Sorry that I missed my usual update. A difficult week, had a funeral and some family upset.
You will get another chapter tomorrow, if no further family crisis hits.
This is an interesting chapter, maybe boring to some but necessary.
Please review, I am lacking reviews and I am losing motivation as so much is happening in my life.
Salutations!
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''So Harley would you like to introduce me?'' Felicity, the therapist, asked and Peter had to stop himself from tutting. He was here very reluctantly and had literally been dragged by the scruff of the neck.
Since they returned from California the Spiderman embargo had been holding fast. Peter was stymied at every turn, his parents erecting a wall of steel and everything he tried failed. The Dads were united- there was not a chink in their armour, they were standing solidly side by side.
Peter blowing up the Science lab and Harley's escapade had resulted in their parents invoking a zero tolerance approach, which meant both boys were on a tight rein, a very tight rein indeed.
As a result, Peter was sullen and moody.
''This is my brother Peter,'' Harley knew Peter didn't want to be there. He felt guilty but Felicity insisted.
''So Peter, how old are you?'' Felicity asked and Peter gave her a disdainful glare.
''I am twelve, as you already know.''
''Peter!'' Steve admonished but Felicity held her hand up.
''Its fine Steve, so Peter not very happy about being here then?''
''No, not sure what all this has to do with me,'' Peter replied, he was being deliberately obtuse.
''So your brother and your parents are not anything to do with you? Why do you think that?'
''My parents and my brother are my family so yeah course they are something to do with me. It's just all the Harley smoking weed and not thinking he's good enough thing. That's nothing to do with me is it?''
''Isn't it? I would say you are very central to how your brother feels.''
''Are you saying this is my fault? Wow lady, you trying to screw me up too? I know I'm the bad kid but… '' Peter clammed up.
Felicity disarmed Peter by laughing.
'' Do you think Harley is a screw up?''
''Do you?'' Peter stared at her belligerently.
Tony and Steve looked at each other; Felicity had briefed them beforehand, told them to keep quiet until she pulled them into the conversation. It was tetchy, they had not seen Felicity be this way before, she had always been very gentle with Harvey.
'' You confront a lot Peter, why is that?''
'' Okay so what's your deal? I have seen enough TV shows and you aren't supposed to be like this to me. You should ask me to draw my feelings or some shit like that. I'm a kid, you should be nice to me and lady you are not being nice, not nice at all. I'm done!'' Peter pulled his hood up, folded his arms and sank down in his chair.
Felicity kicked herself; she went in too hard and lost him before she had even started- she misjudged his resilience, he was nowhere near as tough as he appeared. Plus, this was an intimidating situation for a child and his reaction to her attitude was reassuringly to type for a confident personality, which he obviously was.
She was very aware that he was so important to this family healing, in many ways the family dynamic revolved around him. She wasn't sure why although he was the one biological child, but that didn't explain fully why this was the case. She had been warned he was a challenge which she had just learned the hard way.
''So Harley how was your week?'' she turned away, hoping she may be able to re-engage Peter later. Harley was very much the love sick teenager at the moment and she was concerned that he would be tempted to indulge to help him cope.
''It was good, Jack offered me weed- I said no and meant it. My grades are up too- thanks to Dad, my teachers are real happy, '' Harley was improving in leaps and bounds.
''In case you're interested, mine aren't,'' Peter muttered into his hood. Felicity glanced at Steve and Tony who looked less than happy- one child was in a good place (apart from normal teenage angst) whilst the other remained challenging; it was proving very wearing to juggle.
Peter's grades were impressive after Tony's input; however his attitude was still poor and his behaviour less than stellar, blowing up the Science lab hadn't exactly impressed his teachers. He'd received several detentions and Steve had taken two very unhappy phone calls from school- he was hanging on by his finger nails and they were all just waiting for school to break for summer.
Felicity re-focused on Harley; although she was hyper aware that she also had a duty of care towards the other child in the room (who was only present at her insistence), a duty she wasn't fulfilling at the moment.
''Did you write to your mother Harley?'' Felicity watched Peter as she said that, she saw him stiffen slightly. He was listening, she could tell he was.
''Yes, I talked it through with Dad- he told me about his mom. It helped,'' Harley glanced at Tony who patted his leg with an encouraging smile.
Under his hood, Peter frowned; no one had ever spoken to him about his Grandmother who was actually his real Grandmother. So this was great, Harley knew more about his own family than he did. Peter closed his eyes, wishing he was somewhere else.
