Next chapter filing day 12 of whumptober: broken trust. Happy Halloween!

Winter, 2017. Five weeks into escape.

They were in the kitchen, Tony leaning against the cabinets watching as Peter and Rhodey made dinner.

"Okay, Peter. Now we have to knead the dough for about ten minutes before letting it rest for an hour."

Rhodey scraped the dough, flour bits and all onto the floured cutting board and motioned for Peter to begin. He shifted but didn't move.

"Peter?" Rhodey said.

"What's wrong kid? Never made homemade pizza before?"

Peter turned to glare at Tony. The way his arms were crossed over his chest as he watched them of the work of making dinner. He smiled back.

"Alright. No worries, I'll show you." Rhodey took the dough in hand and pressed the front of the doughball down with his palms before folding it up and turning it 90 degrees. "You just repeat this over for the ten minutes. Good for the arm muscles and all though. You try now."

Peter bent over the board and stared at the dough before digging his palms in. Rhodey was there to help if needed but soon Peter got the hand of it. The monotony of it left his mind able to wander. Rhodey and Tony were bickering quietly behind him. It was gloomy out today and Tony was in a mood. Rhodey was trying to snap him out so the whole evening wasn't full of snide remarks. He smiled to himself and the dough, pizza was sure to help.

"Come on, Peter." Tony said from behind. "I'm starving…"

"I'm going as fast as I can!"

Another minute passed and Tony complained again. Peter's forehead wrinkled. Would he never cease to complain? He decided no answer was the best response and folded the dough with vigor. Another minute and another complaint had Peter's temperature on the rise.

He scooped some flour out of the bowl and hid the full palm behind his back. Peter turned around the face them. Rhodey smiled with a certain tightness to his eyes. Tony frowned.

"I'm just giving you a hard time." He said with a shrug. Rhodey threw his arm around Tony's shoulder and it was then that Peter struck. He curled his arm back and flung the flour across the kitchen. Specks and clumps like confetti landed everywhere, but Peter's mouth fell open when he realized most had settled on Rhodey's arms and head. He backed up into the counter.

"Oops, I wasn't aiming at you."

"Is that so?" Rhodey said with a glint in his eyes.

"You're in for in for it now." Tony laughed.

Rhodey reached behind him and grabbed the bag of flour. His eyes never left Peter as he grabbed his own handful, a dangerous smile on his face. He reached back, aiming ahead, and then turned and dumped it on Tony. A giggle escaped Peter at Tony's fallen jaw.

"What the hell?"

"You looked down in the dumps and kneaded some self-raising up." Rhodey chuckled to himself along with Peter who fell against the cabinets and clutched his side.

They were covered with flour. The floor was covered. Bits were floating in the air. The whole scene caused Peter to lose it. He hadn't felt this good, this free in such a long time. Whether they knew what they were doing or not Tony wasn't the only one in a poor mood that day. Peter had seen the darkened sky, looked out at the lake, and lingered in his room staring out the window at the frozen tundra for far too long. It had been happening with increasing frequency of late. The pale ice drawing in his stare and he was captive to it and his increasingly dark thoughts.

But Rhodey had knocked and beckoned him out with a promise of pizza. He had led Peter to the kitchen talking about what movie they would watch and a new job he was looking forward too. Mundane things Peter could listen to but not focus on. But this caught him off guard. Their slacked faces filled with surprise and the chaos of the room. He laughed so hard a tear gathered in the corner of his eye. He tried to catch his breath, turning back to face the dough and missed the conspiratorial look between the other two. Peter sighed and was turning back when it started snowing.

Rhodey and Tony were on either side of him. His arms were covered in white and with caution he looked up. The bag of flour was dangling over his head, turned over and emptied on his person. It was their turn to laugh as Peter sputtered and tried to wipe away the flour only managing to get it on the many surfaces in the kitchen.

It was with surprising luck dinner managed to come together. They had to break for showers, flour still reigned powerful in the kitchen when they returned, but Rhodey managed to get the dough into shape. They loaded it with their toppings and set it in the oven while they cleaned. Everyone pitched in and though Rhodey flicked some spare dust on Tony and Peter, it eventually was returned to its normal state.

