approve?"
"You bet your ass I don't approve!" I argued back just as heatedly. "You're drunk and maybe even high right now! Your judgment is skewed. You could've exposed your identity. You could've seriously hurt, if not killed those kids!"
"Jesus, Tony!" the kid yelled back in exasperation. "Who are you to lecture me on this? Everybody here knows all the shit you got up to when you were my age, so don't try and act all high and mighty with me!"
I clenched my fists tightly before walking up to the kid and coldly saying, "You're right Peter, everybody here does know what I was up to as a kid. You know what, though? When I was fifteen I didn't have super powers. I wasn't running around the city in tights saving people. I wasn't trying to protect my identity in order to protect those close to me," I hissed, taking another, menacing step closer. "And I didn't have anybody that cared!" I spat bitterly. "I was sixteen when my parents were killed, and nobody gave a damn what I did to myself! I didn't have people looking out for my well-being! What I had was an absentee godmother in a foreign country and a godfather who manipulated me for his own gains! But please, Mr. Parker," I declared, spreading my arms wide, "continue to explain to me how I have no fucking right to lecture you on the dangers of drugs and alcohol."
Silence greeted my words. I didn't know what everybody was thinking because my only focus was on the hot-headed teen in front of me. He still seemed angry, but there were also tears in his eyes.
"Well?" I pressed, getting into the kid's personal space now. "Tell me more about how I should have just left you alone. Tell me more about how what you were doing was just harmless, innocent fun," I demanded in a harsh, quiet whisper.
"Okay, that's enough," Pepper suddenly declared, getting in between Peter and me. She had a firm hand on my chest, which she used to push me away from the suddenly mute kid. I looked at her disappointed eyes and then around at the concerned eyes of the others, and decided I needed a break.
"I'll be in the training rooms," I whispered before quickly making my way out of the room.
Peter's POV:
I stood in place, my heart pounding as Tony walked away. My head felt fuzzy. I felt sick to my stomach. My body was sore. I was tired. I was angry. I was sad. I was confused.
"I'll talk to Tony," I dimly heard Natasha say as Pepper placed a gentle hand on me.
"Let's go, Peter," she said, steering me towards my room. I stumbled, so Pepper bent down to wrap her arm around my waist. "Just hold on to me, sweetheart," she ordered, and I couldn't even muster the energy to feel embarrassed as she practically dragged me to my bedroom. She sat me on my bed before going to my drawers and pulling out some pajamas.
"Can you put these on by yourself?" she asked, and I blinked before giving a nod and stumbling into the bathroom. I was halfway changed when the nausea hit me hard, and I rushed to the toilet, spewing whatever I had in my stomach. I heard a knock on the bathroom before I felt Pepper's hand on my back.
Tears began to stream down my face while I slurred apologies. Pepper shushed me, got a wet rag to wipe my mouth and face, and then helped me get my shirt on. I hated feeling this sick and helpless. Pepper guided me to my bed now and helped me get in. I felt sweaty and hot, so she placed the cold rag back on my face.
"Just try and sleep, Peter, I'll be right here," she told me gently. Overcome with exhaustion, I just gave in.
When I woke up, I opened my eyes to the sight of Tony passed out in a chair by my bed. His head was leaned back while his legs were extended onto the foot of my bed. He was wearing sweats and a tank top, so I knew he'd at least changed before coming here. He must've sensed himself being watched because his eyes suddenly opened, and he let out a huge yawn as he stretched. When his eyes settled on mine, I just blushed and looked down at my lap. I very clearly remembered all of last night, and I couldn't believe what I'd done. I couldn't believe how I'd been stupid enough to get myself drunk.
"How you feeling?" Tony asked softly, pulling me away from my panicked thoughts.
"Fine," I replied as I gave him a look of dismay.
"No headache, nausea, or soreness?" he pressed, and I just shook my head. "You remember last night?" he then asked, and I gave a shameful nod. His eyes narrowed, and I was about to apologize when he quietly asked, "What were you thinking, kid?"