'' Do you expect a reply?''
''Dunno, I don't care if she replies, I've told her how I feel and that is all that matters. I have my family, I don't need her,'' Harley replied.
''Well, she may reply and we can work through that together okay? All of us,'' Felicity reassured Harley.
He looked at his fathers for further reassurance and they both reacted immediately; Tony placing his arm around Harley's shoulders whilst Steve winked at him as he was sitting on the other couch.
To Felicity's dismay Peter sank further into his seat.
'' If she does reply, what would you like her to say?'' Felicity asked, one eye on the younger boy.
''Sorry, I would like her to say sorry,'' Harley was very clear. He was trying to ignore his brother, stay focused but he was bothered by Felicity's attitude towards him. It had been harsh, not at all the way she treated him.
''She might not,'' Felicity knew she was losing the room, the small boy wrapped in on himself was a ticking bomb in the corner- she would have to do something soon.
Tony was attempting to remain neutral but failing- he kept looking over at the slumped figure who was obviously very unhappy. When he agreed to bring Peter, he hadn't expected it to be so difficult- he couldn't see how this was beneficial, it appeared the exact opposite to him.
Steve was also watching Peter and he was concerned, he was not at all sure having him here was a good idea. He was unimpressed with how Felicity was treating him and the fact he was now hiding worried him. His youngest son felt very far away, both metaphorically and physically, which sent his anxiety sky rocketing, a regular occurrence these days.
Felicity noted Steve's tense face and glanced over at Peter; she would address that situation in a moment but it was likely to provoke somewhat of a crisis. She had to check Harley was up to what might happen next.
''So on a scale of 1 to 10, how are you feeling right now? 1 tense, 10 relaxed?'' she asked the older boy.
''An 8,'' Harley answered without hesitation; the therapist nodded and turned to the extremely stressed out adult to her side who was into negative figures on that scale.
''Steve, could you ask Peter to uncover his face and sit up please?''
Steve looked at her in surprise, great she causes the issue then looks to him to resolve it for her.
''Peter pal, take down the hood and sit up please. You know better than to behave this way, so do as I say,'' Steve said firmly but gently. He wasn't really happy about having to be the bad guy but did it anyway.
Tony noted his irritation and gestured him over, Steve moved over to sit next to his husband who took his hand; Steve smiled gratefully.
There was nothing for a moment, then Peter listened to his father; he sat up exposing his face.
He narrowed his eyes at Felicity but said nothing.
''Thank you,'' Steve looked over at Felicity. Her move.
Felicity was very impressed, she hadn't expected Peter to acquiesce that easily; Steve handled his child very effectively but with love. She also noted the strong, supportive bond between the two men; they shared a solid, secure union which was encouraging. It had grown throughout the sessions.
''Bubba, come and sit here with me,'' Steve surprised her by saying that, she had riled his protective instincts- he was circling the wagons. She hadn't seen him do that before. He was always affable and amenable but this was different- he was overly protective over his youngest son. Why?
Peter got up and Steve pulled him onto his lap; he said something in the boy's ear who grinned up at him.
Steve stared at her as he hugged his son around the chest- she got the distinct impression she was being told to back off.
She looked at Tony who was talking to Harley, their body language relaxed and open now Peter was with Steve. They accepted the man's behaviour so it was usual; he was always this way with his youngest son.
Felicity was struggling to get a handle on these dynamics, usually an adopted child like Harley would rankle and protest at such an obvious show of affection by a parent towards a natural child ( she knew Steve was not Peter's biological father, although significantly that was how Harley viewed the relationship ), but the older boy didn't react.
In fact, on several occasions when Harley had spoken about Peter he exhibited the same protectiveness.
Had this child been seriously ill at some point? That would go some way to explain this.
''So Peter, I am going to ask you something quite difficult and I want you to know this is a safe space so you can answer honestly okay?''
Peter instantly looked to Steve for reassurance; the adult man placed a kiss on the side of his son's head. Felicity was very touched by this close relationship, who knew Captain America would be such a tactile father?
She had seen him being affectionate towards Harley many times but he was more physically demonstrative with Peter and had a pet name for him; it was partially explained by Peter's tender age but not entirely.
''When your parents adopted Harley, how did you feel about it? How did you really feel?''
Peter took a deep breath and touched his face nervously; he began to chew anxiously at his lip.