The pizza was gooey, warm and delicious. Peter scrapped a spare pineapple chunk off his plate.

"This was delicious. Thanks, Rhodey."

"What about a thanks for me?"

"You didn't do anything besides distract." Peter grinned at Tony who was about to answer when the alarm, the ones invisible in the walls, began to ring. They both stopped what they were doing and turned to face the front door. Tony was out of his seat and racing down the hall. Rhodey kept staring like he was listening.

"What is it? What does it mean?" But no one answered him. Tony came back with a thick phone to his ear and a large bag around his shoulder. His words were harsh and loud. They were going into lockdown.

"Rhodey?" Peter whispered. He knew what was happening. Of course, deep down he knew, but he realized he didn't want to believe. He didn't want to leave.

They had found them.

Rhodey turned away and gripped Peter's hand.

"It's going to be okay, Peter. We won't let them take you."

The building rumbled and Peter clutched his hand.

"Rhodey, I don't want to go."

Gun shots and loud booming noises echoed in the kitchen of the apartment. Peter thought he could see dust coming in through under the door.

"Rhodey! We need to leave now. It's time." Tony yelled and slammed the phone on the table sending parts flying through the air. Peter's heart was going to burst, he was sure. If only he could be like the lake, frozen exterior hiding all the chaos underneath, like he was in the past. But he'd thawed too much with these two people. They had changed him too much and his panic was apparent on his face.

The door fell of the hinges at the arrival of men burst into the apartment clothed in all black. He couldn't see their faces but the guns pointed at their heads was enough to flinch back. Rhodey pulled him up from the table and pushed him behind them.

"Get back!" Tony yelled and stepped in front of both of them. Somehow along the way he pulled out the same metal device he had in that place but it was a pitiful attempt at intimidation. Four men armed versus them, two semi-adults and one teenager. Peter's stomach cramped as the blood pounded in his veins. He could save them if he tried, he could do it.

But before he could leap forward Tony was running toward them. He disarmed one and smashed the machine into the neck of another before he was hit. One of the two remaining clocked him across the face and he fell to the floor.

Rhodey cried out and ran forward, grabbing a chair. He swung it over his head and cracked it over one of their heads knocking him down and leaving one left. Peter took a deep breath and ran forward. The man shot but Peter ducked in time. Distracted as the man in black was, Rhodey was able to come up behind him and lock him in a chokehold until he slumped forward. Rhodey dropped him onto the ground and they ran over to help Tony up.

"Why wasn't there more of them?" Tony asked while rubbing his head. They limped over the front hall behind the broken off door for cover after Tony checked the downed men's' pockets. He picked up one of the guns.

"They're loaded with tranquilizers." Tony and Rhodey shared a look.

Peter surveyed the apartment. The fight took almost no time at all but the damage was more than he thought. The dining table was in pieces. Pizza slices scattered on the floor and the corners of the walls were crumbled.

He brought this on. Once again people he cared about were in danger because of him. He had hesitated when the first wave came, had instead worried about his secret and how to keep it. If there was more and by the looks of Tony and Rhodey conferring there was, he would not worry anymore. It wasn't worth it. He couldn't stop staring at Tony's swollen cheek.

Rhodey turned to face him and placed his hands-on Peter's shoulders. Loud noises overlaid his words from the rest of the building. "Okay, Peter, we have to move before more come."

"Why weren't there more?" Tony muttered.

"Doesn't matter for now. Time is almost up and they'll be back." Tony staggered up and grabbed the bag along with one of the guns. Peter asked if he was okay and he replied: "I'm fine, kid. Takes more to knock me down."

"Get down!" Peter yelled when he heard footsteps from down the hall. The alarm was still blaring and it was a miracle they acted in time. Peter threw the door up. It shook as the tranquilizers rained down on it. "I think it's too late, Tony."

The man shrugged and they staggered back as the door split in two. Shrapnel and pieces of wood flung toward them littering them with cuts and scrapes.

