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Conferences
The TV monitor in the front of the conference room that Peter hadn't even known existed until a few minutes ago was turned on, a blank black box taking up most of the screen, and a small box in the bottom right corner showed the people in the room milling around. To be fair, he probably didn't know about most of the rooms in the Compound. He knew it was big and full of conference rooms and bedrooms and floors he'd never been to. At some point, he figured he'd actually go exploring. FRIDAY had assured him that he was allowed, and he figured that any rooms he wouldn't be allowed into would be locked.
Mr. Stark sat in the center of a long, u-shaped table, Miss Potts on his right, with Thor on his left. To the left of Thor was Doctor Banner, then Loki, and someone else from Mr. Stark's company that Peter had never seen sat on Miss Potts' right. Miss Potts had come back a little after eleven, and Peter hadn't been able to help the way he'd stiffened when she'd put a hand on his shoulder, smiling and asking how he was. He didn't want to offend her or Mr. Stark or hurt anyone's feelings...he just...he couldn't. Couldn't take her soft smile and her gentle hand that would sometimes run through his hair. He liked her a lot, but being near her reminded him so much of May that it hurt. Mr. Stark hadn't said anything, and neither had Miss Potts, so he wasn't sure if they'd noticed. With his luck, they had.
His Guardian had offered to let him come into the conference room during the meeting, which had surprised him. He'd thought he was going to get sent away until it was time to go meet the social worker. Instead, Mr. Stark had given him a chair at the back of the room and assured him that it was fine. They weren't talking about anything Mr. Stark didn't trust him with. That thought made Peter smile a little at his feet as he sat in the back of the room, well out of the way. His spider senses went off then, just a twinge that told him someone was looking at him, and he glanced up to find Mr. Stark twisted around in his chair.
"You good, bud?" The man asked softly, not drawing the attention of anyone else. Peter nodded and smiled, giving a quick thumbs up. Mr. Stark nodded, pointing to the door beside Peter. "Good. If you need to leave, you can go and come back whenever you want. Okay?"
Peter nodded, and Mr. Stark turned back, reaching out and taking Miss Potts' hand and squeezing. Peter couldn't help catching the quick, quiet, 'I love you' the man whispered in her ear, but he looked down and away when she leaned in to kiss him. He hadn't been meant to hear that...he hated his powers sometimes. He tried to focus on his hands instead, or the conversation between Doctor Banner and Thor who were discussing...something. He didn't quite understand...something to do with someone called a "Valkyrie." he wondered if he'd ever get to meet the Asgardians.
The screen came to life after a few minutes at 1:00 on the dot. The man in the screen was unfamiliar, and he appeared to be sitting at a small table by himself, hands clasped in front of him on the table. "Mr. Stark." He greeted, the accent soft and melodic. The man smiled, inclining his head toward Peter's guardian. "Miss Potts."
"Tony, please." Mr. Stark waved him off.
"Pepper." Miss Potts introduced herself.
"Of course. Thor. It is nice to see you again. And this must be your brother. Loki. And Doctor Banner."
Everyone in the room said hello to the man who Peter assumed was the king of Wakanda, and beside him, the door opened, Colonel Rhodes stepping through. He grinned down at Peter, ruffling his hair, and Peter stood, offering his chair since there were no more at the table. Colonel Rhodes sat down, murmuring his thanks, and when Peter looked up once more, all eyes were on them. He felt his face heat up, eyes dropping down to the floor.
"Colonel Rhodes. Nice to see you again." The King greeted, and Peter wondered when they'd met him. He remembered that the Black Panther had been in Germany. But had any of them had time to talk to him. He knew he hadn't.
"You too, your majesty."
"Please. T'Challa." The man insisted. Then his eyes met Peter's and the boy fought the urge to slip out through the door. "And who is this? I do not believe I have had the pleasure." He observed, glancing back at Mr. Stark.
"This is Stark's son," Thor spoke up, voice booming in the small room, and Peter felt heat crawl up his cheeks. He waited for Mr. Stark to deny it, or to finally set Thor and Loki straight. Surely he'd told them that he wasn't Mr. Stark's son. Right? They knew his aunt had died...that he'd lived with her.
"Tony...I was not aware that you had a child." King T'Challa observed, eyebrows lifted in surprise.
Mr. Stark was great. He'd ben his mentor and friend and now he was his guardian. He'd called Peter his kid. And even though some part of him liked the idea of being related to Mr. Stark...of having him as more than just a mentor, it still hurt. On one hand, he missed his aunt. He felt like he missed her every second of every day. He dreamed about her and sometimes thought he heard her voice...there were times during the last week when something would happen, and just for a second, he'd think 'Wait until I tell May!'