''That's a tough question to answer right?'' Felicity began to warm to Peter, despite his defensive bravado at the start.
Peter looked at her, he had deep brown doe eyes and they were providing a window into his soul- she saw conflict and confusion.
''I know you love Harley now but it is actually okay for you to be honest okay?''
Peter continued to worry his lip and she was not at all sure he would answer her.
Harley watched all this with dismay, this was not fair on his little brother; he was enduring this for him.
''It's okay bro, tell the truth,'' he said and Peter glanced at him, he had now drawn blood.
''Sweetheart, stop worrying your lip. You're hurting yourself,'' Steve scolded softly and Peter turned so he could hide his face away in his father's chest.
''Hey Smalls, let's not do the hiding thing. Answer the question,'' Tony intervened and Peter emerged slowly.
Felicity was reassured by what she was seeing; these men complimented each other as parents and shared the care of their children equally. She had seen it before with Harley although she hadn't been sure if it was for effect but she could now see this was how they always were as the children responded very naturally to it.
''I hated it, I liked Harley. He came for summers and we always had a good time but then he was in my house, my dads were distracted, always making sure he was okay. They had no time. I became invisible,'' Peter finally spoke up; he wiped his bloody lip with the back of his hand.
Felicity smiled at him, she handed him a tissue.
''How did you feel about that?''
''I was real angry; it was like I wasn't good enough. That they went out and got a better kid, one that played football,'' Peter glared at Steve when he said that who looked embarrassed.
''And they didn't ask how I felt, they didn't talk to me. They just did it then didn't get it when I was angry. They got mad at me.''
Steve and Tony listened to this with a mixture of guilt and regret although they had heard it before- they were very aware they didn't handle either adoption well with Peter. They would do it so differently given a second chance.
''Is that why you misbehave?'' Felicity asked the killer question.
Peter looked warily at her, this was straying into forbidden territory, secrets he couldn't reveal.
Felicity was a SHIELD approved therapist but she didn't know Peter's status- she had been allowed very restricted access to information about this family.
''Who told you I misbehave?'
''Don't you? You got in trouble this week didn't you? Caused an explosion in your science lab at school?''
'' It was an accident,'' Peter scowled at Steve, betrayed that she knew that.
'' Was it? Tell the truth, you were angry because you were being punished and you have a problem with one boy so you did it deliberately didn't you?'' Felicity put him on the spot and Peter sighed heavily.
''Flash is a prick,'' He muttered.
''Hey! Stop it, no cussing! Answer Felicity,'' Steve jumped in immediately, tapping the side of his son's leg.
She wondered if they disciplined their children physically, she would need to address that in further sessions- she was not an advocate but there was too much to deal with already. That would have to wait, she was certain there were no safeguarding issue here, and spanking was not illegal so she put it to one side for now.
Peter looked up at his father, utilising his puppy dog eyes; Felicity was interested to see how Steve reacted.
''Do as you were told right now!'' Steve was not impressed, he was very unimpressed.
''Yes I knew what I was doing. I got in trouble for that already,'' Peter resorted to whining.
''Yes you did and unless you correct your tone right now, you will get in even more trouble. Behave,'' Tony supported his husband and pointed at his truculent son.
Right so not indulgent parents then, Felicity noted. She was surprised as that was what she was expecting with Peter which was the impression Harley had given- clearly it was the older boy's perception, not reality.
''Sorry, I didn't mean to be disrespectful,'' Peter apologised and Felicity nodded.
''So this belief you are the bad kid, shall we talk about that?''
''Oh yeah, I'm the bad kid but who told you that?''
Steve flinched at the statement, Tony met his eye; Steve pulled a regretful face and Tony nodded. Yeah, they needed to work on that.
''Well no-one called you a bad kid, that's your description but your behaviour has come up in our discussions. Why do you think you're bad?''
''Well I'm not really; I think I'm kind of normal. Trouble is my sister is this adorable baby, Harley's a big honey bear who's real good at football and my parents are Earth's Mightiest Heroes so it doesn't take much to be the bad one in my house. It's okay, I'm cool with it, it's kind of edgy. Makes me the interesting one,'' Peter grinned at her and she laughed.
Tony and Steve exchanged amused glances; Peter could charm the birds out of the trees when he put his mind to it.
''Yeah well, when you put it like that, I can see your problem.''