"In, in, in! Surveil and grab inmate 214."

Rhodey and Tony surrounded him and Peter wanted to scream. Why were they protecting him? Since they met him and Peter had a feeling before then, they had tried to protect him even if it went against his wishes. They took him away from that place, were there when he had nightmares, and dragged him out of his bad moods. Now, they stood between him and an enemy. It made Peter's heart clenched.

Rhodey grabbed his hand as Tony yelled for them to escape down the hallway. He watched as they ran further away from him. He watched as Tony was surrounded by the enemy. Their blows knocked him back and then they shot him. Tony turned toward them, screaming for them to run as he crumpled to the ground. Rhodey swore under his breath but didn't let go of his hand or stop moving. They ran down the long hall until they came to the blue room.

Peter collapsed on the bed and heard the door shut and locked.

"Rhodey, what are we going to do? What about Tony? We can't, we can't just leave him!"

He pulled on his hair. Rhodey opened the curtains and then the balcony doors. The cold, winter air filled the room and helped grounded Peter. He could breathe easier when the pins and needles prickled his lungs. He stared at Rhodey who was calm in the face of everything. Peter could hear the yells and tactics from out the door. He could hear the steps down the hallway coming closer.

Rhodey knelt in front of him and took his fingers in his hands. There was some warmth in his eyes. Peter was surprised how nice it made him feel, how used to it he was beginning to be.

"You have to trust us, Peter. This will all be okay. We will all get through this." They were banging at the door now. Peter's heart thumped along with each of the attempts to knock down the door. Rhodey's face lacked the calm he wore before. His lips were pulled in a tight line and there was a wild panic in his eyes. "You have to run, Peter. They want you. We'll take care of everything here but you have to run."

"I can't leave you both." Peter cried out. Rhodey held his shoulders and squeezed.

"You have to. Trust us. Trust me."

Peter nodded through the tears. Rhodey pushed him up and out the balcony door. Wind whipped around him. He turned around when the door finally came down. Rhodey held his own against them but Peter could tell it was a close fight. Rhodey yelled at him to jump and Peter finally listened. His hands gripped the railing and he jumped over the edge, the last glimpse was Rhodey falling to his knees.

Peter hit the ground below and fell to his knees. He sobbed into his blood and dirt encrusted hands for a moment. He allowed himself to mourn and then stood up. Peter took a deep breath in and began walking.

Pain emanated from his torso and he finally noticed a large chunk of wood sticking out of a wound. He winced as he pulled it out and blood spurted down his shirt. He had to trust them. He had to run and find a place to hid. He would listen to Rhodey and he would run.

Winter, 1992. Four days in hospital.

Peter swung his feet back and forth on the bed. He was still in the stupid hospital gown and couldn't wait to get back into real clothes. He was also still in hiding. Tony said he was going to one of the hospital appointed therapists and then he would take care of his little situation. What he thought was Peter's situation.

The situation provided too big to tackle at the moment, given Peter's limited knowledge of what Tony was going to do, so he decided to think about the other mystery plaguing him at the moment.

The man who had been locked away in Peter's original time was now in the hospital as a 20-something-year-old. His weeks in the apartment ill prepared him for this new revelation. They didn't talk about the past much in his time there and Peter, still cautious, didn't pry. It wasn't his place to pry even if on occasion he was curious.

What he knew as fact: Tony was in the hospital and he had a presumably mandated meeting with a therapist. His parents were also passed, though Peter wasn't sure how or when.

This fact separated from the rest. Tony's parents were gone just like his. It didn't change anything about his current troubles but it brought Tony into a new light. He felt an understanding of the man of his time now because of it. Peter was sick to think like that but he couldn't help it. Growing up all of his schoolmates knew their parents even if they were divorced and his life was filled with constant reminders of that fact. Parent teacher conferences, career days, bring your child to word day, and even field trip permission slips. All of these were built around the assumption your parents would be there, but Peter didn't fit into that mold. He was deficient in that was.