On the other hand, he knew Mr. Stark was going to wave the man off and assure him that Peter wasn't his son. Yeah, the man had said he loved him. And he'd told Peter that he was his kid. And Peter knew he wasn't Mr. Stark's son! So why did the thought of his guardian publicly telling everyone once and for all that Peter really wasn't his son, that he was just his...his ward make his chest twinge a little? Even if most of them already knew!
But Mr. Stark didn't say that...didn't tell the king of Wakanda that Peter was just a kid he felt responsible for. Instead, the man scooted back from the table a little, gesturing back at Peter and grinning almost proudly.
"This is Peter." Mr. Stark introduced him simply. "Pete, King T'Challa."
"Um...it's, uh...it's great to meet you, your majesty." Peter stammered, wide-eyed as he realized that the man hadn't corrected them at all...and that he was now addressing possibly the most powerful man he'd ever met...maybe. It was kind of hard to tell these days, considering Thor was in the same room. Still, he nodded his head in an almost bow, not sure what the protocol was. King T'Challa smiled, inclining his head as well.
"And you as well, Peter." And then the king was turning back to Mr. Stark and Thor, leaving Peter in the back of the room where he stood beside Colonel Rhodes.
For a while, the King spoke to Mr. Stark and Thor about the Asgardian people, and to Pepper about the arrangements that had already been made for everyone. He took down notes on the numbers and explained that they would be sending transports the following Friday morning to pick up the Asgardians. There were new hotels and host families in Wakanda who would welcome the people until Wakanda could work with the world's governments to find a more permanent home for them if they wanted one. Or, the king told them, they were welcome to stay indefinitely.
Once they'd covered all of that what felt like a hundred times, making Peter wonder how long this meeting would run, T'Challa turned solemn. "As I'm sure you are all aware, the last time Loki was on our planet, an entire city was nearly destroyed." T'Challa turned to face the man in question, jaw tight. "Many deaths are on your hands."
Peter couldn't see Loki's face, but his tone was soft and serious. "You have my word that I will not harm anyone on Earth."
"You have mine as well," Thor spoke up. "This is our home now. We would not want to jeopardize our welcome here."
"Your word holds weight, Thor, and you have my trust. However, it is not only my decision. I will need to speak to my council...and I am sure you are also aware of the protests in New York."
Peter frowned at that, turning to Colonel Rhodes who caught his gaze, seemed to hesitate for a second, then leaned in. Peter crouched down a little so the man could whisper in his ear. "People are protesting letting Loki stay here. They've been gathering outside the tower."
"But...Mr. Stark doesn't live there."
"They don't know where the compound is." He explained. Peter glanced up at the Asgardian who sat rigidly at the table, hands clasped in his lap, and at Thor, who seemed just as tense as his brother. "There are protests all around New York, and the UN wants to meet with Thor and Tony."
"What do they want to happen to him?" He asked Colonel Rhodes. The man sighed, running a hand over his face.
"They want him to be punished."
"My brother already served time for his crimes on Asgard," Thor spoke sharply, arms crossed, and Peter leaned back against the wall.
Peter had to admit, he was conflicted. He doubted Thor would have let his brother get away with what he'd done without any kind of punishment. When Thor said that Loki had served time, he believed him. It seemed that T'Challa did too, from the way he nodded. But Peter could also understand that people wanted justice for what had happened. Of course, it wasn't like Peter had any say in it. He trusted Mr. Stark though, and Thor too. And after the night before, when Loki could have hurt him, but instead just helped him sleep, he was inclined to trust Loki.
"I do not doubt you." The king told him quietly. "There are others who do, however, and this must be taken into consideration."
"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz over here can stay at the Compound." Mr. Stark broke in, waving a careless hand. "Thor says he's safe, and I trust him. They can both stay here as far as I'm concerned."
After the meeting with King T'Challa, Thor and Loki left to speak to their people and Doctor Banner went to his lab, a flip phone in his hand. Peter didn't ask...he assumed it had something to do with contacting the rest of the team, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. Not that it was any of his business.
Still...he lived with Mr. Stark now, and if the whole team of Avengers was going to move back to the Compound...or the tower...they'd find out who he was, right? Did he want to live with the Avengers? He remembered how Mr. Stark had looked after returning from Siberia. He remembered the airport and the fight...the entire team turning against one another. They had all been his heroes. Now it was only Mr. Stark, Colonel Rhodes, Thor, and Doctor Banner left. Well, and Vision, but he was still kind of new.
Peter wasn't sure what he thought about the entire Avengers team living with them. It just sounded so...overwhelming. Just running into Thor and Loki in the compound had been strange...before it had only been him and Mr. Stark most of the time...sometimes Colonel Rhodes or Vision.