There were a lot of excuses going through my head, but I settled on the simplest. "I just wanted to be normal."
Tony took his feet off my bed and leaned forward in his chair to look at me more closely.
"I wanted to fit in," I explained, knowing this wasn't a good excuse, but it was all I could give him. "After you showed up at my school, people started talking to me like I mattered. I wasn't a loser anymore. I got invited to the party last night and I was just handed a beer," I recounted. "I didn't want to seem like a little kid, so I drank it. Things were crazy there. People were dancing, yelling, playing all sorts of stupid games, and it was just wild. I'd never been to a party like this. Then, Flash showed up and he got all up in my face. Started calling me all these names and saying I was just using you to get friends, which I guess is kind of true, but he was just an ass! And I was tired of putting up with him. He challenged me to this stupid game where we tried to see who could drink the most amount of shots, and I won. It was awesome!" I exclaimed, remembering the way people had cheered for me. Tony's frown killed my temporary elation, so I continued talking. "Flash got pissed, and things just happened. We started fighting, and when he was losing his buddies got involved. I wasn't going to lose to them, not anymore."
"And the pot? You smelled like weed," he remarked calmly, and I grimaced. "It was just a single puff. I only tried it, and it tasted awful, so I didn't do it again."
"What happened between you and Ned?" Tony then asked right afterwards in an even tone, and I really couldn't tell what he was thinking.
My stomach twisted, guilt eating at me as I thought about Ned. I'd really been a jerk to him. God, he must hate me. "Ned was on me the whole night about how much I was drinking. He kept telling me it wasn't a good idea, and when I doing the drinking thing with Flash, he threatened to call you. I"—I had to pause, my cheeks heating up before I managed to speak again. "I took his phone and broke it," I admitted guiltily. "Then the fight happened, and, uh, you saw the rest."
"Your buddy texted me the address to the party last night," Tony informed me. "You owe that kid a serious apology. Don't take your friends for granted."
I nodded my head mutely, eyeing his blank face before feeling the need to speak. "Tony, listen, I'm sorry," I began to apologize, but he just shook his head, holding up a hand in exasperation.
"I know you are, kid"—Tony responded, but I cut him off.
"No, I'm not talking about the drinking," I corrected. "I mean, I am sorry about that, but what I'm apologizing for right now is about last night, and the things I said to you. I was really disrespectful, and I was wrong."
I was surprised when Tony's blank expression turned understanding. "Peter, out of everything you did last night, I can honestly tell you, the things you said to me are irrelevant. You weren't in your right state of mind. I honestly get it. The amount of stupid things I've said when drunk is far too many to count, so don't worry about it."
I let out a small breath of relief that he didn't seem upset, but I still couldn't help the guilt I felt. When he'd screamed at me about how nobody had cared about what he'd gotten up to I'd felt like a total dirt bag. I had no right to judge him when I didn't know what he'd been through. I expressed my thoughts to Tony, and he looked at me for a few moments before gracing me with a soft smile.
"It's okay," he reassured. "We both got a little emotional yesterday, so please don't let this bother you."
I nodded my head, allowing myself to believe him because I needed to feel that he wasn't angry with me. "You mad about what I did?" I had to ask.
He sighed, ruffling his hair before he just shook his head. "Not really," he admitted, giving me a small smile. "I get why you did it. I know what it's like to want to fit in and belong. I wasn't a teenaged super hero, but I certainly didn't fit in with my peers. I did exactly what you did to try and fit in." I listened, marveling at the fact that this was Tony Stark who was saying these things. The more I found out about him, the more surprised I became. I couldn't believe that he'd ever been anything other than a confident, popular, well-loved kid.
"I understand, Pete," Tony continued, "but it can't happen again. I'm not saying you can't have a drink or something, but you can't get drunk," he lectured. "You have secrets that you can't afford to get out. You want a secret identity, but you almost blew it last night. Hopefully, people will chalk up your ability to kick ass as to those jocks being too drunk to put up a good fight."