''Can I have a sucker please?'' Peter eyes alighted on the jar beside her, reminding her he was a child, a child who liked sugar.
''Yes, you can have a sucker. Here,'' she held the jar out.
''Thanks,'' he pulled one out.
''So Pete, how about you go wait outside while I finish up with your parents and brother?'' Felicity decided that was enough for the younger boy; Peter had been honest but she didn't want to push him further. It wasn't necessary and she had stressed him enough- the blood on his lip evidence of that.
''Alright, bye,'' he waved his hand as he got up.
''Pete?''
He turned to look at her.
''You going to come back and see me again?''
''Dunno, haven't decided yet,'' he gave her what she knew was his charm smile.
''Okay, fair enough,'' Felicity chuckled; this boy was his father through and through, his playboy father not the super soldier.
''So Harley, let's take a look at your targets and set some new ones shall we?''
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''Should we be worried about Peter?'' Steve asked as soon as Harley left to join his brother.
''No, he has some issues to resolve around the adoptions; on the whole he is well balanced, reflective and self-aware. I am sure I do not need to tell you that the tough act is just that, an act. He is very close to you Steve, you have a very good relationship with him, a strong emotional connection,'' Felicity made Captain America blush.
''He was, is so angry with me though because I left,'' Steve admitted, more and more he struggled to reconcile his actions; he just could not rationalise abandoning his children- what had he been thinking? He bitterly regretted it.
''Well he would be, it goes a long way to explain his current bad behaviour, you have no choice but to ride the storm. He's testing you so stay consistent, make the boundaries clear and reassure him when you can. You are very loving towards him, you are slowly rebuilding the trust, just keep with it,'' Felicity advised and Steve nodded
''So does Peter need to see you regularly?'' Tony asked and she shook her head.
'' It's not needed although there are no guarantees with children and you should keep an eye but there is no need for any particular concern. You guys are doing a good job with him, best not to interfere with that. However, he has inherited your charm hasn't he Tony? May want to keep that in check Steve,'' Felicity raised her eyebrows at Tony who blushed.
''Hey, my charm has served me well,'' Tony protested whilst Steve laughed at his expense.
''I was thinking more along the lines of your past coping mechanisms but Steve balances you out well. You make a good team, those boys are lucky kids,'' Felicity reassured them.
''Thank you,'' Steve felt a huge weight lift from his chest; he had been so worried about his children and hearing that helped.
''So Harley is on track, we shall have a few more sessions after your vacation then I will transfer him to a support group, all kids his age,'' Felicity filled them in.
''Regarding Peter, have you ever discussed his mother with him?''
Steve glanced over at Tony, this was delicate. Steve didn't know who Peter's mother was but recently he had his suspicions although it was impossible- wasn't it?
''No, should we?'' Tony appeared relatively calm although beneath was a very different story.
''Well, he may ask. Children often do at this age, so you should be prepared. We can work on that together if you want to so you will be ready,'' Felicity offered and Tony nodded, playing the part. That was not happening, that was a maelstrom of epic proportions.
'' Was Peter ill recently?'' Felicity asked.
''Yes very, it was not a good time. He almost died,'' Tony answered. Felicity glanced at Steve whose eyes clouded.
''You still processing it Steve?'' she asked and he nodded. He was shocked she had picked that up- almost losing Peter haunted him.
''How did you know that?'' Tony was curious. He knew that was not in the file, only basic details had been included.
''Steve is ultra- protective; he keeps Peter with him when he can- he was not comfortable when Peter was across the room. He only relaxed when he was beside him,'' Felicity paused.
Tony had a moment of clarity, what he had seen as Steve being fussy was actually anxiety. He looked regretfully at his husband who smiled shyly back.
''I can help you manage your anxiety Steve, it is understandable you know and a very normal response. A child falling ill is one of the most challenging situations to deal with and it often leaves parents over anxious for months, even years. Would you like us to work on that together?'' Felicity asked and Steve nodded.
''Yes, that would be helpful,'' he smiled gratefully.
''Get out of my office and go enjoy your amazing children. Have a great vacation!'' Felicity shooed them away.
''Can we get a dog?'' Peter's voice echoed as Felicity shut the door after them.
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There are clues in this chapter about where this story is going. Sorry if it was boring but I enjoyed writing it. Some indulgence on my part.
We have a big storm coming, so going to cuddle up and stay safe.
Review, need some more reviews.