"Alright, kiddo." Mr. Stark put an arm around his shoulders, leading him over to the door. "We've got a meeting with the social worker in a little less than an hour, so we need to leave. You wanna grab some homework to do on the way? I've got to take a conference call." Peter nodded, heading back to his bedroom and grabbing his backpack, and then followed Mr. Stark out to the car.
On the way there, he managed to finish his math homework while Mr. Stark talked on the phone to several people about...something. Something to do with the company. Peter tried to focus on his work instead of eavesdropping and sort of succeeded. When they pulled up to the office building in the city, Peter put his stuff back into his backpack and Mr. Stark hung up his phone.
"This is just a follow up to make sure all the paperwork was filed correctly and that your living situation is all taken care of. She'll probably ask about school, but we've taken care of that. How are you on homework."
"Uh, I just need to email some of it to my teachers."
"No problem." Happy waited out in the car as Mr. Stark led the way toward the building. "She'll probably ask some questions. You don't have to talk about anything you don't want to. My lawyers are on standby." And with that, they were entering the building.
An older woman around Mr. Stark's age held out a hand, smiling politely at Peter and his guardian. "Hello, Mr. Stark. Peter." Mr. Stark shook her hand, then Peter followed suit, and before he knew it, they were all sitting at a table in her office which was in the corner of the building, large windows looking out onto a busy street that he could see through the slats of her wooden blinds. "My name is Katherine Walters. Peter, I'm the primary social worker assigned to your case."
"Nice to meet you." He murmured, looking away from the street and trying to ignore the hum of her fluorescent lights. The only bothered him when he was stressed or fighting sensory overload, so he tried to steady his breathing and not let it get to him. She smiled, a professional, but friendly, an expression that did nothing to put him at ease. They couldn't take him away from Mr. Stark, right? Surely the man had a ton of lawyers...heck, he probably had a whole law firm. No way he'd let someone take him away.
"You as well, Peter. How are things going? It looks like you've completely healed from the accident." He nodded, feeling a twinge of worry. Did she know? Had Mr. Stark told her? He glanced at his guardian, and Mr. Stark gave the woman a press-worthy smile.
"We have top of the line doctors at the Avengers compound." Mr. Stark told her. Surprisingly, she left it at that, nodding and giving a little laugh.
"I'm sure." She pulled out a folder from a briefcase at her side, placing it on the table, and leaning forward. "So, Mr. Stark, how would you say things are going, considering the situation with the Asgardians?"
"Everything's great." Mr. Stark assured her. "Pepper is handling the transfer of the Asgardians to Wakanda."
"I see. And have you spoken to his school?" She asked, eyes still on his guardian.
"Yes. He's been keeping up with his homework assignments and will be returning to Midtown on Monday."
"Are you planning on staying at the Avengers Compound?"
"No. I bought back the tower. We'll be living there."
She made a note on one of the papers, nodding to herself. Mr. Stark seemed perfectly at ease, and Peter wondered if he was even going to have to talk. For a while, she asked Mr. Stark some more questions, mostly about the tower and the compound, and about school and stuff. She asked a couple of questions about the Avengers, and Mr. Stark answered everything with the air of someone who had done a million interviews which, of course, he had.
"And if the 'rogue Avengers' return, will they be staying with you?" That was a question Peter also wanted an answer to, and he looked up at his guardian, waiting for the answer.
"They have all been pardoned, and the Accords amended, so they are no longer the 'rogue Avengers.'" He corrected, not mean, but firm. "If they would like to stay at the Avengers Compound, they are more than welcome. Anything further we will discuss whenever it comes up." She wrote that down, then placed her pen on the table, hands clasped in front of her.
"Alright. Peter, I'd like to speak to you privately if that's alright." Peter got the feeling that it wasn't really a question, and he glanced over at Mr. Stark who was pushing his chair back from the table.
"I'll wait out in the hall, bud." His guardian told him, patting his shoulder. "I'm going to have Happy bring me a coffee. You want anything, Pete?" Peter shook his head, mouth suddenly too dry. "Alright. Just call if you need me." It sounded like that was almost a warning with the way he looked at the social worker, but with a pat on his shoulder, Mr. Stark was out the door.
After his parents had died and he'd gone to live with May and Ben, he'd talked to plenty of social workers, therapists, and school counselors, so he was no stranger to this kind of thing. After his uncle Ben had died, he'd had to talk to someone else, and it was no surprise that he would have to meet with a social worker now. But he wasn't sure what she would want to know. "So, Peter." She began, voice much softer than when she'd been talking to Mr. Stark...like he was a little kid or something. Immediately it rubbed him the wrong way, but he tried not to let is show on his face.