I nodded my head in agreement, anxiety flooding through me as I pondered what school would be like on Monday. "It sucks not being normal," I remarked, and Tony just chuckled lightly. "Sometimes," he agreed, "but not always. Normal is overrated."
I saw his grin, and found myself slowly agreeing with him. What would my life be like without Spiderman? I loved being Spiderman. I was a super hero. I saved people. Tony Stark was my mentor. I was friends with him, Vision, and the Black Widow. My life was crazy, and I loved it. Screw normal.
"Thanks," I finally said, giving Tony a grateful look. Out of all the consequences of me being Spiderman, Tony had to be what I was most grateful for, even more so than my abilities. He was the reason I was still sane. He had given me everything I had wanted and more. He took care of me even when he didn't know how. I still couldn't believe that Tony Stark, Iron man, a man who I'd idolized since I was a little kid was my mentor. I couldn't believe how much he cared about me. Everything seemed worth it, if just for this relationship.
"Alright, kiddo," he said, standing up, "get showered. We'll have some breakfast and then I'll take you home. Your aunt knows what happened, so good luck with that." I groaned as he graced me with a smirk. Pushing that dismal thought away, I showered, dressed, and headed to the kitchen. When I saw Pepper, Natasha, Vision, and Rhodes there, I froze, blushing. They'd all been here last night. They'd all witnessed me acting like a total ass.
"Good morning, Peter," Vision greeted happily, and I mumbled back a greeting, squirming at the disapproving glare Natasha was throwing my way. Rhodes, who I barely knew just inclined his head in greeting while Pepper came right towards me and enveloped me in a hug.
"Come and get something to eat," she stated, pulling me to the table. "Thanks, Pepper," I said as I sat down and began to eat. I felt uncomfortable as I felt everyone's eyes on me. Thankfully, Tony showed up after a couple minutes, and all eyes went towards him. He was dressed nicely with a suit and tie, so I guess he had business things going on today.
"Hey, sour patches, quit glaring at my little spider," Tony stated exasperatedly, "you're making him nervous. Kid made a mistake, and he won't do it again, right kid?"
"Yeah, never again," I replied promptly, embarrassed that he was standing up for me and that he'd just called me his little spider. Natasha and Col. Rhodes both rolled their eyes before looking away, and I decided to take that moment to tell Tony, "I'm not a little spider."
Tony just laughed, ruffling my hair as he walked by me into the kitchen. He poured himself a cup of coffee and started up a conversation with Pepper and the colonel. Natasha took that opportunity to sit herself right down next to me. Like, really, really close to me. Uncomfortably close. I threw Tony a panicked look, but he either didn't see it, or he was ignoring me.
"Hi, Natasha," I said, wincing at the way my voice cracked. She smirked, clearly enjoying how nervous she was making me. I suddenly wasn't so hungry any more.
"Let's go for a short walk, Peter," she calmly, immediately standing up. I knew it wasn't a suggestion, so I stood up as well, throwing one last pleading look towards my mentor. He stopped his conversation mid-sentence and looked to Natasha with a frown. She gazed back at him with a raised eyebrow, which caused Tony to narrow his eyes. After several tense seconds Natasha gave him a nod and Tony completely relaxed. He gave me a wink before turning back to his conversation. My fate was sealed.
Nerves building, I followed Nat until we were out on the balcony. The doors had barely closed behind us when she began to speak.
"I'm not here to talk about your reckless actions," she stated, "I'm here to talk about the things you said to Tony." My shoulders dropped at her words.
"Tony said it was no big deal, and that"—I began to defend, but the heated glare suddenly being thrown at me shut me up.
"Peter, you're a smart kid, so are you honestly telling me you believe that?" she asked, and I squirmed guiltily before shaking my head. My honesty seemed to please her because her glare lessened as she gave a single nod.