May and Ben were his family. They were an integral, vital part of his life and he clung to them, grew with their help and loved them. It was everyone else who had a hard time recognizing them.

Did you hear he's an orphan?

Well, they're not your real parents.

Do you remember your mom and dad?

They were whispers and questions poised innocently but they weighed down on him. Made it hard to breathe easy with each pressing day. Highlighted the deficiencies inside him until it was like it was carved in his skin.

But here was someone who knew what that felt like. His heels hit the underbelly of the bed and stopped swinging like a pendulum that ran out of energy. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

Knew.

They knew!

Did they know?

There was almost no way they wouldn't have known.

Peter tried to recall every singular word they'd ever said to him. He tried to recreate every expression on their faces and how they looked at him. Anything that would prove him wrong.

Why was Tony in that place to begin with? Why did Rhodey know his favorite cereal?

The kidnapping. Their words. That familiar glint in their eyes. The cryptic words they said to him. How accepted he felt when he was with him. The homey feeling of their tiny apartment.

He wanted to scream or break the window or knock over the bed. But he couldn't lose control over this.

It was fine.

He could feel the hate red in his heart but it was fine. He could trample it down and find a way back to his time. The changes wrought in him could be changed back. Peter could go back to that place and back to his well-deserved punishment. His softened edges could be cracked and made jagged again and if his heart's hurt was soothed through the weeks he was in the blue room, now it came roaring back in force. His chest felt torn again, raw from invisible wounds. He ran his hands down his torso to make sure nothing had attacked him without his knowledge but they came away clean.

He just wanted the pain to go away and when his heart skipped a beat at the thought, he ignored the weakness. He wanted to go back to when they didn't know him and he didn't know them. It was a betrayal Peter had never experienced before. They knew he would leave them and did nothing to stop it. They knew Peter would be hurt and let it happen anyway. Every look, every word had a duality he hadn't realized. Was any of it real? Was the comfort he had begun feeling all a façade?

Someone knocked on the door. Peter didn't run to hide but continued to wallow where he was. It didn't matter who caught him now. Let the hospital staff find him and take him back to his room for more unimportant questions.

Rhodey walked in. Young and smiling. Peter frowned but it did nothing to deter his expression.

"Peter, right? Tony said you would be here." He stuck out a hand which Peter did not take.

"Like you don't know." He said in a sarcastic tone. Rhodey did frown then but then he shook his head.

"Tony also said you weren't in the best of moods." Peter stuck his tongue out. Rhodey laughed and tossed him the parcel he was holding. "Get dressed. We're lucky Tony finally cooperated with the doctors to get his evaluation. I have you to thank for that. We've… I've been trying to get him to go to that stupid doctor for so long." He stared at Peter like he should answer but took pity on him. "I'll be outside, get dressed and we'll meet Tony down in the lobby."

Peter threw the clothes on the ground. He stared at them for a moment and then hurried to pick them up. If they had known all this time Peter had to figure out why they didn't do anything. He shoved the clothes on and sure enough Rhodey was waiting outside the room.

"Ready?"

"What's happening? Where are we going?"

Rhodey smiled and waggled his eyebrows. Peter had to stop himself from staring at his face. He looked so young it almost hurt.

"We're kidnapping you from this stinky old hospital."

"Again?" Peter whispered.

"What? Well, it's not really kidnapping. All the paperwork's in but it's more fun to say it's an escape plot or something."

"Right."

"Anyway, I realized I never introduced myself. I'm Rhodey." His hand hung in the air again. Peter was aware this interaction could shape the future. His next movement could change the future. He could shun them or hate them. He did in a way for what they were going to do, but this Rhodey also knew nothing of him yet. "Trust me, Peter."

This Rhodey was a whole different person than the one before. He was a young man trying to help some random kid. And so, Peter shook his hand. The Rhodey in front of him wasn't the one who betrayed his trust and Peter decided to extend his hand, reaffirming times path and starting the beginnings of a friendship.

Thank you!

I wasn't completely happy with how the fight came out. If you have suggestions, let me know!