"Yes, ma'am?" He told her, knowing his voice sounded a little flat, but not sure how to fix it.
"How long have you known Mr. Stark?"
"Uh...a little more than a year...I think. Maybe more?" He tried to think back to Germany and how long ago that had been...not that she needed to know anything about that.
"I see. And how would you have classified your relationship with Mr. Stark when you first met?"
"He got my application for one of his internships and accepted me."
"Yes, it says that a few months ago, May Parker added him as an emergency contact for your school." He shrugged. That wasn't a question. "Did you spend much time with Mr. Stark before coming to live with him?"
"Um...I went to the compound every Friday after school for internship stuff…"
"And what was this 'internship stuff?'" He hesitated. The details of his pretend internship had never been super clear. Still, he went with a generic answer.
"I got coffee. Made copies of stuff and did some filing. Sometimes Mr. Stark let me help in the lab."
"Now that you are living with Mr. Stark, are you continuing your internship with his company?" Not sure if that was allowed, he shrugged.
"We haven't really talked about it." He smiled apologetically.
"That's fine. I'm sure you've been busy. What has it been like? Living with Mr. Stark in the Avengers Compound?"
"It's...it's good. Mr. Stark is really nice, and sometimes Miss Potts is there. She's great. Colonel Rhodes is nice too. And Vision."
"What about the other Avengers. Have you met them?"
"Just Thor. And Doctor Banner." He lied, doubting that stealing Captain America's shield or webbing Falcon and The Winter Soldier to the floor counted. "They're both really nice."
"And Loki? Was it interesting meeting him?" He wondered if she was just looking for gossip or if she genuinely needed to know. He decided to stick to a generic answer once more.
"Yeah, uh...it was crazy. But he's nice. I mean, he's nice to me." She nodded slowly, leaning in. "It's nice, living at the compound. I mean, I miss my aunt, but everyone's been really nice." He immediately regretted bringing her up and prayed that she wouldn't ask about May.
"Good. I'm glad. It sounds like Mr. Stark is providing a good home for you. Now tell me about the environment there. It must be hectic with the Asgardians arriving. What do you do there?"
"Um...I, uh...I work on homework. Mr. Stark watches TV or movies with me sometimes. I look at his books or, uh...I talked to Doctor Banner a little about his research. And I've got lots of stuff to do in my room….and I went to my friend's house for a while."
"So you have plenty of things to do. That's good. And he allows you to spend time with your friends?"
"What? Yeah. Yeah, of course. He got Happy to drive me and gave me a ride home."
"Good." She made a note. "So, has Mr. Stark mentioned adoption?" He froze, hands shaking when he clasped them in his lap. Suddenly the fluorescent lights were too loud again, the humming filling his head. And they were too bright...he wished FRIDAY were there to turn them down. And the traffic out on the street was too loud. It all worked together to make his head pound.
"I...he didn't...no." He shook his head. "I mean...he…" He tried to think back. No...no, Mr. Stark hadn't really brought it up. Well...he'd called Peter his kid. He'd been great...a great guardian and really nice...but adoption?
"That's alright. I'm sure that is something he'd rather speak to you about if it is on the table."
"Right." He murmured.
"Why don't you go sit in the waiting room and send Mr. Stark back in." Peter nodded, pushing himself up from the table, shaking her hand in a daze, then all but stumbled out into the waiting room where Mr. Stark was drinking a coffee. He looked up with a smile that dropped as soon as he saw Peter, and Peter wondered if he looked as pale as he felt.
"Kid?" He asked, standing and reaching out, a hand immediately going to his shoulder. "What's the matter?"
"Uh, nothing...I just...um...she said she's ready to talk to you."
"Okay...you sure everything's okay?"
"Yeah." He assured Mr. Stark, nodding and trying to pull himself back together. Sure, it had been a surprise, but not necessarily a bad one. He knew Mr. Stark loved him. And he loved Mr. Stark. The man was like...like a parent. But surely it was too soon to be thinking that...especially since May had just died. He'd just lost her and he was already trying to replace her. He felt his stomach twist at the thought.
"Alright. I shouldn't be too long. Here." He reached over to the table beside the chair he'd been sitting in, holding out a cup. "I had Hap get you a hot chocolate."
"No coffee?" Peter asked with a weak grin, making Mr. Stark chuckle and ruffle his hair.
"Yeah, no. You never get coffee again, kid. Not after last time." He pointed to a chair, pushing Peter toward it with the hot chocolate in his hands. "I'll be right back"
And then he was stepping into that office, the door shutting behind him while Peter sat with his hot chocolate in the waiting room, trying to figure out whether or not Mr. Stark wanted to adopt him, and how he felt about that.
Thank you for reading.