"You're a child, so I'm going to cut you some slack and just speak plainly," she started. "Tony's had a lot of pain in his life, and he's been hurt by people he's trusted. He lets very few people into his life, and you are now a part of that small group. He projects the persona of an arrogant, cocky bastard who doesn't need anybody, but in all honesty, he's got to be one of the most loving and sensitive people I've ever met."
With each word she spoke I just found myself feeling guiltier. I'd noticed some of this already, but hearing Nat say it so plainly, made me feel even worse.
"Tony buries negative emotions," she continued. "What you so thoughtlessly shouted at him yesterday cut him deeply, and while Pepper was mothering you, I was keeping Tony from beating his hands bloody." I winced at that, feeling tears welling up in my eyes. I could no longer make eye contact with Natasha, so I kept my head down out of shame and embarrassment. I heard as she moved right in front of me, and couldn't help but flinch as she took hold of my chin and forced me to look up at her.
"He's forgiven you," she now said, her voice suddenly soft, "so don't take that for granted. I know you're young and didn't mean what you said, but you need to be better than this. You are better than this." A traitorous tear fell down my cheek, and she quickly wiped it away before placing a light kiss on my forehead.
"Tony is very forgiving with those he loves, and I've screwed things up with him more times than I'd like to admit," she informed me, letting go of my chin, and I looked at her in surprise. It was heartening to know that I hadn't been the only one to screw things up.
"You're a great kid, Peter," she stated, ruffling my hair, and gracing me with a warm smile. I smiled back, relieved to know that she wasn't angry with me anymore. She started to head back towards the door before she suddenly stopped and looked back at me. I stiffened at the serious look in her eyes.
"I'm going to let this slide this time," she declared, "but if you hurt Tony again, and I don't care if he forgives you with or without punishment, I will make you regret having done so. Child or not, you don't mess with the people I care about. Understood?"
With a pounding heart and wide eyes, I rapidly nodded my head up and down. "Yes, ma'am," I replied, and she suddenly smiled brightly before making her way inside. I followed slowly, warily watching as she casually walked by Tony, smacked him upside the head, and then left for who knows where.
Tony rubbed the back of his head, staring after her with a pout that I couldn't help but snicker at. He looked over to me then, put on his sunglasses and asked, "You ready to head home?"
"Yeah," I said. "Can I drive?"
"Figured that," he replied, and I smiled before saying goodbye to Pepper. Vision and Rhodes weren't around, so I told Pepper to say goodbye for me and to also apologize for having disrupted their get together. She hugged me tightly, letting me know that all was forgiven before giving me a kiss on the cheek.
"I love you, honey, so take care of yourself and try and visit without being in trouble next time," she said, and my heart immediately warmed, my throat feeling choked up with emotion.
"Love you too," I murmured, giving her a smile. She smiled brightly before giving me another hug.
When I walked towards Tony, my face heated up at the teasing grin he shot me with. Instead of making fun of me, though, he wrapped an arm around my shoulder as we walked towards the garage. I was pleasantly surprised, my heart warming as I knew Tony wasn't big on physical affection. It was a comforting hold that I relished in. He kept the arm there until we entered the garage, at which point he asked, "How'd your chat with Nat go? She didn't scare you, did she?"
"It was fine," I answered, not wanting to get into it at all. "She's a bit scary, yeah, but it was cool. No biggie."
He gave me an unreadable look before just shrugging. "Alrighty, just don't let her rile you up. She's a good person, and can sometimes come off a little cold. She likes you, though, which is huge. She'd never hurt you."
I looked at him in surprise, and smiled. It seemed Tony and Natasha were pretty protective of each other.
"I mean, I guess she might beat you up a little, but she'd never really hurt hurt you," she amended with a smirk, and I just shook my head. I'd figured that out already.
"Alrighty, kid, time to drive," he declared, getting into the passenger seat. "Let's see if you make it all the way without Friday's intervention." I smiled, accepting the challenge.
A/N: So ends another chapter! Thoughts on Natasha? I always thought of her relationship with Tony as brother/sister, and I loved the thought of her just showing up at the compound. Tony needs more people! Please, please review and let me know your thoughts!